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Osamu Nishimura

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Osamu Nishimura
Nishimura in January 2012.
Born (1971-09-23) September 23, 1971 (age 53)
Tokyo, Japan
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Osamu Nishimura
Nishimu Lama
Billed height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Billed weight105 kg (231 lb)
Trained byNJPW Dojo
B. Brian Blair
Hiro Matsuda
Don Jardine
Tatsumi Fujinami
Karl Gotch
Dory Funk, Jr.
Tony St. Clair[1]
DebutApril 21, 1991

Osamu Nishimura (西村修, Nishimura Osamu, born September 23, 1971) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer. Nishimura formerly worked for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and MUGA World Pro Wrestling (MUGA).[2] Outside of pro wrestling, he is also a politician, as he's a member of the Tokyo Bunkyo Ward Assembly as a food education instructor.

Professional wrestling career

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Early years (1991–1994)

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Nishimura joined the New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo in April 1990, while a senior in high school. After a year of training, he debuted for NJPW in April 1991, losing to Takayuki Iizuka. In August 1993, he went overseas to Florida for a extensive training excursion under B. Brian Blair, Hiro Matsuda and Don Jardine. In March 1994, he wrestled a match for Yoshiaki Yatsu's Social Pro Wrestling Federation, before returning to the States to start his overseas excursion.

Overseas excursions (1994–1995, 1997, 2001–2019)

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In April 1994, he embarked on his first overseas tour of the United States, wrestling for various National Wrestling Alliance territories. On August 26, 1994, he went to the Global Wrestling Federation and defeated Alex Porteau to win the GWF Light Heavyweight Championship; he would be its final champion before the promotion folded a month later. A day later, he went to the NWA's biggest territory at the time, Eastern Championship Wrestling, and take part in a tournament to crown a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion; he lost to Dean Malenko in the first round. The next day, he unsuccessfully challenged Shane Douglas for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. He would be brought back to NJPW for one match in October 1994, before Nishimura returned to the States to resume his excursion. In November 1994, he would receive another chance at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship with another tournament, this time co-promoted by Smoky Mountain Wrestling; he and Lou Perez went to a time limit draw in the first round, eliminating both men. In March 1995, he had a couple shots at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, now held by Dan Severn, but lost both times. In May 1995, he moved to the Netherlands to train in Chris Dolman's dojo for a month, before moving to the United Kingdom to train in The Snake Pit under Roy Wood. It was in the Snake Pit, where Tatsumi Fujinami saw Nishimura's progress and was so impressed that Nishimura were to return to NJPW, after the NJPW vs. UWFi show.

In May 1997, he underwent another overseas excursion. First, he went to Canada to train under Tokyo Joe Daigo for a month, before going to Europe for Catch Wrestling Association. In September 1997, he defeated Robby Brookside to win the CWA Submission Shootfighting Championship. He would vacate the title in January 1998, due to his return to NJPW.

In 2001, he went to the United States again to polish his skills at the Funking Conservatory in Florida, under the eye of Dory Funk, Jr. (whom Nishimura admired from watching matches of New Japan's founder Antonio Inoki). He would wrestle on and off with them until 2019. In May 2002, he wrestled a couple of matches for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in Mexico. In June 2003, he wrestled for another Florida promotion, Independent Pro Wrestling, before moving to Germany three months later to wrestle for European Wrestling Promotion. In February 2006, he and old MUGA comrade Katsushi Takemura took part in Chikara's 2006 Tag World Grand Prix, where they made it to the semi-finals, before being defeated by Milano Collection A. T. and Skayde. In December 2006, he wrestled a show for Full Impact Pro. In June 2007, he wrestled a show for NWA Bluegrass, taking part in another tournament for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but lost to Brent Albright in the first round. In May 2008, he wrestled in South Korea for New Korea Pro Wrestling Association, winning the NKPWA World Heavyweight Championship for the first time, defeating Riki Bassan and Kurt Angle in a three-way match. He would lose the title in March 2009 to Yun Kang Chul. In May 2017, he returned to Florida and won the BANG! TV World Heavyweight Championship. In September 2017, Nishmura regained the NKPWA World Heavyweight Championship for the second time. He would hold onto the title for nearly a year, before losing it back to Yun Kang Chul. He would regain the title back nearly a year later for a third time.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1995–2006)

