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UWFi
Union of Professional Wrestling Force International, better known as UWF International, U-Inter, or simply UWFi, was a shoot style professional wrestling promotion in Japan from 1991 to 1996. The UWF international was the successor to the ''Newborn UWF'' that ran from 1988 to 1990, which itself was the successor to the original Universal Wrestling Federation. Although the matches were predetermined, the UWF-i was very convincing for its time, promoting a combat-based style featuring a mix of wrestling, submission grappling and kickboxing. The promotion also held kickboxing contests and, in rare instances, special shoot matches. In retrospect, UWFi, along with other shoot-style promotions, served as a precursor to mixed martial arts and to popular Japanese MMA promotions, particularly Pride FC. The promotion was also known for hiring dangerous shooters Lou Thesz, Billy Robinson and Danny Hodge as trainers and promoters of their product in order to establish legitimate credibilit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gary Albright
Gary Mitchell Albright (May 18, 1963 – January 7, 2000) was an American professional wrestler best known for his work in Japan, first with UWF International (UWFi), and later All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). In AJPW, Albright was a two-time World Tag Team Champion. Albright was also known for his work with Stampede Wrestling in Canada, under his birth name as well as the ring name Vokhan Singh. An accomplished amateur wrestler, Albright translated this into his professional wrestling style, utilising many suplexes and throws throughout his career, earning the nickname "Master of Suplex". Albright was a member through marriage of the famous Anoaʻi wrestling family. His widow, Monica, is the daughter of Afa Anoaʻi. On January 7, 2000, Gary Albright collapsed in-ring upon receiving a cutter from his opponent. Only minutes after being removed from the ring, Albright was pronounced dead. The cause of death was later ruled to be a heart attack. Amateur wrestling career Albright ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitsuharu Misawa
was a Japanese amateur and professional wrestler and promoter. He is primarily known for his time in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and also for forming the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion in 2000. In the early 1990s, Misawa gained fame alongside Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, and Akira Taue, who came to be nicknamed AJPW's " Four Pillars of Heaven", and whose matches developed the '' ōdō'' (, "King's Road") style of puroresu and received significant critical acclaim. Despite never working in the United States during the 1990s, Misawa had significant stylistic influence upon American independent wrestling, through the popularity of his work among tape-traders in the country. Misawa is regarded by some as the greatest professional wrestler of all time. However, the physical demands and consequences of the style in which he worked and the circumstances of his death have made his legacy, or at least that of ''ōdō'', somewhat problematic. Debuting in 1981, Misawa became the seco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pride Fighting Championships
PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts events, broadcast to about 40 countries worldwide.What is Pride? , Official Pride site. Last retrieved December 5, 2006 PRIDE was owned by the (DSE). For the ten years of its existence, PRIDE was one of the most popular MMA organizations in the world. Pride broadcast its event ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Van Vader
Leon Allen White (May 14, 1955 – June 18, 2018), better known by his ring names Big Van Vader or simply Vader, was an American professional wrestler and professional football player. Throughout his career, he performed for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and Pro Wrestling Noah (NOAH) during the 1990s and 2000s, He is widely regarded as the greatest super-heavyweight professional wrestler of all time. White performed as a monstrous wrestler, and he was capable of aerial maneuvers: his diving moonsault was voted the " Best Wrestling Maneuver" of 1993 by ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') readers. Among other accolades in WCW and Japan, he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship three times each, the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship twice, the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship once, and won the battle royal main e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masahito Kakihara
is a former Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, who is known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and UWF International (UWFI). Professional wrestling career Union of Wrestling Forces International (1991–1996) Kakihara actually joined UWF Newborn in 1989 and debuted a year later, but the promotion folded shortly after. He then joined its new incarnation, UWF-i, where he became an apprentice under Nobuhiko Takada. A promising rookie, he was booked accordingly and soon had wins over Kiyoshi Tamura, Gary Albright and Dan Severn. In 1995, during the interpromotional feud between UWF-i and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Kakihara was one of the few who were given victories in his side, defeating Kensuke Sasaki, Shinjiro Otani and Yuji Nagata. Later, when UWF-i started another feud with Wrestle Association R, Kakihara teamed up with Takada and Yuhi Sano to win the WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship. He also had an appearance in one of the first events of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares of the company. Naoki Sugabayashi has served as the promotion's Chairman since September 2013, while Takami Ohbari has served as the president of the promotion since October 2020. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, NJPW is the largest and longest-running professional wrestling promotion in Japan. It was affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance at various points in its history. NJPW has had agreements with various MMA and professional wrestling promotions around the world, including WWE, World Championship Wrestling, American Wrestling Association, World Class Championship Wrestling, Impact Wrestling, WAR, Jersey All Pro Wrestling, UWFi, Ring of Honor, Pride Fighting Championships, and All Elite Wrestling. NJPW's bigge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kiyoshi Tamura
