Black Buffalo Keisuke Yamada ( July 6 , 1974 ) is a Japan ese professional wrestler , better known by the ring name Black Buffalo . Originally starting his career in International Wrestling Association of Japan , where he worked under his real name , Yamada found a new home promotion in 1999 in Osaka Pro Wrestling , where he began wrestling under a mask and the ring name Black Buffalo . For most of his career in Osaka Pro , Yamada has portrayed a villainous character , having been a part of every major villainous alliance in the history of the promotion . During his first years in the promotion , Buffalo went on to become a four - time Tag Team Champion . In February 2008 , Buffalo was forced to unmask and reveal his true identity , after losing a match , and afterwards began teaming with the man , who unmasked him , Tigers Mask , with two becoming two - time Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Champions together . Finally , in March 2012 , Buffalo managed to win Osaka Pro ' s top title , the Osaka Pro Wrestling Championship . Backstage , Yamada serves as the vice president of Osaka Pro Wrestling . Professional wrestling career . IWA Japan ( 1994 – 1999 ) . Yamada started his professional wrestling career in 1994 in the International Wrestling Association of Japan promotion , working under his real name . During his years in IWA Japan , Yamada had several high - profile matches with the likes of Cactus Jack , Terry Funk and Tiger Jeet Singh , and , at the end of his run , also served as the president of the promotion . Osaka Pro Wrestling ( 1999 – present ) . In April 1999 , Yamada joined the Osaka Pro Wrestling promotion , where he began wrestling under a mask as Black Buffalo , a character inspired by the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes baseball team . He made his debut for the promotion at its first event on April 29 , where he , Dick Togo and Violencia , forming the villainous alliance Legion of Violence ( LOV ) , were defeated in a six - man tag team main event by Masato Yakushiji , Naohiro Hoshikawa and Super Delfin . Buffalo kept teaming with Togo for the rest of the year . On November 21 , Buffalo won his first title in Osaka Pro , when he defeated Super Delfin for the UWF Super Welterweight Championship , only to lose it back to him seven days later . In early 2000 , LOV was joined by Daio Quallt and Policeme ~ n , replacing Violencia . On May 1 , Buffalo and Togo defeated Super Delfin and Super Demekin in the finals to win the 1st Anniversary Tag Tournament . In September , Buffalo took part in the inaugural Tenno - zan tournament , where he made it to the semifinals , before being eliminated by Super Delfin . After Dick Togo left Osaka Pro at the end of 2000 , LOV was disbanded and replaced by the new group , FLUXxx , as a member of which Buffalo formed a new tag team named Infinity with Tsubasa . After reaching the semifinals of the 2001 Osaka Tag Festival , Buffalo and Tsubasa defeated Super Delfin and Takehiro Murahama on July 21 to win the vacant Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship . They would lose the title to Murahama and Kaiju Zeta Mandora on August 24 . The following October ' s Tenno - zan saw a repeat of the previous year ' s tournament as Buffalo was eliminated in the semifinals by Super Delfin . On January 27 , 2002 , Buffalo , Tsubasa and Gamma defeated Super Delfin , Super Demekin and Takehiro Murahama to win the Trios Cup Tournament . On August 25 , Buffalo and Tsubasa regained the Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship by defeating the Kishiwada Gurentai ( Big Boss MA - G - MA and Daio Quallt ) . After a five - month reign , they would lose the title to Jushin Liger and Takehiro Murahama on February 1 , 2003 . After Buffalo and Tsubasa failed to regain the title from Liger and Murahama on August 13 , Buffalo turned on Tsubasa on November 15 and jumped to Big Boss MA - G - MA ' s Kishiwada Gurentai stable . Buffalo and Tsubasa had their big grudge match against each other on May 29 , 2004 , ending with Buffalo picking up the win . On December 19 , Buffalo and Daio Quallt defeated Billyken Kid and Tigers Mask to win the Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship . Their reign would last until February 13 , 2005 , when they were defeated by Billyken Kid and Perro . On April 29 , Buffalo and Tsubasa reformed Infinity for one night , when they defeated Kageki Pro representatives Aztec and Kaze in a special interpromotional tag team match . After the Kishiwasa Gurentai was disbanded in the aftermath of Big Boss MA - G - MA leaving Osaka Pro , Buffalo , Hideyoshi , Masamune and Toru Owashi formed the promotion ' s new top villainous alliance , Buraikan , on June 25 . In November , Buffalo made it to the semifinals of the Tenno - zan for the third time , but was there once again defeated by Super Delfin . On January 28 , 2006 , longtime babyface Billyken Kid shocked Osaka Pro by turning on Tigers Mask and the Osaka Pro Seikigun ( " regular army " ) and taking over Buraikan , which was then renamed Vendaval , with Buffalo becoming his second - in - command . On February 26 , Buffalo and BKK defeated Flash Moon and Tigers Mask to win the Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship . The two teams faced each other in a rematch on June 3 in the finals of the 2006 Tag Festival , which was won by Flash Moon and Tigers Mask . On July 15 , Buffalo added another title to his résumé , when he defeated ten other men to win the Osaka Pro Wrestling Battle Royal Championship . However , on July 29 , Osaka Pro announced that Buffalo had suffered a rotator cuff tear in his right shoulder and stripped him of both the Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team and the Osaka Pro Wrestling Battle Royal Championship . After remaining inactive for the rest of 2006 , Buffalo showed up in Mexico in early 2007 , making his debut for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración ( AAA ) on February 16 as a member of " La Legión Extranjera " , a villainous stable of foreigners . During his stay in Mexico , Buffalo teamed with Rossy Moreno to unsuccessfully challenge Cynthia Moreno and El Oriental for the AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship on March 23 . After spending almost a year away from Osaka Pro , Buffalo made a surprise return to the promotion on June 30 , 2007 , by attacking Kuishinbo Kamen and Miracle Man , revealing himself as Bad Force leader Gaina ' s partner in the 2007 Tag Festival . After defeating Miracle Man and Kuishinbo Kamen in less than a minute , Buffalo and Gaina picked up their second win of the night by defeating Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada in the following match . After defeating Asian Cougar and Tsubasa in their semifinal match on July 8 , Buffalo and Gaina advanced to the finals of the Tag Festival , where , on July 14 , they were defeated by Tigers Mask and Billyken Kid , who had rejoined the Osaka Pro Seikigun during Buffalo ' s time away from the promotion . On August 25 , Buffalo unsuccessfully challenged Tigers Mask for the Osaka Pro Wrestling Championship . Buffalo kept teaming with Bad Force for the rest of the year , pinning Tigers Mask in a non - title match on October 8 . On December 8 , Buffalo pinned Tigers Mask again , this time in a Captain ' s Fall tag team match , and afterwards challenged him to a match for the Osaka Pro Wrestling Championship . On December 22 , the two men agreed to the match with the added stipulation , that the loser of the match would also be unmasked . On February 11 , 2008 , Black Buffalo and Tigers Mask faced each other in a Mask vs . Mask match for the Osaka Pro Wrestling Championship in the main event of Osaka Pro ' s biggest annual event , " Osaka Hurricane " . After being pinned by Tigers Mask for the win , Buffalo was forced to unmask and reveal himself as Keisuke Yamada of IWA Japan . In an out - of - character post - match speech , Yamada revealed that the real reason he had spent a year away from Osaka Pro was that he had been battling depression and alcoholism , which he had managed to overcome with Tigers Mask ' s support . Buffalo was then kicked out of Bad Force , which led to Tigers Mask inviting him to join the Osaka Pro Seikigun . After spending some time away from Osaka Pro , Buffalo returned to the promotion on March 29 , accepting Tigers Mask ' s invitation . Despite being unmasked , Yamada continued performing under the Black Buffalo ring name . In October 2008 , the Osaka Pro Seikigun was broken into two camps following problems between Billyken Kid and Tigers Mask , which eventually led to Tigers Mask , Black Buffalo and Masamune breaking away from the group and forming a new villainous alliance , unofficially referred to as the " Rudo Army " . On November 15 , Buffalo and Tigers Mask defeated Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada , with help from the debuting Orochi , to become the Osaka Pro Wrestling Provisional Tag Team Champions . Osaka Pro had been forced to introduce the title , after one half of the reigning Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Champions , Asian Cougar , had been injured at the hands of the Rudo Army . In December , Buffalo made it to the finals of the 2008 Tenno - zan tournament , before being defeated by Billyken Kid . On January 1 , 2009 , Buffalo and Tigers Mask defeated Mucha Lucha ( Asian Cougar and Tsubasa ) in a title unification match to become the new Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Champions . They would lose the title to Asian Cougar and Great Sasuke on February 15 at " Osaka Hurricane 2009 " , only to regain it on May 20 at Osaka Pro ' s tenth anniversary event . The team ' s second and Buffalo ' s sixth reign ended on July 18 , when they were defeated by Sengoku ( Hideyoshi and Masamune ) . During the summer , Yamada returned to IWA Japan , now working as Black Buffalo , for a short run as the IWA World Heavyweight Champion . Back in Osaka Pro , Buffalo ' s and Tigers Mask ' s stable , which now also included The Bodyguard , Orochi and Tadasuke , was officially named LOV in reference to Osaka Pro ' s original villainous alliance . In January 2009 , LOV , still villains within Osaka Pro , became " de facto " babyfaces by starting an interpromotional storyline rivalry with the Dragon Gate promotion , starting on January 17 , when Black Buffalo and