History Wrestling / KojiKanemoto

As usual, you can find the basics at [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koji_Kanemoto The Other Wiki]].

* NonIndicativeName: Contrary to popular belief, Kanemoto has never used the Koji clutch in the ring and might not even be its creator. The move was first used by Wrestling/ChristopherDaniels in [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling Total Nonstop Action]], where Mike Tenay randomly claimed it was named Koji clutch because it was invented by Koji Kanemoto, and from there the notion became part of the independent circuit lore. It is however a legit strangle in UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} (though like Wrestling/{{Tazz}}’s Tazmission it needs the gi to actually choke people), of which Kanemoto is a practitioner, so it could be that he decided to show it off in training one day and Daniels thought it was cool and incorporated it to his moveset.

** When he was booked to lose to WAR's Yuji Yasuraoka in 1998, Kanemoto decided he didn't like to to job to a guest wrestler, so he shot on Yuji to teach him a lesson. He broke his jaw with a kick, thrashed him around the ring while Yuji cried, and even forced him to do a clearly unscripted tiger superplex that injured Yuji's shoulder, before actually allowing Yasuraoka to win with a roll-up. The match was so infamous that angry WAR fans damaged Kanemoto's car in revenge, and it might have also played a part in the injuries that forced Yasuraoka to retire the following year. According to himself though, he had no intention of injuring him, he was aiming to throw Yasuraoku in way that he would land on his front and even stated that if the match really led to Yasuraoku’s retirement, he would like to apologize to Yasuraoka.
** In 2000, the previous situation almost repeated when Wrestling/{{CIMA}} and Small Dandy were brought from Wrestling/{{Toryumon}} to work a star eight-man match in NJPW. Kanemoto claimed openly that he would send them to the hospital, so CIMA and Fujii refused to work with him and tagged out everytime Kanemoto tagged in. He would criticize them further in the press conference after the bout, calling them gutless and phonies.

* NonIndicativeName: Contrary to popular belief, Kanemoto is not the creator of the Koji clutch, nor has he ever used it. The move was apparently first used by Wrestling/ChristopherDaniels in [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling Total Nonstop Action]], where Mike Tenay randomly claimed it was named Koji clutch because it was invented by Koji Kanemoto, and from there the notion became part of the independent circuit lore. It is however a legit UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} strangle (though like Wrestling/{{Taz}}’s Tazmission it needs the gi to actually choke people) in which Kanemoto is a practitioner, so it could be that he decided to show it off in training one day and Daniels decided it was cool and incorporated it into a pro wrestling move.

* SignatureMove: IV Kneelock (figure four kneebar) from 2007. Also the facewash.

** When he was booked to lose to WAR's Yuji Yasuraoka in 1998, Kanemoto decided he didn't like to to job to a guest wrestler, so he shot on Yuji to teach him a lesson. He broke his jaw with a kick, thrashed him around the ring while Yuji cried, and even forced him to do a clearly unscripted tiger superplex that injured Yuji's shoulder, before actually allowing Yasuraoka to win with a roll-up. The match was so infamous that angry WAR fans damaged Kanemoto's car in revenge, and it might have also played a part in the injuries that forced Yasuraoka to retire the following year.

* RedBaron: "Junior Charisma", "Kenka Bancho" ("The Brawling Gangleader"), "Puroresu Kai no Aniki" ("The Big Brother of the Pro Wrestling World").

* CoolMask: As Tiger Mask

* NonIndicativeName: Contrary to popular belief, Kanemoto is not the creator of the Koji clutch, nor has he ever used it. The move was apparently first used by Wrestling/ChristopherDaniels in [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling Total Nonstop Action]], where Mike Tenay randomly claimed it was named Koji clutch because it was invented by Koji Kanemoto, and from there the notion became part of the independent circuit lore.

** He supposedly innovated the Koji Clutch and passed it to Wrestling/ChristopherDaniels in his Curry Man Days in NJPW.

* FinishingMove: Ankle Hold and Moonsault

* BashBrothers: With Minoru Tanaka (as Junior Stars).

Koji Kanemoto (b. Kim Il Sung on October 31, 1966) is a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er. He first started as a highschool judoka before joining Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling, where his promising junior status, enthusiasm and skill granted him the honor of being the third wrestler to wear the Manga/TigerMask (the second in NJPW) after an excursion to learn lucha libre in México. He played the character until losing a máscara contra máscara against Wrestling/JushinThunderLiger in 1994, after which he reverted to his true name and gained his long awaited freedom to choose his own wrestling style. Kanemoto became the junior division's young punk, combining high-flying with shoot-style learned under Kazuo Yamazaki and a lot of violence, and embarked in a prestigious and cosmopolite career. He eventually switched to Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling in 2013, later following Wrestling/KeijiMutoh to WRESTLE-1 shortly after, until becoming a freelancer. He currently works mostly in Wrestling/ProWrestlingNOAH.

[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kojikanemoto.jpg]]

Koji Kanemoto (b. Kim Il Sung on October 31, 1966) is a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er. He first started as a highschool judoka before joining Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling, where his promising junior status, enthusiasm and skill granted him the honor of being the third wrestler to wear the Manga/TigerMask (the second in NJPW) after an excursion to learn lucha libre in México. He played the character until losing a máscara contra máscara against Wrestling/ThunderLiger in 1994, after which he reverted to his true name and gained his long awaited freedom to choose his own wrestling style. Kanemoto became the junior division's young punk, combining high-flying with shoot-style learned under Kazuo Yamazaki and a lot of violence, and embarked in a prestigious and cosmopolite career. He eventually switched to Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling in 2013, later following Wrestling/KeijiMutoh to WRESTLE-1 shortly after, until becoming a freelancer. He currently works mostly in Wrestling/ProWrestlingNOAH.