Should I make the joke? Let’s make the joke. It’s Ittenyon, so it’s time to enjoy the biggest show in town. Yup, TJPW made their annual trip to Korakuen Hall, and as usual, they’ve put together a hell of a card for it. Would they deliver? I certainly wouldn’t bet against them, but let’s find out.
Raku is getting to wrestle on a train! Following DDT’s successful Shinkansen shows, TJPW is following suit, and of course, everyone’s favourite train god is involved. I am so happy for her. In another delightful piece of news, the Up Up Girls debuted a new song, with lyrics provided by one Hyper Misao. It’s a catchy little rock number, and watching Misao cheer them on from the ringside was a nice way to start the show.
Toga & Chika Nanase defeated HIMAWARI & Mifu Ashida
When Mifu Ashida announced she would be leaving Ice Ribbon, your opinionated types had already slotted her into the rosters of Stardom or Marigold. However, Mifu proved to be a woman of taste, as she chose the always more interesting option of heading to TJPW. It’s a bit of a coup for Tokyo Joshi as she’s been pegged by many as one to watch despite having had relatively few matches in her 16-month career. She was thrown straight in at the deep end, getting her first chance to show that potential in the Ittenyon opener.
All of what I’m about to say comes with the caveat that I enjoyed Ashida in Ice Ribbon. The tag run with Kyuri, which saw her win the Ice titles early in her career, was a lot of fun. However, I wonder how much of the hype around her is because she has ‘a good look’, which is a certain section of joshi fandom’s language for everyone fancying her. Now, that’s not to say she’s a bad wrestler. She clicked nicely into this match, pairing up nicely with HIMAWARI and looking at home against Toga and Nanase. However, I didn’t see anything to suggest she was miles ahead of the TJPW lot. While I was impressed with her standing and throwing forearms with Toga, she’s still a tad robotic in the ring, especially compared to someone like HIMAWARI. I’m sure it will come, and as I said, she’s not wrestled that much (around 40 matches, according to Cagematch), so there’s potential there, but I wouldn’t anticipate her zipping up the card straight away. Being paired with Kyuri will make you look better than you are.
Elsewhere, this was a fairly standard but enjoyable opener. Ashida was the focal point, but everyone else fulfilled their roles nicely, and Nanase has now fully turned the corner for me. While she’s got a long way to go, she’s starting to figure out how to put all the pieces together, which has seen her in-ring work come on leaps and bounds. She was still probably the fourth person in this match, but the gap between her and someone like Toga is narrowing, and I’m excited to see where she’ll go in the next twelve months.
Verdict: A Solid Intro To The New Girl
Ryo ‘Aniki’ Mizunami, Yoshiko ‘Yoppy’ Hasegawa & Kaya Toribami defeated Kira Summer, Matcha & Ivy Steele
Ivy Steele is a British wrestler (trained by the Knights), who is studying in Japan and wrestling for TJPW while she does so. Truthfully, until this match, I hadn’t been particularly impressed with her. Most of what she’s been involved in has been fine, but nothing stood out apart from the fact that, like most foreigners, she had a size advantage over the rest of the roster. Well, this was hopefully the start of my opinions being changed. It was like Steele suddenly realised how to use that size, barrelling into Kaya and Yoppy before finding herself in the crosshairs of Aniki. It developed into some fun hoss showdowns between the two of them, and if she can keep that energy going forward, maybe there will be something there.
The same can be said of Kira, who is perhaps the last of that rookie class to click with me but is starting to get there. She’s figuring out how to use her size advantage, slowly powering up as she gets more confident with it. Throwing her in there with people like Aniki will only help to draw that out further and, to steal an idea from friend-of-the-site Flupke, I think it’s probably time to match her up with Miu and give her the taste of the benchmark she’ll be aiming to clear. It’s sink or swim time.
Away from hoss foreigners, this was fun. A team of Aniki, Yoppy and Kaya is all the good vibes and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how impressive Matcha has been on this tour. I have no idea why I didn’t expect her to be as good as she is, she was trained by Emi Sakura after all, but she’s more than held her own in both ChocoPro and TJPW. Fingers crossed this tour leads to her coming over to Japan semi-regularly because she’s proved she can hang with some of the best (Pom).
Verdict: Another Solid Wee Match
Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku defeated Aja Kong, Haruna Neko & Mahiro Kiryu
The way Pom moves will never fail to make me laugh. She demanded a New Year present from Aja Kong and stood, bobbing on the spot in a way no one else would have chosen to do, waiting for its arrival (it turned out to be a bin to the head). It was pure Pommish behaviour. If you showed me a series of shadows walking across the room, I could pick out Pom 99 times out of 100 because no one else is quite like her.
