Hayabusa (wrestler)
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was a Japanese
professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
,
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,
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and
professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
promoter, better known under the
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
. He was best known for his time with
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held their ...
(FMW), where he primarily wrestled throughout his career and was the
franchise player In professional sports, a franchise player is an athlete who is both the best player on their team and one that the team can build their " franchise" around for the foreseeable future. Overview In the United States, outstanding players were ref ...
of the company between 1995 and 2001. Ezaki initially competed for FMW as a low-carder between 1991 and 1993 before travelling to Mexico where he developed the "Hayabusa"
character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
and his signature wrestling style during his time with
lucha libre Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...
organizations. He returned to FMW in 1995 and received a significant
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as the face of the company, winning his first Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship later that year. He spent much of 1996 on the sidelines due to injury and lost the majority of his high-profile matches upon his return. He started gaining popularity and championship success in 1997 and won the Double Championship in 1998 and held the title for most of the year. He developed alter egos such as "The Darkside of Hayabusa" in 1996 and the unmasked "H" in 1999. His career ended in late 2001 after a botched
moonsault A moonsault, moonsault press, or back flip splash is a professional wrestling aerial technique. It was innovated by Mando Guerrero. Much of its popularity in both Japanese and American wrestling is attributed to The Great Muta, despite it being u ...
left him paralysed during a match with
Mammoth Sasaki is a Japanese professional wrestler and retired sumo wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently working for Pro Wrestling Freedoms under the ring name , where he is a former King of Freedom Tag Team Champion, becoming the longest reigning champ ...
. He was a five-time
world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
in FMW as he won the Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship
three times ''Three Times'' ( Chinese: 最好的時光; ''Zuìhǎo de shíguāng''; lit. 'Best of Times') is a 2005 Taiwanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. It consists of three separate stories of romance, set in different eras, using the same lead actors ...
, Independent Heavyweight Championship one time and the
WEW Heavyweight Championship The WEW (World Entertainment Wrestling) Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship, most recently contested in Apache Army. It was originally created for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling as the WEW Single Championship. Th ...
one time. He also became a two time Brass Knuckles Tag Team Champion, a two time WEW World Tag Team Champion, a two time World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Champion and a two time WEW 6-Man Tag Team Champion. He also won
All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...
's
All Asia Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). It was created on November 16, 1955, in the Japan Wrestling Association (JWA) when King Kong Czaya and Tiger Joginder Singh defeated JWA fou ...
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. He headlined many pay-per-view events for FMW including the company's premier show Anniversary Show a record six times, consecutively for four years between the
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and
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editions of the event. In his post-retirement years, Ezaki promoted the Wrestling Marvelous Future (WMF) promotion, which spun off from FMW, but the promotion was a failure and ended in 2008.


Professional wrestling career


Early career (1987–1991)

Trained by former
All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...
star and sumo wrestler
Takashi Ishikawa is a former professional wrestler and sumo wrestler from Fujishima, Higashitagawa District, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Sumo wrestling career He played baseball up to junior high school, but at Sakata Minami High School he switched to sumo an ...
, Eiji Ezaki made his professional wrestling debut at an independent show on November 2, 1987, teaming with Masashi Honda against three upper classmen. He and Honda would struggle in the very small indy circuit for four years before joining
Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held their f ...
's dojo, headed by another former AJPW alumnus
Tarzan Goto , better known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled on the independent circuit most of his career. He is best known for his exploding steel cage matches against Atsushi Onita in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling ( ...
.


Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling


Early years (1991–1993)

Ezaki made his FMW debut on May 5, 1991, where he teamed up with Amigo Ultra to defeat El Pandita and Yukihide Ueno in a
tag team match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
. As is customary for rookies to lose matches in professional wrestling, especially
puroresu is the predominant style of professional wrestling that has developed in Japan. The term comes from the Japanese pronunciation of , which is shortened to puroresu. The term became popular among English-speaking fans due to Hisaharu Tanabe's act ...
, Ezaki lost the majority of his matches throughout the year. Ezaki got his first win in FMW against fellow rookie Masashi Honda on June 29. The two competed in many matches including the opening match of FMW's 2nd Anniversary Show on September 23, which Ezaki won. His next major show appearance was at a FMW and
World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ''luchadores'' a ...
co-promoted interpromotional event on May 16, 1992, where Ezaki represented FMW with
Mr. Gannosuke is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) under the ring name . Honda was quickly pushed as "Mr. Gannosuke" due to his resemblance to the actor Ashiya Gannosuke and he beg ...
and Ultra Taro against WWA's Los Mercenarios Americanos (Mercenario I, Mercenario II and Mercenario III) in a
six-man tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...
, which Ezaki lost after being pinned by Spicolli. At September's 3rd Anniversary Show, Ezaki and Gannosuke lost to
Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jeri ...
and Kevin Faule. Ezaki participated in the company's 4th Anniversary Show on May 5, 1993, where he defeated
Koji Nakagawa is a Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) between 1992 and 2002. He is perhaps best known for his “Hitman” character, heavily inspired by Canadian professional wrestler Br ...
in the opening match. In September 1993, Ezaki participated in a tournament for the inaugural
Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship that is being defended in various independent promotions in Japan. The title was originally created in 1993 by Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling. There have been a total of forty-four reigns spread over ...
, where he lost both matches in his block against Koji Nakagawa and Battle Ranger Z. His last match in FMW during this tenure was a win against Masato Tanaka on September 27, before
Atsushi Onita is a Japanese actor, politician, and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and is credited with introducing Japan to the deathmatch style of professional wrestling. He founded ...
sent Ezaki overseas to learn the
lucha libre Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...
style in Mexico.


North American excursion (1993–1995)

