New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1972–1973) He was originally a decent
amateur, having a pre-professional dispute with the future
Jumbo Tsuruta over team representation in the Japanese collegiate championships. He joined
Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance but did not debut there, instead joining the new
New Japan Pro-Wrestling promotion's
NJPW Dojo and debuting in 1972.
Canada (1973–1975) Quickly frustrated with NJPW's rigid norms, he quit in 1973 and wandered the wrestling circuits of North America. He started in Canada, first in Calgary for
Stampede Wrestling, where he wrestled for a year under the name Judo Lee. He then moved west to Vancouver for
NWA All-Star Wrestling, wrestling there for a year under his real name.
United States (1973–1979) Also in 1973, he moved down to the United States. His first American stop was in
Georgia Championship Wrestling. In 1975, he made his debut in the
NWA's
Central States territory under the name The Great Seki, where he spent nearly three years in Kansas City, wrestling the likes of
Bob Geigel,
Jake Roberts,
Akio Sato,
Harley Race, and
Bulldog Bob Brown.
International Wrestling Enterprise (1976–1977) From September 1976 to January 1977 he returned to Japan, to
International Wrestling Enterprise as Mr. Seki. He didn't compete above the mid-card level. In 1978, he moved east to the Tennessee area under the name The Ninja Warrior, where he was managed by
Tojo Yamamoto. Within months, he moved down to Texas to wrestle for
Southwest Championship Wrestling, before heading to NWA Western States, where he won two Tag Team Championships with
Mr. Sato. It was in Texas where he started going by the name Mr. Pogo, due to the constant misinterpretation of his ring name, Mr. Togo, by magazines and promoters.
Return to Canada (1979–1980) In 1979, he returned to Stampede in Calgary, this time under the name Mr. Sekigawa, and he won the
Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship on December 8, 1979, defeating Don Gagne for the title. Nearly two weeks later, he won the vacant
Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship with the
Dynamite Kid, making him a double champion. A month later, he lost both titles: the North American Heavyweight Championship to
Leo Burke, and the International Tag Team Championship to
Keith and
Bret Hart.
Return to United States (1980–1985) In 1980, he returned to the United States and back under the name Mr. Pogo. His first stop on his second American excursion is for the NWA's
Tri-State territory, where he spent a year wrestling the likes of
Wahoo McDaniel,
Butch Reed (He was over in Florida), and
The Spoiler. In 1981, he moved east to the
Mid-Atlantic territory, where he spent nearly three years there as Ninja, wrestling the likes of
Johnny Weaver,
Jimmy Valiant,
Blackjack Mulligan,
Ivan Koloff,
Jay Youngblood,
Barry Windham,
Don Kernodle,
Buddy Landell,
Leroy Brown,
Mike Davis,
Lord Alfred Hayes,
Iceman "King" Parsons, and
Porkchop Cash. In 1984, he moved back to the Central States territory in Kansas City, where he spent a year over there, winning its Heavyweight Championship and the Tag Team Championship with
Gypsy Joe. In his return to Kansas City, he wrestled the likes of
Dick the Bruiser,
Rufus R. Jones,
D.J. Peterson,
Mark Youngblood, and
Marty Jannetty.
Return to New Japan (1985–1988) In 1985, Mr. Pogo returned to Japan and to NJPW with a new tag team partner in
Kendo Nagasaki. Together, they were known as The Ninja Express. They took part in a league to determine the inaugural
IWGP Tag Team Champions; they placed seventh with seven points. In 1987, they took part in a Japan Cup Tag League, where they placed seventh with nine points. The Ninja Express left NJPW in June 1988.
World Wrestling Council (1987–1991) During the tail end of the Ninja Express' NJPW run, Mr. Pogo began wrestling for
World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico in 1987, wrestling the likes of
Ricky Santana and
TNT. By the time the Ninja Express left NJPW in June 1988, he and Nagasaki were wrestling for WWC full-time. In July 1988, the
Bruiser Brody murder scandal greatly damaged the wrestling scene in Puerto Rico, causing Pogo to work at a local plastic molding plant, while wrestling, due to the massive decrease in attendance and sales. At the same time, he held five
WWC World Tag Team Championships, once with TNT and four times with Nagasaki. After Nagasaki left to return to NJPW, before heading to WCW, Pogo carried on the Ninja Express legacy, teaming with
Kensuke Sasaki, winning two
WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championships in 1989. He also held the
WWC World Junior Heavyweight Championship once, despite being over the weight limit, before leaving WWC in 1991. He never returned to the Americas to wrestle afterwards.
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (1990–1991) In June 1990, he was back in Japan, this time for
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, which was an upstart promotion that specialized in death matches. He debuted in FMW on June 2, 1990, seconding
Tarzan Goto in his match with
Ricky Fuji. Immediately, Pogo feuded with
Atsushi Onita, partaking in various deathmatches, which eventually became Pogo's specialty.
Wrestling International New Generations (1991–1993) In the summer of 1991, Pogo left FMW, because he wanted more interesting matches to compete in, and moved to
Wrestling International New Generations (W*ING), where he partook in innovated deathmatches with everyone, ranging from veterans like
Kim Duk and
Kevin Sullivan to up and coming stars like
Mitsuhiro Matsunaga and
Yukihiro Kanemura, among others. He won one World Tag Team Championship with
Crash The Terminator. A bitter contract dispute forced him to leave W*ING in June 1993.
Return to FMW and retirement (1993–1996) Pogo returned to FMW in July 1993 and resumed his feud with Atsushi Onita. During this period, he wrestled periodically for
Michinoku Pro Wrestling, New Tokyo Pro Wrestling, and
Big Japan Pro Wrestling. He won two
FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championships and three
FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championships, one each with
Hisakatsu Oya,
The Gladiator, and
Yukihiro Kanemura. An injury nearly ended Pogo's career at
Summer Spectacular, on August 1, 1996 during a Double Hell Death Match against
Terry Funk when the match was cut short, after Funk blew fire at Pogo, who dropped into the exploding barbed wire outside of the ring. When falling into it, the barbed wire pushed his chin and head back, breaking his neck. Funk, not knowing why Pogo was still down, began blowing fire at him, stuck in the barbed wire, causing the referee to end the match and award it to Funk via knockout. Pogo returned to the ring, but the injury made him even more immobile. His last match as an active FMW wrestler took place at
Year End Spectacular on December 11, 1996, teaming with
Masato Tanaka,
Tetsuhiro Kuroda, and the returning Atsushi Onita to defeat Terry Funk, Hisakatsu Oya, and
The Headhunters in what was considered Pogo's retirement match.
Comeback (1997–2016) His retirement did not last, as he returned to wrestling in July 1997 for Big Japan Pro Wrestling. In 1998, he became the inaugural
BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Champion. After losing the title, he left BJW and briefly returned to FMW to feud with Atsushi Onita one more time, before leaving in November 1998. From 1999–2016, Pogo was freelancer, wrestling for promotions including IWA Japan, SPWF, Onita FMW, Shin-W*ING, Shin-FMW, Onita Pro, and his own promotion, WWS. ==Personal life==