Tiger Mask
(b. 1957)

Real Name: Satoru Sayama The character was created after Tiger Mask, Ikki Kajiwara's famous pro-wrestling cartoon. Birth: November 24th, 1957 in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Japan Debut: Loses to Shouji Kai on May 28th, 1976 in Tokyo (under real name) Defeats Dynamite Kid on April 23rd, 1981 in Tokyo (as Tiger Mask) Inactive as a pro-wrestler between September, 1985 and 1996 Organizations: New Japan (76 - 83) UWF (original, 84 - 85) Titles: (as Satoru Sayama) NWA World Middleweight (as Tiger Mask) WWF Junior Heavyweight [3] NWA World Junior Heavyweight [2] TWA Tag Team Hall of Fame Inductions: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (1996) fj.rec.sports.prowrestling (1996) Interview: Satoru Sayama & Mil Mascaras - Weekly Gong Pictures: Tiger Mask (31KB)(Courtesy of the Canvas Cavity with Dr. Mike Lano) Links: Official site - (in Japanese) Official blog - (in Japanese) TigerMania - A very detailed history of the "Tiger Mask" gimmicks by Toshiro Ishijima (in Japanese) WWE.com

When I first heard "next week, we'll have the debut of Tiger Mask!" on New Japan television show, I didn't believe my ears. I laughed while I was watching television when Tiger Mask first entered to the ring of Kuramae Kokugikan (old Sumo Hall) on April 23rd, 1981. I always loved the Tiger Mask cartoon, but having the character as a legit wrestler was another story. Dynamite Kid was already a strong rival of Tatsumi Fujinami, who was the top junior heavyweight wrestler in Japan back then, and I didn't think this guy from cartoon character could beat Kid. However, this freak who came out of a cartoon show easily beat Dynamite Kid with a German suplex hold. Since then, he was not only a big draw for New Japan Pro-Wrestling but also a social phenomenon in Japan.

The legend of junior heavyweight division in Japan was started by Fujinami in late '70s when Fujinami won the WWWF Junior Heavyweight Title at Madison Square Garden. Tiger Mask followed Fujinami and made the division even more popular. Today, the division is one of the hottest thing in the wrestling world, and the stars such as Jushin Thunder Liger, Ultimo Dragon, and Great Sasuke were all inspired by the original Tiger Mask.