Active Advance Pro Wrestling (2AW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion and training facility 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. The promotion was originally called Kaientai Dojo (or K-DOJO for short).
 | |
| Acronym | 2AW |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2002 |
| Style | Puroresu |
| Headquarters | Chiba, Japan |
| Founder(s) | Taka Michinoku |
| Formerly | Kaientai Dojo (K-DOJO) |
This style was largely contributed to by Taka Michinoku and is gaining popularity in Japan and abroad. K-DOJO 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 K-DOJO 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.
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 the joshi pro-wrestling promotion Universal Woman's Pro Wrestling Reina, but K-Dojo continues to run shows from the renamed Reina Arena.[1] On April 1, 2013, the arena was again renamed Blue Field.
History
Kaientai Dojo originated in 2000 as a small wrestling school in Puerto Rico run by Taka Michinoku. After Taka returned to Japan in 2002, he established the Japanese branch of Kaientai Dojo, which would soon become a wrestling promotion. The small federation grew over the years and is now an independent league that runs as a promotion, wrestling school, and talent loan organization to various other leagues such as AJPW, Dragon Gate and Michinoku Pro.
Until recently, K-DOJO was separated into two distinct 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. On April 22, 2007, RAVE ran its last show; the two brands merged and now run joint shows.
A particular aspect of K-DOJO is that it is one of the few wrestling promotions to feature both men and women. Women can wrestle in the same ring as men, either during mixed tag matches or even singles matches. Also, they can challenge for championship belts, something that would be unheard of in most wrestling promotions.
In November 2018, it became known that Taka Michinoku had an eight-year-long extramarital relationship with a woman. After this scandal, the promotion fired him and sanctioned him for one year without payment.[2]
In April 2019, the promotion announced that they were rebranding as Active Advance Pro Wrestling (2AW for short). This came as the company attempted to rebrand itself after the Taka Michinoku scandal, also changing its colors to black & white. That same night, young wrestler Ayato Yoshida won the Strongest-K Championship, symbolically leading the company into the future.[3]
On January 10, 2020, it was announced that 2AW is now part of the Allied Independent Wrestling Federations as their Japanese affiliate.[4]
Roster
Championships
Current
| Championship | Current champion(s) | Reign | Date won | Days held | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2AW Openweight Championship |  | Takuro Niki | 1 | October 29, 2023 | 227+ | Chiba, Japan | Defeated Kohei Sato at 2AW Grand Slam In TKP Garden City Chiba. |
| 2AW Tag Team Championship |   | Kengo Mashimo & Naka Shunma | 1 (3, 1) | December 3, 2023 | 192+ | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Bug's Mutation (Ayumu Honda & Chango) at 2AW Grand Slam In Korakuen Hall. |
| Chiba Six Man Tag Team Championship |   | Ayumu Honda, Kyu Mogami & Taishi Takizawa | 1 (3, 3, 1) | January 10, 2020 | 1,615+ | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Ayato Yoshida, Kotaro Yoshino & Tank Nagai at GRAND SLAM In TKP Garden City Chiba. |
Formerly promoted
| Championship | Last champion(s) | Reign | Date won | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIWF World Heavyweight Championship | Kevin Phoenix | 1 | August 24, 2019 | |
| Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship | Arata | 2 | January 15, 2021 | Tokyo, Japan |
| UWA World Middleweight Championship | Kyu Mogami | 1 | June 20, 2019 | Tokyo, Japan |
| UWA World Tag Team Championship | Jinsei Shinzaki & The Great Sasuke | 1 (1, 1) | May 4, 2021 | Yahaba, Iwate, Japan |
| FMW/WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship | Kunio Toshima & Yuma Aoyagi | 1 (1, 1) | April 17, 2016 | Tokyo, Japan |
2AW Openweight Championship
| 2AW Openweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Current design of the title (2022 – present) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | Active Advance Pro Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | September 1, 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Current champion(s) | Takuro Niki | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date won | July 23, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
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The 2AW Openweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion Active Advance Pro Wrestling. There have been a total of nine reigns shared between eight different champions. The current champion is Takuro Niki who is in his first reign.
