Naomichi Marufuji was born on September 26,1979 and is a Japanese professional wrestler who competes for Pro Wrestling Noah, with occasional appearances in other professional wrestling promotions including New Japan Pro-Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling, Ring of Honor, and Impact Wrestling.
36 Facts About Naomichi Marufuji
2.
Naomichi Marufuji pursued amateur wrestling and basketball during his high school days before joining All Japan Pro Wrestling, and trained in Satoru Sayama's Super Tiger Gym.
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Naomichi Marufuji would go on to form a successful tag team with KENTA and win the 2004 Super J-Cup.
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In early and mid-2005, Naomichi Marufuji toured through Germany and Austria, competing for Westside Xtreme Wrestling and Rings of Europe.
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On March 5,2006, Naomichi Marufuji pinned former Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and former GHC Heavyweight Champion Akira Taue.
6.
On September 9,2006, Naomichi Marufuji defeated Jun Akiyama for the GHC Heavyweight Championship at the Budokan Hall, utilizing the Perfect Inside Cradle.
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On December 10,2006, Naomichi Marufuji lost the GHC Heavyweight Championship to Mitsuharu Misawa in his third defense.
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On July 5,2009, Naomichi Marufuji was appointed to the position of Noah's Vice President alongside Kenta Kobashi by Noah's current President, Akira Taue, in the wake of Misawa's death.
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On July 5,2014, Naomichi Marufuji won the GHC Heavyweight Championship for the second time, defeating Yuji Nagata.
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Naomichi Marufuji finished with eight points and a four-win, three-loss record, including losses to Nakajima, Morishima, and Satoshi Kojima.
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Naomichi Marufuji took part in the 2015 Global Tag League with Katsuhiko Nakajima as his partner.
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Naomichi Marufuji ultimately came up short in his attempt to dethrone the Suzuki-gun leader.
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Naomichi Marufuji received his title match at the DESTINY 2015 show and he regained the title from Suzuki on December 23,2015.
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However, immediately following the match as his Noah roster members celebrated with him, Takashi Sugiura turned on Naomichi Marufuji to join forces with Suzuki-gun.
15.
On January 31,2016, Naomichi Marufuji faltered in his first defense of his newly won championship as he lost the title to Takashi Sugiura.
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Naomichi Marufuji was the second to last person eliminated being pinned by Sugiura.
17.
On March 19,2016, Naomichi Marufuji continued to battle against the Suzuki-gun stable that had invaded Noah as he alongside Muhammad Yone and Mitsuhiro Kitamiya defeated Shelton Benjamin, Takashi Iizuka, and Suzuki himself in a six-man tag team match the 2016 'Great Voyage In Korakuen' event.
18.
From April 21 to May 4, Naomichi Marufuji took part in the 2016 Global Tag League with Toru Yano, who took part despite being mainly a competitor in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
19.
At the 2017 'Great Voyage In Yokohama' show on March 12, Naomichi Marufuji teamed with Japanese wrestling legend Keiji Muto to defeat debuting Impact Wrestling star Moose and Kazma Sakamoto.
20.
Naomichi Marufuji formed a new team with former rival Maybach Taniguchi and, on the April 14 'Countdown to GTL' show, the new pairing defeated Takashi Sugiura and Kenoh for the GHC Tag Team Championships shortly before the start of the 2017 Global Tag League's beginning.
21.
On May 29,2018, five days after his Triple Crown challenge, Naomichi Marufuji unsuccessfully challenged Takashi Sugiura for the GHC Heavyweight Championship.
22.
On June 6,2021, at CyberFight Festival, Naomichi Marufuji won the GHC Heavyweight Championship from Keiji Mutoh.
23.
On June 10,2003, Naomichi Marufuji made his debut for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, teaming with Kotaro Suzuki to unsuccessfully challenge Jyushin Thunder Liger and Koji Kanemoto for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.
24.
On May 3,2004, Naomichi 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 were defeated by the American Dragon, Koji Kanemoto, and Ultimo Dragon.
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On December 22,2009, Naomichi Marufuji made his return to NJPW, defeating Jyushin Thunder Liger in the first round of the 2009 Super J-Cup.
26.
On January 4,2010, Naomichi Marufuji represented Noah in the New Japan vs Noah match series at Wrestle Kingdom IV in Tokyo Dome, where he defeated Tiger Mask to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.
27.
Naomichi Marufuji returned to NJPW that August to take part in the 2012 G1 Climax tournament.
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On September 29,2013, Naomichi Marufuji returned to New Japan, challenging Shinsuke Nakamura to a match for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.
29.
Naomichi Marufuji returned to New Japan on December 20,2014, when he, along with fellow Noah wrestlers TMDK, was revealed as one of Toru Yano's tag team partners at Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome on January 4,2015.
30.
Naomichi Marufuji returned to NJPW on July 18,2016, by entering the 2016 G1 Climax tournament and defeating reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada in his opening match.
31.
Naomichi Marufuji returned to Ring of Honor for a third tour, along with Kenta.
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Naomichi Marufuji appeared at Ring of Honor's first pay-per-view, Respect Is Earned, where he defeated Rocky Romero.
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Naomichi Marufuji was scheduled to return to ROH in May 2013 for the Border Wars 2013 pay-per-view as well as a Ring of Honor Wrestling television taping, but was forced to pull out of the events after suffering a knee injury the previous month.
34.
On September 28,2008, ten years after his original debut in All Japan Pro Wrestling, Naomichi Marufuji returned to AJPW and won the World Junior Heavyweight Championship from Ryuji Hijikata.
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Naomichi Marufuji would go on to successfully defend the title against Shuji Kondo in a match that won the Tokyo Sports Best Bout of 2008 award and Takashi Okita before losing it to Kaz Hayashi.
36.
Naomichi Marufuji returned to AJPW to compete in the 2018 Champion Carnival, where he finished his block with a record of five wins and two losses, last defeating Jun Akiyama on April 29 to advance to the finals.