History Wrestling / NobuhikoTakada

* TheNicknamer: He was fond of insulting nicknames when trash-talking, at least since his UWF days, in which he called Kazuo Yamazaki "Yama-chan." His tenure in HUSTLE only increased it, as [[Wrestling/NaoyaOgawa Naoya "Chicken" Ogawa]] and [[Wrestling/ShinyaHashimoto Shinya "Pork" Hashimoto]] can testify.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Gives a vicious one to Riki Choshu and the rest of the HUSTLE Quartet.

-->"Japanese pro wrestlers! Ladies and gentlemen! I am Takada, the generalissimo of the Takada Monster Army. In a near future, I promise, we will crush puroresu by the roots. Ogawa, I can see you there down, and you are no less insignificant than an insect. You should have silenced your impudent mouth in HUSTLE-1. You said you didn't care about how many opponents you would have to face, and your desire has been fulfilled. Come out, my Monster Army!"\\

* PowerStable: The Takada Monster Army.

-->'''Kawada:''' You talk a lot, Takada, but you don't look precisely better than us. Isn't that general wannabe uniform of yours a cosplay too?

* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: It has been traditionally considered that Takada and the UWF-i crew surreptitiously changed the rules of his match with Trevor Berbick to screw him up, suddenly allowing low kicks. The truth is unknown, although many members of UWF-i have come out denying this was the case, even speculating that Berbick either didn't read the rules or was set by his team so he stopped complaining.

* BrilliantButLazy: His FatalFlaw in relation to his MMA career. Although he was certainly an incredible athlete, Takada lacked the combat sports background of many of his peers and never bothered to consistently hone his real fighting skills during his career on the shoot-style. According to some of his partners, in his early career Takada was aware of his lack of fighting experience and worked hard to [[CantCatchUp catch up with them]], learning grappling with Fujiwara and Maeda and striking under various boxing and UsefulNotes/MuayThai coaches, but when he became the head of UWF-i, he started training a lot less due to his protected and relaxed position. By the time he had to fight Rickson Gracie, he had spent years rarely sparring for real and just kicking bags, unlike younger people like Sakuraba or Kanehara, and thus he didn't stand a chance against the Brazilian.

* BrilliantButLazy: Takada's possible talent for MMA is always a difficult topic, but it's clear that, aside from his lack of a combat sports background, he never bothered to cultivate his shooting skills anyways. Interviews from insiders show that Takada rarely sparred for real, unlike younger people like Sakuraba or Kanehara, so if he had some familiarity with shooting at some point (which is actually the most likely - you just didn't thrive on the shoot-style circuit being a complete fake), it was forgotten or wasn't enough for the time he had to train for his fight with Rickson Gracie.

* HardWorkHardlyWorks: According to some of his peers, in his early career he was well aware of his lack of fighting experience and worked hard in developing his shooting skills with Fujiwara and Maeda, and later his striking skills under various boxing and UsefulNotes/MuayThai coaches in order to [[CantCatchUp catch up with them]]. Unfortunately, when he became the head of UWF-i, he started training a lot less due to his protected and relaxed position, and by the time it came to fight Rickson Gracie, he didn't stand a chance.

* HeroicSacrifice: It's sure to say that, had not Takada sacrified his own career and popularity to build PRIDE, the MMA landscape would be vastly different and likely much smaller today than it is.

** He's close friends with boxing champion Hidekazu Akai, whose daughter Saki became a professional wrestler too.

* PassingTheTorch: Wrestling/KazushiSakuraba was the main torchbearer for Takada, although Wrestling/KiyoshiTamura also held it after reconciling with Takada in PRIDE.

* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: It has been traditionally considered that Takada and the UWF-i crew surreptitiously changed the rules of his match with Trevor Berbick to screw him up, suddenly allowing low kicks. The truth is unknown, although many members of UWF-i have come out denying this was the case.

