Meet The Oldest Active Wrestler Still Stepping Into The Ring

Professional wrestling is known to be exceptionally taxing on the body, making it all the more impressive when a performer is able to continue in the industry at an advanced age. North Americans like Mike Jackson and Chick Donovan are known as some of the oldest wrestlers who are still active, but there is one who has surpassed them: the Great Kojika.

Born in Japan in 1942, Shinya Koshika is 83 years old and, as of today, wrestled his most recent match in April 2025. Though he took a few years off, Kojika has been an active performer since 1963. He's known to be the final active wrestler who trained under Rikidōzan, one of the most monumental figures in pro wrestling history.

Many familiar with him would likely agree that Koshika's most iconic work was done in All Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he performed from 1973 through 1986, when he initially decided to retire. However, he was coaxed out of that retirement in 1995, and would eventually make his return to AJPW among other ventures.

Kojika's career wasn't just limited to Japan, either. From the 1960s into the '70s, Kojika wrestled for the NWA in the United States, sometimes performing as the unfortunately-named Mr. Kung-Fu, or Kung Fu Lee. Kojika's stateside opponents include Dory Funk Jr., Fritz von Erich, Bob Backlund, and Stan Hansen, among many others.

In 1973, he captured the NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship for a time before dropping it to the legendary Terry Funk. Other titles held by Kojika over the years include the All Asia Tag Team Championship in AJPW, and the NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship, plus numerous other tag and trio titles in Japan.

In the 1990s, after deciding to come out of in-ring retirement, Koshika also helped found Big Japan Pro Wrestling. The promotion remains active to this day, with Koshika as its President. Though he doesn't wrestle often, Kojika still gets in the ring from time to time, and he has yet to officially indicate his retirement.