Filipina wrestler Yappy defends tag team championship at PUSO Wrestling

Japan-based Filipina wrestler Yappy and tag team partner Ancham made their third defense of the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship at PUSO Wrestling “Bakunawa,” on Sept. 14 at Brawl Pit Bulusan in Quezon City.

The duo, representing the Ice Ribbon organization in Japan, defeated homegrown Filipina wrestlers Chelsea Marie and Joya. The bout made history as the first women’s tag team title match to take place in Southeast Asia.

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How Yappy entered the world of pro wrestling

Yappy’s decision to enter the world of pro wrestling would come after searching for an exciting hobby, after working as an art director in the Philippines, an art teacher in China and an English teacher in Japan.

“English teaching in Japan is like waitressing in Hollywood,” she shares. “At the time, I wanted to have an exciting hobby. So, I went to Ice Ribbon Dojo because they have beginners’ classes for non-professionals[…] Two months in, the president [of Ice Ribbon] called me into his office. He said I had potential and asked if I wanted to go pro.”

Pro wrestling in the Philippines vs Japan

For aspiring pro wrestlers in the Philippines, the opportunities are nowhere near those in Japan where it’s possible to make a living in pro wrestling, a reality that is not lost on Yappy. “In Japan, you can get 100 matches in your first year,” she says, a milestone that takes about a decade for those in the Philippines.

For comparison, freelancer Ancham wrestled roughly 10 matches in the previous month of August alone, which rivals an entire year’s worth of matches for wrestlers in the Philippines in the late 2010s.

Since her debut in 2018, Ancham didn’t want to be limited to just one wrestling promotion, to this day prioritizing the freelance route appearing in companies like Ice Ribbon, DIE, VKF Pro Wrestling, Diana and more. In 2025, she wrestled for more companies than there have been pro wrestling organizations in the Philippines since 1989.

A lot of heart

Photo from HanzelBee美愛Photography/Facebook

“They have a lot of heart,” Yappy says of the people working hard to turn the Philippine wrestling scene into a sustainable industry. “That’s what [PUSO Wrestling trainer] Fabio Makisig is fighting for. He’s really trying to give [the roster] as many matches as possible. So now, he’s starting to do the no-audience livestreams, the mat wrestling in bars… He’s really working so hard to get them that experience.”

A wrestling style comes with enough experience, and Ancham highlights that the roster is still “in that stage where they’re trying to establish what kind of wrestling they want to show,” currently balancing elements of “story-based” and “martial arts-based” wrestling.

Commenting on their challengers, Chelsea Marie and Joya, the champions agree that tag team inexperience is what cost them the win. “They only recently learned to work together, while we have been working together for a long time. So obviously, you can’t compete with that just yet,” the pair said.

But whether it’s tag team or singles matches, Yappy points out: “It’s not a skill issue, it’s an experience issue. You have to fight as many matches as you can to get to that level.”

And “that level” carries the heart of not just one wrestler or tag team but an entire Philippine wrestling industry.

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