{"id":61152,"date":"2020-01-17T12:00:49","date_gmt":"2020-01-17T17:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/?p=61152"},"modified":"2020-01-17T10:46:22","modified_gmt":"2020-01-17T15:46:22","slug":"star-gazing-jungle-kyona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2020\/01\/17\/star-gazing-jungle-kyona\/","title":{"rendered":"Star Gazing: Jungle Kyona"},"content":{"rendered":"

Star Gazing<\/span><\/em><\/a>\u00a0is our series which will add to our already growing coverage of\u00a0<\/span><\/em>World Wonder Ring Stardom\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/a>(Also known simply as Stardom) and the Joshi scene where we will get you up to speed with members of the Stardom roster. Today we will be focusing on one of the most popular members of the roster Jungle Kyona.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

One of the top wrestlers in Stardom throughout 2018\/2019,<\/span>\u00a0Jungle Kyona<\/span><\/strong> has been a top player in the company for years now. Currently one-half of the\u00a0<\/span>Goddesses of Stardom Champions, Kyona is one of the most beloved wrestlers in Stardom, likely due to her passion and love for professional wrestling. So, let\u2019s take a look back at the four years of blood, sweat, and tears that have made Jun-Kyo the wrestler she is today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Life Among The Gorillas<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Jungle
Photo: ameblo.jp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unlike most Joshi wrestlers who begin their careers at an extremely young age, Kyona didn\u2019t make her pro wrestling debut until 24 years old. Instead, Kyona spent her early twenties working in the Republic of Senegal on the Western Coast of Africa. These two years in Africa prompted Kyona to display her love for the jungle in both name & character when she made her debut in November 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n

Debuting in a win over\u00a0<\/span>Momo Watanabe<\/span><\/strong> on November 15th, 2015, Jungle made a big first impression in the company when she won the Rookie of Stardom Tournament just a month after her debut. By the time 2016 rolled around, Kyona had already started making attempts at the Goddesses of Stardom as well as the Artists of Stardom championships alongside Momo Watanabe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Momo and Kyona (now known as\u00a0<\/span>\u201cJKGReeeeN\u201d)\u00a0<\/span><\/em>teamed regularly throughout 2016, facing the likes of\u00a0<\/span>Thunder Rock\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>and different combinations of an ever-evolving<\/span>\u00a0Oedo Tai<\/span><\/strong>. 2016 also featured Kyona\u2019s first appearances in both the\u00a0<\/span>Cinderella Tournament<\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0and the\u00a0<\/span>5STAR Grand Prix<\/span><\/em><\/strong>, falling short on both occasions. Shortly after the 5STAR of course came\u00a0<\/span>Goddesses of Stardom Tag League<\/span><\/em><\/strong>, which marked JKGReeeN\u2019s first and last tag team tournament together. Ending with a record of 1-2, the young duo were unable to make it to the finals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bringing Gold to the Jungle<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"\"
Photo: wwr-stardom.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shortly after Tag League 2016 concluded, tragedy struck the Jungle as Momo betrayed her partner, becoming one of the founding members of\u00a0<\/span>Io Shirai<\/span><\/strong>\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Queen\u2019s Quest<\/span><\/strong>. This prompted Kyona to start teaming alongside various unaffiliated roster members as well as freelancers such as\u00a0<\/span>Hiroyo Matsumoto<\/span><\/strong>,\u00a0<\/span>Konami<\/span><\/strong>, and\u00a0<\/span>Kaori Yoneyama<\/span><\/strong>. As 2017 quickly got underway, Kyona wasted no time in attempting to get her first taste of singles gold. After unsuccessfully challenging <\/span>Kay Lee Ray\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>for her\u00a0<\/span>ICW Women\u2019s Championship<\/span><\/strong>, Kyona aimed for an even bigger challenge:<\/span>\u00a0Kairi Hojo<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0and her Wonder of Stardom Championship.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kairi, who at the time was also one half of the Goddesses of Stardom Champions, accepted the challenge from Kyona, who had claimed Hojo was an inspiration to her as a wrestler. What ensued was Kyona\u2019s best match up to that point, as the underdog used Jungle Power to take Kairi to her absolute limit, only to come up short after 17 minutes of competition. This did not, however, stop Kyona from making one more challenge for Hojo after the match, this time for her &\u00a0<\/span>Yoko Bito\u2019s<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Goddesses of Stardom Titles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alongside Hiroyo Matsumoto, Kyona finally fulfilled her dreams of winning gold in her hometown of Nagoya. Along with winning the tag team titles in front of all her friends and family, Jungle Kyona also cemented herself as a fierce competitor in Stardom with this win over such high caliber talent. Over the following months, Kyona & Matsumoto created \u201cTeam Jungle\u201d alongside Kaori Yoneyama and <\/span>Natsuko Tora<\/span><\/strong>. The new stable hit the ground running as the reigning tag champs & Yoneyama claimed the\u00a0<\/span>Artists of Stardom Championships<\/span><\/strong>, briefly making Kyona a double champion before quickly dropping the Goddesses of Stardom titles to\u00a0<\/span>Hana Kimura<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Kagetsu\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>of Oedo Tai.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jungle in Jeopardy\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Shortly after losing the Goddesses of Stardom titles, Team Jungle also lost their newly won Artists of Stardom titles in August of 2017. Kyona, who took the pin from her Queen\u2019s Quest adversaries, also suffered a depressed fracture in her nose that fortunately did not take her out of action as that year\u2019s 5STAR started just one week later.<\/span><\/p>\n

