Mariko Yoshida
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- Mariko Yoshida is also the name of a Japanese idol singer and model. She should also not be confused with Mariko Yashida, the comic book character.
Mariko Yoshida | |
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Statistics | |
Ring name(s) | Mariko Yoshida |
Billed height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) |
Billed weight | 140 lb (64 kg/10 st) |
Born | February 15, 1970 Onomichi, Hiroshima, Japan |
Debut | October 10, 1988 vs. Keiko Waki |
Mariko Yoshida (吉田 万里子 Yoshida Mariko?), (born February 15, 1970 in Onomichi, Hiroshima) is a professional wrestler best known for her work with the ARSION wrestling promotion, where she was also head trainer.
[edit] Career
Yoshida debuted for All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW or Zenjo) on October 10, 1988 at Tokyo's Korakuen Hall in a match against Keiko Waki. Before her neck injury in late 1992 - which would cause her to miss two years of ring time - Yoshida was easily one of the best young stars in AJW, often showcasing beautiful Lucha Libre inspired aerial maneuvers to go along with her very good matwork skills.
In 1997, she left AJW to join Aja Kong's ARSION promotion, becoming their head trainer. There she was repackaged as a technical wrestling master, and was pushed as a major star. She has been nicknamed ARSION no Shinjutsu, or "ARSION True Heart". Forgoing the high-flying techniques of her run in Zenjo, her style in ARSION was centered around mat wrestling and submission holds derived from shoot wrestling, along with more elaborate lucha-inspired submissions.
In June 2005, she launched Ibuki, a bi-monthly event series, with her intention to provide opportunities for young, up and coming wrestlers from different promotions to compete with each other and to challenge senior wrestlers like Yoshida herself. Ibuki has now gained high reputation among joshi puroresu fans in Japan.
In 2006, Yoshida was presented with the Cauliflower Alley Club's Future Legend Award, becoming only the second female after Cheerleader Melissa, to win this award.
[edit] Finishing and signature moves
- Air Raid Crash (Over the shoulder back to belly piledriver) - Innovated
- Spider Twist - Innovated
- Lifting underhook facebuster
- Jujigatame
- Triangle choke
[edit] Championships/Accomplishments
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- AJW Champion (1 time)
- AJW Tag Team Champion (3 times) - with Takako Inoue (2), and Rie Tamada (1)
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- CMLL World Women's Champion (1 time)
- ARSION
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- Queen of ARSION (2 times)
- Twin Star of ARSION (2 times) - with Aja Kong (1), and Lioness Asuka (1)
- 2006 Cauliflower Alley Club Future Legend Award
- Winner of ChickFight 2 and 3 Tournaments in Hayward, California