Mariah May explains how wrestling in Japan changed her as a wrestler.
The English star originally trained to wrestle in Britain, although she suffered under Sid Scala who she later accused as part of the Speaking Out movement.
However, it wasn’t until she moved to Japan in 2022 and teamed with Mina Shirakawa in Stardom that she developed as a top-class wrestler. Working in Japan helped Mariah May create a dynamic moveset while also working on her character, something she lacked on the UK indie scene.
Without the jump to Japan, it is unlikely that we’d be seeing Mariah May as the AEW Women’s Champion.
Mariah May recently spoke with Ginger Vision House where she called moving to Japan a “big turning point” in her career.
She credited working in the dojo in helping make her moves look good and that the only way to improve is repetition. Mariah May also admits to being inspired by the Junior Heavyweight style in Japan.
“I think that’s always been a struggle for me. As you’re coming up as a wrestler, you struggle with different things, and for me, it was always my moveset.”
“I’m pretty tall—I’m 5’8—but, you know, I’m not exactly like Chyna. I can do some power moves, but not to everyone. So it became about finding this hybrid style that really showcased my attributes. I’m tall, I have long legs—what can I do with that?”
“For me, being in Japan was a really big turning point. My dropkicks, for example—I drilled them so many times at the dojo, and now they work, and they look great. That’s something I like to use because I feel like it suits me. The back suplex and the bridge you mentioned—that all comes from just doing reps in Japan. I had almost 100 matches there.”
“I think you should always change and adapt. Sometimes I’ll watch old wrestling—I love the Super Junior stuff—and I think that style suits me. It’s fast, but it also has power, and I’m really fast. That combination works for me.”
“When you work with different people, you’re always trying to think, ‘Okay, how can I counter what they do, make this exciting, and out-wrestle them?’ That’s where you might spark an idea for a move. Sometimes it works, and it’s something you keep. Other times, it’s like, ‘Okay, we’ll retire that one. We don’t need to see that again.'”
Mariah May: I Retired The Springboard Codebreaker After Fracturing My Nose In Japan
Mariah May continued. She explained how she retired the Springboard Codebreaker move after breaking her nose mid-move and refuses to ever do it again.
“When I was on the indies, sometimes I watch my matches and think, ‘Why did you ever do that?’ There’s just a lot of different things I tried back then.”
“I think I retired the Codebreaker because I used to do a springboard Codebreaker, and one time a girl kind of headbutted me in the face and fractured my nose. After that, I’ve never done a Codebreaker again—I just won’t do it.”
