Yasushi Kanda
Encyclopedia
Hiroyuki Kanda, better known as Yasushi Kanda, born on August 29, 1978 in Inage-ku
, Chiba
, Japan, is a Japanese
wrestler currently performing for the Dragon Gate
wrestling promotion in Japan. He is considered one of Toryumon's greatest heel characters, and was a founding member of the M2K stable. In his pre-injury days, he was famous for his mohawk hairstyle.
. He would win the Young Dragons Cup, and the IWRG Intercontinental Tag Team Titles along with Susumu Mochizuki. Debuting in Toryumon Japan, Kanda and Susumu Mochizuki proved a disruptive heel presence. They were accepted into heel stable Crazy Max, but turned on them later that same night. Crazy Max retaliated by hog tying them with the ring ropes and beating them with baseball bats. They were saved by Masaaki Mochizuki
. Although Susumu Mochizuki was thankful for the assist, Kanda was not, and he and Masaaki exchanged words. He would then wrestle Masaaki to a 20 minute draw. Having earned respect for each other, the stable M2K was formed. The stable's names was based on the last names of the members, two Mochizuki's (M2) and Kanda (K).
M2K feuded with Crazy Max, forcing it to turn face against its will. Kanda, Masaaki Mochizuki and Susumu Mochizuki would win the UWA World Trios Tag Titles. M2K would continue its successful ways. Kanda, however, suffered a legitimate neck injury on October 10, 2001 after taking a back-to-belly piledriver from Genki Horiguchi
that displaced his neck vertebrae. He shifted over to a referee job.
and Darkness Dragon
where, tired of M2K's interference in the match, he hit all the interfering members with the blue box, then Darkness Dragon as well. M2K headhunted on Kid and Kanda, but it did not last long.
On September 8, 2002, Kanda came to the ring with his original M2K partners, Masaaki Mochizuki and Susumu Mochizuki, to officially retire from the ring. Out of respect for him, Magnum Tokyo, the current leader of M2K, sealed the name.
Kanda continued refereeing, though he no longer had an individual role. He also took an office job within the federation.
of heel stable Blood Generation began to harass Kanda during matches. Kanda was provoked into fighting back. At first he fought against Blood Generation's heel referee Kinta Tamaoka, but he soon returned in full, sparking a "Renaissance" concept that ended prematurely when one of the major participants, Magnum Tokyo, was injured. His full return to the ring occurred in July 2006, when he signed a wrestler's contract.
In 2007, Kanda captured the Open the Brave Gate Title from Genki Horiguchi on July 1, 2007, successfully defending it twice before losing it to Masato Yoshino
on September 22.
On October 21, he was assigned to be the special referee in a match which had Naruki Doi
, Masato Yoshino & Gamma of the Muscle Outlaw'z
against the three referees of Dragon Gate, one of them being the recent MO'z exile Kinta Tamaoka. Just as it seemed like Kinta had the match won, Kanda turned heel and helped the MO'z win the match. He was then announced as the newest member of the group.
In 2008, most of the active stables in Dragon Gate were going through rapid shifting. Kanda feuded with both BxB Hulk
and his own stablemate Masato Yoshino
. His 2008 started with several high profile wins, but this collapsed after Yoshino helped Hulk defeat him in a multiple man hair vs hair cage match, and when Hulk debuted his Killer Hulk persona, defeating him in their blow-off match in a squash. He rebounded a little, winning the Open the Triangle Gate Championship
for the first time with YAMATO & Gamma on July 12, but they would lose them to Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii & Magnitude Kishiwada
on September 28.
Shortly after losing the titles, he and Gamma began to quarrel. The quarreling escalated further when, during subsequent tag matches they had, Kanda misfired on protein powder attacks, blinding Gamma instead of their opponents and costing them the matches. He eventually said to Gamma that he would rather team with Cyber Kongcito
than him. Eventually, at the request of YAMATO, a match was made for January 18, 2009 between him and Gamma, where the loser would be kicked out of Real Hazard. He lost the match. Afterwards, he looked to get beat down by Real Hazard, but Keni'chiro Arai came out to seemingly help him against them. However, Arai proceeded to assault Gamma, and he was joined by Kanda and the others, making Gamma the one ousted from the group.
