Naniwa Yoshinori

Naniwa Yoshinori - 浪速 嘉則 (born January 23, 1974) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Asahi-ku, Osaka City, Osaka. He made his debut in January 1993 and wrestled for Azumazeki Stable. His highest rank was sandanme 98 and he retired in November 1996.

## **Early Life**

Sasaki was born in Osaka City's Asahi ward on January 23, 1974. He was a third-rank junior champion of sumo wrestling in his high school and he was later recruited into Azumazeki stable.

## **Career**

Sasaki made his professional debut in January 1993 and was given the shikona "Wakasasaki" (若佐々木). During his time as an active wrestler, he served as Yokozuna Akebono's tsukebito, or personal servant. He reached the sandanme division in January 1995, but could only finish with a 2-5 record and this proved to be his only tournament in the division. He was given the new shikona "Naniwa" (浪速) in March 1996. He withdrew in the middle of the September 1995 tournament due to an injury to his right ligament. He sat out of the following four tournaments which resulted in him falling completely off the banzuke by July 1996. He retired shortly after in November 1996.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

### **Professional Wrestling Career**

After leaving sumo, he began training for professional wrestling at the Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) dojo. Sasaki earned the nickname of "Mammoth" by his peers due to his size and strength. Sasaki made his wrestling debut by defeating Nobuyaso Anesaki in an exhibition match on November 15, 1997. He competed as an enhancement talent through the early years of his career. His first push came when he became a member of Atsushi Onita's faction Team Zero in 1998. After years on the low-card, Sasaki won his first title, the WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship with Hideki Hosaka in 2000 and changed his ring name to Mammoth Sasaki in the fall of the year and became a main eventer during the fall of 2001.

After the closure of FMW and failed mixed martial arts venture, Sasaki wrestled for Wrestling Marvelous Future (WMF) from 2002-2005, before spending 2006-2009 wrestling in the independent circuit as a freelancer. As of 2010, Sasaki has spent time wrestling for Pro Wrestling Freedoms.

### **MMA Career**

Following the closure of FMW, Sasaki decided to pursue a career in mixed martial arts and made his MMA debut at Pride Fighting Championships's Pride FC: The Best, Vol. 1 on February 22, 2002, losing to Jong Wang Kim by submission in twenty-five seconds and then retired from MMA after only one fight.

## **Fighting Style**

Naniwa was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. His most common kimarite was yorikiri (force out) followed by yoritaoshi (frontal crush out).

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 57-52-31/109 (21 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 2-5/7 (1 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 51-44-24/95 (17 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 4-3-7/7 (2 basho)

## **Shikona History**

* Wakasasaki Yoshinori (1993.01 - 1995.01)
* Naniwa Yoshinori (1995.03 - 1996.11)

## **Gallery**

Naniwa prepares for his upcoming match (c. 1994)
## **Sources**

* Naniwa Yoshinori Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Naniwa Yoshinori Rikishi Information