Katsuji Adachi
Encyclopedia
better known as Mr. Hito, was a Japanese
professional wrestler who competed in North America
n and Japanese regional promotions
from the 1950s until the mid-1980s. Most notably, he was the tag team
partner of Mr. Moto
(who was one of the earliest Japanese "heels
") while wrestling in National Wrestling Alliance
regional territories during the late 1950s.
He is perhaps best known for his work in Stu Hart
's Stampede Wrestling
, where he won multiple championship titles. He is also highly regarded by Bret Hart
as his most significant trainer alongside Kazuo Sakurada
(a.k.a. Mr. Sakurada), who he trained with extensively in Stu Hart's "Dungeon."
to Haruka Eigen at the Kawasaki Stadium
on July 1, 1969. The following year, Adachi appeared in the JWA New Year Champion Series in January 1970 and the Golden Series in July before leaving the country to compete in North America during the early 1970s.
who participated in a 12-man battle royal on April 7, 1974. Held in the Kiel Auditorium
in St. Louis, Missouri
, the event also included André the Giant
, Bobo Brazil
, Bill Miller
, Billy Red Lyons
, Black Angus Campbell
, Reggie Parks, Frank Valois, Billy Howard
and Dory Funk, Jr.
who eventually won the event.
Hito saw great success as a tag team wrestler in Stampede Wrestling
in Calgary, winning the NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version) eight times. During this time, as part of Big Bad John
's "army" with King Curtis Iaukea
and John Quinn
, he feuded with "Cowboy" Dan Kroffat, Larry Lane and Mark Lewin
after attacking the then 60-year-old Stu Hart
who had been handcuffed to the ring ropes.
His first win took place in 1975 with partner John Quinn
, but the titles were then vacated. To reclaim them that same year, Hito teamed with Gil Hayes
to win a tag team tournament. The following year, he and Higo "Animal" Hamaguchi won the titles. Then Michel Martel helped him gain his fourth tag title victory in 1977. Two years passed until he gained his fifth and sixth titles with Mr. Sakurada, winning and losing the titles against the likes of Bret and Keith Hart, Dory Funk Jr., and Leo Burke
. Hito then pursued singles competition. He and Mr. Sakaruda would also have a short stint in Championship Wrestling from Florida in late 1979 and World Class Championship Wrestling
the following year, winning the tag team titles in both promotions.
Hito won his first Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship
on September 18, 1981 from David Schultz
, only to lose it back the following month. His second title reign lasted from November 6, 1981 until March 19 the following year, in which he was forced to vacate it due injuries resulting from an automobile accident in early 1982. While driving to a show in Lethbridge
with Bruce Hart
, Jim Neidhart
, Gerry Morrow and a Stampede road hand, he had suffered facial injuries as well as a broken wrist and a dislocated knee after hitting the back tires of semi-trailer
as it was pulling into a roadside gas station.
On March 11, 1983, Hito won his eighth NWA International Tag Team Championship with Jim Neidhart
in Calgary, Alberta. They would win them one last time from Mike Shaw
and Mike Miller
the same year. In 1986, after 30 years in the ring, he retired from in-ring competition and remained to be Stu Hart's right-hand man in the Dungeon.
According to Bret Hart, Adachi was one of Stu Hart’s most trusted foremen and reliable workers in the heyday of Stampede Wrestling; Bret's DVD set also features rare footage of Adachi and Sakurada squashing him. He has credited Adachi as being one of his greatest mentors, stating, "People often say to me, where would wrestling be without Bret Hart. But my answer to that is, where would Bret Hart be without Mr. Hito."
Adachi died on April 21, 2010 in Osaka. His cause of death is related to diabetes, which he had suffered from for several years and it caused the amputation of his right leg in October 2009.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
professional wrestler who competed in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n and Japanese regional promotions
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
from the 1950s until the mid-1980s. Most notably, he was the tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
partner of Mr. Moto
Tor Kamata
McRonald Kamaka was an American/Canadian professional wrestler known by the ring name Tor Kamata. He won several Heavyweight and Tag Team championships, including one World Tag Team title. He was a classic "bad guy" wrestler...
(who was one of the earliest Japanese "heels
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
") while wrestling in National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
regional territories during the late 1950s.
He is perhaps best known for his work in Stu Hart
Stu Hart
Stewart Edward "Stu" Hart, CM was a Canadian amateur wrestler, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer. Hart founded Stampede Wrestling, a promotion based in Calgary, Alberta, and was the father of famous wrestlers Bret and Owen Hart...
's Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
, where he won multiple championship titles. He is also highly regarded by Bret Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
as his most significant trainer alongside Kazuo Sakurada
Kazuo Sakurada
, better known as Mr. Sakurada and as the Japanese version of , is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. He is best known, under various monikers, for his work in Stampede Wrestling, National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling. Sakurada is also highly regarded by Bret Hart as...
(a.k.a. Mr. Sakurada), who he trained with extensively in Stu Hart's "Dungeon."
Japan (1956–1973)
Katsuji Adachi made his debut in 1956, at the age of 14. A mainstay of the Japan Wrestling Association during the 1960s, he lostJob (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling slang, the term job describes a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect kayfabe. As professional wrestling is scripted, inevitably a wrestler will be required to lose to an opponent.The term...
to Haruka Eigen at the Kawasaki Stadium
Kawasaki Stadium
was a stadium in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan. The stadium was opened in 1952 and had a capacity of 30,000 people.It was primarily used for baseball and was home of the Taiyo Whales until they moved to Yokohama in 1977 and became the Yokohama Taiyo Whales...
on July 1, 1969. The following year, Adachi appeared in the JWA New Year Champion Series in January 1970 and the Golden Series in July before leaving the country to compete in North America during the early 1970s.
North America (1973–1986)
As Tokyo Joe, he and Kung Fu Lee were managed by Percival A. Friend in NWA Central States in 1973. The following year, he was one of three Japanese wrestlers along with Kung Fu Lee and Jumbo TsurutaJumbo Tsuruta
, better known by his ring name Jumbo Tsuruta, was a professional wrestler who wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling for most of his career, and is well-known for being the first ever AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, having won the PWF Heavyweight Championship, the NWA United National...
who participated in a 12-man battle royal on April 7, 1974. Held in the Kiel Auditorium
Kiel Auditorium
Kiel Auditorium was an indoor arena, in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It was the home of the Saint Louis University basketball team and hosted the NBA's St. Louis Hawks, from 1955-1968....
in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, the event also included André the Giant
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride...
, Bobo Brazil
Bobo Brazil
Houston Harris was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Bobo Brazil. He is credited with breaking down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling...
, Bill Miller
Bill Miller (wrestler)
William M. Miller , better known as Dr. Bill Miller or Mr. M, was a former professional wrestler. He is a one time American Wrestling Association World champion and also wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance, the World Wrestling Association in Indianapolis and the World Wide Wrestling...
, Billy Red Lyons
Billy Red Lyons
William Snip was a Canadian professional wrestler, who used the stage name Billy Red Lyons. He was an active wrestler between 1956 and 1984, and won numerous championship throughout his career. He worked for promotions in both Canada and the United States, particularly in Ontario, California,...
, Black Angus Campbell
Frank Hoy
Frances "Frank" Patrick Hoy was a Scottish professional wrestler who wrestled variously as Wild Angus, Angus Campbell, Black Angus Campbell or Rasputin...
, Reggie Parks, Frank Valois, Billy Howard
Billy Howard
Billy Howard is an English comedy impressionist, who appeared on the ITV series Who Do You Do, alongside other impressionists such as Faith Brown. In 1976, his single, "King Of The Cops", reached #6 in the UK Singles Chart; it featured his impressions of TV cops including Kojak, Columbo, McCloud...
and Dory Funk, Jr.
Dory Funk, Jr.
Dory Ernest Funk Jr. known professionally as Dory Funk, Jr. is a professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. He is the son of Dory Funk Sr. and brother of Terry Funk. He is credited with the invention of the Texas cloverleaf submission hold and runs the Funking Conservatory, a professional...
who eventually won the event.
Hito saw great success as a tag team wrestler in Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
in Calgary, winning the NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version) eight times. During this time, as part of Big Bad John
Big Bad John
"Big Bad John" is a country song originally performed by Jimmy Dean and composed by Dean and Roy Acuff. Released in September 1961, by the beginning of November it went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and won Dean the 1962 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording.The song and its...
's "army" with King Curtis Iaukea
King Curtis Iaukea
Curtis Piehau Iaukea, III was a professional wrestler better known as King Curtis Iaukea. Iaukea won championships in several of the major regional US promotions, both as a single and in various tag team combinations, during the 1960s. He then competed in the World Wrestling Federation where he...
and John Quinn
John Quinn (wrestler)
John Quinn is a retired Canadian professional wrestler who competed in North American regional promotions including NWA All-Star Wrestling, Pacific Northwest Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling during the 1960s and early 1970s...
