Stephanie Matsuda

Stephanie Matsuda
Matsuda on Empire in early 2018.
Birth name	Stephanie Mia Matsuda
Born	April 18, 1989 (age 28) Tokyo, Japan
Resides	New York City, New York, United States
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Mia Matsuda Cloud Matsuda Stephanie Matsuda
Billed height	5 ft. 7 in. (1.53 m)
Billed weight	132 lbs. (59 kg)
Billed from	Tokyo, Japan Brooklyn, New York Omihachiman, Shiga, Japan
Trained by	Michael Hunter Miss Manami 187
Debut	2009

Stephanie Matsuda (born April 18, 1989) is a Japanese-American professional wrestler currently signed to Elite Answers Wrestling. She appears on the promotion's Empire brand, where she is the current holder of the Iconic Cup. In addition, she is also a one-time Specialists Champion and won the first-ever Specialists Rampage. Outside of the company, she is best known for her work on the independent circuit in North America, for promotions including San Diego Wrestling, and Diva All-Stars. In Japan, she worked for Joshi Extreme Takeover where she held the JET World Championship.

Early Life

Born on a military base in Japan, Stephanie Matsuda's mother is an American naval captain and her father is jazz musician Hiroshi Matsuda. She spent her childhood living in the Bay Area, but attended high school in Tokyo after her parents divorced. In a 2012 interview, Matsuda stated that her parents' separation was a 'smooth process' and agreed they made 'better friends than spouses'. She played volleyball in high school, where her team won the Kanto regional championship two years straight. After graduation, she moved back to the United States, where she attended Brooklyn College.

Professional Wrestling Career

Early Career (2009 - 2012)

A fan of professional wrestling since childhood, she began her training at The Dog House Wrestling Academy at the age of 18 while attending college. She trained for eighteen months before making her debut on August 22, 2009 adopting the ring name Mia Matsuda, a combination of her grandmother's first name and her own last name. She began taking bookings from local promotions in New York facing wrestlers such as Social Lite, Angel Dust, and Britannica. During a trip to San Diego, she met Ultra Dragon, who introduced her to San Diego Wrestling. After leaving school, she traveled west where SDW booked her to be a valet for The Prince, while she continued her training on the weekends. She was invited by 187 to Mexico City where she spent two months training in lucha libre. In 2011 she resumed full time wrestling duties. In 2012, she had a feud against The Entourage stable, consisting of The Prince, new valet Valentine, enforcer Excellent Greg, and manager Ari Truth. Demanding a match with her former lover (who stated women couldn't out wrestle men), Cloud was issued a challenge. If she could defeat Valentine and then Excellent Greg, then she 'earned the right' to face The Prince. At Bayside Beatdown, she defeated Valentine and was declared 'Princess of SDW'. At Devil's Night, she faced Excellent Greg in an intergender Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match that was booked last minute. She won via pinfall after putting Greg through a table with a sunset flip powerbomb off a ladder. The forty minute grueling match was praised by fans and critics alike and caught the attention of Miss Manami and Joshi Extreme Takeover. After losing to The Prince at Black Friday, it was reported Matsuda signed a contract with JET. Her final booking at SDW was a lumberjack match vs The Prince consisting of the entire SDW roster ringside. She won the match with the debut of her Sky Twister finisher, earning her "Sky Princess" moniker.

Joshi Extreme Takeover (2013 - 2015)

Rebranding herself as Cloud Matsuda, she made her debut in JET on February 27 2013 at JET in Osaka. During the rest of the year, she faced wrestlers including Apple Miyazaki, Jessika Khaos, Tokyo Kyoko, and Pop Megumi. On November 16, 2014 she competed in a 16-woman tournament for the JET World Championship vacated by Lady Akira. This saw the debut of her Cloud 9 finisher. She defeated Maria Velez in the finals to win the title. At JET in Kyoto on April 3, 2015 she lost the title to Mio in a 2 out of 3 falls match. After losing a rematch a month later, she was signed with EAW. Her final match was in June 2015 facing her mentor Miss Manami, gaining her final victory with the promotion.

