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Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, born Mitsugu Akimoto, was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler and the 58th yokozuna of the sport. Following his retirement as a wrestler, he was the stable master of Kokonoe stable until the time of his death.
Akebono Tarō is an American-born Japanese former professional sumo wrestler and professional wrestler from Waimānalo, Hawaii. Joining sumo in Japan in 1988, he was trained by pioneering Hawaiian wrestler Takamiyama and rose swiftly up the rankings, reaching the top division in 1990. After two consecutive yusho or tournament championships in November 1992 and January 1993 he made history by becoming the first non-Japanese-born wrestler ever to reach yokozuna, the highest rank in sumo.
Saleva'a Fuauli Atisano'e, better known by his stage name, Konishiki Yasokichi, is an American former professional sumo wrestler. He was the first non-Japanese-born wrestler to reach ōzeki, the second-highest possible rank in the sport. During his career he won the top division championship on three occasions and came very close to becoming the first foreign-born grand champion, or yokozuna, prompting a social debate in Japan as to whether a foreigner could have the necessary cultural understanding to be deemed acceptable in sumo's ultimate rank. At a peak weight of 287 kg (633 lb) he was also at the time the heaviest wrestler ever in sumo, earning him the nicknames, "Meat Bomb" and, most famously, "The Dump Truck".
Takamiyama Daigorō is an American-born Japanese former professional sumo wrestler. Wrestling for Takasago stable for twenty years from 1964 to 1984, his highest rank was sekiwake. Takamiyama set a number of longevity records in sumo, including most tournaments ranked in the top makuuchi division, and most consecutive top division appearances. In July 1972, he became the first foreign-born wrestler to win the top division championship. He is also the first foreign-born wrestler ever to take charge of a training stable, founding Azumazeki stable in 1986. His most successful wrestler was fellow Hawaiian Akebono who reached the sport's highest rank of yokozuna in 1993. Takamiyama retired as a coach in 2009.
John Anthony Tenta Jr. was a Canadian professional wrestler and sumo wrestler (rikishi) best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation as Earthquake, though initially known as Canadian Earthquake.
Akira Taue is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is also a former All Japan Pro Wrestling Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, a former GHC Heavyweight Champion and has had fourteen 5 Star Matches as awarded by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Kōji Kitao was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler and professional wrestler, born in Mie. As Futahaguro Kōji he was sumo's 60th yokozuna, and the only one in sumo history not to win a top division tournament championship. He was forced to leave sumo at the end of 1987 after a falling-out with his stable master Tatsunami, and became a professional wrestler in 1990. He also had a short film career as an actor, portraying a sumo wrestler in Jean-Claude Van Damme's 1996 martial arts film The Quest.
Kaido Höövelson is an Estonian politician and former professional sumo wrestler. Making his debut in May 2004, he reached the top division after just two years in sumo in May 2006. After suffering a number of injury problems in 2007 which delayed his progress, he reached the third-highest rank of sekiwake in November 2008, and was promoted to ōzeki rank after finishing the March 2010 tournament with a score of 14–1. He was a tournament runner-up four times before recording a top division championship in the 2012 January tournament. During his career Baruto also earned five special prizes for Fighting Spirit, one for Outstanding Performance and one for Technique. He lost his ōzeki rank after more injury problems at the end of 2012, and having fallen greatly in rank after withdrawing from the May 2013 tournament, he announced his retirement in September of that year at the age of 28.
Joji Takano, born June 23, 1958, is an American-Japanese retired professional wrestler better known under the ring name George Takano. He was also billed from Uganda under the alias The Cobra, a masked wrestler persona. He worked for various Japanese and American wrestling promotions from the late 1970s to early 1990s. He is the older brother of Shunji Takano.
Asahifuji Seiya is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Aomori. He joined professional sumo in 1981, reaching the top makuuchi division just two years later. He reached the second highest rank of ōzeki in 1987 and became the 63rd yokozuna in the history of the sport in 1990 at the age of 30. He won four tournaments and was a runner-up on nine other occasions. He retired in 1992 and is now the head coach of Isegahama stable. As a coach he has produced two yokozuna himself, Harumafuji and Terunofuji.
