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Former Staff

Idol to Wrestler: Maki Itoh

Maki Itoh is one of the more recognizable faces of the Joshi Wrestling sector. She has been able to translate her talent and personality across the ocean and make a name for herself both here and in Japan. Maki has enjoyed a successful Idol career as well as an equally successful wrestling career.

For context, an idol is a type of entertainer in Japanese pop culture who is marketed for their image, attractiveness, and charisma. All idols have instruction in acting, dancing and modeling in addition to their singing abilities. Maki is no different from this. As a member of the second generation of LinQ, Itoh made her debut in the entertainment industry on February 11, 2012.When she was a member of the group’s Qty team.


It was revealed that LinQ’s line-up would be altered in 2017 and that several members would leave from the band. Tokiwoikiru, a new “entertainment group,” was formed with Itoh and six other members on June 19, 2017. At that moment, “Maki Itoh” was the most popular trending topic on Twitter in Japan. Itoh released a song, Brooklyn the Hole, which Itoh presently uses as her wrestling entrance music, was published digitally on July 22, 2019.

In wrestling, Itoh has appeared in DDT Pro-Wrestling, Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, and All Elite Wrestling. Unfortunately, Itoh had an 8-month losing streak in her wrestling career prior to be fired from the group. It seemed as though that was the needed motivation, as she finally started to pick up wins.


AEW Dynamite announced on February 3, 2021, that Itoh would be taking part in the AEW Women’s World Title Eliminator. She lost in the first round, which aired on February 15. As Britt Baker’s mystery partner, Itoh, made a surprise appearance at Revolution and took the place of Rebel. They beat Thunder Rosa and Riho. Itoh’s last appearance was on the first episode of a new web series called AEW Dark: Elevation. She lost the main event to Riho.


Since then, we have been waiting to see if we will see more Maki Itoh on TV in the United States. She is currently Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling’s International Princess Champion, and still making music.

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