** His Generalissimo persona was primarily based on Yasunori Kato from ''Literature/TeitoMonogatari'', in attire (they both wore a military uniform with a cap), character arcs (Kato was a former Japanese Imperial sorcerer bent on destroying Japan on behalf of dead indigenous people, while Takada was a former pro wrestler bent on destroy pro wrestling on behalf of MMA), allies (both had weird yet powerful henchmen and a PerkyFemaleMinion, Yinling in Takada's case and Hong Feng in Kato's) and powers (they shared abilities like throwing energy blasts, creating and manipulating lifeforms, and a limited brainwashing/hypnotic skill).
** The military uniform he wore as Generalissimo Takada, though, was a departure from Kato, as it was actually identical to the one worn by Leader Dessler from ''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato''.

* UrExample: His signature move as a NJPW rookie was a missile dropkick, the technique that eventually became the signature move of all the puroresu rookies.

* TheAce: As a pro wrestler, that Takada climbed to the top of some major promotion was merely a matter of time since he debuted. He was insanely athletic and handsome, had a ton of charisma both in and out of the ring, and although he was not a matwork technician, he could work great matches regardless of his opponent. Even if his career was quite impressive for its short length, some believe he was ultimately a huge waste of talent for not sticking to traditional pro wrestling.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Generalissimo Takada did not rule over HUSTLE for nothing.

** An anecdote tells how Takada and boxing champion Hidekazu Akai got drunk in a bar and brawled with each other to extenuation. The two woke up next morning covered in bruises and [[WhatDidIDoLastNight with no knowledge they did the previous night]], and when they were told about the quarrel, they both found it incredibly funny.
** There is also a similar story with [[Wrestling/TheGreatMuta Keiji Mutoh]], whose enmity with Takada was known in the entire NJPW Dojo.

* BullyingADragon: In 1991, before the scheduled fight between Takada and boxing champion Trevor Berbick, the latter held on the event demanding more money if they wanted him to face Nobuhiko, infuriating the UWF-i staff. From here, history becomes unclear about if Berbick had been too busy behaving obnoxiously to properly learn the ruleset or if they changed it on the fly to punish him, but anyway, kicks below the waist were legal. Unsurprisingly, when they got into the ring, Takada brutalized Trevor's legs with kicks and made him [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere literally run away from the ring]] for the trouble he had caused.

** As RIZIN features women's mixed martial arts, he will call a variation of his PRIDE opening line like "Tsuwamono-tachi yo, detekoi!" ("Strong ones, come out!").

* CombatPragmatist: His wrestling matwork, while scarce and simpler than other shooters's, was based around smart moves, looking for the opening, and taking what he could see rather than attacking and trusting on improbable counters just to keep the match moving along. The cross armbar was the hold he handled the best, so it was logically the only submission move he actively pursued when it was not safe.

* {{Determinator}}: Despite facing hopelessly superior opponents, and especially despite being increasingly bashed for his losses by the crowd which had always loved him, Takada did not give up fighting, knowing that PRIDE and the blossoming mixed martial arts needed him to stay afloat. He only retired when he was sure PRIDE would live after without him. He even tried to set up a third fight with Rickson Gracie right after the second one.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: Takada was close friends with Wrestling/AkiraMaeda, who became a BigBrotherMentor-like figure for him in the NJPW dojo. The duo became distanced after the fall of UWF Newborn, as they took separate and frequently opposing ways, but they were not against doing press conferences together once in a while.

* TheAce: As a pro wrestler, that Takada climbed to the top of some major promotion was merely a matter of time since he debuted. He was insanely athletic and handsome, had a ton of charisma both in and out of the ring, and although not a matwork technician, he could work great matches regardless of his opponent. Even if his career was quite impressive for its short length, some believe he was ultimately a huge waste of talent for not sticking to traditional pro wrestling.

* AuthorAppeal: Seemed to have a thing for booking himself against legit amateur wrestlers, as in UWF Newborn and UWFI he faced Wrestling/BobBacklund, Wrestling/GaryAlbright, Wrestling/DanSevern, Salman Hashimikov, Victor Zangiev, Dennis and Duane Koslowski, among others. Coincidentally, although he did not book it, he faced Mark Kerr and Mark Coleman in MMA. It's sure to state that, either in works or shoots, Takada has shared rings with some of the freaking best amateur wrestlers of his time.

