Jushin Liger
Keiichi Yamada, better known as Jushin Liger and later Jushin Thunder Liger, is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling as a trainer. He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having worked for the company since his professional wrestling debut in 1984. Throughout his career, which spanned three-and-a-half decades, he wrestled over 4,000 matches and performed in major events for various promotions across the globe.
Debuting under his real name for NJPW in 1984, he was given the gimmick of Jushin Liger in 1989, based on the anime series of the same name. Becoming Jushin "Thunder" Liger the following year, he saw unprecedented success in the junior heavyweight division when he won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship a record 11 times and set the record for its longest reign during his second reign, which lasted for 628 days. Liger was the first three-time Best of the Super Juniors tournament winner, is a former six-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, won the Super J Cup twice, and was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1999. Liger also wrestled the opening match for the first January 4 Tokyo Dome Show in 1992. He is frequently cited as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. He was also inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2020.
Yamada had his retirement match at Wrestle Kingdom 14 on January 5, 2020, 35 years after his career began, and has since been working as a trainer in the New Japan Dojo and as a commentator.
Professional wrestling career
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1984–1986)
Keiichi Yamada was born in Hiroshima on November 10, 1964. He was an amateur wrestler during his high school years. In his senior year, he lost to Toshiaki Kawada in the finals of a national championship tournament. After graduating high school in the early 1980s, he would apply to New Japan Pro-Wrestling's dojo in the hope of becoming a professional wrestler. He was not accepted because he did not meet the height requirements the dojo had at that time. Yamada, determined not to give up his dream of becoming a professional wrestler, left for Mexico and began his training there. By his own account, he was almost starving while studying in Mexico, due to this NJPW officials who were visiting took pity on him and asked him to come back to Japan to train in their dojo. In the NJPW dojo, he trained alongside the likes of Keiji Mutoh, Masahiro Chono and Shinya Hashimoto. While continuing his training, he had his debut match in March 1984 at the age of 19, wrestling against Shunji Kosugi. He began studying various martial arts styles because he wanted to add something new and different to his wrestling style, which is how he learned his Abisegeri kick. In 1985, Yamada participated in the Young Lion Cup and got to the final of the tournament before being defeated by Shunji Kosugi. In the beginning of 1986, Yamada participated in the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship League but lost to Black Tiger. Yamada won the 1986 Young Lion Cup by defeating Tatsutoshi Goto in the tournament final on March 26. On July 19, 1986, Yamada faced Nobuhiko Takada in a losing effort in his first of many IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship matches.All Star Wrestling, BWF (1986–1987, 1989, 2014)
After winning the Young Lion Cup in March 1986, he went on an excursion of Europe, where he wrestled for All Star Wrestling in England, under the name "Flying" Fuji Yamada. He won the World Heavy Middleweight Championship twice, once in September 1986 and once in March 1987, both times defeating "Rollerball" Mark Rocco and both times losing it back to him, the last of these four title changes being televised on ITV. Yamada would later visit All Star again in 1989, with tag partner Flying Funaki. During this period, he also worked for Orig Williams' BWF, making appearances on Williams' Reslo wrestling show for Welsh-language TV channel S4C. He returned to Britain in 2014 to work once again for All Star Wrestling, this time under his masked Jushin Liger identity.Germany CWA (1992–1993)
Yamada, as Liger, defeated Franz Schumann at the CWA Euro Catch Festival 1992 edition in Bremen 19 December 1992 in a match held under the full European rounds system. At the December 18, 1993 event, again in Bremen, Liger failed to capture the CWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship after going to a ten-round draw with champion Fit Finlay.Stampede Wrestling (1987, 1989)
