Akira Maeda

Biography

Akira Maeda (born in 1959 as Go Il-myeong) is a former Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, and promoter, best known as one of the pioneers of shoot-style wrestling, which aimed to bring a more realistic and combat-oriented approach to pro wrestling in Japan.

He began his career with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in 1978 after gaining attention in karate. He wrestled in the UK under the name Kwik-kik-Lee and had a short stint in WWF in 1984, where he won an international title. That same year, he co-founded the first UWF, but left due to creative conflicts with Satoru Sayama (Tiger Mask).

After returning to NJPW, he was involved in controversial incidents, including a real-life...