Seiji Sakaguchi
Seiji Sakaguchi | |
---|---|
Sakaguchi (center) along with Dory Funk, Jr. (left) and Giant Baba (right), circa 1973. | |
Birth name | Seiji Sakaguchi |
Born | (1942-02-17) February 17, 1942 (age 82) Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan |
Children | Kenji Sakaguchi Yukio Sakaguchi |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Big Saka Giant Saka Great Saka Great Sakaguchi Mighty Saka Seiji Sakaguchi |
Billed height | 196 cm (6 ft 5 in) |
Billed weight | 125 kg (276 lb) |
Billed from | Tokyo, Japan |
Trained by | Karl Gotch Michiaki Yoshimura |
Debut | 5 August 1967 |
Retired | 15 March 1990 |
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Representing Japan | ||
Men's Black Belt Judo | ||
World Championships | ||
1965 Rio de Janeiro | +80 kg |
Seiji Sakaguchi (坂口征二, Sakaguchi Seiji, born February 17, 1942) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and judoka, Sakaguchi holds a 7th dan[citation needed] red and white belt in Judo. Sakaguchi was a mainstay of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and also competed for the World Wide Wrestling Federation and the National Wrestling Alliance. His sons are professional wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter Yukio Sakaguchi and television actor Kenji Sakaguchi. Sakaguchi currently works for New Japan as an advisor.[1]
Judo career
Before becoming a professional wrestler, Sakaguchi was a judoka with a fifth degree black belt and won the 1965 All Japan Judo Championship. Coach Koji Sone was accused by Anton Geesink's teammates in the 1965 World Judo Championships of having Sakaguchi throw the match against the more rested Matsunaga in order to allow Matsunaga take on the weary Geesink in the final round.[2]
Professional wrestling career
Sakaguchi debuted in August 1967 for the Japan Wrestling Association. When JWA closed down in 1973, he joined New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He retired from the ring in March 1990. He was the president of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1992 to 1993.
At age 61, Seiji Sakaguchi came out of retirement to team up with Masahiro Chono against Yoshihiro Takayama and Shinya Makabe on September 14, 2003.
Acting career
Sakaguchi appeared in the 1982 American film Forced Vengeance. His role was a minor one, though he did appear in the film's climactic fight scene, battling star Chuck Norris.
Championships and accomplishments
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Other honoree (1996)
- European Wrestling Union
- EWU World Super Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Japan Wrestling Association
- All Asia Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Michiaki Yoshimura
- NWA International Tag Team Championship (2 time) - with Giant Baba (1 time) and Kintarō Ōki (1 time)
- NWA United National Championship (1 time)
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling
- Asia Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Strong Kobayashi[3]
- NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles/Japan version) (3 times) - with Antonio Inoki (1 time) and Strong Kobayashi (2 times)
- NWF North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- WWF North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time, final)
- World League (1976-1977)
- Greatest 18 Club inductee
- Greatest Wrestlers (Class of 2007)[4]
- NWA Hollywood Wrestling
- NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles/Japan version) (2 times) - with Antonio Inoki (1 time) and Riki Choshu (1 time)
- NWA United National Championship (1 time)
- World Tag League (1971) - with Antonio Inoki
- World Tag League (1972) - with Akihisa Takachiho
- NWA Polynesian Wrestling
- NWA Polynesian Pacific Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Lars Anderson
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him # 146 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003
- Tokyo Sports
- Best Tag Team Award (1975) with Antonio Inoki[5]
- Best Tag Team Award (1976) with Strong Kobayashi[5]
- Fighting Spirit Award (1977)[5]
- Lifetime Achievement Award (1990, 2012)[6][7]
- Outstanding Performance Award (1976)[5]
- Special Award (2003)[8]
References
- ^ 旗揚げ記念日. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-03-07.
- ^ Black Belt Vol. 4, No. 2. Active Interest Media, Inc. Feb 1966. p. 14.
- ^ "Asia Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
- ^ "NJPW Greatest Wrestlers". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2013-03-23. Retrieved 2014-08-23.
- ^ a b c d 東京スポーツ プロレス大賞. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-01-20.
- ^ 東京スポーツ プロレス大賞. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-01-20.
- ^ 「2012年度プロレス大賞」受賞者. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). 2012-12-11. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- ^ 東京スポーツ プロレス大賞. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-01-20.
