Jun Akiyama

Jun Akiyama
August 2008
Ring name(s)	Jun Akiyama Mr. Christmas
Billed height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Billed weight	110 kg (240 lb)
Born	October 9, 1969 (1969-10-09) Izumi, Osaka
Debut	September 17, 1992

Jun Akiyama (秋山 準, Akiyama Jun, born October 9, 1969) is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently works for Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is one half of the GHC Tag Team Champions, and All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is the current AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion. Akiyama is known for his serious style and outstanding, time-tested work as a tag team wrestler. He also gained notoriety for his innovation of the Blue Thunder Driver and the wrist–clutch exploder suplex.

Before wrestling

In junior high school, Akiyama practiced swimming and in senior high school he did freestyle amateur wrestling and judo. After high school he went to Senshu University in Tokyo. There he joined an amateur wrestling team that produced other professional wrestlers Riki Chōshū, Hiroshi Hase and Manabu Nakanishi.

Professional wrestling career

All Japan Pro Wrestling (1992–2000)

Akiyama had great success as an amateur wrestler and was eventually scouted by All Japan Pro Wrestling. He made his professional wrestling debut in September 1992 in a match against Kenta Kobashi, which he lost. He gradually rose in rank, earning a trial series in January 1993. Afterwards, Akiyama started competition in tag teams. The tag team division soon became his specialty, teaming with Takao Ōmori against Kenta Kobashi and Mitsuharu Misawa. On more than one occasion, Dave Meltzer rated the matches they had together five stars. In 1995, he split with Taue, and was selected to be Misawa's partner after he split with Kobashi. The two teamed together successfully and won the AJPW Tag Team Titles during 1996. Akiyama and Misawa also competed in the Real World Tag League tournaments in 1996 and 1997, but lost in successive years to the team of Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue. Akiyama then began closing in on the AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, first challenging Misawa in September 1997, again challenging Misawa in January 1998, Kobashi in July 1998 and Vader in January 2000. He was unsuccessful on all occasions, and never managed to capture the championship.

After teaming with Misawa, Akiyama began teaming with Kenta Kobashi to form 'Burning'. The team won numerous tag team titles and competed against the teams of Mitsuharu Misawa and Yoshinari Ogawa, Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue, Yoshihiro Takayama and Takao Ōmori and others. Burning also won the Real World Tag League tournament in 1998 by defeating the team of Stan Hansen and Vader, and again in 1999 by defeating Akira Taue and Stan Hansen. Akiyama's last major victory in All Japan Pro Wrestling was on February 27, 2000, when he defeated former tag team partner Mitsuharu Misawa by pinfall in a heated and highly acclaimed contest.

Pro Wrestling Noah (2000–present)

After a controversy in AJPW over the direction and management, he left the company with Mitsuharu Misawa, and half the roster, for Misawa's newly created Pro Wrestling Noah in mid-2000. Like many other members who made the jump, Akiyama gave himself a makeover, dropping his trademark blue and white trimmed boots and blue trunks for white boots and trunks and dyed his hair brown. He was quickly established as a top star of the company, winning both falls in the Main Event of NOAH's first show, choking out Kenta Kobashi in the second Noah show, and becoming the second GHC Heavyweight Champion, He had stellar title defenses in New Japan Pro Wrestling against Yuji Nagata and Hiroshi Tanahashi. But a lack of worthy contenders eventually forced Noah to abandon his push, using Yoshinari Ogawa to transition the title back to Misawa. He continued work in Noah as a tag team competitor again to critical acclaim, winning the GHC Tag Team Championship with Akitoshi Saito.

In April 2004, he created the GHC Openweight Hardcore Championship to get back into singles competitions, and adapting an attitude manifested by wearing trunks that were odd colors for him. These motives helped put him back into contention for the GHC title against Kenta Kobashi, which was voted as Match of the Year. Late 2004 and much of 2005 were highlighted by his feud with protégé Makoto Hashi where Akiyama used "tough love" to toughen up young Hashi. On January 22, 2006, Akiyama defeated Akira Taue to become the GHC Heavyweight Champion for the second time, defending the title against Minoru Suzuki on March 5 and Masao Inoue on April 24. Akiyama was defeated by Naomichi Marufuji on Noah's September 9 Nippon Budokan show in his third defense of the GHC Heavyweight Title.

