Interesting Facts about Masahiro Chono

Interesting Facts about Masahiro Chono

September 27, 2023

By Ryan Porzl

Japanese Wrestling or Puroresu has had it's share of larger than life legends who were part of and a big part of a golden age in the business. One such wrestler in Japan was Masahiro Chono. A member of a legendary class of New Japan Dojo graduates that came out in 1984, Chono eventually skyrocketed to fame in the 1990s as one of wrestling's best talents and heels while also being a part of New Japan's "Three Musketeers" group alongside fellow 90s top stars Shinya Hashimoto and Keiji "The Great Muta" Mutoh. This September 17th marks Chono's 60th birthday and what better way to celebrate a legend, especially one not as well known in the west, then to present some interesting facts about the man referred to as "Black Charisma", "Mr. August", and "Mr. G1".

Note: I don't own any pictures, I found them on Google. Credit to New Japan Pro Wrestling, Purolove, and/or whoever owns them. I apologize for not knowing the owner's names.

Is a Three Time World Champion- Like many legends, Chono is no stranger to becoming a world heavyweight champion. During his near 40 year career, Chono wouldn't dominate a world title scene like most but he had his moments as he held three world titles during his career. As is well documented, Chono was the NWA World Heavyweight Champion as he won the championship by winning the 1992 G1 Climax on August 12, 1992 and would hold the belt until losing it to The Great Muta in a title vs. title match (Muta was the IWGP Heavyweight Champion) at New Japan's yearly January 4th Tokyo Dome Show Fantastic Story In Tokyo Dome on January 4, 1993. After years of arguably being New Japan's best wrestler or biggest to not win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Chono would do just that when he ended Tatsumi Fujinami then record 6th reign to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Rising The Next Generations In Osaka Dome on August 8, 1998. Unfortunately, Chono would be forced to vacate the championship on September 21st due to a neck injury. What many don't know is Chono held a third world championship, though whether it's a world championship can be debated. During his learned excursion, Chono went to Bob Geigel's NWA Central States Wrestling, which in late 1987, became World Wrestling Alliance in an attempt for Geigel to go national. Chono would be one of two people to hold the short lived promotion's world championship when he defeated inaugural champion Mike George on February 26, 1988. Chono would hold the gold for only three weeks before losing it back to George on March 17th. George and Chono would be the only two champions as the promotion shut down by the end of 88. 

Is a Record 5 Time Winner of New Japan's G1 Climax Tournament- This is a very well known fact to anyone who is a Chono fan or at least a New Japan Pro Wrestling fan. As mentioned, Chono was never a dominant world champion in his career though he held a few. His true arena was New Japan's yearly G1 Climax. Started in 1991, the G1 Climax is New Japan's yearly top heavyweight tournament and arguably the most prestigious tournament in all of professional wrestling. Chono would waste no time in dominating the tournament as he won the inaugural one in 1991 defeating Keiji Mutoh in the finals and then went on to win three of the first four tournaments winning a second in 1992 over Rick Rude in the finals and a third in 1994 against Power Warrior (Kensuke Sasaki) in the finals. After a nearly decade dry spell, Chono returned to top form winning the tournament two more times in the 2000s, first in 2002 against Yoshihiro Takayama in the finals and finally, in 2005 defeating Kazuyuki Fujita in the finals. With this success, Chono has earned the nicknames "Mr. August" (as that's when the G1 Climax is held or concludes) and "Mr. G1". As of 2023, Chono still hold the record for most G1's and because of his association with the tournament, still appears at the finals every year to provide guest commentary and usually presents the trophies to the winner.

Was the First Three Musketeer to Win a World Championship- This is an interesting and ironic fact. Although Chono didn't win as many world titles as his Three Musketeer comrades Shinya Hashimoto and Keiji "The Great Muta" Mutoh or dominated a world championship like they did, he actually reached the top of the mountain before any of them did. As mentioned, Chono technically won his first world championship when he won the WWA World Heavyweight Championship on Feburary 26, 1988. However, even if that reign doesn't count, Chono still made it first with his NWA World Championship win when he won it on August 12, 1992. With the win, Chono beat Mutoh by four days and Hashimoto by thirteen months as Mutoh wouldn't win his first world title until he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship from Riki Choshu on August 16, 1992 while Hashimoto would defeat Mutoh for his first IWGP Heavyweight Championship on September 20, 1993. While Chono may not be the best world champion of the Three Musketeers, he was the first.

