History Wrestling / AllJapanProWrestling

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) was one of two wrestling promotions (the other being Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling) to split off from the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA) in the [[TheSeventies 1970s]]. All Japan was established in 1972. It competed with NJPW for supremacy in the wrestling field, employing a more "real sport"-based approach to professional wrestling presentation and angles than NJPW's more WWE-like "sports entertainment" atmosphere (although, ironically, everything else about the promotion, primarily the wrestling style, was much more Americanized than New Japan). It was founded by Wrestling/GiantBaba, who gained a reputation as a booker for his ability to slowly but surely build talent up into superstars.

[[quoteright:346:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ajpw_7254.jpg]]

The [[TheNineties 1990s]], however, are the best-remembered era of AJPW. After Tenryu jumped ship (to the short-lived Super World Sports, which cross-promoted with the WWF but ultimately failed; Tenryu never returned to AJPW while Baba was alive), Giant Baba had Tiger Mask II dramatically unmask and enter the heavyweight division under his real name, Wrestling/MitsuharuMisawa. Misawa took on the role of plucky underdog against Jumbo, and after Jumbo's health cut the feud short Misawa became the promotion's top star, with his former partner Wrestling/ToshiakiKawada becoming his archenemy and foil. The extended feud of the 90's featuring Misawa and Kawada, alongside the supporting players Wrestling/KentaKobashi, Akira Taue, and Jun Akiyama, led to a lengthy series of matches that are well-known for receiving copious five star ratings from [[Wrestling/TheWrestlingObserverNewsletter Dave Meltzer]], wrestling's most popular critic.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: Wrestling/MasakatsuFunaki and Minoru Tanaka, as MMA-trained shoot wrestlers, had a fighting style divergent from the traditional one found in AJPW.

* BaldOfAwesome: Keiji Mutoh and Taiyo Kea.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) was one of two wrestling promotions (the other being Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling) to split off from the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA) in the [[TheSeventies 1970s]]. All Japan was established in 1972. It competed with NJPW for supremacy in the wrestling field, employing a more "real sport"-based approach to professional wrestling presentation and angles than NJPW's more WWE-like "sports entertainment" atmosphere (although, ironically, everything else about the promotion, primarily the wrestling style, was much more Americanized than New Japan). It was co founded by Akio Sato and Wrestling/GiantBaba, the latter of whom gained a reputation as a booker for his ability to slowly but surely build talent up into superstars.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) was one of two wrestling promotions (the other being Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling) to split off from the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA) in the [[TheSeventies 1970s]]. All Japan was established in 1972. It competed with NJPW for supremacy in the wrestling field, employing a more "real sport"-based approach to professional wrestling presentation and angles than NJPW's more WWE-like "sports entertainment" atmosphere (although, ironically, everything else about the promotion, primarily the wrestling style, was much more Americanized than New Japan). It was co founded by Akio Sato and Giant Baba, the latter of whom gained a reputation as a booker for his ability to slowly but surely build talent up into superstars.

All Japan Pro Wrestling was one of two wrestling promotions (the other being Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling) to split off from the JWA in the [[TheSeventies 1970s]]. All Japan was established in 1972. It competed with NJPW for supremacy in the wrestling field, employing a more "real sport"-based approach to professional wrestling presentation and angles than NJPW's more WWE-like "sports entertainment" atmosphere (although, ironically, everything else about the promotion, primarily the wrestling style, was much more Americanized than New Japan). It was co founded by Akio Sato and Giant Baba, the latter of whom gained a reputation as a booker for his ability to slowly but surely build talent up into superstars.

In 2011, [[Wrestling/TheGreatMuta Keiji Mutoh]] would resign his presidency of All Japan, and was succeeded by Masayuki Uchida. Mutoh's decision to resign came after he took the blame for a real-life incident where TARU assaulted Super Hate backstage at a All Japan Pro Wrestling show, which led to Super Hate suffering a stroke after competing in a match.

After Giant Baba's death in 1999, Misawa started his own promotion, Wrestling/ProWrestlingNOAH, and took all of the AJPW native roster with him except for Kawada and older veteran Fuchi. The company was eventually taken over by former NJPW star [[Wrestling/TheGreatMuta Keiji Muto]], who spent the entire [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2000s decade]] trying to drag the company out of the financial hole created by Misawa's departure. This era, called "Puroresu Love", saw the AJPW turn into a more sports entertainment-based company, getting working agreements with all sorts of merchandising sponsors and having part in bizarre experiments like the first WRESTLE-1 and the more successful Wrestling/{{HUSTLE}}. It also featured a improvement in the dojo and a bigger openness in order to revitalize its roster, producing new talents and bringing freelancers from the independent circuit and abroad. Opinions aside about its quality, the Puroresu Love was a technically successful era for AJPW, as it saved it from the closure and gave it back its place among the big promotions.

