“The Queen of Villains” is based on the legendary Heel Dump Matsumoto. In the gritty world of 1980s Japanese pro-wrestling, a young woman named Kaoru, driven by a fiery spirit and a desperate need for escape, steps into the ring as Dump Matsumoto. This villainous persona would soon captivate and shock the nation. “The Queen of Villains” is a gripping five-part series that chronicles Dump’s rise to prominence, delving into the complexities of her character. Dump’s transformation from a timid young woman to a fearsome villain is captivating. Her character is a complex blend of vulnerability and strength, a woman who uses her fear and anger as fuel for her matches.
The series offers a glimpse into the world of professional wrestling, showcasing the intense physicality, scripted drama, and backstage politics that shape the industry. It also sheds light on the industry’s darker side, including the exploitation of wrestlers and the psychological toll it can take.
This article contains spoilers.
The Queen of Villains (2024) Episode 1 Recap:
The series opens with Dump getting ready for a match. A narration tells us that Dump has always dreamed of fighting in pro wrestling, but nobody can predict how life will turn out. Dump walks with a baton to wrestle. The crowd chants for Dump to leave. We see Dump start beating people in the audience. The wrestler Chigusa from the ring asks Dump to fight her if she isn’t scared.
This is the story of Dump. In 1974, Kaoru and her sister, as children, collected empty liquor bottles to sell and, in exchange, bought some snacks as their family was poor. When Kaoru and her sister arrive home, their mother, Satoko, stitches clothes, and Kaoru prepares food. Suddenly, a truck arrives, and Goro (Kaoru and Satoko’s father) appears. Whenever Goro needs money, he arrives at Kaoru’s house.
Will Kaoru audition to be a pro wrestler?
The next day, Kaoru and Satoko visit Goro’s place. A woman opens the door, and it turns out Goro is dating this woman and has a child with her. Angered, Satoko beats Goro, asking for the money he stole from them. What hurts Kaoru is that Goro has named the child he has with the other woman Kaoru, too. Hurt, Kaoru runs away from the house and falls in front of the pro wrestling club.
When Kaoru enters, she sees Jackie fighting hard even though she is getting tired. Soon after that, Kaoru starts watching all the pro wrestling matches and becomes a huge fan of Jackie. Even as Kaoru grows up, she cheers for Jackie from the crowds. Now Jackie has a partner, Maki. In one of the matches, Maki suspects that Jackie is breaking one of the three taboos of wrestling. So Maki decides never to fight with Jackie again.
Meanwhile, Kaoru has a part-time job, but she wants to become a pro wrestler. Unfortunately, when Kaoru gets back home, Satoko has got her a full-time job in a bakery. During this time, the pro wrestling club announces that there will be a final match between Maki and Jackie, and the loser will retire from pro wrestling immediately. There are auditions for joining the pro wrestling team, but Kaoru is unsure what to do.
During Jackie and Maki’s match, the food vendor/ the President advises Kaoru to live life on her terms. Jackie wins the match, and Kaoru is thrilled. It is the first day of Kaoru’s job at the bakery, and she runs into Goro’s girlfriend. The woman advises Kaoru to live life the way she wants to. So Kaoru quits the bakery job and runs to the auditions.
Will Kaoru pass the auditions?
So many girls are auditioning, and the first round is over by the time Kaoru arrives. However, the committee gives Kaoru a chance. The second round is a fitness test and Kaoru passes it. Kaoru has officially been selected for pro wrestling training. When Kaoru comes home, she apologizes to Satoko and expresses her desire to become a pro wrestler. The official training begins, and the fitness training is intense. Even though Kaoru is struggling, she doesn’t give up. After days of intense training, it is time for the pro-test. After the test, only two girls were selected. Among the rejected, many quit except three, and Kaoru is one of them.
