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98-583: He was born in the fishing town of Kizukuri in Nishitsugaru District . His father, who worked as an electrician, was a keen amateur sumo enthusiast and Vice President of the Prefectural Sumo Federation. He was determined to see his son succeed in sumo and even built a dohyō in the garden for him to practice. Asahifuji also did well at sumo at school, finishing third in a national schoolboy competition, and later winning

196-408: A K-1 fighter, he became a professional wrestler . In All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) he was a two-time Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion , two-time World Tag Team Champion , and two-time All Asia Tag Team Champion . He also won the 2015 Champion Carnival . He retired from professional wrestling in 2017 due to health problems. Chad Rowan was born on 8 May 1969, to Randolph and Janice Rowan, and

294-487: A koshinage , throwing him entirely out of the ring. On 1 July, Akebono made an appearance in a house show in Japan to help Big Show during a match against Carlito after Carlito's bodyguard Matt Morgan had interfered. The next day, Akebono teamed with Big Show to defeat Carlito and Morgan in a tag team match. On 4 August 2005, Akebono made his official wrestling debut in Japan, appearing at AJPW's Wrestle-1 event against

392-459: A Japanese [citizen]." At the end of 1996, he was engaged to Yu Aihara, a television tarento , but broke it off the following year. In February 1998, Akebono announced his engagement to Christiane Reiko Kalina, a teacher who is of Japanese and American descent. They married in September 1998 and have two sons and a daughter. In April 2017, he was hospitalized after feeling unwell while on

490-462: A Japanese national like Taro, a cultural contraposition, also gained comparisons with Japanese professional wrestling legend Rikidōzan in his bouts against The Sharpe Brothers . The match was short and intense. Outweighing Sapp by over 150 pounds, Akebono pushed him toward the ring corners with energetic, fast punches, but his stamina fell minutes into the round. The more experienced Sapp then attacked him with low kicks and punching combinations to

588-454: A contract with All Japan, officially ending his freelancing days. On 11 September, Akebono entered the 2013 Ōdō Tournament and, in his first match under an All Japan contract, defeated former Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion Jun Akiyama , unveiling his new finishing maneuver, Yokozuna Impact , in the process. After wins over Low Ki and Bambi Killer , Akebono reached the finals, where, on 23 September, he defeated Go Shiozaki to win

686-534: A fellow superheavyweight, Choi Hong-man , who had just defeated another former sumo wrestler in Wakashoyo . It would be the first time Akebono found an enemy capable to outwrestle him, given Choi's 350 pounds and strong ssireum background, and it showed when the Korean stopped Akebono's first charges, capitalizing too on his large reach to strike freely. The match was stopped at 24 seconds when Akebono's corner threw

784-507: A hospital in Tokyo . His death was announced on the morning of April 11 in Japan, and a funeral was held in Tokyo three days later. Akebono's widow Christiane Reiko told reporters after the funeral that he had suffered from arrhythmia for seven years. She also said that Akebono's body would be cremated , with half of his ashes remaining with his family in Japan and the other half placed into

882-499: A more rounded technique, and after three double figure records he was promoted to sumo's second highest rank of ōzeki after the September 1987 tournament. In January 1988 Asahifuji won his first top division tournament championship, which was also the first for the Tatsunami-Isegahama icihimon or group of stables in nearly twenty years. In 1989 he won 40 out of a possible 45 bouts in the first three championships of

980-599: A possible 90, the best record of any wrestler that year. Akebono was one of the tallest sumo wrestlers ever, at 203 cm (6 ft 8 in) tall, and also one of the heaviest with a peak weight of 233 kg (514 lb) in March 1999. He was also one of the most aggressive and ferocious sumo wrestlers. Despite having long legs, considered a disadvantage in sumo as it tends to make one top heavy and susceptible to throws, he covered for this by training exceptionally hard, and using his long reach to thrust his opponents out of

1078-619: A professional sumo wrestler was chosen to represent each of the competing countries and lead them into the stadium. After Takanohana fell ill, Akebono was given the honor of representing Japan in the opening ceremony. Akebono also led other sumo wrestlers in a ring cleansing ceremony at the Opening Ceremony (also meant to cleanse the stadium itself). Akebono suffered frequent injuries during his career. His first serious knee injury came in May 1994 when, after winning his first ten matches of

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1176-449: A prolific career, elevating several wrestlers to the top ranks of the sport. The first top division wrestler he produced was Aminishiki in 2000, who reached the sekiwake rank in 2007. Aminishiki's brother Asōfuji , who retired in 2011 after a match-fixing scandal , was also briefly a top division wrestler. One of Asahifuji's greatest success as a trainer came first with Harumafuji , who he recruited in 2001 and who initially fought under

1274-662: A rare group of men who have won the Champion Carnival , while holding the Triple Crown Championship, but on 22 April, after securing the top spot in his block, Akebono was forced to pull out of the tournament and forfeit his two remaining matches, after being hospitalized with poor health. On 30 May, Akebono officially relinquished the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship due to his health issues. On 27 July, it

