Shoichi Arai
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| Shoichi Arai | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | December 19, 1965 Matsudo, Chiba, Japan |
| Died | May 16, 2002 (aged 36) Tokyo, Kantō, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Shoichi Arai |
| Debut | 1989 |
Shoichi Arai (荒井 昌一 Arai Shōichi) (December 19, 1965 – May 16, 2002) was a Japanese professional wrestling promoter. Arai ran Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling from 1995 until its closure in 2002.
Career
Arai started with FMW as a backstage assistant. Arai became FMW's ring announcer, and was well known for his high-pitched voice during countdowns of various death-matches. Arai became Chief Executive Officer of FMW, after
FMW was three million dollars in debt, and Arai also owed the yakuza another million dollars.[1] Arai went into hiding from the yakuza, and planned to write a book about his experience of running FMW. Arai released a statement, where he criticized Atsushi Onita for his ego and excessive womanizing. Arai's book intended to generate enough money to pay back the yakuza. In conversations with Hayabusa, Arai brought up plans to kill himself, because his life insurance would pay off his debt to the yakuza.[2]
Death
On May 16, 2002, an early morning jogger found Arai hanging by his necktie in Tokyo's Mizumoto Park. Arai's suicide resulted in a life insurance payment to his ex-wife and child. However, the life insurance payment did not cover all of Arai's debt. The Arai family continued paying his debt to the yakuza for years, until his ex-wife's father paid the remaining balance.[3]
Shoichi Arai was buried at Saitama Kawaguchi Memorial Garden. Arai's gravestone includes an engraved FMW logo.
References
External links
| International | |
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| National | |
