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Japanese professional wrestler (born 1977) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Minoru Fujita (藤田 穣, Fujita Minoru, ring name: 藤田 ミノル)[1][2] (born September 5, 1977) is a Japanese professional wrestler who works as a freelancer. He is known for working at Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling. He is the current Super Asia Champion in his first reign.[3]
Minoru Fujita | |
---|---|
![]() Fujita in February 2020 | |
Born | Onoda, Yamaguchi, Japan | September 5, 1977
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Minoru Fujita Great Minoru Fujita Mitaro Fujita Mr. X Red Onigumo HERO! |
Billed height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
Billed weight | 80 kg (176 lb) |
Trained by | Kazuo Sakurada Yoshihiro Tajiri |
Debut | April 11, 1997 |
Fujita started in Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) as a protégé of its top junior heavyweight, Yoshihiro Tajiri. When Tajiri, who was Big Japan junior heavyweight champion, quit the company and gave up the title, Fujita had a decision match against Katsumi Usuda from the Battlarts promotion but ended up losing.
Fujita spent his time leaving Big Japan to venture into other Japanese independents, meeting Ikuto Hidaka of Battlarts along the way and making memorable tag team matches with him. The combination, however, despite their combined talent, could not have a future due to their separate schedules; Fujita tried a move to Michinoku Pro Wrestling in 2000, but despite the higher exposure, it did little for him financially and did not raise his stock as a viable junior heavyweight contender.
He thus headed for Mexico and Puerto Rico, where he won his first major title, the International Wrestling Association junior heavyweight title. Returning to Japan in 2002, he entered New Japan Pro-Wrestling (to which he had been once before, in a Best of the Super Junior tournament), to challenge the heavyweight division, but nothing came out of it. He then headed to Taka Michinoku's Kaientai Dojo promotion, but despite being promoted as a tough-to beat heel, he was never able to win titles there.
A change of pace came in 2004 when he joined Pro Wrestling Zero-One (Zero-One), where old friend Hidaka awaited. The two began teaming more frequently and this time they clicked, collecting several tag team titles along the way. Their greatest victory came in March 2006, when they defeated Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah) stars Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Takashi Sugiura to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Since then Fujita has been a rising star in Japan and has finally shed the "underachiever" tag he was saddled with by foreign observers of puroresu.[citation needed]
Fujita defeated Baliyan Akki on the day 2 of the 100th Anniversary of Chocopro on March 28, 2021 to win the Super Asia Championship.[3]
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