After a relatively successful 5STAR (Going 4-3 in block competition), Kyona once again made a bid for the White Belt, unsuccessfully challenging Yoko Bito in her hometown of Nagoya. Despite her failure to claim the belt, Kyona impressed Yoko and teamed alongside her in the 2017 Goddesses of Stardom tournament. The makeshift team accumulated a block record of 2-1-1, making it all the way to the finals before losing to the team of\u00a0<\/span>Bea Priestley\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>and\u00a0<\/span>Kelly Klien<\/span><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the following months heading into 2018, Team Jungle noticeably started to become weaker compared to its original composition. Hiroyo Matsumoto became growingly scarce in the company before leaving completely by March, and Kaori had various other commitments around the Joshi world. This left Kyona and Natsuko as the only members of the group to frequently appear on shows for the first half of the year. This loss of steam culminated at the 2018 Stardom Draft, where Team Jungle went unpicked by all three of the official factions, eventually being lumped in with<\/span>\u00a0Mayu Iwatani<\/span><\/strong>\u2019s \u201cSTARS\u201d to end the night. Kyona\u2019s anger from the situation prompted her, Natsuko and Kaori (alongside rookies\u00a0<\/span>Leo Onozaki\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>and<\/span>\u00a0Ruaka<\/span><\/strong>) to quickly secede from STARS and create their own faction; Thus, the \u201cJungle Assault Nation\u201d was born.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nationalism (The Good Kind)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Jungle
Photo: wwr-stardom.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

JAN, risen from the ashes of Team Jungle, quickly got Jungle Kyona back on track. Within a month of leading her new group, she was able to win the vacant Artists of Stardom titles, this time alongside Natsuko Tora & Kaori Yoneyama. Jungle looked to continue this momentum into yet another White Belt challenge, this time against former tag team partner and eternal rival Momo Watanabe. Set for the Korakuen Hall show in June 2018, Kyona was unsuccessful yet again at claiming her first singles championship of her career.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This loss did not stop Jungle from having a great summer, as JAN was able to defend their Artists of Stardom Championships twice before the end of the season. With Autumn, however, came the debut of\u00a0<\/span>Utami Hayashishita<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0who debuted with the intent to quickly surpass Kyona as the \u201cTop Power Wrestler\u201d in the company. The adversaries took to battle in Utami\u2019s debut, with Kyona unable to beat the rookie after 15 minutes of action.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The draw shocked many, as a rookie being able to survive 15 minutes against such a prominent member of the roster was next to unheard of. The story continued into the\u00a0<\/span>2018 5STAR Grand Prix<\/span><\/strong>, where Kyona ended with a 3-2-2 record, tying once again against Utami Hayashishita, as well as against the reigning World of Stardom Champion, Kagetsu.<\/span><\/p>\n

With her third 5STAR in the books, Kyona returned her focus to tag team gold, battling alongside her fellow JAN members against STARS in two championship matches in two consecutive days. While JAN was unable to retain the Artists of Stardom titles Kyona & Natsuko were able to take the Goddesses of Stardom belts in return. This was undoubtedly JAN’s biggest victory to date, and it came just in time for the\u00a0<\/span>2018 Goddesses of Stardom Tag Team Tournament<\/span><\/strong>. This also, however, marked the start of Kyona\u2019s misfortune in Tag League, as she and Natsuko were only able to defeat two of their opponents, a low mark for the reigning champions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Big Match Kyona<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The bad luck for Kyona only continued as the year neared its end. In their first defense of the tag team titles, JAN lost the belts to the Tag League winners in Utami Hayashishita & Momo Watanabe, Jungle\u2019s two worst enemies. On top of this, a disgruntled Natsuko Tora declared her intentions to step out of Kyona\u2019s shadow, and to no longer challenge for titles alongside Jun-Kyo. This led to a singles match between the stablemates, and while it ended in yet another time limit draw, it was able to settle their differences for the time being.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the goddesses of Stardom titles out of question for the moment, Kyona started a journey towards Kagetsu\u2019s World of Stardom Championship. Her desired match for the Red Belt was up for grabs in a four-way match against Konami, Hana Kimura, and Kagetsu herself at the\u00a0<\/span>Year-End Climax 2018<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. It was here that Kyona was able to get a pinfall victory over Kagetsu, making her the sole contender for the crown heading into the new year.<\/span><\/p>\n

So as the new year commenced, Kyona challenged Kagetsu at the\u00a0<\/span>Stardom 8th Anniversary Show\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong>in Korakuen Hall. Kyona would fall short of capturing the title but was able to put on one of her best performances to date in the process. That is, until the Spring of 2019 when, in her hometown of Nagoya, Jungle Kyona faced Momo Watanabe once again for the Wonder of Stardom Title in one of the highest-praised matches in Stardom history. Getting a 4.5 Star Rating from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter<\/em>, the match was one for the ages, with the crowd fiending for a Jungle Kyona win, only for all the air to be completely sucked out of the building as Kyona once again failed to claim the White Belt.<\/span><\/p>\n

Loss of Habitat<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"Hana<\/p>\n

As April rolled around, so did the 2nd Annual Stardom Draft. This year, however, a stipulation was added that the loser of the 5-Way match between the faction leaders had to completely disband their own unit. Unfortunately, Kyona was the eventual loser of the battle, disbanding the group she had attempted to grow for an entire year; For the 2nd year in a row, the members of JAN were homeless.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Shinkiba 1st RING
April 14 Stardom Draft
\u25c65 Way Battle to determine Draft Pick Order:
1st pick – Mayu Iwatani
2nd pick – Momo Watanabe
3rd pick – Kagetsu
4th pick – Hana Kimura
Jungle Kyona was the final loser and as a result, Jungle Assault Nation is disbanded. pic.twitter.com\/qZcUsROvOi<\/a><\/p>\n

— We Are Stardom (@we_are_stardom) April 14, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n