"The Crimson Ghost" Aka Yurei

[Bobby Barrows]

赤 幽霊
Aka Yurei
"The Crimson Ghost"


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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 25)

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 wits 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-seeded 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 and 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, 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.​

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)

5-7-0-0

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.

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Base pic for your character: Kana/Asuka

Theme Music:

"Quake Theme" - Trent Reznor/Nine Inch Nails