Yoshimi Mushashibo

Ryūnosuke Sanada (真田隆之介; Sanada Ryūnosuke, June 23, 1962 – October 3, 2021), best known as Yoshimi Mushashibo (武蔵坊義美; Musashibō Yoshimi), was a Japanese-born Magisterian professional wrestler and promoter. He was primarly known for his time in Danger And Violence Extreme (DAVE), and also forming Pride Glory Honor Wrestling (PGHW) promotion in 2007. In the 1990s, Mushashibo gained fame alongside Shuji Inukai, Nobuatsu Tatsuko, Yuma Maruya, and Chris Caulfield, who came to be nicknamed DAVE's "Extreme 5", a five person group that were famous for their ring exploits that took DAVE into different levels of success. Mushashibo is regarded by some as the greatest professional wrestler of all time.

Mushashibo was an fourteen-time world champion, having won the UCW Universal Crown Championship (which he was the final holder) four times, the DAVE Undisputed Championship eight times and the PGHW Glory Crown Heavyweight Championship (which he was the inaugural holder of) two times. He was also a five-time tag team champion, being a DAVE Lords of the Ring Champion for five times holding it with Shuji Inukai as 'Team Dynasty 2000' and a one-time Brass Knuckles champion. He holds the record for most five-star rated matches by the Magisterian Sports Observer, with 27.

Early life
Sanada was born in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, but his family moved to Annesia City, Federal Capital Territory when he was a year old. Sanada had two older sisters and one younger sister, which were also wrestlers for the Magisterian Women's Wrestling promotion that ran between 1952 and 2000.

Sanada was a fan of professional wrestling, especially MLPW (now SWF), in an early age, and his favourite wrestler was Golden Man Johnson (Johnson's golden-black trunks would later be emulated by Sanada)

Debut and early years (1981-1982)
Sanada entered UCW's Universal Wrestling School in 1981, and was trained mainly by Pat Deacon. He made his professional debut on July 20, 1981, where he won against Mad Dog Mortimer in an outdoor show in Neagle.

The Golden Wizard and unmasking (1982-1985)
Between 1982 and 1985, Sanada wrestled as a masked technician named the 'Golden Wizard'. Sanada debuted the gimmick in August 1982 in a house show, where he defeated Corporal Doom. In 1985, he lost the mask after losing to Pete Hall in a Mask vs. Career match but later got his revenge, but now as Yoshimi Mushashibo

Feud with Pat Deacon and Universal Crown reigns (1985-1992)
His feud between Deacon began at the Wrestlevolution event in 1985, and the feud went through a series of tag team matches. On August 31, Mushashibo would face Deacon at the Magisterian Sports Hall, in a 32-minute bout where Mushashibo scored his first ever victory against Deacon and his first ever professional wrestling championship, the UCW Universal Crown Championship. He would continue on to become a four-time Universal Crown champion, and eventually he became the belt's final holder.

Eastern Wrestling Federation/Danger And Violence Extreme (1992-2007)
UCW closed after Buddy Gaines and Peter Michaels splitted the 50 UCW wrestlers, giving them 25 each to form their own promotions. Deacon and Mushashibo were the picked big stars for Gaines' EWF. Deacon was forced to retire in 1993 after being diagnosed with hepatitis, leaving Mushashibo as the sole big star of EWF. Ring crew member Phil Vibert took over the creative end of EWF in 1994 and in the same year, Vibert bought the company from Gaines and renamed it to Danger And Violence Extreme, promoting hardcore wrestling infused with AJPW's Ōdō ("King's Road") and lucha libre.

As a part of Vibert's booking, Mushashibo was part of the 'Extreme 5', a five-person group consisting of Shuji Inukai, Nobuatsu Tatsuko, Chris Caulfield, Yuma Maruya, and himself, which Vibert exploited their talent to achieve DAVE's later future success.

Between 1998 and 2003, Mushashibo was involved in a love storyline which also involved his future wife Yuma Maruya. The storyline was considered to be a commercial and critical success, which made Danger Zone TV once the highest rated television program in National Pride TV. After the storyline ended, Mushashibo married Maruya in 2004.