One night, Kaoru arrives at the club to practice and sees Chigusa sleeping under the ring. Soon, Kaoru realizes that Chigusa has no money and does not eat anything. For example, in childhood, Kaoru took Chigusa to sell used alcohol bottles and get food. As they eat, Chigusa says that she does not have parents, as they disappeared one night when she was in elementary school. After that day, Chigusa and Kaoru get close.
When Kaoru arrives home the next night, she sees Goro’s van parked in front of the house. Instead of getting a job himself, he insults Kaoru and asks her to earn. Things escalate as Goro slaps Satoko. Angered, Kaoru hits Goro, but Goro fights back, hurting Kaoru. Annoyed, Kaoru gives it her all and attacks Goro.
What triggers Kaoru to fight Chigsua?
The force makes Goro fly to the wall, breaking it and falling to the ground below. So Satoko asks Kaoru to run away as she knows Goro will not be quiet. Kaoru takes her bag, rushes to the club, and sleeps beside Chigusa. After the incident at home, Kaoru is deeply hurt and starts to cry. So Chigusa tells Kaoru that they don’t have a choice but to get stronger. The next day, Chigusa, Kaoru, and Honjo prepare for the pro-test.
When Kaoru fights opposite Honja, Kaoru gives up. However, Kaoru still wants to fight, and her next opponent is Chigusa. Chigusa does not care about friendship in the ring, so she insults and fights Kaoru. When Kaoru starts bleeding from her nose, she is fuming and fights Chigusa like never before. The other pro-wrestlers watch in shock.
The Queen of Villains (2024) Episode 2 Recap:
The episode begins with Chigusa’s debut match, in which she fights Aymui. During the fight, Chigusa is thrown around in the ring. The management has a problem: many people are not turning up for pro wrestling matches after Maki’s retirement. Among all the wrestlers on the team, only Kaoru has not had a chance to debut. While in the dorm, Toshi calls for Kaoru, so the other girls assume it is to announce Kaoru’s debut.
Sadly, that isn’t the case. Since Kaoru has a driver’s license, she must drive around town with Abe, who is announcing the pro wrestling matches. However, traveling with Abe was not as bad as Kaoru learned a little more about the wrestling industry. According to Abe, a company never lets go of a wrestler if they can shine on their own; someone who brings charisma and wrestling skills to make the company money will survive.
Who is bullying Chigusa?
Meanwhile, when the seniors and juniors are practicing, Chigusa fights Lovely, who easily takes down Chigusa. However, Lovely provokes Chigusa, so Chigusa uses a karate kick, which hurts Lovely’s eyes. Because of this, the seniors and the juniors get into a fight. In the end, Chigusa apologizes to Lovely for hurting her. That night, the juniors decide to practice indoors to get stronger in wrestling.
The seniors find it annoying, but Jackie stops to see her juniors practice. After finishing the promotions, Abe gives Kaoru a food coupon and announces news about Kaoru’s debut. Unfortunately, Kaoru is fighting Monster Ripper, and Kaoru has no chance of winning. The seniors are now bullying Chigusa, accusing her of stealing someone’s wallet.
Chigusa has a visitor. When she arrives at the entrance, her parents apologize for abandoning her when she was a child. It seems the debt collectors were following Chigusa’s parents. Hence, they couldn’t take Chigusa with them. However, Chigusa is hurt, so she does not accept their apology. This time, Chigusa fights Lovely in the ring. All the anger Lovely has against Chigusa is shown during the match.
However, Chigusa sees her parents in the audience, so she fights hard by getting aggressive. According to Usui (the broadcaster) and Toshi, Jackie’s time is done, and they need a new star to continue televising pro wrestling. Meanwhile, Lovely invites the juniors, except for Kaoru and Chigusa, for a meal. Since Kaoru has the food coupons, she takes Chigusa for a meal.
What’s the agreement between Chigusa and Lioness Asuka?
The management finds a way to let Jackie be on top, which will happen when Jackie and Yokota fight. Currently, Yokota is a strong contender for Jackie. During the match, it seems like Jackie is going to win. However, at the last minute, Yokota fights back and wins the match. In a flashback, we see Toshi asking Yokota to send Jackie to retirement. This is not a unanimous decision by the management as the President had informed Yokota to lose to Jackie.
