Kazuharu Sonoda facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kazuharu Sonoda
Birth name	Kazuharu Sonoda
Born	(1956-09-16)September 16, 1956 Kobayashi, Miyazaki, Japan
Died	November 28, 1987(1987-11-28) (aged 31) South African Airways Flight 295, Indian Ocean, off Mauritius
Cause of death	Plane crash
Spouse(s)	Mayumi Sonoda
Family	Yukari Ishikura (Niece)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Haru Sonoda Professor Sonoda Magic Dragon The Great Kabuki
Billed height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Billed weight	110 kg (243 lb)
Billed from	Macau (as Magic Dragon)
Trained by	Masio Koma Great Kabuki
Debut	January 15, 1975

Kazuharu Sonoda (薗田 一治, Sonoda Kazuharu, September 16, 1956 – November 28, 1987) was a Japanese professional wrestler. He was also known by his ring names Haru Sonoda (ハル 薗田) and Magic Dragon (マジック・ドラゴン, Majikku Doragon). Sonoda held several tag team championships during his career. These included the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship and the NWA/WWC North American Tag Team Championship. He also won the WCCW All Asia Tag Team Championship with the Great Kabuki in 1982.

Wrestling Career Highlights

Starting as a Referee

Kazuharu Sonoda first trained with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). He was supposed to debut as a wrestler. However, he first stepped into the ring as a referee in late 1974. This happened because a regular AJPW referee was sick.

First Matches and North American Tour

Sonoda officially started his professional wrestling career on January 15, 1975. He wrestled under his real name at first. In 1979, Sonoda and Mitsu Ishikawa traveled to North America. They wanted to improve their skills and learn new wrestling styles.

They wrestled for the World Wrestling Council (WWC) in Puerto Rico. There, they won the WWC North American Tag Team Championship in a special tournament. They held the title for 35 days. After Puerto Rico, they moved to Texas. They wrestled for NWA Western States in Houston, Texas.

Tag Team Success and New Characters

Sonoda and Ishikawa won the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship in 1980. Later, they lost these titles. When the Western States wrestling area closed, the team split up. Sonoda then moved to Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW). He wrestled there as "Professor" Sonoda.

In 1981, he returned to Texas. He joined Fritz Von Erich's World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW). Here, he became the masked character "Magic Dragon". Gary Hart was his manager. Magic Dragon often teamed up with the famous Great Kabuki.

Winning the All Asia Tag Team Title

At the Fritz Von Erich Retirement Show, Magic Dragon and Great Kabuki won a special championship. They defeated David and Kevin Von Erich. This title was called the "All Asian Tag Team Championship". It was a unique title created by the promoter for a storyline. It was not the same as the AJPW version of the title.

On August 15, 1982, the Von Erich brothers won the championship back. The title was then forgotten once the storyline ended. Sometimes, Sonoda would even pretend to be the Great Kabuki. He would wear Kabuki's face paint and hair. No one noticed it wasn't the original Kabuki.

Return to Japan and Unmasking

Sonoda, still as "Magic Dragon", went back to AJPW in 1984. In September, Magic Dragon teamed with "Ultra Seven". They competed in the first ever AJPW Junior Tag League. They won one match but lost to other teams in the tournament. On June 5, 1985, Magic Dragon lost a match to Kuniaki Kobayashi. This meant he had to take off his mask. After that, he wrestled as "Haru Sonoda".

Life and Legacy

Kazuharu Sonoda married Mayumi Sonoda in early November 1987. They went on their honeymoon to South Africa on November 28, 1987. Giant Baba had offered to fly Sonoda to wrestle in a show there. This allowed him to combine his honeymoon with a wrestling appearance.

Sonoda and his wife were passengers on South African Airways Flight 295. This plane crashed near the island of Mauritius after a fire on board. At the time of his death, Sonoda was training another wrestler, Kenta Kobashi. Kobashi debuted about three months after Sonoda passed away. Giant Baba later said he regretted sending Sonoda to South Africa. He even cried during Sonoda's memorial show.

Sonoda's niece, Yukari Ishikura, also became a professional wrestler. She wrestled for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling. In 2007 and 2008, Pro Wrestling NOAH held the "Mauritius Cup" tournament. This tournament honored Sonoda. In November 2016, Atsushi Onita and Masanobu Fuchi dedicated their All Asia Tag Team Championship win to Sonoda. They had trained together with him in the AJPW Dojo in the 1970s.

Championships and Accomplishments

• Tokyo Sports
  • Effort Award (1978)
  • Service Prize (1987)
• Western States Sports
  • NWA Western States Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mitsu Ishikawa
• World Class Championship Wrestling
  • WCCW All Asia Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with the Great Kabuki
• World Wrestling Council
  • WWC North American Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mitsu Ishikawa

See also

• List of premature professional wrestling deaths