Gentaro (wrestler)
| Gentaro | |
|---|---|
Gentaro in September 2010
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| Birth name | Gentaro Takahashi |
| Born |
October 28, 1974 Koganei, Tokyo |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Anavel Taro Benten Blue Onigumo Bret Gentaro Gentaro GGG / Great God Gentaro / Triple G Kojiki Madness Tiger Masked Taro Moto Tairou Nasty Black Panther Snuka Boy Takahashi |
| Billed height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) |
| Billed weight | 90 kg (200 lb) |
| Debut | May 8, 1999 |
Gentaro Takahashi (高橋 元太郎 Takahashi Gentaro?, born October 28, 1974) is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Gentaro (stylized in all capital letters). Though officially affiliated with the Pro Wrestling Freedoms promotion, Gentaro also works for several other independent promotions, including DDT Pro-Wrestling, Kaientai Dojo and women's wrestling promotion Ice Ribbon, where he works mainly as the lead play-by-play announcer. Takahashi also makes sporadic appearances as the masked character Benten (also stylized in all capital letters).
Trained by the Wrestle Dream Factory (WDF) promotion, Takahashi made his professional wrestling debut on May 8, 1999, at a WDF event in Tokorozawa, Saitama. While also making appearances for Kageki Pro as the masked character Nasty Black Panther, Takahashi remained with WDF for two years, before becoming a freelancer in 2001.
On November 30, 2000, Gentaro made his debut for Dramatic Dream Team (DDT), teaming with Takashi Sasaki in a tag team match, where they defeated Kengo Takai and Yuki Nishino. Gentaro began working regularly for the promotion in October 2001, when he started a storyline rivalry with Mikami. On November 1, Gentaro won his first title in DDT, when he and Yoshiya defeated Mikami and Tanomusaku Toba to win the vacant KO-D Tag Team Championship. Gentaro and Yoshiya made their first successful defense on November 30, defeating Mikami and Toba in a rematch, with Gentaro pinning his rival for the win. However, on December 12, Mikami came back and pinned Gentaro to make himself and Gentaro's former partner Takashi Sasaki the new KO-D Tag Team Champions. On June 6, 2002, Gentaro received his first shot at DDT's top singles title, the KO-D Openweight Championship, when he unsuccessfully challenged Kintaro Kanemura. In July, Gentaro reunited with Takashi Sasaki, under the team name Akarangers, to take part in the 2002 KO-D Tag League, where they would finish third. On October 24, the Akarangers defeated Mikami and Tanomusaku Toba Championship vs. Championship match to retain the WEW World Tag Team Championship and win the KO-D Tag Team Championship. On November 14, Gentaro defeated Sasaki and Tomohiko Hashimoto in a three-way match to become the number one contender to the KO-D Openweight Championship. On November 29, Gentaro defeated Sanshiro Takagi to also become the new KO-D Openweight Champion. However, his reign would last less than a month, as he was defeated by rival Mikami on December 22, in a four-way match, which also included Sanshiro Takagi and Tomohiko Hashimoto. On January 4, 2003, Gentaro made his first appearance as the kabuki mask wearing Benten, taking part in a battle royal for the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship. Benten has since also made appearances for Kaientai Dojo,Apache Pro-Wrestling Army,New Japan Pro Wrestling, and Union Pro Wrestling. On January 31, 2003, Gentaro and Sasaki lost the KO-D Tag Team Championship to Sanshiro Takagi and Tomohiko Hashimoto. Shortly afterwards, Gentaro left DDT for the remainder of the year, returning in early 2004, when he reunited with Sasaki, with the two defeating Hero! and Kudo on February 11 to regain the KO-D Tag Team Championship. After three successful defenses, they lost the title to Ryuji Ito and Sanshiro Takagi on July 1. On September 30, Gentaro won the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship two times during a ten-minute battle royal, but was unable to leave the match with the title. From October 2004 to December 2009, Gentaro only made fifteen appearances for DDT, but still managed to win the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship for the third time on April 9, 2008, and losing it two days later.
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