Riki Chōshū

Okay, Riki Chōshū is one of those guys where the legend just radiates off him. He came up the hard way, a real amateur wrestler with actual pedigree who went through college before ever stepping into the pro ring, and you can feel that earned toughness in everything he did. To me he's pure intimidation made flesh, those heavy brows and that glare that could pin you to your seat without a single word. But here's the thing I love: this fearsome 184cm wall of a man turned out to be weirdly charming and a little goofy in his later years, and that gap is irresistible. His odd turns of phrase keep getting passed around online like inside jokes that refuse to die. A genuine icon of Japanese wrestling history who somehow also became everyone's lovable, deadpan uncle.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Riki Chōshū is a legendary Japanese professional wrestler born on December 3, 1951, in Tokuyama (now Shunan), Yamaguchi Prefecture. He built a foundation in amateur wrestling before attending Senshu University, then went on to become one of the most iconic figures in Japanese professional wrestling history. Standing 184 cm tall, he was known for his intense ring presence and distinctive catchphrases that remain beloved in Japanese pop culture. He is an inductee of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.

Name (English)

Riki Chōshū

Name (Japanese)

長州力

Reading

ちょうしゅう りき

Born

December 3, 1951 (age 74)

Origin

Tokuyama, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan

Height

184cm

Occupation

Professional Wrestler / Amateur Wrestler

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Sagittarius / Rabbit

University

Senshu University

Awards & achievements

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (year unknown)

• Official sitehttp://choshuriki.com/
• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/rikichoshu/
• Xhttps://x.com/rikichannel1203
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%95%B7%E5%B7%9E%E5%8A%9B
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3041872

Tags

• From Yamaguchi Prefecture
• Professional Wrestler
• Amateur Wrestler

Last updated

November 2, 2026

Only publicly available facts are listed; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Base data was compiled from Wikidata from June 2026 onward; ages are recalculated daily and deaths are checked against Wikidata on an ongoing basis. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.