The Joshi wrestling scene (Japanese Women’s Wrestling) is a deep scene full of insanely talented performers and every month there are dozens of fantastic matches from promotions from Stardom to PURE-J and everywhere in between. In this article, we aim to give readers a list of recommended Joshi matches that took place in the last month, there will be some honorable mentions and then a top 5 featuring our absolute favorites! This edition focuses on January 2022
Recommended Joshi Matches January 2021
- Mayu Iwatani vs Giulia (currently 9+ on Cagematch)
- SAKI & Hikari Shimizu vs Miyuki Takase & Haruka Umesaki
- SAKI & Hikari Shimizu vs Takumi Iroha & Nagisa Nozaki
- Takumi Iroha vs Chihiro Hashimoto
- Miyuki Takase vs Yurika Oka (Available on the Sendai Girls YouTube page)
- Giulia, MIRAI & Thekla vs Unagi Sayaka, Tam Nakano & Mai Sakurai
- DASH Chisako vs ASUKA (Available on the Sendai Girls YouTube page)
5. ASUKA vs Mika Iwata
January 2022 was a ridiculous month in Joshi, competition for the top 5, and even the top 3 was fierce but we are kicking off our top 5 with this all out sprint from Sendai Girls. Mika Iwata continues to grow and evolve her game but she came up against ASUKA who is one of the best in the world. This match will play to the tastes of anyone that likes action-packed matches with no wasted motion.
4. Syuri & Giulia vs Hazuki & Koguma
ALK had their first tag match in months against the new team on the block, FWC. As is standard for ALK they do not miss in tag title matches, especially opposite Koguma who plays off Giulia really well. Adding in two wrestlers as talented as Hazuki and Syuri to that building block was always going to be a recipe for excellence. The only drawback to this one is that they’ve got an even better match in them that we’ll have to see some day down the line.
3. Tsukushi Haruka vs Ibuki Hoshi
We’ll be up front with you, this top 3 is pretty interchangeable. Every single match is worth your time and they’re all on a similar level quality-wise. With that out of the way we jump into Ice Ribbon showcasing future star Ibuki Hoshi in a title match with Tsukushi Haruka. This match was the definition of fighting spirit, Haruka is renowned in the Joshi scene for her hard-hitting nature and that was on full display in this match. Ibuki Hoshi was more than willing to meet Haruka’s violence with an onslaught of chops of her own to the point that this really embodied a battle.
Note: Ice Ribbon have launched a membership on their YouTube channel. Subscribe and join their channel to watch this match and many other Ice Ribbon shows.
2. MIRAI vs Syuri
In one night Stardom managed to present MIRAI as a future top star as she battled Syuri for the World of Stardom Championship. Nagoya Supreme Fight was the stage of the bout as veteran world champion Syuri was pushed hard by the Stardom newcomer. MIRAI got to showcase everything she was capable of as Syuri stood back and allowed MIRAI to take center stage, once that was done Syuri swiftly puy MIRAI down without mercy in typical Syuri fashion. Not only was this well wrestled but it served the purpose of building up MIRAI too.
Link To Watch: Stardom World
1. Mizuki vs Miyu Yamashita
This was quite possibly the best match TJPW has ever produced, in fact, I even wrote about that for Voices of Wrestling. Miyu Yamashita has been nothing short of excellence since regaining the Princess of Princess Championship. Her strikes are as crisp as ever while she continues to evolve and change her game over time to combat new challengers. Mizuki is one of the best wrestlers in TJPW, originally trained by LLPW-X, she lives up to the Magical Sugar Rabbit brand with her energetic in-ring style. With Miyu’s strikes opposite Mizuki’s pace, this was a clash of styles aided by the drama of Mizuki being one of Miyu’s most credible challengers to date.
Link To Watch: Wrestle Universe
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. And check out the last edition for more of our recommended Joshi matches.
