 Mr. Gannosuke in March 2011. | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Masashi Honda (1968-06-20)June 20, 1968 (age 57) Nagasaki-shi, Nagasaki, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Gannosuke Honda Mr. Gannosuke Hayabusa Masashi Honda Riki Ganshu |
| Billed height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Billed weight | 100 kg (220 lb) |
| Trained by | Takashi Ishikawa Tarzan Goto |
| Debut | November 2, 1987[1][a] |
| Retired | April 15, 2018 |
Masashi Honda (本田雅史,Honda Masashi; born June 20, 1968) is a Japanese retiredprofessional wrestler. He is best known for his work inFrontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) under the ring nameMr. Gannosuke (ミスター雁之助,Misutā Gannosuke).
Honda was quicklypushed as "Mr. Gannosuke" due to his resemblance to the actor Ashiya Gannosuke and he began competing asAtsushi Onita's tag team partner in main event matches during his rookie year. He left the company in 1995 with his trainerTarzan Goto due to differences with Onita and worked inInternational Wrestling Association (IWA) for nearly two years. He returned to FMW in 1997 and became the mainrival ofHayabusa for the next four years. He was the company's mostpopularvillain from 1997 to 1998 and the second top villain from then onwards. He would be a member of villainous groups Funk Masters of Wrestling,ZEN,Team No Respect andShin Fuyuki-gun.
He held many titles in his FMW career including being aone-timeBrass Knuckles Heavyweight Champion and atwo-timeIndependent Heavyweight Champion. He was also the winner ofOver the Top tournament in 1999. He headlined manypay-per-view events for FMW including the company's flagship eventAnniversary Show in1998,1999 and2001.
Masashi Honda was born inNagasaki-shi, Nagasaki,Japan on June 20, 1968. He was a fan ofprofessional wrestling since childhood and grew up watchingNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Honda idolizedRiki Choshu as his favorite wrestler and decided to follow in his footsteps and become a professional wrestler. He joinedKumamoto University in 1987 and excelled in weight training, where he befriendedEiji Ezaki and the two trained for a professional wrestling career.[2]
Honda made his wrestling debut while in college on astudent wrestling event on November 2, 1987, teaming withEiji Ezaki against three upper classmen. They would cut their teeth on the small Japaneseindependent circuit for four years, before applying for the upstart promotionFrontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in 1991.[2]
In February 1991, Ezaki and Honda joined the FMW Dojo, where they were trained byTarzan Goto. Ezaki would debut for FMW in May and Honda made his FMW debut a month later as afan favorite against Akihito Ichihara on June 22, which Honda lost. He and Ezaki wrestled as a low-card tag team during the early matches of his career and against each other on the cards and would be utilized aspreliminary talents, being used to lose against more established stars. Honda picked up his first win in FMW against Ezaki on June 26. The duo competed against each other in the opening match of the2nd Anniversary Show, which Ezaki won. The following month, on October 14, Honda picked up his first major victory by winning a thirteen-manbattle royal by last eliminatingThe Gladiator. His battle royal win elevated him to the upper mid-card while also competing in fewmain event matches asAtsushi Onita's partner. On October 22, Honda changed hisring name toMr. Gannosuke, a nickname first given to him by his trainer Tarzan Goto during his training days due to Honda's resemblance to actor Ashiya Gannosuke. He would team with Onita in numerousstreet fights and deathmatches by the end of his rookie year.
He suffered an injury in the fall of 1991 and returned to FMW on January 5, 1992, losing toKevin Sullivan. Gannosuke suffered another injury on July 28 and was sidelined for the rest of the year. He returned on January 5, 1993, where he lost toKoji Nakagawa in the opening match of the show. A third injury ensued during a tag team match on April 23 when he and Atsushi Onita lost toBig Titan and The Gladiator after Gladiator punched hard in Gannosuke's jaw, thus breaking it. He returned to FMW on June 15 by defeating Eiji Ezaki. AtSummer Spectacular, Gannosuke teamed with Sambo Asako to take on Big Titan and The Gladiator in atag team match. Gannosukepinned Gladiator by debuting his newfinisher, theGannosuke Clutch to gain a major upset win over Gladiator. In early 1994, Gannosuke was paired with his mentor Tarzan Goto in atournament for the newBrass Knuckles Tag Team Championship. They defeatedSabu andDamian in the quarter-final, a Barbed Wire Street Fight and the team ofMr. Pogo and Goro Tsurumi in the semi-final, a Barbed Wire Deathmatch and then lost to Big Titan and The Gladiator in a No Ropes Barbed Wire Deathmatch in the final of Block A. They would be moved to the losing teams' Block B, where they were defeated by Atsushi Onita and Katsutoshi Niiyama in the final of Block B, a No Ropes Barbed Wire Deathmatch. Gannosuke would then team with Sambo Asako to defeat Goro Tsurumi andHideki Hosaka at5th Anniversary Show.
