Hustle (professional wrestling)


Hustle was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion managed by Nobuhiko Takada. Hustle can be described as an industry experiment to market the sports entertainment style of professional wrestling in Japan.

History

primarily by Nobuhiko Takada and Yuji Shimada, the promotion’s basic premise pits the babyface, or good guy, Hustle faction whose goal is to “defend the industry”, against Generalissimo Takada’s heel, or bad guy, Monster Faction, whose mission is to destroy the sport. Unlike the traditional puroresu, the company emphasizes melodrama and caricatures over realism and athleticism. The group once maintained a close affiliation with mixed martial arts promoters PRIDE Fighting Championships when both were owned by Dream Stage Entertainment, or DSE.
Fans in the U.S. considered HUSTLE to be an answer to Takada's original wrestling style, the serious shoot style, having lost its popularity in Japan as a result of the UWFi vs. New Japan Pro Wrestling feud and the rise of Pride and K-1.
As of 04/24/07, Hustle's ownership group became "Hustle Entertainment" and former Kami no Puroresu editor Noboru Yamaguchi became President of the new organization. The group is still running their business at the old Dream Stage Entertainment offices, which became the PRIDE Worldwide Holding offices.
Earlier in 2007, Hustle ran a storyline where General Takada bought out Hustle for 1 billion Monster dollars and that everyone within the Hustle army became part of the Takada Monster Army. Some wrestlers received new gimmicks, like Naoya Ogawa turning into "Celeb" Ogawa, where he acted like a celebrity. The storyline was in response to DSE's bleak future due to financial troubles caused by yakuza scandals; DSE would eventually close doors after Pride Fighting Championships was officially bought out by Zuffa.
In July 2009, the leader of the Monster Army, Generalissimo Takada was "killed" when a new enemy by the name of "King RIKI" showed up at the "HUSTLE AID 2009" event and repelled one of Takada's lasers, sending it back towards him and wounding him. The following show the Monster Army was disbanded, as the direction of the company started to change.
In August 2009, President Noburo Yamaguchi stated that Hustle would be entering a new era. Straying away from the over the top storylines & gimmick-oriented "Fighting Opera" style that made them popular, to a more traditional wrestling "Professional Fighting" style.
Hustle president Nobuo Yamaguchi announced on October 28 that the promotion was folding. He made the announcement that they were out of money, and could no longer pay the staff and the wrestlers. He said that the scheduled 10/29 show at Korakuen Hall was canceled, as are all the rest of the shows on the schedule. Since Nobuhiko Takada left the promotion as the top heel, interest had gone way down. Many of the shows were before small crowds, and most of those crowds were papered. While nobody would say so publicly, they were behind on paying a lot of the wrestlers, and the demise of the promotion has been expected for the last couple of months. Yamaguchi said his goal was to eventually bring the promotion back. Wataru Sakata still runs Hustle shows under the banner "HUSTLE Man's World", with wrestler @UEXIL as the main eventer; however, they're only run sporadically and at the small venue Shin-Kiba FIRST Ring, without television exposure and attendance figures not posted.
In the beginning of 2010 some of Hustle's biggest names announced that they would be forming a new promotion, Smash, intended to replace the dead promotion. Smash held its first show on March 26, 2010. After a six-month hiatus, Hustle held two shows on April 30 and May 30, 2010. After another four-month break, the promotion held two more shows in October. In 2011, the Bleacher Report ranked Hustle No.13 on its list of the 25 worst professional wrestling promotions in history.

Final roster

Hustle Union Army

Hustle Hardcore Hero Championship

The Hustle Hardcore Hero Championship was the top championship in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Hustle. The title was more of a joke title since the Hustle promotion was never meant to be taken seriously. The title was represented by a giant gold and black spiked baseball bat.

Hustle Super Tag Team Championship

The Hustle Super Tag Team Championship was the tag team championship in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Hustle.

