History of Puroresu

pre-1940s - 1940s - 1950s - 1960s - 1970s - 1980s - 1990s - 2000s

2000s

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009

Naomichi Marufuji

2000

01/04	Kazuo Yamazaki retires at New Japan's Tokyo Dome card. Both Akira Maeda and Nobuhiko Takada are in attendance. Maeda has a meeting with Antonio Inoki and New Japan president Tatsumi Fujinami after the card. Also, Kenzo Suzuki debuts on the same card. Kensuke Sasaki defeats Gen'ichiro Tenryu in Tokyo to win IWGP Heavyweight Title.
	Manami Toyota defeats Yumiko Hotta in Tokyo to win WWWA World Title.
01/07	OBITUARY: Gary Albright (36) [Pennsylvania, heart attack during a match]
01/30	Dream Stage Entertainment promotes the first round of PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 tournament at Tokyo Dome. Kazuyuki Fujita, formerly with New Japan, defeats Han Nyman in 2:48. Masaaki Satake, formerly with Seido Kaikan karte, lost to Mark Coleman in 1:14.
02/20	Vader & Steve Williams defeat Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama in Kobe to win World Tag Team Title (All Japan).
02/27	Kenta Kobashi defeats Vader in Tokyo to win Triple Crown Heavyweight Title.
04/07	After being defeated by Naoya Ogawa once again at Tokyo Dome, Shin'ya Hashimoto announces his retirement.
04/09	Following the first round of the 16-man tournament in Sendai, Michinoku promotes the final rounds of Super J-Cup 3rd Stage at Ryogoku Kokugikan. Jushin Thunder Liger defeats CIMA in final.
04/19	OBITUARY: Masakazu Fukuda (27) [internal bleeding in brain]
04/21	New Japan's Kuniaki Kobayashi retires. Satoru Sayama is in attendance, and Dynamite Kid sends a message for the ceremony.
05/01	Kazushi Sakuraba defeats Royce Gracie in the second round of the PRIDE Grand Prix tournament after six 15-min rounds of the battle. Also, Kazuyuki Fujita, a former New Japan wrestler, defeats Mark Kerr.
05/13	OBITUARY: Jumbo Tsuruta (49) [Manila, Philippines - failure of a liver transport surgery]
05/20	Tomoko Watanabe & Kumiko Maekawa vacate WWWA World Tag Team Title.
05/28	Mitsuharu Misawa is removed from the position as the president of All Japan Pro-Wrestling by the majority votes of the executive board. He and some other wrestlers have had conflict with Motoko Baba, a widow of late Giant Baba.
06/09	Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue defeat Takao Ohmori & Yoshihiro Takayama in 4-team tournament final in Tokyo to win the vacant World Tag Team Title (All Japan).
06/13	All Japan holds a regular board meeting. Following Mitsuharu Misawa, six more members resign from their position. Three days later, 24 former All Japan wrestlers have a press conference and annouce the starting of new promotion.
06/25	Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka defeat Shinjiro Ohtani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa in Tokyo to win IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title.
06/29	Gran Hamada & Ayako Hamada defeat Minoru Tanaka & Yumi Fukawa in 14-team P*MIX championship tournament. The Hamadas become the first mixed gender tag team champions in the world as well as the first parent-child tag team champions in Japan.
07/02	Gen'ichiro Tenryu appears on an All Japan card for the first time in ten years. He greets to the remaining members and the fans from the ring.
	Naoya Ogawa vacates NWA World Heavyweight Title.
07/16	Momoe Nakanishi & Nanae Takahashi defeat Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita in 6-team tournament final in Tokyo to win the vacant WWWA World Tag Team Title.
07/30	Riki Choshu returns to the ring only to destroy Atsushi Ohnita at 7'46" in a death match for New Japan's Yokohama Arena card.
08/05	Mitsuharu Misawa's new group "Pro-Wrestling NOAH" has the first card at Differ Ariake.
08/22	OBITUARY: "Professor" Toru Tanaka (70) [heart attack]
09/17	Kaoru Itoh defeats Manami Toyota in Tokyo to win WWWA World Title.
10/09	All Japan's top star Toshiaki Kawada defeats New Japan's IWGP Heavyweight champion Kensuke Sasaki at Tokyo Dome in a non-title match. Sasaki vacates the title immediately after the match. On the opening card, Shin'ya Hashimoto comes out of retirement and defeats Tatsumi Fujinami.
10/28	Gen'ichiro Tenryu defeats Toshiaki Kawada in 8-man tournament final in Tokyo to win the vacant Triple Crown Heavyweight Title.
11/15	New Japan announces the release of Shin'ya Hashimoto from the organization. Hashimoto has started a new group called "ZERO"(later renamed "ZERO-ONE") in the previous month.
12/22	OBITUARY: Yoshihiro Momota (54) [liver failure] - a son of Rikidozan and one of the founding members of All Japan and NOAH

