While traveling overseas is becoming more common, we’re still working towards making Japan a regular occurrence.
In generations past, wrestlers like Marva Scott, Jacqueline, and others wrestled on tours in Japan, which lasted from nights to weeks and sometimes months at a time. The exposure can open doors that are usually barred and significantly transform a competitor’s career. Without diving too deeply into the nooks and crannies of “puroresu,” the Japanese term for professional wrestling, it’s important to note that its style varies from what is performed in the West. Puroresu’s distinctiveness stems mainly from its emphasis on the wrestlers’ fighting spirit, contrasting with the continuous, embellished storylines seen typically on this side of the globe. In Japan, it is common for wrestlers to build extensive careers with limited international visibility. While some of their greatest performers have had one-off matches, brief signings with American televised promotions, or yearned for broader recognition, such crossover success has often been elusive.
There’s still a systematic presence when integrating Black talent into the Japanese product. Japan is a homogeneous society, meaning its population shares similar ethnic and cultural characteristics. While other countries have experienced individuals of African descent taking up occupancy, Japan has historically had restricted immigration policies and, at one point, closed its borders to outsiders to preserve its homogeneity. That long isolation has led to a low percentage of a foreign-born population and a lack of diversity. While Japanese fashion and music heavily feature elements of Black culture, particularly American hip-hop, this imitation can ironically fuel racism. The resulting separation and cultural preservation often lead to the misconception that our inclusion, beyond mere mimicry, is not accepted.
While this revelation is quite unbelievable for some people, especially given the almost four-decade-long career of Aja Kong, the disadvantages of being a biracial child growing up in a society that’s rooted in sameness present numerous challenges. Kong’s father was an African American who served in the military at Tachikawa Airfield in Tokyo. Speaking in an interview with Assignment Asia in 2016, she said her parents divorced when she was five after her father was repatriated and had to leave the country. This disruption led to further ostracization, as her mother faced challenges being a single parent; her relatives had opposed the marriage and, as a consequence, shunned her. Kong faced bullying throughout her childhood due to her mixed-race heritage, which drove her to seek comfort and inspiration from the Crush Gals (Lioness Asuka and Chigusa Nagayo), ultimately inspiring her to pursue a career in wrestling. After graduating from the All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling dojo in 1986, she initially aimed to work as a babyface. However, she encountered pushback from management, who argued that, because she was “half,” the audience was already biased against her.
Kong’s struggles with her racial identity were deliberately exploited to craft a painted, opposing villainous figure, serving as a formidable challenge for her opponents. This trope is commonly used in professional wrestling to categorize Black competitors as the “bad guys,” thereby enhancing matchups against their Caucasian counterparts. The marketing strategy capitalized on the deep racial divide that existed during the segregation era in the United States. The first Black women wrestlers, Ethel Johnson, Babs Wingo, and Marva Scott, who were sisters, were sometimes forced to play the heel role despite proving their in-ring skills were superior. Their skin color came packaged with instructions—highlighted in a posthumous piece by Ladysports in 2011, Penny Banner credited Babs Wingo with a career-defining moment, the night she turned heel. While working in Mexico, the duo’s promoter opted to sidestep potential audience clashes:
Babs Wingo was the reason why I first became a rule breaker. We were wrestling down in Mexico and I was still a rookie and working ‘clean,’ while Babs was well known as being really mean in the ring. Anyway, the promoter told us we’d have to switch styles and I had to fight dirty. When I asked why, he said it was because the fans would riot if a Black rulebreaker beat a pretty blonde ‘good girl,’ so I had to become a villain so the fans would cheer Babs.” – Penny Banner via LadySports
However, Kong’s role as the villain is based more on physicality, unlike the violence and bloodshed that Dump Matsumoto displayed during her heyday. Matsumoto single-handedly reshaped the ideal of a heel in the 1980s. If you haven’t already watched the five-part series The Queen of Villains on Netflix, I suggest you do. The series offers a reenactment of her life and sheds light on the perplexities of the Crush Gals phenomenon. Kong’s whirlwind-like, hard-hitting style reportedly frightened Vince McMahon that her infamous match against Chaparita Asari in 1995 was the final straw in ending the relationship between WWE and All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling. This partnership was already on shaky ground after the release of then-champion Alundra Blayze from her contract due to the financial issues WWE was facing at the time.
Kong wouldn’t appear stateside again until 2011 when she was brought in for CHIKARA’s “JoshiMania.” On the first night of this three-day event, she faced Sara Del Rey. Since then, she has continued to make sporadic appearances. In April 2015, she made an unexpected debut for SHIMMER during an eight-woman tag team match that served as the main event of Volume 74. She also returned in 2017 for a bout against Mia Yim (Michin) and appeared in one of their sister promotions, RISE. Between 2019 and 2021, Kong appeared in AEW and took part in the Women’s World Championship Eliminator tournament as a competitor from the Japanese bracket. Kong wrestled in North Carolina for the first time in December 2023 when she faced Trish Adora in the main event of ASÉ. The event was significant as it marked the first time Kong worked for a Black-owned promotion and shared a locker room with competitors who faced similar challenges.
Kong’s currently closing in on almost forty years as an active performer in the business. Although still booked as an attraction, her respect from the audience hasn’t waned. Kong is one of the many women credited with helping revitalize the sport during the 1990s. She is one of the biggest proponents of Joshi, stepping into roles as a mentor and a promoter of Hyper Visual Fighting ARSION, which she founded in 1997. Additionally, her career boasts a rap sheet of over thirty championship title reigns to date.