On January 10, 2010, his stablemate Genki Horiguchi put out a blog where he stated that Real Hazard would win more matches via teamwork instead of illegal tactics and weapons play in 2010. During a tag match he had with Horiguchi that day, he tried to utilize a blue box to gain an advantage, but Horiguchi prevented him from doing so. Though they still won, Horiguchi's actions caused them to begin bickering. The bickering intensified the following day, when he made Horiguchi lose a tag team match by accidentally hitting him. Eventually, Real Hazard became divided over the "clean fighting" issue. Genki would be joined by Susumu Yokosuka (the former Susumu Mochizuki) & K-ness in his quest for clean fights, while Kanda was supported by Kzy and Takuya Sugawara
in the pursuit of continuous use of illegal tactics to win matches. On February 10, Horiguchi, Yokosuka & K-ness left Real Hazard, and a couple of weeks later, he and the rest of Real Hazard renamed their stable Deep Drunkers. On October 13, 2010, the Deep Drunkers were forced to split up, after losing a match against World–1 (BxB Hulk, Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi), but after the match Doi turned on his partners to form a new unnamed stable with Kanda, Kzy, Naoki Tanisaki
and Takuya Sugawara. On October 25 Kanda, Tanisaki and Sugawara defeated CIMA
, Gamma and Genki Horiguchi to win the Open the Triangle Gate Championship. They would lose the title to CIMA, Dragon Kid and Ricochet
on December 26, 2010. On January 14, 2011, Doi's unnamed unit aligned themselves with the WARRIORS stable, who turned heel in the process. On January 18 the new group was named Blood Warriors.
Inage-ku, Chiba
is one of the six wards of the city of Chiba in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the ward had an estimated population of 157,967 and a population density of 7,430 persons per km²...
, Chiba
Chiba, Chiba
is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is located approximately 40 km east of the center of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay. Chiba City became a government designated city in 1992. Its population as of 2008 is approximately 960,000....
, Japan, is a Japanese
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...
wrestler currently performing for the Dragon Gate
Dragon Gate
is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion formerly known as Toryumon Japan. Most of Dragon Gate's wrestlers are graduates from Último Dragón's Toryumon Gym, and thus the promotion is based on a Junior Heavyweight style with varying emphasis on high flying maneuvers, flashy technical grappling,...
wrestling promotion in Japan. He is considered one of Toryumon's greatest heel characters, and was a founding member of the M2K stable. In his pre-injury days, he was famous for his mohawk hairstyle.
Early years
Kanda was trained by Ultimo Dragon as a 2nd Term student. Shortly after debuting, he allied with Susumu MochizukiSusumu Mochizuki
Susumu Mochizuki , better known by his ring name Susumu Yokosuka is a Japanese professional wrestler currently performing for the Dragon Gate professional wrestling promotion...
. He would win the Young Dragons Cup, and the IWRG Intercontinental Tag Team Titles along with Susumu Mochizuki. Debuting in Toryumon Japan, Kanda and Susumu Mochizuki proved a disruptive heel presence. They were accepted into heel stable Crazy Max, but turned on them later that same night. Crazy Max retaliated by hog tying them with the ring ropes and beating them with baseball bats. They were saved by Masaaki Mochizuki
Masaaki Mochizuki
is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently performing for Dragon Gate, where he is the current Open the Dream Gate Champion in his second reign and the leader of the Junction Three stable...
. Although Susumu Mochizuki was thankful for the assist, Kanda was not, and he and Masaaki exchanged words. He would then wrestle Masaaki to a 20 minute draw. Having earned respect for each other, the stable M2K was formed. The stable's names was based on the last names of the members, two Mochizuki's (M2) and Kanda (K).
M2K feuded with Crazy Max, forcing it to turn face against its will. Kanda, Masaaki Mochizuki and Susumu Mochizuki would win the UWA World Trios Tag Titles. M2K would continue its successful ways. Kanda, however, suffered a legitimate neck injury on October 10, 2001 after taking a back-to-belly piledriver from Genki Horiguchi
Genki Horiguchi
, is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently a full time wrestler and booker for Dragon Gate, where he is currently a member of the Blood Warriors stable. He has also competed in Wrestling Society X and Ring of Honor....
that displaced his neck vertebrae. He shifted over to a referee job.
