Mr. Fuji, the WWE Hall of Fame wrestler and manager whose real name was Harry Fujiwara, died Sunday morning at 82.
Fujiwara began his wrestling career as Mr. Fujiwara in 1965 and then shortened it to Mr. Fuji when he started fighting on the West Coast after first gaining fame in his native Hawaii, noted Variety. Throwing a bag of salt in the eyes of his opponents to blind them earned him infamy among wrestling fans.
Deadline.com reported that Fujiwara joined Vince McMahon with the World Wrestling Federation, the forerunner of the WWE, in 1972, and soon formed a tag team with Professor Toru Tanaka.
As a wrestling manager, Fujiwara stood beside some of the biggest names in the profession, including Kamala, George "The Animal" Steele, Demolition, Killer Khan, Yokozuna, the Powers of Pain, and "Magnificent" Don Muraco.
"Fuji spent more than 30 years entertaining fans worldwide as both an in-ring competitor and one of WWE's greatest managers," the WWE said in a statement on its website. "A five-time WWE World Tag Team Champion, Fuji was infamous for keeping small bags of salt in his tights which he would throw into his opponents' eyes.
"With Muraco, Fuji treated WWE fans to the classic 'Fuji Vice,' 'Fuji General,' 'Fuji Bandito' and 'Fuji Chan' series. These series were ahead of their time because spoofing successful television shows as they tried to break into Hollywood was the epitome of sports-entertainment," the WWE statement continued.
Fujiwara resided in Tennessee after retiring, where he operated a training dojo until 2001, reported Deadline.com. The WWE inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2007.
Many condolences poured in for Fujiwara on social media.
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