Green Destiny ~ Supporting Pro Wrestling NOAH

Takuma Sano
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 238lbs
Date of Birth: 2/2/65
Place of Birth: Tomakomai City, Hokkaido
Debut: March 3rd, 1984 (vs. Shinichi Nakano)

Title History:

Independent Jr. Heavyweight Title (1):
- Minoru Tanaka (5/14/99) / Minoru Tanaka (1/30/00)

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title (1):
- Jushin Liger (8/10/89) / Jushin Thunder Liger (1/31/90)

WAR 6 Man Tag Team Title (1):
- (w/ Nobuhiko Takada & Masahito Kakihara) Hiromichi Fuyuki, Jado & Gedo (7/20/96) / Hiromichi Fuyuki, Yoji Anjo & Bam Bam Bigelow (10/11/96)

WWF Jr. Heavyweight Title (1):
- Rick Martel (12/12/91) / Abandoned (6/92)

Tournament History:

- Young Lion Cup 1989: Naoki Sano beat Hiro Saito (10:43) with a powerbomb cutback.
- WAR 6 Man Tag Team Title Tournament (1996): Nobuhiko Takada, Naoki Sano & Masahito Kakihara beat Hiromichi Fuyuki, Jado & Gedo (12:35) when Takada used a cross armbreaker on Gedo.

Signature Moves:

- Northern Light bomb
- Yurikamome

Profile:

Naoki Sano debuted in New Japan, getting the traditional young lion upbringing. His first claim to fame was a legendary feud with Jushin (Thunder) Liger, the two having one of the best series of matches in history and trading the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title. He jumped to Genichiro Tenryu's upstart SWS promotion in 1990, but the promotion was a big failure and closed in 1992. He then joined the UWF-I group, a mixed martial arts-style promotion, fighting there until it closed in December, 1996. After joining the Takada Dojo, fighting in PRIDE, and wrestling for various independents, Sano made his next career move, saying in early 2001, "I want to be completely soaked in professional wrestling". From then on he joined Mitsuharu Misawa's Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he now works full-time. Sano is one of the most respected junior heavyweights ever, and seems ageless, moving with amazing speed for his age. Although he became a star as Naoki Sano, upon joining NOAH he adopted the name Takuma to signify a new phase of his eventful career. Sano's partnership with Akira Taue has seen the formation of a feared and successful tag team.