Satoru Sayama
Satoru Sayama, best known as the original Tiger Mask, is a Japanese writer, semi-retired professional wrestler and martial artist, and mixed martial arts and wrestling promoter and trainer. He is the founder of Shooto, a pre-UFC MMA promotion, and is widely considered to be one of the most influential masked Japanese wrestlers of all time. The only man to hold the WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship simultaneously, Sayama became widely known in the wrestling world for his all-round prowess of high-flying, technical abilities, and martial combat skills.
Primarily trained under New Japan Pro-Wrestling founder Antonio Inoki and his mentor Karl Gotch, Sayama made his professional wrestling debut in 1976 at 18 years old. He was sent on an excursion to Europe for World of Sport, and Mexico for EMLL, where he not only found his ground as a technical wrestler, but also found his niche in Lucha libre. Sayama became Tiger Mask in 1981, brought from Ikki Kajiwara's 1968 manga series of the same name and the popular anime of the decade. He became involved in highly publicized feuds with Black Tiger, the Dynamite Kid, and Yoshiaki Fujiwara, who was one of Sayama's own trainers. He left NJPW at the height of his popularity in 1983 due to political disenfranchisement, and later became a founding member of the UWF brand in Japan. He then became dissatisfied with wrestling as a whole, leading him to write Kay Fabe, which detailed the kayfabe and secrets of puroresu at the time.
After declaring retirement from professional wrestling in 1985 after the collapse of UWF, he founded Shooto, one of the first MMA organizations in the world. Sayama also started mixed martial arts training and developed his own Shooto syllabus for learning what could be considered the first put together MMA training of its kind, with a focus on striking from arts like boxing, muay thai, and karate, and grappling from wrestling, judo, and sambo. The curriculum would help produce the first well rounded fighters of MMA several years before the first UFC event. While on Shooto, Sayama promoted the Vale Tudo Japan events, more rules free events inspired by Brazilian Vale Tudo and early UFC, helping to popularize MMA in Japan. He retired from his post in Shooto in 1996, and returned to professional wrestling soon after.
In 2005, Sayama founded his own promotion, Real Japan Pro-Wrestling, which later became Strong Style Pro-Wrestling. Sayama likened the promotion to include wrestlers from the past, as well as martial artists, Sayama's students, and modern stars from the likes of Battlarts, Big Japan Pro Wrestling, and more. Although he hasn't officially declared retirement, Sayama last wrestled on December 7, 2016. It was announced in 2020 that he had several health problems, possibly linking him to Parkinson's disease and immobility.
Professional wrestling and martial arts career
Sayama grew up idolizing Antonio Inoki, which drove him to take up judo and amateur wrestling while in middle school. After winning a wrestling tournament, he dropped out of high school to join Inoki's promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling.Early career; New Japan Pro-Wrestling and excursion (1976–1981)
After joining New-Japan Pro wrestling, Sayama trained under Kotetsu Yamamoto and Karl Gotch, who were famous for their harsh training regime and their emphasis in real fighting. They believed wrestlers had to be actually trained to fight before learning to work the predetermined style of professional wrestling. While sparring against taller opponents, Sayama realized he would struggle to grapple in a fight with strikes due to his short weight and reach, so he also joined a kickboxing dojo to compensate for it. Sayama routinely faced the fighters and martial artists who came to perform dojoyaburi in the NJPW dojo, defeating them all. According to Yamamoto, "Sayama was the only, aside from Inoki, who was skilled in breaking someone's arm with a smile in his face."He debuted in the ring on May 28, 1976 against Shoji Kai, a jobber known to have been the debut opponent for future stars. He continued his martial training, especially influenced by the Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki shoot fight. He developed the philosophy that fights started with striking, transitioned to wrestling and throwing and then ended in submission holds on the ground. The following year, inspired by Bruce Lee's film Enter the Dragon, Sayama created the first MMA gloves in order to be able to both strike and grapple while sparring. He presented them to Inoki, who used them during his match with boxer Chuck Wepner in October.
Sayama also proposed Inoki to create a NJPW branch showcasing real fighting, as if professional wrestling as fought for real. Inoki later showed Sayama a possible ruleset, which had been originally proposed by kickboxing champion Benny Urquidez, and promised he would make the branch reality and place Sayama at its front.
