 Fujiwara in 2012 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1949-04-27)April 27, 1949 (age 76) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Yoshiaki Fujiwara |
| Billed height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Billed weight | 102 kg (225 lb) |
| Debut | November 12, 1972 |
Yoshiaki Fujiwara (藤原 喜明,Fujiwara Yoshiaki; April 27, 1949) is aJapaneseprofessional wrestler, trainer and wrestling promoter. He is famous for his long career in wrestling, having worked inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW),Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE (ZERO-ONE), and the two incarnations ofshoot style promotionUniversal Wrestling Federation.[1][2] Fujiwara is known for hiscatch wrestling expertise, having been praised by fighters likeJosh Barnett andKen Shamrock.[3] He was trained byKarl Gotch and has trained many MMA fighters and professional wrestlers.[4] Fujiwara also has a strong background inJudo andMuay Thai.
Fujiwara was the first graduate of theNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW)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 formerJudoka, Fujiwara was easily able to absorb and apply the "Strong Style" of professional wrestling taught by Inoki andKarl Gotch, and he eventually became Inoki's bodyguard and sparring partner. In 1975, Fujiwara won the Karl Gotch Cup (a tournament for rookies named after Karl Gotch and forerunner to the laterYoung Lion Cup). In the late 1970s, Fujiwara became embroiled in a feud withAllen Coage (a former Olympic judo bronze medal winner who had debuted as a pro wrestler in NJPW, and one of the firstgaijins 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. On February 2, 1984, however, all that would change when Fujiwara appeared before a match to attackRiki Choshu, then the promotion's main villain. The sight of Choshu beaten and bleeding turned Fujiwara into one of the most popular babyface wrestlers in the promotion and a mainstay in the rivalry against Choshu and his Ishin Gundan faction. In storyline, it was suspected Inoki himself had arranged for Fujiwara's attack.[5] The same year, Fujiwara was among the defectors who created theJapanese 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 withAkira 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 Choshu'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 ashoot attack on Choshu 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 rookiesMasakatsu Funaki andMinoru Suzuki. In 1989, however, Fujiwara felt the need to continue shoot-style wrestling, also due to the rise of Choshu in backstage politics, so he moved to the UWF with Funaki and Suzuki.
In Newborn UWF, Fujiwara was clearly seen as the senior peer to Maeda, but eventually jobbed to him. After Newborn UWF collapsed in December 1990, Fujiwara, Funaki, Suzuki and rookie Yusuke Fuke formedPro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi (Gumi [組] inJapanese means "group", but it is used in theunderworld lingo to meanorganized crime family. Fujiwara styled himselfkumichō [組長], literally, the gang leader). Although it was ashoot style promotion, Fujiwara had agreements withSWS,W*ING andUniversal Lucha Libre, whereupon he would send talent to compete in them (but not vice versa, 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 formPancrase. 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 free agent (as the promotion no longer operates), has competed in several promotions, mostly in legends matches. He has wrestled for NJPW,All Japan Pro Wrestling,Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE,WAR, and several independents as of 2025.
Fujiwara is also anactor who has had a few parts in Japanese movies anddramas. In 1995, he had a major role in the Toshihiro Sato movieRoppongi Soldier along withSatoru Sayama andItsumi Osawa, playing an eccentrickickboxer named Sabu.
He is also a prolific artisanpotter.
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | The Bad News Bears Go to Japan | Wrestler |
| 1995 | Toryu-den | Trainer |
| 1995 | Roppongi Soldier | Sabu |
| 1995 | Zero Woman: The Hunted | Yamamoto |
| 1999 | Gohatto | Samurai |
| 1999 | A! Ikkenya Puroresu | Kota's friend |
| 2005 | Koshu Prison | Inmate |
| 2005 | Muhito | Wrestler |
| 2005 | Yakuza (video game) | Florist of Sai |
| 2006 | Yakuza 2 (video game) | Florist of Sai |
| 2008 | Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! (video game) | Hon'ami Koetsu |
| 2009 | Yakuza 3 (video game) | Florist of Sai |
| 2010 | Yakuza 4 (video game) | Florist of Sai |
| 2010 | Kurohyō: Ryū ga Gotoku Shinshō (video game) | Florist of Sai |
| 2011 | Yakuza: Dead Souls (video game) | Florist of Sai |
| 2012 | Yakuza 5 (video game) | Florist of Sai |
| 2012 | Kurohyō: Ryū ga Gotoku Ashura-hen (video game) | Florist of Sai |
| 2014 | Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin! (video game) | Bathkeeper of Sai |
| 2016 | Yakuza Kiwami (video game) | Florist of Sai |
| 2017 | Yakuza Kiwami 2 (video game) | Florist of Sai |
| 2023 | Like a Dragon: Ishin!(video game) | Bathkeeper of Sai |
,Internet Wrestling Database| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
