Fujiwara advances.
Tony Parisi
Hometown: Cosenza, Italy
Height & Weight: 5'11" - 241lbs
Debut: 1961
Previous Gimmicks: Antonio Pugliese (WWWF), "Cannonball", "Tenor"
Finishing Move: Cannonball
# WWWF United States Tag Team titles w/Johnny Valentine defeating Bill & Dan Miller (Febaury 21, 1966);
# WWWF United States Tag Team titles w/Spiros Arion defeating Smasher Sloan & Baron Mikel Scicluna (December 8, 1966);
# WWA (Los Angeles) World Tag Team titles w/Pedro Morales defeating Freddie Blassie & Buddy Austin (December ??, 1967);
# IWA (Australia) World Tag Team titles w/Mario Milano defeating Brute Bernard & Skull Murphy (April ??, 1968);
# IWA (Australia) World Tag Team titles w/Dominic DeNucci defeating Killer Karl Kox & Skull Murphy (May ??, 1968);
# NWA Texas Tag Team titles w/Wahoo McDaniel defeating
?? (
?, 1969);
# IWA (Australia) World Tag Team titles w/Don Leo Jonathan defeating Brute Bernard & Skull Murphy (Febuary 21, 1969);
# IWA (Australia) World Tag Team titles w/Don Leo Jonathan defeating The Spoiler & Mario Milano (March ??, 1969);
# IWA (Australia) World Tag Team titles w/Mark Lewin defeating Swede Hanson & Rip Hawk (May 15, 1970);
# NWF (Cleveland/Buffalo) World Tag Team titles w/Dominic DeNucci defeating Johnny & Don Fargo (May ??, 1972);
# NWF (Cleveland/Buffalo) World Tag Team titles w/Luis Hernandez defeating
?? (December ??, 1972);
# NWF (Cleveland/Buffalo) World Tag Team titles w/Dominic DeNucci defeating Yoshino Sato & Mitsu Arakawa (March ??, 1973);
# NWA Florida Tag Team titles w/Dominic DeNucci defeating Toru Tanaka & Dick Slater (January ??, 1975);
# WWWF Tag Team titles w/Louis Cerdan defeating Blackjack Mulligan & Blackjack Lanza (November 18, 1975);
# IWA (Montreal) International Tag Team titles w/Gino Brito defeating Gilles Poisson & Sailor White (
?, 1982);
# WWF International Heavyweight title defeating
(
?, 1982);
# IWA (Montreal) International Tag Team titles w/Gino Brito defeating Pierre Lefebvre & Pat Patterson (January ??, 1983);
# IWA (Montreal) International Tag Team titles w/Gino Brito defeating Pierre Lefebvre & Pat Patterson (December 12, 1983);
# IWA (Montreal) International Tag Team titles w/Dino Bravo defeating Pierre Lefebvre & Frenchy Martin (Febuary 20, 1984);
# Tony Parisi wrestled in the WWWF as "Antonio Pugliese", billed as a cousin of Bruno Sammartino..
# 1974: Tony Parisi (as Antonio Pugliese) wrestled Jack Brisco for the NWA World title in Toronto..
# Tony Parisi (as Antonio Pugliese) teamed with Louis Cerdan (aka Gino Brito) to defeat the Blackjacks for the WWWF Tag Team titles..
# 1983: Tony Parisi again teamed with Gino Brito to win the International Tag Team titles in Montreal..
# 1984: Tony Parisi teamed with Dino Bravo to win the International tag titles again..
# Tony Parisi also formed tag teams with Tony Marino, Dominic Denucci & Bruno Sammartino Jr (David Sammartino)..
# Tony Parisi was a babyface Italian-Canadian on Toronto & Montreal in the 60s & 70s..
# Tony Parisi won the Australian version of the world tag title with Dominic Denucci..
# Tony Parisi won the Australian version of the world tag title twice with Don Leo Jonathan..
# Tony Parisi operated a motel and restaurant in Niagara Falls until his death from a heart attack on Aug. 19, 2000 at age 58..
VS
Hiroshi Wajima
Hometown: Ishikawa, Japan
Height-Weight: 6'1"-290 lbs
After graduating from Nihon University where he was an amateur sumo champion he made his professional debut in January 1970 at the age of 22, joining Hanakago stable which was just a short distance from his university sumo club. He was given makushita tsukedashi status, meaning he could begin in the third highest makushita division. He was undefeated in his first 14 matches and reached the juryo division after just two tournaments. He was promoted to the top makuuchi division in January 1971. After finishing as runner-up in the November 1971 and January 1972 tournaments he was promoted to sekiwake and took his first top division championship or yusho in May 1972. He was promoted to ozeki shortly afterwards and after winning his second championship with a perfect 15-0 score in May 1973 he was promoted to yokozuna.
Following his retirement Wajima took over as oyakata, or head coach, of Hanakago stable in 1981, having married the eldest daughter of the previous stablemaster. However his time there was controversial. He lacked leadership qualities and most unusually did not even live in the stable, preferring to commute. Hanakago declined to the point when it did not have any top division wrestlers left. In 1982 his wife attempted suicide and he was demoted from his position as a shimpan or judge as a result. The marriage eventually ended in divorce. In 1985 he was pressured by fellow oyakata to resign from the Sumo Association after it emerged that he was heavily in debt due to the failure of his chankonabe restaurant and had put up his shares in the Association as collateral on a loan, a practice strictly forbidden. The stable folded completely with all its wrestlers transferring to the affiliated Hanaregoma stable.
To pay off his debts, Wajima turned to pro wrestling. Shohei Baba, owner of All Japan Pro Wrestling, convinced him to join his promotion and train at their dojo. Because of his status as a former Yokozuna (the first since Kinichi Azumafuji to turn to pro wrestling), Wajima was pushed as a superstar, feuding with Stan Hansen over the PWF Heavyweight Championship. In the long run, however, accumulated injuries from his sumo years limited his potential as a professional wrestler, and he ended up retiring from the game altogether in 1988.
LET'S GET IT ON ;D
