Professional Wrestling Career
After leaving sumo he was soon spotted by All Japan Pro Wrestling. After training in their dojo, he made his debut in 2000 in a tag team match in which he partnered Masao Inoue against Takeshi Morishima and Jun Akiyama. However, before he could build any momentum, Mitsuharu Misawa left AJPW and in the process, took most of the native talent with Rikio being among these talents. In Pro Wrestling Noah, he has seen much success. He dethroned Kenta Kobashi for the GHC Heavyweight Championship (at the end of this match Rikio can be seen sobbing as he accepts the title from Kobashi.), ending his two year reign, before losing the title to Akira Taue some time later. His title reign was largely regarded as rushed and not well-developed, as some portions of the crowd were not enthusiastic about his defenses or the opponents he was defending the title against. On June 4, 2006, he captured his second GHC Tag Team Championship with Jun Akiyama when he pinned Mohammed Yone after a Musou. However, Rikio and Akiyama were forced to vacate their title on September 25, 2006 after Rikio suffered a neck injury.
On November 27, 2011, Rikio announced his retirement from professional wrestling due to serious neck injuries.
Read more about this topic: Takeshi Rikio
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