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 ...

, actress, and singer affiliated with

Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling is a Japanese joshi puroresu or women's professional wrestling, women's professional wrestling promotion founded in 2012 as a sister promotion of DDT Pro-Wrestling. Initially running alongside other shows such as live music and other Japanese id ...

, where she is a former 2-time International Princess Champion and former 2-time Princess Tag Team Champion, both times alongside

Miyu Yamashita is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is signed to Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling. Yamashita was trained by DDT Pro Wrestling's Kyohei Mikami, and made her debut in August 2013 as one of the first members of DDT's all female Tokyo Joshi Pro sis ...

. She initially debuted as a member of the idol group

LinQ LinQ (pronounced "link") is a Japanese girl group. Their name stands for "Love in Qshu", in reference to their hometown of Fukuoka, on the island of Kyushu. Members The members were formerly divided into two groups, Qty and Lady. Current *Yuumi ...

, and she is, currently, a member of the idol group . She also makes appearances for American based wrestling promotions

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) and

Game Changer Wrestling Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), formerly known as Jersey Championship Wrestling (JCW), is an American Independent circuit, independent professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in New Jersey. The promotion was original ...

(GCW).

Early life

Itoh was born in Ogōri,

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...

on July 22, 1995. She lived a rural lifestyle during her childhood. She was often bullied at her junior high school. She could not attend high school because she failed the entrance exams. She became interested in idol culture after learning that her crush liked

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol musical girl group named after the Akihabara area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48 has sold more records than any other female musical act in Japanese history. AK ...

member

Yuki Kashiwagi is a Japanese singer. She was a member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48, NMB48 and NGT48. She auditioned for AKB48 on December 3, 2006, and was a member of AKB48's Team B. She was previously the captain of Team B before she was replaced ...

Music career

Itoh made her debut in show business as part of the second generation of LinQ members, officially joining the group on February 11, 2012. She was placed in the group's Qty team. As a LinQ member, her first experience with professional wrestling was in 2013, when she was invited by president Sanshiro Takagi to participate in an "Idol Lumberjack 4 Way Match" at a

DDT Pro-Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, 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 p ...

show in Ryogoku Kokugikan. In the same year, she played a supporting role in the two-part

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

''ADA''. In 2014 she was selected as a finalist in the

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

alternative beauty pageant,

Miss iD is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Young Magazine'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'', ...

, and although she was not selected for the main prize, she received a special prize given to her personally by television producer Nobuyuki Sakuma. Her participation in Miss iD led to her being featured on the song "Heisei Shibou Yuugi" by the band

Urbangarde ** is a Japanese band active since 2002. Based in Tokyo, the current lineup consists of Hamasaki Yoko, also known as Yokotan (vocals), Matsunaga Temma, also known as Tenma (vocals) and Okubo Kei (keyboards). Former members include guitarist Zeze ...

. In the same year, she also participated in the 6th anniversary show of

Kyushu Pro-Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Fukuoka, the largest city on the Japanese island of Kyushu. The promotion was founded in late 2007 by Kaientai Dojo alumnus Ryota Chikuzen, and officially launched on July 6, 2008. A notabl ...

, "Kinniku Yamakasa '14", where she was the official

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

for Gabai-jichan. In 2015, Itoh played a role in the

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

''Obakeyashiki Retsuden: Senritsu Meikyuu MAX'' alongside fellow LinQ members Yusa Sugimoto and Kana Fukuyama. She also played a main role in the short film ''Inochi no Tokei'', written and soundtracked by LinQ member Manami Sakura and featuring a cast made exclusively of the group's members. She appeared on the

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...

''God Tongue'' in June, drawing attention from the show's hosts due to the size of her head. In 2016, Itoh played herself in the film , a fictional movie based on LinQ and featuring the group's songs. LinQ were signed to the major label

Avex Avex Inc. ( kabushiki gaisha , commonly known as Avex and stylized as avex) is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi ...

later that year. In August she appeared on

Masahiro Nakai is a Japanese former television personality, actor, radio personality, and singer. He debuted as the leader of the boy band SMAP, which had been the best-selling boy band in Asia. While working as a member of a boy band, he worked extensively as ...

