Akio Sato

Akio Sato

Born: February 13, 1953
in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan
is a retired professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation as Sato, a member of The Orient Express Sato's next move is the one that got him the most media attention as he signed with the World Wrestling Federation for the first time in his career. In early 1990 Sato along with former rival Pat Tanaka were introduced to the WWF as The Orient Express by manager Mr. Fuji. During this run, Sato introduced the Sitout Powerbomb to mainstream American wrestling for the first time. The Orient Express kicked off a prolonged feud with The Rockers that started at WrestleMania VI and continued off and on for well over a year. The Orient Express got involved in the Legion of Doom / Demolition feud because Mr. Fuji managed both teams. Demolition was being phased out and the Orient Express took on the Legion of Doom instead. The Legion of Doom / Orient Express feud was extremely onesided due to the Legion of Doom's massive size advantage. After WrestleMania VI Tanaka and Sato only made three Pay Per View appearances while in the WWF. Firstly at SummerSlam 1990 where the team were defeated by ”Hacksaw” Jim Duggan and Nikolai Volkoff. Secondly as part of the Sgt. Slaughter led team “The Mercenaries” (that also included Boris Zhukov). Sato was pinned by Butch Miller 1:46 into the match and Tanaka was pinned by Tito Santana only moments later, 2:13 into the match. Their third and final WWF PPV appearance was at the 1991 Royal Rumble where they lost to The Rockers in a WrestleMania VI rematch. When Akio Sato decided to focus on foreign markets for the WWF in the latter days of 1990, they decided to reunite the team known as Badd Company, only this time with Paul Diamond wearing a mask to hide the fact that he's not Asian and using the name of Kato. Sato wrestled his last WWF Match in 1991 to team with Tanaka and “Kato" for a 6-man tag-team match at a house show.He would also wrestle a match for WAR in 1992. In 1993, Sato made an appearance at SummerSlam as Yokozuna's flag bearer prior to his match against Lex Luger. Sato did return to the WWF in late 1994 as the white faced manager Shinja who advised Hakushi during his heel run with the company. When Hakushi turned face, Shinja was quietly written out of the storyline and Sato retired to focus on non-wrestling ventures. His last TV appearance was on the July 24, 1995, edition of Raw, when he was piledriven by Bret Hart. Sato now resides in Kansas City, Missouri. He retired in 1996 after a tour in Japan, mainly wrestling for WAR. In 1976, Sato married Betty Niccoli, whom he met in Bob Geigel's promotion in the United States. The couple had two daughters.

Movies for Akio Sato...

