Kankuro Hoshino

Naotake Hoshino (星野 直丈) is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to the Big Japan Pro Wrestling promotion under the ring name of Kankuro Hoshino (星野 勘九郎), where he is a former one-time BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Champion and one-time Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Champion.

Early life
A fan of pro-wrestling in his youth, it wasn’t until he saw Jushin Thunder Liger competing in the ring that he aimed to become one himself. In school he took part in baseball, but being smaller at the time, noted as 69kg, he assumed he was too small for pro-wrestling. In 1996 he would would begin competing in kick-boxing and would turn pro before seeking real employment. In 2003 he saw an interview of Tarzan Goto training students to become wrestlers. He would seek out this opportunity which would see him take on the task of ring announcing at first, but eventually it would lead to his pro-debut.

Carrer
On December 23, 2005 he would debut against Shinichi Shino in Koshigaya Battle Sphere, later known as Batoscafe. He would compete in the promotion until 2007 when he would become a regular in Big Japan Pro Wrestling. He would join the promotion in October 2008.

In 2012 he formed team with Masato Inaba called “Hesei Gokudo Combi”. Which was named in honor of former team name of the owner of BJW The Great Kojika. The two would attempt to capture the tag belts on numerous occasions even in other promotions, but would fall short. Though this would eventually lead to his first ever title reign would come on July 20, 2015, as he, Masato Inaba, and The Great Kojika would defeat the team of the Brahman Brothers and Takayuki Ueki to become the 7th champions. Their reign would not remain too much longer as Inaba would not be able to keep the belts due to injury, eventually forcing the trio to relinquish the belts. Though on July 24, 2016 he would finally see a dream achieved as he would defeat Ryuji Ito to finally become the BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Champion. He would manage three defenses before losing to Abdullah Kobayashi on December 18, 2016.

On January 4, 2017, Hesei Gokudo Combi would formally announce their split as Masato Inaba would not be able to compete regularly due to on-going issues with neck problems.

In wrestling

 * Finishing moves
 * Gokudo Clutch (Gedo Clutch)
 * Gokudo-style Tornado Clutch
 * Kankuro Cutter (STO)
 * Signature moves
 * Lariat
 * Diving Senton
 * Senton
 * Powerbomb
 * Jumping Elbow Drop
 * Nurikabe (Body Attack)

Championships and accomplishments

 * Big Japan Pro Wrestling
 * BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Masato Inaba and The Great Kojika


 * Japan Indie Awards
 * Best Bout Award (2016) vs. Kankuro Hoshino on July 24