Oz Academy

Oz Academy

Acronym	Oz
Founded	June 21, 1998[1]
Style	Joshi puroresu Hardcore wrestling
Headquarters	Shinjuku, Tokyo[1]
Founder(s)	Mayumi Ozaki[1]
Website	Oz-A.com

Oz Academy (OZアカデミー OZ Akademi) is a Japanese joshi puroresu or female professional wrestling promotion founded by Mayumi Ozaki. The promotion's full official name is Oz Academy Women's Professional Wrestling (OZアカデミー女子プロレス OZ Akademi Joshi Puroresu).^[1] In addition to the contracted members of the roster, Oz Academy also employs some of the top freelancers in all of joshi puroresu, including Hiroyo Matsumoto, Manami Toyota and Tomoka Nakagawa. The promotion has a television deal with Gaora.^[2]

History

Oz Academy founder Mayumi Ozaki

While working in the Gaea Japan promotion in mid-90s, Ozaki formed the villainous Oz Academy stable with Chikayo Nagashima, Rieko Amano and Sugar Sato, eventually opening a training school under the same name.^[3] Oz Academy eventually started promoting sporadic independent events, featuring members of the stable and Ozaki's trainees, with the first event held on June 21, 1998.^[1] Following the folding of Gaea Japan in 2005, Ozaki turned Oz Academy into a full promotion with a full schedule of approximately one to two events per month, while also recruiting veteran wrestlers Aja Kong, Dynamite Kansai and Sonoko Kato to serve as the backbone of the promotion.^[1][4][5] Oz Academy remained without championships for nearly nine years, before introducing the Oz Academy Openweight Championship in March 2007 and the Oz Academy Tag Team Championship in July 2008.^[6][7]

Mayumi Ozaki has always been a focal point of Oz Academy events and storylines, with different variations of her original Oz Academy stable trying to dominate and keep themselves on top of the promotion. The stable has gone under many different names, including D-Fix,^[8] Ozaki-gun,^[9] Ozaki-gundan,^[10] and currently, Seikigun.^[11] At the end of each year, Oz Academy allows its fans to vote on different awards, including MVP of the Year, Singles Match of the Year and Tag Team Match of the Year, which are then presented to the winners at the "Best Wizard" award ceremony.^[12] Oz Academy is based in Shinjuku, Tokyo and holds most of its events in Shinjuku Face.^[1][4] The promotion itself considers the formation of the stable in August 1996 as its starting point and celebrated its 15th anniversary on August 21, 2011.^[3][13]

Roster

Wrestlers

Ring name	Real name	Notes
Aja Kong	Shishido, ErikaErika Shishido[14]
Akino	Akino, MikaMika Akino[15]	Freelancer
Arisa Nakajima	Nakajima, ArisaArisa Nakajima[16]	JWP Joshi Puroresu
Dynamite Kansai	Suzuki, ChiekoChieko Suzuki[17]
Hikaru Shida	Shida, HikaruHikaru Shida[18]	Freelancer
Hiroyo Matsumoto	Matsumoto, HiroyoHiroyo Matsumoto[19]	Freelancer
Kagetsu	Yukari Ishino[20]	Freelancer
Kaho Kobayashi	Kaho Kobayashi[21]	Asuka Project/Pro Wrestling Wave
Kaori Yoneyama	Yoneyama, KaoriKaori Yoneyama[22]	Oz Academy Tag Team Champion Freelancer
Kyusei Sakura Hirota	Unknown	Freelancer
Manami Toyota	Toyota, ManamiManami Toyota[23]	Freelancer
Maya Yukihi	Unknown	Ice Ribbon
Mayumi Ozaki	Ozaki, MayumiMayumi Ozaki[24]
Sonoko Kato	Kato, SonokoSonoko Kato[25]
Tsubasa Kuragaki	Kuragaki, YasukoYasuko Kuragaki[26]	Oz Academy Tag Team Champion Freelancer
Tsukasa Fujimoto	Fujimoto, TsukasaTsukasa Fujimoto	Ice Ribbon
Yumi Ohka	Abe, YumikoYumiko Abe[27]	Pro Wrestling Wave

Non-wrestlers

Ring name	Real name	Notes
, MioMio	Unknown[28]	Referee
Police	Unknown[29]	Manager of Seikigun
Ring Ana Nakamura	Hiroyuki Nakamura[30]	Ring announcer
Sayuri Kokushō	Koda, SayuriSayuri Koda	Occasional manager of Seikigun
Sachiko Ito	Sachiko Ito[31]	Referee

