After weeks of waiting, it’s finally time to show everyone who the best of the best this year was on the joshi pro wrestling scene. It’s been great the last three weeks to introduce some wrestlers to fans around the world who they may not have already known about, and to sing their praises on why they’ve had a memorable year, but the top 25 on our list will probably be names that you all already know, so strap in and get ready for the fun!

If you need a refresher on how we rate these wrestlers, we do so in three different categories: Skill, Influence and Competition.

Skill is determined by how good we thought that wrestler’s matches were for the year. I’m sure you personally could figure out who a few of the top performers were in that category.

Influence is a measurement of what they meant to not only their own promotion but also the joshi landscape as a whole. If the wrestler was a bigger name who was known to draw, have been in the business a long time, or held an office position in their promotion like head booker or owner along with their wrestling duties, then it meant they they’d receive a pretty high score.

Competition is a rating based on the competition of wrestlers they’d face during the year-long scoring period. Wrestlers that had big matches, especially for titles would get higher ratings than a wrestler who was normally lower on the card, facing rookies for instance.

On top of those three categories we also factored in a wrestler’s win rate, the amount of matches they wrestled, and their accomplishments which include not only titles won during our scoring period, but also any awards or tournaments that they won as well.

All in all, we did our best to try to put together a list that we could be proud of and stand behind. If you’re looking to see who took part in the rating of these wrestlers, that will be the first eight names you see on the list at the bottom of this article. The last two names are fellow writers who wanted to simply pitch in to help write some of the wrestler-related paragraphs, which we definitely appreciate.

As always it’s important to know who appeared on our list before this point as we’ve already covered 75 of the best joshi pro wrestlers on the scene, and if you’re looking for an easy way to see where everyone has ranked thus far, here’s some links that will help you.

2025 RESURA Joshi Top 100 (#76-100)
2025 RESURA Joshi Top 100 (#51-75)
2025 RESURA Joshi Top 100 (#26-50)

With that taken care of, let’s not waste any more time, and get back to our list with who came in at number 25!

25. MIYU YAMASHITA – TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING

In a year where the new generation held all the titles in TJPW, The Ace Miyu Yamashita managed to stand out both in and outside the promotion. As part of 121000000 alongside Maki Itoh, they’ve become one of the most successful teams in TJPW, winning the Princess Tag Team titles for a second time at Wrestle Princess V, defeating Daisy Monkey in one of the best tag team matches in promotion’s history, holding them for six months. She also had an excellent year as a singles star, having multiple appearances in several promotions from countries like Singapore, Canada, Chile, the UK, and the US, where she would win the DDT Universal Title, becoming the first woman to hold it, although she lost it the day after.

At this point, Miyu and TJPW are one and the same, and she is determined to take her home promotion to new heights.

• Written By: Fernando Ibarra (X: Jferimsw)

24. RINA – STARDOM

How many wrestlers can be considered among the best in the world at the age of 18? Not many, but Rina has proven to do just that in a year full of sensational work and proving she, is simply, the future of STARDOM. Without holding one of the top two prices in STARDOM, Rina has made her mark on the joshi world with her rise to the top of the card — pushing the future forward with her Future of Stardom Championship reigns as well as her NEW BLOOD Tag Team Title reign with Azusa Inaba. She became the face of the NEW BLOOD brand for all of 2024 and carried that into 2025 where she’d challenge for the Wonder of Stardom Championship for the first time in her career and did so in her hometown. Her match with Starlight Kid for the White Belt was one of the most emotional and best matches of 2025, showcasing that Rina isn’t just ready to take the next step, but she’s ready to stand at the top of STARDOM. She added a spot in the finals of the Cinderella Tournament but came up short there as well to Sayaka Kurara. “The Pink Devil” is awaiting her first major win, but her past year tells you there are plenty to come. This was only the beginning for Rina.

• Written By: Scott Edwards (X: ScottEWrestling)

23. MARINO SAIHARA – ACTWRES GIRL’Z

In many people’s opinion, Marino Saihara has truly been the heart and soul of Actwres girl’Z especially during this past year or two. She’s gone from a fun parody of the comic book character Squirrel Girl who rarely got booked for shows, to a real superhero inside the squared circle who has now reached the height of the highest prize in the company, the AWG Championship. Sure, maybe she’s helped on “points” (the way they determine who wins the championship match is based on a point system) by the fact that she’s been the member of the roster who has reached out to the international fans the most by making herself the official go-to person for English-speaking fans to come to a show, but her in-ring work this year has been spectacular as well! It has truly been amazing to watch her grow as a pro wrestler right in front of my eyes like so many former Actwres girl’Z in the past, and it doesn’t seem like she’ll be going backwards anytime soon. The main reason why she’s so high on the list this year is not only for winning the AWG Championship and defending it multiple times in great matches, it’s because she’s truly become one of the biggest focal points in the company, even before she was able to put the gold around her waist. Often, she was main eventing shows, and whether they’ve actually chosen a leader or not, I consider her the leader of the main babyface faction in the company the “Actwres Five.” So much of AWG’s ability to rebound from the exodus that happened last year has been their ability to lean on wrestlers like Mari, Marino Saihara, or Natsuki to really bring the level of wrestling up in a company with so many wrestlers who have limited experience. While I’m not sure if she’ll end up being even higher next year, I think she’ll be regularly in the top 50 every year going forward because she has the determination to accomplish anything she sets her mind to.

