| Burning | |
|---|---|
 Logo of Burning's third incarnation | |
| Stable | |
| Members | |
| Former member | See below |
| Debut | First incarnation: August 1998 (1998-08)[4] Second incarnation: 2000 (2000)[4] Third incarnation: January 26, 2013 (2013-01-26)[5] Fourth incarnation: December 26, 2021 (2021-12-26)[6] |
| Disbanded | December 28, 2024 |
| Years active | 1998–2000 2000–2012 2013–2015 2021–2024 |
Burning (バーニング,Bāningu; usually stylized in all capital letters asBURNING) was a multi-promotionalprofessional wrestlingstable originally formed inAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in August 1998.
The first incarnation of the group was founded primarily by co-leadersJun Akiyama andKenta Kobashi, and were later joined byKentaro Shiga andYoshinobu Kanemaru. Akiyama and Kobashi dominated AJPW's tag team ranks for the next two years, winning theWorld Tag Team Championship twice and theWorld's Strongest Tag Determination League also twice. In July 2000, Burning took part in a mass exodus led byMitsuharu Misawa and left AJPW to join the newly foundedPro Wrestling Noah promotion, where it was rebuilt with Akiyama leaving the alliance and Kobashi taking several rookies under his wing. As representatives of Burning, Kobashi held theGHC Heavyweight Championship for two years and he andTamon Honda won theGHC Tag Team Championship on two occasions, while the stable also launched the careers ofKenta andGo Shiozaki, both of whom eventually climbed to the top of the promotion. Eventually Kobashi's battle withkidney cancer and other various injuries led to the quiet dissolution of the stable.
Burning was reformed back in AJPW in January 2013, when original members Jun Akiyama and Yoshinobu Kanemaru and second incarnation member Go Shiozaki along withAtsushi Aoki andKotaro Suzuki quit Pro Wrestling Noah and joined AJPW as a unit. The stable quickly began dominating the promotion, winning three titles and two tournaments within three months of its reformation. Despite the success, Aoki, Shiozaki and Suzuki all quit Burning before the end of 2013 to form their own new group. The stable was effectively dissolved when Kanemaru left AJPW at the end of 2015.
With the endorsement of Kenta Kobashi, the stable was reformed inDDT Pro-Wrestling in December 2021. This fourth incarnation was made of original member Jun Akiyama along withYusuke Okada, Yuya Koroku and their new leaderTetsuya Endo.
In August 1998 in theAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) promotion,Triple Crown Heavyweight ChampionKenta Kobashi's partnership withJohnny Ace came to an end and he formed a new partnership withJun Akiyama, which was subsequently named "Burning".[4][7] The duo was later also joined byKentaro Shiga andYoshinobu Kanemaru, turning Burning from atag team into astable.[4][8] Together, Kobashi and Akiyama went on to become two-timeWorld Tag Team Champions, while also winning back-to-backWorld's Strongest Tag Determination Leagues in1998 and1999.[9][10][11] Through his affiliation with Kobashi and Akiyama, Kanemaru earned the reputation of being one of Japan's top younger wrestlers, winningTokyo Sports's 1998 Rookie of the Year award, even though he had already debuted two years earlier.[4][12] Burning remained together until July 2000, when Kobashi, Akiyama, Kanemaru and Shiga, along with several other wrestlers, all followedMitsuharu Misawa out of AJPW, joining his newPro Wrestling Noah promotion.[8][13]
Following the jump to Noah, the original Burning split up and instead Kobashi took rookie wrestlersKenta andTakeshi Rikio under his wing, while also forming new partnerships with veteransTamon Honda andTsuyoshi Kikuchi, forming the second incarnation of Burning.[4] However, this version of Burning got off to a slow start, when Kobashi was forced to undergo surgeries on both his elbow and knees in early 2001.[14] He eventually returned to the ring in February 2002, but during his return match tore hisanterior cruciate ligament, which sidelined him for further five months.[14] With his injuries behind for now, Kobashi led Burning to astoryline rivalry with former partner Jun Akiyama's new stable, Sternness.