122-550: Masahiro Chono ( 蝶野正洋 , Chōno Masahiro , born September 17, 1963) is a Japanese-American retired professional wrestler and actor best known for his 26-year stint with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). As the leader of nWo Japan , Team 2000 and Black New Japan , he was the promotion's top heel for much of his career, beginning in 1994 when he adopted a yakuza inspired gimmick. Aside from his work in NJPW, Chono has also made appearances for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), as
244-687: A legitimately injured Pillman was replaced by Steven Regal , with whom Austin lost to Anderson and Roma. With Pillman injured, Austin joined Colonel Robert Parker 's Stud Stable . After Pillman returned, the team was broken up when Austin turned on him, a decision Austin describes as a "mystery". Austin defeated Pillman in a singles match at Clash of the Champions XXV in November 1993. At Starrcade in December 1993, Austin defeated Dustin Rhodes 2–0 in
366-457: A steel cage match , with the championship opportunity at WrestleMania XV at stake. During the match, Paul Wight made his WWF debut, coming from under the ring and attacking Austin, but Wight's attack propelled Austin into the side of the cage forcing the cage to give way and dropping Austin to the floor first, making him the victor. The week before WrestleMania, Austin interrupted The Rock, Vince, and Shane McMahon's interview segment by driving
488-558: A "brush with greatness". At Halloween Havoc in October 1992, Austin (substituting for Terry Gordy ) teamed with "Dr. Death" Steve Williams to wrestle Dustin Rhodes and Windham for the unified WCW and NWA World Tag Team Championship , wrestling to a 30-minute time limit draw . On March 27, 1993, the Hollywood Blonds won the unified NWA and WCW World Tag Team Championship by defeating Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas , and held
610-409: A "corporate champion"; Austin responded with a Stone Cold Stunner, leading him being kayfabe arrested once again. The following week, it appeared as if Austin had agreed with McMahon, appearing in a suit and tie, before revealing it was a ruse and again attacking McMahon. On April 13, it appeared Austin and McMahon were going to battle out their differences in an actual match, but the match was declared
732-463: A 2017 interview, "After watching the Pulp Fiction movie with Bruce Willis , that's the haircut that inspired me. I was traveling on the road to Pittsburgh with Dustin Rhodes and before I went to the show, I said fuck it. I went into the bathroom with a razor blade and shaved all my hair off. Then I grew the goatee and everything came full circle." By March 11, The Ringmaster moniker (now merely
854-475: A Stone Cold Stunner to Big Boss Man and eliminating him. With the match down to Austin and McMahon, The Rock came down to the ring to distract Austin, who was eliminated by McMahon, thus McMahon winning the Royal Rumble. McMahon turned down the number-one contender spot, and Michaels promptly awarded Austin the championship shot the next night on Raw . At St. Valentine's Day Massacre , Austin faced McMahon in
976-484: A Triple Threat match at Breakdown: In Your House , where The Undertaker and Kane pinned Austin at the same time. McMahon decided to vacate the WWF Championship and award it based on a match between The Undertaker and Kane, in which Austin was the guest referee on Judgment Day: In Your House . Austin refused to count for either man and attacked both towards the end of the match. McMahon would, in storyline, fire him as
1098-409: A beer truck to the ring and using a hose to spray the trio with beer. Austin defeated The Rock at WrestleMania XV to win his third WWF Championship. Austin faced The Rock in a rematch the following month at Backlash , in which Shane was the referee. During the match, Vince approached the ring, only to hand Austin back his Smoking Skull championship belt and take Shane out of the proceedings. Austin won
1220-545: A big victory for his side at King of the Ring . Austin lost the WWF Championship to Kane in a First Blood match after The Undertaker accidentally hit him with a steel chair while the ref was incapacitated, despite Austin having knocked Kane unconscious and thwarted an earlier intervention by Mankind. Austin further angered McMahon by winning back the championship the next night on Raw . Austin also emerged victorious against The Undertaker at SummerSlam . In response, McMahon set up
1342-555: A double countout, before defeating him in his first WrestleMania appearance at WrestleMania XII . At In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies , Austin lost to Vega in a rematch. At In Your House: Beware of Dog , Austin lost a Caribbean strap match to Vega, with the added stipulation that DiBiase was forced to leave the WWF as a result, leading Austin to quietly vacate the Million Dollar title. DiBiase would later say that nobody foresaw
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#17328759898111464-419: A forklift, then let it drop 20 feet. Austin won his third Royal Rumble match on January 21, 2001, last eliminating Kane. His rivalry against Triple H ended at No Way Out on February 25 in a Three Stages of Hell match, with Triple H defeating Austin two falls to one. With The Rock defeating Angle for the WWF Championship at No Way Out, Austin was again set to face him at WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1. In
1586-459: A gun " segment on Raw wherein Austin broke into Pillman's home while he was nursing his injury. Pillman had been anticipating him and was armed with a pistol. Just as Austin broke in, Pillman aimed his gun at him before the episode cut to commercial break. The segment was highly controversial for its perceived violence and rare use of profanity in WWF programming. The segment is also credited for paving
1708-454: A hiatus, which forced him and Hiroyoshi Tenzan to vacate the title on July 7, 1995. Since 1999, Chono has owned his own clothing brand, Aristrist (stylised in all caps), with his wife Martina. The name is a portmanteau of "Aristo" and "Tristano". Chono appears as a gang member in the 2017 video game Yakuza Kiwami 2 , alongside Genichiro Tenryu , Keiji Mutoh , Riki Choshu and Tatsumi Fujinami . Besides appearing in numerous TV shows, he
1830-423: A knee injury, prompting him to switch to play as a defensive end . The first wrestling events Austin watched were those produced by Houston Wrestling and run by Paul Boesch , and Austin would later say, "I fell in love with the business when I was seven or eight years old. All I ever wanted to be was a professional wrestler. Wrestling was the biggest thing in my life." When he moved to attend university, he
1952-453: A legitimate bruised spinal cord and temporary paralysis for Austin. As Owen stalled by baiting the audience, Austin managed to crawl over and pin Hart using a roll-up to win the championship. A visibly injured and dazed Austin was helped to his feet by several referees and led to the back. Due to the severity of his neck injury, Austin was forced to relinquish both championships. On September 22, on
