UJPW Approves Of New Members

June 13, 2025

Two days ago the second Board Of Directors meeting for United Japan Pro Wrestling took place. Representatives including Sanshiro Takagi, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Ryo Saito got together to review proposals from other pro wrestling companies wishing to join the alliance. After rigorous screening, Pro Wrestling FREEDOMS have been accepted as the newest regular member of UJPW. Not only that but Pro Wrestling Dradition, World Women’s Pro Wrestling Diana and Pro Wrestling WAVE were all unanimously approved to join UJPW in the supporting members tier.

Proposals for the establishment of UJPW’s Human Rights Policy as well as Safety Guidelines were taken care off during the meeting too. There was also a seminar held to teach everyone how to utilize their federation for the development of pro wrestling.

As of this week the members of UJPW are now as follows.

Regular Members: New Japan, All Japan, Big Japan, NOAH, DDT, Dragongate, Kyushu Pro, Stardom, Tokyo Joshi Pro, Ganbare☆Pro, FREEDOMS

Supporting Members: Dradition, Diana, WAVE


UNION, OZ ACADEMY, WAVE, ICE RIBBON “M.I.O 5” Results

September 20, 2015

mioshirai-retires

UNION, OZ ACADEMY, WAVE, ICE RIBBON “M.I.O 5”, 20/09/2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,724 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. Dark Match – Timely Help From YMZ: Kaori Yoneyama & Madoka defeated Isami Kodaka & Ryu Gouma when Yoneyama pinned Gouma with the Amerika-ZOU (8:22).
1. Mio Shirai Last Tag Match: Mio Shirai & Aoi Kizuki defeated Yumi Ohka & Mayumi Ozaki when Shirai pinned Ozaki with the Tsuchigumo (11:22).
2. 4 Organisation Representative 8-Person Tag Team Match: Fairy Nihonbashi, Shuji Ishikawa, Dynamite Kansai & Neko Nitta defeated Ayako Hamada, Hiroshi Fukuda, Aja Kong & Mochi Miyagi when Nihonbashi pinned Fukuda with a Small Package (11:22).
3. Mio Shirai Last Single Match: Isami Kodaka defeated Mio Shirai with the Isamuashi Zan (11:11).
4. 4 Organisation Time Difference Battle Royal: Sonoko Kato defeated Cherry with a Cradle Cutback (18:27).
Order Of Elimination: Yusuke Kubo, Kyuri, SAGAT, Mika Iida, Maruko Nagasaki, Sawako Shimono, FUMA and Mitomi Masayuki, Moeka Haruhi, Kaho Kobayashi, Yuki Miyazaki, Yu Yamagata and Seiya Morohashi, Miyako Matsumoto, Yuka, Rina Yamashita, Ryo Mizunami, Hamuko Hoshi, Cherry.
5. Mio Shirai Final Wrestling Match: Hiroe Nagahama, Tsukushi & Risa Sera defeated Mio Shirai, Tsukasa Fujimoto & Misaki Ohata when Tsukushi pinned Shirai with the Tiger Suplex (14:09).

farewell-mio

After a long career spanning over 8 years with countless different championships and companies, Mio Shirai has today retired from pro wrestling. The final M.I.O. co-promoted show brought together Union, Oz Academy, Pro Wrestling WAVE and Ice Ribbon to celebrate Shirai’s final matches. With three matches left to do it was clear Mio was not going to take it easy today.

miofinaltag

The show began with her final tag team match with Aoi Kizuki against Yumi Ohka & Mayumi Ozaki. Ohka and Ozaki quickly took Shirai and Kizuki out of the ring while their lackey Police threw chairs over to them. Ozaki also used her chain whenever the opportunity arose. The tables turned when Mio Headbutted Ozaki and knocked down Police. A Big Boot from Ohka missed Shirai and hit Ozaki by accident. She then locked in the Tsuchigumo on Ozaki to get the pin. After the match Shirai was given hugs by the other three wrestlers.

