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Takuya Sugi is an 11th Term graduate of the Ultimo Dragon Gym. He is most well known for having wrestled under an extensive number of gimmicks, the most well known being El Blazer and Yoshitsune. He is semi-active in Asistencia Asesoría y Administración as SUGI.
Career[]
Early Gimmicks[]
Upon graduating from the Ultimo Dragon Gym, Sugi was almost immediately given the Mini CIMA gimmick as part of the Mini Crazy MAX stable. He would remain as Mini CIMA through the remainder of Toryumon X until its closure. From that point forth, he was primarily a freelance wrestler, appearing in any promotion that was willing to use him.
In 2004, he joined Michinoku Pro Wrestling. He started as Michinoku Ranger Gold, a super sentai gimmick, during that year's Michinoku Pro Futuritabi Tag Team Tourmament. He then changed into Shanao, a masked Buddhist monk based on the famous samurai Yoshitsune Minamoto. He found some success with this gimmick teaming with KAGETORA, who was formally SUWAcito in Mini Crazy MAX.
Also in 2004, Sugi appeared in HUSTLE as HUSTLE Kamen Ranger Red, leader of the Kamen Rangers. They feuded extensively with the Monster Army before they disappeared after HUSTLEmania '06. He would appear in DragonDoor as Little Dragon, a character of the same lineage of Ultimo Dragon, Dragon Kid, and Darkness Dragon. He was projected to be a major face, being allied with ace Taiji Ishimori, before the promotion folded.
Yoshitsune[]
While in Michinoku Pro in late 2005, Sugi sealed the Shanao character by performing a genpuku ceremony. He then proclaimed himself as Yoshitsune, using a new samurai-esque purple and red outfit. As Yoshitsune, he would start experiencing some great success, beginning with a shot at the Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship, held by TAKA Michinoku. He then teamed with Rasse, who was formally Small Dandy Fujii in Mini Crazy MAX, to challenge for the Tohoku Tag Team Championship, held by The Great Sasuke and Dick Togo. While he was unsuccessful on both attempts, he turned many heads with his impressive performance.
Yoshitsune competed in the 2007 Michinoku Pro Mask League Tournament, better known as the Fukumen League. It was in this tournament his career truly took off as he scored a victory over Jushin "Thunder" Liger in the quarter-finals. He would be eliminated in the semi-finals by Atlantis, yet he would maintain the momentum he had from his win over Liger by winning the Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship on November 9, 2007. He would also win the Tohoku Tag Team Championship on January 14, 2008, this time teaming with The Great Sasuke over Rasse and KAGETORA. Yoshitsune had the second longest reign with the Junior Heavyweight Championship and he and Sasuke had the longest reign with the Tag Team Championship, both lasting more than a year each.
El Blazer[]
In 2006, Sugi joined El Dorado as El Blazer, a phoenix-based creature in a gold and blue armor-like outfit. He wrestled for the promotion full-time for a year. Afterward, El Blazer became his main freelancing character. Among his first appearances as the character outside of El Dorado turned out to be none other than Dragon Gate, invited in by Masaaki Mochizuki. Other promotions he appeared in as El Blazer included the Inoki Genome Federation and ZERO-1 Max, in the latter joining the Masato Tanaka stable Sword.
Sugi made his United States debut for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla on May 17 and 18, 2008, replacing an injured Kota Ibushi at the last minute teaming with KAGETORA in the second annual DDT4 Tournament. Wrestling as El Blazer, he and KAGETORA defeated Joey Ryan and Scott Lost in the first round, but lost to PWG World Tag Team Champions El Generico and Kevin Steen in the semi-finals in a title match.
Later Gimmicks[]
Sugi appeared in All Japan Pro Wrestling on August 20, 2006 as AHII, a comedy character resembling Christopher Daniels' Curry Man since AHII is inspired to the Mexican "Habanero" pepper. He ran with the character for six months before it was dropped. He would make one night stand appearances in 2008 for All Japan, once as Rabbit Boy and then as Super Milo.
In June 3, 2007, he appeared in Kensuke Office as Catfish Man (pronounced as Namazu Man) for a brief period until the gimmick was handed over to another wrestler. He made another appearance in ZERO-1 Max on July 16, 2007, this time taking over The★ZEST from KAMIKAZE. Eight days later, he defeated Osamu Namiguchi for the WWA World Junior Lightweight Championship. In an interesting twist, The★ZEST would lose the title on April 6, 2008 to NOIZ. Only Sugi was NOIZ while The★ZEST was someone else. He would appear briefly in UWAI Station in 2007 as the robot character UWAI #32.
Sugi returned to Mexico and joined AAA as simply SUGI, becoming a Rudo and feuding with Extreme Tiger. He has remained in AAA since, although he is now semi-active. He will occasionally wrestle in Japan, where he has started a feud with RONIN.
