Gedo
—  Region  —
Location in Somalia.
Coordinates: 2°26′17″N 41°29′3″E / 2.43806°N 41.48417°E / 2.43806; 41.48417Coordinates: 2°26′17″N 41°29′3″E / 2.43806°N 41.48417°E / 2.43806; 41.48417
Country	Somalia
Capital	Garbahaarreey
Time zone	EAT (UTC+3)

Gedo (Somali: Geedo) is an administrative region (gobolka), formerly part of the historic Upper Juba Region in southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. Gedo is a region created in 1980s and is bordered by the Ogaden in Ethiopia, the North Eastern Province in Kenya, and the Somali regions of Bakool, Bay, Jubbada Dhexe (Middle Juba), and Jubbada Hoose (Lower Juba) further down east. The southern parts of Gedo, west of the Jubba River, used to be part of the old British Transjuba region during half of the seventy years of colonial era in Africa from 1890 to 1960. The British and Italians fought over twice in this area of Horn of Africa. Gedo region's population exploded in the last twenty years reaching almost one million in the early 1990s after the civil war erupted in Mogadishu.

Most of the newcomers to the region, suddenly left and resettled different parts of world. This immigration made Buuloxaawo the second largest district in Gedo. Luuq used to be the second largest city and district after Bardera. At one time Buuloxaawo District was the largest city and district in the region.

History[link]

1990s[link]

The population in Beled Haawo swelled to 200,000. This was in the early 1990s, when a large number of Mogadishu's residents settled Beled Haawo town, because of its cosmopolitan and proximity to the Kenyan border.

Early 1990s came the rise of al-Itihaad al-Islamiya (AIAI) led by Sheikh Mohamed Haji Yussuf a well known Gedo native. Soon after. Al Itihad group spread through the region Ethiopian Government accused AIAI for supporting the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and other insurgents inside Ethiopia.

Al Itihad, an armed militia group, started acting as the government of three districts in Gedo: Luuq, Beled Hawo and Dolow. They took over government services such as district courts, schools, police posts and other administrative offices.

Ethiopian intervention[link]

Al Itahad gaining power in Gedo and elsewhere in Somalia led to the Ethiopian invasion of Gedo in 1996. New civil war erupted in the region. The intra-Marehan clan fighting follewed starting in 1997 after the pro-Ethiopian and anti-Ethiopian clans were left fill the power vacuum left by the Al Itahad.

Present[link]

After years of unrest in the region, in 2004, clan elders and intellectuals called for and convened peace conference in the region's capital Garbahaarreey. One of the agreements of the conference was to hold free and fair elections within three years.

Today the Gedo region is one of the most peaceful places in Somalia and all its district representatives, mayors, and the region's governor are elected by the people.

Districts[link]

Gedo region consists of six districts,^[1] though the Buurdhuubo District is also sometimes included (see map):

• Baardheere District
• Balet Hawo District
• Ceelwaaq District
• Doolow District
• Garbahaarreey District
• Luuq District

The regional capital is Garbahaarreey. Major rivers in the Gedo region include the Dawa and the Juba. The Dawa River runs on the border between Ethiopia and the Gedo region.

Doolow town is located along the Dawa. The Juba River starts from Doolow, just north of the Luuq District, then flows to Buurdhuubo, Bardera, then Bu'aale and Jilib of the Middle Juba region, until the river empties into the Indian Ocean at Goobweyn. There is a clear and seemingly permanent separation between the two colours where the red river outflow meets the blue ocean waters.

Education[link]

The city of Garbahaarreey, the Gedo Region Capital, and the regions two ancient cities of Luuq and Bardera had education systems up to secondary level. There were some technical schools in Bardera and Garbaharreey, albeit without curriculum. All of Gedo region's high school graduates attended the Somali National University or affiliated institutions in Mogadishu.

Since the civil war in Somalia, Gedo became one of half dozen regions which have re-started higher education institutions in the country. Bardera Polytechnic, Gedo's first college and University of Gedo, are both located in Bardera.

