is a Japanese

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

better known by her ring name . She currently makes appearances on the Japanese independent circuit and for Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling (TJPW). She is the founder of the Arsion all-women

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event. Within ...

and has won several championships in both singles and tag-team divisions throughout her career, primarily while with

All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling , nicknamed Zenjo (全女: 全 meaning "All", 女 meaning "Woman") was a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established in 1968 by Takashi Matsunaga and his brothers. The group held the ...

Early life

Born Erika Shishido, her mother is Japanese and her father, the late Henry Manigault, was an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

who was a member of the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

at Tachikawa Airfield. Although her parents were de facto married, they were forced to divorce when Erika was five years old, due to her father's sudden

repatriation Repatriation is the return of a thing or person to its or their country of origin, respectively. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as the return of mi ...

, and grew up in a single-mother family. Her mother was ostracized by all her relatives who did not like her relationship with Erika's father. Erika and her mother moved from

Tachikawa file:Autumn colors in Showa memorial park.jpg, 250px, Showa Memorial Park is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western Tokyo, western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 184,383 in 93,428 househ ...

Akishima, Tokyo is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western Tokyo, western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 113,542, and a population density of 6500 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geograp ...

when Erika was in the 5th grade of elementary school. Erika started learning

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

at the recommendation of her mother from elementary school. Erika was teased for her " mixed blood" and had fights almost daily, and she continued to suffer from serious

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...

up until she graduated from junior high school. She was part of the

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

club in her junior high school.

Professional wrestling career

All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (1986–2005)

Shishido was trained by

(AJW) and graduated as part of their class of 1986. She made her debut that summer against Noriyo Toyoda. She immediately joined Dump Matsumoto's

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

Gokuaku Domei ("Atrocious Alliance"), along with classmate and tag team partner Nobuko Kimura. After the stable dissolved in 1988 due to Matsumoto's retirement, Shishido and Kimura went their separate ways, but re-formed in 1990 as Jungle Jack. Now called Aja Kong and Bison Kimura, they entered a two-year feud against their former allies

Bull Nakano is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and professional golfer better known as . She began competing in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) as a teenager under the ring name Bull Nakano. As a wrestler she was a villain, who often team ...

and her heel stable Gokumon-to. During their partnership they won the WWWA World Tag Team Championship twice. They lost a hair versus hair match on January 11, 1991, resulting in both women being shaved bald. Kong herself also pursued Nakano for the WWWA World Single Championship during the early 1990s. She failed in several attempts before finally achieving her goal on November 15, 1992, ending Nakano's three-year reign.

World Wrestling Federation (1995)

In 1995, Kong made an appearance in the American World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as the sole survivor of a women's elimination match at the pay-per-view

Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...

by pinning all 4 members of her opposing team, including WWF Women's Champion,

Alundra Blayze Debrah Ann Miceli (born February 9, 1963), better known as Madusa, is an American monster truck driver and retired professional wrestler. She is currently signed to National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as a producer. In professional wrestling M ...

. Kong also appeared on two episodes of ''

Monday Night Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Netflix. The show features character ...

'' and was victorious in both bouts. During one bout, she broke the nose of Chaparita Asari. Kong was being built up as a challenger for the WWF Women's Championship held by Alundra Blayze. Kong was scheduled to face Blayze at the

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...

pay-per-view in January 1996, but the company elected to end its women's division after Alundra Blayze showed up on ''WCW Monday Nitro'' with the WWF Women's championship and threw the belt into a garbage can.

Arsion (1997–2004)

In 1997, Kong left AJW and started the independent promotion Hyper Visual Fighting Arsion (usually referred to as simply Arsion). She led the organization until February 12, 2001, when she walked out of a tag team match and announced she was quitting.

Freelance in Japan (2004–present)

On April 30, 2004 at the joshi promotion Gaea Japan's event ''Limit Break'', Kong wrestled

Amazing Kong Kia Michelle Stevens (born September 4, 1977) is an American actress and semi-retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with TNA Wrestling under the ring name Awesome Kong. She also worked with Ring ...

in the latter's Japanese debut. Later in the night, the duo formed a tag team called W Kong. The duo defeated Chigusa Nagayo and

Lioness Asuka is a Japanese retired professional wrestler better known by her ring name . She was one half of the Crush Gals professional wrestling tag team, along with Chigusa Nagayo, who are known for their mainstream popularity in the 1980s, and for be ...

for the

AAAW Tag Team Championship The AAAW Tag Team Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship formerly contested in the Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion Gaea Japan. The title which was originally known as the AAAW Junior Heavyweight Tag Team C ...

on May 5. The team defended the championship all summer, eventually losing to Manami Toyota and Carlos Amano on September 20. They also held tag team championships in Japanese women's promotions AJW and Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling. On June 6, 2006, wrestling as Erika and Margaret, the team defeated

Wataru Sakata is a Japanese people, Japanese retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor from 1994 until 2016, Sakata fought for Fighting Network RINGS, Pride FC, Deep (mixed martial arts), Deep a ...

and Ryoji Sai for the Hustle Super Tag Team Championship. They lost the titles on October 9, 2006 to American tag team Bubba Ray and Devon in a three-way match which also included the team of Sodom and Gamora. On August 26, 2015, Kong reformed the W Kong tag team with Amazing Kong. Kong also wrestled for Mayumi Ozaki's promotion, Oz Academy where she is affiliated with the Jungle Jack 21 stable. She has also held the promotion's championship.

