.jpg) Sakai in 2023 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1971-11-24)November 24, 1971 (age 54)[2] Suzuka, Mie, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Sumie Sakai Yellow Michinoku Ranger |
| Billed height | 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in) |
| Billed weight | 54 kg (119 lb) |
| Billed from | Osaka Tokyo Yokkaichi |
| Trained by |
|
| Debut | April 20, 1997 |
| Retired | January 11, 2025 |
Sumie Sakai (坂井 澄江,Sakai Sumie; born November 24, 1971) is a Japanese retiredprofessional wrestler and formermixed martial artist.[3] She is best known for her extensive tenure inRing of Honor (ROH), where she was the inaugural and longest reigningWomen of Honor Champion.[3]
As a young woman, Sakai practicedjudo. From 1995 to 1997, she halted her practice of judo to work withsenior citizens at the Kasugamachi Care Center inKanazawa, Ishikawa.[citation needed]
Sakai became involved in wrestling when her friend and fellow judo practitioner,Megumi Yabushita, invited her to join the wrestling sport. Sakai trained underJaguar Yokota,[1] and made her debut on April 20, 1997, with the Yoshimoto Ladies Pro Wrestling promotion, facing Yabushita at theKorakuen Hall inTokyo.[4][5] She went on to form a tag team with Yabushita named Yabusaka (ヤブサカ).[6]
Later in 1997, Sakai began wrestling for Yokota'sJDStar promotion,[7] where she won both the JDStar Junior Championship and the JDStar Queen of the Ring Championship. She also won the Women's Championship of the affiliated American Wrestling Federation and the Tag Team Championship of the affiliated Trans-World Wrestling Federation.[8] In 1999, she suffered a broken leg while wrestlingLioness Asuka. While rehabilitating, Sakai became enamored of American professional wrestling, and resolved to one day wrestle in the United States.
While in Japan, Sakai faced several prominent male Japanese wrestlers, includingDick Togo,The Great Sasuke andJinsei Shinzaki.[9] She furthered her training under Bison Kimura,[10] Cooga[8] and Lioness Asuka.[11]
Sakai wrestled her first match in the United States in 2002. In May 2002, she began a three-month tour of the US, where she feuded withMercedes Martinez inNew England Championship Wrestling.[12] While in the promotion, she and Martinez traded theNew England Championship Wrestling North American Women's Championship, but Sakai was champion when she returned to Japan.[12] In 2003, she left JDStar and relocated to the United States.
On April 17, 2005, Sakai organised "WE LOVE SABU", a pair of shows held at theDiffer Ariake Arena in Tokyo. "WE LOVE SABU" was organised in support ofTerry "Sabu" Brunk, an American wrestler who had been afflicted with a seriousvirus in the summer of 2004, with the proceeds of the show going towards paying Sabu's medical bills. The show featuredFrontier Martial-Arts Wrestling alumni such asMasato Tanaka andExtreme Championship Wrestling alumni such asThe Sandman.[13] Sabu eventually made a complete recovery, returning to the ring on May 21, 2005.[14]
In 2009, Sakai began training with Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Bill Scott. She currently holds a blue belt.
In 2012, Sakai joined Kurt Pellegrino's Mixed Martial Arts Academy in Belmar, NJ to better her BJJ and pursue her MMA career.
