 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Yoshikuni Kimura (1977-02-15)February 15, 1977 |
| 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 |
| Retired | October 3, 2009 |
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.
Professional wrestling career
Naniwa debuted professionally in 1993 in Michinoku Pro Wrestling as a face. He participated in the 1995 Super J-Cup, managing to get to the quarterfinals, but he was later eliminated by eventual winner Jyushin Thunder Liger.2 In the late 1990s, Naniwa competed in the United States for Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). He was supposed to wrestle at ECW's first pay-per-view ECW Barely Legal in 1997 but an injury necessitated his replacement by Masato Yakushiji. 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.
Championships and accomplishments
- Central American Middleweight Championship (1 time)
References
References
- "Profile at Puroresu Central". Puroresu Central. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
- 選手名鑑 (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. Retrieved October 9, 2010.
- 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.