Ken Shamrock is an American retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is best known for his time in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and other combat sports. An inaugural inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame, Shamrock is widely regarded as an icon and pioneer of the sport. He has headlined over 15 main events and co-main events in the UFC and Pride FC and set numerous MMA pay-per-view records. In the early part of his UFC career, Shamrock was named "The World's Most Dangerous Man" by ABC News in a special called "The World's Most Dangerous Things". The moniker has stuck as his nickname.
Daniel DeWayne Severn, nicknamed "the Beast", is an American professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Severn is considered one of the leading pioneers of mixed martial arts and the first true world-class wrestler to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is best known for his success in the early years of the UFC where he became the first UFC Triple Crown champion in history by winning the UFC 5 tournament, Ultimate Ultimate 1995, and UFC Superfight Championship. Severn has also competed in King of the Cage, PRIDE FC, Cage Rage, WEC, RINGS and MFC, and holds a professional MMA Record of 101–19–7.
Donald Frye is an American former mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, and actor. In MMA, he was one of the sport's earliest well-rounded fighters and won the UFC 8 and Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournaments and finished as runner-up UFC 10 in his first year of competition. He retired from MMA in 1997 to pursue a career in professional wrestling with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and quickly became one of the company's leading heels. After spending four years as one of Japan's top gaijin wrestlers, he returned to MMA with the Pride Fighting Championships in September 2001, much more muscular and sporting an American patriot persona in response to the September 11 attacks. He fought bouts with Ken Shamrock and Yoshihiro Takayama during his two years in Pride. He departed the promotion to compete in K-1 and Hero's in 2004 but returned for the final Pride event in 2007. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2016.
Masahiro Chono is an American-born Japanese-American retired professional wrestler and actor best known for his 26-year stint with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). As the leader of nWo Japan, Team 2000 and Black New Japan, he was the promotion's top heel for much of his career, beginning in 1994 when he adopted his yakuza inspired gimmick.
Kensuke Sasaki is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and founder of the now-defunct wrestling promotion Diamond Ring.
The IWGP Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the International Wrestling Grand Prix. The title was introduced on June 12, 1987, in the final of an IWGP tournament. It was unified with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship on March 4, 2021, to form the new IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
Yuji Nagata is a Japanese professional wrestler, and former mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler currently 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, All Japan Pro Wrestling's Champion Carnival and Pro Wrestling Noah's Global League. In addition, he is the only man to have held all four major heavyweight championships in Japanese professional wrestling, the IWGP, World, GHC and Triple Crown heavyweight championships, making him the only "Grand Slam" champion.
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 his work in the PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1, Rizin Fighting Federation, and World Victory Road.
Minoru Suzuki is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a freelancer. In NJPW, he has held the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as well as twice holding the NEVER Openweight Championship.
The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world junior heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the International Wrestling Grand Prix. Only wrestlers under the junior heavyweight weight-limit may hold the championship. NJPW currently controls two junior heavyweight championships: the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. The weight-limit for the title is 100 kg (220 lb). The current champion is Sho, who is in his first reign. He won the title by defeating El Desperado at The New Beginning in Sapporo on February 23, 2024.
UFC: The Ultimate Ultimate 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 7, 1996. The event took place at the Fair Park Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, and was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and released on home video.
Kazunari Murakami is a Japanese professional wrestler and retired mixed martial artist currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah. Murakami is best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) during the late 1990s and early 2000s, where he primarily competed as a member of the villainous Makai Club stable. Aside from pro wrestling, Murakami was also part of the first fight in PRIDE history, defeating John Dixson by submission in 1997.
Tadao Yasuda is a Japanese retired sumo wrestler (rikishi), professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He competed in sumo from 1979 to 1992 under the shikona of Takanofuji Tadao, achieving the rank of komusubi, and afterward turned to professional wrestling, in which he competed from 1994 to 2011, most notably in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a one-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. He also fought in mixed martial arts from 2001 to 2003, holding a notable win over Jérôme Le Banner.
Kota Ibushi is a Japanese professional wrestler and martial artist who is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his tenure with New Japan-Pro Wrestling (NJPW).
Katsuyori Shibata is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and professional wrestling trainer currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He also makes appearances for AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH Pure Champion. In professional wrestling, he is known for his hard hitting offense. He spent most of his career with NJPW as both a wrestler and trainer. In NJPW, he is a former three-time NEVER Openweight Champion, a one-time IWGP Tag Team Champion, and the winner of the 2017 New Japan Cup. He is also a former holder of Revolution Pro Wrestling's RPW British Heavyweight Championship. From March 2018 to July 2023, Shibata served as the head coach of NJPW's dojo in Los Angeles.
Thomas Joseph Lawlor is an American professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and podcast host. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was the inaugural and longest reigning NJPW Strong Openweight Champion, and Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is a former one-time MLW World Tag Team Champion, one-time MLW World Heavyweight Champion and the winner of the first-ever Battle Riot in 2018 and the 2020 Opera Cup tournament.
Ryūshi Yanagisawa is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and kickboxer. His real name is Atsushi Yanagisawa. As a martial artist, he competed in K-1, Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling (Pancrase) and Fighting Network RINGS. As a professional wrestler he competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Inoki Genome Federation (IGF).
Hirokazu Nagai, better known as Mitsuya Nagai, is a Japanese mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and former kickboxer. A professional MMA competitor from 1991 until 2013, he fought the majority of his career in Fighting Network RINGS. Once a student of legendary professional wrestlers Satoru Sayama and Akira Maeda, Nagai holds notable victories over former King of Pancrase Super Heavyweight Champion Tsuyoshi Kosaka, Nobuaki Kakuda, four-time world kickboxing champion Andre Mannaart, Russian sambo champion Mikhail Ilyukhin, RINGS King of Kings 2000 Tournament runner up Valentijn Overeem, ADCC bronze medallist and RINGS Light Heavyweight title contender Chris Haseman, and Pancrase veteran Takaku Fuke. He also fought for K-1 in kickboxing.
Steven Owens, better known by the ring name Chase Owens is an American professional wrestler currently signed with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of Bullet Club. He is a three-time and current IWGP Tag Team Champion, having won the belts twice with Kenta and once with Bad Luck Fale. Owens has also won the provisional KOPW trophy once.
Tomoyuki Oka, better known by his ring name Great-O-Khan, is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of the United Empire stable. He also wrestles for NJPW's United Kingdom based partner promotion Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro), where he is the former Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion. In NJPW, he is a two-time IWGP Tag Team Champion.
