Founded | August 20, 2020 |
---|---|
Style | Puroresu Shoot style Mixed martial arts |
Headquarters | Yūrakuchō, Tokyo, Japan |
Founder(s) | Hiroyuki Suzuki Kiyoshi Tamura |
Owner(s) | Hiroyuki Suzuki |
Parent | Lidet Entertainment [1] |
Website | ent |
Gleat (stylized as GLEAT and pronounced as "great") is a Japanese professional wrestling and mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2020 by former Pro Wrestling Noah parent company Lidet Entertainment after the acquisition of Noah and DDT Pro-Wrestling by CyberAgent. The promotion is overseen by Hiroyuki Suzuki and former mixed martial artist and professional wrestler Kiyoshi Tamura. The promotion emphasizes the use of the UWFi combat sports-based wrestling style. [2] [3] [4]
In November 2018, Japanese advertising company Lidet Entertainment began investing in various business ventures in the professional wrestling industry including Riki Choshu's Power Hall show in December 2018. On January 29, 2019, Lidet Entertainment bought 75% shares of Pro Wrestling Noah, with the goal of transforming the promotion into the second largest promotion in Japan after New Japan Pro-Wrestling (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. [5] 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 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, Kazuyuki Fujita and Kendo Kashin) against Jun Akiyama, Shuhei Taniguchi, and Daisuke Sekimoto. [6] 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. [7] [8] 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 and Masato Tanaka from Pro Wrestling Zero1.
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. [9] [10] In May, it was announced that Cima, El Lindaman, T-Hawk, and Issei Onitsuka would be leaving Oriental Wrestling Entertainment and Ryuichi Kawakami would be leaving Big Japan Pro Wrestling to join Gleat. [11] [12] Gleat also operates a developmental division, with Yu Iizuka, Soma Watanabe, and Takanori Ito being the promotion's inaugural trainees. [13]
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. [14] [15] The tournament and championship were won by El Lindaman.
In July 2022, Gleat announced the creation of the G-Infinity Championship for its G Prowrestling brand. A four-team tournament was held from August 20, 2022, to August 24 to crown the inaugural champions. [16] The tournament was won by Bulk Orchestra (Kazma Sakamoto and Ryuichi Kawakami). [17] On December 14, Gleat promoted its first mixed martial arts (MMA) event, "Gleat MMA Ver. 0". [18]
Gleat divides their roster based on its two wrestling sub-brands, G Prowrestling and Lidet UWF. Gleat also recognizes a third roster division, Gleat MMA – wrestlers affiliated to Gleat MMA have legitimate martial arts experience and may wrestle on either G Prowrestling or Lidet UWF events. [19] [20]
Ring name | Real name | G | U | M | Unit | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Check Shimatani | Nobuhiro Shimatani | Bulk Orchestra | G-Infinity Champion | |||
Cima [22] [23] [24] | Nobuhiko Oshima | #StrongHearts | Chief Strategy Officer | |||
El Lindaman [23] [22] [25] | Yuga Hayashi | #StrongHearts | ||||
Hayato Tamura [26] | Hayato Tamura | Bulk Orchestra | G-Infinity Champion | |||
Issei Onitsuka [23] [22] [27] | Issei Onitsuka | #StrongHearts | ||||
Jun Tonsho | Jun Tonsho | 60 Seconds | ||||
Kaz Hayashi [23] [22] [28] | Kazuhiro Hayashi | Home Team | Chief Technical Officer [3] | |||
Maya Fukuda | Maya Fukuda | GLEAT Main Unit | ||||
Michiko Miyagi [29] | Michiko Miyagi | GLEAT Main Unit | ||||
Minoru Tanaka [23] [30] [31] | Minoru Tanaka | GLEAT Main Unit | UWF Rule Technical Officer | |||
Ryuichi Kawakami [23] [32] | Ryuichi Kawakami | Bulk Orchestra | ||||
Soma Watanabe [23] [33] | Soma Watanabe | GLEAT Main Unit | ||||
T-Hawk [23] [22] [34] | Takuya Onodera | #StrongHearts | G-Rex Champion | |||
Takanori Ito [23] [35] | Takanori Ito | GLEAT Main Unit | ||||
Takehiro Yamamura | Takehiro Yamamura | #StrongHearts | ||||
Tetsuya Izuchi [23] [36] | Tetsuya Izuchi | 60 Seconds | ||||
Yu Iizuka [23] [37] | Yu Iizuka | GLEAT Main Unit | ||||
Yukari Hosokawa [23] [38] | Yukari Hosokawa | GLEAT Main Unit |
Ring name | Real name | G | U | M | Unit | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hartley Jackson | Hartley Jackson | Black Generation International | Freelancer | |||
