Eiji Ezaki

Eiji Ezaki
Ring name(s)	Hayabusa H Darkside of Hayabusa Eiji Ezaki
Billed height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Billed weight	102 kg (220 lb)
Born	November 29, 1968 (1968-11-29) (age 42)[1] Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Japan
Trained by	Tarzan Goto
Debut	May 5, 1991
Retired	October 22, 2001 (suffered career-ending injury)

Eiji Ezaki (江崎 英治, Ezaki Eiji^?) is a former Japanese professional wrestler better known as the masked Hayabusa (Falcon/Phoenix), who worked primarily for Atsushi Onita's Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling promotion.

Career

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (1991–1993)

Eiji Ezaki began his wrestling career training in the FMW dojo. He would make his FMW debut on May 5, 1991 at the Nagoya International Center and later formed the Kyushu Express with Mr. Gannosuke. In 1993, Atsushi Onita, seeing potential in Ezaki, decided to send him on an overseas excursion of North America.

North American Excursion (1993–1995)

Ezaki adopted the Hayabusa gimmick in 1993 while in Mexico. While there, he learned the lucha libre style from wrestling instructor Rey Misterio, Sr.^[2] Ezaki wrestled for the World Wrestling Association, Asistencia Asesoría y Administración, and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre during his time in Mexico. He then returned to Japan to face Jushin Liger in a well received first round match during the Super J Cup tournament.

Between January 1995 and April 1995, Ezaki would wrestle in the United States, mainly in the Florida area.

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (1995–2001)

Upon his return to FMW in May 1995, Hayabusa wrestled very dangerous matches involving barbed wire and explosives. After one "Exploding Cage" match, he was rushed to the hospital due to severe burns. Hayabusa's rivals included Mr. Gannosuke, The Gladiator, and Onita himself, while he would frequently team with Jinsei Shinzaki. Ezaki occasionally altered his character to the "Darkside of Hayabusa" or the maskless "H."

Ezaki wrestled one match in Extreme Championship Wrestling at Heatwave '98. He and Jinsei Shinzaki unsuccessfully challenged Rob Van Dam and Sabu for the ECW Tag Team Championship.

In October 2001, Ezaki suffered a career-ending injury during a match against Mammoth Sasaki. While attempting a springboard moonsault off the bottom rope, his foot caught the underside of the middle rope, preventing a full rotation. Ezaki landed on his head and was paralyzed as a result. The injury also provoked a very high fever and required surgery. Ezaki was considered the heart and soul of FMW, and after his departure, the company slowly folded.

Post-retirement

Ezaki later pursued a career as a singer.

He traveled to a few WWE events where he met old friends such as Sabu, Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio backstage. He also had the opportunity to take photographs with Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, and Triple H and spoke with Jeff Hardy.[1]

Ezaki attended the PWU (Pro Wrestling Unplugged) FAHRENHEIT: 3RD DEGREE event on August 19, 2006 at the New Alhambra (formerly known as ECW Arena). This was his first appearance in the USA since 2000, the last time being at E3 in Los Angeles, helping promote TOKYOPOP's FMW DVDs by having a 6-man tag match. He also participated in a shoot interview with RF Video.

Ezaki has been active in working with the Dragon Gate promotion. He recorded a duet album with Dragon Kid entitled Trust![2] which came out in November 2007. He partook in the company's first US tour, joining them in their appearance in Los Angeles on September 5 and Hawaii on September 8, 2008.[3] Ezaki also designed the tour's T-shirt. [4] When asked about his career in an interview, Ezaki said that one never knows what the chances are of a return to the ring. He has made significant progress in recovering from his injury and is now able to walk without an aid.

Other media

• Hayabusa appears in the low-budget wrestling movie "Backyard Dogs" and in "Mask de 41" as the "Red Falcon". He also appears as Eiji Ezaki in "Baion".
• Hayabusa also appeared in the music video "Life Is...~another story~" by J-Pop artist Ken Hirai.
• Hayabusa appears in the Japan-exclusive Nintendo 64 games Virtual Pro Wrestling 64 and Virtual Pro Wrestling 2: Ōdō Keishō. He appears unofficially in WCW vs. nWo: World Tour, as Hannibal, and WCW/nWo Revenge, as Glans Zo Mon.

Personal life

Ezaki was married and has two children. The couple divorced sometime in 2004. He has kept in touch with his wife and children since the divorce.

Ezaki is close personal friends with Jushin Liger. The two had a falling out in 1996 after Ezaki turned down a deal with NJPW, but they mended their friendship on April 22, 2005 when they spoke for the first time in nine years.

In wrestling

• Finishing and signature moves

• Falcon Arrow, sometimes while rotating 360° or while diving off the top rope – innovated
• Firebird Splash (450° splash)
• H Thunder (Scoop side piledriver)
• Phoenix Splash (Corkscrew 450° splash) – innovated

• Signature moves

• Corkscrew senton
• Dragon suplex
• Fisherman buster
• H Edge (Modified ura–nage)
• Kneeling double underhook ganso bomb – rarely used
• Shooting Stardust (Shooting star press)
• Sitout double underhook powerbomb
• Springboard into either a somersault senton, a corkscrew senton or a moonsault
• Thunder fire powerbomb – used as a tribute to Atsushi Onita

• Nicknames

• "The Falcon"
• "The Phoenix" / "The Fushichou"
• "The Flying Assassin"

• Entrance themes
  • "One Big Rush" by Joe Satriani (NJPW, Super J Cup - April 16, 1994)
  • "Fight With Dream"
  • "Fight With Dream (Kawasaki Remix)"
  • "Fight With Dream II"
  • "Welcome to the Darkside" - as Darkside of Hayabusa
  • "Silver Resistance" - as H

Championships and accomplishments

• All Japan Pro Wrestling

• AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jinsei Shinzaki

• Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling

• FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
• FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Masato Tanaka (1), Daisuke Ikeda (1)
• FMW Independent Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Tetsuhiro Kuroda and GOEMON (1), Masato Tanaka and Koji Nakagawa (1), Masato Tanaka and Hisakatsu Oya (1)
• WEW World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
• WEW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Mr. Gannosuke (1), Tetsuhiro Kuroda (1)

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• PWI ranked him #38 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1998/1999^[3]
• PWI ranked him #255 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003

• Tokyo Sports Grand Prix

• Fighting Spirit Prize (1997)^[4]

References

1. ^ "ハヤブサオフィシャルブログ「愛と勇気とあるこーる」" (in Japanese). the official blog of Hayabusa. http://ameblo.jp/fushichou/. 
2. ^ Hayabusa's Bio
3. ^ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=547&view=awards#awards
4. ^ http://www.purolove.com/tokyosports.php

Persondata
Name	Ezaki, Eiji
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	November 29, 1968
Place of birth	Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Japan
Date of death
Place of death