Gannosuke began elevating his status in the summer of 1994 by picking up a major victory against Sambo Asako atSummer Spectacular. He then joined forces with Atsushi Onita and his allies tofeud with the upstartfactionW*ING Alliance. On November 23, the team of Gannosuke, Onita and Katsutoshi Niiyama took on W*ING members Mr. Pogo,Yukihiro Kanemura and The Gladiator in aPenalty Box Elimination No Ropes Barbed Wire Street Fight Deathmatch, during which Gannosuke was eliminated by Gladiator and suffered an injury, which put him out of action for nearly two months. He returned to FMW on January 5, 1995, where he teamed with FMW fellows Tarzan Goto, Katsutoshi Niiyama andTetsuhiro Kuroda against W*ING's Mr. Pogo, The Gladiator, Yukihiro Kanemura andHisakatsu Oya in a losing effort. A month later, on February 24, Gannosuke won his firstchampionship, the Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship with Onita by defeating Mr. Pogo and The Gladiator. Theydropped the title to Pogo and Yukihiro Kanemura on March 7. Gannosuke and his mentor Tarzan Gotono-showed the April 22 event, and the following day, the two along with Flying Kid Ichihara announced that they were leaving FMW due to Goto's refusal of losing to Onita at6th Anniversary Show. This also led Gannosuke and Katsutoshi Niiyama's scheduled match against Hisakatsu Oya andRicky Fuji at the event to be cancelled.
Upon leaving FMW, Tarzan Goto, Mr. Gannosuke and Flying Kid Ichihara joined the upstartdeathmatch wrestlingpromotionBig Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW), where they debuted on May 30 with a win overKendo Nagasaki, Giant Korean and Kim Soppo. They soon left BJW and joinedInternational Wrestling Association of Japan in July, where the trio formed astable Shin-FMW and were heavilypushed as the company's topvillains. Gannosuke and Tarzan Goto also made an appearance forWrestle Association R's3rd Anniversary Show, where the duo defeatedJado and Gedo. At IWA Japan'sKawasaki Dream, Gannosuke participated in the well receivedKing of the Deathmatch tournament, losing toTiger Jeet Singh in a Barbed Wire Board and Chain Deathmatch in the quarter-final round. On October 1, Gannosuke and Tarzan Goto defeatedCactus Jack andTracy Smothers to win theWorld Tag Team Championship. On December 9, Gannosuke and Goto defeated Jack and Tiger Jeet Singh in the final of a tag team tournament to win the vacantNWA World Tag Team Championship and held both sets oftag team championships. Despite holding two sets of tag team titles, IWA Japan lost tons of money and suspended operations. Shin-FMW left the company in October 1996, forcing Gannosuke and Goto to vacate both titles.
Shin-FMW also made a few appearances inTokyo Pro Wrestling (TPW) during their time in IWA Japan in mid-1996. The ill-fated promotion closed down after producing its last event on December 7.
On January 5, 1997, Mr. Gannosuke and Flying Kid Ichihara returned to FMW, confrontingHayabusa, upset that Hayabusa did not leave FMW with him in 1995. Gannosuke and Ichihara established themselves asvillains and joinedTerry Funk's Funk Masters of Wrestling. This marked the beginning of a historic and long-lastingrivalry between Gannosuke and Hayabusa. Gannosuke made his in-ring return to FMW on February 18 as he andHisakatsu Oya defeated the team of Hayabusa andRicky Fuji. Gannosuke went on a vicious streak, defeating other wrestlers and calling them victories over Hayabusa. At8th Anniversary Show, Gannosuke wrestled Hayabusa in their first singles encounter, amask vs. hair match, which Hayabusa won. However, Hayabusa suggested to Gannosuke that he would not cut his hair if Gannosuke left Funk Masters of Wrestling and Hayabusa initiated a handshake but Gannosuke attacked him and ripped off his mask and attempted to blow afireball on Hayabusa beforeJinsei Shinzaki made the save. This led to Gannosuke, wearing a purple Hayabusa mask, attacked Shinzaki with a stick during Shinzaki's entrance before a match at aMichinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW) show on June 21. He then proceeded to burn Hayabusa's mask and also beginning to feud with Shinzaki.
On August 5, Mr. Gannosuke won theWorld Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship with Funk Masters of Wrestling teammates Hisakatsu Oya andThe Gladiator by defeating Hayabusa, Ricky Fuji andKoji Nakagawa in the quarter-final andFuyuki-Gun (Kodo Fuyuki,Jado, andGedo) in the final. Two weeks later, on August 21, Gannosuke and Oya defeatedW*ING Kanemura andHido to win theBrass Knuckles Tag Team Championship. On August 31, Funk Masters of Wrestling lost the World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship to Hayabusa,Masato Tanaka and Koji Nakagawa. AtKawasaki Legend: Fall Spectacular, Gannosuke and Oya successfully defended the Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship againstJado and Gedo. On October 14, Gannosuke defeated Jinsei Shinzaki after attacking him from behind. During this time, he gotover with the fans as the company's top villain due to getting heelheat after the departure of Terry Funk. On October 19, Gannosuke and Oya lost the Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship toZEN'sAtsushi Onita andYukihiro Kanemura. After losing the title, Gannosuke and Oya left Funk Masters of Wrestling and jumped to ZEN. Two days later, Gannosuke and Oya defeated The Gladiator andSuper Leather after Gladiator attacked Leather and abandoned Funk Masters of Wrestling.