Referee
Kanda began appearing as a heel referee. He no longer wore his mohawk, but he did not cut the hair either, simply wearing it long. He also wore a neck brace due to the injury. He was a partial heel referee for the M2K stable. This ended during a grudge match between Dragon KidDragon Kid
Dragon Kid is a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestles for Dragon Gate.-Professional wrestling career:...
and Darkness Dragon
Makoto Saito (wrestler)
Makoto Saito, better known by his stage name K-ness is a Japanese professional wrestler for Dragon Gate.-Early years:...
where, tired of M2K's interference in the match, he hit all the interfering members with the blue box, then Darkness Dragon as well. M2K headhunted on Kid and Kanda, but it did not last long.
On September 8, 2002, Kanda came to the ring with his original M2K partners, Masaaki Mochizuki and Susumu Mochizuki, to officially retire from the ring. Out of respect for him, Magnum Tokyo, the current leader of M2K, sealed the name.
Kanda continued refereeing, though he no longer had an individual role. He also took an office job within the federation.
Return
In 2006, Don FujiiDon Fujii
, is a Japanese wrestler for Dragon Gate, best known by his ring name Don Fujii. He was one-half of the inaugural Open the Owarai Twin Gate Champions and a former Open the Twin Gate Champion with Masaaki Mochizuki. He was previously in the Crazy MAX and Blood Generation stables.-Biography:He was...
of heel stable Blood Generation began to harass Kanda during matches. Kanda was provoked into fighting back. At first he fought against Blood Generation's heel referee Kinta Tamaoka, but he soon returned in full, sparking a "Renaissance" concept that ended prematurely when one of the major participants, Magnum Tokyo, was injured. His full return to the ring occurred in July 2006, when he signed a wrestler's contract.
In 2007, Kanda captured the Open the Brave Gate Title from Genki Horiguchi on July 1, 2007, successfully defending it twice before losing it to Masato Yoshino
Masato Yoshino
Masato Yoshino is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for the Dragon Gate wrestling promotion.-Toryumon:...
on September 22.
On October 21, he was assigned to be the special referee in a match which had Naruki Doi
Naruki Doi
is a Japanese wrestler for Dragon Gate, where he is currently one third of the Open the Triangle Gate Champions. He also wrestled for Ring of Honor, where he is a former World Tag Team Champion with Shingo Takagi, as well as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
, Masato Yoshino & Gamma of the Muscle Outlaw'z
Muscle Outlaw'z
Muscle Outlaw'z, or MO'z for short, were a professional wrestling stable in the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate, formed on April 23, 2006. It was founded by former Blood Generation members Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Naoki Tanisaki, and Gamma, intending to compete with CIMA's faction...
against the three referees of Dragon Gate, one of them being the recent MO'z exile Kinta Tamaoka. Just as it seemed like Kinta had the match won, Kanda turned heel and helped the MO'z win the match. He was then announced as the newest member of the group.
In 2008, most of the active stables in Dragon Gate were going through rapid shifting. Kanda feuded with both BxB Hulk
BxB Hulk
, better known by his ring name BxB Hulk , is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Dragon Gate, where he is currently one half of the Open the Twin Gate Champions, and Dragon Gate USA.-Professional wrestling career:...
and his own stablemate Masato Yoshino
Masato Yoshino
Masato Yoshino is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for the Dragon Gate wrestling promotion.-Toryumon:...
. His 2008 started with several high profile wins, but this collapsed after Yoshino helped Hulk defeat him in a multiple man hair vs hair cage match, and when Hulk debuted his Killer Hulk persona, defeating him in their blow-off match in a squash. He rebounded a little, winning the Open the Triangle Gate Championship
Dragon Gate Open the Triangle Gate Championship
The Open the Triangle Gate Championship is a professional wrestling trios title in Japanese promotion Dragon Gate. It was created on November 7, 2004 when The Italian Connection faction of Milano Collection AT, Anthony W. Mori & YOSSINO defeated Aagan Iisou's Shuji Kondo, Takuya Sugawara &...
for the first time with YAMATO & Gamma on July 12, but they would lose them to Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii & Magnitude Kishiwada
Magnitude Kishiwada
, better known under his current stage name Magnitude Kishiwada is a Japanese wrestler.-Career:...
on September 28.
