Mid 20th Century
116-608: Akira Tozawa (戸澤 陽, Tozawa Akira , born July 22, 1985) is a Japanese professional wrestler . As of 2016, he is signed to WWE where he performs on the Raw brand and is a member of the Alpha Academy stable . He is a former one-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion and 16-time WWE 24/7 Champion . Prior to working for the WWE, he had a twelve-year run in Dragon Gate where he is a former Open
232-435: A bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether the individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in
348-415: A performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in the 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance
464-415: A professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
580-612: A 10 match trial series, but lost all 10 matches and was banished back to the dojo. Tozawa returned in October 2005, teaming with fellow rookie Yuki Ono . He then teamed with Vangelis , a wrestler with a Nazi stripper gimmick. Kenichiro Arai intervened, much to Tozawa's resentment. When Tozawa defeated Naruki Doi during the Brave Gate League, Arai offered him a spot in the M2K stable. Tozawa, however, refused and stated his intention to run
696-550: A Street Fight, ending their feud. In February 2018, Tozawa formed a tag team with Hideo Itami , and they defeated Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado on the March 13 episode of 205 Live , but got into a confrontation with them and their ally Kalisto post-match. After trading victories between each other, they finally lost a tornado tag team match to Metalik and Dorado on the April 17 episode of 205 Live after Tozawa accidentally kicked Itami. On
812-413: A background in authentic wrestling no longer mattered. After this time, matches became more outlandish and gimmicky and any semblance professional wrestling had to catch wrestling faded. The personas of the wrestlers likewise grew more outlandish. Gorgeous George , who performed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, was the first wrestler whose entrance into the arena was accompanied by a theme song played over
928-520: A bid to prove himself to the stable, Tozawa challenged Bronson Reed to a match but lost. The following day, Tozawa appeared on Night 1 of NXT : Halloween Havoc and stole Noam Dar 's NXT Heritage Cup . Tozawa would return the Cup to Dar on Night 2 before managing to spook Dar into a match for the Cup on the following week's NXT but lost the match 2-1 under British Round Rules . In April 2024, Alpha Academy leader Chad Gable turned heel after failing to win
1044-520: A carny term for a shooting gallery gun whose sights were not deliberately misaligned. Wrestling in the United States blossomed in popularity after the Civil War , with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so
1160-513: A central authority. Nor could any of them stomach the idea of leaving the NWA themselves to compete directly with McMahon, for that would mean their territories would become fair game for the other NWA members. McMahon also had a creative flair for TV that his rivals lacked. For instance, the AWA's TV productions during the 1980s were amateurish, low-budget, and out-of-touch with contemporary culture, which lead to
1276-574: A champion that Curley put forth: Dick Shikat . The National Wrestling Association shut down in 1980. In 1948, a number of promoters from across the country came together to form the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The NWA recognized one "world champion", voted on by its members, but allowed member promoters to crown their own local champions in their territories. If a member poached wrestlers from another member, or held matches in another member's territory, they risked being ejected from
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#17328806957721392-559: A degree. Vince Russo, the boss of WCW in 2000, completely disregarded kayfabe by routinely discussing business matters and office politics in public, which alienated fans. I watch championship wrestling from Florida with wrestling commentator Gordon Solie . Is this all "fake"? If so, they deserve an Oscar . Cyber Kong Takashi Yoshida ( 吉田 隆司 , Yoshida Takashi , born July 3, 1982 in Osaka, Japan ) , also known by his former stage name Cyber Kong ( サイバー・コング , Saibā Kongu ) ,
1508-404: A distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by the broader public. In the United States, wrestling
1624-410: A fee, a visitor could challenge the wrestler to a quick match. If the challenger defeated the champion in a short time frame, usually 15 minutes, he won a prize. To encourage challenges, the carnival operators staged rigged matches in which an accomplice posing as a visitor challenged the champion and won, giving the audience the impression that the champion was easy to beat. This practice taught wrestlers
1740-519: A feud with Anthony W. Mori , with each one gaining victories over the other until they agreed to settle their feud in a Hair vs. Mask Match on March 22. On March 1, he and Yamato would lose the Open the Twin Gate titles to Susumu Yokosuka & Gamma after stablemate Kagetora interfered and turned on them. On March 22, 2009 his match with Mori initially ended in a no-contest after Real Hazard intruded. He and
1856-405: A legitimate sport. Firstly, wrestling was more entertaining when it was faked, whereas fakery did not make boxing any more entertaining. Secondly, in a rigged boxing match, the designated loser must take a real beating for his "defeat" to be convincing, but wrestling holds can be faked convincingly without inflicting injury. This meant that boxers were less willing to "take dives"; they wanted to have
1972-430: A losing effort against the team of Shingo Takagi , Yamato , and BxB Hulk . On March 31, 2016, Tozawa was announced as a participant in WWE's Global Cruiserweight Series tournament, which was later renamed the "Cruiserweight Classic". The tournament began on June 23 with Tozawa defeating Kenneth Johnson in his first round match. On July 14, Tozawa defeated Jack Gallagher in his second round match. On August 26, Tozawa