Because of Toshi, Yokota fights hard and wins against Jackie. The next day, Jackie leaves as she decides to quit. Since Kitamura is improving in her skills, Toshi gives her a new name: Lioness Asuka. To reveal the new name, Kitamura needs to fight someone. Who Kitamura fights against is for Kitamura to pick and choose. So, she picks Chigusa to wrestle with.
After making the decision, Kitamura tells Chigusa about it. While the two have a conversation, Kaoru comes and listens. Chigusa decided to retire after the match with Kitamura as she did not think she could last longer in the company. As a favor, Chigusa asks Kitamura to let Chigusa use karate skills while wrestling. Since Kitamura has been unable to help Chigusa while struggling in the company, she grants Chigusa the wish.
The fights between Lioness Asuka and Chigusa are significant for the company. They break all the rules and fight until neither can move. However, Lioness Asuka wins the match. Watching this match inspires Kaoru to get inside the ring and fight. So Kaoru pleads with Toshi to let Kaoru wrestle.
The Queen of Villains (2024) Episode 3 Recap:
The episode opens with the duo Lioness Asuka and Chigusa as the new and popular pair in pro wrestling. After Maki and Jackie, Asuka, and Chigusa make the crowd go wild; however, Usui still feels this is not enough and will not get a spot on prime TV. Reporters interview Asuka and Chigusa, asking about their team name, Crash Girls. Time and again, the Crash Girls have defeated their opponents in style.
Until now, nothing else was allowed except wrestling techniques; however, everything seems to be an exception for the Crash Girls. Since Usui wants something more from the matches, Toshi decides to ask Devil and Yokota to be the heels. However, Yokota refuses to be a foil for the Crash Girls. So Devil is stuck being a heel, and now she needs more wrestlers on her team.
Can Yokota win against the Crash Girls?
A heel in pro wrestling is someone who wrestles but puts up a show. That show needs to involve hurting the opponent, and they bleed. The main job of a heel is to terrify everyone in the audience and sometimes the wrestlers. Kaoru and Honjo are recruited as the heels. Since Honjo cannot express anger with her face, she is asked to put on a mask as a part of her ensemble.
After a long time, Kaoru visits home, where she realizes Goru is still living with the family. Before Kaoru leaves, Satoko asks Kaoru to get autographs of the Crash Girls as her colleagues ask for them. Meanwhile, Yokota is annoyed that the Crash Girls can use karate techniques in pro wrestling. Despite that, Yokota wants to fight the Crash Girls without a script.
It’s the first wrestling match as a heel for Kaoru, but she hesitates to hurt Chigusa. The poor wrestling, along with Kaoru’s clumsiness, annoys Devil. The match between Team Devil and the Crash Girls gets chaotic because of Kaoru. That evening, Kaoru asks Chigusa for her autograph to send to Satoko. The next match is between Yokota, Lovely, and Crash Girls. According to the script, Yokota will win but wants a fair fight.
However, Toshi disagrees with letting Yokota go off-script. Despite that, Yokota tells Asuka to inform Chigusa to forget the script and fight. The match begins, and from the beginning, it is aggressive. It is pretty clear that it will not be a friendly match. For most of the match, Yokota beat Chigusa. When Yokota is about to go to Chigusa for a final blow, Chigusa breaks the rules, which hurts Yokota badly. From here, the match turns around, and the Crash Girls win.
What provokes Koaru to become a terrifying heel?
In the washroom, Lovely hits Chigusa for breaking the rules, as what Chigusa did could have been dangerous for Yokota. Meanwhile, the President asks Toshi to find another plan. Crash Girl’s performances will soon get boring. In the dorm, a new recruit, Nakano, reads Chigusa’s interview and cries. When Kaoru reads the interview, she is deeply hurt as Chigusa mentions that she never had friends on her team and that Akusa saved her.
