| Sweeper | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Stable | |
| Members |
Dylan James Jake Lee Keiichi Sato Koji Iwamoto Ryoji Sai Naoya Nomura |
| Debut | June 13, 2018 |
| Disbanded | December 21, 2019 |
| Promotion(s) | AJPW |
Sweeper (スイーパー Suīpā), was a professional wrestling stable in the Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) formed on June 13, 2018, by Dylan James, Jake Lee, Keiichi Sato, Koji Iwamoto and Ryoji Sai. The stable was disbanded on December 21, 2019, after Lee and Nomura felt the stable was divided.
The reason for the name was that their goal was to accomplish everything in the promotion. Sai held the All Asia Heavyweight Championship, Sai and James held the World Tag Team Championship and Iwamoto the World Junior Heavyweight Championship, while Lee and Iwamoto hold the All Asia Tag Team Championship.
History[edit | edit source]
On April 25, 2018, Jake Lee made his return to All Japan Pro Wrestling, announcing that he wished to face his former stablemates and in the process leaving Nextream. Following his return, Lee challenged his former Nextream stablemate Kento Miyahara into a match for his Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. However, he only received a non-title match against Miyahara. Shortly after, Lee announced a formation of a new stable alongside Dylan James, Keiichi Sato, Koji Iwamoto and Ryoji Sai. On June 13 it was revealed that the stable would be named "Sweeper". The reason for the name is that their goal is to accomplish everything in the promotion. On June 30, Sai and James lost the World Tag Team Championship to Suwama and Shuji Ishikawa. On August 26, Iwamoto defeated Atsushi Aoki to win the World Junior Heavyweight Championship. On September 22, Iwamoto lost the title to Shuji Kondo. On September 24, James turned on Lee and formed a team with Joe Doering. From November 13 to December 11, Lee and Sai took part in the World's Strongest Tag Determination League, finishing the tournament with a record of four wins and six losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament.
Later in 2019, Naoya Nomura would join the stable after leaving Nextram to join Sweeper. On April 29, Lee lost in the finals of the Champion Carnival to Kento Miyahara. On May 5, Lee and Iwamoto lost the All Asia Tag Team Champions to Kazumi Kikuta and Ryuichi Kawakami. On May 20, 2019, Iwamoto defeated Atsushi Aoki to win the World Junior Heavyweight Championship. On June 18, Lee and Iwamoto defeated Kazumi Kikuta and Ryuichi Kawakami to regain the All Asia Tag Team Championship. In July, Iwamoto and Sato took part of the 2019 Jr. Tag Battle of Glory, finishing the tournament with a record of two wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament. On September 23, Lee defeated Kento Miyahara in the finals to win the 2019 Ōdō Tournament. In December, Lee and Nomura made it to finals of the 2019 World's Strongest Tag Determination League by finishing in second with a record of six wins and three losses. On December 9, they were defeated in the finals of the tournament by Violent Giants (Suwama and Shuji Ishikawa). Following the tournament, Lee and Nomura decided to disband the stable, after feeling a lack of unity within the stable due to Sai teaming with Zeus in the tournament.
Championships and accomplishments[edit | edit source]
- All Japan Pro Wrestling
- World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) – Iwamoto
- All Asia Tag Team Championship (2 times) – Lee and Iwamoto
- World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – James and Sai
- Jr. Battle of Glory (2019) – Iwamoto
- Ōdō Tournament (2019) – Lee
- Land's End Pro Wrestling
