Welcome back again to the next edition of the Joshi Wrestler Index where this time we’ll be covering one of my personal favorite freelancers on the scene: Ryo Mizunami. The ultra charismatic veteran has been entertaining crowds across Japan for 20 years now and doesn’t seem to be ready to stop anytime soon!
While Ryo may not be a so-called spring chicken, her youthful energy can make any crowd want to shout “Aniki” at her as she enters to her banger of a song, but her entrance isn’t the only thing that she excels at. Ryo is also one of the best minds in the business when it comes to using great psychology to make an exciting match with just about any opponent. We’ve seen time and time again where Ryo has gotten in there with a young talent, and taught them a thing or two as she eventually beats them down for a victory.
Ryo Mizunami started her wrestling career in 2004 as a member of GAEA and was trained by the recently retired Meiko Satomura, someone who is very well known for training some of the best joshi pro wrestlers in the business. Like most rookie pro wrestlers in joshi, Ryo (going by the name Ayane Mizumura) lost a lot of her early matches, but that didn’t stop her from pushing forward and learning the skills to help her become the wrestler that she is today. When GAEA Japan shut down, Ryo became a mainstay in Sendai Girls Pro Wrestling, following her mentor and trainer Meiko Satomura to the promotion that she helped start up.
Eventually, Ryo Mizunami decided to become more of a freelancer, moving from promotion to promotion and she’s had quite a bit of success since then as well. She’s held championships in JWP, NEO, WAVE, Ice Ribbon, SEAdLINNNG, Oz Academy, TJPW, Sendai Girls, and Marvelous, so she’s definitely put a lot of miles on her body over the many years she’s been in the business. She also is one of the few joshi wrestlers who has been put in a big championship match over in the United States when she challenged Hikaru Shida at AEW Revolution 2021 in one of the best matches on the show.
If Ryo Mizunami isn’t a wrestler you’re a fan of, then you’re simply wrong, and I’m going to attempt to explain why as I break down her wrestling skills category by category. Maybe by the end of this you’ll have a newfound respect for the veteran, and if you do ever have a chance to see her at a show, definitely take advantage of it. She’s a joy to watch wrestle, and a very fun person to meet after for an autograph, two shot, or to buy her patented “ANIKI” sunglasses.
A wrestler’s ability to use power related moves and how well they are known for using their power inside of the ring.
My Rating: 8.5
While I wouldn’t put Ryo at the top of the proverbial totem pole of power wrestlers in joshi, she does use a lot of powerful moves to break down her opponents. Her various suplexes, and her signature “Hot Limit” tombstone piledriver variation shows that she can handle the size of most of her opponents. She’s also known for being able to shoulder block or clothesline pretty much any other wrestler in the ring. Still, though, there are others who are more powerful than her, so I think the rating of 8.5 is pretty fair.
Ryan Dilbert’s Rating: 8.5
“No comment given.”
@ ryandilbert on X
Dave Coumans’ Rating: 8.5
“Can definitely overpower people, but more of a tough striker than a power house. She can definitely pick people up and drive them through the mat with hard hitting moves.“
Check Out His Work On RESURA
PlugPedro’s Rating: 7
“No comment given.”
@ plugpedro99 on X
OVERALL POWER RATING: 8.29
Based On: 6 Creators & 2 “Crowd” Entries
A wrestler’s ability to do throws and suplexes as well as their ability to do their moves cleanly without messing up.
My Rating: 8
Like I stated in the power section, Ryo uses quite a few suplex variations that can put down an opponent of just about any size, and to be honest most of the moves she does are very clean. While I do think I probably could have bumped this rating up slightly, I do think that 8 is pretty fair for where she is at this point in her career.
Dave Coumans’ Rating: 7.5
“She does have a solid mat game, but nothing too spectacular.“
Check Out His Work On RESURA
Pep’s Rating: 8
“No comment given.“
@ Peps_Wrestling on X
PlugPedro’s Rating: 7.5
“No comment given.”
