Syuri
Syuri Kondo, better known simply as Syuri, is a Japanese professional wrestler, shoot boxer, kickboxer and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed with World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she is the leader of God's Eye and is a double champion in New Japan Pro Wrestling as the current IWGP Women's Champion in her second reign while simultaneously holding the NJPW Strong Women's Championship, as well as a former World of Stardom Champion.
Syuri started her professional wrestling career in Hustle, where she performed under the ring name KG. Syuri later worked for Hustle's two follow-up promotions; Smash, where she was the final Smash Diva Champion, and Wrestling New Classic, where she was a two-time WNC Women's Champion. After WNC folded in June 2014, Syuri remained affiliated with its sister promotion Reina Joshi Puroresu until March 2016, becoming a one-time Reina World Women's Champion and a one-time Reina World Tag Team Champion. Syuri also worked for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre through their working relationship with Reina, where she is a former CMLL World Women's Champion and CMLL-Reina International Champion. Syuri debuted in Stardom in 2013 and is a former one-time World of Stardom Champion, one-time SWA World Champion and one-time Goddesses of Stardom Champion. Syuri is also the winner of the 2021 5 Star Grand Prix.
Coming from a karate background, Syuri made her shoot boxing debut in 2009 in Krush as a kickboxer. Over the following six years, Syuri amassed a record of 13 wins and one loss, while also becoming the inaugural Krush Women's Flyweight Champion in March 2014. In April 2016, Syuri transitioned to mixed martial arts by joining Pancrase, where she was the inaugural Strawweight Queen of Pancrase. In September 2017, Syuri made her Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.
Early life
Kondo was born to a Filipino mother and a Japanese father in Ebina, Kanagawa. She started practicing karate in primary school, winning numerous titles, and also excelled in track and field sports in junior high school and tennis in high school. After graduation, she worked as a model for fashion magazines and as a movie extra, before passing an audition held by professional wrestling promotion Hustle.Professional wrestling career
Hustle (2008–2009)
On October 26, 2008, Syuri made her professional wrestling debut for Hustle in a match where she, working under the ring name KG, teamed with HG and RG to defeat Big C, Onigumo and Piranha Monster. Syuri joined Tajiri's Hustle Union Army stable, formed a tag team with stablemate Banzai Chie, and started an intergender rivalry with Rey Ohara. Syuri remained with the promotion until it ceased its operations in late 2009.Smash (2010–2012)
When the Smash was formed in December 2009, Syuri was named as a part of the new roster. While in Hustle, Syuri had wrestled almost exclusively against male wrestlers as a novelty due to the lack of other female wrestlers in the promotion. But in Smash, Syuri was poised to become a more serious female wrestler. Syuri, now working under the ring name Syuri, made her Smash debut at the promotion's inaugural event on March 26, 2010, losing to Meiko Satomura. Following a match on May 29, Syuri had a heated confrontation and backstage brawl with Kana, who announced her arrival to Smash earlier and was sitting in the audience. This led to the main event of Smash's June 25 show, where Syuri defeated Kana in a fourteen-minute-long match, ending a three-match losing streak. However, Kana defeated Syuri in a rematch on July 24 in just three minutes via submission.For the next several events, Syuri wrestled against female workers from other independent promotions, who were looking for regular spots on the Smash roster. On September 24, Syuri was defeated in a hardcore match by freelancer Kaoru, after which Kana entered the ring, pushed Kaoru away, and helped Syuri backstage. On November 22, Syuri and Kana teamed together to defeat Ice Ribbon's Emi Sakura and JWP Joshi Puroresu's Kaori Yoneyama. As a result, Syuri was granted a shot at Yoneyama's JWP Openweight Championship at Happening Eve on December 24, but Syuri was unsuccessful in her attempt to win what would have been her first title. Syuri's streak of big matches and her growing popularity among fans eventually led to fellow Smash Seikigun member Lin Byron growing jealous of her, turning heel, and leaving the group to start a rivalry with Syuri. This was followed by Byron picking up back-to-back tag team victories over Syuri on January 29 and 30, leading to a singles match on February 25, where Syuri was victorious.
