History Wrestling / AkiraMaeda

* DavidVersusGoliath: In an infamous instance, he was pitted against an inebriate Wrestling/AndreTheGiant, who was completely uncooperative. Maeda's response was shoot kicking his legs until flooring him.

* BadassBoast: Parodied once. At an interview for Weekly Gong, when he was being questioned about Rickson Gracie and his supposed 400-0 record, Maeda jokingly stated that he believed it as his own record was 10000-0. Nowadays, [[OverlyLongGag he still claiming it is true]].

* TheAce: Absolutely.
* AntiHero: Despite his actions, he was a solid face during his entire career.

* BloodKnight

* FiveManBand: RINGS's Japanese stable of fighters, led by Maeda, was pretty much structured in that way.
** BigGood: Maeda
** TheLeader: Kiyoshi Tamura
** TheLancer: Tsuyoshi Kohsaka
** TheSmartGuy: Masayuki Naruse
** TheBigGuy: Yoshihisa Yamamoto
** TheChick: Wataru Sakata
** SixthRanger: Kenichi Yamamoto & Hiromitsu Kanehara
** TagalongKid: Mitsuya Nagai

* GenreSavvy: Although no one in Japan knew the extent of Rickson Gracie's abilities, Maeda deduced that his best point was groundwork and warned his apprentice Yoshihisa Yamamoto, who had to fight Rickson at the Vale Tudo Japan, not to allow himself to be taken to the ground. Yamamoto ended losing the bout, but the advice helped him to resist Rickson's submission attemps for most of the fight, and actually become a superstar in RINGS thanks to this.

* HotBlooded

* [[KickChick Kick Dude]]: He definitely knew how to use his legs to destroy his opponents. Despite this he valued grappling over kicking, which made him clash with Sayama.

* MrFanservice: He was not as handsome as his comrade Takada, but still he had a hefty female fanclub.

* UnstoppableRage: Whether you are a wrestler, a fighter, a reporter or even his wife, accept our advice: if Akira Maeda gets angry on you, you have a problem.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: As the ace of both incarnations of UWF, his real fighting skills were said to be the highest among his fellow shooters. Wrestling/KenShamrock of all people remarked that Maeda's grappling was so high that he was nigh untouchable during the trainings.

* SadistTeacher: The tradition among shoot-style trainers. He once brutalized his trainee Wataru Sakata in front of a TV reporter for the sole reason Sakata had not impressed him during a match.

'''Akira Maeda''' (b. 1959 as '''Go Il-myeong''') is a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts promotor, best known for his role in the Japanese shoot-style wrestling chronicle and posterior MMA boom. He debuted in 1978 for Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling and revealed as a promising rookie, traveling to England to wrestle there under the name of "Kwik-Kick-Lee", in storyline Creator/BruceLee's cousin. Eventually he left with Wrestling/SatoruSayama, Wrestling/NobuhikoTakada and other wrestlers to form Universal Wrestling Federation, pioneering the realistic shoot movement. However, he caused the fall of the promotion when shot on Sayama during a match due to an early disagreement. Upon their return to New Japan, he and Takada became the young leaders of a shoot invasion, gaining the IWGP Tag Team Championship with him and fellow shooter Osamu Kido. Maeda gained extreme amounts of popularity and was even considered to replace main star Wrestling/AntonioInoki, but Inoki vetoed the idea and Maeda left again, not without shooting on another wrestler. After another failed incarnation of UWF, Maeda contacted Russian sambo fighters and Dutch kickboxers and created Fighting Network RINGS, a shoot-style company who derived into full MMA over time. Maeda is currently retired from competition and figures as the head of the resurrected RINGS and an amateur MMA company called The Outsider.

* GenreSavvy: Although no one in Japan knew the extent of Rickson Gracie's abilities, Maeda deduced that his best point was groundwork and warned his apprentice Yoshihisa Yamamoto, who had to fight Rickson at the Vale Tudo Japan, to not to allow himself to be taken to the ground. Yamamoto ended losing the bout (exactly in that way), but the advice helped him to resist Rickson's submission attemps for most of the fight, and actually become a superstar in RINGS thanks to this.

