History Wrestling / MasahiroChono

* ShortHairWithTail: His mullet.

Masahiro "Masa" Chono (born September 17, 1963) is a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and promoter best known for his work in Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling. He debuted in 1984 for New Japan and also competed in various North American territories, including the Continental Wrestling Association in Memphis, and other countries like Germany and Australia. After his return to Japan, now turned into a fast-working apprentice of Wrestling/LouThesz, he became a mainstay of NJPW's G1 Climax tournaments and won three of them, balancing them with the IWGP Tag Team Championship with Wrestling/KeijiMutoh and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Everything changed after losing both of his championships and scoring an underwhelming win in another G1: he did a FaceHeelTurn, adopted a {{Yakuza}} gimmick and became the great villain of the promotion, getting to form part of the Japanese version of Wrestling/WorldChampionshipWrestling's [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]]. He eventually got tired of the stable's heroic ways under Keiji Mutoh's influence, so he left and formed his own stable, the massive TEAM 2000. After defeating and absorbing NWO Japan, TEAM 2000 began to feud with smaller factions that teamed up against the tiranny, but nothing really challenged it until the arrival of Wrestling/AntonioInoki's UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts corps. It seemed Chono had returned to the babyface side in order to fight off Inoki's invasion, but he demonstrated his villainess again by forming yet another massive baddy stable, Black New Japan, out of the remnants of all the factions in conflict. It was eventually disbanded by authority figure Wrestling/RikiChoshu after some clashes with Wrestling/KazuyukiFujita's Team JAPAN and Wrestling/JushinThunderLiger's CTU, and Chono was left to feid with his long time frenemy Hiroyoshi Tenzan. By 2010, the great times of Masahiro Chono had waned from NJPW, but its legend would live forever. He works as a freelancer now.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Chono's yakuza gimmick was sheer RefugeInAudacity, as there was a very real risk that the actual Japanese yakuza could get offended by it; yakuza are ''very'' susceptible to how they are portrayed in media, especially if it is in a negative way, and Chono was unfortunately supposed to be a heel. However, his style, poise and push ended up making the stunt work, and Chono reportedly became over time the yakuza's favorite NJPW wrestler.

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

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Chono's yakuza gimmick was a RefugeInAudacity, as there was a very real risk that the actual Japanese yakuza could get offended by it; yakuza are ''very'' susceptible to how they are portrayed in media, especially if it is in a negative way, and Chono was unfortunately supposed to be a heel. However, his style, poise and push ended up making the stunt work, and Chono reportedly became over time the yakuza's favorite NJPW wrestler.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: Asahi TV directives weren't as bold as the NJPW bookers and didn't feel safe having a yakuza character in their wrestling show, so they demanded it to be toned down in order to avoid offending the real yakuza. As a consequence, even if he was still clearly implied to be a yakuza, Chono was never referred by the Y-word onscreen and his Yakuza Kick was changed to Kenka Kick.

* BigBad: Was the main bad guy of the promotion in the Team 2000, and only lost the role with the emergence of other villainous factions like Tadao Yasuda's Makai Club and Wrestling/KazuyukiFujita's MMA corps.

* GameBreakingInjury: A grievous neck injury received against Wrestling/SteveAustin in midst of his push in 1992 forced him to change his wrestling style and become more of a scheming villain.

* TimetoUnlockMoreTruePotential: He went to train boxing with champion Takashi Ito, who said that his Sliding Yakuza Kick was stronger that many kickboxing kicks. It also helped him to conceive another technique, the FTS.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Chono's yakuza gimmick was a RefugeInAudacity, as there was a very real risk that the actual Japanese yakuza could get offended by it; yakuza are ''very'' susceptible to how they are portrayed in media, especially if it is in a negative way, and Chono was unfortunately supposed to be a heel. However, his style, poise and push ended up making the stunt work, and Chono became over time a favorite wrestler of many yakuza.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: Asahi TV directives weren't as bold as the NJPW bookers and didn't feel safe having a yakuza character in their wrestling show, so they demanded it to be toned down in order to avoid offending the real yakuza. Thus, Chono was never referred by the Y-word onscreen and his Yakuza Kick was changed to Kenka Kick.