2088-566: A massive amount of weight gain, Tozawa began to bulk up as well, and he and Ono formed the Metabolic Brothers tag team within Tozawa-juku. They discarded the gakuran pants worn by the unit and wore silver tights and boots. However, injuries to Ono held the team back from any major success. On July 11, 2008, after having teamed with Ono for a little over half a year, he appeared on a show with his gakuran pants on and announced that, in light of
2204-754: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned
2320-474: A match, where the losing stable would have to disband, the rest of Mad Blankey turned on him, kicking him out of the group and assuming Yamato as their new leader. On August 30, Tozawa formed a new stable with former Mad Blankey stablemate Uhaa Nation and Shingo Takagi. On September 12, the three were joined by Masato Yoshino, Ricochet and Shachihoko Boy, forming a stable named Monster Express. On December 22, Tozawa and Takagi defeated Naruki Doi and Yamato to win
2436-424: A more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for the purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise
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#17328806957722552-440: A new city, attendance was high because there was a waiting fanbase cultivated in advance by the cable TV shows. The NWA's traditional anti-competitive tricks were no match for this. The NWA attempted to centralize and create their own national cable television shows to counter McMahon's rogue promotion, but it failed in part because the members of the NWA, ever protective of their territories, could not stomach submitting themselves to
2668-688: A six-man tag team main event, where they were defeated by El Generico, Masato Yoshino and Pac. On February 9, the Tozawa-led Blood Warriors won their feud with Junction Three by defeating them in a fourteen-man elimination tag team match, forcing their rival group to disband. On March 1, Tozawa renamed the Blood Warriors to Mad Blankey . Three days later, he and BxB Hulk lost the Open the Twin Gate Championship to Jimmy Kagetora and Jimmy Susumu. On July 22, Tozawa received another shot at
2784-657: A six-man tag team match. After the match, Gable, together with the newly-aligned Creed Brothers (Julius and Brutus), continued to convince Otis, Tozawa and Dupri to reunite. Otis refused and were beaten down by Gable and The Creed Brothers. Tozawa made his video game debut as a playable character in WWE 2K18 and later appeared in WWE 2K19 , WWE 2K20 , WWE 2K22 , WWE 2K23 and WWE 2K24 . Professional wrestler 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
2900-490: A six-way steel cage Hair vs. Hair match, forcing him to have his head shaved. On November 4, 2011, Blood Warriors faced Junction Three in a ten-man tag team match with the stipulation that the loser of the fall had to leave his unit. In the end, Yamato won the match for Junction Three by submitting Kong with a sleeper hold, who was then kicked out of Blood Warriors. Kong rejoined Blood Warriors on January 19, 2012, helping Akira Tozawa and BxB Hulk turn on Cima and kick him out of
3016-426: A stable of his own, creating a stable called Tozawa-juku. Even though Tozawa-juku bore his name, he was not necessarily the leader. Because of his backstage reputation as a troublemaker at the time, he was regularly held off of shows, progressed little, and was far beneath his stablemates Taku Iwasa , Kenichiro Arai, and even fellow troublemaker Ono in rank. When Ono experienced newfound popularity and rank courtesy of
3132-629: A three-way match, which also involved Naoki Tanizaki . On November 14, 2015, Tozawa lost the Open the Owarai Gate Championship to referee Mr. Nakagawa via fan support. On September 22, 2016, Tozawa unsuccessfully challenged Yamato for the Dream Gate Championship. On September 25, he announced that he would be wrestling his final Dragon Gate match on November 3, before moving to the United States to work for WWE . In his send-off match, he teamed with Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi in
3248-497: A typical American household only received four national channels by antenna, and ten to twelve local channels via UHF broadcasting . But cable television could carry a much larger selection of channels and therefore had room for niche interests. The WWF started with a show called All-American Wrestling airing on the USA Network in September 1983. McMahon's TV shows made his wrestlers national celebrities, so when he held matches in
3364-575: A victory for all the pain to which they subjected themselves. In the 1910s, promotional cartels for professional wrestling emerged in the East Coast (outside its traditional heartland in the Midwest ). These promoters sought to make long-term plans with their wrestlers, and to ensure their more charismatic and crowd-pleasing wrestlers received championships, further entrenching the desire for worked matches. The primary rationale for shoot matches at this point
3480-874: Is a Japanese professional wrestler currently wrestling for Dragongate under his real name. Cyber Kong's career started in 2006. He competed as an arm wrestler and was part of the New Japan Dojo system. He trained in the Los Angeles-based Inoki Dojo, but his short stature prevented him from getting far in it, so he took a tryout at the Dragon Gate USA dojo and became its first graduate. During this time, he aligned himself with Shingo Takagi , representing Dragon Gate USA in Ring of Honor 's sister company Full Impact Pro . He came to Japan in November, and he became part of
3596-436: Is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which
Akira Tozawa - Misplaced Pages Continue