On March 21, 2011, Syuri made her debut for Ice Ribbon, losing to Hikaru Shida. The match eventually led to a partnership between Syuri and Shida. After defeating Chii Tomiya and Makoto on April 16, Syuri and Shida went on to unsuccessfully challenge Emi Sakura and Ray for the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship on May 5. The partnership also carried over to Smash, where Syuri and Shida defeated Io Shirai and Mio Shirai on May 3. On May 14, Syuri, Tajiri and Hajime Ohara, traveled to Mexico to represent Smash at Toryumon's DragonMania VI event. Syuri teamed with Lluvia and Marcela to defeat La Comandante, Dalys la Caribeña and Mima Shimoda in a six-woman tag team match. Upon returning to Japan, Syuri avenged her Ice Ribbon loss by defeating Hikaru Shida on June 9 in the first round of a tournament to determine the inaugural Smash Diva Champion. On August 11, Syuri was eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by Kana, who would go on to become the inaugural champion. On October 28, Lin Byron made her return to Smash after a four-month break, and reignited her rivalry with Syuri. On November 24, Syuri defeated Byron in a hardcore match, after which the two made peace with each other. On February 10, Smash announced that the promotion would be folding after its March 14 event, after which Syuri would become a free agent. On February 19, Syuri defeated Kana to win the Smash Diva Championship for the first time, after which the two longtime rivals hugged and made peace with each other. In Syuri's final Smash appearance on March 14, she teamed with Mentallo in a tag team match, where they were defeated by Kana and Último Dragón. After the match, Syuri officially retired the Smash Diva Championship.
Wrestling New Classic and Reina (2012–2016)
On April 5, 2012, Tajiri announced the formation of Wrestling New Classic, and named Syuri as part of the promotion's roster. At WNC's first event on April 26, Syuri teamed with Makoto in a tag team match, where they were defeated by Kana and Mio Shirai. On May 12, Syuri returned to Mexico to take part in Toryumon Mexico's DragonMania VII event, where she was defeated by Kana. On May 24 at WNC's second event, Starting Over, Syuri teamed with Kana in a Tag Team Match, where they defeated Makoto & Riho. Three days later at Go! Go! West: Hiroshima, Syuri worked the main event for the first time in WNC, when she, Akira & Dave Finlay defeated Kana, Mikey Whipwreck & Tajiri in a Six-Person Tag Team Match. From May 29 to June 24, Syuri took part in Pro Wrestling Wave's 2012 Catch the Wave tournament, where she wrestled in a round-robin block made up of members of the White Tails stable. After a victory over Mio Shirai, a loss against Kana, and draws against Shuu Shibutani and Ayumi Kurihara, Syuri finished at four points and failed to advance to the semifinals of the tournament. Back in WNC, Syuri started portraying a villainous character, first announcing that she was tired of having to wrestle the same opponents all the time, and then after veteran freelancer Ayako Hamada was revealed as her next opponent, by claiming that she had never even heard of her. Syuri also began sympathizing with Akira, who had recently turned on Tajiri, feeling disgruntled by the supposed changes that had taken place since the transition from Smash. The match took place on July 15 and saw Hamada pick up the win. Following the loss, Syuri attacked Kana, who tried to help her backstage, quit the WNC Seikigun, and joined a new villainous stable formed by Akira & StarBuck. The three wrestled their first match as a unit on August 2, defeating Hajime Ohara, Kana & Tajiri in a Six-Person Tag Team main event. The trio continued their winning ways during the following two days by first defeating the trio of Kana, Tajiri & Yusuke Kodama in the main event of an Osaka show, and then the trio of Hanzo, Kana & Seiki in a semi-main event in Hiroshima. On August 30, the trio main evented another WNC event in Korakuen Hall, defeating Kana, Mikey Whipwreck & and Tajiri in a Barbed Wire Board Deathmatch, during which Syuri took a bump onto one of the barbed wire boards. Syuri, Akira & StarBuck were also victorious in a rematch the following day in Osaka. The trio's win streak ended on September 1 in Toyohashi, when Kana, Whipwreck & Tajiri were victorious in the third and final Barbed Wire Board Deathmatch between the two teams. In the main event of the following WNC event on September 17, Syuri was defeated by Kana via submission in a Tag Team Match, where she and Akira faced Kana & Tajiri. Three days later, Syuri was defeated by Tajiri in an Intergender Match at Korakuen Hall.On September 25, Syuri returned to Pro Wrestling Wave, when she and Shuu Shibutani entered the 2012 Dual Shock Wave tournament, opening their round-robin block with a win over the team of Hikaru Shida & Yumi Ohka. After suffering a defeat against Kurigohan, Syuri & Shibutani defeated 1st Impact in their final round-robin match to finish at the top of their block, tied with Shida & Ohka, forcing a decision match between the two teams. Syuri & Shibutani ended up winning the decision match but were defeated in the finals of the tournament by the team of Misaki Ohata & Tsukasa Fujimoto. On October 24, Syuri, Akira & StarBuck named their stable "Synapse". Two days later, Syuri entered the WNC Women's Championship tournament, defeating Lin Byron in her