2001

01/04	Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita defeat Momoe Nakanishi & Nanae Takahashi in Tokyo to win WWWA World Tag Team Title.
	Kensuke Sasaki defeats Toshiaki Kawada in 6-man one-night tournament final in Tokyo to win the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Title.
01/14	Taiyo Kea (Maunakea Mossman) & Johnny Smith defeat Toshiaki Kawada & Masanobu Fuchi in Tokyo to win the vacant World Tag Team Title (All Japan).
01/28	Stan Hansen has retirement ceremony on All Japan card at Tokyo Dome.
03/02	Shin'ya Hashimoto's "ZERO-ONE" has debut card at Ryogoku Kokugikan.
03/06	Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai defeat Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka in Tokyo to win IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title.
03/17	Scott Norton defeats Kensuke Sasaki in Nagoya to win IWGP Heavyweight Title.
03/20	Yumi Fukawa has retirement match against Mariko Yoshida at Korakuen Hall.
04/09	Kazuyuki Fujita defeats Scott Norton in Tokyo to win IWGP Heavyweight Title.
04/24	OBITUARY: Johnny Valentine (71) - one of Antonio Inoki's biggest rivals
06/08	Keiji Mutoh defeats Gen'ichiro Tenryu to win Triple Crown Heavyweight Title. Masahito Kakihara & Mitsuya Nagai defeat Yuuji Nagata & Shin'ya Makabe in Tokyo to win the vacant All Asia Tag Team Title on the same card.
07/14	Gen'ichiro Tenryu & Yoji Anjoh defeat Taiyo Kea (Maunakea Mossman) & Johnny Smith in Tokyo to win World Tag Team Title (All Japan).
07/16	OBITUARY: Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy (40) [Tennessee - heart failure] - the original Freebird
07/20	Jado & Gedo defeat Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai in Sapporo to win IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title.
07/27	OBITUARY: "Monster Ripper" Rhonda Singh (40) [suicide]
	Tomoko Watanabe & Nanae Takahashi defeat Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita in Tokyo to win WWWA World Tag Team Title.
07/30	Atsushi Ohnita is eleceted as a senator from the majority Liberal Democratic Party. He is the third pro-wrestler to become a congressman in Japan following Antonio Inoki and Hiroshi Hase.
08/06	Tajiri defeats X-Pac in Anaheim to win WWF World Light Heavyweight Title.
08/19	X-Pac defeats Tajiri in San Jose to win WWF World Light Heavyweight Title.
09/08	Arashi & Kouki Kitahara defeat Nobutaka Araya & Shigeo Okumura in Tokyo to win the vacant All Asia Tag Team Title.
10/08	New Japan has memorial card for 50th year of puroresu at Tokyo Dome. In main event, Yuji Nagata (New Japan) & Jun Akiyama (NOAH) defeat Mutoh (New Japan) & Hiroshi Hase (All Japan). Earlier on the card, Fujinami has his 30th anniversary match, teaming with Bob Backlund to defeat Dory Funk Jr. & Terry Funk.
10/13	NWA World Heavyweight Title is held-up after a match between the champion Steve Corino and Shin'ya Hashimoto in St. Petersburg, FL when Corino is unable to continue due to injury.
10/22	Hayabusa (FMW) is paralyzed due to an accident during a match against Mommoth Suzuki.
	Keiji Mutoh & Taiyo Kea defeat Gen'ichiro Tenryu & Yoji Anjoh in Niigata to win World Tag Team Title (All Japan).
10/28	All Japan's World Tag Team champions Mutoh & Taiyo Kea defeat New Japan's IWGP Tag Team champions Fujianmi & Osamu Nishimura and become the firs team to hold the titles from both organizations.
11/02	Osamu Kido, one of the original members of New Japan, retires. He teams with Choshu to face Fujinami & Kengo Kimura to a 10min time limit draw.
11/06	OBITUARY: Shinji Ueda [heart failure] - long-time commissioner of All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling
12/15	Shin'ya Hashimoto defeats the champion Steve Corino and Gary Steele in a round-robin triangle match in McKeesport, PA to win NWA World Heavyweight Title.

