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Reika Saiki

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Reika Saiki
Saiki in June 2016
Birth nameReika Saiki (才木玲佳, Saiki Reika)
Born (1992-05-19) May 19, 1992 (age 32)[1]
Saitama, Japan[1]
Alma materKeio University
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Reika Saiki
Billed height150 cm (4 ft 11 in)[1]
Trained byAkira Nogami
Kaz Hayashi
DebutMarch 30, 2016
RetiredMay 3, 2022

Reika Saiki (才木玲佳, Saiki Reika, born May 19, 1992) is a Japanese actress and former bodybuilder, singer, idol and professional wrestler.

Saiki was trained for a career in pro wrestling in the Wrestle-1 dojo under Akira Nogami and Kaz Hayashi, and made her debut in March 2016. In June of the same year, Saiki debuted in Tokyo Joshi Pro, eventually signing with the promotion later in the year. Outside of professional wrestling, she was also a member of Wrestle-1's cheerleading squad, Cheer♡1, and a member of idol duo Deadlift Lolita with fellow wrestler Ladybeard.[2][3][4]

Professional wrestling career

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Wrestle-1 (2015–2019)

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Saiki initially joined Wrestle-1 as a member of Cheer♡1, a dance group that performed during and before Wrestle-1 shows. Eventually she began training for a career in professional wrestling in late 2015, joining Wrestle-1's dojo where she trained under Kaz Hayashi and Akira Nogami.[5] She made her debut for the company in March 2016, defeating Hana Kimura.[6] After she began competing for Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling, Saiki's appearances in W-1 became more sporadic, however, she continued to make appearances for the promotion until August 2019.[7]

Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling (2016–2019)

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In June 2016, she began competing for Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, a sister company of DDT Pro Wrestling. At DDT's Peter Pan event on August 28, she took part in a battle royal for the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship, but was unsuccessful.[8] On October 9, she faced veteran Kyoko Kimura in a losing effort.[9] On March 12, 2017, Saiki received her first opportunity at the Tokyo Princess Of Princess Championship, unsuccessfully challenging Yuu.[10] In July 2017, she took part in the Tokyo Princess Cup, defeating Yuu for the first time in the second round. She eventually made it to the final, where she defeated Yuka Sakazaki to win the tournament.[11][12] On August 26, Saiki defeated Sakazaki once again to win the Tokyo Princess of Princess Championship, the first championship of her career.[13] She made her first successful defence on September 30, defeating Mizuki and once again successfully defended it on November 3 against Rika Tatsumi.[14][15] She lost the championship to Miyu Yamashita in her third defense on January 4, 2018. On May 3, 2018, Saiki and Marika Kobashi, as "Muscle JK Strikers", defeated Neo Biishiki-gun (Saki-sama and Azusa Christie) to win the Princess Tag Team Championship for the first time. However, they were forced to relinquish the titles later due to Marika sustaining an injury that forced her out of competition for a while.[16] Upon Kobashi's return to the ring, they were unsuccessful in their bid to win the titles back from Mizuki and Yuka Sakazaki on February 23, 2019.[17] On August 14, she defeated Saori Anou to win Actwres girl'Z's AgZ Championship, becoming the second holder of the title. Her reign would be short-lived, however, as she would suffer a broken jaw competing for AWG on August 29, and would vacate the championship the following month.[18]

Retirement

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Following her injury, and in spite of a full recovery, Saiki became inactive and did not wrestle for over two years in the aftermath. On March 26, 2022, she formally announced her retirement from both pro wrestling and bodybuilding, citing her wish to pursue a career in acting.[19][20][21] She retired from bodybuilding five days after the announcement, on March 31. Her retirement match took place on May 3 at Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling's "Yes! Wonderland" event. The three-minute exhibition match against Arisu Endo ended in a time-limit draw.[22]

Other media

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Saiki (left) along with Ladybeard in August 2017

Outside of professional wrestling, Saiki was a member of the kawaii metal group Deadlift Lolita with fellow wrestler Ladybeard.[23]

On November 21, 2022, her autobiography, Muscle Graduation - Be True to Yourself, was released.[24][25]

