The Triple Crown Championship is an accomplishment in professional wrestling. It is a distinction made to a professional wrestler who has won three specific championships. National promotions that officially recognize Triple Crown winners include World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and Ring of Honor (ROH); as well as the defunct World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The three titles typically feature two levels of singles championships (a primary and secondary singles title) and a tag team championship. Pedro Morales was the first to accomplish this feat.

World Wrestling Entertainment[link]

CM Punk, the fastest to win the WWE Triple Crown.

In World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly known as World Wrestling Federation) the term Triple Crown Champion has traditionally been used to describe a wrestler who has won the WWE Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, and the World Tag Team Championship.^[1] For a span of nearly eighteen years, from 1979 up through 1997, these were the three championships of the company, and a competitor who had won all three championships (not necessarily concurrently) was considered a "Triple Crown Champion."^[1][2]

CM Punk holds the record for completing the Triple Crown Championship in the shortest amount of time between the first and third title. It took him 203 days between June 2008 and January 2009. This broke Diesel's previous record of 227 days set in 1994, which is notable as Diesel had only been with the company for a year and a half at the time.^[3][4]

Following the brand extension in 2002, the World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Tag Team Championship became alternate titles that can compose part of the Triple Crown. WWE has yet to officially declare the WWE United States Championship to be an acceptable substitute for secondary championships in order to complete the Triple Crown. Current WWE wrestlers who are one title away from a Triple Crown include:

• Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston, Santino Marella, and William Regal all need a primary (WWE or World) championship.
• John Cena, The Miz, Mick Foley and The Undertaker all need the Intercontinental Championship.

List of WWE Triple Crown Champions[link]

The following is a list of WWE Triple Crown Champions with dates indicating the wrestler's first reign with the respective championship.

World Championship Wrestling[link]

Bret Hart, the first wrestler to win both the WWE and WCW Triple Crown

The World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Triple Crown consisted of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship and the WCW World Tag Team Championship.^[8][9]

List of WCW Triple Crown Champions[link]

Extreme Championship Wrestling[link]

Rob Van Dam, the only wrestler to win both the WWE and ECW Triple Crown

The Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) Triple Crown consisted of the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, the ECW World Television Championship and the ECW World Tag Team Championship.^1[10]

List of ECW Triple Crown Champions[link]

1 ^ All of ECW's Championships are now defunct.

2 ^ Won title as part of WWE's ECW brand.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling[link]

In Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), the TNA Triple Crown was an accolade bestowed upon those who won (not necessarily concurrently) all three championships regularly contested in TNA between 2002 and 2007 - the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the TNA X Division Championship and (one-half of) the NWA World Tag Team Championship.^[11]

In May 2007, TNA lost the rights to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Tag Team Championship and introduced the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and the TNA World Tag Team Championship. On July 8, 2007, TNA stated that, should the then-TNA X Division Champion Samoa Joe win the TNA World Tag Team Championship, this would leave him "just one step shy of becoming only the second Triple Crown Champion". This indicates that the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and the TNA World Tag Team Championship are part of the existing Triple Crown accolade.^[12]

Current TNA wrestlers who are one title away from a Triple Crown include:

• Eric Young, Douglas Williams, Chris Sabin, Christopher Daniels, Kid Kash, and Kazarian all need the TNA World Championship (as the NWA World Title is no longer under TNA control).
• Sting, Bobby Roode, and James Storm need the X Division Title (which now has a 225 lb. weight limit).

List of TNA Triple Crown Champions[link]

Kurt Angle, the only wrestler to win both the WWE and TNA Triple Crown

The following is a list of TNA Triple Crown Champions with dates indicating the wrestler's first reign with the respective championship. Under TNA's definition of the Triple Crown Championship, wrestlers are eligible to be a multiple Triple Crown champion each time they complete a new circuit. To date only A.J. Styles has won the TNA triple crown on more than one occasion (four times).

Ring of Honor[link]

Eddie Edwards, the first ROH Triple Crown winner

The Ring of Honor (ROH) Triple Crown consists of the ROH World Championship, the ROH World Tag Team Championship and the ROH World Television Championship. ROH also accepts the (now defunct) ROH Pure Championship as an alternative for the TV Title to qualify for their version of the Triple Crown.