Demographics[link]

According to a 1994 United Nations reports, the estimated population of Gedo was 590,000.^[2] According to the nomadic culture of the people and their movement these numbers can decrease or increase over time. Large cities such as Bardera, Beled Hawo, and Luuq have sizable populations; most of the urban dwellers live in these cities plus the capital region area in the town of Garbahaarreey.

Economy[link]

The most populous towns in Gedo are Bardera and Beled Haawo (Balad Xaawo or Buulo Xaawo). Beled Haawo is Gedo's commercial gateway as well as that of neighboring regions, while Bardera is Gedo's breadbasket. Agricultural products from Bardera's fertile lands, which include maize, potatoes, sorghum, tobacco, onions, sesame, fruits such as papayas, mangoes, watermelons and bananas, are shipped to many different parts of the country.

Commerce in the Gedo region is mostly dependent on two sectors: agriculture and livestock. A growing third sector is the services sector, mainly financial and telecommunications industries. Those who live on the fringes of district seats or outside of large cities such as Garbahaarreey, Bardera, Luuq and Beled Haawo, generally keep either a farm on the river banks or herds of sheep, camel or cattle. There are significant farmers around towns and cities alongside the Jubba River and this has made close to half of the region's population, city dwellers since the breakout of the civil war in 1991.

The economy mostly depends on livestock and farming but the Gedo region has strong interregional and international cross-border trade with Kenya and some extent with Ethiopia. Trade between Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia allowed the Gedo region to be econonomically stable for the years before the UN intervention and afterwards. 1998 Nordic Fact Finding Mission prepared a report in Gedo region and found some encouraging economic figures. Davidson College assistant professor, Keneth Menkhaus asserted that, "Traders in Gedo region made more profit than, for instance, those in Hargeisa, in north-western Somalia."^[3] Trade going through the border between the three countries were ongoing despite the raging civil war in Somalia for much of the 1990.

The town of Beled Hawo is the commercial gateway to Mogadishu and parts of Kenya. Large manufactured goods cross both sides of the border everyday going to and coming from the rest of Somalia. Buuloxaawo is part of Beled Hawo, Luuq, and Doolow Tri-District commerce activity region. Both Luuq and Doolow have sizable agriculture output.

The Gedo region is famous for its agricultural production in the south. The farming land is mostly concentrated in four towns and these are Doolow, Luuq, Buurdhuubo and Bardera. During the peace years, produce from Bardera farms used to reach as far north to Djibouti on the Gulf of Aden.

Government[link]

Besides the governor, the Gedo region has a 32 member assembly body. The members are directly elected from the 7 districts of the region with proportionality according to district population. The Gedo assembly or (Gollaha Gobalka Gedo) works around recently crafted regional constitution. The governor appoints all regional level posts including:

• First and second Assistant Governor
• Director of Security Services
• Director of Education Services
• Director of Agricultural Agency
• Gedo Regional Army Commander
• Gedo Regional Police Commander
• Director of Economic Affairs
• Livestock and Forestry Dept. Director
• Director of Justice and Religious Affairs
• Inter-Regional Affairs Director

After long conflicts in the region, the regional elders started peace conference with initiatives from then governor, Aden Ibrahim Aw Hirsi. This Gedo Region peace efforts ended in success. and were followed by the elections of the regional assembly. The process was financed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Geography and habitat[link]

Dhadhaable Water Hole- near CeelCadde

The Gedo region has one of the most varied scenery in Somalia. Parts of the Gedo region, such as the Daawo region, have rocky mountains, while red sand is found in all areas and white sand dunes across the Jubba Valley. There are flat lands in northwestern Bardera District at Gelgel Prairre. In the middle of the region, one finds ancient scarred land with gorges in all directions and rocky mountains. These gorges are filled with southeasterly direction downstream rain waters. On the lower southern portion of the Gedo region is red sandy flat land, running from the Bardera District on the Juba Valley, all the way west to El Wak town on the border with Kenya's North Eastern Province, a district mainly populated by Somalis through the ages.

