A bit late, as I was down in London seeing friends, drinking beer and being subjected to MJF matches, but it’s time for my rambles about the Princess Cup Final! It’s the show that gives us our first indication of what direction we’re heading in as we start to swing towards the end of the year. Is Arisu Endo getting bumped to the top of the card? Or are we going back to Miu vs Mizuki? As it all took place several days ago, you probably already know the answer, but let’s keep the suspense alive for my own amusement.
Pre-show, they announced that TJPW are implementing a new leadership system with Miyu Yamashita perched at the top of it. Do I know what that means? No. Truthfully, I suspect it won’t make much of a difference to anyone who isn’t in the locker room. It already all felt like a way for Miyu to announce to the world she isn’t going to leave, without acknowledging that such a thing had been a possibility, and then that was doubled down on with the Itoh news a few days later. More on that further down the page! Still, while I haven’t loved a lot of what Miyu’s done in recent times, I have no issue with her sticking around, and as the Forever Ace, it would have been weird if anyone else had taken that role.
Jurie Suzue won a Delayed Entry Battle Royale for the Ironman Heavyweight Title
Correct me if I’m wrong about this, but I think Jurie Suzue is a young idol trainee with a penchant for arm wrestling? Only in Japan. The backstage skit featuring Raku doing a dance to distract her and help Ram win an arm wrestling bout (and with it the Ironman title) might be in the running for my match of the year, purely based on the moves that Raku chose to bust out. I’ve seen her do a lot of dancing over the years, but I don’t think she’s ever done it like that before. It was hilarious.
In the ring, this was some lovely, gentle nonsense. These Ironman title battle royals are one of my favourite parts of DDT, so it was nice to see TJPW get to play in that pool. Like all comedy wrestling, the key is figuring out how to bounce all the various personalities involved off each other, which they did a really good job of. I’m not going to sit and list out all the jokes, but I will say the MVP was Mahiro, who not only got a brief run with the title, but did a great job playing the heel to our arm-wrestling idol in a safe, yet fun, way. Her moment of terror when she realised her new title might be in danger from Yamashita was my personal highlight.
Credit also to Suzue, who, despite her lack of experience, did everything that was asked of her. Is it a bit silly to have the untrained idol win this match? Probably, but the whole thing is silly, so who really cares? Plus, she had Miyu Yamashita watching her back for the majority of it, so it was hardly a clean win. I think if you’re spending too much time thinking about stuff like that, you probably need to sit back and ponder how you’re using your time. I doubt the TJPW nonsense division or Miyu will suffer too badly because of it all.
Verdict: A Delightful Way To Start
Yuna Manase defeated Toga
They teased us with this pairing at Summer Sun Princess, so I’m delighted to get it paid off. Yuna Manase, despite not a regular member of the roster for years, still feels like TJPW’s big sister, so I love getting to see her interact with the generations who came after her time. Plus, hoss fight.
And you can see why Manase is such a respected figure in TJPW (and elsewhere). They kept it simple, sticking to the hoss staples of slams and shoulder blocks, but they got a lot out of them. While Manase didn’t work heel, she made sure the fans were behind Toga. It was in her cutting off the first attempt at a bodyslam, so the successful one got a bigger reaction, or in her upping the antagonism as the match went on, firing up the rookie and her supporters. Manase is popular, but by the end of this match, it was all about Toga, even if we all knew the chances of her winning were minuscule.
Of course, Toga deserves credit, too. She made sure those moments looked good, laying into her strikes and adding some pep to the slams. Manase could only do so much laying down of the path – it was always going to be up to the rookie to follow it. However, I think we all, and I’m including myself in that, fall into the trap of focusing on the younger, shiny new toys in matches like this. Toga did great, she’s got a whole load of talent, and I’d love to see these two come back to this when she’s a few steps further down the road. Just don’t forget that Manase did a lot of work to let her be so.
Verdict: I Love When Manase Turns Up
Yuki Aino, Haru Kazashiro & Uta Takami defeated Rika Tatsumi, Suzume & Ren Konatsu
Some day, Rika and Uta are going to have a midcard singles match that will probably be one of my favourites of the year. Matching Uta’s career best (her stuff with Mei Suruga) would be a challenge, but a gleeful Rika bullying the squeaky youngster? That could be so great. Talking about things I really want to happen in the future, Haru and Aino winning the tag titles together could be really special.
Anyway, that’s my fantasy booking done for the day, so on to the match. This was very much the TJPW staple of plugging a bunch of fun wrestlers into a six-way and letting them loose. No one is breaking their neck to make a point, but you also get a bunch of fun pairings that are perfect for filling a minute or two of action. To make it even better, rookie Konatsu aside, these are probably five of the most reliable faces Teej have. If nothing else, they provide a great range of styles, varying from Aino’s power to Suzume’s speed to Uta’s squeakiness, and a bunch of them have a history of strong showings together.