Ezaki adopted the Hayabusa
character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
in December 1993 while in Mexico. While there, he learned the
lucha libre Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...
style from wrestling instructor
Rey Misterio, Sr. Miguel Ángel López Díaz (born July 8, 1956) is a Mexican retired professional wrestler and trainer, better known by his ring name, Rey Misterio ("Mystery King"). He is also referred to as Rey Misterio Sr. to distinguish him from his nephew. ...
Ezaki wrestled for the
World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ''luchadores'' a ...
,
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...
(CMLL) during his time in Mexico. He then returned to Japan to participate in the 1994 Super J-Cup tournament for
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...
(NJPW), where he competed as Hayabusa in Japan for the first time to test how the crowd reacted to his character in Japan. He faced
Jushin Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since h ...
in a losing effort in a well received first round match of the tournament. The following month, Hayabusa debuted for CMLL on May 17 by teaming with
Ringo Mendoza Genaro Jacobo Contreras is a retired Mexican professional wrestler, or '' Luchador'' in Spanish, and is a professional wrestling trainer for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Contreras is best known under the ring name Ringo Mendoza, which he ...
and La Sombra to defeat Javier Cruz, Panico and Tornado Negro in a
two out of three falls match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
. He teamed with Super Astro in the number one contender's
tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
for the vacated
World Tag Team Championship The world tag team championship is the name usually given to the primary tag team championship (professional wrestling), championships in professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotions, promotions. Nomenclature The name of the promo ...
, where the duo lost to
El Dandy Roberto Gutiérrez Frías (born October 2, 1962) is a Mexican former professional wrestler and wrestling trainer, best known under the ring name El Dandy. He is the cousin of professional wrestler Juan Conrado Aguilar, known as El Texano, and th ...
and
Negro Casas José Casas Ruiz (born January 10, 1960) is a Mexican professional wrestler (called a '' Luchador'' in Spanish) and trainer working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) under the ring name Negro Casas. He is the son of former wrestler tur ...
in the opening round. During his time in Mexico,
Víctor Quiñones Víctor Quiñones Hernández (June 30, 1959 – April 2, 2006) was a Puerto Rican professional wrestling promoter, manager, and the founder and owner of International Wrestling Association in Japan, as well as the later International Wrestling ...
would offer Ezaki a contract to defect to IWA Japan, but declined, showing loyalty to FMW. He appeared as Hayabusa in FMW for the first time at Summer Spectacular on August 28, 1994, by defeating Sabu. He then returned to CMLL to team with fellow Japanese wrestler
Último Dragón (born December 12, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler and actor, better known as . In addition to having trained in Japan, Asai learned to wrestle in the lucha libre style while working in Mexico. He is credited with popularizing the " A ...
in the 1994 Copa de Oro on October 25 in a loss to eventual winners
Apolo Dantés José Luis Amezcua Muñoz (born September 28, 1968) is a Mexican ''luchador'', or professional wrestler, trainer and promoter, best known by his ring name Apolo Dantés. He is the son of Alfonso Dantés, a successful and respected ''luchador' ...
and El Dandy in the quarter-final. The following month, Hayabusa and Dragon participated in the number two contender's tournament for the World Tag Team Championship, where they defeated
El Felino Jorge Luis Casas Ruiz (born March 22, 1964), better known by his ring name El Felino ("The Feline"), is a Mexican '' luchador'' (or professional wrestler) working for Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Casas starte ...
and Mano Negra in the first round before losing to
El Satánico Daniel López López (born October 26, 1949) is a Mexican '' luchador'' (professional wrestler) and trainer, best known under the ring name El Satánico (Spanish for "The Satanic One"). He was originally an ''enmascarado'' (masked wrestler), but ...
and
Emilio Charles Jr. Sergio Emilio Charles Garduño (October 12, 1956 – December 28, 2012) was a Mexican ''luchador'' (or professional wrestler), who is best known under the ring name Emilio Charles Jr. Over the years, Charles worked for all of the major Mexican p ...
in the quarter-final. He would remain in Mexico until December 1994. Between January 1995 and April 1995, Ezaki wrestled in the United States, mainly in the
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
area. During this time, the
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
(WWF) was interested in Ezaki and offered a tryout, but he declined and remained with FMW.


Initial push and injuries (1995–1996)

Ezaki was scheduled to make his full-time return to FMW as Hayabusa at the company's 6th Anniversary Show against
The Gladiator ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
on May 5, 1995. However, he was chosen by FMW's new owner
Shoichi Arai Shoichi Arai (荒井 昌一 ''Arai Shōichi'') (December 19, 1965 – May 16, 2002) was a Japanese professional wrestling promoter. Arai ran Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling from 1995 until its closure in 2002. Career Arai started with FMW as a ...
to fill the spot as Atsushi Onita's opponent in Onita's retirement match at the event as Onita wanted his final opponent to succeed him as the promotion's
ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
after Onita's originally supposed opponent
Tarzan Goto , better known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled on the independent circuit most of his career. He is best known for his exploding steel cage matches against Atsushi Onita in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling ( ...
left FMW and there was no main event star left to be Onita's opponent. Hayabusa returned to FMW at the 6th Anniversary Show, where he unsuccessfully challenged Onita for the Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship in an exploding cage
barbed wire A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is t ...
deathmatch. During the match, Ezaki managed to kick out of Onita's '' Thunder Fire Powerbomb'' and gave a huge fight. He was rushed to the hospital on a stretcher due to severe burns but became Onita's successor as the ace of FMW. Hayabusa returned to the company on May 17 by teaming with Katsutoshi Niiyama against
Lethal Weapon ''Lethal Weapon'' is a 1987 American buddy cop action comedy film directed and co-produced by Richard Donner, written by Shane Black, and co-produced by Joel Silver. It stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover alongside Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, D ...
members The Gladiator and Horace Boulder in a losing effort to begin his first
rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
in the company with Lethal Weapon. He was the leader of the new generation of FMW wrestlers including Niiyama, Masato Tanaka and
Tetsuhiro Kuroda is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently competing as a freelancer on the Japanese independent circuit. He is best known for his time with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), where he primarily competed from 1993 until the promotion's cl ...
and Koji Nakagawa. He wrestled the group's members in several tag matches for the next one month after Lethal Weapon questioned his ability to become the ace of FMW and vowed to take over the company. He initially struggled to gain a fanbase after Onita's loyal fans refused to accept him but Hayabusa got to impress the Japanese fans by debuting the '' Phoenix Splash'' against Lethal Weapon member
Ricky Fuji Ricky may refer to: Places *Říčky (Brno-Country District), a village and municipality in the Czech Republic *Říčky v Orlických horách, a village in the north of the Czech Republic *Rickmansworth, a town in England sometimes called "Ricky" ...
during a match on May 28. Hayabusa's team lost but the ''Phoenix Splash'' was heavily promoted by the Japanese media, which helped FMW in regaining the fanbase and Ezaki started becoming popular due to his high-flying skills. Just one month after his re-debut, Ezaki was booked to win the promotion's top title, the vacant Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship by defeating Lethal Weapon member
Hisakatsu Oya Kenichi Oya (大矢健一) (born July 2, 1964) is a semi-retired Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Hisakatsu Oya (大矢剛功). Although he started out for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, he is well known for his stint in Fro ...
on June 27 by debuting his new finishing move, '' Falcon Arrow''. However, he immediately vacated the title due to injury but a storyline was created that he vacated it because he wanted to beat Gladiator and all the members of the
W*ING Alliance The W*ING Alliance was a Japanese professional wrestling group that existed in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) between 1994 and 1997. The group consisted of wrestlers from the W*ING promotion, which ended in March 1994 due to FMW hiring the ...
. The title was put up for grabs in the Grand Slam Tournament, an eight-man tournament in the round-robin format and Ezaki was put in the tournament. However, before the tournament started, Ezaki was severely injured by The Gladiator in a match on July 30 but he insisted that he would compete in the tournament. Ezaki started the tournament on August 22 by defeating Masato Tanaka. He won his next match against
W*ING Kanemura ( ko, 김행호 ''Kim Hyeong-ho'') (born August 9, 1970) is a Zainichi-Korean retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . He is also known as W*ING Kanemura or . He is best known for his death matches in Apache Army, Big Jap ...
on August 25 to gain four points. He competed against Hisakatsu Oya to a thirty-minute time limit draw and defeated The Gladiator and Katsutoshi Niiyama to gain nine points in the tournament. He suffered his first loss in the tournament against Super Leather and then defeated Mitsuhiro Matsunaga to qualify for the final. He lost to Gladiator in the final round of the Grand Slam on September 25. Ezaki competed against W*ING and Lethal Weapon members in various tag team matches, street fights and deathmatches throughout the rest of the year and early 1996 before taking time off due to multiple injuries. Despite the injury, Hayabusa returned to FMW on March 30 to rescue Jason the Terrible from an assault by
Mr. Pogo was a Japanese professional wrestler best known for his work under the ring name . He helped popularize hardcore wrestling in the 1990s with "death matches" in promotions such as Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, W*ING and Big Japan Pro Wrestlin ...
and
The Headhunters The Headhunters are an American jazz fusion band formed by Herbie Hancock in 1973. The group fused jazz, funk, and rock music. History (and name) Hancock had grown dissatisfied with his prior band, Mwandishi, and wanted to make a band with a s ...
to set up the
main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...
for the company's 7th Anniversary Show on May 5, where he teamed with Masato Tanaka to take on Pogo and
Terry Funk Terrence Funk (born June 30, 1944) is an American retired professional wrestler, rapper, disc jockey and actor. Funk is known for the longevity of his career – which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements – ...
in a no rope explosive barbed wire time bomb land mine double hell death match and the winner would receive one million
yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the e ...
s. Hayabusa was
pin A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. Pin or PIN may also refer to: Computers and technology * Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system ** PIN pad, a PIN entry device * PIN, a former Dutch ...
ned by Funk after a brutal match. After the one-off return, Ezaki continued to heal his injuries and did not compete in FMW for the next three months. On August 1, he made his return to full-time competition by defeating Koji Nagakawa at the Summer Spectacular event. On September 11, Ezaki debuted an
alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...
called Darkside Hayabusa during a street fight against Hido at a W*ING show, which Ezaki won. On September 20,
Jinsei Shinzaki Kensuke Shinzaki (新崎 健介 ''Shinzaki Kensuke'', born December 2, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive, better known by his ring name, Jinsei Shinzaki (新崎 人生 ''Shinzaki Jinsei''). He is curre ...
of
Michinoku Pro Wrestling (originally known as North Eastern Wrestling) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded by The Great Sasuke on October 1, 1992. It was the first independent wrestling promotion in Japan to not base its operations in Tokyo, but rather ...
challenged Hayabusa to a match, who Hayabusa lost to in the main event of Michinoku Pro Wrestling's ''These Days'' event. This marked the beginning of a future friendship between the two. Following the match,
The Great Sasuke , born July 18, 1969), is a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter and politician, currently wrestling for Michinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW) under the ring name . Aside from professional wrestling, he is also a former Iwate Prefectural Assembly l ...
challenged Hayabusa to a match at FMW's Year End Spectacular on December 11, which Ezaki won.


