Post by Asaemon on Jul 23, 2023 11:24:36 GMT 1
Masaaki Mochizuki (b. 1964) is a Japanese Professional Wrestler, best known by his work in Toryumon and Dragon Gate. Originally a Karate fighter, he fell in love with professional wrestling thanks to Nobuhiko Takada, becoming a shoot-style wrestler under Koji Kitao and debuting as part of his entourage in Genichiro Tenryu's Wrestle Association R. After building some career in WAR, Battlarts and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, he landed on Último Dragón's Toryumon circuit, which soon became his home. Masaaki was initially a sore thumb in Toryumon, a stern shooter who preferred to kick people in the head rather than playing their lucharesu game, and this was his gimmick for most of the conflict between the babyfaces of the company and the heel faction Crazy MAX. However, one day Masaaki decided he was tired of everybody, so he recruited two anarchists named Yasushi Kanda and Susumu Mochizuki (no relation) and created M2K, the nastiest stable in all the promotion. Their presence and wild attacks ended up turning Crazy MAX into heroes, and this gave birth to a gang war that lasted through years and eventually outlasted Toryumon itself, leading to the birth of the new company Dragon Gate. Mochizuki has remained one of the promotion's aces from then, trusting on his experience and toughness to teach respect to the new generations, and that's what he does now.
The Apprentice: To Koji Kitao.
Mochizuki is a shoot-style wrestler, which means most of his moveset is composed of kicks and submissions, along with a couple basic brainbusters - nothing flashy, but surely very effective, especially against lucharesu wrestlers like everybody in Toryumon/Dragon Gate is. However, some of kicks can be flashy (like his Sankakugeri, which is basically an enzuigiri from the top rope), and he has also adopted a more lucharesu-inspired approach to fit with the rest of the promotion over the years, although he is still a shoot-stylist at the core.
He was trained in the Koji Kitao's Buko Dojo and came to Toryumon as a freelancer before becoming a permanent member.
Kitao Dojo
Kitao Dojo trainee
The Apprentice: To Koji Kitao.
Mochizuki is a shoot-style wrestler, which means most of his moveset is composed of kicks and submissions, along with a couple basic brainbusters - nothing flashy, but surely very effective, especially against lucharesu wrestlers like everybody in Toryumon/Dragon Gate is. However, some of kicks can be flashy (like his Sankakugeri, which is basically an enzuigiri from the top rope), and he has also adopted a more lucharesu-inspired approach to fit with the rest of the promotion over the years, although he is still a shoot-stylist at the core.
He was trained in the Koji Kitao's Buko Dojo and came to Toryumon as a freelancer before becoming a permanent member.
Kitao Dojo
Kitao Dojo trainee