* BarBrawl: An anecdote tells how Takada and boxing champion Hidekazu Akai got drunk in a bar and brawled with each other to extenuation. The two woke up next morning covered in bruises and [[WhatDidIDoLastNight with no knowledge they did the previous night]], and when they were told about the quarrel, they both found it incredibly funny. There is also a similar story with [[Wrestling/TheGreatMuta Keiji Mutoh]], whose enmity with Takada was known in the entire NJPW Dojo, and another telling has an immensely wasted Takada getting knocked out by some famous Kyokushin karateka.

* BlatantLies: Generalissimo Takada claimed not to be the same person as Nobuhiko Takada, but a long time friend of his who shared his last name. Of course, nobody actually bought it, not even in-universe. Ogawa rarely mentioned it, as he was the kind of opponent who didn't care about such things, but Kawada joked about it more than once.

* BrokenPedestal: Milder example. As a child, Nobuhiko was a fan of baseball player Shigeo Nagashima, and he actually wanted to pursue a career in baseball, but after Nagashima retired, he felt disillusioned and turned to pro wrestling.

* CoolTeacher: Unlike most of the trainers from the U-system, Takada has always been regarded as a gentle, reasonable teacher, completely unrelated to the sadistic Sayama or the brutal Suzuki. He has been praised both by teammates and patrons of the Takada Dojo. It has been stated that this is one of the reasons why most of the Newborn roster stuck with him to form UWFI, instead of Maeda with RINGS or Fujiwara with PWFG.
* CowardlyLion: He was visibly scared for real when he fought Rickson Gracie for the first time, but as the first page quote notes, the fact he fought him tells a lot.

* DanceBattler: Sometimes did the UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli dance circling before setting up his kicks.

* DissonantSerenity: He always kept a calm face while countering and reversing holds in pro wrestling, as opposed to the frantic grappling which was more common.

* {{Face}}: As shoot wrestlers didn't use to be gimmicky, Takada wasn't a picture perfect hero, but was massively popular thanks to his badassery and poise.
* FakeUltimateHero: UWF International was claimed to be a shootfighting company, so when Takada debuted in mixed martial arts, Japanese people expected him to being the best in the world like he had been in pro wrestling. Unfortunately, he couldn't live it up.

** In the same line, he is considered the Beauty to [[BeautyBrainsAndBrawn Sayama's Brains and Maeda's Brawn]].
* GameBreakingInjury: In kayfabe, he broke [[Wrestling/BigVanVader Super Vader's]] arm with a cross armbar. In reality, he almost broke his legs. ([[DontExplainTheJoke Joke explained]]: Vader himself said he could barely walk the week after their match due to Takada's brutal stiff kicks.)

* HardWorkHardlyWorks: According to some of his peers, in his early career he was well aware of his lack of fighting experience and worked hard in developing his shooting skills with Fujiwara and Maeda and later his striking skills under various boxing and UsefulNotes/MuayThai coaches in order to [[CantCatchUp catch up with them]]. Unfortunately when he became the head of UWFI, he started training a lot less due to his protected and relaxed position and by the time it came to fight Rickson Gracie, he didn’t stand a chance.
* HenpeckedHusband: Funnily enough, he has this reputation in Japanese pop culture towards his wife Aki Mukai. It's said she got incredibly angry on him when she discovered Takada's shoot-style matches were actually worked, and it took a lot of effort for him to appease her.

* HeroicSacrifice: It's sure to say that, had not Takada sacrified his own career and popularity to build PRIDE, the MMA landscape would be vastly different and possibly much smaller today than it is.

-->'''Takada:''' Ogawa, Hashimoto, you bunch of {{Hikikomori}}, what do these looks mean? Do you all come from a {{Cosplay}} party?

* MuscleAngst: The not enough muscle variation. When he first started at the New Japan Dojo he had to work hard to gain weight and was given a quota each month and if he couldn’t clear it, they would kick him out. Thankfully he managed to do so.

