Riki Choshu
Clash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP
| Riki Choshu | |
|---|---|
 Choshu in January 2006 | |
| Birth name | Mitsuo Yoshida[1] |
| Born | (1951-12-03) December 3, 1951[1] Tokuyama, Yamaguchi, Japan[1] |
| Residence | Yamaguchi, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Riki Choshu Yoshida |
| Billed height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] |
| Billed weight | 120 kg (265 lb)[1] |
| Trained by | Masa Saito NJPW Dojo |
| Debut | August 8, 1974[1] |
Mitsuo Yoshida (吉田 光雄, Yoshida Mitsuo, born December 3, 1951), better known by his ring name Riki Choshu (長州 力, Chōshū Riki) is a Korean-Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler who is best known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) as both a wrestler and a booker. And also, his nickname is Kakumei Senshi (Japanese for the Revolution Warrior). He is considered one of Japan’s most influential wrestlers for his work in the 1980s and 1990s and is known as the first wrestler to popularize the Sasori-Gatame, better known in English as the Scorpion Deathlock or Sharpshooter. After leaving NJPW in 2002, he formed Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling (WJ), but eventually returned to New Japan in October 2005 as a site foreman, booker, and part-time wrestler. Choshu once again left NJPW in 2010, and primarily competes in Tatsumi Fujinami’s Dradition promotion as a freelancer.
Contents
1 Early life
2 Amateur wrestling career
3 Professional wrestling career
3.1 Early years (1974–1987)
3.2 New Japan Pro Wrestling (1987–1998)
3.3 Comeback (2000–present)
4 Other media
5 Championships and accomplishments
6 References
Early life
Choshu was born Kwak Gwang-ung Hangul: 곽광웅, the youngest of four children in Tokuyama, Yamaguchi Prefecture to a Korean father and Japanese mother. His father left Korea's Chungcheongbuk-do for Japan in 1939, and worked as a garbage man for much of his life. Choshu has said that he faced discrimination from teachers in elementary school due to his Korean heritage. He took part in baseball and judo as a teenager, and after training in the judo department at Giyang Junior High School, he moved to the wrestling department of Yamaguchi prefecture's Sakurakaoka High School as a special student. He eventually came in second place in the 73kg class of the Nagasaki National Freestyle wrestling tournament, which attracted attention from university wrestling officials and he later enrolled at Senshu University School of Commerce on a wrestling scholarship.
Amateur wrestling career
Kwak joined the amateur wrestling team at Senshu University shortly after enrolling and was teammates with Mitsushi Hirasawa, the father of future NJPW wrestler Mitsuhide Hirasawa. In 1971, he won the All Japan Student Wrestling Championship in the 90kg class. Thanks to his victory in the tournament, Kwak was selected to represent Japan in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Officials however refused to let him compete for Japan on account of him being part Korean. Nevertheless, South Korea instead invited him to join their freestyle team and he represented South Korea as a wrestler. Gwang-ung ended the tournament with a record of 1 win and 2 losses, and was disqualified due to the penalty points system.[2]
When he returned to Japan, Kwak became captain of the Senshu wrestling team in his fourth year at university and won the Freestyle and Greco-Roman 100 kg class tournaments at the All Japan Championship in 1973.
Professional wrestling career
Early years (1974–1987)
He debuted in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) in August 1974. In the mid-1970s, Choshu was sent to North America to gain experience. Wrestling under his real name, he appeared in George Cannon's "Superstars of Wrestling" promotion as a heel, managed by Superstar (or Supermouth) Dave Drasen. Choshu had a brief feud with the top fan favorite of Cannon's promotion, Luis Martinez.
Choshu was the first "traitor heel" in a Japanese promotion. In 1983, upset at not being selected for the inaugural tournament for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, he turned on Tatsumi Fujinami during a match and formed his own stable, Ishingun (Revolutionary Army), which was the core for the later Japan Pro-Wrestling (JPW) promotion that "invaded" All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW).[3]
New Japan Pro Wrestling (1987–1998)
Upon returning to NJPW in 1987, Choshu was a part of the Takeshi Puroresu Gundan. After NJPW split ties with Takeshi Kitano over the December 27 Sumo Hall riot, Choshu slowly climbed back up into the main event picture. In June 1988, he won his first IWGP Tag Team Championship with Masa Saito, with whom he had also partnered during a brief stint in the American Wrestling Association (AWA).[4] At the same time, he feuded with Tatsumi Fujinami over the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. On May 27, the match ended in a no contest, in which the title was held up. Fujinami won the rematch on June 24.[5]
In July 1989, he won his first IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Salman Hashimikov of the Soviet Union.[5] The same month, he would also win his second IWGP Tag Team title with young up-and-comer Takayuki Iizuka.[4] Two more IWGP Heavyweight title reigns would follow between August 19, 1990 and January 4, 1992.[5]
In August 1996, he won the G1 Climax, winning every single match in the tournament.[6] In 1997, he won his third IWGP Tag Team title with Kensuke Sasaki.[4] In January 1998, he retired from the ring; for his retirement match, he wrestled five matches in one night, winning four out of five matches.[7] He would focus on booking matches for NJPW.
