Bull Nakano is thankful for the friendship she got to have with “Macho Man” Randy Savage.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated that was published on Thursday, the legendary Nakano discussed her new role as the commissioner of Sukeban. She also reflected on her time wrestling in the United States in the 1990s. Nakano has fond memories of the main event stars of that time period, especially Savage.
“All of the top stars were also excellent human beings, especially the ‘Macho Man,’ who was very kind to me,” Nakano said. “Randy made me laugh with his gestures when I could not understand English. I want to make sure to thank him.”
Savage and Nakano are both WWE Hall of Famers. Last month marked the 13th anniversary of Savage’s passing.
The 56-year-old Nakano joined the WWE Hall of Fame earlier this year. She was inducted by her former in-ring rival Madusa.
In 2023, Sukeban launched with events in New York City and Miami. The company then made its Los Angeles debut last week. The United States-based joshi promotion is attempting to blend fashion, anime, and music to “break down the walls between the worlds of art and wrestling.”
The name Sukeban translates to “delinquent girls.”
“I was appointed Commissioner of Sukeban in 2023. The thing that excites me most about Sukeban is that I get to see the past, present, and future of the unique Japanese culture all in the ring. I like the acknowledgment of the Sukeban lifestyle from decades ago, and the veteran wrestlers and young wrestlers coming together to put on the best show,” Nakano told Sports Illustrated.
“I am so proud of all of the athletes who are active now, and I try to support them. My favorite wrestlers, the ones I care about most, are all the Sukeban wrestlers. I consider them like my children.”
– Garrett and I did a show today with Steve Keirn talking about both his career and his being a producer with WWE, working with Vince McMahon, changes in wrestling and running the WWE’s developmental territory. Bryan and I will be back Saturday night talking UFC 302, SmackDown, Collision and all the weekend news,
– The new issue of the Wrestling Observer is on the site right now, a huge issue covering all the latest news in depth.
Why the Janel Grant lawsuit against Vince McMahon is on hold including reaction from lawyers on both sides and an independent lawyer looks at what the breaking news means.
AEW negotiations with WBD and how they are going. The most detailed look at the state of the negotiations, what is and isn’t involved in the talks, how streaming fits in, opening it up for other companies to bid and much more. Plus we detail how the international wrestling marketplace changes that are relevant to AEW’s bottom line.
Full coverage of Double or Nothing, key angles, storylines, direction, Forbidden Door, business numbers, Adam Copeland injury, Owen Hart tournament, history of repeating stadium shows, and world title at All In.
More business notes from WrestleMania weekend.
Full King and Queen of the Ring coverage, business notes, PPV, other interest level measurements and crossover purchasers with other events.
A look at the life and career of David “Silento” Rodriguez, a deaf wrestler who had a long career.
The most detailed look at the ratings from the past week, including rankings, comparisons with a year ago, demo numbers, competition and how segments did individually.
FantasticaMania Mexico
Big AAA main feud
Update on TripleMania
Great Triple Crown match
New Japan business note
Super Juniors tournament
Giulia update
Hawaiian wrestling history
Progress Strong Style 16 tournament
MLW strategy change this week
Changes in TNA
Notes on AEW departures
Notes on AEW injuries
Young Bucks shoe business
Advance ticket sales for upcoming AEW & WWE events
Major UFC show coming to ABC
Rousey says why she doesn’t go to UFC events
Lots of WWE contract updates
WWE firings
WrestleMania documentary updates
International TV ratings
– We’re looking for reports on these weekend shows
SmackDown tonight in Albany, NY (dark matches only)
NXT tonight in Tampa, FL
WWE tomorrow night in White Plains, NY
NXT tomorrow night in Crystal River, FL
WWE Sunday in Binghamton, NY
We’re looking for results, finishes and highlights on all the shows to [email protected]
– More from the TNA story in the current issue. The live events department was gutted. David Sahadi, who was head of production for years was also let go. Most of the talent had no idea this was happening.
