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Japan Indie Awards
The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out annually since 2007 by the program '' Indie no Oshigoto'', broadcast on the Fighting TV Samurai TV channel. Unlike the more widely publicized and recognized Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards that are awarded to all Japanese promotions, the Japan Indie Awards focus on the independent circuit and the smaller promotions. The awards are voted by fans who can vote online on the Samurai TV website. The winners are announced before the start of the New Year's Pro-Wrestling event in Korakuen Hall. There are currently five active awards given out by Samurai TV. Active awards MVP Award Inactive awards See also * Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards * List of professional wrestling awards This is a list of professional wrestling awards. List Generally recognized From wrestling companies Independent organizations Press See also * List of professional wrestling halls of fame ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Professional Wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or—as in televised wrestling shows—in backstage areas of the venue, in similar form to reality television. Professional wrestling as a form of theater evolved out of the widespread practice of match fixing among wrestlers in the early 20th century. Rather than sanction the wrestlers for their deceit as was done with boxers, the public instead came to see professional wrestling as a performance art rather than a sport. Professional wrestlers responded to the public's attitude by dispensing with verisimilitude in favor of entertainment, adding melodrama and outlandish stuntwork to their performances. Although the mock combat they performed ceased to resemble any authentic wrestling form, the wrestlers nevertheless continued to pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Munenori Sawa
is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. Sawa was trained by and spent his entire career in the Battlarts promotion, adopting the promotion's "Bati Bati" wrestling style, known for its stiff strikes and submission-based shoot wrestling, but would often also incorporate comedy into his matches, especially when performing as , his comedic take on Keiji Mutoh. Besides Battlarts, Sawa also worked for various other promotions in Japan, Germany and the United States, most notably Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1), where he became an NWA Intercontinental Tag Team and NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Champion and the winner of the 2011 Tenkaichi Jr. tournament, and where he wrestled his retirement match on November 9, 2011, four days after the folding of Battlarts. Since his retirement from professional wrestling, Sawa has wrestled grappling matches for ZST. Professional wrestling career Battlarts (2003–2011) After graduating from high school, Sawa entered the Battlarts dojo, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takashi Sasaki (wrestler)
is a Japanese professional wrestler and the owner of Pro Wrestling Freedoms (Freedoms). A regular on the Japanese independent circuit for over 25 years, Sasaki began his with IWA Kakutō Shijuku and Dramatic Dream Team before transitioning into the deathmatch wrestling scene in 2005 with Apache Pro-Wrestling Army and Big Japan Pro Wrestling. Following the closure of Apache Pro, Sasaki formed Pro Wrestling Freedoms in 2009. Sasaki has held the KO-D Openweight Championship once, the BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship twice and the King of Freedom World Championship once. He is also known for his tag team with Gentaro, the Aka Rangers (アカレンジャーズ, ''Akarenjāzu''), and have held the KO-D Tag Team Championship twice, the WEW Tag Team Championship once and the BJW Tag Team Championship once. Professional wrestling career Whilst studying media at Bunkyo University, Sasaki joined the IWA Kakutō Shijuku dojo and made his professional wrestling debut on September 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kazusada Higuchi
is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2014–present) Higuchi made his professional wrestling debut at DDT Pro-Wrestling's ''DDT Dramatic Fanclub Vol. 1'', event from October 18, 2014, where he defeated Kota Umeda. He worked a match at ''BJW/DDT/K-DOJO Toshikoshi Pro-Wrestling 2015'', a cross-over event held between Big Japan Pro-Wrestling, DDT, and Kaientai Dojo from December 31, where he teamed up with Yoshihisa Uto, falling short to Harashima and Yuko Miyamoto in the Shuffle Tag Tournament. Higuchi participated in the Block B of the Pro Wrestling Noah 2018 Global League, where he scored 6 points after facing Go Shiozaki, Kaito Kiyomiya, Muhammad Yone, Takashi Sugiura, Atsushi Kotoge, Maybach Taniguchi and Cody Hall. At ''TJP The God Of Pro Wrestling - My Arms Fell!'' event of Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling from December 27, 2018, Higu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Konosuke Takeshita
is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to both All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in the United States and DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT) in Japan. Takeshita was named the Rookie of the Year by ''Tokyo Sports'' in 2013 and is the youngest KO-D Openweight Champion in history, having won the title on his 21st birthday. In DDT, he has also held the KO-D Tag Team Championship, the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship and the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship. Takeshita signed with AEW in November 2022, after a successful tour of the United States earlier that year. Professional wrestling career DDT Pro-Wrestling (2011–present) Takeshita, with a sports background in track and field, began training for a career in professional wrestling in 2011 with the DDT Pro-Wrestling promotion. Takeshita had been a professional wrestling fan since childhood and as a 12-year old had attended a DDT show, where he was kissed by wrestler Danshoku Dino. On April 1, 2012, DDT announced that Takeshita w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minoru Fujita
(born September 5, 1977) is a Japanese professional wrestler who works as a freelancer. He is known for working at Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling. He is the current Super Asia Champion in his first reign. Career Fujita started in Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) as a protégé of its top junior heavyweight, Yoshihiro Tajiri. When Tajiri, who was Big Japan junior heavyweight champion, quit the company and gave up the title, Fujita had a decision match against Katsumi Usuda from the Battlarts promotion but ended up losing. Fujita spent his time leaving Big Japan to venture into other Japanese independents, meeting Ikuto Hidaka of Battlarts along the way and making memorable tag team matches with him. The combination, however, despite their combined talent, could not have a future due to their separate schedules; Fujita tried a move to Michinoku Pro Wrestling in 2000, but despite the higher exposure, it did little for him financially and did not raise his stock as a viable junior heavyweig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pro-Wrestling Basara