On November 28, Gannosuke teamed with his ZEN teammate Yukihiro Kanemura and they defeated Hayabusa and Masato Tanaka to win the vacant Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship and the two formed a very successful tag team, even surpassing their leader Atsushi Onita as the top villains of FMW due to them getting the biggest heel heat from the crowd. Friction arose within ZEN as Onitaput himself in the main event of the December 19 show in theSuper Extreme Wrestling War tour against Masato Tanaka, instead of Gannosuke and Kanemura's Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship defense against Hayabusa and Jinsei Shinzaki, which the duo felt deserved to be the main event of the show and it led to a heated argument between Gannosuke and Onita. Gannosuke and Kanemura successfully defended the title against Hayabusa and Shinzaki. On the final day of the tour on December 22, the team of Onita, Gannosuke and Kanemura took on Hayabusa, Jinsei Shinzaki and Masato Tanaka in aWarGames match, during which Gannosuke and Kanemura showed tactics of dissension with Onita andturned on Onita after Onita waspinned by Hayabusa. They attacked Onita until Koji Nakagawa made the rescue and then Gannosuke, Kanemura and Hido left ZEN to form their own freelance group alongside Miss Mongol. This led Onita to turnfan favorite and Gannosuke cemented his place as the top villain of FMW.
Impressed by Honda due to his heel heat and increasing popularity, FMW's headbooker Go Ito pushed Gannosuke as the company's topmain event star. On January 6, 1998, Gannosuke defeatedMasato Tanaka to win the FMW Double Championship (theunifiedBrass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship and theIndependent Heavyweight Championship) to claim his firstworld championship reigns. A day later, Gannosuke,Yukihiro Kanemura andHido took onAtsushi Onita,Koji Nakagawa andTetsuhiro Kuroda in astreet fight atZEN's first promoted show. Gannosuke's team lost the match, but they attacked ZEN after the match andFuyuki-Gun joined Gannosuke's group in the assault and the two factions subsequently merged to formTeam No Respect, with Gannosuke becoming the leader of the group. On January 16, Gannosuke, Kanemura andJado defeatedHayabusa, Masato Tanaka andHisakatsu Oya to win theWorld Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. Gannosuke began mockingJinsei Shinzaki by appearing in his outfit and using Shinzaki's mannerisms and moves during his matches. On February 13, Gannosuke's team lost the World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship to ZEN's Atsushi Onita, Koji Nakagawa and Tetsuhiro Kuroda. On March 29, Gannosuke and Kanemura lost theBrass Knuckles Tag Team Championship to TNR teammatesKodo Fuyuki and Hido. On April 21, Gannosuke lost to Jinsei Shinzaki to end their year-lasting feud. The following week, Gannosuke lost the Double Championship to his rival Hayabusa at FMW's firstpay-per-view event9th Anniversary Show: Entertainment Wrestling Live on April 30. During the match, Gannosuke dislocated his knee, which required reconstructive surgery and to be out of action for six months and then Kodo Fuyuki took over as the leader of Team No Respect.
Gannosuke made his first appearance since losing the title on May 25 for a Brief Brothers skit with Yukihiro Kanemura, during which the two began to bicker with each other. He would then make an appearance in Jinsei Shinzaki's outfit atWelcome to the Darkside pay-per-view on August 22, where he cost The Darkside of Hayabusa, a match against Koji Nakagawa, who had joined TNR during Gannosuke's injury. He made his full-time return on October 6 after Tetsuhiro Kuroda defeated Yukihiro Kanemura and began praying instead of shaking hands with Kuroda, which set up a match between Gannosuke and Kuroda on November 20, where Gannosuke made his in-ring return and defeated Kuroda. After the match, Kanemura confronted Gannosuke on his allegiance to TNR but Gannosuke did not answer and simply walked away, thus quietly leaving Team No Respect. He then entered theOver the Top Tournament to determine the #1 contender for the Double Championship on March 19, 1999. Gannosuke defeated Koji Nakagawa in the first round, Yukihiro Kanemura in the quarter-final, Hido in the semi-final and Hisakatsu Oya in the final round of the tournament on January 5, 1999 to become the #1 contender for the titles and earn the title shot.
