Mikiko Futagami (二上美紀子, Futagami Mikiko) better known by her ring name Gami (stylized in capital letters as GAMI) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotions Pro Wrestling Wave, Arsion and JWP Joshi Puroresu.[3]

Mikiko Futagami
Futagami in January 2011
Born (1969-01-04) January 4, 1969 (age 55)[1]
Yao, Japan
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Sichuan Yuki Miyazaki
Dark Mask Bolshoi
Kyusei Ninja GAMI
Mikiko Futagami
Gami Metal
GAMI
Gami
Billed height164 cm (5 ft 5 in)[2]
Billed weight73 kg (161 lb)
Debut1991
Retired2013 (initially)
2017

Professional wrestling career

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Independent circuit (1991-2013)

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Futagami made her professional wrestling debut at Seishin Kaikan The Premium, an event promoted by the Japanese independent scene on July 13, 1991 where she fell short to Hikari Fukuoka as a result of a singles match.[4]

As a freelancer, she is known for competing in various promotions. On the fifteenth night of All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling's 2002 Japan Grand Prix from July 6, Futagami teamed up with Mika Akino in a losing effort against Kayo Noumi and Yumiko Hotta.[5] At Battle Zone 6-7, an event promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling on June 7, 2002, she teamed up with Bionic J, Faby Apache, Lioness Asuka and Mika Akino in a losing effort against Ai Fujita, baby A, Mariko Yoshida, Michiko Omukai and Rie Tamada.[6] At Jaguar Yokota 30th Anniversary Convention, an event promoted by the Japanese independent scene on March 11, 2007, Futagami competed in a 32-woman battle royal won by Devil Masami and also involving Mariko Yoshida, Yuki Miyazaki, Sachie Abe and many others.[7] At Sendai Girls Dantai Taikou Flash Tournament, an event promoted by Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling on November 15, 2011, she teamed up with Toshie Uematsu, Yumi Ohka, Shuu Shibutani, and Moeka Haruhi as "Team Wave" in a losing effort against Team JWP (Command Bolshoi, Kayoko Haruyama, Kaori Yoneyama, Leon, and Hanako Nakamori) in a first-round match.[8] At a house show promoted by Pro Wrestling Freedoms on April 25, 2012, Futagami teamed up with The Winger and Toshie Uematsu in a losing effort against Great Kojika, Antonio Honda and Ken Ohka.[9] At New Ice Ribbon #518 on December 11, 2013, she teamed up with Hamuko Hoshi to defeat Risa Sera and Rutsuko Yamaguchi.[10] At BJW Osaka Surprise 12 ~ Thanksgiving Day, an event promoted by Big Japan Pro Wrestling on November 23, 2013, Futagami teamed up with Team Heavy Metal (Madoka and Shinya Ishikawa) in a losing effort against Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto and Yuji Okabayashi) and Yumi Ohka.[11] At DDT Never Mind 2013, an event promoted by DDT Pro Wrestling on December 23, Futagami teamed up with Daisuke Sasaki and Antonio Honda in a losing effort against Kudo, Saki Akai and Yasu Urano.[12]

Osaka Pro Wrestling (2009-2013)

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Futagami worked for Osaka Pro Wrestling as joshi talent. At Osaka Pro Spring Samba Series on March 21, 2011, she teamed up with Black Buffalo and Tigers Mask to defeat Ebessan, Ultimate Spider Jr. and Yutaka in a six-man tag team match.[13] She made her last appearance in the company on December 27, 2013 at Osaka Pro 4th Kanjyouro Matsuyama Produce Day where she defeated Matsuyama in a singles match.[14]

Oz Academy (2005-2013)

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Futagami is also known for competing in Oz Academy. At OZ Academy Rule Of Rose on November 4, 2011, she teamed up with Carlos Amano and Manami Toyota to defeat Ozaki-gun (Chikayo Nagashima, Hiren and Mayumi Ozaki).[15] She made her last appearance for the company on December 8, 2013 where she wrestled Tomoka Nakagawa and Yuu Yamagata in a three-way match.[16]

Pro Wrestling Wave (2007-2017)

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Futagami is one of the founders of Pro Wrestling Wave alongside Tatsuya Takeshi and Yumi Ohka, and has competed in the promotion for a long period of time.

She is known for competing in the promotion's signature events such as the Catch the Wave tournament in which she made her first appearance on the inaugural edition of 2009 where she placed herself in the "Comical" Block, scoring a total of tying-three points alongside Bullfight Sora, Ran Yu-Yu and Cherry before wrestling them again in a four-way match to determine the advancing wrestler won by Sora.[17] She scored her best result at the 2010 edition of the event, winning after competing in the "Visual Technical" Block where she scored a total of four points after fighting Yumi Ohka, Kana, Toshie Uematsu and Mio Shirai.[18] She re-entered the tournament after winning a loser revival battle royal by toppling Asami Kawasaki, Cherry, Io Shirai, Kana and Misaki Ohata, and then by defeating Yumi Ohka in the semi-finals and capitalizing by picking a win over Ayumi Kurihara in the finals.[19]

Another branch of events in which she worked is the Dual Shock Wave, making her first appearance in the 2011 edition where she teamed up with Tomoka Nakagawa, defeating Mio Shirai and Misaki Ohata in the first round, Ayako Hamada and Yumi Ohka in the quarter-finals, but falling short to Ayumi Kurihara and Kana in the semi-finals.[20]

