Line #4 Wrestling/AjaKong


1	[[quoteright:202:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ajakong_5742.jpg]]
2	->"''God made the Devil just for fun\
3	When He wanted the real thing, He made Aja Kong!''"
4	-->-- From her theme song, "Jungle Emperor"
5
6	Erika Shishido (born September 25, 1970) is a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese-[[UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates American]] {{Professional Wrestl\|ing}}er as '''Aja Kong.''' She started her career in 1986 at the age of 16 under her own name, becoming Aja Kong in 1988. She was a long-time regular in Wrestling/AllJapanWomensProWrestling and helped establish the [=ARSION=] promotion as one of the top monster heels. Among her achievements, she is a 4x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/zenjo/wwwa-t.html AJW WWWA World Tag Team Champion]], holding the belts 1x w[=/=]Grizzly Iwamoto, 2x w[=/=]Bison Kimura as the TagTeam Jungle Jack and 1x w[=/=][[Wrestling/KiaStevens Amazing Kong]], a 2x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/zenjo/wwwa-s.html AJW WWWA World Singles Champion]], a 1x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/arsion/arsion-s.html Queen of [=ARSION=]]] and a 1x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/hustle/hustle-t.html HUSTLE Super Tag Team Champion]] as Erica w[=/=][[Wrestling/KiaStevens Margarete (Awesome Kong)]]. She made her [=PPV=] debut at ''Wrestling/{{WWE}} Wrestling/SurvivorSeries 95.'' Kong has also competed for Wrestling/{{FMW}}, Wrestling/{{CMLL}}, Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}}, Wrestling/DragonGate, Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling and many other promotions. She was inducted into the AJW Hall of Fame in 1998 and the ''[[Wrestling/TheWrestlingObserverNewsletter Wrestling Observer Newsletter]]'' Hall of Fame in 2006.
7	----
8	!! "He made Aja Kong's Tropes!":
9	* {{Acrofatic}}: Her Northern Lights Superplex is a top rope backdrop splash while suplexing her opponent. Not just of the agile variety either but also surprisingly flexible and dexterous.
10	* ActionGirl[=/=]DarkActionGirl: She's fought just about all the competition available to her in some form or another and won more often than not.
11	* AnimalMotifs: Gorillas, obviously but also piranhas and snakes.
12	* ArchEnemy: Wrestling/ManamiToyota is by far her most faced foe. They have had {{enemy mine}} periods that lead to them teaming up but it usually doesn't workout and always manages to be broken up even when it does.
13	* AsHerself
14	** Herself in ''Ringu ringu ringu: Namida no chanpion beruto'' (wrestling movie, obviously)
15	** In ''Advertising/UFOKamenYakisoban Ikari no agedama bonbâ'', (a super hero movie promoting the noodles and sea food company Nissin)
16	** In ''Jigyaku no uta'' (a romance comedy)
17	* AssKicksYou: A seated senton to counter those pesky sunset flippers. [[GenreBlindness Like most wrestlers she often misses]], though she hit Kaoru Maeda and Xóchitl Hamada with it at the same time!
18	* AuthorAvatar: In the now defunct Arsion promotion, where she booked herself as a tag team partner turned {{starter villain}} to Ayako Hamada, to get her over as the eventual champion and face of the company (herself stepping aside in favor of Mariko Yoshida). Though during the time Kong was Ayako's partner you could call Fabi and Mari Apache ''their'' starter villains.
19	* BadassBoast: Check the page quote.
20	* [[BashBrothers Bash Sisters]]: With Bison Kimura, Kyoko Inoue, Amazing Kong
21	* BlatantLies: How Erica got into the HUSTLE model contest. She was not a model, but the housekeeper of a foreign model who sent a photo of her mistress.
22	* BrainlessBeauty: Erica acted deliberately this way, even although she wasn't exactly a beauty either. She was unaware of the story between Devil Masami and Jaguar Yokota, and didn't recognize Mirko Cro Cop either (although at least she deduced he was likely a martial artist).
