Professional wrestling in Japan - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Puroresu is the popular term for the predominant style or genre of professional wrestling

Professional wrestling

Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

that has developed in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. The term comes from the Japanese

Gairaigo

Gairaigo is Japanese for "loan word" or "borrowed word", and indicates a transliteration into Japanese. In particular, the word usually refers to a Japanese word of foreign origin that was not borrowed from Chinese, primarily from English. Japanese also has a large number of loan words from...

pronunciation of "professional wrestling" , which is shortened to puroresu ("purofesshonaru resuringu"). The term became popular among English-speaking

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

fans due to Hisaharu Tanabe's activities in the online Usenet community. Growing out of origins in the traditional American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

style of wrestling, it has become an entity in itself. Despite the similarity to its American counterpart in that the outcome of the matches remains predetermined, Japanese pro wrestling is distinct in its psychology

Sport psychology

Sport psychology is an interdisciplinary science that draws on knowledge from the fields of kinesiology and psychology. It involves the study of how psychological factors affect performance and how participation in sport and exercise affect psychological and physical factors...

and presentation of the sport. It is treated as a legitimate fight, with fewer theatrics; the stories told in Japanese matches are about a fighter's spirit and perseverance. In strong style, the style most typically associated with puroresu, full contact martial arts

Martial arts

Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

strikes and shoot submission holds are implemented.

The first Japanese to involve himself in catch wrestling

Catch wrestling

Catch wrestling is a style of folk wrestling that was developed and popularised in the late 19th century by the wrestlers of traveling carnivals who incorporated submission holds, or "hooks", into their wrestling to increase their effectiveness against their opponents...

, the basis of traditional professional wrestling, was former sumo

Sumo

is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...

wrestler Sorakichi Matsuda

Sorakichi Matsuda

Matsuda Sorakichi was a Japanese professional wrestler of the 19th century of some national fame. While his name is largely unknown today, he remains the lone pioneer as a Japanese wrestler who became a feature attraction in America, competing in a distinctly western sport, long before it was...

. There were subsequent attempts before and after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

to popularize the sport in Japan, but these generally failed until the advent of its first big star, Rikidōzan

Rikidozan

, better known as Rikidōzan , was a Korean Japanese professional wrestler, known as the "Father of Puroresu" and one of the most influential men in wrestling history. Initially, he had moved from his native country Korea to Japan to become a sumo wrestler...

, in 1951, who became known as the "father" of the sport. Rikidōzan brought the sport to tremendous popularity with his Japanese Wrestling Association (JWA) until his murder in 1963. Following his death, Puroresu thrived, creating a variety of personalities, promotions and styles. It has also created a mass of other cultural icon

Cultural icon

A cultural icon can be a symbol, logo, picture, name, face, person, building or other image that is readily recognized and generally represents an object or concept with great cultural significance to a wide cultural group...

s in Japan including: Giant Baba, Antonio Inoki

Antonio Inoki

is a Japanese professional wrestling promoter and retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist who now resides between New York City and Tokyo. He was also the founder and former owner of New Japan Pro Wrestling before selling his controlling share in the promotion to Yukes...

, Keiji Mutoh/The Great Muta

Keiji Mutoh

is a Japanese professional wrestler who first gained international fame in the National Wrestling Alliance. He is mostly known for his work as The Great Muta in New Japan Pro Wrestling during the 1990s, but he has also competed in United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Taiwan...

and 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...

.

Throughout the years, a number of promotions have opened and closed, but a few have persisted to remain the most popular and thriving companies: 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...

is currently considered by many as the top promotion with 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 :...

and 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...

as viable competition. Japan also has countless shows on what is considered the independent circuit

Independent circuit

In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...

, which still see great success despite their inability to compete with bigger promotions.

