This is RESURA ROUNDUP, our monthly installment of match recommendations. Every month, our writers will bring you a fresh batch of bangers, slugfests, epics, and more from the world of joshi.
We’ll often shine a light on the big bouts, but there will also be plenty of focus on the under-the-radar hits. Expect a diverse selection that hits a wide range of joshi promotions.
Let’s get into it.
Suzume vs HIMAWARI, TJPW – Golden Week Fan Appreciation Day [East] (May 3)
A good champion should elevate a championship’s prestige. A great champion will elevate a championship’s prestige AND their challengers. Luckly, Suzume knows a thing or two about it.
During Wrestlemania Weekend, most TJPW fans were focused on the girls in the US, but let’s not forget that some of them stayed in Japan to hold a show of their own. At the April 19th show, HIMAWARI and Uta Takami wrestled not once, not twice but three times (highlighting Uta getting her first career win defeating Chika Nanase) during a one-night tournament to determine the no. 1 contender for the International Princess title. In the finals, The Sunflower beat the youngest of the Up Up Girls to earn the right to challenge Suzume for the belt.
Two weeks after retaining the championship against Jada Stone in Las Vegas, The Bee put the title on the line once again. Saitama was witness to HIMAWARI’s first time challenging for a singles belt and Suzume’s fourth time defending it. One key quality of any wrestler, especially those in the mid or low card, should be being able to step up and deliver in big matches. Pom Harajuku is, surprisingly, one of them, and HIMAWARI could be one too.
Suzume was her high-speed self, while the challenger used her long braids as a weapon (Bianca who?). The Sunflower hit the champion with all of her arsenal and then some more, going for variants of her usual moves, even losing part of her gear during the match. The Bee was able to hit Ring a Bell on her kneel opponent, but it was only after hitting the standard version of it when she was able to put away HIMAWARI.
The challenger may have lost, but this is the kind of match that should make the fans sure that the promotion has a bright future.
Recommended by: Fernando
Hagane Shinno & Chie Koishikawa vs Miya Yotsuba & Soy, ChocoPro – ChocoPro #446 (May 4)
At the second of a four-show series by ChocoPro in the first weekend of May, the team of Hagane Shinno and Chie Koishikawa, known as “Egg Tarts”, wrestled Miya Yotsuba and Soy just 24 hours after Chie defeated Miya in singles action, and both of them were in each other’s mind.
Having only previously teamed up once, Miya and Soy took some time to understand each other, especially when facing one of ChocoPro’s most well-known teams, but as the match went on, everybody knew what to do, highlighting the double Boston Crab spot. Hagane’s experience and Soy’s enthusiasm perfectly fit the bout. In the final moments, Miya and Chie were the legal people, but the dreaded time-limit draw hit and the Ichigaya Square went dead silent, which only made Chie screaming in frustration more powerful; she even let her hair loose mid-scream (a rare sight during shows).
In an additional note, in the main event, Miya’s real-life sister Nonoka Seto lost to her tag team partner Hiyori Yawata, in what will be Nonoka’s final match at Ichigaya Square in order to take a break from wrestling. Miya’s already emotional day continued during the Janken tournament (one of their best, I must say), in which she saw her sister getting eliminated, only to win it herself. The image Miya sharing that chocolate piece with her sister is, no joke, one the most emotional moments in ChocoPro’s history.
Recommended by: Fernando
Mei Suruga vs Emi Sakura, ChocoPro – ChocoPro #447 Sakura-ism (May 5)
Two women so made for one another they could have an instant classic on the spot.
Mei Suruga defended the Super Asia title (which got a new design recently) against her mentor and former champion Emi Sakura and it was simply another day at the office for them. A technically sound bout that demonstrated The Apple Girl is the present and future of joshi. Sakura, even in defeat, cements her place as one of the best wrestling trainers ever whenever we see her students perform in ChocoPro.
Recommended by: Fernando
Mei Suruga vs Kaho Hiromi, ChocoPro – ChocoPro #448 (May 6)
You can never get tired of watching Mei Suruga wrestle. Now imagine what happens when she faces her protege,with whom she shares the same mischievous nature.
In just eight months, Kaho Hiromi has had over 50 matches, which is pretty impressive when we remember she is an elementary school student. Mei Suruga and Emi Sakura have done an excellent job training Kaho, being able to keep up with a variety of wrestlers in ChocoPro. Mei faced her student in singles action and you can tell it takes a talented wrestler to make a kid look as good as The Apple Girl did with Kaho.
Let’s keep an eye on this girl, because it’s only a matter of time before she wants to put Chris Brookes in his place.
