Toru Yano

Toru Yano

Birthdate: May 18th, 1978
Height: 6'1''
Weight: 253 lbs.
Debut: May 18th, 2002
Background: Amateur Wrestling
Promotion History: New Japan (2002 to present)
Alliances: GBH, teams with Ishii
Ring Attire: Red pants
Card Position: Mid-Card
Major Tournaments Won: None
Current Title Held: IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship

Championship History:

WEW Heavyweight Championship:
- Defeated Kintaro Kanemura on 7/29/07 and lost to Mammoth Sasaki on 9/24/07

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship with Togi Makabe:
- Defeated Giant Bernard and Travis Tomko on 2/17/08

Biggest Matches:
- July 19th, 2004 vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (title challenge)
- June 18th, 2005 vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
- October 18th, 2006 with Ishii vs. Manabu Nakanishi and Naofumi Yamamoto
- July 19th, 2007 vs. Kintaro Kanemura (title win)
- February 17th, 2008 with Makabe vs. Tomko and Giant Bernard (title win)

Pictures:
- A reverse chinlock by Yano
- Yano hits a German Suplex
- Yano chokes Honma

Signature Moves:
- Canadian backbreaker
- Front suplex
- Oni Koroshi
- Uragasumi

2005 Recap:
For the first part of 2005, Yano was one of the biggest rule breakers in New Japan, constantly using foreign objects (such as a sandal or umbrella) in his matches. After an excursion in America, Chono tried to reel Yano in, but had limited success. In late 2005, after a trip to Europe, Yano came back a changed man. No longer with dyed hair, he finally began wrestling a serious style and as a heavyweight expects to climb higher up the ladder soon.

2006 Recap:
Yano continued trying to work his way up the card in 2006 with limited success. After briefly becoming a more honest and law-abiding wrestler, he soon went back to his cheating ways to pick up a few key wins. Yano lost to Giant Bernard in the first round of the New Japan Cup and he did not take part in the G1 Climax. Towards the second half of the year he began teaming with Ishii, and the pair would join Tenzan's Great Bash Heel group in December as the Tag Team portion of the faction. Yano had a few pinfall victories over the mid-card New Japan Sekigun wrestlers (such as Taguchi), but he lost in his singles match against Nakamura on December 7th.

2007 Recap:
Yano continued to have moderate success in 2007, participating in all the major tournaments and picking up a few notable victories. In the New Japan Cup, Yano lost in the first round to Nakamura. In the G1 Climax, Yano defeated Nakanishi and Koshinaka and also went to a double countout with Tanahashi, but he missed reaching the semi-finals by one point. Throughout the year he teamed at first with Ishii and later with Makabe, and he also also invaded Apache Pro. This lead to Yano winning the WEW Heavyweight Championship, his first championship in Japan. In the G1 Tag League, Yano teamed with Makabe and together they reached the semi-finals before losing to Giant Bernard and Tomko. On December 9th he had a singles match against Goto, but Goto would come up victorious, showing that Yano still has a bit more growing to do before he is breaks into the main event picture.

2008 Recap:
2008 started poorly for Yano, as he and Makabe lost to Brother Ray and Brother Devon at the Tokyo Dome on January 4th. They quickly turned things around however, as on February 17th they defeated Giant Bernard and Travis Tomko for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. They would have four successful defenses for the rest of the year, defeating Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Takashi Iizuka, Giant Bernard & Rick Fuller, Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto, and Manabu Nakanishi & Yutaka Yoshie. At the New Japan Cup, Yano defeated Milano Collection AT and Rhino before falling to Giant Bernard in the semi-finals. In the G1 Climax, Yano would defeat Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Nakamura but failed to reach the finals. Yano would team with Makabe in the G1 Tag League, and they would reach the finals before losing to Tenzan and Kojima. At the end of the year Yano was still the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion and as a solid number three in GBH.

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