History Wrestling / FightingOperaHUSTLE

* WrestlingMonster: What, you think the word monster is being thrown around on this page just for show? HUSTLE had guys who made Wrestling/TheUndertaker look ''mundane''. The Esperanza was perhaps the standout example.

HUSTLE's main plot involved the evil Generalissimo Takada attempting to destroy Japanese professional wrestling on behalf of the mixed martial arts world, leading his villanous Takada Monster Army against a group of heroic wrestling purists led by Wrestling/NaoyaOgawa under the collective name of HUSTLE Army. The story sank his roots in the MMA-like wrestling company where Takada built his career, [[Wrestling/UniversalWrestlingFederation UWF International]], which was destroyed by traditional pro wrestling and led to his founder to seek revenge against it. This storyline brought all kinds of figures and characters both in and out of pro wrestling, like Yinling the Erotic Terrorist and the renowned Creator/HardGay, who saw the start of the promotion's most succesful era, and finally ended in 2009 with an armistice (as well as the "death" of Takada against an one night enemy called King RIKI). The promotion started a fast decline and closed doors the same year, having outlasted both DSE and PRIDE.

The spiritual sequel to the original, short-lived WRESTLE-1 run, HUSTLE remains one of the fanciest Japanese wrestling companies ever, standing toe-to-toe with Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling at its pike, and was known for its long run in big arenas despite its difficult profitability (it's rumored, though far from proven, that a big chunk the money DSE earned with PRIDE was spent with HUSTLE). It targetted mainly audiences who had become tired of regular puroresu after the MMA boom, and arguably had success at this, as it had a solid fanbase both out and in Japan and is fondly remembered by many Western puroresu fans.

'''HUSTLE''' (also known as '''Fighting Opera HUSTLE''') was a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese ProfessionalWrestling promotion founded by Wrestling/NobuhikoTakada in 2004. He started it under the banner Dream Stage Entertainment, a corporation dedicated to the UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts which owned PRIDE Fighting Championship at the time, as well as Wrestling/ProWrestlingZERO1, but the premise was very different from the MMA or Japanese wrestling from its era. HUSTLE was filled with [[WidgetSeries weird storylines]], over-the-top gimmicks and {{Anime}} reminiscences, and worked with [[AllStarCast renowned wrestling veterans]], freelancers and even tarentos and TV personalities to create a scenic terrain labelled as "Fighting Opera".

The main plot involved the evil Generalissimo Takada attempting to destroy the professional wrestling on behalf of the mixed martial arts, leading his villanous Takada Monster Army against the good side represented by Wrestling/NaoyaOgawa and his wrestling allies from the HUSTLE Army. The story had his growths in the MMA-like wrestling company which Takada founded, [[Wrestling/UniversalWrestlingFederation UWF International]], which was destroyed by traditional pro wrestling and led to his founder to seek revenge against it (in {{kayfabe}}, but not completely; see YMMV for more). HUSTLE's plot brought all kinds of figures and characters, like Yinling the Erotic Terrorist and the renowned HardGay, who saw the start of the promotion's most succesful era, and it finally ended in 2009 with the "death" of Takada against an one night enemy called King RIKI. The promotion started a fast decline and closed doors the same year, having outlasted both DSE and PRIDE.

HUSTLE figures as one of the fanciest Japanese wrestling companies ever, standing toe-to-toe with Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling at its pike, and was known for its long run in big arenas despite its frequently difficult profitability (as it's popularly said that a big chunk the money DSE earned with PRIDE was spent with HUSTLE). It was mainly targetted to audiences who had become tired of regular puroresu after the MMA boom, and arguably had success, as it had a solid fanbase both out and in Japan, and is fondly remembered by many Western puroresu fans.

* {{Brainwashed}}: HUSTLE loved the trope, most probably as a way to work around the wrestlers's changes of alineation without tapping into the classic pro wrestling ThreeMonthRule (which would have been incoherent in a promotion so focused in storylines).

