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Pro Wrestling Zero1

Acronym	Zero1
Founded	January 25, 2001
Style	Strong style
Headquarters	Japan
Founder(s)	Shinya Hashimoto and Shinjiro Otani
Owner(s)	iFD Daiko Holdings Group
Sister	Pro-Wrestling Sun (2006–2009)
Formerly	Pro Wrestling Zero-One (2001–2004) Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (2004–2008)
Split from	New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Website	www.z-1.co.jp

Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Japanese: プロレスリングZERO1, Hepburn: Puroresuringu Zerowan, stylized as PRO WRESTLING ZERO1), often referred to simply as Zero1 and sometimes referred to as Pro Wrestling Zero1 Catch as Catch Can (stylized as ZERO1 and PRO WRESTLING ZERO1 CATCH AS CATCH CAN, respectively), is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 2001.

Formerly known as Pro Wrestling Zero-One and Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (stylized as Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE and Pro Wrestling Zero1-MAX, respectively), it was affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from 2001 until late 2004, and briefly reaffiliated in 2011. It was also affiliated with AWA Superstars of Wrestling (AWA) from 2005 until late 2007, the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance (GPWA) from 2006 to 2009, and has been affiliated with the United Wrestling Network (UWN) since 2017.

History

As Pro Wrestling Zero-One

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The promotion was founded by former New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) stars Shinya Hashimoto and Shinjiro Otani. In 2000, Hashimoto proposed an independent promotion within NJPW called "New Japan Pro-Wrestling Zero", but the idea was shot down. When Hashimoto was fired by NJPW in November 2000, he registered the Pro Wrestling Zero-One name.

In its early years, Zero1 had working agreements with Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), NJPW, Riki Pro, Hustle, Big Mouth Loud, King's Road, and Dragondoor. These agreements enabled Zero1 wrestlers to challenge for and hold the other promotions' titles. The promotion also operated their own dojo, which was referred to as the "Takeshiba Coliseum".

On November 30, 2004, Shinya Hashimoto gave up ownership of the promotion, telling the press that due to financial problems he had decided to step away from the company. A new parent company "First On Stage" was formed consisting of president Yoshiyuki Nakamura, ring announcer Oki Okidata, Shinjiro Otani and a company named Baltic Curry. First On Stage renamed the promotion to Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max, with Otani and Nakamura taking over the promotion's general operations. Among other major changes made to the promotion's structure was the decision to join AWA Superstars of Wrestling (AWA) as the alliance's only Japanese member. Due to their new affiliation with the AWA, the promotion's previous National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliation was given to rival promotion NJPW.

Since April 2005, Zero1 has held yearly pay-per-view events at the Yasukuni Shrine, which is controversial for its relation to World War II. Larger Japanese wrestling promotions like NJPW, AJPW, and Noah have traditionally stayed away from such venues due to their controversial nature.

On September 12, 2006, Zero1-Max joined 12 other wrestling companies to form the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance (GPWA), a professional wrestling alliance that intended to "foster an environment of cooperation rather than competition." The alliance planned to hold occasional "Super Shows" where all member promotions would send wrestlers to compete under the GPWA banner. Noah's CEO Mitsuharu Misawa was inaugurated as the first chairman of the GPWA, while Zero1-Max's Yoshiyuki Nakamura was announced as the alliance's president. The GPWA would later fold in 2009.

As Pro Wrestling Zero1

In 2008, the promotion shortened its name to Pro Wrestling Zero1. In 2011, the promotion returned to the NWA as their Japanese territory. In March 2011, NWA presented Zero1 with the NWA Pan-Pacific Premium Heavyweight Championship in celebration of the promotion's tenth anniversary. In July, Daisuke Sekimoto won the Fire Festival to become the first NWA Pan-Pacific Premium Heavyweight champion. Later in 2011, Zero1 left the NWA, renaming their NWA-branded championships to "New Wrestling Alliance" championships.

Following their 2011 departure from the NWA, Zero1 launched an American affiliate, Zero1 USA, taking over the promotion previously known as NWA Midwest. In 2012, an Australian division of Zero1, known as Zero1 Australia, opened in Adelaide taking over what was previously known as NWA Pro Australia; in 2014 the relationship between Zero1 and Zero1 Australia ended with the Australian-based promotion renaming to Wrestle Rampage. Later in 2012, the Zero1 Hong Kong and Zero1 Mexico branches opened. In 2013, Yoshiyuki Nakamura opened a new division of Zero1 in Belarus.

On December 17, 2013, Zero1 announced a corporate restructuring taking place at the start of the 2014.

