| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Hiroyuki Saito (1961-05-25)May 25, 1961 (age 64) Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Hiro Saito |
| Billed height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Billed weight | 97 kg (214 lb) |
| Trained by | Tokyo Joe[1] |
| Debut | August 26, 1978 |
| Retired | February 28, 2020 |
Hiroyuki Saito (斎藤 弘幸,Saitō Hiroyuki; born May 25, 1961 inKawasaki, Japan) is a Japaneseprofessional wrestler best known by the shortened name ofHiro Saito (ヒロ 斉藤,Hiro Saitō).[2] He was the firstAJPW World Junior Heavyweight Champion.
A formerjudoka, Hiro debuted in 1978 inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In May 1985, he defeatedThe Cobra to win theWWF Junior Heavyweight Championship only to lose back to him 2 months later.[3] Saito went on to defeat The Cobra for theNWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship on July 28, 1985, only to lose the title right back to him the same night.[4]
Saito soon jumped toAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he formed the "Calgary Hurricanes" with Shunji Takano. He competed in the All JapanWorld Junior Heavyweight Championship tournament in July 1986 where he defeatedBrad Armstrong in the final to become the first World Junior Heavyweight Champion. After four months as champion, Saito lost the title to former stablemateKuniaki Kobayashi.[5]
Saito joined the group known as the Raging Staff and soon won theIWGP World Tag Team Championship withSuper Strong Machine from Hiroshi Hase and Kensuke Sasaki in December 1990, which they held for 3 months until Hase and Sasaki won them back in March 1991.[6][7] After Raging Staff dispersed, Saito joined Team Wolf withMasahiro Chono andHiroyoshi Tenzan, and was later part ofnWo Japan.
In 2006, after spending many years in relegation, Saito quit New Japan once again and began appearing forTatsumi Fujinami'sMuga promotion.
Saito returned to New Japan once again on January 4, 2017, atWrestle Kingdom 11, participating in theNew Japan Rumble before being eliminated byMichael Elgin.[8] The following day, Saito reformedTeam 2000 for one night only along with former membersSatoshi Kojima,Scott Norton and Hiroyoshi Tenzan as well asCheeseburger to defeatBullet Club (Kenny Omega,Bad Luck Fale,Tama Tonga,Tanga Loa andBone Soldier).[9]
Hiro Saito was the first Japanese wrestler to use and popularize the "diving senton", or seating splash off the top rope, in matches. He is not related toMasa Saito, despite sharing name and appearance (aside from the blond hair); Hiroyuki shortened his name to "Hiro" to copy him (since Masa Saito's real name is Masanori) and also as a meaning of sharing fortune ("good luck").
In his last recorded match, forKeiji Muto'sWrestle-1 offshootPro Wrestling Masters circuit, on February 28, 2020, Saito andYutaka Yoshie defeated the combination ofShinjiro Otani andTatsuhito Takaiwa.
