, also known as or simply JWP, was a Japanese ''

joshi puroresu 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 act ...

'' (

women's professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a dramatic enactment of wrestling as a spectator sport. As is the norm for this sport, women's professional wrestling is organized by wrestling federations called promotions. Some promotions are exclusively for women, ...

)

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

, founded in 1992 as a splinter promotion of Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. Celebrating its 25th anniversary at the time of its folding in 2017, JWP was the oldest ''joshi puroresu'' promotion in Japan and its Openweight Championship was the oldest championship in all of ''joshi''.

Command Bolshoi is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. She debuted for Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (JWP) in November 1991 and worked for its follow-up promotion JWP Joshi Puroresu from 1992 until its folding in 2017, also serving as its final president. D ...

, who had worked for the promotion since the beginning, served as the final president of JWP. The promotion's slogan was "Pure Heart, Pure Wrestling".

History

JWP Joshi Puroresu was founded in early 1992, when Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (JWP), ravaged by internal politics, split up into two camps, dubbed the " shooters" and the "

entertainers Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousand ...

", and eventually folded on January 18. The "shooter" side went on to form

Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling, also known as LLPW and currently as LLPW-X, is a Japanese independent women's professional wrestling promotion founded in 1992 by Rumi Kazama and Shinobu Kandori. History Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling split in 1992 ...

(LLPW), while the "entertainer" side, led by

Jackie Sato , better known as was a professional wrestler from Yokohama, Japan. In the 1970s, while wrestling for All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW), she formed the tag team, the Beauty Pair, with Maki Ueda. Following in the steps of Mach Fumiake, the Bea ...

and financed by Masatoshi Yamamoto, founded JWP Project, later renamed JWP Joshi Puroresu, which held its first event on April 3, 1992. Already the following year, JWP managed to sign a television deal with the WOWOW channel. In 1994,

Jaleco was a corporate brand name that was used by two previously connected video game developers and publishers based in Japan. The original Jaleco company was founded in 1974 as Japan Leisure Company, founded by Yoshiaki Kanazawa, before being renam ...

published the

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

for the

Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Euro ...

game console. JWP's goal from the start was to rival

All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling , nicknamed Zenjo (全女: 全 meaning "All", 女 meaning "Woman") was a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established in 1968 by Takashi Matsunaga and his brothers. The group held th ...

(AJW), the top ''joshi puroresu'' promotion in the country, but always remained in its shadow. After closing the gap between the two promotions in 1996, JWP was hit hard in 1997, when two of its top workers,

Candy Okutsu , (born January 16, 1975), is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, best known under the ring name . She is also known for her brief stint as , the female version of Tiger Mask. Career Candy Okutsu made her professional wrestling debut on ...

and Hiromi Yagi retired,

Dynamite Kansai is a retired Japanese female professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . Career Chieko Suzuki was born on December 4, 1969, and was raised in Kyoto, Japan. In 1986 she auditioned for All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW), but wa ...

was sidelined with health problems and finally, when, on August 16, another top worker,

Plum Mariko , better known by her ring name , was a Japanese female professional wrestler who wrestled for Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling from 1986 to 1992 and then, JWP Joshi Puroresu from 1992 until her death in 1997. Mariko was the first professional wrestler ...

, died in the ring during one of its events. These were followed by Jackie Sato's death from stomach cancer on August 9, 1999. After a co-promoted event with AJW in February 2000 turned out to be a failure, JWP closed its doors at the end of the year. However, the promotion returned just a few months later, now under new management, headed by wrestler

. JWP continued working with former rival promotion AJW until the promotion folded in April 2005. JWP then adopted AJW's premier wrestling tournament,

Tag League the Best __NOTOC__ The was an annual professional wrestling tag team tournament, founded by All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW), which held it from 1985 to 2004 (with no tournament taking place in 1990). After the folding of AJW in 2005, the tournament wa ...

, and also inherited the promotion's old sponsor, the Daily Sports newspaper, which led to JWP most notably introducing the

Daily Sports Women's Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Pure-J promotion. The title is named after the '' Daily Sports'' newspaper. Title history The championship was introduced by the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion on August 3, 2008 ...

in August 2008. JWP not only trained a large number of wrestlers, but was also able to recruit wrestlers from other folding ''joshi puroresu'' promotions, including

Arisa Nakajima is a Japanese professional wrestler. Trained by the Major Girl's Fighting AtoZ promotion, Nakajima made her debut in January 2006, but when the promotion folded the following May, she transferred over to JWP Joshi Puroresu, where she became a tw ...

Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...

and Sachie Abe from AtoZ, Kazuki from

JDStar JDStar (also spelt Jd'), was a women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan. In the wake of the joshi puroresu boom of the early 1990s, several different groups opened with distinct approaches. The Jd'Star promotion, with its su ...

and Hanako Nakamori and Tomoko Morii from Ito Dojo, while also employing

freelancer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

s such as

Emi Sakura , better known by the ring name , is a Japanese people, Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler performing for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). After starting her career in International Wrestling Association of Japan in August 1995, Sa ...

Kana The term may refer to a number of syllabaries used to write Japanese phonological units, morae. Such syllabaries include (1) the original kana, or , which were Chinese characters (kanji) used phonetically to transcribe Japanese, the most pr ...

and

Misaki Ohata is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, better known by her maiden name . She is best known for her work while signed to the Zabun production company and its two promotions; Pro Wrestling Wave and Osaka Joshi Pro Wrestling. She is a forme ...

. JWP had a close working relationship with the

Ice Ribbon is a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established in 2006 by Emi Sakura, after her split with Gatokunyan. History Ice Ribbon was founded by Emi Sakura, a professional wrestler wh ...

promotion. JWP also had a relationship with

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

promotion Chikara, with Hanako Nakamori,

Tsubasa Kuragaki is a Japanese professional wrestler better known by the ring name . For most of her career, Kuragaki has worked for JWP Joshi Puroresu, becoming a one-time JWP Junior and two-time JWP Openweight Champion as a singles wrestler. As a tag team ...

and

Kaori Yoneyama is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer on the Japanese independent circuit. Yoneyama started her career in 1999, working with the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion. During the following years, she became a one-time J ...

, a replacement for an injured Command Bolshoi, representing the promotion at Chikara's ''JoshiMania'' weekend in December 2011. JWP has also participated in Chikara's premier tournament, the

King of Trios King of Trios was a three-night tournament promoted by the Chikara professional wrestling promotion. The tournament was a different take on the Tag World Grand Prix event that the promotion was known for annually promoting; in King of Trios, ins ...

, on two occasions, with Bolshoi, Kuragaki and Yoneyama participating in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, and Bolshoi, Hanako Nakamori and

Manami Katsu is a Japanese professional wrestler. She was trained by the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion and made her debut in April 2011. In December 2011, Katsu won the Souseiseki Cup and a year later the JWP Junior and Princess of Pro-Wrestling Championship ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. On February 8, 2017, JWP held a press conference to announce that the promotion would fold following its 25th anniversary event on April 2, 2017, after which all of its wrestlers would become freelancers. The group's contract with the JWP production company was set to expire in April and the two sides had not been able to come to terms on a new one. Bolshoi would remain in charge of Pure Dream

kabushiki gaisha A or ''kabushiki kaisha'', commonly abbreviated K.K. or KK, is a type of defined under the Companies Act of Japan. The term is often translated as "stock company", " joint-stock company" or "stock corporation". The term ''kabushiki gaisha'' i ...

, which she had established the previous November and through which she would launch a new promotion on August 11, 2017. The new company would retain control of the Daily Sports Women's Tag Team and

Princess of Pro-Wrestling Championship The Princess of Pro-Wrestling (POP) Championship is a Japanese women's professional wrestling championship owned by the Pure-J promotion. The title was created in the JDStar promotion on June 24, 2006, when Fuka defeated Natsuki☆Head in the f ...

s, while the JWP name and the JWP Openweight,

Tag Team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

and Junior Championships all remained with the JWP production company. JWP's folding marked the end of the oldest women's professional wrestling promotion still in operation at that point in time. The following month, it was announced that Bolshoi's new promotion would be called "

Pure-J is a Japanese ''Joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) promotion established on August 11, 2017, by Command Bolshoi. History With the closure of JWP Joshi Puroresu on April 2, 2017, it was announced that Command Bolshoi will be in ...

". JWP's final show in

Korakuen Hall is a famous sports arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted many notable boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and Lethwei matches. History On April 16, 1962, the Korakuen Hall was officially opened with ...

on April 2, 2017, was attended by 1,180 people, and featured appearances by several wrestlers from the promotion's past, including Azumi Hyuga,

Cutie Suzuki (born October 22, 1969, as ), better known by her ring name , is a retired Japanese professional wrestler who mostly wrestled for JWP Joshi Puroresu. In 1990 she was featured in an all female wrestling game based on her titled '' Cutie Suzuki n ...