Shortly after losing the titles, he and Gamma began to quarrel. The quarreling escalated further when, during subsequent tag matches they had, Kanda misfired on protein powder attacks, blinding Gamma instead of their opponents and costing them the matches. He eventually said to Gamma that he would rather team with Cyber Kongcito
Yuki Ono
is an Japanese wrestler who most notably worked for Dragon Gate.-Dragon Gate:He is the 4th graduate from the Dragon Gate dojo. He debuted in October 2005 against Don Fujii. After losing the match he was renamed Katsuo by Fujii....
than him. Eventually, at the request of YAMATO, a match was made for January 18, 2009 between him and Gamma, where the loser would be kicked out of Real Hazard. He lost the match. Afterwards, he looked to get beat down by Real Hazard, but Keni'chiro Arai came out to seemingly help him against them. However, Arai proceeded to assault Gamma, and he was joined by Kanda and the others, making Gamma the one ousted from the group.
On January 10, 2010, his stablemate Genki Horiguchi put out a blog where he stated that Real Hazard would win more matches via teamwork instead of illegal tactics and weapons play in 2010. During a tag match he had with Horiguchi that day, he tried to utilize a blue box to gain an advantage, but Horiguchi prevented him from doing so. Though they still won, Horiguchi's actions caused them to begin bickering. The bickering intensified the following day, when he made Horiguchi lose a tag team match by accidentally hitting him. Eventually, Real Hazard became divided over the "clean fighting" issue. Genki would be joined by Susumu Yokosuka (the former Susumu Mochizuki) & K-ness in his quest for clean fights, while Kanda was supported by Kzy and Takuya Sugawara
Takuya Sugawara
is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently wrestling for Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX and Dragon Gate.-Toryumon/Dragon Gate:He debuted in the 9th term of T2P as Henry III Sugawara, a Prince character. He joined with and eventually with Anthony W. Mori and Phillip J. Fukumasa, forming the Royal...
in the pursuit of continuous use of illegal tactics to win matches. On February 10, Horiguchi, Yokosuka & K-ness left Real Hazard, and a couple of weeks later, he and the rest of Real Hazard renamed their stable Deep Drunkers. On October 13, 2010, the Deep Drunkers were forced to split up, after losing a match against World–1 (BxB Hulk, Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi), but after the match Doi turned on his partners to form a new unnamed stable with Kanda, Kzy, Naoki Tanisaki
Naoki Tanisaki
Naoki Tanisaki is a Japanese wrestler currently competing for Dragon Gate, where he is currently one third of the Open the Triangle Gate Champions.-Toryumon/Dragon Gate :...
and Takuya Sugawara. On October 25 Kanda, Tanisaki and Sugawara defeated CIMA
Nobuhiko Oshima
, better known by his ring name Cima , is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently wrestles for Dragon Gate and its international expansion Dragon Gate USA...
, Gamma and Genki Horiguchi to win the Open the Triangle Gate Championship. They would lose the title to CIMA, Dragon Kid and Ricochet
Ricochet (wrestler)
Trevor Mann is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Ricochet. He currently performs mainly for the American promotion Dragon Gate USA and its parent promotion, Japanese Dragon Gate. In both promotions he is a member of the Blood Warriors stable...
on December 26, 2010. On January 14, 2011, Doi's unnamed unit aligned themselves with the WARRIORS stable, who turned heel in the process. On January 18 the new group was named Blood Warriors.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Ryu's (Spinning lifting sitout double underhook facebuster)
- Gekokujoh Elbow (Diving elbow drop)
- Signature moves
- German suplex
- Exploder suplex
- John WooJohn WooJohn Woo Yu-Sen SBS is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard...
