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 or ...

currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

Actwres girl'Z Actwres girl'Z, is a Japanese independent women's professional wrestling promotion founded in 2015. The meaning of the "Actwres girl'Z" name is a combination of the words "wrestler" and "actress". History Actwres girl'Z was founded in 2015 under ...

Ice Ribbon is a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established in 2006 by Emi Sakura, after her split with Gatokunyan. History Ice Ribbon was founded by Emi Sakura, a professional wrestler wh ...

and

Pro Wrestling Wave , is a women's professional wrestling, or Joshi Puroresu, promotion created in 2007 after the dissolution and closure of JDStar. The company was formed by Mikiko Futagami, or Gami, former JDStar wrestler Yumi Ohka, and former JDStar booker Tatsu ...

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (2018–present)

Due to being a freelancer, Sakurai is known for competing in various promotions from the Japanese independent scene. At a

house show A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...

promoted by

Pure-J is a Japanese ''Joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established on August 11, 2017, by Command Bolshoi. History With the closure of JWP Joshi Puroresu on April 2, 2017, it was announce ...

on September 4, 2022, she unsuccessfully challenged Crea for the

Princess of Pro Wrestling Championship The Princess of Pro-Wrestling (POP) Championship is a Japanese women's professional wrestling championship owned by the Pure-J promotion. The title was created in the JDStar promotion on June 24, 2006, when Fuka defeated Natsuki☆Head in the fi ...

. At ''SEAdLINNNG October Fist!'', an event promoted by

Seadlinnng (stylised as SEAdLINNNG) is a Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion founded in 2015 by former Stardom wrestler and founder Nanae Takahashi. Their roster is predominantly made up of outside talent from other promotions such as Ice Ri ...

on October 19, 2022, Sakurai teamed up with Saki and unsuccessfully challenged Las Fresa de Egoistas (

Asuka Asuka may refer to: People * Asuka (name), a list of people * Asuka (wrestler), professional wrestler * Asuka (wrestler, born 1998), professional wrestler also known as Veny outside of Japan Places In Japan * , an area in Yamato Province (now ...

and Makoto) for the

Beyond the Sea Tag Team Championship The Beyond the Sea Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the Seadlinnng promotion. The inaugural champions were crowned on July 25, 2018, when Borderless (Rina Yamashita and Yoshiko) defe ...

. At ''WAVE Survival Dance ~ Regina Challenge'', an event promoted by

on October 24, 2022, Sakurai competed in a

battle royal Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...

to determine the number one contender for the

Wave Single Championship The is a women's professional wrestling championship owned by the Pro Wrestling Wave promotion. The title is nicknamed and more commonly referred to as the . The championship, which is situated at the top of Pro Wrestling Wave's championship hie ...

won by

Yuki Miyazaki is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Pro Wrestling Wave. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (1995-present) Miyazaki made her professional wrestling debut on Janua ...

and also involving notable opponents such as

Akari Akari (ASTRO-F) was an infrared astronomy Infrared astronomy is a sub-discipline of astronomy which specializes in the observation and analysis of astronomical objects using infrared (IR) radiation. The wavelength of infrared light ranges f ...

, Aoi,

Ayame Sasamura is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotions Seadlinnng and Active Advance Pro Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2017-present) As ...

Cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

Yumi Ohka , better known by her ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler. Originally trained by the now defunct JDStar promotion, Ohka now works for Oz Academy and Pro Wrestling Wave. She is a former two-time Wave Single Champion, while also being ...

Miyako Matsumoto is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress. She is best known for her work in the Ice Ribbon promotion, where she is a former two-time ICE×60, three-time Triangle Ribbon Champion and a two-time International Ribbon Tag Team Champion, ma ...

and many others.

Actwres girl'Z (2018–present)

Sakurai made her

professional wrestling 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 ...

debut in

at ''AgZ Actwres girl'Z In Korakuen'' On November 15, 2018, where she unsuccessfully competed in a

four-way match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

won by

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 ...

and also involving Ayumi Hayashi and Misa Matsui.

Ice Ribbon (2021–present)

Sakurai made her first appearance in

at ''New Ice Ribbon #1161 ~ Sweet November'' on November 28, 2021, where she teamed up with

Akane Fujita is a Japanese voice actress from Shizuoka Prefecture. She is affiliated with Ken Production. After passing an audition in 2011, she made her debut as a voice actress in 2012, and she played her first main role in 2016. She is known for her roles ...

in a losing effort against Rebel X Enemy (

Maika Ozaki is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotions Ice Ribbon and Actwres girl'Z. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2015-present) Ozaki made her ...

and

Ram Kaicho is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotions Ice Ribbon and Wrestling of Darkness 666. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2006–2009) Ra ...

