This is based off a biography which I’d like to share with you below. If you have the time I strongly urge you to read it. Information and photos from the bio have been used here with the author’s permission. There is no better source for Eiji Ezaki’s life & career. These articles have been edited and republished together to provide highlights and matches as a tribute to the legend. The author of the bio is happy for the work to be shared. I do not own the information, photos or videos.
Eiji Ezaki began his career back in 1987 as a wrestler struggling to make money in the small Japanese independent circuit. Having been trained by former AJPW star Tarzan Goto, he was lucky to be taken in by the Frontier Martial Art’s Wrestling dojo in 1991.
Starting out as what many call a “jobber” today, Ezaki was on the losing end of all his matches. Sporting red trunks, he faced off against fellow jobber Masashi Honda in this short, yet entertaining old school matchup. You can see glimpses of his athleticism and high-flying acumen before picking up his first victory in FMW.
The feud continued, and Ezaki picked up wins over his rival before Honda changed his name to Mr. Gannosuke. He continued working as a low-carder, and his biggest matches were on anniversary shows. Long before Chris Jericho became well-known in America, he worked tag team matches with other random gaijins against Ezaki & Gannosuke (and sometimes Nakagawa). In the match below, you can see highlights of Jericho and Ezaki working each other over with a brisk pace.
Ezaki won his last match in FMW (during this tenure) against Masato Tanaka. Atsushi Onita (the founder of FMW and innovator of the “deathmatch”) felt Ezaki was lacking something, so he sent him off to Mexico to learn the Lucha Libre style. This was the best decision for his career, but he turned up in Mexico struggling to find work in a land which seemed very alien.
He adopted the name of Hayabusa (after a ride in a theme park) before making a design for his mask. The mask maker was reluctant to craft it as the design showed off too much of his face .. but after some persuasion he found time to make it. The mask was different as it only covered the bottom half of the face, leaving the top half exposed. Below is Hayabusa checking out the mask shop, as well as the first ever picture of him wearing the mask he had made. These photos belong to the author of the biography.
Struggling to find work, WWA had him train with children in Rey Misterio Sr’s dojo. Ezaki struggled because all of his previous experience was detrimental to the lucha style. As a sign of things to come, a young 18-year-old Rey Mysterio Jr noticed Ezaki and asked for a practice session with him. After Ezaki impressed Rey, he was told “Good Job Amigo!”. It was the start of a strong relationship between two of the greatest high-flyers of all time.
Another Japanese wrestler called Akihito Ichiwara returned to training, and this helped Ezaki as not many could understand what he was saying. After completing his training, he finally got his first match booked on a show in Tijuana in late ’93. Working the second match under the new name, the Mexican fans loathed him immediately. They berated him with chants of “Chino” (Chinese in Spanish) while throwing empty cups at him. That night, he only made enough money to buy some food and drink; but it did not dissuade him. He felt blessed as he was working on the same cards as his hero Mil Mascaras and brother Dos Caras
He had more costumes made, and altered his mask to cover up more. Due to visa issues, Ezaki turned to Ultimo Dragon for help. Ultimo helped him get to Mexico City, have his visa sorted out, and shortly thereafter he was working for AAA. The promoter promised he’d go from making 2-3 dollars a match to 800. Despite this promise, he worked the match and was not compensated after repeated trips to their offices. After sitting on the sidelines a while. he asked Konnan why he wasn’t getting booked. He explained the reason was because they didn’t want too many Japanese wrestlers on the cards while AAA and New Japan had a working relationship.
And then finally .. a break! Onita got in contact saying he wanted him to be part of New Japan’s special “Super J-Cup” tournament. He wasn’t bothered who Ezaki turned up as, so long as he was there. Ezaki decided to debut Hayabusa, so no one would know it was him if anything went wrong. When he found out he would be facing Jushin “Thunder” Liger in the first round .. he freaked out with excitement. He returned to Japan and was so anxious he didn’t sleep well the night before, almost missing the bus to the event the following morning.
He met up with old rival Mr. Gannosuke and shared his feelings. Ezaki shared his ambition to hit his first Shooting Star Press in the match with Liger. On April 16th ’94 at the Tokyo Ryogoku Sumo Hall, Ezaki debuted Hayabusa in Japan against the popular Jushin Liger. The match changed his life as he was seen as a bigger deal than before. After being told to return to Mexico immediately after, Jushin Liger followed and brought with him a VHS tape of the event so they could sit and watch their match together.
Reviewing the match, Larry Csonka of 411mania said: “A really good first impression for Hayabusa, but it was clear that he was still pretty green. He was still working on what moves he should keep using, and moves that he should ditch. Thankfully, he got rid of the Shooting Star Press as this match wasn’t the only time he had miscalculated the move.”
After this classic the offers started pouring in. IWA Japan offered him a big contract to jump ship from FMW, but he declined. In 1995 while wrestling in the United States, the WWF offered him a contract, but again he declined out of loyalty to FMW. But his super stardom was yet to appear, and there were hurdles for him to overcome before he could be considered a main event superstar for FMW.
