About Me
Sayama debuted in New Japan Pro Wrestling on May 28, 1976, losing to Shoji Kai (a jobber known to have been the debut opponent for future stars). Sayama weighed only 160 pounds, which (even given his training) impaired him from getting a permanent spot on NJPW cards, so they sent him to England (competing as Sammy Lee) and Mexico (competing as Tigre Enmascarado). It was in Mexico where he started to grow not only in physical stature but also in prominence. In 1979 he won his first title, the NWA World Middleweight championship in Guadalajara, Mexico. He held the title for 6 months, losing it to El Satanico on March 28, 1980.
In 1981, NJPW was looking for a way to attract young fans to its wrestling, after Tatsumi Fujinami had spearheaded the interest in junior heavyweight wrestling with his reign as WWF Junior Heavyweight Champion. They looked to the popular Tiger Mask anime and created an actual wrestler called Tiger Mask for the fans, with the recently returned Sayama playing the role. On the evening of Thursday, April 23, 1981 Satoru Sayama made his way to the ring in the Kuramae Kokugikan as Tiger Mask. He made his debut against the Dynamite Kid, to compete for the vacanted WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship. Initially, many traditional Japanese fans scoffed at the thought of artist Ikki Kajiwara's popular comicbook wrestling hero being pushed as a legitimate wrestling star, but he shocked the Japanese fans in the arena by pinning Dynamite with his German Suplex. As a result, he was immediately regarded as the premier star in the New Japan Junior Heavyweight ranks. Moreover, that match would be the first of many classic battles between the two men.
Tiger Mask was finally defeated by the Black Tiger on May 6, 1982 for the WWF Junior Heavyweight title. Regardless of the loss, Tiger Mask would go on to win the NWA World Junior Heavyweight less than 3 weeks later on May 25, 1982. The very next day, Tiger Mask defeated Black Tiger in a rematch for the WWF Junior Heavyweight title. This victory was met with controversy, as some board members on the NWA declared the title vacant, as they felt that the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship was the premier title for the division. However, during an annual meeting between the NWA and New Japan Pro Wrestling, it was declared that Tiger Mask was still recognized as the official champion... which cemented him as the only man to simultaneously hold the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship and the WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship.
During a tag team match on April 3,1983 he was injured by Dynamite Kid; two days later, he was forced to vacate the NWA World Junior Heavyweight title after it became clear that he would need time off to recuperate. However, once the determined Tiger Mask recovered, he regained his NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship by defeating Kuniaki Kobayashi on June 2, 1983, making him a simultaneous NWA/WWF Jr. champion for the second time.
In 1983, however, Sayama started feeling dissatisfied as he hated the politics behind-the-scenes. As a result, he announced his retirement from active competition on August 12, 1983. It was a shock to the wrestling world, as Tiger Mask was going to retire while he was at the top of his game and as the holder of two Jr. Heavyweight Championships. Both titles were declared vacant, as he became a trainer to martial arts fighters.
After nearly a year of inactivity, Sayama resurfaced in the Japanese UWF in 1984. By then, All Japan Pro Wrestling had purchased the Tiger Mask name and gimmick and given it to Mitsuharu Misawa. As a result, Sayama initially made appearances for UWF as The Tiger (which was the same color as Tiger Mask), then alternated between using his real name and the gimmick of Super Tiger (colored silver and purple). He initially supported the UWF concept and had several memorable matches against Akira Maeda and Yoshiaki Fujiwara. Sayama would soon disagree with Maeda over style ideology, as Sayama wanted more kicking, while Maeda wanted more submission holds. This led to a shoot during a match between Sayama and Maeda in 1985, in which Maeda delivered a controversial kick to Sayama's lower abdomen. Sayama signaled that he was kicked in the groin, resulting in Maeda being disqualified. Shortly after this, Sayama left UWF, amid protests from other UWF wrestlers who disliked him for his selfish leadership. With no key opponents for Maeda, the UWF collapsed and Maeda and the rest of the roster headed back to NJPW. Sayama left professional wrestling altogether due to his experience in the UWF, and spent the next few years criticizing it as worked. In 1986 he founded Shooto, finally realizing his dream of becoming a martial arts trainer.
In 1995, Sayama was offered to return to puroresu for a match against old mentor Antonio Inoki. As there was already a Tiger Mask on the scene (Tiger Mask IV, who debuted with the mask and was approved by Sayama), Sayama used the name and gimmick Tiger King, using a gold-colored outfit. He lost to Inoki, but fans still were awed of his display of athleticism and said that he had not lost a step at all. In subsequent years, he (using the Original Tiger Mask identity), competed sporadically in independent promotions, often in legends matches and teams with his younger disciple. In 1998, he was invited by Inoki to be a part of the board of his new venture, Universal Fighting Organization. He did, but left a year later to form Seikendo, his own promotion.
He has recently been linked to the new promotion called Real Japan Pro Wrestling, and has started to promote a new gimmick where he would be called Super Tiger #2.
Legend of the Tiger Mask:
Although some credit All Japan Pro Wrestling mid-carder Samson Kutsuwada as the first true Tiger Mask (as he used it in South Korea as a heel), four men are recognized as portraying the Tiger Mask. This MySpace is obviously dedicated to Satoru Sayama, but a tribute to the man who made the Tiger Mask famous cannot leave out the legacy that followed in his footsteps.
Mitsuhiro Misawa debuted in 1981, and would become Tiger Mask II four years later. He would compete under the Tiger Mask legend until 1990, when he was unmasked by Toshiaki Kawada. A big storyline/time period, often referred to as "Beyond the Tiger Mask", was used to push Misawa as a big star... and it has worked out very well for him, as he would go on to become a 5-Time AJPW Triple Crown World Heavyweight Champion.
Koji Kanemoto would pick up where Misawa left off 1990-1994 and compete as Tiger Mask III. However, his run under the Tiger Mask legend was very unsuccessful, and would end in 1994 when he was unmasked by rival Jushin "Thunder" Liger. Regardless, Kanemoto ended up becoming a 5-Time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.
Perhaps the most interesting member of the Tiger Mask legend is Tiger Mask IV, whose identity is completely unknown, as he began his career in 1995 under the Tiger Mask legend. He is officially endorsed (and was subsequently trained) by Sayama.
Characters Inspired by Tiger Mask:
Bono Tiger (Akebono Taro)
Tiger Emperor (Kotaro Suzuki)
Tiger Fang (Kazushi Sakuraba)
Tiger Dream (Tomoko Okutsu)
The Tiger II (Yoshihiro Asai)