During a September 16, 2016 press conference, Dream On Stage was announced as Zero1's new parent company. Also announced was a partnership between Zero1 and Akebono's Ōdō company. On May 22, 2017, Zero1 partnered with the United Wrestling Network to become the group's official Japanese affiliate. On July 3, 2018, it was announced that the promotion be undergoing a management change, with Yoshitaka Ono stepping down as the CEO. Katsumi Sasazaki would be appointed the representative director and president of the promotion, while Shinjiro Otani took on the chairman of the board position and Masato Tanaka and Kohei Sato split the vice-president role of the promotion.

On February 1, 2020, Zero1 president Kazuhiro Iwamoto announced that the ownership of the promotion would be transferred from the previous management company Dream On Stage to iFD. Iwamoto additionally announced a plan to reform the promotion, which would include holding a show in the Ryōgoku Kokugikan on April 13, 2021, as part of the promotion's 20th anniversary. A further goal would be holding a show in the Roygoku Kokugikan annually, while also providing Zero1 wrestlers with fixed contracts and social security.

During a hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the promotion suffered from severe financial problems. Kazuhiro Iwamoto resigned from his position as president while wrestlers Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Ikuto Hidaka, and Kohei Sato all departed the promotion. In July 2020, it was announced that the company was acquired by Daiko Holdings Group. That same month, they hired former Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling women's wrestler Megumi Kudo as their general manager.

Personnel

Championships

Pro Wrestling Zero1

Championship	Current champion(s)		Reign	Date won	Days held	Location	Notes
World Heavyweight Championship		Go Shiozaki	1	July 13, 2024	161+	Tokyo, Japan	Defeated Akitoshi Saito at Noah Destination 2024.
NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship		Seiki Yoshioka	1, 1	March 3, 2024	293+	Tokyo, Japan	Defeated Takumi Baba at ZERO1 23rd Anniversary.
International Junior Heavyweight Championship
NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship		MJ2 (Kengo Mashimo and Naka Shunma)	1 (1, 1)	March 20, 2024	276+	Tokyo, Japan	Defeated Junya Matsunaga and Tsugutaka Sato in a winner-takes-all match also disputed for the 2AW Tag Team Championship at 2AW Grand Slam In Korakuen Hall.

Zero1 USA

Super Fireworks Pro Wrestling

No longer promoted / inactive

Tournaments

Zero1 holds a heavyweight tournament every summer in the last week of July called the "Fire Festival" (Himatsuri) where the winner holds the "Fire Sword" (a katana) for a whole year until the next summer's tournament. They also hold a Yasukuni Shrine show every April and a yearly junior tournament called the "Tenkaichi Jr."

Affiliates

See also

• Professional wrestling in Japan
• List of professional wrestling promotions in Japan
• List of National Wrestling Alliance territories

References

1. "Yasukuni Shrine Sumo Wrestling Place". Cagematch. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
2. "Wrestle Rampage begins now". January 1, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
3. "Pro-Wrestling Zero1 (Japan)". Wrestling-Titles.com.
4. Philip Kreikenbohm. "Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1)".
5. ゼロワン来年から新団体名に変更. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). December 17, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
6. 新体制のゼロワンが「王道」と業務提携. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). September 17, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
7. "Pro Wrestling ZERO1 Joins the United Wrestling Network". May 22, 2017.
8. "News Listings for July 3, 2018 – Puroresu Spirit". Archived from the original on 2018-07-07.
9. "La empresa japonesa Pro Wrestling ZERO1 atraviesa por problemas económicos". 2 July 2020.
10. "YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
11. ^ As of December 21, 2024.
12. "Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database". www.wrestlingdata.com.
13. "Blast King Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
14. Pro Wrestling Zero1 (February 24, 2020). 超花火超花火プロレス旗揚げ記念大会. z-1.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 24, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
15. Zero1/Super Fireworks Current Blast Festival 2019 in Kawasaki Cagematch.net Retrieved August 18, 2019
16. "NWA Premium Heavyweight Title (ZERO1)". Wrestling-Titles.com.
17. "NWA World Premium Heavyweight Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
18. "NWA Super Heavyweight Title (Japan)". Wrestling-Titles.com.
19. "ZERO-ONE O-300 Super Heavyweight Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
20. "ZERO-ONE Tenka-ichi Junior Heavyweight Title".
21. "WORLD-1 Heavyweight Title".
22. "WORLD-1 Heavyweight Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". Archived from the original on 2014-03-07.
23. "Zero1 USA". Wrestling-Titles.com.
24. "NWA/ZERO1 Pro Wrestling Australia". Wrestling-Titles.com.
25. "Pro Wrestling ZERO1 Australia (ZERO1 Australia) « Promotions Database « CAGEMATCH". Archived from the original on 2012-10-21.
26. "Fight Factory Pro Wrestling / NWA Ireland / Zero1 Ireland". Wrestling-Titles.com.
27. "Pro Wrestling ZERO1 Ireland (ZERO1 Ireland) « Promotions Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". Archived from the original on 2014-09-25.
28. "Scottish Wrestling Alliance". Wrestling-Titles.com.
29. "Pro Wrestling Zero1 Hong Kong". cagematch.net.
30. "Zero1 abre su filial Zero1-Mexico". Planeta Wrestling (in Spanish).
31. "Pro Wrestling Zero1 New Belarus Pro Wrestling". cagematch.net.
32. "Super Wrestling Alliance (Spain)". Wrestling-Titles.com.
33. "Pro Wrestling ZERO1 Spain (ZERO1 Spain) « Promotions Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". Archived from the original on 2014-07-15.
34. "Pro Wrestling ZERO1 USA Northeast (ZERO1 USA Northeast)". Cagematch. Retrieved February 11, 2023.

