Japanese promotion SMASH shutting doors on March 14th

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With the poor economy and the aftermath of the horrendous earthquake that rocked Japan last year, things are still not in the best shape for the Japanese.

Sadly, this affects all walks of life and the pro wrestling world (known as puroresu in Japan) is no different. The Japanese promotion SMASH will be shutting their doors on March 14th after their "SMASH Final" event. The company was led by former ECW and WWE talent Yoshihiro Tajiri. The promotion is rumored to be closing up due to a disagreement between Tajiri and Masakazu Sakai, a prominent financial backer for the company.

SMASH was a unique concept that arose from the ashes of HUSTLE, a puroresu organization that deviated from the traditional strong style of Japanese pro wrestling and went with a more Americanized sports entertainment approach. SMASH was promoting three divisions: pro wrestling, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts. The pro wrestling division worked with the Finnish promotion known as Fight Club Finland, while the MMA branch partnered with the popular promotion DEEP.

SMASH was home to many former WWE, ECW, and WCW talents. Their current champion is Dave "Fit" Finlay and their SMASH Diva champion is Tomoka Nakagawa. In addition, you had recognizable wrestlers in Tommy Dreamer, Ultimo Dragon, Super Crazy, Funaki, Sabu, and Taka Michinoku perform for the company.

While the organization may not necessarily be notable or accessible to the American audience, the climate of Japan's wrestling scene and MMA scene is not looking promising and could one of the most recognizable styles professional wrestling in a bad way.