Hayabusa looked to return to FMW with a renewed importance to the company which gave him his first opportunity. So after working for months in Mexico for CMLL, Ezaki finally returned home. Going up against the man who inspired some of the design for his character, Ezaki found himself working Sabu in what would be his first victory as Hayabusa in Japan. Below are the highlights of the fast paced action. Sabu was injured during it but kept going .. like he does. Not sure why Ezaki seemed pissed afterwards, but Sabu was quick to no-sell his finisher to shake his hand out of respect.
Later in the night .. despite helping the man who found him work in Mexico (Atsushi Onita), the Ace Of FMW decided to spit water all over the fans and Hayabusa. This was likely to turn Onita heel and garner sympathy for Ezaki.
After this embarrassment he returned to Mexico to train in Ultimo Dragon’s class of high-flying called the “Hall Of The Dragon”. It was here that Ezaki met up with former rival Chris Jericho, who was looking to add more moves to his arsenal. Jericho asked him about the Shooting Star Press, and told him he’d broke his arm attempting it. So it was decided they’d work on something else for Jericho .. the Asai Moonsault, which we all know and love as “The Lionsault” he made famous as “Lionheart” in ECW.
Ezaki wanted something new for himself though, so he created the “Phoenix Splash”. It’s a 450 splash starting from a backwards posture like you’re readying for a moonsault. This was vital for his career moving forward. He took his new move and practiced it in matches for EMLL. He also had the honour of teaming with Ultimo Dragon in a tag team tournament; although they were not successful. At this time he was asked to return to FMW soon, so he worked his last remaining dates. On November 29th 1994, he celebrated his 26th birthday with Chris Jericho, who found it funny to cram his face in to the cake.
He also had the pleasure of working some matches with Dos Caras (Alberto Del Rio’s Father). Unluckily for him, a botched asai moonsault gave him an injury, but he was able to recover as he only picked up a severe headache. In early 1995, he went to America to train and put on more weight before taking over as the Ace of FMW. Going on the road with The Gladiator (aka Mike Awesome) helped, as they discussed how they would keep FMW going after Onita’s retirement. He worked some Florida events, but he didn’t get over right away as some of the American fans laughed at him for looking like a Power Ranger. They soon changed their tune when they saw him perform the Falcon Arrow (which he also innovated) and the Phoenix Splash. Hayabusa was so impressive he won the PCWF Heavyweight Championship.
Pictured above, you can see Mike Awesome choking Hayabusa to advertise their upcoming match. At the 6th Anniversary show he was meant to challenge The Gladiator, but plans changed considerably in the main event scene. Atsushi Onita was scheduled to face Tarzan Goto in a brutal match which would’ve passed the torch. But Goto had other plans and left the company (he felt Onita was setting him up to fail), leaving them with no one to take over.
The new owner Shoichi Arai decided it would be Hayabusa who would take over as the Ace of FMW. With friends leaving the promotion, he declined to follow them and pledged his loyalty to Arai and Mike Awesome. To make the retirement match extra exciting, the company announced Ishikawa would challenge Onita instead. And when it came to the press conference .. Hayabusa came in and knelt with respect, before challenging Onita. While Onita berated Hayabusa for bursting in, Ishikawa respected him enough to step aside.
In one of the biggest matches of his life, Hayabusa challenged Onita in a “Exploding Ring, No Ropes, Exploding Barbed Wire Cage Death Match” in front of 58,250 fans. It was the biggest deathmatch of the time, and the biggest main event in FMW history. Below is the best video you’re going to find .. but it’s very long! Nevertheless, this is as extreme as wrestling got in the 90’s. You can see where ECW got its inspiration from.
The result was Hayabusa needing 67 stitches, and he cried afterwards due to the pain and emotion. Onita had passed the torch to him, so the pressure was on his shoulders to keep FMW alive. To give them a fresh start, Aria closed Onita’s FMW and started his own promotion under the same name. To coincide with this, Hayabusa had pictures taken of him so they could promote the new FMW with the new ace on all the posters.
Despite Onita doing his best to put Hayabusa over in the match, many hardcore FMW fans had not yet gotten onboard. Attendances plummeted, but it was to be expected after years of shaping FMW around Onita. He joined up with Mr Pogo, Gladiator, Hisaskatsu Pogo and Horace to takeover Goto’s old stable to fight back against Ricky Fuji, who claimed Hayabusa was not the man to take over as the Ace of FMW. After some poor shows, Ezaki prayed the show at the Korakuen Hall would sell out. And it did, as the fans were willing to give this new FMW a shot. He promised the fans they would work with the same passion as they did for Onita. He performed the Phoenix Splash for the first time in Japan, but the fans didn’t notice right away. It wasn’t til Ezaki got a full two pages highlighting the move in the Pro-Wrestling Weekly magazine did they begin to notice.