3712-410: Is a true sport. Wrestlers would at all times flatly deny allegations that they fixed their matches, and they often remained in-character in public even when not performing. When in public, wrestlers would sometimes say the word kayfabe to each other as a coded signal that there were fans present and they needed to be in character. Professional wrestlers in the past strongly believed that if they admitted
3828-427: Is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as a genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has
3944-470: Is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain a " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to
4060-500: The 2011 Summer Adventure Tag League , where they ultimately defeated Masaaki Mochizuki and Yamato of rival group Junction Three to win the tournament. On September 16, Tozawa defeated rival Yamato in a no ropes, no disqualification match. This led to Tozawa challenging Masaaki Mochizuki for the Open the Dream Gate Championship on October 13, but Tozawa was defeated. On December 1, Tozawa and BxB Hulk defeated Kagetora and Susumu Yokosuka to win
4176-517: The 24/7 Championship after pinning champion R-Truth , but lost the title to Santa Claus . On April 12, 2020, Tozawa was announced as a participant in the Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tournament , representing Group B in the tournament. He defeated Isaiah "Swerve" Scott in his first match and Gentleman Jack Gallagher in his second match, but lost to El Hijo del Fantasma , thus leaving him with two wins in
4292-584: The Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament , teaming with fellow Kamikaze partner Yamato in a first-round losing effort against The Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark Briscoe). At the following show on June 11, he defeated Scott Lost and on July 30 defeated Chris Sabin . Tozawa also competed in Chikara 's Young Lions Cup VIII in August 2010. He defeated Green Ant on August 27 in
4408-619: The Intercontinental Championship multiple times, with Gable assigning blame that he had spent too much time training his "loser" stablemates and declaring that the stable's focus is to win Gable the Intercontinental Championship. After weeks of mistreatment by Gable on the rest of the stable for not assisting him to win the title by cheating, Tozawa, alongside stablemates Otis and Maxxine Dupri , walked out of Gable on
4524-609: The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that professional wrestling is not a real sport because its matches have predetermined outcomes. Shortly thereafter, New Jersey deregulated professional wrestling. The WWF then rebranded itself as a " sports entertainment " company. In the early years of the 20th century, the style of wrestling used in professional wrestling matches was catch wrestling . Promoters wanted their matches to look realistic and so preferred to recruit wrestlers with real grappling skills. In
4640-543: The independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in the United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including
4756-431: The spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from the competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on
Akira Tozawa - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-545: The "Titus Worldwide" stable and entered in a feud with the Cruiserweight Champion Neville . At Great Balls of Fire event, Tozawa was unsuccessful in his first championship opportunity against Neville; however, he pinned Neville in a tag team match the next night. On the August 14 episode of Raw , Tozawa defeated Neville to win the Cruiserweight Championship. However, at SummerSlam , he dropped
4988-577: The 1920s, a group of wrestlers and promoters known as the Gold Dust Trio introduced moves which have since become staples of the mock combat of professional wrestling, such as body slams, suplexes , punches, finishing moves, and out-of-ring count-outs. By the early 1930s, most wrestlers had adopted personas to generate public interest. These personas could broadly be characterized as either faces (likeable) or heels (villainous). Native Americans, cowboys, and English aristocrats were staple characters in
5104-400: The 1930s and 1940s. Before the age of television, some wrestlers played different personas depending on the region they were performing in. This eventually came to an end in the age of national television wrestling shows, which forced wrestlers to stick to one persona. Wrestlers also often used some sort of gimmick, such as a finishing move, eccentric mannerisms, or out-of-control behavior (in
5220-506: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide
5336-535: The 24/7 Championship for a third time in a triple threat match against champion Shelton Benjamin and R-Truth. A week later R-Truth, disguised as a Tozawa's ninjas, pinned him ending his third reign. He would win the title five other times. On the February 15 episode of Raw , he pinned R-Truth backstage to win the 24/7 Championship but lost it to Bad Bunny after being attacked by Damian Priest , ending his reign at 28 seconds. Afterwards, he and R-Truth continued feuding over
5452-422: The 24/7 Title, Tozawa and Tamina ended up becoming lovers and on March 28 they got (kayfabe) engaged. On April 18, Tozawa won the championship for the fifth time by pinning his partner, Tamina, during their wedding ceremony. Tozawa then lost the championship back to Dana Brooke . Later that month, due to him being unable to help her win the title, she filed for divorce. On May 30, 2022, at Raw , he pinned her during
5568-641: The Atlantic Athletic Corporation (AAC). The AAC shut down in 1960. In 1958, Omaha promoter and NWA member Joe Dusek recognized Verne Gagne as the world champion without the approval of the NWA. Gagne asked for a match against the recognized NWA champion Pat O'Connor. The NWA refused to honor the request, so Gagne and Minneapolis promoter Wally Karbo established the American Wrestling Association in 1960. This AWA should not be confused with Paul Bowser's AWA, which ceased operations just two months prior. Gagne's AWA operated out of Minnesota . Unlike
