I find myself immersed in everything Uta Takami does. From the bigger, louder moments to the smallest of details tucked into the folds of a wrestling match.
The 18-year-old Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling pulls you in like a gravitational force by way of her burning resolve, spritely energy, and way-too-early-in-her-career-to-be-this-good level of selling her opponents’ moves.
At first glance, you have ample reason to dismiss her as a wrestler in general, much less one with the potential to be a marquee talent in TJPW. She’s tiny (only a scant 3 cm taller than Shoko Nakajima). She looks even younger than her age, like some junior high student who snuck into the arena. And she’s emphatically cute, a real-life, winking cartoon character.
But in the 20 months she’s been wrestling for TJPW, she’s shown us all manner of glimpses of greatness.
That came as soon as her in-ring debut back in March of 2024. Uta teamed up with Miu Watanabe against Raku and Shino Suzuki at a live event at Shinjuku FACE. It was a battle of the newest configuration of the UpUpGirls with both Shino and Uta looking to introduce themselves to the TJPW audience.
We saw some smooth transitions and solid basic holds from Uta right away. Fans then heard her high-pitched voice on display, both when she wailed in pain and when she was on the attack and bellowed a squealing war cry. It wasn’t the fact that she sounded like a dog toy that most stood out to me, though; it was her body language when she was on the receiving end of someone’s attack.
In one moment in particular, Raku hit Takami with a series of chops to her sternum. Uta fell forward after each strike, but managed to stay on her feet, despite the wobbliness of her legs. After every blow, she would lift her head and puff her chest out a bit, ready to fight on. She infused palpable drama into that scene while making Raku look like she had the striking power of Kenta Kobashi.
It all worked enough to get the crowd to start shouting “Uta!” despite Raku being more established and popular.
Uta excelled in these kinds of lower-card tag matches for the next several months. The spotlight wasn’t especially bright on her, but to those paying attention, she was shining. The company paired her with up-and-comers like fellow teenager Haru Kazashiro or booked her in six-woman tag action.
TJPW has done a bang-up job of bringing in fresh faces of late, and it would have been easy for her to get lost in the crowded tier of newcomers. But Uta’s specialness only grew louder and more obvious. And then when given bigger opportunities, she ran with them.
It wasn’t until October of 2025 that she earned a singles victory, a first-round win over Ren Konatsu in the Next Generation Tournament. It was this tourney of rookies and recent-rookies, that Takami got a real shot to show off what she could do. En route to winning the whole thing, she looked more and more like she belonged in the same “super rookie” conversation as Senka Akatsuki of Marvelous and Marigold’s Seri Yamaoka.
As the Next Generation event was wrapping up, Uta faced two-time Princess of Princess champ Shoko Nakajima as part of a series pitting established vets against TJPW’s youngings.
Early on, it looked it was going to be a bulldozing. Shoko maintained control, outworking Uta on the mat. Nakajima even went as far as to start wrestling with one hand behind her back in the ultimate show of peacocking dominance.
Again, Takami made the small moments her stage. When she tried to handstand her way out of a headscissors, The Big Kaiju essentially did a mini-piledriver and Uta reacted as if she’s been hit with a hot fireplace poker. She squealed. She jumped back. She pressed her hands to the top of her head, dizzy with disbelief with how much it hurt. After Nakajima drove her into the metal bars between the turnbuckle and ring post, she held her gut in such convincing agony that one to wonder if she legit broke a rib.
Throughout the match, Uta was two things: feisty and distressed. The way she winced and grunted and contorted her face made every headlock and wristlock go from filler moves to showcases of a real struggle. On the flip side, every time Uta fought back against her foe, she was quick and aggressive, buzzing, stinging, non-stop, a wasp in a white skirt.
The match was excellent, a real standout for Uta. On Ramblings About Wrestling, Stuart Iversen called the bout “some of the funniest, most inventive and joyous wrestling” he’d seen this year.
Uta wasn’t done bringing joy, however. Her prize for winning the Next Generation Tournament was a title match of her choice and she went with a crack at Arisu Endo and the International Princess Championship. The two met at TJPW All Rise on November 9.
It was too soon in Uta’s career to win gold, but she made this challenge an exhibit of what she can do now and in the future.
Quick, dynamic offense marked the start of the match. Uta kept up with Endo, one of the most athletic members of the TJPW roster. Not surprisingly, she added powerful dramatics to the action whenever the champ was on top.
Endo pulled Takami’s arms back and the young grappler howled, a sound born from both agony and rage. A big forearm had Uta stumbling at an odd angle before colliding with the ring ropes. She looked stunned, like the air had all gone from her chest. Every slam, every dropkick had her clutching some part of her body afterward,
Later, a superkick looked like it knocked out her cold, Uta lifelessly falling back before kicking out of Endo’s pin like a badger tearing from trappers grip, frenzied and desperate.
Uta was a spitfire. She was Ricky Morton. She was the main character.
On Uta’s homecoming show in her hometown of Kanazana on November 22, she teamed up with Miu Watanabe against Shoko Nakajima and HIMAWARI. This was another big match for her. She was on the poster. She was going up against one of the pillars of TJPW with the current Princess of Princess titleholder at her side.
Even as early as when she was spinning in the streamers falling down on her pre-match, she was winning the crowd over. Then she impressed once the bell rang, leapfrogging well over HIMAWARI’s head and selling the hell out of HIMAWARI’s hair attack. The braids seemed to sting her pride and skin in equal measure.
Uta was persistent, a pest, a continual test for Nakajima. In one moment, she fired off a wave of thumping forearm strikes, and seconds later was crumpling to the mat like some deflated punching bag clown.
It was a fun match with some entertaining moments from all involved, but again I found myself zeroing in on Uta. In the final moments, she stood helpless in Shoko’s arms before a Northern Lights suplex did her in. Her back went limp and her face drained. She was embodying the effects of battle, again using her body to deftly tell a story.
We will surely get more of that to come. Uta will only add moves to her arsenal and develop as she gains experience. She’s poised to have a stirring rivalry with Shoko Nakajima, much like Starlight Kid and Mayu Iwatani had in STARDOM, where the bigger star remained the ultimate test for the rising underdog.
Uta has shown already that she’s adept at that role. Her tenacity pops through the screen. She’s likeable and unique. And damn does she make it look like she’s going through hell in there.
Her potential is massive, enough to power her past the wrestlers that debuted with her and just before her. We are looking at someone TJPW really has to consider spotlighting big time down the road. All that natural talent and charisma can’t be taught.
Those who have watched her closely from the beginning will not be surprised should she rule over TJPW in a few years, the Baroness of Boisterousness, the Queen of Pain.
RESURA 