International Wrestling Association of Japan, more commonly known as IWA Japan, was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion operating from 1994 to 1996. It was formed by Victor Quiñones as a successor to the W*ING promotion which was folding at the time. Most of the wrestlers jumped ship to Quiñones' new IWA Japan group. He found a sponsor in Tatsukuni "Kinroku" Asano, a business man who owned several restaurants in Tokyo and had bought and run several wrestling shows prior to IWA Japan.
Opening stage
They had their first show in Yokosuka, Kanagawa on May 21, 1994 which was taped for TV. The early shows often featured many ex W*ING wrestlers like Yukihiro Kanemura, Shoji Nakamaki, Nobutaka Araya and the Head Hunters. They also had fans to fill out questionnaires about the shows and sometimes gave away freebies. Quiñones booked talent from all over the world to compete in IWA, including Cactus Jack and Terry Funk who engaged in some of their most famous bouts.
1995 King of the Death Match Tournament
With IWA getting more popular due to the charisma of some of their wrestlers, they decided to produce a show called Kawasaki Dream, which was held on August 20, 1995 at the Kawasaki Baseball Stadium. The main attraction of the show was the first ever 8-man single elimination deathmatch tournament, which featured Cactus Jack, Terry Funk, Shoji Nakamaki, Hiroshi Ono, Leatherface, Tiger Jeet Singh, Terry Gordy and former FMW wrestler Mr. Gannosuke. The show also featured an NWA World Heavyweight Championship defense, as Tarzan Goto challenged then-champion Dan Severn for the title.
The standout in this tournament were the three matches in which Mick Foley wrestled. The first one was a "Barbed Wire, Baseball Bat, and Thumbtack Match". The second was a "Barbed Wire Board Spike Nail Match". The third was a "Barbed Wire Rope, Exploding C4, and Time Bomb Match".
Post 1996 and The Demise of IWA Japan
Quiñones left IWA at the end of 1995, along with the NWA affiliation. Goto, Gannosuke, and Flying Kid Ichihara followed suit in late-1996 to join Tokyo Pro. Subsequently, IWA started to go downhill after losing much of the talent that Quiñones booked and then in late 1996 the promotion having lost all of its major talent went out of business.
Titles
- IWA World Heavyweight Championship
- IWA World Tag Team Championship
- IWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
- AJPW/IWA Women's World Championship
Roster
- Natives: Great Kabuki, Tarzan Goto (Masaji Goto), Mr. Gannosuke, Yoshihiro Tajiri, Shoji Nakamaki, Nobutaka Araya, Daisuke Taue, Takashi Okano, Yoshiya Yamashita, Ryo Miyake, Flying Kid Ichihara
- Foreigners: Dick Slater, Terry Funk, Cactus Jack, Tracey Smothers, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, The Headhunters (Headhunter A and Headhunter B)
See also
External links
| IWA Japan Results |
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| 1994 |
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Debut Show • 5/23 • 5/24 • 5/25 • 5/26 • 6/17 • 6/18 • 6/19 • 6/20 • 6/21 • 6/23 • 7/14 • 7/15 • 7/17 • 7/19 • 7/20 • 8/24 • 8/25 • 8/26 • 8/27 • 8/28 • 8/29 • 9/18 • 9/19 • 9/20 • 9/21 • 9/23 • 9/24 • 9/25 • 10/12 • 10/14 • 10/15 • Glass Grave Yard • 10/17 • 11/12 • Fire On Earth • 11/16 • Texas Bronco New Coming • 12/8 • 12/9 • 12/10 |
| 1995 |
| 1996 |
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1/8 • 1/9 • 1/10 • 1/11 • 1/13 • 1/14 • 1/15 • 2/2 • 2/3 • 2/4 • 2/7 • 2/23 • 3/1 • 3/2 • 3/3 • 3/5 • 3/6 • 3/11 • 3/12 • 3/13 • 3/14 • 3/15 • 4/1 • 5/20 • 5/21 • 5/23 • 5/24 • 5/25 • 5/26 • 6/4 • 6/5 • 6/6 • 6/7 • 6/8 • 6/10 • 7/22 • 7/25 • 7/26 • 7/28 • 8/5 • 8/6 • 8/7 • 8/8 • 9/22 • 9/24 • 9/26 • 9/27 • 9/28 • 9/29 • 10/6 • 10/7 • 10/9 • 10/10 • 10/12 • 10/20 • 10/24 • 10/25 • 10/26 |
| 1997 |
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1/24 • 2/8 • 2/9 • 3/4 |
| 1999 |
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1/17 • 5th Anniversary Show • |
| 2004 |
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Mike Rotundo Retirement Show • 10th Anniversary Show |
| 2010 |