El Samurai Information & El Samurai Links at HealthHaven.com

El Samurai
Ring name(s)	El Samurai; Osamu Matsuda; Edo Samurai
Billed height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Billed weight	203 lb (92 kg; 14.5 st)
Born	April 19, 1966 (age 43); Hanamaki, Iwate, Japan
Trained by	New Japan Dojo
Debut	July 24, 1986 against Masakatsu Funaki

Osamu Matsuda (松田納, Matsuda Osamu^?) is a Japanese professional wrestler who is best known for his work in New Japan Pro Wrestling, and is better known by his stage name El Samurai.

[edit] Career

Matsuda graduated from high school in 1985, and joined the New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo. He debuted a year later and spent a few years working at the bottom of the card. In March 1991 he went to Mexico, and while there adopted a mask and the El Samurai stage name. He returned to NJPW in early 1992, and quickly defeated Jushin Liger for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in June. In 1997 he adopted a new costume and won the Best of Super Junior tournament. Only a month later he defeated Liger, winning the unified J-Crown Championship which at that time consisted of 7 junior heavyweight championships, due to Liger losing one of the eight titles (the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship) before then.

In April 2004 Matsuda unmasked for the first time since adopting the El Samurai character, for a match against Osamu Nishimura, but it was for one night only. Up until at the end of January 2005, Matsuda was unmasked again in a MUGA-style match against Shinsuke Nakamura. Though Matsuda has not been a top contender in the NJPW Junior Heavyweight division for a few years, he still continues to be a veteran in it, recently winning a second IWGP Junior tag team title, this time with rookie Ryusuke Taguchi.

On February 1st, 2008 New Japan agreed to let El Samurai leave the company after his contract expired. He had been hit by injuries, which caused Samurai not to be seen much in the ring in late 07 & early 08. His departure comes as some surprise as he leaves as one of New Japan's longest serving mainstays.

On February 17, El Samurai appeared in All Japan Pro Wrestling, aiding Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo by fending off NOSAWA Rongai & MAZADA.

[edit] In wrestling

Finishing moves

Double wrist–lock, sometimes with neckscissors^[1]
Lifting inverted DDT
Samurai Bomb (Kneeling one shoulder powerbomb)

Signature moves

Entrance themes

"The Unforgiven" by Robert Tepper (1988-1992)
"Terrible Gift" (1992-present)

[edit] Championships and accomplishments

Michinoku Pro Wrestling

British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[1]

New Japan Pro Wrestling

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[1]
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Jushin Liger (1) and Ryusuke Taguchi (1)^[1]
J-Crown (1 time)
NWA World Welterweight Championship (1 time)^[1]
UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[1]
WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[1]
Best of the Super Juniors (1997)

Universal Wrestling Association

Wrestle Association "R"

WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jushin Liger^[1]

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

5 Star Match (1997) vs. Koji Kanemoto on June 5
Most Improved Wrestler (1992)

¹Although he did win the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship twice, neither of his reigns are officially recognized by World Wrestling Entertainment. No reign prior to December 1997 is officially recognized by the WWE.

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r "OWOW". Onlineworldofwrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/e/el-samurai.html.

Profile at Strong Style Spirit

[OWOW-0] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r "OWOW". Onlineworldofwrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/e/el-samurai.html.

[1]

Contents

[edit] Career

[edit] In wrestling

[edit] Championships and accomplishments

[edit] References