2074-498: A marketable wrestler, and additionally thought Austin was hard to work with. Paul E. gives me a call and gives me a free platform to start venting and cutting the promos and putting a microphone in front of my face. I get a chance to speak what's on my mind and from my heart, and I find that is where the best promos come from, the ones that come from your gut and your heart — and from your brain, because you've got to feel them. Words don't mean anything if you don't mean them. So that
2196-424: A match at Survivor Series , which he accepted. During an episode of Superstars , old friend Brian Pillman conducted an interview with Austin regarding his upcoming match. After Pillman inadvertently complimented Hart, Austin grew angry and attacked him. He then proceeded to wedge Pillman's ankle in between a steel chair and stomp on it, breaking his ankle in storyline. It would lead to the infamous " Pillman's got
2318-589: A member of the New World Order , as well as occasional appearances in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Pro Wrestling Noah and Pro Wrestling Zero1 . Chono holds the record for most wins of the G1 Climax at 5, which has earned him the nicknames "Mr. August" and "Mr. G1" . Overall, he is a two-time world champion, with one reign as IWGP Heavyweight Champion and NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion each. He
2440-684: A no-contest when Dude Love made an appearance. This led to a match between Dude Love and Austin at Unforgiven: In Your House , where Austin hit McMahon with a steel chair and went on to retain the title. The following month, Austin and Dude had a rematch at Over the Edge: In Your House for the WWF Championship. Austin managed to retain the championship despite McMahon acting as the self-appointed referee and his "Corporate Stooges" ( Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson ) as timekeeper and ring announcer, respectively. McMahon continued to do everything he could to dethrone Austin as champion and he finally scored
2562-416: A partner and decided to face the duo by himself. Late in the match, a debuting Dude Love came out to offer assistance. Austin accepted and the duo won the match and the titles, making Austin a two-time tag team champion. Austin continued his feud with the Hart family, becoming embroiled in a heated rivalry particularly with Owen, who pinned a distracted Austin and secured victory for The Hart Foundation in
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#17328759898112684-424: A prefix to his ring name) would be discarded in favor of his most famous ring name, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in a match against Savio Vega . The new name was prompted by his English wife at the time, Jeanie, who told him to drink a cup of tea she had made for him before it became "stone cold". His new persona was partially inspired by serial killer "The Iceman" Richard Kuklinski . Austin wrestled Vega on Raw to
2806-524: A promoter, with New Japan permitting him to set up cards in different areas of Japan. Following the 2007 G1 Climax , it appears that Chono may be breaking away from his BLACK faction and formed the Legend stable, having sworn in wrestlers such as Riki Choshu, Jushin Thunder Liger , Shiro Koshinaka , and AKIRA . Outside wrestling, Chono began appearing on Gaki no Tsukai 's " No Laughing Batsu Game " as one of
2928-640: A result, although Austin got revenge by kidnapping McMahon and dragging him to the middle of the ring at "gunpoint", which ended up being a toy gun with a scroll that read "Bang! 3:16." During that segment, McMahon also learned that Austin was later re-signed by his son, Shane McMahon . In the semifinals of the Survivor Series tournament to crown a new WWF Champion, Austin lost to Mankind after Shane double-crossed Austin. The next night on Raw , Judge Mills Lane ruled that The Rock had to defend his newly won WWF Championship against Austin that night, as stipulated in
3050-482: A shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship before him, as he won the tournament. He also changed his image and adopted a yakuza gimmick , complete with sunglasses, menacing mannerisms and black coats and tights. Chono's partnering with Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Hiro Saito as "Team Wolf" provided a foundation to NJPW's nWo Japan . Establishing himself as leader of its Japanese sister stable, Chono joined
3172-561: A six man tag team match for Dotonbori Pro Wrestling on April 13, 2014. He teamed with Daisuke Masaoka and Hayata in a loss to Super Delfin , Hub , and Gran Hamada . Since 2014, Chono's appearances have been limited to non-active roles such as commentary, talk battles and special appearances. In a 2017 interview, Chono did not completely rule out the possibility of a return to the ring but believed it would be unlikely due to various injuries. In 2021, he revealed that he had been suffering from spinal stenosis and underwent surgery for it, which
3294-577: A tag team, as he was earmarked for a run with the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship with Harley Race as his manager. Initially billed under their individual personas, Pillman decided the pair needed their own finishing move, ring gear and team name, with traveling partner Scott Levy proposing The Hollywood Blonds, used in the 1970s by Buddy Roberts and Jerry Brown. The pair adopted an "old-style movie camera hand gesture", and informed opponents they had experienced
3416-524: A tradition that started with Rikidozan himself between 1951 and 1953. Some of the more famous examples of these exchanges are Hakushi in WWF , Masahiro Chono , The Great Muta and Jyushin Thunder Liger in WCW , as well as ECW which featured talent such as Hayabusa from Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and The Great Sasuke of Michinoku Pro Wrestling . Before the advent of cable television some Japanese wrestlers in
3538-481: A triple-threat match at Survivor Series on November 14, where Austin was run down by a car. The segment was to write him off television , with the neck injury suffered two years prior posing a real threat of early retirement, and was advised to undergo surgery. Austin would later describe this as "the worst storyline I was ever involved in". Austin made a one-off appearance at Backlash on April 30, 2000, attacking Triple H and Vince McMahon to help The Rock reclaim
3660-711: A two-out-of-three-falls match to win the WCW United States Championship . At Clash of the Champions XXVIII in August 1994, Austin lost the Championship to Ricky Steamboat. He was scheduled to face Steamboat in a rematch at Fall Brawl '94: War Games in September 1994; however, Steamboat was unable to wrestle due to a legitimate back injury and Austin was awarded the championship by forfeit. His second reign with
3782-501: A variety of personalities , promotions and styles . It has also created a mass of other cultural icons in Japan including: Antonio Inoki , Giant Baba , Jyushin "Thunder" Liger , Tiger Mask , Keiji Mutoh/The Great Muta , Mitsuharu Misawa , and Kenta Kobashi among others. Throughout the years, several promotions have opened and closed, but a few have persisted to remain the most popular and thriving companies: New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Masahiro Chono - Misplaced Pages Continue
