Miu Watanabe

[Grimmas]

Microstatistics said: 

Seems like one of the best Joshi workers of the decade. Her initial presentation is quite jarring but rather deceptive as it gives way to an intense wrestler who works focused matches. The power wrestling is her calling card I suppose but she is solid on the mat, psychologically sound, and sells consistently. Potentially the best wrestler of 2025 in terms of big matches as well.

vs. Shoko Nakajima (TJPW, 8/17/2025)

vs. Mizuki (TJPW, 9/20/2025)

vs. Yuki Aino (TJPW, 10/18/2025)

[MidasGloves]

Possibly the most recently-built case that has an outside chance on my list. If storytelling in wrestling is carried much by a wrestler's body language and facial expressions before, during, and after the actual moves of the match, Miu is a prodigy of wrestling storytelling. She comes out about as pink and cutesy as a wrestler could possibly be, but isn't afraid to work like a hoss and sell both the struggle and lack thereof in the heat of a match. There's selling the struggle of getting off a power move that was blocked or has bad leverage, or selling the anger behind a strike, but then there's moments like in a semi-recent tag to build to Yuki Arai's title match, Yuki has Miu on the mat and is trying to get into a submission and just cannot physically overpower Miu's legs despite having the position of control, and the look of bemusement and "wow, you really can't pull it off huh?" on Miu's face was perfection. And yet, in their title match once Arai got the better of Miu and locked the submission in Miu had a look of agony on her face. That wasn't even her best title match this year, as the Suzume match from early January was phenomenal. In a way it reminds me of John Cena in his prime, walking the tightrope of looking superhuman and still very human in big main event matches and TV-level tags alike. Perhaps it's much too soon to put her on a ballot of the 100 best wrestlers ever, but I think she is practically a lock for 2036 if she keeps this up (and gets to work more in other companies and/or outside of Japan).