Kazusada Higuchi Explained

Kazusada Higuchi
Birth Date:October 24, 1988[1]
Birth Place:Monbetsu, Japan
Height:1.85 m[2]
Weight:110 kg
Debut:2014

[3] is a former Japanese sumo wrestler and current professional wrestler, working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT), where he is a former KO-D Openweight Champion.[4]

Sumo career

Native Name:北道山 和貞
Hokudōzan Kazusada
Birth Name:Kazusada Higuchi
Birth Date:1988 10, df=yes
Birth Place:Monbetsu, Hokkaido, Japan
Weight:106kg (234lb)
Heya:Hakkaku
Record:140-128-12
Debut:March, 2007
Highestrank:Makushita 45 (May, 2013)
Retireddate:January, 2014
Update:April 1, 2023

At Hokkaido Monbetsukita High School, he was the captain of the judo club. After winning third place in both the individual and team competitions at the 2006 All-Hokkaido High School Athletic Federation Tournament, he was scouted by the 8th Hakkaku oyakata (former yokozuna Hokutoumi) and started training in sumo wrestling at the Hakkaku stable.[5]

He made his professional debut in the March 2007 tournament (honbasho). He struggled for two years in the jonidan division before changing his ring name (shikona) from his real name to, after the character Hokudōzan Tsuyoshi from the manga series Aah! Harimanada. He then started to produce stronger results, was promoted to sandanme in July 2009, and eventually to makushita in November 2011. He reached his highest rank of makushita 45 in May 2013 and retired in January 2014.

According to a 2020 interview, he initially joined sumo as a way of preparing for a professional wrestling career.[6]

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (2014 - present)

Higuchi made his professional wrestling debut at DDT Pro-Wrestling's DDT Dramatic Fanclub Vol. 1, event from October 18, 2014, where he defeated Kota Umeda.[7] He worked a match at BJW/DDT/K-DOJO Toshikoshi Pro-Wrestling 2015, a cross-over event held between Big Japan Pro-Wrestling, DDT, and Kaientai Dojo from December 31, where he teamed up with Yoshihisa Uto, falling short to Harashima and Yuko Miyamoto in the Shuffle Tag Tournament.[8] Higuchi participated in the Block B of the Pro Wrestling Noah 2018 Global League, where he scored 6 points after facing Go Shiozaki, Kaito Kiyomiya, Muhammad Yone, Takashi Sugiura, Atsushi Kotoge, Maybach Taniguchi and Cody Hall.[9] At TJP The God Of Pro Wrestling - My Arms Fell! event of Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling from December 27, 2018, Higuchi teamed up with Antonio Honda in a losing effort to Disaster Box (Harashima and Yuki Ueno).[10] He worked a match for Evolve/WWN, at EVOLVE 125, from April 4, 2019, where he defeated Curt Stallion.[11] One day later, at WWNLive SuperShow - Mercury Rising 2019, on April 5, he challenged JD Drake for the WWN Championship but unsuccessfully.[12]

DDT Pro-Wrestling (2014 - present)

Higuchi is a multiple-time KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champion, title which he won on different occasions. His first title reign began at Into The Fight 2016, where he teamed up with Kouki Iwasaki and Shunma Katsumata to defeat T2Hii (Kazuki Hirata, Sanshiro Takagi and Toru Owashi).[13] In the second reign, he held the titles with Kouki Iwasaki and Mizuki Watase, winning them at Best Western Lariat Series 2017 on January 22, by defeating Shuten-dōji (Kudo, Masahiro Takanashi and Yukio Sakaguchi) in a three-way tag team match also involving Antonio Honda, Konosuke Takeshita and Trans-Am★Hiroshi.[14] In the third reign, he won the titles alongside fellow Eruption stablemates Yukio Sakaguchi and Saki Akai at DDT TV Show! #7 from June 20, 2020.[15] Higuchi is also a KO-D Tag Team Champion, title which he won with Yukio Sakaguchi again under the Eruption banner, at Road to Ultimate Party 2020 on October 25.[16] At , Higuchi teamed up with Daisuke Sekimoto as SekiGuchi to defeat Harashima and Naomichi Marufuji for the KO-D Tag Team Championship.[17]

On July 3, 2022, Higuchi won the 2022 King of DDT Tournament by defeating Naomi Yoshimura in the final, and consequently won the KO-D Openweight Championship.[18] He defended the title five times before eventually losing it to Yuji Hino on January 29, 2023, at Sweet Dreams! 2023.

