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2000 All Japan Pro Wrestling Mass Exodus
The 2000 All Japan Pro Wrestling mass exodus was an incident in the Japanese All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) professional wrestling promotion that took place throughout May and June 2000, and culminated in 24 of the 26 contracted native wrestlers leaving the promotion. Led by Mitsuharu Misawa, they later formed their own promotion, Pro Wrestling Noah. Background History All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) was founded in 1972 by Shohei "Giant" Baba, Mitsuo Momota, and Yoshihiro Momota; the three were a student and the two sons of Rikidōzan, the godfather of Japanese professional wrestling a.k.a. Puroresu. Baba served as the promotion's president, head booker, talent scout, and head trainer for much of his lifetime. Under Baba, the promotion enjoyed much success and reached new heights in the 1990s thanks mostly to the performances of Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, and Akira Taue--dubbed "The Four Pillars Of Heaven" by magazines and reporters. Baba continued to r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitsuharu Misawa, 2007
Mitsuharu (written: 光晴, 光春 or 光治) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese samurai *, Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' *, Imperial Japanese Army general *, Imperial Japanese Navy admiral *, Japanese poet *, Japanese professional wrestler {{given name Japanese masculine given names ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rusher Kimura
was a Japanese professional wrestler, best known by his ring name . He was a five-time IWA World Heavyweight Champion, making him a five-time world champion. Sumo wrestling career He was a sumo wrestler under the ''shikona'' Kinomura, a direct modification of his surname. He had taken up sumo to build his body for Western-style professional wrestling, thus by 1964 he decided to quit, considering that it would be harder to do so the higher up the divisions he went. Professional wrestling career Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (1965–1966) He debuted in 1965 in the old Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance against Sarukichi Takasakiyama (long-time jobber Motoyuki Kitazawa, later known as Shoji Kai in New Japan Pro-Wrestling). As a protégé of Toyonobori, Kimura followed him when he left due to backstage struggles. Original Tokyo Pro Wrestling (1966–1967) Toyonobori, Isao Yoshiwara, Kimura, Antonio Inoki, Hiro Matsuda, Masa Saito and others formed Tokyo Pro Wrestling. Kimura did n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takeshi Rikio
Takeshi Inoue (born December 20, 1972) known by his stage name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, who worked for Pro Wrestling Noah. He is also a former sumo wrestler. Sumo career He made his sumo debut in March 1988, after leaving junior high school. He joined at the same time as future ''yokozuna'' Takanohana and Wakanohana. He initially trained at the same stable as these two, Futagoyama-beya, but when former ''yokozuna'' Takanosato branched off to set up Naruto-beya in March 1989, Inoue was one of the young recruits to follow him to the new stable. He also changed his ''shikona'', or fighting name, from Futagozakura to Rikio. In July 1993 he was promoted to the second highest ''jūryō'' division, becoming the first wrestler from Naruto stable to reach elite ''sekitori'' status. He was demoted from that division after just one tournament, but returned to ''jūryō'' in May 1994 and was promoted to the top ''makuuchi'' division in July 1996 after winning his s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kentaro Shiga
is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer. He returned from a two-year hiatus due to injury in 2005. History All Japan Pro Wrestling (1994−2000) Shiga trained in the All Japan dojo and debuted in All Japan Pro Wrestling in early 1994. For the first two years, Shiga spent most of the time in opening matches or low midcard matches as he paid his dues. On January 3, 1996, Shiga won his first honor when he won the yearly January 3 Korakuen Hall Jr. Heavyweight Battle Royal.http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/ Shortly after Shiga entered the 1996 Asunaro Cup Tournament where he finished in 6th place with 2 points. Following these events, Shiga returned to the midcard for another few years where he did not challenge for any titles. In 1998, Shiga teamed with Akira Taue in the 1998 Asunaro Cup tournament where they finished as the runners-up losing to Jun Akiyama and Takao Omori in the finals. Later in the year, Shiga joined Kenta Kobashi's stable: Burnin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naomichi Marufuji
(born September 26, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler who competes for Pro Wrestling Noah, with occasional appearances in other professional wrestling promotions including New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Ring of Honor (ROH), and Impact Wrestling. Marufuji is a four-time GHC Heavyweight Champion, as well as the first of two men to win Junior Heavyweight Championships in all three major Japanese promotions ( Minoru Tanaka is the other). In 2009, he was appointed to the position of Vice President of Pro Wrestling Noah, and has retained the position since, being reappointed in September 2011. Professional wrestling career All Japan Pro Wrestling (1998–1999) Marufuji pursued amateur wrestling and basketball during his high school days before joining All Japan Pro Wrestling, and trained in Satoru Sayama's Super Tiger Gym. His debut match came on August 28, 1998 against Yoshinobu Kanemaru. For the first two years of his career, under Gian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takeshi Morishima
