Masanobu Fuchi
| Masanobu Fuchi | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 14, 1954 Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan |
| Residence | Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Akaoni Masa Fuchi Masanobu Fuchi |
| Billed height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) |
| Billed weight | 105 kg (231 lb) |
| Trained by | Masio Koma |
| Debut | August 22, 1974 |
Masanobu Fuchi (渕 正信 Fuchi Masanobu?, born January 14, 1954) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently wrestling in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is also a director and the co-head booker. Fuchi holds the record for the longest World Junior Heavyweight Championship reign and has competed exclusively in All Japan Pro Wrestling, until becoming a freelancer in 2009, but officially re-signed with the company in 2013 as a director and wrestler, making him the only man that wrestled for the promotion longer than anyone in the current roster.
With a background in amateur wrestling, Fuchi debuted as a professional wrestler on August 22, 1974 for AJPW, facing future Death Match innovator Atsushi Onita. For the next couple of years, Fuchi and Onita alternated between teaming and feuding on the opening bouts. In 1979, the two went on an excursion to Memphis, Tennessee to season their careers. Fuchi briefly worked for the NWA's Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling as a jobber who always showed a good account of himself.
Following Onita's retirement in 1985 and Tiger Mask II's graduation to the heavyweight division in 1986, Fuchi became the top junior heavyweight star, holding the World Junior Heavyweight Championship on five different occasions spanning over 11 years. Fuchi's third reign spanned 4 years (1989–1993), but the fact that AJPW was relatively closed off to outside competition factored heavily in his lengthy third reign.
After losing the belt for the last time in 1996, Fuchi was relegated to the opening "legends" bouts, mostly in teams with Haruka Eigen opposing AJPW founder Giant Baba and Rusher Kimura. In 2000, when Mitsuharu Misawa defected from AJPW to form Pro Wrestling Noah, Fuchi was one of two (the other being Toshiaki Kawada) native wrestlers who remained with the promotion. As a result, Fuchi was pushed for a while into the upper regions of the card, teaming with Toshiaki Kawada and becoming a top contender for the World Tag Team Championship. Fuchi's first title in eight years was the All Asia Tag Team Championship with fellow veteran Genichiro Tenryu.
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