, better known simply as Suwa (stylized in all capital letters), is a retired

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese professional wrestler. He originally retired from professional wrestling in 2007, but later returned for a short period of time in 2013 as Maybach Taniguchi Jr before a cervical spine injury forced him to retire once again.

Professional wrestling career

Toryumon and Dragon Gate

Suwa, one of Último Dragón's first trainees, made his professional wrestling debut on the first card of Dragon's

Toryumon Toryumon or Tōryūmon may refer to: *Toryumon (Último Dragón) is a professional wrestling promotion that operated in Japan until 2004 and in Mexico, where it's called Toryumon Mexico. The promotion is owned and operated by Yoshihiro Asai, who ...

promotion on May 11, 1997. He went on to become one of the founding fathers of the Crazy Max faction along with Cima, Taru, and Don Fujii, being portraited as a cocky and aggressive villain. Suwa won the

Último Dragón Gym Championship The Último Dragón Gym Championship was the top title in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing commun ...

, the promotion's top title, from Magnum Tokyo on February 8, 2004. He held it for two months before a shoulder injury suffered in a match with Dragon Kid forced him to vacate the belt. Later that same year, Suwa signed with Pro Wrestling Noah.

Pro Wrestling Noah

Soon after his arrival in Noah, on September 18, 2005, he challenged Kenta for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. Suwa was originally disqualified for attacking Kenta with a foreign object, but the match was restarted, and Suwa eventually lost. On December 10, 2006, Suwa teamed with Taru, Shuji Kondo and brother YASSHI during an eight man tag team match against Akira Taue, Mushiking Terry, Atsushi Aoki and Taiji Ishimori. After his team lost the match, Suwa announced his intention to retire from wrestling. In his last match, on January 21, 2007, he teamed up with Yoshihiro Takayama and Minoru Suzuki, losing to Kenta, Naomichi Marufuji and Takeshi Rikio. During the match, Suwa turned on his partners. Suwa retired from professional wrestling on March 11, 2007. In January 2013, Suwa returned to Noah under a mask as "Maybach Taniguchi, Jr.", a junior version of Maybach Taniguchi and a member of No Mercy. However, when Taniguchi turned on No Mercy leader Kenta on February 9, Taniguchi, Jr. did not follow him, but instead remained loyal to No Mercy. On March 10, Taniguchi, Jr. and No Mercy stablemate Genba Hirayanagi defeated Ricky Marvin and

Super Crazy Francisco Islas Rueda (born December 3, 1973), better known by his ring name Super Crazy, is a Mexican ''luchador'' (or professional wrestler). In Mexico, Islas has worked for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) and made appearances f ...

to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. On March 31, the two Taniguchis faced off in a grudge match, during which Taniguchi unmasked Taniguchi, Jr., revealing him as Suwa, before pinning him for the win. Following the event, Suwa abandoned the Taniguchi, Jr. gimmick and returned to working under his surname. On May 11 at Final Burning in Budokan, Suwa suffered a cervical spine injury and was replaced on all upcoming cards by "''Maybach Suwa Jr''", portrayed by Hajime Ohara. The injury also forced Suwa and Hirayanagi to vacate the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on May 30. In December 2014, Suwa announced he was suffering from

ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) is a process of fibrosis, calcification, and ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the spine, that may involve the spinal dura. Once considered a disorder unique to people ...

(OPLL) and would have to pull out of his scheduled return to the ring.

Championships and accomplishments

*Distrito Federal **

Distrito Federal Trios Championship The Distrito Federal Trios Championship is a ''Trios'' (six-man) tag team Championship primarily promoted by the Mexican Lucha libre professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG). The title was created in 1986 ...

( 1 time) – with

Shiima Nobunaga (born November 15, 1977), better known by his ring name Cima ( ) (most often stylized as CIMA), is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently works for Gleat. He had previously worked for Oriental Wrestling Entertainment (OWE), where he had ...

and Sumo Fuji * International Wrestling Revolution Group ** Copa Higher Power (1998) – with Lyguila, Magnum Tokyo, Ryo Saito, Shiima Nobunaga, Sumo Fujii and Último Dragón * Michinoku Pro Wrestling **Futaritabi Tag Team League (1999) – with Cima * Pro Wrestling Noah ** GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Genba Hirayanagi *

Toryumon Japan operating as and often referred to simply as Dragon Gate (also stylized as Dragongate (ラゴンゲート, Doragongēto)), is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion formerly known as Toryumon Japan. Most of the promotion's wrestlers are ...

** British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** NWA World Welterweight Championship ( 1 time) **

( 1 time) ** UWA World Trios Championship ( 3 times) – with Cima and Don Fujii **One Night Tag Tournament (2002) – with Taru **One Night Tag Tournament (2002) – with Cima

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suwa, Takahiro 1975 births Japanese male professional wrestlers Living people Sportspeople from Kagoshima Prefecture GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions NWA World Welterweight Champions 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Champions UWA World Trios Champions