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Shinjiro Otani
is a Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler and the current acting president of Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1). He is currently inactive from pro-wrestling competition due to a cervical spine injury sustained in April 2022. A product of the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) dojo, Otani is best known for his longtime association with Zero1, a promotion he founded in 2001 along with Shinya Hashimoto. Starting his career in NJPW as a junior heavyweight, Otani gained a reputation as a gutsy underdog and would go on to hold several championships during his nine-year run with the promotion, including the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and the J-Crown, as well as forming a successful tag team with dojo classmate Tatsuhito Takaiwa, twice holding the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. After jumping to the heavyweight division in 2001, Otani would leave New Japan the same year, joining Shinya Hashimoto as one of the founders of Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1). Following the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The magazine is the longest published English language wrestling magazine still in production. ''PWI'' publishes bi-monthly issues and annual special issues such as their "Almanac and Book of Facts". The magazine recognizes various world championships as legitimate, similar to ''The Ring (magazine), The Ring'' in boxing. ''PWI'' is often referred to as an "Apter Mag", named after its long-time photographer Bill Apter, a term used for wrestling magazines that keep kayfabe. In recent years, the ''PWI'' has moved away from reporting on storylines as actual news and mixed in editorial comments on the behind-the-scenes workings of wrestling. Since 1991, ''PWI'' has been publishing its annual "Top 500 Wrestlers" listing the top male wrestlers in the wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
The is a professional wrestling tag team 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 August 8, 1998, at an NJPW live event. The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship is one of two tag team titles contested for in NJPW; the IWGP Tag Team Championship is also sanctioned by NJPW. According to NJPW's official website, the Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship is listed as the "IWGP Jr. Tag Class", while the IWGP Tag Team Championship is considered the "IWGP Heavyweight Class". The title is contested for by junior heavyweight wrestlers; the weight-limit for the title is per partner. Being a professional wrestling championship, the title is won as a result of a predetermined outcome. History Title changes happen mostly at NJPW-promoted events. The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin), a Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) tag team, defeated then-cham ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fukushima Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,771,100 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miyagi Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture to the north, Niigata Prefecture to the west, Gunma Prefecture to the southwest, and Tochigi Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture to the south. Fukushima, Fukushima, Fukushima is the capital and Iwaki, Fukushima, Iwaki is the largest city of Fukushima Prefecture, with other major cities including Kōriyama, Aizuwakamatsu, and Sukagawa. Fukushima Prefecture is located on Japan's eastern Pacific coast at the southernmost part of the Tōhoku region, and is home to Lake Inawashiro, the fourth-largest lake in Japan. Fukushima Prefecture is the third-largest prefecture of Japan (after Hokkaido and Iwate Prefecture) and divided by mountain ranges into the three regions of Aizu, Nakadōri, and Hamadōri. History Prehistory The keyhole-shaped Ōya ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hiroyoshi Tenzan
is a Japanese professional wrestler who is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and is better known by his ring name . With Satoshi Kojima, in 2008, they won the World's Strongest Tag Determination League in All Japan Pro Wrestling and the G1 Tag League in NJPW, becoming the only tag team which has done both. He is a four-time IWGP Heavyweight Championship, IWGP Heavyweight Champion and a record twelve-time IWGP Tag Team Championship, IWGP Tag Team Champion. He is also a former National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) NWA World Heavyweight Championship, World Heavyweight Champion. Professional wrestling career New-Japan Pro Wrestling (1991–1993) Hiroyoshi Yamamoto first worked for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He debuted in January 1991, wrestling El Samurai, Osamu Matsuda. Catch Wrestling Association (1993–1995) In 1993, after winning the Young Lions Cup, NJPW sent Yamamoto on a European excursion; one of his stops was in the Catch Wrestling Association in Germany, where in July 1993, he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yuji Nagata
is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, and former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Considered one of the greatest Japanese wrestlers of all time, he is the fifth longest-reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion with a reign of 392 days, and formerly held the record for most successful title defenses with 10, until Hiroshi Tanahashi broke the record at Wrestle Kingdom VI. He is the only wrestler to have won Japanese professional wrestling's three biggest singles tournaments; New Japan Pro-Wrestling's G1 Climax (in G1 Climax#2001, 2001), All Japan Pro Wrestling's Champion Carnival (in Champion Carnival#2011, 2011) and Pro Wrestling Noah's Global League (in Global League#2013, 2013). Nagata debuted and has worked for NJPW since 1992, where he was recognised as company ace in the early 2000s and is a two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, a List of IWGP Tag Team Champions, two-time ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tatami
are soft mats used as flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. They are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about , depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are used for training in a dojo and for competition. Tatami are covered with a weft-faced weave of on a warp of hemp or weaker cotton. There are four warps per weft shed, two at each end (or sometimes two per shed, one at each end, to reduce cost). The (core) is traditionally made from sewn-together rice straw, but contemporary tatami sometimes have compressed wood chip boards or extruded polystyrene foam in their cores instead or as well. The long sides are usually with brocade or plain cloth, although some tatami have no edging. File:Modern tatami.JPG, Machine-sewing of tatami File:Tatami sectional view.jpg, Cross-section of a modern tatami with an extruded polystyrene foam core File:Men Making Tatami Mats, 1860 - ca. 1900.jpg, Making tatami mats, late 19th century. File:Tatami.jpg, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese New Year
