Kagetsu

Kagetsu
Birth name	Yukari Ishino (石野由加莉, Ishino Yukari)
Born	June 24, 1992[1] Osaka, Japan
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Kagetsu Yukari Ishino
Billed height	5 ft 3 in (160 cm)[2]
Billed weight	136 lb (62 kg)
Trained by	Meiko Satomura[3]
Debut	August 24, 2008
Retired	February 24, 2020

Yu Ishino (石野結, Ishino Yū) (born Yukari Ishino (Japanese: 石野由加莉, Hepburn: Ishino Yukari) on June 24, 1992), better known by his^[a] ring name Kagetsu (花月), is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in Stardom, JWP, Sendai Girls and various independent promotions.

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (2008–2020)

Kagetsu was trained by Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling. He joined in April 2008 after his junior high school graduation. He had an exhibition match against Ryo Mizunami on July 27, 2008. He made his official debut on August 24, 2008, against Chikayo Nagashima.^[4]

In 2010, he changed his ring name from Yukari Ishino to Kagetsu.

In 2015, he left Sendai Girls and became a freelancer.^[1]

World Wonder Ring Stardom (2012–2020)

Ishino in 2015

The promotion in which Ishino is best known for performing was World Wonder Ring Stardom. In April 2016, he debuted as part of the Oedo Tai stable. He won the Artist of Stardom Titles with Kyoko Kimura and Hana Kimura. On June 16, 2016, he teamed with Kyoko Kimura to capture the Goddesses of Stardom Championship. The team held the titles until December 22, 2016, when they were defeated by Yoko Bito and Kairi Hojo. He took a break from wrestling on April 13, 2017,^[5] but returned on June 11 as the new leader of Oedo Tai. On June 21, he teamed up with Hana Kimura to defeat Hiroyo Matsumoto and Jungle Kyona for the Goddesses of Stardom Championship.^[6] Due to limiting themselves to a trio, Kagetsu, Kris Wolf and Hana Kimura would look for new recruits as they brought Tam Nakano to the unit on September 10, during the 5STAR Grand Prix.^[7] Another member presented by Kagetsu on November 4, during the Goddesses of Stardom Tag League was Sumire Natsu who came from Pro Wrestling Wave. He became an official member of the Stardom roster on November 1, 2017.^[8]

On June 9, 2018, he captured the World of Stardom Championship from Toni Storm.^[9]

At Stardom Cinderella Tournament 2019, Ishino went into a time-limit draw against Tam Nakano in the first rounds of the event which took place on April 29.^[10] On May 4, Kagetsu lost the World of Stardom Championship to Bea Priestley.^[11] In December, Ishino announced his retirement from professional wrestling which would take place on February 24, 2020.^[12] The final match took place at an event named "Many Face" where Ishino fell short to his coach Meiko Satomura.^[13]

Kagetsu came out of retirement on May 23, 2021 to wrestle on the Hana Kimura Memorial Show in an eight-woman tag team match, where he teamed up with former Oedo Tai stablemate Hazuki and former Tokyo Cyber Squad members Konami and Death Yama-san in a losing effort against Asuka, Syuri, Natsupoi and Mio Momono. Kagetsu would lose again to Asuka the same night in a singles match. He has been inactive ever since.^[14] Ishino made an appearance at Hana Kimura Memorial Show 2 on May 23, 2022 as the ambassador of the event.^[15]

Personal life

On May 13, 2022, Ishino came out as a transgender man in a video posted in his channel, changing his given name from "Yukari" to "Yu".^[16]