Faafaxdhuun Pond - Warta Faafaxdhuun 85 km (53 mi) west of Baardheera

There are plenty of the four most popular Somali livestock roaming the land. These are camels, cattle, goats, and sheep. In the Somali language, camel, cattle, goats, and sheep are called geel, lo', ari cad and iddo, respectively. A mixture of goats and sheep are normally herded together. This mixture of livestock is called ari in Somali and means a mixture of goats and sheep, which in most cases, is in the hundreds per family. Similarly, the Gedo region is famous for its horse breeding. Large numbers of horses can be found on the Beled Haawo flat lands and Dirharra area near the town of Damase in the Elwak District.

Jerdaani Gorge-Faraqa Jerdaani 26 km (16 mi) West of Bardera

About 40 km (25 mi) from the region's capital, Garbahaarreey, towards Beled Haawo, are the Humbaale Mountain which has the highest peak in all the mountains and hills in Gedo region. To have a feel of how high this mountain is, coming from Bardera and going to Garbahaareey, at the top of Waamo Yarey Hill, from here, you can see Humbaale Mountain peak. At this stage you will be around 140 km (87 mi) away from the mountain, and you will be around 100 km (62 mi) from Garbahaarreey. There is a distance of 130 km (81 mi) between Garbahaarreey and Baardheera. Humbaale Mountain is located 40 km (25 mi) northwest of Garbahaarreey and it will be 20 km (12 mi) off-road on the road to Beled Haawo.

The mountain areas of Gedo region have sizable safari animals from elephants to cheetahs. It is not rare to hear lions roar during the night hours. Lions, ostriches, oryx, giraffes, warthogs and hyenas are plenty around the grassy lands of the western part of the Bardera District, between the towns of Gerileey and Fafahdun. This is in Gelgel Prairies (Banka Gelgel) in Somalia or simply Gelgel (Gelgesha).

The Jubba River from Doolow to Baardheere has large river animals such as crocodiles and hippopotamus, who bask in the sun on the sandy island spots during the drying up of the river.

Cities and towns[link]

Bardera and Beled Haawo cities are the two principal cities of the Gedo region. In the recent past, Luuq or Lugh used to be the main political city of Gedo Region but the Somali Civil War made many of the city's residents to flee to other towns.

Bardera, the largest city and the seat of the most populous district in Gedo, has become urbanized to the extent that its population multiplied 400% since the breakdown of law and order in the capital of the country, Mogadishu. Aside from the urban population in proper Bardera, the rest of the region's population are pastoralists with the exception of people living in the cities where the region's seven district seats are located. The town is home to Bardera Polytechnic as well as the University of Gedo which also has a campus at Beled Haawo.

Notes[link]

References[link]

• October 1998 Nordic Fact-Finding Mission to the Gedo Region of Somalia

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Shinsuke Nakamura is not to be confused with Shunsuke Nakamura, the Japanese footballer.

Shinsuke Nakamura
Shinsuke Nakamura in November 2011 at a New Japan Pro Wrestling show.
Ring name(s)	Shinsuke Nakamura Nakamura[1]
Billed height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2][3]
Billed weight	104 kg (230 lb)[2]
Born	(1980-02-24) February 24, 1980 (age 32)[2] Mineyama, Kyoto, Japan[2][4]
Trained by	Inoki Dojo[5] NJPW Dojo[5] Osamu Kido[5]
Debut	August 29, 2002[2][3]

Shinsuke Nakamura (中邑 真輔, Nakamura Shinsuke^?, born February 24, 1980)^[2][3] is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist currently working for New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is a former three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion.