“Kong is a construct that was built by other people that were basically in charge of where I worked, the kind of money I’m making.” – Kia Stevens via Insight with Chris Van Vliet
Unbeknownst to Kia Stevens, her chance to work abroad was motivated by the need to find a stand-in to fill the void left by Kong’s recent departure. Affectionately known by her stage names, “Amazing” or “Awesome” Kong, Stevens was three months into her career when scouts from Japan arrived in California, looking for their latest recruits for the infamous AJW dojo. Ultimately, these officials, accompanied by Masatsugu Matsunaga (son of Toshikuni Matsunaga), were drawn to her physical presence during the tryout, and she was chosen over someone more experienced, like Shelly Martinez.
All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling had lost its bag and almost went belly up in 1997. The owners suffered financial losses in the stock market, real estate, and other business endeavors, leading to a mass exodus of their roster. Close to twenty competitors walked away from the promotion between July and September, with some following Kong to ARSION, while others joined Kyoko Inoue’s new venture, NEO Japan Ladies Pro-Wrestling, and others chose to redefine their career paths. By October of that year, creditors, which included their office building, training dojo, restaurant, and dormitories for wrestlers, seized the promotion’s assets, not to mention the loss of their television show. The promotion managed to stay afloat until its closure in 2005. However, by the time Stevens debuted in October 2002, the roster was slim pickings.
Stevens recalled the experience of discovering her in-ring name during a training session at the New Japan dojo in Santa Monica, California, remembering that it was Shinsuke Nakamura’s misguided reference to “Kong” as the first indication of the stage name. Initially, this led to a misunderstanding that Stevens interpreted as racial insensitivity. The situation highlighted a broader issue related to the historical context of racial perceptions, particularly mislabeling people in discussions about evolution. There’s a long-standing belief in the theory of evolution that dehumanizes people of African descent by suggesting that they are genetically less evolved, implying a resemblance to “apes.” The misunderstanding was cleared up when Nakamura shared a magazine article from a recent press conference announcing a new Kong, “Amazing Kong,” for an upcoming event.
She contemplated whether the opportunity was worth the risk of subjecting herself to playing a minstrel caricature to pursue her dream. Stevens was living comfortably, owning several vending machines and driving a Mercedes-Benz. According to Stevens, she was unaware that there had been a previous “Kong” and that a Black woman had portrayed the role. Choosing to go forward with the company, she sold her business and boarded a plane to Japan with the little savings she had left. Stevens aimed to transform “Amazing Kong” into something uniquely her own, hoping to change people’s misconceptions of the name. She’s often cited that she gained inspiration from N.W.A., noting that their name held significance, and she wanted to bring that same respect to “Kong.”
“If you’re a fan of wrestling and you hear the name Amazing or Awesome Kong, you sit up straighter.” – Kia Stevens via The Ringer
Stevens spent the next five years in Japan, primarily working for All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling (AJW). During this period, she also participated in other promotions such as Ladies Legend Pro Wrestling (LLPW-X), where she won one-half of the Tag Team Titles with Eagle Sawai in 2003. Additionally, she competed for ZERO-1, JWP (Japanese Women’s Pro Wrestling Project), NEO Japan, and others. In the summer of 2003, she competed in AJW’s annual tournament, the Japan Grand Prix, and bested Nanae Takahashi in the finals, marking a pivotal moment in their years-long feud. The win made Stevens the second Black woman to have won the tournament, with Aja Kong collecting the victories in 1992 and 1996. Usually held during the summer, the tournament was sometimes contested under round-robin rules or a single-elimination style. Through the season, competitors battled through various rounds, a process that spanned one to three months. This culminated in the victor receiving an opportunity to compete for the WWWA World Single Championship.
Headlining AJW’s event at Korakuen Hall the following January, Stevens unseated Ayako Hamada in their rematch—yes, a rematch. Amazing Kong had challenged the champion to no avail at the company’s 35th anniversary show in August 2003. From there, Stevens would face Takahashi in a number one contender’s matchup that November in Nagoya, with Takahashi taking this one. The acquisition of the title would position Stevens alongside her predecessors, Aja Kong and Sandy Parker, as the only Black women to have held the WWWA World Single Title in its history. However, that wouldn’t be the only reign with historic ramifications—she is also the first Black woman to win the NWA World Women’s Title, disrupting the predominantly Caucasian lineage.
She won the latter in a double-title matchup against MsChif in May 2007, putting her AWA World Women’s Championship on the line—a separate entity from the women’s title under Verne Gagne’s promotion. Between May 2004 and June 2006, she and Aja Kong captured three tag team championships together. The duo clashed on a card for GAEA, and afterward, they formed a team, “W Kong.” Together, they snatched the AAAW Tag Team Titles away from the reunited Crush Gals, giving Aja her third reign with the championship while it was Stevens’ first go around. She and Kong worked for other promotions and adopted a new gimmick over in HUSTLE as “Margaret and Ericka”—if you’ve ever seen a visual of her and Kong wearing tutus, that’s it. They also captured the HUSTLE Super Tag Team belts and became the final holders of the WWWA World Tag Team Titles.
Stevens returned to the United States after concluding the Japanese chapter of her wrestling career. The women’s independent scene was in the midst of transformation, reshaping the public’s perceptions of women in wrestling while paving the way for innovation in the sport. What she envisioned for her namesake while listening to N.W.A. was already in progress; her presence highlighted the allure of “Amazing Kong,” instantly drawing focus to her rather than the name itself. She left the business a year shy of her twentieth anniversary, retiring in 2021. She’s taking on some acting gigs, most notably reprising the role of Tamme Dawson in the Netflix original series, GLOW.
