September 2015 was the final month Kana wrestled in Japan before leaving to pursue a career as a sports-entertainer in the United States. This certainly was a big blow to the Japanese women’s wrestling scene, since Kana had been a top 3 joshi worker for at least the previous five years. Kana wasn't the only one leaving the joshi puroresu scene in 2015, as Shu Shibutani, Ray, Kayako Haruyama and Neko Nitta retired from pro wrestling. Also, promising STARDOM talent Koguma would take an extensive break from pro wrestling until 2021.

World Wonder Ring STARDOM began running Korakuen Hall shows on a monthly basis. Despite Natsuki*Taiyo, who was one of their best workers, no longer being around, STARDOM ended up having quite a strong year. Their top star, Io Shirai, was the best women’s wrestler of 2015 (and arguably the best wrestler in all of wrestling that year). Future STARDOM icon Mayu Iwatani was the most improved wrestler of the year 2015. Together, Shirai and Iwatani formed a great tag team called Thunder Rock. Their 9/23/15 match against Sendai Girls’ Pro Wrestling’s Jumonji Sisters, DASH Chisako & Sendai Sachiko, was the joshi puroresu Match of the Year. It wasn’t all good news in STARDOM though, because the 2/22/15 Act Yoshikawa vs. Yoshiko match, sometimes referred to as the “ghastly match,” ended in a no contest after it was stopped because Yoshiko snapped and legitimately assaulted Act Yasukawa in this infamous shoot incident. Yasukawa suffered fractured cheek, nasal and orbital bones, and was hospitalized after the match, leading to her decision to retire at the end of 2015. STARDOM suspended Yoshiko indefinitely, leading to STARDOM co-founder Nanae Takahashi leaving STARDOM to form her own league, SEAdLINNNG, where Takahashi's protege Yoshiko was once again thrived as one of the top stars.

STARDOM wasn’t the only league with memorable tag team matches, as the three best JWP Joshi Puroresu matches from 2015 were tag team matches. Two of those matches involved the dream team of JWP’s Arisa Nakajima and Ice Ribbon’s Tsukasa Fujimoto, together known as Best Friends, and two of those matches featured SGPW’s Jumonji Sisters, who certainly helped elevate the quality of the tag team division in JWP, just like they did in STARDOM and their home league SGPW. OZ Academy was the #3 league of the year, thanks to strong performances by wrestlers like Hikaru Shida, Tsubasa Kuragaki, Sonoko Kato and AKINO. Pro Wrestling WAVE was the #4 of the year, which is a couple of steps down from the previous year. Kana leaving and Shu Shibutani retiring were certainly reasons for WAVE’s decline. Mika Iida not being fully utilized by WAVE also didn’t help, and Iida was probably the most underrated wrestler of the year. Mio Shirai, who was probably the most deteriorated wrestler of 2015, appeared regularly on WAVE shows, and she rarely gave a serious performance, which also didn’t help matters. Kana’s Kana Pro events continued to deliver quality content in 2015, including one of the best matches of the year, as Arisa Nakajima & Kana defended the REINA World Tag Team Title against Syuri and Hikaru Shida. It’s a shame it was the final year Kana Pro shows took place. REINA and SGPW were solid leagues that deserve to be mentioned as honorable mentions, but they weren’t quite top 5-quality like STARDOM, JWP, OZ Academy, WAVE and Kana Pro were.

Now let’s have a look at a selection of approximately 70 of the best joshi puroresu matches that took place in 2015, and those reviews will be followed by the list of the top 152 wrestlers and the list of the top 30 matches.

Ice Ribbon 1/4/15 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE: Tsukushi & Rabbit Miu vs. Arisa Nakajima & Miyako Matsumoto 13:00. This was lots of fun, even though it was technically not that special. They kept the action going, and they seemed to have fun themselves while working this match. Arisa Nakajima worked the majority of the match for her team, which helped, since she was obviously the best worker of her team. Nakajima was her usual unselfish self, and really did a good job of making the opposition look credible, while at the same time not making herself look any less credible. Nakajima reacted well to Miyako’s silliness, as she kinda made peace with it and didn’t let it ruin her day. Miyako was definitely the weak link of the match, but she’s likable enough that it’s still possible to enjoy a tag match involving her, especially if she’s doing the job. Tsukushi worked hard, and she was the second-best worker in the match. Miu wasn’t quite as impressive as Tsukushi was, but she was certainly a useful tag team partner. They gelled well as a team, and are both good at being the natural underdog. This was a pretty good match overall, and it’s a good example of how much better Ice Ribbon shows are when Nakajima appears on them. ***

WAVE 1/4/15 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE: Aja Kong vs. Shu Shibutani 6:19 of 11:38. Shu Shibutani attacked Aja Kong as soon as Aja entered the ring, not giving her time to take her ring robe off. It didn’t take long for Aja to get the advantage in this match though, despite Shibutani’s courageous attempt to get the upper hand. Once Shibutani saw an opening to start fighting back, she hit a top rope plancha floor, a swinging DDT and a top-rope dropkick. Aja hit an awesome backdrop driver, which she followed up with an awesome brainbuster. It was cool to see both workers hit some of their respective signature moves that they were so known for. They packed a lot into this 11-minute match. This was one of the best performances either worker had that year, and this was a good match that was intriguing at all times, mostly because of both workers giving a sincere performance. ***¼

WAVE 1/4/15 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE: Meiko Satomura vs. Misaki Ohata 6:19 of 11:38. Misaki Ohata celebrated her 26th birthday by wrestling Meiko Satomura in a pretty good match. Ohata was so into this match that Satomura started having fun working this as well. Satomura executed some good moves, including some stiff kicks that made Ohata’s left thigh turn red. Satomura’s work was good, but it was Ohata’s hard work that made this match work. We got to see half this match, but it appeared to be a good match. ***

STARDOM 1/18/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, NEO High Speed Title Match: Io Shirai vs. Kaori Yoneyama 6:28 of 7:11. These two had several battles that were some of the most exciting STARDOM matches from the early years of STARDOM. As usual, they worked at a very high pace from start to finish. They even went for near falls early in the match, but they worked them in a way that felt dramatic, even though it was early in the match. Of course, STARDOM fans are used to seeing High Speed Title matches that are relatively short matches, so that’s why the early near falls were able to get a decent crowd reaction. Io Shirai used several super spectacular moves, including two tope suicidas in a row. One of the things that made this match so good was how well they reacted to each other and how well they made things flow. It’s a shame it was such a short match, but at least they really made the most out of the seven minutes they had. It was a very good match, but seeing these two have a very good match under ten minutes together is not something that exceeded expectations. If you’re interested in watching these two in an excellent match that was several seconds longer than ten minutes, you should definitely check out their 8/25/13 match. ***½

WAVE 1/21/15: Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Shu Shibutani 4:20 of 10:17. Of all the clipped matches shown as part of the WAVE Shu Shibutani Retirement DVD, which showed highlights of Shu Shibutani’s “retirement road,” this looked like it was one of the best matches. These two gave a good effort, and the action was exciting. There were some cool-looking counters, and they did a good job trying to avoid some of each other’s key moves. This really appeared to be a good match, and certainly you'd expect that by reputation, but only four minutes were shown. ***

WAVE 1/25/15 Nagoya Diamond Hall: Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Kaho Kobayashi 10:00. This was ten minutes of good-quality joshi puroresu. They kept the action going and showed their athletic ability. However, this was only a 10-minute match that was the second match on a random WAVE card. If they were given something like a semi-main event spot with 15 minutes to work with at a bigger show, they’d probably have been able to have a really good match. ***

Ice Ribbon 1/31/15 Saitama Isami Wrestle Arena, ICExInfinity #1 Contenders Tournament 1st Round: Mio Shirai vs. Tsukushi 11:17. This was one of Mio Shirai’s best performances of 2015, as she seemed to give almost 100% here. Tsukushi was her usual enthusiastic and hard-working self. The urgency shown by both workers really helped put over that this was in fact a match of importance. They had wrestled each other several times in 2014, and it was clear that familiarity was beneficial here. It’s a shame this was a 1st round match though, as this would have been much more suitable as the tournament final than the actual final did (Mio vs. Kurumi). Mio and Tsukushi appear to have a lot of mutual respect for each other, while at the same time not being afraid to make each other work harder and hit harder, and that helped make this match pretty good. ***

OZ Academy 2/8/15 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE: Kaho Kobayashi & Kagetsu vs. AKINO & Sonoko Kato 18:54. The match started off with Kagetsu and Sonoko Kato kicking each other really hard. They followed by hitting stiff-looking elbow smashes on each other. This was certainly a good start, and set the tone of the match. AKINO joined in on the fun and also started kicking Kagetsu. She ended up in an exchange with Kagetsu where the two started kicking each other’s legs as hard as they could. Finally, we got to see Kaho Kobayashi in action, as she started launching herself at Kato. Both teams showed good teamwork, but Kobayashi and Kagetsu had the more fun-looking tag team moves. Kagetsu, who was wearing new gear, gave a strong performance. She was pretty much the driving force of this match, and she put over the beating she took well, showing her fighting spirit as she fought back courageously. She was the performer of the match, closely followed by Kobayashi, who was enjoyable to watch, as always. This match seemed to be more about Kagetsu than Kobayashi though, even though Kobayashi certainly found opportunities to make good contributions. Kobayashi & Kagetsu had a cool double-team move that saw Kobayashi run towards Kagetsu, who then launched Kobayashi over her head, which led to Kobayashi dropkicking Kato. Even though she has been wrestling for many years, Kato was still working hard in 2015, and in this match in particular, she showed that she still had lots of motivation to perform well. This match was certainly one of AKINO’s best matches of the year, and she showed here that she’s still very useful from time to time. Overall, this was a very good match with a strong effort by everyone involved. It was good to see that OZ Academy was occasionally still able to present noteworthy tag team matches. ***½

WAVE 2/11/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, Regina di WAVE Title Match: Hikaru Shida vs. Ayako Hamada 7:29 of 17:29. One of the coolest moves of the match was Ayako Hamada hitting a quebrada. Hikari Shida also hit some cool moves, including an enzuigiri and a suplex where she suplexed Hamada from the apron into the ring while standing on the second ropes inside the ring herself. This was pretty much a spotfest, and the clipping probably made it seem more of a spotfest than it may have been, but it was a good one. Both workers gave a very good effort, as they both kept the workrate high. They kept hitting moves that were effective, and there were several near falls. Less than half the match was shown though. ***

STARDOM 2/22/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, NEO High Speed Title Match: Io Shirai vs. Koguma 16:03. Io Shirai’s work was amazing, as she hit many spectacular moves and guided Koguma to a pretty good match. Shirai was in control for most of the match, and her work was mostly responsible for the quality of this match, but Koguma once again showed her potential, as she’s definitely doing well for someone of her experience level. The referee had a camera on his head, and whenever they switched the view to that camera, the footage got all shaky, which was a bit annoying. However, apart from the risk of feeling seasick thanks to the refer-eye cam, this match was pretty good. ***

WAVE 2/24/15 Tokyo Shinkiba 1st RING, WAVE Tag Team Title Match: Ayako Hamada & Yu Yamagata vs. Misaki Ohata & Mio Shirai 11:01 of 23:04. This match had one of Mio Shirai’s most serious efforts of the year. Yu Yamagata gave a solid performance. However, the two most impressive workers of the match were Misaki Ohata and Ayako Hamada, and the match was particularly good when they faced each other. Hamada was motivated and brought the big moves. Ohata brought her hard work and played her role well. The execution wasn’t always really crisp, but it was good enough. ***

Kana Pro 2/25/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, REINA World Tag Title Match: Arisa Nakajima & Kana vs. Syuri & Hikaru Shida 19:52. This tag team match featuring four top 10 workers was one of the best matches of 2015. The workrate was high in this non-stop, action-packed battle between two excellent tag teams. Arisa Nakajima & Kana had won this championship at a REINA show on 11/20/14. Syuri & Hikaru Shida would end up becoming one of the top 5 tag teams of 2015. Syuri vs. Nakajima was a great way to open this match, and their interactions were also great later in the match. It was interesting to see Kana give one of her final great performances in Japan, because she would unfortunately leave for the United States in the fall. When Syuri and Kana battled, they showed that stiff brutality they used to show in their feud against each other in previous years. Their kicks and suplexes on each other were some of the best highlights of this match. Nakajima and Shida were familiar with each other as well, and it showed in the fast-paced sequences they had against each other. Nakajima hit some wicked moves near the end, including released German suplexes on both opponents and a top-rope double footstomp on Shida. Nakajima, Kana and Syuri all gave a super strong performance. Shida really did well for herself, but she was the weak link by default, only because of the other three being exceptionally excellent. In spite of that, Shida ended up scoring the pinfall over Kana to win this excellent match. The pinfall didn’t come easy though, as Kana and Shida showed a lot of struggle when they battled each other during the final minutes, with both workers countering and trying to avoid each other’s moves. What really enhanced the feel of this championship match was that everyone was trying to help their partner as much as possible, with everyone trying their best to get their team the victory. ****¼