Events

#Event titleDateLocation
1HUSTLE 1January 4, 2004Saitama, Japan
2HUSTLE 2March 7, 2004Yokohama, Japan
3HUSTLE 3May 8, 2004Yokohama, Japan
4HUSTLE House Vol. 1June 28, 2004Tokyo, Japan
5HUSTLE 4July 25, 2004Yokohama, Japan
6HUSTLE House Vol. 2September 2, 2004Tokyo, Japan
7HUSTLE 5September 20, 2004Yokohama, Japan
8HUSTLE House Vol. 3October 21, 2004Tokyo, Japan
9HUSTLE 6October 23, 2004Nagoya, Japan
10HUSTLE House: Christmas Special - Night 1December 24, 2004Tokyo, Japan
11HUSTLE House: Christmas Special - Night 2December 25, 2004Tokyo, Japan
12HUSTLE House Vol. 4February 8, 2005Tokyo, Japan
13HUSTLE House Vol. 5February 9, 2005Tokyo, Japan
14HUSTLE 7February 11, 2005Nagoya, Japan
15HUSTLE 8March 18, 2005Tokyo, Japan
16HUSTLE House Vol. 6March 19, 2005Shizuoka, Japan
17HUSTLE 9May 10, 2005Niigata, Japan
18HUSTLE House Vol. 7May 14, 2005Sapporo, Japan
19HUSTLE House Vol. 8May 15, 2005Sapporo, Japan
20HUSTLE 10July 13, 2005Fukuoka, Japan
21HUSTLE 11July 15, 2005Osaka, Japan
22HUSTLE House Vol. 9September 8, 2005Tokyo, Japan
23HUSTLE 12September 10, 2005Nagoya, Japan
24HUSTLE House Vol. 10October 26, 2005Tokyo, Japan
25HUSTLE 13October 30, 2005Amori, Japan
26HUSTLEMANIANovember 3, 2005Yokohama, Japan
27HUSTLE House: Christmas Special 2005 - Night 1December 24, 2005Tokyo, Japan
28HUSTLE House: Christmas Special 2005 - Night 2December 25, 2005Tokyo, Japan
29HUSTLE House Vol. 11February 2, 2006Tokyo, Japan
30HUSTLE 14February 10, 2006Yokohama, Japan
31HUSTLE House Vol. 12March 9, 2006Tokyo, Japan
32HUSTLE 15March 12, 2006Nagoya, Japan
33HUSTLE 16April 20, 2006Osaka, Japan
34HUSTLE House Vol. 13April 22, 2006Tokyo, Japan
35HUSTLE House Vol. 14April 23, 2006Tokyo, Japan
36HUSTLE 17May 13, 2006Sendai, Japan
37HUSTLE House Vol. 15: Road To HUSTLE Aid - Night 1June 10, 2006Hamamatsu, Japan
38HUSTLE House Vol. 16: Road To HUSTLE Aid - Night 2June 15, 2006Tokyo, Japan
39HUSTLE Aid: Save The World By HustlingJune 17, 2006Saitama, Japan
40HUSTLE 18July 9, 2006Yokohama, Japan
41HUSTLE House Vol. 17: Hustle King ForeverJuly 11, 2006Tokyo, Japan
42HUSTLE House Vol. 18August 8, 2006Tokyo, Japan
43HUSTLE House Vol. 19August 9, 2006Tokyo, Japan
44HUSTLE House Vol. 20September 7, 2006Tokyo, Japan
45HUSTLE 19October 6, 2006Osaka, Japan
46HUSTLE 20October 9, 2006Nagoya, Japan
47HUSTLE House Vol. 21November 15, 2006Tokyo, Japan
48HUSTLEMANIA 2006November 23, 2006Yokohama, Japan
49HUSTLE House: Christmas Special 2006 - Part 1December 25, 2006Tokyo, Japan
50HUSTLE House: Christmas Special 2006 - Part 2December 26, 2006Tokyo, Japan
51HUSTLE House Vol. 22March 15, 2007Tokyo, Japan
52HUSTLE House Vol. 23March 17, 2007Tokyo, Japan
53HUSTLE 21March 18, 2007Nagoya, Japan
54HUSTLE 22April 21, 2007Osaka, Japan
55HUSTLE House Vol. 24May 9, 2007Tokyo, Japan
56HUSTLE 23June 10, 2007Aomori, Japan
57HUSTLE House Vol. 25June 14, 2007Tokyo, Japan
58HUSTLE Aid 2007June 17, 2007Saitama, Japan
59HUSTLE House Vol. 26July 11, 2007Tokyo, Japan
60HUSTLE 24July 14, 2007Hamamatsu, Japan
61HUSTLE House Vol. 27August 15, 2007Tokyo, Japan
62HUSTLE 25August 18, 2007Nagoya, Japan
63HUSTLE House Vol. 28September 13, 2007Tokyo, Japan
64HUSTLE 26September 22, 2007Osaka, Japan
