Fukigen Death, Kaori Yoneyama

[9.0] "Kaori Yoneyama is the unsung hero of Joshi Wrestling. People will think of people like Meiko Sotomura, Mayu Iwatani, and Io Shirai as the big names who helped legitimize Pro Joshi to the rest of the world, be she deserves so much more credit than she actually gets for being absolute workhorse for 25 years. She has helped elevate and expand the wrestling business wherever she goes and even in the latter stages of her career, where she is mostly being a comedy gimmick, any role she is put in she will give her all and absolutely nail it. And the rare times that she's allowed to wrestle legitimately, she's shown that she absolutely still has it. Give this sad clown some more love not for her career in Stardom, but her career as a whole."

[10.0] "In the words of the legendary Xavier Renegade Angel: "Death Death Fukigen Death" Absolutely blast of a wrestler, can't be described, you have to watch it"

[10.0] "Perhaps the most active Joshi in the business Yoneyama is a great asset to the many companies she wrestles for. Can be plugged into any role and will deliver each and every time. A mentor figure to guide the next generation and a legit threat to any title on the indy scene."

[2.0] "I know she's in the twilight of her career & I also know she was more of a serious wrestler in the past. But I am not very familiar with her from that time, so my rating & judgement is based primarily on her current comedy stuff. And when it comes to that, I think it's a total miss. I don't think it's getting anyone else over & I don't find it very entertaining. Whether it be as a babyface or as a heel. It's also been going on now for so long with no development that every time I see her involved with a match, I simply wish that she was not there. I think she'd be better suited as only a trainer at this point. If she has to keep an on screen role, they should find some way to freshen up the act. Anyone who puts up with it at this point is only doing so out of niceness. She bogs the show down."

[9.0] "She is the true work horse of Joshi Wrestling. A valuable veteran presence and the very definition of excellent character work."

[10.0] "Rating is far too low for this flat out legendary worker, one of the greatest joshi tag team performers, you can slot her in any promotion against anyone else and she'll give them a great match on a silver platter."

[10.0] "Joe Hendry sucks and should not be the same rating as this godly pro wrestler. Kaori Yoneyama is the GOAT and Joe Hendry sniffing her rating is nasty business."

[10.0] "Terribly underrated, particularly by newcomers to Stardom who don't know what she's all about. Her days of being a "competitive" wrestler are along gone, she literally just sticks around because she loves wrestling and wants to entertain the fans. You'll notice that a lot of the matches she wrestles are with rookies: it's because she's exactly the type of experienced hand they need early matches with in order to shine later in their careers. No, she doesn't do the flashiest moves anymore and her comedy spots can get repetitive. But she's entertaining and she serves an important role in Stardom, which she fits time in for among numerous other bookings, including running her own promotion."

[2.0] "Another comedy / gimmick wrestler that does moves with no force / impact because it is part of the "gimmick" Maybe she was good in the early 2000s but every Fukigen Death match is the absolute same, and the offense is boring and silly in every match."

[6.0] "Annoying gimmick but she's a pretty good worker who can work a variety of matches. It's a shame she's mostly in over-active tag matches or multi-people matches. But she's done a good job in stardom but compared to the upper card talent, she doesn't stack up."

[9.0] "One of joshi's workhorses that always understands the assignment. Need a comedy match? Sure thing. Need a solid tag or trios match? She's got you. Need a main event performance? She can do it. Need her to put someone over in the undercard? She'll do it happily. There's a reason she works nearly 200 matches every year for practically every single promotion in joshi, and it's because she's extremely reliable and plays her role, whatever that role may be, to a T."

"Very funny, entertaining, she can deliver even when the match is a bit slow, she can deliver with his facial expressions and other stuff she masters perfectly."

[10.0] "Yoneyama is I think the most experienced joshi wrestler in Japan judging by the number of matches she has worked in since her debut. This woman puts up a very hard work and is terribly underrated. Although she has competed in nearly every promotion in Japan, she still doesn't get enough recognition. And for a 41-year old, to work up to 20 matches per month, that's really tiring and overwhelming. Let's hope she will sometime earn her spot into the PWI top."

[9.0] "Definitely underrated, I think. She always delivers in whatever role she's in and wherever she's at on the card."

[9.0] "Kaori Yoneyama is an underrated legend in the business. She's wrestled over 2, 200 matches to date. She's wrestled 100+ matches in 13 different years, including 10 of the last 11 years. Even at age 40, she continues to work in various promotions, is still a fast-paced performer and finds ways to adapt in an ever-changing industry. Those who give her lower ratings do so because they've only seen her in one or two gimmicks in Stardom. The reality is that even today she can and does perform at a high level, while entertaining live audiences consistently."

[8.0] "When I first started watching Stardom, I'll admit that I didn't understand the whole appeal of Gokigen Death, and by extension Kaori Yoneyama. But after watching her work for a number of months, I can conclude that she's easily one of my favorite parts of the whole Stardom experience. Adding the fact that she's just a joy to watch in other promotions like Pure J and Chocopro, Kaori deserves all the love and respect she receives."

[9.0] "Kaori Yoneyama is one of my personal favorites. She's a true all-around talent: whatever you need from her, she can do it. Whatever is having a great feud with Emi Sakura in JWP or squeezing a watchable match from not-so-great workers as Lulu Pencil you can always count on her to increase the quality of the show. Faster than snakes, tremendously gifted and extremely good at character work there's literally nothing she cannot do, and she hasn't even slowed down that much with age. However mainstream success has always eluded here, partly because her style is very different from the great lady stars of her generation (Kana, Meiko Satomura etc) and partly because, well, she's short and chubby. But trust me on this, she's a veritable amazing talent and Stardom and Gatoh are right in having her babysit their green rookies: they can only learn from this small giant of the ring. Edit: I had to come back and increase my rating even more because it's simply amazing what a crazy schedule this woman is still working (during an epidemic! ) and how much effort she puts even in her absurd comedy skits. Amazing."

[8.0] "Death Yama San rules. 1 of the most experienced women on the joshi scene atm with a ton of great matches to her name. Not only is she a genuinely good wrestler shes charismatic and funny and f**k what everyone else is talking about i think shes fine af too. One of my favourite joshi ever."

[7.0] "Wow, had no idea this chick won a lot of titles, I counted 19 title reigns. Might be a bit overweight but still moves pretty well and has good power and skill."

[6.0] "I think that is a funny wrestler. She is fat, but she looks very strong. Also, she is quick."