Top 10 Joshi wrestlers Stardom could recruit

Now that the all-female Japanese wrestling company World of Stardom (a niche but highly acclaimed indie promotion that's graced the internet for nine years) has been acquired by anime trading card maker Bushiroad, it's the perfect opportunity for expansion.

Bushiroad, the parent company of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), invested millions in the King of Sports brand and has consequently reaped the rewards. New Japan has enjoyed a profitable rebirth in their home country after once going on the verge of bankruptcy. The company has also simultaneously experienced an explosion of Western fan interest over the last several years.

According to the Wrestling Observer, Japan's top female grapplers once drew ratings of 10,000,000 television viewers (more than RAW and Nitro combined) and sold out the Tokyo Dome in the heydey of the now defunct All Japan Women (AJW) promotion. Given this history, it's quite possible that Bushiroad's investment in Stardom could lead to a major resurgence of women's action, as long as the right booking and business decisions are made.

For regular viewers of Stardom, one of the most pertinent of those business decisions would have to be improving the roster.

With a small talent pool of less than twenty full-time wrestlers, Stardom frequently relies on teenagers and poorly-trained foreigners from the US and UK indie scenes to fill its cards. This is unsustainable because the joshi scene has a history of premature retirements, and because Stardom itself has been recently plagued by injuries which could inevitably threaten its growth.

Now with a financially strong corporate parent backing them up, it would be wise for Stardom to consolidate the relatively fragmented joshi scene by recruiting freelance talent from smaller, more obscure promotions in The Land of the Rising Sun. This would no doubt elevate their level of quality and ultimately, put them on equal footing with NJPW.

These are the top 10 joshi wrestlers Stardom could potentially recruit.

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#10 Ayako Hamada

Ayako Hamada, former ace of Pro-Wrestling WAVE, was terminated by the promotion last year after some unfortunate legal issues related to drug abuse. A career rejuvenation in Stardom would make for a wonderful redemption story, if the powers that be at Bushiroad were willing to give her a second chance.

Hamada, former TNA Knockouts and SHIMMER Tag Champion, is one of the most talented and respected women wrestlers in the world. Born in Mexico City to a family of luchadors, she has bridged her Latin American and Japanese heritage through professional wrestling, frequently traveling between both countries and performing a lucha/joshi hybrid style. Her resume includes epic matches against the likes of Kana (WWE's Asuka) and Meiko Satomura.

While she was previously thought to be retired, she has in fact quietly rebounded her career as a freelancer in Mexico and made it clear that she can return to Japan whenever she'd like, opening the door for the possibility of an olive branch from an expanding Stardom.

#9 Makoto

Makoto is a very good, particularly well-known, freelance joshi wrestler. The 13-year veteran has performed throughout the world including Japan, Singapore, Mexico and North America, making the Ice Ribbon and Reina companies, as well as Tajiri's defunct Smash and Wrestling New Classic (WNC) promotions her home along the way.

The talented Kobe, Japan native has actually wrestled in Stardom before, performing in the promotion's annual Cinderella tournament way back in 2013. Signing her would seemingly make sense for Stardom. Her long-standing status as a dependable talent who has already wrestled against top names lends to her solid credibility.

While she may be on the losing side of many of her matches, and lacks the flashly, model-esque look that former Stardom owner Rossy Ogawa tends to prefer, Makoto's in-ring skills are undeniable. Her patented blazing kick and death valley bomb are rather impressive compared to most others' signature offense.

#8 Takumi Iroha

Although Takumi Iroha is currently signed to the Marvelous promotion, she was a member of the Stardom roster for two years from 2013-15. She returned to the company in 2017 in an excellent match with the now retired Yoko Bito, so it's certainty possible that an arrangement could be made for her to perhaps split time between both companies.

The fiery red-headed Iroha, who became a fan of pro-wrestling while watching the famous Crush Gals tag team (as popular in 1980s Japan as Hulk Hogan was in the US), dropped out of college and left her hometown of Fukuoka in order to relocate to Tokyo for a full-time wrestling career.

Essentially the ace of her current promotion, her in-ring style can only be described as dynamite, as she connects with hard-hitting strikes and technical prowess. At just 26 years of age, she is ripe for another run in Stardom given their potential rise into a much larger company.

#7 Sareee

A highly-skilled 23-year old wrestler with eight years of experience already under her belt, Sareee began her career with the Diana promotion (headed by the legendary joshi Kyoko Inoue, who once wrestled in WWE) before spending years wrestling for Nanae Takahashi's Seadlinnng company.

In September, Sareee left Seadlinnng. Not long after, she reportedly met with Paul "Triple" Levesque, which caused some fans to speculate that she was bound for WWE. Sareee has since clarified that while she is interested in WWE over the long term, she currently wants to stay in Japan.

Signing an impressive talent whom WWE has their eye on could be a good idea for Stardom. It could show that they can be competitive and retain domestic talent instead of always losing them, as they did with Io Shirai and Kairi Sane. Besides, Sareee's in-ring abilities and aesthetic appeal would make her perfectly matched against Stardom names like Tam Nakano, Konami, and Saki Kashima.

