JWP Joshi Puroresu (JWP女子プロレス, JWP Joshi Puroresu), also known as JWP Project (JWPプロジェクト, JWP Purojekuto) or simply JWP, was a Japanese joshi puroresu (women's professional wrestling) promotion, founded in 1992 as a splinter promotion of Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. Celebrating its 25th anniversary at the time of its folding in 2017, JWP was the oldest joshi puroresu promotion in Japan and its Openweight Championship was the oldest championship in all of joshi.[2][3][4]Command Bolshoi, who had worked for the promotion since the beginning, served as the final president of JWP.[5] The promotion's slogan was "Pure Heart, Pure Wrestling".[1]
JWP Joshi Puroresu was founded in early 1992, when Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (JWP), ravaged by internal politics, split up into two camps, dubbed the "shooters" and the "entertainers",[6] and eventually folded on January 18.[7][8] The "shooter" side went on to form Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling (LLPW), while the "entertainer" side, led by Jackie Sato and financed by Masatoshi Yamamoto, founded JWP Project, later renamed JWP Joshi Puroresu, which held its first event on April 3, 1992.[6][9][10] Already the following year, JWP managed to sign a television deal with the WOWOW channel.[11] In 1994, Jaleco published the JWP Joshi Pro Wrestling: Pure Wrestle Queens (JWP女子プロレス ピュア・レッスル・クイーンズ, JWP Joshi Puroresu Pyua Ressuru Kuīnzu)video game for the Super Famicom game console.[12]
JWP's goal from the start was to rival All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW), the top joshi puroresu promotion in the country, but always remained in its shadow.[13] After closing the gap between the two promotions in 1996, JWP was hit hard in 1997, when two of its top workers, Candy Okutsu and Hiromi Yagi retired, Dynamite Kansai was sidelined with health problems and finally, when, on August 16, another top worker, Plum Mariko, died in the ring during one of its events.[13] These were followed by Jackie Sato's death from stomach cancer on August 9, 1999.[6] After a co-promoted event with AJW in February 2000 turned out to be a failure, JWP closed its doors at the end of the year.[6] However, the promotion returned just a few months later, now under new management, headed by wrestler Command Bolshoi.[5] JWP continued working with former rival promotion AJW until the promotion folded in April 2005. JWP then adopted AJW's premier wrestling tournament, Tag League the Best,[14] and also inherited the promotion's old sponsor, the Daily Sports newspaper, which led to JWP most notably introducing the Daily Sports Women's Tag Team Championship in August 2008.[15][16]
JWP not only trained a large number of wrestlers, but was also able to recruit wrestlers from other folding joshi puroresu promotions, including Arisa Nakajima, Leon and Sachie Abe from AtoZ, Kazuki from JDStar and Hanako Nakamori and Tomoko Morii from Ito Dojo, while also employing freelancers such as Emi Sakura, Kana and Misaki Ohata.[17] JWP had a close working relationship with the Ice Ribbon promotion.[18] JWP also had a relationship with American promotion Chikara, with Hanako Nakamori, Tsubasa Kuragaki and Kaori Yoneyama, a replacement for an injured Command Bolshoi, representing the promotion at Chikara's JoshiMania weekend in December 2011.[19][20] JWP has also participated in Chikara's premier tournament, the King of Trios, on two occasions, with Bolshoi, Kuragaki and Yoneyama participating in 2012,[21][22] and Bolshoi, Hanako Nakamori and Manami Katsu in 2016.[23]
