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Shohei Baba
Statistics
Ring name(s) Giant Baba
Great Baba
Shohei Baba
Ishope Baba
Babyface Baba
Height 200 cm (6 ft 6 ¾ in)
Billed weight 150 kg (330 lb)
Born January 23, 1938(1938-01-23)
Sanjo, Niigata, Japan
Died January 31, 1999 (aged 61)
Trained by Rikidozan
Great Togo
Fred Atkins
Debut September 30, 1960

Shohei Baba (Baba Shōhei, January 23, 1938–January 31, 1999) was a professional wrestler and co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling. Events 393 - Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his nine year old son Honorius co-emperor Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. is a city located in central part of Niigata, Japan. The city has a Jōetsu Shinkansen stop at Tsubame-Sanjō (燕三条 Station WikipediaWikiProject Japanese prefectures for guidelines--> is a prefecture of Japan located on Honshū Island on the coast of the For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) better known as Rikidōzan ( Japanese: 力道山 Korean: 역도산 November 14, 1924 - December 15, 1963) Events 1399 - Henry IV is proclaimed King of England. 1744 - France and Spain defeat the Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 393 - Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his nine year old son Honorius co-emperor Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Professional wrestling, or pro wrestling, is a non-competitive professional Sport, where all matches are scripted by the promotion's booking staff ( AJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1972 He was also known as Giant Baba. Baba, along with Antonio Inoki, became one of the most famous Japanese wrestlers of his era, with a popularity in Japan comparable to Hulk Hogan's in America. real name, born February 20, 1943) is a Professional wrestling promoter and retired Japanese Professional wrestler and mixed martial Terrance "Terry" Gene Bollea (born August 11 1953 better known by his Ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Actor, and retired professional He was also a 3 time NWA Champion.

Contents

Career

Before entering professional wrestling he had been a professional baseball pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants. Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each In Baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the Pitcher's mound toward the Catcher to begin each play with the goal of The is a Nippon Professional Baseball team based at the Tokyo Dome in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was around this time when national wrestling hero and owner of the Japanese Wrestling Association Mitsuhiro Momota Sr. Do not confuse this promotion with Riki Chōshū 's Japan Pro-Wrestling promotion which was spelled "Japan Puroresu" (ジャパンプロレス instead - better known as Rikidozan - began to feel the time was right for him to start grooming a successor in order to keep business strong. better known as Rikidōzan ( Japanese: 力道山 Korean: 역도산 November 14, 1924 - December 15, 1963) In April 1960 Baba began training in Rikidozan's dojo along with fellow student Kanji Inoki. real name, born February 20, 1943) is a Professional wrestling promoter and retired Japanese Professional wrestler and mixed martial The two trained together under Rikidozan and made their debuts on September 30th, 1960 at the old Daito Ku Gymnasium in Tokyo where Baba beat Yonetaro Tanaka and Inoki, renamed Antonio, lost to Korean star and fellow Rikidozan student Kintaro Oki. The period 1967-71 is best remembered by Japanese wrestling fans for the Baba and Inoki tag team that first won the NWA International Tag Team Titles on October 31st, 1967 beating Bill Watts and Tarzan Tyler, and would go on to hold the belts four times, a record that Baba would break later with another partner, Jumbo Tsuruta. Bill Watts, (born May 5 1939 in Oklahoma City Oklahoma) is a former American Professional wrestler and promoter Tomomi Tsuruta (March 25 1951 &ndash May 13 2000 better known by his Ring name Jumbo Tsuruta, was a Professional wrestler who wrestled for

In October 1972, with JWA on the decline and several months after Inoki had formed New Japan Pro Wrestling, Baba formed his own promotion, All Japan Pro Wrestling, with the backing of Nippon TV. is a major Professional wrestling federation in Japan and is a member of the National Wrestling Alliance, founded by Antonio Inoki in 1972 ( AJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1972 ( is a Television network in Shiodome area of Minato Tokyo, Japan owned by the Yomiuri Shimbun. All Japan eventually took over the JWA's spot in the National Wrestling Alliance after its collapse, and under Baba's strong business acumen, the rest of the NWA's talent enjoyed an amazing run in Japan. The National Wrestling Alliance ( NWA) is the largest governing body for a group of independent Professional wrestling promotions and sanctions various NWA Baba became the first Japanese wrestler to ever hold the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, defeating Jack Brisco in a 2 out of 3 falls match on December 2, 1974 in Kagoshima, Japan. The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA World Heavyweight Championship is the primary Professional wrestling title in the National Wrestling Alliance Freddie Joe Brisco (born September 21, 1941) better known as Jack Brisco, is a former American Professional wrestler who was Events 1409 - The University of Leipzig opens 1755 - The second Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed by fire Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. He would hold the championship on two more occasions, but his reigns were short and limited to Japanese territory. Baba was additionally the first former NWA World Champion to be defeated by Ric Flair, as Flair was becoming a top contender to the title. Richard Morgan Fliehr According to WWE and PWI Flair is an eight-time National Wrestling Alliance (NWA Champion, six-time WCW Champion

