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IGF Championship
(IGF) was a Japanese professional wrestling and mixed martial arts promotion founded by Antonio Inoki in 2007. History Antonio Inoki left New Japan Pro-Wrestling, a promotion he founded in 1972, to start the IGF. The first IGF show was held on June 29, 2007 at the Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. The show's main event was a match between Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar. Wakakirin Shinichi, Shinichi Suzukawa was scheduled to face Bob Sapp in an IGF special rules Heavyweight bout on December 31, 2010, at K-1 Dynamite!! 2010. The fight was to be held under Mixed martial arts, MMA rules, but the fighters wouldn't be wearing gloves. Closed-fist strikes would have been allowed, but palm strikes wouldn't have been permitted. The event was to air on HDNet in North America. However, the fight was canceled due to a last-minute contract dispute, with the Japanese audience in attendance told by the promoter involved in the dispute that Sapp “had lost his will to fight.” In 2011 the compan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mixed Martial Arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. The first documented use of the term ''mixed martial arts'' was in a review of UFC 1 by television critic Howard Rosenberg in 1993. The question of who actually coined the term is subject to debate. During the early 20th century, various interstylistic contests took place throughout Japan and in the countries of the Four Asian Tigers. In Brazil, there was the sport of Vale Tudo, in which The Gracie family was known to promote Vale Tudo matches as a way to promote their own Brazilian jiu-jitsu style. A precursor to modern MMA was the 1976 Ali vs. Inoki exhibition bout (which ended in a draw after 15 rounds), fought between boxer Muhammad Ali and wrestler Antonio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) and Tumen River, Tumen rivers, and South Korea to the south at the Korean Demilitarized Zone. North Korea's border with South Korea is a disputed border as both countries claim the entirety of the Korean Peninsula. The country's western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. North Korea, like South Korea, its southern counterpart, claims to be the legitimate government of the entire peninsula and List of islands of North Korea, adjacent islands. Pyongyang is the capital and largest city. In 1910, Korean Empire, Korea was Korea under Japanese rule, annexed by the Empire of Japan. In 1945, after the Surrender of Japan, Japanese surrender at the End of World War II in Asia, end ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ikuhisa Minowa
is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler currently competing in IGF as . A professional MMA competitor since 1996, he was a longtime veteran of PRIDE and Pancrase and has also competed in other mixed martial arts promotions such as K-1 Hero's, Cage Rage, the SFL, Vale Tudo Japan, UFC, DREAM, and DEEP. He is the former DREAM Openweight Grand Prix Champion (Super Hulk). Often undersized and a huge fan favorite in Japan, Minowa earned his nickname "The Giant Killer" by participating in many openweight contests, often submitting much larger opponents. Also renowned for his durability, he is a veteran of 115 fights, and is known for his trademark red speedo and mullet. Mixed martial arts career Early career Minowa made his professional debut in the Lumax Cup in 1996, but would spend most of his early career in the Pancrase promotion. Minowa had a poor start to his MMA career, going 1–8–1 in his first ten fights, taking on MMA pioneers such as Yuki Kondo and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mason Ryan
Barri Griffiths (born 13 January 1982) is a Welsh actor and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with WWE under the ring name Mason Ryan. Griffiths studied construction management at Cardiff University, before working as a trainee carpenter and in his family's funeral home. He also played as a centre back for Porthmadog FC, but a knee injury curtailed his career. He appeared as Goliath on ''Gladiators'' in 2009. Griffiths began training to be a professional wrestler in 2006, and competed around Europe for the next three years. In 2009, he signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and debuted as Mason Ryan in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). In July 2010, he won the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship and held the championship until February 2011. He made his main roster debut in January 2011, where he aligned himself with The New Nexus. In 2013, Ryan started working in WWE’s developmental territory NXT until his release the foll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Knox
Michael Knoxville Hettinga (born July 17, 1978) is an American professional wrestler best known under the ring name Mike Knox. He currently performs for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Hettinga is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and also performed in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Knux. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2000–2005) Hettinga worked for Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) in 2000. He tagged with Samoa Joe at UPW Proving Ground on December 12, 2000, in the Galaxy Theatre of Santa Ana, California and defeated the debuting Al Katrazz with Basil. He also wrestled at UPW live against the boss Samoa Joe for the Heavyweight Championship, but was unable to win the title. After being trained by Steve "Navajo Warrior" Islas, Knox started wrestling for Islas' organization Impact Zone Wrestling in 2002. He was booked to win the Heavyweight Championship on two occasions and the Tag Team Championship ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Killer Kross
