Gleat (stylized as GLEAT) is a
Japanese professional wrestling and
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...
promotion
Promotion may refer to:
Marketing
* Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
founded in 2020 by former
Pro Wrestling Noah
(stylised as Pro Wrestling NOAH) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) ace Mitsuharu Misawa after he had led a mass exodus in which 24 of AJPW's 26 contracted wrestlers left th ...
parent company Lidet Entertainment after the
acquisition of Noah and
DDT Pro-Wrestling
is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name stands for Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's official name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was eventually bo ...
by
CyberAgent. The promotion is overseen by Hiroyuki Suzuki and former
mixed martial artist
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...
and
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
Kiyoshi Tamura. The promotion emphasizes the use of the
UWFi combat sport
A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opp ...
s-based
wrestling style.
History
In November 2018, Japanese advertising company Lidet Entertainment began investing in various business ventures in the professional wrestling industry including
Riki Choshu
, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler who is best known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as both a wrestler and a booker. He is considered one of Japan’s most influential wrestlers ...
's Power Hall show in December 2018. On January 29, 2019, Lidet Entertainment bought 75% shares of
Pro Wrestling Noah
(stylised as Pro Wrestling NOAH) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) ace Mitsuharu Misawa after he had led a mass exodus in which 24 of AJPW's 26 contracted wrestlers left th ...
, with the goal of transforming the promotion into the second largest promotion in Japan after
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority share ...
(NJPW). A year later due to Noah's financial struggles, Lidet Entertainment sold all shares of Pro Wrestling Noah to internet advertising company
CyberAgent. Lidet's President Hiroyuki Suzuki wanting to continue to be involved with professional wrestling met with
Kiyoshi Tamura several days after the sale of Noah. Suzuki later announced the formation of a new promotion, Gleat – it was additionally revealed that
Kaz Hayashi and
Nosawa Rongai would become the Gleat Chief Technical Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, respectively. Gleat promotes shows via its two sub-brands – G Prowrestling, a traditional
puroresu
is the predominant style of professional wrestling that has developed in Japan. The term comes from the Japanese pronunciation of , which is shortened to puroresu. The term became popular among English-speaking fans due to Hisaharu Tanabe's a ...
brand, and Lidet UWF, a
UWFi-inspired
shoot style brand.
Gleat held its inaugural event, "Gleat Ver. 0", on October 15, 2020, which
aired on
Fighting TV Samurai on October 22, with the main event pitting Noah's Sugiura-gun (
Takashi Sugiura
is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). Sugiura, an accomplished amateur wrestler, joined Noah's dojo in 2000, making his professional debut on December 23, 2000, and thus becoming the first wrestler ...
,
Kazuyuki Fujita
is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and a former amateur wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a one-time GHC Heavyweight Champion. He has most recently fought in Road FC, but is also known for ...
and
Kendo Kashin) against
Jun Akiyama,
Shuhei Taniguchi
is a Japanese professional wrestler who has worked for Pro Wrestling Noah since his debut in December 2005. He is also known by the ring name , under which he portrays a villainous masked character.
Professional wrestling career
Amateur backg ...
, and
Daisuke Sekimoto
(born February 9, 1981) is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division. He is also known for his appearances in Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max. He is a three-time BJW World Strong Heavyw ...
. The participation of Noah wrestlers on Gleat events would cease after Nosawa Rongai resigned from his positions at Gleat to focus on his role as Noah booker. Following the end of the Noah partnership, Gleat would see the participation of wrestlers from other Japan-based wrestling promotions such as
Sho from NJPW and
Shinjiro Otani
is a semi-retired Japanese 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 substained in April 2022. A product of the ...
and
Masato Tanaka
is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in Japan where he was a one-time FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Champion and a one-time WEW World Heavyweight Champion and in Ext ...
from
Pro Wrestling Zero1
(stylized as Pro Wrestling ZERO1), formerly known as Pro Wrestling Zero-One and Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (stylised in all capital letters) and often referred to simply as Zero1, is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 2001. ...
.
In February 2021, shoot style veterans
Minoru Tanaka and
Daijiro Matsui were signed by the company, shortly after Tanaka was given the UWF Rule Technical Officer executive role. In May, it was announced that
Cima,
El Lindaman
, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is working for Gleat, where he is the inaugural and reigning G-Rex Champion.
Professional wrestling career
Dragon Gate Early career and Millennials (2014–2015)
Hayash ...
,
T-Hawk, and Issei Onitsuka would be leaving
Oriental Wrestling Entertainment and
Ryuichi Kawakami would be leaving
Big Japan Pro Wrestling
(BJW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests.
History
Big Japan Pro Wrestling was founded in March 1995 by former AJPW wrestlers Shinya Kojika and Kendo Nagasak ...
to join Gleat. Gleat also operates a developmental division, with Yu Iizuka, Soma Watanabe, and
Takanori Ito
is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently wrestles for Gleat. He is best known for working for Wrestle-1, where he is a two-time Wrestle-1 Result Champion and a one-time Wrestle-1 Tag Team Champion, alongside Masayuki Kono. He also wo ...
being the promotion's inaugural trainees.
