Masami Yoshida (吉田 雅美,born January 7, 1962) is a Japanese
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
best known for her appearances in
All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling
, nicknamed Zenjo (全女: 全 meaning "All", 女 meaning "Woman") was a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established in 1968 by Takashi Matsunaga and his brothers. The group held th ...
,
GAEA Japan
Gaea Japan (trademarked as GAEA Japan) was a Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion. GAEA's name comes from the Greek mythological goddess of the Earth, Gaea or Gaia.
History
GAEA was founded in 1995 by Chigusa Nagayo, a professional wr ...
and
JWP Joshi Puroresu
, also known as or simply JWP, was a Japanese ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) promotion, founded in 1992 as a splinter promotion of Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. Celebrating its 25th anniversary at the time of its folding in 2 ...
under the name Devil Masami. She is a member of the All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame, being inducted in 1998.
Professional wrestling career
All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (1978-1987)
Masami debuted on August 21, 1978.
She began teaming with Tarantula in 1981, winning the
WWWA World Tag Team Championship
The World Women's Wrestling Association (WWWA) World Tag Team Championship was the top doubles championship in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) from 1970 until it closed in 2005. During those years the title was held by many of the most famo ...
on August 10, 1982 and vacating the title shortly thereafter in early 1983. On April 1, 1984, she defeated
Judy Martin to win the vacated
All Pacific Championship
The All Pacific Championship was the secondary singles women's professional wrestling title in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling or AJW. The belt was started as the Hawaiian Pacific Championship in 1977 and was renamed the All Pacific Championship ...
. Masami vacated on December 12, 1985 after winning the vacated
WWWA World Single Championship
The was the top singles women's professional wrestling championship in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) from 1970 until it closed in 2005. It was also known in ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' and other London Publishing wrestling magazines as ...
in a match against
Dump Matsumoto
, better known by her ring name , is a semi-retired Japanese professional wrestler. She came to prominence as one of the leading female wrestlers in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling during the 1980s. The longtime leader of the stable Gokuaku Domei ...
. She held that title until August 23, 1986, losing it to
Yukari Omori.
GAEA Japan (1995-2005)
She then began working for
GAEA Japan
Gaea Japan (trademarked as GAEA Japan) was a Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion. GAEA's name comes from the Greek mythological goddess of the Earth, Gaea or Gaia.
History
GAEA was founded in 1995 by Chigusa Nagayo, a professional wr ...
. On November 2, 1996 in Singapore,
Chigusa Nagayo
is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for her mainstream popularity in the 1980s as a member of the tag team ''Crush Gals'' with long-time partner Lioness Asuka. She was the founder of the GAEA Women's Professional Wrestling organizatio ...
defeated Masami in a match to crown the first
AAAW Single Champion. Masami, however, defeated Nagayo for the title on November 20, 1997, holding it until August 23, 1998, when Nagayo defeated her to regain the title.
On September 20, 1997 in
Kawasaki, Japan
is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, one of the main cities of Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area. It is the second most populated city in Kanagawa Prefecture after Yokohama, and the eighth most populated city in Japan (including ...
, she defeated Zero (Chigusa Nagayo) for
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...
's vacant
WCW Women's Championship
The World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Women's Heavyweight Championship (referred to mostly as the WCW Women’s Championship) was a title for the women's professional wrestling division in World Championship Wrestling. It lasted from 1996 until ...
. The title, however, was abandoned after GAEA and WCW ceased their working relationship.
On February 11, 2003 she teamed with
Aja Kong
is a Japanese professional wrestler better known by her ring name . She is the founder of the Arsion all-women professional wrestling promotion and has won several championships in both singles and tag team divisions throughout her career, prim ...
to defeat the team of
Meiko Satomura
Meiko Satomura (里村 明衣子, Satomura Meiko, born November 11, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is currently signed to the American promotion WWE performing on the NXT brand and the Japanese promotion Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestlin ...
and
Ayako Hamada
is a Mexican professional wrestler. During her 20-year career, Hamada wrestled for various promotions, including All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, Gaea Japan and Pro Wrestling Wave in Japan, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Lucha Lib ...
for the
AAAW Tag Team Championship
The AAAW Tag Team Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship formerly contested in the Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion Gaea Japan
Gaea Japan (trademarked as GAEA Japan) was a Japanese women's professional wr ...
. They held the title until they were defeated by
Chikayo Nagashima
is a Japanese professional wrestler. She started her career in 1995, working for the Gaea Japan promotion, where she became a one-time AAAW Single Champion and a record five-time AAAW Tag Team Champion. She was also notably one of the four fou ...
and
Meiko Satomura
Meiko Satomura (里村 明衣子, Satomura Meiko, born November 11, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is currently signed to the American promotion WWE performing on the NXT brand and the Japanese promotion Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestlin ...
on September 23 of that year.
All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (2005-2008)
Masami wrestled in the main event of AJW's final card on April 17, 2005, teaming up with
Amazing Kong
Kia Stevens (born September 4, 1977) is an American actress and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)/Impact Wrestling under the ring name Awesome Kong. She also worked with Ring ...
to defeat
Kyoko Inoue
is a Japanese female professional wrestler. She has held the WWWA World Single Championship three times, and is the first woman to win a men's title in Japan.