The down side of all of this main event quality was that AJPW had a notoriously shallow roster. Misawa, Kobashi, Kawada, and Taue ([[FanNickname also known as the]] [[PillarsofMoralCharacter "Four Pillars"]]) were the top of the heap for an entire decade; in that time, Akiyama failed to satisfactorily break through to the top level. The main events were filled out by {{Foreign Wrestling Heel}}s such as Wrestling/DrDeathSteveWilliams, [[Wrestling/JohnLaurinaitis Johnny Ace]], Wrestling/GaryAlbright and Wrestling/StanHansen. The undercard wrestlers and their matches were largely held to be very forgettable, and all of the Meltzer-endorsed classics involved some combination of Misawa, Kawada, Kobashi, Taue and Akiyama. Additionally, the promotion's later years started a LensmanArmsRace of {{Finishing Move}}s that is credited with kicking off the bigger-is-better attitude toward offense. While matches in the early 1990s were known for their epic storytelling, the late 1990s were characterized by death-defying falls on concrete and dangerous head drops (culminating in Kenta Kobashi's famous Burning Hammer, and eventually Misawa's death by broken neck on a botched move).

After Giant Baba's death in 1999, Misawa started his own promotion, Wrestling/ProWrestlingNOAH, and took all of the AJPW native roster with him except for Kawada and older veteran Fuchi. The company was eventually taken over by former NJPW star [[Wrestling/TheGreatMuta Keiji Muto]], who spent the entire [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2000s decade]] trying to drag the company out of the financial hole created by Misawa's departure. This era, called "Puroresu Love", saw the AJPW turn into a more sports entertainment-based company, getting working agreements with all sorts of merchandising sponsors and having part in bizarre experiments like the first WRESTLE-1 and the more successful ProfessionalWrestling/{{HUSTLE}}. It also featured a improvement in the dojo and a bigger openness in order to revitalize its roster, producing new talents and bringing freelancers from the independent circuit and abroad. Opinions aside about its quality, the Puroresu Love was a technically successful era for AJPW, as it saved it from the closure and gave it back its place among the big promotions.

The down side of all of this main event quality was that AJPW had a notoriously shallow roster. Misawa, Kobashi, Kawada, and Taue ([[FanNickname also known as the]] [[PillarsofMoralCharacter "Four Pillars"]]) were the top of the heap for an entire decade; in that time, Akiyama failed to satisfactorily break through to the top level. The main events were filled out by {{Foreign Wrestling Heel}}s such as Wrestling/DrDeathSteveWilliams, [[Wrestling/JohnLaurinaitis Johnny Ace]], Gary Albright and Wrestling/StanHansen. The undercard wrestlers and their matches were largely held to be very forgettable, and all of the Meltzer-endorsed classics involved some combination of Misawa, Kawada, Kobashi, Taue and Akiyama. Additionally, the promotion's later years started a LensmanArmsRace of {{Finishing Move}}s that is credited with kicking off the bigger-is-better attitude toward offense. While matches in the early 1990s were known for their epic storytelling, the late 1990s were characterized by death-defying falls on concrete and dangerous head drops (culminating in Kenta Kobashi's famous Burning Hammer, and eventually Misawa's death by broken neck on a botched move).

The down side of all of this main event quality was that AJPW had a notoriously shallow roster. Misawa, Kobashi, Kawada, and Taue ([[FanNickname also known as the ]][[PillarsofMoralCharacter "Four Pillars"]]) were the top of the heap for an entire decade; in that time, Akiyama failed to satisfactorily break through to the top level. The main events were filled out by {{Foreign Wrestling Heel}}s such as Wrestling/DrDeathSteveWilliams, [[Wrestling/JohnLaurinaitis Johnny Ace]], Gary Albright and Wrestling/StanHansen. The undercard wrestlers and their matches were largely held to be very forgettable, and all of the Meltzer-endorsed classics involved some combination of Misawa, Kawada, Kobashi, Taue and Akiyama. Additionally, the promotion's later years started a LensmanArmsRace of {{Finishing Move}}s that is credited with kicking off the bigger-is-better attitude toward offense. While matches in the early 1990s were known for their epic storytelling, the late 1990s were characterized by death-defying falls on concrete and dangerous head drops (culminating in Kenta Kobashi's famous Burning Hammer, and eventually Misawa's death by broken neck on a botched move).

