Minoru Fujita | |
---|---|
Born |
Onoda, Yamaguchi, Japan |
September 5, 1977
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) |
Minoru Fujita Great Minoru Fujita Mitaro Fujita Mr. X Red Onigumo HERO! |
Billed height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
Billed weight | 80 kg (180 lb) |
Trained by |
Kazuo Sakurada Yoshihiro Tajiri |
Debut | April 11, 1997 |
Minoru Fujita (藤田 ミノル Fujita Minoru?) is a Japanese professional wrestler contracted to Pro Wrestling Zero1, where he is a former AWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion, having won a tournament final against Takuya Sugawara.
Fujita started in Big Japan Pro Wrestling as a protégé of its top junior heavyweight, Yoshihiro Tajiri. When Tajiri, who was Big Japan junior heavyweight champion, quit the company and gave up the title, Fujita had a decision match against Katsumi Usuda from the Battlarts promotion but ended up losing.
Fujita spent his time leaving Big Japan to venture into other Japanese independents, meeting Ikuto Hidaka of Battlarts along the way and making memorable tag team matches with him. The combination, however, despite their combined talent, could not have a future due to their separate schedules; Fujita tried a move to Michinoku Pro Wrestling in 2000, but despite the higher exposure, it did little for him financially and did not raise his stock as a viable junior heavyweight contender.
He thus headed for Mexico and Puerto Rico, where he won his first major title, the International Wrestling Association junior heavyweight title. Returning to Japan in 2002, he entered New Japan Pro Wrestling (to which he had been once before, in a Best of the Super Junior tournament), to challenge the heavyweight division, but nothing came out of it. He then headed to Taka Michinoku's Kaientai Dojo promotion, but despite being promoted as a tough-to beat heel, he was never able to win titles there.