Following his tournament victory, Gannosuke formed a group withHideki Hosaka andSuper Leather called Gannosuke's Outlaws, which became the top villainous group in FMW due to Team No Respect turning into fan favorites. Gannosuke gained his first singles win over Hayabusa on February 21. On February 27, Hisakatsu Oya turned on Hayabusa during a match against Gannosuke and Hosaka and then Oya joined Gannosuke's Outlaws and then received his title shot against Kodo Fuyuki for the Double Championship on March 19, where he failed to win the title. Gannosuke would then team with Oya to participate in around robin tournament for the vacant Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship. They scored eight points in the tournament and were eliminated from the tournament. They subsequently began feuding withDaisuke Ikeda andMuhammad Yone after losing to them in a tournament match on March 29. Gannosuke and Oya defeated Ikeda and Yone in a rematch on May 3. Later in the show, Gannosuke's Outlaws and Team No Respect formed an alliance as TNR helped Gannosuke's Outlaws in laying out an assault on Daisuke Ikeda. Two days later, on May 5, the combined alliance of Gannosuke's Outlaws and Team No Respect defeatedBattlarts' team in anelimination tag team match.
Later in the show, Gannosuke showed up duringKodo Fuyuki's Double Championship title defense againstTetsuhiro Kuroda and reunitedTeam No Respect as all the members of TNR began dancing to TNR'stheme songCome Out and Play. The group helped Fuyuki in retaining the title against Kuroda, resulting in Gannosuke ending Gannosuke's Outlaws and rejoining TNR. On May 18, Fuyuki split the Double Championship and awarded theIndependent Heavyweight Championship to Gannosuke. Despite holding the title, Gannosuke's status dwindled from a main eventer to being Fuyuki's assistant along with the rest of TNR. He participated in asix-man tag team tournament withYukihiro Kanemura andJado for the newWEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship. The trio scored three points in the tournament, thus directly qualifying for the semi-final onJuly 31 pay-per-view during theGoodbye Hayabusa tour, where they would lose to the team ofHayabusa,Masato Tanaka andTetsuhiro Kuroda.
Gannosukedropped the Independent Heavyweight Championship to Masato Tanaka atHaunted House. The match was well received and voted FMW's Match of the Year of 1999. Two days later, atHayabusa Graduation Ceremony, Gannosuke and Jado defeated Flying Kid Ichihara and Naohiko Yamazaki. Gannosuke would then wrestle Hayabusa atLast Match in the last match of Eiji Ezaki's Hayabusacharacter, challenging Hayabusa for theBrass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship. Hayabusa retained the title and it would be the last match for the Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship as the title, along with the Independent Heavyweight Championship would be retired in favor of the newWEW Single Championship. On August 27, Hayabusa debuted his new character H in anelimination tag team match against Team No Respect, during which H injured Gannosuke's knee, reminiscent of Hayabusa injuring him the previous year at9th Anniversary Show.
The following week, on September 3, Honda appeared in Hayabusa's attire and mask and attackedH during asix-man tag team match and proclaimed that he was the real Hayabusa. Gannosuke would then use Hayabusa'sentrance theme and compete as Hayabusa and embarrassed H by filming aporn video withChocoball Mukai as Hayabusa. This led to ananus explosion match between H and Hayabusa on October 29, which ended in a no contest after Hayabusa handcuffed H to the corner and blew a firecracker inbetween his buttocks to cause it to explode. Honda would then go through anidentity crisisin storyline if he was Hayabusa, Masashi Honda or Mr. Gannosuke. H and Hayabusa competed in the main event of the10th Anniversary Show on November 23 in a match, in whichShawn Michaels served as the special guest referee. During the match, Hayabusa had enough of the identity crisis and he removed his mask to compete as Gannosuke. H won the match and after the match, H and Hayabusa finally made peace by making friends with each other and ending their rivalry and as a result, Gannosuketurnedfan favorite for the first time since 1995.
Gannosuke's transition into a fan favorite led to him to quit Team No Respect and he formed atag team withH. On December 1, H and Gannosuke defeatedTetsuhiro Kuroda andHisakatsu Oya to capture theWEW World Tag Team Championship. In the meanwhile,Masato Tanaka became upset at H forgiving Gannosuke so easily and forming a team with him and did not celebrate with them after the trio defeatedTeam No Respect membersKintaro Kanemura,Koji Nakagawa andGedo in a match on December 3. H and Gannosuke successfully defended their title against Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Hisakatsu Oya on December 11. On December 12, H and Gannosuke defeated Kuroda and Tanaka in a match and after the match, Tanaka refused to shake H and Gannosuke's hands while Kuroda shook their hands. On January 5, 2000, Gannosuke, H, Hisakatsu Oya andRicky Fuji represented FMW against theECW Japan team ofKodo Fuyuki,Kyoko Inoue,Balls Mahoney andPitbull #1, which FMW's team lost. On January 7, H and Gannosuke lost a match to Fuyuki and Inoue, setting up a title defense of the WEW Tag Team Championship against Fuyuki and Inoue on February 25, where H and Gannosuke lost the title. Honda would then take time off and returned to FMW on April 11 to team with H against ECW Japan's Masato Tanaka and Balls Mahoney. H was injured early in the match and then returned as Hayabusa by the end of the match but Gannosuke's team still lost the match. At11th Anniversary Show: Backdraft, Gannosuke represented FMW against ECW Japan'sSabu and the match ended in a no contest after Gannosuke blew afireball on Sabu.