– Because the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Western Conference Finals on Thursday, Collision will be airing at its regular time slot of 8 p.m. on TNT. If there was a game six tomorrow night, Collision would have aired after Inside the NBA, at around midnight.
– Vice has uploaded the first 15 minutes of Tuesday’s premiere episode of Dwayne Johnson’s docuseries on what killed WCW. The four-part series will air the next four Tuesdays at 10 p.m.
– SmackDown tonight is from Albany, NY. Announced is a queen coronation of Nia Jax, Austin Theory vs. Tommaso Ciampa, Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa vs. Street Profits and Andrade vs. Apollo Crews. There were about 7,000 tickets out as of this morning so this one won’t be close to being sold out because a wrestling TV set-up would be 12,000.
– UFC 302 is tomorrow at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ
Coverage starts at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN 2 and ESPN+
Mitch Raposo (125) vs. Andre Lima (130) – Lima missed weight by four pounds and has to forfeit 30 percent of his purse
Ailin Perez (135) vs. Joselyn Edwards (136)
Mickey Gall (170) vs Bassil Hafez (170)
Phil Rowe (171) vs. Jake Matthews (170)
Grant Dawson (155) vs. Joe Solecki (155)
Jailton Almeida (241) vs. Alexandr Romanov (265)
Cesar Almeida (185) vs. Roman Koplyov (185)
PPV at 10 p.m. Eastern
Randy Brown (170) vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (170)
Niko Price (170) vs. Alex Morono (170)
Kevin Holland (185) vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk (185)
Sean Strickland (185) vs. Paulo Costa (185)
Islam Makhachev (155) vs. Dustin Poirier (155) for the lightweight title
– A correction from today’s Observer. Reina Dorada, who had an ROH taped match at the AEW tapings last night in Palm Desert, FL, against Thunder Rosa, is a AAA wrestler. We had listed her as a CMLL wrestler. Either way, she is not the caliber of wrestler that AEW should be booking.
– Mistico & Mascara Dorada & Neon vs. Magia Blanca & Magnus & Volador Jr. headlines Arena Mexico tonight.
– Argenis has left AAA. He hasn’t gotten much work since AAA is doing nostalgia-based matches this year.
– Hiromu Takahashi lost to Taiji Ishimori so Ishimori and Douki made the Best of the Super Juniors final four. The significance is that the first major show to ever be headlined by junior heavyweights is Dominion on 6/9 in Osaka. I’d have figured Takahashi in that match. But on Monday at Korakuen Hall, the semifinals of the tournament are Desperado vs. Douki and Ishimori vs. TJP, and the winners face off in the tournament final at Dominion.
– Real-life married couple Jetta and Charlie Morgan will have their last matches on the 6/7 Pro Wrestling Eve show in Walthamstow, London at the Big Penny Social.
– Tokyo Joshi Pro and Pro Wrestling Eve will have a joint show on 8/24 in London – the day before All In.
– On the Kelly Clarkson show today, singer Michael McDonald was on the show and asked if he’s ever been mistaken for someone famous over the years and he said yes, people have thought he was Captain Kangaroo or Ric Flair. Paul Reiser, on the show, saw a photo of Flair and said he looked like a combination of McDonald and Jerry Seinfeld. When I was a kid, all the area kids used to think AWA TV ring announcer Al DeRusha looked like Captain Kangaroo. (thanks to Jeff Beecher)
– The reason Komander and Beast Mortos (original Black Taurus) haven’t been on AEW television is because they are in Mexico working on visa renewals. They’ve been approved but the Mexican government is very slow in getting physical visas out. Komander has been waiting three weeks and it’s supposed to be a ten business day wait.
– Invicta returns on 6/28 in Kansas City with Talita Benardo (10-4) defending her bantamweight title against Olga Rubin (9-3) in the main event. The show takes place at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, the same building where Harley Race beat Dory Funk Jr., and Ric Flair beat Dusty Rhodes in NWA title matches.
