Kitsune Wrestling Expands into Tokyo with November Showcase

SoCal based joshi puroresu league goes international with champ Unagi Sayaka headlining at Shin-Kiba 1st RING

By: James Carlin

After running a wildly successful debut show in California that was praised by fans, both at the venue and online, Kitsune Women’s Wrestling’s second show is slated to take place at Shin-Kiba 1st RING on November 29th.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I could put on a show in Japan,” promoter Eric Howard told MP in a recent interview. “Chigusa Nagayo has been so instrumental in assisting Kitsune get off the ground. She 100% helped me with this show in Japan.”

The main event of the Kitsune’s first outing, GONG!, saw Unagi Sayaka defeat Tae Honma and Dark Sheik in a three-way contest to become the first Kitsune World Champion, and since then the Kabukimono has been prominently wearing the title around her waist whenever she makes appearances back home.

“Unagi has put Kitsune Wrestling on the map in Japan. She has proudly worn the championship belt at several shows.”

我らがチャンプ⑦
Our champ！#KitsuneWorldChampion#ウナギ・サヤカ#UnagiSayaka@PWKitsune pic.twitter.com/iNU4R17Lw9

— ねぎ太郎🐯🦊🦖 (@v9_w4) November 7, 2023

Kitsune running its second ever show in Japan at Shin-Kiba 1st RING is an ambitious leap for the promotion, but it wouldn’t be the first time that a new company has run notable venues in the country. DEADLOCK Pro-Wrestling previously ran two shows at Shin-Kiba 1st RING in collaboration with Gatoh Move, and STARDOM begun to run the legendary Korakuen Hall after just six months of shows back in 2011, far exceeding expectations of the time.

“I hope there will be interest in a Kitsune show in Japan. You never really know until you do it,” Howard said. “In the future, I would love to bring Western wrestlers to Japan. I would love to create a consistent exchange of wrestlers from east to west and west to east.”

With a new joshi boom hitting the United States similarly to that of Mexican wrestlers pre-pandemic, it will be interesting to see how the Los Angeles based company will fare in new territory – and if the past with DPW and GCW is any indicator, it looks to be another bullseye for Kitsune.

Q&A with Unagi Sayaka, on freedom in wrestling and going abroad