@ plugpedro99 on X
OVERALL TECHNICAL RATING: 7.71
Based On: 6 Creators & 2 “Crowd” Entries
A wrestler’s ability to perform at a high speed as well as their ability to perform high flying moves.
My Rating: 6
Agility is probably Ryo weakest point, but her rating isn’t too low because she can still move around quite well. Her leg drop and the way she hits the ropes for her shoulders blocks shows that she can work up quite a bit of speed before crashing into her opponent. If Ryo was maybe 10 years younger, she might have gotten a different rating, but for where she’s at now, I think 6 is quite fair.
Fernando Ibarra’s Rating: 7
“No comment given.”
@ Jferimsw on X
Pep’s Rating: 7.5
“No comment given.“
@ Peps_Wrestling on X
Dave Coumans’ Rating: 6.5
“Probably her weakest point. She can move, but after 20 years in the biz, most kids are gonna be faster than her.“
Check Out His Work On RESURA
OVERALL AGILITY RATING: 6.39
Based On: 6 Creators & 2 “Crowd” Entries
A wrestler’s ability to use submissions and chain wrestling as realistic looking offense.
My Rating: 7.5
Ryo isn’t exactly a submission sniper, but she’s been known to use a few basic submissions especially against less experienced opponents to make them struggle a bit before eventually beating them. Ryo has impressive basics, and during the early stages of a match she can chain wrestle with just about anyone.
Fernando Ibarra’s Rating: 8.5
“No comment given.”
@ Jferimsw on X
Dave Coumans’ Rating: 7.5
“No comment given.”
Check Out His Work On RESURA
Ryan Dilbert’s Rating: 7.5
“No comment given.”
@ ryandilbert on X
OVERALL GRAPPLING RATING: 7.54
Based On: 6 Creators & 2 “Crowd” Entries
A wrestler’s ability to use strikes effectively as a realistic part of their offense.
My Rating: 9
The biggest physical tool that Ryo Mizunami has in her proverbial tool box is her striking, because she’s one of the harder hitters in the business. Whether it’s her machine gun chops, or her hard forearms, she’s going to make each opponent remember that they shared the ring with her the next day. She’s also known for giving the referee quite the smack before her matches which a lot of crowd looks forward to. Ryo is definitely quite a bruiser, and I feel a high rating of 9 shows that quite well.
Fernando Ibarra’s Rating: 9.5
“Machine gun chops. A classic!”
@ Jferimsw on X
PlugPedro’s Rating: 7.5
“No comment given.“
@ plugpedro99 on X
Dave Coumans’ Rating: 9
“This is probably her strongest ability. Ryo strikes fast and she strikes hard.”
Check Out His Work On RESURA
OVERALL STRIKING RATING: 8.75
Based On: 6 Creators & 2 “Crowd” Entries
A wrestler’s ability to use good psychology in their matches to make them make sense and tell a story.
My Rating: 9
This was a hard rating to come up with, because I believe that when it comes to working with younger talent, Ryo is one of the best at getting the most out of them while having a very entertaining match. She’s good at getting others over along with herself, however I feel that sometimes when she’s in there with a veteran that is close to her stature, that her psychology isn’t shown quite as much. I don’t see a lot of epics from Ryo Mizunami, but maybe I’m also not looking in the right places.
Dave Coumans’ Rating: 8
“No comment given.”
Check Out His Work On RESURA
Ryan Dilbert’s Rating: 8.5
“No comment given.“
@ ryandilbert on X
PlugPedro’s Rating: 9
“No comment given.”
@ plugpedro99 on X
OVERALL PSYCHOLOGY RATING: 8.21
Based On: 6 Creators & 2 “Crowd” Entries
A wrestler’s looks when it comes to marketability. This includes both their physical look as well as their wrestling attire.