– Tickets for the 8/2 Smackdown show, the night before SummerSlam, at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland go on sale to the public on Friday at 10 a.m.
– Jon Moxley was at Thursday’s Sukeban show that his wife, Renee Paquette, was part of the broadcast team for. Nick Khan was there as well. Rapper Sawettie was also there.
American Joshi promotion Sukeban is bringing in Renee Paquette.
Paquette was announced as part of the commentary team for tonight’s show along with former WWE writer Kazeem Famuyide, and wrestling/baseball reporter Saya.
Tonight’s show takes place at The Trinity in Los Angeles and will stream live on TikTok.
Tonight’s event will be the third in the promotion’s history. They also ran shows in New York and Miami last year.
Here’s how the promotion describes itself:
Sukeban blends fashion, anime, and music, and breaks down the walls between the worlds of art and wrestling. Named for the girl gangs which emerged in the 1960s and 70s and helped bring feminism to the cultural forefront in Japan, Sukeban’s roster features some of the most talented wrestlers in the world.
Sareee (FKA as Sarray in NXT) will be featured on tonight’s show. She performs as Sareee Bomb in the promotion and is scheduled to wrestle Maya Mamushi.
Sukeban’s announced lineup for May 30, 2024 —
Sukeban World Champion Commander Nakajima defends against Crush Yuu
Rina Yamashita vs. Lady Antoinette vs. Atomic Banshee
Saki Bimi & Babyface vs. Konami & Queen of Hearts
Sareee Bomb (former NXT wrestler Sarray) vs. Maya Mamushi
Supersonic & Stray Cat vs. Midnight Player & Otaku-chan
After debuting last year with shows in New York City and Miami, Sukeban is set to hold its first event of 2024.
The United States-based joshi promotion will stage an event at The Trinity in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 30. There will be five matches at Sukeban Los Angeles, along with a Japanese-style street fair with L.A. vendors. Tickets are on sale now.
Here’s the card for the show:
Sukeban World Champion Commander Nakajima defends against Crush Yuu
Rina Yamashita vs. Lady Antoinette vs. Atomic Banshee
Saki Bimi & Babyface vs. Konami & Queen of Hearts
Sareee Bomb (former NXT wrestler Sarray) vs. Maya Mamushi
Supersonic & Stray Cat vs. Midnight Player & Otaku-chan
Sukeban’s first two events took place in September and December of last year. They streamed live on TikTok.
Here’s how the promotion describes itself:
Sukeban blends fashion, anime, and music, and breaks down the walls between the worlds of art and wrestling. Named for the girl gangs which emerged in the 1960s and 70s and helped bring feminism to the cultural forefront in Japan, Sukeban’s roster features some of the most talented wrestlers in the world.
New United States-based joshi promotion Sukeban has revealed the broadcast details for its second event.
After debuting with a show in New York City this September, Sukeban will hold its second event in Miami this Wednesday (December 6). It was announced today that the show will stream live for free on CEO Gaming’s Twitch channel and Sukeban’s TikTok account.
The show is taking place at Lot 11 Skatepark and will begin at 10 p.m. Eastern time. It’s in collaboration with the Art Basel art fair.
New Sukeban signee Sareee (former NXT wrestler Sarray) is making her debut at the show. The full card is listed below:
Sukeban World Championship match: Ichigo Sayaka vs. Commander Nakajima (winner will be the inaugural champion)
Sareee vs. Countess Saori vs. Atomic Banshee vs. Babyface
Maya Mamushi & Saki Bimi vs. Queen Takase & KONAMI
CEO Gaming also partnered with NJPW for a When Worlds Collide event in 2018 and with AEW for the promotion’s first-ever Fyter Fest event in 2019. Kenny Omega worked with CEO Gaming to make those NJPW and AEW shows happen.
