Diamond Ring (professional wrestling)

Last updated
Diamond Ring
AcronymDR
Founded2005
Defunct2014
Headquarters Yoshikawa, Saitama, Japan
Founder(s) Kensuke Sasaki and Akira Hokuto
Owner(s) Kensuke Sasaki and Akira Hokuto
FormerlyKensuke Office
Website

Diamond Ring was an independent Japanese professional wrestling promotion that, until 2012, was known as Kensuke Office. [1] The promotion was founded and owned by puroresu legend Kensuke Sasaki, who owned and operated it since its creation in 2005. In February 2014 the promotion ran its last card, after which Sasaki announced his retirement. [2]

Contents

History

As Kensuke Office

After Kensuke Sasaki became a freelancer he established his own promotion named Kensuke Office, and the promotion was run by Sasaki's wife (former joshi wrestler), Akira Hokuto, and represented Sasaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kento Miyahara, Takashi Yoshioka and Takashi Okita, under the name Kensuke Office, Sasaki and pupil Katsuhiko Nakajima toured other promotions, particularly All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah, and they also opened a training school. In September 2006, Kensuke Office was announced as a member of the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance and they held their first show on February 11 and it was televised by Gaora TV. Beginning in 2007, Kensuke Office has organised its own shows, and some of the talent featured on the shows include Minoru Suzuki, Jun Akiyama, Genichiro Tenryu, Yoshihiro Takayama, Kikutaro, Takeshi Morishima, Kenta and Catfish Man. Kensuke office served as developmental territory of Pro Wrestling Noah, featuring several of its superstars. On August 1 to August 4, 2011 they held their first tournament named Summer Volcano Tag Tournament and featured outside participants from Kaientai Dojo (Kaji Tomato), some other freelancers (Kikutaro, Kenichiro Arai, Namazu Man), from Pro Wrestling Noah (Genba Hirayanagi and Kentaro Shiga), and from DDT (Antonio Honda) with the winners eventually being Antonio Honda and Kento Miyahara. In January 2012, Kensuke Office was changed their name Diamond Ring.

As Diamond Ring

They featured storylines with the Diamond Ring stable with the Voodoo Murders. On 5 October 2013 Nakajima received an opportunity for the GHC Heavyweight Championship and he lost to the defending champion Kenta. On September 9 Kento Miyahara announced that he was officially breaking off his affiliation with Diamond Ring and becoming a freelancer. On 24 November 2013 the Voodoo Murders did their last match on Diamond Ring and left the promotion and jumped to Pro Wrestling Zero1. On February 11, 2014, Sasaki suffered his first loss to Katsuhiko Nakajima in the main event of a Diamond Ring event, later that day Satoshi Kajiwara made his last match on the promotion and retired. Two days later, Sasaki held a press conference to announce his retirement from professional wrestling. Following Sasaki's retirement, Diamond Ring was left with only one remaining wrestler, Katsuhiko Nakajima, with Satoshi Kajiwara resigning and Mitsuhiro Kitamiya joining Pro Wrestling Noah. On March 9 they held their last show named Diamond Ring Hometown Match. After that card the promotion was closed but the stable was kept as represented by Nakajima until 2015. Afterwards, when Nakajima joined to Pro Wrestling Noah he no longer identified or affiliated himself with said group.

Staff

Management

Tournaments

TournamentLatest winner(s)Date won
Summer Volcano Tag Tournament [3] Kento Miyahara and Antonio HondaAugust 4, 2011

Notable alumni

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akira Hokuto</span> Japanese professional wrestler

Hisako Sasaki ; is a Japanese retired professional wrestler better known as Akira Hokuto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kensuke Sasaki</span> Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist

Kensuke Sasaki is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and founder of the now-defunct wrestling promotion Diamond Ring.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenta Kobayashi</span> Japanese professional wrestler

Kenta Kobayashi, known mononymously as Kenta, is a Japanese professional wrestler. He currently works for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of the Bullet Club stable. A former amateur kickboxer, Kobayashi's wrestling style is based upon strong kicks and strikes. Kobayashi pioneered both the Go 2 Sleep and Busaiku Knee kick finishing manoeuvres, later popularized by CM Punk and Bryan Danielson, respectively.

Akitoshi Saito is a Japanese professional wrestler primarily known for his tenures with Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah) where he is a former five-time GHC Tag Team Champion and a former two-time Global Tag League winner in 2008 and 2011. Saito is also known for a seven-year stint with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yoshikazu Taru</span> Japanese professional wrestler

Yoshikazu Taru is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known simply as Taru. He is currently signed to Makai, while also working for Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1) and All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is the leader of the Voodoo Murders. He also previously worked in Diamond Ring, Wrestle Association R (WAR) and Toryumon Japan, later known as Dragon Gate (DG).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naomichi Marufuji</span> Japanese professional wrestler

Naomichi Marufuji is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. Marufuji is a four-time GHC Heavyweight Champion, as well as the first of two men to win Junior Heavyweight Championships in all three major Japanese promotions. In 2009, he was appointed to the position of Vice President of Pro Wrestling Noah, and has retained the position since, being reappointed in September 2011. He also makes occasional appearances in other professional wrestling promotions including New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Ring of Honor (ROH), and Impact Wrestling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Takeshi Morishima</span> Japanese former professional wrestler (born 1978)

Takeshi Morishima is a Japanese former professional wrestler.