's talk show ''Nakai no Mado'', in a special episode featuring "people with unfortunate faces". In 2017, it was announced that the lineup of LinQ would be rearranged, and that a number of members would leave the group. Those members who were removed from LinQ would be featured in a new group focused on musical theater, but only if LinQ could sell 1,000 tickets to concerts held in Tokyo's

Nakano Sun Plaza , formerly Nakano Sun Plaza, was a Japanese concert hall and hotel complex located in Nakano, Tokyo. It opened in 1973 and closed in 2023. A 262-meter-tall skyscraper is scheduled to be completed on the site in 2028. Notable events Numerous mus ...

and the Fukuoka Civic Hall. Itoh personally performed wrestling and music on the streets in order to sell the tickets and promote the group, and they succeeded in meeting the requirements. However, on June 19, 2017, Itoh was removed from the group's lineup along with 6 other members, who were moved into the "entertainment group" Tokiwoikiru. Her response to being dismissed caused "Maki Itoh" to become the #1

Twitter trend X, commonly called under the former name Twitter, is an American microblogging and social networking service on which users post and interact with messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like and retweet tweets, and read those that ...

in Japan at the time. After her removal from LinQ, Itoh turned her wrestling tag team with regular partner Mizuki, , into an idol group. The pair released their first CD single, "Setsunairo", on January 4, 2018. Upon successfully selling 400 CDs, a music video was produced for the title track. The group appeared together on internet variety show ''The Night'' with host

Mari Yaguchi is a Japanese singer, actress, and television personality. She joined the girl group Morning Musume in 1998 as a second generation member and was the leader of subgroups within Hello! Project, such as Mini-Moni, Morning Musume Sakuragumi, and ZY ...

, where they performed "Setsunairo" and demonstrated wrestling moves live in the studio. Itoh performed her first show as a solo idol at ''Tokyo Idol Festival 2018: Other Recommend Live'', a battle of the bands-style concert where idols nominated by judges compete for a spot at the prestigious ''Tokyo Idol Festival'' main event. Nominated by writer Go Yoshida, Itoh performed "Setsunairo" twice, along with an impromptu a cappella cover of "nerve" by BiS. Although she did not make it through as a musical performer, she later appeared as a part of the ''DDT Street Wrestling'' show held at the festival. On July 22, 2019, Itoh released the

digital single In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

"Brooklyn The Hole", a solo recording of a song originally performed by Tokiwoikiru, which she currently uses as her wrestling entrance theme.

Professional wrestling career

DDT Pro-Wrestling appearances (2013–2016)

From 2013 to 2016, Itoh made sporadic appearances at

shows. On December 15, 2013, at the ''World Third Total Hakata'' event, she teamed with

Danshoku Dino , better known by his ring name , also spelled Danshoku Dieno, is a Japanese professional wrestler. Dino has spent most of his career competing for DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT), where he plays an overly exaggerated homosexual character. His ring name ...

and

Makoto Oishi is a Japanese professional wrestler working for Dramatic Dream Team (DDT). Oishi started his career in Kaientai Dojo, where he became a Strongest-K Tag Team, Independent World Junior Heavyweight and UWA World Middleweight Champion, at one ti ...

in a two-on-three handicap match, where they defeated

Sanshiro Takagi , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler and promoter who works for the Japanese wrestling promotion CyberFight, where he serves as executive vice president. He is one of the founding members and current chairman of ...

and

Toru Owashi is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name . He is best known for his work in DDT Pro-Wrestling, where he is a former KO-D Openweight Champion and two-time KO-D Tag Team Champion. Sumo career Initially aspiring to b ...

. On December 13, 2015, at ''Super Star Lanes 2015'', Itoh took part in a

battle royal Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...

for the

Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion CyberFight in its DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT) brand. Open to anyone, regardless of gender or DDT employment status, the championship is defended "24/7", as in ...

, where she was the first eliminated.

Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling (2016–present)

On December 11, 2016, at the

event ''Road to SUPER SAND-Dramatic Dream Tonkotsu-'' in Fukuoka Hakata Star Lane, Itoh made her official DDT debut, where she was defeated by

. On January 4, 2017, Itoh officially joined

. On March 13, 2017, at ''At This Time, Get Excited In Nerima!'' Itoh was defeated by Mil Clown in a three-way match also featuring Maho Kurone. After her dismissal from the idol group LinQ, Itoh stopped using the group's song "Calorie Nante" as her entrance theme, instead choosing to perform an on-the-spot

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

version of the

Noriyuki Makihara , nicknamed by his fans, is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter. He has sold a total of 21 million copies in Japan alone. Biography Makihara was born on 18 May 1969 in Takatsuki, Osaka, Japan. He attended Aoyama Gakuin University to study Engl ...

song "Mou Koi Nante Shinai". This continued until the beginning of October 2017, when she began entering to "Setsunairo" by Tokiwoikiru. In July, Itoh participated in the

Tokyo Princess Cup is an annual single-elimination tournament created and promoted by the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling (TJPW). The event has been held since 2014 and would later become available as an internet pay-per-view on ...

held at Shinjuku Mura Studio. In the first round, she fought against

Shoko Nakajima is a Japanese female professional wrestler, who wrestles for Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling (TJPW), where she is a former two-time Princess of Princess Champion both inaugural and current Tokyo Princess Tag Team Champion, first reign with Yuka Sak ...

