Emi Sakura

[6.0] "There's really four Emi Sakuras; the trainer, and the early career wrestler, the peak career wrestler, and where she is today. The trainer is fantastic, with the amount of talent she's generated throughout the years being a roll of honor. The wrestler had a shaky start to her career, found her stride during a very dark period for women's wrestling, and was washed up just in time to see the scene revitalized and seeing her greatest fame. Seeing Emi Sakura solely in AEW is doing yourself a disservice, and she had a very great run from 2008 or so until about 2017, but after that, she's been regressing and getting by on her charisma. Anything before 2008 is best left unseen. If you're just rating that ten year period and her time as a trainer, she probably deserves what her average rating is (approximately a 9), but outside of that period, she's more like a 3 or 4. I'll split the difference and say 6, and warn that her value is very dependent on which Emi Sakura you're getting."

[9.0] "Emi Sakura is a guaranteed highlight of any show shes on. She is so much fun to watch and has a unique presence when in the ring. Sakura is very good at interacting with the crowd. I especially like her work in Deadlock Pro Wrestling, which seems to be a place that showcases Sakura at her best. Easily one of my top women's indie wrestlers currently. Long live the queen"

[7.0] "I haven't really seen what everybody else is talking about. Emi Sakura is nowhere near bad, but she is not on an all time level, at least from what I have seen from her. Her in ring is good if unremarkable and I haven't seen an amazing match of hers. She has been wrestling for three decades, so I assume she has slowed down. She is very charismatic however."

[6.0] "Shes ok but nothing to write home about with unremarkable performances throughout her run in AEW. If she was more impressive, maybe AEWs womens division wouldnt be so consistently forgettable. She should be nowhere near the same rating as the all time great Joshi wrestlers when she isnt even on par with Britt Baker or Thunder Rosa."

[5.0] "I'm surprised to see Emi Sakura rated so highly here. The Emi Sakura I saw at AEW was nothing special. Her Freddie Mercury gimmick was bad, and her wrestling skills was nothing noteworthy. It's not like she could cut a good promo, either. She should have been used more in the early days of AEW, but primarily as a way to train the next generation of female talent in the company. Otherwise, Emi Sakura is a solid, in unspectacular wrestler who has long since been eclipsed in AEW. Not to mention, there are many joshi that run laps around her these days. Emi has trained some excellent wrestlers, but it would be incredibly dishonest of me to rate her highly when I prioritize rating a wrestler based on their wrestling skills before their behind the scenes success since I cannot rate her true effectiveness in that department. After all, I can only see her wrestle and can only hear from others regarding her training skills."

[10.0] "The title of "most underutilized" HAS to go to Emi Sakura. Long gone are the Freddie Mercury moustache days and long live the evil queen who has had some of AEW's best women's matches that start off cold. It's frustrating to see someone so talented and creative not get any feuds or programs. And I haven't even mentioned her long and storied career in Japan nor her status as one of the greatest joshi trainers ever. My biggest wrestling wish is that Emi gets a big Wembley match before she retires."

[10.0] "Fantastic wrestler, fantastic trainer, and a fantastic promoter. She's done more for Joshi wrestling than damn near anyone in the past 25 years. Either in training, having matches or giving women opportunities through Chocopro/Gatoh Move. She also founded Ice Ribbon and trained countless of the best Joshi wrestlers in the past 20 years."

[10.0] "Where do you start with the genius that is Emi Sakura? From her fluid moves, to her impeccable ring presence, her doctorates in wrestling psychology and her creative mind as a booker. And if that is not enough, she raised the bar for pro wrestling in Thailand by founding Gatoh Move, which became one of the most influential promotions in the region. The creation of ChocoPro during the height of the pandemic was a stroke of genius, introducing their unique style of mat-based wrestling to a global audience. Emi Sakura is the whole package as a performer and a promoter - a brilliant, energetic ring general and a shrewd, hustling booker. Her drive, passion and love for the industry are obvious to anyone who has the privilege of seeing her live."