Ōnokuni Yasushi is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Hokkaidō. Making his professional debut in 1978, he reached the top division in 1983. In 1987 he won his first yūshō or tournament championship with a perfect record and became the sport's 62nd yokozuna. However, he was only able to win one more championship before his retirement in 1991. He has remained in sumo as a coach and in 1999 became the head of Shibatayama stable. He was elected to the Japan Sumo Association's board of directors in 2018.
Takatōriki Tadashige is a former sumo wrestler and professional wrestler from Kobe, Japan. He made his professional debut in 1983, reaching the top division in 1990. His highest rank was sekiwake. Known for his great fighting spirit, he won 14 tournament prizes, including a record ten Kantō-shō, and earned nine gold stars for defeating yokozuna ranked wrestlers. He wrestled for the highly successful Futagoyama stable. He was twice runner-up in top division tournaments and in March 2000, from the maegashira ranks, he unexpectedly won the yūshō or championship. He retired in 2002 and became the head coach of Ōtake stable, having married the daughter of the previous owner of the heya, the great yokozuna Taihō. However, he was dismissed from the Sumo Association in 2010 for his role in an illegal gambling scandal.
Tochinishiki Kiyotaka was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tokyo. He was the sport's 44th yokozuna. He won ten top division yūshō or tournament championships and was a rival of fellow yokozuna Wakanohana I. He became the head coach of Kasugano stable in 1959 and was head of the Japan Sumo Association from 1974 until 1988.
Asahikuni Masuo is a former sumo wrestler from Hokkaidō, Japan. His highest rank was ōzeki. After his retirement he set up Ōshima stable which he ran from 1980 until he left the Japan Sumo Association in 2012 upon reaching the age of 65.
Takashi Ishikawa is a former professional wrestler and sumo wrestler from Fujishima, Higashitagawa District, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan.
Ryōgoku Kajinosuke IV is a former sumo wrestler from Nagasaki, Japan. His highest rank was komusubi. He is now a sumo coach under the name of Sakaigawa.
Yūshō is the term for a championship in Japanese. This article focuses on championships in the sport of professional sumo.
Musashimaru Kōyō is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler. He was born in American Samoa, before moving to Hawaii at the age of 10. At 18 he moved to Japan and made his professional sumo debut in 1989, reaching the top makuuchi division in 1991. After reaching the rank of ōzeki in 1994 his progress seemed to stall, but in 1999 he became only the second foreign-born wrestler in history to reach the sport's highest rank of yokozuna. Musashimaru won over 700 top division bouts and took twelve top division tournament championships during his career. His sheer 235 kg (518 lb) bulk combined with 1.92 m of height made him a formidable opponent, and he was remarkably consistent and injury-free for most of his career. An amiable personality, his fan base was helped by a surprising facial resemblance to Japanese warrior hero Saigō Takamori. After becoming a Japanese national in 1996 and retiring in 2003, he became an elder of the Japan Sumo Association and founded the Musashigawa stable in 2013.
Oginohana Akikazu is a former sumo wrestler from Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan. He made his professional debut in July 1983, and reached the top division in January 1990. His highest rank was maegashira 2. He retired in July 1998. He is the son of former sekiwake Oginohana Masaaki and the elder brother of former komusubi Oginishiki. Since 2014 he has been the head of the Dewanoumi stable.
Ōsunaarashi Kintarō is a retired sumo wrestler from Egypt. He was the first pro sumo wrestler from the African continent. Ōsunaarashi, whose chosen ring name translates into English as "great sandstorm", rose quickly through the unsalaried ranks, gaining the interest of Japanese media and popularity among sumo fans. Ōsunaarashi was promoted to the top tier makuuchi division for the November 2013 tournament. He emerged victorious from his first two matches against yokozuna ranked wrestlers in July 2014. He dropped in rank after injury problems and was forced to retire in March 2018 after being involved in a traffic accident when he was driving without a valid license. After leaving sumo he signed with Rizin FF, a Japanese national mixed martial arts organization where he joined other former rikishi like Baruto Kaito and Akebono Tarō. His mixed martial arts debut was at Rizin 13.
References
- 1 2 3 "Aap_Uspenski". esbl.ee. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
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