Current ROH wrestlers who are one title away from the Triple Crown include:

• El Generico needs a ROH World Championship reign.
• Davey Richards and Kevin Steen need the TV Title.

List of ROH Triple Crown Champions[link]

See also[link]

• Grand Slam Championship

References[link]

The term Triple Crown is often used to describe the act of winning or completing the three most difficult or prestigious events in a given field:

• Triple Crown of Alpine Skiing
• Major League Baseball Triple Crown
• Triple Crown (basketball)
• Triple Crown of Boxing
• Triple Crown of Bridge
• Triple Crown of Cycling
• Triple Crown of Brazilian Football
• Triple Crown (golf)
• Nordic Skiing Triple Crown
• Triple Crown (rugby union)
• Triple Crown of Snooker
• Triple Crown of Surfing
• Triple Crown Tournament, a cricket competition in the United Kingdom
• Treble (association football)
• Triple Crown of Hiking, meaning a person has hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail, and Continental Divide Trail in their entirety
• The Triple Crown of Dog Shows (Westminster Dog Show, National Dog Show, AKC/Eukanuba National Championship)
• Triple Crown of Professional Paintball, meaning a professional paintball team won all 3 big series - Millennium Series, Paintball Sports Promotions (PSP), and the National Professional Paintball League (NPPL)

In horse racing:

• Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
• United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
• Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
• Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers
• Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters
• Triple Crown of Hurdling

In motor racing:

• Triple Crown of Motorsport
• Triple Crown of Endurance Racing
• Triple Crown of Formula D

In wrestling:

• AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship
• Triple Crown Championship

In other areas, it can refer to:

• Papal Tiara, the three-tiered crown that was used by popes for centuries
• Triple Crown of Acting, for winners of an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award in acting categories
• Coat of arms of the Drapers' Company, 1439 emblem with three triple crowns
• Triple accreditation in business schools
• Triple Crown Records, a record label

See also[link]

• Grand Slam (tennis)
• Grand Slam (golf)
• Triple Gold Club
• Winston Million
• Three Crowns
• Grand Tour (cycling)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Yoshihiro Takayama
Takayama in November 2009
Ring name(s)	Yoshihiro Takayama Takan Hansen
Billed height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Billed weight	130 kg (290 lb)
Born	(1966-09-19) September 19, 1966 (age 45) Sumida, Tokyo
Debut	June 28, 1992

Yoshihiro Takayama (高山 善廣, Takayama Yoshihiro^?, born September 19, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Takayama is well known for his ability to endure massive amounts of punishment, especially after his fight at PRIDE 21 against Don Frye. He is the second of two men to hold all 3 of puroresu's major heavyweight titles (the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, the AJPW Triple Crown Championship, and the GHC Heavyweight Championship), the other being Kensuke Sasaki.

Career[link]

Takayama started in UWF International, but due to the focus of the promotion on star Nobuhiko Takada, he wasn't able to go past the mid-card level. In 1995-96, with the interpromotional feuds with New Japan Pro Wrestling and WAR, he formed the "Golden Cups" stable with Yoji Anjo and Kenichi Yamamoto to compete in tag team and six-man matches. In New Japan he and Anjo assumed masks as the "200% Machines" to mock "Super Strong Machine" Junji Hirata. In WAR, they feuded with Gedo, Jado and Hiromichi Fuyuki.

After UWFI's subsequent collapse, he joined Kingdom, but after it also collapsed, he joined All Japan Pro Wrestling as a free agent along with former UWFi comrade Masahito Kakihara. In the beginning, Takayama was put in a feud with Toshiaki Kawada (against whom he had lost once in an interpromotional match before the UWFI's collapse), but as he lost matches often, he was back in the undercard. He joined former UWFI foreigner Gary Albright and native Takao Ōmori in a new version of the "Triangle of Power" stable Albright had formed with Steve Williams before he briefly went back to the United States.

