Masahiro Chono

Mr. August: The five-time G1 Climax champion and leader of nWo Japan.

Masahiro Chono is an American-born Japanese retired professional wrestler and actor best known for his 26-year stint with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). As the leader of nWo Japan, Team 2000 and Black New Japan, he was the promotion's top heel for much of his career, beginning in 1994 when he adopted a yakuza inspired gimmick.

Quick Facts

Ring names

Kamikaze Chono
Masahiro Chono
Masa Chono
Tokyo Chono

Height

6 ft 1 in / 1.85 m

Weight

238 lb / 108 kg

Born

17 September 1963

Birthplace

Seattle, Washington, U.S.

Billed

Tokyo
Japan (WCW); Mitaka
Tokyo (NJPW)

Trainer

Stu Hart
Lou Thesz
Antonio Inoki
Kotetsu Yamamoto

Debut

October 5, 1984

Lore & Background

Chono debuted professionally in 1984 against Keiji Mutoh at an NJPW event in Saitama, Japan. In 1987, he defeated Shinya Hashimoto to win the Young Lions Cup. After winning the tournament, he went on an excursion that started in Europe, wrestling for Otto Wanz's Catch Wrestling Association. He then went to North America, starting in the United States for Central States Wrestling in Kansas City, which had broken away from the National Wrestling Alliance to form the World Wrestling Alliance. His first major feud was against Mike George over the NWA Central States TV and WWA World Heavyweight championships. He also wrestled in the Canadian Maritimes for Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling and in Puerto Rico, where he, Hashimoto, and Mutoh formed The Three Musketeers. Chono returned to NJPW part-time in July 1988. He came back to the United States in October 1988 and teamed with Mike Davis in Continental Championship Wrestling (CCW), by then renamed the Continental Wrestling Federation (CWF), and won that company's tag titles as the Japanese Connection. In April 1989, he took part in the IWGP Heavyweight Championship tournament, held at New Japan's very first show at the Tokyo Dome; he lost to eventual winner Big Van Vader in the quarterfinals. During this time, he returned to the United States and had a brief run in Australia. Upon his return to New Japan in October 1989, he reinvented himself. On October 15, 1989 during a match against Matt Borne, he debuted his signature move, the STF. On February 10, 1990, he wrestled in the main-event of NJPW's second Tokyo Dome show, teaming with Shinya Hashimoto against Antonio Inoki and Seiji Sakaguchi. On April 27 he won the IWGP Tag Team Championship with Mutoh, and on December 26 he defeated his mentor, Lou Thesz, when Thesz came out of retirement for one last match. The next year, Chono won the first G1 Climax tournament, defeating Mutoh in a thirty-minute final. He won the tournament again in 1992, winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in the process. On September 23, 1992, Chono suffered a serious neck injury from a botched sitdown tombstone piledriver while defending the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Steve Austin. On January 4, 1993, he lost the NWA World title to IWGP Heavyweight champion The Great Muta in a Title vs. Title match.

Reader's Guide

Chono holds the record for most wins at the G1 Climax at 5, earning him the nicknames 'Mr. August' and 'Mr. G1'. He is a two-time world champion, with one reign as IWGP Heavyweight Champion and NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion each. He is also a seven-time IWGP Tag Team Champion.