As one of only two women in Taiwan's professional wrestling scene, 19-year-old Syan Syan is carving out a niche for herself, defying expectations and parental pressure and receiving recognition from a Japanese legend of the sport along the way.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Don't let this cutesy entrance fool you, Shanshan is on a mission.
00:29Having made her debut in June 2024 as part of New Taiwan Wrestling at 19 years old, she
00:35is one of two women performing professionally in the country.
00:52So few in fact, that Shanshan usually competes against men, taking the same slams and hits,
00:59and engaging in the endless melodrama as other wrestlers in Taiwan's small but committed
01:04scene.
01:07To sharpen her skills, Shanshan trained for months in Japan, alongside some of Asia's
01:12top talent, talent she later recruited for an exhibition match here in Taiwan.
01:19Shanshan's in-ring character isn't too different from who she is in real life.
01:47A young wrestler, striving to prove she has what it takes on the international stage.
01:53For the moment, she has already attracted the attention of senior wrestlers like Jaguar
01:58Yokota, widely regarded as an all-time great of
02:25But despite this affirmation from a wrestling legend, her family are still worried about
02:35her competing publicly, in an odd form that involves very close physical contact.
02:41Often viewed as lowbrow, not to mention unladylike.
02:59But Shanshan is nothing if not determined, and it's this more than anything else that's
03:05capturing the imagination of her fans.
03:31Alex Chen, Ryan Woo, Brent Thomas and Sandy Chee for Taiwan Plus.