Takeshi Rikio
Sugiura made his debut on December 23, 2000, when he partnered Masao Inoue and Takeshi Rikio in a tag team match against Takeshi Morishima, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Kentaro Shiga. Initially a low-card wrestler, Sugiura's American-influenced style became popular with fans and eventually he formed a tag team with Kanemaru nicknamed "SugiKane". Within a few months the two defeated Naomichi Marufuji and Kenta for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship ending the team's long &amp; historic run. Sugiura owns the distinction of being the only wrestler in Pro Wrestling Noah to have been a double champion on two separate occasions. In recent years, he has made a name for himself in the heavyweight division receiving a title shot against then GHC Heavyweight Champion Takeshi Morishima in a highly regarded match and winning the GHC Tag Team Championship along with Naomichi Marufuji from the bigger &amp; stronger team of D'lo Brown and Bull Buchanan. At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom III he pushed New Japan Pro-Wrestling representative Shinsuke Nakamura to his limit in a cross promotional tag team match with Mitsuharu Misawa and Hirooki Goto as their respective partners, but came up short and tapped out to Nakamura's Cross Armbar finish. Nakamura then stated that there would be a singles match between them soon, as he felt he was embarrassed by a wrestler below his standards. The two met again later in the year in a cross-promotional match, this time Sugiura teamed with blue-chip prospect Go Shiozaki &amp; Nakamura teamed with then-RISE stablemate Milano Collection AT, who was also returning from injury. Shiozaki/Sugiura picked up the win &amp; Nakamura demanded a rematch against the duo with Hirooki Goto as his tag team partner.