There is more bad news for Kaoru: Goru is selling Chigusa’s autograph and promising people that he will introduce the Crash Girls to them. The management is furious with Kaoru, as this is close to being a fraud. So Kaoru visits home and yells at her family. Instead of calming Kaoru, Satoko takes Goru’s side.
With so much pent-up anger inside her, Kaoru attacks Goru, who is about to attack Satoko when Kaoru’s sister pushes Kaoru to the wall. The wall breaks, and Kaoru falls on top of a dumpster. Meanwhile, the Crash Girls are fighting Team Devil. The Crash Girls are about to take down Devil when a transformed Kaoru enters the arena.
As Chigusa is about to attack the Devil, Koaru chokes Chigusa with a chain. Koaru’s behavior scares everyone in the audience, including the wrestlers. Koaru makes sure both Asuka and Chigusa bleed. The audience is chanting for Koaru to go away, so Koaru jumps on the rope, asking the audience to quit whining or she will kill every single one of them. Seeing a transformed Koaru, the President and Toshi are excited.
The Queen of Villains (2024) Episode 4 Recap:
The episode opens in 1984 with Koaru, aka Dump, taking down Chigusa at a match. However, Dump breaks the rules by using weapons in the fight. During the fight, referee Abe seems to be on Dump’s side, infuriating Asuka. When Dump crosses a line using a fork on Chigusa, Devil intervenes, trying to stop Dump as team Devil is disqualified for not following the rules.
When Devil questions Dump, Dump says she is unwilling to be a sycophant like the other wrestlers. While Chigusa bleeds, Devil and Dump fight. Annoyed by Dump’s behavior, Devil publicly ends her alliance with Dump. Now Honjo takes off her mask and joins Dump. The Devil team is now split. Meanwhile, Usui suggests that Toshi brings a rivalry between Dump and Crush Girls to get a good time slot on TV.
Why is there a dispute between Asuka and Chigusa?
The next day, the team is traveling for a match, so Dump and Honjo travel with Abe, refusing to take the same bus as Devil. On the way, Dump declares the creation of the Extreme Evil Alliance. While Chigusa is okay with Dump’s craziness as it is done to make the Crush Girls look good, Asuka is not happy. All Asuka wants is a fair fight, with only pro wrestling and no tricks.
Meanwhile, Dump’s sister visits her, asking her to stop using her father’s name for the stage name. Since Dump is violent and aggressive, her family is getting prank calls and letters. Along with wrestling, the Crush Girls are also doing promotional activities, which is tiring for Asuka. After a song recording, as the Crush Girls head out, Yokota waits to talk to Asuka. Yokota is no longer needed since the crowd wants to see Crush Girls against Dump.
So Yokota goes to Mexico to train and asks Asuka to fight with her, which is the final for the Red Belt. Ohmori brings hate mail at the dorm for the Extreme Evil Alliance and, more specifically, for Dump. Since Ohmori is not a part of the alliance, Dump kicks her out. The haters have sent letters sticking blades to the envelope, clearly wanting to hurt Dump. The President now announces a new league called the First TOYO Television Showdown All Japan Grand Prix.
The winner will be determined solely by the wrestler’s skills. The competition will also be a one-on-one match. The exciting thing for fans is that the Crush Girls and Extreme Evil Alliance will fight each other. The league winner will fight at the Nippon Budokan in WWWO World Single Championship for the red belt opposite Yokota. The matches commence, and so far, Dump is still using weapons to fight.
During the league, Yokota visits Asuka and gives her a reality check: Although Asuka is a great wrestler, everyone asks only about Chigusa or Dump. Once again, Yokota asks Asuka to win the league and fight her for the red belt. Meanwhile, Toshi wants to rig the final match, so Dump and Chigusa fight. However, the President is against it.
