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Greatest 18 Club Championship
The was a championship created and promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling. History The title, represented by the old WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship belt, was established on September 29, 1990 during Antonio Inoki's career 30th anniversary as an addition to creation of the Greatest 18 Club (a hall of fame) consisting of Lou Thesz, Karl Gotch, Nick Bockwinkel, Johnny Powers, Johnny Valentine, André the Giant, Stan Hansen, Wim Ruska, Billy Robinson, Hiro Matsuda, Bob Backlund, Verne Gagne, Strong Kobayashi, Hulk Hogan, Muhammad Ali, Seiji Sakaguchi, Antonio Inoki and initially Tiger Jeet Singh later replaced by Dusty Rhodes. Riki Choshu was the first champion, being awarded the title by Lou Thesz on February 25, 1991. He successfully defended his title against Tiger Jeet Singh at Starrcade in Tokyo Dome, Shinya Hashimoto on day 3 of Tokyo 3 Days Battle and Tatsumi Fujinami at Super Warriors in Tokyo Dome. The Great Muta retired the championship mom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV Asahi and Amuse Inc. owning minority shares of the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi has served as the promotion's Chairman since September 2013, while Hiroshi Tanahashi has served as the president of the promotion since December 2023. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, NJPW is the largest and longest-running professional wrestling promotion in Japan. Their biggest event is the January 4 Tokyo Dome Show (currently promoted under the Wrestle Kingdom banner) held each year since 1992. In addition to promoting professional wrestling matches, NJPW has also showcased mixed martial arts fights on some of its live events. The promotion was owned by Yuke's from 2005 until 2012. It was then sold to Bushiroad in 2012, which parlayed its entry to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strong Kobayashi
Shozo "Strong" Kobayashi (, 25 December 1940 – 31 December 2021), also known by the stage name Strong Kongô, was a Japanese professional wrestler and actor. He is known for his appearances with International Wrestling Enterprise and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, as well as his appearances on television series including '' Choudenshi Bioman'' and ''Takeshi's Castle''. Early life Born in Hongō, Tokyo, at the age of three Kobayashi's family was evacuated to Ōme, Tokyo, as a result of World War II. As a youth he participated in weight training and bodybuilding, training at the Korakuen Gym. After leaving high school, Kobayashi worked for Japanese National Railways at Inagi-Naganuma Station until being spotted at a bodybuilding event and recruited as a professional wrestler in 1966 at the age of 25. Professional wrestling career Kobayashi trained as a professional wrestler under Isao Yoshiwara and Matty Suzuki at the International Wrestling Enterprise Dojo. He made his debut o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fukuoka
is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. The area has long been considered the gateway to the country, as it is the nearest point among Japan's main islands to the Asian mainland. Although humans occupied the area since the Jomon period, some of the earliest settlers of the Yayoi period arrived in the Fukuoka area. The city rose to prominence during the Yamato period. Because of the cross-cultural exposure, and the relatively great distance from the social and political centers of Kyoto, Osaka, and later, Edo (Tokyo), Edo (Tokyo), Fukuoka gained a distinctive local culture and dialect that has persisted to the present. Fukuoka is the most populous city on Kyushu, Kyūshū island, followed by Kitakyushu. It is the largest city and metropolitan area west of Keihanshin. The city was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Japan Pro Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Japanese professional-wrestling promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV Asahi and Amuse Inc. owning minority shares of the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi has served as the promotion's Chairman since September 2013, while Hiroshi Tanahashi has served as the president of the promotion since December 2023. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, NJPW is the largest and longest-running professional wrestling promotion in Japan. Their biggest event is the January 4 Tokyo Dome Show (currently promoted under the Wrestle Kingdom banner) held each year since 1992. In addition to promoting professional wrestling matches, NJPW has also showcased mixed martial arts fights on some of its live events. The promotion was owned by Yuke's from 2005 until 2012. It was then sold to Bushiroad in 2012, which parlayed its entry to the world of professional wrestling ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
The was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on June 12, 1987, in the final of an IWGP tournament. It was unified with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship on March 4, 2021, to form the new IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. The championship was represented by four different belts from 1987 to 2021. The fourth and last generation belt was introduced in March 2008. The title formed what was unofficially called the along with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship and the NEVER Openweight Championship. Title history An early version of this championship was introduced in 1983 for the winner ( Hulk Hogan) of the IWGP League 1983. Since then, the championship was defended annually against the winner of the IWGP League of the year. A new IWGP Heavyweight Championship arrived only in 1987, replacing the old version. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keiji Mutoh