The Ace of FMW (1997–1998)

In the meanwhile, Terry Funk formed the Funk Masters of Wrestling group, which replaced Lethal Weapon as the new antagonist group and Hayabusa wrestled the group's members throughout the rest of 1996 and much of 1997. Ezaki's former friend Mr. Gannosuke returned to FMW and attacked Hayabusa after Hayabusa and Katsutoshi Niiyama lost to The Headhunters in a tag team match on January 5, 1997. As a result of the attack, Hayabusa began a lengthy and emotional rivalry with Gannosuke that would continue for the rest of his career. During this time, Ricky Fuji sided with FMW after the demise of Lethal Weapon and became an ally of Hayabusa. On March 19, Hayabusa got his first title shot in nearly two years as he and Fuji challenged The Headhunters for the Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship in a losing effort. The following month, Ezaki served as the centerpiece of FMW during a meeting with
All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...
owner
Giant Baba , best known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota ...
to begin a partnership between AJPW and FMW and subsequently made his AJPW debut at the 1997 Champion Carnival by teaming with
Yoshinobu Kanemaru is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he also works as a backstage producer. Kanemaru is best known for his work in Pro Wrestling Noah, where he holds the records for the most reigns with the GHC ...
against
Kentaro Shiga is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer. He returned from a two-year hiatus due to injury in 2005. History All Japan Pro Wrestling (1994−2000) Shiga trained in the All Japan dojo and debuted in All Japan Pro Wr ...
and
Yoshinari Ogawa (born November 2, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently works for Pro Wrestling Noah. He has earned the nickname of "Rat Boy" from the English-speaking Puroresu fanbase due to his sneaky, clever in-ring tactics and baiting his ...
in a losing effort. This paved the way for wrestlers of AJPW and FMW to sporadically appear in both companies and began Hayabusa's occasional appearances in AJPW. Hayabusa defeated Gannosuke in a
hair vs. hair match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
at FMW's 8th Anniversary Show. After the match, Hayabusa said that Gannosuke's hair would not be cut off if he left Funk Masters of Wrestling and side with FMW and Gannosuke apparently shook his hands and then attacked Hayabusa, thus removed his mask and attempted to blow fire on him until Jinsei Shinzaki made the save. As a result, Hayabusa formed a
tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...
with Shinzaki. They teamed with each other for the first time by teaming with Koji Nakagawa against Funk Masters of Wrestling members Hisakatsu Oya, Mr. Gannosuke and The Gladiator in a
six-man tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...
on July 19. On August 5, Hayabusa teamed with Nakagawa and Ricky Fuji in a tournament for the vacant World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. They lost to eventual winners Oya, Gannosuke and Gladiator in the semi-final round. On August 31, the trio of Hayabusa, Nakagawa and Masato Tanaka defeated Oya, Gannosuke and Gladiator to win the World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. On September 28, Hayabusa wrestled two matches on the same day. He first appeared in a tag team match for AJPW at
Korakuen Hall is a famous sports arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted many notable boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and Lethwei matches. History On April 16, 1962, the Korakuen Hall was officially opened with ...
in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
by teaming with
Mitsuharu Misawa was a Japanese amateur and professional wrestler and promoter. He is primarily known for his time in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and also for forming the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion in 2000. In the early 1990s, Misawa gained fame alongside ...
to defeat
Jun Akiyama is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to DDT Pro-Wrestling, where he is a former KO-D Openweight Champion. He is best known for his time working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he was the president, representative director, c ...
and Saturo Asako. He then travelled to
Kawasaki, Kanagawa is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, one of the main cities of Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area. It is the second most populated city in Kanagawa Prefecture after Yokohama, and the List of cities in Japan, eight ...
to compete at FMW's Fall Spectacular at the
Kawasaki Stadium is a stadium in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan. The stadium was opened in 1952 and had a capacity of 30,000 people, but was demolished and rebuilt in 2003 as an American football venue and is now the home of the Fujitsu Frontiers of the X-League. ...
, where he and Shinzaki lost to AJPW's
Kenta Kobashi is a Japanese former professional wrestler. He started his career in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1988, where he became one of the promotion's top stars, holding the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship three times, and winning the Champ ...
and
Maunakea Mossman Mauna Kea ( or ; ; abbreviation for ''Mauna a Wākea''); is a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii. Its peak is above sea level, making it the highest point in the state of Hawaii and second-highest peak of an island on Earth. The peak i ...
in a highly acclaimed tag team match. On October 14, Hayabusa, Nakagawa and Tanaka dropped the six-man tag team title to
ZEN Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
members Atsushi Onita, Hido and Tetsuhiro Kuroda. This marked the beginning of a feud between Hayabusa and Onita as Onita wanted to stay on the top of FMW while Ezaki wanted to remain the ace of the company. Hayabusa and Shinzaki participated in AJPW's 1997 Real World Tag League and kicked off the tournament on November 19 by defeating Giant Kimala and Jun Izumida. They finished the tournament with four points as they would win only one more match against
Johnny Smith Johnny Henry Smith II (June 25, 1922 – June 11, 2013) was an American cool jazz and mainstream jazz guitarist. He wrote "Walk, Don't Run" in 1954. In 1984, Smith was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Early life During the Great D ...
and
Wolf Hawkfield The following is a list of characters from the ''Virtua Fighter'' fighting game series released by Sega. Starting with ''Virtua Fighter'', this series has spanned five games (not including updates) and has been released on arcade systems as well ...
, while losing the rest of their matches. Hayabusa and Masato Tanaka faced Mr. Gannosuke and
Yukihiro Kanemura ( ko, 김행호 ''Kim Hyeong-ho'') (born August 9, 1970) is a Zainichi-Korean retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . He is also known as W*ING Kanemura or . He is best known for his death matches in Apache Army, Big Jap ...
in a losing effort for the vacant Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship on November 28. Hayabusa and Jinsei Shinzaki unsuccessfully challenged Gannosuke and Kanemura for the tag team title on December 19. On December 20, Hayabusa, Hisakatsu Oya and Masato Tanaka won the World Street Fight Six-Man Tag Team Championship by beating Atsushi Onita, Hido and Tetsuhiro Kuroda during the