** There was a years-long bad blood between Maeda and Pancrase's Kazuo "Yoshiki" Takahashi. It started after the PRIDE 1 event, when Maeda had a brawl with Takahashi in the Tokyo Dome parking and Yoshihisa Yamamoto had to go to break it up. After that, Yoshiki challenged Akira to a fight in Pancrase, but Maeda refused, instead wanting to fight Minoru Suzuki. Yoshiki didn't forget it, and he even shook Yoji Anjo's hand after his attack on Maeda at the UFC.

* NeverBeHurtAgain: While in the New Japan Dojo, Maeda was often bullied by other students due to his Korean ancestry. His only friends were his colleague Sayama and their trainers Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Bad News Brown. One day, after seeing him bullied by other students, Brown told him to fight back next time he was harassed. He indeed took it for the rest of his career.

** Yoji Anjo was another one. In 1994, Akira was arrested for claiming he went to kill Anjo out of rage for a failed working agreement, and two years later, he backfisted Yoji in the face for disagree him during a televised debate. Not surprisingly, some time later Anjo retaliated by knocking Maeda out cold with a sucker punch during an Ultimate Fighting Championship event.

* GenreSavvy: Although no one in Japan knew what Rickson Gracie could do in the first Vale Tudo Japan, Maeda deduced that his best point was groundwork and warned his representative Yoshihisa Yamamoto to not to allow himself to be taken to the ground. Yamamoto ended losing the bout (exactly in that way), but the advice helped him to resist Rickson's submission attemps for most of the fight, and actually become a superstar in RINGS thanks to this.

* GuileHero: Despite his general jerkness, Akira was good with people. He even convinced Masutatsu Oyama to allow karatekas Chris Dolman and Masaaki Satake to compete in RINGS.

* IKnowKarate: And Shorinji Kempo, too.

* [[KickChick Kick Dude]]: He definitely knew how to use his legs to destroy his opponents. Despite this, he valued grappling more than kicking, which made him clash with Sayama.

* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong: Maeda thought it, so he brought sambo fighters to Japan.
* MrFanservice: He was not as handsome was his comrade Takada, but still he had a hefty female fanclub.

* RedBaron: Many. "Kowashiya" ("Destroyer"), "Kakuto O" ("The Fight King") and "Kick no Senjukannon" ("The [[MultiArmedAndDangerous Multi-Armed God]] of Kicking").
* SadistTeacher: The tradition among shoot-style trainers. He once brutalized his trainee Wataru Sakata in front of a TV reporter.

* WorkedShoot: Maeda has a MMA record in Sherdog, but he actually never did full MMA, limiting himself to shoot matches.

'''Akira Maeda''' (b. 1959 as '''Go Il-myeong''') is a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts promotor, best known for his role in the Japanese shoot-style wrestling chronicle and posterior MMA boom. He debuted in 1978 for Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling and revealed as a promising rookie, traveling to England to wrestle there under the name of "Kwik-Kick-Lee", in storyline Creator/BruceLee's cousin. Eventually he left with Wrestling/SatoruSayama, Wrestling/NobuhikoTakada and other wrestlers to form Universal Wrestling Federation, pioneering the realistic shoot movement. However, he caused the fall of the promotion when shot on Sayama during a match due to an early disagreement. Upon their return to New Japan, he and Takada became the young leaders of a shoot invasion, gaining the IWGP Tag Team Championship with him and fellow shooter Osamu Kido. Maeda gained extreme amounts of popularity and was even considered to replace main star Wrestling/AntonioInoki, but Inoki vetoed the idea and Maeda left again, not without shooting on another wrestler. Aftr another failed incarnation of UWF, Maeda contacted Russian sambo fighters and Dutch kickboxers and created Fighting Network RINGS, a shoot-style company who derivated in full MMA over time. Maeda is currently retired from competition and figures as the head of the resurrected RINGS and an amateur MMA company called The Outsider.

** He also had an enmity with Wrestling/MasakatsuFunaki, who badmouthed him for causing the closure of Newborn UWF in 1990. They became reconciled in 2005 during the Big Mouth Loud project.

** HandicappedBadass: Long before his retire, Maeda got his body broken down after years of fighting. He required a hand from the young fighters to walk back to the locker room and was always limping. And even so, he tried to fight Rickson Gracie in order to avenge Takada's loss.

