It would be difficult to overstate the influence of the original Tiger Mask. In the early 1980s, when the masked highflier from Japan made his name as the world’s finest junior heavyweight, watching ...

Originally played by Satoru Sayama, the Tiger Mask character debuted in 1981 with a victory over Billington’s uncle Dynamite Kid (Thomas Billington). Sayama and Dynamite Kid had a series of matches ...

Bloody Elbow has looked back at the history of Japanese MMA to varying degrees, and included in that history has been a brief glance at Satoru Sayama and the formation of Shooto. Sayama was an ...

Tiger Mask is one of the coolest enduring gimmicks in wrestling history. Based on the anime hero of the same name, the Tiger Mask character has been played by five wrestlers since his creation in 1981 ...

Satoru Sayama, the original Tiger Mask, is yet another example of how a colourful hood can add some much needed sizzle to a well-cooked steak... Pound-for-pound one of the finest wrestlers that ever ...

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, New Japan Pro Wrestling was dominating its rival All Japan, due in part to a focus on smaller Junior Heavyweights over the bigger Heavyweights that Baba was pushing.

Once upon a time, Satoru Sayama, the legendary Tiger Mask of pro-wrestling lore, dreamed of a truer form of combat than the world of puroresu could offer. Sayama's ambition led to the creation of ...

I know last time I mentioned talking about the entry of olympic wrestlers into MMA but I realized I needed to talk a little more about the evolution of the sport in Japan first. Here’s Sam Chan ...

“A Tribute to Masked Wrestlers” is an ongoing series paying homage to the greatest pro wrestlers who have donned a mask in the ring. Check out part 1 on Ultimo Dragon here. Tearing free from the pages ...

Shooto Commissioner Takes Control; Turmoil Continues Tony Loiseleur Aug 19, 2011 ... TOKYO -- Months after a restructuring in the wake of an internal money scandal, Shooto continues to find itself ...

Mark “Rollerball” Rocco, the original masked Black Tiger in New Japan Pro Wrestling and a former WWE Junior Heavyweight Champion, has died. He was 69. “WWE is saddened to learn that Mark ‘Rollerball’ ...