! Tropes associated with All-Japan Pro Wrestling:

* GameOfNerds: Known to recruit fairly heavily from baseball. Giant Baba playing the sport [[{{not}} likely]] has nothing to do with this.

* TournamentArc: Their best known singles competition is the round robin known as the Champion Carnival, where the winner receives a shot at the Unified Triple Crown belt. The tag league variations could be considered better known if not for the fact a few other companies run them since they're all following the JWA.

** Wrestling/TerryFunk, Dory Funk Jr and Mil Máscaras were pioneers in that they were major gaijins who underwent {{heel face turn}}s that stuck.

* RealSongThemeTune:
** Wrestling/AbdullahTheButcher used Music/PinkFloyd's "One Of These Days".
** Gary Albright used Music/JimiHendrix's "Voodoo Chile".
** Wrestling/BruiserBrody used Music/LedZeppelin's "Immigrant Song".
** Terry Gordy used Music/LynyrdSkynyrd's "Free Bird".
** Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors used Music/BlackSabbath's "Iron Man" from ''Music/{{Paranoid}}''.
** Yoshihiro Takayama used Music/MuddyWaters' "Mannish Boy".
** Steve Williams used Music/{{Kiss}}'s "I Love It Loud".
** Yoshiaki Yatsu used Music/DeepPurple's "Comin' Home".

* FiveBadBand: Voodoo Murders, in its beginning.

The [[TheNineties 1990s]], however, are the best-remembered era of AJPW. After Tenryu jumped ship (to the short-lived Super World Sports, which cross-promoted with the WWF but ultimately failed; Tenryu never returned to AJPW while Baba was alive), Giant Baba had Tiger Mask II dramatically unmask and enter the heavyweight division under his real name, Wrestling/MitsuharuMisawa. Misawa took on the role of plucky underdog against Jumbo, and after Jumbo's health cut the feud short Misawa became the promotion's top star, with his former partner Toshiaki Kawada becoming his archenemy and foil. The extended feud of the 90's featuring Misawa and Kawada, alongside the supporting players Wrestling/KentaKobashi, Akira Taue, and Jun Akiyama, led to a lengthy series of matches that are well-known for receiving copious five star ratings from [[Wrestling/TheWrestlingObserverNewsletter Dave Meltzer]], wrestling's most popular critic.

* FullyAbsorbedFinale: [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/alljapan/tc-h.html The Unified Triple Crown Heavyweight Title]] was created in 1989 after NWA International champion Jumbo Tsuruta, beat Stan Hansen, who already held bot the Pacific Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Title and NWA United National Title. The three belts would then be replaced by one.

* {{Irony}} While no one was happy about the Bruiser Brody situation in WWC, All Japan guys least of all. The loss of foreign talent that resulted nearly killed that company yet All Japan nearly fell into the same booking complacency. It ended up being an unexpected loss of local talents that almost did AJPW in though.

* BigDamnHeroes: [[Wrestling/TakuyaSugi AHII]] during his debut, which wasn't expected, given his rough appearance.

* YouGoGirl: Hosted the first ever women's professional wrestling match in Taiwan between Makoto and Wrestling/CheerleaderMelissa, after having introduced them via six person tag match more obviously pitting Wrestling/UltimoDragon and BUSHI against Dark Dragon and Black Bushi.
<<|ProfessionalWrestling|>>

* YouGoGirl: Hosted the first ever women's professional wrestling match in Taiwan between Makoto and Wrestling/CheerleaderMelissa.

** ''Zen-Nippon Pro Wrestling''

* GondorCallsForAid: After Misawa and 92% of the native wrestlers of All Japan announced they would be in NOAH full time after ''Summer Action Series 2000'', Moto Baba announced that Genichiro Tenryu, whom Giant Baba had barred from the promotion before he died, would be returning and when he did, he closed down WAR and brought the promotion's roster with him.

* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: Akira Taue. Misawa, Kobashi & Kawada are all workrate legends for their famed abilities in the ring. Taue, by contrast, was merely above average, and often looked clumsy and ungainly in the ring compared to the others. He's well-known as the least-gifted of the four, and most of his Five-Star matches were tag bouts involving the others (in fact, every single one of them, including his lone one-on-one Fiver, involved Misawa). He still had some classics, but they were never on the level of the singles combos of the other three.