Mushashibo was a known smoker, and it affected his performance in the ring meanwhile Inukai - arguably DAVE's biggest star - suffered a torn ACL that sidelined him for a year. DAVE's Undisputed champion Joshua Taylor was considered to be a failed experiment, and Mushashibo had to take the belt off him until Vibert found someone better, and it went to the conclusion of Mushashibo being the final holder of the DAVE Undisputed Championship when DAVE closed in May 2007 due to financial issues and Vibert's prostate cancer.

Pride Glory Honor Wrestling (2007-2021)
Mushashibo had already planned a backup if DAVE closes, he opened Pride Glory Honor Wrestling in July 2007 - two months after DAVE closed - promoting a less hardcore atmosphere that focused on workethic and entertainment. The company proved to be both a commercial and critical success, and it landed a deal with HYBOSO to show their PPV events.

In 2011, on the exact date Mushashibo made his professional debut 30 years ago in that time, Mushashibo finally retired from in-ring competition in an emotional retirement ceremony where he would win his final ever match with Shuji Inukai, Nobuatsu Tatsuko, and Chris Caulfield against Ace Von Skull, Alexander Robinson, Lee Bennett, and Ricky Dale Johnson. He would remain as PGHW's President & CEO before his death on October 3, 2021

Personal life
Sanada married fellow DAVE wrestler Yuma Maruya in 2004. They had three daughters: Natalie, Alexandria, and Dylan. After his death, Maruya became the Executive Vice President alongside Stardust and York.

Other media
Sanada was featured in the video games DAVE Evolution to the company's final DAVE video game, DAVE Double or Nothing 3: The Danger Zone. He made his posthumous video game appearance in the DAVE Masters Edition.

Death
On October 3, 2021, Yuma Maruya reported that Yoshimi Mushashibo sadly passed away due to heart failure at 1:34am (UTC-8), at age 59.

Aftermath
After Mushashibo's death, PGHW held a ceremony for Sanada and Inukai took over as the President of the company. Master Sports and the Magisterian Sports Observer printed special memorial issues. Wrestling promotions across the world opened their shows with ceremonial ten counts in tribute, and Dragon Fire and the SWF both posted memorial messages on their respective websites.

Championships and accomplishments

 * Danger And Violence Extreme
 * DAVE Undisputed Championship (8 times)
 * DAVE Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time)
 * DAVE Lords of the Ring Championship (5 times) - with Shuji Inukai (5)
 * King of Hardcore (1996, 1997, 2001)
 * First Triple Crown Champion
 * Pride Glory Honor Wrestling
 * PGHW Glory Crown Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
 * PGHW Hall of Fame (Class of 2021)
 * Universal Championship Wrestling
 * UCW Universal Crown Championship (4 times)
 * UCW International Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * UCW World Television Championship (1 time)
 * UCW Magisterian Championship (2 times)
 * Master Sports
 * Match of the Year (1994) vs. Nobuatsu Tatsuko (Extreme Warfare 1994)
 * Match of the Year (1995) vs. Chris Caulfield (The Extreme Double Header, Day 2 1995)
 * Match of the Year (1997) vs. Shuji Inukai (Counter Culture 1997)
 * Match of the Year (1999) vs. Shuji Inukai (The Extreme Double Header, Day 2 1999)
 * Match of the Year (2003) vs. Shuji Inukai (ThunderStruck 2003)
 * Match of the Year (2005) vs. Nobuatsu Tatsuko (Attitude Adjustment 2005)
 * Wrestler of the Year (1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003)
 * Tag Team of the Year (1995, 1997) - Team Dynasty 2000 (w/ Shuji Inukai)
 * Magisterian Sports Observer
 * Match of the Year (1994) vs. Nobuatsu Tatsuko (Extreme Warfare 1994)
 * Feud of the Year (1994) vs. Nobuatsu Tatsuko
 * Wrestler of the Year (1995, 1996, 2000)
 * Tag Team of the Year (1996, 1998, 1999, 2002) - Team Dynasty 2000 (w/ Shuji Inukai)
 * Storyline of the Year (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003) (w/ Yuma Maruya)
 * Magisterian Sports Observer Hall of Fame (Class of 2011)