Sometimes we just need some magic in our lives, and joshi wrestling can sure provide that. 

It’s been a tough year for me personally with immense stress at work and some fractures in my mental health–not to mention unsettling political developments–but boy does sitting down to watch these women beat on each other provide me some needed comfort. It’s escapism. It’s art. It’s so often a source of uncut joy.

As the year gets closer to wrapping up, I look back on some elements of joshi, both big picture and small picture, with great appreciation. Some rising stars have energized my love of the medium. Some prime- time talents have been historically great in 2024, giving us plenty to be in awe of.

So, while the family is going around the Thanksgiving table saying what they are thankful for, I might be tempted to blurt out “Sareee” or “the Marigold midcard scene” and have everyone look at me confused.

Sareee-ISM

Not only is Sareee on a generational run as a wrestler, she’s kicking ass as a booker. Her Sareee-ISM freelance shows are some of the most exciting events on the joshi calendar.

The Sun Princess puts together fresh, vibrant cards. At the Chapter IV show, for example, she cooked up a headline tag team bout with her and Natsupoi facing off against AZM and Takumi Iroha. Good lord, what a fun combo.

Two months later, the followup show featured the legendary Jaguar Yokota and the exciting powerhouse ZONES in the same tag match. Sareee brought in Mio Momono, Tomoka Inaba, and VENY. 

Sareee-ISM is now set to kick off 2025 in style with Sareee battling the incomparable Meiko Satomura.

These shows are can’t-miss. They deliver every time. Please keep them coming, Sareee!

Miu Watanabe as POP Champ  

I’ve long pined for Miu Watanabe to be in her current spot, atop the TJPW mountain, flexing and grinning. I had doubts she’d get there because of the company’s stubbornness, its usual overreliance on its core stars.

But TJPW made the absolute right move and crowned Watanabe.

The pink-clad bruiser has since been taking down the promotion’s biggest names in title defense after title defense. Miu fended off Shoko Nakajima in a thriller. She outlasted Rika Tatsumi. She took on Princess Cup winner Ryo Mizunami.

She’s very much looked the part as champ. Watanabe has been entertaining in her fight to keep the gold. No surprise there. She’s the perfect fit as champion for this company.

It’s been a sustained Princess of Princess Championship reign, too, as Watanabe has long passed 200 days as the titleholder.

What a great feeling to see her thrive, to see bringing all her electric joy to the role. Everything Watanabe has done has proven all her supporters right and made TJPW look smart to trust in her. 

All hail the champ!

PPP Tokyo

One of the most fun parts of watching joshi for me is the discovery. You never stop finding unknown corners of that world, from new wrestlers to obscure promotions.

2024 is the year I stumbled onto PPP Tokyo, and it’s been a blast to watch. 

Their biggest star, Chanyota, is a beast. She’s one of the powerful wrestlers on the scene. She’s awash with charisma. If you aren’t already watching her work, I advise you remedy that today.

The promotion isn’t deep by any means. You get a lot of the same wrestlers on every card. But it’s a unique place, complete with loud club music during matches at times, and boasts some strong wrestling.

Huge bonus points for a good chunk of it being available free on YouTube. Accessibility like that is so key to getting new fans in the door. 

Mayu Iwatani’s Red-Hot Run

There was already plenty of evidence in the “Mayu as the GOAT” case before this year started. And then Iwatani went ahead and had a career year on top of that.

She’s turned the IWGP Championship into a valuable title with some torrid defenses. She put on an instant classic with Sareee and arguably topped it against Momo Watanabe. In what she says is her last 5 Star Grand Prix, Mayu killed it. She was the most compelling figure in that tournament and has been exactly that in STARDOM overall.

Iwatani seems extra motivated this year. Maybe she heard some doubters and took it personally a la Michael Jordan or maybe she has just felt the need to be even better after STARDOM lost all that talent to Marigold. Whatever is going on, we are the beneficiaries. 

Mayu has been stellar, well…more stellar than usual. 

Now we’re getting an IWGP title defense against AZM to ring in the new year? Hashtag blessed.

AWG-From the Ashes

Before all the drama with Rossy Igawa and Marigold, I was getting super into Actwres girl’Z. It was rivaling TJPW as my favorite promotion. There were just so many intriguing wrestlers and unique personalities that I found myself increasingly hooked.

