CvC: Jaguar Yokota for Greatest Women's Champion

Never heard of the name? I cannot blame you. Jaguar Yokota has not appeared in WWE or TNA. She made her presence known in Japan, in one promotion.

She demonstrated, in my opinion, that she is nothing less than the greatest women's champion in the history of pro wrestling.

What makes a good champion? They represent their company, they lead the company forward and are expected to produce great matches and ideally help the company grow and continue with a new generation.

Jaguar Yokota certainly represented AJW, All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, not just on the occasions she was champion, but in her time in the promotion in general. She represented the zenith of technical ability that all others were to strive toward.

At the same time, she sang. Yokota was clearly female, as many of the women in AJW strove to be. AJW was about women putting on a show on a par, or better than the men's promotions, but not at the expense of femininity.

In addition to her singing, for most of her career Yokota had long, sleek hair and even now she has not lost her athletic, slender figure. She was very much a woman and a divine and charismatic wrestler on top of that.

Technically, Yokota was as good as they come. You know a great representative of a company when you see that they are capable of carrying a great number of opponents in a great number of styles.

Yokota was a reliable performer and a reliable draw. Reliability is a crucial component for a good champion.

Yokota, in fact, is responsible for one of the most important revolutions in the history of wrestling. With her great ability, Yokota helped usher in a new style for AJW, an ultra-athletic style with the emphasis on work rate and psychology.

Yokota amazed people—as she still does today—with her repertoire of moves and her execution. This led to a shift in wrestling style, partly due to how effectively she used this style.

This style not only changed wrestling in Japan, but it influenced Mexico and the United States. It influenced the rise of the light heavyweights in Japan and the development of lucha libre itself.

This style has since become a vital element in pro wrestling; intermingled with elements introduced by others, including the movements she helped influence. 

Today, the style Yokota helped influence continues on the Japanese wrestling scene,  in SHIMMER and ChickFight, as well as everywhere you see a fast-paced cruiserweight style. It has shaped countless wrestlers.

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