CyberFight
CyberFight, Inc. (株式会社CyberFight, Kabushiki gaisha CyberFight), operating simply as CyberFight (CF), is a Japanese professional wrestling parent company based in Tokyo. It is a subsidiary of the CyberAgent internet advertising company. CyberFight serves as an umbrella brand for two existing promotions: Pro Wrestling Noah and DDT Pro-Wrestling and for DDT's two sub-brands Ganbare Pro-Wrestling and Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling.[4]
CyberFight | |
Native name | 株式会社CyberFight |
Romanized name | Kabushiki gaisha CyberFight |
Type | Subsidiary |
Industry | |
Founded | July 27, 2020 |
Headquarters | Shiratori Building, 1F, 2-1-2 Shinjuku, Shinjuku, , Japan |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | |
| |
Total assets |
|
Total equity |
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Parent | CyberAgent |
Divisions | |
Website | cyber-fight |
Footnotes / references [1][2][3] |
History
DDT Pro-Wrestling
In April 1997, following the success of the first Judgement event held on March 25, Sanshiro Takagi, Mikami and Nosawa Rongai left the Pro Wrestling Crusaders promotion to start their own promotion called Dramatic Dream Team with Takagi and Shoichi Ichimiya as owners. In June 2000, the promotion was incorporated as Dramatic Dream Team, Co., Ltd. (有限会社ドラマチック・ドリーム・チーム, Yūgen gaisha Doramachikku Dorīmu Chīmu) and Koichiro Kimura was appointed director. In 2003, Ichimiya was appointed representative director. In April 2004, the company changed its name to DDT Pro-Wrestling, Co., Ltd. (有限会社DDTプロレスリング, Yūgen gaisha Dī Dī Tī Puroresuringu). On December 28, 2005, Ichimiya announced his retirement from professional wrestling and stepped down from his position in the company, leaving Takagi as the sole owner and new president. In 2009, DDT changed its legal form of incorporation to a kabushiki gaisha.
Pro Wrestling Noah
On January 31, 1999, All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) founder Giant Baba died and left the company to his widow Motoko Baba as owner and Mitsuharu Misawa as president. Disagreements over the proposed direction for the company led Misawa to leave AJPW on May 28, 2000, to form a new promotion called Pro Wrestling Noah. He was followed in this venture by almost the entire AJPW roster. The promotion quickly rose in popularity and was even named best promotion in 2004 and 2005, as well as having the best weekly television show in 2003 by the Wrestling Observer.
On June 13, 2009, after taking a belly to back suplex from Akitoshi Saito, Misawa lost consciousness in the ring and was taken to a hospital. He was pronounced dead in the hospital later that day due to spinal damage.[5] Two weeks later, Akira Taue was named as Misawa's successor, taking over as president of Noah.
In March 2012, a scandal revealed that some of the Noah management had had ties to a Yakuza syndicate between 2003 and 2010. As part of the fallout, Noah lost its TV show. In the years that followed, many major stars such as Kenta Kobashi, Kenta and Jun Akiyama left the company.
On October 1, 2016, it was announced that Noah had been purchased by IT company Estbee, Co., Ltd. As a result, former AJPW president Masayuki Uchida replaced Taue as president.[6] On November 7, Estbee changed its legal name to Noah Global Entertainment, Inc. (ノア・グローバルエンタテインメント株式会社, Noa Gurōbaru Entateinmento Kabushiki gaisha). At the end of 2016, relations between Noah and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) reportedly turned "extremely sour" and NJPW pulled all of its wrestlers from Noah. In the months following the end of the relationship, Noah's attendance numbers went down by 29%.[7] On January 29, 2019, Uchida announced that Lidet Entertainment had acquired 75% of Noah's shares.[8]
CyberAgent and the creation of CyberFight
On September 1, 2017, 100% of DDT's shares were sold to the CyberAgent company. Sanshiro Takagi remained as the DDT president. On January 28, 2020, it was announced that CyberAgent had purchased Pro Wrestling Noah from Lidet Entertainment.[9] On July 27, 2020, it was announced that Noah, DDT Pro-Wrestling and the DDT Foods company would merge in a new company that would eventually be called CyberFight.[10][3] The decision came after financial troubles faced by Noah and DDT due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sanshiro Takagi was named as president of the promotion and he established a plan of running events at the Tokyo Dome and overtaking NJPW in popularity.[11] It was also revealed that the Noah and DDT brands would not be retired and would maintain their unique and current brand names, logos, color scheme, etc. and would act as two separate brands within CyberFight.[12]
On June 6, 2021, CyberFight held its first event promoted under the CyberFight name, CyberFight Festival 2021, at the Saitama Super Arena.[13]
Personnel
Current championships
DDT Pro-Wrestling
Pro Wrestling Noah
Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling
Championship | Current champion(s) | Reign | Date won | Days held |
Successful defenses |
