 Hayata as theGHC Junior Heavyweight Champion atAriake Triumph on October 30, 2022 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Yohei Hayata (1987-08-04)August 4, 1987 (age 38) Kumano, Hiroshima, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Darushimumeiku[1] Hayata Yohei Hayata |
| Billed height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) |
| Billed weight | 75 kg (165 lb) |
| Trained by | Hanzo Wrestle Gate Dojo Yoshinari Ogawa |
| Debut | July 30, 2006 |
Yohei Hayata (隼田 陽平,Hayata Yōhei; born August 4, 1987) is a Japanese professional wrestler better known simply asHayata (stylized inall caps), currently signed toPro Wrestling Noah where he is the currentGHC Hardcore Champion in his first reign and the leader ofRatel's. He is also a former five-timeGHC Junior Heavyweight Champion and one-timeGHC National Champion.[2]
Hayata began his career with Wrestle Gate then laterOsaka Pro Wrestling (Osaka Pro) before going freelance and forming Doutonbori Pro Wrestling withKuuga and several other wrestlers. Hayata was officially signed toPro Wrestling Noah (Noah) in 2017 and his accolades include being a five-time (and Former)GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion and a five-timeGHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion. He has also won theGlobal Junior Heavyweight League once and theGlobal Junior Heavyweight Tag League twice, both times withYo-Hey.
Hayata got his start in amateur wrestling and basketball, and would find himself working under Hanzo in Wrestle Gate (WG) where he would wrestle until he left Wrestle Gate in April 2010. He would also occasionally compete in Dove Pro Wrestling (Dove Pro) andAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). In 2010 Hayata moved over toOsaka Pro Wrestling (Osaka Pro).
After he moved to Osaka Pro he received an opportunity for theOsaka Pro Wrestling Championship and in September he would join the heel unit Joker. On October 31, 2011, Hayata would win his very first championship on his first challenge after he andKuuga defeatedAtsushi Kotoge andDaisuke Harada for theOsaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship.[3] In June, Joker began having problems with Hayata, after he started losing matches. As a result, Kuuga abandoned his Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship partner to team with Joker's newest member, Spider J, in the 2012 Osaka Tag Festival, leaving Hayata to team with Tadasuke in the same tournament.[4] On June 24, Hayata and Tadasuke defeated Kuuga and Spider J in the finals of the tournament to win the 2012 Osaka Tag Festival. Following their win, Hayata announced that both he and Tadasuke were quitting Joker.[5]
Hayata and Tadasuke made their first post-Joker appearance on June 30, defeating former stablemates Kuuga andOrochi via disqualification, after Kuuga hit both of them with a steel chair. Later in the event, Hayata and Tadasuke made another appearance, inviting Daisuke Harada to join them.[6] Harada accepted the invitation on July 7 and formed a new trio with Tadasuke and Hayata with the three sharing a common goal of stopping Joker.[7] On July 14, the new alliance was named "Glare".[8] On July 22 atHurricane 2012, Osaka Pro's largest annual event, Hayata and Tadasuke defeated Sengoku (Hideyoshi andMasamune) andThe Big Guns (The Bodyguard andZeus) in a three-way match to win the vacant Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship.[9] Later in the event, Daisuke Harada completed Glare's clean sweep by defeatingBlack Buffalo to win theOsaka Pro Wrestling Championship, afterwards declaring that his stable was now going to change Osaka Pro.[9] On September 30, Tadasuke and Hayata made their first successful defense of the Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship against former Joker stablemates Kuuga and Orochi.[10][11] On October 21, Glare won the Osaka Pro Wrestling 6 Person Tag Tournament, defeating the Joker trio of Hideyoshi, Kuuga andQuiet Storm in the finals.[12][13] On November 2 Hayata and Tadasuke made their second successful defense of the Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship, defeating Black Buffalo andTigers Mask.[14] On January 19, 2013, Glare defeated Black Buffalo, Kazuaki Mihara and Naoki Setoguchi in a six-man tag team main event. After the match, Harada revealed Buffalo as the newest member of Glare.[15] On February 24 Hayata, Tadasuke, Buffalo and Harada of Glare faced Billyken Kid, Kazuaki Mihara, Naoki Setoguchi and Tigers Mask of the Osaka Pro Seikigun in an elimination match, where the losing team would be forced to disband. Hayata was the first man to be eliminated from the match. Harada pinned Billyken Kid saving Glare and forcing Seikigun to disband.[16] On March 2, Billyken Kid and Kazuaki Mihara joined Glare, announcing they now agreed with the stable's "revolution". Glare then declared war on Joker and Unique Gundan, the two remaining stables in Osaka Pro.[17] The rivalry between Glare and Unique Gundan built to a four-on-four elimination match on March 24, where Hayata, Tadasuke, Harada and Mihara suffered an upset defeat at the hands of Ebessan,Kanjyuro Matsuyama,Kuishinbo Kamen and Takoyakida, after which the two groups made peace with each other.[18][19]
On March 30, six top Osaka Pro wrestlers, including Hayata and his Glare stablemate Daisuke Harada, announced that they were quitting the promotion following April 29. As a result, Hayata and Tadasuke relinquished the Osaka Pro Tag Team Championship.[20][21] Hayata would join Kuuga in the formation of Doutonbori Pro Wrestling.
After his departure from Osaka Pro he participated in the first Dotonbori Tag King Decision League withYo-Hey and finishing the tournament with 8 points. After that he would make appearances until signed with Dove Pro Wrestling (Dove Pro). In 2016 would make appearances inPro Wrestling Freedoms he won the King of Freedom Tag Team Championship with Yuya Susumu. On February 19, 2017, they lost the titles toBrahman Kei andBrahman Shu. On September 3, he signed an exclusive contract withPro Wrestling Noah (Noah) ending his career in Dove Pro.
In December 2016 after theSuzuki-gun storyline withPro Wrestling Noah (Noah) the president of Noah Masayuki Uchida announced that he would let freelancers wrestle in Noah. On December 9 he made his debut in Noah defeatingHitoshi Kumano. On February 18, 2017, he and Yo-Hey were defeated byHi69 andTaiji Ishimori in a match for the vacantGHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Three days later, Hayata and Yo-Hey came together with Daisuke Harada and Tadasuke to form a new stable namedRatel's.[22] On March 25 Hayata pinnedGHC Junior Heavyweight ChampionHajime Ohara during an eight-man tag team match. After the match in a backstage interview Hayata challenged Ohara into a title match. On May 27, he defeated Ohara to win theGHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. On June 25, he lost the title to Taiji Ishimori in his first defense. On July 27, he and Yo-Hey defeated XX (Taiji Ishimori and Hi69) to win the 2017Global Junior Heavyweight Tag League. On August 26, Hayata and Yo-Hey defeated XX in a rematch to become the new GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.[23] On September 3, Noah announced that Hayata had signed an exclusive contract with the promotion, ending his days as a freelancer.[24]
On April 11, 2024, Hayata defeatedJack Morris to win theGHC National Championship, in the process, becoming the first junior heavyweight wrestler to hold the title.[25] On July 13 atDestination, Hayata lost the GHC National Championship toUlka Sasaki.[26] Shortly after, Hayata and Yo-Hey defeated Eita and Shuji Kondo to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship for the third time.[27]