23	* BullyingADragon: After Kong (obviously) lost a beauty contest to Yinling in HUSTLE, Commander An Jo and Assistant Chief Shimada came to insult her. Quick to get angry, she attacked them.
24	* TheCameo: Made a surprise appearance in Wrestling/{{SHIMMER}} to see off a retiring Tomoka Nakagawa...but not before beating the butts of the Global Green Gangsters and Seven Star Sisters.
25	* CaptainErsatz: Double Kong had them in the Playstation 2 ''Videogame/FireProWrestling''
26	* TheCavalry: She arrived in Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling at ''Fight For The Fallen'' to save Allie from [[Wrestling/KiaStevens Awesome Kong]], who had been sicced on Allie by Brandi Rhodes. Dealing with Rhodes was still something Allie had to do for herself and there was no further conflict between the two Kongs after that (not in AEW anyway).
27	* CelebrityEndorsement: At one time in Japan, she was the national spokesperson for orange juice. You can see her commercial [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAMTO6rY4to here]].
28	* [[CheapHeat Cheap Pop]]: Erica and Margaret would sometimes give flowers to audience members
29	* CombinationAttack: Aja Kong jumps on Hiroyo Matsumoto's back, causing the enemy to suffer a 300+ lbs senton. At ''Oz Academy Stand by my Woman'' Ran [=YuYu=] jumped on as well, allowing Matsumoto to give Mayumi Ozaki a [[CharlesAtlasSuperPower 522 lbs butt drop]].
30	* CookingDuel: Erica often won when she wrestled but when it come to other contests, she lost a bikini contest to Hikari Okada and a posedown to Yinling in HUSTLE.
31	* DefeatMeansFriendship: After defeating the American Amazing Kong who had temporarily replaced her. Now there were two of them for everyone else to worry about.
32	* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: She ended Bull "boss of the world" Nakano's ''three year reign'' as the WWWA world heavy weight champion (though she had to lose a couple times first). Later defeating Aja Kong herself would be considered this trope (unless you were Wrestling/BullNakano, presumably)
33	* DelinquentHair: It seems arbitrarily tacked on in relation to the rest of her serious monster persona and ''especially'' Erica's goodie good role but most fans get used to it.
34	* DistaffCounterpart: Unofficially, to Wrestling/{{Vader}}, who was also known for some nasty backhands while working in Japan (''Virtual Pro Wrestling 64'' ties her, Vader and Wrestling/BamBamBigelow together), however, her use of Uraken and Nunchucks bring to mind EMLL Luchador Kung Fu during his rudo run.
35	* TheDreaded: When freakin' [[Wrestling/MinoruSuzuki Minoru 'Murder Grandpa' Suzuki]] treats you with respect and deference, you know you're one tough mother.
36	* FacialMarkings: The above picture is a milder example. Sometimes Aja Kong had painted her whole face red or blue.
37	* FinishingMove: Brainbuster, ''Uraken'' ([[SpinAttack spinning]] back fist), Northern Lights Superplex, backwards diving elbow drop, brain buster.
38	* FoeTossingCharge: At ''[[Wrestling/ProWrestlingZERO1 ZERO1]] Celebration Return in Zeros'', when Nanae Takahashi and Hikaru started getting the advantage on and double teaming Amazing Kong, Aja Kong ran in the ring and proceeded to destroy Team SUN. The first move Aja Kong actually sold was a drop kick Toshie Uematsu, one of her own partners, accidentally hit her with.
39	* TheGlovesComeOff: She could not keep Amazing Kong down for the three count until she removed her gloves. Prior to that everything up to the trusty foreign object failed.
40	* {{Gonk}}: Aja's rotund build and lack of conventional attractiveness was a big part of her character, and it was taken to hilarious level with his gimmick in HUSTLE, Erica, a female wrestler who was convinced she was beautiful. She even accidentally weaponized it by kissing some of her opponents, which was meant to seduce them but instead left them in a BSOD.
