Masayoshi Motegi (茂木正淑, Motegi Masayoshi, born November 24, 1962) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is known for his background in karate and the innovation of the Rolling German suplex. He also has been a staple of Big Japan Pro Wrestling, IWA Japan and W*ING as well as Japanese independent promotions such as the Social Progressive Wrestling Federation (SPWF).
Career
Motegi made his debut in 1991 and within two years he defeated Ray Gonzalez for the W*ING Junior Heavyweight Championship on January 7, 1993. During early August 1993, Motegi toured the United States with W*ING Tag Team Champions The Headhunters defending his (WWC version) W*ING Junior Heavyweight title in Eastern Championship Wrestling defeating Don E. Allen at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 7, 1993.[1] The following night, he fought J.T. Smith to a time limit draw.[2]
He would win the title three more times from Hiroshi Itakura, El Texano and Shinichi Nakano respectively and remained champion until the promotions close on March 13, 1994.
The following year, Motegi entered the 1995 Super J-Cup, losing to Gedo in the opening rounds.[3]
He later defeated Toshiyuki Moriya for the IWA (Kakuto Shijuku) World Middleweight Championship in Kanazawa, Japan on December 2, 2001. Although the title was vacated the following day, Motegi regained the title a week later after winning a one-day 4-man championship tournament defeating Koji Isinriki in the finals on December 16. The following year in Sapporo, Japan, he defeated The Great Takeru and Yukihide Ueno in a 3-way match to become the first IWA (Japan) World Junior Heavyweight Champion on August 3, 2002.