2002

01/04	Rumi Kazama & Takako Inoue defeat Tomoko Watanabe & Nanae Takahashi in Tokyo to win WWWA World Tag Team Title.
	Kazuyuki Fujita vacates IWGP Heavyweight Title due to injury.
01/14	Arashi & Kouki Kitahara vacate All Asia Tag Team Title.
01/18	Keiji Mutoh leaves New Japan. Shortly after, Satoshi Kojima and several others including office employees leave the promotion.
02/15	FMW closes.
	RINGS has its final card.
02/16	Tadao Yasuda defeats Yuuji Nagata in 7-man tournament final in Tokyo to win the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Title.
02/24	Manami Toyota defeats Kaoru Itoh in Yokohama to win WWWA World Title.
	Toshiaki Kawada defeats Keiji Mutoh in Tokyo to win Triple Crown Heavyweight Title.
03/09	With a fast count by the referee, Dan Severn defeats Shin'ya Hashimoto in Tokyo to win NWA World Heavyweight Title
03/11	OBITUARY: Kiyoshi Sagawa [heart failure] - president of Sagawa Express and owner of New Japan Pro-Wrestling
03/28	Toshiaki Kawada vacates Triple Crown Heavyweight Title due to a knee injury.
03/29	All Japan Women's TV program on Fuji TV is cancelled.
04/05	Yuuji Nagata defeats Tadao Yasuda in Tokyo to win IWGP Heavyweight Title.
04/07	Akira Hokuto has retirement match on GAEA JAPAN card in Yokohama, teaming with Meiko Satomura to face Chigusa Nagayo & Ayako Hamada.
04/13	Gen'ichiro Tenryu defeats Toshiaki Kawada in Tokyo to win the vacant Triple Crown Heavyweight Title. Also on the same card, Arashi & Nobutaka Araya defeat Mitsuya Nagai & Shigeo Okumura in Tokyo to win the vacant All Asia Tag Team Title.
04/14	Hiromichi Fuyuki, no longer able continue to wrestle due to a stomach cancer, has retirement match on NOAH card at Differ Ariake, teaming with Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa to face the team of Akira Taue, Masao Inoue, & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi.
04/18	OBITUARY: Wahoo McDaniel (63) [diabetes]
04/21	Taka Michinoku's KAIENTAI-DOJO has the debut card at Differ Ariake.
04/28	OBITUARY: Lou Thesz (86) [heart failure]
	Bob Sapp has his first MMA match on PRIDE 20 against Norihisa Yamamoto.
	Tomezo Tsunokake, a midget wrestler, has retirement match against Mr. Buttaman.
05/02	In the first female match ever on New Japan card, Manami Toyota & Yumiko Hotta face Kaoru Itoh & Momoe Nakanishi at Tokyo Dome. Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru Tanaka defeat Jado & Gedo to win IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title on the same card.
05/05	Hiromichi "Kohdoh" Fuyuki has an opening card for his newly created "World Entertainment Wrestling" with some of the former FMW stars.
05/13	OBITUARY: George Gordienko (74) [brain tumor]
05/16	OBITUARY: Shouichi Arai [committs suicide] - former president, Frontier Martial-arts Wrestling
05/17	OBITUARY: Davey Boy Smith (39) [heart failure]
07/06	Kaoru Itoh defeats Manami Toyota in Tokyo to win WWWA World Title. Momoe Nakanishi & Nanae Takahashi defeat Rumi Kazama & Takako Inoue in Tokyo to win WWWA World Tag Team Title.
07/17	Brian Adams & Brian Clark defeat Keiji Mutoh & Taiyo Kea in Osaka to win World Tag Team Title (All Japan).
08/01	OBITUARY: Don Owen (90) - legendary promoter in Pacific Northwest
08/15	OBITUARY: Little Frankie (44) - Japanese midget wrestling legend
08/28	W.M.F. (Wrestling Marvelous Future) has its opening card with Hayabusa as the president.
08/29	Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeat Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru Tanaka in Tokyo to win IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title. Shinsuke Nakamura has his debut match at Nippon Budokan against Tadao Yasuda on the same card.
09/22	OBITUARY: Toshikuni Matsunaga (57) - former president, All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling
09/27	Atsushi Ohnita promotes a wrestling card in Afghanistan.
10/10	Brian Adams & Brian Clark vacate World Tag Team Title (All Japan) since Adams becomes a pro boxer.
10/19	OBITUARY: Miyuki Yanagi (64) former female wrestler and referee
10/20	Momoe Nakanishi defeats Kaoru Itoh in Kawasaki to win WWWA World Title.
10/23	Kaori Nakayama has retirement match at Korakuen Hall against Shark Tsuchiya.
10/27	Great Muta (Keiji Mutoh) defeats Gen'ichiro Tenryu in Tokyo to win Triple Crown Heavyweight Title.
11/22	OBITUARY: Thunder Sugiyama (62) [heart failure caused by diabetes]
11/24	Nobuhiko Takada has retirement match on PRIDE 23 at Tokyo Dome and loses to Kiyoshi Tamura.
11/28	New Japan's Hiroshi Tanahashi is stabbed by his girl friend.
11/29	Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita defeat Momoe Nakanishi & Nanae Takahashi in Tokyo to win WWWA World Tag Team Title.
12/06	Satoshi Kojima & Taiyo Kea win a 8-team round-robin tournament final in Tokyo to win the vacant World Tag Team Title (All Japan).
12/23	Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita vacate WWWA World Tag Team Title for not being able to win Tag League the Best '02.

