 The same month, Sugi joined Kohei Sato and challenged Masato Tanaka and Yuji Hino for the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship, but they were defeated.He followed with a significantly successful tenure in the "Fire Festival 2018", scoring wins over Hino, Shinjiro Otani and Hiroshi Yamato, though victory escaped his grasp again.In November, Sugi would prove better in the short "Tenka-Ichi Junior Tournament 2018" for the vacated International Junior Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship, winning the tournament and the titles after beating Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Asuka and Hayata.