mio-final-single

Shirai’s final singles match was against Union’s Isami Kodaka. The reason he was her opponent is when Shirai originally joined Union she said she wanted to be the female Isami Kodaka. They had a hard fought match with Shirai kicking out of the Diving Double Knee Drop. Shirai went for the Tsuchigumo but Kodaka blocked it. Shirai then went for her Purple Flash Shining Wizard but Kodaka caught her and applied a Cross Kneelock. Shirai avoided a German Suplex and got a two count with a Samson Clutch. Kodaka applied a European Clutch for a two count but that was countered into the Tsuchigumo for another nearfall. Kodaka hit Shirai with a Sliding Lariat and won the match with the Isamuashi Zan. Kodaka patted Shirai on the back after the match.

miofinalmatch

The main event was Shirai’s retirement match. She teamed with her closest friends Tsukasa Fujimoto & Misaki Ohata to take on the trio of Hiroe Nagahama, Tsukushi & Risa Sera. In the pre-match video Shirai said she wanted to leave pro wrestling without any regrets and also show it will be in a good place with the younger women. The WAVE and Ice Ribbon wrestlers at ringside all got involved by joining in on the train attacks as a parting gift to Mio. In the ending stretch each of Mio’s opponents yelled “Thank you forever!” as they hit their finishing move but Mio kept kicking out! Eventually Fujimoto and Ohata attacked Mio themselves to keep her down. They let Tsukushi hit one more Tiger Suplex to end the match. “Thank you forever!”

mio-and-io

The retirement ceremony begun and Mio shook hands with all of the wrestlers. She and Ohata vacated their WAVE Tag Time Titles and handed the belts over to WAVE president Mikiko Futagami. She then received bouquets from a number of people including Sanshiro Takagi from DDT, Makoto and Maki Narumiya from REINA, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Nagisa Nozaki, Kagetsu, AKINO, Shu Shibutani, Kyoko Kimura, Toshie Uematsu, Nagashima and finally Takashi Sasaki from FREEDOMS. Next up Mio was greeted by the WAVE and Ice Ribbon rosters, then the Oz Academy roster and then the Union roster. But the biggest bouquet of all came from a Stardom wrestler… also Mio’s sister. They’ve had their differences over the years but Mio and Io Shirai smiled together. Then they headbutted each other. They embraced afterwards when their mother entered the ring.

mio10bell

Mio took the microphone and wondered if any young girls or even young boys in audience felt something when they saw today’s matches. She thinks today’s show was a success and someone in the audience yelled “Cheers for the good work!” Mio said she was tired after 8 and a half year in the business and her body was tattered. She thanked everyone and stood still for the 10 bell salute. Her name was announced one more time and she was then flooded with streamers in the ring.

mio-engaged

However that wasn’t all Mio had to announce. She interrupted her music and raised her hand, showing a ring on her finger. She’s going to get married! She said 8 and a half years is a long time and she worked hard to be a good wrestler but from now on she is going to be a good wife. She thanked everyone for coming and told everyone not to worry, that was the last shocking announcement she had.

sing-for-mio

Hiroshi Fukuda was able to convince everyone in Match #2 to sing with him, even Aja Kong. They sang a song called “Gift Words” but slightly changed the lyrics so they could sing about how much they love Mio.

kaori-quiz

During the dark match Ryu Gouma gave Kaori Yoneyama a general knowledge quiz. Everytime she got a question wrong Gouma would do a wrestling move on her. Yoneyame eventually hed enough of the lesson and countered Gouma’s Neckbreaker Drop into the Amerika-ZOU to win the match.


UNION, OZ ACADEMY, WAVE, ICE RIBBON “M.I.O 4” Results

June 19, 2015

shirai-nakajima

UNION, OZ ACADEMY, WAVE, ICE RIBBON “M.I.O 4”, 19/06/2015
Shinjuku FACE
325 Fans

1. Women’s Single Match: Chikayo Nagashima defeated Risa Sera with the Fisherman Buster (7:37).
2. 6-Person Tag Match: Misaki Ohata, Tsukasa Fujimoto & Mayumi Ozaki defeated Hiroshi Fukuda, Hamuko Hoshi & Mochi Miyagi when Ozaki pinned Fukuda with a Small Package (17:14).
3. 4 Organization 4 Way Match: Aoi Kizuki, Cherry and Kaho Kobayashi defeated Dynamite Kansai when all three pinned Kansai at the same time (7:19).
4. Hard Mixed Singles Match: Isami Kodaka defeated Yumi Ohka with the Isamuashi Zan (11:34).
5. Mixed Tag Match: Aja Kong & SAGAT defeated Shuji Ishikawa & Neko Nitta when Kong pinned Nitta with the Vertical Brainbuster (11:21).
6. Main Event Singles Match: Mio Shirai Vs Arisa Nakajima ended in a Time Limit Draw (30:00).
6a. Overtime: Arisa Nakajima defeated Mio Shirai with the Dharma Style German Suplex (2:09).