Elite Answers Wrestling/EAW  (2015 - present)

Beginnings (2015)

Beginning in July 2015, EAW began running vignettes of Matsuda performing stunts in parkour and surfing. Several clips from her time in JET was shown, declaring her to be the "Sky Princess of Wrestling". Her first match was on Showdown facing Katie Rotten and Leia Nirvana in a triple threat match. The following week, she and Katie Rotten faced Lumen Gray and Alexis in a tag team match. She was on Aria Jaxon's Team Empress post Territorial Invasion on Voltage. On Showdown she defeated Raven  Lee to qualify for the Specialist Championship Scramble. In November, Showdown manager James Shields inducted Cloud and Haruna Sakazaki into The Tag Team Grand Prix as a tag team under the name "Sexy Curry".

Sexy Curry (2015)

After a few successful victories, Haruna and Cloud competed in the Tag Team Grand Prix where they lost in the first round to Aria Jaxon and Brett Kennedy. This caused a strain on their already fragile relationship, which was further complicated by Haruna's loss to Cailin Dillon which cost her the Specialist title at EAW Road to Redemption (2015). After a key loss to Heart Break Gal and Eris LeCava, the two tag partners discussed the possibility of a break up. They decided their last match would be at the EAW Awards Show where they were to fight Eris LeCava and Luzmala of Hexa-Gun. The ending to the match resulted in Cloud backing away from the ring as she watched Luzmala deliver a vicious No Dios to Haruna for the victory.

Number One Contender and Feud with Haruna Sakazaki (2015 - 2016)

Racked with guilt and plagued by her own inner demons, Cloud briefly withdrew from those close to her as she confronted her inner demons for an answer to why she would abandon her partner when she needed the most. Cloud focused on winning her matches and earned a shot at becoming the number one contender for the EAW Vixens Championship. She participated in the Beat the Clock Challenge where she pinned Raven Lee in under five minutes to qualify for a match versus the current champion Eris LeCava at EAW King of Elite (2016). During the match, Cloud's recoccuring fear of Luzmala surfaced with his presence at ringside. Eris took advantage of an unconscious ref by attacking Cloud with a chair shot. Haruna came down the ramp to help Cloud by attacking Eris. Matsuda thought Sakazaki was on her side but was caught off guard with a roundhouse kick. This helped Eris secure the victory and retain the title. The aftermath of the match led to a fiery exchange of words between the former Sexy Curry teammates where both felt betrayed by one another: Haruna for being abandoned, and Cloud for the former costing her the title match. After interfering in each other's matches and personal lives, their rivalry would culminate in the first round of the EAW Vixens Cup. Haruna would get a win over Cloud by throwing powder in her face courtesy of Jade Knight and winning the match with her Requiem finisher. With Hexa-Gun taking control over Sunday Night Voltage, and the newly formed Sanatorium destroying Tarah Nova, Cloud realized she needed to be by the side of her best friend Aria Jaxon and lover Caillin Dillon. They called their new alliance Formation.

Formation and Specialist Champion (2016)

Following Jaxon and Matsuda competing in the inaugural edition of the Vixens Cup, the creation of Formation was announced. The group made their television debut on the March 18 edition of Dynasty, which they won against Cameron Ella Ava and Haruna Sakazaki via disqualification. Matsuda participated in the first-ever Specialists Rampage at Grand Rampage 9, last eliminating Haruna Sakazaki to win the EAW Specialists Championship.

Formation Breakup; Sanatorium (2016 -present)