OZ Academy 3/1/15 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE: Hikaru Shida vs. Chikayo Nagashima 12:06. It was nice to see Chikayo Nagashima in a good match again. She was particularly motivated here in this singles match against Hikaru Shida, who was on top of her game. They kept going at each other non-stop at a relatively high pace, resulting in a match that was action-packed. They also tried to keep it interesting by having a good amount of variety; There were high-impact moves, there was some brawling on the floor, and there were even some submission holds applied. When Nagashima was in a hold, she wouldn’t just sell the hold, but she would at the same time yell out something to Shida to show that she’s a tough veteran who is not intimidated. Shida didn’t let Nagashima mess with her head. Shida just kept going, hittimg some big moves like a jumping high knee in the corner. They put this match over as a struggle by blocking and countering each other’s moves whenever the moment allowed this. The portion of the match that saw them brawling on the floor was the least interesting bit, but at least they kept this to a minimum, which is a pleasant surprise considering this took place at an OZ Academy show. Near the finish, Shida hit some of her coolest moves, which was when she stood on the second rope inside the ring and suplexed Nagashima, who was standing on the apron, into the ring. In the end, Shida’s determination paid off in the form of winning this good match. ***½

REINA 3/7/15 Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall: Kana vs. Konami 7:36. Konami was easily the best rookie of 2015. She was involved in at least five matches that were at least pretty good. Of course, it helped that she was usually in there with her mentor Kana and other top talent, but Konami made it clear in those matches that she was someone with a lot of potential. She kinda modeled her style after Kana’s, with a focus on kicks and submission holds. For a rookie, she’s certainly quite advanced. Of course, there’s plenty of room for improvement, but 2015 was a good start to her career. The match took place mostly on the mat during the early stages. Kana obviously had the upper hand because of her experience and superior ability, but Konami gave a very good showing for a rookie. Konami managed to get some submission holds on Kana, and she managed to throw some strikes. At some point, Konami even got a couple of near falls on Kana. In the end, despite Konami’s strong effort, Kana got the submission win over her protege. It was a good match, but going into the match, you knew that there was no way Konami was going to win. Still, it was definitely fun to watch. ***¼

Kana Pro 3/8/15 Fukuyama Big Rose: Kana & Konami vs. Syuri & Hikaru Shida 18:03. Kana teamed with her protege Konami, who had less than a month of experience, and was the underdog here. Konami did well for herself. Her selling was quite good for a rookie, and she got to experiment with some matwork and strikes. Syuri did a really good job working against Konami, giving Konami some opportunities to fight back, yet still not making it too easy for Konami. This match was a good learning experience for Konami for sure. The action was at its stiffest when Konami and Syuri were kicking each other. Konami seemed inspired by her mentor’s kicks and decided to kick Syuri harder when they were back in the ring together again. While Konami was clearly a rookie, she didn’t drag things down too much, and it was fun to see her learn by being in the ring with some of the best. Hikaru Shida gave a very good performance, and her presence in this tag match helped contribute to this being a good tag match overall, as she showed some good intensity, including during her interactions with Konami. All in all, both teams worked together quite well, and this was quite a good tag team match overall. ***¼

STARDOM 3/8/15 Tokyo Shinkiba 1st RING: Io Shirai & Koguma vs. Kairi Hojo & Mayu Iwatani 18:13. Io Shirai stole the show, as usual. Koguma and Kairi Hojo did well for themselves. It was interesting to see Mayu Iwatani in this sort of transitional phase of her career, as she was about to become a big deal. The work was good, and the effort was certainly there, but somehow you could tell that this was a match at Shinkiba 1st RING, because it felt like they probably would have taken this a little bit more seriously and potentially would have been able to have a very good match match if this was at Korakuen Hall. Still, this was a pretty good match. ***

STARDOM 3/29/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, World of Stardom Champion Decision Tournament 1st Round: Io Shirai vs. Takumi Iroha 17:43. After Yoshiko was banned from STARDOM competition, STARDOM’s Red Belt was vacated, and a tournament was held to decide the new champion. In the first round, Io Shirai had a tough time containing the wild and energetic Takumi Iroha. The initial lock-up resembled something like Shirai trying to ride a bull. The 2013 rookie of the year, Iroha, now in the role of an up-and-coming star, was working with quite a bit of confidence. Iroha really took it to Shirai, and Shirai was in quite a bit of trouble. They had a good match on 6/1/14, but the main difference between that match and this match was that Iroha wasn’t as much of an underdog as she was back then (even though Shirai was still clearly the odds-on favorite to win this match). At some point in the match, Iroha hit a big bodyslam on Shirai and then went for a cover three times in a row. It’s these types of moments where Iroha really showed her hunger and eagerness. Whenever things were going her way, Iroha would have a smile on her face. When Iroha tried to apply a Boston crab, she hadn’t quite executed properly, so Shirai instinctively kinda got out of the hold, but Iroha was smart and quick enough to grab a half Boston crab instead of just letting it become a wasted opportunity. It’s only a little detail, but it was a cool little detail that showed these two were able to react promptly to whatever situation they were in. However, during the second half of the match, it became clear that Shirai was just a bit too much of a tough challenge for Iroha to overcome, as Shirai started dominating the match more. Iroha still courageously fought back though. Shirai hit a plancha off the ring pole to the floor onto Iroha. It’s a compliment for Iroha that Shirai felt the need to resort to executing the move off the top of the pole instead of the top ropes. Iroha wasn’t done yet, as she still had offense left in her, including a superkick, particularly well-executed spin kick and a lifting German suplex into a bridge. ***¼

STARDOM 3/29/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, World of Stardom Champion Decision Tournament Final: Kairi Hojo vs. Io Shirai 18:46. Kairi Hojo’s initial overly theatrical approach didn’t help her much, and Io Shirai was quickly able to stop Hojo’s early momentum. Shirai was fighting an uphill battle, because she would constantly try to make this match better while Hojo’s campiness would constantly drag it down a bit again. In a way, it’s no surprise that a certain sports-entertainment league would sign Hojo in the summer of ‘17, since she fits in nicely considering the aforementioned aspects of her work, combined with her lack of credible offense. Nevertheless, while Hojo is generally overrated, she’s not a bad worker per se, and Shirai’s greatness was unstoppable at the time, which is why this was still a good match. One of the highlights of the match was Shirai hitting a tremendous moonsault off the crowd entrance area. The match Shirai had with Iroha earlier on this show seemed to be slightly better than this match with Hojo though, because Iroha showed more eagerness, while Hojo was fine with taking her time, and not fully utilizing opportunities. Shirai would have deserved to win this title, but she had held this previously and she would hold this belt in the future, so Hojo winning here wasn’t the end of the world, especially considering she’s a better choice than Yoshiko ever was. ***¼

JWP 4/5/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Command Bolshoi & Meiko Satomura vs. Kana & Konami 15:15. Command Bolshoi hasn’t been the most consistent performer during the mid 2010s, however, this match-up obviously made her step up her game a bit more, as she was in there with three very capable technicians. Kana and Bolshoi not only challenged each other on the mat, they also were the ones who started inviting everyone in this match to strike harder and stiffer. Kana & Konami worked really well together as a team, which was really cool, as they were the teacher & student combination. This was definitely one of Bolshoi’s best performances of the year. When Meiko Satomura tagged in, she was mostly interested in getting herself over, which inadvertently was a good way to teach rookie Konami about the wrestling business. At one point, Konami executed a Fujiwara armbar on Satomura, but Satomura sold it like it was just a slight annoyance. Kana stood up for Konami and beat the crap out of Satomura. Bolshoi was a solid tag team partner for Satomura, always aiding her whenever needed. The match was at its best whenever Kana and Bolshoi were trading holds. Rookie Konami was the lowest ranked worker in this match, but she certainly deserves a lot of credit for hanging in there with these established stars. Konami vs. Bolshoi was particularly interesting, because Bolshoi made Konami think quickly and react promptly. Satomura was Satomura, and it’s up to your interpretation as to what that means regarding how important her contribution was to this match. Overall, this was a very good match. ***½

JWP 4/5/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, JWP & Daily Sports Tag Title Match: Leon & Ray vs. DASH Chisako & Sendai Sachiko 15:44. It was good to see Leon’s timing was still as excellent as always, as she hit her springboard dive into the ring right after Ray did a beautiful cartwheel. DASH Chisako was the worker of the match, as she was pushing things forward more than anybody in this match, and she was greatly responsible for this match being action-packed at a high pace. Sendai Sachiko’s 2015 was a particularly strong year in her career, and the work she showed here in this match added a lot, as her energy and ability played a big role in this being a high-quality match. Sachiko sold Ray’s headscissors really well, and Ray also hit a tremendous Asai moonsault on Chisako, among other spectacular moves in this bout. Leon was seemingly channeling her days from earlier in the decade when she was at her peak, as she really was able to add a lot of quality to this match, and it really felt like she knew this was a big match that required her to give 110% effort. Leon & Ray had proven themselves in years prior, but 2015 was a particularly strong year for the Jumonji Sisters, Chisako & Sachiko. This was one of several high-quality matches they would have this year. While this was indeed a really good match with smooth and serious wrestling from all four workers involved, it didn’t feel as dramatic and urgent as some of the very best tag team matches that took place that year. ***¾

JWP 4/5/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, JWP Openweight Title Match: Arisa Nakajima vs. Kayoko Haruyama 24:20. The Japanese national anthem was played prior to the match, to emphasize this was a match of national importance, as it was indeed a big match, since this was a match for what was at the time arguably the most prestigious women’s wrestling title in the world. Arisa Nakajima’s display of intensity really made Kayoko Haruyama step up her game more. Haruyama is a decent worker who mostly excels in tag team competition, but her lack of speed usually makes her singles matches less interesting. Due to Haruyama’s plodding, Nakajima was able to avoid and counter several of Haruyama’s offensive attempts, since Nakajima would be able to detect them way ahead of time. However, Nakajima did such a great job of getting the most out of Haruyama that Haruyama was able to give the level of intensity she usually only manages to give in tag team competition. Haruyama hit some nice-looking superkicks and a huge top-rope guillotine leg drop. During the final stages of the match, they kinda lost that intensity, mainly because they were focused more on selling and Haruyama’s main moves are big power moves that don’t always look too fancy. The length of the match was probably slightly too long for a Haruyama singles match. Nakajima was telling a deeper story that Haruyama understood, but wasn’t able to translate through her insubstantial moveset. This resulted in a match that was good, but could have been better if Nakajima’s opponent was a more sophisticated worker than Haruyama was. ***¼

WAVE 4/19/15 Sapporo Teisen Hall, Regina di Wave Title Match: Ayako Hamada vs. Meiko Satomura 18:35 of 18:44. The first half of the match was pretty dull, because it lacked intensity. but the second half had good action that made up for the uninspiring first half. These two were quite familiar with each other, which on one hand was a good thing because it meant they were able to work together without too much trouble. However, that also kinda made it feel like they were just going through the motions and like this was just another match for them, because maybe they felt they had nothing to prove to each other anymore at this stage at their respective careers. It made this match feel almost like an exhibition. It’s hard to say who was the better one of the two in this particular match, but it seemed Hamada was slightly more motivated, as she was the one who started hitting bigger moves first. Once Hamada started bringing the offense, Satomura woke up from her nap, and decided to hit cool moves herself. It’s just such a shame there was no emotion displayed by these two, and that resulted in the crowd just being politely appreciating these two big names and not really being into the match because of the in-ring action. Regardless of this match being somewhat disappointing, this was one of the best WAVE matches of the year, thanks to Mio Shirai ruining pretty much every match she was in, because Hamada and Satomura at least acted like this was a serious wrestling contest. ***

STARDOM 4/23/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, Cinderella Tournament Semifinal: Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani 8:21. This was their second singles match against each other. They had one previously on 2/17/13, which was a relatively short but pretty good match, just like this one. In this 4/23/15 match, Io Shirai hit a torpedo-like tope suicida. She also went for a moonsault, but Mayu Iwatani got her feet up to block the move. Shirai was still in control though, and Iwatani continued selling, like she did most of the match. All of a sudden, Iwatani came back to life. Shirai and Iwatani were both standing on the top rope, and together took a big bump to the floor after some brawling on the top turnbuckle. Rossy Ogawa and Fuka were looking on anxiously as this big spot happened. Iwatani was awarded the match, because Shirai’s feet supposedly hit the floor first, and in this tournament, you were able to eliminate someone via an over-the-top rope elimination. This was a pretty good match, mainly thanks to Shirai’s great offense, but this match wasn’t anywhere close to their future battles in terms of quality, and this finish was a bit of a bummer. Still, it was interesting to see Iwatani getting a win here, even though it wasn’t a regular in-ring finish. ***

STARDOM 4/23/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, Cinderella Tournament Final: Mayu Iwatani vs. Koguma 9:47. Koguma hit a tremendous-looking sunset flip bomb on Mayu Iwatani when Koguma jumped off the top ropes onto Iwatani’s back and then executed the move. Not long after that, Iwatani was able to finish Koguma off after a top-rope double footstomp followed up by a dragon suplex. Koguma gave a strong effort and tried the best she could, but Mayu Iwatani ended up deservingly winning this match. Iwatani was a good choice to win this tournament, since she was the second-best worker in this tournament (to the great Io Shirai), and Iwatani was bound to be the next big star in joshi puroresu. It’s a shame Koguma left the joshi puroresu scene for more than five years after leaving in mid 2015, because she could have potentially played a big role in STARDOM during those missing years. ***

