Wrestler of the Year can be defined in a whole bunch of different ways. The worst people craft metrics based on business and how much money someone supposedly made, but it probably won’t surprise anyone to know that’s not my approach. Nope, it’s a pure vibes thing for me. When I reflect on the last twelve months, what wrestlers come to mind? Well, this year, it was relatively easy. These two people made me smile the most in 2024. So, while multiple other names could sit alongside them, they’re the ones with the dubious distinction of being named Ramblings About’s Wrestler of the Year.
Mei Suruga
I know, I know, it’s not the most exciting pick, is it? The only way I could be less predictable is if I went for Mio Momono, but she was my 2023 choice, so it’s only fitting that it switches back to Mei Suruga. I believe you have to travel back to 2020 to find the last time I didn’t bestow this tiny honour on one of them, and that was because my favourite wrestler of all time had the run that cemented her in that position. There’s a reason I’ve chosen to make this a two-person award in recent times as I can’t honestly sit here and tell you that anyone had a better year than Mei Suruga, and if I were to pick a third person, yes, it would be Mio Momono.
There are a lot of reasons why this was a Mei year. 2024 was a transition for Suruga as she moved out of the shadow of Best Bros (who, for all their individual brilliance, have never been my favourite pairing) and stepped up to take her spot at the head of the newly renamed ChocoPro. A big part of that was her winning the Super Asia title from Emi Sakura, but her success wasn’t really about that kayfabe accolade. More important was the way Mei started to adapt her wrestling. She’s still the same Apple Goblin, part genius, part bratty child, but she’s honing it, figuring out what works when, and becoming the kind of person who can lead a company. Suruga has always been brilliant, but as part of Best Bros and at the peak of ChocoPro’s excesses, there was a tendency towards the extravagant (that 55-minute match with Fujita being the prime example). Now, as shown in her title defences against Sayaka and Otoki, she’s cutting things back to focus on the details over the grand gestures.
The real genius of Mei, however, is that even as she establishes this new, elevated position, she’s retained the joy that made her wrestling so eye-catching to begin with. It’s there when she nips into TJPW to take on a sisterly role with Uta Takami, in her nonsense appearance in SEAdLINNNG against Na Tsudita and even in her late-year obsession with Soy (which I understand, Soy rules). You don’t even have to look that hard, though. Some of her strongest work comes in Ichigaya, where she’s relaxing even further into being booed. Suruga appears to enjoy being the protagonist, yelling at fans or picking on rookies. She’s equally capable of being their underdog hero, but those ChocoPro regulars see her every week, and she’s found a way to keep it fresh, adapting to the opponent she’s up against.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, she’s taken Darejyo even further under her wing, and you don’t have to watch many videos of her kids’ classes to see how much those youngsters adore her. Just look at Kaho Hiromi, who almost bursts with joy every time she gets to hang out with Mei, staring up her hero with adoration. She’s crafting a new generation of little apple goblins, all of whom seem to love wrestling as much as she does.
As I mentioned in my best of the rest roundup, I had a rough end to what had, until that point, been a pretty great 12 months, and it’s in moments like that I appreciate wrestlers like Mei. She makes me smile. Whether that’s by being a pest or a plucky underdog is irrelevant because, at this point, she’s amazing at it all. Suruga is a special wrestler, and in a year when ChocoPro re-established itself as one of my favourite promotions in the world, she was at the centre of almost everything they did.
Haru Kazashiro
Is it possible that I relate to awkward, quiet wrestling nerd Haru Kazashiro? Well, every school report I ever got claimed I had to be more confident and speak up in class, so maybe? Truthfully, I never did figure that out.
However, while Haru’s relatability has helped establish her in my affection, it’s not the only reason she’s here. It would also be a lie to suggest that she is the complete package. At 16, she still has a long way to go, and I suspect that this time next year, she’ll already be a significantly better wrestler. That doesn’t change how much I’ve gotten out of watching her emerge from her shell over the last twelve months, though. She started the year as a supporting player in the Raku and Ram marriage and ended it by challenging for the tag titles with Toga. I don’t typically pay much attention to kayfabe prizes when putting these things together, but it’s a strong indication of how far she’s come. She’s battled her way up the card, gaining confidence with every success and has earned the right to be in that position.
Part of her progression seems to be that Haru is the right kind of wrestling nerd. We’re currently, at least in the West, inundated with a generation of people who grew up on Ospreay and co, so now appear determined to copy his most extravagant and frustrating excesses. It’s tiresome, to say the least, and has produced a group who do stuff without much thought about why. Thankfully, Haru appears to have been a more thoughtful fan with an appreciation of the work of (early) Maki Itoh and Nodoka Tenma. In other words, she’s thought about this stuffā¦ a lot. She’s not perfect, but you can already see her putting the pieces in place and figuring out how to make a match that works. Her outings with Toga and Runa are probably the best example of this. Up against more powerful, hard-hitting opponents, she’s focused on levelling the playing field, finding important counters and opening them up to her slowly evolving moveset. None of it’s complicated, but it speaks to someone who is starting to grasp how this stuff works.
On top of all that, just like her peer Shino, it’s hard not to root for this kid. Yes, there’s all the stuff I mentioned above, but even if you were the coolest kid in school, I can’t imagine taking against her. Here is this young lass, living her dream and working her arse off to make sure it doesn’t slip through her fingers. There’s nothing fancy or unique about her, but she cares (almost too much), and when people care, I find it hard not to care about them. I want her to succeed, and 2024 was the start of that success. If it’s already this impressive, I can’t wait to see what the rest of it looks like.
Ramblings About Wrestling 
Leave a comment