Then the great exodus came. Miku Aono, CHIAKI, Chika Gota, Natsumi Showzuki, and Kouki (Amarei) left for the new promotion. What a massive blow to the roster.

I drifted from AWG and found myself watching Aono and company in Marigold instead. But over time, I caught snippets of the promotion in rebuild mode. There was plenty to like.

Mari reinvented herself, changing up her look and persona. Act Yasukawa took a more central role. Plus, wrestlers like Sakura Mizushima and Natsuki stepped up big time.

The roster splitting into two rival factions created an interesting dynamic, and I started rooting for the promotion overall. It was healing, reborn, too stubborn to fall apart.

AWG remains a place to discover new faces, to see experimentation on display, to watch wrestling with all kinds of color and flair. 

Meiko Satomura’s Road to Retirement

At the end of Satomura’s time with WWE, she waded through obscurity and inactivity. It felt like her career was going to wind down without fanfare, a legend walking off into the sunset in a place that just didn’t respect her impact.

But now she’s back in Japan, touring the joshi scene en route to her retirement in April of 2025.

We’re getting to see the Final Boss in TJPW, Sendai Girls, Evolution, Marvelous, and even TAKAYAMANIA. She’s colliding with old rivals like Miyu Yamashita and Chihiro Hashimoto, and now gearing up for a big showdown with Sareee at the next Sareee-ISM show.

It’s never easy to watch an all-time great call it quits, but this kind of retirement tour is a chance to truly appreciate her. Every match will be emotional for me to watch, as we draw closer to the end of an era. 

Meiko is so fucking special. I’m grateful to be watching her taking her last bows. 

Miku Aono’s Title Run

In one of the best told and engaging stories in joshi this year, Miku Aono battled MIRAI over and over in draw after draw until the former pushed past the latter and won the Marigold United National Championship. 

And just like she did as AWG champ, Aono has shown off her presence and her storytelling prowess in an entertaining title run. 

I’m enjoying a lot of the Marigold action, but I am most invested in everything Miku is doing. She has the aura of a champion and is bringing that to the United National title, kicking off that belt’s history with excellence.

TJPW New Wave

There is so much talent in TJPW right now. 

I love Wakana Uehara’s energy.Toga is an intriguing powerhouse with big potential. Shino Suzuki is growing in a hurry. And there are plenty of other rookies and rising stars in the mix.

Competition for spotlight in TJPW will be tough in the years ahead. It’s fun watching these wrestlers grow, to see them figure out who they are, and progress right in front of us.

The roster is deepening as we speak. Every step these young folks take means TJPW’s future is even brighter.

It’s such a stirring feeling thinking of what this company is going to look like when Wakana, Toga, and the whole gang fully blossom.   

YUNA

I don’t skip YUNA matches regardless of how low they are on the card. She’s a wrestler I’ve really glommed onto in recent months. Her facial expressions and passion burst through the screen.

She’s not an elite wrestler yet by any means, but she’s a big-hearted warrior who keeps getting better.

Watching an all-time great do all-time great things is of course enjoyable, but I get a special joy from seeing the low-card star climb up the ranks. That’s what’s going to happen with her in Sendai Girls. And I will be there for the entire journey.

Wrestle Universe

Wrestle Universe was already one of the best values in wrestling and then it added more joshi. This year, Marigold and Sendai Girls joined the streaming service alongside TJPW and Ganbare Pro.

And while I do get some pleasure out of hunting down obscure shows and trading links with buddies, it sure as hell is nice to have it all in one place. 

Marigold lets me see Sareee in all her glory. It features the singular Bozilla. It has a surging Kouki in the spotlight.

Sendai Girls, meanwhile, is the most consistent joshi promotion going. You can depend on every show to deliver in the ring. Its tag scene, the world championship orbit, even the opening bouts between burgeoning talent all have so much to savor.

That’s now all available and accessible on Wrestle Universe. Add that to all the TJPW action you already get with a subscription, and it feels too good to be true.

As we close out 2024, I can raise a glass and clink it against another as I think of all the joy joshi has brought me. God bless this vibrant, weird, and beautiful world.