History Wrestling / KojiKitao

* DoesNotLikeShoes: In his second wrestling tenure, he wore footguards as part of his gi.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: As the head of the Buko/Kitao Dojo, he was its most powerful (and largest) member.

* ActionDad: Had a daughter in 1995 during his wrestling and fighting career, and was by all accounts a loving father.

* TheAtoner: After his return to the ring as a martial artist (well, at least after the Takada match), atoning for his past bad behavior was Kitao's schtick both in kayfabe and real life, and reading some of his insight into it can be heartbreaking. He reportedly avoided all contact with his daughter's school, fearing she would be bullied if her classmates discovered her dad was the infamous disgraced yokozuna, and also banned her from doing martial arts like he did, as he believed upon his personal experience that they only caused trouble.

* FinishingMove: His first finisher was a running jumping leg drop a la Wrestling/HulkHogan. After returning from his hiatus, he replaced it with the Kitao Driller (a reverse piledriver) and stock martial arts techniques like armbars and kicks.
* TheGiant: He was quite tall for a Japanese and was still a superheavyweight, so he was the nearest to a native example.

* GracefulLoser: After he got shot on and knocked out cold by Wrestling/NobuhikoTakada, Kitao bowed to the crowd and shook hands with Takada despite the betrayal, surprising everybody who expected him to rightfully snap and start up a brawl.

* StartMyOwn: Promoted his own Buko Dojo events, which became a full blown promotion for a time.
* UnskilledButStrong: According to sumo pundits, he was a raw diamond: a sumotori with mad talent who might have been great with more discipline and training.

* BigFun: After Shinobu Kandori avenged her defeat against Svetlana Goundarenko (a sort of, given that it was a work), Kitao and his trainees got into the cage and he picked her up over his shoulder to parade her around, both laughing for the victory.

Koji Kitao (b. 1963-2019) was a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese sumo wrestler and {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er, as well as occasional UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts fighter. He started in the sport of sumo and performed well enough to be considered a top rookie, eventually rising to the status of ''yokozuna'' or great sumo champion at only 23, under the name of Futahaguro. However, the decision was badly seen by some pundits, and it did backfire when Kitao got involved in a scandal with his master and his wife, in which Kitao supposedly attacked them. He was expelled from the rank and left sumo altogether, deciding to move into professional wrestling after some TV activity. Kitao trained in Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling and debuted as a dubious but nonetheless hot prospect, receiving an unusual push. Then again, Kitao's short-temper got him against famous backstage bully Wrestling/RikiChoshu and he was fired from the company. Koji then fell into the promotion of his friend Wrestling/GenichiroTenryu, Super World of Sports, only to crash literally the entire company by causing a scandal with Wrestling/JohnTenta in which Kitao shouted wrestling was fake. This finally had Kitao out of the radar for a time, until he returned to the public life repenting for his past wrong decisions and having became a martial artist. Kitao had a dip in shoot-style in [[Wrestling/UniversalWrestlingFederation UWF International]] and reunited with Tenryu in his next company, Wrestle Association R. He also founded a dojo and competed in some MMA matches, and helped to draw for WAR until his retirement in 1998. Five years later, Kitao featured a shocking return to sumo when a fellow sumo investigated his case and concluded that Koji's master had exaggerated his misdeeds to get him fired for money affairs. Kitao then became a sumo trainer and stuck into the role until 2013, when his bad health forced him to retire.

On March 29, 2019, his wife announced that Kitao had died on February 10 from chronic renal failure at the age of 55. Kitao, who had lost his sight, part of his memory and the usage of his legs to diabetes years before, had tried to commit suicide several times in order to not be a load for his wife and daughter. The latter, as a curiosity, is stage actress Harune Yukishiro.

* AllLovingHero: Odd as it may sound, this was his character in WAR after his HeelFaceTurn: a honorable martial artist who had the utmost respect for their opponents, hated foul play and often berated his own tag team partners if they didn't behaved properly.

* AsHimself: As it can be imagined, his NJPW gimmick was based on Kitao's actual reputation, which unfortunately leaked into his wrestling career anyways.
* TheAtoner: After his return to the rings as a martial artist (well, at least after the Takada match), atoning for his past bad behavior was Kitao's schtick both in kayfabe and real life, and reading some of his insight on it can be heartbreaking. He reportedly avoided all contact with his daughter's school, fearing she would be bullied if her classmates discovered her dad was the infamous disgraced yokozuna, and also banned her from doing martial arts like he did, as he believed upon his personal experience that they only caused trouble.

* BoringButPractical: He used simple middle kicks and judo throws in NJPW, and after he became an outright martial arts wrestler, he also resorted to multiple low kicks to destroy his opponent's legs. It was not the flashiest offensive, but it got his opponent down more times than not.

* FinishingMove: His first finisher was a running jumping leg drop a la Wrestling/HulkHogan. After returning from his hiatus, he replaced it with the Kitao Driller (a reverse piledriver) and stock martial arts moves like armbars and kicks.

* GracefulLoser: After he got shot on and K.O.ed by Wrestling/NobuhikoTakada, Kitao bowed to the crowd and shook hands with Takada despite the betrayal, surprising everybody who expected him to (now rightfully) snap and start up a brawl.

As usual, you can find the basics at [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koji_Kitao The Other Wiki]].

On March 29, 2019, his wife announced that Kitao had died on February 10 from chronic renal failure at the age of 55. Kitao, who had lost his sight, part of his memory and the the usage of his legs to diabetes years before, had tried to commit suicide several times in order not to be a load for his wife and daughter. The latter, as a curiosity, is stage actress Harune Yukishiro.