 Yano as aNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion in February 2016 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1978-05-18)May 18, 1978 (age 47)[1] Arakawa, Tokyo, Japan[1] |
| Alma mater | Nihon University[3] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Toru Yano |
| Billed height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] |
| Billed weight | 115 kg (254 lb)[1] |
| Trained by | NJPW Dojo[2] |
| Debut | May 18, 2002[1] |
Toru Yano (矢野 通,Yano Tōru; born May 18, 1978)[1] is a Japaneseprofessional wrestler, signed toNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and is one-third of the currentNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions with Spiritech (Master Wato andYoh in their first reign as a team and his record-setting seventh individually. He was also one-third of the inaugural NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions. He is also athree-timeIWGP Tag Team Champion and two-timeGHC Tag Team Champion, and was theKOPW 2020 and theKOPW 2021 Provisional Champion.
He is mainly known as acomic relief wrestler, often cheating in an attempt to secure quick wins in his matches. Though often positioned below NJPW's top wrestlers, Yano has gained a reputation as a spoiler, occasionally scoring upset wins over bigger names and feuding with other elite wrestlers.[4][5][6]
Yano was a decoratedGreco-Roman wrestler, while studying inNihon University, winning several amateur titles.[1] In April 2001 Yano enteredNew Japan Pro-Wrestling's amateur wrestling section, the Toukon Club, in order to become aprofessional wrestler.[7] He formally joined New Japan in January 2002 and began training full-time for his debut.[7] He would make his debut on May 18, 2002, coincidentally on his 24th birthday, in a match, where he was defeated by his classmateBlue Wolf.[7] On August 31, 2003, Yano ventured into the world ofmixed martial arts, when he competed in a match forPancrase.[1] Yano lost his to date only MMA fight to Osami Shibuya via submission to anarmbar in the second round.[8]
After steadily climbing the ranks in New Japan for nearly two years, Yano turnedheel in early 2004 and changed his look by dying his hair blonde.[7] From April to July 2004, Yano went on a long streak of losing matches via disqualification.[7] After a learning excursion to the United States in early 2005, Yano joinedMasahiro Chono'sBlack New Japanstable and formed a tag team withTomohiro Ishii.[7] In June Yano made it to the finals of a tournament for thevacantIWGP U-30 Openweight Championship, but was defeated byHiroshi Tanahashi.[2] After a disappointing performance in the2005 G1 Climax, Yano traveled toGermany in October 2005 to compete for European Wrestling Promotion, where he would win his first professional wrestling championship, the EWP Tag Team Championship, teaming withKendo Kashin.[2] When Yano returned to Japan the following month, he was a changed man, becoming a more serious competitor no longer seeking to break rules.[2] However, when this change failed to bring him any success, Yano reverted to his cheating ways in early 2006 and, together with Ishii,Togi Makabe,Shiro Koshinaka andTomoaki Honma joinedHiroyoshi Tenzan to form theGreat Bash Heel (G.B.H.) stable in December.[2]
In the summer of 2006 Yano took part in New Japan's invasion ofApache Pro-Wrestling Army and on July 29, he defeatedKintaro Kanemura to win the promotion's main title, theWEW Heavyweight Championship, his first title in Japan.[2] The following month Yano took part in the2007 G1 Climax, this time picking up victories overManabu Nakanishi and Shiro Koshinaka, but missed the finals of the tournament by a single point after drawing with Hiroshi Tanahashi.[2] After the tournament Yano lost the WEW Heavyweight Championship to Mammoth Sasaki on September 23, 2007. In October Yano entered the2007 G1 Tag League, teaming with Togi Makabe, who had overthrown Tenzan as the leader of G.B.H., instead of regular tag team partner Ishii.[2] The two of them would go on to win four out of their seven matches in theround-robin stage of the tournament and thus made it to the semifinals, where they would be defeated by the eventual winners of the entire tournament,Giant Bernard andTravis Tomko.[2] After the tournament Yano and Makabe remained together as a tag team, naming their team The Most Violent Players.