Championships and accomplishments

• JWP Joshi Puroresu
  • JWP Junior Championship (1 time)^[17]
  • Princess of Pro-Wrestling Championship (1 time)^[17]
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Ranked No. 18 of the top 100 female wrestlers in the PWI Female 100 in 2018^[18]
• Pro Wrestling Wave
  • Catch the Wave Award (1 time)
    • Fighting Spirit Award (2013)^[19]
• Oz Academy
  • Oz Academy Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Kaho Kobayashi^[20][21]
• World Wonder Ring Stardom
  • Artist of Stardom Championship (2 times) – with Hana Kimura and Kyoko Kimura (1), Andras Miyagi and Natsu Sumire (1)
  • Goddesses of Stardom Championship (2 time) – with Kyoto Kimura (1) and Hana Kimura (1)
  • World of Stardom Championship (1 time)
  • 5★Star GP Award (3 times)
    • 5★Star GP Best Match Award (2017) vs. Mayu Iwatani on September 18^[22]
    • 5★Star GP Best Match Award (2018) vs. Jungle Kyona on September 8^[23]
    • 5★Star GP Best Match Award (2019) vs. Jungle Kyona on September 8^[24]
  • Stardom Year-End Award (2 times)
    • Best Match Award (2018) with Hazuki vs. Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani on June 17^[25]
    • Best Tag Team Award (2017) with Hana Kimura^[26]

Notes

1. Ishino performed as a female wrestler before coming out as a transgender man. This article uses he/him for consistency.

References

1. "花月". Stardom (in Japanese). Stardom. October 1, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
2. "Kagetsu". cagematch.net. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
3. Murray, Dylan (February 4, 2020). "Closing The Kagetsu Story". DEADLOCK. DEADLOCK. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
4. "Kagetsu". cagematch.net. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
5. "花月が会見を開き無期限のプロレス活動休止を発表！「気持ちとコンディションを上げて戻ってきたい」". Battle-News (in Japanese). Battle-News. April 14, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
6. 2017年6月21日 Galaxy Stars2017. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). June 22, 2017. Archived from the original on August 23, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
7. Richards, Alex (March 15, 2020). "Star Gazing: "Shining Stardom Dream" Tam Nakano". lastwordonsports.com. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
8. "【スターダム】花月と中野たむの入団を発表". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). Tokyo Sports. April 14, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
9. "【スターダム】花月がトニー・ストームを下し赤いベルト新王者となる！". Proresu-Today.com (in Japanese). Proresu-Today.com. June 10, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
10. Michael, Casey (May 16, 2019). "New STARDOM Champions Crowned". Squared Circle Sirens.
11. 2019年5月4日 GOLDENWEEK STARS 2019. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). May 4, 2020. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
12. "411Mania".
13. Iversen, Stuart (March 5, 2020). "Kagetsu Retirement Show ~ Many Face (24/2/20) Review". ramblingsaboutwrestling.com. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
14. Klyn, Parker (May 22, 2021). "HANA KIMURA MEMORIAL SHOW LIVE RESULTS: KAGETSU, OTHERS IN ACTION". f4wonline.com. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
15. 石野ゆうちゃんねる (May 14, 2022). 元女子プロレスラー男の子 石野結②【性別適合手術へのエピローグ】引退試合を振り返りから現在への。. youtube.com (in Japanese). Retrieved May 17, 2022.
16. Ishino, Yuu (13 May 2022). 元女子プロレスラー花月の【衝撃の告白】○○○の手術をしました。. YouTube. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
17. (結果)3月6日（日）東京キネマ倶楽部. JWP Joshi Puroresu (in Japanese). FC2. March 6, 2011. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
18. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 100 Female Wrestlers Results". Wrestling Travel. November 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
19. "2013年7月15日・後楽園ホール Catch The Wave 2013・決勝戦". Pro Wrestling Wave (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 7, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
20. "2015/03/01(日) 18:00～ 「 forgiveness 」". Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
21. 2015/08/23(日) 16:00～ 「～プラムの花咲くOzの国2015～ Yokohama Drams Park 3」. Oz Academy (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
22. 2017年9月18日 5☆Star GP2017. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). September 19, 2017. Archived from the original on September 26, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
23. 2018年9月24日　5☆STAR GP2018. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). September 24, 2018. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
24. 2019年9月22日 5★STAR GP 2019～優勝決定戦～. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). September 22, 2019. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
25. 2018年12月24日 スターダムアワードで2018年の全日程終了!. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). December 25, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
26. "Best Tag Team Award". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database.