Wakakirin Shinichi

Wakakirin Shinichi (若麒麟 真一, Wakakirin Shin'ichi), born September 21, 1983, as Shinichi Suzukawa (鈴川真一, Suzukawa Shin'ichi), is a former sumo wrestler from Hyōgo prefecture in Japan. His highest rank was maegashira 9. He was thrown out of the sport in February 2009 after being arrested for cannabis possession. In 2010 he became a professional wrestler.

Wakakirin Shinichi
若麒麟 真一
Personal information
BornShinichi Suzukawa
(1983-09-21) September 21, 1983
Kawanishi, Hyōgo, Japan
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight125 kg (276 lb)
Career
StableOshiogawa → Oguruma
Record279-232-22
DebutMarch 1999
Highest rankMaegashira 9 (January, 2008)
RetiredFebruary 2009
Championships2 (Makushita)
* Up to date as of Jan 2009.

Sumo career

Born in Kawanishi, his father ran a restaurant. He has a younger brother. He did baseball at elementary school. He was asked to join Oshiogawa stable while visiting the heya with a classmate of his father, and was contacted a number of times after that.[1] He made his professional debut in March 1999. He is the fourth wrestler from that class to make the top division, following Kotomitsuki, Takamisakari and Hamanishiki, but the first to do so after making his debut at the lowest level of sumo entry, mae-zumo. He began competing under his own surname, but upon reaching the second highest jūryō division for the first time in July 2004 his stablemaster Oshiogawa Oyakata honoured him with the name of Wakakirin. The "Kirin" part of his name, meaning giraffe or qilin, had only been given to three previous wrestlers: his own stablemaster (former ōzeki Daikirin), former sekiwake Kirinji, and Tamakirin, who quit sumo to become a professional wrestler.

Wakakirin scored an impressive ten wins in his jūryō debut, but in January 2005 he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury that forced him to sit out two tournaments, resulting in demotion back to the unsalaried makushita division. The injury reduced the effectiveness of his favoured tsuppari, or thrusting techniques, and although he returned to the second division in January 2006 he could manage only four wins and was immediately demoted once again.

He slowly returned to full fitness and after a series of solid performances he took his second makushita championship in May 2007 with a perfect 7-0 record from the rank of makushita 3, to earn promotion back to jūryō. After scores of 10-5 in July and 9-6 in September, he was promoted to the top makuuchi division for the November 2007 tournament. In April 2005 Oshiogawa stable was absorbed into Oguruma stable, in anticipation of Oshiogawa Oyakata's retirement the following year. Wakakirin is the third member of Oguruma stable to make his top division debut, following Takekaze and Yoshikaze.

Wakakirin achieved ten wins in his top division debut, a feat that normally wins the Fighting Spirit Award, but he missed out, the prize going to Baruto instead. He was promoted to what was to be his highest rank of maegashira 9 for the January 2008 tournament, but disappointing scores of 4-11 there and 6-9 in March meant he was demoted back to the jūryō division. He missed out on a kachi-koshi winning score on the final day in May 2008, falling to 7-8. He scored 7-8 once again in July. He remained in the top half of jūryō after that, but did not win promotion back to the top division. He produced a good 9-6 score at jūryō 3 in January 2009 but lost to Tamawashi on the final day when a win would have virtually guaranteed a return to makuuchi.

Dismissal

On January 30, 2009, Wakakirin was arrested for possession of cannabis,[2] at a CD shop in Roppongi that had been monitored by police for some time. The following day, Oguruma, his stable master, declared his intention to dismiss him as a professional sumo wrestler in the wake of the scandal and submitted his letter of resignation to Japan Sumo Association by proxy. The Sumo Association fired him on February 2, deciding on dismissal rather than the heavier penalty of expulsion that would have deprived him of a 5.3 million yen retirement bonus.[3]

This decision split the Association and was criticized by some as being too lenient.[4] However, Wakakirin subsequently apologized and said he would not accept the severance pay.[5][6] An editorial in the Asahi Shimbun said the newspaper was "appalled by his utter folly" in taking the drug.[7][8] After being in jail for a month, Wakakirin was released on bail on February 27. He appeared at the Yokohama District Court on April 13 and pleaded guilty to cannabis possession. On April 22 he was given a ten-month prison sentence, suspended for three years.[9] He was believed to be working for a time at his father's restaurant business.