On January 4, 2008, atWrestle Kingdom II in Tokyo Dome, Yano and Makabe were defeated byTeam 3D (Brother Devon andBrother Ray), representing American promotionTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).[2] However, Yano and Makabe bounced back quickly and on February 17 they defeated Giant Bernard and Travis Tomko to win theIWGP Tag Team Championship for the first time.[2] They would successfully defend the titles against the teams of Giant Bernard andShinsuke Nakamura, Hiroyoshi Tenzan andTakashi Iizuka, Giant Bernard andRick Fuller, Shinsuke Nakamura andHirooki Goto andManabu Nakanishi andYutaka Yoshie, before entering the2008 G1 Tag League in October.[2] After four victories out of five in the round-robin stage, Yano and Makabe advanced to the semifinals, where they defeated the team of Shinsuke Nakamura and Hirooki Goto. However, on November 5, Yano and Makabe were defeated in the final match bySatoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan.[2] Yano and Makabe's IWGP title reign of 322 days came to an end on January 4, 2009, when they were defeated by Team 3D for the second year in a row atWrestle Kingdom III in Tokyo Dome.[2]
In April 2009, Yano turned on Makabe and together with the rest of G.B.H., excluding Tomoaki Honma, left the stable to join Shinsuke Nakamura and form the new heel stableChaos, with Nakamura as the leader.[2] When Makabe returned from his injury, suffered at the hands of Yano, he was looking for revenge on his former tag team partner. After several tag team matches, Yano and Makabe were finally booked in a singles match on June 20, where Yano would come out victorious.[2] In the2009 G1 Tag League Yano teamed up with Shinsuke Nakamura and together the two of them would make it to the semifinals before suffering an upset loss against the Junior Heavyweight tag teamApollo 55 (Prince Devitt andRyusuke Taguchi).[2] In early 2010 Yano beganfeuding with Hiroshi Tanahashi, starting on January 30, when he pinned Tanahashi in tag team match.[9] Tanahashi would avenge his loss in a singles match on February 14, but was after the match jumped by Yano andMasato Tanaka, who then proceeded to cut off some of his hair.[10] On May 3 Yano took arguably the biggest victory of his career by defeating the former four-timeIWGP Heavyweight Champion Tanahashi in a singles match, after which the two of them were booked in a finalHair vs. Hair match for June 19.[11][12] On June 19 atDominion 6.19, Tanahashi defeated Yano, but despite his loss, Yano and his Chaos ally Takashi Iizuka attacked Tanahashi after the match and went to cut his hair, before being stopped byTajiri, who took care of Iizuka and helped Tanahashi shave Yano's hair to end their feud.[13] Yano then moved on to feuding with Tajiri. Tajiri,Kushida and Tanahashi eliminated Yano and his Chaos partners Iizuka andGedo from the J Sports Crown Openweight 6 Man Tag Tournament on June 28, 2010, but on July 19 Yano defeated Tajiri via submission in a singles match in less than six minutes to seemingly end their feud.[14][15] The following month Yano entered the2010 G1 Climax and managed to win four out of his seven round-robin stage matches, including a major victory over the reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion Togi Makabe, but finished fourth in his block, thus missing the finals of the tournament.[16][17][18][19] On September 3, Tajiri returned to New Japan and attacked Yano after his match, showing that they were not done with each other.[20] On October 11 atDestruction '10, Tajiri defeated Yano in a singles match.[21] On January 4, 2011, atWrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome, Yano faced TNA performerRob Van Dam in a hardcore match in a losing effort.[22][23] Afterwards, Yano adopted Van Dam's signature thumb point taunt as his own, exchanging the letters "RVD" with "YTR".[24]
In May 2011 Yano took part in New Japan'sInvasion Tour 2011, the promotion's first tour of the United States. On May 13 inRahway, New Jersey, he entered thetournament to determine the first everIWGP Intercontinental Champion, defeatingDan Maff in his first round match.[25] The following day inNew York City, Yano defeated his Chaos stablemateYujiro Takahashi to advance to the finals of the tournament.[26] On the third and final day of the tour inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, Yano was defeated byMVP in the finals of the tournament.[27] Yano would also fail to win the title in two rematches, first on June 18 inOsaka and then on July 18 inSapporo.[28][29][30] In August, Yano took part in the2011 G1 Climax, where he managed to win five out of his nine matches, which included a big win over IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi. Ultimately, a loss against Giant Bernard on the final day of the tournament eliminated from the running for a spot in the finals.