3904-555: A victory over JOKER (Kuuga, Orochi, and Tadasuke ). On October 3, 2011, Chono returned to NJPW for a Team Wolf reunion match, teaming with Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Hiro Saito to defeat Osamu Nishimura, Koji Kanemoto , and Shinjiro Otani. In January 2013, Chono signed with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) as an advisor. On August 25, 2013, Chono teamed with Joe Doering and defeated KENSO and AJPW President Nobuo Shiraishi in an exhibition tag team match. Chono left AJPW in 2014. After returning to freelance, Chono wrestled once in eight years:
4026-560: A working agreement between WCW and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Austin wrestled four matches in Japan. He took part in the 1992 G1 Climax , defeating Arn Anderson in the first round before losing to Keiji Muto in the second round. He and Arn Anderson then defeated Raging Staff ( Super Strong Machine and Tatsutoshi Goto ) in a tag team bout held in the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo . In his final bout, Austin challenged Masahiro Chono for
4148-488: A working agreement with Akira Maeda that paid millions to RINGS when he was featured, but eventually was scrapped with Maeda's retirement and the subsequent RINGS collapse. In 2009, due to the bearish global economy , NTV cancelled all wrestling programming, including NOAH's Power Hour (lesser affiliates still air large cards), marking the end of a tradition going back to Rikidōzan. Since 2014, various New Japan Pro-Wrestling live specials have been broadcast on AXS TV in
4270-1768: A working agreement with World Championship Wrestling in the mid-1990s, when the latter brought in wrestlers from Gaea to bolster the ranks of their then-fledgling women's division, with Akira Hokuto becoming the first and only WCW Women's Champion , and a WCW Women's Cruiserweight Championship was even introduced and defended in Gaea shows. Recent examples of Japanese wrestlers working in foreign promotions include Satoshi Kojima in Major League Wrestling , Kenta Kobashi , Go Shiozaki , Takeshi Morishima , and Kenta in Ring of Honor , Hirooki Goto , Masato Yoshino , Tiger Mask IV , Hiroshi Tanahashi , Kazuchika Okada , Seiya Sanada , and Ayako Hamada in TNA/Impact, Aja Kong, Dick Togo , Great Sasuke , Jinsei Shinzaki , Kaori Yoneyama , Manami Toyota and Mayumi Ozaki in Chikara , Hideo Itami, Yoshi Tatsu, Kenzo Suzuki , Taka Michinoku , Asuka, Shinsuke Nakamura and Kairi Sane in WWE , and Ayumi Kurihara , Hiroyo Matsumoto and Tomoka Nakagawa in Shimmer Women Athletes . Riho and Hikaru Shida have both become AEW Women's World Champion . Stone Cold Steve Austin Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Steve Austin (born Steven James Williams ; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name " Stone Cold " Steve Austin ,
4392-589: Is Shinsuke Nakamura , who continues to perform under his birth name in WWE. Japanese wrestlers who appear in other American circuits such as Impact Wrestling (originally Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, or TNA) and Ring of Honor rarely change their names. Some joshi stars from AJW had wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation in the 1980s and 1990s, with The Jumping Bomb Angels and Bull Nakano known for being particularly successful. Gaea Japan once had
4514-655: Is also a seven-time IWGP Tag Team Champion . Chōno debuted in 1984 against Keiji Mutoh at a New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) event in Saitama , Japan. In 1987, he defeated Shinya Hashimoto to win the Young Lions Cup . After winning the tournament, he went on an excursion that started in Europe, wrestling for Otto Wanz 's Catch Wrestling Association . After a while in Europe , Chono went on an excursion to North America , starting in
4636-621: Is an American media personality, actor, producer and retired professional wrestler . He is currently signed to WWE , as an ambassador. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the development and success of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE) during the Attitude Era , an industry boom period in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Austin began his professional wrestling career in 1989, after playing college football at
4758-458: Is currently considered by many as the top promotion. Puroresu is the predominant style of professional wrestling that has developed in Japan. The term comes from the Japanese pronunciation of "professional wrestling", which is shortened to puroresu. The term became popular among English-speaking fans due to Hisaharu Tanabe's activities in the online Usenet community. Growing out of origins in
4880-466: Is less than a year younger than Austin, leading Austin to theorize in his autobiography that their father may have left because he could not handle another child so soon. After finishing his education at Edna High School , he got a football scholarship to Wharton County Junior College followed by a full scholarship to the University of North Texas . He played originally as a linebacker before suffering
5002-419: The 1998 Royal Rumble , lastly eliminating The Rock. The next night on Raw , Austin interrupted Vince McMahon in his presentation of Mike Tyson , who was making a special appearance, over the objection of McMahon referring to Tyson as "the baddest man on the planet." Austin insulted Tyson by flipping him off , which led to Tyson shoving Austin much to McMahon's embarrassment, who began publicly to disapprove of
Masahiro Chono - Misplaced Pages Continue
5124-527: The 1999 Royal Rumble . Austin's next appearance after this would be the January 4, 1999, edition of Raw , where he would come out to help Mankind defeat The Rock to become the WWF Champion by striking The Rock in the face with a steel chair and draping Mankind's body over him. Austin's next chance to exact revenge on Mr. McMahon came during the Royal Rumble match. On Raw , McMahon drew Austin's entry number with
5246-613: The Hollywood Blondes ). After a brief stint in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Austin signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1995. In the WWF, Austin was repackaged as a short-tempered, brash and brazen anti-establishment antihero named "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, becoming the most popular wrestler of the Attitude Era off the back of his feud with company chairman Mr. McMahon . He won
5368-585: The IWGP Tag Team Championship with Mutoh, and on December 26 he defeated his mentor, wrestling legend Lou Thesz , when Thesz came out of retirement for one last match. The next year, Chono solidified his main-event status with an amazing performance in the first G1 Climax tournament, winning the tournament in a thirty-minute final over Mutoh. He won the tournament again in 1992, winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in
5490-565: The NWA World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of the "Battle Hold Arena" event at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama , losing by submission after Chono applied an STF . In September 1992, Austin formed a tag team known as the Hollywood Blonds with Brian Pillman , at the behest of lead booker Dusty Rhodes. Austin would later say that he was not excited about being placed into