External links

• Official website
• Zero1 English language website

v t e Pro Wrestling Zero1
Championships and accomplishments	Active championships Heavyweight World Heavyweight Intercontinental Tag Team Junior heavyweight NWA World Junior Heavyweight Zero1 USA World Junior Heavyweight International Junior Heavyweight Women's Blast Queen Defunct championships AWA Japan Women's AWA United States AWA World Heavyweight WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Zero-One United States Heavyweight United National Heavyweight International Lightweight Tag Team Tournaments Fire Festival Furinkazan Tenkaichi Junior
Personnel	Shinya Hashimoto (co-founder) Shinjiro Otani (co-founder/president) Roster
Governing bodies	Current United Wrestling Network Former AWA Superstars of Wrestling Global Professional Wrestling Alliance National Wrestling Alliance
Partnerships	Current Fight Factory Pro Wrestling/Zero1 Ireland Marvelous Diana Former AAA All Japan Pro Wrestling Big Japan Pro Wrestling Dragon Gate DDT Pro-Wrestling Fighting of World Japan Pro Wrestling Hustle International Wrestling Association of Japan Kaientai Dojo Kensuke Office Michinoku Pro Wrestling New Japan Pro-Wrestling Pro Wrestling Noah Ring of Honor Toryumon Ultimate Pro Wrestling World Wrestling Association World-1 Wrestle-1
Category

v t e United Wrestling Network
Championships	World Heritage Television Arizona State Tag Team
Members	Current Championship Wrestling Former Combat Zone Wrestling Pro Wrestling Zero1 Women Superstars United
Programming	Current Championship Wrestling Former UWN Primetime Live
Partnerships	Current Reality of Wrestling Former New Japan Pro-Wrestling National Wrestling Alliance
Category:United Wrestling Network

v t e Professional wrestling in Japan
Active promotions Major promotions All Japan Pro Wrestling CyberFight DDT Pro-Wrestling Pro Wrestling Noah Dragongate New Japan Pro-Wrestling Women's CyberFight Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling World Wonder Ring Stardom Independent promotions Active Advance Pro Wrestling Big Japan Pro Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling-Explosion Dradition Ganbare☆Pro-Wrestling Gleat Lidet UWF G Prowrestling Kyushu Pro-Wrestling Michinoku Pro Wrestling Osaka Pro Wrestling Pro-Wrestling Basara Pro Wrestling Freedoms Pro Wrestling Land's End Pro-Wrestling Shi-En Pro Wrestling Zero1 Professional Wrestling Just Tap Out Strong Style Pro-Wrestling Tenryu Project Tokyo Gurentai Wrestling of Darkness 666 Women's 2point5 Joshi Pro Wrestling Actwres girl'Z ChocoPro Dream Star Fighting Marigold Ice Ribbon Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling Marvelous That's Women Pro Wrestling Oz Academy Pro Wrestling Wave Pure-J Reina Joshi Puroresu Seadlinnng Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana Governing bodies and interpromotional alliances Legitimate Allied Independent Wrestling Federations Asia-Pacific Federation of Wrestling United Japan Pro-Wrestling United Wrestling Network Storyline AWA International Wrestling Grand Prix Global Honored Crown New Wrestling Alliance Pacific Wrestling Federation
Defunct promotions Major promotions Fighting Network Rings Hustle Inoki Genome Federation International Wrestling Enterprise Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance UWF International Wrestle-1 Women's All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling Gaea Japan Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling Independent promotions Apache Pro-Wrestling Army Battlarts Diamond Ring Fighting of World Japan Pro Wrestling IWA Japan Japan Pro-Wrestling Kingdom Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi Smash Super World of Sports Tokyo Pro Wrestling Toryumon Japan Universal Lucha Libre Universal Wrestling Federation W*ING WAR Wrestling New Classic Women's Arsion JDStar JWP Joshi Puroresu NEO Japan Ladies Pro-Wrestling WNC-Reina Governing bodies and interpromotional alliances AWA Superstars of Wrestling Global Professional Wrestling Alliance Attendance records Professional wrestling at the Tokyo Dome Puroresu Rikidōzan

• Pro Wrestling Zero1
• 2001 establishments in Japan
• Japanese professional wrestling promotions
• National Wrestling Alliance members