Naoki Sano

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Naoki Sano(佐野直喜) is a Japanese professional wrestler. He currently goes by the name Takuma Sano.

1 Career
2 Championships and accomplishments
- 2.1 Wrestling Observer Newsletter

[edit] Career

[edit] New Japan Pro Wrestling

Sano was a member of the 1984 New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo class, which also included such luminaries as Jushin Liger, Keiji Mutoh, Shinya Hashimoto and Masahiro Chono. In the first few years he was a jobber, but gradually began improving his stock. In 1989 he had numerous acclaimed matches against Liger over the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, winning it once before losing it back to Liger.

[edit] Super World of Sports

In 1990, Sano moved to SWS after a big money offer from Megane Super, the company backing the promotion. In SWS he became the top junior heavyweight, feuding with native talent and outsider talent from the United States, Mexico, and outsider promotions Universal Lucha Libre and Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi. On December 1991, Sano won the tournament for the SWS Light Heavyweight Championship. He was the only titleholder.

After SWS collapsed in mid-1992, Sano worked a few matches for Fujiwara Gumi, but soon moved to Union of Wrestling Force International upon recommendation from former NJPW comrades Nobuhiko Takada and Kazuo Yamazaki, the top stars of UWFI.

[edit] Yuhi Sano, the shoot wrestler

In UWFI, he adopted the name Yuhi Sano. Adopting the shinguards and trunks typical of shoot style wrestlers, Sano had more opportunities to face actual heavyweights. Nevertheless, during the 1995-96 feud against NJPW, Sano participated on UWFI's side, beating old rival Liger one more time but losing to Shinya Hashimoto. In the feud against WAR, which had been born out of the ashes of SWS, Sano lost to old patron Genichiro Tenryu in a singles match. Upon UWFI's collapse later in 1996, Sano joined its successor promotion, Kingdom, but following its faster collapse, Sano, Takada and Kazushi Sakuraba joined in a stable of fighters called Takada Dojo, whose members would focus more on mixed martial arts fights.

[edit] Independents

Spurred by Takada Dojo, Sano tried his hand at a few fights in the PRIDE Fighting Championships, but lost all of them. He went back to wrestling, entering Battlarts and feuding with Minoru Tanaka over the (formerly FMW) Independent Junior Heavyweight Title. Sano won the belt from Tanaka in 1997 and dropped it back to him the following year.

In 2000 he participated in the third Super J Cup tournament held by Michinoku Pro Wrestling. He advanced to the final four before losing to eventual runnerup CIMA.

In 2001, Sano appeared on a Pro Wrestling NOAH card and announced his withdrawal from Takada Dojo, having had enough of mixed martial arts. He immediately signed a contract.

[edit] Pro Wrestling NOAH

He became Takuma Sano, for a year wearing tights and wrestling junior heavyweights, but after fully turning heavyweight, he went back to the shinguards and trunks. As part of the faction led by Akira Taue and also composed of Daisuke Ikeda, Sano had opportunities for the GHC Heavyweight Championship held by Kenta Kobashi, but failed. Nonetheless, Sano remains a good worker and an integral part of NOAH's heavyweight division.