In mid-1995, fans showed up to FMW chanting for him. They’d seen his innovative moves (in the mag) they won’t be able to see anywhere else. Purely through word of mouth, the audience grew by 30% in a couple of months. He got over to the point a news channel showed footage of him performing the Phoenix Splash; he was slowly becoming a phenomenon.
He won the FMW Brass Knuckles title, but returned it shortly after as he felt he needed to defeat The Gladiator and everyone from the W*ING stable first. This led to a series of matches between him and The Gladiator. He was injured in their first match after a botched shooting star press, brought on by him finding it difficult to breath with the mask in the hot climate. Regardless, he kept going and finished the match. Despite being told to take a couple of months off after a trip to the hospital, Ezaki hid his pain so he could compete in the Grand Slam tournament. He felt he needed to prove he was tough enough to be the ace of FMW.
Despite working hurt, Hayabusa fought his way through every match in the Grand Slam tournament. Managing to scrape through on points, he was placed against his rival Gladiator in the finals. His injuries worsened though, so he was forced to see his doctor and get painkillers. After giving Gladiator everything his body had left, Ezaki lost the match. Mike whispered “Thank you Ezaki”. This win helped Mike Awesome’s career considerably. It may have encouraged Paul Heyman to sign him to ECW a few years later.
Still needing to be the ace of FMW, he kept working .. but mainly in tag matches. For the rest of the year he kept working .. but his injuries piled up. He turned to alcohol to help him get to sleep at night as the pain was so bad. He wasn’t coping with the pressure of being the ace of FMW very well. Living off the high of being in the ring, he picked up another injury .. this time to his eye. Refusing to get checked out, he worked with the injury despite not being able to judge distance well. In the last week of the year, Hayabusa got on the mic after a main event and promised the fans he would keep working hard next year. Arai noticed his injuries, and instead told Ezaki he was to be taken off the January tour so he could rest up. Ezaki managed to convince Arai to let him do the January tour so they could set up an injury angle.
In his first barbaric deathmatch since fighting Onita, Hayabusa teamed with Masato Tanaka and Koji Nakagawa to take on the W*Ing Team. He was severely cut open after being thrown in to a barbed wire net with glass in it. He was forced to be hospitalized, and he finally got some proper sleep thanks to the medication. At this time, the doctor announced his many injuries:
- Left knee collateral ligament damage
- Right shoulder joint sprain
- Elevated level of phosphate in blood
- Left ulner nerve palsy
- Right knee sprain
- Finger joint sprain
- Left eye iritis
- Traumatic glaucoma
They told him he needed to take at least a year out of action. Surgery immediately afterwards made it impossible for him to walk right away. While resting in bed, he read a headline saying Onita was returning to FMW. He felt like a failure, as he was unable to do what he’d promised for the fans. He felt like he needed to get back by May at least, as there was a big show. Instead, he returned less than three months later on March 30th. Still visibly injured, he got back in to the feud with the W*ING stable. In May, he went up against a team including Terry Funk in a deathmatch. Onita got in his face and told him he had to win for FMW’s honour.
He lost and it came at a price. Onita publicly berated an unmasked Ezaki backstage. Onita told him he needed to grow up and take life like a man. Ezaki had to go back to the hospital .. this time for 110 stitches, only 1 stitch away from Onita’s record of 111. He had stitches all over his body and needed another couple of months off. While resting, Jushin Liger invited him to come see what WCW and New Japan were doing; which sparked rumours he was looking to sign for New Japan. When he returned to FMW to watch some of the action, it created tension between him and one of his stablemates (Nakagawa) so much he had to leave the arena in a taxi.
He returned in August to face Nakagawa in a match, but due to his injuries the match was messy and ended with Hayabusa only just managing to get up to avoid the 10 count. Unhappy with how the match transpired, Ezaki demanded a rematch. Nakagawa won the rematch, and Ezaki earned his respect back. During a W*ING promoted event, he went up against Hido as a default heel. He was unmasked and made to bleed from the forehead. He fought back though, and showed sadistic tendencies as he bit the head of the bloodied Hido. The dark side of Hayabusa was on show.
At the end of 1996 he got back in to the swing of things as his injuries healed. Still feuding with the likes of Oya, Funk, Gladiator, and other W*ING members, he continued defending FMW. They also did some cross promotion with Michinoku Pro, so he got to work matches against the likes of Taka Michinoku and The Great Sasuke. But in November it was announced Onita was returning the next month, and it saddened Ezaki. The effect was immediately felt, as he was booked in more mid-card matches til the end of the year. On December 11th, he picked up an excellent win over The Great Sasuke, while Onita returned to the main event and reclaimed the title of Ace of FMW. It was a tough time .. but there was a lot more to come for Eiji Ezaki. The post match interview shows a dejected looking winner, and the image of him limping away is a powerful reminder of the extremes some wrestlers go to for our entertainment.
