All Japan Pro Wrestling (1976–1990) Scouted by
Giant Baba, the
All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) owner, Tenryu was sent to Amarillo, Texas to be trained by
Dory Funk Jr. and
Terry Funk, and debuted in Texas in 1976, against
Ted DiBiase. After returning to Japan in 1977, he stayed in the undercard until about 1982 when he began to get a slight push in that year's
Champion Carnival tournament. In 1983, following a brief stint in
Jim Crockett Promotions, his push began in earnest when
Jumbo Tsuruta pursued the NWA International heavyweight title, now the main title in the
Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. 1984 saw Tenryu winning the NWA United National title, now also part of the Triple Crown, as well as the NWA International tag team title with Tsuruta. Their combination was called "Kakuryu" ( =
kaku =
tsuru (the "tsuru" in Tsuruta) + =
ryū in Tenryū). The team feuded with
Riki Choshu and
Yoshiaki Yatsu, who were the leaders in an "invasion" angle by the
Japan Pro Wrestling promotion, an All Japan satellite made up of former
New Japan Pro-Wrestling talent. In 1987, following the departure of the Japan Pro talent, Kakuryu broke up after losing the tag team titles to
The Road Warriors, which led to Tenryu forming his own stable, "
Revolution", with former
International Pro Wrestling wrestlers
Ashura Hara and
Hiromichi Fuyuki, as well as All Japan rookies
Toshiaki Kawada, and
Yoshinari Ogawa; Tatsumi Kitahara would join the group upon his debut in 1988. Tenryu and Hara feuded with Tsuruta and his new partner Yatsu over the Pacific Wrestling Federation World tag team titles and later with their replacement, the
World Tag Team Championship (a combination of the PWF World and NWA International tag belts). Hara was kicked out of the promotion in late 1988, and Tenryu replaced him with
Stan Hansen, with whom he held the World Tag Team Championship as well. 1989 was Tenryu's banner year. Tsuruta became the first Triple Crown champion on April 18 of that year, and just two days later Tenryu became his first challenger. The Tsuruta-Tenryu series that ensued set the standard for all Triple Crown matches and feuds to follow. When Tenryu won the belts on June 5, the match was so spectacular it was deemed Match of the Year by major Japanese publications. The same year saw him finally pin his mentor Baba, albeit in a tag match - but still a major success for a Japanese wrestler. Only
Mitsuharu Misawa would duplicate this feat. In addition, Tenryu was chosen to be one-third of the
NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Champions with the Road Warriors after the Road Warriors turned
heel against their former co-holder of the title,
Dusty Rhodes. However, the relationship between All Japan Pro Wrestling and the NWA was significantly strained when Tenryu and the Road Warriors were scheduled to compete in a match Baba had advertised to his Japanese audience, but American booking decisions prevented the match from taking place. This created an uncomfortable situation where Giant Baba had to apologize to his Japanese audience for a match he had promoted not taking place, and was a key factor in All Japan Pro Wrestling's ultimate withdrawal from the NWA. This also resulted in the six man championship being vacated and abandoned until 1991, when it was temporarily resurrected as a
World Championship Wrestling championship.
Super World of Sports (1990–1992) In April 1990, Tenryu left All Japan Pro Wrestling to form
Super World of Sports (SWS). He wrestled his first match for the nascent promotion in September 1990, teaming with
Takashi Ishikawa as "Revolution" to defeat Dojo Geki (
Isao Takagi and
Yoshiaki Yatsu). Tenryu wrestled his final match for SWS in June 1992, teaming with
Ashura Hara and
Último Dragón to defeat
Jerry Estrada,
King Haku, and
The Great Kabuki. Tenryu held a press conference two days later to confirm the report, announcing that his retirement event would be taking place in November and would feature participation from All Japan, New Japan and Noah. On August 16, Tenryu made a surprise return to New Japan, having a confrontation with
Kazuchika Okada to set up his retirement match on November 15. In the meantime, he embarked on a multipromotional "Retirement Road" tour, including matches in
Kyushu Pro-Wrestling,
DDT,
BJW,
Wrestle-1 and
Pro Wrestling Freedoms. On November 15, Tenryu was defeated by Okada in his retirement match.
Tokyo Sports named Tenryu's retirement match the 2015 Match of the Year. == Other media ==