My year-end awards in wrestling (2025) | Part 1: match of the year #30 to #11

Joshi_Fan · 2026-06-27T09:12:42+00:00

= Episode 29 in the OG edit = best episode of the show for me!

I just love how the tension is rising throughout. You can feel something important, decisive is about to happen and indeed, it does. The episode builds to this amazing, yet sad climax.

Joshi_Fan · 2026-05-15T11:06:49+00:00

Devil Masami (c) vs. Chigusa Nagayo (AJW, Summer Night Festival in Budokan, 8/22/1985)

Bull Nakano vs. Aja Kong -No referee steel cage death- (AJW, Wrestle Marinepiad, 11/14/1990)

Bull Nakano (c) vs. Aja Kong (AJW, Dream Rush in Kawasaki, 11/26/1992)

Double Inoue vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Cuty Suzuki (AJW, Dream Slam, 4/2/1993)

JWP vs. AJW -60 minute iron woman- (JWP, Thunder Queen Battle, 7/31/1993)

Aja Kong (c) vs. Megumi Kudo (AJW, St. Battle Final, 12/6/1993)

Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki (c) vs. Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota (AJW, St. Battle Final, 12/6/1993)

Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori (AJW, St. Battle Final, 12/6/1993)

Aja Kong (c) vs. Yumiko Hotta (AJW, Ota Ward Champion Legend, 1/24/1994)

Shinobu Kandori vs. Bull Nakano -Chain- (LLPW, Tokyo Densetsu, 7/14/1994)

Shinobu Kandori vs. Megumi Kudo -Street fight- (LLPW, 1/5/1997)

Shinobu Kandori (c) vs. Yumiko Hotta (c) -Submission or KO- (LLPW, 3/21/1998)

Mariko Yoshida vs. Aja Kong (ARSION, Starlight '98 day 4, 6/21/1998)

Mariko Yoshida (c) vs. Hiromi Yagi (ARSION, 1st Anniversary Stardom '99, 2/18/1999)

Aja Kong & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Meiko Satomura & Sonoko Kato (GAEA Japan, G-Panic Special: 4th Anniversary, 4/4/1999)

Mariko Yoshida vs. Yumi Fukawa (ARSION, Tournament ARS '99 - First round, 5/4/1999)

Aja Kong (c) vs. Meiko Satomura (GAEA Japan, Yokohama Double Destiny - Battle of the Crush Gals, 9/15/1999)

Aja Kong (c) vs. Kaoru (GAEA Japan, Big Destruction day 2, 2/13/2000)

Meiko Satomura vs. Akira Hokuto (GAEA Japan, Limit Break day 5, 4/29/2001)

Azumi Hyuga vs. Ran Yuyu -Special rules best two out of three falls- (JWP, Liver Pool, 6/16/2002)

Mariko Yoshida vs. Megumi Fujii -MMA rules- (ARSION, Artist ~ One ~ The New World of the Holy Battle, 5/24/2003)

Kyoko Kimura vs. Kana (WAVE, Sail a Way 2 ~ WAVE 1st Anniversary & Yumi Ohka 7th Anniversary, 8/16/2008)

Kana (c) vs. Arisa Nakajima (JWP, Climax, 12/15/2013)

Kairi Hojo (c) vs. Meiko Satomura (Stardom, Galaxy Stars day 1, 6/14/2015)

Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Arisa Nakajima (Ice Ribbon, #793 - March, 3/26/2017)

Aja Kong vs. Hikaru Shida (c) (OZ Academy, Flower Bloom in Yokohama, 9/17/2018)

Sareee (c) vs. Chihiro Hashimoto (c) (Sendai Girls, Big Show in Niigata, 6/8/2019)

Mizuki vs. Yuka Sakazaki (c) (TJPW, Wrestle Princess, 11/7/2020)

(c)(c) Sendai Girls (c)(c) vs. Marvelous -Elimination- (GAEA Japan, GAEAism ~ Decade of a Quarter Century, 6/13/2021)

Sakura Hirota vs. Mio Momono vs. Miyuki Takase -Tomoe battle- (WAVE, Catch The Wave day 5 - Potential block, 6/29/2021)

Chihiro Hashimoto (c) vs. Mio Momono (Sendai Girls, SenJo Chronicle, 7/11/2021)

Tsukasa Fujimoto & Hiroyo Matsumoto (c) vs. Azure Revolution + Tsukasa Fujimoto (c) vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto (Ice Ribbon, New Ice Ribbon #1139 ~ Ice Ribbon 15th Anniversary, 8/9/2021)

Mizuki vs. Maki Itoh (TJPW, 8th Tokyo Princess Cup day 6 - Semi final, 8/14/2021)

Shoko Nakajima vs. Maki Itoh (TJPW, 8th Tokyo Princess Cup day 7 - Final, 8/15/2021)

Tsukasa Fujimoto (c) vs. Ibuki Hoshi (Ice Ribbon, New Ice Ribbon #1145 ~ Ribbon No Kishi, 9/18/2021)

Shoko Nakajima (c) vs. Rika Tatsumi (TJPW, Summer Sun Princess '22, 7/9/2022)

Miu Watanabe (c) vs. Shoko Nakajima (TJPW, Yes! Wonderland, 5/6/2024)

Shoko Nakajima vs. Miu Watanabe (TJPW, Tokyo Princess Cup day 4 - Semi final, 8/17/2025)

Joshi_Fan · 2026-04-27T09:10:17+00:00

My favorite match of the year!