* {{Yakuza}}: Actually part of his gimmick at first, helped by the fact that he does rumoredly have actual Yakuza connections.

Masahiro Chono (1963) is a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and promoter best known for his work in Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling. He debuted in 1984 for New Japan and also competed in various North American territories, including the Continental Wrestling Association in Memphis, and other countries like Germany and Australia. After his return to Japan, now turned into a fast-working apprentice of Wrestling/LouThesz, he became a mainstay of NJPW's G1 Climax tournaments and won three of them, balancing them with the IWGP Tag Team Championship with Wrestling/KeijiMutoh and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Everything changed after losing both of his championships and scoring an underwhelming win in another G1: he did a FaceHeelTurn, adopted a {{Yakuza}} gimmick and became the great villain of the promotion, getting to form part of the Japanese version of Wrestling/WorldChampionshipWrestling's [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]]. He eventually got tired of the stable's heroic ways under Keiji Mutoh's influence, so he left and formed his own stable, the massive TEAM 2000. After defeating and absorbing NWO Japan, TEAM 2000 began to feud with smaller factions that teamed up against the tiranny, but nothing really challenged it until the arrival of Wrestling/AntonioInoki's UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts corps. It seemed Chono had returned to the babyface side in order to fight off Inoki's invasion, but he demonstrated his villainess again by forming yet another massive baddy stable, Black New Japan, out of the remnants of all the factions in conflict. It was eventually disbanded by authority figure Wrestling/RikiChoshu after some clashes with Wrestling/KazuyukiFujita's Team JAPAN and Wrestling/JushinThunderLiger's CTU, and Chono was left to feid with his long time frenemy Hiroyoshi Tenzan. By 2010, the great times of Masahiro Chono had waned from NJPW, but its legend would live forever. He works as a freelancer now.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Chono's yakuza gimmick was a RefugeInAudacity, as there was a very real risk that the actual Japanese yakuza could get offended by it; yakuza are ''very'' susceptible to how they are portrayed in media, especially if it is in a negative way, and Chono was unfortunately supposed to be a heel. However, his style, poise and push ended up making the stunt work, and Chono became over time a favourite wrestler of many yakuza.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: Asahi TV directives weren't as bold as the NJPW bookers and didn't feel safe with having a yakuza character in their wrestling show, so they demanded it to be kept toned down in order to avoid offending the real yakuza. Thus, Chono was never referred by the Y-word onscreen and his Yakuza Kick was changed to Kenka Kick.

** He had a move with Wrestling/GiantSilva in which the latter held an opponent up in a chokeslam for Chono to down him with a diving lariat.

Masahiro Chono (1963) is a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and promoter best known for his work in Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling. He debuted in 1984 for New Japan and also competed in various North American territories, including the Continental Wrestling Association in Memphis, and other countries like Germany and Australia. After his return to Japan, now turned into a fast-working apprentice of Wrestling/LouThesz, he became a mainstay of NJPW's G1 Climax tournaments and won three of them, balancing them with the IWGP Tag Team Championship with Wrestling/KeijiMutoh and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Everything changed after losing both of his championships and scoring an underwhelming win in another G1: he did a FaceHeelTurn, adopted a {{Yakuza}} gimmick and became the great villain of the promotion, getting to form part of the Japanese version of Wrestling/WorldChampionshipWrestling's [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]]. He eventually got tired of the stable's heroic ways under Keiji Mutoh's influence, so he left and formed his own stable, the massive TEAM 2000. After defeating and absorbing NWO Japan, TEAM 2000 began to feud with smaller factions that teamed up against the tiranny, but nothing really challenged it until the arrival of Wrestling/AntonioInoki's UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts corps. It seemed Chono had returned to the babyface side in order to fight off Inoki's invasion, but he demonstrated his villainess again by forming yet another massive baddy stable, Black New Japan, out of the remnants of all the factions in conflict. It was eventually disbanded by authority figure Riki Choshu after some clashes with Wrestling/KazuyukiFujita's Team JAPAN and Wrestling/JushinLiger's CTU, and Chono was left to feid with his long time frenemy Hiroyoshi Tenzan. By 2010, the great times of Masahiro Chono had waned from NJPW, but its legend would live forever. He works as a freelancer now.

