Gran Naniwa

Gran Naniwa
Birth name Yoshikuni Kimura
Born (1977-02-15)February 15, 1977
Ibaraki Prefecture
Died October 6, 2010(2010-10-06) (aged 33)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Gran Naniwa
The Claw
Billed height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Billed weight 98 kg (216 lb)
Trained by Great Sasuke
Debut June 2, 1993

Yoshikuni Kimura (木村 吉公 Kimura Yoshikuni)[1] (February 15, 1977 – October 6, 2010)[2] was a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Gran Naniwa (愚乱・浪花 Guran Naniwa). Naniwa was known for his comedic gimmick, in which he performed mannerisms of crabs.[3] This was also reflected upon in the design of his wrestling mask.

Career

Naniwa debuted professionally in 1993 in Michinoku Pro Wrestling, immediately making an impact as one of the most popular faces within the company. His first major attempt at becoming a top performer saw him compete in the 1995 Super J-Cup. Naniwa managed to get to the quarterfinals, but he was later eliminated by Jushin Thunder Liger, who later went on to win the Super J-Cup.[2] In the late 1990s, Naniwa competed in the United States for Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where he wrestled Gran Hamada in January 1998 at the ECW House Party event.[3] After this, Naniwa took a brief hiatus for a few years but made his return in 2006, again under his Gran Naniwa ring name, competing in a match for New Japan Pro Wrestling's now defunct WRESTLE LAND "brand".

Death

Kimura died on October 6, 2010 due to a heart attack at the age of 33.

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

  • Central American Middleweight Championship (1 time)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Profile at Puroresu Central". Puroresu Central. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
  2. 1 2 選手名鑑 (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved October 9, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Caldwell, James (2010-11-21). "Japan News: Japanese pro wrestler Gran Naniwa dies at age 33, briefly wrestled for ECW in 1990s". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "WAR Super J Cup 1995". Puroresu Central. Retrieved 2014-08-04.

External links

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