Puroresu Spirit

Sasaki, Kensuke 佐々木 健介

Height

180 cm

Weight

115 kg

Born

8/4/1966 in Fukuoka, Japan
Trained by
Riki Choshu & Masa Saito
Debuted
February 26, 1986 against Shinji Sasazaki
Signature Moves:
Northern Lights Bomb
Strangle Hold Gamma (Beta & Alpha)
Lariat
Powerslam
Reverse Backhand Chop
King Buster (Modified Half Nelson Suplex)
Volcano Eruption
Tornado Bomb
Ipponzeoi (Arm Throw)
STK
Avalanche Frankensteiner
Tiger Suplex
Dragon Suplex
Scorpion Deathlock
Championship History
All Japan Pro Wrestling
~ Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion – 36th generation.
~ Asia Tag Team Championship – 80th generation w/ Nakajima.
~ Champions Carnival (2005)
~ BAPE STA!! PRO-WRESTLING Tournament (as the Masked Volcano)

New Japan Pro Wrestling
~ IWGP Heavyweight Championship (5) – 20, 26, 27, 36, 39th Generations Champion .
~ IWGP Tag Team Championship (7)
~ G1 CLIMAX (1997) (2000)
~ Japan/U.S All Star Tournament Winner (1996)
~ G1 Climax Special Tag Team Tournament Winner (1997) – w/ Kazuo YamazakiNOAH
~ GHC Heavyweight Champion – 13th Generation Champion.
~ GHC Tag Team Championship – 18th Generation Champion. w/ Takeshi Morishima

Toryumon Mexico
~ UWA World Tag Team Championship – w/ Animal Warrior

Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling
~ World Magma the Greatest Championship (1 time)
~ WJ Strongest Tournament Winner (2003)

World Wrestling Council
~ WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship (2 times) – w/ Mr. Pogo

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
~ Suzuki Cup (2007) – w/ Ultimo Dragon & Marco Corleone

Hawaii Championship Wrestling
~ HCW Kamehameha Heritage Championship (1 time)
~ HCW Kekaulike Heritage Tag Team Championship (2 times) – w/ Kenjiro Katahira

Canada
~ Stampede International Tag Team Championship – w/ Sumo Hara
WCW
~ WCW United States Title
———————————–

Biography:

Part 1: 86-94

Kensuke Sasaki was born on August 4, 1966 in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka. Kensuke was a very good at sports and weight lifting and even though having a smaller stature he proved he was just as good as anyone. After he graduated school he went to train to be a professional wrester. He was immediately picked by Riki Choshu and on February 26, 1986 Sasake debuted, against Shinji Sasazaki, in Choshu’s Japan Pro Wrestling that was a branch of All Japan Pro Wrestling. Choshu’s promotion wouldn’t last long and on June of 1987 Sasaki followed him to New Japan Pro Wrestling, and was placed into the young lions training system. Sasaki after training left Japan in early 1989 join Canada’s Stampede Wrestling, a promotion run by the late Stu Hart. He found success in the tag division when him and his partner Sumo Hara won the Stampede International Tag Team Titles on August of 1989. They would lose the titles a month later to The Black Harts. He would come back to NJPW and on November 1, 1990, against Keiji Mutoh and Masa Chono, he would win the IWGP Tag Titles with partner Hiroshi Hase. They would lose the titles over a month later to Super Strong Machine and Hiro Saito, but on March 6, 1991 they would win the titles back from them. At the end of March Sasaki and Hase would lose the titles against Rick and Scott Steiner in what was considered the match of the year of 1991. In 1992 Sasake dawned a new look with face paint and became the one called the Power Warrior. He then teamed with the Legion of Doom, Hawk and Animal Warrior, and they called themselves the Hell Raisers. Almost a month later after running through everything and everyone in their path, both in NJPW and America’s WCW, they defeated Scott Norton and Tony Halme to win the IWGP Tag Titles. They would continue the domination for almost eight months when they would finally lose the titles back to Scott Norton and his partner Herculez Hernandez on August 5, 1993. It would not be any time at all before they would get a rematch and on January 4, 1994 they would win the titles back. They would hold the titles for almost a year and on November 25, 1994 they would lose the titles to Sasake’s old partner Hase and his partner Keiji Mutoh. After the loss he would stop wrestling as Power Warrior, and he would go back to wrestling as his actual name.