5684-659: The Brave Gate , Open the Twin Gate , Open the Triangle Gate and Open the Owarai Gate champion and the winner of the 2011 and 2012 Summer Adventure Tag League . He is also known for his year-long excursion to the United States, during which he performed for promotions such as Chikara , Dragon Gate USA , and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla . Tozawa was the third graduate of the Dragon Gate dojo to debut. After debuting, he underwent
5800-515: The Cruiserweight Championship, which was won by champion Buddy Murphy . On the January 29 episode of 205 Live , Tozawa defeated Hideo Itami in Itami's final match with the company. On the February 14, episode of 205 Live , Tozawa defeated Cedric Alexander , Humberto Carrillo and Lio Rush to become the number one contender for the Cruiserweight Championship at the Elimination Chamber , where he
5916-521: The June 17 episode of Raw , who subsequently left Alpha Academy. Otis then took over as the leader of the stable. On the July 15 episode of Raw , Otis, Dupri and Tozawa agreed to team up with The New Day 's Xavier Woods in his feud against The Final Testament . On the following week, the team of Otis, Tozawa and Woods were defeated by The Final Testatement's Karrion Kross and The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) in
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#17328806957726032-462: The May 1 episode of 205 Live , Tozawa and Itami were defeated by The Brian Kendrick and Gentleman Jack Gallagher after another miscommunication between the two, after which Itami shoved Tozawa, thus ending their partnership. The following week, Tozawa was defeated by Itami. On the January 2, 2019, episode of 205 Live , Tozawa defeated Drew Gulak to qualify for the fatal four-way match at Royal Rumble for
6148-451: The Miz TV winning the title. On the November 14 episode of Raw , Tozawa turned face after beating Baron Corbin and JBL in a game of cards. He would subsequently return to wearing more traditional ring gear as opposed to his ninja gimmick. Tozawa joined Alpha Academy and was assigned as a "junior member" of the stable in a Digital Exclusive before the October 23, 2023, episode of Raw . In
6264-457: The NEX class. His frightening power, wrestling abilities, and muscular build made him nearly unbeatable in NEX, and thus he was soon brought up to the main roster, where he continued to be a major threat (however, he has shown himself to be susceptible to flash pins). One of his trademarks before and during his matches is ripping a pineapple in half with his bare hands and then chewing up and spitting out
6380-408: The NWA, at which point his territory became fair game for everyone. The NWA would blacklist wrestlers who worked for independent promoters or who publicly criticized an NWA promoter or who did not throw a match on command. If an independent promoter tried to establish himself in a certain area, the NWA would send their star performers to perform for the local NWA promoter to draw the customers away from
6496-477: The NWA, which only allowed faces to be champions, Gagne occasionally allowed heels to win the AWA championship so that they could serve as foils for him. In August 1983, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), a promotion in the north-east , withdrew from the NWA. Vince K. McMahon then took over as its boss. No longer bound by the territorial pact of the NWA, McMahon began expanding his promotion into
6612-652: The New Hazard faction with BxB Hulk , who had turned on the Typhoon faction at the same time, and Shingo Takagi. On May 14, 2008, he and Takagi turned on BxB Hulk and joined up with the heel half of the Muscle Outlaw'z, renaming the group to Real Hazard. On July 10, tensions between him and Takagi started up after Takagi prevented him and the other members of Real Hazard (as well as Tokyo Gurentai ) from giving Cima an unwanted haircut, which eventually led to Takagi's dismissal from
6728-604: The Nightmare Violence Connection, entered PWG's DDT4 tournament, upsetting the Briscoe Brothers in their first round match. After another upset victory over the ROH World Tag Team Champions , The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli ), he and Steen made it to the finals of the tournament, where they were defeated by The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson). On April 9, Tozawa
6844-419: The Open the Dream Gate Championship in the main event of Dead or Alive 2013, but was again defeated by Cima. On June 15, Tozawa and BxB Hulk regained the Open the Twin Gate Championship from Shingo Takagi and Yamato, when Yamato turned on Takagi and joined Mad Blankey. Tozawa and Hulk lost the title to Naruki Doi and Ricochet on July 21. On August 1, after Tozawa had led Mad Blankey to victory against -akatsuki- in
6960-487: The Open the Dream Gate Championship, but was this time defeated by Cima. On August 19, Tozawa, BxB Hulk and Naoki Tanisaki defeated Cima, Gamma and Magnitude Kishiwada to win the 2012 Summer Adventure Tag League and the vacant Open the Triangle Gate Championship. They lost the title to Kaettekita Veteran-gun (Gamma, Hub and Magnitude Kishiwada) on October 21. On May 5, 2013, Tozawa received another shot at
7076-482: The Open the Twin Gate Championship. They lost the title to Eita and T-Hawk on July 20, 2014. On February 28, 2015, Tozawa won his first singles title in Dragon Gate, when he defeated Kzy for the Open the Brave Gate Championship. On March 29, Tozawa also won the Open the Owarai Gate Championship by defeating Yosuke♥Santa Maria . On November 1, Tozawa lost the Open the Brave Gate Championship to Kotoka in
