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Characters / Battlarts

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https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battlarts.PNG
Battlarts Never Die!

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    Battlarts natives 

Michiya Chiba

Kazumasa Fujimoto

Ryō Hasegawa

  • I Know Karate: Along with shoot wrestling at the Battlarts dojo, B-Club. He also competed in Sambo.

Ikuto Hidaka

Ryuji Hijikata

  • Early-Installment Weirdness: In his early career, he wore long pants with a martial art belt as his wrestling attire. He abandoned it for wrestling trunks with knee and shin guard boots.
  • Everyone Went to School Together: Was a senior to Naomichi Marufuji at Saitama Rong High School.
  • Due to the Dead: His uncle was the one that encouraged him to pursue pro wrestling, but he died a few days before Ryuji made his debut. So Ryuji promised to win a title belt and visit his uncle's grave to thank him, and did so after winning AJPW's World Junior Heavyweight Championship on April 29 2008.
  • I Have Many Names: Has wrestled as Ryuji Hijikata and Toshizo. His real name is stated to be Takayuki Yagi.
  • I Know Judo: In high school.
  • Red Baron: "Ke Geki Senshi" ("Fierce Warrior"), "One Man Shinsengumi", "Urami Shinsengumi" ("Shinsengumi of Hatred")
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Left Battlarts in 2001 as he never reached top status there and joined All Japan Pro Wrestling full time.
  • Shrinking Violet: Is said to be quite shy in real life.
  • The Worf Effect: Was badly worfed by Tiger Mask IV in a Vale Tudo rules fight.

Setsu Iguchi

Hideya Iso

  • I Know Karate: Along with shoot wrestling at the Battlarts dojo, B-Club.

Satoshi Kobayashi

Tomoya Miyashita

  • I Know Karate: A 10 year Judo practitioner before his MMA training with Battlarts. He later transferred to the Power Of Dream gym.
  • Name Order Confusion: He puts his birth name first instead of the usual way Japanese names are written by having their surname first.
  • Red Baron: "DEEP no Kubigari King" ("DEEP Neck Hunting King").

Kentaro Nakamura/Urban Ken

Nagatoshi Nakamura

Tetsuya Nishi

Daisuke Noguchi

Takahiro Oba

"Stop me if you've heard this one: Takahiro Oba was a shoot-style professional wrestler who was pushed into MMA by his management in BATTLARTS. He wasn't very good at it, made three Pride appearances—all losses—and went on to retire with a losing record of 5-7-1, with only one victory coming against an opponent with a winning record. He was a brawler with a slight background in judo, and drew upon this and his shoot-style training for a modicum of defensive grappling, but his primary skill as a fighter was 'is tough'. Oh, and because it was Pride, his successful record against nobody meant he of course wound up in over his head: His most visible appearance came at Pride: Bushido 6, wherein the 3-3-1 Oba, fresh off his first-round TKO of the 0-0 Kenichiro Shinohara, was matched against the 21-7-1-1 Denis Kang, the heavyweight champion of Spirit MC and future Pride Welterweight GP finalist. It went exactly as well as you are thinking. It wasn't his first run-in with trauma above his skill level, either: He'd go on to fight and lose regularly on the regional circuit, getting choked out by Cyrille Diabate and TK Oed by James Te Huna, which finally ended his career. He returned to shoot-style wrestling, and did so for another four years before retiring from that, too."
— A profile of Oba from a Fire Pro Wrestling user CarlCX from https://steamcommunity.com

  • The Apprentice: To Alexander Otsuka and was his sparring partner and usual second for his MMA fights.
  • Cool Teacher: Was briefly a trainer at Takada Dojo.
  • Determinator: Was thrown into MMA fights by Battlarts for some reason. Despite his limited training, he managed a short career of 5 wins, 7 losses, and a draw.
  • I Know Judo: Has some training in it.

Mamoru/Tamashii Okamoto/Mr Sakai

  • Canon Immigrant: Was originally from FMW before coming to Battlarts.
  • Cool Teacher: Became an amateur wrestling trainer at the Battlarts Dojo when he retired from wrestling.
  • I Know Karate: A Kyokushin black belt and participated in the 1994 All Japan Championships, and also trained in amateur wrestling at the Animal Hamaguchi Dojo.

Keisuke Ōnuma

Tsubakichi Sansyu

  • Early-Bird Cameo: He never wrestled in Battlarts but did train at its dojo. He did later wrestle for the Battle Arts promotion though.
  • I Know Karate: Along with shoot wrestling at the Battlarts dojo, B-Club.

Daisuke Satō

  • I Know Karate: Along with shoot wrestling at the Battlarts dojo, B-Club.

Manabu Sato/Hara/Suruga

Ryōta Sasaki

  • Bash Brothers: He joined up with Setsu Iguchi to form a MMA team called Badass 13.
  • I Know Karate: Trained in Judo before he trained at the Battlarts dojo B-Club.

Munenori Sawa

  • Affectionate Parody: His Lingerie Mutoh gimmick is one to Keiji Mutoh. As Lingerie Mutoh, Sawa dressed in a bald cap, fake facial hair and women's lingerie and adopted all of Keiji Mutoh's signature moves and mannerisms, often performing them in an exaggerated manner for comedic effect. He also played Lee Ranjei, a Chinese version of the persona for Dramatic Dream Team’s New Beijing Pro Wrestling events.
  • Bash Brothers: With Ikuto Hidaka.
  • Cool Teacher: Is a qualified kindergarten teacher.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: Was in an amateur match at a Battlarts show in 1998. He also fought at a Kingdom Ehgeiz show in 2002.
  • I Know Karate: Along with shoot wrestling at the Battlarts dojo, B-Club. He also trained in Catch Wrestling and MMA at the UWF Snake Pit (now known as the CACC Snake Pit Japan).
  • Insistent Terminology: His style is not shoot-style, but Bati Bati (バチバチ, which effectively is not pure shoot-style, but mixed with lucha libre and regular puroresu). Though he is obvously not the only wrestler who uses it, he is the only on them who insists in using the name.
  • I Was Beaten by a Girl: Was beaten by Yoshiko in his Lingerie Mutoh gimmick.
  • Jobber: Was one for his first 2 years in Battlarts. He then Took a Level in Badass and became one of their main stars.
  • Minored In Ass Kicking: Won a Combat Wrestling tournament in 2005 and after retiring from pro wrestling, he has competed in grappling matches for the ZST promotion.
  • Red Baron: "Bati Bati Prodigy", "Puroresu Daidogeijin" ("Pro Wrestling Street Performer").
  • The Rival: Had a year long rivalry with Alexander Otsuka.
  • Undying Loyalty: To Battlarts and retired a few days after Battlarts had its final show in 2011.
  • Would Hit a Girl:
    • Has wrestled Kana in a rather one-sides beatdown.
    • He also worked several intergender matches alongside and against Awesome Kong and also wrestled World Wonder Ring Stardom representative Yoshiko in Pro Wrestling ZERO1 as Lingerie Mutoh.
    • Sawa also made several appearances for women's wrestling promotion Ice Ribbon against female wrestlers like Makoto, Miyako Matsumoto, Hikari Minami, and the promotion's founder Emi Sakura.

Tadashi Sawaura

  • I Know Karate: Along with shoot wrestling at the Battlarts dojo, B-Club.

Toshio Soranaka

  • Cool Teacher: A fitness instructor since 1995 and has his own gym, Kuga Trainer's Room.
  • I Know Karate: Along with shoot wrestling at the Battlarts dojo, B-Club.
  • Red Baron: "Kuga".

Hironori Takeuchi

  • I Know Karate: Along with shoot wrestling at the Battlarts dojo, B-Club.

Kenji Takeshima

Junji Tanaka/junji.com/Mach Junji

  • Cool Teacher: Works as a trainer for Kyushu Pro Wrestling. He is also a former high school mathematics teacher.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: He actually passed the entrance test in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but for some reason never debuted there and instead went to Battlarts.
  • Fundoshi: Has wrestled in one.
  • I Have Many Names: Has wrestled as Animal Junji, Hakata Yamagasa Junji, junji.com, Junji Inazuma, Junji Tanaka (his real name), Lightning Junji, Mach Junji, Texas Arahohshi Hakata Yamagasa Junji.
  • I Know Judo: As well as Sambo. He also has MMA training under Dieusel Berto.

