Takuya Sugi
Takuya Sugi is a Japanese professional wrestler. He currently works in Pro Wrestling Zero1 as Sugi, but he has used many aliases, most commonly Yoshitsune and Sugi, through his career in many Japanese promotions. He is mainly known for his high-flying abilities.
Early life
He was born on October 6, 1983, the son of businesswoman Hiroko Sugi. He became interested in professional wrestling by influence of his older brother, becoming a fan of New Japan Pro Wrestling stars Antonio Inoki and Riki Choshu, as well as Keiji Muto, Masahiro Chono and Shinya Hashimoto. He trained in the same judo dojo as Shingo Suzuki, who later also became a professional wrestler under the ring name Raicho. When he finally became a wrestler, Sugi desired to wrestle in a power-based wrestling style, but his small frame and talent for acrobatics forced him to become a high-flying wrestler.Career
Toryumon (2002–2004)
Immediately after graduating in the 11th Toryumon school class term, Sugi debuted in 2003 in Toryumon Mexico, moving to the Toryumon X brand shortly after. He went under the gimmick of Mini Cima, a lighter version of the popular Toryumon wrestler Cima, who was a part of the Mini Crazy Max stable along with Suwacito and Small Dandy Fuji. Aligning themselves as tweeners, they got into a feud with babyface faction Sailor Boys, having several matches against them, sometimes accompanied by senior members of the actual Crazy Max.In December 2003, Mini Cima and his team competed in the Young Dragons Cup 2003 scramble match, but none of them grabbed the prize, being Takeshi Minamino the eventual tournament winner. They would be more successful at the Yamaha Cup 2004 tag team tournament, with Mini Cima and Suwacito defeating Manabu Murakami and Naoki Tanizaki in the first round and the Sailor Boys in the second to crown themselves as winners. On September 9, 2003 the group competed in an elimination match for the UWA World Welterweight Championship, eliminating the team of Los Carros Exóticos before falling short to Los Salseros Japoneses. This was the Toryumon X final event, with the promotion folding shortly after. Mini Crazy Max had its last reunion in the special event Dragon Fire The Final Challenge on October 14, where they competed in another special challenge match.
Hustle (2004–2006)
In September 2004, although still based on Toryumon, Sugi and his partners started wrestling for the Hustle promotion. They appeared as the Hustle Kamen Rangers, a Power Rangers-inspired super sentai stable that worked as a special division of the Hustle Army led by top babyface Naoya Ogawa. Sugi himself played Hustle Kamen Red, and teamed up with Hustle Kamen Blue and Hustle Kamen Yellow as a power trio. They competed in the undercard of events against villainous characters from the heel Takada Monster Army commanded by Generalissimo Takada; their usual opponents were Devil Pierroth I and Devil Pierroth II, whom they defeated in many occasions.In the event Hustle House Vol.10, held on October 27, 2005, Hustle Kamen Rangers were defeated by Demon Spider Blue, Demon Spider Yellow and Riser Glen, being the latter a character come from the TV tokusatsu series Phantom Star God Justirisers, only brainwashed to serve the Monster Army. In order to counter him, Hustle Kamen Rangers introduced another character from said series, Liosazer, who helped them to defeat the heel stable at the Hustlemania 2005 event and turn Riser again to good. The rangers would still competing for Hustle, being later opposed by an itako wrestler named Kyou Itako.
On February 10, 2006, the Monster Army introduced a cadre of evil clones of the Hustle Kamen Rangers, called the Monster Kamen Rangers. They consistently defeated Sugi and his team, forcing them to introduce a new member, Hustle Kamen Orange, in order to get the first win against the villains. The win was short-lived, however, as the Monster Kamen Rangers defeated them again, and this time they kidnapped Hustle Kamen Yellow in order to brainwash him. Now with Yellow as an enemy, Red and new member Hustle Kamen Green attempted to reason with him, but they were beaten when Yellow pinned Red. The storyline continued until Hustlemania 2006, where they finally managed to bring Yellow back and defeat the Monster Kamen Rangers for good. The team then announced they would travel to the stars in order to defend the peace and justice beyond Hustle, ceasing their appearances on the promotion.
Michinoku Pro Wrestling (2004–2009)
Sugi started wrestling for Michinoku Pro Wrestling in October 2004. He debuted during the Futaritabi Tag Team Tournament 2004 under the gimmick of Michinoku Ranger Gold, a super sentai character similar to the one he played in Hustle. Teaming up with Michinoku Ranger Silver, Sugi got important victories over Jinsei Shinzaki and Shinjitsu Nohashi and Los Salseros Japoneses, but they did not win the league. They kept their gimmicks until December, when Sugi adopted the gimmick of Shanao, a masked Kurama-dera Buddhist monk inspired on the historical Minamoto no Yoshitsune, who went as "Shanao" in his youth in honor to Vairocana. Shanao would come to the ring carrying a katana and saying prayers, and drew popularity among the audience for his high-risk, aerial style of wrestling.In 2005, Shanao joined forces with the Sailor Boys to participate in the Michinoku Trios League, being unsuccessful. The final night of the tournament, from which they had been eliminated by points, Shanao teamed up with his master, The Tiger II, to defeat Kagetora and Shinjitsu Nohashi. The alliance with the Sailor Boys lasted until mid-year, when Shanao formed a tag team with Rasse. He also had a brief tenure in the Tetsujin Tournament, but he was forced to forfeit most of his matches due to an injury. Shanao returned on September 10 in a losing effort to Takeshi Minamino, but he got his revenge the same night, defeating Minamino and Los Salseros Japoneses along with Kagetora, Gaina and Hayato Fujita.
