is a retired Japanese female professional wrestler. In the 1990s, Yamada wrestled for the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling promotion (AJW).
Professional wrestling career
All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling
Early Career and Dream Orca (1987–1992) Toshiyo Yamada part of the 1987 All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW)'s rookie class which also featured Manami Toyota, Etsuko Mita and Mima Shimoda. Yamada debuted on July 27, 1987 against Chiaki Ichikawa. On June 21, 1987, Yamada earned a silver medal in the 70kg class at the All Japan Wrestling Championship. Yamada later won the 1987 All Japan Women's Rookie of the Year tournament.
On July 19, 1988, she captured the AJW Junior Championship in a tournament final against Miori Kamiya. By August 1988, she formed "Dream Orca" with Etsuko Mita. On August 25, 1988, she successfully defended her AJW Junior Championship against Sachiko Nakamura. During September and October 1988, she teamed up with Manami Toyota to compete in Tag League the Best 1988. The team came in 6th place, ahead of many wrestlers with similar levels of experience.
On May 6, 1989 at Wrestle Marinepiad '89, Dream Orca were defeated by the "Tokyo Sweethearts" of Mima Shimoda and Manami Toyota. On June 14, 1989, Dream Orca captured the AJW Tag Team Championship from Reibun Amada and Miori Kamiya. In July 1989, they successfully defended the titles against the "Honey Wings" of Mika Takahashi and Kaoru Maeda. During August 1989, she fought in a kickboxing bout against Anna Maria Delgado. Yamada also competed in the 1989 Japan Grand Prix, but was defeated by her second round opponent, Sakie Hasegawa. On December 9, she challenged for Manami Toyota's AJW Championship. While Toyota won, this match was deemed worthy enough to be a sole feature on a VHS tape entitled AJW Best Bout New Future Struggle. On January 5, 1990, Yamada met Yumiko Hotta in a kickboxing match.
In March 1990, Yamada had a cervical hernia which forced Dream Orca to vacate their AJW Tag Team Championship and forced Yamada to temporarily retire. Yamada did not return until December 1990. Yamada spent most of the first half of 1991 competing in midcard matches, frequently against Yumiko Hotta. During July and August 1991, Yamada competed in the 1991 Japan Grand Prix. Yamada defeated Miori Kamiya in the first round but was defeated by Kyoko Inoue in the second round on August 18, 1991. Yamada and Kyoko Inoue toured Mexico in 1991. The two continued to team up afterwards and on December 8, 1991 won Tag League the Best 1991, defeating Jungle Jack of Aja Kong and Bison Kimura in the finals. This was the biggest win of Yamada's career up until that point. Yamada also started to develop a rivalry with Manami Toyota during this period.
On January 4, 1992, Yamada wrestled Toyota to a 30 minute draw. They were given 5 additional minutes but at the end of 5 minutes, no winner was decided. They were then given another 5 minutes, but no winner could be determined. The crowd chanted "Zenjo"(the nickname for All Japan Women's) during the match. The next day on January 5, a Tag League the Best rematch was held with Inoue and Yamada challenging for Kong and Kimura's WWWA tag titles. This time, Kong and Kimura would get the win. January 1992 would not be over for Yamada however, as on the 19th, she paired with rival Manami Toyota to capture the newly created UWA World Women's Tag Team Championship, becoming the first champions. The team defeated Lady Apache and Kaoru. The team would eventually become known as the "1987 Team Gold Combo".