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 Tenryu in 2008 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Genichiro Shimada (嶋田 源一郎,Shimada Gen'ichirō) (1950-02-02)February 2, 1950 (age 75) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Genichiro Tenryu Tenryu Hayabusa Big Hayabusa Hustle General |
| Billed height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] |
| Billed weight | 124 kg (273 lb)[1] |
| Trained by | Dory Funk Jr. Terry Funk Giant Baba |
| Debut | November 13, 1976 |
| Retired | November 15, 2015 |
Genichiro Shimada (嶋田 源一郎,Shimada Gen'ichirō; born February 2, 1950), better known asGenichiro Tenryu (天龍 源一郎,Tenryū Gen'ichirō) is a Japanese retiredprofessional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. At age 13, he enteredsumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling. "Tenryu" was hisshikona. He had two stints withAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he spent the majority of his career while also promotingSuper World of Sports (SWS),Wrestle Association R (WAR) andTenryu Project. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.[2][3] At the time of his retirement, professional wrestling journalist and historianDave Meltzer wrote that "one could make a strong case [that Tenryu was] between the fourth and sixth biggest native star" in the history of Japanese professional wrestling.[4]
| Tenryū Genichiro | |
|---|---|
| 天龍 源一郎 | |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Weight | 112 kg (247 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Nishonoseki |
| Record | 393-355-0 |
| Debut | January, 1964 |
| Highest rank | Maegashira 1 (January, 1974) |
| Retired | September, 1976 |
| Championships | 1 (Jūryō) 1 (Makushita) |
Last updated: Sep. 2012 | |
As a sumo wrestler, Tenryu was ranked as asekitori for 27 tournaments, 16 of them in the topmakuuchi division. His highest rank wasmaegashira 1. Upon the death of his stablemaster atNishonoseki stable he wanted to join former stablemateDaikirin's newly established Oshiogawa stable, which had just broken off from Nishonoseki, but theJapan Sumo Association insisted he stay at Nishonoseki whose new stablemaster,Kongō, he did not get along with. He finished one more tournament, and even though his career still showed promise, he decided to leave the sumo world at the young age of 26 in September 1976.
Scouted byGiant Baba, theAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) owner, Tenryu was sent to Amarillo, Texas to be trained byDory Funk Jr. andTerry Funk, and debuted in Texas in 1976, againstTed DiBiase. After returning to Japan in 1977, he stayed in the undercard until about 1982 when he began to get a slight push in that year'sChampion Carnival tournament. In 1983, following a brief stint inJim Crockett Promotions, his push began in earnest whenJumbo Tsuruta pursued the NWA International heavyweight title, now the main title in theTriple Crown Heavyweight Championship.
1984 saw Tenryu winning the NWA United National title, now also part of the Triple Crown, as well as the NWA International tag team title with Tsuruta. Their combination was called "Kakuryu" (鶴 =kaku =tsuru (the "tsuru" in Tsuruta) +龍 =ryū in Tenryū). The team feuded withRiki Choshu andYoshiaki Yatsu, who were the leaders in an "invasion" angle by theJapan Pro Wrestling promotion, an All Japan satellite made up of formerNew Japan Pro-Wrestling talent.
In 1987, following the departure of the Japan Pro talent, Kakuryu broke up after losing the tag team titles toThe Road Warriors, which led to Tenryu forming his own stable, "Revolution", with formerInternational Pro Wrestling wrestlersAshura Hara andHiromichi Fuyuki, as well as All Japan rookiesToshiaki Kawada, andYoshinari Ogawa; Tatsumi Kitahara would join the group upon his debut in 1988. Tenryu and Hara feuded with Tsuruta and his new partner Yatsu over the Pacific Wrestling Federation World tag team titles and later with their replacement, theWorld Tag Team Championship (a combination of the PWF World and NWA International tag belts). Hara was kicked out of the promotion in late 1988, and Tenryu replaced him withStan Hansen, with whom he held the World Tag Team Championship as well.
