1. Fuka Kakimoto is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and model better known simply as Fuka signed to Dream Star Fighting Marigold, who is best known for being a trainer and co-founder for World Wonder Ring Stardom.
26 Facts About Fuka Kakimoto
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Fuka Kakimoto was trained by JDStar as part of the promotion's "Athtress" program, making her debut in February 2004 and quickly garnering a large fan following.
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From 2005 to 2006, Fuka fought three mixed martial arts fights, finishing with a record of two wins and one loss.
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Fuka Kakimoto ended her in-ring career in March 2010 at the age of 25, after which she began training wrestlers for the newly founded World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion.
5.
When Stardom was officially announced the following September, Fuka Kakimoto was appointed the General Manager of the promotion, a role she held until 2018.
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Fuka Kakimoto's older brother, Daichi, is a professional wrestler, most notably working for Dramatic Dream Team between 2003 and 2014, and her father Masahide and oldest brother Genki have made appearances in wrestling matches involving her.
7.
Fuka Kakimoto received her training in professional wrestling at the dojo of the JDStar promotion, being part of the last batch of women to go through the promotion's "Athtress" program, which aimed at building physically attractive women into not only professional wrestlers, but mainstream celebrities.
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Fuka Kakimoto's career started with a long losing streak, which earned her the nickname "Haru Urara of Women's Professional Wrestling", after a Japanese racehorse that gained popularity due to a long string of consecutive losses.
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Similarly, Fuka Kakimoto quickly gathered a large fan following, especially among men.
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Fuka Kakimoto's popularity earned her a spot on an event held by All Japan Pro Wrestling, which normally did not promote women's wrestling matches, losing to Keiko Saito in a singles match on August 7,2005.
11.
In February 2006, JDStar announced that Fuka Kakimoto had finished her training and was now a full-fledged member of the promotion's roster.
12.
On March 3,2007, Fuka Kakimoto wrestled her third anniversary match, in which she was defeated by Nanae Takahashi.
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At the final event, Fuka Kakimoto wrestled in a tag team match, where she and JDStar trainer Jaguar Yokota defeated Misaki Ohata and Shuu Shibutani.
14.
On October 7,2007, Fuka Kakimoto wrestled at an event co-promoted by Nanae Takahashi's Pro Wrestling Sun and Pro Wrestling Zero1, defeating Tracy Taylor for European Wrestling Association's World Ladies Championship.
15.
On February 24,2008, Fuka Kakimoto promoted the third Fuka Kakimoto Matsuri event, celebrating her fourth anniversary in professional wrestling.
16.
On October 11,2008, Fuka Kakimoto made her debut for Dragon Gate, defeating "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa in back-to-back intergender singles matches.
17.
Fuka Kakimoto celebrated her fifth anniversary in professional wrestling on February 22,2009, with Fuka Kakimoto Matsuri 7, which saw her and Nanae Takahashi defeat Haruka Matsuo and Yoshiko Tamura in the main event tag team match.
18.
On July 5,2009, Fuka Kakimoto returned to NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling, teaming with Yoshiko Tamura in the Mid Summer Tag Tournament VIII.
19.
On February 25,2010, Fuka Kakimoto returned to Mexico as part of her retirement tour, working under her Tigre Fuka Kakimoto persona at an International Wrestling Revolution Group event in a tag team match, where she and Flor Metalica defeated La Diabolica and Lady Metal.
20.
Fuka Kakimoto worked as the on-screen authority figure and ring announcer for Stardom and started each major event with a dance performance.
21.
On January 21,2018, at Stardom's 7th Anniversary show, Fuka Kakimoto announced her retirement from Stardom, as she was expecting her first child in the summer.
22.
Fuka Kakimoto made her MMA debut on August 17,2005, losing to Chiaki Kawabita via submission to an armbar.
23.
Fuka Kakimoto dominated the final round over her exhausted opponent and won it on the cards of all three judges, earning an upset victory over Ichii.
24.
From its inception in 2010, Fuka Kakimoto acted as a trainer for World Wonder Ring Stardom.
25.
Fuka Kakimoto married kickboxer Ikki on June 19,2017, six months after their first meeting in December 2016.
26.
On June 14,2018, Fuka Kakimoto posted an update on her Twitter account, announcing the birth of her first child, a baby boy.