New Japan Pro-Wrestling (新日本プロレス, Shin Nihon Puroresu) (NJPW), is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Former employees in NJPW consist of professional wrestlers, managers, valets, play-by-play and color commentators, announcers, interviewers, referees, trainers, script writers, executives, and members of the board of directors.
Personnel
| † | Indicates person is deceased |
|---|
| Birth name | Ring name(s) | Tenure | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yoshihiro Asai | Ultimo Dragon | 1992–1998 2004–2005 2008 |
|
| Shelton Benjamin | Shelton X Benjamin | 2012–2016 | |
| Fergal Devitt | Prince Devitt | 2006–2014 | [1] |
| Aaron Frobel | Michael Elgin | 2014–2019 | [2] |
| Hiroshi Hase | Hiroshi Hase | 1987–1996 | |
| Mitsuhide Hirasawa | Bone Soldier Captain New Japan Hideo Saito Mitsuhide Hirasawa |
2006–2010 2011–2017 |
|
| Dustin Howard | Chuckie T. | 2017–2019 | [3] |
| Muhammad Hussain Inoki† | Antonio Inoki | 1972–2005 | |
| Allen Jones | AJ Styles | 2008 2014–2016 |
[4] [5] |
| Teruaki Kanemitsu | Kanemitsu | 2016–2019 | [2] |
| Katsuya Kitamura† | Katsuya Kitamura | 2015–2019 | [6] |
| Trevor Mann | Ricochet | 2013–2017 | [7] |
| Greg Marasciulo | Berreta | 2013 2015–2019 |
[3] |
| Brock Lesnar | Brock Lesnar | 2005–2006 | [8] |
| Matthew Massie | Matt Jackson | 2013–2019 | [3] |
| Nicholas Massie | Nick Jackson | 2013–2019 | [3] |
| Shinsuke Nakamura | Shinsuke Nakamura | 2002–2016 | [4] |
| Shinjiro Otani | Shinjiro Otani | 1992–2001 | |
| Cody Runnels | Cody | 2016–2019 | [3] |
| Akebono Taro | Akebono | 2006–2007 | |
| Davey Smith | Black Assassin Davey Boy Smith Jr. Harry Smith |
2005 2012–2019 |
[9] |
| Tyson Smith | Kenny Omega | 2010–2019 | [3] |
Notable former wrestlers
Japanese wrestlers
- Akira (Akira Nogami)
- Akiya Anzawa
- Atsushi Aoki †
- Ayato Yoshida
- Masahiro Chono
- Riki Choshu (Mitsuo Yoshida)
- Super Delfin (Hiroto Wakita)
- Tatsumi Fujinami
- Kazuyuki Fujita
- Yoshiaki Fujiwara
- Masakatsu Funaki
- Tatsutoshi Goto
- Shinya Hashimoto †
- HUB
- Kendo Kashin (Tokimitsu Ishizawa)
- Masahito Kakihara
- Kamikaze
- Koji Kanemoto
- W*ING Kanemura (Yukihiro Kanemura)
- Toshiaki Kawada
- Kenta Kobashi
- Osamu Kido
- Kengo Kimura (Seiei Kimura)
- Shiro Koshinaka
- Shunji Kosugi
- Akira Maeda
- Naomichi Marufuji
- Kengo Mashimo
- Mitsuharu Misawa †
- Shigeo Miyato
- Kazunari Murakami
- Keiji Mutoh
- Mitsuya Nagai
- Hiroshi Nagao
- Katsuhiko Nagata
- Masayuki Naruse
- Osamu Nishimura
- Nosawa Rongai / Black Tiger (Kazushige Nosawa)
- Michiyoshi Ohara
- Okumura (Shigeo Okumura)
- Takao Omori
- Akitoshi Saito
- Hiro Saito
- Masa Saito †
- Kazushi Sakuraba
- El Samurai (Osamu Matsuda)
- Naoki Sano
- Daisuke Sasaki
- Kensuke Sasaki
- The Great Sasuke (Masanori Murakawa)
- Kenzo Suzuki
- Tajiri (Yoshihiro Tajiri)
- Tatsuhito Takaiwa
- Nobuhiko Takada
- Yoshihiro Takayama
- Katsushi Takemura
- Masato Tanaka
- Minoru Tanaka
- Genichiro Tenryu
- Kaji Tomato
- Hiro Tonai
- Takashi Uwano
- Naofumi Yamamoto / Yoshitatsu
- Kazuo Yamazaki
- Ryushi Yanagisawa
- Go Asakawa
- Tadao Yasuda
- Yoshiaki Yatsu
Non-Japanese wrestlers
- Abdullah The Butcher (Lawrence Shreeve)
- American Dragon (Bryan Danielson)
- Arn Anderson (Martin Lunde)
- André the Giant (André Roussimoff) †
- Ángel de Oro
- Kurt Angle
- Averno (Renato Ruíz)
- Sangre Azteca
- Steve Austin (Steven Williams)
- Bob Backlund
- Michael Bennett
- Rey Bucanero (Arturo García)
- The Barbarian (Sione Vailahi)
- Crusher Bam Bam Bigelow (Scott Bigelow) †
- Black Tiger (Mark Rocco) †
- Black Tiger (II) (Eddie Guerrero) †
- Black Tiger (III) (César González) †
- Blue Wolf (Dolgorsürengiin Serjbüdee)
- Wes Brisco
- Jay Briscoe †
- Mark Briscoe
- Bruiser Brody (Frank Goodish) †
- Chyna (Joanie Laurer) †
- Adam Cole (Austin Jenkins)
- Rob Conway
- Consequences Creed (Austin Watson)
- Jay White
- Jax Dane
- Christopher Daniels / Curry Man (Daniel Covell)
- Diamante Azul
- Dr. Wagner Jr. (Juan González)
- Dynamite Kid (Thomas Billington) †
- Troy Endres †
- Ric Flair (Richard Fliehr)
- Fuego
- Rick Fuller
- Amber Gallows (Kimberly Davis)
- Héctor Garza (Héctor Solano) †
- Giant Bernard (Matthew Bloom)
- Chavo Guerrero Jr.
