Seiji Sakaguchi

Seiji Sakaguchi (坂口征二, Sakaguchi Seiji, born February 17, 1942) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and judoka, Sakaguchi holds a 7th dan red and white belt in Judo. Sakaguchi was a mainstay of New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and also competed for the World Wide Wrestling Federation and the National Wrestling Alliance. His sons are professional wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter Yukio Sakaguchi and television actor Kenji Sakaguchi. Sakaguchi currently works for New Japan as an advisor.[1]

Seiji Sakaguchi
Born (1942-02-17) February 17, 1942
Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Seiji Sakaguchi
Billed height1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Billed weight130 kg (287 lb)
Billed fromTokyo, Japan
DebutAugust 5, 1967
RetiredMarch 15, 1990
Seiji Sakaguchi
Medal record
Representing  Japan
Men's Black Belt Judo
World Championships
1965 Rio de Janeiro +80 kg

Before becoming a professional wrestler, he was a judoka with a fifth degree black belt and won the 1965 All Japan Judo Championship. Coach Koji Sone was accused by Anton Geesink's teammates in the 1965 World Judo Championships of having Sakaguchi throw the match against the more rested Matsunaga in order to allow Matsunaga take on the weary Geesink in the final round.[2]

He debuted in August 1967 for the Japan Wrestling Association. When JWA closed down in 1973, he joined New Japan Pro Wrestling. He retired from the ring in March 1990. He was the president of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1992 to 1993.

At age 61, Seiji Sakaguchi came out of retirement to team up with Masahiro Chono against Yoshihiro Takayama and Shinya Makabe on September 14, 2003.

Sakaguchi also appeared in the 1982 American film Forced Vengeance. His role was a minor one, though he did appear in the film's climactic fight scene, battling star Chuck Norris.

Championships and accomplishments
  • Other honoree (1996)
  • European Wrestling Union
  • EWU World Super Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • NWA Polynesian Pacific Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Lars Anderson
  • PWI ranked him # 146 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003

References
  1. 旗揚げ記念日. New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-03-07.
  2. Black Belt Vol. 4, No. 2. Active Interest Media, Inc. Feb 1966. p. 14.
  3. "Asia Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  4. "NJPW Greatest Wrestlers". New Japan Pro Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2013-03-23. Retrieved 2014-08-23.
  5. 東京スポーツ　プロレス大賞. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-01-20.
  6. 東京スポーツ　プロレス大賞. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-01-20.
  7. 「２０１２年度プロレス大賞」受賞者. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). 2012-12-11. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
  8. 東京スポーツ　プロレス大賞. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-01-20.
Preceded by
Jim Herd		 President of the National Wrestling Alliance
1992–1993		 Succeeded by
Howard Brody, Dennis Coralluzzo,
Jim Crockett, Jr. and Steve Rickard
Preceded by
Antonio Inoki		 World League winner
1976 & 1977		 Succeeded by
Antonio Inoki (MSG League)
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