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264. Kenji Shibuya

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264. Kenji Shibuya

The story of Kenji Shibuya mirrors that of so many other Japanese-American professional wrestlers in that Shibuya was born in the U.S. but for the purposes of pro wrestling business he was born and bred in Japan.

Shibuya played college football for the University of Hawaii and like many former football players professional wrestling came calling.  Shibuya’s ethnicity and time period automatically made him a take the role of a despised foreign heel.  He performed in many tag teams, his mot notable one being with his kayfabe cousin, Mitsu Arukawa. though he proved to be a solid singles heel especially in the San Francisco area.

The Bullet Points

  • Other Aliases:

    Robert Kinji Shibuya (Real Name)

    Kinji Shibuya

    Sato Keomuka

  • Billed From: Japan (Really from Utah)
  • Key Championships Held:

    NWA (Mid-Atlantic) Southern Tag Team (2) w/Mr.Moto

    NWA (Texas) Tag Team w/Duke Keomuka

    NWA (Minneapolis) World Tag Team w/Mitsu Arakawa

    NWA Central States Heavyweight

    MWA (Ohio) Tag Team w/Duke Keomuka

    NWA (Ohio) United States Tag Team w/Duke Keomuka

    AWA (San Francisco) World Tag Team (3) 1w/Mitsu Arakawa, 1w/Great Sasaki & 1w/Masa Saito

    Stampede International Tag Team w/Mitsu Arakawa

    NWA (Vancouver) Canadian Tag Team (4) 1w/Mitsu Arakawa, 1w/Sweet Daddy Siki, 1w/Don Leo Jonathan & 1w/John Quinn

    AWA (San Francisco) United States Heavyweight (3)

    NWA (Amarillo) North American Heavyweight

    NWA (Los Angeles) Heavyweight

    NWA (Los Angeles) Beat the Champ (4)

    NWA (Los Angeles) Americas Tag Team (3) 2w/Masa Saito & 1w/Goliath

    NWA (San Francisco) World Tag Team (2) 1w/The Great Mephisto & 1w/Masa Saito

    NWA (Vancouver) Pacific Coast Heavyweight

  • Why they will get in: It cannot be forgotten that he was the headliner in a major territory; San Francisco and was a part of multiple successful tag teams.
  • Why they won't get in: None of that took place in the WWE and they already have their faux Japanese wrestler in Mr. Fuji.
  • Five Greatest Matches/Moments: 1. Defeated Ray Stevens for the AWA (San Francisco) United States Title (10/25/64)
    2. Reclaimed the United States title by this time beating Bobo Brazil (11/13/65)
    3. Returns to San Francisco, this time beating Bearcat Wright for the U.S. Title. (2/17/68)
    4. Ventures to Los Angeles and beats Freddie Blassie for the Americas Championship (3/26/71)
    5. Defeated John Tolos for the Beat The Champ title in Los Angeles (11/27/71)

Should Kenji Shibuya be in the Hall of Fame?

Definitely put him in! - 86.4%
Maybe, but others deserve it first. - 4.5%
Probably not, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. - 0%
No opinion. - 0%
No way! - 9.1%
Last modified on Tuesday, 27 June 2023 22:39
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