Wakakirin is the fourth wrestler to be dismissed because of cannabis use, following Wakanohō, Rohō and Hakurozan, but the first Japanese.[3] In the same tests in September 2008 that led to Rohō and Hakurozan being dismissed, it was reported that Wakakirin's result was borderline, which put the wrestler under suspicion.[10]

The March 2009 banzuke or ranking list had a blank space where Wakakirin's name should have been (jūryō 1 West). This previously occurred with Wakanohō and Tokitsuumi, who retired between tournaments after the expulsion of his stablemaster.

Fighting style

Wakakirin was a oshi-sumo wrestler whose favourite technique was tsuppari, or a series of rapid thrusts to the opponent's chest.[1] His most common winning kimarite were oshidashi (push out) and tsuki dashi (thrust out).[11]

Professional wrestling career

In 2010, Wakakirin, still using his sumo name returned to the ring as a professional wrestler, training in Antonio Inoki's Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) stable. His first match was on the IGF-13 card in December, when he defeated Mark Coleman by referee stop. The match was controversial, and Coleman's colleague, Phil Baroni accused Wakakirin of shooting on Coleman in what was supposed to be a worked match. He made his comments on this on the Nightmare of Battle website.[12]

Wakakirin's next fight was scheduled for December 31, 2010, against Bob Sapp, but the match never took place as Sapp refused to leave his dressing room. He was also scheduled to face Kimbo Slice on February 5, 2011, in Fukuoka, but that fight never took place as Kimbo went down with an injury. In 2011 he was named the sport's rookie of the year by Tokyo Sports.

His first MMA fight was in December 2012 when he lost to Mirko Cro Cop.[13] In April 2014 he was defeated by Bob Armstrong at Inoki Genome Fight.[14]

In October 2013 he formed a tag team with fellow ex-sumo wrestler Kirinowaka.[15]

He left the IGF in 2017 and participated in a martial arts event run by the ISM, Inoki's new company.[16]

In March 2021 he was arrested again on suspicion of possessing cannabis.[16][17]

Sumo career record
Wakakirin Shinichi[18]
Year in sumo January
Hatsu basho, Tokyo		 March
Haru basho, Osaka		 May
Natsu basho, Tokyo		 July
Nagoya basho, Nagoya		 September
Aki basho, Tokyo		 November
Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
1999 x (Banzukegai) East Jonokuchi #30
4–3
 		 West Jonidan #161
2–5
 		 East Jonokuchi #21
2–5
 		 East Jonokuchi #30
5–2
 
2000 East Jonidan #122
3–4
 		 West Jonidan #134
5–2
 		 East Jonidan #79
1–6
 		 West Jonidan #106
4–3
 		 East Jonidan #79
4–3
 		 West Jonidan #53
3–4
 
2001 East Jonidan #82
5–2
 		 West Jonidan #39
5–2
 		 East Jonidan #4
3–4
 		 East Jonidan #18
6–1
 		 East Sandanme #56
3–4
 		 West Sandanme #78
5–2
 
2002 West Sandanme #46
4–3
 		 West Sandanme #32
4–3
 		 East Sandanme #20
5–2
 		 West Makushita #57
3–4
 		 West Sandanme #14
5–2
 		 East Makushita #48
3–4
 
2003 West Sandanme #3
2–5
 		 West Sandanme #29
5–2
 		 West Sandanme #2
6–1
 		 East Makushita #29
3–4
 		 West Makushita #39
4–3
 		 East Makushita #31
5–2
 
2004 West Makushita #18
4–3
 		 East Makushita #16
4–3
 		 East Makushita #12
5–2
 		 East Makushita #2
4–3
 		 West Jūryō #13
10–5
 		 West Jūryō #9
7–8
 
2005 East Jūryō #10
7–8
 		 East Jūryō #11
Sat out due to injury
0–0–15		 East Makushita #10
Sat out due to injury
0–0–7		 West Makushita #50
4–3
 		 East Makushita #42
7–0
 		 West Makushita #3
4–3
 
2006 East Jūryō #14
4–11
 		 East Makushita #6
2–5
 		 East Makushita #18
2–5
 		 West Makushita #32
5–2
 		 East Makushita #20
4–3
 		 East Makushita #13
4–3
 
