Hiro Matsuda facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hiro Matsuda |
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| Birth name | Yasuhiro Kojima |
| Born | July 22, 1937 Yokohama, Kanagawa, Empire of Japan |
| Died | November 27, 1999 (aged 62) Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Colon cancer |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Ernesto Kojima Hiro Matsuda |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Billed weight | 231 lb (105 kg) |
| Trained by | Diablo Velasco Rikidōzan Karl Gotch |
| Debut | 1957 |
| Retired | 1990 |
Yasuhiro Kojima (born July 22, 1937 – died November 27, 1999) was a famous Japanese professional wrestler and trainer. He was best known by his ring name, Hiro Matsuda. A ring name is a special name wrestlers use when they perform.
Contents
Professional Wrestling Journey
Yasuhiro Kojima started his sports career playing baseball. He was a top pitcher for his high school team in Japan. After school, he joined Japan Pro Wrestling in 1957. He left in 1960 to travel and wrestle in other countries.
Early Career and New Names
Matsuda first went to Peru, where he wrestled as Ernesto Kojima. Later, he moved to Mexico and then the United States. During this time, he used different ring names like Kojima Saito and Great Matsuda. He finally settled on Hiro Matsuda. This name was inspired by earlier Japanese wrestlers like Sorakichi Matsuda and Matty Matsuda.
In Mexico, he even had matches against the famous wrestler El Santo. In the United States, he trained with Karl Gotch. He learned special wrestling styles called catch-as-catch-can and submission wrestling. These styles focus on holds and locks to make an opponent give up. He also learned the German suplex, a powerful wrestling move.
Matsuda sometimes wrestled in Japan too. There, he formed a tag team with another famous wrestler, Antonio Inoki.
Winning Championships
Hiro Matsuda made history as the first Japanese wrestler to win a National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) world title. On July 11, 1964, he won the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship in Florida. He beat Danny Hodge for the title. He held it until November 13, when he lost it to Angelo Savoldi.
On December 10, Matsuda had a big match against NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz. The match ended in a draw because time ran out. In 1975, Matsuda won the Junior Heavyweight Championship again. He defeated Ken Mantell but later lost the belt back to Danny Hodge. Matsuda and Hodge had many exciting matches together.
In the late 1960s, Matsuda also wrestled in tag teams. He teamed up with The Missouri Mauler. They often faced other wrestling villains like Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson.
Training Future Stars
Matsuda moved to Florida in 1962. He became a wrestling trainer at the Sportatorium in Tampa. He was known for being very strict and tough with his students. He wanted to make sure they were strong and serious about wrestling.
One of his most famous students was Hulk Hogan. Matsuda was known for pushing his trainees to their limits. He would only let wrestlers train with him if they could do 1,000 push-ups and 1,000 squats! Even in his 60s, Matsuda could still do hundreds of these exercises.
Many other famous wrestlers trained with Hiro Matsuda. These include B. Brian Blair, Bob Orton Jr., Dick Slater, Hercules, Mike Graham, Paul Orndorff, Riki Choshu, Ron Simmons, Scott Casey, Scott Hall, Ted DiBiase, and The Great Muta.
Later Career
In 1987, Matsuda joined Jim Crockett Promotions. He played a "heel" (a villain) and helped his student Lex Luger in a rivalry against Dusty Rhodes. During this time, he was called "The Master of the Japanese Sleeper." A sleeper hold is a move that puts pressure on the neck.
Matsuda later worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1989, he was the manager for a group called the Yamasaki Corporation. He also worked with Terry Funk's group, The J-Tex Corporation. His job was to be their business agent from Japan.
Hiro Matsuda's last wrestling match was on December 26, 1990. He was 53 years old. He wrestled Osamu Kido in Japan. This event also featured Lou Thesz and Nick Bockwinkel, who also wrestled their final matches that day.
Death
Yasuhiro Kojima, known as Hiro Matsuda, passed away at his home in Tampa, Florida. He died on November 27, 1999, at the age of 62. He had colon cancer and liver cancer.
Championships and Awards
Hiro Matsuda won many championships and received special awards during his career:
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Mr. Wrestling, Bob Orton, and the Missouri Mauler
- NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (4 times)
- NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (Florida Version) (5 times) – with Duke Keomuka and Dick Steinborn
- Georgia Championship Wrestling
- NWA Columbus Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Japan Wrestling Association
- All Asia Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Michiaki Yoshimura
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling
- NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles/Japan version) (1 time) – with Masa Saito
- Greatest 18 Club inductee
- NWA Mid-America
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-America Version) (1 time) – with Kanji Inoki
- Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling
- NWA Mid-Atlantic Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2018
- WWE
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2018)
- Tokyo Sports
- Service Award (1999)
See also
In Spanish: Yasuhiro Kojima para niños
