Universal Wrestling Federation ( Japan ) The original Japanese - based Universal Wrestling Federation ( UWF ) was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion from 1984 to 1986 , formed by wrestlers who had left New Japan Pro Wrestling . It was a pioneer in the shoot - style of pro - wrestling , which emphasized realistic moves . It was revived as the Newborn UWF in 1988 . Newborn UWF lasted until 1990 . It was revived again in 1991 as Union of Wrestling Forces International ( UWF International or UWFi ) , which in turn lasted until 1996 . Original UWF . The original roster included Rusher Kimura , Akira Maeda , Ryuma Go , Mach Hayato , and Gran Hamada . Soon , however , they were joined by Yoshiaki Fujiwara , Nobuhiko Takada , Satoru Sayama ( the original Tiger Mask ) and Kazuo Yamazaki , and this changed the orientation of the UWF ' s wrestling from the traditional style to a more martial arts oriented style . Maeda , Fujiwara , Takada , Sayama and Yamazaki had been martial artists before joining New Japan Pro Wrestling , and they began incorporating realistic moves , including submission holds and kickboxing - style kicks , which created a new form of wrestling called shoot - style . Kimura , Go , and Hamada , unable to cope with the new style , decided to leave and join All Japan Pro Wrestling instead . In 1984 another former New Japan wrestler , Osamu Kido , who had trained under Karl Gotch , joined the UWF . But just as the promotion fledged , Maeda and Sayama , the top two stars , began bickering with each other over the shoot - style ' s essence . Maeda wanted to focus the matches on submissions , while Sayama , a former kickboxer , wanted to focus on kicks . This came to a head in a brutal match in late 1985 when Maeda did not pull a kick and instead kicked Sayama hard in the groin , causing a disqualification . Sayama , embittered with wrestling after this match , left the UWF and was not heard from again in the wrestling world for 11 years . The promotion dissolved and the rest of the roster went back to New Japan where they formed a stable and feuded with New Japan ' s top stars of the era in an " invasion " angle , which later inspired WCW ' s nWo . Newborn UWF . Most of the original UWF roster left New Japan yet again in 1988 to reform the UWF as the Newborn UWF . After Akira Maeda was suspended without pay and eventually dismissed from New Japan for intentionally shooting on Riki Chōshū , Takada , Yamazaki , Yoji Anjo , and rookie Tatsuo Nakano agreed to leave the promotion in February 1988 . The Newborn UWF actually started in March , with a superb card that set the standard for shoot - style wrestling to follow . Because clean finishes ( as in , submissions or knockouts in the middle of the ring ) were used , so the fans could see clear - cut winners and losers , it was more accepted as " real fighting " than New Japan or All Japan , which at the time were still using the American - originated standard of countouts and disqualifications . Shortly after the death of Japanese Emperor Hirohito in early 1989 , Maeda held a meeting with New Japan promoter Antonio Inoki , in which they agreed that Fujiwara , who had remained in New Japan but now wanted out , would be allowed to rejoin the UWF and bring two of his disciples , Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki , with him . That year also saw the debut of Kiyoshi Tamura , who is still recognized as one of the eminent shoot - style pro - wrestlers in Japan . 1990 saw many ups and downs in the short story of the Universal Wrestling Federation . Future stars Masahito Kakihara and Yusuke Fuke debuted , and a new rulebook was devised in which the first person to score 5 knockdowns ( in which the opponent could not get back up at once , similar to boxing knockout attempts ) would win , giving the 5 - knockdown situation the same weight as a submission . Shinji Jin , a non - wrestler who had taken over for Maeda as promotion president the previous year , wanted to co - promote with other federations and styles , particularly SWS and Hamada ' s Universal Lucha Libre , but Maeda , resenting other forms of professional wrestling from his New Japan days , decided to put the idea off . This , and the general Japanese economic downturn of the era , prompted UWF to close its doors with a farewell card on December 1 , 1990 , in Matsumoto , Nagano . The UWF wrestlers thus went their separate ways . Most of the roster ( Takada , Yamazaki , Anjo , Nakano , Tamura , Kakihara , and Shigeo Miyato ) founded UWF International , while Fujiwara , Funaki , Suzuki and Fuke founded Fujiwara Gumi , which made Jin ' s co - promoting idea into reality . As for Maeda , he , some rookies from the former UWF dojo , and foreign fighters Chris Dolman and Dirk Vrij founded Fighting Network RINGS , which would dedicate itself to pure shoot - style wrestling without actually billing itself as wrestling . Legacy . As the only form of wrestling to actually originate in Japan , the UWF was a pioneer . Although its roots were Antonio Inoki ' s wrestling style ( in fact , Maeda , Sayama and Takada credit Inoki as their inspiration to become wrestlers ) , UWF made wrestling realistic and forced other promotions to follow . In fact , All Japan starting in 1989 abandoned countout and disqualification finishes , which enabled its Triple Crown championship to arise . The UWF ' s wrestling style has made inroads in its root promotion , New Japan , where natives Yuji Nagata , Koji Kanemoto , and Katsuyori Shibata use UWF - style kicks despite having never competed in a shoot - style promotion as their peers Minoru Tanaka , Masayuki Naruse , and Kakihara ( who joined New Japan in the early 2000s ) have . Other natives who turned to martial arts fighting such as Tadao Yasuda , Kazuyuki Fujita and Kendo Ka Shin also have UWF inspiration . Above all , however , UWF made it possible for mixed - martial arts circuits to exist and be viable .