Following Stevens’ time in Japan, numerous women sought chances abroad rather than pursuing domestic engagements. However, the number of Black women able to seize these opportunities, particularly in contracts and residency, remains limited.
Ayesha Raymond is an expatriate living in Kawasaki, Japan. She is the first British competitor to be signed to SEAdLINNNG, a company founded by Nanae Takahashi in 2015, and has been working in the country for over a decade. One of the most traveled competitors from the United Kingdom, she’s been a champion in Japan, England, and Germany. Trained by Justin Richards and notable figures like Johnny Saint, Robbie Brookside, and many others, Ayesha’s family immigrated from Jamaica to England, resetting their roots in London. Growing up in a single-parent household that consisted of her siblings and her grandparents, Ayesha was encouraged by her mother to pursue her career despite knowing that she might be the exception.
“When I told her I wanted to be a wrestler, she said the same thing I found out. ‘There’s not gonna be many people like you’ and there weren’t. I was the first of then, what became many, and as much as you can look back at history and see it, there weren’t that many of us.” Ayesha Raymond via an interview with Andrew Thompson of POST Wrestling
Ayesha was set to debut for STARDOM in January 2013, but it was postponed due to her grandfather’s passing in Jamaica. As a result, her first appearance was moved to March, during which she joined Hailey Hatred and Kyoko Kimura as the newest recruit in Kimura’s villainous stable, “Monster-gun.” Working under the alias, “Female Predator Amazon,” Ayesha struck tag team gold in November of that year, as she, Alpha Female, and Kimura defeated Yuhi, Kairi Hojo (Kairi Sane), and Kaori Yoneyama (The Chibis) for the Artist of STARDOM Championship. After dropping the titles to Miho Wakizawa, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Mayu Iwatani at “Year-End Climax,” Raymond finished up her tour in January with her last bout coming against all members of Monster-gun, including the newest addition, Act Yasukawa, which she won.
She returned to the United Kingdom in March 2014 and secured bookings with several promotions such as LCW Roses, World Of Sport, and WrestleForce, where she held the women’s championship for over 500 days. She continued to work in the English wrestling scene while opportunities across Europe began to unfold. She’s experienced singles success in Germany, Austria, and Scotland, holding the GWF Women’s Title (German Wrestling Federation) from September 2018 to December 2019, the Reckless Intent Hardcore Championship, and being the inaugural ROE GLAM Titleholder, a title she’s held twice. She has also wrestled in Italy, France, and the United States, where she participated in the 2017 Mae Young Classic. Ayesha is a former IPW: UK Women’s Champion, the second Black woman to hold that title, following Livvii Grace (Tennessee Honey), who was the first to capture it in December 2015.
In 2020, Ayesha became the owner and head trainer of the Fierce Females dojo in Glasgow, which she renamed “Renegade Wrestling Dojo.” The dojo became the hub for local Scottish women wrestlers, who trained and participated in events. This transformed the facility into an active wrestling promotion, notably the first in Scotland to be entirely woman-led. Ayesha had previously lived in Glasgow before settling in Japan – the dojo and promotion appear to be permanently closed. In 2023, she and longtime friend Boo Lemont opened the first professional wrestling school in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. Ayesha signed a deal with Oriental Wrestling Entertainment (OWE), an affiliate of AEW. Her ACW Alba Women’s Title was declared vacant after almost two years since her last title defense in 2023 – 1,050 days as champion. Raymond is still squeezing onto her UPW Women’s Championship, a belt she’s defended sporadically since acquiring it in 2021.
Unfortunately, it’s taken decades for women like Sandy Parker to receive rightful recognition for their contributions to the sport and culture.
Credited as one of the first competitors to make a professional living in Japan, Sandy Parker‘s foray into the wrestling business began in the late 1960s. Parker had contacted several gymnasiums to inquire about training, with Lou Klein being the first to respond. She made the bus trip from Windsor, Ontario, to suburban Allen Park, Michigan, three times a week. Parker was trained under Mary Jane Mull and Lucille Dupree. It took about four months for the veterans to whip Parker into shape in time for her in-ring debut against Mull in Battle Creek, Michigan. From there, she was advised to seek the professional guidance of Lillian Ellison (The Fabulous Moolah), and without hesitation, Parker packed up and headed for South Carolina. The training camp was shrouded in a facade built solely on the reputation that Moolah had fostered for herself—the businesswoman who guides the women wrestlers of tomorrow to great success.
Without diving into the endless list of alleged acts that Moolah has been accused of, it’s quite disturbing. Then again, let’s approach this surface level—Moolah’s allegations include: enforcing non-consensual prostitution from her trainees to secure bookings with promoters, sending unsuspecting women on casting calls to be sexually assaulted, taking additional percentage cuts out of trainees’ paychecks and getting women “blackballed” from the business for falling out of her favor or going against her. There is also a mystery surrounding the story of “Sweet” Georgia Brown and Moolah’s involvement in the demise of a Black woman. Despite being contradicted by Brown’s youngest son in the following years, her older children remember the events differently.
