As debut years go, Utami Hayashishita may have had the best since Jun Akiyama. From her debut in August to the final of the 5*Star Grand Prix a mere 6 weeks later, it is obvious that Stardom have huge faith in her. But don’t forget, she earned her way to number one on this list. Her story almost overshadowed the joy of watching Mayu Iwatani who is also having a great in ring year.
The matching of the veteran and the rookie was a perfect idea, as any butterflies could be hidden by Mayu. Mayu goes to work on Utami’s arm early, hoping to weaken the Torture Rack. Utami is noticeably bigger than Mayu, and her strength comes into play frequently. First when she picks Mayu up from the turnbuckle and just hurls her to the floor, and later when she drags Mayu over the top rope into a sleeper. Mayu’s run up the ropes twist into a missIle dropkick was lush, but Utami repeatedly finds a way to slow her down. She takes a mean superkick to the face, but comes back with a huge lariat that looks like it broke Mayu’s neck.
Mayu lying like a rag doll over Utami’s shoulders is a great image, and that Torture Rack slam looks nice. The rookie going to the top works the first time, but she’s caught in a huge Frankensteiner and then Mayu kicks her in the face repeatedly. Utami tries desperately to break free from the Dragon suplex but can’t manage twice, and Mayu wins.
When you put together the story of Utami’s debut year, the in ring prowess of Iwatani and the fact that the two meshed so well together, there was really no other option for my Match of the Year. This was a masterclass, the only five star Joshi match I had this year on my list and it was a thing of sublime, timeless beauty. These two are megastars waiting to explode.
Joshi's Valley 