Senka Akatsuki’s version of wrestling is the artform reduced to its basic and most vital components. Boiled down to its purest form.
A lariat across the chest. A Boston Crab bending a body backward. A primal scream. An brutish energy. An animalistic struggle on the ground.
It’s an intoxicating mix, one that she’s concocted expertly very early in her career.
Akatsuki has only been wrestling since October of 2024 when she debuted against Sareee. She’s now just barely passed the 50-match mark. Most of those bouts have been with Marvelous, her home promotion. The company clearly believes in her. And rightly so.
The promotion is so confident in her potential that it patterned her look after Chigusa Nagayo of the legendary Crush Gals, Akatsuki’s trainer and the top dog at Marvelous. That’s a heavy weight to carry, but the 19-year-old has shown that she’s got the shoulders and the fortitude to do just that. She’s become one of the most exciting talents in Marvelous and joshi overall.
Fans raved about her performance against Aja Kong at WrestleMania Week in Vegas in 2025. Her tense, explosive confrontations with fellow super rookie Seri Yamaota have had audiences abuzz. At her one-year anniversary show, she was already challenging Takumi Iroha for the AAAW Championship. Her first chance at the world title didn’t end in victory but damn was it a thriller.
The key to all this? The art of simplicity.
Her gear, a singlet, two colors. No adornments.
Senka does not employ a long list of moves. You won’t see her hitting some spinning dive from the top rope or some bells-and-whistles suplex. It’s not about flash with her. Her attack is beautifully straightforward.
We saw that when she fought for Iroha’s title last October.
To start, she kicks things off with a tense tie-up. This is so often a moment wrestlers take for granted, but here it is a legit battle of wills. Two bodies locked together, no one willing to give an inch.
The ensuing test of strength sees Senka’s face contort with determination. The way her body tenses up, how she rises inch by agonizing inch in Iroha’s grip, it’s all believable, compelling.
Akatsuki spends much of the match taking a beating, as dictated by the senior-rookie hierarchy, but for a brief moment, she fights back and goes on the offensive. She reaches back and tags Takumi Iroha with a resounding slap. Then comes what’s become Senka’s signature: the shoot pin. She hooks Iroha’s leg and pushes her body weight down on the vet. Iroha squirms and Senka shifts and struggles to stay atop. It’s a moment that lasts only a few seconds, but is among the most dramatic things to happen in the whole contest.
It’s the ultimate me-against-you move. Who can overpower who? Whose will is stronger? On this day, it’s Iroha’s, but over time we will see that answer change.
A month later, Akatsuki went up against Spike Nishimura in the finals of the Sendai Girls Jaja Uma Tournament.
This time, she begins with a test of strength, and with gritted teeth strains to overwhelm this foe. Flesh slams against flesh. Fighting spirit is tested.
Her offense is bare bones–a headlock, an attempted Boston Crab, a clubbing forearm. But all of it has a charged energy to it. Like she’s coursing with high voltage. It all feels intense, vital, urgent.
Senka lays out Spike a few times with a bash of her shoulder. After each powerful impact, she winces, her taped-up shoulder not appreciative of her choice of weapon. The selling is subtle but evident, another element to the story she’s telling.
It ends with Senka hitting a lariat and a diving splash for the win. No inverted whatchamacallit. No reverse straightjacket something or other. Just the basics, but hit with an animalistic roar and a burning passion that tears through the screen.
To cap off her stellar rookie year, she took on fellow blue-chipper Seri Yamaoka at a Marvelous Korakuen show.
The mat wrestling that began things had such a genuine feel to it, far more sporting event than stage play. Both wrestlers were crafty and cautious; both skilled grapplers.
Next came the slaps. When it was Senka’s turn to deliver one to Seri’s chin, she put her whole body into it, her hair flapping as she swung.
There was the usual battle of wills you see in Senka’s matches but with an extra electricity thanks to how stubborn and strong Seri is.
Then Akatsuki delivered some thunderous lariats that had the commentary team buzzing. A big splash followed to net Senka the win.
This was a simple-yet-effective match that barely went over 12 minutes. Both wrestlers relied on the basics done well and a taut, engaging story came of it. That’s the Senka way.
Surely we’ll see this matchup again. This is the only early stages of their generational rivalry. And if it’s this good already, imagine what their clashes will look like when both have evolved and grown past rookie status.
As she gains experience, we’re sure to see Senka add moves to her arsenal and evolve in various ways. She’s not going to stray from her core, though. She is and will always be a hammer–powerful, pretenseless, effective.
Sometimes, though, a trusty hammer is just what you need.
In Senka’s case, we are seeing that tool work like a charm. She’s echoing the simplicity of past stars like Bruiser Brody and Dump Matsumoto. She’s a throwback, a prodigy. She’s a powerful wonder to behold.
As Senka marches forward, she can’t be ignored. She’s too special, too fascinating. She is a machine, staggering and unyielding, a force that cannot be refused.
“Cannot Be Refused” is a quote from the poem “Hammer” by Dean Young.
RESURA 