2003

01/03	Mima Shimoda & Takako Inoue defeat Momoe Nakanishi & Kayo Noumi in Tokyo to win the vacant WWWA World Tag Team Title.
01/04	Yoshihiro Takayama defeats Tsuyoshi Kosaka in the final of 4-man tournament at Tokyo Dome to win the revived NWF Heavyweight Title. Also on the same card, former UFC champion Josh Barnett has the first pro-wrestling match, challenging Yuuji Nagata's IWGP Heavyweight Title.
01/09	OBITUARY: Naoto Morishita (42) [suicide] - PRIDE promoter
01/10	NOAH's Mitsuharu Misawa and New Japan's Masahiro Chono teams for the first time and lose to Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue on a NOAH card at Nippon Budokan.
01/18	OBITUARY: The Sheik (73) [lung failure]
01/26	Jushin Thunder Liger & Koji Kanemoto defeat Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru in Kobe to win IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title.
02/15	OBITUARY: Michiaki Yoshimura (76) - probably the greatest side player in the puroresu history
	Kiyoshi Tamura's U-STYLE has its debut card at Differ Ariake
02/23	Shin'ya Hashimoto defeats Great Muta (Keiji Mutoh) in Tokyo to win Triple Crown Heavyweight Title.
03/01	Riki Choshu's WJ Pro-Wrestling has the debut card at Yokohama Arena.
03/09	MMA fighter Ensen Inoue has his first pro-wrestling match in a 8-man tag team match at Nagoya Rainbow Hall.
03/19	OBITUARY: Hiromichi Fuyki (42) [after a one-year battle with cancer]
04/13	The Great Sasuke of Michinoku Pro-Wrestling is elected a congressman of Iwate Prefecture. He is the first masked wrestler in the world to become a politician.
04/18	Kengo Kimura has retirement match against Osamu Nishimura at Korakuen Hall.
04/20	Nanae Takahashi & Etsuko Mita defeat Mima Shimoda & Takako Inoue in Tokyo to win WWWA World Tag Team Title.
05/02	In a double title match, NWF Heavyweight champion Yoshihiro Takayama defeats Yuuji Nagata in Tokyo to win IWGP Heavyweight Title.
05/05	Chapparita ASARI has retirement match against Kyoko Inoue in a NEO card at Korakuen Hall.
05/08	Satoshi Kojima vacates World Tag Team Title (All Japan) because of no title defense almost for half a year due to his partner Taiyo Kea's absence.
05/11	Ayako Hamada defeats Momoe Nakanishi in Yokohama to win WWWA World Title.
06/01	Tomoko Watanabe & Kumiko Maekawa defeat Nanae Takahashi & Etsuko Mita in Sapporo to win WWWA World Tag Team Title.
06/02	OBITUARY: Fred Blassie (85)
06/08	Keiji Mutoh & Arashi win a one-night tournament in Yokohama to win the vacant World Tag Team Title (All Japan).
06/20	Arashi vacates All Asia Tag Team Title to concentrate on World Tag Team Title.
06/25	At the Iwate Prefecture congress, The Great Sasuke of Michinoku Pro-Wrestling is allowed to continue wearing the mask during the official activities.
07/19	Kohei Sato & Hirotaka Yokoi defeat Tomoaki Honma & Kazushi Miyamoto in a 5-team tournament final in Tokyo to win the vacant All Asia Tag Team Title.
07/25	AtoZ has the debut card at Kawasaki City Gym.
08/03	Rumi Kazama retires.
08/16	Shin'ya Hashimoto vacates Triple Crown Heavyweight Title due to knee injury.
08/28	Yoshihiro Takayama and Masahiro Chono wrestles in the first steel cage match ever to take place on a New Japan card.
09/06	Katsuhiko Nakajima has his debut match at the age of 15 against Jason Ray in Yokohama.
	Toshiaki Kawada defeats Shinjiro Otani in a tournament final in Tokyo to win the vacant Triple Crown Heavyweight Title.
09/08	OBITUARY: Great Antonio (77) [heart attack]
09/13	Mima Shimoda has retirement match at Ariake Coliseum.
09/15	Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue defeat Tomoko Watanabe & Kumiko Maekawa in Tokyo to win WWWA World Tag Team Title.
10/10	Kintaro Kanemura & Tetsuhiro Kuroda defeat Kohei Sato & Hirotaka Yokoi in Tokyo to win All Asia Tag Team Title.
10/16	OBITUARY: Stu Hart (88) [heart attack & lung failure]
	The Mask of Tiger (Satoru Sayama, the legendary original Tiger Mask) wrestles for All Japan for the first time and defeats Gran Hamada.
10/19	OBITUARY: Hawk Warrior (45) [heart attack]
10/28	OBITUARY: Mitsu Hirai (60) [heart failure]
11/03	Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeats Yoshihiro Takayama in Yokohama to win IWGP Heavyweight Title.
11/04	IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title is vacant due to co-holder Koji Kanemoto's injury on cheekbone.
11/20	WJ Pro-Wrestling releases all wrestlers due to financial problem.
11/29	Jado & Gedo defeat Yuusuke Goto & Hirooki Taguchi in Sendai to win the vacant IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title.
12/04	Dream Stage Entertainment holds a press conference to announce that a pro-wrestling event "Hustle 1" will be held on 2004/01/04 at Saitama Super Arena.
12/09	Shinsuke Nakamura defeats Hiroyoshi Tenzan in Osaka to win IWGP Heavyweight Title.
12/14	All Asia Tag Team Title is declared vacant due to Kanemura's illness.
12/22	Shoji Nakamaki retires in a 8-man tag match on a card promoted by Atsushi Onita at Korakuen Hall.
12/23	OBITUARY: Sunoe Matsunaga aka Yuriko Amami (67) - one of the first trainees in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling
12/25	Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Mr. Gannosuke defeat Tengukeiser & Jun Kasai in Tokyo to win the vacant All Asia Tag Team Title.
12/31	The MMA promotional war takes place when Inoki Bombaye 2003 (Antonio Inoki), Dynamite! (K-1), and PRIDE Otoko Matsuri (DSE) are held and aired on television at the same day. Former yokozuna Akebono has his first MMA match on Dynamite! and loses to Bob Sapp at Nagoya Dome.