1372-519: A record that stood unbeaten until 2008. He was promoted to the top makuuchi division in March 1983. He won his first special prize for Fighting Spirit in the November 1984 tournament, where he finished runner-up. He reached sekiwake rank for the first time in January 1986. After regular training sessions at Takasago stable , where he knew Asashio from his university days, he began to develop

1470-612: A rematch against Bob Sapp on 31 December 2015, at Rizin Fighting Federation Grand Prix event. He lost the fight by technical decision when a cut on his head could not be stemmed. On 31 March 2005, Akebono made an appearance on SmackDown! to accept the Big Show 's challenge to a ( kayfabe ) sumo match at WrestleMania 21 . Akebono made his wrestling debut later that night, defeating jobber Eddie Vegas. At WrestleMania 21, Akebono defeated Big Show with

1568-608: A sharp kick to the head by springing from the top rope. The bout transpired this way until the third round, when Bonjasky scored a roundhouse kick that knocked Akebono out. At the end of the year, Akebono had his mixed martial arts debut against Ultimate Fighting Championship pioneer Royce Gracie at K-1 Premium 2004. The bout was not easy to negotiate, as Royce demanded it to be refereed by John McCarthy , former UFC referee and Gracie's trainee, or he would not fight. The yokozuna had trained now under Maz Tanaka and would be Gracie's biggest opponent, so some believed he could overcome

1666-534: A significant offense, Musashi ultimately rallied up with punches and several kinds of kicks, controlling the exchanges. After Akebono ended the match with a new foul, a sumo throw, unanimous decision was given to his opponent. After another decision loss against Chinese fighter Zhang Qingjun in South Korea, Akebono travelled to United States to fight American legend Rick Roufus in K-1 Las Vegas. During

1764-544: A simple, childlike personality), under the control of his mother, entered the service of Takada Monster Army and competed against several other wrestlers in a winning streak. Due to the constant abuse from Yinling, and wanting to meet his father, Monster Bono rebelled against it and left the Monster Army, changing his name to Bono-chan and allying with A-chan and Yoshie-chan to form a sumo-style face stable. Soon after, Yinling faced Bono-chan and demanded that he return to

1862-485: A singles match. The same night, Akebono appeared in a match between The Great Muta and the imposter The Great Ruta to defend Muta from Voodoo-Murders, showing his own Muta impersonation called The Great Bono. Later, Akebono and Mutoh competed in the Real World Tag League 2005, during the tournament, making it all the way to the finals, but were defeated by Team 3D . At the end of the year, Akebono won

1960-619: A wheelchair. He was to begin intensive physical therapy. On 2 January 2019, it was reported that he had lost the use of his legs and suffered from partial memory loss, unable to remember his pro-wrestling days. For a short period, he was unable to speak without the aid of his wife. Although still unable to walk, he attended a memorial service for his former tsukebito Ushiomaru at Azumazeki stable in December 2019. Akebono died of heart failure in April 2024 at age 54 after being admitted to

2058-504: A wrestling tour in Kitakyushu . Early reports indicated that he had been placed in a medically-induced coma after suffering a cardiac condition, but his family later released a statement on Akebono's website criticizing "misleading" articles and saying he was undergoing treatment "due to a right leg cellulitis and an infection." A family spokesperson thanked Akebono's fans for their support, saying "The number of messages from around

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2156-465: The dohyō (ring). In his prime, he had incredible thrusting strength and on many occasions would blast lesser wrestlers out of the ring in one or two strokes using tsuppari techniques. His most common winning kimarite was oshi-dashi , a simple push out, and he also regularly won by tsuki-dashi , the thrust out. In later years he also used his reach to more often grab his opponent's mawashi , or belt, and then use his weight and power to force

2254-567: The dohyō-iri , or yokozuna ring-entering ceremony. While an oyakata , Akebono also appeared in TV commercials and opened a restaurant called ZUNA. In June 2013 he returned to Azumazeki stable for the first time since leaving the Sumo Association to oversee some training sessions as an assistant instructor. Akebono left the Sumo Association in November 2003 to join K-1 . The decision

2352-454: The shikona of Ama. Harumafuji reached the second highest rank of ōzeki in November 2008 and won his first top division championship in May 2009. Harumafuji took his second championship in July 2011, the same tournament in which Takarafuji , like Asahifuji a Kindai University graduate, made his top division debut. Homarefuji reached jūryō in 2012, and in September of that year Harumafuji

2450-589: The Brazilian jiu-jitsu groundwork by smothering him with his large size advantage. Come the match, Akebono charged toward Gracie and pushed him to the ground, where he passed his guard momentarily before the Brazilian escaped to his feet. Gracie then seized Akebono's arm and locked in an omoplata / wristlock combination, forcing a submission. Akebono was disappointed with his performance: "I did everything my trainers told me not to do." In March 2005, Akebono

