Aaron Henry (born 5 August 1992) is a New Zealand professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) under the ring name Henare (stylized in all caps). He is the only full-time contracted professional wrestler of Māori descent in a major wrestling promotion.
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 85 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
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2016–present)
Early beginnings (2016–2021)
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. Henare's first win in NJPW came on 6 September, when he defeated fellow young lion Hirai Kawato. 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. On 12 November, Henare returned to his home city of Auckland, New Zealand, defeating Hikule'o at a Bad Luck Fale produced show. 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. The two finished the tournament with a record of one win and six losses.
On the Wrestle Kingdom 12 pre-show on 4 January 2018, Henare debuted under the new ring name Toa Henare. 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 April 2018, he began showing promise within the company, wowing fans with a classic Strong Style showcasing against Tomohiro Ishii during the Dontaku series.
In 2019, Toa teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi for the World Tag League, finishing with 3 wins and 12 losses. The next year, the duo teamed again now dubbed as "HenarACE", only this time, they got only one win. In early 2020, he was slated to face Tomohiro Ishii in the main event of the New Japan Cup, however the COVID-19 pandemic put plans on hold for the company to put Henare in the main event.
United Empire (2021–present) 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, turning heel in the process, as he teamed up 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. During the Road to Dontaku tour series in 2021, Henare ruptured his C6-C7 disc in his neck, having to take six months off to heal the injury.
Henare recovered and teamed with O-Khan in the World Tag League, where they finished with a total of 14 points. After returning from injury, Henare began to gain momentum with victories over former champions and team members such as Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata, Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma, and former Tag Team partner Togi Makabe. This marked a turn in Henare’s career, finally getting square with his former NJPW team members. At Wrestle Kingdom 16, Henare entered the New Japan Rambo match.