Plum Mariko: Like Never Before -

The news of Plum Mariko’s unfortunate and untimely passing filled the front pages of newspapers across Japan.

Plum Mariko, a woman who made history in a way she never intended. Debuting in 1986 for JWP, she won the JWP Junior title and UWA Junior title, but unfortunately, this is not how she’s remembered. On August 15th, 1997, Mariko teamed with Command Bolshi against Rieko Amano and Mayumi Ozaki in Hiroshima. Towards the end of the match, it was Ozaki and Plum in the ring. Ozaki hits a Liger Bomb move on Plum and goes for a pin, Mariko does not kick out. While the fans didn’t notice anything inherently wrong at first, the wrestlers knew this was not the intended finish. Plum, who had brain abscesses, hit her head on the mat and was having a brain bleed. Mariko would die in the hospital a few hours later at the age of 29.

Plum Mariko after defeating Ozaki for her championship.

Today, I aim to bring light to the great career Plum had before the tragedy. I bought the Lady’s GONG magazine that talks about Plum’s career and memorial. Please note that everything’s in Japanese in this magazine, I will do my best to translate to the best of my ability. The magazine also features great never before seen HD photos of her, which I will happily share in this article.

Plum Mariko in her famous Wonder Woman inspired wrestling gear.

A colorful costume and a unique wrestling style, Mariko had all eyes on her as a newcomer with lots of unexpected talent. Sporting the nickname “Mari-chan”, Mariko attended Sambo martial art classes at Shinjuku Sports Hall in Okubo, Tokyo for about half a year. Mariko then auditioned for the new company JWP and was one of the few 19 women who passed the audition. Mariko started for Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling (or JWP for short) and on the companies third anniversary on September 15th, 1989, Mariko won the UWA championship. Mariko was also in a tag team with Cutie Suzuki called “Fighting Dolls” which is, for some reason, not mentioned anywhere I can find online. It is mentioned in her memorial magazine though.

Cutie Suzuki and Plum Mariko are officially a team! The fans chose their name.

Mariko was a “submission master” and according to the magazine, her finishing submission move focuses on the Achilles’ heel and the waist at the same time! Mariko was also featured in an interview that took place in her bedroom and she talked about her life outside the ring. “At home, I watch TV, listen to my favorite Shizuka CDs, call fashion magazines, and be a normal girl. Eh, is it cooking? I eat out a lot, but I make food sometimes. If it’s a cake.” Marika really started to come into her own after joining AJPW after JWP dissolved. The magazine says her best match in her career was on April 11th, 1992 against Dynamite Kansai. “In addition to the thrilling attack from both of them, there was something remarkable about Mari-chan’s hard work.” As you can tell, Mariko was well respected and loved among the other wrestlers.

Mariko at home in her kitchen, she was known for her simmered dishes.

Mariko had a deep respect for pro wrestling, “The fact that I wanted to do professional wrestling as much as I could with a new ring called JWP was at the root of my heart. The new organization was a few elites, so each person is full of awareness of supporting the group. That’s a plus.”

A close-up of Mariko in her bedroom. Taken during an interview.

On April 10th, 1994, during the Korakuen Hall tournament, Mariko got a fractured face after a flying body attack went wrong. Two months later on July 23rd, Mariko was facing Cutie Suzuki and took a flying knee from Cutie and broke her right collarbone. They said it would take 2 months to recover, but it became a longer ordeal. During her recovery Mariko took on the role of senior and gave advice to younger wrestlers. Mariko also focused on rehabilitation and was able to return after a year and five months exactly. However, Mariko would face another accident 10 days after returning.

Mariko in a school rock concert as a child

It was Mariko VS Ozaki and Ozaki attacked Mariko’s chest, which caused her collarbone to break in the same spot as last time. Mariko ended up having a major surgery to recover this time. She admits she thought about retirement during her recovery, but said “If you ask me why I’m going this far, I have no choice but to answer that it’s because I like professional wrestling. I don’t want to end my professional wrestling career with an injury.” She also mentioned some juniors who retired early even though they were “on the rise” and said she didn’t want to lose to her juniors.

Mariko gets all dressed up for a formal event!

On October 13th, Mariko came back after 10 months. Her comeback attracted lots of attention from fans, but that’s right when the nightmare happened. Mariko had a lot of things she still wanted to do. Right before it all happened, Mariko gave a farewell message to her junior, Okutsu, who was about to retire soon. “I think it’s a waste, but just as I decided by myself (returning last minute), Okutsu also decided by herself after worrying, so I want you to do your best so that you don’t regret. There are many things in life, and professional wrestling is not everything, so I want you to do your best to be happy in life after you retire from professional wrestling.”

Mariko (in red and white) doing her signature submission finisher move.

In the final sentences of the article, they talk about a dream Mariko mentioned she had, Mariko said “I have something I want to do by the age of 30. I want to get married.” Mariko passed away before the age of 30 and before ever getting married.

Mariko and others promote of the opening of a new church by dressing up in wedding dresses.

Plum Mariko, a woman whose name became shrouded in tragedy, never wanted to be remembered that way. While we don’t get to make the decision of how we are remembered, we can do our absolute best, and still become something “negative”. I wrote this article to shine a light on who Mariko was rather than how she left us. She was a shining light in a thriving world of professional wrestling, and that’s how I intend to remember her. Plum Mariko, forever the “submission queen” of AJWP, may she forever rest in peace.