, Dynamite Kansai, Hikari Fukuoka,

Kayoko Haruyama is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. Having made her debut in January 1998, Haruyama worked for the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion her entire career, becoming not only one of the promotion's most accomplished singles wrestlers, with one JWP ...

and

Mayumi Ozaki (born October 28, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is currently working for Oz Academy. Career Ozaki debuted in a tag team match in August, 1986. In her career, she held the WWWA tag titles with Dynamite Kansai from April 11, 19 ...

Final roster

Wrestlers

Notable alumni/guests

* Akane Fujita *

Aoi Kizuki is a Japanese retired professional wrestler best known for her tenure with various Japanese promotions such as Ice Ribbon, JWP Joshi Puroresu and Oz Academy. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2005–2018) Kizuki made her pr ...

Azumi Hyuga better known by her ring name Azumi Hyuga is a Japanese retired professional wrestler best known for her tenure with various Japanese promotions such as All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, JWP Joshi Puroresu and NEO Japan Ladies Pro-Wrestling. Pro ...

Carlos Amano is a Japanese retired professional wrestler better known by the ring name . Amano made her debut for JWP Joshi Puroresu in December 1994 and early on began also making appearances for the Gaea Japan promotion, where she most notably became one o ...

Devil Masami Masami Yoshida (吉田雅美，born January 7, 1962) is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for her appearances in All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling, GAEA Japan and JWP Joshi Puroresu under the name Devil Masami. She is a member of the All ...

* Erika Watanabe *

Gami Gami may refer to: *Gämi, a village and suburb on the southeastern outskirts of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan *An alternative spelling for ''kami'' {{Disambiguation ...

Hailey Hatred Angel Katherine Reece (born November 4, 1983) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Hailey Hatred. Originally debuting in July 2002, Hatred worked for several years for various promotions in both the United S ...

Hiragi Kurumi is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Ice Ribbon where she is one half of the International Ribbon Tag Team Champions. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2010– ...

* Hiromi Yagi *

Kaoru Ito is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotions All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling and JWP Joshi Puroresu. Professional wrestling c ...

Kazuki Kazuki (written: , , , , , , , , or in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese wrestler *, Japanese anime director *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese footballer *, J ...

* Keiko Aono *

Mika Iwata is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotions Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Wave. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2015-pre ...

Miyuki Takase is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotions Pro Wrestling Wave and Pure-J. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2017-present) Takase made her ...

* Moon Mizuki * Nana Kawasa *

Neko Nitta is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotion Ice Ribbon where she is a former Triangle Ribbon Champion. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2011-2015) As a former freela ...

* Rabbit Miu *

Ran Yu-Yu Ran, RaN and ran may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ran'' (film), a 1985 film directed by Akira Kurosawa * "Ran" (song), a 2013 Japanese song by Luna Sea * '' Ran Online'', a 2004 MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) * ...

Sachie Abe better known by her ring name Sachie Abe is a Japanese retired professional wrestler best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotions JWP Joshi Puroresu and JDStar. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (1996-2014) As a freel ...

Sawako Shimono is a Japanese retired professional wrestler best known for her tenure with various Japanese promotions such as Pro Wrestling Wave, JWP Joshi Puroresu and Osaka Women's Pro Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2004–2 ...

Sakura Hirota is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotions Pro Wrestling Wave and Oz Academy. Hirota's later career is characterized by being a comedy wrestler who oft ap ...

Saki Hector Hugh Munro (18 December 1870 – 14 November 1916), better known by the pen name Saki and also frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirize Edwardian society and cultur ...

Sayaka Obihiro is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotions Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling, Ice Ribbon and JWP Joshi Puroresu. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit ...

* Saya *

Toshie Uematsu is a female Japanese retired professional wrestler best known for her popularity in the 1990s and 2000s. She was one of the members of the first class of wrestlers trained by Chigusa Nagayo when Nagayo formed the GAEA Japan promotion. Uematsu fi ...

Yuu Yamagata better known by her ring name is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotions Kaientai Dojo and Pro Wrestling Wave. Professional wrestling career Independent ...

Staff

* Tessy Sugo (referee)

Championships

Tournaments

References

External links

*
Official blog
*
JWP Joshi Puroresu
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

{{Women's professional wrestling 1992 establishments in Japan 2017 disestablishments in Japan Adachi, Tokyo Japanese women's professional wrestling promotions Sports competitions in Tokyo Puroresu