Both Mio Shirai and Arisa Nakajima fought their hearts out in a 30 minute draw. They shook hands at the beginning of the match but Shirai immediately threw a High Kick to start things off. At the 15 minute mark they brawled out of the ring and brought chairs into the match. When 5 minutes remained Shirai locked in the Figure 4 Necklock and Nakajima spent some time trying to escape it. In the final seconds of the match Nakajima hit the Dharma Suplex but the bell rang before she could get the three count. Nakajima pleaded with Shirai to restart the match because she wanted a definitive winner for their last singles match together. Shirai agreed and the match went to overtime with no time limit. The two quickly tried to get the advantage with strikes and finisher attempts until Nakajima hit the Dharma Suplex again and this time got the pin. Nakajima thanked Shirai for he exciting match afterwards.

Isami Kodaka got the better of Yumi Ohka and there seems to be a measure of respect between the two now. However they both gestured towards having a rematch at some point in the future.

The 4 Way Match was pretty much a 3 Vs 1 Handicap match. Aoi Kizuki, Cherry and Kaho Kobayashi were all wary of facing Dynamite Kansai on their own so they all decided to team up on her instead. While the three did eventually wrestle each other they still ganged up on Kansai when the opportunity presented itself. The end came when the trio all Dropkicked Kansai and then jumped on top of her for a triple pin. Kizuki, Cherry and Kobayashi were all pleased with the result.

Hiroshi Fukuda was in the mood for some singing and got the Lovely Butchers to join him midway through the opening match. He also convinced Misaki Ohata and Tsukasa Fujimoto to sing too. Mayumi Ozaki refused to do it but eventually gave in. When she finished she gave Fukuda a Low Blow kick and pinned him with a Small Package.


M.I.O 4, Tavern Wrestling, King Of DDT Finals, Grand Osaka Plans

June 18, 2015

UNION, OZ ACADEMY, WAVE, ICE RIBBON “M.I.O 4”, 19/06/2015
Shinjuku FACE

1. Women’s Single Match: Chikayo Nagashima Vs Risa Sera
2. 6-Person Tag Match: Misaki Ohata, Tsukasa Fujimoto & MAyumi Ozaki Vs Hiroshi Fukuda, Hamuko Hoshi & Mochi Miyagi
3. Mixed Tag Match: Aja Kong & SAGAT Vs Shuji Ishikawa & Neko Nitta
4. 4 Organization 4 Way Match: Dynamite Kansai Vs Aoi Kizuki Vs Cherry Vs Kaho Kobayashi
5. Hard Mixed Singles Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Yumi Ohka
6. Main Event Singles Match: Mio Shirai Vs Arisa Nakajima

Mio Shirai and Arisa Nakajima have only had one previous singles match together and it was in 2013. Shirai won that bout in just over three minutes. Nakajima says she is more careful now and promises she will fight to her heart’s content without making any mistakes so she can avenge that loss.

DDT “WRESTLE FESTIVAL IN MATSUYAMA 2015”, 21/06/2015
Matsuyama Comprehensive Community Center Exhibition Hall

1. Yasu Urano & Akito Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Suguru Miyatake
2. Kazusada Higuchi Vs Makoto Oishi
3. Danshoku Dino Vs Masa Takanashi
4. Kazuki Hirata Dancing Stars First Landing: Sanshiro Takagi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie
5. Matsuyama Castle Wrestling Elegence Battle: HARASHIMA Vs MIKAMI
6. 3 Way Tag That In Reckless Of Hereditary Are Only Loss From Childhood: KUDO & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Antonio Honda & Konosuke Takeshita

KUDO, Danshoku Dino and Ken Ohka are the remaining Right To Challenge contract holders.

DDT “TAVERN WRESTLING VOL. 0”, 23/06/2015
Saitama Wrestle Fighter Museum

1. Akito & Ryuichi Sekine Vs MIKAMI & Daichi
2. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Miyu Yamashita & Erin Vs Shoko Nakajima & Yuka Sakazaki
3. Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Takayuki Ueki
4. Isami Kodaka & Ryota Nakatsu Vs KUDO & Kouki Iwasaki

Most of the wrestlers involved work for either the Dropkick Bar or Ebisuko Tavern, DDT’s two eating establishments.