2004

01/02	Great Kosuke (Satoshi Kojima) & Shiryu (Kaz Hayashi) defeat Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Mr. Gannosuke in Tokyo to win All Asia Tag Team Title.
01/03	Ayako Hamada & Nanae Takahashi defeat Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue in Tokyo to win WWWA World Tag Team Title.
01/04	Amazing Kong defeats Ayako Hamada in Tokyo to win WWWA World Title.
	IWGP Heavyweight champion Shinsuke Nakamura defeats Yoshihiro Takayama to win NWF Heavyweight Title to unify both titles.
	Hustle 1 is held at Saitama Super Arena.
01/05	Katsuhiko Nakajima has his first wrestling match at the age of 15 on a WJ card.
01/18	Satoshi Kojima & Kaz Hayashi defeat Keiji Mutoh & Arashi in Osaka to win World Tag Team Title (All Japan).
02/05	Shinsuke Nakamura vacates IWGP Heavyweight Title due to the injury from a match on 2003/12/31.
02/11	WMF has the last card at Korakuen Hall.
02/15	Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeats Gen'ichiro Tenryu in one-night 8-man tournament final in Tokyo to win the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Title.
03/12	Kensuke Sasaki defeats Hiroyoshi Tenzan in Tokyo to win IWGP Heavyweight Title. American Dragon (Brian Danielson) & Curry Man (Christopher Daniels) defeat Jado & Gedo to win IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title on the same card.
03/20	Akira Hokuto becomes the first female to appear on an All Japan card at Korakuen Hall.
03/28	Bob Sapp defeats Kensuke Sasaki in Tokyo to win IWGP Heavyweight Title.
04/03	New Japan's weekly television show on TV Asahi "World Pro-Wrestling" becomes a 30-min program.
04/04	M's Style has the debut card at Differ Ariake.
04/18	Kayo Noumi has retirement match against Kumiko Maekawa at Korakuen Hall.
05/02	Ayako Hamada defeats Amazing Kong in Tokyo to win WWWA World Title.
05/04	Mike Rutondo has retirement match at Korakuen Hall.
05/05	Fuyuki Army Promotion has its last card at Kawasaki Stadium.
05/18	OBITUARY: Sambo Asako (40) [diabetes]
05/22	Gen'ichiro Tenryu & Masanobu Fuchi defeat Great Kosuke (Satoshi Kojima) & Shiryu (Kaz Hayashi) in Tokyo to win All Asia Tag Team Title.
06/01	Bob Sapp vacates IWGP Heavyweight Title after losing to Kazuyuki Fujita in an MMA match on 2004/05/22 in Saitama.
06/05	Kazuyuki Fujita defeats Hiroshi Tanahashi in Osaka to win the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Title.
06/06	Also on the same card, Jado & Gedo defeat American Dragon (Brian Danielson) & Curry Man (Christopher Daniels) in Osaka to win IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title.
06/12	Kendo Kashin & Yuji Nagata defeat Satoshi Kojima & Kaz Hayashi in Nagoya to win World Tag Team Title (All Japan).
06/23	Masakazu Kusama becomes the New Japan president. Former president Tatsumi Fujinami becomes the vice-chairman of the board.
07/04	Kensuke Sasaki and his wife Akira Hokuto team in a match for the first time.
07/05	Toryumon Japan becomes Dragon Gate. Ultimo Dragon is no longer with the promotion.
08/19	Riki Choshu's "Riki Production" has the first card at Korakuen Hall.
08/22	Rie Tamada has retirement match at Korakuen Hall, teaming with Aja Kong to face Manami Toyota & Takako Inoue.
09/16	New Japan has its first chain death match with Masahiro Chono defeating Gen'ichiro Tenryu at Miyagi Prefecture Sports Center.
09/17	OBITUARY: Jim Barnett (80) [lung failure] - a legendary promoter in Australia, Detroit, and Georgia
09/22	OBITUARY: Big Boss Man (41)
10/06	Aja Kong & Amazing Kong defeat Nanae Takahashi & Hikaru in Tokyo to win the vacant WWWA World Tag Team Title.
10/09	Kensuke Sasaki defeats Kazuyuki Fujita in Tokyo to win IWGP Heavyweight Title.
10/12	OBITUARY: Samson Kutsuwada (57) [marrow leukemia] - the first one to wrestle under the Tiger Mask gimmick
10/14	Ultimo Dragon has the last match under the character at Korakuen Hall, teaming with Jushin Thunder Liger and The Great Sasuke to face the original, third, & fourth Tiger Masks.
10/31	Keiji Muto and Mitsuharu Misawa team for the first time and defeat the team of Kensuke Sasaki & Hiroshi Hase on an All Japan card at Ryogoku Kokugikan.
11/03	Mitsuya Nagai & Masayuki Naruse defeat Gen'ichiro Tenryu & Masanobu Fuchi in Tokyo to win All Asia Tag Team Title.
12/12	Nanae Takahashi defeats Ayako Hamada in Kawasaki to win WWWA World Title.
	Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeats Kensuke Sasaki in Nagoya to win IWGP Heavyweight Title.
12/16	World Tag Team Title (All Japan) is declared vacant due to no defense for longer than six months.
12/22	ZERO-ONE has its last card at Korakuen Hall. The promotion becomes ZERO1-Max with Shin'ya Hashimoto no longer as the president.
12/29	Nanae Takahashi vacates WWWA World Title due to injury.