• Written By: Justin Stein (X: BioHizzle)

22. TAKUMI IROHA – MARVELOUS

Injuries have slowed Takumi Iroha in the past few years, but we are now again seeing how special of a wrestler she is when fully healthy. The Fukuoka native has been on a tear over the past 12 months, thriving in every corner of the joshi scene. Iroha is not only the heart and soul of Marvelous, she’s taken her hard-hitting style to Sendai Girls and Marigold, in addition to showing up to events like Unagi Sayaka’s produce show, Sareee-ISM, and NOAH Wrestle Magic. She’s produced a number of memorable battles along the way. Her kicks thundering. Her intensity ablaze. The Marvelous star earns a coveted spot in the top 25 of this list in part because of those performances, her star power, and all the victories she’s been piling up. After knocking off the legendary Mayumi Ozaki last August, Iroha began her second AAAW Championship reign. She still holds that title today along with the RCW Women’s Championship, GHC Women’s Championship, and AAAW Tag Team Championship with Sareee. Iroha’s 43 wins during the grading period include beating three members of Ozaki-Gun in a three-on-one bout. She’s bested stars like Chi Chi Mika Iwata, Riko Kawahata, and Meiko Satomura before she retired. The ass-kicker is fully back, and it’s been a joy to watch.

• Written By: Ryan Dilbert (X: RyanDilbert)

21. MIU WATANABE – TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING

In my opinion, Miu Watanabe is the best chance for TJPW to truly have a big superstar who can draw fans into their product with both what she does inside and outside of the ring. While I don’t have anything against the “pillars” of TJPW who they’ve relied on for years up until this point, seeing Miu Watanabe win the Princess of Princess Championship truly felt like a change of the times for the company, and great step forward with all of the great young talent they have. Unfortunately, earlier this year they took the title off her, but they’ve still kept her somewhat strong and up towards the top of the title picture, and now, even though it didn’t count towards this list, seeing Miu Watanabe win the Tokyo Princess Cup once again gave me that same feeling of the company going in the right direction that I felt when she put on the white belt. Nonetheless, Miu Watanabe comes in at number 21 on our list this year on the back of her three strong Princess of Princess championship title defenses, her 50/50 split on win percentage and her very good in ring production in terms of match quality. She also appeared as number 18 on the PWI Women’s 250 list last year, which does count as an accomplishment on our list as well. I still truly believe that the best is still left to come when it comes to Miu Watanabe as she’s still only 25 years old and is always getting better inside of the ring. If TJPW handles her correctly, she could be just as big, if not bigger than the likes of Reika Saiki, another former TJPW stand out who made an even bigger name for herself outside of the business. “L-O-V-E Love Puroesu!“

• Written By: Justin Stein (X: BioHizzle)

20. SAORI ANOU – STARDOM

The stoic Saori Anou is someone who will always deliver in the ring but not many people will talk about her due to her sober and reserved personality. However, her accomplishments speak for themselves, starting with her inter-promotional feud with Mika Iwata over the Wonder of Stardom and Sendai Girls World titles, with both belts changing hands on various occasions. Once she recaptured the White Belt, she dropped it to her tag team partner Natsupoi, in a great feel-good moment for the High Speed Fairy. She entered the 5Star Grand Prix but failed to make it beyond the group phase. She will find more success at the Goddess of Stardom League alongside Natsupoi, where they reached the semi-finals. Speaking of her team with Poi, they and Tam Nakano won the Artist of Stardom titles, having two successful defenses before dropping them to AZM, Starlight Kid & Miyu Amasaki, in a match rated five stars by the WON. Outside of Stardom, she is still a fixture in OZ Academy, portraying an even more stoic character, where she is currently the OZ Academy Openweight champion.

An outstanding talent who deserves more attention, even if she often seems bothered by it.

• Written By: Fernando Ibarra (X: Jferimsw)

