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Satoshi Kojima (小島 聡 Kojima Satoshi) is a Japanese professional wrestler and currently works for All Japan Pro Wrestling.
Career
Kojima entered the New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo in February of 1991. He debuted as a wrestler on September 14 in a match against Hiroyoshi Yamamoto, who would later adopt the stage name of Hiroyoshi Tenzan. In 1994 he defeated Manabu Nakanishi in the Young Lions Cup finals, winning the tournament. In the end of that year he went to Germany, and returned to NJPW in January of 1996. In May of 1997 he defeated Riki Choshu and Kensuke Sasaki with Nakanishi to become an IWGP Tag Team Champion for the first time. At the end of 1998 he joined nWo Japan. Kojima and Tenzan (known together as TenKoji) formed a tag team and ended up holding the IWGP Tag Team titles together two times.
In January of 2002, in opposition to Antonio Inoki focusing the IWGP title on unreliable shoot style wrestlers such as Kazuyuki Fujita and Tadao Yasuda, Kojima left NJPW with his mentor Keiji Mutoh, and joined All Japan Pro Wrestling. He held both of the company's tag team titles, the World Tag Team Championship twice. In February of 2005 he won the Triple Crown, AJPW's unified heavyweight championship from Toshiaki Kawada. Only four days later he won NJPW's heavyweight championship, the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, from his former tag team partner Hiroyoshi Tenzan in a cross-promotional double title match. On May 14, 2005, Tenzan won the IWGP title back, but not the Triple Crown, which Kojima has now been concentrating on defending.
Kojima sometimes uses the Great Koji (copying Mutoh) and Great Kosuke (copying The Great Sasuke) personas in special matches. He learned the Lariat move directly from Stan Hansen, one of its most frequent and best users.
On 3rd July, 2006 Kojima lost the Triple Crown to Taiyo Kea. Three days later it was revealed that Kojima would return to New Japan to appear in the 2006 G-1 Climax.
In wrestling
Finishers and signature moves
- Lariat
- Bakayaro Elbow (Diving elbow drop)
- Coji Crash Dynamite - CCD (Side over shoulder reverse piledriver)
- Rydeen Bomb (Sitout spinebuster)
- Koji Cutter (cutter)
- Avalanche Koji Cutter (Top rope cutter)
- Koji MAX (Modified seated armbar)
Championships and accomplishments
- 2-Time AJPW World Tag Team Champion, with Taiyo Kea and Kaz Hayashi
- 1-Time All Asia Tag Team Champion, with Shiryu
- Real World Tag League 2002 winner, with Taiyo Kea
- Real World Tag League 2003 winner, with Kaz Hayashi
- 2003 Champion Carnival winner
- 2003 BAPE STA!! Tag Tournament winner, with Apeman
- 2003 Fire Festival winner
- 3-Time IWGP World Tag Team Champion, with Manabu Nakanishi once, and Hiroyoshi Tenzan twice
- 1994 Young Lion Cup winner
- 1998 Super Grade Tag League, winner (with Keiji Mutoh)
- G1 Tag League winner (with Hiroyoshi Tenzan)
- PWI ranked him # 275 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
- PWI ranked him # 3 of the 500 best singles wrestlers for the year 2005.
- Tokyo Sports Grand Prix
- Most Valuable Player of 2005
- 2001 Tag Team of the Year (with Hiroyoshi Tenzan)
External links
"Satoshi Kojima"