Someone else who has a unique way of moving through the world is Mahiro, but while Pom gyrates and bounces, Kiryu is doomed to have everything go wrong. At the start of this match, Aja and the wee cat abandoned her when they were tempted to the other side by the Love Triangles’ charms. While she eventually won them back over, she couldn’t convince Aja to apologise properly, forcing her to show the legend how to do it. Does she have to do everything?
And I will always love matches like this purely because of moments like Aja Kong battling Raku’s pillow or the sequence where she had to tag out to the wee cat because she’d faced a flurry of offence after tripping over a napping Pom. I know that Kong appearing in TJPW is hardly new, and I should probably be over that delicious clash of ideals, but I’m not. I don’t think I ever will be. Everyone knew this would be nonsense, and they delivered on that promise. If it doesn’t make you happy, well, you’re probably in the wrong place.
Verdict: The Nonsense Squad Delivers
Hyper Misao defeated Shoko Nakajama in a New Year Lumbersnake Death Match
My god, where do you even start with this?
The annual Shoko Nakajima vs Hyper Misao nonsense bowl has become a beloved TJPW tradition, but this might have been the best one yet. With the year of the snake upon us, Poison Sawada JULIE slithered his way into the action, placing Shoko under his spell and unleashing Shoko Nakajama along with her snakey aids HIMAWARI, Toga and Yoppy. Honestly, I don’t care if you detest nonsense. Go out of your way to watch their entrance. It’s a masterpiece. More importantly, it meant Misao wasn’t only fighting for the pride behind this recurring match but for the antidote that would save her friend from Poison Sawada’s snake magic.
I doubt it will be a shock to anyone to learn that I love sneaky, underhand ‘superhero’ Hyper Misao. However, there is always something a bit special about the rare occasions when she gets to actually be a hero. Misao is a great babyface. I’m sure part of it is that we all know her story, which makes it nearly impossible not to root for her, but that’s not the only reason. With snakes surrounding her, Misao was on the back foot for all of this, and there was a constant sense of someone battling back against the odds. Sure, we got all the usual nonsense from the Misao Mobile (which, thanks to JULIE’s snake magic, crashed into Mahiro because that’s what happens to Mahiro) to the use of her cape, but it felt earned. She was grasping at anything she could find to save her friend.
It made for a match that was, in many ways, wrestling at its simplest. Our hero took on the forces of evil to save the day. Sure, there was all the magic, but that doesn’t change what it is at its core. Misao is, in many ways, an old-school wrestler, just one who has put her special sheen on top of it all. In the end, she saved her friend, but not through the antidote, which it turned out JULIE (deliberately) didn’t have enough of for Shoko. No, it was through the power of friendship, as Nakajima fought off his spell because she and Misao have promised to win those tag belts in 2025. Did that make me cry? Yes, and if that isn’t a sign of a job well done, I don’t know what is. Go get those belts!
Verdict: Outstanding
In a genius touch, TJPW announced Shoko vs Misao for Ittenyon last year. That move made me want to stand and applaud.
Yuka Sakazaki & Moka Miyamoto defeated Arisu Endo & Shino Suzuki
Yuka Sakazaki wrestled eight matches in 2025. I know she has had some injury issues, but what a fucking waste. It’s not fair for me to start besmirching AEW wrestlers, especially as someone who barely watches them, but how many of them can hold a candle to her? If you can’t find a spot for Yuka Sakazaki on your cards, you’re at fault. I know you’ve done everything you can in TJPW, Yuka, but just come home. You can do it all again.
It’s probably not surprising then that this was a slightly low-key return for Sakazaki. She looked alright, but she wasn’t going all out, giving a lot of the match over to Moka, who debuted new gear and blonde hair, the combination of which meant it took me a second or two to recognise her. As I’ve spoken about before, there’s a reason Miyamoto always gets slotted into these matches, and it’s because she can be relied upon to do exactly what’s required. This was no different. She filled the spots around Yuka nicely and had fun interactions with both Arisu and Shino.
However, all the attention was on how Sakazaki interacted with them, and we did get flashes of her greatness. Forearming a dropkicking Shino out of the air was pure monster Yuka, and it had me grinning from ear to ear. Not to suggest she ate them up. Any suggestion that Sakazaki buries opponents has always been rubbish and she gave Shino some hope spots, all of which she made good use of. It was Endo, though, who was really given time to play. With her embracing her wee hoss side during Daisy Monkey’s title run, she’s suddenly feeling a bit like a successor to Sakazaki, which honed the edge of their clashes. Endo isn’t yet on her level, but she’s narrowing the gap, and if Yuka ever does come home, a singles match between the two of them could rock.
