WAR (wrestling promotion)
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (April 2020) |
Strong style | |
| Headquarters | Japan |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Genichiro Tenryu |
| Owner(s) | Genichiro Tenryu |
| Formerly | Wrestling And Romance |
| Predecessor | Super World of Sports |
| Successor | Tenryu Project |
Wrestle Association R (formerly known as Wrestle and Romance and abbreviated as WAR) was a Japanese
On July 28, 1995, WAR was renamed "Wrestle Association R" at a show held in the Korakuen Hall. In 1998, WAR cancelled contracts to the roster and began running fewer and fewer events due to Tenryu's comeback in New Japan, and in July 2000, it promoted a farewell show that served as the prelude to Tenryu's return to All Japan Pro Wrestling (many wrestlers from WAR also joined AJPW to fill the void by those who joined Mitsuharu Misawa in forming Pro Wrestling Noah). The WAR name was kept for the use of a stable led by Tenryu during brief angles in All Japan and FMW in 2001.
On July 27, 2006, WAR staged a reunion show at Tokyo
WAR was the first promotion to create a steady
In 2010 the Tenryu Project was organised and is somewhat of a successor to WAR.
Championships
J-1 Heavyweight Championship
| J-1 Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Details | |||||||||
| Promotion | Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance | ||||||||
| |||||||||
This title used the
| Wrestler: | Times: | Date: | Location: | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genichiro Tenryu | 1 | January 14, 1998 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Nobutaka Araya in a tournament final to become the first champion.[1] |
| Title abandoned | 2000 | Title was abandoned when WAR closed (may have been abandoned earlier when Tenryu won IWGP Heavyweight Championship (won on December 10, 1999). The company held their official final event on July 27, 2006. | ||
Other titles
- WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship
- WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
- WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship
Alumni
These are not exhaustive lists. Guest Japanese wrestlers from other promotions, such as Nobuhiko Takada from UWF International and The Great Sasuke from Michinoku Pro Wrestling, are not listed.
| Birth name: | Ring name(s): | Tenure: |
|---|---|---|
| Genichiro Shimada | Genichiro Tenryu | 1992–2000 2006 |
| Masao Orihara | Masao Orihara | 1992–1999 2006 |
| Susumu Hara | Ashura Hara | 1992–1994 |
| Takashi Ishikawa | Takashi Ishikawa | 1992–1994 1996–1997 |
| Hiromichi Fuyuki | Hiromichi Fuyuki | 1992–1996 |
| Keiji Takayama | Gedo | 1994–1996 |
| Shoji Akiyoshi | Jado | 1994–1996 |
| Heigo Hamaguchi | Animal Hamaguchi | 1994–1995 |
Yoshihiro Asai
|
Ultimo Dragon | 1992–1997 |
| Kōji Kitao | Kōji Kitao | 1994–1998 |
| Isao Takagi | Arashi | 1995–1999 |
| Tatsumi Kitahara | Koki Kitahara | 1992–2000 2006 |
| Nobutaka Araya | Nobutaka Araya | 1995–2000 |
| Nobukazu Hirai | Nobukazu Hirai | 1992–2000 |
| Osamu Kawahara | Osamu Tachihikari | 1994–2000 |
| Tomohiro Ishii | Tomohiro Ishii | 1996–2000 2006 |
| Masaaki Mochizuki | Masaaki Mochizuki | 1994–2000 2006 |
| Koji Iibashi | Koji Ishinriki
|
1993–1994 2006 |
| Yuji Yasuraoka | Yuji Yasuraoka | 1992–1999 |
| Chris Irvine | Lionheart / Lion Do | 1994–1996 |
| Scott Bigelow | Crusher Bam Bam Bigelow | 1994 1996 |
| Rick Bognar | Big Titan / Ti Do | 1995–1996 |
| Rick Wilson | Rio, Lord of the Jungle | 1993–1994 |
| Lance Evers | Lance Storm | 1995–1998 |
| Robert Backlund | Bob Backlund | 1994–1995 |
| James Bernardski | Scott Putski | 1994 |
| Terry Szopinski | The Warlord | 1993–1994 |
| Terry Gordy | Terry Gordy | 1998 |
| Oscar Gutierrez | Rey Misterio, Jr. | 1995–1996 |
| Lawrence Shreve | Abdullah the Butcher | 1997–1998 |
| John Tenta | John Tenta | 1993–1996 |
| Dionicio Torres | Psicosis | 1995–1996 |
Tonga Fifita
|
King Haku | 1992–1994 |
Notable events
WAR/WWF
An inter-promotional show between WAR and the World Wrestling Federation was held on September 15, 1992, at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | King Haku | Singles match | 5:22 | ||
| 9 | Ric Flair (c) vs. Genichiro Tenryu ended in a draw | Two out of three falls match for the WWF Championship | 37:50 | ||
| |||||
WAR Anniversary Show
WAR Anniversary Show was the flagship event of WAR which was used to celebrate the anniversary of the promotion. The event was held between 1993 and 2000, when the promotion was discontinued.
