Koji Kanemoto
| Koji Kanemoto | |
|---|---|
Kanemoto in September 2014
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| Birth name | Kōji Kanemoto (金本 浩二?) |
| Born |
October 31, 1966 Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) |
Koji Kanemoto Tiger Mask (III) Tiger Mask III Tigre en Mascarado |
| Billed height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Billed weight | 80 kg (180 lb) |
| Trained by | Masanobu Kurisu Kensuke Sasaki Hiroshi Hase NJPW Dojo |
| Debut | November 7, 1990 |
Kōji Kanemoto (金本 浩二 Kanemoto Kōji?, born October 31, 1966) is a professional wrestler of Zainichi Korean descent. He has previously worked with New Japan Pro Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. He is currently a freelancer.
Kanemoto practiced Judo during his high school days and won a few championships as a professional before being recruited by the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) Dojo. He debuted in November 1990, wrestling against Michiyoshi Ohara. In March 1992, he portrayed Tiger Mask in its third incarnation, succeeding Mitsuharu Misawa. In January 1994, he famously lost a "mask vs. mask" match against popular cruiserweight Jushin Thunder Liger at Battlefield. Since 1994 he has wrestled under his own name for NJPW. His style used to be the classic junior heavyweight wrestling, but repeated high-flying moves, the fans' change in taste, and inherent damage on his body put an incentive on him to use shoot-style taught by Kazuo Yamazaki, largely as a modification of his wrestling persona. Hard shoot kicks combined with scientific wrestling are his current trademark along with the facewash, which always gets the crowd going in a football stadium-like chant.
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