The promotion debuted with its first show taking place in New York City this September. Its second show is being held in Miami on Wednesday, December 6. The show will begin at 10 p.m. Eastern time. It’s in conjunction with the Art Basel art fair.
The show is taking place from Lot 11 Skatepark. Tickets go on sale this Thursday (November 9) at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Sareee (former WWE NXT wrestler Sarray), who has signed a multi-year contract with Sukeban, is making her debut at the event. She’s competing in a four-way match against Countess Saori, Atomic Banshee, and Babyface.
Here are all of the matches that have been announced for the show:
Sukeban World Championship match: Ichigo Sayaka vs. Commander Nakajima
Sareee vs. Countess Saori vs. Atomic Banshee vs. Babyface
Maya Mamushi & Saki Bimi vs. Queen Takase & KONAMI
Sareee (former WWE NXT wrestler Sarray) is now under contract with new Joshi promotion Sukeban.
Sukeban, which is based in the United States, launched in September with its inaugural show taking place in New York City. It was announced today that the promotion has signed Sareee to a multi-year contract. She’ll debut at Sukeban’s second event, which is being held in Miami this December.
Sareee will be part of the Cherry Bomb Girls faction in Sukeban.
In her Sukeban debut at the December show, Sareee will face Countess Saori, Atomic Banshee, and Babyface in a four-way match. The match features participants from all four of Sukeban’s stables (Cherry Bomb Girls, Dangerous Liaisons, Vandals, and Harajuku Stars).
“Joining Sukeban’s roster marks the return to the United States for Sareee, a former WWE performer who is widely regarded as one of the most underutilized and talented pro-wrestlers in the world,” Sukeban wrote in a press release. “Sareee epitomizes the spirit of All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling, serving as a link to the glory days of Joshi pro-wrestling.”
In 2020, Sareee signed a contract with WWE. But her arrival into the company was delayed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She was with NXT from 2021 until departing WWE this March.
After her WWE departure, Sareee worked as a freelance wrestler in Japan.
Sukeban is the new Japanese women’s promotion that debuted in America last week using some of the best freelancers available but working in new costumes and gimmicks.
Fumi Saito and I cover Sukeban in-depth including the roster, wrestler history, the characters, the matches, the presentation, the announcers, the ring announcer and commissioner Bull Nakano. Given Fumi’s deep knowledge of the history of Japanese women’s wrestling, you will find his observations and opinions interesting.
Plus, Chris Jericho returns to Japan but this time for the DDT promotion.
Enjoy this always educational and informative look at Japanese wrestling.
Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
Friday Update
Terry Funk’s funeral took place this afternoon in Amarillo. I don’t believe it was taped and wasn’t able to see it. Among those in attendance were Dory Funk Jr., Ted DiBiase, Manny Fernandez, Chris Hero, Tommy Dreamer, C.M. Punk, Dan Spivey, Joe Malenko, Stan Hansen, Tully Blanchard, Don Frye, Barry Blaustein and Mark Youngblood. We hope to have more on it later. It’s still hard to believe he isn’t with us anymore.
We have a big weekend of shows coming up. Garrett and I just finished our first show together without a guest in about a month, talking about the news of the week, All In, C.M. Punk and Jack Perry as well as some stories on Terry Funk and the upcoming WWE and AEW PPV shows. Bryan and I will be back Saturday and Sunday nights covering the PPV shows.
Front Office Sports reported on the PFL/Bellator sale talks. The story said that Bellator is valued at as much as $500 million and that the deal would be primarily cash but that Paramount, the owners of Bellator, would also get a percentage of the new company. They said it’s not clear if the deal goes through if they will merge into one company or continue as two separate entities but have matches between the promotions. Saudi Arabia has just invested $100 million in the PFL, which caused stock market concern for both WWE and Endeavor because of the idea Saudi Arabia funding a new MMA group could challenge UFC’s domination. The stock market freaked out yesterday and WWE stock tumbled, but today it came back and closed at $104.58 once people realized this won’t hurt WWE business at all and UFC’s financial deals are locked in for years.
