(born February 2, 1965) 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 ...

and former

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

most notable for being the generational rival of legendary Japanese pro wrestler

Jushin Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since h ...

. During the last years of his career he went by the name .

Professional wrestling career

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1984–1990, 2020)

Sano was a member of the 1984

NJPW Dojo (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares o ...

class, and in his first few years wrestled in preliminary matches. In 1987, he went on an overseas excursion to Mexico, wrestling for the

Universal Wrestling Association The Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) was a Mexican ''Lucha Libre'' or professional wrestling promotion based in Naucalpan, Mexico State that operated from 1975 until 1995. The name of the actual promotion was Lucha Libre Internacional (LLI) ...

(UWA). In August 1987, he won his first championship, the

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 ...

with fellow NJPW wrestlers Hirokazu Hata and

Yoshihiro Asai Yoshihiro is a Japanese masculine given name, and less commonly, a surname. There are dozens of different ways to write the name in kanji. Some examples of possible writings *義弘, "justice, vast" *義広, "justice, wide" *義寛, "justice, g ...

. Upon his return to the promotion in January 1989, he won the Young Tokyo Dome Cup on April 24, becoming the first NJPW wrestler to wrestle inside the Tokyo Dome, along with

Hiro Saito is a Japanese professional wrestler best known by the shortened name of . He was the first AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Champion. Professional wrestling career A former judoka, Hiro debuted in 1978 in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In May ...

. He went on to have numerous acclaimed matches against Jyushin Liger. Sano defeated Liger for the

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling world junior heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . Only wrestlers under the junior heavyweight weight-limit may ho ...

on August 10, 1989, but lost it to Liger on January 31, 1990. In April 1990, he went on an overseas excursion to Canada, wrestling under the name Mr. Sato for the Canadian National Wrestling Alliance promotion in Calgary, where he won the promotion's World Mid-Heavyweight Championship. Sano returned to NJPW in January 2020, at their

Wrestle Kingdom 14 Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome was a two-night professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4 and 5, 2020, at the Tokyo Dome, in Tokyo, Japan. It was the 29th January ...

events. On January 5, he and

were defeated by

Hiromu Takahashi (born December 4, 1989) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) where he is a member of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japón'' stable. Takahashi made his debut for NJPW on August 28, 2010, and worked ...

and Ryu Lee, after which Liger retired. Two days later on January 7, Sano retired.

Super World of Sports and Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi (1990–1992)

During his Canadian excursion in July 1990, Sano moved to the

Super World of Sports Super World of Sports, more commonly known as SWS, was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion from 1990 to 1992. Its motto was "Straight and Strong". History Formation In April 1990, Genichiro Tenryu, one of the top stars of All Japan Pro Wr ...

(SWS) after a big money offer from Megane Super, the company backing the promotion. In SWS he became the top junior heavyweight, feuding with native talent and outsider talent from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and outsider promotions

Universal Lucha Libre Universal Lucha Libre (Universal Pro-Wrestling until 1991; Federación Universal de Lucha Libre afterward; UWF and FULL used as acronyms) was a professional wrestling promotion in Japan from 1990 to 1995. The name Universal Lucha Libre is used to ...

and

Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Group (''Purofesshonaru-resuringu Fujiwara-Gumi'', プロフェッショナルレスリング藤原組) was a shoot style professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan, operating from 1991 to 1996. It was formed ...

. In December 1991, Sano won the tournament for the SWS Light Heavyweight Championship. He was the only titleholder. After SWS collapsed in June 1992, Sano worked a few matches for Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi, but soon moved to Union of Wrestling Force International (UWFI) upon recommendation from former NJPW comrades

Nobuhiko Takada Nobuhiko Takada ( ja, 高田伸彦, ring name: ) (born April 12, 1962) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist, retired professional wrestler, actor, and writer. He competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Universal Wrestling Federation (UW ...

and

Kazuo Yamazaki is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, wrestling instructor and commentator who is known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and shoot-style promotions Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) and UWF International (UWFi). He curr ...

, the top stars of UWFI.

UWF International (1992–1996)

In UWFI, he adopted the name Yuhi Sano. Adopting the shinguards and trunks typical of

shoot style Shoot wrestling is a combat sport that originated in Japan's professional wrestling circuit of the 1970s. Professional wrestlers of that era attempted to use more realistic or even "full contact" moves in their matches to increase their exciteme ...

wrestlers, Sano had more opportunities to face actual heavyweights. Nevertheless, during the 1995-96 feud against NJPW, Sano participated on UWFI's side, beating old rival Liger one more time but losing to

Shinya Hashimoto was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter and actor. Along with Masahiro Chono and Keiji Mutoh, Hashimoto was dubbed one of the "Three Musketeers" that began competing in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in the mid-1980s and dominated the prom ...

