Takashi Sasaki (佐々木貴 Sasaki Takashi, born January 16, 1975) is a Japanese professional wrestler, who currently works for Pro Wrestling Freedoms promotion which he founded in 2009. Sasaki also worked for several other independent promotions, including DDT Pro-Wrestling and Big Japan Pro Wrestling.
Early life[]
Sasaki was friends with fellow professional wrestler Shuji Ishikawa as a teenager, whom he met through judo.
Professional wrestling career[]
Trained by the IWA Japan promotion, Sasaki made his professional wrestling debut on January 16, 1975. While also making appearances for WAR and Onita Pro Wrestling and the Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, Sasaki remained with IWA Japan for two years, before joining DDT in 1997.
Dramatic Dream Team / DDT Pro-Wrestling (1997–2004, 2007–2010, 2016, 2022–present)[]
On May 14, 1997, Sasaki made his debut for Dramatic Dream Team (DDT), teaming with Kazunori Yoshida in a tag team match, where they lost to Mitsuo Maeda and Sho Hida. On June 5 he and NOSAWA became the first CMLL Certified KO-D Tag Team Champions defeating Starman and Vertigo in a CMLL event. NOSAWA and Sasaki made their first successful defense on June 14, defeating MIKAMI and Tanomusaku Toba. On July 5, they lost the titles to MIKAMI and Super Uchuu Power. After that, Sasaki left DDT and became a freelancer making sporadic appearances for DDT until 2016 he later would return to make appearences in DDT in 2022.
WEW and Apache Pro-Wrestling Army (2002–2009)[]
In 2002, Sasaki began working for the newly founded World Entertainment Wrestling (WEW), teaming with GENTARO on August 23 to defeat Hi69 and Taka Michinoku and become the first WEW-promoted Tag Team Champions. After a seven-month reign, Sasaki and GENTARO lost the titles to Kintaro Kanemura and Tetsuhiro Kuroda on March 11, 2003. The following year, WEW folded and was replaced by Apache Pro-Wrestling Army, with Sasaki jumping to the new promotion, where he would join the Apache Army. On September 23, 2007, Sasaki and BADBOY Hido defeated Jun Kasai and Tetsuhiro Kuroda to win the vacant WEW Tag Team Championship, starting Sasaki's second reign with the title. They would lose the titles to Kasai and Tomoaki Honma in May 2007. The following year, Apache Pro-Wrestling Army folded.
FREEDOMS (2009–present)[]
After the folding of Apache Pro-Wrestling Army, Sasaki would found with several others wrestlers a promotion named Pro Wrestling FREEDOMS, making his new home promotion, debuting at the promotion's first ever event on September 2, losing to his former partner GENTARO in the opening match. Later in the evening, Sasaki teamed with The Great Kojika and Jun Kasai in a losing effort against the team of Brahman Kei, Brahman Shu and Ken45. FREEDOMS Army feuded with the Big Japan Pro Wrestling based Kojika Army, culminating on June 21, 2010, but on July 15, GENTARO turned on the Freedoms Army and jumped to the Kojika Army which led to feud against Sasaki. The turn built to a four-on-four elimination match between the two stables on November 23, which Sasaki won for FREEDOMS by pinning GENTARO. After that feud with GENTARO got worse which led to Two Out of Three Falls which Sasaki won, ending the rivalry between the two wrestlers. On February 27, 2013 he would enter in the King of FREEDOM World Championship tournament, defeating HIROKI in his first round match. On March 14, Sasaki defeated Gurukun Diver to advance to the semifinals of the King of FREEDOM World Championship tournament. On April 3, Sasaki defeated Kamui in the semifinal match to advance to the finals. On May 2 Sasaki defeated Tatsuhito Takaiwa to become the inaugural King of FREEDOM World Champion. He would make four successful defenses until he lost the title to Yuji Hino on May 2, 2014. On July 25, Takashi Sasaki and GENTARO defeated Kamui and Mammoth Sasaki to win the King of FREEDOM World Tag Team Championship. They lost the title to Kenji Fukimoto and Minoru Fujita four days later.