41	* {{Heel}}
42	** ForeignWrestlingHeel: In the USA and in Mexico.
43	** [[WrestlingMonster Monster Heel]]: One of the best in Japanese women's wrestling.
44	*** EvenEvilHasStandards: Thrashed a young Dynamite Kansai on August 30, 1993 and appeared to show respect for her after the match.
45	** HeelFaceTurn: Against Bull Nakano and Monster Ripper.
46	* HalfBreedDiscrimination: Her father was a black member of the US Military stationed in Japan, and she suffered from this during her childhood as a result.
47	* HeartSymbol: Erica had two on her cheeks
48	* HiddenDepths: Erica and Margarete were GirlyGirl [[{{Face}} babyfaces]], and she is a 1x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/ddt/ironman-hm.html Dramatic Dream Team [=Ironman=] [=Heavymetalweight=] Champion]], a title that is a parody of the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwf-hc.html WWE Hardcore Title]], to the point that animals, people from the audience and ''inanimate objects'' have been recognized as "Champions." The Wrestling/DramaticDreamTeam promotion in general makes [=CHIKARA=] look old-fashioned.
49	* IHaveManyNames: Besides AJA Kong, Hula Kong, Erica and America are among them.
50	* JustToyingWithThem: She took a little more pleasure than she should have out of beating up Hana Kimura at an Oz Academy show, since Hana's mom [[DotingParent Kyoko was watching]]. When Hana managed to catch Kong in an elevated guillotine however, Kong made sure to quickly end the match after she got out of it.
51	* KindHeartedCatLover: There was a video of big bad Kong putting off her farm duties to shelter a cat from the rain.
52	* LighterAndSofter: In Future of Wrestling and Wrestling/FightingOperaHUSTLE as Erica.
53	* LovelyAngels: Despite not being around her as long as other partners, Hula Kong and Tracy Taylor probably played the trope the straightest in Hawai'i Championship Wrestling and Wrestling/ProWrestlingZero1, as far as contrasting personalities go (Kong[==][=Zero1=] were trying to be good hosts) For more regular partners, the bubbly, annoyingly optimistic near PerpetualSmiler Hiroyo Matsumoto is probably the best candidate.
54	* [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Nice Job Breaking It, Villainess]][=/=]WhatCouldHaveBeen: Got herself exiled from WWE for working, in their eyes, too stiff with Chaparita [=ASARI=] in their match on the December 11 (taped November 21), 1995 ''[[Wrestling/{{WWERaw}} Raw]].'' WWE was supposedly building Kong up as a contender to [[Wrestling/{{Madusa}} Alundra Blayze]]'s [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwf-wm.html WWE Women's Title]], but this match cancelled those plans. That, and Blayze jumping ship to Wrestling/{{WCW}} a week later, returning to her [=Madusa=] name, and throwing the belt in the trash on ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro.'' This killed off the Women's Division in WWE until Wrestling/{{Jacqueline}} defeated Wrestling/{{Sable}} for the vacated title on the September 21 (taped September 15), 1998 ''Raw.'' Kong has never had a match on American television since.
55	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Besides her own ring name, about half the tag team and stable names she has been a part of.
56	* NoSell: To the point where it can become almost cruelly amusing watching her smaller opponents getting so worked up trying to get her to sell any kind of offense.
57	* ObaSan: Erica called Devil Masami this way, being InnocentlyInsensitive and such.
58	* OddFriendship: With TJPW wrestler Raku. Aja is a badass and one of the all-time great monster heels, Raku is a soft-spoken and placid idol. They tend to tag together whenever Aja shows up in TJPW and Aja absolutely adores her.
59	* OneHitKill: Her ''[=Uraken=]''. At one point in the "New Dimension 8 Queens" match (also known as "Thunder Queen Battle") between Team [=AJW=] (Kong/Kyoko Inoue/Takako Inoue/Saki Hasegawa) vs. Team [=JWP=] (Dynamite Kansai/Mayumi Ozaki/Cutie Suzuki/Hikari Fukuoka), July 31, 1993, Kong came in, hit Kansai with '''''one''''' ''[=Uraken=]'', and put her down for a 10-count to win that fall for her team.
