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Real Japan Pro Wrestling
is a Japanese professional wrestling and martial arts promotion founded in 2005 by Satoru Sayama as , before being renamed in 2019. It runs shows every two or three months, and feature both pro wrestling activities and a variety of martial arts bouts, like mixed martial arts, kickboxing and Seikendo-style competitions. It uses top wrestlers from other promotions as well as its own talent, and has had working agreements with Toryumon Mexico, Battlarts and Dradition. Roster * Akifumi Saito * Great Tiger ( Takatoriki Tadashige) * Hayato Mashita * Shodai Tiger Mask * Super Rider * Super Tiger (II) * Tiger Shark * Kozo Urita * Kendo Nagasaki * Masao Orihara ;Notable guests * Masakatsu Funaki * Alexander Otsuka * Atsushi Onita * Daisuke Sekimoto * Gran Hamada * Hikaru Sato * Mitsuya Nagai * Riki Choshu * Tatsumi Fujinami * Último Dragón * Great Sasuke * Bear Fukuda * Wakashoyo Shunichi * Kota Ibushi * Akebono * Tatsuhito Takaiwa * Minoru Suzuki Championships A ... [...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 pre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kozo Urita
is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He was associated with Real Japan Pro Wrestling's Seikendo team. Urita wrestled more famously under the name of Tiger Shark, and worked in promotions like Battlarts, Dradition Pro Wrestling, Tenryu Project and Riki Choshu's Legend The Pro Wrestling. Currently, he wrestles in Kazuki Okubo's Ganko Pro Wrestling and other independent promotions as Blue Shark. Career Early career After several years training judo, Urita joined mixed martial arts organization Kingdom Ehrgeiz, where he was put under Hidetada Irie. Later, he moved to Satoru Sayama's Seikendo promotion, and in 2003 he had his MMA debut, submitting David Davitashvili. Thanks to a work agreement between Seikendo and Pancrase, Urita went to compete in the latter, fighting Keiichiro Yamamiya and Izuru Takeuchi to decision and knocking out Riki Fukuda. He also competed in a seikendo-rules MMA tournament in Sayama's Real Japan Pro Wrestling, winning the conte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Sasuke
, born July 18, 1969), is a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter and politician, currently wrestling for Michinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW) under the ring name . Aside from professional wrestling, he is also a former Iwate Prefectural Assembly legislator. He has wrestled in Japan and in the United States in various professional wrestling promotions. He is said to have an incredible tolerance for pain, mainly in reference to the injuries he has had including a cracked skull on two occasions. Professional wrestling career Universal Lucha Libre (1990-1993) After failing the entrance exams to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Murakawa joined Universal Lucha Libre and had his debut on March 1, 1990 against Monkey Magic Wakita. He later adopted the name Masa Michinoku, derived from his own given name and the alternate name for his Japanese home region of Tōhoku, Michinoku. He portrayed a Japanese folkloric gimmick who wore a cloak and a sandogasa hat in his ring entrance, which he traded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Último Dragón
(born December 12, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler and actor, better known as . In addition to having trained in Japan, Asai learned to wrestle in the lucha libre style while working in Mexico. He is credited with popularizing the " Asai Moonsault". On October 11, 1996, Asai won the J-Crown, a unification of eight lower weight division titles from various international promotions. At the time, he already held the NWA World Middleweight Championship; during this reign he also became the WCW Cruiserweight Champion, making him the most decorated wrestler in history.Asai also became a co-holder of the WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship in October 1996, but it was retired that same day and was thus never defended by him From December 29, 1996, through January 4, 1997, he concurrently held ten titles, a record which still stands. From 2013 until 2019, he competed primarily for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) as a freelancer. In 2019, he joined Dragon Gate as a senio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tatsumi Fujinami
(born December 28, 1953) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE on a legend's contract. Fujinami is most well known for his long tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. He was famously nicknamed "The Dragon", and is credited for inventing the dragon sleeper and the dragon suplex. He is also the owner and founder of the Dradition wrestling promotion. In 2015, Fujinami was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, while also becoming an ambassador for the company. Bret Hart said of Fujinami: "I always wanted to be the great wrestler that Tatsumi Fujinami was". He is a nine time World Champion, winning world titles in NJPW, NWA, UWA and WCWA. Professional wrestling career Japanese Wrestling Association (1971–1972) Fujinami started in the Japanese Wrestling Association (JWA) under Antonio Inoki's wing at the age of 17. When Inoki was fired from JWA in 1971, Fujinami and a few others followed him in for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riki Choshu
, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler who is best known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as both a wrestler and a booker. He is considered one of Japan’s most influential wrestlers for his work in the 1980s and 1990s and is known as the first wrestler to popularize the Sasori-Gatame, better known in English as the ''Scorpion Deathlock'' or ''Sharpshooter''. After leaving NJPW in 2002, he formed Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling (WJ), but eventually returned to New Japan in October 2005 as a site foreman, booker and part-time wrestler. Choshu once again left NJPW in 2010 and primarily worked in Tatsumi Fujinami’s Dradition, as well as his own self-produced Power Hall events as a freelancer. Choshu was a second generation Zainichi Korean until his naturalization in 2016. Early life Choshu was born Kwak Gwang-ung (), the youngest of four children in Tokuyama, Yamaguchi Prefecture to a Japanese mother an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitsuya Nagai
