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| Acronym | UWF |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1984 |
| Defunct | 1990 |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan |
| Split from | New Japan Pro-Wrestling |
| Successor | Original promotion: Shooto Second promotion: Universal Lucha Libre Fighting Network Rings Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi UWF International |
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 shoot-style wrestling, which emphasized legitimate techniques and realism. 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.
Although short-lived, the UWF spawned a number of successor "shoot-wrestling" promotions collectively nicknamed the "U-Kei", and also served as a predecessor for Japanese mixed martial arts, with many of its alumni founding proto-MMA organizations such as Shooto, Pancrase and RINGS, eventually leading to the creation of Pride FC.