1. Kyohei Wada is a Japanese professional wrestling senior referee best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling.
13 Facts About Kyohei Wada
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Kyohei Wada is the longest-tenured member of the All Japan Pro Wrestling roster, having worked for the company from 1972 to the present day.
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Kyohei Wada caught the eye of owner Giant Baba, who noticed he was light on his feet and asked if he would be interested in training to be a referee.
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Kyohei Wada accepted the offer and began training under then-All Japan senior referee Joe Higuchi, and made his refereeing debut in 1974.
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However, after Hattori left for New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1984 and Hayashi was transferred to All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling, Kyohei Wada's position rose greatly and the first main event match he refereed was the Genichiro Tenryu vs Jumbo Tsuruta singles match on August 31,1987.
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Kyohei Wada quickly became recognisable for his agile movement around the ring, often jumping over wrestlers to get in a position to count a pinfall.
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At Mitsuharu Misawa's memorial show in 2009, Kyohei Wada served as referee for the main event, pitting Akira Taue and Toshiaki Kawada against Kenta and Jun Akiyama.
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Kyohei Wada's departure was in response to what he viewed as AJPW president Keiji Mutoh's poor handling of the backstage incident between Nobukazu Hirai and Yoshikazu Taru and the rest of the Voodoo Murders.
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Kyohei Wada said he felt that Mutoh's lack of a public apology to Hirai "betrayed All Japan Pro Wrestling" and cited it as the main reason for his departure.
10.
On June 30,2013, Kyohei Wada refereed an All Japan match for the first time in two years at Pro Wrestling Love in Ryogoku, the last show held under Mutoh before he and much of the roster would leave the promotion just days later.
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Kyohei Wada chose all matches on the card and was showered with streamers before the main event.
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Kyohei Wada was sidelined from refereeing on January 2,2017, when he sustained a broken ankle after falling from the top rope and to the floor during a battle royal.
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Kyohei Wada made his return in April, refereeing a 2017 Champion Carnival match between Zeus and Kai.