In 1999, upon Shohei Baba's death, Mitsuharu Misawa made him and Kakihara full-time members of All Japan. Pushed as the NO FEARteam with Ōmori, Takayama found instant success, first winning the Asian tag team title from Hayabusa and Jinsei Shinzaki and then the Double Cup from Johnny Ace and Bart Gunn. However, they were eventually defeated by the combination of Misawa and Yoshinari Ogawa. In 2000, when Misawa announced plans for his new promotion, Pro Wrestling Noah, Takayama followed him. During the first few months of Noah's existence, Takayama competed in the first ever GHC Heavyweight Championship tournament, but lost to Mitsuharu Misawa in the final match. He found continued success in Noah, winning the new GHC Tag Team Championship with Takao Ōmori, too. It was around 2001 that, spurred by his old UWFI comrades' success in the PRIDE fighting circuit, decided to try his hand at mixed martial arts competition. Although defeated by Kazuyuki Fujita, he impressed "real-fight" pundits enough to warrant more fight offers. In what many PRIDE fans consider to be one of the organizations most exciting matches ever, Takayama faced Don Frye in a slugfest at PRIDE 21, and although he lost the match, Takayama solidified his reputation as one of the toughest Japanese fighters in PRIDE. Also, his battle with Frye appeared at number one on Fox Sports Network's "Best Damn 50 Beatdowns". Takayama also competed in memorable Noah matches during 2002, winning the GHC Heavyweight Championship from Yoshinari Ogawa on September 7 before losing it to Mitsuharu Misawa later that month.

Takayama declared free agency from Noah so he could pursue mixed martial arts, as well as matches in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he began challenging the top stars, such as Yuji Nagata, Masahiro Chono, and Hiroyoshi Tenzan. In 2003 and 2004 he participated in New Japan's annual G-1 Climax tournament. In mid-2004 he affiliated himself with former Pancrase wrestler Minoru Suzuki, and they won the IWGP Tag Team Championship, but he suffered a stroke later in the year following a brutal match with Kensuke Sasaki. During his time away from the ring, Takayama provided occasional colour commentary for Pro Wrestling Noah, famously saying, "I hope this never ends" during a chop exchange between Kenta Kobashi and Kensuke Sasaki on the July 18, 2005 "Destiny" show. In June 2006, Pro Wrestling Noah announced that Takayama would return at the July 16 Nippon Budokan show, and would team with Kenta Kobashi to take on Jun Akiyama and Mitsuharu Misawa. The match was later changed due to Kobashi needing surgery to remove a cancerous tumor, leading to Takayama teaming with Kensuke Sasaki against Akiyama and Misawa. However, when Kenta Kobashi returned, it would be in the same match, teaming with Yoshihiro Takayama to take on Jun Akiyama and Mitsuharu Misawa.

Takayama then started teaming with old UWFI comrade Takuma Sano in a tournament for the GHC Tag Team Championship vacated by Kenta Kobashi and Tamon Honda due to Kobashi's kidney tumor (Takayama and Sano woud reach the final where they would lose to Mohammed Yone and Takeshi Morishima). On December 27, he showed up at a Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX show, attacked former partner Takao Ōmori, and promised to return at the next show.

Takayama defeated Great Muta on March 14, 2009 at Pro-Wrestling Love in Ryogoku Vol. 7 to win the AJPW Triple Crown Championship. With this victory, Takayama became the second wrestler (the other being Kensuke Sasaki) to win the three major heavyweight titles in Japan: NOAH's GHC Championship, New Japan's IWGP Heavyweight Championship, and All Japan's Triple Crown Championship. Takayama held the Triple Crown for almost seven months, losing the title to Satoshi Kojima on September 26.

On January 4, 2010, at Wrestle Kingdom IV in Tokyo Dome Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Takayama to retain his IWGP Heavyweight Championship.^[1] In 2010 Takayama and Sano competed in NOAH's "Global Tag League" tournament and emerged the victors, however they were subsequently unable to dethrone the GHC Tag Team Champions Takeshi Rikio and Mohammed Yone.

