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Pro Wrestling NOAH
(stylised as Pro Wrestling NOAH) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) ace Mitsuharu Misawa after he had led a mass exodus in which 24 of AJPW's 26 contracted wrestlers left the promotion to form Noah. Noah held its first shows in August 2000, and established the Global Honored Crown as the in-house governing body for its collection of championships. Throughout its -year history, Noah has had working relationships with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Ring of Honor (ROH), Impact Wrestling (formerly TNA), Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW). In January 2020, the company was purchased by CyberAgent, parent company of DDT Pro Wrestling, with DDT's executives taking over Noah's operations and Noah's content appearing on DDT's streaming service Wrestle Universe. History Noah under Misawa (2000–2009) In January 1999, AJPW found ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King's Road Style
is the predominant style of professional wrestling that has developed in Japan. The term comes from the Japanese pronunciation of , which is shortened to puroresu. The term became popular among English-speaking fans due to Hisaharu Tanabe's activities in the online Usenet community. Growing out of origins in the traditional US style of wrestling, it has become an entity in itself. Japanese pro wrestling is distinct in its psychology and presentation of the sport. It is treated as a legitimate fight, with fewer theatrics; the stories told in Japanese matches are about a fighter's spirit and perseverance. In strong style, the style most typically associated with puroresu, full contact martial arts strikes and shoot submission holds are implemented. Overview Despite some similarities to the popular style of professional wrestling in the United States, Japanese wrestling is known for many differences from the Western style. ''Puroresu'' is known for its "''fighting spirit''" ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide
Antonio Peña Promotions, S.A. de C.V. d/b/a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide is a Mexican Lucha Libre (professional wrestling) promotion based in Mexico City, Mexico. Commonly referred to as simply AAA (pronounced "triple A"; an abbreviation of its original name Asistencia Asesoría y Administración, Spanish for "Assistance, Assessment, and Administration"), the promotion was founded in 1992 when Antonio Peña broke away from Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) to set up a promotion, which allowed him more creative freedom. AAA has held a number of pay-per-views (PPV) over the years and has promoted shows not just in Mexico but in the United States and Japan as well. In addition to the conventional "squared circle", the promotion occasionally uses a hexagonal wrestling ring and has a reputation for its outlandish gimmicks and characters as well as having developed a more extreme match style in recent years. Over the years, AAA has worked together with several American promotions, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Steele (wrestler)
: James Rocha (born May 4, 1967) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under the ring names Jim Steele and Wolf Hawkfield. Professional wrestling career Early career (1991–1993) Rocha began his career in Florida for International Championship Wrestling Alliance in October 1991. He would also wrestle for the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) in Tennessee between February and March 1992. World Championship Wrestling (1993–1994) Rocha trained in the WCW Power Plant and turned pro in late 1993 where he used the name "Jungle" Jim Steele. Steele worked for WCW for the next year but was not pushed. He left the promotion in 1994. Extreme Championship Wrestling (1995) Steele appeared in ECW at Barbed Wire, Hoodies & Chokeslams in June 1995 to face 911. All Japan Pro Wrestling (1994–2002) Steele debuted in All Japan Pro Wrestling in late 1994, where h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Barton
Michael Polchlopek (born December 27, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1993 to 1999 under the ring names Bart Gunn and Bodacious Bart, as well as his appearances with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) from 1998 to 2002 and with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) from 2002 to 2004 as Mike Barton. Early life Michael Polchlopek was born on December 27, 1965 in Titusville, Florida. He was a big fan of wrestling, often watching Florida Championship Wrestling and enjoyed seeing Eddie & Mike Graham and Jack & Gerald Brisco. Professional wrestling career Early career (1991–1993) Polchlopek was trained to wrestle by Caesar Barraza, Blackjack Mulligan, Tim Parker and Boris Malenko. He made his debut in 1991. In 1992, Polchlopek (wrestling as "Brett Colt") formed a tag team with Kip Winchester in the Tampa, Florida-based International Championship Wrestling ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Hines
George Hines (born June 1, 1963) is a retired American professional wrestler, best known by his ringname Jackie Fulton, who competed in regional and independent promotions including the American Wrestling Association, East Coast Championship Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling and, most notably, his brief but memorable stint in Smoky Mountain Wrestling where he teamed with his real life brother Bobby Fulton as The Fantastics. Throughout the 1990s, he also carved out a successful career overseas competing in All Japan Pro Wrestling and IWA Japan both under his real name as well as the masked wrestler The Eagle. In recent years, he has also competed in American independent promotions as the masked wrestler American Eagle. Professional wrestling career Early career (1987–1992) Born in Columbus, Ohio, Hines eventually entered professional wrestling in 1987, joining his older brother Bobby Fulton a decade after his own debut in 1977. In early ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny Smith (wrestler)
