is a Japanese retired

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 ...

and former

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. She is best known for her extensive tenure in

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...

(ROH), where she was the inaugural and longest reigning Women of Honor Champion.

Early life

As a young woman, Sakai practiced

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

. From 1995 to 1997, she halted her practice of judo to work with

senior citizens Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

at the Kasugamachi Care Center in

Kanazawa, Ishikawa is the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture in central Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Etymology The name "Kanazawa" ...

Professional wrestling career

Japan (1997–2005)

Sakai became involved in wrestling when her friend and fellow judo practitioner, Megumi Yabushita, invited her to join the wrestling sport. Sakai trained under

Jaguar Yokota (born July 25, 1961) is a Japanese professional wrestler and later wrestling trainer, who wrestled under the name . She is currently signed to World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana, where she is the leader of the CRYSIS stable. Yokota is widely consid ...

, and made her debut on April 20, 1997, with the Yoshimoto Ladies Pro Wrestling promotion, facing Yabushita at the

Korakuen Hall is a sports arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and Lethwei matches. History On April 16, 1962, the Korakuen Hall was officially opened with a capacity of approximat ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. She went on to form a tag team with Yabushita named . Later in 1997, Sakai began wrestling for Yokota's

JDStar JDStar (also spelt Jd') was a women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on th ...

promotion, where she won both the JDStar Junior Championship and the JDStar Queen of the Ring Championship. She also won the Women's Championship of the affiliated American Wrestling Federation and the Tag Team Championship of the affiliated Trans-World Wrestling Federation. In 1999, she suffered a broken leg while wrestling

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 ...

. While rehabilitating, Sakai became enamored of American professional wrestling, and resolved to one day wrestle in the United States. While in Japan, Sakai faced several prominent male Japanese wrestlers, including

Dick Togo , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Togo is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of House of Torture and a former member of Bullet Club. Togo has spent the major ...

The Great Sasuke , best known under his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter and politician. He is the founder of Michinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW). Aside from professional wrestling, he is also a former Iwate Prefectural ...

and

Jinsei Shinzaki Kensuke Shinzaki (新崎健介 ''Shinzaki Kensuke'', born December 2, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive, better known by his ring name, Jinsei Shinzaki (新崎人生 ''Shinzaki Jinsei''). He is sign ...

. She furthered her training under Bison Kimura, Cooga and Lioness Asuka.

United States

Independent wrestling (2002–present)

Sakai wrestled her first match in the United States in 2002. In May 2002, she began a three-month tour of the US, where she feuded 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 ...

New England Championship Wrestling New England Championship Wrestling (NECW) is a dormant independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States that promoted events from 2000, owned and operated by Sheldon Goldberg. Its roster included independent wr ...

. While in the promotion, she and Martinez traded the

North American Women's Championship, but Sakai was champion when she returned to Japan. In 2003, she left JDStar and relocated to the United States. On April 17, 2005, Sakai organised "WE LOVE SABU", a pair of shows held at the

Differ Ariake Arena , originally MZA Ariake, was an indoor sporting arena located in the Ariake neighborhood of Tokyo, Japan. It was open from July 1988 until closing sometime 1991. It later reopened in 1999 as Differ Ariake. Differ Ariake closed in June 2018 and ...

in Tokyo. "WE LOVE SABU" was organised in support of Terry "Sabu" Brunk, an American wrestler who had been afflicted with a serious

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...

in the summer of 2004, with the proceeds of the show going towards paying Sabu's medical bills. The show featured

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling-Explosion (FMW-E) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fir ...

alumni such as

Masato Tanaka is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in Japan where he was a FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship#Title History, one-time FMW Brass Knuckle ...

and

Extreme Championship Wrestling Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was an American professional wrestling promotion that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operated by its parent company HHG Corporation. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as Nationa ...

alumni such as The Sandman. Sabu eventually made a complete recovery, returning to the ring on May 21, 2005. In 2009, Sakai began training with Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Bill Scott. She currently holds a blue belt. In 2012, Sakai joined Kurt Pellegrino's Mixed Martial Arts Academy in Belmar, NJ to better her BJJ and pursue her MMA career. On August 9, 2019, Sakai defeated PCW Ultra Woman's Champion

Tessa Blanchard Tessa Blanchard (born July 26, 1995) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where she is a former Impact World Champion, and a former Impact Knockouts Champion. She previously performed for ...

for the title. In January 2024, Sakai was named of the head trainer of

Spark Joshi Puroresu of America 2023 establishments in the United States Independent professional wrestling promotions based in the Southwestern United States American women's professional wrestling promotions Spark Joshi Puroresu of America ...

dojo A is a hall or place for immersive learning, experiential learning, or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts. The term literally means "place of the Tao, Way" in Japanese language, Japanese. History The word ''d� ...

