| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1969-12-30)December 30, 1969 (age 55) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Nobukazu Hirai Mitsu Hirai Jr. Hate Super Hate |
| Billed height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Billed weight | 85 kg (187 lb) |
| Trained by | Genichiro Tenryu[1] SWS Dojo[1] |
| Debut | April 25, 1991 |
Nobukazu Hirai (born December 30, 1969) is a Japaneseprofessional wrestler best known for competing inAll Japan Pro Wrestling. He is the son of formerJapan Pro Wrestling Alliance wrestler Mitsu Hirai.[1]
Hirai originally trained in the SWS dojo under wrestling legend:Genichiro Tenryu and debuted forSuper World Sports on April 25, 1991. During his time in SWS, Hirai was never pushed as he spent the time paying his dues and gaining experience. Hirai would remain with SWS until it folded in June 1992.
After SWS folded, Hirai joined Tenryu's new promotion:WAR. In WAR, Hirai continued to remain in the midcard for most of the early-to mid 1990s. While working in WAR, Hirai also made appearances inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling. In March 1994, Hirai took part in New Japan's Young Lion Cup defeatingTatsuhito Takaiwa in the first round[3] but would unable to win the tournament withSatoshi Kojima eventually emerging as the winner.[4] In May 1994, Hirai participated in a few live events for theWWF during their Japanese tour as he took on wrestlers such asDoink the Clown,Headshrinker Samu, andThe Smokin' Gunns. He also took part in a Royal Rumble.[5]
By 1997, Hirai began to move up the card. On July 25, 1997, Hirai teamed withMitsuharu Kitao andTommy Dreamer in a match for the vacatedWAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship but lost to Koki Kitahara, Nobutaka Araya, andLance Storm.[6] On October 27, Hirai would finally win his first title when he teamed with Kitao andMasaaki Mochizuki to defeat Kitahara, Araya, and Storm to win the WAR Six-Man Tag Team Titles.[6] In November 1997, Hirai took part in a tournament to crown the firstJ-1 World Heavyweight Champion but lost in the first round to Nobutaka Araya.[4] On July 1, 1998, Kitao would retire from wrestling and the WAR Six Man Tag Titles were vacated.[6] Hirai would continue to wrestle in WAR until it closed in 2000 after Tenryu returned toAll Japan Pro Wrestling.
In 2001, Hirai joined All Japan where he continued to remain in the midcard despite the NOAH exodus. In January 2002, Hirai took part in the Giant Baba Cup where he finished in 3rd place in his block with 11 points.[4] In 2003, Hirai formed a tag team withShigeo Okumura. In July 2003, the team took part in the All-Asian Tag League tournament for the vacatedAll Asia Tag Team Championship but they finished in last place with 3 Points.[4] On September 6, Hirai and Okumura challengedKohei Sato and Hirotaka Yokoi for the All-Asia Tag Team Titles but they came up short.[7] In early 2004, Hirai would briefly change his name toMitsu Hirai Jr. but the name change did little for his career. On January 8, 2004, Hirai and Okumura received another shot at the All-Asia Tag Titles againstGreat Kosuke andShiryu but lost.[7] In late 2004, Hirai would form a new team with Nobutaka Araya and the two entered the 2004World's Strongest Tag Determination League but they finished in last place of their block with 0 points.[4] From 2005 to 2008, Hirai would spend his time in the low midcard and as a jobber as he wouldn't compete for titles and was left off tournaments.
In late 2008, Hirai turnedheel and join theVoodoo Murders. On November 3, atPro Wrestling Love in Ryogoku Vol. 6, Hirai teamed withTARU andbrother YASSHI to defeatSuwama, Kaz Hayashi, andRyuji Hijikata with Hirai pinning Hayashi.[4] Afterward, Hirai changed his name toHate and proceeded to change his look by wearing facepaint and used a fire extinguisher as a weapon. Hate teamed with TARU in the 2008 World's Strongest Tag Determination League where they finished in 7th place with 4 points.[4] In 2009, Hate would lose weight and drop to the junior heavyweight division. On October 25, Hate would challenge Kaz Hayashi for theWorld Junior Heavyweight Championship but lost.[8] In April 2010, Hate teamed withMinoru in the2010 Junior Tag League, where they finished in 4th place with 2 points.[4] In early 2011, Hate becameSuper Hate and entered the2011 Junior Tag League teaming with MAZADA but the two finished in last place with 2 points.[4]
On May 29, 2011, Hirai was involved in a backstage fight with TARU, which led to Hirai suffering a stroke after competing in a match. He eventually underwent successful surgery. Following the incident, all Japanese members of the Voodoo Murders (TARU, Minoru, KONO, and MAZADA) were suspended indefinitely from All Japan, the Voodoo Murders stable was disbanded andKeiji Mutoh resigned as the president of the promotion.[9] As of February 2013, Hirai was still recovering from the incident, but was looking to eventually return to professional wrestling.[10]
Hirai competed inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling's2004 World X-Cup Tournament as a member ofTeam Japan where they finished the tournament in last place with 2 points.[4]