Masahiro Chono (1963) is a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and promoter best known for his work in Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling. He debuted in 1984 for New Japan and also competed in various North American territories, including the Continental Wrestling Association in Memphis, and other countries like Germany and Australia. After his return to Japan, now turned into a fast-working apprentice of Wrestling/LouThesz, he became a mainstay of NJPW's G1 Climax tournaments and won three of them, balancing them with the IWGP Tag Team Championship with Wrestling/KeijiMutoh and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Everything changed after losing both of his championships and scoring an underwhelming win in another G1: he did a FaceHeelTurn, adopted a {{Yakuza}} gimmick and became the great villain of the promotion, getting to form part of the Japanese version of Wrestling/WorldChampionshipWrestling's Wrestling/NewWorldOrder. He eventually got tired of the stable's heroic ways under Keiji Mutoh's influence, so he left and formed his own stable, the massive TEAM 2000. After defeating and absorbing NWO Japan, TEAM 2000 began to feud with smaller factions that teamed up against the tiranny, but nothing really challenged it until the arrival of Wrestling/AntonioInoki's UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts corps. It seemed Chono had returned to the babyface side in order to fight off Inoki's invasion, but he demonstrated his villainess again by forming yet another massive baddi stable, Black New Japan, out of the remnants of all the factions in conflict. It was eventually disbanded by authority figure Riki Choshu after some clashes with Wrestling/KazuyukiFujita's Team JAPAN and Wrestling/JushinLiger's CTU, and Chono was left to feid with his long time frenemy Hiroyoshi Tenzan. By 2010, the great times of Masahiro Chono had waned from NJPW, but its legend would live forever. He works as a freelancer now.

* CombinationAttack: His Ningengyora or Cho-Ten Torpedo, which he created with Hiroyoshi Tenzan to take down superheavyweights like Wrestling/{{Akebono}} or Giant Bernard. It was basically a double diving shoulder block. They also added a brainbuster to the technique when Bernard joined them.

* RedBaron: "Kuro no Charisma" ("Black Charisma"), "Kuro no Sosui" ("The Black Leader"), "Gokuaku Butterfly" ("The Butterfly of Villainess"), "Mr. G1" (due to his success as G1 leagues) and "Natsu Otoko" ("The Summer Man", as some of his most successful tenures have been in summer season).
* RingOldies: Still wrestles in his 50s

* {{Yakuza}}: Actually part of his gimmick at first, helped by the fact that he does have actual Yakuza connections. He uses a running kick to the head that's known as the "Mafia Kick" or the "Yakuza Kick."

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

Masahiro Chono (1965-2005) was a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and promoter best known for his work in Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling. He debuted in 1984 for New Japan and also competed in various North American territories, including the Continental Wrestling Association in Memphis, and other countries like Germany and Australia. After his return to Japan, now turned into a fast-working apprentice of Wrestling/LouThesz, he became a mainstay of NJPW's G1 Climax tournaments and won three of them, balancing them with the IWGP Tag Team Championship with Wrestling/KeijiMutoh and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Everything changed after losing both of his championships and scoring an underwhelming win in another G1: he did a FaceHeelTurn, adopted a {{Yakuza}} gimmick and became the great villain of the promotion, getting to form part of the Japanese version of Wrestling/WorldChampionshipWrestling's Wrestling/NewWorldOrder. He eventually got tired of the stable's heroic ways under Keiji Mutoh's influence, so he left and formed his own stable, the massive TEAM 2000. After defeating and absorbing NWO Japan, TEAM 2000 began to feud with smaller factions that teamed up against the tiranny, but nothing really challenged it until the arrival of Wrestling/AntonioInoki's UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts corps. It seemed Chono had returned to the babyface side in order to fight off Inoki's invasion, but he demonstrated his villainess again by forming yet another massive baddi stable, Black New Japan, out of the remnants of all the factions in conflict. It was eventually disbanded by authority figure Riki Choshu after some clashes with Wrestling/KazuyukiFujita's Team JAPAN and Wrestling/JushinLiger's CTU, and Chono was left to feid with his long time frenemy Hiroyoshi Tenzan. By 2010, the great times of Masahiro Chono had waned from NJPW, but its legend would live forever. He works as a freelancer now.