Championships and accomplishments

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kazusada Higuchi/General Information. wrestlingdata.com. Axel. Saalbach. March 16, 2021.
  2. Web site: Kazusada Higuchi-Personal Data. cagematch.de. German. Philip. Kreikenbohm. March 16, 2021.
  3. Web site: https://www.ddtpro.com/wrestlers/197. ja:樋口和貞. DDT Pro-Wrestling. July 22, 2021. ja.
  4. Web site: Kazusada Higuchi • Profile & Match Listing. profightdb.com. Internet Wrestling Database (IWD). March 16, 2021.
  5. Web site: March 8, 2009 . Kazusada Higuchi changed his name to "Hokudozan" - "I will make a fresh start and aim for the top". . ja:樋口和貞さん「北道山」に改名~「心機一転、上を目指します」 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140219022547/www.minyu.ne.jp/inews3/webdir/962.html . February 19, 2014 . April 1, 2023 . . ja.
  6. Web site: Shibata . Soichi . August 18, 2020 . Wrestler from Sumo wrestling background has reduced his consumption of rice from 6 cups to 1 cup, and is on his way to the top by losing weight and improving his diet. . ja:米6合が1合に激減 相撲出身レスラーが減量と食事改善で頂点へ王手 . April 1, 2023 . Encount . ja.
  7. Web site: 10.18 DDT "DRAMATIC FANCLUB Limited Entertainment vol.1 ~ Shaking Hands with Us at Hanayashikiza ❤︎ ~" (Asakusa Hanayashiki Uchihanayashikiza Tournament) Summary. togetter.com. homura_keo. October 18, 2014. March 16, 2021.
  8. Web site: BJW / DDT / K-Dojo: Results «Toshikoshi Pro Wrestling 2015» - 31/12/2015 - Daisuke Sekimoto and Konosuke Takeshita win the couples tournament. superluchas.com. Dark angel. January 2, 2016. March 16, 2021.
  9. Web site: NOAH: Calendar of meetings for the «Global League 2018». superluchas.com. Dark angel. October 12, 2018. March 16, 2021.
  10. Web site: Resultados de Tokyo Joshi Pro del mes de diciembre. planetawrestling.com. Carlos. Gascó. December 31, 2018. March 16, 2021.
  11. Web site: Evolve 125 live results: Theory vs. O'Reilly, Henry vs. Allin, and more!. cagesideseats.com. Rev. Claire Elizabeth. April 4, 2019. March 16, 2021.
  12. Web site: WWN Supershow: Mercury Rising 2019 – On Demand. wwnlive.com. World Wrestling Network Inc.. April 5, 2019. March 16, 2021.
  13. Web site: https://wp.bbm-mobile.com/sp2/Result/ResultShow.asp?s=035301 . ja:[試合結果]《DDT》《Into The Fight 2016》《東京・後楽園ホール》[2016/02/28]|週刊プロレス . February 9, 2021 . Weekly Pro-Wrestling Mobile Premium . ja.
  14. Web site: http://www.ddtpro.com/ddtpro/44536/ . ja:ベストウェスタンラリアットシリーズ2017開幕戦 in レンブラントホテル東京町田 . January 22, 2017 . . ja. Dramatic Dream Team.
  15. Web site: https://www.ddtpro.com/results/14213 . ja:DDT TV SHOW!#7 . June 20, 2020 . June 20, 2020 . . ja. Dramatic Dream Team.
  16. Web site: Dramatic Dream Team Results. ddtpro.com. Japanese. March 16, 2021.
  17. Web site: DDT JUDGEMENT 2018 (DDT 21ST ANNIVERSARY) PREVIEW & PREDICTIONS. voicesofwrestling.com. Voices of Wrestling. March 22, 2018. April 18, 2021.
  18. Web site: July 3, 2022 . DDT no tsuyosa no shōchō o seou Higuchi Kazusada ga KING OF DDT hatsuyūshō & KO-D Musabetsu-kyū Ōza hatsu taikan! . ja:“DDTの強さの象徴”を背負う樋口和貞がKING OF DDT初優勝&KO-D無差別級王座初戴冠! . Kazusada Higuchi, the symbol of DDT's strength, wins the King of DDT for the first time and is crowned the KO-D Openweight Champion for the first time! . July 3, 2022 . battle-news.com . ja.
  19. Web site: KO-D Tag Team Title (Japan). wrestling-titles.com. October 25, 2020. March 16, 2021.
  20. Web site: KO-D 6-man Tag Team Title (Japan). wrestling-titles.com. March 14, 2021. March 16, 2021.
  21. The 33rd Annual PWI 500. 2023. Pro Wrestling Illustrated. 1043-7576.
  22. Web site: Wrestling Observer Awards (WON) 1980 - 2019 (and runner-ups). sites.google.com. -@mookieghana. March 16, 2021. May 14, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160514150240/https://sites.google.com/site/chrisharrington/mookieghana-prowrestlingstatistics/wo_awards_history#TOC-2015. dead.