Career[link]

New Japan Pro Wrestling[link]

Super Rookie (2002–2005)[link]

Nakamura joined NJPW in March 2002 and quickly began making a name for himself as a bright prospect for the company.^[3] Having earned the nickname "Super Rookie", Nakamura impressed both NJPW officials and fans with an excellent combination of strength, speed, and technical skill.^[3] Nakamura also began training vale tudo and on December 31, 2002, he made his mixed martial arts debut in a match, where he was defeated by Daniel Gracie via submission to an armlock.^[3] Nakamura's second MMA match took place on May 2, 2003, when he defeated Jan Nortje with a guillotine choke.^[3] He followed that up on September 13 with another submission victory over Shane Eitner in his third MMA match.^[6] On December 9, 2003, Nakamura defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, thus becoming the youngest wrestler in history to win the title.^[3] On January 4, 2004, at Wrestling World 2004 Nakamura successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against the NWF Heavyweight Champion Yoshihiro Takayama in a title unification match.^[3] However, just a month later Nakamura was forced to vacate the title due to an injury.^[3] After returning from his injury Nakamura competed in his to date last MMA match, defeating Alexey Ignashov with a forearm choke on May 22, 2004.^[6] On December 11, 2004, Nakamura and his tag team partner Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kensuke Sasaki and Minoru Suzuki in a decision match to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship.^[3] On January 4, 2005, at Toukon Festival ~ Wrestling World 2005 Nakamura defeated his own tag team partner, Tanahashi, to win the IWGP U-30 Championship.^[3] During Nakamura's and Tanahashi tag team title reign, the two left for an excursion to Mexico, where they feuded with Los Guerreros del Infierno and defended their titles against Rey Bucanero and Olímpico.^[3] A few weeks later, on October 30, 2005, they lost the titles to Cho-Ten (Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan).^[3]

Excursion and return (2006–2009)[link]

Nakamura challenged Brock Lesnar for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on January 4, 2006, at Toukon Shidou Chapter 1, but lost.^[3] In March 2006, Nakamura announced that he would depart on a learning excursion in order to further improve his wrestling skills.^[3] Among other things, he would travel to Mexico, Brazil and Russia, as well as train with Brock Lesnar at his personal gym in order to gain muscle mass. NJPW President Simon Inoki later suggested that as part of his learning excursion, Nakamura would be loaned to World Wrestling Entertainment to gain experience in working large American shows; this was reportedly at the request of John Laurinaitis and Dean Malenko.^[7] However, it proved to be mostly speculation and never came to pass, as Nakamura was urgently needed back in New Japan due to Lesnar's departure.

On September 24, 2006, Nakamura made his long awaited return to New Japan, joining Masahiro Chono's BLACK stable, which had the goal of reforming New Japan with Chono as the president and Nakamura as the "Ace".^[3][8] Nakamura had greatly improved his muscular mass during his overseas training and also debuted a new finisher, called the Landslide.^[3] On December 10, 2006, Nakamura was unable to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship from then-champion Tanahashi and was again unsuccessful on January 4, 2007 at the Wrestle Kingdom in Tokyo Dome show, which he lost to Toshiaki Kawada.^[3] Nakamura entered the 2007 G1 Climax tournament, where he reached the semifinals, before dislocating his shoulder.^[3] The injury sidelined Nakamura for months, but on November 11 he made his return and took over the leadership of BLACK from Chono and reformed the stable under the new name RISE, consisting of himself, Minoru, Milano Collection A.T., Hirooki Goto, Giant Bernard, Travis Tomko, and Prince Devitt.^[3] Low Ki was later added to the stable after Milano was injured, having impressed NJPW officials during an appearance when he was still with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. On December 9 Nakamura defeated Togi Makabe to earn an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match at the following month's Tokyo Dome show.^[3]

On January 4, 2008, Nakamura defeated his rival Tanahashi in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom II in Tokyo Dome, winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the second time.^[3] He followed that up with defeating Kurt Angle on February 17, 2008 to win the IGF version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and unify it with his own NJPW version of the title.^[3] He lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to All Japan Pro Wrestling representative Keiji Mutoh in Osaka on April 27, 2008.^[3]

September 5, 2008 Nakamura and stablemate Hirooki Goto challenged Togi Makabe and Toru Yano for the IWGP Tag Team titles but failed, and afterwards Giant Bernard and Rick Fuller attacked Nakamura and Goto and joined Makabe's GBH (Great Bash Heel) group along with the returning Low Ki.^[3] He also failed to win back the IWGP Title from Keiji Mutoh on October 13.^[3] On February 15, 2009, Nakamura faced Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but once again failed to regain the title.^[9]