Hideki "Shrek" Sekine | Hideki Sekine | Hard Hit | Freelancer | |||
Hikaru Sato | Hikaru Sato | Hard Hit | Freelancer | |||
Kaito Ishida | Kaito Ishida | Black Generation International | Freelancer | |||
Kazma Sakamoto | Unknown | Bulk Orchestra | Freelancer | |||
Keiichi Sato | Keiichi Sato | 60 Seconds | Freelancer | |||
Kotaro Suzuki | Kotaro Suzuki | Black Generation International | Freelancer | |||
Oji Shiiba | Oji Shiiba | 60 Seconds | Freelancer Independent World Junior Heavyweight Champion | |||
Shigehiro Irie | Shigehiro Irie | #StrongHearts | Freelancer | |||
Quiet Storm | Unknown | Bulk Orchestra | Freelancer | |||
Yutani | Unknown | Black Generation International | Freelancer |
Ring name | Real name | Notes |
---|---|---|
Chiho Tomiyama | Chiho Tomiyama | Ring announcer (G Prowrestling) |
Haruo Murata | Haruo Murata | Commentator Freelancer |
Hiroyuki Suzuki | Hiroyuki Suzuki | Owner President of Lidet |
Katsumi Tamagawa | Katsumi Tamagawa | Referee (G Prowrestling) |
Kiyoshi Tamura [23] | Kiyoshi Tamura | Executive Director [3] Commentator |
Masato Yoshino [39] | Masato Yoshino | Gleat Championship Belts Manager G Prowrestling Commissioner |
Riki Choshu [23] | Mitsuo Yoshida | Observer [3] |
Ryogaku Wada | Ryogaku Wada | Referee (Lidet UWF) |
Soft Imai | Daisuke Imai | Referee (G Prowrestling) |
Takahiro Yoshimizu | Takahiro Yoshimizu | Ring announcer (Lidet UWF) Affiliated with Aoni Production |
Takehiro Yamamura | Takehiro Yamamura | Ring announcer (G Prowrestling) |
Yoshinori Umeki | Yoshinori Umeki | Referee (Lidet UWF) Affiliated with Pancrase |
Yoshiro Yabu | Yoshiro Yabu | Ring announcer (G Prowrestling) |
Championship | Current champion(s) | Reign | Date won | Days held | Location | Notes | Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G-Rex Championship | Hayato Tamura | 1 | December 30, 2023 | 77+ | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated T-Hawk at Gleat Ver.7. | [40] | |
G-Infinity Championship | Coelacanths (Cima and Kaz Hayashi) | 1 (1, 1) | March 13, 2024 | 3+ | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated #StrongHearts (Seiki Yoshioka and T-Hawk) in a tournament final to win the vacant titles at Gleat Ver.10. | [41] | |
Lidet UWF Championship | Fujita "Jr." Hayato | 1 | July 1, 2023 | 259+ | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Takanori Ito at Gleat Ver.6: 2nd Anniversary Show. |
As of March16, 2024.
Lidet UWF Championship | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Details | |||||||||||||||||
Promotion | Gleat | ||||||||||||||||
Date established | April 2023 | ||||||||||||||||
Current champion(s) | Fujita "Jr." Hayato | ||||||||||||||||
Date won | July 1, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||
|
The Lidet UWF Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned and created by the Japanese company Lidet Entertainment and is currently disputed in the Gleat promotion. The main characteristic of the championship is that it can be defended and won only under UWF rules matches and in combat sports-based wrestling style bouts.
There have been a total of two reigns shared between two different champions. The current title holder is Fujita "Jr." Hayato.
No. | Overall reign number |
---|---|
Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
Days | Number of days held |
Defenses | Number of successful defenses |
+ | Current reign is changing daily |
No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Defenses | ||||
1 | Takanori Ito | June 7, 2023 | Gleat Ver.EX "Face-Off" Access 2 TDCH | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 24 | 0 | Defeated Shinya Aoki in a tournament final to become the inaugural champion. | [42] |
2 | Fujita "Jr." Hayato | July 1, 2023 | Gleat Ver.6: 2nd Anniversary Show | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 259+ | 1 | [43] |
Most Gleat events are separated into the three brands G Prowrestling, Lidet UWF and Gleat MMA. Numbered "Gleat Ver." events air bigger cards featuring a mix of the three brands. Specials events such as "Gleat Ver.EX", "Gleat Ver.Mega" and "Gleat Ver.&" are held in larger venues and usually feature wrestlers from other wrestling promotions such as All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) or Pro Wrestling Freedoms. All events air live on Gleat's YouTube channel.