, better known as , is a Japanese mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and former kickboxer. He is known for his work in Fighting Network RINGS and later in professional wrestling companies like Battlarts and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He currently wrestles for Dradition Pro Wrestling (Dradition) and Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). Mixed martial arts career Hirokazu trained in Satoru Sayama's Super Tiger Gym during secondary school and tried to join All Japan Pro Wrestling immediately afterwards, but its chairman Giant Baba asked him to finish high school first. While studying, Nagai started competing in amateur shootboxing and amassed a 5–2 record, which made him change his ambition, so after graduating he went to join UWF Newborn instead of AJPW. He became a trainee under Akira Maeda, training in the shoot wrestling style, but he got injured and UWF closed his doors before he could debut. Nagai eventually followed Maeda to his new promotion, Fighting Network RING ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hikaru Sato
is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, better known by the ring name . Sato started his MMA career in February 2000, fighting for Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling. During the next eight years, Sato fought, on average, five times a year, compiling a record of 18 wins, 19 losses and four draws, which included fights against the likes of Keiichiro Yamamiya, Nathan Marquardt, Ryo Chonan and Yushin Okami. In May 2008, Sato transitioned into the world of professional wrestling, when he was signed by the Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) promotion. He has since had ten MMA fights. In November 2010, Sato first became a triple crown trios champion with Michael Nakazawa and Tomomitsu Matsunaga and then also won DDT's top singles title, the KO-D Openweight Championship. Sato remained affiliated with DDT until January 2014. He is currently working for the All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion, where he is a former two-time World Junior Heavyweight Champion and four-time All Asia Ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gran Hamada
, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler, the first to adopt the high-flying Mexican lucha libre style. He has wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the Universal Wrestling Federation, Michinoku Pro and All Japan Pro Wrestling and was the founder of Universal Lucha Libre. He has also had stints with the World Wrestling Federation and Extreme Championship Wrestling in the United States. His daughters Xóchitl Hamada and Ayako Hamada are professional wrestlers. Professional wrestling career He was one of the first dojo trainees at New Japan Pro-Wrestling, being known as ''Little Hamada'' in the beginning. He was sent to Mexico's Universal Wrestling Association because of his lack of size and he found a lot of success there - so much so that Mexican fans and promoters began calling him ''Gran Hamada'' (Great Hamada). He also competed in Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre, which added El (The) to the front of his name: El Gran Hamada. In 1984, he became a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daisuke Sekimoto
(born February 9, 1981) is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division. He is also known for his appearances in Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max. He is a three-time BJW World Strong Heavyweight Champion, while also being a former one-time NWA Pan-Pacific Premium Heavyweight Champion, one-time wXw Unified World Wrestling Champion and a two-time Zero1 World Heavyweight Champion. Other major singles championships include the BJW Heavyweight Championship, the KO-D Openweight Championship and the Strongest-K Championship. Also a successful tag team wrestler, he has held the AJPW World Tag Team Championship three times, the All Asia Tag Team Championship two times, the BJW Tag Team Championship twelve times and the KO-D Tag Team Championship two times with his most successful tag team combination being with Yuji Okabayashi. Professional wrestling career Big Japan Pro Wrestling (1999–present) Daisuke Sekimoto made his prof ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atsushi Onita
is a Japanese actor, politician, and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and is credited with introducing Japan to the deathmatch style of professional wrestling. He founded FMW in 1989 to defeat Masashi Aoyagi under his own rules and made it a full-fledged organization after his deathmatch style became popular with the Japanese fans. He was the company's top superstar, wrestling at sold out events with large crowds, making it a hugely successful company and earning a lot of money. Onita sold the company to Shoichi Arai and retired in 1995 to pursue an acting career, which was unsuccessful, forcing him to return as a wrestler in 1996. He led stables ZEN and Team Zero after his comeback and departed the company in 1998 as he was upset at his position in the company. He held the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship a record seven times and headlined the first six editions of the company's premier eve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Otsuka
, better known by his ring name Alexander Otsuka and Otoko Sakari, is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. Having competed for multiple pro wrestling organizations in his career, most recently with Antonio Inoki's Inoki Genome Federation, he is known for his work in the promotion Battlarts. Otsuka made the move from a successful professional wrestling career to mixed martial arts competition in 1995. He earned a notable victory over Vale Tudo pioneer Marco Ruas in 1998. Though Otsuka finished his career in 2006 with a 4-13 record, he mostly faced very high-ranked opponents, including all-time greats Renzo Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Igor Vovchanchyn, Quinton Jackson, Wanderlei Silva, and Anderson Silva, all of whom defeated him. Otsuka was famous for his toughness in the ring. Professional wrestling career A former amateur wrestler since high school, Otsuka was contacted by Yoshiaki Fujiwara to train in Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi. Takashi debuted i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