, but was eliminated. Itoh made her US debut at DDT Coming to America where she wrestled Miyu Yamashita. The next day she appeared at ''Joey Ryan's Penis Party'' event organized by Joey Ryan where she fought in a multi-man match for the

, but was defeated by the champion Yoshihiko. On October 2, 2018, at ''YES! Wonderland 2018'', Itoh would face future AEW Women's World Champion and wrestling prodigy

Riho is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). She is a former AEW Women's World Champion. She was trained by Emi Sakura and debuted for her Ice Ribbon promotion in May 2006, at the age of 9. She would work for th ...

- losing by double knee strike. On October 10, 2019, Itoh would win her first title winning the TJPW

International Princess Championship The is a women's professional wrestling championship owned by the CyberFight and promoted by Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling (TJPW). The title was introduced on July 16, 2019, and the inaugural champion was crowned on August 25, 2019, when Natsumi Mak ...

at ''My life; let's enjoy!!'', defeating

Yuna Manase , better know by her ring name , is a Japanese people, Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese professional wrestling promotion, promotion Tokyo Joshi Pro W ...

by reversing a pin into the Itoh Special (Texas Cloverleaf). In 2019, Itoh's long-standing tag team with her partner Mizuki, Itoh Respect Army, was officially disbanded after a singles match between the two. Itoh later recruited British wrestler

Chris Brookes Chris Brookes (born 24 August 1991) is an English professional wrestler signed to DDT Pro-Wrestling, where he is the current KO-D Openweight Champion, in his second reign. He has also been a two-time DDT Universal Champion. Career Progres ...

to replace Mizuki, renaming the team to NEO Itoh Respect Army. After leaving his tour of Japan and returning to the United Kingdom, Brookes continued to represent the NEO Itoh Respect Army by wearing the team's official T-shirt and using Itoh's trademark ''kokeshi'' headbutt during shows. Itoh and Brookes had their first match as a tag team on November 3 at DDT's

Ultimate Party 2019 was a professional wrestling event promoted by DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). The event took place on November 3, 2019, in Tokyo at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan. It was the first event under the Ultimate Party chronology. The event featured fourteen matches ...

, where they also teamed up with Bakuretsu Sisters (

Nodoka Tenma also known as Nodoka-Oneesan is a retired Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for her time in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion, promotion Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Tokyo J ...

and Yuki Aino) and lost to Nautilus (

Yuki Ueno is a Japanese professional wrestler working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT), he is the former KO-D Openweight Champion (one reign) and former three-time DDT Universal Champion. Professional wrestling ...

and

Naomi Yoshimura is a Japan, Japanese professional wrestler, working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Dramatic Dream Team (DDT). Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2016-present) Yoshimura is known for his matches from the Profess ...

Yukio Naya is a Japanese professional wrestler, working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). He is a former KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Champion and co-holder of the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship. Hailing from a sumo ...

and

Cody Hall Cody Taylor Hall (born May 31, 1991) is a retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a former member of the Bullet Club stable. Hall is a second generation wrestler, as ...

Yukio Sakaguchi is a Japanese former professional mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, actor and judoka. In professional wrestling, he is primarily known for his tenure with DDT Pro-Wrestling, but has fought and competed for All Japan Pro Wrestling, Wor ...

and

Ryota Nakatsu is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for his tenure with the Japanese promotions DDT Pro Wrestling and Pro-Wrestling Basara. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2014–pres ...

Shuichiro Katsumura is a Japanese former mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who currently competes for Ganbare Pro-Wrestling, where he was a Spirit of Ganbare World Openweight Champion and Spirit of Ganbare World Tag Team Champion. He competed in the ...

and

Kouki Iwasaki is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for his time in the Japanese promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling where he is a former KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champion and King of Dark Champion. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2014–p ...

in a Gauntlet tag team match. On January 5, 2019, Itoh would lose the

Thunder Rosa Melissa Cervantes (born July 22, 1986), known by her ring name Thunder Rosa, is a Mexican professional wrestler and Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is a former AEW Women's World Cham ...