During her Specialist Championship run, Matsuda her relationship was strained when Tarah Nova began associating herself with the stable. Nova felt Matsuda couldn't be trusted given past transgressions and Matsuda returned the animosity by stating Tarah was turning her friends against her. In her first title defense vs Haruna Sakazaki in a last woman standing match, Cailin Dillon and Tarah Nova interrupted the match, costing Haruna the match. The situation took a turn for the worse when Stephanie Matsuda lost the Specialist Championship to Tarah Nova in a Fatal Fourway match at EAW Triple Threat (2016). Feeling betrayed, Matsuda formed an alliance with Sanatorium by turning on her teammates in a Vixens vs New Breed match at EAW Pain For Pride 9 (2016). She performed a Room 13 to Haruna Sakazaki and attacked the rest of her teammates, confirming her alliance with The Sanatorium. Stephanie spent the rest of the year feuding with her former stablemates while competing in the 2016 Empress of Elite tournament. When Empire became the flagship show for the women's division, Cloud formed a sub-stable with fellow female Sanatorium members Alexis Deimos and Madison Kaline. When Brody Sparks joined the stable, Matsuda dubbed them "The Coven". After Road to Redemption, Matsuda started the new year with Mao Ichimichi (former manager of Carlos Rosso) as her full-time manager. She began pursuit of the newly established EAW Women's Championship, by interrupting the match between Cailin and Aria at EAW King of Elite (2017). On the following episode of Empire, GM Cleopatra announced a "Formation Triple Threat" for the Women's Championship: Aria vs Cailin vs Stephanie. After several weeks of surprise attacks on her opponents, Matsuda competed at EAW Malicious Intentions, where Cailin retained over Aria and Stephanie, with the help of Cameron Ella Ava and Kendra Shamez.

Breakup from Sanatorium; Feud with The Coven (2017)

In early 2017, cracks began to show between Stephanie Matsuda and The Coven. The rift between Matsuda and The continued to grow whenIn March, the rest of The Coven ousted Matsuda, having already previously gravely injured Ichimichi. Matsuda clashed with her former teammates several times in the weeks that followed, including competing against them in an eight-woman tag team match on the May 4 episode of Empire. In an in-ring segment on the May 11 edition of Empire, Alexis Diemos revealed that Lauryn Hunter, the young daughter of Matsuda's deceased one-time mentor Michael Hunter, had been taken in by the Sanatorium in light of her mother, Angie Hunter, recently falling ill. Diemos agreed to face Matsuda in a match at Terminus and subsequently return Lauryn to her if she won, on the condition that Matsuda didn't lay a hand on any of the other women of The Coven between then and the supershow. Matsuda then demanded that Cleopatra let her face then-Specialists Champion Brody Sparks for the title, and the match happened the following week. During the inferno match main event on May 18, The Coven revealed that they had kidnapped Serenity Hunter, Lauryn's older sister, and Diemos forced Matsuda to choose between being thrown into the flames or having it happen to Serenity instead. Matsuda backed off of Sparks, but the rest of The Coven still attempted to harm Serenity, prompting a surprise run-in from Matsuda's former stablemate and championship opponent Aria Jaxon, who laid out Alexis, Jocelyn, and Kaline before slapping Matsuda and berating her for allowing Serenity and Lauryn to be put in danger. On the May 25 episode of Empire, a feed of Matsuda and Mao Ichimichi on the titantron interrupted The Coven's in-ring segment. It was revealed that Matsuda had tipped off Child Services, leaving open the possibility that the many children taken in by the Sanatorium would be removed from the group's home. An enraged Alexis Diemos insisted that the forthcoming match instead have its stipulation changed to a Devil's Pit Match. At EAW Terminus (2017) Stephanie lost to Alexis, thus forfeiting custody of Lauryn Hunter. This was later revised, giving custody back to Angie Hunter with Alexis Diemos having the right to see her every so often.

Pain for Pride and Empress of Elite (2017)

At EAW Pain for Pride X (2017) Stephanie Matsuda participated in a Divide in Conquer match leading the team of Amelie Larrieux, Revy, Mei Hatsukyo & Jessica Quinn vs Alexis Diemos (capt.), Madison Kaline, Jocelyn Diemos, Savannah Sunshine & April Song. Last woman remaining on her team, she lost to April Song who in turn was pinned by Madison Kaline. In the beginning of EAW season 11, Cloud and her mentor Miss Manami feuded with Haruna Sakazaki and Azumi Goto. After losing to them in a tag match, Matsuda lost to Sheridan Muller on an episode of Empire and went on haitus to Italy.

