Lena Kross fondly looks back on her experiences of wrestling in Japan.
Wrestling in Japan had been a long-term dream of Lena Kross’, and in 2022, that dream finally morphed into a reality as the Australian native made her debut for Meiko Satomura’s Sendai Girls Pro Wrestling. During a recent interview with WrestleZone’s Ella Jay, Kross revealed that she was originally set to debut for the promotion in 2020. Due to the travel restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Kross’s plans were put on hold.
Two years later, Sendai Girls reached back out to Kross, offering her another opportunity to wrestle for them. After getting her Visa documents in the proper order, Kross was then headed to Japan for a two-week tour — a venture that she will never forget.
“It was pretty surreal,” Kross said. “I think the first match, I was just so nervous. But I think it was maybe like the second or third, and we’re on the bus driving back to where we were staying, and I just kind of had a moment of reflection. I was like, ‘Holy s***. This is two and a half years later and I’m here. I’ve done this.’ It’s that moment where it’s like things come back around if you keep working. Opportunities will arise, so you’ve just got to stick to it and let everything play out. Because it will work out.”
“I was really proud. And it was very surreal that I actually got there and got to do that first tour. It’s even more insane that in the last year, I’ve done four more. Insane, but I was very fortunate that at that first one, Millie McKenzie and Nina Samuels were also there from the UK. So, it was quite nice to meet them and get to experience that with other wrestlers as well. It made it a little bit more special.”
Teaming With Aja Kong
Following her initial tour in late 2022, Kross eventually returned to Japan in the summer and autumn months of 2023. In September, Kross had an incredible opportunity to tag team with wrestling legend Aja Kong at Sendai Girls’ Big Show In Niigata event. There, the two teamed up with Ryo Mizunami to defeat Chi Chi, Saori Anou and Sareee (fka Sarray). Looking back on this experience, Kross is admittedly still in a state of disbelief.
“[It was] insane,” Kross said. “Like ‘what is my life?’ type stuff. I think I found out maybe the week before or maybe two weeks before that show. I was just dumbfounded, [and thinking] ‘What is my life? I’m wrestling in Japan and I’m tagging with this absolute legend. What is this?’ But yeah, that was insane, really good, really fun. There’s no other words.”
Watch our full interview with Lena Kross below:
