Shoichi "Sho" Funaki was born on August 24,1968 and is a Japanese professional wrestler and color commentator signed to WWE, where he is a one-time Cruiserweight Champion and a one-time Hardcore Champion.
28 Facts About Shoichi Funaki
2.
Shoichi Funaki later found the lucha libre style more to his liking, so he moved to The Great Sasuke's promotion, Michinoku Pro Wrestling.
3.
Shoichi Funaki wrestled in the Universal Wrestling Association where he won the UWA World Middleweight Championship from El Pantera on March 19,1997, in Japan.
4.
At WrestleMania 2000, Shoichi Funaki participated in a 15-minute hardcore battle royal for the WWF Hardcore Championship.
5.
Shoichi Funaki pinned Viscera after a diving shoulder block from Bradshaw but he was later pinned by Rodney.
6.
At Unforgiven, Shoichi Funaki participated in a hardcore battle royal which was won by the defending champion Steve Blackman.
7.
Michinoku left the WWF in the fall of 2001, resulting in Shoichi Funaki moving to singles competition.
8.
At Survivor Series, Shoichi Funaki participated in an Immunity Battle Royal which was won by Test.
9.
At Vengeance in 2003, Shoichi Funaki participated in the APA Invitational Bar Room Brawl which was won by Bradshaw.
10.
At WrestleMania XX, Shoichi Funaki participated in a Cruiserweight Open for the Cruiserweight Championship but was pinned by Jamie Noble.
11.
At Armageddon, Shoichi Funaki defeated Spike Dudley to win the Cruiserweight Championship.
12.
Shoichi Funaki successfully defended the title against Spike Dudley, Akio and Nunzio.
13.
Shoichi Funaki lost the championship to Chavo Guerrero in a six-man Cruiserweight Open match at No Way Out.
14.
At the Royal Rumble, Shoichi Funaki faced Kid Kash in a match for the title, when he was entered into a Cruiserweight Open along with four other Cruiserweight champions, including the champion Kash.
15.
Shoichi Funaki was pinned in this one fall match by then Raw superstar Gregory Helms, who won the match and title.
16.
At No Way Out, Shoichi Funaki participated in a Nine Man Cruiserweight Match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship but Helms retained the title.
17.
Shoichi Funaki would resume wrestling later that year, forming a tag team of sorts with Scotty 2 Hotty, which was mainly used to put over debuting wrestlers or tag teams.
18.
At No Way Out, Shoichi Funaki participated in a Cruiserweight Open match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship but was pinned by the champion Helms.
19.
Shoichi Funaki suffered a defeat to The Great Khali on April 21,2008, in Khali's SmackDown return match.
20.
On October 10,2008, Shoichi Funaki revealed his full name to be "Kung Fu Naki" during a backstage segment with R-Truth.
21.
Shoichi Funaki was inexplicably absent from WWE action until WrestleMania XXVI, where he took part in the 26 Man Battle Royal match, which was won by Yoshi Tatsu.
22.
Shoichi Funaki cameoed for WWE as a special guest referee during their house shows in Japan in 2011 and 2013.
23.
Shoichi Funaki made a special appearance in a video as a translator for Kenta's first WWE interview with Renee Young.
24.
Shoichi Funaki would appear in the WWE Network show, The Edge and Christian Show, introducing the hosts, with his voice dubbed over by Howard Finkel in the first season and Luke Gallows in the second season.
25.
Since WrestleMania 32, Shoichi Funaki has been one-half of the Japanese commentary team for all WWE pay-per-view events, while continuing his duties as an interpreter for Japanese wrestlers in backstage interviews.
26.
Shoichi Funaki opened his training facility, Shoichi Funaki Dojo in San Antonio, Texas in June 2012.
27.
Shoichi Funaki was a regular on WWE's short-lived Spanish-language show Los Super Astros, which was televised on Univision.
28.
Shoichi Funaki was said to have received somatropin in March 2006.