Super Extreme Wrestling War Super Extreme Wrestling War was a series of professional wrestling events produced by Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in 1997. These events marked the first time that FMW began a partnership with American counterpart Extreme Championship Wres ...
tour. On December 22, Hayabusa, Jinsei Shinzaki and Masato Tanaka defeated ZEN members Atsushi Onita, Mr. Gannosuke and Yukihiro Kanemura in a
WarGames match WarGames is a specialized steel cage match in professional wrestling. The match usually involves two teams of either four, five, or more wrestlers locked inside a steel cage that encompasses two rings placed side by side. The cage may or may not ...
after Hayabusa pinned Onita after a
Moonsault A moonsault, moonsault press, or back flip splash is a professional wrestling aerial technique. It was innovated by Mando Guerrero. Much of its popularity in both Japanese and American wrestling is attributed to The Great Muta, despite it being u ...
from the top of the cage as a payback for his loss to Onita at 6th Anniversary Show in 1995. Hayabusa started getting
over Over may refer to: Places *Over, Cambridgeshire, England *Over, Cheshire, England *Over, South Gloucestershire, England * Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England ** Over Bridge *Over, Seevetal, Germany Music Albums * ''Over'' (album), by Pe ...
with the audience and he was finally being heavily
push Push may refer to: Music * Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push Albums * ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988 * ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992 * ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 2010 Songs * "Push" (Enrique Iglesias s ...
ed. Friction arose within ZEN and Gannosuke formed his own group
Team No Respect Team No Respect was a professional wrestling faction in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), which existed in the company between 1998 and 2000. The ideology of the group was that they disrespected all the wrestlers in FMW as well as the compan ...
. On January 16, 1998, Hayabusa, Masato Tanaka and Hisakatsu Oya lost their six-man tag team title to Team No Respect members Gannosuke, Yukihiro Kanemura and
Jado (born September 28, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . He is best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as part of a tag team with his partner Gedo. Jado and Gedo's careers have largely para ...
. Hayabusa and his allies battled Team No Respect members for the next three months and Hayabusa lost a singles match to TNR member
Kodo Fuyuki (May 11, 1960 – March 19, 2003) was a Japanese professional wrestler and promoter better known by his ring name best known for his time in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), W ...
in the first singles encounter between the two on February 19 to begin a long lasting rivalry with Fuyuki. The following month, Hayabusa won a tournament by defeating Masato Tanaka, Jado and The Gladiator to become the #1 contender for his rival Mr. Gannosuke's FMW Double Championship, the unified Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship and the Independent Heavyweight Championship. On April 17, Hayabusa and Masato Tanaka defeated Hido and Kodo Fuyuki to win the Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship. On April 30, Hayabusa defeated Mr. Gannosuke to win the Double Titles Championship at FMW's first
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
9th Anniversary Show: Entertainment Wrestling Live. Immediately after the title win, Hayabusa appeared at AJPW's twenty-fifth anniversary show Showdown at the Egg, where he teamed with AJPW owner Giant Baba and Kentaro Shiga against Jinsei Shinzaki, Jun Izumida and Giant Kimala. Hayabusa got the win for his team by pinning Izumida. Hayabusa made his first title defense of the Double Championship against his tag team championship partner Masato Tanaka on May 19, where Hayabusa retained the title. The match between the two earned critical acclaim and is highly regarded as the best match of Ezaki's career. On May 27, Hayabusa and Tanaka lost the Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship to Kodo Fuyuki and Yukihiro Kanemura. Shortly after, Tanaka left FMW and Ezaki made
Daisuke Ikeda is a Japanese professional wrestler who is currently wrestling in the Independent circuit in Japan. Since debuting in 1993, Ikeda has worked for a number of promotions in Japan, including Battlarts, All Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Noah ...
his new tag team partner. During this time, Gannosuke was injured and Kodo Fuyuki became the new leader of Team No Respect. Hayabusa and his allies split wins with Team No Respect at the June and July pay-per-views. On August 2, Hayabusa made an appearance for
Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
(ECW) at the
Heat Wave A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
where he and Jinsei Shinzaki unsuccessfully challenged
Rob Van Dam and Sabu Rob Van Dam and Sabu are a professional wrestling tag team who often compete in Extreme Championship Wrestling and WWE's ECW brand. While teaming in the original ECW, the duo was managed by Bill Alfonso. History Extreme Championship Wrestling ...
for the
ECW World Tag Team Championship The ECW World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It was introduced in National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliate and ECW precursor, Eastern Championship Wrestli ...
. Hayabusa returned to FMW to begin a feud with Koji Nakagawa after Nakagawa pinned him to win an
elimination tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...
. As a result, Hayabusa faced him as "Darkside Hayabusa" in a losing effort at the Welcome to the Darkside pay-per-view. On September 1, Hayabusa successfully defended the Double Championship in his third defense against Hisakatsu Oya after the duo wrestled to a thirty-minute time limit draw. He made his next title defense against Jado on September 20, where he retained and then teamed with Ricky Fuji to take on Kodo Fuyuki, Koji Nakagawa and
Gedo Gedo ( so, Gedo, Maay Maay, Maay: ''Gethy'', ar, جيذو, it, Ghedo or ''Ghedu'') is an administrative region (''States and regions of Somalia, gobol'') in Jubaland, southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. It was created in ...
in an immediate
handicap match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
, which he lost and this earned Nakagawa and Fuyuki title shots at the Double Championship. Ezaki successfully defended the title against Nakagawa at the October pay-per-view. On October 26, Hayabusa and Ikeda defeated Kodo Fuyuki and Yukihiro Kanemura to capture the Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship. They made only one title defense against
Hideki Hosaka (August 5, 1971 – August 2, 2021) was a Japanese professional wrestler, who is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling, and Pro Wrestling Zero-One. Career Early career (1991–1993) An amateur wres ...
and Tetsuhiro Kuroda on November 14. On November 20, Hayabusa lost the Double Championship to Fuyuki in his sixth title defense. Hayabusa participated in an Over the Top tournament to earn a title shot at the Double Championship by defeating Gedo in the first round, before losing to Hisakatsu Oya in the quarter-final round at the ECW/FMW Supershow II.


