Manami Toyota

Bio
Born in 1971, in Masuda, Shimane, Japan, she made her wrestling debut on August 5, 1987, in a singles match against Sachiko Nakamura. Aged only 16 then, she was a bit rough around the edges technique-wise, but having been trained by Jaguar Yokota, to the trained eye, she was already an rough diamond, ready to be shaped into the most impressive ring-warrior of all times. For about two years, she went through the usual hoops, before catching a big break on May 6, 1989, in a tag team match which saw her team with Mima Shimoda (another similar-caliber talent) and defeat the established duo of Etsuko Mita and Toshiyo Yamada in a match that caught the attention of the wrestling world. Her first title – the first of a collection which would take up a ridiculous size at one point – came in November, 1989, when she beat Mika Takahashi for the AJW belt. She mounted three successful title defenses before vacating the title in September 1990.

Although she wrestled countless matches every year, the next major milestone of her career came in 1998, when on November 28, she lost to Chigusa Nagayo in a special Legends bout, which went down in history as the match featuring the two best female wrestlers in the world. It also represented the beginning of her Gaea Japan career, where she feuded with her once tag team partner Toshiyo Yamada and locked up with Dynamite Kansai. Her Gaea career lasted from 2002 to 2004. In 2007, she wrestled in every match of a Tribute Show, marking her apparent retirement, but after a brief pause, she was back in action the following year.

Manami Toyota is nothing more and nothing less than quite probably the best professional wrestler ever to set foot in the squared circle, male or female. She’s always given 100% in the ring regardless of the circumstances, and actually witnessing her in action amounts to being in the presence of royalty.