Plum Mariko
Encyclopedia
Plum Mariko (November 1, 1967 - August 16, 1997; born ) was a Japanese female professional wrestler who wrestled for Japanese Women's Pro Wrestling from 1986 to 1992 and then, JWP from 1992 until her death in 1997. Mariko was the first professional wrestler in Japan to die as a result of injuries suffered in a wrestling match.
During her career, Mariko received many ring injuries which eventually resulted in a brain abscess
. She had suffered several concussions previously, but had continued to wrestle. On August 15, 1997 she teamed with Commando Bolshoi against Mayumi Ozaki
and Rieko Amano at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza
, Hiroshima
. At the matches conclusion, Ozaki used one of her regular moves, the Ligerbomb, to pin Mariko. The move was executed no differently than normal, but appeared to have triggered a pre-existing problem, the abscess on her brain. Since other wrestlers on the card had sold their finishes that night, the fans in the arena didn’t immediately realize there was a problem. It seems that this spot may not have been the planned finish of the match. In any case, Mariko was knocked out from the Ligerbomb and didn’t kick out. After the match, Ozaki and the other wrestlers saw Mariko, who still hadn't budged, snoring, which was a sign that her brain was bleeding. Mariko died a few hours later on August 16, 1997.
No postmortem was performed on her at the request of her father. Despite this, Mariko was said to have had head injuries and an abscess on her brain which may have contributed to the head trauma that killed her.
An annual memorial show
was held in her honor from 1997 to 1998. Mariko was posthumously inducted into the All Japan Women's Hall of Fame on November 29, 1998.
During her career, Mariko received many ring injuries which eventually resulted in a brain abscess
Brain abscess
Brain abscess is an abscess caused by inflammation and collection of infected material, coming from local or remote infectious sources, within the brain tissue...
. She had suffered several concussions previously, but had continued to wrestle. On August 15, 1997 she teamed with Commando Bolshoi against Mayumi Ozaki
Mayumi Ozaki
is a Japanese female professional wrestler.-Career:Ozaki debuted in a tag match in August, 1986. In her career, she held the WWWA tag titles with Dynamite Kansai from April 11, 1993 to December 6, 1993 (born October 28, 1968) is a Japanese female professional wrestler.-Career:Ozaki debuted in a...
and Rieko Amano at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza
Hiroshima Sun Plaza
Hiroshima Sun Plaza is an arena in Hiroshima, Japan. With a capacity of 6,052, it is primarily used for indoor sports and concerts.Seijin shiki will be held every January by Hiroshima City.-Facilities:...
, Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
. At the matches conclusion, Ozaki used one of her regular moves, the Ligerbomb, to pin Mariko. The move was executed no differently than normal, but appeared to have triggered a pre-existing problem, the abscess on her brain. Since other wrestlers on the card had sold their finishes that night, the fans in the arena didn’t immediately realize there was a problem. It seems that this spot may not have been the planned finish of the match. In any case, Mariko was knocked out from the Ligerbomb and didn’t kick out. After the match, Ozaki and the other wrestlers saw Mariko, who still hadn't budged, snoring, which was a sign that her brain was bleeding. Mariko died a few hours later on August 16, 1997.
No postmortem was performed on her at the request of her father. Despite this, Mariko was said to have had head injuries and an abscess on her brain which may have contributed to the head trauma that killed her.
An annual memorial show
Plum Mariko Memorial Show
The Plum Mariko Memorial Show was an annual professional wrestling event held between 1997 and 1998 in memory of Plum Mariko featuring representatives from joshi promotions All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, J'd, JWP Project, Ladies Legend Pro Wrestling and NEO as well as puroresu promotions Big...
was held in her honor from 1997 to 1998. Mariko was posthumously inducted into the All Japan Women's Hall of Fame on November 29, 1998.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Stretch Plum – innovated
- Rolling bodyscissors submission
- Super hurricanrana
External links
- Plum Mariko by James Phillips