Kairi Hojo

Kairi Hojo

Hojo in August 2014
Birth name Kaori Housako
Born (1988-09-23) September 23, 1988[1][2][3]
Hikari, Yamaguchi[1][2][3]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Doku[4]
Kairi Hojo
Kairian[5]
Kairian 3.0[6]
Pirates Kaiser[7]
Billed height 155 cm (5 ft 1 in)[1][2][3]
Billed weight 52 kg (115 lb)[1][2][3]
Trained by Fuka[8]
Debut January 7, 2012[1][2][3]

Kaori Housako (宝迫 香織 Hōsako Kaori, born September 23, 1988)[1][2][9] is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Kairi Hojo (宝城 カイリ Hōjō Kairi). Ever since making her debut in January 2012, she has worked for the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion, becoming a one-time World of Stardom Champion, two-time Goddess of Stardom Champion and a three-time Artist of Stardom Champion, while also having won the 2015 5★Star GP and 2016 Goddesses of Stardom Tag League. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has called Hojo and her fellow Stardom workers Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani "three of the best wrestlers in the world".[10]

Early life

Housako has an extensive sports background in yachting, competing in intercollegiate and national competitions, while also taking part in world championships with dreams of making it to the Olympics.[2][3][11] After graduating from Hosei University, Housako began pursuing a career in acting.[12] She also did some theater work and one of her performances, where she performed as a professional wrestling villain, was seen by Fuka, the general manager of the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion, who invited Housako to one of their events.[11] She quickly fell in love with professional wrestling's aspect of combining acting with sports and decided to become a wrestler herself.[11][12]

Professional wrestling career

World Wonder Ring Stardom (2011–present)

Hojo in March 2013

Housako started training with Stardom in 2011.[13] On November 14, 2011, she passed her "pro test" and graduated as part of Stardom's third class of trainees, alongside Act Yasukawa, Natsumi Showzuki and Yuuri Haruka.[3][14][15] Housako, now working under the ring name "Kairi Hojo", made her debut for Stardom on January 7, 2012, losing to Yuzuki Aikawa.[16] Playing off her yachting background, Hojo was dubbed "Pirate Princess".[17] She quickly became a founding member of the Zenryoku Joshi stable, led by Aikawa.[12][18] In November 2012, Hojo formed a new tag team with Natsumi Showzuki, with the two finishing second in the 2012 Goddesses of Stardom Tag League.[12] Zenryoku Joshi disbanded in January 2013, when Hojo unsuccessfully challenged her stablemate Yuzuki Aikawa for the Wonder of Stardom Championship.[18][19] Hojo won her first title on April 29, 2013, at Ryōgoku Cinderella, where she and Showzuki, billed collectively as "Ho-Show Tennyo", defeated Hailey Hatred and Kyoko Kimura for the Goddess of Stardom Championship.[11][20] Their reign, however, lasted only a month, before Showzuki was sidelined with a cervical spine injury and she and Hojo were stripped of the title.[21] Showzuki never returned from her injury, instead resigning from Stardom.[11]

On June 23, 2013, Hojo teamed with Kaori Yoneyama and Yuhi to defeat Christina Von Eerie, Hailey Hatred and Kyoko Kimura for the vacant Artist of Stardom Championship.[22] They lost the title to Kimura, Alpha Female and The Female Predator "Amazon" on November 4.[23] In May 2014, Hojo made her Mexican debut by representing Stardom in the DragonMania 9 and Lucha Fan Fest 8 events.[24][25][26] In August, Stardom's roster was split in half as part of a storyline rivalry between older wrestlers born in the Shōwa period and younger wrestlers born in the Heisei period. Hojo, having been born in the Shōwa period, aligned herself with the likes of Nanae Takahashi and Miho Wakizawa.[27] On August 10, Hojo regained the Goddess of Stardom Championship, when she and Takahashi defeated Alpha Female and Kyoko Kimura.[28] After an eight-month reign, Hojo was again stripped of the title, when Takahashi was sidelined with an ankle injury.[29]