Masaharu Tanikawa

Ryūji Walter

Hironobu Yamashita

  • Cool Old Guy: Competed in a MMA match at the age of 40.
  • I Know Karate: Placed 3rd in All Japan Wrestling Masters and also learned shoot wrestling at the Battlarts dojo, B-Club.

Hideo Yamazaki

  • I Know Karate: Along with shoot wrestling at the Battlarts dojo, B-Club.

Keita Yano

  • A Day in the Limelight: Won the 2009 B-Rule Tournament.
  • The Apprentice: To Yuki Ishikawa. He also received training under Joe E. Legend, Negro Navarro and Tom Prichard.
  • Authority Equals Ass Kicking: Was put in charge of Pro Wrestling WALLABEE since 2010.
  • Cool Teacher: Head trainer at the Pro Wrestling WALLABEE dojo.
  • I Have Many Names: Has wrestled as Brody Boy, KEITA in THE °C, KEITA in THE House*, Keita Kenta, and Keita Yano.
  • I Know Amateur Wrestling: As well as shoot wrestling at the B-Club.
  • I Know Madden Kombat: Yano is a fan of soccer, having played the game with some success in high school.
  • Insistent Terminology: Yano unified the WALLABEE TV Championship with the Capture International and Ricky Fuji Aggressive World Heavyweight Championships, creating what he referred to as the "Indie Triple Crown".
  • I Was Beaten by a Girl: On April 8, Yano took part in a ten-minute, six-person battle royal for the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship. Towards the end of the match, Yano pinned Kana to win the title, however, just twenty seconds later, Kana rolled him up to regain the title.
  • Power Stable: Crying Wolf in Dramatic Dream Team.
  • Promoted Fan Boy: Yano cites Kendo Kashin as his main influence in wanting to become a wrestler himself. He later also became a fan of Bruiser Brody, adopting many of his in-ring mannerisms, including his signature "huss" chant, while also billing himself from Detroit, Michigan, Brody's hometown. Yano has wrestled as both "Kendo Ke Ita" and "Brody Boy" in honor of his idols.
  • Red Baron: "Ankoku Kakumei Ōji" ("Dark Revolution Prince"), "Dramatic no Ikari no Futten", "Young Crying Wolf".
  • Shout-Out: Named two of his signature moves after Swedish soccer players Freddie Ljungberg and Henrik Larsson.

Yūta Yoshikawa

    Battlarts gaijins 

Joe Basko

Pequeño Guerrero

Viktor Krüger

"Once you enter the ring you enter a totally different world with its own rules and laws. Actually it is most fun you can have without going to jail."

Rastaman

George Silva/Terzis

Mick Tierney

    Battlarts joshi/Queen Bee 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/queen_bee_3.PNG
A Missed Opportunity

Kana

Chie Ishikawa

Miho Miyauchi

Chihiro Oikawa

Akino Ryoko

Mayumi Tamura

Rikako Yuasa

    Other wrestlers and figures 

Carlos/Rieko Amano

  • Action Girl
  • The Apprentice: To Mayumi Ozaki.
  • Game-Breaking Injury: Retired from professional wrestling on April 15, 2015 due to damage to her brainstem.
  • Guest Fighter: From JWP Joshi Puroresu.
  • I Have Many Names: Has wrestled as A-BOY, Carlos Amano, Kamen Tenshi Freya, and Reiko Amano.
  • Minored In Ass Kicking: Has a MMA victory against Yoko Takahashi at the Central Martial Arts Association (CMA): Octagon Challenge December 8, 1997 event, though it was because Takahashi was disqualified for illegally soccer kicking her in the head.
  • Red Baron: "Ten Chin" ("Heaven").

Andy Anderson

Hideo Arai

  • The Man Behind the Man: Is the chairman of Alpha Japan Promotion, the management team behind the political careers of Atsushi Onita and The Great Sasuke, and as the management of behind their promotions.
  • The Nicknamer: Was the one that came up with name Battlarts for the promotion.
  • Non-Action Guy: Was a wrestling promoter, not a wrestler himself.

Marty Asami

Mohamed Azzaoui

  • Boxing Battler
  • Guest Fighter: Appeared at the Battlarts vs The World event in a Different Styles Fight against Yuki Ishikawa, which he won.
  • I Know Boxing: Represented Algeria at the 2000 Summer Olympics, is a multiple time gold medalist in amateur boxing and was a pro boxer with a record of 26 wins, 8 losses and 3 draws. He also tried Kickboxing with K-1, but after 3 losses he went back to boxing.
  • Scary Black Man: From Mostaganem, Algeria.
  • Shout-Out: Fought in Battlarts under the name Muhammad Ali.

Asian Cougar

Ricky Banderas

  • The Apprentice: To El Mecanico.
  • Cool Teacher: Trained Mr. Pleasure, Sweet Nancy and Xix Xavant.
  • Guest Fighter: From the International Wrestling Association (Puerto Rico).
  • I Have Many Names: Has wrestled as Asesor Cibernético, Gilbert el Boricua, TNA's Judas Mesias, El Mega Campeon de AAA, El Mesías, Mil Muertes, Muerte Cibernética, and Ricky Banderas. His real name is Gilberto Cosme Ramírez.
  • Masked Luchador: As Muerte Cibernetica.
  • Red Baron: "El Mesias", "El Patriota", "Shi no Gaikotsu Kamen" ("Death Skeleton Mask").

Black Sakai

Bloody Blues A

Bloody Blues B

Mike Bourke

"One of the first prominent superheavyweights of MMA was Mike "The Rhino" Bourke, a 6'0" meat-mountain who fluctated between 270 and 300 pounds. He'd played football for most of his life, sniffed the NFL but never quite made it in, and found his MMA calling when a friend invited him to a judo class and dumbfounded him by repeatedly submitting him despite being outweighed by nearly 100 pounds. Bourke decided the whole fighting thing was something he needed to know about. And in the world of regional, turn-of-the-century superheavyweight mixed martial arts, being big, strong and fearless was enough to get you somewhere... but somewhere is not really very far, especially when you never actually take those judo classes. Bourke fought almost the entirety of his career in the King of the Cage promotion—he fought at the very first-ever KOTC show, in fact—and most of that career is hallmarked by his propensity for charging recklessly forward and losing in comical ways. Steve Treadwell knocked him out in eleven seconds at KOTC 1, Shungo Oyama knocked him out in seventeen seconds at KOTC 7 (in an outdoor event in the middle of a downpour while they were constantly falling down—seriously, look it up, it's like watching a cartoon in real life), Tank Abbott knocked him out in twenty-nine seconds at Wargods, and most famously, Alexander Otsuka beat him at Pride 11 by double armbar, a submission so incredibly unlikely a lot of people still think it was fixed. Bourke achieved the one true feather in his cap in his very last fight in 2010, TK Oing a 46 year-old Ken Shamrock entering his third decade in combat sports. He retired at 10-16-1-1. While he may not have picked up many accolades in the sport, he was one of KOTC's better draws, and regional MMA owes him a debt for his years of suffering. Thank you, Rhino. Your rain-slickened knockout will live on in youtube fame forever."
— A profile of Bourke from a Fire Pro Wrestling user CarlCX from https://steamcommunity.com

Rey Bucanero

  • The Apprentice: To El Hombre Bala, Pirata Morgan, El Verdugo, El Satánico, and Franco Colombo.
  • Cool Teacher: Trained El Capo del Norte.
  • Guest Fighter: From CMLL.
  • I Have Many Names: Has wrestled as El Hatena Dos, El Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Hulk, Rey Bucanero, Rey Bucanero Jr., and Rey Ortiz. His real name is Arturo García Ortiz.
  • Masked Luchador: Was originally one, until 1999.
  • Pirate: His ring name means ""Buccaneer King".
  • Red Baron: "El Pirata", "Pirata Ortiz", "Pirata de Pandemonium", "Corsario del Amor", "El Rey de los Siete Mares".
  • Wrestling Family: Is part of the Pirata Luchador Family. He is the cousin of El Corsario, Drone, El Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Pirata Morgan Jr., India Sioux #2, Morgana, and Perla Negra, the nephew of El Hombre Bala, India Sioux, La Marquesa, Pirata Morgan, and El Verdugo, and is also the husband of La Diabólica.

