Hustle (professional wrestling)
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Categories: All pages needing to be wikified | Wikify from October 2007 | Japanese professional wrestling promotions | Companies of Japan
HUSTLE is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion managed by Nobuhiko Takada. HUSTLE can be described as an industry experiment to market the sports entertainment style of pro-wrestling in Japan. Booked primarily by Nobuhiko Takada and Yuji Shimada, the promotion’s basic premise pits the babyface HUSTLE faction, “defending the industry”, against General Takada’s heel Monster Faction, whose mission is to destroy the sport. Unlike traditional puroresu, the company deemphasizes realism and athleticism, and instead relies on melodrama and caricatures. The group once maintained a close affiliation with mixed martial arts promoters PRIDE Fighting Championships when both were owned by Dream Stage Entertainment. Fans in the U.S. consider 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. NJPW feud and the rise of PRIDE and K-1. As of 04/24/07, Hustle's ownership group (made up of former Dream Stage Entertainment employees) became "Hustle Entertainment" and that former Kami no Puroresu editor Noboru Yamaguchi (who was part of the original Hustle brain trust) became President of the new organization. The group however is still running their business at the old Dream Stage Entertainment offices which became the PRIDE Worldwide Holding offices. Interestingly enough, earlier in the year, HUSTLE ran a storyline where Generalissimo 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 turned into "Celeb" Ogawa, where he acts like a big time celebrity. The storyline was in response to DSE's bleak future due to financial troubles caused by DSE's yakuza scandals; DSE would eventually close doors after PRIDE Fighting Championships was officially bought out by Zuffa (the organization that owns UFC).
RosterNew Generation Hustle Army
Takada Monster Army
Masked Mystery Men
Hustle Kamen
Alumni
Championships
External links
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