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Akira Taue

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Akira Taue
Born (1961-05-08) May 8, 1961 (age 63)[1]
Chichibu, Saitama, Japan[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Akira Taue
Tamakirin
Billed height1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Billed weight120 kg (260 lb)[1]
DebutJanuary 2, 1988
RetiredDecember 7, 2013[2]

Akira Taue (田上 明, Taue Akira) (born May 8, 1961) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, and the current President of Pro Wrestling Noah. He is also a former AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, a former GHC Heavyweight Champion and has had fourteen 5 Star Matches as awarded by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Sumo wrestling career

Before becoming a professional wrestler, Akira Taue competed as a sumo wrestler, debuting in January 1980 and coached by former ozeki Daikirin (his shikona was Tamakirin, based on his stablemaster's). He fought in the second highest juryo division for seven tournaments before retiring from sumo in July 1987.

Professional wrestling career

All Japan Pro Wrestling (1988-2000)

He debuted in a tag team match for All Japan Pro Wrestling on January 2, 1988, teaming with the legendary Giant Baba against Buddy Landel and Paul Harris.[1] As with Genichiro Tenryu, Hiroshi Wajima and Arashi before him, his debut was much hyped. Throughout the years he became one of AJPW's top stars, by winning titles such as the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship and the 1996 Champion Carnival.

However, he became better known for tag team wrestling. He won his first championship, the All Asia Tag Team Championship, with Shinichi Nakano on June 5, 1990. He won the World Tag Team Championship for the first time on March 4, 1992, teaming with Jumbo Tsuruta. He formed a tag team with Toshiaki Kawada, called The Holy Demon Army, a team which ended up holding the World Tag Team Championship 6 times. The team split when Taue left AJPW for Mitsuharu Misawa's new Pro Wrestling Noah promotion in August 2000, while Kawada decided to stay.

Pro Wrestling Noah (2000-present)

In Noah Taue continued tag team wrestling, teaming mostly with Takuma Sano. On November 5, 2005, Taue was able to defeat Takeshi Rikio with his Ore ga Taue finisher to capture the GHC Heavyweight Championship, which he held into the new year before losing it to Jun Akiyama on January 22, 2006.

On June 27, 2009, following the June 13 death of Mitsuharu Misawa, Akira Taue was appointed as the new president of Pro Wrestling Noah. On May 12, 2013, Taue announced that he would be officially retiring from the ring in December.[3] On December 7, 2013, Taue wrestled his retirement match, where he, Takeshi Morishima, Takashi Sugiura, and Genba Hirayanagi defeated Genichiro Tenryu, Tatsumi Fujinami, Masao Inoue, and Kentaro Shiga, with Taue pinning Inoue for the final win of his career.[2]

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "田上 明 (Taue Akira) (profile)" (in Japanese). Pro Wrestling NOAH. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Great Voyage 2013 in Tokyo vol.2～田上明引退記念大会～". Pro Wrestling Noah (in Japanese). Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  3. ^ http://www.noah.co.jp/news_detail.php?news_id=5104
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "OOcities profile".
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Puroresu Central profile".
  6. ^ a b c d e "OWOW profile".
  7. ^ http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/alljap/ajtourn.htm
  8. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years". Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  9. ^ a b c http://www.puroresu.com/awards/1990s.html
  10. ^ "【プロレス大賞：功労賞】田上「三沢さんが安心するノアにする」". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). 2014-12-09. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
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