2005

01/03	Kumiko Maekawa defeats Ayako Hamada in Tokyo to win the vacant WWWA World Title.
01/07	Momoe Nakanishi has retirement match against Nanae Takahashi at Korakuen Hall.
01/16	Taiyo Kea & Jamal defeat Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yutaka Yoshie in Osaka to win the vacant World Tag Team Title (All Japan).
01/23	ZERO1-MAX, formerly Pro-Wrestling ZERO-ONE, has the first card since the company was renamed upon the resignation of the president Shin'ya Hashimoto.
02/02	Bull Buchanan & Rico (Constantino) defeat Mitsuya Nagai & Masayuki Naruse in Tokyo to win All Asia Tag Team Title.
02/05	The 7th annivarsary card for Giant Baba's death is held at Nippon Budokan. Motoko Baba, the widow, retired from the pro-wrestling business.
02/16	Satoshi Kojima defeats Toshiaki Kawada in Tokyo to win Triple Crown Heavyweight Title.
02/20	Triple Crown Heavyweight champion Satoshi Kojima defeats Hiroyoshi Tenzan in Tokyo to win IWGP Heavyweight Title.
03/04	Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue defeat Jado & Gedo in Tokyo to win IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title.
03/26	Atsushi Onita has a "graduation" match at Korakuen Hall, teaming with Ichiro Yaguchi to face the team of Gen'ichiro Tenryu & Shiro Koshinaka.
	HERO'S has the debut card at Saitama Super Arena.
04/03	Lioness Asuka has retirement match on a GAEA JAPAN card at Yokohama Culture Gym, teaming with Chigusa Nagayo to face Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima.
04/10	GAEA JAPAN has its final card at Korakuen Hall. All titles are vacated. Chigusa Nagayo has retirement match against Meiko Satomura. Sakura Hirota and Ayana Mizumura also retire on the same card.
	ZERO1-Max holds the first wrestling card in 44 years at Yasukuni Shrine.
04/17	All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, the oldest promotion in Japan, has its final card.
05/14	During a New Japan card at Tokyo Dome, Tatsumi Fujinami & Mitsuharu Misawa team for the first time and defeat Masahiro Chono & Jushin Thunder Liger. Also on the same card, Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeats Satoshi Kojima to win IWGP Heavyweight Title, and Minoru (Tanaka) & Hirooki Goto defeat Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue to win IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title.
05/27	All Asia Tag Team Title is declared vacant after Rico Constantino retires.
06/19	Shuji Kondo & Brother YASSHI defeat Tomoaki Honma & Katsuhiko Nakajima in a 8-team tournament final in Tokyo to win the vacant All Asia Tag Team Title.
07/11	OBITUARY: Shin'ya Hashimoto (40) [internal bleeding in the brain]
07/18	Kazuyuki Fujita defeats Hiroyoshi Tenzan in Sapporo to win IWGP Heavyweight Title.
07/26	Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima defeatShuji Kondo & Brother YASSHI in Tokyo to win All Asia Tag Team Title.
08/25	Black Tiger (4th) defeats Jason Rumble in Columbia, TN to win NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title.
10/08	NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion Black Tiger (4th) defeats Tiger Mask (4th) in Tokyo to win IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title.
	In the first 3-way match every for IWGP Heavyweight Title, Brock Lesnar wins the match against the champion Kazuyuki Fujita and Masahiro Chono by pinning Chono.
10/22	OBITUARY: Crusher Lisowski (79)
11/13	OBITUARY: Eddy Guerrero (38)
11/14	New Japan president Simon Kelly Inoki announces the aquisition of Antonio Inoki's 51.5% share of the company by Yukes, a video game company.