* FanDisservice: The third HUSTLE event featured Joe Son (yes, that Joe Son, the future convict and MMA adventurer) singing and dancing a slow rap while wearing his signature thong and makeup. His performance had some melancholic beauty, but otherwise it was freaking creepy.

* InsultBackfire: Wrestling/MickFoley and Toshiaki Kawada played this before their Triple Crown Championship match, while recalling their old tenures in Wrestling/{{A|llJapanProWrestling}}JPW. Foley said he remembered Kawada as a lazy wrestler. Then Kawada replied he didn't remember Foley.

* LivingWeapon: During the "Dynamite Hardcore HUSTLE Weapons Match" in 2004, in which different (and [[ImprobableWeaponUser improbable]]) weapons were introduced by raffle, GiantSilva was introduced as a literal living weapon to aid Kintaro Kanemura's team.

* AssKicksYou: Creator/HardGay and Shiro Koshinaka signature move.

* BigGood: Initially Wrestling/NaoyaOgawa, later arguably Wrestling/MagnumTOKYO.
* {{Brainwashed}}: HUSTLE loved the trope, most probably as a way to work around the wrestlers's changes of alineation without tap into the classic pro wrestling ThreeMonthRule (which would have been incoherent in a promotion so focused in storylines).

* TheChessmaster: Arguably Generalissimo Takada.

%%* HulaAndLuaus: LOCO and MOCO, the Hawaiian Express.

'''HUSTLE''' (also known as '''Fighting Opera HUSTLE''') was a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese ProfessionalWrestling promotion founded by Wrestling/NobuhikoTakada in 2004. He started it under the banner Dream Stage Entertainment, a corporation dedicated to the UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts which owned PRIDE Fighting Championship at the time, but the premise was very different from the MMA or Japanese wrestling from its era. HUSTLE was filled with [[WidgetSeries weird storylines]], over-the-top gimmicks and {{Anime}} reminiscences, and worked with [[AllStarCast renowned wrestling veterans]], freelancers and even tarentos and TV personalities to create a scenic terrain labelled as "Fighting Opera".

* HulaAndLuaus: LOCO and MOCO, the Hawaiian Express.

* {{Kayfabe}}: HUSTLE lived it.

* MartialArtsHeadband: Shinya Hashimoto.
* MaskedLuchador: Loads and loads.
* MightyGlacier: Giant Silva, Bono-chan, HUSTLE Wrestling/{{Rikishi}} and others.
* MundaneMadeAwesome
* PartsUnknown: HUSTLE Kamen Rangers, from "HUSTLE Nebula"
* ThePowerOfFriendship: Was used by Real Gay to bring Monster HG back to his true self.
* ThePowerOfLove: Used by Wataru Sakata's wife Eiko Koke to defeat The Esperanza.
* PsychoRangers: The Monster Kamen Rangers.

* BigGood: Initially Wrestling/NaoyaOgawa, later arguably Magnum TOKYO.

The main plot involved the evil Generalissimo Takada attempting to destroy the professional wrestling on behalf of the mixed martial arts, leading his villanous Takada Monster Army against the good side represented by Naoya Ogawa and his wrestling allies from the HUSTLE Army. The story had his growths in the MMA-like wrestling company which Takada founded, [[Wrestling/UniversalWrestlingFederation UWF International]], which was destroyed by traditional pro wrestling and led to his founder to seek revenge against it (in {{kayfabe}}, but not completely; see YMMV for more). HUSTLE's plot brought all kinds of figures and characters, like Yinling the Erotic Terrorist and the renowned HardGay, who saw the start of the promotion's most succesful era, and it finally ended in 2009 with the "death" of Takada against an one night enemy called King RIKI. The promotion started a fast decline and closed doors the same year, having outlasted both DSE and PRIDE.

* BigGood: Initially Naoya Ogawa, later arguably Magnum TOKYO.