Gannosuke would shortly after injure his leg and wore a cast and a crutch on his leg. On May 28, Gannosuke competed against H and Tetsuhiro Kuroda in athree-way dance to determine the #1 contender for theWEW World Heavyweight Championship, with champion Kodo Fuyuki as the special guest referee. Gannosuke turned on H by hitting him with his crutch after H eliminated Kuroda and then Gannosuke defeated H, with Fuyuki's help and turned into a villain. He then joined Fuyuki's new groupShin Fuyuki-Gun. Gannosuke kidnapped Ricky Fuji on June 6 and held him hostage in a forest and threatened to blow him if H and his partner did not defeat Kodo Fuyuki andGOEMON on June 16. H and his partnerHayabusa would win the match but the explosion still occurred and it was revealed that Gannosuke and Fuji had left the spot before the explosion. On July 28, Gannosuke kidnapped Ricky Fuji once again from a restaurant with the help of Flying Kid Ichihara but Fuji would escape after Gannosuke made Ichihara incharge, who then left. On July 28, the team of Gannosuke, Kodo Fuyuki and Jinsei Shinzaki lost to Hayabusa, Masato Tanaka and Hisakatsu Oya after Shinzaki turned on his team. Gannosuke renewed his rivalry with Hayabusa and the two competed against each other in a match on August 28, which Gannosuke lost.
On September 15, the team of Mr. Gannosuke, Kodo Fuyuki and new Shin Fuyuki-Gun recruit Shinjuku Shark defeated H, Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Hisakatsu Oya to win theWEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship. Two days later, they lost the titles toJado,Gedo andKaori Nakayama when Fuyuki was pinned by Nakayama. Gannosuke began growing upset at his teammates. On September 26, Gannosuke and GOEMON defeated Tetsuhiro Kuroda andOnryo in a match where a baseball player interfered on Kuroda's behalf. Later at the show, Gannosuke confronted FMW PresidentShoichi Arai on the direction that FMW was going through and had turned from a deathmatch wrestling federation to a joke for the sake ofsports entertainment and after Arai refused to listen to him, Gannosuke attacked him, which led Arai to fire him from FMW. Gannosuke began feuding with Kuroda by costing him a match againstChocoball Mukai on October 7 and against Gedo on October 29, leading to Arai allowing Gannosuke to compete in a match against Kuroda atDeep Throat, which stipulated that Gannosuke would be reinstated if he won but he would be forced toretire if he lost. Gannosuke would lose the match and retiredin storyline. In reality, he needed time off due to the birth of his daughter. Gannosuke made an appearance on December 20 under his real name Masashi Honda and provided color commentary for the main event match along with the injured Hayabusa. In the meanwhile, Tetsuhiro Kuroda had turned heel and joined Shin Fuyuki-Gun.
Honda returned to FMW on April 1, 2001 and introduced hisprotégé Banji Takada, who would lose to Yoshihito Sasaki. Honda shook hands with Sasaki and teased a face turn, which led Shoichi Arai to reinstate him as a wrestler. Later that night, Gannosuke helped Tetsuhiro Kuroda to defeat Kodo Fuyuki for the WEW World Heavyweight Championship by hitting Fuyuki with a chair and turned into a villain. Gannosuke became a member of Kuroda's Team Kuroda group and aligned himself with Kuroda in his feud with Hayabusa andThe Great Sasuke. Gannosuke made his in-ring return on April 15 by teaming with Mammoth Sasaki and Tetsuhiro Kuroda to defeat The Great Sasuke, GOEMON and Onryo. Kuroda and Gannosuke competed against Hayabusa and Sasuke in anExploding 15000 Volt Thunderbolt Octagon Cage Bomb Deathmatch at12th Anniversary Show, which Kuroda and Gannosuke lost. On May 22, Gannosuke and Mammoth Sasaki unsuccessfully challenged GOEMON and Onryo for theWEW World Tag Team Championship. On June 8, Kodo Fuyuki announced that he had sold his stock toTokyopop and wanted to sell FMW to Tokyopop and gave the FMW roster, a choice to side either with him or Shoichi Arai. Gannosuke opted to side with Fuyuki while Kuroda sided with Arai and turned face, leading to the breakup of Team Kuroda. Later that night, Gannosuke teamed with Kintaro Kanemura and the duo defeated Hayabusa and Kuroda in the night's main event. Gannosuke would then be allied with Fuyuki and feud with Hayabusa and the FMW team.
