Speaking Aja Kong’s name conjures up visceral images of violence, of a cruel and formidable warrior laying waste to wrestlers, to the bone-rattling collision of a spinning fist and an opponent’s jaw.

Maybe you think of her work in All Japan Women’s Wrestling and GAEA, battling the likes of Bull Nakano, Manami Toyota, Dynamite Kansai, or any of the top names in joshi in the ‘90s and ‘00s. Maybe you think of blood smeared across her forehead. Maybe you think of a steel chair flying at a foe’s skull. 

Those thoughts all speak to who Kong has been through much of her career, but this apex predator has evolved over the years. She has gone from in-ring horror movie villain to an entertainer mixing comedy with carnage.

With Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling, Kong has served a role where she is playful and funny while still holding tight to that trademark menacing aura. 

As far back as 2019, the three-time AAAW champion began making appearances for TJPW. On paper, it’s one of the oddest fits you can imagine. A comedy-heavy, idol-centered promotion and a dominant bruiser. 

But Kong roaming that silly world has worked. She adds gravitas to their shows. The juxtaposition of her character and the antics around her is striking, compelling, creative. The end result is often pure fun. 

As odd as it feels associating the absolute beast that is Kong with fun, it’s the new reality. Kong has been an increasingly regular figure on TJPW programming.

In 2019, she wrestled just two matches for the company including a singles bout against Maki Itoh. She’s fought in at least one TJPW match every year since.

These special appearances have become more frequent. Kong has now wrestled at Summer Sun, Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling (their Jan. 4 show), Grand Princess, and five Wrestle Princess shows. She’s had 30 total matches with the company, more than she’s wrestled for STARDOM, SEAdLINNNG, and Ice Ribbon combined.

Along the way, she’s developed a strong bond with Raku.

Kong and the UpUpGirl have teamed up eight times starting back in 2020. They are the ultimate thunder-and-lighting duo. Kong provides the brute force; Raku brings her lullaby power, lulling foes to sleep with her soft, sweet song. The stark differences in their style, look, and size makes this a rather memorable pairing. 

It has provided a pathway for Kong to be far more a jokester than she’s been in her career. 

When she fights alongside Raku, she playfully prays while sitting on top of her opponent. She blasts opponents with Raku’s pillow. 

Kong is a monster and a jester all in one. 

We saw both on display in a six-woman tag in 2021. She, Raku and Haruna Neko joined forces in a bout where Kong wore a Hyper Misao-style cape and did the Oysami Express with Raku. Only, she didn’t actually step on Misao’s chest, perhaps out of fear of crushing her ribcage, but instead stepped over her with a big smile on her painted face.  

This change in her character feels a lot like when Robert DeNiro started acting in comedy movies. For so long, we knew the actor as hard-nose characters, as gangsters and fighters. Then he began doing funnier stuff and it worked surprisingly well.

His presence remained intimidating, and that complemented his comedy. His scariness was part of the joke. Same goes for Kong today. 

As much as she’s embraced the goofy nature of TJPW, she remains true to her bullying self. Kong is presented as an unmoveable force. She absorbs opponents’ strikes and fires back with triple the impact. 

We’ve seen Kong overpowering two opponents at once or chopping their chest like a lumberjack taking down an oak. Or like we saw in a 2023 TJPW tag match against Yuki Arai and Miu Watanabe, Kong’s blows are absolutely devastating. In this bout, she nailed Arai with an elbow drop from the second rope that looked like it sent her to the shadow realm.

That helps set up Kong as an end boss character, someone a wrestler can truly prove themselves against.

At Grand Princess 2023, Yuki Arai got a chance to do just that against the legend. Kong’s bulk and bad intentions provided the former SKE-48 idol with an overwhelming challenge. In standing strong against Kong, surviving her offense, and fighting back with fervor and courage, Arai looked like a star. 

Wakana Uehara followed the same path when she faced Kong on TJPW’s January 4 show in 2024.

Uehara refused to stay down despite being clobbered over and over. Kong beat on her, and the young talent roared and rose, time and again. Their fight created a lasting image of Wakana wrenching her arm under Kong’s neck in a sleeper hold, frantic, frenzied, unafraid. 

You don’t have to win against Kong to shine. You just have to put up a good fight. It’s impressive to withstand what she dishes out. It’s a means to showcase the size of one’s heart.

Kong provides that for TJPW’s rising stars while entertaining with both viciousness and foolishness at the same time.

She might smash the air from someone’s lungs with a lariat or she might chase down Pom Harajuku like a farmer trying to corral a loose chicken. Get you a girl who can do both.

Kong’s time in TJPW adds a surprising chapter to a storied career. Since she first started busting heads as Erica Sushido in the late ‘80s, she’s been many things.

Hunter. Champion. Arch rival. Villain.  We can now add TJPW princess to that list.