HENARE

HENARE
Henare in August 2023
Birth name	Aaron Henry
Born	August 5, 1992 (1992-08-05)
	Auckland, New Zealand
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	HENARE Toa Henare Aaron Henare
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	105 kg (231 lb)
Trained by	Warrior Wrestling Academy NJPW Dojo Togi Makabe
Debut	2010

Aaron Henry (born 5 August 1992) is an New Zealander professional wrestler and promoter who is currently signed to Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), performing under the ring name HENARE (stylized in all capital letters), where he is a former one-time IWGP Tag Team Champion and a former one-time NEVER Openweight Champion, as part of the United Empire stable. He is the only full-time contracted professional wrestler of Māori descent in a major wrestling promotion.

Henry began his career in the New Zealand independent circuit in September 2012, before starting to work for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in September 2016, under the ring name "Henare" and he began worked as a "Young Lion", graduating from his status in January 2018. Over the following years, he underwent to various repackingings, before adopting a character known for often embracing his own indigenous Maori heritage such as the Maori rituals and tribal face tattoos, as well as often emphasing on the blend of other styles such as MMA, Strong Style and Polynesian-style wrestling along with agressive mannerisms, going by his original Young Lion name, HENARE (stylized in all capital letters) in July 2023. However, in 2024 his career saw a breakthrough, with HENARE winning the NEVER Openweight Championship and IWGP Tag Team Championship in the same year.

Early life

Henry was born in Auckland, New Zealand and is of Cook Islander/Māori descent from Ngāpuhi and Ngāi Takoto Iwi. His uncle is former professional rugby league player Richie Barnett, who captained New Zealand at the 2000 Rugby League World Cup.

Prior to training in professional wrestling, Henare was an accomplished amateur wrestler, winning national championships in Freestyle, Greco-Roman and Submission wrestling in the 96 kg weight category. He was offered a spot on the New Zealand Commonwealth wrestling team, but turned it down to pursue trainings with Bad Luck Fale. He has also trained in MMA, Catch Wrestling and Muay Thai with other New Zealand fighters such as Shane Young, Kai Kara France, Mark Hunt and Israel Adesanya.

Professional wrestling career

Early Career (2010–2016)

In 2010, Henry decided to train for a career in professional wrestling, and formed his own wrestling promotion Warrior Wrestling Academy and a training school, purchasing his own wrestling ring to train himself and other future wrestlers, before making his in-ring debut in September 2012. Over the following years, Henry worked on the New Zealand indepedent circuit working for promotions such as Impact Pro Wrestling, before signing with Japanese professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) in 2016.

New Japan Pro Wrestling (2016–Present)

Young Lion and midcard status (2016–2021)

After being signed with the promotion, Henry made his debut on September 1, competing under the ring name "Henare" facing Pro Wrestling Noah's Quiet Storm in a losing effort. Henare competed as one of NJPW's "young lions", spending most of his matches losing to other, more experienced wrestlers, which would help put over other wrestlers while at the same time give Henare some in-ring, televised, experience. On September 8, Henare got his first victory in NJPW, defeating fellow young lion Hirai Kawato. From November 18 until December 10, Henare and Manabu Nakanishi took part in the 2016 World Tag League, losing all of their qualifying matches of the tournament. On February 21, 2017, during a match against Tomoyuki Oka, Henare suffered an achilles tendon injury, forcing the match to be stopped. Henare made his return in November, teaming with Togi Makabe to take part in the 2017 World Tag League. Henare and Makabe finished the tournament with a record of one win and six losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament.

On January 4, 2018, at Wrestle Kingdom 12, Henare renamed himself to "Toa Henare", graduating from his status as a young lion. At the event, Henare took part in the New Japan Rumble, failing to win the match. On January 27 at the New Beginning in Sapporo, Henare received his first title shot, teaming with Ryusuke Taguchi and Togi Makabe to unsuccessfully challenge Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. From November 16 until December 8, Henare and Hiroshi Tanahashi took part in the 2019 World Tag League, failing to win the tournament, after finishing it with a record of three wins and twelve losses. In the following year's World Tag League, Henare and Tanahashi finished the tournament with a worse record, winning one of their nine qualifying matches.

United Empire (2021–Present)

In March 2021, Henare took part in the 2021 New Japan Cup, losing to Jay White in the first round on March 10. Over the following weeks, Henare began developing a losing streak. Following a frustrating loss on March 21, Henare turned heel on April 4 at Sakura Gensis, being revealed as the newest member of the United Empire, renaming himself to "Aaron Henare", adopting a more strike based style. In his match, Henare and his stablemates Jeff Cobb and Great O-Khan defeated Los Ingobernables de Japón (SANADA, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito), with Henare pinning SANADA for the win for his team. From November 14 until December 12, Henare and Great O-Khan took part in the 2021 World Tag League finishing the tournament with a record of seven wins and four losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament. In March 2022, Henare took part in the 2022 New Japan Cup, losing in the second round to SANADA. On the June 8th episode of Dynamite, Henare and his stablemates Will Ospreay and Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) made their debut for All Elite Wrestling debut attacking both FTR (Dash Harwood and Cash Wheeler) and Beretta. From July 16 to August 16, Henare took part in the 2022 G1 Climax, finishing the tournament with a record of one win and five losses, failing to advance to the semifinals. From November 22 until December 14, Henare and O-Khan took part in the 2022 World Tag League finishing the tournament with a record of six wins and four losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament. In March 2023, Henare took part in the 2023 New Japan Cup, being knocked out of the tournament by Tama Tonga in the second round.