OZ Academy/WAVE 5/10/15 Nagoya Club Diamond Hall, Catch The WAVE 2015 Match: Hikaru Shida vs. Kana 15:00. This wasn’t on the level of their excellent 5/5/12 match, but it was slightly better than their 9/6/14 match. These two work together very well, and they kept going at it for 15 minutes, with the last few minutes being particularly good, as they put it over well that they were trying to beat each other before the time limit expired. They kept launching themselves at each other with big moves. They made it come across as a fight because of the urgency they displayed. The least interesting part of the match was when they went outside the ring and started brawling in the crowd, because they don’t really need to do this, as their in-ring interactions already sold their competitiveness well enough. This match is a good example of why Kana will be so missed in 2016 joshi puroresu, because she has the ability to make people work harder. This was certainly a very enjoyable match to watch, especially thanks to them providing an energetic 15 minutes. ***½

OZ Academy 5/17/15 Tokyo Shinkiba 1st RING, OZ Academy Tag Title Match: Kaho Kobayashi & Kagetsu vs. Chikayo Nagashima & Hikaru Shida 30:00. Kagetsu & Kaho Kobayashi showed good teamwork from the start. Chikayo Nagashima wasn’t in her prime anymore by 2015, but she was still good enough to take part in a good tag team match, which used to be her specialty. She used her knowledge of tag team wrestling to her advantage, especially during the later stages of this match, as she was able to add more drama to the finishing stretch. Just like was the case with many of Hikaru Shida’s matches in 2015, it was very enjoyable and pleasant to watch her in action. The attitude and facials she showed while wrestling enhanced the point she was trying to put across and helped make this match feel more lively. Kagetsu hit a nice springboard dropkick that hit both opponents, and she also hit a springboard plancha to the floor. Kaho Kobayashi hit a plancha off the top rope to the floor, among other spectacular moves. Shida knocked Kagetsu silly with a vicious knee strike, which meant Kobayashi was all by herself for a while. Shida & Nagashima tried to take advantage of this situation, but Kobayashi kept hanging in there. In the end, the match ended in a 30-minute time limit draw, thanks to Kobayashi’s admirable display of fighting spirit. The pace wasn’t so slow that it felt like the match was dragging on, yet it was deliberate enough to make sure they got to tell the story they wanted to tell and execute things well while not burning themselves out either. It was a good match overall, especially considering it’s not easy working a 30-minute draw, and these four did a good job of trying to make it a compelling one. ***¼

STARDOM 5/17/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, World of Stardom Title Match: Kairi Hojo vs. Mayu Iwatani 19:02. This was the match of the night. Despite her tendency to exaggerate every step she takes, Kairi Hojo certainly was capable of having a good match with a quality opponent like Mayu Iwatani. In 2015, Iwatani really leveled up, as she was now not only a top 3 worker in STARDOM, but she was now also a top 10 worker in all of joshi puroresu that year. Iwatani’s smooth work ensured that this match was slightly better than just pretty good, and she was able to work around Hojo’s limitations. ***¼

Kana Pro 5/27/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Syuri vs. Konami 9:43. Despite this being an opening match against a rookie, Syuri worked this match seriously, and this was probably because she understood that Konami had a lot of potential. By giving Konami somewhat of a hard time, Syuri aided Konami's growth as a worker. Syuri also challenged Konami to fight back harder, and she gave Konami the opportunity to show what she had to offer. This approach by Syuri made this a fun and worthwhile match, even though it was an easy match on paper for Syuri, since Konami was still a rookie. Konami eventually started believing in herself enough to make this match way more competitive and fun than most matches involving rookie workers. ***

Kana Pro 5/27/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, Mixed Tag Team Match: Arisa Nakajima & Yuko Miyamoto vs. Hikaru Shida & Koji Kanemoto 19:36. This was a very good mixed tag team match, and this was mainly because they worked this like a serious wrestling match. They didn’t do any sleazy or silly stuff, they worked this like a serious contest, which was worked somewhat realistically, at least for mixed pro wrestling match standards. The two women’s wrestlers started the match off first, while the men were on the apron looking on, as Nakajima and Shida worked at a fast pace against each other to show that the two joshi workers were the main reason to watch this match. However, eventually, Nakajima got to wrestle the legendary Koji Kanemoto, which was a particularly interesting battle, especially since Kanemoto wasn’t giving Nakajima an easy time. Kanemoto slapped Nakajima really hard, but Nakajima wouldn’t back down and kept fighting back. Kanemoto and Shida proved to be quite a solid tag team, and Shida took advantage of all the damage Kanemoto had done to Nakajima and proceeded to beat up Nakajima some more. Shida hit a jumping high knee and executed a Boston crab among other moves. Nakajima managed to fight back thanks to her never-say-die attitude. Nakajima and Kanemoto once again battled a bit later on in the match. Kanemoto once again gave Nakajima a rough time, as he hit a pretty stiff elbow smash, a hard slap and even the Otani-style face wash. Nakajima briefly got some offense in, which Kanemoto sold nicely, but it was mostly Kanemoto beating Nakajima up in this match. Eventually, Kanemoto hit a moonsault on Nakajima, and it was Yuko Miyamoto, who had barely been involved in this match, who made the save. Once he was tagged in, Miyamoto hit some offense on Kanemoto. Nakajima hobbled around a bit, because she was still selling the ankle lock Kanemoto had put on her earlier in the match. In the end, Miyamoto pinned Shida for the win. After the match, it seemed that Nakajima certainly earned Kanemoto’s respect through her fighting spirit, and the two shook hands after the match. ***½

STARDOM 6/14/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, Goddesses of Stardom Title Match: Io Shirai & Mayu Iwatani vs. Nikki Storm & Star Fire 16:14 of 23:03. This was an interesting battle between the best tag team in STARDOM and probably the best two gaijin on this tour. It seems that these STARDOM tours have helped Star Fire improve, as she now seems to understand wrestling on a different level than she did when she first showed up in STARDOM. Nikki Storm gave a strong performance, as she was the better worker of her team, showing her intensity and carrying her team to a level that made them credible opposition. This was obviously years before Storm decided to become “Almost a Super Hero”. Most of the coolest moves involved Shirai, including hitting a tope suicida on her opponents and several other workers at ringside, which was a move that was preceded by Shirai headbanging while the Korakuen Hall audience started clapping their hands in anticipation of Shirai’s big dive. One of the cool double-team moves displayed by Io Shirai & Mayu Iwatani was a double top-rope dropkick. The coolest one was the combination of Shirai’s moonsault off the top rope to the floor onto Storm and Iwatani’s plancha off the top rope to the floor onto Star Fire. Iwatani was a solid backup for Shirai, but this match was mainly Shirai’s match. There was an unnecessary ref bump spot that didn’t really add to anything to this match, other than the gaijin team being able to double-team for a longer period of time. Shirai & Iwatani, also known as Thunder Rock, were one of the best tag teams in the wrestling world at the time, so it was no surprise they were impressive, but the gaijin team deserves credit for being able to contribute sufficiently to this very good match. ***½

STARDOM 6/14/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, World of Stardom Title Match: Kairi Hojo vs. Meiko Satomura 30:00. Hojo’s hard work and passion helped her get quite far when it comes to being a decent worker. However, Hojo relying on her routine, which includes a lot of exaggeration and limited offense, also means she’s only going to get so far when it comes to potentially being in consideration for being one of STARDOM’s very best workers. This was a good match, but after a while, it really felt like it just started dragging on, as there was only so much interesting stuff Satomura could think of doing with the limited Hojo. Still, they were able to have a match that was quite good overall, especially considering they had to go 30 minutes. The main reason this was good was Satomura understanding she had to really give a strong effort in order to carry Hojo to an actual good match. Satomura wasn’t going to be able to just go through the motions, which is what she usually prefers. Luckily for Satomura, Hojo was carryable and willing to be carried. Overall, this was a good match, mainly because of Satomura being interested in making this good. ***¼

Mio Shirai Produce 6/19/15 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE: Arisa Nakajima vs. Mio Shirai 30:00 + 2:00. A match over 30 minutes is probably a bit too long for Mio Shirai. Even though Mio certainly had the capabilities of being a good worker overall, as she’d shown in previous years, she’s not the type of worker who would benefit from working a match this long, especially in a year that saw her working somewhere most nights and not being too serious of a wrestler at all. Perhaps this being her own show made her work a bit more seriously than she normally did that year. Still, this was pretty much only good because of Arisa Nakajima’s work. Nakajima is up for any challenge, so a 32-minute match is not a big problem for her, and it was Nakajima who held this match together by giving a strong performance from start to finish. This was a good match overall. It helped that this was Mio’s own show and that Mio booked herself against one of the best wrestlers in the world, while Mio also gave a more serious effort than most of her efforts that year. After the 30-minute time limit expired, they decided to continue the match and Mio showed a lot more urgency than she had shown in the initial 30 minutes. 31 minutes into the match, Mio hit a stiff headbutt that appeared to cause Nakajima to juice hardway. In the end, Nakajima got the deserving pinfall win. ***¼

STARDOM 6/20/15 Tokyo Shinkiba 1st Ring, Wonder Of Stardom Title: Io Shirai vs. Star Fire 14:18. The work in this match wasn’t perfect, but it was definitely enjoyable. Io Shirai’s Asai moonsault was tremendous. Mexican luchadora Star Fire did well for herself, as she proved to be a bit better than mediocre, but this really was the Io Shirai show. Of course, it helped that Shirai can work lucha-style sequences. Shirai gave a great showing, and she kinda botched only one move in what was essentially a 14-minute Io Shirai solo, which is particularly impressive considering the difficulty level of her moves. Shirai gave an inspiringly strong performance on what was seemingly just another Shinkiba 1st RING show, and she finished it off with a spectacular moonsault. This was a good match, but it was 97% all Shirai. ***¼

Hiroyo Matsumoto Produce 6/28/15 Tokyo Shinkiba 1st RING: Arisa Nakajima vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto 23:14. It was interesting to see Nakajima bring out the best in Matsumoto in this really good and competitive singles match. Hiroyo Matsumoto showed her power early on, but Arisa Nakajima never backs down from any challenge. Nakajima’s determination helped her get the upper hand on multiple occasions in this match. Matsumoto seemed to enjoy this challenge, and was a bit more resourceful than we’ve seen her be recently. Nakajima pretty much kept showing why she’s one of the greatest, by giving a top-notch performance. Matsumoto tried to use big impactful moves to get Nakajima to stay down. Not only was the action in the ring very good, when they went to the floor and started brawling, they kept showing the intensity that had been showing inside the ring. This was a big battle taken seriously by both competitors. This wasn’t about flashiness, as both workers mainly focused on wearing each other down as much and effectively as possible. They did this while executing every move they did as well as they could, and they added strong selling to everything they did. While this bout didn’t really have the vibe of a war, it was cool to see them both beat each other up in a rough manner as a way to show mutual respect for each other’s toughness. ***¾

STARDOM 6/28/15 Tokyo Shinkiba 1st Ring: Mayu Iwatani vs. Reo Hazuki 9:34. This was surprisingly good, because Hazuki decided that she wasn’t going to wrestle like a lower midcarder, but more like someone who had the potential to be a star. Mayu Iwatani was already on a roll in 2015, which was easily the best year in her career up until that point in time. Both workers gave a strong performance that felt more like a Korakuen Hall-worthy performance, which almost made the viewer be able to forget this actually took place at Shinkiba 1st RING. ***

Ice Ribbon 7/11/15 Saitama Isami Wrestle Arena: Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Konami 7:55. Tsukka was in control early on and didn’t take it easy on Konami, as she kicked her hard in the back. Tsukka acted like a veteran who was teaching Konami a lesson, which made sense since Konami was basically a visitor in Tsukka’s backyard. However, about halfway through the match, Konami was able to show her stuff, and she was impressive with her strikes, takedowns and submission holds. Tsukka was now no longer acting so confident, and really put over Konami as a serious opponent. Tsukka had to start using some of the more effective moves from her repertoire. Konami kept fighting back, and seemed to believe she had a chance to beat Tsukka. However, in the end, it was Tsukka who was one step ahead of the impressive rookie, and Tsukka scored the pinfall victory. ***

Ice Ribbon 7/11/15 Saitama Isami Wrestle Arena: Misaki Ohata & Yuuka vs. Makoto & Tsukushi 14:36. Yuuka has improved quite a bit. About five minutes into the match, she walked up the ropes and hit a plancha off the top rope back into the ring. Misaki Ohata executed nine dropkicks in a row, and she went for a tenth, but Tsukushi managed to hit a dropkick back to stop Ohata’s streak. Tsukushi rolled to the outside to sell for Ohata’s series of dropkicks. Now that Ohata had spent a lot of her energy, Makoto took advantage and came close to beating Ohata. Once Yuuka was tagged back in, she once again reminded everyone of her growth as a worker by hitting some neat-looking offense. Both teams did well and showed the will to outdo the opposition, and it was quite an even contest overall. Near the finish, Yuuka hit a springboard splash on Tsukushi that was almost the end of the match. Yuuka followed this up with a moonsault, and even though she almost lost her balance, she managed to hit the move and get the pinfall over Tsukushi. This was a fun Ice Ribbon tag match that was surprisingly a pretty good match. ***

JWP 7/11/15 Tokyo Shinjuku Face: Hikaru Shida vs. Arisa Nakajima 19:39. The execution wasn’t always as crisp as you’d expect from a match between these two. However, they still were able to sell that this was a hard-fought match. Of course, a match-up like this one will garner high expectations. However, the fighting spirit and high effort were there. The match got gradually better, almost like they needed to get warmed up a bit before reaching the level of work expected from them. It was disappointing seeing them resort to chair and kendo stick shots to show how much they wanted to destroy each other, but at least it got the point across, and helped them get to where they wanted to go. Overall, this was a good pro wrestling match that was worth watching between two very enjoyable workers. It’s probably a match that’s better than it initially seems due to the high expectations involved. ***¼