As noted in the new issue, the announcement of the Sukeban promotion came this morning with the debut show on 9/21 at Capitale, a 750-seat theater in New York City. The show sold out instantly with tickets going on sale today. The show has top Japanese women, many of whom have appeared with Stardom this year, with new characters and put into different factions. The main event of the first show has Ichigo Sayaka (Unagi Sayaka) vs Countess Saoori (Saori Anou) with the winner going into a championship match on the second show. The trailer for the promotion.
Announced as signed to long-term deals to Sukeban are Ram Kaichow (as Atomic Banshee), Kaori Yoneyama (as Otaku-chan), AOI (as Midnight Player, Sayaka, Maya Yukihi (as Maya Mamushi), Saki (as Saki Bimi), Ancham (as Babyface), Yuu (as Crush Yuu), Rikio Iaiju (as Rik Blondie, Anou, Arisa Nakajima (as Commander Nakajima), Risa Sera (as Lady Antoinette) and Miyuki Takase (as Queen of Hearts).
Smackdown tonight features the return of John Cena in Hershey, PA. The show is sold out with 8,848 fans. Also announced is the return of Jimmy Uso, a Miz and LA Knight face-to-face segment to set up their match on Saturday’s PPV show in Pittsburgh, and Rey Mysterio & Santos Escobar vs. Autin Theory & Grayson Waller.
AEW announced Dennis Rodman appearing on tomorrow’s Collision show in Chicago at the United Center. Rodman was already in town for Conrad Thompson’s Starrcast event. AEW had 4,086 tickets out as of today for the show. There will be angles shot on the show for the PPV on Sunday. Ricky Steamboat will be there but the tease of him doing a strap match with Ricky Starks is to set up a match with someone against Starks. Someone other than CM Punk has been asked to do the match but if Punk is to be on the PPV this would in theory be the spot. Punk was still suspended as of today.
For what it’s worth we are told that at the WWE Store in Pittsburgh they have all the matches and segments spread on the walls of the store and have a Cody Rhodes-Grayson Waller segment with John Cena in the picture. (thanks to Tyler Dawson)
Rampage at 10 p.m. tonight on TNT:
Tag Team Battle Royal for a PPV shot at MJF & Adam Cole on Sunday
El Hijo del Vikingo & Nick Wayne vs. Kip Sabian & Gringo Loco
Adam Page vs Bryan Keith
Willow Nightingale & Skye Blue vs Taya Valkyrie & Anna Jay
The Vikingo match got great reviews.
UFC is tomorrow in Paris on ESPN+ starting at Noon Eastern time:
Zarah Fairn (140) vs. Jacqueline Cavalcanti (139)
Farid Basharat (136) vs. Keydson Rodrigues (134.5)
Nora Cornolle (136) vs. Joselyne Edwards (136)
Ange Loosa (171) vs. Rhys McKee (171)
Taylor Lapilus (135) vs. Caolan Loughran (136)
Morgan Charriere (146) vs. Manolo Aeccini (146)
William Gomis (146) vs. Yanis Ghemmouri (146)
Volkan Oezdemir (205) vs. Bogdan Guskov (205)
Benoit Saint Denis (156) vs. Thiago Moises (156)
Manon Fiorot (125) vs. Rose Namajunas (125)
Cyril Gane (250) vs Serghei Spivac (256)
Edge auctioned off his Toronto wrestling gear and gave 100 percent of the proceeds for Sami Zayn’s Syria campaign of having mobile hospitals in war-torn areas.