Yamada went on an excursion in Canada, around May 1987, where he wrestled in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling in Calgary under his real name. He also trained under Hart in the legendary "Dungeon". His experiences there led him to refer to Hart as a "very, very tough man."Return to NJPW
Return and character change (1987–1989)
Yamada returned to NJPW on August 19, 1987, against Nobuhiko Takada in a losing effort. Yamada debuted his Shooting Star Press in a match against Masakatsu Funaki, for which he had gotten the idea from reading the manga Fist of the North Star. Throughout 1987 and 1988, Yamada improved with each match, occasionally getting shots at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, most notably against Owen Hart on June 10, 1988, and against Shiro Koshinaka on December 9, 1988. He would also take part in the first Top of the Super Juniors tournament where he earned 31 points, not enough to progress to the final. Within months of his second Canadian excursion, NJPW called him back, as they needed him for a gimmick based on an extremely popular anime superhero, Jushin Liger, created by manga artist Go Nagai. NJPW had done this previously with Tiger Mask, which had become a huge success. Yamada was given a superhero-like full body costume, resembling the superhero type featured in tokusatsu and anime programs.Yamada as "Jushin Liger" returned to NJPW on April 24, 1989, at the Tokyo Dome. In the character's debut match, he defeated Kuniaki Kobayashi at Battle Satellite in Tokyo Dome. He has also wrestled all the Black Tigers to date. The Liger character underwent changes in conjunction with the Go Nagai anime progressing and its hero powering up. In January 1990, Liger was renamed "Jushin Thunder Liger", a name he continues to use to this day. Early in his career, Yamada's style mostly consisted of high flying. Years later, he started adapting more power moves and started focusing more on grappling and telling a story in the ring; part of this change was due to the fact that Liger had to reduce the stress he was putting on his body after undergoing brain tumor surgery in August 1996, which explained why he lost his match to Último Dragón in the first round of the J-Crown tournament.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion (1989–2000)
Upon debuting the Liger character, Yamada quickly became one of NJPW's top junior heavyweights, soon capturing the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship from Hiroshi Hase on May 25, 1989, at Battle Satellite in Osaka. Liger successfully defended the title against Mark Rocco in his first title defense in the fifth round of a European Rounds match on July 12. He retained the title against Naoki Sano in his second title defense on July 13, which ended in a double knockout. This set up a rematch between the two on August 10, where Liger lost the title. At Super Power Battle in Osaka, Liger unsuccessfully challenged Sano for the title in a rematch.In January 1990, Liger participated in a tournament to determine the #1 contender for the Junior Heavyweight Championship, which he won by defeating Owen Hart in the final on January 30. Liger received his title shot the following day against Naoki Sano, which Liger won to gain his second Junior Heavyweight Championship. Liger successfully defended the title against Pegasus Kid on March 19 before losing the title to Pegasus Kid in a rematch on August 19. At the Antonio Inoki 30th Anniversary Memorial Festival in Yokohama Arena event, Liger defeated Villano V to earn a Junior Heavyweight Championship shot against Pegasus Kid on November 1, which Liger won, thus winning his third Junior Heavyweight Championship in the process. During this time, Liger formed a faction called "Dragon Bombers" along with Tatsumi Fujinami, Shiro Koshinaka, Takayuki Iizuka and Black Cat and feuded with the Blond Outlaws group. Liger successfully defended the title against Negro Casas at King of Kings and Akira at Starrcade in Tokyo Dome before vacating the title in order for new champion to be crowned in the 1991 Top of the Super Juniors. He advanced to the semifinals by scoring eight points and defeated Negro Casas in the semifinals but lost to Norio Honaga in the final. Liger unsuccessfully challenged Honaga for the title at Tatsumi Fujinami's 20th Anniversary event, before defeating Honaga in a rematch to win his record-breaking fourth Junior Heavyweight Championship at Fighting Connection - Ultra-High And Mighty Declaration II. On July 4, Liger defeated Pegasus Kid in a mask versus mask match forcing the latter to unmask. Liger lost the title to Akira Nogami on August 9.