Caribbean Invader

Caribbean Invader #2

Negro Casas

  • Alternate Company Equivalent: Is referred to by American fans as the "Ric Flair of Mexico" and by Japanese fans as "Mexican Riki Choshu".
  • The Apprentice: To Pepe Casas, Raúl Reyes, Rodolfo Ruíz, and Tony Sugar.
  • Cool Teacher: Has trained many guys like Canelo Casas, Centauro, Chris Jericho, Cinthia Moreno, Dalys la Caribeña, La Flecha, Heavy Metal, Hornet, Konnan, El Mephisto, Noris, Pentagoncito Black, Pequeño Cochisse, Príncipe Negro, Ramstein, Ricky Marvin, Ricky Reyes, Rocky Romero, Sangre Azteca, Tiger and El Veneno.
  • Do Not Call Me "Paul": His real name is José Casas Ruíz.
  • Expy: He is one to Riki Choshu as he was impressed by him when he first came to Japan. He grew his longer hair to match his, started wearing black wrestling short tights, and used the Scorpion Deathlock and lariat as Finishing Moves.
  • Guest Fighter: From CMLL.
  • Kayfabe: As a child, he and his brothers often sat at ringside during their father's matches, pretending to be upset or cry whenever their father looked like he was getting beat up in the ring, a ploy that their father had taught them to help gain crowd sympathy.
  • Legacy Character: Started his career as Pepe Casas Jr.
  • Power Stable: La Peste Negra and Los Revolucionarios.
  • Red Baron: "El 4:40", "Kuro Onikozō" ("Black Demon Boy").
  • Ring Oldies: In his 60s and still wrestling.
  • Traumatic Haircut: Has lost his hair in matches about 8 times.
  • Worthy Opponent: With El Hijo del Santo.
  • Wrestling Family: Is part of La Dinastia Casas ("The Casas Dynasty"), He is the son of Pepe Casas, the father-in-law of As Charro and Psycho Clown, the cousin of Black Star, the son-in-law of Chacho Medina, the husband of Dalys la Caribeña, the brother of Felino and Heavy Metal, the father of Noris, the uncle of Puma King, Canelo Casas, Danny Casas, Rocky Casas, Nanyzh Rock, Destroyer, and Tiger and the brother-in-law of El Veneno and Princesa Blanca.

Cola Kid

Chad Collyer/Malenko

Curry Man

Tommy Diablo

Dos Caras

  • The Apprentice: To Gori Medina and Rafael Salamanca.
  • Cool Mask: A colorful mask with a figure of a two headed eagle on it.
  • Cool Teacher: Trained Alberto Del Rio, Black Man Jr., Bobby Lee Jr., Cuervo and El Sicodélico Jr.
  • Guest Fighter: From AAA.
  • Jack of All Stats: Mixed the lucha libre style of wrestling with a more mat-based, American wrestling style.
  • Masked Luchador
  • Overshadowed by Awesome: His brother Mil Mascaras is way more popular than Dos Caras ever was, though he is considered "the greatest heavyweight ever to come out of Mexico" by author James Molinaro.
  • Red Baron: "El Two Faces", "Pepe", "Asuka Kamen" ("Flying Bird Mask").
  • Ring Oldies: In his 60s and still wrestles on occasion.
  • Ur-Example: He is the creator of the Dos Caras Clutch, a Hammerlock head scissors pinning combination.
  • Wrestling Family: Is the father of Alberto Del Rio and El Hijo de Dos Caras, the brother-in-law of Black Gordman, the uncle of El Hijo del Sicodélico and El Sicodélico Jr, and the brother of Mil Máscaras and El Sicodélico.

Dos Caras Jr

Hidetomo Egawa

F.A.B.

Fantastik

Fugaz

  • The Apprentice: To Memo Díaz, Negro Casas, Potro Salvaje, and Tony Salazar.
  • Cool Mask: Started with one, until he lost it. He started wearing one again when he switch to his Ramstein identity, then lost it again in 2015.
  • Dramatic Unmask: Lost a Luchas de Apuesta to Enemigo Publico and was forced to remove his mask. He experienced it again in 2015 when he and Cholo lost to El Soberano Jr and Star Jr.
  • Guest Fighter: From CMLL.
  • Masked Luchador: Was one until he lost his mask. Became one again as Ramstein.
  • Shout-Out: His Ramstein name came from the band, Rammstein.

Minoru Fujita

Gulliver X

  • Bash Brothers: With his real brother George Takano, as well Hiro Saito as the Calgary Hurricanes.
  • Guest Fighter: From Michinoku Pro Wrestling.
  • I Have Many Names: Has wrestled as Giant Dos Caras, Giant Zebra, The Great Zebra, Gulliver X, Kenji Takano, Shunji Takano (his real name), Super Ninja.
  • I Know Boxing: Has some training under Katsuo Tokashiki at the Tokashiki Boxing Gym.
  • Masked Luchador: As Gulliver X, Super Ninja, and The Great Zebra.
  • Pirate: His gimmick as Gulliver X.
  • Red Baron: "Norainu" ("Stray Dog"), "Ningen Bazūka" ("Human Bazooka")
  • Start My Own: Co-founded Network of Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Crusaders.
  • Wrestling Family: Is the brother of George Takano, better known as The Cobra.

Gulliver XX

Kayoko Haruyama

  • Action Girl
  • The Apprentice: To Devil Masami.
  • Guest Fighter: From JWP Joshi Puroresu.
  • I Have Many Names: Has wrestled as Haruyama Jijo, Kayoko Haruyama, Kayoko Haruyama wearing Gym Clothes, Kuangtung Yuki Miyazaki, Kyoko Inoue-chu, Nise Kuragaki, Nise Kyoko Inoue, and Santa Haruyama.
  • Lovely Angels: With Tsubasa Kuragaki as Harukura, and with Aoi Kizuki as Orange Happy.

Maya Hashimoto

Hayabusa

  • The Ace: Of FMW after Onita retired.
  • The Alcoholic: Turned to drinking himself to sleep when his injuries began mounting up.
  • Alliterative Name: His real name is Eiji Ezaki.
  • Animal Motifs: His ring name means "Peregrine Falcon".
  • The Apprentice: To Rey Misterio Sr, Takashi Ishikawa, Último Dragón, and Tarzan Goto. He was also Atsushi Onita's main assistant.
  • Ascended Fan Boy: Was a fan of Mil Mascaras and Satoru Sayama growing up. He even met Mil during his learning excursion in Mexico. Ironically, he was not impressed with Atsushi Onita as a junior heavyweight, who would later become his boss.
  • Badass Long Robe: Wore a happi, which is a Japanese robe for his entrance. The first one he wore was gifted from his parents, it was estimated to cost a couple $10,000 yen ($100 USD) bills.
  • Bash Brothers: With Jinsei Shinzaki, Mr Gannosuke, and Masato Tanaka.
  • Broken Ace: One of the most tragic examples ever in pro wrestling, he put his body through hell for FMW, ended up paralyzed for the rest of his life and even considered suicide at one point.
  • Combat Commentator: Worked for Dragon Gate as a color commentator as a favor to his friend Dragon Kid.
  • Cool Mask: A half mask that covered the bottom half of his face. He even came up with the design.
  • Cool Teacher: Trained the luchador Dunkel and Masaki Okimoto, better known as Rasse.
  • Dented Iron: Even before his accident, he had to change his lucha libre style to a more mat-based style due to the many injuries he suffered.
  • Determinator: Wrestled with multiple injuries during almost the whole year of 1995 and refused to take a break so that FMW would thrive as he believed it was his responsibility as "The Ace of FMW".
  • Establishing Character Moment: His match with Jushin Thunder Liger in the first round of the 1994 Super J Cup.
  • Evil Makeover: As H, with a complete makeover of colored hair, a tattooed chest and jeans. Exaggerated as The Darkside of Hayabusa.
  • Game-Breaking Injury: Suffered a career-ending injury in October 22 2001 when he attempted a springboard moonsault off the middle rope and lost footing, landing on his head, cracking two of his vertebrae and leaving him paralyzed.
  • Guest Fighter: From FMW.
  • The Heart: Of FMW.
  • Hidden Depths: Pursued a career as a singer after retiring from wrestling and has released three solo albums (one posthumously), an album with Dragon Kid, and an album with Koji Nakagawa and Masahiko. In May 2005, he performed a play called The Shinichi Amano Story at the Tokyo Shinjuku Theater. He portrayed the main character's best friend Fuyuki Hayato, an injured air pilot soldier in World War II, who is wheelchair-bound. His performance was given positive reviews.
  • Hope Spot: By 2015, Ezaki had regained the use of his legs and could stand on his own and walk with a cane. He died less than a year later.
  • I Have Many Names: Has wrestled as The Dark Side of Hayabusa, Eiji Ezaki, H, and Hayabusa.
  • I Know Judo: A black belt.
  • Important Haircut: Dyed his hair as part of his "H" gimmick and later had to cut a large portion of it as the dye was killing his hair.
  • Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Grew and kept his hair long and was considered very attractive to the female fans. FMW President Shoichi Arai wrote in his book that the real reason that Onita sent Ezaki to Mexico was because they would go out after shows and since Ezaki was Onita's assistant he would always come with him and all the girls would over to Ezaki instead of Onita.
  • Manly Tears: Was prone to crying backstage after important matches.
  • Masked Luchador: One of the best Japanese examples.
  • Never Be Hurt Again: Was bullied in school for sucking in baseball, until a friend of his suggested he quit baseball and take up Judo.
  • Ninja: Said the design of his mask is a mixture of a ninja and a bird since he wanted to be flying like a bird could.
  • Odd Friendship: With Mike Awesome in real life. He also was for some reason The Sheik's favourite of the FMW trainees and allowed Eiji to call him "Papa Sheik".
  • Red Baron: "The Phoenix", "The Falcon", "The Flying Assassin".
  • Refusal of the Call / Undying Loyalty: Due to his impressive talent, he received offers with better salaries from New Japan Pro-Wrestling and WWE, which could have driven him to success but he rejected all those offers out of loyalty to FMW.
  • Shout-Out: Part of his mask was based on Magna illustrator Shotaro Ishinomori's Henshin Ninja Arashi.
  • Spot Monkey: Has been accused of this at times.
  • Start My Own: Founded a FMW Spin-Off called Wrestling's Marvelous Future.
  • Ur-Example: He was the innovator of Falcon Arrow and Phoenix Splash and also popularized the Firebird Splash, which would become famous in North America as the 450° splash.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: With Jushin Thunder Liger, they were close friends since 1994. The two had a falling out in 1996 after Ezaki turned down a deal with NJPW, but they mended their friendship in 2005.

