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Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Height: 6'0" (183cm)
Weight: 254lbs (115kg)
Date of Birth: 3/23/71
Place of Birth: Kyoto City, Kyoto
Debut: January 11th, 1991 (vs. Osamu Matsuda)
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Title History:
IWGP Heavyweight Title (4):
- Yoshihiro Takayama (11/3/03) / Shinsuke Nakamura (12/9/03)
- Genichiro Tenryu (2/15/04) / Kensuke Sasaki (3/14/04)
- Kensuke Sasaki (12/12/04) / Satoshi Kojima (2/20/05)
- Satoshi Kojima (5/14/05) / Kazuyuki Fujita (7/18/05)
IWGP Tag Team Title (8):
- (w/ Masahiro Chono) Shinya Hashimoto & Junji Hirata (6/12/95) / Shinya Hashimoto & Junji Hirata (7/13/95)
- (w/ Masahiro Chono) Kazuo Yamazaki & Takashi Iizuka (7/16/96) / Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura (1/4/97)
- (w/ Masahiro Chono) Genichiro Tenryu & Shiro Koshinaka (6/5/98) / Genichiro Tenryu & Shiro Koshinaka (7/15/98)
- (w/ Satoshi Kojima) Genichiro Tenryu & Shiro Koshinaka (1/4/99) / Kensuke Sasaki & Shiro Koshinaka (3/22/99)
- (w/ Satoshi Kojima) Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata (7/20/00) / Tatsumi Fujinami & Osamu Nishimura (9/23/01)
- (w/ Masahiro Chono) Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi (3/24/02) / Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi (6/13/03)
- (w/ Osamu Nishimura) Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi (12/14/03) / Yoshihiro Takayama & Minoru Suzuki (2/1/04)
- (w/ Masahiro Chono) Shinsuke Nakamura & Hiroshi Tanahashi (10/30/05) / Vacated (9/24/06)
CWA Jr. Heavyweight Title (2):
- Lance Storm (7/3/93) / Lance Storm (7/24/93)
- Lance Storm (10/93) / Lance Storm (10/24/93)
Tournament History:
- Young Lion Cup 1993: Hiroyoshi Yamamoto beat Osamu Nishimura (14:11) with a kakaekomi crab hold.
- Super Grade Tag League 1995: Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Kazuo Yamazaki & Osamu Kido (12:50) when Chono used an STF on Kido.
- IWGP Tag Team Title Tournament (1998): Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Genichiro Tenryu & Shiro Koshinaka (19:51) when Tenzan used a diving headbutt on Koshinaka.
- G1 Tag League 2001: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima beat Mike Barton & Jim Steele (24:02) when Tenzan used a moonsault press on Steele.
- IWGP Tag Team Title Tournament (2002): Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi (23:16) when Tenzan used a moonsault press on Nagata.
- Naeba Cup Tag Tournament 2002: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Koji Kanemoto beat Yuji Nagata & Minoru Tanaka (10:58) when Kanemoto used a Tiger suplex hold on Tanaka.
- G1 Climax 2003: Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Jun Akiyama (31:43) with the Anaconda Vice.
- G1 Tag League 2003: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura beat Yoshihiro Takayama & TOA (14:10) when Nishimura used a backslide on TOA.
- IWGP Heavyweight Title Tournament (2004): Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Genichiro Tenryu (13:01) with a diving headbutt.
- G1 Climax 2004: Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Hiroshi Tanahashi (21:01) with the Anaconda Vice.
- President Hoshino ¥10,000,000 Offer Tag Tournament (2004): Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Shinsuke Nakamura beat Masahiro Chono & Katsuyori Shibata (19:28) when Tenzan pinned Chono after the Ten-Naka Satsu.
- IWGP Heavyweight Title #1 Contender Tournament (2005): Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Masahiro Chono (19:02) with the Anaconda Cross.
- G1 Climax 2006: Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Satoshi Kojima (27:36) with the Original TTD.
- Yuke's Cup PREMIUM One Night Tag Tournament (2008): Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Shinjiro Otani beat Manabu Nakanishi & Jushin Thunder Liger (17:46) when Tenzan used the Anaconda Vice on Liger.
Signature Moves:
- Anaconda Cross
- Anaconda Vice
- Buffalo sleeper
- Calf-branding neckbreaker
- Diving headbutt
- Mongolian chop
- Moonsault press
- Mountain bomb
- TTD
Profile:
Hiroyoshi Yamamoto pursued bodybuilding and basketball during his school days, before deciding to become a professional wrestler. He joined New Japan in May, 1990, and would debut early in 1991 against Osamu Matsuda (El Samurai). A few months after winning the 1993 Young Lion Cup, Yamamoto left on an overseas learning excursion to Europe, where he practiced in Germany's CWA promotion. Upon returning to New Japan at the Tokyo Dome in January, 1995, he was Hiroyoshi Tenzan, a new man sporting a bigger physique and unique persona, the image of a buffalo. Part of the new image was horns that he wore to the ring, which became one of his main trademarks, along with a very vicious approach to wrestling. Masahiro Chono adopted Tenzan as his main disciple, the two forming perhaps the most successful tag team in New Japan history, which included multiple IWGP Tag Team Title reigns. As a member of Chono's nWo Japan and later Team 2000, Tenzan became a major emerging figure in New Japan, but found more success in tag action than singles. His alliance with Satoshi Kojima captivated fans and they became one of the most loved tag teams in history, enjoying a long and memorable run as tag aces of New Japan before Kojima left the promotion. Shortly before the 2003 G1 Climax, Tenzan embarked on an overseas excursion to Canada, where he found renewed motivation and transformed from a buffalo into an anaconda. Then, in the G1, he performed brilliantly, five successive victories sealing his breakthrough singles victory, and finally elevating him to the main event. Shortly after, he won the G1 Tag League with Nishimura, and days later, he reached the absolute peak, defeating Yoshihiro Takayama to finally capture the IWGP Heavyweight Title at Yokohama Arena. In December, he completed a New Japan "Grand Slam" when he won the IWGP Tag Team Title for the seventh time. After winning the G1 for a third time in 2006, Tenzan split from Chono, ending their famous tag team, and formed his first ever army, GBH (Great Bash Heel). Tenzan is regarded as one of the toughest fighters in New Japan, and utilizes a ruthless brute style. One of New Japan's most eccentric, charismatic, and talented combatants, Tenzan is constantly in the hunt for more success, and stands tall as a member of New Japan's front line.
