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Jinsei Shinzaki

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Jinsei Shinzaki
Shinzaki in 2023
Birth nameKensuke Shinzaki
Born (1966-12-02) December 2, 1966 (age 58)
Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Hakushi
Jinsei Shinzaki
Mongolian Yuga
Mr. Nihon Kamikaze
Billed height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1][2]
Billed weight108 kg (238 lb)[1]
Billed fromJapan (as Hakushi)[1]
Trained byGran Hamada
DebutNovember 19, 1992

Kensuke Shinzaki (新崎 健介 Shinzaki Kensuke, born December 2, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive, better known by his ring name, Jinsei Shinzaki (新崎 人生 Shinzaki Jinsei). He is currently signed to the Michinoku Pro Wrestling promotion where he is the promotion's president. He also performs for Michinoku Pro as a wrestler, serving as the sole heavyweight wrestler on the roster. Shinzaki is also known for his appearances with other Japanese promotions such as All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW). To American fans, Shinzaki is perhaps most known for his stint in the United States–based World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1994 to 1996 under the ring name Hakushi (白紙).[1][3]

Professional wrestling career

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Universal Lucha Libre (1992–1993)

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A former soccer player, Shinzaki trained in amateur wrestling in high school. He first worked as an actor, but he left for professional wrestling after meeting Gran Hamada. Shinzaki trained in the Mexican style of lucha libre before debuting in Hamada's promotion Universal Lucha Libre in 1992, wrestling under a mask and the name of Mongolian Yuga.

Michinoku Pro Wrestling (1993–1994)

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In 1993, Shinzaki followed The Great Sasuke to his promotion Michinoku Pro Wrestling, becoming one of its founders. In June 1993, Kensuke unmasked and changed his gimmick, re-debuting as Jinsei Shinzaki ("Jinsei" meaning "life" in Japanese), an aruki henro or Shikoku pilgrim. Under this persona, Shinzaki wrestled in a slow, meditated style, and constantly performed prayers in the ring before every movement. He also came to the arenas in full pilgrimage garments, including white robes and suge-kasa hats, and carried a shakujo staff and a kongo-zue. Jinsei debuted as a silent heel, being introduced by Mr. Yamaguchi as a special member of Super Delfín's heel unit in order to "curse" The Great Sasuke with his prayers. However, after disagreements with them, Shinzaki turned face in 1994 and joined Sasuke and his allies.

In May 1994, Shinzaki wrestled on a World Wrestling Federation tour of Japan. This led to him being offered a contract with the promotion later that year. The promotion was looking for a Japanese wrestler for the roster; Hayabusa had rejected an offer, choosing to work for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling instead, and Shinzaki was given the Japanese wrestler spot.[4][5]

World Wrestling Federation (1994–1996)

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Shinzaki in 1995, as Hakushi

In November 1994, Shinzaki traveled to the United States to wrestle for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He wrestled as Hakushi (白紙, "White Paper"), a derivation of his Michinoku Pro Wrestling persona.[2] This new character resembled Jinsei Shinzaki, but he was characterized by sporting Buddhist shakyo written all over his skin, in a reference to Japanese folk character Hoichi the Earless. He was also accompanied by a facepaint-wearing cultist named Shinja. Initially a heel, his first few matches were highlighted by victories over jobbers which included future star Matt Hardy and midcarders like Aldo Montoya, and 1-2-3 Kid.[6] Hakushi brought the wrestling style of lucharesu to the company, utilizing many aerial maneuvers, and stood out for using many of them to finish his matches as opposed to a single, established finishing move.

Hakushi had a brief alliance with ninja wrestler Kwang, calling themselves collectively "Shogun".[3] After losing a tag team match, Hakushi blamed Kwang and turned on him. Hakushi subsequently defeated Kwang, in the Shogun team’s breakup and blow-off match. This also happened to be the Kwang’s last appearance. Hakushi then feuded with former WWF Champion Bret Hart, wrestling a number of competitive matches against him.[6] He also participated in a three-way feud with perennial jobber Barry Horowitz and Bodydonna Skip. Horowitz, who lost for years on WWF programming to get over new talent, surprisingly used his three-quarter nelson to secure a victory over Skip.[6] Hakushi would also fall to Horowitz soon after because of interference from Skip. His loss was a surprise to the fans, not only given Horowitz's long time losing record, but also given how well Hakushi did during his feud with Bret Hart in what had been Hakushi's first major feud in the company. Hakushi and Horowitz would briefly form a tag team, leading to a face turn for Hakushi. In Survivor Series, Hakushi was a member of The Underdogs team, but was eliminated after a kick from his enemy 1-2-3 Kid. He also was a competitor in the 1996 Royal Rumble, where he was eliminated by Bret Hart's brother, Owen Hart.

During a match on Raw against Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw on the March 6 episode (taped February 19), Hakushi was hit by Bradshaw's branding iron after a loss.[6] That week on WWF Superstars, commentator Jim Ross reported that he had been so humiliated by the branding that he (kayfabe) left the WWF.[1][6]

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1996-1997)

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Upon leaving his stint in WWF, Shinzaki returned to Japan. He made a single night appearance with New Japan Pro-Wrestling at "Battle Formation" on April 29, 1996, where he wrestled The Great Muta. Shinzaki was introduced as a mystic, supernatural character very much like Muta, who embodied evil while Shinzaki embodied good. Shinzaki was defeated in a spirited brawl. One year later on January 4's Wrestling World In Tokyo Dome 1997, he faced and defeated Heisei Ishingun member Michiyoshi Ohara, who had a similar gimmick to his, and mimicked everything Shinzaki did.[7]

Return to Michinoku Pro (1996–2000)

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Shinzaki as Michinoku Pro's chairman in 2010

Shinzaki returned to Michinoku Pro Wrestling in October 1996 at the Michinoku Pro 3rd Anniversary event, defeating Hayabusa. Once again aligning himself with The Great Sasuke, Shinzaki was undefeated in singles matches until 1997.

