International Wrestling Association Of Japan
The International Wrestling Association of Japan, more commonly known as IWA Japan, was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion operating from 1994 to 2014. History Early years It was formed by Víctor Quiñones as a successor to the W*ING promotion, which was folding as a rival to Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), the pioneer of deathmatch wrestling in Japan and the only deathmatch promotion in Japan at the time. Most of the wrestlers jumped ship to Quiñones' new IWA Japan group. He found a sponsor in Tatsukuni "Kinroku" Asano, a businessman who owned several restaurants in Tokyo and had bought and run several wrestling shows prior to IWA Japan. They had their first show in Yokosuka, Kanagawa on May 21, 1994, which was taped for television. The early shows often featured many ex-W*ING wrestlers like Yukihiro Kanemura, Shoji Nakamaki, Nobutaka Araya and The Headhunters. They also had fans to fill out questionnaires about the shows and sometimes gave away freebies. Qu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hardcore Wrestling
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling where disqualifications, count-outs, and all other different rules do not apply. Taking place in usual or unusual environments, hardcore wrestling matches allow the use of numerous items, including ladders, tables, chairs, thumbtacks, barbed wire, light tubes, shovels, glass, baseball bats (sometimes wrapped in barbed wire) and other improvised weapons used as Foreign object (professional wrestling), foreign objects. Although hardcore wrestling is a staple of most wrestling promotions, where they are often used at the climaxes of Feud (professional wrestling), feuds, some promotions (such as Big Japan Pro Wrestling, International Wrestling Syndicate, IWA-MS, Game Changer Wrestling, Combat Zone Wrestling) specialize in hardcore wrestling, with many matches performed in this manner. Hardcore wrestling was first acknowledged as a major wrestling style in Japan with promotions such as Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and W*ING. It ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The NWA World's Heavyweight Championship is a men's professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#World championships, world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. Although formally established in 1948, its lineage has been traditionally traced back to the first World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship (original version), World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship, which traces its lineage to the title first awarded to George Hackenschmidt in 1905. This effectively makes it the oldest surviving wrestling championship in the world. The title began as a governing body's world championship and has been competed for in multiple major promotions around the world, including the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (which seceded from the NWA and became WWE, World Wide Wrestling Federation, now WWE), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Total Nonstop Action Wrestli ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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IWA World Tag Team Championship
The IWA World Tag Team Championship is a Tag Team Championship defended in Puerto Rico.The titles were first introduced in the first incarnation of the International Wrestling Association, where they are defended. They also made a brief appearance in the World Wrestling League La Liga Wrestling (formerly World Wrestling League or Liga Mundial de Lucha), was a wrestling promotion company based out of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Founded in 2012 by businessman Richard Negrín with the cooperation of established wrestling figur ... (WWL) during 2018. It was introduced on January 6, 2000. In 2021, Fernando Tonos and Manny Ferno created ''La Alianza IWE'' with the intention of completing a hostile takeover on behalf of International Wrestling Entertainment. Members of the stable won all of the IWA-PR titles. In response, general manager Chicky Starr and Savio Vega introduced parallel titles for each division in March 2022. While the storyline continued, there two sets of belts were conte ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (; born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and color commentator. He is signed to WWE as of 2024, where he works in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career. He is best recalled by mainstream audiences for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he wrestled as "the Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. He has been named as one of the best technical wrestlers, and greatest villains in pro wrestling history. Among other accolades in the WWF/E, DiBiase was the first WWF North American Heavyweight Champion, a three-time WWF Tag Team Champion (with Irwin R. Schyster), a one-time WWE 24/7 Champion, and winner of the 1988 King of the Ring tournament. DiBiase purchased the WWF World Heavyweight Championship from André the Giant. DiBiase also awarded himself the Million Dollar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Impact! Wrestling
''TNA Impact!'' (stylized as ''TNA iMPACT!'') is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) that debuted on June 4, 2004. It also features wrestlers from WWE's NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand due to the working relationship between the two companies. The series currently airs on AXS TV as well as streaming on TNA+ in the United States, owned by parent company Anthem Sports & Entertainment. History Fox Sports Net and Webcasts (2004–2005) In May 2004, TNA sealed a television deal with Fox Sports Net (FSN) where they would get a one-hour timeslot on Fridays in most markets, putting TNA on unrestricted cable and satellite for the first time. TNA began taping a new weekly series that month, ''TNA Impact!'', with the first episode premiering on June 4, 2004. After 51 shows TNA's contract with FSN expired in May 2005 and was not renegotiated, with the last FSN episode of ''Impact!' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Barry Windham
Barry Clinton Windham (born July 4, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler. The son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan, he is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). In NWA/WCW, he was a List of NWA World Heavyweight Champions, one-time NWA World Heavyweight Championship, NWA World Heavyweight Champion, a List of WWE United States Champions, one-time WWE United States Championship, United States Heavyweight Champion, a List of WCW World Television Champions, one-time WCW World Television Championship, Television Champion, a NWA Western States Heritage Championship#Title history, one-time NWA Western States Heritage Championship, Western States Heritage Champion, a List of WCW World Tag Team Champions, four-time WCW World Tag Team Championship, NWA/WCW World Tag Team Champion and a WCW United States Tag Team Championship#Title history, one-time WCW United States Tag Team Championship, NWA United St ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
James Edward Duggan Jr. (born January 14, 1954), better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best-known for his time in World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), where he won the first Royal Rumble match in 1988. In 2011 he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. In World Championship Wrestling (WCW), he was a United States Heavyweight Champion and the final World Television Champion. In 2004, he won and promptly vacated the IWA World Heavyweight Championship in Tokyo, making him a one time wrestling world champion. Early life and career Duggan was a letterman in football, track, wrestling, and basketball. In wrestling, Duggan won the New York State High School wrestling championship, unlimited weight class division – the first wrestler from Glens Falls to do so. Upon graduating from high school, he was recruited by Ohio State University, but would instead choose to play football at Southern Methodist Univers ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Big Boss Man
Ray Washington Traylor Jr. (May 2, 1963 – September 22, 2004) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his appearances with the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name (The) Big Boss Man, as well as for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as the Boss, the Man, the Guardian Angel, and Big Bubba Rogers. During his appearances with the WWF, Big Boss Man held the World Tag Team Championship (WWE, 1971–2010), WWF World Tag Team Championship list of World Tag Team Champions (WWE), once and the WWE Hardcore Championship, WWF Hardcore Championship list of WWE Hardcore Champions, four times. Traylor was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016. Professional wrestling career Jim Crockett Promotions (1984–1987) Before he was a professional wrestler, Traylor worked as a Prison officer, corrections officer in Cobb County, Georgia. He debuted in 1984 then began working as a job (professional wrestl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Hines
George Hines (born June 1, 1963) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known by his ringname Jackie Fulton, who competed in regional and independent promotions including the American Wrestling Association, East Coast Championship Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling and, most notably, his brief but memorable stint in Smoky Mountain Wrestling where he teamed with his real life brother Bobby Fulton as The Fantastics. Throughout the 1990s, he also carved out a successful career overseas competing in All Japan Pro Wrestling and IWA Japan both under his real name as well as the masked wrestler The Eagle. In recent years, he has also competed in American independent promotions as the masked wrestler American Eagle. Professional wrestling career Early career (1987–1992) Born in Columbus, Ohio, Hines eventually entered professional wrestling in 1987, joining his older brother Bobby Fulton a decade after his own debut in 1977. In ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Johnny Smith (wrestler)
John Robert Hindley (born 7 August 1965) is an English retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Johnny Smith. He is best known for his appearances with All Japan Pro Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Joint Promotions (1982–1986) Hindley was trained by his uncle Ted Betley, initially in Winwick, Warrington, and then Port Erin, Isle of Man. He made his debut in January 1982 at the age of 16 at Gloucester Leisure Centre, under the name Junior Royal. A year later, he changed his ring name to John Savage, while wrestling in Germany. In July 1985, he would wrestle under the name The Manxman. His last match for Joint Promotions was held on 31 March 1986, losing to veteran Barry Douglas. Soon after, he moved across the Atlantic to Canada with his wife Jane. Smith would continue to return seasonally to Germany and Austria for the Catch Wrestling Association's summer season of tournaments throughout his career. Stampede Wrestling (1986–1990) Joini ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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All Japan Pro Wrestling
(AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, with many more joining the following year when JWA folded. From the mid-1970s, All Japan was firmly established as the largest promotion in Japan. As the 1990s began, aging stars gave way to a younger generation including Mitsuharu Misawa, Steve Williams (wrestler), "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, Kenta Kobashi, Gary Albright, Toshiaki Kawada, Mike Polchlopek, Mike Barton (Bart Gunn), Akira Taue and Jun Akiyama, leading to perhaps AJPW's most profitable period in the 1990s. In 1999, Giant Baba died and the promotion was run by Motoko Baba. Misawa was named president but left in 2000 after disagreements with Motoko. Misawa created Pro Wrestling Noah and every single native wrestler besides Masanobu Fuchi and Tos ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mike Rotunda
Lawrence Michael "Mike" Rotunda Jr. (born March 30, 1958) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling in the 1980s and 1990s under the ring names Mike Rotunda, Mike Rotundo, Michael Wallstreet, Irwin R. Schyster, and V.K. Wallstreet. Rotunda held numerous singles and tag team championships including the NWA World Tag Team Championship, NWA World Television Championship and WWF World Tag Team Championship. On July 23, 2022, he was inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and as a member of The U.S. Express, Rotunda and Barry Windham were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in April 2024. Early life Rotunda was born on March 30, 1958, in St. Petersburg, Florida. He attended Newark Valley High School in Newark Valley, New York. He transferred to Owego Free Academy where he lettered in football and wrestling. He graduated from OFA ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |