is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist currently working for Professional Wrestling Wallabee. He started his career with Battlarts in February 2007 and remained with the promotion for four years, winning the B-Rule Tournament in 2009. During his tenure, Yano also represented Battlarts in major Japanese promotions such as New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wrestling Zero1 and American promotion Chikara, where he took part in the Young Lions Cup VIII tournament in August 2010. After the folding of Battlarts, Yano began working for DDT Pro-Wrestling, where, as a representative of the Crying Wolf stable, he became a one-time Ironman Heavymetalweight Champion, before parting ways with the promotion in July 2012.
Professional wrestling career
Battlarts (2006–2011) Yano began training professional wrestling with Battlarts in 2006, when the promotion accepted his third application to enter its training program. He eventually made his in-ring debut on February 25, 2007, losing to Manabu Hara. During the rest of 2007, Yano faced the likes of Yuta Yoshikawa, Kota Ibushi and Ryuji Hijikata, losing all of his matches. As Battlarts only held an event every two months, Yano also made regular appearances for Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) and women's wrestling promotion Ice Ribbon, losing all of his matches in those promotions as well. Yano finally picked up his first win at a Battlarts event on March 9, 2008, submitting Akifumi Saito with the Larsson. Despite his first win, Yano's second year in professional wrestling also included mostly opening matches and losses. Through Battlarts' and especially its top star Munenori Sawa's relationship with Pro Wrestling Zero1, Yano also made appearances for the promotion, most notably taking part in the 2008 Tenkaichi Jr. tournament. On January 10, 2009, Yano entered the B-Rule Tournament, advancing directly to the semifinals, after Yuta Yoshikawa was unable to wrestle in his first round match. Later that same day, Yano defeated Super Tiger II in his semifinal match to advance to the finals, where he would defeat veteran Alexander Otsuka via points to win the entire tournament. Finally out of the opening match spot, Yano main evented his first Battlarts event on February 15, when he and Munenori Sawa were defeated in a tag team match by Super Tiger II and Yuki Ishikawa. The following June, Yano entered the 2009 B-1 Climax tournament, but failed to advance from his round-robin block. During 2009, Yano also made debuts for Apache Pro-Wrestling Army, Pro Wrestling Freedoms, Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo) and Osaka Pro Wrestling. On January 17, 2010, Yano made it to the finals of his second B-Rule Tournament in a row, but was this time defeated by Yujiro Yamamoto. During the year, Yano teamed regularly with Munenori Sawa, while also debuting a new look, inspired by the Joker from the Batman film The Dark Knight Rises.
Chikara (2010)
On August 28, 2010, Yano made his American debut, when he represented Battlarts in Chikara's eighth Young Lions Cup tournament in Reading, Pennsylvania. In his first round match, Yano defeated Mike Sydal with a submission. Later that same day, Yano wrestled in a six-way elimination semifinal match, from which he was the third man eliminated by Obariyon. The following day, Yano defeated Green Ant in a non-tournament match. The finish of the match had to improvised, after Green Ant legitimately broke his arm, after Yano performed one of his signature moves, Calf Branding, on him. Back in Japan, Yano began working regularly for Professional Wrestling Wallabee, a promotion founded by the male wrestlers of Ice Ribbon, becoming the promotion's first TV Champion in October 2010. Yano later went to unify the TV Championship with the Capture International and Ricky Fuji Aggressive World Heavyweight Championships, creating what he referred to as the "Indie Triple Crown". On October 8, 2010, Yano made his debut for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), losing to Tomohiro Ishii at a NEVER event, a New Japan project aimed at showcasing up-and-coming wrestlers not signed to the promotion.
On January 23, 2011, Yano once again made it to the finals of the B-Rule Tournament, but was, for the second year in a row, defeated there by Yujiro Yamamoto. On March 21, Yano was defeated by Battlarts founder Yuki Ishikawa in a main event singles match. The following day, Battlarts announced Yano's resignation from the promotion, which had announced it would be folding before the end of the year. Yano returned to take part in Battlarts' final event on November 5, 2011, defeating Kenji Takeshima in the opening match.