In February 2015, following an incident between Act Yasukawa and Yoshiko, Hojo was named an intermediary between the wrestlers and management in order to bring the two sides closer.[30][31] Following the incident, Stardom's top title, the World of Stardom Championship, was declared vacant with a tournament announced to determine the new champion. On March 29, Hojo first defeated Kyoko Kimura and then Io Shirai to win the World of Stardom Championship for the first time.[32][33] After a four-month reign, she lost the title to Meiko Satomura on July 26.[34][35] Hojo bounced back by winning Stardom's top singles tournament, the 5★Star GP, by defeating Hudson Envy in the finals on September 23.[36] At the end of the year, Hojo was named Stardom's MVP of 2015.[37] In January 2016, Hojo came together with former rivals Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani to form a new stable.[38] On February 28, 2016, the three, now billed collectively as "Threedom" (a combination of the words "Three" and "Stardom"), defeated Evie, Hiroyo Matsumoto and Kellie Skater to win the Artist of Stardom Championship.[39] In April, Hojo, along with Iwatani and Shirai, traveled to the United States to take part in events held by Lucha Underground and Vendetta Pro Wrestling.[40] On May 15, Hojo won another title, when she defeated Santana Garrett for the Wonder of Stardom Championship, winning the title in her fourth attempt.[41] On August 8, Hojo made her debut for the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), defeating Jungle Kyona at an event in Shanghai.[13] On September 3, Hojo defeated Io Shirai to take over the leadership of the Red Stars block in the 2016 5★Star GP. However, during the match, Hojo suffered a concussion, which forced her to pull out of her remaining matches, eliminating her from the tournament.[42][43][44] On October 2, Threedom lost the Artist of Stardom Championship to Hana Kimura, Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura in their third defense.[45][46] Later that same month, it was reported that both Hojo and Shirai had been contacted and offered WWE contracts, starting in 2017. Reportedly, Hojo had stated that she was interested in going to WWE, but had not made a final decision yet. There were also questions over whether she could pass the company's physical examination due to her two concussions during the past two years.[47] On November 11, Hojo and Yoko Bito defeated Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani in the finals to win the 2016 Goddesses of Stardom Tag League. Following the match, Shirai turned on Iwatani and announced that Threedom was history.[48][49]

Acting career

Filmography

Television

Personal life

Housako is an ambassador to her hometown of Hikari, Yamaguchi.[9]