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Nishimura returned to New Japan in October 1995. He was immediately paired with Keiji Muto for the annual Super Grade Tag League; they tied for third with the team of Shiro Koshinaka and Tatsutoshi Goto. In November 1995, he lost a high-profile match to Ric Flair. In October 1996, he won the Catch of Lancashire tournament.

After a European excursion, Nishimura returned in January 1998 and teamed with Shinya Hashimoto in the struggle against NWO Japan's Keiji Mutoh and Masahiro Chono, who held the IWGP Tag Team Championship, but they were unsuccessful. Nishimura also failed to unseat IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kensuke Sasaki, before Nishimura was diagnosed with a cancerous retroperitoneal tumor in August. He made his triumphant return in June 2000, despite losing to Tatsumi Fujinami on his first match back. Nishimura's star was bright enough to warrant an earnest push, and he won the IWGP tag team titles with Fujinami. Nonetheless, the bi-promotional duo of Mutoh and All Japan Pro Wrestling's Taiyō Kea were on the rise, and the two teams clashed over both the IWGP title and AJPW's World Tag Team Championship, both of which ended up around the waists of Mutoh and Kea.

In 2002 he teamed with Manabu Nakanishi under the name Gotch-ism, but they failed to win the titles. As Nakanishi began teaming more with Yutaka Yoshie, Nishimura engaged in a feud with the returning Minoru Suzuki, with whom he had a MUGA-style feud that showcased the traditional, scientific skills of both wrestlers. He later began teaming with Hiroyoshi Tenzan, with whom he won another IWGP tag team title in late 2003. They held the belts until February 2004 when they were defeated by Suzuki and Yoshihiro Takayama. As Tenzan focused on the IWGP Heavyweight title, Nishimura aimlessly was relegated to the mid-card. In January 2006, Nishimura opted not to renew his NJPW contract and left the company altogether.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (2007–2021)

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On October 20, 2007, Nishimura announced that he and trainee Manabu Soya have signed with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) as full-time wrestlers, citing unhappiness with the erratic MUGA World scheduling. From November 23 to December 9, 2007, Nishimura teamed with Masanobu Fuchi to compete in the World's Strongest Tag Determination League, finishing the league with 7 points (2 wins, 2 losses and 3 draws) and placing 5th overall. In November 2007, Nishimura announced plans to form a tag team with Dory Funk, Jr. in 2008, along with claiming that All Japan is planning a retirement ceremony for Funk.

Wrestling New Classic (2013)

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On March 31, 2013, Nishimura made his debut for Wrestling New Classic (WNC), defeating Zeus to become the number one contender to the WNC Championship.[3] On April 25, he defeated Akira to become the second WNC Champion.[4] A month later, Nishimura joined Akira's villainous Synapse stable.[5] On August 8, Nishimura lost the WNC Championship to Tajiri in his first defense.[6]

Outside of pro wrestling

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Acting

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In 2004, Nishimura starred in the film, The Calamari Wrestler. His character, Kanichi Iwata, like Nishimura, had cancer and used natural remedies to combat the illness.

Politics

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In March 2010, Nishimura announced that he was taking a hiatus from professional wrestling and announced his candidacy for the House of Councillors, but lost his bid in July 2010. In January 2011, he announced his candidacy for the Tokyo Bunkyo Ward Assembly, representing the People's New Party. A month later, he announced that he would cancel his contract with AJPW and concentrate on political activities. In April 2011, he was elected as a member of the Tokyo Bunkyo Ward Assembly. In May 2012, Nishimura changed his political party to Independent, due to the collapse of the People's New Party. In April 2015, he was re-elected for a second term. In April 2019, he was re-elected to a third term. In April 2023, he was re-elected to a fourth term, which he is currently running.

