Acronym | WNC |
---|---|
Founded | April 5, 2012 |
Defunct | June 26, 2014 |
Style |
Puroresu Strong style |
Headquarters | Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo [1] |
Founder(s) |
Tajiri Akira Kana |
Sister | Reina Joshi Puroresu |
Merged with | Wrestle-1 |
Predecessor | Smash |
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]
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]
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 |
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 |
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 |
Championship | Final champion(s) | Date won | Defeated |
WNC Championship | Yuji Kito | March 24, 2018 | Retired [18] |
WNC Women's Championship | Syuri | September 18, 2013 | Serena |
Tournament | Last winner | Last held |
Dave Finlay Cup | Hiro Tonai | January 4, 2014 |