Chin'nen Hokkai

Tomoaki Honma

  • The Apprentice: To Animal Hamaguchi and Keiji Mutoh.
  • Bash Brothers: With Togi Makabe and Kazushi Miyamoto.
  • Cool Mask: As Makai Masked Canadian.
  • Determinator
  • Domestic Abuse: In November 2015, Honma's former girlfriend of 18 years, fellow professional wrestler Kiyoko Ichiki, accused him of domestic violence over the past four years. Honma denied the accusation, instead claiming that he was abused by her and stating that he was seeking legal action against her for trying to damage his career.
  • Finishing Move: Turmeric Clutch, Kokeshi and Pillar Crash.
  • Friend to All Children: Paid a visit to Tokyo’s National Center for Child Health and Development on January 12 2018 on behalf of NJPW to present the facility with a donation, while under going rehab from his own spinal injury.
  • Garbage Wrestling: Started out his career in BJW's deathmatch division. He had tried to enter New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Michinoku Pro Wrestling before that though.
  • Guest Fighter: From Big Japan Pro Wrestling.
  • Hidden Depths: He was originally a garbage wrestler that eventually developed into a solid and highly charismatic wrestler, sometime also unheard of. He also once owned a bar called "Cele Brity".
  • Jobber: In NJPW, the only time he seems to wins is against Young Lions or as part of a tag team.
  • Nice Guy: Is reportedly one of the nicest, down to earth guys that you can find in real life.
  • Pet the Dog: Has two dachshunds.
  • Power Stable: Makai Club and G.B.H.
  • Red Baron: "The Innovator of Lighttube Deathmatches", "The Kokeshi", "Husky Honma", "The Magician of The Apron", "Min'na no Kokeshi" ("Everyone's Kokeshi"), "Rodjiura no Zassō" ("Back Alley Weed"), "Shatei Kongu" ("Little Brother Kong"), "Gekikara Tonpachi" ("Spicy Tonpachi").
  • Ricky Morton: Usually in tag teams with Makabe.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Beat Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows with Togi Makabe to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship in Wrestle Kingdom 2016.
  • Ur-Example: Was the first wrestler to use a lightube in a match, an item that has since become synonymous with deathmatch wrestling worldwide.
  • Use Your Head: His sick looking Flying Headbutt which he has even done on an opponent lying on the floor.

Flying Kid Ichihara

Nagaharu Imai

Kazuhiro Ishioka

Ryuji Ito

  • The Ace: His first reign as BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Champion is the longest reign until now with 850 days, holding the titles for almost three years.
  • Animal Motifs / Dragons Up the Yin Yang
  • Bash Brothers: With Masashi Otani as Dragon & Diamond.
  • Blind Without 'Em: Wears contact lenses when he wrestles and wears glasses in real life.
  • Conspicuous Gloves: Wore fully covered gloves as part of his wrestling gear.
  • Garbage Wrestling: Another Big Japan wrestler that is well known for his death matches.
  • Guest Fighter: From Big Japan Pro Wrestling.
  • He Also Did: Appears as himself in the video game Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood and also appears as himself alongside Daisuke Sekimoto, Abdullah Kobayashi, Takashi Sasaki and Jaki Numazawa in the 2006 movie Dirty Sanchez: The Movie. Ito and the other wrestlers perform wrestling moves on the three main cast members.
  • I Have Many Names: Has wrestled as Antony Ito, Cordelia Ito, Death Match Dragon Panda, Dragon Hiryu, Jumbo Ito, Jumping Dragon Ito, Liu Bei Ito, Macbeth Ito, Macduff Ito, Oriental Dragon, Roku-chan, and Ryuji Ito.
  • I Know Boxing: Trained in high school.
  • Red Baron: "The Death Match Dragon".
  • Shout-Out: He based his gimmick on Liu Kang from Mortal Kombat, which basically makes Ito a Bruce Lee Clone.
  • Wrestling Family: Is the husband of joshi wrestler and referee Nikkan Lee.

Quinton Jackson

"My name's been Rampage since I was a little kid. Growing up, I had the worst temper on the planet. It's still pretty bad, now, if I lose it. But, I've learned better to control it. I feel like God made me to be a fighter: my big neck, my thick chin, my lower legs and the power I generate. My career is fighting; I love what I do."

  • 10-Minute Retirement: On September 22, 2009, Jackson wrote in a blog on his website that he was "done fighting", due to maltreatment by the UFC. On December 4, 2009, Jackson informed the community via his web blog that he would return to the UFC to finish his contract and wanted to fight Rashad Evans.
  • The Apprentice: To Tito Ortiz, Lewis Rumble, Juanito Ibarra, Lance Gibson, and Bobby Rimmer.
  • Arch-Enemy: Wanderlei Silva. Silva previously beat Jackson twice in PRIDE, though Jackson got his revenge at UFC 92 in 2008 and evened the score with him at Bellator 206 in 2018.
  • Blood Knight: Makes no secret that he loves fighting.
  • Chain Pain: Wore a steel chain around his neck during his entrances. He calls it The Rumble Chain and said that he started wearing it in high school when his little brother said to wear it for good luck in his amateur wrestling matches and also told him it might intimidate some of his opponents.
  • Cool Teacher: Has his own MMA school, Rampage Fitness Academy. He also was a coach on The Ultimate Fighter Seasons 7 and 10.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Sold drugs from a young age and was involved in many street fights.
  • Disappeared Dad: His drug-addicted father disappeared when Jackson was only 10 years old, before returning to his life in 2003.
  • Establishing Character Moment: His Pride 15 against Kazushi Sakuraba. He lost due to a rear naked choke from Sakuraba, but captivated the Japanese fans with his exciting performance and also gained their respect and admiration for his valiant effort against a much more experienced opponent.
  • Foe Romance Subtext: Taken to a logical extreme by Jackson and Rashad Evans in a conference call for their UFC 114 main-event clash, both whom eventually lampshaded how homoerotic their trash talk had become:
    Rampage: I bet you'd get an [expletive] from that.
    Rashad: I probably will. But it'll be okay, 'cause it'll be in your mouth.
  • Good Old Fisticuffs: Was one of the hardest punchers in the sport and is the only guy to have knocked out Chuck Liddell twice.
  • Groin Attack: Was disqualified in his fight with Daijiro Matsui for this.
  • Guest Fighter: Was brought in for a PRIDE rules fight against Alexander Otsuka representing PRIDE.
  • He Also Did: Played Bosco Albert Baracus in the The A-Team and has appeared in other films and tv shows.
  • Hero Killer: Has beaten guys like Alexander Otsuka, Yuki Ishikawa, Masaaki Satake, Igor Vovchanchyn, Kevin Randleman, Mikhail Ilyukhin, Murilo Bustamante, Chuck Liddell, Ikuhisa Minowa, Ricardo Arona, Murilo Rua, Hirotaka Yokoi, Matt Lindland, Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Lyoto Machida, Matt Hamill, Muhammed Lawal, Satoshi Ishii, etc.
  • Hidden Depths: His original dream was to be a pro wrestler, that or a stuntsman or firefighter.
  • I Know Karate: Trained a bit with Jacob Noe, though was mostly known for his amateur wrestling career in high school and college and also has training in boxing, Kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
  • Metronomic Man Mashing: Is well known for slamming his opponents and his body slam has knocked out guys like Ricardo Arona.
  • Minored In Ass Kicking: Won a kickboxing bout against Cyril Abidi in K-1 in July 2002, later that year Abidi wanted to prove that his loss to Jackson was a fluke, and faced him on the New Year's Eve Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye card, again under K-1 rules, and lost again.
  • Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.
  • One of Us: He is an avid gamer, and streams in his free time on the streaming site Twitch.tv.
  • Real Men Love Jesus: A born-again Christian.
  • Red Baron: "Rampage", "Kairiki U. S. Maddo Doggu" ("Monster Power U.S. Mad Dog").
  • Scary Black Man: Was probably the first MMA fighter to overtly cultivate the trope with a "street thug" persona, which included wearing an industrial chain as a necklace and swearing profusely during interviews. He softened his image somewhat after his religious reawakening, but revived it when feuding with Muhammad "King Mo" Lawal and "Sugar" Rashad Evans, both rival African-American wrestlers.