* BullyingADragon: Once Maeda and some pals (among which was Kengo Kimura) came against four North American soldiers from the Roppongi militar base, who stopped them and verbally assaulted them with racist insults. Maeda's response was wiping the floor alone with the four guys and make them swear not to make fun of the Japanese people again.

* FinishingMove: Cross Armbar, Capture Suplex and Kick to the Head.

* GuileHero: Despite his general jerkness, Akira was good with people. He even convinced Masutatsu Oyama to allow karatekas Chris Dolman and Masaaki Satake compete in RINGS.

* IKnowKarate: And Shorinji Kempo too.

* NeverBeHurtAgain: While in the New Japan Dojo, Maeda was often bullied by other students due to his Korean ascendency. His only friends were his colleague Sayama and their trainers Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Bad News Brown. One day, after seeing him bullied by other students, Brown told him to fight back next time he was harassed. He indeed took it for the rest of his career.

* RedBaron: Actually many. "Kowashiya" ("Destroyer"), "Kakuto O" ("The Fight King") and "Kick no Senjukannon" ("The [[MultiArmedAndDangerous Multi-Armed God]] of Kicking").

* SeriousBusiness: After a failed agreement between RINGS and UWF International, Maeda publicitly vowed to kill Anjo and was swiftly arrested.

* UrExample: Was the first on coining "sōgō kakutōgi", the word used in Japan for MMA (accoding to others, however, it was Satoru Sayama the one who coined it).

* {{Yakuza}}: Actively cultivates a yakuza image for himself and his ventures, and it's rumored he has contacts (and even worse, enemies) among yakuza corporations. This has brough him some trouble, to the extent of losing TV contracts and being attacked by yakuza members at an Outsider event.

** There was a years-long bad blood between Maeda and Pancrase's Kazuo "Yoshiki" Takahashi. It started after the PRIDE 1 event, when Maeda had a brawl with Takahashi in the Tokyo Dome parking and Yoshihisa Yamamoto had to go to break it up. After that, Yoshiki challenged Akira to a fight in Pancrase, but Maeda refused, instead wanting to fight Minoru Suzuki. Yoshiki didn't forget it, and he even shook Yoji Anjo's hand after his attack to Maeda at the UFC.
** In general, Maeda doesn't have much simpathy towards Pancrase. He attacked its chairman Masami Ozaki (a non-fighter) at a hotel when he thought Ozaki was trying to convince RINGS member Jeremy Horn to jump to Pancrase. Ozaki later sued Akira for assault and won the trial, although according to Horn himself, Ozeki exaggerated the incident.

* FollowTheLeader: Aside his shoot and MMA pioneering, Maeda was the first in bringing sambo to Japan and was the one who advised Kazuyoshi Ishii to create the kickboxing promotion K-1 and provided him with the kickboxers he couldn't pay.

* HandicappedBadass: Long before his retire, Maeda got his body broken down after years of fighting. He required a hand from the young fighters to walk back to the locker room and was always limping. And even so, he tried to fight Rickson Gracie in order to avenge Takada's loss.

* [[KickChick Kick Dude]]: He knew how to use his legs to destroy his opponents.

* MrFanservice: Towards female wrestling fans.

* SourSupporter: While in the New Japan Dojo, Maeda was often bullied by other students due to his Korean ascendency. Bad News Brown, who was a trainer for the dojo, said him to fight back next time he was harassed. He indeed took it.

-->''"We are over futbol, we are over baseball!"''
--->--'''Akira Maeda''', chanting along with his RINGS pals the promotion's motto

** In general, Maeda doesn't have much simpathy towards Pancrase. He attacked its chairman Masami Ozaki (a non-wrestler) at a hotel when he thought Ozaki was trying to prevent Guy Mezger of fighting in RINGS. In reality, Mezger didn't have intentions of fighing for RINGS in first place.

* FollowTheLeader: Aside his shoot and MMA pioneering, Maeda was the first in bringing sambo to Japan and was the one who advised Kazuyoshi Ishii to create the kickboxing promotion K-1.

** He also had an enmity with Masakatsu Funaki, who badmouthed him for causing the closure of Newborn UWF in 1990. They became reconciled in 2005 during the Big Mouth Loud project.

* ExactWords: While in the New Japan Dojo, Maeda was often bullied by other students due to his Korean ascendency. Bad News Brown, who was a trainer for the dojo, said him to fight back next time he was harassed. He indeed took it.

