Manabu Soya
| Manabu Soya | |
|---|---|
 Soya in April 2011. | |
| Born | December 23, 1984[1] Kamiina District, Nagano[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Manabu Soya |
| Billed height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] |
| Billed weight | 99 kg (218 lb)[1][2] |
| Trained by | Seiji Sakaguchi Scott D'Amore Osamu Nishimura |
| Debut | April 11, 2007[1] |
Manabu Soya (born December 23, 1984) is a Japanese professional wrestler, signed to All Japan Pro Wrestling. He previously lived in Canada training at the Can-Am Wrestling School under Scott D'Amore, working regularly for the Maximum Pro Wrestling promotion.
Professional wrestling career
2007
Soya debuted in MUGA as Osamu Nishimura's pupil, losing to Katsushi Takemura on April 11. Over the next few days however Soya reached a five minute draw with Yutaka Yoshie, Katsushi Takemura, and Nobuyuki Kurashima to show that he was more than just your average rookie. On July 1 Soya got a match against Tatsumi Fujinami himself, but Fujinami would have little trouble putting him away. In October Soya and Nishimura would leave MUGA for All Japan Pro Wrestling, and Soya would join the other All Japan dojo mates (such as T28 and Seiya Sanada) to help form a very strong group of young wrestlers.
2008
Soya teamed with Sanada for much of the year in the mid-card, as they gained valuable experience wrestling against the Voodoo Murders. He did not take part in any of the tournaments, but he showed that perhaps he is the head of his class when he defeated Sanada convincingly at the November Sumo Hall event. In the Real World Tag League he teamed with Sanada, but the pair would come in last place.
2009
After starting the year continuing with his mentor Nishimura, things didn't stay that way as Soya switched over to team with Nishimura's old nemesis Riki Choshu. Starting the year Nishimura and Soya wrestled together in the mid-card, but unlike Sanada he did not take part in the Champion Carnival. After teaming with Nishimura at Sumo Hall and losing to Choshu and Koshinaka, soon thereafter Soya decided he had enough of MUGA and switched to Choshu-ism. After teaming off and on during the fall (whenever Choshu was in All Japan), the pair teamed in the Real World Tag League, and they did very well as they came in 4th place including a big win over All Asia Tag Team Champions Akebono and Ryota Hama. Near the end of the year, Soya left Japan to train under Scott D'Amore at the Can-Am Wrestling School. He also began appearing on Ontario independent shows.
2010
In Canada for the beginning of 2010, Soya has become a regular of the independent circuit in Ontario, most notably Maximum Pro Wrestling. After returning to Japan, Soya teamed up with Seiya Sanada and on August 29, 2010, they defeated the Voodoo Murders (Big Daddy Voodoo and TARU) to win the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship for the first time. They would lose the title to Daisuke Sekimoto and Yuji Okabayashi on March 21, 2011.
2012
In late 2011 to early 2012 Manabu Soya and All Japan veteran Takao Ōmori formed the team "GET WILD". On March 20, 2012, Soya and Takao Ōmori defeated Dark Cuervo and Dark Ozz to win the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship.
Personal life
Soya's younger brother Takumi is a former professional wrestler, having worked for All Japan from January 2011 to May 2012.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Death Valley driver
- Wild Bomber (Crooked arm lariat)
- Signature moves
Championships and accomplishments
- All Japan Pro Wrestling
- AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Seiya Sanada
- AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) - with Takao Ōmori
- F–1 Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – with RG1
- January 2 New Year's Heavyweight Battle Royal (2012)
1Championship not officially recognized by All Japan Pro Wrestling.
References
- ^ a b c d e "全日本プロレス 選手名鑑" (in Japanese). All Japan Pro Wrestling official website. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
- ^ a b {{cite web|url=http://representingpuroresu.wordpress.com/all-japan-pro-wrestling/manabu-soya/%7Ctitle=Manabu Soya – Puroresu Representin'|publisher=wordpress.com|accessdate=April 25, 2010}}