"Aka Manto" - Aka Yurei & Keiko Hirabayashi

[Bobby Barrows]

赤 幽霊
Aka Yurei
"The Crimson Ghost"

​

Nickname:

The Crimson Ghost
クリムゾンゴースト
Kurimuzongōsuto

Height: 5' 5"

Weight: 127 lbs. (57.6 kg) [9.07 Stone]

Date of Birth: 09/20/1996 (Age 26)

Billed From: Seattle, Washington

Originally From: Yokohama, Japan

Face/heel/tweener: Face(?)

Gimmick/Background:

What is there to say about the Crimson Ghost? At a young age, she was born into a poor family that struggled just to survive. Her father never truly loved her and abused her, and her mother resented all of her children. Stuck in a perpetual hell for years, Aka became despondent. A breaking point came when her elder brother Takeshi became involved in the Yakuza and died in a gang fight. At her wit's end, she ran away from home at the age of 15. She survived off the streets for nearly a year until she was finally taken in by a wrestling dojo. For Aka Yurei, wrestling was all she had. The people in the locker room, in the ring, in the crowd, that was the family that accepted her. Having a healthy outlet for her deep-seated personal issues, she used them to create her "Crimson Ghost" persona. As it grew in popularity, so too did her stock in the Japanese wrestling scene. As a Joshi wrestler, she was trained with a bevy of incredibly stiff strikes and technical moves. She combined this with her natural athleticism to incorporate some ground-based techniques as well as even a few high-flying maneuvers as a showcase. Having made enough money, she moved permanently from Japan to Seattle, Washington in 2017. Outside of wrestling, Aka is fluent in both Japanese and English (having an American father), graduated from the University of Washington in 2021 with a bachelor's degree in Business, and is a strong activist for mental health services everywhere.

The "Crimson Ghost" at its surface may be a "spooky" character, but it is in fact a subversion of the trope. Her face paint is reminiscent of an angered ghost, looking to bring destruction and death in her wake. Her violent nature in the ring brings a certain aura of danger to the "Crimson Ghost" persona, as she strikes fast and hard against many of her enemies, looking to pick them apart and break bones. The character is in truth the culmination of all of the pent-up issues that resided within Aka Yurei. As such, the character is brooding, and melancholic, and serves as her outlet for her to deal with her personal issues. Aka once explained in a Japanese magazine that her character is meant to be her, "anger and rage at losing [her] youth, like an Onryō (vengeful spirit)...". Her entrances are a flamboyant affair, a waltz down to the ring with eccentric mannerisms and a manic grin, but when the bell ring, her demeanor shifts into all business. For her, hurting opponents is just a part of life when all she's known is pain herself. "The Crimson Ghost" Aka Yurei is a dangerous opponent, and regardless if she wins or loses, she will always come back for more; much like a zombie, she will always get back up.

Aka Yurei officially debuted in the US with the FWA in mid-2021, where she would immediately, and disappointingly begin a long losing streak. The biggest two moments of her career would be winning a Tag Team Title opportunity with Reagan Cole, against the juggernaut team of Golden Rock, both former (and even at the time current) FWA World Champions Randy Ramon and Devin Golden. Yurei and Cole were close to victory but were not to be, and Yurei went on hiatus from the FWA, with only one recorded win to her name. The most important thing to happen during this timespan was her re-discovering her passion for the business, after some time of believing that she did not belong; thanks to Humanity, she was able to confront her personal demons and come out a better person overall.

The next year, Aka Yurei would debut in AMA, interfering in a match between her mentor Brian Zewbowski, and Liberty Olivera Lawrenson. This would set up her first match, a tag match in the AMA Tag Title Tournament between her and Zewbowski vs. Tetsuo Ishii and Liberty, which was her first official win in either a general capacity. She has since returned to the FWA with a new attitude and a new look. This new look and attitude culminated in a staggering World Tag Team Championship victory alongside Reagan Cole, in which the two of them defeated Kayden Knox and Gabrielle at the 17th Anniversary Show. They would lose the titles within a month to Michelle Von Horowitz and Gerald Grayson. Immediately following that match, Aka Yurei would be beaten severely by Jeffry Mason, and with her injuries, she would be out of action for several months, almost forgotten about it would seem... until now.​

Non-FWA accomplishments:

N/A

FWA accomplishments:

1x FWA World Tag Team Champions (w/ Reagan Cole)

FWA win-loss record, if you wish to keep one: (Win-Loss-Draw-No Contest)

8-11-0-0

Style of wrestling (brawler, high flyer, technical, etc.):

joshi puroresu with incorporated brawling and aerial moves. Hard strikes, big chops, and bone-crunching submissions come part and parcel of the puro experience. Aka can also brawl with the best of them when need be, especially during comebacks and angry streaks. Blood feuds see her violent tendencies truly come out when she's in no-DQ matches. She's not afraid to use weaponry and make some people bleed if the Crimson Ghost is so inclined.

