- Yoshiaki Fujiwara
Infobox Wrestler
name=Yoshiaki Fujiwara
names=Yoshiaki Fujiwara
height= 6 ft 1 in (186 cm)
weight= 225 lb (102 kg)
birth_date= birth date and age|1949|4|27
death_date=
resides=Waga District, Iwate ,Japan
billed=
trainer=
debut=November 12 ,1972 , vs.Tatsumi Fujinami
retired|nihongo|Yoshiaki Fujiwara|藤原 喜明|Fujiwara Yoshiaki|
April 27 ,1949 - is aJapan eseactor , and professional wrestler who has worked forNew Japan Pro Wrestling ,Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE , and UWF.Career
Fujiwara was the first graduate of the New Japan Pro Wrestling
dojo (Mr. Pogo was the first debutante in the promotion, but he andGran Hamada had trained withTatsumi Fujinami before he andAntonio Inoki left theJapanese Wrestling Association ). A formerMuay Thai kickboxer, Fujiwara was easily able to absorb and apply the "Strong Style" of professional wrestling taught by Inoki andKarl Gotch . In 1975, this led Fujiwara to win the "Karl Gotch Cup" (a tournament for rookies named after Karl Gotch and forerunner to the latter Young Lions Cups). In the late 1970s, Fujiwara became embroiled in a feud withAllen Coage (a former Olympicjudo bronze medal winner who had debuted as a pro wrestler in NJPW, and one of the firstgaijin s to be trained at the NJPW dojo) over the petty issue of who had the strongest head. Fujiwara would bang his head repeatedly against the ring's corner post's metal face to provoke Coage, and behind the scenes, Coage would advise him not to do so repeatedly, in fear of suffering permanent real-life damage.All the while, Fujiwara remained a strong member of the undercard, but rarely would he get opportunities for big singles matches or tag teams with better-known stars. In 1984, however, all that would change when Fujiwara was among the defectors who created the Japanese UWF. When he and most of them returned in 1986, they formed their own stable, indicating they would battle major New Japan wrestlers and receive recognition on their own terms. As a member of the UWF stable, Fujiwara, along with
Akira Maeda , focused on Inoki'sIWGP Heavyweight Championship , pushing him to the limit in the annual IWGP tournaments. But at heart, Maeda and Fujiwara were also rivals - when unable to get the IWGP title, Maeda andNobuhiko Takada went for and won the IWGP tag team title, Fujiwara andKazuo Yamazaki split from the main UWF stable, and feuded with them over the title, eventually winning it. This split, also in the wake ofRiki Chōshū 's return to NJPW after leaving in circumstances similar to Maeda and the rest of the UWF roster, eventually weakened the UWF stable.When Maeda was fired from New Japan for a shoot attack on Chōshū during a match in late 1987, all the other UWF stable members except for Fujiwara and Osamu Kido left NJPW to reform the UWF. Kido and Fujiwara attempted to get back into the good graces of the rest of the NJPW roster - and for a time, Fujiwara seemed to go back into the NJPW undercard, although with more respect from his peers. Inoki had already gained respect for him enough to be his tag team partner in 1986 for the annual tag team tournament (despite being affiliated with the UWF stable). In the meantime, Fujiwara trained rookies
Masakatsu Funaki andMinoru Suzuki . In 1989, however, Fujiwara felt the need to continue shoot-style wrestling, also due to the rise of Chōshū in backstage politics, so he moved to the UWF with Funaki and Suzuki.In the newborn UWF, Fujiwara was clearly seen as the senior peer to Maeda, but eventually jobbed to him. After UWF collapsed, Fujiwara, Funaki, Suzuki and rookie Yusuke Fuke formed
Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi ("Gumi" [組] in Japanese means "group", but it is used in the underworld lingo to mean "organized crime family". Fujiwara styled himself "kumichō" [組長] , literally, the gang leader). Although it was ashoot style promotion, Fujiwara had agreements with SWS,W*ING andUniversal Lucha Libre , whereupon he would send talent to compete in them (but not viceversa, in order to keep the shoot-style "feel" to his promotion). Fujiwara Gumi had a big supercard at theTokyo Dome in 1992, involving all the great talents in the promotion: Fujiwara, Funaki, Suzuki, Fuke, Yoshiki Takahashi,Yuki Ishikawa , and others.Problems involving the collapsing Japanese economy and the essence of Fujiwara Gumi's wrestling, however, forced its roster to assess their individual futures. Funaki, Suzuki, Fuke and Takahashi, apparently unsettled by the "performing" direction Fujiwara was taking, abandoned him in late 1993 to form
Pancrase . Fujiwara already had back-up talent - Ishikawa,Daisuke Ikeda ,Katsumi Usuda ,Minoru Tanaka ,Mamoru Okamoto , Muhammad Yone, andShoichi Funaki . In need of funds, however, Fujiwara proposed to cooperate with their root promotion, New Japan. Fujiwara and the rest of the roster began having a small "feud" with NJPW, Fujiwara challenging the heavyweights (he challenged future partnerShinya Hashimoto for the IWGP title, but failed again), and the rest the junior heavyweight division. The NJPW-PWFG feud, however, did not have the star-studded impression on fans that the NJPW-UWFI feud later had.In late 1995, Ishikawa and the rest of the Fujiwara Gumi roster abandoned Fujiwara and formed their own promotion,
BattlARTS , citing problems with Fujiwara's management team. Since 1996, Fujiwara, the only remaining member of Fujiwara Gumi and thus a de facto free agent (as the promotion no longer operates), has competed in several promotions, mostly in legends matches. NJPW,All Japan Pro Wrestling ,Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE , WAR, and several independents have seen his presence. Currently, Fujiwara is associated with the American catch wrestling organizationScientific Wrestling .Fujiwara is also an
actor who has had a few parts in Japanese movies and dramas. He's also a prolific artisan potter.In wrestling
*Finishing and signature moves:*"Fujiwara armbar" - Innovated:*Headbutt:*Modified Achilles tendon hold:*Swinging neckbreaker:*Sunset flip powerbomb:*Gory special:*Over the shoulder belly to back piledriver:*Superplex
Championships and accomplishments
*
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling :*FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship (1 time) - withDaisuke Ikeda *
New Japan Pro Wrestling :*IWGP Tag Team Championship (1 time) - withKazuo Yamazaki :*NJPW Karl Gotch Cup winner in 1975:*NJPW Japan Cup Tag League winner in 1986 - withAntonio Inoki *
Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi :*Fujiwara Gumi Heavyweight Championship (1 time)*
Pro Wrestling ZERO1 :*NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time) - withShinya Hashimoto External links
* [http://www.scientificwrestling.com Online video clips of Fujiwara's Sub-Mission Master instructional]
* [http://www.yufuku.net/e/yufuku/html/fujiwara_yoshiaki.html Examples of Fujiwara's pottery]
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