Every Japanese Woman in WWE in 2025, Ranked: Who Tops the List?
Beyond neon and tradition, Japan forged the most influential forces in pro wrestling, rewriting the sport’s DNA. Here’s how its hard-hitting legacy still dominates the global ring.
Japan keeps cranking out aces for WWE, and 2025 has been a wild one for the women’s division: big returns, a surprise cash-in, a legend’s farewell, and some very messy alliances. If you’re trying to keep track of who’s doing what (and why everyone keeps switching sides), here’s the state of play for the Japanese stars making noise right now.
Asuka: the Empress comes back swinging
Asuka disappeared from TV after a knee injury at Backlash France in May 2024. She finally got back in the ring this year and immediately made a run to the Queen of the Ring final, where she came up short against Jade Cargill at Night of Champions 2025.
For months, WWE teased a polite cold war between former Damage CTRL allies Asuka and Iyo Sky. That ended on the September 22, 2025 episode of Monday Night RAW, when Asuka jumped Rhea Ripley and then turned on Iyo to confront her too. Translation: a heel turn is coming, and we’re clearly headed toward Kabuki Warriors vs the unlikely pair of Ripley and Iyo.
"No One Is Ready For Asuka!" — USA Network, marking 10 years of Asuka’s WWE dominance on September 23, 2025
Iyo Sky: from Grand Slam peak to a new alliance
Iyo Sky’s year started hot. She beat Rhea Ripley for the Women’s World Championship on the March 3, 2025 RAW and, in the process, became WWE’s seventh women’s Grand Slam Champion. She held on at WrestleMania 41, then everything flipped when Naomi cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase at WWE Evolution and pinned Iyo for the title.
When Naomi later vacated the championship after announcing her pregnancy, Iyo aimed to reclaim it, only to run into a wall named Stephanie Vaquer at Wrestlepalooza 2025. Now, with Asuka turning on her, Iyo is sliding across the chessboard to team up with Rhea Ripley against Asuka and Kairi Sane. If you’re sensing a theme this year, it’s alliances forming purely out of mutual enemies.
Kairi Sane: the enforcer who might be next up
Kairi Sane, the other half of the Kabuki Warriors, has been Asuka’s muscle during this feud with Iyo and Rhea. She’s become a steady RAW presence, mixing it up with Liv Morgan, Lyra Valkyria, and The Judgment Day along the way. Given how often Kairi turns a backup role into a spotlight, don’t be surprised if this angle cracks open her next big singles run.
Giulia: SmackDown’s technical shark with gold already
Giulia, the current Women’s United States Champion, is Japanese through her mother and grew up in Japan. She rose to prominence in Stardom and brought that same edge to WWE. As a SmackDown regular, she’s been winning people over with crisp technique and a very no-nonsense approach to dismantling opponents. Short version: she arrived, she adapted, and she’s not easing off the gas anytime soon.
Meiko Satomura: the legend’s final chapter
Meiko Satomura officially retired on April 29, 2025, wrapping a 30-year career that started in 1995. Her last match took place that day at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall under Sendai Girls’ Pro Wrestling — the promotion she co-founded. Billed as 'Satomura Meiko The Final', it was a tag bout with Satomura teaming with her trainee Manami to defeat Chihiro Hashimoto and Aja Kong. They won, fittingly.
Even as she bowed out in Japan, she was still on WWE’s active roster listings in April and reportedly coaching in NXT. Her final WWE match happened the previous summer: July 27, 2024, a live event in Japan, where she challenged Bayley for the WWE Women’s Championship. She also did one last European match in February 2025, teaming with Rayne Leverkusen to beat Nina Samuels and Millie McKenzie.
Inside baseball detail that tells you everything about Meiko: she once hit a Hank to Arm Salto combination on Kana (aka Asuka), a throw credited to catch-wrestling icon Billy Robinson. That’s the kind of deep technical pedigree she brought every time she stepped through the ropes.
Big picture
From Asuka’s return and heel pivot to Iyo’s Grand Slam year and Giulia planting her flag on SmackDown, 2025 has been packed with standout work — tight technique, stubborn resilience, and plenty of charisma. Kairi is right there in the mix, and Meiko’s farewell was as classy and old-school as it gets. Together, they’ve kept Japan’s legacy front and center in WWE while pushing the division forward.
It’s the kind of run that’s going to inspire a lot of wrestlers coming up in Japan — and frankly, everywhere else. Who’s got your attention most right now? Drop your pick below.