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THE RESURA JOSHI TOP 100 #76-100

The first installment of a list of the top 100 joshi wrestlers over the past year.

Justin Stein
18–27 minutes
Graphic by Hart Editing

With the PWI 500 recently coming out, it’s one of the most exciting times for the wrestling business. Wrestlers of all walks of life from all around the world get the chance to see where Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranks them compared to their fellow workers. It’s not perfect by any means, but it shows appreciation for the hard work, and gives the wrestling fans all around the world something to talk about. Engagement is fun isn’t it?

We here at RESURA feel the same way as all of you, but instead of looking at the overall wrestling landscape when it comes to both men and women working their tails off around the world, we decided to focus it more on the type of wrestling we enjoy the most. That’s why we decided to make our own top 100 list of the best joshi wrestlers from this past year in our honest opinion. Obviously when I say, “this past year” it could mean 2023, but instead we decided to do things very similarly to PWI where we choose a start and end date that isn’t the start and end of the year. The start of what we consider this scoring period was July 1st, 2023 and the end of the grading period was June 30th, 2024. Now I know you might be asking yourself, why is this list coming out a few months later? That’s easy. The idea was brought up towards the end of June, but getting our judges together, and compiling the stats and information needed took time. Next year, if you all enjoy this, the list will most likely come out a lot sooner, maybe even by the start of August, but bear with us as we try to work out the kinks this year, and always feel free to give us feedback as well on your social media of choice!

So before we get into the list itself, let’s set some ground rules so you can better understand why the wrestlers are ranked the way they are. We graded everyone on a few different categories: Matches Wrestled, Win Percentage, Title Reigns, Accomplishments, Match Quality, Influence On The Business, and Competition. None of these various categories was graded more harshly than the rest and we did our best to try to make things fair for all involved. With those categories in mind, we put together our list and we hope that you won’t hate it too much. First, let’s start out with a few honorable mentions…

DUMP MATSUMOTO – FREELANCER

Dump Matsumoto-FreelancerSure, 44-year veteran Dump Matsumoto only wrestled a handful of matches during the grading period. But when those matches include two victories in the biggest joshi wrestling company Stardom and you have a Netflix series about your career debuting soon, it’s hard to leave her off a list like this. A true legend of the business.

MARIAH MAY – ALL ELITE WRESTLING

Mariah May had a hell of an impact during her time in Stardom last year, and now she’s gone on to become an integral part of one of the biggest storylines in AEW history. She was close to making this year’s list, but didn’t quite do enough in Japan.

VICTORIA YUZUKI – MARIGOLD

Arguably the best prospect the joshi scene has seen since Utami Hayashishita, Victoria Yuzuki has done more in her first year as a wrestler than most will do in their career. From debuting in STARDOM against Momo Watanabe to taking the chance and joining Marigold, she’s on her way to being special in this world. An incredible beginning for her and her young career.

Yuzuki vs. HANAKO (Marigold)

BALIYAN AKKI – GATOH MOVE

Sure, Baliyan Akki isn’t a female wrestler so considering him a joshi might be a bit off, however we have to appreciate his contributions to joshi wrestling especially when it comes to the international audience. Whether it’s teaming with Mei, or doing commentary for Choco Pro, TJPW or any other company, his value is important in the joshi wrestling landscape.

CHRIS BROOKES – DDT / BAKA GAIJIN

Whether it’s in the ring, on camera, commentary or behind the scenes, there may not be a more generous person when it comes to joshi than Chris Brookes. He is constantly uplifting the wrestling subgenre in his own way without making a show of it. He is truly deserving of the title of ‘honorary joshi’..

Today you’ll get to see who was ranked 100 to 76, but check back each week as we release 25 more until we finally release the top of the list. Now, onto the list…

100. JAGUAR YOKOTA – DIANA 

While it may surprise some to see one of the greatest joshi wrestlers of all time this low on the list, she also happens to be 63 years old at the time of release. The staying power of this legend of the business is pretty awe inspiring and the fact that she wrestled 65 times during the year long grading period shows that she still has quite a bit left in the tank. With accomplishments like winning the Strong Style Women’s Tag Team Championship, DIANA Queen Elizabeth Championship, and the OZ Academy Tag Team Championship, it doesn’t seem like she’s going to be calling her 47-year career finished anytime soon. She may no longer be in her athletic prime, but she still shows that legends never truly die!

