Joshi Spotlight: Utako Hozumi

JOSHI SPOTLIGHT- UTAKO HOZUMI:
Billed Height & Weight: 5’2″ 117 lbs.
Career Length: 1989-1994

-One of the “forgotten wrestlers”, Utako Hozumi has the bad luck of wrestling for Ladies Legend Pro Wrestling (LLPW), the least-hyped and popular women’s companies of 1990s Japan. Performing as an “Idol”-type wrestler, she was fairly undersized and not that experienced, and never quite got out of the midcard before she retired.

Having watched a lot of her stuff, she was… fine. She needed to be carried against anyone good but she could hold up her end of a match and at least TRIED to have a character, unlike a lot of others in her company who were just kind of “there”. Mike Lorefice once bemoaned how “Hozumi is one of the marketable talents LLPW managed to completely squander. One would think a league where none of the stars had any sex appeal might do someone with one of the best looking women ever to compete, especially since she was also a good wrestler. Hozumi was a better worker than Cuty Suzuki, who was so crucial to JWP becoming the more watched promotion once the original league splintered into two.”

However, as LLPW’s online presence is nearly zero and she retired in the midst of the Interpromotional Era, we never remotely saw how far she could have gone, and she’s practically absent from YouTube. From what I have seen, I wouldn’t say she’s better that Cutie- I’ve had my issues with Cutie’s work (sloppy execution and weak offense) but she was a dynamite seller, could do 20 minute matches, and was in a LOT of ***1/2-****+ bouts as part of a tag team, which is something Hozumi really can’t say.

CAREER TRAJECTORY:
-Utako debuted for the original Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling (JWP) in 1989, at the same time Hikari Fukuoka did. During the nasty split in the company (which was largely Rumi Kazama & her supporters vs. the original President), in which evidence suggests she was one of the wrestlers JWP fired, she went off with Rumi and became a secondary “Idol” type in the new company LLPW, appearing as one of those “undercard wrestlers who fights hard but ultimately loses”. In 1993 she managed to main event in a tag match LLPW vs. AJW show, teaming up with Shinobu Kandori against Bull Nakano & Takako Inoue.

According to her Fandom page, she was nicknamed “Utako Juliana” for appearing in a “bodycon” costume similar to the “standing gals” at Juliana Tokyo, a popular 1990s disco in Japan. Uh, okay then. Pictorial evidence from Googling the club seems to indicate that these were pretty girls hired to dance around in tight dresses while waving the same fans Utako uses, so there you go. Her accessories were also themed to there, explaining why she went around with a hot pink feather boa and a matching fan- quite a few Interpromotional shows feature her waving that silly fan around as part of her taunt.

Utako never really received a push, though- despite LLPW having like 12 wrestlers in it, it was tough to move ahead of the Ace Kandori, monster Eagle Sawai, wannabe big star Rumi (who of course was also booking and in the office), and Harley Saito (a big JWP star who came and went as a top LLPW name). She ends up lapped by Miki Handa and a few others, and wins no titles. She’s in that zone where she’s teaming with a bigger star either winning or losing to another Star/Midcarder team, and most of her wins are over rookie Michiko Omukai.

At AJW St. Battle Final in late 1993, she teams with Leo Kitamura to beat AJW’s jobber duo of Tomoko Watanabe & Chikako Shiratori. At Legacy of Queens, she also manages a win as part of a team, her jobber trio beating AJW’s jobber trio. At Nagoya Super Whirlwind, she gets a rare singles showcase, jobbing to AJW’s Suzuka Minami in one of the more prominent carry-jobs I’ve ever seen (the much larger and more experienced Minami almost openly carrying Hozumi to the point of wrestling herself and setting up comebacks).

Utako retired in June 1994 in a loss to Miki Handa, marrying sumo & pro wrestler Ishinriki, from WAR. Their sons became pro wrestlers in Dragon Gate in 2021, though Riki retired the next hear. Ishin is apparently still there. She & her husband also opened a karaoke restaurant in Kichijōji in 1994.

MOVESET:
Back Body Drop, Hurricanrana, Octopus Hold

BULL NAKANO & TAKAKO INOUE (AJW) vs. SHINOBU KANDORI & UTAKO HOZUMI:
(LLPW Women’s Sparkling Fireworks, 11.09.1993)
* Interesting set-up here, as the former Ace of AJW is in a dream match against LLPW’s current Ace & Champion, Kandori, except Bull has an excellent midcarder on her side and Kandori’s backed up by a glorified jobber. Ace/Idol on both sides, then! Takako’s in turquoise of all things, Bull’s in the fire-shirt, Kandori’s in a plain white & gold singlet, and Hozumi’s in black.