On August 9, 2019, Sakai defeated PCW Ultra Woman's ChampionTessa Blanchard for the title.[15]
In January 2024, Sakai was named of the head trainer ofSpark Joshi Puroresu of America'sdojo.[16]
Sakai first appeared inRing of Honor (ROH) in June 2002 and defeatedSimply Luscious in the very first women's match on an ROH card.[17] She returned in December 2003[18] and January 2004, defeatingAlison Danger and losing toAlexis Laree andApril Hunter.[18][19] She returned to ROH on August 20, 2005, losing toLacey atDo or Die 5.[20]
Sakai returned to ROH in 2014 and been performing regularly for ROH since 2015 for itsWomen of Honor division. On September 26, 2015, Sakai facedVeda Scott in a losing effort as part of "Women of Honor Wednesday" program.[21][22] Sakai made her televised debut on the June 26, 2016, episode ofROH TV, where Sakai alongsideMary Dobson and Thunderkitty faced the team ofAllysin Kay,Amber Gallows and Scott in a losing effort.[23] She also had plenty of other matches in the ROH Women of Honor division teaming with talent such asMandy Leon,Deonna Purrazzo, Faye Jackson and facing talent such asTaeler Hendrix and others.[24][25][26][27]
Since 2018, Sakai took part in the tournament to crown the inauguralWomen of Honor Champion, where she won in the first round (atROH 16th Anniversary Show) againstHana Kimura.[28] Sakai became the inaugural Women of Honor champion atSupercard of Honor XII after defeatingKelly Klein.[29][30] During her reign, Sakai was able to retain her title against various competitors such asMadison Rayne[31] andTenille Dashwood.[32][a] AtFinal Battle 2018 Sakai lost the championship to Klein in aFour Corner Survival match which also involved Karen Q and Rayne.[34]
On January 26, 2019, she received her first Women of Honor World Championship match since losing the title, when she challenged Klein, but was unsuccessful.[35] On January 11, 2020, at theSaturday Night at Center Stage, Sakai teamed withNicole Savoy when they facedThe Allure (Angelina Love andMandy Leon) in a losing effort.[36] After the match, Sakai attacked Savoy out of frustration, turningheel in the process.[36] The following day, Sakai defeated Savoy in their second encounter against each other.[37]
With ROH returning after theCOVID-19 pandemic, Sakai made had her first match over a year on May 5, 2021, where she defeated Vita VonStarr, working as a face again.[38][39] On July 7, Sakai received a "Ticket to Gold" to compete at a tournament to crown the inauguralROH Women's World Champion.[40] On July 30, Sakai lost toRok-C at the first round of the tournament.[41]
After her loss to Rok-C in the ROH Women's World title tournament and the company ROH being sold toTony Khan she has not been seen in Ring of Honor.
On January 12, 2025 ROHfemaleveteran /legend Sumie Sakai'sretirement from professional wrestling was officially announced.[42] Her final match was on January 11, 2025 atBattle in the Valley.[43]
| Sumie Sakai | |
|---|---|
| Born | Suzuka, Mie,Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Height | 5 ft 1 in (1.55 m) |
| Weight | 115 lb (52 kg) |
| Division | Strawweight |
| Years active | 2006–2013 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 7 |
| Wins | 2 |
| By submission | 2 |
| Losses | 4 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 1 |
| No contests | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record fromSherdog | |
Sakai made hermixed martial arts debut on October 14, 2006, fighting AmericankickboxerAmy Davis in a bout promoted by Tom Supnet of the "Primal Tribe Fighting Club" as part of theXtreme Fight Series II event. The bout ended in a no contest at the end of the first three-minute long round after Davis suffered an arm injury and was unable to continue as a result of anarmbar applied by Sakai.
| 7 matches | 2 wins | 4 losses |
| By knockout | 0 | 2 |
| By submission | 2 | 1 |
| By decision | 0 | 1 |
| By disqualification | 0 | 0 |
| Draws | 0 | |
| No contests | 1 | |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2–4 | Jamie Lowe | TKO (punches) | Cage Fury Fighting Championships 19 | February 2, 2013 | 3 | 3:32 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Loss | 2–3 | Iman Achhal | TKO (punches) | Ultimate Warrior Challenge 7 | October 3, 2009 | 2 | 2:30 | Fairfax, Virginia, United States | |
| Loss | 2–2 | Jessica Penne | Submission (armbar) | Fatal Femmes Fighting 2 | July 14, 2007 | 3 | 0:33 | Compton, California, United States | |
| Win | 2–1 | Amber McCoy | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Brawl at Bourbon Street | May 25, 2007 | 1 | 0:18 | Illinois, United States | |
| Loss | 1–1 | Jessica Aguilar | Decision (unanimous) | Combat Fighting Championship 3 | February 17, 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Orlando, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Melissa Vasquez | Submission (armbar) | Freestyle Combat Challenge 25 | January 13, 2007 | 1 | N/A | Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States | |
| NC | 0–0 | Amy Davis | NC (confusion over rules) | Xtreme Fight Series 2 | October 14, 2006 | 1 | 3:0 | Boise, Idaho, United States |