Health

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In August 1998, after the G1 Climax, Nishimura was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his retroperitoneal space. He spent nearly two years fighting by using natural remedies such as natural diet, medicinal food, Chinese medicine, Ayurvada, sea bathing, and urine therapy, instead of chemotherapy, until he was declared cancer-free in 2000. His cancer scare inspired his political career as a food education instructor, as his top priority was how to make the world healthier and how to direct it to preventive medicine.

In March 2024, Nishimura was diagnosed with stage-four esophageal cancer. The cancer had already spread to the lymph nodes outside the esophageous and the entire upper left side of his body, except his head. Unlike his first cancer scare, he had to undergo chemotherapy. In July, he was in a coma due to the cancer metastasising to the brain, but has since fully recovered. In August 2024, Nishimura was chosen by Dory Funk, Jr. as his partner for his final match and his final trip to Japan, against Atsushi Onita and Raijin Yaguchi for FMW-E's Kawasaki Stadium show on August 24. To take part in this match, Nishimura had to get a waiver from the hospital and have five doctors, nurses and trainers at ringside to monitor Nishimura's health. He and Funk defeated Onita and Yaguchi in a Double Hell Current Blast Deathmatch, as Nishimura used Funk's spinning toe hold to force Yaguchi to submit.

Championships and accomplishments

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  • Funking Conservatory
    • !Bang! TV World Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current)[8]
    • FC United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[9]
  • Independent Wrestling World
    • IWW One Night Tournament (1998)[9][10]
  • New Korea Pro-Wrestling Association
    • NKPWA World Heavyweight Champion (3 times, current)

References

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  1. ^ "元新日本プロレス北米支部長の大剛鉄之助さん死去 ７５歳 天山広吉の名付け親". Daily Sports Online (in Japanese). Kobe Shimbun. 2017-11-06. Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  2. ^ "Profile at Puroresu Central". Puroresu Central. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  3. ^ "2013-03-31 WNC新宿Face大会 夜の部". Wrestling New Classic (in Japanese). 2013-03-31. Archived from the original on 2013-04-10. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  4. ^ a b "2013-04-25 WNC旗揚げ一周年記念『後楽園ホール大決戦』 試合結果". Wrestling New Classic (in Japanese). 2013-04-25. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
  5. ^ "Akira、西村との精神修行の果てに…。". Wrestling New Classic (in Japanese). 2013-06-06. Archived from the original on 2014-03-05. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  6. ^ "2013-08-08 WNC熊本大会 試合結果". Wrestling New Classic (in Japanese). 2013-08-08. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-08-08.
  7. ^ "Osamu Nishimura « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  8. ^ "5月21日(日)後楽園大会 諏訪魔選手欠場に伴い対戦カード変更、「!Bang!TV 世界ヘビー級選手権試合 バトルロイヤル (8名参加)」開催決定". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-05-22.
  9. ^ a b c "PUROLOVE.com". www.purolove.com.
  10. ^ "IWW One Night Tournament « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  11. ^ "The Catch Of Lancashire « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  12. ^ a b "2002 New Japan Awards". Strong Style Spirit. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2011-04-28.
  13. ^ "2001 New Japan Awards". Strong Style Spirit. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2011-04-28.
  14. ^ "2003 New Japan Awards". Strong Style Spirit. Archived from the original on 2010-08-24. Retrieved 2011-04-28.
  15. ^ "Nikkan Sports Awards - 2001". wrestlingscout. February 16, 2016.
  16. ^ "Nikkan Sports Awards - 2002". wrestlingscout. February 17, 2016. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  17. ^ "Nikkan Sports Awards - 2003". wrestlingscout. February 19, 2016. Archived from the original on January 5, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  18. ^ ""PWI 500": 201–300". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. 2010-07-28. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
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