Mitsuo Yoshida , better known by his ring name Riki Choshu , is a South Korean-Japanese retired professional wrestler who is best known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as both a wrestler and a booker. He is considered one of Japan’s most influential wrestlers for his work in the 1980s and 1990s and is known as the first wrestler to popularize the Sasori-Gatame, better known in English as the Scorpion Deathlock or Sharpshooter. After leaving NJPW in 2002, he formed Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling (WJ), but eventually returned to New Japan in October 2005 as a site foreman, booker and part-time wrestler. Choshu once again left NJPW in 2010 and primarily worked in Tatsumi Fujinami’s Dradition, as well as his own self-produced Power Hall events as a freelancer.
Choshu was a second generation Zainichi Korean until his naturalization in 2016.
Choshu in January 2006
On July 30, 2013, Choshu threw out the ceremonial first pitch for a Hiroshima Toyo Carp game at Mazda Stadium
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently owned by card game company Bushiroad, while TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares of the company. Naoki Sugabayashi has served as the promotion's Chairman since September 2013, while Hiroshi Tanahashi has served as the president of the promotion since December 2023.
NJPW headquarters in Nakano, Tokyo
Image: Jon Moxley Oct 2021
Image: 2023.11.04 David Finlay (cropped)
Image: SHO (wrestler)