yokozuna from his stable, Futabayama and Haguroyama. Downfall and expulsion The decision to promote Futahaguro backfired and he proved to be a great embarrassment to the sumo establishment. His debut as a yokozuna in the September 1986 tournament saw him pull out on the seventh day with only three wins, and after two runner-up scores in November 1986 and January 1987, a series of mediocre performances followed. His best result as a yokozuna came in November 1987 when he was runner-up for the seventh time, with a 13–2 record (losing at the hands of maegashira and also future professional wrestler, Takanofuji). However, controversy was never far away from him. Several tsukebito (junior members) of his stable refused to serve under him following an incident on the 1987 winter tour in which he physically punished one of them and as a result of this, in December 1987 he had a heated argument with his stable boss, Tatsunami, and stormed out, allegedly striking Tatsunami's wife on the way. His stablemaster handed in Futahaguro's retirement papers without consulting him and the elders of the Sumo Association voted, without giving Futahaguro a hearing, to accept it. Futahaguro became the first yokozuna ever to be expelled from sumo this way. He had lasted just eight tournaments at yokozuna rank and had proved unable to win a championship. Fighting style Futahaguro preferred a migi-yotsu (left hand outside, right hand inside) grip on his opponent's mawashi. His favourite techniques were yori-kiri (force out) and sukui-nage (scoop throw). Sumo career record Professional wrestling career Upon being dismissed by the Sumo Association, Kitao was linked with a move to America's National Football League, but instead turned to professional wrestling. To mollify the association, he dropped the shikona and reverted to his real name. American Wrestling Association (1989) To prepare for his debut in Japan, he debuted in the United States for Verne Gagne's American Wrestling Association on November 18, 1989, through Masa Saito's connections. To keep his identity a secret to the Japanese press, he wrestled under the masked persona, Monster Machine. He defeated Frankie DeFalco in his singles debut and also teamed with Saito defeating Jim Evans & Randy Fox. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1990) Trained at the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) dojo, he made his Japanese debut on February 10, 1990, at the NJPW/AJPW Supershow in the Tokyo Dome under his name Koji Kitao, and called himself "Warue",