.png) Sakurada in 1986, holding theKendo Nagasaki mask | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 26, 1948 (1948-09-26) |
| Died | January 12, 2020 (2020-01-13) (aged 71) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring names | |
| Billed height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Billed weight | 119 kg (262 lb) |
| Debut | June 21, 1971 |
| Retired | July 7, 2000[7] |
Kazuo Sakurada (桜田 一男,Sakurada Kazuo; September 26, 1948 – January 12, 2020), better known asMr. Sakurada,The Dragonmaster, and as the Japanese version ofKendo Nagasaki (ケンドー・ナガサキ,Kendō Nagasaki), was aJapaneseprofessional wrestler. He was best known for his work inStampede Wrestling,National Wrestling Alliance, andWorld Championship Wrestling. Sakurada was also highly regarded byBret Hart as one of his most significant trainers alongsideKatsui Adachi or Mr. Hito, with whom he taught extensively inHart Dungeon.[8]
| Midorimine | |
|---|---|
| 翠巒 | |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft1+1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 115 kg (254 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Tatsunami |
| Record | 148-132-21 |
| Debut | January 1964[9] |
| Highest rank | Makushita 13 (January 1970)[9] |
| Retired | March 1971[9] |
| Championships | 1 (Jonidan) |
Kazuo Sakurada was born on September 26, 1948, inAbashiri, Hokkaido.[9] After graduating from junior high school, he joined theTatsunami stable to pursuesumo. While there, he first met future professional wrestlerGenichiro Tenryu. He made his sumo debut in January 1964 under his last name (櫻田). In September 1966, he changed hisshikona to Abashirinada Kazuo (網走洋 一男).[9] In May 1969, he changed his name again to Midorimine (翠巒).[9] Throughout his seven-year career in sumo, his highest rank wasmakushita 13, and his only tournament championship win was in September 1966, with an undefeated record of seven wins.[9] In March 1971, Sakurada retired from sumo wrestling.[9]
| Year | January Hatsu basho,Tokyo | March Haru basho,Osaka | May Natsu basho,Tokyo | July Nagoya basho,Nagoya | September Aki basho,Tokyo | November Kyūshū basho,Fukuoka |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | (Maezumo) | East Jonokuchi #16 6–1 | East Jonidan #80 4–3 | East Jonidan #56 4–3 | East Jonidan #33 2–5 | East Jonidan #61 5–2 |
| 1965 | West Jonidan #14 3–4 | West Jonidan #30 4–3 | West Jonidan #5 3–4 | West Jonidan #21 5–2 | West Sandanme #87 4–3 | East Sandanme #67 4–3 |
| 1966 | East Sandanme #49 4–3 | West Sandanme #38 1–6 | West Sandanme #68 3–4 | East Sandanme #77 Sat out due to injury 0–0–7 | West Jonidan #24 7–0 Champion | West Sandanme #12 3–4 |
| 1967 | West Sandanme #20 4–3 | East Sandanme #4 3–4 | West Sandanme #52 4–3 | West Sandanme #33 4–3 | East Sandanme #22 5–2 | East Sandanme #1 5–2 |
| 1968 | West Makushita #39 1–6 | East Sandanme #5 2–5 | West Sandanme #27 4–3 | East Sandanme #18 3–4 | West Sandanme #32 4–3 | East Sandanme #20 4–3 |
| 1969 | West Sandanme #13 4–3 | West Sandanme #1 3–4 | East Sandanme #7 5–2 | West Makushita #43 4–3 | West Makushita #33 5–2 | East Makushita #19 4–3 |
| 1970 | West Makushita #13 3–4 | West Makushita #17 4–3 | West Makushita #14 3–4 | East Makushita #19 4–3 | East Makushita #14 2–5 | Makushita #26 2–5 |
| 1971 | East Makushita #40 Sat out due to injury 0–0–7 | East Sandanme #10 Retired 0–0–7 | x | x | x | x |
| Record given aswins–losses–absences Top division champion Top division runner-up Retired Lower divisions Non-participation Sanshō key:F=Fighting spirit;O=Outstanding performance;T=Technique Also shown:★=Kinboshi;P=Playoff(s) | ||||||
Kazuo Sakurada debuted on June 21, 1971, in the oldJapan Pro Wrestling Alliance againstKim Duk. On March 8, 1973, he became involved in ashoot when his mid-card match against rookie Tsutomu Oshiro went horribly wrong and Sakurada began beating Oshiro severely, knocking him out of the ring. Oshiro was going to jump toNew Japan Pro-Wrestling along with his mentorSeiji Sakaguchi and friendKengo Kimura,[11] and Sakurada took actions into his own hands, blaming them for jumping ship. When the JPWA closed in April 1973 Sakurada joinedAll Japan Pro Wrestling.[12]
In 1975, he joinedInternational Wrestling Enterprise.
