Riki Choshu

Mitsuo Yoshida (Japanese: 吉田 光雄, romanized: Yoshida Mitsuo, born Kwak Gwang-ung [Korean: 곽광웅]; December 3, 1951), better known by his ring name Riki Choshu (長州 力, Chōshū Riki), is a Japanese and South Korean retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestler, who is best known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as both a performer and a booker. He is considered one of Japan’s most influential wrestlers for his work in the 1980s and 1990s and is known as the first wrestler to popularize the Sasori-Gatame, better known in English as the Scorpion Deathlock or Sharpshooter.

A second-generation Zainichi Korean from Yamaguchi Prefecture, Choshu won titles in Freestyle wrestling at the National Sports Festival of Japan, before (under his birth name) representing South Korea at the 1972 Summer Olympics. He also won collegiate titles in Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling as captain of the Senshu University team. He made his professional wrestling debut for NJPW in 1974, becoming a major star as a heel during the following decade.

After leaving NJPW in 2002, he formed Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling (WJ), but eventually returned to New Japan in October 2005 as a site foreman, booker and part-time wrestler. Choshu once again left NJPW in 2010 and primarily worked in Tatsumi Fujinami’s Dradition, as well as his own self-produced Power Hall events as a freelancer.