Keita Yano (矢野 啓太,Yano Keita, born January 9, 1988)[1] is a Japaneseprofessional wrestler andmixed martial artist[13][14] currently working for Professional Wrestling Wallabee. He started his career withBattlarts in February 2007 and remained with the promotion for four years, winning the B-Rule Tournament in 2009. During his tenure, Yano also represented Battlarts in major Japanese promotions such asNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) andPro Wrestling Zero1 and American promotionChikara, where he took part in theYoung Lions Cup VIII tournament in August 2010. After the folding of Battlarts, Yano began working forDDT Pro-Wrestling, where, as a representative of the Crying Wolfstable, he became a one-timeIronman Heavymetalweight Champion, before parting ways with the promotion in July 2012.
Yano began trainingprofessional wrestling withBattlarts in 2006, when the promotion accepted his third application to enter its training program.[15] He eventually made his in-ring debut on February 25, 2007,[9] losing to Manabu Hara.[12] During the rest of 2007, Yano faced the likes of Yuta Yoshikawa,Kota Ibushi andRyuji Hijikata, losing all of his matches.[16][17][18] As Battlarts only held an event every two months, Yano also made regular appearances forBig Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) and women's wrestling promotionIce Ribbon, losing all of his matches in those promotions as well.[19][20][21][22] Yano finally picked up his first win at a Battlarts event on March 9, 2008, submitting Akifumi Saito with theLarsson.[23] Despite his first win, Yano's second year in professional wrestling also included mostly opening matches and losses.[24][25][26] Through Battlarts' and especially its top starMunenori Sawa's relationship withPro Wrestling Zero1, Yano also made appearances for the promotion, most notably taking part in the 2008 Tenkaichi Jr. tournament.[27] On January 10, 2009, Yano entered the B-Rule Tournament, advancing directly to the semifinals, after Yuta Yoshikawa was unable to wrestle in his first round match.[28] Later that same day, Yano defeatedSuper Tiger II in his semifinal match to advance to the finals, where he would defeat veteranAlexander Otsuka via points to win the entire tournament.[28] Finally out of the opening match spot, Yano main evented his first Battlarts event on February 15, when he and Munenori Sawa were defeated in a tag team match by Super Tiger II and Yuki Ishikawa.[29] The following June, Yano entered the 2009 B-1 Climax tournament, but failed to advance from hisround-robin block.[30][31] During 2009, Yano also made debuts forApache Pro-Wrestling Army,Pro Wrestling Freedoms,Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo) andOsaka Pro Wrestling.[32][33][34][35] On January 17, 2010, Yano made it to the finals of his second B-Rule Tournament in a row, but was this time defeated by Yujiro Yamamoto.[36] During the year, Yano teamed regularly with Munenori Sawa,[37][38][39][40] while also debuting a new look, inspired by theJoker from theBatman filmThe Dark Knight Rises.[41]
On August 28, 2010, Yano made hisAmerican debut, when he represented Battlarts inChikara's eighthYoung Lions Cup tournament inReading, Pennsylvania. In his first round match, Yano defeated Mike Sydal with a submission.[42] Later that same day, Yano wrestled in a six-way elimination semifinal match, from which he was the third man eliminated byObariyon.[42][43] The following day, Yano defeatedGreen Ant in a non-tournament match.[43] The finish of the match had to improvised, after Green Ant legitimately broke his arm, after Yano performed one of his signature moves,Calf Branding, on him.[44][45] Back in Japan, Yano began working regularly for Professional Wrestling Wallabee, a promotion founded by the male wrestlers of Ice Ribbon, becoming the promotion's first TV Champion in October 2010.[46] Yano later went to unify the TV Championship with the Capture International and Ricky Fuji Aggressive World Heavyweight Championships, creating what he referred to as the "Indie Triple Crown".[47] On October 8, 2010, Yano made his debut forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), losing toTomohiro Ishii at aNEVER event, a New Japan project aimed at showcasing up-and-coming wrestlers not signed to the promotion.[48]
Yano in 2010
On January 23, 2011, Yano once again made it to the finals of the B-Rule Tournament, but was, for the second year in a row, defeated there by Yujiro Yamamoto.[49] On March 21, Yano was defeated by Battlarts founder Yuki Ishikawa in a main event singles match.[50] The following day, Battlarts announced Yano's resignation from the promotion, which had announced it would be folding before the end of the year.[51] Yano returned to take part in Battlarts' final event on November 5, 2011, defeating Kenji Takeshima in the opening match.[52]
On November 13, 2011, Yano began working regularly for theDDT Pro-Wrestling promotion, when he teamed withAntonio Honda andYasu Urano to defeatHoshitango,Mikami andTomomitsu Matsunaga in a six-man tag team match.[53] Following the event, Honda announced that the three men, along withYuji Hino, had formed astable named "Crying Wolf".[54] All four members of Crying Wolf remained undefeated for the rest of the year, with Yano ending his year by pinningMichael Nakazawa on December 31 in a tag team match, where he and Antonio Honda defeated Do Hentai Dan (Nakazawa andHikaru Sato).[55] Crying Wolf's win streak ended at the first event of 2012 on January 8, when the four members were defeated in an eight-man tag team match byDaisuke Sasaki,Keisuke Ishii,Masa Takanashi andShigehiro Irie.[56] During the following months, Crying Wolf developed astoryline rivalry with the Homoiro Clover Z stable, with Crying Wolf picking up six-man tag team victories on January 29 and March 4,[57][58] and finally defeatingDanshoku Dino,Hiroshi Fukuda,Kudo andMakoto Oishi in an eight-man elimination tag team match on March 18.[59] On April 1, Yano took part in the annual Anytime and Anywhere battle royal, a match combining elements of a regularbattle royal and aladder match, where he managed to grab the "Box Office Rights Anytime, Anywhere" contract to earn the right tobook a DDT event of his own.[60][61] On April 8, Yano took part in a ten-minute, six-person battle royal for theIronman Heavymetalweight Championship. Towards the end of the match, Yano pinnedKana to win the title, however, just twenty seconds later, Kanarolled him up to regain the title.[62] On July 1, Yano used his "Box Office Rights Anytime, Anywhere" contract to book a co-promoted event between DDT and Professional Wrestling Wallabee.[63][64] The following day, DDT announced that the promotion and Yano had agreed to terminate his DDT contract due to "ideological differences".[65]
Yano facing Cerejeria at "Harumi Pro Wrestling" in July 2023
Following his departure from DDT, Yano concentrated on his work with the Professional Wrestling Wallabee promotion, where he now also held a backstage executive role.[66] While also continuing to work for other small promotions, including Apache Pro-Wrestling Army,[67] Freedoms,[68] and Ganko Pro Wrestling,[69] Yano returned to Zero1 on February 8, 2013, working in an opening tag team match.[70]
Yano citesKendo Kashin as his main influence in wanting to become a wrestler himself.[15] He later also became a fan ofBruiser Brody, adopting many of his in-ring mannerisms, including his signature "huss" chant,[71][72] while also billing himself fromDetroit, Michigan, Brody's hometown.[10] Yano has wrestled as both "Kendo Ke Ita" and "Brody Boy" in honor of his idols.[4][8] Yano is a fan ofsoccer, having played the game with some success inhigh school, and has named two of his signature moves afterSwedish soccer playersFreddie Ljungberg andHenrik Larsson.[1][15]
