(born November 13, 1986) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. He’s a four-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion and a six-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion.
Harada is also known for his time in Osaka Pro Wrestling, where he was a two-time Osaka Pro Wrestling Champion and a two-time Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Champion as part of the tag team with Atsushi Kotoge. Harada and Kotoge also worked together for various other promotions across Japan, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania–based Chikara in the United States & currently in Noah, where they are 4-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.
Nicknamed ‘Young Master’, Harada is also the only two-time winner of Noah’s Global Junior Heavyweight League (winning in 2015 & 2020), and is ranked second for all-time defences of the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship, with 16.
Early life
Harada reportedly first got interested in professional wrestling through the video game Toukon Ratsuden, after which his first in–person professional wrestling experience was attending the January 4, 1998, Final Power Hall in Tokyo Dome show, witnessing the conclusion of Riki Choshu's retirement tour. Harada began competing in amateur wrestling in his high school and ended up winning Osaka Prefecture's amateur wrestling championship at . Afterwards, he began training in professional wrestling at Osaka Pro Wrestling's school.
Professional wrestling career
Osaka Pro Wrestling (2006–2013) Harada made his debut for Osaka Pro Wrestling on August 5, 2006, facing Atsushi Kotoge in a losing effort. He would spend his first months in the promotion feuding with Kotoge, before forming a tag team with him in November. During the partnership, in May 2007, Harada defeated Kotoge in a tournament final to win the Kamigata Pro–Wrestling Newcomer Grand Prix. After working as a tag team for over a year, Harada and Kotoge were finally granted a shot at the Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship on January 5, 2008, but were unsuccessful in their attempt at dethroning the defending champions, Bad Force (Gaina and Zero). Just a month later on February 11, the team came to an abrupt end, when Kotoge turned heel and joined Bad Force. Meanwhile, Harada formed a new partnership with Zeus, creating rival stable Blood & Guts, which was intended to highlight the promotion's younger performers. In March, Harada and Zeus accepted Tadasuke as the third member of the group. In May, Bad Force was dissolved, when the majority of its members jumped to splinter promotion Okinawa Pro Wrestling, after which Harada's former partner Atsushi Kotoge jumped to Blood & Guts. In June, Blood & Guts sent two teams into the 2008 Osaka Tag Festival, with Harada teaming with Zeus and Kotoge with Tadasuke. Both teams made it to the finals, where Harada and Zeus were victorious, after Harada pinned Kotoge with the Katayama German Suplex Hold. As a result, Harada and Zeus were granted a shot at the Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship on September 6, but were defeated by the defending champions, GAINA and Zero. The rest of the year, Harada spent mostly tagging with Kotoge and on November 15 the two received a shot at the Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship, but were once again unsuccessful in defeating the defending champions, Black Buffalo and Tigers Mask.
