Naomichi Marufuji

Naomichi Marufuji (September 26, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler who competes for Pro Wrestling NOAH, with occasional appearances in other professional wrestling promotions like Ring of Honor, All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling, among others. Marufuji is the first of only two Grand Slam Champion in Pro Wrestling Noah history. He is also the only man to win Junior Heavyweight Championships in all three major Japanese promotions. In 2009, he was appointed to the position of Vice President of the promotion.
==Professional wrestling career==
===Debut and Pro Wresting NOAH===
Marufuji pursued amateur wrestling and basketball during his high school days before joining All Japan Pro Wrestling. For the first two years of his career, under Giant Baba and Mitsuharu Misawa's isolationist policy, he was a jobber; one of the few rare interpromotional matches he worked was in Michinoku Pro Wrestling in 1999, a lucha libre six-man tag match, gave him a chance to shine. After the NOAH secession, he joined the upstart promotion and became an integral part of its Junior Heavyweight division, impressing many with his high-flying style and charisma. He would go on to form a successful tag team with KENTA, as well as win the 2004 Super J Cup. On March 5, 2006, Marufuji pinned former AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and former GHC Heavyweight Champion Akira Taue.
On September 9, 2006, Naomichi defeated Jun Akiyama for the GHC Heavyweight Championship at the Budokan Hall, utilizing the Perfect Inside Cradle. In doing so, he became the first wrestler to win all five GHC titles in NOAH and became the lightest GHC Heavyweight Champion of all time. A little over a month later, Marufuji's successfully defended the title against his tag team partner Kenta on October 29, 2006. The match received critical acclaim and Tokyo Sports Grand Prix named the match "Best Bout of 2006". On December 10, 2006, Marufuji lost the GHC Heavyweight Championship to Mitsuharu Misawa in his third defense.
On July 5, 2009, Marufuji was appointed to the position of NOAH's Vice President alongside Kenta Kobashi by then NOAH President Akira Taue in the wake of Misawa's death.
===New Japan Pro Wrestling===
On June 10, 2003, Marufuji made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), teaming with Kotaro Suzuki to unsuccessfully challenge Jushin Liger and Koji Kanemoto for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Marufuji would return to the company on December 9, failing in his attempt to win the IWGP U-30 Championship from Hiroshi Tanahashi. On May 3, 2004, Marufuji would make his final appearance for NJPW in over five years in a six-man tag team match, where he, Heat and Tiger Mask IV were defeated by American Dragon, Koji Kanemoto and Último Dragón.
On December 22, 2009, Marufuji made his return to New Japan Pro Wrestling, defeating Jushin "Thunder" Liger in the first round of the 2009 Super J Cup. The following day he defeated Tigers Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi and finally Prince Devitt in the finals, to win the Super J Cup and earn himself a shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. On January 4, 2010, Marufuji represented NOAH in the New Japan vs. NOAH match series at Wrestle Kingdom IV, where he defeated Tiger Mask IV to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. With his victory Marufuji became the first person to hold the three major Junior Heavyweight Championships in Japan (All Japan, NOAH and New Japan). On June 19 Marufuji lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to Prince Devitt.
===Foreign excursion===
In early and mid-2005, Marufuji toured through Germany and Austria, competing for world Xtreme wrestling and Rings of Europe. Alongside with Minoru Suzuki, they were the first talent-delegation which was sent over that began the NOAH/European Talent Trade Partnership.
====Ring of Honor====
As part of his foreign excursion to the U.S. along with Kenta Kobashi and Kenta, Marufuji challenged Bryan Danielson for the ROH World Championship on December 17, 2005, in Edison, New Jersey. Danielson retained his title, but the crowd gave Marufuji a loud ovation after the match.
Marufuji returned to the United States to wrestle for Ring of Honor on the main event of the "Best in the World" show on March 25, 2006 show in New York City, teaming with Kenta for the first time in the United States against the team of Samoa Joe and Bryan Danielson; the team of Marufuji and Kenta won after Kenta pinned Danielson, but after Marufuji tried and failed to lift Joe.
Marufuji returned to Ring of Honor for a third tour, along with Kenta. Both started off the tour with a win, teaming up to defeat the Briscoe Brothers at Glory By Honor V: Night 1. The following night at Glory By Honor V: Night 2, he successfully defended the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Nigel McGuinness. Marufuji also appeared at Ring of Honor's first pay-per-view, Respect Is Earned, where he defeated Rocky Romero.
===Return to AJPW===
On September 28, 2008, ten years after his original debut in All Japan Pro Wrestling, Marufuji returned to AJPW and won the World Junior Heavyweight Championship from Ryuji Hijikata. He would go on to successfully defend the title against Shuji Kondo in a match that won the Tokyo Sports Grand Prix Best Bout of 2008 award and Takashi Okita before losing it to Kaz Hayashi.