[31] On September 19, Yano started a new rivalry withYuji Nagata by attacking him after he had defeated his Chaos stablemateHideo Saito in a grudge match.[32] The two faced each other on October 10 atDestruction '11, where Nagata was able to pick up a pinfall win.[33] Later that same event, Yano attacked Hiroshi Tanahashi, after he had successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship againstTetsuya Naito and then accepted Nagata as his next challenger, and stole his championship belt, renaming it the "YWGP Heavyweight Championship".[33][34] After Yano was named the number one contender to the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, he went to team with Shinsuke Nakamura as the "Chaos Top Team" in the2011 G1 Tag League, scoring a pinfall victory over Tanahashi in the team's opening match against the team of Tanahashi and Hirooki Goto.[35][36][37] The Chaos Top Team ended up winning all five of their group stage matches, with Yano also picking up a pinfall victory over Togi Makabe in the process, advancing to the semifinals of the tournament with a clean sheet.[38][39] On November 6, Yano and Nakamura were eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by the team ofMinoru Suzuki andLance Archer.[40] On November 12 atPower Struggle, Yano failed to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Championship from Tanahashi.[41] On January 4, 2012, atWrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome, Yano teamed with Shinsuke Nakamura in a tag team match, where they were defeated byPro Wrestling Noah representativesGo Shiozaki andNaomichi Marufuji.[42]
On March 4, 2012, at New Japan's 40th anniversary event, Yano and Takashi Iizuka defeated IWGP Tag Team Champions, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima, in a non-title match, with Yano pinning Kojima for the win.[43] On March 18, Yano and Iizuka attacked Tenzan and Kojima, after they had successfully defended their title against Lance Archer andYoshihiro Takayama, and stole their championship belts.[44] On May 3 atWrestling Dontaku 2012, Yano and Iizuka defeated Tenzan and Kojima to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship, starting Yano's second reign with the title.[45] On June 16 atDominion 6.16, Yano's and Iizuka's first title defense, a rematch against Tenzan and Kojima, ended in a no contest.[46] As a result, four days later Yano and Iizuka were stripped of the IWGP Tag Team Championship.[47] On July 22, Yano and Iizuka were defeated by Tenzan and Kojima in a decision match for the vacant title.[48] Through the second half of 2012, Yano feuded with the returning Manabu Nakanishi,[49] which built to a match on January 4, 2013, atWrestle Kingdom 7 in Tokyo Dome, where Yano,Bob Sapp, Takashi Iizuka and Yujiro Takahashi were defeated in an eight-man tag team match by Nakanishi,Akebono, MVP andStrong Man.[50][51] On February 9, Yano and Iizuka made an appearance for Pro Wrestling Noah, wrestlingMaybach Taniguchi andMaybach Taniguchi Jr. to a double disqualification.[52] Later, Yano and Iizuka attacked No Mercy leaderKenta after the main event, which led to Maybach Taniguchi coming out to seemingly save his stablemate, however, he ended up hitting Kenta with a chair. Yano then grabbed Naomichi Marufuji's andTakashi Sugiura'sGHC Tag Team Championship belts from ringside, before handing Taniguchi Kenta'sGHC Heavyweight Championship belt.[52] The following day, Yano and Iizuka were named the number one contenders to the GHC Tag Team Championship.[53] On March 10, Yano and Iizuka defeated Marufuji and Sugiura to become the new GHC Tag Team Champions.[54]
Back in New Japan, Yano became involved in Chaos' rivalry with the promotion's other villainous stable,Suzuki-gun. From March 11 to March 23, Yano took part in the2013 New Japan Cup, which saw him reach the semifinals following an upset win over Suzuki-gun leader Minoru Suzuki, before losing to Chaos stablemateKazuchika Okada.[55][56][57] In April, Yano and Iizuka took part in Noah's2013 Global Tag League, where they finished with a record of two wins and two losses, failing to advance to the finals.[58] Yano and Iizuka made their first successful defense of the GHC Tag Team Championship on May 12 againstTMDK (Mikey Nicholls andShane Haste), who had defeated them during the Global Tag League.[59] Post-match, Yano named himself the number one contender to the GHC Heavyweight Championship. His status as the next challenger for Kenta's title was made official the following day.[60] Yano received his title shot on June 2, but was defeated by Kenta.[61][62] This led to a GHC Tag Team Championship match on June 8, where Yano and Iizuka successfully defended their title against Kenta and Yoshihiro Takayama, with Yano pinning the GHC Heavyweight Champion for the win.[63] Back in New Japan on June 22 atDominion 6.22, a special three-way match took place for the IWGP Tag Team Championship, held by Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima, which also included Yano and Iizuka, the GHC Tag Team Champions, and theNWA World Tag Team Champions,K.E.S. (Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer). After Tenzan and Kojima had managed to win the match and retain their title, Yano once again stole their championship belts.[64] On July 7, Yano and Iizuka lost the GHC Tag Team Championship to TMDK in their third defense.[65] On July 20, Yano and Iizuka were defeated by Tenzan and Kojima in another IWGP Tag Team Championship match between the two teams.[66][67]
