{"id":17004,"date":"2018-04-08T10:02:26","date_gmt":"2018-04-08T14:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=17004"},"modified":"2018-04-08T10:02:26","modified_gmt":"2018-04-08T14:02:26","slug":"andnew-sumie-sakai-crowned-inaugural-woh-champion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2018\/04\/08\/andnew-sumie-sakai-crowned-inaugural-woh-champion\/","title":{"rendered":"#AndNEW: Sumie Sakai Crowned Inaugural WOH Champion"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Last night at <strong>Ring of Honor<\/strong>&#8216;s <em><strong>Supercard of Honor XII<\/strong><\/em>, ROH crowned their first ever Women of Honor Champion, with <strong>Sumie Sakai<\/strong> pinning <strong>Kelly Klein<\/strong> in the finals of the tournament that started in late 2017. In a field that included such emerging stars as <strong>Deonna Purrazzo, Brandi Rhodes, Mandy Leon, Tenille Dashwood, Karen Q<\/strong> and <strong>Stardom<\/strong>&#8216;s <strong>Maya Iwatani, Kagetsu, HZK<\/strong> and <strong>Hana Kimura<\/strong>, many expected WOH to crown one of the new stars as it&#8217;s inaugural champion. But it went to the locker room leader and veteran Sumie Sakai, and well deserved. Sakai has been wrestling since 1997, originally trained by Japanese women&#8217;s legends <strong>Jaguar Yokota<\/strong> and <strong>Lioness Asuka<\/strong>. In the early 2000s, she moved to the United States and continued her training with <strong>Killer Kowalski<\/strong>. In 2002, she was the very first woman to compete for Ring of Honor, defeating <strong>Simply Luscious<\/strong>, on Ring of Honor&#8217;s fourth ever event,\u00a0<em><strong>ROH Road to the Title<\/strong><\/em><em>,\u00a0<\/em>on June 22, 2002 (ROH&#8217;s first event was in February of 2002). Sumie Sakai has been not only a Women of Honor original, but a Ring of Honor original, wrestling for ROH for it&#8217;s entire history. It&#8217;s only fitting that the woman who made women&#8217;s wrestling possible and inspired and mentored so many wear the crown first.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/totaldivaseps\/status\/982794139124330497<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The FIRST ever <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ringofhonor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@ringofhonor<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Women_of_Honor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Women_of_Honor<\/a> Champion <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SumieSakai?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@SumieSakai<\/a>!!! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wuO7qMsjyi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/wuO7qMsjyi<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; women of honor (@Women_of_Honor) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Women_of_Honor\/status\/982798614153089024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 8, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SumieSakai?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@SumieSakai<\/a> is the first <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Women_of_Honor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Women_of_Honor<\/a> Champion! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WOHTournament?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#WOHTournament<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ROHSupercard?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#ROHSupercard<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IKkxALihXh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/IKkxALihXh<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; ROH &#8211; Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ringofhonor\/status\/982793989492535299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 8, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/DeonnaPurrazzo\/status\/982831133787410432<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/AllieImpact\/status\/982798836627378178<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">You deserve it! So happy for you!<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Daffney Unger (@screamqueendaff) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/screamqueendaff\/status\/982960434172096512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 8, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Congratulations <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SumieSakai?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@SumieSakai<\/a> becoming the first ever <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Women_of_Honor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Women_of_Honor<\/a> championess!! \ud83d\udc4a<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jazzy Gabert (@Jazzy_Gabert) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Jazzy_Gabert\/status\/982799236940083201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 8, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I\u2019m legit about to cry!! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SumieSakai?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@SumieSakai<\/a> I love you! I am so proud of you, my mentor, my friend! You deserved this! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WOHChampionshipTournament?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#WOHChampionshipTournament<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OtgQWSwr4o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/OtgQWSwr4o<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Gabby Ortiz (@Gabbity) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Gabbity\/status\/982806048129126400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 8, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/RealBullJames\/status\/982801862243094528<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Gahhhh!!! Congratulations <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SumieSakai?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@SumieSakai<\/a> \ud83d\udc9e So so happy for you <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/n98Lxxc21A\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/n98Lxxc21A<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Willow Nightingale (@willowwrestles) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/willowwrestles\/status\/982805510415151105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 8, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/JordynneGrace\/status\/982960130802180096<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Waking up to the news of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SumieSakai?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@SumieSakai<\/a> being <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Women_of_Honor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Women_of_Honor<\/a> champion and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/QoSBaszler?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@QoSBaszler<\/a> being <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWENXT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@WWENXT<\/a> Women&#39;s Champion is amazing. Two hard working women who deserve all the success they have. Congrats ladies!! \u2764\u2764\u2764<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; LuFisto (@LuFisto) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LuFisto\/status\/982935203449655297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 8, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This makes me happy!!! Congratulations <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SumieSakai?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@SumieSakai<\/a> \ud83d\ude0d<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Marti Belle (@MartiBelle) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MartiBelle\/status\/982854398811484160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 8, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This makes my heart happy. An amazing locker room veteran and an incredible person. Congrats <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SumieSakai?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@SumieSakai<\/a> !! \ud83d\udc9a\ud83d\udc4f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2I4CpDyfAD\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/2I4CpDyfAD<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Daphanie LaShaunn\ud83d\udc85\ud83c\udffe\u2728\ud83e\udd93 (@RefBaeDaphWWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RefBaeDaphWWE\/status\/982805004808409090?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 8, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I \ud83d\udc95 you <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SumieSakai?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@SumieSakai<\/a> \ud83c\udf89\ud83c\udf89\ud83c\udf89<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Veda Scott (@itsvedatime) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/itsvedatime\/status\/982802489845088256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 8, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Such an awesome moment! Congratulations <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SumieSakai?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@SumieSakai<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Women_of_Honor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Women_of_Honor<\/a>! This is the launching point for something really special!!! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/STo16Wi1vR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/STo16Wi1vR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Madison Rayne (@MadisonRayne) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MadisonRayne\/status\/982796462961676288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 8, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last night at Ring of Honor&#8216;s Supercard of Honor XII, ROH crowned their first ever Women of Honor Champion, with Sumie Sakai pinning Kelly Klein in the finals of the tournament that started in late 2017. In a field that included such emerging stars as Deonna Purrazzo, Brandi Rhodes, Mandy Leon, Tenille Dashwood, Karen Q [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":649,"featured_media":17021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6,8,322],"tags":[92,61,2190,88],"class_list":["post-17004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-north-america","category-roh","category-women-of-honor","tag-kelly-klein","tag-ring-of-honor","tag-sumie-sakai","tag-women-of-honor"],"modified_by":"Jamie Greer","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/649"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17004"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17004\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}