Fave Five - Women's edition

[Bo Rida]

It's international women's Day so let's list our fave 5 female wrestlers.

For those that don't know it's basically a list of who you've enjoyed watching lately rather than a best in the world type list although of course they can be the same thing.

1. Miu Watanabe - This is more for her breakout 2022. Hope it continues this year.

2. Asuka/ Veny - Stole the show at GCW this weekend, always a treat to see her wherever she shows up.

3. Maki Itoh - Underwhelming 2022 but her recent tag run in tjpw and mdk stuff in gcw shows how surprisingly versitile she's become.

4. Hayter - Has been a brilliant champion

5. Pom Harajuku - Might not do the kind of matches Meltzer would give 5 stars too but always entertaining

[Ishmeal Loves Kaseyhausen]

Bayley - been a mark since NXT and will not stop.

Kasey Kirk - went looking for something to watch on IWTV and ICW:NHB was live. The night she won the American Deathmatch Championship. Going back and watching her rise in NHB and the subsequent storyline she became an instant favorite.

Allie Katch - so much charisma and she’s been better than ever in the ring as of late.

Masha Slamovich - she had an absolutely fire 2022 and has been everywhere, wrestling everyone. Impact is fumbling the ball with her IMO but we’ll see. Her being the #1 contender to Mickie James and Nick Gage is amazing.

Killer Kelly - super underrated. To me Kelly vs Masha is the money feud and I’m thrilled to be seeing the match at Prestige in a few weeks.


Honorable mention to Kris Statlander. Her absence is really felt in AEW.

[FinalGwen]

1. Harley Hudson - Fantastic aesthetic and presence and had one of the best matches I've ever seen live in the 'Dream House Death Match' against Mariah May.

2. Jamie Hayter - She makes so many moves look more impactful than a lot of her contemporaries, has had a ton of bangers in the last year.

3. Nyla Rose - Always great, had the best TBS title match and briefly made the title seem interesting with the storyline leading in, and her Twitter is a joy.

4. Asuka - One of the coolest people in wrestling, feels like a genuine eccentric in the best way, in a world where lots of people seem to be trying to act 'crazy'.

5. Rhea Ripley - Has had some of the best comedic stuff in wrestling over the last year while also looking like a beast and... Aesthetic goals.

[carp (SPC, Itoh Respect Army)]

No particular order:

1. Maki Itoh. Focusing more on her in-ring work is paying off, and her excursions show off her creativity with characterization and spots.

2. Athena. GodDAMN I love this heel character.

3. Masha Slamovich. Just an excellent wrestler.

4. Emi Sakura. BARELY beating out her tiny phenom protegee to make this list. Emi's just great at the single most important skill a wrestler needs: communicating clearly to the audience why a spot matters and what it's for, without breaking the illusion of realism.

5. Jordan Blade. A curiously well-kept secret. Great wrestling, great look, on the rise.

[Deleted]

In no set order.

Io Shirai/SKY - The ace and still to me the best womens wrestler in the world and while it may suck to watch her be so gawd damn handicapped by her current employers , we get glimpses of what fans of her know she is holding back , her speed and crispness is unmatched by any other woman in WWE.

SLK - MY EMBLEM! one half of the eternal rivals with the other being AZM and future red belt holder (YOU MAKE IT SO ROSSY U f***ING HEAR ME!). SLK is pretty much Io Shirai in a new meat suit , she has the crispness and speed and her entire movement is almost 1 to 1 match which is funny considering SLK is known for being under the learning tree of Mayu Iwantani while AZM was learning under Io in queens quest but yet it is the black tiger who wrestles like Io , I posted just a small clip of AZM and SLK wrestling and their speed matched with the precision make peoples heads spin....and she is holder of IMO the best womens theme and a top 5 theme in all of wrestling right now and of any female wrestler has the best presentation.

Tam Nakano - The cutest 5 tool player in the cosmos! the woman that can do it all...draw you in wither cutness , her storytelling whether during a match or outside of it , always pushing herself beyond her limits everytime she wrestles you can always see she is getting better...did I mention cutest in the universe? because she is.

Thekla - she hot yo...I mean that and her presentation as a whole is just top tier.

Mayu Iwatani - As I like to call her the untouchable one...she is a couple stars short of a galaxy in the cutest way but in the ring she stands alone , she is unique in everything she does and it is masterful each and every single time , put her in any match and at minimum it comes out being a 4star match (In meltzer speak). Oh and she has no neck which makes watching her both the most amazing and terrifying experience as a wrestling fan.

[Zone Was Wrong]

Mercedes Mone' - I've loved her since NXT and haven't stopped since. Hell, her battle with Bayley in Brooklyn is one of my favorite matches of all time. Really admire her confidence in herself to leave and still bring her A game on a world wide level.

Rhea Ripley - despite the fact I don't watch WWE anymore, I still go out of my way to catch her stuff. It's been amazing to watch her evolve and grow throughout the years.

Toni Storm - Always saw the potential but once she hit AEW, it seemed a switch got flipped and she's put on the best performances the company. Her current heel persona is eh, but I still love her.