65HUSTLE House Vol. 29October 10, 2007Tokyo, Japan
66HUSTLE House Vol. 30October 16, 2007Tokyo, Japan
67HUSTLE House Vol. 31October 22, 2007Tokyo, Japan
68HUSTLEMANIA 2007November 25, 2007Yokohama, Japan
69HUSTLE House: Christmas Special 2007December 25, 2007Tokyo, Japan
70New Year's Eve: HUSTLE Festival 2007December 31, 2007Saitama, Japan
71HUSTLE 27January 13, 2008Nagoya, Japan
72HUSTLE House Vol. 32January 17, 2008Tokyo, Japan
73HUSTLE House Vol. 33February 21, 2008Tokyo, Japan
74HUSTLE 28February 24, 2008Saitama, Japan
75HUSTLE House Vol. 34March 17, 2008Tokyo, Japan
76HUSTLE 29March 20, 2008Osaka, Japan
77HUSTLE 30April 13, 2008Tokyo, Japan
78HUSTLE House Vol. 35April 16, 2008Tokyo, Japan
79HUSTLE House Vol. 36May 13, 2008Tokyo, Japan
80HUSTLE Aid 2008May 24, 2008Tokyo, Japan
81HUSTLE House Vol. 37June 18, 2008Tokyo, Japan
82HUSTLE Tour 2008 - Night 1July 6, 2008Fukuoka, Japan
83HUSTLE Tour 2008 - Night 2July 7, 2007Tokyo, Japan
84HUSTLE Tour 2008 - Night 3July 27, 2008Yokohama, Japan
85HUSTLE Tour 2008 - Night 4August 23, 2008Osaka, Japan
86HUSTLE Tour 2008 - Night 5September 19, 2008Tokyo, Japan
87HUSTLE Tour 2008 - Night 6September 28, 2009Nagoya, Japan
88HUSTLE Tour 2008 - Night 7October 16, 2008Tokyo, Japan
89HUSTLE Tour 2008 - Night 8October 26, 2008Kiyohara, Japan
90HUSTLE Tour 2008 - Night 9November 20, 2008Tokyo, Japan
91HUSTLE Tour 2008 - Night 10November 22, 2008Mito, Japan
92HUSTLE Tour 2008: Christmas Special Part 1December 24, 2008Tokyo, Japan
93HUSTLE Tour 2008: Christmas Special Part 2December 25, 2008Tokyo, Japan
94HUSTLEMANIA 2008December 20, 2008Tokyo, Japan
95HUSTLE Tour 2009 - Night 1January 29, 2009Tokyo, Japan
96HUSTLE Tour 2009 - Night 2February 19, 2009Tokyo, Japan
97HUSTLE Tour 2009 - Night 3February 22, 2009Chiba, Japan
98HUSTLE Tour 2009 - Night 4March 25, 2009Tokyo, Japan
99HUSTLE Tour 2009 - Night 5April 23, 2009Tokyo, Japan
100HUSTLE Tour 2009 - Night 6April 23, 2009Tokyo, Japan
101HUSTLE Tour 2009 - Night 7April 29, 2009Nagoya, Japan
102HUSTLE Tour 2009 - Night 8May 4, 2009Yokohama, Japan
103HUSTLE Tour 2009 - Night 9May 23, 2009Soka, Japan
103HUSTLE Tour 2009 - Night 10May 27, 2005Tokyo, Japan
104HUSTLE Tour 2009 - Night 11June 25, 2009Tokyo, Japan
105HUSTLE Tour 2009 - Night 12June 27, 2009Kiryu, Japan
106HUSTLE Tour 2009 - Night 13July 5, 2009Fukuoka, Japan
107HUSTLE Aid 2009July 26, 2009Tokyo, Japan
108HUSTLE Tour 2009 - Night 14July 30, 2009Tokyo, Japan
109HUSTLE Gaiden: Shiro Koshinaka 30th AnniversaryAugust 27, 2009Tokyo, Japan
110HUSTLE Tour 2009 - Night 15September 26, 2009Tokyo, Japan
111HUSTLE JihadOctober 10, 2009Tokyo, Japan
112HUSTLE Jets: Judgement DayApril 30, 2010Tokyo, Japan
113HUSTLE Jets: Chapter 2May 30, 2010Tokyo, Japan
114HUSTLE Man's World 1September 10, 2010Tokyo, Japan
115HUSTLE Man's World 2October 27, 2010Tokyo, Japan
116HUSTLE Man's World 3December 2, 2010Tokyo, Japan
117HUSTLE Jets 3: Road to HustleDecember 4, 2010Tokyo, Japan
118HUSTLE Jets 4: The Wrestling Year-End Party ~ Revenge!December 28, 2010Tokyo, Japan
119HUSTLE Man's World 4January 27, 2011Tokyo, Japan
120HUSTLE Man's World 5April 2, 2011Tokyo, Japan
121HUSTLE Man's World 6May 28, 2011Tokyo, Japan