Every new year brings many possibilities, and it should be no surprise that the staff here at RESURA have been thinking about what they think will happen during this next year in the joshi wrestling landscape. Plus, who doesn’t love getting clicks on some fantasy booking, right?

Depending on who you talk to, 2024 was either a good or bad year for joshi wrestling, but the hope for all of us fans is that this next year will be the best ever!

We did our best to cover as many of the different promotions as possible with our bold or not so bold predictions, and hopefully there will be a few that you will not only enjoy, but also agree with after hearing our explanations. Without further ado, let’s get to the predictions!

Hanan Will Win The 5Star Grand Prix

Hanan’s talent is obvious. As is her main-event aura. Stardom will surely make use of that more and more as she grows.

The 2024 Cinderella Tournament winner is poised for a massive year in 2025, and that could very well include joining the short list of women to win the 5Star Grand Prix.

If Hanan’s age (she’ll be 21 in August) gives you pause in betting on her in that big tourney, remember Io Shirai was 22 when she won in 2014 and Suzu Suzuki was 21 when she outlasted the field in 2023.

Is it time for Hanan to get that kind of early push? We always knew Hanan’s potential and prowess would earn her prime-time spots at some point, and after a standout year it’s looking like the future is now for The Young Lioness.

– Ryan Dilbert (X: @ryandilbert)

More Talent Will Jump From Stardom To Margold

Rossy Ogawa clearly wasn’t satisfied with the talent he got from Stardom when he decided to launch Marigold. He wanted more and won’t stop until he gets Mayu Iwatani.

Momo Watanabe desperately needs to get out of the BUSHIROAD regime, Hazuki may get tired of always coming up short in singles title matches and Saki Kashima could go there to reunite with Ogawa. 

We don’t know for sure when the Stardom wrestler’s contracts are up (not that Rossy cares), but at least one girl will be ready to jump ship.

– Fernando Ibarra

Wakana Uehara Will Be a Champion

It’s been refreshing to see how much Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling has embraced its next generation of talent of late. Arisu Endo and Suzume won the Princess Tag Team Championship. Moka Miyamoto, Toga and Hazu Kazashiro all got title shots.

Wakana, who won the Next Generation Tournament back in 2023, will benefit from this trend. She’s long been the standout member of her cohort, her charisma bright and obvious. It’s time now to capitalize on that, letting her either nab the International Princess Championship or the tag titles.

It makes all kinds of sense to tap into Uehara’s popularity (and growing English-language skills) and crown her before the year is done.

– Ryan Dilbert (X: @ryandilbert)

Marino Saihara Will Win Gold In AWG

This one might be a bit of a long shot, but I believe in Marino Saihara and her efforts in not only trying to become the most popular member of the roster with international fans by attempting to communicate more in English on SNS, but also improving her abilities in the ring.

Ever since the company lost many of their biggest stars to Marigold in May, there has been one wrestler in particular in Actwres girl’Z who has been trying to not only promote the company, but also fight against the evil of the Actwres Killerz faction that has somewhat dominated the company with ACT and Mari at the helm. That person, of course, is Marino Saihara.

A lot of people may know Saihara as the “Squirrel Girl” character in Actwres girl’Z but after wearing that costume for quite some time, and continuously improving her in ring ability, she leveled up her costume to a more Captain Marvel type of look.That new look was symbolic, as she wanted to be a wrestler that the fans could believe in, and that she could defeat the evil that had been spreading throughout the company.

She’s been more successful than she had ever been in the past, but she still hasn’t been able to truly prove herself as a main event talent yet. I believe that this year, she’s finally going to prove herself as a top star in Actwres girl’Z and win either the King of Ring Entertainment championship or the AWG Championship. AWG needs a hero, and that hero is Marino Saihara!

– Justin Stein (X: @BioHizzle)

Rina Will Win Another Singles Championship

I have always been a big fan of Hana Kimura and it seems Rina is destined to make her mentor very proud.

The youngster had an amazing year as Future of Stardom champion, New Blood Tag Team champion, headlining New Blood shows and having stellar matches for the Future belt. Especially her outstanding match against her twin sister Hina.

Rina has amazing charisma, proved herself very capable on the mic and has grown leaps and bounds in her in-ring ability. I love how she still pays homage to Hana by keeping flowers in her gear and using Hana’s Hydrangea finisher.

The talent of Rina has to be hard to ignore, and she’s ready to move up the card. Maybe a run with the High Speed title could be next. I could also very well see Rina winning the Cinderella tournament, like her sister Hanan did before and going after the Wonder of Stardom title.

Whatever path lays before her, I believe 2025 could be Rina’s breakout year.

– Dave Coumans

Marigold Will Once Again Sell Out Korakuen Hall

Marigold started off about as hot as any joshi promotion ever has by selling out their first ever event at Korakuen Hall. While the crowd was incredibly hot for that show, and the company seemed to be poised to compete with Stardom as being the number one promotion in joshi puroesu because of the excitement around it, but as the year has gone on, the attendance numbers at Korakuen Hall has dropped quite a bit.

