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41-543: ZST was conceived in efforts to accommodate fighters of puroresu MMA promotion RINGS that went defunct in February 2002. On September 22, 2002, Takeshi Caesar , the president of Shoot Boxing Association (SBA), and Koki Hioki, representative of ZST, had a conversation after a Shoot Boxing event, and they announced that SBA would support ZST. For this reason, ZST promoted some matches under shoot boxing rule early on. The first ZST event " The Battle Field ZST Opening Event "

82-523: A combat sport . It should be also noted that the term "Puroresu" in Japan refers to all professional wrestling, regardless of country of origin. For example, American promotions WWE and Ring of Honor are referred to as "Puroresu" in Japan. Japanese wrestling historian Fumi Saito noted: "Puroresu is completely Japanese-English, and in the U.S. the same word is used for both pro and amateur wrestling. It may be easier to understand if you think of wrestling in

123-608: A high tackle or spear tackle , or against the spirit of the game such as striking below the belt or other unsportsmanlike conduct . Where there is a limit as to how much contact is acceptable most sports have a mechanism to call a foul by the referee, umpire or similar official when an offence is deemed to have occurred. Contact sports are categorised by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) into three main categories: contact, limited-contact and noncontact. In attempting to define relative risk for competitors in sports

164-583: A mass exodus to form Pro Wrestling Noah , particularly when Motoko Baba sold her stock to Keiji Mutoh, but Noah would continue to practice ōdō (referred to as Royal Road with Ark by the promotion) in its booking. This element of ōdō has been criticized for its negative influence on professional wrestling, and 1990s All Japan been cited as a cautionary tale in response to legitimately dangerous maneuvers. Meltzer wrote in 2009 that head drops were "never necessary" as Misawa and his peers in AJPW were already "having

205-455: A protective cup to protect their genitalia. There has been an increasing medical, academic, and media focus on sports involving rapid contact in the late 20th to early 21st century and their relationship with sports injuries. Several sports' governing bodies began changing their rules in order to decrease the incidence of serious injuries and avoid lawsuits. In some countries, new laws have been passed, particularly in regard to concussions. At

246-416: A real fight against Muhammad Ali in 1976 that was watched by an estimated 1.4 billion people worldwide. Many of New Japan's wrestlers, including top stars such as Seiji Sakaguchi , Tatsumi Fujinami , Akira Maeda , Satoru Sayama , Yoshiaki Fujiwara , Nobuhiko Takada , Masakatsu Funaki , Masahiro Chono , Shinya Hashimoto , Riki Choshu , Minoru Suzuki , Shinsuke Nakamura , and Keiji Mutoh , came from

287-423: A critical aspect of the game such as tackling , while others are incidental such as when shielding the ball or contesting an aerial challenge. As the types of contact between players is not equal between all sports they define the types of contact that is deemed acceptable and fall within the laws of the game, while outlawing other types of physical contact that might be considered expressly dangerous or risky such as

328-680: A critically acclaimed era with several classic matches authorized by the American wrestling publication Wrestling Observer Newsletter featuring wrestlers such as Manami Toyota , Aja Kong , Kyoko Inoue , Bull Nakano , Mayumi Ozaki , Megumi Kudo , Dynamite Kansai , amongst others. This era was also notable for multiple wrestlers returning from retirement such as Chigusa Nagayo , Lioness Asuka , Jaguar Yokota , Devil Masami , and Bison Kimura , which increased interest. In 2022, New Japan Pro Wrestling inaugurated their own IWGP Women's Championship . Full contact sport A contact sport

369-505: A flag from a belt worn by the opponent or outlawing specific actions entirely such as in walking football . Current medical terminology in the United States uses the term contact sport and collision sport to refer to sports like rugby , American football , professional wrestling , ice hockey , lacrosse and roller derby . The term limited-contact sport is used to refer to sports such as soccer , baseball and handball , and

410-458: A legitimate martial arts background. This style led to the development of shoot wrestling and the spin-off Universal Wrestling Federation . Sayama developed and founded Shooto , a pioneer mixed martial arts (MMA) organization, in 1985. That same year, Sayama's student Caesar Takeshi founded Shootboxing . Funaki, Suzuki and others would found Pancrase and hold their first event almost two months before UFC 1 . Maeda founded RINGS in 1991 as

