Hikari Minami

Hikari Minami (みなみ 飛香) is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for her work in the Ice Ribbon promotion, where she spent nearly seven years, making her debut in February 2006 at the age of eleven, becoming a two-time ICE×60 Champion and a one-time IW19 Champion.

She is also known for her work in DDT Pro-Wrestling, where she is a former three-time Ironman Heavymetalweight Champion.

Minami was trained by Gatokunyan wrestler Emi Sakura and made her professional wrestling debut at the age of eleven on February 12, 2006, working under the ring name Hikari and facing Sakura, Aika Ando, Hinata and Kinoko in a five-way match at an event in Itabashi, Tokyo.

On April 29, Hikari won her first professional wrestling championship, defeating Aika to win Dramatic Dream Team's (DDT) Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship.

Six days later, Hikari lost the title to Misae Genki, only to regain it from Miki Ishii later that same day.

Hikari's second reign with the title came to an end on June 5, when she was defeated by Natsuki☆Head.

In April 2006, Emi Sakura left Gatokunyan and took most of her trainees, Hikari included, with her to form the core of her new Ice Ribbon promotion.

Hikari made her debut for Ice Ribbon at the promotion's second ever event on June 20, defeating her elementary school friend Seina.

During the next six months, Hikari and Seina developed a storyline rivalry, facing each other in four more singles matches, with Hikari winning the series 4–1.

On December 5, Hikari wrestled male wrestler Ken Ohka to a time limit draw, which led to the two forming a partnership on January 8, 2007.

The two have wrestled semi-regularly as a tag team ever since.

In late January, Hikari began competing under the ring name Hikari Minami, after getting the blessing of former All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling performer and family friend Suzuka Minami to use the surname.

In storyline, Hikari is sometimes referred to as Suzuka's niece and billed as the "Second Generation Marine Wolf"; Marine Wolves being the former tag team of Suzuka Minami and Akira Hokuto.

During the rest of the year, Minami's rivalry with Seina also came to include Seina's younger sister Riho.

From December 7, 2007, to December 13, 2008, Minami took an entire year off professional wrestling to concentrate on finishing junior high school.

In her return match, Minami wrestled old rival Seina to a time limit draw.

The following year, Minami began making challenges for Ice Ribbon's top championship, the ICE×60 Championship, failing in two title matches against Emi Sakura and one against Tsukasa Fujimoto.

On June 5, 2010, Minami turned heel by attacking ICE×60 Champion Emi Sakura from behind, after she had successfully defended the title against Tsukushi, before announcing her intention of going for the championship herself.

On July 10, Minami defeated Hikaru Shida, Riho and Tsukasa Fujimoto in a four-way match, scoring all three eliminations in the process, to become the number one contender to Sakura's title.

Nine days later, Minami defeated Sakura to win the ICE×60 Championship for the first time.

After a 66-day reign, Minami lost the title to JWP Joshi Puroresu wrestler Command Bolshoi in her first defense.

On December 24, Minami made her debut for Smash at Happening Eve, where she teamed with Chii Tomiya and Kushida in a six-person tag team match, where they were defeated by Isami Kodaka, Makoto and Yusuke Kodama.

In late 2010 and early 2011, Minami made appearances for Union Pro Wrestling, performing under a mask and the character of Black Cherry #2 as part of the storyline rivalry between Cherry and Black Cherry, portrayed by fellow Ice Ribbon wrestler Riho.

Minami returned to Smash on March 31, 2011, at Smash.15, where she, Riho and Tsukushi defeated Emi Sakura, Makoto and Mochi Miyagi in a six-woman tag team match.

The following month, Minami and Riho began producing their own events under the banner of "Teens", which would focus on spotlighting Ice Ribbon's younger wrestlers.

On May 27, Minami defeated Tsukushi to win Ice Ribbon's 19 O'Clock Girls ProWrestling project's Internet Wrestling 19 Championship for the first time.

Minami lost the title to Chii Tomiya only five days later in her first defense.

On June 15, Minami defeated Remi Nagano to win the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship for the third time.

She would lose the title to Emi Sakura later that same day.

On August 7, Minami made her debut for the JWP promotion, losing to Command Bolshoi.

During the match, Minami suffered a bloody lip and a ruptured eardrum as a result of Bolshoi hitting her with multiple shoteis.

Upon her return to Ice Ribbon, Minami pinned ICE×60 Champion Tsukasa Fujimoto on August 13 in a ten-woman tag team captain's fall match and was as a result named the number one contender to her title.

On August 21, Minami defeated Fujimoto to win the ICE×60 Championship for the second time.

During the next few weeks, Minami went on to successfully defend the title against Chii Tomiya and Hikaru Shida.

In October, Minami, Emi Sakura, Hikaru Shida and Tsukasa Fujimoto traveled to Nottingham, England to take part in events promoted by Pro Wrestling EVE and Southside Wrestling Entertainment (SWE).

During the tour, Minami successfully defended the ICE×60 Championship for the third time, against Shanna.

During 2011, Minami also took part in Ice Ribbon's interpromotional rivalry with the Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling promotion.

On October 27, Minami, Emi Sakura, Hikaru Shida, Tsukasa Fujimoto and Tsukushi represented Ice Ribbon in Sendai's Joshi Puroresu Dantai Taikou Flash tournament, a single-elimination tournament, where different joshi promotions battled each other.

The team was eliminated from the tournament in the first round by Team Sendai (Meiko Satomura, Dash Chisako, Kagetsu, Miyako Morino and Sendai Sachiko).

After a three-year hiatus, she returned in November 2015, now working for Apple Star Puroresu.