Michinoku Pro Wrestling

Michinoku Pro Wrestling

Acronym	MPW M-Pro
Founded	October 1, 1992
Style	Lucha libre
Headquarters	Morioka, Iwate, Japan
Founder(s)	The Great Sasuke
Owner(s)	Jinsei Shinzaki
Split from	Universal Lucha Libre
Website	michipro.jp

Michinoku Pro Wrestling (みちのくプロレス, Michinoku puroresu) (originally known as North Eastern Wrestling) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded by The Great Sasuke on October 1, 1992. It was the first independent wrestling promotion in Japan to not base its operations in Tokyo, but rather in Morioka, Iwate. Since the promotion is primarily focused on the Lucha libre style of wrestling, many of their wrestlers don masks and special motifs as they compete in the ring. However, Michinoku Pro has accepted wrestlers from various styles (such as shoot style and strong style) and backgrounds over the years. In 2003, Sasuke left the running of the promotion to Jinsei Shinzaki.

History

Michinoku Pro Wrestling (Michinoku Pro or M-Pro) was founded on October 1, 1992 by The Great Sasuke as a community-based promotion for the northeastern greater Tohoku region of Japan. Their first-ever pre-show was held on November 27, 1992 in Takizawa City, although due to disputes with the Universal Lucha Libre (UWF), the promotion was put on the back-burner for the next several months. Gran Hamada joined M-Pro, and their first-ever show was held on Match 16, 1993 in Yahaba, Iwate.

The stable Kaientai Deluxe (海援隊Deluxe) was formed in 1996. Dick Togo, Men's Teioh, TAKA Michinoku, Shoichi Funaki, and Hanzo Nakajima worked as young protagonists looking to make a break in the business. This group competed against The Great Sasuke and Super Delfin. After a couple of years, TAKA and the rest of KAIENTAI moved to the US to compete.

In 1997, Michinoku Pro Wrestling entered into a working relationship with the World Wrestling Federation, with M-Pro founder The Great Sasuke wrestling in two matches for the promotion. The WWF would also send talent to Japan, such as The Undertaker, who would wrestle against M-Pro mainstay Jinsei Shinzaki.^[1] During this period, the WWF was planning on holding a tournament to crown the first holder of the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship. It has been theorized in the wrestling press that although Great Sasuke was pushed to be the winner of the tournament, he had bragged to the Japanese media that he would only defend the title in Japan, and would refuse to drop the title on WWF television.^[2] When the WWF heard Sasuke's comments, he was removed from the tournament, fired, and the MPW/WWF working agreement was terminated.^[3] However, speaking on his Something to Wrestle With podcast in July 2017, Bruce Prichard disputed this version of events, suggesting the WWF never entered into any formal agreement with Sasuke, and that the company was only interested in signing TAKA Michinoku.^[4] Michinoku Pro Wrestling alumnus TAKA Michinoku would end up winning the title.

By 1998, the promotion had gone on a temporary hiatus after Sasuke suffered a knee injury that required surgery. Delfin took charge of the promotion for the time being, but on January 17, 1999, he announced that he would be withdrawing from the promotion and that many of the wrestlers and backstage personnel would be joining him. This was in part due to differences regarding the direction of the promotion. Delfin was joined by Gran Naniwa, Masato Yakushiji, Naohiro Hoshikawa, Masaru Seno, Hayato Kigawa, and referee Yukinori Matsui. Delfin formed Osaka Pro Wrestling. TAKA Michinoku and Dick Togo later returned after their stint in the US and competed from time to time. In 2003, Sasuke ran for public office, and Jinsei Shinzaki took over as the president of the promotion. The 10th anniversary of the promotion was held on November 2, 2003 at the Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo, Japan.

In July 2004, the promotion underwent a revival as Ultimo Dragon disbanded his then Toryumon X promotion and sent his talent to join the promotion, which was then dubbed Shinsei Michinoku Pro-Wrestling. Bear Fukuda, Ken45°, Murcielago, and Manabu Murakami were the first to join the promotion. Then in October, Taro Nohashi, Dynamite Tohoku, and Shu and Kei Sato joined the promotion. Then at the end of that year SUGI, Rasse, Kagetora, and Manabu Murakami made their debuts.

