Welcome to Rising Destiny Digest. In this recurring column, Ryan Dilbert takes you on a journey through the joshi scene, spotlighting the wrestlers and stories that have caught his eye. Complete with a one-question mailbag and a bold prediction.
In Our Barbie Era
Chi Chi is right where she should be. A champion in the spotlight, in a place that will help her grow.
Joshi’s own Barbie girl now holds the Evolution Strong Women’s Championship. On Jan. 7, she defeated MICHIKO at Evolution Vol. 42 to become the third champion in the title’s history.
The fact that she’s a champ so early in her career will be zero surprise to anyone whose watched a good amount of her work.
Chi Chi, who debuted in March of 2023, is closing in on three years of being in the ring. She’s already grown impressively proficient at her craft. She’s a solid storyteller, skilled at slugging it out, and wields a notable amount of presence.
We’ve seen that in a solid outing against Aya Sakura in STARDOM last January and some strong tag action in Sendai Girls (teaming with everyone from Sareee to Mio Momono), and on several Sareee-ISM shows.
She’s becoming a well-traveled talent, but her homebase is Pro-Wrestling Evolution and is already one of their key stars.
That’s a perfect spot for her at this point. The smaller promotion brings in a strong mix of freelance wrestlers like SAKI and Miku Kanae. So, Chi Chi is promised some good opponents to learn from.
The Evolution regulars like Soy and ZONES are in similar places in their careers. Chi Chi and these folks can learn together and push each other. My impression is that Chi Chi has plenty of ambition and drive and is going to want to stand out among that group. She’ll get many an opportunity to shine trying to do just that.
And as champion, she will get a taste of what’s it like to represent the brand. She will feel the pressure of being in the main event, but on a smaller scale than she’d experience in one of the major joshi promotions.
Expect Chi Chi to give off a champion’s aura. Bet on her getting better and better in this proving ground. She’s got potential to be a big-time star and we get to watch her grow into that over time.
Gaijin for the Gold
We have a new champion in Diana!
Debbie Keitel from Ireland knocked off Nanami Hatano to win the vacant World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana World Championship at Diana’s 15th anniversary show on Jan. 24.
Her win comes after the impressive Haruka Umesaki went down with an injury and left Diana with a need at the top of the card. Keitel, a well-traveled veteran, was a smart choice to take over.
She’s got great showmanship and aggressive offense, and hits one hell of a knee strike. A good set of tools to deliver a memorable reign.
This is the first time a non-Japanese wrestler has held the top Diana title, but far from the first gaijin has won gold in the joshi world.
AKARI from Chile won the Pure-J Princess of Pro Wrestling Championship in 2021 and held it for over 440 days. STARDOM fans are well familiar with Bea Priestley being red belt champ in 2019. The Alpha Female from Germany was the second person to hold that title.
Millie McKenzie won the Sendai Girls World Championship in 2023, becoming the first foreigner to take that crown.
It took hardly any time in the IWGP Women’s Championship title lineage to feature gaijin. Mercedes Mone won that belt in 2023 just months after it was established.
Keitel joins a small list of foreign top champs in joshi, but she’s poised to be more than that. Chances are, we’re getting a damn good reign with the Irishwoman in charge.
5-Count: Best Potential New Tag Partners for Chihiro Hashimoto
We start 2026 in a post-Team 200kg world. Yuu retired at the end of last year, marking the end of a top joshi tag team.
Sure, Chihiro Hashimoto will obviously be just fine as a solo star. She’s the Sendai Girls world champ and one of the better big-match performers. But selfishly, I want to see her flex her muscle on the tag scene, as well. She and Yuu were such dynamic forces to watch.
If Big Hash is looking for a new partner, here are some first-rate choices.
5. MICHIKO
GLEAT star MICHIKO joining forces with Hashimoto would be super entertaining. Power on power. Satomura disciple with Satomura disciple.
The extent of MICHIKO and Big Hash’s history together is that they clashed at GLEAT’s Ver. 10 show in 2024. So, there’s definitely a freshness to this somewhat unexpected connection.
4. Ryo Mizunami
This is easy to see play out. A tough bruiser stepping in alongside Hashimoto. Ryo’s got plenty of experience in the Sendai Girls tag scene, too.
Mizunami and Hashimoto tagged together a handful of times in 2019 and competed as a team in the Dual Shock tournament in Pro Wrestling WAVE.
They are both bigger stars and better performers today, so this revisited duo would be even better.
3. MIRAI
Newly a freelancer, MIRAI could do just about anything she wants on the joshi scene. Her hitting that big lariat in the ring next to Hashimoto sounds like a hell of an option.
They have only met in the ring a few times and never tagged with each other. My guess, though, is they would have excellent chemistry with each other.
2. VENY
Thunder and lightning. Beauty and brawn. There’s an appealing juxtaposition with this pairing.
We got a sample of it at Sareee-ISM Chapter V when VENY and Hashimoto teamed up against Mayu Iwatani and Sareee in one of the best matches of 2024. If that was the pilot episode, are we not sold on this being an ongoing series?
1. Bayley
Admittedly this is far more of a dream tag pairing than any of the other ones on the list. Bayley is still with WWE, but you could well imagine a scenario where she wants to venture to Japan after her contract ends.
Bayley seems like she might enjoy a run in Japan. She speaks a least a little Japanese. She has a connection with Meiko Satomuro because of Meiko’s time with WWE. You see the vision!
What a fun, high-energy combo she and Hashimoto would be. Belly-to-belly suplexes all around.
Mini Mailbag:
Is it time for Yuki Arai to finally become Princess of Princess champion and become the face of TJPW?
-Chris Allen (@thewalkingyotes)
Some fans are going to be big unhappy about it, but I definitely think that’s the direction TJPW is going.
Yuki Arai is set to face Miu Watanabe for the POP title at Grand Princess, and everything points to her getting that final push to the top at Ryogoku Kokugikan.
Look back at Arai’s record in 2025. She beat Maki Itoh in what ended up being The Cutest in the World’s final TJPW match. Two times in a row, she defeated Arisu Endo. The promotion chose her for Meiko Satomura’s last teej bout. And before all that, she had the longest reign in International Princess Championship history.
That’s all building up to her dethroning Miu.
Watanabe has been great as champ and will likely get a third POP reign at some point. She’s certainly proved herself. But TJPW is going to want Arai to join her on the uppermost tier.
The company will look to milk Arai’s popularity from her time with the idol group SKE48. In a way, they’re mirroring how WWE spotlighted Ronda Rousey who had a built-in fanbase from her UFC days.
I think we need to get used to the idea of Arai holding that title that’s looked so good in Watanabe’s hands. Her time is nigh.
The Prediction Plex:
Senka Akatsuki is our new Sendai Girls junior champ! She beat YUNA to win that title, her first of many championships.
I predict this will be a long reign but more importantly an entertaining one. It’s going to create buzz and be one of the bigger stories of 2026.
Senka is an incredible talent who is growing at an eye-opening rate. Pair that with the high-quality ringwork we always see in Sendai Girls. That’s a winning mix.
Akatsuki poised to turn this midcard title run into the talk of the scene.
Send any questions for the mini mailbag to @resuramag on Twitter via post or DM.
RESURA 