By 1984, Baba began phasing himself out to give rise to the next generation of wrestlers, led by Tsuruta and Genichiro Tenryu. Genichiro Tenryu (天龍源一郎 Tenryū Gen'ichirō) real name Genichiro Shimada (嶋田源一郎 Shimada Gen'ichirō, born February 2 He voluntarily became a "curtain jerker", as he moved slowly and won only against mid-card talent. Under his leadership, All Japan Pro Wrestling became the number one wrestling company in the world during the 1990s. Following the formation of the quickly doomed SWS (Super World Sports), established talent such as Tenryu, Hara and Great Kabuki left All Japan and Baba was forced to push younger talent, such as Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, Akira Taue and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi up the card to replace them. is a Professional wrestler who is most known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling. Not to be confused with his protégé Kenta Kobayashi (known as KENTA is a Japanese Professional wrestler currently under contract is a Japanese Professional wrestler, who works for Pro Wrestling NOAH. (born November 21 1964) is a Professional wrestler currently working for Pro Wrestling NOAH. The biggest move Baba made at this time was taking the mask off Tiger Mask II and giving Mitsuharu Misawa the push as the biggest new singles star by pinning Jumbo Tsuruta in one of the most emotional matches in company history on June 8, 1990 at Budokan Hall. is a Japanese professional wrestler. He became famous working for All Japan Pro Wrestling. Events 68 - The Roman Senate accepts emperor Galba. 536 - St Silverius becomes Pope (probable The show was close to a sellout and Misawa was immediately catapulted to main event status because of his victory over the legend Jumbo. Budokan Hall would became the hotbed of pro wrestling with a string of sellouts in the building lasting for several years, which validated Baba's insistence on clean finishes in matches. With the Triple Crown Championship as the focal point, All Japan sold out more than 250 consecutive shows in Tokyo throughout the early the mid 1990s, routinely drawing houses in the $1,000,000 range eight times a year at Budokan Hall. At the peak of the company, tickets for the next Budokan show would be sold at the live event and completely sell out that night. Baba finally agreed to run the Tokyo Dome and despite it being a few years since the company peaked they still drew 58,300 paid fans.

Baba's last "comeback" was during the World's Strongest Tag League in 1993, when he teamed with old rival Stan Hansen in hopes of winning the Double Cup. The, more commonly known in the West as the Real World Tag League, is an annual Professional wrestling tournament held by All Japan Pro Wrestling since 1977 usually John Stanley "Stan" Hansen (born October 12 1949 is a retired American professional wrestler. The All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship is a Professional wrestling Tag team title in Japanese promotion The duo made it to the finals, but were defeated by Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi. is a Japanese professional wrestler. He became famous working for All Japan Pro Wrestling. Not to be confused with his protégé Kenta Kobayashi (known as KENTA is a Japanese Professional wrestler currently under contract His final match occurred in 1998, prior to being confined to a hospital bed. On January 22, 1999, Baba saw his last wrestling match, as Toshiaki Kawada defeated Mitsuharu Misawa for the Triple Crown Championship. Events 565 - Eutychius is deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople by John Scholasticus. is a Professional wrestler who is most known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling. is a Japanese professional wrestler. He became famous working for All Japan Pro Wrestling. Nine days later, Baba died of cancer.

After death

Another Japanese pro-wrestler, Hiroshi Nagao from HUSTLE, takes his ring name ("Giant Vabo") from Giant Baba (and Volleyball, his weapon). HUSTLE is a Japanese Professional wrestling promotion managed by Nobuhiko Takada. He once used Baba's theme music and ring attire for a "Legends Tag Match" (His opponent, "Koinoki", imitated legendary Japanese pro-wrestler Antonio Inoki). real name, born February 20, 1943) is a Professional wrestling promoter and retired Japanese Professional wrestler and mixed martial

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

External links

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