, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. Takagi's gimmick is that he is

Stone Cold Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, and retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most ...

. He is known in Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) and around the micro-indy scene for his hilarious promos and natural charisma as well as his extensive use of

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term ori ...

in his matches. He is the president of DDT and has also worked as the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

of Wrestle-1. He became the new president of Pro Wrestling Noah when CyberAgent purchased the company.

Career

Takagi was trained by Goro Tsurumi and started at his International Pro Wrestling revival promotion, IWA Kakuto Shijuku. Soon, however, Takagi broke off, seeing that IWAKS's limited exposure would only limit him to be an independent wrestler, in 1997 he formed DDT (Dramatic Dream Team), which not only would promote in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

(as opposed to Tsurumi's

Chigasaki, Kanagawa is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 242,798 and a population density of 6800 people per km². The total area of the city is . Geography The city is located on the eastern bank of the Sagam ...

base), but also be based on the entertainment wrestling kingpin of the day,

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

. Since then Takagi's show has acquired a cult following as a good version of American-style entertainment wrestling. Takagi has also made appearances in

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Bab ...

, but prefers to remain his own man and his own promoter. On May 5, 2015, Takagi was announced as the new

(CEO) of Wrestle-1. He also continued serving as the president of DDT, while being involved with Wrestle-1's management. Starting on April 1, 2017, Takagi served in the role of an advisor to new president Kaz Hayashi. In March 2017, Wrestle-1 underwent a change in management, which led to Takagi assuming the new role of an advisor, from which he resigned the following September. On September 1, 2017, DDT was sold to the CyberAgent company. Takagi retained his position as the company's president. On July 15, 2019, at Wrestle Peter Pan 2019, Takagi won the inaugural O-40 Championship by defeating Super Sasadango Machine. On September 29, at Who's Gonna TOP? 2019, he lost the title to Gorgeous Matsuno. On January 30, 2020 Takagi became new president of Pro Wrestling Noah and commented that Mitsuharu Misawa once saved DDT when he gave chances to DDT wrestlers to perform at Noah events and he wanted to rise both DDT and Noah as world class promotions.

Personal life

His wife is Kayako Takagi, who actually helped him out backstage and on-screen in DDT storylines in 2004.

Championships and accomplishments

* Dramatic Dream Team :* DDT Extreme Championship (2 times) :* Greater China Unified Zhongyuan Tag Team Championship (

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outsid ...

) – with

Munenori Sawa is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. Sawa was trained by and spent his entire career in the Battlarts promotion, adopting the promotion's "Bati Bati" wrestling style, known for its stiff strikes and submission-based shoot wrestling, ...

:* Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship ( 10 times) :* Jiyūgaoka 6-Person Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Etsuko Mita and Hero! (1) and Jun Inomata and Poison Sawada (1) :* King of Dark Championship (1 time) :* KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship (

4 times "4 Times" (stylized as "4 TIMES") is the 50th single by pop/ R&B singer Koda Kumi. It was released on August 17, 2011 and debuted at No. 6, remaining on the Oricon charts for nine consecutive weeks. In commemoration of it being the fiftieth singl ...

) – with Akebono and

Toru Owashi is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name . He is best known for his work in DDT Pro-Wrestling, where he is a former KO-D Openweight Champion and two time KO-D Tag Team Champion. Professional wrestling career Initially ...

(1), and Kazuki Hirata and Toru Owashi (3) :* KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Yukio Naya, Chikara and Yakan Nabe :*

KO-D Openweight Championship The is a professional wrestling world openweight championship and the top singles accomplishment in the Japanese promotion CyberFight currently defended in the DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT) brand division. It is one of CyberFight's top major world ...

( 6 times) :* KO-D Tag Team Championship (

) – with Tomohiko Hashimoto (1), Ryuji Ito (1), Munenori Sawa (1), and Soma Takao (1) :* O-40 Championship (1 time) :* Sea Of Japan 6-Person Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Yoshihiro Sakai and O.K. Revolution :*Right to Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract (2013, 2019) :*Best Unit Award (2012) New World Japan * Tokyo Gurentai :* Tokyo World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links

Sanshiro Takagi at the DDT fan siteOfficial Dramatic Dream Team site in Japanese
{{DEFAULTSORT:Takagi, Sanshiro 1975 births Japanese male professional wrestlers Living people Sportspeople from Nagoya Komazawa University alumni Professional wrestling executives 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers DDT Extreme Champions Ironman Heavymetalweight Champions Jiyūgaoka 6-Person Tag Team Champions King of Dark Champions KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions KO-D 8-Man/10-Man Tag Team Champions KO-D Tag Team Champions Sea of Japan 6-Person Tag Team Champions KO-D Openweight Champions