GLEAT is sweeping the wrestling world and capturing the hearts of fans searching for something new, putting together an alternative product by combining UWF and traditional pro wrestling. There is also a strong men’s roster spearheaded by junior heavyweight legends Kaz Hayashi, CIMA, and Minoru Tanaka. The rest of the roster has been filled by veterans finally are hitting their stride and young athletes who will lead the company into the future. However, there is another side of the roster that has all the tools to be something great: the budding GLEAT joshi division.
The GLEAT joshi division has been was spearheaded by first signing Michiko Miyagi and Yukari Hosokawa. Miyagi and Hosokawa have proven thus far to be the perfect two women to build this division around. However, there is a lack of other regular joshi mainstays besides them. Of course, not all joshi wrestlers want to be signed to a contract.
Truthfully, most joshi wrestlers prefer the freelance route, but that doesn’t mean GLEAT can’t get a regular set of women to appear in the company. In this article, we will dive into a list of eight wrestlers that would be perfect to help the GLEAT joshi division get to that next level.
8 Wrestlers to Consider for the GLEAT Joshi Division
8. Madeline
Starting off with someone who has been competing in GLEAT quite frequently as of recent, Madeline is an absolute gem of a pro wrestler and has been a joy to watch in her few GLEAT appearances. She currently wrestles for World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana, but that shouldn’t be a problem as Diana and GLEAT seem to be on pretty good terms. GLEAT even booked then-Diana World Champion Kyoko Inoue on their first Tokyo Dome City Hall show.
Madeline is a credit to the G-Pro portion of the roster due to her extensive MMA training. She would also be a perfect fit for the LIDET UWF branch whenever GLEAT runs those events. Plus, the surface hasn’t even been scratched on the brilliance a full-time Madeline and Yukari Hosokawa team could produce.
7. Yuu
Another wrestler who has competed for GLEAT before in the past, Yuu is an interesting case. She represents Pro Wrestling EVE but has not been over there in quite some while. She currently freelances in Japan, being a strong tag presence all across the joshi scene. Being in GLEAT would give her an even bigger purpose than before and a chance to shine.
She would be working more as a singles star, being the premier power wrestler in the promotion; this would help Yuu stand out even more in this division. Since she’d be freelancing in GLEAT, whenever she wanted to take another trip overseas to go on her next great venture, she could do that.
6. Ancham
Ancham is one of the most talented joshi wrestlers that many people may have never seen before. Just like Yukari Hosokawa, she was trained by Emi Sakura, who is an absolute star factory when it comes to producing joshi talent. Ancham is one of the few that GLEAT could potentially sign because she mainly does indies. She has commitments outside of wrestling, which could scare her on potentially signing anywhere, unless the company allowed her to continue her projects.
What makes Ancham so special is, just like Madeline, she could work both G-Pro and LIDET UWF. Due to the fact she is a fantastic mat wrestler, some training with Yuki Ishikawa only helped her abilities. Ancham has quite the intelligent use of submission holds where every single hold has been applied and transitioned into with clear logic in mind. She would be an incredible asset to have full time.
5. Makoto
Makoto can be labeled a ‘workhorse’ on the joshi scene, as she is someone that can be placed anywhere on the card and deliver. No matter if she’s in a big title match or an opening bout against a rookie, she’ll perform well. She is someone that can go out and produce results night in and night out. She is one of the best freelance talents today.
While she won’t be someone GLEAT could sign, they could get Makoto for the few shows they run a month. If not all of them, then she may compete for most of them. Makoto would no doubt be an asset, only helping the division.
4. Itsuki Aoki
SHAWNCAPTURE’s Itsuki Aoki is one of the most exciting talents on the modern joshi scene. She is 24 years of age, but with each and every performance, she seems more and more like a veteran. Aoki has charisma for days and has developed quite a hard hitting style that would combat Michiko Miyagi quite well. Once again, as a SHAWNCAPTURE affiliated athlete, she’s not likely to sign a contract.
However, Aoki will definitely be able to work quite a bit of shows, considering how she is making rounds these days working practically any and everywhere. Aoki would give life to this division with that uncontrollable charisma; if you aren’t focused already, you will be when Itsuki is in the ring doing her shouting routine and following up with a mind-blowing in-ring display.
3. Tomoka Inaba
JUST TAP OUT’s Tomoka Inaba, for many, is considered the brightest young star in a smaller promotion. She was trained by Taka Michinoku, who already has a pretty successful track record recently with joshi competitors. Consider the success of his student Maika, who went on to great things in STARDOM. He also trained YuuRI, who’s turning heads in Ganbare Joshi. It’s not a matter of if but when Inaba will be a mainstay in a bigger company.
Tomoka Inaba is only two years into her career, but she is special. Inaba can excel in a shoot-style affair but is intriguing in her approach to traditional pro wrestling. Minoru Suzuki inspired her to chase this dream. Inaba has worked GLEAT before, but if she came around more often, she would be a perfect generational rival for Yukari Hosokawa, especially with the success of former JTO student Hayato Tamura. Hopefully, Inaba is someone they’re keeping a close eye on.
2. Ayame Sasamura
2AW’s Ayame Sasamura is one of the most intriguing cases in the world of joshi. After the retirement of Rina Shingaki, Sasamura remains the only woman left on the 2AW roster. However, she has not left, as she has this strong loyalty to the company. She often freelances in joshi groups all around Japan, and in those showings, she has been constantly progressing.
Sasamura is one of the most exciting workers on the joshi scene. However, what makes her being a GLEAT mainstay interesting is that if she were to come in and not sign, but just work at a pretty often rate, she could jump through whatever ceiling she may have elsewhere. Sasamura would be a contender to be at the top of the GLEAT joshi division; that’s how good 2AW’s resident panda is.
1. Saori Anou
Saori Anou is a freelance talent that, to put things in simple terms, is money waiting to be made. Anou is a fun worker to watch, but unlike anyone else in joshi today, she has a superstar aura about her that can’t be mirrored. It’s natural to see her on any show she is on and declare her a megastar. While her freelancing is a joy, it would be exciting to see her in GLEAT.
GLEAT’s high production value would only make her look even more like a star. There’s no telling if she’d sign or not, but if there was anyone to aggressively pursue, it’s Saori Anou. She could be the “yin” to Michiko Miyagi’s “yang.” Anou may stand across from Miyagi as her evil counterpart; trying to keep the hero down would take this division, and GLEAT at large, to the pay window.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can watch GLEAT on their YouTube channel and NicoNico.
