Post by Emperor Ihsahn on Dec 30, 2014 7:27:09 GMT -5
So I was asked by Chairshot (Better known as D) to try and get him up to speed with the happenings in Japan since he wants to get into things. I might need your guys' help though as I have only recently returned to the land of Puro but I can do my best with the promotions I follow. I figure we can use this thread for an all inclusive get up to speed thread for those wanting to know what's going on in Japan.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW)
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada are running rampant at the moment and are far and above the top guys in the company. Tanahashi holds the biggest belt in the IWGP World Title and will defend that belt against Okada on January 4th at the annual Tokyo Dome show. Elsewhere you have The Bullet Club, which consists of mostly Gaijins (Foreigners) such as AJ Styles, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Jeff Jarrett and a few others, basically doing whatever the hell they please and tearing New Japan up in the process. Other notable wrestlers include Tomohiro Ishii, Minoru Suzuki, & well basically half of the roster lol. New Japan is the biggest promotion in Japan by far and the 2nd biggest in the world.
All Japan Pro-Wrestling (AJPW)
All Japan use to be the second biggest promotion in Japan but has seen two big exodus' of wrestlers, first when Misawa took most of the roster and formed Noah and second when Keiji Mutoh (The Great Muta) did the same and formed Wrestle-1. These days the top stars are Joe Doering (Who is the Triple Crown champion, which is the biggest title in the company), Jun Akiyama (Who is running the promotion now), Go Shiozaki & Takao Ōmori. The promotion has definitely fallen off and I would be hard pressed to rank them higher then the 3rd biggest promotion these days but they are rebuilding and their shows are definitely fun.
Pro-Wrestling NOAH
Founded by the late Mitsuhiro Misawa, Noah was the 2nd biggest promotion until a few years ago. They use to be a highly conservative promotion with nothing but straight up wrestling, no gimmick matches at all. This has changed drastically since Misawa died in the ring. The shows now feature a wide variety of matches including TLC matches, and the such. They have fallen hugely in the last few years, at one point they were drawing 30,000 to the Tokyo Dome and now they are struggling to draw 1,500 at Korakuen Hall. The top stars right now are GHC Champion (Biggest belt in company) Naomichi Marafuji, Atsushi Kotoge, Masato Tanaka & Takeshi Morishima. The company is on the downfall and I'd be really hard pressed to recommend them at the moment but quality and entertainment is in the eye of the beholder, they still have their fans.
Big Japan Pro-Wrestling (BJW)
All Death Matches, all the time. BJW is the epitome of the word Hardcore or Garbage, they are the most violent promotion in the world (Sorry CZW) and have one of the most loyal and die hard fan bases in the country. The top title is the Death Match Championship which is currently held by Yuko Miyamaoto, other top stars include Ryuji Ito (Who held the title for 2 years straight at one point), Abdullah Kobayashi, Jaki Numazawa, Jun Kasai & Daisuke Sekimoto. BJW is one of my personal favorites and their shows are always fun and bloody.
Wrestle-1 (W1)
The Great Muta's promotion, he took the majority of the All Japan roster with him when he left the company and formed W1. They are growing and could be argued to be the 2nd or 3rd promotion in Japan. The top title is the W1 Championship which is held by Keiji Mutoh (The Great Muta), top stars include Kaz Hayashi, Shuji Kondo & Tajiri. I'll admit to not having watched much W1 but I've heard nothing but good things.
Dragon Gate
At one time Dragon Gate was considered the next big thing in Japan but they seem to have stalled out a bit. Their style is very fast paced and features a lot of high flying. Top stars include Cima, Naruki Doi, BxB Hulk & Dragon Kid the top title is held by BxB Hulk and is called Open The Dream Gate. It's a fun promotion to watch and you definitely won't get too bored watching it.