5612-526: The Pro Wrestling Noah split, NTV decided to follow the new venture rather than staying with All Japan. Nowadays, however, mirroring the decline that professional wrestling in the U.S. had in the 1970s and early 1980s, NOAH's Power Hour and New Japan's World Pro Wrestling have been largely relegated to the midnight hours by their broadcasters. The advent of cable television and pay per view also enabled independents such as RINGS to rise. WOWOW had
5734-552: The Royal Rumble , he was scripted to be among the final four wrestlers in the ring, which could have given him an early push ; however, The Ringmaster failed to hang onto the ropes after Fatu clotheslined him over and slipped out of the ring early. Austin soon thought the Ringmaster gimmick was weak and asked for a change. Having battled thinning hair for a few years, he decided to shave his head in early 1996. He later said in
5856-729: The UWF and later opened Pancrase with some other Japanese shootfighters. As a result of the introduction of lucha libre into Japan, major Mexican stars also compete in Japan. The most popular Mexican wrestler to compete in Japan is Mil Máscaras , who is credited with introducing the high-flying moves of lucha libre to Japanese audiences, which then led to the style called lucha-resu, later embodied by Tiger Mask . Foreign wrestlers from diverse backgrounds have earned huge followings, sometimes greater than those of Japanese top rosters in respective Japanese promotions they have wrestled in. American Stan Hansen , Indian Tiger Jeet Singh , Canadian Abdullah
5978-813: The United States for Central States Wrestling in Kansas City, which by then broke away from the National Wrestling Alliance to form the World Wrestling Alliance. He would also later wrestle in the Canadian Maritimes for Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling and in Puerto Rico , where he, Hashimoto, and Mutoh formed The Three Musketeers . Chono returned to NJPW part-time in July 1988. He came back to
6100-592: The University of North Texas . He signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1991 and adopted the persona of " Stunning " Steve Austin , a villainous in-ring technician, and he won the WCW World Television Championship and the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship twice each, alongside one reign with a double crown of the WCW World Tag Team Championship and NWA World Tag Team Championship , with Brian Pillman (as
6222-762: The Von Erich family , Dusty Rhodes , and Ric Flair . Initially working under his real name, he was renamed Steve Austin by Memphis booker Dutch Mantell during the merger of WCCW and the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) into the United States Wrestling Association (USWA). The name change occurred to avoid confusion with "Dr. Death" Steve Williams , a well-known wrestler during that time. Austin later returned to Dallas, managed by Percy Pringle and accompanied by Jeannie Adams (Adams's ex-girlfriend and Austin's girlfriend at
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#17328759898116344-532: The WWE Network and Peacock . He collaborates with El Segundo Brewing on Broken Skull IPA and Broken Skull American Lager . He also hosted the reality competition series Steve Austin's Broken Skull Challenge (2014–2017) and Straight Up Steve Austin (2019–2021). Austin was born Steven James Anderson in Austin, Texas , on December 18, 1964. His parents, Beverly (née Harrison) and James Anderson, divorced when he
6466-715: The WWF Championship six times , the WWF Intercontinental Championship twice , the Million Dollar Championship once, and the WWF Tag Team Championship four times , making him the fifth WWF Triple Crown Champion . He is also a record three-time Royal Rumble winner, won the 1996 King of the Ring , and headlined multiple WWF pay-per-view events, including its flagship event WrestleMania four times ( 14 , 15 , 17 and 38 ). He
6588-401: The WWF Tag Team Championship . Despite being champions, the two constantly argued and ultimately faced each other in a match at King of the Ring , which ended in a double disqualification after both men attacked the referee. Michaels was later forced to vacate his championship due to an injury. Hart and Bulldog won a tournament to face Austin and a partner of his choice, but he refused to pick
6710-658: The wrestling mask was the rule, adopted mask-based personae; examples were Osamu Matsuda becoming El Samurai , Yoshihiro Asai becoming Último Dragón , and Masanori Murakawa becoming Great Sasuke . Despite the advent of cable television and the Internet, some Japanese wrestlers still adopt all-new ring names, particularly when they join WWE , which trademarks ring names frequently. Recent examples include Mitsuhide Hirasawa as Hideo Saito , Naofumi Yamamoto as Yoshi Tatsu , Kana as Asuka , Kaori Housako as Kairi Sane , and Kenta Kobayashi as Hideo Itami . A recent counter-example
6832-510: The "Super Power Group Declaration VI" event in the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Austin, Anderson, and Mike Enos lost to J-J-Jacks ( Akira Nogami and Takayuki Iizuka ) and Junji Hirata in a six-man tag team match . During the NJPW tour, Austin suffered a torn triceps . While rehabilitating, Austin was fired by WCW President Eric Bischoff on September 15, 1995. Bischoff did not see Austin as
6954-412: The 'Taker , defeating him in a match to determine the next contender to The Undertaker's WWF Championship. Austin won when Hart was disqualified due to assistance from The British Bulldog . Austin faced Hart once again in a street fight on April 21 episode of Raw , injuring his opponent's leg with a steel chair during the bout. The match was ruled a no contest , but Austin proceeded to beat Hart while he
7076-551: The 1950s, televised by Nippon TV , often attracted huge crowds to Tokyo giant screens. Eventually TV Asahi also gained the right to broadcast JWA, but eventually the two major broadcasters agreed to split the talent, centering about Rikidōzan's top two students: NTV for Giant Baba and his group, and Asahi for Antonio Inoki and his group. This arrangement continued after the JWA split into today's major promotions, New Japan and All Japan, led by Inoki and Baba respectively. In 2000, following
7198-542: The American nWo in December 1996 as it was gaining momentum in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He would also join its successor, Team 2000, which would eventually restructure again. In a match against WCW's Bill Goldberg , Chono supposedly " shot " the match (actually employing legitimate combat) and dislocated his shoulder. Upon returning to Japan, Chono rejoined NJPW, where he achieved much success. He won
7320-551: The Butcher , and British wrestler Dynamite Kid were among those cited as top foreign grapplers in a poll of Japanese fans: All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, as well as others, have also sent wrestlers to compete in the likes of the United States , Mexico , the United Kingdom , Puerto Rico and so on. Usually, these talent exchanges are chances for puroresu stars to learn other styles to add to their own strengths,