1989 was Tenryu's banner year. Tsuruta became the first Triple Crown champion on April 18 of that year, and just two days later Tenryu became his first challenger. The Tsuruta-Tenryu series that ensued set the standard for all Triple Crown matches and feuds to follow. When Tenryu won the belts on June 5, the match was so spectacular it was deemed Match of the Year by major Japanese publications. The same year saw him finally pin his mentor Baba, albeit in a tag match - but still a major success for a Japanese wrestler. OnlyMitsuharu Misawa would duplicate this feat. In addition, Tenryu was chosen to be one-third of theNWA World Six-Man Tag Team Champions with the Road Warriors after the Road Warriors turnedheel against their former co-holder of the title,Dusty Rhodes. However, the relationship between All Japan Pro Wrestling and the NWA was significantly strained when Tenryu and the Road Warriors were scheduled to compete in a match Baba had advertised to his Japanese audience, but American booking decisions prevented the match from taking place. This created an uncomfortable situation where Giant Baba had to apologize to his Japanese audience for a match he had promoted not taking place, and was a key factor in All Japan Pro Wrestling's ultimate withdrawal from the NWA. This also resulted in the six man championship being vacated and abandoned until 1991, when it was temporarily resurrected as aWorld Championship Wrestling championship.
In April 1990, Tenryu left All Japan Pro Wrestling to formSuper World of Sports (SWS). He wrestled his first match for the nascent promotion in September 1990, teaming withTakashi Ishikawa as "Revolution" to defeat Dojo Geki (Isao Takagi andYoshiaki Yatsu).[5]
In 1991, as part of a working agreement between Super World of Sports and theWorld Wrestling Federation, Tenryu appeared atWrestleMania VII, where he teamed withKoji Kitao to defeatDemolition.[1]
Tenryu wrestled his final match for SWS in June 1992, teaming withAshura Hara andÚltimo Dragón to defeatJerry Estrada,King Haku, andThe Great Kabuki.[5]
After Super World of Sports collapsed in June 1992, Tenryu, aided by Masatomo Takei (brother of his wife Makiyo) formedWrestling and Romance (WAR). WAR became his base from where he would take on top wrestlers from other promotions, such asAtsushi Onita,Nobuhiko Takada,The Great Muta,Shinya Hashimoto andMasahiro Chono, all of whom he defeated. He also traded victories withTatsumi Fujinami andAntonio Inoki, thus becoming the only Japanese wrestler to defeat both Inoki and Baba by pinfall.
Tenryu made brief returns to the World Wrestling Federation at the1993 Royal Rumble and1994 Royal Rumble;[1] in the latter he made it to the final five but was eliminated by eventual co-winnersLex Luger andBret Hart. Anangle had he and The Great Kabuki hired as mercenaries byYokozuna's manager,Mr. Fuji, to attackThe Undertaker and prevent him from winning.
In 1998, as WAR went into decline, Tenryu began an earnest comeback, this time in New Japan. He first joinedHeisei Ishingun, allied with its leaderShiro Koshinaka, and they won theIWGP Tag Team Championship from Team Wolf, Masahiro Chono andHiroyoshi Tenzan. In December 1999, Tenryu made history as the first native to win the top two distinctions of professional wrestling in Japan (All Japan's Triple Crown and New Japan's IWGP Heavyweight title) by beating Mutoh for the IWGP title. (The first man to win both titles wasBig Van Vader, an American.)
In 2000, following the near-collapse of All Japan due to thePro Wrestling Noah split, Tenryu closed WAR and rejoined All Japan, eager to test his mettle against the remainingace, his former disciple Kawada. Tenryu beat Kawada in the subsequent tournament for the vacant Triple Crown, winning the belts for a second time. In his second stay in All Japan, he would capture the belts a third time and also the World Tag Team Championship with former WAR–UWFI feud rivalYoji Anjo.
In 2003, he joinedFighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling for a few matches, but as it declined rapidly, he switched back and forth aimlessly between New Japan and All Japan.
In 2005, he entered Noah, and began feuds with Misawa,Kenta Kobashi, and other wrestlers he knew from his first All Japan stint, as well as new faces he's never met in the ring before, such asJun Akiyama. Tenryu has also been with theHustle promotion and was a part of the main heel group led byGeneralissimo Takada. During this time, he teamed withToshiaki Kawada mainly. At Hustle Aid 2007, however, Tenryu was defeated byRazor Ramon HG and joined the main face group led by Razor Ramon HG, Hustle Army.
In December 2009, following the folding of Hustle, Tenryu began running his own Tenryu Project promotion. He continued to make forays into other promotions, remaining active even past age 60.
