Meiko Satomura

Satomura in July 2019

###

Niigata, Japan

**Meiko Satomura** (里村 明衣子, *Satomura Meiko, born November 17, 1979*) is a Japanese professional wrestler. She co-founded Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling.

## Professional wrestling career

### GAEA Japan (1995–2005)

Satomura made her professional wrestling debut for all female promotion Gaea Japan on April 15, 1995, defeating Sonoko Kato.
On November 2, 1996, Meiko Satomura and Sonoko Kato defeated Sugar Sato and Chikayo Nagashima to become the inaugural AAAW Tag Team Champions. Satomura would go on to win that title on two more occasions, teaming with Ayako Hamada, and Chikayo Nagashima. She also won the AAAW Singles Championship twice, with her second reign ending at the hands of Aja Kong on April 3, 2005. Gaea Japan closed a week later on April 10 after staging its farewell show where Satomura defeated her trainer Chigusa Nagayo in the main event.

### Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling (2006–2021)

Following GAEA Japan's closure, Satomura formed the promotion Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling with Jinsei Shinzaki

On September 23, 2009, Satumora participated in the Splash J & Running G tournament along with Kaoru and Tomoko Kuzumi. In the Semi Final, Satumora's team defeated the Dynamite Kansai, Makie Numao and Yasuko Kuragaki to advance to the final. In the final, they defeated the team of Hikari Fukuoka, Kanako Motoya and Sonoko Kato to win the Splash J & Running G tournament.

On October 27, 2020, it was reported that Satomura would sign with WWE to be an on-air talent and coach for NXT UK and she officially signed with WWE on January 28, 2021. On June 27, 2021, Satomura would her last appearance at Sendai Girls after she teamed with Minoru Suzuki to defeat Jinsei Shinzaki and Nanae Takahashi in her last Sendai Girls apperance after she signed with WWE.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ Death Valley driver, sometimes performed on the apron, on the outside of the ring, or from the top rope
	+ *Scorpio Rising* (Axe kick to a kneeling opponent while using their knee for leverage)
* **Signature moves**
	+ Abdominal stretch / Cobra twist
	+ Arm trap crossface
	+ *Backdrop Suplex* (High-angle belly-to-belly suplex)
	+ *Blue Thunder Driver* (Back suplex spun into a standing one-armed powerbomb)
	+ Brainbuster
	+ *Casita / La Magistral* (Rolling arm-wrench inside cradle)
	+ Chickenwing
	+ DDT
	+ Dragon screw leg whip
	+ European uppercut
	+ Forearm smash, sometimes in a corner smash, back-springboard or running variant
	+ Fujiwara armbar
	+ German suplex in either a release or bridge
	+ Gutwrench lifted and fallen into a powerslam
	+ *Hadaka-jime* (Rear naked choke while standing, to a seated opponent, or on the opponent's side in a bodyscissors hold)
	+ Handstand double knee drop
	+ Multiple kicks
		- *Abisegiri* (Rolling wheel)
		- *Enzuigiri* (Jumping or leaping high to the back of the opponent's head, sometimes done as an escape from a standing heel hold to stop a kick to the gut or a shoot kick to the ribs)
		- Feint roundhouse proceeded by a corkscrew leap roundhouse
		- *Kawada* (Multiple front face whilst the opponent is bending forwards)
		- *Pelé* (Overhead, sometimes done to an opponent hung on the top ropes)
		- Roundhouse
		- Shoot, sometimes done in multiple times in succession to the body with or without a wrist lock, multiple to the legs, or a singular to the back of a kneeling opponent
		- Soccer to the opponent's head
		- Sole butt, sometimes proceeded by a European uppercut
		- Spinning heel, sometimes with a dive or springboard, or to an opponent in a kneeling position
		- *Yakuza* (Running arched big boot)
	+ Northern Lights suplex
	+ Open-hand slap
	+ Running leaping shoulder block
	+ *Satomura Special* (Running cartwheel knee drop to the opponent's ribs, spine or head)
	+ Springboard arm drag from the corner transitioned to a single-leg Boston crab
	+ *STF* (Stepover toehold facelock, sometimes proceeded from a springboard arm drag from the corner transitioned to a single-leg Boston crab)
	+ *STS* (Stepover toehold *hadaka-jime*)
	+ *Tiger Body Press* (Frog splash)
	+ *Ude-hishigi Juji-gatame* (Cross armbar, sometimes done in a roll from a wrist-clutch roundhouse kick)

## Other media

Satomura appeared in the 2000 documentary Gaea Girls made for the BBC by Kim Longinotto and Jano Williams.

## Championships and accomplishments

* **DDT Pro-Wrestling**
	+ KO-D Openweight Championship (1 time)
	+ KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Chihiro Hashimoto and Dash Chisako
* **Gaea Japan**
	+ AAAW Single Championship (2 times)
	+ AAAW Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship / AAAW Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Sonoko Kato (1), Ayako Hamada (1) and Chikayo Nagashima (1)
	+ Hustling Cup (1996)
	+ High Spurt 600 (1998, 2001)
	+ Splash J & Running G (1995) – with Kaoru and Tomoko Kuzumi
* **Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling**
	+ Sendai Girls World Championship (1 time)
	+ Joshi Puroresu Dantai Taikou Flash Tournament (2011) - with Dash Chisako, Hiren, Kagetsu, Miyako Morino, Ryo Mizunami and Sendai Sachiko
* ***Tokyo Sports***
	+ Joshi Puroresu Grand Prize (2013)
* **World Wonder Ring Stardom**
	+ World of Stardom Championship (1 time)
	+ Best Match Award (2015) vs. Io Shirai on December 23