| Wrestling New Classic | |
| Acronym: | WNC |
| Established: | April 5, 2012 |
| Folded: | June 26, 2014 |
| Style: | Puroresu Strong style |
| Location: | Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo[1] |
| Founder: | Tajiri Akira Kana |
| Sister: | Reina Joshi Puroresu |
| Merged: | Wrestle-1 |
| Predecessor: | Smash |
was a Japanese puroresu or professional wrestling promotion, founded in April 2012 by Yoshihiro Tajiri. WNC was the follow-up promotion to Smash, which folded in March 2012.[2] [3]
On April 5, 2012, Tajiri held a press conference to announce the forming of Wrestling New Classic, which would hold its first two events on April 26 at Shinjuku Face and on May 24 at Korakuen Hall.[4] [5] The promotion's new financial backer at the time was Tsutomu Takashima, the executive director of real estate company Avance Avant Corporation.[6] WNC continued Smash's working relationship with Finnish professional wrestling promotion Fight Club Finland.[7] Unlike Smash, which held, on average, one event per month, WNC had a more regular schedule, producing three events in its official opening month, May 2012.[8] The promotion is named after a comment made by final Smash Champion Dave Finlay, who, at the promotion's penultimate event, told Tajiri to "keep wrestling classic" with his new promotion.[9] Several WNC wrestlers also booked and promoted their own events in collaboration with the promotion, including Kana's Kana Pro,[10] Makoto's Mako Pro,[11] Syuri's Stimulus,[12] and Takuya Kito's Kuzu Pro.[13]
In late 2013, WNC also established a working relationship with joshi puroresu promotion Reina Joshi Puroresu,[14] as part of which all of WNC's female wrestlers became officially affiliated with both promotions in January 2014.[15] On June 18, 2014, Tajiri held a press conference with Keiji Mutoh, where he announced that WNC would be going inactive following June 26. Afterwards, all female WNC wrestlers remained affiliated with WNC-Reina, while six male wrestlers, Tajiri and Akira included, transferred over to Mutoh's Wrestle-1 promotion.[16] WNC held its final event on June 26, 2014, in Tokyo's Shinjuku Face.[17]
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| width:15%;" | Ring name | width:15%;" | Real name | width:20%;" | Notes |
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| Resigned January 31, 2013 | |||||
| Retired February 28, 2014 | |||||
| Resigned January 11, 2014 | |||||
| Signed with Kaientai Dojo on September 14, 2014 | |||||
| Resigned January 31, 2013 | |||||
| Resigned on September 16, 2014, to sign with Asuka Project and Pro Wrestling Wave | |||||
| Resigned November 28, 2012 | |||||
| Resigned June 18, 2014 | |||||
| Resigned June 26, 2014 | |||||
| Resigned January 30, 2014 | |||||
| Went inactive on January 25, 2013 |
| Championship | Final champion(s) | Date won | Defeated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuji Kito | March 24, 2018 | Retired[18] | ||
| September 18, 2013 | Serena |