19. HANAN – STARDOM

The eight-year veteran at only 21 years old Hanan had one hell of a 2024 to say the least! While her Cinderella Tournament win doesn’t count for our list this year, she kept her strong tournament record intact in not only the 5STAR where she finished in the semi-finals, but she also went on to win the Goddesses of Stardom Tag League with her “Wing-Gori” tag team partner Saya Iida. If there’s one thing you can take from BushiRoad’s acquisition of STARDOM, it’s that they want to push the trio from Tochigi to the moon, and because of that Hanan is going to be a focal point of their booking plans for many years to come. Not only did Hanan take over the STARS unit when Mayu Iwatani ran off to the golden fields, she’s been mentioned quite a few times by Saya Kamitani as a possible challenger down the road, which instantly puts her into World of Stardom Championship contention. It’s hard telling when they will choose to make that match happen, especially since Saya has gotten the best of Hanan the last two times they’ve faced off, but I think you could probably bet the house on her holding up that red belt sometime within the next few years. In terms of her production during our grading period, not only did the aforementioned Goddesses of Stardom Tag League count towards her résumé, but also her Goddesses of Stardom Championship title reign that started in December and lasted 183 days of the grading period which allowed her to defend the titles four times successfully. Her winning percentage wasn’t anything special, only being 51% however a lot of that can be attributed to the normal house show 50/50 booking in STARDOM with big team-based tag team matches on most shows. She also got good marks from our graders when it comes to her in ring match quality that definitely helped bump her up as well. All in all, the lioness is still poised for something special in the near future I believe, and it will be interesting to see how she’s used going into the big end of the year shows that STARDOM normally puts a lot into.

• Written By: Justin Stein (X: BioHizzle)

18. SYURI – STARDOM

In the past few years, it has been impossible to think of a top women wrestlers list without mentioning Syuri. Such is the case in 2025. Syuri entered the season working programmes with various wrestlers that would cross her way, starting off with a bitter betrayal from Konami. Very soon, she would get the opportunity to show once again why she is considered a “woman in a different league” (according to the Stardom website), as she would engage into multiple high-profile matches, with a much-talked time-limit draw against Sareee standing out among them. Syuri’s highlight in the year was ending Mayu Iwatani’s historic two-year long IWGP Women’s Championship reign, showing once more why she is one of the best in the world right now, regardless of gender. The reign was unfortunately cut short by Sareee this June in a grueling, passion-filled match that received universal acclaim, with some viewers placing it higher than their previous one. In her busy schedule, she would find time to fit the occasional non-Stardom appearance, in companies such as OZ Academy and Sendai Girls. Outside of Japan, Syuri represented her brand in the USA and the UK. In the latter, she had a stellar match against Alex Windsor, defending her IWGP belt. All these show that Syuri has been (and still is) a reliable worker that can fit any occasion. At the same time, Syuri was busy with media appearances, intense trainings, and action scenes rehearsals, as one could see on her social media. After losing the belt, she kept going for a few more weeks, until she took time off for a surgery. At the time of writing, Syuri has been back, climbing her way to the top again. But that is a story for next year’s list.

• Written By: Aris Emmanouloudis (X: ArgyEmm)

17. NATSUPOI – STARDOM

One of most infectious wrestlers in the world, Natsupoi journeyed through many promotions and many different spots in her time. When she got to Stardom, it seemed like she was ready for the next step to world superstar status. Natsupoi created the reputation of being one of the best bell-to-bell wrestlers, no matter what show or town they were in. She had a mix of hard hitting, humor, and fierceness that was very unique to her wrestling style. She also brings the energy that would light a room up. In 2024, Natsupoi would take some time off due to sustained injuries and wear & tear. She would also take this time to establish a more submission-based style, adding armbars and more targeted style. Later on, combining this with her already intense energy style, would pay off. Natsupoi aimed high and set her sights on the Wonder of Stardom belt and would finally get the belt off her longtime friend, Saori Anou. Her reign would be cut short by longtime rival, Starlight Kid. In that time, though, Natsupoi’s stock seemed to rise. She was also Artist of Stardom champion until February 2025.  In 2025, she would have to see her Cosmic Angel leader and tag partner, Tam Nakano, retire to Saya Kamitani, which would spark her to challenge Saya in July. Though losing, this didn’t stop her energy. 2025 was also her 10th anniversary, and she would host her own PPV alongside Saori Anou in May. This was an amazing look for them both, as they would bring in about 2900 people into Ota Ward, based on their names, history, and the card itself. The card would host many names from their past, present, and many names like Aya Sakura and Kurara Sayaka, that will surely be big in the future. Natsupoi’s stock seemed at its highest this year. She would also be a part of the 5Star Grand Prix this year and would make it deep into the semi-finals, losing to HATE’s rising young superstar, Rina. Though losing big again, Poi brought some great consistency and energy to every singles match. With the many departures and changes going on in Stardom, it seemed like Natsupoi was one of the many who benefited from the changes. Current Stardom needs those next level stars and she is one of them. Though not an amazing year in terms of gold, Natsupoi’s stock and star power was on another level above her previous years in joshi. 10 years of Natsupoi, and many more to come.

