 Henare in August 2023 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Aaron Henry[5] (1992-08-05)5 August 1992 (age 33) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring names |
|
| Billed height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)[2][3] |
| Billed weight | 115 kg (254 lb)[2][3] |
| Trained by | Bad Luck Fale NJPW Dojo |
| Debut | 2008[4] |
Aaron Henry (born 5 August 1992), better known by hisring nameHenare[a] (stylized inall caps), is a New Zealandprofessional wrestler. He works forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member ofUnited Empire. In NJPW, he is a one-timeNEVER Openweight Champion andIWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion. He is the only full-time contracted professional wrestler ofMāori descent in a major wrestling promotion to date.
Aaron Henry was born inAuckland,New Zealand. He is ofCook Islander Māori descent, with roots fromNgāpuhi andNgāi Takoto Iwi.[5] His uncle is former professionalrugby league playerRichie Barnett, who captainedNew Zealand at the2000 Rugby League World Cup.[7][8]
Prior to training inprofessional wrestling, Henry was an accomplishedamateur wrestler, winning national championships infreestyle,Greco-Roman andsubmission wrestling in the 96 kg weight category. He was offered a spot on the New Zealand Commonwealth wrestling team, but turned it down to pursue a professional wrestling career and began training under compatriotSimi Taitoko "Toks" Fale. He has also trained inmixed martial arts,catch wrestling andMuay Thai with other New Zealand fighters such asShane Young,Kai Kara-France,Mark Hunt andIsrael Adesanya.[3]
Henry signed with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in early 2016 and debuted in September of that year, losing toPro Wrestling Noah's Quiet Storm atLion's Gate Project 3.[9] Henry's first win in NJPW came on 6 September, when he defeated fellow young lionHirai Kawato.[10] He appeared on his first major NJPW show,Destruction in Tokyo on 17 September, teaming with David Finlay againstRoppongi Vice.[11] On 12 November, Henry returned to his home city ofAuckland,New Zealand, defeatingHikule'o at aBad Luck Fale produced show.[12] Henare entered the 2016World Tag League alongside veteranManabu Nakanishi. On 21 February 2017, in a match withTomoyuki Oka, Henry suffered an Achilles tendon injury and the match had to be stopped. He was taken out on a stretcher. He returned in November for the2017 World Tag League, where he teamed withTogi Makabe.[13][14]
On theWrestle Kingdom 12 pre-show on 4 January 2018, Henry debuted under the new ring name Toa Henare.[1] On 27 January, atthe New Beginning in Sapporo, Toa received his first title shot when he teamed up withRyusuke Taguchi andTogi Makabe to unsuccessfully challenge theGuerillas of Destiny andBad Luck Fale for theNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. In April 2018, he began showing promise within the company, wowing fans with a classic Strong Style showcasing against Tomohiro Ishii during the Dontaku series.[citation needed]
In 2019, Henare teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi for the World Tag League, finishing with 3 wins and 12 losses. The next year, the duo teamed again now dubbed as "HenarACE".[15] In early 2020, he was slated to face Tomohiro Ishii in the main event of the New Japan Cup; however, theCOVID-19 pandemic put plans on hold for the company to put Henare in the main event.[citation needed]
On 4 April 2021 Henare, now going by the ring name Aaron Henare, was revealed as the new member ofWill Ospreay'sUnited Empire faction, turningheel in the process, as he teamed up with new stablematesGreat-O-Khan andJeff Cobb to defeat theLos Ingobernables de Japón team ofTetsuya Naito,Shingo Takagi, andSanada at theSakura Genesis 2021 event.[16][17] During the Road to Dontaku tour series in 2021, Henare ruptured his C6–C7 disc in his neck, having to take six months off to heal the injury.
Henare recovered and teamed with O-Khan in theWorld Tag League, where they finished with a total of 14 points.[18] After returning from injury, Henare began to gain momentum with victories over former champions and team members such as Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata, Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma, and former Tag Team partner Togi Makabe. This marked a turn in Henare’s career, finally getting square with his former NJPW team members. AtWrestle Kingdom 16, Henare entered theNew Japan Rambo match.[19]
Henare entered his first Heavyweight singles tournament in NJPW, in theNew Japan Cup. He beatYuto Nakashima in round one but lost to thenIWGP United States Heavyweight ChampionSanada in round 2.[20][21] Henare made hisNJPW Strong debut in America, teaming with O-Khan and new United Empire memberTJP, to defeatBrody King,Mascara Dorada andTaylor Rust. AtWindy City Riot, Henare teamed with, Cobb, O-Khan and new members,Aussie Open (Mark Davis andKyle Fletcher) to defeatBullet Club.[22] In May, Henare made hisRevolution Pro Wrestling debut, againstRicky Knight Jr.[23] In June, Henare was announced for theG1 Climax 32 tournament as part of the C Block, making his G1 debut.[24] Henare managed to pin his former partner and 3-time G1 Champion, Hiroshi Tanahashi in the opening match.[25][26] On 4 January 2023, atWrestle Kingdom 17, Henare once again competed in theNew Japan Rambo.[27] The following day atNew Year Dash!!, Henare and Jeff Cobb lost toKenny Omega andKazuchika Okada in a tag-team match.[28]
In March, Henare competed in the 2023New Japan Cup, pinningKOPW champion Shingo Takagi in the first round, before being eliminated in the following round byTama Tonga. Henare then used this performance to challenge Takagi to the first "Ultimate Triad Match", meaning the winner of the match would have to win the match by pin, submission, and standing count in order to win the match. On 2 March, Henare was unsuccessful in capturing the KOPW championship, however, gained acclaim for the match which lasted 38 minutes, and gained a 5.25 star rating by theWrestling Observer Newsletter.[29] In June atDominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall, Henare teamed with Great-O-Khan in a three-way match for both the vacantIWGP Tag Team Championships and theStrong Openweight Tag Team Championships, however, the match was won byBishamon (Hirooki Goto andYoshi-Hashi) and also involvedHouse of Torture (Evil andYujiro Takahashi).[30]
Upon entering the33rd G1 Climax tournament on 16 July 2023, Henare showcased a newtā moko tattoo on his face and shortening his ring name to justHenare, whilst also shaving his head. The tā moko, or "mataora" tattoo, made Henare the first ever Polynesian wrestler to sport the tattoo in a mainstream professional wrestling promotion. He had previously revealed the tattoo earlier in the month at a New Zealand wrestling show. Henare competed in the C Block of the tournament, finishing with 4 points, thus failing to advance to the semi-finals.[31] Along with the changes to his look, Henare adopted a new theme song, 'Kai Tangata', performed by the New Zealand based metal bandAlien Weaponry and entirely sung in Maori.
On 16 June 2024 at New Japan Soul, Henare defeated Shingo Takagi to win theNEVER Openweight Championship for the first time.
On 8 June 2022 episode ofDynamite, Henare, along withUnited Empire stablematesKyle Fletcher andMark Davis ofAussie Open, made theirAll Elite Wrestling debuts, assisting stable leaderWill Ospreay in attackingTrent Beretta andFTR.[32]