[10.0] "Ill be honest, I had never heard the name Emi Sakura until she came to AEW. And after only seeing what she had done in AEW, I was ready to give her a 5 or 6. Then I researched, looked at everyones reasoning, and after watching Sakura vs Hayter on the Jan 27 2023 Rampage, i recognize her greatness"

[7.0] "I have only seen Emi perform in AEW, but since it has been almost five years already, I think it is fair to base my rating on that experience. And that experience is shaky, to be honest. I recognize her superior wrestling ability compared to most women she steps in the ring with and she also seems like a lovely person, but her character work usually, unfortunately does nothing for me. Therefore I do not usually get excited knowing that she is on the card, but when the actual match happens I usually tend to enjoy it."

[10.0] "Emi Sakura is arguably the most influential joshi wrestler of the last 25 years. She's an amazing wrestler, but she is incredibly important behind the scenes as well. She founded Ice Ribbon and Gatoh Move/ChocoPro, and has helped train dozens of wrestlers including Mei Suruga and Riho. I'm incredibly happy to see her career resurge in the US in the last few years, and I hope the Queen continues to reign for many more years to come"

[9.0] "When we talk about genuinely under appreciated wrestlers in the current era, Emi Sakura should be nearing the top of those lists. Long list of trainees, founded the incredibly fun Gatoh Move promotion and is still more than capable to have a great match."

[9.0] "Emi Sakura is a good in ring talent. She was a star of the early 2000s Joshi scene. She is still going strong having good matches all of the world after 28 years in the ring. Her biggest contribution to wrestling will be all the great joshi women she has trained."

[10.0] "My feelings about Emi Sakura are too complex to put into words. One is one of the most important bookers, trainers, and promoters in the world and as a performer herself she is sublime. If there is a move, hold, counter, then Emi knows it, has trained to do it, and trained someone else to do it as well. She understands wrestling from the top down, and bottom up, her knowledge is encyclopedic and she shows no sign of slowing down in the ring."

[10.0] "Can have a good match with literally anyone and is unfortunately underused in AEW. However, it's pretty easy to tell that her work behind the scenes is paying dividends for a lot of green talent. She's a huge asset to the company"

[10.0] "A ring veteran. Emi Sakura is very competent and manages to put on a good show in every appearance. She is very funny and skillful, it's just easy to see her matches. She manages to attract people's attention without much difficulty."

[10.0] "She is one of the best female pro wrestlers in world top class act I hope AEW keep her for long time so the world can see the talent of the queen Emi Sakura."

[10.0] "Genuinely one of the greatest of all time. I think her AEW run cements how versatile she is - Emi is able to work a number of styles, is constantly learning and adapting, can work crowds from a pharmacy in Japan, to a small bar in England, to a disinterested arena in America, and get anyone invested. Even before she was regularly outworking TV talent in AEW she was shining in a fallow period for joshi."

[10.0] "What do Makoto, Ray, Riho, Hikaru Shida, Tsukasa Fujimoto, Mizuki, Tsukushi Haruka, Mitsuru Konno, Yuna Mizumori, and Mei Suruga all have in common, other than being great wrestlers? They, along with many others with successful careers, were all taught by Emi Sakura. You could count on one hand the number of people who have a more impressive list of trainees, and you probably would be able to do so even if you were missing a couple fingers. Emi Sakura has been responsible not only for the upbringing of so many wrestlers, but for the creation of multiple promotions across Asia. She created her own unique style of wrestling that is emulated by those who have worked with her and is taught by those who have learned from her. Her long-term impact on the business is matched by few others. As a wrestler, her 27 year-long storied career has been filled with really good matches. But it has only been in the last 12 or so years that she has really shown herself to be one of the top joshi wrestlers. She may not be as athletic as she was in her physical prime, but today, at age 45, she is a better wrestler than she has ever been. She is one of the best in the world, whether or not the world wants to hear it."

[9.0] "One of the most influential wrestlers in the history of women's wrestling, and she's continuing to extend her legacy with Gatoh Move and more. She can still go in the ring and is still a key figure in the industry."