Funny bit to start, as Takako ignores Utako to taunt Kandori, who ignores Takako to taunt Bull, as everyone thinks their opponent is weaksauce, then Kandori scares Takako half to death by no-selling a turnbuckle shot and manhandling her. Then flips off Bull, being one of the only people on the planet who may do that and live. Utako comes in and gets armdragged around (once off the top!) and Bull comes in to a great pop and lariats her to death, then BOTH flip off Kandori, and Bull hits a powerbomb, gets up at two, and lariats Kandori for the hell of it! Kandori, of course, runs in and sleepers Takako, releasing it to hit a powerbomb of her own, and now SHE gets off at two and lariats Bull off the apron! ACE FIGHT!!! The crowd loves all this, but they settle things down with Utako using basics on Takako to not “give away” Bull/Kandori too much. Bull locks on the Angelito, but Utako hilariously comes back with an octopus stretch that looks like a spider monkey wrestling a gorilla. Bull casually gets out of that, but goes down for a FRANKENSTEINER, and when she reverses a second, Kandori just trips her.

AND NOW KANDORI COMES IN!! The giants have a hoss fight, no-selling each other until Utako tags herself in right away, thus teasing the fans AGAIN, but she flops harmlessly and Bull rampages over both LLPW girls with a huge double-lariat! Bull goes for the Guillotine but gets stopped, Takako stops Kandori’s super judo flip, and Utako charges in to stop Takako’s dive, but Bull lariats Kandori from the apron! Crowd brawl goes Kandori’s way, and Utako trips Bull into a Fujiwara Armbar from the Ace! Bull desperately escapes a horrifying leglock on the arm, and Takako has to save her- Utako gets swatted down from a missile kick and Bull absolutely slaughters her with a vicious lariat. Kandori breaks that up, and stops Takako’s Flying Knee, so Takako hits it on HER- Backdrop Hold on Utako! Kandori breaks it up, and Utako rolls out of the Aurora Special and tags. Takako catches KANDORI in an armbar, which is suicidally brave of her to try, and Kandori punishes her presumption with a cross-armbreaker… BULL GUILLOTINE LEGDROPS HER! Utako with the save, now! Takako looks to finish with a German, but Kandori kicks out and slides it into an armbar, getting the submission as she lets go to reapply and Bull breaks it up (14:38)- odd timing on the finish there.

Great, great fun, and a SUPER-heated rivalry that made it look like AJW & LLPW wrestlers specifically wanted each other DEAD, and a hilarious “tease” in that the Bull/Kandori square-offs were so minimal. Great risk there, but neither promotion wanted to look too weak, I guess. But then they had these great interactions, brawling outside, lariats off the apron, the armbar, then that fantastically-timed Guillotine Legdrop interference. And then the Ace just takes out Takako because LLPW only really gave a shit about protecting her & Eagle during these feuds.

Rating: ***1/2 (really awesome fun, as even the lesser workers put on a ton of effort, and Bull proved herself to retain her elite timing)

SUZUKA MINAMI (AJW) vs. UTAKO HOZUMI:
(AJW/LLPW Nagoya Super Whirlwind, 1994)
* Huh, well this is interesting. Minami tends to get a lot of singles matches in these interpromotional shows- I think they recognized in her the ability to nearly always have a good solo bout with somebody. She’s WAY above Hozumi in station, as Hozumi’s a very young “Pretty Girl/Idol” wrestler, and Minami is an upper-tier Gatekeeper. Minami’s also a whole freaking head taller. Utako’s making some seriously odd faces in the pre-match promos, too. Minami’s in her purple gear, while Hozumi’s wearing white floral print on red.

As expected, Minami completely dismantles the rookie (er, 4-year vet), stretching her out, hitting a delayed suplex, then doing her array of Backbreakers. Minami shifting so seamlessly from Fast Underdog to Brawler to Dominant Powerhouse in her career is really impressive- she looks like a natural in every style. She even feeds Hozumi her comebacks, like letting her “slip” out of a Powerbomb or going down for rollup reversals, then letting her big Powerbomb be reversed to a perfect Rana. I’ve seen other Hozumi matches- she is NOT this good. This is all on Minami. She takes a big Northern Lights Superplex for a near-fall, but finally manages to land a solid move- a German Suplex for a bridging pin (9:01). Damn, carried her all the way, there- almost half the match ended up being Hozumi.

Rating: **1/2 (One of the best “Carry the Rookie and make them look good” matches you’ll see. Minami is awesome)

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