Jaimie Hayter - The champ! She's been working her ass off to get better and better and it's so apparent.

Shida - She held down the women's division during the pandemic and she kills it every single time she goes out there.

[cassonova]

Mickie Knuckles-Regardless what you think of deathmatches, Mickie was one of the first women to bring notoriety to intergender and women's strong style. Plus I've had the opportunity to interview her.

LuFisto-pretty much the same could be said for LuFisto.

Asuka-Arguably the best in the world. Asuka balances fun eccentricities and killer instinct.

Allie Katch-Brings so much personality to the table, while low key having bangers.

Masha Slamovich-Has arguably had the hottest year of any American female.

[DSR]

Becky Lynch - My favorite wrestler going on five years now. She's incredible.

Roxanne Perez - Already incredible in the ring at such a young age, and you can't hear her say a full sentence about wrestling without wanting to root for her.

Edith Surreal - Great technical wrestler, but can brawl when she needs to. I rooted her on as she won the Enjoy Wrestling Championship this past weekend!

Rhea Ripley - Cool character, great look, can absolutely go in the ring. She rules.

Dakota Kai - She's been injured lately, but since she's been on the main WWE roster she's impressed me.

[Bo Rida]

While there's of course some crossover I like how different most of these lists are.

[Totorob101]

Asuka - The best of the best and WWE is lucky to have her.I
Sarray - She is so good and so likeable,I hope we get to see her again soon.
Willow Nightingale - always makes me smile and is the best female baby face going.
Max the Impaled - incredible look,a real beast.
Lindsay snow - she's a real badass and a super baby face to. Great look.

[ace]

Maki Itoh
Masha Slamovich
Jordynne Grace
Riho
Roxanne Perez

[champchumpchange]

Asuka
Mercedes / Sasha
Jamie Hayter
Willow Nightingale
Iyo Sky

[Can you afford to pay me, Gah]

I meant to do this yesterday but got side tracked. My list is an all time list and not so much currently.

1. Lita: For personal reasons and what she did for Womens wrestling in the WWE. When she came into the door there was nobody that did what she was doing. She gave me one of those "Hey look over here" moments for me. Since most what we saw at the time was eye candy only and the ones that knew how to wrestle was still ground and pound. Here this red head doing moonsults and Hurricanas.

2. Madusa: She was ahead of her time. Womens wrestling in the US wasn't that noticeable in the 90s. WWE in the mid 90s tried but didn't last mostly because she jumped ship. Her stuff will Bull Nakano was great stuff.

3. Mickie James: Always was a fan when I first saw her as Alexis Laree.

4.Asuka: I second on who said WWE is lucky to have her. To me still the best today, I hope she gets her WM moment win. I was excited when she was coming to the states when WWE signed her because I was going to get see her work more.

5. Victora: Always loved her work.

I have so many more. But you wanted 5.

[Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby]

1. Arisu Endo - that jobber I latched onto because I liked her look and her fire is getting a push and I am here for it

2. Heidi Howitzer - putting this ridiculous goofball in Japan and booking her as half of an unstoppable monster team was pure, unfiltered brilliance

3. Jamie Hayter - not a lot to say, she's great and most people know that at this point

4. Syuri - wrestled the best match I watched in 2022, and....I need to see more of her and haven't gotten on that

5. Hyan - I'm just ecstatic that she seems to have gotten an ROH spot because she's been one of the best on the indies for a while

[Mozenrath]

Heidi Howitzer
Jamie Hayter
Emi Sakura
Asuka
Rhea Ripley

It was tough narrowing it down. I feel like picking 20 would be easy right now.

[koreycaskets]

1. Paige / Saraya - Actually one of my fav wrestlers of all time. Not a huge AEW fan but happy for her she's wrestling again. When i re watch her main roster debut and win I almost get tears every time legit.

2. Shotzi Blackheart - AMAZING look, maby needs a couple more years to become a little better in the ring but if I know she's wrestling , def has my interest. Love the tank!

3. Gigi Dolin - Reminds me of Paige alot, not just in look but in general. Been a fan since she used her real name Priscilla Kelly in the Indies. I do believe she will be main roster Woman's champ within 3 years.

4. Liv Morgan - Of the top females in WWE in all honesty I think she's the best. I prefer her work over Charlotte, Becky etc.

5.Dakota Kai - Has Damage CTR not been all to great? Yep could def be better but Dakota has performed her butt off since coming back to WWE.

[J is Justice]

1. Liv Morgan: Will always be my number one. Charismatic, great look and a lot better in the ring than people give her credit for. I just love how she always gives her all.

2. Mercedes Mone: She has "It". Great look, amazing in the ring and charismatic.

3. Bayley: She's hilarious. Great talker and great at working the crowd.

4. Skye Blue: She reminds me of Liv and I just love underdogs.

5. Jamie: She's a great wrestler, can talk, has a great look but mostly it's because she's English.

Honourable mentions: Emi, Bianca, Aliyah, Tiffany, Alexa, Nikki.