SUWA

Real Name - Takahiro Suwa

Birthdate - 8/31/75

5'10" 198 lbs. - Kawanabe, Kagoshima, Japan

Athletic Background - n/a

Teacher(s) - Yoshihiro Asai (Ultimo Dragon Gym - 1st Term)

Professional Background - IWRG(`97-`99), WCW(`98), Toryumon(`99-`04), Dragon Gate(`04), NOAH(`04-`07), NOAH(`13-)

Aliases - Judo SUWA, Somusawa, Maybach Taniguchi Jr.

Groups - Crazy MAX, No Mercy

Peak Years - `00-`06

Finisher(s) - 

- FFF/Facefirst Facebuster (Butterfly Facebuster)

- Twitter Block (Reverse Rocking Horse)

- Majin Fushagatame

- Sweeter Bomb (Frontflip Powerbomb)

- Bonkura Bomb (Black Tiger Bomb)

Favorites -

- Jet Pool/JP (Electric Chair Drop)

- John Woo (Running High-Impact Dropkick)

- Flying Clothesline

- Flapjack

- Low Blow

Ringwork Rating - 

Intangibles Rating - 

Place in History - When Ultimo Dragon launched his Toryumon promotion, it was realistically the next generation of young Japanese wrestlers influenced heavily by lucha libre.  Like Universal and Michinoku Pro, Toryumon featured a roster of small, but extremely talented young wrestlers.  Judo SUWA was a quick standout as the bad boy of that first class of five graduates.  The company and its talent took a different approach to pro-wrestling than similarly sized indies.  A key component was the prevalence of factions and SUWA’s group, Crazy MAX, set the bar for all future acts to follow.  Riding scooters to the ring like a bunch of punks and beating on babyfaces like Dragon Kid and  Magnum TOKYO.  It was the central story of Toryumon’s early years.  Although CIMA was the chosen one in the company, it could be argued that SUWA was the superior heel.  He was elevated into a top slot, even holding the company’s top title, but an injury stopped that.  It became an unfortunate theme in SUWA’s career, where injuries set him back.  When the split between Ultimo Dragon and his students happened, SUWA initially went with his contemporaries to form Dragon Gate.  Immediate tension led to his quick departure.  SUWA blasted the new company and he has never returned.  Instead, SUWA became part of NOAH’s junior heavyweight division.  It was the premier junior division in the world at the time and SUWA quickly found his place.  Despite never winning the GHC Junior title, SUWA’s heel personality kept him a strong spot within the company.  Injuries caused him to retire in 2007.  After a five year hiatus, SUWA returned under a mask as a junior version of Maybach Taniguchi who was a rising star in NOAH.  He eventually shed the persona and had some success, winning the GHC Junior tag titles, but a back injury ended that push.  SUWA is one of the best pure heels that any junior heavyweight division has ever had.  He can get the best out of anyone and pull the crowd into the action and his cheating antics.  SUWA’s creativity and personality have carried him even when his body was falling apart.