“Every time I could. I was getting ready to be booked in New York. I get on Lillian’s shit list and she wouldn’t book me in New York, ya know. It was just hysterical every time I tried to do that, ya know, I would say something or do something, “Well, I was gonna book you in New York, but I’m not.” – Sandy Parker via Lipstick and Dynamite, Piss and Vinegar: The First Ladies of Wrestling
Parker’s experience while living on Moolah’s estate turned negative, as she often stood up for herself against the veteran and her rules. As the promoter, Moolah exerted control over their bookings and finances, and this overreaching influence extended into their personal lives. Parker recounted that despite living openly as a lesbian, Moolah tried to conceal her sexuality and pushed for heterosexual relationships, even forbidding Parker from attending gay bars, all to control Sandy’s queerness and to preserve an image. Parker left Moolah and began working under Mildred Burke, which proved to be the best decision for her career. Parker wasn’t the only competitor who left Moolah’s estate and control—several women sought out Burke to continue their careers in fear of Moolah’s wrath.
She first landed in Japan in April 1973 and made history. Parker conquered the big one in May; she defeated Miyoko Hoshino for the WWWA World Single Championship inside the Choshi City Gymnasium in Chiba, Japan. The title win was crucial, as Sandy Parker was now the first Black woman to achieve status as a world champion and have the accolade acknowledged. The belt’s lineage traces back to the world championship that Mildred Burke won from Cora Livingston in 1937. In the 1950s, Burke founded the World Women’s Wrestling Association and declared herself the champion. She carried the title with her during her national tour in 1954, and it was later legally acquired by All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling, becoming their flagship championship.
Parker held the singles and tag team titles simultaneously, becoming a double champion the following month. Between June 1973 and July 1974, she became co-champion of the WWWA Tag Team straps on eight occasions. Before this, Parker’s greatest achievement was winning the NWA World Women’s Tag Team Championship with Susan “Tex” Green in November 1971. Parker could have become one of the first Black co-champions if the NWA had sanctioned the title match, but that reign is not officially recognized. Ethel Johnson was the first Black woman to hold one-half of the championship, winning it alongside June Byers in July 1957, but their title reign and its matches were not recorded. Like everyone else, she challenged Moolah multiple times for the NWA World Women’s Championship, and Moolah retained it each time.
Parker continued to compete in Japan until the mid-1970s, with her last matchup overseas being recorded in October 1974. In 1975, she fought Jean Antone in the first legalized women’s match in 50 years in Oregon and was disqualified for slapping the referee a second time. She returned to Japan in 1977 and tried regaining the WWWA World Singles Title for a second time, but was defeated by champion Mariko Akagi.
Parker’s final recorded match was in 1982, and she retired from her sport in 1986. It was reported in November of last year that Parker had passed away two years prior, in 2022, and it wasn’t discovered until historian Craig Bergstrom had made the discovery.
Another competitor that defected from The Fabulous Moolah’s camp was Jean Kirkland, better known as “Black Venus.”
Jean Kirkland was a professional bodybuilder who joined the business after being convinced by wrestlers that she should give it a shot. She began training with Moolah in 1984, with her first official matchup coming against Penny Mitchell in 1985. From there, Kirkland wrestled several dark matches and worked house shows for WWE in the mid-1980s, appearing under her birth name. Besides Princess Jasmine, Kirkland was the only other Black woman visible in the company.
In 1985, she challenged Wendi Richter for the title in a multi-woman matchup in Poughkeepsie, New York. She also wrestled Moolah twice for the belt during house shows in 1986 and 1987. The matches against Moolah were intended to lead to Black Venus winning the title and becoming the first African American woman to do so, but that did not happen. From 1985 to 1986, Black Venus spent time in Japan competing for All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling. During this time, she faced opponents such as Kanako Nagatomo, Hisako Uno, and Mitsuko Nishiwaki. In March 1986, she teamed up with Leilani Kai to take on The Crush Gals, Chigusa Nagayo, and Lioness Asuka, at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center, part of the Japanese collective’s brief tour with WWE.
Kirkland parted ways with Moolah in 1987 and continued to wrestle throughout the Northeast before landing spots on house shows for WCW in 1991. Black Venus is primarily recognized for her work in the Ladies Professional Wrestling Association (LPWA), where she was part of a tag team called “Bad, Black, and Beautiful,” alongside Bad Girl and their manager, Boogaloo Brown. The LPWA was founded by Tor Berg in 1989 and launched two syndicated programs that were taped in locations such as Laughlin, Nevada; Chicago, Illinois; Rochester, Minnesota; and Jackson, Tennessee.
Although it is often compared to David McLane’s GLOW, the company had several notable differences in terms of structure and presentation. LPWA incorporated various names from the wrestling industry into managerial and commentary roles, and it established a relationship with Japanese talents like Miki Handa and Harley Saito. Unlike GLOW, which primarily trained women to portray wrestling characters while maintaining a few skilled performers to assist with matches, LPWA featured women who were active performers in the industry. The company ceased operations in 1992, but its footage is available on YouTube.
In 1993, Kirkland participated in a dark match for the WWE before their television taping in Springfield, Massachusetts. This match was part of the quarterfinals for the Women’s Title tournament, where she faced finalist Heidi Lee Morgan. Following this matchup, it was reported that Kirkland ended her wrestling career in 1993. For many years, there were rumors that Black Venus was being considered for the role of manager for Harlem Heat, especially after Turner Broadcasting expressed concerns about the racial insensitivity of the original gimmick. Ultimately, Sherri Martel was chosen for the position. Tragically, Kirkland passed away in 1995.
***
As a newly established promotion, REINA’s roster included foreign wrestlers (gaijins) acquired through their affiliation with CMLL or as freelancers.
