Utami Hayashishita

[10.0] "Utami is an awesome wrestler; one of the best in the world right now. Had some amazing matches in 2025 alone. Has some amazing moves - the BT Bomb, Air Raid Crash, Argentine Backbreaker, German Suplex, some good forearms and submissions too. Really good at selling."

[7.0] "In 2021 Utami looked like a future all-time great, considering how early into her career she was. However, since losing the Stardom belt she has regressed significantly, to the point where not even Io and Sareee can get a great match out of her (I will not be gaslit into thinking those matches were great). Right now, she's more of a 6, but I can't rate her that low due to her past body of work. Although I sometimes wonder if my opinion about her ability in 2021 wasn't the result of Syuri being one of the best ever and them having great chemistry together, rather than how good Utami actually was at the time."

[9.0] "Would've been a 10 just based on her work in stardom, but in marigold, outside of the IYO match, I've been kinda disappointed. Utami is still a phenomenal worker though and can't be given less than a 9"

[9.0] "When you think about the evolution of women's wrestling in Japan during the early 2020s, Utami Hayashishita's name is one of the first that should come to mind. She is not just a "future star"--she was (and arguably still is) the defining face of Stardom's golden age of global explosion. From 2021 through 2023, Utami operated on a level so transcendent that there were periods where it genuinely felt like we were witnessing the next greatest of all time being shaped before our very eyes. Make no mistake about it: at her peak, Utami was an unstoppable force, a cornerstone around which you could build an entire promotion--and for a time, Stardom absolutely did. The Peak Years (2021-2023): Utami's 2021 is the stuff of legend. Fresh off capturing the World of Stardom Championship (the Red Belt) in 2020 by defeating Mayu Iwatani, Utami embarked on one of the greatest title reigns not just in women's wrestling, but in wrestling period. Defenses against the likes of Syuri, Maika, Saya Kamitani, and TAM Nakano showcased her adaptability: she could brawl, she could out-wrestle, she could play the dominant powerhouse, and she could survive being the underdog. Her match with Syuri at Tokyo Dream Cinderella 2021--in what many consider a 5.5-star epic--was arguably the best women's wrestling match of the decade and, for many, the single greatest women's match ever. The sheer emotion, violence, and grit of that encounter crystallized everything Utami was about: strength, heart, technical intelligence, and an innate ability to draw the crowd into her battles. Between 2021 and 2023, she built a resume that most wrestlers would kill for in an entire career. Every major show, every big match, every spotlight moment--Utami delivered. In-Ring Style and Physicality: Utami Hayashishita's in-ring style is that of a perfect powerhouse hybrid. She combines brute strength--like her devastating Torture Rack Bomb--with an unexpected grace and explosiveness that sets her apart from traditional "big" wrestlers. Watching her matches, you quickly notice how crisp her suplexes are, how fluid her movement can be for someone with her strength, and how well she sells damage, making opponents look credible even as she asserts her dominance. Her big-match aura is undeniable. When Utami steps into the ring on a major show, everything feels bigger, more important. She has that rare superstar quality--an invisible magnetism that makes you focus solely on her without even realizing it. Character Work and Presence: While not the most charismatic talker compared to other top names, Utami's presence is second to none. She embodies the term ace--someone who carries the spirit of the promotion on her shoulders without needing to say much. Her stoic confidence, her warrior's pride, and her occasional flashes of vulnerability make her relatable and aspirational at the same time. In particular, her time leading the Queen's Quest faction helped cement her as more than just an in-ring killer--it made her a true leader. She was someone younger wrestlers could rally behind and fans could believe in. Match Quality and Consistency: From 2021 through 2023, Utami almost never had a bad match. Her floor was incredibly high, and her ceiling was as good as anyone on the planet. She excelled in long, dramatic epics that built and built to incredible crescendos--matches like her defenses against Syuri, Maika, and Saya Kamitani weren't just good--they were soul-defining. Even multi-woman tags, which are often chaotic and forgettable, carried extra weight whenever Utami was involved. She understood pacing. She understood emotion. She understood when to explode with offense and when to suffer to make her opponent look like a million dollars. The Recent Dip (Marigold Era): Here's where the 9.0 comes in instead of a perfect 10. Unfortunately, since moving into Marigold and during the latest phases of her career, Utami's booking and momentum have suffered. While still undeniably talented, the way she has been presented--stripped of her unbeatable aura, often treading water in storylines without clear direction--has dulled some of the luster she had built. It's not that Utami has gotten worse as a wrestler. She's still elite whenever given a real platform. It's that the focus, the momentum, the feeling that "Utami is the center of the universe"--that feeling has been diluted. It's frustrating, because if you had frozen her trajectory after her 2022 peak, she would be comfortably discussed among the top 5 women wrestlers ever already. As it stands, she's still young, and there's every chance she regains her throne--but the Marigold era so far has definitely taken a little shine off her crown. So... Utami Hayashishita is one of the greatest prodigies professional wrestling has ever seen. At her peak from 2021-2023, she was untouchable: a perfect storm of power, grace, drama, and heart. Recent booking may have dulled her standing slightly, but it cannot erase what she has already accomplished--and what she is still capable of doing. She's still young. She's still brilliant. And if the stars align again, Utami could easily reclaim her throne and cement herself as a true all-time great. Until then, we will always have the memories of a golden era where Utami Hayashishita ruled professional wrestling with absolute supremacy."