(born October 15, 1978) is a Japanese former professional wrestler. Morishima is best known for his work with Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a former three-time GHC Heavyweight Champion. He has also performed for Ring of Honor (ROH) in the United States in the past where he was a one-time ROH World Champion. Professional wrestling career All Japan Pro Wrestling (1998–2000) Morishima attended Urayasu High School where he took part in judo. His instructor, Shoji Abe, was friends with Mitsuharu Misawa, and managed to get Morishima a tryout with All Japan Pro Wrestling, which he passed and shortly after began training with the promotion for a career in professional wrestling. Initially, Morishima was a protégé of Misawa, but after Naomichi Marufuji joined the promotion and Misawa decided instead to focus solely on training Marufuji, Akira Taue took Morishima under his wing and trained him. Morishima debuted for All Japan in 1998, but left in 2000 to join the newly formed Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoshinobu Kanemaru
is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he also works as a backstage producer. Kanemaru is best known for his work in Pro Wrestling Noah, where he holds the records for the most reigns with the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. Professional wrestling career All Japan Pro Wrestling (1996–2000) Kanemaru debuted in 1996 for All Japan Pro Wrestling, in the last years of owner Giant Baba's regime, which had isolated the promotion from outsider wrestlers at the expense of the younger, lighter-weight talent. His first high-profile match in 1997 saw him team with New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Koji Kanemoto (Tiger Mask III) to battle freelancer Satoru Sayama, the original Tiger Mask, and his disciple, Michinoku Pro Wrestling's Yoshihiro Yamazaki (who would go on to become Tiger Mask IV), in a battle of Tiger Masks (as Mitsuharu Misawa, who once portrayed Tiger Mask II, was now a heavyweight and fully focused on the Triple Crown Heavyw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nippon Budokan
The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts contests, the arena has gained additional fame as one of the world's most outstanding musical performance venues. The Budokan was a popular venue for Japanese professional wrestling for a time, and it has hosted numerous other sporting events such as the 1967 Women's Volleyball World Championship. Most recently, the arena hosted the Olympic debut of karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ... in the 2020 Summer Olympics, as well as the judo competition at both the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2020 Summer Paralympics. A number of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stan Hansen
John Stanley Hansen II (born August 29, 1949) is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Hansen is known for his Glossary of professional wrestling terms#S, stiff wrestling style, which he attributes to his poor eyesight. He is also known for his Gimmick (professional wrestling), gimmick as a loud, violent cowboy who wanted to fight everybody, which he further emphasized by appearing in interviews with a cowboy hat, leather vest and Bull riding#Rider equipment, bullrope while often Chewing tobacco, chewing on tobacco. Considered the most successful and popular gaijin in Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling history, he became more well-known and revered in Japan than in his native United States. In Japan's All Japan Pro Wrestling, AJPW professional wrestling promotion, promotion, he held seven different championships. Overall he is a ten-time Professional wrestling championship#World championships, world champion. In 1989, he played a small role in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Super World Of Sports
Super World of Sports, more commonly known as SWS, was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion from 1990 to 1992. Its motto was "Straight and Strong". History Formation In April 1990, Genichiro Tenryu, one of the top stars of All Japan Pro Wrestling, left the company to become a spokesmodel for Megane Super, whom were one of the best-known makers of eyeglasses in Japan at the time. However, the company decided to instead used him as the launching pad for a new pro-wrestling circuit, which Megane Super executive Hachiro Tanaka named Super World of Sports. With his backing, Megane Super began throwing money offers around to build up their roster. Yoshiaki Yatsu, Ashura Hara, Shunji Takano, The Great Kabuki, Hiromichi Fuyuki, Tatsumi "Koki" Kitahara, Masao Orihara, Isao Takagi (the future Arashi), and referee Hiroyuki Umino joined in from All-Japan. But SWS would attract New Japan Pro-Wrestling talent as well, including George Takano (the former Cobra), Naoki Sano, Hisakatsu O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genichiro Tenryu
, better known as is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling. "Tenryu" was his ''shikona''. He had two stints with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he spent the majority of his career while also promoting Super World of Sports (SWS), Wrestle Association R (WAR) and Tenryu Project. At the time of his retirement, professional wrestling journalist and historian Dave Meltzer wrote that "one could make a strong case hat Tenryu wasbetween the fourth and sixth biggest native star" in the history of Japanese professional wrestling. Sumo wrestling career As a sumo wrestler, Tenryu was ranked as a ''sekitori'' for 27 tournaments, 16 of them in the top ''makuuchi'' division. His highest rank was ''maegashira'' 1. Upon the death of his stablemaster at Nishonoseki stable he wanted to join former stablemate Daikirin's n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
