Meet Chanyota, the ex-cop and porn star turned wrestler

Chanyota (ちゃんよた) may have had one of the most unusual careers in Japanese entertainment.

She is currently a professional wrestler and YouTuber, but has previously worked as a porn star — and as a police officer.

Born in Tokyo and brought up in Niigata, the 29-year-old graduated from high school and then made her porn debut in December 2020. She appeared in AVs until September 2024, the same year she also released a print photo book showing off her muscular body.

She was simultaneously moving into wrestling, making her professional debut in 2021.

“I didn’t think I was right for adult video,” she said in a recent interview, “but professional wrestling allows me to be my natural self. When I was doing porn, I couldn’t say when I didn’t like something, nor did I have control over my hairstyle and image. Wrestling is fighting but it’s also a kind of entertainment for showing customers a good time. In terms of conveying my emotions, wrestling is better than martial arts.”

Prior to her porn debut, she worked as a cop, having experienced stalking and wanting to become stronger.

Chanyota has also openly disclosed her health issues, such as her ADHD and autism diagnosis.

Women’s wrestling has always been a lively subculture in Japan and wrestlers have made successful forays into nude modeling, sexploitation movies, and porn. It has enjoyed a big boost in attention recently, though, thanks to the hit Netflix show The Queen of Villains, which was set in the colorful world of 1980s Japanese female wrestling.