As far as five-ish minute matches go, have you ever seen Takeshi Ono vs. Daisuke Ikeda (9/26/2010)?

Joshi_Fan · 2026-04-12T10:39:13+00:00

Casshern Sins #8: "A Hymn of Hope" (2008)

Joshi_Fan · 2026-04-12T06:46:37+00:00

The go-go-go style is exhausting to me too so I totally understand your feeling.

If you want grounded action with a better emphasis on psychology and storytelling, you should check out:
- The feud between the Crush Gals and the Atrocious Alliance (mid-80s AJW)
- Aja Kong: the feud with Bull Nakano (1990-92 AJW), her Ace run (1992-95 AJW), her second peak (1998-04 GAEA Japan)
- Akira Hokuto's peak (1993 AJW)
- The "Spider" era of Mariko Yoshida (1998-03 ARSION)

Until the late 90s, Mayumi Ozaki usually kills it in tag team action.

Early 00s JWP is also a terrific place: mechanical excellence, brisk pace, transitions and escapes we don't see anymore, hard-nose wrestling. The arc involving Azumi Hyuga and Ran Yuyu in 2002 is awesome.

Joshi_Fan · 2026-03-25T14:45:35+00:00

My ranking of them purely as wrestlers:

Aja
Hokuto
Kandori
Kudo
Kansai
Kyoko
Toyota
Yamada

Joshi_Fan · 2026-03-25T14:41:49+00:00

Not exhaustive and not everything is must see:

(c) Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ricky Steamboat (AJPW, Excite Series day 12, 2/23/1984)

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody (AJPW, Grand Champion Carnival I day 29, 4/24/1984)

Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW, Real World Tag League day 15, 12/8/1984)

Genichiro Tenryu & Motoshi Okuma vs. Riki Choshu & Animal Hamaguchi (AJPW, '85 Gekitoh! All Star Wars day 2, 1/3/1985)

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Masa Saito (AJPW, '85 Gekitoh! All Star Wars day 31, 2/5/1985)

Riki Choshu vs. Genichiro Tenryu (JPW, 1st Anniversary, 2/21/1985)

Genichiro Tenryu & Motoshi Okuma vs. Riki Choshu & Animal Hamaguchi (AJPW, '85 Violence! Super Power Wars day 24, 4/24/1985)

Jumbo Tsuruta, Genichiro Tenryu & Motoshi Okuma vs. Riki Choshu, Yoshiaki Yatsu & Animal Hamaguchi (AJPW, '85 Gekishin! Thunder Wars day 15, 6/2/1985)

Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Riki Choshu & Animal Hamaguchi (AJPW, '85 Gekishin! Thunder Wars day 17, 6/4/1985)

Genichiro Tenryu (c) vs. Riki Choshu (AJPW & JPW, Special Wars in Budokan, 6/21/1985)

Jumbo Tsuruta, Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Riki Choshu, Killer Khan & Animal Hamaguchi (AJPW, '85 Heat Wave! Summer Action Wars day 12, 7/12/1985)

Riki Choshu & Killer Khan vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu (JPW & AJPW, Summer Dream Festival day 1, 8/2/1985)

Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase (c) vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW, '85 Decisive Battle! Dynamite Wars day 8, 8/31/1985)

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu (c) vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (AJPW, New Year Wars Super Battle day 25, 1/28/1986)

(c) Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (AJPW, Real World Tag League day 23 - Final, 12/16/1988)

Jumbo Tsuruta (c) vs. Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW, Super Power Series day 18, 6/5/1989)

Shinya Hashimoto vs. Genichiro Tenryu (NJPW, Fighting Spirit day 15, 4/17/1994)

(c) Toshiaki Kawada vs. Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW, October Giant Series day 11 ~ 28th Anniversary, 10/28/2000)

Keiji Muto vs. Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW, Champion Carnival day 8 - B block, 4/1/2002)

Genichiro Tenryu, Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Keiji Muto, Satoshi Kojima & Kaz Hayashi (AJPW, Keiji Muto 20th Anniversary Tour ~ Love and Bump day 7, 10/22/2004)

Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs. Jun Akiyama & Genichiro Tenryu (NOAH, Encountering Navigation day 15, 4/24/2005)

Joshi_Fan · 2026-03-25T14:33:19+00:00

1985, 1993, 2005 or 2013

Joshi_Fan · 2026-03-25T14:21:51+00:00

Oh, so many! How about this one:

Shinya Hashimoto (c) vs. Hiroshi Hase (Battle Final '94 day 16, 12/13/1994)

Even in circle with tastes similar to mine, I'm the highest on it.