JWP 7/11/15 Tokyo Shinjuku Face, JWP Openweight Title Match: Kayoko Haruyama vs. Command Bolshoi 17:23. This was a fun match. Bolshoi is good in the underdog role, which her lack of size allows her to still play in big matches despite her decades of experience. Every move Haruyama did looked devastating because of her huge size advantage. Despite her small stature, Bolshoi has a lot of intensity and power, which made her still somewhat credible. They both understood what would make this match work, and they were on the same page, as their work together was relatively smooth. Of course, it helped that these two were very familiar with each other. As a matter of fact, Bolshoi and Haruyama are each other’s most frequently faced opponent in their respective illustrious careers. This was better than it initially looked on paper, and it turned out to be a good match overall. ***¼

JWP 7/19/15 Osaka Yodogawa Kumin Center: Command Bolshoi & Leon vs. DASH Chisako & Sendai Sachiko 16:08. This was an interesting match-up, as the semi-regular tag team of Command Bolshoi & Leon took on one of the best tag teams in the world at the time, the Jumonji sisters, Chisako & Sachiko. DASH Chisako’s intensity and hard work were some of the best things about this match. Sendai Sachiko did a really good job of selling for the opposition’s offense and aiding her sister in this tag team match. Bolshoi tried to match the intensity displayed by Chisako, and whenever she was in the ring, she made the sequences she was involved in look like a struggle. Bolshoi’s selling was also really strong, because she really put over the moves executed on her as devastating. Leon did her best to add some exciting offense whenever she was in the ring, including a fisherman’s buster off the top and a frog splash off the top. While Bolshoi & Leon worked well as a team, the Jumonji Sisters had the superior tag team sequences when they were on offense. One particularly cool double-team attack was Chisako following up one of Sachiko’s superkicks to Leon with a diamond cutter. This bout wasn’t on the level of the battles the Jumonji Sisters had with Thunder Rock, Best Friends and Mascara Voladoras, but it was a solid tag team encounter that was quite good. ***¼

OZ Academy 7/19/15 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE: Aja Kong vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto 15:03. This was a battle between two powerhouses. It was not a very good technical match by any means, but this was a war between two brawlers beating the crap out of each other. It’s arguably the most competitive anyone was with Aja Kong in 2015, and it’s always good to see a good singles match involving the legendary Aja Kong that took place at this stage of her long and illustrious career. ***

OZ Academy 7/19/15 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE, OZ Academy Tag Title Match: Kaho Kobayashi & Kagetsu vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Mio Shirai 23:33. Kagetsu did quite well here. The legendary Mayumi Ozaki didn’t do much here, but it’s cool she was there. Mio Shirai, who was quite inconsistent in 2015, did well for herself in this particular match for 2015 Mio standards. Kaho Kobayashi was the worker of the match, as she really put over the beating really well. There was some interference and nonsense like that, but Kobayashi’s performance was so heroic that it didn’t really matter what everyone else did. ***

STARDOM 7/26/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, World of Stardom Title Match: Kairi Hojo vs. Meiko Satomura 22:27. This was slightly better than their previous meeting, which took place on 6/14/15. Kairi Hojo made the most of her limited resources, and Meiko Satomura tried to make the most of every situation. Because of Satomura kinda pushing Hojo to the limit (and we’re not talking about the time limit this time, unlike the last time they faced each other), we got to see a glimpse of what it would be like if Hojo would have been able to unlock thought patterns that would allow her to not just rely on her usual programmed settings. Hojo was able to give a slightly more sophisticated performance than last time. Since they didn’t have to go 30 minutes this time, they were able to make this match a bit quicker and more energetic, especially since they were now more familiar with each other. One of the coolest spots was Satomura no-selling Hojo’s comedic spear. ***¼

SGPW 7/30/15 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE: Meiko Satomura vs. Arisa Nakajima 11:20. The best parts were the heated exchanges. It was a good match overall, but it was quite short. Nakajima deserved more than just being another person having to do the job against Meiko in an 11-minute match. Even though the wrestling was good, considering who was involved, it makes you wonder why they even bothered having this match, since there was no way it was going to live up to expectations the way they booked this like it was just another match. ***¼

SGPW 7/30/15 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE: DASH Chisako & Sendai Sachiko vs. Io Shirai & Mayu Iwatani 17:47. One of the coolest things about the early stages of the match was that we got a good amount of time for all the pairings, as we weren’t just limited to the same two pairings. This still was the case throughout the rest of the match, but just at a higher pace, as they gradually increased the pace of the match, which was already a decent pace to begin with. The Jumonji Sisters were the more established tag team, but Io was so amazing that the sisters were in trouble regardless of their experience as a tag team. I don’t want to make it sound like Io and Mayu never teamed before, because they had in fact teamed together over two dozen times prior to this match, and they showed their fair share of teamwork. However, the sister tag team was the most cohesive tag team in joshi puroresu at the time, as you’d expect from two very talented sisters teaming up regularly. Mayu Iwatani really showed that she was now one of the most enjoyable workers to watch, as she really had stepped up her game. All four workers worked at a fast pace, yet at the same time made sure the execution was crisp. This match featured all kinds of tremendous moves. Io hit a tremendous tope suicida on both sisters. Mayu’s bumping and selling for Chisako’s dropkicks was spectacular. After lots of exciting action, Chisako finally got the pin over Mayu to win the match. While this was excellent, it was merely an introduction to what they were truly capable of delivering together. On 9/23/15, these two teams would meet again in an even better match. ****

Gato Move 8/13/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Emi Sakura & Makoto vs. Hikaru Shida & Sayaka Obihiro 12:39. This was a contest featuring non-stop action with everyone working hard. Emi Sakura and Hikaru Shida were the more reliable established names. Just like she’s shown on occasion in the past, Sayaka Obihiro was a surprisingly good underdog. Makoto felt the enthusiasm in the air, and that seemed to help her step up her game a bit more as well. There were some innovative-looking tag team pinning combinations that helped add to the excitement. Sakura hit a 450 for the win over Obihiro in this surprisingly good match presented by Gato Move, a league that was founded by Sakura in 2012. ***

Gato Move 8/13/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, IWA Triple Crown Title Match: Riho vs. Kotori 9:39. This was a fast-paced match. Both workers tried their best. This is possibly one of the best Riho singles matches available. Kotori was surprisingly good here as well, showing a lot of speed, fire and determination. Even though they didn’t deliver anything beyond three stars here, it’s still quite an accomplishment since this was only a nine minute match featuring two young workers not necessarily known for good matches. With two matches that were well worth watching, this was a surprisingly fun Gato Move show. ***

JWP 8/16/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Leon vs. Ray 9:50. These two were very familiar with each other, because not only were they regular tag team partners, they have also battled each other several times before. It initially kinda missed the sharpness you’d expect from these two, but as the match went on, the work got crisper. They kept working hard and doing lots of exciting moves, and the pace was high throughout the match. This wasn’t their most memorable match together (because that distinction goes to their 5/8/11 match), but it was overall a pretty good match. This was unfortunately the last year of Ray’s career. She was diagnosed with brain cancer in December 2015, and passed away in 2018. ***

JWP 8/16/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Hanako Nakamori & Mio Shirai 15:29. Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto, Best Friends, gave a strong tag team showing against the very random team of Hanako Nakamori & Mio Shirai.. Tsukka gave a particularly strong performance, as her work was really crisp. She played a big role in the match during the early portions. Nakajima’s selling was strong, and she showed a good amount of intensity when she was on offense, especially during the final stages of the match. Nakamori was the more outstanding one of her team, as her strikes were well executed and well timed. Mio was not too bad, but the other three were simply better. Mio still made some useful contributions though. In 2015 in general, Mio’s work was definitely not at her strongest. She was one of the more frustrating workers to watch in 2015, because she still had talent, but didn’t seem to be working to the best of her ability. She was still involved in a handful of good matches, but her lack of seriousness made her drop way down the list of best workers. Maybe that’s why Tsukka decided to tag out as soon as she realized Mio was about to start the match for the opposing team. Nakajima vs. Nakamori was particularly interesting during the final minute, and those two did a particularly good job of bringing this match to its conclusion. ***¼

OZ Academy 8/23/15 Yokohama Bunka Gym, OZ Academy Openweight Title Decision Elimination Match: Arisa Nakajima & Hikaru Shida & Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Tsubasa Kuragaki & AKINO & Sonoko Kato 56:49. They certainly didn’t waste any time, starting this off with a bang. Arisa Nakajima and Tsubusa Kuragaki started brawling right away, while the streamers were still in the ring. Five minutes into the match, Kuragaki hit an Asai moonsault on Nakajima and Hiroyo Matsumoto. We got to see a variety of pairings squaring off in this match, which kept things fresh and interesting. In general, the in-ring work wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but it was of good quality pretty much throughout the entire match. Nakajima vs. Sonoko Kato was one of the better match-ups, mainly because of Nakajima’s intensity, but also because of Kato’s determination. Nakajima vs. AKINO was also interesting, as Nakajima bumped well for AKINO’s missile dropkick, and Nakajima sold well for AKINO in general, while occasionally countering. The first elimination didn’t come until 26:52, which played a role in helping keep the viewer intrigued. It kept the viewer wondering who would be the first one eliminated, as well as divvying up the work to keep everyone fresher, given the length of the contest. All six workers were good workers who were able to have a serious contest together, and there were no real weak links in this match, as everyone contributed sufficiently at the very least. 26:52 into the match, AKINO was eliminated after getting pinned by Matsumoto, with an assist from Hikaru Shida. Kuragaki was not impressed by Shida having to resort to using her kendo stick, and decided to break it in half. Luckily for Shida, she had brought another kendo stick with her, and she was still able to use that one. Breaking the kendo stick wasn’t the only time Kuragaki displayed her enormous strength, as she also was able to lift up Shida and Nakajima stacked up together in a backbreaker rack position. At some point in the match, Shida’s mouth got bloodied. Shida eliminated Kuragaki by pinfall at 32:37. This meant that the team of Nakajima & Shida & Matsumoto had a 3-on-1 advantage over Kato, who was the only remaining member of her team. Kato didn’t give up, and knew she had to act quickly and desperately, which is why she hit Shida with Shida’s own kendo stick to get the pinfall over Shida at 34:50. Kato still was facing a disadvantage, as she was battling Nakajima & Matsumoto all by herself. Kato knew it would have to take nearly a miracle to win this match, but she wouldn’t stop trying. Kato would hit a somersault plancha off the ramp onto Nakajima & Matsumoto on the floor. Things were looking good for Kato for a bit, but Nakajima nearly crushed all of Kato’s hopes after hitting a double footstomp off the top turnbuckle to the floor onto Kato. As the match approached the finish, Nakajima and Matsumoto stopped working together as a unit, probably because they both really wanted the title shot that was at stake. Nakajima and Matsumoto started fighting each other over who should get the win over Kato. Nakajima got so distracted by Matsumoto that Kato was able to pin Nakajima at 41:06. This meant that it was now just Matsumoto vs. Kato. This portion of the match appeared to be worked under “last person standing” type rules. Matsumoto pinned Kato three times, but Kato was able to get up on her feet before the ten count. Kato pinned Matsumoto, but Matsumoto beat the ten count. Finally, Kato was able to pin Matsumoto, and Matsumoto was not able to make it back to her feet before the ten count. Even though it’s a little bit far-fetched to believe that Kato would be able to beat Nakajima, Shida and Matsumoto pretty much all by herself, it was actually quite well booked and well worked. It’s also nice that it was a somewhat unpredictable outcome, and it’s nice that OZ Academy rewarded the loyal Kato with a big win like this. It’s hard to work a six-person elimination tag for nearly an hour and still keep it at a very good quality overall, and I think these six did a really good job trying their best to make this work. Nakajima, Shida and Kato were the most outstanding performers of this match, but all six played a part in this being very good. Matsumoto deserves credit for really putting over the determination of the final stretch with Kato. After this elimination match, Mayumi Ozaki ordered Kato to use her title shot immediately, and Kato had to battle Mio Shirai after Kato had beaten three opponents in a 56-minute match. Mio still needed help from the Ozaki-gun cronies, and couldn’t beat Kato anyway. Of course, it didn’t help for Mio that several babyface workers didn’t want Kato to lose this way, as they fought off the Ozaki-gun heels. In the end, after beating Mio in less than three minutes, Kato walked away as the champion that night, even though all the odds were stacked against her. ***½