On July 2, Gannosuke introduced his newon-screen girlfriend Mirei to FMW. On July 30, Gannosuke, Kodo Fuyuki and Kintaro Kanemura defeated Hisakatsu Oya,Ricky Fuji and Flying Kid Ichihara to capture the WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship. On August 11, Gannosuke defeated Kanemura to gain a lead for Tokyopop in a three-match series between FMW and Tokyopop with the ownership of FMW on the line. Later that night, Hayabusa lost the WEW World Heavyweight Championship to Kintaro Kanemura, which led to Tokyopop gaining the ownership of FMW. On September 5, Gannosuke and Mammoth Sasaki defeated GOEMON and Onryo to win the WEW World Tag Team Championship. On September 9, Gannosuke, Fuyuki and Kanemura lost the WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship to Hayabusa, Tetsuhiro Kuroda and GOEMON. The following month, on October 9, Gannosuke and Sasaki lost the WEW World Tag Team Championship to Hayabusa and Tetsuhiro Kuroda.
Gannosuke got involved in a feud between his on-screen girlfriend Mirei and Makiko over the affections of Gannosuke. On November 5, Gannosuke turned fan favorite by cutting aworked shootpromo in which he showed support for Hayabusa, who had been recently injured on October 22. On November 23, Makiko defeated Mirei in anevening gown match for Gannosuke. Later at the show, Gannosuke teamed with Mammoth Sasaki as the two defeated Biomonster DNA andDr. Luther to win their second WEW World Tag Team Championship. Later that night, they vacated the titles and joined forces with Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Kintaro Kanemura to feud with Kodo Fuyuki who had turned on FMW to align himself withGenichiro Tenryu'sWAR alliance. On December 9, the FMW alliance defeated WAR's team of Tenryu, Fuyuki,Arashi andKoki Kitahara to win the feud.
On December 21, Gannosuke teamed with Tetsuhiro Kuroda to participate in atournament for the vacant WEW World Tag Team Championship. They defeated GOEMON and Onryo in the quarter-final,Sabu and Yoshihito Sasaki in the semi-final and Kintaro Kanemura and Mammoth Sasaki in the final to win the tournament and the vacant title. On January 6, 2002, Gannosuke teamed with Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Mammoth Sasaki to take on Kodo Fuyuki's foreign alliance ofThe Sandman,Balls Mahoney andVic Grimes. During the match, Gannosuke broke his both ankles after Grimes delivered aMoonsault on Gannosuke through a table. With both Hayabusa and Gannosuke out of action, FMW closed a month later on February 15 due to bankruptcy.
Gannosuke made his comeback to the ring forHayabusa's new promotion Wrestlings Marvelous Future (WMF) at the pre-debut show on August 18, where he teamed with Garuda,Onryo and Ikeda-kun to defeatRicky Fuji,GOEMON,Mammoth Sasaki and Soldier in aneight-man tag team match. He established himself as afan favorite by teaming withJinsei Shinzaki to defeatTetsuhiro Kuroda andHisakatsu Oya in the company's debut showThe Independence Day. Gannosuke would initiallyfeud with the Brand Double Crossfaction. AtMarvelous Days 1st, Gannosuke lost toSatoshi Kojima. On December 21, Gannosuke and Shinzaki took on Kuroda and GOEMON. The match ended in a no contest when Gannosuketurned on Shinzaki and became avillain as he aligned himself with GOEMON and GOEMON turned on Kuroda and took him out of Brand Double Cross, with Gannosuke then replacing Kuroda and joining the group as the newest member. Gannosuke would then begin a rivalry with Shinzaki as well as WMF'sace Mammoth Sasaki. On February 15, 2003, Gannosuke and Hisakatsu Oya lost a tag team match to Shinzaki and Sasaki.
On February 23, Gannosuke brought out Katsumi Hirano as "Hayabusa" and defeated Ricky Fuji and Tetsuhiro Kuroda. He then formed a group called The GUN's with Hirano as Mr. Iwaonosuke and Ichiro Yaguchi as Mr. Rocknosuke and both men modelled each other after Gannosuke. Gannosuke defeated Shinzaki in a match atMarvelous Days 2nd. Gannosuke began a rivalry withMr. Pogo, which led to astreet fight between the duo on May 11, which Gannosuke won. He would then lose a match to rival Mammoth Sasaki on May 24. AtMarvelous Days 3rd on July 25, The GUN's lost a street fight toKintaro Kanemura, Mammoth Sasaki and Tetsuhiro Kuroda in a match which stipulated that WMF would be forced to end if GUN's won. The loss marked the end of GUN's.
Gannosuke formed a group calledApache Army with several fellow FMW alumni and various wrestlers from the Japaneseindependent circuit including Kintaro Kanemura,Hido,Taka Michinoku,Gentaro and Takashi Sasaki and the group would compete in various independent promotions. At WMF's1st Anniversary Show, Gannosuke, Hido and Kanemura defeated Ikeda-kun, Mammoth Sasaki and Tetsuhiro Kuroda. AtMarvelous Days 5th, the team of Gentaro, Kanemura and Gannosuke defeatedYuko Miyamoto,Mineo Fujita and Seiji Ikeda. AtMarvelous Days 6th on November 20, Mammoth Sasaki broughtGenichiro Tenryu as "Hayabusa" against Gannosuke and Hido in a street fight, which Gannosuke's team lost.
