History Manga / TigerMask

* UsefulNotes/KoreansInJapan: Not only Wrestling/{{Rikidozan}} (father of pro-wrestling in Japan, born somewhere in modern day North Korea as Kim Sin-rak) and Kintarō Ōki (born in Jeollanam-do, South Korea, as Kim Il) are shown, but Ōki's origins and real name are actually aknowledged, and he's depicted as one of the best wrestlers of the Japan Wrestling Association, second only to Baba and Inoki (and the later series Tiger Mask), and easily outsmarts the in-universe [[WorldsStrongestMan strongest and most experienced wrestler in history]].
** Also the Tiger Mask Imposter is Korean, orphaned and taken by Tiger's Cave during the UsefulNotes/KoreanWar.

* NoKoreansInJapan: Averted: not only Wrestling/{{Rikidozan}} (father of pro-wrestling in Japan, born somewhere in modern day North Korea as Kim Sin-rak) and Kintarō Ōki (born in Jeollanam-do, South Korea, as Kim Il) are shown, but Ōki's origins and real name are actually aknowledged, and he's depicted as one of the best wrestlers of the Japan Wrestling Association, second only to Baba and Inoki (and the later series Tiger Mask), and easily outsmarts the in-universe [[WorldsStrongestMan strongest and most experienced wrestler in history]].

In the manga and anime, Tiger Mask was a feared heel wrestler in America who was extremely vicious in the ring. After returning to Japan Tiger Mask joined the Japanese League headed by [[Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling Giant Baba]] and Wrestling/AntonioInoki (also RealLife wrestlers) who were then on the verge of kicking him out for his use of villanous techniques. Tiger Mask (whose real name was Naoto Date) was raised in an orphanage and later joined Tiger's Cave (a criminal cartel whose main activity was to train young people to became Heel wrestlers) to became "Strong as a Tiger".

** Also, Miracle 3, is described as this by Mr. X: according to his manager, Miracle 3 could have revealed Tiger Mask every strength and weakness of the challengers for the NWA Maskmen World Championship as he had seen them fighting. There's some truth in this claim, as before Tiger Mask finally accepts his challenge we see him observing Tiger Mask fighting to try and find a way to counter the Fujiyama Tiger Breaker, then he claims he can do so... And when they finally fight, he actually does it.

** Again from Miracle 3: at one point in his first bout for the NWA Maskmen World Championship with Tiger Mask (reigning champion), Miracle 3 complimented Tiger Mask for his ability, worth of the ''former'' Champion, speaking as if his victory was already decided. He then proceeded to defeat Tiger Mask.

* BadassNormal: The ability to receive punishment of the wrestlers is above real life normal human levels. Pretty every wrestler is a BadassNormal since he can receive full force wrestling techniques (including falls from above) and survive. In the first episodes a wrestler (Black Python) kills a tiger bare handed breaking its neck.

* BullyingTheDragon: Happens late in the manga, when, during the Fake Tiger Mask arc, Tiger Mask is thought to have returned an heel: when he goes to America to find the imposter and prove he's still a face fighting other wrestlers without fouls, American wrestlers attack him with fouls to get a first strike. Mr. K is initially lucky, as Tiger Mask doesn't reply in kind, but later he and another wrestler have a run-in with the imposter, [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown who shows them exactly]] ''[[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown why]]'' [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown Tiger's Cave wrestlers are so feared]].

** According to El Sicodelico, being unable to do them right is the only reason he and his stronger brother Mil Mascaras are unable to defeat Dory Funk Jr. (then reigning NWA world champion), Verne Gagne (AWA champion) and Wrestling/PedroMorales (WWWF champion). Dory Funk Jr.'s apparition seems to confirm this in-universe, as when Tiger Mask fought him for the championship [[spoiler: and was on the verge of defeating him he punched the referee, losing by disqualification but keeping the belt.]]

* NiceToTheWaiter: Tiger Mask is unfailingly polite with anyone who isn't the wrestler he currently fighting (or Mr. X).

Most people outside Japan, though, only know Tiger Mask as a real professional wrestler from a fad in TheEighties. While it only began as a homage and promotion to the fictional character, it grew into a popularity of its own, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff especially in the West]], due to the memorable Wrestling/DynamiteKid fights. Since then five wrestlers have adopted Tiger's identity: ''Wrestling/SatoruSayama'', ''Wrestling/MitsuharuMisawa'', ''Koji Kanemoto'', ''Yoshihiro Yamazaki'' and ''Ikuhisa Minowa'', in that order.

*** causing a black-out so the official opponent, wearing a skeleton outfit, will be free to punch the victim while his sidekick, a black guy in a black outfit, keeps the poor sod pinned without nobody seeing him;
*** neck-strangling an opponent while keeping themselves out of the ring and over the ropes. Attacking the strangler results in the victim being strangled ''worse''. This was actually pulled by Tiger Mask (a Tiger's Cave pupil) on the two guys above in retaliation for their trick, [[EvenEvilHasStandards and was considered evil even for a Tiger's Cave wrestler]];

*** dressing as a mummy and use the bandage to hide pepper and sleeping powder to throw at the victim (the one who pulled this was a trainer, the one teaching his pupils the dirtiest tricks);

* [[spoiler:Downer Ending]]: [[spoiler:Minutes before the match for the NWA championship, Naoto Date gets run over by a car and dies. No one will ever know he was the great champion Tiger Mask. Made even worse by the fact that he had survived countless assassination attempts and lethal matches only to die in a ''totally random accident''!]]

** Inverted with RedDeathMask: Tiger Mask is the ''good'' counterpart. Both are Tiger's Cave alumni, both are been trained as Tiger's Cave {{Hero Killer}}s, and Tiger Mask was slated to succeeded Red Death Mask as Tiger's Cave strongest and foulest wrestler had he not performed his HeelFaceTurn.

* SadisticChoice: During the manga version of the Mr. Kamikaze arc Tiger Mask was winning when the bouncers of Tiger's Cave underground wrestling arena announced that Kamikaze's son had tried to rattle them to the police, and that they would kill him unless Kamikaze won. Tiger Mask decided to throw the match and his life, but [[DamYouMuscleMemory won by accident]] and had to save Kamikaze's son the hard way.

** DarkerAndEdgier: The final fight of the anime: it's one episode and half worth of Great Tiger inflicting the worst NoHoldsBarredBeatdown seen so far in both the anime ''and'' the manga while the protagonist fought back as good as he could... And then Great Tiger unmasks Tiger Mask, at which point Naoto [[LaughingMad laughs]] and [[ManlyTears cries]] for a while before literally ''beating his opponent to death'' with a beatdown ''topping'' what he had just suffered in spite of being just five minutes long (he had already topped it three minutes in, when Great Tiger fainted for the pain. [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown Then he started hitting him worse with the obvious goal of just killing him]], while fending off Baba and Inoki attempts at stopping him).

** Also, Miracle 3, is described as this by Mr. X: according to his manager, Miracle 3 could have revealed Tiger Mask every strength and weakness of the challengers for the NWA Maskmen World Championship as he had seen them fighting. There's some truth in this claim, as before Tiger Mask finally accepts his challenge we see him observing Tiger Mask fighting to try and find a way to counter the Fujiyama Tiger Breaker, then he claims he can do so... [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome And when they finally fight, he actually does it]].

* {{Defictionalization}}: Tiger Mask became a real wrestler, and quite a famous and well-rounded one at that.

* FountainOfExpies: He inspired King from ''{{Tekken}}'', and real wrestlers have adopted the Tiger Mask name and fame. Tiger Mask itself owes a little something to Fray Tormenta, a masked wrestler who used his funds to support an orphanage.

** Tiger Mask was no slouch even before meeting El Sicodelico, having won a fair number of matches by outsmarting his foes in a most painful manner (the commentator actually called him out on that once. The victim, [[KungFuProofMook Black V]], was suffering too much to complain, and never showed up again), and applying his training in legal but still incredibly brutal ways (apart his {{Finishing Move}}s, there's that time he weaponized ''his cloak'', that had been set on fire by his current foe).

* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: The wrestlers sent by Tiger's Cave to kill Tiger Mask are progressively stronger and more lethal. It started with the less talented but more experienced Black Python (who could kill a tiger bare-handed) and progressed all the way to the top of Tiger's Cave 'legal' rooster (meaning they fought on legal promotions), then their HeroKiller, then the champion of their underground fighting circuit, and then ad-hoc solutions like the admins (anime only: in the manga they're weaklings), Miracle 3, [[spoiler: who in the manga is actually ''three'' different masked wrestlers with similar builds, one being a skilled technical fighter capable to find out how to counter the Fujiyama Tiger Breaker, one being the third physically strongest fighter in the series (the second is a presumed yeti, and first is the gigantic Gorilla Man) and the third a master of fouls, exchanging roles according to needs]], and a fake Tiger Mask who was actually a match for him, culminating in suckering him into taking part to a tournament with no rules and filled with the worst heels of the world and [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg El Sicodelico]].

* ZeroApprovalGambit: Tiger Mask is quite fond of these. As an heel his gymmick was that of the foreigner who beat the crap of everyone and intentionally called for the fans' hate, so there would be more people watching his matches in the hope to see him defeated. As a face he did it three times he was expecting to die (first he abandoned the World Big League tournament and insulted Baba to try and win the Maskmen World League, then he beat the crap out of aspirant wrestler Teppei Oiwa to supposedly vent the frustration of having to fight [[KungFuProofMook Black V]], and then insulted the whole JWA rooster before having to try and storm Tiger's Cave) so that his loved ones wouldn't suffer (plus Teppei Oiwa's beating doubled as a SecretTestOfCharacter), but every time someone saw through it: when he quit the World Big League [[spoiler: Baba]] thought about it and realized that Tiger Mask wanted the first prize to [[spoiler: pay a surgery to heal a blind girl]] and, with the identity of Great Zebra, helped taking down Egyptian Mummy and Lionman; Teppei immediately recognized it was a test of character and told so to Ruriko (who, for once, had actually fallen for it); when Tiger Mask insulted the JWA roster Baba, who remembered the past experiences, immediately called him on it, and when Tiger Mask insisted he [[spoiler: [[TrueCompanions followed him to Tiger's Cave with the rest of the roster]], [[BigDamnHeroes saving his life]] and [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome helping taking down Tiger's Cave]] ]].

* ManBitesMan: Freddy Blessie (mentioned in the trope page) provides a [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstruction]]. In his three matches we are shown how stupid is: having a bite as the main attack against someone who has no problems trying to tear his teeth off (Tiger Mask did it with borderline legal moves, and stopped just short of actually tearing his teeth off); engaging a race to bite the forehead with a taller opponent (Red Death Mask. Had he used another move he could have escaped, but Red Death Mask had bitten him once and he didn't appreciate); biting a masked opponent who doesn't care for rules (Fantomas at the World Heel Championship had an iron plaque under the mask for his match with Blessie. Cue SoLastSeason).

In the manga and anime, Tiger Mask was a feared heel wrestler in America who was extremely vicious in the ring. After returning to Japan Tiger Mask joined the Japanese League headed by [[Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling Giant Baba]] and Wrestling/Antonio Inoki (also RealLife wrestlers) who were then on the verge of kicking him out for his use of villanous techniques. Tiger Mask (whose real name was Naoto Date) was raised in an orphanage and later joined Tiger's Cave (a criminal cartel whose main activity was to train young people to became Heel wrestlers) to became "Strong as a Tiger".

In the manga and anime, Tiger Mask was a feared heel wrestler in America who was extremely vicious in the ring. After returning to Japan Tiger Mask joined the Japanese League headed by [[Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling Giant Baba]] and [[Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling Antonio Inoki]] (also RealLife wrestlers) who were then on the verge of kicking him out for his use of villanous techniques. Tiger Mask (whose real name was Naoto Date) was raised in an orphanage and later joined Tiger's Cave (a criminal cartel whose main activity was to train young people to became Heel wrestlers) to became "Strong as a Tiger".

* KilledByAdaptation: In the manga Mr. X and Tiger's Cave executives survives. In the anime the executives fight Tiger Mask personally and dies on the ring, and Mr. X dies in a last ditch attempt at killing Naoto before his match with Tiger the Great.

** According to El Sicodelico, being unable to do them right is the only reason he and his stronger brother Mil Mascaras are unable to defeat Dory Funk Jr. (then reigning NWA world champion), Verne Gagne (AWA champion) and Pedro Morales (WWWF champion). Dory Funk Jr.'s apparition seems to confirm this in-universe, as when Tiger Mask fought him for the championship [[spoiler: and was on the verge of defeating him he punched the referee, losing by disqualification but keeping the belt.]]

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Bobo Brazil studied the Fujiyama Tiger Breaker to counteract it, and realized that he could turn in mid-air to land on his head instead than back-first, hitting Tiger Mask's much less durable head with the most powerful headbutt in history. When he actually tried it he barely had time to cry [[OhCrap "No!]] [[BigNo ''NO!''"]] before Tiger Mask used the momentum that was making Bobo Brazil's headbutt the most powerful in history to execute on him the most powerful piledriver in history.

** Subverted and played straight at the start of the World Heel Championship. The promoter Big Condor was having the tournament in Las Vegas and prepared a profitable betting ring, but he was having the matches happen every night, taking customers from the local casinos, who didn't appreciated. But when the bouncers arrived to threaten him into not having matches on Saturdays and Sundays he was quick to point out that the tournament would summon a lot of people who normally didn't bet, and that the enormous costs of the bets on the tournament would drive most of them and of the regular customers back to the casinos in the attempt to win enough money to return to the tournament, and that the casinos would actually profit more than normal. Then the bouncers still tried to threaten him into submission, at which point they were forced to face how helpless they were against Freddie Blassie, Wrestling/DickTheBruiser (who, as a former bouncer, scolded them for their idiocy) and Sky High Lee, and they couldn't even call for their fellow bouncers armed with guns as Blessie ''ate the phone when they tried''.

Most people outside Japan, though, only know Tiger Mask as a real professional wrestler from a fad in TheEighties. While it only began as a homage and promotion to the fictional character, it grew into a popularity of its own, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff especially in the West]], due to the memorable Wrestling/DynamiteKid fights. Since then five wrestlers have adopted Tiger's identity: ''Satoru Sayama'', ''Wrestling/MitsuharuMisawa'', ''Koji Kanemoto'', ''Yoshihiro Yamazaki'' and ''Ikuhisa Minowa'', in that order.