The core of the promotion's roster was formed by wrestlers loyal to Mutoh, who left AJPW in a mass exodus during June 2013.

Mutoh served as the promotion's first president and the head of its parent company, kabushiki gaisha named GEN Sports Entertainment.

[7][8][9] The promotion shares its name with a series of professional wrestling events run by AJPW, K-1 and Pride Fighting Championships in the first half of the 2000s, but it is not considered a direct continuation of that project.

[10] During the rest of June, Masakatsu Funaki,[18][19] Kaz Hayashi,[18][19] Shuji Kondo,[18][19] Ryota Hama,[19][20] Hiroshi Yamato,[19] Masayuki Kono,[19][21] Koji Kanemoto,[21] Minoru Tanaka,[21] Yasufumi Nakanoue,[19][21] Kai,[19] Seiya Sanada,[22] and Andy Wu all announced their resignation from AJPW out of loyalty to Mutoh and left the promotion following a June 30 event in Ryōgoku Kokugikan, which marked the official end of the eleven-year-long "Mutoh All Japan".

[26] The press conference was also attended by Funaki, Hama, Hayashi, Kai, Kondo, Kono, Nakanoue, Tanaka and Yamato.

Andy Wu would also join the promotion, once he returned from an excursion to Mexico, along with trainees Brian Ishizaka, Daiki Inaba and Seiki Yoshioka, ring announcer Makoto Abe and referees Daichi Murayama and Daisuke Kanbayashi.

[1][24][25] At the press conference, Mutoh stated that Wrestle-1 was open to working with other promotions and that he was looking to use Taiwan as a stepping stone towards an Asian and eventually global expansion.

[28][29][30] On July 30, Mutoh met with Jeff Jarrett in Nashville, Tennessee, United States to discuss a possible working relationship between Wrestle-1 and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).

[36][37] Also announced was a sponsorship deal with the Ezaki Glico confectionery company, with its sales department and product manager Hiroki Kuwabara signed to Wrestle-1 as a conditioning coach.

Koji Kanemoto, René Duprée, Seiya Sanada and Zodiac, who were with AJPW prior to Mutoh's departure, but had not announced their affiliation with Wrestle-1, made surprise appearances during the event.

[45][46] Many of the outsiders taking part in the inaugural event became regular members of the Wrestle-1 roster with the exception of Bob Sapp, Fujita Hayato, Katsuyori Shibata, Kazushi Sakuraba and Masaaki Mochizuki.

Though Wrestle-1 also did not have regular female wrestlers on its roster, each event included a women's match, featuring wrestlers such as Ryo Mizunami and Shuu Shibutani from Pro Wrestling Wave,[45] Koharu Hinata, Makoto and Syuri from Wrestling New Classic,[47][48] Hikaru Shida,[49] Maki Narumiya,[50] Risa Sera and Tsukasa Fujimoto from Ice Ribbon,[51] and freelancers Akino and Hiroyo Matsumoto.

[65] On January 12, 2014, Manabu Soya, who had resigned from AJPW the previous month, joined Wrestle-1 as a freelancer, taking the role of an on-screen matchmaker, while recovering from a recent shoulder surgery.

[68][69] On January 30 it was announced that the March 2 Ryōgoku Kokugikan event would feature a "Wrestle-1 vs. TNA" theme with thirteen wrestlers coming in to represent the American promotion in addition to Rob Terry, who had remained with Wrestle-1 since the past November.

[91][92][93] The following day, Seiya Sanada announced he had agreed to a contract with TNA, which meant that he would continue to spend most of his time in the United States, occasionally returning to take part in Wrestle-1's larger events.

[96] Meanwhile, Seiki Yoshioka left for an extended tour of the United Kingdom with ASW, during which he lost the British Light Heavyweight Championship back to Allmark.

[97] On July 21, Wrestle-1 announced the creation of its first own title, the Wrestle-1 Championship, with the inaugural champion being determined in a sixteen-man single-elimination tournament taking place between September 21 and October 8.

[100][101] On September 22, Wrestle-1 announced the creation of the Wrestle-1 Tag Team Championship with the inaugural champions being determined in a round-robin tournament taking place between November 15 and 30.

[145] On August 3, Wrestle-1 announced the establishment of Puroresu Sōgō Gakuin ("Pro wrestling comprehensive school"), where Akira, Hiroshi Yamato, Kaz Hayashi, Shuji Kondo and Yasufumi Nakanoue would train both men and women in six-month-long terms.

[152][153] On March 30, 2016, Wrestle-1 held a show to celebrate the conclusion of the first term of the Puroresu Sōgō Gakuin, while also announcing the graduation of Hana Kimura, Jun Tonsho, Reika Saiki and Seigo Tachibana.

[154] On May 4, AJPW president Jun Akiyama made a surprise appearance for Wrestle-1, facing off with Keiji Mutoh with the two agreeing to a tag team match against each other on August 11.

[155][156] On June 28, Wrestle-1 announced that Akira, Minoru Tanaka, Ryota Hama, Tajiri and Yasufumi Nakanoue would all be leaving the promotion following the expiration of their contracts two days later.

[165] On March 27, Wrestle-1 announced it was undergoing a change in management on April 1 with Keiji Mutoh moving on to the role of representative director, while Kaz Hayashi would become the new president.

Also, Shuji Kondo takes over as the new executive vice president, while Sanshiro Takagi moves from being the CEO to the role of an advisor.