STARDOM 8/23/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, 5STAR Grand Prix Red Stars Block: Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani 15:00. This was a really good match. It had a bit more of a deliberate pace than you’d expect from these two, as they focused on selling and putting each other over as a tough opponent. These two could easily do a spectacular match that would be reasonable at 15 minutes, but the way this was worked, the match would have benefited from going maybe 5 or 10 minutes longer. Io Shirai’s offense was amazing, as usual. Mayu Iwatani’s performance shouldn’t be undersold though. After carefully feeling each other out during the beginning, they started doing some more fast-paced lucha-esque stuff that saw Shirai hit a cartwheel followed by a backflip. Then they went to a more high-impact phase, which was caused by Iwatani kicking Shirai in the head as she tried to avoid a submission hold attempt. It was during this no-nonsense phase of the match that the more deliberate pacing really was noticeable. Shirai bodyslammed Iwatani on the ring apron, and tried her best to wear Iwatani down, while still occasionally hitting flashy moves, because that’s simply in her nature. Iwatani hit a Ayumi Kurihara-esque dropkick while Shirai was down near the ropes, and Iwatani followed this up with a plancha to the floor. Shirai eventually hit her signature moonsault off the top to the floor, which was as amazing as always. The drama and the big moves started increasing, and one of Iwatani’s best moves in this match was a triple jump reverse huracarrana that almost got her the win. Once the bell rang at the 15-minute mark, it felt like this match ended a bit too early, because they were in the middle of getting this match to its peak. This was definitely better than their first two matches against each other (which happened on 2/17/13 and 4/23/15), but it wasn’t quite on the level of their best matches against each other, which would happen a little bit later in that decade. We’ll get to those matches in the next couple of editions of the joshi puroresu year in review write-ups. ***¾

STARDOM 8/30/15 Tokyo Shinkiba 1st Ring, 5STAR Grand Prix Red Stars Block: Kaori Yoneyama vs. Mayu Iwatani 9:10. Kaori Yoneyama did an excellent job hitting all her moves crisply, and Mayu Iwatani did an excellent job of selling. It’s a shame they only got nine minutes, because these two probably would have been able to have an excellent match if they were given 10 more minutes or so. This was a really fun match, and this was the type of match that all 5STAR GP participants should try to aim for when they’re given less than ten minutes to work with, a well-executed high-effort match with good intensity. ***¼

REINA 9/4/15 Tokyo Shinkiba 1st RING: Kana & Syuri vs. Konami & Makoto 19:25. This was Kana’s final REINA match, and one of Kana’s last five shows in Japan before leaving for the United States. One of Kana’s opponents here was Konami, her protege, who had been very impressive in REINA in 2015 for a rookie. Konami was clearly the rookie of the year in 2015. It was interesting to see Konami and Syuri battle each other in 2015, especially knowing that they would battle again in the future (most notably in STARDOM in 2021). Syuri didn’t treat Konami like a rookie, and approached her like she would any other competent worker. Konami tried to hit the stiffest strikes and most effective-looking submission holds she could execute at the time, so she really tried her best. When Kana wrestled her protege Konami, it resulted in several minutes of competitive wrestling that Kana must have been proud of. ***¼

WAVE 9/13/15 Osaka EDION Arena #2: Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Mika Iida 5:27 of 8:04. Mika Iida is quite underrated. It’s a shame she isn’t higher in the pecking order, because these two were having a good match, but they only got eight minutes to work with each other here (and we only got to see five of those eight minutes, thanks to WAVE’s editing). Both workers displayed high-quality skill and enthusiasm. ***

OZ Academy/Mio Shirai Produce 9/18/15 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE: Mayumi Ozaki & Mio Shirai & Yumi Oka vs. Arisa Nakajima & Misaki Ohata & Tsukasa Fujimoto 16:08. Mayumi Ozaki’s team gave a sufficient performance overall, and even though they mainly focused on being heels, their work was okay enough throughout this match to make this match work. Their opposition was a dream team of top-notch workers, and they were the ones who really made this match good through their effort and determination. Even Mika Nishio and Police weren’t as annoying as they usually are. The babyfaces would have deserved the victory, and it’s a shame they didn’t get the win, but it was clear for all to see that Ozaki’s team needed quite a bit of cheating to come out on top. ***

STARDOM 9/23/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, Goddesses of Stardom Title Match: Io Shirai & Mayu Iwatani vs. DASH Chisako & Sendai Sachiko 20:26. Super General Manager Fuka made sure to wear one of her best outfits, as she was the ring announcer of one of the biggest matches of the year 2015. These two teams had met previously in SGPW in an excellent match. This time, they were determined to turn things up a notch. DASH Chisako showed the attitude that helped make this interpromotional STARDOM versus SGPW match feel more like a war, and Chisako also was super focused. Sendai Sachiko, who was really smooth, was there at all times to be her sister’s backup, and she did an excellent job of following her sister’s lead and reacting the right way at the right moment. Io Shirai & Mayu Iwatani had the home advantage, but it didn’t seem to help much, as the Jumonji Sisters were so good at stopping Thunder Rock from starting to do their thing. As great as Thunder Rock was as a tag team, the sister bond between the Jumonji Sisters was stronger than any of the deep respect and appreciation Shirai and Iwatani could have for each other. Eventually, Shirai proved to be too strong to be kept down, and that’s when we got to see Thunder Rock hit some of the spectacular flying you’d expect from them, including a moonsault off the top to the floor by Shirai. It wasn’t just the spectacular offense that made Shirai’s role so important, it was also her selling and her awareness of how to not always make this all about herself, as he helped put over the Jumonji Sisters’ offense very well, and she made sure her tag team partner got her chance to shine. Iwatani played her role of up-and-coming star well. She continued to show why she was the most improved joshi worker of the year, as she now had a great tag team match on her resume. Shirai and Chisako were the strongest members of their respective teams, but Iwatani and Sachiko deserve a lot of credit too, and all four members were needed to make this re-match memorable. Their 7/30/15 match in SGPW was excellent, but they were able to bring this feud to a new level here. They turned the pace up and down, depending on what the moment called for, and when the pace was a bit slower, Chisako’s deliberateness and intensity helped make those slower segments feel very important. Chisako hit her fair share of spectacular offense as well though, including a missile dropkick off the top and a top-rope double footstomp, among other moves. Sachiko and Iwatani had a strong segment together, which included their superkick duel when they traded superkicks. The storytelling by Chisako and the exceptional display of athleticism by Shirai were probably the aspects of the match that were the greatest. The pacing and the execution really was superb and truly enhanced the drama of the match, and all of those great aspects combined with strong in-ring work made this a great match. If this had five more minutes of back-and-forth action, this possibly would have been even better. ****½

JWP 10/12/15 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall: Hanako Nakamori vs. Sendai Sachiko 10:24. It’s always interesting to see a Sendai Sachiko singles match appear on a card, because she is mostly known for her appearances in tag team competition. Sachiko is much more effective and useful when she’s aiding her sister DASH Chisako in tag team matches, but she definitely was a really good worker on her own who potentially was able to have good singles matches. It’s just that she kinda seemed out of her element at times whenever she was involved in singles matches. Still, this was a very interesting match, because Hanako Nakamori showed a lot of interest in giving a strong performance and making this match work, and Sachiko eventually got into the groove of working this singles match. As the match progressed, Sachiko started getting warmed up more and was able to put over the idea that she was a tough opponent for Nakamori. Sachiko’s main strengths in this match were her perseverance and her willingness to dig deeper and keep surviving. Nakamori was more careful and tried to work more logically, not trying to take too many risks in this particular match. In the end, Nakamori was victorious. Nothing groundbreaking happened, but it was enjoyable to watch these two in action against each other. ***

OZ Academy 10/17/15 Yokohama Osanbashi Hall: Aja Kong vs. Kaho Kobayashi 9:39. Aja Kong dominated this match, and she did so in a vicious-type way, as she had a huge size and strength advantage. Kaho Kobayashi sold Aja’s attack very well, while at the same time coming across as a hard-working underdog who would try no matter how much the odds were stacked against her, even if it was sometimes seemingly just for the sake of survival. Aja got frustrated that she wasn’t able to put Kobayashi away as easily as expected, and this bit of frustration gave Kobayashi the hope and opportunity to fight back courageously. Kobayashi hit several missile dropkicks off the top rope, and even got a two-count on Aja. The action got gradually more exciting, as it kinda went back-and-forth, much to the frustration of Aja, who really put over well that Kobayashi was a tougher opponent than initially anticipated. Of course, in the end, Aja did get the pinfall victory, as expected, but the way they got there was done very well after nine minutes of really good work by both participants. This certainly wasn’t a match with a lot of complexity, but it was a match that was effective and very good. Kobayashi showed why she was one of the most fun workers to watch, and Aja Kong showed that she was able to have a good singles match in 2015. ***¼

Ice Ribbon 10/17/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, International Ribbon Tag Title Match: Aoi Kizuki & Kayoko Haruyama vs. Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto 16:16. Best Friends, Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto, had teamed together a few times before earlier that year, but now they were ready to challenge for the tag team gold. Orange Happies, Aoi Kizuki & Kayoko Haruyama, had been tag team champions for 24 days. The match was significantly more exciting when Kizuki was in the ring, because Haruyama is quite a bit slower than everyone else in this match. Haruyama executed a nice Quebecers-esque cannonball though. Kizuki isn’t a top 30 worker, but she’s capable enough to be in a good match from time to time, and her enthusiasm makes it fun to watch her in action. Both teams showed good teamwork, but the in-ring work in general shown by Best Friends was obviously better. This certainly wasn’t a squash by any means, but it felt that Best Friends didn’t have too much trouble getting the win here, and perhaps it’s fitting, since they are one of the very best tag teams in the world on paper. It was good to see Arisa and Tsukka win the tag team titles, and the match itself was pretty good overall. ***

OZ Academy 10/25/15 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE: Hikaru Shida & Kaori Yoneyama & Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. AKINO & Kaho Kobayashi & Sonoko Kato 19:46. Kaho Kobayashi’s performances are usually very enjoyable, and one of the reasons is that she cares about what she’s doing. When Kobayashi is selling, she really puts over the beating she’s on the receiving-end of. When Kobayashi is the one who’s on offense, she really shows her fighting spirit. Hikaru Shida was probably the second-most enthusiastic worker in this match. Shida’s smoothly-executed huracarrana on AKINO was a thing of beauty. Tsubasa Kuragaki, AKINO and Sonoko Kato gave solid performances. Despite all three being around 40 years old at the time, they didn’t mail it in, and contributed to the best of their ability at the time. Kaori Yoneyama was just kinda there, and was slightly disappointing. Of course, Yoneyama has forgotten more about wrestling than most wrestlers will ever know, but 2015 was clearly a year that saw her deteriorate as an overall in-ring performer, and she was the one who contributed the least to this match. Still, Yoneyama was still better than the average joshi worker, and it was much better to have her in this match than someone of middling or less quality. Yoneyama proved this by hitting a well-executed German suplex on Kobayashi for the finish. If anything, Yoneyama, who was a candidate for the top 25 joshi workers list at the time, being arguably the least impressive of these six in this match proves how good the participants of this very good tag team match were. ***½

JWP 10/25/15 Tokyo Shinjuku Face: Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Tsukasa Kuragaki & Kayoko Haruyama 15:49. This was a tag team match between very established tag teams. Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto, Best Friends, had won the Ice Ribbon tag team title just eight days prior to this match. They brought the belts with them, but this was a non-title match. Tsubasa Kuragaki & Kayoko Haruyama were quite no-nonsense in their approach, and they had the size advantage. However, Best Friends were such a cohesive unit that working together as a tag team looked so natural to them. Of course, both Nakajima and Tsukka are top workers, and they fit so well together as a team. All four participants played their role well, and they all seemed to have a good idea of how they could add quality to this match. Kuragaki & Haruyama focused on power and size, and this was a nice contrast to Best Friends focusing on an intense display of fighting spirit and a smooth display of technique. Best Friends were so good at putting it over that they had superior technique, yet still had to keep overcoming the size and power of the opposition. Nakajima was particularly good at showing that extra intensity that made it clear she wanted to do her very best and get the best result possible. To their credit, Kuragaki & Haruyama knew and understood their role well, which really helped this being an actual good match, and not just the Best Friends show. Kuragaki hit a big moonsault on Nakajima, and Haruyama followed it up with a big guillotine leg drop off the top, but Tsukka was luckily able to break up the pin attempt. One of the main reasons this match was so good was the respect these four athletes had for each other, combined with a drive for competition and the determination to make this match stand out. The storytelling was well executed, and all four helped make this a memorable match. ***¾

JWP 10/25/15 Tokyo Shinjuku Face: Command Bolshoi vs. Leon 15:18. These two seasoned veterans were able to make this interesting from start to finish because they made everything they did feel important, as opposed to just killing time. At times, they decided to go for some more fast-paced and high-impact type stuff. Most of the match was wrestled at a bit more of a deliberate pace though, as they both showed faith in being able to overcome the punishment taken. When they went back to the mat, they kept honoring their theme of making everything feel important. Bolshoi had lots of fun spinning around on the mat and countering holds, but Leon showed she had some nice tricks up her sleeve as well. Leon ended up having quite a bit of momentum, and she was busting out some spectacular moves. Bolshoi was always able to stop Leon’s momentum enough to find some time to recover and get ready for the next attack. Leon came close to victory, but in the end, Bolshoi was able to win the match. It wasn’t a match for any title or trophy, but Bolshoi was presented with a big bag of whey protein after the match. Of course, that prize didn’t even compare to the prize these two had created for themselves, which was the gratification of knowing they were still able to work at a high level at this stage of their respective careers. This was a really good match in which both participants showed why they are deserving of being two of the most recognizable names of 2010s joshi puroresu. The execution was smooth, and they were able to make this intriguing at all times. ***¾