Overview

Despite some similarities to the much more popular style of professional wrestling in the United States, Japanese wrestling is known for many differences from the Western style. Puroresu is known for its "fighting spirit" and the wrestlers are known for their full contact strikes. A lot of the wrestlers in Japan have some degree of knowledge in many different martial arts

Martial arts

and wrestling

Wrestling

Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...

styles. Because of this, there are usually doctors and trainers at ringside for assisting the wrestlers after a match. Most matches have clean finishes and many of the promotions don't use any angles or gimmicks. Japanese wrestling is also known for its relationship with fellow mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

promotions. Wrestling and martial arts icon Antonio Inoki

Antonio Inoki

usually organizes wrestling matches and MMA fights on the same card. Puroresu still remains popular and it draws huge crowds from the major promotions. With this and its relationship with other martial arts

Martial arts

disciplines, the audiences and wrestlers treat puroresu as a combat sport

Combat sport

A Combat sport, also known as a Fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport where two combatants fight against each other using certain rules of engagement , typically with the aim of simulating parts of real hand to hand combat...

Rules

Puroresu has a variety of different rules, which can differ completely from wrestling in other countries. While there is no governing authority for puroresu, there is a general standard which has developed. Each promotion has their own variation, but all are similar enough to avoid confusion. Any convention described here is simply a standard, and may or may not correspond exactly with any given promotion's codified rules.

General structure

Matches are held between two or more sides ("corners"). Each corner may consist of one wrestler, or a team of two or more. Most team matches are governed by tag team rules (see below). One notable difference from North American and, in recent years, European professional wrestling is that puroresu rarely has matches between more than two parties.

The match is won by scoring a "fall", which is generally consistent with the analogous concept in other countries:

Fall, pinning an opponent's shoulders to the mat for the referee's count of three.
Give up, or submission
Submission wrestling
Submission wrestling or Combat wrestling in Japan, is a formula of competition and a general term describing the aspect of martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission using submission holds...

victory, which sees the wrestler either tap out or verbally submit to their opponent.
Knockout, the failure to regain composure at the referee's command
Ring out, the failure of a party to return to the ring at the referee's command, which is determined by a count of twenty.
Disqualification, the act of one wrestler breaking the rules.

Additional rules govern how the outcome of the match is to take place. One such example would be the Japanese Universal Wrestling Federation

Universal Wrestling Federation (Japan)

The original Japanese-based Universal Wrestling Federation 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 the shoot-style of pro-wrestling, which emphasized realistic moves. It was revived as the...

, as it does not allow pinfall victories in favor of submissions and knockouts; this is seen as an early influence of mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts

, as some wrestlers broke away from traditional wrestling endings to matches in favor of legitimate outcomes

Shoot (professional wrestling)

A shoot in professional wrestling is a term that refers to any unplanned, unscripted or real-life occurrence within a wrestling event. Contrary to popular belief, the name does not originate from "shooting in" for a takedown, as in amateur wrestling - rather it is a carny term shortened from...

. Another example is that most promotions disallow punches so a lot of wrestlers utilize open handed strikes and stiff forearms; this rule was also applied in the early stages of Pancrase

Pancrase

Pancrase is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Suzuki and Funaki are particularly skilled in the art of catch wrestling and based the...

Styles

The dominant styles of Japanese professional wrestling were set in place by the two dominant promotions in Japan. New Japan Pro Wrestling

New Japan Pro Wrestling

, headed by Antonio Inoki

Antonio Inoki

, used Inoki's "strong style" approach of wrestling as a combat sport. Wrestlers incorporated kicks and strikes from martial arts

Martial arts

disciplines, and a strong emphasis was placed on submission wrestling

Submission wrestling

Submission wrestling or Combat wrestling in Japan, is a formula of competition and a general term describing the aspect of martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission using submission holds...

. Many of New Japan's wrestlers including top stars such as 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....

, Riki Choshu

Riki Choshu

Mitsuo Yoshida , better known by his stage name Riki Chōshū , is a Korean-Japanese professional wrestler who is most known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro Wrestling as a wrestler and a booker...

