Rusher Kimura
| Rusher Kimura | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Masao Kimura |
| Born | Nakagawa, Nakagawa District, Hokkaidō, Japan |
| Died | May 24, 2010 (aged 68) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Masao Kimura Mr. Toyo Rusher Kimura |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Billed weight | 275 lb (125 kg) |
| Trained by |
Toyonobori Billy Robinson |
| Debut | April 2, 1965 |
| Retired | July 10, 2004 |
Masao Kimura (木村 政雄 Kimura Masao?, June 30, 1941 - May 24, 2010) was Japanese professional wrestler, best known by his ring name Rusher Kimura (ラッシャー木村 Rasshā Kimura?). He was a five-time IWA World Heavyweight Champion.
He was a sumo wrestler under the shikona Kinomura, a direct modification of his surname. He had taken up sumo to build his body for Western-style professional wrestling, thus by 1964 he decided to quit, considering that it would be harder to do so the higher up the divisions he went.
He debuted in 1965 in the old Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance against Sarukichi Takasakiyama (long-time jobber Motoyuki Kitazawa, later known as Shoji Kai in New Japan Pro Wrestling). As a protégé of Toyonobori, Kimura followed him when he left due to backstage struggles.
Toyonobori, Isao Yoshiwara, Kimura, Antonio Inoki, Hiro Matsuda, Masa Saito and others formed Tokyo Pro Wrestling. Kimura did not compete much in the upper cards, but in the lower cards he served as debut opponent for future rival, Haruka Eigen, with whom he would have the longest-running fixture in puroresu from 1981 to 2003. Their last match until then happened on January 31, 1967, a win by Kimura.
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