Tetsuo Sekigawa
Encyclopedia
Tetsuo Sekigawa is a Japanese professional wrestler who is very well known for his hardcore matches, competing in his most popular gimmick, Mr. Pogo.
, having a pre-professional dispute with the future Jumbo Tsuruta
over team representation in the Japanese collegiate championships. He joined Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance
but did not debut there, instead joining the new New Japan Pro Wrestling
promotion's dojo and debuting in 1973. Quickly frustrated with NJPW's rigid norms, he quit and began wandering the wrestling circuits in North America. It was in North America where his gimmick was given: Mr. Togo, originally a generic Japanese surname, evolved into Mr. Pogo due to misspellings and miscommunication on the part of promoters who booked him. During the 1980s, Mr. Pogo would team with Kendo Nagasaki
as the Ninja Express, traveling through Japan, United States, and Puerto Rico.
and Mick Foley
in some most brutal matches. His last promotions were WWC
, FMW and NWA
. Sekigawa retired in 1997.
Several of Sekigawa's hardcore matches include:
In the match that nearly ended Mr Pogo's career, Mr. Pogo fought Terry Funk in a Barbed Wire Spider Net and Barbed Wire Pit match where both the barbed wire substituting for the ring ropes and the barbed wire of the two pits that were outside the ring were rigged to explode. After Mr Pogo took a bump into one of the exploding spider wires and had his pants briefly set on fire by Funk's burning chair, Terry Funk forced Mr Pogo to fall into one of the barbed wire pits by blowing a gigantic fireball off his flaming branding iron at Mr Pogo. This turned into a catastrophe when the combination of the explosion and Mr. Pogo's head getting caught in one of the wires caused Mr. Pogo to break his neck. Not knowing that Mr. Pogo was hurt and not being able to understand the referee's Japanese, Terry Funk continued to beat on Mr. Pogo until he realized that Pogo could not continue with the match (which probably still had a way to go since they had still had an unexploded pit and an unexploded spider wire). Terry Funk wound up covering up for Mr. Pogo by chasing people around the ring side area with flaming branding iron and acting demented.
.
Sekigawa, as the gimmick of Mr. Pogo, came out during the end of the match where Onita and The Great Sasuke
fought for a second time in a exploding deathmatch where at the end he blew a fireball to Onita's face, giving Sasuke the win.
Sekigawa was rushed to a hospital in February 2007 with a bleeding gastric ulcer where he ended up spending three weeks in the hospital.
His Mr. Pogo character was referenced on the April 23, 2009 episode of TNA Impact on the cable channel SpikeTV. Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner were competing in a hardcore weapons match dubbed a "Cactus Jack Smack Attack" by Mick Foley who per the storyline had booked the match and chosen what weapons would be available for the wrestlers to use. One of the weapons was a pogo stick. At one point Scott Steiner began hopping on the pogo stick. Foley, who was a guest commentator, called Steiner "Mr. Pogo". Moments later, after Steiner was clotheslined off the pogo stick, Foley commented that the name was already taken.
As of 2009, he is still active, as part of the Shin-W*ING promotion.
Early years (1972-1990)
He was originally a decent amateurAmateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...
, having a pre-professional dispute with the future Jumbo Tsuruta
Jumbo Tsuruta
, better known by his ring name Jumbo Tsuruta, was a professional wrestler who wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling for most of his career, and is well-known for being the first ever AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, having won the PWF Heavyweight Championship, the NWA United National...
over team representation in the Japanese collegiate championships. He joined Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance
Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance
Nihon Puroresu Kyōkai was the first professional wrestling promotion to be based in Japan. It operated from 1953 to 1973. Founded by Rikidōzan when he established a territory that would represent the National Wrestling Alliance in Japan...
but did not debut there, instead joining the new New Japan Pro Wrestling
New Japan Pro Wrestling
is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...
promotion's dojo and debuting in 1973. Quickly frustrated with NJPW's rigid norms, he quit and began wandering the wrestling circuits in North America. It was in North America where his gimmick was given: Mr. Togo, originally a generic Japanese surname, evolved into Mr. Pogo due to misspellings and miscommunication on the part of promoters who booked him. During the 1980s, Mr. Pogo would team with Kendo Nagasaki
Kazuo Sakurada
, better known as Mr. Sakurada and as the Japanese version of , is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. He is best known, under various monikers, for his work in Stampede Wrestling, National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling. Sakurada is also highly regarded by Bret Hart as...
as the Ninja Express, traveling through Japan, United States, and Puerto Rico.
Deathmatch king (1990-1997)
By 1990 he was back in Japan. In the mid-1990s he joined BJPW and won the BJPW Death Match Heavyweight Title once, and the Barbed Wire Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Title. He wanted more interesting matches to compete in, and moved to W*ING. He faced such legends as Terry FunkTerry Funk
Terrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
and Mick Foley
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
in some most brutal matches. His last promotions were WWC
World Wrestling Council
The World Wrestling Council is one of Puerto Rico's two main professional wrestling promotions, the other one being the International Wrestling Association....
