Cho-Ten

Cho-Ten was a professional wrestling team that competed in New Japan Pro Wrestling on and off from February 1995 - September 2006. The team consisted of Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Cho-Ten is one of the most decorated and successful tag teams in New Japan history. They held the IWGP Tag Team Championship a record 5 times and the 1995 Super Grade Tag League.

History

Team Wolf (1995-1998)

Cho-Ten first began teaming up on February 19, 1995 along with veteran Hiro Saito to defeat Hiroshi Hase, Kensuke Sasaki, & Riki Choshu. After forming their alliance, the three became known as "Team Wolf";Sabu would join Team Wolf as well. Cho-Ten would see immediate success as they received their first shot at the IWGP Tag Team Championship on June 12, 1995 as they took on Shinya Hashimoto and Junji Hirata for the vacant titles. Cho-Ten would emerge victorious and would win their first tag team title. The title reign would not last long as they stripped of the titles on July 7, 1995 when Chono no-showed a title defense, it would later be revealed that Chono missed the show due to his father's death. After being stripped of the titles, Cho-Ten would challenge for the titles 3 times during 1995 but came up short each time. Despite this setback Cho-Ten would bounce back as they won the 1995 Super Grade Tag League marking their second achievement in less than a year.

Stupa

A stupa (Sanskrit: m.,stūpa "heap") is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (śarīra - typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns), and used as a place of meditation.

Description and history

Stupas originated as pre-Buddhist tumuli in which śramaṇas were buried in a seated position called chaitya. After the parinirvana of the Buddha, his remains were cremated and the ashes divided and buried under eight mounds with two further mounds encasing the urn and the embers. The earliest archaeological evidence for the presence of Buddhist stupas dates to the late 4th century BCE in India. Buddhist scriptures claim that stupas were built at least a century earlier. It is likely that before this time, stupas were built with non-durable materials such as wood, or even as just burial mounds, little is known about these early stupas, particularly since it has not been possible to identify the original ten monuments. However, some later stupas, such as at Sarnath and Sanchi, seem to be embellishments of earlier mounds. The earliest evidence of monastic stupas dates back to the 2nd century BCE. These are stupas that were built within Buddhist monastic complexes. These stupas replicated older stupas made of wood in stone. Sanchi, Sarnath, Amaravati and Bharhut are examples of stupas that were shaped in stone imitating previous wooden parts.