The main plot involved the evil Generalissimo Takada attempting to destroy the professional wrestling on behalf of the mixed martial arts, leading his villanous Takada Monster Army against the good side represented by Naoya Ogawa and his wrestling allies from the HUSTLE Army. The story had his growths in the MMA-like wrestling company which Takada founded, [[Wrestling/UniversalWrestlingFederation UWF International]], which was destroyed by traditional pro wrestling and led to his founder to seek revenge (in {{kayfabe}}, but not completely; see YMMV for more) against it. HUSTLE's plot brought all kinds of figures and characters, like Yinling the Erotic Terrorist and the renowned HardGay, who saw the start of the promotion's most succesful era, and it finally ended in 2009 with the "death" of Takada against an one night enemy called King RIKI. The promotion started a fast decline and closed doors the same year, having outlasted both DSE and PRIDE.

HUSTLE figures as one of the fanciest Japanese wrestling companies ever, standing toe-to-toe with Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling at its pike, and was known for its long run in big arenas despite its frequently difficult profitability (as it's popularly said that all the money DSE earned with PRIDE was spent with HUSTLE). A controversial promotion towards pro wrestling in general, HUSTLE had a solid fanbase both out and in Japan, and is fondly remembered by many Western puroresu fans.

** TAJIRI was hypnotised by Yinling, but snapped after a time when he was attacked by the also brainwashed ACHICHI.

* TheDragon: Commander An Jo.

* TheGiant: Wrestling/GiantSilva.

* ScaryBlackMan: Bob Sapp.

* ActionGirl: Karate Girl.

* AssKicksYou: HardGay and Shiro Koshinaka signature move.

* InsultBackfire: Wrestling/MickFoley and Toshiaki Kawada played this before their Triple Crown Championship match, while recalling their old tenures in AJPW. Foley said he remembered Kawada as a lazy wrestler. Then Kawada replied he didn't remember Foley.

* AfroAsskicker: Wrestling/ShinyaHashimoto sported a massive afro during his fat Elvis gimmick. Also, Hustle Kamen Green.

* BigGood: Naoya Ogawa.
* {{Brainwashed}}: Many.

* FanDisservice: The third HUSTLE event featured Joe Son (yes, that Joe Son, the future convict and MMA adventurer) singing and dancing a slow rap while wearing his signature thong and makeup. The act did have some melancholic beauty, but otherwise it was freaking creepy.
* FunnyAnimal: The Monster Army has animal-themed mooks, like tortoises, catfishes and more.

* TheHero: Wataru Sakata.

* SadistTeacher: Toshiaki Kawada towards his protegee Taichi Ishikari. Kawada's shenanigans often saw kicking him and striking him in the face when poor Taichi was off-guard.

* StoutStrength: Monster Bono [[Wrestling/AjaKong Erika]], [[Wrestling/KiaStevens Margaret]], Bubba Ray Dudley

* WrestlingMonster: What, you think the word monster is being thrown around on this page just for show? Hustle had guys who made Wrestling/TheUndertaker look ''mundane''. The Esperanza was perhaps the standout example.

* AfroAsskicker: Wrestling/ShinyaHashimoto sported a massive afro during his fat Elvis gimmick. Also, Hustle Kamen Green

* FanDisservice: The third HUSTLE event featured Joe Son (yes, that Joe Son, the future convict MMA adventurer) singing and dancing a slow rap while wearing his signature thong and makeup. The act did have some melancholic beauty, but otherwise it was just creepy.

* SadistTeacher: Toshiaki Kawada towards his protegee Taichi Ishikari.

* FanDisservice: The third HUSTLE event featured Joe Son (yes, that Joe Son, the future convict MMA adventurer) singing and dancing a slow rap while wearing his signature thong and makeup. The act did have a melancholic beauty, but otherwise it was just creepy.