451-436: A major partnership with DEEP . The partnership will allow the two organizations to co-promote shows, share fighters and eventually unify the organizations. Bouts consist of three rounds with a rest period of one and a half minutes. The first and second rounds are five minutes in duration and the third round is three minutes in duration, but the third round is an extra round. Punches, elbow strikes, knees and kicks are allowed to

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492-694: A more "narrative" style, derived from the American model of professional wrestling as physical storytelling. However, ōdō distinguished itself from American professional wrestling by largely eschewing many of its storytelling devices. Angles and gimmicks were virtually non-existent, as all the storytelling in ōdō occurred through the matches themselves. Blading was also banned outright. Because Baba disliked submissions, they were also eschewed for decisive pinfalls. In 2011, Japanese wrestling magazine G Spirits cited Misawa's July 29, 1993 Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship title defense against Kawada as

533-822: A shoot-style promotion, which began transitioning to legitimate MMA competition in 1995. Takada was a co-founder of PRIDE and Rizin . Ōdō ( 王道 , "King's Road"; also translated as "Royal Road") is a style which originated in All Japan Pro Wrestling , and is most closely associated with the Four Pillars ( 四天王 , Shitennō ) , the informal Western fan’s nomenclature for 1990s AJPW wrestlers Toshiaki Kawada , Kenta Kobashi , Mitsuharu Misawa , and Akira Taue . However, matches involving these four have been also referred to in Japan as Shitennō puroresu ( 四天王プロレス ) . As opposed to strong style's European catch wrestling influences, ōdō opted for

574-519: Is a Japanese term used for professional wrestling in and outside of Japan . The term comes from the Japanese pronunciation of "professional wrestling" ( プロフェッショナル・レスリング , purofesshonaru resuringu ) , which in Japanese is abbreviated to “puro” (プロ- “pro”) & “resu” (レス - an abbreviation of “wrestling”). The term became popular among English -speaking fans due to Hisaharu Tanabe's activities in

615-485: Is any sport where physical contact between competitors, or their environment, is an integral part of the game. For example, gridiron football . Contact may come about as the result of intentional or incidental actions by the players in the course of play. This is in contrast to noncontact sports where players often have no opportunity to make contact with each other and the laws of the game may expressly forbid contact. In contact sports some forms of contact are encouraged as

656-476: Is infrequent or inadvertent. A full contact sport is primarily any combat sport that allows the competitor to attempt to knock-out or otherwise defeat their opponent by physically incapacitating them. Examples of this would include most professional martial arts such as Mixed Martial Arts , Boxing and some forms of Karate and Taekwondo . Defeating an opponent generally takes place using in isolation or combination actions such as striking and grappling depending on

697-427: Is simply a standard, and may or may not correspond exactly with any given promotion's codified rules. Matches are held between two or more sides ("corners"). Each corner may consist of one wrestler, or a team of two or more. Most team matches are governed by tag team rules (see below). The match is won by scoring a "fall", which is generally consistent with standard professional wrestling: Additional rules govern how

738-606: Is usually promoted by companies that specialize in women’s wrestling, rather than divisions of otherwise male-dominated promotions as is the case in the United States (a major exception was FMW , a men's promotion which had a small women's division, but even then depended on talent from women's federations to provide competition). However, joshi puroresu promotions usually have agreements with male puroresu promotions such that they recognize each other's titles as legitimate, and may share cards . All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling

779-814: The 1980s, with their televised matches resulting in some of the highest rated broadcasts in Japanese television as well as the promotion regularly selling out arenas. In 1985, Japan's second women's wrestling promotion formed in Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling . The promotion ran their first show on August 17, 1986. It featured Jackie Sato who returned from retirement and future stars such as Shinobu Kandori , Mayumi Ozaki , Cutie Suzuki , and Dynamite Kansai , who would go on to be top stars in LLPW and JWP . In 1992, Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling dissolved, splitting into LLPW and JWP . These promotions worked together with FMW and All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling to create

820-454: The AAP have further defined contact sports as containing some element of intentional collision between players. They define such collision sports as being where: "athletes purposely hit or collide with each other or with inanimate objects (including the ground) with great force", while in limited-contact sports such impacts are often "infrequent and inadvertent". While contact sports are considered