[9.0] "An absolute technical beast. One of the best wrestlers in the world today. She's the face of Marigold and rightfully so. Full of charisma as well, just 26 years old, a lot to develop and learn yet, but she'll be one of the best wrestlers of all time when it's all said and done."

[9.0] "Charisma 9/10 Look 9/10 Wrestling 9/10 Utami really does excel in all areas, she looks like a star, she's a great worker and is also cool as hell. A top star already who can only get better"

[9.0] "One of the best in the world. I see no flaws in her and she's only 25 years old, she's gonna be even better and it's scary."

"Utami might be the most underrated wrestler on the planet right now. I have watched all of her matches from this year and a good chunk of last and she hasn't had a less than fire match yet."

[9.0] "She's an incredible wrestler, and so young which means the sky is the limit! She could really be the ace of Marigold. She's an insane talent with amazing skill."

[10.0] "From the first day I watched Utami, I realized that she was special. From the Quenn's Quest gimmick to the modern-day Marigold gimmick, she definitely has a cool stance. She is only 25 years old and is the future of this industry. In my opinion, she is one of the 2 most potential female wrestlers in Japan. She proves this with what she has watched so far. I hope her career moves in a good direction."

[9.0] "Just to preface this and any other reviews I do. None of this means anything, I just enjoy writing and Ive found this is a fantastic outlet for it whilst also talking about something I genuinely love. My ratings are just my stupid little opinions and I don't know anything but I appreciate anyone who reads them! Thanks! One of my favorites throughout 2021. Pulling a huge amount of weight for Stardom throughout her second Goddess Of Stardom Title run with AphroditE teammate Saya Kamitani and during her time at the top during her World Of Stardom Title run. For me, her most noteworthy matches come from the previous year, the first to spring to mind is her trilogy of matches with Syuri but on top of that her matches with Maika were great; Both were excellent rivals to Utami. From that same year her defenses against Saya Kamitani and her 5 Star Grand Prix finals against Himeka. Ever since her arrival back in 2018 her rise couldve been guessed but not predicted to be as meteoric as it was. The currently beltless Queens Quest leader doesnt look to have much more in store through the final few months of the year, however, after the return of Natsuko Tora, Im excited to see that thread finally tied up. The first bit of this was written over a year and a half ago but it all stands true. And to add on top of that Utami had an excellent bit of development throughout the first half of 2023 (although it didnt get the payoff Id assume they ultimately wanted) she put on what I easily have as my Match Of The Year with that STARDOM Sunshine 6v6 Steel Cage Matchexpertly told throughout the emotions and actions of everyone involved. Though Im disappointed that her time in STARDOM will be ending, she can easily stand as a massive part of the company's history as one of their pillars through the pandemic and around it. Overall, Utami is one of my absolute favorites and deserves to be held in high regard due to her phenomenal attributes in every aspect. I hope to see her go even harder in Marigold in the coming years!"

