At just 25 years old, Himeka stunned fans when she announced she was officially retiring from professional wrestling. Her career spanned only 5 years and it seemed there was still so much for her to accomplish, but Himeka has left behind a legacy to be very proud of. She’s won championships, performed across multiple companies, and won the hearts of many.
However, Himeka didn’t start off wanting to become a wrestler. In 2016, she was part of the idol group Through Skills.
It was in this group where she received the “Jumbo” nickname that would follow her throughout her career. In Through Skills, each girl had a “negative” word associated with them. During performances, the crowd would chant that insult back to them. The inspiration for such a concept came from the creator of the group's own experience with online bullying and wanted to show how we could reclaim insults to empower ourselves.
Through Skills would perform at All Japan Pro Wrestling shows, which led to Himeka becoming a huge wrestling fan. So when the Through Skills disbanded in 2017, Himeka decided to enter the world of professional wrestling herself.
When she began her journey, Himeka’s father did not approve of her decision to become a wrestler, so she would train without his knowledge.
Himeka trained with Jun Akiyama, the president of All Japan Pro Wrestling at the time. Akiyama taught her the Jumping Knee attack; the signature move of Jumbo Tsuruta.
She made her professional wrestling debut in Actwres girl'Z in December 2017. AWG is a promotion that trains former entertainers to make them wrestlers. It was the perfect fit for Himeka.
In 2018 to 2020 she gathered tons of experience. She would continue to wrestle in AWG while also showing up in other companies, including AJPW, Oz Academy, WAVE, Ice Ribbon, and SEAdLINNNG. In 2019, she even captured gold by becoming the SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Tag Champions with Miyuki Takase in their tag team, The Beginning. However, in March 2020, Himeka would leave AWG.
It wouldn’t take long for us to see what was next for her as on June 21, 2020, Himeka showed up at Stardom as Donna Del Mondo’s newest member.
In her debut match, Stardom fans got to see what Himeka was all about. When you look at Himeka, you can clearly see she is taller and bigger than most of her peers. She is able to lift her opponents with ease and bulldoze anyone in her way.
While her size helped her stand out immediately, her idol days shine through as she shows off how charismatic and expressive she is. She makes exaggerated faces all throughout and has an air of cockiness about her. During a lock up with the much shorter Saya Iida, she lifts her arm up, teasing Saya to meet it but even while jumping Saya can’t reach. When Himeka lifts up the small Starlight Kid, she has a wide eye grin on her face. When she locks in a submission on Mayu Iwatani, she has a devilish smile and laguhs as she sinks in the submission even deeper. At her core, Himeka is an entertainer.
Himeka had the nickname “Jumbo Princess”. Typically, these are two words that wouldn’t be associated together. Historically, wrestlers built like her are presented a certain way; mean, scary, or intimidating. Not Himeka. At least not entirely. In the ring, Himeka was a powerhouse who used her size and strength to her advantage, but she was also cunning, elegant, explosive and above all: Cute! She could be anything she wanted to be! We have the choice to determine what words mean to us, how we let those words affect us, and how it makes us view ourselves.
And in her catchphrase Himeka decided that “Big is strong. Big is justice. Big is cute.” She didn’t let the jumbo adjective define her entire personality and style, but instead used it as an empowering term. She still came out in beautiful, sparkly gears while her funky disco theme played. She’d point to her cheek and give off a soft smile as she posed before a match.
The Jumbo Princess made a huge impact in Stardom right away. She was a part of the company’s hottest and most dominant faction. She’d go on a winning streak that lasted from her debut till September of that year, impressively made it to the finals of that year's 5STAR Grand Prix tournament, and was the first person in Stardom to win a singles match against Giulia. Himeka was even a part of what Stardom had dubbed “The golden generation” which consisted of 5 wrestlers the company decided would be the future of the company.
Himeka would get her hands on gold in 2021 when she and Maika won the Goddess of Stardom championships on February 14. It’s quite fitting the two won the belts on Valentine's day. Maika and Himeka have a very special connection that even has romantic undertones, such as Maika basically forcing Himeka’s hand in marriage during a press conference.
Maika and Himeka have a deep bond that easily translates into the ring. Their connection feels real, and that’s because it is. MaiHime I think will go down as one of Stardom’s greatest tag teams. Despite them only winning the belts once and losing them in a little over a month; the impact they had as a team is still undeniable and just shows how great and influential there connection was.
Himeka also won the Artist of Stardom Championships with Maika and Natsupoi in October of that same year. Natsupoi is another notable tag partner of Himeka. The two had met before in the beginning of Himeka’s career. In her second match ever, Himeka faced Natsupoi in a one-on-one encounter at an AJPW show, with Natsupoi winning that bout. The contrast between the two women made for a fun dynamic: Natsupoi, the short high-speed wrestler and Himeka, the very tall powerhouse.
Himeka would never win a singles belt in her entire career, but in Stardom she challenged for the Wonder of Stardom belt two times; once against Giulia in 2020 and the other time against Saya Kamatani in 2022. She also did go after the big World of Stardom belt in May 2022, which was being held by Syuri.
In this feud, Himeka got to show off her mind games. Himeka decided to try to throw off Syuri by planting a kiss on the champion before backing away with a sinister smile. (Much to Maika’s horror)
In this segment, and almost every one of her promos, Himeka spoke so cool and calm but she had this edge when talking. It was even a little unnerving the way she’d speak to her opponents while staring right through them with her wide eyes and sinister grin.
