is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

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 or ...

better known by the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

. She is best known for her work with the

ARSION Arsion (full official name Hyper Visual Fighting Arsion; frequently styled as ARSION) was a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) promotion established in 1997 by Aja Kong. The first event took place on February 18, 1998 and was ca ...

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...

, where she was also head trainer.

Professional wrestling career

Yoshida debuted for

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 or ''Zenjo'') on October 10, 1988 at Tokyo's

Korakuen Hall is a famous sports arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted many notable boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and Lethwei matches. History On April 16, 1962, the Korakuen Hall was officially opened with ...

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

Lucha Libre Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...

inspired aerial maneuvers to go along with her matwork skills. In 1997, she left AJW to join

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, prima ...

Arsion Arsion (full official name Hyper Visual Fighting Arsion; frequently styled as ARSION) was a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) promotion established in 1997 by Aja Kong. The first event took place on February 18, 1998 and was ca ...

promotion, becoming their head trainer. There she was repackaged as a technical wrestling master, and was

push Push may refer to: Music * Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push Albums * ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988 * ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992 * ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 2010 Songs * "Push" (Enrique Iglesias s ...

ed 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 on mat wrestling and submission holds derived from

shoot wrestling Shoot wrestling is a combat sport that originated in Japan's professional wrestling circuit of the 1970s. Professional wrestlers of that era attempted to use more realistic or even "full contact" moves in their matches to increase their exciteme ...

, 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 Melissa Anderson (born August 17, 1982) is an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Cheerleader Melissa. She is best known for her work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where she worked as Alissa Flash and Raisha Saeed ...

, to win this award. Yoshida retired from professional wrestling on November 19, 2017, losing to her trainee

Hiroyo Matsumoto (born November 6, 1985) is Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer. Emi Sakura gave her the nickname of because Matsumoto broke a wall in the Ichigaya arena during her Ice Ribbon debut. She is best known with other w ...

in her final match. Mariko Yoshida 2008

Professional wrestling style and persona

Yoshida employed a submission-based style, based on her

training. Yoshida is the innovator of two finishing moves, an over-the-shoulder back-to-belly piledriver, which she calls the ''Air Raid Crash'' and a headscissors

shoulder lock An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...

, which she has named the ''Spider Twist''. Among her signature moves are the arm wrench inside cradle, a Cross armbar, sometimes proceeded by an

Oklahoma roll In wrestling, a pin is achieved by holding an opponent's shoulders to the mat for a three count. Pinfall is the term used in professional wrestling which is a way to win the match for that person or team. Background A pinfall is a victory condi ...

, a lifting double underhook facebuster, a running big boot and a triangle choke. She uses "

Fable Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular mo ...

" by

Robert Miles Roberto Concina (3 November 1969 – 9 May 2017), known professionally as Robert Miles, was an Italian record producer, composer, musician and DJ. His 1995 composition "Children (composition), Children" sold more than 5 million copies and topp ...

as her theme song.

Championships and accomplishments

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) **

AJW Tag Team Championship The AJW Tag Team Championship was the secondary tag team title in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. The title was introduced in 1986 and was retired in April 2005 when the promotion closed. Title his ...

( 3 times) – with

Takako Inoue is a Japanese professional wrestler. She wrestled primarily for the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling promotion, and held several championships, primarily in tag team wrestling. She was well known as one-half of the tag team Double Inoue, which ...

(2) and Rie Tamada (1) *

Queen of Arsion Championship The Queen of Arsion Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship owned by the Hyper Visual Fighting Arsion promotion. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title was won as a result of a scripted match. The cham ...

( 3 times) **

Twin Star of Arsion Championship The Twin Star of Arsion Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Hyper Visual Fighting Arsion promotion. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title was won as a result of a scripted match. ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) – with

(1) and

Lioness Asuka is a Japanese retired professional wrestler better known by her ring name . Along with long-time tag team partner Chigusa Nagayo she formed Crush Gals, known for their mainstream popularity in the 1980s, and for being one of the most successful ...

(1) **Zion '98 *

BattlARTS , more commonly referred to as simply Battlarts was a professional wrestling promotion based in Koshigaya, Saitama, Japan. The promotion was formed in 1996 by Japanese wrestler Yuki Ishikawa and featured all of the wrestlers from the Fujiwara Gum ...

**King And Queens Tournament (2000) – with

Alexander Otsuka , better known by his ring name Alexander Otsuka and Otoko Sakari, is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. Having competed for multiple pro wrestling organizations in his career, most recently with Antonio Inoki's In ...

and Yumi Fukawa *

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abram ...

**Future Legend Award (

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

) *

ChickFight ChickFight was a women's professional wrestling promotion based in San Francisco, California. History ChickFight originally began as an eight-woman tournament with the first one taking place on October 29, 2004, in Hayward, California as part of ...

** ChickFight II ** ChickFight III *

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...

CMLL World Women's Championship The CMLL World Women's Championship (''Campeonato Mundial Femenil de CMLL'' in Spanish) is the championship in women's professional wrestling that is most highly promoted by the Mexican lucha libre promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) ...

( 1 time)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoshida, Mariko 1970 births 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers Japanese female professional wrestlers Living people Sportspeople from Hiroshima Prefecture CMLL World Women's Champions