Inoue performed in the World Wrestling Federation at Survivor Series 1995 in an a ...
and
Misae Genki
better known by her ring name Misae Genki is a Japanese retired professional wrestler best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotions NEO Japan Ladies Pro-Wrestling, All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling and JWP Joshi Puroresu.
Professional ...
.
Masami announced in 2007 that she would retire from wrestling in 2008 after thirty years in the business. Her retirement match was on December 30, 2008 where she teamed up with
Dynamite Kansai
is a retired Japanese female professional wrestler, better known by the ring name .
Career
Chieko Suzuki was born on December 4, 1969, and was raised in Kyoto, Japan. In 1986 she auditioned for All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW), but wa ...
and
Carlos Amano
is a Japanese retired professional wrestler better known by the ring name . Amano made her debut for JWP Joshi Puroresu in December 1994 and early on began also making appearances for the Gaea Japan promotion, where she most notably became one o ...
to lose to Aja Kong,
Toshie Uematsu
is a female Japanese retired professional wrestler best known for her popularity in the 1990s and 2000s. She was one of the members of the first class of wrestlers trained by Chigusa Nagayo when Nagayo formed the GAEA Japan promotion. Uematsu fi ...
, and
Ran Yu-Yu
Ran, RaN and ran may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Ran'' (film), a 1985 film directed by Akira Kurosawa
* "Ran" (song), a 2013 Japanese song by Luna Sea
* '' Ran Online'', a 2004 MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game)
* ...
, when Uematsu pinned Masami with a Dragon Suplex.
Championships and accomplishments
*
All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling
, nicknamed Zenjo (全女: 全 meaning "All", 女 meaning "Woman") was a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established in 1968 by Takashi Matsunaga and his brothers. The group held th ...
**
AJW Championship
The AJW Championship was a tertiary belt in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) promotion. The first champion, in 1980, was Rimi Yokota. During the title's history, no one held the belt more than two times. The belt was abandoned in 2005 after ...
(
1 time)
**
WWWA World Single Championship
The was the top singles women's professional wrestling championship in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) from 1970 until it closed in 2005. It was also known in ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' and other London Publishing wrestling magazines as ...
(
1 time)
**
WWWA World Tag Team Championship
The World Women's Wrestling Association (WWWA) World Tag Team Championship was the top doubles championship in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) from 1970 until it closed in 2005. During those years the title was held by many of the most famo ...
(
1 time) - with Tarantula
**Hall of Fame (1998)
*
GAEA Japan
Gaea Japan (trademarked as GAEA Japan) was a Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion. GAEA's name comes from the Greek mythological goddess of the Earth, Gaea or Gaia.
History
GAEA was founded in 1995 by Chigusa Nagayo, a professional wr ...
**
AAAW Single Championship
The AAAW (All Asia Athlete Women's) Single Championship or AAAW Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship formerly contested in the Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion Gaea Japan until 2005 after the promotion w ...
(
1 time)
**
AAAW Tag Team Championship
The AAAW Tag Team Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship formerly contested in the Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion Gaea Japan
Gaea Japan (trademarked as GAEA Japan) was a Japanese women's professional wr ...
(
1 time) - with
Aja Kong
is a Japanese professional wrestler better known by her ring name . She is the founder of the Arsion all-women professional wrestling promotion and has won several championships in both singles and tag team divisions throughout her career, prim ...
*
JWP Joshi Puroresu
, also known as or simply JWP, was a Japanese ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) promotion, founded in 1992 as a splinter promotion of Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. Celebrating its 25th anniversary at the time of its folding in 2 ...
**
JWP Openweight Championship
The JWP Openweight Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship owned by the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion. The championship, which was situated at the top of JWP's championship hierarchy, was introduced on December 2, 1992, when ...
(
1 time)
**
JWP Tag Team Championship
The JWP Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion. The championship was introduced on August 9, 1992, when Cutie Suzuki and Mayumi Ozaki defeated Dynamite Kansai and Sumiko ...
(
3 time) - with
Dynamite Kansai
is a retired Japanese female professional wrestler, better known by the ring name .
Career
Chieko Suzuki was born on December 4, 1969, and was raised in Kyoto, Japan. In 1986 she auditioned for All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW), but wa ...
(1), Hikari Fukuoka (1),
Cutie Suzuki
(born October 22, 1969, as ), better known by her ring name , is a retired Japanese professional wrestler who mostly wrestled for JWP Joshi Puroresu. In 1990 she was featured in an all female wrestling game based on her titled '' Cutie Suzuki ...
(1)
*
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...
**
WCW Women's Championship
The World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Women's Heavyweight Championship (referred to mostly as the WCW Women’s Championship) was a title for the women's professional wrestling division in World Championship Wrestling. It lasted from 1996 until ...
(
1 time)
*
Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
This is a list of both active and inactive ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' awards created by professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) journalist Dave Meltzer. The first fourteen awards were created in 1980 as an informal poll between ...
**
Hall of Fame (
Class of 1996)
References
External links
Cagematch profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masami, Devil
1962 births
Living people
Japanese female professional wrestlers
Sportspeople from Kitakyushu
Stampede Wrestling alumni
20th-century professional wrestlers
21st-century professional wrestlers
AAAW Single Champions
AAAW Tag Team Champions