first-round match. On November 28, Syuri defeated Jessica Love to advance to the finals of the tournament. On December 27, Syuri defeated Nagisa Nozaki to win the tournament and become the inaugural WNC Women's Champion. Two days later, Syuri announced that she was going to produce her own event, titled Stimulus, on February 8, 2013, at Shinjuku Face. Syuri's first match as the WNC Women's Champion ended in defeat, when she, Akira, and Synapse's newest member, Shinya Ishikawa, were defeated by Makoto, Mitoshichi Shinose & Tajiri in a Six-Person Tag Team main event on January 25, 2013, with Makoto pinning her for the win. Two days later, Syuri avenged the loss by defeating Makoto in a Non-Title Singles Match. On February 8, Syuri & Hikaru Shida were defeated in the main event of Stimulus by the team of Meiko Satomura & Tomoka Nakagawa. On March 31, Syuri lost the WNC Women's Championship to Makoto in her first defense. On April 14, Syuri made an unadvertised debut for World Wonder Ring Stardom, taking part in a Gauntlet Match, where the soon-to-retire Yuzuki Aikawa faced every wrestler in the promotion. Syuri's participation in the match ended in a one-minute time limit draw with Aikawa. On April 25 at WNC's one year anniversary event, Syuri received a rematch for the WNC Women's Championship in a Seven-Way Match, which also included Arisa Nakajima, Command Bolshoi, Kayoko Haruyama, Nikki Storm, and Lin Byron, who pinned Makoto to win the title. On April 29, Syuri returned to World Wonder Ring Stardom to take part in the promotion's big Ryōgoku Cinderella event at Ryōgoku Kokugikan, teaming with Hiroyo Matsumoto & Kaori Yoneyama in a Six-Woman Tag Team Match, where they were defeated by Mika Nagano, Nanae Takahashi & Tsukasa Fujimoto. On May 15, Syuri returned to Pro Wrestling Wave to take part in the 2013 Catch the Wave tournament. She finished her round-robin block on June 19 with a record of three wins, two draws, and one loss, winning her block and advancing to the semifinals. On July 14, Syuri returned to Ice Ribbon for the first time in over two years, losing to Hikaru Shida in a Singles Match. The following day, Syuri was eliminated from the 2013 Catch the Wave tournament in the semifinals by JWP representative Arisa Nakajima. On August 7, Syuri entered a three-woman round-robin tournament to determine the new WNC Women's Champion, defeating Makoto and earning a spot in the finals. In her second round-robin match on August 8, Syuri was defeated by fellow finalist, Serena. In the finals of the tournament two days later, Syuri was again defeated by Serena.
On September 18, Syuri defeated Serena in a rematch to become the first two-time WNC Women's Champion. Two days later, Syuri defeated Zeuxis in a decision match at a Reina Joshi Puroresu event to become the second Reina World Women's Champion. The following day, Syuri made her debut for the Wrestle-1 promotion, defeating Makoto in a singles match. Afterward, Syuri was sidelined with lower back pain but was still attacked at the September 29 WNC event by Yumiko Hotta, who had earlier laid claim to the Reina World Women's Championship. Syuri returned from her injury at a Reina event on October 4, where she, La Vaquerita, and Zeuxis defeated Hotta, Keiko Aono & Yuiga via Disqualification. On October 17, Syuri took part in a big generational 8-on-8 Elimination Match promoted by Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling, where she, Hikaru Shida, Kagetsu, Manami Katsu, Sareee, Takumi Iroha, Yoshiko & Yuhi defeated Aja Kong, Command Bolshoi, Dump Matsumoto, Dynamite Kansai, Kyoko Inoue, Manami Toyota, Meiko Satomura & Takako Inoue. Syuri was eliminated from the match after wrestling Kyoko Inoue to a ten-minute time-limit draw. On October 31, Syuri defeated Yumiko Hotta for her first successful defense of both the Reina World Women's Championship and the WNC Women's Championship. On November 18, WNC and Reina held a press conference to announce that Syuri had signed a dual contract with the two promotions, making her the first female wrestler to hold such a contract. With Syuri's help, Reina looked to establish a professional wrestling promotion in her mother's native country, the Philippines. On November 29, Syuri made her second successful defense of the WNC Women's Championship against previous champion Lin Byron. On December 22, Syuri won yet another title, when she defeated La Comandante in a decision match to become the new CMLL-Reina International Champion. On January 18, 2014, Syuri made a non-wrestling appearance at the New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre co-produced Fantastica Mania 2014 event in Korakuen Hall, handing a bouquet of flowers to Rey Cometa & Stuka Jr. before their match. On January 25, Syuri successfully defended the WNC Women's Championship, the CMLL-Reina International Championship, and the Reina World Women's Championship against Mia Yim at a WNC-Reina event in Manila, Philippines. On February 16 at Reina's re-launch event, Syuri successfully defended her Triple Crown against Silueta. Syuri then started a storyline rivalry with Aki Shizuku, who was looking to take over her spot as the "ace" of Reina. On February 27, Akira announced that the Synapse stable had decided to disband, emancipating Syuri who had not portrayed a villain for months. On March 9, Syuri successfully defended the Reina World Women's Championship against Kyoko Kimura.