'''HUSTLE''' (also known as '''Fighting Opera HUSTLE''') was a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese ProfessionalWrestling promotion founded by Wrestling/NobuhikoTakada in 2004. He started it under the banner Dream Stage Entertainment, a corporation dedicated to the UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts which owned PRIDE Fighting Championship at the time, but the premise was very different from the MMA or Japanese wrestling of its era. HUSTLE was filled with [[WidgetSeries weird storylines]], over-the-top gimmicks and {{Anime}} reminiscences, and worked with [[AllStarCast renowned wrestling veterans]], freelancers and even tarentos and TV personalities to create a scenic terrain labelled as "Fighting Opera".

HUSTLE figures as one of the fanciest Japanese wrestling companies ever, standing toe-to-toe with Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling at its pike, and is known for its long run in big arenas despite its frequent difficult profitability (as it's popularly said that all the money DSE earned with PRIDE was spent with HUSTLE). Despite its controversy towards pro wrestling in general, HUSTLE had a solid fanbase both out and in Japan, and is fondly remembered by many Western puroresu fans.

'''HUSTLE''' (also known as '''Fighting Opera HUSTLE''') was a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese ProfessionalWrestling promotion founded by Wrestling/NobuhikoTakada in 2004. He started it under the banner Dream Stage Entertainment, a corporation dedicated to the UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts which owned PRIDE Fighting Championship at the time, but the premise was very different from the MMA or Japanese wrestling of its era. Takada filled HUSTLE with [[WidgetSeries weird storylines]], over-the-top gimmicks and {{Anime}} reminiscences, and worked with [[AllStarCast renowned wrestling veterans]], freelancers and even tarentos and TV personalities to create a scenic terrain he labelled as "Fighting Opera".

The main plot involved the evil Generalissimo Takada attempting to destroy the Professional Wrestling on behalf of the Mixed Martial Arts, leading his villanous Takada Monster Army against the good side represented by Naoya Ogawa and his wrestling allies from the HUSTLE Army. The story had his growths in the MMA-like wrestling company which Takada founded, [[Wrestling/UniversalWrestlingFederation UWF International]], which was destroyed by traditional pro wrestling and led to his founder to seek revenge (in {{kayfabe}}, but not too) against it.

At the time, HUSTLE figured as one of the more succesful Japanese wrestling companies, standing toe-to-toe with Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling, but it showed a slow decline which culminated with Takada departing from the promotion in 2009, and HUSTLE closed doors the same years. Despite its fall, HUSTLE had a solid fanbase both out and in Japan, and is fondly remembered by many puroresu fans.

'''HUSTLE''' was a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese ProfessionalWrestling promotion founded by Wrestling/NobuhikoTakada in 2004. He started it under the banner Dream Stage Entertainment, a corporation dedicated to the UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts which owned PRIDE Fighting Championship at the time, but the premise was very different from the MMA or Japanese wrestling of its era. Takada filled HUSTLE with [[WidgetSeries weird storylines]], over-the-top gimmicks and {{Anime}} reminiscences, and worked with [[AllStarCast renowned wrestling veterans]], freelancers and even tarentos and TV personalities to create a scenic terrain he labelled as "Fighting Opera".

The main plot was Takada attempting to destroy the Professional Wrestling on behalf of the Mixed Martial Arts, leading his villanous Takada Monster Army against the good side represented by Naoya Ogawa and his wrestling allies from the HUSTLE Army. The story had his growths in the MMA-like wrestling company which Takada founded, [[Wrestling/UniversalWrestlingFederation UWF International]], which was later destroyed by the traditional pro wrestling and led to his founder to seek revenge (in {{kayfabe}}, but not too) against them.

At the time, HUSTLE figured as one of the biggest Japanese wrestling companies, standing toe-to-toe with Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling, but it showed a slow decline which culminated with Takada departing from the promotion in 2009, and HUSTLE closed doors the same years. Despite its fall, HUSTLE had a solid fanbase both out and in Japan, and is fondly remembered by many puroresu fans.

* AmazonBrigade: The Amazoness Army, led by Yinling.

* AssKicksYou: HardGay signature move.

* ButtMonkey: Wataru Sakata, TAJIRI and Real Gay.

* DelayedReaction: Himalayan Big Foot
* TheDragon: Yoji Anjo.