Is the Only Three Musketeer to Have One-on-One Dream Matches With Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi- In the 1990s, two of the biggest promotions in Japan were New Japan Pro Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. Even though both were run differently and had different styles and philosophies, one thing they had in common was having a core of top talent that dominated the respective promotions. For New Japan, the core was The Three Musketeers of Hashimoto, Mutoh, and Chono while All Japan's core was The Four Pillars of Heaven or Four Heavenly Kings which was comprised of Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, and Akira Taue. No doubt, encounters between these two core groups would've been the biggest dream matches of the 1990s Puro scene but because neither company got along and because All Japan kept to themselves as opposed to New Japan's open door policy, these matches wouldn't happen during this time. It really wouldn't be until the 2000s when the possibilities of these dream matches would finally happen when these wrestlers scattered around the puro scene with Misawa forming Pro Wrestling NOAH which saw Kobashi and Taue follow him, Mutoh took over All Japan which Kawada remained with, Chono stayed with New Japan, and Hashimoto would form Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE but even then, all these talents were exiting their primes and many of these dream matches didn't happen, at least not one-on-one. While all Three Musketeers got in the ring for dream matches with Kawada, only Chono got the chance to do one-on-one encounters with Misawa and Kobashi while Taue was the odd man out. Chono would first meet Misawa at New Japan's Toukon Memorial Day New Japan 30th Anniversary show at the Tokyo Dome on May 2, 2002. The match would go to a 30 minute time limit draw. Exactly one year later on May 2, 2003, at New Japan's Ultimate Crush event, Chono then challenged Kobashi for NOAH's GHC (Global Honored Crown) Heavyweight Championship. Chono would come up short as he fell to Kobashi's burning lariat in 28:27.

Was the Final Opponent of Lou Thesz- Whenever you think of wrestling's greatest legends and/or greatest wrestlers, it's impossible not to include the great Lou Thesz. Born in 1916, Thesz would become one of the greatest technical wrestlers as well as legit shooters the business has ever seen. After turning pro at the age of 16 in 1932, Thesz's career would peak throughout the 1950s and early 1960s as the face of the National Wrestling Alliance where he held their World Championship three times for a combined 3,749 days between 1949 to 1966. Even after his time as the NWA World Champion ended in 1966 at the age of 50, Thesz continued wrestling into the 1970s and 1980s including winning a legend's battle royal at a WWF live event in 1987. After seven decades and 58 years in the ring, Thesz would go on to have his final match on December 26, 1990 at New Japan's King of Kings in Hamamatsu Arena and his opponent would be none other than Chono who Thesz had taken under his wing. Due to Thesz's advance age as he was 74 at the time and due to a broken hip, the match wouldn't last long but the up and coming Chono would actually score the win over the legend by defeating him in 5:10 with the STF, a submission hold taught to him by Thesz. Due to his age and injury, the match would be Thesz's final one and he later expressed regret doing the match because of the mentioned age and injury. Thesz wouldn't wrestle again and passed away in 2002 at the age of 86 given Chono a big piece of history.

Competed in Many Firsts Regarding the IWGP Heavyweight Championship- Since 1983, one of wrestling's most prestigious prizes has been New Japan's IWGP (International Wrestling Grand Prix) Championship. Over the last 40 years, the belt has had three incarnations from the one defended in IWGP tournaments from 1983-1987 to the classic championship that was around from 1987-2022 to the current World Heavyweight Championship version. The second one is the one most identify with and has been defended in many of the greatest matches of all time between some of the greatest names of all time. Though Chono only held the championship once for a brief period, he's actually been a big part of the belt's history as he challenged for it in several firsts. The first would be on April 24, 1989 during New Japan's Battle Satellite Tokyo Dome 1989 show, Chono would participate in a tournament for the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The tournament was the first time the championship was on the line as it was vacant. In the end, Chono would lose in the first round to eventual winner Big Van Vader in in 5:52. Fourteen years later in 2003, Chono would make history two more times in a series of title matches against Yoshihiro Takayama. The first would be during New Japan's Summer Struggle tour on July 21st where Chono challenged Takayama for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship only for the match to end in a double knockout in 24:12 marking the first time an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match ended in a double knockout. One month later, at Osaka Dream Night on August 28th, Chono met Takayama again, this time in a Cage Death Match marking the first time the IWGP Heavyweight Championship was defended in a steel cage match. Chono would come up short losing by knockout at 34:06. Finally in 2005, Chono would make history one more time at Toukon Souzou New Chapter on October 8th, when he challenged for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against champion Kazuyuki Fujita and fellow challenger Brock Lesnar in the first ever three way match for the championship. Once again, Chono came up short as he lost to Lesnar in 8:05.

