Welcome to Rising Destiny Digest In this recurring column, Ryan Dilbert takes you on a journey through the joshi scene, spotlighting the wrestlers and stories that have caught his eye. Complete with a one-question mailbag and a bold prediction.
Shin Bozilla
The latest chapter of the Bozilla story has me hooked. The German powerhouse is tearing it up in STARDOM, and I want to see more.
Bozilla stormed onto the joshi scene in the main event of Marigold’s very first show. Her star power was clear. Even standing in the ring with established big names Giulia, Sareee, and Utami Hayashishita, she stood out and won the crowd over.
Despite the energy and excitement she brought, Marigold founder Rossy Ogawa took quite the shot at her when her stint was over. He said (h/t Monthly Puroresu), “She was surprisingly not a wrestler who was relevant to drawing in the crowds.”
Well, we are going to see Bozilla have a shot to prove the hat man wrong.
So far, she’s delivered a banger of a NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship match against AZM, was a formidable foe throughout the 5STAR Grand Prix, and got the wrestling world talking when she made her AEW. At the Forbidden Door event in London, she battled in a four-way match for the TBS Championship, and Bozilla was the star. Her power and magnetism had her make new fans with just one performance.
That’s not surprising.
She stands out thanks to her style and size. She brings back memories of monsters like Stan Hansen making waves in Japan. She pummels people in the ring.
At just 22 years old, she looks so comfortable in the ring, her confidence belying her experience.
What she does moving forward with the Mi Vida Loca faction is going to be intriguing. Same goes for any further showdowns with AZM. Does she go on a tear and compete for a major title? Does she dominate the tag team scene with Suzu Suzuki or Rina Yamashita? Any of those possibilities sound like all kinds of fun.
Let the monster storm through STARDOM. I’m ready to see the destruction unfold.
Adios to the Fired Idol
With no fanfare, Maki Itoh’s TJPW contract expired and she and the company officially parted ways. This follows a stretch over the past few years where she has wrestled outside of Japan and for places like GCW for much of the time. So, it’s not surprising to see her go, it’s just surprising to see her go so abruptly. They gave Yoshiko Yasegawa a whole good-bye show and then for Maki…a tweet.
I don’t have any insight into the backstage relationship between wrestler and promotion here, and I’d rather not focus on that anyway. I’d instead like to reflect on what The Cutest in the World managed to accomplish in her time with teej.
For starters, she won both the Max Heart tournament and the Princess Cup. Only other three wrestlers (Miu Watanabe, Miyu Yamashita, and Shoko Nakajima) have come out on top in both events.
Maki is the only wrestler to win the International Princess Championship twice and currently sits at no. 3 on the list of most days as champ. She and Yamashita twice won the Princess Tag Team Championship. With that, 121000000 becomes just the second duo to have more than one reign with those belts.
Itoh also won the DDT Iron Man Heavy Metal Championship six times, more than any other TJPW wrestler other than Saki Akai and Unagi Sayaka.
That’s quite the mark on TJPW history. It would have made a lot of sense to crown her Princess of Princess champ at some point, and that hole in her resume will remain a missed opportunity for the promotion. One of the company’s biggest what-ifs.
5-Count: Top 5 Coolest Joshi Wrestlers Today
How do you measure cool? There’s no metric, just vibes. You can feel when a wrestler walks down the aisle and takes your breath away. So, going with just my gut and my eyes, I’m going to try and rank the top 5 coolest current joshi stars.
5. Risa Sera
Points for the blue hair and the wild entrance gear complete with robe, mask, and a freaking light tube fan. And Risa is a badass who will shed all kinds of blood, yours and hers, in order to win.
4. Utami Hayashishita
Kills it in a suit or her entrance gear. Suave as hell. Hide your man. Hide your girl.
3. VENY
Swagger for days. The fashionista of joshi. She’s super slick in the ring and had supermodel energy coming down the entrance ramp.
2. Saori Anou
Cold stare. Non-chalant. With always stylish entrance gear and a cold, cool stare that digs into your soul. Bonus points for that low-toned voice.
1. Aoi
The JTO star looks like she stepped out of a streetwear ad. Unique style. Can pull off a short chopped hair style or braids. Effortlessly cool. The champ of this category.
Mini Mailbag:
Damn. That’s a tough one. Hoshiki is a good shout.
I’ll go for a personal fave instead—Himeka. She was only five years into her career when she called it quits. And she was beginning to really blossom.
I was drawn to her early on. I loved how she used her size. Her facial expressions where so demonstrative. Her tag team with Maika was one of my favorites, too.
It would be awesome to see her bang heads with some of the new faces in STARDOM. Himeka vs. Bozilla, perhaps?
I’m happy for her, but I sure wish The Jumbo Princess could have reigned longer.
The Prediction Plex:
Time to eat some humble pie. Twice over.
In July, I predicted that Natsupoi would win the 5STAR Grand Prix and that Yuki Arai would end up on top in the Princess Cup. I like the actually results better than my picks with Momo Watanabe winning the 5STAR and Miu Watanabe winning the Cup.
In both cases, I’m happy to be wrong despite the blow to my ego.
Time to try my hand at the crystal ball again. Let’s go with leaning on the GOAT. She is a safe bet.
I think we see Mayu Iwatani become double champ by the end of the year. She’s on a mission to collect all of the Marigold titles and that promotion has a whole host of them. Mai Sakurai and Utami Hayashishita, watch your backs.
Send any questions for the mini mailbag to @resuramag on Twitter via post or DM.
RESURA 