| Kaz Hayashi | |
|---|---|
 Hayashi in April 2023 | |
| Birth name | Kazuhiro Hayashi (林 和広,Hayashi Kazuhiro) |
| Born | (1973-05-18)May 18, 1973 (age 51)[1][2] Setagaya,Tokyo,Japan[1][2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | El Gringo[1] The Great Hayashi[1] Kaz Hayashi[1] Miguel Hayashi Jr. Shiryu[1] |
| Billed height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2] |
| Billed weight | 83 kg (183 lb)[2] |
| Trained by | Gran Hamada Último Dragón |
| Debut | November 19, 1992[1][2] |
| Retired | July 1, 2024 |
Kazuhiro Hayashi (林 和広,Hayashi Kazuhiro, born May 18, 1973), best known by the ring nameKaz Hayashi (カズ・ハヤシ,Kazu Hayashi), is aJapanesebusiness executive and retiredprofessional wrestler who last competed inGleat and serves as the company'schief technical officer (CTO). He is best known for his work inWorld Championship Wrestling andAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW),[1] where in addition to being a wrestler for the latter promotion, he also served as the head booker for the company's junior heavyweight division. After leaving AJPW in 2013, Hayashi competed forWrestle-1, where he also worked as a trainer.[3] In April 2017, Hayashi took over as the new president of Wrestle-1, remaining in the position until the promotion's closure in 2020; he was also the promotion's final champion of theWrestle-1 Championship.
Hayashi retired from in-ring competition in July 2024, and since then has maintained his role as Gleat's chief technical officer.
Hayashi, under a mask asShiryu (獅龍, Growing Dragon) debuted in 1992 inUniversal Lucha Libre promotion in a tag team match, withTerry Boy losing toMongolian Yuga (also debuting) and Buffalo Chohi. For much of his early career, Hayashi wrestled in Universal's successor promotion,Michinoku Pro Wrestling (Michinoku Pro/MPW). As Shiryu, he was part of the memorablerudo group,Kaientai Deluxe, which waged war with Michinoku Pro's Sekigun for many years, producing some classic matches. In June 1997, he left Michinoku Pro for theMexicanPromo Azteca promotion, before joining World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the United States in October of that year.
After unmasking, Hayashi joined WCW in 1998. Early on, he was relegated to ajobber and comedycharacter. He would be taken under themanagement ofSonny Onoo and even come to inheritGlacier's ceremonial armor and light show for a time. In late 1999,Vince Russo andEd Ferrara beganbooking WCW programs and Hayashi was paired withLa Parka. Duringinterviews, the two would speak in their native languages which would be humorouslydubbed over by charismatic English speakers, calling him names such as "The Kaz Master" and "Kazanova". This ended shortly when La Parka became upset and tossed the microphone down as Ferrera was speaking.
In mid-2000, Hayashi formed thestableThe Jung Dragons along withJamie-San andYang. Primarily feuding with3 Count, the Jung Dragons consisted of high-flyingcruiserweight talent and gained considerable popularity until the group's demise the following year. During this time, he became friends withKeiji Mutoh, who was appearing in his final run with the promotion under his Great Muta guise.
Hayashi's contract was bought by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) following their purchase of WCW in early 2001. He was first sent to WWF'sdevelopmental territory theHeartland Wrestling Association (HWA) before being moved to the main roster. Hayashi made his WWF main roster debut during theInvasionstoryline as a member ofThe Alliance faction but only made one appearance before returning to HWA and ultimately heading back toJapan.[4]
After returning to Japan, Hayashi eventually decided to joinAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) due to his friendship withKeiji Mutoh and established himself as one of their top stars, winning theWorld Junior Heavyweight Championship and both theWorld Tag Team Championship and theAll Asia Tag Team Championship withSatoshi Kojima. In 2006, Hayashi won the AJPW Junior League tournament.
Now under the name Miguel Hayashi Jr., Hayashi,PEPE Michinoku, andEl NOSAWA Mendoza formed a team during the AJPWChampion Carnival called Mexico Amigos. Nobutaka Araya joined the team after six-man Action between Mexico Amigos and Araya/Fuchi/Hirai at the Carnival's final show.
After multiple bouts againstMinoru Suzuki,Nosawa offered Suzuki an invitation into Mexico Amigos, which he declined. This resulted in the group changing multiple assets. Their name was changed to Mexico Amigos Black, the previous worn Mexican Flag attire became Black and Gold attire, and Nobutaka Araya was kicked out of the group. The groups is currently in a heated rivalry with Mazada's Samurai New Japan group, Minoru Suzuki, andVoodoo Murders.
