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 Sawada in January 2012 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Atsuo Sawada[2] (1964-02-05)February 5, 1964 (age 61)[2][1] Chūō, Tokyo, Japan[2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring names | |
| Billed height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] |
| Billed weight | 90 kg (200 lb)[2] |
| Trained by | |
| Debut | June 1988[2] |
| Retired | November 25, 2012 |
Atsuo Sawada (澤田 篤男,Sawada Atsuo; born February 5, 1964)[2] is a Japanese semi-retiredprofessional wrestler, best known for his work inDramatic Dream Team (today DDT Pro-Wrestling) under thering namesPoison Sawada Julie (ポイズン澤田JULIE,Poizun Sawada Jurī) andPoison Julie Sawada (ポイズンJULIE澤田,Poizun Jurī Sawada) among others. He is a former two-timeKO-D Openweight Champion, ten-time and inauguralIronman Heavymetalweight Champion, two-timeJiyūgaoka 6-Person Tag Team Champion and one-timeKO-D 10-Man Tag Team Champion. He is also the winner of the2004 King of DDT Tournament.
Sawada's best-known gimmick is that of a human serpent (蛇人間,hebi ningen), having suffered from venom during a match which made him possessed by a serpent god, giving him the ability to control his opponents' minds by waving two fingers at them while the audience mimics the sound of a rattlesnake. Sawada also used apoison mist that would turn its victims into a snake-like version of themselves, controlled by Sawada. This change in allegiance would be reflected in a change in their ring name, which often included a play on words involving thekanji蛇(ja; "snake") or some other snake-based pun, such asMitsuya Nagai becoming Mitsuya Jagai (蛇が井満也,Jagai Mitsuya) orMikami becoming Mijami.
Sawada joined theNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) dojo in 1981, but was forced to resign two years later due to injuries.[3] He then traveled to America to train underBoris Malenko, before making his official in-ring debut inMiami, Florida in June 1988 against Paul Drake, as a Vietnamese character namedHo Chi Minh.[1] On his return to Japan in 1992, he changed his name toHo Death Minh and joinedPro Wrestling Crusaders (PWC).
In 1993, Sawada formed IWA Nagareyama, one of the promotions under the Wrestling Union umbrella, alongside Goro Tsurumi who established IWA Kakutō Shijuku, and Masahiko Takasugi who established IWA Shonan. The following year, the Wrestling Union disbanded, IWA Nagareyama became Union Pro Wrestling (UPW) and Sawada changed his ring name toPoison Sawada. On December 25, 1994, during the UPW Big Winter Series inNagareyama, Chiba, Sawada faced The Mummy in aNo-Rope Barbed WireLumberjackVenomous MamushiDeathmatch. He was famously bitten by a real Japanese pit viper during the match, screaming "I don't want to die!", which gained him significant attention among Japanese independent wrestling fans.[4]
After leaving UPW, he briefly returned to theHo Death Minh persona for Nishi Nihon Pro-Wrestling, but the promotion ceased operations. Together with fellow wrestler Mitsuteru Tokuda, who was also part of Nishi Nihon, Sawada attempted to launch a new promotion called Jet's, but it was canceled due to financial issues. He then became a freelance wrestler.
In 1999, Sawada joinedDramatic Dream Team (DDT), a promotion founded in 1997 bySanshiro Takagi, another PWC alumnus. At first, he was portraying a wrestler who "wanted to shine once again" but was easily overpowered even by weak opponents. In early 2000, he renamed himselfPoison Sawada Black. On June 29, he established theIronman Heavymetalweight Championship, a title defended under a rule allowing anyone to challenge the champion at any place or time, provided areferee was present, inspired by theWWF Hardcore Championship (dubbed the "24/7 rule"). Sawada declared himself the inaugural champion and was then pinned seconds later byMitsunobu Kikuzawa.[5]
In September 2000, Sawada got possessed by a serpent god and formed thestable Jakai Tensho (蛇界転生,Jakai Tenshō;lit. "Snake Realm Reincarnation"). He changed his ring name toPoison Sawada Julie, a name inspired by actor and singerKenji Sawada (nicknamed Julie in Japan due to his fondness forJulie Andrews), while the name Jakai Tensho was itself inspired by the 1981 filmSamurai Reincarnation (魔界転生,Makai Tenshō), starring Kenji Sawada. Poison Sawada Julie became one of the main representatives of DDT's style of comedy wrestling and started recruiting wrestlers in his stable by forcing them to drink a magic snake serum. On October 11, Sawada won his firstKO-D Openweight Championship by defeatingKoichiro Kimura.[6][7] After successfully defending the title the following day against Sanshiro Takagi,[6] he lost it to Takagi on December 14, atNever Mind in afour-way match that also involvedTomohiko Hashimoto andSuper Uchuu Power.[8]