In December 2021, Gleat announced a 12-man tournament would be held from January 26 to February 22, 2022 to crown the inaugural
G-Rex Champion
The is a professional wrestling championship in the Japanese promotion Gleat. The title is the first to be created by the promotion.
The inaugural champion is El Lindaman
, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wres ...
. The tournament and championship were won by El Lindaman.
In July 2022, Gleat announced the creation of the
G-Infinity Championship
The is a professional wrestling tag team championship in the Japanese promotion Gleat. The title is the first tag team title to be created by the promotion and the second overall. The title is currently vacant.
History
Gleat was founded in ...
for its G Prowrestling brand. A four-team tournament was held from August 20, 2022, to August 24 to crown the inaugural champions. The tournament was won by Bulk Orchestra (
Kazma Sakamoto and
Ryuichi Kawakami). On December 14, Gleat promoted its first
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...
(MMA) event, "Gleat MMA Ver. 0".
Personnel
Background
Gleat divides their roster based on its two sub-brands, G Prowrestling and Lidet UWF. Gleat also recognizes a third roster division, "M" – these wrestlers have legitimate mixed martial arts experience and may wrestle on either G Prowrestling or Lidet UWF events.
* G – Wrestlers affiliated to G Prowrestling, Gleat's sub-brand that promotes matches using regular professional wrestling rules.
* U – Wrestlers affiliated to Lidet UWF, Gleat's sub-brand that promotes matches using UWFi-inspired shoot style rules.
*M – Wrestlers that have mixed martial arts experience; these wrestlers may be affiliated with either Gleat sub-brand.
Wrestlers
Contracted
Regular outsiders
Other personnel
Notable alumni/guests
*
Abdullah Kobayashi
*
Akane Fujita
is a Japanese voice actress from Shizuoka Prefecture. She is affiliated with Ken Production. After passing an audition in 2011, she made her debut as a voice actress in 2012, and she played her first main role in 2016. She is known for her roles ...
*
Atsuki Aoyagi
is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for the Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling where he is the current World Junior Heavyweight Champion in his first reign.
Professional wrestling career Japanese independent scene (20 ...
*
Bandido
*
Chihiro Hashimoto
*
Daijiro Matsui
*
Daisuke Sekimoto
(born February 9, 1981) is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division. He is also known for his appearances in Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max. He is a three-time BJW World Strong Heavyw ...
*
Drew Parker
*
Flamita
Flamita (born November 30, 1994) is a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'' or masked professional wrestler. In addition to working for promotions such as Ring Of Honor, (ROH) Lucha Libre AAA World Wide, (AAA) and Desastre Total Ultraviolento (DTU) ...
*
Jake Lee
*
Jun Akiyama
*Jun Masaoka
*
Kazuyuki Fujita
is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and a former amateur wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a one-time GHC Heavyweight Champion. He has most recently fought in Road FC, but is also known for ...
*
Kendo Kashin
*
Koji Iwamoto
*
Komander
*
Kota Sekifuda
*
Masakatsu Funaki
is a Japanese actor, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler known professionally as , who has previously wrestled in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi (PWFG), Newborn UWF (U ...
*
Masato Tanaka
is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in Japan where he was a one-time FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Champion and a one-time WEW World Heavyweight Champion and in Ext ...
*
Mochi Miyagi
*
Nosawa Rongai
*
Shigehiro Irie
is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist best known for his work in DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). Irie has also competed for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW), and a number of North American ...
*
Shinjiro Otani
is a semi-retired Japanese 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 substained in April 2022. A product of the ...
*
Sho
*
Shuhei Taniguchi
is a Japanese professional wrestler who has worked for Pro Wrestling Noah since his debut in December 2005. He is also known by the ring name , under which he portrays a villainous masked character.
Professional wrestling career
Amateur backg ...
*
Takashi Sugiura
is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). Sugiura, an accomplished amateur wrestler, joined Noah's dojo in 2000, making his professional debut on December 23, 2000, and thus becoming the first wrestler ...
*
Takuya Nomura
is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer and is best known for his tenure with the professional wrestling promotions Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) and Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1).
Professional wrestling career ...
*
Tomoaki Honma
is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In NJPW, he is a former one-time IWGP Tag Team Champion and a two-time World Tag League winner with Togi Makabe.
Professional wrestling career
Big ...
*
Thekla
Championships
See also
*
Professional wrestling in Japan
Professional wrestling in Japan has existed for many years. The first Japanese to involve himself in catch wrestling, the basis of traditional professional wrestling, was former sumo wrestler Sorakichi Matsuda. There were subsequent attempts before ...
References
External links
Lidet Entertainment official website
{{MMA organizations
Entertainment companies established in 2020
Sports organizations established in 2020
2020 establishments in Japan
Japanese professional wrestling promotions
Mixed martial arts in Japan
Mixed martial arts organizations
Sports organizations of Japan