Takashi Sugiura Takashi Sugiura ( May 31 , 1970 ) is a Japan ese professional wrestler , currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah . Sugiura , an accomplished amateur wrestler , joined NOAH ' s dojo in 2000 , making his pro debut on December 23 , 2000 , and thus becoming the first wrestler to make his pro wrestling debut in NOAH . He is also a founding member of the Dark Agents stable . Currently he is the reigning GHC Heavyweight Champion Early life . Sugiura was an accomplished judoka in high school . And narrowly missed the cut representing Japan at the 1996 Summer Olympics . He then became an Self Defense Instructor & was recruited to the All Japan Pro Wrestling Dojo by Tamon Honda , who ( along with Yoshihiro Takayama ) oversaw all of Sugiura ' s training . Professional wrestling career . Initially a low - card wrestler , Sugiura ' s American Wrestling influenced style became popular with fans . And eventually he formed an tag team with Yoshinobu Kanemaru nicknamed " SugiKane " . Within a few months the two defeated Marufuji and Kenta for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship ending the team ' s long & 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 & winning the GHC Tag Team Championship along with Naomichi Marufuji from the bigger & stronger team of D ' lo Brown & Bull Buchanan . At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom III he pushed New Japan Ace Shinsuke Nakamura to his limit in a cross promotional tag team match with Mitsuharu Misawa & 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 & Nakamura teamed with then - RISE stablemate Milano Collection AT , who was also returning from injury . Shiozaki / Sugiura picked up the win & Nakamura demanded a rematch against the 2 with Hirooki Goto as his tag team partner . Sugiura has also dabbled in mixed martial arts , given his amateur background . His largest victory ever in an MMA match was against Giant Silva . He participated in the Pancrase Heavyweight Championship Tournament but was eliminated by Ryuta Noji . On July 20 , he faced Hiroshi Tanahashi in the first ever NJPW vs . NOAH match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship . After 24 minutes and 2 High Fly Flows , Tanahashi retained the Championship . Sugiura also participated in the 2009 G1 Climax . With his rival Nakamura in his block , a long anticipated singles match came to pass . Although he lost the match he still managed to finish second in his block & advanced to the semi - finals losing to the tournament eventual winner Togi Makabe . On December 6 , 2009 Sugiura pinned Go Shiozaki to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship . On January 4 , 2010 , at Wrestle Kingdom IV in Tokyo Dome Sugiura successfully defended the title against Hirooki Goto . On 28 February , he retained his ttle against Togi Makabe and then on 10 July against Yoshihiro Takayama . On October 1 , 2010 , Sugiura travelled to Tamaulipas , Mexico to defend the GHC Heavyweight Championship , defeating Chessman at Asistencia Asesoría y Administración ( AAA ) event Héroes Inmortales IV .