Mariko Yoshida

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mariko Yoshida is also the name of a Japanese idol singer and model. She should also not be confused with Mariko Yashida, the comic book character.

Mariko Yoshida
Statistics
Ring name(s)	Mariko Yoshida
Billed height	5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Billed weight	140 lb (64 kg/10 st)
Born	February 15, 1970 (1970-02-15) (age 38) Onomichi, Hiroshima, Japan
Debut	October 10, 1988 vs. Keiko Waki

Mariko Yoshida (吉田万里子, Yoshida Mariko^?), (born February 15, 1970 in Onomichi, Hiroshima) is a professional wrestler best known for her work with the ARSION wrestling promotion, where she was also head trainer.

[edit] Career

Yoshida debuted for All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW or Zenjo) on October 10, 1988 at Tokyo's Korakuen Hall in a match against Keiko Waki. Before her neck injury in late 1992 - which would cause her to miss two years of ring time - Yoshida was easily one of the best young stars in AJW, often showcasing beautiful Lucha Libre inspired aerial maneuvers to go along with her very good matwork skills.

In 1997, she left AJW to join Aja Kong's ARSION promotion, becoming their head trainer. There she was repackaged as a technical wrestling master, and was pushed as a major star. She has been nicknamed ARSION no Shinjutsu, or "ARSION True Heart". Forgoing the high-flying techniques of her run in Zenjo, her style in ARSION was centered around mat wrestling and submission holds derived from shoot wrestling, along with more elaborate lucha-inspired submissions.

In June 2005, she launched Ibuki, a bi-monthly event series, with her intention to provide opportunities for young, up and coming wrestlers from different promotions to compete with each other and to challenge senior wrestlers like Yoshida herself. Ibuki has now gained high reputation among joshi puroresu fans in Japan.

In 2006, Yoshida was presented with the Cauliflower Alley Club's Future Legend Award, becoming only the second female after Cheerleader Melissa, to win this award.