#6 Tsukushi

A young freelance wrestler with years of experience already racked up, Tsukushi is a very skilled Ice Ribbon regular who has a unique move set consisting of various lucha-style roll up pinning maneuvers. Despite her small size, she is consistently the highlight of every match she's a part of and utilizes her pint-sized frame to execute fast-paced matches with lots of entertaining action.

Tsukushi would make for an excellent edition to Stardom's roster, right along with their other young, small talent like AZM and Starlight Kid, if not for the fact that she apparently has real-life heat with one of Stardom's top stars, Oedo Tai stable leader Kagetsu.

Dave Meltzer reported in the Summer of 2017 that Tsukushi and Kagetsu were involved in a violent altercation during an Ice Ribbon show at a summer festival in Japan. Unfortunately, Tsukushi was arrested and subsequently punished by her home promotion. She has since risen back up the ranks. Perhaps in the near future the fences could be mended and she could grace Stardom's ring for the first time.

#5 Tsukasa Fujimoto

Perhaps the most overlooked joshi wrestler today, Tsukasa Fujimoto, the ace of Ice Ribbon, retains her youthful teenage looks despite being a 36 year old veteran of 11 years in the business. Fujimoto, the handpicked successor of the legendary Manami Toyota (considered one of the greatest wrestlers ever, of either gender) was nicknamed the 'Flying Angel' as she is capable of taking to the skies with missle dropkicks and planchas galore.

Well-versed in the standard joshi in-ring style, Fujimoto would no doubt make a wonderful addition to the Stardom roster. She could potentially add a layer of depth to the talent pool that hasn't been seen before.

Going to Stardom wouldn't just benefit the company though, but also allow Fujimoto to increase her profile in the wrestling world. After years of being stuck in Io Shirai's shadow, she was finally voted the top joshi of 2018 in Tokyo Sport Magazine, but a transfer to Stardom in the waning years of her career would undoubtedly increase her profile more than ever.

#4 Chihiro Hashimoto

Despite having just four years experience, Chihiro Hashimoto has rapidly ascended the ranks, becoming one of the best joshi wrestlers today over talent with two to three times as much experience as her.

Hashimoto, an accomplished high school and college amateur wrestler, was trained for professional wrestling in the Sendai Girls dojo by Meiko Satomura. She has won the Sendai World championship on five separate occasions and had one of the hottest and fastest rises from rookie to main eventer in the process.

Hashimoto would be incredible in Stardom, as she not only excels at the type of technically proficient matches that Stardom talent specialize in, but also brings a bit of size diversity, as her heavier set frame could be used to increase in-ring dynamics (most of Stardom's roster tends to skew smaller and slimmer). Her affinity for brightly colored hair also doesn't hurt since Stardom actively encourages bright, flashy presentations.

#3 Arisa Nakajima

Arisa Nakajima is perhaps most famous for her epic 2013 JWP match with Kana, now known as Asuka in WWE. Nakajima, known for her technical abilities, brings a level of emotion and intensity to her matches that few others can match, which is why she's one of the top names in Seadlinnng today.

As a veteran already at just 30 years old, she would make a great addition to Stardom, given her mat wrestling abilities, brutal German suplexes, and patented Cuty Special move. While she may not be the youngest or aesthetically-pleasing wrestler in the joshi scene, she more than deserves the chance to earn a higher-profile in a larger company than the financially-struggling promotions she's spent her whole career in thus far.

It also stands to reason that Nakajima could become a trainer for upcoming talent at some point, using her skills to help usher in the next generation of talent behind the scenes.

#2 Hiroyo Matsumoto

Hiroyo Matsumoto is a long-standing freelance wrestler known in the West for having performed for years in SHIMMER Women Athletes (where she is a former tag team champion) and the 2018 WWE Mae Young Classic, where she advanced to the second round before being eliminated by eventual tournament winner Toni Storm.

Matsumoto is a top talent in the joshi scene, utilizing a diverse set of power moves to punish her opponents under her Lady Destroyer/Lady Godzilla gimmick. While not quite as consistent as other joshis in performing elite-level matches on a routine basis, she absolutely brings her A-Game when called upon.

Matsumoto has graced Stardom's ring off and on since 2012, once winning the Artists of Stardom trios tag team championships with Evie (WWE's Dakota Kai) and Kellie Skater. Her exposure to both Japanese and Western audiences, as well as her previous experience with the company would make her a no-brainer in terms of top picks for new full-time talent to recruit.

#1 Meiko Satomura

Meiko Satomura, arguably the best joshi wrestler active today, runs her own dojo and promotion known as Sendai Pro, but the company performs just a few shows a year (as opposed to Stardom, which ran over 70 in 2018) and the roster features just a precious few full-time performers who usually compete against outsider freelancers.

Satomura entering Stardom full-time while continuing to run her own separate school on the side would be amazing, if remotely possible. She did in fact wrestle a series of matches for the company in 2015, including an amazing match against Io Shirai for the Stardom Red Belt.

She also appears to have a great reputation within the joshi industry, and given her recent exposure in the West (flooring onlookers in the Mae Young Classic and EVE's Wrestle Queendom) her overall profile seems higher than ever.

Satomura's phenomonial in-ring precision and martial arts influence would be an absolutely fantastic addition to Stardom's growth, and her seemingly maternal instincts and ability to train and mold other women wrestlers would make her a great long-term asset for building the future of the Stardom brand.

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Edited by Michael McClead