Puroresu

Puroresu(プロレス)is the predominant style ofprofessional wrestling that has developed in Japan.The term comes from theJapanesepronunciation of "professional wrestling"(プロフェッショナル・レスリング,purofesshonaru resuringu),which is shortened to puroresu. The term became popular amongEnglish-speaking fans due to Hisaharu Tanabe's activities in the onlineUsenetcommunity.Growing out of origins in the traditional USstyle of wrestling, it has become an entity in itself. Japanese pro wrestling is distinct in itspsychologyand presentation of the sport.It is treated closer to a legitimate competition, with fewertheatrics;thestoriestold in Japanese matches are about a fighter's spirit and perseverance.Instrong style,the style most typically associated with puroresu,full contactstrikes andsubmission holdsare implemented. Pro wrestling in Japan led to the development ofshoot wrestlingand has been closely related tomixed martial arts(MMA) starting withShootoandPancrase,organizations which predate theUltimate Fighting Championship(UFC), along with influencing subsequent promotions such asRINGSandPRIDE.It is common for pro wrestlers and MMA fighters in Japan tocross over.

Overview

Despite some similarities to the popular style ofprofessional wrestling in the United States,Japanese wrestling is known for many differences from the Western style.Puroresuis known for its "fighting spirit"(Đấu hồn,tōkon), and the wrestlers are known for theirfull contactstrikes. Many Japanese wrestlers have some degree of knowledge in many differentmartial artsandwrestlingstyles; because of this, there are usually doctors and trainers at ringside for assisting the wrestlers after a match.Most matches have clean finishes and many of the promotions do not use anyanglesorgimmicks.Japanese wrestling is also known for its relationship with fellowmixed martial artspromotions. Puroresu remains popular, and it draws huge crowds from the major promotions. With this and its relationship with othermartial artsdisciplines, the audiences and wrestlers treat puroresu as acombat sport.

It should be also noted that the term "Puroresu" in Japan refers to all professional wrestling, regardless of country of origin. For example, American promotionsWWEandRing of Honorare referred to as "Puroresu" in Japan. Japanese wrestling historian Fumi Saito noted: "Puroresu is completely Japanese-English, and in the U.S. the same word is used for both pro and amateur wrestling. It may be easier to understand if you think of wrestling in the U.S. as having the same nuance as 'sumo' in Japanese. You call both 'wrestling' even if it's competitive or professional wrestling. "

Rules

Puroresu has a variety of different rules, which can differ greatly from wrestling in other countries. While there is no governing authority for puroresu, there is a general standard which has developed. Each promotion has its own variation, but all are similar enough to avoid confusion. Any convention described here is simply a standard, and may or may not correspond exactly with any given promotion's codified rules.

General structure

Matches are held between two or more sides ( "corners" ). Each corner may consist of one wrestler, or a team of two or more. Most team matches are governed by tag team rules (see below).

The match is won by scoring a "fall", which is generally consistent with standard professional wrestling:

• Pinningan opponent's shoulders to the mat for the referee's count of three
• Submissionvictory, which sees the wrestler either tap out or verbally submit to their opponent
• Knockout,the failure to regain composure at the referee's command
• Countout,the failure of a party to return to the ring at the referee's command, which is determined by a count of twenty (some federations use ten, but in Japanese wrestling they use twenty)
• Disqualification,the act of one wrestler breaking the rules
• Referee stoppage,when an official deems a participant unfit to continue wrestling (either pre-planned or due to legitimate injury)

Additional rules govern how the outcome of the match is to take place. One such example would be the JapaneseUniversal Wrestling Federation,as it does not allow pinfall victories in favor of submissions and knockouts; this is seen as an early influence ofmixed martial arts,as some wrestlers broke away from traditional wrestling endings to matches in favor oflegitimate outcomes.Another example is that most promotions disallow punches, so many wrestlers utilize open handed strikes and stiff forearms; this rule was also applied in the early stages ofPancrase.

Styles

Strong style

New Japan Pro-Wrestling,headed byAntonio Inoki,used Inoki's "strong style" approach of wrestling as a combat sport, influenced strongly by the styles ofcatch wrestlerssuch asLou Thesz,Karl Gotch,andBilly Robinson.Wrestlers incorporated kicks and strikes frommartial artsdisciplines, and a strong emphasis was placed onsubmission wrestling.Inoki became known for "different styles fights" which were predetermined matches against practitioners of various martial arts. This led to areal fight against Muhammad Aliin 1976 that was watched by an estimated 1.4 billion people worldwide. Many of New Japan's wrestlers, including top stars such asSeiji Sakaguchi,Tatsumi Fujinami,Akira Maeda,Satoru Sayama,Yoshiaki Fujiwara,Nobuhiko Takada,Masakatsu Funaki,Masahiro Chono,Shinya Hashimoto,Riki Choshu,Minoru Suzuki,Shinsuke NakamuraandKeiji Mutoh,came from a legitimate martial arts background. This style led to the development ofshoot wrestlingand the spin-offUniversal Wrestling Federation.Sayama developed and foundedShooto,a pioneermixed martial arts(MMA) organization, in 1985. That same year, Sayama's studentCaesar TakeshifoundedShootboxing.Funaki, Suzuki and others would foundPancraseand hold their first event almost two months beforeUFC 1.Maeda foundedRINGSin 1991 as a shoot-style promotion, which began transitioning to legitimate MMA competition in 1995. Takada was a co-founder ofPRIDEandRizin.

