All Elite Wrestling has committed to showcasing the best women’s talent in the world in their women’s division. With signings like Nyla Rose and Hikaru Shida, they have followed through on this intent. On the latest edition of Being The Elite, they announced a six woman tag match pitting legendary names Aja Kong and Emi Sakura alongside Yuka Sakakzaki as they face young rising star Riho Abe, underrated freelancer Shida and a hard hitter Ryo Mizunami. For anyone that knows these six talents, this is an insane match that crosses various Joshi companies and showcases veteran talent as well as young talent on the rise. To help familiarise people ahead of the show we will run through the six talents involved in the match.
Aja Kong, Emi Sakura & Yuka Sakazaki vs Riho Abe, Hikaru Shida & Ryu Mizunami: Match Point
Aja Kong
Aja Kong is a monster that has been a dominant force in the Japanese women’s pro wrestling scene for three decades now. Kong has some of the most vicious strikes you will ever see having infamously broken her opponents nose on an episode of RAW with a spinning backfist. She was one of the biggest stars for All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling (AJW) who helped make women’s wrestling extremely popular in Japan to the point they could easily run shows in the Tokyo Dome. In her two runs as WWWA champion, the top title in AJW, she held it for almost 1000 combined days and was a five-time tag team champion. Since AJW’s demise Kong has remained one of the biggest stars on the scene and has been a major player in companies like GAEA Japan and Oz Academy as well as making appearances for various other Joshi companies on a rare basis.
Emi Sakura
Emi Sakura debuted in 1995 for International Wrestling Association Japan before moving on to AJW and Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW). In 2006 when the Joshi scene had lost some of it’s biggest names and companies Emi Sakura helped to form Ice Ribbon where she would discover her talent for training. As a trainer Sakura has had a big impact on the Joshi scene as she has trained many extremely talented women, passing on her experience and technical expertise. She left Ice Ribbon in 2011 and set up the unique Gatoh Move where she has spent the rest of her career as a wrestler, trainer, and owner. Sakura has a wealth of experience and a bright personality, but don’t let that fool you she can manipulate her opponent’s body in so many ways.
Yuka Sakazaki
A five year veteran that has spent her entire career with Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling (TJPW). While TJPW is mostly a character based promotion Sakazaki is one of the stronger in-ring workers in the promotion. She is a former Princess Of Princesses Champion as well as a two time and current tag team champion for the promotion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx1wbPdUjaM
Hikaru Shida
Long regarded as one of the most underrated members of the Joshi independent scene Hikaru Shida has been an extremely useful freelance talent for Japanese promotions. What sets her apart from so many other Joshi wrestlers is her charisma and badass look. If there is one Japanese women’s wrestler that could succeed in the US it’s Shida. In her 10 years, she has won titles in various companies from Ice Ribbon to Oz Academy and had classic matches with the likes of Aja Kong. Has been known as a tag specialist at times in her career as she has had eleven different reigns as a tag team champion in five different companies but is equally as strong on her own in singles competition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9C_ZYCf4U4
Ryo Mizunami
A fourteen-year veteran who may be known to US fans for her appearances in SHIMMER. Trained by the legendary Meiko Satomura she is one of the hardest hitters currently going in the Joshi scene. She has an eye-catching look and a natural charisma that will help her excel in the US. Is a two time Regina Di WAVE Champion in her home promotion of WAVE and wrestled all over the Joshi scene for the likes of Ice Ribbon, Sendai Girls and almost every other company in the scene. Aja Kong is a hard hitter but Ryo Mizunami can go toe to toe with the monster.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaQ59REU1BE
Riho Abe
A 21-year-old with 12 years of wrestling experience. Riho was trained by Emi Sakura and Nanae Takahashi. Riho has always been pushed and booked by Sakura which means she has almost one thousand matches under her belt at the age of 21. Her current reign as Super Asia Champion in Gatoh Move is about to approach 600 days as she has been at the top of the promotion since it’s debut in 2011. In the past, Riho shared the ring with Kenny Omega who has been a big part of putting together the women’s division for AEW so he knows first hand just how talented she is.
AEW’s women’s division is one of the most exciting aspects of the company and matches like this are the reason why. Joshi veterans, legends, and talent on the rise get to showcase their talent on a big stage and prove that the Women’s Revolution isn’t just in the WWE.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.