Following his title loss to Naomichi Marufuji, Akiyama made good his promise to Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, going back to wearing blue trunks, and wrestling mainly in the undercard. He successfully redeemed himself by defeating Kikuchi and once again wore white trunks following that match. This put him back in line for success, which had him winning the tag titles a second time with Takeshi Rikio. However, due to an injury to Rikio, they were forced to vacate the titles. Akiyama competed at New Japan Pro Wrestling's third Annual "Wrestle Kingdom in Tokyo Dome" show, defeating Manabu Nakanishi.

On March 1, 2009 Akiyama defeated Kensuke Sasaki for the GHC Heavyweight Championship. On June 14, 2009 he was forced to vacate the title due to injury, in which left him out of action for the rest of the tour. After making his return later that year, Akiyama continued to wrestle sporadically whilst struggling with back injuries and the burden of post traumatic stress syndrome, following the death of Mitsuharu Misawa.

Akiyama participated in the firstGlobal League Tournament, achieving a total of eight points with four wins and just one loss. As the Block B winner, he faced Block A winner Yoshihiro Takayama in the final match on May 2. Takayama won the tournament by pinning Akiyama with an Everest German suplex.

In April 2011, Akiyama and Akitoshi Saito won the 2011 Global Tag League.

On October 23, 2011, Akiyama defeated Suwama to finally win All Japan's Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, the belt he couldnt win during his 8 year run with the promotion before leaving for Pro-Wrestling NOAH. On January 22, Akiyama and Saito defeated Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson) to win the GHC Tag Team Championship.

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Blue Thunder Driver – Innovated
  • Exploder '98 (Wrist-clutch exploder suplex, sometimes from the second or top rope) – Innovated
  • Sternness Dust α (Wrist-clutch Death Valley driver)
  • Sternness Dust γ (Wrist-clutch fisherman buster)

• Signature moves
  • Cradle kneeling belly to belly piledriver
  • King Crab Lock (Double leg trap guillotine choke)
  • Multiple suplex variations
    • Bridging / Release German
    • Bridging / Release Northern Lights
    • Exploder – Innovated
  • Running high knee

• Nicknames
  • "Blue Thunder"
  • "Supernova"
  • "Sternness"

• Entrance themes
  • "U.S. Final Battle" (AJPW)
  • "Shadow Explosion" (AJPW / Noah)
  • "Sternness" (Noah)

Championships and accomplishments

• All Japan Pro Wrestling
  • AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Takao Ōmori
  • AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current)
  • AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – Kenta Kobashi (2), and Mitsuharu Misawa (1)
  • World's Strongest Tag Team League (1998, 1999) – with Kenta Kobashi
  • Asunaro Cup (1994)
  • Asunaro Tag Cup (1998) – with Takao Omori
  • One Night Six Man Tag Team Tournament Winner (1999) – with Kenta Kobashi and Kentaro Shiga

• New Japan Pro Wrestling
  • Singles Best Bout (2003) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan on August 17
  • Tag Team Best Bout (2001) with Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroshi Hase and Keiji Mutoh on October 8

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #27 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1998
  • PWI ranked him #90 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003

• Pro Wrestling Noah
  • GHC Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
  • GHC Openweight Hardcore Championship (1 time)
  • GHC Tag Team Championship (3 times, current) – with Akitoshi Saito (2, current), and Takeshi Rikio (1)
  • Global Tag League (2011) – with Akitoshi Saito

• Tokyo Sports Grand Prix
  • Outstanding Performance Award (2011)

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • 5 Star Match (1993) with Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue, Toshiaki Kawada, and Yoshinari Ogawa on July 2
  • 5 Star Match (1996) with Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue on May 23
  • 5 Star Match (1996) with Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Steve Williams and Johnny Ace on June 7
  • 5 Star Match (1996) with Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue on December 6
  • 5 Star Match (1997) with Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue on December 5
  • 5 Star Match (1999) with Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa and Yoshinari Ogawa on October 23
  • 5 Star Match (2004) vs. Kenta Kobashi on July 10
  • Match of the Year (1996) with Mitsuharu Misawa vs Steve Williams and Johnny Ace on June 7
  • Match of the Year (2004) vs. Kenta Kobashi on July 10
  • Rookie of the Year (1993)
  • Tag Team of the Year (1996, 1997) with Mitsuharu Misawa
  • Tag Team of the Year (1999) with Kenta Kobashi

External links

• Profile at Green Destiny, a NOAH fan site
• View from the Rising Sun - Misawa vs. Kawada vs. Taue vs. Kobashi vs. Akiyama
• Official profile at NOAH site (in Japanese)