In December 2009, after the end of HUSTLE, Tajiri started a new promotion "SMASH" with Syuri and others. It was at this time that she changed her ring name from KG (Karate Girl) to Syuri. "My experience in SMASH is a treasure," she says.
"In a word, (SMASH was) a human drama. I had a rivalry with Kana (now known as WWE's Asuka), and had good fights with Kana and created a world of our own thanks to her. If it had been someone else, it wouldn't have been like that, and because Kana was there, and because of SMASH, I am what I am. I want to wrestle with Kana again someday. I want to shine more so that I won't lose to Kana."
In January 2012, she made her debut in a kickboxing promotion, Krush. Although she had won 2 shoot boxing fights, she found it hard to balance martial arts with pro-wrestling. She felt that she couldn't do martial arts, when she hadn't yet shown confidence in pro-wrestling either. Tajiri told her that she should focus on pro-wrestling.
However, as SMASH gained momentum, she began to feel that she could wrestle with confidence, and wanted to get back into the world of martial arts. She started going to kickboxing gyms again and fought in Krush. Why did she decide to do martial arts in the first place?
"I wanted to use my martial arts experience in pro-wrestling to develop my own strength. As I trained, I came to think that I want to achieve results in the world of martial arts. At first I was told, "Pro-wrestlers can't win"... If people say that, then I should train like crazy and get good results. Pro-wrestling and martial arts are completely different, and I think they are the exact opposite."