2548-656: The Great Muta in the first match of the Wrestle-1 Grand Prix Tournament, in a losing effort. The same month, it was announced that Akebono had been hired by AJPW and placed under the tutelage of Keiji Mutoh, the Great Muta's true identity. Akebono took on the role of Mutoh's enforcer and forming a tag team called "Mutoh Room" to combat the heel stable Voodoo-Murders . On 19 November, Akebono defeated Voodoo-Murders member Giant Bernard in

2646-488: The IWGP Heavyweight Championship , but was defeated when Lesnar got the pinfall after hitting him with the title. Months later, after the championship had become vacant, Akebono participated in a tournament for it, defeating Hiroyoshi Tenzan in the first round, but being eliminated by Giant Bernard in the second. In October, Akebono and Choshu participated in the 2006 G1 Tag League , advancing to

2744-640: The Lucha Libre World Cup in Mexico. On 16 September, Ōdō formed a partnership with Pro Wrestling Zero1 . Akebono's last recorded match happened on 11 April 2017, for Dramatic Dream Team , where he teamed with Yasu Urano and Harashima and lost to fellow former Triple Crown champion Yoshihiro Takayama and his team with Yuto Aijima and Shigehiro Irie . Following Akebono's heart disability in April 2017 (below), and Motoko Baba's death on 14 April 2018, Ōdō became an inactive promotion. Akebono

2842-684: The Open the Triangle Gate Championship , but were defeated. On 14 October 2009, Chou Zetsurins finally won the title, and defended them until May 2010, when they were defeated by Deep Drunkers ( Kzy , Takuya Sugawara and Yasushi Kanda ). In March 2009, Akebono appeared in Pro Wrestling Zero1 defeating Kohei Sato . Later, Akebono joined the Sword Army stable, led by Masato Tanaka . Akebono also participated in

2940-777: The Tokyo Sports award for "Rookie of the Year" and "Team of the Year" with Mutoh, who then stated that Akebono had successfully graduated from his lessons, and was then released from his contract to move to other companies and gain experience. On 4 January 2006, Akebono appeared in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) alongside Yutaka Yoshie in a match against Black Strong Machine and Hiro Saito , coming out victorious. Later that month, Akebono competed for Pro Wrestling NOAH , teaming up with his old friend Takeshi Rikio to defeat Junji Izumida and Kenta Kobashi . After

3038-493: The Yokozuna Deliberation Council when turning down Konishiki the previous year, and was also seen as having conducted himself with the dignity and humility necessary for such an exalted rank. One commentator remarked, "He makes me forget he is a foreigner because of his earnest attitude toward sumo." Akebono was a long-standing and strong yokozuna , lasting nearly eight years in the rank and winning

Asahifuji Seiya - Misplaced Pages Continue

3136-455: The 2007 G1 Climax tournament. He defeated Togi Makabe and Hiroyoshi Tenzan but failed to progress to the semifinal stage. Akebono debuted in Hustle in 2007, being the storyline son of Yinling and The Great Muta . Under the name Monster Bono, Akebono was introduced being unrealistically born from a giant egg before easily defeating RG in his first bout. After that, Monster Bono (who had

3234-686: The Fire Festival 2009 defeating several other wrestlers, but failed to win in the end. After that, he formed an irregular team with Shinjiro Otani called Kazan, which defeated Masaaki Mochizuki & Masato Tanaka in the final round of the Furinkazan tournament, as well winning the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship on 24 January 2010 before vacating them on December of that year. On 3 February 2013, Akebono teamed with Daisuke Sekimoto to win

3332-423: The Monster Army, but the outcome of the battle was a victory for Bono-chan, and Yinling ( kayfabe ) died under his weight. In retaliation to this, Toshiaki Kawada and Mr. Kawada (Toshiaki's elder father) scheduled a match between them and Bono and his father, The Great Muta, at Hustlemania 2008. Bono and Muta came victorious, but were attacked by The Esperanza , leading Muta to sacrifice himself to drag Esperanza to

3430-534: The Sumo Association accepted Isegahama's resignation as a director. He was moved to the competition inspection committee as a deputy chairman. He returned to the board of directors in 2020 as head of the judging department. On 26 December 2022 Asahifuji again submitted his resignation as a member of the Japan Sumo Association 's Board of Directors after it was found that two junior wrestlers in his stable acted violently against younger wrestlers, with

3528-428: The Sumo Association as migi-yotsu (a left hand outside, right hand inside grip on the opponent's mawashi ), yorikiri (force out) and uwatedashinage (pulling overarm throw). However, he was also fond of employing more unorthodox techniques little used by other wrestlers and certainly not taught by coaches. He was criticised for this by his stablemaster, the former ōzeki and noted technician Asahikuni , whose view

3626-423: The Sumo Association on 29 November 2017 after the yokozuna took responsibility for an assault on fellow Mongolian Takanoiwa in a Tottori restaurant and bar the previous month. At a subsequent news conference Isegahama shed tears as he told reporters, "I've watched him grow since he was 16 and have never seen or heard of him being violent before... I can't imagine why it happened." At a meeting on 20 December 2017

