Shinya Makabe, better known by his ring name Togi Makabe is a Japanese professional wrestler, trained by and currently performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he is a former one-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, two-time IWGP Tag Team Champion, two-time NEVER Openweight Champion and one-time NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion.
54 Facts About Togi Makabe
2.
Togi Makabe changed his given name to "Togi" during the 2004 G1 Climax tournament.
3.
Togi Makabe's wrestling style and character is heavily influenced by the late Bruiser Brody.
4.
Togi Makabe uses Brody's All Japan Pro Wrestling theme "Immigrant Song" as his own.
5.
Togi Makabe made his debut the following year, losing to Shinjiro Otani on February 15,1997.
6.
Togi Makabe began wrestling in the undercard, obtaining his first victory 20 months after his debut by defeating Yutaka Yoshie on October 15,1998.
7.
Togi Makabe continued to wrestle in lesser matches through 1999 against other young wrestlers such as Wataru Inoue and Katsuyori Shibata, and defeating future IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi in his debut match on October 10,1999.
8.
Later that month, Togi Makabe participated in NJPW's Young Lion Cup, a six-man round-robin tournament exclusive to young wrestlers; he finished in first place for the group stage, defeating all of his opponents, though he lost to second-place finisher Kenzo Suzuki in the final.
9.
Togi Makabe finished in last place out of six in Block A, scoring two points by defeating Dr Wagner, Jr.
10.
Togi Makabe received the first title shot of his career on September 12,2000, teaming with Jyushin Thunder Liger to unsuccessfully challenge Koji Kanemoto and Minoru Tanaka for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.
11.
Togi Makabe made his debut in the Tokyo Dome, one of the largest venues in Japan, during NJPW's annual event there on January 4,2001, teaming with Tatsuhito Takaiwa in a loss to Koji Kanemoto and Minoru Tanaka.
12.
Togi Makabe wrestled his farewell match on August 12,2001, in a tag team loss with Yutaka Yoshie against Riki Choshu and Kenzo Suzuki.
13.
Togi Makabe wrestled in the aforementioned countries for the following 14 months, gaining a considerable amount of muscle.
14.
Togi Makabe returned to New Japan on October 14,2002 in the Tokyo Dome as a heavyweight, teaming with Minoru Fujita to defeat Kenzo Suzuki and Hiroshi Tanahashi; he continued to team with Fujita and his fellow Kaientai Dojo member Taka Michinoku over the next few tours.
15.
In January 2003, Togi Makabe suspended his contract with NJPW, wrestling under his own terms.
16.
Togi Makabe wrestled at NJPW's annual Tokyo Dome event on January 4,2003, competing in the four-man Young Generation Cup tournament, losing in the first round to Yutaka Yoshie.
17.
Regardless, Togi Makabe challenged for the belts with a different partner, Yoshihiro Takayama, on March 9,2003, losing to champions Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan.
18.
Around the same time, Togi Makabe participated in the G2 U-30 Climax, a round-robin tournament featuring only wrestlers under the age of 30 to decide the first IWGP U-30 Openweight Champion.
19.
Togi Makabe would go on to defeat Blue Wolf in the semifinals before losing to Hiroshi Tanahashi in the final on April 23,2003.
20.
On July 1,2003, Togi Makabe travelled to Pro Wrestling Noah, teaming with Yoshihiro Takayama and NOAH's Takashi Sugiura to defeat Jun Akiyama, Akitoshi Saito and Makoto Hashi.
21.
Makabe continued to wrestle mid- and uppercard wrestlers in NJPW throughout 2003 and much of 2004, before making his first appearance in New Japan's annual G1 Climax heavyweight tournament, changing his name to Togi Makabe and defeating Mitsuya Nagai on August 7,2004 to gain entrance into the competition.
22.
Togi Makabe finished in seventh out of eight in his block with four points, defeating Osamu Nishimura by pinfall and Yoshihiro Takayama by forfeit.
23.
Togi Makabe again participated in the G1 Climax in August 2005, though he was in only two matches before tearing his achilles tendon in a match against Shinsuke Nakamura.
24.
Togi Makabe was forced to forfeit the rest of his matches due to the injury, finishing with zero points and taking him out of action for five months.
25.
Togi Makabe returned on January 8,2006, teaming with Toru Yano in a losing effort against Osamu Nishimura and Naofumi Yamamoto.
26.
Togi Makabe entered the second annual New Japan Cup in April 2006, defeating Tatsutoshi Goto in the first round before losing to Yuji Nagata in the quarterfinals.
27.
On July 2,2006, Togi Makabe teamed with Shiro Koshinaka in a one-night tournament to crown the interim IWGP Tag Team Champions, after primary champions Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan became inactive.
28.