At Super Warriors in Tokyo Dome, Liger teamed with Masashi Aoyagi and Akira Nogami to defeat the team of Hiro Saito, Super Strong Machine and Norio Honaga in a six-man tag team match. On February 8, 1992, Liger defeated Norio Honaga in a title versus title match with Liger's WCW Light Heavyweight Championship and Honaga's IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on the line. Liger claimed his record-setting fifth IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in the process and successfully defended both titles against Pegasus Kid on February 10. Liger continued his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship reign with a successful title defense against Mad Bull Rex on March 9. He followed the success by winning the 1992 Top of the Super Juniors tournament in April, thus becoming the first competitor to win the tournament while holding the Junior Heavyweight Championship. Liger successfully defended the title against El Samurai at Over Heat Night before losing the title to Samurai on June 26. Liger failed to win the title in a rematch against Samurai on October 21.
At Fantastic Story in Tokyo Dome, Liger defeated Último Dragón to capture his record setting sixth Junior Heavyweight Championship. Liger successfully defended the title against Dean Malenko on March 21. He participated in the 1993 Top of the Super Juniors in June, in which he scored twelve points but failed to advance to the quarterfinals. Liger successfully defended the title against Wild Pegasus, Masao Orihara and Black Tiger throughout the remainder of the year. Liger formed a partnership with Wild Pegasus to participate in the 1993 Super Grade Tag League but scored only four points in the tournament.
Liger defeated Tiger Mask in a mask versus mask match at Battlefield on January 4, thus forcing Tiger Mask to unmask and reveal his identity as Koji Kanemoto. On the March 5 episode of World Pro Wrestling, Liger took on the IWGP Heayvweight Champion Shinya Hashimoto in a champion versus champion match, which he lost. On March 21, Liger made his fifth successful title defense of the Junior Heavyweight Championship against Black Tiger. He would conceptualize the Super J-Cup tournament specifically designed for junior heavyweights from all over the world and participated in the inaugural tournament on April 14, in which he defeated Hayabusa in the first round and Ricky Fuji in the quarterfinal but lost to The Great Sasuke in the semifinal. However, Liger rebounded with his participation in the 1994 Best of the Super Juniors, in which he scored twelve points to advance to the final where he defeated Super Delfin to win the tournament for the second time. Liger's sixth reign ended after he was forced to vacate the title due to fracturing his left ankle in a tag team match on September 24, where he teamed with Riki Choshu in a loss to Keiji Mutoh and Wild Pegasus in a losing effort. His title reign ended at 628 days, marking it the longest IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship reign in history.
Liger returned to NJPW after recovering from his injury on August 11 after missing nearly a year. In his return match, Liger teamed with El Samurai in a loss to Koji Kanemoto and Shinjiro Otani. Later that year, Liger participated in the 1995 Super J-Cup on December 13, in which he defeated Gran Naniwa in the quarterfinals, Último Dragón in the semifinals and Gedo in the finals to win the tournament. Liger defeated Koji Kanemoto to capture his record setting seventh IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at Wrestling World on January 4, 1996. Liger successfully defended the title against Black Tiger on February 3. At Battle Formation in Tokyo Dome, Liger lost the title to The Great Sasuke. Later that year, Liger participated in the 1996 Best of the Super Juniors, in which he qualified for the semifinals and defeated El Samurai in the semifinal but lost to Black Tiger in the final.
At Sky Diving J, Liger defeated Dick Togo to capture the British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship. Liger would later conceptualize the J-Crown tournament in which eight junior heavyweight titles were unified to create a singular crown. He participated in the tournament on August 2, where he defended his British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship against Último Dragón, with the latter's WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship simultaneously being defended. Liger went on to lose the match. On October 20, Liger competed in a match against The Great Muta. As the match progressed, Muta resorted to his underhand tactics that had become his style over the years. He tore at Liger's mask and eventually ripped it off, but Liger kept his face down on the mat. After grabbing a chair outside the ring, Muta entered the ring but before he could hit Liger with it, Liger stood up and revealed his face to be painted pale white with red writings and spit mist into Muta's face. He tore off his bodysuit and revealed a painted chest, then proceeded to fight more aggressively the rest of the match, despite losing the match to Muta. The character debuted in the match against Muta was dubbed "Kishin Liger" by NJPW. Liger would revive the character sporadically, relying on bloody and evil tactics in a match, using mannerisms and imagery that differ from the person's normal ways. This gimmick also used many wrestling moves that were regulars in Muta's move set, such as the Asian mist.