Unsurprisingly, Tatsumi was at the centre of a lot of what was good here. Whether she was bullying Uta, engaging in limb warfare with Haru or getting into it with Aino, she was great with everyone. To continue a theme of this review, it was both a performance that stole the show, but also one that allowed everyone else to impress. As for the new rookie, now that she’s out of the ‘just don’t fuck it up’ stage, I think she’s more intriguing than exciting. Konatsu is relatively physically competent in the ring, although I do suspect her talents get slightly overplayed because she can do a cool flip, but her personality hasn’t quite matched up with that. In a showing like this, with so many big characters, she faded into the background a bit. I’ll admit that her clinging desperately to a sleeper was more like it, but even that is something that Shino Suzuki is already doing better than her. She’s not yet found the spark that makes her come alive.
Still, this was a decent match. It’s nothing you need to go out of your way to see, and any TJPW fan has seen a million variants of it, but it goes down as one of the better examples of the form. Sometimes it really is as simple as letting some fun wrestlers loose to do their thing.
Verdict: It Was A Nice Time
Mizuki defeated Pom Harajuku
I sometimes get the impression Mizuki has more fun with these matches than she does with any of the title stuff. Her heart belongs to messing around with Pom.
These two have interacted a surprising amount recently, mainly because Mizuki keeps stealing Pom’s shoes, and this was a fun pay-off. (The shoes did eventually come off.) Pom, in particular, was in a nonsense-heavy mood, hiding under the ring before dragging Mizuki around in a couple of pool floats. However, we also got to see a touch of her more serious side, which does tend to sneak out in these matches. After my ramble about TJPW’s switch towards more limb-work in my review of the latest Miu Watanabe vs Shoko Nakajiima match, we even saw her follow up on her shin work by going after the leg. It didn’t really go anywhere, but considering her history, I’d be willing to put that more down to Mizuki’s selling than Pom’s attacks. It’s not one of the rabbit’s many talents.
Matches like this live or die on the question of the fight put up by the Pom of it all. We know she’s not going to win, and that it is ultimately a light-hearted distraction, but Harajuku excels at coming up with something new. While I don’t think any of this will be added to her list of particularly inspired plots, there was still a lot of fun to be had. Just because something is throwaway, doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyable.
Verdict: I Smiled
They announced that Priscilla Kelly will be returning to TJPW for the first time since 2018. I’d be lying if I said that held any real interest for me. Judging by recent history, they’ll probably pair her up with Miyu, and, well, that will be a match that happens.
Yuki Arai defeated Maki Itoh
A match that would have already felt like something of a passing of the torch has only become more so in the aftermath. On the day I sat down to watch this show, Maki Itoh announced that her contract with Tokyo Joshi had expired. Like many, Itoh was one of my gateways into TJPW, as the fantastic The Miracle Apricot Podcast (from old friend of the site, Flupke) about her inspired me to leap in. A quick check suggests it’s still up, and while it’s six years old, I can’t imagine there are many better resources about Itoh out there. She was, at that time, perhaps the most interesting wrestler around. Part of that was her undeniable charisma, but there was also a rawness and a vulnerability to her that made her feel like more than just the brash, over-the-top character she wanted to present to the world. Sadly, I think over the years, her more human side has been somewhat stripped away, and while she’s still capable of greatness (her stuff with Uta is proof of that), she doesn’t sit quite as highly in my esteem as she once did. Still, I hope whatever she does next, she smashes it, and I certainly won’t be the one to bet against her doing so.
I also now can’t imagine what my reaction to this match would have been without that knowledge. Before it even begins, Arai appears emotional, and while I guess that could be explained away as this being a big moment for her, it makes so much more sense now. Itoh has been a part of Arai’s career since day one. The fact that this was the end, at least for now, may not have been in the public reading of this text, but it presumably was in the heads of the wrestlers, and as such, it slipped into the action. It was a goodbye that no one watching knew as such.
And partly, that comes out in ways that, if I had watched it not knowing it was the end, might have annoyed me. Itoh was dominant here, playing the hits and taking every second to soak up the crowd. As hinted at above, that’s not my favourite Maki. My favourite Itoh is the barely contained ball of angst, and this stuff was all a bit too cool. Knowing it was her last chance, though? That helps it hit stronger. The cutest punches in the corner, every motion for a fan response, and playing the role of the veteran against the youngster all make so much more sense in that context. We even got an encore of the old hard head bit, something that has become a much smaller part of her act in recent times. I try not to be ruled by nostalgia (I think it’s generally the domain of dullards), but sometimes you have to accept its pull and enjoy the ride.
Ultimately, from the company’s point of view, it makes perfect sense for Itoh to go out this way. However, if I were being harsh, I’d say that of all Arai’s accomplishments, putting the cap on Maki Itoh’s career in Tokyo Joshi is the one she deserves the least. Yes, they both came from an idol background, but Arai already turned up polished and ready to go. She’s much closer to the Itoh of today that the one we met all those years ago, and while I’m not going to argue against her talent, she doesn’t have a fraction of what made Maki so interesting. The Itoh who walked into TJPW was a furious middle finger slammed into your face, while Arai has always been a smile and a wave. Itoh may not be that wrestler any more, but I’ll miss the new version of her all the same, and if Arai ever does capture a fraction of her early genius, she’ll have had a hell of a career.