Moveset:

Standing Attacks:

Snap Suplex
Neckbreaker
Northern Lights Suplex
Michinoku Driver
Teardrop Suplex
Tiger Suplex
German Suplex
Pop-Up Cutter
Roundhouse Kick
Reverse Roundhouse Kick

Ground Attacks:

Fist Drop
Leg Stomp
Knee Drop
Head Scissors
Texas Cloverleaf
Boston Crab
STF

Running / Irish Whip Attacks:

Clothesline
Jumping Crossbody
Hip Attack
Lou Thesz Press
Spinebuster
Backbreaker

Diving Attacks:

Diving Hurricanrana
Diving Dropkick
Diving Frankensteiner

Signature Moves:

Early Grave - Crossface Chickenwing
Vengeful Strike - Poison Frankensteiner

A minimum of one finishing move, and a maximum of three:

The Soul Crusher - Jumping Double Foot Stomp
ソウルクラッシャー
(Sourukurasshā)

Hell From Above - Diving Reverse Moonsault
上から地獄
(Ue Kara Jigoku)

The Living End - Running Shining Wizard
リヴィング・エンド
(Rivu~ingu Endo)

Attire:

Aka Yurei's old attire used to of ghostly face paint, appearing as that of a Japanese Onryou. Nowadays, the face paint has traded a ghostly white for a less concealing red swirls and stains from her eyes, as this Crimson Ghost is crying bloody tears. Her wrestling wear is a mixed crimson and black brassiere, a black cloth collar linked to her bra, and grey and gold trunks with the crimson kanji "武し" or "Takashi" in remembrance of her brother. Alongside this, she wears thigh-high black stockings, red kneepads and gold crimson-laced boots. This is generally her normal attire, but some special occasions has her with a more lavish outfit. During entrances, she walks to the ring with a crimson hannya mask, signifying further the Crimson Ghost's dark and violent nature; the white silk kimono she used to wear to the ring has been swapped out instead for a fur kimono, a great departure from her old style.​

Base pic for your character: Kana/Asuka

稽古 平林
Keiko Hirabayashi
"The Mistress in Blue"
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Nickname:

Mistress in Blue
青の愛人
Ao no Aijin

Height: 5'4"

Weight: 119 lbs. (54 kg) [8.5 Stone]

Date of Birth: 04/09/1999 [Age: 24]

Billed From: Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan

Face/Heel/Tweener: Heel

Gimmick/Background:

They call her "The Mistress in Blue", her grace, elegance, and beauty are unmatched by many in this business. Keiko Hirabayashi's whole ideal was simply a pursuit of perfection by any means necessary. When Keiko shot onto the Joshi scene in 2017 at the tender age of 18, she was inexperienced but full of fire. For a year she would come to grow and steady her style further... Miss Hirabayashi would not become the "Mistress in Blue" until after she became teamed with a slightly older, but infinitesimally more experienced veteran: "The Crimson Ghost" Aka Yurei. Inspired by Yurei's red aesthetic, Hirabayashi adopted an opposite sea blue aesthetic.

Hirabayashi's personality in the ring would be much the opposite of her former tag partner. Instead of intimidating her opponents with visceral looks and battling with bone-crunching moves, the Mistress would use different tactics, by any means necessary, and with her speed and technical prowess. Squaring up and brawling is foolish in her eyes, and tying up her opponents in knots is more her bread and butter. With a more tempered, if equally intense style, The Mistress in Blue is a threat to anyone who steps into the ring with her. Outside of the ring, what she considers "grace" others would call "arrogance". She does not doubt her abilities and anyone who calls her on it is dismissed with great haughtiness. Those "unelegant" few do not deserve to share the same light as the Mistress herself, after all.

During her time in Japan, the team of Aka Yurei & Keiko Hirabayashi, known at the time as "Aka Manto" (after the Japanese urban legend), was a dominant force on the Joshi scene in 2018-2020; the team ended on hostile terms later in their last year together after Keiko turned on Yurei, citing "irreconcilable differences" between the two. Indeed, it was in truth Keiko Hirabayashi that ran Aka Yurei out of the Japanese Joshi scene and pushed her onto the American stage; this was something that "The Mistress" took great pride in herself... but now she has followed Aka Yurei to America; who knows just what the hell could happen between the two this time...

