The Saito Brothers

Jun (right) and Rei Saito (left) in December 2022

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Kakuda, Miyagi, Japan

**The Saito Brothers** (斉藤兄弟, *Saitō Kyōdai*) are a Japanese professional wrestling tag team, consisting of real-life twin-brothers, who are known by their ring names Jun (ジュン) and Rei (レイ) Saito, respectively. The due were trained and are currently signed to All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), as part of the Voodoo Murders stable.

Through a working relationship between AJPW and GLEAT, they also work for the promotion, where they are currently double tag team champions - in their first reign each with the World Tag Team Championship from their home promotion All Japan Pro-Wrestling (AJPW) and the G-INFINITY Championship AJPW's partner promotion GLEAT.

Born in Japan to an American father and a Japanese mother, both brothers moved to America at 15 and then returned to Japan in 2009, when they made their debut in the Sumo Wrestling before retiring from Sumo Wrestling in 2017.

In 2021, they made their professional wrestling debut after being trained in the AJPW Dojo. In November of the same year, Rei and Jun were sent to the United States to further their wrestling training and gain international experience, a tradition with most rookies in Japan. While training in the United States, they worked in the American Independent circuit until the beginning of the fall of 2022. They started to come to prominence in October, when they turned heel and joined the newly reformed Voodoo Murders, this culminated in them winning AJPW's World Tag Team Championship in October of the year after and being awarded the Rookie Award by Tokyo Sports in December.

## Early life

Jun and Rei Sato were born on December 19, 1986 in Kakuda, Miyagi, Japan to an American father and a Japanese mother; However, they moved to the United States as teenagers and completed their education in the United States. During their years in school, both practiced American football. They returned to their birth country Japan and started practicing Sumo Wrestling under the the Dewanoumi Sumo stable. Their shikona (sumo ring-name) were Fujinohanarei (Jun) and Fujinokaijun (Rei). They made their Sumo debut in September 2009; However eight years later, they retired from Sumo with Jun having his retirement in May 29 and Rei having his retirement in September 25, 2017, four months after one-another. Jun was in a division higher than his brother Rei, with Jun ranking in 47th place of the West Makushita division and Rei ranking in 16th place of the West Sandanme division.

## Professional wrestling career

### All Japan Pro-Wrestling (2020–Present)

In December 2020, Jun and Rei had an introductory test to earn a training spot in the All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) dojo, which they passed and were accepted into the dojo. They made their professional wrestling debut on June 9, 2021, losing to the veteran team of Ryuki Honda and Takao Omori. On June 26 at AJPW's Champion Night, Jun defeated Rei in their first singles bout with Jun defeating Rei by submission with the *Boston Crab*. As is customary for most professional wrestlers, Jun and Rei spent most of his matches losing to other, more experienced wrestlers, which would help put over other wrestlers while at the same time give them some in-ring, televised, experience. On August 15, Jun took part in the 2021 Ōdō Tournament, losing in the first round to Suwama in under three minutes. From November 13 to December 5, they took part in the World's Strongest Tag Determination League losing all of their matches. On November 13, in the first day of the tournament, they announced that they were going on a learning excursion. The following months, they traveled to the United States and the United Kingdom to work with AJPW's partner promotion, Major League Wrestling (MLW) for a short stay. They also worked for various promotions in the American and British independent circuit, before returning to All Japan in September 2022.

On September 18, they made their return from their excursion at AJPW's 50th Anniversary Show, where they along Cyrus faced Shuji Ishikawa, Kohei Sato and Yukio Naya in a winning effort. Later that night, Saito Brothers challenged Shotaro Ashino and Ryuki Honda to a title match for the World Tag Team Championship, which they failed to win on the next day. On October 2, Jun and Rei attacked Jake Lee and Yuma Aoyagi and became the newest members of Voodoo Murders, turning heel in the process. From November 13 until December 7, they took part in the 2022 World's Strongest Determination Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of three wins and four losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament.

On January 2, 2023, Saito Brothers were defeated by Naoya Nomura and Yuma Aoyagi in a number one contenders to the World Tag Team Championship. From April 8 and May 7, Jun and Rei took part in the 2023 Champion Carnival, wrestling on seperate blocks. Jun finishing the tournament with a record of three wins and four losses, while Rei finished the tournament with a record of four wins and three losses, both failing to advance to the finals of the tournament. On October 9, Saito Brothers defeated Kento Miyahara and Yuma Aoyagi to win the World Tag Team Championship. From November 12 until December 6, Saito Brothers took part in the 2023 World's Strongest Tag Determination League, finishing the tournament with a record of five wins and four losses, failing to win the tournament. Around the same time, Rei took part in DDT's 2023 D-Oh Grand Prix, where he finished the tournament with a record of four wins, one loss, with a loss against Yukio Naya, in their head-to-head match, costing him a spot in the finals of the tournament.

## Personal life

Jun and Rei are of American descent on their father's side, with their father being American and their mother being Japanese. They had credited Kento Miyahara, Suwama and Shuji Ishikawa as their main inspirations.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ Piledriver
	+ *Psycho Break* (Cobra clutch slam)
* **Signature moves**
	+ Backdrop
	+ Big boot
	+ Brainbuster, sometimes while avalanching
	+ Chokeslam
	+ Lariat
	+ Multiple strike variations
		- Back elbow
		- Chop smash
		- Elbow
		- Horizontal chop
		- Slap
	+ Powerbomb
	+ Powerslam
	+ Shoulder tackle
	+ Spear
* **Entrance themes**
	+ "Majestic Vow" by Osamu Suzuki
	+ **"Dream Warriors"** by Dokken

## Championships and accomplishments

* **All Japan Pro Wrestling**
	+ World Tag Team Championship (1 time, current)
* **GLEAT**
	+ G-INFINITY Championship (1 time, current)
* ***Tokyo Sports***
	+ Rookie Award (2023)