My Top 5 Female Wrestlers

Hi guys,

I feel like I say this every few months or so, but sorry for being slow on the content but I'm here now!

So many wrestling news sites focus on men's wrestling. As a female wrestling fan and journalist, I am ashamed to say that I am one of those people. Because of my passion for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, I look at my blog and see a lack of female presence and articles - this is something I want to change! 

As a woman in the industry (both as a journalist and a trainee), I want to make Wrestling Chatter a place that celebrates women in wrestling a lot more because how can I expect equality in the industry if I'm part of the problem. From now on, I am going to try my best to make sure that there is a lot more content on women in wrestling. Hopefully, it can make a small difference and help make people more aware of the amazing female talent there is across the world!

So, without further ado, I thought I'd start by telling you who my top 5 female wrestlers are!

Miyu Yamashita - Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling

Miyu Yamashita is another name that I learnt very quickly after watching DDT Wrestling. However, unlike Akai, Yamashita's home is at Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling with the occasional appearance at a DDT show. For me, I love Miyu because she is everything I want to be. Even though she is small like me, that's where the similarities end. Unlike me, she is sassy, strong and full of talent.

Like her nickname 'Pink Striker' says, she is a force in pink ring gear and is the perfect way to describe Miyu's style. Her kicks and strikes are hard and blistering to whoever she is wrestling. If height is ever an issue, one blow from Miyu is enough to get her opponents on their knees and really have them feel the full force of what Miyu can do. 

For someone so young, she is getting better and better. Even though it's hardly been a year since I started watching her, she's improved leaps and bounds. She's had some amazing matches wherever she goes and it almost feels like, even with her young age, she is one of the top stars and massively respected by the entire roster. More recently, her match against Chris Brookes (Chris Brookes Produce Show) really showed that, despite her small size and stature, she is a tough opponent and really holds her own in the ring. 

Saki Akai - DDT

When I first started watching DDT, Saki Akai was one of the first people I ever saw. To me, she was tall, elegant and beautiful. However, more importantly than all of that, she was a major bad-ass in the ring. With her main home being on the DDT main show, she blends perfectly into a mainly male-dominated roster and manages to hold her own. In particular, since she created Eruption with  Kazusada Higuchi and Yukio Sakaguchi, we are starting to see even more of Akai as part of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship. Although from the outside, it looks like an odd team, it really isn't. For me, they are one of my favourite factions.

Throughout her time in DDT, she has put on some amazing matches whether it's in singles or tag situation. With her calm composure, long limbs and breathtaking strikes, she is someone that wrestlers stupidly take lightly - jokes on them, they end up getting a massive beating! In particular, if you haven't had the chance, go and watch her Best of 7 Series on DDT Universe. She went up against 7 amazing female wrestlers and put on some absolutely stand out matches, including the first-ever DDT all-female main event against the legend that is Meiko Satomura.

For me, I want to be Saki Akai because she is an amazing asset not only to DDT but professional wrestling!

Candice LeRae

There are so many reasons why Candice LeRae is one of my favourite female wrestler and one who's inspired me. Maybe the biggest reason is size because everyone knows that Candice isn't the tallest person (being 5ft 1 like me), but she doesn't let it stop her and is one of the most bad-ass wrestlers in the industry. I know being so small means that you're always going to be the smallest person in a room, or in Candice's case in the ring. But she uses it to her advantage and doesn't let anyone intimidate her. 

I also think that Candice has done amazing things for independent wrestling and her intergender match work has been so inspirational and groundbreaking. She showed that being a woman shouldn't stop you from being able to have amazing matches with guys and that female and male wrestlers should be treated equally. 

Even now in WWE, with her new persona, she is continuing to make the statement that she shouldn't be messed with. She combines this high-flying in the ring with an amazing ability to tell a story during her matches giving them both style and substance.

 Candice has broken down boundaries and has done what she loves no matter her size or gender!

Naomi - WWE

I have made no secret on my various sites and content that I started watching WWE through Total Divas. Because of this, Naomi was one of the first women wrestlers I ever saw and was one of the reasons that I thought about watching wrestling to start with. She was so diverse, so charismatic and everything I wanted to be.

With a background in dance, you could see straight away that Naomi was a different calibre of athlete. Whether it's in singles or tag matches, the Queen of Glow shines in every way. She combines athleticism, speed and a bit of fun in her move set which seems to adapt perfectly to any opponent. However, her speciality has to be Royal Rumbles. Since the dawn of the official Women's Royal Rumble, Naomi has made her mark in every single match with her. Whether it's making a huge comeback or doing something spectacular, she has taken the crown as Queen of the Royal Rumble.

For me, she is inspiring in so many ways. Not only is she a WOC, but she is sassy, strong and extremely talented entering wrestling at a time where women weren't appreciated. But she embraced everything and fought tooth and nail to eventually get to the top. 

Kanji - British independent Scene

I don't know how many times and how much I can rave about British wrestler Kanji, but I'm going to do it again because why not? I remember the first time I ever watched Kanji wrestle and there was just something about her that drew me into her match whether it was her actual wrestling ability or the way she told a story in the ring. 

In terms of her ring ability, it is a perfect hybrid blend of high-flying and the British style fans across the world know about combining technical and submission styles. Whenever she gets in the ring, you can see that Kanji puts in 100%. She is there to put on an amazing show for all of the fans watching making sure that they're involved in any way possible. Also, I think there's an added thing for me because she is a proud Hindu. Personally, I never thought that someone from my faith could ever pursue wrestling as some sort of career. However, seeing Kanju changed all of that and I saw someone going into the ring who was not only really badass but also really proud of the heritage she came from. 

Kanji is only in the early years of her career and, considering how good she already is, it will be amazing to watch her in the future and just see how good she can really become!

If you liked this article, make sure you let me know because it makes me smile... Also, make sure to keep an eye out for all my new content by following me on on my social media: (@Wrestling_Chat on Twitter and Wrestling Chatter on FB and WrestlingChatter96 on IG)! As always, I'm going to plug my YouTube Channel so you should all subscribe to SonalsLife96!

Until next time,

Bye