7442-776: The Champions XXIX , Austin was inactive while rehabilitating a knee injury, returning in February 1995. In April 1995, Austin took part in a tournament for the vacant United States Championship, defeating Jim Duggan via countout in the first round but losing to Randy Savage in the quarter-final. He wrestled what would be his final match with WCW on May 21, 1995, defeating Eddie Jackie in a bout that aired on WCW Main Event . In late May and June 1995, Austin again appeared with New Japan Pro-Wrestling as part of its "Fighting Spirit Legend" series, primarily teaming with Arn Anderson and Ron Simmons . At
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#17328759898117564-544: The IWGP Tag Team Titles on six occasions and also won the very prestigious IWGP Heavyweight Title in 1998. In 2002, Chono won his fourth G1 Climax tournament and had a brief, memorable feud with WWE's Chyna . He also became a booker for NJPW around this time. In 2003, Chono briefly joined Pro Wrestling NOAH for a handful of matches and was defeated by GHC Champion Kenta Kobashi on 2 May of that year. On October 13, he lost to Hulk Hogan . In early 2004, Chono became
7686-451: The McMahons won. The next night on Raw , Austin challenged and defeated The Undertaker to win his fourth WWF Championship. The two would compete in a "First Blood" match at Fully Loaded , with the stipulation that if Austin lost he would never compete for the WWF Championship again, but if Austin won, Vince would depart the company; Austin won after interference from X-Pac. Austin held on to
7808-518: The Ring 1996 Austin's rise to stardom began at the 1996 King of the Ring , where he won the tournament by defeating Jake "The Snake" Roberts . At the time, Roberts was portraying a born-again Christian , which inspired Austin to ad-lib a famous promo during his coronation, mocking Roberts' religious faith and proclaiming the now-iconic catchphrase "Austin 3:16" as derision of the Bible verse John 3:16 . At
7930-549: The U.S. adopted names that often were inconsistent and often portrayed by more than one Japanese wrestler, such as "Tokyo Joe" ( Katsuji Adachi , Koji "Thunder" Sugiyama and Tetsunosuke Daigo), "Mr. Sato" ( Akio Sato and Akihisa Mera ) and "Great Togo" ( Kazuo Okamura and Haruka Eigen ). Some names and gimmicks of North American origin stuck to the wrestler and defined his in-ring personality permanently, such as Hiro Matsuda , Killer Khan , Great Kabuki, Great Muta, Mr. Hito, and Mr. Pogo . Japanese wrestlers sent to Mexico , where
8052-490: The US through his involvement with All Elite Wrestling .) Even in joshi puroresu , a few notable foreigners have found success wrestling for joshi promotions, such as Monster Ripper , Madusa , Reggie Bennett , and Amazing Kong . The now defunct World Championship Wrestling had a strong talent exchange deal with New Japan, Ken Shamrock was among the first Americans to compete in shoot style competition in Japan, starting out in
8174-399: The United States in October 1988 and teamed with Mike Davis in Continental Championship Wrestling (CCW), by then renamed the Continental Wrestling Federation (CWF), and won that company's tag titles as the Japanese Connection. In April 1989, he took part in the IWGP Heavyweight Championship tournament, held at New Japan's very first show at the Tokyo Dome ; he lost to eventual winner of
8296-463: The United States. Since its establishment, professional wrestling in Japan heavily incorporated foreigners (called gaijin ) particularly North Americans to help popularise native talent. Rikidōzan's JWA and its successor promotions All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling were members of the American-based National Wrestling Alliance at various points, and used these connections to bring North American stars. International Pro Wrestling
8418-542: The Voodoo Murders (Dupree, KENSO , and Joe Doering ). In December 2010, Chono began working for Antonio Inoki's Inoki Genome Federation as a booker. On March 6, 2011, Chono entered Pro Wrestling ZERO1 for their 10th Anniversary Show, where he defeated Daichi Hashimoto in his debut match. On April 17, 2011, Chono wrestled for Osaka Pro, where he teamed with Kuuga and Orochi in a losing effort against Shodai Tiger Mask , Billyken Kid, and Tsubasa. On August 14, 2011, Chono returned to Osaka Pro, teaming with TAJIRI and Zeus in
8540-428: The WCW World Television Championship to Barry Windham in a two-out-of-three-falls match on April 27, 1992, but regained the championship from Windham the following month. He enjoyed a second lengthy reign as champion, before losing the championship to Ricky Steamboat at Clash of the Champions XX in September 1992, while the Dangerous Alliance disbanded shortly thereafter. In August and September 1992, as part of
8662-470: The WWF Championship (Austin) and the Intercontinental Championship (Triple H) all at once. On the May 21 episode of Raw is War , Austin and Triple H defended their tag team championship against Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit ; during the match, Triple H tore his quadriceps , and the team lost the match and the tag team championship in a highly acclaimed bout, with Jim Ross saying the quartet created "magic", while wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer awarded
8784-415: The WWF Championship until SummerSlam on August 22 when he lost it to Mankind in a triple threat match also featuring Triple H . in the two months that followed, Triple H would gain possession of the title. Austin would get his rematch at No Mercy on October 17 against Triple H, but Austin lost after The Rock accidentally struck him with a sledgehammer shot meant for Triple H. The three were advertised for
8906-407: The WWF Championship. After Austin's official return at Unforgiven on September 24, Commissioner Mick Foley led an investigation to find out who ran Austin over, with the culprit revealed to be Rikishi . At No Mercy on October 22, Austin faced Rikishi in a No Holds Barred match, during which Austin attempted to run Rikishi down in a truck, but was prevented from doing so by officials, and the match
9028-472: The WWF at the end of 1995 after Diesel and Jim Ross helped convince WWF's owner Vince McMahon to hire him. He debuted in WWF on December 18, 1995, which was broadcast on the January 8, 1996, episode of Raw . His debut saw him awarded the Million Dollar Championship by his manager, Ted DiBiase . Wrestling in his debut match on Raw he defeated Matt Hardy using the moniker "The Ringmaster". While making his first pay-per-view (PPV) appearance at
9150-409: The attackers, usually giving Hōsei Tsukitei a slap to the face. In January 2010 it was reported that Chono would be leaving New Japan and becoming a freelancer, after spending most of his career with the company. In March 2010, Chono portrayed Nobunaga Oda in two matches during a Samurai Festival after leaving New Japan. Chono wrestled AKIRA, who portrayed Mitsuhide Akechi , on both days, winning
9272-458: The belt. As Austin had used his pickup truck to aid his victory, McMahon ordered him to defend the championship against The Rock the next night on Raw . In an act of defiance, Austin forfeited the championship to The Rock before tossing the belt into the Piscataqua River . After Bret Hart's controversial departure for WCW, Austin and Michaels were the top stars in the company. Austin won
