| Genichiro Tenryu | |
|---|---|
 Tenryu in 2008 | |
| Birth name | Genichiro Shimada (嶋田 源一郎, Shimada Gen'ichirō) |
| Born | February 2, 1950 Katsuyama, Fukui, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Genichiro Tenryu Tenryu Hayabusa Big Hayabusa Hustle General |
| Billed height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] |
| Billed weight | 124 kg (273 lb)[1] |
| Trained by | Dory Funk Jr. Terry Funk Giant Baba |
| Debut | November 13, 1976 |
| Retired | November 15, 2015 |
Genichiro Shimada (嶋田 源一郎, Shimada Gen'ichirō, born February 2, 1950), better known as Genichiro Tenryu (天龍 源一郎, Tenryū Gen'ichirō) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling. "Tenryu" was his shikona. He had two stints with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he spent the majority of his career while also promoting Super World of Sports (SWS), Wrestle Association R (WAR) and Tenryu Project. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.[2][3] At the time of his retirement, professional wrestling journalist and historian Dave Meltzer wrote that "one could make a strong case [that Tenryu was] between the fourth and sixth biggest native star" in the history of Japanese professional wrestling.[4]
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
PWI500-2004was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Greatest Wrestler Ever: THE LIST!". Pro Wrestling Only. 2016-04-18. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
- ^ Spyke, T. J. "COUNIHAN: My New Greatest Wrestler Ever Top 100 List with a new no. 1, plus the top 247 wrestlers compiled from our panel". Retrieved 2024-04-07.
- ^ Meltzer, Dave (November 30, 2015). "SHEAMUS WINS WWE TITLE, TENRYU RETIREMENT SHOW, PLUS TONS MORE". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 1 February 2020.(subscription required)