[15] During 2002, Kentaro Shiga left Sternness to return to Burning and,[16] on October 14, teamed with Kobashi and Kenta to win the One Day 6 Man Tag Tournament, defeating the Sternness trio of Jun Akiyama,Akitoshi Saito andMakoto Hashi in the finals.[17] In March 2003, Kobashi won theGHC Heavyweight Championship, which he held for two full years, before losing it to Takeshi Rikio, who had now left Burning.[18][19][20] In July 2004, Kobashi's newest trainee,Go Shiozaki, made his professional wrestling debut as a member of Burning, quickly establishing himself as a top heavyweight prospect.[21][22] Meanwhile, Kobashi's number one protégé and Burning stablemate, Kenta, rose to the top of Noah'sjunior heavyweight division, winning theGHC Junior Heavyweight Championship in July 2005.[23] Kobashi, teaming with another Burning stablemate Tamon Honda, also went on to become a two-timeGHC Tag Team Champion,[24][25] before being sidelined in June 2006 after being diagnosed withkidney cancer.[26][27] Though Kobashi returned to in-ring action in December 2007, Burning had effectively been dissolved during the past year with its former members moving onto new alliances.[27] On February 26, 2008, Kobashi, Akiyama, Kanemaru and Shiga, the four original members of Burning, reunited for one night only, when they were defeated byNaomichi Marufuji, Mitsuharu Misawa,Mushiking Terry andYoshinari Ogawa in Kobashi's twentieth anniversary match.[28] In April 2012, Go Shiozaki and Tamon Honda revived Burning for the2012 Global Tag League.[29] However, winning only three of their seven matches in the tournament, they failed to qualify for the finals.[30]
On December 3, 2012, theTokyo Sports newspaper reported that Pro Wrestling Noah had decided to terminate the contract of Kenta Kobashi, who had suffered various injuries the past years and was at the time again sidelined from in-ring action.[31]Tokyo Sports also reported that the termination led to a backlash from Noah wrestlers withAtsushi Aoki, Go Shiozaki, Jun Akiyama,Kotaro Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru announcing that they were not going to re-sign with Noah, when their contracts with the promotion ran out at the end of the year.[32] Noah presidentAkira Taue responded to the report, announcing that Kobashi would address his situation atRyōgoku Kokugikan on December 9, while also confirming that the promotion was in negotiations with five wrestlers whose contracts were set to expire shortly.[33] On December 9, Kobashi announced that he would wrestle one more match and retire in a Noah ring sometime during 2013.[34][35] On December 19, Noah announced that the negotiations with Atsushi Aoki, Go Shiozaki, Jun Akiyama, Kotaro Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru had ended and all five men would leave the promotion following December 24.[36] After parting ways with Noah, the five men made an unadvertised appearance for AJPW on January 26, 2013, announcing that they had joined the promotion, forming the third incarnation of the Burning stable.[5] Though essentially working exclusively for AJPW, the five were officiallyfreelancers.[37][38][39][3][12] The five quickly laid claim to All Japan's top titles.[5]
Yoshinobu Kanemaru was the first of the five to receive his title shot and on February 23, defeatedShuji Kondo for theWorld Junior Heavyweight Championship.[40][41][42] The event was headlined by a five singles match series between members of Burning and representatives of AJPW; Burning won the series 3–2 with Kanemaru clinching the decisive win in the main event.[43] Burning received two more title shots on March 17. After Aoki and Suzuki failed to capture theAll Asia Tag Team Championship from the Junior Stars (Koji Kanemoto andMinoru Tanaka), Akiyama and Shiozaki brought the stable its second title by defeating Get Wild (Manabu Soya andTakao Omori) for the World Tag Team Championship.[44][45] Also during the event, Kenta Kobashi made an appearance, publicly giving his blessing to the newest incarnation of Burning, while also announcing that he was joining AJPW following his retirement match as the new Pacific Wrestling Federation (PWF) chairman.[46] On April 7, Aoki and Suzuki defeated Jounetsu Hentai Baka (Hikaru Sato andHiroshi Yamato) in the finals to win the2013 Junior Hyper Tag League and earn another shot at the All Asia Tag Team Championship.