Jushin Liger

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Keichi Yamada
Image:Jushin Liger.jpg
Statistics
Stage names	Keichi Yamada, 'Flying' Fuji Yamada, Jyushin Lyger, Jyushin Liger, Jushin "Thunder" Liger
Height	170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	95 kg (213 lb)
Born	November 30, 1964
Hometown	Hiroshima, Hiroshima
Debut	March 3, 1984

Keichi Yamada (山田恵一) (born November 30, 1964), better known as Jushin Liger (獣神ライガー - Jûshin Raigâ) and later, Jushin "Thunder" Liger (獣神サンダーライガー - Jûshin Sandâ Raigâ) is a Japanese professional wrestler.

1 Career
- 1.1 Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
2 Finishing and signature moves
3 Championships and accomplishments
4 See also
5 References

Career

Yamada wrested as an amateur wrestler while studying in high school. He applied to New Japan Pro Wrestling to become a professional wrestler in the early 1980's. He was not accepted because he did not meet the height requirements they had at that time. Yamada was determined not to give up his dream of becoming a professional wrestler, so he left for Mexico and began his training there. By his own account he was almost starving while studying there that visiting NJPW officials took pity in him and asked him to come back to Japan. While continuing his studies he had his debut match in 1984. He began studying various martial arts styles because he wanted to add something new and different to his wrestling style. He learned his Rolling Koppou Kick then.

He left for England in 1986 where he wrestled for All-Star Promotions as "Flying" Fuji Yamada. After returning to Japan he debuted his Shooting Star Press in 1987, for which he had gotten the idea from reading a manga. He left for Canada early 1989, where he wrestled in Stu Hart's Calgary Stampede Wrestling under his real name. He also trained under Hart in Hart's legendary dungeon. His experiences there led him to refer to Hart as a "very very tough man". NJPW called him back to Japan, for they had a new gimmick they needed a wrestler for, based on an extremely popular anime superhero, Jushin Liger, created by celebrated mangaka Go Nagai. NJPW had done this previously with Tiger Mask, which had become a huge success. Yamada was given a superhero-like full body costume & demonic looking mask, resembling the superhero type featured in tokusatsu and anime programs. "Jushin" means "Beast God."

Jushin "Thunder" Liger debuted in April 24, 1989 in NJPW. In his debut match as Jushin Liger, he defeated Kuniaki Kobayashi. He quickly became one of NJPW's top Junior Heavyweights, eventually capturing the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title eleven times among numerous other titles and accolades while wrestling around the world. When appearing without his mask on, Yamada blocks his appearance by covering his face with one hand. Early on Yamada's style mostly consisted of high flying. Later on he started adapting more power moves and started focusing more on wrestling and telling a story in the ring.

In 1996, Yamada was diagnosed with a brain tumour that was cancerous. Weeks later, he recovered and returned to action. He adapted his wrestling style to help reduce the strain it was putting on his body. He became a more grounded fighter, but is just as solid as he ever was in the ring.

Jushin Liger has wrestled in various US promotions such as WCW, where he wrestled Brian Pillman, and Ring of Honor defeated American Dragon Bryan Danielson and teamed Samoa Joe to face Bryan Danielson and Low Ki.

Liger's name is also spelled "Jyushin Lyger".

His theme song is "Ikari no Jushin" ("Raging Jushin"), performed by Yumi Hiroki, which was also the theme song for the original anime series.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

Liger debuted in the American Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion on October 23, 2005 as part of their Bound For Glory pay-per-view, losing to Samoa Joe in a rare international appearance.

Finishing and signature moves

Championships and accomplishments

11-Time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion
4-Time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion (with El Samurai, Koji Kanemoto, Minoru Tanaka and The Great Sasuke)
1-Time GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion
1-Time WCW World Light Heavyweight Champion (also known as the first incarnation of the WCW Cruiserweight Title)
2-Time MPW British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Champion
1-Time NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion
1-Time NWA Welterweight Champion
1-Time Osaka Pro Tag Team Champion (with Takehiro Murahama)
1-Time UWA Junior Heavyweight Champion
1-Time WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion (with El Samurai)
1-Time WAR International Junior Heavyweight Champion
1-Time WWA Junior Light Heavyweight Champion
1-Time WWF Light Heavyweight Champion

Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) ranked him # 12 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003. He was also ranked # 47 of the best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with El Samurai.