, and Keiji Mutoh

Keiji Mutoh

came from a legitimate martial arts background. 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 :...

, under the direction of Shohei Baba

Shohei Baba

was a professional wrestler and co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling. He was also known as Giant Baba. Baba, along with Antonio Inoki, became one of the most famous Japanese wrestlers of his era, with a popularity in Japan comparable to Hulk Hogan's in the United States of America...

, used a style referred to as "King's Road." The "King's Road" style was in large part derived from American wrestling, particularly the style of top wrestlers in 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...

, such as Dory Funk Jr., Terry Funk

Terry Funk

Terrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...

, and Harley Race

Harley Race

Harley Leland Race is a retired American professional wrestler and current promoter and trainer. During his career as a wrestler, he held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 7 times...

, all of whom wrestled for Baba in Japan. As such, "King's Road" placed a heavy emphasis on working of holds, brawling, and the storytelling elements of professional wrestling. Due to the rise of the "shootwrestling" promotions in the early 1980's, promising a decisive winner and loser at a time when the two mainstream promotions protected their top stars with screwjob or double count-out finishes, the major promotions have usually maintained a format of only clean finishes since then.

Throughout the 1990s, three individual styles -- shoot style, lucha libre

Lucha libre

Lucha libre is a term used in Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, for a form of professional wrestling that has developed within those countries...

, and hardcore

Hardcore wrestling

Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place in unusual environments, using foreign objects that are not normally permitted...

-- were the main divisions of independent promotions, but as a result of interpromoting, it is not unusual to see all three styles on the same card.

Ring

A match is fought in a square ring surrounded by three ropes, very similar to a boxing ring

Boxing ring

A boxing ring is the space in which a boxing match occurs. A modern ring, which is set on a raised platform, is square with a post at each corner to which four parallel rows of ropes are attached with a turnbuckle...

. Turnbuckle

Turnbuckle

A turnbuckle, stretching screw or bottlescrew is a device for adjusting the tension or length of ropes, cables, tie rods, and other tensioning systems. It normally consists of two threaded eyelets, one screwed into each end of a small metal frame, one with a left-hand thread and the other with a...

s holding the ropes in the corners can be covered either individually (each turnbuckle has its own padding) or collectively (a single padding covering all turnbuckles). Wrestlers often run into the ropes themselves or throw the opponents against them, employing the ropes' elasticity for his next attack. Additionally, there are attacks that utilize the squareness of the ring, including climbing onto a corner and jumping off onto the opponent, or pushing the opponent out of the ring from the corner.

Other kinds of rings may be specified by individual rules. A ring may have barbed wire

Barbed wire

Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...

s instead of ropes, have six sides of ropes instead of four, have explosives set on the boundaries, among other gimmicks. Some small, obscure independent promotions which rarely draw above 100 fans to its cards are so devoid of resources that they have to use amateur mats in place of an actual ring. Examples of these are Koki Kitahara's Capture International (shoot style) and Mr. Pogo's WWS.

Female wrestling

Puroresu done by female wrestlers is called joshi puroresu or joshi puro for short. (女子プロレス). Female wrestling in Japan is usually handled by promotions that specialize in joshi puroresu, rather than divisions of otherwise male-dominated promotions as is the case in the United States (the only exception was FMW, a men's promotion which had a small women's division, but even then depended on talent from women's federations to provide competition). However, joshi puroresu promotions usually have agreements with male puroresu promotions such that they recognize each others' titles as legitimate, and may share cards.