[47] This led to a rematch between Aoki and Suzuki and the Junior Stars on April 25, where Burning took home its third title.[48] Burning's domination led to a storyline, where even rivals such asSuwama and Takao Omori came together to rally AJPW in its war with the stable.[49] Burning continued its winning ways on April 29, when Jun Akiyama won the 2013Champion Carnival, being victorious in the finals overKai, who had defeated Go Shiozaki in his semifinal match.[50][51][52] As a result, Akiyama became the number one contender to AJPW's top title, the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship.[53] On May 11, all five members of Burning made a one-night return to Noah to take part in Kenta Kobashi's retirement event, titledFinal Burning in Budokan. While Aoki and Suzuki wrestled in a midcard tag team match, where they defeated former Burning members Kentaro Shiga and Tamon Honda, the other three members took part in Kobashi's retirement match, an eight-man tag team main event, where Kanemaru, Shiozaki, Kenta andMaybach Taniguchi, another Kobashi trainee and a member of the second incarnation of Burning, were defeated by Kobashi, Akiyama,Keiji Mutoh andKensuke Sasaki, with Kobashi pinning Kanemaru for the win.[54][55][56]
On June 30, Akiyama received his shot at the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by the defending champion, Suwama.[57][58] Post-match, Suwama accepted a challenge made for his title by another Burning member, Go Shiozaki.[59] June 30 also marked the end of an era for AJPW, when several wrestlers loyal to Keiji Mutoh left the promotion in a mass exodus caused by Nobuo Shiraishi taking over as the promotion's new president.[60][61] All five members of Burning, however, remained loyal to AJPW and, on July 5, announced that they had signed contracts with the promotion, officially ending their freelancing days.[62][63][64][65] On August 25, Go Shiozaki also failed in his attempt to capture the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship from Suwama.[66][67][68] In September, Akiyama, Kanemaru, Shiozaki and Suzuki all took part in the2013 Ōdō Tournament. Shiozaki made it furthest in the tournament, reaching the finals, after eliminating both Suzuki and Kanemaru as well as top World Tag Team Championship contenderJoe Doering,[69][70][71] before losing toAkebono.[72] On October 22, Akiyama and Shiozaki lost the World Tag Team Championship toEvolution (Joe Doering and Suwama).[73][74][75] The following day, Shiozaki announced that he was leaving Burning in order to reach the Triple Crown.[76][77][78] This was followed by Suzuki announcing on October 29 that he was also leaving Burning in order to challenge Kanemaru for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship.[79] Suzuki was followed out of Burning by his All Asia Tag Team Championship partner Aoki, leaving Akiyama and Kanemaru as the two remaining members of the stable.[80] Shiozaki, Aoki and Suzuki remained together following their resignation from Burning, forming the newXceed stable on November 21.[80][81]
On January 26, 2014, Akiyama and Kanemaru gained a measure of revenge on their former stablemates, when they defeated Aoki and Suzuki to win the All Asia Tag Team Championship.[82][83] In April, Akiyama made it to the finals of the 2014 Champion Carnival, before losing to Takao Omori on April 27.[84][85] Two days later, Akiyama and Kanemaru lost the All Asia Tag Team Championship toKeisuke Ishii andShigehiro Irie at aDDT Pro-Wrestling event.[86][87][88] Later that same event, Akiyama captured the comedicIronman Heavymetalweight Championship by accidentally pinning the previous champion, the title belt itself, during a backstage interview.[86][87][88] After the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship wasvacated, Akiyama was chosen to take part in a decision match to determine the new champion.[89] On June 15, he was defeated in the match by Takao Omori.[90]