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 〜ピープルズ・チャンプ〜 宝城カイリ. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). May 22, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 宝城カイリ. Horipro (in Japanese). Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 スターダム３人娘が“お悩み”相談「教えて！ブル先生」. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). May 5, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  4. ↑ Moore, John (December 1, 2016). "11/30 Moore's Lucha Underground TV Review: Pentagon Jr. vs The Black Lotus Triad in a Gauntlet, Japanese stars Io Shirai, Kairi Hojo, and Mayu Iwatani make their debut, Matanza speaks". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  5. ↑ "2014年10月26日　「Stardom Mask Fiesta2014」～Halloween Party～　新木場1stRing". World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). October 26, 2014. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  6. ↑ 2015年10月25日　Stardom Mask Fiesta2015～Halloween Party～. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). October 25, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  7. ↑ 2016年10月23日　Stardom Mask Fiesta2016. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). October 23, 2015. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Kairi Hojo". Wrestlingdata. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  9. 1 2 【各界の著名人&関係者に直撃！】『Super J-Cup』優勝予想大アンケート！（スターダム編）【SJ16】. New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  10. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (April 8, 2016). "News Update: New ROH PPV dates; UFC drug test failure". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 宝城カイリ、荒波にも負けず！でっかい夢へ針路を取れ. Daily Sports Online (in Japanese). Kobe Shimbun. September 16, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Stars". World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 29, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 4 宝城 カイリ. Inoki Genome Federation (in Japanese). Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  14. ↑ News 2011年7月～12月. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  15. ↑ スターダム『明日に輝け』リレーコラム Ｖｏｌ．１４. Sports Navi (in Japanese). Yahoo!. June 8, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  16. ↑ 新年初の新人宝城がデビュー／スターダム. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). January 7, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  17. ↑ 雑草魂でつかんだ！赤いベルト. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). April 5, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  18. 1 2 ゆずポンｖｓ宝城は全力女子解散マッチ. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). January 12, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  19. ↑ ゆずポンが師弟対決制しＶ６／スターダム. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). January 14, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  20. ↑ 宝翔天女がゴッデス王者に／スターダム. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). April 29, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  21. ↑ "News 2013年7月~". World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  22. ↑ 宝城組が２代目王者に／スターダム. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). June 23, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  23. ↑ スターダム100回記念大会のメインは激闘の末、イオが奈苗を残り1秒で下す！惡斗が白ベルト、モンスター軍が6人タッグ王座を奪取！. Battle News (in Japanese). November 4, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  24. ↑ Valdés, Apolo (May 12, 2014). "Último Guerrero es de 'Nivel Mundial'". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  25. ↑ Boutwell, Josh (May 18, 2014). "Viva la Raza! Lucha Weekly 5/18/14". Wrestleview. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  26. ↑ 2015年5月24日　ドス・カラスとポルキーに囲まれイオvs麻優が束の間の実現！. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). May 24, 2015. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  27. ↑ 世Ⅳ虎ついにスターダム王座奪取. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). August 11, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  28. ↑ 新モンスター軍結成. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). August 11, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  29. ↑ 2015年4月28日　5月3日＆6日　新木場大会カード. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). April 29, 2015. Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  30. ↑ 凄惨マッチの世ＩＶ虎が涙浮かべ陳謝　王座剥奪＆無期限出場停止処分. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). February 25, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  31. ↑ 世IV虎は無期限出場停止 安川を見舞いに. Daily Sports Online (in Japanese). Kobe Shimbun. February 25, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  32. ↑ スターダム新王者・宝城カイリ“世IV虎さん、リングで待ってます”. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). March 30, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  33. ↑ “凄惨マッチ”の赤いベルトは宝城に. Daily Sports Online (in Japanese). Kobe Shimbun. March 29, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  34. ↑ 里村が宝城カイリからスターダム王座強奪. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). July 27, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  35. ↑ 里村明衣子が赤いベルトを奪取！. Daily Sports Online (in Japanese). Kobe Shimbun. July 26, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  36. ↑ 宝城カイリが5★Star GP優勝. Daily Sports Online (in Japanese). Kobe Shimbun. September 23, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  37. 1 2 2015年12月26日　スターダム・アワード2015発表会＆安川惡斗引退記念パーティーが開かれました. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). December 27, 2015. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  38. ↑ 【スターダム】紫雷イオ、宝城カイリ、岩谷麻優が語る「関西本格進出」の意味. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). March 26, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  39. ↑ 2016年2月28日　大阪大会. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). February 28, 2016. Archived from the original on February 28, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  40. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (April 10, 2016). "Big Lucha Underground Aztec Warfare 3 spoiler". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  41. ↑ 【スターダム】宝城カイリ「ワンダー・オブ・スターダム王座」４度目挑戦で初戴冠. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). May 15, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  42. ↑ 【スターダム】宝城カイリが脳振とうで欠場. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). September 9, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  43. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (September 9, 2016). "Daily Update: Del Rio press conference, Paige, CM Punk". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  44. ↑ 【5★Star GP】美闘陽子　運を味方に２２日優勝戦進出. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). September 12, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  45. ↑ 2016年10月2日　新木場大会. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). October 2, 2016. Archived from the original on October 3, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  46. ↑ 【スターダム】木村響子＆花　極悪母娘が６人タッグ王座奪取. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). October 3, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  47. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (October 31, 2016). "October 31, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Billy Corgan vs. TNA, Urijah Faber retiring, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. ISSN 1083-9593.
  48. 1 2 2016年11月11日　Goddesses of Stardom2016~タッグリーグ戦~. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). November 12, 2015. Archived from the original on November 12, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  49. ↑ イオ乱心？！ まさかの造反劇で優勝決定戦ブチ壊し. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). November 12, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  50. ↑ 宝城カイリが師匠ゆずポンの前でベルト取り誓う. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). January 24, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  51. ↑ "World Wonder Ring"Stardom"". Amazon (in Japanese). Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  52. ↑ スターダム最新テーマ曲＆選手の歌入りCDアルバム全容. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). March 11, 2016. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  53. ↑ "2014年9月23日　5★Star GP2014　最終戦　後楽園ホール". World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). September 23, 2014. Archived from the original on September 23, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  54. 1 2 2014年12月27日　スターダム忘年会＆脇澤美穂プロレス生活謝恩会が開かれました. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). December 28, 2014. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  55. ↑ "スターダム・アワードを発表！MVPは紫雷イオが受賞！". World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). December 29, 2013. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
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