, 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 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 ...

. He originally retired from professional wrestling in 2007, but later returned for a short period of time in 2013 as

Maybach Taniguchi is a Japanese professional wrestler who has worked for Pro Wrestling Noah since his debut in December 2005. He is also known by the ring name , under which he portrays a villainous masked character. Professional wrestling career Amateur backg ...

Jr before a cervical spine injury forced him to retire once again.

Professional wrestling career

Toryumon and Dragon Gate

Suwa, one of

Último Dragón (born December 12, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler and actor, better known as . In addition to having trained in Japan, Asai learned to wrestle in the lucha libre style while working in Mexico. He is credited with popularizing the "Asa ...

's first trainees, made his professional wrestling debut on the first card of Dragon's Toryumon 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 (born July 6, 1970), better known by his ring name Don Fujii, is a Japanese wrestler who currently works for Dragon Gate. He was one-half of the inaugural Open the Owarai Twin Gate Champions and is also a former two-time Open the Twin Gate Champ ...

, being portraited as a cocky and aggressive

villain A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

. Suwa won the Último Dragón Gym Championship, 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 is a Japanese people, Japanese professional wrestler currently working for Dragon Gate (wrestling), Dragon Gate as . Nakamura initially broke into the wrestling business with Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling (FMW), but was not allowed to be a wre ...

forced him to vacate the belt. Later that same year, Suwa signed with

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 ...

Pro Wrestling Noah

Soon after his arrival in Noah, on September 18, 2005, he challenged

Kenta Kenta (written: , , , or in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese baseball player *, Japanese film director *, Japanese kickboxer *, Japanese professional wrestler *, Japanese profession ...

for the

GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling title in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah, contested exclusively among junior heavyweight (<100 kg) wrestlers. It was created ...

. 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 is a Japanese professional wrestler. Prior to becoming a pro wrestler, he played rugby. After starting his career in Toryumon, Kondo eventually joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he became one of the promotion's top junior heavyweig ...

and

brother YASSHI , better known by his ringname "brother" Yasshi (stylised as "brother" YASSHI), is a Japanese professional wrestler, known for his appearances in El Dorado Wrestling, Dragon Gate, and All Japan Pro Wrestling. He is currently working for Pro Wres ...

during an eight man tag team match against

Akira Taue is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is also a former All Japan Pro Wrestling Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, a former GHC Heavyweight Champion and has had fourteen 5 Star Matches as awarded by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. ...

, Mushiking Terry,

Atsushi Aoki was a Japanese professional wrestler who worked for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) as a wrestler, president of talent relations and head trainer at their dojo. Aoki began his career in Pro Wrestling Noah in 2005, where he went on to become a two ...

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 is a former Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Debuting for UWF International (UWFI) in the 1990s, Takayama joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1997 after UWF-i folded. In 2000, he joined Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), and ...

and

Minoru Suzuki (born June 17, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a freelancer. In NJPW, Suzuki has held the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as well as twice hol ...

, losing to Kenta,

Naomichi Marufuji (born September 26, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler who competes for Pro Wrestling Noah, with occasional appearances in other professional wrestling promotions including New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), ...

and

Takeshi Rikio Takeshi Inoue (born December 20, 1972) known by his stage name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, who worked for Pro Wrestling Noah. He is also a former sumo wrestler. Sumo career He made his sumo debut in March 1988, after leaving ...

. 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 A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practic ...

as "Maybach Taniguchi, Jr.", a junior version of

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 , better known by his ring name , is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. He is best known for working for Pro Wrestling Noah. Career Hirayanagi was a competitor in amateur wrestling in high school. In June 2004 he entered the Pro Wrestling N ...

defeated

Ricky Marvin Ricardo Fuentes Romero (born January 8, 1980) is a second-generation Mexico, Mexican Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, known by his ring name Ricky Marvin, and is most known for his work in the Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. ...

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 The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah, contested exclusively among junior heavyweight wrestlers. It was created on July 16, 2003 when Kenta and Naomichi Marufuji defeated Jushin Thunder Liger an ...

. 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 Final Burning in Budokan was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by Pro Wrestling Noah, which took place on May 11, 2013, at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. Headlined by the retirement match of Kenta Kobashi, all in all, the ...

, Suwa suffered a cervical spine injury and was replaced on all upcoming cards by "''Maybach Suwa Jr''", portrayed by

Hajime Ohara is a Japanese professional wrestler. Ohara worked for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) in Mexico for several years as part of his training, mixing the ''lucha libre'' style of Mexico with the Japanese Puroresu style of wrestling. In Japan, ...

. 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 and Sumo Fuji *

International Wrestling Revolution Group International Wrestling Revolution Group (Grupo Internacional Revolución in Spanish; the Spanish name is used for the promotion while the English initials are used for the title governing body) is a Lucha Libre promotion based in Naucalpan, Sta ...

Copa Higher Power The ''Copa Higher Power'' (Spanish for "Cup of Higher Power") is an annual tournament promoted by the Mexican ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group International Wrestling Revolution Group (Gru ...

(1998) – with Lyguila, Magnum Tokyo,

Ryo Saito (born August 15, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler, who currently works for Dragon Gate. He is a former member of the Jimmyz stable, where he was known by the ring name Ryo "Jimmy" Saito. His name is sometimes abbreviated as SaiRyo, so ...

, Shiima Nobunaga, Sumo Fujii and

Michinoku Pro Wrestling (originally known as North Eastern Wrestling) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded by The Great Sasuke on October 1, 1992. It was the first independent wrestling promotion in Japan to not base its operations in Tokyo, but rather ...

**Futaritabi Tag Team League (1999) – with Cima *

( 1 time) – with

* Toryumon Japan **

British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship The British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that although being created in England, it gained its biggest notoriety in Japan. Not long after its creation the title made its way to Michinoku Pro ...

( 1 time) **

NWA World Welterweight Championship The NWA World Welterweight Championship ( es, Campeonato Mundial Welter de NWA) is an inactive professional wrestling championship governed by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and most recently promoted by NWA Mexico. The championship was ori ...

( 1 time) ** Último Dragón Gym Championship ( 1 time) **

UWA World Trios Championship The UWA World Trios Championship is a tag team professional wrestling championship created by the Mexican Universal Wrestling Association and defended there until the UWA closed in 1995. Since then, the championship has been defended in various p ...

( 3 times) – with Cima and

**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