Yoshinari Ogawa

Birthdate:  November 2nd, 1966
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 200 lbs.
Debut:  September 3rd, 1985
Background:  All Japan Dojo
Promotion History: All Japan (1985 to 2000) and NOAH (2000 to present)
Alliances: None 
Ring Attire:  Zebra short tights
Card Position:  Mid-Card/Upper Mid-Card
Major Tournaments Won: None
Current Title Held: None

Championship History:

GHC Heavyweight Championship:
- Defeated Jun Akiyama on 4/7/02 and lost to Yoshihiro Takayama on 9/7/02

GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship with Mitsuharu Misawa:
- Defeated Scorpio and Vader on 11/30/01 and lost to Omori and Takayama on 12/9/01
- Defeated Nagata and Tanahashi on 1/10/04 and lost to Scorpio and Williams on 1/23/05

All Japan World Tag Team Championship with Mitsuharu Misawa:
- Defeated Omori and Takayama on 8/25/99 and lost to Akiyama and Kobashi on 10/23/99

All Japan World Jr. Heavyweight Championship:
- Defeated Dan Kroffat on 9/10/95 and lost to Masanobu Fuchi on 6/30/96
- Defeated Tsuyoshi Kikuchi on 1/15/97 and lost to Maunakea Mossman on 8/22/97
- Defeated Satoru Asako on 7/19/98 and Vacated on 6/16/00

All Asia Tag Team Championship with Mitsuharu Misawa:
- Defeated Omori and Takayama on 8/25/99 and Vacated on 8/25/99

Biggest Matches:
- September 10th, 1995 vs. Dan Kroffat (title win)
- August 25th, 1999 with Misawa vs. Takao Omori and Takayama (title win)
- November 20th, 2001 with Misawa vs. Vader and Scorpio (title win)
- April 7th, 2002 vs. Jun Akiyama (title win)
- July 10th, 2004 with Misawa vs. Keiji Mutoh and Taiyo Kea (title defense)

Pictures:
- Ogawa drives Rikio into the ring post
- A double team move with Misawa
- Ogawa hits his backdrop suplex

Signature Moves:
- Backdrop Suplex Hold
- Figure-Four Jackknife Hold

2005 Recap:
Ogawa started the year as a GHC Tag Team Champion with Misawa, but they lost the belts to Scorpio and Doug Williams on January 23rd.  For the remainder of the year, Ogawa mainly wrestled in tag matches with Misawa, and they usually came up victorious.  He did have a big singles match with Tenryu at the July Tokyo Dome Show, but he would come up short of a victory.  Ogawa will always have a place in NOAH due to his close friendship with Misawa, the founder of NOAH.

2006 Recap:
Ogawa continues teaming with Misawa on a regular basis, and thus generally picks up wins. He only had one big singles match in 2006, but he was defeated by Rikio, which cemented the fact that he probably will not be getting another shot at the GHC Heavyweight Championship anytime soon. He did not take part in either tournament in 2006 and even though he rarely loses he is not considered a major threat for any titles at this time.

2007 Recap:
In 2007 Ogawa continued to find tag team success even though he did not challenge for any titles during the year. On March 4th, Ogawa had a singles match against Doug Williams but Williams would come out victorious. On the other Budokan events he was generally on the winning team but did not pick up any pinfalls. Other then that Ogawa spent much of the year teaming with Misawa in the upper mid-card, occasionally picking up pinfalls but rarely against wrestlers that are highly regarded of in the company.

2009 Recap:
Ogawa had a pretty quiet year in 2009 as he did not challenge for any titles nor did he participate in any tournaments. 44 years old when the year started, Ogawa was content to wrestle in the mid-card helping the younger wrestlers and mixing it up with the other long time wrestlers such as Inoue and Taue. As he winds down his career it appears that Ogawa is no longer a title threat in NOAH.


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