Championship History

All Japan Triple Crown Championship
All Japan Unified World Tag Team Championship
All Japan All Asia Tag Team Championship
GHC Heavyweight Championship
GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (x2)
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship
WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship


Major Tournaments Won

Global Tag League (2010)

Real Name: Yoshihiro Takayama
Birth: September 19th, 1966
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 290 lbs.
Background: UWF-I
Debut: June 28th, 1992
Other Identities: None
Alliances: None
Promotion History: UWF-I (1992 to 1996), All Japan (1997 to 2000), NOAH (2001 to 2002), and Freelancer (2003 to present)

Awards and Recognition

Tokyo Sports Grand Prix:
Best Bout vs. Yuji Nagata (2002)
Outstanding Performance Prize (2002)
Most Valuable Player (2003)
Best Tag Prize with Minoru Suzuki (2004)
Best Bout with Kobashi vs. Misawa and Akiyama (2007)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated:
Highest Rank was #27 in the World in 2002

Notable Matches

July 23rd, 1999 with Omori vs. Ace and Burton
November 30th, 2001 with Omori vs. Misawa and Ogawa
April 5th, 2002 vs. Yuji Nagata
September 7th, 2002 vs. Yoshinari Ogawa
February 1st, 2004 with Suzuki vs. Nishimura and Tenzan
March 14th, 2009 vs. Great Muta
September 18th, 2010 with Sano vs. Saito and Smith

Other Pictures

On March 15th, 2009 facing off against Ogawa
Takayama beats Muta into a bloody pulp
Takayama with an elbow strike to Akiyama
Everest German Suplex!

Wrestling Moves Videos Reviewed Matches on Puroresu Central
Backdrop Suplex
Belly to Belly Suplex
Cross Armbreaker
Double Armed Suplex
Dragon Suplex
Dropkick
Everest German Suplex
Haymaker
High Kick
Jumping Knee
Knee Strike
PK
Takayama with the Everest German Suplex
A Jumping Knee
His debilitating Knee Strike
August 25th, 1996 - Takayama and Ishikawa and vs. Anjo and Tiger Mask
May 1st, 1998 - Takayama and Kakihara vs. Williams and Albright
March 1st, 2003 - Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Masao Inoue
July 10th, 2004 - Takayama and Suzuki vs. Morishima and Rikio
November 14th, 2006 - Takayama, Suzuki, and Rongai vs. Morishima, Sato, and Taniguchi
December 3rd, 2006 - Takayama, Suzuki, and SUWA vs. Goto, Ohara, and Blue Wolf
October 27th, 2007 - Takayama, Sano, and Marvin vs. Taue, KENTA and Go Shiozaki
October 18th, 2008 - Takayama and Otsuka vs. Ishikawa and Nagai
March 1st, 2009 - Takayama and Marvin vs. Rikio and Suzuki
January 4th, 2010 - Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
August 1st, 2011 - Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Toru Yano

Takayama spent the bulk of his 2009 in All Japan, where he joined his friend Minoru Suzuki's GURENTAI faction. Takayama almost instantly found success, as on March 14th he challenged for and won the Triple Crown from the Great Muta. This made Takayama the first wrestler in history to hold the main heavyweight championship and main heavyweight tag team championship in NOAH, New Japan, and All Japan. In the Champion Carnival, Takayama barely missed out on making the semi-finals when he was upset by Osamu Nishimura on the last day. On May 30th he successfully defended the Triple Crown against faction mate Suzuki, and at Sumo Hall on August 30th he downed Suwama. Takayama finally lost the Triple Crown on September 26th to Satoshi Kojima, ending his six month reign. In the Real World Tag League he teamed with NOSAWA, but the pair came in 7th. It was announced in December that Takayama would be challenging Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the Tokyo Dome on 1/4/10.

Nakamura defeated Takayama at the Tokyo Dome, but Takayama soon went back to NOAH where he won the GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship for the second time. After dropping the belt in 2011, Takayama made sporadic appearances in different promotions through the year. He did participate in the New Japan G1 Climax, having success but failing to reach the Finals.