WAR/LLPW
An inter-promotional event featuring talent from WAR and Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling was held on November 28, 1993, at the Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
| No. | Results | Stipulations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ultimo Dragon | Tag team match |
Revolution
Revolution was a special event held on December 15, 1993, at the Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mil Mascaras defeated Gran Markus Jr. | Singles match | 8:08 | ||
| 8 | Hiromichi Fuyuki and Super Strong Machine defeated Heisei Ishingun (Shiro Koshinaka and Tatsutoshi Goto | Tag team match | 11:36 | ||
| 9 | Genichiro Tenryu defeated Tatsumi Fujinami | Singles match | 14:14 | ||
| |||||
Revolution Rumble '94 In Ryogoku Kokugikan
Revolution Rumble '94 In Ryogoku Kokugikan was a special event held on March 2, 1994, at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. The event was notable for an inter-promotional tag team main event match in which Genichiro Tenryu and Ashura Hara represented WAR against Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling's Atsushi Onita and Tarzan Goto. Onita pinned Tenryu and the match set up a major main event between Tenryu and Onita for FMW's 5th Anniversary Show at the Kawasaki Stadium on May 5, 1994.
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Koji Kitao defeated Ishinriki by knockout | Singles match | 4:05 |
| 9 | Atsushi Onita and Tarzan Goto defeated Ashura Hara and Genichiro Tenryu | Tag team match | 18:13 |
Super J-Cup
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gran Naniwa defeated Damián 666 | 1995 Super J-Cup tournament first round | 6:36 |
| 2 | Shinjiro Otani defeated Masaaki Mochizuki via submission | 1995 Super J-Cup tournament first round | 4:00 |
| 3 | Último Dragón defeated Shoichi Funaki | 1995 Super J-Cup tournament first round | 6:52 |
| 4 | Gedo defeated Masayoshi Motegi via submission | 1995 Super J-Cup tournament first round | 6:56 |
| 5 | Dos Caras defeated El Samurai | 1995 Super J-Cup tournament first round | 7:00 |
| 6 | Lionheart defeated Hanzo Nakajima | 1995 Super J-Cup tournament first round | 6:48 |
| 7 | Jushin Liger defeated Gran Naniwa | 1995 Super J-Cup tournament quarter-final | 9:13 |
| 8 | Último Dragón defeated Shinjiro Otani | 1995 Super J-Cup tournament quarter-final | 13:30 |
| 9 | Gedo defeated Dos Caras | 1995 Super J-Cup tournament quarter-final | 8:54 |
| 10 | Wild Pegasus defeated Lionheart | 1995 Super J-Cup tournament quarter-final | 13:43 |
| 11 | Jushin Liger defeated Último Dragón | 1995 Super J-Cup tournament semi-final | 17:19 |
| 12 | Gedo defeated Wild Pegasus | 1995 Super J-Cup tournament semi-final | 9:20 |
| 13 | Rey Misterio, Jr. defeated Psicosis | Singles match | 9:39 |
| 14 | Jushin Liger defeated Gedo | 1995 Super J-Cup tournament final | 15:47 |
WAR vs. UWFI: Super Summer Wars
An inter-promotional event featuring wrestlers from WAR and UWFI, among other promotions as well. The event took place a day after the 4th Anniversary Show on July 21, 1996, at the Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eight-man tag team match | 17:35 | |
| 5 | Jado defeated Yoshihiro Takayama | Singles match | 10:12 |
| 6 | Riki Choshu and Satoshi Kojima defeated Fuyuki-Gun (Hiromichi Fuyuki and Ti Do) | Tag team match | 8:34 |
| 7 | Shiro Koshinaka and Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Hiromitsu Kanehara and Nobuhiko Takada | Tag team match | 9:20 |
| 8 | Koki Kitahara defeated Masahito Kakihara via submission | Singles match | 8:25 |
| 9 | Genichiro Tenryu defeated Yoji Anjo | Singles match | 11:44 |
Final - Reborn to Future
Final - Reborn to Future was a reunion event of WAR after the promotion had closed down in 2000 and marked the final event ever in WAR history. The event took place on July 27, 2006, at the
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship | 19:42 | |||
| 7 | Don Fujii, Genichiro Tenryu, Koki Kitahara and Masao Orihara defeated Heisei Ishingun (Shiro Koshinaka, Akitoshi Saito, Masashi Aoyagi and Michiyoshi Ohara) (with Kuniaki Kobayashi) | Eight-man tag team match | 15:23 | ||
| |||||
See also
- WAR tournaments
- Professional wrestling in Japan
References
- ^ Hoops, Brian (January 14, 2019). "Pro wrestling history (01/14): Christian wins NWA World Title". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 18, 2019.