Jacob Crane: “The Perfect Man” Is Ready To Lead Big Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Jr Heavyweight Division

By: Lewis Carlan

Hailing from Poland, Jacob Crane has been a pro wrestling competitor since 2018. Crane has honed his craft by wrestling in various promotions throughout Europe.

In 2022, his talent brought him to one of the top promotions in Germany, Westside Xtreme Wrestling where he was able to showcase his abilities on a larger stage.

One of the goals Crane had was to wrestle in Japan and that became a reality in March 2024 when he debuted for Big Japan Pro-Wrestling.

Crane told Monthly Puroresu how his opportunity with BJW came about:

“Pursuing wrestling as a full-time career as well as being able to wrestle in Japan has been a long time goal of mine so I was looking for an opportunity to do it for most of my career. Thanks to support of my European Home Promotion – wXw, I was able to join BJW in pursue of becoming a Full Time Pro Wrestler.”

One of the things Crane takes pride in is being the first wrestler from Poland to ever compete in Japan and to main event at the famed Korakuen Hall. He calls that achievement “something really special”. When Crane first joined BJW back in 2024, he felt like he had been able to establish himself as a competitor for the promotion:

“I would say it was all about learning and adapting. Since joining BJW on my first tour back in April last year I feel like I was able to establish myself, and not just be “another foreigner”. Also looking back at who I was when I left Europe, and who I am today, I improved a lot as a performer and as a human being. Now I can proudly say that not only am I the first Polish pro wrestler to wrestle in Japan, but I am also the first Polish pro wrestler to main event Korakuen Hall and I like to think of that achievement as something really special.”

When Crane first came to Japan, he was very surprised about the similarities between Poland and Japan. He has been learning the language since his first day in Japan and can now engage in conversation.

Crane on adjusting to life in Japan:

“I was actually positively surprised at how similar Poland and Japan are in terms of everyday living and culture. People are respectful and quiet, no one is trying to inconvenience anyone and the standard of living is pretty good, not to say that there were no issues when I first came here. Obviously, the language barrier is the biggest one, but I’ve been learning and practicing Japanese daily since my first day in Japan and now I got to a point where I am able to hold a conversation and even joke around in Japanese, so I’m happy with how my progress there is going. Overall I’m really happy here and trying to assimilate the best I can.”

In his first year in BJW, Crane competed in over 50 matches. He competed in the STRONG Division and battled BJW heavyweight stars including Daichi Hashimoto, Hideyoshi Kamitani & Daisuke Sekimoto.

Crane on competing in the BJW STRONG Heavyweight Division:

“These matches in the Strong Heavyweight division are what helped me learn the most. Facing someone like Daichi Hashimoto in a singles match is a huge challenge. In my opinion he’s the most dangerous striker and grappler in all of BJW. I was in his corner when he won the BJW World Strong Heavyweight Title from Kamitani-san on May 5th, and being able to see someone who I consider a mentor win the World Title did make me feel like one day I would want to fight him again and possibly have this match be a World Heavyweight Title match. But the reality is, I made a decision to become a Junior Heavyweight and even if I moved back up to the Heavyweight division, I believe in a system where you have to earn what you get. We had a World Title match between, basically, a young boy and Hideyoshi Kamitani just a couple of months back, I believe in February, and I thought to myself – it’s not right. It’s not a challenger worthy of a BJW World Strong Heavyweight Championship. It was a match that someone didn’t earn, just complained and moaned his way into. I don’t want to be like that. I want to earn everything I get. I don’t mind calling someone out to claim an opportunity I’ve earned. But I don’t want to bitch my way into any opportunity. So if I ever get a chance to fight for the World Strong Heavyweight Championship, I want it to be earned and undeniable. So until I’m in a Jr Heavyweight division, I am not planning on targeting a World Heavyweight Champion. But in the future, if the circumstances are right, I would be proud to become a BJW World Strong Heavyweight Champion.”

With Crane focused on achieving success in the BJW Jr Heavyweight Division, he has set his sights on the division’s champion Kosuke Sato. Sato won the BJW Jr Heavyweight Title on May 5th when he defeated Ikuto Hidaka at the BJW 30th Anniversary event. Crane began pushing for a title opportunity immediately after Sato became champion.  When asked his opinion of Sato, Crane felt that while being a good wrestler, Sato is not championship material.

Jacob Crane on Kosuke Sato:

“I think he’s a really good wrestler. There is something special when it comes to his in-ring awareness, the way he can find any small openings to snatch the victory and his ground game and chain abilities are on a very high level. That being said, I don’t think he’s a champion material. Sato is not the biggest, not the strongest, not the fastest. He’s not great, amazing or perfect. Just really good. And that’s fine, not everyone can be a champion and I’m not saying you can’t “roll-up” your way to the title, I just know that the luck will run out the moment he comes across someone who won’t play his game and who won’t give him that one opening he always needs. And that someone is going to be me.