9394-517: The chair before pinning him to win the WWF Championship for the fifth time. After the match, Austin shook hands with McMahon, turning heel for the first time since 1997. During a steel cage match with The Rock in a rematch for the WWF Championship the following night on Raw is War , Triple H came down to the ring with a sledgehammer. After teasing siding with The Rock, Triple H instead aligned himself with Austin and McMahon, attacking The Rock and put him out of action. Austin further cemented his heel turn
9516-532: The championship ended just five minutes later when he lost to Steamboat's replacement, Jim Duggan , in a match that lasted 35 seconds. Austin unsuccessfully challenged Duggan for the championship at both Halloween Havoc in October 1994 and Clash of the Champions XXIX in November 1994. The influence of Hulk Hogan and the Hulkamania era was beginning to take hold in WCW, with vice president Eric Bischoff saying this
9638-743: The championship for five months. In the main event of Clash of the Champions XXIII in June 1993, the Blondes defended their championship against Ric Flair and Arn Anderson in a two-out-of-three-falls, where despite losing the first two falls, retained the championship as the second fall had been determined by a disqualification caused by Barry Windham . At Clash of the Champions XXIV In August 1993, Austin and Pillman were scheduled to defend their championship against Anderson and Paul Roma but
9760-440: The conclusion of this same promo, he further ad-libbed the line, "And that’s the bottom line, cuz Stone Cold said so." This, too, went on to become an iconic catchphrase, as Austin would conclude almost all of his future promos with it. Years later, Austin would say of this moment, "It’s like I got two at-bats and hit two grand slams." Austin's win and rise to stardom proved to be an unexpected stroke of luck. Hunter Hearst Helmsley
9882-608: The first match and losing the second. On August 15, 2010, Chono returned to New Japan to serve as the special ring announcer for the G1 Climax final match between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Satoshi Kojima . On November 5 and 6, Chono appeared in a series of shows in Taiwan for All Japan. On November 5, Chono and Mutoh defeated the Voodoo Murders ( TARU and Rene Dupree ). The following day, Chono teamed with Mutoh and Masakatsu Funaki to defeat
10004-449: The first-ever Raw to be broadcast from Madison Square Garden , McMahon told Austin he wasn't physically cleared to compete, and after several weeks of build-up, Austin delivered his Stone Cold Stunner to McMahon, causing the fans in attendance to go ballistic. Austin was then arrested as part of the storyline, and was sidelined until Survivor Series . However, in the interim, he made several appearances, one being at Badd Blood where he
10126-416: The following Thursday on SmackDown! , when, during an interview with Jim Ross about his actions at WrestleMania, he thought Ross was denouncing their friendship and then assaulted Ross. Austin and Triple H became a team known as The Two-Man Power Trip . Austin altered his character considerably over the next few months by becoming a whiny, temperamental prima donna who complained incessantly when he felt he
10248-415: The intention of screwing him over. Austin drew entry number one, while McMahon drew number two thanks to Commissioner Shawn Michaels. During the Royal Rumble match, Austin followed McMahon out of the ring and into the backstage area, only to be ambushed by members of The Corporation , and an injured Austin was taken to the hospital. Austin, however, returned in an ambulance and re-entered the match, delivering
10370-561: The leader of the Black New Japan stable, which was the most dominating heel stable in NJPW until it was disbanded by Riki Choshu . As a reaction to this, Chono lead an "Anti-Choshu Army" with Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Black Strong Machine . Chono won the 2005 G1 Climax tournament, thus having achieved a record-setting five G1 victories. His success in the G1 has given him the nickname Mr. August. On October 30, 2005, Masahiro Chono and Tenzan defeated
10492-400: The match four-and-a-three-quarter stars out of a possible five in his Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Austin officially broke up The Power Trip on that week's SmackDown! , criticizing Triple H for his injury and for hitting him with the sledgehammer. He continued to align himself with McMahon and began feuding with Jericho and Benoit by himself, leading to a triple-threat match at King of
10614-449: The match when another referee made the count. Austin would lose the championship to The Undertaker at Over the Edge . Due to events revolving around Vince, Stephanie and Linda McMahon made Austin the chief executive officer (CEO) of the company as part of the storyline. Vince and Shane challenged Austin to a handicap ladder match at King of the Ring with the title of CEO on the line, which
10736-484: The match. After the match, Hart continued to hold the Sharpshooter on Austin, who, despite his wounds, refused any assistance back to the locker room, thus turning Hart heel and Austin babyface in a rare double-turn . Austin portrayed an anti-hero instead of a traditional babyface, and he didn't embrace the fans at first either. Austin eventually got his revenge on Hart in the main event of In Your House 14: Revenge of
10858-421: The new contract Austin had signed two weeks earlier with Shane. The Undertaker interfered and hit Austin with a shovel, earning Austin a disqualification victory, meaning The Rock remained champion. At Rock Bottom: In Your House , Austin defeated The Undertaker in a Buried Alive match after Kane performed a Tombstone Piledriver on The Undertaker which sent him into the grave. With this victory, Austin qualified for
10980-419: The next night on Raw to Sycho Sid due to Austin's interference, continuing their feud. At WrestleMania 13 , Hart defeated Austin in a highly acclaimed submission match with Ken Shamrock as a special referee. During the match, Austin had been cut, and was bleeding profusely from his face, but he refused to tap out when Hart locked in his Sharpshooter, and finally passed out from excessive blood loss, losing
11102-591: The place where Austin developed his microphone skills. Austin has credited Heyman as the man who taught him how to cut a promo. Whipwreck, who was the ECW World Heavyweight Champion at the time, defeated Austin in an upset to retain the championship at November to Remember . The Sandman defeated Austin and Whipwreck in a triple threat match at December to Dismember for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. Austin joined
11224-457: The platform to develop his future "Stone Cold" persona as well as a series of vignettes running down WCW in general and Bischoff in particular, most memorably in several promos that mocked his then-status as Nitro host by introducing Monday NyQuil , where he was joined by "Bongo" (a set of drums, meant to represent Steve "Mongo" McMichael ) in promoting the show "where the big boys play with each other." Several wrestlers have credited ECW as
