Mr. Pogo | |
---|---|
Born |
Isesaki, Gunma, Japan |
February 5, 1951
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) |
Mr. Pogo The Great Pogo Mr. Sekigawa Ninja The Ninja Warrior Tetsuo Pogo Pogo Daio Mr. Togo Judo Lee The Great Seki Ninja Warrior |
Billed height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) |
Billed weight | 129 kg (284 lb) |
Trained by | Joo Sekigawa |
Debut | March 20, 1972 |
Tetsuo Sekigawa (関川 哲夫,born February 5, 1951) is a Japanese professional wrestler who is best known under his ring name Mr. Pogo.
He was originally a decent amateur, having a pre-professional dispute with the future Jumbo Tsuruta over team representation in the Japanese collegiate championships. He joined Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance but did not debut there, instead joining the new New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion's NJPW Dojo and debuting in 1972.
Quickly frustrated with NJPW's rigid norms, he quit and began wandering the wrestling circuits in North America in 1973. His first stops was in Canada. His first Canadian stop was in Calgary for Stampede Wrestling, where he'd wrestle for a year under the name Judo Lee. After finishing up in Calgary, he would move west to Vancouver for NWA All-Star Wrestling, wrestling there for a year under his real name.
In 1975, he moved down to the United States. His first American stop was in the NWA's Central States territory under the name The Great Seki, where he spent nearly three years in Kansas City, wrestling the likes of Bob Geigel, Jake Roberts, Akio Sato, Harley Race, and Bulldog Bob Brown. In 1978, he moved east to the Tennessee area under the name The Ninja Warrior, where he was managed by Tojo Yamamoto. Within months, he moved down to Texas to wrestle for Southwest Championship Wrestling, before heading to NWA Western States, where he won two Tag Team Championships with Mr. Sato. It was in Texas, where he went started going by the name Mr. Pogo, due to the constant misinterpretation of his ring name, Mr. Togo, by magazines and promoters.