, he feuded with "Cowboy" Dan Kroffat, Larry Lane and Mark Lewin
Mark Lewin
-Career:Mark Lewin broke into wrestling in the early '50s and had great early success in a matinee-idol babyface tag team with Don Curtis, headlining in major territories like New York and Chicago. The team's brief heel turn was a shock to its many fans...
after attacking the then 60-year-old Stu Hart
Stu Hart
Stewart Edward "Stu" Hart, CM was a Canadian amateur wrestler, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer. Hart founded Stampede Wrestling, a promotion based in Calgary, Alberta, and was the father of famous wrestlers Bret and Owen Hart...
who had been handcuffed to the ring ropes.
His first win took place in 1975 with partner John Quinn
John Quinn (wrestler)
John Quinn is a retired Canadian professional wrestler who competed in North American regional promotions including NWA All-Star Wrestling, Pacific Northwest Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling during the 1960s and early 1970s...
, but the titles were then vacated. To reclaim them that same year, Hito teamed with Gil Hayes
Gil Hayes
Gilbert "Gil" Hayes is a retired Canadian professional wrestler who competed in North American promotions during the 1960s and 1970s including All Star Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling where he would remain a mainstay for the majority of his 17-year career...
to win a tag team tournament. The following year, he and Higo "Animal" Hamaguchi won the titles. Then Michel Martel helped him gain his fourth tag title victory in 1977. Two years passed until he gained his fifth and sixth titles with Mr. Sakurada, winning and losing the titles against the likes of Bret and Keith Hart, Dory Funk Jr., and Leo Burke
Leo Burke
Leonce Cormier is a retired Canadian professional wrestler. He was born in Dorchester, New Brunswick. He competed across Canada, in several American promotions, and wrestled internationally for both Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council and the National Wrestling Alliance in New Zealand...
. Hito then pursued singles competition. He and Mr. Sakaruda would also have a short stint in Championship Wrestling from Florida in late 1979 and World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
the following year, winning the tag team titles in both promotions.
Hito won his first Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship
Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship
The Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship is the major title in the Canadian professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling. From its establishment in 1968 until 1972, it was Stampede's secondary singles championship, becoming the top title in 1972 after the previous top...
on September 18, 1981 from David Schultz
David Schultz (professional wrestler)
David Schultz is an American retired professional wrestler. Although he is known for competing in North American regional promotions such as Stampede Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance and the American Wrestling Association during the late 1970s and 1980s, he is perhaps best remembered for...
, only to lose it back the following month. His second title reign lasted from November 6, 1981 until March 19 the following year, in which he was forced to vacate it due injuries resulting from an automobile accident in early 1982. While driving to a show in Lethbridge
Lethbridge
Lethbridge is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada, and the largest city in southern Alberta. It is Alberta's fourth-largest city by population after Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer, and the third-largest by area after Calgary and Edmonton. The nearby Canadian Rockies contribute to the city's...
with Bruce Hart
Bruce Hart (wrestler)
Bruce Dennis Luis Hart is a retired Canadian professional wrestler. The second son of Stu Hart, Hart is a member of the large Hart wrestling family.Hart substitute teaches for the Calgary Board of Education.-Career:...
, Jim Neidhart
Jim Neidhart
James Henry "Jim" Neidhart is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Jim is the father of WWE Diva Natalya...
, Gerry Morrow and a Stampede road hand, he had suffered facial injuries as well as a broken wrist and a dislocated knee after hitting the back tires of semi-trailer
Semi-trailer
A semi-trailer is a trailer without a front axle. A large proportion of its weight is supported by a road tractor, a detachable front axle assembly known as a dolly, or the tail of another trailer...
as it was pulling into a roadside gas station.
On March 11, 1983, Hito won his eighth NWA International Tag Team Championship with Jim Neidhart
Jim Neidhart
James Henry "Jim" Neidhart is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Jim is the father of WWE Diva Natalya...
in Calgary, Alberta. They would win them one last time from Mike Shaw
Mike Shaw
Mike Shaw was a professional wrestler who was best known for his stint in World Championship Wrestling as Norman The Lunatic, and as Bastion Booger in the World Wrestling Federation...
and Mike Miller
Mike Miller (wrestler)
James Michael Millman better known as "Mean" Mike Miller is a professional wrestler, who had great success in Pacific Northwest Wrestling. Mean Mike was brought in to professional wrestling by Herb Welch...
the same year. In 1986, after 30 years in the ring, he retired from in-ring competition and remained to be Stu Hart's right-hand man in the Dungeon.