Tony Jones

  • The Apprentice: To his amateur wrestling coach Lars Jensen. He trained under Michael Modest, Dwayne Bruce, Terry Taylor, and Tom Prichard for pro wrestling.
  • Cool Teacher: Served as an assistant coach for the San Francisco State University wrestling team before his graduation in 1995.
  • Fun with Acronyms: Has wrestled as HTK, which originally meant Hard To Kill, though he later stated that it stood for Honor, Truth, & Knowledge.
  • Genius Bruiser: Has a bachelor arts degree in broadcasting and electronic communication arts and a minor in speech communication arts.
  • Guest Fighter: From All Pro Wrestling.
  • He Also Did: Appeared in Beyond the Mat.
  • I Know Amateur Wrestling: An accomplished wrestler, he was an 8 time Bay Area Freestyle Champion, a 7 time Bay Area Greco-Roman Champion, was a nationally ranked contender in NCAA collegiate wrestling and was the NCAA Division II California Collegiate Champion in 1994; during this time, he defeated NCAA champion Stephen Neal and was in several tournaments with Kurt Angle, although the two never wrestled each other.
  • Leotard of Power: Usually wrestled in one.
  • Red Baron: "The Shooter".
  • Scary Black Man: As well as But Not Too Foreign, as his father was African-American while his mother was Japanese.
  • Suplex Finisher: Used a lot of suplexes due to his background.

Takeshi Kagino

Jun Kasai

  • Ax-Crazy: He certainly has the look down.
  • Body Horror: The things he has gone through throughout his career would have killed a lesser man, like when he took a bump onto a light tube board which ripped open his left elbow, exposing bone.
  • Bouncer: Once worked as a security guard before wrestling.
  • Cool Teacher: Was once a trainer at the BJW Dojo.
  • Garbage Wrestling: A very notable garbage wrestler, though he also has a good grasp of technical wrestling.
  • Guest Fighter: From Big Japan Pro Wrestling.
  • I Have Many Names: Has wrestledas Ape the Man, Brocken Jr, Edgar Kasai, Jun Kasai, Macduff Kasai, Nazo Fukumen KJ, and Romeo Kasai.
  • Japanese Ranguage: He states he is from "Hiladelhia, America".
  • Mean Character, Nice Actor: Aside from his in-ring personality, he is a noted to be a decent person in real life.
  • Odd Friendship: With Chris Hero.
  • Red Baron: "Kyosaru" ("Crazy Monkey"), "Deathmatch Charisma", "666", "Blood".

Kato Kung Lee Jr

  • Cool Mask
  • Guest Fighter: From Internacional Wrestling Revolución Grupo.
  • I Have Many Names: Has wrestled as Kato Kung Lee Jr, Kato Jr, and Kato Extreme. His real name is Johnny Lezcano Jr.
  • Masked Luchador
  • Minored In Ass Kicking: Subverted, he had a MMA match against Kazuki Okubo at a DEEP event and lost by armbar at about 3 minutes.
  • Wrestling Family: Is the son of the original Kato Kung Lee, his wife is luchadora Zuleyma and his sister-in-law is luchadora Miss Janeth.

Kaw*Kaw

Daiyu Kawauchi

Michael Kovac

"Formerly, the opinions were clear: Some saw only show, the other sick brutality. For me it's 80 percent sport and 20 percent show. You have to be able to do the sport first, then you can start entertaining the audience. We certainly do not fight for life and death, we are not gladiators or cage fighters. The most important thing is to entertain the audience."

  • The Apprentice: To Otto Wanz.
  • The Chessmaster: Is the booker for Verband der Berufsringer Top Catch.
  • Cool Teacher: Owner of the Powerplexx wrestling school in Vienna. He has trained wrestlers like Blaze, Captain Steve Swallow, Chris Colen, Chris Raaber, Coone, Damon Brix, Daniel Haas, Dragan Okic, Franz Dynamite, Ingo Vollenberg, J-Hawk, Julian Nero, Maximilian Bismarck, Mexx, Miguel Ramírez, Muslim Sultanov, Oliver Gratzer, Rachel Fire, Ragnar Alvarr, Robert Dreissker, Robert Ray, Sig Masta Rappo, Tom Hüttinger, Tommy Golden and Walter.
  • Do Not Call Me "Paul": His real name is Martin Hutter.
  • Foreign Wrestling Heel: From Austria.
  • Guest Fighter: From Catch Wrestling Association.
  • Red Baron: "Der Obermacker", "Shooter".
  • Start My Own: Co-founded European Wrestling Association and was a former booker.
  • Wrestling Family: His brother is pro wrestler Lexxus.

Tsubasa Kuragaki

Nobuyuki Kurashima

Tetsuhiro Kuroda

  • The Apprentice: To Atsushi Onita and Tarzan Goto.
  • Bash Brothers: With Masato Tanaka.
  • Cool Mask: As Kurodaman.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: Initially worked in low-card matches as an enhancement talent during his early years with FMW until he joined Atsushi Onita's ZEN faction in 1997, earning his first title shot at the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship and the FMW Independent Heavyweight Championship that December. He would remain a part of many factions throughout the late 1990s and began rising to the main event status, winning his first WEW Heavyweight Championship in 2000. By the end of the year, the underdog Kuroda established himself as the company's top villain and formed his own group Team Kuroda to feud with the company's top fan favorite Hayabusa. He headlined the company's flagship event FMW Anniversary Show in 2001.
  • Garbage Wrestling: Trained at the FMW Dojo, though he first started his pro wrestling training at the Pro Wrestling Crusaders Dojo.
  • Goofy Print Underwear: In his "Naked Man Death Match" against The Great Sasuke, he was revealed to have been wearing Hello Kitty boxers when Sasuke pulled his pants down.
  • Guest Fighter: From FMW.
  • Red Baron: "Saikō" ("The Best").
  • Start My Own: He promoted his first show called "Tetsuhiro Kuroda Festival" with himself putting up the finances and booking the show. He also promoted other shows under names like "Black Steel" and "Tetsuhiro Kuroda Productions".

