Grappling With Tragedy: Plum Mariko

Brian Damage

Grappling with Tragedy is a series of articles that deal with unfortunate, tragic incidents that have occurred throughout the history of professional wrestling. It is unlike the ‘Wrestling with Sin’ series that deals more with the seedier side of wrestling like arrests, murders and suicides. Grappling looks more at particular tragic incidents that have in some instances altered pro wrestling in some way.

Plum Mariko

Mariko Umeda was trained by Gran Hamada, Atsushi Onita and Kotetsu Yamamoto and made her wrestling debut in 1986 at the young age of 18 years old. She adopted the ring name of Plum Mariko and wrestled exclusively for Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling until 1992. At 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighing around 120 pounds….Mariko wasn’t the biggest wrestler, nor was she the greatest technician. What she was was a master of submission holds. Plum Mariko knew hundreds of submissions and used them often in matches.

When she didn’t have her opponent in a painful hold, she used her small body to bump for her opposition making sure they looked strong in their match. Friends and colleagues called her a true professional without an ego. A woman willing to be unselfish in the ring and allow others to shine at her expense. All the years she spent bumping and putting her small frame through the physical ringer came at a price. Plum often spent time on the sidelines injured, but her passion to be a pro wrestler and to perform for fans led her back…some times earlier than the doctors expected.

The wear and tear on her body did take a toll. In her later years, she was becoming very forgetful and would often have to go over the match sequences she was wrestling in numerous times before actually performing. Mariko had suffered a number of concussions during her career. During her final days, it was clear she wasn’t 100% healthy. Despite her forgetfulness, Mariko competed in a tag team match in Hiroshima, Japan on August 16th, 1997.

During the course of the match, her opponent delivered a Liger Bomb to Plum. She was supposed to kick out, but just laid on the mat and the referee had no other choice but to make the three count. After the match, Plum was still motionless on the mat and the crew immediately realized Plum was seriously hurt. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was in a coma and a few hours later…was pronounced dead.

Plum Mariko was the first pro wrestler to die in the ring in Japan. It was later revealed that Plum Mariko had been suffering with an abscess on her brain. This injury was no doubt caused from the numerous concussions she had suffered over the years. It was determined that Plum didn’t die from that one move in Hiroshima, but a considerable amount of brain trauma throughout her career. Unfortunately, the promotion she was working for JWP, did not have a ringside doctor for their shows. Her brain abscess was pretty much undiagnosed. Hiroshima police opened a full investigation in Plum Mariko’s death. However, no charges came with their investigation.

Plum Mariko was enshrined in All Japan Women’s Hall of Fame and several memorial shows have been held in her honor over the years since her tragic death. Plum Mariko was just 29 years old at the time of her death.