| Shuhei Taniguchi | |
|---|---|
| Ring name(s) | Shuhei Taniguchi |
| Billed height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Billed weight | 100 kg (220 lb) |
| Born | October 18, 1976 Kurayoshi City, Tottori Prefecture |
| Debut | December 24, 2005, |
Shuhei Taniguchi is a professional wrestler who currently works for Pro Wrestling Noah.
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Shuhei Taniguchi first started competitive wrestling when he was in high school. Just as NOAH wrestlers Takashi Sugiura and Tamon Honda before him, Shuhei represented the armed forces in amaresu. He greatly excelled in amateur wrestling, becoming highly decorated. Taniguchi made it all the way to the All Japan championships, the biggest stage for the sport, before deciding to turn pro.
Taniguchi joined the Pro Wrestling Noah dojo on May 5, 2005 and spent many months training. He finally debuted along with Atsushi Aoki, Ippei Ota, and Akihiko Ito on December 24, 2005 as part of NOAH's annual Christmas Eve NOAHful Gift in Differ show. Taniguchi's team for his match actually won, making him the first and, to date, only rookie to not lose his debut match in NOAH. On February 26, 2006 in just his fourth match, Shuhei Taniguchi picked up his first direct win, pinning follow rookie Atsushi Aoki with a German suplex hold. Aoki himself had just pinned Ota the day before. It was clear that Taniguchi was seen as the ace of his dojo class, most likely because of his background and heavyweight status. On March 20 NOAH announced an eight-man single-elimination tournament to determine the number contender for Jun Akiyama's GHC Heavyweight Championship. Incredibly, Shuhei was one of the eight wrestlers chosen. Although he lost in the first round to eventual winner Masao Inoue, Taniguchi showed growth in losing. He was last seen on June 4, losing to Jun Akiyama. He had since returned from injury.