The wait is over! Diva Dirt is pleased to announce today the newest member to our elite circle of Legacy Award recipients — the legendary Manami Toyota.
After months of discussions between Diva Dirt’s editors and Female Fight League‘s Jason Deadrich, we came to the unanimous conclusion that there is no better recipient for 2011 than the iconic Japanese star.
Toyota joins WWE legend, Trish Stratus, in our Legacy Award winners’ circle. (See Trish Stratus’ acceptance speech here.)
Manami will be honored with the Diva Dirt Legacy Award in a presentation at CHIKARA‘s JoshiMania extravaganza on December 2nd in Philadelphia, PA.
Full details below:
[notice]DIVA DIRT TO HONOR LEGENDARY JOSHI STAR MANAMI TOYOTA WITH SECOND ANNUAL LEGACY AWARD
Diva Dirt (www.diva-dirt.com), the number one and most visited online resource dedicated to female wrestling, is extremely pleased to announce today that it will honor legendary Japanese wrestler Manami Toyota with its annual Diva Dirt Legacy Award on December 2nd. The award presentation will take place at CHIKARA’s JoshiMania extravaganza in Philadelphia, PA.
The Diva Dirt Legacy Award, now in its second year, celebrates the excellence and achievement of pioneering females in the world of women’s wrestling. “We created this award as a way to give back and show our respect to the hard working females in the wrestling industry who have sacrificed their bodies for our entertainment, as well as set the bar for generations to come,” said Diva Dirt Editor, Melanie Rob.
With a career spanning more than two decades, Manami Toyota is highly regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers in the world. Toyota has held multiple championships including but not limited to promotions such as All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling, GAEA, and OZ Academy. Toyota’s incredible body of work has been recognized with multiple 5-star match ratings in the prestigious Wrestling Observer Newsletter, as well as being voted Match of the Year on two separate occasions (1993, 1995). Along with being voted Match of the Year, in 1995, the publication voted Toyota its “Most Outstanding Wrestler”. In 2002, she joined the elite ranks of the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame. In September 2010, Toyota made her long awaited US debut for CHIKARA to much fanfare.
“Manami Toyota is perhaps the most iconic female wrestler in recent history. In a male-dominated sport, her talent transcends gender – she belongs in the same conversation as even the greatest male wrestlers,” said Rob. “Manami’s body of work is appreciated not just in her native Japan, but the world over. It is our honor to present this award to Manami on behalf of her fans worldwide and celebrate her career.”
Speaking of the award, Manami said: “I tried my best to wrestle great ‘Joshi’ wrestling through my whole career. I didn’t have the chance to wrestle in front of American fans until last year, but it is my great pleasure to receive such a great award from American media. I hope more people will get to know about Joshi style and see my wrestling live. Thank you very much for your support!”
For the second year, Diva Dirt will present the Diva Dirt Legacy Award in conjunction with the Female Fight League, an organization that unites all-female promotions, as well as fans, to bring respect and exposure to professional female wrestling.
“Female wrestling in the United States has greatly improved over the recent years and fans can thank outside influences from Japan and Mexico for the hard-hitting action we are seeing in the ring today by athletes like Awesome Kong (Kharma), Sara Del Rey and Cheerleader Melissa,” said Female Fight League founder, Jason Deadrich. “Manami Toyota was instrumental in bringing respect to female wrestling not only in Japan, but around the world and paving the way for future female stars. Many consider Toyota to be the greatest female wrestler of all time and we don’t disagree.”
The award presentation will take place on December 2nd in Philadelphia, PA, as part of Night 1 of CHIKARA’s JoshiMania extravaganza. JoshiMania is a three-night tour that will see Japanese talent, including Manami Toyota, Aja Kong and many more, entertain fans in the US in what can only be described as a once in a lifetime experience. “We are privileged to work alongside CHIKARA to present the 2011 Legacy Award as part of this historic event. CHIKARA is a promotion that has positively contributed to female wrestling over the years, and continues to set the bar high.”
CHIKARA’s Wink Vavasseur adds: “Manami Toyota is probably the most astonishing female athlete I have ever seen. We’re beyond thrilled to have her as part of the extended CHIKARA family, and we’re equally thrilled that this honor will be bestowed upon her at JoshiMania.”
We encourage all fans of CHIKARA and female wrestling to witness this historic three-night extravaganza. The Diva Dirt Legacy Award presentation will take place on Night 1, December 2nd, in Philadelphia, PA.
For more information on JoshiMania and to purchase tickets, please visit www.joshimania.com.
ABOUT DIVA DIRT
Diva Dirt is the world’s most visited website dedicated to professional female wrestling with over two million monthly visitors. Diva Dirt provides daily news updates, editorial, interviews, audio and video content. Diva Dirt is owned and operated by Black Pants, Inc.
For more information please visit www.diva-dirt.com or contact [email protected].
ABOUT FEMALE FIGHT LEAGUE
The Female Fight League consists of some of the greatest wrestlers and promoters in female wrestling, working together to better the future of our industry. The FFL is currently represented by promotions in the United States, Canada and Europe.
For more information please visit www.femalefightleague.com or contact [email protected].[/notice]
Watch Manami Toyota’s JoshiMania video package:
Tickets for JoshiMania can be purchased here.
