Who Are COLOR’S?
Who Are COLOR’S?
By: Jeff Brown
There has been an influx of freelance groups in the world of joshi over the past few years. Prominence, NOMADS, and GPU COLOR’S (Girls Pro-Wrestling Unit COLOR’S) are some of the more active units today. COLOR’S is how many abbreviate the group name, as it can be directly traced back to Actwres girl’Z, as each member broke off with the shutdown of AWG in 2021. The name comes from the AWG sub-promotion COLOR’S that ran from 2018–2021 and is a continuation of the adventurous and fun experience.
During the pandemic, COLOR’S branded AWG shows were a much-needed injection of happiness and good times. For the fans tuning in at home, their sombre and tense days had a few hours of levity and bright kaleidoscopic hues as SAKI and the rest of the AWG COLOR’S crew brought a fun party atmosphere, which was a mental life raft and the light at the end of the tunnel. Each wrestler freelances across multiple promotions but comes together for COLOR’S branded shows, usually titled “Yes, My Way.” These shows also feature many AWG alumni, such as Tae Honma, Momo Tani, Kakeru Sekiguchi, Riko Kawahata, Miyuki Takase, and Maika Ozaki.
SAKI – Debut: 12/29/2012
SAKI started her career near the end of 2012 for Ladies Legend Pro Wrestling-X (LLPW) along with TJPW’s Mizuki. Beyond wrestling, she was a member of an idol group alongside Mizuki. Additionally, the Tiger Mask W characters Milk and Mint were modeled after Mizuki and SAKI. Over the next several years, both would do shows with Gatoh Move, Pro Wrestling Wave, JWP, GPS, SEAdlinnng, REINA and Wrestle-1. SAKI is the founder and de facto leader of the COLOR’S brand, which she created under the Actwres girl’Z banner. She calls herself “Kawild,” which is a combination of cute and wild, which is the most apt description of herself and the COLOR’S brand in general. SAKI was the rare exception to having to be an actress or part of some form of entertainment to be a member of the AWG roster. SAKI can be a vicious wrestler capable of dramatic blood feuds and wild brawls. She loves booting her opponent in the face and hitting the Kawildbuster, a running brainbuster.
On April 4, 2021, at Korakuen Hall, she ended the monstrous 515-day reign of Miyuki Takase and kept the AWG Championship until the shutdown of AWG and thus the COLOR’S and Beginning sub-promotions. She has since stated that she knew that COLOR’S and the old AWG were going away at the end of 2021 prior to her title victory, but it was never evident to fans.
SAKI has numerous titles in her career, including the AWG Championship, which she retired; COLOR’S title twice, which she retired from AWG, taking with her on her freelance journey; 3x Asia Dream Tag Champion, once with Mizuki and twice with Yuna Mizumori as Tropikawild; two-time Wave Tag Team Champion; International Ribbon Tag Champion as galaxyPunch!; and Daily Sports Tag Team Champion with Rydeen Hagane. She holds the distinction of being in the first AWG-branded main event against Saori Anou for the AWG Championship at Korakuen Hall. With GPU COLOR’S, she is now seemingly on every wrestling card in Japan, from COLOR’S branded shows, Diana, Ice Ribbon, Stardom, YMZ, Pro-Wrestling Wave, ChocoPro, Spark Joshi, and TJPW.
Rina Amikura – Debut: 05/13/2018
Rina Amikura hits the audience and her opponents right out of the gate with her loud “Yoroshiku onegaishimasu” handshake. She uses her size to her advantage with splashes and sentons, and she screams while doing her falling press. She will perform under the name Amin (stylized as A~min) on certain shows or even under a mask as a Yuna Manase substitute. She is a 5-year veteran that debuted during the AgZ era of Actwres girl’Z. As A~min, she was a member of KISSmeT PRINCESS, an idol group/wrestling trio with Nao Ishikawa and Misa Kagura in Ice Ribbon. They released a CD that featured their entrance theme “Are You Princess?” along with Ishikawa’s own theme “Unlock”. She also has her own fun entrance theme, “NEVER FORGEEEEEEEEEET” with the incredible sustained “forget” in the introduction.
Since going freelance, she has begun teaming with Yuki Miyazaki of WAVE, and even recently, during a WAVE match, she bled, expanding her horizons and taking a slightly new path for her character. Miyazaki could be a template for a new direction since she also does comedy but delves into hardcore matches that can get serious. Amikura has held the COLOR’S championship but relinquished it due to injury. Amikura is active in numerous promotions, including Ice Ribbon, Pro Wrestling WAVE, Diana, PURE-J, GanPro, Marvelous, YMZ, and Stardom.
Yuko Sakurai – Debut: 11/15/2018
Yuko Sakurai’s debut was in a four-way match that also included the debuts of Ayumi Hayashi and Misa Matsui. She was part of the transition from the AgZ era to AWG right before the start of AWG COLOR’S and Beginning, and the Korakuen Hall show where she debuted is considered a sea change for the company. Sakurai has a lot of strength, which she displays with her delayed bodyslam.
She has really shined in Ice Ribbon, teaming with Asahi (no pun intended), and in ChocoPro, she feels larger than life, showing the potential she has. Sakurai has yet to hold a title, but she is always a fan-favorite on whatever card she is a part of. She performs at Pro Wrestling WAVE, Ice Ribbon, Diana, and Stardom.
Hikari Shimizu – Debut: 03/05/2017
Hikari Shimizu had her first match against Tam Nakano at AgZ Act 16. Her style is a quick technical flurry that is heavy with kicks. Shimizu had an unbelievable run of matches in 2019 prior to getting injured and being out until the summer of 2020. Shimizu faced Hiroyo Matsumoto, Nanae Takahashi, Reika Saiki, Yoshiko, and even Hana Kimura. She is the one who created the COLOR’S Championship, essentially bright lettering on a cardboard layout that grew into what is now the Lion’s Head Belt. These matches are always fun, kind of embody Shimizu and COLOR’S in general, and are an extension of their party ethos, with fans voting on the stipulations and thus being active participants at COLOR’S events.
Shimizu has a tag team with SAKI known as “galaxyPunch!” with the duo holding the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship and WAVE Tag Team Championship twice. She likely got on many people’s radar with her High-Speed Title challenge against AZM at Stardom Dream Queendom 2022. Besides Stardom, Shimizu can be seen at Marvelous, Ice Ribbon, OZ Academy, CMLL, Pro Wrestling WAVE, Secret Base, and Diana, amongst others.
COLOR’S Championship
An unofficial title in AWG but a symbol and part of the spirit of COLOR’S, it was made by Hikari Shimizu and looked like an elementary school project. The title, when held by Mii, fittingly had a teddy bear head and then became the Lion Head title during SAKI’s staggering 425-day reign. The matches are wrestled under fan-voted rules, so they can be quite chaotic and nonsensical. The poll for the recent Momo Tani vs. A~min match was a tie, so they’re holding it under both sets of rules.