). At ''New Ice Ribbon #1204 '' on May 28, 2022, she participated in a tournament for the vacant

ICE Cross Infinity Championship The , mainly known as the ICE Cross Infinity Championship is a women's professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the Ice Ribbon promotion. History The championship, which is situated at the top of Ice Ribbon's champions ...

where she fell short to

Makoto is a unisex Japanese name although it is more commonly used by males. As a noun, Makoto means "sincerity" (誠) or "truth" (真, 眞). People Given name * Makoto (musician) (born 1977), drum and bass artist *Makoto (Sharan Q) ( まこと), ...

in the first rounds. At ''New Ice Ribbon #1194'' on April 23, 2022, Sakurai teamed up with Asahi,

Hamuko Hoshi is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for the Ice Ribbon promotion. She is also a former two-time ICE×∞ Champion and a four-time International Ribbon Tag Team Champion. She also makes regular appearances for the World Woma ...

, Ibuki Hoshi, Kaho Matsushita, Kiku, Nao Ishikawa, Rina Amikura, Saran, Yappy and

Yuki Mashiro is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and is best known for her time in the Japanese promotion Ice Ribbon where she is a former Triangle Ribbon Champion. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2020-2022) Mashiro did some freel ...

to defeat Dropkickers (

Tsukasa Fujimoto is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress, who is currently wrestling for Ice Ribbon, where she also works behind the scenes as the co-head trainer. She is a record seven-time ICE×∞ Champion, six-time International Ribbon Tag Team C ...

and

Tsukushi Haruka is a retired Japanese people, Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Trained by Emi Sakura, Tsukushi made her debut for her Ice Ribbon Professional wrestling promotion, promotion in January 2010 as part of a trial series with Ku ...

) in an eleven-on-two handicap match. At the ''Kizuna Tournament'', Ice Ribbon's greatest yearly event, Sakurai teamed up with Asahi and defeated

Saori Anou is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotion Actwres girl'Z and her freelance appearances in promotions such as Oz Academy and Ice Ribbon. She is the current ...

and Sumika Yanagawa but fell short to Amin and

Ibuki Hoshi is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working in the Japanese promotion Ice Ribbon where she is the current ICE Cross Infinity Champion in her first reign. She is also a former International Ribbon Tag Team Champion. Professional wrest ...

in the semifinals held on the same night on October 30, 2022.

World Wonder Ring Stardom (2022–present)

Sakurai made her debut in

World Wonder Ring Stardom World Wonder Ring Stardom (スターダム女子プロレス), often referred to simply as Stardom (stylized as ST★RDOM), is a Japanese '' joshi puroresu'' or women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan. Stardom was founded i ...

in the "New Blood" brand, making her first appearance at the second event of its kind from May 13, 2022, where she teamed up with Rina Amikura, picking up a victory over

Stars A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...

(

Saya Iida (born May 19, 1997) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. She is a former one-time Future of Stardom Champion. Professional wrestling career World Wonder Ring Stardom (2019–present) ...

and

Momo Kohgo is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for the Japanese promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom. She is also known for her time in Ice Ribbon and Actwres girl'Z. Professional wrestling career Japanese independent circuit (2019–20 ...

). At ''Stardom in Korakuen Hall'' on June 5, 2022,

Unagi Sayaka , better known by her ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom and briefly working as a freelancer. She is best known for her time with Stardom, where she is a former Artist of Stardom Champion ...

Tam Nakano , is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she competes under the ring name , and is the leader of the Cosmic Angels stable. Nakano is a former three-time Artist of Stardom Champion, as well as a former Wonde ...

and

Mina Shirakawa is a Japanese professional wrestler and idol, currently signed to the Japanese professional wrestling promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she is the leader of Club Venus. She is a former Artist of Stardom and Future of Stardom Champion. P ...

defeated Sakurai who teamed up with her Color's promotion mates

Saki Hector Hugh Munro (18 December 1870 – 14 November 1916), better known by the pen name Saki and also frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirize Edwardian society and cultur ...

and

Hikari Shimizu is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotions Actwres girl'Z and Pro Wrestling Wave. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2017-present) As a fre ...

in a loser joins enemy unit. The latter three announced that they will compete as a sub-unit of

Cosmic Angels is a professional wrestling stable, currently performing in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom. The stable currently consists of Tam Nakano, Unagi Sayaka, Mina Shirakawa, Waka Tsukiyama, Saki (wrestler), Saki, ...

in the future, and Rina Amikura was also reported to have joined the unit due to being part of Color's at that time. At

Stardom New Blood 3 was a professional wrestling event promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom. The event took place on July 8, 2022, in Tokyo, Japan at the Shinagawa Intercity Hall, with a limited attendance due in part to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic at the time. ...

on July 8, 2022, Sakurai teamed up with Rina Amikura, Unagi Sayaka and Mina Shirakawa in a losing effort against

Oedo Tai (Stylized OEDotai, also known as "Oedo Corps" in Japanese) is a villanous professional wrestling stable, currently performing in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom, and formerly in the Professional wrestling ...

