Chihiro “Big Hash” Hashimoto had a big 2025. She started her sixth reign as the Sendai Girls World Champion in 2025 and closed the year with another great match with Sareee. In total, Hashimoto had four matches in Cagematch’s top 200 matches of 2025:
- #52: Aja Kong & Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Manami & Meiko Satomura (Sendai Girls, April 29, 2025)
- #108: Hashimoto vs. Meiko Satomura (Sendai Girls, March 19, 2025)
- #116: Team 200kg (Hashimoto & Yuu) vs. Meiko Satomura & Sareee (Fortune Dream, April 16, 2025)
- #135: Hashimoto & Mika Iwata vs. Natsupoi & Saori Anou (Natsupoi & Saori Anou Produce, May 31, 2025)
Seven of her matches placed in VOW’s best matches of 2025 list:
- #28: Hashimoto vs. Sareee (Sendai Girls, November 16, 2025)
- #46: Hashimoto vs. Satomura
- #55: Hashimoto vs. Mika Iwata (Sendai Girls, September 23, 2025)
- #70: Kong & Hashimoto vs. Manami & Satomura
- #113: DASH Chisako, Sayaka Toyota & VENY vs. Chihiro Hashimoto, Miku Kanae & Sareee (T-HEARTS, March 30, 2025)
- 195: Hashimoto vs. Yuu (Yuu Retirement Show, December 28, 2025)
- 299: Hashimoto vs. Seri Yamaoka (Marigold, October 26, 2025)
Based on her work, the FSM 50 voters recognized her as the 15th best wrestler in the world in 2025. FSM 50 panelist Scott Edwards wrote about Hashimoto, “Hashimoto has long been one of the best on the planet, and seeing her land 15th on this year’s list feels like getting the proper credit she’s deserved from the world.”
To start 2026, Hashimoto made her first trip to Europe since 2019 to wrestle in wXw’s 16 Carat Gold tournament. Though Thomas Shire eliminated her in the first round, Hashimoto still showcased her talent in non-tournament matches against Kanji and Dani Luna and a tag match with Katsuya Murashima against Alex Duke and Jane Nero. Back in Japan, Hashimoto had well-regarded matches against Miyuki Takase and Senka Akatsuki. We’ll check those out and Hashimoto’s tag match with Chi Chi against Hiroyo Matsumoto and ZONES. First, we’ll check out Mio Momono and Ai Houzan as well as a notable tag match from EVE.
Mio Momono vs. Ai Houzan
Marvelous
February 5, 2026
Cagematch ranking as of 3/1/26: 59
As of this writing, we approach the fifth anniversary of a COVID-19 quarantine classic, a match that showed the power of stillness as the world itself stood in place: Go Shiozaki vs. Kazuyuki Fujita from NOAH’s 20th Anniversary show. You may recall that voters actually voted it the 21st best match of 2020 in the VOW Match of the Year poll. It was labeled “avant-garde” because Fujita and Shiozaki pushed the envelope of how a wrestling match could be structured. How could two wrestlers spend the first thirty minutes of a fifty eight minute match just staring at each other like they’re Donnie Yen and Jet Li in Hero?
Last year, Senka Akatsuki broke out in her five minute match against Aja Kong at Marvelous’s WrestleMania Week show. Her never-say-die attitude in the face of Kong’s brutality burned the match into the memory of everyone who watched the match. It was an honorable mention in VOW’s Top 10 Matches of WrestleMania Weekend 2025, one of the finalists for my best match of the week, and the 35th highest rated match in VOW’s best matches of 2025. It joined the pantheon of great matches that lasted less than ten minutes, and it created with Shiozaki vs. Fujita a tableau of the powerful diversity of professional wrestling.
This year, Marvelous tried to generate a similar buzz for another of its young wrestlers, Ai Houzan, through another short match. Like Shiozaki vs. Fujita, it started with a staredown as Momono drilled through Houzan’s face with her stare. Momono then stated her intentions to Houzan with her German suplex and her decision to release the pin. Momono could have beaten Houzan at that moment, but she gave Houzan another chance to prove herself.