All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling

All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling

, nicknamed Zenjo was a joshi puroresu promotion established in 1968 by Takashi Matsunaga and his brothers. The group held their first card on June 4 of that year...

was the dominant joshi organization from the 1970s to the 1990s. AJW's first major star was Mach Fumiake in 1974, followed in 1975 by Jackie Sato

Jackie Sato

, better known as was a professional wrestler from Yokohama, Japan. In the 1970s, while wrestling for All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling , she formed the tag team, the Beauty Pair, with Maki Ueda. Following in the steps of Mach Fumiake, the Beauty Pair was part of an important shift in the culture...

and Maki Ueda, known as the "Beauty Pair". The early 1980s saw the fame of Jaguar Yokota

Jaguar Yokota

is a Japanese professional wrestler and later wrestling trainer, who wrestled under the name . She is widely considered one of the greatest female wrestlers of all time, and, during her heyday in the early 1980s, was considered one of the best wrestlers in the world, irrespective of...

and Devil Masami

Devil Masami

Masami Yoshida is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for her appearances in All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling, GAEA Japan and Japanese Women Pro-Wrestling Project under the name Devil Masami...

, major stars of the second wave of excellent workers who took the place of the glamour-based "Beauty Pair" generation. That decade would later see the rise of Chigusa Nagayo

Chigusa Nagayo

is a retired Japanese female professional wrestler best known for her mainstream popularity in the 1980s as a member of the tag team The Crush Gals with long-time partner Lioness Asuka. She was the founder of the GAEA Women's Professional Wrestling organization . She briefly competed as alter-ego...

and Lioness Asuka

Lioness Asuka

is a Japanese professional wrestler from Tokyo. Along with long-time tag team partner Chigusa Nagayo she formed The Crush Gals, known for their mainstream popularity in the 1980s, and the most successful women's tag team of all time.-Career:...

, known as the "Crush Gals", who as a tag team achieved a level of unprecedented mainstream success in Japan, unheard of by any female wrestler in the history of professional wrestling all over the world. Their long running feud with Dump Matsumoto

Kaoru Matsumoto

Kaoru Matsumoto is a semi-retired Japanese professional wrestler, known by her ringname Dump Matsumoto, who competed in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling as one of the leading female wrestlers during the 1980s. The longtime leader of the stable Gokuaku Domei—which included Crane Yu, Condor Saito and...

and her "Gokuaku Domei" ("Atrocious Alliance") stable would become extremely popular in Japan during the 1980s, with their televised matches resulting in some of the highest rated broadcasts in Japanese television as well as the promotion regularly selling out arenas.

It was during the 1990s that joshi puroresu attracted much critical acclaim internationally, and several classic matches during these era competed by select joshi wrestlers were awarded 5-stars by the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

wrestling publication Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Notable joshi wrestlers of the 1990s include Manami Toyota

Manami Toyota

is a professional wrestler best known for her work with the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling wrestling promotion. Following AJW's closure she has continued to work in other joshi promotions such as GAEA and NEO...

, Bull Nakano

Bull Nakano

Keiko Nakano , better known as Bull Nakano, is a professional golfer and former professional wrestler. She began competing in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling as a teenager under the ring name Bull Nakano. As a wrestler she was a villain, who often teamed with her mentor Dump Matsumoto...

, Akira Hokuto, Aja Kong, Megumi Kudo

Megumi Kudo

Megumi Takayama, better known under her stage and maiden name , and by her nickname Kudome, is a Japanese entertainment personality, and was a professional wrestler who worked most of her career for Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling....

, Shinobu Kandori

Shinobu Kandori

is a retired Japanese wrestler and now politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet...

, Kyoko Inoue

Kyoko Inoue

is a Japanese female professional wrestler. She has held the WWWA World Heavyweight Championship three times, and is the first woman to win a men's title in Japan. She is also the founder of the joshi promotion NEO Japan...

, Takako Inoue

Takako Inoue

is a Japanese professional wrestler. She wrestled primarily for the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling promotion, and held several championships, primarily in tag team wrestling...

(no relation to the former), Dynamite Kansai

Dynamite Kansai

Dynamite Kansai is a Japanese female professional wrestler.-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 , but was unsuccessful, and instead joined the first rookie class of Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling...