WWE SuperSlams
Title: WWE SuperSlams
Character: Shinja (Manager)
Released: October 3, 1995
Type: Movie
An incredible collection of WWE action featuring the Superstars of the New Generation!
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WWE In Your House
Title: WWE In Your House
Character: Shinja (Manager)
Released: May 13, 1995
Type: Movie
In Your House 1 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), which took place on May 14, 1995 at the Onondaga War Memorial in Syracuse, New York. It was the first pay-per-view of the In Your House series.Ten professional wrestling matches were featured on the event's card. The main event that was shown on pay-per-view was a standard wrestling match. WWF Champion Diesel faced challenger Sycho Sid. Two of the most hyped matches on the undercard were standard matches both involving Bret Hart. He fought Hakushi and Jerry Lawler. The other featured match on the undercard was a Handicap match, where one wrestler faces a combination of two or more wrestlers.
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WWE WrestleFest '95
Title: WWE WrestleFest '95
Character: Shinja (Manager)
Released: January 1, 1995
Type: Movie
The WWE Coliseum Video Event!
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Title: WWE Raw
Character: Shinja
Released: January 11, 1993
Type: TV
A regularly scheduled, live, year-round program featuring some of the biggest WWE Superstars.
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WWE SummerSlam Spectacular '91
Title: WWE SummerSlam Spectacular '91
Character: Sato
Released: August 18, 1991
Type: Movie
The Superstars of WWE get ready for The Match Made in Heaven/The Match Made in Hell with some red-hot in-ring action!
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WWE Survivor Series 1990
Title: WWE Survivor Series 1990
Character: Sato
Released: November 22, 1990
Type: Movie
Survivor Series (1990) was the fourth annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 1990 at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut. This Survivor Series saw the on-screen WWF debut of The Undertaker, who went on to become WWF Champion at the next Survivor Series one year later, and the debut of the Gobbledy Gooker. In addition, Sgt. Slaughter — who was then using an Iraqi sympathizer heel gimmick — delivered a promo where he insulted servicemen stationed in Iraq for Thanksgiving during Operation Desert Shield. Randy Savage, as the "Macho King", was interviewed by "Mean" Gene Okerlund, and issued a challenge to the Ultimate Warrior for the WWF Championship. Ravishing Rick Rude was replaced by Haku after being suspended by WWF President Jack Tunney for insulting the mother of the Big Boss Man.
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WWF Hottest Matches
Title: WWF Hottest Matches
Character: Sato
Released: October 25, 1990
Type: Movie
Things heat up as Sean Mooney hosts a sizzling lineup of WWE's Hottest Matches. From The Rockers facing off against The Orient Express in a Tag Team Match, to Macho King Randy Savage and Queen Sherri battling Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire, don't miss these and more exciting matches!
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WWE SummerSlam 1990
Title: WWE SummerSlam 1990
Character: Sato
Released: August 27, 1990
Type: Movie
WWE SummerSlam '90 was the third annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by The World Wrestling Federation. It took place on August 27, 1990 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The card featured ten televised matches, including two main events. The pay-per-view also included three title matches.
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WWE SummerSlam Fever
Title: WWE SummerSlam Fever
Character: Sato
Released: August 19, 1990
Type: Movie
The Summer heats up as the Superstars of WWE hit the ring for some rope-meltingly hot action in the lead up to WWE SummerSlam '90!
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WWF SuperTape vol. 2
Title: WWF SuperTape vol. 2
Character: Sato
Released: July 25, 1990
Type: Movie
On Supertape Vol. 2, Sean Mooney takes the WWE Universe on a journey through some unforgettable battles and moments involving some exciting WWE Superstars of the past. Witness several exclusive matches, including "Rowdy" Roddy Piper battling "Ravishing" Rick Rude in a Steel Cage Match, Bret Hart facing off against Rick Martel, and much more!
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WWE WrestleMania VI
Title: WWE WrestleMania VI
Character: Sato
Released: April 1, 1990
Type: Movie
More than 65,000 fans pack the Toronto SkyDome to witness The Ultimate Challenge as The Ultimate Warrior faces Hulk Hogan with both the WWE Championship and WWE Intercontinental Championship on the line. "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase defends the Million Dollar Championship against Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Dusty Rhodes and more in action!
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AWA War in The Windy City
Title: AWA War in The Windy City
Character: Himself
Released: June 23, 1989
Type: Movie
The American Wrestling Association invades Chicago with some of the most incredible pro wrestlers on the planet.
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AWA Rage in Rochester
Title: AWA Rage in Rochester
Character: Himself
Released: May 6, 1989
Type: Movie
The Major League of Professional Wrestling, The AWA presents another all-star card from Rochester, Minnesota!
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AWA Battle Royale '89
Title: AWA Battle Royale '89
Character: Himself
Released: February 18, 1989
Type: Movie
The American Wrestling Association holds an 18-man over-the-top-rope Battle Royale to determine a new AWA World Heavyweight Champion in St. Paul Minnesota!
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CSW International Bash
Title: CSW International Bash
Character: Himself
Released: February 2, 1989
Type: Movie
NWA Central States Wrestling presents an all-star card!
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Title: WWF Wrestling Challenge
Character: Sato
Released: September 6, 1986
Type: TV
WWF Wrestling Challenge was a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1995. The show became simply known as WWF Challenge in 1995. The show featured matches, pre-match interviews, and occasionally, summarized weekly events in WWF programming. Matches primarily saw top tier and mid-level talent versus jobbers. At times, there was a "feature" match between main WWF talent. As with other syndicated WWF programming, the show promoted WWF event dates and house shows in local media markets.
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Title: WWF Wrestling Challenge
Character: Shinja
Released: September 6, 1986
Type: TV
WWF Wrestling Challenge was a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1995. The show became simply known as WWF Challenge in 1995. The show featured matches, pre-match interviews, and occasionally, summarized weekly events in WWF programming. Matches primarily saw top tier and mid-level talent versus jobbers. At times, there was a "feature" match between main WWF talent. As with other syndicated WWF programming, the show promoted WWF event dates and house shows in local media markets.