, FMW and NWA
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
. Sekigawa retired in 1997.
Several of Sekigawa's hardcore matches include:
- Barbed Wire Platform Match: In a barbed wire bumps match, huge boards laden with truckloads of barbed wire are placed at ringside. In FMW, Mr Pogo & Atsushi Onita contested barbed wire platform matches where, at ringside, mixed in with the wire, were landmines. Landmine matches usually only occur outside. He also fought in a Barbed Wire Platform Match in December 1994, at an arena in Tokyo (not Korakuen HallKorakuen Hallis an arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted many boxing, professional wrestling and mixed martial arts matches. Part of Tokyo Dome City, it is one of Tokyo's biggest attractions. It opened on April 16, 1962 and has a capacity of approximately 1,800 people. The venue hosted the boxing...
), FMW held a series of matches with Atsushi OnitaAtsushi OnitaAtsushi Onita is a Japanese former politician and active professional wrestler best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling...
(under the Great Nita gimmick) and Tarzan GotoTarzan Goto, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler who has wrestled on the independent circuit most of his career. He is best known for his exploding steel cage matches againest Atsushi Onita and Pat Tanaka in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling ....
(under his Ho Chi Ming) gimmick against Mr Pogo and Hisakatsu Oya, which had landmines at ringside. - Scramble Bunkhouse Barbed Wire Baseball Bat Deathmatch: In this particular match, Pogo faced Mitsuhiro Matsunaga it the Tokyo Korakuen Hall on March 3, 1992. The match ended when the referee stopped the match after Pogo set Matsunaga's head on fire with a fireball. Pogo was declared the unofficial winner of the match as medics attended to Matsunaga's severe burns.
- Barbed Wire Spider Net Match: Barbed Wire Spider Net Matches feature barbed wire vertically wrapped around the ring ropes. This type of match is rare, but one prominent match was held May 4, 1992 in W*ING. The match featured Mr. Pogo & Super InvaderRay FernandezRaymond Fernandez was a professional wrestler who primarily wrestled in Florida and Texas before joining the World Wrestling Federation. He was best known by the ring name Hercules Hernandez or simply Hercules...
vs. Mitsuteru Tokuda & Yukihiro Kanemura, and ended after Super Invader delivered a top rope splash onto Yukihiro Kanemura with his chest covered in barbed wire. - Barbed Wire With Glass Platform Match: This match features a platform at ringside, constructed from barbed wire and wood, with plates of glass lying on top. Mr. Pogo fought Terry FunkTerry FunkTerrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
in one such match August 1 at the Shiodome.
In the match that nearly ended Mr Pogo's career, Mr. Pogo fought Terry Funk in a Barbed Wire Spider Net and Barbed Wire Pit match where both the barbed wire substituting for the ring ropes and the barbed wire of the two pits that were outside the ring were rigged to explode. After Mr Pogo took a bump into one of the exploding spider wires and had his pants briefly set on fire by Funk's burning chair, Terry Funk forced Mr Pogo to fall into one of the barbed wire pits by blowing a gigantic fireball off his flaming branding iron at Mr Pogo. This turned into a catastrophe when the combination of the explosion and Mr. Pogo's head getting caught in one of the wires caused Mr. Pogo to break his neck. Not knowing that Mr. Pogo was hurt and not being able to understand the referee's Japanese, Terry Funk continued to beat on Mr. Pogo until he realized that Pogo could not continue with the match (which probably still had a way to go since they had still had an unexploded pit and an unexploded spider wire). Terry Funk wound up covering up for Mr. Pogo by chasing people around the ring side area with flaming branding iron and acting demented.
Comeback (1997-present)
His retirement didn't last, as he returned to wrestling in 1997 for various promotions, including Big Japan Pro WrestlingBig Japan Pro Wrestling
Big Japan Pro Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests.-History:...
.
Sekigawa, as the gimmick of Mr. Pogo, came out during the end of the match where Onita and The Great Sasuke
Masanori Murakawa
, , is a Japanese professional wrestler who is best known by his stage name The Great Sasuke, as well as a former Iwate Prefectural Assembly legislator. He has wrestled in Japan and in the United States in various wrestling promotions...
fought for a second time in a exploding deathmatch where at the end he blew a fireball to Onita's face, giving Sasuke the win.
Sekigawa was rushed to a hospital in February 2007 with a bleeding gastric ulcer where he ended up spending three weeks in the hospital.
His Mr. Pogo character was referenced on the April 23, 2009 episode of TNA Impact on the cable channel SpikeTV. Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner were competing in a hardcore weapons match dubbed a "Cactus Jack Smack Attack" by Mick Foley who per the storyline had booked the match and chosen what weapons would be available for the wrestlers to use. One of the weapons was a pogo stick. At one point Scott Steiner began hopping on the pogo stick. Foley, who was a guest commentator, called Steiner "Mr. Pogo". Moments later, after Steiner was clotheslined off the pogo stick, Foley commented that the name was already taken.