Shoot wrestling is a combat sport that originated in Japan's professional wrestling circuit (Puroresu) of the 1970s. Professional wrestlers of that era attempted to use more realistic or even "full contact" moves in their matches to increase their excitement, diminishing or eschewing the theatrical elements and acrobatics, looking more similar to an actual, unscripted fight. The name "shoot wrestling" comes from the professional wrestling term "shoot", which refers to any unscripted occurrence within a scripted wrestling event. Shoot wrestling incorporated realistic moves from submission grappling and various kickboxing styles. It was particularly inspired and influenced by catch wrestling, a form of wrestling with submissions that was the predominant style of professional wrestling in the 19th and early 20th century, at the time not yet predetermined.
Naomichi Marufuji is a Japanese professional wrestler who competes for Pro Wrestling Noah, with 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. 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.
Seiki Yoshioka, previously known as Seiki, is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a former GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion, and a member of the Stinger stable, led by Yoshinari Ogawa. Yoshioka is also known for his time in Wrestle-1, where he was a three-time Wrestle-1 Cruiser Division Champion and UWA World Trios Champion and a one-time NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Champion in Pro Wrestling Zero1. In Wrestle-1, Yoshioka was a member of the #Stronghearts stable, led by Cima. In the past, Yoshioka has also toured Great Britain, as the final All Star Wrestling British Mid-Heavyweight Champion.
Daiki Inaba is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently competes as a freelancer, majorly for Pro Wrestling Noah. He's best known for his time in Wrestle-1, where he was a two-time Wrestle-1 Champion, and the winner of the 2019 Wrestle-1 Grand Prix. His nickname is Mad Dog and he currently works as a babyface (hero).
CyberFight Co., Ltd., operating simply as CyberFight (CF), is a Japanese professional wrestling parent company based in Tokyo. It is a subsidiary of the CyberAgent digital advertising company. CyberFight serves as an umbrella brand for two existing promotions: Pro Wrestling Noah and DDT Pro-Wrestling and for DDT's two sub-brands Ganbare Pro-Wrestling and Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling.
Takashi Sasaki is a Japanese professional wrestler and the owner of Pro Wrestling Freedoms (Freedoms). A regular on the Japanese independent circuit for over 25 years, Sasaki began his career with IWA Kakutō Shijuku and Dramatic Dream Team before transitioning into the deathmatch wrestling scene in 2005 with Apache Pro-Wrestling Army and Big Japan Pro Wrestling. Following the closure of Apache Pro, Sasaki formed Pro Wrestling Freedoms in 2009.
Yuya Susumu, previously known mononymously as Susumu, is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently works for Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a former holder of the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, and a member of the Stinger stable.
Akane Fujita is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotions Ice Ribbon and Pro Wrestling Wave.
The G-Rex Championship is a professional wrestling championship in the Japanese promotion Gleat. The title is the first to be created by the promotion.
The G-Infinity Championship 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.
Dan Tamura is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for the Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling where he is a former All Asia Tag Team Champions alongside Hikaru Sato.
Ryuki Honda is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for the Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling where he was formerly World Tag Team Champions in his first reign alongside Shotaro Ashino.
All Star Junior Festival 2023 was an interpromotional professional wrestling pay-per-view event organized by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). It was held on March 1, 2023 at Korakuen Hall in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The event, which was produced by NJPW wrestler Hiromu Takahashi, featured the participation of junior heavyweight wrestlers from over 20 different promotions from around the world.
Yurika Oka is a Japanese professional wrestler currently performing the Japanese promotion Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling where she is a former Sendai Girls Junior Champion.
The Saito Brothers are a professional wrestling tag team composed of Japanese American twin brothers Jun Saito and Rei Saito. They were born on December 19, 1986, in Kakuda, Miyagi, Japan to an American father and Japanese mother. They are currently signed with the Japanese professional wrestling promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling, where they are aligned with the Voodoo Murders stable. They are also known for their work with various promotions of the Japanese independent scene.
Oji Shiiba is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for his time with the promotion Dragon Gate. He currently performs under the Dove Pro Wrestling banner where he is a former, two time, Independent World Junior Heavyweight Champion.
Janai Ruiz is an American professional wrestler. She is currently MLW World Women's Featherweight Champion, in her first reign. She is best known for her tenure with the professional wrestling promotion Game Changer Wrestling and various others from the American independent scene.
Gleat MMA Ver.0 was the first combat sport event produced by Lidet Entertainment via the Gleat promotion. It took place on December 14, 2022, at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.