11346-601: The process. Since then, he has won the tournament on three more occasions. On September 23, 1992, Chono suffered a serious neck injury from a botched sitdown tombstone piledriver while defending the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Steve Austin . On January 4, 1993, he lost the NWA World title to IWGP Heavyweight champion The Great Muta in a Title vs. Title match. Around 1993, he participated in his third G1 Climax tournament, losing to Hiroshi Hase in
11468-436: The prospect of Austin as his champion. Tyson was later announced as "the special enforcer" for the main event at WrestleMania XIV , and aligned himself with Michaels's stable D-Generation X (DX). This led to Austin's WWF Championship match against Michaels at WrestleMania XIV, which he won with help from Tyson, who turned on DX by making the deciding three-count against Michaels and later hit him with his knock-out punch. This
11590-408: The ropes, winning the match. This led to the first-ever PPV main event of Austin's WWF career at In Your House 13: Final Four , where he competed in a four corners elimination match against Hart, The Undertaker , and Vader for the vacant WWF Championship . Austin was eliminated early from the match after injuring his knee; Hart would win the match and the championship. Hart lost the championship
11712-464: The semi-finals. In January 1994, he received a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Shinya Hashimoto, though he would ultimately lose the match. In August 1994, he won his third G1 Climax tournament, defeating Power Warrior in the finals. A short time after winning his third G1 Climax, Chono underwent a change in attitude. Originally a clean-cut fan favorite during his NWA World title reign, he turned heel, angered that Power Warrior received
11834-440: The success Austin would have, and had advised him to ignore the advice given to him by producers and continue what he was doing as success required patience. "You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere! Talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16 ... Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!" Austin addressing Jake "The Snake" Roberts in his coronation promo at King of
11956-515: The team of Shinsuke Nakamura and Hiroshi Tanahashi to win their fifth IWGP Tag Team Championship. The team went on to rename themselves Cho-Ten , a portmanteau of the members' names. They were stripped of the titles in late 2006 after they split up, and refused to defend them together. Masahiro Chono formed a stable with Shinsuke Nakamura in 2006 called Chono and Nakamura-gun, which began feuding with Tenzan's new group, GBH . Chono continued to wrestle full-time in 2007, but also began working as
12078-529: The ten-man Tag Team match main event of In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede , where Austin was partnered with Ken Shamrock, Goldust , and The Legion of Doom . At SummerSlam , Austin and Owen faced each other with the Intercontinental Championship on the line, with Owen adding a stipulation that Austin would have to kiss his buttocks if he lost. During the match, Owen botched a Tombstone Piledriver and dropped Austin on his head, resulting in
12200-528: The time) and feuded with Adams and his wife Toni . I was by no means an overnight success. What success I eventually did attain was the result of hard work. I always had a competitive nature. I learned the mechanics of wrestling really well and really fast. I learned how to have a good match, but I didn't have the right gimmick. —Austin discussing the lack of success he attained early in his career Austin debuted in World Championship Wrestling in May 1991. He
12322-696: The tournament and new champion Big Van Vader in the quarterfinals. During this time, he would return to the United States and have a brief run in Australia . Upon Chono's return to New Japan in October 1989, he reinvented himself. On October 15, 1989 during a match against Matt Borne where he was victorious, he debuted his signature move, the STF. On February 10, 1990, he wrestled in the main-event of NJPW's second Tokyo Dome show, teaming with Shinya Hashimoto against Antonio Inoki and Seiji Sakaguchi , on April 27 he won
12444-454: The traditional US style of wrestling, it has become an entity in itself. Japanese pro wrestling is distinct in its psychology and presentation of the sport., with fewer theatrics ; the stories told in Japanese matches are about a fighter's spirit and perseverance. Since its beginning, Japanese professional wrestling depended on television to reach a wide audience. Rikidōzan's matches in
12566-506: The way for WWF's shift to more mature programming. At Survivor Series, in a match to determine the number-one contender for the WWF Championship , Hart defeated Austin by using a turnbuckle to push himself backward while locked in the Million Dollar Dream. During the 1997 Royal Rumble match, Austin was originally eliminated by Hart but the officials did not see it; he snuck back into the ring and eliminated Hart by throwing him over
12688-420: The way, Austin set his sights on The Rock , who stole Austin's championship belt after Austin suffered a beating by his Nation of Domination stablemates. In the weeks to come, The Rock began declaring himself to be "the best damn Intercontinental Champion ever." The Rock kept possession of the championship belt until D-Generation X: In Your House , when Austin defeated him to retain the championship and regain
12810-426: The weeks leading up to WrestleMania, animosity grew between Austin and The Rock, stemming from Austin's wife, Debra , being assigned to be The Rock's manager by Mr. McMahon. The match at WrestleMania was made a no disqualification match. During the match, McMahon came to the ring, preventing The Rock from pinning Austin on two separate occasions and giving Austin a steel chair. Austin then hit The Rock several times with
12932-495: Was Michaels's last match until 2002 as he had suffered two legitimate herniated discs and another completely crushed at the hands of The Undertaker in a casket match at the Royal Rumble . With Michaels's absence and Austin winning the WWF Championship, the "Austin Era" was ushered in. On Raw the following night, McMahon presented him with a new championship belt and warned Austin that he did not approve of his rebellious nature, desiring
13054-437: Was around a year old. His mother moved to Edna, Texas , where Austin would spend most of his childhood, and she married Ken Williams in 1968. Austin adopted his stepfather's surname and legally changed his name to Steven James Williams, after he was legally adopted, though he would legally change it again to Steve Austin later in life. He has a younger sister named Jennifer and three brothers named Scott, Kevin, and Jeff. Kevin
13176-435: Was deemed a no contest; Austin was subsequently arrested. During a handicap match against Rikishi and Kurt Angle , Triple H came down with the apparent intention of teaming with Austin, only to hit Austin with a sledgehammer and reveal he had instructed Rikishi to run him over. At Survivor Series on November 19, Triple H aimed to run Austin down again during their match but his plot failed when Austin lifted Triple H's car with