From August 1 to 11, Yano took part in the2013 G1 Climax.[68] Though finishing near the bottom of his block with a record of four wins and five losses, Yano ended his tournament on a high note, defeating Minoru Suzuki and costing him a spot in the finals.[69][70] This led to a feud between Yano and Suzuki.[71] In the rematch on September 29 atDestruction, Yano was again victorious, after handcuffing Suzuki to a ringside guard rail, which led to him being counted out.[72] This led to another match between them on October 14 atKing of Pro-Wrestling, where Suzuki was victorious.[73] From November 24 to December 7, Yano and Iizuka took part in the2013 World Tag League.[74] Though they finished last in their block with a record of two wins and four losses, Yano once again got to play the spoiler Suzuki, when he and Iizuka defeated Suzuki andShelton X Benjamin on the final day, costing them a spot in the semi-finals.[75] The rivalry between Yano and Suzuki led to a match on January 4, 2014, atWrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome, where Yano andThe Great Muta defeated Suzuki and Benjamin, with Yano pinning his rival for the win, after ducking away from Muta'sgreen mist, which instead blinded Suzuki.[76][77] Yano and Suzuki again faced off on March 15 in the first round of the2014 New Japan Cup, where Suzuki was victorious.[78] On May 25 atBack to the Yokohama Arena, Yano and Iizuka faced off against Suzuki and Benjamin in a tag team match, during which Iizuka turned on Yano and Chaos, helping Suzuki pin him for the win and joining Suzuki-gun.[79][80] From July 21 to August 8, Yano took part in the2014 G1 Climax, where he finished with a record of four wins and six losses, which included a win over Suzuki.[81][82][83] Yano then formed a partnership withKazushi Sakuraba and transitioned over to feuding with former tag team partner Takashi Iizuka, while Sakuraba took over his feud with Suzuki.[84][85] In November, Yano and Sakuraba took part in the2014 World Tag League,[86] finishing in the middle of their block with a record of three wins, one draw and three losses.[87] Yano's rivalry with Iizuka and the rest of Suzuki-gun culminated on January 4, 2015, atWrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome, where he and Pro Wrestling Noah's Naomichi Marufuji, Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste defeated Iizuka, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Lance Archer and Shelton X Benjamin in an eight-man tag team match.[88][89] On February 22, the same day he ran theTokyo Marathon (with a time of 6:47:02), Yano returned to Noah to return the favor and help Marufuji in his new rivalry with Suzuki-gun. Appearing as Marufuji's surprise tag team partner, the two defeated Iizuka and Minoru Suzuki in the main event.[90][91] Back in NJPW, Yano re-ignited his old rivalry with Hiroshi Tanahashi,[92] after cheating his way to a win over Tanahashi in the opening round of the2015 New Japan Cup.[93] The rivalry culminated on July 5 atDominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall, where Yano was defeated by Tanahashi.[94][95] From July 20 to August 14, Yano took part in the2015 G1 Climax,[96] where he finished in the middle of his block with a record of four wins and five losses.[97]
On January 4, 2016, atWrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome, Yano teamed with theRing of Honor (ROH) tag team ofJay Briscoe andMark Briscoe to defeatBullet Club'sBad Luck Fale,Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi to become the inauguralNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions.[98] The three made their first successful title defense the following day against another Bullet Club trio of Fale,Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson.[99] On February 11 atThe New Beginning in Osaka, Yano and the Briscoes lost the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship to Fale, Tonga and Takahashi in their second defense.[100] Yano and the Briscoes regained the title three days later atThe New Beginning in Niigata.[101] On February 20 at the NJPW and ROH co-producedHonor Rising: Japan 2016 event, Yano and the Briscoes lost the title toKenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson.[102] From April 21 to May 4, Yano took part in Pro Wrestling Noah's2016 Global Tag League, where he teamed with Naomichi Marufuji.