60	* PinkIsForSissies: {{Subverted\| Trope}}, Erica was a lot less malicious than Aja Kong usually is and was clad in pink arm bands and leggings. But she was still a successful competitor. Fabulous Frank (better known as Air Paris) was one of her first "victims" at ''FOW May Madness''.
61	* PowerStable
62	** Mayumi Ozaki's Team [=Nostradamus=] with Akira Hokuto, Sugar Sato, Chikayo Nagashima and Kaori Nakayama
63	** Gokuaku Domei: Under Wrestling/DumpMatsumoto and her tag team partner Bull Nakano, joined with her jungle jack partner Nobuko
64	** Gokumon-to: With Bat Yoshinaga, Bison Kimura, Bull Nakano, Grizzly Iwamoto, Kumiko Maekawa, Kyoko Inoue, Sachiko Nakamura and Tomoko Watanabe
65	** Jungle Jack was itself a power stable for awhile, with the additions of Debbie Malenko, Kaoru Ito, Mika Takahashi, Miori Kamiya and Sakie Hasegawa
66	** Team Himiko: With Mayumi Ozaki, Chiyako Nagashima and Sugar Sato
67	** Wrestling/LionessAsuka's Super Star Unit with Akira Hokuto and [[VillainTeamUp teaming with]] Las Cachorras Orientales
68	** Mayumi Ozaki's Oz Academy with Carlos Amano, Chikayo Nagashima, Dynamite Kansai, Mika Nishio and [[TheOneGuy Police]], later within the Oz Academy Promotion, a revived "Jungle Jack 21".
69	** Erica was part of The HUSTLE Army(the ''original'' HUSTLE Army)
70	* PowerTrio: Won Wrestling/DramaticDreamTeam's KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles with Danshoku Dino and Makoto Oishi
71	* ProneToTears: Erica in HUSTLE, although she had also a fearsome temper.
72	* PunnyName: ''Puroresu King #30: Chigusa Nagayo Produce Marvels Night #1'' saw Am''erica'' team up with Hamada Mexico and South Korean Kansai to face Made In Philippines, Snack Bar and Torn. You should be able to tell which one is the subject of this page but the others run on different {{in joke}}s. Can you figure out them out? Give up?[[note]]Ayako Hamada, Dynamite Kansai, Tomoko Miyaguchi, Toshie Uematsu, Mayumi Ozaki[[/note]]
73	* {{Red Baron}}ess: "The Rial Queen"
74	* RingOldies: Pushing 50 years old and still going in the ring.
75	* TheRival
76	** Aja Kong has backhanded Toshiyo Yamada to into submission ''a lot''. Yamada has been able to beat Kong when it ''really'' mattered though, often while teaming with Kong's own somewhat regular partner Kyoko Inoue or arch nemesis Manami Toyota. Aja Kong and Toshiyo Yamada made a decent team too.
77	** Kyoko Inoue and Aja Kong were almost the same size (Kong being a little bigger) and had a similar look (light hair, facial markings) that putting them against each other just seemed natural. Kyoko also happened to be half of the responsible pair who shaved Aja Kong and Bison Kimura, so that helped too. Oh and Double Kong, that name wasn't chosen by coincidence as "Double Inoue" had long been running. For most of the same reasons that pitting against them seemed natural also worked for teaming them together. They do have a lot in common but not to the extent people are ever going to confuse which is which.
78	** While they haven't teamed or even fought as many times as the others, Aja Kong has always been a fan of Ayako Hamada. Erica had some issues with those two no goods Arizin Z and Dokron Z, [[PaperThinDisguise who remind us of Hamda for some reason we can't quite put a finger on.]]
79	** In tag team action, Nanae Takahashi slowly but surely shaped up to be one, as Aja Kong on more than one occasion came to Amazing Kong's aid and reformed W Kong in response to some group activity of Takahashi, mostly notably in Zero 1Sun and [=SEAdLINNNG=].