On December 13, 2013 Kenoh left the promotion and vacated the Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship due to signing with Pro Wrestling Noah. In 2014, Michinoku Pro reactivated the Okinawa Wrestling Championship which was won by Eisa8.

On December 13, 2019 at the Korakuen Hall, the promotion had a sellout, standing-room-only event with an attendance of 1,890, the highest reported attendance at the Korakuen Hall to date for a pro-wrestling event since April 2015.^[5]

Current roster

Ring name	Real name	Unit[6]	Notes
Australian Wolf[7]	Mason Childs	Main Unit
Ayumu Gunji [ja][8]	Ayumu Gunji	Main Unit
Boso Boy Raito [ja][9]	Unknown	Main Unit
Brahman Kei[10]	Kei Sato	Mu no Taisho
Brahman Shu[11]	Shu Sato	Mu no Taisho
Dick Togo[12]	Shigeki Sato	Main Unit
Douki [ja][13]	Tatsuya Hayama	Bad Boy	Part-timer
Fujita "Jr." Hayato[14]	Hayato Fujita	Bad Boy	Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Champion
Gaina[15]	Kazuya Yuasa	Main Unit	Also wrestles under the mask of Shisao UWA World Tag Team Champion
Ikuto Hidaka[16]	Ikuto Hidaka	N/A	Part-timer
Jinsei Shinzaki[17]	Kensuke Shinzaki	Main Unit	Tohoku Tag Team Champion
Ken45°[18]	Kenichi Sakai	Bad Boy
Kenbai[19]	Yuki Sato	Main Unit
Kengo [ja][20]	Kengo Nishimura	N/A	Part-timer
Kesen Numajiro[21]	Akihiro Yonekawa	Main Unit	Part-timer Also wrestles as Yone Genjin
Koji Kawamura[22]	Koji Kawamura	Main Unit
Manjimaru[23]	Manabu Murakami	Bad Boy
Minoru Fujita[24]	Minoru Fujita	N/A	Part-timer
Rasse[25]	Masaki Okimoto	Main Unit
Rui Hyugaji [ja][26]	Rui Hyugaji	Main Unit
Taira Ogasawara[27]	Taira Ogasawara	Main Unit
Taro Nohashi[28]	Taro Nohashi	Main Unit	UWA World Tag Team Champion
The Great Sasuke[29]	Masanori Murakawa	Mu no Taisho	Tohoku Tag Team Champion
Último Dragón[30]	Yoshihiro Arai	N/A	Part-timer
Yapper Man #1[31]	Tatsuhito Senga	Main Unit
Yapper Man #2[32]	Tsutomu Oosugi	Main Unit
Yasutaka Oosera[33]	Yasutaka Oosera	Main Unit

Championships and tournaments

Current

Championship	Current champion(s)		Reign	Date won	Days held	Location	Notes
Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship		Fujita “Jr.” Hayato	2	July 1, 2022	853+	Tokyo, Japan	Defeated Musashi at Michinoku Pro Wrestling 2022 Tokyo Conference Vol. 1 ~ Genko Itchi.
Tohoku Tag Team Championship		Rasse and Ringo Yamaya	1 (3, 1)	March 16, 2024	229+	Tokyo, Japan	Defeated Kagetora and Yoshitsune at Michinoku Pro 31th Anniversary Night 1.