, and Mayumi Ozaki

Mayumi Ozaki

is a Japanese female professional wrestler.-Career:Ozaki debuted in a tag match in August, 1986. In her career, she held the WWWA tag titles with Dynamite Kansai from April 11, 1993 to December 6, 1993 (born October 28, 1968) is a Japanese female professional wrestler.-Career:Ozaki debuted in a...

.

Primary differences between joshi and American women's wrestling is the depiction of women in a non-sexualised way and that often the audience at joshi promotions will have a large proportion of female fans. Female wrestlers with natural beauty, such as Mimi Hagiwara or Takako Inoue

Takako Inoue

is a Japanese professional wrestler. She wrestled primarily for the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling promotion, and held several championships, primarily in tag team wrestling...

may show off their beauty in non-wrestling related media, such as photobooks, where they are treated no different from tarento

Tarento

is a Japanese rendering of the English word "talent" and is used as a catch-all term for mass media personalities who regularly appear on television. Detractors of the phenomenon have referred to it in an English sense as "famous just for being famous" because many that fall into this career line...

and gravure idols

Puroresu on television

Since its beginning, Japanese professional wrestling depended on television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

to reach a wide audience. Rikidōzan's matches in the 1950s, televised by Nippon TV, often attracted huge crowds to Tokyo giant screens. Eventually TV Asahi

TV Asahi

, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....

also gained the right to broadcast JWA, but eventually the two major broadcasters agreed to split the talent, centering about Rikidōzan's top two students: NTV for Giant Baba

Shohei Baba

and his group, and Asahi for Antonio Inoki

Antonio Inoki

and his group. This arrangement continued after the JWA split into today's major promotions, New Japan and All Japan, led by Inoki and Baba respectively. In 2000, following the 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...

split, NTV decided to follow the new venture rather than staying with All Japan. Nowadays, however, mirroring the decline that professional wrestling in the U.S. had in the 1970s and early 1980s, NOAH's Power Hour and New Japan's World Pro Wrestling have been largely relegated to the midnight hours by their broadcasters.

The advent of cable television

Cable television

Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...

and pay per view also enabled independents such as RINGS to rise. WOWOW

WOWOW

WOWOW was the first private satellite broadcasting and pay TV station in Japan. It has its headquarters on the 21st floor of the Akasaka Park Building in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo...

had a working agreement with Akira Maeda that paid millions to RINGS when he was featured, but eventually was scrapped with Maeda's retirement and the subsequent RINGS collapse.

In 2009, due to the bearish global economy, NTV cancelled all wrestling programming, including NOAH's Power Hour (lesser affiliates still air large cards), marking the end of a tradition going back to Rikidozan.

Foreign wrestlers in Japan

Since its establishment professional wrestling in Japan has depended on foreigners, particularly North Americans, to get its own stars over. Rikidōzan's JWA and its successor promotions 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 :...

and New Japan Pro Wrestling

New Japan Pro Wrestling

were members of the American-based 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...

at various points, and used these connections to bring North American stars. International Pro Wrestling

International Pro Wrestling

International Pro Wrestling , also known as International Wrestling Enterprise, was a professional wrestling promotion in Japan from 1966 to 1981. Founded by Isao Yoshihara, it was affiliated with the American Wrestling Association in the United States and also had tie-ins with promotions in Europe...

was the first Japanese promotion to link in to Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an circuits. It was through IWE that Frenchman André the Giant

André the Giant

André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride...

got his international reputation for the first time.

Several popular North American professional wrestlers in recent years, such as Sting

Sting (wrestler)

Steven James "Steve" Borden , better known by his ring name Sting, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...

, Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan

Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....

, Bret Hart

Bret Hart

Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...

, Dynamite Kid

Dynamite Kid

Thomas Wilton Billington , best known by the ring name Dynamite Kid, is a retired British professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation, Stampede Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid- to late-1980s...