MLW tapes Sunday at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia with Alex Kane vs. Willie Mack for the MLW title, Jacob Fatu vs. Rickey Shane Page for the National title in a weapons of mass destruction match, Matt Cardona vs. Mance Warner in a kiss my foot match Maki Itoh vs B3CCA for a women’s title shot and Tracy Williams vs. Ichiban on the FITE+ live show. There will also be a Fusion TV taping. The show starts at 6 p.m. Eastern.
Pablo Frage, a Texas referee filed suit against Devon Nicholson and Texas promoter Jerry Bostic due to injuries suffered while working a match with Nicholson. He is asking for more than $250,000 alleging that Nicholson was carrying a beer and stumbling and shouldn’t have been allowed to perform. The lawsuit claimed Frage was supposed to cut himself in doing an angle but Nicholson wasn’t pleased with the amount of blood and put him in a choke and stabbed him in the head multiple times with a spike. Frage said he lost consciousness and with no medical staff on site, was rushed to the hospital where he received seven staples. He said since this incident in December 2021, he has continued so suffer from headaches, memory problems, depression and has scars
GCW and Renegades of Wrestling did a joint show in Sydney, Australia last Friday as part of a three-show tour and drew 350 fans. Maki Itoh was really over. El Hijo del Vikingo beat Gringo Loco in an AAA Mega title match in the main event. Caveman Ugg kept the Renegades of Wrestling title over Joey Janela. The crowd knew all the GCW guys like Allie Katch and Effy. Itoh beat Charli Evans. Steph De Lander also returned to Australia for this tour. People were raving about Vikingo. On Saturday in Melbourne, the ROW champ Aysha beat Itoh and Vikingo kept the title over Emman Azman. On Sunday in Brisbane, Itoh beat Allie Katch, Outback Adam beat Janela, and Vikingo retained his title over Mitch Ryder. (thanks to Dan Lennard and Kirk Beattie)
Paul Felder, a UFC commentator, announced that he has put his name back in the USADA testing pool. He noted that his hips are bad and he is not sure if he will fight again, but that he is back training and hopes to fight guys around his own age if he does fight.
Combate Global is on Paramount and Univision tomorrow night as well as Paramount + with a main event of Jose Ferriera (11-0) vs. Leonardo Morales (12-7).
CPW on 9/9 in Fairplay, WV with Ricky Morton, Tony Atlas and Shane Douglas doing meet and greets.
A new American-based Joshi promotion, Sukeban, is set to debut in New York later this month.
The promotion’s first-ever event is scheduled for Thursday, September 21 at The Capitale in Manhattan.
Tickets for the show went on sale at 10 a.m. Eastern time on Friday. However, the company has since announced they sold out within two hours of being released.
“Featuring the strongest women’s roster in North America, Sukeban will hearken back to the glory days of Joshi wrestling to present the authentic, hard-hitting, phenomenal Joshi experience,” a press release for the promotion reads, via PWInsider.
Former Future of Stardom Champion Unagi Sayaka is set to headline the show against Saori Anou, who is currently one-half of the Goddess of Stardom Champions with Natsupoi. However, both wrestlers will be adopting new names while in Sukeban. Sayaka will be known as Ichigo Sayaka while Anou will wrestle under the name Countess Saori. The winner of the match will earn the right to challenge for the Sukeban World Championship on the promotion’s second event, although a date and venue for the show have yet to be announced.
“The Sukeban name is an ode to the girl gangs of the 1960s and 1970s that helped bring feminism to the forefront of Japan. Sukeban’s roster features many of the world’s best wrestlers portraying new characters that they have helped influence and create. The company’s four stables, The Vandals, Harajuku Stars, Cherry Bomb Girls, and Dangerous Liaisons, feud with one another to reach the apex of Sukeban,” the press release continues.
