Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX
Encyclopedia
Pro Wrestling Zero1 formerly known as Pro Wrestling Zero-One and Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max, is a Japanese professional wrestling
promotion founded in 2001. It was affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance
from 2001 until late 2004 and again from 2011 onwards. The promotion's name seems to refer to the year it was created.
proposed an independent promotion within New Japan Pro Wrestling
called New Japan Pro Wrestling ZERO; the idea was shot down, and when Hashimoto was fired by NJPW in November 2000, he registered the Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE name.
stars Shinya Hashimoto
and Shinjiro Otani. Over the years, they attracted talent from both New Japan and the independents, such as Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Masato Tanaka, Takao Omori, Ikuto Hidaka, and former RINGS fighter Wataru Sakata.
In the past ZERO1 has had working agreements with Pro Wrestling Noah
, All Japan Pro Wrestling
, New Japan Pro Wrestling
, RIKIPRO
, Hustle, Big Mouth Loud
, King's Road and Dragondoor
(now El Dorado Wrestling
) which enabled Zero1 wrestlers to challenge for and hold the other promotions' titles. Hashimoto won the Triple Crown heavyweight title, Takaiwa held NOAH's GHC junior heavyweight title, and Zero1 top Junior tag team of Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita placed 2nd in the 2005 "Differ Cup" tag tournament run by NOAH and won the NOAH GHC Junior tag team championships in March 2006.
Zero1's structure was, until recently, very much like Genichiro Tenryu's
old WAR
promotion: the focus on the top star (in this case, Hashimoto), with other talent ranking below him. This is no longer the case however as Shinjiro Otani runs the promotion much differently than Hashimoto.
On November 30, 2004 Hashimoto gave up ownership of the promotion, telling the press that due to financial problems he had decided to step away from the company. Hashimoto had been very injured physically that whole past year and needed surgery, but looked to be heading back to New Japan Pro Wrestling
after recovering.
The promotion continued without any delays, stoppages or cancellations. A new parent company "First On Stage" was formed consisting of President Yoshiyuki Nakamura, Ring Announcer Oki Okidata, Shinjiro Otani and a company named Baltic Curry. The promotion was re-named Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max with Otani and Nakamura taking over the general operations.
Several notable foreign wrestlers also work, or have worked for the promotion. For example: Low Ki, A.J. Styles
, Samoa Joe
, Steve Corino
, Spanky
, Paul London
, Alex Shelley
, Sonjay Dutt
, Mike Knox
, Sylvester Terkay
, Super Crazy
, Matt Striker
, C.W. Anderson
, Colt Cabana
, CM Punk
, Tom Howard, Greg Bownds
, Chris Sabin
, Ryan Sakoda
and Aaron Aguilera
.
Among the major changes to the federation's structure was joining the AWA Superstars of Wrestling (now Wrestling Superstars Live) as the only Japanese member. At the same time the owner of the company's National Wrestling Alliance
promoting license, New Japan Pro Wrestling
, took the license back for their own use.
On July 11, 2005 former owner and top star, Shinya Hashimoto
, died suddenly of a brain aneurysm at the age of 40.
Zero1-Max holds a Heavyweight tournament every Summer in the last week of July called the "Fire Festival
" (Himatsuri) where the winner holds the "Fire Sword" (a katana) for a whole year until the next summer's tournament. They also hold a Yasukuni Shrine
show every April and a yearly Junior Tournament called the "Tenka-Ichi Jr tournament."
On September 12, 2006, Zero1-Max joined 12 other pro wrestling companies and joined the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance
(GPWA), an alliance that will keep the various promotions involved from stepping on each other toes and instead fostering an environment of cooperation rather than competition. The new alliance will also occasionally put on "Super Shows" where all the promotions will send fighters to compete representing their own companies under the GPWA banner. Pro Wrestling Noah's CEO Mitsuharu Misawa
was inaugurated as the first Chairman of the new alliance, with Zero1-Max's Yoshiyuki Nakamura announced as the company's President.
In 2008, the promotion shortened the name to Pro Wrestling Zero1.
In 2011, the promotion returned to the NWA as their Japanese territory. In March 2011, NWA presented Zero1 with the NWA Pan-Pacific Premium Heavyweight Championship in celebration of the promotion's 10th anniversary. In July, Daisuke Sekimoto
won the Fire Festival
to become the first champion.
Professional wrestling in Japan
Puroresu is the popular term for the predominant style or genre of professional wrestling that has developed in Japan. The term comes from the Japanese pronunciation of "professional wrestling" , which is shortened to puroresu . The term became popular among English-speaking fans due to Hisaharu...
promotion founded in 2001. It was affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
from 2001 until late 2004 and again from 2011 onwards. The promotion's name seems to refer to the year it was created.