• Written By: Pedro (X: PlugPedro99)

16. MIO MOMONO – MARVELOUS

One of Marvelous most recognizable young athletes started off the grading period as Sendai Girls Tag Team champion alongside Yurika Oka as the fun-loving duo Bob Bob Momo Banana. They dropped the title to Team 200kg but regained the belts before the end of the year, defeating then champions VENY and Lena Kross. The popular tag team had one very impressive successful defense against the powerful team of DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto, before dropping the titles again to Red Energy (Mika Iwata and Miyuki Takase). Bob Bob Momo Banana briefly held two titles at the same time when they beat Team 200kg for the AAAW Tag Team title in October. The duo successfully defended the gold against Hyan and Jessy Jackson, before dropping it to Ryo Mizunami and Sonoko Kato on the same day they lost their Sendai Girls Tag titles. And unfortunately, Mio got sidelined with an injury in those matches. The courageous athlete missed five months of action, before ultimately returning to the ring in July. Look for energetic Mio Momono to climb her way back up the ladder of success in the upcoming year, whether as a tag team member of Bob Bob Momo Banana or as a singles star. She is a former AAAW singles champion, lest we forget. At only 4’11”, Mio is never the biggest dog in the fight. But her lack of size has never been much of a weak point. She more than makes up for it with her speed, agility, and fighting spirit. And if she can stay injury free, her potential is limitless.

• Written By: DaveTCS (X: Dave_TCS4Life)

15. MAI SAKURAI – MARIGOLD

Mai Sakurai has been one of Marigold’s biggest success stories over the past year. With the exception of just three weeks, she has held championship gold all year long. Her reign began with the Marigold Twin Star Championship alongside MIRAI, a run that lasted 136 days and featured four successful defenses against a wide range of challengers from across the roster. Mai Sakurai has been one of Marigold’s biggest success stories over the past year. During that time, Sakurai also took part in Giulia’s final match in Japan before her move to WWE, and she made it all the way to the finals of the Dream Star Grand Prix, ultimately falling to Utami Hayashishita after an impressive tournament run. Along the way, she scored major victories over Bozilla and Nanae Takahashi, and fought to a time-limit draw with Miku Aono. That result set up a title clash at Marigold’s First Dream in January, where Sakurai defeated Aono in a standout performance to capture the United National Championship, which is her first singles title in her career. Since then, Sakurai has established herself as a dominant White Belt champion, already racking up five successful defenses within the grading period. As she heads into Dream Star 2025, her sights are set on history: becoming the first-ever double champion in Marigold. Mai Sakurai’s year has been nothing short of spectacular, and by all signs, it’s only the beginning for Her Ladyship.

• Written By: Peps (X: Peps_Wrestling)

14. MAIKA – STARDOM

Maika’s year began with heartbreak, losing the World of Stardom Championship to Natsuko Tora after Saya Kamitani betrayed her. Carrying that grudge into the 5★STAR Grand Prix, Maika tore through the competition with one goal in mind and that was the revenge on Kamitani. She went undefeated throughout the tournament, making history as the first wrestler to ever win the 5★STAR without a single loss, and capped it off by defeating Kamitani in the finals. She cashed in her tournament victory against Tam Nakano for the World of Stardom Championship, delivering a strong performance but ultimately falling short. Shifting her focus, Maika teamed with HANAKO in the Goddess of Stardom Tag League, where their team reached the finals before losing to wing*gori. At Stardom’s Sumo Hall show, she battled Natsuko Tora in a brutal Hardcore Match. Although she came up short, the crowd passionately rallied behind her, cementing her status as Stardom’s top babyface. The momentum carried into the New Year Unit Tag League, where Maika partnered with EXV and once again reached the finals, only to fall to Neo Genesis. In the lead-up to All Star Grand Queendom, she began appearing more frequently in Sendai Girls, building toward a major challenge for the Sendai Girls World Championship at Yokohama Arena. Despite another valiant effort, she was unable to capture the title. Following the match, Maika announced she would be taking time off to recover from a shoulder injury. Even though she spent the year putting others over and falling just short in her biggest matches, Maika remained at the center of Stardom’s spotlight, further solidifying her role as the company’s leading babyface. Her eventual return promises to be one of the most anticipated comebacks in Stardom’s recent history.

• Written By: Peps (X: Peps_Wrestling)

13. NATSUKI – ACTWRES GIRL’Z

It might make some Actwres diehards mad, but I’m just going to come out and say it. If there was one wrestler in Actwres girl’Z who seemed the most primed to leave and join another promotion, it’s Natsuki. I’m not saying it because I want her to leave, I’m saying it because she’d be a perfect addition to any of the larger companies in the joshi scene, especially STARDOM and Marigold. Her blend of high-speed, striking, and great basics inside the ring makes her a joy to watch wrestle. The fact that she rocks the orange, has a bit of lankiness to her and can strike with just about anyone inside of the ring makes me think of Arisa Hoshiki quite a bit, which I don’t think is a mistake. During our grading period, Natsuki won the AWG Championship from the first champion since the title was brought back ACT (Yasukawa). She then defended the title successfully four times during her great 153-day reign. While I understand why they put the title on ACT in the first place, I truly believe that Natsuki was the “real” first AWG champion since the titles return because she instantly raised the level of championship matches once she had the belt in hand. Her ability to work with any member of the roster and put on a compelling, fun competitive match was something to behold. She was also one of the most protected wrestlers on the roster in terms of her booking with her winning 66% of her matches which shows the belief that the company has in her to be a marketable star for the company. Recently Natsuki has been a part of not only the “Natsu & Saori” event held by STARDOM, but she also got to wrestle the two of them in a tag team match on AWG’s big Korakuen leading the speculation that maybe she might be STARDOM bound; however, nothing has been announced at this point in time. It will be interesting to see if she can hit these same heights next year on our list, and it will be interesting to see if she stays put in Actwres or not, but one thing’s for sure, we’ll all be watching very closely!

• Written By: Justin Stein (X: BioHizzle)

12. MIKU AONO – MARIGOLD

There’s an argument to be made that Miku Aono has been the MVP of Marigold since it’s very beginning, so it’s only fitting that after a year that included being the first United National Champion in company history that she lands so high on this list. Aono has been the definition of consistency for Marigold. Any time she’d have a big match, you knew she would deliver. But besides just being the first United National Champion, Aono also made it to the final alongside Natsumi Showzuki to try and become the first TwinStar Champions before ultimately losing to MIRAI and Mai Sakurai. Aono would manage to defend the Pure White Belt three times successfully before dropping the belt at First Dream to Sakurai. From there, it looked like it would be a long road of Aono working herself back to gold, but she had the confidence to challenge Nanae Takahashi in what would be the legend’s final match at Shine Forever. Defeating Takahashi felt like the feather in the cap to lock in Aono as a future world champion, but it was an accomplishment that will carry her career for years and years forward. If you’ve taken the time to watch Marigold in its first year and a couple months, there’s a good chance it was Aono who jumped out to you in that time, and it feels that her ranking here as No. 12 is only the beginning of her continued rise with the top 10 feeling all the more likely this time next year. She’s a star.

• Written By: Scott Edwards (X: ScottEWrestling)

11. MIZUKI – TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING

The tiny terror known as Mizuki has one hell of a year this year in TJPW and it was enough for her to get a pretty high spot on our list. Not only did she pick up the Princess of Princess Championship from Miu Watanabe at the start of the year, but she’s gone on to have two more defenses of that title that were both very good within our grading period. While her title reign with the Choco Pro Asia Dream Tag Team championship was very short, only lasting 31 days, it did still count for her, giving her a little bit of a boost in the rankings. The big reason why Mizuki is this high up the list is the fact that she finished 15th in terms of our composite score for match quality, influence and competition, which is very high for a TJPW wrestler. A lot of joshi pro wrestling fans sort of slight wrestlers in TJPW as not being as good as the wrestlers they watch in another company, but Mizuki can truly mix it up with anyone in any company if she had the chance. With the likes of Yuka Sakazaki leaving for America, along with both Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh often being overseas themselves, it was important for TJPW to have someone who they could count on at the top of the card that could have that good match with the less experienced roster members, and lead by example, which I think Mizuki did great at. While I do think that TJPW has a bit of an issue when it comes to drawing fans in Japan at the moment, I don’t blame Mizuki, I instead blame the booking of TJPW more than anything because if they do bring up a lot of their young roster into important matches, I think that their shows will become much more “must see”. Until then though, they may still struggle no matter who is on top in that company. My hope is that we’ll see Mizuki get to an even higher spot on next year’s list, but all we can do is wait and see if that happens.

• Written By: Justin Stein (X: BioHizzle)

10. MEIKO SATOMURA – RETIRED (SENDAI GIRLS)

This year saw its fair share of retirements. But arguably none as big as the final run of an absolute legend of the business, who put an end to her storied 30-year career. Meiko Satomura debuted for GAEA in 1995, defeating Sonoko Kato. Ironically, it would be alongside Kato that she would win her first title. In 1996, they would grab the first ever AAAW Tag Team Championship, a title she would go on to hold three times. Around this time, 17-year-old Satomura would also debut for WCW through GAEA’s working relationship with the American promotion. Satomura would also become a two-time AAAW Singles Champion, her second reign ending a week before GAEA closed its doors. Following GAEA’s closure, Satomura and Jinsei Shinzaki (known to WWE fans as Hakushi) opened up Sendai Girls and Satomura became its first champion. However, instead of pushing herself as the champion forever (like others do), Satomura allowed new talent to emerge and to shine. She did earn her Final Boss nickname here though. Those who would be able to beat her would see their careers elevated because of it. Chihiro Hashimoto, Sareee and Io Shirai among them, just to name a few. Outside of Sendai Girls, Satomura would win the World of Stardom championship, beating Kairi Hojo in 2015. She also held the Progress Women’s title, DDT’s KO-D Openweight and 6-men championships, the FCP Title and Chikara’s King of Trios title. She even won gold in WWE, winning the NXT UK Women’s title in 2021 and holding it for over a year. At 45 years of age, Satomura hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. She seemed as strong and agile as ever and her kicks have been just lethal. She’s extremely innovative and knows her ring psychology like no other. Satomura is someone who can get a great match out of literally anyone. She went out with a very strong run in her home country, grabbing her second Sendai Girls championship and having some awesome matches against the likes of Chihiro Hashimoto, Takumi Iroha, Sareee, Nanae Takahashi and many more. The Final Boss wrestled her final match on April 29, leaving the business with probably a lot more dream matches possible. Her final run was definitely an impressive end to a legendary career.