Ōdō( "King's Road" )

Ōdō( "King's Road"; also translated as "Royal Road" ) is a style which originated inAll Japan Pro Wrestling,and is most closely associated with the Four Pillars ( tứ thiên vương,Shitennō), the informal nomenclature for 1990s AJPW wrestlersToshiaki Kawada,Kenta Kobashi,Mitsuharu Misawa,andAkira Taue.However, matches involving these four have been also referred to in Japan asShitennō puroresu(Tứ thiên vương プロレス).As opposed tostrong style'sEuropeancatch wrestlinginfluences,ōdōopted for a more "narrative" style,derived from the American model of professional wrestling as physical storytelling.However,ōdōdistinguished itself from American professional wrestling by largely eschewing many of its storytelling devices.Anglesandgimmickswere virtually non-existent, as all the storytelling inōdōoccurred through the matches themselves.Bladingwas also banned outright.Because Baba disliked submissions,they were also eschewed for decisive pinfalls.In 2011, Japanese wrestling magazineG Spiritscited Misawa's July 29, 1993Triple Crown Heavyweight Championshiptitle defense against Kawada as the first match in theShitennōstyle,and the 1993World's Strongest Tag Determination Leaguefinal, in which Misawa and Kobashi wrestledKawada and Taue,was referred to as the "completed form" of the style byTokyo Sportsin 2014.According to Kawada,ōdōmatches, which placed a heavy emphasis onfighting spirit,were about "breaking the limit you set in the last".AJPW refereeKyohei Wada,who recounted that Baba told his talent "whatever you want to do, do it, and whatever you can show the people, show it", would later compare his job officiating these matches to "conducting a symphony".

However, this escalation eventually manifested through the use of dangerous maneuvers that focused on the head and neck,particularly during the finishing stretches ofōdōmatches.The physical consequences of this style, or at least its use of head drops, has often been cited as the underlying reason for Misawa's death after an in-ring accident in 2009.Professional wrestling journalist and historianDave Meltzernoted after his death that Misawa "regularly took psychotic bumps", including back suplexes where he would land on his head.AJPW would steer away fromōdōafter Misawa led amass exodusto formPro Wrestling Noah,particularly when Motoko Baba sold her stock to Keiji Mutoh, but Noah would continue to practiceōdōin its booking.This element ofōdōhas been criticized for its negative influence on professional wrestling,and 1990s All Japan been cited as a cautionary tale in response to legitimately dangerous maneuvers.Meltzer wrote in 2009 that head drops were "never necessary" as Misawa and his peers in AJPW were already "having the best matches in wrestling" before they incorporated these maneuvers into their style.

Other styles

Throughout the 1990s, three individual styles—shoot style,lucha libre,andhardcore—were the main divisions ofindependent promotions,but as a result of interpromoting, it is not unusual to see all three styles on the same card.

Joshi puroresu

Puroresu done by female wrestlers is calledjoshi puroresu(Nữ tử プロレス)orjoshi purofor short.Women's professional wrestlingin Japan is usually handled by promotions that specialize injoshi puroresu,rather than divisions of otherwise male-dominated promotions as is the case in the United States (a major exception wasFMW,a men's promotion which had a small women's division, but even then depended on talent from women's federations to provide competition). However,joshi puroresupromotions usually have agreements with male puroresu promotions such that they recognize each other's titles as legitimate, and may sharecards.

All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestlingwas the dominantjoshiorganization from the 1970s to the 1990s. AJW's first major star was Mach Fumiake in 1974, followed in 1975 byJackie Satoand Maki Ueda, known as the "Beauty Pair". The early 1980s saw the fame ofJaguar YokotaandDevil Masami,major stars of the second wave of excellent workers who took the place of the glamour-based "Beauty Pair" generation. That decade would later see the rise ofChigusa NagayoandLioness Asuka,known as the "Crush Gals", who as a tag team achieved a level of unprecedented mainstream success in Japan, unheard of by any female wrestler in the history of professional wrestling all over the world. Their long running feud withDump Matsumotoand her "Gokuaku Domei" ( "Atrocious Alliance" ) stable would become extremely popular in Japan during the 1980s, with their televised matches resulting in some of the highest rated broadcasts in Japanese television as well as the promotion regularly selling out arenas.

In 1985, Japan's second women's wrestling promotion formed inJapan Women's Pro-Wrestling.The promotion ran their first show on August 17, 1986. It featuredJackie Satowho returned from retirement and future stars such asShinobu Kandori,Mayumi Ozaki,Cutie SuzukiandDynamite Kansai,who would go on to be top stars inLLPWandJWP.

In 1992,Japan Women's Pro-Wrestlingdissolved, splitting intoLLPWandJWP.These promotions worked together withFMWandAll Japan Women's Pro-Wrestlingto create a critically acclaimed era with several classic matches authorized by theAmericanwrestling publicationWrestling Observer Newsletterfeaturing wrestlers such asManami Toyota,Aja Kong,Kyoko Inoue,Bull Nakano,Mayumi Ozaki,Megumi Kudo,Dynamite Kansaiamongst others. This era was also notable for multiple wrestlers returning from retirement such asChigusa Nagayo,Lioness Asuka,Jaguar Yokota,Devil MasamiandBison Kimura,which increased interest.

In 2022,New Japan Pro Wrestlinginaugurated their ownIWGP Women's Championship.

See also

• Japanese martial arts
• Mixed martial arts
• Global Professional Wrestling Alliance
• List of professional wrestling promotions in Japan

External links

• Puroresu.com
• PuroresuCentral.com
• Marcus' Puro
• PuroLove.com(in German)
• BAHU's FMW World
• Monthly Puroresu