Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had

plenty of time as she went down to look about her and to wonder

what was going to happen next.

Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

I wasn’t always a joshi sicko. 

There was a time when my wrestling viewing was varied and moderate. Healthy even. The lure of joshi wrestling, though, has since profoundly hooked me. I find myself now ever journeying deeper down into this world of muscular women, of boots bashing against bodies, of a sing-and-dance routine before battle, of goofiness and operatic drama. 

I’ve found as I’ve gotten older, my tastes have narrowed. 

When I was young and childless, I was swimming in free time. I kept up with several sports leagues, watched just about any movie that seemed interesting, and consumed a motley mix of music. But as a middle-aged dude, I’ve zeroed in on genres (and sub-genres): WNBA, horror movies, post-metal. And for wrestling: all joshi, all the time. 

A part of that is a product of having to be pickier about how to spend my precious free time, and part of it is getting entrenched in my taste as I age. But there’s more to it than that when it comes to Japanese women’s wrestling. 

For starters, it’s just so damn good. 

Mayu Iwatani and Sareee are firmly in the “best wrestler in the world” conversation. STARDOM and Sendai Girls’ consistency in terms of in-ring quality is top-notch. TJPW delivers emotion and levity in a big way.

These are the promotions I (and a lot of people) started with. The real appeal of joshi, however, is the trek down into its most obscure corners.

After getting familiar and comfy with joshi’s Big Two, the natural next step is to start exploring the smaller promotions. Maybe you watch Marigold and Sendai on Wrestle Universe. Then perhaps you start digging around YouTube and other video sites and get a taste of Ice Ribbon, Marvelous, Actwres girl’Z, etc.

It’s such a rewarding experience to happen upon a whole new collection of wrestlers in a company you may or may not have even heard about. I started watching Actwres girl’Z in early 2023 and quickly found myself drawn to Mari’s intimidating presence, Miku Aono’s ability to shine in big matches, and Misa Matsui’s blazing speed.

Before that, I fell in love with Ice Ribbon, discovering a wealth of great wrestling and watching wide-eyed at the level of drama and ferocity Tsukasa Fujimoto brought to the ring each night. 

And just when you think you’ve reached the end of the joshi rabbit-hole, you find something even further from the spotlight.

P.P.P. Tokyo. Pure-J. ChocoPro. World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana.

It never ends. You can keep on going deeper. In search of hidden gems, in search of new favs. 

You can seek out a Marvelous show and find a rookie named Senka Akatsuki grappling with fervent intensity. You can see Marino Saihara evolve from fun-loving squirrel girl to commanding babyface with Actwres girl’Z. You can catch a Diana event and watch why many consider the 24-year-old Haruka Umesaki one of the most promising prospects on the joshi scene. 

It’s so fun to spot a new face enter the ring, and quickly grab my phone, looking for info on them on the web, trying to learn on the spot. I am a constant student of the game, and there’s a bonus thrill in this steady stream of the unfamiliar. 

In addition, seeing talented wrestlers showcase their talent is always entertaining, but there’s something special about seeing them do it on a smaller stage, grinding on the independents. It’s more magical seeing greatness this far away from the limelight, like catching a band early in their career at some dive bar that you can tell will be a massive success down the road. 

These companies aren’t always easily accessible, and while that is a drawback to some many fans, to me, it makes things more exciting.

I have to comb the internet to find some of these shows. And then sift through lots of stuff in a foreign language. It adds an element of challenge. It’s a graps treasure hunt.

And when you finally get to seat down and watch that SEAdLINNNG or OZ Academy event, the joy is bigger thanks to that journey.

As you roam, you are sure to find your people. The joshi community is a bonus to this hobby. 

I long spent too much of my day reading people disingeniously argue about WWE and AEW. Each fanbase dismissing everything the other company does. Being defensive. Showing clips out of context. Tribalism at its worst. 

Joshi fans aren’t perfect by any means, but it’s a more close-knit group because of its smaller size. We are all in this nerdy hobby together. X (fka Twitter) is generally a cesspool, but the joshi subsection is comprised of a lot of passionate, like-minded people who just want to see awesome women do awesome things in the ring.

Share GIFs, memes, match ratings, your match spreadsheet. Share in the joy of seeing a fan favorite finally getting that big title win. Share in the pain of seeing your fav fall short of the mountaintop again. I see you, Momo Watanabe fans.

It’s a collective trip where you are sure to make friends along the way.

And I was surprised by the breadth and depth of the joshi landscape. I almost exclusively watch joshi wrestling now, and even living only in that zone, there is still a stockpile of content to watch. Unless I want to stop spending time with my kids or start ignoring all my friend’s invites to hang, I can’t possibly keep up with all of it. 

STARDOM puts out several shows a week. Marigold isn’t far behind them in terms of output. Add TJPW and Sendai Girls, and I already feeling like watching it all is a full-time job. Throw in the whole host of other promotions, and good luck.  

I’m happy to have this surplus of suplexes. This is where I want to be, in this constant state of discovery, in awe of some ass-kicker I didn’t know about five minutes ago. 

Joshi wrestling is such a powerful and amazing medium that begs to be explored. Forever further down. 

Background image adapted from a photo by Asim Ainamat