• Written By: DaveTCS (X: Dave_TCS4Life)

9. NANAE TAKAHASHI – RETIRED (MARIGOLD)

What a final stretch to a storied career. Nanae Takahashi went out with some of her best work to date. The veteran powerhouse became a pillar for the Marigold promotion and boosted the careers of many a wrestler along the way. She became a mentor, tag partner, and opponent for Seri Yamaoka, giving the rookie a running start to her promising career. The pair won the Marigold Twin Star Championship and made that title scene must-see. Takahashi elevated Miku Aono in a major way when she fell to the former AWG champ in her final match. She brought out the best of other rising stars, too, wrestling some of the finest bouts we’ve seen from Victoria Yuzuki, Misa Matsui, and Chanyota. You have to give Takahashi big points for match quality during the grading period. She was producing some of the top contests in joshi until the final three-count of her career. Takahashi wrestled an instant classic against Sareee last November, an absolute thriller against Mayu Iwatani in May, and flourished in that aforementioned last match against Aono. The Passion Monster had long established a grand legacy before all this, but damn did she add to it by blasting several home runs before stepping away from the game.

• Written By: Ryan Dilbert (X: RyanDilbert)

8. UTAMI HAYASHISHITA – MARIGOLD

As Margiold looked to establish itself in its first year, it is not surprising that they looked to the Royal Red Queen to sit at the head of the table. While Sareee might have snatched the inaugural honors for the Red Belt, it would be Utami who won the first-ever Dream Star Grand Prix, a tournament that is sure to be as important to the future of the company as the 5STAR GP is to STARDOM. Then she went on and conquered Sareee at the beginning of 2025, beginning a reign that continues to this day. She might sometimes take a back seat (like for Nanae’s retirement run) but there’s been plenty of highlight matches like the GP final with Mai Sakurai, the excellent title match with MIRAI at the First Anniversary show and the dream match with Iyo Sky that is sure to remind everyone why Hayashishita remains one of the very best in all of joshi. She’s matured into an excellent performer with an aura around her befitting of a top star and champion.

• Written By: Trent Breward (X: 1UpCulture)

7. CHIHIRO HASHIMOTO – SENDAI GIRLS

Big Hash brought it again. As a solo act or a tag team specialist, as the face of Sendai Girls or as a guest star for GLEAT or the TAKAYAMANIA EMPIRE events, Chihiro Hashimoto was a reliable, impressive wrestler. She and Yuu (Team 200kg) remained one of the best acts on the joshi tag scene. The duo headlined Sendai Girls shows, took on squads from STARDOM, and flexed their muscle in Marvelous. Hashimoto and Yuu held both the Sendai Girls Tag Team Championship and AAAW Tag Team Championship during the grading period, not to mention the AJPW TV Six-Man Tag Team Championship with fellow hoss Shuji Ishikawa. And in a familiar sight, Hashimoto reigned once more as Sendai Girls world champ after defeating Meiko Satomura. She remains the central figure of the Senjo story, and you can see why the promotion is so hesitant to move away from her in that role. Big Hash delivers top-notch wrestling, night in and night out. She’s has top-star presence. And while her tag partner is retiring soon, Hashimoto doesn’t look close to slowing down.

• Written By: Ryan Dilbert (X: RyanDilbert)

6. STARLIGHT KID – STARDOM

Starlight Kid has arguably had the best year of her career, going from one of many midcarders from Oedo Tai to the leader of Neo Genesis. Getting kicked out of Stardom’s heel stable was probably the best thing that could have happened to the masked athlete. Neo Genesis quickly established themselves as the most popular fan favorite stables and Starlight Kid quickly moved up the card. She reached the quarterfinals of last year’s 5STAR Grand Prix, losing to eventual winner Saya Kamitani. Subsequently, she teamed with Suzu Suzuki to reach the quarter finals of the Goddesses of Stardom tournament, also losing to future winners Hanan & Saya Iida. The Sky Tiger closed out the year with her biggest accomplishment of her career so far: beating Natsupoi for the Wonder of Stardom title. She has since successfully defended the belt against the likes of Konami, Rina, AZM and Hanako. Alongside her teammates, SLK was also very successful early in the year, winning the New Year Unit Competition League and following that up with grabbing the Artist belts with AZM and Miyu Amasaki. Starlight Kid is looking to top this amazing list of accomplishments next year, enroute to becoming the new face of Stardom. Right now, she is probably the most popular babyface in the company and is looking to make major strides to the very top next year.

• Written By: DaveTCS (X: Dave_TCS4Life)

5. IYO SKY – WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT

What else can we say about IYO? Easily the best female wrestler in WWE, a performer who doesn’t need titles, but titles need her. Having some missteps to start off the grading period like failing to win the Women’s Tag Team titles, Money in the Bank briefcase for a second time and getting eliminated in a Speed Championship tournament (what?!), and closing the year by losing clean to World Women’s champion Liv Morgan (what??!!). Her 2025 would more than make up for it when she beat Rhea Ripley to win the World title for the first time and establish herself as THE woman to beat in WWE. She then proceeded to do what she does best and have the match of the weekend at WrestleMania Sunday, and probably the best women’s match in the company’s history. Unfortunately, booking didn’t do any justice to her reign, having wrestled only four times in two months, with no title defenses after WrestleMania. However, she remained one of the most popular acts on the roster, not because of creative, but in spite of it.

