World Elite Sumo (WES) today announced that it has enlisted super heavyweight professional wrestling star Juicy Finau and two other athletes – Josh “The Ox” Ortiz and Gilberto De La Torre – to complete the 12-man field for its one-night, single elimination open weight tournament at Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz on Saturday, Sept. 26.
The 6-foot-4, 465-pound Finau, who was born in Chino, Calif. and whose parents are from the Kingdom of Tonga, brings five years of Greco Roman and freestyle wrestling experience with him to his sumo wrestling debut.
“Over the course of history, there have been professional athletes who have crossed over from one form of combat sports to another and it has always been exciting to see how each would fare in a different genre of fighting, so we are super excited to have Juicy Finau test his abilities in the world of sumo,” said World Elite Sumo CEO Abdelrahman “Sandstorm” Shalan.
Shalan, a well-known sumo wrestler who climbed the ranks of the sport while living in Japan for 10 years, was recently announced as one of the tournament’s participants.
Finau, 30, has made a name for himself in the ring while competing for several different organizations, including AAA Lucha Libre, which was acquired by the WWE last year, as well as Major League Wrestling (MLW).
A member of the wrestling stable and tag team known as “The South Pacific Savages”, Finau has a reputation for being a hard-hitting and high-flying combatant capable of throwing opponents with ease.
In January 2023, Finau and “Samoan Swat Team” partner Lance Anoa’i, captured the MLW World Tag Team Championship by defeating the duo known as “Hustle & Power”, and defended the title three times over the course of six months.
Ortiz is a stocky, 5-foot-7, 275-pound World Elite Sumo veteran and former winner of the strongman competition known as the “Summer Solstice Viking Battle.”
He is known for his throwing techniques as well as for “tsuridashi”, the Japanese term for picking up an opponent and walking him out of the dohyō, the competition mat.
The third new tournament entrant announced today, De La Torre, is a 6-foot-3, 400-pound Los Angeles resident and one of eight siblings born to parents from Mexico.
De La Torre is a three-time U.S. national sumo wrestling team member who, until now, has been competing under amateur status in various U.S. cities as well as in Japan, Saudi Arabia and Poland.
The other World Elite Sumo tournament participants include previously announced number one-ranked Power Slap super heavyweight star and former amateur sumo champion, Makini “Big Mak” Manu; three-time African national freestyle wrestling champion Ahmed Khalil of Egypt; Japanese powerhouse Hidenoumi “The Iron Wall” Takuya; six-hundred-pound American sumo Mathew Westwood; Polynesian American martial artist and pro wrestler, Josh “Siua” Tuitupou; former Japanese sumo champion Asahisho Kota; Brazilian sumo star “Rui Junior”; and seasoned Russian technician Soslan “Big Bear” Gagloev.
World Elite Sumo live events bring together top-level athletes from around the world and feature live taiko drumming, dramatic entrances, and an immersive fight night production that blends athleticism, intensity, and spectacle.
All World Elite Sumo tournament matches will be contested in a best-of-three format, increasing competitive stakes and maintaining a rapid, exciting pace of action.
Priced from $50, tickets for the World Elite Sumo event are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com.
Doors for the World Elite Sumo event at Kaiser Permanente Arena will open at 6:00 p.m. local time on September 26, and the event will begin at 7:00 p.m.
For more information on World Elite Sumo, log onto www.worldelitesumo.com.
