22 Facts About Tatsumi Fujinami

Tatsumi Fujinami was born on December 28,1953 and is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE on a legend's contract.

Tatsumi Fujinami was famously nicknamed "The Dragon", and is credited for inventing the dragon sleeper and the dragon suplex.

Tatsumi Fujinami is the owner and founder of the Dradition wrestling promotion.

In 2015, Tatsumi Fujinami was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, while becoming an ambassador for the company.

Tatsumi Fujinami is a nine time World Champion, winning world titles in NJPW, NWA, UWA and WCWA.

Tatsumi Fujinami started in the Japanese Wrestling Association under Antonio Inoki's wing at the age of 17.

Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, Osamu Kido and Kotetsu Yamamoto are recognized as NJPW's founding fathers.

Tatsumi Fujinami won his first title, the WWWF Junior Heavyweight Championship, on January 23,1978, by defeating Jose Estrada in Madison Square Garden, and brought it to Japan, establishing it as the premier junior heavyweight title in Japan.

Tatsumi Fujinami would be the first wrestler to be successful in both the junior heavyweight and heavyweight divisions.

Tatsumi Fujinami's reign was short-lived, as he lost the title to Vader a month later.

In 1993, Tatsumi Fujinami won the G1 Climax tournament, defeating Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Osamu Kido, Keiji Mutoh, and Hiroshi Hase to win the tournament.

Tatsumi Fujinami would hold onto the belt for over four months, before losing the title to Chono.

Tatsumi Fujinami decreased his work load upon being named President of NJPW in 1999.

Tatsumi Fujinami's last title reign in NJPW was an IWGP Tag Team Championship with disciple Osamu Nishimura in October 2001, and his last title shot ever was a Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship bout against Keiji Mutoh in December of the same year.

In 2006, after nearly 35 years in the company, Tatsumi Fujinami left NJPW, after giving an ultimatum of either Riki Choshu leave or Tatsumi Fujinami leave.

Tatsumi Fujinami returned to NJPW in 2008 where he would teamed up with Riki Choshu, and Masahiro Chono in tag team matches.

On March 19,2015, it was announced that Tatsumi Fujinami would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2015.

On January 4,2020, Tatsumi Fujinami was a part of Jushin Thunder Liger's team for the first of Liger's retirement matches at Wrestle Kingdom 14.

On January 4,2023, Tatsumi Fujinami was part of an Antonio Inoki memorial 6-man tag.

Tatsumi Fujinami teamed with Minoru Suzuki and Tiger Mask in a losing effort against Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima, and Yuji Nagata.

Tatsumi Fujinami appears as a gang member in the 2017 video game Yakuza Kiwami 2, alongside Riki Choshu, Masahiro Chono, Keiji Mutoh, and Genichiro Tenryu.

Tatsumi Fujinami is a playable wrestler in WWE 2K16 as DLC and in WWE 2K17 and WWE 2K18 as unlockable content.