REINA 11/3/15 Tokyo Shinkiba 1st RING, REINA World Women's Title Tournament Final: Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Syuri 11:38. One of the coolest things about this match is that it took place in the middle of the ring for seemingly 90% of the match. They really put over the fact that they were evenly matched top competitors who tried to get the advantage over the other through wrestling skills. Syuri is known for her stiff kicks, but Tsukka wanted to show that her kicks are noteworthy as well. They did a little battle of the kicks segment during the early stages of the match, but as excellent as Tsukka’s kicks were, Syuri’s kicks were quite a bit more thunderous than Tsukka’s. Syuri’s intensity was her main strength in this match. For Tsukka, it was her ability to react promptly, and in a manner that would enhance the excitement level of the match and help advance the match further. Both workers were good at staying focused at all times, and this forced them to keep challenging each other to stay alert at all times and come up with a logical next move. Unfortunately, this was only 11 minutes long, but it was still a really good match overall. Since Tsukka had a particularly strong year in tag team action, it was very interesting to see her have a strong singles match, which shows how all-round and effective she was as an in-ring performer that year. ***½

SGPW 11/12/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, Senjo vs. STARDOM Showdown 6 vs. 6 Singles Knockout: Mayu Iwatani & Kairi Hojo & Io Shirai & Kris Wolf & Hiromi Mimura & Momo Watanabe vs. Cassandra Miyagi & DASH Chisako & Meiko Satomura & Sendai Sachiko & Mika Iwata & Chihiro Hashimoto 65:03. Even though this was a long showdown that lasted over an hour, they were able to keep things fresh because of the gauntlet style this was contested in, as we were getting different singles match-ups after each elimination, which meant that there were several stories being told during different stages of the match. The early portion of the match was all about Hashimoto being an impressive rookie and a future star for SGPW. The rookies Chihiro Hashimoto and Momo Watanabe started this match off, and they did well for rookies in the three minutes they were given, with Hashimoto getting the deserving win, as she was the more impressive wrestler of the two at this stage of their respective careers. Hashimoto’s power made her stand out from the other rookies in this match. Watanabe took the punishment well, but she got basically squashed. In the second match of this showdown, Hashimoto beat another STARDOM rookie, Hiromi Mimura, who wasn’t bad for a rookie, but didn’t really stand a chance against Hashimoto either, which resulted in another 3-minute squash. Up next was STARDOM’s gaijin rookie Kris Wolf, who showed enthusiasm and courage, but Wolf turned out to be just another victim, as she got beaten even quicker than the two other STARDOM rookies. Hashimoto’s winning streak soon came to an end though, as her next opponent was Io Shirai, one of the top stars in joshi puroresu. This battle between Io and Hashimoto was wrestled in a relatively competitive manner, as Hashimoto still had that momentum she had built up previously, but Io was obviously a much tougher challenge. Io took Hashimoto seriously, and that helped make this 4-minute segment become exciting and fun to watch. After Io ended Hashimoto’s winning streak, Io got to battle another Sendai rookie, Mika Iwata, who did quite well for herself. Iwata showed a lot of potential by displaying slightly more than just the most basic rookies, as she showed pretty good intensity and seemed to be a decent striker. Iwata ended up lasting approximately six minutes against Io. The next participant in this gauntlet series was Sendai Sachiko. It was with Io vs. Sachiko that the quality of this match really started picking up. This was a particularly interesting match-up, not only because this was the first battle in this showdown that was actually seriously competitive, but also because of their recent meetings in tag team competition (and a few days later, Sachiko would get a chance at Io’s White Belt). Sachiko’s superkicks were executed excellently, and for a little while, it seemed like Sachiko would score a big win here, especially considering Sachiko was the fresher of the two, as Io had just gone through two opponents. However, this particularly exciting match-up eventually ended in a 10-minute draw. This meant we got two fresh participants to continue this gauntlet series, Kairi Hojo and Meiko Satomura. The work wasn’t super crisp, as they botched a couple of moves, but this portion of the match was still quite decent overall, even though it was a step down from what Io and Sachiko had presented earlier, and the Hojo/Satomura singles matches earlier in the year. That being said, Satomura seemed into this, and Hojo’s selling was pretty good for the most part. Hojo really put over her desperation. In the end, this battle ended in a 10-minute draw. Up next was a very interesting match-up between Mayu Iwatani and DASH Chisako, who just like their respective tag team partners Io and Sachiko, continued the feud they had established in tag team competition earlier that year. This was one of the best portions of this gauntlet showdown. What they put over well here was that this was of importance in the war between the respective leagues they were representing. Chisako even beat up STARDOM wrestlers at ringside. Mayu really had become good in her role of one of STARDOM’s main representatives, which would eventually culminate in her role of STARDOM icon later that decade. Mayu got the win over Chisako here, just 13 seconds before the 10-minute time limit. This really should have been the finish of the entire gauntlet series, but instead we got rookie Cassandra Miyagi as the final participant. I think that if they would have swapped Miyagi and Iwata, it would have made for a far better finishing segment with Iwata potentially having been able to come off as an underdog rookie with fighting spirit. However, here we had Miyagi, who had just started working as some sort of crazy heel, which didn’t help matters, since she was quite limited as a worker to begin with. Mayu sold things well, and her excuse for being able to sell this much for Miyagi was obviously the hard-fought battle she just had with Chisako. This segment took away pretty much all the heat that was built up and established earlier, as Miyagi lacked ability and credibility. The only kayfabe explanation I can think of as to why Miyagi would be last is that perhaps SGPW didn’t think they would need to use her in their attempt to beat STARDOM in this showdown. Either way, Mayu got the well-deserved victory after working against Miyagi for 12 minutes, which meant STARDOM had now officially beaten SGPW. Overall, this 65-minute showdown was good. It had its ups and downs, but it was enjoyable for the most part. ***¼

STARDOM 11/15/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Kairi Hojo vs. Mika Iwata 10:44. STARDOM vs. SGPW. This was a surprisingly good match. Mika Iwata was arguably even the slightly more impressive of the two workers here, at least when considering Mika Iwata was a rookie. Iwata had only been wrestling since 7/12/15, which was when she had her debut match against Aja Kong at a SGPW show. Kairi Hojo was good enough to help make this a pretty good match overall though. Hojo’s limited offense ironically wasn’t too much of a problem here, since she was facing a rookie, it was more believable that Hojo would be in control than, for example, when Hojo wrestles someone like Meiko Satomura. Iwata ended up getting her nose bloodied, which was a happy accident, because it kinda added more visually to the STARDOM vs. SGPW feud, and it visually emphasized Iwata’s fighting spirit. Either way, Iwata showed a lot of potential, and Hojo was once again involved in a memorable match. Overall, this was a decent match that was almost good. **¾

STARDOM 11/15/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, Wonder of Stardom Title Match: Io Shirai vs. Sendai Sachiko 10:29. STARDOM vs. SGPW. Io Shirai’s moonsault off the top rope to the floor was amazingly spectacular. It’s a shame they were only given ten minutes. It was obviously a good match, but disappointing when you consider the potentially excellent singles match these two could have had. The way they wrestled this, it seemed like they were gonna go at least 5 or 10 minutes longer, but then we never got those extra minutes. At least the second half of the match was basically a 5-minute stretch that saw them become more intense. ***¼

STARDOM 11/15/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, World of Stardom Title Match: Meiko Satomura vs. Mayu Iwatani 11:29. SGPW vs. STARDOM. The action was good, but this was a very disappointing way to have the rising star Mayu Iwatani challenge for the Red Belt. It was only eleven minutes long, and Meiko Satomura didn’t seem to really take Iwatani as seriously as she should have, especially considering how fast Iwatani had been rising to the top that year. It was a disappointing performers from Satomura, kinda feeling like she just wanted to get this over with, and she made it seem like she never felt polishing Mayu off would be too much trouble for her. ***

SEAdLINNNG 11/25/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, High Speed Match: Tsukasa Fujimoto & Kaori Yoneyama & SAKI vs. DASH Chisako & Sendai Sachiko & Sareee 12:18. This was the second show in the history of SEAdLINNNG, a league formed by Nanae Takahashi after leaving STARDOM. The referee of this match was “High Speed” match expert Natsuki*Taiyo. It’s a shame she retired as a pro wrestler, but at least we get to enjoy her as one of the best referees around. Although, some people might disagree about her being one of the best refs, since her refereeing style is quite unique to say the least, as she got to show here that she still was able to work at high speed herself, and sometimes outwork the wrestlers in the match. This was a fun match with a lot of non-stop action. It was a bit chaotic at times, but at least this action-packed match was good. Some of the stuff involving referee Taiyo wasn’t all that serious, but these brief comedy-esque moments were acceptable, because it didn’t really take anything away from the display of skill and ability of everyone involved (including ref Taiyo herself). The Jumonji Sisters showed they were two of the best workers in the match by speeding up the action a bit more. Sareee gave a good showing, proving that she should be booked more often with top talent, as she is able to benefit and learn from working with the top workers. She wasn’t a featured player here, but she hit some cool moves, including a plancha off the top to the floor, and was able to contribute and hang in there with everyone. Kaori Yoneyama did well, despite the fact that her peak years were now a thing of the past. Her experience is always useful in a fast-paced trios match like this. SAKI was able to hang in there and was even able to contribute sufficiently, even though she was on paper and in actuality the weakest worker in the match. Tsukasa Fujimoto gave a strong performance, as she pretty much carried her team, as she displayed her excellent ability and excellent focus. One of Tsukka’s main qualities is that she’s unselfish and thinks about the quality of the bigger picture, while still acknowledging that she knows she’s excellent. This was certainly a unique match and the type of match that would catch anyone’s attention. It wasn’t always serious, but it was still good overall. ***¼

STARDOM 12/23/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, World of Stardom Title Match: Meiko Satomura vs. Io Shirai 24:50. This was the big main event of STARDOM’s Year End Climax, a re-match they had been building towards for a while, as it was the culmination of the year’s SGPW vs. STARDOM feud with the top star of each league facing each other in a one-on-one contest for the Red Belt in one of the most legendary venues in puroresu history. This all meant that Meiko Satomura wasn’t going to mail it in, and she did indeed give her best performance of the year. Io Shirai had been on top of her game all year, and for her it was only natural to once again give a top-notch performance in this big main event towards the end of a fantastic year for her. This match really featured a superb performance by Shirai. The way Shirai moved was phenomenal, her speed and athletic ability made for an amazing display of exciting moves. Satomura played her part very well, and to her credit, her work in this match didn’t suffer from the usual shortcomings (going through the motions, not taking her opponent seriously, not showing any passion or interest, etc.). Instead, Satomura was determined to show that she wanted to win this war. Still, her performance didn’t come even close to Shirai’s tremendous performance, but that’s hardly a point of critique when virtually nobody (except maybe Arisa Nakajima or Kana) was able to touch Shirai’s greatness at the time. There was a brief moment in the match where they went into the crowd for some brawling, to emphasize that this was a war. Even this bit was quite intense, as they didn’t do the usual, dragging along the stairs for long periods of time. Shirai did her signature moonsault off the fan entrance. Oddly enough, it took a while for Satomura to start using her main strength, which are her kicks, and she really didn’t focus too much on her kicks. This was odd, because you’d think that by using her main strength, she’d be able to tame and overcome Shirai’s flurry of offense. Later in the match, it seemed Satomura finally got warmed up, as she started using more of those vicious kicks she’s known for. The action went more back-and-forth towards the end, as Shirai hit a tremendous lifting German suplex, which she followed up with a tremendous moonsault, but Satomura got her feet up. Near the end of this match, Satomura hit one of her coolest moves, a spinning back kick. In the end, Shirai won with one of her coolest moves, a beautiful moonsault. This was an excellent match, and it was the best singles match these two had against each other up until that point in time, even better than their two excellent matches from 2014. ****¼

JWP 12/27/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: JWP Tag & Daily Sports Tag Title Match: DASH Chisako & Sendai Sachiko vs. Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto 14:07. Jumonji Sisters vs. Best Friends, two of the very best tag teams in the world at the time (and not just in joshi puroresu) battled it out at the final JWP show of the year, JWP Climax. Both teams displayed strong teamwork throughout the match. Arisa Nakajima’s selling and bumping was exceptional, and one of her best bumps in this match was a wicked bump for a flying dropkick off the top rope by Sendai Sachiko. Both teams knew about each other’s reputation, so they were both slightly cautious during the early stages of the match, and neither team wanted to make a mistake. One of the coolest things about this match was how this really felt like a serious contest, because these workers didn’t go through the motions, they put care into each move they were executing. The action got gradually more intense, as more high impact moves were slowly introduced as the match progressed. Nakajima was the best worker in this match, because she really got over how grueling of a contest this was, putting over the ability of her opponents and showing her own fighting spirit. Tsukasa Fujimoto deserves credit for being a great right-hand-person for Nakajima, as Tsukka was very useful and helpful in getting Nakajima to achieve the big victory. Chisako & Sachiko were a great sister team, but the tenacity and perseverance of Best Friends proved to be too much for the Jumonji sisters. It was an excellent match, but it never reached the greatness that these two potentially would have been capable of reaching. While the struggle of these four competitors was sold well by everyone involved, it seemed like there wasn’t really a finishing stretch needed for Best Friends to get the somewhat relatively easy victory here. Obviously, the Jumonji sisters were competitive and not super easy to beat, but it was a little bit surprising that Best Friends were able to beat them in under 15 minutes without the amount of back-and-forth action you’d expect. Although, this was still excellent overall, not only because of the talent displayed by all four, but also because everyone was able to put this over as a battle of significance. If there’s any criticism that should be made for this match, it’s that it was somehow perhaps a bit too crisp, as it maybe lacked a bit of that grittiness required for true warfare. Also, it felt that there should have been a decent portion of the match dedicated to the Jumonji Sisters being in control, because that would have enabled DASH to get some more of her strong storytelling ability incorporated. Either way, this should have been the main event of the night and the final big main event of the year, but Kayoko Haruyama’s retirement was picked as the main focus of the night. ****

(pro debut dates in parenthesis) [rankings of previous years in brackets]

10.0 - The Best of the Best 5*:

1. Io Shirai (debut: 3/4/07) [2010 ranking: #9, 2011: #8, 2012: #7, 2013: #4, 2014: #3]. Io Shirai mostly stands out because of her tremendous athleticism and ability to be more spectacular than most, and it feels like her work will still be highly regarded in time to come. If someone in let's say 10 or 15 or even 20 years from now would watch these matches from her peak years, they'd probably still agree that Shirai was ahead of virtually everyone else around this time when it comes to tremendous display of athleticism and being one of the most enjoyable workers of her time. It's not just her athleticism and her move set that makes her stand out, another main reason for Shirai being so enjoyable to watch is that she clearly cared about what she was doing in the ring, and wanted to prove to everyone that she was exceptional. Io Shirai seemingly always tried to have a good match with everyone. No matter if they were excellent, decent or bad, Shirai always treated her opponent like someone who could potentially beat her, and she would always try to make the best out of the situation. Shirai gave it her all in pretty much all her matches in 2015, and that's why basically all of Shirai's matches in 2015 are worth watching.