Arsenal[]
- Finishing moves
- As Shanao / Yoshitsune
- Corkscrew Imploding Somersault Leg Drop
- Kenjutsu (Corkscrew shooting star elbow drop)
- Kuramahachiryuu (Corkscrew shooting star press) - used for high profile matches only
- Sky High Rana / Shanao-Rana (Springboard hurricanrana pin)
- Shooting Star Press
- Shura (Shooting star senton) - innovated; used for high profile matches only
- Slingshot Split-Legged Corscrew Moonsault
- Springboard Corkscrew 450° Splash
- As El Blazer
- Cielo Perfecto Uno (Springboard somersault hurricanrana pin)
- Lightning Strike (Imploding 450° splash)
- Shooting Star Press
- As Sugi San / SUGI
- 450° Splash
- Imploding 450° Splash
- Corkscrew Somersault Hurricanrana Pin
- Shooting Star Press
- Sky High Rana (Springboard hurricanrana pin)
- Springboard Somersault Hurricanana Pin
- As The★ZEST
- Hot Passion Soul (Corkscrew 450° splash, sometimes while leaping from the shoulders of a tag team partner)
- As Catfish Man
- Fire Catfish Press (Shooting star press)
- Nama Tonic (Leg trap sunset flip powerbomb)
- Namazu Clutch (Rolling reverse prawn hold)
- As NOIZ
- Miracle Rocket G5 (Moonsault over-rotated into a senton)
- As HUSTLE Kamen Ranger Red
- HUSTLE-Rana (Springboard hurricanrana pin)
- Red Flame of Justice (Corkscrew 450° splash)
- Red Shooitng Star of Justice (Shooting star press)
- Shooting Star Leg Drop
- As AHII
- Sky High Rana (Springboard hurricanrana pin)
- Shooting Star Press
- As Little Dragon
- Dragon Cyclone Press (Imploding 450° splash)
- Ultra Dragonrana (Corkscrew somersault hurricanrana pin)
- Shooting Star Press
- As Michinoku Ranger Gold
- Ranger-Rana Gold (Springboard hurricanrana pin)
- As Mini CIMA
- Mad Splash (Double springboard frog splash) - adopted from CIMA
- As Shanao / Yoshitsune
- Signature moves
- 741 (Over the top rope tiger feint kick)
- Cartwheel into an Over the Top Rope Suicide Moonsault
- Corkscrew Moonsault
- Cyclone Elbow (Springboard moonsault trainsitioned into a back elbow smash)
- El Phantom (Springboard small package)
- Fake Dive (Sugi runs towards the ropes, faking a suicide dive, then performs a no-handed handspring)
- Gojoh Oohashi (Diving no-handed cartwheel evasion followed by a superkick or a 741, as a counter to an attacking opponent)
- Handspring into an Enzuigiri or a Wheelbarrow Bodyscissors Victory Roll
- High-Angle Senton Bomb
- Hurricanrana Pin, sometimes as a Powerbomb Counter
- Iconoclasm - adopted from CIMA
- Koromogawa (Twisting crucifix pin)
- Leg Trap Sunset Flip Powerbomb Pin, sometimes from an Opponent's Shoulders
- Over the Top Rope Suicide Somersault Senton
- Perfect Driver (Cross-legged sitout scoop slam piledriver)
- Reverse Hurricanrana
- Ropewalk Springboard Dropkick
- Running Shooting Star Press, sometimes preceded by a Jumping onto the Back of an Opponent on Their Hands and Knees
- Satellite Headscissors (Multiple revolution headscissors twisted into either a headscissors takedown or an implant DDT, sometimes while springboarding backwards)
- Split-Legged Springboard Leg Drop
- Springboard Elbow Drop
- Springboard Moonsault, sometimes to an Opponent Outside the Ring
- Springboard Corkscrew Moonsault, sometimes to an Opponent Outside the Ring
- Standing Moonsault Side Slam as a Running Somersault Lariat Counter
- Venus (Leaping palm strike to an opponent sitting on the top rope) - adopted from CIMA
Other Wrestling Information[]
- Managers
- TARUcito 2
- AHII Dancers
- Hayabusa
- Nicknames
- As El Blazer
- "The Blue Legend"
- "The Legend of Eternity"
- As HUSTLE Kame Ranger Red
- "HUSTLE Justice"
- "HUSTLE Emissary from the Stars"
- As Yoshitsune
- "The Mardi Gras Ninja"
- "The Legend of Hiraizumi"
- As El Blazer
- Entrance Themes
- "Kazabayasi Volcano" by MPW Prodction Team (as Yoshitsune)
- "Aquí y Ahora" by David Bisbal (as El Blazer)
- "Murasaki no Yukari, futatabi" by Rin' (as SUGI)
Championships and Accomplishments[]
- Michinoku Pro Wresting
- Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Tohoku Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with The Great Sasuke
- Futaritabi Tag Team League (2005) - with KAGETORA
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him #355 of the 500 Best Singles Wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2007
- Pro Wrestling ZERO1
- WWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (Disputed Branch) (2 times)
- Toryumon X
- Yamaha Cup Tag Team Tournament (2004) - with SUWAcito