A clash between Act Yasukawa and Yoshiko in Stardom saw one wrestler left bloodied, battered and with a broken face, causing them to retire while a new company was created to placate the other.
Joshi Puroresu is huge in Japan and has historically been much bigger than women’s wrestling in the United States or Great Britain. Some of the most popular and brilliant wrestlers of all time have been Japanese women.
If you see any new and innovative move anywhere in the world, rest assured that it was probably an event in All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling in the 1990s.
The Stardom promotion is amongst the most popular in Japan, with numerous top stars in AEW and WWE being signed from there. They are known for their excellent in-ring work and characters but have a darker past hiding in the shadows.
The most controversial moment in their history is the Act Yasukawa vs Yoshiki incident from 2014 that changed Stardom forever.
Act Yasukawa Was The Rising Star in Stardom In 2014
Act Yasukawa wasn’t your typical Joshi wrestler. She didn’t fit the mould of a traditional Japanese idol; instead, she brought something completely different to Stardom.
Known for her dramatic “Samurai Pirate” persona, which was inspired by her love for Samurai and blindness in one eye, she had a natural charisma that fans couldn’t help but gravitate toward.
Yasukawa had a tough upbringing, battling illness, and bullying, but that only seemed to fuel her determination to succeed. Her struggles gave her character a raw edge that connected with audiences on a deeper level. She wasn’t just a wrestler; she was someone fans could genuinely root for.
Despite being smaller and less physically imposing than some of her peers, Yasukawa had something special in the ring. She combined storytelling with high-energy performances, which made her stand out in Stardom’s growing roster. Fans adored her for her resilience and the emotion she poured into every match.
Her look, her energy and her marketability seemed to set her on a path straight to the top. In many ways, she was the perfect choice to become the face of Stardom. But not everyone on the roster was happy about that. Yoshiko, Stardom’s powerhouse champion, saw Yasukawa’s rise as a direct threat to her spot at the top.
It’s no secret that pro wrestling is as much about perception as it is about ability, and Yasukawa’s star was clearly on the rise. Her blend of creativity and emotional storytelling was a far cry from the old-school style embodied by Yoshiko. That clash of styles—and personalities—would soon erupt in one of the most infamous moments in Joshi history.
Yoshiko Was An Old-School Monster At The Top Of Her Game
On the other end of the spectrum, you had Yoshiko. She was a much different figure to Act Yasukawa but was a big star in her own right.
She was a good old-fashioned monster, built in the mould of Aja Kong and other powerhouses. Her character, look and in-ring ability were second-to-none and she would not have been out of place in the ring with the All Japan Women.
In fact, she was very close with one legend. Nanae Takahashi took her under her wing as a protégé and helped build up and train the young star. Takahaski was a former AJW and Stardom Champion so her influence in the company was great, which worked in Yoshiko’s favour. She was still a top act in the company by 2015 and even co-founded the promotion, showing just how important she was to the fabric of the promotion.
Yoshiko embodied the spirit of the old-school Joshi and was a true superstar in the ring. Regularly at the top of the card and a World of Stardom Champion, she should have had very little to fear about her place in the card. Few wrestlers had her credentials in the ring, especially as she was part of Stardom’s first class of trainers after their formation in 2010.
Basically, she was very different to Act Yasukawa. She was much more of an old-school fighter compared to her more artistic opponent. There was always room for both on the card but it seemed like the writing was on the wall for who was going to be the top star for the promotion.
Wrestling is a visual sport. Women’s wrestling is even more so. Japanese women’s wrestling even more so than that, and with Yoshiko not embodying the traditional feminine beauty standards she began to worry about her spot at the top of the card.
Act Yasukawa was more traditionally attractive while also being incredibly popular. The writing seemed to be on the wall that she would become the new top star of Stardom and take Yoshiko’s spot at the top of the card.
Yoshiko Brutally Attacked Act Yasukawa During A Match In Stardom
At Stardom Queen’s Shout in 2015 Act Yasukawa was set to battle against World of Stardom Champion Yoshiko. While she was a rising star in Stardom this title shot came slightly suddenly and fans had very little reason to expect her to win the match and the title for the first time.
However, they never could have expected what would happen in the bout. The match kicked off in a very tense manner. The two women stared each other down either side of the ring before Yakasuwa began to move towards the champion.
Unnervingly, Yoshiko held her gaze and did not move a muscle. There was real anger in her eyes and she looked as if she was waiting for her opponent to do something before exploding in a fiery rage.
Act Yakasuwa hit two punches on Yoshiko, the second of which hit her square in the face. This was the queue she was looking for and quickly began to unleash her fury towards her smaller opponent.