* SelfParody: His Generalissimo Takada persona was a spectacular parody of his own career: a resourceful leader, always clad in purple, obssessed with destroying traditional professional wrestling on behalf of mixed martial arts/shoot-style. His posterior abandonment of MMA mooks for traditional pro wrestlers also reflects that Takada himself had stopped fighting in MMA and returned to pro wrestling in HUSTLE to fight fire with fire.

** His Generalissimo persona was primarily based on Yasunori Kato from ''Literature/TeitoMonogatari'', in attire (they both wore a military uniform with a cap), character arcs (Kato was a former Japanese Imperial sorcerer bent on destroying Japan on behalf of dead indigenous people, while Takada was a former pro wrestler bent on destroy pro wrestling on behalf of MMA), allies (both had weird yet powerful henchmen and a PerkyFemaleMinion, Yinling in Takada's case and Hong Feng in Kato's) and powers (Takada had a few of Kato's magical powers, like throwing energy blasts, creating and manipulating lifeforms, and a limited brainwashing/hypnotic ability).

* FrickinLaserBeams: One of the Generalissimo's powers, and they had many effects, including healing injured wrestlers or boosting up their strength.

* {{Determinator}}: Despite facing hopelessly superior opponents, and especially despite being increasingly bashed for his losses by the crowd which had always loved him, Takada did not give up fighting, knowing that PRIDE and the blossoming mixed martial arts needed him to stay afloat. He only retired when he was sure PRIDE would live after without him.

* CoolTeacher: Unlike most of the trainers from the U-system, Takada has always been regarded as a gentle, reasonable teacher, completely unrelated to the sadistic Sayama or the brutal Suzuki. He has been praised both by teammates and patrons of the Takada Dojo.

[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/takada.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:240:The Esperanza of Pride.]]

* AuthorAppeal: Seemed to have a thing for booking himself against legit amateur wrestlers, as in UWFI he faced Wrestling/GaryAlbright, Wrestling/DanSevern, Salman Hashimikov, Victor Zangiev, Dennis and Duane Koslowski, among others. Coincidentally, although he did not book it, he faced Mark Kerr and Mark Coleman in MMA. It's sure to state that, either in works or shoots, Takada has shared rings with some of the freaking best amateur wrestlers of his time.

** In PRIDE, he proclaimed "Otoko no nakano otoko tachi, detekoi yatsu!" ("Men among men, come out!") to open events, and used "Otoko da!" ("You are a man!") when complimenting someone.

* VerbalTic: During his active MMA career, he used to state "I am a pro wrestler" or some variation at least once in every interview, often to make a point.

->''"Men among men, STAND UP!"''

* CatchPhrase: In PRIDE, "Otoko da!" ("You are a man!") and "Otoko no nakano otoko tachi, dete koiya" ("Men among men, stand up!). In HUSTLE, "Bad luck!" in GratuitousEnglish, generally when finishing a speech against the HUSTLE Army.

** In pro wrestling, Shiro Koshinaka, [[Wrestling/TheGreatMuta Keiji Mutoh]], Wrestling/GaryAlbright, Wrestling/ShinyaHashimoto and Wrestling/NaoyaOgawa.

* [[ArrogantKungFuGuy Arrogant Shoot Wrestling Guy]]: His persona during the invasion of New Japan and later in UWF International.

* HeAlsoDid: In addition to his wrestling career, Takada also [[CelebrityVoiceActor voiced]] Syndrome in the Japanese dub of ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles''.

-->'''Kawada:''' You talk a lot, Takada, but you don't look precisely better than us. Isn't that general wannabe uniform of yours a cosplay too? \\

-->'''Ogawa:''' Takada, you won't stop looking people down from high places, will you?\\

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: [[PurpleIsPowerful Purple]], reflected in his trademark tights and boots. Even today, purple is still strongly associated to Takada in the puroresu world.

* MrFanservice: Was very popular with the female crowd, to the extent he received chocolate at St. Valentin Day from fans. Commentator Ichiro Furutachi even compared him to Creator/JamesDean.