On February 7, 2015, it was reported that Tenryu had decided to retire from professional wrestling with his final match scheduled to take place later in the year.[6] Tenryu held a press conference two days later to confirm the report, announcing that his retirement event would be taking place in November and would feature participation from All Japan, New Japan and Noah.[7] On August 16, Tenryu made a surprise return to New Japan, having a confrontation withKazuchika Okada to set up his retirement match on November 15.[8] In the meantime, he embarked on a multipromotional "Retirement Road" tour, including matches inKyushu Pro-Wrestling,DDT,BJW,Wrestle-1 andPro Wrestling Freedoms.[9] On November 15, Tenryu was defeated by Okada in his retirement match.[10][11]Tokyo Sports named Tenryu's retirement match the 2015 Match of the Year.[12]
Tenryu appears as a gang member in the 2017 video gameYakuza Kiwami 2, alongside Keiji Mutoh, Masahiro Chono, Riki Choshu and Tatsumi Fujinami.[13]Tenryu is also a regular guest on the annual 24-hour comedy special, Gaki no Tsukai - No Laughing Challenge, often appearing as a character who occasionally (and intentionally) speaks unintelligibly to cause the contestants to laugh.
| Year | January Hatsu basho,Tokyo | March Haru basho,Osaka | May Natsu basho,Tokyo | July Nagoya basho,Nagoya | September Aki basho,Tokyo | November Kyūshū basho,Fukuoka |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | (Maezumo) | West Jonokuchi #22 5–2 | West Jonidan #96 4–3 | East Jonidan #67 3–4 | West Jonidan #87 5–2 | East Jonidan #38 4–3 |
| 1965 | East Jonidan #13 5–2 | East Sandanme #64 3–4 | West Sandanme #77 5–2 | West Sandanme #33 4–3 | East Sandanme #22 2–5 | West Sandanme #47 3–4 |
| 1966 | West Sandanme #58 3–4 | West Sandanme #63 4–3 | West Sandanme #51 5–2 | East Sandanme #14 4–3 | East Makushita #95 4–3 | West Makushita #75 6–1 |
| 1967 | West Makushita #43 3–4 | West Makushita #46 3–4 | West Makushita #58 2–5 | East Sandanme #12 3–4 | West Sandanme #20 1–6 | West Sandanme #50 5–2 |
| 1968 | East Sandanme #22 4–3 | West Sandanme #11 3–4 | West Sandanme #26 5–2 | East Sandanme #5 5–2 | East Makushita #43 4–3 | East Makushita #36 3–4 |
| 1969 | East Makushita #39 5–2 | West Makushita #24 3–4 | East Makushita #29 5–2 | West Makushita #18 3–4 | East Makushita #24 4–3 | West Makushita #20 3–4 |
| 1970 | West Makushita #24 6–1 | East Makushita #7 3–4 | West Makushita #9 3–4 | East Makushita #14 3–4 | West Makushita #19 6–1–P Champion | East Makushita #4 3–4 |
| 1971 | West Makushita #7 3–4 | West Makushita #12 4–3 | West Makushita #10 5–2 | West Makushita #3 6–1 | West Jūryō #11 6–9 | East Makushita #2 3–4 |
| 1972 | West Makushita #4 4–3 | West Makushita #3 3–4 | East Makushita #7 6–1–P | East Jūryō #13 8–7 | West Jūryō #8 10–5–P | East Jūryō #3 10–5 |
| 1973 | East Maegashira #13 8–7 | East Maegashira #10 9–6 | West Maegashira #5 6–9 | West Maegashira #9 6–9 | East Maegashira #13 9–6 | East Maegashira #7 9–6 |
| 1974 | West Maegashira #1 5–10 | West Maegashira #5 6–9 | West Maegashira #9 6–9 | East Maegashira #11 8–7 | West Maegashira #8 8–7 | East Maegashira #7 5–10 |
| 1975 | East Maegashira #12 5–10 | West Jūryō #3 8–7 | East Jūryō #2 4–11 | West Jūryō #10 13–2 Champion | West Maegashira #13 6–9 | West Jūryō #2 8–7 |
| 1976 | East Maegashira #14 4–11 | West Jūryō #4 10–5 | East Jūryō #1 7–8 | West Jūryō #2 10–5 | East Maegashira #13 Retired 8–7 | x |
| Record given aswins–losses–absences Top division champion Top division runner-up Retired Lower divisions Non-participation Sanshō key:F=Fighting spirit;O=Outstanding performance;T=Technique Also shown:★=Kinboshi;P=Playoff(s) | ||||||
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