On March 6, at NJPW's Anniversary Event, Henare along with his stablemates, Jeff Cobb and Great O-Khan faced Los Ingobernables de Japón's Tetsuya Naito, SANADA and Shingo Takagi. Henare's team won after Henare directly pinned Takagi to win the match in an upset win. This led to an increasing momentum heading to into their match, where Henare eliminated Takagi in the first round of the New Japan Cup after Henare defeated him once again in an another upset win. Henare then challenged Takagi for a title match, which Takagi accepted and decided to let Henare to choose the stipulation of their match, leading to Henare deciding an Ultimate Triad Match. On April 2, Henare unsuccessfully challenged Takagi for the Provisional KOPW 2023 Championship. From July 16 to August 9, Henare took part in the 2023 G1 Climax. Upon entering the tournament on July 16, Henare showcased a new tā moko tattoo on his face, and reverted to his former ringname "HENARE". The tā moko, or "mataora" tattoo of his ancestors, made Henare the first ever Polynesian wrestler to use the tattoo in a mainstream professional wrestling promotion. On August 9, he finished the tournament with a record of two wins and five losses, failing to advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Four days later, after reigning Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston was victorious in a eigth-man tag team match, HENARE came to the ring and subsequently attacked Kingston, before motioning toward his Strong Openweight Championship belt. The following day, after a eight-man tag team match, Kingston returned the favour and attacked HENARE. The two brawled to the back, where Kingston suggested they faced each other for the title at Fighting Spirit Unleashed on October 28, which HENARE lost. From November 25 until December 6, HENARE and Great-O-Khan took part in the 2023 World Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of four wins, and three losses, failing to advance to the semifinals of the tournament

On May 11, 2024 at Resurgence, HENARE in a video package, made his return from an head wound that had been sidelining him since February, challenging the winner of the match between Shingo Takagi and Yuya Uemura to a title match for the NEVER Openweight Championship, which Takagi later won, leading him to accept HENARE's challenge. Their title match on June 9 at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall ended in a draw. In a rematch on June 16, HENARE defeated Takagi to win the NEVER Openweight Championship, winning his first title in NJPW. From July 20 and August 14, HENARE took part in the 2024 G1 Climax finishing the tournament with a record of four wins and five losses, failing to advance to the play-off match of the tournament. On September 29 at Destruction in Kobe, he lost the NEVER Openweight Championship back to Shingo Takagi. On November 4 at Power Struggle, HENARE and Great-O-Khan defeated Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship. They vacated the titles on December 6, due to HENARE suffering a right knee injury.

Wrestling Persona

Henare, a Maori indigenous person hailing from New Zealand, draws significant inspiration from his heritage to shape his wrestling persona. Following the acquisition of his face tattoo, known as the Tā moko Mataora, his wrestling style has undergone a transformation, blending elements of the NJPW Dojo and mixed martial arts training with wild Polynesian-style wrestling, notably emphasizing headbutting and kicks.

During his entrance, Henare performs distinctive Maori rituals. He sticks out his tongue (known as pūkana) and trembles his hands (wiriwiri), and preforms a Haka. Additionally, he wears a significant Pounamu or greenstone necklace, a cherished item in Maori culture. His gear reflects MMA influences with the shorts, featuring kickpads, while his entrance jacket and shorts showcase intricate spiral patterns known as Koru, which is a national symbol of his home country. The ring name "Henare" is the transliteration of his surname "Henry" into his native language, Te Reo Māori.

Inside the ring, Henare employs an intense brawling style that incorporates headbutts, strong-style strikes, and an array of dynamic kicking techniques, including the thrust kick, spinning wheel kick, and the Rugby Punt (or PK), inspired by New Zealand's national rugby team, the All Blacks. He exudes the wild, untamed and tribal essence shared by fellow Polynesian wrestlers such as The Wild Samoans and Umaga, grunting, shouting, and displaying aggressive mannerisms that further enhance his persona.

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Blackout (Jumping Superman punch)
  • Toa Bottom (Falling side slam) – 2018–2021
  • Streets of Rage (High-angle fisherman buster) – 2021–present
  • UENUKU (Jumping Headbutt) – 2024–present
  • Ultima (Swinging full nelson, also Submission) - 2022–present
• Signature moves
  • Berserker Bomb (Sidewalk slam spun out into a modified sitout powerbomb)
  • Boston crab
  • Diving shoulder block
  • Falling chop
  • Hammerhead (No-touch headbutt)
  • Justice Knee (Step-up high knee to a cornered opponent) - adopted from Yuji Nagata
  • Lariat
  • Liver punch
  • Maori Drop (Pop-up Samoan drop)
  • Multiple kick variations
    • Corner springboard kick
    • Drop
    • Rugby Punt (Running soccer kick/PK)
    • Jumping spinning heel kick
    • Teep kick
    • Thrust kick
    • Wheel kick
  • Rampage (Spear transitioned into a lifting side slam)
  • Snap suplex
  • Spinning spinebuster
  • Tap 'n' Snap (Americana keylock)
  • Vertical suplex
• With Great O-Khan
  • Imperial Drop (Fireman's carry flapjack (Henare) / Jumping Cutter (O-Khan) combination)
• Nicknames
  • "Ultimate Weapon"
  • "Face Of Fury"
• Entrance themes
  • "ROAR - the war cry-" by Yonosuke Kitamura
  • "The Ultimate Weapon" by Yonosuke Kitamura
  • "Kai Tangata" by Alien Weaponry

Championships and accomplishments

• Impact Pro Wrestling
  • IPW New Zealand Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jakob Cross
  • Armageddon Cup (2014)
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Ranked No. 250 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2018
• New Japan Pro Wrestling
  • NEVER Openweight Championship (1 time)
  • IWGP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Great-O-Khan