Takashi Sugiura
is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). Sugiura, an accomplished amateur wrestler, joined Noah's dojo in 2000, making his professional debut on December 23, 2000, and thus becoming the first wrestler to make his pro wrestling debut in Noah. He has also competed in mixed martial arts with a notable victory over Giant Silva. Sugiura wrestled as a junior heavyweight in his earlier pro career and is a former GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion. Sugiura moved up to heavyweight and became the second longest reigning GHC Heavyweight Champion, having held the title for 581 days between December 2009 and July 2011. Early life Sugiura was an accomplished judoka in high school and narrowly missed the cut representing Japan at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He then became a self-defense instructor and was recruited to the All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) Dojo by Tamon Honda, who (along with Yoshihiro Takayama) oversaw all of Sugiura's training. P ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. These were the fourth Summer Olympic Games, Summer Olympics to be hosted by the United States, making it the first country to have three different cities host the Summer Olympics. It also marked the 100th anniversary of the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, the inaugural edition of the modern Olympic Games. These were also the first Summer Olympics to be held in a different year than the Winter Olympic Games, Winter Olympics since the same time practice commenced in 1924, as part of a new International Olympic Committee, IOC practice implemented in 1994 to hold the Summer and Winter Games in alternating, even-numbered years. The 1996 Games were the first of the two consecutive Summer Olympics to be held in a predomina ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bull Buchanan
Barry Buchanan (born January 15, 1968) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (WWF/WWE) under the ring names Recon, Bull Buchanan and B² and for his appearances with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and Pro Wrestling Noah (NOAH) as Buchanan. Primarily a tag team wrestler, Buchanan is a former WWF World Tag Team Champion, All Asia Tag Team Champion, GHC Tag Team Champion and USWA World Tag Team Champion. Professional wrestling career Early career (1995) Buchanan was trained to wrestle by James Hammonds. He debuted in 1995, wrestling on the North Georgia independent circuit as "The Punisher". Buchanan formed a tag team with Ric Savage called "Body Count". The duo competed in National Championship Wrestling (NCW) until Buchanan was recruited by Jim Cornette for Smoky Mountain Wrestling. Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1995) Buchanan debuted in Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) in 1995 as "The Puni ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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D'lo Brown
Accie Julius Connor (born October 22, 1973), better known by his ring name D'Lo Brown (also formatted as D-Lo Brown), is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to TNA Wrestling, where he works as a producer. He is best known for his time with WWE. Brown is also known for his appearances in Ring of Honor, All Japan Pro Wrestling, and Pro Wrestling Noah. Professional wrestling career Early career (1994–1997) Connor began his wrestling career in New Jersey as "Ace the Animal". He then wrestled Earthquake in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1994 under his given name as a Job (professional wrestling)#Jobbers, jobber. Connor debuted in Smoky Mountain Wrestling in September 1994 as "A.C. Conner". In October 1994, he was renamed "'Downtown' D'Lo Brown" and introduced as the head of security for the Gangstas (Mustapha Saed and New Jack). Brown was the worker (professional wrestling), worker of the stable (professional wrestling), stable, complementing Saed's ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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GHC Tag Team Championship
The is a professional wrestling tag team Championship (professional wrestling), title in Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created on October 19, 2001, when Big Van Vader, Vader and 2 Cold Scorpio, Scorpio defeated Jun Akiyama and Akitoshi Saito in a tournament final. Though it is typically contested among heavyweights (>), some Cruiserweight (professional wrestling), junior heavyweights such as Naomichi Marufuji and Yoshinari Ogawa have held it in the past. It is currently one of two tag team titles in Noah, along with the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (reserved for junior heavyweights). The current champions are Kenoh and Ulka Sasaki. History In October 2001, an 11-team tournament was held over the course of the "Navigation, Tug of War" tour. On October 19, Big Van Vader, Vader and 2 Cold Scorpio, Scorpio deafeated Jun Akiyama and Akitoshi Saito in the final to become the inaugural champions. Inaugural tournament ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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GHC Heavyweight Champion
The is the professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah, which was merged with DDT Pro-Wrestling to form CyberFight in 2020. It is one of CyberFight's two top men's world titles, alongside the KO-D Openweight Championship in DDT. The title was also defended on Impact Wrestling which has a working relationship with Pro Wrestling Noah. Though its name implies a particular weight class, it has been periodically held by junior heavyweights, including Yoshinari Ogawa, Kenta, Naomichi Marufuji, Katsuhiko Nakajima and Kenoh. The current champion is Ozawa, who is in his first reign. He defeated Kaito Kiyomiya at The New Year 2025 on January 1, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan. History The GHC Heavyweight Championship was created in 2001, when Noah held a 16-man tournament to crown the first champion over its month-long, 18-event Navigation for the Victory GHC tour. The tour ran from March 18 to April 15. Belt design ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