Character change (1999–2000)

In early 1999, Hayabusa and Daisuke Ikeda vacated the Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship after Ikeda suffered an injury. On January 16, 1999, Hayabusa reunited with
Jinsei Shinzaki Kensuke Shinzaki (新崎 健介 ''Shinzaki Kensuke'', born December 2, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive, better known by his ring name, Jinsei Shinzaki (新崎 人生 ''Shinzaki Jinsei''). He is curre ...
at an
AJPW (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...
show to challenge
Tamon Honda (born August 15, 1963) is a Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler who is currently a freelancer. He most recently worked for Pro Wrestling Noah. He is a former tag team champion, winning the All Asia Ta ...
and Jun Izumida for the
All Asia Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). It was created on November 16, 1955, in the Japan Wrestling Association (JWA) when King Kong Czaya and Tiger Joginder Singh defeated JWA fou ...
in a losing effort. Hayabusa and Shinzaki were granted a rematch on February 13, in which they defeated Honda and Izumida to capture the All Asia Tag Team Championship. Hayabusa and Shinzaki made their first and only successful title defense against Masato Tanaka and
Tetsuhiro Kuroda is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently competing as a freelancer on the Japanese independent circuit. He is best known for his time with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), where he primarily competed from 1993 until the promotion's cl ...
on March 19. Hayabusa renewed his rivalry with Mr. Gannosuke and formed an alliance with rival Double Champion Kodo Fuyuki. Hayabusa and Fuyuki entered a
round robin tournament A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition in which each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn.''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (1971, G. & C. Me ...
for the vacant Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship, where they qualified for the finals by topping the tournament with thirteen points by winning all of their matches except fighting Masato Tanaka and Tetsuhiro Kuroda to a thirty-minute time limit draw on March 29. On May 3, Hayabusa and Fuyuki lost to Tanaka and Kuroda in the final round. After the match, Hayabusa poured water on Fuyuki to revive him which angered Fuyuki and the two came to blows and this ended the partnership between the two. On May 5, Hayabusa and Shinzaki took on Tanaka and Kuroda in a tag team match where the winner of the fall would earn a Double Championship match against Kodo Fuyuki in the main event and Kuroda pinned Hayabusa to earn the title shot. Fuyuki took over as the new
commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
of FMW and an alliance was formed between Gannosuke's Outlaws and Team No Respect. On May 31, Hayabusa, Masato Tanaka, Tetsuhiro Kuroda, Hideki Hosaka and Hisakatsu Oya faced Kodo Fuyuki, Mr. Gannosuke, Hido, Koji Nakagawa and Yukihiro Kanemura in a five-on-five elimination tag team match which Hayabusa's FMW team won with a clean sweep as his entire team survived. On June 4, Hayabusa and Shinzaki lost the All Asia Tag Team Championship to
No Fear No Fear is an American lifestyle clothing brand that was created in 1989 by Mark Simo, Brian Simo, Boris Said, and Marty Moates. No Fear Inc. products are sold at various retail stores ancompany owned stores It also offers No Fear energy drin ...
(
Takao Omori is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a one-time Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and seven-time World Tag Team Champion. He is also part of the All Japan Board of Directors. He ...
and
Yoshihiro Takayama is a former Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Debuting for UWF International (UWFI) in the 1990s, Takayama joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1997 after UWF-i folded. In 2000, he joined Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), and ...
). Ezaki had suffered multiple injuries during the past few years of his career which forced him to change his wrestling style from high flying to mat wrestling. This was incorporated into a storyline that Kodo Fuyuki would not allow Ezaki to wear the falcon mask and compete as Hayabusa anymore. This led Ezaki to go through a
character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
change. On June 15, Hayabusa teamed with Masato Tanaka and Tetsuhiro Kuroda to defeat Mr. Gannosuke, Yukihiro Kanemura and Hido in a ladder match which stipulated that Fuyuki had to eat
dog food Dog food is food specifically formulated and intended for consumption by dogs and other related canines. Dogs are considered to be omnivores with a carnivorous bias. They have the sharp, pointed teeth and shorter gastrointestinal tracts of ca ...
if his team lost. FMW held a series of events titled ''Goodbye Hayabusa'' as a farewell to Ezaki's Hayabusa character. During this time, he participated in a tournament with Tanaka and Kuroda for the newly created
WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship The WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship was a championship in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and later in World Entertainment Wrestling. It was active from July 1999 until February 2002 as a substitute for the FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team C ...
. Hayabusa and his team reached the finals of the tournament on July 31, where they lost to Kodo Fuyuki, Gedo and Koji Nakagawa. At Hayabusa Graduation Ceremony, Hayabusa defeated Yukihiro Kanemura to win his third Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship and made his first and only title defense against Mr. Gannosuke on August 25 in his last match as Hayabusa, which he won to retain the title. The title was immediately retired. On August 27, Ezaki debuted his new character H, with a complete makeover of colored hair, a tattooed chest and
jeans Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and paten ...
. Ezaki won his first match as H, an elimination match against Team No Respect. Gannosuke was injured in the match and then he attacked H under the Hayabusa costume and attire on September 3, thus instigating a feud between H and Hayabusa. This led to an anus exploding match between the two on October 29, which ended in a no contest. At the 10th Anniversary Show, H defeated fake Hayabusa in the main event, with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee. H and Gannosuke reconciled after the match by shaking hands with each other to end their rivalry and form a tag team. On December 1, H and Gannosuke defeated Tetsuhiro Kuroda and
Hisakatsu Oya Kenichi Oya (大矢健一) (born July 2, 1964) is a semi-retired Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Hisakatsu Oya (大矢剛功). Although he started out for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, he is well known for his stint in Fro ...
to win the
WEW Tag Team Championship The WEW (World Entertainment Wrestling) World Tag Team Championship is a tag team professional wrestling championship formerly contested in the Japanese promotion Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and World Entertainment Wrestling and currently co ...
. H and Gannosuke lost the title to Kodo Fuyuki and
Kyoko Inoue is a Japanese female professional wrestler. She has held the WWWA World Single Championship three times, and is the first woman to win a men's title in Japan. Inoue performed in the World Wrestling Federation at Survivor Series 1995 in an a ...
on February 25, 2000. H defeated Inoue in singles action on March 27. On April 3, H represented FMW against the new ECW Japan leader Kodo Fuyuki in a losing effort. H began feuding with Masato Tanaka due to Tanaka confronting him on forgiving Mr. Gannosuke. Ezaki and Gannosuke lost to Tanaka and
Balls Mahoney Jonathan Rechner (April 11, 1972 – April 12, 2016), better known by his ring name Balls Mahoney, was an American professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) during the late 199 ...
in a tag team match on April 11, during which Ezaki went backstage as H and then competed as Hayabusa for the first time in several months. Ezaki's H character had failed to garner crowd support and ticket sales were dwindling, which caused Ezaki to slowly transition back to compete as Hayabusa. At
Backdraft A backdraft ( North American English) or backdraught (British English) is the abrupt burning of superheated gasses in a fire, caused when oxygen rapidly enters a hot, oxygen-depleted environment; for example, when a window or door to an enclosed ...
, he competed as Hayabusa in a win over Tanaka. On May 28, H competed against Gannosuke and Tetsuhiro Kuroda in a
three-way dance Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
to determine the #1 contender for the
WEW Heavyweight Championship The WEW (World Entertainment Wrestling) Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship, most recently contested in Apache Army. It was originally created for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling as the WEW Single Championship. Th ...
with the champion Kodo Fuyuki as the special guest referee. H eliminated Kuroda and then Gannosuke turned on H by hitting with a crutch and pinned him with Fuyuki's help and became a member of Shin Fuyuki-Gun. On June 16, Ezaki unleashed Darkside of H and brought "
Hayabusa was a robotic spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis. ''Hayabusa'', formerly known as MUSES-C ...
" as his tag team partner for a match against GOEMON and Kodo Fuyuki. H and Hayabusa won the match to take revenge from Shin-Fuyuki-Gun for attacking and kidnapping Ricky Fuji. On June 26, H won the
WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship The WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship was a championship in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and later in World Entertainment Wrestling. It was active from July 1999 until February 2002 as a substitute for the FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team C ...
with Hisakatsu Oya and Tetsuhiro Kuroda by defeating Kodo Fuyuki, Kyoko Inoue and
Chocoball Mukai is a Japanese pornographic actor and a former professional wrestler better known as . Beginning his career in 1990s, Mukai became one of the more well known JAV stars in all of Japan, and holds the record for being the highest paid AV actor e ...
. On July 22, Ezaki retired his H character and announced that he would begin competing as Hayabusa again after he and Tetsuhiro Kuroda defeated The Samoans (
Eddie Fatu Edward Smith Fatu (March 28, 1973 – December 4, 2009) was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) under the ring name Umaga. Prior to Umaga, Fatu was also notable for his time with Al ...
and Matty Samu).


