Toshiaki Kawada is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, with his missing teeth giving him one of the greatest looks in wrestling.
His battles with his fellow “Four Pillars of Heaven” in All Japan Pro Wrestling helped put Puro on the map around the world, with tape traders being finally exposed to these amazing matches through these four men.
The likes of Kawada and Misawa inspired numerous modern-day wrestlers, including AJPW superfan and AEW star Eddie Kingston.
His toothless grin became somewhat of a signature look for Toshiaki Kawada. It made him stand out in one of the greatest main event scenes in history, as he regularly battled against Misawa, Kobashi and Taue.
However, Toshiaki Kawada’s teeth and how he lost them have been a mystery. We have done our best to figure out what happened to them, and Kawada’s teeth out.
Toshiaki Kawada’s Teeth
After scouring the internet and various sources (both in English and Japanese), the origins of Toshiaki Kawada’s missing teeth are still somewhat murky.
It is not known when he lost his teeth, but it is generally assumed that he lost four of his front teeth during a match against American wrestler Stan Hansen.
Hansen was a legend in AJPW, with his lariat being one of the most feared in wrestling. However, he was very poor sighted, so was prone to launching his forearm into his opponent’s face, with alarming regularity.
According to Cagematch, Toshiaki Kawada wrestled Stan Hansen 197 times, between 1987 and 2000. Unless you watched them all back, it would be impossible to pinpoint when he lost his teeth.
In addition, it would be difficult because of Kawada’s false teeth.
The Japanese star had dentures made to cover his missing teeth. However, he would not always wear these.
Kawada usually only inserted them for big shows, letting his tooth gap be freely seen during smaller All Japan wrestling matches.
It is said that he would leave the teeth out for matches against wrestlers who wouldn’t strike him hard in the face. This was because he didn’t want them to break in his mouth, doing more damage and forcing him to purchase more sets.
Hamish is a writer and podcaster and wrestling fan who is a key part of the Atletifo team.
After playing countless hours of WrestleMania X8 on the Gamecube, he discovered Rey Mysterio getting his head crushed by The Great Khali, and thus a love for professional wrestling was born.
He is also a Media Graduate, as well as writing for multiple sites about Premier League football and the culture of Wales – his home country.