His martial experience earned him to represent NJPW in a kickboxing match in the combat sport event Kakutōgi Daisensō, on November 14, 1977. To better prepare himself, he trained in Kenji Kurosaki's Mejiro Gym and lost 4,5kg. However, his opponent in the event would be experienced American karateka Marc Costello, who was heavily favored for fighting in his usual rules. Sayama realized that he could not win the match, so he treated the match as an experiment and decided to try to grapple through Costello's strikes, even although it would be illegal. As predicted, he was dominated with strikes and defeated by decision, but he was partially successful in his goal, dropping Costello with illegal suplexes and takedowns against the referee's protests. He was criticized by this after the match, but Inoki gave him his approval. The bout drove him to train even harder in real fighting.
Despite the promise to make him a real fighter, Sayama was ordered the learn the theatrical lucha libre style of wrestling in 1978, landing in Mexico. Sayama was disappointed, but nonetheless obligued. It was in Mexico where he started to grow in prominence, winning the NWA World Middleweight Championship in EMLL. In 1980, he was sent to England where wrestling under the gimmick of Sammy Lee, Bruce Lee's fictional cousin. He teamed often with his storyline younger brother Quick-Kick Lee, played by fellow New Japan wrestler Akira Maeda. He took on opponents such as Mark Rocco and Mick McManus as well as teaming with Big Daddy. He was successful enough that initially resisted to being recalled to Japan to play a new character, but relented upon being told it would be a one-night gimmick.
A case of legal trouble related to taxes impeded Sayama to leave England, requiring NJPW executive Hisashi Shinma to contact then Prime Minister of Japan Takeo Fukuda to solve it through the Japanese embassy.
Return to NJPW (1981–1983)
Becoming Tiger Mask
In 1981, NJPW was looking for a way to attract young fans to its wrestling. During the height of popular anime Tiger Mask II, its creator Ikki Kajiwara proposed New Japan to create a wrestling character called Tiger Mask for the fans, with Sayama being chosen by Inoki to play 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 to face renowned cruiserweight Dynamite Kid. Initially, many traditional Japanese fans scoffed at the thought of the popular comic book wrestling hero being pushed as a legitimate wrestling star, but he shocked the crowd in the arena by unveiling a wrestling style never seen before and pinning Kid with German suplex.As a result, the character was made permanent and was regarded as the premier star in New Japan's junior heavyweight ranks. Sayama stood out for his charisma, ability, and his mix of Japanese wrestling and martial arts with Mexican lucha libre, nicknamed "fourth dimension pro wrestling". Whenever he was in the cards, NJPW sold out and reached 25% share levels in its TV show. Moreover, that match would be the first of many classic battles between Sayama and Dynamite Kid.
File:Tiger Mask German Suplex Black Tiger.jpg|thumb|Tiger Mask applies a German suplex to Black Tiger,
On May 6, 1982, Tiger Mask was forced to vacate the WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship after injuring his right knee. Tiger Mask would go on to win the NWA World Junior Heavyweight less than 3 weeks later on May 25, 1982. The next day, Tiger Mask defeated old UK rival Mark Rocco, wrestling in the guise of Black Tiger, in a match 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 made him the only man to simultaneously hold the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship and the WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship.
Sayama had mixed feelings about his stardom, feeling NJPW were losing interest in martial arts. This was not only due to Tiger Mask's success, but also because Inoki, increasingly aging and with his health affected by diabetes, could not keep the pace in his traditional matches against martial artists. Sayama tried to compensate by wrestling with the maximum realism, keeping the acrobatics but refraining from using moves that would have been implausible in a real fight. Around this time, Sayama trained in sambo under Victor Koga and kickboxing under Toshio Fujiwara.
World Wrestling Federation tours
In late 1982, while still a member of the New Japan roster, Sayama made at least two tours of the United States as part of the NJPW-WWF working relationship. He appeared primarily in the World Wrestling Federation, at the time a regional promotion in the northeast region of the country.Sayama defended the WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship by defeating Dynamite Kid at Madison Square Garden in New York City on August 30, and Eddie Gilbert at the Spectrum in Philadelphia on November 25. During his time as Tiger Mask, Sayama had faced mainly English and Mexican opponents, with styles complementary to his own. As a result, the match with Gilbert would be regarded as one of his higher-profile matches against an American-style opponent.
Sayama also made appearances at WWF television tapings during these tours, in which he had televised matches against José Estrada and Mr. Saito.
Joe McHugh, the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission-appointed ring announcer for WWF events in the state and nearing 80 years of age, mistakenly introduced Sayama during one of his appearances as "Timer Mask."