Strong Style Resurrection (2009–present)[link]

In April 2009, Nakamura turned heel, siding with the former members of GBH (especially Toru Yano) in a feud against Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma. This new group was soon named CHAOS with Nakamura as their leader.^[3] Nakamura began to work a much rougher style, using a lot of knees and continuing to use a straight right hand as a frequent move in addition to the Boma Ye, his new finisher. It was the Boma Ye that took him to the finals of the 2009 G1 Climax, where he fell to Togi Makabe.^[3] Prior to the final Nakamura had gone undefeated, winning each match with the Boma Ye. The move was also credited for fracturing IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi's orbital bone in the semi-finals of the G1, which forced Tanahashi to vacate the title later that month.^[3]

On September 27, 2009, Nakamura avenged his G1 loss and defeated Makabe in a decision match to win the IWGP Heavyweight title for a third time.^[3] Upon winning the title, Nakamura drew the ire of the likes of Antonio Inoki by announcing his plan of wanting to restore the "Strong Style" of New Japan by capturing the original IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt from Inoki to replace the fourth generation title belt Nakamura himself has.^[10] On October 12, he successfully defended the title against Shinjiro Otani.^[11] On November 8 at Destruction '09 Nakamura successfully defended his title against previous champion Hiroshi Tanahashi.^[12] On December 5, he retained the title by defeating Yuji Nagata.^[13] On January 4, 2010, at Wrestle Kingdom IV in Tokyo Dome, Nakamura successfully defended his IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Yoshihiro Takayama in a rematch of their 2004 Tokyo Dome title unification bout.^[14] After defeating Takayama he was challenged by Manabu Nakanishi, whom he would pin on February 14 at New Japan's ISM show in Sumo Hall, making his fifth defense.^[15] On April 4 Nakamura made his sixth successful title defense against the 2010 New Japan Cup winner and former team mate Hirooki Goto and afterwards accepted Togi Makabe's challenge for the title.^[16] On May 3, 2010, at Wrestling Dontaku 2010 Nakamura lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Makabe.^[17] Following the loss, Nakamura was sidelined with a shoulder injury, until he returned on June 19, defeating Daniel Puder. Simon Inoki and Atsushi Sawada of IGF appeared at the show and seemed to eye up Nakamura after the match.^[18][19] On July 19 Nakamura received a rematch for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but was once again defeated by Togi Makabe.^[20] The following month Nakamura entered the 2010 G1 Climax, where he won four out of his seven round robin stage matches, including one over eventual winner Satoshi Kojima, and was leading his block heading to the final day, where he wrestled Pro Wrestling Noah's Go Shiozaki to a 30 minute time limit draw and thus missed the finals of the tournament by a single point.^[21][22] The draw with Shiozaki led to a No Time Limit match at a Pro Wrestling Noah show on August 22, where Shiozaki was victorious.^[23] Despite losing to Hirooki Goto in a number one contender's match on October 11, Nakamura was hand–picked by the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Satoshi Kojima, as his first challenger.^[24] The title match took place on December 11 and ended with Kojima retaining his title.^[25] On January 4, 2011, Nakamura avenged his loss to Go Shiozaki by defeating him in a singles match at Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome.^[26][27] On May 3, Nakamura failed in his attempt to regain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship from Hiroshi Tanahashi.^[28] On August 1, Nakamura entered the 2011 G1 Climax and, after winning seven out of his nine round robin stage matches, finished first in his block to advance to the finals of the tournament. On August 14, Nakamura defeated Tetsuya Naitō to win the 2011 G1 Climax and earn another shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.^[29] Nakamura went on to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on September 19, but failed to recapture the title from Hiroshi Tanahashi.^[30] In the 2011 G1 Climax Tag League, Nakamura teamed with Toru Yano as the "CHAOS Top Team", winning all five of their group stage matches, advancing to the semifinals of the tournament with a clean sheet.^[31] On November 6, Nakamura and Yano were eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by the team of Minoru Suzuki and Lance Archer.^[32] On January 4, 2012, at Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome, the CHAOS Top Team was defeated by Pro Wrestling Noah representatives, Go Shiozaki and Naomichi Marufuji.^[33]