13298-658: Was forced to retire from in-ring competition in 2003 after multiple knee injuries and a serious neck injury at the 1997 SummerSlam event, making sporadic appearances ever since. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009 , and returned for a one-off match against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 in April 2022. Austin hosts the podcast The Steve Austin Show (2013–present), and the video podcast Broken Skull Sessions (2019–present) available on
13420-471: Was former sumo wrestler Sorakichi Matsuda . There were subsequent attempts before and after World War II to popularize the sport in Japan, but these generally failed until the advent of its first big star, Rikidōzan , in 1951, who became known as the "father" of the sport. Rikidōzan brought the sport to tremendous popularity with his Japanese Wrestling Association (JWA) until his murder in 1963. Following his death, professional wrestling thrived, creating
13542-540: Was involved in the finish of a match between Owen and Faarooq for the vacant Intercontinental Championship. Austin hit Faarooq with the Intercontinental Championship belt while the referee's back was turned, causing Hart to win the match and the title. Austin's motive was to keep Owen as champion, as demonstrated when he interfered in Hart's matches on Raw . Austin regained the Intercontinental Championship from Hart at Survivor Series . With Hart out of
13664-413: Was likely the reason Austin lost to Duggan, who had been a popular figure during that period of time. Around this time, Austin pitched a storyline idea to Bischoff in which it would be revealed that Austin was a family member of Hogan. The proposal was quickly turned down on account of Bischoff's belief that Hogan would not work with somebody such as Austin, who was not a proven name. Following Clash of
13786-533: Was living approximately 30 miles from the Dallas Sportatorium , a building he later described fondly as a "magnificent shithole of a building". It was here that World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) ran shows on a Friday night. Deciding to become a wrestler, Austin joined "Gentleman" Chris Adams ' school in the Dallas Sportatorium , where Adams also wrestled for WCCW. The first seminar cost Austin $ 45 (equivalent to $ 111 in 2023). Adams' training
13908-447: Was nicknamed "Stunning" Steve Austin, a name and gimmick he later said he could not commit to. Austin was originally paired with a valet named Vivacious Veronica but was later joined by Jeannie Adams, known as " Lady Blossom ". Just weeks after his debut, Austin defeated Bobby Eaton for his first WCW World Television Championship on June 3, 1991, and later that year joined Paul E. Dangerously 's Dangerous Alliance . Austin lost
14030-399: Was not getting respect. He also developed a strange infatuation with McMahon, going to great lengths to impress him, even going so far as to hug him and bring him presents. Austin and Triple H ran roughshod over all their opponents, until coming up against The Undertaker and Kane. After defeating them for the WWF Tag Team Championship at Backlash on April 29, they held the tag team titles,
14152-590: Was on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance. At In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell , Austin had The Undertaker down with the Stone Cold Stunner but was distracted by Pillman, allowing The Undertaker to recover and perform a Tombstone Piledriver for the victory. On Raw , Austin partnered with the returning Shawn Michaels, as they both had a mutual enemy in the Harts. They defeated Owen Hart and The British Bulldog for
14274-573: Was originally scheduled to win the tournament, but plans changed as he was punished for taking part in the Curtain Call incident . "Austin 3:16" ultimately became one of the most popular catchphrases in wrestling history, and one of the best-selling T-shirts in WWE merchandise history. After defeating Yokozuna at SummerSlam , throughout August and September Austin spoke about Bret Hart , challenging him constantly and taunting him relentlessly, before Hart finally returned on Raw to challenge Austin to
14396-480: Was purely technical, teaching Austin the moves, but nothing relating to kayfabe . Austin would later describe Adams as a "conman" who "didn't try to smarten [him] up or teach [him] the real deal when it came to wrestling". His first lesson in that came from Tony Falk , the referee in his 1989 televised WCCW debut against Frogman LeBlanc, who called the spots to lead him to a pinfall and a $ 40 (equivalent to $ 98 in 2023) payday. Early influences on his career were
14518-762: Was successful. In a 2022 interview, Chono discussed how Keiji Muto requested to have his retirement match with him but was unsure if he could compete. On February 21, 2023, Chono was challenged to an impromptu match by Muto during Muto's retirement show at the Tokyo Dome , which Chono won. Chono announced his own retirement following the match. On December 28, 1991, Chono married Martina Carlsbad, whom he met while on an excursion in Germany in 1987. Together they have one son (born July 4, 2006) and one daughter (born August 2009). In late-June 1995, Chono's father died. His death forced Chono to miss an IWGP Tag Team title defense and take
14640-632: Was the basis for everything that Stone Cold was to become. —Austin discussing his time in ECW Austin was contacted by Paul Heyman of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), who had previously managed him in WCW. Heyman hired him to do promos and in-ring interviews as he had not adequately recovered from his injury, paying Austin $ 500 (equivalent to $ 1,000 in 2023) a night. Changing his nickname to "Superstar", Austin debuted in ECW at Gangstas Paradise on September 18, 1995. While in ECW, Austin used
14762-989: Was the first Japanese promotion to link into European circuits. It was through IWE that Frenchman André the Giant got his international reputation for the first time. In recent years, many of North America's most popular wrestlers, such as Sting , Hulk Hogan , Bret Hart , Dynamite Kid , Big Van Vader , Mick Foley , Eddie Guerrero , Chris Jericho , Kurt Angle , Rob Van Dam , Sabu , Mil Máscaras , El Canek , Dos Caras , El Solitario , Samoa Joe , AJ Styles , Bryan Danielson , CM Punk , Travis Tomko , Giant Bernard , Bill Goldberg , Chris Sabin , Low Ki , Brock Lesnar , Davey Richards , Chris Hero , and others have wrestled in Japan, whereas others such as Stan Hansen , "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and Kenny Omega spent much of their careers in Japan and thus are (or have been) better known there than in their homeland. (Omega has since become more recognized in both his homeland of Canada and
14884-529: Was the voice actor in the Japanese dubbed version of Blade: Trinity for Jarko Grimwood, portrayed by fellow professional wrestler Triple H . Professional wrestling in Japan Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling in Japan has existed for several decades. The first Japanese person to involve themselves in catch wrestling (the basis of traditional professional wrestling)
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