| Masashi Takeda | |
|---|---|
 Takeda in June 2020 | |
| Birth name | Masashi Takeda (竹田 誠志,Takeda Masashi) |
| Born | (1985-08-13)August 13, 1985 (age 39)[1] Machida, Tokyo |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Masashi Takeda[2] |
| Billed height | 173 cm (5 ft 8 in) |
| Billed weight | 87 kg (192 lb) |
| Trained by | Jun Kasai[1] |
| Debut | January 20, 2007[1] |
Masashi Takeda (竹田 誠志,Takeda Masashi, born August 13, 1985)[1] is aJapaneseprofessional wrestler andmixed martial artist, primarily working forBig Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Deathmatch division. Takeda also competes as a freelancer for Freedoms and occasionally,All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW).
While in junior high school, Takeda discovereddeathmatch wrestling and mixed martial arts, becoming a huge fan of both. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in the U-File Camp, training for a career in MMA. After receiving some pro wrestling training from Jun Kasai, Takeda debuted as a wrestler for Style-E in January 2007.[1]
Takeda debuted in BJW on May 23, 2008, teaming with Kankuro Hoshino in a loss to Craig Classic andMasada.[3] In October of that year, he competed in his first ever deathmatch, teaming withShuji Ishikawa andRyuji Ito in a loss to Saboru Inematsu,Jaki Numazawa and mentor Jun Kasai.[4] In early 2009, Takeda teamed withIsami Kodaka in the Maximum Tag League, winning his first deathmatch on March 26, when he and Kodaka defeated Numazawa and Kasai. The two finished first in their block with 6 points, allowing them to advance to the semi-finals where they defeated Block A runners-up Ryuji Ito and Shuji Ishikawa. In the final, Takeda and Kodaka wrestled Takashi Sasaki and Yuko Miyamoto to a draw in a Fluorescent Lighttubes Tower Of Death Match, but defeated them in overtime to become the new BJW Tag Team Champions.[5] Takeda and Kodaka held the championships until July, dropping them toDaisuke Sekimoto andYuji Okabayashi in their first defence.[6] That same month, Takeda won the D-Dash Tournament, defeating Shinya Ishikawa in the final,[7] and unsuccessfully challenged Yuko Miyamoto for the BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship in a scaffold deathmatch.[8] In December, Takeda teamed with Takuma Obe in the D-Dash Tag Tournament, making it to the semi-finals before being eliminated by Ryuichi Kawakami and Shinya Ishikawa.[9] Takeda again challenged for the Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship in July 2010, this time losing to Ryuji Ito in a glass and fluorescent light tubes alpha deathmatch.[10]
In early 2011, Takeda participated in the Ikkitosen Death Survival Tournament, finishing first in his block with 6 points, but losing to Takashi Sasaki in the final.[11] Takeda received his third opportunity at the BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship in February 2012, losing to Abdullah Kobayashi in an Open Finger Gloves Spike Nail Deathmatch.[12] Takeda made his debut outside of Japan in June 2013, losing toCombat Zone Wrestling (CZW)'sDrake Younger in a deathmatch inGermany.[13] Takeda unsuccessfully challenged for the BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship for the fourth time on June 30, losing to Shuji Ishikawa.[14] In February 2014, while riding his motorcycle, Takeda was involved in an accident, injuring his ankle and missing 4 months of action. He wrestled his return match on June 14, losing toDanny Havoc in the first round of the 2014 Tournament Of Death for CZW in the United States.[15] Takeda received his 5th opportunity at the Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship in August, losing to Yuko Miyamoto.[16] In early 2015, Takeda again participated in the Ikkitosen Survival Tournament, finishing first in his block with 8 points but losing to Abdullah Kobayashi in the final.[17] On August 19, 2017, Takeda defeated Masaya Takahashi to win theBJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career.[18]
Beginning in May 2016, Takeda began making appearances for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). On May 25, Takeda unsuccessfully challengedAtsushi Aoki for theWorld Junior Heavyweight Championship.[19] In August, Takeda gained his biggest win in All Japan to date when he teamed with Nextream (Jake Lee andKento Miyahara) to defeatEvolution (Suwama and Aoki) and Super Tiger. On October 15, Takeda and Atsushi Maruyama unsuccessfully challenged Evolution (Aoki andHikaru Sato) for theAll Asia Tag Team Championship.[20]
Takeda is a birdkeeper in his spare time; he owns a petbarn owl named 12, and runs aTwitter account where he posts pictures and updates of the owl.[21]
He married his wife, Yuka Omori, a former member of the idol group "Through Skills" in June 2019. Together, the couple had a daughter. Takeda announced on January 30, 2022 that his wife had died suddenly on January 7, and her funeral had been held on January 14. He also announced that he would be taking a break from professional wrestling as a result. He eventually returned to the ring in July 2022.[22]
| Masashi Takeda | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1985-08-13)August 13, 1985 (age 39) Machida, Tokyo |
| Other names | Crazy Kid |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) |
| Weight | 87 kg (192 lb) |
| Division | Welterweight |
| Team | U-File |
| Years active | 2005-present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 16 |
| Wins | 11 |
| By knockout | 6 |
| By submission | 5 |
| By decision | 0 |
| Losses | 4 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 0 |
| Draws | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record fromSherdog | |
| 16 matches | 11 wins | 4 losses |
| By knockout | 6 | 3 |
| By submission | 5 | 1 |
| By decision | 0 | 0 |
| Draws | 1 | |
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