- Karl Gotch (Karl Istaz) †
- Daniel Gracie (Daniel Simoes)
- Rolles Gracie (Rolles Gracie Jr.)
- Cody Hall
- Scott Hall †
- Tony Halme †
- Stan Hansen (John Hansen Jr.)
- Jeff Hardy
- Bret Hart
- Owen Hart †
- Salman Hashimikov
- Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea)
- Maria Kanellis
- Brian Kendrick
- Jay Lethal (Jamar Shipman)
- Low Ki (Brandon Silvestry)
- Dean Malenko (Dean Simon)
- Máximo (José Alvarado)
- Mephisto
- Místico (Luis Urive)
- Místico (II) (Carlos Muñoz)
- Punisher Dice Morgan (Mark Calaway)
- Dick Murdoch †
- MVP (Hassan Assad)
- Jim Neidhart †
- Niebla Roja
- Scott Norton
- Quiet Storm
- Pac (Ben Satterley)
- Pinoy Boy (Teddy Perkins)
- Pegasus Kid / Wild Pegasus (Chris Benoit) †
- Daniel Puder
- Jimmy Rave (James Guffey) †
- Rey Cometa (Mario González)
- Rey Escorpión (Fabian Nuñez)
- Davey Richards (Wesley Richards)
- Billy Robinson †
- Robert Roode
- Rick Rude (Richard Rood) †
- Rush (William Muñoz)
- Chris Sabin (Joshua Harter)
- Sabu (Terry Brunk)
- Giant Singh (Dalip Singh)
- Giant Silva (Paulo César da Silva)
- Slex
- La Sombra (Manuel Andrade)
- James Storm (James Cox)
- Stuka Jr.
- Tiger Jeet Singh (Jagjit Singh)
- Davey Boy Smith (David Smith) †
- Rick Steiner (Robert Rechsteiner)
- Scott Steiner (Scott Rechsteiner)
- Sting (Steve Borden)
- Strong Man (Jon Andersen)
- Matt Sydal (Matthew Korklan)
- Michael Tarver (Tyrone Evans)
- Matt Taven (Matthew Marinelli)
- Terry Taylor (Paul Taylor III)
- Terrible (Damián Gutiérrez)
- El Texano Jr. (Juan Aguilar)
- Titán
- Travis Tomko
- Último Guerrero (José Gutiérrez)
- Rob Van Dam (Robert Szatkowski)
- Big Van Vader (Leon White) †
- Vangellys
- Volador Jr. (Ramón Ibarra)
- Road Warrior Animal (Joseph Laurinaitis) †
- Road Warrior Hawk (Michael Hegstrand) †
- Barry Windham
- Hanson
- Raymond Rowe
- Hangman Page (Stevie Woltz)
Joshi talent
References
- ^ Caldwell, James (7 April 2014). "NJPW news: A.J. Styles to challenge for New Japan's top title, Prince Devitt "submits resignation," NWA World Title & Tag Title matches announced for next week". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
- ^ a b "NJPW anuncia la marcha de Michael Elgin y Teruaki Kanemitsu". 2 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "Where Aew Talents Stand With New Japan Pro Wrestling". PWInsider.com. 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
- ^ a b Rose, Bryan (January 4, 2016). "NJPW stars Nakamura, AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson headed to WWE". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
- ^ Caldwell, James (January 4, 2016). "PWTorch Report – Four big names leaving New Japan, heading to WWE". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
- ^ Solowrestling (5 February 2019). "Katsuya Kitamura abandona NJPW". www.solowrestling.com. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
- ^ 【ドラゴンゲート】リコシェが飛翔卒業 次なる主戦場はＷＷＥか. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
- ^ "New Japan Pro Wrestling news – (June 28, 2006 – July 19, 2006)". Strong Style Spirit. Archived from the original on February 9, 2008. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
- ^ "Report: Davey Boy Smith Jr Finished with NJPW | Fightful News".
