, better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

, 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 is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name stands for Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's official name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was eventually bo ...

(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 o ...

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 especially ...

Wrestle-1 was a Japanese ''puroresu'' or professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion, founded in July 2013 by Keiji Mutoh following his resignation from All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). The core of the promotion's roster was formed by ...

. He became the new president of

Pro Wrestling Noah (stylised as Pro Wrestling NOAH) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) ace Mitsuharu Misawa after he had led a mass exodus in which 24 of AJPW's 26 contracted wrestlers left the ...

when

CyberAgent is a Japanese digital advertising company, which was founded in 1998 by Susumu Fujita and headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. It is owned by Susumu Fujita with 20.50% interest; Fujita is representative director, while Yusuke Hidaka is executive vice ...

purchased the company.

Career

Takagi was trained by

Goro Tsurumi Goro may refer to: Places Benin * Goro, Benin, an arrondissement in the Commune of Tchaourou, Borgou Ethiopia * Ejersa Goro, a town in Misraq Hararghe Zone, Oromia * Goro, Bale, a town in Bale Zone, Oromia * Goro, Mirab Shewa, a town in Mi ...

and started at his

International Pro Wrestling International Wrestling Enterprise (国際プロレス興行;, ''Kokusai Puroresu Kogyō'') was a professional wrestling promotion in Japan from 1966 to 1981. Founded by Isao Yoshihara, it was affiliated with the American Wrestling Association i ...

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 largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

(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 Sagami ...

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 vario ...

. 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 Baba, ...

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

(CEO) of

. 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 is a Japanese professional wrestler known simply as . He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where in addition to being a wrestler for the promotion, he also served as the head booker for the company's junior heavyweight ...

. 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

company. Takagi retained his position as the company's president. On July 15, 2019, at

Wrestle Peter Pan 2019 Wrestle Peter Pan 2019 was a Japanese professional wrestling event promoted by DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). The event took place on July 15, 2019, in Tokyo at the Ota City General Gymnasium. The event featured thirteen matches, five of which were cont ...

, Takagi won the inaugural

O-40 Championship The is a professional wrestling championship (professional wrestling), championship in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion, promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling. The title was established in 2019 by Super Sasadango Machine in order to provide a ...

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

and commented that

Mitsuharu Misawa was a Japanese amateur and professional wrestler and promoter. He is primarily known for his time in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and also for forming the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion in 2000. In the early 1990s, Misawa gained fame alongside ...

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

DDT Extreme Championship The is a singles title in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling. The title was established in 2006 and it is mostly defended in stipulation matches, with the defending champion being given the right to choose the stip ...

(2 times) :*

Greater China Unified Zhongyuan Tag Team Championship The was a professional wrestling championship in the Japanese promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling. The title was introduced in 2011, in DDT's parodic sub-brand New Beijing Pro-Wrestling. History In storyline, this title was once held by Chinese histo ...

(

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. Outside ...

) – 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, but ...

Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion CyberFight in its DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT) brand. Open to anyone, regardless of gender or DDT employment status, the championship is defended " 24/7", as i ...

( 10 times) :*

Jiyūgaoka 6-Person Tag Team Championship The was a six-person tag team title in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Dramatic Dream Team, today known as DDT Pro-Wrestling. The title, established in 2003, was named after the Jiyūgaoka neighborhood in Meguro. It has since been ...

(2 times) – with

Etsuko Mita is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. She formed a successful tag team with her partner Mima Shimoda as ''Las Cachorras Orientales'' (Spanish for "The Oriental Bitches"; which was originally a trio with Akira Hokuto) and Toshiyo Yamada ...

and Hero! (1) and Jun Inomata and Poison Sawada (1) :*

King of Dark Championship The was a professional wrestling championship created by Amon Tsurumi. The champion was forced to wrestle exclusively in dark matches on DDT shows. Contrary to regular professional wrestling championships, the title was not rewarded to the win ...

(1 time) :*

KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling championship owned by the DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT) promotion. The title was first announced during DDT's year-end event on December 23, 2012, becoming the promotion's fifth active title. The first champions were c ...

( 4 times) – 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 Championship, KO-D Openweight Champion and two time KO-D Tag Team Championship, KO-D Ta ...

(1), and

Kazuki Hirata is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). Professional wrestling career DDT Pro-Wrestling (2010-present) Hirata's first known match as a professional wrestle ...

and Toru Owashi (3) :*

KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling championship owned by the DDT Pro-Wrestling promotion. Meant for teams of five wrestlers, the title is believed to be the first of its kind in professional wrestling. The title was first announced on April 30, 201 ...

( 1 time) – with

Yukio Naya is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2017-present) Naya made his professional wrestling debut for Rea ...

, 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 tit ...

( 6 times) :*

KO-D Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Japanese promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). The title was established in 2001. In its early days, DDT occasionally referred to the title as the . It is currently the only tag tea ...

( 4 times) – with Tomohiko Hashimoto (1),

Ryuji Ito (born April 8, 1976) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently competing in Big Japan Pro Wrestling in the Deathmatch division. He is well known for his death match style of wrestling. Career Big Japan Pro Wrestling (1999–present) It ...

(1), Munenori Sawa (1), and

Soma Takao is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). Takao has taken part in every edition of DDT's flagship annual event, Peter Pan, where he had a series of 13 stra ...

(1) :*

(1 time) :* Sea Of Japan 6-Person Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with

Yoshihiro Sakai is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name and is currently working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). Professional wrestling career Dramatic Dream Team/DDT Pro Wrestling (2002– ...

and O.K. Revolution :*Right to Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract (2013, 2019) :*Best Unit Award (2012) New World Japan *

Tokyo Gurentai is a professional wrestling stable, currently made up of Fujita, Kikuzawa, Mazada, and Nosawa Rongai. The group was formed in 2000 by Kikuzawa, Mazada and Nosawa and has since appeared for Japan's four biggest promotions; All Japan Pro Wrest ...

:* 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