On April 15, Syuri returned to Mexico to work for CMLL. In her first match of the tour, Syuri teamed with Estrellita & Silueta in a Six-Woman Tag Team Match, where they were defeated by La Amapola, Dalys la Caribeña & Tiffany with La Amapola, the number one contender to the CMLL-Reina International Championship, pinning Syuri for the win. In the title match five days later, Syuri lost the CMLL-Reina International Championship to La Amapola. While in Mexico, Syuri trained with Negro Casas, from whom she adopted the Casas family's trademark la magistral as a finishing move, using it to pin La Amapola for the win in a Six-Woman Tag Team Match on April 21. Syuri's Mexican tour concluded the following day. On May 29, Syuri received a rematch for the CMLL-Reina International Championship back in WNC but was again defeated by La Amapola. On June 18, it was announced that WNC would be shutting down following June 26. The promotion's female wrestlers, Syuri included, remained affiliated with Reina Joshi Puroresu. At WNC's final event on June 26, Syuri successfully defended the Reina World Women's Championship against Aki Shizuku. On August 30 at the final CMLL-Reina Fiesta 2014 event, Syuri unsuccessfully challenged Marcela for the CMLL World Women's Championship. On September 30, Syuri made her fifth and final successful defense of the WNC Women's Championship against Makoto, before the title was retired. On October 30, Syuri produced an event named Syuri Matsuri in Shinjuku Face, which saw her team with Shiro Koshinaka in a main event tag team match, where they were defeated by Kyoko Kimura & Masaaki Mochizuki. On November 20, Syuri entered a tournament to determine the new Reina World Tag Team Champions, alongside the debuting Lin Byron, who had surprisingly nominated herself as Syuri's partner. The team made it to the finals of the tournament but were there defeated by Arisa Nakajima & Kana when Syuri was betrayed by Byron, who had been paid off by Kana.
On December 12, Syuri defeated Marcela to win the CMLL World Women's Championship for the first time. On December 26, Syuri lost the Reina World Women's Championship to Kana. Syuri made her first successful defense of the CMLL World Women's Championship on January 12 against Shuu Shibutani. On January 19, Syuri took part in CMLL and NJPW's Fantastica Mania 2015 event in Korakuen Hall. On February 25, Syuri & Hikaru Shida defeated Arisa Nakajima & Kana to win the Reina World Tag Team Championship. They made their first successful title defense on March 7 against Kana's stablemates Makoto & Rina Yamashita. Syuri then formed her own stable, named Syuri-gun, to continue opposing Kana's Piero-gun. On March 25, Syuri made her second successful defense of the CMLL World Women's Championship against Silueta. Three days later, Syuri returned to Mexico, starting another tour with CMLL. During the tour, Syuri went undefeated for her first six matches, before losing to Marcela in a "Lightning Match" on April 6. This led to a Two Out of Three Falls rematch on April 10, where Syuri lost the CMLL World Women's Championship to Marcela. The match also marked the end of Syuri's CMLL tour. On June 13, Syuri & Shida lost the Reina World Tag Team Championship to Piero-gun's Makoto & Rina Yamashita. On July 12, Syuri defeated Cat Power to win the Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling Women's Championship. On August 29, Syuri made her American debut, when she took part in a World of Unpredictable Wrestling event in Brooklyn, New York, teaming with Karen & Marcela in a Six-Woman Tag Team Match, where they defeated Mari Sakamoto, Miss Mojo & Solo Darling. On October 9, Syuri & Silueta defeated Makoto & Rina Yamashita to win the Reina World Tag Team Championship. Over the next month, Syuri took part in a tournament to determine the new Reina World Women's Champion, making it to the finals, where she was defeated by Tsukasa Fujimoto. Afterward, Syuri left for another tour of CMLL. Syuri continued leading her own stable, now known as Narcissist-gun, until December 26, 2015, when she disbanded it after she and her stablemates Buffalo & Mineo Fujita were defeated in a Six-Person Tag Team Match by Shiri Gamikyō. On January 31, 2016, Syuri announced she would be leaving Reina following March 25. On February 28, Syuri lost the ECCW Women's Championship back to Cat Power. On March 16, Syuri & Silueta relinquished the Reina World Tag Team Championship due to Syuri's impending departure from the promotion. On March 25, Syuri wrestled her final Reina match, where she and Maki Narumiya defeated Maya Yukihi & Risa Sera.