Once upon a time, the UWF ruled the world.
As pioneers of "shoot style" pro wrestling, they filled the Tokyo Dome before NJPW or AJPW ever did. They broke box office records. They were superstars.
And then, one day, it all ended.
Born out of a New Japan pro wrestling scandal, imploding in on itself not once but twice and leaving a profound mark on not only pro wrestling, but MMA as well, This is the story of how “real” wrestling took over Japan.
This is the story of the UWF.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WrestlingColin
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WrestlingColin
Navigation:
0:00 Intro
1:00 Antonio Inoki's Business Scandal and the Origins of the UWF
4:45 What is "Shoot Style" Pro Wrestling?
6:29 The Formation of the First UWF
10:02 Akira Maeda Shoots on Satoru Sayama
12:22 The UWF-NJPW invasion
14:09 Akira Maeda Shoots on Riki Choshu
15:48 The Formation of the UWF Reborn
18:29 The UWF Makes History at the Tokyo Dome
22:31 The Downfall of the UWF
25:13 UWF offshoots and Legacy
26:08 Special Message
Primary information sources:
Shooters: The Toughest Men in Professional Wrestling by Jonathan Snowden https://www.amazon.ca/Shooters-Toughest-Men-Professional-Wrestling/dp/1770410406
The Wrestling Observer https://www.f4wonline.com/
Cameron Lee (KynchStalker)'s Pro Wrestling Only articles https://forums.prowrestlingonly.com/topic/54558-the-dissolution-of-newborn-uwf/
Igapro article "The end of the new UWF... Akira Maeda is isolated" https://igapro24.com/2018/12/19/uwf-2/
Zach Arnold article from puroresupower.com (now unavailable) via IGN: https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/09/02/fire-pro-wrestling-d-tiger-mask-faq-448581
Fumi Saito on the "Write That Down!" podcast https://podcastaddict.com/fight-game-media-network/episode/135953264
Eggshells: Pro Wrestling In The Tokyo Dome by Chris Charlton https://www.amazon.ca/Eggshells-Pro-Wrestling-Tokyo-Dome-ebook/dp/B07DNG71V1
Card lineups and information via https://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/