2. Arisa Nakajima (debut: 1/3/06) [2010-2011: N/A, 2012: #1, 2013: #1, 2014: #1]. For the first time since returning to the puroresu scene in 2012, Arisa Nakajima is not #1, but that's pretty much only because of Io Shirai leveling up so much. One could argue that Nakajima was still worthy of the #1 spot, and at the very least, she's definitely a close second. Nakajima participated in several matches that were very good or excellent. She mostly appeared at JWP shows, but she also appeared in other leagues, including nine appearances in Ice Ribbon. She participated in several matches that were good or better, but she also helped enhance the quality of matches that were less than good overall by making them better and more enjoyable than they would have been otherwise. This basically made pretty much every match involving Arisa Nakajima worth watching. Her intensity and the fact that she cares were some of the biggest factors of her work being so great.

9.0 - Great 4.5-4.75*

3. Kana (debut: 6/16/04) [2010: #1, 2011: #1, 2012: #2, 2013: #2, 2014: #2]. Kana was still excellent overall in 2015, but her last matches in Japan took place in September 2015. She started working for an American sports-entertainment company in October 2015, where she would end up being treated better than most joshi workers have been treated in the past. In her final months in Japan, Kana still gave strong performances most of the time, including in her usual battles with wrestlers like Syuri and Hikaru Shida, but 2015 didn't quite feel like Kana's best year of the decade. Of course, this is partially because she had been one of the two best workers of each year up until 2015, but it's probably also because she had her mind set on her future endeavors, and wasn't being booked in big title main events anymore. Before Kana left Japan, it appeared one of Kana's main projects of 2015 was grooming her promising protege Konami. Kana teamed with Konami semi-regularly, and even battled her on occasion to make sure Konami would have a good foundation for a successful future in the joshi puroresu scene.

4. DASH Chisako (debut: 7/9/06) [2010: #22, 2011: #11, 2012: #16, 2013: #10, 2014: #7]. DASH Chisako deserves a spot in the top 5, even if it was just for her tremendous performance in the 9/23/15 tag team match. Her position in the top is based on more than just that match though, because Chisako was the strongest worker of the best tag team of the year, and she was involved in several of the most interesting tag team matches of 2015. Her intensity and energy made her stand out a lot in the matches she was involved in.

5. Tsukasa Fujimoto (debut: 8/23/08) [2010: #23, 2011: #14, 2012: #18, 2013: #14, 2014: #5]. She was pretty much excellent wherever she went in 2015. Most of her matches in 2015 took place in Ice Ribbon, but she also had more than 30 matches in WAVE. However, her best matches took place in JWP, because that's where she teamed with Arisa Nakajima to form the amazing tag team called Best Friends. However, wherever she went, she added quality to the matches she participated in.

8.0 - Excellent = 4.0-4.25*

6. Mayu Iwatani (debut: 1/23/11) [2010: N/A, 2011: NR, 2012: #39, 2013: #33, 2014: #17]. Mayu Iwatani had an excellent 2015, and this was the year she improved amazingly from being a very good worker who showed lots of potential to being actually one of the very best female workers in the world at that time. Iwatani participated in a great tag team match on 9/23/15, and of course, it was a strong team effort from everyone involved, but Iwatani deserves credit for her part in the match. It takes two to tango, but it takes four to have a tag team match, and Iwatani proved herself to be a strong tag team worker. Iwatani did a really good job of adjusting to her new role of being one of STARDOM's main representatives, and this would eventually lead to her being able to become the STARDOM icon later that decade.

7. Sendai Sachiko (debut: 7/9/06) [2010: #24, 2011: #13, 2012: #17, 2013: #11, 2014: #18]. When she teamed with her sister DASH Chisako, she really excelled. However, when she was in matches that didn't involve DASH, it was usually slightly less interesting. Either way, despite Chisako being the stronger worker of the two, Sachiko deserves credit for her role in the team, as it's the two Jumonji sisters combined that were the best tag team of the year in a year that saw other strong contenders for the #1 position, like Thunder Rock and Best Friends.

8. Hikaru Shida (debut: 7/20/08) [2010: #26, 2011: #15, 2012: #6, 2013: #7, 2014: #8]. She was one of the most enjoyable wrestlers to watch in 2015. She participated in more than 10 matches that were good. Her passion and energy played a big role in her matches very often being enjoyable.

9. Syuri (debut: 10/26/08) [2010: #28, 2011: #16, 2012: #4, 2013: #6, 2014: #6]. The best REINA and Kana Pro matches usually involved Syuri. She was in several memorable matches this year, including her REINA 11/3/15 match vs. Tsukka and her Kana Pro 2/25/15 match w/ Hikaru Shida vs. Arisa Nakajima & Kana. Her focus and determination, along with her stiff kicks, make her one of the most effective wrestlers around. She went down the list slightly, because in 2015, we didn't quite get to see that top-notch level work from her as often as in 2012-2014.

7.0 - Very Good = 3.5-3.75*

10. Meiko Satomura (debut: 4/15/95) [2010: #19, 2011: #20, 2012: #29, 2013: #22, 2014: #12]. While she was a really good worker, she wasn't always a very enjoyable worker. Her tendency to go through the motions and not always show that she cares makes it sometimes hard to get into her matches. However, she has enough ability to be involved in very good matches with workers that care. Her STARDOM 12/23/15 match against Io Shirai was one of the best joshi puroresu matches of 2015. 

11. Leon (debut: 3/16/00) [2010: #7, 2011: #6, 2012: #5, 2013: #9, 2014: #21]. After a relatively weak 2014, it seemed Leon re-discovered her passion and energy in 2015. She was involved in a couple of really good tag team matches, in which she showed that she still had what it takes to be a really good tag team wrestler.

12. Kaori Yoneyama (debut: 11/29/99) [2010: #5, 2011: #12, 2012: #9, 2013: #8, 2014: #10]. Around the mid 2010s, she started focusing a bit more on being a fun personality and being a bit silly, but she was still a valuable worker overall, and she still had some memorable performances. However, it was clear that her best days as a top worker were fading away, even though she's still a useful worker.

13. Kaho Kobayashi (debut: 6/28/13) [2010-2012: N/A, 2013: #58, 2014: #16]. Kaho Kobayashi showed a lot of passion and determination, and that's why she was so fun to watch. When you combine those elements with some cool-looking moves, you end up with a worker that is entertaining even when the other workers involved in her matches aren't always among the best.

14. Command Bolshoi (debut: 11/26/91) [2010: #11, 2011: #24, 2012: #14, 2013: #27, 2014: #20]. This wily veteran didn't always show how good she can be, but when she did, it resulted in some high-quality wrestling, like for example in her really good match against Leon on 10/25/15 in JWP.

15. Tsubasa Kuragaki (debut: 1/8/95) [2010: #27, 2011: #28, 2012: #22, 2013: #26, 2014: #25]. Despite being a pro wrestler for nearly twenty years at the time, Tsubasa Kuragki was still willing and able to have good matches. She was one of the top workers in OZ Academy at the time, and she also had a couple of strong performances in JWP.

16. Misaki Ohata/Misaki Glico (debut: 12/10/06) [2010: #21, 2011: #10, 2012: #12, 2013: #12, 2014: #9]. The Blue Fairy proved to be still a reliable worker in 2015. Even though she was only involved in a few matches that could be somewhat considered recommended, whenever she wrestled, she usually tried to keep things going. She was one of the more enjoyable workers in WAVE that year, because she was often the driving force in the tag team matches she was involved in, which were oftentimes at least decent-quality tag team bouts. Ohata deserves credit for totally carrying Mio Shirai every time they teamed together. 

17. Hiroyo Matsumoto (debut: 7/16/06) [2010: #17, 2011: #17, 2012: #24, 2013: #24, 2014: #28]. Her positive attitude and enthusiasm made several of her performances memorable, including a pretty good singles match with Aja Kong, and a really good singles match with Arisa Nakajima.

18. Kagetsu (debut: 8/24/08) [2010: NR, 2011: #24, 2012: #11, 2013: #18, 2014: #15]. She once again showed lots of potential and ability, but she wasn't always able to put things together in her matches. It seemed like she wasn't always able to convert her good input into good output. It also appeared she was trying out a different style, as she wasn't always just focusing on pure workrate, but she tried to focus a bit more on storytelling. However, she hadn't quite refined this new approach. It seemed like she was sometimes better at carrying a lesser opponent than working good matches against a good opponent. Also, it seems that pretty much all of the memorable Kagetsu matches from 2015 are the ones where she teams with Kaho Kobayashi. Either way, this was definitely a transitional phase of sorts in Kagetsu's career, as this was her post-SGPW era, yet also her pre-STARDOM era, which kinda makes this part of her career her twilight zone phase.

19. Aja Kong (debut: 9/16/86) [2010: #6, 2011: #19, 2012: #23, 2013: #15, 2014: #11]. GOAT-candidate Aja Kong had a pretty good powerhouse battle against Hiroyo Matsumoto, and she gave a solid performance against underdog Kaho Kobayashi in OZ Academy. Her match against Shu Shibutani was arguably the best WAVE match of 2015. Aja Kong was definitely still very useful to have around, as she clearly was still able to provide work of good quality in the mid 2010s.

20. Sonoko Kato (debut: 4/15/95) [2010: #14, 2011: #18, 2012: #25, 2013: #38, 2014: #42]. She showed a lot of hard work and determination, so much so that she even made it back into the top 25 after a two year absence. What really cemented her position in the top 25 this year was her hard-fought effort in the OZ Academy 8/23/15 elimination match.

21. AKINO (debut: 7/21/98) [2010: #13, 2011: #25, 2012: #26, 2013: #31, 2014: #27]. AKINO was very important to OZ Academy, because without her, OZ Academy would have been a lot less fun and interesting in 2015. Overall, the mid 2010s weren't the best part of her career, but she cared enough and was still good enough to be a valuable player.

6.0 - Good = 3.0-3.25*

22. Ayako Hamada (debut: 8/9/98) [2010-2011: NR, 2012: #49, 2013: #34, 2014: #41]. While WAVE was having a disappointing year overall, Ayako Hamada turned out to be surprisingly good in 2015, resulting in her being one of the main reasons WAVE had several good matches in 2015.

23. Kayoko Haruyama (debut: 1/23/98) [2010-2011: NR, 2012: #32, 2013: #25, 2014: #39]. Most of her good performances were in tag team competition, but thanks to Arisa Nakajima and Command Bolshoi, Haruyama also was involved in a couple of good singles matches in 2015.

24. Tsukushi (debut: 1/16/10) [2010-2011: NR, 2012: #38, 2013: #30, 2014: #22]. Apart from Tsukasa Fujimoto and some workers visiting from other leagues, Tsukushi is one of the few reasons to even bother watching 2015 Ice Ribbon. Her joyful approach to her matches make her a very likable underdog. She's technically not one of the very best, but her hard work paid off in 2015, because she's once again in the top 25

25. Hanako Nakamori (debut: 7/16/06) [2010: NR, 2011: #29, 2012: #13, 2013: #17, 2014: #13]. It seemed we didn't really get to see Hanako Nakamori at her best that often in 2015. She was involved in a couple of memorable matches, but it feels that overall, her 2015 wasn't as stellar as her previous three years. Not wrestling Kana and Arisa Nakajima in big singles matches probably didn't help.

26. Ray (debut: 9/15/03) [2010: #20, 2011: #9, 2012: #15, 2013: #16, 2014: #19]. She wrestled her final match in December 2015.

27. Mika Iida (debut: 11/21/10) [2010-2011: NR, 2012: #56, 2013: #46, 2014: #31]. She was arguably the most underrated wrestler of 2015.

28. Yu Yamagata (debut: 12/3/00) [2010-2011: NR, 2012: #63, 2013: #56, 2014: #67]. She certainly was not the most spectacular worker around, but she was a solid workhorse who could be counted on to put forth effort.