Championships and accomplishments

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Bibliography

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Title Release Date Publisher Notes ISBN
Muscle Graduation - Be True to Yourself (筋肉卒業―自分の心に正直になろう―, Kin'niku sotsugyō ― jibun no kokoro ni shōjiki ni narou ―) November 21, 2022 Baseball Magazine-sha Autobiography ISBN 978-4583115481

References

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  1. ^ a b c "DDT ProWrestling". DDT ProWrestling. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  2. ^ "LADYBEARD announces new unit DEADLIFT LOLITA with bodybuilder idol Reika Saiki – ARAMA! JAPAN". February 28, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  3. ^ "Ladybeard and bodybuilder wrestling idol Reika Saiki form idol unit Deadlift Lolita". Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  4. ^ "Ladybeard and Reika Saiki Flex Their Muscles as New Unit DEADLIFT LOLITA!". March 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  5. ^ "プロレス総合学院1期生が卒業試合！木村響子の娘である花を含め4人がプロレスデビュー". バトルニュース. March 31, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  6. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "W-1 Pro-Wrestling Training Academy 1st Graduation Class " Events Database " CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". cagematch.net. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  7. ^ W-1 WRESTLE-1 Tour 2019 Flashing Summer - Tag 5 Cage Match
  8. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "DDT Ryogoku Peter Pan 2016 ~ Most Hot Summer in the World ~ " Events Database " CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". cagematch.net. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  9. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "W-1 WRESTLE-1 Tour 2016 Updraft – Tag 2 " Events Database " CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". cagematch.net. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  10. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "TJP at This Time, Get Excited in Nerima! " Events Database " CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". cagematch.net. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  11. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "TJP Fighting Beer Garden 2017 ~ 4th Tokyo Princess Cup FINAL ROUND ~ " Events Database " CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". cagematch.net. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  12. ^ "DDT ProWrestling". DDT ProWrestling. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  13. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "TJP Brand New Wrestling ~ The Beginning of a New Era ~ " Events Database " CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". cagematch.net. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  14. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "TJP Osaka de Bakon " Events Database " CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". cagematch.net. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  15. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "TJP Smile YES Shin-Kiba " Events Database " CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". cagematch.net. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  16. ^ 週刊プロレス13 September 2017 号p.106
  17. ^ TJPW Be Updated To The Future, The Future, The Future Cage Match
  18. ^ "AWG シングル王者 ベルト返上のお知らせ". actwresgirlz.com (in Japanese). September 19, 2019.
  19. ^ Reika Saiki [@saikireika] (March 26, 2022). "私、才木玲佳は..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. ^ "「筋肉との方向性の違いを感じた」"筋肉アイドル"才木玲佳が筋肉卒業を発表！プロレスも引退！". Battle News (in Japanese). March 26, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  21. ^ "Reika Saiki anuncia su retiro como luchadora profesional" (in Spanish). March 26, 2022.
  22. ^ "才木玲佳「今日私は引退します」筋肉とリングに別れ、今後は芸能活動などに専念（イーファイト）". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). May 4, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  23. ^ "レディビアード＆"筋肉アイドル"才木玲佳が霊長類最強アイドルユニット結成". 音楽ナタリー. March 1, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  24. ^ Reika Saiki [@saikireika] (November 9, 2022). "「筋肉卒業―自分の心に正直になろう―」" (Tweet). Retrieved November 28, 2022 – via Twitter.
  25. ^ "筋肉卒業 自分の心に正直になろう（才木玲佳/著）". Baseball Magazine-sha (in Japanese). November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  26. ^ "アクトレスガールズ ～Actwres Girl'Z Beginning 新木場大会～ 才木玲佳が新王者". miruhon.net (in Japanese). August 18, 2019.
  27. ^ "AgZ Championship". CageMatch. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  28. ^ こBRAND NEW WRESTLING～新時代の幕開け～. DDT Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). August 26, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  29. ^ YES! WONDERLAND 2018〜自分をブチ破れ！〜. DDT Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). May 2, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  30. ^ "Tokyo Princess Cup (2017)". CageMatch. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
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