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Kyoko Inoue (井上京子, Inoue Kyouko ^?) is a Japanese female professional wrestler. She has held the WWWA World Heavyweight Championship three times, and is the first woman to win a men's title in Japan. She is also the founder of the joshi promotion NEO Japan. Kyoko Inoue was trained by famous Japanese wrestler, Jaguar Yokota.

Career

All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling (1988-1997)

For most of the 1990s Inoue wrestled for the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling promotion, where she held both the top singles title (the WWWA World Heavyweight Championship) and the top tag title (the WWWA World Tag Team Championship).

In November 1995 she appeared at the WWF Survivor Series, and a Monday Night Raw taping the following day (aired 8 days after Survivor Series).

On January 20, 1997, Inoue achieved the so-called AJW Triple Crown when, already in possession of the WWWA Championship, she won the unified All Pacific Championship and IWA World Women's Championship, and then unified them with the WWWA Championship. She vacated her titles on May 11, 1997, after a defense against Kaoru Ito went to a sixty-minute draw. Inoue is well known for her charismatic personality, her extensive repertoire of wrestling holds, and wrestling long matches, having gone to 60-minute draws with not only Ito, but with Manami Toyota and Toshiyo Yamada as well. She was also one of the first female wrestlers to use face paint. (During her tag team with non-relative Takako Inoue, Takako also used face paint to fit the team).

NEO (1998-present)

Later in 1997, Inoue left AJW and started the NEO Japan Ladies' Wrestling promotion. NEO held its first card on January 9, 1998. Kyoko made history in February 2000 by winning the WEW Tag Team Championship with Kodo Fuyuki. This made her the first known woman to win a men's title in a Japanese pro wrestling promotion. Inoue also has the distinction of having competed in four female wrestling matches that were given a 5-star rating by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, second only to Toyota.

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Niagara Driver (Sitout one shoulder powerbomb) – innovated
  • Victoria Driver (Inverted Death Valley driver) – innovated

• Signature moves
  • Backbreaker rack
  • Diving back elbow drop
  • Lariat
  • Overhead belly to belly suplex, sometimes from the top rope
  • Springboard back elbow
  • Standing scoop powerslam, sometimes from the top rope
  • Torture Crab (Elevated Boston crab with a knee to the back)

Championships and accomplishments

• All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling

• AJW Championship (1 time)
• IWA World Women's Championship (2 times)
• WWWA World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
• WWWA World Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Takako Inoue
• Japan Grand Prix (1991)

• World Entertainment Wrestling

• WEW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Kodo Fuyuki and Chocoball Mukai
• WEW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Hiromichi Fuyuki

• JDStar

• TWF World Women's Championship (2 times)

• NEO Japan Ladies' Wrestling

• All Pacific Championship (2 times)

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

• 5 Star Match (1993) with Takako Inoue vs. Cutie Suzuki and Mayumi Ozaki on April 2
• 5 Star Match (1993) with Takako Inoue, Aja Kong, and Sakie Hasegawa vs. Dynamite Kansai, Mayumi Ozaki, Hikari Fukuoka, and Cutie Suzuki on July 31
• 5 Star Match (1994) vs. Manami Toyota on August 24
• 5 Star Match (1995) vs. Manami Toyota on May 7
• Match of the Year (1995) vs. Manami Toyota on May 7

References

Professional wrestling portal

Championships taken from wrestling-titles.com