On February 8, 2017, JWP held a press conference to announce that the promotion would fold following its 25th anniversary event on April 2, 2017, after which all of its wrestlers would become freelancers. The group's contract with the JWP production company was set to expire in April and the two sides had not been able to come to terms on a new one. Bolshoi would remain in charge of Pure Dream kabushiki gaisha, which she had established the previous November and through which she would launch a new promotion on August 11, 2017. The new company would retain control of the Daily Sports Women's Tag Team and Princess of Pro-Wrestling Championships, while the JWP name and the JWP Openweight, Tag Team and Junior Championships all remained with the JWP production company. JWP's folding marked the end of the oldest women's professional wrestling promotion still in operation at that point in time.[24][25][26] The following month, it was announced that Bolshoi's new promotion would be called "Pure-J".[27][28] JWP's final show in Korakuen Hall on April 2, 2017, was attended by 1,180 people, and featured appearances by several wrestlers from the promotion's past, including Azumi Hyuga, Cutie Suzuki, Dynamite Kansai, Hikari Fukuoka, Kayoko Haruyama and Mayumi Ozaki.[2][29]
Originally created in JDStar,[34] the title was defended at JWP Joshi Puroresu with the closing of JDStar. On April 2, 2017, after the closing of JWP, Pure-J owned the rights of the title.[35]
The championship was deactivated for undocumented reasons. The exact date the title was deactivated is uncertain, somewhere in 2017 at or after September 20, where Kuzumi and Motoya won the title.[citation needed]
^Meltzer, Dave (January 20, 1992). "Jan 20 1992 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 1991 year-end awards issue, Herd leaves WCW, more (back issue)". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. p. 11. ISSN1083-9593. The biggest news of the week in Japan is that after Sunday afternoon's show at Korakuen Hall, the JWP promotion announced it was folding. The death of the group, the least popular of all the promotions running full-time schedules in Japan, wasn't unexpected and had been rumored since late last year. It is expected that with the ending of the JWP group that two of its wrestlers, Rumi Kazama and Shinobu Kandori, were going to approach Hachiro Tanaka (who already owns SWS and PWF and apparently is going sponsor Antonio Inoki in some ways) about financing a new women's promotion which would employ most of the old JWP women. No word if All Japan Women will hire any of the JWP wrestlers who are now out of wrestling work.
^Meltzer, Dave (January 27, 1992). "Jan 27 1992 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Flair wins Royal Rumble, more awards, WCW courts Bret (back issue)". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. p. 15. ISSN1083-9593. JWP finishing up its final tour before it goes out of business drew 1,132 on 1/18 in Hiroshima as Pink Cadillac & Cutie Suzuki beat three girls in a handicap match and Harley Saito & Devil Masami beat Eagle Sawai & Dynamite Kansai.
^Meltzer, Dave (March 30, 1992). "Mar 30 1992 Observer Newsletter: No buzz for 92 Mania, WWE steroid symposium, Donahue fallout, more (back issue)". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. p. 8. ISSN1083-9593. JWP, after closing down for re-financing, starts back in business on 4/3 in Tokyo's Korakuen Hall headlined by Dynamite Kansai & Hikari Fukuoka vs. Cutie Suzuki & Mayumi Ozaki and they'll be back 4/11 in the same building with Kansai vs. Plum Mariko in the main event.
^Meltzer, Dave (May 4, 1992). "May 4, 1992 Observer Newsletter: NWA Title tourney, Luger lawsuit, early Russo heat, Wrestlemarinpiad (back issue)". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. pp. 9–10. ISSN1083-9593. Next major JWP show is 5/23 in Yashio. The new JWP consists of ten women and it's like PWF and UWFI where they pretty much have the same match-ups all the time. Of the ten, the major names are Devil Masami, Cutie Suzuki, Plum Mariko and Dynamite Kansai. The other three major names from the old JWP, Harley Saito, Rumi Kazama and Shinobu Kandori are trying to start up their own company which is tentatively scheduled to open in June.
^Meltzer, Dave (July 26, 1993). "July 26, 1993 Observer Newsletter: Beach Blast, WWF and WCW booking discussions, tons more (back issue)". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. p. 13. ISSN1083-9593. JWP's first television show aired on WOWOW channel on 7/10 featuring a hot 27:00 main event with Dynamite Kansai & Plum Mariko vs. Devil Masami & Cutie Suzuki that was in the four-star range.