There’s not much more to say about one of the best wrestlers alive and in history.

• Written By: Fernando Ibarra (X: Jferimsw)

4. TAM NAKANO – RETIRED (STARDOM)

On April 27, Tam Nakano wrestled her last match and retired after years of rumors that her storied career was coming to an end. Everyone knew it was coming, but nobody could have been quite ready for how it went down. She went out in the main event of All Star Grand Queendom, Stardom’s biggest show of the year, challenging for the World of Stardom championship. This is the very title she battled Giulia, Maika and Mina Shirakawa for in some all-time classics. Tam delivered a battle for the ages against one of her fiercest rivals: her former protégé Saya Kamitani. When the final three count sounded and the career of the Cutest in the Cosmos was over, she embraced her rival as the lights went down and both wrestlers disappeared in smoke. A beautiful end to a fabulous nine-year career. From starting her wrestling journey in Actwres Girl’z, to battling in brutal deathmatches on the independent circuit, to joining Stardom, where her star would really shine. Her list of accomplishments includes four Artist titles, a Goddesses title with her good friend Natsupoi and two Wonder belts, alongside the aforementioned World of Stardom title reigns. She was also a member of Oedo Tai, as well as Stars, before launching Cosmic Angels, which she left in the capable hands of her buddies Natsupoi and Saori Anou. Tam Nakano definitely left her mark on Stardom, and her presence is severely missed. We at RESURA wish her nothing but happiness and success in this new stage of her life.

• Written By: DaveTCS (X: Dave_TCS4Life)

3. SAYA KAMITANI – STARDOM

“The Phenex Queen” has been the star of joshi wrestling and, arguably, the star of Japanese wrestling since the start of 2025. But to get there included change, change that saw her turn her back on everyone and turn heel. A heel turn that came with both support and doubts, it proved to be the change that skyrocketed both Kamitani herself and STARDOM as a whole into another level this year. Kamitani’s first chance to signal the level of this change was through the 2024 5STAR Grand Prix, where she’d make it all the way to the final before coming up short and losing to Maika. The same Maika that she had turned her back on to become “The Phenex Queen.” But Kamitani wasn’t going to take this loss as the end of her run to the top, but a bump in the road that would ultimately be just that and nothing more. An old spark would be what drove Kamitani to another level, as she’d become the antagonist to Tam Nakano and her second World of Stardom Championship reign. At Stardom Dream Queendom, Kamitani defeated Nakano by playing to her emotions, taking the belt and beginning the reign of Kamitani and H.A.T.E. over STARDOM. As 2025 has rolled on, Kamitani has only become stronger — in popularity, as a champion, and everything else you can imagine. Kamitani is the star of Japan, and her run with the World of Stardom Championship has included incredible defenses against Suzu Suzuki, Sayaka Kurara, and Natsupoi. But no matches mattered more to Kamitani’s year than the rematches against Tam Nakano. First came in the singles rematch in the main event of Korakuen Hall, as Kamitani defeated Nakano in a Loser Leaves STARDOM match before they agreed to a Loser Retires match in the main event of All Star Grand Queendom 2025. That match was the one that delivered STARDOM’s biggest crowd attendance ever, and it saw “The Phenex Queen” officially retire Tam Nakano in one of the most memorable matches and moments in joshi history. Saya Kamitani accomplished so much over the last year that it took other-level performances to keep her from that top spot. But just know this, she’s as deserving as anyone to finish first.

• Written By: Scott Edwards (X: ScottEWrestling)

