is a Japanese sports drama Japanese Netflix streaming television series planned by Osamu Suzuki, wrote the screenplay Osamu Suzuki and , directed Kazuya Shiraishi and Katsuhito Mogi. The series consists of five episodes, all first released on 19 September 2024.
The show stars Yuriyan Retriever in the role of Dump Matsumoto. Formerly known as Matsumoto Kaori, she was a kind girl aiming to become a female professional wrestler in order to become stronger. However, she became hated by all the Japanese people, the most famous heel in the history of Japanese women's professional wrestling, "Dump Matsumoto."
This drama is a fact-based fictional story that depicts the madness of All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling in the 1980s, centering on the rivalry between Dump Matsumoto and Nagayo Chigusa, the protagonists of the famous Hair-Cutting Death Match (hair vs. hair match) in Japanese women's professional wrestling history.
However, despite being marketed as a drama, it also contains elements of non-fiction and documentary.
Cast and characters Main Yuriyan Retriever as Dump Matsumoto: A kind-hearted girl, Kaori Matsumoto grew up in a horrible home with a father who was addicted to alcohol, violent, in debt, and having an affair. She happened to see Jackie Sato practicing in the ring of "All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling" and aspired to become a female professional wrestler after being captivated by her. After much deliberation, Kaori auditioned and enrolled. However, unlike Tomoko Kitamura and Yukari Omori, who debuted earlier, Kaori, along with Chigusa Nagayo, fell behind. Later, Chigusa, along with Tomoko—who changed her name to "Lioness Asuka"—became massively popular as the "Crush Gals" tag team. Kaori became a heel wrestler at her company's command but struggled to make a breakthrough. One day, her friendship with Chigusa fell apart, and she exploded with hatred for her sloppy father and anger at her unsympathetic mother and sister. She awakened as "Dump Matsumoto," the "most terrifying and evil heel wrestler, hated by all of Japan." Then, Dump Matsumoto, who formed the "Atrocious Alliance," came into conflict with Chigusa Nagayo, who had become a charismatic and popular member of the "Crush Gals," and became Chigusa's greatest enemy. Dump Matsumoto then went on to fight Chigusa in a "legendary fierce battle"—a loser-shaves-head "Hair Cutting Death Match" that will be talked about for generations to come.
Crush Gals Erika Karata as Chigusa Nagayo: When Chigusa Nagayo was a child, her parents disappeared due to debts, leaving her to be passed around among relatives. She joined "All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling" alongside Kaori Matsumoto, but like her friend, she ended up falling behind. As she lived with Kaori in the dormitory, they became best friends. She had experience in karate; after using a karate technique that was banned in "All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling" at the time, she was bullied by senior female wrestlers and decided to quit. However, Lioness Asuka, whom she had chosen as her final opponent, invited her to "do the wrestling we want to do," leading Chigusa to challenge her to a match. As a result, the two hit it off, gained recognition from the company, and formed the tag team "Crush Gals." They became popular throughout Japan, even releasing hit songs. Meanwhile, Chigusa's best friend, Kaori Matsumoto, transformed into "the most terrifying and terrible heel wrestler, hated by everyone in Japan," known as "Dump Matsumoto," and became Chigusa's biggest rival. Chigusa and Dump then faced off in what became a legendary "Hair Cutting Death Match." Ayame Goriki as Tomoko Kitamura, Lioness Asuka: Tomoko Kitamura joined "All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling" alongside Matsumoto Kaori and Nagayo Chigusa. She lived in the dormitory with Kaori and Chigusa. With exceptional athletic ability and a rapid debut, Tomoko was a highly promising wrestler, earning her the nickname "Jackie Sato II." However, witnessing the bullying and toxic attitudes of her senior wrestlers, Tomoko began to feel a sense of crisis regarding the future of the company. Thinking that it would be her final match, Chigusa challenged Tomoko—who had by then changed her ring name to "Lioness Asuka." Tomoko suggested, "Let's have the match we want to have." After the bout, the two hit it off, gained the company's backing, and formed the legendary tag team the "Crush Gals." The duo even released a hit song and became mainstream pop icons throughout Japan. However, Asuka, who wanted to pursue her career purely as a wrestler, gradually began to drift apart from Chigusa, who believed that entertainment and media activities were an essential part of the Professional wrestling business. During the infamous "Hair Cutting Death Match" where Nagayo Chigusa challenged Dump Matsumoto, Asuka fought as Nagayo's second; she ultimately threw a towel into the ring to stop the match but was unable to prevent the "horrific ending." Later, in the "Dump Matsumoto Retirement Match," she gave a passionate microphone performance, asking Dump, who was trying to retire as a villain, "Is that all there is to pro wrestling for you?"—an defiance that triggered an unexpected "extra match."
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Ebi chan () as , Yukari Honjo: Yukari Honjo passed the same audition as Kaori Matsumoto and later became a member of the "55-year-old group," a classmate of Kaori Matsumoto's. She lived in the same dormitory as Kaori. Before her debut, Honjo was one of the "dropouts" along with Kaori and Chigusa Nagayo. At the agency's request, she joined the heel group "Black Devil" led by Devil Masami. Then, under Devil Masami's orders, she became a masked wrestler called "Masked Yu." Unlike Kaori, who was kicked out of "Black Devil," Honjo became a heel wrestler in her own right. However, after Kaori awakened as "Dump Matsumoto," she and Kaori left "Black Devil." She then removed her mask and changed her name to "." She then formed "" with Kaori, becoming their No. 2 and facing off against Nagayo and Lioness Asuka's "Crush Gals." However, Yuu is naturally a kind-hearted person, and when she's off the ring, she gets along well with babyface wrestlers like , which causes a rift with Dump Matsumoto, who tries to be a heel even in his private life. Yuu is then expelled from "the Atrocious Alliance" after a brutal bloodbath, which could be considered punishment from Dump Matsumoto. She then reverts to her real name, Yukari Honjo, and becomes a referee for "All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling". After the "Hair Cutting Death Match," she attended "Dump Matsumoto's Retirement Match" and participated for Dump Matsumoto and the "55-year Pro Wrestling Group."