Kagetora and he eventually kept their alliance and participated in the Futaritabi Tag Team Tournament 2005, which they won after beating Los Salseros Japoneses again, but Kagetora suddenly turned heel and attacked Shanao, going to form the villainous stable Stoned. Now back with Rasse, Shanao and his partner had a shot for the Tohoku Tag Team Championship held by The Great Sasuke and Dick Togo, but despite their effort, they were beaten. Days after, Shanao announced he was going to perform a genpuku ceremony in order to advance in his career, which was officiated by Jinsei Shinzaki. Shanao then changed his name to Yoshitsune, openly showing his character, and changed his outfit to a samurai-like attire in purple, red and golden, product of a coproduction between M-Pro and FromSoftware to promote their videogame Yoshitsune Eiyuden Shura. Yoshitsune had his first match teaming up with Shinzaki, who came out dressed as Saitō Musashibō Benkei, defeating Rasse and Garuda with his new Shura finishing maneuver.
The next year, Yoshitsune's fame granted him a title match for the Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship against Taka Michinoku, falling short in his challenge. Nonetheless, Yoshitsune allied with The Great Sasuke and the now babyface Los Salseros Japoneses to wage war against Stoned, exchanging wins with them. He performed a new title pursuit by taking part in a tournament for the Tohoku Tag Team Championship with Rei as his partner, losing to Makoto Oishi and Shiori Asahi; Yoshitsune took part in the 2006 edition of the Tetsujin Tournament, but he had to relinquish it again due to an injury. Upon his recovering, Yoshitsune recruited Rasse to compete in the Futaritabi Tag Team Tournament 2006, but success seemed to be away from him that year, as they were eliminated at the finals by Kei and Shu Sato.
In 2007, Yoshitsune qualified for the Fukumen World League by defeating Ken45º and Shinjitsu Nohashi in respective matches. During the tournament, he eliminated Shibaten first and legendary New Japan Pro-Wrestling member Jyushin Thunder Liger second, but he eventually fell to Mexican representative Atlantis thanks to an intervention by Atlantis's cornerman Olímpico. Ended the league, Yoshitsune returned to his alliance with the home army and joined The Great Sasuke for the Futaritabi Tag Team League; although Sasuke and him eliminated the team of Rasse and Kagetora, an injury to Sasuke forced them to exit the tournament and allow their opponents to advance round. Stardom finally came to Yoshitsune on November, however, when he defeated Osaka Pro Wrestling representative Gaina in a match for the Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship. Yoshitsune then would open 2008 becoming a double champion, when Sasuke returned from his injury and joined him to defeat Rasse and Kagetora for the title.
Sugi retained his titles for most of 2008, beating challengers like Rasse, Takeshi Minamino, Shinji Nohashi and Tigers Mask, as well as the team of Mens Teioh and Shinobu. However, he would get in a new feud when Hayato Fujita turned heel and formed the faction Kowloon with the remnants of Stoned. After months of warfare, Hayato challenged Sugi to a match for the Tohoku Junior Heavyweight title, and he won the bout and the championship in an upset. Only months after, Sasuke and Yoshitsune faced Kei and Shu Sato from Kowloon in a match to unify their tag team titles with the UWA World Tag Team Championship, but they were defeated and lost the belts. Concluded his reigns, Yoshitsune announced his departure from Michinoku Pro and had his last match in March 2009.
Dragondoor and El Dorado Wrestling (2005–2007)
Along with most of his Toryumon class, Sugi joined the Dragondoor promotion in July 2005. He was introduced in a vignette by top babyface Taiji Ishimori, who described him as a close ally carrying the genes of Último Dragón. As such, Sugi appeared as Little Dragon, a character wearing a mask and suit patterned after Dragón, very much like the wrestler Dragon Kid from rival promotion Dragon Gate. In his first match, Little Dragon teamed up with Ishimori and the rest of his allies, Kota Ibushi and Milanito Collection a.t., in a losing effort against the popular stable Aagan Iisou. His next and last high level match in the short-lived promotion would be at the final event, fighting with Ishimori against Stoned, being defeated after an intervention by Kagetora and Maguro Ooma. Dragondoor folded down shortly after.When the promotion was reopened as El Dorado Wrestling in April 2006, Sugi returned with the rest of wrestlers. This time he took the gimmick of El Blazer, a mysterious, bizarre phoenix-like character in a gold and blue armored outfit. Blazer formed a tag team with Milanito Collection a.t. and took part in the very first match of the promotion, getting a victory over Kei and Shu Sato. They also avenged their defeats to Aagan Iisou by beating them with Kota Ibushi's aid, and also took another victory over Stoned in a Global Professional Wrestling Alliance event along with Jumping Kid Okimoto. In December 2006, the trio split up to compete in the Treasure Hunters Tag Tournament 2006, as Ibushi teamed up with Milano Collection A.T. while Blazer stayed in Milanito's side; Sugi and his ally were defeated, and Milano and Kota advanced round before being eliminated by Dick Togo and Shuji Kondo at the finals. Milanito and Blazer, however, won the reserve bout of the tournament, defeating the Sato brothers through an intervention of a now unaligned Kagetora. In Sugi's last match in the promotion, he teamed up with Milano and Milanito to defeat a Stoned cell aided by Harashima. Blazer then announced he was going freelance, and put an official end to his team with Milanito, leaving El Dorado.