'''Nobuhiko Takada''' (born April 12, 1962) is a retired UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts fighter, best known for his role in the existence of PRIDE and the Japanese MMA boom. He debuted in 1981 for Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling and competed as a promising rookie, acting as Wrestling/AntonioInoki's assistant and replacing [[Wrestling/SatoruSayama Tiger Mask]] in a high-level event in Canada. Eventually he left with Wrestling/AkiraMaeda, Sayama and other wrestlers to form Wrestling/UniversalWrestlingFederation, pioneering the realistic shoot-style wrestling. Upon his return to New Japan, he and Maeda figured as the young leaders of the shoot movement, gaining the IWGP Tag Team Championship with him and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight (and later IGWP Heavyweight Championship) himself. They left again to form the second UWF, in which he was a main star until the promotion's demise. Then Takada founded the Union of Wrestling Forces International and made himself Japan's top badass, giving legendary matches against Wrestling/GaryAlbright and [[Wrestling/BigVanVader Super Vader]]. His star began to fade when he was forced to take part in a hopeless MMA feud against Rickson Gracie, which killed UWF International, but it gave birth to PRIDE Fighting Championship and the rest of global MMA ventures in Japan. After an ill-fated fighting career, he was appointed as PRIDE general manager and became its main executive figure along with Nobuyuki Sakakibara up to PRIDE's closure. Around this time, he also helped to found the over-the-top promotion Wrestling/FightingOperaHUSTLE, where he portrayed the promotion's villain Generalissimo Takada until the character's death in 2009. Currently, Takada works as a matchmaker and spokesperson for Rizin Fighting Federation.

'''Nobuhiko Takada''' (b. 1962) is a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts fighter, best known for his role in the existence of PRIDE and the Japanese MMA boom. He debuted in 1981 for Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling and competed as a promising rookie, acting as Wrestling/AntonioInoki's assistant and replacing [[Wrestling/SatoruSayama Tiger Mask]] in a high-level event in Canada. Eventually he left with Wrestling/AkiraMaeda, Sayama and other wrestlers to form Wrestling/UniversalWrestlingFederation, pioneering the realistic shoot-style wrestling. Upon his return to New Japan, he and Maeda figured as the young leaders of the shoot movement, gaining the IWGP Tag Team Championship with him and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight (and later IGWP Heavyweight Championship) himself. They left again to form the second UWF, in which he was a main star until the promotion's demise. Then Takada founded the Union of Wrestling Forces International and made himself Japan's top badass, giving legendary matches against Wrestling/GaryAlbright and [[Wrestling/BigVanVader Super Vader]]. His star began to fade when he was forced to take part in a hopeless MMA feud against Rickson Gracie, which killed UWF International, but it gave birth to PRIDE Fighting Championship and the rest of global MMA ventures in Japan. After an ill-fated fighting career, he was appointed as PRIDE general manager and became its main executive figure along with Nobuyuki Sakakibara up to PRIDE's closure. Around this time, he also helped to found the over-the-top promotion Wrestling/FightingOperaHUSTLE, where he portrayed the promotion's villain Generalissimo Takada until the character's death in 2009. Currently, Takada works as a matchmaker and spokesperson for Rizin Fighting Federation.

!!! "Tropesperanza":

* RealSongThemeTune: "Training Montage" from ''Film/RockyIV''.

* TheAce: As a pro wrestler, that Takada climbed to the top of some major promotion was merely a matter of time since he debuted. He was very athletic and knockout handsome, had a ton of charisma both in and out of the ring, and although he was not a matwork technician, he could still work great matches with everybody. Even if his career was quite impressive for its length, some believe he was ultimately a huge waste of talent for not sticking to traditional pro wrestling.

* TheNicknamer: He was fond of insulting nicknames during trashtalks, since his UWF days, in which he called Kazuo Yamazaki "Yama-chan." His tenure in HUSTLE only increased it, as [[Wrestling/NaoyaOgawa Naoya "Chicken" Ogawa]] and [[Wrestling/ShinyaHashimoto Shinya "Pork" Hashimoto]] can testify.

