Kazushige Nosawa (野沢一茂 Nosawa Kazushige), better known by his ring names Nosawa and Nosawa Rongai, is a Japanese freelance professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in All Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling NOAH, Dragon Gate and various independent promotions.
Career[]
NOSAWA spent most of his early career training and wrestling in Mexico. Most notably with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. In the U.S indy scene, Nosawa has competed for such promotions as Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, and Xtreme Pro Wrestling. Along with Kikuzawa, Mazada, Fujita and Takemura, they created the group "Tokyo Gurentai".
He adopted in 2004 the ring name of Nosawa Rongai (lit. "Nosawa Out of the Question") as a play off to a comment by Kaz Hayashi, who had replied "Nosawa is out of the question" when he was asked about whether he was going to allow Kazushige to challenge for the Junior Heavyweight Championship. By doing this, Nosawa forced a title match against him, and although he lost, he decided to keep the name for the rest of his career.
Juggalo Championship Wrestling[]
On March 16, 2003, Nosawa defeated "Ritchie Boy" Breyer Wellington to win the JCW Heavyweight Championship.[1] Later that year, he was featured on JCW Vol. 3 in a match where he again defeated Wellington.[2] In July 2004, Nosawa lost the championship to Kid Kash at the Gathering of the Juggalos.[1] In 2007, he took part in the Pro Wrestling Unplugged/Juggalo Championship Wrestling cross promotional event "Cuffed & Caged: Last Man Standing". Nosawa was featured in the main event War Games match as member of Team JCW.[3]
SlamTV![]
In 2007, Nosawa went on tour with JCW to film the Internet wrestling show SlamTV!, where he was one of the main veteran heroes. However, he started off SlamTV! with a string of losses, going 0–5 in his first five matches.[4] After receiving a letter from his storyline mentor The Great Muta, saying that Muta was coming to JCW to check up on his pupil, Nosawa stepped up his game and began a winning streak.[4] At "East Side Wars", The Great Muta teamed with Nosawa to help him defeat the team of Mad Man Pondo and Necro Butcher.[5] By the following week however, The Great Muta had left. Nosawa continued his winning streak into episode 14, where he faced Ron Zombie.[5] During the match, Justin Credible came to the ring and assaulted Nosawa.[5] On the next episode, Nosawa interfered in Credible's match by spitting Asian mist into his eyes. At Bloodymania, Nosawa and The Great Muta teamed up again to defeat Justin Credible and 2 Cold Scorpio.[5]
Juggalo World Order[]
On October 6, 2007, Corporal Robinson, Scott Hall, and Violent J formed the Juggalo World Order (JWO) at Evansville Invasion.[6] At that year's Hallowicked After Party, on October 31, Shaggy 2 Dope was introduced as a member of the group. After the main event of the night, special guest referee Nosawa ripped off his referee shirt to reveal that he, too, was a member of the JWO.[6] Nosawa appeared in a few matches with the JWO, before returning to Japan.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling[]
Nosawa first got national U.S. exposure making appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling first in the 2003 Super X Cup, losing in the first round to Juventud Guerrera; then again as captain of Team Japan in 2004 World X Cup, where he ended up placing last by the end of the Tournament. NOSAWA would go on to make sporadic appearances on the early episodes of TNA Impact, usually teaming up with then AJPW rookie Kazushi Miyamoto. The duo even challenged for the NWA World Tag Team Championship at TNA's second Anniversary show, but ultimately came up short against America's Most Wanted. Their last in-ring appearance for the company would be at Victory Road 04', where both Nosawa and Miyamoto competed in a X-Division Gauntlet, which was won by Hector Garza.
All Japan Pro Wrestling[]
NOSAWA saw little success after returning to All Japan, losing as many opening matches as he won. On March 20, 2005 he took a shot at the World Junior Heavyweight Championship, but lost to Taka Michinoku. On July 26, he lost a "Banishment" match to his old friend Mazada, and he had to leave All Japan. Soon after that, he would reappear as a wrestler named Space Lone Wolf, having slightly better success. However, on December, Space Lone Wolf would be unmasked and revealed as being NOSAWA.
In 2006, Nosawa began wrestling with his old friend Mazada again, and for parts of the year he also teamed with Brute Issei or AKIRA. Towards the end of 2006, Nosawa and Mazada began to team up with Minoru Suzuki to form "Minoru Gundan", which landed Nosawa a few bigger matches. He and Suzuki would go on to wrestle in the World's Strongest Tag Determination League, but unfortunately the team would come in last place.
