Ayako Hamada Finally at TNA.com

I'm interrupting the Women of Hustle series to let everyone know that Ayako Hamada has finally been acknowledged on the TNA homepage.
You can read a press release about her from TNA here:
http://www.tnawrestling.com/content/view/1647/84/

It looks like TNA will call her just "Hamada".

Just thought I'd pop in with that since a lot of people have been wondering when she'd actually show up.
Now if I can just forgive them for that Cody Deaner crap......

Ayako Hamada Update

Finally an update on Ayako Hamada in TNA.
The Sun is reporting that Ayako is expected to start at the next set of TV tapings.

As you may recall, on April 8, 2009, it was announced at a press conference that Ayako had signed with TNA.
Of course I have been waiting since then to see just when she would pop up.

I'm still thinking a tag team with her and Sarah Stock (aka Dark Angel, aka Sarita) would be a great idea.
Lucha Libre AND Joshi Puroresu combined.

The Most Popular Japanese Female Wrestlers

Ray, the most popular Japanese female wrestler?

Over on Hub Pages (I do a lot of Hub Pages) I did a list of the most popular Japanese female wrestlers.
I kinda took me by surprise that the "greats" really didn't rank up there too well.
There was no Bull Nakano, Aja Kong, Akira Hokuto or Devil Masami
Female wrestlers like Ray, NAO, Hikaru and Basara did well.
But I guess some of the new wrestlers ranking well is a good sign for the future of joshi puroresu in general.

Over at YouTube, you have people like nagashimark and doublemiz keeping the "old school" alive with matches like Chaparrita ASARI versus Kyoko Inoue and Crush Girls versus Akira Hokuto and Mitsuko Nishiwaki.
You can see some of the old classic matches over there, and trust me, some of them are awesome.
Forget comparing them to the WWE Diva of TNA Knockout matches, compare them to Triple H or Randy Orton.

Anyway, part of the list I came up with for the most popular wrestlers (most searched for here and on the internet) is:

1. Ray
2. NAO
3. Hikaru
4. Basara
5. Francoise

You can head over there and take a look at the entire list if you'd like.

Latest IBUKI Results

At IBUKI's latest show on April 5, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan....

1. Kyoko Kimura defeated Kazumi Shimouma in 10:53 with a Headbutt.

2. Atsuko Emoto defeated Esui in 10:02 with the Momo Clutch.

3. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Misaki Ohata defeated DASH Chisako and Yukari Ishino in 15:13, when Matsumoto used a Back Drop on Ishino.

4. Tomoka Nakagawa defeated Ayumi Kurihara in 14:10 with a Cradle.

5. Ray and Natsuki*Taiyo defeated Shu Shibutani and Fuuka in 21:14, when Ray used the Sky Twister Press on Shibutani.

IBUKI's next show will be on May 31 at Korakuen Hall, Tokyo.

You can find out more about IBUKI and their wrestlers here:
http://s-ovation.com/wrestling/

Japanese Female Wrestler: Tomoka Nakagawa

Next up on my Japanese female wrestlers list is Tomoka Nakagawa.
She was born on September 29th, 1981, in Asahikawa Hokkaido, Japan
Tomoka's pro wrestling debut was on January 23rd, 2005 with Yuu Yamagata against TAKA Michinoku and Ryota Chikuzen.
She is currently wrestling for Mariko Yoshida's IBUKI wrestling promotion.
Before that, she wrestled for Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo).

Here's a video of Tomoka taking on Etsuko Mita posted by CaptainCharisma0 on YouTube

More of Takako Inoue wrestling in Japan

First up, Takako with a Boston Crab

Then she lands a roundhouse kick

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Kiyoko Ichiki

Kiyoko Ichiki
Height: 5' 1" (153cm)
Weight: 116.6lbs (53kg)
Date of Birth: February 21 1973
Pro Wrestling Debut: December 10 1994 vs. Cynthia Moreno
Promotions: IWA (1994-1996), Free (1996), GAEA (1996-1997), Big Japan (1997-)
Career Title History
Misae Genki Defeated Kiyoko Ichiki to become the first Big Japan Pro Wrestling champion on 07/02/2000 in Tokyo (Tokyo Korakuen Hall)
Kiyoko Ichiki then got the title back on 10/30/2000 in Tokyo (Tokyo Korakuen Hall) and vacated the title immediately after the match.