Tomoko Kuzumi/Azumi Hyuga

Lyguila

Touradj Mansouri

Pablo Márquez

Kengo Mashimo

Masked Tiger #2

Rick Lee Mathis

MEN's Teioh

Mil Mascaras

"If it weren't for Mil Máscaras, there would be no Jushin Thunder Liger, no Último Dragón or The Great Sasuke today."
— Satoru Sayama

"He was the best competitor that I ever wrestled. He never gave you anything – it's true – but I didn't give him anything either. You talk about a shoot or a half-shoot, and that's the kind of match that it was."
— "The Destroyer" Dick Beyer

  • Acrofatic / Stout Strength: Far from fat, though his prime he was one of the few Mexican heavyweights, a division which in his time was dominated by foreigners.
  • Alliterative Name
  • The Apprentice: To Diablo Velazco and José Hérmes.
  • Arch-Enemy: Had quite a few over the years, like The Destroyer and El Canek.
  • Cool Mask: His ring name means "Thousand Masks". He was notable for being one of the first luchadors to use a different mask for each match.
  • Cool Teacher: Trained Bert Centeno, El Sicodélico and Trueno.
  • Defeating the Undefeatable: He almost never lost. It took guys like Lou Thesz to beat him cleanly.
  • Defictionalization: Mil Máscaras was originally created for movies but then became a real luchador.
  • Dramatic Unmask: Subverted, he often pull off a mask only to reveal another mask underneath and has never been unmasked in the ring.
  • Expy: Mil Máscaras was created for a movie when El Santo and Blue Demon wasn't available and then turned into a luchador by EMLL.
  • Foreign Wrestling Heel: Subverted, he was famous for being a foreigner in Japan and the USA that wasn't a heel.
  • Guest Fighter: Was semi-retired when he appeared in Battlarts.
  • Hidden Depths: Is an avid golfer and plays in many charity golf tournaments around the world, including annually at the Los Angeles Police Memorial Foundation Celebrity Golf Tournament. He is also an accomplished artist and cultural ambassador from his native country and has appeared on three of its postage stamps.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: Made a cameo at WWF's 1997 Royal Rumble match. He eliminated himself, diving off the top rope out of the ring onto Pierroth Jr, whom he himself had just eliminated. Such a move is common in lucha libre but it is technically a mistake in the Royal Rumble as it leads to elimination.
  • I Know Karate: As well as Judo, jiu-jitsu, Aikido, Kendo, and was an amateur wrestling candidate for the Mexican team (as well as the judo team) for the 1964 Olympic Games. In judo and jiu-jitsu, he notable trained under Mitsuyo Maeda student and pro wrestler Teizo Watanabe and also trained under Professor Toru Tanaka.
  • Jack of All Stats: He is legendary in Japan and the USA for showing off the high-flying style of lucha libre, while in Mexico he was more known as a mat-power wrestler who could also pull off the high-flying stuff.
  • Living Legend: Of Lucha Libre and is referred to as La Leyenda Viviente("The Living Legend").
  • Masked Luchador: One of the greatest ever.
  • Minored In Ass Kicking: Learned martial arts as a counter to shoot attempts, and recalls several wrestlers who tried to shoot on him and whom he had to legitimately submit.
  • No-Sell: Multiple wrestlers have publicly complained of Mascaras' unwillingness to sell moves and put opponents over.
  • Power Trio: Is considered one of the original "Big Three" of the lucha libre tradition in Mexico, the other two being El Santo and Blue Demon.
  • Real Song Theme Tune: "Sky High" by Jigsaw
  • Red Baron: "The Man of 1000 Masks", "Mr. Personalidad", "Sky High", "Sen no Kao o Motsu Otoko" ("Man of 1000 Faces"), "Kamen Kizoku" ("Masked Nobleman"), "Akuma Kamen" ("Devil Mask"),
  • Ring Oldies: In his 70s and still wrestles on occasion.
  • Secret Identity: Like most masked luchadores, he goes to great lengths to conceal his true appearance and personal life. His real name is Aaron Rodríguez Arellano.
  • Ur-Example: One of the first wrestlers to introduce the high-flying moves of lucha libre, such as the plancha and tope suicida, to Japanese fans. He is also the first masked wrestler to wrestle in Madison Square Garden.
  • Wrestling Family: Is the uncle of Alberto Del Rio, El Hijo de Dos Caras, El Hijo del Sicodélico, and El Sicodélico Jr, the brother-in-law of Black Gordman, and the brother of Dos Caras and El Sicodélico.

Tomoko Miyaguchi/Ran Yu Yu

Tomoya Miyashita

Yuki Miyazaki

  • Action Girl
  • The Apprentice: To Plum Mariko and Jaguar Yokota.
  • Cool Teacher: Trained Mika Iida.
  • Guest Fighter: From NEO.
  • I Have Many Names: Etsuko Miyazaki, Fake Haruka Matsuo, Fake Yuka Nakamura, Generalissimo Miyazaki, La Hechicera, Kyoko Inoue #6, Nise Azumi Hyuga, Pesadija Rocca, Police Wo~man, Yuki Miyazaki, and Yuki of Joytoy.
  • Red Baron: "Princess", "Namida" ("Tear"), "Tatakau Mashumaroman" ("Fighting Marshmallow Man").

Kanako Motoya/Kana Misaki

Takumi Murata

  • The Apprentice: To Yoshinori Nishi.
  • Canon Immigrant: Later became a regular Pancrase fighter.
  • Guest Fighter: Made only one appearance in Battlarts in an amateur grappling match against Tomoya Miyashita.
  • I Know Karate: Trained at the based Kudo-based Wajutsu Keishukai Tokyo gym.

Koji Nakagawa

  • The Apprentice: To Tarzan Goto and Atsushi Onita.
  • Badass Family: His daughter is J-Pop Idol Singer Haruka Nakagawa, a former member of the Japanese idol group, former captain of JKT 48's Team T and also former member of its sister idol group, AKB48 and its sub-unit, Watarirouka Hashiritai.
  • Blood Is the New Black: Started bleeding profusely in his matches after being forced to wear an item called the Belt of Curse by Onryō and eventually "died"
  • Cool Mask: He started to wear a half mask to hide the fact that half of his face was turning white during his feud with Onryō.
  • Cool Teacher: He became the head trainer at the FMW Dojo and trained guys like Chocoball Mukai, Garuda, Naohiko Yamazaki, Seiji Ikeda, Soldier, Sun Paul, Yasu Urano and Yoshihito Sasaki.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: After he "died" he returned as Onryō's mystery tag team partner on in a match against Shinjuku Shark and Naohiko Yamazaki, explaining he had also become a ghost and that they both had shared a bond in dying.
  • Garbage Wrestling: Trained at the FMW dojo.
  • Guest Fighter: From FMW.
  • I Know Amateur Wrestling: His scholastic years.
  • Just Like Robin Hood: His GOEMON persona was originally a thief character based of on the historic Japanese thief Goemon Ishikawa, who was basically the Japanese equivalent of Robin Hood.
  • Onryo: What his GOEMON persona became after he "died" after his feud with Onryō.
  • Red Baron: "Mr. Double Cross", "The Hitman".
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: He basically ripped off Bret Hart for his "Hitman" gimmick, wearing similar ring attire to Hart and receiving a theme song similar to Hart’s theme.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: With Onryō, they would feud at one time and team together in the next.
  • Wrestling Family: His wife is fellow FMW wrestler Yoko Ikeda.

Yuka Nakamura

Kaori Nakayama

Hayato Nanjo

  • The Apprentice: To Tarzan Goto.
  • Cool Mask: Many of his gimmicks used a mask.
  • Cool Teacher: Trained Fairy Nipponbashi.
  • Guest Fighter: From FMW.
  • I Have Many Names: Has wrestled as Akagi, Dark Ranger, Hayato Nanjo, "Kabuto" Beetle, Kabuto Daio Beetle, Mach Hayato, Masakazu Ueguri, Miracle Man, Miracle Red, Movie Version Kabuto Beetle, and Ushiwakamaru.
  • Start My Own: Founded the short-lived F-Spirit Fantasy Fighters and Kyoto Pro Wrestling promotions.

Naoki Numazawa

  • Cool Teacher: Was a trainer at Big Japan's Dojo.
  • Garbage Wrestling: Is famously associated with the style.
  • Guest Fighter: From Big Japan Pro Wrestling.
  • He Also Did: Appears as himself alongside Ryuji Ito, Abdullah Kobayashi, Takashi Sasaki and Daisuke Sekimoto in the 2006 movie Dirty Sanchez: The Movie. Numazawa and the other wrestlers perform wrestling moves on the three main cast members.
  • I Have Many Names: Has wrestled as Banquo Numazawa, Brahman Jaki, Director Numazawa, Juliet Numazawa, Kaijin HAGE, Kirari*Hikaru, Jaki Numazawa, Masked Holstein, Naoki Numazawa, NUMAZAWA, Numazawa Shocho, El Parientes de Numa, Shining Tiger, Siward Numazawa
  • I Know Judo: Before wrestling.
  • Red Baron: "Kokutenshi" ("Black Angel"), "Kokusenpuu" ("Black Whirlwind"), "Kichigai" ("Lunatic"), "Kamisama" ("God"), "Sukūruobudesu Kyōtō" ("School of Death Assistant Principal").
  • This Means Warpaint: Which covers half of his face.