Verdict: Go Fuck ‘Em Up, Itoh
Aja Kong, Ober Eats (Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara) & Mifu Ashida defeated Kyoraku Kyomei (Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao), Kaya Toribami & HIMAWARI
A superhero, a kaiju, a bird and a sunflower teaming up to try and take down one of wrestling’s greatest bullies. Only in TJPW. There was a moment when they were taping Aja Kong to the ringpost, where the look on Aja’s face said it all. It sat somewhere between bemusement and nonplussed, but it screamed: ‘Do you really think this can stop me?’. Spoiler, it couldn’t.
It’s funny that the TJPW roster has now worked with Aja for long enough that they’re better at deploying her in these matches than most companies are. They know she’s there to be the punchline of a bit, a tank to flatten someone or to give a wrestler their moment in the sun when they stand their ground against her for more than a few seconds. Everyone else is then tasked with providing the running around and antics to make sure those moments hit as hard as they possibly can. I don’t want to act like it’s all filler (it’s not), but Aja is a very handy exclamation mark to be able to throw out when you need to reset.
Not that she was needed for the finish. After HIMAWARI and Kaya combined to take out the legend, the attention shifted to Kyoraku Kyomei and Ober Eats, as we set up a rematch from TJPW’s show in Las Vegas. I’ll be honest, that one doesn’t inspire me. Do they think they have to run it back to make up for the Japanese fans not seeing it? They’re surely not going to switch the belts, are they? Even away from booking issues, it’s just a bit dull. Kamiyu has felt a touch unmotivated recently, never really seeming to get out of second gear, and this is already Wakana’s third attempt at the tag belts in her short career. I feel like she needs to earn it a bit more.
Still, this was a solid match. You got the Kong fun, some decent performances throughout, and regardless of what I think of it, Wakana stealing the win did the job it needed to. If I were ranking the multi-person tags on this show, it would sit in second place, but HIMAWARI selling an Aja Kong slap is always going to get some credit from me.
Verdict: Solid
Miu Watanabe defeated Arisu Endo to win the Princess Cup
The question for years in TJPW was, ‘How do you beat Miyu Yamashita?’. Shoko Nakajima had the knack, but aside from her, the roster spent their time chasing the distant figure of their Ace. Now, even with Miyu’s newfound position of power, that dynamic is shifting. It’s becoming, ‘How do you beat Miu Watanabe?’. Like Yamashita before her, Miu is transforming into a seemingly indestructible presence, as she brute-forces her way through the roster. She’s been desperately telling people for the last year or so that she’s a princess, not a monster, but if she is, she’s a hell of a monstrous one.
And Arisu Endo was an interesting challenger. A bit like a younger Miu Watanabe, Endo has slowly embraced her wee hoss. She’s not bulked up to Miu’s levels yet (and actually, the more apt comparison is Yuka Sakazaki, but she’s not around), but when she once relied on her speed alone, she’s now able to fall back on power, too. Of course, against Miu, she was never going to be able to win if she insisted on butting heads. Instead, she had to find ways around Watanabe, darting around the ring to construct openings. The best of those was when she wriggled out of Miu’s attempt to take the Teardrop to the top rope before coming crashing down with a knee to the back of Watanabe’s head, driving it into the apron. That, followed by the Camel Clutch (and another knee), felt like Endo’s moment. Like she’d managed to fashion something out of nowhere, using that pace to open up for the bigger hits. The problem? Miu’s a monster.
And there were a handful of moments like that throughout the match, when Endo looked to have finally broken through. It’s just that no one has ever actually broken through against this version of Miu. She takes the hits, absorbs them and smacks you harder. It’s fascinating to see an Ace-like being crafted in real time, particularly one that has the potential to be this dominant. She’s not quite there yet, but she’s figuring out how to answer all these questions. To adapt to the different opponents being placed across from her. Endo put on perhaps the best singles performance of her career, but she just didn’t have as many weapons at her disposal. When it came down to it, and they laid into each other in the centre of the ring, all she had left was heart. And sadly, as much as you might want it to be otherwise, that’s not enough.
As a final note, the very best Aces, the ones that transcend, elevate their opponents. It’s one thing to crush all in your path, but to do that and make them look good in the process? That’s the talent. Endo was brilliant here, but she was given the space to be by Miu. The match was put together with an understanding that for Arisu to shine, it couldn’t just be a Miu Watanabe match. Endo had to be able to take off, dart around the ring and wrap Miu in her knots. In the end, she joined the list who couldn’t answer The Question, but she shone before she got there, and that was the most important thing. Her inevitable International Princess Title run is going to be great.
Verdict: Miu’s A Monster, Endo’s Brilliant
Overall Show
I don’t think anyone will put that down as one of the great TJPW Korakuens. Outside of the main event, there was a lack of stakes, and while there were some good matches, none of them really hit that next level. However, the main ruled, and the rest of the card was really fun. Throw in the intrigue of Itoh’s last match, Toga getting a chance to get into it with Manase and Raku’s dance, and it might not be a classic, but it was a good one.
Watch Tokyo Joshi Pro: https://www.wrestle-universe.com/en/videos?labels=-tjpw.
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