WEW Heavyweight Champion and career-ending injury (2000–2001)

On July 23, Ezaki revived his Hayabusa character after a year and defeated Shin Fuyuki-Gun members in a
gauntlet match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
to earn an immediate
WEW Heavyweight Championship The WEW (World Entertainment Wrestling) Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship, most recently contested in Apache Army. It was originally created for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling as the WEW Single Championship. Th ...
match against Kodo Fuyuki, which he lost after Jinsei Shinzaki turned on Hayabusa. On July 28, Hayabusa, Masato Tanaka and Hisakatsu Oya defeated Fuyuki, Shinzaki and
Mr. Gannosuke is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) under the ring name . Honda was quickly pushed as "Mr. Gannosuke" due to his resemblance to the actor Ashiya Gannosuke and he beg ...
after Hayabusa pinned Gannosuke. This set up a match against Gannosuke on August 28, which Hayabusa won to earn a shot at Fuyuki's WEW Heavyweight Championship. On September 15, Hayabusa, Hisakatsu Oya and Tetsuhiro Kuroda lost the WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship to Fuyuki, Gannosuke and Shinjuku Shark. On September 21, Hayabusa defeated Fuyuki in a non-title 15,000 volt thunderbolt cage death match. On September 26, Hayabusa took on Fuyuki for the WEW Heavyweight Championship in a sixty-minute Iron Man match, which ended in a draw. Hayabusa called it the hardest match of his career. After the match, Hayabusa demanded another title shot, which Fuyuki agreed. On October 29, Hayabusa and Onryo defeated GOEMON and Fuyuki in a tag team match. On November 12, Hayabusa got another title shot against Fuyuki at the Deep Throat pay-per-view, but lost the match. Hayabusa and Fuyuki ended the feud after the match by shaking hands with each other and then Tetsuhiro Kuroda turned on Hayabusa by attacking him. Hayabusa then took time off to heal his injured arms. Hayabusa had a successful double elbow surgery on November 22. He returned to FMW at a pay-per-view on December 20 as a color commentator, along with Mr. Gannosuke, who had retired from wrestling after losing to Tetsuhiro Kuroda. During the match, Kuroda mocked Hayabusa to anger him and Hayabusa headed to the ring but Gannosuke held him back. On February 6, 2001, Hayabusa made another non-wrestling appearance to confront Kuroda along with The Masked Sumo. Sumo turned on Gannosuke and Kuroda injured Hayabusa's arms with a folding chair until
The Great Sasuke , born July 18, 1969), is a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter and politician, currently wrestling for Michinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW) under the ring name . Aside from professional wrestling, he is also a former Iwate Prefectural Assembly l ...
made the save. On April 1, Hayabusa appeared during Kuroda and Kodo Fuyuki's WEW Heavyweight Championship match, where he attacked Mr. Gannosuke after Gannosuke attacked Fuyuki during the match and then Kuroda and his allies attacked Hayabusa until Sasuke came to his rescue again. Hayabusa made his in-ring return at the 12th Anniversary Show on May 5 by teaming with Sasuke to defeat Kuroda and Gannosuke in an octagon cage electric bomb death match. This match also commemorated the tenth anniversary of his FMW debut. On May 11, Hayabusa pinned Kuroda in a six-man tag team match to earn a title shot at Kuroda. On May 22, Hayabusa defeated Kuroda in a double hell barbed wire deathmatch to win the WEW Heavyweight Championship, with Kodo Fuyuki as the special guest referee. On June 8, Fuyuki bought FMW from
Shoichi Arai Shoichi Arai (荒井 昌一 ''Arai Shōichi'') (December 19, 1965 – May 16, 2002) was a Japanese professional wrestling promoter. Arai ran Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling from 1995 until its closure in 2002. Career Arai started with FMW as a ...
in storyline and gave the wrestlers option to either side with Arai or Fuyuki. Hayabusa sided with Arai by revealing that he had purchased 5% stock of the company. Tetsuhiro Kuroda also refused to side with Fuyuki and this resulted in Hayabusa and Kuroda being paired to take on Mr. Gannosuke and
Kintaro Kanemura ( ko, 김행호 ''Kim Hyeong-ho'') (born August 9, 1970) is a Zainichi-Korean retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . He is also known as W*ING Kanemura or . He is best known for his death matches in Apache Army, Big Japa ...
in a tag team match, which they lost. Hayabusa made his first title defense of the WEW Heavyweight Championship against
Mammoth Sasaki is a Japanese professional wrestler and retired sumo wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently working for Pro Wrestling Freedoms under the ring name , where he is a former King of Freedom Tag Team Champion, becoming the longest reigning champ ...
on July 30, where he retained the title. On August 3, Hayabusa offered to put his 5% stock if he, GOEMON and Onryo lost the six-man tag team match to Mr. Gannosuke, Kintaro Kanemura and Mammoth Sasaki. Hayabusa was pinned by Kanemura and he agreed to put his 5% stock in a two out of three match series on August 11. The FMW team and Fuyuki's team were even with 1–1 score until Hayabusa lost the WEW Heavyweight Championship to Kanemura in the main event. As a result of losing the series, Hayabusa lost his 5% stock to Fuyuki and Fuyuki sold the stock to Stuart Levy. On September 5, Hayabusa defeated Kanemura to regain the title but the win was reversed by new FMW Vice President Senmu Yoshida, who returned the title to Kanemura. On September 9, Hayabusa teamed with Tetsuhiro Kuroda and GOEMON to defeat Kintaro Kanemura, Kodo Fuyuki and Mr. Gannosuke to win the WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship. The following month, on October 9, Hayabusa and Kuroda defeated Gannosuke and Mammoth Sasaki to win the
WEW Tag Team Championship The WEW (World Entertainment Wrestling) World Tag Team Championship is a tag team professional wrestling championship formerly contested in the Japanese promotion Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and World Entertainment Wrestling and currently co ...
. After the match, Sasaki challenged Hayabusa to a match which stipulated that if Hayabusa won then Shoichi Arai would be reinstated as FMW President. The match took place on October 22, during which Hayabusa had a career-ending injury when he attempted a
springboard moonsault A moonsault, moonsault press, or back flip splash is a Professional wrestling aerial techniques, professional wrestling aerial technique. It was innovated by Mando Guerrero. Much of its popularity in both Puroresu, Japanese and professional wrestl ...
off the middle rope and lost footing, landing on his head, cracking two of his vertebrae and leaving him paralyzed. The injury provoked a high fever and required surgery. This injury ended his wrestling career. As he was considered the heart and soul of FMW, the company slowly folded after his departure.