, who also defeated Mizuki the day before on TJPW's signature January 4 show. On September 22, 2024, Itoh won the

Princess Tag Team Championship The is a women's professional wrestling world tag team championship promoted by the CyberFight promotion, defended on their Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling (TJPW) brand. The title was introduced on August 12, 2017. The current champions are Kyoraku K ...

with

at Wrestle Princess V by defeating Daisy Monkey ( Arisu Endo and

Suzume is a 2022 Japanese animated coming-of-age fantasy adventure film written and directed by Makoto Shinkai. The film follows 17-year-old high school girl Suzume Iwato and young stranger Souta Munakata, who team up to prevent a series of disaster ...

All Elite Wrestling (2021–2022)

On the February 3, 2021, edition of ''

AEW Dynamite ''AEW Dynamite'', also known as ''Wednesday Night Dynamite'' or simply ''Dynamite'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American Professional wrestling promotion, promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It air ...

'', it was announced that Itoh would be participating in the AEW Women's World Title Eliminator tournament. She lost to

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 the first round which aired on February 15. At

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

, Itoh made a surprise appearance as

Britt Baker Brittany Ann Baker (born April 23, 1991) is an American professional wrestler and dentist. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling—where she performs under the ring name Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. and is a former AEW Women's World Championship, AEW W ...

's mystery partner, replacing

Rebel A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; ...

. They were victorious over

and

. Itoh appeared on the first episode of the web series '' AEW Dark: Elevation'' where she lost to

in the main event. On the May 18, 2022, episode of ''Dynamite'', she was revealed to be the "Joker" in the

Owen Hart Cup The Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, simply known as the Owen Hart Cup, is a series of professional wrestling tournaments produced annually by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in partnership with The Owen Hart Foundation. It consis ...

, only to lose by submission to Britt Baker.

Other media

On September 8, 2022, Itoh announced the opening of her own

OnlyFans OnlyFans is an Internet content subscription service based in London, England. The service is widely known for being popular with sex workers who produce pornography, and also hosts other content creators including athletes, musicians, and com ...

page via a Twitter post. A picture posted on the same post teased that Itoh was posing either topless or fully nude, given the typical nature of most OnlyFans content providers. However, Itoh noted herself on her OnlyFans that she was only doing bikini and other non-nude shoots for the page. Itoh's version of "Brooklyn The Hole" is featured in the video game ''

AEW Fight Forever ''AEW Fight Forever'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ Nordic. It is the debut title on home consoles and personal computers based on American professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling ( ...

'' as a selectable track in the in-game jukebox.

Championships and accomplishments

( 6 times) * Banger Zone Wrestling ** BZW Championship *

** GCW Extreme Championship ( 1 time) *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' ** Ranked No. 37 of the top 150 female wrestlers in the ''

PWI Women's 150 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The mag ...

'' in 2022 **Ranked No. 456 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' in 2024 *

(

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) **

( 2 times, current) – with

(2021) ** "Futari wa Princess" Max Heart Tournament (2023) – with Miyu Yamashita

Discography

*Setsunairo (セツナイロ), released January 4, 2018. *#Setsunairo _{��ツナイロ, credited as Ito Respect Gundan; 伊藤リスペクト軍団/sub>
*#Muteki no Pathos (Maki Itoh ver.) _{��敵のパトス（伊藤麻希ver.）/sub>
*#Setsunairo (instrumental) _{��ツナイロ (instrumental)/sub>
* Brooklyn The Hole, released July 22, 2019.
**1. Brooklyn The Hole (Maki Itoh ver.)

Filmography

* ''ADA: Senritsu-hen''
* ''ADA: Zetsubou-hen''
* ''Obakeyashiki Retsuden: Senritsu Meikyuu MAX''
* ''Minna Suitouto''

References

External links

*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Itoh, Maki
1995 births
Living people
21st-century Japanese actresses
Japanese female idols
Japanese female professional wrestlers
Models from Fukuoka Prefecture
Professional wrestlers from Fukuoka Prefecture
21st-century female professional wrestlers
21st-century Japanese professional wrestlers
GCW Extreme Champions
Ironman Heavymetalweight Champions
Princess Tag Team Champions
International Princess Champions
People from Ogōri, Fukuoka}}}