At Wave's 5th Anniversary on August 26, 2012, Futagami competed in a 28-person battle royal also involving Hikaru Shida, Sakura Hirota, Syuri, Aja Kong, Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru and others.[21] At WAVE The Virgin Mary Reina De Reinas 2012, a cross-over event produced by Wave in partnership with Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide on November 27, 2012, she and her "Yoko Hatanaka" tag partner Tomoka Nakagawa failed to defend the Wave Tag Team Championship against Makkurokorosuke (Misaki Ohata and Tsukasa Fujimoto).[22]

Futagami retired from professional wrestling on December 30, 2013 after winning a 77-person battle royal at WAVE GAMI Libre - Lucky 7 which involved lots of notable opponents such as Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dino, Hibiscus Mii, Yapper Man #1, Yapper Man #2, Taka Michinoku, Meiko Satomura, Ray, Kintaro Kanemura and many others.[23]

Short-lived return to professional wrestling (2015-2017)

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Futagami came out of retirement to compete in several more matches. The first of them took place at WAVE Summer Fiesta 2015 ~ Ultra Show on August 28 where she competed in a 11-person battle royal also involving Fairy Nihonbashi, Hiroe Nagahama, Mika Iida and others.[24] She competed in her last known match at Manami Toyota's Retirement Show from November 3, 2017 promoted by Oz Academy where she tagged with Sakura Hirota in a 2-on-1 handicap match against Toyota herself which ended in a time-limit draw.[25] Futagami has been inactive as a wrestler ever since.

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  1. ^ Saalbach, Axel. "GAMI • General Information". wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  2. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Mikiko Futagami/Career Data". cagematch.de (in German). Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  3. ^ Internet Wrestling Database (IWD). "Gami Profile & Match Listing". profightdb.com. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  4. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Seishin Kaikan THE PREMIUM". cagematch.de (in German). Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  5. ^ Quebrada. "Battle Station AJW 7/12/02 The Queendom of WWWA taped 7/6/02 Tokyo Ota-ku Taiikukan". quebrada.net. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  6. ^ Purolove. "NJPW "BATTLE ZONE 6.7", 07.06.2002 (WPW) Tokyo Nippon Budokan". purolove.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  7. ^ Saalbach, Axel (March 11, 2007). "Jaguar Yokota 30th Anniversary Show". wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  8. ^ Byers, Ryan (November 15, 2011). "Into the Indies 11.15.11: Dantai Taikou Flash Tournament (Part 1)". 411mania.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  9. ^ Pro Wrestling Freedoms (April 25, 2012). 4.25新木場1stRING大会 2012年04月25日 開始時刻:19時00分. freedoms.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  10. ^ Ice Ribbon (December 11, 2013). ◆2013年12月11日 開始時間 19時30分~ / 開場時刻 19時00分 アイスリボン518 19時30分開始. iceribbon.com (in Japanese). Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  11. ^ Purolove (November 23, 2013). "BJW, 22.11.2013 (Samurai! TV) Tokyo Korakuen Hall". purolove.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  12. ^ DDT Pro Wrestling (December 23, 2013). "DDT ProWrestling" NEVER MIND 2013. ddtpro.com (in Japanese). Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  13. ^ Purolove (March 23, 2011). "Osaka Pro "SPRING SAMBA SERIES", 21.03.2011 Osaka Minami Move On Arena". purolove.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  14. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (December 27, 2013). "Osaka Pro 4th Kanjyouro Matsuyama Produce Day ~ Mixed Match Special". cagematch.net (in German). Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  15. ^ Oz Academy (November 4, 2011). 試合結果 ■2011年11月03日 新宿FACE ~RULE of ROSE~. oz-academy.com (in Japanese). Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  16. ^ Oz Academy (December 8, 2013). 12/8後楽園 当日券&アクセス. oz-academy.com (in Japanese). Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  17. ^ "『Weekday Wave vol.13』". Pro Wrestling Wave (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 28, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  18. ^ "『Weekday Wave vol.29』". Pro Wrestling Wave (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  19. ^ "『夏フェスタ'10~Fire~』". Pro Wrestling Wave (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  20. ^ "『Weekday Wave vol.40』". Pro Wrestling Wave (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  21. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (August 26, 2012). "WAVE Sail A Way ~ WAVE 5th Anniversary Show". cagematch.de (in German). Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  22. ^ ベースボール・マガジン社 (November 27, 2012). WAVE+AAAコラボ興行~The Virgin Mary~Reina de Reinas 2012. bbm-mobile.com (in Japanese). Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  23. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (December 30, 2013). "WAVE GAMI Libre - Lucky 7". cagematch.de (in German). Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  24. ^ Purolove (August 28, 2015). "WAVE "SUMMER FIESTA '15 ~ ULTRA SOW!", 27.08.2015 Shin-Kiba 1st RING". purolove.com. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  25. ^ JoshiCity (November 3, 2017). "Manami Toyota Retirement Show on 11/3/17 Review". joshicity.com. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  26. ^ Wrestling Titles. "Twin Star of ARSION". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  27. ^ Wrestling Titles. "Trans-world Wrestling Federation World Women's Tag Team Title". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  28. ^ Wrestling Titles. "JWP Tag Team Title". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  29. ^ Wrestling Titles. "LLPW 6-Woman Tag Team Title". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved October 14, 2021.