Other talent announced for the promotion include:
Ram Kaichow as Atomic Banshee
Kaori Yoneyama as Otaku-chan
AOI as Midnight Player
Maya Yukihi as Maya Mamushi
Yuu as Crush Yuu
SAKI as Saki Bimi
Ancham as Babyface
Riko Kaiju as Riko Blondie
Arisa Nakajima as Commander Nakajima
Risa Sera as Lady Antoinette
Miyuki Takase as Queen of Hearts
In just two hours, the Sukeban World Premiere in New York City has SOLD OUT. Thank you. Stay tuned for more.
Sukeban World Premiere Set for September 21st in New York City
Joshi Wrestling Company to Debut at Capitale in Downtown Manhattan, with Tickets on Sale Now
First Ever All-Japanese Joshi Wrestling Company in the United States Brings Japan’s Top Female Wrestlers to a Global Audience
Coming Soon Trailer Previews Sukeban’s High-Octane Action and Unique Anime and Live Action Content
New York, NY (September 1, 2023) – Sukeban, the first ever Joshi women’s wrestling company outside of Japan featuring an entirely Japanese roster, will hold its World Premiere event on September 21, 2023 at Capitale in New York City. Featuring the strongest women’s roster in North America, Sukeban will hearken back to the glory days of Joshi wrestling to present the authentic, hard-hitting, phenomenal Joshi experience.
The Sukeban coming soon trailer, available here, highlights the intense action, anime influence, and world-class competition that Sukeban will offer fans.
Tickets go on sale for the World Premiere today, Friday, September 1st at 10 a.m. ET exclusively via DICE, conveniently linked from www.sukeban.com. The main event of the World Premiere event will feature Ichigo Sayaka (aka Unagi Sayaka) vs. Countess Saori (aka Saori Anou), with the winner competing for the Sukeban World Championship at Sukeban’s second event in the United States, to be announced in the coming weeks.
The Sukeban name is an ode to the girl gangs of the 1960s and 1970s that helped bring feminism to the forefront of Japan. Sukeban’s roster features many of the world’s best wrestlers portraying new characters that they have helped influence and create. The company’s four stables, The Vandals, Harajuku Stars, Cherry Bomb Girls, and Dangerous Liaisons, feud with one another to reach the apex of Sukeban. The contracted roster, signed to long-term deals, includes:
The Vandals
Atomic Banshee, portrayed by Ram Kaichow
Otaku-chan, portrayed by Kaori Yoneyama
Midnight Player, portrayed by AOI
BINGO, portrayed by ???
Harajuku Stars
Ichigo Sayaka, portrayed by Unagi Sayaka
Maya Mamushi, portrayed by Maya Yukihi
Saki Bimi, portrayed by SAKI
Babyface, portrayed by Ancham
Cherry Bomb Girls
Crush Yuu, portrayed by Yuu
Supersonic, portrayed by ???
Riko Blondie, portrayed by Riko Kaiju
Dangerous Liaisons
Countess Saori, portrayed by Saori Anou
Commander Nakajima, portrayed by Arisa Nakajima
Lady Antoinette, portrayed by Risa Sera
Queen of Hearts, portrayed by Miyuki Takase
Unaffiliated
Stray Cat, portrayed by ???
In addition to exciting wrestlers added to the roster, the World Premiere event at Capitale in New York City features several elements that will make the event unique:
Championship Belt, unveiled in New York, designed and created by the greatest industrial designer of this generation, Marc Newson.
Wrestler costumes and all merchandise designed by world-famous creative director and fashion designer Olympia Le-Tan.
Hats created by the most important milliner in history, Stephen Jones
Finger nail art by social media superstar Mei Kawajiri (Nails by Mei).
Anime and manga art by fast-rising artist and author Sakana Koji.
Sukeban’s debut event in New York will be followed by further events around the United States and globally, with additional plans to be announced in the coming weeks. With ambitious growth plans and a strategic focus on its content ecosystem, Sukeban is poised to expand operations worldwide and pull from numerous lucrative revenue streams.
For more information, visit sukeban.com and follow Sukeban on Instagram, TikTok, and X at @sukeban_world.