Was the First Opponent of Daichi Hashimoto- One thing that's common in professional wrestling is usually when wrestling legends see their offspring follow them into the ring. Many go on to be stars while others are inferior sequels. One such offspring of a legend is Daichi Hashimoto. Daichi is the son of Chono's Three Musketeer comrade Shinya Hashimoto who was one of wrestling's biggest stars during the 1990s to early 2000s before his sudden death from a brain aneurysm in 2005 at the age of 40. The Musketeers were close to the point where Daichi has gone on record considering Chono and Keiji Mutoh his uncles, so it's no surprise when he decided to follow his late father in the ring, Chono would be a big part of it. Chono would be not only one of Daichi's trainers but would also serve as Daichi's debut opponent at Pro Wrestling ZERO1's tenth anniversary show 10th Anniversary - Pro Wrestling on March 6, 2011. In the end, Chono would win in 13:58. Since that time, Daichi has bounced around promotions such as ZERO1 and Antonio Inoki's Inoki Genome Federation before settling down in Big Japan where he's become a successful star for them.

Was the First Japanese Member of the nWo and the Original Leader of nWo Japan- Unless you're a new wrestling fan or one that's been living under a rock for 30 years, you know one of the biggest and most successful stables in wrestling history is the New World Order or nWo for short. Formed in 1996, the stable consisted of some of wrestling's biggest names and was a key factor in WCW doing what no one has been able to do over the last 40 years which is overtake the WWF/WWE as the top promotion in America for a brief period. During it's history, WCW would also have a working deal with the Japanese based New Japan Pro Wrestling which saw them use talent from the other promotion. Masahiro Chono would be one of them as he made appearances big and small for WCW on and off since 1991 including as the defending NWA World Champion in 1992. However, perhaps his biggest splash in Ted Turner's promotion would occur on the December 16, 1996 edition of Monday Nitro. During the show, Chono, along with manager and interpreter Sonny Onoo came out for an interview. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary of Chono unzipped his trenchcoat to reveal an nWo t-shirt. He then attacked Onoo, officially making it known he was a new member of the nWo. With that, Chono became the nWo's first Japanese member. Along with making several appearances as an nWo member throughout 1997 and 1998 for WCW, Chono would return to New Japan and form a Japanese branch of the nWo, usually called nWo Japan which would serve a big act and threat to New Japan during the late 90s. Chono would become the stable's original leader until leaving in early 1999 after an injury saw him take a hiatus and Keiji Mutoh became leader with Chono not happy with Mutoh's direction. Ironically, Chono would eventually kill his creation when he formed the stable Team 2000 with the two factions going to war until Chono emerged victorious and absorbed nWo Japan into Team 2000 in early 2000. 

Was the Final NWA Central States Television Champion- One of the most respected brands in wrestling history is the National Wrestling Alliance or NWA. Formed in 1948, the brand was not a promotion but an umbrella of various territories of promotions in the United States and Canada while also having memberships in Puerto Rico and Japan. Each NWA member had a territory of cities and states they ran while not "invading" other territories all the while each recognized a traveling World Heavyweight Champion who traveled the territories to take on the best. The NWA was the biggest symbol of wrestling until Vince McMahon began his nationwide expansion of the WWF in 1984 which little by little destroyed the NWA with territories going out of business one by one who couldn't compete with the WWF juggernaut. One such territory was a promotion called Central States Wrestling. Formed in 1948 and founded by inaugural NWA World Champion Orville Brown, the promotion would be one of the early entries into the NWA umbrella. By the 1960s, future NWA President Bob Geigel took it over and ran it into the 1980s. Many wrestling legends would run through the promotion during it's 40 year history including "Wild" Red Berry, Bob Orton Sr. (grandfather of Randy Orton), "Iron" Mike Dibiase (father of Ted Dibiase), Harley Race, and Dusty Rhodes to name some. One of the promotions main titles would be the NWA Central States Television Championship which began being defended in 1977 and would be around for the promotion's final decade. During his learning excursion, Chono ventured to Central States Wrestling as mentioned above when it attempted to go national as the World Wrestling Alliance. It would be here where Chono made history when he defeated Mike George on January 1, 1988 at a Central States Wrestling event to capture the Television Championship. Ultimately, Chono would be the final champion as the belt was eventually deactivated that same year and WWA shut down shortly after.   

