The future is now. The future fans have longed for where Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling isn’t so reliant on its old guard.
2025 will be remembered as the year that TJPW embraced a new batch of talent, invested in potential, marched forward.
In the mid-’90s, fresh faces began to emerge as top stars in WWE. In what is now called The New Generation Era, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels took over the throne from the established main-eventers.
We are seeing a similar transition in TJPW as Miu Watanabe and Arisu Endo lead their own version of The New Generation Era.
Yes, Miyu Yamashita, Mizuki, and Shoko Nakajima all played key roles this year, but the marquee featured other names, too. TJPW took chances with wrestlers outside that group.
Miu Watanabe headlined the Jan. 4 show and Wrestle Princess VI. Yuki Arai wrestled in the main event of Summer Sun Princess. Suzume had title matches at Grand Princess, on Jan. 4, and at Summer Sun Princess (with Moka Miyamoto).
Wakana and Endo won championships.
By the time we got to All Rise in November, the transition could not have been clearer. Watanabe, Wakana, Endo, HIMAWARI, Shino Suzuki, and Uta Takami, all wrestled in championship matches on that show. That’s a full-on wave.
The year was also marked by TJPW exploring in more ways than one.
The company delivered unique, fun events, and tried out fresh ideas. There was a collaboration show with the idol group OCHA NORMA. We saw a concert/wrestling mashup at TJPW X Yaon ~ Songs and Joshi Wrestling Outdoors in the Middle of Winter. TJPW even had a show inside a children’s bookstore.
The most memorable of these experiments, though, was an eight-woman tag team match contested inside a moving bullet train.
The chaos and ridiculousness we saw inside that vehicle, from Minoru Suzuki checking tickets to Aja Kong stealing a passenger’s camera to document the action, was the kind of thing we didn’t get enough in 2024. It was great to see TJPW embrace this side of itself.
Crazy Train: TJPW Shinkansen Women’s Pro Wrestling
There was a healthy amount of inanity all across the calendar. The annual Jan. 4 match Hyper Misao vs. Shoko Nakajima was extra insane. We’re talking snake people, mind control, the works.
The third edition of Misao’s self-produced show was its wildest and most out there one to date. HYPE 3 had all the usual antics from Hyper Misao but pushed the creative envelope further.
This was the type of match that makes you question what wrestling even is.
A dance number. A kidnapping. Nakajima battling aliens. This thing was bonkers, and we are better off that it exists.
The Magically Insane Mystery Tour; Hyper Misao’s HYPE 3
TJPW spent a lot of the year globetrotting, as well.
The company traveled to Las Vegas for WrestleMania week, to Texas for a three-night tour, to Bangkok for the first time ever. In February, then-tag team champs Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh defended TJPW gold at an event in Chile. The promotion did a joint show with DDT in Malaysia that saw Marika Kobashi return for her first TJPW match since 2022.
TJPW Says Howdy to Houston: The Best Bouts, Awesome Moments, and Big Texas Energy from NIGHT 1 and 2
These were clear attempts to expand their reach, to expand their audience.
As the competition around TJPW stiffens with Marigold’s rise, this seems like a wise way to go. Deepen the bond with audiences in the U.S. and Asia. Try out new markets. See what sticks.
TJPW has already announced it returning to Texas in the spring. Here’s to that being the norm and to Watanabe, Nakajima, and the rest of the crew doing their thing in more and more cities around the world.
Arrivals and Departures
It was a year of change, and in many cases, that meant fans saying goodbye. We did see some fresh faces emerge, however, to balance things out to a degree.
Mifu Ashida came to the company via Ice Ribbon. The energetic cheerleader debuted on January 4 in a tag match with HIMAWARI against Chika Nanase and Toga.
Ashida was a regular part of the rotation and thrown into the teej mix with singles matches against Suzume, Mizuki, Miu Watanabe, Rika Tatsumi, and more.
Her style and aesthetic fit well into the TJPW brand, but she wasn’t as much of a standout presence as I thought she’d be. She remained toward the bottom of the promotion’s hierarchy. That has solid potential to change as she gets more time to do her thing in her new home.
After having just a handful of matches with TJPW at the end of 2024, Ivy Steele was a regular presence this past year. The Manchester native competed in the Max Heart tournament and Princess Cup qualifiers.
Many of her bouts were of the tag team variety alongside the Australian Kira Summer.
Her size advantage over most of the TJPW roster made her at least an interesting presence. She didn’t light the place on fire or anything but was a solid, reliable addition to most cards.
Ren Konatsu debuted in June with a singles showdown against Suzume. She’s shown good promise and seems more comfortable in the ring than her inexperience would suggest.
You need to keep your eye on her.
American indie standout Jada Stone made a whole bunch of TJPW appearances and was a joy to watch. She added energy and sass to ever card she was on. The Spark twice challenged Suzume for the International Princess Championship in two fun matches.
Here’s hoping we see more of her in the company. She, like her nickname suggests, added a spark to the show.
Yoshiko Hasegawa aka Yoppy retired in July in an emotional match where she faced the entirety of the TJPW roster. The former Actwres girl’Z was always such a likeable babyface and solid in-ring worker.
