 Minamino in July 2014 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1985-12-24)December 24, 1985 (age 39) Kyoto, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Beetle Takeshi Esthetic Jaguar HAPPY MAN Kendo Takeshi Masked Tree-Planting Man Takeshi Minamino Takeshi Yamamoto |
| Billed height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Billed weight | 86 kg (190 lb) |
| Trained by | Último Dragón Jorge "Skayde" Rivera |
| Debut | November 7, 2002 |
Takeshi Yamamoto (山本タケシ,Yamamoto Takeshi),[1] (born December 24, 1985) better known by thering nameTakeshi Minamino (南野タケシ,Minamino Takeshi), is a Japaneseprofessional wrestler. He wrestles inMichinoku Pro Wrestling andAll Japan Pro Wrestling.
Yamamoto made his pro wrestling debut inToryumon Mexico at only sixteen, being the youngest debutant out of theÚltimo Dragón Gym. He changed his ring name toTakeshi Minamino (南野タケシ,Minamino Takeshi) and joinedPineapple Hanai andMango Fukuda to found Los Salseros Japoneses, asalsamusic band themedheelstable led by him. Minamino established himself as a major heel and went tofeud with topfaceTaiji Ishimori and his Sailor Boys (Kei and Shu Sato). They had their first bout inToryumon X, where Minamino unsuccessfully challenged Ishimori forUWA World Welterweight Championship. On August 29, 2004 Minamino got a rematch in Mexico and won the title, retaining it against Taiji on October, 10 with aid from Fukuda and Hanai. The title was vacated after the match. After the Toryumon X demise, Minamino and his colleagues were moved toMichinoku Pro Wrestling.
Upon his arrival to Michinoku Pro, Minamino dissociated himself from Los Salseros Japoneses and formed atag team withComo Leoapard, using a mask and the nameEsthetic Jaguar. However, the team fell after theFutaritabi Tag Team League 2004 and Minamino returned to Los Salseros, posing as the top heel team in Michinoku Pro.
The trio won theUWA World Trios Championship from Solar, Ultraman and Ultraman, Jr. in a Toryumon Mexico show, and Minamino captured theTohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship in a tournament final againstRasse, becoming double champion. His individual reign lasted until May, when he lost his title againstSuper Delfín. In June, Los Salseros Japoneses lost the UWA World Trios title against STONED (Maguro Ooma, Kei Sato and Shu Sato) by a misaimed attack from Minamino to Hanai, after which Los Salseros Japoneses broke up when Hanai turned on him.
Minamino went solo and turnedface, adopting a traditional Japanese attire with a blackhakama. He also playedHappy Man, analien character dressed inSuperman-like pink attire, and had a title shot against the Tohoku Junior Heavyweight ChampionYoshitsune, but he failed.
In 2008, Minamino turned heel again and became a member of the Kowloon stable, directed byFujita Hayato. He formed a tag team withMaguro Ooma, which was called Tonery Family. Minamino and Ooma won theFutaritabi Tag Team League 2009 and beatKesen Numajiro &Kinya Oyanagi to win theTohoku Tag Team Championship. They retained the title during months, until they dropped it to Yapper Men (Yapper Man #1 &Yapper Man #2). After the dissension of Kowloon, Tonery Family andKen45º turnedtweener and followed Hayato to his new stable, Bad Boy.