DDT “KING OF DDT 2015 TOKYO”, 28/06/2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. King Of Dark Title – 3 Way Match: Gota Ihashi (c) Vs DJ Nira Vs Kota Umeda
1. King Of DDT 2015 – Semi Final: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Kazusada Higuchi
2. King Of DDT 2015 – Semi Final: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Konosuke Takeshita
3. KUDO, Masa Takanashi & MIKAMI Vs HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Akito
4. 4 Way Tag Team Match: Antonio Honda & Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao Vs Kota Ibushi & Suguru Miyatake Vs Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi
5. Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Saki Akai Vs Shigehiro Irie, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Hoshitango & Shunma Katsumata
6. King Of DDT 2015 – Final: X Vs X

Yukio Sakaguchi and Konosuke Takeshita have both reached the semi-final before back in 2013. Daisuke Sasaki has regained his momentum after his scheme to horde all of the Right To Challenge contracts failed. Kazusada Higuchi has also bounced back from his revent KO-D Openweight Title challenge. One of those four will headline “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2015”.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 2 ~NO SUBTITLE~”, 12/07/2015
Osaka Higashinari Kumin Hall

1. Special 3 Way Match: Kushinbo Kamen Vs Kikutaro Vs X
2. Naniwa Shocked! Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Magnitude Kishiwada
3. Super Sasadango Machine Vs Atsushi Maruyama

A bunch of Osaka based wrestlers will be on the show. The guests who do not have a match yet are Tsubasa, Billiken Kid, HUB, Shoichi Uchida and HAYATA.

UNION “TOWARD THE SUMMER UNION 2015”, 18/07/2015
Shin-kiba 1st RING

1. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Madoka

Madoka has put his AV idol problems behind him and is now gunning after Isami Kodaka and the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title.

DDT “OSAKA OCTOPUS 2015”, 28/11/2015
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #1

1. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Winner Of DDT Dramatic General Election 2015

DDT’s big Osaka show this winter will be in the main arena in the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium. DDT usually runs the second smaller room but this will be their first in the main one. The main event will be a KO-D Title match with the winner of this year’s upcoming DDT Dramatic General Election being the challenger.


Empty Can Death Match, Mio Vs Arisa, 2nd Tokyo Princess Cup, Matsuyama Festival

June 10, 2015

UNION “AMANIMOMAKEZU UNION 2015”, 17/06/2015
Shin-kiba 1st RING

1. Road To The Best Of Independent Junior – 4 Way Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Madoka Vs Ryota Nakatsu Vs Daichi Kazato
2. Western Type Gentleman And Lady First Tag Death Match: Daichi & Cherry Vs Hiroshi Fukuda & Aoi Ishibashi
3. MEN’S Teioh, Kazushi Miyamoto & SAGAT Vs Ladybeard, Mitomi Masayuki & Seiya Morohashi
4. Union Fly To Everywhere World Title: Hibiscus Mii (c) Vs Mio Shirai
5. UWA World Tag Team Titles – Empty Can Death Match: Shuji Ishikawa & Masato Shibata (c) Vs Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei
6. Union MAX Title: FUMA (c) Vs Yusuke Kubo

Drinking is permitted at certain times in the Empty Can Death Match. When a wrestler finishes the drink he can use the empty can as a legal weapon. Fans are also encouraged to throw their empty cans into the ring when they are told to.

Yusuke Kubo is grateful for the opportunity to wrestle for the Union MAX Title. Not just for himself but for FUMA and the rest of the new generation in Union.

At the age of 28, Hiroshi Fukuda is beginning to consider retirement and what his lasting impact will be on the industry. He wants future generations of Japanese wrestlers to behave more like the gentlemen from Europe and the United States. To prove his point he put together a mixed tag team match to show how gentlemen should treat ladies.

