Kanji Higuchi, better known as Joe Higuchi was a Japanese professional wrestler, road agent, on-air personality and referee best known for his tenures with the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance and All Japan Pro-Wrestling.
14 Facts About Joe Higuchi
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Joe Higuchi was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum as a member of the Class of 2018.
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Joe Higuchi was a judo practitioner in his youth and became a judo instructor for the GHQ after World War II.
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Joe Higuchi had trained in professional wrestling with Raul Romero and Tojo Yamamoto and in 1954, he joined the All Japan Pro-Wrestling Association as a professional wrestler.
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Joe Higuchi joined the JWA, which of whom he competed with in the 1950s and retired as an in-ring competitor in 1960.
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An AJPW original from its inception in 1972, Joe Higuchi gained fame as the senior referee of the promotion, a position he held from 1972 to 1990.
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Joe Higuchi was a prominent backstage official for the company and was the "go between" during talent exchanges between AJPW and Dory Funk Sr.
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Joe Higuchi was the first official Japanese referee of the NWA, refereeing bouts such the NWA World Heavyweight Championship match between Jack Briscoe and Dory Funk Jr.
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Joe Higuchi retired as a referee in 1997 and took up the position of caretaker for the gaijin talent.
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Joe Higuchi left AJPW in 1999 following the passing of its founder, Giant Baba.
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Joe Higuchi's last officiated match was the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship bout between Mitsuharu Misawa and "Dr Death" Steve Williams at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on March 1,1997.
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On November 8,2010, Joe Higuchi, known as one of Japan's greatest referees, passed away at the age of 81.
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On December 5,2010, Pro Wrestling Noah held the "Joe Higuchi Memorial Show" in Tokyo, Japan in Higuchi's honour.
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Joe Higuchi was posthumously given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010 Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards and was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum as a member of the Class of 2018 and the inaugural member of the new referee category.