Nobuhiko Takada

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Nobuhiko Takada
Statistics
Height 6 ft 0 in (184 cm)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg)
Nationality Flag of Japan Japanese
Born April 12, 1962 (1962-04-12) (age 46)
Town of birth Isogo-ku, Yokohama
Team/Association Takada Dojo
Fighting style Puroresu
Mixed martial arts record
Wins 2
  By submission 2
Losses 6
Draws 2

Nobuhiko Takada (Japanese:髙田延彦, born April 12, 1962) is a Japanese mixed martial arts fighter and professional wrestler. He is best known for helping to popularize shoot-style professional wrestling, as one of the biggest stars of the Universal Wrestling Federation and Union of Wrestling Force International in the 80s and 90s. He has also competed for PRIDE Fighting Championships and New Japan Pro Wrestling. Presently, he is the owner of the HUSTLE Wrestling Organization.

Contents

[edit] Early Years: New Japan and the first UWF

Nobuhiko Takada made his professional wrestling debut in 1980 against Norio Honaga, for New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he started his career as a Junior Heavyweight. He left NJPW in 1984, along with Rusher Kimura, Akira Maeda, Ryuma Go, Mach Hayato, and Gran Hamada, to form the original Universal Wrestling Federation.

The original UWF dissolved in 1986, Takada and Akira Maeda returned to NJPW and formed a UWF stable. Only a few months later, Takada defeated Shiro Koshinaka to capture the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, which he held for four months. In 1987, Takada moved to the Heavyweight ranks. Along with Akira Maeda, he won the IWGP World Tag Team Championship from rival, Koshinaka & Keiji Muto. He left NJPW in 1988 to form the second incarnation of the Universal Wrestling Federation, becoming one of its top stars.

[edit] Leader of the UWFI Boom

In 1990, the UWF closed its doors for the last time. Takada formed the Union of Wrestling Force International, using former UWF wrestlers, while Maeda formed Fighting Network RINGS. As the top star of the UWFI, Takada had feuds with Gary Albright and Vader. In 1992, Takada was awarded an old NWA World Heavyweight Title belt by Lou Thesz, after defeating Albright, and was proclaimed the "Real Pro-Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion". He defended the title until Thesz withdrew the belt in 1995, losing the Title once, to Super Vader. The high point of his reign came on December 5, 1993, when he defeated Super Vader before 46,168 fans at Tokyo's Meiji-Jingu Stadium.

[edit] Return to New Japan

In 1995, Takada returned to NJPW as the key figure in the landmark New Japan vs UWFI program. On October 9, 1995, Takada's match against IWGP Champion, The Great Muta, drew 67,000 fans to the Tokyo Dome, drawing the largest crowd and gate in Japanese Wrestling history, at the time. Three months later, Takada defeated Muto in a rematch, before 64,000 fans, to capture the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, becoming the only wrestler to hold all three major New Japan Titles. Takada dropped the Title to Shinya Hashimoto on April 29, 1996, drawing a crowd of 65,000 and a gate of $5.7 million. When it was all said and done, the New Japan vs UWFI was the biggest moneymaking feud in Japanese pro-wrestling history.

[edit] Transition to MMA

In 1996, the UWFI folded. Takada entered the world of mixed martial arts by joining PRIDE Fighting Championships.

Though Takada's Submission Arts Wrestling skills were never doubted either by the Japanese public or the matchmakers, it was his conditioning that would make the essential difference. Takada, being in his 30s at the time of his debut and in less than perfect conditioning, owing to the grueling Japanese pro wrestling circuit, posed little challenge for the experienced, well conditioned mixed martial arts fighters.

