Kazuhiro "Kaz" Hayashi (born May 18, 1973 in
Tokyo, Japan) is a
Japanese professional wrestler. He is working for
All Japan Pro Wrestling. He is also the head booker for the company's junior division.
Career
For much of his early career, Hayashi wrestled in Michinoku Pro under a mask, using the name
Shiryu (Growing Dragon in Japanese). As Shiryu, he was part of the memorable rudo group, Kaientai Deluxe, which waged war with Michinoku Pro's Sekigun for many years, producing some classic matches. In June, 1997, he left for Mexico and Promo Azteca, before joining WCW in the United States in October of that year.
World Championship Wrestling
After unmasking, Hayashi joined
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1998. Early on, he was relegated to a
jobber and comedy
character. He would be taken under the
management of
Sonny Onoo. In late 1999,
Vince Russo and
Ed Ferrara began
booking WCW programs and Hayashi was paired with
La Parka. During
interviews, the two would speak in their native languages which would be humorously
dubbed over by charismatic English speakers, calling him names such as "The Kaz Master" and "Kazanova". This ended shortly when La Parka became upset and tossed the microphone down as Ferrera was speaking.
In mid 2000, Hayashi formed the
stable Jung Dragons along with
Jamie-San and
Yang. Primarily feuding with
3 Count, the Jung Dragons consisted of high-flying
cruiserweight talent and gained...
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