 Hirayanagi in 2015 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Tsutomu Hiryanagi (1980-03-09)March 9, 1980 (age 45)[1] Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Genba Hirayanagi Tsutomu Hirayanagi |
| Billed height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1] |
| Billed weight | 85 kg (187 lb)[1] |
| Trained by | Akira Taue Pro Wrestling Noah dojo |
| Debut | August 15, 2005[2][Note 1] |
| Retired | September 10, 2016[3] |
Tsutomu Hirayanagi (平柳 努,Hirayanagi Tsutomu; born March 9, 1980), better known by hisring nameGenba Hirayanagi (平柳玄藩,Hirayanagi Genba), is a retiredJapanese professional wrestler. He is best known for working forPro Wrestling Noah.
Hirayanagi was a competitor in amateur wrestling in high school.[4] In June 2004 he entered the Pro Wrestling Noah dojo[4] where, under the mentorship of Akira Taue,[5] he was trained as a professional wrestler. Wrestling under his birth name, his first match was in a 13-manBattle royal won byMuhammad Yone on 15 August 2005.[2] Three days later, he made his official debut in a singles match againstKishin Kawabata.[1] As is normal for inexperienced competitors inpuroresu, virtually all of Hirayanagi's early matches were losses. On March 21, 2006 Hirayanagi competed in a match againstSUWA forPro Wrestling SEM[6] during which he suffered a triple-fracture of the jaw.[4] It wasn't until the following October that he was able to return to the ring[4] in a time-limit draw withShuhei Taniguchi.[7]
The summer of 2007 saw Hirayanagi venture to theUnited Kingdom to perform in 6 matches on the Britishindependent circuit. His UK debut came in a July 20 loss to Noah compatriot Shuhei Taniguchi for 3 Count Wrestling.[8] 8 days later, the two teamed up to challenge the4 Front Wrestling Tag Team ChampionsMark Sloan andWade Fitzgerald.[9] In IPW:UK's Debut InSittingbourne show he was defeated byJames Tighe,[10] which was followed by a loss to veteranJohnny Kidd on a Premier Promotions card[11] before concluding his tour by teaming withDan Head to gain victory overMark Haskins and Harry Mills.[11][12]
In 2008, Hirayanagi made hisRing of Honor debut in the opening match of the 14 September ROH: The Tokyo Summit show.Teaming withKotaro Suzuki, he lost to theNJPW duo ofNo Limit (Tetsuya Naito andYujiro Takahashi).[13] Later that year he gained his first trophy when he teamed withYoshinobu Kanemaru andKotaro Suzuki to defeatKENTA,Taiji Ishimori andIppei Ota to win that year's One Day Junior Heavyweight Six Man Tag Tournament inSapporo, Hokkaido.[14]
In 2009, Hirayanagi debuted inDramatic Dream Team (DDT), teaming with his primary trainerAkira Taue to defeat DDT residentsSanshiro Takagi andMichael Nakazawa at the DDTJudgement 2009 event.[15] On August 30, he teamed with frequent partner Kanemaru in hisNew Japan Pro-Wrestling debut in the main event of theJado and Gedo 20th Anniversary show, losing toJado andGedo.[16][17] Hirayanagi was selected to participate in another interpromotional contest at the combinedAJPW/NJPW/NoahAll Together supershow on 27 August 2011 atBudokan Hall, competing in a 10-mantag team match billed as the Junior One Night Carnival.[18][19]
Hirayanagi then became a member of the No Mercy faction in Noah.[1] On 10 March 10, 2013, Hirayanagi won his first title in Noah, when he andMaybach Taniguchi, Jr. defeatedRicky Marvin andSuper Crazy for theGHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.[20] The two were forced to vacate the title on May 30, after Suwa had been sidelined with a neck injury.[21] On July 30, Hirayanagi announced his retirement from professional wrestling.[22] His retirement match took place on September 10 and saw him team up withCaptain Noah,Go Shiozaki andMaybach Taniguchi to take onSuzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki,Taichi,Takashi Sugiura and Yoshinobu Kanemaru). Hirayanagi's career ended with Sugiura pinning him for the win.[3]