Backstory
In 2000, Shinya HashimotoShinya Hashimoto
, was a Japanese professional wrestler. Along with Masahiro Chono and Keiji Mutoh, Hashimoto was dubbed one of the "Three Musketeers" that began competing in New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid 1980s and dominated the promotion in the 1990s....
proposed an independent promotion within New Japan Pro Wrestling
New Japan Pro Wrestling
is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...
called New Japan Pro Wrestling ZERO; the idea was shot down, and when Hashimoto was fired by NJPW in November 2000, he registered the Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE name.
History
The promotion was founded by former New Japan Pro WrestlingNew Japan Pro Wrestling
is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...
stars Shinya Hashimoto
Shinya Hashimoto
, was a Japanese professional wrestler. Along with Masahiro Chono and Keiji Mutoh, Hashimoto was dubbed one of the "Three Musketeers" that began competing in New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid 1980s and dominated the promotion in the 1990s....
and Shinjiro Otani. Over the years, they attracted talent from both New Japan and the independents, such as Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Masato Tanaka, Takao Omori, Ikuto Hidaka, and former RINGS fighter Wataru Sakata.
In the past ZERO1 has had working agreements with Pro Wrestling Noah
Pro Wrestling Noah
is a major Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling ace Mitsuharu Misawa. NOAH is broadcast weekly in Japan...
, All Japan Pro Wrestling
All Japan Pro Wrestling
is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1972. All Japan Pro Wrestling still remains one of the most popular puroresu promotions still in operation.-The Giant Baba Era :...
, New Japan Pro Wrestling
New Japan Pro Wrestling
is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...
, RIKIPRO
Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling
Fighting World of Japan Pro-Wrestling, frequently shortened to World Japan or WJ, and also known as "Riki Pro", was a professional wrestling promotion formed in Japan in 2003....
, Hustle, Big Mouth Loud
Big Mouth Loud
Big Mouth LOUD was a professional wrestling promotion based in Japan. Big Mouth LOUD was based on the style of New Japan Pro Wrestling, but was not officially tied to New Japan...
, King's Road and Dragondoor
Dragondoor
DragonDoor, also known as d2p, was a professional wrestling federation started under Último Dragón's "Toryumon" banner, and was announced on April 27, 2005...
(now El Dorado Wrestling
El Dorado Wrestling
El Dorado was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion that was seen as the evolution of dragondoor. Most of El Dorado's wrestlers were graduates from Ultimo Dragon's Toryumon Gym, and thus the promotion was based on a Junior Heavyweight style with varying emphasis on high flying maneuvers,...
) which enabled Zero1 wrestlers to challenge for and hold the other promotions' titles. Hashimoto won the Triple Crown heavyweight title, Takaiwa held NOAH's GHC junior heavyweight title, and Zero1 top Junior tag team of Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita placed 2nd in the 2005 "Differ Cup" tag tournament run by NOAH and won the NOAH GHC Junior tag team championships in March 2006.
Zero1's structure was, until recently, very much like Genichiro Tenryu's
Genichiro Tenryu
Genichiro Tenryu , real name Genichiro Shimada , is a Japanese professional wrestler. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling...
old WAR
WAR (wrestling promotion)
Wrestle and Romance, and later Wrestle Association R, was a professional wrestling promotion founded and run by Genichiro Tenryu as the successor to Super World of Sports, and which lasted from 1992 to 2000. The promotion had very few regular contracted workers, instead most of the workers were...
promotion: the focus on the top star (in this case, Hashimoto), with other talent ranking below him. This is no longer the case however as Shinjiro Otani runs the promotion much differently than Hashimoto.
On November 30, 2004 Hashimoto gave up ownership of the promotion, telling the press that due to financial problems he had decided to step away from the company. Hashimoto had been very injured physically that whole past year and needed surgery, but looked to be heading back to New Japan Pro Wrestling
New Japan Pro Wrestling
is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...
after recovering.
The promotion continued without any delays, stoppages or cancellations. A new parent company "First On Stage" was formed consisting of President Yoshiyuki Nakamura, Ring Announcer Oki Okidata, Shinjiro Otani and a company named Baltic Curry. The promotion was re-named Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max with Otani and Nakamura taking over the general operations.
Several notable foreign wrestlers also work, or have worked for the promotion. For example: Low Ki, A.J. Styles
A.J. Styles
Allen Neal Jones , better known by his ring name A.J. Styles is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe
Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samoa Joe. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
, Steve Corino
Steve Corino
Steven Eugene "Steve" Corino is a Canadian professional wrestler, who currently works for Pro Wrestling Zero1, Ring of Honor and numerous other independent promotions. Corino is a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion and ECW World Heavyweight Champion.-Early years :Corino began wrestling in 1994...