Though Houzan is just 22 years old, she seemed to be surpassed by Akatsuki and the 20-years-old Sora Ayame. Akatsuki broke out in that match against Kong and won the Sendai Girls Junior Championship in January. She also had a “plant your flag” feud against Marigold’s Seri Yamaoka in 2025. Like Houzan, Ayame hasn’t won any titles yet, but she just finished her first full year as a wrestler. Houzan, on the other hand, was in her fifth year.
In Momono’s estimation, Houzan needed to show fortitude and grit and shouldn’t give up to just a German suplex. So, Momono stood over Houzan until she attacked, absorbed Houzan’s attacks, beat Houzan down, and dared her to get up again. Houzan’s forearm strikes left Momono unfazed, so Houzan tried slaps to the face. When Momono showed no reaction to the slaps either, Houzan resorted to headbutts to Momono’s chest. None of it worked on Momono, who headbutted Houzan in the head and pinned her after two German suplexes.
It’s rare for a match that lasted only a bit more than five minutes to catch so much attention. So, in a way, Marvelous managed to capture lightning again with this match. Naturally, opinion about the match was divided. Advocates highlighted the effective violence and the raw storytelling. In refusing to show that the 22-years-old Ai Houzan could inflict any damage on the 27-years-old Mio Momono, the wrestlers made the case to break Houzan down completely. It felt like Momono and Houzan blurred the kayfabe line and that this was as much a call to Houzan the wrestler as it was to Houzan the character. The execution of the next step, the story of her reconstruction and resilience, would make or break this match.
The critics charged that the match felt tedious because it was just a series of slaps. They also claimed that it was unrealistic that Houzan could inflict so little damage on Momono and be put down so easily. They also asked why Houzan wouldn’t try something else when her strikes were clearly not working on Momono.
To me, the point of the match was to show that Houzan needed to tear everything down to build herself back up. Whether she attacked Momono with slaps, chops, headbutts, or kicks, it wouldn’t have mattered because Houzan supposedly lacked the martial spirit to back any of her offense. The point was to show that Momono had true grit and that Houzan had none, and you can make that story easier to tell by sticking to the most basic offense. I understood what Houzan and Momono’s aims for this match were, and I dug the execution.
One of my favorite years of professional wrestling was in 2007. It’s not just because we got Takeshi Morishima vs. Bryan Danielson at ROH Manhattan Mayhem II, nor because we got two Bryan Danielson vs. Necro Butcher matches, nor even because we got El Generico vs. Bryan Danielson at PWG Giant-Size Annual #4. That year was one of my favorites because we had Tim Donst’s series of ass-whoopings in Chikara, first at Eddie Kingston’s hands and then at Brodie Lee’s. (Ignore the audio from Chappelle Show over Kingston’s slap. I was there for Donst’s first match against Kingston at Chikara Showdown in CrisisLand, and that slap was loud.) Donst took those whoopings (and more) that year and kept coming back, which made him an incredibly intriguing striver to rally behind.
In its own way, Marvelous used this tried-and-true formula to try to rebuild and revive Houzan’s prospects. It used the same idea that worked in the Akatsuki vs. Kong match and extended the timeline. Where Akatsuki proved herself over five minutes with Kong, Houzan now would have months to prove herself. In her fifth year, Houzan’s window of opportunity was closing. Thus, Momono, in a way, had to beat some life into her. A week later, Houzan wrestled Sareee. After all, when you’ve been challenged to show a more fiery spirit, you may as well jump into the deep end against the best wrestler in the world. (It was interesting to me that Ayame then had a match with Sareee a week after Houzan’s. I’m sure they made for an interesting contrast.) We’ll have to keep an eye on whether Houzan can find her redemption this year.
You should be able to watch this match and show on Wrestle Universe starting April 17.