. In the feud against the

WAR War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

promotion, which had been born out of the ashes of SWS, Sano lost to old patron

Genichiro Tenryu , better known as is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling. "Tenryu" was his ...

in a singles match. Upon UWFI's collapse later in December 1996, Sano joined its successor promotion,

Kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

Independent circuit (1997–2001)

He returned to wrestling, entering Battlarts and feuding with Minoru Tanaka over the

Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship that is being defended in various independent promotions in Japan. The title was originally created in 1993 by Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling. There have been a total of forty-four reigns spread over ...

. Sano won the belt from Tanaka in May 1999 and dropped it to him the following year. In 2000 he participated in the third

Super J-Cup The Super J-Cup is a periodically held professional wrestling tournament featuring junior heavyweight wrestlers from all over the world promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). This tournament differs from NJPW's annual Best of the Super Junio ...

tournament held by

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 ...

. He advanced to the final four before losing to eventual runner-up Cima.

Pro Wrestling Noah (2001–2012)

In 2001, he joined

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 ...

. He became Takuma Sano, for a year wearing tights and wrestling junior heavyweights, but after fully turning heavyweight, he returned to the shinguards and trunks. As part of the faction led by

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. ...

and also composed of

Daisuke Ikeda is a Japanese professional wrestler who is currently wrestling in the Independent circuit in Japan. Since debuting in 1993, Ikeda has worked for a number of promotions in Japan, including Battlarts, All Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Noah ...

, Sano had opportunities for the

GHC Heavyweight Championship The is the professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion CyberFight currently defended in the Pro Wrestling Noah brand division. It is one of CyberFight's two top men's world titles, alon ...

held by

Kenta Kobashi is a Japanese former professional wrestler. He started his career in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1988, where he became one of the promotion's top stars, holding the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship three times, and winning the Champ ...

and later,

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 ...

, but failed both times. In 2010, he teamed 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 ...

to win the

Global Tag League The Global Tag League is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held by Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created in 2008. The Global Tag League is held under a points system, with two points for a win, one for a time limit draw and no ...

. On September 18, 2010, Sano and Takayama defeated

Akitoshi Saito is a Japanese professional wrestler who is best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). Early life Before pro wrestling, Akitoshi Saito was trained in karate by Masashi Aoyagi. Saito seconded Aoyagi i ...

and

Bison Smith Mark Smith (September 24, 1973 – November 22, 2011) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Bison Smith. He's best known for his appearances with Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan; and World Wrestling Council and Int ...

to win the vacant

GHC Tag Team Championship The Global Honored Crown (GHC) Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created on October 19, 2001, when Scorpio & Vader defeated Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito in a tourname ...

. They would lose the title to

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

Giant Bernard Matthew Jason Bloom (born November 14, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler and professional football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he is the head trainer at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Bloom ...

and

Karl Anderson Chad Allegra (born January 20, 1980), better known by the ring name Karl Anderson, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE where he performs on the Raw brand. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), whe ...

on June 18, 2011, at Dominion 6.18 in a match contested also for the

IWGP Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of the NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on December 12, 1985 at an NJPW live event. The ...

. After his contract with NOAH expired in January 2012, Sano became a freelancer.

Mixed martial arts career

As a former UWF-i member, Sano was also a

and participated in the

Pride Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

, which were originally created to pit Sano's trainer

and

Rickson Gracie Rickson Gracie (; born November 21, 1958) is a Brazilian 9th-degree red belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and a retired mixed martial artist. He is a member of the Gracie family: the third oldest son of Hélio Gracie, brother to Rorion and Relson Grac ...

. Sano debuted at

Pride 2 The year 1998 is the 2nd year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 1998 had 3 events beginning with, ''Pride 2''. Debut Pride FC fighters The following fighters fought their first ...