Tigers Mask invaded a Dragon Gate event and attacked Cima , who had publically been making disparaging remarks about Osaka Pro . The rivalry was mainly contested between Cima and Tigers Mask ; Black Buffalo ' s participation culminated on July 11 , when he , Tigers Mask and The Bodyguard unsuccessfully challenged Cima , Gamma and Genki Horiguchi for the Open the Triangle Gate Championship . LOV ' s babyface turn would be finalized on August 28 , when Orochi turned on the stable , helping Asian Cougar defeat Tigers Mask for the Osaka Pro Wrestling Championship . The newly renamed Kuuga , Orochi and another LOV turncoat , The Bodyguard , would then form the Joker stable , which took over LOV ' s spot as the promotion ' s top villainous alliance . On January 29 , 2011 , Buffalo and Tigers Mask challenged Kuuga and Orochi for the Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship , but were defeated , when Tadasuke also turned on them and jumped to Joker . On February 27 , Buffalo was forced to join Joker , after he and Tigers Mask were defeated in a tag team match by Orochi and Tadasuke . Meanwhile , Tigers Mask kept LOV alive by recruiting Naoki Setoguchi as his new partner . On March 5 , Buffalo defeated Tigers Mask in a singles match , following interference from members of Joker . After refusing to return to his villainous antics , Buffalo turned on Joker on March 13 and returned to LOV . After LOV picked up two big wins over Joker , first on April 10 , when Buffalo , Tigers Mask and Naoki Setoguchi defeated Kuuga , Tadasuke and Hayata to win the 12th Anniversary Six Man Tag Team Tournament , and then , when Tigers Mask regained the Osaka Pro Wrestling Championship from Kuuga on April 29 , Tigers Mask suddenly announced that he was disbanding LOV and rejoining the Osaka Pro Seikigun , along with Buffalo and Setoguchi . In June , Buffalo and Tigers Mask entered the 2011 Tag Festival . After two wins and one loss , they advanced to the finals , where , on June 26 , they defeated Billyken Kid and Joker leader Kuuga to win the tournament . After a disappointing 2011 Tenno - zan , where Buffalo was eliminated in the first round by American Chikara representative Jigsaw , his 2012 started with him defeating seven other men , including Tigers Mask , in a gauntlet match on February 26 , to become the number one contender to new Osaka Pro Wrestling Champion , Daisuke Harada . On March 25 , Buffalo defeated Harada to win the Osaka Pro Wrestling Championship for the first time in his thirteenth year in the promotion . Buffalo made his first successful title defense on May 26 , defeating Joker member Spider J . On July 22 , Buffalo main evented his second " Hurricane " event , in which he lost the Osaka Pro Wrestling Championship back to Daisuke Harada , ending his reign at 119 days . On November 3 , Buffalo teamed with Tigers Mask to unsuccessfully challenge Harada ' s Glare stablemates Hayata and Tadasuke for the Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship . On January 19 , 2013 , Buffalo teamed with fellow Osaka Pro Seikigun members Kazuaki Mihara and Naoki Setoguchi in a six - man tag team main event , where they were defeated by Glare . After the match , Glare leader Daisuke Harada revealed that he had recruited a new member to his stable , someone who agreed with his idea of changing Osaka Pro . He then revealed Black Buffalo as his newest ally , much to the dismay of the Osaka Pro Seikigun , especially Tigers Mask . On January 26 , Buffalo , Harada , Hayata and Tadasuke defeated Billyken Kid , Kazuaki Mihara , Naoki Setoguchi and Tigers Mask in an eight - man tag team main event , with Buffalo submitting Tigers Mask for the win . After the match , he challenged the Osaka Pro Seikigun to an elimination match , where the losing team would be forced to disband . After Buffalo and Tigers Mask had eliminated each other from the match on February 24 , Harada pinned Billyken Kid for the final elimination , saving Glare and forcing Seikigun to disband . On March 2 , Billyken Kid and Kazuaki Mihara joined Glare , announcing they now agreed with the stable ' s " revolution " . Glare then declared war on Joker and Unique Gundan , the two remaining stables in Osaka Pro . The following major Osaka Pro event on March 24 saw former rivals , Tigers Mask and Joker ' s Orochi , come together to defeat Buffalo and Billyken Kid in a grudge tag team match . The following month , Glare was disbanded , when Daisuke Harada and Hayata quit Osaka Pro . From May 26 to June 23 , Buffalo and Billyken Kid took part in the 2013 Osaka Tag Festival , making it to the final day with a chance of winning the tournament , however , a loss against the reigning Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Champions , former Glare stablemates Kazuaki Mihara and Tadasuke , meant that they dropped behind the Big Guns ( The Bodyguard and Zeus ) in the final standings . On July 18 , Buffalo made his debut for the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion in his home prefecture of Tottori , losing to Maybach Taniguchi in a singles match . The following day , he pinned Hitoshi Kumano in a tag team match , where he and Gastón Mateo faced Kumano and Pesadilla .