Freelance in the United States (2011–2012, 2017–2019)

In December 2011, Kong took part in American promotion Chikara's ''JoshiMania'' weekend, losing to Sara Del Rey in the main event of night one on December 2. The following day, Kong defeated Ayako Hamada in the main event. On the third and final night of the tour, Kong teamed with Mio Shirai and Tsubasa Kuragaki to defeat Hanako Nakamori, Manami Toyota and Sawako Shimono in a six-woman tag team match. Kong returned to the United States on April 11, 2015, working for

Shimmer Women Athletes Shimmer Women Athletes (often referred to and stylized as SHIMMER) was an American, Chicago-based independent women's professional wrestling promotion which held its first event on November 6, 2005. Established by Dave Prazak and run by both ...

. Kong was brought in as a surprise to take part in Tomoka Nakagawa's retirement event. On November 11, 2017, Kong returned to

joining the Trifecta heel stable with

Mercedes Martinez Jazmin Benitez (born November 17, 1980) is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Mercedes Martinez. She also appears for AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH), where she is a former ROH W ...

and Nicole Savoy to replace the recently departed (for WWE)

Shayna Baszler Shayna Andrea Baszler ( ; born August 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and a former kickboxer and mixed martial artist. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she became a former List of NXT Women's Champions, two-time and lon ...

and appeared in matches the following night as well.

All Elite Wrestling (2019, 2021)

On May 25, 2019, Kong made her

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...

(AEW) debut, as she teamed with Emi Sakura and

Yuka Sakazaki is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). She is known for her tenure with Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, where she is a three-time Princess of Princess Champion, and a record-tying four-time Princess Tag Team ...

where they unsuccessfully challenged the team of Hikaru Shida, Riho, and

Ryo Mizunami , better known by her ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler and Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. She is best known for her time in Pro Wrestling Wave. She is also known for her appearances in other Japanese promotions such as B ...

. In February 2021, Kong was announced as a participant in a tournament for the AEW Women's World Championship as part of the Japanese bracket. Kong made it to the semi-finals, where she lost to Mizunami after being counted out.

Personal life

Shishido's mother is Japanese and her father, who served in the military, is African American. Shishido has a half brother and sister via her father. She also has 2 nieces and 2 great nieces.

Championships and accomplishments

** AJW Championship ( 1 time) **

AJW Tag Team Championship The AJW Tag Team Championship was the secondary tag team championship (professional wrestling), title in the Professional wrestling in Japan, Japanese professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestl ...

( 1 time) – with Naboko Kimura ** All Pacific Championship ( 1 time) ** WWWA World Single Championship ( 2 times) ** WWWA World Tag Team Championship ( 4 times) – with

(1), Bison Kimura (2) and Grizzly Iwamoto (1) ** Japan Grand Prix (

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

) ** Tag League the Best (

) – with Kyoko Inoue ** AJW Hall of Fame (1998) * Arsion ** Queen of Arsion Championship ( 1 time) ** Twin Star of Arsion Championship ( 1 time) – with Mariko Yoshida *

Dramatic Dream Team is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name is an initialism of Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's original name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was even ...

** KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Danshoku Dino and Makoto Oishi ** Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship ( 3 times) * GAEA Japan ** AAAW Single Championship ( 3 times) **

( 3 times) – with Mayumi Ozaki (1), Devil Masami (1), and Amazing Kong (1) * HUSTLE ** HUSTLE Super Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Margaret *

JWP Joshi Puroresu , also known as or simply JWP, was a Japanese ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion, founded in 1992 as a splinter promotion of Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. Celebrating its 25th anniversa ...

** JWP Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Sachie Abe * Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling ** LLPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Amazing Kong * Oz Academy ** Oz Academy Openweight Championship ( 3 times) ** Oz Academy Tag Team Championship ( 4 times) – with Hikaru Shida (1), Hiroyo Matsumoto (1), Kaoru Ito (1) and Sonoko Kato (1) ** Oz Academy Openweight Championship Tournament (2007) ** Best Wizard Award (5 times) *** Best Bout Award (2011) vs. Mayumi Ozaki on April 10 *** Best Bout Award (2018) *** Best Singles Match Award (2012) vs. Ran Yu-Yu on October 14 *** Best Tag Team Match Award (2012) with Sonoko Kato vs. Akino and Ayumi Kurihara on August 19 *** MVP Award (2010) * Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling ** Sendai Girls World Championship ( 1 time) * Super Fireworks Pro Wrestling/

Pro Wrestling Zero1 , often referred to simply as Zero1 and sometimes referred to as Pro Wrestling Zero1 Catch as Catch Can (stylized as ZERO1 and PRO WRESTLING ZERO1 CATCH AS CATCH CAN, respectively), is a Professional wrestling in Japan, Japanese professional wre ...

** Blast Queen Championship ( 1 time, current) * World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana ** WWWD World Championship ( 1 time) * '' Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards'' **

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Mel ...

( Class of 2006)

References

External links

*
Oz Academy profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kong, Aja 1970 births Living people Japanese female professional wrestlers Japanese people of African-American descent People from Tachikawa Professional wrestling promoters School bullying 20th-century female professional wrestlers 20th-century Japanese professional wrestlers 21st-century female professional wrestlers 21st-century Japanese professional wrestlers Oz Academy Openweight Champions Oz Academy Tag Team Champions Ironman Heavymetalweight Champions KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions AAAW Single Champions AAAW Tag Team Champions Daily Sports Women's Tag Team Champions JWP Tag Team Champions World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana World Champions All Pacific Champions AJW Champions WWWA World Tag Team Champions Tag League the Best winners Japan Grand Prix winners WWWA World Single Champions AJW Tag Team Champions Queen of Arsion Champions Twin Star of Arsion Champions Sendai Girls World Champions