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#17328806957727192-635: The RockNES Monsters (Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Yuma) in a tag team match, before defeating Chris Hero in his PWG farewell match. On June 3, Tozawa and Yamato failed to capture the Open the United Gate Championship when they lost to reigning champions Masato Yoshino and Pac at Fearless 2011. On June 28, 2012, Tozawa unsuccessfully challenged Johnny Gargano for the Open the Freedom Gate Championship. Tozawa received another shot at
7308-424: The United States beginning in May 2010. On May 7, 2010, Tozawa made his debut for Dragon Gate's international expansion Dragon Gate USA , as a member of the group Kamikaze USA, teaming with Gran Akuma in a match, where they were defeated by Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw . Also in May 2010, Tozawa began working regularly for SoCal promotion Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). He made his PWG debut on May 9, during
7424-401: The arena's loudspeakers, his being Pomp and Circumstance . He also wore a costume: a robe and hairnet, which he removed after getting in the ring. He also had a pre-match ritual where his "butler" would spray the ring with perfume. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon made entrance songs, costumes, and rituals standard for his star wrestlers. For instance, McMahon's top star Hulk Hogan would delight
7540-418: The art of staging rigged matches and fostered a mentality that spectators were marks to be duped. The term kayfabe comes from carny slang. By the turn of the 20th century, most professional wrestling matches were "worked" and some journalists exposed the practice: American wrestlers are notorious for the amount of faking they do. It is because of this fact that suspicion attaches to so many bouts that
7656-550: The audience by tearing his shirt off before each match. The first major promoter cartel emerged on the East Coast, although up to that point, wrestling's heartland had been in the Midwest. Notable members of this cartel included Jack Curley , Lou Daro, Paul Bowser and Tom and Tony Packs. The promoters colluded to solve a number of problems that hurt their profits. Firstly, they could force their wrestlers to perform for less money. As
7772-424: The cartel grew, there were fewer independent promoters where independent wrestlers could find work, and many were forced to sign a contract with the cartel to receive steady work. The contracts forbade them from performing at independent venues. A wrestler who refused to play by the cartel's rules was barred from performing at its venues. A second goal of the wrestling cartels was to establish an authority to decide who
7888-418: The case of heels). The matches could also be gimmicky sometimes, with wrestlers fighting in mud and piles of tomatoes and so forth. The most successful and enduring gimmick to emerge from the 1930s were tag-team matches. Promoters noticed that matches slowed down as the wrestlers in the ring tired, so they gave them partners to relieve them. It also gave heels another way to misbehave by double-teaming. Towards
8004-423: The character in shows must be considered fictional, wholly separate from the life of the performer. This is similar to other entertainers who perform with a persona that shares their own name. Some wrestlers also incorporate elements of their real-life personalities into their characters, even if they and their in-ring persona have different names. Kayfabe is the practice of pretending that professional wrestling
8120-461: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about
8236-432: The condition that Tozawa-juku would have to disband if his team lost. His team lost the match, bringing about the end of the unit, and he and his stablemates were given a graduation ceremony. He and Iwasa began to team with Shingo Takagi in the weeks that followed, and then on December 19, he appealed to Shingo to form a new unit with him and Iwasa. Shingo agreed to it. On January 11, 2009, Dragon Kid joined up with him and
8352-540: The current fashion of wrestling is the universal discussion as to the honesty of the matches. And certainly the most interesting phrase of this discussion is the unanimous agreement: "Who cares if they're fixed or not—the show is good." Newspapers tended to shun professional wrestling, as journalists saw its theatrical pretense to being a legitimate sport as untruthful. Eventually promoters resorted to publishing their own magazines in order to get press coverage and communicate with fans. The first professional wrestling magazine
8468-405: The end of the 1930s, faced with declining revenues, promoters chose to focus on grooming charismatic wrestlers with no regard for their skill because it was charisma that drew the crowds, and wrestlers who were both skilled at grappling and charismatic were hard to come by. Since most of the public by this time knew and accepted that professional wrestling was fake, realism was no longer paramount and
8584-597: The facade of kayfabe as best as they could. In 1989, Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey government that professional wrestling was not a true sport and therefore should be exempted from sports-related taxes. Many wrestlers and fans resented McMahon for this, but Lou Thesz accepted it as the smart move as it gave the industry more freedom to do as it pleased, and because by that point professional wrestling no longer attempted to appear real. The demise of WCW in 2001 provided some evidence that kayfabe still mattered to
8700-470: The first place. "Double-crosses", where a wrestler agreed to lose a match but nevertheless fought to win, remained a problem in the early cartel days. At times a promoter would even award a victorious double-crosser the title of champion to preserve the facade of sport. But promoters punished such wrestlers by blacklisting them, making it quite challenging to find work. Double-crossers could also be sued for breach of contract, such as Dick Shikat in 1936. In