==In wrestling==
*Finishing moves
**Perfect Inside Cradle (Wrist-clutch inside cradle)
**Pole Shift (Fisherman driver)
**Pole Shift Flowsion (Fisherman's sitout side powerslam)
**Shiranui – Innovated
**Shiranui Kai (Moonsault slam)
**Tiger Flowsion (Double underhook sitout side powerslam) – Innovated
**Triangle choke / Cobra clutch combination – 2008
*Signature moves
**Arm trap dragon screw
**Corner-to-corner dropkick
**Front missile dropkick
**Frog splash
**Front flip neckbreaker
**Front flip snapmare driver
**Headscissors takedown transitioned into a DDT
**Ko-Oh (Bicycle knee)
**Lariat
**Multiple suplex variations
***Australian Suplex (Non-lifting tiger)
***Capture
***Cut-throat bridging leg hook belly to back
***German
**One-handed bulldog to an opponent standing on the second rope, forcing them face first onto the ringpost
**Shooting star press – 2000–2004
**Sitout double underhook powerbomb followed into a crucifix armbar or a neckbreaker
**Slingshot elbow drop
**Spin-out powerbomb
**Springboard into either a dropkick or a moonsault
**Stunner, as a vertical suplex counter
**Suicide dive
**Superkick
*Entrance themes
**In NOAH, Marufuji uses a NOAH produced theme song titled "Hysteric", a song that is molded after the popular trance version of techno music in Japan. In ROH, he, like Morishima, uses an unnamed techno theme produced in-house by ROH, which has also been used on the English release of NOAH DVDs.
*Wrestlers Trained
:*Hitoshi Kumano
:*Ross von Erich
:*Marshall von Erich
:*Zack Sabre Jr.
:*Shane Thorne
:*Chris Dickinson
:*Mikey Nicholls
==Championships and accomplishments==
*All Japan Pro Wrestling
**AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
**Champion Carnival (2018)
*Dramatic Dream Team
:*DDT KO-D Tag Team Championship (1 time) with HARASHIMA
*Osaka Pro Wrestling
** Super J-Cup (2004)
*New Japan Pro Wrestling
**IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
**Super J Cup (2004, 2009)
**Tag Team Best Bout (2003) with Kotaro Suzuki vs. Jyushin Thunder Liger and Koji Kanemoto on June 10
*Nikkan Sports
** Match of the Year Award (2006) vs. KENTA on October 29
** Match of the Year Award (2008) vs. KENTA on October 25
** Outstanding Performance Award (2006)
** Technique Award (2008)
** Wrestler of the Year (2006)
*Pro Wrestling Illustrated
**PWI ranked him #190 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2020
**PWI ranked him #78 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2019
**PWI ranked him #58 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2018
**PWI ranked him #160 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2017
**PWI ranked him #80 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016
**PWI ranked him #48 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2015
**PWI ranked him #130 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2014
**PWI ranked him #119 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2013
**PWI ranked him #132 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2012
**PWI ranked him #70 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2011
**PWI ranked him #52 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010
**PWI ranked him #91 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2009
**PWI ranked him #90 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2008
**PWI ranked him #27 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2007
**PWI ranked him #361 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2006
**PWI ranked him #209 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2001
*Pro Wrestling NOAH
**GHC Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
**GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
**GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Kenta and Atsushi Aoki 
**GHC Hardcore Openweight Championship (1 time)
**GHC Tag Team Championship (7 times) – with Minoru Suzuki (1) and Takashi Sugiura (2), Toru Yano (1), Maybach Taniguchi (1), and Akitoshi Saito (1), Masaaki Mochizuki (1)
**Differ Cup (2005)– with Kenta
**Global League (2015)
**Global Tag League (2012) – with Muhammad Yone
**Global Tag League (2016) – with Toru Yano
**Global Tag League (2017) – with Maybach Taniguchi
**One Night Six Man Tag Team Tournament (2007) – with Go Shiozaki and Ippei Ota
**Two Day Tag Team Tournament (2004) – with Takeshi Rikio
**GHC Heavyweight Title Shot Tournament (2007)
**Global League Technique Award (2013)
**Global Tag League Outstanding Performance Award (2014) – with Katsuhiko Nakajima
**MVP Award (2014)
*Tokyo Sports Grand Prix
**Outstanding Performance Award (2006, 2018)
**Best Bout Award (2006) vs. Kenta (October 29, 2006)
**Best Bout Award (2008) vs. Shuji Kondo (November 3, 2008)
**Best Bout Award (2016) vs. Kazuchika Okada (July 18, 2016)
**Best Tag Team Award (2003) with KENTA
*World Entertainment Wrestling
**WEW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tamon Honda
*Wrestling Observer Newsletter
**Tag Team of the Year (2003, 2004) with Kenta
==External links==
* Profile
* Profile
Category:Japanese wrestlers
Category:1979 births
Category:1998 debuts
Category:A-Merchandise alumni
Category:All Japan Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:Asistencia Asesoría y Administración alumni
Category:Big Japan Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:Big Mouth Loud alumni
Category:Diamond Ring alumni
Category:Dradition Pro-Wrestling alumni
Category:Dramatic Dream Team alumni
Category:Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling alumni
Category:Frontier Wrestling Alliance alumni
Category:Global Pro-Wrestling Alliance alumni
Category:Inoki Genome Federation alumni
Category:Kaientai Dojo alumni
Category:Leader Wrestling Association alumni
Category:Michinoku Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:New Japan Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:Osaka Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:Pro Wrestling El Dorado ~ The Next DOOR Project alumni
Category:Pro Wrestling King's Road alumni
Category:Pro Wrestling NOAH current roster
Category:Real Japan Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:Real Quality Wrestling alumni
Category:Ring of Honor alumni
Category:Rings of Europe alumni
Category:Westside Xtreme Wrestling alumni
Category:World League Wrestling alumni
Category:Wrestling New Classic alumni
Category:Xplosion Nacional de Lucha Libre alumni
Category:Living people
Category:World Entertainment Wrestling alumni
Category:Male wrestlers
Category:Total Nonstop Action Wrestling alumni
Category:Pro Wrestling ZERO1 alumni
Category:IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champions
Category:West Coast Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:Pro Wrestling Revolution alumni
Category:House Of Glory alumni