Professional Wrestling has a vast history with many legendary names that fans all across the globe know. Names like Antonio Inoki, Hulk Hogan, and Giant Baba are in the repertoire of almost every wrestling fan. As with anything though some talented performers get lost to time and never really receive the adulation they deserve. All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling alumni Tomi Aoyama is one such performer.
⁉WHAT⁉ THAT IS INCREDIBLE! Tomi Aoyama with a no hands crossbody in 1979! pic.twitter.com/vSMXsQDvb0
— John「ふりーWiFi」 Back up socials in pinned comment (@DK1105) August 20, 2020
Aoyama debuted way back in 1977 for AJW. It’s unfortunate that even the most avid historians can’t find much content from this era but every time a match with Tomi Aoyama in it pops up she impresses. She is a performer who’s matches hold up even by today’s standards.
Starlight Kid or Mio Momono needs to revive this move. Tomi Aoyama is awesome pic.twitter.com/Ht9y4EFYFo
— John「ふりーWiFi」 Back up socials in pinned comment (@DK1105) August 20, 2020
While AJW at the time was focused more on a slightly more technical, realistic style of wrestling Aoyama dazzled by adding in moments of athleticism to her matches. She was capable of pulling off maneuvers that we wouldn’t see replicated for over a decade, the no-hands springboard cross body is just one example. She was a revolutionary and anyone that has seen her perform heralds her as such, especially when she is compared to her contemporaries.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1261998243820560384
Doubters may wonder “if she was so good, why does no one know her”. And that’s a valid thought. The reason Tomi Aoyama is so un-recognized is because she unfortunately only wrestled for three years In 1980 she injured her right knee twice and retired in August 1980. In addition to her short career, she also wrestled in one of the least accessible eras of AJW. As mentioned previously even the most ardent Joshi historian has trouble getting their hands on Aoyama matches or even just any matches from that time period. Despite her short career, Aoyama did win the WWWA tag team championships and even captured the All-Pacific Championship, the 1B title of the company.
Despite the obstacles we must make the most of what content we have available and based on every Tomi Aoyama match we’ve ever seen she is one of the best wrestlers of her era and easily one of the most innovative performers of all time. Aoyama, unfortunately, passed away in 2011 but her legacy lives on, and hopefully, she can be remembered as the revolutionary performer that she was.
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