Yoshikuni Kimura (木村 吉公 Kimura Yoshikuni)[1] (February 15, 1977 – October 6, 2010)[2] was a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Gran Naniwa (愚乱・浪花 Guran Naniwa). Naniwa was known for his comedic gimmick, in which he performed mannerisms of crabs.[3] This was also reflected upon in the design of his wrestling mask.
Career[]
Gran Naniwa was heavily involved in Michinoku Pro Wrestling during the early part of his career, which began at age 16 in 1993. Naniwa entered the 1995 Super J Cup beating Daiman 666 in the first round and losing to Jushin Thunder Liger in the quarterfinals. Naniwa participated in a highlight match at Michinoku Pro 3rd Anniversary event in October 1996, when he teamed with Gran Hamada, Masato Yakushiji, Super Delfin, and Tiger Mask to battle Kaientai Deluxe (in the form of Dick Togo, Mens Teioh, and Shoichi Funaki), a major rulebreaker faction in Michinoku Pro at the time. Gran Naniwa also ventured to other promotions. In 1997, he teamed with The Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, and Masato Yakushiji to feud with Dick Togo, TAKA Michinoku, and Mens Teioh in ECW. Togo, Michinoku, and Teioh were Kaientai Deluxe members in Michinoku Pro, but in ECW they were representatives of the Japan branch of the Blue World Order faction. That same year, Gran Naniwa was a participant in NJPW Best Of The Super Junior IV, where he defeated Tatsuhito Takaiwa, former British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Champion Doc Dean, and former CMLL World Light Heavyweight Champion Dr. Wagner Jr. In 1998, Gran Naniwa teamed with Super Delfin for AJPW Summer Action Series II, where they defeated Naomichi Marufuji & Yoshinobu Kanemaru in multiple tag team matches. In 2000, Gran Naniwa began putting more focus on AJPW, a highlight that year being gaining a win over former AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Champion Ryuji Hijikata. In 2001, Gran Naniwa returned to NJPW for more tournament action. He participated in Best Of The Super Junior VIII where he picked up wins against Wataru Inoue and former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion El Samurai, and he also participated in the G1 Junior Tag League 2001, where he teamed with former All Asia Tag Team Champion Masahito Kakihara to defeat Katsuyori Shibata & Wataru Inoue, and Masayuki Naruse & former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Minoru Tanaka. In 2002, Gran Naniwa saw more singles and tag team tournament action. He participated in AJPW’s Giant Baba Cup where he defeated former BJW Death Match Heavyweight Champion Tomoaki Honma and Yasu Urano, and their Real World Jr. Tag League tournament, where he teamed with former WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Champion Dark Guerrera and defeated former UWA World Tag Team Champion Gran Hamada & former AWA Southern Tag Team Champion Masanobu Fuchi.
Death[]
Kimura died on October 6, 2010 due to a heart attack at the age of 33.
In wrestling[]
- Finishing moves
- Signature moves
Championships and accomplishments[]
- Michinoku Pro Wrestling
- Central American Middleweight Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked No. 276 in the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1997
- Ranked No. 198 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the "PWI Years" in 1998
- Ranked No. 196 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the "PWI Years" in 1999
- Ranked No. 173 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the "PWI Years" in 2000
- Ranked No. 169 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the "PWI Years" in 2001
- Ranked No. 196 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the "PWI Years" in 2002
- Ranked No. 349 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the "PWI Years" in 2003
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 Profile at Puroresu Central . Puroresu Central. Retrieved on 2013-11-26.
- ↑ ja:選手名鑑 (in ja). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2010-10-09.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedtorch - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 WAR Super J Cup 1995 . Puroresu Central. Retrieved on 2014-08-04.