This Wednesday on AEW Dynamite, the AEW World Women’s Championship Eliminator tournament finally begins. We have a match from the American side of the bracket, putting ‘Legit’ Leyla Hirsch against former NWA Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa. However, while the American side of the bracket is stacked, with other names including Riho, Nyla Rose, Britt Baker and more, more focus has been put on the Japanese side of the tournament. Namely, on Maki Itoh of Tokyo Joshi Pro.
After reacting to her involvement of the tournament with a loud “HELLO MOTHERF*CKERS” on Twitter, AEW fans quickly got to know the failed Japanese pop idol turned professional wrestler. Will Maki Itoh become a major star for AEW in the coming months?
Maki Itoh Is Similar To Orange Cassidy
While others on the Japan side of the bracket like Aja Kong & Yuka Sakazaki thrive based on their in-ring skills, Itoh is a different beast entirely. While very solid in the ring given her skill level, Itoh more thrives on her strong character work, which is built from her real history.
Maki Itoh is a professional wrestler now, but that wasn’t the plan, she wanted to be a pop idol. She was in the group LinQ, before being removed for reportedly having too big a forehead. Her singing skills are impeccible, showing that talent was not the issue. Since 2017, she’s focused her energy mostly on professional wrestling, where she’s solid in the ring, but mostly focused on comedy based character work.
This puts her in a similar boat to someone like Orange Cassidy, who has become one of the biggest merch sellers in AEW, an absolute fan favorite. We could likely see the same rise from Itoh, with folks like Cody Rhodes recognizing the sheer potential she has.
Please Take Chris Brookes Along Too
Coming back to her crude language on Twitter, it’s mainly blamed on UK wrestler Chris Brookes, who is a main member of the Itoh Respect Army, which is really just Itoh, Brookes and her fans. If she becomes a star for AEW, hopefully she will bring Brookes along.
Brookes is one of the more underrated grapplers in the world today, and could have some classics with men like Kenny Omega or Jon Moxley. Itoh also has built up an odd friendship with Lance Archer, something that should come into play if she becomes an AEW mainstay.
Do you see Maki Itoh becoming a hit with AEW fans? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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