Takashi Sugiura

Birthdate:  May 31st, 1970
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 220 lbs.
Debut:  December 23rd, 2000
Background:  Amateur Wrestling
Promotion History: NOAH (2000 to present)
Alliances:  Teams with Marufuji
Ring Attire:  Black trunks
Card Position:  Upper Mid-Card
Major Tournaments Won: None
Current Title Held: GHC Heavyweight Championship 

Championship History:

GHC Heavyweight Championship:
- Defeated Go Shiozaki on 12/6/09

GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship with Naomichi Marufuji:
- Defeated Brown and Buchanan on 10/27/07 and lost to Saito and Bison Smith on 5/23/08

GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship:
- Defeated Michael Modest on 9/12/03 and lost to Jushin Thunder Liger on 1/4/04
- Defeated KENTA on 6/4/06 and lost to Tatsuhito Takaiwa on 12/23/06

GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship with Yoshinobu Kanemaru:
- Defeated Marufuji and KENTA on 6/5/05 and lost to Fujita and Hidaka on 3/5/06
- Defeated Fujita and Hidaka on 8/13/06 and lost to The Briscoe Brothers on 1/7/07

Biggest Matches:
- September 12th, 2003 vs. Michael Modest (title win)
- June 5th, 2005 with Kanemaru vs. Naomichi Marufuji and KENTA (title win)
- June 4th, 2006 vs. KENTA (title win)
- March 4th, 2007 vs. Mitsuharu Misawa
- October 27th, 2007 with Marufuji vs. D-Lo Brown and Buchanan (title win)
- December 5th, 2009 vs. Go Shiozaki (title win)

Pictures:
- A spear by Sugiura
- Sugiura with a Powerbomb
- Sugiura hits an overhead suplex
- The Olympic Slam

Signature Moves:
- Ankle Lock Hold
- Dragon Suplex Hold
- Gutwrench Suplex
- Olympic Slam
- Release German Suplex

2005 Recap:
Using his knowledge gained in the amateur wrestling world, Sugiura is a solid Jr. Heavyweight.  Sugiura mainly wrestles in mid-card tag matches, although he does occasionally have significant singles matches as well.  On June 5th, he teamed with Kanemaru to win the GHC Jr. Tag Team Championship from Marufuji and KENTA.  He also wrestled at the Tokyo Dome Show, winning in the opening match.  Thus far he has been unable to win the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship again, but he still has plenty of time to do so.

2006 Recap:
Entering the new year as a champion, Sugiura (with Kanemaru) would lose the GHC Jr. Tag Team Championships to the invading Fujita and Hidaka on March 5th. They would regain the titles on August 13th however and they would remain champions for the remainder of the year. On June 4th, Sugiura defeated KENTA for the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship, but he would lose the title on December 23rd to Tatsuhito Takaiwa, having only successfully defended the title once. Sugiura also made a quick trip back to Pancrease, but lost his match to Nojo.

2007 Recap:
Tired of being a Jr. Heavyweight, Sugiura began wrestling more as a heavyweight in 2007 with mixed results. In January he was defeated by Sano and in March he was beaten by Misawa, but in both matches he put up a good fight to show that he was able to hang with the heavyweights. On April 28th he made his first shot to win the GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship with Takayama, but they would fall to Akiyama and Rikio. Always persistent, Sugiura tried again on October 27th teaming with Marufuji, and this time he would come out victorious as they defeated D-Lo Brown and Buchanan for the titles. They made one successful defense in 2007, defeated Bison Smith and Saito on November 25th.

2009 Recap:
2009 was a career year for Sugiura, as his presence was felt all across Japan and he won the GHC Heavyweight Championship for the first time. The year started with Sugiura and Misawa invading New Japan at the Tokyo Dome, but Sugiura fell to Nakamura's cross armbreaker. Not deterred, Sugiura teamed with Shiozaki to defeat Nakamura and Milano Collection AT when the New Japan team came to NOAH. Sugiura went back to New Japan on May 5th with Atsushi Aoki, and the NOAH team defeated Hirooki Goto and Okada. After Sugiura defeated Hirooki Goto in a singles match on June 20th he earned a shot at Tanahashi's IWGP Heavyweight Championship on July 20th, but Tanahashi retained the belt. Sugiura took part in New Japan's G1 Climax, and even though he reached the Semi Final he fell to eventual winner Togi Makabe. Back in NOAH, Sugiura earned himself a match against Go Shiozaki for the GHC Heavyweight Championship, and Sugiura defeated the young star with an Avalanche-Style Olympic Slam, winning his first singles title since 2006.


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