is a Japanese professional wrestling executive, actor and retired professional wrestler. He is known for his work under his real name and as his alter ego in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), as well as World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and during the 1980s and 1990s, and from his runs in other Japanese, contiguous United States, American, Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican, and Mexico, Mexican Professional wrestling promotion, promotions. He was the President (corporate title), president of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) from 2002 to 2013 and Representative director (Japan), representative director of Wrestle-1 (W-1) from 2013 until its closure in 2020. Considered one of the greatest and most influential wrestlers of all time, Muto is one of the first Japanese wrestlers (''puroresura'') to gain an international fanbase in the 1990s and beyond, thanks in large part to his Great Muta Gimmick (professional wrestling), gimmick. The gimmick is one of the most influential in ''puroresu'', emul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WCW/New Japan Supershow II
WCW/New Japan Supershow II (known as Super Warriors in Tokyo Dome in Japan) took place on January 4, 1992, from the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. The show was the first NJPW January 4 Dome Show, something that would become an annual tradition in NJPW and would become their biggest show of the year. The show was also the second under the name WCW/New Japan Supershow. The show was broadcast on pay-per-view (PPV) months later in America. The US PPV broadcast did not include several of the matches of the 12-match show, with only six being broadcast in America out of a total of twelve matches. The show featured a mixture of NJPW and WCW wrestlers facing each other. The show drew 50,000 spectators for a gate of the equivalent of $3,700,000 at the exchange rate at the time. The show featured 12 matches, including two dark matches, matches held before the PPV broadcast began. Six of the twelve bouts featured wrestlers from WCW. On the show Lex Luger successfully defended his WCW World Heav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Shinya Hashimoto
was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter and actor. Along with Masahiro Chono and Keiji Mutoh, Hashimoto was dubbed one of the " Three Musketeers" that began competing in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in the mid-1980s and dominated the promotion in the 1990s. He is one of three wrestlers (the others being Keiji Mutoh and Satoshi Kojima) that have held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and is an overall five-time world champion. Professional wrestling career Early years (1984–1988) Hashimoto grew up in Toki City in Gifu and began training in judo and karate in his late teens. His training helped him in his transition to professional wrestling, as he joined the NJPW Dojo in April 1984. He made his debut for NJPW in September 1984 at the age of 19, wrestling against Tatsutoshi Goto. Hashimoto worked on becoming a skilled wrestler over the next few years, traveling whenever nece ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WCW/New Japan Supershow I
WCW/New Japan Supershow I, (known as Starrcade in Tokyo Dome in Japan) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event that took place on March 21, 1991, in the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It was co-promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), who hosted the event, and the US-Based World Championship Wrestling (WCW), which supplied a number of the wrestlers on the show. The event was the inaugural WCW/New Japan Supershow. The event was viewed by 64,500 people live in attendance in Japan and later shown in America on a PPV in April, 1991. Several of the matches on the show were not included in the PPV broadcast, held for the benefit of the crowd in attendance only. The WCW/NJPW Supershows were part of a small group of WCW-produced PPVs not included in the "on demand" features when the WWE Network was launched in 2014. Storylines The event featured eleven professional wrestling matches and two pre-show matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dusty Rhodes
Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who worked for the National Wrestling Alliance and the World Wrestling Federation, later known as WWE. Rhodes was considered a star wrestler and presented the persona of an American everyman, the American Dream personified. Rhodes is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. Rhodes was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and during his time in Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling, he was a WWE United States Championship, United States Heavyweight Champion, and multi-time WCW Television Championship, World Television, WCW World Tag Team Championship, World Tag Team and NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship, World Six-Man Tag Team Champion. He also won many regional championships, and is one of seven men inducted into each of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tiger Jeet Singh
Jagjeet Singh Hans (born April 3, 1944) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler, known better by his ring name Tiger Jeet Singh. He was known for his elaborate ring entrances, and generally performed as a heel. He wrestled in Japan and was the first professional wrestler in Japan to defeat sumo wrestler Wajima Hiroshi. He held Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling's World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship and headlined the company's flagship event Anniversary Show in 1992. Professional wrestling career Early career (1965–1972) In the 1960s, Hans began wrestling and emigrated from his hometown in Punjab to Canada, arriving with $6 in his pocket. Hans trained in Toronto under Fred Atkins and eventually signed with Frank Tunney, a Toronto wrestling promoter. Atkins dubbed Hans "Tiger" after witnessing his ferocious style of fighting. Tiger made his Maple Leaf Gardens debut in 1965, wrestling as a heel. His first main event in Toronto was a tag team match late that year, teami ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