, Spanky
Brian Kendrick
Brian David Kendrick is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under his real name. Before joining TNA he spent several years wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment, where he wrestled under his name, as Spanky, and finally as "The" Brian Kendrick...
, Paul London
Paul London
Paul Michael London is an American professional wrestler best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment ....
, Alex Shelley
Alex Shelley
Patrick Martin , is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Alex Shelley. He wrestles for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he currently teams with Chris Sabin as The Motor City Machine Guns. He previously gained fame on the independent circuit, working most notably for...
, Sonjay Dutt
Sonjay Dutt
Retesh Bhalla is an American professional wrestler of Indian Punjabi descent, better known by his ring name, Sonjay Dutt. He is best known working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and is also known for his stints with Combat Zone Wrestling, Major League Wrestling, and other various independent...
, Mike Knox
Mike Knox
Michael Shawn Hettinga is a American professional wrestler. He is best known for wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment as Mike Knox. He is also an avid fisherman, and fishes in his spare time.-Independent circuit :...
, Sylvester Terkay
Sylvester Terkay
Sylvester Terkay is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist best known for his run in World Wrestling Entertainment ....
, Super Crazy
Super Crazy
Francisco Islas Rueda is a Mexican professional wrestler, or Luchador, best known by his ring name Super Crazy. Islas is most known for his three year run in the original ECW...
, Matt Striker
Matthew Kaye
Matthew Kaye is an American actor, wrestling commentator and semi-retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Matt Striker. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as the host of WWE NXT....
, C.W. Anderson
C.W. Anderson
Chris Wright is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name, C.W. Anderson. He is best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling.-Early life:...
, Colt Cabana
Scott Colton
Scott Colton is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Colt Cabana. A former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Colton is most notably known from his time in Ring of Honor...
, CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
, Tom Howard, Greg Bownds
Greg Bownds
Gregory James Bownds better known by his stage name TNT, is an Australian professional wrestler and promoter, currently owning and promoting the Australasian Wrestling Federation....
, Chris Sabin
Chris Sabin
Joshua Harter is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Chris Sabin. He is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he currently teams with Alex Shelley as The Motor City Machine Guns.After being trained by Scott D'Amore, Sabin debuted in 2000 for...
, Ryan Sakoda
Ryan Sakoda
Ryan Sakoda is a Japanese American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in World Wrestling Entertainment and current work for Ultimate Pro Wrestling as a part-time trainer for the wrestlers, as well as working in the independents as Ryan Sakoda.-Professional wrestling...
and Aaron Aguilera
Aaron Aguilera
Aaron Aguilera , is a Mexican American professional wrestler and actor best known as Jesús and Uno on World Wrestling Entertainment and MTV's Wrestling Society X...
.
Among the major changes to the federation's structure was joining the AWA Superstars of Wrestling (now Wrestling Superstars Live) as the only Japanese member. At the same time the owner of the company's National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
promoting license, New Japan Pro Wrestling
New Japan Pro Wrestling
is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...
, took the license back for their own use.
On July 11, 2005 former owner and top star, Shinya Hashimoto
Shinya Hashimoto
, was a Japanese professional wrestler. Along with Masahiro Chono and Keiji Mutoh, Hashimoto was dubbed one of the "Three Musketeers" that began competing in New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid 1980s and dominated the promotion in the 1990s....
, died suddenly of a brain aneurysm at the age of 40.
Zero1-Max holds a Heavyweight tournament every Summer in the last week of July called the "Fire Festival
Fire Festival
"Fire Festival" should not be confused with the traditional Himatsuri fire festivals in JapanThe Fire Festival is an annual professional wrestling round-robin tournament held by Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX to determine the top wrestler in the promotion, typically contested in late July/early August...
" (Himatsuri) where the winner holds the "Fire Sword" (a katana) for a whole year until the next summer's tournament. They also hold a Yasukuni Shrine
Yasukuni Shrine
is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is dedicated to the soldiers and others who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan. Currently, its Symbolic Registry of Divinities lists the names of over 2,466,000 enshrined men and women whose lives were dedicated to the service of...
show every April and a yearly Junior Tournament called the "Tenka-Ichi Jr tournament."
On September 12, 2006, Zero1-Max joined 12 other pro wrestling companies and joined the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance
Global Professional Wrestling Alliance
The Global Professional Wrestling Alliance is a cooperative group of professional wrestling promotions and wrestlers from around the world. Formed in 2006, the group was founded by the professional wrestler Mitsuharu Misawa, the founder of Pro Wrestling Noah...