The is an annual festival that takes place in Japan. Since 1873, the official Japanese New Year has been celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar, on January 1 of each year, . Prior to 1872, traditional events of the Japanese New Year were celebrated on the first day of the year on the modern Tenpō calendar, the last official lunisolar calendar. History Prior to the Meiji period, the date of the Japanese New Year had been based on Japanese versions of lunisolar calendar (the last of which was the Tenpō calendar) and, prior to Jōkyō calendar, the Chinese version. However, in 1873, five years after the Meiji Restoration, Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar and the first day of January became the official and cultural New Year's Day in Japan. Traditional food The Japanese eat a selection of dishes during the New Year celebration called , typically shortened to ''osechi.'' Many of these dishes are sweet, sour, or dried, so they can be kept without refrigeration: th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most populous urban areas in the world. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes Tokyo and parts of six neighboring Prefectures of Japan, prefectures, is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, with 41 million residents . Lying at the head of Tokyo Bay, Tokyo is part of the Kantō region, on the central coast of Honshu, Japan's largest island. It is Japan's economic center and the seat of the Government of Japan, Japanese government and the Emperor of Japan. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government administers Tokyo's central Special wards of Tokyo, 23 special wards, which formerly made up Tokyo City; various commuter towns and suburbs in Western Tokyo, its western area; and two outlying island chains, the Tokyo Islands. Although most of the w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amateur Wrestling
Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced at Olympic Games, Olympic, Collegiate wrestling, collegiate, Scholastic wrestling, scholastic, and other levels. There are two international wrestling styles performed at the Olympic Games, freestyle wrestling, freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman, both of which are governed by the United World Wrestling (UWW). At the middle school and high school levels, wrestlers compete in scholastic wrestling. In collegiate wrestling, there are minor differences in some scholastic wrestling rules. The rapid rise in the popularity of the combat sport mixed martial arts (MMA) has increased interest in amateur wrestling due to its effectiveness within the sport and its consideration as a core discipline. Scoring Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman and freestyle Wrestling, freestyle differ in what holds are permitted; in Greco-Roman, the wrestlers are permitted to hold and attack only above the waist. In both Greco-Roman and frees ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hachimaki
A (headband, "helmet-scarf") is a type of Japanese headband, usually made of red or white cloth, typically featuring a design of kanji at the front. History The origin of the ''hachimaki'' is uncertain, but the most common theory states that they originated as headbands used by samurai, worn underneath the ''kabuto'' to protect the wearer from cuts and to absorb sweat. Inspired by samurai, ''kamikaze'' pilots in World War II wore ''hachimaki'' while flying to their deaths. In modern Japan, ''hachimaki'' are often emblazoned with slogans and red circles reminiscent of the flag of Japan. They serve the function of absorbing sweat during physical activity, so they are often worn by sportspeople. ''Hachimaki'' may be worn to showcase Japanese nationalism Japanese nationalism is a form of nationalism that asserts the belief that the Japanese people, Japanese are a monolithic nation with a single immutable culture. Over the last two centuries, it has encompassed a broad range ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kengo Kimura
is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, best known under the ring name and for his many years working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in Japan. Professional wrestling career Japan Wrestling Association (1972–1973) Kimura made his professional wrestling debut on August 2, 1972 on a Japan Pro Wrestling (JPW) card where he faced Akio Sato. In 1973, JWA folded. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1973–1977) After JWA folded, Kimura joined New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in 1973 as a junior heavyweight. He mainly worked on the undercard during this tenure, until he was sent to North America on a learning excursion. Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre, Universal Wrestling Association and World Wrestling Council (1977–1980) In the late 1970s Kengo Kimura travelled to North America for an excursion mainly working in Mexico for Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL) and Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) and in Puerto Rico for the World Wrestling Council (WWC). In WWC Kimura defe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antonio Inoki
(born ; 20 February 1943 – 1 October 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, Glossary of professional wrestling terms#school, professional wrestling trainer, martial arts, martial artist, politician, and Promoter (entertainment), promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA). He is best known as the founder and 33-year owner of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is considered to be one of the most influential professional wrestlers of all time, and one of the biggest key influences on MMA in Japan and internationally. After spending his adolescence in Brazil, Inoki began his professional wrestling career in the 1960s for the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA) under the tutelage of Rikidōzan. After he changed his in-ring moniker to Antonio Inoki in 1963, a Homage (arts), homage to accomplished Italian wrestler Antonino Rocca, Inoki became one of the most popular stars in Professional wrestling in Japan, Japanese professional wrestling. He is credited wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
