Satoshi Kojima

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Satoshi Kojima
Statistics
Ring name(s) Satoshi Kojima
Great Koji
Great Kosuke
Billed height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Billed weight 112 kg (247 lb)
Born September 14, 1970
Katsuyama, Tokyo,
Japan
Debut July 16, 1991, against
Hiroyoshi Yamamoto

Satoshi Kojima (小島 聡 Kojima Satoshi) is a Japanese professional wrestler and currently works for All Japan Pro Wrestling.

Contents

[edit] Career

Kojima entered the New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo in February of 1991. He debuted as a wrestler on September 14 in a match against Hiroyoshi Yamamoto, who would later adopt the stage name of Hiroyoshi Tenzan. In 1994 he defeated Manabu Nakanishi in the Young Lions Cup finals, winning the tournament. In the end of that year he went to Germany, and returned to NJPW in January of 1996. In May of 1997 he defeated Riki Chōshū and Kensuke Sasaki with Nakanishi to become an IWGP Tag Team Champion for the first time. At the end of 1998 he joined nWo Japan. Kojima and Tenzan (known together as TenKoji) formed a tag team and ended up holding the IWGP Tag Team titles together two times.

In January of 2002, in opposition to Antonio Inoki focusing the IWGP title on unreliable shoot style wrestlers such as Kazuyuki Fujita and Tadao Yasuda, Kojima left NJPW with his mentor Keiji Mutoh, and joined All Japan Pro Wrestling. He held both of the company's tag team titles, the AJPW Double Cup Tag Team Championship twice. In February of 2005 he won the Triple Crown, AJPW's unified heavyweight championship from Toshiaki Kawada. Only four days later he won NJPW's heavyweight championship, the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, from his former tag team partner Hiroyoshi Tenzan in a cross-promotional double title match. On May 14, 2005, Tenzan won the IWGP title back, but not the Triple Crown.

Kojima sometimes uses the Great Koji (copying Mutoh) and Great Kosuke (copying The Great Sasuke) personas in special matches. He learned the Lariat move directly from Stan Hansen, one of its most frequent and best users.

On July 3, 2006 Kojima lost the Triple Crown to Taiyō Kea. Three days later it was revealed that Kojima would return to New Japan to appear in the 2006 G-1 Climax, where he would go to lose in the final against former tag team partner and rival Hiroyoshi Tenzan.

In October 2006 it was announced that TenKoji would reform for the upcoming World's Strongest Tag League tournament, at which the Double Cup, vacant since January, is expected to be at stake. On December 2, 2006 the reformed TenKoji won the Real World Tag League defeating Suwama & RO'Z when Kojima used a lariat on RO'Z in the finals of the tournament.

The duo will next face Masahiro Chono and Keiji Muto on January 4th 2007 at NJPW/AJPW Wrestle Kingdom at the Tokyo Dome.

[edit] In wrestling

[edit] Finishers and signature moves

[edit] Championships and accomplishments

  • 2003 Fire Festival winner
  • PWI ranked him # 275 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
  • PWI ranked him # 3 of the 500 best singles wrestlers for the year 2005.
  • PWI ranked him # 14 of the 500 best singles wrestlers for the year 2006.
  • Tokyo Sports Grand Prix
  • Most Valuable Player of 2005
  • 2001 Tag Team of the Year (with Hiroyoshi Tenzan)

[edit] External links

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