Sumisu’s ascent through the ranks of View Japan Pro Wrestling continues as he has to fight Hiroshi Date, Masahiro Kouno and Shinya Hatamoto.
The first challenger, Hiroshi Date, is based on Hiroshi Hase. His extremely offensive personality in the game may have been based on a scandal he was involved in due to misspeaking to the host, Kuniko Yamada, which was blown up by the media, while his extremely technical style may have been based on the fact that Hase competed in Greco-Roman style Wrestling in the 1984 olympics.
The second challenger, Masahiro Kouno, is based on Masahiro Chono. His characterization in the game is based around Chono’s 7-year winning streak of the G1-Climax tournament, which is held in summer, giving him the nickname Mr. August.
In 1994, Chono changed his persona to that of a heel, posing as a Yakuza hitman. For this reason, his name was changed to “Violence” Kouno in later Fire Pro entries, and he is referenced as such in Moonlight Syndrome.
The final challenger is Shinya Hatamoto, based on Shinya Hashimoto. He brought his past experience in martial arts on the ring as a gimmick, wearing a headband and showing a boastful and overconfident personality. Hatamoto’s nickname, Demon of Destruction, is based on Hashimoto’s real nickname, the King of Destruction.