Former WWF Tag Team Champion Masa Saito Passes Away
Masa Saito, who twice won the WWF Tag Team Titles with Mr. Fuji back in the early '80s, has died at the age of 76. He had been suffering from Parkinson's disease for the past eighteen years.
Saito, a former freestyle wrestler who represented Japan at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, began his professional career in San Francisco, where he claimed NWA tag gold with Kenji Shibuya. The Tokyo-born grappler spent the next thirteen years touring North America, picking up championships in Canada and Florida alongside Gene Kiniski and Ivan Koloff, before migrating to the WWF in 1981.
In New York, Saito helped Mr. Fuji to his fourth tag team title, triumphing at the culmination of a feud opposite Rick Martel and Tony Garea. A further programme against the Strongbows drew more success, before Saito departed the company in 1982.
Two years later, Saito's career was derailed when he and Ken Patera were jailed for assaulting a police officer. The story goes that an enraged Patera hurled a boulder through a McDonald's window after being refused service. When cops arrived at his hotel to investigate, Patera and roommate Saito were uncooperative in the extreme, beating the officers up. The pair were imprisoned for two years as a result.
Post release, Saito embarked on a career in his homeland, memorably squaring off against Japanese legend Antonio Inoki in AJPW. Their beef concluded with an infamous two hour long 'Island Death match' on Ganryujima Island in 1987.
Saito had enjoyed intermittent spells with the AWA during his WWF run, and it was in Minnesota where he claimed arguably his most notable accolade, defeating Larry Zbyszko for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship before 63,000 people at the Tokyo Dome in 1990. He lost it back at SuperClash IV, months before the ailing company folded.
A year prior to his Parkinson's diagnosis, Saito retired from wrestling following a loss to Scott Norton. His death was confirmed this morning in Japan.