99. KAHO KOBAYASHI (LA PIDITA) – FREELANCER 

There are very few joshi wrestlers who are more fun to watch than number ninety-nine on the list Kaho Kobayashi. The muscle-bound lucha-style wrestler always wears a giant smile as she shows off her feats of athleticism along with her great comedic timing. In 71 matches, she only won 27 times, but each of her performances left a positive impression that made you want to watch her again in the future. Whether she’s playing La Pidita in SEAdLINNNG or simply being herself in a wide range of other indie promotions like PURE-J, YMZ or DIANA to name a few, I feel that Kaho is poised to make an even bigger impact on the joshi wrestling landscape in the near future.

98. MANAMI – SENDAI GIRLS 

Manami has waited to take the next step, as many of the young wrestlers will do in a promotion like Sendai Girls. While the likes of Chihiro Hashimoto and Mika Iwata get much of the attention, it’s someone like Manami that really highlights the promotion at it’s best. It can be hard to fully appreciate her when she’s teaming up with someone like Ryo Mizunami, but there’s a reason that she is getting the opportunities that she does. Winning the Sendai Girls Tag Team titles alongside Aniki is her biggest accomplishment to date, but at just 20 years old, she’s someone who can potentially add her name to the incredible lineage of the Sendai Girls World Championship in the future. Well worth your time as she continues to grow in this sport.

Manami vs. Lena (Sendai Girls)

97. SUMIKA YANAGAWA – JUST TAP OUT 

It was an eventful year for Yanagawa, who made one of the biggest jumps in all of joshi. Next to her work in JTO, she is an established name as part of Ice Ribbon’s rebrand. Together with Misa Kagura, Yanagawa played a huge part in the tag team division of the promotion in the second half of 2023, as the duo won the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship together in a three-way match. That wasn’t her only success, as Yangawa won the Princess of Pro Wrestling title and the UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship in a short period of time to get her first singles gold of her career. While still being in the shadow of her fellow JTO mates, Yanagawa is fighting her way out of it and deserves her spot on this list at no. 7 with her will and fire to make the next step.

  • Written By: Peps (X: @Peps_Wrestling)

96. MIYU AMASAKI – STARDOM 

Sometimes, it’s not about the accolades for a wrestler. Instead, it’s about the growth of that wrestler and few have grown more in the world of joshi over this period than Miyu Amasaki.

Looked at as the future of STARDOM when she debuted in the main event of the original NEW BLOOD event against Utami Hayashishita, it’s taken time for her to begin showing that value — but we are getting there. Working with AZM has been the key to her success, as 02Line have gone from prospective tag team to one of the best in the scene as well. The comfort she shows alongside her teammate is when Amasaki is at her best. But maybe no match has shown the growth of “The Supernova” than her one-on-one title challenge against Rina in February. That’s when everything showed it was clicking, and now Amasaki is one of the clear highlights of the STARDOM house show circuit. The future is bright for Amasaki.

95. AYANO IRIE – ACTWRES GIRL’Z 

The Dark Snow Angel has been a mainstay in Actwres Girl’z since 2018. The former voice actor was initially a cheerful fan favorite, before turning to the darkside in 2022. She has since replaced ACT as leader of the villainous BE∀STZ REBELLION unit in August 2023. Ayano had some decent successes with the group, even though she failed in her September 17, 2023 attempt to win the AWG championship from Miku Aono. Recent departures from her unit and AWG in general has caused Ayano to leave her unit behind and join the new Actwres Killer’Z stable, where she continues to be a threat to anyone who steps in her way.

  • Written By: Dave Coumans

94. HYPER MISAO – TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING 

The true hero of joshi professional wrestling Hyper Misao comes in at number ninety-four this year on the back of her good in ring work, and ability to make her matches fun no matter who she faces. Her 51% win rate wasn’t amazing by any means, but anytime TJPW needed her to step up in a big match she was ready for the job! Her HYPE! 2 show was a great outlet for her creativity, as well. It is a shame that an injury stemming from her time in Philadelphia during WrestleMania weekend derailed her year a bit, but once she heals up, there’s no doubt she’ll be back to saving the world once again!

