Joshi Watch: Yuna Mizumori

Sporting flashy colors and a bright – even comedic, at times – personality, Yuna Mizumori is one of the most prominent characters in Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling. As Gatoh Move’s “Power Fighter,” the green-clad Yunamon’s charisma is matched only by her powerful offense. Not unlike other joshis, the path of the “Pineapple Girl” toward professional wrestling is an interesting one. Let’s take a deep dive and learn more about Mizumori.

Prior to becoming involved in professional wrestling, Yuna Mizumori was an idol. In Japan, an idol is an entertainer whose presence is steeped in the country’s pop culture. Idols take on numerous roles ranging from models to actors. In Mizumori’s case, she was a skilled dancer who also released multiple music albums. These abilities would prove useful in Gatoh Move, a wrestling promotion that commonly holds musical performances.

Mizumori shifted gears from her idol career, beginning her wrestling training in 2017. She learned under Emi Sakura, the founder of Gatoh Move and, previously, Ice Ribbon. Mizumori had her first official singles match on Feburary 28, 2018, facing Sakura in a losing effort. From there, Mizumori worked with the likes of Mitsuru Konno and Riho, the latter who would become the inaugural AEW Women’s World Champion. In the spring, Mizumori also faced SAKI in losing efforts. Despite said losses, Mizumori would find herself forming a fruitful – no pun intended – partnership with SAKI in the months that followed.

In May, Mizumori made her Pro Wrestling HEAT UP debut, teaming with Sakura to face Konno and Riho.

The same month, Mizumori began teaming with SAKI, forming a regular partnership. Together, they would become known as Tropikawild. SAKI was no stranger to tag team success, as she was one half of the inaugural Asia Dream Tag Team Champions alongside MIZUKI. June saw Mizumori pick up her first victories. On the 10th, she teamed with SAKI to defeat Konno and Riho; the week after, she defeated newcomer Mei Suruga in singles action. This wouldn’t be the end of the road of victories for the “Power Fighter” of Gatoh Move.

August saw Mizumori make her Sendai Girls debut, working a few matches for the Meiko Satomura-headed promoted. More importantly, however, this was the same month when Mizumori and SAKI won the Asia Dream Tag Team Championship. Together, Tropikawild defeated Sakura and Masahiro Takanashi, ending their impressive 511-day reign in the process. Tropkiawild remained titleholders in the months that followed, but with SAKI being largely an Actwres girl’Z wrestler, Mizumori remained consistent in singles action.

For example, in October, the “Pineapple Girl” challenged Sakura for the 3 Count Wrestling Women’s Championship. In December, Mizumori debuted for PURE-J with a victory over Mari Manji. She also made her first appearance for SEAdLINNNG at their year-end show. She worked in the main-event six-person tag team battle royal, teaming with Suruga and Sakura to win the match. Not all was good for Mizumori, however; the same month, following their 112-day reign, Tropikawild dropped the Asia Dream Tag Team Championship to the duo of Riho and Makoto. Despite ending 2018 on a sour note, championship gold wouldn’t elude the former idol in green for long.

In January of 2019, Yuna Mizumori debuted for AgZ and continued her work as one of the regulars of Gatoh Move.

She also sought singles gold in February when she unsuccessfully challenged Nanae Takahashi for the SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea Championship. Despite this, she and SAKI worked their way back to the Asia Dream Tag Team Championship. In fact, in March, the unit of Tropikawild won the gold once more by besting Makoto and Riho. Despite this, Yunamon continued to prove herself as a formidable singles opponent, even vying for number one contendership for Riho’s Super Asia Championship.

Throughout July and August, Gatoh Move held a series of exhibition matches featuring its newest class of talent. Mizumori competed in multiple exhibitions, working with new faces including Tokiko Kirihara, Rin Rin, and Lulu Pencil. Meanwhile, Tropikawild continued to hold onto the Asia Dream Tag Team Championship, besting the likes of Konno, Suruga, and Kaori Yoneyama along the way. Appearances for other promotions were peppered in along with her work in Gatoh Move. Case and point, in November, Mizumori debuted for Pro Wrestling WAVE. She teamed with Miyuki Takase and Himeka Arita, collectively known as Beginning, to defeat Maria, Nagisa Nozaki, and Chihiro Hashimoto.

Though 2020 is early in its development, the future looks bright for Yuna Mizumori.

As of this writing, she remains one-half of the Asia Dream Tag Team Champions alongside SAKI. A reign that lasts close to a year is impressive, to say the least, but Mizumori’s consistency as a performer is just as notable. She’s been nothing short of versatile, able to get a crowd into a dance competition with upstart Rin Rin, overpower her opponents in Ichigaya Chocolate Square, or play an underdog in peril against an opponent stronger than her. Regardless of the role she plays, Mizumori is destined for success, one Tropical Yahoo Press at a time.

Check out past Joshi Watches and discover more stars from Japan!