John Robert Hindley (born 7 August 1965) is an English retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Johnny Smith. He is best known for his appearances with All Japan Pro Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Joint Promotions (1982–1986) Hindley was trained by his uncle Ted Betley, initially in Winwick, Warrington, and then Port Erin, Isle of Man. He made his debut in January 1982 at the age of 16 at Gloucester Leisure Centre, under the name Junior Royal. A year later, he changed his ring name to John Savage, while wrestling in Germany. In July 1985, he would wrestle under the name The Manxman. His last match for Joint Promotions was held on 31 March 1986, losing to veteran Barry Douglas. Soon after, he moved across the Atlantic to Canada with his wife Jane. Stampede Wrestling (1986–1989) Joining Stampede Wrestling in June 1986, Hindley was billed as Davey Boy Smith's brother, Johnny Smith. Two months later, he defeated Gama Singh to win his first c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maunakea Mossman
Mauna Kea ( or ; ; abbreviation for ''Mauna a Wākea''); is a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii. Its peak is above sea level, making it the highest point in the state of Hawaii and second-highest peak of an island on Earth. The peak is about higher than Mauna Loa, its more massive neighbor. Mauna Kea is unusually topographically prominent for its height: its wet prominence is fifteenth in the world among mountains, at ; its dry prominence of is second in the world, only after Mount Everest This dry prominence is greater than Mount Everest's height above sea level of , and some authorities have labelled Mauna Kea the tallest mountain in the world, from its underwater base. It is about one million years old and thus passed the most active shield stage of life hundreds of thousands of years ago. In its current post-shield state, its lava is more viscous, resulting in a steeper profile. Late volcanism has also given it a much rougher appearance than its neighboring v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaijin
is a Japanese word for foreigners and non-Japanese citizens in Japan, specifically being applied to foreigners of non-Japanese ethnicity and those from the Japanese diaspora who are not Japanese citizens. The word is composed of two kanji: and . Similarly composed words that refer to foreign things include and . The word is typically used to refer to foreigners of non-East Asian ethnicities. Some feel the word has come to have a negative or pejorative connotation, while other observers maintain it is neutral. is a more neutral and somewhat more formal term widely used in the Japanese government and in media. ''Gaijin'' does not specifically mean a foreigner that is also a white person; instead, the term ''hakujin'' (白人, "white person") can be considered as a type of foreigner, and ''kokujin'' (黒人, "black person") would be the black equivalent. Etymology and history The word ''gaijin'' can be traced in writing to the 13th-century ''Heike Monogatari'': Here, ''gaijin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toshiaki Kawada
(born December 8, 1963) is a Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), whom he worked for from his debut in 1982 up until 2008. In All Japan, he was a 5 time Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, a 9 time World Tag Team Champion, three time winner of the Real World Tag League and a two time winner of the Champion Carnival. He was also recognised as the ace of the promotion from 2000–2005. Widely considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, his matches against Mitsuharu Misawa, Jun Akiyama, and Kenta Kobashi in the 1990s are argued by many fans and experts in the industry as some of the greatest professional wrestling matches of all time. He is known for his extremely stiff wrestling style and martial arts strikes, which earned him the nickname "Dangerous K". He also has the distinction of having competed in 17 matches that were given a 5-Star Rating and one match which received a 6-Star rating by Dave Meltz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masanobu Fuchi
is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is also a director and the co-head booker. Fuchi has exclusively worked for All Japan since his debut in 1974, and holds the record for the longest World Junior Heavyweight Championship reign at 1309 days. Fuchi became a freelancer in 2009, but officially re-signed with AJPW in 2013 as both a director and wrestler, making him the longest tenured member of the All Japan roster. Professional wrestling career All Japan Pro Wrestling (1974–present) With a background in amateur wrestling, Fuchi debuted as a professional wrestler on August 22, 1974 for AJPW, facing future Death Match innovator Atsushi Onita. For the next couple of years, Fuchi and Onita alternated between teaming and feuding on the opening bouts. In 1979, the two went on an excursion to Memphis, Tennessee to season their careers. Fuchi briefly worked for the NWA's Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling as a jobber who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giant Baba
, best known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota and Yoshihiro Momota, the sons of his mentor Rikidōzan. For the first 10 years of its existence, Baba was the top star of All-Japan, while also serving as the booker, promoter, head trainer and president of the promotion from its inception in 1972 till his death in 1999. Baba was also responsible for recruiting much of the talent for All Japan, and was the public face of the promotion for much of his lifetime. Considered one of the most beloved Japanese wrestlers ever, Baba was a national hero with a level of popularity in Japan comparable to that of Hulk Hogan in the United States. '' The 2006 Top 100 Historical Persons in Japan'' survey ranked Baba the 92nd greatest person in the history of Japan, as voted for by the general public. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wrestle Universe
, formerly known as , is a subscription-based video streaming service owned by CyberAgent's subsidiary CyberFight. On October 24, 2016, DDT Owner Sanshiro Takagi came down to the ring prior to that day's event and announced that DDT would be debuting their own video-on-demand service, called DDT Universe, in January 2017. Some major DDT events air live on the service, which also features matches from the promotion's archives, dating back to 2004, as well as matches from DDT's affiliate and sister promotions DNA (DDT New Attitude), Pro-Wrestling Basara, Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, Union Pro Wrestling and Ganbare Pro Wrestling. As well as full shows and matches, the promotion also features documentaries showcasing the lives of wrestlers outside the ring. On January 30, 2020, DDT Universe began airing content from sister company Pro Wrestling Noah. On May 12, DDT Universe was rebranded as Wrestle Universe to reflect that the service offers content from different promotions. See also * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