My Rating: 9
While Ryo Mizunami isn’t going to win any pageants for her kawaii looks, she gets a good rating because she looks like the coolest person in any room she walks into. With the big coat, the sunglasses and the tassels on her gear that makes her look like she’s perpetually always in motion, “Aniki” knows how to make an entrance. Her hair always looks pretty cool as a well as it’s usually multi-colored to match the many colors of her gear.
Pep’s Rating: 10
“No comment given.”
@ Peps_Wrestling on X
Dave Coumans’ Rating: 7
“I like her punk rock, multi-colored hair and outfit look. But I don’t love it.”
Check Out His Work On RESURA
Fernando Ibarra’s Rating: 8
“Not your typical idol joshi wrestler, but she sure does what needs to be done.“
@ Jferimsw on X
OVERALL LOOKS RATING: 8.57
Based On: 6 Creators & 2 “Crowd” Entries
A wrestler’s natural star power when it comes to marketability. It also includes their ability to talk on the mic and charisma shown.
My Rating: 9.5
Ryo Mizunami could have gotten a rating of ten from me for star power depending on the day, but this time I settled on 9.5. Ryo Mizunami looks and acts like a star on every show she’s on, and honestly if I was starting a joshi promotion from the ground up, she’d be an important veteran that I’d want to make sure was on as many of the shows as possible. She’s someone who is believable in any title match and she has the ability to control a crowd with both her wrestling as well as her words. While Ryo may not quite be on the Sareee level of star power, she’s only one step lower for me at least.
Dave Coumans’ Rating: 8.5
“Extravagant, charismatic tough chick that loves to collect championships.”
Check Out His Work On RESURA
Ryan Dilbert’s Rating: 9
“No comment given.“
@ ryandilbert on X
Fernando Ibarra’s Rating: 8.5
“A reliable worker, a wild card and born to be a freelancer. A known face who will attract many people and give you a good match and even a good title run.”
@ Jferimsw on X
OVERALL STAR POWER RATING: 8.79
Based On: 6 Creators & 2 “Crowd” Entries
As you can see with the ratings above, Ryo Mizunami doesn’t have ratings that jump off the page, but she’s very well-rounded, and a great addition to any roster. She’s willing to work just about any style you’d need her to do, and she’ll make everyone around her look great while she’s at it. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a sparse turnout when it came to people rating Ryo, as we only had six creators including myself, and two members of the crowd submit their ratings for her. Because of that, the overall rating might be a little higher than some would expect, but I think it tells a pretty good story of the worker she is.
When it comes to the six wrestlers we’ve rated so far, Ryo has taken her place in the fifth position with a good overall rating of 8.03. I’d say that any wrestler who has an overall over 8, is a damn good wrestler, so seeing Ryo slot in just behind DASH Chisako makes total sense to me. Over time, it will be interesting to see where other wrestlers rank, and how far up or down the list Ryo Mizunami will be once we’ve rated 20 or more wrestlers. All we can do is wait and see though.
JOSHI WRESTLER INDEX OVERALL RANKINGS
- Sareee – Freelancer: 8.79
- Utami Hayashishita – Marigold: 8.57
- Momo Watanabe – STARDOM: 8.29
- DASH Chisako – Sendai Girls: 8.05
- Ryo Mizunami – Freelancer: 8.03
- Suzume – TJPW: 7.33
As always I’d like to thank the creators and fans of the project for participating in this week’s Joshi Wrestler Index for Ryo Mizunami. Down below will be links to each of the creator’s X account, so please go and support them, because they are all knowledgeable about the amazing wrestling that we all love! Also keep a look out for the announcement online about when submission open for the next wrestler who will be rated on the Joshi Wrestler Index!
PlugPedro99 – Ryan Dilbert – Peps_Wrestling – Fernando Ibarra – Dave Coumans – Myself
Next Wrestler Being Rated: Tam Nakano
It’s only right considering her recent retirement…
RESURA 