[103] The two finished second in the single round-robin block, advancing to the finals,[104] where they defeated the reigning GHC Tag Team Champions, Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer, to win the tournament.[105][106] On May 28, Yano and Marufuji defeated Smith and Archer in a rematch to become the new GHC Tag Team Champions.[107][108] On June 12, Yano and Marufuji defeated Smith and Archer for the third time in a row to make their first successful title defense,[109][110] and followed that up by defeating another Suzuki-gun team of Minoru Suzuki and Takashi Iizuka on July 5 for their second successful defense.[111] On July 16, Yano and Marufuji made their third successful title defense against The Aggression (Katsuhiko Nakajima andMasa Kitamiya).[112][113] From July 22 to August 13, Yano took part in the2016 G1 Climax, where he finished tied third in his block with a record of five wins and four losses, failing to advance to the finals.[114] Through NJPW's relationship with ROH, Yano made his debut for the American promotion on August 19 atDeath Before Dishonor XIV,[115] where he and his Chaos stablematesBerettaandRocky Romero defeated the Bullet Club trio of Tama Tonga,Tanga Loa and Yujiro Takahashi.[116] On October 8, Yano and Marufuji made their fifth successful defense of the GHC Tag Team Championship against Yano's Chaos stablemates Kazuchika Okada andYoshi-Hashi.[117][118] They also made their sixth defense against a team from NJPW, defeating Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma on October 23.[119][120] The following month, Yano took part in Noah's2016 Global League. Despite picking up wins over the likes of Minoru Suzuki and reigning GHC Heavyweight Champion Katsuhiko Nakajima, Yano failed to advance to the finals due to losing to former tag team partner Takashi Iizuka in his final round-robin match, finishing with a record of five wins and two losses.[121][122] On November 23, Yano and Marufuji lost the GHC Tag Team Championship back to Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer in their seventh defense.[123][124]
On December 16, Yano returned to NJPW from his extended stay in Noah, requesting to be added to the IWGP Tag Team Championship match atWrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome with Tomohiro Ishii as his partner.[125] The request was granted after Yano stole the IWGP Tag Team Championship belts,[126] which led to him and Ishii defeating defending championsGuerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) and G.B.H. (Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma) in a three-way match on January 4, 2017, to become the new IWGP Tag Team Champions.[127][128] Yano and Ishii made their first successful title defense on February 5 atThe New Beginning in Sapporo in a three-way match against G.B.H. and K.E.S.[129][130] Six days later atThe New Beginning in Osaka, Yano and Ishii successfully defended the title in another three-way match against G.B.H. and the team of Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Takashi Iizuka.[131] They lost the title to Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima on March 6 at NJPW's 45th anniversary event.[132] During the summer, Yano took part in the2017 G1 Climax, where he finished with a record of four wins and five losses. Yano's most notable win came in his last match over longtime rival Minoru Suzuki, against whom he now held a 4–0 record in their G1 Climax matches.[133] Afterwards, Yano continued his feud with Suzuki by stealing hisNEVER Openweight Championship belt on October 9 atKing of Pro-Wrestling.[134] This led to Yano unsuccessfully challenging Suzuki for the title in abullrope deathmatch on November 5 atPower Struggle.[135][136]
On January 4, 2018, Yano,Beretta and Tomohiro Ishii won a five-teamgauntlet match atWrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome to become the new NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions.[137] They would lose the championships back to the Bullet Club the following day at New Year's Dash !! 2019. Yano would embarrass Davey Boy Smith Jr. by forcing him to lose by countout in the first round of the2018 New Japan Cup, but would be defeated swiftly bySanada. Smith would get his revenge at Yano after K.E.S. defeated Yano & Ishii on the final night. Yano'sG1 Climax 28 campaign didn't achieve any success, with Yano only earning 3 wins out of his 9 matches. Yano did get a win over then-IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega, but he was never granted an official challenge at the belt. In late 2019, Bullet Club was causing Chaos and the Main Unit so many problems that Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi allied the teams to take them on. This led to Yano and Togi Makabe finally finding peace after Makabe saved Yano from an attack. Yano's2018 World Tag League was again featuring the team of him and Ishii, where they got 9 out of 13 wins and barely missed the finals.