93. TAE HONMA – FREELANCER 

Behind Tae’s bright smile is one hell of a competitor who always gives it her all when inside of the ring. Unfortunately, it hasn’t led to her winning more matches than she has lost, as shown by her 42% winning percentage, but the fact that you can put her in the ring with any talent, new or old, and know that you’ll get a good match out of it is a promoter’s dream. She won the DDT Iron Man Heavy Metal Championship this year, but didn’t even hold it for a day which is normal for that title in particular. With her having one of her most active years in the business currently, it wouldn’t be a surprise if she ends up higher on our list next year because her ring work is always very good!

92. KOUKI AMAREI (KOUKI) – MARIGOLD 

Alongside several other wrestlers, Kouki Amarei recently made the jump from AWG to Marigold. She had been wrestling for Actwres girl’Z since 2022 and was immediately treated like a big deal. From scoring wins alongside her teammates in The Royal, to gaining victories over CHIAKI, Kyoko Iwai and Naru, to even making it to the finals of the AWG Championship tournament, The Amethyst Butterfly had future star written all over her. She continued her upwards trajectory in Marigold with wins over Victoria Yuzuki and Nao Ishikawa and appears to have re-formed her team with previous AWG teammate Chika Goto. Big, powerful, good looking, and extremely talented, look for Kouki Amarei to accomplish big things soon.

  • Written By: Dave Coumans

91. YUURI – GANBARE PRO WRESTLING 

While originally being from Ganbare Pro, YuuRI was one of the wrestlers of the new generation, who stepped up and filled the gaps that others left behind as Ice Ribbon fought with injuries and departures. She surprised everyone by winning the ICExInfinity Championship from Totoro Satsuki as well as winning it for a second time a year later with a win over Hamuko Hoshi in the final of a tournament and writing herself in the history books of the promotion. The Glamorous Valkyrie grew perfectly into the role as the current top star of Ice Ribbon, as she made a huge jump over the last year. Her tag team with Ancham as Queen Valkyrie has helped in that regard, as the two grabbed the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship for a short period in late 2023. If she’s able to hold on to the ICExInfinity Championship for a while, then she will make a huge jump on the list over the next year.

  • Written By: Peps (X: @Peps_Wrestling)

90. MISA KAGURA – JUST TAP OUT 

When looking at the joshi side of JUST TAP OUT, much of the praise will go to the Inaba sisters and Aoi, but the attention should be going to Misa Kagura — who is making her name well known around the scene by participating in Pro Wrestling WAVE, Ice Ribbon, SEAdLINNNG, PURE-J, and seemingly anywhere else that gives her work.

Kagura’s biggest match of this period was when she challenged Sareee for the Beyond The Sea Championship, showcasing her underdog capabilities that have made her a favorite in the eyes of the recently retired Arisa Nakajima. Kagura isn’t a big-time striker like the Inabas or has the magnetic chemistry that Aoi has shown, but she’s got everything you want in an underdog while being a jack of all trades in the ring. Kagura feels like she’s on the brink of breaking out, and should be a major part of SEAdLINNNG and Ice Ribbon specifically moving forward.

89. ASAHI – ACTWRES GIRL’Z 

This former Ice Ribbon and Actwres Girl’z youngster looked like a superstar in the making. Tragically, Asahi passed away on February 1 at the tender age of 21. The reports stated that the talented young athlete lost her life in an accident. At the time of her passing, Asahi had just started to find her place in Actwres Girl’z after leaving Ice Ribbon, where she had been competing since she was 14 years old. In AWG, she was part of the popular Teppen☆ unit. It didn’t take her long to secure a match against AWG Champion Miku Aono, which she lost. She formed a successful team with Misa Matsui and held singles wins over CHIAKI and Mii. Asahi looked well on her way to establishing herself as one of AWG’s top babyfaces, when tragedy struck. The Fresh Sunrise will shine on though in the hearts of all of her fans.

  • Written By: Dave Coumans

88. ITSUKI AOKI – FREELANCER 

Not many know more how to stand out than Itsuki Aoki, who is one of the loudest but yet most entertaining wrestlers alive. In her 124 matches in many different companies, Aoki was able to capture the OZ Academy Pioneer Championship and won tag team gold in WAVE with the Junior Heavyweight Veteran Ikuto Hidaka. Aoki competed in the 2023 Catch The WAVE tournament, where she made it to the semi-finals with tremendous performances in the C Block before losing to SAKI. Aoki is slowly climbing the ranks as the 26-year-old is close to making the next step to become a top name in joshi.