Nobuhiko Takada's very debut in MMA was against Rickson Gracie, which ended in Gracie winning via armbar. Takada would then go on to finish maverick Kyle Sturgeon by a heel hook at PRIDE 3. Takada wanted a rematch with Rickson Gracie, to which Gracie agreed, saying that "I feel Takada is a warrior and deserves the chance to try and redeem himself"[1]. The match however, ended by Takada losing via armbar in a match that lasted 9 minutes and 30 seconds. Takada fought his next match at PRIDE 5, against Mark Coleman. Though, in better condition, Coleman was caught unprepared by a heel hook from Takada and submitted. This was probably too a fixed fight because Takada would do this again in the future and because you can see that Mark Coleman changes possition from side position to almost full quard which is a lesser position. Then Coleman put his leg to the side causing Takada to turn around it with his own legs and get a heelhook. Takada was then pitted against Mark Kerr, a freestyle wrestler with similar ground and pound fighting style as Mark Coleman. However, Kerr was able to slip on a submission hold and make Takada tap out in just over 3 minutes at PRIDE 6. Then at PRIDE 7 he beat Alexander Otsuka by a TKO when he put him in a rear naked choke and passed out and the referee stopped the fight (which the fight was removed from the Pride 7 DVD). Critics questioned the outcome of both this fight and the Kyle Sturgeon fight, suspecting that both were worked in Takada's favor to prevent his record from becoming too poor.[citation needed]

Takada competed in PRIDE's Grand Prix 2000 opening round. He was pitted against Royce Gracie - the match went the distance and to a decision. The Brazilian master could neither control nor submit Takada in the assigned 15-minute time limit. However, the judges ruled in favor of Gracie and he advanced to the next round. Takada's next MMA event participation was in PRIDE 11, where he lost to a young Igor Vovchanchyn via submission (strikes). Nobuhiko Takada would then go on to draw the likes of Mike Bernardo and Mirko Filipović before entering his final match against former student, Kiyoshi Tamura (Tamura won by a KO).

[edit] Mixed martial arts record

[edit] Post MMA contributions

Takada has an MMA dojo of his own, Takada Dojo, where he's helped train such fighters as Kazushi Sakuraba.

Takada is the figurehead of PRIDE Fighting Championships, as well as the president of the HUSTLE promotion in Japan, while also portraying as the main heel and leader of the "Takada Monster Army" under the name "Generalissimo Takada"

Takada returned to the ring at the HUSTLE-Aid show as The Esperanza, a wrestling cyborg, and made short work of his opponent TAJIRI. At HustleMania II, he defeated Razor Ramon HG in what was billed as HG's retirement match (HG continued wrestling for HUSTLE despite the billing), giving him a Tombstone Piledriver on the ramp after the match that caused "erectile dysfunction" to HG.

[edit] Personal life

Takada is married to actress Aki Mukai, whose battle with ovarian cancer is well known in Japan. Takada and Mukai attempted to have children through the use of IVF on an American surrogate mother, but the Japanese courts in the beginning refused to consider the resulting twins as their natural sons.

On October 2, 2006, the Tokyo High Court admitted registration of the twins, Banri and Shota, as their natural sons. However, on March 23rd, 2007, the Supreme Court overturned this decision, citing current law which states that only the woman who gives birth to a child can be registered as the child's actual mother.

[edit] Championships and accomplishments

[edit] Professional Wrestling

[edit] External links

Result Opponent Method Event Date Round Time
xLose Kiyoshi Tamura KO (Punch) PRIDE 23 November 24, 2002 2 1:01
Draw Mike Bernardo Decision (Unanimous) Inoki Bomb-Ba-Ye December 31, 2001 3 3:00
Draw Mirko Filipovic Decision (Unanimous) PRIDE 17 November 3, 2001 3 5:00
xLose Igor Vovchanchyn Submission (Strikes) PRIDE 11 October 31, 2000 2 3:18
xLose Royce Gracie Decision (Unanimous) PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round January 30, 2000 1 15:00
xLose Mark Kerr Submission (Kimura) PRIDE 6 July 4, 1999 1 3:05
xWin Mark Coleman Submission (Heel Hook) PRIDE 5 April 29, 2000 1 15:00
xLose Rickson Gracie Submission (Armbar) PRIDE 4 October 11, 1998 1 9:28
xWin Kyle Sturgeon Submission (Heel Hook) PRIDE 3 June 30, 1998 1 2:17
xLose Rickson Gracie Submission (Armbar) PRIDE 1 October 11, 1997 1 4:48