 | |
| Acronym | 2AW |
| Trading name | Active Advance Pro Wrestling |
| Native name | アクティブ・アドバンス・プロレスリング |
| Romanized name | Akutibu Adobansu Puroresuringu |
| Type | Private |
| Founded | April 2002 |
| Founder(s) | Taka Michinoku |
| Owner(s) | Toshiki Toeda |
| Style | Puroresu |
| Headquarters | Chiba, Japan |
| Formerly | Kaientai Dojo (K-DOJO) |
| Website | https://www.2aw.jp/ |
Only Advance Co., Ltd. (有限会社オンリーアドバンス Yūgengaisha onrīadobansu) operating as Active Advance Pro Wrestling (アクティブ・アドバンス・プロレスリング Akutibu Adobansu puroresuringu) and sometimes referred to as 2AW is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion formerly known as Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo). The promotion was originally owned and promoted by Taka Michinoku. The promotion places emphasis on a style of puroresu that combines high-flying, technical wrestling, and martial arts.
This style was largely contributed to by Taka Michinoku and gainined popularity in Japan and abroad. The promotion is also heavily influenced by American-style wrestling and places a large amount of importance on presentation. For instance, each Club-K 3000 show that 2AW runs is equipped with a large screen near the entrance gate, similar to the titantron, where a short introductory vignette is played during each wrestler's entrance and where the crowd can follow the action on-screen.
History[]
Kaientai Dojo originated in 2000 as a small wrestling school in Puerto Rico run by Taka Michinoku. After returning to Japan in 2002, he established the Japanese branch of Kaientai Dojo, which then became a wrestling promotion. During their first years, the promotion was separated into two distinct brand sides, GET and RAVE, which ran separate shows but often joined together during large shows and tours. GET was led by Taka Michinoku, while RAVE's leader was Hi69. After Hi69's departure, Taka Michinoku became commissioner of RAVE and 296 became commissioner of GET, until the two brands were merged with RAVE on April 22, 2007
The promotion became one of the few wrestling promotions to feature both men and women. Women could wrestle in the same ring as men, either during mixed tag matches or even singles matches. Also, they can challenge for championship titles, something that would be unheard of in most wrestling promotions. They had a home building that doubles as their training facility, Chiba Blue Field, where all of their Club-K 3000 shows were held; in December 2011, the building was bought by all Women's professional wrestling promotion Universal Woman's Pro Wrestling Reina, but the promotion continued to run shows from the renamed Reina Arena. On April 1, 2013, the arena was again renamed Blue Field.
On November 11, 2018, it was reported by the Japanese magazine Flash, that Michinoku had an extramarital affair and the woman with whom Yoshida had an affair also said in the course of the publications that he was a "groovy man", leading Kaientai Dojo employers being concerned about the future fanaticism and criticizing Michinoku's behavior. This also led to K-Dojo to initiate disciplinary proceedings against him and as a result being forced to resign from his post on the board of the directors and not being paid for a full year.
In January 2019, Michinoku was forced to leave the promotion due to the aforementioned affair. In April 2019, the promotion announced their rebranding as "Active Advance Pro Wrestling" (2AW in short). The idea came as the company attempted to distance themselves from the Taka Michinoku scandal, also changing their colors to black and white. Afterwards, all of the promotion former championships; Strongest-K Championship and Strongest-K Tag Team Championship were declared vacated, being replaced by the 2AW Openweight Championship and 2AW Tag Team Championship and the Blue Field arena being renamed to 2AW Square. The following January in 2021, 2AW became part of the Allied Independent Wrestling Federations as their Japanese affiliate.
Roster[]
- Ayame Sasamura
- Ayato Yoshida
- Ayumu Honda
- CHANGO (Freelancer)
- Chicharito Shoki
- Daiki Wakamatsu
- Kaji Tomato
- Kengo Mashimo
- Kotaro Yoshino
- Kunio Toshima
- Kyu Mogami
- MIYAWAKI
- Naka Shuma
- Ricky Fuji
- Shiori Asahi
- Tiran Shisa
- Taishi Takizawa
- Tatsuya Hanami
- Takuro Niki
- Takuma Joshiba
- Taylor Adams
- Chris Vice (Pro Wrestling ZERO1)
- Yoshikazu Yokoyama (Pro Wrestling ZERO1)
Staff[]
- Mike Sato (Commissioner)
- Tomomi Kikuchi (Referee)
- Tommy Ibaraki (Referee)
- Akimune (Referee)
- Jun Hana (Announcer)
- Toshiki Toeda (Chairman)
- Ryota Chikuzen (Advisor)
Notable alumni[]
- Alex Lee
- Andras Miyagi
- Apple Miyuki
- Bambi
- Carolina Akiko (Ring Announcer/Presenter)
- Daigoro Kashiwa
- Daiki Shimomura
- DJ Nira/BAKA Michinoku
- Drew Parker
- Hayato Tamura
- HUB
- Hi69
- Hiro Tonai
- Hajime Ishikawa
- Kim Nam-Seok
- Kota Sekifuda
- Madoka/Super-X
- Makoto Oishi
- Mikata Fuyuki (Ring Announcer)
- Mike Lee Jr.
- Minoru Fujita
- Nobutaka Moribe
- Mika Iwata
- Ofune
- Owen Phoenix
- PABLO
- Marines Mask II
- Randy Takuya
- Ryota Nakatsu
- Ryuichi Sekine
- Rina Shingaki
- 'Sheik' Behnam Ali
- Saburo Inematsu
- Shota
- Taka Michinoku
- Takashi Sasaki
- Taku Anzawa
- Tank Nagai
- Teppei Ishizaka
- Tomomitsu Matsunaga
- Tae Honma
- Tomoka Nakagawa
- Totoro Satsuki
- Tsukushi
- Yasu Urano
- Silver Wolf
- Yoshiaki Yago
- YOSHIYA
- Yuji Hino
- Yuki Sato
- Yoshihiro Horaguchi
- Yusaku Obata
- Yuki Mashiro
- Yuu Yamagata
Championships[]
Current[]
| Championship | Current champion(s) | Reign | Date won | Days held | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2AW Openweight Championship | Takuro Niki | 1 | October 29, 2023 | 406+ | Chiba |
| 2AW Tag Team Championship | Kengo Mashimo and Naka Shuma | 1 | December 3, 2023 | 371+ | Tokyo |
Defunct[]
| Championship | Last champion(s) | Date retired |
|---|---|---|
| Strongest-K Championship | Ayato Yoshida | April 13, 2019 |
| Strongest-K Tag Team Championship | Kaji Tomato and Taishi Takizawa | April 13, 2019 |
| Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship | Shiori Asahi | November 1, 2015 |
| UWA World Middleweight Championship | Kyu Mogami | June 20, 2019 |
| UWA/UWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship | Kazma and Kengo Mashimo | March 5, 2006 |
| WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship | Kunio Toshima and Yuma | April 17, 2016 |
| Kitakami 6-Man Tag Team Championship | Kengo Mashimo, Tank Nagai and Yuki Sato | May 22, 2016 |
| Chiba Six Man Tag Team Championship | Ayumu Honda, Kyu Mogami and Taishi Takizawa | January 10, 2020 |
Tournaments[]
| Tournament | Last winner | Last held |
|---|---|---|
| Active Advanced Tournament | Takuro Niki | September 24, 2023 |
| Bo-so Golden Tag Tournament | Ayato Yoshida and Kyu Mogami | January 29, 2017 |
| K-Metal League | Marines Mask | May 6, 2018 |
| Kaio Tournament | Kengo Mashimo | August 26, 2018 |