Ring of Honor is excited to announce an agreement has been reached to bring in three of the top current generation Joshi stars from S-Ovation in Japan! Hiroyo Matsumoto, Ayumi Kurihara, and Tomoka Nakagawa will debut in Ring of Honor during the “Honor takes Center Stage” weekend on 4/1 and 4/2 in Atlanta, GA!
All three of these Joshi stars have competed on events promoted by S-Ovation under the IBUKI banner in recent years, and most recently on their “Joshi 4 Hope” event. Additionally, they currently appear for several promotions in Japan, including OZ Academy and Pro Wrestling WAVE.
HIROYO MATSUMOTO
Height: 5’5″
Weight: 70 kg (150 lbs.)
Hometown: Hiratsuka City, Kanagawa, Japan
Pro Debut: July 2006
Hiroyo Matsumoto is a young wrestler who many see as the future of the Joshi scene. Known as “Lady Destroyer” Matsumoto debuted in 2006 and in her short career has held some of the most prestigious championships in Joshi wrestling including titles in JWP, NEO and OZ Academy. She also has won tournaments in NEO and Sendai Girls and defeated some of the top female wrestlers in Japan. Matsumoto loves to finish off opponents with the Backdrop Driver and Tokaido Drop. During the spring of 2010, Hiroyo made her American debut for SHIMMER, and had the opportunity to battle Sara Del Rey in singles action.
AYUMI KURIHARA
Height: 5’5″
Weight: 57kg (126 lbs.)
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
Pro Debut: April 2005
Ayumi Kurihara debuted in 2005 for M’s Style and is known for the exploder suplex and uranage. Kurihara closed her 2010 with great success in Japan, making history by defeating Yoshiko Tamura on the final event promoted by NEO, to become the last NEO singles and NWA Pacific Women’s Champion. Ayumi is on her way to being one of the top joshi stars and has dazzled fans with her hard hitting style and passionate drive to be the best. Kurihara became the first of the visiting Joshi stars to work her way into main event status in SHIMMER, after scoring an impressive string of victories against several established American women wrestlers.
TOMOKA NAKAGAWA
Height: 5’1″
Weight: 58kg (128 lbs.)
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
Pro Debut: January 2005
Tomoka Nakagawa debuted in 2005 in a tag match with Yuu Yamagata against Taka Michinoku and Ryota Chikuzen. She is one of the only female wrestlers to break in with Kaientai Dojo in Japan. Tomoka and Ayumi Kurihara have taken their feud from Japan to both Mexico and SHIMMER in the United States during the past year. Nakagawa is a lady that is not afraid to take liberties with the rules and in combination with Tomoka’s vast array of lethal kicks and bridging fisherman suplex, she is one of the most dangerous women on the Joshi scene. During 2010, Nakagawa formed a very successful tag team with Daizee Haze in SHIMMER, where they are currently undefeated as a tandem.
For the first time ever Joshi pro wrestling comes to ROH at “Honor Takes Center Stage” on 4/2 and 4/1!