Post-retirement

Ezaki later pursued a career as a singer. He promoted a new wrestling company called WMF (Wrestlings Marvelous Future) that contained up-and-coming wrestlers. The name was chosen since, spelled backwards, the initials are FMW in honor of the late company. He traveled to a few
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
events where he met old friends such as Sabu,
Rob Van Dam Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling ...
, and
Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Widely regarded as one of the greatest prof ...
backstage. He also took photographs with
John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied ...
, then
WWE Champion The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDow ...
Edge (wrestler) Adam Joseph Copeland (born October 30, 1973), is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Edge. He is considered to be one of the greatest professional wr ...
,then WWE Women’s Champion (1956–2010)
Lita (wrestler) Amy Christine Dumas (; born April 14, 1975), known professionally as Lita, is an American professional wrestler. Often regarded as one of the greatest women's performers, she is also one of the most popular female superstars in World Wrestling ...
,
Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...
,
Shane McMahon Shane Brandon McMahon (; born January 15, 1970) is an American businessman and professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he was a wrestler, producer and minority owner. He is the founder and executive chairman of Idean ...
, and
Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as on ...
, and spoke with
Jeff Hardy Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and musician. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Hardy is widely considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time and is regarded ...
. Ezaki attended the PWU (Pro Wrestling Unplugged) FAHRENHEIT: 3RD DEGREE event on August 19, 2006, at the New Alhambra (formerly known as ECW Arena). This was his first appearance in the USA since 2000, the last time being at E3 in Los Angeles, helping promote
TOKYOPOP Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed J ...
's FMW DVDs by having a 6-man tag match. He also participated in a shoot interview with RF Video. Ezaki was active in working with the Dragon Gate promotion. He recorded a debut album with
Dragon Kid is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for Dragon Gate as . Nakamura initially broke into the wrestling business with Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling (FMW), but was not allowed to be a wrestler by owner Atsushi Onita and instead ...
titled ''Trust!'' which came out in November 2007. He partook in the company's first US tour, joining them in their appearance in Los Angeles on September 5 and Hawaii on September 8, 2008. Ezaki also designed the tour's T-shirt. When asked about his career in an interview, Ezaki said that one never knows what the chances are of a return to the ring. On 3 April 2015, Hayabusa was part of a press conference announcing the return of FMW. He served as the executive producer of the promotion.


Legacy

Ezaki was considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers in the history of professional wrestling and one of the pioneers of high-flying and junior heavyweight wrestling in Japan. He was the innovator of '' Falcon Arrow'' and '' Phoenix Splash'' and also popularized the '' Firebird Splash'', which would become famous in North America as the 450° splash. He was the second most popular and greatest star in the history of
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held their ...
(behind only company founder
Atsushi Onita is a Japanese actor, politician, and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and is credited with introducing Japan to the deathmatch style of professional wrestling. He founded ...
), where he spent the entirety of his career. Due to his impressive talent, Ezaki received offers with better salaries from
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...
and
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
, which could have driven him to success but he rejected all those offers out of loyalty to FMW. He worked hard as the company's
ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
, even putting his body on the line and worked in some of the greatest matches in the company's history. His match with Masato Tanaka on May 19, 1998, was considered by many to be the greatest match of his career and considered to be the second best FMW match only behind
Combat Toyoda Noriyo Toyoda (豊田 記代, born October 26, 1967) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, best known under the name Combat Toyoda (コンバット豊田). She spent much of her career in Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling. Professional wres ...
vs.
Megumi Kudo is a Japanese entertainment personality and former professional wrestler. She wrestled under her maiden name for Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling, where she became the top star of the Women's Division. Kudo is primarily known for competing in bru ...
at 7th Anniversary Show. He had memorable rivalries and clashes with
Mr. Gannosuke is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) under the ring name . Honda was quickly pushed as "Mr. Gannosuke" due to his resemblance to the actor Ashiya Gannosuke and he beg ...
,
Kodo Fuyuki (May 11, 1960 – March 19, 2003) was a Japanese professional wrestler and promoter better known by his ring name best known for his time in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), W ...
and
The Gladiator ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
. His feud with Gannosuke would feature both men in many epic encounters and major matches between 1997 and 2001 and was considered the biggest feud in FMW history. They headlined many shows including 8th Anniversary Show, 9th Anniversary Show and 10th Anniversary Show as well as the
main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...
of Goodbye Hayabusa II: Last Match pay-per-view which was the last match of the Hayabusa character in 1999. Kevin Wilson reviewed on the 9th Anniversary Show encounter between the two that "both wrestlers played their roles well and they hit their major moves without any problems. I still think the Phoenix Splash is one of the top five most beautiful moves in wrestling (let's see... Phoenix Splash, Shooting Star Press, Space Flying Tiger Drop, Ultimo Dragon's Asai Moonsault, and a Dragonrana), and Hayabusa hit it perfectly. It was the perfect ending, as the two other times he had gone for the move in the match he had failed... he knew that to win the titles he had to hit his ultimate finisher. Overall a really fun match, it wasn't perfectly executed, but the good far outweighed the bad." Stuart of Puroresu Central stated that "Hayabusa's highspots were dazzling as always and Gannosuke's craftsmanship made them look better and very important. They fought almost one year exactly before this and Hayabusa smoked Gannosuke as a worker" and considered it "a worthy main event between two excellent wrestlers and undoubtedly the best match on the show." Many of the industry's wrestlers like
Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jeri ...
,
Jonathan Gresham Jonathan Gresham (born March 20, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling. He has previously wrestled for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH World Champion, ROH Pu ...
, Jack Evans,
AJ Styles Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles (also stylized as A.J. Styles), is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Regarded as one of the best ...
, Pac,
Will Ospreay William Peter Charles Ospreay (born 7 May 1993) is an English professional wrestler who is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the current IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion in his first reign and leader of the ...
and Kalisto were inspired by Hayabusa at some point in their careers.


