RIP, Masa Saito (1942-2018)

Please, Masa, don't hurt 'em

Masanori Saito, aka "Mr. Saito," or "Mr. Torture," recently passed. It's the sort of death that's surprising because Saito was the sort of man who made observers doubt, just a little, that anything could kill him. All men are mortal, but some seem a little less so than others.

As a young man, Masanori Saito won multiple Japanese national titles in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling as an amateur before qualifying for the Olympic games in 1964, which were being held in Tokyo. He was eliminated from the tournament when he was pinned by British wrestler Denis McNamara (1:23) in the third round of competition, ultimately placing 7^th. Saito then trained to become a pro with Hiro Matsuda and Toyonobori and began his career with the JWA in 1965.

For the next 34 years, he wrestled all over the world, based in Japan but doing extensive tours of the United States and Canada, and participating in New Japan’s forays into Taiwan, Russia, Iraq, and North Korea. He had success as a singles wrestler, winning multiple regional NWA titles and the last AWA title of any significance, as well a feud with Antonio Inoki that culminated in an Island Death match that lasted over two hours. Saito was best known, though, as a tag team wrestler. He won an even larger collection of regional NWA titles alongside partners like Kinji Shibuya, Dale Lewis, former NWA champ Gene Kiniski, Ivan Koloff, Mr. Sato (later known as The Great Kabuki), Hiro Matsuda, and The Assassin (Jody Hamilton), two WWF World Tag Team Titles with Mr. Fuji, and two IWGP Tag Team Titles, first with Riki Choshu (who Saito helped train) and then alongside Shinya Hashimoto. While they never wore gold, he also formed formidable teams in the AWA with Jesse Ventura and Nick Bockwinkel.

Saito’s amateur experience was evident in his work. He was legendarily tough and powerful; as frequent opponent Bob Armstrong put it, “[w]hen he put his hands on you, he could move you any way he wanted to.” Even younger fans who have never seen his work have probably heard of the “Saito suplex,” Saito’s variation on the backdrop. Often imitated, never duplicated, Saito’s version worked on opponents of all sizes and styles. (Including, allegedly, police officers.) 

His amateur credentials and ability to flow that freestyle and Greco base into the New Japan strong style of working made him an essential element in the movement that brought in the former Soviet amateurs like Victor Zangiev and Salman Hashimikov in the late 80s and early 90s. Saito could work with these talented rookies on their own terms, producing thrilling and believable matches with minimally experienced opponents.

He slowed down over the course of the 90s, but like Haku or Mark Henry, he never lost that aura of being a genuinely dangerous man. Saito, even at the end of his career, was Mr. Torture, the meanest man in the world. (In the ring. By all accounts, he was the nicest man in the world outside it. Of course, that’s what everyone says about Haku, too, right before they tell you the story of the time he bit someone’s face off.) Saito had his last match in 1999, and in 2000, was diagnosed with Parkinsons. He did some work as a manager and advisor, but unlike many wrestling retirements, his stuck.

There’s no single standout Masa Saito match. That’s more to do with his booking than his talent. He was, like William Regal or Fit Finlay, the sort of wrestler who would give you consistent 10-15 minute matches on the regular, without a letdown, rather than one who would get the opportunity to try for all time classic epics. But if you’re the sort of person who reads this blog, I recommend in the strongest possible terms his late 80s and early 90s work, going against men like Vader, Bam Bam Bigelow, Shinya Hashimoto, Hiroshi Hase, and the Russians. You won’t regret it.