Japanese cruiser Soya name was taken from the northernmost cape of Hokkaidō, Soya Misaki. After being placed into Japanese service as a 3rd class cruiser, "Soya" was used primarily for training duties. From 14 March 1909 to 7 August 1909, it made a long distance navigational and officer cadet training cruise to Hawaii and North America. It repeated this training cruise every year until 1913. During World War I Russia and Japan became allies and "Soya" (along with several other vessels) was transferred back to Russia at Vladivostok on 5 April 1916, and its original name of "Varyag" restored. Japanese cruiser Soya "Varyag"
Manabu Soya Akebono and Ryota Hama. Near the end of the year, Soya left Japan to train under Scott D'Amore at the Can-Am Wrestling School. He also began appearing on Ontario independent shows. In Canada for the beginning of 2010, Soya has become a regular of the independent circuit in Ontario, most notably Maximum Pro Wrestling. After returning to Japan, Soya teamed up with Seiya Sanada and on August 29, 2010, they defeated the Voodoo Murders (Big Daddy Voodoo and TARU) to win the All Asia Tag Team Championship for the first time. They would lose the title to Daisuke Sekimoto and