3724-515: The West Japan Student Newcomers tournament while studying at Kinki University . However, tiring of the never-ending training, he gave up sumo for a while and spent his time fishing. Eventually an acquaintance of his father introduced him to Ōshima- oyakata , former ōzeki Asahikuni , who had recently opened his own heya or stable of wrestlers, Ōshima stable . Asahifuji made his professional debut in January 1981. He

3822-477: The backing of Motoko Baba, the widow of All Japan founder Giant Baba . On 13 March 2016, Akebono made his debut for AJPW splinter promotion Wrestle-1 , reuniting with SMOP partner Ryota Hama. Ōdō held its first event on 20 April in Korakuen Hall . The main event of the show saw Akebono, Ryota Hama and Taiyo Kea defeat Daisuke Sekimoto, Masato Tanaka and Yuji Okabayashi. In early June, Akebono took part in

3920-442: The championship deciding bout on the final day. In November 1990 he finished runner-up again, to Chiyonofuji. In January and March 1991 he posted reasonable scores of 11–4 but was never really in contention for the championship in either tournament, although he did have a memorable win over the young rising star Takahanada in March. He had to wait until May 1991 for his first title as a yokozuna , when he defeated Konishiki twice on

4018-420: The championship to Jun Akiyama in his third defense on 1 November 2015. The following day, it was announced that Akebono was leaving All Japan and once again becoming a freelancer, looking to return to martial arts. It was also announced that he would continue working for All Japan as a freelancer. On 4 December 2015, Akebono announced he was forming a new company named Ōdō. He would serve as its president with

Asahifuji Seiya - Misplaced Pages Continue

4116-509: The combined weight, but Silva interrupted his attack by locking a Kimura lock standing. Although they went to the mat with Akebono on top, Silva finally rolled him over and submitted him to the hold. With this last result, Akebono managed only one win in 14 bouts in his K-1 and mixed martial arts career. Because of this, he was referred to as "Makebono" ( make meaning "lose" in Japanese) by some fight fans and magazines in Japan. Akebono fought

4214-643: The defunct Magaki stable , being promoted to ōzeki , both in 2015. Terunofuji fell to the jonidan division through injury in 2019. Isegahama refused to accept Terunofuji's request to be allowed to retire, and his faith was rewarded when Terunofuji staged a spectacular comeback and reached the yokozuna rank in July 2021. In the final years of his coaching career, he continued to nurture promising young wrestlers, with Midorifuji winning promotion to makuuchi in 2021, while Atamifuji and Nishikifuji advanced to that division in 2022. In 2024, another pupil of Asahifuji, Takerufuji , made his makuuchi debut and became

4312-588: The embarrassment of Futahaguro 's brief tenure at sumo top's rank. After managing only 8–7 in the following tournament in July, Asahifuji endured a long slump. This was partly caused by longstanding pancreatic trouble, which had first been diagnosed in 1984 and had also afflicted his stablemaster during his active days. After a string of mediocre 8–7 and 9–6 scores it seemed Asahifuji would finish his career as an ōzeki . However, by mid-1990 his health began to improve, and after encouragement from his stablemaster, who reminded him that he would soon turn 30 years of age and

4410-539: The event. Asahifuji has remained in the sumo world as a coach . He had married a niece of the former Kasugayama (former maegashira Ōnobori ) in 1988, and seemed set to revive Kasugayama stable , but instead he took over Ajigawa stable in 1993 due to the poor health of the previous incumbent (former sekiwake Mutsuarashi ). In November 2007 Asahifuji acquired the Isegahama elder name and renamed his stable "Isegahama stable." Both as Ajigawa and Isegahama, he had

4508-684: The fight, Roufus avoided being cornered by Akebono's pushes and counterattacked with ineffective kicks and punches. Again, Akebono showed an unsportsmanlike side when he tried repeatedly to throw Roufus out of the ring, leading referee Cecil Peoples to warn him. At one point, Akebono even pushed away Peoples himself. Due to the fouls and to Roufus's incessant attacks, decision was given to the American. The next month, Akebono faced Dutch striker Remy Bonjasky back in Japan. Ignoring his opponent's signature high kicks, Akebono pressed with punches and pushes, but Bonjasky kept dodging and attacking, even landing

4606-401: The fight, but Choi did the same, delivering even a flying knee during the first round. At the last of the second round, the Korean landed a left hook that knocked Akebono out. Akebono's last MMA match saw him meeting professional wrestler Giant Silva , another sizable opponent. The rikishi started the match pushing Silva against the ropes, both of them almost falling out of the ring due to

4704-462: The final day, once in their regular match and once in a playoff, to win his first title in over two years. The competition between Akebono and Takanohana, who reached yokozuna himself in 1995, was said to be one of the great defining rivalries of postwar sumo. The two finished their careers with a 25–25 tie in bouts against one another. At the opening ceremony of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano ,

4802-475: The final stage by Giant Bernard and Travis Tomko . During his stay at New Japan, Akebono began to show his comedic side and began imitating and parodying other fighters. On 13 September 2006, Akebono was presented with a tiger mask and the name of Bono Tiger to team with Tiger Mask IV . On 4 March 2007, he made a brief appearance in Michinoku Pro Wrestling as The Great Bonosuke, fighting on

