  
|
 Title History:
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title (1):
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title (1):
Tournament History: - One Night Tag Team Tournament (1996): Akira Nogami & Michiyoshi Ohara beat Kensuke Sasaki & Shinjiro Otani (15:26) when Nogami used a Dragon suplex hold on Otani.
Signature Moves:
- Dragon screw leg whip
Profile: Immediately after graduating from high school in March, 1984, Akira Nogami was initated into the New Japan dojo around the time of his 16th birthday. He debuted in December of that year against Keiji Muto, making him one of the youngest wrestlers in New Japan history. In April, 1990, he left on an overseas learning excursion to Europe, and would return in August, 1991. Almost instantly after returning, he scored a big win over Jushin Thunder Liger to begin his one and only reign as IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion. After losing the title in November of 1991, he graduated to the heavyweight division, beginning a new phase of his career. He formed a tag team called the J-J-JACKS with Takayuki Iizuka, a high-flying and vibrant tandem. Their team would dissolve in March, 1996, when Nogami became a member of Shiro Koshinaka's Heisei Ishingun, an anti-New Japan movement. He disappeared for close to a year from March, 1998, when he suffered a serious left eye injury. He returned in February, 1999, as a Masahiro Chono and Team 2000 ally, wearing face paint, sporting blond hair, and calling himself AKIRA (a persona he had used occasionally in the past). From 2001 onward, he made the junior division his main battlefield again, engaging in some classic wars upon his return. In 2004, AKIRA declared himself a freelancer after failing to reach a new contract agreement with New Japan, beginning a new phase of his career. However, in August, 2007, AKIRA made a surprise return to New Japan and joined up with old rival Liger in the new Legend army. AKIRA competes only part-time, as he also pursues a successful acting career that consumes much of his time. He appears on numerous events each year, yet never loses a step, always bringing with him exceptional skill, speed, and charisma.
|