In early 2014, Akiyama began teaming regularly with Takao Omori asWild Burning, combining the names of Burning and Get Wild.[91] The duo captured the World Tag Team Championship on two occasions, while also winning the2014 World's Strongest Tag Determination League.[92] Kanemaru, meanwhile, formed a partnership withÚltimo Dragón with whom he went on to regain the All Asia Tag Team Championship.[93] In July 2014, Akiyama also took over as the new president of AJPW.[94] Burning has been largely inactive since the formation of Wild Burning, however, both Akiyama and Kanemaru are still billed as members of the stable by AJPW.[95][96] On November 1, Akiyama defeated Akebono to win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship.[97][98] On November 20, Kanemaru announced he would be leaving AJPW following December 15.[99][100] Kanemaru joined Akebono and former Burning stablemates Go Shiozaki and Kotaro Suzuki in an exodus caused by contractual issues.[101]
On December 7, 2021,DDT Pro-Wrestling announced that Kenta Kobashi had endorsed the reformation of the stable.[102] This incarnation would be led byTetsuya Endo[1] (who had been left without a stable since the dissolution ofDamnation in September of that year) and would have Jun Akiyama,Yusuke Okada[103] and Yuya Koroku[2] as its members.[104] On December 26, atNever Mind 2021 in Yoyogi, this fourth incarnation debuted by defeatingThe37Kamiina (Shunma Katsumata,Yuki Ueno,Mao andToui Kojima).[6]
From January 30 to February 27, 2022, Tetsuya Endo and Jun Akiyama represented the stable in theUltimate Tag League, winning three of their four matches, losing only to the team ofKonosuke Takeshita and Yuki Ueno, and failed to advance to the final.[105] On March 20, atJudgement 2022: DDT 25th Anniversary, Endo defeated Takeshita to win theKO-D Openweight Championship for the third time.[106] On May 1, at Mega Max Bump 2022, Jun Akiyama and Yusuke Okada unsuccessfully challenged Calamari Drunken Kings (Chris Brookes andMasahiro Takanashi) for theKO-D Tag Team Championship.[107] On June 12, atCyberFight Festival 2022, Endo and Akiyama teamed withKazusada Higuchi to represent DDT against the Pro Wrestling Noah team ofKatsuhiko Nakajima,Atsushi Kotoge andYoshiki Inamura in a six-man tag team match, where in the match, Nakajima delivered a slap to Endo that legitimately knocked Endo out, causing the match to be called off.[108] Two days later, as a result of the concussion he suffered, Endo announced he would be sidelined until July 24 and he would vacate the KO-D Openweight Championship.[109][110] From June 16 to July 3, Akiyama took part in the2022 King of DDT Tournament. Endo was scheduled to participate as well but had to forfeit his first round match due to the concussion. Akiyama defeatedYukio Sakaguchi in the opening round,[111] thenYuki "Sexy" Iino in the second round,[112] but lost in the semi-final to the eventual winner Kazusada Higuchi.[113] Throughout the remaining of the year, Burning mainly competed in six-man tag team matches, sometimes teaming with wrestlers from outside the stable. On September 18, at Sternness 30th Anniversary, an event celebrating Akiyama's 30-year career as a professional wrestler, he and Endo teamed withYoshinobu Kanemaru to defeat Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata andYuji Nagata.[114] From November 1 to December 4, Endo participated in the2022 D-Oh Grand Prix, during which he finished tied second in his block with a record of two wins, two losses and a draw. At the final event of the tournament,Kotaro Suzuki teamed with Endo and Okada to defeatHarashima,Kazuki Hirata andYukio Naya. Later, that night, Akiyama defeatedJoey Janela in atables, ladders, and chairs match to win theDDT Extreme Championship.[115] Suzuki would then join the stable as an associate member. On December 10, at Sternness 30th Anniversary Vol. 2 in Osaka, Endo and Akiyama teamed withSanshiro Takagi to take onZeus,The Bodyguard andRyoji Sai in a losing effort.[116] On December 29, atNever Mind 2022, Endo, Suzuki and Okada won theKO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship by defeatingNaruki Doi,Toru Owashi and Kazuki Hirata. In the next match, Akiyama retained his DDT Extreme Championship againstSuper Sasadango Machine.[117]
