| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1981-01-09)9 January 1981 (age 44) Kariwa, Niigata, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Akiya Anzawa |
| Billed height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Billed weight | 88 kg (194 lb) |
| Trained by | Animal Hamaguchi NJPW Dojo |
| Debut | 21 September 2003 |
| Retired | August 2006 |
Akiya Anzawa (Born 9 January 1981) is a Japanese retiredprofessional wrestler. Anzawa would spend his entireprofessional wrestling career, competing forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) on mainly themid-card.[1] Akiya is the brother of professional wrestler Taku Anzawa.[2]
Akiya has a background inSports as he competed in Judo, a type ofMixed martial arts.[3] He began training in theNJPW Dojo as a "Young Lion" to become a professional wrestler. He took lessons fromAnimal Hamaguci.[4]
Akiya's work as a Young Lion in training would become noticed by NJPW Officials.[5] Anzawa would then make his professional debut on 21 September 2003 at an NJPW Road to Ultimate Crush show, being televised. He lost toRyusuke Taguchi and after the match he shook hands with Taguchi to show a sign of respect. He would win his first match days after against fellow Young Lion,Hiroshi Nagao at a house show. The two wrestlers began trading victories against each other.[6]
He would compete in both the 2004 and 2005Young Lion Cups. He would not score enough points to make it to the finals in both events.[7]
In 2004, Akiya,Katsuyori Shibata andHirooki Goto formed a stable named "Shibata Kenka Michi". The stable lasted a couple of months before beingdisbanded. Akiya would briefly feud with Goto and compete against Shibata.[8] In October 2004, Akiya would lose toKatsuhiko Nakajima in the Young Lion ToukonTournament.[9]
In 2005, Anzawa competed in theBest of the Super Juniors XII but would not score enough points to win thetournament.[10]
Anzawa competed in his last match when he tag teamed with Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask to face off againstGedo,Jado andMinoru in January 2006 at the NJPW 2006 Fan Thanksgiving Day event.[11][12]
In early August 2006. Akiya Anzawa announced his retirement from professional wrestling as a whole.[13] He now lives inNiigata with his family.[14]