Naoki Sano

(born February 2, 1965) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist most notable for being the generational rival of legendary Japanese pro wrestler Jushin Liger. 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 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 (UWA). In August 1987, he won his first championship, the Distrito Federal Trios Championship with fellow NJPW wrestlers Hirokazu Hata and Yoshihiro Asai. 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. He went on to have numerous acclaimed matches against Jyushin Liger. Sano defeated Liger for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on August 10, 1989, but lost it to Liger on January 31, 1990. 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 (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, Mexico, and outsider promotions Universal Lucha Libre and Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi. In December 1991, Sano won the tournament for the SWS Light Heavyweight Championship.

Pro Wrestling Noah (2001–2012) In 2001, he joined Pro Wrestling Noah. 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 and also composed of Daisuke Ikeda, Sano had opportunities for the GHC Heavyweight Championship held by Kenta Kobashi and later, Mitsuharu Misawa, but failed both times. In 2010, he teamed with Yoshihiro Takayama to win the Global Tag League. 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 mixed martial artist and participated in the Pride Fighting Championships, which were originally created to pit Sano's trainer Nobuhiko Takada and Rickson Gracie. Sano debuted at Pride 2, where he faced Rickson's brother Royler. The Brazilian opened the fight by taking Yuhi down and mounting him, only to Sano to sweep 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. The end of the fight came when Royler finally took his back and performed an armbar to make Sano submit.

In October of that year at Pride 4, Sano faced a striker instead of a grappler, in the shape of Shooto's karate stylist Satoshi Honma. 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, being submitted by Carlos Newton in a short bout. In addition to his active career, Sano helped train fighters at the Takada Dojo.

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Carlos Newton Submission (armbar) Pride 9

Nagoya, Japan Loss

Keiichiro Yamamiya TKO (strikes) Pancrase - Breakthrough 3

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Satoshi Honma TKO (punches) Pride 4

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Royler Gracie Submission (armbar) PRIDE 2

Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan Championships and accomplishments Canadian National Wrestling Alliance CNWA World Mid-Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Comision de Box y Lucha D.F. Distrito Federal Trios Championship (1 time) - with Yoshihiro Asai and Hata Hirokazu Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling FMW World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Kingdom Kingdom One Million Yen Tournament Winner - August 1997 New Japan Pro-Wrestling IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Young Lion Tournament (1989) Pro Wrestling Noah GHC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Yoshihiro Takayama Global Tag League (2010) - with Yoshihiro Takayama Global League Technique Award (2010) Super World of Sports SWS Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Wrestle Association R WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Nobuhiko Takada and Masahito Kakihara WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship Tournament (1996) – with Nobuhiko Takada and Masahito Kakihara Wrestling Observer Newsletter Match of the Year (1990) vs. Jyushin Thunder Liger on January 31 in Osaka, Japan