The is a professional wrestling tag team Championship (professional wrestling), title in Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion Pro Wrestling Noah, contested exclusively among Cruiserweight (professional wrestling), junior heavyweight wrestlers. It was created on July 16, 2003, when Kenta Kobayashi, Kenta and Naomichi Marufuji defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and Takehiro Murahama in a tournament final. It is currently one of two tag team titles in Noah, along with the typically heavyweight GHC Tag Team Championship. Although the weight limit is (), The Briscoe Brothers won the titles weighing slightly more than this on January 7, 2007. Title history As of , , there have been a total of 62 reigns shared between 47 different teams, consisting of 50 different individual champions. Momo no Seishun Tag (Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada) have the most reigns as a team at 4. Kotoge also has the most reigns as an individual at 9. Inaugural champions Kenta Kobayashi, Kenta a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kenta Kobayashi
, known mononymously as Kenta (stylised in all caps), is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. A former amateur kickboxer, Kobayashi's wrestling style is based upon strong kicks and strikes. Kobayashi pioneered both the '' Go 2 Sleep'' and '' Busaiku Knee'' kick finishing manoeuvres, later popularized by CM Punk and Bryan Danielson, respectively. Kobayashi started his career in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), before moving to Pro Wrestling Noah; through Noah's involvement in the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance (GPWA), a global organization of cooperative promotions that allow their competitors to travel abroad to other companies, he has wrestled extensively in American promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). In Noah, he was a one-time GHC Heavyweight Champion, three-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion, three-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, and one-time GHC Tag Team Champion. He was also the winner of the 2012 Global League a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Naomichi Marufuji
(born September 26, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. Marufuji is a four-time GHC Heavyweight Champion, as well as the first of two men to win Junior Heavyweight Championships in all three major Japanese promotions ( Minoru Tanaka is the other). In 2020, he was appointed to the position of Executive Vice President of CyberFight, the parent company of Noah. He also makes occasional appearances in other professional wrestling promotions including New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Ring of Honor (ROH), and Impact Wrestling. Professional wrestling career All Japan Pro Wrestling (1998–1999) Marufuji pursued amateur wrestling and basketball during his high school days before joining All Japan Pro Wrestling, and trained in Satoru Sayama's Super Tiger Gym. His debut match came on August 28, 1998, against Yoshinobu Kanemaru. For the first two years of his career, under Giant Baba and Mitsuharu Misawa's isolati ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kentaro Shiga
is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer. He returned from a two-year hiatus due to injury in 2005. History All Japan Pro Wrestling (1994−2000) Shiga trained in the All Japan dojo and debuted in All Japan Pro Wrestling in early 1994. For the first two years, Shiga spent most of the time in opening matches or low midcard matches as he paid his dues. On January 3, 1996, Shiga won his first honor when he won the yearly January 3 Korakuen Hall Jr. Heavyweight Battle Royal. Shortly after Shiga entered the 1996 Asunaro Cup Tournament where he finished in 6th place with 2 points. Following these events, Shiga returned to the midcard for another few years where he did not challenge for any titles. In 1998, Shiga teamed with Akira Taue in the 1998 Asunaro Cup tournament where they finished as the runners-up losing to Jun Akiyama and Takao Omori in the finals. Later in the year, Shiga joined Kenta Kobashi's stable: Burning. On February 13, 1999, Shiga teame ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Yoshinobu Kanemaru
is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he is a member of House of Torture and a former member of Bullet Club. He also works as a backstage producer for NJPW. Professional wrestling career All Japan Pro Wrestling (1996–2000) Kanemaru debuted in 1996 for All Japan Pro Wrestling, in the last years of owner Giant Baba's regime, which had isolated the promotion from outsider wrestlers at the expense of the younger, lighter-weight talent. His first high-profile match in 1997 saw him team with New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Koji Kanemoto (Tiger Mask III) to battle freelancer Satoru Sayama, the original Tiger Mask, and his disciple, Michinoku Pro Wrestling's Yoshihiro Yamazaki (who would go on to become Tiger Mask IV), in a battle of Tiger Masks (as Mitsuharu Misawa, who once portrayed Tiger Mask II, was now a heavyweight and fully focused on the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, Kanemaru had to substitute for him in this ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Takeshi Morishima
(born October 15, 1978) is a Japanese former professional wrestler. Morishima is best known for his work with Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a former three-time GHC Heavyweight Champion. He has also performed for Ring of Honor (ROH) in the United States in the past where he was a one-time ROH World Champion. Professional wrestling career All Japan Pro Wrestling (1998–2000) Morishima attended Urayasu High School where he took part in judo. His instructor, Shoji Abe, was friends with Mitsuharu Misawa, and managed to get Morishima a tryout with All Japan Pro Wrestling, which he passed and shortly after began training with the promotion for a career in professional wrestling. Initially, Morishima was a protégé of Misawa, but after Naomichi Marufuji joined the promotion and Misawa decided instead to focus solely on training Marufuji, Akira Taue took Morishima under his wing and trained him. Morishima debuted for All Japan in 1998, but left in 2000 to join the newly form ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |