Umanosuke Ueda

Hiroshi Ueda (上田 裕司, Ueda Hiroshi, 20 June 1940 – 21 December 2011) was a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Umanosuke Ueda (上田 馬之助, Ueda Umanosuke).[2] During his wrestling career, Ueda primarily stood out for wrestling with bleached blonde hair, a practice which was rare in his day but later became more common. His ring name was inspired by samurai warrior and Shinsengumi member Umanosuke Ueda.

"Professor Ito" redirects here. For professors named Ito, see Itō (surname).
Umanosuke Ueda
Birth nameHiroshi Ueda
Born20 June 1940
Yatomi, Aichi, Japan
Died21 December 2011(2011-12-21) (aged 71)[1]
Cause of deathRespiratory failure
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Umanosuke Ueda
Mr. Ito
Great Ito
Tengu
Billed height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Billed weight118 kg (260 lb)
Debut1961
Retired1998

After debuting in the old Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance in 1961, he started the circuit in Los Angeles in 1966. In 1974, he joined Japan's International Pro Wrestling where he held the IWA World Heavyweight Championship from June 11, 1976, till July 28, 1976. Ueda was considered one of the first "traitor heels" in Japan, as he broke societal mores by dyeing his hair and using a brawling style, and teaming with a hated gaikokujin heel, Tiger Jeet Singh. The two men were the first team to win tag team titles in both New Japan Pro-Wrestling (the NWA North American Tag Team Championship) and All Japan Pro Wrestling (the NWA International Tag Team Championship).

Mr. Gannosuke, Tatsutoshi Goto and Toru Yano later based their "dye job brawler" ring personas on Ueda's style. More recently, Takaaki Watanabe has based his "Evil" persona on Ueda.

He later went on to appear as a henchman in the Japanese game show Takeshi's Castle up until the end of the show in the late '80s and also appeared in the movie Burst City.

In 1996, he was in a car accident, which left him paralyzed and eventually forced him to retire two years later.

Ueda died on December 21, 2011, from respiratory failure; he was 71 years old.

Championships and accomplishments
  • World Wrestling Organization
    • WWO Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[6]
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References
  1. "訃報：上田馬之助さん ７１歳＝元プロレスラー - 毎日ｊｐ(毎日新聞)". Mainichi.jp. Archived from the original on 2012-01-14. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  2. Molinaro, John F.; Meltzer, Dave; Marek, Jeff (December 2002). Top 100 pro wrestlers of all time. Winding Stair Press. p. 48. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  3. "Asia Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  4. Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Texas: NWA World Tag Team Title [Siegel, Boesch and McLemore]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  5. "National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Title [E. Texas]". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  6. Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
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