80	* SarcasmBlind: Erica after winning a match in HUSTLE.
81	-->'''Commander An Jo:''' ''[sarcastically]'' How could you not to win the match with such cuties? See? Even GM is in love.\
82	''[GM Keiichi Sasahara looks disgusted]''
83	-->'''Erica:''' Ah, GM, I’m a shy girl, don’t make me blush.
84	* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: Aja Kong publicly announced her withdrawal from ARSION after walking out of the match she was booked in.
85	* SheIsTheKing: Note it's called Jungle Emper''or'', not 'ess''. She was also a third of the King Of DDT Six Man Title Holders with Makoto Oishi and Danshoku Dino.
86	* SoleSurvivor: In the Team [[Characters/WWEDivas Bertha Faye]][[note]]Faye[=/=]Kong[=/=]Wrestling/LionessAsuka[=/=]Tomoko Watanabe[[/note]]-Team Blayze[[note]]Blayze[=/=]Kyoko Inoue[=/=]Sakie Hasegawa[=/=]Chaparita [=ASARI=][[/note]] match at ''Survivor Series 95''.
87	* SpamAttack: Famous for being able to throw rapid barrages of punches and kicks.
88	* SpinningPiledriver: Used a Spinning Package Piledriver on Chaparita [=ASARI=] in their ''Raw'' match mentioned above, ''years'' before the regular Package Piledriver became common again.
89	* SquashMatch: She and Manami Toyota beat Stalker Ichikawa and Yosuke (loves) Santa Maria in thirteen seconds ''Wrestling/DragonGate Memorial Gate 2015''. Yosuke and Ichikawa would do better on the second attempt but still not good enough.
90	* StoutStrength: That backhand's effectiveness makes it a given
91	* TagTeam
92	** Won the WWWA Tag Team Titles with Grizzly Iwamoto, AAAW's with Mayumi Ozaki, then with Devil Masami, the OZ Academy Tag Team Titles with Hiroyo Matsumoto, then with Kaoru Ito, then Sonoko Kato, then Wrestling/HikaruShida, both Daily Sport and JPW's with Sachie Abe and Twin Star of ARSION with Mariko Yoshida.
93	** Jungle Jack, with Nobuko "Bison" Kimura, who had at least three championship runs in at least two different promotions
94	** Double Kong (alternatively, "W Kong" or Erica and Margarete), just edging out Jungle Jack to be her most successful team (if you count their runs during their alternative gimmick)
95	** Super Maniacs, with Kyoko Inoue
96	* TournamentArc
97	** Beat Toshiyo Yamada in the finals of the AJW Japan Grand Prix 1992. As it was a round robin, Manami Toyota would have won on points alone but [[DiabolusExMachina a mix up]] lead to Kong and Toyoda having another match, allowing Kong to win and then beat Yamada, who had an equal number of points in her own block.
98	** The 1996 Japan Grand Prix was another round robin which Aja Kong won on points outright. Kyoko Inoue, Reggie Bennet and Yumiko Hotta tied for second place.
99	** Aja Kong beat Michiko Ohmukai to win the third ARSION ARS Tournament, after declining to be part of the first two and any others after it.
100	** Aja Kong defeated Chikayo Nagashima in the finals to award a new OZ Academy Openweight Title Holder
101	* VillainsOutShopping: The only time Kong doesn't seem to be wearing that war paint are on days when she isn't going out. Whether she's tilling a field, shopping, observing at a shrine, eating out, exercising in the gym or commuting to work Kong always seems to look the part.
102	* VitriolicBestBuds: Contrary to popular belief, Chaparita ASARI was a reliable ally Aja Kong could fall back on for most of her career, but people assume they were mostly antagonistic mostly because of some WWF related shenanigans.
103	* WolverinePublicity: After she got fed up with ARSION and left, Aja Kong was still promoted for the promotion's future shows, until she sued them.

Context Wrestling / AjaKong