At the same time, Asuka tells Chigusa that she has used tricks for Chigusa’s sake, but now Asuka wants a pure pro wrestling match. Honjo still wants to be friends with the other wrestlers, so she moves out. Seeing Honjo leave, Dump is furious as she feels abandoned once again. So Dump makes Keiko a heel and gives her the name Bull. After her chat with Asuka, Chigusa wants to rig the match so she can win.
Who wins the title of top wrestler of All Nippon?
Chigusa tells the President to talk to Asuka on the day of the match. So the President visits Asuka and only wishes her luck. During the match, Chigusa uses her karate tricks to torment Asuka. However, Asuka sticks to the wrestling rules and defeats Chigusa. The result of the match is surprising for Toshi. In the match between Dump and Honjo, Dump destroys Honjo. Now Honjo is beaten, and the crowd, for the first time, cheers for Honjo. Hearing the chants for Honjo, Dump is saddened and furious. The rules are again broken as Bull comes in to help Dump finish Honjo.
In this match, Dump wins. After the match, Honjo is done with pro-wrestling after going against Dump and her fury. The final match is between Dump and Asuka. Suddenly, an unconscious Chigusa wakes up and rushes to stop the final match. By then, the match is over, and Asuka has won. As Chigusa gets out, she sees Dump, who comes charging at Chigusa for not being at the finals, as Dump had plans to destroy Chigusa in the ring. Now, the management wants something more enjoyable for the Osaka tour. When Tosi sees Dump and Chigusa fight, he has an idea.
The Queen of Villains (2024) Episode 5 Recap:
The episode begins with a press interview where the President agrees to let Chigusa and Dump go against each other in Osaka. The loser of the match will have to shave their head. The management is worried as Chigusa has to make many promotional appearances, and the TV station wants Chigusa to win. So Toshi offers a huge sum of money to Dump asking her to lose to Chigusa. There is also a written agreement, which Dump signs. Meanwhile, Chigusa’s parents reach out to Chigusa, but Chigusa doesn’t write back to them. On the other hand, Goru is really sick. When Dump comes up on TV, Goro wonders if his family would be better off if he had died.
On the day of the match, the arena is packed. Dump enters with her entourage in an intimidating way. The whole stadium cheers for Chigusa. Just before the match begins, Chigusa notices two people inside the ring, so she questions them. The wrestler in a mask starts attacking Chigusa. When the person removes their mask, it is revealed to be Dump. The first person who was introduced was a Dump impersonator.
Now, the actual match begins. As expected, Dump breaks all the rules and uses multiple weapons, such as a fork and chain. Furthermore, Dump manages to use all of Chigusa’s tricks on Chigusa. After one point, Chigusa pushes Dump out of the ring. Now Chigusa has had enough and goes on a rampage, hitting the Extreme Evil Alliance with chairs.
Who wins the match between Chigusa and Dump?
The match is more of a bloodbath than pro wrestling. Unfortunately for the management, the match is aired live. Now Chigusa is down, and the referee has started the countdown. As the countdown occurs, Chigusa is reminded of all the good times with Kaoru/Dump. Even when Chigusa extends her hand, Dump refuses to take it.
Ultimately, Dump wins the match and starts shaving off Chigusa’s hair inside the ring. In a bar somewhere, Dump’s sister blames Goru for turning Kaoru into this wild person. After the match, Chigusa’s mother embraces Chigusa. The next day, Toshi does not give Dump the full promised amount as she didn’t lose to Chigusa. However, the President calls it a good match and pays Dump.
Meanwhile, Chigusa is hiding, so Asuka visits her. However, Chigusa does not feel right, so she fights with Asuka. In the club, Yokota tells Asuka that she is retiring. No matter how much Asuka begs Yokota, her mind does not change. Suddenly, Dump gets a call from her mother informing her that Goro may die that day. As Kaoru and Satoko wait in the hospital, Satoko congratulates Kaoru for winning the match. So Kaoru is taken aback as she assumes Satoko will be mad.
