井上亘
In 2001, Silva joined New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He originally debuted on August 12, 2001 as a member of Masahiro Chono's stable: Team 2000 where he was paired up with another Giant: Giant Singh (better known as The Great Khali) as the tag team: Club 7. Silva made his in-ring debut for New Japan when he took part in the G1 World Climax tournament where he finished in 4th place with 4 points. He and Singh made their debut as a tag team at Indicate of Next on October 8, 2001 where they defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kenzo Suzuki, Yutaka Yoshie, &amp; Wataru Inoue in a 4 on 2 handicap match.