Notable alumni

Ring name	Real name	Notes
Ayumi Kurihara	Kurihara, AyumiAyumi Kurihara[32]	Retired August 4, 2013
Carlos Amano	Amano, RiekoRieko Amano[33]	Retired August 17, 2014
Chikayo Nagashima	Nagashima, ChikayoChikayo Nagashima[34]	Resigned on August 23, 2015
Devil Masami	Yoshida, MasamiMasami Yoshida[35]	Retired December 30, 2008
Hiren	Yurie Kaneko[36]	Retired November 8, 2011
Kaori Nakayama	Kaori Nakayama[37]	Retired October 23, 2002
Kaoru	Maeda, KaoruKaoru Maeda[38]
Mika Nishio	Mika Nishio[39]	Retired from wrestling in April 2006, continued working as a manager until March 20, 2016, when she retired due to pregrancy[40][41]
Nao Komatsu	Nao Komatsu[42]	Injured on December 9, 2012
Ran Yu-Yu	Miyaguchi, TomokoTomoko Miyaguchi[43]	Retired December 9, 2012
Rie	Rie Nakamura
Sugar Sato	Toshie Sato[44]	Retired June 26, 2005
Takako Inoue	Inoue, TakakoTakako Inoue[45]
Tomoka Nakagawa	Nakagawa, TomokaTomoka Nakagawa[46]	Retired December 4, 2014

Championships

Championship	Current champion(s)	Date won	Previous champion(s)
Oz Academy Openweight Championship	Vacant	April 24, 2016	Sonoko Kato
Oz Academy Tag Team Championship	Kaori Yoneyama and Tsubasa Kuragaki	December 13, 2015	Mission K4 (Kagetsu and Kaho Kobayashi)

References

1. "Ozアカデミー女子プロレス". Oz Academy (in Japanese). Retrieved July 1, 2012.
2. "Ozアカデミー 女子プロレス". Gaora (in Japanese). Retrieved June 7, 2015.
3. "Ozアカデミー". Gaea Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
4. "Event". Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 23, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
5. アジャコング選手の電撃入団につきまして. Oz Academy (in Japanese). November 1, 2006. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
6. "Ozベルト設立の理由について". Oz Academy (in Japanese). October 23, 2006. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
7. "「～The Wizard of Oz～　Ozアカデミー認定タッグ選手権」トーナメントについて". Oz Academy (in Japanese). November 1, 2006. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
8. "2007/08/16（木）　 Oz後楽園大会　18:30～". Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 20, 2007. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
9. "Oz大阪大会　17:30～　「Good☆day@大阪」". Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 19, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
10. "2009/02/05 Oz新宿大会　対戦全カード". Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 29, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
11. "2011/09/23(金) 12:00～「Stand By My Woman」". Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 14, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
12. "2011年ファンが選んだ Best Wizard". Oz Academy (in Japanese). Retrieved July 1, 2012.
13. "2011/08/21(日) 16:00～「ﾌﾟﾗﾑの花咲くOzの国2011 Yokohama Dreams Park」". Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on August 31, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
14. アジャコング. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
15. "Akino". Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
16. 選手紹介. JWP Joshi Puroresu (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
17. ダイナマイト関西. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
18. 志田光. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 7, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
19. 松本浩代. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
20. プロフィール. Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
21. 小林 香萌. Pro Wrestling Wave (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 12, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
22. "米山香織". JWP Joshi Puroresu (in Japanese). FC2. January 1, 2011. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
23. 豊田真奈美. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
24. 尾崎魔弓. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
25. 加藤園子. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
26. 倉垣翼. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
27. 桜花由美. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
28. 紫雷美央. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 7, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
29. ポリス. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
30. 中村ﾘﾝｸﾞｱﾅ. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 26, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
31. 伊東幸子. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
32. 栗原あゆみ. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
33. カルロス天野. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
34. 永島千佳世. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
35. "Devil Masami". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
36. 悲恋. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
37. "Kaori Nakayama". Sherdog. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
38. "Kaoru". Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
39. 西尾美香. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
40. 西尾美香　マイバッハ谷口との結婚公表. Daily Sports Online (in Japanese). Kobe Shimbun. February 21, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
41. 【Ozアカデミー後楽園】西尾美香　引退セレモニーで夫マイバッハにまさかの毒霧. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). March 20, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
42. 小松奈央. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
43. 輝優優. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
44. シュガー佐藤. Gaea Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 28, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
45. 井上貴子. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
46. 中川ともか. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• Official blog (Japanese)