Pat Tanaka

American professional wrestler best known as one half of AWA's Badd Company and WWF's Orient Express; later a trainer and dojo founder teaching judo and mixed-combat skills.

Overview

Patrick "Pat" Tanaka (born August 5, 1961) is an American professional wrestler who rose to prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s as a tag team specialist. He is most widely recognized for his work in the American Wrestling Association and the World Wrestling Federation, where he became a fixture of the tag-team divisions and developed a ring persona that blended technical wrestling with martial arts elements.

Career and major teams

Tanaka made his mark as one half of the tag team Badd Company, teaming with Paul Diamond in the American Wrestling Association. The duo captured the AWA World Tag Team Championship in March 1988, defeating the Midnight Rockers, and held the belts through much of the following year before dropping them to another heavyweight team. Their run in AWA established Tanaka as a reliable tag performer on national television.

After his AWA tenure, Tanaka worked in the World Wrestling Federation as a member of The Orient Express, initially paired with Akio Sato and presented with an Asian-themed heel identity overseen by a manager. Later iterations of the Orient Express featured Paul Diamond in a masked role. During this period he competed regularly against top tag teams of the era and participated in tours and televised events that broadened his exposure.

Style, presentation, and international work

In the ring Tanaka combined a technical base with striking and submission-oriented moves influenced by judo and other martial arts. Promoters often emphasized an exotic or foreign identity for storytelling, a common practice of the time, although Tanaka is an American performer. He also spent time wrestling internationally and on the independent circuit, further developing his in-ring craft and tag-team psychology.

Trainer and later activity

Following his full-time in-ring career, Tanaka turned part of his attention to instruction and coaching. In mid-2006 he opened Fighting Spirit Dojo in Minster, Ohio with shoot-fighter Jody Poff. There Tanaka focused on teaching judo and fundamental grappling to youth and adult students while his partner worked with mixed-martial-arts trainees. The school illustrated a common path for veteran wrestlers who move into coaching and local combat-sports education.

Legacy and notable facts

Best known as half of Badd Company in the AWA, where the team won the promotion’s top tag-team gold.
Part of The Orient Express in the World Wrestling Federation, a prominent tag-team stable of the period that worked established American teams and television storylines; Tanaka’s WWF tenure is often cited when discussing 1990s tag wrestling.
Transitioned to coaching and martial-arts instruction after his mainstream wrestling career, founding Fighting Spirit Dojo to teach judo and combat skills.
Tanaka’s career illustrates the era’s blend of television-driven character work and genuine grappling technique, and his post-ring work highlights the role veterans play in training the next generation.

For additional context on the promotions where Tanaka performed, see resources on the American Wrestling Association and the World Wrestling Federation, which detail the tag-team scenes and television programs that shaped his career.