Hiroyuki Umino (海野 宏之 Umino Hiroyuki, born February 16, 1967) is a Japanese professional wrestling referee, better known as Red Shoes Unno (レッドシューズ海野 Reddoshūzu Unno). Since debuting in 1988, Unno has served as a referee for a number of different Japanese promotions, including Super World of Sports (SWS), WAR and All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). He is currently working for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW).
Professional wrestling career[]
Unno got his start in professional wrestling in 1985 when he joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), performing a number of different jobs for the promotion such as loading trucks, setting up the ring and managing the merchandise table. In 1988, he made his debut as a referee, and continued to regularly referee matches for All Japan until he left in 1990 along with Genichiro Tenryu to form the Super World of Sports (SWS) promotion. Unno remained with the promotion until 1992, when it ceased operations due to funding issues. In the wake of SWS folding, Tenryu formed the WAR promotion, which Unno soon joined, once again as a referee, remaining with the company until its closure in 2000. In January 2001, Unno was signed by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). In 2002, he became their new head referee after Tiger Hattori left the promotion. In 2003, he began wearing a red belt, red shoes, and occasionally a red base layer as tribute to veteran American referee Red Shoes Dugan. Because of this, he earned the nickname "Red Shoes" Unno. On August 26, 2008, he celebrated his 20th Anniversary as a referee with a one-off special card promoted by NJPW.[2]
Personal life[]
Umino has two sons. His youngest son, Shota, joined NJPW in March 2016 and made his professional wrestling debut on April 13, 2017.[3]
References[]
- ↑ Hiroyuki Unno « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database . Retrieved on 2017-02-27.
- ↑ NJPW Red Shoes Unno 20th Anniversary « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database (2008-08-26). Retrieved on 2017-02-27.
- ↑ Lion's Gate Project4 (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2017-04-13.