As for this, it was good, but nothing special. The special thing was getting to see Yuka Sakazaki where she belongs with a smile on her face. I don’t blame her for wanting to give America a shot, and I don’t actually expect her to give up this quickly, but I’m glad TJPW is still open to her. It’s her home, and whether she comes back permanently or nips back once a year to say hi, I’ll always be delighted to see her.
Verdict: We Miss You, Yuka
Yuki Kamifuku & Lei Ying Lee defeated Rika Tatsumi & Wakana Uehara
I suspect TJPW has overestimated how much people care about Lei Ying Lee. She’s very WWE, as she feels the need to hammer home every single point, loudly expressing it to Korakuen Hall. You can tell she spent time learning under Shawn Michaels in NXT. Look, I have no issue with her coming over and working on Tokyo Joshi shows. She’s an okay wrestler. I just don’t think she needed a showcase tag on Ittenyon. If you folded this into one of the other undercard matches, we wouldn’t have lost anything of value. As it was, it was a rare example of a TJPW card where everything dragged for a bit (thankfully, that didn’t last).
Still, matches like this always help me appreciate Rika Tatsumi, which is something we should all dedicate some time to doing. She’s the master of taking something I don’t give it a shit about and drawing me in. Kamiyu and her took this match by the horns, Rika going after the leg as they brought an intensity that felt needed at this point on a big show. It wasn’t enough to make me fall in love with it or anything, and Kamiyu’s leg selling was inconsistent, but they made sure I at least got a little bit out of the action and didn’t spend the whole thing zoned out.
However, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I spent at least a bit of it looking at my phone, and while that makes me feel like I should go back and rewatch it, I honestly can’t be bothered. Sometimes, a match doesn’t grab your imagination, which was very much the case here, even with Rika’s efforts. It was fine, but will I ever think about it again? Almost certainly not.
Verdict: Meh
Suzume defeated Yuki Arai to win the International Princess Title
Now, that’s more like it!
Coming in, I wasn’t sure how this pairing would work. Arai and Suzume are at their best when working from underneath. In Suzume’s case, she’s a great counter wrestler, scrabbling for openings and finding the right move at the perfect moment. For Arai, it’s been a way to hide that, for all her success, she’s still pretty inexperienced. I’ve always thought the soon-to-be former idol needed someone to lead her through these big matches, and I wasn’t sure if Suzume’s style made her the right person to do so.
Thankfully, I needn’t have worried.
Arai was a revelation here. I don’t know if she came in expecting the fans to side with Suzume, but she certainly wrestled like that was the case. There was a violent edge to her work that was unlike anything we’d seen from her before. Those boots have always been her fallback, but she laid them on thick, making Suzume suffer for her sins. There was a point when she grasped the bee’s hand, repeatedly booting her in the head before following up with that Akai-inspired running kick. A whole new wrestler was being born in front of us as she brought a physicality and aggression that I honestly would have never predicted she had in her. Arai felt destined to be the underdog, working from underneath and using that idol charisma to get people behind her, but as she moves to make wrestling her main pursuit, it seems she’s got depths still to be explored.
It was also perfect for Suzume. As I said above, the bee has always flourished when given a mountain to climb, with some of her best performances (outside of tags) being against people like Rika Tatsumi and Aniki. Suzume knows how to ride out a match, taking her beatings and waiting for the perfect moment to turn the tide. She was on the defensive for long portions of this, but when it looked like she was in danger of being put away, she always found the right counter, sneaking away from the Finally that would have signalled the end. Then, when Arai escaped her attempt at a Ring-A-Bell, she hit perhaps the only great springboard cutter ever performed, using the momentum of being shoved off to leap backwards from the ropes and connect perfectly. It might be the first time I’ve seen that move not feel contrived beyond all ability to suspend disbelief, as they worked together to set it up perfectly.
It served to make this title change feel like it had been earned beyond a shadow of a doubt. Daisy Monkey’s run with the belts seemed to centre Arisu Endo, and after her shot at Arai, I’m convinced she should hold this belt sooner rather than later. However, Suzume proved why TJPW put her first in line. These two worked their arses off to put together a match that I would never have predicted, and if this is chapter one in a rivalry that will go on for years, then we’ve got a lot to look forward to.
Verdict: Brilliant In A Way I Didn’t Predict
121000000 (Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh) defeated Masha Slamovich & Zara Zakher to retain the Princess Tag Titles
Truthfully, I don’t have much to say about the semi-main event. Not because I didn’t like it. It was fast-paced, hard-hitting and packed full of action. They only had around twelve and a half minutes, but they filled every second with wrestling. Is that necessarily what I want to see in TJPW? No, not really. It felt more like something you would get at an indie supershow than one of Tokyo Joshi’s carefully constructed emotional outpourings. If it only happens once a year, I guess that’s alright. It’s hard not to be entertained by talented people hitting cool moves.