On April 29, 2001, Sawada entered the Take The Royal tournament, a one-daysingle-elimination tournament spread across two "DDT Golden Jack" free shows held in Kitazawa Town Hall. He went on to defeat Chotaro Kamoi in the first round, his Jakai Tensho stablemate Hebikage in the second round, and Sanshiro Takagi in the semifinals before falling toMikami in the final.[9] Between August and September, Sawada teamed with Hebikage in the2001 KO-D Tag League, finishing in third place of the round-robin stage, ending with 11 points, then losing to the team ofTakashi Sasaki andThanomsak Toba in the third place playoff.[10] On November 22,Nosawa was stripped of the KO-D Openweight Championship,[11] then on November 30, at DDT My Love, Sawada faced Sanshiro Takagi and Super Uchuu Power in athree-way match for the vacant title, but ultimately fell short to Super Uchuu Power'sLast Ride powerbomb.[12] Sawada followed up his tag team win with Hebikage over the teams of Super Uchuu Power and Shigeo Kato, and Thanomsak Toba and Tomohiko Hashimoto on December 6 with a challenge to Super Uchuu Power's title, on December 12, in front of a sold outKorakuen Geopolis; Super Uchuu Power won with afront necklock in just under 17 minutes.[13] On December 28, Sawada took part in theFighting TV Samurai 5th Anniversary event inKorakuen Hall. He teamed with Takashi Sasaki to defeat the Suicideboyz (Mikami and Thanomsak Toba).[14]
In 2002, after competing mostly in multi-man tag team matches, as well as some appearances inFuyuki Army, World Entertainment Wrestling (WEW) andJapanese Women Pro-Wrestling Project (JWP), Sawada teamed with Hebikage in a losing effort against Mikami and Takashi Sasaki at NJPW'sBattle Zone event atNippon Budokan on June 7.[15] On June 29, he became the first male wrestler to challenge for theJWP Tag Team Championship alongsideKaori Yoneyama (then named Jaori Yoneyama for the occasion) in amixed tag team match againstCommand Bolshoi andGami, but they failed to capture the title.[16] Between July and August, Sawada teamed up with Super Uchuu Power in the2002 KO-D Tag League, reaching the final but losing to the Suicideboyz and failing to capture the vacantKO-D Tag Team Championship.[17] The end of 2002 saw some infighting in the Jakai Tensho stable, sparked by a rebellion led byToguro Habukage, which culminated at Never Mind 2002 at Korakuen Hall on December 22, where Sawada defeated Hebikage, then returned him and Habukage to their human form, while accepting punishment from his snake god by being turned to stone.[18][19]
On September 28, 2003, at Who's Gonna Top?, Sawada returned after a nine-month hiatus, following the conclusion of the2003 KO-D Tag Leagueladder match in which Sanshiro Takagi andYoshihiro Sakai defeatedGill Nakano and Dumbo Matsumoto by retrieving a bag containing Sawada's petrified head suspended above the ring.[20][21] Sawada attacked Takagi and Sakai then disappeared again to start rebuilding his stable as New Jakai Tensho (新・蛇界転生,Shin Jakai Tenshō).[22] He returned on October 15 and defeated Yusuke Inokuma in quick fashion before receiving a challenge by Sanshiro Takagi, who told Sawada he still considered him to be his main rival.[23] Sawada went on to defeat Takagi at Dead Or Alive 2003 on October 26.[24]
On February 11, 2004, at Future Port 2004 inYokohama, Sawada took part in aNo Disqualificationfour-wayeliminationdouble title match against KO-D Openweight ChampionShoichi Ichimiya, Ironman Heavymetalweight ChampionDanshoku Dino and Sanshiro Takagi. The firstfall went to Ichimiya who eliminated Takagi, then Sawada eliminated Ichimiya and Dino successively to win both their titles.[25][26] Sawada lost the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship to Inokuma shortly after on February 25, then launched a religious organization called Snake Light (蛇光,Jakō) with Yusuke Inokuma as its first follower.[27] He successfully defended the KO-D Openweight Championship against Mikami at Be Once In 4 Years on February 29,[28] then againstKudo atJudgement 8 on March 20,[29] and againstHero! on April 18.[30] On May 29 and May 30, Sawada entered theinaugural King of DDT Tournament, defeatingSeiya Morohashi in the first round,[31] then Tomohiko Hashimoto in the second round, Danshoku Dino in the semifinals and lastly Hero! in the final to win the tournament.[32]
Sawada made his return to professional wrestling on March 20, 2022, atJudgement 2022: DDT 25th Anniversary where he teamed up with Akarangers (Gentaro and Takashi Sasaki) and Suicideboyz (Mikami and Thanomsak Toba), being accompanied to the ring by Naomi Susan to defeatToru Owashi,Antonio Honda,Kazuki Hirata and Yoshihiko for theKO-D 10-Man Tag Team Championship.[33]
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,Internet Wrestling Database