On January 4, 2019, Yano, Makabe andRyusuke Taguchi won a five-teamgauntlet match at theWrestle Kingdom 13 in Tokyo Dome pre-show to become the number 1 contender for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions. On January 30, 2019, Makabe, Taguchi and Yano defeated Bullet Club to win theNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship.[138] The Most Violent Players reunited in a losing effort against G.O.D atThe New Beginning in Osaka (2019), but are still working together as part of the ongoing Chaos/Main Unit alliance. Yano was part of former stablemateTakashi Iizuka's retirement match on February 21, 2019, where he, Okada &Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Iizuka,Minoru Suzuki &Taichi. Yano's2019 New Japan Cup campaign started in similar fashion to last year's, where he embarrassed Davey Boy Smith Jr. in a 5-minute 30 second defeat. He lost in the second round as well, this time to fellow tricksterColt Cabana, who he had teamed with atNJPW/ROH Honor Rising: Japan 2019. Yano's second defense of the 6-man championships came against Bullet Club, this time with the Guerrillas of Destiny's little brother,Hikuleo in place of Fale, in which they retained the championships. Yano and Makabe would earn another match with G.O.D., this time for the IWGP Tag Team Championships atWrestling Hinokuni, albeit in another losing effort.[139] Yano then entered theG1 Climax 29 tournament. He finished with 8 points failing to advance to the finals, although by defeatingJon Moxley, he became the first person in NJPW to defeat Moxley in a singles match.[140][141] Yano teamed once again with Colt Cabana for theWorld Tag League, finishing with 18 points, failing to advance to the finals.[142] Yano, Taguchi and Makabe lost the 6-man championships at on Night 2 ofWrestle Kingdom 14 toLos Ingobernables de Japon in a gauntlet match.[143]
In May 2022, Yano entered theNew Japan Cup, he defeatedJado to advance to the second round, but was defeated byHiromu Takahashi in the second round.[144] In August, NJPW held atournament to crown new NEVER Openweight 6-man tag-team champions, afterEvil betrayed Los Ingobernables de Japon and the titles were vacated. In the tournament, Yano teamed with Chaos stablemates, Kazuchika Okada andSho. They defeated Bullet Club and Los Ingobernables de Japon to advance to the finals. In the finals, Yano, Sho and Okada lost to fellow Chaos stablemates, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and Yoshi-Hashi.[145]
On July 25, Kazuchika Okada teased a "controversial announcement".[146] Three days later, during a press conference, NJPW chairman Naoki Sugabayashi alongside Okada announced the creation of theKOPW Championship; Okada then proceeded to introduce the title and its concept, also announcing KOPW 2021 for the following year.[147][148] The tournament to crown the inaugural champion began on August 26 with four first round matches leading to a four-way final atSummer Struggle in Jingu.[149] Yano was announced to be in the tournament, where he defeatedBushi in the first round. In the final atSummer Struggle in Jingu, Yano shockingly pinned Okada, in a four-way match also involvingSanada andEl Desperado, to become the first provisional 2020 champion.[150][151]