[10.0] "For Utami to be as good as she is at the age she is and still be constantly improving is something unheard of in wrestling. They pushed her to the moon for a reason. That reason being that she is their future ace and could end up as iconic as Mayu when all is said and done. She has an unnatural charisma that other wrestlers just dont have. A literal super rookie and one of the best female wrestlers in the world today, shes also really come into her own as queens quest leader and has shown more of a funny side to go along with her serious charisma."

[10.0] "When I first started watching Stardom in the 2020 Five Star Grand Prix I was not sold on her, I thought there were others who were ahead of her, more defined personalities, and even those who I thought were better in-ring, so it shocked me that they chose her of all people to win the tournament, she did not completely prove herself with the title win, but it was a start, very quickly after I began to see how truly amazing she was, but I did not realise that she was one of the best until her series with Syuri, that feud was amazing, it made realise how good, her good her cool and devoted character was, it may not be too unique, however, it worked so well for her, and the matches were incredible. Some of the best of the year, both five stars. She is so amazing and is only five years into her career."

[9.0] "Utami lost much of her appeal since the Red Belt was gone, but, she's still have the touch.And her carrer was in a very confusing moment. Sometimes, she's looks unbalanced, and lost matches to mid-carders in unexpected ways, just to, on the next week, defeat top listed or even legendary names like they are nobody! This is a bad thing to her, because she could not develop a solid carrer, and makes her look weaker than she really is or incosistent, not reliable enough. She could not be brilliant on her moves, that is very basic wrestling based, but she's very effective as a pure powerhouse, and it's the strongest woman in the Stardom roster, and she's very cold on her gimmick, not being emotional guided, what it's not a bad thing, considering her as a monster to be defeated. But, anyway, she's still very young, and have a long way to walk. She was on the top once, and nobody can say that she will never get there again soon. Editing: She simply go from Hell to Heaven in single week after delivers one of most brilliant performances ever. She looks back on track again. 9 for now, but I believe this will change up soon..."

[8.0] "Updating: This is what I said a few months after her debut: "One of the most impressive rookies I've ever seen. Still not one full year of experience but she is already so good. She just needs more experience but she already feels like a star. Everytime she had an opportunity she did great. Huge potential." Now in 2023, it's obvious that she is a really good wrestler and one of the most reliable main eventers in her promotion. With that said, I think she lost a lot of momentum since she lost the World Of Stardom title. For a long time she wasn't booked in any big storyline and it didn't seem like she tried to change anything as well. She has her moments where she shows charisma and personality but I think she can still do more than that."

[10.0] "The best female wrestler in the world. No hyperbole or overexaggerating she is simply the best and that will continue for a long time"

[7.0] "has improved alot since i last wrote a review around the time her red belt reign was getting very boring but atleast shes improving"

[6.0] "I'm having a hard time seeing what other people see in Utami Hayashishita. I've only heard good things about her best matches, but while her performances are kind of convincing and entertaining, it just feels like she's holding something back. I'd love to see her take more risks and try things that are new. Surely with Utami getting better and better and how others feel about her I'm sure I'll feel differently about her soon."

[10.0] "She is the ACE of Stardom. She is only 24 years old and yet she has the aura of being the wrestler we choose to add prestige to a match. Always level in a ring."

[9.0] "Utami's very good at projecting a certain presence, a certain mystique about her, that makes her seem like a big deal. She can back it up, too, as she's had a lot of terrific matches."

[8.0] "Hayashishita has a big problem in terms of delivering emotions. I was rooting for her at the tournament, I was happy to win, but even then I noticed that she wasn't capable of anything more than hitting a few bright moments that would quickly be forgotten due to the lack of a really interesting context. This is a problem for many modern main eventers, but Utami is the quintessence of it all. Among other things, she declares a new era, compares herself to Okada, guided by the words of Milano and I don't understand it. The "new era" trend itself has outlived its usefulness, but the problem is that it has nothing to offer in return. She moved the Iwatani, and left herself to the audience, completely unprepared, as if a woman crippled by dementors, from which no energy comes. Utami is the perfect mid-carder, an irreplaceable team player and maybe the number 2 or 3 in his stable. But I don't understand this attempt to give her more than she can bite off. UPD: Utami has progressed very well lately, and although she often doesn't find proper use, I like her role in the status of a contender much more than her champions title reign. I think I would love to see her second attempt, she looks more like Ace than ever."

[10.0] "She didn't get that No.2 spot in the PWI for no reason. Technically one of the best in the women's division. The best thing about her journey into the wrestling business is the rapidity with which she reached her current status. It's a rarity to see wrestlers doing that."

[10.0] "The only criticism of Utami I had when I first rated her was that she wasn't the most charismatic. As such, I gave her a 9. Well, she's a 10 now. Complete package and since losing the red belt has shown that she's more versatile than just the super serious, dominant, unbeatable champion. Look. Skills. Power. Presence. Personality. Promos. Epic entrance music. She has no weaknesses"

"The absolute best wrestler in the world. She does everything flawless and carries herself as a star and she's only going to get better."

[10.0] "Along with Syuri, Utami is the best women's wrestler today. Including men you could argue she's the best in the world. Her feud and matches with Syuri were classic and some of the best wrestling of the last 25 years. She came out on the losing end but I think the feud and matches helped generate a lot of attention that made Stardom one of the fastest growing promotions in the world. Her character work is her weakest part but that has been improving a lot as well and she's becoming a more well rounded wrestler. She could go down as the greatest of her generation with ease."

[9.0] "The beginning of her Red Belt title reign was a bit weak but from her first match against Syuri onwards she started to be a lot better and was easily the best Champion of 2021."

"Utami is currently one of, if not the best wrestler in the world and will go down as one of the greatest wrestlers ever."

[10.0] "Just my favorite wrestler on the planet right now. Wouldn't say she is the best in the world at something, but it is the first time in a while (or maybe ever in my 7.5 years of watching wrestling) when I feel emotionally attached to some wrestler. Some of my previous favorites ended up being badly injured or even ended their careers so I hope nothing like that ever happens to her. I wish one day I will see her wrestling live."

[10.0] "She's come a long way in a short time and still has many years ahead of her which is scary to think about. I always thought she was good but her push was a bit much until this past year or two when everything clicked."

[10.0] "I'm going an extra mile here to say that she has the same perception people like Okada and Naito had for a while in New Japan where people just couldn't understand why they were pushed the way they were and that their ring work was overhyped, pretty much like them Utami has found a solid base and is a very convincing main event level champion, and at 22 years of age she still has a lot to improve and it's going to be much better than she already is."

[10.0] "I have been watching Stardom since May 2017, within six months of when I first became a wrestling fan. This means I was lucky enough to witness the beginning of Utami Hayashishita's career. Her very first match on August 12, 2018 was against Jungle Kyona, and it may have been the best debut match in wrestling history (at least four and a quarter stars). What blew me away when I watched it was how incredible Utami was at selling from the get-go. I remember thinking that she was going to have a great career, but I scarcely imagined just how fantastic a wrestler she would become. Her soft-spoken nature outside the ring, and her stoicism early in a match, only accentuates her emotion when everything comes pouring out during the closing stretch. There are very few wrestlers today who can match her in emotion, or in making every moment of a big bout feel crucial. Utami is one of the ten best wrestlers in the world right now, and she may just be getting started."

[10.0] "I'm no expert and I don't pretend to be, but everything about Utami says "Star Power" to me: she oozes confidence and presence, has a moveset that matches that persona and while this may be more of a personal thing I love the way she approaches matches cerebrally as if she has a wise old head on young shoulders. I'm of the opinion that even a rating in the 8s is too low for a talent like hers, but I can only hope that with time that will naturally trend northwards once she gets through the "young upstart" phase and becomes more broadly accepted."