, Big Van Vader, Mick Foley

Mick Foley

Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...

, Eddie Guerrero

Eddie Guerrero

Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions...

, Chris Benoit

Chris Benoit

Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...

, Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho

Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...

, Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle

Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...

, Rob Van Dam

Rob Van Dam

Robert Alexander "Rob" Szatkowski , better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam , is an American professional wrestler and actor who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....

, Sabu

Sabu (wrestler)

Terry Michael Brunk , better known by his ring name Sabu, is an American professional wrestler best known for his extreme wrestling style...

, Mil Máscaras

Mil Máscaras

Aaron Rodríguez , best known as Mil Máscaras , is a semi-retired Mexican professional wrestler and actor, who has starred in several films with fellow luchadores...

, El Canek

El Canek

Felipe Estrada , known as Canek and El Canek, is a masked Mexican professional wrestler and former Mixed Martial Arts fighter currently performing part time for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. In 1972, he debuted as "El Universitario" at the age of 18. In 1973, he would change his name to Canek, a...

, Dos Caras

Dos Caras

José Luis Rodríguez is a Mexican Luchador Enmascarado who wrestles under the ring name Dos Caras . Dos Caras' most active years were in the 1970s and 80s, and achieved his greatest success in Mexico's Universal Wrestling Alliance winning the UWA World Heavyweight Championship three times...

, El Solitario

El Solitario

Roberto González Cruz was a Mexican professional wrestler who wrestled under the name El Solitario. During his career he held both the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Middleweight Championship...

, 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....

, AJ Styles, Bryan Danielson

Bryan Danielson

Bryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...

, 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....

, Travis Tomko

Travis Tomko

Travis David Tomko is an American professional wrestler, known by his ring name Tomko, who most recently worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he previously was a member of Christian's Coalition and the Angle Alliance and often worked alongside A.J. Styles. He was also notable for his...

, Giant Bernard, Bill Goldberg

Bill Goldberg

Goldberg earned a scholarship to play for the University of Georgia Bulldogs football team where he served as a defensive tackle. He was taken in the 11th round, with the 302nd overall selection, in the 1990 NFL Draft....

, 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...

, Low Ki

Low Ki

Brandon Silvestry is an American professional wrestler. He is best known under his ring names Low Ki, Senshi in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and Kaval in World Wrestling Entertainment. He is a former one-time PWG World Champion and a former ROH Champion...

, Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar

Brock Edward Lesnar is an American mixed martial artist, actor and a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is ranked the No.5 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog...

, Xavier Woods, Davey Richards

Davey Richards

Wesley David Richards is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Davey Richards.Richards is currently under contract with Ring of Honor, where he is the current ROH World Champion, but also wrestles for several companies on the independent circuit, including Pro Wrestling...

, Chris Hero

Chris Hero

Chris Spradlin is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Chris Hero. He is a mainstay of many independent wrestling promotions, including Ring of Honor, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla as well as Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan...

, and others have wrestled in Japan, whereas others such as Stan Hansen

Stan Hansen

John Stanley Hansen, Jr. is an American former professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Stan Hansen. As a wrestler, Hansen was well known for his stiff wrestling style, which he attributes to poor eyesight, as he is nearly blind without glasses...

spent much of their careers in Japan and thus are better known there than in their homeland. Even in joshi puroresu, a few notable foreigners have found success wrestling for joshi promotions, such as Monster Ripper

Rhonda Singh

Rhonda Ann Sing was a Canadian professional wrestler. After training with Mildred Burke, she wrestled in Japan under the name Monster Ripper. In 1987, she returned to Canada and began working with Stampede Wrestling, where she was their first Stampede Women's Champion...

, Madusa

Debra Miceli

Debrah Ann Miceli is a Monster truck driver and former professional wrestler. She is best known under her ring names Madusa or Alundra Blayze. Her early career was spent in the American Wrestling Association, where she held the AWA World Women's Championship one time...