It’s hard to say goodbye to her after what seems like not nearly enough time, but she debuted in her ‘30s, so her timeline isn’t the standard one.
Moka Miyamoto retired due to an undisclosed medical condition. She had to relinquish the International Princess Championship before taking a long leave of absence that led to her ultimate departure.
What a bummer. Moka was hitting her stride. She was one of the more promising prospects in TJPW and I really enjoyed the few times she tagged with Miyu Yamashita.
Wrestling comes second to health, though, and we all wish her the best in what’s to come.
Haruna Neko ended her TJPW run, too. She had been dealing with a knee injury and during her recovery from surgery, the company announced she’d be hanging it up. Shinkiba 1st RING hosted her graduation ceremony in September, wrapping up her seven-year career.
Lastly, the beloved ring announcer Sayuri Namba departed the company to move to Canada. That left some mighty big shoes to fill.
Namba is one of the most charismatic figures in TJPW. She thrived in her spot as the opening act, the voice of the company, the ferrywoman to the action. It has not felt the same without her.
No shade to her replacement, Rise Shirai, who has done a fine job in Namba’s absence.
Tournaments and Champions
The Princess Cup was a triumph.
This is a tournament that reliably gives us at least a few memorable matches, but this one had legit contenders for Match of the Year and a high concentration of bangers overall. It also featured two compelling stories that merged into one in the finals.
Miu Watanabe sought redemption after her painful exit from the 2022 Cup. Arisu Endo was on a mission to prove herself as a singles star.
Endo knocked off Miyu Yamashita while Watanabe had to push past longtime rival Shoko Nakajima. The two young stars met in the finals, a clash that absolutely thrilled, and where Miu emerged the winner.
We didn’t just get great matches along the way; we got to witness the ascension of Endo plus Watanabe claiming her spot as TJPW’s Ace.
Arisu Endo’s Powerful Princess Cup Performance
The Futari Wa Princess Max Heart Tournament had plenty for fans to savor, as well.
Wakana Uehara and Yuki Kamifuku bonded as a team. We got an early taste of what HIMAWARI and Shino Suzuki (Bumping gRitters) could do as a duo. Meanwhile, Max the Impaler and Pom Harajuku’s charge to the finals was filled with all the chaos and comedy you’d expect.
In the finals, they faced Shoko Nakajima and Hyper Misao in a wild, fun match. The pair known as Kyoraku Kyomei knocked off the monster and the shin-kicker to earn the right to challenge Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh at Grand Princess.
Nakajima and Misao unseated the champs and reigned for 188 days. Their Princess tag title run was one of the most enjoyable stretches of the year in TJPW. They consistently weaved together action and comedy, storytelling and shenanigans into matches against the likes of Wakana and Kamiyu and Miu Watanabe and Rika Tatsumi.
They felt like top-flight stars as the company traveled to Vegas, to Texas, to Summer Sun Princess.
Hyper Misao and Shoko Nakajima’s Wildly Entertaining TJPW Princess Tag Team Championship Reign
Ober Eats came along and ended that ride when they defeated Kyoraku Kyomei at Wrestle Princess. The title change marked Kamifuku’s first TJPW title win since 2020 and the first championship of any kind for the charming Wakana.
They head into the new year on top of a tag team division that needs an injection of new teams.
As for the International Princess Championship, it changed hands four times, the most the title has been won and lost in a single year since 2022.
Suzume bested Yuki Arai to start the year off, and The Bee went on an enjoyable run. She faced outsiders like Jada Stone, her own tag team partner at Grand Princess, and athletic challengers like HIMAWARI.
Her reign was marked by fast-paced, high-energy action until she lost to Moka Miyamoto in July at Summer Sun Princess. As cool as it was to see Moka win gold, that elation didn’t last. Miyamoto had to give up the title because of illness.
Arisu Endo then won the vacant title by beating Priscilla Kelly at Wrestle Princess VI.
It was a good year for the International Championship. Young, exciting stars held the belt. Fresh faces from outside of Japan challenged for it. It was defended 10 times this year, and we love to see it get that kind of spotlight.
With Endo as champ, TJPW is poised to continue that momentum.
Mizuki won the Princess of Princess Championship to kick off the year and proceeded to be great again. She held it until September, representing the company as champ during its visit to Vegas in the spring. Her excellence gets lost in the buzz over Watanabe to some degree, and I don’t think she got enough credit for thriving in that top spot again.
During her 250-day-plus reign, Mizuki fended off some of TJPW’s best in Rika Tatsumi and Miyu Yamashita. The Tatsumi match in particular was a thriller, a resounding reminder of The Popping Sugar Rabbit’s storytelling acumen.
Miu Watanabe’s Princess Cup win gave her the right to challenge Mizuki and damn did she make the most of that chance. Watanabe delivered a career performance in snatching that gold from out of Mizuki’s hand at Wrestle Princess.
This second go-round with the title felt different from the start. Miu isn’t out to prove herself any longer: she’s here to reign. She’s flourished in defenses against Yuki Aino and Ohio native J-Rod.
She’s more than the champ; she’s the queen of teej.
