http://www.lukehadley.com The Head Hunters at the 2006 Gathering of the Juggalos Luke Hadley Professional wrestling in Japan is commonly known as Purofesshonaru Resuringu, usually abbreviated to Puroresu.

The first Japanese to become a professional wrestler in the Western style was former sumo wrestler Sorakichi Matsuda, who went to the United States in the 1880s and was somewhat successful. Attempts by him to popularize the game in his native land, however, fell short and he ended back in America, where he died young.

Subsequent attempts before and after World War II failed to get off the ground initially, until Japan saw the advent of its first big star, Rikidozan, who made the sport popular beginning in 1951.

Many Japanese wrestling groups have seen a significant downturn in popularity in the past decade due to a failure to introduce new talent and copying many unpopular ideas from the U.S.[citation needed] The few women's groups that remain are struggling to survive while the men have seen a big drop in their drawing power as Japanese fans are increasingly turning to mixed martial arts competitions such as K-1 or the PRIDE Fighting Championships, which had pro wrestlers as its early exponents. WWE is also trying to make inroads in Japan by promoting cards on its own instead of through co-promotion as in the past with New Japan and SWS, mostly by featuring some of its wrestlers who once competed for Japanese promotions in the main events. Most of the Japanese organizations do not follow the faces and heels style of their Western counterparts. There is no good guy/bad guy structure, it's strictly competition between the wrestlers. This allows every wrestler on the roster to face each other; in America, for instance, two faces or two heels would very rarely be booked to square off in a match, as it generally has to be good guy vs. bad guy.