Hiroyoshi Yamamoto

Born

1971-03-23

Birthplace

Kyōto, Kyōto Prefecture, Japan

Biography

Hiroyoshi Yamamoto is a retired Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), better known by his ring name Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Debuting for NJPW in 1991, Tenzan became one of the promotion's most decorated wrestlers, winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship four times, a record twelve IWGP Tag Team Championships and the G1 Climax three times, winning the tournament in 2003, 2004 and 2006. Tenzan is best known for his longtime partnership with Satoshi Kojima as Tencozy. The pair were named Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Tag Team of the Year in 2001 and in 2008 became the only team to win both All Japan Pro Wrestling's (AJPW) World's Strongest Tag Determination League and NJPW's G1 Tag League in the same year. Tenzan also held the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) World Heavyweight and NWA World Tag Team Championships, competed internationally for promotions including World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Germany's Catch Wrestling Association (CWA), and was ranked No. 10 in the Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 in 2005. After 35 years in professional wrestling, Tenzan announced his retirement in May 2026. His final match took place on August 15, 2026, exactly 13,000 days after his debut, against his longtime tag team partner and rival Satoshi Kojima.