2006

01	Taiyo Kea & Jamal vacate the World Tag Team Title (All Japan) when Jamal leaves All Japan.
01/15	King's Road has its opening card at Korakuen Hall.
01/28	OBITUARY: Black Cat (51) [heart failure]
02/19	Tiger Mask (4th) defeats Black Tiger (4th) in Tokyo to win NWA World & IWGP junior heavyweight titles.
03/26	Haruka Eigen has retirement match, teaming with Jun Akiyama against Akira Taue & Masao Inoue.
	Kumiko Maekawa has retirement match at Korakuen Hall and loses the WWWA World Title to Nanae Takahashi. Takahashi, however, retires the title immediately after the match by returning the belt to Takashi Matsunaga, the chairman of All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling.
05/28	Kakihara Masahito has retirement match against Kouji Kanemoto at Korakuen Hall.
06/07	OBITUARY: John Tenta (42) [bladder cancer]
06/20	Tatsumi Fujinami, who has been with New Japan since its opening, gives a notice of resignation to the company.
07/03	Taiyo Kea defeats Satoshi Kojima in Tokyo to win Triple Crown Heavyweight Title.
07/08	Jado & Gedo defeat Minoru (Tanaka) & Hirooki Goto in Shizuoka to win IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title.
07/12	Former New Japan ring announcer Hidekazu Tanaka, along with Tatsumi Fujinami, Osamu Nishimura, Hiro Saito, and Tatsutoshi Goto, have a press conference to announce the start of their new company, "Muga World Pro-Wrestling".
07/15	Brock Lesnar is stripped of the IWGP Heavyweight Title due to a contractual issue but refuses to return the belt.
07/17	Hiroshi Tanahashi wins the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Title, defeating Giant Bernard in a 6-man tournament final in Sapporo.
07/27	WAR has its final card ato Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
08/27	Hiroshi Hase retires on All Japan's card at Ryogoku Kokugikan.
09/03	Minoru Suzuki defeat Taiyo Kea to win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Title in Sapporo.
09/12	Global Professional Wrestling Alliance is formed with various organizations in Japan as well as European Wrestling Association and some American organizations such as Ring of Honor, WORLD-1, and WLW. The first chairman is Mitsuharu Misawa .
09/15	Muga World Pro-Wrestling has its first card in Fukuoka.
10/26	OBITUARY: Kintaro Ohki (77) [heart failure]
11/24	GPWA has its first card at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
12/13	OBITUARY: Yoshihiro Inoue (72, one of the most respected puroresu journalists) [stomach cancer]

2007

01/19	OBITUARY: Bam Bam Bigelow (45)
02/11	Kensuke Sasaki's "Kensuke Office" has its first card.
02/17	OBITUARY: Mike Awesome (42)
	Toshiaki Kawada & Taiyo Kea defeat Suwama & RO'Z to win the vacant World Tag Team Title (All Japan) in Tokyo.
03/06	OBITUARY: Bad News Allen (63) [heart failure]
03/12	Former New Japan wrestler Katsuyori Shibata has his first MMA match on "HERO'S" card at Nagoya Rainbow Hall. He defeats former RINGS Japan star Yoshihisa Yamamoto by KO.
03/27	Dream Stage Entertainement sells the promotional rights of the PRIDE events to Zuffa, the promoter of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
04/08	Dream Stage Entertainement promotes its last PRIDE card at Saitama Super Arena.
04/11	Chavo Guerrero (Sr.) has his Japanese retirement match against Tatsumi Fujinami on a Muga card at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
04/13	Yuji Nagata defeats Hiroshi Tanahashi in Osaka to win the IWGP Heavyweight Title.
04/27	Yukio Sakaguchi, the first son of Seiji Sakaguchi, has his debut match on Pancrase card at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
05/01	A new company "Hustle Entertainment" buys the right to the Hustle events from Dream State Entertainment.
05/02	Dick Togo & TAKA Michinoku defat Jado & Gedo to win the IWGP Junior Tag Team Title in Tokyo.
05/20	LLPW veteran Eagle Sawai has retirement match, teaming with Mayumi Ozaki against Harley Saito & Dynamite Kansai at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
06/23	OBITUARY: Chris Benoit (40) [suicide]
06/29	Antonio Inoki's new group, "Inoki Genome Federation", has its first card at Ryogoku Kokugikan.
	Kurt Angle defeats Brock Lesnar for the third version of the IWGP Heavyweight Title belt on an IGF card in Tokyo without the authorization by New Japan.
07/16	JD Star, a women's group, has its final card at Shinkiba 1st Ring in Tokyo.
07/23	OBITUARY: Tor Kamata (70) [heart failure]
07/28	OBITUARY: Karl Gotch (82)
08/26	Kensuke Sasaki defeat Minoru Suzuki to win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Title in Tokyo.
	Satoshi Kojima & TARU defeat Toshiaki Kawada & Taiyo Kea to win the World Tag Team Title (All Japan) in Tokyo.
10/04	PRIDE Japan office closes.
10/08	Hiroshi Tanahashi defeats Yuji Nagata to win the IWGP Heavyweight Title in Tokyo.
10/19	Osamu Nishimura leaves Muga to join All Japan.
11/29	Muga terminates the contract with Tatsutoshi Goto.
12/09	Michiko Ohmukai has retirement match at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo.