After returning to the states, Matsuda entered the 2017 Empress of Elite tournament. She put on a stellar performance, defeating Sheridan Muller in the first round and Cailin Dillon in the second. She lost to Alexis Diemos in the semi-finals, sacrificing herself to prevent her 'blood sister' from succumbing to darkness. Due to her outstanding performances, Matsuda was placed in a Four-Way Elimination match versus Savannah Sunshine, Astraea Jordan, and Kimi Hendrix to determine the number one contender for the EAW Openweight Championship. This match was held at EAW Manifest Destiny (2017). Matsuda was able to make Savannah tap out to the Blasian Sunrise to secure the victory.

Chasing the Openweight Championship (2017)

After obtaining becoming number one contender Stephanie Matsuda was invited to EAW Showdown for a contract signing to face the current EAW Openweight champion, Ryan Marx, at EAW Road to Redemption. (2017), The previous week Matsuda and Mao Ichimichi were almost attacked by Marx, so she responded with a Final Heaven Forearm. The two would invade each other's brands for the weeks leading up to RTR 11, which Marx going as far as attacking Cloud's mentor Miss Manami and Matsuda attacking Marx's wife Soledad. At Road to Redemption, Matsuda lost via technical knockout, with the ref stopping the match after Matsuda lost consciousness. This defeat put Stephanie in a state of depression once she returned to her home brand, EAW Empire.

Bloodletter: Jaxon vs Matsuda (2017)

In the opening segment of the November 9 edition of Empire, Matsuda returned to the brand by addressing the audience in a heartfelt manner. She invited Jaxon out to join her, who lauded her for the challenges she'd overcome and for the fight she put up against Marx. Jaxon then revealed that she'd gone to then-General Manager Tarah Nova and insisted that Matsuda be her next challenger at Bloodletter. Later that night, Matsuda came to ringside to tend to Jaxon after she suffered a concussion. On the November 16 episode of Empire, Matsuda teamed with April Song to face Azumi Goto and Haruna Sakazaki. She and Jaxon then got into a heated confrontation on the November 24 episode of Empire concerning their title match. On the December 1 episode of Empire, after the main event ended in a no contest, Jaxon narrowly escaped being suplexed by Matsuda. At Bloodletter, Matsuda would go on to unsuccessfully challenge for the title; when Jaxon attempted to embrace her afterward, she didn't reciprocate. At the 2017 Awards Show on December 16, Matsuda teamed with Jaxon and Nova to face The Axis (Sheridan Muller, Goto, and Sakazaki). She ultimately betrayed her team, enabling their opponents to win the match. On the December 21 episode of Empire, Matsuda's match against Sakazaki ended prematurely when Nova appeared and attacked Matsuda. On December 30, at EAW's special year-end show held at The Shrine, Matsuda and The Zaibatsu (Carlos Rosso and The Wild Boys) teamed with Jacob Senn in a loss to Mr. DEDEDE, Jaxon, Chris Elite, Nasir Escobar, and Astraea Jordan. At The Iconic Cup supershow, Matsura defeated Tarah Nova, April Song, and Andrea Valentine to win the gauntlet contested to win the eponymous accolade.

Personal Life

Matsuda is an extreme sports enthusiast and has released parkour videos on her website. She is best friends with Aria Jaxon outside the ring. She's also good friends with Tarah Nova, Nasir Escobar, Savannah Sunshine, and Aren Mstislav. She is half Japanese through her father and her mother is African-American. She has her own garage rock band called The Sky Pirates. She designs her own clothing which she sells out of a boutique in Akihabara, Japan. While Stephanie identifies as lesbian, she was formerly engaged to indy wrestler Eddie King. She formerly dated former EAW Vixen Ariana Lopez, and was romantically linked to Angela Salveti. She formerly dated fellow Empire wrestler Cailin Dillon in 2016. In the summer of 2017, she was seen with Italian model Elisa Galimberti. She's currently in a relationship with EAW interviewer and backstage analyst Monica Vaughan, the half-sister of the late Brody Sparks. Matsuda is a member of the Ichimichi Zaibatsu, an all-purpose sports agency she helped her manager Mao invest in. In tribute to Brody, she wears a jacket with the words "End It" on the back.

In early October of 2017, Stephanie obtained custody of the children from the Sanatorium household, once ran by Eclipse Diemos, after the latter lost the rights. She currently operates a foster home across the street from her brownstone in Bushwick, Brooklyn, which houses the children. She's in the works of starting a non-profit organization called Sky Village, which will oversee the foster home and other child welfare endeavours.