Makoto/Sambo Oishi

Oyama American

Perseus

Amir Rahnavardi

"The most underserved field in MMA is that of the journeyman—everyone has to be The Best or A Bum or A Gatekeeper, very few can just be a journeyman fighter. Amir Rahnavardi is the platonic ideal of the MMA journeyman. He trained, but not with anyone notable. He fought across the world, but rarely at the big shows. He had a generic look, but a non-generic name. He lost every time he fought someone who mattered. His career lasted just barely over ten years, and ended at a nearly perfectly split 11-10. He was rarely a pushover, but never a threat. He never even had a nickname. The first and most famous fight of his professional career was at Pride 3 against Gary Goodridge, and it saw Goodridge laughing in Amir's face and openly mocking his punching power before knocking him out. But that does not stop a journeyman."
— A profile of Rahnavardi from a Fire Pro Wrestling user CarlCX from https://steamcommunity.com

Relay Shonen

Shannon Ritch

The Road Warriors

Acute Sae

SAITO

  • 10-Minute Retirement: Claimed to have retired in 28th October 2001 and stated that his first student, Super Shisa, would take his place. It was really just him in a mask.
  • Afro Asskicker: Pretty much SAITO's only characteristic was his poofy haircut.
  • Alliterative Name: As Super Shisa.
  • The Apprentice: To The Great Sasuke, Último Dragón and Dos Caras.
  • Ascended Extra: In Dragon Gate, after years of hanging out in the opening matches and rarely doing anything, in 2010 Shisa suddenly started winning matches. He took Magnitude Kishiwada's place in the Veteran Army and also participated alongside CIMA and Gamma in the interfed rivalry with Osaka Pro.
  • Brilliant, but Lazy: 'Lazy' isn't quite the right word for it, but part of Shisa's character is that he's just not that interested in being a front line competitor and prefers to focus on his job as a trainer for the Dragon Gate dojo - but if he's pushed hard enough he can be one of the best on the roster.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He's been entirely absent from the Dragon Gate cards since the start of 2016, minus three matches in May 2016. He appeared in September 2017 to explain that he'd opened a restaurant. He declared he was not retired, but not close to in wrestling shape, and he promised he'd work on that and try to wrestle more often - but before that he had to make tacos. He finally wrestled again in October 2018.
  • Cool Mask: As Super Shisa.
  • Cool Teacher: Is a trainer for the Dragon Gate Dojo.
  • Expy: A borderline parody/imitation of Tiger Mask as Super Shisa. He even uses moves like the Tiger Wall Flip.
  • Finishing Move: The Yoshi Tonic, a move he invented. It is said to have a near 100% success rate.
  • Guest Fighter: From Toryumon.
  • I Have Many Names: Has wrestled as SAITO, Super Shisa, and Yoshiyuki Saito (his real name).
  • Masked Luchador: As Super Shisa.
  • One-Hit Kill: His Yoshi Tonic finisher. Of course, the reason it didn't suffer from the So Last Season syndrome that most Dragon Gate finishers did is because Shisa didn't really get pushed a lot and rarely won matches.
  • Red Baron: "Ryukyu no Shishi" ("The Lion of Ryukyu").
  • Shout-Out: His gimmick as Super Shisa is inspired by the Ryukyuan Shisa, the guardian deity of his native prefecture Okinawa.
  • The Unreveal: For years it was believed that Shisa was actually SAITO (Yoshiyuki Saito, not to be confused with Ryo Saito and many other Saito-named wrestlers). Shisa denied it for years. He finally had to unmask during a match where he got cut on the forehead and needed to unmask to keep the blood out of his eyes. Turned out that yeah he was SAITO all along.
  • Ur-Example: He was the first Toryumon wrestler who intensively used the Mexican llave style, years before Toryumon 2000 Project came.

Mr. Sakai 01

Mammoth/Yoshinori Sasaki

"And thus, second from the bottom of Pride: The Best Vol. 1 you had Yoshinori Sasaki, who was vaguely more popularly known as Mammoth Sasaki, a regular fixture of Atsushi Onita's Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling—an organization that, despite the name, was actually a hardcore wrestling act, most famous for having the first exploding barbed wire deathmatch in pro-wrestling history. Sasaki won the tag and hardcore titles on several occasions, and still wrestles on and off—but somewhat awkwardly and entirely tragically, his primary note of wrestling fame comes not from his own career, but from being the other man in the ring in the match that saw top star Hayabusa paralyze himself off a botched moonsault. His success in FMW was notable enough to get him invited to Pride: The Best: In his youth he'd done some sumo, and that was just enough of a martial background for matchmakers to justify putting him up against South Korean heavyweight Jong Wang Kim. It's an incredible freakshow fight even by Pride standards: A 4-16 Pancrase jobber vs an 0-0 professional wrestler—in his wrestling gear—with no training of any kind. It shows, too: The two men awkwardly approach each other while windmilling their arms, Sasaki briefly shoves Kim into the ropes and wings wild, desperate punches in his general direction, and a stunned Kim wraps him up in a guillotine choke and submits him in twenty-five seconds. Sasaki would never fight again. It was probably the right call."
— A profile of Sasaki from a Fire Pro Wrestling user CarlCX from https://steamcommunity.com

  • The Apprentice: To Katsutoshi Niiyama. He was also Akebono's assistant in sumo.
  • Ascended Fan Boy: Was a FMW fan before he started training there.
  • Cool Teacher: Trained Yuko Miyamoto.
  • Game-Breaking Injury: He injured his right ligament and retired from sumo in November 1996 to train for a professional wrestling career.
  • Guest Fighter: From FMW.
  • I Have Many Names: Has wrestled as Big Kamui, Mammoth Sasaki, and Yoshinori Sasaki.
  • I Know Sumo Wrestling: Was a third-rank junior champion of sumo in his high school and began training to compete for a professional sumo career in 1990. He made his sumo debut in January 1993 and rose to the rank of sandanme in 1995. His overall career record of sumo was 57-52-31.
  • One-Steve Limit: Changed his ring name to Mammoth Sasaki to avoid confusion with other FMW wrestler Yoshihito Sasaki.
  • Red Baron: "Mezameta Mōjū" ("Awakened Beast").
  • Stout Strength: As a former pro sumo wrestler this was a given. He wasn't nicknamed Mammoth in the FMW Dojo for no reason.

Daisuke Sekimoto

  • The Apprentice: To Ryuji Yamakawa and Tomoaki Honma.
  • Authority Equals Ass Kicking: He is the managing director of Muscle Factory Gym at the BJW Dojo in Yokohama.
  • Bash Brothers: With Yuji Okabayashi, Abdullah Kobayashi, and Kazuki Hashimoto.
  • Cool Teacher: Trained Alpha Kevin, Ryuichi Kawakami, Shinya Ishikawa and Yuji Okabayashi.
  • Garbage Wrestling: Averted, despite coming from a promotion that is known for deathmatches, he prefers traditional wrestling matches.
  • Guest Fighter: From Big Japan Pro Wrestling.
  • Hidden Depths: Has a baseball background.
  • I Have Many Names: Has wrestled as Buffaloman, Chojin “Superman” Sekimoto, Daisuke Kanu, Daisuke Sekimoto, Kaizo Sekimoto, La*Panda #2, Macbeth Sekimoto, Mars Sekimoto, SEKIMOTO, Tybalt Sekimoto, and Volador Jr.
  • Pint-Sized Powerhouse: About 5ft 9 and is a powerhouse wrestler known to deadlift his opponents.
  • Red Baron: "Muscle Monster", "Nikutai Kyōki" ("Physical Weapon"), "Kairiki Musō" ("Matchless Strength").
  • Suplex Finisher: Uses a German Suplex as his Finishing Move.

Masaru Seno

Jinsei Shinzaki

Kazuhiko Shoda

Rambaa Somdet

Yoshito Sugamoto

Super Crazy

Super Tigerito #2

  • Guest Fighter
  • Jobber
  • Shout-Out: His ring name was taken from a Gran Hamada trainee from his Universal Lucha Libre promotion.
  • Unknown Character: No one seems to know who he is except that he wrestled against Gran Naniwa and Oyama American in Battlarts.