Although, it makes me a bit sad that this is Itoh and Miyu’s role now. I get it. Much like Yuka, they’re shooting their shot, and if you want to succeed in that world, you have to adapt to it. It’s just they no longer feel like TJPW wrestlers. I’m sure it’s still there, and if you gave them the right match in the right place, they could switch it back on, but it’s becoming rarer and rarer. Instead, they’re plugged into spots like this. Positioned in a match that feels like it’s designed to grab the attention of people outside the usual TJPW bubble.
That’s no slight on Masha and Zara, either. I have a lot of time for both of them (if nothing else, Masha is a Marvelous lass), and they’re talented workers. Sure, I would duck the skull kick rather than do a backwards handspring, but I’m sure Zara will figure that out eventually. They did what they were brought in to do, as did this match. My issues with it aren’t even with the action, but come from a slight melancholy at watching two wrestlers I love move in a direction I don’t care for. Is that their fault? No, but I can’t change how I feel.
Verdict: It Was Good, But I Don’t Want Too Much Of It
Mizuki defeated Miu Watanabe to win the Princess of Princess title
There was a moment in this match when Miu knocked Mizuki to the floor before grinning down into the camera. She has been claiming in the build-up that she is a princess, not a monster, but as I made clear in my Match of the Year write-up, I don’t think there is any doubt about what Miu is. Watanabe is a monster to her core, and if you were going to get that belt from around her waist, you would have to do something special. Thankfully, Mizuki has always been a monster masquerading as a princess, so she was the perfect person to dig deep and find what she needed to slay the beast.
Not that it was an easy journey. In some ways, this was the inverse of the Shoko Nakajima vs Miu Watanabe match. Back then, Shoko tried to grind Miu down, holding her in place and preventing that power from coming to the fore. This time, it was Watanabe’s turn to try and limit an opponent. She started this match by muscling Mizuki around the ring, preventing her from building momentum. The rabbit is a wrestler who comes at you in bursts, throwing her entire body into a series of high-impact, killer moves, and Miu had no intent of letting her do that. Mizuki’s failures have always come from people physically dominating her – it’s why she’s struggled against Miyu Yamashita over the years – and the champ was pushing to do the same.
However, for all Watanabe’s advances, she is not yet the Ace, even if she sometimes wrestles like one. As they went on, Mizuki started to find her openings, and when she did, she was the one escalating the action. Where Miu was looking to contain her, Mizuki was leaping from the top to the floor, stomping down on her opponent’s chest. As the stakes were raised, Watanabe had no choice but to go with her, finding yet another new way to spin someone as she grabbed her wrists and flung her across the ring. It was route one stuff from the champ, undeniably effective but also hinting at her desperation. She was working through her offence, looking for a way to hammer the rabbit into the ground, but it wasn’t working. Mizuki kept coming, surviving a beautifully executed Super Teardrop before hitting a running stomp that had Miu clutching her neck in pain.
That was the difference on this day. The last time Mizuki challenged for this belt at Ittenyon, she faced another monster and fell short at the final hurdle. Back then, she pushed Yamashita to the brink but couldn’t find that killer blow. This time, she wasn’t going to make the same mistake. As those laser-guided chops came hammering down on her chest, Mizuki refused to be beaten, and for the first time, Miu couldn’t follow up. She had taken too much damage, and that neck was too beat up. It was all the rabbit needed. One final flurry took her over the line, and the monster was slain.
Mizuki and Miu proved the perfect antidote to my melancholy around the tag title match. Everything it was missing was present in abundance as these two gave their all in an emotional battle that saw them pushed to the limit. TJPW is a company built around escalation. Not just in individual matches but across the whole card, as every big show asks the roster to take another step forward, finding something they didn’t before. Mizuki and Miu did exactly that, leading from the front as they threw themselves at each other, proving to be two of the very best in the process. Miu may have lost, but she’ll be back, and whether it’s the monster hiding beneath the garb of a princess at the top or someone else, I’d hate to be the person trying to stop her.
Verdict: Wonderful
Overall Show
TJPW do it again. When do they ever let you down on this day in that room? I certainly can’t think of a time when they have. It might not be their biggest show any more, but it’s the special one, and the roster reacts accordingly. I won’t pretend this was perfect, as it did drag a bit just before we got into the title matches. However, Arai vs Suzume made up for that quickly, and even if I didn’t adore the tag match, they brought us home in style. I love this company, and they’ve kicked off 2025 in style. I can’t wait to see what they do next.
Watch Tokyo Joshi Pro: https://www.wrestle-universe.com/en/videos?labels=-tjpw.
Ramblings About Wrestling 
Leave a comment