[5.0] "Paul Heyman famously said his greatest "smoke and mirrors" was convincing everybody Taz was a far better in-ring worker than he really was. Utami Hayashishita is proof Rossy Ogawa is endowed with the same booking abilities. Just like Taz she's not bad: it's more like she doesn't really do much in the ring. When I read the absolutely exaggerated praise for her matches I cannot but wonder if I am watching the same programs as everybody else because I really don't see these masterpieces, especially when Utami is on the offensive. But Utami's biggest problem is she is an incredibly bland personality: I understand Japanese TV aficionados know everything about her family and her since they were in a reality show, but that's pretty much all of her appeal. In her promos and interviews she comes across as reading from a script and not a good one to boot. I am impressed by Rossy's booking ability but by Utami? Not so much."

[7.0] "Uta might be the best wrestler in Stadom if she hadn't got that monstrous push in 2019 when she won almost all prizes just because she has a good appearance and shape. I think It was too early. Now I can't take her reign with red belt as something significant. She also has a big lack of personality, in my opinion."

[9.0] "She's young and already great so it's scary to think how much better she'll be in only a couple of years, and this is coming just after her incredible match with Syuri."

[10.0] "She was definitely worthy of taking the belt of Mayu Iwatani and her push is clearly warranted; despite being unpopular with some. She really delivers the big matches and has incredible presence. Her move-set is as amazing as it is massive and her biggest finisher is one the best ever. I love her current look (it was pretty average before) the black and red colour scheme is striking and her entrance coat is particularly badass. She is so fantastically built (physically) and looks really imposing and, although she is not oozing charisma, she has a great no-nonsense/calm persona that really works well for her (she is not boring at all like some say). The Riho stuff is great as well. I do not know much about her reality TV origins but I think the main reason for her growing stardom is her work in the Stardom ring; not being the daughter of some famous Japanese guy."

[6.0] "She is a good wrestler but when watching her it is hard to ignore her glaring flaws she just do not have enough emotion in anything she does her promos make her look bored and the matches are technically solid the lack something she really should not be a main eventer"

[9.0] "It genuinely boggles my mind that Utami has only been wrestling for a little over 2. 5 years. She's already supreme talent in the ring and she has that it quality that pushes her into the top echelon not only in Stardom but in Joshi. She's going to only get better!"

[6.0] "She is mostly competent. That's probably the most generous summary of Utami Hayashishita that I can offer at this point in time. I can understand the need for Stardom to produce new main event players and I am aware that this person has a famous father so that explains why she is being pushed so hard, but that doesn't change the fact that she is arguably one of the least engaging, exciting or technically impressive people on the entire roster. It could be argued that she is still a rookie but that really is not the issue with Utami, the issue is to do with her complete and total inability to emote or tell a story. It does not matter how technically proficient a wrestler someone becomes if they are a charisma black hole like this woman is then none of the matches are going to amount to anything special. It is telling that her best match was with Arisa Hoshiki who was the epitome of endearing charisma. When booked properly she can serve competently and in time she will no doubt improve but at this point she is booked identically to Roman Reigns before his heel turn, where they win everything all the time for no real purpose besides from the fact that the booker is a mark for them and does not care if the crowd is largely apathetic, which only serves to highlight and shine focus on the fact that Utami has literally no understanding whatsoever on what it takes to be a compelling babyface. Frankly, that is Rossy Ogawa's fault more than anyone else's but it does not change the fact that Utami has been unable to pull of the role that she has been given. If somebody has no personality and you can not give the audience a compelling reason to cheer them on then you don't book them as a face. It doesn't work for obvious reasons."

[8.0] "The only reason why her rating isn't higher is because of how big a push she got right from the start. However people feel about that, she's still great. Since changing her look, she's reached a new level overall. She's got charisma to a degree, she's excellent in the ring, her aura is terrific and her one weakness is promos. Even in that sector, she's competent at least. I'll give her an 8 but if her promos get to good level, she's going to reach a 9."