8816-426: The first round, but was the last man eliminated from the six-way elimination semifinal match later that same night. On August 29, the final day of the tournament, Tozawa was defeated by Hallowicked in a singles match. On September 5 Tozawa entered PWG's 2010 Battle of Los Angeles , defeating El Generico in his first round match. The following night, Tozawa was eliminated from the tournament by Chris Hero . The match
8932-536: The first title of his career, by defeating previous champion ACH, Arik Cannon and Gary Jay in a four-way match. He would lose the title to Gerald James six days later. On May 27, Tozawa returned to PWG for his final weekend with the promotion before his return to Japan. During the first night of All Star Weekend 8 , Tozawa and Kevin Steen defeated El Generico and Ricochet in a tag team match. The following night, Tozawa wrestled two matches, first teaming with Steen to defeat
9048-407: The following Dragon Gate USA tapings on April 3, Tozawa defeated Moxley to earn an immediate shot at Yamato's Open the Freedom Gate Championship . He was, however, unsuccessful in his attempt to become the new champion. Tozawa was also unsuccessful in beating Pac for his Open the Brave Gate Championship on April 2, at Mercury Rising 2011. On March 4, 2011, Tozawa and Kevin Steen, dubbing themselves
9164-593: The fruit in a savage manner. He was thought to be an American wrestler originally but was later outed as being Japanese by Masaaki Mochizuki , when he told Yoshida to "wake up." In early 2007, he joined the Muscle Outlaw'z faction, tagging with gaijin Babi Slymm - known as Cyber Gang - as the Ultimate Cybers. His stay in the faction would not be a very long one, for he would soon turn on the Muscle Outlaw'z and start
9280-610: The game is not popular here. Nine out of ten bouts, it has been said, are pre-arranged affairs, and it would be no surprise if the ratio of fixed matches to honest ones was really so high. The wrestler Lou Thesz recalled that between 1915 and 1920, a series of exposés in the newspapers about the integrity of professional wrestling alienated a lot of fans, sending the industry "into a tailspin". But rather than perform more shoot matches, professional wrestlers instead committed themselves wholesale to fakery. Several reasons explain why professional wrestling became fake whereas boxing endured as
9396-455: The government. They pledged to stop allocating exclusive territories to its promoters, to stop blacklisting wrestlers who worked for outsider promoters, and to admit any promoter into the Alliance. The NWA would flout many of these promises, but its power was nonetheless weakened by the lawsuit. Paul Bowser's AWA joined the NWA in 1949. The AWA withdrew from the Alliance in 1957 and renamed itself
9512-554: The group seventeen days later. He fought Takagi for his Open the Dream Gate Championship on August 31, but he was unsuccessful in capturing the title. On October 5, he and Yamato would win the Open the Twin Gate Titles from Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino . On December 21, he did battle with Naoki Tanizaki in a Mask vs. Hair match, which he initially lost after his stablemate Cyber Kongcito 's attempt to interfere on his behalf backfired. Real Hazard would come out to protest
9628-428: The group. On March 1, the new leader of Blood Warriors, Akira Tozawa, changed the stable's name to Mad Blankey . In 2012 shortly after joining Mad Blankey, Kong was abruptly demoted to the level of jobber to the stars. He rarely won matches, and often cost Mad Blankey matches due to inept attempts at interfering on their behalf. After a failed challenge at the Open the Twin Gate Championship on December 23, 2012, Kong
9744-513: The independent. By 1956, the NWA controlled 38 promotions within the United States, with more in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The NWA's monopolistic practices became so stifling that the independents appealed to the government for help. In October 1956 the US Attorney General's office filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court. The NWA settled with
9860-471: The industry was anything but a competitive sport. The first wrestling promoter to publicly admit to routinely fixing matches was Jack Pfefer . In 1933, he started talking about the industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , resulting in a huge exposé. The exposé neither surprised nor alienated most wrestling fans, although some promoters like Jack Curley were furious and tried to restore
9976-487: The industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , maintaining no pretense that wrestling was real and passing on planned results just before the matches took place. While fans were neither surprised nor alienated, traditionalists like Jack Curley were furious, and most promoters tried to maintain the facade of kayfabe as best they could. Not the least interesting of all the minor phenomena produced by
10092-694: The injury, he submitted his resignation to Dragon Gate. However, on February 7, 2010, Takagi called him out after winning a match, and he surprisingly appeared. He appealed to President Okamura to be reinstated, and was welcomed back, joining Takagi's unit Kamikaze. On March 22, Kong and Takagi defeated Cima and Gamma to win the Open the Twin Gate Championship. They would lose the title two months later. On May 13, 2011, Takagi disbanded Kamikaze. Instead of following Takagi and Yamato to Masaaki Mochizuki's face group, Kong decided to instead join Cima's heel group, Blood Warriors. On October 16, Kong defeated former partner Yamato in
10208-498: The members of wrestling cartels as the champion drew big crowds wherever he performed, and this would occasionally lead to schisms. By 1925, this cartel had divided the country up into territories which were the exclusive domains of specific promoters. This system of territories endured until Vince McMahon drove the fragmented cartels out of the market in the 1980s. This cartel fractured in 1929 after one of its members, Paul Bowser , bribed Ed "Strangler" Lewis to lose his championship in
