Halfway through 2024, the frontrunners for the year’s big awards are starting to emerge. One Sun Goddess in particular.

There is plenty of wrestling still to wrestle, but it’s already clear Sareee is once again going to be a recurring name in the best-of-the-year discussions. She could claim the prize for best joshi match of the year, Wrestler of the Year, and because she keeps booking banger-heavy shows under her Sareee-ISM banner, she has a shot at nabbing Show of the Year, as well.

The first half of the year has also seen Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling thrive, a newcomer to the scene in MARIGOLD shake things up, and a tight race for top tag team.

Reflecting on the year so far and projecting what’s ahead, let’s take a look at the contenders for the 2024 awards in the joshi world.

Match of the Year

Sareee and Chihiro Hashimoto had a helluva match at Sareee-ISM Chapter III in January. Miu Watanabe defeated Miyu Yamashita in a pure classic at Grand Princess.

Those don’t stand a real chance to end up as the Match of the Year, though.

Mayu Iwatani vs. Sareee (STARDOM All-Star Queendom) is the bout to beat. It was a dream match come true featuring two of the top wrestlers on the planet. It has the benefit of massive hype and the bright spotlight of a big STARDOM show.

And damn did it deliver on its promise.

In many a year, Sareee vs. Mayu would be a lock for MOTY, but the hits have just keep coming in 2024. There have been historic partnerships and massive matchup combinations all around. There will be multiple chances for something to overtake the current no. 1.

Miu Watanabe defending the Princess of Princess title against her rival and tag partner Rika Tatsumi has potential to be special. Utami Hayashishita vs. Iyo Sky is coming to MARIGOLD on July 13. That’s a surreal sentence to type. A legit dream match coming true. Sendai Girls is doing an enticing hoss-versus-hoss battle with Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Jordynne Grace.

So, yeah. Don’t fill out your MOTY ballots just yet.

Tag Team of the Year

This is the most competitive and unpredictable award for 2024.

Often there aren’t enough strong candidates in the tag category and one solid duo wins by default. The opposite is true this year. It’s a packed field.

Hazuki and Koguma (FWC) delivered arguably the best tag match of the year so far against Crazy Star in Fukuoka in May. That exciting pair has flourished in several other outings as well, including a barnburner against Hanan and Saya Iida at Conversion, proving to be STARDOM’s most reliable pairing.

Over in TJPW, though, Daisy Monkey is killing it, too. Suzume and Arisu Endo absolutely thrilled in the Max Heart tourney finals against Daydream before winning the Princess Tag Team Championship in electric fashion.

Magenta has been solid for Marvelous as expected. They just haven’t had nearly as many prominent showdowns as Daisy Monkey and Crazy Star. They are too talented to count out of this race, but Maria and Riko Kawahata are going to have to cook up some classics in the back half of 2024 to catch up.

Plus, you have always have to put Team 200kg in that discussion. The Sendai Girls duo remain the bedrock of that company.

This is going to come down to opponents and opportunities. Who does TJPW put in there to challenge for the tag titles? How does STARDOM book FWC in the summer and fall after losing the Goddess of STARDOM Championships? And what big names does Marvelous bring in to book opposite its tag champs?

The only certainty among all this is that the path to all these answers is going to be fun as hell to watch.  

Promotion of the Year

STARDOM has been so dominant in recent years that the company winning Promotion of the Year was just a given. The more interesting question at the end of the year was “which non-STARDOM promotion was the best?” 2024 may very well mark the end of that run.

For one, STARDOM lost some significant talent with the formation of MARIGOLD. Namely two former red belt champs in Utami and Giulia.

Secondly, the promotion’s booking has been a letdown. There simply have been the same kind of engrossing stories we’ve seen from them in the past.

And Rossy Ogawa’s new company has started off red hot. There has been a healthy amount of buzz for each show. MARIGOLD has booked huge matches, featured fresh new talent like Bozilla, been home to much of Sareee’s greatness, and made itself a real player right away.