(Inverted atomic drop followed by an eye rake, ended with a running high–impact front dropkick, knocking the opponent back several feet) - adopted from SUWATakahiro Suwa, better known by his ring name Suwa , is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, formerly of Pro Wrestling Noah.-Toryumon and Dragon Gate:...
Factions
- M2K (2000–2002)
- Muscle Outlaw'zMuscle Outlaw'zMuscle Outlaw'z, or MO'z for short, were a professional wrestling stable in the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate, formed on April 23, 2006. It was founded by former Blood Generation members Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Naoki Tanisaki, and Gamma, intending to compete with CIMA's faction...
(2007–2008) - Real Hazard / Deep Drunkers (2008–2010)
- Blood WARRIORS (2011)
Championships and accomplishments
- Dragon GateDragon Gateis a Japanese professional wrestling promotion formerly known as Toryumon Japan. Most of Dragon Gate's wrestlers are graduates from Último Dragón's Toryumon Gym, and thus the promotion is based on a Junior Heavyweight style with varying emphasis on high flying maneuvers, flashy technical grappling,...
- Dragon Gate Open the Brave Gate ChampionshipDragon Gate Open the Brave Gate ChampionshipThe Open the Brave Gate Championship is a professional wrestling title in Japanese promotion Dragon Gate; it has a weight limit of , though it has been defended against heavier wrestlers in the past. It can be considered the secondary singles title in Dragon Gate and is more of a light heavyweight...
(1 time) - Dragon Gate Open the Triangle Gate ChampionshipDragon Gate Open the Triangle Gate ChampionshipThe Open the Triangle Gate Championship is a professional wrestling trios title in Japanese promotion Dragon Gate. It was created on November 7, 2004 when The Italian Connection faction of Milano Collection AT, Anthony W. Mori & YOSSINO defeated Aagan Iisou's Shuji Kondo, Takuya Sugawara &...
(3 times) - with YAMATOMasato Onoderais a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, known by his ring name Yamato , who competes for Dragon Gate and its international expansion Dragon Gate USA.-Dragon Gate:...
and Gamma (1), Takuya SugawaraTakuya Sugawarais a Japanese professional wrestler, currently wrestling for Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX and Dragon Gate.-Toryumon/Dragon Gate:He debuted in the 9th term of T2P as Henry III Sugawara, a Prince character. He joined with and eventually with Anthony W. Mori and Phillip J. Fukumasa, forming the Royal...
and Kzy (1), and Naoki TanisakiNaoki TanisakiNaoki Tanisaki is a Japanese wrestler currently competing for Dragon Gate, where he is currently one third of the Open the Triangle Gate Champions.-Toryumon/Dragon Gate :...
and Takuya Sugawara (1)
- Dragon Gate Open the Brave Gate Championship
- Toryumon Japan
- IWGR Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Susumu Mochizuki
- UWA World Trios ChampionshipUWA World Trios ChampionshipThe UWA World Trios Championship is a tag team professional wrestling championship created by the Mexican Universal Wrestling Association and defended there until the UWA closed in 1995....
(1 time) - with Susumu Mochizuki and Masaaki Mochizuki - Third Young Dragon's Cup winner
Lucha de Apuesta record
| Wager | Winner(s) | Loser(s) | Location | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hair | CIMA Nobuhiko Oshima , better known by his ring name Cima , is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently wrestles for Dragon Gate and its international expansion Dragon Gate USA... |
Yasushi Kanda | Aichi, Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
Six-way steel cage match, which also included BxB Hulk BxB Hulk , better known by his ring name BxB Hulk , is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Dragon Gate, where he is currently one half of the Open the Twin Gate Champions, and Dragon Gate USA.-Professional wrestling career:... , Dragon Kid Dragon Kid Dragon Kid is a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestles for Dragon Gate.-Professional wrestling career:... , Masato Yoshino Masato Yoshino Masato Yoshino is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for the Dragon Gate wrestling promotion.-Toryumon:... and YAMATO Masato Onodera is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, known by his ring name Yamato , who competes for Dragon Gate and its international expansion Dragon Gate USA.-Dragon Gate:... . |