'The Story of Women Who Fight' — Powerful, Emotional, and Criminally Underrated
Every once in a while, on a whim, I choose to watch a low-rated series. Normally, ratings, reviews, and audience comments are what determine whether I'll give a show a chance. But once in a blue moon, that spontaneous decision leads me to something I can only describe as a hidden gem—a true masterpiece.
This was one of those rare occasions.
I randomly decided to watch it simply because I wanted to see a series starring actors chosen for their talent rather than just their looks, and because it was only five episodes long. What I didn't expect was to stumble upon one of the finest adaptations of real events I have ever seen. Even more astonishing was discovering that most of the story is actually true.
The series chronicles the golden era of Japanese women's professional wrestling in the 1980s—a phenomenon whose popularity, cultural impact, and sheer intensity genuinely felt like uncovering a forgotten revolution in history. As someone deeply interested in history, it's incredibly rare for me to come across an entire cultural movement that I knew almost nothing about.
I won't go into the plot or story details to avoid spoilers (the synopsis already does a good job of setting things up). Instead, I'll focus on why I loved this series so much. For context, anything I rate between **9 and 10** belongs to my personal S-tier, and this comfortably earns its place there.
What impressed me the most was how effortlessly the series made me feel exactly what the creators intended—without ever feeling manipulative. That's something many shows, especially some K-dramas, struggle with. Too often, emotional moments rely on artificially shocking twists that you understand are necessary from a storytelling perspective, but rarely *feel* organically earned.
This series was different.
The excitement, joy, heartbreak, tension, and shock all emerged naturally as the events unfolded. Knowing that these moments were rooted in real history elevated the entire experience to another level. Yes, the series takes a few creative liberties here and there, but with the real personalities involved in the production, it never loses sight of the truth at the heart of the story.
The performances deserve immense praise. Every actor delivers a phenomenal performance, and the character development is equally exceptional. I could genuinely feel the gradual evolution of each character, and every transformation felt emotionally and logically justified—something many storytellers fail to achieve.
The editing is another major strength. Not once did my attention drift away from the screen. That's saying a lot because I've found myself struggling to stay engaged with many highly acclaimed series lately. Here, every scene served a purpose, and the pacing remained consistently gripping throughout.
Of course, there are a few things I personally might have done differently. I would have included a handful of additional real-life incidents to provide greater historical context, and perhaps explored some more personal moments that could have made the emotional highs hit even harder. But honestly, those are incredibly minor nitpicks. Who am I to question the decisions of creators who crafted such an outstanding piece of storytelling?
In the end, I'll simply say this: the chances of you being disappointed by this series are incredibly slim. The only real exception would be if you find graphic violence difficult to watch. Some wrestling scenes are fairly explicit, featuring bloodshed and brutal injuries. I suspect that's one reason why the show has received lower ratings from some viewers. But after watching footage of the actual matches, I realised the series wasn't exaggerating for dramatic effect—it was staying remarkably faithful to reality. In fact, portraying that brutality honestly was essential to understanding the physical and emotional sacrifices these wrestlers made. Sanitising those moments would have not only weakened the story but also would have taken important parts of it away.
Sometimes the best stories aren't the ones everyone is talking about—they're the ones you discover by accident. And for me, this was one of those unforgettable discoveries.
P.S. - Best Way to enjoy the series - Just go for it without any overthinking or research into the story, and once you have seen it, read this article ,if you enjoy reading the real stories behind the inspired stories -
https://prowrestlingstories.com/pro-wrestling-stories/dump-matsumoto-vs-the-crush-gals-ajw-japan-feud/
and then watch this original fight (which you will enjoy if you watched WWF/WWE as a kid) -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOc2S04YiC0&t=196s
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