List Of Professional Wrestling Promotions In Japan
This is a list of professional wrestling promotions in Japan which includes both national and independent puroresu and joshi companies from the post-World War II period up to the present day. Major promotions Puroresu Joshi Independent promotions Puroresu Joshi Defunct promotions Puroresu Joshi See also * List of professional wrestling attendance records in Japan *List of professional wrestling promotions * List of women's wrestling promotions References External linksPro-Wrestling Organizations in Japan at Puroresu.com A beginners guide to Joshi Puroresu at Wrestling101.com {{Professional wrestling by country * [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Professional Wrestling Promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event. Within the convention of the show, the company is a sports governing body which sanctions wrestling matches and gives authority to the championships and is responsible for maintaining the divisions and their rankings. In truth, the company serves as a touring theatre troupe, as well as event promotion body for its own events. Most promotions are self-contained, organized around one or more championships and do not acknowledge or recognize the legitimacy of other promotions' titles unless they share a working agreement. Governing bodies, such as the CyberFight, United Wrestling Network, WWNLive, Allied Independent Wrestling Federations, Union of European Wrestling Alliances, Pro Wrestling International and, previously, the National Wr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Earl Oliver
Earl Oliver (born June 23, 1948) is an American writer, musician, variety, street entertainer, and graphic artist. An accomplished blues and jazz guitarist and singer in Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, popularly known as the Walkin' Blues Man, he hosted a popular cable-access television program, "Earl Oliver & Friends: Live from LaVal's", later called "Live on Location", that aired in 16 stations throughout the region from 1992 to 1995. He has also been the lead vocalist for several California-based bands, most recently, the Groovinators. From May, 2005 until August, 2013, Oliver was a regular performer on the Skunk Train, a heritage railway which runs daily from Fort Bragg and Willits, California, and at events such as the Palo Alto Art Walk and Project Read for the San Francisco Public Library. In 2001, he was called "one of San Francisco's undiscovered treasures" by ''San Francisco Arts Magazine''. The nephew of professional wrestler Ray "Rip the Crippl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tatsumi Fujinami
(born December 28, 1953) is a Japanese Puroresu, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE on a legends contract. Fujinami is best known for his long tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Known for his fluid catch wrestling submission style, he was famously nicknamed "The Dragon", and is credited with inventing the Professional wrestling holds#Dragon sleeper, dragon sleeper and the Suplex#Full nelson suplex, 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 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dradition
is an independent Japanese professional wrestling promotion that, until 2008, was known as . The promotion was founded by and is owned by puroresu legend Tatsumi Fujinami, who has owned and operated it since its creation in August 2006. The name of the promotion is a portmanteau of the words "tradition" and "dragon": the first term refers to the type of traditional wrestling promoted by Dradition, the so-called Inoki's "strong style", the second one is referred to Fujinami's nickname "The Dragon". They run, on average, one show every 2–3 months and feature their talent as well as participation from other promotions including Dramatic Dream Team, Ice Ribbon and SMASH, usually freelancers but now & then with participation from the major federations. Some of their talent frequently appears elsewhere as well. Championships Roster * Hiro Saito *Leona *Mitsuya Nagai *Nobuyuki Kurashima *Tatsumi Fujinami Guests *Daisuke Sekimoto * Yukio Sakaguchi * Tiger Mask III *Nosawa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has been the city's mayor since April 2011. The Hiroshima metropolitan area is the second largest urban area in the Chugoku Region of Japan, following the Okayama metropolitan area. Hiroshima was founded in 1589 as a Jōkamachi, castle town on the Ōta River river delta, delta. Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Hiroshima rapidly transformed into a major urban center and industrial hub. In 1889, Hiroshima officially gained city status. The city was a center of military activities during the Empire of Japan, imperial era, playing significant roles such as in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, and the two world wars. Hiroshima was the first military target of a nuclear weapon in history. This occurred on August 6, 1945, i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Bodyguard (wrestler)
is a Japanese bodybuilder and professional wrestler better known by his ring name . He is currently a freelancer, working most notably for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a four-time World Tag Team Champion with longtime partner Zeus as " The Big Guns". Kurakawa is also a former two-time Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Champion with Zeus, and a former IWF Heavyweight Champion. Professional wrestling career Osaka Pro Wrestling (2009–2014) The Bodyguard made his first appearance in Osaka Pro Wrestling in the fall of 2008, assisting Tigers Mask in completing his heel turn. Originally called Kurofuku, his strength was evident from the start and immediately started to cause trouble by helping Tigers win matches. Soon, he began a long-running feud started with Zeus, which eventually led to him being outed as former professional bodybuilder Noboru Kurakawa, the winner of two Musclemania Japan competitions in 2002 and 2007. To build heat for their feud, Kurakawa (now known a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Osaka