861-567: The AAP. The AAP notes Martial arts can be subclassified as judo, jujitsu, karate, kung fu, and tae kwon do; some forms are contact sports and others are limited-contact sports. As defined by the AAP. As a result of the risk of injury, some sports require the use of protective equipment , for example American football protective equipment or the gloves and helmets needed for underwater hockey . Some sports are also played on soft ground and have padding on physical obstacles, such as goal posts . Most contact sports require any male players to wear

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902-460: The U.S. as having the same nuance as ' sumo ' in Japanese. You call both 'wrestling' even if it's competitive or professional wrestling." Puroresu has a variety of different rules, which can differ greatly from wrestling in other countries. While there is no governing authority for puroresu, there is a general standard which has developed. Each promotion has its own variation, but all are similar enough to avoid confusion. Any convention described here

943-478: The United States , Japanese wrestling is known for many differences from the Western style. Puroresu in Japan is known for its " fighting spirit " ( 闘魂 , tōkon ), and the wrestlers are known for their full contact strikes. Many Japanese wrestlers have some degree of knowledge in many different martial arts and wrestling styles; because of this, there are usually doctors and trainers at ringside for assisting

984-509: The athletes from injury. Examples of semi-contact sports include karate , kalaripayattu , Kenpo , various Korean martial arts that incorporate contact rules sparring, kendo , some types of historical European martial arts , fencing and taekwondo . As defined by the AAP, and also considered collision sports. The AAP notes Martial arts can be subclassified as judo, jujitsu, karate, kung fu, and tae kwon do; some forms are contact sports and others are limited-contact sports. As defined by

1025-426: The best matches in wrestling" before they incorporated these maneuvers into their style. Throughout the 1990s, three individual styles— shoot style , lucha libre , and hardcore —were the main divisions of independent promotions , but as a result of interpromoting, it is not unusual to see all three styles on the same card. Pro wrestling done by female wrestlers is called joshi puroresu, or women’s wrestling, and

1066-491: The concept of full contact, semi-contact and noncontact (or other definitions) for both training and competitive sparring. Some categories of contact may or may not be combined with other methods of scoring, but full contact is generally considered to include the potential for victory by knockout or submission depending on the form of combat. An example of this is full contact karate and taekwondo where competitors are allowed to attempt to knock out an opponent through strikes to

1107-526: The development of shoot wrestling and has been closely related to mixed martial arts (MMA) starting with Shooto and Pancrase , organizations which predate the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), along with influencing subsequent promotions such as RINGS and PRIDE . It is common for pro wrestlers and mixed martial artists in Japan to cross over . Despite some similarities to the popular style of professional wrestling in

1148-567: The first match in the Shitennō style, and the 1993 World's Strongest Tag Determination League final, in which Misawa and Kobashi wrestled Kawada and Taue , was referred to as the "completed form" of the style by Tokyo Sports in 2014. According to Kawada, ōdō matches, which placed a heavy emphasis on fighting spirit , were about "breaking the limit you set in the last". AJPW referee Kyohei Wada , who recounted that Baba told his talent "whatever you want to do, do it, and whatever you can show

1189-802: The head and body when both fighters are standing. On the ground punches, elbow strikes, knees and kicks are only allowed to the body. Bouts are not judged. In the event that the bout goes the full-time, the bout is ruled a draw. Bouts consist of two rounds with a rest period of one and two minutes. The first and second rounds are five minutes in duration. The positioning is not regarded for scoring as important factor and any motions including clinching and holding which impedes bouts are prohibited. GT-F came from "Grappling Tournament - Featherweight". ZST holds various types of events depending on their theme. ZST sets 11 weight divisions. Puroresu Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Puroresu ( プロレス )

1230-702: The head or otherwise bringing the opponent to the floor. Full contact rules differentiate from other forms of the same sports that may otherwise restrict blows to the head and the use of elbows or knees. Such full contact sports may be defined as combat sports and require a of change equipment, alter or omit rules, and are generally differentiated from contact sports by their explicit intent of defeating an opponent in physical combat. Some contact sports have limited-contact or noncontact variations (such as flag football for American football ) which attempt to replace tackling and other forms of contact with alternative methods of interacting with an opponent, such as removing

1271-497: The most high risk for injury, in some sports being a major feature (such as boxing or other martial arts), limited-contact and noncontact sports are not without risk as injury or contact may come about as a result of a fall or collision with the playing area, or a piece of sporting equipment , such as being struck by a hockey stick or football or even a piece of protective wear worn by a teammate or opposition player. Some definitions of contact sports, particularly martial arts, have

