Summary

Manami Toyota said she later learned there had been overseas offers for her, including one from WWF/E, but said All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling turned offers down without consulting her.

In an interview excerpt, Toyota also described financial turmoil around AJW's collapse, including lending the promotion money shortly before it went bankrupt.

Toyota said she stayed with AJW for years after bankruptcy because of her attachment to the promotion, but called not going to the United States at a better time one of her biggest regrets.

The source text also notes Toyota retired from full-time in-ring competition in 2017 and returned to the ring in 2019 for Ice Ribbon.

Manami Toyota's AJW account reframes a major what-if in women's wrestling history

Manami Toyota saying she was unaware of a WWF/E offer creates a concrete consequence, her career timeline now carries a clearer missed-opportunity narrative tied to management decisions rather than her own lack of interest.

Her comments about AJW's financial collapse and blocked overseas paths also underline how promotion instability could directly alter long-term career options for top talent.

Quotes

Quote from Manami Toyota

"When my savings were down to just a few tens of thousands of yen, All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling asked me, ‘Do you have any money?’ I was like, ‘Uh…’ and they said, ‘We have a clear outlook for the future, so lend us anything you have, even if it’s just a little. Otherwise, we’ll go bankrupt right now.’ I replied, ‘Maybe 100,000 or 200,000 yen…’ and they said, ‘That’ll be enough to get by!’ So I lent them the money. Then, three days later, they went bankrupt. Completely bankrupt. I heard about it secondhand too. (The management) didn’t tell me anything. In the end, whether I lent them the money or not, they would have gone bankrupt anyway. Well, it was a shady business."

Manami Toyota later went on to say:

"I was on good terms with many wrestlers, and I wasn’t contacted by any of the wrestlers who left All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling to start their own promotions like ARSION and NEO Ladies. But I still loved All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling, so even in that situation, I think I still thought, All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling is the best! My only regret is that I wish I had gone to America at a better time."

Manami Toyota later went on to say:

"That’s right. I wanted to go (to the USA), but I kept being told, ‘All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling will be in trouble without you.’ Apparently, there were offers from overseas, but All-Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling turned them down on their own."

Manami Toyota later went on to say:

"I hadn’t heard about that either. I found out later that an offer had come in, and I regretted it so much."

Sources

As reported by Fightful.