CAGEMATCH » Promotions Database » Fighting Investigation Team Battlarts (Battlarts)

Fighting Investigation Team Battlarts (Battlarts)

Inactive promotion in the Asia region

General Data

Current name:

Fighting Investigation Team Battlarts

Current abbreviation:

Battlarts

Status:

Inactive

Location:

Koshigaya, Saitama, Japan

Active Time:

1996 - 2011

Details

Names:

Fighting Investigation Team Battlarts (1996 - 2011)

Abbreviations:

Battlarts

Owners:

Yuki Ishikawa (1996 - 2011)

Introduction

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Die Shoot Style-Promotion Battlarts wurde Ende 1995 von ehemaligen Wrestlern der Promotion Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi gegründet. Neben Yuki Ishikawa als Kopf der Promotion wechselten mit ihm Shoichi Funaki, Daisuke Ikeda, Minoru Tanaka, Takeshi Ono, Satoshi Yoneyama, Alexander Otsuka und Katsumi Usuda zur neu gegründeten Liga. Die Trennung von Yoshiaki Fujiwara verlief im Guten, Fujiwara bedankte sich bei "seinen Söhnen" für die Treue zu ihm und ihren Einsatz bei seiner Promotion.

Mit dem steigenden Erfolg der Promotion wurden auch die anderen japanischen Promotions auf die Battlarts-Wrestler aufmerksam. Daisuke Ikeda verließ die Promotion im Jahr 2000, um zu All Japan Pro Wrestling zu wechseln und folgte später Mitsuharu Misawa zu Pro Wrestling NOAH. Minoru Tanaka wechselte Anfang 2001 fest zu New Japan Pro Wrestling, für die er seit April 1999 vermehrt angetreten war. Freelancer Mitsuya Nagai trat ab Ende des Jahres für All Japan an, Mohammed Yone wechselte Ende des Jahres 2001 ebenfalls zu NOAH. Ryuji Hijikata trat ab dem Sommer 2001 fast nur noch für All Japan Pro Wrestling an, für die er im Vorjahr bereits in den Ring gestiegen war und denen er sich im September 2002 fest anschloss.

Ende 2001 verkündete Ishikawa vorerst das Ende der Promotion, er hatte kurz zuvor einen Vertrag für einen MMA-Kampf im November 2001 gegen den Topfighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson bei der MMA-Promotion PRIDE unterschrieben und wollte sich auf diese Karriere konzentrieren. Er verlor den Kampf gegen Quinton Jackson, der wenige Wochen vorher Alexander Otsuka in einem MMA-Kampf bei einer Battlarts-Show besiegt hatte, im Tokyo Dome deutlich.

Ab dem Jahr 2002 veranstaltete die Promotion wieder unregelmäßig wenige Shows pro Jahr, jedoch keine klassischen Touren mehr. Die Rookies Takahiro Oba und junji.com, die beide ihre Wrestling-Karriere bei der Promotion gestartet hatten, waren nicht mehr Teil des Rosters. Ikuto Hidaka hatte sich am 3. Dezember 2001 von der sich auflösenden Promotion getrennt und trat in der Folge als Freelancer für verschiedene Ligen an. Alexander Otsuka konzentrierte sich zu dieser Zeit auf seine MMA-Karriere.

Ende 2011 schloss die Liga ihre Pforten.

8.67

Current Total Rating (?)

Valid votes: 38

Number of comments: 11

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Average rating: 8.74 [38]

Average rating in 2025: 9.67 [3]

Average rating in 2024: 9.67 [9]

Average rating in 2023: 9.25 [4]

Average rating in 2022: 9.40 [5]

Average rating in 2021: 10.00 [1]

Average rating in 2020: 8.50 [2]

Average rating in 2019: 7.50 [2]

Average rating in 2017: 8.00 [1]

Average rating in 2016: 7.00 [1]

Average rating in 2013: 6.00 [1]

Average rating in 2011: 7.50 [2]

Average rating in 2010: 8.00 [4]

Average rating in 2009: 7.00 [1]

Average rating in 2008: 9.00 [1]

Average rating in 2007: 6.00 [1]

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Latest comments of the CAGEMATCH inmates

arisenby wrote on 02.12.2025:

[9.0] "[8.6] I feel like Battlarts running more frequently and expanded out a bit more would be my favorite promotion of all time. Battlarts and Bati-Bati on the whole for me strikes a perfect balance between the shoot style stuff and more classic/traditionally pro wrestling stuff, where they just treated it as as valid of a style of fighting as the shoot techniques. Aside from really loving the style of it, early Battlarts had a legitimately incredible roster, with names like Otsuka, Usuda, Ikeda, Yone, Ishikawa, Tanaka, all under one banner. Their output started slowing down in 2002, in fact I believe they were basically dead for a time, but they were still fantastic whenever they ran. Fuminori Abe and Takuya Nomura's Kakuto Tanteidan shows have pretty much become the successor to Battlarts, which is great, but the shows are fairly infrequent. Either way, in my mind, this is the shit."

benny5bellys wrote on 25.11.2024:

[10.0] "The only reason I do not consider Battlarts the greatest promotion of all time is because Futen exists. This is a place that completely and utterly transformed my taste in wrestling. I tend to prefer version 2 more than version 1 but it is all great."

jomshom wrote on 21.03.2022:

[10.0] "Battlarts is the greatest promotion of all time. This is a very big claim, but in my own opinion this is almost undeniably true. During its first incarnation, Battlarts had one of the most stacked rosters on the planet, with genuine all-time greats Ikeda, Ishikawa, and Otsuka at the helm, along with unsung top-level wrestlers like Ono and Usuda, and even some amazing future prospects like Hidaka, Tanaka, Hijikata, and Yone. The bati-bati style which mixed a more shoot style mentality with the general pro-wrestling style resulted in some of the greatest and most vicious singles and tag matches to ever take place. Once the promotion died in 2001 and came back officially in 2004, it was full of new life with one of the best crops of new talent in wrestling history, with Sawa, Yano, Hara, and Yamamoto leading the promotion's younger generation for the last 7 years of its existence. There was never, nor will there ever be another promotion quite like it."

Gran Karisu wrote on 10.12.2021:

[10.0] "I absolutely love BattlArts. I don't know why there's no -e- in battle, but whatever. Its a great name for a promotions, and a great company in general. I love that they never had any title belts of their own, just pride in their win/loss records and tournaments. And they showcased wrestling in a very pure way, which takes me back to when wrestling actually had wrestling in the show. These fighters actually strike and roll on the mat. No punch, kick, run the ropes and flip for way too long. These matches are believeably snug, and celebrate pro wrestling roots. Maybe the shoot style isn't for everyone, but this nerd here loves it. I don't know why the company went under, but who know; we could get lucky and BattlArts could start again. I know I'd love it. Sister promotion Fu-ten was also enjoyable for the same reasons."

ChopChopChop wrote on 02.08.2020:

[9.0] "This company was pure gold, especially in its last 5 years. BattlArts was the perfect promotion to become a shoot-style fan as the matches had hard striking and realistic grappling mixed with more modern spots. I also loved the fact that they produced most of their shows in tiny warehouses where every slap and every kick would echo through the building."