| Masa Saito | |
|---|---|
 Saito (left) vs. Arne Robertsson at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics | |
| Birth name | Masanori Saito |
| Born | August 7, 1942[1] Tokyo, Japan[2] |
| Died | July 14, 2018 (aged 75) Saitama, Japan |
| 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 as Mr. Saito or Masa Saito (マサ斎藤),[1] who 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 for two years in the mid-1980s for physically assaulting police officers in Waukesha, following an accusation of vandalism against his friend Ken Patera.[4]
- ^ a b c d e f "Wrestler Profiles: Masa Saito". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved January 2, 2008.
- ^ a b "Masa Saito". Genickbruch: Die Wrestlingseite des alten Europa (in German). Retrieved November 20, 2008.
- ^ "Matches « NJPW « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - the Internet Wrestling Database".
- ^ "Pro Wrestlers Patera, Saito, Found Guilty, Sent to Prison". Schenectady Gazette. June 15, 1985. p. 31. Retrieved February 24, 2015.