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in Japan, following the special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2.7 million in the 2020 census, it is also the largest component of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin Metropolitan Area, which is the List of metropolitan areas in Japan, second-largest metropolitan area in Japan and the 10th-List of urban areas by population, largest urban area in the world with more than 19 million inhabitants. Ōsaka was traditionally considered Japan's economic hub. By the Kofun period (300–538) it had developed into an important regional port, and in the 7th and 8th centuries, it served briefly as the imperial capital. Osaka continued to flourish during the Edo period (1603–1867) and became known as a center of Japanese culture. Following the M ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Koki Kitahara
(born March 9, 1964) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name . Career Kitahara trained in soccer and karate during high school, particularly the latter due to his penchant for street fighting. After graduating and moving to Tokyo, he started training mixed martial arts at Satoru Sayama's Super Tiger Gym and eventually became an instructor. Three years later, he developed an interest in professional wrestling and decided to become a wrestler. All Japan Pro Wrestling (1988–1990) Kitahara began as a trainee for Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1987. After the promotion dissolved, he transferred to All Japan Pro Wrestling and trained under Genichiro Tenryu. He made his debut on April 8, 1988, against Mitsuo Momota. He was part of Tenryu's Revolution stable. After spending nearly a year floundering in the opening and mid-card matches, Kitahara left for Canada in March 1989. When he arrived in Canada, he joined Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling in Calgary, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Big Japan Pro Wrestling
(BJW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests. History Big Japan Pro Wrestling was founded in March 1995 by former AJPW wrestlers Shinya Kojika and Kendo Nagasaki, during the boom period for Deathmatch wrestling in Japan. Kendo Nagasaki left in 1999; Shinya Kojika is still president of the company to date. The promotion followed in the footsteps of organizations such as Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), Wrestling International New Generations (W*ING), and the International Wrestling Association of Japan (IWA Japan), who helped popularise a hard-hitting, violent and bloody style of wrestling known as the Deathmatch, or in more recent years, "hardcore" wrestling. These matches are usually weapon filled, using both "conventional" weapons (such as chairs and tables), as well as "extreme" weapons not usually seen in mainstream wrestling, and previously unused in wrestling at all. These weapon ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Taka Michinoku
(born October 26, 1973), better known by his ring name (stylized as TAKA Michinoku), is a Japanese professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He primarily appears for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he is a member of the Just 5 Guys, Just 4 Guys stable. From 2011, he was a member of Suzuki-gun, until the faction's disbandment in 2022. Michinoku also is the founder and regularly appears for Just Tap Out (JTO), which was founded in 2019. Michinoku is also known in North America for his work for the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) where he had the first WWF Light Heavyweight Championship reign recognized by the promotion. Michinoku is the founder and former promoter of Kaientai Dojo (now Active Advance Pro Wrestling), where he also primarily wrestled until 2019. Having held championship titles in Japan, North America, Mexico and Europe, Yoshida is known for his long title reigns. He held the FMW Independent World Junior Heavyweight ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chiba (city)
is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It sits about east of the centre of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay. The city became a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, government-designated city in 1992. In March 2025, its population was 983,045, with a population density of 3,617 people per km2. The city has an area of . Chiba City is one of the Kantō region's primary seaports, and is home to Port of Chiba, Chiba Port, which handles one of the highest volumes of cargo in Japan. Much of the city is residential, although there are many factories and warehouses along the coast. There are several major urban centres in the city, including Makuhari, a prime waterfront business district in which Makuhari Messe is located, and Central Chiba, in which the prefectural government office and the city hall are located. Chiba is famous for the Chiba Urban Monorail, the longest suspended monorail in the world. Some popular destinations in the city include: Kasori She ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Active Advance Pro Wrestling
Active Advance Pro Wrestling (2AW) is a Professional wrestling in Japan, Japanese professional wrestling promotion and training facility originally owned and promoted by Taka Michinoku. The promotion places emphasis on a style of Professional wrestling in Japan, puroresu that combines high-flying, technical wrestling, and martial arts. The promotion was originally called Kaientai Dojo (or K-DOJO for short). This style was largely contributed to by Taka Michinoku and is gaining popularity in Japan and abroad. K-DOJO is also heavily influenced by American-style wrestling and places a large amount of importance on presentation. For instance, each Club-K 3000 show that K-DOJO runs is equipped with a large screen near the entrance gate, similar to the Titantron, where a short introductory vignette is played during each wrestler's entrance and where the crowd can follow the action on-screen. They had a home building that doubles as their training facility, Chiba Blue Field, where all o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |