Takao Yoshida (吉田 貴男, Yoshida Takao^?) (born October 26, 1973) better known by his stage name TAKA Michinoku (TAKA is written in all caps in Japanese script), is a professional wrestler who has wrestled all over the world. Michinoku is skilled in high-flying, lucha libre, martial arts and technical wrestling. He has revolutionized the cruiserweight divisions of many promotions. Michinoku is most famously known in North America for his work for the WWF where he had the first ever WWF Light Heavyweight Championship reign. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... October 26 is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. ... Morioka (盛岡市; -shi) is the capital city of Iwate prefecture, Japan. ... Iwate Prefecture (岩手県; Iwate-ken) is located in the Tohoku region on Honshu island, Japan. ... Yotsukaidō (四街道市 Yotsukaidō-shi) is a city located in Chiba, Japan. ... Chiba Prefecture ) is located in the Greater Tokyo Area of Honshu Island, Japan. ... Masanori Murakawa ), born July 18, 1969, is a Japanese professional wrestler who is better known by his stage name The Great Sasuke. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... October 26 is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. ... Bold textA stage name, or a screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers (such as actors, comedians, musicians, clowns, and professional wrestlers. ... In typography, all caps (short for all capitals or all capitalized; often written as ALL CAPS) refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ... WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (1997-2001). ...

Having held championship titles in Japan, North America, Mexico and Europe, Yoshida is known for his long title reigns. He held the FMW Independent World Junior Heavyweight Title for a combined duration of more than 15 months, the WWF Light Heavyweight Title for a then record-setting 10 months and the WEW Six-Man Tag Team Title for almost a year.

Yoshida has held the AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Title, Michinoku Pro Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Title and Kaientai Dojo Strongest-K Title simultaneously for almost 10 months. During his reign, he has defended his titles against both AJPW and independent circuit talent to increase his base of opponents, and thus has increased the reach of the AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Title which was closed off to outside competition in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s.

Career

TAKA Michinoku took his name as a sign of respect for his mentor The Great Sasuke, who was the owner of Michinoku Pro Wrestling. He debuted in North America with Extreme Championship Wrestling in a six-man tag team match at ECW's first pay-per-view, Barely Legal. He made his WWF debut on July 6, 1997 at a WWF Pay-Per-View entitled "Canadian Stampede." On December 7, 1997, Michinoku defeated Brian Christopher to become the first WWF Light Heavyweight Champion recognised by the WWF. TAKA successfully defended the WWF Light Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania XIV against Aguila. Masanori Murakawa ), born July 18, 1969, is a Japanese professional wrestler who is better known by his stage name The Great Sasuke. ... Michinoku Pro Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded by Masanori Murakawa (The Great Sasuke) in 1993. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Pay-per-view is the name given to a system by which television viewers can call and order events to be seen on TV and pay for the private telecast of that event to their homes later. ... Barely Legal may refer to: A term used in pornography advertising to describe models who have only recently reached the legal age to appear in pornography. ... is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Brian Christopher Lawler (born January 10, 1972 in Memphis, Tennessee) is a professional wrestler currently performing for Memphis Wrestling and other independent promotions, and the son of professional wrestling legend Jerry The King Lawler. ... WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (1997-2001). ... WrestleMania XIV was the fourteenth WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event from the World Wrestling Federation, which took place on March 29, 1998 at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts. ... Jesús Guadalupe Delgado Saldaña is a Mexican professional wrestler currently performing for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. ...

TAKA ended up entering a feud with the Kai En Tai faction that he was once a part of in Japan, until he betrayed Val Venis in a tag team match and rejoined his friends against Venis. When all the members of Kai En Tai left the Federation except for TAKA and Shoichi Funaki, the two teamed up as Kai En Tai. Taka even challenged Triple H for the WWE Championship on the April 10th, 2000 edition of RAW, coming up short despite interference on his behalf from Funaki and the Acolytes Protection Agency. However, they were mostly limited to being comical jobbers for the rest of TAKA's time in WWE, during which many internet smarks felt he was not being used to his full potential (the first English words Yoshida said on WWF television were "You, Jackass!" to Jerry Lawler). Kai En Tai Kai En Tai (also spelled Kaientai) was a professional wrestling stable made up of Japanese wrestlers: Funaki, Dick Togo and Mens Teioh, later joined by Taka Michinoku. ... Sean Allen Morley (born on March 6, 1971 in Oakville, Ontario) is a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Val Venis, currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on the RAW brand. ... Shoichi Funaki (born August 24, 1968) is a Japanese American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its SmackDown! brand. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The WWE Championship belt, April 11 2005 – August 20, 2006; September 18, 2006 – present The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Championship is a professional wrestling title. ... The Acolytes Protection Agency (A.P.A), also known as Hells Henchmen and The Acolytes, was a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation, active between October 1998 and March 2004. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Jerry ONeil Lawler (born November 29, 1949) is an American professional wrestler and wrestling commentator, known throughout the wrestling world as The King. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment working and wrestling on its RAW brand as the color commentator. ...

After departing from the WWE in early 2002, Michinoku returned to Japan to rehabilitate a serious shoulder injury. He later published his diary of his WWE days in December 2002. In it, he detailed his thoughts on every important match he had in the organization, his gimmicks, as well as giving his opinions of many WWE stars.^{[citation needed]}

He now promotes his own promotion, Kaientai Dojo (often shortened to K-DOJO) in small venues around the Tokyo area and often appears in All Japan Pro Wrestling cards, where he and Taiyō Kea lead the foreign-oriented faction Roughly Obsess & Destroy. Kaientai Dojo (or K-DOJO for short) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion and training facility owned and promoted by Taka Michinoku. ...   , literally Eastern capital) is a unique subnational administrative region of Japan with characteristics of both a prefecture and a city. ... All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) (全日本プロレス, zen nihon puroresu) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1972. ... Maunakea Mossman is an American professional wrestler, better known under his stage name Taiyō Kea (太陽ケア). Although he was born in Hawaii, he has spent nearly his entire career as a member of the Japan-based All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion, where he is one of the former Triple Crown Heavyweight... Roughly Obsess & Destroy, also known as RO&D, is one of AJPWs main stables. ...

PEPE Michinoku (TAKA Michinoku), El NOSAWA Mendoza (NOSAWA-Rongai), and Miguel Hayashi Jr (Kaz Hayashi) formed a team during the AJPW Champion's Carnival called Mexico Amigos. Nobutaka Araya joined the team after Six-Man Action between Mexico Amigos and Araya/Fuchi/Hirai at the Carnival's final show. All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1972. ...

In wrestling

• Finishing and signature moves

• Michinoku Driver II (Sitout scoop slam or sitout scoop slam piledriver)
• Michinoku Driver II-B (Inverted facelock into sitout scoop slam piledriver)
• Michinoku Driver I (Double underhook brainbuster)
• Just Facelock (Crossface)
• Dick Killer (Arm trap bridging cobra clutch)
• Pyramid Driver (Cross-arm sitout powerbomb)
• Spaceman Plancha (Running no-hands springboard plancha)
• Spaceman Quebrada (Twisting moonsault plancha suicida)
• Overhead belly to belly suplex
• Asai Moonsault
• Springboard missile dropkick
• Springboard knee drop
• Huracanrana
• Superkick
• Tornado DDT

TAKA Michinoku is the inventor of the Michinoku Driver II as well as the Michinoku Driver II-B. Contrary to popular belief, the Michinoku Driver I (which TAKA rarely uses) was invented by The Great Sasuke. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Dick Togo Shigeki Sato (born August 17, 1969 in Odate City) is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Dick Togo. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Rey Mysterio performing one of many aerial techniques to Dvon Dudley Aerial techniques are used in professional wrestling to show of the speed and agility of a wrestler. ... A moonsault or moonsault press is a professional wrestling aerial technique with much of its popularity in American wrestling being attributed to The Great Muta, also known as Keiji Mutoh. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A moonsault or moonsault press is a professional wrestling aerial technique with much of its popularity in American wrestling being attributed to The Great Muta, also known as Keiji Mutoh. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Masanori Murakawa (born July 18, 1969 in Tokyo) is a Japanese professional wrestler who is better known by his stage name The Great Sasuke. ...

• Managers

• Yamaguchi-san
• Funaki

Yusuke Wally Yamaguchi is a Japanese professional wrestling personality who at various points has served as referee, manager, and promoter. ... Shoichi Funaki (born August 24, 1968) is a Japanese American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its SmackDown! brand. ...

Championships and accomplishments

The Kaientai tag team of TAKA and Funaki

• All Japan Pro Wrestling

• AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling

• FMW Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

• Independent Wrestling World (Germany)

• IWW Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Kaientai Dojo

• Strongest-K Championship (1 time)
• WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tomoka Nakagawa

• Michinoku Pro Wrestling

• Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• New Japan Pro Wrestling

• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dick Togo (current)

• Universal Wrestling Association/Universal Wrestling Federation

• UWA/UWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ryota Chikuzen

• World Entertainment Wrestling

• WEW Six Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Gosaku Goshogawara

• World Wrestling Federation

WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• PWI ranked him # 191 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.

• Tokyo Sports Grand Prix

• Best Technical Wrestler of 2005

Image File history File links Dream Hunters (Taka Michinoku and Funaki) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Dream Hunters (Taka Michinoku and Funaki) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Shoichi Funaki (born August 24, 1968) is a Japanese American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its SmackDown! brand. ... All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) (全日本プロレス, zen nihon puroresu) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1972. ... The AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship is the top singles title in All Japan Pro Wrestlings Junior Heavyweight division. ... Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, better known by its initials FMW, was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 1989 by Atsushi Ōnita (often spelled Ohnita). ... Kaientai Dojo (or K-DOJO for short) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion and training facility owned and promoted by Taka Michinoku. ... The Strongest-K Championship is the top singles title in Kaientai Dojo. ... Michinoku Pro Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded by Masanori Murakawa (The Great Sasuke) in 1993. ... The Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship contested in Michinoku Pro Wrestling, where it is the primary singles title, and is strictly for junior heavyweights. ... New Japan Pro Wrestling (新日本プロレス, shin nihon puroresu) is a major professional wrestling federation in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in 1972. ... The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship was created in 1998 as an incentive to the junior heavyweight division. ... Dick Togo Shigeki Sato (born August 17, 1969 in Odate City) is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Dick Togo. ... World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ... WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (1997-2001). ... Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) is a professional wrestling magazine. ...

External links

• Taka Michinoku fan site
• Profile at The Accelerator's Wrestling Rollercoaster
• Profile at Jujigatame Puroresu