It will be soon be time to refer to Meiko Satomura’s career in the past tense. The great warrior will no longer be wrestling come April 2025. Satomura–a former champion in Sendai Girls, STARDOM, GAEA, WWE and TJPW–will call it a career after 30 years. 

And damn does it sting to type those words.

The “Final Boss” has been such a massive part of the joshi landscape over the past three decades. She’s been the measuring stick for rising stars, a dominant and compelling titleholder, a mentor, a purveyor of deft and beautiful violence.  

If you are a fan who missed most of her work, especially the pre-NXT UK stuff, it may be overwhelming to try and explore her legendary career. There’s a mountain of matches to look back on. 

Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place. Read on for a sampling of some of Satomura’s best outings, a starting point for anyone wanting to explore, learn, and/or celebrate her in-ring résumé.  

Meiko Satomura vs. Akira Hokuto

GAEA (April 29, 2001)

At this point in her career, in her early 20s, Satomura was fast becoming a top-level star. She wouldn’t win her first AAAW World Championship until December of this year, but she sure as hell looked like a main-eventer opposite Hokuto here. 

The match starts with absolute fury. Each woman is trying to finish each other right away. 

Their animosity buzzes throughout the fight. 

Satomura yanks down Hokuto from off the top rope. Hokuto returns the favor. They trade heavy blows. They slap on submissions with deft precision. It’s done with clear viciousness and a sense of desperation permeating everything.  

Satomura and Hokuto manage to maintain a high level of intensity from start to finish, even when the bout slows down to breathe.

Meiko is especially good in the moments where she has to draw on her inner strength and fight back against the overwhelming force that is Hokuto. She’s compelling, easy to root for, powerfully expressive. 

The crowd eats it all up, from the big near-falls to the dramatic ending. It’s a near-perfect classic. 

Meiko Satomura vs. Manami Toyota

Sendai Girls (May 6, 2007)

While Satomura may be best known for being a wrecking ball in the ring, she shows off her immense selling skills in this showdown with a the Hall of Famer Toyota.

Toyota was in the later stages of her career while Satomura was still moving up the mountain, getting stronger and cementing herself as one of the best wrestlers in the world. Manami wrecks Satomura at times, proving she’s still the top dog. While getting flung out of the ring or dropped on her head, Satomura makes the most out of these moments, her body language speaking to the suffering she’s enduring.

The match benefits from a fast pace as both wrestlers run, punch, and howl in search of victory. 

It’s a good showcase of Satomura on offense, of the pathos she can create, and the boss energy she exuded throughout her career.

Meiko Satomura vs. Kana

Kana Produce Kana Pro (April 19, 2010)

Two ass kickers kicking ass. Hard to go wrong with that.

In the first of a terrific series between Satomura and Kana (now Asuka), their similar styles lead to a violent work of art. 

The early stages of the match feature a lot of grappling. It’s tight, tense, and creates a real sense of danger. 

This is a great bout to see Satomura’s more shoot-style offense on display. She and Kana feel like supremely focused MMA fighters, hesitant to let their guard down lest their opponent lay waste to them.

The action slowly grow more intense with a quiet crowd honed in to everything. 

Then come the strikes. The wrestlers fire off hard kick after hard kick that claps against reddening flesh. Both Satomura and Kana shine in this chapter of the story, coming off like badasses.

It’s a taut match overall where every move feels important. Certainly a good one to watch from Meiko’s massive library.

Meiko Satomura vs. Syuri 

Sendai Girls (March 11, 2017) 

Later in her career, Satomura became a master of making another wrestler look like a beast. She elevated Io Shirai, Miya Yamashita, and others during their showdowns by forcing them to show off unearthly toughness. If you could hang with Mei-chan, you were something special.

Syuri got that treatment here in a hard-hitting, emotional meeting. The former MMA fighter went into this with three-straight losses to Meiko. Finally getting the best of The Final Boss was a major boost for how the audience perceived her.

Much like the Kana match above, Satomura’s clash with Syuri was built around mat wrestling, kicks and realism. 

The level of violence certainly ups the entertainment value. Satomura wrecks Syuri with one flurry that includes a chest kick, a forearm shot and Saito suplex. that builds well to a great final moments. Syuri has chances to strike back, too. In particular, Syuri’s armbar is made to look like a deadly weapon.

The respect and admiration Syuri shows Satomura after the bell is something that is common sight in Meiko’s career. Her fellow wrestlers clearly held her in high regard, and that was evident time and again during after their battles.

Meiko Satomura vs. Miyu Yamashita

April 26, 2017

End Boss vs. End Boss. Killer vs. Killer. That’s Satomura vs. Yamashita in a nutshell.

As Yamashita worked her way to become the queen of TJPW, she faced Satomura several times. Every one of those matches left Miyu looking more powerful, win or loss. 

In this bout, the two wrestlers fire off intense shots from moment one. It’s action-packed. It throbs with intensity. 

Yamashita, usually the aggressor and the predator in the TJPW world, is is often forced into survival mode against Satomura. Meiko, meanwhile, Yamashita’s kicks with pride, her bravado never waning.

To that point, this was Yamashita’s best work. For Satomura, it was yet another example of how she can shine while showcasing another.

If you dug what you saw from Satomura here, I urge you to search for her rivalry against Io Shirai between 2014-2018 on Stardom World. I’d also encourage you to watch her matches against Aja Kong in the 2000s. After that, keep exploring. 

Satomura compiled a fat stack of greatest hits. It’s a bummer to know she would add to it past April, but the amount of savagery she left us to savor is staggering.

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