As a bonus, TJPW hosted some championships from outside the company. Both Pom Harajuku and Raku held Thailand’s SETUP All Asia Women’s Championship. Kamiyu brought the SPW Queen of Asia Championship to the TJPW stage.
The MLW Featherweight Championship made its home here, too. After winning it in April, Shoko Nakajima fought all comers both abroad and at TJPW events.
And a whole host of TJPW wrestlers won the DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship: Rika Tatsumi, Haruna Neko, Suzume, Yoppy, etc. Mahiro Kiryu’s story centered on that title as she won it 10 times and feuded with Tatsumi over it for much of the year.
All these titles were a nice addition to the mix. They gave chances to wrestlers who wouldn’t normally get as much to work with on any given card. Suddenly, Pom’s matches had more stakes, Kiryu was the star of a narrative, and Shoko could be an ambassador for the brand.
Awards
Wrestler of the Year: Miu Watanabe
Runners-Up: Shoko Nakajima, Arisu Endo
No question. Miu was the queen of TJPW.
She thrived in the Princess Cup. She had the Match of the Year (spoiler alert!). She helped Yuki Aino deliver the top singles performance of her career. She was even part of the best match of Shoko Nakajima and Hyper Misao’s tag title reign.
TJPW went all in on Miu, and she made them look smart for doing so.
Watanabe was great in her first reign as Princess of Princess champ, but this time on top feels different. She’s more magnetic, more confident, more of an undeniable star.
An absolute great year from Miu.
Show of the Year: Grand Princess
Runner-Up: Tokyo Joshi Pro ‘24
This isn’t a year that had a runaway contender for this award. All of the top shows are in this conversation.
Grand Princess edges out the rest for me because of its depth. The two main events (Mizuki vs. Rika Tatsumi and 121000000 vs. Kyoraku Kyomei) rocked. Both were among the best title matches of the year.
Lower on the card, though, you also have an underrated International Princess Championship bout between Suzume and Arisu Endo. Willow Nightingale vs. Miu Watanabe was such a smart contest to book, and it was plenty of fun. Throw in appearances from Max the Impaler, Aja Kong, and Meiko Satomura, and there was a lot to enjoy here.
The other big-hitter shows were right behind this one in my mind, so if someone preferred Wrestle Princess or the Jan. 4 event, I would completely get it. This was just a good year for TJPW overall and that showed in the closeness of the Show of the Year race.
Match of the Year: Mizuki vs. Miu Watanabe (Wrestle Princess VII)
Runner-Up: Miu Watanabe vs. Arisu Endo (Princess Cup Final)
TJPW Wrestle Princess VI Review
Good god, what a bout.
Miu Watanabe was out to prove that she was worthy of being champion again. Mizuki was out to protect her crown. The resulting battle was the most emotional, powerful match TJPW put on this year.
Fast-paced. Fluid. A clear and engaging story. Top-notch performances from both challenger and champion. This instantly gets put into the list of best TJPW matches of all time.
Most Improved: Shino Suzuki
Runners-Up: Uta Takami, Wakana Uehara
There’s been plenty of growth to celebrate across the company, but no one has upped their game more in 2025 than Shino.
Her wrestling is crisper. Her storytelling skill has blossomed. Her presence is so much bigger than when she began as the new member of the Up Up Girls.
Suzuki has become a much more polished and compelling wrestler as evidenced by her Level Up match against Miyu Yamashita and when she and HIMAWARI went up against Ober Eats for the TJPW tag titles in November.
If you would like to read more of me gushing about Shino’s glow-up, that was the top topic in my Rising Destiny Digest VIII column.
Best Moment: New Champions Celebrate at Wrestle Princess VII
Runners-Up: Everything at Shinkansen Pro-Wrestling
In a moment reminiscent of that old photo of WWE’s new champions in 2011, a whole new set of champs emerged from Wrestle Princess. Crowning Miu Watanabe, Wakana Uehara, and Arisu Endo at the same time is a pivotal moment, an emphatic statement. TJPW put its faith in new names and committed to the future.
A few years ago that would have sounded like fantasy booking. Fans have been pulling for these wrestlers to get big opportunities for a long while, but now it’s really happening.
Endo is finally getting her shot as a singles star. Wakana is getting a chance to prove herself as one half of the tag champs. Miu isn’t just a champion but The Ace.
That show and its results now serve as the kickoff for a new era.
Who to Watch for in 2026: Arisu Endo
Runners-Up: Shino Suzuki, Uta Takami
Really, you could plug a lot of names in here, from Uta Takami to Shino Suzuki, Suzume to Wakana Uehara. The promotion is teeming with wrestlers ready to tap into their potential right now.
Let’s focus on Endo, though, because I think she’s going to be special in 2026. She took a big step in 2025 and has looked excellent as International Princess champion. We saw a shift as she battled through the Princess Cup and spent much of the year in singles competition. She’s not just the lovable underdog chasing down a dream; she’s a force to be wary of, a champion, a marquee star in the making.
I think we’ll see Endo get even better this next year and be a bigger name. TJPW has shown it is ready to embrace its next generation, and Endo is skilled enough to help lead it.
RESURA 