Truth be told, the Marigold roster is still very young, with a lot of wrestlers on it that are still pretty early in their careers, but I think that is what a lot of fans will attach themselves to, and much like Stardom of old, their fanbase will continue to grow until they are finally seen at the same level as the undisputed number one player in women’s pro wrestling Stardom.

Do I believe they will stake their claim as number one this year, maybe not, but I do see them selling out Korakuen Hall again with a big show this upcoming year.

– Justin Stein (X: @BioHizzle)

YUNA Will Double Her 2024 Win Total

If you’ve been watching the Sendai Girls undercard bouts over the past year, you’ve seen a highly promising talent blossom. YUNA’s heart and expressiveness have shined in bouts well outside the spotlight. And she’s lost a good majority of those, excelling in a lovable loser role. YUNA only won seven matches in 2024 and lost all eight bouts she’s had against rival Yura Suzuki.

Her luck will change in The Year of the Snake. For one, she’s going to eventually start getting her redemption against Suzuki. Secondly, she’s due to start climbing up the card. There’s plenty of drama and emotion to be mined by having YUNA start pulling off upsets.

Expect the promotion to tap into that in 2025, and perhaps even book YUNA to claim the Sendai Girls Junior Championship she twice challenged for last year.

– Ryan Dilbert (X: @ryandilbert)

Yuki Arai Will Win The Princess Of Princess Title

After a whopping year-long reign as the International Princess champion, this idol wrestler is more than ready to win the top prize in TJPW, and now that we know she will graduate SKE48 (her idol group) and focus on wrestling, her title win seems to be written in the stars.

Plus, this could mean she will be able to perform at shows outside Japan, especially at WrestleMania Weekend.

– Fernando Ibarra

Pro Wrestling Evolution Will Sign A Big Name Free Agent

President Suwama has gone on record talking about how he wants to continue to build his roster of joshi talent, to one day take on Stardom head to head. It’s a lofty goal to say the least, and I’m not really sure how much funds they have to try to do such a thing.

Already, Evolution Joshi has morphed into Pro Wrestling Evolution, as they look to have a more professional sounding company name, that will hopefully not only draw more fans, but also wrestlers as well. So far, their roster is built mostly on their own trained stars in Chi Chi, ZONES and Soy to name a few, but they also made some noise this year by signing Momoka Hanazono to wrestle for them regularly, which I’m sure will rack up quite a travel bill bringing her in from Osaka all of the time.

I believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg, and while it has been good for Chi Chi and ZONES to wrestle in every other federation in Japan while Evolution only runs a show every two weeks, I think having a strong ace would do a lot of good for the young wrestlers to train with on a regular basis. 

That’s why I believe that this year, Pro Wrestling Evolution will make another statement and sign someone from one of the bigger companies or a high end freelancer to be the figurehead of their company going forward. Eventually, Chi Chi will be at a level to be their ace, but that time isn’t now. They need a veteran who has some star power, and is quite good inside the squared circle and considering the bit of a log jam towards the top in Stardom, I could see someone from there possibly making the jump if they’d like to wrestle a bit more like a freelancer, while also helping create stars for the future in a company that is looking to grow rapidly.

– Justin Stein (X: @BioHizzle)

AWG Will Finally Add A Tag Team Title

It’s been a long time in the making, but 2025 should be the year AWG will finally re-establish tag team gold.

AWG first launched their pink tag straps in 2021, with SPiCEAP (Tae Honma and Maika Ozaki) being the first champions. At the end of the year, the company drastically changed direction and the group saw it’s first major exodus of wrestling. As a result, champions Kakeru Sekiguchi and Miku Aono (who were only the second title holders) vacated the belts.

Earlier this year, AWG announced a new tag team title, with a tournament starting in March. Before the first champions could be crowned, the company was once again hit by a mass exodus. This time, several wrestles jumped to Marigold, completely derailing the tournament.

Since then, no mention has been made of the tag team titles. But AWG has a massive roster and only two singles titles. A tag team title could be something for several wrestlers to compete for. The team of Act Yasukawa and Yufa would be excellent as first champions.

– Dave Coumans

Hazuki Will Finally Win The White Belt!

Being a fan of Hazuki is truly a painful existence to live. She puts on one of the best matches of the night most nights that she wrestles, and she might be the greatest Wonder Of Stardom title match wrestler ever, even though she’s yet to win that precious white belt so far in her career.

During her anniversary show this past year, she promised that she’d finally capture the title she’s longed for her entire career, and I am inclined to believe her! I’m not saying that she’s Bret Hart who only ever promised to win, when he was for sure going to win, but I think she’s finally going to get over the proverbial hump, and capture that wondrous title that she deserves so much!

It’s about time that we start seeing Hazuki as a possible Wrestler of the Year, and I think that will be greatly helped by her finally capturing the Wonder of Stardom Championship!

– Justin Stein (X: @BioHizzle)