2008

01/03	Keiji Mutoh & Joe Doring defeat Satoshi Kojima & TARU to win the World Tag Team Title (All Japan) in Tokyo.
01/04	Shinsuke Nakamura defeats Hiroyoshi Tenzan in Tokyo to win IWGP Heavyweight Title.
01/27	Minoru (Tanaka) & Prince Devitt defeat Dick Togo & TAKA Michinoku to win the IWGP Junior Tag Team Title in Tokyo.
02/17	Shinsuke Nakamura defeats Kurt Angle to unify the third version of the IWGP Heavyweight Title belt in Tokyo.
	Jushin Thunder Liger & AKIRA defeat Minoru & Prince Devitt to win the IWGP Junior Tag Team Title in Tokyo.
03/01	Dory Funk Jr. has his Japanese retirement match on All Japan card at Ryogoku Kokugikan, teaming with Osamu Nishimura to defeat Gen'ichiro Tenryu & Masanobu Fuchi.
03/16	OBITUARY: Gary Hart (66, managed the Great Kabuki, Dragon Master, and Great Muta in the US) [heart failure]
04/27	Keiji Mutoh defeats Shinsuke Nakamura to win the IWGP Heavyweight Title in Osaka.
04/29	Suwama defeat Kensuke Sasaki to win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Title in Nagoya.
06/21	OBITUARY: Great Kusatu (66)
06/28	Taiyo Kea & Minoru Suzuki defeat Keiji Mutoh & Joe Doring to win the World Tag Team Title (All Japan) in Osaka.
07/21	Minoru (Tanaka) & Prince Devitt defeat Jushin Thunder Liger & AKIRA to win the IWGP Junior Tag Team Title in Sapporo.
09/28	Great Muta defeat Suwama to win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Title in Yokohama.
10/13	Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito defeat Minoru & Prince Devitt to win the IWGP Junior Tag Team Title in Tokyo.

2009

01/03	Keiji Mutoh & Masakatsu Funaki defeat Taiyo Kea & Minoru Suzuki to win the World Tag Team Title (All Japan) in Tokyo.
01/04	Hiroshi Tanahashi defeats Keiji Mutoh to win the IWGP Heavyweight Title in Tokyo.
	Alex Shelly & Chris Sabin defeat Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito to win the IWGP Junior Tag Team Title in Tokyo.
02/19	The Great Sasuke is arrested for a physical assault against a fan who took a photo of Sasuke in a train without permission.
03/14	Yoshihiro Takayama defeat Great Muta to win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Title in Tokyo.
03/29	Nippon Television airs its last over-the-air weekly episode of pro-wrestling after 55 years since the Rikidozan era.
05/06	Manabu Nakanishi defeats Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the IWGP Heavyweight Title in Tokyo.
06/13	OBITUARY: Mitsuharu Misawa (46)
06/15	OBITUARY: Tetsuo "Ted" Tanabe (46)
06/20	Hiroshi Tanahashi defeats Manabu Nakanishi to win the IWGP Heavyweight Title in Osaka.
06/30	Yoshi Tatsu, a former New Japan wrestler Naofumi Yamamoto, debuts on a WWE brand, ECW.
07/05	Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt defeat Alex Shelly & Chris Sabin to win the IWGP Junior Tag Team Title in Tokyo.
07/11	OBITUARY: Takashi Matsunaga (73, founder and chairman of All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling) [pneumonia]
08/17	Hiroshi Tanahashi vacates the IWGP Heavyweight Title due to the fractured eye socket.
08/23	Dynamic Dream Team has the first Ryogoku Kokugikan card, drawing 8,000.
08/30	Former Pancrase star Masakatsu Funaki returns to the traditional style of puroresu when he teams with Keiji Mutoh to face Masahiro Chono & Minoru Suzuki at Ryogoku Kokugikan on an All Japan card.
09/02	Dragon Gate holds a press conference to make a public apology regarding the animal abuse on which police has been investigating since the spring. Several wrestlers have posted photo of their pet monkey being abused.
09/26	Satoshi Kojima defeat Yoshihiro Takayama to win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Title in Yokohama.
09/27	Shinsuke Nakamura defeats Togi Makabe for the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Title in Kobe.
10/18	OBITUARY: Ryuma Go (53) [sepsis]
10/28	Hustle announces the cancellation of four of the five remaining cards for the year.
11/20	Jun Kasai defeats Ryuji Ito in a "razor board plus alpha death match" on a BJW card at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. This match is voted as the Match of Year in the annual Puroresu Awards.
12/14	Yoshi Tatsu, a former New Japan wrestler Naofumi Yamamoto, debuts on WWE RAW.
12/23	Huslte office/dojo closes down.

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