Yoshihiro Tajiri

Katsushi Takemura

Tetsuo Tanabe

Sadaharu Tanikawa

  • The Chessmaster: Is a Japanese combat sports promoter and was the president of Fighting and Entertainment Group, the sponsor company behind K-1, Hero's, Big Mouth Loud, Yarennoka!, and DREAM. He was also involved with the creation of the MMA promotion, Ganryujima.
  • Combat Commentator: Was a frequent commentator for MMA, kickboxing, and wrestling events.
  • Non-Action Guy: Though he is a martial arts critic and a long-time editor-in-chief of a martial arts magazine, he has no actual martial arts experience. Because of that, there are a lot of misleading comments and analysis in the fight commentary and the tournament summary.

Tanny Mouse

Masato Tanaka

TNT

  • Authority Equals Ass Kicking: Was the General Manager for the International Wrestling Association in Puerto Rico. He was also the Director of Operations of the World Wrestling League.
  • Bad Boss: As general manager of IWA Puerto Rico, he often threatened to fire wrestlers, and occasionally did so. He would "discipline" wrestlers by mugging them in a mob, while singing a traditional Puerto Rican bomba, Santa María. He also used his authority to award himself the IWA World Heavyweight Championship.
  • Catchphrase: "A mi manera o pa' la calle", (roughly, "My way or the highway") with he was the general manager of IWA Puerto Rico.
  • Cool Mask / Wearing a Flag on Your Head: When he first wrestled as the Caribbean Kid, he wore a mask that featured the Flag of Puerto Rico.
  • Cool Teacher: Trained guys like Apollo, Chotu, Escobar, Gilbert, Hades, Ivelisse Velez, Mr. Big, Pagal Parinda, Sami Zayn and Sebastián Guerra. He also trained wrestlers for TNA and its Spin-Off Ring Ra King.
  • Defeating the Undefeatable: Is credited with giving "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Dwayne Johnson their first singles losses in the WWF, shattering both of their undefeated records.
  • Guest Fighter: From IWA Puerto Rico.
  • I Have Many Names: Has wrestled as The Caribbean Kid, El Corsario, El Corsario #1, Hombre Dinamita, Kwang, Savio Vega, and TNT. His real name is Juan Rivera.
  • I Know Taekwondo: Has trained in it and uses it as part of his gimmicks. It was also one of the reasons he was included in the WWE Brawl for All.
  • Mean Character, Nice Actor: Is noted to be a very nice guy behind the scenes.
  • Ninja: As Kwang.
  • Power Stable: The Nation of Domination, Los Boricuas, La Corporación, and Los Auténticos.
  • Red Baron: "El Boricua Mayor", "Tio Savio", "Gerente General", "The Man They Call TNT", "The Mighty".
  • Ring Oldies: 54 years old and still wrestling.
  • Worthy Opponent: Said that his favorites to wrestle against were "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Goldust.
  • Wrestling Family: Is the brother of Dennis Rivera, who also wrestled as Dennis Rodríguez.
  • Wrestling Psychology: Once stated the kind of psychology that comes from taking in the crowd reaction and improvising in the match as it went on was lacking in TNA, where most wrestlers were under the impression the crowd should be ignored as much as possible. He cited his and Dutch Mantel's attention to this detail as the reason the Knockouts had the best rated segments on flagship show Impact, though he was more in charge of B Show Xplosion till Mantel's departure.

Dick Togo

  • The Apprentice: To Gran Hamada.
  • Big Bad: One for Michinoku Pro Wrestling.
  • Cool Teacher: Has trained wrestlers like Daisuke Sakurai, Daisuke Sasaki, Hiroshi Kozakai, Kazuyuki Hirahara, Koichi Nagari, Masayoshi Kusama, Naohiro Katsumi, Takashi Hirose, Takehito Kusaka, Tetsuya Nakazato, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Tomoya Sato, Yuki Sato, Yusuke Shimizu, and Yusuke Shiranami. He also opened a wrestling school in Vietnam, named Vietnam Pro-Wrestling Academy, which is affiliated with the first Vietnamese wrestling promotion ever, New Vietnam Prowrestling (NVP).
  • Guest Fighter: From Michinoku Pro Wrestling.
  • I Have Many Names: Has wrestled as Cancun, Dickomoto, Dick Togo, Duke Togo, Flash Dick, Francesco Togo, Francis Togo, Gantetsu, Gantetsu Sakigake, Kitano Inferno, Ninja Warrior, Prince Togo, P Togo, Revolucion, Rey Cubano, Roshi Togo, SATO, The Suiter, El Tigre de Tokyo. His real name is Shigeki Sato.
  • I Know Judo: Trained in high school.
  • Masked Luchador: As SATO.
  • Power Stable: A founding member of Kai En Tai. He was also a member of BWO Japan.
  • Red Baron: "Master of Wrestling", "Master of Senton".

Turtle Kamen

Uchujin Gray

  • Guest Fighter
  • Unknown Character: No one seems to know who he is except that he wrestled against Yuki Ishikawa, who wrestled as The Great Sasuke Tiga in Battlarts.

Greg Valentine

Willow the Wisp

Masashi Yamaguchi

Noboru Yamaguchi

Wally Yamaguchi

Ryuji Yamakawa

  • The Apprentice: To Kazuo Sakurada.
  • Combat Referee: Was a special guest referee in Wrestling New Classic.
  • Cool Teacher: Became a PE teacher after he retired from wrestling. He also has his own wrestling school
  • Cowboy: Had a cowboy gimmick, with blond hair, missing teeth and some scars.
  • Do Not Call Me "Paul": His real first name is Seiji.
  • Game-Breaking Injury: On 18 March 2001, after an accidental bump that caused a skull fracture when he hit the ground due to a power bomb, then fell into a coma and was out of action for several months. He later suffered a herniated disc with paralysis of the right side of the body in 2002 and these injuries would affect him for the rest of his career as he became a part-timer and then finally retired in 2012.
  • Garbage Wrestling: Was basically the top wrestler of a deathmatch promotion.
  • Guest Fighter: From Big Japan Pro Wrestling.
  • I Know Luta Livre: He traveled to Brazil to train under Marco Ruas and had his only MMA match losing to Bunsimma Roong at the Brazil Open of 1995.
  • Red Baron: "Mr Big Japan", "Fujishin" ("Unfriendly").

Kotetsu Yamamoto

  • Above the Influence: He once said in a tv program that he has never read or watched porn and never had an interest in it.
  • The Apprentice: To Rikidozan and was considered his last disciple. He later became one to Karl Gotch and Antonio Inoki.
  • Author Appeal: His teachings are called Kotetsu-ism by his students, which is just a mix of Gotch-ism, Inoki-ism, and his own ideas.
  • Badass Teacher: Was the main trainer of the New Japan Dojo since 1980 till his death.
  • Bash Brothers: With Kantaro Hoshino as the Yamaha Brothers.
  • Combat Commentator: Was notable for being the color commentator with Akira Fukuzawa in NJPW and was the first pro-wrestler to become a commentator in Japan.
  • Combat Referee: Has refereed a few New Japan matches.
  • Do Not Call Me "Paul": His real first name is Masaru.
  • He Also Did: Was also the General Manager of Planning and Advertising at NJPW, and was President and Representative Director of New Japan Pro-Wrestling Service.
  • Hidden Depths: He bought the first dojo ring for New Japan when it was in its infancy, he got the funds from sueing the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance and winning the lawsuit and 2 million yen. He is credited with creating New Japan’s lion logo.
  • Mean Character, Nice Actor: Outside the ring and dojo, he is said to be quite sociable and usually had lunch with the trainees and young lions to get to know them better.
  • Red Baron: "Ningen Bakudan" ("Human Bomb"), "Oni Kōchi/Gunsō" ("Demon Coach/Sergeant").
  • Respected by the Respected: Is respected by almost everyone that has trained under him.
  • Ring Oldies: Was a founding father of New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Was doing the same exercises and drills he instructs his trainees in while his 60s.
  • Sadist Teacher: Not unusual especially in Japanese pro wrestling, but he was described as being quite shinai-friendly.
  • Shout-Out: He was named "Kotetsu" by Toyonobori after Aizu-no-Kotetsu, a knight-errant from the 19th century.
  • Special Guest: Appeared in Battlarts as a commentator.
  • The Stoic: Was very serious when it came to wrestling and never smiled in the dojo.

Yellow Man

Kazuya Yuasa

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