Recommended by: Fernando
Asuza Inaba vs Tomoka Inaba, TAKA & Taichi Produce TAKATaichiMania IV (May 7)
Watching a clip of Aoi battling El Desperado led me to discover this little gem where Asuza Inaba defended her JTO Girls title against her big sister Tomoka, and this was one of those instances where you don’t need to know the all the wrestler’s lore to understand the story they were telling, and it was an easy one: “Little sister wants to prove she is at the same level (or above) as her big sister”.
In only their second singles match ever, the Inaba Sisters faced off once again in a big match with a big prize on the line, with the first one being the finals of the 2024 Queen Of JTO Title tournament, which Tomoka won. The big sister was determined to win the title she has never held, while Asuza not only wanted to retain her belt, but to prove she won’t be in Tomoka’s shadow. The two strikers kicked each other to no end, and although the match took its time, every kick and every knee strike felt important. After 20 minutes of fighting, the champion finally put away the challenger.
With Tomoka being only 22 and Azusa just 17, let’s hope these two girls improve with every future match they have.
Recommended by: Fernando
YuuRI, Nanami Hatano & Kirari Wakana vs Chanyota, Honoka & Saran, Ganbare Pro – Young Ganbare Summit (May 10)
What a stunner of a hidden gem. These women just turn on the jets and fly for 15 minutes.
YuuRI and Honoka start things with some solid high-speed action. Then every combo after that ratches up the adrenaline. Chanyota and Wakana’s exchanges crackle with energy, in a battle of power versus heart. And this is some of the best stuff I’ve seen from Saran. When she leans away from comedy shtick and goes more for high-octane offense like she did here, she looks like one of the most promising stars around.
Everything flows so well in this six-woman clash, a showcase for six under-heralded wrestlers. Go check it out on Wrestle Universe.
Recommended by: Ryan
DASH Chisako & Takumi Iroha vs. MIka Iwata & Miyuki Takase, Sendai Girls – (May 11)
This is so very much my jam. Fast-paced. Stiff as hell. Under 15 minutes.
Everyone involved seemed to be supercharged with aggressive energy like four pissed off hornets trying to sting the hell out of each other inside a nest. Iwata especially was on a rampage, buzzing with bad intentions.
Chisako was the star early on, and then each wrestler got their turn in the spotlight. They all churned out a well-balanced house-show banger that made me feel smart for not skipping any Sendai Girls shows.
Recommended by: Ryan
Kaya Toribami & Shoko Nakajima vs Moka Miyamoto & Yuki Arai, TJPW – Spring Tour 2025 In Shinagawa Vol. 1 (May 17)
Knowing your role in a promotion is key and, unfortunately, sometimes that role is putting over other talent. However, that also leads to your victories feeling especially good.
Kaya Toribami teamed up with current Princess Tag and MLW Women’s World Featherweight champion Shoko Nakajima (her opponent in her first ever singles match) to face Moka Miyamoto and Yuki Arai. What looked like a standard TJPW tag match took a turn once Kaya and Moka were the legal women at the 10-minute mark, with Miyamoto trying (and failing) to put away Toribami with both of her finishers. At one point, Nakajima hit a suicide dive to take out Arai, allowing her partner to hit a rolling senton from the second rope to end the match.
After winning the match for her team, the masked wrestler acknowledged the Big Kaiju being her Senpai, and wanting to prove herself, challenged her for her MLW title, marking it her first title match ever.
Recommended by: Fernando
Nanae Takahashi vs. Miku Aono, Marigold – Shine Forever (May 24)
What a tremendous sendoff for the legendary Takahashi. A beautifully violent match. Miku Aono took this grand opportunity and absolutely ran with it.
A must-watch.
Recommended by: Ryan
Hiroyi Yawata vs. Mei Suruga, ChocoPro – ChocoPro #451 (May 25)
What a wonderful blend of intensity and inanity. In the same match that Mei Suruga tries to crank her mentee’s arm out of socket, you get Yawata ripping paper stars off the wall and flinging them at her opponent.
Celebrating her one-year anniversary, Yawata more than hangs with the goblin queen herself in this Ichigawa Chocolate Hiroba main event. It’s a high-energy, joyous battle that showcased both wrestlers.
Yawata is showing herself to be a promising prospect. Suruga, meanwhile, is having a hell of a year, as seen by how many times she’s appeared on our ROUNDUP lists in 2025.
Recommended by: Ryan
Natsupoi & Saori Anou vs Chihiro Hashimoto & Mika Iwata, Natsu & Saory 10th Anniversary ~Our Footprints~ (May 31)
Almost everything we were waiting for happened in the main event of Saori and Natsupoi’s anniversary show: Poi’s agility, ChiHashi’s strength and Saori and Mika’s excellent rivalry.
Even though the finish was unexpected, some may say anti-climatic, the action that preceded it showed how both Saori and Poi have grown as wrestlers and performers since their days in AWG (great opening dance, by the way).
Recommended by: Fernando
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