, Reggie Bennett

Reggie Bennett

Reggie Bennett is an American former professional wrestler. She is best known for her work in joshi puroresu organizations such as All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling.-Professional wrestling career:...

, and Amazing Kong

Kia Stevens

Kia Michelle Stevens , better known by her ring names Amazing Kong, Awesome Kong and Kharma. She is signed with WWE, but has been inactive since May 2011 due to pregnancy...

. The now defunct World Championship Wrestling

World Championship Wrestling

World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...

had a strong talent exchange deal with New Japan Pro Wrestling

New Japan Pro Wrestling

, Ken Shamrock

Ken Shamrock

Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...

was among the first Americans to compete in shoot style competition in Japan, starting out in the UWF

Universal Wrestling Federation (Japan)

and later opened Pancrase

Pancrase

with some other Japanese shootfighters.

As a result of the introduction of lucha libre

Lucha libre

Lucha libre is a term used in Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, for a form of professional wrestling that has developed within those countries...

into Japan, major Mexican stars also compete in Japan. The most popular Mexican wrestler to compete in Japan is Mil Máscaras

Mil Máscaras

Aaron Rodríguez , best known as Mil Máscaras , is a semi-retired Mexican professional wrestler and actor, who has starred in several films with fellow luchadores...

, who is credited with introducing the high-flying moves of lucha libre to Japanese audiences, which then led to the style called lucha-resu.

Some foreign wrestlers have achieved huge successes, sometimes greater than those of Japanese top rosters in respective Japanese promotions they have wrestled in. Notably, the American wrestler Stan Hansen

Stan Hansen

, Indian wrestler Tiger Jeet Singh

Tiger Jeet Singh

Jagjit Singh Hans is a semi-retired professional wrestler, known better by his ring name Tiger Jeet Singh. He wrestled as a crazed heel, coming to the ring with a sword in his mouth . Singh wrestled in Japan for 22 years...

, Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

wrestler Abdullah The Butcher

Abdullah the Butcher

Lawrence Robert "Larry" Shreve best known as Abdullah the Butcher, and also at times The Madman from the Sudan, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler known as one of the most brutal or "hardcore" professional wrestlers of all-time...

, Mexican

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

wrestler Mil Máscaras

Mil Máscaras

Aaron Rodríguez , best known as Mil Máscaras , is a semi-retired Mexican professional wrestler and actor, who has starred in several films with fellow luchadores...

, and the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

wrestler Dynamite Kid

Dynamite Kid

Puroresu stars in foreign companies

All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling, as well as others, have also sent wrestlers to compete in the likes of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Mexico

Mexico

, the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

and so on. Usually, these talent exchanges are chances for puroresu stars to learn other styles to add to their own strengths. Some of the more famous examples of these exchanges are Masahiro Chono

Masahiro Chono

, is a Japanese professional wrestler. He primarily wrestles for New Japan Pro Wrestling , but has also made appearances for the now defunct World Championship Wrestling, as a member of the New World Order. Chono was also known as Mister Black Jack when he first started as a villain. He is a...

, The Great Muta

Keiji Mutoh

and Jushin Liger

Jushin Liger

, better known as and later, is a Japanese professional wrestler who primarily works for New Japan Pro Wrestling.He has wrestled and beaten many of the top smaller wrestlers in both Japan and the United States, and is frequently cited as one of the greatest and most revolutionary junior...

in WCW

World Championship Wrestling

, as well as ECW

Extreme Championship Wrestling

Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...

which featured talent from Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989 by Atsushi Onita that specialized in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held their first show on October 6, 1989...

and Michinoku Pro Wrestling

Michinoku Pro Wrestling

Michinoku Pro Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded by The Great Sasuke in 1993. Michinoku Pro was the first independent wrestling promotion in Japan to not base its operations in Tokyo, but rather in Morioka, Iwate...

