Big Japan Pro Wrestling

Pwcompanybox
name = Big Japan Pro Wrestling
acronym = BJW
established = 1995
style = Deathmatch
location = Japan
founder = Shin’ya Kojika
owner = Shin’ya Kojika
parent =
sister =
formerly =
merged =

"Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW)" is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests.

History

Big Japan Pro Wrestling was founded in March 1995 by former AJPW wrestlers Shinya Kojika and Kendo Nagasaki, during the boom period for Deathmatch wrestling in Japan. Kendo Nagasaki left in 1999; Shinya Kojika is still president of the company to date.

The promotion followed in the footsteps of organisations such as Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and the International Wrestling Association of Japan (IWA Japan), who helped popularise a hard-hitting, violent and bloody style of wrestling known as the Deathmatch. These matches are usually weapon filled, using both “conventional” weapons (such as chairs and tables), as well as “extreme” weapons not usually seen in main-stream wrestling, and previously unused in wrestling at all. These weapons include, but are by no means limited to, nails, thumbtacks, fire and fluorescent light tubes. Barbed wire is also often used liberally in these matches, sometimes wrapped around other weapons, laid on the floor surrounding the ring, wrapped around the ring ropes or even replacing the ropes altogether. In it early years, BJW was unable to directly compete with the budgets of its competition. This led to the innovation of a number of unique gimmick matches, many of which helped hide its monetary shortcomings. These include:

*Circus Deathmatch- above the ring is a scaffold and under that scaffold there is a type of circus net made of barbed wire. When a wrestler falls off of the scaffold the barbed wire spider net is there to “catch” the wrestlers. After a wrestler, or a team of wrestlers, have been thrown into the net it is cut down and the match continues to a pin fall.
*Piranha Deathmatch- Barbed wire boards are placed in the corners. In the middle of the ring, there is a tank full of Piranhas. To win you must hold your opponent in the tank for ten seconds.
*Scorpion Deathmatch- This match is similar to the Piranha Deathmatch. However, instead of barbed wire boards, there are two cacti. And instead of Piranhas, there is a tank full of scorpions.
*Crocodile Deathmatch- Two wrestlers compete in a non-specific death match. The loser of the match must then go on to wrestle a crocodile.(This match has only been performed once in a death-match between ShadowWX & Mitsuhiro Matsunaga.)
*Fire Stone Deathmatch- Both the inside and outsides of the ring are lined with electrified space heaters wrapped in barbed wire. The match is won by pin fall.
*Big Japan W*ING Crisis Big Born Deathmatch- Barbed-wire-board, thumbtacks, bed-of-nails, circus-style-scaffold into a barbed-wire-trampoline, tub of scorpions, cactus plants, light bulbs, fire stones, dry Ice, barbed-wire-bat, drills, swords, knives and buzzsaws.

Away from the Deathmatches, BJW also has had well-established normal wrestling titles. On February 3, 1998, Yoshihiro Tajiri won a one night only 8 man tournament in Tokyo to crown BJW’s first World Junior Heavyweight Champion. This match showed a distinct departure from the violent matches BJW is known for. The company also has had a World Heavyweight Championship, a World Women’s Championship, a World Tag Team Championship, and a World 4-Man Tag Team Shuffle Championship. Although the World Tag Team titles and Deathmatch titles are the only ones still active.

Inter-promotional feuds

Big Japan has feuded with both New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). These were both kayfabe feuds that were done in order to generate more income for both companies. During late 1996 and early 1997, Big Japan entered into an agreement with New Japan. Being a relatively new promotion, BJW was in need of mainstream publicity. NJPW agreed to a feud, which would allow Big Japan wrestlers to appear in their company and use New Japan’s popularity to give exposure to their company. In return, Big Japan agreed to lose the feud and the majority of the inter-promotional matches, therefore strengthening the New Japan brand. The situation provided an interesting clash of wrestling styles, as NJPW often favoured a strong style of competition. The biggest show featuring both companies occurred at the Tokyo Dome on 4th January 1997.

In the late 1990’s and into the 2000’s, Big Japan competed against Combat Zone Wrestling. CZW was a relatively new American promotion at the time, and also largely focused on an extreme style of wrestling. Wrestlers feuded in both companies having matches in the United States and Japan. During the CZW feud top star Tomoaki Honma departed the company to become a freelancer. He would later sign with All Japan Pro WrestlingIn october 2008 BJW will face Chikara Pro in The Global Gaunlet.

Fighters

Current roster

*Shadow WX
*Ryuji Ito
*Abdullah Kobayashi
*Jaki Numazawa
*Daisuke Sekimoto
*Jun Kasai
*Yuko Miyamoto
*MEN's Teioh
*Tetsuhiro Kuroda
*Mammoth Sasaki
*Katsumasa Inoue
*Hiroyuki Kondo
*Daikokubo Benkei
*Yuichi Taniguchi
*MIYAWAKI
*GENTARO
*Hakaru Imai
*Shinobu
*Atsushi Ohashi
*Asian Cougar
*Saburo Inematsu
*MASADA
*Mad Man Pondo
*Necro Butcher
*Craig Classic

Alumni

*Kintaro Kanemura
*BADBOY Hido
*Abdullah The Butcher
*Yoshihiro Tajiri
*Tomoaki Honma
*Ryuji Yamakawa
*Mitsuhiro Matsunaga
*The W*inger
*Homicide
*Mr. Pogo
*Shoji Nakamaki
*Kendo Nagasaki
*Tarzan Goto
*Crazy Sheik ("Mr. Hardcore" Rico Suave)
*Mike Samples
*Jason Ray
*Sterling James Keenan

Championships

Current

*BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Champion: Shadow WX
*BJW World Tag Team Champions: Mammoth Sasaki and Daisuke Sekimoto

Defunct

"Champions listed were the last to hold these titles."
*BJW World Heavyweight Champion: Men's Teioh
*BJW World Junior Heavyweight Champion: Homicide
*BJW World Women's Champion: Kaori Yoneyama
*BJW World 8-Man Scramble Champion: The Great Kojika

Former

*FMW/WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship: Hido and YOSHIYA small|(last to hold the title in BJW before it moved to Kaientai Dojo)

External links

* [http://www.bjw.co.jp/ Official site in Japanese]
* [http://www.bjwfans.com/ Fan site in english]
* [http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/other/bjpwtit.htm BJW title history]