Big Japan Pro Wrestling was founded in March 1995 by former
AJPW wrestlers
Shinya Kojika and
Kendo Nagasaki, during the boom period for
Deathmatch wrestling in Japan. Kendo Nagasaki left in 1999; Shinya Kojika is still president of the company to date. The promotion followed in the footsteps of organizations such as
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW),
Wrestling International New Generations (W*ING), and the
International Wrestling Association of Japan (IWA Japan), who helped popularise a hard-hitting, violent and bloody style of wrestling known as the Deathmatch, or in more recent years, "hardcore" wrestling. These matches are usually weapon filled, using both "conventional" weapons (such as chairs and tables), as well as "extreme" weapons not usually seen in mainstream wrestling, and previously unused in wrestling at all. These weapons include but are by no means limited to, nails, thumbtacks, fire, and fluorescent light tubes. Barbed wire is also often used liberally in these matches, sometimes wrapped around other weapons, laid on the floor surrounding the ring, wrapped around the ring ropes, or even replacing the ropes altogether. In its early years, BJW was unable to directly compete with the budgets of its competition. This led to the innovation of several unique gimmick matches, many of which helped hide its monetary shortcomings. These include: vs.
Yuko Miyamoto at ''BJW 15th Anniversary Show ~Death & Crazy That's The Way Of The BJ-World~
on May 4, 2010, D. J. Hyde and Nick Gage vs Jaki Numazawa, Isami Kodaka and Masashi Takeda) at BJW 15th Anniversary Show ~Death & Crazy That's The Way Of The BJ-World~'' on May 4, 2010 • Circus Deathmatch – above the ring is a scaffold and under that scaffold, there is a type of circus net made of barbed wire. When a wrestler falls off the scaffold the barbed wire spider net is there to "catch" the wrestlers. After a wrestler, or a team of wrestlers, has been thrown into the net it is cut down and the match continues to a pinfall. • Piranha Deathmatch – Barbed wire boards are placed in the corners. In the middle of the ring, there is a tank full of piranhas. To win, a competitor must hold their opponent in the tank for ten seconds. • Scorpion Deathmatch– This match is similar to the Piranha Deathmatch, but with cacti replacing barbed wire boards and a tank full of scorpions rather than piranhas. • Crocodile Deathmatch – Two wrestlers compete in a non-specific death match. The loser of the match must then go on to wrestle a crocodile. This type of match has only been performed once, between Shadow WX and Mitsuhiro Matsunaga. • Fire Stone Deathmatch – Electrified space heaters wrapped in barbed wire surround the ring both outside and inside, and the match is won by pinfall. • Big Japan W*ING Crisis Big Born Deathmatch (also known as "Crisis Big Born Deathmatch") – A match that combines several different deathmatch types. The match begins on a scaffold above a barbed wire net over a ring. The ring itself is surrounded by cacti, fire stones (electric space heaters wrapped in barbed wire), and dry ice. Thumbtacks are scattered in the ring. In the middle of the ring is a tank of scorpions. Various weapons including light bulbs, light tubes, baseball bats, drills, buzzsaws, and swords are permitted. The match is fought with all members of two teams active at the same time under hardcore street fight rules. When all the wrestlers have fallen into the barbed wire net, the next phase of the match begins. The barbed wire net is removed and the match continues. Wrestlers leave and win the match by submission, by having their head put in the scorpion tank for ten seconds, or by passing out. • "Ancient Way" Death Match – Both fighters wrap their hands in hemp rope, which is then coated in honey and dipped in broken glass to make them deadly weapons. Away from the Deathmatches, BJW also has had well-established normal wrestling titles. On February 3, 1998,
Yoshihiro Tajiri won a one-night-only 8-man tournament in Tokyo to crown BJW's first World Junior Heavyweight Champion. This match showed a distinct departure from the violent matches BJW is known for. The company also has had a World Heavyweight Championship, a World Women's Championship, a World Tag Team Championship, and a World 4-Man Tag Team Shuffle Championship. Although the World Tag Team and Deathmatch, titles are the only ones still active. Currently, the BJW roster is split into "Deathmatch BJ", "Strong BJ" and "Strong J". The deathmatch workers wrestle for the
BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship, the non-deathmatch heavyweight workers for the
BJW World Strong Heavyweight Championship, and the
junior heavyweight workers for the
BJW Junior Heavyweight Championship. ==Big Japan Pro Wrestling Core==