(GPWA), an alliance that will keep the various promotions involved from stepping on each other toes and instead fostering an environment of cooperation rather than competition. The new alliance will also occasionally put on "Super Shows" where all the promotions will send fighters to compete representing their own companies under the GPWA banner. Pro Wrestling Noah's CEO Mitsuharu Misawa
Mitsuharu Misawa
was a Japanese professional wrestler. He made his professional debut on August 21, 1981 for All Japan Pro Wrestling . From 1984 until 1990, Misawa wrestled as the second generation Tiger Mask, as All Japan Pro Wrestling had purchased the rights of the Tiger Mask gimmick from New Japan Pro Wrestling...
was inaugurated as the first Chairman of the new alliance, with Zero1-Max's Yoshiyuki Nakamura announced as the company's President.
In 2008, the promotion shortened the name to Pro Wrestling Zero1.
In 2011, the promotion returned to the NWA as their Japanese territory. In March 2011, NWA presented Zero1 with the NWA Pan-Pacific Premium Heavyweight Championship in celebration of the promotion's 10th anniversary. In July, Daisuke Sekimoto
Daisuke Sekimoto
is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in Big Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX. He is a former six-time BJW Tag Team Champion, as well as a former NWA United National Heavyweight Champion in ZERO1-MAX...
won the Fire Festival
Fire Festival
"Fire Festival" should not be confused with the traditional Himatsuri fire festivals in JapanThe Fire Festival is an annual professional wrestling round-robin tournament held by Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX to determine the top wrestler in the promotion, typically contested in late July/early August...
to become the first champion.
Championships
| Championship: | Champion(s): | Held since: |
|---|---|---|
| Zero1 World Heavyweight Championship ZERO1 World Heavyweight Championship The Zero1 World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Zero1. It is one of Zero1's top two singles titles, along with the NWA United National Heavyweight Championship. It was first introduced on December 15, 2007... |
Kohei Sato Kohei Sato is a Japanese professional wrestler contracted with Pro Wrestling ZERO1. Sato is also a former mixed martial artist.-In wrestling:*Finishing moves*Briging German suplex*Cross Armbreaker*Pole Star *Signature moves... |
November 6, 2011 |
| NWA United National Heavyweight Championship | Shito Ueda | November 24, 2011 |
| Zero-One United States Heavyweight Championship | Mr. Wrestling III Steve Corino Steven Eugene "Steve" Corino is a Canadian professional wrestler, who currently works for Pro Wrestling Zero1, Ring of Honor and numerous other independent promotions. Corino is a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion and ECW World Heavyweight Champion.-Early years :Corino began wrestling in 1994... |
November 9, 2008 |
| Zero1 International Junior Heavyweight Championship | Takuya Sugawara Takuya Sugawara is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently wrestling for Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX and Dragon Gate.-Toryumon/Dragon Gate:He debuted in the 9th term of T2P as Henry III Sugawara, a Prince character. He joined with and eventually with Anthony W. Mori and Phillip J. Fukumasa, forming the Royal... |
May 23, 2011 |
| NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship | Masato Tanaka Masato Tanaka Masato Tanaka is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling in Japan and in Extreme Championship Wrestling in the United States where he was a one-time world champion, having won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship once... & Zeus |
September 14, 2011 |
| NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Championship | Ikuto Hidaka Ikuto Hidaka is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently performing for Pro Wrestling Zero1. Hidaka was the regular partner of Minoru Fujita, with whom he has held the Zero1-Max International Lightweight Tag Team and Intercontinental Tag Team Titles, making them the only team to do so... & Takafumi Ito |
August 7, 2011 |
| NWA Pan-Pacific Premium Heavyweight Championship | Daisuke Sekimoto Daisuke Sekimoto is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in Big Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX. He is a former six-time BJW Tag Team Champion, as well as a former NWA United National Heavyweight Champion in ZERO1-MAX... |
August 7, 2011 |
Tournaments
Zero1 also hold several annual tournaments:| Tournament | Latest winner(s) | Date won |
|---|---|---|
| Fire Festival Fire Festival "Fire Festival" should not be confused with the traditional Himatsuri fire festivals in JapanThe Fire Festival is an annual professional wrestling round-robin tournament held by Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX to determine the top wrestler in the promotion, typically contested in late July/early August... |
Daisuke Sekimoto Daisuke Sekimoto is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in Big Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX. He is a former six-time BJW Tag Team Champion, as well as a former NWA United National Heavyweight Champion in ZERO1-MAX... |
August 7, 2011 |
| Furinkazan Furinkazan (wrestling) The Furinkazan is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held by Pro Wrestling Zero1. It was created in 2009.It was preceded by the Passion Cup tag Tournament in 2008, which was won by Kohei Sato and Ryouji Sai.... |
Akebono Akebono Taro is a retired American born-Japanese sumo wrestler from Waimānalo, Hawaii. Joining the professional sport in Japan in 1988, he was trained by pioneering Hawaiian sumo wrestler Takamiyama and rose swiftly up the rankings, reaching the top division in 1990... & Shinjiro Otani |
December 7, 2009 |