LALLIE (Lana Austin & Hollie Barlow) (c) vs. French Art (Cory Zero & JGU)
EVE 144: Multiverse Rumble 2026
February 6, 2026
Cagematch ranking as of 3/1/26: 87
Say what you want about Pro-Wrestling: EVE, how it markets itself as the feminist punk rock alternative to mainstream women’s wrestling, and how we should be suspicious of anyone who declares to the world that they’re punk. (I know I did last year.) EVE should receive some credit for their talent identification. They scouted Cory Zero and JGU, signed them to some of their first matches in England, and made their high profile match against the EVE Tag Team Champions easily accessible on YouTube.
One of the great joys of being a wrestling fan was to discover wrestlers who are new to you. I have facts that I’ve gathered, but this was the first time I’ve seen any of them in action. So, let’s start with what we know.
The 25-years-old Hollie Barlow started her career in 2018, but she announced her retirement in 2021. Like Honori Hana, Barlow left to care for her own health. Also like Honori Hana, Barlow returned in 2024 and re-established her career. As of this writing, she held three titles, two of them with Lana Austin: the Infinite Women’s Championship, the EVE Tag Team Championship, and the FSW Women’s Championship.
Austin, on the other hand, was a veteran of 12 years’ experience in the British wrestling scene. In EVE, she found most of her success in tag teams. However, she showed that she was also a capable singles wrestler in her reign as the PROGRESS Women’s Champion in 2022 and 2023.
In her third year in wrestling, the 23-years-old Cory Zero had less than 100 matches as of this writing. The WWN scouting team deserved kudos for identifying Zero as an import for two shows in April 2025, the only time Zero had wrestled outside of Europe so far. Despite her lack of experience, three promotions thought highly enough of her to crown her champion. She was the NLW Women’s Champion, the Fury Champion, and the GWF Mixed Tag Team Champion with Joshua Amaru.
JGU was the least experienced wrestler in this match. She made her debut in July 2024, and she had wrestled just 74 matches as of this writing. Yet, she held three titles (the Drag Attack Championship, APC Women’s Championship, and WPE Spotlight Championship).
In summary, all four wrestlers have been recognized by the lower tier companies where they’ve plied their craft. This match at EVE’s Multiverse Rumble 2026 might have been the highest profile match that Barlow, Zero, and JGU had wrestled. Thus, the pressure might have been on them all to deliver a great match on a show where the main event was a comedy battle royale.
During the heyday of Giant Bomb, a Web site about video games, four of the staff members played the Mario Party games together. During those streams, the one staff member who was enthusiastic about playing the Mario Party games also delighted in spreading the good word about dipping Oreos into Tostitos Salsa Con Queso. Through sheer effort, he was able to convince the others that it was a tasty combination, and it got site editor-in-chief Jeff Gerstmann to dip a Snickers bar into a jar of Salsa Con Queso as he declared, “I hate myself and want to die.”
All that is to say that, like the culinary marriage of Oreos and Tostitos Salsa Con Queso, this was a match that worked despite its parts. The strikes from all four wrestlers, even the veteran Austin, were weak. The wrestlers generally moved at about half speed. Three of the four wrestlers had the wrong balance of emoting versus wrestling. Dann Read and Jetta’s commentary was, to put it charitably, inane. Barlow’s and Austin’s double dropkicks through the ropes were laughable, and it didn’t look nearly as bad as it should have only because the camera operator failed to actually capture their move. Cory Zero looked like she might have landed on her face on a moonsault from the ring post to the floor because she didn’t rotate enough.
Like the Oreo or Snickers bar dipped in Salsa Con Queso, I recognize that this was objectively faulty. Yet, despite all of the undeniable flaws, they managed to make this work. I was reasonably entertained because it was an energetic cover of a southern style tag match. JGU and Zero played the heels, and they used some classic bits to cut off Barlow from the hot tag. For example, Zero dragged Austin off the apron as Barlow reached over for a hot tag. Later, Zero and JGU distracted the referee when Barlow tagged Austin in so he wouldn’t see the tag. Naturally, that angered Austin, who then distracted the referee while Zero and JGU choked Barlow.