Togi Makabe entered the 2006 G1 Climax in August, finishing with three points in his block with a win over Naofumi Yamamoto and a double count out against Yuji Nagata.
29.
On September 24,2006, Togi Makabe entered Apache Pro-Wrestling Army, defeating Kintaro Kanemura on their third anniversary show to revive the WEW Heavyweight Championship, the first official Japanese title of his career.
30.
Togi Makabe teamed with Koshinaka in the G1 Tag League later that month, finishing in last place in their block out of five, ending with two points via a victory over eventual winners Masahiro Chono and Shinsuke Nakamura.
31.
On November 18,2006, Togi Makabe made his first defense of the WEW title on New Japan's LOCK UP brand, defeating Kintaro Kanemura in a rematch.
32.
Togi Makabe teamed with GBH allies Yano and Ishii on January 4,2007, at Wrestle Kingdom in Tokyo Dome, defeating Travis Tomko and AJPW's D'Lo Brown and Buchanan.
33.
Four days later, Togi Makabe retained the WEW title against Tetsuhiro Kuroda at an event co-produced by Apache Pro and Takashi Sasaki; he would defend the championship for a third time on February 4,2007 at LOCK UP's first show in Korakuen Hall, defeating Mammoth Sasaki in a cage death match.
34.
On February 18,2007, Togi Makabe faced and lost to Shinsuke Nakamura in a match pitting GBH against Nakamura and Masahiro Chono's BLACK faction, subtitled "SANCTIONS".
35.
Togi Makabe again entered the New Japan Cup in March 2007, making it to the finals with victories over Travis Tomko and Takashi Iizuka by pinfall and Hiroyoshi Tenzan by disqualification, before losing to Yuji Nagata in the final.
36.
Togi Makabe made his fourth defense of the WEW title on April 15,2007 in Apache Pro, again defeating Mammoth Sasaki.
37.
Togi Makabe battled Nakamura for a third time on May 3,2007 in a match dubbed "Reality or Revenge", winning once more.
38.
On June 24,2007, Togi Makabe lost the WEW Heavyweight Championship in Apache Pro to Kintaro Kanemura in their third meeting.
39.
Togi Makabe followed up his pinfall over Nagata in May with a challenge to Nagata's title, his first singles title shot in New Japan, on July 6,2007 in front of a sold out Korakuen Hall; Nagata won with a backdrop in just under 20 minutes.
40.
Later that month, Togi Makabe participated in the New Japan Cup for the third straight year, defeating Takashi Iizuka and ousted GBH leader Hiroyoshi Tenzan in the first two rounds, before falling to eventual winner Hiroshi Tanahashi in the semifinal.
41.
At Wrestle Kingdom IV in Tokyo Dome Togi Makabe defeated Muhammad Yone in an interpromotional match between New Japan and Pro Wrestling Noah.
42.
In March 2010 Togi Makabe entered the 2010 New Japan Cup and defeated Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and Tetsuya Naito to advance to the finals, where he was defeated by Hirooki Goto in a rematch of their 2008 G1 Climax final match.
43.
Later that same month, Togi Makabe took part in New Japan's first ever tour of the United States, the Invasion Tour 2011, during which he feuded with Rhino.
44.
In late 2011, Togi Makabe shifted from feuding with Minoru Suzuki to his partner Yoshihiro Takayama, which built to a match on January 4,2012, at Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome, where Togi Makabe defeated Takayama in a singles match.
45.
From August 1 to 11, Togi Makabe took part in the 2013 G1 Climax, where he finished with a record of five wins and four losses, with a loss against Prince Devitt on the final day costing him a spot in the finals.
46.
Togi Makabe then started feuding with Devitt and his Bullet Club stable.
47.
Later in the year, after Devitt began concentrating on defending his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, Togi Makabe made another Bullet Club member, Bad Luck Fale, whose interference had cost him his match against Devitt in the G1 Climax, his main rival.
48.
Togi Makabe then reunited with Tomoaki Honma for the 2014 World Tag League, where the two finished last in their block with a record of three wins and four losses.
49.
On January 4,2015, at Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome, Togi Makabe defeated Tomohiro Ishii to win the NEVER Openweight Championship for the first time.
50.
From July 20 to August 14, Togi Makabe took part in the 2015 G1 Climax, where he finished in the middle of his block with a record of four wins and five losses.
51.
On September 23 at Destruction in Okayama, Togi Makabe made his second successful defense of the NEVER Openweight Championship against Kota Ibushi, who had defeated him during the 2015 G1 Climax.
52.
From July 18 to August 12, Togi Makabe took part in the 2016 G1 Climax, where he finished with a record of four wins and five losses.
53.
Togi Makabe provided the voice of Rictus Erectus in the Japanese dub of the 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road.
54.
Togi Makabe provided the voice for the animated version of himself in the Tiger Mask W anime.