Puroresu

Puroresu (プロレス) is a type of professional wrestling that was made in Japan. The name Puroresu comes from the pronunciation of "professional wrestling".

Puroresu is known for having hard hitting strikes in the combat.^[1] A lot of matches in the puroresu style end cleanly without outside interference, angles, or gimmicks. Wrestling in Japan is seen as more of a sport compared to the North American style where it is viewed moreso as entertainment.^[2] There are professional wrestling promotions in Japan that do involve comedy in their matches such as DDT Pro-Wrestling AND HUSTLE. In Japan, the term Puroresu can also refer to all of professional wrestling.

There are different styles of puroresu. Strong Style is a style that is popular in promotions such as New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).^[3] Ōdō ("King's Road") is style that is popular in promotions such as All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW).^[4] Joshi puroresu is a style that is done by women's wrestlers. It was made popular in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling and Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling.^[5][6] Current promotions that are popular include World Wonder Ring Stardom and Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling.

1. ↑ "Puroresu - Pro Wrestling Japanese Style". BBC. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
2. ↑ "Q&A: Fumi Saito, for DROPKICK Magazine". Monthly Puroresu. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
3. ↑ "How Japanese Pro Wrestling Merged With Martial Arts: Strong Style & Shoot Style". Black Belt. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
4. ↑ "The Wrestling 101: Paving the Road of Kings". Voices of Wrestling. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
5. ↑ Pat Laprade; Murphy, Dan (2017). Sisterhood of the squared circle : the history and rise of women's wrestling. Toronto: ECW Press Ltd. ISBN 9781773050157. OCLC 960823276.
6. ↑ "【無料公開】僕たちはハーレー斉藤を忘れない…". Lady's Ring Online (in Japanese). Retrieved October 21, 2024.