Hustle (professional wrestling)

Pwcompanybox
name = Hustle


acronym = Hustle
established = 2004
style = Sports Entertainment
location = Japan
founder = Nobuhiko Takada
owner = Hustle Entertainment
parent =
sister =
formerly =
merged =

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.

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).

Roster

New Generation Hustle Army

*"Hard Gay" HG
*"Hustle General" Genichiro Tenryu
*"Real Gay" RG
*"Hustle Supernova" KUSHIDA
*(^o^)/ Chie (pronounced "Banzai Chie")
*"Super Cyborg" Ryoji Sai
*"Hustle Resistance" Wataru Sakata
*Tajiri
*Yosei
*Keroro Gunsou

Takada Monster Army

*“Generalissimo” Takada (Nobuhiko Takada)
*"Monster K" Toshiaki Kawada
*"The Erotic Terrorist" Yinling
*Tiger Jeet Singh
*"Fire Monster" Shinjiro Otani
*Anjo Shireichoukan/Anjonosuke (Yoji Anjo)
*Giant Vabo (Hiroshi Nagao) (from volleyball, "vabōru", and Giant Baba)
*Private Shimada (Yuji Shimada)
*"Monster K'" Kohei Sato
*The Neo Devil Pierrot 1 & 2
*Flying Vampire 16 & 23 & 25 & 28
*Kyo Itako
*Kidata-Low
*FUJIN & RAIJIN
*The Esperanza (Nobuhiko Takada)
*Scott Norton
*Rene Bonaparte
*Bob Sapp
*Akebono (As Monster Bono/Bono-chan)
* Count Poisonous Cobra

Masked Mystery Men

*Randleman
*Coleman
*Kurodaman (Tetsuhiro Kuroda)
*Mitsuyaman

Hustle Kamen

*Hustle Kamen Blue
*Hustle Kamen Green
*Hustle Kamen Red
*Hustle Kamen Pink
*Hustle Kamen Yellow
*Hustle Kamen Kin & Gin

Alumni

*Naoya Ogawa
*Shinya Hashimoto
*Madama Devil (Devil Masami) (parody of Madama Butterfly and Dewi Sukarno)
*Erica (Aja Kong)
*Kaz Hayashi
*Margaret (Amazing Kong)
*Masato Tanaka
*"Hustle I" Taichi Ishikari
*Hirotaka Yokoi
*Arisin Z (Ayako Hamada)
*Blanca X
*Caiya
*Demon Spider
*Giant Silva
*Jaguar Y (Jaguar Yokota)
*Monster C (Steve Corino)
*Monster J (Sonjay Dutt)
*Sodom & Gomora
*Riki Chōshū
*Tadao Yasuda
*Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon)
*Nosawa
*The Great Muta
*Seiichi Kusama
*Kei Sasahara
*Warren Cromartie
*Minoru Suzuki
*Yoshihiro Takayama

Current Champion

*Hustle Hardcore Hero Championship — Tadao Yasuda
*Hustle Super Tag Team Championship — Team 3D
(Brother Ray and Brother Devon)

External links

* [http://www.hustlehustle.com/ Hustle Home page (japanese)]
* [http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/fight/other/headlines/wrestling/20070424-00000026-spnavi-fight.html Hustle Entertainment news]
* [http://www.hustle.puroresufan.com English Hustle Fan Site]