Ring of Honor (2002–2005; 2014–2021)

Early appearances (2002–2005)

Sakai first appeared in

(ROH) in June 2002 and defeated Simply Luscious in the very first women's match on an ROH card. She returned in December 2003 and January 2004, defeating Alison Danger and losing to Alexis Laree and

April Hunter April Hunter (born September 24, 1976) is an American retired professional wrestler, professional wrestling valet, boxer, actress, writer, fitness model and glamour model. She has appeared in publications including ''MuscleMag International ...

. She returned to ROH on August 20, 2005, losing to Lacey at ''Do or Die 5''.

Re-launched of Women of Honor division / Return to ROH (2014–2017)

Sakai returned to ROH in 2014 and been performing regularly for ROH since 2015 for its Women of Honor division. On September 26, 2015, Sakai faced

Veda Scott Veda Scott is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and color commentator. They have wrestled for various American promotions, including Ring of Honor (ROH), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), Shimmer Women Athletes, and Ab ...

in a losing effort as part of "Women of Honor Wednesday" program. Sakai made her televised debut on the June 26, 2016, episode of '' ROH TV'', where Sakai alongside Mary Dobson and Thunderkitty faced the team of

Allysin Kay Allysin Kay (born November 5, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where she was a former NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship, NWA World Women's Tag Team champ ...

, Amber Gallows and Scott in a losing effort. She also had plenty of other matches in the ROH Women of Honor division teaming with talent such as Mandy Leon,

Deonna Purrazzo Deonna Lynn Purrazzo (born June 10, 1994) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Purrazzo began training in December 2012, and then started wrestling in various independent promotions the following y ...

, Faye Jackson and facing talent such as

Taeler Hendrix Taeler Conrad-Mellen (born June 7, 1989), is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and Manager (professional wrestling), valet, better known by the ring name Taeler Hendrix. She is best known for her time in Ring of Ho ...

and others.

Women of Honor (World) Champion (2018)

Since 2018, Sakai took part in the tournament to crown the inaugural Women of Honor Champion, where she won in the first round (at ROH 16th Anniversary Show) against

Hana Kimura was a Japanese professional wrestler. She worked for Japanese promotions such as World Wonder Ring Stardom and Wrestle-1, in addition to making appearances for foreign companies such as Ring of Honor, Pro-Wrestling: EVE, and some independent pro ...

. Sakai became the inaugural Women of Honor champion at Supercard of Honor XII after defeating Kelly Klein. During her reign, Sakai was able to retain her title against various competitors such as

Madison Rayne Ashley Nichole Lomberger (née Simmons; born February 5, 1986) is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling under the ring name Madison Rayne, where she is also a coach for the women's division. She is best known for her t ...

and

Tenille Dashwood Tenille Averil Dashwood (born 1 March 1989) is an Australian professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenure in WWE, under the ring name Emma. She is also known for her time in Ring of Honor (ROH) and Impact Wrestling, where she perfor ...

. At Final Battle 2018 Sakai lost the championship to Klein in a

Four Corner Survival match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

which also involved Karen Q and Rayne.

Various competitors and heel turn (2019–2020)

On January 26, 2019, she received her first Women of Honor World Championship match since losing the title, when she challenged Klein, but was unsuccessful. On January 11, 2020, at the ''Saturday Night at Center Stage'', Sakai teamed with Nicole Savoy when they faced The Allure (

Angelina Love Lauren Williams (born September 13, 1981) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in TNA/Impact Wrestling under the ring name Angelina Love. She is signed with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Between ...

and Mandy Leon) in a losing effort. After the match, Sakai attacked Savoy out of frustration, turning

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 ...

in the process. The following day, Sakai defeated Savoy in their second encounter against each other.

