| Toa Henare | |
|---|---|
Toa Henare in March 2018 | |
| Birth name | Aaron Henry[1] |
| Born | 5 August 1992 Auckland, New Zealand[2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | A-Class Aaron Henry Henare[2] Toa Henare[3] Aaron Henare |
| Billed height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)[4][5] |
| Billed weight | 105 kg (231 lb)[4][5] |
| Trained by | NJPW Dojo |
| Debut | 2012[6] |
Aaron Henry (born 5 August 1992) is a New Zealand professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) under the ring name Aaron Henare (アーロン・ヘナーレ). He previously wrestled under as Toa Henare (トーア・ヘナーレ, Tōa Henāre).
Henry was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and competed in both amateur wrestling and mixed martial arts prior to becoming a professional wrestler.[5] He is of Cook Islander/Māori descent with Ngāpuhi and Ngāi Takoto links.[1] His uncle is former professional rugby league player Richie Barnett, who captained New Zealand at the 2000 Rugby League World Cup.[7][8]
Henare signed with NJPW in early 2016 and debuted in September of that year, losing to Pro Wrestling Noah's Quiet Storm at Lion's Gate Project 3.[9] Henare's first win in NJPW came on 6 September, when he defeated fellow young lion Hirai Kawato.[10] He appeared on his first major NJPW show, Destruction in Tokyo on 17 September, teaming with David Finlay in a losing effort against Roppongi Vice.[11] On 12 November, Henare returned to his home city of Auckland, New Zealand, defeating Hikule'o at a Bad Luck Fale produced show.[12] Henare entered the 2016 World Tag League alongside veteran Manabu Nakanishi. The two finished last in their block with zero wins and zero points. On 21 February 2017, in a match with Tomoyuki Oka, Henare suffered an Achilles tendon injury and the match had to be stopped. He was taken out on a stretcher. Henare returned in November for the 2017 World Tag League, where he teamed with Togi Makabe.[13] The two finished the tournament with a record of one win and six losses.[14] On the Wrestle Kingdom 12 pre-show on 4 January 2018, Henare debuted under the new ring name Toa Henare.[3] On 27 January, at the New Beginning in Sapporo, Toa received his first title shot when he teamed up with Ryusuke Taguchi and Togi Makabe to unsuccessfully challenge the Guerillas of Destiny and Bad Luck Fale for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship.
In 2019, Toa teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi for the World Tag League,[15] finishing with 3 wins and 12 losses.
On April 4, 2021, Henare, now going by the ring name Aaron Henare, was revealed as the new member of Will Ospreay's United Empire faction, teaming with new stablemates Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb to defeat the Los Ingobernables de Japón team of Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, and Sanada at the Sakura Genesis 2021 event. In joining United Empire, Henare turned heel in the process.[16][17]
