Wrestler of the Week: Meiko Satomura
RondaRousey.com’s Wrestler of the Week series profiles significant wrestlers from the past and present. 
Most pro wrestling fans outside of Japan could easily not have heard of Meiko Satomura before she was announced as a competitor in the second Mae Young Classic. However, her talent and dedication made her a highly respected wrestler in her native Japan long before she entered the ring at Full Sail University. In this profile, we’ll take a look at Satomura’s over two decades in the business and her accomplishments both in the ring and outside of it, helping women in wrestling behind-the-scenes.
A Legend In The Making
Satomura made her pro wrestling debut at age 15 for joshi (all-female) promotion Gaea Japan in 1995. Gaea was founded by Chigusa Nagayo of the Crush Gals after she left All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling and continued the hard-hitting style and high standards for performers that were the norm in that company. If you’ve seen (or heard!) Satomura’s kicks recently, you can see she still carries on that joshi strong style tradition.
Just a year into her career, Satomura had the opportunity to travel to the US to wrestle for WCW, during its attempt to build a women’s division through a partnership with Gaea. (Our piece about their only Women’s Champion, Akira Hokuto, tells you more about how that worked out.) While Satomura may have been a fresh-faced rookie during this short-lived period of inter-promotional cooperation, her appearances (in singles and tag matches) at the time showed a lot of
Satomura’s career continued to advance when she returned to Japan, and she soon became half of the inaugural AAAW Tag Team Champions with Sonoko Kato. By the time Gaea Japan shut down in 2005, Satomura was a reliable veteran talent and a top star. Her second AAAW Singles Championship reign was ended by her longtime rival Aja Kong just five days before the company closed its doors. At Gaea’s final show, Satomura defeated Nagayo, her trainer and the promotion’s founder, in the main event.
Sendai Girls
After the Gaea Japan closure, like her trainer before her, Satomura went on to form her own
Satomura was the only experienced wrestler on the full-time roster when Sendai started, so she worked as the trainer, booker, and star of the promotion. She pitted her school’s debuting trainees against
The Final Boss: International Indies and WWE
In addition to her work for Sendai Girls’ Pro Wrestling, Meiko Satomura wrestles as a freelancer for other promotions in Japan and internationally, often bringing her trainees with her.
She’s wrestled matches with former NXT champion Asuka and recent WWE signee Io Shirai in World Wonder Ring Stardom—where she has also held their top championship. Satomura has also worked in all-female promotions in other countries, like the UK’s Pro Wrestling EVE. However, she also doesn’t shy away from wrestling men.
To fans of American independent wrestling, Satomura is probably best known for her participation in several Chikara King of Trios tournaments. The Sendai Girls team of Satomura, Dash Chisako, and Sendai
Satomura has also faced Pete Dunne—who called her the wrestler he was most excited to see in the 2018 Mae Young Classic—in British promotion Fight Club Pro, a majority-male wrestling company where she is currently the top champion. She also recently became
These days, Satomura seems to make history and win championships with her hard-hitting style and devastating Death Valley Bomb finisher.
With all these accomplishments under her belt, it makes sense that WWE promoted her as “the final goal,” “the last obstacle en route to victory,” “a formidable advocate for women’s wrestling,” and “a living legend in every sense of the word” when they announced her participation in the 2018 Mae Young Classic. In her first round match against Killer Kelly, we saw how much Kelly respected her opponent, even after being defeated.
Satomura is currently a favorite to win the second MYC, and even if she doesn’t, her presence will no doubt make a positive—and painful—impact on women’s wrestling in WWE. It’ll be another impressive feat—this time on a bigger platform than usual—in her over 20 years in pro wrestling. And almost certainly not the last.