10324-525: The others, and Shingo gave the unit the name of Kamikaze. Tozawa participated in the Battle of Tokyo Tournament two weeks later, and made it to the finals before losing to Kagetora . Highlights of this time period were an Open the Brave Gate Championship challenge in 2009 against Cima and a "Loser is Banished to Dark Matches" match on May 5, 2010, against Kamikaze stablemate Cyber Kong , which he lost. After losing to Kong, Tozawa left Japan for an extended tour of
10440-437: The platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of the venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as
10556-714: The promotion's closing in 1991. In the spring of 1984, the WWF purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), which had been ailing for some time due to financial mismanagement and internal squabbles. In the deal, the WWF acquired the GCW's timeslot on TBS . McMahon agreed to keep showing Georgia wrestling matches in that timeslot, but he was unable to get his staff to Atlanta every Saturday to fulfill this obligation, so he sold GCW and its TBS timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). JCP started informally calling itself World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1988, Ted Turner bought JCP and formally renamed it World Championship Wrestling. During
10672-432: The rest of the group went after Mori's hair, but Masaaki Mochizuki and Don Fujii stopped them. The match was restarted, and Kong won the match decisively, so Mori lost his hair. On October 23, he sustained a neck injury during training. It was apparently a severe injury, and it also wasn't healing properly. On November 15, feeling that he would not be able to appear or perform at a satisfactory level once he returned from
10788-461: The result, but he said he would own up to the mask stipulation - except that it would be Kongcito's mask, not his. Kongcito was unmasked, beaten up, and kicked out of the group. He then demanded a restart, due to Kongcito's intrusion, and Cima came out, appointed the special referee, and agreed to let the match restart, since both Real Hazard and WORLD-1 (Tanisaki's stable) had intruded in the match. Kong won, and Tanizaki lost his hair. He then got into
10904-440: The stamina for an hours-long fight. Audiences also preferred short matches. Worked matches also carried less risk of injury, which meant shorter recovery. Altogether, worked matches proved more profitable than shoots. By the end of the 19th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were worked. A major influence on professional wrestling was carnival culture. Wrestlers in the late 19th century worked in carnival shows. For
11020-507: The success that new stablemates Shinobu and El Generico had brought to the unit (as well as constant pestering from Iwasa and Arai), he was going on a diet. After a diet trial series, where he actually had success, he brashly challenged Open the Triangle Gate Champions Masaaki Mochizuki , Don Fujii , and Magnitude Kishiwada to a title match against him, Iwasa & Arai on November 16. The trio agreed, but on
11136-426: The territories of his former NWA peers, now his rivals. By the end of the 1980s, the WWF would become the sole national wrestling promotion in the U.S. This was in part made possible by the rapid spread of cable television in the 1980s. The national broadcast networks generally regarded professional wrestling as too niche an interest, and had not broadcast any national wrestling shows since the 1950s. Before cable TV,
11252-515: The title on July 28, 2013, at Dragon Gate USA's fourth anniversary event, but was again defeated by Gargano. On July 24, 2015, Tozawa returned to PWG, losing to Ricochet, and on the first show of 2016, returned once again, losing to Zack Sabre Jr. On June 8, 2011, Tozawa made his return to Dragon Gate, joining the stable Blood Warriors. Upon his return, Tozawa defeated Shingo Takagi on July 17 at Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival 2011 . In August, Tozawa and fellow Blood Warriors member BxB Hulk took part in
11368-405: The title to Neville, ending the reign at 6 days. In late 2017, Tozawa quietly left Titus Worldwide. On the October 10 episode of 205 Live , Tozawa was attacked on the ramp by Drew Gulak, which began a rivalry. Tozawa was out of action for a few weeks until he returned on the October 31 episode of 205 Live , where he defeated Gulak. On the November 21 episode of 205 Live , Tozawa defeated Gulak in
11484-408: The title, alongside Drew Gulak and others. When Reggie won the title after he was abandoned by Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler , he and R-Truth began feuding with him, even building a temporary alliance with Drake Maverick . On the September 27 episode of Raw , Tozawa would be quickly defeated by Keith "Bearcat" Lee . In early 2022, after spending months with both him and Tamina Snuka trying to win
11600-588: The tournament in the quarterfinal stage by The Osirian Portal (Amasis, Hieracon and Ophidian ). On April 17, the final day of the tournament, Tozawa faced Eddie Kingston in a losing effort. On April 19, Tozawa made his debut for Evolve at the promotion's first live internet pay-per-view , facing Chuck Taylor in a losing effort. On May 15, 2011, in Austin, Texas , Tozawa captured the Anarchy Championship Wrestling (ACW) U–30 Young Gun Championship,
11716-425: The tournament, failing to advance to the finals. At Backlash , during a segment between The Street Profits and The Viking Raiders , Tozawa appeared with a gang of ninjas on motorcycles, turning heel . On the June 22 episode of Raw , Tozawa defeated R-Truth to become the 24/7 Champion for the second time, only to lose the title back to Truth one week later. On the August 3 episode of Monday Night Raw , Tozawa won