On November 3, Liger teamed with Muta in the One Night Tournament by defeating El Samurai and Tatsumi Fujinami in the opening round but lost to Akira Nogami and Michiyoshi Ohara in the semifinals. At Wrestling World on January 4, 1997, Liger defeated Último Dragón to win the J-Crown, thus winning all the championships of the J-Crown including his record-setting eighth IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Liger successfully defended the J-Crown against Shinjiro Otani, Koji Kanemoto, Masayoshi Motegi and The Great Sasuke. In May, Liger participated in the 1997 Best of the Super Juniors but failed to advance from the round robin stage. On June 6, Liger lost the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship to Yuji Yasuraoka, thus leaving J-Crown with seven championships. Liger lost the J-Crown to El Samurai on July 6.
At Final Power Hall in Tokyo Dome, Liger lost to Riki Choshu. On February 7, 1998, Liger defeated Shinjiro Otani to win his record-setting ninth IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. He successfully defended the title against Kendo Kashin in his first title defense at Antonio Inoki's retirement event. He participated in the 1998 Best of the Super Juniors tournament but failed to advance to the semifinals. Liger successfully defended the title against Koji Kanemoto, The Great Sasuke, Kaz Hayashi, El Samurai, Tatsuhito Takaiwa and Dr. Wagner Jr. before losing the title to Kanemoto on March 17, 1999, ending a year-long reign.
At Strong Style Symphony - New Japan Spirit, Liger teamed with The Great Sasuke to defeat Dr. Wagner Jr. and Kendo Kashin to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. After failing to advance in the 1999 Best of the Super Juniors, Liger and Sasuke lost the tag team titles to Shinjiro Otani and Tatsuhito Takaiwa on July 13. At Jingu Climax, Liger and El Samurai unsuccessfully challenged Otani and Takaiwa for the titles. At Final Dome, Liger defeated Kendo Kashin to win his record-setting tenth Junior Heavyweight Championship. After exchanging the title with Juventud Guerrera in WCW, Liger returned to NJPW to retain the title against Koji Kanemoto and Minoru Tanaka before entering the 2000 Super J-Cup. Liger defeated Tiger Mask, Men's Teioh, Gran Hamada and Cima to win his second consecutive Super J-Cup. After successfully defending the Junior Heavyweight Championship against El Samurai, Liger lost the title to Tatsuhito Takaiwa on July 20, 2000.
Following the title loss, Liger began flirting with the heavyweight division after booker Riki Choshu decided to de-emphasize the junior heavyweight division, and Liger wrestled heavyweights without wearing the upper part of his bodysuit or his mask horns. In August, participated in his first G1 Climax tournament, in which he won only one match in his block against Tatsutoshi Goto on August 9. However, he lost the rest of his matches and was eliminated from his block. On September 12, Liger teamed with Shinya Makabe and unsuccessfully challenged Junior Stars for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Liger would then engage in matches against Osaka Pro Wrestling talent, defeating Super Delfin at Do Judge!!. In November, Liger participated in the G1 Tag League by teaming with Super Strong Machine. They won only two matches, scoring a total of four points in the tournament and were thus eliminated. At The 2nd Judgement!!, the NJPW team of Liger, Minoru Tanaka and Shinya Makabe defeated Delfin, Takehiro Murahama and Tsubasa in a six-man tag team match. The following week, at Dream Win, Liger teamed with Tatsuhito Takaiwa against Kensuke Sasaki and Takashi Iizuka in a losing effort.