4900-621: The finals to win All Japan's premier tournament, the Champion Carnival. In the build-up to Akebono's challenge for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship against Go Shiozaki, he and Yoshie lost the World Tag Team Championship to Shiozaki and Kento Miyahara on 6 May. On 21 May, Akebono defeated Shiozaki to win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship for the second time. Akebono eventually went on to lose

4998-470: The first ever match between two non-Japanese wrestlers in the top division. In 1992, after a year of 8–7 or 7–8 records near the top of the makuuchi division, Akebono suddenly came alive with a 13–2 record in January of that year, narrowly losing the top division championship to Takanohana. A second 13–2 record two tournaments later, in May, saw him win the top division championship for the first time, and with it promotion to ōzeki . After an injury during

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5096-601: The first wrestler in 110 years to win the championship in his inaugural top division tournament. He has also worked as a judge at tournament matches. Asahifuji turned 60 in July 2020. His kanreki dohyō-iri , originally postponed from May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic , was held at Ryōgoku Kokugikan on 3 October 2021. Two of Isegahama stable's retired wrestlers, Ajigawa (former sekiwake Aminishiki ) and yokozuna Harumafuji , served as his tsuyuharai and tachimochi , respectively. He told reporters shortly after

5194-460: The former Takamiyama , who also originally hailed from Hawaii. Azumazeki overcame his initial concerns that Rowan might be too tall and his legs too long for sumo and agreed to let him join his Azumazeki stable , founded in 1986. Rowan flew to Japan in early 1988. Adopting the shikona of Akebono, meaning "new dawn" in Japanese , he made his professional debut in March 1988. This entry cohort

5292-457: The head and body, knocking the yokozuna down twice before finishing him by KO at 2:58. Some months later, Akebono followed with another high level match, this time against the famed Musashi . Akebono had improved his conditioning under Ray Sefo and Fai Falamoe and outweighed Musashi by more than twice his weight, so there was expectation about his performance. As expected, Akebono started strong, overwhelming Musashi with sumo charges against

5390-400: The highest rank in sumo. One of the tallest and heaviest wrestlers ever , Akebono's rivalry with the young Japanese hopefuls, Takanohana and Wakanohana , was a big factor in the increased popularity of sumo at tournament venues and on TV in the early 1990s. During his eight years at the yokozuna rank, Akebono won a further eight tournament championships, for a career total of eleven, and

5488-405: The last day, once in their regulation match and once in the playoff, to finish with a 14–1 record. This was to prove Asahifuji's only tournament championship as a yokozuna , as the rest of his career was dogged by illness and injury. He managed only a bare majority of 8–7 in July 1991, the last tournament he was to complete. He pulled out of the September 1991 tournament with an injured shoulder on

5586-506: The last round before losing to Takashi Iizuka and Yuji Nagata . In August 2007, Akebono participated in the G1 Climax tournament, defeating Togi Makabe and Hiroyoshi Tenzan and completing the tournament with a 2-2-1 record. In October, Akebono and Masahiro Chono competed in the 2007 G1, beating Hirooki Goto and Milano Collection AT , Naofumi Yamamoto and Takashi Iizuka and Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata, but were eliminated in

5684-491: The match, Akebono announced that he had been hired by NJPW and was congratulated by Rikio, promising to team again in the future, which never happened due to Rikio having to retire due to his injuries in 2010. In February, Akebono made his official debut in New Japan as an ally of Riki Choshu , defeating then IWGP Tag Team Champions Cho-Ten ( Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan ). On 19 March, he faced Brock Lesnar for

5782-459: The opponent from the ring by yori-kiri . He liked a migi-yotsu , or left hand outside, right hand inside grip, and was fond of using his left hand to employ uwatenage , or overarm throw. After winning his eleventh top division title in November 2000, Akebono suffered another injury and, after sitting out the tournament in January 2001, he decided to retire rather than face a daunting struggle back to fighting fitness. Upon retirement, his topknot

5880-485: The original postponement that he would need to put on weight to be able to wear his tsuna . In April 2024, as head of his ichimon , he took on the responsibility of hosting Miyagino stable following the Hokuseihō violence scandal and the subsequent closure of the stable. The merger of the two stables made Isegahama stable the largest active stable in the sport. Asahifuji submitted Harumafuji's retirement papers to

5978-480: The other had already submitted his retirement papers, which were accepted. Asahifuji's resignation from the board resulted in him vacating his position as the head of the judging department. The following month it was confirmed through the Sumo Association's website that he had been demoted two ranks to yakuin taigu iin (executive member) and was appointed deputy director of the guidance promotion department. Asahifuji's favoured kimarite or techniques were listed by

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6076-399: The ropes and corners. He controlled the first round, but became fatigued at the second, moment in which Frye came back with punches, dropping Akebono multiple times. After some ground and pound , Frye locked a guillotine choke for the win. A rubber match between Akebono and Choi Hong-man happened then, in which would be Akebono's last bout under kickboxing rules. He tried his best to control

