Tatsumi Fujinami
| Tatsumi Fujinami | |
|---|---|
Fujinami at the 2015 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony
|
|
| Birth name | Tatsumi Fujinami |
| Born |
December 28, 1953 Kunisaki, Ōita, Japan |
| Spouse(s) | Kaori Fujinami |
| Children | Leona Fujinami (son) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) |
Tatsumi Fujinami Dr. Fujinami |
| Billed height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Billed weight | 103 kg (227 lb) |
| Trained by |
Karl Gotch Antonio Inoki |
| Debut | May 9, 1971 |
Tatsumi Fujinami (藤波 辰巳 Fujinami Tatsumi?, ring name: 藤波 辰爾) (born December 28, 1953) is a Japanese professional wrestler, who famously used the nickname "The Dragon". He is credited for inventing the dragon sleeper and the dragon suplex. He is also the owner and founder of the Dradition wrestling promotion. In 2015, Fujinami was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, while also signing on as an ambassador for the company.
Fujinami started in the old Japanese Wrestling Association (JWA) under Antonio Inoki's wing at the age of 17. When Inoki was fired from JWA in 1971, Fujinami and a few others followed him in forming a new promotion, New Japan Pro Wrestling. Inoki, Fujinami, Osamu Kido and Kotetsu Yamamoto are recognized as NJPW's founding fathers.
In those early days, he served as opponent for debuting rookies, such as Mr. Pogo, Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Gran Hamada. Fujinami, Fujiwara, Hamada and three other rookies competed in the 1974 Karl Gotch Cup (a tournament for rookies, forerunner to the later Young Lions Cup).
In the late 1970s, Fujinami was sent abroad, to Mexico's Universal Wrestling Association and to Jim Crockett Promotions in the U.S. In the late 1970s he went to the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) where he first made a name for himself. He won the WWWF Junior Heavyweight Championship on January 23, 1978. and brought it to Japan, establishing it as the premier junior heavyweight title in Japan. In October 1981, he graduated to the heavyweight division. Fujinami would be the first wrestler to be successful in both the junior heavyweight and heavyweight divisions.
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