​

Non-FWA Accomplishments:

N/A

FWA Accomplishments:

N/A

FWA win-loss record, if you wish to keep one:

3-2-0-0

Style of wrestling (brawler, high flyer, technical, etc.):

Keiko Hirabayashi's style of wrestling is more akin to a Japanese Technical wrestler, instead of bone-crunching, devastating maneuvers, "The Mistress in Blue" prefers to wear down her opponents with stretches, submissions, arm drags, and targeting certain areas of the body for full effect. She will always come into a match with a strategy to take out a body part and render her opponents crippled. If an opponent attempts to square up and throw fists, Hirabayashi will try her hardest to not fall into that trap; using such punches and kicks, according to her is "inelegant". That being said, there will always be underlying moments of hypocrisy when she is especially frustrated, she will claw at an opponent's eyes, rake their back, and even throw clubbing elbows at their jaw just to teach them a lesson. Deathmatches are also a thing that Keiko deplores, likely stemming from her matches with Aka Yurei in the past. Think of a mix between Bret Hart's technical prowess, and younger brother Owen Hart's speed and agility.

Moveset:

Standing Attacks:

Snap Suplex
German Suplex
Russian Legsweep
Neckbreaker
Backbreaker
Abdominal Stretch
Octopus Stretch
Headlock
Arm Drag
Arm Wrench
Scoop Slam
Sleeperhold
DDT
Fireman's Carry
Small Package

Ground Attacks:

Headscissors
Fujiwara Armbar
STF
Boston Crab
Elbow Drop
Arm Stomp
Legbreaker

Running/Irish Whip Attacks:

Kitchen Sink
Bulldog
Running Neckbreaker
Running Crucifix Pin
Drop Toe Hold

Diving Attacks:

Diving Legdrop
Diving Hurricanrana
Bret's Rope (Second Rope) Elbow Drop

Signature Moves:

Elegant Dream (FKA Blue Paper) - Million Dollar Dream

A minimum of one finishing move, and a maximum of three:


The Siren's Call - Jumping Piledriver
サイレンの呼び声
Sairen no Yobigoe

Graceful Charity - Diving Elbow Drop
優雅な慈善団体
Yūgana Jizen Dantai

Blue Scorpion - Sharpshooter
ブルースコーピオン
Burūsukōpion

Attire / Entrance:

When one sees the "Mistress in Blue" entering the ring, her attire is a wonderous sea blue aesthetic. What little face paint she has is a juxtaposed pink, symbolically a gesture to both recognize and mock her former tag team partner: Aka Yurei. While coming down to the ring, she wields a parasol that she uses to shade herself from the inelegant and disgraceful fans; after all, she is the center of attention, and the spotlight is always on her. Other entrance attire includes a gorgeous long blue coat lined with white fur and a golden belt. When walking to the ring, her face is stone-like, bearing little expression other than graceful disdain, carrying the parasol and carrying herself like a goddess or a queen.

It should be noted that in Japan, the "Mistress in Blue" would prop herself up as some sort of monarch befitting her royal stature in wrestling. This included an entire ceremonial entrance, from which she is carried to the ring via a Norimono by attendants in ceremonial Japanese garb. Another attendant will hand Keiko her signature parasol. The only time this kind of entrance wasn't necessary was when she had teamed with Aka Yurei, where the two would walk down to the ring instead. When Keiko Hirabayashi has a championship, there will usually be a small ceremony before the match where she is handed flowers by attendants and she will insist that her opponents bow to her before the match.

Her actual in-ring attire varies depending on her mood, but tends to stay in the blue/black spectrum, a studded brassiere piece, lined from the center of the chest down to her trunks, which is a mixture of gold and blue with the kanji "愛人", meaning "Mistress" on the back. Her blue boots with black laces also run up to the top of her knees, giving many a fan a good view of her thigh space.
​

Avatar: Saki Akai

Double Team Finisher

The End of Life
人生の終わり
Jinsei No Owari

Double Team Entrance:

When entering the ring together, they tend to stick to their Red/Blue aesthetic as much as possible. When walking down to the ring, Aka and Keiko's vibe feels creepy, unnerving, and uncanny. Their theme song and blinking lights that come on and off at each beat would give off the sensation of watching something in slow-motion, or a strobe effect to best put it. Sometimes Aka Yurei will crawl into the ring underneath the bottom rope while Keiko would be less inclined. Their entrance is about playing mind games with the opponent and giving an eerie chill to fans watching. Just two unhinged and very dangerous people stalking their prey and enjoying every second before the bell.

Entrance Theme:
"Quake Theme" by Trent Reznor / Nine Inch Nails

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[SupineSnake]

Awesome! We have the pay-per-view coming up, so we'll look if it's possible to get you a booking on that show. The card for that should go up tomorrow, after the Fallout 027 results. Great to have you back.