Women's wrestling in large wrestling promotions has had a long and winding road to becoming recognized as an important part of the business. For many years, women's wrestling has not received the respect that it deserves, despite having incredible talent throughout several decades. While modern-day talents like Trish Stratus and Becky Lynch are incredibly popular with fans, the list of talented technical female wrestlers stretches across numerous decades and the entire world.
Technical wrestling is heralded among male wrestlers like Bret Hart and Kurt Angle but is rarely talked about with female wrestlers. Despite this, there have been and still currently are very talented females who rival the technical prowess of male counterparts, who deserve the recognition of wrestling fans.
10 Utami Hayashishita
When looking at Utami Hayashishita's body of work, it isn't easy to think she is only in her early twenties. Considering that she mat wrestles like someone with decades of experience, it makes things even more challenging to comprehend.
Hayashishita has held her own against some of Stardom's toughest opponents by outwrestling them with her black belt in Judo. While Utami Hayashishita is not as well known to mainstream audiences in North America, it is only a matter of time before she bursts onto the scene in a bigger way and then she will get the worldwide recognition that she deserves.
9 Alundra Blayze
While Madusa's career is mainly defined by her antics upon joining WCW, many fans forget about her technical prowess inside of the ring. After cutting her teeth in All-Japan Women's Pro Wrestling in the early nineties, she ended up in WWE as the spotlight of their women's division.
Known now as Alundra Blayze, she was able to showcase her technical expertise on top of the division, and ultimately carry the division for several years. Unfortunately, after defecting to WCW in 1995, she was not able to showcase herself in the same way which means most fans are not aware of just how talented she was in her prime.
8 Charlotte Flair
Despite wrestling fans being split on their feelings about Charlotte Flair, there is no denying her talent inside of the ring. While she may be overexposed in the eyes of many fans, Charlotte is able to continue to silence her critics with her in-ring performances.
With a natural athleticism despite her limited years in the ring, Charlotte quickly rose to the top of WWE's women's division in 2012. Today, she is one of the most decorated wrestlers in WWE history and does not seem to be slowing down any time soon, which means she deserves her recognition, whether fans want to hand it over or not.
7 Iyo Sky
Wrestling fans that only know Iyo Sky from her run in WWE are missing out on one of the most technically sound Joshi women in wrestling history. Despite only being in her early thirties, Sky has amassed a solid in-ring career across over fifteen years in the industry.
Following long stints in her home country of Japan and Mexico, Sky began making appearances for WWE in 2018 as a part of the Mae Young Classic tournament. She quickly became a force in NXT and ruled the division with her striking and swift high-flying offence, and is now getting the recognition she deserves as one of the current best wrestlers in the world.
6 Meiko Satomura
As one of the few current WWE roster members to have wrestled on WCW programming, Meiko Satomura has a long and tenured resume from across the world that has made her recognized as one of the best women to step inside the ring.
While current wrestling fans may only see Satomura's few matches under the WWE banner, there is no mistaking the long list of technical masterpieces that she put on beginning with her debut in 1995. Current fans may not have seen her in her prime, but her resume and wrestling abilities speak for themselves.
5 Akira Hokuto
As one of the few women who can claim to have held a championship in WCW, Akira Hokuto is one of the unsung heroes of nineties women's wrestling. While much of the gratitude for moving the perception of women's wrestling is given to women stateside, Hokuto is among the elite that deserves recognition.
Akira Hokuto was the inaugural WCW Women's Champion, but she had a long career before that in Japan and earned her stripes before that. According to ProFightDB.com, Hokuto is one of the few women to have been given a five-star rating from Dave Meltzer on five separate matches, proving just how great her in-ring work was before her final match in 2007.
4 Gail Kim
Gail Kim first received her big break in wrestling in 2002 when she signed with WWE and became WWE Women's Champion during her first televised match with the company. Unfortunately, her stints in the company were not creatively satisfying for her, which ultimately led to her angrily leaving the company for the final time in 2011.
Thankfully, the world was able to see what Gail Kim was able to offer inside of the ring during her multiple stints with Impact Wrestling, where her technical prowess was able to shine. As a multi-time Knockouts World Champion, Kim was able to showcase her in-ring abilities against some of the best in the world and finally prove why she deserved to be at the top of the industry.
3 Asuka
As the first female Japanese wrestler to sign with WWE since 1994, Asuka has not only made a name for herself in WWE as one of the best on the roster but has earned the moniker of one of the best in the world. While she has been dazzling WWE fans since 2015, there are over ten years of work before that which prove just how good she is.
The Empress of Tomorrow has shined in her home country of Japan as one of the best to step into the ring and has been able to showcase this to the rest of the world. As one of the most highly decorated women in WWE, Asuka is able to put on a good match with just about anyone because she is just that good.
2 Deonna Purrazzo
When Deonna Purrazzo was released from WWE in 2020, fans of her work in various promotions were flabbergasted that WWE Creative was not able to book their entire division around her. Thankfully, through her previous work in Ring of Honor and her dominance in Impact Wrestling, Purrazzo has shown them that they were dead wrong.
Deonna Purrazzo's in-ring style is reminiscent of wrestlers like Bret Hart and Kurt Angle; she is intense and methodical. The Virtuosa has proven very quickly that she is a force to be reckoned with and will be for a long time, and has all the skills to be recognized as one of the best in the world.
1 Mariko Yoshida
If submission-based wrestling was a mark of in-ring prowess, then Mariko Yoshida would be considered one of the best all-around wrestlers in history. With the ability to snap on submission maneuvers better than anyone else to step into the ring, Yoshida is one of the most unsung heroes in women's wrestling history.
Male wrestlers who are able to shoot-fight are considered some of the best in the world. Unfortunately, Yoshida's limited exposure in large North American companies means that few casual fans recognize her name despite the fact that she is among the absolute best to ever step inside the ring.
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