Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling brought it in the ring this year.
As much as the promotion is known for its vibes and comedy antics, it absolutely delivers between the ropes. We saw that time and time again. In clashes over the Princess of Princess Championship. In the midst of the Princess Cup. During the chase for the tag titles.
Those big prizes helped create big drama.
Sifting through TJPW’s best matches of 2025, you see just how great of a year both Arisu Endo and Miu Watanabe had. Endo shows up three times in the top 10. Watanabe, meanwhile, is featured three times in the top 5 and seven times overall.
Read to see just where those stars’ bouts landed on the list. It’s a first-rate set of wrestling featuring championship matches, tag team action, and a fight inside a moving vehicle.
Honorable Mentions:
- Yoshiko Hasegawa vs. TJPW roster, Yoshiko Hasegawa Graduation – NonfictioN (July 8)
- Hyper Misao, Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima & Suzume vs. Miu Watanabe, Moka Miyamoto, Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Arai, I Can’t Wait for Summer Sun Princess (July 5)
- Miyu Yamashita vs. Maki Itoh, TJPW Live in Houston (July 10)
- Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh vs. Masha Slamovich & Zara Zakher, TJPW ‘25 (Jan. 4)
10. Hyper Misao & Shoko Nakajima vs. Maki Itoh & Miyu Yamashita, Grand Princess (March 16)
After winning the Max Heart, the chaos gremlin duo of Misao and Nakajima went after the champs. They were big underdogs going into this as Itoh and Yamashita had long looked like a mighty team.
The title match they had at Grand Princess began with a buzzing energy. Within the first few minutes, Hyper Misao was running over folks with her trademark bicycle. The frenzied opening moments gave way to the champs beating on Misao, forcing her to show great resolve.
Yamashita and Itoh expertly whooped on the masked wrestler. Misao in turn gutted it out to survive. At one point, Miyu kicked Misao’s mask off, giving us a powerful visual of the challenger’s vulnerability.
Throw in the intensity between Itoh and Nakajima, as well as all the action that happened on the ring apron, and you have yourself quite the memorable tag title bout.
9. Hyper Misao & Shoko Nakajima vs. Miu Watanabe & Rika Tatsumi, Summer Sun Princess (July 21)
Misao and Nakajima had an entertaining run as champs and this was the highlight of their reign.
The Princess Tag Team Championship match stole the show by blending comedy and drama. It features Mahiro Kiryu once again getting bowled over by Misao’s bicycle despite not being in the match, Daydream wrangling the champions with a pair of sasumatas (man-catcher pole), and the usual trickery from Misao. The energy is frenzied; the action is non-stop.
This one was all kinds of fun. It also helped solidify Kyoraku Kyomei as a true powerhouse team. Plus, Watanabe holding up Nakajima with the sasumata is one of the most striking images from TJPW all year.
8. Suzume vs. Arisu Endo, Grand Princess (March 16)
One of the more underrated TJPW bouts of the year. Maybe that’s because it happened so early in the year or because it didn’t end in a memorable title change or tournament win like some of the best stuff from 2025. Whatever the case, the International Princess Championship match pitting the two members of Daisy Monkey was a moving bit of wrestling.
Suzume had to fend off her friend and fellow rising star in order to stay the champ. That personal connection gave the match more meaning and depth.
We saw some aggressive mat wrestling and fun, fluid action as Suzume and Endo twirled and darted all over the ring. There was extra oomph in their throws. Their familiarity had the two partners evade and counter each other in deft fashion.
A straight banger that faces tough competition on this list.
7. Miyu Yamashita vs. Arisu Endo, Tokyo Princess Cup (Aug. 9)
Two stars expertly playing their roles. A dominant, merciless Yamashita against a gutsy underdog in Endo. Superb strikes and selling.
This was a taut tournament match that stuffed a healthy amount of drama into its 12 minutes.
It’s both a career launchpad for a rising star and a reminder of Yamashita’s ability to thrive in a big spot. In some years, this would have been the top bout of the whole Princess Cup, but this year’s tournament was stacked.
6. Mizuki & Miu Watanabe & Raku & Aja Kong vs. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh & Yuki Arai & Max the Impaler, Shinkansen Women’s Pro-Wrestling (Feb. 15)
TJPW insanity at its finest.
A moving bullet train hosted this eight-woman tag where comedy wrestlers and monsters all locked horns.
The moments piled on each other. A cameo from Minoru Suzuki. Maki Itoh wielded a giant metal fist. Aja Kong commandeered someone’s camera to capture the action.
There was tension aplenty to go with all the silliness. The wrestlers used the environment to make this pop. And Raku fans had to delight in how much of a role she played here.