29. Kairi Hojo (debut: 1/7/12) [2010-2011: N/A, 2012: #61, 2013: #53, 2014: #36]. She was involved in half a dozen of matches that were at least pretty good, and she's good enough to deserve a spot in the top 30. However, in her best matches, it was mostly the opponent making it good with Hojo being there along the ride. Her lack of improvisation skills make her come across as very programmed. Still, she was quite a bit better in 2015 than she was in 2014, and she showed enough ability that she made it into the top 25.

30. Takumi Iroha (debut: 4/29/13) [2010-2012: N/A, 2013: #54, 2014: #33]. Her 3/29/15 match against Io Shirai was one of the top 25 joshi matches of the year.

31. Shu Shibutani (debut: 9/19/04) [2010: #3, 2011: #7, 2012: #10, 2013: #13, 2014: #24]. She retired in May 2015.

32. Koguma (debut: 11/4/13) [2010-2012: N/A, 2013: NR, 2014: #32]. In May 2015, she wrestled her last match until returning in 2021.

33. Konami (debut: 10/7/14) [2010-2013: N/A, 2014: NR]. Rookie of the Year.

34. Chikayo Nagashima (debut: 4/15/95) [2010: #8, 2011: #5, 2012: #21, 2013: #28, 2014: #44]. She was involved in a couple of OZ Academy matches that made it to the list of the top 25 joshi matches of the year.

35. Reo Hazuki (debut: 7/6/14) [2010-2013: N/A, 2014: #40]

36. Jaguar Yokota (debut: 6/28/77) [2010-2011: NR, 2012: #51, 2013: #51, 2014: #46]

5.0 - Above Average = 2.5-2.75*

37. Sareee (debut: 4/17/11) [2010: N/A, 2011: NR, 2012: #59, 2013: #37, 2014: #26]

38. Chihiro Hashimoto

39. Mika Iwata

40. Makoto

41. Emi Sakura

42. Aoi Kizuki

43. Sayaka Obihiro

44. Riho

45. Kotori 

46. Yuuka

47. Star Fire

48. Rabbit Miu

49. Mayumi Ozaki

50. Nikki Storm

4.0 - Average = 2.0-2.25*

51. Neko Nitta

52. SAKI

53. Maki Narumiya

54. Maya Yukihi

55. Yuka Sakazaki

56. Shoko Nakajima

57. Yumi Oka

58. MIZUKI

59. Aoi Ishibashi

60. Rina Yamashita

61. Thunder Rosa

62. Mio Shirai

63. Nanae Takahashi

64. Dynamite Kansai

65. Apple Miyuki/Hibiscus Mii/Miyuki Matsuyama

66. Risa Sera

67. Yuiga

68. Yua Hayashi

69. Yuki Miyazaki

70. Heidi Lovelace

71. Cherry

72. Moeka Haruhi

73. Tomoko Watanabe

74. Keiko Aono

75. Manami Toyota

76. Eri Susa/Akira Rin

77. Koharu Hinata

78. Koyuki Hayashi

79. Micro

80. Megumi Yabushita

81. Mima Shimoda

3.0 - Below Average = 1.5-1.75*

82. Bambi

83. Miyako Matsumoto

84. KAZUKI

85. Chigusa Nagayo

86. Kaoru Ito

87. Reyna Isis

88. Drake Morimatsu

89. Jenny Rose

90. Yoshiko

91. Takako Inoue

92. Kyoko Inoue

93. Yumiko Hotta

94. Azumi

95. Miyu Yamashita

96. Kris Wolf

97. Hiroe Nagahama

98. Starlight Kid

99. Haruka Kato

100. Saori Ano

101. Kurumi

102. Michiko/Cassandra Miyagi

103. Mari Ann

104. Fukin Kitazawa

105. Yuna Manase

106. Momo Watanabe

107. Mochi Miyagi

108. Kanna Shinmei

109. Ai Shimizu

110. Datura

111. La Rosa Negra

112. Hudson Envy

113. Santana Garrett

114. Jungle Kyona

115. Natsumi Maki

116. Tae Honma

117. Act Yasukawa

118. KAORU

119. Ryo Mizunami

120. Natsu Sumire

121. Hiromi Mimura

122. Kyuri

123. 235

124. Aki Shizuku

125. Yako Fujigasaki

126. Hamuko Hoshi

127. Rika Tatsumi

128. Manami Kanda

2.0 - Poor = 1.0-1.25*

129. Sawako Shimono

130. Demi Bennett

131. Alex Lee

132. Maki Ito

133. Silueta

134. Chelsea Diamond

135. Azusa Takigawa

136. Dragonita

137. Rydeen Hagane

138. Nonoko

139. Saki Akai

140. Meiko Tanaka

141. Maruko Nagasaki

142. Ayaka

143. Akane Fujita

144. Fairy Nihonbashi

145. Dump Matsumoto

1.0 - Terrible = 0.5-0.75*

146. La Comandante

147. Kyoko Kimura/Mask de Sun

148. Hatsuhinode Kamen/Aya Yuki

149. May Lee

0.0 - The Worst = 0-0.25*

150. Sakura Hirota

151. Aiger

152. Queen Maya

1. DASH Chisako & Sendai Sachiko (Jumonji Sisters)

2. Io Shirai & Mayu Iwatani (Thunder Rock)

3. Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto (Best Friends)

4. Syuri & Hikaru Shida

5. Kaho Kobayashi & Kagetsu

Honorable Mention: Leon & Ray (Mascara Voladoras)

1. STARDOM 9/23/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, Goddesses of Stardom Title Match: Io Shirai & Mayu Iwatani vs. DASH Chisako & Sendai Sachiko 20:26. ****½ 

2. Kana Pro 2/25/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, REINA World Tag Title Match: Arisa Nakajima & Kana vs. Syuri & Hikaru Shida 19:52. ****¼ 

3. STARDOM 12/23/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, World of Stardom Title Match: Meiko Satomura vs. Io Shirai 24:50. ****¼ 

4. SGPW 7/30/15 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE: DASH Chisako & Sendai Sachiko vs. Io Shirai & Mayu Iwatani 17:47. ****

5. JWP 12/27/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: JWP Tag & Daily Sports Tag Title Match: DASH Chisako & Sendai Sachiko vs. Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto 14:07. ****

6. Hiroyo Matsumoto Produce 6/28/15 Tokyo Shinkiba 1st RING: Arisa Nakajima vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto 23:14. ***¾

7. STARDOM 8/23/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, Red Stars Block: Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani 15:00. ***¾  

8. JWP 4/5/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, JWP & Daily Sports Tag Title Match: Leon & Ray vs. DASH Chisako & Sendai Sachiko 15:44. ***¾

9. JWP 10/25/15 Tokyo Shinjuku Face: Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Tsukasa Kuragaki & Kayoko Haruyama 15:49. ***¾ 

10. JWP 10/25/15 Tokyo Shinjuku Face: Command Bolshoi vs. Leon 15:18. ***¾ 

11. OZ Academy/WAVE 5/10/15 Nagoya Club Diamond Hall, Catch The WAVE 2015 Match: Hikaru Shida vs. Kana 15:00. ***½ 

12. Kana Pro 5/27/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, Mixed Tag Team Match: Arisa Nakajima & Yuko Miyamoto vs. Hikaru Shida & Koji Kanemoto 19:36. ***½ 

13. STARDOM 1/18/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, NEO High Speed Title Match: Io Shirai vs. Kaori Yoneyama 6:28 of 7:11. ***½ 

14. REINA 11/3/15 Tokyo Shinkiba 1st RING, REINA World Women's Title Tournament Final: Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Syuri 11:38. ***½  

15. STARDOM 6/14/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, Goddesses of Stardom Title Match: Io Shirai & Mayu Iwatani vs. Nikki Storm & Star Fire 16:14 of 23:03. ***½ 

16. JWP 4/5/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Command Bolshoi & Meiko Satomura vs. Kana & Konami 15:15. ***½ 

17. OZ Academy 8/23/15 Yokohama Bunka Gym, OZ Academy Openweight Title Decision Elimination Match: Arisa Nakajima & Hikaru Shida & Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Tsubasa Kuragaki & AKINO & Sonoko Kato 56:49. ***½ 

18. OZ Academy 10/25/15 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE: Hikaru Shida & Kaori Yoneyama & Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. AKINO & Kaho Kobayashi & Sonoko Kato 19:46. ***½ 

19. OZ Academy 2/8/15 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE: Kagetsu & Kaho Kobayashi vs. AKINO & Sonoko Kato 18:54. ***½ 

20. OZ Academy 3/1/15 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE: Hikaru Shida vs. Chikayo Nagashima 12:06. ***½

21. OZ Academy 5/17/15 Tokyo Shinkiba 1st RING, OZ Academy Tag Title Match: Kaho Kobayashi & Kagetsu vs. Chikayo Nagashima & Hikaru Shida 30:00. ***¼   

22. JWP 7/19/15 Osaka Yodogawa Kumin Center: Command Bolshoi & Leon vs. DASH Chisako & Sendai Sachiko 16:08. ***¼ 

23. WAVE 1/4/15 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE: Aja Kong vs. Shu Shibutani 6:19 of 11:38. ***¼ 

24. STARDOM 3/29/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, World of Stardom Champion Decision Tournament 1st Round: Io Shirai vs. Takumi Iroha 17:43. ***¼ 

25. STARDOM 3/29/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, World of Stardom Champion Decision Tournament Final: Kairi Hojo vs. Io Shirai 18:46. ***¼ 

26. JWP 7/11/15 Tokyo Shinjuku Face: Hikaru Shida vs. Arisa Nakajima 19:39. ***¼ 

27. SGPW 11/12/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, Senjo vs. STARDOM Showdown 6 vs. 6 Singles Knockout: Mayu Iwatani & Kairi Hojo & Io Shirai & Kris Wolf & Hiromi Mimura & Momo Watanabe vs. Cassandra Miyagi & DASH Chisako & Meiko Satomura & Sendai Sachiko & Mika Iwata & Chihiro Hashimoto 65:03. ***¼ 

28. STARDOM 5/17/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, World of Stardom Title Match: Kairi Hojo vs. Mayu Iwatani 19:02. ***¼ 

29. SEAdLINNNG 11/25/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, High Speed Match: Tsukasa Fujimoto & Kaori Yoneyama & SAKI vs. DASH Chisako & Sendai Sachiko & Sareee 12:18. ***¼ 

30. STARDOM 7/26/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, World of Stardom Title Match: Kairi Hojo vs. Meiko Satomura 22:27. ***¼ 

Honorable mentions:

STARDOM 6/14/15 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, World of Stardom Title Match: Kairi Hojo vs. Meiko Satomura 30:00. ***¼ 

Mio Shirai Produce 6/19/15 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE: Arisa Nakajima vs. Mio Shirai 30:00 + 2:00. ***¼

1. World Wonder Ring STARDOM. Almost a third of the recommended matches from 2015 that are available took place in this league, including the joshi MOTY, which was a tag match between Thunder Rock and the Jumonji Sisters, and an excellent match between Io Shirai and Meiko Satomura (which was arguably the second-best match of the year). Of course, it should be noted that half of the participants of those matches represented SGPW, but the fact still remains that those matches took place in a STARDOM ring. STARDOM having the best wrestler in women's wrestling (and arguably all of wrestling) at the time on their roster and giving her capable opponents on a somewhat regular basis certainly played a big role in STARDOM's high ranking.

2. JWP Joshi Puroresu. This was the league Arisa Nakajima was most active in, which helps JWP's ranking a lot. Several good matches took place in this league in 2015. The best JWP match of the year was the excellent 12/27/15 Jumonji Sisters vs. Best Friends match.

3. OZ Academy. OZ Academy had quite a good year in terms of having good matches somewhat regularly. Six OZ Academy matches made it to the list of top 25 joshi matches of the year. They are certainly worthy of the #3 spot.

4. Pro Wrestling WAVE. If WAVE would have had Misaki Ohata team up with, for example, Mika Iida instead of Mio Shirai, WAVE could have potentially been a top 3 league. But, arguably the main reasons why WAVE went seemingly downhill real fast was obviously the retirement of Shu Shibtuni and Kana demoting herself into the world of American sports-entertainment.

5. Kana Pro. This wasn't an actual league per se, but it was a series of shows produced by Kana. Nonetheless, these Kana Pro shows provided us with some high quality matches in 2015, including one excellent match. That's why they deserve to be in the top 5.

6. Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling. SGPW deserves credit for having some of the best women's wrestlers in the world at the time (most notably the Jumonji Sisters), and it was ironically their top 3 wrestlers (DASH Chisako, Sendai Sachiko and Meiko Satomura) who helped STARDOM become the #1 league of the year. However, the best of the SGPW matches from 2015 that are available, all include wrestlers from other leagues (STARDOM and JWP). That says more something about how a lot of the joshi leagues have been relying on each other for high-quality matches.

7. REINA

8. Ice Ribbon

9. Gato Move

10. SEAdLINNNG

1. Konami

2. Mika Iwata

3. Maya Yukihi

4. Hiroe Nagahama

5. Saori Ano

6. Michiko/Cassandra Miyagi

7. Momo Watanabe

8. Natsumi Maki

9. Tae Honma

10. Yuki Harima

11. Meiko Tanaka

12. Nao Kakuta

13. Maika Ozaki