is a retired

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 ...

female

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 ...

. In the 1990s, Yamada wrestled for the

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 ...

promotion (AJW).

Professional wrestling career

All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling

Early Career and Dream Orca (1987–1992)

Toshiyo Yamada part of the 1987

(AJW)'s rookie class which also featured

Manami Toyota is a retired professional wrestler, best known for her work with the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) promotion. She is considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. Following AJW's closure, she continued to work ...

Etsuko Mita is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. She formed a successful tag team with her partner Mima Shimoda as ''Las Cachorras Orientales'' (Spanish for "The Oriental Bitches"; which was originally a trio with Akira Hokuto) and Toshiyo Yamada ...

and

Mima Shimoda is a Japanese female professional wrestling, professional wrestler, who is working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Japanese promotion World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana. She is most well kno ...

. Yamada debuted on July 27, 1987 against Chiaki Ichikawa. Yamada was awarded the 1987 Rookie of the Year award by AJW. On July 19, 1988, she captured the

AJW Junior Championship The AJW Junior Championship was a tertiary singles title in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. The title started in 1980 and was retired in April 2005 when the promotion closed. The prize was contested among wrestlers with less than two years of e ...

in a tournament final against Miori Kamiya. By August 1988, she formed "Dream Orca" with Etsuko Mita. On August 25, 1988, she successfully defended her AJW Junior Championship against Sachiko Nakamura. During September and October 1988, she teamed up with Manami Toyota to compete in Tag League the Best 1988. The team came in 6th place, ahead of many wrestlers with similar levels of experience. On May 6, 1989 at Wrestle Marinepiad '89, Dream Orca were defeated by the "Tokyo Sweethearts" of

and

. On June 14, 1989, Dream Orca captured the

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 ...

from Reibun Amada and Miori Kamiya. In July 1989, they successfully defended the titles against the "Honey Wings" of Mika Takahashi and Kaoru Maeda. During August 1989, she fought in a kickboxing bout against Anna Maria Delgado. Yamada also competed in the 1989 Japan Grand Prix, but was defeated by her second round opponent, Sakie Hasegawa. On December 9, she challenged for

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 ...

. While Toyota won, this match was deemed worthy enough to be a sole feature on a VHS tape entitled AJW Best Bout New Future Struggle. On January 5, 1990, Yamada met

Yumiko Hotta is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Hotta was trained by and started her career in the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) promotion in June 1985. She worked for the promotion until 2003, becoming a three-time WWWA W ...

in a kickboxing match. In March 1990, Yamada had a cervical hernia which forced Dream Orca to vacate their

and forced Yamada to temporarily retire. Yamada did not return until December 1990. Yamada spent most of the first half of 1991 competing in midcard matches, frequently against

. During July and August 1991, Yamada competed in the 1991 Japan Grand Prix. Yamada defeated Miori Kamiya in the first round but was defeated by

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 ...

in the second round on August 18, 1991. Yamada and Kyoko Inoue toured Mexico in 1991. The two continued to team up afterwards and on December 8, 1991 won Tag League the Best 1991, defeating Jungle Jack of

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 ...

and Bison Kimura in the finals. This was the biggest win of Yamada's career up until that point. Yamada also started to develop a rivalry with Manami Toyota during this period. On January 4, 1992, Yamada wrestled Toyota to a 30 minute draw. They were given 5 additional minutes but at the end of 5 minutes, no winner was decided. They were then given another 5 minutes, but no winner could be determined. The crowd chanted "Zenjo"(the nickname for All Japan Women's) during the match. The next day on January 5, a Tag League the Best rematch was held with Inoue and Yamada challenging for Kong and Kimura's WWWA tag titles. This time, Kong and Kimura would get the win. January 1992 would not be over for Yamada however, as on the 19th, she paired with rival Manami Toyota to capture the newly created

UWA World Women's Tag Team Championship The UWA World Women's Tag Team Championship (in Japanese: UWA世界女子タッグ王座) was a professional wrestling tag team title defended in the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) from 1992 to 1995, then revived in 2001. It was the primary ...

, becoming the first champions. The team defeated

Lady Apache Sandra González Calderón (born June 26, 1970) is a Mexican professional wrestler or ''luchadora'', best known under the ring name Lady Apache. As Lady Apache, González has mainly worked for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and AAA, Mexi ...

and

Kaoru Kaoru is a Japanese given name for males or females. Name Meanings The name's meaning varies depending on its written form: *薫/郁/芳 — "fragrance", common for both males and females *馨/香 — "fragrance", more common for females ...