From March 28 to May 2, 2010, Takayama competed in (and eventually won) Pro-Wrestling Noah's 1st ever Global League Tournament. He defeated Jun Akiyama in the final match of the tournament, finishing up with a total of 7 points. It was then announced that due to his victory, Takayama had earned a GHC Heavyweight Championship match versus Takashi Sugiura on July 10. On September 18, 2010, Takayama and Takuma Sano defeated Akitoshi Saito and Bison Smith to win the vacant GHC Tag Team Championship. On January 4, 2011, at New Japan's Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome, Takayama and Sugiura defeated Hirooki Goto and Kazuchika Okada in a tag team match.^[2][3] Takayama and Sano would lose the GHC Tag Team Championship to New Japan's Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson on June 18, 2011, in a match contested also for the IWGP Tag Team Championship.^[4] In late 2011, Takayama began making appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling as a member of Minoru Suzuki's Suzukigun, which built to a match on January 4, 2012, at Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome, where he was defeated by Togi Makabe in a singles match.^[5] On March 18, Takayama and his Suzukigun stablemate, Lance Archer, unsuccessfully challenged Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima for the IWGP Tag Team Championship.^[6]

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Everest Suplex (Bridging high-angle German suplex)
  • High knee

• Signature moves
  • Big boot
  • Crucifix armbar
  • Multiple suplex variations
    • Belly to belly
    • Double underhook
    • Dragon
    • Tiger
  • Straight punch to the opponent's jaw

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• All Japan Pro Wrestling
  • AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Takao Ōmori
  • AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Takao Ōmori

• New Japan Pro Wrestling
  • IWGP Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • IWGP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Minoru Suzuki
  • NWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #40 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010^[7]

• Pro Wrestling Noah
  • GHC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • GHC Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Takao Ōmori (1) and Takuma Sano (1)
  • Global Tag League (2010) - with Takuma Sano
  • Global League Tournament (2010)
  • 2 Days Tag Tournament (2011) - with KENTA

• Pro Wrestling Zero1
  • NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kohei Sato

• Tenryu Project

• Tenryu Project Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Tatsutoshi Goto and Daisuke Sekimoto

• Wrestle Association "R"
  • WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Yoji Anjo & Kenichi Yamamoto

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • Best Brawler (2002)
  • Fight of the Year (2002) vs. Don Frye

Mixed martial arts record[link]

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	0-4	Bob Sapp	Submission (armbar)	Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002	02002-12-31December 31, 2002	1	2:16	Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Loss	0-3	Don Frye	TKO (punches)	Pride 21	02002-06-23June 23, 2002	1	6:10	Saitama, Saitama, Japan	Fight of the Year (2002).
Loss	0-2	Semmy Schilt	KO (punches)	Pride 18	02001-12-23December 23, 2001	1	3:09	Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
Loss	0-1	Kazuyuki Fujita	Submission (arm triangle choke)	Pride 14	02001-05-27May 27, 2001	2	3:10	Yokohama, Japan

Acting[link]

Takayama has acted in small parts in several films, beginning with Muscle Heat in 2002, and continuing with Cromartie High - The Movie and Nagurimono in 2005. He also appeared in 2004's The Calamari Wrestler, playing himself in a cameo role.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Professional MMA record for Yoshihiro Takayama from Sherdog
• Official Website
• Profile at accelerator3359.com
• Profile at Green Destiny

Tomomi Tsuruta (鶴田 友美, Tsuruta Tomomi^?, March 25, 1951 – May 13, 2000), better known by his ring name Jumbo Tsuruta, was a professional wrestler who wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling for most of his career, and is well-known for being the first ever AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, having won the PWF Heavyweight Championship, the NWA United National Championship, and the NWA International Heavyweight Championship, and unifying the three titles.

Early life[link]

Tsuruta participated in many sports, such as swimming, basketball, and sumo while attending Hikawa Senior High School in Yamanashi-shi, Yamanashi Prefecture.

Amateur wrestling career[link]

While at Chuo University, he began an amateur wrestling career. He won the All Japan Amateur Wrestling Championship in freestyle and Greco-Roman as a superheavyweight (at the time, an unlimited class for those weighing over 100 kilograms) in the years 1971 and 1972.