Personal life[link]

Nakamura married a woman named Harumi Maekawa on September 1, 2007.^[34]

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Boma Ye (High knee to a seated opponent's face or back of the head)^[3][5] – 2009–present
  • Crucifix armbar^[3][5]
  • Landslide (Samoan driver, sometimes from the second rope)^[3][5] – 2006–2009
  • Shining Triangle (Running triangle choke while using their knee for leverage)^[3][5]

• Signature moves
  • Bridging / Release German suplex^[3]
  • Death Valley driver^[3]
  • Double underhook piledriver^[3][5]
  • El Niño (Springboard moonsault)^[3][5]
  • Front sleeper hold^[4]
  • Inverted front powerslam^[3][5]

• Nicknames
  • "Child of God"^[5]
  • "The Black Savior"^[5]
  • "Supernova"^[5]

• Entrance themes
  • "Subconscious"^[2]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Inoki Genome Federation

• IWGP Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^1[3]

• New Japan Pro Wrestling

• IWGP Heavyweight Championship (3 times)^[4]
• IWGP U-30 Championship (1 time)^[3]
• IWGP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Hiroshi Tanahashi^[3]
• NWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^2[3]
• G1 Climax (2011)^[29]
• G1 Climax Tag League (2006) – with Masahiro Chono^[4]
• 10,000,000 Yin Tag Tournament (2004) – with Hiroyoshi Tenzan^[3]
• Teisen Hall Cup Six Man Tag Team Tournament (2003) – with Hiro Saito and Tatsutoshi Goto^[3]
• Yuko Six Man Tag Team Tournament (2004) – with Blue Wolf and Katsuhiko Nakajima^[3]
• Heavyweight Tag MVP Award (2005) with Hiroshi Tanahashi^[35]
• New Wave Award (2003)^[36]
• Tag Team Best Bout (2004) with Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Katsuyori Shibata and Masahiro Chono on October 24^[37]
• Technique Award (2004)^[37]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• PWI ranked him #7 of the best 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010^[38]

• Tokyo Sports Grand Prix

• Rookie of the Year Award (2003)^[39]

¹After winning the IGF's version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, the title was unified with the NJPW sanctioned IWGP Heavyweight Championship, which Nakamura also held at the time.
²After winning the NWF Heavyweight Championship, the title was unified with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, which Nakamura also held at the time.

Mixed martial arts record[link]

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Win	3-1	Ignashov !Alexey Ignashov	Submission (forearm choke)	K-1 MMA ROMANEX	02004-05-22May 22, 2004	2	1:51	Japan !Saitama, Japan
NC	2-1	Ignashov !Alexey Ignashov	No contest	K-1 PREMIUM 2003 Dynamite!!	02003-12-31December 31, 2003	3	1:19	Japan !Nagoya, Japan
Win	2-1	Eitner !Shane Eitner	Submission (keylock)	Jungle Fight 1	02003-09-13September 13, 2003	1	4:29	Brazil !Manaus, Brazil
Win	1-1	Nortje !Jan Nortje	Submission (guillotine choke)	NJPW - Ultimate Crush	02003-05-02May 2, 2003	2	3:12	Japan !Japan
Loss	0-1	Gracie !Daniel Gracie	Submission (armlock)	Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002	02002-12-31December 31, 2002	2	2:14	Japan !Japan

References[link]

External links[link]

• New Japan Pro Wrestling profile
• Shinsuke Nakamura on Twitter
• An in depth look at Nakamura's 2008 IWGP Heavyweight Title reign.
• Professional MMA record for Shinsuke Nakamura from Sherdog