As of 2009, he is still active, as part of the Shin-W*ING promotion.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Pogo Driver (Spike piledriver)
- Fireball
Championships and accomplishments
- Big Japan Pro WrestlingBig Japan Pro WrestlingBig Japan Pro Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests.-History:...
- BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight ChampionshipBJW Deathmatch Heavyweight ChampionshipThe BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship is the top title contested for in the Japanese promotion Big Japan Pro Wrestling. As its name suggests, it is exclusively defended in deathmatches. It was first created in 1998 when The Great Pogo defeated Mitsuhiro Matsunaga in a tournament final...
(1 time)
- Central States WrestlingHeart of America Sports AttractionsHeart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa...
- NWA Central States Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Central States Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship a professional wrestling championship that currently serves as the main title for the National Wrestling Alliance promotion, NWA Midwest. For most of its existence, however, the title was defended in the NWA affiliate Central States Wrestling from...
(1 time) - NWA Central States Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Central States Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Central States Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team championship for the Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling promotion from 1979 until the promotion ceased to exist in 1988...
(1 time) – with Gypsy JoeGilberto MelendezGilberto Melendez is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler better known under the ring name Gypsy Joe. Currently he wrestles for the Southern Wrestling Federation in Tullahoma, Tennessee.-Professional wrestling career:...
- Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling
- FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight ChampionshipFMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight ChampionshipThe FMW World Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship was a premiere championship in the wrestling promotion Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, or FMW....
(2 times) - FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team ChampionshipFMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team ChampionshipThe FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship was a tag team hardcore wrestling championship contested in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling.-WWA World Martial Arts Tag Team Championship :-FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship :...
(3 times) – with Hisakatsu Ooya (1), The GladiatorMike AwesomeMichael Lee Alfonso , better known by his ring name Mike Awesome, was an American professional wrestler best known in America for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and in World Wrestling Federation and also in Japan for his work with Frontier Martial-Arts...
(1), and Yukihiro Kanemura (1)
- NWA Tri-State
- NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- NWA Western States SportsNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Amarillo version)NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Amarillo version)The Amarillo version of the NWA Brass Knuckles Championship was a secondary championship that was defended in Dory Funk, Sr.'s NWA Western States Sports promotion based in Amarillo, Texas. Originally created in August 1964, the title was used briefly before being abandoned. It was reactivated three...
(1 time) - NWA Western States Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Western States Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Western States Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling title in the National Wrestling Alliance's Amarillo, Texas territory, NWA Western States Sports....
(2 times) – with Mr. Sato
- Stampede WrestlingStampede WrestlingStampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
- Stampede North American Heavyweight ChampionshipStampede North American Heavyweight ChampionshipThe Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship is the major title in the Canadian professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling. From its establishment in 1968 until 1972, it was Stampede's secondary singles championship, becoming the top title in 1972 after the previous top...
(1 time) - Stampede International Tag Team ChampionshipStampede Wrestling International Tag Team ChampionshipThe Stampede International Tag Team Championship is the main tag-team title in the Canadian professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling. It was created in 1958 as the NWA International Tag-Team Championship...
(1 times) – with Dynamite KidDynamite KidThomas Wilton Billington , best known by the ring name Dynamite Kid, is a retired British professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation, Stampede Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid- to late-1980s...
- World Wrestling CouncilWorld Wrestling CouncilThe World Wrestling Council is one of Puerto Rico's two main professional wrestling promotions, the other one being the International Wrestling Association....
- WWC Caribbean Tag Team ChampionshipWWC Caribbean Tag Team ChampionshipWWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship was a third-string Tag Team title that was defended in the World Wrestling Council.-Title history:...
(2 times) – with Kensuke SasakiKensuke Sasakiis a Japanese professional wrestler who currently wrestles for various promotions through his own agency, Kensuke Office. He is the first of two men ever to hold all 3 of puroresu's major heavyweight titles , the other being Yoshihiro Takayama.-Early years :Kensuke Sasaki... - WWC World Junior Heavyweight ChampionshipWWC World Junior Heavyweight ChampionshipThe WWC World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a secondary championship contested for in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion, the World Wrestling Council. For a time, the title was defended in the Wrestling International New Generations promotion in Japan as the W*ING/WWC World...
(1 time) - WWC World Tag Team ChampionshipWWC World Tag Team ChampionshipThe WWC World Tag Team Championship is the tag team title contested for in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion, the World Wrestling Council.-Title history:-External links:***...
(5 times) – TNTSavio VegaJuan Rivera is a professional wrestler best known under the name Savio Vega. During the mid-late 1990s, he was an active wrestler in the World Wrestling Federation...
(1) and Kendo NagasakiKendo NagasakiKendo Nagasaki is a professional wrestling stage name, used as a gimmick of that of a Japanese Samurai warrior with a mysterious past and even supernatural powers of hypnosis...
(4)
- Wrestling International New Generations
- W*ING Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Crash the TerminatorBill DeMottWilliam Charles "Bill" DeMott II is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment as Hugh Morrus and Bill DeMott respectively and as Crash The Terminator in Extreme Championship Wrestling and Japan...