Kevin Kesar (born July 19, 1985) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Karrion Kross alongside his real life wife Scarlett Bordeaux. Prior to his time at WWE, Kesar performed for Impact Wrestling, Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), Major League Wrestling (MLW), and multiple promotions on the independent circuit under the ring names Kevin Kross and Killer Kross. In AAA, he was a member of the MAD and '' La Facción Ingobernable'' stables. He has also appeared on season four of AAA's American project ''Lucha Underground'' as The White Rabbit, the leader of Paul London's Rabbit Tribe stable. Kesar signed with WWE in February 2020 under the ring name Karrion Kross and began a winning streak on their developmental brand, NXT, that led him to winning the NXT Championship before having to relinquish it due to injury. Kross regained the title in April 2021 at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. After making h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kendo Kashin
Tokimitsu Ishizawa (''Ishizawa Tokimitsu'', born August 5, 1968), better known by his ring name Kendo Kashin (ケンドー・カシン, ''Kendō Kashin''), is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a two time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, a one time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, and the winner of the 1999 Best of the Super Juniors. He is also known for his forays into mixed martial arts, most notably for Pride Fighting Championship (Pride), where he defeated Gracie Jiu Jitsu fighter Ryan Gracie at PRIDE 15. He currently wrestles for Pro Wrestling Noah. Career Ishizawa was an outstanding Amateur wrestler from Waseda University before being scouted and initiated into the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion on September 21, 1992, wrestling against Tiger Mask. During the NJPW vs. UWFi feud, he was taught the shoot style by Kazuo Yamazaki. After defeating Yuji Nagata to win the 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kazuyuki Fujita
is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and a former amateur wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a one-time GHC Heavyweight Champion. He has most recently fought in Road FC, but is also known for his work in the PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1, Rizin Fighting Federation, and World Victory Road. Fujita began his career as a professional wrestler in 1993, joining the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) dojo, while still competing as an amateur wrestler. Debuting in 1996, Fujita would put his wrestling career on hiatus in early 2000 to train in MMA. Returning the following year with a new shoot based offence, Fujita won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship immediately and went on to hold it two more times before leaving the company in 2005. After a six-year hiatus, Fujita returned to pro wrestling in 2011 for Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), and continues to make occasional appearances as a freelancer, most recently for Pro Wrestling Noah and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daichi Hashimoto
is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division, where he is a former two-time BJW World Strong Heavyweight Champion and three-time BJW Tag Team Champion. He is the son of Shinya Hashimoto and started his career in his father's Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1) promotion. Early life The oldest of three children, Daichi Hashimoto grew up around full-contact sports, as his father Shinya was a famous pro wrestler, alongside his "uncles" Masahiro Chono and Keiji Mutoh. Since the sixth grade, Daichi took up karate, and was part of his middle school's MMA team, Blue Sky. When his father died in July 2005, Daichi decided he wanted to become a professional wrestler in order to honour his father's memory. In September 2009, he took part in his father's 25th Anniversary show, hosted by Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1). He competed in an exhibition kickboxing match against Satoshi Kobayashi. The match was declared a draw after two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crusher Kawaguchi
(born August 14, 1980) is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, who fights in the heavyweight division. He is the former DEEP Megaton Champion, and has also fought in DREAM, M-1 Global and KSW. Judo Yusuke Kawaguchi came in third place at the high school-level national Judo championships and third place at the 1999 University Judo Championships in the 100 kg weight class. Mixed martial arts DEEP Kawaguchi made his mixed martial arts debut on April 13, 2007, at ''DEEP: 29th Impact'' and defeated his opponent Hirotaka Fujiyama by majority decision. He went on to win his next two fights by way of knockout in the first round and in 2008, he took part in the DEEP Megaton Grand Prix. He TKO'd Nobuyoshi Takahara in the preliminary round and advanced to the quarter-finals where he faced former sumo wrestler Wakashoyo. Wakashoyo rushed Kawaguchi at the beginning of the fight and was knocked out after just 16 seconds. Kawaguchi then advanced to the final stage, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tatsuhito Takaiwa
(born Go Yong-Il (Hangul: 고 용일), July 5, 1972) is a Zainichi-Korean professional wrestler. Takaiwa is one of the more well-traveled junior heavyweights in Japan, having wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and Pro Wrestling Zero1, as well as making special appearances in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and Pro Wrestling Noah. He is known for his work as a tag team specialist, most notably in a successful tag team with Shinjiro Otani during the 1990s. The two won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship a number of times in 1998 and 1999. Professional wrestling career New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1992–2000) While attending vocational school, Takaiwa passed the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) entry exam and began training with the promotion in 1992. Takaiwa was part of the same trainee class as Shinjiro Otani and the two became frequent opponents and tag team partners when they eventually debuted. Takaiwa debuted on July 21, 1992, losing to Satoshi Kojima. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atsushi Sawada (professional Wrestler)
is a Japanese alpine skier. He competed in two events at the 1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected .... References 1958 births Living people Japanese male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers for Japan Alpine skiers at the 1980 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Aomori Prefecture 20th-century Japanese people {{Japan-alpine-skiing-bio-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
