Toru Matsunaga

Toru
Matsunaga in November 2012
Born (1991-02-25) 25 February 1991 (age 33)[1]
Katano, Japan
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)
  • Toru Matsunaga
    Agu Matsunaga
    TORU
    Toru
Billed height180 cm (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Billed weight86 kg (190 lb)
Trained byHub
Debut2010

Toru Matsunaga (松永透, Matsunaga Toru) better known mononymously by his ring name Toru (sometimes stylized in capital letters as TORU) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for his tenures with Osaka Pro Wrestling (OPW) where he is the current Osaka Pro Wrestling Champion, Tenryu Project, Dotonbori Pro Wrestling and various other promotions from the Japanese independent scene.[3]

Professional wrestling career

Japanese indepenent circuit (2010–present)

Matsunaga made his professional wrestling debut in Pro-Wrestling Shi-En in early 2010. During his early years of career, he also worked for various promotions of the Japanese independent scene such as Dove Pro Wrestling, Dotonbori Pro Wrestling, Guts World Pro Wrestling and VKF Pro Wrestling.[1] Matsunaga made sporadic appearances for All Japan Pro Wrestling. On the first night of the AJPW Summer Action Series 2019 from July 17, 2019, he won a number one contendership battle royal for the Gaora TV Championship featuring various notable opponents such as Psycho, Survival Tobita and Tetsuya Izuchi. Ten days later, Matsunaga lost the title match against the retaining Yoshi Tatsu.[4]

Dotonbori Pro Wrestling (2013–2023)

Matsunaga has had a ten-year long tenure with Dotonbori Pro Wrestling. During his time with the promotion, he has won the WDW Championship on one occasion and the WDW Tag Team Championship alongside his "Super Sonic" tag team partner Real Inunakin on one occasion as well. He has also won the 2017 edition of the Dotonbori Saikyou Otoko Tournament.[1]

Tenryu Project (2021–2022)

Matsunaga has had Tenryu Project as his main battlefield between 2021 and 2022. He won the Tenryu Project International Junior Heavyweight Championship at Osaka Crush Night 2022 on February 12 by defeating Kengo.[5] He has won the inaugural edition of the Ryūkon Cup from 2021 by defeating Kohei Sato in the first rounds, Hikaru Sato in the second ones, Kengo in the semifinals and Keita Yano in the finals.[6]

Osaka Pro Wrestling (2022–present)

Matsunaga made his deubt in Osaka Pro Wrestling at Osaka Pro New Osaka Pro Pre-Launch Battle, an event promoted on March 6, 2022, where he teamed up with Yuto Kikuchi in a losing effort against Takoyakida and Ultimate Spider Jr. in tag team competition.[7]

During his tenure with the promotion, Matsunaga won the Osaka Tag Team Championship on one occasion alongside "Rogue Nation" stablemate Goliath at Osaka Pro Excalibur 2023 on May 21 after defeating Takosupa (Takoyakida and Ultimate Spider Jr.).[8] He won the Osaka Pro Wrestling Championship which is the promotion's top achievement on December 29, 2024, by defeating Zeus at Osaka Pro Excalibur.

Matsunaga competed in one of the promotion's signature events, the Tennozan Tournament in which he made hia first appearance at the 2022 edition where he defeated Ryuya Matsufusa in the first rounds, then fell short to Yuto Kikuchi in the second ones.[9] He scored his best result in the 2024 edition of the competition which he has won by defeating Hub in the first rounds, Zeus in the second rounds, Yasutaka Oosera in the semifinals and Shigehiro Irie in the finals.[10]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ a b c Kreikenbohm, Philip. "TORU/Career Data". cagematch.de (in German). Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  2. ^ Saalbach, Axel. "TORU • General Information". wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  3. ^ Internet Wrestling Database (IWD). "TORU Profile & Match Listing". profightdb.com. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  4. ^ Di Trolio, Gerard (27 July 2019). "AJPW Summer Action Series 2019 (July 27) Results & Review". voicesofwrestling.com. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  5. ^ 2022年2月12日 大阪大会（第１部）. tenryuproject2010.com. Tenryu Project. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  6. ^ 天龍プロジェクト『SURVIVE THE REVOLUTION VOL.13』. Tenryu Project (in Japanese). 15 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  7. ^ Dark Angelita (17 March 2022). "Osaka Pro: "New Osaka Pro Pre-Launch Battle" El renacimiento". Superluchas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  8. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (10 December 2023). "Osaka Pro". cagematch.net. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  9. ^ 天王山２０２２　誰が一番強いねん！トーナメント　２回戦 [Tennōzan 2022: Who Is the Strongest! Tournament – Round 2]. Osaka Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). 9 October 2022. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  10. ^ 株式会社上町建物管理Presents 天王山2024 準決勝・優勝決定戦 [Uemachi Tatemono Management Co., Ltd. Presents Tennozan 2024 Semifinals and Final Match]. Weekly Pro-Wrestling Mobile Premium (in Japanese). Baseball Magazine Sha. 23 September 2024. Archived from the original on 24 September 2024.
  11. ^ Wrestling Titles. "Ōsaka Tag Team Title". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  12. ^ Wrestling Titles. "Ōsaka Pro Wrestling Title". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved 30 December 2024.