(

Starlight Kid is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she is a former High Speed Champion. She became the first wrestler to wear her mask full-time in Stardom as part of her ''luchadora'' persona. Greatly infl ...

, Ruaka and Rina) and

Haruka Umesaki is a Japanese professional wrestler, who currently performs in World Wonder Ring Stardom as a freelancer, under the ring name Karma. She also works in World Woman Wrestling Diana, as well as appearing in such promotions as Pro Wrestling Wave, PUR ...

. On the first night of the

Stardom Mid Summer Champions was a series of professional wrestling List of major World Wonder Ring Stardom events, events promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom. The events took place on July 9 and 24, 2022, in Tokyo, Japan at the Tachikawa Stage Garden, and in Nagoya, Japan ...

from July 9, 2022, Sakurai unsuccessfully competed in a

three-way match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

won by Lady C and also involving

Hina Hina may refer to: People and deities * Hina (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Hina (chiefess), a name given to several noble ladies who lived in ancient Hawaii * Hina (goddess), the name assigned to ...

. Sakurai competed in the

Triangle Derby I Triangle Derby I was the first annual round-robin six-woman tag team tournament event promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom under the "Triangle Derby" branch. The event took place between January 3 and March 4, 2023, with limited attendance du ...

alongside Rina Amikura and

Waka Tsukiyama is an American-born Japanese professional wrestler currently working for the Japanese promotions World Wonder Ring Stardom. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2020-present) Due to being a freelancer, Tsukiyama known for competin ...

under the team name of Lollipop. Together, they competed against the teams of

Club Venus is a Japanese stable currently performing in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom. Led by Mina Shirakawa, the stable also consists of Xia Brookside, Mariah May, Xena, Jessie and Waka Tsukiyama. Club Venus was ...

(Mina Shirakawa,

Xia Brookside Xia-Louise Brooks (born 16 October 1998) is an English professional wrestler and valet. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed on the NXT UK brand under the ring name Xia Brookside. She has also worked for World Wonder Ring S ...

and

Mariah May Mariah May Mead (born 4 August 1998) is an English professional wrestler, model and actress, currently signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she is a member of Club Venus. She goes by the ring name “The Glamour” Mariah May and is best ...

Neo Stardom Army is a professional wrestling stable, mainly performing in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom and also in the Japanese independent scene. The stable is leaded by Alpha Female and also consists of Nanae Takahash ...

(

Nanae Takahashi (born December 23, 1978) is a Japanese professional wrestler and the founder of Seadlinnng. She has wrestled for prominent Japanese promotions All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Sun, and is a two-time women's world champion in maj ...

, Yuu and

Yuna Mizumori is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for the Japanese promotions Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling and Ganbare Pro-Wrestling. She is also known for her work in various promotions from the independent circuit. Professional wrestling care ...

Queen's Quest is a professional wrestling stable, currently performing in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion, World Wonder Ring Stardom. The stable is led by Utami Hayashishita and also consists of AZM, Saya Kamitani, Lady C, Hina and Miyu Amasaki ...

(

Utami Hayashishita (born September 14, 1998) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion, Since making her debut on August 12, 2018, she became a one-time World of Stardom Champion, two-time Goddesses of Stardom Ch ...

Saya Kamitani (born November 28, 1996) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former idol, currently signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. She is the current Wonder of Stardom Champion in her first reign. Kamitani is also a former one-time Goddess o ...

and AZM), Unique Glare (Starlight Kid, Haruka Umesaki and Ruaka),

(Tam Nakano, Saki and Natsupoi), H&M's (

Mayu Iwatani (born February 19, 1993) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom. Since making her debut in January 2011, she became a two-time World of Stardom Champion, two-time Wonder of Stardom Champion, one-time ...

, Hanan and Momo Kohgo), and Baribari Bombers ( Giulia, Thekla and

Mai Sakurai is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for the Japanese promotions World Wonder Ring Stardom. Professional wrestling career Actwres girl'Z (2020-2021) Sakurai made her professional wrestling debut at ''AWG Act 46'', an event prom ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakurai, Yuko 1991 births Living people Japanese female professional wrestlers 21st-century female professional wrestlers People from Ehime Prefecture Sportspeople from Ehime Prefecture