6174-429: The ropes through the first round. He shocked the crowd with unsportsmanlike conduct in the second, as he suddenly started unloading illegal hooks and rabbit punches on a seated Musashi when the latter slipped and fell. Referee Nobuaki Kakuda warned Akebono while the fight looked to be stopped in a DQ, but a still dazed Musashi insisted to keep on. The fight continued for the remnant time, but although Akebono achieved

6272-468: The side of The Great Sasuke wearing the same outfit. On 17 February 2007, Akebono briefly returned to All Japan Pro Wrestling to team with Toru Owashi against Jonidan (Nobutaka Araya) and SUMO Rikishi in an extravagant match between sumos, resulting in a win for his team. After training with Satoru Sayama (the original Tiger Mask) in MMA and pro wrestling, he returned to the New Japan ring to participate in

6370-401: The sixth day, and hampered by the return of his old pancreatic problems missed the November 1991 tournament altogether. He returned in January 1992 but after losing his opening three bouts to Akebono , his nemesis Akinoshima (for the fifth time in a row) and finally Wakahanada , he announced his retirement at the age of 31. Asahifuji's three bout losing streak from the opening day was equal to

6468-539: The summer including the Nebuta festival (held in other towns as well). The Nebuta festival is where certain districts of the town form teams who build large Papier-mâché statues of warriors fighting monsters or other scenes. This Aomori Prefecture location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Akebono Tar%C5%8D Akebono Tarō ( Japanese : 曙 太郎 , Hepburn : Akebono Tarō , born Chadwick Haheo Rowan ; 8 May 1969 – 6 April 2024 )

6566-436: The summer, he went on to win consecutive championships in November 1992 and January 1993 to win promotion to yokozuna . At the time of his promotion, the rank of yokozuna had been vacant for eight months (an exceedingly rare occurrence) and his promotion, despite the fact that he was the first foreign yokozuna , was welcomed by many. He had met the stipulation of winning two consecutive tournaments that had been mentioned by

6664-558: The title once before losing them 7 months later to Voodoo-Murders members Big Daddy Voodoo and TARU . After that, Akebono split with Hama and became the enforcer for the group Partisan Forces ( Minoru Suzuki , Masakatsu Funaki and Taiyo Kea ) to continue his feud with the Voodoo-Murders. Partisan Forces broke up in June 2011, so Akebono reformed S.M.O.P. with Hama. After having an unsuccessful shot at KENSO and The Great Muta for

6762-403: The top division championship on a further eight occasions. His career highlights include the rare achievement of winning the top division championship in three consecutive tournaments, in 1993. In July 1993 he beat Takanohana and Wakanohana in consecutive matches to win the honbasho when all three ended up tied at the end of the 15-day tournament, and in May 1997 he defeated Takanohana twice on

6860-657: The tournament, he lost a bout to Takatōriki and fell awkwardly. He flew to Los Angeles and underwent career-saving surgery. From November 1998 to March 1999 he missed three successive tournaments due to a herniated disc in his lower back and faced calls for his retirement. After receiving the personal backing of the Chairman of the Japan Sumo Association , he scored a respectable 11–4 record in his comeback tournament in May 1999. In 2000 he enjoyed his first completely injury-free year since 1993 and won two tournaments, finishing as runner-up in three others. He won 76 bouts out of

6958-509: The tournament. On 27 October, Akebono defeated Suwama to win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship for the first time. Akebono made his first successful title defense on 24 November against Joe Doering . His second successful defense took place on 3 January 2014, against Takao Omori . On 23 February, Akebono made his third successful title defense against Go Shiozaki. Akebono's fourth title defense took place on 18 March, when he defeated Kento Miyahara . In April, Akebono looked to enter

7056-478: The towel. Akebono and Choi rematched in July at K-1 Grand Prix event in Hawaii. Akebono lasted longer, but he found the same problems as the first time, with Choi scoring repeated jabs from the safety of his reach while he blocked the sumo's push and charge style. Akebono was eventually knocked down, and although he resumed his attack, Choi knocked him out to end the match. Akebono then returned to MMA format to end

7154-605: The underworld. Without his parents, Bono-chan changed his name to Bono-kun as a sign of maturity and joined the Hustle Army, making a promo based on that of Barack Obama campaign slogan " Yes, We Hustle ". Later in Hustle Aid, before his scheduled match with Genichiro Tenryu against Arma & Geddon , Bono had a strange dream and transformed into The Great Bono, his last stage of maturity. After The Great Bono defeated their opponents with forcefulness, Hustle announced he

7252-798: The vacant World Tag Team Championship , Akebono and Hama entered a short feud with Big Daddy and Mazada, whom they defeated on several occasions, and also competed in the 2011 Real World Tag League, receiving two more chances for the All Asia Tag Team Championship against Daisuke Sekimoto and Yuji Okabayashi , lost both times. S.M.O.P. finally regained the All Asia title by defeating Sekimoto and Okabayashi on 1 July 2012, but vacated them on 4 September 2012, due to Akebono being sidelined with pneumonia . In November 2012, Akebono debuted his masked alter ego "Brazo de Bono", based on Brazo de Plata . On 1 September 2013, Akebono signed