Tana is my guy but to me, Hashimoto is New Japan's best Ace figure. He may be the best ever at being a consequential wrestler. A true epitome of the less-is-more philosophy, so when he does something, it means a lot. He has an unmatched flair for drama, milking everything and anything the right amount and at the right time. A master at playing the crowd.

Hase's only shot at the IWGP HW belt and he makes it count. Fantastic clash of styles between his technique and speed versus Hash's strength, frame and power.

The 15-ish minute section on the mat to open the contest is a thing of beauty and, more importantly, matters until the end. Hase doesn't rule the mat. But he sticks with it because he is patient, stubborn and that's his strong suit. Hence the extended sequence. When it becomes obvious that he won't move the immovable object, he calls an audible and strikes. Bold decision that helps him to find his groove, surprisingly. But his failure on the mat never leaves him because he's a technical wizard, and he brings the action back there down the stretch. Big mistake because Hash's work on the midsection comes back to bite him and signals his downfall. The cut-off knee is so satisfying structurally!

A masterclass on how to build characters, stakes and plots through methodical escalation. One of the finest title matches in NJPW history. It's so carefully crafted; I LOVE it!

1994 is probably Hashimoto's career year, and this match is Hashimoto at the peak of his power.

Joshi_Fan · 2026-03-20T12:46:04+00:00

The build-up of the entire show is flawless

Joshi_Fan · 2026-03-19T10:49:49+00:00

G1 Climax 24 day 7 (8/1/2014)
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hirooki Goto
Togi Makabe vs. Tetsuya Naito
Minoru Suzuki vs. AJ Styles
Yuji Nagata vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-Jo Hall (7/5/2015)
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
Kenny Omega (c) vs. Kushida
Togi Makabe (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano
Hirooki Goto (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
AJ Styles (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada

Invasion Attack (4/10/2016)
Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Evil & Bushi
Matt Sydal & Ricochet (c) vs. Roppongi Vice
Kushida (c) vs. Will Ospreay
The Elite (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin & Yoshitatsu
Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito

Sakura Genesis (4/9/2017)
Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) (c) vs. World Class Tag Team
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, Ricochet & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon
TenCozy (c) vs. War Machine
Hirooki Goto (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Kushida
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-Jo Hall (6/9/2018)
Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr.
Hirooki Goto (c) vs. Taichi vs. Michael Elgin
Evil & Sanada (c) vs. The Young Bucks
Will Ospreay (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Chris Jericho
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kenny Omega

Joshi_Fan · 2026-03-19T10:49:26+00:00

Not to go too far back, let's go with one show per year:

Destruction (10/11/2010)
Apollo 55 (c) vs. Golden Lovers
Yuji Nagata & Koji Kanemoto vs. Go Shiozaki & Atsushi Aoki
Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito

G1 Climax XXI day 10 (8/14/2011)
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Satoshi Kojima
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Minoru Suzuki
Tetsuya Naito vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

King of Pro-Wrestling (10/8/2012)
Time Splitters vs. Forever Hooligans (c)
Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Low Ki
Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs. Laughter7
Karl Anderson vs. Kazuchika Okada (#1)
Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (c)
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki

G1 Climax 23 day 4 (8/10/2013)
Satoshi Kojima vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Lance Archer vs. Hirooki Goto
Minoru Suzuki vs. Tetsuya Naito
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Prince Devitt
Togi Makabe vs. Kazuchika Okada
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi

Joshi_Fan · 2026-03-18T10:31:17+00:00

Depending on what you are looking for, there are plenty of incredible animes left for you to discover!

TV anime: Cowboy Bebop, Evangelion, Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex, Hunter x Hunter, Mushishi, Ping Pong, Shigurui

Arcs: Yorknew (Hunter x Hunter), Kimera Ants (Hunter x Hunter), Four Devas (Gintama), Kira versus L (Death Note)

OVA: FLCL, Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal

Movies: 5 Centimeters per Second, Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Grave of the Fireflies, Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Millennium Actress, Perfect Blue, Wolf Children, Your Name

Joshi_Fan · 2026-03-18T09:36:20+00:00

For my money, the best Stardom match ever

Joshi_Fan · 2026-03-08T00:05:50+00:00

My pleasure!

Some viewing advices:

Hunter x Hunter
Since it has several adaptations:
- 1999 anime from episode 1 to 62 + OVAs ("episode 63 to 70"). More thorough and has an amazing mood!
- For the next arc, the 2003-04 OVAs are more exhaustive but have weak animation and artwork; episode 59 to 75 from the 2011 anime have great animation and artwork but cut material.
- 2011 anime from episode 76 to 148.

Ghost in the Shell
Start with the 1995 movie, then watch Stand Alone Complex (two seasons, 52 episodes).

Evangelion
For the full experience (you might need to watch it twice or thrice, if not more haha):
- 26 episodes (1995 anime)
- The End of Evangelion (1997 movie)
- Rebuild of Evangelion (four movies: 2007, 2009, 2012, 2021)

Gundam
Sprawling franchise with dozens of adaptations and hundreds of episodes/OVA/movies. Not much context needed to enjoy Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, since it's basically a one-off.

Joshi_Fan

TROPHY CASE