Aoni Production Co. Ltd. is a Japanese talent agency representing a fair number of voice actors and other Japanese entertainers.
Keiji Muto is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive. He is known for his work as The Great Muta in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) during the 1980s and 1990s, and from his runs in other Japanese, American, Puerto Rican, and Mexican promotions. He was the president of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) from 2002 to 2013 and representative director of Wrestle-1 (W-1) from 2013 to 2020.
Kazuhiro Hayashi is a Japanese professional wrestler known simply as Kaz Hayashi. He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where in addition to being a wrestler for the promotion, he also served as the head booker for the company's junior heavyweight division. After leaving AJPW in 2013, Hayashi competed for Wrestle-1, where he also worked as a trainer. In April 2017, Hayashi took over as the new president of Wrestle-1, remaining in the position until the promotion's closure in 2020; he was also the promotion's final champion of the Wrestle-1 Championship. In August 2020, Hayashi joined Gleat as both an in-ring wrestler and the promotion's Chief Technical Officer.
Yoshinari Ogawa is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently works for Pro Wrestling Noah. He has earned the nickname of "Rat Boy" from the English-speaking Puroresu fanbase due to his sneaky, clever in-ring tactics and baiting his opponents into quick pins, as well as the disheveled, greasy appearance he cultivated during the late-90's.
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 deathmatch style of professional wrestling to Japan. He is a former All Asia Tag Team Champions alongside Yoshitatsu.
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.
WCW vs. the World is a professional wrestling video game for the PlayStation video game console. It was the first game developed by The Man Breeze to be released outside Japan, and is an American localization of their Japanese game Virtual Pro Wrestling, the first game in the Virtual Pro Wrestling series. WCW vs. the World marks the first World Championship Wrestling video game released during its rise amidst the Monday Night War.
Kazuharu Sonoda also known under the ring names Haru Sonoda and Magic Dragon, was a Japanese professional wrestler. He was a former NWA Western States Tag Team Champion, NWA/WWC North American Tag Team Champion with Mitsu Ishikawa and the WCCW All Asia Tag Team Championship with the Great Kabuki in 1982.
Wrestle Kingdom 2: Pro Wrestling Sekai Taisen is a professional wrestling video game for the PlayStation 2. It is the sequel to Yuke's Wrestle Kingdom.
Professional wrestling in Japan has existed for several decades. The first Japanese person to involve themselves in catch wrestling was former sumo wrestler Sorakichi Matsuda. There were subsequent attempts before and after World War II to popularize the sport in Japan, but these generally failed until the advent of its first big star, Rikidōzan, in 1951, who became known as the "father" of the sport. Rikidōzan brought the sport to tremendous popularity with his Japanese Wrestling Association (JWA) until his murder in 1963. Following his death, professional wrestling thrived, creating a variety of personalities, promotions and styles. It has also created a mass of other cultural icons in Japan including: Antonio Inoki, Giant Baba, Jyushin "Thunder" Liger, Tiger Mask, Keiji Mutoh/The Great Muta, Mitsuharu Misawa, and Kenta Kobashi among others. Throughout the years, several promotions have opened and closed, but a few have persisted to remain the most popular and thriving companies: New Japan Pro-Wrestling is currently considered by many as the top promotion.
Japan participated in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China on 12–27 November 2010.
WrestleWar '89: Music City Showdown was the first WrestleWar professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) banner. It took place on May 7, 1989 from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Wrestling Dontaku (1995) was the third Wrestling Dontaku professional wrestling event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), held on May 3, 1995, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, at the Fukuoka Dome.
The FMW 5th Anniversary Show was a professional wrestling event produced by Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW). The event took place on May 5, 1994 at the Kawasaki Stadium in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan. This was the fifth edition of the company's flagship event Anniversary Show, commemorating the fifth anniversary of the company. It was the third edition of the event to take place at Kawasaki Stadium and took place on May 5 for the second consecutive year. May 5 would become a significant date for FMW like January 4 was for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
Super Extreme Wrestling War was a series of professional wrestling events produced by Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in 1997. These events marked the first time that FMW began a partnership with American counterpart Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and a working relationship began between the two companies as ECW wrestlers competed at these events and it marked the beginning of interpromotional matches and events between ECW and FMW. These events would create a huge impact in FMW's storylines as they concluded with the breakup of ZEN when Mr. Gannosuke, Yukihiro Kanemura and Hido attacked their leader Atsushi Onita out of jealousy after Hayabusa pinned Onita in a WarGames match. They merged with Fuyuki-Gun to form Team No Respect, which would dominate FMW until 2000.
The Japan men's national artistic gymnastics team is a sport group governed by Japan Gymnastics Association and represents Japan in international gymnastics competitions and multi-sports events. Followed the establishment of All Japan Gymnastics Federation in 1930, the team first appeared at the 1932 Summer Olympics and gradually became the major force till this day. For nearly two decades, from 1960 to 1978, Japanese men was dominant and won every gold medal at the Olympics and World Championships.