Some joshi stars from AJW had wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation in the 1980s and 1990s, with The Jumping Bomb Angels

Jumping Bomb Angels

Jumping Bomb Angels were a female Japanese professional wrestling tag team. The members were Noriyo Tateno and Itsuki Yamazaki .-Japan:...

and Bull Nakano known for being particularly successful.

GAEA Japan

GAEA Japan

Gaea Japan was a Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion. Gaea Japan (trademarked as GAEA Japan) was a Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion. Gaea Japan (trademarked as GAEA Japan) was a Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion. (Japanese female professional...

once had a working agreement with World Championship Wrestling in the mid-1990s, when the latter brought in wrestlers from GAEA to bolster the ranks of their then-fledgling women's division, with Akira Hokuto becoming the first and only WCW Women's Champion

WCW Women's Championship

The World Championship Wrestling Women's Championship was a short-lived title for the women's division in World Championship Wrestling. It lasted from 1996 until 1997, when it was abandoned...

, and a WCW Women's Cruiserweight Championship

WCW Women's Cruiserweight Championship

The World Championship Wrestling Women's Cruiserweight Championship was a short-lived singles championship in World Championship Wrestling for the smaller women. It was created as a joint venture between WCW and GAEA Japan. The weight limit for the women's cruiserweight division was 130 lb...

was even introduced and defended in GAEA shows.

Recent examples of Japanese wrestlers working in foreign promotions include Satoshi Kojima

Satoshi Kojima

is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling. As a singles wrestler, he was the first wrestler to hold NJPW's IWGP Heavyweight Championship and All Japan Pro Wrestling's Triple Crown Championship simultaneously...

in Major League Wrestling

Major League Wrestling

Major League Wrestling is a professional wrestling promotion that markets its presentation around hybrid wrestling, which encompasses and showcases many different forms of wrestling. MLW's mission is to present itself as an alternative to sports entertainment...

, Kenta Kobashi

Kenta Kobashi

Not to be confused with his protégé Kenta Kobayashi is a Japanese professional wrestler currently under contract to Pro Wrestling Noah. He worked for All Japan Pro Wrestling from 1988–2000, where he became one of the promotion's top stars....

and Go Shiozaki

Go Shiozaki

is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is the current GHC Heavyweight Champion. In addition to Noah, he has previously worked in the American-based promotion Ring of Honor and its former sister promotion Full Impact Pro, where he won the latter's...

in Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...

, and Hirooki Goto

Hirooki Goto

is a Japanese professional wrestler. He has wrestled primarily for New Japan Pro Wrestling since his debut.-Career:Goto attended Kokushikan University, where he took part in freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling. Upon graduating, Goto qualified to join New Japan Pro Wrestling, but left the...

, Masato Yoshino

Masato Yoshino

Masato Yoshino is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for the Dragon Gate wrestling promotion.-Toryumon:...

, Tiger Mask IV

Tiger Mask IV

Yoshihiro Yamazaki , best known by his ring name Tiger Mask , is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently works for New Japan Pro Wrestling. Yamazaki is the fourth wrestler to portray the Tiger Mask image / persona; having used it since 1995...

, Hiroshi Tanahashi

Hiroshi Tanahashi

is a Japanese professional wrestler who works primarily for New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion in his fifth reign.-Early life:...

and Ayako Hamada

Ayako Hamada

is a female professional wrestler of mixed Japanese and Mexican descent, who is currently wrestling most notably for Pro Wrestling WAVE in Japan and Shimmer Women Athletes in the United States, where she is a co-holder of the Shimmer Tag Team Championship.She is best known for winning several...

in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...

, Manami Toyota in Chikara and Yoshi Tatsu in World Wrestling Entertainment

World Wrestling Entertainment

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Overview

Rules

General structure

Styles

Ring

Female wrestling

Puroresu on television

Foreign wrestlers in Japan

Puroresu stars in foreign companies

See also

External links