UNION, OZ ACADEMY, WAVE, ICE RIBBON “M.I.O 4”, 19/06/2015
Shinjuku FACE

1. Women’s Single Match: Chikayo Nagashima Vs Risa Sera
2. 6-Person Tag Match: Misaki Ohata, Tsukasa Fujimoto & MAyumi Ozaki Vs Hiroshi Fukuda, Hamuko Hoshi & Mochi Miyagi
3. Mixed Tag Match: Aja Kong & SAGAT Vs Shuji Ishikawa & Neko Nitta
4. 4 Organization 4 Way Match: Dynamite Kansai Vs Aoi Kizuki Vs Cherry Vs Kaho Kobayashi
5. Hard Mixed Singles Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Yumi Ohka
6. Main Event Singles Match: Mio Shirai Vs Arisa Nakajima

Mio Shirai Vs Arisa Nakajima has a nice ring to it.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE GIRLS BATTLE 2015 ROUND 6”, 20/06/2015
Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. 3 Way Match: Nonoko Vs Shoko Nakajima Vs MIZUHO
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs Yuka Sakazaki
3. KANNA Vs Hyper Misao
4. Saki Akai & Ai Shimizu Vs Erin & Akane Miura

The Tokyo Princess Cup returns for a second year and the first round draw will take place on this show. Nonoko was the first winner and is among the eight participants in this year’s tournament. The winner will get to produce her own Tokyo Joshi event. The other competitors are Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Yuka Sakazaki, Erin, Akane Miura, KANNA and Ai Shimizu.

DDT “WRESTLE FESTIVAL IN MATSUYAMA 2015”, 21/06/2015
Matsuyama Comprehensive Community Center Exhibition Hall

1. Kazuki Hirata Dancing Stars First Landing: Sanshiro Takagi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie
2. Matsuyama Castle Wrestling Elegence Battle: HARASHIMA Vs MIKAMI
3. 3 Way Tag That In Reckless Of Hereditary Are Only Loss From Childhood: KUDO & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Antonio Honda & Konosuke Takeshita

I don’t understand those match titles and I don’t think I want to understand those match titles.


UNION, OZ ACADEMY, WAVE, ICE RIBBON “M.I.O 3” Results

May 9, 2015

sasaki-shirai

UNION, OZ ACADEMY, WAVE, ICE RIBBON “M.I.O 3”, 09/05/2015
Osaka Ikuno Kumen Center
247 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Mixed 6-Person Tag Team Match: Aja Kong, Hamuko Hoshi & Daichi Kazato defeated Hiroshi Fukuda, Mika Iida & Miyako Matsumoto when Kong pinned Fukuda with the Diving Elbow Drop (12:34).
2. Special Retirement Exhibition Match: KAGUYA Vs Ayako Hamada ended in a Time Limit Draw (5:00).
3. 3 Way Match: Sonoko Kato defeated Ryo Minami and Mitsuhisa Sunabe when Kato pinned Minami with the Diving Guillotine Drop (9:44).
4. Irregular Rules Match: Shuji Ishikawa defeated Fairy Nihonbashi with the Fire Thunder (5:54).
5. Psuedo Close Match: HAYATA, Misaki Ohata & Tsukasa Fujimoto defeated Yumi Ohka, Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto when HAYATA pinned Ohka with the Tsuchigumo (15:11).
6. Thanks For Teaching And Training During The Rookie Era: Takashi Sasaki defeated Mio Shirai with the Vertical Drop D-Geist (15:10).

She is four months away from retirement but Mio Shirai found time to thank and credit Takashi Sasaki for helping during her rookie years. Before the match began Shirai offered a handshake. Sasaki asked her if she is grateful. She said she was because she would have become a bad wrestler without his help. Sasaki did not shake her hand but was happy with her answer and called for the match to start. Shirai came close to winning when she countered a Power Bomb into the Tsuchigumo. Sasaki kicked out and stopped Shirai in her tracks with a Knee Kick and a Lariat. Shirai kicked out and countered the D-Geist into a Sleeper Hold. Sasaki countered that into the Michinoku Driver II followed by the D-Geist for the three count. After the match Sasaki thanked Shirai for picking him as an opponent knowing that she only has a limited amount of matches left to wrestle. He talked about knowing Mio and her sister Io Shirai for 8 years and the times she wrestled for his FREEDOMS promotion.

Yumi Ohka blamed Isami Kodaka for their loss in the semi-main event. The two haven’t seen eye to eye ever since “M.I.O 2” and Ohka challenged Kodaka to a match on 19th June. Meanwhile Misaki Ohata suggested a 3 Way Tag Match for a show on 12th July. She and Tsukasa Fujimoto can both go find partners to take on Shirai & HAYATA. HAYATA noted that he and Shirai kind of look alike so Ohata and Fujimoto should go looking for men who have similar appearances to themselves. He advised the audience to send both women suggestions on Twitter.

Due to a difference of over 80kg in weight between Shuji Ishikawa and Fairy Nihonbashi special rules were put in place to make the match more even. Nihonbashi only needed to pin Ishikawa for a one count to win. That wasn’t enough and Ishikawa went on to win the match without any hesitation.

Shirai’s masked alter ego KAGUYA had her retirement match with Ayako Hamada. Since it was just an exhibition the bout only lasted five minutes before being declared a draw. A retirement ceremony was held for her afterwards and included a message from AAA general manager Dorian Roldan read by Hamada. The message spoke of how “KAGUYA was born in Mexico” back in 2010 and was AAA’s first female masked wrestler from Japan.

Aja Kong was clearly frustrated with having to wrestle Miyako Matsumoto in the opening match. If that wasn’t enough, Hiroshi Fukuda tried to woo her with a love song. Kong gave him a Diving Elbow Drop for his troubles.


Mio Shirai Announces Her Plan To Retire

February 17, 2015

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Mio Shirai held a press conference today to announce she will be retiring from pro wrestling in September. Shirai was accompanied by representatives from the four companies she is under contract with. There was Naomi Susan from Union, Mayumi Ozaki from Oz Academy, Tsukasa Fujimoto from Ice Ribbon and Yumi Ohka from Pro Wrestling WAVE. All four gave Mio a lot of praise for her match with her sister Io Shirai from Saturday’s “M.I.O 2” event. There will be three more “M.I.O” shows. “M.I.O 3” takes place in Osaka Ikuno Kumin Center on 9t May, “M.I.O 4” will be in Shunjuku FACE on 19th June and the final “M.I.O” show will be in Korakuen Hall on 20th September. That show will be the destination of Mio Shirai’s retirement match.

Mio made her decision to retire due to neck problems. She has suffered from numbness in her neck for over two years but was still able to wrestle thanks to her training. Her doctor said there is no official name for her condition but explained the bones in her neck sometimes become slippery which causes the numbness. Mio spent a good amount of time thinking about her decision. She and Susan joked about putting her in a singles match with Shuji Ishikawa and taking the Splash Mountain last year. Mio said she will face Ishikawa again without hesitation if she gets the opportunity.

When asked what she is going to do after wrestling, Mio said she’d like to start doing four panel manga strips about what happens in joshi waiting rooms. For her retirement match Mio hasn’t decided who she wants to wrestle or team with. However she squashed any ideas of teaming with Io again. She doesn’t think it will happen, at least right now.

Mio ended the conference with an appeal to the entire women’s wrestling world. Wrestling does not offer long careers for women. Their bodies take a lot of abuse in a short amount of time and the effects can be long lasting for them. Mio wants every joshi to wrestle because it is what they want to do and also to have no regrets when the time comes for them to leave the business. Mio was only able to show a little part of her dream to her fans but she was still able to live her dream.


UNION, OZ ACADEMY, WAVE, ICE RIBBON “M.I.O 2” Results

February 14, 2015

io-vs-mio

UNION, OZ ACADEMY, WAVE, ICE RIBBON “M.I.O 2”, 14/02/2015
Shinjuku FACE
509 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Sonoko Kato & Ryo Mizunami defeated Tsukasa Fujimoto & Miyako Matsumoto when Kato pinned Matsumoto with the Diving Guillotine Drop (10:47).
2. Irregular Fall Count Match: Isami Kodaka & Mika Iida Vs Yumi Ohka & Daichi Kazato ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
3. Seiya Morohashi, Mochi Miyagi & Aja Kong defeated Fairy Nihonbashi, Dynamite Kansai & Shuji Ishikawa when Morohashi pinned Nihonbashi with a School Boy (11:12).
4. Four Organisations 4 Way Match: Mayumi Ozaki defeated Tsukushi, Shu Shibutani and Cherry when Ozaki pinned Shibutani after a Missile Dropkick from Tsukushi (10:46).
5. Io Shirai defeated Mio Shirai with the Moonsault (18:54).

The second four promotion collaboration spearheaded by Mio Shirai took place on a special day, her 27th birthday. The main event saw Mio take on her sister Io Shirai. It was the first time in 3 years the two wrestled in the same ring together. Io was cornered by Stardom wrestlers Yoshiko and Mayu Iwatani while Mio had Tsukasa Fujimoto, Misaki Ohata, Mayumi Ozaki and Cherry. The sisters didn’t hold back and in the end Io got the better of Mio with the Moonsault. Io took the microphone and said there was a lot of fans and media paying attention to the match. She said two sisters were able to sort out their problems in front of a large audience and it gave them an amazing match. She asked if the invisible wall that seperated them has now been broken. Io said today wasn’t about her saying farewell to her sister. Instead it may be a new beginning for both of them.

The Irregular Rule in Match #2 was Isami Kodaka and Daichi Kazato only had to be pinned for a two count for their team to lose the match. Despite the disadvantage for the men on both teams, nobody was able to capitalise and the match went to a 20 minute draw. Kodaka and Yumi Ohka both teased challenging each other to a singles match in the future.

Fairy Nihonbashi got Shuji Ishikawa and Dynamite Kansai to wear her replica masks and do elegant handshakes with their opponents. Seiya Morohashi and Aja Kong had an embarrassing moment when a double team move went wrong and the two ended up kissing each other. Kong also hit Morohashi with her steel can. She then hit Nihonbashi with it and Morohashi crawled over for the pin.

“M.I.O 3” will take place in Osaka on 9th May. “M.I.O 4” is planned for Shinjuku on 19th June.


UNION, OZ ACADEMY, WAVE, ICE RIBBON “M.I.O” Results

September 11, 2014

m-i-o

UNION, OZ ACADEMY, WAVE, ICE RIBBON “M.I.O”, 11/09/2014
Shinjuku FACE
323 Fans

1. Close 3 Way Match: Mio Shirai defeated Tsukasa Fujimoto and Misaki Ohata when Shirai pinned both Fujimoto and Ohata with a Double Cradle (6:31).
2. Cat Vs Scallops: Neko Nitta defeated Mika Iida with the Ne Kohisutoraru (10:57).
3. Glistening Mixed Match: Hamuko Hoshi & Hiroshi Fukuda defeated Yumi Ohka & Mitomi Masayuki when Fukuda pinned Masayuki with a School Boy (13:14).
4. Heavy Match: Dynamite Kasai & Aja Kong defeated Shuji Ishikawa & SAGAT when Kong pinned SAGAT with the Backfist (12:37).
5. Barbed Wire Board Death Match: Mayumi Ozaki, Shu Shibutani & Yuko Miyamoto defeated Mio Shirai, Maki Narumiya & Isami Kodaka when Ozaki pinned Shirai with the Diving Rolling Senton through lighttubes (23:35).

Today was all about Mio Shirai. The new Fly To Everywhere Champion brought together the four companies she is under contract with to joint host an event highlighted by a mixed gender Barbed Wire Board Death Match. Shirai teamed with Isami Kodaka and Maki Narumiya to face Yuko Miyamoto, Mayumi Ozaki and Shu Shibutani in a match that featured light tubes, a football, a guide light, a paddle, a chain, and a whip as well as the aforementioned barbed wire boards. Shirai’s face wound up becoming a crimson mask but Narumiya probably took the worst bump, Miyamoto gave her the Fire Thunder Driver through a table. Despite the violence, Shirai and Ozaki joked with each other after the match. Shirai thanked each of the wrestlers and said she wanted to show everywone how awesome Union, Oz Academy, WAVE and Ice Ribbon all are.

Hiroshi Fukuda complained about having to team with Hamuko Hoshi instead of Yumi Ohka before their tag team match. When Ohka rejected his advances after the match and kicked him away, he called her an old hag and ran off.

Shirai wrestled twice on the show, competing in the opening match as well as the main event. The opener was a 3 Way match between Shirai and her two WAVE partners, Tsukasa Fujimoto and Misaki Ohata. The bout could be won by either pinfall, submission or throwing an opponent over the top rope and out of the ring. In WAVE the three women often use a football, a guide light and a pole as foreign objects. So it was no surpise that they used the weapons on each other. Shirai snuck away with the win when she cut into a series of nearfalls between the other two and pinned them at the same time.