At AJPW's "Fan Appreciation Day" show, The Mexico Amigos teamed with Ray Suzuki and defeated Ryuji Hijikata, Kikutaro,T28 and Ryuji Yamaguchi. After the match, Ray Suzuki revealed himself as Minoru Suzuki and stated that starting next year he would throw his Amigos tights away and return to NOSAWA Rongai, then kidnapped him to start early training. This led to Pepe and Miguel stating they would return to Mexico, but Kaz and Taka would return come the new year. After one last "Viva Mexico", the Mexico Amigos disbanded.
On February 6, 2009, Hayashi defeatedNaomichi Marufuji to win the World Junior Heavyweight Championship for a second time. During Hayashi's 23-month reign, he successfully defended the title a record–breaking seventeen times. He would lose the title toMinoru on January 2, 2011.[5]
In June 2013, Hayashi announced his resignation from All Japan in the aftermath of Nobuo Shiraishi taking over as the president and Keiji Mutoh leaving the promotion.[6] Hayashi's final match for the promotion took place on June 30 and saw him and his longtime tag team partnerShuji Kondo, who was also leaving All Japan, unsuccessfully challengeBurning (Atsushi Aoki andKotaro Suzuki) for the All Asia Tag Team Championship.[7]
Beginning in 2021, following the collapse of Wrestle-1 and in conjunction with his GLEAT appearances, Hayashi began appearing in All Japan sporadically, with a six-man tag team match on October 31 in which he,Koji Iwamoto and Jun Saito lost toSuwama,Shotaro Ashino andDan Tamura. On May 12, 2024, he challenged titleholderRising Hayato for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated.
On July 10, 2013, Hayashi was announced as part of Keiji Mutoh's newWrestle-1 promotion.[8][9][10] During the promotion'sinaugural event on September 8, Hayashi teamed with Shuji Kondo in a tag team match, where they were defeated by theBig Japan Pro Wrestling team ofDaisuke Sekimoto andYuji Okabayashi.[11] As part of a working relationship between Wrestle-1 and American promotionTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), Hayashi and Kondo earned a shot at theTNA World Tag Team Championship by defeating Desperado (Kazma Sakamoto andMasayuki Kono) on February 15, 2014.[12] On March 2 atKaisen: Outbreak, Hayashi and Kondo unsuccessfully challengedThe Wolves (Davey Richards andEddie Edwards) for the TNA World Tag Team Championship in a three-way match, which also includedThe BroMans (Jessie Godderz andRobbie E), who went on to win the match and become the new champions.[13] On September 22, Hayashi entered theWrestle-1 Championshiptournament, but was defeated in his first round match by Kondo.[14] On October 12, Hayashi worked TNA'sBound for Glory event in Tokyo, unsuccessfully challengingSamoa Joe for theTNA X Division Championship in a three-way match, which also includedLow Ki.[15] In November, Hayashi and Kondo took part in the First Tag League Greatest tournament, set to determine the inauguralWrestle-1 Tag Team Champions, where they finished second in their block with a record of three wins and one loss, advancing to the semifinals.[16] On November 30, Hayashi and Kondo first defeatedKai andRyota Hama in the semifinals and thenAkira andManabu Soya in the finals to win the tournament and become the inaugural Wrestle-1 Tag Team Champions.[17] After seven successful title defenses, they lost the title to Soya andJun Kasai on July 12, 2015.[18] On October 9, Kondo broke off his partnership with Hayashi.[19] On January 31, 2016, Hayashi, Minoru Tanaka andTajiri won the vacantUWA World Trios Championship.[20] They lost the title toAndy Wu, Daiki Inaba andSeiki Yoshioka in their fifth defense on July 29.[21] On September 18, Hayashi and Kotaro Suzuki won the vacant Wrestle-1 Tag Team Championship.[22] They lost the title to Koji Doi and Kumagoro on March 20, 2017.[23]
On March 27, 2017, it was announced that Hayashi would become Wrestle-1's new president on April 1 with Shuji Kondo as his vice president.[24] Wrestle-1 ran its final event on April 1, 2020.
In August 2020, it was announced that Hayashi was joiningGleat as the promotion's Chief Technical Officer.[25] On December 30, 2023, Hayashi announced that he will retire on the promotion's third anniversary show on July 1, 2024. On March 13, 2024, Hayashi won what was his final championship, theG-Infinity Championship withCima, defeatingSeiki Yoshioka andT-Hawk in a tournament final to win the vacant titles. He lost the titles on July 1, 2024 toTetsuya Izuchi andKaito Ishida in his retirement bout.
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