Naoki Sano
| Naoki Sano | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 2, 1965 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) |
Takuma Sano Yuhi Sano Naoki Sano Mr. Sato |
| Billed height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Billed weight | 110 kg (240 lb) |
| Trained by | NJPW Dojo |
| Debut | March 3, 1984 vs. Shinichi Nakano |
Naoki Sano (佐野直喜 Sano Naoki?) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He currently goes by the name Takuma Sano.
Sano was a member of the 1984 NJPW Dojo class, and in his first few years, he was a jobber. In 1987, he went on an overseas excursion to Mexico, wrestling for the Universal Wrestling Association. 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 Lions Cup on April 24, and he had numerous acclaimed matches against Jushin Liger. Sano defeated Liger for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on August 10, 1989, but lost it to Liger on January 31, 1990. In April 1990, he went on an overseas excursion to Canada, wrestling under the name Mr. Sato for the Canadian National Wrestling Alliance promotion in Calgary, where he won the promotion's World Mid-Heavyweight Championship.
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. He was the only titleholder.
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