Return after COVID-19 pandemic (2021)

With ROH returning after the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Sakai made had her first match over a year on May 5, 2021, where she defeated Vita VonStarr, working as a face again. On July 7, Sakai received a "Ticket to Gold" to compete at a tournament to crown the inaugural ROH Women's World Champion. On July 30, Sakai lost to Rok-C at the first round of the tournament. After her loss to Rok-C in the ROH Women's World title tournament and the company ROH being sold to

Tony Khan Antony Rafiq Khan (born October 10, 1982) is an American businessman, sports executive, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the founder, co-owner, president, CEO, executive producer, and head booker of All Elite Wrestling ...

she has not been seen in Ring of Honor.

Official retirement from professional wrestling (2025)

On January 12, 2025 ROH

female An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

Sumie Sakai's

retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

from professional wrestling was officially announced. Her final match was on January 11, 2025 at Battle in the Valley.

Mixed martial arts

Sakai made her

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

debut on October 14, 2006, fighting American

kickboxer Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid martial art and boxing type based on punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouth guards, shorts, and ...

Amy Davis in a bout promoted by Tom Supnet of the "Primal Tribe Fighting Club" as part of the ''Xtreme Fight Series II'' event. The bout ended in a no contest at the end of the first three-minute long round after Davis suffered an arm injury and was unable to continue as a result of an

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armpit lock is very useful; it will immobilize an opponent and pin them on the ground. An armlock t ...

applied by Sakai.

Mixed martial arts record

, Loss , align=center, 2–4 , Jamie Lowe , TKO (punches) , Cage Fury Fighting Championships 19 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:32 ,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–3 , Iman Achhal , TKO (punches) , Ultimate Warrior Challenge 7 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:30 ,

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–2 ,

Jessica Penne Jessica Penne (born January 30, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Penne competed in the Women's Strawweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She was the first Invicta FC Atomweight Champion. She also c ...

, Submission (armbar) , Fatal Femmes Fighting 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:33 ,

Compton, California Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Amber McCoy , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Brawl at Bourbon Street , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:18 ,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Jessica Aguilar , Decision (unanimous) , Combat Fighting Championship 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Melissa Vasquez , Submission (armbar) , Freestyle Combat Challenge 25 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Wisconsin, fourth-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 99,986 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. S ...

, United States , , - , NC , align=center, 0–0 , Amy Davis , NC (confusion over rules) , Xtreme Fight Series 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:0 ,

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

, United States ,

Championships and accomplishments

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 ...

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 Yuko Kosugi * American Wrestling Federation ** AWF Women's Championship (2 times) *

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 ...

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 ...

( 1 time) *

** JDStar Junior Championship (1 time) ** JDStar Queen of the Ring Championship (1 time) *

** NECW North American Women's Championship (1 time) * PCW Ultra ** PCW Ultra Women's 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. 12 of the top 50 female singles wrestlers in the '' PWI Female 50'' in 2018 * Pro Wrestling Unplugged ** PWU Women's Championship (1 time) * Pro Wrestling World-1 ** Pro Wrestling World-1 Women's Championship (1 time) *

** Women of Honor (World) Championship (1 time,

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...

) ** Women of Honor Championship Tournament (2018) ** ROH Year-End Award (1 time) *** WOH Wrestler of the Year (2018) *

** Spark Joshi World Championship (1 time) * Trans-World Wrestling Federation ** TWWF Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Cooga (1), Hiroyo Mutoh (1) and Megumi Yabushita (2) * Vietnam Pro Wrestling ** VPW Hall Of Fame (2023) * Valkyrie Women's Professional Wrestling ** International Joshi Grand Prix (2014) * Women's Extreme Wrestling ** WEW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Annie Social

Notes

; Specific ; General
''Bobish, Seguin Win at XFS II''
*
Sumie Sakai at Cagematch.net

Sumie Sakai at GloryWrestling.com

*

References

External links

*
Sumie Sakai at Sherdog.com

Sumie Sakai at WExtremeW.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sakai, Sumie 1971 births Japanese female professional wrestlers Japanese female judoka Japanese female mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Living people Martial artists from Mie Prefecture Martial artists from Philadelphia 20th-century female professional wrestlers 20th-century Japanese professional wrestlers 21st-century female professional wrestlers 21st-century Japanese professional wrestlers Women of Honor World Champions AJW Tag Team Champions People from Suzuka, Mie Ironman Heavymetalweight Champions Spark Joshi World Champions