Was a Voice Actor for Triple H in Japan- You wouldn't think Chono would have much in common with Triple H but they did have one thing despite never competing against each other as Triple H spent 99% of his career in the WWF/WWE while Chono never competed there (not counted the WWF/All Japan/New Japan Wrestling Summit show). For those who may have forgotten, Triple H would dabble in acting during the early 2000s at the height of his career with his first role being the comic book movie Blade: Trinity, the third in the Blade movie series that starred Wesley Snipes as the title character. In the movie, Triple H portrayed a vampire named Jarko Grimwood and upon the movie's 2004 release, it would be distributed around the world. When the film was released in Japan, it obviously went through Japanese overdubs for the Japanese public to understand the dialogue. The man who overdubbed Triple H's Jarko Underwood would be none other than Chono himself. So if you ever watched the Japanese version, you would hear a wrestling legend overdubbing another wrestling legend.

Was Hulk Hogan's Final Opponent in Japan- Hulk Hogan is one of those guys that I can ask "What can I say that isn't already known?". Hogan is obviously one of wrestling's most important figures especially throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. Prior to Hulkamania running wild in the WWF from the mid 80s to early 90s, Hogan achieved massive success in Japan for New Japan Pro Wrestling as a top foreigner or gaijin, was the first to hold the original version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, and was a two time tag team tournament winner with New Japan boss and original star Antonio Inoki. After leaving New Japan in 1985, Hogan would eventually return to the promotion in 1993 and 1994 for some dream matches. After leaving the WWE in 2003, Hogan would make one more return to New Japan when he faced Chono in a dream match at New Japan's Ultimate Crush II on October 13th. The match would see Hogan win in 19:46 with his ax bomber clothesline. This match is probably most known to American audiences for the post match where Hogan was speaking to the press when Jeff Jarrett snuck up and nailed him with his guitar before being chased off by Chono which was supposed to set up Hogan's debut in TNA (which would be delayed until 2010). The match proved to be Hogan's last in the land of the rising sun as he wrestled only seventeen more matches between WWE, TNA, the indies, and a tour of Australia before retiring in 2012.

Was Keiji Mutoh's First and Final Opponent- Anybody that knows about Masahiro Chono's legendary career knows he has been constantly intertwined with Keiji Mutoh. The two are not only two of the Three Musketeers of New Japan but their history together goes all the way back. They reportedly applied for the New Japan dojo the same day in April 1984 and even had their debut match against each other on October 5th which Mutoh ended up winning. Chono and Mutoh would be together, especially during Mutoh's New Japan years of 1984-2002 with the two being successful tag team partners at times along with being bitter rivals other times. To American fans, Chono and Mutoh are connected the same way guys like Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage or Steve Austin and The Rock or Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels or Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes were. Because of all this, it's no surprise that when Mutoh decided to finally retire in 2023, the man he wanted as his final opponent was Chono. However, Chono was hesitant as he hadn't competed since 2014 due to spinal issues which resulted in spinal stenosis which resulted in much needed surgery in 2021. On February 21, 2023, Mutoh would hold his retirement show at the Tokyo Dome and after losing to New Japan's Tetsuya Naito in what was billed as his final match, while Chono was doing commentary, Mutoh got on the mic to supposedly say his farewell only to call out Chono for one last encounter. With legendary referee Tiger Hattori officiating, Chono agreed and the two would wrestle one last time. Unfortunately, due to Chono's nine year inactivity, still recovering from spinal stenosis surgery, Mutoh coming off a near 30 minute match, and both men around 60 years old, the match wasn't much to write home about as Chono would drop Mutoh with a slap then would hit his signature shining yakuza kick before applying the STF with Mutoh submitting thus giving Chono the win in 1:37.