 Teaming up with Michinoku Ranger Silver, Sugi got important victories over Jinsei Shinzaki and Shinjitsu Nohashi and Los Salseros Japoneses, but they did not win the league.They kept their gimmicks until December, when Sugi adopted the gimmick of ', a masked monk inspired on the historical Minamoto no Yoshitsune.Shanao would come to the ring carrying a katana and saying prayers, and drew popularity among the audience for his high-risk, aerial style of wrestling.