* MrFanservice: Towards the female wrestling fans.

'''Akira Maeda''' (b. 1959 as '''Go Il-myeong''') is a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts promotor, best known for his role in the Japanese shoot-style wrestling chronicle and posterior MMA boom. He debuted in 1978 for Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling and revealed as a promising rookie, traveling to England to wrestle there under the name of "Kwik-Kick-Lee", in storyline Creator/BruceLee's cousin. Eventually he left with Wrestling/SatoruSayama, Wrestling/NobuhikoTakada and other wrestlers to form Universal Wrestling Federation, pioneering the realistic shoot movement. However, he caused the fall of the promotion when shot on Sayama during a match due to an early disagreement. Upon their return to New Japan, he and Takada became the young leaders of a shoot invasion, gaining the IWGP Tag Team Championship with him and fellow shooter Osamu Kido. Maeda gained extreme amounts of popularity and was even considered to replace main star Wrestling/AntonioInoki, but Inoki vetoed the idea and Maeda left again, not without shooting on another wrestler. Aftr another failed incarnation of UWF, Maeda contacted Russian sambo fighters and Dutch ringen wrestlers and created Fighting Network RINGS, a shoot-style company who derivated in full MMA over time. Maeda is currently retired from competition and figures as the head of the resurrected RINGS and an amateur MMA company called The Outsider.

** Yoji Anjo was another enemy to Maeda. In 1994, Akira was arrested for claiming he went to kill Anjo out of rage for a failed working agreement, and two years later, he backfisted Yoji in the face for disagree him during a televised debate. Not surprisingly, some time later Anjo retaliated by knocking Maeda out cold with a sucker punch in the stadium of an Ultimate Fighting Championship event.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: As the ace of both incarnations of UWF, his real fighting skill was said to be the highest among his fellow shooters. Wrestling/KenShamrock of all people remarked that Maeda's grappling was so high that he was nigh untouchable during the trainings.

* FollowTheLeader: Aside his shoot and MMA pioneering, Maeda was the first in bringing sambo to Japan and was the one who advised Kazuyoshi Ishii in creating the kickboxing promotion K-1.

* GroinAttack: Delivered some to Satoru Sayama in their last match.

* RedBaron: Actually many. "Kowashiya" ("Destroyer"), "Kakuto O" ("Fight King"), "Kick no Senjukannon" ("The [[MultiArmedAndDangerous Multi-Armed God]] of Kicking").

* ArchEnemy: Has had some in real life.

* {{Revenge}}: In 1996, he backfisted Yoji Anjo in the face for disagree him during a televised debate. Years after, Anjo retaliated by knocking Maeda out cold with a sucker punch during an Ultimate Fighting Championship event. Not in the ring, but in the crowd.

* StartMyOwn: UWF Newborn, Fighting Network RINGS and The Outsider.

* ToughActToFollow: The reason of the first RINGS demise was that Maeda's retire had left the promotion without a popular ace. The most popular fighters, Kiyoshi Tamura and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, failed to meet the expectatives left by their master.

* UnstoppableRage: Whether you are a wrestler, a fighter, a reporter or even his wife, accept our advice: if Akira Maeda gets angry on you, run away and do not look back.

* {{Yakuza}}: Actively cultivates a yakuza image for himself and his ventures, and it's rumored he has contacts among yakuza corporations.

'''Akira Maeda''' (b. 1959 as '''Go Il-myeong''') is a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts promotor, best known for his role in the Japanese shoot-style wrestling chronicle and posterior MMA boom. He debuted in 1978 for Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling and revealed as a promising rookie, traveling to England to wrestle there under the name of "Kwik-Kick-Lee", in storyline Creator/BruceLee's cousin. Eventually he left with Wrestling/SatoruSayama, Wrestling/NobuhikoTakada and other wrestlers to form Universal Wrestling Federation, pioneering the realistic shoot movement. However, he caused the fall of the promotion when shot on Sayama during a match due to an early disagreement. Upon their return to New Japan, he and Takada became the young leaders of a shoot invasion, gaining the IWGP Tag Team Championship with him and fellow shooter Osamu Kido. Maeda gained extreme amounts of popularity and was even considered to replace main star Antonio Inoki, but Inoki vetoed the idea and Maeda left again, not without shooting on another wrestler. Aftr another failed incarnation of UWF, Maeda contacted Russian sambo fighters and Dutch ringen wrestlers and created Fighting Network RINGS, a shoot-style company who derivated in full MMA over time. Maeda is currently retired from competition and figures as the head of the resurrected RINGS and an amateur MMA company called The Outsider.