On January 21, 2023, at the Sweet Dreams! 2023 tour event inYokohama, Jun Akiyama successfully defended the DDT Extreme Championship againstAntonio Honda.[118] On January 29, atSweet Dreams! 2023, Burning retained the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship against Pheromones (Yuki "Sexy" Iino,Danshoku "Dandy" Dino andKoju "Shining Ball" Takeda).[119] On February 18, at Friendship, Effort, Victory in Nagoya 2023, Akiyama successfully defended the DDT Extreme Championship againstAkito in a "Master of Environment" match.[120] On February 26, atInto The Fight 2023, Burning lost the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship toShinya Aoki,Yuki Ueno and Super Sasadango Machine.[121] On March 21, atJudgement 2023, Akiyama successfully defended the DDT Extreme Championship against Kotaro Suzuki. Later that night, Tetsuya Endo defeated Naruki Doi to win theDDT Universal Championship.[122] On March 31, inLos Angeles, California, Endo and Akiyama defeatedHomicide andTony Deppen at an event co-produced withGame Changer Wrestling.[123] On May 3, atMega Max Bump 2023, Akiyama lost the DDT Extreme Championship to Shunma Katsumata in atoys, ladders, and chairs match. Later that night, Endo retained the DDT Universal Championship againstMao.[124] From May 6 to May 21, Endo, Akiyama, Suzuki and Okada took part in the2023 King of DDT Tournament. In the opening round Okada lost to Kazusada Higuchi, Suzuki defeatedKanon, and Endo lost to Akiyama.[125] In the second round, Suzuki was eliminated by Yuki Ueno, while Akiyama defeated Mao to advance.[126] Akiyama then lost in the semi-final round to the eventual winner Chris Brookes.[127] On July 23, atWrestle Peter Pan 2023, Kotaro Suzuki, Yusuke Okada and Yuya Koroku were involved in a three-way match againstDamnation T.A (Minoru Fujita,MJ Paul and Kanon) and the team of Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi and Kazuki Hirata. Damnation T.A won the match when Kanonpinned Koroku. Later that night, Endo lost the DDT Universal Championship toMatt Cardona.[128] On September 8, the stable made an appearance in AJPW on day 3 of the Giant Series tour, when Akiyama and Okada teamed with Sanshiro Takagi to defeat Evolution's Suwama, Hikaru Sato andDan Tamura.[129] The next day, at DDT Big Bang 2023, they lost toAtsushi Onita,Yoshitatsu and Toy Kojima in atime delayed scramble bunkhouse six-man exploding deathmatch. After the match, Onita and Yoshitatsu accepted Akiyama and Suzuki as their next challenger for the All Asia Tag Team Championship.[130] The title match was held as anexploding bat and board tag team deathmatch on September 18, at Dramatic Explosion 2023 and saw Akiyama and Suzuki capture the championship from Onita and Yoshitatsu.[131] On October 7, at the God Bless DDT 2023 tour event inSanjō, Akiyama and Suzuki successfully defended the All Asia Tag Team Championship against Takao Omori and Yoshitatsu.[132] They would eventually lose the title to Eruption (Yukio Sakaguchi andHideki Okatani) on November 3, at Road to Ultimate Party 2023 inShinjuku.[133]
On October 22, Jun Akiyama found himself teaming with Danshoku Dino andMakoto Oishi, defeating Kazusada Higuchi, Akito and Yusuke Okada. After the match, Oishi suggested the three form a stable he named D・O・A (standing both for "Dead Or Alive" and their initials). Oishi's enthusiasm was initially met with skepticism from Akiyama and Dino, but neither of them outright rejected the idea and thus nothing was made official yet.[134] On November 16, on the Get Alive 2023 tour event in Shinjuku, followingSaki Akai's retirement from professional wrestling and the ensuingvacancy of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship, DDT held a four-team tournament to crown new champions. Akiyama participated in the tournament by teaming once again with Dino and Oishi. Together they defeated Schadenfreude International (Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi and Antonio Honda) in the first round, then they defeated The37Kamiina's Yuki Ueno, Mao and Toy Kojima in the final to become the 53rd KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions. After the match, Oishi brought back his idea of a D・O・A stable, which Akiyama and Dino accepted. Then, in his backstage comments, Akiyama announced he would be leaving Burning at the end of the year.[135]