He also competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. He finished the Greco-Roman tournament with no wins.^[1]

Professional wrestling career[link]

Scouted by AJPW promoter Giant Baba, he was sent to the local Amarillo, Texas promotion in the U.S. to train as a pro under Dory Funk Jr. While wrestling in the United States, Tsuruta was the first Japanese wrestler to be cheered by an American crowd, due to his hard work ethic and wrestling ability. The name "Jumbo" was given to him by a fan contest in Japan to replace his given name, which was seen as too feminine. Tsuruta and Yoshiaki Yatsu became the first AJPW Unified World Tag Team Champions on June 10, 1988.

During his 26 year career, he fought in 3,329 matches.^[2] Some of his most notable opponents include Stan Hansen, The Destroyer, Bruiser Brody, Genichiro Tenryu, Abdullah the Butcher, Terry Funk, Dory Funk Jr., Mitsuharu Misawa, Harley Race, Verne Gagne, Jack Brisco, Ric Flair, and Nick Bockwinkel. Tsuruta was the first AJPW Triple Crown Champion (unifying the Pacific Wrestling Federation, NWA United National, and NWA International Heavyweight titles), defeating Stan Hansen on April 18, 1989 in Tokyo.

His level of work while still an active, full-time wrestler never declined and if anything, his highest rated work came in the last five years of his career, in his seminal feuds with Genichiro Tenryu and Mitsuharu Misawa. His skills allowed him to continue as a top line worker into his forties, well past his athletic prime. In the wake of his death, the press called him the strongest wrestler in the history of Japanese wrestling.^{[citation needed]} Tsuruta was arguably the best wrestler in the world during the 1980s.^[3]

Illness, life after wrestling and death[link]

In the summer of 1992, he was diagnosed with Hepatitis B and never fully recovered, completing the "October Giant Series" tour before disappearing from the company for almost a year. For the rest of his career, he participated mostly in comedic matches because his health prevented him from working a full physically demanding schedule. He announced his retirement on February 20, 1999 and held a ceremony on March 6, 1999, after being forced out of his front-office position by Motoko Baba in the aftermath of her husband's death.

Four days later, he and his family moved to the United States to be a visiting researcher at the University of Portland in Oregon. Tsuruta had a bachelor's degree in political science and earned a master's degree in coaching in 1997, later becoming a part-time instructor in physical training at his old University.

His health deteriorated, however, as he had been diagnosed with kidney cancer, which eventually spread to his liver, and by the end of the year he was back in Japan. In April 2000, he left for Australia, where he had an operation to remove the cancer, while there a kidney donor was found in Manila. Tsuruta died in the National Hospital in the Philippines on May 13, 2000, from complications of the kidney transplant.

He had 3 sons: Ken, Naoki, and Yuji.

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Bridging / Release belly to back suplex
  • Sheerdrop Powerbomb

• Signature moves
  • Big boot
  • Diving knee drop
  • Dropkick, sometimes from the top rope
  • Kesagiri chop to the back of the opponent's neck
  • Lariat
  • Modified dragon sleeper
  • Multiple suplex variations
    • Bridging / Release German
    • Double underhook
    • Exploder
    • Gutwrench
    • Tiger
  • Piledriver
  • Running high knee strike
  • Spinning toe hold
  • Swinging neckbreaker
  • Air Scissors Drop (Thesz press)^[4]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• All Japan Pro Wrestling

• AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
• AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship (7 times) – Yoshiaki Yatsu (5), The Great Kabuki (1) and Akira Taue (1)
• AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• NWA International Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
• NWA International Tag Team Championship (9 times) – Giant Baba (6), Genichiro Tenryu (2) and Yoshiaki Yatsu (1)
• NWA United National Championship (5 times)
• PWF World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• PWF World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – Tiger Mask II (1) and Yoshiaki Yatsu (1)
• Champion's Carnival (1980, 1991)
• World's Strongest Tag Team League (1978, 1980) – with Giant Baba
• World's Strongest Tag Team League (1984, 1986) – with Genichiro Tenryu
• World's Strongest Tag Team League (1987) – with Yoshiaki Yatsu

• American Wrestling Association

• AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Championship Wrestling from Florida

• NWA United National Championship (1 time)