  • Written By: Peps (X: @Peps_Wrestling)

87. SAKI – COLORS 

With 135 matches across 40 different promotions and special events between Japan and the USA, and no sign of slowing down, SAKI is a true workhorse in the joshi independent scene. Her outlandish gear and big boots make her stand out on every card she is in, which apparently is every wrestling card in Japan. As a promoter, the co-founder of the COLOR’S group has featured some of the top indie names under this banner. As a 12-year veteran, SAKI has held gold in various promotions, including then record-tying 5th reign with the WAVE Tag Team Championship alongside Risa Sera, where she also reached the finals of the Catch The Wave tournament.

  • Written By: Fernando Ibarra
SAKI MV

86. AYAKO SATO – DIANA 

Former three-time WWWD World champion continues to go strong after a career that spans two decades. One of the last wrestlers to come out of the AJW dojo, Ayako Sato is  a highly skilled athlete who excels in both technical battles, as well as a hardcore environment. As part of the heel unit CRYSIS and with her trusted metal plate in hand, the 38-year-old veteran has been a threat to anyone in Diana. This year, she has also formed a formidable team with Pure-J’s Hanako Nakamori and the duo won the WWWD Tag Team titles, turning away challenges by Unagi Sayaka and Misa Kagura and the team of Miran and Risa Sera. 

  • Written By: Dave Coumans

85. RAM KAICHO – TRIPLE SIX PRO WRESTLING 

The little demon of Triple Six Pro Wrestling Of Darkness Ram Kaicho is one of the most charismatic acts in all of joshi wrestling. The small, face painted wrestler, isn’t the most imposing figure to stand across from in the ring, but when the bell rings she’s always a game opponent who wins more than she loses as shown by her 60% win rate during the grading period. Her ability to captivate the international audience was shown when SPARK Joshi booked Ram to be their Pacific Champion, a title that Ram held for the entirety of the grading period. Ram is a talent that will always get a reaction out of the crowd she performs in front of, and that is just one of the reasons why she lands at no. 85 on this year’s list.

84. AZUSA INABA – JUST TAP OUT 

For someone who started their career in February 2023, it’s almost unfair how good Azusa Inaba is so far into her career. She’s a lot like her sister, which shouldn’t come as a surprise, but has managed to set herself apart by making her matches simple. It’s about strikes, strikes, and more strikes. Her biggest standout in this period has been her work with Rina in STARDOM, as they’ve formed a formidable duo that sets to be a great team for years to come if they stick together.

Azusa is a monster in the making, one who has all the skills to not only surpass her sister down the line, but be one of the top star on the entire scene. With the opportunities she’s already getting at just 16 years old, the world is hers for the taking.

83. NATSUKI – ACTWRES GIRL’Z 

If there’s anyone who’s nickname perfectly fits her character, it’s The Summer Fighter Who Wants To Be Your Sun. Natsuki’s sparkling personality, along with her brightly colored ring gear are often a shining beacon of hope through troubled times. Especially now, when the Actress Killer’Z are threatening the existence of the fan favorites in AWG, Natsuki is one of those that stands up for what’s right. A classically trained ballet dancer, Natsuki is extremely light on her feet and hits opponents with high flying moves and fast striking offense. While the exciting youngster has not had any title opportunities in AWG, things might just turn around for her in the near future, either as a singles star or alongside her recent partner Nagisa Shiotsuki. 

  • Written By: Dave Coumans 

82. ACT YASUKAWA – ACTWRES GIRL’Z 

Former two-time Wonder of Stardom champion and co-founder of Oedo Tai is still going strong in Actwres girl’Z, performing as simply ACT. She founded the heel group BE∀STZ REBELLION, the first stable in AWG. A true international superstar, ACT made several trips to the U.S. in 2023, and was looking to continue splitting her time between AWG and the States. However, the sudden departure of some of AWG’s biggest talents, pushed ACT into a bigger role in the company. Alongside MARU and MARI, she launched Actress Killer’Z, a unit set to destroy the heroes of AWG. Whatever she does next, The Drunken Samurai has proven she is a force to be reckoned with and will continue to wreak havoc wherever she goes.

