Takuma Sano

Birthdate:  February 2nd, 1965
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 243 lbs.
Debut:  March 3rd, 1984
Background:  New Japan Dojo
Promotion History: New Japan (1984 to 1989), SWS (1990 to 1992), UWF-I (1993 to 1996), Kingdom (1997 to 1998), BattlArts (1997 to 1998), and NOAH (2001 to present)
Alliances:  Frequently teams with Taue and Takayama
Ring Attire:  Blue trunks
Card Position:  Mid-Card
Major Tournaments Won: Young Lion Cup (1989) and the NOAH Global Tag League (2010)
Current Title Held:  GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship

Championship History:

GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship with Yoshihiro Takayama:
- Defeated Akitoshi Saito and Bison Smith on 9/18/10

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship:
- Defeated Jushin Liger on 8/10/89 and lost to Jushin Liger on 1/31/90

SWS Light Heavyweight Championship:
- Defeated Rick Martel on 12/12/91 and Retired on 6/16/92

WAR Six Man Tag Team Championship with Nobuhiko Takada and Kakihara:
- Defeated Fuyuki, Gedo, and Jado on 7/20/96 and lost to Anjo, Bigelow, and Fuyuki on 10/11/96

Independent Junior Heavyweight Championship:
- Defeated Minoru Tanaka on 5/15/99 and lost to Minoru Tanaka on 1/30/00

Biggest Matches:
- August 10th, 1989 vs. Jushin Thunder Liger (title win)
- December 12th, 1991 vs. Rick Martel (title win)
- May 4th, 1997 vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
- May 14th, 1999 vs. Minoru Tanaka (title win)
- April 28th, 2007 vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (title challenge)

Pictures:
- Sano with a release German Suplex
- Missile Dropkick by Sano
- Sano with a German Suplex on Thoruf

Signature Moves:
- Double Stomp
- Double Stomp off the Second Turnbuckle
- Niagara Driver
- Northern Lights Bomb
- Tope Suicida
- Rolling Savate Kick
- Yurikamome

2005 Recap:
A well respected junior heavyweight wrestler, Sano had reasonable success in NOAH even though he has not been part of any long-term programs.  Usually wrestling in the mid-card, Sano picks up quite a victories for his team with his Northern Lights Bomb.  On November 5th, Sano defeated Mushiking Terry at the Tokyo Nippon Budokan Show, showing that he is still a dominate force in the junior heavyweight division. 

2006 Recap:
Sano participated in the GHC Heavyweight Title Shot Tournament in the spring, but lost in the semi-finals to eventual winner Masao Inoue. Sano picked up a pinfall victory at the April, July, and October Budokan Shows however, showing that he is still difficult to defeat. He also took part in the tag team tournament to crown new champions after Kobashi was forced to vacate the title in October, but he and Yoshihiro Takayama lost in the finals against Morishima and Yone.

2007 Recap:
In 2007 Sano started the year with a bang by defeating Sugiura on January 21st by TKO. In March Sano got a pinfall over Taue in a tag match, one of his biggest pinfalls in recent memory. This all led to Sano getting a shot at the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Misawa on April 28th, but Sano would fall to the Elbow Smash. For the rest of the year Sano took a smaller role and wrestled mostly in tag matches, having a fair amount of success but not challenging for any more titles.

2009 Recap:
Sano didn't do much in 2009 and mostly stayed in the midcard teaming with Takayama or one of the other older wrestlers such as Taue. On January 12th, he lost to Go Shiozaki during Shiozaki's charge to show he was ready to be the leader of NOAH. He did not take part in the Global Tag League and he wrestled in one of the first two matches at all the Budokan events during the year (if he appeared on the card at all).


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