'''Akira Maeda''' (b. 1959 as '''Go Il-myeong''') is a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts promotor, best known for his role in the Japanese shoot-style wrestling chronicle and posterior MMA boom. He debuted in 1978 for Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling and revealed as a promising rookie. Eventually he left with Wrestling/SatoruSayama, Wrestling/NobuhikoTakada and other wrestlers to form Universal Wrestling Federation, pioneering the realistic shoot movement. However, he caused the fall of the promotion when shot on Sayama during a match due to an early disagreement. Upon their return to New Japan, he and Takada became the young leaders of a shoot invasion, gaining the IWGP Tag Team Championship with him and fellow shooter Osamu Kido. Maeda gained extreme amounts of popularity and was even considered to replace main star Antonio Inoki, but Inoki vetoed the idea and Maeda left again, not without shooting on another wrestler. Aftr another failed incarnation of UWF, Maeda contacted Russian sambo fighters and Dutch ringen wrestlers and created Fighting Network RINGS, a shoot-style company who derivated in full MMA over time. Maeda is currently retired from competition and figures as the head of the resurrected RINGS and an amateur MMA company called The Outsider.

** BadassTeacher: He trained several wrestlers and fighters.

* OneOfUs: Is an avid manga fan, and cites ''Series/Ultraman'' as his inspiration to pursue a career on fighting.
* PhonyVeteran: Parodied once. At an interview for Weekly Gong, when he was being questioned about Rickson Gracie and his supposed 400-0 record, Maeda merrily stated that he believed it as his own record was 10000-0. Nowadays, [[OverlyLongGag he still claiming it is true]].

'''Akira Maeda''' (b. 1959) is a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts promotor, best known for his role in the Japanese shoot-style wrestling chronicle and posterior MMA boom. He debuted in 1978 for Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling and revealed as a promising rookie. Eventually he left with Wrestling/SatoruSayama, Wrestling/NobuhikoTakada and other wrestlers to form Universal Wrestling Federation, pioneering the realistic shoot movement. However, he caused the fall of the promotion when shot on Sayama during a match due to an early disagreement. Upon their return to New Japan, he and Takada became the young leaders of a shoot invasion, gaining the IWGP Tag Team Championship with him and fellow shooter Osamu Kido. Maeda gained extreme amounts of popularity and was even considered to replace main star Antonio Inoki, but Inoki vetoed the idea and Maeda left again, not without shooting on another wrestler. Aftr another failed incarnation of UWF, Maeda contacted Russian sambo fighters and Dutch ringen wrestlers and created Fighting Network RINGS, a shoot-style company who derivated in full MMA over time. Maeda is currently retired from competition and figures as the head of the resurrected RINGS and an amateur MMA company called The Outsider.

* SadistTeacher: The tradition among shoot-style trainers. He once brutalized his trainee Wataru Sakata in front of the TV reporter.

* ArchEnemy: Wrestling/DynamiteKid, Kuniaki Kobayashi and Black Tiger. More recently, Minoru Suzuki and Atsushi Onita.
** In real life, Wrestling/SatoruSayama. Their hostility started in 1985, when Maeda shot on Sayama during a match and caused the fall of the original UWF. They have continued badmouthing each other during years until 2006, when they were reunited in an interview by Hisao Maki and acknowledged (rather grudgingly) each other's accomplishments. Currently, they seem to have regained a degree of respect between them.
* AxCrazy: In RealLife, he was fired from NJPW for [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown kicking Riki Choshu in the face]] and breaking his orbital bone. Even later, he didn't have a single year free of legal troubles due to his tendency to assault people. He even [[SeriousBusiness vowed to kill Yoji Anjo]] and was arrested for it.

** BadassTeacher

* AxCrazy:

* {{Yakuza}}: He actively cultivates a yakuza image for himself and his ventures, and it's rumored he has contacts among yakuza corporations.