Battlarts


Kakuto Tanteidan Battlarts, more commonly referred to as simply Battlarts was a professional wrestling promotion founded in 1996 by Yuki Ishikawa following the mass exodus he led from Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi amidst the financial struggle that ultimately led the company to fold. The initial promotion's roster was composed of the entire PWFG roster that did not depart for Pancrase, thus making Battlarts a direct successor to PWFG.
The promotion ceased operations in 2011, but was succeeded in 2023 by the independent Kakuto Tanteidan project led by Fuminori Abe and Takuya Nomura.

History

Original Battlarts (1996–2011)

The promotion was formed in 1996 by Japanese wrestler Yuki Ishikawa and featured all of the wrestlers from the Fujiwara Gumi promotion, who had abandoned the promotion in favor of Battlarts. They ran shows in the Tokyo area regularly from 1998 to 2002.
Even though Battlarts' style was based on shoot wrestling, the promotion often cooperated with other shoot style and mixed martial arts promotions, including Fighting Network Rings, Kingdom, Michinoku Pro and Big Japan Pro Wrestling, therefore matches sometimes resembled more traditional professional wrestling matches. The biggest co-promotion occurred on October 17, 1999, when Battlarts and The Great Sasuke's Michinoku Pro Wrestling produced "Michinoku Pro vs. Battlarts", which was headlined by a tag team match pitting the owners of both promotions against Jinsei Shinzaki and Alexander Otsuka.
The promotion ceased running regular shows and events in 2001 due to "management aggravation". Battlarts eventually began to run monthly shows mainly in Tokyo, Saitama, and Shizuoka Prefecture, often co-promoting with Daisuke Ikeda's Fu-ten, Kiyoshi Tamura's U-Style and Satoru Sayama's Real Japan Pro Wrestling promotions. On September 14, 2008, at a press conference with Yuki Ishikawa and Shinjiro Otani Battlarts announced a working agreement with Pro Wrestling Zero1.
It was revealed in late December 2010 that Battlarts would be closing their doors sometime in 2011. The promotion held its final event on November 5, 2011.

Kakuto Tanteidan (2023–present)

On June 26, 2023, Fuminori Abe and Takuya Nomura held a press conference to announce they would hold an independent show titled We Are Kakuto Tanteidan on October 12 at Shinjuku Face, broadcast on Wrestle Universe. The idea of reviving Battlarts into a new organization came from founder Abe, a student of Battlarts alumnus Munenori Sawa, who was fascinated by the promotion and aspired to become a professional wrestler, with the ideal of creating a "state-of-the-art B". The decision to organize an independent event was made in cooperation with Nomura, and with the support of Yuki Ishikawa, Ikuto Hidaka and others.
A second event titled Kakuto Tanteidan was held on October 23, 2024, then a third titled Kakuto Tanteidan was held at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring on April 8, 2025, followed by Kakuto Tanteidan on October 23.

Alumni

Notable events

We Are Kakuto Tanteidan

The first event of the Kakuto Tanteidan revival project took place on October 12, 2023, at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo.

Kakuto Tanteidan 2: From Shinjuku With Love

The second Kakuto Tanteidan event took place on October 23, 2024, at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo. All matches were fought under Battlarts rules.

Kakuto Tanteidan III: One Life to Live

The third Kakuto Tanteidan event took place on April 8, 2025, at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo. All matches were fought under Battlarts rules.

Kakuto Tanteidan IV: Straight Ahead

The fourth Kakuto Tanteidan event took place on October 23, 2025, at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo. All matches were fought under Battlarts rules.