Gannosuke then got involved in Apache Army's feud with his idolRiki Choshu'sFighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling. AtMarvelous Days 7th, Gannosuke would team with Chocoball Mukai and GOEMON as the trio lost toKoichiro Kimura, Ricky Fuji andYoji Anjo. In 2004, it was announced that WMF would be closed down due to financial loss and the promotion held its final showMarvelous Days 8th on February 11, where Gannosuke challengedKensuke Sasaki for the Hawai'i Championship Wrestling (HCW) Kamehameha Heritage World Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort. He then turned fan favorite as he ended his rivalry with Mammoth Sasaki as the two embraced and hugged each other and they announced that WMF was not ending and going on a hiatus instead as it marked the end of the promotion's Chapter 1 and it would return in the summer of 2004. The promotion returned on August 7, where Gannosuke teamed with GOEMON against Seiji Ikeda and Garuda in a losing effort on the occasion of the promotion's second anniversary. On August 29, Gannosuke defeated Ikeda on the second night of the promotion's second anniversary. In the fall of 2004, Gannosuke participated in the WMF Round Robin Tournament, in which he qualified for the semi-final round by scoring eight points and lost to Mammoth Sasaki in the semi-final on February 20, 2005.
Gannosuke would then represent WMF in a feud against Soldier, who brought his allies from International Wrestling Cartel (IWC). AtSuper Hardcore Night, Gannosuke teamed with Gosaku Goshogawara against Soldier andBalls Mahoney, which Gannosuke's team lost. AtKawagoe Decisive Battle, Gannosuke brought Kensuke Sasaki as his tag team partner against Soldier and Mahoney, with Gannosuke's team winning the match. Gannosuke began financing WMF personally after Laing, Inc. stopped financial support of the company. On July 31, Gannosuke defeated Mammoth Sasaki in a street fight to end their rivalry. In the fall of 2005, Gannosuke began feuding with Soldier and his new group New Generation Army, which aimed at eliminating old veteran wrestlers from WMF and giving place to new and young wrestlers and the two groups feuded with each other throughout 2006. In 2007, Gannosuke teamed with Soldier to participate in the Marvelous Future Tag Team Tournament, in which they defeated Onryo and Yuko Miyamoto in the quarter-final but lost toMineo Fujita and Kitten Kid in the semi-final.
On April 14, Gannosuke announced that he would compete as a freelancer on the Japanese independent circuit and refused Soldier's challenge for a singles match and thus denounced himself as a WMF wrestler. However, Gannosuke appeared on May 19 as the mystery tag team partner of GOEMON andHideki Hosaka against the WMF team of Soldier, Mineo Fujita and Kengo Takai, during which Gannosuke turned villain and Fujita turned on Soldier, allowing Gannosuke to defeat Soldier for the victory. Gannosuke formed a group with Fujita, Hosaka, GOEMON, Leatherface and Yasu Orano called KHM as the top villainous group to feud with WMF. The KHM Army wrestled the WMF and feuded with the likes of Soldier and Kitten Kid throughout the year. On November 24, KHM Army defeated Kamui, Kankuro Hirano, Soldier and SYU in anelimination tag team match. However, KHM Army would lose a six-man tag team match against Kamui, Kitten Kid and Soldier on December 26. On February 17, 2008, Gannosuke announced that he was ending the KHM Army, which marked the end of the rivalry between KHM Army and WMF. Gannosuke announced his retirement at the end of the year and decided to end the WMF promotion and then quit the company. He returned to WMF for only one match against Kamui on July 27, which Gannosuke won. This was his last match in the WMF and he closed the promotion a month later on August 31.
After the closure of FMW, Honda primarily wrestled for its successor WMF, but also competed in the Japanese independent circuit. He was one of the founding members ofApache Army group, along withKintaro Kanemura and several other wrestlers. Apache Army invadedPro Wrestling Zero-One and the two sides battled each other during the fall of 2003 and early 2004. On December 25, Gannosuke andTetsuhiro Kuroda defeatedJun Kasai and Tengu Kaiser to win the vacantAll Asia Tag Team Championship. They lost the title to Great Kosuke andShiryu at anAll Japan Pro Wrestling show on January 2, 2004. In 2004, Apache Army began an interpromotional rivalry withRiki Choshu'sFighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling, which led to the group making appearances in WJ. Gannosuke was removed from Apache Army due to differences with Kintaro Kanemura and would then continue to focus on reviving his WMF promotion. He made frequent appearances in Kings Road,Muga World Pro Wrestling,Ice Ribbon,Dramatic Dream Team, Fuyuki Army Promotion, Guts World Pro Wrestling and also promoted his own shows under the "Kishindo" banner, named after hisFMW theme song.