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| Defenses | Number of successful defenses |
| <1 | Reign lasted less than a day |
| + | Current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Defenses | ||||
| 1 | Shu Asakawa | September 1, 2019 | 2AW GRAND SLAM In Korakuen Hall | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 206 | 4 | Defeated Ayato Yoshida in the tournament final to become the inaugural champion. | [5] |
| 2 | Yuji Okabayashi | March 25, 2020 | 2AW GRAND SLAM In Korakuen Hall | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 102 | 2 | [6] | |
| 3 | Ayato Yoshida | July 5, 2020 | 2AW Launching Business 1st Anniversary ~ GRAND SLAM In TKP Garden City Chiba | Chiba, Japan | 1 | 298 | 6 | [7] | |
| 4 | Taishi Takizawa | April 29, 2021 | 2AW Grand Slam In 2AW Square | Chiba, Japan | 1 | 182 | 4 | [8] | |
| 5 | Shigehiro Irie | October 28, 2021 | 2AW Grand Slam In Korakuen Hall | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 144 | 3 | [9] | |
| 6 | Kengo Mashimo | March 21, 2022 | 2AW Grand Slam In Korakuen Hall | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 279 | 7 | [10] | |
| 7 | Ayato Yoshida | December 25, 2022 | 2AW Grand Slam in TKP Garden City Chiba ~ Final Event Of The Year | Tokyo, Japan | 2 | 210 | 6 | [11] | |
| 8 | Kohei Sato | July 23, 2023 | 2AW Grand Slam in TKP Garden City Chiba | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 98 | 1 | [12] | |
| 9 | Takuro Niki | October 29, 2023 | 2AW Grand Slam In TKP Garden City Chiba | Chiba, Japan | 1 | 227+ | 6 | [13] | |
Combined reigns
As of June 12, 2024.
| † | Indicates the current champion |
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined defenses | Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ayato Yoshida | 2 | 12 | 508 |
| 2 | Kengo Mashimo | 1 | 7 | 279 |
| 3 | Takuro Niki † | 1 | 6 | 227+ |
| 4 | Shu Asakawa | 1 | 4 | 206 |
| 5 | Taishi Takizawa | 1 | 4 | 182 |
| 6 | Shigehiro Irie | 1 | 3 | 144 |
| 7 | Yuji Okabayashi | 1 | 2 | 102 |
| 8 | Kohei Sato | 1 | 1 | 98 |
2AW Tag Team Championship
| 2AW Tag Team Championship | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Details | |||||||||||||||
| Promotion | Active Advance Pro Wrestling | ||||||||||||||
| Date established | February 14, 2020 | ||||||||||||||
| Current champion(s) | M2J (Kengo Mashimo and Naka Shunma) | ||||||||||||||
| Date won | December 2, 2023 | ||||||||||||||
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The 2AW Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion Active Advance Pro Wrestling. There have been a total of fourteen reigns shared between thirteen different teams consisting of seventeen distinctive champions. The current title holders are Kengo Mashimo and Naka Shunma who are in their first reign as a team.
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific team—reign numbers for the individuals are in parentheses, if different |
| Days | Number of days held |
| Defenses | Number of successful defenses |
| <1 | Reign lasted less than a day |
| + | Current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Defenses | ||||
| 1 | Ayato Yoshida & Tank Nagai | February 14, 2020 | 2AW | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 40 | 0 | Defeated Kyu Mogami & Minoru Fujita in a tournament final to become the inaugural champions. | [14] |
| 2 | Chango & Kaji Tomato | March 25, 2020 | 2AW GRAND SLAM In Korakuen Hall | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 76 | 3 | [6] | |
| 3 | Tempest (Ayumu Honda & Taishi Takizawa) | June 9, 2020 | 2AW GRAND SLAM In Samurai! TV | Chiba, Japan | 1 | 54 | 0 | [15] | |
| 4 | Kengo Mashimo & Tatsuya Hanami | August 2, 2020 | 2AW GRAND SLAM In Korakuen Hall | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 75 | 3 | [16] | |
| 5 | The Andrew Kingdom (Shigehiro Irie & The Andrew King Takuma) | October 16, 2020 | 2AW GRAND SLAM In Korakuen Hall | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 107 | 1 | [17] | |
| 6 | Kengo Mashimo & Tatsuya Hanami | January 31, 2021 | 2AW Grand Slam In 2AW Square | Chiba, Japan | 2 | 210 | 5 | [18] | |
| 7 | Toll Glänz (Kotaro Yoshino & Tank Nagai (2)) | August 29, 2021 | 2AW Grand Slam In TKP Garden City Chiba | Chiba, Japan | 1 | 77 | 2 | [19] | |
| 8 | The Rule (Ayato Yoshida (2) & The Andrew King Takuma (2)) | November 14, 2021 | 2AW Grand Slam in TKP Garden City Chiba | Chiba, Japan | 1 | 101 | 3 | [20] | |
| 9 | Voodoo Murders (Chris Vice & Yoshikazu Yokoyama) | February 23, 2022 | 2AW Infinity ~ 2022 Winter | Chiba, Japan | 1 | 46 | 0 | [21] | |
| 10 | The Rule (Ayato Yoshida (3) & Excilio) | April 10, 2022 | ZERO1 Osu Premium Show ZERO1 20th & 21st Anniversary Pro Wrestling | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 154 | 2 | [22] | |
| 11 | Koen (Takuro Niki & Tatsuya Hanami (3)) | September 11, 2022 | 2AW Grand Slam In Korakuen Hall | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 224 | 4 | [23] | |
| 12 | Daiju Wakamatsu & Taishi Takizawa (2) | April 23, 2023 | 2AW Grand Slam In 2AW Square | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 91 | 1 | [24] | |
| 13 | Bug's Mutation (Ayumu Honda (2) & Chango (2)) | July 23, 2023 | 2AW Grand Slam In 2AW Square | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 133 | 2 | This was a three-way tag team match also involving Kazma Sakamoto and Kengo Mashimo. | [12] |
| 14 | M2J (Kengo Mashimo (3) & Naka Shunma) | December 3, 2023 | 2AW Grand Slam In Korakuen Hall | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 192+ | 6 | [25] | |
Combined reigns
As of June 12, 2024.
| † | Indicates the current champion |
|---|
| Rank | Team | No. of reigns | Combined defenses | Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kengo Mashimo & Tatsuya Hanami | 2 | 8 | 285 |
| 2 | Koen (Takuro Niki & Tatsuya Hanami) | 1 | 4 | 224 |
| 3 | M2J † (Kengo Mashimo & Naka Shunma) | 1 | 6 | 192+ |
| 4 | The Rule (Ayato Yoshida & Excilio) | 1 | 2 | 154 |
| 5 | Bug's Mutation (Ayumu Honda & Chango) | 1 | 2 | 133 |
| 6 | The Andrew Kingdom (Shigehiro Irie & The Andrew King Takuma) | 1 | 1 | 107 |
| 7 | The Rule (Ayato Yoshida & The Andrew King Takuma) | 1 | 3 | 101 |
| 8 | Daiju Wakamatsu & Taishi Takizawa | 1 | 1 | 91 |
| 9 | Toll Glänz (Kotaro Yoshino & Tank Nagai) | 1 | 2 | 77 |
| 10 | Chango & Kaji Tomato | 1 | 3 | 76 |
| 11 | Tempest (Ayumu Honda & Taishi Takizawa) | 1 | 0 | 54 |
| 12 | Voodoo Murders (Chris Vice & Yoshikazu Yokoyama) | 1 | 0 | 46 |
| 13 | Ayato Yoshida & Tank Nagai | 1 | 0 | 40 |
By wrestler
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined defenses | Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tatsuya Hanami | 3 | 12 | 509 |
| 2 | Kengo Mashimo † | 3 | 14 | 477+ |
| 3 | Ayato Yoshida | 3 | 5 | 296 |
| 4 | Takuro Niki | 1 | 4 | 224 |
| 5 | Chango | 2 | 5 | 209 |
| 6 | The Andrew King Takuma | 2 | 4 | 208 |
| 7 | Ayumu Honda | 2 | 2 | 187 |
| 8 | Naka Shunma † | 1 | 6 | 192+ |
| 9 | Excilio | 1 | 2 | 154 |
| 10 | Taishi Takizawa | 2 | 1 | 145 |
| 11 | Tank Nagai | 2 | 2 | 117 |
| 12 | Shigehiro Irie | 1 | 1 | 107 |
| 13 | Daiju Wakamatsu | 1 | 1 | 91 |
| 14 | Kotaro Yoshino | 1 | 2 | 77 |
| 15 | Kaji Tomato | 1 | 3 | 76 |
| 16 | Chris Vice | 1 | 0 | 46 |
| Yoshikazu Yokoyama | 1 | 0 | 46 |
Defunct
| Championship: | Final champion(s): | Date won: |
|---|---|---|
| Strongest-K Championship | Ayato Yoshida | April 13, 2019 |
| Strongest-K Tag Team Championship | Kaji Tomato & Taishi Takizawa | April 13, 2019 |
| UWA/UWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship | Kazma & Kengo Mashimo | March 5, 2006 |
| WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship | Kunio Toshima & Yuma Aoyagi | April 17, 2016 |
| Kitakami 6-Man Tag Team Championship | Kengo Mashimo, Tank Nagai & Yuki Sato | May 22, 2016 |
Annual tournaments
| Tournament | Latest winner: | Date won: |
|---|---|---|
| Bo-so Golden Tag Tournament | Ayato Yoshida & Kyu Mogami | January 29, 2017 |
| K-Metal League | Marines Mask | May 6, 2018 |
| Kaio Tournament | Kengo Mashimo | August 26, 2018 |
