(born July 25, 1961) 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 ...

and later wrestling trainer, who wrestled under the name . She is widely considered one of the greatest female wrestlers of all time, and, during her heyday in the early 1980s, was considered one of the best wrestlers in the world, irrespective of gender.

Career

Yokota was born on July 25, 1961, in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. She spent the majority of her career as a headliner for the

All Japan Women , nicknamed Zenjo (全女: 全 meaning "All", 女 meaning "Woman") was a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) promotion established in 1968 by Takashi Matsunaga and his brothers. The group held their first card on June 4 of that y ...

's promotion (AJW). It was highlighted by two title runs as the WWWA World Single Champion.

All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling (1977–1986)

Having been inspired to join AJW by 1970s stars, the Beauty Pair (

Jackie Sato , better known as was a professional wrestler from Yokohama, Japan. In the 1970s, while wrestling for All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW), she formed the tag team, the Beauty Pair, with Maki Ueda. Following in the steps of Mach Fumiake, the Bea ...

and Maki Ueda), Yokota debuted on June 28, 1977, in Tokyo at the age of 15, against Mayumi Takahashi. She won her first belt on January 4, 1980, when she became the AJW Junior Champion. Later that year, she won 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 ...

with Ayumi Hori, on December 17, having also become the first AJW Champion with a victory over Nancy Kumi two days earlier. On February 25, 1981, she achieved her greatest success to that point, defeating her original inspiration, Jackie Sato, for the

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 ...

. She was 19 years old at the time of her first title reign. She lost her first world championship to La Galactica on May 7, 1983, in a mask vs. hair match, then won it back a month later. During her second world title run, she had very notable feuds with

Devil Masami Masami Yoshida (吉田雅美，born January 7, 1962) is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for her appearances in All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling, GAEA Japan and JWP Joshi Puroresu under the name Devil Masami. She is a member of the All ...

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 successfu ...

(of the Crush Gals), but had to vacate the championship in 1985 due to a shoulder injury.

Retirement (1986–1995)

After her early retirement in 1986 (she was 24), she became a trainer for AJW. Notable students of hers include

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 ...

Toshiyo Yamada is a retired Japanese female professional wrestler. In the 1990s, Yamada wrestled for the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling promotion (AJW). Professional wrestling career All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling Early Career and Dream Orca (1987– ...

Megumi Kudo is a Japanese entertainment personality and former professional wrestler. She wrestled under her maiden name for Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling, where she became the top star of the Women's Division. Kudo is primarily known for competing in bru ...

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

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 ...

. On November 20, 1994, Yokota returned from retirement to wrestle 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 ...

. She teamed with

Bison Kimura Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North A ...

and went to a 10-minute time limit draw against

and Yumi Ogura. According to Yokota, this inspired her to return to wrestling full-time.

Jd' (1995–1998)

In 1995 she came out of retirement to form her promotion Jd', and wrestled as its top star until 1998, when she retired for a second time.

Retirement (1998–2004)

Yokota stayed retired from 1998 to 2004, as she started to have a family.

Freelance (2004–present)

Yokota was married in August 2004 to the lead vocalist for the obscure but seminal 1980s Hokkaido based hardcore band "Tranquilizer". She has since returned to professional wrestling as a freelancer, including a stint as part of the Monster faction in Hustle as Jaguar Y.

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) promotion established in 1968 by Takashi Matsunaga and his brothers. The group held their first card on June 4 of that y ...

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 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 ...

( 1 time) :*

(

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 ...

) :*

( 1 time) – with Jumbo Hori :*AJW Hall of Fame (1998) *

JDStar JDStar (also spelt Jd'), was a women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan. In the wake of the joshi puroresu boom of the early 1990s, several different groups opened with distinct approaches. The Jd'Star promotion, with its su ...

:*AWF World Women's Championship (1 time) :*TWF World Women's Championship] (1 time) :*TWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Yuko Kosugi *

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) ...

UWA World Women's Championship The UWA World Women's Championship (''Campeonato Mundial Feminil de UWA'' in Spanish language, Spanish) was a singles women's professional wrestling championship (professional wrestling), championship promoted by the Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling ...

(1 time) * World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana :*WWWD World Elizabeth Championship (2 times, current) :*WWWD World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

Sareee is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Sarray. She was trained by Kyoko Inoue and made her debut in April 2011 at the age of 15 where she wrestled under the ring name ...

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 ...

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of t ...

( Class of 1996)

References

Sources

*Molinaro, John F. ''Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of All Time'', Winding Stair Press, 2002, page 166. {{DEFAULTSORT:Yokota, Jaguar Japanese female professional wrestlers Professional wrestling trainers 1961 births Living people Sportspeople from Tokyo 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers