Miyu Yamashita (山下実優, Yamashita Miyū, born March 16, 1995) is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling. Yamashita was trained by DDT Pro Wrestling's Kyohei Mikami, and made her debut in August 2013 as one of the first members of DDT's all female Tokyo Joshi Pro sister promotion.
Miyu Yamashita | |
---|---|
Birth name | Miyu Yamashita (山下実優, Yamashita Miyū) |
Born | [1] Fukuoka, Japan[1] | March 17, 1995
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Miyu Yamashita |
Billed height | 165 cm (5 ft 5 in)[1] |
Trained by | Mikami |
Debut | August 17, 2013 |
Yamashita was pushed as the top star of Tokyo Joshi Pro, and became the first ever Princess of Princess Champion on January 4, 2016.[2] Yamashita has gone on to hold the title for a combined total of 1,239 days over the course of four title reigns, both records, and has come to be recognized as the promotion's ace.
Professional wrestling career
editTokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling (2013–present)
editYamashita trained in Kyokushin and mixed martial arts from a young age and originally had hopes of being an idol, and took part in many auditions for idol groups, though she struggled to get anywhere. She was eventually introduced to professional wrestler Kyohei Mikami, who asked if she would be interested in training to join Dramatic Dream Team's new sister promotion, Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling (TJPW). Yamashita accepted the offer and moved to Tokyo at age 17 to begin training under Mikami shortly after.[3] In TJP's early years, it was a small promotion that mainly ran shows alongside live music and other live performances. Despite being a small promotion, Yamashita was still being pushed as the future top star of the promotion, and when TJP finally started to run their own full shows, Yamashita took her position at the top of the card. She became known for her strong kicks and karate based offence, earning the nickname "Pink Striker".
On January 4, 2016, at TJP's biggest show to date, Yamashita defeated longtime rival Shoko Nakajima to become the first ever Tokyo Princess of Princess Champion.[2] She held the title until September when she was defeated by Yuu.[4] In August 2017, she received her first singles match against Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling's Meiko Satomura, but was defeated.[5] On January 4, 2018, Yamashita got one more chance to win back the Tokyo Princess of Princess Championship, and defeated Reika Saiki to win the championship for a second time.[6] Yamashita retained the title throughout 2018, defeating the likes of Yuna Manase, Veda Scott, Priscilla Kelly, Yuu, Maho Kurone and Rika Tatsumi. On January 4, 2019, she defeated Maki Ito to mark one year as champion, the longest in the titles history.[7] At WWNLive Mercury Rising 2019, Yamashita defeated Allysin Kay in a title vs title match to win the Shine Championship.[8] On May 4, 2021, Yamashita defeated Rika Tatsumi to claim the Princess of Princess Championship for a third time.[9] On November 13, Yamashita became the 14th Pro Wrestling EVE Champion, defeating Alex Windsor for the Pro-Wrestling: EVE Championship on show 2 of WrestleQueendom 5 in London England.[10]
On August 13, 2023, Yamashita won the Tokyo Princess Cup after defeating Yuki Kamifuku in the finals.[11] On October 9, at Wrestle Princess IV, Yamashita defeated Mizuki to win the Princess of Princess Championship for the fourth time.[12] On March 31, 2024, at Grand Princess '24, Yamashita dropped the title to Miu Watanabe, ending her fourth reign at 174 days.[13]
Impact Wrestling / Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2023–present)
editOn March 30, 2023 (which was taped on March 25), Yamashita made her Impact Wrestling debut with a victory over Killer Kelly.[14] That same day at Multiverse United, she competed in a four-way match where the winner will be added to the Impact Knockouts World Championship match at Rebellion, which was won by Deonna Purrazzo.[15]
On April 25, 2024 (which was taped on April 21), Yamashita made her return to TNA, confronting Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace after it was announced her match next week will be for the title.[16] On the following week's TNA iMPACT! (which was also taped on April 21), Yamashita fought Grace in a losing effort.[17]
Ring of Honor (2023)
editOn the March 30, 2023 episode of ROH Honor Club TV, Yamashita made her Ring of Honor (ROH) debut with a victory over Shazza McKenzie.[18] The following week, she fought Athena for the ROH Women's World Championship in a losing effort.[19]
Other ventures
editYamashita has appeared on two TV programs, the 2019 miniseries Prescription Police and the 2020 episode "Ekitai Rashku" of SWAT.[20]
Championships and accomplishments
edit- Capital Championship Wrestling
- DDT Pro-Wrestling
- Pro-Wrestling: EVE
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked No. 12 of the top 150 female wrestlers in the PWI Women's 150 in 2022[25]
- Shine Wrestling
- Spark Joshi Puroresu of America
- Spark Joshi World Championship (1 time, inaugural)[28]
- Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling
- Princess of Princess Championship (4 times)[a][29]
- Princess Tag Team Championship (2 times, current) – with Maki Itoh[30]
- "Futari wa Princess" Max Heart Tournament (2023) – with Maki Itoh
- Tokyo Princess Cup (2023)[11]
Footnotes
edit- ^ Yamashita's first two reigns were when the championship was called the Tokyo Princess of Princess Championship.
References
edit- ^ a b c "DDT ProWrestling". DDT ProWrestling. Archived from the original on April 24, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ a b "TJP Tokyo Joshi Pro '16 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Archived from the original on October 26, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ "2012年11月30日(金) 【会見】東京女子プロレスが1月からプレデビューイベント開催" (Press release). 株式会社DDTプロレスリング. Archived from the original on January 17, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
- ^ "TJP Shinjuku LOVE Rin « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Archived from the original on October 26, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ "TJP Brand New Wrestling ~ The Beginning Of A New Era ~ « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Archived from the original on October 26, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ "TJP Tokyo Joshi Pro '18 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Archived from the original on October 26, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ "TJP Tokyo Joshi Pro '19 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Archived from the original on October 26, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (April 5, 2019). "WWN Supershow Mercury Rising Results (4/5/19): Three Title Matches Headline The Event". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 3, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
- ^ YES! WONDERLAND 2021~僕らはまだ夢の途中~. DDT Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). May 4, 2021. Archived from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
- ^ Daly, Wayne (November 13, 2022). "EVE Results: Wrestle Queendom 5 Show 2 – London, England (11/13)". wrestling-news.net. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
- ^ a b Peps (August 16, 2023). "New Champions Crowned at Stardom x Stardom, Multiple Great 5Star GP Matches, Miyu Yamashita wins TCP | Weekly Joshi Guide". WrestlePurists. Archived from the original on August 18, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
- ^ Brown, Jeff (October 9, 2023). "TJPW Wrestle Princess IV Results and Review 10.9.23". Monthly Puroresu. Archived from the original on October 22, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ Daly, Wayne (April 1, 2024). "TJPW Results: Grand Princess 2024 – Tokyo, Japan (3/31)". wrestling-news.net. Archived from the original on April 7, 2024. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
- ^ Powell, Jason (March 30, 2023). "3/30 Impact Wrestling TV results: Powell's review of the live edition featuring Josh Alexander vs. Kenta for the Impact World Championship, Will Ospreay vs. Homicide, Miyu Yamashita's debut, final hype for the Impact and NJPW Multiverse United event". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ^ IMPACT Wrestling Staff (March 30, 2023). "Multiverse United: Only the STRONG Survive 2023 Full Results". Impact Wrestling. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ^ Moore, John (April 26, 2024). "TNA Impact results (4/25): Moore's review of the Rebellion fallout show with Nic Nemeth vs. Eddie Edwards, Mike Santana vs. Myron Reed, Xia Brookside vs. Ash By Elegance". Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
- ^ Moore, John (May 3, 2024). "TNA Impact results (5/2): Moore's review of Jordynne Grace vs. Miyu Yamashita for the Knockouts Title, X Division Champion Mustafa Ali vs. Chris Bey, Trey Miguel vs. Ace Austin for a shot at the X Division Title". Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
- ^ Pulido, Luis (March 30, 2023). "Ring of Honor TV (3/30/2023) Results: Athena vs Sakura, Eddie Kingston, Hijo del Vikingo & More". Fightful. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ^ Pulido, Luis (April 6, 2023). "Ring of Honor TV (4/6/2023) Results: Shibata vs Daniels, Athena, Lucha Bros, Mark Briscoe & More". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ^ "Miyu Yamashita - IMDb". IMDb.com. IMDb. Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
- ^ a b "Even though it was a short reign, congratulations @miyu_tjp on becoming the CCW Champion and Network Champion". Capital Championship Wrestling on Twitter. April 16, 2023. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
- ^ Daly, Wayne (November 10, 2024). "DDT x DEFY Results: DDT In Utero – Seattle, WA (11/9)". wrestling-news.net. Archived from the original on November 10, 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
- ^ "DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship". CageMatch. Archived from the original on April 16, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
- ^ Daly, Wayne (November 13, 2022). "EVE Results: Wrestle Queendom 5 Show 2 – London, England (11/13)". wrestling-news.net. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
- ^ Ross, Patrick (October 27, 2022). "Full 2022 PWI Women's 150 list revealed". aiptcomics.com. Archived from the original on October 28, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy. "WWN Supershow Mercury Rising Results (4/5/19): Three Title Matches Headline The Event". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 3, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
- ^ "SHINE Championship". CageMatch. Archived from the original on December 18, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
- ^ Luis, Perez. "Miyu Yamashita Becomes Inaugural SPARK Joshi World Champion". PWPonderings. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
- ^ "Princess of Princess Championship". CageMatch. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
- ^ Edwards, Scott (March 18, 2023). "TJPW Grand Princess '23 Results (3/18/23): Yuka Sakazaki vs. Mizuki, Maki Itoh, Billie Starkz, And More". Fightful. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
External links
edit- Miyu Yamashita on Twitter
- Miyu Yamashita's profile at Cagematch.net , Wrestlingdata.com , Internet Wrestling Database
- Miyu Yamashita at IMDb