Satoshi Yoneyama, better known by his ring name Muhammad Yone, is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a multi-time GHC Tag Team Champion, a one time GHC Openweight Hardcore Champion and winner of the Global Tag League in 2012 with Naomichi Marufuji. He is known for his trademark afro hairstyle, which earned him the nickname "Mr. Afro".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voodoo Murders</span> Professional wrestling stable

Voodoo Murders were a professional wrestling stable who were best known as the main heel group in All Japan Pro Wrestling between 2005 and 2011, and 2022 to 2023. In 2013, the group was reformed in Diamond Ring and later performed primarily for Pro Wrestling ZERO1 in the stable's final years. The group, famously led by former Toryumon wrestler Taru, performed violent actions in their matches and displayed a lack of respect for their opponents.

Katsuhiko Nakajima is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer, though he primarily works with GLEAT. He is a former Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion in All Japan Pro Wrestling and a two-time GHC Heavyweight Champion in Pro Wrestling NOAH.

The Differ Cup is a cross-promotional professional wrestling tournament in Japan, contested among several teams of junior heavyweight tag teams, each typically representing a particular promotion. It was originally held biennially, first in 2003, then in 2005 and finally in 2007. After a ten-year hiatus, the tournament was revived in 2017. Since the founding of the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance in 2006, the Differ Cup had been considered a production of the GPWA, with several GPWA member promotions participating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kazunari Murakami</span> Japanese professional wrestler

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.

Go Shiozaki is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. He is a record-holding five time former GHC Heavyweight Champion. He made his debut for the Pro Wrestling Noah in July 2004 and initially remained with Pro Wrestling Noah until the end of 2012 when he jumped to All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). In AJPW, he became a one-time Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and a two-time World Tag Team Champion, before resigning from the promotion in September 2015. Afterwards, he returned to Noah, where, in May 2016, he won the GHC Heavyweight Championship for the third time. He has also worked for American promotions Ring of Honor (ROH) and Full Impact Pro (FIP), winning the latter's World Heavyweight Championship. In August 2016, Shiozaki was appointed the chairman of Noah's wrestlers' association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Together (professional wrestling)</span> Professional wrestling events

All Together is a series of professional wrestling events organized by United Japan Pro-Wrestling. Initially the All Together event series was organized by Japan's three biggest promotions; All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wrestling Noah (NOAH), in response to the March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The first event was held in Tokyo on August 27, 2011, and the second in Sendai on February 19, 2012. All proceeds from the events were donated to Japanese Red Cross. The events featured no storylines or championship matches, instead they were booked as "supercards", putting together combinations of wrestlers from the three promotions that fans would normally not see. A third event called All Together: Again took place in Tokyo on June 9, 2023, as a memorial to NJPW founder Antonio Inoki who had died the previous year. A fourth event took place in Tokyo on May 5, 2024, in response to the 2024 Noto earthquake and was also the first event under the United Japan Pro-Wrestling (UJPW) banner, which comprises NJPW, DDT Pro Wrestling (DDT), Dragongate (DG), Big Japan Pro-Wrestling (BJW), NOAH and World Wonder Ring Stardom (STARDOM).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kento Miyahara</span> Japanese professional wrestler

Kento Miyahara is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a six time Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion. He was trained by Kensuke Sasaki and started his career in his Kensuke Office promotion in February 2008, before joining AJPW in January 2014. He won his first title, the All Asia Tag Team Championship, in August 2014. He has also held AJPW's World Tag Team Championship. In February 2016, Miyahara won AJPW's top title, the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, becoming the youngest winner of the title in the process until March 20, 2024, when Yuma Anzai break his record at 24 years. He has since won the title five more times and is tied with Toshiaki Kawada for the most title defenses with ten. He is known for his charismatic and energetic demeanor in his matches and segments, with him adding brash and anti-authority rhetoric within his later years as the "Best of the Best".

Mitsuhiro Kitamiya is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. Kitamiya's ring name Masa Kitamiya is a tribute to former professional wrestler Masa Saito. Kitamiya also wears a similar ring attire to Saito as tribute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaito Kiyomiya</span> Japanese professional wrestler (born 1996)

Kaito Kiyomiya is a Japanese professional wrestler who is currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is the current and three-time GHC Heavyweight Champion. He also makes appearances for partner promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Destiny (2005)</span> 2005 Pro Wrestling Noah event

Destiny was the first Destiny professional wrestling event produced by Pro Wrestling Noah. The event took place on July 18, 2005 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, and marked Noah's second event to take place in the arena, after 2004's Departure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NJPW Do Judge!!</span> 2000 New Japan Pro-Wrestling event

Do Judge!! was a major professional wrestling event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on October 9, 2000, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It marked the first major cross promotional matches between New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) after the two had entered into a working relationship in August.

References

  1. ↑ Diamond Ring - Results
  2. ↑ Diamond Ring - Inactive promotion in the Asia region
  3. ↑ "Summer Volcano Tag Tournament « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.