REINA Joshi Puroresu (Ankei Tamashiro 2011-2013, Wrestling New Classic 2013-2014, Syuri Kondou 2014-2016, Hideo Shimada 2016-2018)
Founded in 2011 by Riki Tamashiro and veteran Yumiko Hotta, Universal Women’s Pro Wrestling REINA has undergone several rebrands through the years due to business closures and the termination of relationships with other companies, including CMLL, with which they shared multiple championships. Their events often took place in smaller venues, such as Shin Kiba 1st RING, known as STARDOM’s home arena, which has a capacity of approximately 290 attendees.
Having been in her profession for two years, Mia Yim received a life-changing invitation to wrestle in Japan. In May 2011, she debuted against Hiroyo Matsumoto at REINA’s second show in Tokyo. Yim’s tour continued after Luscious Latasha joined the following month, with her first appearance in the third matchup on the card for their June 19th show. Between August and September, a tournament was held to establish the first CMLL-REINA International Junior Heavyweight Champion, focusing on competitors with under a decade of experience and still navigating their way in the wrestling world. Latasha’s participation ended in the first round against Ray, who ultimately claimed the championship by defeating Yim in the semifinals. Undeterred, Yim teamed with Sara Del Rey in a four-team competition for the inaugural CMLL-REINA Tag Team Championship, reaching the semifinals before their defeat by The Canadian Ninjas (Nicole Matthews and Portia Perez). Yim’s challenge for the TLW International Women’s Championship against the reigning titleholder, Aki Kambayashi, proved unsuccessful, with Kambayashi effectively defending her title for the second time.
Luscious Latasha had already carved her path as a two-time WSU Spirit Champion before venturing overseas; moreover, she’s the inaugural titleholder. Starting her career in 2004, she quickly established herself within the Northeast region, becoming a regular in Women Superstars United (Uncensored). Latasha secured the singles championship in August 2009 by winning a fatal four-way elimination match against Jana, Roxie Cotton, and Amber. She also briefly held the tag team titles with Jana in March 2012, as they won the belts from Lexxus (Alisha Edwards) and Tina San Antonio (replacement for Amber). However, they dropped the titles the same day to The Midwest Militia (Allysin Kay and Sassy Stephie).
As Latasha continued to navigate her career, she journeyed outside the Northeast to take up opportunities in Florida, holding the SCW Florida Women’s Title for nearly 600 days, and in 2019, she captured the SHINE Tag Team Championships with Gabby Gilbert (Roxie Cotton) as “Rainbow Bright.” The two-month tour in June 2011 marked the first and last time Latasha traveled overseas for work, culminating in a matchup against Yim on her final night. Luscious Latasha remains active in the ring twenty-one years later.
Mia Yim completed more tours of Japan throughout the years, wrestling for promotions like Ice Ribbon, Actwres girl’Z, and working the Covina, California shows for STARDOM. She vied for the REINA Tag Team straps again in June 2012, teaming with Aki Kambayashi in the tournament final for the vacant titles against Muscle Venus (Hikaru Shida and Tsukasa Fujimoto). The belts were vacated two months after the champions, Zeuxis and Mima Shimoda, had captured them in March. Universal Women’s Pro Wrestling REINA folded in May and was relaunched as “REINAxWorld.” However, Shimoda, who’s worked closely with CMLL since 2006, opted out of joining the rebranded promotion, resulting in another four-team tournament.
In January 2014, Yim was presented with another opportunity when Syuri put all three of her championships on the line during a groundbreaking event in the Philippines. The event, “Joshi +Jam Manila,” was a collaboration between REINA and Wrestling New Classic. This match between Yim and Syuri marked a historical milestone for women in the Philippines, as it was the first women’s professional wrestling match in the country. The opportunities and eventual title success came rolling in for Yim—she’s held a handful of singles championships and was holding the TNA Knockouts Championship and the Queen of Southside Championship simultaneously. Yim is also a former one-time SHINE Champion and is one-half of the inaugural SHINE Tag Team Champions with Leva Bates, winning both titles in 2014.
In 2015, Chigusa Nagayo began recruiting talent for her wrestling promotion, Marvelous, by holding tryouts with the vision of expanding into the United States.
Marvelous That’s Women Pro Wrestling (Chigusa Nagayo and KAORU 2014-now)
One of her first signings was Takumi Iroha, who joined Marvelous after completing her scheduled appearances with STARDOM and became Nagayo’s trainee. To facilitate talent acquisition, Nagayo partnered with Combat Zone Wrestling to host tryouts in Brooklyn. Early promotional material suggested a focus on women wrestlers (“Joshi”), with the initial flyer emphasizing “CALLING ALL FEMALE WRESTLERS.” However, Sumie Sakai provided clarification, stating that Nagayo’s vision was to embrace male and female talent, fostering an inclusive atmosphere. This openness led to a diverse turnout, with various competitors attending, including independent wrestlers Vanity, Siren (Nina Monet), Renee Michelle, and Willow Nightingale, who was relatively new to the wrestling scene with only four months of experience. Nightingale has since achieved considerable success, becoming the first NJPW Strong Women’s Champion in 2023.
Renee Michelle was already in discussions with another promotion when she received the invitation to try out for Marvelous. This opportunity eventually worked in her favor. Having studied the language back in college, Renee’s fluency in Japanese and her ability to deliver an entire promo in the verbiage impressed Nagayo. Breaking into the business in 2013, Renee Michelle’s earliest bookings were in the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area (DMV). She decided to go forward with Marvelous based on the character of Chigusa Nagayo—the other promotion vying for Renee’s attention was STARDOM. During that time, the brainchild of Rossy Ogawa was becoming more popular with the Western audience, whose access to the promotion and its media was through their YouTube channel, magazines, and DVD distribution.