. The team would eventually become known as the "1987 Team Gold Combo".

Teaming with Toyota (1992–1997)

On March 20, 1992, at AJW St. Battle Day, Yamada and Toyota put their UWA Tag Titles up for grabs against Jungle Jack's (Aja Kong and Bison Kimura) WWWA Tag Titles in a rare 2/3 falls title vs title match. Yamada and Toyota scored a major upset, becoming double champions. On April 25, 1992, after taking Bison Kimura's WWWA Tag Titles, she wrestled Kimura in a singles match at AJW Wrestle Marinepiad 1992 for Bison's

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 ...

. Kimura retained her title. From June to August 1992, Yamada competed in the 20 person 1992 Japan Grand Prix. Yamada had another match with tag partner and rival Manami Toyota and made it to the semifinals, where was defeated by

. On June 27, 1992, Yamada and Toyota successfully defended their WWWA Tag Titles against

Akira Hokuto is a Japanese retired professional wrestler better known as . Career Born Hisako Uno, Hokuto became a professional wrestler in the wake of the enormous popularity of tag team the Crush Gals (Chigusa Nagayo and Lioness Asuka), and was responsib ...

and Kyoko Inoue. The team defended the titles again successfully against Aja Kong and Kyoko Inoue on July 15. Yaamda was also involved in the Fuji TV Mid-Summer Typhoon Tag Tournament from July to August 1992. She teamed with Akira Hokuto. The team went against

Mariko Yoshida is a Japanese professional wrestler better known by the ring name . She is best known for her work with the ARSION professional wrestling promotion, where she was also head trainer. Professional wrestling career Yoshida debuted for All Japan ...

and Sakie Hasegawa. Hasegawa was injured early and Hokuto used a kendo stick on their opponents. Yamada and Hokuto argued about this and then Hokuto attacked Yamada as well. AJW Mid Summer Typhoon on August 15, was an important date in Yamada's career. Yamada had two matches scheduled. The first match was the finals of the Fuji TV Mid-Summer Typhoon tournament. This pit Hokuto and Yamada together against

Bull Nakano is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and professional golfer better known as . She began competing in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) as a teenager under the ring name Bull Nakano. As a wrestler she was a villain, who often teamed w ...

and

, after their incident earlier in the tournament. Before the match even started, Hokuto again attacked Yamada and the two argued about using the kendo stick again all throughout the match. Yamada and Hokuto lost. Yamada's second match of the night featured her facing off against a fresh

for the

IWA World Women's Championship The IWA World Women's Championship was a major women's professional wrestling title in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. It had its origins with Stampede Wrestling in Calgary, Alberta in 1987. Title history See also * List of professional wr ...

in a hair vs hair match. The highly rated match would become one of the more memorable joshi matches ever with Toyota defeating Yamada. After the match, Toyota cried and tried to prevent the hair cut and even cut some of her own hair in protest. The two hugged after the match while the crowd chanted. From October to December 1992, Yamada and Toyota teamed up for Tag League the Best 1992. The team finished in second place. On November 26, at Dreamrush, the precursor to Dreamslam 1 and 2, Yamada and Toyota defended their WWWA titles against the JWP team of

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

Mayumi Ozaki (born October 28, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is currently working for Oz Academy. Career Ozaki debuted in a tag team match in August, 1986. In her career, she held the WWWA tag titles with Dynamite Kansai from April 11, 19 ...

in a 2 out of 3 falls match. The highly-rated match ended in a somewhat controversial finish as Ozaki appeared to get her shoulder up in time before the 3 count. On February 28, 1993, Yamada and Toyota successfully defended their WWWA Tag Titles against Yumiko Hotta and

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 ...

in a 2 out of 3 falls match. On April 2, one of the most famous joshi events ever was held at All Star Dreamslam 1, which celebrated All Japan Women's 25th anniversary. The main event featured Yamada and Toyota taking on the FMW team of Combat Toyoda and Megumi Kudo, who both graduated from the AJW Dojo. On April 11, Dreamslam 2 was held. This event featured the second match in the feud between the team of Yamada and Toyota and the JWP team of

and

. It was a 2/3 falls match for the WWWA tag titles, where Kansai and Ozaki won, getting their revenge for their loss at Dreamrush. The highly-rated match was the 1993 Wrestling Observer Match of the Year. From May to August 1993, Yamada entered the 1993 Japan Grand Prix and came in 6th place. On October 9, the feud between Yamada, Toyota and Kansai and Ozaki continued on as Kansai beat Yamada in a singles match while Toyota defeated Ozaki in a singles match. From October to December 1993, Yamada revived her team with Kyoko Inoue for Tag League the Best 1993. The team made it to the finals, but lost to

and

. On November 28, at AJW Wrestling Queendom, Yamada faced off with Toyota again, this time for the

