Marvelous was founded by legendary professional wrestler Chigusa Nagayo and has been the home for some of the best wrestlers in the world today including AAAW Champion and AAAW Tag Team Champion, Takumi Iroha. Some of the other incredibly talented wrestlers include Maria, Rin Kadokura, and Mio Momono.
Momono and Nagayo are heading to one of the hottest independent wrestling promotions in the United States this Saturday as they will take part in West Coast Pro's Ride The Lightning show. Nagayo will be there for meet and greets with fans while Momono will be wrestling against Queen Aminata in singles action.
Ahead of the show, Fightful's Scott Edwards had a chance to interview Mio Momono to discuss a number of topics including how she has fared since her return from injury, her upcoming match with Queen Aminata, the relationship she has with Chigusa Nagayo, and plenty more.
Here's what Mio had to say!
Q: How are you feeling now that you've been back wrestling for a few months now?
Mio Momono: 復帰してすぐはプロレスが楽しくて自分がまたリングに立ってプロレス出来ている事が夢心地でふわふわしていました！！
今はもっともっとという欲が出てきて正直物足りないです。
でもそれは自分自身がベルトに近づいていると感じています
Translation: I am so happy to be back on the ring enjoying wrestling but still feeling as if I am in my dream. I feel so good. But I am not satisfied yet. I know I could do more. Yet this feeling means the belt is within reach of me.
Q: You made your pro wrestling debut here in America. How excited are you to return to the United States to wrestle? What does it mean to you?
Mio Momono: 意味は後からたくさんついてくると思うのでその意味に気づけるように最高の自分でいます。
戻ってきた！というよりリセットされた新しい気持ちで私はアメリカに行きます!!
むしろここからがスタートです！！
新しい気持ちはいつだってワクワク！！！！！！！！
でもデビュー戦の時に起こった”thank you mio’ の掛け声が忘れられなくて。
それがまた聞けたら点と点が線になる気がしています！！！
Translation: I think the meaning of returning to America will be clear later. What I have to do is to make that meaning something really valuable. To make that meaning come true I will show you my best performance in the ring this time. So more than just a return, I would like to show new Mio to the audience of America. New Mio will start from here. I can’t stop feeling excited.!!! However, I could never forget the calls ‘Thank you, Mio!‘ from a lot of warm-hearted audiences during my debut match. If I could experience something similar again, the dots will become a line.
Q: As a part of Marvelous, you've had the chance to learn firsthand from Chigusa Nagayo. How would you describe your relationship with the pro wrestling legend and what she means to you?
Mio Momono: 師匠というよりも社長というよりも
お母さんとお父さんが混ざった感じです！！
長与さんのことは大好き！！
長与さんから学びたいことは遊び心。
どう頑張っても長与さんにはなれないので。
遊び心を桃野美桜らしく桃野美桜なりに
持ち続けたいです！
Translation: She is my mother as well as my father rather than being my trainer. I just love her. What I would like to learn from her now is her ‘imaginativeness.’ No matter how hard I try I could never be like her. So what I could do is to find Mio style imaginativeness and playfulness and brush them up.
Q: At West Coast Pro's Ride The Lightning, you will take on Queen Aminata, someone who has spent time in Marvelous previously. What do you expect from her and are you excited for the match?
Mio Momono: アミナタが来ていた3ヶ月間、
私は欠場中で一切試合をした事がないのです！
だいすきなマーベラスファミリーと
リングで交わることができることが
とても楽しみです
Translation: When she was with us, I wasn’t able to fight because of my injury during her 3 months stay. So I had no chances to fight with her while she was with us. I’m really looking forward to facing one of our beloving Marvelous families on the ring this time.
Q: You and Maria seem to be getting extra physical as of late when facing off -- especially your recent time limit draw. What have you noticed in her growth as a wrestler this year? Are you hoping to face her in a singles match in the future?
Mio Momono: 欠場の話が続いてしまうのですが、Mariaがデビューした時も私は欠場中でMariaが新人時代に試合したことがありません。
だから体感する成長ぶりはわかりませんが、見て感じるのは自分のスタイルを見つけたことが何よりの強みで成長に繋がっているなと思います！！
シングルマッチ是非やりたいです
Translation: I have to tell the same story but I was sitting out of the ring when Maria made her debut. That’s why I have no chances to fight with her during her green days. So I am not sure how she polished up her skills, but by watching her fight these days, I think she found ‘ her style’ and that maybe the big reason that raised her potential. Yes, I love to fight her in a singles match.
Q: Is there anyone you haven't wrestled before that you are hoping to in the future?
Mio Momono: 試合をしたことない人は基本だれとでもやりたいです。
でも中で必ず実現させたい相手とはスターダムの葉月選手とOZアカデミーの尾崎魔弓選手です！！
Translation: Basically I am ready to fight with anyone. But if it is possible, I would like to face Hazuki of Stardom and Mayumi Ozaki of OZ Academy in a near future.
Q: For the fans who will see you wrestle for the first time in West Coast Pro, what would you like to tell them to expect?
Mio Momono: この日が桃野美桜の海外侵略スタートの日です！！
海外に通用するレスラーだということを
証明してみせます！！！！！！！！
Translation: When you see me this time, that is the starting day of my ‘ international invasion’.
I promise you will come to know and love ‘MIO’ after watching me fight. And you couldn’t stop wishing to see me on the rings around the world, not to mention on the Rings of West Coast Pro again, too. Thank you so much. And see you soon.
We want 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
Momono's match with Queen Aminata happens this Saturday night on West Coast Pro's Ride The Lightning. The show will air on IWTV.
ONE WEEK AWAY!@amisylle takes on @Mio0207415!!
— West Coast Pro (@WCProOfficial) October 3, 2022
PLUS
Shibata x Nagayo Meet & Greet!
--Saturday October 8th 2022
--United Irish Cultural Center
--San Francisco Ca
--️https://t.co/NmeAy9B7nq pic.twitter.com/hsHZsmnVWE
If you want to keep up with Mio Momono and all her future matches, you can follow her on Twitter here: @Mio0207415
Also make sure to follow Marvelous (@info_marvelous) for news, live streams, and more.