11832-505: The trial, witnesses testified that most of the "big matches" and all of the championship bouts were fixed. By the 1930s, with the exception of the occasional double-cross or business dispute, shoot matches were essentially nonexistent. In April 1930, the New York State Athletic Commission decreed that all professional wrestling matches held in the state had to be advertised as exhibitions unless certified as contests by
11948-471: The truth, their audiences would desert them. Today's performers don't "protect" the industry like we did, but that's primarily because they've already exposed it by relying on silly or downright ludicrous characters and gimmicks to gain popularity with the fans. It was different in my day, when our product was presented as an authentic, competitive sport. We protected it because we believed it would collapse if we ever so much as implied publicly that it
12064-455: The vacant Open the Twin Gate Championship , Tozawa's first title in Dragon Gate. On January 19, 2012, Tozawa and Hulk turned on Blood Warriors leader Cima, causing him to lose a ten-man "Loser Leaves Unit" tag team match; as a result, Cima was kicked out of Blood Warriors. After this match, Tozawa assumed the leadership role in Blood Warriors. On January 29, Tozawa made a one night return to PWG, when he teamed with Kevin Steen and Super Dragon in
12180-535: The way of proceedings: the "in-show" happenings, presented through the shows; and real-life happenings outside the work that have implications, such as performer contracts, legitimate injuries, etc. Because actual life events are often co-opted by writers for incorporation into storylines of performers, the lines between real life and fictional life are often blurred and become confused. Special discern must be taken with people who perform under their own name (such as Kurt Angle and his fictional persona ). The actions of
12296-420: The wrestlers quietly began faking their matches so that they could give their audiences a satisfying spectacle. Fixing matches was also convenient for scheduling. A real ("shoot") match could sometimes last hours, whereas a fixed ("worked") match can be made short, which was convenient for wrestlers on tour who needed to keep appointments or share venues. It also suited wrestlers who were aging and therefore lacked
12412-425: Was Wrestling As You Like It , which printed its first issue in 1946. These magazines were faithful to kayfabe . Before the advent of television, professional wrestling's fanbase largely consisted of children, the elderly, blue-collar workers and minorities. When television arose in the 1940s, professional wrestling got national exposure on prime-time television and gained widespread popularity. Professional wrestling
12528-488: Was challenges from independent wrestlers. But a cartelized wrestler, if challenged, could credibly use his contractual obligations to his promoter as an excuse to refuse the challenge. Promotions would sometimes respond to challenges with "policemen": powerful wrestlers who lacked the charisma to become stars, but could defeat and often seriously injure any challenger in a shoot match. As the industry trend continued, there were fewer independent wrestlers to make such challenges in
12644-501: Was considered Tozawa's breakout performance, which got him noticed by the Dragon Gate office. Tozawa returned to PWG on December 11, 2010, losing to Kevin Steen . Afterwards, Steen recruited Tozawa as his partner for the March 4 DDT4 tournament. Tozawa defeated Sami Callihan , Austin Aries , and BxB Hulk for Dragon Gate USA in January 2011, but run-ins with stablemates Jon Moxley and Yamato led to him being kicked out of Kamikaze USA. At
12760-509: Was defeated by Low Ki in a singles match in PWG. On April 15, Tozawa returned to Chikara, captaining Team Dragon Gate, consisting of himself, Kagetora and Super Shisa , in the 2011 King of Trios tournament . In the first round of the tournament, Team Dragon Gate defeated the Spectral Envoy ( UltraMantis Black , Hallowicked and Frightmare ). The following day, Team Dragon Gate was eliminated from
12876-541: Was defeated by Murphy. As part of the 2019 draft , Tozawa was drafted to the Raw brand . On the November 18 episode of Raw , Tozawa made his debut on the brand, where he was defeated by Buddy Murphy. At Survivor Series , Tozawa represented Raw in an Interbrand triple threat match for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, which was won by NXT's Lio Rush. On the December 23 episode of Raw , Tozawa captured
12992-429: Was eliminated from the tournament in the quarterfinals by Gran Metalik . On the September 5 episode of Raw , Tozawa was announced as part of WWE's upcoming cruiserweight division. On November 2, Tozawa was announced as a roster member for the upcoming cruiserweight -centric 205 Live show. On February 6, 2017, Tozawa made his debut on Raw , defeating Drew Gulak . In June, Tozawa was recruited by Titus O'Neil to
13108-410: Was kicked out of Mad Blankey. He returned to Mad Blankey on August 30, 2013, after Yamato had taken over as the new leader of the group. On October 6, Kong, BxB Hulk and Yamato won the vacant Open the Triangle Gate Championship by defeating Akira Tozawa, Masato Yoshino and Shingo Takagi. They lost the title to Millennials ( Eita , Flamita and T-Hawk ) on December 5. On August 16, 2015, Mad Blankey
13224-636: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
13340-415: Was something other than what it appeared to be. I'm not sure now the fear was ever justified given the fact that the industry is still in existence today, but the point is no one questioned the need then. "Protecting the business" in the face of criticism and skepticism was the first and most important rule a pro wrestler learned. No matter how aggressive or informed the questioner, you never admitted
13456-417: Was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among
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