Slow down, 2025! I can’t believe the year is halfway done.

It’s definitely been a great one in terms of joshi wrestling with Mayu Iwatani having another stellar year, Marvelous invading Marigold, and new faces making a massive impact on the scene. 

The race to see who wins the year-end awards can sometimes be nearly as fun as the wrestling itself. This year promises to deliver in that department. Match of the Year is never truly decided until December closes and STARDOM fires off its farewell shot aka Dream Queendom. We have Wrestle Princess, the 5 Star Grand Prix, and whatever Sareee cooks up to make things interesting moving forward, as well. And damn, these rookies are not going to make it easy come voting time.

Let’s break down who are the contenders and pretenders for the 2025 awards in the joshi world so far.

Match of the Year

Before she wrapped up her STARDOM career, Tam Nakano brought us three matches that earned the coveted five-star status from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Only one of those, however, is a true Match of the Year contender in my mind: Tam Nakano vs. Saya Kamitani at All Star Queendom.

That collision at Ryogoku Kokugikan is easily the most cinematic and dramatic wrestling action we’ve seen in 2025 to this point. You get the added weight of both the World of STARDOM Championship and the wrestlers’ careers being on the line. The imagery at the end with the two rivals side by side amid the fog is just beautiful stuff.

As expected, Nakano and Kamitani excelled in telling a grand story, crafting a stirring ending to their rivalry.

That match has some serious competition, though. Sareee vs. Syuri at Sareee-ISM Chapter VII simply hit me harder. Then those two badasses outdid themselves at STARDOM The Conversion.

You have two different types of matches to choose from here. Tam vs. Saya is more of a theatrical epic and both Sareee vs. Syuri bouts rely more on violence and a primal energy. Gritty slugfests tend to stick with me more, so you know where I’m leaning. 

It’s going to take one hell of a wrestling match to push past Tam vs. Saya, much less knock Sareee/Syuri out of my top spot(s). If anyone can do just that, however, it’s Mayu Iwatani.

Rookie of the Year

Many times, this is a one-horse race. We are lucky to get one newcomer who gets rolling and has real star potential. 2025 has a whole batch of them.

In a normal year, Sora Ayame would be in consideration for this award. Shinno would get some nods despite only wrestling a few matches. Akira Kurogane would be in the mix, too.

But this is no normal year. We have two generational talents kicking ass and boy are we blessed. Seri Yamaoka is tearing it up in Marigold. Senka Akatsuki is an absolute stud.

Yamaoka and Senka both have real star presence. The way they carry themselves, the energy they bring to the ring, the confidence they exude. It all screams prime time. 

They both captivate with their grappling. They’ve both had big moments against bigger names, Yamaoka stepping up to Nanae Takahashi before her retirement and Akatsuki fighting like hell against Aja Kong in Las Vegas, respectively. 

Right now, it’s a toss-up for me. The award will be won in the second half of the year, perhaps in battles against each other. But ain’t nobody snatching ROTY away from these two powerhouses. 

Tag Team of the Year

This has to be the weakest this race has been in years. 

Chihiro Hashimoto has focused more on singles action, so Team 200kg hasn’t made its usual strong case as best duo. Suzume’s International Princess Championship reign has made Daisy Monkey a far less common sight. Mio Momono has missed half the year with injury, so even though she’s coming back in July, Bob Bob Momo Banana isn’t really out of the running. FWC has looked good in 2025, but Hazuki might be doing more solo stuff as SPARK Joshi champ in addition to her time spent working the Catch the WAVE tournament. 

At this point, it’s wing*gori against Magenta with the STARDOM team primed to get the advantage because of how many shows that company runs.

Hanan and Saya Iida’s matches against Crazy Star at Path of Thunder, FWC at All-Star Grand Queendom, and AZM & Starlight Kid at the Natsupoi/Saori Anou produce show are all bangers. As Goddess of STARDOM champs, they will get opportunities aplenty for more highlight bouts in the summer and beyond.