As one of the first Americans chosen to train and compete under the promotion, Renee’s debut on Japanese soil materialized at the end of August, a few weeks after the tryout. After completing her tour in November, she returned to Japan in July 2016, joining Nyla Rose, who had started with the promotion in June. Renee came close to going undefeated before taking losses to veterans, KAORU, and Kaoru Ito. She bested Nyla Rose on her first night back.
Rose received a bit of a push while there, losing two matchups out of her entire tour under Marvelous; undefeated in SENDAI Girls. She finished the tour in September, with subsequent returns in 2017 through 2019. In August 2018, Nyla brought her Warriors of Wrestling Women’s Championship to Tokyo for her first title defense against Takumi Iroha, which she lost. However, Nyla reclaimed the championship the following month, headlining the Shin-Kiba 1st RING event. Rose signed with All Elite Wrestling in 2019 and she’s competed in almost every tournament the company has held, and is a former one-time AEW Women’s Champion, unseating Riho four months after losing the decision match for the title.
Though she hasn’t been able to launch a stateside offshoot of Marvelous, Chigusa has continued to bring over American talent for training and working opportunities.
Daphanie LaShaunn, also known as Aja Perera, made history as the first African American woman to be signed as a full-time referee in WWE. She had already been wrestling for five years before working for Marvelous, making her debut in February 2018 while performing as “Momoe-chan” in a tag team match alongside Rin Kadokura. During her brief time with the promotion, she experienced several losses but secured one notable victory against Miki Tanaka. LaShaunn’s tenure with the promotion ended in May, after which Sahara Se7en debuted as her tag team partner in her final match. LaShaunn is a former SHINE Tag Team Champion and SHINE Nova Champion, winning these titles with Big Swole in September 2019 and November 2018, respectively. During her singles title run, she defended the belt four times before losing it to Shotzi Blackheart at SHINE 58. Additionally, she is a former Girl Fight Champion, holding the title for a record-setting 842 days, one of the longest reigns in its history.
Sahara Se7en was active in the wrestling promotion from May to August 2018. During this brief period, she joined one of the prominent stables in the promotion, “LEVEL5,” which featured 35-year veteran Tomoko Watanabe. Originally from Virginia, Sahara trained with brothers Mark and Sean Denny and began her wrestling career in the North Carolina scene in 2015. Her bookings quickly increased in the DMV area, where she performed for promotions like NOVA Pro Wrestling and Maryland Championship Wrestling, where she became a former Women’s Champion. In October 2017, Sahara won the vacant title by defeating Brittany Blake after the previous champion, Melina, was sidelined due to a knee injury. She held the championship for five months, successfully defending it three times before losing it to Blake.
Sahara also had brief stints in the United Kingdom in 2019, specifically with British Empire Wrestling, where she first appeared at their all-women’s event in August. This event marked the same occasion that Rhio became the inaugural BEW Shooting Star Champion. In 2021, she began teaming up with Renee Michelle, and together they became collectively known as “Hell on Heels.” Unfortunately, they had two unsuccessful attempts at becoming champions. Their first attempt came in May when they lost in the tournament final for the IGNITE Women’s Tag Team Titles. Their second attempt occurred in August during NWA’s EmPowerrr, where they were eliminated in the first round of the World Women’s Tag Title tournament by The Hex, comprising Allysin Kay and Marti Belle. The Cairene has made multiple appearances on AEW Dark, with her most recent appearance in 2023. She is also a recurring performer for SHINE in Florida, where she’s one-half of “Vicious Vixxens with Kaci Lennox.
Queen Aminata is another name that Marvelous has embraced. Her first matchup in November 2019 was a six-person tag team matchup that ended in a time-limit draw. In December 2022, she participated in the tournament to crown the new AAW Singles Champion after the title was vacated due to Takumi Iroha sustaining an injury. She advanced to the second round but was defeated by Mio Momono. Once the tournament wrapped, Aminata got another shot at the title. However, she was unsuccessful against Chikayo Nagashima.
The championship was originally contested under Chigusa’s previous promotion, GAEA Japan, which she established in 1995. The title was originally designated for heavyweights until 1998, when the weight class was dropped, becoming an openweight title. The championship remained active despite the promotion’s closure, with Aja Kong being its final titleholder before it was retired in 2005. In 2021, Chigusa announced that the championship would be reactivated, along with the AAAW Tag Team Championship, with both champions being determined in 2022. Queen Aminata’s most recent appearance for the promotion was last March when she and Trish Adora worked the collaborative event with West Coast Pro in San Francisco.
World Women’s Pro-Wrestling DIANA (Kyoko Inoue 2010-now)
Roni Nicole, also known as “Big Bang” and the “SheHulk of the South,” dedicated the first half of 2016 exclusively to DIANA, a promotion established by Kyoko Inoue. While primarily competing for the promotion, the Houston-born wrestler who Chilly Willy and CW Anderson trained, also appeared in matches for SENDAI Girls, ChocoPro, and PURE-J (JWP). Upon her return the following year, she vied for the DIANA World Title against Kaoru Ito but was unsuccessful. Her eventual stateside homecoming would begin with a title defense of her GOUGE Ladies Titles. In February 2018, she unsuccessfully challenged Holidead for the Resistance Pro Women’s Championship in a Last Woman Standing match but won the title in a rematch three months later.