Tournaments

Tournament	Latest winner(s)	Date won
Iron Man Tournament	Fujita "Jr." Hayato	August 29, 2009
Fukumen World League	Carístico	September 19, 2016
Futaritabi Tag Team League	Brahman Kei & Brahman Shu	October 13, 2014

Former

Championship	Last champion(s)	Date won
UWA World Welterweight Championship	Vacated	2004
UWF Super Welterweight Championship	Vacated	January 4, 2000
UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship	Súper Nova	May 17, 2013
WWF Light Heavyweight Championship	Vacated	November 5, 1997
British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship	Vacated	December 7, 2003
Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship	Ikuto Hidaka	February 17, 2002
UWA World Tag Team Championship	Gaina & Taro Nohashi	October 3, 2021

Notable alumni

• Tiger Mask IV
• Gran Hamada
• Shiryu
• Gran Naniwa
• Taka Michinoku
• Kenoh
• Mango Fukuda
• Yoshitsune
• Mr. JL
• Super Delfin
• Shoichi Funaki
• Tony Stradlin
• Bobby Blaze
• Wellington Wilkins Jr.
• MEN'S Teioh
• Minoru Fujita
• CIMA
• Sumo Fujii
• Judo Suwa
• Ikuto Hidaka
• Curry Man
• Danny Boy Collins
• Dynamite Kid
• Johnny Saint
• Undertaker
• Misaki Ohata

See also

• Universal Lucha Libre
• Universal Wrestling Association
• Toryumon

References

1. roadwarriormatt (July 22, 2007). Michinoku Pro: Undertaker vs. Hakushi. YouTube. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
2. Taylor C. Mitchell (Apr 16, 2014). "The Most Incredible Single Night of Wrestling, Ever". Voices of Wrestling. Retrieved June 24, 2016. Until Great Sasuke allegedly told Japanese reporters that he was going to win the WWE Light Heavyweight Championship and refused to defend it in the USA and threatened to only defend it in Japan. The WWE immediately fired The Great Sasuke and moved on to put their new championship around the waist of the young Taka Michinoku. One would have to speculate that this hurt WWE's new relationship with Michinoku Pro
3. Taylor C. Mitchell (Apr 16, 2014). "The Most Incredible Single Night of Wrestling, Ever". Voices of Wrestling. Retrieved June 24, 2016. Until Great Sasuke allegedly told Japanese reporters that he was going to win the WWE Light Heavyweight Championship and refused to defend it in the USA and threatened to only defend it in Japan. The WWE immediately fired The Great Sasuke and moved on to put their new championship around the waist of the young Taka Michinoku. One would have to speculate that this hurt WWE's new relationship with Michinoku Pro
4. Bruce Prichard (July 7, 2017). "Something to Wrestle With Bruce Prichard: Canadian Stampede '97". MLW. Retrieved July 15, 2017. "There was interest in [Sasuke] coming over and doing special events, but Sasuke could not work a full schedule in the United States. And, frankly, we were more interested in TAKA on a full-time basis.
5. Harold Williams (Dec 15, 2019). "[Michinoku Pro][RESULTS] Tokyo Conference Vol. 7 12/13/19". The Harold Williams Blog. Retrieved April 1, 2020. And another historical moment took place on December 13, as this event was a sellout, standing room only. The event had an attendance of 1,890. That is the highest reported attendance at the Korakuen Hall for a pro-wrestling event since April 2015.
6. みちのくプロレス・オフィシャルサイト「プロフィール」 [Michinoku Pro-Wrestling Official Site "Profiles"]. Michinoku Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
7. オーストラリアン・ウルフ. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
8. 郡司 歩. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
9. 農業ボーイ雷斗 （みちのく限定リングネーム）. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
10. バラモンケイ. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
11. バラモンシュウ. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
12. ディック東郷. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
13. DOUKI. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
14. フジタ Jr ハヤト. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
15. GAINA. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
16. 日高郁人. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
17. 新崎 人生. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
18. KEN45゜. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
19. 剣 舞. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
20. 拳 剛. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
21. 気仙 沼二郎. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
22. 川村興史. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
23. 卍 丸. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
24. 藤田 ミノル. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
25. ラッセ. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
26. 日向寺 塁. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
27. 小笠原泰良（おがさわら たいら）. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
28. のはし たろう. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
29. ザ・グレート・サスケ. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
30. ウルティモ・ドラゴン. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
31. ヤッペーマン１号. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
32. ヤッペーマン２号. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
33. 大瀬良泰貴. www.michipro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2021.

External links

• Official website
• A Tribute to Michinoku Pro-Wrestling