7350-574: The vacant championship by defeating Kohei Sato and Zeus. Akebono returned to AJPW, allying himself with Ryota Hama . On 23 September 2009, Akebono and Hama, known collectively as S.M.O.P. (Super Megaton Ohzumo Powers), won the All Asia Tag Team Championship , defeating Minoru Suzuki and Nosawa Rongai . S.M.O.P. also participated in the 2009 World's Strongest Tag Determination League, finishing 5th out of 9 teams with four victories and four defeats. S.M.O.P. would only defend

7448-402: The victims beaten with wooden beams and burned with chankonabe hot water poured on their backs. According to the Sumo Association, Asahifuji knew about these incidents but failed to report them. When the board concluded that he should be demoted in sumo's hierarchy as punishment, he instead submitted his resignation. One of the wrestlers held responsible was suspended for two tournaments, while

7546-420: The world has been overwhelming." The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that the original story was correct and the cellulitis claim was a cover story for a serious heart issue. Akebono's wife confirmed in March 2018 that her husband had suffered acute heart failure and had been in a medically induced coma for two weeks. He lost nearly 130 pounds, much of it in muscle, and still could not walk, requiring

7644-419: The worst ever for a yokozuna in the 15-day era until Kisenosato lost his first four bouts in November 2018. He gave the worsening condition of his pancreas as the reason for his retirement. His danpatsu-shiki or retirement ceremony was held in September 1992. There were no active yokozuna at the time, so he was unable to follow the tradition of having one serve as his tachimochi and tsuyuharai for

7742-418: The year and came very close to promotion to the highest rank of yokozuna , but he was defeated by yokozuna Hokutoumi in playoffs in both January and May 1989. His 13–2 record in May was his fifth consecutive runner-up performance, and his seventh overall, but he had been unable to win two tournaments in a row, regarded by the Japan Sumo Association as the minimum requirement for yokozuna promotion after

7840-540: The year, going against former comedian Bobby Ologun at K-1 Premium. The sumo champion neutralized Ologun's striking by taking him down and smothering him during the earlier rounds, but he was later stunned by a barrage of punches and controlled for the rest of the match, losing the decision. In 2006, Akebono had his third mixed martial arts match against another Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran, Don Frye , at K-1's Hero's 5 event. As usual, Akebono used his size, charging through Frye's punches and clinching him against

7938-505: Was merged to create the city of Tsugaru , and thus no longer exists as an independent municipality. At the time of its merger, Kizukuri had an estimated population of 19,123 and a population density of 159.3 persons per km . The total area was 120.07 km . The town economy was dominated by agriculture and commercial fishing, and the town was served by Kizukuri Station on the Gonō Line of JR East . Kizukuri has many festivals in

8036-583: Was a town located in Nishitsugaru District in western Aomori Prefecture , Japan . Kizukuri was located in central Tsugaru Peninsula , facing the Sea of Japan . The area was part of Hirosaki Domain during the Edo period . Kizukuri was created on 30 March 1955 through the merger of Shussei, Kawayoke, Shibata, and Koshimizu villages. On 11 February 2005, Kizukuri, along with the villages of Inagaki , Kashiwa , Morita and Shariki (all from Nishitsugaru District ),

8134-480: Was a runner-up on thirteen other occasions, despite suffering several serious injuries. Although his rival yokozuna Takanohana won more tournaments in this period, their individual head-to-heads remained very close. Akebono became a Japanese citizen in 1996, and after retiring in 2001 he worked as a coach at Azumazeki stable before leaving the Sumo Association in 2003. After an unsuccessful period as

8232-405: Was already 20 years old, considerably older than most new recruits who tended to be 15 or 16 at the time. However, because of his amateur sumo experience he was able to work his way up the ranks very quickly and won tournament championships in the jonokuchi , sandanme and makushita divisions with perfect records. He reached the second highest jūryō division after only eight tournaments,

8330-459: Was an American-born Japanese professional sumo wrestler and professional wrestler from Waimānalo, Hawaii . Joining sumo in Japan in 1988, he was trained by pioneering Hawaiian wrestler Takamiyama and rose swiftly up the rankings, reaching the top division in 1990. After two consecutive yusho or tournament championships in November 1992 and January 1993 he made history by becoming the first non-Japanese-born wrestler ever to reach yokozuna ,

8428-468: Was announced that Akebono had been appointed to All Japan's board of directors. Akebono wrestled his return match on 16 August. On 30 August, Akebono received his rematch for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by the defending champion, Joe Doering. On 22 March 2015, Akebono won the World Tag Team Championship for the second time, when he and Yutaka Yoshie defeated Jun Akiyama and Takao Omori. On 25 April, Akebono defeated Suwama in