When Austin finally tagged in, it was a reasonable hot tag. Austin and Barlow have an interesting big sister-little sister dynamic, and it was an emotional hook for the match. The wrestlers paid attention to who the legal wrester was and built segments in the match from that detail. Austin powerbombed JGU onto Zero, who had Barlow in a Muta Lock, to break the submission. It was better in theory than in execution, but it looked cool enough in action. Zero was a big believer in flipz = power throughout the match. And JGU had a good joke at the start when she pretended that she couldn’t see Barlow because she was short. Austin and Zero even built a little narrative thread through the match where Austin couldn’t knock Zero down at the start but was able to at a pivotal point in the match.
You can watch this match on EVE’s YouTube page. There have been and will be better tag team matches this year, but this might win you over just like an Oreo dipped in Salsa Con Queso.
Chi Chi & Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto & ZONES
Evolution Vol. 43
February 4, 2026
Cagematch ranking as of 3/1/26: 125
We last saw ZONES get involved on Hiroyo Matsumoto’s behalf in Matsumoto’s match against Saori Anou (and the rest of Ozaki-gun). Now in her fourth year as a wrestler, ZONES was another young powerhouse Japanese female wrestler. She made her debut in Evolution Joshi Pro-Wrestling in 2023 and faced a series of joshi luminaries in her first year rather than wrestling against other rookies. In her first five matches, she wrestled Rina Yamashita, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Ryo Mizunami, Chihiro Hashimoto. She also wrestled Aja Kong, Yuu, Chi Chi, and Chanyota in her first year. When Evolution Joshi Pro-Wrestling opened in 2023, they chose ZONES as a featured wrestler from the start, effectively tying her career to the company’s success.
Second year wrestler Chi Chi felt about as far from the vibe that Matsumoto, ZONES, and even Hashimoto projected as one could possibly get. Chi Chi knew to lean into it; (hopefully) nobody would use Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” as their entrance theme without knowing the baggage that it brought to the party. The first half of the match was built on the tests that ZONES and Matsumoto gave Chi Chi. ZONES could not break Chi Chi’s neck bridge, while Matsumoto could not force Chi Chi to yield to her very loud chops. Matsumoto took Chi Chi down when she reversed an attempted hair toss, which we saw in her match against Anou.
ZONES then brought Chi Chi to her corner and called out Hashimoto, which was a nice meat-headed touch. Hashimoto and ZONES rammed each other a bunch of times, and it was entertainig. Hashimoto stood out because her smooth grappling gave her an extra edge to her game. Her go-behind was as smooth as ever, and she used it as a great transition move to a reverse slam to set up a shoulder charge. Hashimoto’s wrestling technique helped her stand out from other power wrestlers like Chanyota and ZONES.
Then again, you don’t normally see Hashimoto’s tag team partners use her as a projectile like how Matsumoto used ZONES.
Back inside the ring, Hashimoto and Matsumoto had a fun lariat duel that built up dramatic tension. That culminated in this fun reversal sequence; I was surprised by who got the upper hand.
Another exchange of lariats effectively took Matsumoto and Hashimoto out of the match, which put the spotlight on Chi Chi and ZONES. Chi Chi’s big boot strikes slowed ZONES down, but ZONES countered with this spinning stretch muffler.
Unfortunately, ZONES’s diving lariat looked as bad as the spinning stretch muffler looked good.
The match broke down a bit here as Hashimoto and Matsumoto came and went without tags, culminating in Hashimoto’s flipping senton from the top turnbuckle onto Matsumoto. Chi Chi got extended sequences with both ZONES and Matsumoto and looked very good. Her running big boot could be smoother; she might want to time her leg extension to be a step sooner. Her Octopus hold on Matsumoto looked great; I appreciated the way her inside leg wrapped Matsumoto’s calf to create the impression that Matsumoto was trapped under Chi Chi.
However, Matsumoto and ZONES were just too much for Chi Chi to fight on her own. I think that Matsumoto had dumped Hashimoto in the crowd at some point. From there, ZONES played defense while Matsumoto took out Chi Chi with a powerbomb and a backdrop driver.
This contrasted well with the LALLIE vs. French Art match. Both matches were about the same length, and they both some roughness that detracted from the match. The wrestler quality was overall higher in this match. For all of ZONES’s uneven edges, she was a more credible wrestler than Barlow, Austin, Zero, and JGU. On the other hand, this match didn’t explore the playful possibilities of tag team wrestling. Instead, it felt like a sequence of singles encounters in between moments where one pair would double team the other, usually without a tag. So, LALLIE vs. French Art felt more like a coherent tag team match. I’d rank these two matches closer than the Cagematch Inmates have.
You can watch this match and the show on Pro-Wrestling Evolution’s Website.
Miyuki Takase vs. Chihiro Hashimoto
Sendai Girls Acceleration
February 8, 2026
Cagematch ranking as of 3/1/26: 121
Though Hashimoto was the clear queen of Sendai Girls after Meiko Satomura’s retirement, she wasn’t the only great wrestler on the roster. After Satomura retired, Miyuki Takase, a joshi veteran who’s wrestled since 2017, joined Hashimoto, DASH Chisako, and Mika Iwata to be the company’s foundation. American independent wrestling fans may recognize Takase from her reign as DEADLOCK Pro-Wrestling’s Women’s Champion between 2023 and 2025.
This was the third singles match between Takase and Hashimoto, and Hashimoto had won both preceding matches. I wonder if Hashimoto flashed back to her matches with a certain other red-clad, no-nonsense wrestler who had become Hashimoto’s rival over the past few years.
Hashimoto and Takase started with some fundamental wrasslin’ and fought over a knuckle lock. Hashimoto zhuzhed it up a bit with this neat takedown that served as a reminder about Hashimoto’s speed and agility.
And Hashimoto reminded everyone, particularly Takase, that dropping to the mat to try to trip your running opponent would leave you very open to attack
The match told a simple story. Hashimoto dominated Takase thoroughly from the start, and only Takase’s perseverance kept her in the match. She slowed Hashimoto down with her barrage of forearm attacks and some submission holds, but Hashimoto was undeniable. When Hashimoto hit, she hit hard.
Takase won a battle over a vertical suplex, but she ultimately lost the war. Despite unloading her best shots at Hashimoto, including a surprisingly beefy lariat and a leg drop from the middle rope, Takase could not overcome Hashimoto’s sudden German suplex and inevitable snap powerbomb. This was a professional, well-planned, and well-executed wrestling match. It’s an easy match to recommend because it was easy to watch. To keep the food analogy going, this match was a good shandy on a summer afternoon.
You can watch this match and the show on Wrestle Universe.
Senka Akatsuki vs. Chihiro Hashimoto
Sendai Girls
February 15, 2026
Cagematch ranking as of 3/1/26: 53
Huh. Sendai Girls spelled Senka Akatsuki’s name incorrectly in their poster.
Akatsuki broke out at WrestleMania Week 2025 with her match against Aja Kong. However, her 2025 was also defined by her feud with her fellow 19 years-old rookie and possible generational rival, Seri Yamaoka. As the tip of the Marigold vs. Sendai Girls feud, Yamaoka and Akatsuki were linked through various tag matches. Their personal feud was capped (for now) with a singles match at Marvelous’s 2025 finale.
Akatsuki also won her first title, the Sendai Girls Junior Championship, from YUNA in January. While she won a championship later than Yamaoka, it was a singles title, whereas Yamaoka’s first title was the Marigold Twin Star Championship with Nanae Takahashi. When she became a champion, Akatsuki challenged Hashimoto to their first singles match together. (Akatsuki’s first match was against [you guessed it] Sareee. Sometimes, it’s like poetry. It rhymes.)
