Masato Tanaka
- January 9, 2024
- Wrestler
Quick Facts
Masato Tanaka Biography
| Name | Masato Tanaka |
| Birthday | Feb 28 |
| Birth Year | 1973 |
| Place Of Birth | Wakayama |
| Home Town | Wakayama |
| Birth Country | Japan |
| Birth Sign | Pisces |
Masato Tanaka is one of the most popular and richest Wrestler who was born on February 28, 1973 in Wakayama, Wakayama, Japan. Masato Tanaka (田中 正人, ring name: 田中 将斗 , Tanaka Masato, born February 28, 1973) is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in Japan where he was a one-time FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Champion and a one-time WEW World Heavyweight Champion and in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in the United States where he was a one-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion. He is currently splitting his time wrestling for both Pro Wrestling Noah and Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1).
Tanaka faced Awesome for the title at November to Remember on November 7, but was defeated once more. He finally overcame Awesome on December 17, 1999 at an ECW on TNN TV Taping in Nashville, Tennessee, becoming the first ECW World Heavyweight Champion not to be an American citizen. After the match, Awesome shook Tanaka’s hand and fastened the belt around his waist in a show of respect, then attacked him as he left the ring and powerbombed him through a table. Awesome would regain the title at the next weeks TV Taping in White Plains, New York on December 23.
Tanaka returned to FMW in the spring of 2000, briefly feuding with H, before joining forces with H (by now back under the Hayabusa persona) to feud with Team No Respect, until leaving in February 2001, allegedly as a result of animosity between him and the owner of FMW, Shoichi Arai, mostly over Kodo Fuyuki’s role as booker. Before departing FMW, Tanaka formed the “Complete Players” stable with former Fuyuki protégés Gedo and Jado, as well as real- life sweetheart Kaori Nakayama. They would work on the Japanese independent circuit, making appearances for Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE (ZERO-ONE) and All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). Tanaka wrestled Shinya Hashimoto on the March 2 ZERO-ONE anniversary show, impressing ZERO-ONE officials and earning himself a job.
Tanaka’s feud with Awesome was brought to an abrupt end when Awesome left ECW for WCW in April 2000. He faced Balls Mahoney in at ECW on TNN and at Hardcore Heaven 2000. He remained with ECW until mid-2000 before returning to Japan.
Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) owner Paul Heyman became interested in Tanaka through ECW’s working relationship with FMW, and eventually hired him. Tanaka debuted in ECW on March 1, 1998 at Living Dangerously, defeating Doug Furnas in a match that, compared to Tanaka’s extremely well-received future matches, was very much hated by the fans in attendance, who greeted the unusually sloppy wrestlers with a chorus of boos throughout their fumbled offense. In July 1998 he reprised his feud with Awesome, who he defeated at Heat Wave 1998.
Masato Tanaka Net Worth
| Net Worth | $5 Million |
| Source Of Income | Wrestler |
| House | Living in own house. |
Masato Tanaka is one of the richest Wrestler from Japan. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Masato Tanaka 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)
Originally a trainee for George and Shunji Takano’s Pro Wrestling Crusaders, Tanaka transferred to Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling where he trained under Atsushi Onita. Tanaka debuted on July 23, 1993 in Saga City, facing Ricky Fuji. He quickly began moving up the card in FMW, widely regarded as the top hardcore professional wrestling promotion in Japan. Wrestling in matches featuring explosions and barbed wire, Tanaka earned a variety of scars, and the nickname “Dangan”, which he would often shout during his matches. By 1996 he was one of the promotion’s major stars, and had feuded with such luminaries as Mr. Pogo, Mr. Gannosuke, Terry Funk and Mike Awesome. His feud with Awesome would eventually span ten years and two continents. In December 1999, he left FMW for ECW, after he and Tetsuhiro Kuroda lost to H and Mr. Gannosuke.
Tanaka formed a short-lived tag team with Balls Mahoney, and at November to Remember on November 1, 1998 they defeated The Dudley Boyz to win the ECW World Tag Team Championships. In doing so, he became the first person to ever kick out of the Dudleys’ 3D finisher. The Dudley Boyz would regain the titles five days later, and Tanaka returned to Japan to attend the wedding of his friend Sabu in December and eventually returning to FMW in January 1999.
Tanaka returned to ECW in the summer of 1999, this time vying for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. On September 19 at Anarchy Rulz, Taz, about to leave ECW for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), defended the ECW World Heavyweight Championship against the returning Mike Awesome and Tanaka in a three-way dance. After just two minutes Taz was eliminated by a combined assault at the hands of his opponents. After a further eleven minutes of brawling, Awesome pinned Tanaka with a Kamikaze Awesome Bomb to become the new ECW World Heavyweight Champion.
Height, Weight & Body Measurements
| Height | 5 ft 11 in |
Masato Tanaka height 5 ft 11 in Massimo weight Not Known & body measurements will update soon.
Who is Masato Tanaka Dating?
According to our records, Masato Tanaka is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Masato Tanaka’s is not dating anyone.
Relationships Record : We have no records of past relationships for Masato Tanaka. You may help us to build the dating records for Masato Tanaka!
On January 23, 2010, Tanaka made his debut for Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) at the promotion’s 12th Anniversary Show, where he was defeated by Homicide.
Facts & Trivia
Massimo Ranked on the list of most popular Wrestler. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in Japan. Masato Tanaka celebrates birthday on February 28 of every year.
On November 15, 2012, Tanaka entered a tournament to determine the inaugural NEVER Openweight Champion. After wins over Kushida, Taishi Takizawa and Tomohiro Ishii, Tanaka defeated Karl Anderson in the finals of the tournament on November 19 to become the inaugural NEVER Openweight Champion. Tanaka made his first successful title defense on January 4, 2013, at Wrestle Kingdom 7 in Tokyo Dome, where he defeated Shelton Benjamin. Tanaka’s second successful title defense took place on February 3, when he defeated Chaos stablemate Tomohiro Ishii. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2013, Tanaka made his third successful title defense against Tomoaki Honma. On July 20, Tanaka made his fourth successful title defense against Tetsuya Naito. On September 29 at Destruction, Tanaka lost the NEVER Openweight Championship in a rematch with Naito, ending his reign at 314 days.