Ryan Sakoda

Ryan Sakoda (born December 31, 1972) is a Japanese American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in World Wrestling Entertainment and current work for Ultimate Pro Wrestling as a part-time trainer for the wrestlers, as well as working in the independents as Ryan Sakoda.

Ryan Sakoda
Sakoda in 2010
Born (1972-12-31) December 31, 1972[1]
Tokyo, Japan[1]
ResidenceHacienda Heights, California, United States[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Keiji Sakoda[1]
Keiji Sakota[2]
Quick Cook Lee[2]
Ryan Sakoda[1]
Ryu Sakoda[2]
Sakoda[1]
Vapor[2]
Billed height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Billed weight110 kg (243 lb)[1]
Billed fromTokyo, Japan
Trained byBill Anderson[2]
Jesse Hernandez[1][2]
Debut1998[2]

Professional wrestling career

Before coming to WWE, Sakoda had a successful stint in the NWA Zero-One promotion in Japan, stemming from his appearances for Ultimate Pro Wrestling. During this time Sakoda often filled in as an instructor at UPW's Ultimate University, while wrestling as part of the faction Team Emblem with Japanese superstars Masato Tanaka and Shinjiro Otani.

In September 2003, Sakoda was signed to a developmental contract, it wouldn't be long before Sakoda was brought up to SmackDown!'s main roster. He along with Akio made their WWE debuts on October 19, 2003, at No Mercy. Sakoda aligned himself with Akio, forming the heel tag team Kyo Dai, the Yakuza-style henchmen of Tajiri.

In August 2004, Sakoda was released from his WWE contract. Sakoda returned to UPW in March 2005 as a part-time trainer and part-time auto sales executive at Worthington Ford. He made his return to full-time in-ring competition in 2007 with MTV's Wrestling Society X. He is currently wrestling as an independent in the local circuit.

Sakoda filed a class action lawsuit against WWE, alleging that wrestlers suffered traumatic brain injuries while wrestling for them and that the company tried to conceal that information. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE. In March 2016, the suit was dismissed by Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant.[3]

Championships and accomplishments
  • NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time)1 - with Samoa Joe[5]

1After the title was vacated, Samoa Joe and partner Keiji Sakoda's reign was stricken from the promotion's records.

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References
  1. "OWOW profile".
  2. "Cagematch profile".
  3. Bieler, Des (July 19, 2016). "Dozens of wrestlers sue WWE over CTE, effects of traumatic brain injuries". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  4. "EWF Heavyweight Championship history". Archived from the original on 2007-11-23.
  5. "NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship history".
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