While this didn’t go quite as far as Claudio Castagnoli and Bryan Danielson did in their infamous “headlock” match from PWG Enchantment Under the Sea, it did make me think that wrestlers can wring a lot out of the struggle for a headlock. The first few minutes were built around Akatsuki and Hashimoto struggling over a headlock. Hashimoto was billed at 5’9″ and 194 pounds, while Akatsuki was shorter by 4 inches and lighter by 44 pounds. Despite the size difference and experience gap, Akatsuki hung in tough with Hashimoto. The match turned away from her when she tried to match Hashimoto in power despite the size difference.
Akatsuki’s match with Kong was compelling because she showed incredible intensity. Despite how badly Kong was beating her, Akatsuki refused to give Kong an inch. Similarly, the way Hashimoto and Akatsuki fought each other over a power slam or a Boston Crab made what should be basic wrestling building blocks seem fraught with tension. This might have been one of the best grapplefuck matches I’ve seen since Daniel Makabe vs. Zack Sabre Jr. because it laid so much weight on the Akatsuki and Hashimoto’s struggle for physical and spiritual positioning.
At one point, Akatsuki had the upper hand after driving Hashimoto into the corner with a bushel of lariats. After taking Hashimoto to the mat, Akatsuki opted not to pin Hashimoto and instead pounded her with forearm shots from the top. Exhausted, Akatsuki tried to turn Hashimoto over for a Boston Crab, but Hashimoto blocked it by doing a hand stand. Hashimoto blocked Akatsuki’s attempt at a power slam by dropping her with a DDT into a guillotine choke. Akatsuki smashed her way out of the choke, but Hashimoto just tightened her legs around Akatsuki’s waist to try to crush her. Fighting the pain, Akatsuki stood and turned Hashimoto over for the Boston Crab that she had wanted in the first place.
That was rad.
Back on their feet, Akatsuki and Hashimoto continued to brawl. However, Akatsuki’s decision to stand and fight Hashimoto backfired because it just ticked Hashimoto off. Hashimoto responded to Akatsuki’s slaps to her face resulted with her wind-up lariat right to Akatsuki’s dome. The referee acted like Akatsuki was knocked out, but Hashimoto wasn’t having any of it and pinned her. That led to this kick-out, which summed up Akatsuki’s indomitable spirit really succinctly.
After surprising Hashimoto by reversing a vertical suplex attempt, Akatsuki tried to pin Hashimoto. In that extended pin attempt, we got another great segment of wrestlers vying with every calorie of strength to win by pinning their opponent. It was also rad.
Using her size and experience advantage, Hashimoto rolled Akatsuki over and picked her up in a very realistic short slam. That didn’t do the job, so Hashimoto blasted Akatsuki with a running lariat, stacked her on her shoulders and neck, and pinned her for the victory.
My goodness. Go watch this gripping, compelling, invigorating match.
You can watch this match and the show on Wrestle Universe.
Let’s update our list of wrestlers under the age of 30.
ineligible: Marcus Mathers (sports entertainer), Sareee (will be 30 by June 1)
not ranked: Mio Momono and Ai Houzan (need more information)
1. Miu Watanabe
2. Daiki Odashima
3. MIRAI
4. Saya Kamitani
5. Starlight Kid
6. JACKY KAMEI
7. Senka Akatsuki
8. Riiita
9. Dragon Dia
10. VENY
11. Miku Kanae
12. Hazuki
13. Konami
14. Saya Iida
15. Arisu Endo
16. Suzume
17. Kazuma Sumi
18. Mei Seira
19. Takeshi Masada
20. Rina
21. Chanyota
22. Jet Wei
23. Kodai Nazaki
24. Kaisei Takechi
25. Kohei Kinoshita
26. Yutani
27. Ricky Sosa
28. Kuro
29. Titus Alexander
30. Chi Chi
Next time: “Take a look around, we got the whole world locked down
Goin’ on and on, it don’t stop, won’t stop, can’t stop
You could ride or die
Got to give it up for the westside”
-TQ, “Westside”
If it’s March, then it must be tournament season. So, let’s head to Germany and see what came out of this year’s wXw 16 Carat Gold Tournament. We’ll also check out Stardom’s Cinderella tournament and Osaka Pro Wrestling’s tag team tournament.