Momoko Hori as Bull Nakano, Keiko Nakano: Keiko Nakano was a junior wrestler with the ambition of becoming a babyface, joining Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling after Kaori Matsumoto and Chigusa Nagayo and others. However, as a member of the "Black Devil", she was tasked with handing over weapons to the heel wrestlers. She was generally unattractive in appearance and had a dull personality. However, when Dump decided to expel Crane Yu, she was forcibly shaved off half of her head with clippers, giving her a "one-sided mohawk." From the "Crane Yu Expulsion Match," she became Dump Matsumoto's new partner, taking the ring name "Bull Nakano," and becoming the No. 2 in "the Atrocious Alliance." She then transformed into a vicious heel wrestler wielding nunchucks in the ring.
Sayaka Tobe as : Kahoru Kage served as a body double for Dump Matsumoto in the "Hair Cutting Death Match." From then on, she accompanied Dump Matsumoto and "" until "Dump Matsumoto's Retirement Match."
Dynamite Gals as : is one of the female wrestlers who passed the audition for "All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling" along with Matsumoto Kaori and Nagayo Chigusa, and who lived with them in the dormitory. Along with fellow wrestler and fellow coworker Tomoko Kitamura, who would later become Lioness Asuka, she passed the professional test for female wrestlers before Kaori and Nagayo.In a match when "Chigusa Nagayo Awakened," she challenged her senior, Jumbo Hori, and Hori took a liking to her, leading to them forming a babyface tag team called "Dynamite Gals." The "Dynamite Gals" then faced off against the "Crush Gals," a team made up of Nagayo and Asuka, in numerous matches, but were overwhelmed by the popularity of the latter. Omori Yukari became a babyface wrestler, but continued to be friendly with Crane Yu, who had become a heel wrestler. Dump Matsumoto was angry about this and staged a brutal, bloody match that could be seen as punishment for Crane Yu. Omori Yukari even witnessed Crane Yu's heartbreak, and remained angry until the time of "Dump Matsumoto's retirement match."
as : is a beautiful wrestler who is a senior to Matsumoto Kaori and specializes in dynamic wrestling, making the most of her large physique. She takes a liking to Yukari Omori, a junior wrestler who challenged her in a match during "Chigusa Nagayo's Awakening," and they form a babyface tag team called the "Dynamite Gals." However, they were overshadowed by the popularity of "Crush Gals."
Black Devil
as Devil Masami: "Devil Masami" is a female wrestler who was a senior to Matsumoto Kaori and others in "All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling." She is the leader of the heel unit Devil Corps "Black Devil" and is also a talented heel wrestler. She recruited Kaori and Yukari Honjo, who were instructed by the company to become heel wrestlers, into "Black Devil." Masami then taught Kaori and Honjo, "professional heels can cause bleeding with any weapon," and taught them the ways of a heel wrestler, including how to use weapons. She did not accept Kaori as a member of the Black Devils because she was too timid to be a heel wrestler. However, upon seeing Kaori/Dump Matsumoto, who had awakened as the "most vicious heel," rampage to the brink of murder, she became enraged by the stark contrast with her own heel style, expelling Dump from "Black Devil" and breaking up with him. She later served as Chigusa Nagayo's second in the "Hair Cutting Death Match" and as a second for the "Crush Gals" in "Dump Matsumoto's Retirement Match," witnessing the outcome of the "legendary match."
Beauty Pair Kamoshida Hiromi as Jackie Sato Haruka Imoo as Maki Ueda
Other wrestlers affiliated with All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling Elina Mizuno as Jaguar Yokota Eri Kamataki as Lovely Yoneyama
All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling staff or related parties The three Matsunaga brothers Jun Murakami as Takashi Matsunaga Daisuke Kuroda as Kunimatsu Matsunaga Takumi Saitoh as Toshikuni Matsunaga
Other people involved in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling Takuma Otoo as Shiro Abe Akapen Takigawa as Nobuo Usui Shigeki Kiyono as Haruo Shiono
Matsumoto family Atsuko Sendo as Satoko Matsumoto Marin Nishimoto as Hiromi Matsumoto Takamitsu Nonaka as Goro Matsumoto
Nagayo family Tomu Miyazaki as Shigeru Nagayo Michie as Sueko Nagayo
Production Pre-production At the end of 2019, Osamu Suzuki, who was then a broadcast writer and staff member of the TV program "I'm a Sujigane Fan!", aired footage of the "legendary match" between Dump Matsumoto and Chigusa Nagayo, the "Hair-Cutting Death Match." At the time, Osamu Suzuki saw Nagayo Chikusa fans crying tears of frustration after watching the footage. This made him want to create a work themed around the "craze of women's professional wrestling in the 1980s."
Osamu Suzuki created a proposal with only a few pages on the cover, with a photo of Dump Matsumoto and Nagayo Chigusa's "Hair-Cutting Death Match" and the title "The Queen of Villains," and took it to Netflix. The proposal for "The Queen of Villains" was then adopted by Netflix.
Development