In 1976, Sakurada made his North America debut in Texas. Now asMr. Sakurada, he found his earliest success inStampede Wrestling. During his time in Stampede Wrestling, Sakurada trainedBret Hart to wrestle.[8] He defeated two-time championLeo Burke to win his first and onlyStampede North American Heavyweight Championship on May 20, 1978, inEdmonton, Alberta.[a] He held the title for a little over three months before losing toPaddy Ryan on September 1.[a] He then became highly regarded in Stampede's tag team division, defeatingKeith and Bret Hart in early 1979 to win his firstStampede International Tag Team Championship withMr. Hito.[b] Their second win came later on the same year after the defeat ofDory Funk Jr. andLarry Lane, only to be toppled once again by the Hart brothers.[b] By 1980, Hito had moved on to singles competition, leaving Sakurada to form a team withKasavubu. They, too, defeated the Harts, marking Sakurada's third and final tag team championship reign in Stampede.[b] This reign would be ended at the hands of the Harts' brother-in-lawJim Neidhart andHercules Ayala that same year.[b]
In the early 1980s, Sakurada had started working in various southern American promotions, starting with theContinental Wrestling Association in Memphis. During this time, he began using the "Kendo Nagasaki'"gimmick, a JapaneseSamurai character previously made famous byBritish wrestlerPeter Thornley dating back to 1964.[13] This incarnation was vastly different however; rather than wearing a mask, Sakurada wore face paint and a highly alternate style altogether.[13] His fierce character also made famous theAsian mist and frequently employed theKendo stick as his signature weapon. As Nagasaki, he found a most prominent win in his victory overJerry Lawler for theNWA/AWA Southern Heavyweight Title in 1982.[c] He would lose the title back to Lawler before pursuing new territory.[c]
After the Memphis territory, Nagasaki worked forNWA territoriesWorld Wrestling Council,Florida Championship Wrestling andSoutheastern Championship Wrestling. He faced some of the top competition in the Florida territory throughout 1983 and 1984, and on January 22, 1984, he captured theNWA Florida Heavyweight Championship fromMike Rotunda.[d] This kicked off a rivalry with the reputableBilly Jack Haynes, resulting in his title victory over Nagasaki in March of the same year. During his time with CWF, Nagasaki would also tag team withWhite Ninja. Following his departure from CWF, Nagasaki briefly worked forVon Erich'sWorld Class Championship Wrestling in the mid '80s as "White Ninja", frequently partnering with "Super Black Ninja".[e] During the 1980s, Nagasaki teamed withMr. Pogo as "the Ninja Express". The Ninja Express briefly returned to Japan to participate inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling'sJapan Cup tag team tournament in late 1987, finishing in second-to-last place.[14]
In 1989, he performed onWCW television, using thering name "The Dragonmaster". While there, he joinedGary Hart'sJ-Tex Corporationstable consisting ofTerry Funk,Dick Slater,Buzz Sawyer, and The Great Muta.[f][15] Thisheel group, conceived in July 1989,[15] feuded with theFour Horsemen until ultimately disbanding in February 1990 after a finalsteel cage match at theClash of the Champions X: Texas Shootout, a match largely overshadowed by the other Horsemen turningheel onSting.[16][17]
In 1990, after so many years competing in North America, he returned to Japan as Kendo Nagasaki. He first joinedFrontier Martial-Arts Wrestling,[18] but later joinedSuper World of Sports.[19] Following SWS's collapse in 1992, he formed his own promotion, NOW (Network of Wrestling). In 1995, he closed NOW, and with a new business partnerShinya Kojika, formedBig Japan Pro Wrestling. Nagasaki teamed withChris Michaels defeatingDamian Stone and Joel Hartgood ECW'sBig Ass Extreme Bash. After leaving BJW in 1999, Nagasaki wrestled semi-actively until 2000 where he had his last match on July 7, 2000, teaming with Ichiro Yaguchi, Shoji Nakamaki, and Yase Yaguchi in a loss toAtsushi Onita, Exciting Yoshida,Mitsunobu Kikuzawa, andNaoshi Sano on an Onita Pro show.[7]
On September 26, 1995, inSetagaya, Tokyo, Sakurada lost amixed martial arts match to American kickboxerZane Frazier viaknockout punch atShooto: Vale Tudo Perception.[20] At the time, Sakurada had the reputation by pro wrestling insiders as being one of the toughest wrestlers in a street fight, as well as ashooter. This was possibly one of the reasons why he was chosen to take this fight, despite being 47 years old at the time.
| 1 match | 0 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 0 | 1 |
| By submission | 0 | 0 |
| By decision | 0 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 |  Zane Frazier | KO (punch) | Shooto: Vale Tudo Perception | September 26, 1995 | 1 | 0:36 | Tokyo,Japan | [20] |
On January 12, 2020, Sakurada died at age 71 due toarrhythmia.[13]
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