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1312-459: The online Usenet community. Growing out of origins in the traditional US style of wrestling, it has become an entity in itself. Japanese pro wrestling is distinct in its psychology and presentation of the sport and how it functions based on Japanese culture. It is treated closer to a legitimate competition, with fewer theatrics ; the stories told in Japanese matches are about a fighter's spirit and perseverance. Pro wrestling in Japan led to

1353-594: The outcome of the match is to take place. One such example would be the Japanese Universal Wrestling Federation , as it does not allow pinfall victories in favor of submissions and knockouts; this is seen as an early influence of mixed martial arts , as some wrestlers broke away from traditional wrestling endings to matches in favor of legitimate outcomes . Another example is that most promotions disallow punches, so many wrestlers utilize open handed strikes and stiff forearms; this rule

1394-711: The people, show it", would later compare his job officiating these matches to "conducting a symphony". However, this escalation eventually manifested through the use of dangerous maneuvers that focused on the head and neck, particularly during the finishing stretches of ōdō matches. The physical consequences of this style, or at least its use of head drops, has often been cited as the underlying reason for Misawa's death after an in-ring accident in 2009. Professional wrestling journalist and historian Dave Meltzer noted, after his death, that Misawa "regularly took psychotic bumps", including back suplexes where he would land on his head. AJPW would steer away from ōdō after Misawa led

1435-405: The rise of Chigusa Nagayo and Lioness Asuka , known as the " Crush Gals ", who as a tag team achieved a level of unprecedented mainstream success in Japan, unheard of by any female wrestler in the history of professional wrestling all over the world. Their long running feud with Dump Matsumoto and her "Gokuaku Domei" ("Atrocious Alliance") stable would become extremely popular in Japan during

1476-444: The rules of the sport. Full-contact martial arts include: A semi-contact sport is typically a combat sport involving striking and containing physical contact between the combatants simulating full-power techniques. The techniques are restricted to limited power, and rendering the opponent unconscious is forbidden. Some semi-contact sports use a point system to determine the winner and use extensive protective gear to protect

1517-678: The term noncontact sport to sports like badminton , running and swimming . The American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement was revised in 2008 to include the following definition: In collision sports (e.g. boxing , ice hockey, American football, lacrosse, and rodeo ), athletes purposely hit or collide with each other or with inanimate objects (including the ground) with great force. In contact sports (e.g. basketball), athletes routinely make contact with each other or with inanimate objects but usually with less force than in collision sports. In limited-contact sports (e.g. softball and squash), contact with other athletes or with inanimate objects

1558-421: The wrestlers after a match. Most matches have clean finishes and many of the promotions do not use any angles or gimmicks . Japanese wrestling is also known for its relationship with fellow mixed martial arts promotions. Puroresu remains popular, and it draws huge crowds from the major promotions. With this and its relationship with other martial arts disciplines, the audiences and wrestlers treat puroresu as

1599-563: Was also applied in the early stages of Pancrase . New Japan Pro-Wrestling , headed by Antonio Inoki , used Inoki's "strong style" approach of wrestling as a combat sport, influenced strongly by the styles of catch wrestlers such as Lou Thesz , Karl Gotch , and Billy Robinson . Wrestlers incorporated kicks and strikes from martial arts disciplines, and a strong emphasis was placed on submission wrestling . Inoki became known for "different styles fights" which were predetermined matches against practitioners of various martial arts. This led to

1640-484: Was arranged on November 23, 2002 in Tokyo, and it has since experienced a dramatic increase in popularity possibly in large part due to their highly different rule format. In this event, not only usual MMA matches but MMA tag match also was held among Takumi Yano , Masakazu Imanari and Remigijus Morkevicius , Mindaugas Stankos . On November 23, 2003, "ZST GP Opening" was held in Tokyo. On May 17, 2008, ZST announced

1681-408: Was the dominant joshi organization from the 1970s to the 1990s. AJW's first major star was Mach Fumiake in 1974, followed in 1975 by Jackie Sato and Maki Ueda, known as the " Beauty Pair ". The early 1980s saw the fame of Jaguar Yokota and Devil Masami , major stars of the second wave of excellent workers who took the place of the glamour-based "Beauty Pair" generation. That decade would later see

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