Naomichi Marufuji
Ring name(s)	Naomichi Marufuji
Billed height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Billed weight	90 kg (200 lb)[1]
Born	(1979-09-26) September 26, 1979 (age 32)[1] Kōnosu, Saitama, Japan[1]
Trained by	All Japan Pro Wrestling Dojo[2][unreliable source?] Mitsuharu Misawa[2][unreliable source?]
Debut	August 28, 1998[1]

Naomichi Marufuji (丸藤正道, Marufuji Naomichi^?) (born September 26, 1979)^[3] is a Japanese professional wrestler who competes for Pro Wrestling Noah, with occasional appearances in other professional wrestling promotions like Ring of Honor, All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling, among others. Marufuji is the first of only two Grand Slam Champion in Pro Wrestling Noah history. He is also the only man to win Junior Heavyweight Championships in all three major Japanese promotions. In 2009, he was appointed to the position of Vice President of the promotion.^[2] and has retained the position since, being reappointed in September 2011.^[4]

Professional wrestling career[link]

Debut and Pro Wrestling Noah[link]

Marufuji pursued amateur wrestling and basketball during his high school days before joining All Japan Pro Wrestling.^[3] His debut match came on August 28, 1998 against Yoshinobu Kanemaru.^[1] For the first two years of his career, under Giant Baba and Mitsuharu Misawa's isolationist policy, he was a jobber; one of the few rare interpromotional matches he worked was in Michinoku Pro Wrestling in 1999, a lucha libre six-man tag match, gave him a chance to shine. After the Noah secession, he joined the upstart promotion and became an integral part of its Junior Heavyweight division, impressing many with his high-flying style and charisma. He would go on to form a successful tag team with KENTA, as well as win the 2004 Super J Cup.^[5] On March 5, 2006, Marufuji pinned former AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and former GHC Heavyweight Champion Akira Taue.

On September 9, 2006, Naomichi defeated Jun Akiyama for the GHC Heavyweight Championship at the Budokan Hall, utilizing the Perfect Inside Cradle. In doing so, he became the first wrestler to win all five GHC titles in Noah and became the lightest GHC Heavyweight Champion of all time. A little over a month later, Marufuji's successfully defended the title against his tag team partner Kenta on October 29, 2006. The match received critical acclaim and Tokyo Sports Grand Prix named the match "Best Bout of 2006". On December 10, 2006, Marufuji lost the GHC Heavyweight Championship to Mitsuharu Misawa in his third defense.

On July 5, 2009, Marufuji was appointed to the position of Noah's Vice President alongside Kenta Kobashi by Noah's current President Akira Taue in the wake of Misawa's death.^{[2][unreliable source?]}

New Japan Pro Wrestling[link]

On June 10, 2003, Marufuji made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling, teaming with Kotaro Suzuki to unsuccessfully challenge Jushin Liger and Koji Kanemoto for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.^[6] Marufuji would return to the company on December 9, failing in his attempt to win the IWGP U-30 Championship from Hiroshi Tanahashi.^[7] On May 3, 2004, Marufuji would make his final appearance for NJPW in over five years in a six man tag team match, where he, Heat and Tiger Mask IV were defeated by American Dragon, Koji Kanemoto and Último Dragón.^[8]

On December 22, 2009, Marufuji made his return to New Japan Pro Wrestling, defeating Jushin "Thunder" Liger in the first round of the 2009 Super J Cup.^[9] The following day he defeated Tigers Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi and finally Prince Devitt in the finals, to win the Super J Cup and earn himself a shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.^[10] On January 4, 2010, Marufuji represented Noah in the New Japan vs. Noah match series at Wrestle Kingdom IV in Tokyo Dome, where he defeated Tiger Mask IV to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.^[11] With his victory Marufuji became the first person to hold the three major Junior Heavyweight Titles in Japan (All Japan, Noah and New Japan). On June 19 Marufuji lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to Prince Devitt.^[12]

On January 4, 2012, Marufuji returned to New Japan at Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome, where he and Go Shiozaki defeated CHAOS Top Team (Shinsuke Nakamura and Toru Yano) in a tag team match.^[13]

Foreign excursion[link]

In early and mid-2005, Marufuji toured through Germany and Austria, competing for world Xtreme wrestling and Rings of Europe. Alongside with Minoru Suzuki, they were the first talent-delegation which was sent over that began the Noah/European Talent Trade Partnership.