2. MAYU IWATANI – MARIGOLD

Last year’s No. 1 comes back around and finishes second on this year’s joshi Top 100. Mayu Iwatani does not slow down, she only gets better — which is rather scary. “The Icon of Joshi Puroresu” dealt with a tumultuous personal year in 2024 but didn’t stop printing greatness inside the squared circle with the IWGP Women’s Championship still on her shoulder. It’s not a surprise from someone I consider the Greatest of All Time, but the fact she’s done what she has makes her landing all the more special. In the final 5STAR Grand Prix run of Iwatani’s career, she was the undeniable MVP with unbelievable match after unbelievable match, seeing her make it all the way to the semifinals before losing to the eventual winner Maika. Her next stop of importance would be defending the IWGP Women’s Title against AEW’s Toni Storm, reigniting their story from years before. She’d successfully defend against Storm, lining her up for another match against a historic rival of hers. At Historic X-Over II, Iwatani delivered one of the best matches of 2024 against Momo Watanabe. These two have had so many classics through this year, but this match felt like the ideal final bout for them as they outshined everything else on the NJPW x STARDOM show with complete greatness. Iwatani would then get her chance to finally defend the IWGP Women’s Title inside the Tokyo Dome, successfully defending the belt against AZM at Wrestle Kingdom. The reality began to set in that Iwatani’s time with STARDOM was coming to an end, and the only way she’d be able to leave the only promotion she’s called home was to do so in a simply incredible match against Syuri at All Star Grand Queendom where her 735-day title reign would come to an end. It was an emotional moment for “The Icon,” but one that closed the door on a run that made her the greatest STARDOM wrestler ever and simply one of the greatest ever. It was soon after that she’d announce she would join Marigold, giving the promotion a massive lift and becoming the savior and face of the promotion. In her first match, she had an emotional singles bout with Nanae Takahashi which served as the indicator of her importance to this promotion now and moving forward. She’d follow that up by facing her student in Victoria Yuzuki for the Superfly Championship at Shine Forever. It was there that Iwatani quickly added her first championship in Marigold, only showing all the more that she’s not messing around — she was here change everything. As time has gone on for Iwatani in Marigold, her importance has only been amplified. Classic after classic, moment after moment — it’s just a reminder that we’re all lucky to be witnessing the specialness of Mayu Iwatani in real time. Now that she stands in the golden gardens, her next steps will see if she can land back at the top spot on the Joshi Top 100 list next year. For now, “The Icon” will comfortably settle in at No. 2 as she continues to build her Hall of Fame resume.

• Written By: Scott Edwards (X: ScottEWrestling)

1. SAREEE – FREELANCER

Was there really ever any doubt? The 2024 Tokyo Sports Women’s Grand Prize winner has done nothing but amaze over the last year, doing so in multiple promotions while delivering some of the best matches of both 2024 and 2025 along the way. Sareee has become the definition of greatness in the joshi world since her return to Japan in 2022, not slowing down in anyway but seemingly only getting better and better along the way. She started off this grading period as the inaugural Marigold World Champion, defending in classics against Bozilla and Nanae Takahashi before losing the championship earlier this year to Utami Hayashishita at First Dream. Beyond her success in Marigold, she wasn’t slowing down elsewhere as her reign as Beyond the Sea Champion lasted a record 511 days before eventually dropping the belt to VENY in January as well. This was all to set up her story of climbing up the mountain once again, this time to capture the IWGP Women’s Championship that she failed to win in 2024. Not only would she be able to win the title, but she did so while becoming the antagonist of STARDOM — defeating Syuri just a month after Syuri’s reign began, becoming the fifth wrestler to hold the belt, and now painting the belt in her vision with the goal of making it wrestling’s most attractive belt. All of this is ignoring her work as a booker. In this time, she booked one of the greatest matches in recent memory as she teamed with Mayu Iwatani as Sareee-ISM Chapter V, taking on the super duo of Chihiro Hashimoto and VENY. That match received rave reviews, as did the continuation of Sareee-ISM in to 2025. She’d face Meiko Satomura in the main event of Chapter VI before later taking on Syuri in the match to set up her road to the IWGP Women’s Championship at Sareee-ISM Chapter VII. Oh, and of course, both matches were sensational. In every facet of the game, Sareee is making waves and delivering something memorable along the way. Her return to Japan has been the spark that Joshi is all the more grateful for, and she’s become the undeniable Best in the World while doing so. If I were to list every memorable match she’s had this last year alone, we’d be here all day. She helped put Marigold on the map. She was the one to help stabalize SEAdLINNNG with the retirement of Arisa Nakajima. She’s now doing everything to take over STARDOM. Oh, and she’s pretty fantastic at this booking thing as well. Sareee is one of one, so it’s only right that she places at No. 1 on this year’s Top 100 list.

• Written By: Scott Edwards (X: ScottEWrestling)

Well there you have it! We’ve now revealed all 100 wrestlers on our list this year, so let us know what you all think about how the list turned out on social media, because we’re always happy to hear feedback from the fellow joshi pro wrestling fans from around the world. Obviously this will be a yearly thing, so look out around the same time next year for the release of the RESURA 2026 Joshi Top 100 List. Also if you’re looking to compare this year’s list to last year’s you can find all of that right HERE.

Thank you to everyone who helped out with this project, please check out their X accounts and give them a follow if you haven’t already.

Justin Stein – Writer at resuramag.com

Ryan Dilbert – Owner & Writer at resuramag.com

Fernando Ibarra – Writer at resuramag.com

DaveTCS – Writer at resuramag.com

Scott Edwards – The voice of the 5-Star Joshi Show & writer for various outlets including resuramag.com, and fightful.com

Peps – A great source for all things pro wrestling and especially joshi puroesu on X.

Pedro – The voice of The Outlet Wrestling Podcast.

Sondre Bjorn – One voice of the ActWres Stage Podcast on Youtube.

Aris Emmanouloudis – Writer at resuramag.com & member of the Professional Wrestling Studies Association. You can find his academic essays on pro wrestling from his X account.

Trent Breward – Writer at resuramag.com