Part 2: 95-99

Sasaki would try to rise in the ranks of the single competitors and on November 13, 1995 he would win his first singles title when during an inter-promotional event between NJPW and WCW he defeated Sting for the United States Heavyweight Championship. The run would be short lived when a month later he would be defeated by the One Man Gang. He would go on in 1996 to win a Japan/U.S. All Star Tournament when he defeated Shiro Koshinaka. The next year would start out good for Sasake when in April he, along with his long time mentor Riki Choshu, would win the IWGP Tag Titles from Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura. The reign would short lived when they would lose the titles to Manabu Nakanishi and Satoshi Kojima on May 3. It was not soon after that Sasaki was announced to be in the G1 Climax Tournament. In August he would make it all the way to the finals to face Hiroyoshi Tenzan in a NJPW versus NWO face-off. He would defeat Tenzan with his Northern Lights Driver, and he would finally prove himself as a top singles contender in the sport. Sasaki soon after won the IWGP Tag Titles, for the sixth time, with Kazuo Yamazaki against Satoshi Kojima and Manabu Nakanishi after winning a special G-1 tag tournament. With the big win at the G-1 tournament Sasaki also earned a title shot against Shinya Hashimoto at the end of that month. That day finally came on August 31, 1997, and what Sasaki had strived for was imminent. He would end Hashimoto’s long reign as the IWGP Champion, He would soon after go on to defeat Chono in October, and he would wrestle as Power Warrior against Great Muta in January 1998’s Tokyo Dome Show. He would hold the title till March 4, 1998 when he would fall to Tatsumi Fujinami. Sasake’s next title win would again be for IWGP Tag Team Titles, on March 22, 1999, when he teamed with Shiro Koshinaka to take on Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima. They would hold the titles for over three months.

Part 3: 00-08

On January 4, 2000 Sasaki, even though having a high fever, managed to defeat “Mr. Puroresu” Genichiro Tenryu to win his second IWGP Heavyweight Title. In August 2000 Sasaki would go on to win the G1 Climax by defeating Manabu Nakanishi in the finals of the tournament. Sasaki would suffer an injury and on October 9, 2000 he would vacate the title. Almost immediately he would come back and on January 4, 2001 he defeat Toshiaki Kawada to regain the IWGP Championship. He would hold the title for a little over three months before losing it to the bigger and stronger Scott Norton. Sasaki kept fighting for his title and even coming close to beating Yuji Nagata on June of 2002. He would form at this time a group called Swing-Lows consisting of younger wrestlers, Kenzo Suzuki, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Blue Wolf, and himself. After his mentor and close friend Riki Choshu left NJPW earlier in 2002 Sasake felt no reason to stay with the company and he resigned at the close of the year. In 2003 he would follow and join Choshu’s Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling even winning the Heavyweight Title when he beat Kenzo Suzuki on July of 2003. He would hold the title through the rest of the year, but the company would ultimately come to an end at the end of 2003. Kensuke would return to NJPW in January 2004, and was immediately labeled a heal and traitor to the company. He would win the IWGP for the fourth time on March 14, 2004, but a mere 14 days later he would lose the title against MMA fighter Bob “The Beast” Sapp. On September 1, 2004 Sasake, along with his very young student Katsuhiko Nakajima, won the Michinoku Pro Tohoku Tag Team Titles from Jinsei Shinzaki and Ultimo Dragon. Once back in New Japan Sasake defeated Kazuyuki Fujita for the IWGP Heavyweight Title on October 8, 2004 before losing it to Tenzan two months later. After his final IWGP win he officially declared himself a freelancer and began wrestling for other promotions. He went on in All Japan Pro Wrestling to win the 2005 Champion Carnival along with winning the All Asia Tag Team Titles with Nakajima on July 26, 2005. On July 18, just days before winning the tag titles, he had what is considered arguably one of greatest battles/matches ever with NOAH’s Kenta Kobashi. The match would last for over twenty-three minutes, and is a must to watch for any puroresu fan. On July 26, 2007 he would win the AJPW Triple Crown for the first time when he defeated Minoru Suzuki.

Kensuke Sasaki still to this day, March 23, 2008, holds the Triple Crown Title, and at 41 years of age shows no sign of weakness. Over the years he has only seemed to become better and better and even though he was never the biggest wrestler he never seemed to back down from a challenge. Kensuke owns and wrestles for his own pro wrestling branch known as Kensuke Office that tailors to his students as well as other freelancers. He is also married to former Joshi wrestler Akira Hokuto and they have two children together. With all this it is hard to see how he manages, but there is no telling what we can expect to see from him in the years to come?