* PaperTiger: Few would argue that, even being a poor shooter, Takada looked ''really'' badass both in his wrestling matches and the way he conduced himself. It's no wonder the Japanese audiences believed to the root that he could face any fighter in the world.

* [[RealMenLoveJesus Real Men Love Buddha]]: Was sometimes seen praying in backstage vignettes, and it was rumored than he placed pieces of paper with Buddhist prayers written on them on his trunks.

* RedBaron: Actually many. "Saikyo" ("The Best in the World"/"The Strongest"), "Heisei no Kakuto O" ("The Fighting King from Heisei"), "Wagamama na Hikazoku" ("Egoist Kneecap") and "Seishun no [[GratuitousSpanish Esperanza]]" ("The Hope of the Youth").

'''Nobuhiko Takada''' (b. 1962) is a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts fighter, best known for his role in the existence of PRIDE and the Japanese MMA boom. He debuted in 1981 for Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling and competed as a promising rookie, acting as Wrestling/AntonioInoki's assistant and replacing [[Wrestling/SatoruSayama Tiger Mask]] in a high-level event in Canada. Eventually he left with Wrestling/AkiraMaeda, Sayama and other wrestlers to form Wrestling/UniversalWrestlingFederation, pioneering the realistic shoot-style wrestling. Upon his return to New Japan, he and Maeda figured as the young leaders of the shoot movement, gaining the IWGP Tag Team Championship with him and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight and later IGWP Heavyweight Championship himself. They left again to form the second UWF, in which he was a main star until the promotion's demise. Then Takada founded the Union of Wrestling Forces International and made himself Japan's top badass, giving legendary matches against Wrestling/GaryAlbright and [[Wrestling/BigVanVader Super Vader]]. His star began to fade when he was obliged to take part in a hopeless MMA feud against Rickson Gracie, which killed UWF International, but it gave birth to PRIDE Fighting Championship and the rest of MMA ventures in Japan. After an ill-fated fighting career, he was appointed as PRIDE general manager and became its main executive figure along Nobuyuki Sakakibara. He also founded the over-the-top promotion Wrestling/FightingOperaHUSTLE, where he portraited the promotion's villain Generalissimo Takada until 2009. Currently, Takada works as a matchmaker and spokesperson for Rizin Fighting Federation.

* TheAce: As a pro wrestler, he had athleticism, charisma and credibility, and on top of all he was knockout handsome. That he climbed to the top of some major promotion was a matter of time.

* ArchEnemy: In pro wrestling, Shiro Koshinaka, [[Wrestling/TheGreatMuta Keiji Mutoh]], Wrestling/GaryAlbright, Wrestling/ShinyaHashimoto and Wrestling/NaoyaOgawa. In real life, if you are reading an interview with Enson Inoue in which he doesn't diss out Takada at all, it is probably apocryphal.

* AuthorAppeal: Seemed to have a thing for booking himself against legit amateur wrestlers; in UWFI he faced Wrestling/GaryAlbright, Wrestling/DanSevern, Salman Hashimikov, Victor Zangiev, Dennis and Duane Koslowski, among others. Coincidentally, in MMA he faced Mark Kerr and Mark Coleman. It's sure to state that, either in works or shoots, Takada has shared rings with some of the freaking best amateur wrestlers of his time.

* BadassBoast: The generalissimo launched one of those at the ending of every HUSTLE event, but his introduction was specially memorable.

* CatchPhrase: In PRIDE, "Otoko da!" ("You are a man!") and "Otoko no nakano otoko tachi, dete koiya" ("Men among men, stand up!). In HUSTLE, "BAD LUCK!" in GratuitousEnglish, generally when finishing a speech against the HUSTLE Army.