[10.0] "Emi Sakura is one of the most influential joshi talents of the last 20 years. As a wrestler, trainer, booker, promoter, Emi has done it all and done it better than almost anyone. These days, she mostly does comedy stuff, but if you haven't ever seen her serious work, look up her hair vs hair match against Kaori Yoneyama. You won't be disappointed."

[10.0] "When you think of a wrestler who has a lot of influence on women's wrestling, I don't think the first name that comes to your mind is Emi Sakura. But if you look closer, I'm ready to say that a serious part of joshi wrestling as we know it today has been made by Emi. She trained half of the wrestlers on this planet, who are all great today, created Ice Ribbon who became a huge company and Gatoh Move that has created a huge fanbase with covid, and most importantly she is an absolutely amazing wrestler, even today at 45.Definitely one of the most influential wrestlers of all time."

[8.0] "I've only ever seen her in AEW, and what I've seen has been fantastic. Some people are just natural performers, and Emi Sakura is definitely one of them. She's goofy, she's funny, she's endearing, and she can definitely go in the ring. She absolutely carried the women's division in the early days of AEW. I can think of few people I'd trust more to put on a good show than Emi Sakura."

[10.0] "She's a legend who is finally getting her due as of late and I couldn't be more happy, and it's coming at a time when her promotion is putting out some great stuff."

[10.0] "What can I even say about Emi Sakura? She's helped train talents like Riho, Tsukushi Haruko, MIZUKI, and Mei Suruga. She created one of the industry's most fun promotions on the planet in Gatoh Move. And she's no slouch in the ring by any means. Above everything else, Emi has been one of modern Joshi's greatest champions, and is a wonderful ambassador to the sport."

[9.0] "Emi is in part responsible for so many great wrestlers in the joshi scene, and her own work is always top notch. This past year it really seems like people have finally started giving her the flowers she's due."

[9.0] "Emi is an absolute legend, criminally undervalued and also a great teacher, she really deserves much more recognition."

[4.0] "I know Emi has trained many who have come up the ranks of the Japanese women's scene. And many of those faces are people I like very much today. But with concern of Emi herself; I usually groan when I see her. I'm delighted she fancies Freddie Mercury so much, but does that love of Queen really need to be the biggest part of her wrestling persona? So much so that she wants to wear a fake mustache sometimes? I don't find her in ring work all too impressive. Perhaps the worst thing Emi is involved with currently is the extremely embarrassing Choco Pro living room wrestling league. This crap looks no different to what I used to do with my childhood friends when we were playing wrestler when we were preteens."

[10.0] "A great worker, teacher, and promoter. The stuff she's done with Gatoh Move/Choco Pro is pretty incredible. Shouldn't work but it's some of the fun and rewarding wrestling going today."

[10.0] "Great wrestler, trainer, manager and everything. Just watch how she had the best matches in the AEW bracket despite being 44. She runs her own promotion and has trained most of the top joshi wrestlers."

[9.0] "The list of wrestlers she's trained/helped alone would be enough to think highly of her, but she's also a great wrestler and promoter too. Seeing her get the spotlight and love in the last year or so has been well-deserved, but it's just out of respect for what she's done, it's for what she's still doing -- performing at a high level and helping the joshi scene."

[9.0] "A very good wrestler who will be remembered more for who she has trained and produced over the years ... whether its the ice ribbon , gatoh move or the southeast asia scene"

[6.0] "From what I've seen she is solid but cringy af. The Freddie Mercury tribute? Embarassing gimmick. Probably one of the worst, most out of place gimmicks I've seen in wrestling."

[8.0] "Great overall talent with lots of experience and not bad to look at either. I'm usually impressed by workers who have a lot of wins, title reigns and tournament victories and Emi has good numbers except when it comes to tournament wins."

[9.0] "Great in ring worker with a lot of experience, has had several hundred matches. Impressive list of titles won, a total of16 titles reigns. It's a shame that the Japanese ladies can't be seen more often in the U. S."