Miyu Yamashita was barred from competing at a scheduled event in Missouri this weekend by the state’s athletic commission.
GCW announced that the Missouri State Athletic Commission refused to license Miyu Yamashita to wrestle on Sunday. The unplanned announcement came down just hours before her scheduled match. Miyu had all of her paperwork and previously wrestled in the state multiple times). However, Yamashita’s ban was upheld due to the lack of a Social Security number.
“Despite the fact that she has wrestled in Missouri multiple times, has all relevant & required documents and has a valid work visa, the Missouri Athletic Commision [sic] will not license Miyu Yamashita to wrestle today because she does not have a social security number,” GCW wrote on its company Twitter/X account.
“I wish this was a storyline or some creative excuse to explain that Miya couldn’t be here today but it’s not. Very frustrating given that there was a set of tv tapings done in Missouri just over a month ago where nearly a dozen folks without SS #’s were allowed to perform,” GCW owner Brett Lauderdale replied.
Does Miyu Yamashita need a social security number?
Yamashita is from Japan. Therefore, she would not typically have a Social Security number, since she is not a United States citizen. However, the Social Security Administration may allow some acceptions. The SSA website notes that some non-citizens “may be able to request a number if they work or attend school, or if they have a valid nonwork reason.”
Those reasons include: international students, foreign workers, citizen children, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) applicants and Domestic violence survivors. It is still unclear why the Missouri SAC would not license Yamashita despite her past working history in the state. Among her matches were a 2023 bout with Glory Pro, who co-promoted the GCW event. She also competed in a Ring Of Honor televised bout earlier that year.
TNA recently hosted television tapings in March 2025 in St. Joseph, Missouri. WWE also hosted its Backlash premium live event in May.