Other promotions in Japan include Taka Michinoku's K-Dojo, The Great Sasuke's Michinoku Pro, Kenta Kobashi's Fortune Dream, Tokyo Gurentai, & DDT. I am certain I am missing a lot of information here and this is accurate in terms of champions as of December 30th, 2014. I hope some of the other guru's here will chime in with their two cents and I hope this helps!
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW)
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada are running rampant at the moment and are far and above the top guys in the company. Tanahashi holds the biggest belt in the IWGP World Title and will defend that belt against Okada on January 4th at the annual Tokyo Dome show. Elsewhere you have The Bullet Club, which consists of mostly Gaijins (Foreigners) such as AJ Styles, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Jeff Jarrett and a few others, basically doing whatever the hell they please and tearing New Japan up in the process. Other notable wrestlers include Tomohiro Ishii, Minoru Suzuki, & well basically half of the roster lol. New Japan is the biggest promotion in Japan by far and the 2nd biggest in the world.
All Japan Pro-Wrestling (AJPW)
All Japan use to be the second biggest promotion in Japan but has seen two big exodus' of wrestlers, first when Misawa took most of the roster and formed Noah and second when Keiji Mutoh (The Great Muta) did the same and formed Wrestle-1. These days the top stars are Joe Doering (Who is the Triple Crown champion, which is the biggest title in the company), Jun Akiyama (Who is running the promotion now), Go Shiozaki & Takao Ōmori. The promotion has definitely fallen off and I would be hard pressed to rank them higher then the 3rd biggest promotion these days but they are rebuilding and their shows are definitely fun.
Pro-Wrestling NOAH
Founded by the late Mitsuhiro Misawa, Noah was the 2nd biggest promotion until a few years ago. They use to be a highly conservative promotion with nothing but straight up wrestling, no gimmick matches at all. This has changed drastically since Misawa died in the ring. The shows now feature a wide variety of matches including TLC matches, and the such. They have fallen hugely in the last few years, at one point they were drawing 30,000 to the Tokyo Dome and now they are struggling to draw 1,500 at Korakuen Hall. The top stars right now are GHC Champion (Biggest belt in company) Naomichi Marafuji, Atsushi Kotoge, Masato Tanaka & Takeshi Morishima. The company is on the downfall and I'd be really hard pressed to recommend them at the moment but quality and entertainment is in the eye of the beholder, they still have their fans.
Big Japan Pro-Wrestling (BJW)
All Death Matches, all the time. BJW is the epitome of the word Hardcore or Garbage, they are the most violent promotion in the world (Sorry CZW) and have one of the most loyal and die hard fan bases in the country. The top title is the Death Match Championship which is currently held by Yuko Miyamaoto, other top stars include Ryuji Ito (Who held the title for 2 years straight at one point), Abdullah Kobayashi, Jaki Numazawa, Jun Kasai & Daisuke Sekimoto. BJW is one of my personal favorites and their shows are always fun and bloody.
Wrestle-1 (W1)
The Great Muta's promotion, he took the majority of the All Japan roster with him when he left the company and formed W1. They are growing and could be argued to be the 2nd or 3rd promotion in Japan. The top title is the W1 Championship which is held by Keiji Mutoh (The Great Muta), top stars include Kaz Hayashi, Shuji Kondo & Tajiri. I'll admit to not having watched much W1 but I've heard nothing but good things.
Dragon Gate
At one time Dragon Gate was considered the next big thing in Japan but they seem to have stalled out a bit. Their style is very fast paced and features a lot of high flying. Top stars include Cima, Naruki Doi, BxB Hulk & Dragon Kid the top title is held by BxB Hulk and is called Open The Dream Gate. It's a fun promotion to watch and you definitely won't get too bored watching it.
Other promotions in Japan include Taka Michinoku's K-Dojo, The Great Sasuke's Michinoku Pro, Kenta Kobashi's Fortune Dream, Tokyo Gurentai, & DDT. I am certain I am missing a lot of information here and this is accurate in terms of champions as of December 30th, 2014. I hope some of the other guru's here will chime in with their two cents and I hope this helps!