[9.0] "I don't understand the fairly low rating. She has been excellent every time I have seen her and has one of the best looks/ set of ring gear in wrestling right now. That belt just looks so right around her waist and she is only 22!"

[10.0] "She is the main reason why I started watching Stardom and quickly became one of my favourites in the company. Utami never has a bad match and has good chemistry with everyone on the roster. Ever since winning the Red Belt she has had consistently great matches doing her best to follow the awesome reign of Mayu and succeeding even if the booking at times puts her in the background in favour of other matches. This year has seen Utami develop a stronger character and gain more confidence during promos. When you also add her awesome suplexes and power moves to the equation it's hard for me not to see her as one of the top 5 in the company and I cannot wait to see how she progresses throughout the year."

[9.0] "Oh my gosh, what a goated wrestler Utami is, great Striker, amazing power wrestler, is getting really good with the promo game and all of that sort of stuff, and since she's still only a 22 year old, she still has a lot more time to get a lot better, her potential is absolutely boundless and she should be a face of the company in at least another 2 years"

[8.0] "Utami Hayashishita is deserving to be in the main event of Stardom but not for a long time. She is very charismatic, and I think she was one of the most charismatic on the planet at the 5Star GP 2020. She lost a little bit of charisma since it. She is very good in ring and she can be one of the bests in the next years if she keeps ameliorating."

[8.0] "The more I see of Hayashishita, the more I like her. She improves with every outing. It was a big chance having her defeat Mayu for the Red Belt, but Utami has proven herself well in that position. Her strength & power is impressive & I love that she uses the Torture Rack."

[9.0] "Just a super cool, badass woman. I wish her promos were a bit better but I understand she's shy and talking is not her thing. She's not the best worker in the company but she works a decent main event style which allows her to have really good to great matches with some of the more talented workers on the roster. She could use some more Red Belt defenses against some better workers. But she still is improving in the ring in every outing. If she can develop on the character end - more charisma to her matches and actions (giving out roses to the ladies in the crowd is a small, but good start) she can definitely be one of the top players in STARDOM with Mayu and Guilia."

[10.0] "Legitimately one of the most badass women in Stardom. Utami can throw you like nobody's business with her devastating high release german suplex and her Tower Hacker Bomb is cool! I think Utami is getting a well deserved push, I would've picked Konami or Momo to hold the Red Belt but I think Utami's a good choice given that she's won nearly every title in Stardom. I don't think she's been overpushed because everytime she's in a high stakes situation she pulls it off. Even from her rookie match, was it the best? No but it was pretty good for a first match. She has been constantly improving and she can only get better and she has been getting better. She's only lacking in charisma which isn't really a big deal. I find it weird that I'm having the reaction some people have to Utami that some people have twords Giulia and vice versa, I think Utami's alot more polished than Giulia is in ring, but Giulia has more charisma. But at least to me it feels like Utami genuinely loves pro wrestling, and that's why she's as good as she is."

[8.0] "She hasn't progressed much since her excellent rookie year, but she still reliably delivers in big matches, tag and singles. She's definitely believable as a main eventer but needs to improve her promos and charisma more. I think her Red Belt run is going cement her as a great worker and main event star."

[4.0] "We'll see how she develops moving forward, Utami is a good enough worker, but at this point it just feels like she's being shoved down my throat harder than any wrestler ever has been before. Five title runs, and now a sixth with the red belt, in just over two years comes off more as a plea for me to take her seriously than it does an accomplishment."

[9.0] "Utami is a young wrestler and really entertaining to watch. Her in ring work is good and can improve in the future years , lets not forget that her in ring experience is just 2 years at the very least which is impressive. She has the look of a wrestler and has a lot of charisma as well. A future star in the making and I can see her holding the world of stardom or wonder of stardom title within the next two years. There is no doubt that she does not feel like the wrestler to main event shows but she is getting there and has improved a lot . A very impressive individual."