8526-402: Was born to Randy, a taxi driver of Irish and Native Hawaiian descent and Janice, an office worker of Cuban and Native Hawaiian descent. He became a Japanese citizen in 1996, giving up his American citizenship and changing his legal name from Chad Rowan to Akebono Tarō, saying "Changing my nationality has nothing to do with who I am, just like I am still my mother's son even after I became

8624-521: Was ceremonially cut off in the ring by 320 of his friends and previous opponents in front of 11,000 people. After his retirement, he became a member (or elder) of the Japan Sumo Association as a coach, or oyakata , and worked with his former mentor in the Azumazeki stable . He helped train the Mongolian wrestler Asashōryū who also became a yokozuna , and Akebono instructed him on how to perform

8722-422: Was down to his last chance, he won consecutive championships in May and July 1990. He scored 14–1 in both tournaments, securing his yokozuna promotion on the final day in July by defeating yokozuna Chiyonofuji for only the fifth time in 28 meetings. Asahifuji began his yokozuna career with 12 straight wins in the September 1990 tournament, but he lost to Kirishima on Day 13 and was defeated by Hokutoumi in

8820-543: Was granted a place in the K-1 Korea Grand Prix, whose first round saw him facing Nobuaki Kakuda , a 44 years old Seidokaikan Karate fighter who usually refereed his matches. Through his usual strategy, Akebono surprisingly dominated the match, as Kakuda was unable to mount an offense. After wearing Kakuda down with knees and uppercuts while leaving him no space to counterattack, Akebono was given his first win by unanimous decision. He would advance round to face

8918-420: Was influenced by financial problems due to the failure of his restaurant, among other financial difficulties. His koenkai , or supporters network, had dissolved after his marriage in 1998, depriving him of a valuable source of income. In addition, he earned far less as an oyakata than he had as a yokozuna . K-1 offered him a chance to clear his debts by fighting for them. At the time of his debut, Akebono

9016-571: Was involved in a highly publicized matchup at K-1 Premium 2003 against popular superheavyweight fighter Bob Sapp . The combined popularity of Sapp and Akebono attracted a crowd of 45,000 to the Nagoya Dome and granted the event a 43% viewership, making it the first time a combat sports event outdrew the NHK music festival Kōhaku Uta Gassen , Japan's traditionally biggest New Year show. The classical matchup of an American foreigner like Sapp against

9114-504: Was leaving to search for his father. On 21 September 2008, Akebono appeared in the Battle Royal of Dragon Gate 's Storm Gate 2008 event, which was won by Akira Tozawa . Akebono made some more appearances, defeating the likes of Stalker Ichikawa , Don Fujii and Masaaki Mochizuki . That month, Akebono, Mochizuki and Fujii agreed to form a trio called Chou Zetsurins to face the team of World-1 (BxB Hulk, Masato Yoshino and PAC) for

9212-540: Was of Hawaiian descent. He grew up with two younger brothers, one of whom, Ola, also became a sumo wrestler for a brief period after Chad. He attended Kaiser High School , where he played basketball and became an all-star center . He went to Hawaii Pacific University on a basketball scholarship, but sat out his freshman season. Rowan was planning to study for a career in hotel management, but he had always been interested in sumo from watching television broadcasts. A family friend introduced him to Azumazeki Oyakata,

9310-445: Was one of the most successful ever, producing two other yokozuna , Takanohana and Wakanohana (sons of the popular champion from the 1970s, Takanohana Kenshi ), as well as a great ōzeki , Kaiō . Akebono rose rapidly through the ranks, equaling the record for the most consecutive kachi-koshi (majority of wins in a sumo tournament) from debut, reaching sekiwake before suffering his first make-koshi or losing record. He

9408-477: Was promoted to jūryō in March 1990, the first sekitori from his stable, and to makuuchi in September of the same year. He made his top division debut in the same tournament as Wakanohana, as well as Takatōriki and Daishōyama . In the November 1990 tournament he was awarded his first special prize , for Fighting Spirit, and in January 1991 he earned his first gold star for defeating yokozuna Asahifuji . In March 1991 he defeated ōzeki Konishiki in

9506-569: Was promoted to yokozuna following two consecutive 15–0 championships. Isegahama had motivated Harumafuji by telling him before his July 2011 championship, "If you are content with being ozeki then it is all over. You do not become a yokozuna just by wanting to be a yokozuna." Like Asahifuji, Harumafuji performed the yokozuna ring entering ceremony or dohyō-iri in the Shiranui style. He has continued to produce top wrestlers, with Takarafuji reaching komusubi rank and Terunofuji , inherited from

9604-639: Was that by winning by his own idiosyncratic methods, he would be unable to cure his faults. Asahifuji himself claimed in an interview with Channel 4 television to have no favourite technique, but did say that while "everyone likes to throw an opponent, that's not sumo." Sanshō key: F =Fighting spirit; O =Outstanding performance; T =Technique     Also shown: ★ = Kinboshi ; P = Playoff (s) Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi Kizukuri, Aomori Kizukuri ( 木造町 , Kizukuri-machi )

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