Other media

*As a musician, Hayabusa released three solo albums (one posthumously), an album with
Dragon Kid is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for Dragon Gate as . Nakamura initially broke into the wrestling business with Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling (FMW), but was not allowed to be a wrestler by owner Atsushi Onita and instead ...
, and an album with
Koji Nakagawa is a Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) between 1992 and 2002. He is perhaps best known for his “Hitman” character, heavily inspired by Canadian professional wrestler Br ...
and Masahiko. *Hayabusa appears in the low-budget wrestling movie ''
Backyard Dogs ''Backyard Dogs'' is a 2000 sports film written and directed by Robert Boris. Plot Two best friends with dreams of becoming professional wrestlers Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. T ...
'' and in ''Mask de 41'' as the "Red Falcon". He also appears as Eiji Ezaki in ''Baion''. *Hayabusa also appeared in the music video "Life Is...~another story~" by J-Pop artist
Ken Hirai is a Japanese R&B and pop singer. Since his debut, Hirai has worked as a model, actor, composer, lyricist, singer, and brand ambassador. During his career, Hirai has released 45 singles and nine studio albums as of January 2019.Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...
games ''
Virtual Pro Wrestling 64 ''Virtual Pro Wrestling 64'' is a professional wrestling video game released in 1997 on the Nintendo 64 game console and the second game in the ''Virtual Pro Wrestling'' series. The game is a sequel to the original ''Virtual Pro Wrestling'' releas ...
'' and '' Virtual Pro Wrestling 2: Ōdō Keishō''. He appears unofficially in '' WCW vs. nWo: World Tour'', as Hannibal, in '' WCW/nWo Revenge'', as Han Zo Mon, and in '' WCW vs. the World'' as Habanero.


Personal life

Ezaki was the oldest of two sons. His maternal grandparents were owners of a hotel, which later his parents took over. Ezaki married his wife Harumi on April 7, 1997. Together, they had two daughters, Ayane (born October 19, 1997) and Shie (born May 10, 1999). He and Harumi amicably divorced in 2004, but remained friends, while sharing custody of their daughters. Ezaki has been close friends with
Jushin Thunder Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since h ...
since 1994. The two had a falling out in 1996 after Ezaki turned down a deal with
NJPW (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority share ...
, but they mended their friendship in 2005. In May 2005, he performed a play called The Shinichi Amano Story at the Tokyo Shinjuku Theater. He portrayed the main character's best friend Fuyuki Hayato, an injured air pilot soldier in World War II, who is reliant on a wheelchair. His performance was given positive reviews and the play was a huge success. By 2015, Ezaki had regained the use of his legs and could stand on his own and walk with a cane.


Death

Ezaki died of a
cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...
on March 3, 2016, at age 47. His body was found when the owner of a nearby tavern, with whom he was scheduled to meet concerning a March 7 event, went to his home after Ezaki failed to arrive for their planned meeting.


Championships and accomplishments

*
All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...
**
All Asia Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). It was created on November 16, 1955, in the Japan Wrestling Association (JWA) when King Kong Czaya and Tiger Joginder Singh defeated JWA fou ...
( 1 time) – with
Jinsei Shinzaki Kensuke Shinzaki (新崎 健介 ''Shinzaki Kensuke'', born December 2, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive, better known by his ring name, Jinsei Shinzaki (新崎 人生 ''Shinzaki Jinsei''). He is curre ...
*
Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held their f ...
**
FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship The FMW World Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship was a premiere championship in the wrestling promotion Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, ...
( 3 times, final) **
FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship The FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship was a tag team hardcore wrestling championship contested in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, b ...
(
2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
) – with Masato Tanaka (1),
Daisuke Ikeda is a Japanese professional wrestler who is currently wrestling in the Independent circuit in Japan. Since debuting in 1993, Ikeda has worked for a number of promotions in Japan, including Battlarts, All Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Noah ...
(1) **
FMW Independent Heavyweight Championship The FMW Independent Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship contested in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW). It was one of the top two titles in the company, along with the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyw ...
( 1 time) **
FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship The FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship was a championship in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). T ...
(
2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
) – with Masato Tanaka and
Koji Nakagawa is a Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) between 1992 and 2002. He is perhaps best known for his “Hitman” character, heavily inspired by Canadian professional wrestler Br ...
(1), and Masato Tanaka and
Hisakatsu Oya Kenichi Oya (大矢健一) (born July 2, 1964) is a semi-retired Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Hisakatsu Oya (大矢剛功). Although he started out for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, he is well known for his stint in Fro ...
(1) **
WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship The WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship was a championship in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and later in World Entertainment Wrestling. It was active from July 1999 until February 2002 as a substitute for the FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team C ...
(
2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
) – with
Tetsuhiro Kuroda is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently competing as a freelancer on the Japanese independent circuit. He is best known for his time with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), where he primarily competed from 1993 until the promotion's cl ...
and Hisakatsu Oya (1), and Tetsuhiro Kuroda and GOEMON (1) **
WEW Heavyweight Championship The WEW (World Entertainment Wrestling) Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship, most recently contested in Apache Army. It was originally created for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling as the WEW Single Championship. Th ...
( 1 time) **
WEW Tag Team Championship The WEW (World Entertainment Wrestling) World Tag Team Championship is a tag team professional wrestling championship formerly contested in the Japanese promotion Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and World Entertainment Wrestling and currently co ...
(
2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
) – with Mr. Gannosuke (1), Tetsuhiro Kuroda (1) ** FMW Double Championship #1 Contender's Tournament (1998) *''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
'' **Ranked No. 38 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''
PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...
'' in 1998 and 1999 **Ranked No. 255 of the 500 top singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003 *''
Tokyo Sports is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960. See also * Tokyo Sports Film Award * Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out by the ''Tokyo Sports'' mag ...
'' **
Fighting Spirit Award The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...
(1997) **
Service Award A Service award was awarded by a country to a soldier or civilian for long service. It is comparable to a service medal but can be awarded to civilians as well as soldiers. Germany Kingdom of Bavaria * Königliches Ludwigsorden for 50 years' ser ...
(2016)


Luchas de Apuestas record


See also

*
List of premature professional wrestling deaths According to a 2014 study by Eastern Michigan University examining professional wrestlers who were active between 1985 and 2011, mortality rates for professional wrestlers are up to 2.9 times greater than the rate for men in the wider United State ...


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayabusa (Wrestler) 1968 births 2016 deaths Japanese male professional wrestlers Japanese people with disabilities Masked wrestlers People from Yatsushiro, Kumamoto 21st-century Japanese musicians Japanese male stage actors Musicians from Kumamoto Prefecture Professional wrestling promoters 21st-century Japanese male musicians All Asia Tag Team Champions FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Champions 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers FMW Independent Heavyweight Champions FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Champions WEW 6-Man Tag Team Champions WEW Heavyweight Champions WEW World Tag Team Champions