• NWA Detroit

• NWA World Tag Team Championship (Detroit version) (1 time) – with Giant Baba

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• PWI ranked him #28 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the PWI Years in 2003

• Tokyo Sports Grand Prix

• Wrestler of the Year (1983, 1984, 1991) ^[5][6]
• Techinique Award (1974, 1986, 1988) ^[5][7]
• Outstanding Performance (1975, 1976, 1981) ^[8]
• Achievement Award (1999) ^[6]
• Special Achievement Award (2000) ^[9]
• Tag Team of the Year (1978, 1980, 1982)- with Giant Baba ^[5][10]
• Tag Team of the Year (1983, 1985)- with Genichiro Tenryu ^[5]
• Tag Team of the Year (1989)- with Yoshiaki Yatsu ^[5]
• Match of the Year (1976)- vs. Rusher Kimura on March 28, 1976 ^[11]
• Match of the Year (1978)- vs. Harley Race on January 20, 1978 ^[12]
• Match of the Year (1980)- with Giant Baba vs. Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk on December 11, 1980 ^[5]
• Match of the Year (1985)- vs. Riki Choshu on November 4, 1985 ^[5]
• Match of the Year (1987)- vs. Genichiro Tenryu on August 31, 1987 ^[5]
• Match of the Year (1989)- vs. Genichiro Tenryu on June 5, 1989 ^[5]

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

• 5 Star Match (1989) vs. Genichiro Tenryu on June 5
• 5 Star Match (1990) vs. Mitsuharu Misawa on June 8
• 5 Star Match (1990) with Akira Taue and Masanobu Fuchi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, and Toshiaki Kawada on October 19
• 5 Star Match (1991) with Akira Taue and Masanobu Fuchi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, and Toshiaki Kawada on April 20
• 5 Star Match (1992) with Akira Taue and Masanobu Fuchi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, and Toshiaki Kawada on May 22
• Feud of the Year (1990, 1991) – vs. Mitsuharu Misawa
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)
• Wrestler of the Year (1991)

References[link]

External links[link]

• puroresu.com: Jumbo Tsuruta

Toshiaki Kawada
Kawada (left) shaking hands with Zeus following a match in 2008.
Ring name(s)	Black Mephisto Hustle K Kio Kawada Monster K Mr. Toshiaki Toshiaki Kawada
Billed height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Billed weight	110 kg (240 lb)[1]
Born	(1963-12-08) December 8, 1963 (age 48)[1] Shimotsuga District, Tochigi, Japan
Trained by	Genichiro Tenryu
Debut	October 4, 1982

Toshiaki Kawada (川田 利明, Kawada Toshiaki^?) (born December 8, 1963) is a Japanese professional wrestler who is most known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling. In 2005, he started freelancing in other promotions.

His matches against Mitsuharu Misawa, Jun Akiyama, and Kenta Kobashi in the 1990s are argued by many fans and experts in the industry as some of the greatest professional wrestling matches of all time. He is widely known for his extremely stiff wrestling style, and has the distinction of having competed in 17 matches that were given a 5-Star Rating by Wrestling Observer Newsletter writer Dave Meltzer; he is third behind long-time rivals Kobashi (23) and Misawa (24).

Professional wrestling career[link]

All Japan Pro Wrestling (1982–2005)[link]

Early years (1982–1987)[link]

Kawada was very active during his high school years in amateur wrestling, becoming a national champion in his senior year after defeating Keiichi Yamada (who later became Jushin "Thunder" Liger in professional wrestling) in the finals. He made his professional wrestling debut at the age of 18 on October 4, 1982 for All Japan Pro Wrestling, competing against (future partner) Hiromichi Fuyuki.^[1] Kawada was then sent to North America for a year in November 1985, where he gained experience as a pro wrestler in Fred Behrend's Texas All-Star Wrestling (San Antonio, Texas), Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling (in Calgary) and Frank Valois' International Wrestling (in Montreal); Kawada was billed as "Kio Kawada from Seoul, South Korea" in Stampede Wrestling for a very short time around June 1986. He was under adverse circumstances, and rarely has he talked about his days in American/Canadian wrestling.