Her final championship victory occurred in October 2019, when she defeated Ariela Nyx for the Capitol Wrestling Women’s Championship. She defended the title once against Masha Slamovich before the promotion became Catalyst Wrestling in April 2020. Since 2023, Roni Nicole has been on a break from in-ring competition and has earned her second undergraduate degree from East Carolina University, focusing on Consumer Behavior and Event Services.
Other notable women who have wrestled in Japan include Holidead, Nicole Savoy, La Rosa Negra, and She Nay Nay, all of whom appeared for STARDOM before the acquisition of the entertainment company Bushiroad.
World Wonder Ring STARDOM (Rossy Ogawa & Nanae Takahashi 2011-2015, Ogawa’s era 2015-2019, Bushiroad 2019-now)
Nicole Savoy first worked with the promotion during its two-day tour in Covina, California, in October 2015. It marked the first time the promotion held events outside of Japan, featuring its roster competing against local talent and members of the SHIMMER locker room. With a background in Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu, Savoy entered the wrestling business in 2011. Primarily booked on the West Coast, she worked for the Alternative Wrestling Show, where she became their former Women’s Champion. Savoy is one of the few performers from the West Coast scene who has achieved significant success outside that region.
She was crowned the Heart of SHIMMER Champion in 2016 after winning a twelve-woman tournament on Volume 80. She set a record title reign, holding it for 462 days—that record was surpassed by Samantha Heights in 2019. In November 2017, on SHIMMER Volume 99, Savoy defeated Mercedes Martinez to capture the flagship title, making her the first competitor to hold both of the promotion’s singles championships. Her reign as champion lasted 721 days, which at the time was the longest in the title’s history until Kimber Lee’s championship run ended at 728 days in October 2021.
In January 2018, Savoy began her first tour of Japan with STARDOM, dedicating about four months to the promotion that year. The first leg of her tour included two championship matches. In the main event of “Kyoto Max,” Savoy faced Io Shirai (also known as “Iyo Sky”) for the Wonder of STARDOM Championship; Shirai successfully retained her title. There was speculation that Savoy would be putting her SHIMMER Title on the line, creating a winner-takes-all scenario, but that did not happen. A few weeks later in Osaka, Savoy defended the belt against Jungle Kyona, marking her first defense as champion.
In August of the same year, Savoy returned to participate in the 2018 5STAR Grand Prix, competing in the Blue Stars block and finishing the round-robin tournament with eight points. Savoy’s tour concluded with her retaining against Konami and securing another title shot, this time for Kagetsu’s World of STARDOM Championship. Her last appearance for the promotion was a full-circle moment. In December 2019, Rossy Ogawa gathered the crew and selected members from the roster for a two-day showcase in the United States. The promotion held two matches as part of CharaExpo, an anime and gaming convention organized by Bushiroad in Anaheim, California. These matches were booked two months after the announcement that Bushiroad had purchased the promotion. Savoy announced her retirement in 2022 but continued to make in-ring appearances until 2024. Her final match was against Cheerleader Melissa, contested under SHIMMER Rules, which ended in a time-limit draw.
Although she’s not a household name or a competitor brought up in discussion, She Nay Nay had a one-off matchup under STARDOM in October 2012. Beginning in 2004, the Ottawa, Ontario native had to develop connections to secure bookings outside her relatively quiet area. Dave Dalton originally trained her and, after accepting an invitation to work for Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in the fall of 2006, she acquired further knowledge from head trainer Rip Rogers. The promotion was utilized as a farm system for WWE’s developmental talent. While competing in OVW, She Nay Nay encountered several women called up to the WWE’s main roster, including Victoria Crawford (Alicia Fox), Katie Lea, and Serena Deeb. She also had matches against ODB during her time there, with their last occurring in July 2007.
That October, she ventured overseas to wrestle for Irish Whip Wrestling in Dublin, Ireland, and for England-based All-Star Wrestling. In 2009, she appeared in a losing effort against Beth Phoenix on an episode of SmackDown. In 2010, she achieved a significant milestone by becoming the inaugural Acclaim Pro Wrestling Women’s Champion. She Nay Nay also worked within the Canadian province of Quebec, competing for promotions like Femmes Fatales. She fought Kalamity for the Femmes Fatales International Title in April 2012 and lost. Besides a few one-time bookings, she primarily wrestled for Atlantic Grand Prix in New Brunswick, which had been her home promotion since 2006. She took a sabbatical from bookings in 2014 and eventually retired in 2016.
La Rosa Negra’s first appearance in Japan came as a participant in the Red Stars block of the 2015 5STAR Grand Prix, finishing the round-robin tournament with five points, Representing Oedo Tai, she and Hudson Envy tried their hands at becoming the new Goddesses of STARDOM Champions against Thunder Rock (Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani), but failed. She attempted another title quest that September, this time she bested Star Fire for the High-Speed Champion, beating her stablemate in under three minutes. Two weeks later, La Rosa Negra dropped the belt in her first defense to Mayu Iwantani.
Having established herself as a formidable competitor in Puerto Rico since 2003, La Rosa Negra had four World Wrestling Council Women’s Championship wins and two American championship reigns under her belt when she got recruited for STARDOM. Outside of her Japanese run, La Rosa Negra started accepting bookings in the States in 2012, working for promotions like Pro Wrestling Syndicate, where she’s a former Bombshells Champion, unseating Missy Sampson for the belt in May 2013. She also held the inactive Battling Bombshells Title twice, with her second reign at 910 days being the longest. Her eventual return to STARDOM in 2017 would see her alongside members of Oedo Tai (Kagetsu and Hana Kimura) make it to the finals of the Artist of STARDOM Title tournament – Queen’s Quest (AZM, Io Shirai, and HZK) won the vacated belts.
Another championship match would come about, this time with La Rosa Negra facing Toni Storm for the SWA Undisputed World Women’s Title. By October of that year, she landed bookings outside STARDOM’s umbrella, appearing for Joshi promotions like Marvelous, SENDAI Girls, and SEAdLINNNG. La Rosa Negra is still an active competitor in these streets. Her most recent work includes competing in the qualifying round of the ASE Women’s Title tournament and winning the IWA World Women’s belt back in February, which she just lost back in May.
Holidead‘s debut at the promotion’s “Mask Fiesta – Halloween Party” in 2015 concluded with an invitation from Act Yasukawa to join her stable, “Oedo Tai.” After accepting the offer, Holidead and Act competed together in the Goddesses of STARDOM Tag League, being eliminated in the first go around. Holidead had shown up in the promotion relatively as an unknown with little information on her origins online – a good scenario given a persona intertwined with the “dark side.” However, the Cleveland-born athlete’s skills were developed under Gangrel and Rikishi at the KnokX Pro Wrestling Academy before turning up at the show in Tokyo as “Kairian 2.0.” She competed against the then-NWA World Women’s Champion, Santana Garrett, for the title and was defeated at the cross-promoted event with SENDAI Girls in November.
Additionally, the audience struggled to identify the essence of her character. Booked as a power-based performer, Holidead was one of the many foreign contingents that joined Act’s stable upon her arrival. While many members of Oedo Tai displayed comedic traits, Holidead was an exception. It could have been a simple misunderstanding by Western fans who misunderstood poorly translated reviews of the shows, or perhaps the promotion did not fully realize her potential.
Come 2016, Holidead forged a partnership with stablemate, Thunder Rosa, as “Twisted Sisterz” and worked the 2016 Goddesses of STARDOM Tag League, finishing with four points. The partnership continued with them challenging Oedo Tai members, Kagetsu, and Kyoko Kimura for the tag team titles and losing. They would eventually capture gold; they wrestled the NWA International Tag Team belts away from Jimi Mayhem and Alexander G. Bernard in September 2016 to become the first women’s titleholders. STARDOM’s annual year-end show would see them putting the titles on the line against HZK and Momo Watanabe (Queen’s Quest) and retaining them. The duo captured another set of titles in July 2018, going over Ivelisse and Mercedes Martinez (Las Sicarias) in a four-team elimination match at SHINE 52.
Holidead has made numerous appearances for virtually every company she’s worked for. She’s competed in multiple tournaments, including the ROH World Women’s Championship, which she contested in 2018 and again in 2021. Holidead continued to make appearances for Ring of Honor, even becoming a number one contender to the title via a Four Corner Survival matchup. After losing to champion Rok-C in Baltimore, Holidead left the company, and she was later announced as one of the first competitors for MLW’s women’s featherweight division. She faced off against Taya Valkyrie in the decision matchup in May 2022 for the division’s championship, with Valkyrie pulling out the victory via submission.
Holidead disappeared from MLW shortly after and began to work elsewhere. It was later revealed in an interview with Taylor Wilde on her podcast, “Wilde On,” that she’s been nursing an injury she sustained in late 2021. Though she’s never disclosed the exact details of said injury, it was severe enough that the performer feared a forced retirement. After wrestling Rok-C, she took the rest of December 2021 off through the start of 2022. She eventually got the “OK” to return to the ring in March, with her upcoming defense of the Mission Pro Wrestling Championship being her first match back. Currently signed with WOW (Women of Wrestling), Holidead also serves as the booker for Mission Pro Wrestling, which is owned by Thunder Rosa.
A few others that have graced the land of the rising sun…
Promise Braxton began her tour of Japan in December 2023 and spent several weeks there. During her time there, she primarily participated in tag team matches under Marvelous, often teaming up with the experienced Maya Yukihi. Braxton also worked on shows for SENDAI Girls where she unsuccessfully challenged Chihiro Hashimoto and Yuu (Team 200kg) for the Tag Team Titles in February 2024… Jada Stone is the most recent competitor to work a tour in Japan, debuting in winning fashion against Kaya Toribami at the Kobe Art Center in January. Stone received not one, but two shots at the International Princess Title, with the current champion, Suzume, retaining the belt, with the last defense taking place at Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling’s show in Las Vegas back in April… Another competitor who tried wrestling the International Princess Title into their clutches is Trish Adora. Heading over for the first time in January 2023, the Washington D.C. native faced the then-titleholder, Miu Watanabe, in her promotional debut at Korakuen Hall. Adora appeared for additional events—she was booked for TJPW’s debut on American Terra Firma that March and worked the second Los Angeles show in December and their Philadelphia event this past April. In January 2024, she lost to Giulia in a match for the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship in San Jose. She attempted to win the title again at “Fighting Spirit Unleashed” in November, but Hazuki won instead. Adora is the former reigning and defending Pan-Afrikan World Diaspora Wrestling World Champion, winning the belt back in February 2020 by defeating Darius Lockhart and Grim in a three-way matchup. Her reign that amassed 1,338 days is the longest in the belt’s five-year existence to date, and Adora peeled back eighteen victories as champion… Brandi Rhodes made it to the quarterfinals of STARDOM’s 2018 Cinderella Tournament after beating Natsu Sumire in the first round. Rhodes fell to Io Shirai in the tournament.