STARDOM, meanwhile, just hasn’t had the same amount of juice as late. Mayu Iwatani’s been on fire and we’re getting a long list of quality matches, but the excitement around the company overall has dampened.

TJPW has hit all the right notes in pushing Watanabe to the top and giving fan favorites Daisy Monkey the title run so many fans have been pining for. They certainly can do a better chance of showcasing those champs, but the right pieces are in place.

Summer Sun Princess, Wrestle Princess, and the Tokyo Princess Cup are all huge shows that are great opportunities for TJPW to climb the top promotion rankings.

STARDOM will still have the advantage of having far more shows than anyone. Its roster is still plenty deep even after the exodus. But either TJPW or MARIGOLD are in a good position to claim Promotion of the Year if either of them keeps up the good vibes and keep hitting homeruns in the main events.

This normally uninteresting race suddenly looks to be one of the more competitive ones.

Show of the Year

There isn’t a lock for this award right now.

Grand Princess TJPW was excellent (currently rated 9.01 on CageMatch). Marigold Fields Forever will get points for being historic as the first show for a new promotion. Plus, the atmosphere crackled.

If I had to vote on Show of the Year today, I’d probably go with either of those.

2024, though, promises to hit us with some stacked shows. STARDOM’s 5-Star Grand Prix always gives us something special on the opening night and in the finals. MARIGOLD’s Summer Destiny on July 13 has the makings of a massive, special event with both Giulia vs. Sareee and Utami vs. Iyo Sky on the card.

And you can’t count out one of the Sareee-ISM shows ending up on top.

The wrestlers that will dominate the next section are sure to play a big role in this award race. Sareee elevates every show she’s on. Miu Watanabe’s POP matches could be the foundation for a historically great TJPW show. Then you have Mayu who has had one of the best years of her career and seems extra determined to remind us that she’s the greatest. It’s easy to imagine her heading the best match card of 2024.

Wrestler of the Year

To win this award, a wrestler has to be a key figure in any good MOTY list. In addition, they must help their companies thrive and create significant buzz along the way.

There are three women who fit that bill—Miu Watanabe, Mayu Iwatani, and Sareee. No offense to Mio Momono and Chihiro Hashimoto who are having good years, but that aforementioned trio are the bona fide contenders. They have the stage, the skills, and the in-ring resume.

Let’s first look at their biggest/best matches.

Miu Watanabe’s case rests on her two POP titles matches (against Miyu Yamashita and Shoko Nakajima) as well as the Max Heart Tourney final between her and Rika against Suzume and Endo.

Iwatani started off the MOTY discussion with her thriller against Syuri. She followed up with an all-timer opposite Sareee.

Sareee’s WOTY campaign includes that Mayu match, the first MARIGOLD main event, her January match against Hashimoto, and some tag team greatness such as Sareee and Mio Momono vs. Big Hash and Mika Iwata.

Sareee has the advantage there. It just feels like she’s operating on whole level from everyone else.

She continues to build on what she did in 2023, flourishing as a freelancer, being key to MARIGOLD’s rise, and succeeding in multiple spots once more.

For Miu to win, she has to maximize every title defense. TJPW has to continue this trend of having her beat its biggest names. And it will probably take a showdown with an outside star (Hikaru Shida?) on top of that.

Iwatani has the advantage of being in the Five Star Grand Prix against the likes of Momo Watanabe and AZM. That’s going to give her all kinds of chances to shine and strengthen her case.

Sareee will not have as many total matches as either Miu or Mayu, but she has proven an elite ability to hit four-stars or higher in just about everything she does. Plus, she will get points for boosting multiple promotions as she creates hype in MARIGOLD, Sendai Girls, SEAdLINNNG, and anywhere else she travels.

It’s already been a banner year for joshi, and boy is seeing how the rest of it plays out going to be a blast. Greatness has been on display all over the place and we are promised far more of it as we march closer to award season.