As for Maria and Riko Kawahata, their new darker, edgier gear has given them a fresh flavor. Magenta impressed in Las Vegas during WrestleMania weekend and they’ve stood out in their appearances in Marigold. And now that they are the Marigold Twin Star titleholders, you know they will continue to be in the spotlight there.

Maria and Kawahata have had some good matches this year, but their best hasn’t matched wing*gori’s production in my opinion. Some standout Twin Star defenses could easily change up that conversation.

Promotion of the Year

Am I really leaning toward Marigold as promotion of the year? As crazy as that might have sounded last year, yes sir, I am.

The Marigold vs. Marvelous has been some of the best stuff in wrestling this year. Rossy Ogawa’s young promotion has also given us Mayu Iwatani as Superfly champ, Mai Sakurai’s impressive growth, Seri Yamaoka’s super rookie year, and Nanae Takahashi going out so damn strong at the end of her career. That looks a lot like a serious case for best promotion in joshi.

STARDOM will always be in that race with its robust roster, loaded schedule, and marquee events, so it’s too early to crown Marigold. The 5 Star Grand Prix is still ahead. Saya Kamitani continues to grow into her role as the top champ. It feels like they have real momentum coming out of The Conversion, as well. 

They could easily make it clear they are in fact still no. 1 before we wrap up the year.

TJPW has a way to go to be real contenders for this thing. I did think they had the best showing of all the joshi companies in Vegas for WrestleMania weekend, and they’ve had some barnburners at the big shows, but the general buzz around the promotion isn’t what has been the past two years. Maybe their trip to Texas, the Princess Cup, and perhaps Yuki Arai as champ(?) gives them juice. It’s going to be tough, though, to compete with the large-scale drama going on with Marvelous and Marigold colliding in search of bragging rights. 

Show of the Year

The frontrunner is well in front. All-Star Grand Queendom was an all-time classic. Good luck, everyone else.

You have a MOTY-caliber main event that has the historical weight of being Tam Nakano’s sendoff match. Add to that a stellar No DQ match between Mei Seira and Suzu Suzuki, a banger between FWC and wing*gori, and AZM’s thrilling pursuit of Starlight Kid and the Wonder of Stardom Championship. All that would be enough to get All Star Grand Queendom consideration as the best joshi show of 2025, but somehow that wasn’t all. 

The Yokohama Arena event also featured a scintillating IWGP Women’s Championship between pitting Mayu Iwatani vs. Syuri. The title loss turned out to be Iwatani’s last match with STARDOM as she ventured to Marigold after this hard-fought battle. 

Historical significance. A loaded match card. High-quality wrestling. All Star Grand Queendom put itself in position to run away with show of the year barring some all-timer of an event happening in the back half of 2025. 

Wrestler of the Year

Last year, it was Mayu and Sareee battling it out for this prize. How history tends to repeat. The two studs are at it again.

I’d give Mayu the edge right now, but Sareee isn’t someone you count out of this kind of thing. The Marigold Superfly champ has already given us quite the list of hits in 2025:

• Mayu Iwatani vs. Syuri-All Star Queendom
• Mayu Iwatani vs. Nanae Takahashi-Rising Spirit
• Mayu Iwatani vs. AZM-Wrestle Kingdom 19
• Mayu Iwatani vs. Misa Matsui-Burning Desire

She was killing it in STARDOM and now Iwatani seems determined to be special in Marigold, to kickstart the promotion, to deepen her legacy, to make everyone better around her. An extra motivated Mayu? That’s scary. 

As for Sareee, she’s been fantastic against Syuri twice over and had an excellent final showdown against Meiko Satomura in January. She hasn’t worked as many matches as she did last year, but now that she’s IWGP champ, we may be getting a larger dose of The Sun God. And that means the gap will narrow between here and Iwatani.

Nanae Takahashi was putting on some of her best work ever in her road to retirement, but with her saying sayonara in May, she won’t have a full year of matches on her resume. Chihiro Hashimoto has been tremendous, and as Sendai Girls world champ she’s going to have some big chances to shine. It’s just going to be so tough to match much less surpass what Mayu has done and will do.

A GOAT with a chip on her shoulder? That’s is tough to top.