On January 10, 2005, Gannosuke appeared for aBig Japan Pro Wrestling show, where he mimicked his idol Riki Choshu asRiki Ganshu and teamed with Riki Sensyu to defeatAbdullah Kobayashi andPoison Julie Sawada by disqualification. On July 29, 2007, Gannosuke, SUZKI andYuji Hino defeatedAlexander Otsuka, Devilman Mystery and Masked Mystery to win the GWC Six-Man Tag Team Championship for Guts World Pro Wrestling. They lost the title toYuki Sato,Dick Togo and Ryan Upin on October 21. On May 1, 2008, Gannosuke announced that he would retire from professional wrestling at the end of the year. During this time, Gannosuke reunited with various FMW wrestlers and was able to compete in the Apache Army promotion as well due to Kintaro Kanemura being expelled from Apache Army due to asexual harassment scandal. He formed astable with fellow FMW alumniTetsuhiro Kuroda,Koji Nakagawa andRicky Fuji called FMW Legends Army and the group feuded with the Apache Army stable. This rivalry led to Gannosuke taking onMammoth Sasaki in a No Ropes Barbed Wire Deathmatch on October 10, which Gannosuke lost and then Gannosuke appreciated Sasaki on his performance and added him to his FMW Legends Army faction. On December 27, Gannosuke promoted his retirement show, where he teamed withJinsei Shinzaki and Mammoth Sasaki to defeatMasato Tanaka, Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Kintaro Kanemura in astreet fight.
After a six-year absence from the ring, Gannosuke signed a contract with Guts World Pro Wrestling and appeared as aring announcer for a Guts World show on September 6, 2014. During the show, he was attacked byMasao Orihara after Orihara lost a match to Guts Ishijima and then Ishijima asked Gannosuke to come out of retirement and team with him to take on Orihara and a masked mystery partner at the promotion's10th Anniversary Show the next month and Gannosuketweeted the following day that he would be returning to the ring as a full-time wrestler for Guts World at the 10th Anniversary Show. Gannosuke made his in-ring return at 10th Anniversary Show, on October 12, where he teamed with Guts Ishijima to defeat Tonpachi Machine Guns (Masao Orihara and Masked Mystery Partner). In February 2015, Gannosuke and Ishijima participated in a tournament for the vacant GWC Tag Team Championship, in which they defeated Tsuneo Yoshie and Ultraman Robin in the quarter-final and Takumi Tsukamoto and The Winger in the semi-final and lost to Hattoshite Good in the final. On July 19, Gannosuke unsuccessfully challenged Daisuke for the GWC Single Championship. On March 22, 2016 Gannosuke defeated Tatsuhiko Yoshino to become the #1 contender for the title and then defeated Daisuke to win the title on May 8. He made his first successful title defense againstGentaro on June 17. He lost the title to Masked Mystery on September 11. Gannosuke held his retirement ceremony on April 15 at Guts World's final show, where he competed in his final wrestling match, teaming with Michio Kageyama againstTatsumi Fujinami andHiro Saito in a losing effort. After the event, Honda closed Guts World Pro Wrestling and retired from wrestling.[3][4]
Although primarily wrestling for Guts World Pro Wrestling, Mr. Gannosuke also wrestles on several independent promotions and promotes his own wrestling events under the Kishindo banner as well. He debuted for Pro Wrestling FREEDOMS on May 1, 2015 as a member of Kamui's reformed WMF Army by teaming withOnryo againstTatsuhito Takaiwa and Toru Sugiura. Gannosuke and Onryo won the match. Gannosuke continues to wrestle occasionally for FREEDOMS. He debuted for theresurrected FMW on March 22, 2017 at the occasion of the first anniversary ofHayabusa's death. Gannosuke teamed with Raijin Yaguchi,Tetsuhiro Kuroda andTomohiko Hashimoto againstAtsushi Onita,Hideki Hosaka,Mammoth Sasaki andRicky Fuji in aneight-man tag team match, which Gannosuke's team lost. In 2018, Gannosuke announced his retirement from professional wrestling, promoting his lastKishindo Returns Final show on March 27, where he teamed with Hayabucha againstYuko Miyamoto andIsami Kodaka in a losing effort.[5]
Although portrayed on screen as longtime rivals, Honda andHayabusa (Eiji Ezaki) were good friends with each other. Honda is also friends withKintaro Kanemura. Their friendship suffered in 2002 after the demise of FMW when Gannosuke lured away half of the FMW roster for his Wrestlings Marvelous Future (WMF) and refused to compete inKodo Fuyuki's World Entertainment Wrestling (WEW) and Kanemura remained loyal to Fuyuki. In 2004, the two broke their friendship over combining their WMF and Fuyuki Army Promotions and Kanemura used his links to prevent Gannosuke from competing in other major promotions in Japan. They patched up in 2008 and Gannosuke convinced Kanemura to compete in his retirement match on December 27, 2008, which Kanemura accepted.
Gannosuke now promotes shows under his own name about every four months and is a trainer forEmi Sakura'sIce Ribbon promotion. He also runs his bar called Nov Bar every night.
,Internet Wrestling Database