Comeback (2000–present)
Retirement did not last long, as Atsushi Onita challenged Choshu to a barbed wire deathmatch in 2000. Choshu accepted and wrestled Onita in a deadly squash, where Choshu ended up winning. He then balanced wrestling and booking for NJPW, until his departure in 2002, stemming from the departures of Keiji Mutoh and Satoshi Kojima, among others, to AJPW, which caused his position of head booker taken away.
After leaving NJPW, he formed Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling in 2003, which would later changed to Riki Pro, after the failure of some of their big shows.[8] He ran Riki Pro until 2005 when he returned to NJPW as a site foreman, booker, and wrestler. In 2007, Choshu joined the Legend stable with Masahiro Chono, Jyushin Thunder Liger, and AKIRA.
Choshu also promotes an occasional series of events called "LOCK UP", which feature talent from New Japan and other promotions. New Japan supported this financially until 2008 before withdrawing.
In 2012, Choshu was booked in a series of matches for LEGEND The Pro Wrestling and Dradition.
Other media
Choshu appears as a gang member in the 2017 video game Yakuza Kiwami 2, alongside Genichiro Tenryu, Keiji Mutoh, Masahiro Chono and Tatsumi Fujinami.[9]
Championships and accomplishments
On July 30, 2013, Choshu threw out the ceremonial first pitch for a Hiroshima Toyo Carp game at Mazda Stadium
All Japan Pro Wrestling
NWA International Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Yoshiaki Yatsu[10]
PWF World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[11]
Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling- WMG Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Genichiro Tenryu
- WMG Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Genichiro Tenryu
New Japan Pro Wrestling
Greatest 18 Championship (1 time)[12]
IWGP Heavyweight Championship (3 times)[5]
IWGP Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Masa Saito (1), Takashi Iizuka (1), and Kensuke Sasaki (1)[4]
NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles/Japan version) (1 time) – with Seiji Sakaguchi[13]
WWF International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[14]
G1 Climax (1996)[6][15]
Super Grade Tag League (1992) – with Shinya Hashimoto- Six Man Tag Team Cup League (1988) – with Antonio Inoki and Kantaro Hoshino[16]
- World Cup Tournament (1989)[17]
Pro Wrestling Illustrated- PWI ranked him #30 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003
Tokyo Sports- Distinguished Service Award (1983)[18]
Effort Award (1977)[19]
Fighting Spirit Award (1979, 1986, 1988, 1989)[18][19]
Match of the Year Award (1983) vs. Tatsumi Fujinami on April 3[18]- Match of the Year Award (1984) vs. Antonio Inoki on August 2[18]
- Match of the Year Award (1985) vs. Jumbo Tsuruta on November 5[18]
- Match of the Year Award (1993) vs. Genichiro Tenryu on January 4[20]
Service Award (1997)[20]
Technique Award (1981)[18]
Universal Wrestling Association
UWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[21]
UWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Gran Hamada[22]
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Best Booker (1992)
Promoter of the Year (1995, 1996, 1997)
Wrestler of the Year (1987)
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)
References
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Riki Chōshū. |
^ abcdef "長州力". ChoshuRiki.com. Retrieved September 23, 2016..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ "Riki Chosyu". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
^ "The 10 hottest feuds in wrestling history: 4. Ishinun vs. Seikigun". Power Slam Magazine. Lancaster, Lancashire, England: SW Publishing LTD. July 1998. p. 28. 48.
^ abcd Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Japan: New Japan IWGP Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 373. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ abcd Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Japan: New Japan IWGP International Wrestling Grand Prix Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. pp. 372–373. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ab "What's going down... NJPW". Power Slam Magazine. Lancaster, Lancashire, England: SW Publishing LTD. September 1996. p. 7. 26.
^ "Final Power Hall in Tokyo Dome". Pro Wrestling History. January 4, 1998. Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
^ "What's going down... Japan". Power Slam Magazine. Lancaster, Lancashire, England: SW Publishing LTD. November 2003. p. 7. 112.
^ "『龍が如く 極2』武藤敬司・蝶野正洋・長州力・天龍源一郎・藤波辰爾 VS 桐生一馬・真島吾朗が実現!?【TGS2017】". Famitsu (in Japanese). September 21, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Japan: JWA/All Japan NWA International Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 368. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Japan: All Japan Pro-Wrestling PWF PAcific Wrestling Federation Title (Shohei Baba)". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. pp. 365–366. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Japan: New Japan WWF Martial Arts Title / Greatest 18 Club Title Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. pp. 371–372. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Japan: New Japan NWF/NWA North American Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 371. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Japan: New Japan WWF International Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 372. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Japan: New Japan G-1 (Grade-1) Climax Tournament Champions". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 375. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Japan Cup Elimination Tag League « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "NJPW World Cup League - Tag 13 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
^ abcdef 東京スポーツ プロレス大賞. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-01-20.
^ ab 東京スポーツ プロレス大賞. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-01-20.
^ ab 東京スポーツ プロレス大賞. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-01-20.
^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: Universal Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 397. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: UWA Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 399. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
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