The budding rivalry between Crane and Sato came to a head at the BJW Ikkitousen Strong Climb 2025 Final when the two went at each other following the six man tag team match they were competing in. The two top BJW Jr Heavyweights engaged in a physical confrontation that was a prelude of what is to come. BJW made a match between the two official and on July 27th, Sato will defend his BJW Jr Heavyweight Title against Crane.

Crane discussed how he is preparing for his upcoming title bout with Monthly Puroresu. He takes great pride bring the first Polish wrestler to compete for a Japanese Title and called it one of his most important matches of his young career:

“I’m not doing anything different than usual. I believe in consistency when it comes to training and preparation and mentally, I’ve been preparing myself for this match for months now. I do think it’s one of my most important matches so far, but what’s more important is the heritage I will leave behind for the Polish Pro Wrestling history. Being the first Polish Pro Wrestler to compete for a Japanese Title is special, but also being able to become the first Polish Pro Wrestler to hold a Japanese Championship Title would be a cherry on top.”

During a recent backstage interview, Crane indicated that Sato has a zero percent chance to defeat him. There were many fans who shared the opinion that Crane may be underestimating Sato. When asked, Crane doesn’t feel he is underestimating Sato at all and explained why he feels this way:

I call it, as I see it. The way Sato avoided me for almost 2 months before finally accepting me as a Title Contender shows where his confidence stands as a champion. He has the heart of an underdog, but he is not suitable to be a Champion. I am built different and I think that deep down, at the bottom of his heart, Sato already handed the BJW Jr. Heavyweight Title to me.”

Monthly Puroresu asked Crane what type of BJW Jr Heavyweight Champion he would be should be defeat Sato on July 27th. Crane stated that the fans look at the BJW Jr Heavyweight Title as a “cute” championship. He has vowed that as champion, he will make the Jr Heavyweight division as respected as the Strong Heavyweight and Deathmach divisions:

“I want to bring something fresh to the Jr. Heavyweight Division. BJW Fans tend to see this title as “cute”. The way I see it, I’m done being a fake, cute idol to make anyone happy and when I win the BJW Jr. Heavyweight Title, I will make the Junior Heavyweight division equally as respected as the Deathmatch and Strong Heavyweight divisions.”

Crane revealed that despite being a regular for BJW over the past two years, he is not currently officially signed to the promotion and remains a freelancer. Despite being a freelancer, his priority is with BJW and Crane is thankful that the company gives him the approval to work for other promotions as long as there is no conflict with his BJW schedule:

“I’m a freelance worker with priority to BJW, since they are the company that who brought me to Japan and sponsored my Visa, but they have a liberal approach to working with other companies in the country and they gave me a green light to working with different companies as long as the schedule allows me to. I would like it to remain that way at the moment, I enjoy being part of the team, but also discovering other companies and the independent part of wrestling in Japan is an amazing experience and as long as my relationship with BJW allows me to, I would like to continue growing my name in Japan also as a part of independent wrestling shows.”

As Crane is striving to become one of the top Jr Heavyweights in professional wrestling, he was asked if he had any desire representing BJW in the NJPW Best of Super Jr. Tournament. While it would be a big career moment, he feels he needs to be the BJW Junior Heavyweight Champion if he were to represent BJW in the Best of Super Jr. tournament:

“It’s somewhere on the “to do” list, but I’m taking things day by day. I do think that BJW Jr Heavyweight division deserves a proper representation outside of Big Japan. And for me personally, it would be a big career moment to compete in a tournament this prestigious. But let’s look at things realistically, if I’m not a BJW Junior Heavyweight Champion, what right do I have to say that I should represent our Junior Division in BOSJ? I want to prove the world that I am one of the best Junior Heavyweights on this planet, and I will reach that status one goal at the time. And the next stop on my list is the BJW Junior Heavyweight championship.”

When asked what his goals are for the next five years, Crane told us that he wants to leave behind a legacy. Crane wants people to think of him when the topic of great European wrestlers that compete outside of Europe is discussed. It’s very important for Crane that he be respected all over the world for his in-ring work.

“Excluding everything I said before, the BJW Junior Heavyweight Title, being recognised as one of the best Jr Heavyweights in the world and continuing to grow as a wrestler in Japan, what I really want to be able to see in 5 years is that I left some sort of legacy behind. That if you think of European Wrestling represented outside of Europe, I am one of the people that come to your mind. I want my work to be recognised and respected around the world and this is something really important to me.”

As stated earlier, Crane will get an opportunity to become the BJW Jr. Heavyweight Champion on July 27th against Sato. Crane knows if he can dethrone Sato, he will take another step towards his goal of being considered one the best Jr Heavyweights in the world.

Sometimes, all hard working talented competitors require is a chance to prove themselves. BJW saw something in Crane and has given the rising star a terrific opportunity by allowing him to showcase his talent in Japan. It appears “The Perfect Man” is poised to take this opportunity to the next level and become a leader for the BJW Junior Heavyweight division.