Marvelous has made noise recently with their partnership with West Coast Pro in America. The promotion, run by legend Chigusa Nagayo, has some of the best women’s wrestlers in the world on its roster. One of those wrestlers include Mio Momono, who reached the finals of West Coast Pro’s Queen of Indies tournament, losing to Masha Slamovich.
Over in Japan, Momono is the reigning AAAW Champion, joining the elite company of wrestlers like Nagayo, Takumi Iroha, and Manami Toyota. She won the championship earlier this year when she defeated Chikayo Nagashima at Marvelous’ anniversary event at Korakuen Hall on May 3, 2023.
Following her title win and her run in the Queen of Indies tournament, Fightful’s Scott Edwards had the chance to interview Mio Momono to discuss a potential rematch with Masha Slamovich down the line, her journey to the AAAW Championship, and so much more.
Here's what Mio had to say!
After winning the AAAW Championship, how'd you feel?
I finally made it here.
It was a feeling of all my efforts being rewarded.
You've wrestled for seven years with the goal of becoming a champion. There's been roadblocks along the way but you're finally on top of Marvelous and holding gold around your waist. Looking back to your journey to this point, what does winning your first world title mean to you?
To talk about the current version of Mio Momono, I believe that I can't do it without mentioning the period of injury and absence. It was truly tough during the turmoil of injuries, but looking back, I've come to see that it was an essential time and perhaps the detour was the quickest way. I feel that God has been supporting me with the feeling of "You have worked hard until now Let's move on to the next stage.
To start this year you wrestled a series of singles matches in Marvelous and Sendai Girls. Which of those do you feel best prepared you for your AAAW Championship win?
All of them. I wrestled against players with different strengths in all five matches, and regardless of whom I faced, I was able to feel that I possessed the greatest strength.
What does it mean to you to hold a title held but some of the best ever like Chigusa Nagayo, Aja Kong, Manami Toyota, and so many others?
I believe the meaning will come later.
While I have been able to stand alongside the names of great individuals as a champion,
I consider it more important to stand alongside them in terms of history and ongoing battles.
I am still capable of doing more.
You participated in West Coast Pro's Queen of Indies. Seeing you made your debut in America, what does it mean to you to return and compete?
I'm not sure if the people who watched my debut match are still watching, but because I debuted in America, I have a strong feeling that America is mine! I'm enjoying a different style of wrestling in America.
Is there somewhere you haven't had the chance to wrestle yet that you'd like to in the future?
I want to explore many different worlds that I have yet to experience!
I would love to visit every country, but my top choice is Mexico! I have a strong desire to learn lucha libre. By incorporating the strengths of American wrestling, Mexican wrestling, and Japanese wrestling, I can become the strongest by embracing various styles of wrestling.
Despite not being scheduled for the tournament, you were able to make it to the finals against Masha Slamovich. Was it difficult to wrestle those three matches and how'd it feel to come so close to winning?
From the moment I knew I would be participating in the tournament, I only had my eyes on winning, so I was determined to compete in all three matches. Although I was worried about my stamina for three matches in a foreign land, I am a stamina monster, so it wasn't an issue.
However, Masha was strong. I couldn't win the championship, but I believe there is significance in being able to have a match with Masha, whom I have trained with, in the finals of Queen of Indies.
Would you like to defend the championship against Slamovich in the future after she was able to defeat you in the finals?
Masha also holds six championship belts!
Wouldn't it be interesting to have a match where we put all our belts on the line?
Just imagine, if I win, I could suddenly hold seven championship belts. That's such an exciting idea, isn't it?
We know Takumi Iroha wants the AAAW Championship back. As champion, are you prepared for her challenge and to fight her in a singles match for the first time since 2019?
Of course, I can always do that.
We both had many injuries, and we rarely had the opportunity to be in the same ring.
But with Takumi-san, regardless of belts, I hope to have matches in the future where Mio Momono vs. Takumi Iroha is regarded as the golden card of women's professional wrestling.
Now that you're champion, who else would you like to defend the title against?
Names like Takumi Iroha and Chihiro Hashimoto come to mind, but I aspire to compete against the past champions and stand on par with them. I would like to face those who have held the AAAW Championship in the past.
Your match with Maria at Queen of Indies was the first time you two ever faced off in an official singles match. What was it like to have that match with her, how'd she challenge you, and would you like to have another singles match with her soon, this time in Japan?
I have confidence in teaching the "fundamentals" to Maria and other trainees before their debut.
Since her debut, Maria has been working hard on her own, and I feel like she has established herself as a professional wrestler over the past year.
She's cool! It's great to see a cool Maria, but I also want to see a messy and fiercely competitive Maria. I hope I can bring that out in the future.
After wrestling Sareee at pinx!, do you have interest of facing her in a singles match somewhere down the line as it seemed to be personal between you both?
I want to do something incredible! I had a single match with Sareee before she went to the United States. At that time, I was still a rookie, and giving it my all was the best I could do. It has been about 5 years since then, and I have confidence in the growth and experience I have accumulated.
I mentioned Chihiro Hashimoto and Iroha Takumi as my rivals, but I believe the day is also approaching when I will join them.
I’d like to thank Mio Momono for taking the time to answer these questions before her trip to America.
We'd also want to thank Marvelous for giving us the opportunity to do this interview.
If you haven't had the chance to see Momono in action before, check out this playlist that features some of her best matches since returning from injury earlier this year: Mio Momono Playlist
If you want to keep up with Mio Momono and all her future matches, you can follow her on Twitter here: @marvelousMio
Also make sure to follow Marvelous (@info_marvelous) for news, live streams, and more.
