Other Names: none
Real Name: Shinichiro Yoshida
Debut: December 22nd, 1991
Status: Active
Theme Song: Akira Kushida - Jiraiya
Signature Moves: Super Cangrejo, Paquetele Casadora, La Leonesa
Recommended Match: Jiraiya vs. Tobikage (KAGEKI 9/3/2001)
Personal Thoughts: The forefather of Japanese luchadores. Jiraiya, as far as I'm aware, was the first true Japanese luchador to exist. Gran Hamada and others recieved training in Mexico through excursions and tours, but Jiraiya was the first person from Japan to fly themselves to Mexico and commit to learning professional wrestling from scratch in an entirely foreign environment. Jiraiya arrived in Mexico in the late 80s, training under luchadores like Villano I and Ray Mendoza before debuting at the end of 1991. Jiraiya worked the Mexican independents for years, occasionally heading back to Japan for short stints in promotions like Michinoku Pro and IWA Japan. He acted as a leader for numerous Japanese luchadores early into their careers, heading the group Los Kamikazes as well as the follow-up group Lucha Libre Japan. Through LLJ, Jiraiya returned to Japan entirely, working the independents until founding his own organization, REAL LUCHA LIBRE. RLL touts itself as the only truly authentic lucha libre gym in all of Japan, training a number of wrestlers such as Van Vert Negro and Van Vert Jack. Jiraiya still wrestles and coaches there to this day. In terms of my actual thoughts on him... he's cool! Jiraiya doesn't jump out to me as much as guys like Tsubasa or Lyguila do, but he's a super talented maestro able to pull off incredible acrobatics and beautiful llaves better than many could dream of. He's easily the most "lucha libre" feeling Japanese luchador I've seen. I'm excited to see the next generation of luchadores raised by him (Jiraiya please upload more RLL footage I just wanna watch you wrestle man).
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