RIP Gran Naniwa

[seasider]

RIP Gran Naniwa,

 

The reason I have dedicated a thread to the crab man was because I had the chance to get a photo with him at the original UWA TV tapings in Crystal Palace. The guy was a crazy mofo. RIP Crab Man.

 

Source

[DannRead]

I'm real saddened to hear this even more so upon seeing his age. So he was only 17 when he had that tremendous match with Liger at Super J Cup '95...Wow.

[PUNQ]

Real shame. He was a funny character from the early days of Michinoku Pro and that crab walk of his will always remembered fondly. He's barely been active in recent years only showing up for some light-hearted comedy matches here and there including the failed WrestleLand project of New Japan, but he was a true original back in the day. RIP.

 

 

--PUNQ--

[alexander]

Well, that's shitty news. His crazy style meant he was never going to have a long career, but his early stuff fro M Pro was amazing. He was a part of some of the very best matches of that sort of wrestling ever, and 36 is no age for anyone to die.

[Dirty Eddie]

Much like Seasider, I also got to meet Gran Naniwa (along with tiger Mask IV) at the L!ve TV tapings years back. Nice guy, very friendly and was happy to sign an autograph for me and my mate.

 

34 is a very young age to be checking out. Such a shame.

 

RIP, Crab-man.

[Carbomb]

NO! I fucking loved his work - more the funny crab stuff than the actual wrestling side, but his wrestling was great too. And at 34? Fuxake.

 

 

RIP Gran Naniwa.

[Snitsky's back acne]

He had a few matches in the original ECW too if I remember rightly.

 

I loved his sideways walk along the ropes.

 

As an aside, seeing as it's been mentioned, does anyone have results from the UWA tapings he competed on back in the day?

 

RIP Naniwa.

[Phil Jones]

RIP Gran Naniwa.

 

You'll always be the "Fisherman's Head of Crab Fishing."

[britishwrestlinglegends]

RIP Gran Naniwa.

 

You'll always be the "Fisherman's Head of Crab Fishing."

I too met him at the UWA Tapings, nice guy, good wrestler. RIP.

[TheBigBoot]

RIP Naniwa

 

Had no idea he was still that young.

 

To be honest I found his crab gimmick a bit odd the first time I saw it but after watching him a second and third time I realised he was actually a really good worker as well.

 

Even though my favourites from MPW were Dick Togo and Sho Funaki, Naniwa definitely deserves a mention as one of the people most associated with the glory days of the promotion. The two matches he had in UWA were fun and there was something really cool about the guy (or anyone who could get a sideways walking gimmick over the way he did) especially since I'd imagine a lot of the audience had never seen him before.

[TNAguy]

RIP, think I've only seen his '95 match against Liger, but that is way too young for someone to die. So sad...

[Registration_Form]

I only just read this news. Fucking shit Naniwa was brilliant so funny. The manic, excitable child-like noise he used to make before hitting a big move and pinching his fingers like a crab before delivering an elbow off the second rope.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiJ2RBpwSuU

 

Fisherman's Head of Crab Fishing.

[SuperstarNeilC]