Reggie Bennett (born January 24, 1961) is an American former

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. She is best known for her work in ''

joshi puroresu is the predominant style of professional wrestling that has developed in Japan. The term comes from the Japanese pronunciation of , which is shortened to puroresu. The term became popular among English-speaking fans due to Hisaharu Tanabe's ac ...

'' organizations such as

All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling , nicknamed Zenjo (全女: 全 meaning "All", 女 meaning "Woman") was a '' joshi puroresu'' ( women's professional wrestling) promotion established in 1968 by Takashi Matsunaga and his brothers. The group held their first card on June 4 of tha ...

Professional wrestling career

Bennett began wrestling on the Californian

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

in 1986, primarily for the Independent Wrestling Federation, where she won the promotion's Women's Championship three times. Soon after, she was signed to the

Ladies Professional Wrestling Association The Ladies Professional Wrestling Association (LPWA) was a women's professional wrestling promotion which operated in the early 1990s (ca. 1989–1992). It was considered a successor to such women's promotions as Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLO ...

. Bennett participated in the LPWA Japan Title tournament during the February 23, 1992 pay-per-view LPWA Super Ladies Showdown, where she lost by disqualification in the semi-final round.

All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling

Bennett signed with

in 1994 and competed there for several years. Bennett faced

Chigusa Nagayo is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for her mainstream popularity in the 1980s as a member of the tag team ''Crush Gals'' with long-time partner Lioness Asuka. She was the founder of the GAEA Women's Professional Wrestling organizat ...

at the

Big Egg Wrestling Universe The Big Egg Wrestling Universe was a professional wrestling event held by All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) inside the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on November 20, 1994 and was attended by 32,500 fans. However, some sources claim the event was at ...

show at the Tokyo Dome on November 20, 1994. She won the

IWA World Women's Championship The IWA World Women's Championship was a major women's professional wrestling title in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. It had its origins with Stampede Wrestling in Calgary, Alberta in 1987. Title history See also * List of professional wr ...

on May 15, 1995, defeating

Manami Toyota is a retired professional wrestler, best known for her work with the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) promotion. She is considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. Following AJW's closure, she continued to work ...

. She lost the IWA Title later in 1995 to

Takako Inoue is a Japanese professional wrestler. She wrestled primarily for the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling promotion, and held several championships, primarily in tag team wrestling. She was well known as one-half of the tag team Double Inoue, wh ...

. Bennett then went on to capture the

All Pacific Championship The All Pacific Championship was the secondary singles women's professional wrestling title in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling or AJW. The belt was started as the Hawaiian Pacific Championship in 1977 and was renamed the All Pacific Championship ...

by defeating

Mariko Yoshida is a Japanese professional wrestler better known by the ring name . She is best known for her work with the ARSION professional wrestling promotion, where she was also head trainer. Professional wrestling career Yoshida debuted for All Japan W ...

and then

Kaoru Ito is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotions All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling and JWP Joshi Puroresu. Professional wrestling c ...

in a tournament on June 22, 1996, although she would again lose her title to Takako Inoue.

Extreme Championship Wrestling

On April 12, 1997, Bennett was one of the featured speakers at a banquet honoring

Terry Funk Terrence Funk (born June 30, 1944) is an American retired professional wrestler, rapper, disc jockey and actor. Funk is known for the longevity of his career – which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements – a ...

. The following night at ECW Barely Legal, she debuted as a member of

Raven's Nest Raven's Flock was a professional wrestling stable led by Raven that was present in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) between 1995 and 1997. Later, Raven created other incarnations of the group in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) such as Th ...

, interfering with the World Heavyweight Championship match between Funk and

Raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned ...

Arsion and retirement

On November 14, 1997, Bennett joined

Arsion Arsion (full official name Hyper Visual Fighting Arsion; frequently styled as ARSION) was a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) promotion established in 1997 by Aja Kong. The first event took place on February 18, 1998 and was cal ...

, forming a villainous faction of American wrestlers with newcomer Jessica Soto, who was billed as Reggie's younger sister Jessica Bennett. On March 4, 2001, Bennett wrestled her retirement match against

Media

Filmography

* '' Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone'' (1983) as "Barracuda Leader" * ''

Vendetta Vendetta may refer to: * Feud or vendetta, a long-running argument or fight Film * ''Vendetta'' (1919 film), a film featuring Harry Liedtke * ''Vendetta'' (1950 film), an American drama produced by Howard Hughes * ''Vendetta'' (1986 film), an ...

'' (1986) as "Conchita" * '' Over the Top'' (1987) as "Female arm wrestler" * ''Muscle Rock Madness'' (1992) as herself * ''Mask de 41'' (2004) as "Subzero Bennet"

Personal life

Bennett married a Japanese musician named Kenji Ishihara in August 2000.

Championships and accomplishments

( 1 time) **

( 1 time) * Independent Wrestling Federation ** IWF Women's Championship (3 times)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center , 1-1 , Irina Rodina , Submission (armbar) , UTT – Women's Vale Tudo Championship Finals , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 9:47 ,

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.4 ...

, , - , Win , align=center , 1-0 , Irma Verhoeff , Submission (keylock) , UTT – Women's Vale Tudo Championship Opening Round , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 18:28 ,

References

External links

*
Reggie Bennett in LPWA

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Reggie Living people 1961 births American female mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling American female professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from California 21st-century American women