As someone who was born in the 80s and introduced to professional wrestling in the early 90s, Mr. Fuji was a big part of my life. I vividly remember his run as Yokozuna’s manager, when he played the dreaded heel, leading Yokozuna to victories at the 1993 Royal Rumble, as well as championship wins against crowd favourites Bret Hart (at Wrestlemania IX) and Hulk Hogan (at King of the Ring 1993).
Like most of the wrestling world, I too was saddened to hear of the demise of such a legendary wrestler and manager, at the age of 82. Whether it was hitting babyfaces with the Japanese flag, or throwing salt into their eyes to distract them, or even tickling our funny bones with his amazing sense of humor; he was truly like none other. But when I was asked to write this tribute to him, I discovered a lot that I did not know about this man, this icon, this legend. Read on to find out about Mr. Fuji.
Trending
5: Mr. Fuji was not from Japan
Through his career, Mr. Fuji was billed from Osaka, Japan. However, the truth of the matter is that Mr. Fuji was an American of Japanese origin. Born in Hawaii (much like Yokozuna too was not from Japan, but from Samoa), Mr. Fuji had started his wrestling career in Hawaii, as far back as 1965, under the name Mr. Fujiwara.
He got his first taste of championship gold in Hawaii in 1967 when he and Curtis Iaukea won the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championships. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Fujirara’s name was shortened to Mr. Fuji; and a wrestling icon was born.
4: Mr. Fuji was a 5-time world tag team champion
Of course, we all remember Mr. Fuji’s accomplishments as a manager, but did you know that this WWE Hall of Famer is a 5 time World Tag Team Champion too? The first 3 times were with Captain Toru Tanaka and the last 2 times had been with Mr. Saito.
In his run with Mr. Saito, they were managed by the best, none other than the legendary Captain Lou Albano. Mr. Fuji was also part of memorable feuds consequently, including one with Tony Garea and Rick Martel, as well as one with The Strongbows. After losing the titles to the Strongbows, Mr. Fuji embarked on a singles run but wasn’t quite as successful.
3: Mr. Fuji was part of a Miami Vice parody
Mr. Fuji showcased his versatility in the mid-late 80s, going from being a dreaded heel character to a hilarious comedy figure. Among the skits he was part of, this particular one stands out. At this time, Miami Vice was one of the most popular shows on US television. Mr. Fuji and Don Muraco teamed up for what was a parody of the show, called ‘Fuji Vice’, where the two of them essentially played 2 cops solving crimes in hilarious manners and after essentially failing to do so falling flat on their faces.
The low quality of production and deliberate bad acting was (kayfabe) mocked on screen by Vince McMahon, and dismissed by Fuji and Muraco as their ‘audience having no taste’. What made the package truly hilarious was the fact that Mr. Fuji with his accent and mannerisms looked really out of place as a policeman, and was the last person you’d imagine in that role. There were other skits as well, but none quite so memorable.
2: Mr. Fuji loved to play pranks
While Mr. Fuji is known as a dreaded heel manager on-screen, he was a terror in the locker room as well. Mr. Fuji was renowned for ribbing the boys, which, in wrestling parlance stands for practical jokes. When Lex Luger came to the WWE with an attitude problem, Fuji peed on his boots in a restaurant to teach him a lesson.
Lex Luger did not react, knowing Fuji’s reputation. Another time, Mr. Fuji asked Sunny to braid Yokozuna’s hair. She obliged, but soon sensed something was wrong. It turned out that because of Yokozuna’s enormous girth, he could never clean his hair. And his hair would hence, stink. Sunny’s hands began to stink as a result
1: He once fed Tanaka his own dog
While it would make sense for every wrestling territory to have one Japanese wrestler, Fuji’s territory had two. Him, and his tag team partner Professor Tanaka. Tanaka had no great fondness for Fuji and would go to the office to lobby against him to become the top Japanese guy in the territory.
Fuji found out about this and invited Tanaka and his family home for some spaghetti and once they were done, revealed that he had served them their dog. A vicious end to the tribute!