Big Japan Pro Wrestling (2005–2015)[]
On January 2, 2005 Sasaki made his Big Japan Pro Wrestling debut, teaming with Kintaro Kanemura losing to Ryuji Ito and Shadow WX. On June 8 Sasaki unsuccessfully challenged Ryuji Ito. After the match, Ito wanted to shake hands with him but instead promised that one day he would become deathmatch heavyweight champion. Since then, he would work more regularly for the promotion until August. He would return to the promotion on January 2, teaming with Kanemura and BADBOY Hido to defeat Abdullah Kobayashi, Jaki Numazawa and Ryuji Ito. On March 31, Sasaki would defeat Abdullah Kobayashi for the BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship. On June 26 he made his first defense of the title defeating Jaki Numazawa. On September 10, he would lose the title to Ryuji Ito. Following Ito's wrist injury Sasaki would regain the Deathmatch belt in a decision match by defeating Jaki Numazawa on December 3. After regaining the title, he would make his first defense on July 8, 2007 against Ryuji Ito. On August 26, Sasaki lost the BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Champion to Jaki Numazawa. On April 28, 2011 Sasaki defeated Masashi Takeda to win the Ikkitousen Deathmatch Survivor. He then went on unsuccessfully challenged Ryuji Ito for the BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship. He would make sporadic appearances until 2015, when he made his last appearance teaming with The Winger to defeat GENTARO and Isami Kodaka.
Other media[]
Sasaki appears as himself alongside Ryuji Ito, Daisuke Sekimoto, Abdullah Kobayashi and Jaki Numazawa in the 2006 movie Dirty Sanchez: The Movie. Kobayashi and the other wrestlers perform wrestling moves on the three main cast members.
In wrestling[]
- Finishing moves
- D-Geist (Sitout side powerslam)
- Right Arm (Lariat)
- Migi-ashi (Right Kick to a seated opponent, sometimes with fluorescent lights)
- Signature moves
- Right Leg (Buzzsaw Kick)
- Bakyun! Kick (Jumping Kick)
- Brainbuster
- Student Council President Lock
- Sharpshooter
- Liger Bomb (Standing or a running high-angle sitout powerbomb)
- Soccerball Kick (Soccer kick to the head of a seated opponent, sometimes in the opponent's head with lighttube in deathmatches)
- Kneeling Powerbomb
- Swing DDT
- Amiuchi style Swinging Neckbreaker
- Vertical suplex
- Entrance themes
- "This is WAR" by Vandenberg
Championships and accomplishments[]
- Big Japan Pro Wrestling
- Dove Pro Wrestling
- Dove Pro Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Sakigake
- Dove Pro Tag Team Title Tournament (2010) – with Sakigake
- Dramatic Dream Team / DDT Pro-Wrestling
- KO-D Openweight Championship (1 time)
- CMLL/KO-D Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with NOSAWA (1), MIKAMI (1), GENTARO (2) and Tanomusaku Toba (1)
- KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with MIKAMI, Tanomusaku Toba, Poison Sawada Julie and GENTARO
- DDT Trios Tournament (2003) – with Exciting Yoshida and Sanshiro Takagi
- Pro Wrestling FREEDOMS
- King of FREEDOM World Championship (1 time, inaugural)
- King of FREEDOM World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with GENTARO (1), Mammoth Sasaki and YAMATO (1)
- King of FREEDOM World Title Tournament (2013)
- New Year Six Man Tag Tournament (2013)
- Lottery One Day Six Man Tag Tournament (2016)
- World Entertainment Wrestling / Apache Pro-Wrestling Army
- WEW Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with GENTARO (1), The Winger (1) and BADBOY Hido (1)
- WEW Tag Team Title Tournament (2006) – with BADBOY Hido
- WEW Provisional Tag Team Championship Tournament (2007) – with The Winger