External links
- Seiji Sakaguchi at Puroresu.com
- Seiji Sakaguchi's profile at Cagematch.net , Wrestlingdata.com , Internet Wrestling Database
- v
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- e
- 1930 Kanbe Furusawa
- 1931 Tatsukuma Ushijima
- 1932 Tatsukuma Ushijima
- 1933 Not held
- 1934 Suekichi Tanaka
- 1935 Eisaku Iiyama
- 1936 Isamu Shinbara / Shinkichi Setoguchi
- 1937 Masahiko Kimura
- 1938 Masahiko Kimura
- 1939 Masahiko Kimura
- 1940 Not held
- 1941 Iwao Hirose
- 1942–47 Not held
- 1948 Yasuichi Matsumoto
- 1949 Takahiko Ishikawa / Masahiko Kimura
- 1950 Takahiko Ishikawa
- 1951 Toshirō Daigo
- 1952 Yoshihiko Yoshimatsu
- 1953 Yoshihiko Yoshimatsu
- 1954 Toshirō Daigo
- 1955 Yoshihiko Yoshimatsu
- 1956 Not held
- 1957 Shokichi Natsui
- 1958 Koji Sone
- 1959 Isao Inokuma
- 1960 Akio Kaminaga
- 1961 Akio Kaminaga
- 1962 Yoshinori Takeuchi
- 1963 Isao Inokuma
- 1964 Akio Kaminaga
- 1965 Seiji Sakaguchi
- 1966 Mitsuo Matsunaga
- 1967 Isao Okano
- 1968 Takeshi Matsuzaka
- 1969 Isao Okano
- 1970 Masatoshi Shinomaki
- 1971 Kaneo Iwatsuri
- 1972 Shinobu Sekine
- 1973 Haruki Uemura
- 1974 Nobuyuki Sato
- 1975 Haruki Uemura
- 1976 Sumio Endo
- 1977 Yasuhiro Yamashita
- 1978 Yasuhiro Yamashita
- 1979 Yasuhiro Yamashita
- 1980 Yasuhiro Yamashita
- 1981 Yasuhiro Yamashita
- 1982 Yasuhiro Yamashita
- 1983 Yasuhiro Yamashita
- 1984 Yasuhiro Yamashita
- 1985 Yasuhiro Yamashita
- 1986 Yoshimi Masaki
- 1987 Yoshimi Masaki
- 1988 Hitoshi Saito
- 1989 Naoya Ogawa
- 1990 Naoya Ogawa
- 1991 Naoya Ogawa
- 1992 Naoya Ogawa
- 1993 Naoya Ogawa
- 1994 Jun Konno
- 1995 Naoya Ogawa
- 1996 Naoya Ogawa
- 1997 Jun Konno
- 1998 Shinichi Shinohara
- 1999 Shinichi Shinohara
- 2000 Shinichi Shinohara
- 2001 Kōsei Inoue
- 2002 Kōsei Inoue
- 2003 Kōsei Inoue
- 2004 Keiji Suzuki
- 2005 Keiji Suzuki
- 2006 Satoshi Ishii
- 2007 Keiji Suzuki
- 2008 Satoshi Ishii
- 2009 Takamasa Anai
- 2010 Kazuhiko Takahashi
- 2011 Keiji Suzuki
- 2012 Hirotaka Kato
- 2013 Takamasa Anai
- 2014 Takeshi Ōjitani
- 2015 Hisayoshi Harasawa
- 2016 Takeshi Ōjitani
- 2017 Takeshi Ōjitani
- 2018 Hisayoshi Harasawa
- 2019 Aaron Wolf
- 2020 Ryunosuke Haga
- 2021 Hyōga Ōta
- 2022 Tatsuru Saito
- 2023 Takeshi Ōjitani
- 1986 Kaori Hachinohe
- 1987 Yoko Tanabe
- 1988 Yoko Tanabe
- 1989 Yoko Tanabe
- 1990 Yoko Tanabe
- 1991 Yoko Tanabe
- 1992 Yoko Tanabe
- 1993 Noriko Anno
- 1994 Noriko Anno
- 1995 Noriko Anno
- 1996 Noriko Anno
- 1997 Miho Ninomiya
- 1998 Miho Ninomiya
- 1999 Noriko Anno
- 2000 Mayumi Yamashita
- 2001 Midori Shintani
- 2002 Maki Tsukada
- 2003 Maki Tsukada
- 2004 Maki Tsukada
- 2005 Maki Tsukada
- 2006 Maki Tsukada
- 2007 Maki Tsukada
- 2008 Maki Tsukada
- 2009 Maki Tsukada
- 2010 Maki Tsukada
- 2011 Mika Sugimoto
- 2012 Kanae Yamabe
- 2013 Akari Ogata
- 2014 Kanae Yamabe
- 2015 Megumi Tachimoto
- 2016 Kanae Yamabe
- 2017 Sarah Asahina
- 2018 Akira Sone
- 2019 Akira Sone
- 2020 Wakaba Tomita
- 2021 Shiho Tanaka
- 2022 Wakaba Tomita
- 2023 Mami Umeki