Jushin Liger

Jushin Thunder Liger began as a cartoon character and ended up as one of the most respected wrestlers who ever lived, which is a sentence that should not be possible. Born Keiichi Yamada in 1964 in Hiroshima, he put on a mask designed for an anime tie-in and then spent decades proving the gimmick was the least interesting thing about him. Before him, the junior heavyweight division in Japan was often treated as a warm-up act. After him, it was frequently the reason people bought tickets. He exported that style outward too, and his induction into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame reflects a reputation that never depended on being seen unmasked. What I keep returning to is the longevity. Wrestling that fast, for that long, is paid for in joints and years. He is retired now and works as a trainer with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, which feels like exactly the right final form: the character became a standard, and now he teaches it.

Name (English)

Jushin Liger

Name (Japanese)

獣神サンダー・ライガー

Reading

獣神さんだー・らいがー

Born

November 10, 1964 (age 61)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Scorpio / Dragon

Origin

Naka-ku, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan

Occupation

professional wrestler

Awards & achievements

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame

• Xhttps://x.com/Liger_NJPW
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jushin%20Liger
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8D%A3%E7%A5%9E%E3%82%B5%E3%83%B3%E3%83%80%E3%83%BC%E3%83%BB%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%82%AC%E3%83%BC
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1395975

Tags

• Hiroshima Prefecture
• professional wrestler

Last updated

2026-08-07

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.