Yoshiko got her into a headlock before landing punch after punch into the unprotected head of Yakasuwa. Fist reigned down on her as any attempt to block them or get up and out of harm’s way was foiled by her immense weight and strength.
Once the referee managed to separate the two, the damage became clear. Something was seriously wrong as blood covered Yakasuwa’s face, completely erasing the red face paint she had applied for the match. After getting cleaned up in the corner he allowed the match to continue, although it didn’t go much better for the challenger.
Act Yakasuwa hit a flurry of shots and kicks but faced even more pummeling fists for her troubles. Toshiako grabbed her leg in midair before taking her down. She faced more punches and was thrown around the ring by her larger opponent before managing to roll out of the ring for some respite.
Her face was a mess. Swollen and covered in blood, it was clear that it was damaged. However, the true extent of the damage wasn’t known until after the fact so the referee shockingly allowed the match to continue.
It wasn’t until Kyoko Kimura (the mother of Hana Kimura) threw in the towel for Yakasuwa that the match was called off. It was eight minutes of brutality but the effects would be felt for years. Yoshiako was handed her title while her opponent was carted off to hospital.
Act Yakasuwa suffered from numerous injuries to her face. She was already blind in one eye, so the addition of fractured cheek, nasal and orbital bones, which would require surgery, was not a welcome addition for the Samurai Pirate.
The match was one of Stardom’s worst and the Act Yakasuwa Yoshiko incident would go down in infamy.
Why Did the Stardom Incident Happen? Controversy and Speculation
Despite the horrendous nature of the “Ghastly Match”, nobody has ever come out and confirmed why it turned so violent. However, based on the history of both women and the promotion we can offer an explanation why everything went so badly.
It would seem that years of tension on Yoshiko’s part was being released during that match. The brutal assault was likely born from the resentment of Yasukawa’s rise to the top, potentially at her expense.
Given the two wrestler’s differences, with one as a creative artist and the other as an old-school fighter following the Joshi traditions, there was always going to be a clash between the two personalities. The pushing of Yasukawa may have signalled a change in the company that Yoshiko simply would not have been able to keep up with.
Another reason was the culture perpetuated by her mentor Nanae Takahashi. She was a part of AJW during the 1990s which had a reputation for violence as punishment behind the scenes.
Nanae Takahashi was a mentor to Yoshiko.
She even did a similar beatdown to Yoshiko during a match against Kairi Sane a year before. If her mentor did it in the ring then why would Yoshiko think it to be over the line?
They had a much different view together on what wrestling should be and that did not include people like Act Yakusawa in the main event and saw this kind of beatdown as a suitable punishment.
Punishment for what? Well, some Yoshiko apologists would claim that the broken face was justified due to Act Yaskusawa hitting her with a stiff punch early in the match. Some alleged that Yoshiko snapped after being hit too hard and decided to pound her in the face as revenge.
It is true that Yakusawa did get two punches in on Yoshiko at the start of the match. The first hit her neatly in the collarbone with the second making contact with her face. In a usual match, this would be countered with a stiff punch back as a “receipt” but it is clear Yoshiko went way, way too far with her retaliation.
It is unlikely this whole thing was over a single punch. It may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back but a beatdown this brutal is years in the making from a wrestler who does not see the way wrestling had become in the 2010s.
The Aftermath: Act Yasukawa’s Injuries and Retirement
The reaction to the Act Yusakawa Yoshiko incident in Japan was interesting. While Yoshiko was rightly derided and vilified across the wider wrestling world, in her home country more nuance was added to the situation.
It was largely viewed as being wrong but something Yusakawa had coming. Based on the punches she gave Yoshiko at the start of the match they viewed the beating as somebody who simply got into a fight and came out second best, or a bully picking on a bigger victim and facing the consequences.
Following the match, both women retired from wrestling. Yusukawa was forced to hang up her boots due to the injuries she sustained while Yoshiko publicly apologised while being stripped of her World of Stardome Championship. She retired soon afterwards and was hugely apologetic to her opponent.
Act Yusakawa has largely moved on from the event and no longer wants to be remembered for the assault she suffered at the hands of Yoshiko. She even returned to the ring in 2021 and continues to wrestle until today.
Stardom made some big changes too. The president, general manager, and head trainer took pay cuts while the referee who failed to stop the match was fired. Stardom also began employing ringside doctors and prohibited closed-fisted punches to the face in order to make it a safer environment for the wrestlers.
Following the incident, Nanae Takahashi left Stardom. She formed her own promotion, SEAdLINNNG and recruited the freshly un-retired Toshiako has her top star. The pair main evented the first show, showing her opinion on what her protegee did in that controversial Stardom match.
