Wrestling New Classic

Wrestling New Classic (WNC) (レスリング・ニュー・クラシック, Resuringu Nyū Kurashikku) was a Japanese puroresu or professional wrestling promotion, founded in April 2012 by Yoshihiro Tajiri. WNC was the follow-up promotion to Smash, which folded in March 2012.[2][3]

Wrestling New Classic
AcronymWNC
FoundedApril 5, 2012
DefunctJune 26, 2014
StylePuroresu
Strong style
HeadquartersRoppongi, Minato, Tokyo[1]
Founder(s)Tajiri
Akira
Kana
SisterReina Joshi Puroresu

History

On April 5, 2012, Tajiri held a press conference to announce the forming of Wrestling New Classic, which would hold its first two events on April 26 at Shinjuku Face and on May 24 at Korakuen Hall.[4][5] The promotion's new financial backer at the time was Tsutomu Takashima, the executive director of real estate company Avance Avant Corporation.[6] WNC continued Smash's working relationship with Finnish professional wrestling promotion Fight Club Finland.[7] Unlike Smash, which held, on average, one event per month, WNC had a more regular schedule, producing three events in its official opening month, May 2012.[8] The promotion is named after a comment made by final Smash Champion Dave Finlay, who, at the promotion's penultimate event, told Tajiri to "keep wrestling classic" with his new promotion.[9] Several WNC wrestlers also booked and promoted their own events in collaboration with the promotion, including Kana's Kana Pro,[10] Makoto's Mako Pro,[11] Syuri's Stimulus,[12] and Takuya Kito's Kuzu Pro.[13]

In late 2013, WNC also established a working relationship with joshi puroresu promotion Reina Joshi Puroresu,[14] as part of which all of WNC's female wrestlers became officially affiliated with both promotions in January 2014.[15] On June 18, 2014, Tajiri held a press conference with Keiji Mutoh, where he announced that WNC would be going inactive following June 26. Afterwards, all female WNC wrestlers remained affiliated with WNC-Reina, while six male wrestlers, Tajiri and Akira included, transferred over to Mutoh's Wrestle-1 promotion.[16] WNC held its final event on June 26, 2014, in Tokyo's Shinjuku Face.[17]

Final roster

Wrestlers
Ring name Real name Notes
Akira Akira Nogami
Haruka Kato Haruka Kato WNC-Reina
Jiro Kuroshio Soujiro Higuchi
Koji Doi Koji Doi
Makoto Unknown WNC-Reina
Rionne Fujiwara Rionne McAvoy
Tajiri Yoshihiro Tajiri
Yusuke Kodama Yusuke Kodama
Masaya Takahashi Masaya Takahashi
Syuri Syuri Kondo WNC-Reina
Takuya Kito Yuji Kito

Staff
Name Notes
Chiho Tomiyama Ring announcer
High Step Shota Referee
Katsumi Tamagawa Referee
Serena Higa Ring announcer
Soft Imai (Daisuke Imai) Referee
Yula Ring announcer

Alumni
Ring name Real name Notes
Hajime Ohara Hajime Ohara Resigned January 31, 2013
Haruka Yoshimura Haruka Yoshimura Retired February 28, 2014
Hiroki Murase Hiroki Murase Resigned January 11, 2014
Horizon Yoshihiro Horaguchi Signed with Kaientai Dojo on September 14, 2014
Josh O'Brien Josh O'Brien Resigned January 31, 2013
Kaho Kobayashi Kaho Kobayashi Resigned on September 16, 2014, to sign with Asuka Project and Pro Wrestling Wave
Kana Kanako Urai Resigned November 28, 2012
Koharu Hinata Koharu Hinata Resigned June 18, 2014
Lin Byron Unknown Resigned June 26, 2014
Mitoshichi Shinose Akira Shinose Resigned January 30, 2014
Nagisa Nozaki Nagisa Nozaki Went inactive on January 25, 2013

Notable guests

Championships
ChampionshipFinal champion(s)Date wonDefeated
WNC ChampionshipYuji KitoMarch 24, 2018Retired[18]
WNC Women's ChampionshipSyuriSeptember 18, 2013Serena

Annual tournaments
TournamentLast winnerLast held
Dave Finlay CupHiro TonaiJanuary 4, 2014

See also

References
  1. 会社概要. Wrestling New Classic (in Japanese). Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  2. "【※重要】「Smash」第１章活動休止のお知らせ". Smash (in Japanese). February 10, 2012. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  3. Caldwell, James (February 10, 2012). "Japanese promotion shutting down". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  4. プレ旗揚げ戦決定！. Wrestling New Classic (in Japanese). April 5, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  5. "Tajiri新団体発表「若手を海外に」". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). April 6, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  6. "WNC高島代表が就任挨拶！". Wrestling New Classic (in Japanese). May 9, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  7. "7・15Wrestling New Classic後楽園大会（後楽園ホール） 開場11：00 開始12：00". Wrestling New Classic (in Japanese). June 22, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  8. 5月旗揚げシリーズ全カード決定！. Wrestling New Classic (in Japanese). May 4, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
  9. "ＴajiriとＡkira、最後の闘いで謎解きへ!!=Ｓmash フィンレーが残した"Ｋｅｅｐ ｗｒｅｓｔｌｉｎｇ ｃｌａｓｓｉｃ"とは？". Sports Navi (in Japanese). Yahoo!. March 8, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  10. 6・17 ぷちカナプロ 試合結果. Wrestling New Classic (in Japanese). June 18, 2012. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  11. 7・8 まこプロ 開催延期 および ぷちクズプロ開催のお知らせ. Wrestling New Classic (in Japanese). June 27, 2012. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  12. "WNC朱里自主興行「Stimulus」新宿Face大会". Wrestling New Classic (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  13. 7・8『ぷちクズプロ』全試合結果. Wrestling New Classic (in Japanese). July 9, 2012. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  14. "WNCとReina女子プロレスが業務提携". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). November 18, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  15. "旗揚げ前から波乱のReina!!1・30WNC新宿で4Wayマッチが決定!!". Wrestling New Classic (in Japanese). January 9, 2014. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  16. "Tajiri、Akiraら6選手W-1へ移籍のお知らせ". Wrestling New Classic (in Japanese). June 19, 2014. Archived from the original on June 19, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  17. ＷＮＣ超満員のラスト興行. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). June 27, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  18. "ASUKA PROJECT results for March 24, 2018 – Puroresu Spirit". puroresuspirit.net. Archived from the original on 2018-03-30.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.