Retirement and death
Around 2003, Adachi moved back to Osaka, Japan, to work at his sister's okonomiyaki restaurant. In 2005, he moved back to Calgary. In August 2006, he made a guest appearance for Hiroshi Hase's retirement ceremony.According to Bret Hart, Adachi was one of Stu Hart’s most trusted foremen and reliable workers in the heyday of Stampede Wrestling; Bret's DVD set also features rare footage of Adachi and Sakurada squashing him. He has credited Adachi as being one of his greatest mentors, stating, "People often say to me, where would wrestling be without Bret Hart. But my answer to that is, where would Bret Hart be without Mr. Hito."
Adachi died on April 21, 2010 in Osaka. His cause of death is related to diabetes, which he had suffered from for several years and it caused the amputation of his right leg in October 2009.
In wrestling
- Wrestlers trained
- Ben BassarabBen BassarabBen Bassarab is a Canadian former professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion throughout the 1980s.-Professional wrestling career:...
- Chris BenoitChris BenoitChristopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...
- Craig Jamieson
- Brick BronskyBrick BronskyJeffrey "Jeff" Beltzner , also known by his ring name Brick Bronsky, is an American actor, film producer, professional wrestler and sports promoter. He gained particular notoriety for starring in a string of films for Troma Studios during the early-1990s, most notably, in Sgt...
- Dynamite KidDynamite KidThomas Wilton Billington , best known by the ring name Dynamite Kid, is a retired British professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation, Stampede Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid- to late-1980s...
- Bret HartBret HartBret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
- Hiroshi Hase
- Shinya HashimotoShinya Hashimoto, was a Japanese professional wrestler. Along with Masahiro Chono and Keiji Mutoh, Hashimoto was dubbed one of the "Three Musketeers" that began competing in New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid 1980s and dominated the promotion in the 1990s....
- Karl MoffatKarl MoffatKarl Moffat , known by his ring name Jason the Terrible, is a Canadian professional wrestler who was a veteran of Calgary-based Stampede Wrestling as well as Canadian Rocky Mountain Wrestling and the World Wrestling Council....
- Davey Boy SmithDavey Boy SmithDavey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling...
- Ricky FujiRicky Fujiis a Japanese professional wrestler, better known under his ring name .-Professional wrestling career:Morimura started training in the New Japan Pro Wrestling Dojo in 1984. He then left Japan in January 1987 for a training expedition in Canada, where he was trained in the Dungeon by Stu Hart and...
- Chris JerichoChris JerichoChristopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
- Ben Bassarab
Championships and accomplishments
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- NWA Florida Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Florida Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Florida Tag Team Championship is the primary tag team title in Pro Wrestling Fusion. It started out in 1968 as the main tag team title in Championship Wrestling from Florida and lasted until 1990 when it was abandoned. It was picked back up in 1997 by NWA Florida, where it was the primary...
(1 time) – with Mr. Sakurada
- Maple Leaf WrestlingMaple Leaf WrestlingMaple Leaf Wrestling was the unofficial name in the 1970s and 1980s of the professional wrestling promotion run by Frank Tunney in Toronto.-Queensbury Athletic Club:...
- NWA Canadian Open Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Canadian Open Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship was the top tag team professional wrestling championship in the Canadian promotion Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1952 through 1961. The title was then replaced with the Toronto version of the NWA International Tag Team Championship.-Title history:...
(1 time) – with Mr. Moto
- NWA Big Time WrestlingWorld Class Championship WrestlingWorld Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
- NWA American Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Mr. SakuradaKazuo Sakurada, better known as Mr. Sakurada and as the Japanese version of , is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. He is best known, under various monikers, for his work in Stampede Wrestling, National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling. Sakurada is also highly regarded by Bret Hart as...
- Stampede WrestlingStampede WrestlingStampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
- NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version) (9 times) – with John Quinn (1), Gil Hayes (2), Higo Hamaguchi (1), Michael Martel (1), Mr. Sakurada (2), and Jim NeidhartJim NeidhartJames Henry "Jim" Neidhart is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Jim is the father of WWE Diva Natalya...
(2) - Stampede North American Heavyweight ChampionshipStampede North American Heavyweight ChampionshipThe Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship is the major title in the Canadian professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling. From its establishment in 1968 until 1972, it was Stampede's secondary singles championship, becoming the top title in 1972 after the previous top...
(2 times) - Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame