On this week’s edition of AEW Dynamite, the competitors for the upcoming AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Tournament have been revealed. In addition to eight competitors currently located in the United States, it will feature matches pitting eight wrestlers in Japan against one another. AEW has selected a variety of Japanese women’s wrestlers, some of whom have been on AEW programming in the past. The Japan competitors in the upcoming tournament are as follows.
Aja Kong – Joshi wrestling legend Aja Kong is not the monster she once was, but her experience, intelligence, and raw power combine to make sure she is still a threat. The former WWWA, AAAW, Sendai Girls, and OZ Academy champion has more pedigree than almost any other competitor in Japan and knows what it takes to win.
Yuka Sakazaki – Longtime AEW fans will undoubtedly be familiar with the “Magical Girl,” Yuka Sakazaki. She made her AEW debut at Double or Nothing and has gone on to make numerous appearances for the promotion since then. Currently, she is active in Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, working alongside Mizuki in the Magical Suger Rabbits tag team.
https://twitter.com/asuka10272140/status/1357150111931932679?s=20
VENY – The “genderless professional wrestler,” VENY is one of the most active wrestlers in the Japanese independent scene today. Also known as ASUKA in Japan, VENY currently works for such organizations as Marvelous, Dramatic Dream Team, and Diana. In mid-to-late 2020, she held multiple championships at once, further establishing her reputation in Japan and abroad.
Emi Sakura – The founder of Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling is another entrant that AEW fans should be familiar with. She has helped train current AEW stars Riho and Hikaru Shida. She continues to function as a trainer, having brought up such stars as fellow AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Tournament competitor Mei Suruga. Simply put, Emi Sakura will rock you.
Ryo Mizunami – Affectionately known as “Aniki,” Ryo Mizunami is a veteran in the Japanese professional wrestling scene. Today, she can be seen in SEAdLINNNG as one of the members of MAX VOLTAGE. However, she has made multiple appearances for ChocoPro, Gatoh Move’s YouTube show. The former two-time Regina Di WAVE Champion is one competitor not to count out in the AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Tournament.
🍎Mei Suruga @Mei_gtmv 's first appearance in #AEW ! YES!!!
– The apple of hope, popping out of the world's smallest wrestling promotion.
– Big Apple
– The fighting spirit is in the smile#gtmv#ChocoPro pic.twitter.com/FO2h1EKfZq— Gatoh Move / ChocoPro🍫 (@gatohmove) February 4, 2021
Mei Suruga – The “Apple Girl” of Gatoh Move began her professional wrestling training in 2018 and has since become the promotion’s standout star. Mei Suruga is also one half of the reigning Asia Dream Tag Team Champions alongside Baliyan Akki; together, they are known as Best Bros. Suruga is an Emi Sakura trainee, meaning that despite her limited experience compared to her peers, she will be a force to be reckoned with all the same.
Rin Kadokura – Representative of Marvelous Rin Kadokura has spent most of her time as part of the tag team NEW-TRA alongside Takumi Iroha. Kadokura is something of an all-rounder with no weaknesses and her fighting spirit more than makes up for her lack of standout strengths. Kadokura has won tag team gold a few times in her career and currently holds the Pro Wrestling WAVE Tag Team Titles alongside Atsuki Aoki.
HELLO MOTHER FUCKERS! #AEW pic.twitter.com/vlygGO97XY
— 伊藤麻希 Maki Itoh (@maki_itoh) February 4, 2021
Maki Itoh – Known mostly for her Twitter antics, the “cutest in the world” has a very hard head which she uses to her advantage in matches. The Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling star has spent the past year proving that she can hang with the best of the best in the ring and has become one of the company’s standout workers as well as a great character.
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. You can catch AEW Dynamite Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TNT and AEW DARK Tuesday nights at 7 PM ET on YouTube.
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