** His Generalissimo persona was primarily based on Yasunori Kato from ''Literature/TeitoMonogatari'', in attire (they both wore a military uniform with a cap), character arcs (Kato was a Japanese-trained sorcerer bent on destroying the capital of Japan on behalf of dead indigenous people, while Takada was a former pro wrestler bent on destroy pro wrestling on behalf of MMA), allies (both had weird yet powerful henchmen and a PerkyFemaleMinion, Yinling in Takada's case and Hong Feng in Kato's) and powers (Takada had a few of Kato's magical powers, like throwing energy blasts, creating and manipulating lifeforms, and a limited brainwashing/hypnotic ability).

* ButForMeItWasTuesday: Invoked and capitalized on. After negotiations with Wrestling/NaoyaOgawa to fight Takada fell off, PRIDE management thought of making Takada publicitly challenge Ogawa while doing commentary for the second fight between Sakuraba and Wanderlei Silva, hoping it would lead Naoya to accept. However, knowing it would be useless again against the stubborn Ogawa, Takada took over the decision, and instead challenging the judoka, he proclaimed Ogawa was nothing and that he wanted to fight a real opponent in form of Mirko Filipovic. This secured another big bout for PRIDE and damaged Ogawa's reputation.

* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: With independence from his grappling skills, Takada had certifiedly some of the strongest kicks seen in Japan at the time. He once got his kicks checked in a Japanese TV science show and it gave crazy lectures, supposedly stronger than [[BatterUp baseball bat swings]]. His opponents in pro wrestling got giant bruises after one or two of his kicks, and even in MMA you can see him kicking Mark Kerr only once and making his thigh turn purple and red. One wonders WhatCouldHaveBeen had he pursued a career in kickboxing.

* FingerGun: Generalissimo Takada utilized the hand sign to perform his supernatural powers, which was called ''bitan''. The Esperanza's version, on the other hand, was basically [[Manga/YuYuHakusho Yusuke Urameshi]]'s Reigan: a deadly spiritual laser which secured an OneHitKill upon impact.

* HeroKiller: As The Esperanza, who destroyed Wrestling/HardGay and TAJIRI and killed Yinling.

** His mixed match with Trevor Brebick ended with Takada kicking Brebick's legs until he [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere literally run away from the ring]].

** His MMA career may have been a disaster, but he once had a mixed match against boxing champion Trevor Brebick (one of the few guys to beat UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli), who [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere literally ran away from the ring]] without throwing a single punch after Takada kept kicking his legs and one kick to his head.

** The military uniform he wore as Generalissimo Takada, though, was a departure from Kato, as it was actually identical to the one worn by Leader Dessler from ''Anime/BattleshipYamato''.

* CatchPhrase: In PRIDE, "Otoko da!" ("You are a man!") and "Otoko no nakano otoko tachi, dete koiya" ("Men among men, stand up!). In HUSTLE, "BAD LUCK!", generally when finishing a speech against the HUSTLE Army.

* CowardlyLion: He was visibly scared for real when he fought Rickson Gracie for the first time, but as the first page quote notes, the fact he got to fight him tells a lot.

* SelfParody: His Generalissimo Takada persona was a parody of his own career, out to rid the world of professional wrestling for shootfighting's sake. His posterior abandonement of MMA mooks for traditional pro wrestlers also reflects that Takada himself had abandoned MMA and shoot-style for the kind of thing he was doing in HUSTLE.

** The Generalissimo was also a blend of anime villains, as he had [[Literature/TeitoMonogatari Yasunori Kato]]'s powers, [[Manga/RikiOh General Washikazi]]'s mannerisms and [[SpaceBattleshipYamato Dessler]]'s attire.
** His ''bitan'' laser was likely a reference to the ''reigan'' from ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''.
* ShockingDefeatLegacy: His loss before Rickson Gracie.

* StartMyOwn: Co-founded UWF-i and founded Wrestling/{{HUSTLE}} and the MMA promotion, PRIDE. Despite the three promotions having a wild amount of success, all of them are currently defunct.
* StrongAsTheyNeedToBe: His style never focused in strength, but during a match in WAR, he bodyslammed [[Wrestling/JohnTenta Earthquake]] as if nothing.