| Yoko Bito | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bito in July 2017 | |
| Birth name | Yoko Arai |
| Born | (1986-12-13)December 13, 1986 (age 38)[1] Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Aloha Bito[2] Yoko Bito |
| Billed height | 170 cm (5 ft 7 in)[1] |
| Billed weight | 62 kg (137 lb)[1] |
| Trained by | Fuka[3] |
| Debut | January 23, 2011 |
| Retired | December 24, 2017 |
Yoko Arai (新井 陽子,Arai Yōko, born December 13, 1986) is a Japanese retiredprofessional wrestler better known by thering nameYoko Bito (美闘 陽子,Bitō Yōko). Bito initially made her in-ring debut in December 2010 forWorld Wonder Ring Stardom and quickly became one of the most popular wrestlers in the promotion, until announcing her retirement from in-ring competition in November 2012. Bito came out of retirement and returned to Stardom in April 2016, and returned to the ring in June of that year, before retiring again in December 2017.
Bito enteredStardom'sprofessional wrestling dojo in 2010 with a background inkarate andhandball. She, along withMayu Iwatani andKairi Hojo was a member of the first graduating class of Stardom's professional wrestling school where she was trained byFuka.[4] She made her debut on December 31, 2010, wrestling Eri Susa to a time limit draw.[5] On January 21, 2011, in the main event of Stardom's first ever show, Bito defeatedYoshiko for her first professional win.[6] Bito made Stardom her home promotion, and in July, she made it to the finals of the tournament to crown the first everWorld of Stardom Champion, where she lost toNanae Takahashi.[7] In November, Bito teamed withYuzuki Aikawa, her main rival, to take part in the tournament to crown the first ever winners of theGoddesses of Stardom Championship. In the final, Bito and Aikawa defeated Yoshiko andNatsuki☆Taiyo to become the inaugural champions.[8] Bito and Aikawa held on to the championships throughout the rest of 2011 and into 2012. In August 2012, Bito challenged Aikawa for theWonder of Stardom Championship, where she was unsuccessful.[9] This would turn out to be Bito's last match before announcing her retirement in November of that year, citing neck and back injuries as her reason and subsequently vacating the Goddesses of Stardom Championship.
After a near four-year absence from professional wrestling, Bito announced her return to the ring in April 2016, and made her official in-ring return on June 16 atKorakuen Hall, losing to Kairi Hojo.[10] In August, Bito took part in the2016 5★Star GP, winning all but one of her matches and tying for first place. On September 11, Bito defeatedKay Lee Ray in a tiebreaker[11] and made it to the final, where she defeatedTessa Blanchard to win the tournament.[12] On October 10, Bito unsuccessfully challengedIo Shirai for theWorld of Stardom Championship.[13] On November 11, Bito teamed with Kairi Hojo to defeat Shirai and Mayu Iwatani in the final of the2016 Goddesses of Stardom Tag League.[14] On December 22, Bito teamed with Kairi Hojo to win the Goddesses of Stardom Championship for the second time in her career, defeatingOedo Tai (Kagetsu andKyoko Kimura).[15] On January 15, Bito and Hojo made their first successful defence against Kay Lee Ray andNixon Newell,[16] but dropped the title toHiroyo Matsumoto andJungle Kyona on March 5.[17]
On September 23, 2017, Bito defeated Mayu Iwatani to win the Wonder of Stardom Championship for the first time.[18] She lost the title to Io Shirai in her third defense on November 19 and afterwards announced she would again retire on December 24.[19]
Bito made a one night coming out of retirement atStardom All Star Dream Cinderella on March 3, 2021, where she competed in a24-women Stardom All Star Rumble featuring various active stars such asUnagi Sayaka,Mina Shirakawa andBea Priestley, and from the past such asChigusa Nagayo,Kyoko Inoue,Mima Shimoda,Yuzuki Aikawa,Emi Sakura,Momoe Nakanishi and others.[20]
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