In Wrestling

• Finishing Moves
  • Cloud 9 (Corkscrew shooting star press)
  • Cloud City (Straightjacket German suplex) -- adopted from Miss Manami
  • Matsuda Driver (Vertebreaker) -- (2016)
  • Sky Twister (Corkscrew moonsault) -- (2012-2014)
  • Trap Zone (Crossface chickenwing with bodyscissors) (2016)
  • Blasian Sunrise (Arm-trap single-leg Boston crab)
  • Chimeraplex (Dragon suplex followed by a tiger suplex followed by a straightjacket German suplex)
• Signature Moves
  • Final Heaven (Springbord Forearm Smash)

    

    Matsuda executing a package piledriver on Lumen Gray.

  • Air Matsuda (Diving crossbody)
  • Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights driver)
  • Last Surprise (Slingblade) - adopted from Miss Manami
  • Cannonball
  • Deadlift powerbomb
  • Diving elbow drop
  • Hurricanrana
  • Japanese arm drag
  • Multiple kick variations
    • Axe
    • Drop
    • Enzugiri
    • Missile drop
    • Roundhouse
    • Spin
    • Spinning wheel
    • Cloud Kicker (Pele)
    • Super
    • Thrust
    • Yakuza
  • Multiple suplex variations
    • Northern Lights
    • Saito
    • Tear-drop
    • Dragon
    • Tiger
  • Special Deivery (Package piledriver)
  • Snapmare, followed by a random attack
  • Cloud O'Clock (Discus Forearm)
  • Springboard moonsault
  • Straight Shooter (Figure-four Sharpshooter)
  • STO
  • Seeing Sparks (Fireman's carry dropped into an overhead kick) - as tribute to Brody Sparks
• Nicknames
  • ​"Sky Princess"
  • "Blasian Sensation"
  • "Blasian Barbie"
  • "The War Queen"
  • "Sword of Sanatorium"

• Wrestlers Managed
  • 187
  • Miss Manami
  • The Entourage  (The Prince, Excellent Greg, Ari Truth)
  • Cailin Dillon
  • Aria Jaxon
  • The Coven (Madison Kaline, Alexis Deimos, Brody Sparks)
  • The Zaibatsu (Carlos Rosso and Billy & Jimmy Wilde)

• Managers
  • ​Miss Manami
  • Cailin Dillon
  • Aria Jaxon
  • The Coven (Madison Kaline, Alexis Deimos, Brody Sparks)
  • Mao Ichimichi
  • Monica Vaughan

• Wrestlers Trained
  • Serenity Scorpio
  • Tiffany Santana
  • Jocelyn Matsuda
  • Anthony Leonhart
  • Noir Harmony Avery
  • Billy and Jimmy Wilde
  • Ashlyn Moon

• ​Entrance Themes
  • "Kickstart My Heart" by Motley Crue (EAW; 2015 - 2016)
  • "Robot Bosses/Hedgehog Fodder" from Sonic The Hedgehog (EAW; 2016)
  • "Headhunt" by Okamoto's (EAW; 2016)
  • "Big Bad Wolf/Sick Like Me" by In This Moment (EAW; 2016-2017)
  • "OOOUUU" by Young M.A. (EAW; 2017)
  • "Kill Jill" by Big Boi (2017; Instrumental used 2018 - present as a member of The Zaibatsu)
  • "You Say Run" by Yuki Hayashi (2017 - present)

Championships and Accomplishments

• San Diego Wrestling
  • Feud of the Year (2013; vs The Entourage)
  • Match of The Year (2013; vs Excellent Greg at Devil's Night)

• Joshi Extreme Takeover
  • Young Lioness Award (2013)
  • JET World Championship  (1 time)

• Elite Answers Wrestling
  • ​EAW Specialists Championship (1 time)
  • Iconic Cup (2018)
  • Most Valuable Elitist (6 times)
    • Vixen of the Week (2 time)
    • Beef of the Week (3 times)
    • Match of the Week (vs Cailin Dillon)
  • Specialists Rampage (2016, inaugural)