If you placed this as your top teej match of 2025, I would totally get it. Some more traditional bouts edged it out for me, but I had a hell of a time watching this and surely revisit in years to come.
Crazy Train: TJPW’s Shinkansen Women’s Pro-Wrestling
5. Shoko Nakajima vs. Miu Watanabe, TJPW Live in Dallas (July 13)
The main event came early on this day.
A slow-burn drama played out in front of a record crowd in Dallas. A pair of wrestlers who have long had great chemistry against each other represented the brand beautifully on TJPW’s first tour of Texas.
Watanabe bullied Shoko for a long while, focusing her attack on Nakajima’s lower back. The Big Kaiji fought back in bursts. Miu snuffed them out like a dying campfire. This is where the bulk of the drama was built.
This showdown was of the best displays of Miu’s impressive power, as she flipped her opponent around on her shoulder or flung her around the ring in front of the buzzing crowd.
A true show-stealer.
4. Miu Watanabe vs. Shoko Nakajima, TJPW Princess Cup (Aug. 17)
Watanabe and Nakajima have arguably the best chemistry of any two TJPW wrestlers right now. That certainly seemed true when they butted heads in the semifinals of the Princess Cup.
The mat wrestling was urgent, aggressive, electric. Watanabe spent much of the match twisting Nakajima’s limbs, creating plenty of tension along the way. Miu fought through leg pain for much of the bout (which she sold expertly) and that added a thick layer of drama.
The soon-to-be Princess of Princess champ showed how much she’s grown since her last deep Princess Cup run, looking like a bona fide marquee star the the whole time.
This was a big feather in her cap en route to that second title win. It was an important episode in the ongoing Nakajima-Watanabe rivalry. And it instantly goes onto the list of best Princess Cup matches in that tourney’s history.
3. Mizuki vs. Rika Tatsumi, Grand Princess (March 16)
Yes this was the year of the next generation, but the familiar cornerstones of the company did their thing, too. Here, Mizuki and Tatsumi thrilled in a memorable main event where Rika sought her second Princess of Princess Championship reign.
The two wrestlers’ history with each other, as both partner and rival, deepened the drama. And it turned out to be ne of the more emotional matches from TJPW all year.
Gutsy, moving performance from The White Dragon. The challenger viciously and expertly weakened the champ’s leg. This forced Mizuki to tough it out, displaying her heart for the crowd inside the Ota City General Gymnasium.
In one stirring sequence, Mizuki and Takumi held on to each other’s wrist and just wailed on each other. They refused to let go. They refused to quit. Tireless and tenacious. That’s the kind of theater that powered this clash.
Mizuki’s eventual win left Rika (and surely some fans) in tears. What a whirlwind of a bout.
The Only Choice We Have is to Endure: On Mizuki vs. Rika Tatsumi
2. Miu Watanabe vs. Arisu Endo, Tokyo Princess Cup (Aug. 23)
The finals of the Princess Cup did not disappoint.
This was a massive moment for both stars, and they each came through. For Miu, this was a shot at redemption, to win the tournament so many were pulling for her to take back in 2022. For Endo, this was a chance to prove she belonged in TJPW’s ruling class, to have the conversation move past her potential and onto her present.
Endo was fiery and dynamic from the onset. She attacked Watanabe’s leg, working it over with precision. She tried to outspeed Miu but the pink-clad bruiser’s power prevailed. Watanabe pounded Endo’s back with her knee, her fists and the mat at her feet.
There’s so much drama to take in here. Endo’s desperations as she cranked back the Camel Clutch, a perfect example of that.
In the end, this was Watanabe’s match and her holding that trophy afterward was a glorious moment for the heart of TJPW. This barnburner put her in position to win her second Princess of Princess Championship while it gave Endo some heartbreak to deal with that could well be part of a great story down the road.
Both women stepped up big here, making this a true showcase of a new generation of stars.
1. Mizuki vs. Miu Watanabe, Wrestle Princess VI (Sept. 20)
We will likely back on this match as a turning point, a symbol of the shift TJPW took at this time. Yes, Miu had been champion before, but her winning the Princess of Princess a second time, against a marquee star like Mizuki would be an emphatic sign of just how much faith the company had in this leader of a new generation.
Nothing from TJPW had such a grand big-fight feel as this one did. You could tell it was going to be special before it started and two great stars made sure that would happen.
The action was crisp and bursting with energy. The power moves, the drama, the counters. All of it sang.
A confident Watanabe battled hard against a champion who fought like hell to keep her title. Mizuki’s focus on Miu’s hand ramped up the emotion. That forced Watanabe to fight hurt, showing off her big heart in the process.
A triumph for Miu. A robust reminder of Mizuki’s greatness. I know for sure I’m not alone in calling this TJPW’s top match of 2025.
RESURA 