2007 East Makushita #9
4–3
 		 West Makushita #7
5–2
 		 West Makushita #3
7–0
 		 West Jūryō #9
10–5
 		 West Jūryō #2
9–6
 		 West Maegashira #15
10–5
 
2008 West Maegashira #9
4–11
 		 East Maegashira #15
6–9
 		 East Jūryō #1
7–8
 		 East Jūryō #2
7–8
 		 East Jūryō #4
6–9
 		 West Jūryō #6
9–6
 
2009 East Jūryō #3
9–6
 		 Dismissed x x x x
Record given as win-loss-absent    Top Division Champion Top Division Runner-up Retired Lower Divisions

Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique     Also shown: ★=Kinboshi; P=Playoff(s)
Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi

Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna — Ōzeki — Sekiwake — Komusubi — Maegashira

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
6 matches 2 wins 4 losses
By knockout 2 3
By submission 0 1
By decision 0 0
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 2-4 Chris Barnett TKO (punches) Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2015 December 31, 2015 1 1:44 Tokyo, Japan
Win 2-3 Ik Tae Jin TKO (punches) Inoki Genome Fight 3 April 11, 2015 1 0:18 Tokyo, Japan IGF World Grand Prix Reserve Bout[19]
Loss 1–3 Chris Barnett TKO (punches) Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2014 December 31, 2014 1 1:57 Tokyo, Japan
Win 1–2 Ikuhisa Minowa TKO (corner stoppage) Inoki Genome Fight 2 August 23, 2014 2 0:59 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 0–2 Bob Armstrong KO (punch) Inoki Genome Fight 1 April 5, 2014 1 2:00 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 0–1 Mirko Cro Cop Submission (armbar) Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2012 December 31, 2012 1 1:18 Tokyo, Japan

Championships and accomplishments

See also

References
  1. "Data Bank - Wakakirin". Sumo Forum/ Sumo Magazine. 11 October 2004. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  2. "Sumo wrestler arrested for marijuana possession". International Herald Tribune. 2009-01-30. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
  3. "Wakakirin thrown out of sumo over drugs arrest". Daily Yomiuri Online. 2009-02-03. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
  4. "Criticism builds over 'lenient' punishment". Daily Yomiuri Online. 2009-02-04. Archived from the original on 2012-06-30. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
  5. "Tongan on Japan rugby team tests positive for marijuana". AFP. 2009-02-05. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
  6. "In Drug-Leery Japan, Arrests for Marijuana Are on the Rise". Wall St Journal. 4 March 2009. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  7. "Marijuana use spreading". Asahi Shimbun. 4 February 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
  8. "Sumo Smokers Busted for Pot". NBC 6 South Florida. 6 February 2009. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  9. "Random sumo drug tests held". Japan Times. 23 April 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  10. "Wakakirin admits, denies buying dope from foreigner". Daily Yomiuri Online. 2009-02-02. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
  11. "Wins of Wakakirin". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  12. "Phil Baroni's comments in the wake of Wakakirin's fight against Mark Coleman at IGF-13".
  13. "MIRKO 'CRO COP,' SATOSHI ISHII SET FOR AUG. 23 BOUT AT INOKI GENOME FIGHT IN TOKYO". Sherdog. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  14. Goyder, James (7 April 2014). "SATOSHI ISHII OUTPOINTS PHIL DE FRIES, EXTENDS WINNING STREAK AT INOKI GENOME FIGHT 1". Sherdog. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  15. "ＩＧＦ鈴川＆岡本、相撲パワーで圧倒だ". daily.co.jp (in Japanese). 24 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  16. "元幕内・若麒麟のプロレスラー・鈴川真一容疑者が大麻所持容疑で現行犯逮捕 (Shinichi Suzukawa, former Makuuchi wrestler Wakakirin, arrested on suspicion of possessing cannabis)". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). 11 March 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  17. "Ex-sumo wrestler accused of possessing marijuana". Tokyo Reporter. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  18. "Wakakirin Shinichi Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  19. IGF3 Archived 2015-04-19 at the Wayback Machine(in Japanese)
  20. 東京スポーツ プロレス大賞（2010～）. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved December 9, 2021.
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