Masa Saito | |
---|---|
Birth name | Masanori Saito |
Born | [1] Tokyo, Japan[2] | August 7, 1942
Died | July 14, 2018 Saitama Prefecture, Japan | (aged 75)
Cause of death | Parkinson's disease |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Assassin #3 Masa Saito[1] Mr. Saito[1] The Unknown Soldier |
Billed height | 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] |
Billed weight | 120 kg (265 lb)[1] |
Trained by | Hiro Matsuda Toyonobori |
Debut | June 3, 1965[2] |
Retired | February 14, 1999 |
Masanori Saito (斎藤 昌典, Saitō Masanori, August 7, 1942 – July 14, 2018) was a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Mr. Saito or Masa Saito (マサ斎藤).[1] He wrestled for 33 years around the world. He had success as a singles wrestler, winning the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1990, and as a tag team wrestler with multiple partners in various National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) territories.
Saito joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1981, where he teamed with Mr. Fuji to hold the World Tag Team Championship twice and would claim the nickname "Chopstick Charlie". In Japan, he wrestled for both top leagues, All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He wrestled Antonio Inoki across Ganryujima island for over two hours in 1987.[3]
Saito was imprisoned in the United States for two years in the mid-1980s for physically assaulting police officers in Waukesha, Wisconsin, following an accusation of vandalism against his friend Ken Patera.[4]