In their match, Himeka doesn’t look out of place at all in the main event. Her moves are crisp, precise and she looks confident. She sells dramatically as she recieves a kick from Syrui to her back and flops over like a rag doll. Himeka is drama. She is theatrical. At all times she’s working.
She uses her size advantage to try to overpower the striker Syuri, and even takes to the air as she launches herself to the outside from the top rope- never afraid to try new things and defy expectations.
Though an unsuccessful attempt, it was a great showcase for Himeka that proved she could be a major player in the company.
Sadly, a few months after her red belt match, Himeka’s father passed away. He never got the chance to see his daughter wrestle.
“When I said I wanted to do wrestling, he said, “I can’t send my daughter out there to die. I couldn’t send my daughter off to a job that would kill her.” I didn’t want to scare him. I didn’t want to worry him, so I didn’t tell him. Later, I invited him to a big event. I thought I’d surprise him. I’ve been talking to my mom about it since the beginning of this year. It’s too late now. It’s too late. I wanted him to see me in my costume. This is my biggest regret.” Himeka on the passing of her father
Himeka would continue to push through this dark period of her life. She was the runner-up in her block in the 5STAR Grand Prix that year and even won the award for best match of her block with Maika (of course). Things seemed to be going alright for the Jumbo Princess. Sure, she wasn’t a main event talent, but she still got plenty of big opportunities and fans seemed to love her. She’d have plenty of time to move up the ranks.
Or so we thought.
On February 10, 2023, Stardom held an emergency press conference. Here, Himeka announced her retirement from professional wrestling.
“The detailed reason is when I had debuted at the age of 20 I had decided that after five years, when I turned 25, if I was in a position I was comfortable with, I would retire. Well, to be honest, I haven’t achieved any of my goals like a singles belt or the things I wanted to do but when I look back at the last five years I am shining the most I ever have so I have no regrets,”
Even though it felt like Himeka was at the peak of her popularity, she wanted to walk away on her own two feet while she still could. Wrestling is so taxing on the body, especially the Joshi style, so it’s always nice to see someone be able to walk away on their own terms.
Sadly, Himeka had cited online harassment as another reason for her leaving. Himeka had dealt with online bullying throughout her career. It got to the point she turned off comments on her social media and even took some time off in 2021. How cruel and ironic was it she started off in a group that was inspired by its creators' experience with online bullying, and ended it by citing online bullies as a reason for her retiring.
“Stardom is so popular that we often get heartless comments. What you say with good intentions may sometimes hurt the other person. We are human beings before we are wrestlers. You have no right to intrude even into our hearts.” Himeka being interviewed by Yahoo News
Online harassment and the death of her father took a toll on Himeka. Not only was she protecting her physical health, but her mental health, too.
Himeka would embark on a “retirement road” which started off with a hardcore match where she teamed up with Giulia and Maika to wrestle the death match group Prominence. She went through many matches she wished to have before leaving; one that included a tag match where we saw a repeat of a AWG match where she teamed with her old tag partner Miyuki Takase to face Kakeru Sekiguchi & Natsupoi.
However, Himeka wanted her retirement match to be with her soulmate, Maika.
In a beautiful white gown and crown, Himeka made her grand entrance at Stardom’s biggest show in history; All Star Grand Queendom.
The match was extremely intense and vicious. This was Himeka’s retirement match so they couldn’t hold anything back. It would be a disservice to Himeka’s career if they did.
Maika hits two michinoku drivers in a row. On the third, Maika screams Himeka’s name and begs her to kick out. Maika knew once she pinned Himeka, that meant that was the end of her career and they could no longer be together. Himeka doesn’t kick out though. The two find each other's hands after and share a deeply touching moment.
There couldn’t have been a dry eye watching. It was an awesome match, but a cruel reminder that the wrestlers we see won’t always be here. Himeka was only 25 when she retired. Tomorrow isn’t always promised, so let’s cherish people now while we can.
A retirement ceremony was held on May 14th where Himeka faced the entire Stardom roster in a gauntlet match. This has been the last time we’ve seen Himeka in a wrestling ring.
As of publishing this, it’s been one year since Himeka left professional wrestling. She has remained firm in her decision, and remains pretty private and out of the public eye.
Like she said herself, Himeka has nothing to regret in her career. She never reached the top or captured singles gold but she was in one of Stardom’s most iconic factions, peformed in amazing matches, and won over so many fans who wanted to see their Jumbo Princess rule.
I think one of the most beautiful things to come from Himeka's career was the power of choice. She chose to leave when she still could. She chose to protect her mental health. She chose to make jumbo cute. We all have choices in our own lives. We can make our own destinies and realities. We can decide what is fulfilling to us and whether we chose to live with regrets. And I think Himeka is a shining example of that.
She showed the world that Big is strong. Big is justice. But above all, Big is cute.
Match Recommendations:
Himeka vs. Maika
April 23, 2023 Stardom All-Star Grand Queendom
World Of Stardom Title Match: Syuri vs. Himeka
April 29, 2022 Stardom Cinderella Tournament 2022 Final
Himeka & Maika vs. Nanae Takahashi & Yuu
Februaru 04, 2023 Stardom 12th Anniversary Supreme Fight 2023
Himeka vs. Maika
October 1, 2022 Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix 2022 - Tag 20
Wonder Of Stardom Title Match: Saya Kamitani vs. Himeka
August 21, 2022 Stardom X Stardom 2022 ~Nagoya MidSummer Encounter~
Giulia & Syuri vs. Himeka & Maika
April 14, 2023 Stardom
Comentarios