Hiroshi Wajima was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Nanao, Ishikawa.
21 Facts About Hiroshi Wajima
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Hiroshi Wajima was the sport's 54th yokozuna and remains the only wrestler with a collegiate background to reach its highest rank.
3.
Hiroshi Wajima was later head coach of Hanakago stable, but after several controversies, Wajima was forced to leave the sumo world and turned to professional wrestling.
4.
Hiroshi Wajima was given makushita tsukedashi status, meaning he could begin in the third highest makushita division.
5.
Hiroshi Wajima was undefeated in his first 14 matches and reached the juryo division after just two tournaments.
6.
Hiroshi Wajima was promoted to the top makuuchi division in January 1971.
7.
Hiroshi Wajima won his first championship as a yokozuna in September, and in November 1973 he became the first wrestler ever to withdraw from a tournament while still managing to win it.
8.
Hiroshi Wajima had split the webbing between his fingers in his Day 12 win over Takanohana, and lost the next day with his hand bandaged.
9.
Hiroshi Wajima took his fourteenth and final championship in November 1980, and retired in March 1981.
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Hiroshi Wajima was an unconventional wrestler in many ways, and was looked on as a contrast to the strong and silent Kitanoumi.
11.
Hiroshi Wajima was the only man ever to reach yokozuna without adopting a traditional shikona, instead fighting under his own surname of Wajima throughout his entire career.
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Hiroshi Wajima was the first and to date only former collegiate competitor to be promoted to yokozuna.
13.
Hiroshi Wajima was nicknamed the "Sumo Genius" because of his college background.
14.
Hiroshi Wajima was a great friend and rival of Takanohana, whom he had known since his university days.
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Hiroshi Wajima's preferred grip on the mawashi was hidari yotsu, and he was famed for the power of his so-called "golden left arm" which he would use to down his opponents by shitatenage or inner-arm throw.
16.
Hiroshi Wajima lacked leadership qualities and most unusually did not even live in the stable, preferring to commute.
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Hiroshi Wajima wrestled in North America for American Wrestling Association in Minnesota and Jim Crockett Promotions in the Mid-Atlantic.
18.
Hiroshi Wajima's wrestling career helped him with his debts, and soon he was in good terms with the Sumo Association.
19.
The previous year, Hiroshi Wajima played the father in the short film Kona Nishite Fu, which Demon wrote and directed.
20.
Hiroshi Wajima attended the wedding reception of Toyohibiki in February 2016 and reported that while he had difficulty speaking, he was able to remain physically active, going for a 50-minute walk every day.
21.
Hiroshi Wajima died at his home in Tokyo on 8 October 2018.