Another legend passed away on 2002/11/22 at the age of 62.

Sugiyama was a national amateur wrestling champion while in Meiji University and wrestled for the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. His teammates included a fellow Meiji student Masanori "Mr." Saito.
He turned pro in '65 when he joined JWA; however, in the following year, he joined the newly founded IWE where he became the top star by defeating Billy Robinson to win the IWA World Heavyweight title in '70. In '72, Sugiyama jumped to All Japan Pro-Wrestling and wrestled in its first card. He once retired in '73 but later returned to New Japan as a member of heel stable among with Hiro Matsuda, Masa Saito, and Umanosuke Ueda.

To be honest, I only remember him more as a comedian who was singing in a kids program on TV rather than as a wrestler.

RIP, Thunder...