Kikutaro

Kikutaro
Kikutaro
	Warrior; Kikuzawa; Killer Kiku; Mitsunobu Kikuzawa; Teriyaki Boy; Momochi Sandayū; Teriyakitaro; Kodo Fuyukiku
Billed height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Billed weight	111 kg (245 lb)
Trained by	Masanobu Kurisu
Debut	May 14, 1994

Mitsunobu Kikuzawa (菊澤光信, Kikuzawa Mitsunobu) (born November 17, 1976), better known as his wrestling persona Kikutaro (菊タロー, Kikutarō) and formerly Ebessan (えべっさん, Ebessan), is a freelance

Impact Wrestling

.

Career

Kikuzawa started his wrestling career in 1994, wrestling under his birth name for Japanese hardcore wrestling promotions including

Dramatic Dream Team

(DDT), where he continued to use his real name while competing for DDT.

While wrestling for Osaka Pro, he began wearing a mask as a character named Ebessan based on Ebisu, the Japanese god of good fortune. Using comedic spots to get over with the crowd, Ebessan was immediately accepted by the Osaka Pro crowd. He moved up the ranks quickly and soon made Osaka Pro his full-time home in 2001. Ebessan became particularly well known for his rivalry with Kuishinbo Kamen, the two having many fun and comedic matches. They even worked as a tag team from time to time.

As Ebessan was OPW's registered trademark, Kikuzawa was forced to give away his Ebessan character to Flying Kid Ichihara [ja] before leaving the company in 2005. Kikuzawa modified his character and used the name Ebetaro, but he would end up settling down for a new, original gimmick. He became Kikutaro, a masked, exaggerated self-parodic alter ego who behaved both goofy and self-important, wearing always colored tracksuits and baseball caps. He kept most of his comedic spots and impersonations, however, as well as his feud with Kuishinbo Kamen, adding now the new Ebessan to the enmity.

In 2006, he began competing for

Keiji Mutoh in his feud against Voodoo Murders

and other factions.

In December 2016, Kikutaro moved from Japan to the United States. He currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Tributes

Kikuzawa has been known to do tributes to many wrestlers throughout his career, either through subtle imitations or by doing full imitations of their gimmick. He typically includes a tribute to

Jyushin Thunder Liger, Keiji Mutoh, Triple H, Bret Hart, Cactus Jack, Bill Goldberg, Kurt Angle, Ric Flair and Yuji Nagata

.