The wait continues, and Satoko tells Kaoru that Goro is sick and that she won’t ask him to forgive him. Thankfully, Goru’s surgery has gone well. Jackie has joined a different club, announcing her return to pro wrestling. At the arena, Honjo cleared the air that she never meant to run away, but Honjo did not want to take sides among the wrestlers, so she became a referee.
The Queen of Villains (2024) Finale Episode 5 Ending Explained:
Will Dump get a chance to wrestle as Kaoru?
That night, Kaoru is thinking about all the good times she had during the initial days of pro wrestling. Like in the old days, Kaoru looks under the ring and finds Chigusa. As they lie down there, they wonder if they really have gotten stronger in wrestling. The next day, after a match, Dump announces to the press that she will be retiring.
However, the management is unhappy, so Dump says all she wants to do is get rid of her role as Dump. Simultaneously, Chigusa announces that she will be joining Jackie’s club and fighting with them. Hearing this, Toshi and the President stop the press from recording anything further. It is Dump’s retirement match, and she will fight the Crash Girls. In Dump’s usual manner, she uses a fork on Chigusa. Even in her final match, Dump uses weapons against her opponents. After a while, the match is called off, saying it is a no-contest match. Now Asuka takes the mic and asks Dump if this is how she wants her last match to be.
Hearing these words, Dump tears up as all she ever wanted to be was a pro wrestler. So Dump asks Chigusa to forget about their rivalry for this match and fight, standing beside her. At the same time, Yukari and Asuka agree to fight together. The match begins, and Dump follows all the rules. Furthermore, Dump does not use any weapons. For the first time in Dump’s career, the crowd cheers for Dump.
In the end, the 1980 crew showed the management and the audience what real wrestling is. Especially with scripts off the table, the wrestlers’ real talent shines through. Other than her debut match, Kaoru uses her name only in her retirement match. All Kaoru wanted was to be a pro wrestler; being a heel was never her choice. Life’s circumstances push Kaoru to become something she never wanted to be.
However, Dump became a legendary figure in the world of pro wrestling. In the end, Kaoru proved to everyone that she is indeed a pro wrestler at heart and a skilled one as well. It also seems like Kaoru will reconcile with her family, letting go of all the anger. The scenes with Chigusa and Kaoru under the ring only mean that in one way or another, Chigusa and Kaoru have forgiven each other.
The Queen of Villains (2024) Review:
The Queen of Villains is an expertly crafted limited series on pro wrestling, where the writing, execution, and camerawork come together flawlessly. Rather than following a predictable, linear narrative of Dump’s journey, the creators cleverly weave in the stories of other wrestlers and family dynamics to reveal Kaoru/Dump’s evolving character. This approach keeps viewers engaged and adds depth and nuance to the storytelling.
For a sports drama, it’s packed with action, but every move in the wrestling matches and its connection to the company’s larger narrative elevate the story. What’s especially compelling is how the series depicts the scripted nature of the matches while hinting at the real tension when wrestlers decide to take matters into their own hands when necessary.
The emotional highs and lows are plentiful, but the script and performances are so grounded that the show avoids falling into melodrama. Dump’s story, in particular, is filled with heartbreak as she’s abandoned by those she loves. Yet, instead of portraying Kaoru as merely a victim, Dump’s actions speak for themselves, offering insight into her motivations without spoon-feeding the audience.
The darker aspects of the wrestling business are subtly explored, but they never overshadow the story’s central figures. The acting is impeccable, with the cast putting in the time and effort to fully embody their roles. Portraying heels, in particular, requires a delicate balance to ensure the right emotions come across, and the actors excel here. Whether or not you’ve ever watched wrestling before, this series pulls you in and holds your attention.
One of the standout elements is the fierce rivalry between Dump and the Crash Girls, which unfolds both in and out of the ring. While the heels are portrayed as fearsome, the show also humanizes them, showing they’re far from emotionless. The series brilliantly captures the full spectrum of what makes wrestling captivating—action, drama, emotions, and the rise and fall of legends. It’s a must-watch that delivers on all fronts.