Location | Notes | Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Princess of Princess Championship | Miyu Yamashita | 4 | October 9, 2023 | 16 | 0 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Mizuki at Wrestle Princess IV. | [22] | |
Princess Tag Team Championship | Free WiFi (Hikari Noa and Nao Kakuta) |
1 | October 9, 2023 | 16 | 0 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Toyo Mates (Yuki Kamifuku and Mahiro Kiryu) to win the vacant title at Wrestle Princess IV. | [22] | |
International Princess Championship | Max the Impaler | 1 | October 9, 2023 | 16 | 0 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Rika Tatsumi at Wrestle Princess IV in a title vs. title match with Max's NWA World Women's Television Championship also at stake . | [22] |
Ganbare☆Pro-Wrestling
Championship | Current champion(s) | Reign | Date won | Days held |
Successful defenses |
Location | Notes | Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Spirit of Ganbare World Openweight Championship | Isami Kodaka | 1 | July 9, 2023 | 108+ | 3 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Mizuki Watase at Wrestle Sekigahara II. | [23] | |
Spirit of Ganbare World Tag Team Championship | GroundAbsolute (Shuichiro Katsumura and Takuya Wada) |
1 | July 9, 2023 | 108+ | 2 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Hentai Punch Drunkers (Hikaru Sato and Tyson Maeguchi) at Wrestle Sekigahara II. | [24] |
See also
References
- 会社概要 [Company Overview] (in Japanese). CyberFight. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- 株式会社CyberFightの情報 [CyberFight, Inc. Information]. catr.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- プロレス事業会社 株式会社CyberFightの始動について [Pro-Wrestling Business: About CyberFight, Inc. launch] (in Japanese). CyberAgent. 27 July 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- Thomas, Jeremy (July 27, 2020). "Pro Wrestling NOAH and DDT to Merge Into New Company CyberFight". 411Mania. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- Mainichi Japan (2009-06-15). "Pro wrestler Mitsuharu Misawa dies in ring after blow to head". Mainichi Japan. Mainichi Daily News. Archived from the original on June 18, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
- ノア正式発表 IT企業「エストビー」に事業譲渡. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). 2016-11-01. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
- Meltzer, Dave (May 22, 2017). "May 22, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: NJPW business up, ROH War of the Worlds review, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 8. ISSN 1083-9593.
The only company down is Noah, which is down 29 percent after losing its affiliation with New Japan and losing Suzuki-gun as the regular top heels. For as much as the Noah fans hated Suzuki-gun and blamed them for the bad business, and they didn't pick business up the way hoped for, Noah has fallen significantly without them.
- "【ノア】新体制移行を発表 新オーナー・リデット社「ビッグマッチ増やしたい」(東スポWeb)". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-04-17.
- Pratt, Emily (January 29, 2020). "Pro Wrestling NOAH's New Relationship With DDT Will Make It Easier To Watch Internationally". Uproxx. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- Thomas, Jeremy (July 27, 2020). "Pro Wrestling NOAH and DDT to Merge Into New Company CyberFight". 411Mania. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- Gunier, Robert (July 27, 2020). "DDT And Pro Wrestling NOAH To Merge Into "CyberFight" To Compete With NJPW". Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- Yeates, Walter (July 28, 2020). "Breaking: CyberFight Will Place DDT, NOAH, TJPW Under Same Corporate Banner". theovertimer. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
- CIMO (February 26, 2021). CyberFightが6.6さいたまスーパーアリーナでDDT、ノア、東京女子、ガンプロ4団体による合同興行『CyberFight Festival 2021』を開催!3大タイトル戦、交流戦も (in Japanese). Proresu Today. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
- Thompson, Andrew (July 23, 2023). "DDT Pro-Wrestling 'Wrestle Peter Pan' Results (7/23/23): Chris Brookes, Matt Cardona win titles, Desperado vs. Sasaki". postwrestling.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- KO-D タッグ選手権. Extreme Party (in Japanese).
- DDT Pro-Wrestling (October 4, 2023). "God Bless DDT 2023 TOUR in SHINJUKU" (in Japanese). Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- KO-D10 人タッグ選手権(第3代から8人タッグ選手権). Extreme Party (in Japanese). Retrieved November 17, 2021.
- O-40 選手権. Extreme Party (in Japanese).
- 大森夢フェア認定世界大森級選手権. Extreme Party (in Japanese).
- DDT Pro-Wrestling (October 22, 2023). "God Bless DDT 2023" (in Japanese). Retrieved October 22, 2023.
- Global Honored Crown(チャンピオン) (in Japanese). Pro Wrestling Noah. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
- Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling (October 9, 2023). "WRESTLE PRINCESS IV". ddtpro.com (in Japanese). Retrieved October 9, 2023.
- スピリット・オブ・ガンバレ世界無差別級王座. Extreme Party (in Japanese). Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- スピリット・オブ・ガンバレ世界タッグ王座. Extreme Party (in Japanese). Retrieved May 5, 2023.