In 2007, Nosawa promoted several comedy wrestling shows, making fun of Antonio Inoki's Inoki Genome Federation and using both talent from All Japan, as well as freelancers. During the Champion Carnival, Nosawa switched his name to El Nosawa Mendoza and formed a new stable called "Los Mexico Amigos", with PEPE Michinoku (Taka Michinoku) and Miguel Hayashi, Jr (Kaz Hayashi). Nobutaka Araya then joined the team as El Hijo del Araya Segundo after the Carnival’s final show. Along with changing their names, the group wore the official colors of the Mexican Flag (Red/Green/White). After multiple bouts against Minoru Suzuki, Nosawa offered Suzuki an invitation into Mexico Amigos, to which he declined. This resulted in the group changing multiple assets. Their name was changed to Mexico Amigos Black, the previous worn Mexican Flag attire became black and gold attire, and Araya was kicked out of the group. Later in the year, Mexico Amigos teamed with "Ray Suzuki" and defeated Ryuji Hijikata, Kikutaro, T28 and Ryuji Yamaguchi. After the match, Ray Suzuki revealed himself as Minoru Suzuki and stated that starting next year Nosawa would throw his Amigos tights away and return to Nosawa Rongai, then kidnapped him to start early training. This led to Pepe and Miguel stating they would return to Mexico, but Kaz and Taka would return come the new year. After one last "Viva Mexico", Mexico Amigos disbanded.
Tokyo Gurentai and other promotions[]
Since disbanding from Mexico Amigos, Nosawa has rejoined teaming with MAZADA and Takemura as the "Tokyo Gurentai". Nosawa, Mazada, and Takemura aligned themselves with Minoru Suzuki and Taiyō Kea, and dubbed their new group GURENTAI. Nosawa won a game of jangen for the group's leadership role, but Suzuki immediately shot down the idea of Nosawa as the leader. Nosawa returned to All Japan Pro Wrestling and was defeated by Rene Dupree.
Outside of AJPW, Nosawa performs for companies under the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance flag, sometimes alongside his mentor The Great Muta.
On February 20, 2011, Nosawa was arrested on charges of stealing a taxi and driving it without having a driving license.[7] Two days later Nosawa announced that he was taking an indefinite break from professional wrestling.[8] Nosawa returned from his break on June 25 at a Minoru Suzuki promoted charity event, losing to Suzuki in the main event.
Since September 2013, Tokyo Gurentai, Nosawa included, has worked regularly for Wrestle-1 until 2020 when the promotion closed.
Since April 2015, Nosawa joined the newly resurrected Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, as the leader of Monster-gun, which evolved into W*ING Monster-gun, when Kintaro Kanemura joined the group.
In early 2019, Nosawa became the primary booker of Pro Wrestling Noah. He left the promotion in May 2022, following the expiration of his contract, before moving to Dragon Gate, where he became the promotion's primary booker, but returned to Noah at the end of the month. On October 16, Rongai announced that he would retire from professional wrestling on February 21, 2023. His decision came to doctor's order to end his career, after his physical condition had progressively worsened over the course of his career. At Keiji Mutoh Grand Final Pro-Wrestling "Last-Love", on February 21, Rongai wrestled the final full match of his professional wrestling career, teaming with longtime partner Mazada to face Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori and Gedo) in a losing effort.
In wrestling[]
- Finishing moves
- Signature moves
- Black Tiger Driver (Sitout crucifix powerbomb)
- Cross armbreaker
- DDT
- Dropkick, sometimes to the opponent's knees[5]
- European uppercut
- Fujiwara armbar
- Grounded octopus stretch
- Hurricanrana
- Inverted single leg Boston crab
- Running lariat
- Super High School-Class Cradle (Rolling cradle pin)
- Super High School-Class Horizontal Cradle (Spinning horizontal cradle pin)
- Spinning heel kick
- Superkick[5]
- Twisting elbow drop[5]
- Nicknames
- "The Japanese Juggalo Sensation"[9]
- Theme music
- "Tilt-a-Whirl" by Insane Clown Posse (Japan)
- "Murder Rap" by Insane Clown Posse (Japan)
- "Dragula" by Rob Zombie (JCW)[5]
- "Prefiero Ser Su Amante (w/ Perros intro)" by Maria Jose and Cartel de Santa (Japan/NOAH)
Championships and accomplishments[]
- All Japan Pro Wrestling
- All Asia Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Minoru Suzuki (1), Taka Michinoku (1) and Kendo Kashin (1)
- AJPW Junior Tag League (2006) – with MAZADA
- Apache Army
- WEW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with MAZADA
- Chō Sentō Puroresu FMW
- FMW World Street Fight 8-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Black Tiger V, Great Tiger and Tiger Mask III Tigre en Mascarado[10]
- Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
- CMLL Japan Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Sasuke the Great
- CMLL World Welterweight Championship (2 times)
- Dragon Gate
- Open The Triangle Gate Championship (2 times) – with Eita and Kotaro Suzuki
- Dramatic Dream Team
- DDT Extreme Division Championship (1 time)
- KO-D Openweight Championship (1 time)
- KO-D Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Takashi Sasaki
- UWA World Trios Championship (2 times) – with FUJITA and MAZADA
- El Dorado Wrestling
- UWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with MAZADA
- International Wrestling Revolution Group
- IWRG Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Masada
- IWRG Intercontinental Trios Championship (1 time) – with Masada and Takemura
- Copa Higher Power (2004) – with Masada, GARUDA and Black Tiger III
- Juggalo Championship Wrestling
- JCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Mobius
- Apex of Triangle Six–Man Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with MAZADA & TAKEMURA (1) and Daisuke Sekimoto & Tetsuhiro Kuroda (1)
- New Japan Pro Wrestling
- Pro Wrestling Noah
- GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Eita
- Tokyo Gurentai
- Tokyo World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Tokyo World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with MAZADA[12]
- Wrestle-1
- UWA World Trios Championship (4 times) – with Kazma Sakamoto and Koji Doi (1)[13], Jun Kasai and Shuji Kondo (1), Manabu Soya and Ganseki Tanaka (1) and MAZADA and FUJITA (1)
- Xtreme Latin American Wrestling
- X-LAW International Championship (1 time)
- Other titles
- Americas World Mixed Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Io Shirai
- Arena Azteca Budokan Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Guerrero State Welterweight Championship (1 time)
Luchas de Apuestas record[]
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkangel de la Muerte (mask) | NOSAWA (hair) | Unknown | Live event | Unknown | |
| Tigre Blanco (mask) | Super Cacao (mask) | Mexico City | Live event | October 19, 1999 | |
| Tony Rivera (hair) | Super Cacao (hair) | Mexico City | Live event | May 18, 2000 | [Note 1] |
| Ricky Marvin (hair) | Super Cacao (hair) | Mexico City | Live event | May 28, 2000 | [Note 2] |
| Mike Segura and Último Vampiro (hair) | NOSAWA and MASADA (hair) | Naucalpan, Mexico State | Live event | May 31, 2001 | |
| Negro Casas and El Satánico (hair) | NOSAWA and MASADA (hair) | Mexico City | Live event | May 16, 2003 |
Notes[]
Personal life[]
Nosawa Rongai is widely known for being a Juggalo, or a fan of the Insane Clown Posse. Among his many tattoos, he has the Wraith, a Dark Lotus cross, and the Hatchetman, which is the logo of Psychopathic Records. Nosawa is a fan of the French soccer team Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 JCW HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE HISTORY . Jump City Productions (2004). Retrieved on 2008-08-13.
- ↑ Insane Clown Posse (Wrestlers). (2003). Juggalo Championshxt Wrestling Volume 3. [DVD]. Royal Oak, Michigan: Psychopathic Video.
- ↑ Pro Wrestling Unplugged . Black Pants, Inc. Retrieved on 2008-09-14.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 JCW SLAM TV, Volume 1. [DVD]. Royal Oak, Michigan: Psychopathic Video. 2007-09-18. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1194583. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 JCW SLAM TV, Volume 2. [DVD]. Royal Oak, Michigan: Psychopathic Video. 2007-10-30. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1194584/. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Creator and Producer: Insane Clown Posse (2007-11-17). "Slam TV: Hallowicked 2007!". SlamTV!. Detroit, Michigan.
- ↑ Caldwell, James 2011-02-20. Japan News: MVP's Japanese wrestling debut hits speed bump – tag partner arrested, replacement match announced . Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved on 2011-02-20.
- ↑ NOSAWA entschuldigt sich und nimmt Auszeit vom Wrestling (in German). Purolove. Archived from the original on 2011-02-23. Retrieved on 2011-02-23.
- ↑ Corporal Robinson 2007-06-12. The State of the Game . Psychopathic Records. Retrieved on 2009-04-07.
- ↑ 11月24日（木）東京・後楽園ホール (in Japanese). Chō Sentō Puroresu FMW. Archived from the original on 2016-11-25. Retrieved on 2016-11-25.
- ↑ NEVER．9 ～Road to the Super Jr．2Days Tournament Final～ (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2012-05-25.
- ↑ Fujitaが高木に、論外＆Mazadが大阪06に勝利し、ベルトが愚連隊に勢揃い！世界一性格の悪い神の子が降臨！ (in Japanese). Battle News (2013-01-16). Retrieved on 2013-01-16.
- ↑ 「Wrestle-1 Tour 2015 Autumn Bout」 (in Japanese). Wrestle-1 (2015-11-03). Retrieved on 2015-11-03.