, where he faced Rickson's brother Royler. The Brazilian opened the fight by taking Yuhi down and mounting him, only to Sano to

sweep Sweep or swept may refer to: Cleaning * Sweep, the action of using a brush to clean * Chimney sweep, a worker who clears ash and soot from chimneys * Street sweeper, a person's occupation, or a machine that cleans streets * Swept quartz, a cleani ...

him aside and block a triangle choke attempt before returning to standing position. Sano blocked a takedown, but was swept by Royler and the jiu-jitsu expert gained top position, though he was unable to finish him due to Yuhi's defensive skills. After Yuhi swept him again, Royler tried another triangle choke and managed to draw blood from Sano with upkicks and strikes from the

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

. The end of the fight came when Royler finally took his back and performed an

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...

to make Sano submit. In October of that year at

Pride 4 The year 1998 is the 2nd year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 1998 had 3 events beginning with, ''Pride 2''. Debut Pride FC fighters The following fighters fought their first ...

, Sano faced a striker instead of a grappler, in the shape of

Shooto Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the ''Shooto Association'' and the ''International Shooto Commission''. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 198 ...

's karate stylist

Satoshi Honma (born May 19, 1968) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist who competed in the light heavyweight division. He has fought for Shooto, K-1, Pride Fighting Championships and the UFC. Career Honma had his first mixed martial arts fight on May ...

. Sano resisted his punches and clinched knees and took Honma down, but the karateka kept hitting from the guard and nullified his offensive. Back to standing, Honma struck Sano with more punches and knees, cutting Yuhi's eyes and delivering a hard punishment before the referee called the knockout in Honma's favour. Sano had his last fight for Pride at

Pride 9 Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

, being submitted by

Carlos Newton Carlos Newton (born August 17, 1976) is an Anguillian-born Canadian retired mixed martial artist. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion and Pride FC Japan MMA Legend. Known as "The Ronin", he competed worldwide in the biggest MMA organizatio ...

in a short bout. In addition to his active career, Sano helped train fighters at the

Takada Dojo The Takada Dojo is a mixed martial arts academy in Tokyo, Japan. The dojo takes its name from Nobuhiko Takada its founder. Many members, including Takada, have participated in both professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. The dojo and i ...

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 0–4 ,

, Submission (armbar) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–3 ,

Keiichiro Yamamiya Keiichiro Yamamiya (born July 12, 1972) is a Japanese former professional mixed martial artist. A veteran of 89 fights who began his career in 1996 and last competed in 2015, he fought in the UFC, Pancrase, DEEP, and World Victory Road. He was th ...

, TKO (strikes) , Pancrase - Breakthrough 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 10:43 ,

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 ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–2 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 9:25 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 ,

Royler Gracie Royler Gracie (born December 6, 1965) is a Brazilian-American retired mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. Gracie ran the Gracie Humaitá school in Rio de Janeiro for many years under his father Helio's dir ...

, Submission (armbar) ,

PRIDE 2 The year 1998 is the 2nd year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 1998 had 3 events beginning with, ''Pride 2''. Debut Pride FC fighters The following fighters fought their first ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 33:14 ,

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

, Japan ,

Championships and accomplishments

*Canadian National Wrestling Alliance **CNWA World Mid-Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Comision de Box y Lucha D.F. **

( 1 time) - with

and Hata Hirokazu *

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held their ...

FMW World Junior Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship that is being defended in various independent promotions in Japan. The title was originally created in 1993 by Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling. There have been a total of forty-four reigns spread over ...

( 1 time) *Kingdom **Kingdom One Million Yen Tournament Winner - August 1997 *

( 1 time) ** Young Lion Tournament (1989) *

( 1 time) – with

(

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

) - with Yoshihiro Takayama **Global League Technique Award (2010)Global League 2010
at purolove.com retrieved September 29, 2018 *

** SWS Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

Wrestle Association R Wrestle Association R (formerly known as Wrestle and Romance and abbreviated as WAR) was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded and run by Genichiro Tenryu as the successor to Super World of Sports, and which lasted from 1992 to 2000 ...

WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship The is a six-man tag team title contested for in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Tenryu Project. The title was established in Wrestle Association R (WAR) in 1994. There have been a total of twenty reigns shared among sixteen team ...

( 1 time) – with

and

Masahito Kakihara is a former Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, who is known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and UWF International (UWFI). Professional wrestling career Union of Wrestling Forces International (1991–1996) Ka ...

** WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship Tournament (1996) – with Nobuhiko Takada and Masahito Kakihara *''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

'' ** Match of the Year (1990) vs.

Jyushin Thunder Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since h ...

on January 31 in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sano, Naoki Japanese male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Japanese male professional wrestlers Living people 1965 births Place of birth missing (living people) IWGP Junior Heavyweight champions GHC Tag Team Champions Independent World Junior Heavyweight Champions 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers Tenryu Project World 6-Man Tag Team Champions