  • Written By: Dave Coumans
Act Yasukawa vs. MIku Aono (Actwres girl’Z)

81. THEKLA – STARDOM 

The charismatic, hard-hitting Austrian comes in at no. 81 in this year’s list with one of the better win percentages in all of joshi at a whopping 65%. On top of that, she had a Goddess of Stardom title reign that lasted 187 days of our grading period which helped boost her up the list even more. The only real drawback to her year was that she took about four months off from competition from January to April. Her heel turn when she returned to Stardom made news right away, and her ability to be an easily hateable foreign star that the crowd likes to boo has helped make her an important part of Oedo Tai and now H.A.T.E. It will be interesting to see what the next year has in store for the “Toxic Spider.”

80. RINA YAMASHITA – FREELANCER 

When you hear Rina’s music hit, you know you’re in for some hard hitting action and that’s what helps propel her to no. 80 on this year’s list. While some people see Rina as simply a “hardcore” wrestler, there’s a lot more to her than that! Her overall win rate of 67% is one of the highest in this year’s class, and the fact that she not only regularly wrestled women, but also men shows just how tough she really is. She’s built her popularity in America over the past few years as well, being a regular in GCW and holding their Ultraviolent Championship for the entirety of this year’s grading period. It will be interesting to see if she spends more time in America or Japan this next year, but one thing is for sure, where Rina goes, chaos will follow!

79. NAO KAKUTA – TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING 

Nao Kakuta’s jump from AWG to TJPW made a lot of noise, especially when she made it to five months without being pinned or submitted. She caught up with the promotion’s style and quickly became a top talent and, most importantly, an outside veteran for the girls to rely on. After several failed attempts to win gold in TJPW, Nao’s biggest moment came at Wrestle Princess IV when she captured the Princess Tag Team championship alongside her Free Wi-Fi partner Hikari Noa. Unfortunately, with Hikari’s hiatus and subsequent retirement, the team was forced to vacate the titles. The Rat Chaser just recently hung up her boots after nine years as a performer in order to pursue other endeavors. 

  • Written By: Fernando Ibarra

78. MAYA YUKIHI – FREELANCER 

Maya Yukihi had kind of a quiet year in a lot of people’s opinion because we were always so used to seeing her as the center of attention in promotions all around Japan. This time however, she’s been traveling from promotion to promotion putting on decent matches but not the type of fantastic matches we’ve come to expect. We all know she’s super talented, and her marketability is high as well, but seeing her at a 50% win rate and only holding two tag team titles this past year just doesn’t live up to our expectations. We all hope that during this next year she’ll be able to really lock in again, and put on the types of performances we’ve come to expect. If she comes through for us, she’ll definitely be higher up on the list next year!

77. MISA MATSUI – MARIGOLD 

Marigold’s Speed Star began her career in Actwres girl’Z in 2018. A mainstay in the group, Misa Matsui quickly rose through the ranks and gained experience in other promotions as well. A solid high flyer and a fierce and quick striker, Matsui certainly lived up to her Speed Star gimmick. Her year in AWG was pretty solid, chalking up wins alongside her teammates of Teppen☆, getting singles wins over Natsuki and MARU, and even taking AWG Champion MARI to the limit. Which made it all the more shocking when Misa left for Marigold in May. She had a bit of a rocky start in her new company, mostly getting wins over rookies and losing to Natsumi Showzuki in the finals of the Superfly title tournament. There’s no doubt though that Marigold has a real talent in Misa Matsui and she’ll have championship gold around her waist sooner or later.

  • Written By: Dave Coumans

76. AMI SOUREI – STARDOM 

Over this past year, “God’s Chosen Big Girl” Ami Sourei has been on her way up the card in Stardom, cementing herself as an upper mid-card wrestler who could be counted on to put on strong performances with anyone she was in the ring with. Sure, she had a sub 50% win rate, but in the last half of the grading period she was getting more big singles matches than she had ever had before, showing that the company sees her as a bigger deal than her win rate shows. She held the Artist Of Stardom championship for 87 days, and was one third of the Triangle Derby Tournament winners which isn’t known as being the most important tournament yet, but it’s importance is growing as time goes on. It’s a shame that she had to pull out of the 5 Star Grand Prix this year with a torn ligament in her knee, but hopefully after she recovers, she’ll be able to pick up from where she left off, and continue to become the star that the company needs!

That’s all you’re going to get for this week! Tune into RESURA next week to see who ranks #75 to #51!

Cover graphic by Hart Editing

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