is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. The promotion was founded in 2015 as a sub-brand of DDT Pro-Wrestling and was essentially a relaunch of Union Pro Wrestling, acquired by DDT in 2005. On January 1, 2020, Basara became an independent promotion. History Basara in DDT (2015–2019) Having been active between 1993 and 1995, Union Pro Wrestling (UPW) was revived by DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT) in 2005, with shows headlined by Poison Sawada, Shuji Ishikawa and Isami Kodaka. On October 4, 2015, UPW held its last show, celebrating its 10th anniversary. On October 7, Kodaka announced the formation of a new promotion that would replace UPW, named Pro-Wrestling Basara. The name "Basara" reads either as or and, according to Kodaka, relates back to the ''kabukimono'' which were gangs of samurai who dressed in flamboyant clothing and donned uncommon hairstyles. Basara was founded to "do something rebellious against the new, flashy style of wrestli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masashi Takeda
is a Japanese people, Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and Mixed Martial Arts, mixed martial artist, primarily working for Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Deathmatch division. Takeda also competes as a freelancer for Freedoms and occasionally, All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). Early life While in junior high school, Takeda discovered Hardcore wrestling#Rules, deathmatch wrestling and mixed martial arts, becoming a huge fan of both. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in the U-File Camp, training for a career in MMA. After receiving some pro wrestling training from Jun Kasai, Takeda debuted as a wrestler for Style-E in January 2007. Professional wrestling career Big Japan Pro Wrestling (2008–present) Takeda debuted in BJW on May 23, 2008, teaming with Kankuro Hoshino in a loss to Craig Classic and Masada (wrestler), Masada. In October of that year, he competed in his first ever deathmatch, teaming with Shuji Ishikawa and Ryuji Ito in a lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hideki Suzuki
is a Japanese professional wrestler who is currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). He previously wrestled in WWE, where he performed on the NXT brand under the ring name Hachiman as a member of Diamond Mine, and also worked as a coach at the WWE Performance Center. Trained by Billy Robinson, Suzuki started his career with the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) promotion in 2008. In 2014, he left IGF to become a freelancer, starting to work for promotions such as Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW), Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1) and Wrestle-1 (W-1). He is a former two-time BJW World Strong Heavyweight Champion,a former one-time Zero1 World Heavyweight, NWA United National Heavyweight, Wrestle-1 Champion and NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Champion. In 2017, Fighting TV Samurai named Suzuki the MVP in Japanese independent wrestling. Overall, Suzuki is recognized as a 3-time world champion. Professional wrestling career Inoki Genome Federation (2008–2014) With a background in judo a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shuji Ishikawa
is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a former Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, World Tag Team Champion and the winner of the 2017 Champion Carnival. Ishikawa is also known for his work in DDT Pro-Wrestling and Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW), as well as numerous other independent promotions. He is a former KO-D Openweight Champion, BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Champion and BJW World Strong Heavyweight Champion. Early life Ishikawa was friends with fellow professional wrestler Takashi Sasaki as a teenager, whom he met through judo. Professional wrestling career DDT Pro-Wrestling (2003–2018) After meeting Sanshiro Takagi, Ishikawa was invited to a tryout for DDT Pro Wrestling in 2002. Despite failing the tryout, Ishikawa was invited to work for the company anyway and served as an accountant and receptionist for DDT between 2002 and 2003, while occasionally training as a wrestler. When DDT moved into JWP's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yuji Okabayashi
is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division. He has been working in BJW since his debut in June 2008. He is best known as part of a tag team with Daisuke Sekimoto, with whom he has held the BJW Tag Team Championship, All Japan Pro Wrestling's (AJPW) World Tag Team and All Asia Tag Team Championships and DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT)'s KO-D Tag Team Championship. As a singles wrestler, he is a former BJW World Strong Heavyweight Champion. Professional wrestling career Okabayashi is a former member of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and had a sports background in judo and weightlifting, when he joined Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in 2008 for a new career in professional wrestling. He made his debut for the promotion against Katsumasa Inoue on June 27, 2008. Okabayashi joined the promotion's non-deathmatch division, Strong BJ, eventually becoming one of its cornerstones alongside the likes of Daisuke Sekimoto and Yoshih ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harashima
Harashima (stylised in all capital letters) (born July 6, 1974) is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in DDT Pro-Wrestling (formally Dramatic Dream Team), where he is a ten-time KO-D Openweight Champion and a current eleven-time KO-D Tag Team Champion. Professional wrestling career Dramatic Dream Team / DDT Pro-Wrestling (2001–present) Hero! (2001–2005) After training in the Dramatic Dream Team dojo, Harashima made his professional wrestling debut in early 2001 as Konica Man and later became Hero! (stylised in all capital letters). Hero! challenged Asian Cougar for the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship on several occasions in late 2001 but was unable to defeat him. Continuing in 2002, Hero! mainly worked on the under-card, often teaming with fellow masked wrestler Konica Man #2. On April 25, Konica Man #2, in storyline poisoned by Poison Sawada Julie, turned on Hero!, unmasked and renamed himself Toguro Habukage. The two men feuded, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
