Wrestle Association R (formerly known as Wrestle and Romance and abbreviated as WAR) was a Japanese

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event. Within ...

founded and run by

Genichiro Tenryu , better known as is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling. "Tenryu" was h ...

as the successor to

Super World of Sports Super World of Sports, also known as Super World Sports or simply SWS, was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion from 1990 to 1992. Its motto was "Straight and Strong". History Formation In April 1990, Genichiro Tenryu, one of the top sta ...

, and which lasted from 1992 to 2000. The promotion initially established as Wrestle and Romance in 1992 and had very few regular contracted workers; instead most of the workers were either freelance or employed in other promotions. Because of this WAR ran many

all-star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

cards. It had inter-promotional feuds against

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 As ...

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling-Explosion (FMW-E) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fir ...

, the new

Tokyo Pro Wrestling Tokyo Pro Wrestling is the name of two unrelated Japanese professional wrestling promotions. Despite their common name, they did not share management, promotional style, or talent in any way. Original Tokyo Pro Wrestling The original Tokyo Pro W ...

, and

UWF International Union of Wrestling Forces International, better known as UWF International, U-Inter, or simply UWFi, was a shoot style professional wrestling promotion in Japan from 1991 to 1996. The UWF international was the successor to the ''Newborn UWF'' th ...

. WAR also continued, albeit in a loose fashion, SWS's old working agreement with the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

, when they backed the WWF's first

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese tour, in 1994. On July 28, 1995, WAR was renamed "Wrestle Association R" at a show held in the

Korakuen Hall is a sports arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and Lethwei matches. History On April 16, 1962, the Korakuen Hall was officially opened with a capacity of approximat ...

. In 1998, WAR cancelled contracts to the roster and began running fewer and fewer events due to Tenryu's comeback in New Japan, and in July 2000, it promoted a farewell show that served as the prelude to Tenryu's return to

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. Ma ...

(many wrestlers from WAR also joined AJPW to fill the void by those who joined

Mitsuharu Misawa was a Japanese professional wrestler and promoter. He is primarily known for spending 18 years with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and subsequently leading the 2000 All Japan Pro Wrestling mass exodus, which culminated in him forming Pro W ...

in forming Pro Wrestling Noah). The WAR name was kept for the use of a

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

led by Tenryu during brief angles in All Japan and FMW in 2001. On July 27, 2006, WAR staged a reunion show at Tokyo

. The show was supported by various Japanese wrestling promotions including New Japan,

and Dragon Gate. This was also the final card promoted under the WAR banner. WAR was the first promotion to create a steady

junior heavyweight Junior heavyweight is an alternate name for cruiserweight used in multiple combat sports: *Cruiserweight (boxing), a weight class in boxing between light heavyweight and heavyweight. The current weight limit for the division is 200lbs (14st 4lbs/90 ...

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...

title long before

WCW World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

, and Pro Wrestling Noah hit upon the idea. In 2010 the

Tenryu Project is an independent Japanese professional wrestling promotion. The promotion was founded by and is owned by puroresu legend Genichiro Tenryu, who has owned and operated it since its creation in 2010. The Tenryu project is the successor to Tenryu's ...

was organised and is somewhat of a successor to WAR.

Championships

J-1 Heavyweight Championship

This title used the

championship belt A championship belt is a large, extravagantly designed belt used primarily in combat sports as an award, similarly to trophies in other sports. There are several companies in the business of constructing championship belts. The first belt given ...

originally used in the 1950s by the old

Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance The , also known as the Japan Pro Wrestling Association and the Japanese Wrestling Association (JWA), was the first professional wrestling promotion to be based in Japan. It operated from 1953 to 1973. History JWA under Rikidōzan (1953–1963 ...

for their

JWA Japanese Heavyweight Championship The Japanese Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship defended in the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance. The championship belt was later used by WAR for their J-1 Heavyweight Championship, held by Genichiro Tenryu. Title his ...

, held throughout its existence by

Rikidōzan (born Kim Sin-rak; ; November 14, 1924 – December 15, 1963), better known as Rikidōzan (), was a Korean-born Japanese wrestler who competed in sumo and professional wrestling. He was known as The Father of Puroresu (professional wrestling ...

Other titles

WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship contested for in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Tenryu Project. The title was established in 1995 in Wrestle Association R (WAR). In the revived Tenryu Project, the title is also refer ...

WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship contested for in the Japanese promotion Wrestle Association R, and later Dragon Gate and Tenryu Project. This title was the first tag team championship in Japan dedicated to junior heavywei ...

WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship The is a six-man tag team title contested for in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Tenryu Project. The title was established in Wrestle Association R (WAR) in 1994, the first title of its kind in Japan. Since it was reestablishe ...

Alumni

These are not exhaustive lists. Guest Japanese wrestlers from other promotions, such as

Nobuhiko Takada Nobuhiko Takada (, ring name: ) (born April 12, 1962) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist, retired professional wrestler, actor, and writer. He competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) and the Uni ...

from

and

The Great Sasuke , best known under his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter and politician. He is the founder of Michinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW). Aside from professional wrestling, he is also a former Iwate Prefectural ...

from

Michinoku Pro Wrestling (originally known as North Eastern Wrestling) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded by The Great Sasuke on October 1, 1992. It was the first independent wrestling promotion in Japan to not base its operations in Tokyo, but rathe ...

, are not listed.

Notable events

WAR/WWF

An inter-promotional show between WAR and the

was held on September 15, 1992, at the

Yokohama Arena is an indoor arena located in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 17,000 and was opened in 1989. The arena was modeled after US sports venue Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is a five-minute walk from the ...

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

WAR Anniversary Show

WAR Anniversary Show was the flagship event of WAR which was used to celebrate the anniversary of the promotion. The event was held between 1993 and 2000, when the promotion was discontinued.

WAR/LLPW

An inter-promotional event featuring talent from WAR and

Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling, also known as LLPW and currently as LLPW-X, is a Japanese independent women's professional wrestling promotion founded in 1992 by Rumi Kazama and Shinobu Kandori. History Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling split in 19 ...

was held on November 28, 1993, at the Sumo Hall in

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 ...

Revolution

Revolution was a special event held on December 15, 1993, at the Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

Revolution Rumble '94 In Ryogoku Kokugikan

Revolution Rumble '94 In Ryogoku Kokugikan was a special event held on March 2, 1994, at the

Ryōgoku Kokugikan , also known as Ryōgoku Sumo Hall or Kokugikan Arena, is the name bestowed to two different indoor sporting arenas located in Tokyo. The first ''Ryōgoku Kokugikan'' opened its doors in 1909 and was located on the premises of the Ekōin temple i ...

in Tokyo, Japan. The event was notable for an inter-promotional

main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

match in which

and

Ashura Hara (January 8, 1947April 28, 2015) was a Japanese rugby player and professional wrestler, better known by his ring name . Rugby career Susumu Hara began his rugby career in high school, playing for the Agricultural High School in the Isahaya reg ...

represented WAR against

Atsushi Onita is a Japanese actor, politician, and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and is credited with introducing the hardcore wrestling, deathmatch style of professional wrestling t ...

and

Tarzan Goto , better known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled on the independent circuit most of his career. He is best known for his exploding steel cage matches against Atsushi Onita in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling ( ...

. Onita pinned Tenryu and the match set up a major main event between Tenryu and Onita for FMW's 5th Anniversary Show at the

Kawasaki Stadium is a stadium in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan. The stadium was opened in 1952 and had a capacity of 30,000 people, but was demolished and rebuilt in 2003 as an American football venue and is now the home of the Fujitsu Frontiers of the X-League. ...

on May 5, 1994.

Super J-Cup

Super J-Cup The Super J-Cup is a periodically held professional wrestling tournament featuring junior heavyweight wrestlers from all over the world promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). This tournament differs from NJPW's annual Best of the Super Juni ...

is a professional wrestling tournament featuring

wrestlers from all over the world. The tournament was originally conceived by

ese wrestler

Jushin Thunder Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a trainer. He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having work ...

as a showcase for junior heavyweights from promotions from Asia and North America on a national level. WAR hosted the second edition of the tournament on December 13, 1995, at the Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

WAR vs. UWFI: Super Summer Wars

An inter-promotional event featuring wrestlers from WAR and

UWFI Union of Wrestling Forces International, better known as UWF International, U-Inter, or simply UWFi, was a shoot style professional wrestling promotion in Japan from 1991 to 1996. The UWF international was the successor to the ''Newborn UWF'' th ...

, among other promotions as well. The event took place a day after the 4th Anniversary Show on July 21, 1996, at the Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

Final - Reborn to Future

Final - Reborn to Future was a reunion event of WAR after the promotion had closed down in 2000 and marked the final event ever in WAR history. The event took place on July 27, 2006, at the

in Tokyo, Japan. The event aired via tape delay on Gaora TV on August 17. The event featured a title defense of the

which had been in possession of

Masaaki Mochizuki is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Dragon Gate and Pro Wrestling Noah. Mochizuki is a former FIP World Champion and three-time Open the Dream Gate Champion. Professional wrestling career Early years A former karat ...

since WAR closed in 2000 and the main event was an eight-man tag team match, in which WAR wrestlers took on

Heisei Ishingun Heisei Ishingun was a Japanese professional wrestling stable led by Shiro Koshinaka during the 1990s, primarily in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. History After an intense feud with each other early from 1988, Shiro Koshinaka and Kuniaki Kobayashi fo ...

References

External links

Wrestling-Titles.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:War (Wrestling Promotion) 1992 establishments in Japan Japanese professional wrestling promotions Organizations disestablished in 2000 Defunct professional wrestling promotions