Double Trouble For HARASHIMA, Mio Shirai Signs Many Contracts

January 22, 2014

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2014”, 26/01/2014
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Saki Akai & Makoto Oishi Vs Yoshiko & Toru Owashi
2. Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao Vs Antonio Honda & Daisuke Sasaki
3. Sanshiro Takagi & Hikaru Sato Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Akito
4. KUDO Vs Danshoku Dino
5. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Masa Takanashi (c) Vs MIKAMI Vs Yasu Urano Vs Michael Nakazawa Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gota Ihashi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Guanchulo Vs DJ Nira Vs Hoshitango
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto (c) Vs Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo
7. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Shigehiro Irie

DDT held a press conference at the TEC Offices in Shinjuku to promote HARASHIMA’s next two title defences. First up is the KO-D Openweight Title match versus Shigehiro Irie. The rematch of last year’s Peter Pan main event is something that has been on Irie’s mind for a while. He felt great frustration over losing the title and wants to get rid of that by winning it back. HARASHIMA told Irie that kind of frustration is a good thing because it encourages him to become a stronger human being.

DDT “GALAXY EXPLOSION IN NAGOYA 2014”, 02/02/2014
Nagoya Telepia Hall

1. DDT Extreme Title – Best 2 Out Of 3 Falls: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii
*Fall 1: Feet Only Death Match. Fall 2: Cliff Death Match. Fall 3: To Be Determined by Amon Tsurumi.

The press conference continued with the appearance of Keisuke Ishii, who immediately attacked HARASHIMA. Tempers calmed down and the two were able to continue the conference as if nothing happened. HARASHIMA decided the rules for their upcoming DDT Extreme Title match in Nagoya. After wrestling Antonio Honda in a Blindfold Bra Match where he had to rely on just his hands, HARASHIMA now wanted to see what it was like to wrestle with just his feet. So for the match, both men will have their hands tied together and will have to rely on their legs to wrestle. However, Ishii had an idea of his own. He wanted to have a Cliff Death Match where you have to do a move from the ring apron to the floor in order to win. Ishii is a big fan of apron spots. He even has a Top 3 all time favourite apron spots. His Top 3 apron spots are:

3. Akira Taue giving Kenta Kobashi the Dynamic Bomb from the apron to the floor (21st March, 1995).
2. Kenta Kobashi giving Jun Akiyama a Brainbuster from the apron to the floor (10th July, 2004).
1. Mitsuharu Misawa giving Kenta Kobashi the Tiger Suplex from the stage walk to the floor (1st March, 2003).

Amon Tsurumi decided that both rules will be used in a 2 out of 3 Falls match. Fall 1 will be HARASHIMA’s Feet Only Death Match and Fall 2 will use Ishii’s Cliff Death Match rules. The rules for a possible third fall will be created by Tsurumi the day before the show.

mioshirai-4contracts

Mio Shirai had been spending the last week teasing a very important announcement. Rumours going around the Japanese wrestling scene included Mio announcing her retirement, a marriage engagement or even a pregnancy. Instead the big reveal was Mio had signed a contract and will end to her status as a freelancer. However, it turned out that Mio was signing a contract with not one, not two, not even three but four different wrestling companies. Taking a cue from Kota Ibushi, Shirai signed contracts with Pro Wrestling WAVE, Oz Academy, Ice Ribbon and Union.

After wrestling for seven years, Mio felt it was time to form an afilliation with one of the companies she works for. However she couldn’t decide who to choose. Inspired by Ibushi’s dual contract with DDT and New Japan, Shirai was inspired to do the same and wanted to be with the promotions she enjoyed working for most. Union boss Naomi Susan said she was very surprised to hear about Mio’s idea at first but is happy that she chose Union to be one of the companies. Since the Union roster is mostly filled with men, Susan hopes Mio’s signing will begin an expansion of Joshi in Union. Mayumi Ozaki said she was the only person in Oz Academy who knew about Mio’s plans. Ice Ribbon’s Tsukasa Fujimoto is amazed at the idea and thinks it is a boost that comes just in time for Mio to replace Hikaru Shida, who will be leaving the company in March. WAVE’s Mikiko Futagami (formerly known as GAMI) is expecting more merchandise sales to come from this signing and pointed out she might be actually working for 5 or 6 companies if you include her Osaka Joshi shows.

Mio’s first show with Union under the contract will be at Yokohama on 11th February.