In September, Yano competed in theG1 Climax 30 tournament as a part of the B Block, he finished the tournament with 6 points.[152] Yano teamed with Tomohiro Ishii, for theWorld Tag League, finishing with 10 points, failing to advance to the finals.[153] On the Road to Tokyo Dome, Yano defeated Bad Luck Fale, to become the official 2020 KOPW Champion.[154] On Night 1 ofWrestle Kingdom 15, Yano survived until the final four in theNew Japan Rambo match.[155] On Night 2, Yano won a four-way match to become the provisional champion, by defeating Bushi, Fale andChase Owens.[156] In March 2021, Yano once again entered theNew Japan Cup, defeating Bad Luck Fale andGreat-O-Khan to advance to the quarter-finals, where he was eliminated by Evil.[157] Yano retained the provisional KOPW Championship against Evil in a Creation Of Darkness Blindfold match. AtWrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Chase Owens won aNew Japan Rambo with handcuffs match by last eliminating Yano, becoming the new provisional KOPW Champion.[158] AtWrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome, Yano regained the provisional KOPW Championship, defeating Owens in aNo disqualification"I quit" match.[159] Soon after, Yano entered theG1 Climax 31 tournament, as a part of the A Block. He finished with a total of 10 points, failing to advance to the finals.[160] For theWorld Tag League, Yano teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi, where they scored 14 points, failing to advance to the finals.[161] On December 24, Yano defeatedYoshinobu Kanemaru in aEnd of Year Party Rules match to become the 2021 KOPW Champion. On Night 1 ofWrestle Kingdom 16, Yano finished in the final four in the New Japan Rambo match, along with Chase Owens, Minoru Suzuki andCima.[162] On Night 2, the four-way match was won by Suzuki, who became the provisional KOPW Champion.[163] On Night 3, Yano teamed withPro Wrestling NOAH'sKazushi Sakuraba andTakashi Sugiura to defeatSuzuki-Gun.[164]
Yano regained the provisional KOPW Championship, defeating Suzuki in aDog Cage match.[165] In March, Yano entered the New Japan Cup but was defeated in the first round byTaichi, beginning a feud between the two.[166] AtHyper Battle, Taichi won the provisional KOPW Championship, defeating Yano in aNo-rope ring-out match.[167] In July, Yano competed in the A Block of theG1 Climax 32 tournament.[168] Yano finished his G1 campaign with just 2 points, finishing bottom of his block thus failing to advance to te semi-finals, winning just one match againstJonah.[169]
In October, Yano competed in a tournament to crown the inauguralNJPW World Television Champion, defeatingGreat-O-Khan in the first round, following an interference fromThe Great Muta.[170] In the following round, Yano was defeated byRen Narita.[171] In November, Yano once again teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi in theWorld Tag League.[172] The duo finished with 8 points, failing to advance to the tournament finals.[173] On January 4, 2023 atWrestle Kingdom 17, Yano participated in theNew Japan Rambo, lasting till the final 4, therefore advancing to the deciding four-way the following night.[174] The day after atNew Year Dash!!, the four-way match was won byShingo Takagi.[175]
In March, Yano entered theNew Japan Cup, but lost toMark Davis in the first round.[176] Later that year in July, Yano entered the 2023G1 Climax tournament.[177] Yano participated in the D Block, finishing bottom of the block with 4 points.[177]
Yano, along with fellow NJPW wrestlers Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Kazuchika Okada, Satoshi Kojima and Tetsuya Naito, appears as a member of the gang Justis in the 2016 video gameYakuza 6: The Song of Life.[178] He also appears inKanye West's short filmBully.
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hiroshi Tanahashi (hair) | Toru Yano (hair) | Osaka, Japan | Dominion 6.19 | June 19, 2010 | [13] |
| 1 match | 0 wins | 1 loss |
| By submission | 0 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Osami Shibuya | Submission (armbar) | Pancrase: 10th Anniversary Show | August 31, 2003 | 2 | 2:35 | Tokyo, Japan |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |