Lucha Otaku and Inoki Sports Management are teaming to launch PuroLucha, with events to be held at the Inoki Dojo in Huntington Park, CA. Additionally, as announced a couple days ago, PuroLucha will be hosting the Wrestle-1 Alliance talent tryouts on June 15, 2019 at the Inoki Dojo.
Here is the promotion’s full press release:
The Lucha Otaku management team of Gary Lee Jackson, Dan Madigan, and Mitch Berlow have partnered with Inoki Sports Management to launch PuroLucha. Durango Kid, Alfredo Perez and Laberinto, owners and head trainer, respectively, for the Inoki Dojo in Huntington Park, California, have brought in the trio to refresh and manage the recently relocated 3,000 square-foot dojo. PuroLucha offers a hybrid training regiment of traditional Japanese strong-style and Lucha Libre, a community outreach children’s training program, and monthly live shows.
“The name Inoki is legendary in the world of professional wrestling, and it’s of utmost importance for us to always pay tribute to the history of the Inoki Dojo, from its inception in Los Angeles, where the likes of CM Punk, Adam Pearce, Christopher Daniels, Daniel Bryan, TJ Perkins, Samoa Joe, Karl Anderson, Rocky Romero, and others served as the foundation to what we now refer to as ‘The Evolution of Tradition’,” says former WWE writer, author of Mondo Lucha a Go-Go, and PuroLucha team member Dan Madigan.
PuroLucha will be hosting the Wrestle-1 Alliance (W1A) Talent Tryouts on June 15, 2019. Mr. Kaz Hayashi, of Wrestle-1, will join Sonny Onoo at the PuroLucha dojo to run a tryout training session for wrestlers interested in going to Japan to train at the Wrestle-1 dojo for one week. FITE.tv has agreed to provide sponsorship for up to 2 wrestlers to stay at the dojo in Shinjuku, Japan. This will launch a Japan/America dojo talent exchange program for training and events, led by the management team of Lucha Otaku.
Lucha Otaku is a multi-dimensional production company and talent agency, with a singular vision: to establish a creative haven for the indie artist – Musicians, Graphic Artists, Writers, Performing Artists, and Athletes. Established names and burgeoning talent all flourish under the Lucha Otaku banner. Lucha Otaku literally means “Fight Geek”. A name, born out of the reverence and respect for Japanese and Mexican Pop Culture, it represents the fusion of these two distinct and rich traditions into one unique transnational merger.
The Inoki Dojo was started by Antonio Inoki in April of 2002, in a warehouse space in Santa Monica, CA. It was used as the American base of New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), and focused on scouting American wrestling talent for use on NJPW shows in Japan. Along with providing high-level professional wrestling training, the Inoki Dojo also brought in Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu, and Yoga instructors for a more diverse training approach. The Inoki Dojo also became a place where local professional MMA fighters would drop in to get some training. Today, the Inoki Dojo is home to the next generation of professional wrestler, who all respect the rich history and tradition of what it means to train and perform under the Inoki name.
PuroLucha will be holding an event this Saturday, April 20 in Huntington Park titled Unleash the Dragon with AAA’s Drago and Black Taurus scheduled to wrestle on the show.