. Yamada won the title. On December 6, at AJW St. Battle Final, the third and final match was held between the JWP team of Kansai and Ozaki and the AJW team of Yamada and Toyota for the WWWA Tag Titles. Yamada and Toyota regained the titles in an often underlooked match in the series. On January 4, 1994, the team defeated "Double Inoue" of Kyoko Inoue and Takako Inoue and on January 24, Yamada and Toyota defended their WWWA Tag Titles successfully against

Las Cachorras Orientales Las Cachorras Orientales(in Japanese: ラス・カチョーラス・オリエンタレス), frequently styled as LCO, were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Etsuko Mita and Mima Shimoda. The team's name is Spanish for "The Oriental Bi ...

. The team then made another successful defense of their titles on February 27, against Aja Kong and Sakie Hasegawa. On March 27, at Yokohoma Wrestling Queendom, Yamada lost her

to Kyoko Inoue. On June 10, 1994, Yamada and Toyota successfully defended their WWWA Tag Titles against Sakie Hasegawa and

Kaoru Ito is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotions All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling and JWP Joshi Puroresu. Professional wrestling c ...

. During the 1994 Japan Grand Prix from June to August 1994, Toyota and Yamada met again in a singles match while Yamada finished the tournament in 4th place. For Tag League the Best 1994, Yamada teamed with Yumiko Hotta, while Toyota's team with Takako Inoue won the tournament. On October 9, Yamada and Toyota lost their WWWA Tag Titles to Double Inoue (Kyoko Inoue and Takako Inoue). Yamada started to take on a lesser role in the company and was moved down the cards. On November 20, Yamada competed at

Big Egg Wrestling Universe The Big Egg Wrestling Universe was a professional wrestling event held by All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) inside the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on November 20, 1994 and was attended by 32,500 fans. However, some sources claim the event was at ...

with Tomoko Watanabe in a losing effort against LLPW's

Shinobu Kandori is a retired Japanese wrestler and politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Yokohama, Kanagawa, she ran unsuccessfully for House of Councillors in 200 ...

and Mikiko Futagami. In December Yamada's Tag League the Best 1994 team with Yumiko Hotta finished in 5th place. To close out the year, Yamada teamed with Dream Orca partner and one half of LCO,

against Toyota and her Tokyo Sweethearts partner and half of LCO,

. On March 26, 1995, Yamada regained her

at AJW Wrestling Queendom Victory. On July 31, 1995, Yamada and Toyota matched up again in the 1995 Japan Grand Prix. Yamada also revived Dream Orca for Tag League the Best 1995. Yamada then lost her

to Yumiko Hotta at AJW Monday Night Sensation on December 4, 1995. On July 13, 1997, Yamada had her last match with All Japan Women's, squaring off against partner and rival, Manami Toyota. Toyota won. During this time, All Japan Women's was going through bankruptcy, losing 14 wrestlers through summer and fall of 1997.

Gaea and retirement (1997–2004)

On July 21, 1997, Yamada became a full-time member of

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 ...

, were she wrestled until December 2004. She hurt her cervical spine in August 2004 and was unable to wrestle again. On December 12, 2004 at the Toshiyo Yamada Retirement Memorial Show,

and

went to a 10 minute draw in an exhibition match in her honor.

Personal life

Yamada ran a bar in Yoyogi-Uehara, Tokyo until 2013.

Championships and accomplishments

( 1 time) **

(2 times) **

( 1 time) - with

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 ...

(

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

Tag League the Best __NOTOC__ The was an annual professional wrestling tag team tournament, founded by All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW), which held it from 1985 to 2004 (with no tournament taking place in 1990). After the folding of AJW in 2005, the tournament wa ...

(

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

) – with

Universal Wrestling Association The Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) was a Mexican ''Lucha Libre'' or professional wrestling promotion based in Naucalpan, Mexico State that operated from 1975 until 1995. The name of the actual promotion was Lucha Libre Internacional (LLI) ...

* ''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

'' ** Match of the Year (1993)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamada, Toshiyo Japanese female professional wrestlers 1970 births Sportspeople from Saitama (city) Living people