Yoshinobu Kanemaru

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Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Image:Yoshinobu Kanemaru

Statistics
Ring name(s)	{{{names}}}
Billed height	5'8"
Billed weight	187 lbs
Born	September 23, 1976 (1976-09-23) (age 31)
Trained by	All Japan Pro Wrestling Dojo
Debut	July 6, 1996 w/ Masao Inoue vs. Satoru Asako & Kentaro Shiga

Yoshinobu Kanemaru (金丸義信 Kanemaru Yoshinobu) is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he is the current GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion.

1 Career
2 Wrestling facts
3 Championships and accomplishments
4 Sources

[edit] Career

Kanemaru debuted in 1996 for All Japan Pro Wrestling, in the last years of owner Giant Baba's regime, which had isolated the promotion from outsider wrestlers at the expense of the younger, lighter-weight talent. His first high-profile match in 1997 saw him team with New Japan Pro Wrestling's Koji Kanemoto to battle freelancer Satoru Sayama, the original Tiger Mask, and his disciple, Michinoku Pro Wrestling's Tiger Mask IV. (As Mitsuharu Misawa, who once portrayed Tiger Mask II, was now a heavyweight and fully focused on the AJPW Triple Crown, Kanemaru had to substitute for him in this interpromotional bout.)

Despite Baba's death in 1999, Kanemaru rarely had further opportunities to go into other promotions. It was only in 2000, after Misawa broke with AJPW to create NOAH that his experience began widening. In a brief promotional alliance with FMW, Kanemaru was able to win his first championship, the WEW tag team title, with heavyweight Masao Inoue.

In 2001, Kanemaru underwent a transformation. His simple Bermuda shorts and boots were changed for tights and shinguards, and he began executing more high-risk maneuvers proper for a junior heavyweight. This paid off well for Kanemaru, as he plowed through a field of unlikely but talented competitors to win a tournament for the first-ever GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. He would go on to win the title twice more, including a win over NJPW's long time junior ace, Jushin Liger. In tag teams his experience widened as well, teaming with Tsuyoshi Kikuchi to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, and with Takashi Sugiura to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship twice. His win of the NJPW title served as a catalyst for the creation of the equivalent NOAH title.

Long overlooked in AJPW, Kanemaru has steadily built himself as one of the top junior heavyweight fighters in Japan for the foreseeable future.