Ring of Honor[link]

As part of his foreign excursion to the U.S. along with Kenta Kobashi and Kenta, Marufuji challenged Bryan Danielson for the ROH World Championship on December 17, 2005, in Edison, New Jersey. Danielson retained his title, but the crowd gave Marufuji a loud ovation after the match.

Marufuji returned to the United States to wrestle for Ring of Honor on the main event of the "Best in the World" show on March 25, 2006 show in New York City, teaming with Kenta for the first time in the United States against the team of Samoa Joe and Bryan Danielson; the team of Marufuji and Kenta won after Kenta pinned Danielson, but after Marufuji tried and failed to lift Joe.

Marufuji returned to Ring of Honor for a third tour, along with Kenta. Both started off the tour with a win, teaming up to defeat the Briscoe Brothers at Glory By Honor V: Night 1. The following night at Glory By Honor V: Night 2, he successfully defended the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Nigel McGuinness. Marufuji also appeared at Ring of Honor's first pay-per-view, Respect Is Earned, where he defeated Rocky Romero.

Return to AJPW[link]

On September 28, 2008, ten years after his original debut in All Japan Pro Wrestling, Marufuji returned to AJPW and won the World Junior Heavyweight Championship from Ryuji Hijikata. He would go on to successfully defend the title against Shuji Kondo in a match that won the Tokyo Sports Grand Prix Best Bout of 2008 award and Takashi Okita before losing it to Kaz Hayashi.

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Perfect Inside Cradle (Wrist-clutch inside cradle)^[2]
  • Pole Shift (Fisherman suplex piledriver)^[1]
  • Shiranui^[3] – Innovated
  • Shiranui Kai (Moonsault slam)^[5]
  • Tiger Flowsion (Double underhook sitout side powerslam)^[14] – Innovated
  • Triangle choke / Cobra clutch combination^[15] – 2008

• Signature moves
  • Corner-to-corner dropkick^[5]
  • Front missile dropkick^[5]
  • Frog splash^[3]
  • Front flip snapmare driver^[16]
  • Multiple suplex variations
    • Australian Suplex (Non-lifting tiger)^[17]
    • Capture^[15]
    • Cut-throat bridging leg hook belly to back^[15]
  • Shooting star press^[3] – 2000–2004
  • Suicide dive^[3]
  • Superkick^[15]

• Entrance themes
  • Hysteric (NOAH)^[1]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• All Japan Pro Wrestling
  • AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[18]

• New Japan Pro Wrestling
  • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[19]
  • Super J Cup (2004, 2009)^[10]
  • Tag Team Best Bout (2003) with Kotaro Suzuki vs. Jushin Liger and Koji Kanemoto on June 10^[20]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #52 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010^[21]

• Pro Wrestling Noah
  • GHC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[22]
  • GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[23]
  • GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Kenta (1) and Atsushi Aoki (1)^[24]
  • GHC Openweight Hardcore Championship (1 time)^[25]
  • GHC Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Minoru Suzuki (1) and Takashi Sugiura (1)^[26]
  • Differ Cup (2005)^[27]
  • Global Tag League (2012) – with Mohammed Yone
  • One Night Six Man Tag Team Tournament (2007) – with Go Shiozaki and Ippei Ota^[28]
  • Two Day Tag Team Tournament (2004) – with Takeshi Rikio^[28]

• Tokyo Sports Grand Prix
  • Outstanding Performance Award (2006)
  • Best Bout Award (2006) vs. Kenta (October 29, 2006)
  • Best Bout Award (2008) vs. Shuji Kondo (November 3, 2008)

• World Entertainment Wrestling
  • WEW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tamon Honda^[29]

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Tag Team of the Year (2003, 2004) with Kenta

References[link]