Haruka Eigen
| Haruka Eigen | |
|---|---|
| Born |
11 January 1946 Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan |
| Died | 28 November 2016 (aged 70) Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Great Togo Haruka Eigen |
| Billed height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Billed weight | 110 kg (240 lb) |
| Debut | October 12, 1966 |
| Retired | March 26, 2006 |
Haruka Eigen (永源 遙 Eigen Haruka?) (January 11, 1946 – November 28, 2016) was a Japanese professional wrestler. He was an executive director of Pro Wrestling Noah.
In July 1961, Haruka Eigen began wrestling as a sumo. He was part of the Tatsunami stable. He quit sumo in May 1965, after nearly four years. His highest rank was Makushita 71st.
Trained by former sumos Toyonobori and Mr. Hito at the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance Dojo, Eigen followed Antonio Inoki to form Tokyo Pro Wrestling, where he debuted on October 12, 1966, against future rival Masao Kimura. After a brief interpromotional feud with International Wrestling Enterprise, however, Tokyo Pro folded and he followed Inoki to JWA.
Eigen joined JWA in 1967 and was further trained by former judoka Seiji Sakaguchi. After spending six years struggling on the undercard, he finally left JWA in 1973, and the promotion soon folded.
After leaving JWA in 1973, Eigen intended to join Sakaguchi in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Beforehand, he went on an excursion in the United States. While there, he wrestled in the Central States area, under the name The Great Togo (not to be confused with Kazuo Okamura, who wrestled under the same name), wrestling mainly in Kansas City and St. Louis. In March 1973, he won his first championship, the NWA North American Tag Team Championship, with Tokyo Joe (his mentor, Mr. Hito). They would hold onto the titles for about a month, until the titles were abandoned, making them the last holders of the titles.
Upon returning to Japan full-time with NJPW, Eigen became a solid hand for the undercard and mid-card matches. In 1979, he would bounce back and forth between NJPW and IWE. Teaming with Strong Kobayashi, they won the IWA World Tag Team Championship in June 1980. They would hold onto the titles for over two weeks before losing them to Animal Hamaguchi and Mighty Inoue. Upon returning to NJPW on a full-time basis after a year, he began to feel disenchanted. He rekindled his feud with Rusher Kimura beginning in 1981 when Kimura joined NJPW after IWE closed. In 1983, he joined Riki Choshu's Ishin Gundan. A year later, he followed Choshu in leaving NJPW, after following Inoki for nearly two decades.
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