is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Once a student of legendary professional wrestlers Billy Robinson, Lou Thesz and Akira Maeda, Tamura was known for his skills in catch wrestling and is considered to be one of the greatest shoot wrestlers of all time. Competing exclusively in shoot style wrestling, Tamura began his career with UWF Newborn and later joined its successor group UWF International before transitioning to mixed martial arts. A professional MMA fighter from 1995 until 2008, he competed for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, RINGS, DEEP, DREAM, and fought at K-1's 2007 and 2008 Dynamite!! events. He is a two-time RINGS Openweight Champion and holds notable wins over Renzo Gracie, former UFC Welterweight Champion Pat Miletich, former UFC Middleweight Champion Dave Menne, former Pancrase Super Heavyweight Champion Tsuyoshi Kosaka, former Pancrase Openweight Champion Masakatsu Funaki, Olympic judo gold medallist Makoto Takimoto, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Robinson
William Alfred Robinson (18 September 1938 – 3 March 2014) was a British professional wrestler and wrestling instructor. Robinson was one of the few wrestlers who was successful in several continents (Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania), winning titles in promotions nearly everywhere he wrestled. One of the leading practitioners of catch wrestling and a seven-time world champion, Robinson is considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, with legendary champion Lou Thesz once saying he was the greatest ever. Robinson was also well known in Japan where he trained mixed martial artists and professional wrestlers in catch wrestling. Professional wrestling career Early days in Europe Robinson began his amateur wrestling career in Britain in 1955. He was the British National Wrestling Champion in 1957, and in 1958 he was the European Open Wrestling Champion in the light heavyweight class, beating an Olympic bronze medal winner in the finals. Bill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lou Thesz
Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 days) – longer than anyone else in history. Considered to be one of the last true shooters in professional wrestling and described as the "quintessential athlete... a polished warrior who could break a man in two if pushed the wrong way", Thesz is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time and the single greatest wrestling world champion in history, and probably the last globally accepted world champion. In Japan, Thesz was known as the 'God of Wrestling' and was called ''Tetsujin'', which means 'Ironman', in respect for his speed, conditioning and expertise in catch wrestling. Alongside Karl Gotch and Billy Robinson, Thesz later helped train young Japanese wrestlers and mixed martial artists in catch wrestling. A s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shoot Style
Shoot wrestling is a combat sport that originated in Japan's professional wrestling circuit of the 1970s. Professional wrestlers of that era attempted to use more realistic or even "full contact" moves in their matches to increase their excitement. The name "shoot wrestling" comes from the professional wrestling term "shoot", which refers to any unscripted occurrence within a scripted wrestling event.http://dansmuaythaimma.com/?p=346 Prior to the emergence of the current sport of shoot wrestling, the term was commonly used in the professional wrestling business, particularly in the United Kingdom, as a synonym for the sport of catch wrestling. Shoot wrestling can be used to describe a range of hybrid fighting systems such as shootfighting, shoot boxing and the styles of mixed martial arts done in the Shooto, Pancrase and RINGS promotions. Organizations, promotions and gyms with origins in shoot wrestling are referred as the " U-Kei". History Historically, shoot wrestling has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Professional Wrestling Terms
Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence of fans so as not to reveal the nature of the business. Into the 21st century, widespread discussion on the Internet has popularized these terms. Many of the terms refer to the financial aspects of professional wrestling in addition to in-ring terms. A B C D E F G H I J K L M mic work, mic skills, microphone work The ability to generate reaction from the audience using words, and generally by speak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Universal Wrestling Federation (Japan)
The original Japanese-based Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion from 1984 to 1986, formed by wrestlers who had left New Japan Pro-Wrestling. It was a pioneer in shoot-style wrestling, which emphasized legitimate techniques and realism. It was revived as the Newborn UWF in 1988. Newborn UWF lasted until 1990. It was revived again in 1991 as Union of Wrestling Forces International (UWF International or UWFi), which in turn lasted until 1996. Although short-lived, the UWF spawned a number of successor "shoot-wrestling" promotions collectively nicknamed the " U-Kei", and also served as a predecessor for Japanese mixed martial arts, with many of its alumni founding proto-MMA organizations such as Shooto, Pancrase and RINGS, eventually leading to the creation of Pride FC. Original UWF The original roster included Rusher Kimura, Akira Maeda, Ryuma Go, Mach Hayato, and Gran Hamada. Soon, however, they were joined by Yoshiaki Fujiwara, N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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