In October 1997, the Hakushi character was brought up to go against WWF's "Dead Man" The Undertaker. Hakushi was now an undead as well due to having been "killed" in his match with Muta, and was introduced in a coffin by an entourage of Japanese traditional pallbearers, showing in his clothes the same blood stains he had got in said match. He faced Undertaker, but was defeated after a Tombstone Piledriver and entombed in the mountains of Tohoku.[4]

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (1997–1998)

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In mid-1997, Shinzaki started appearing in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling helping Hayabusa in his battles against Mr. Gannosuke. They also had a brief stint in Extreme Championship Wrestling competing against Rob Van Dam and Sabu.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (1998–2002)

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Shinzaki and Hayabusa competed in All Japan Pro Wrestling's Real Tag League 1998. In January 1999, they won the All Asia Tag Team Championship from Jun Izumida and Tamon Honda. They retained it until June 1999, when they lost it to Takao Omori and Yoshihiro Takayama. Shinzaki then kept a feud against Mitsuharu Misawa's Untouchables faction, but his appearances in AJPW became more sparse until ceasing in favour of Michinoku Pro in 2002.

In 2001, still as an AJPW representative, Shinzaki made a surprise appearance in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, wearing a white mask and causing Kazunari Murakami's defeat to Keiji Mutoh. Jinsei then unmasked, and Mutoh introduced him as the new member of his personal faction Bad Ass Translate Trading.

Second return to Michinoku Pro (since 2002)

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Shinzaki has been the president of Michinoku Pro Wrestling company since 2003 as a result of Sasuke dedicating more of his time to his political career as a member of the Iwate Prefectural (state) Assembly.

Shinzaki is also the co-founder of the joshi promotion Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling along with joshi wrestler Meiko Satomura.

On April 15, 2011, Shinzaki returned to the United States to wrestle for Chikara in the 2011 King of Trios tournament, where he would represent Michinoku Pro with Dick Togo and the Great Sasuke. In their first round match Team Michinoku Pro defeated Team Minnesota (1-2-3 Kid, Arik Cannon and Darin Corbin).[8] The following day, Team Michinoku Pro defeated Jigsaw, Manami Toyota and Mike Quackenbush to advance to the semifinals of the tournament.[9] On April 17, Team Michinoku Pro was eliminated from the tournament in the semifinal stage by F.I.S.T. (Chuck Taylor, Icarus and Johnny Gargano).[10]

Personal life

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Following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Shinzaki helped victims in the Tōhoku region by travelling around and providing them with food and drinks. Initial reports falsely noted that Shinzaki himself was living in his car due to losing his home and restaurant. However, this was incorrect as he was really just spending a lot of time traveling to help the needy.[11]

Championships and accomplishments

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  • Ranked No. 48 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1995[16]
  • Ranked No. 209 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Hakushi". WWE.com. WWE. Archived from the original on February 28, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009). WWE Encyclopedia. DK. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
  3. ^ a b "OWOWprofile". Online World Of Wrestling. June 7, 2013. Archived from the original on June 9, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Johnson, Mike (January 21, 2007). "PWInsider Q&A — Undertaker in Japan". PWInsider.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  5. ^ "Hayabusa's Bio". FMW Wrestling. Archived from the original on April 14, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e Cawthon, Graham (2013). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 2: WWF 1990 - 1999. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ASIN B00RWUNSRS.
  7. ^ "New Japan Review - April 29th, 1996". puroresucentral.com. Archived from the original on December 25, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  8. ^ Radican, Sean (May 4, 2011). "Radican's Chikara KoT Night 1 DVD Review 4/15 - Team Michinoku Pro vs. Team 1-2-3 Kid, Quackenbush & Toyota & Jigsaw vs. SAT's". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  9. ^ Radican, Sean (May 13, 2011). "Radican's Chikara DVD review series - "King of Trios 2011 Night 2" 4/16: F.I.S.T. vs. Osaka Pro, RDV tournament, Quackenbush & Toyota & Jigsaw vs. Michinoku Pro". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on May 16, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  10. ^ Radican, Sean (June 5, 2011). "Radican's Chikara DVD review series: "KOT 2011: Night 3 4/17 - Kid vs. Generico, Toyota vs. Eagles, KOT tournament Finals". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
  11. ^ Autor Invitado (March 21, 2011). "Luchador japonés necesita ayuda tras el terremoto en esa región". Super Luchas Magazine. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  12. ^ All Asia Tag Team Championship Title History Archived April 16, 2019, at the Wayback Machine at Wrestling-Titles.com
  13. ^ "Tohoku Tag Team Title (Japan)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  14. ^ "UWA World Tag Team Title (Japan)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  15. ^ "Michinoku Pro-Wrestling - "MICHINOKU TRIOS LEAGUE 2005"" (in German). PuroLove.com. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  16. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1995". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on March 25, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  17. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 of the PWI Years: 209 Jinsei Shinzaki". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States: Sports and Entertainment publications LLC. May 21, 2003. p. 52. June 2003.
  18. ^ "Winners 1990–1999". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
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