It’s somehow Wrestle Princess time. I swear it comes round quicker every year. Before the show, I saw someone describe this as the weakest of TJPW’s Ota Ward cards this year, but I don’t agree with that. You’ve got Rika vs Pom for fuck sake! Not to mention the return of Apple Ice Cream. There was a whole lot I was looking forward to here, so let’s get on with it.
Before the show, we were introduced to three new rookies! Shion, Anri and Yuka. They all introduced themselves to the crowd, and I tried to pick up some of the Japanese, but mainly failed. I’m pretty sure Yuka is still at school and is a Kamiyu fan, though. They also announced a TJPW show in Bangkok, which brought Setup’s Pumi (who you may know as the original Gatoh Move commentator) to the ring to talk about that.
Mei Suruga & Uta Takami defeated Suzume & Ren Konatsu
My favourite moment in this match was a facial expression. After Uta got things started with Ren by working a headlock, she pulled the rookie into the corner, allowing Mei to come in and take over. As Suruga, in her classic goblin style, violently stomped all over Konatsu, Uta’s face lit up with something between shock and excitement. Watching her wrestling big sister be a dick was opening up a whole new world to young Takami. I’m not about to claim that Mei Suruga is a bad influence on her, but, well, it’s not a huge stretch to come to that conclusion.
Opening big cards is hard. You’re coming out to an excited audience, but one that hasn’t warmed yet, and knows this isn’t about you. Should you be going out to steal show? Or should you be setting the baseline, teaching the crowd what to expect so that the other matches can one-up it? I lean towards the latter, although there are always exceptions, and I think this was a great example of that done brilliantly. It had all the personality and brightness that you expect from TJPW, dashed in a bit of squeaking and goblin-behaviour before adding a splash of Mei and Suzume stretching their legs, but, vitally, kept it all simple. It wasn’t a complicated or ambitious match. It was a group of charming and fun wrestlers being charming and fun.
The one slight disappointment was that Konatsu once again felt more like a body than a key part of proceedings. Look, she’s not the first, and she certainly won’t be the last, to step into a ring with Mei Suruga and find it hard to steal the spotlight, but I was hoping this match might spark something in her. She’s a solid worker for her experience, someone who I think could easily become very good, but she was engulfed by the shadows of the personalities around her. If she’s going to stand out, she needs to find something more than a front flip to make her mark. Still, the other side to all of that is that she’s still incredibly early in her career, and it’s unfair to expect any rookie to turn up fully formed. Maybe, like Uta before her, sharing a ring with Suruga will light a spark that burns brighter in the weeks that follow.
That issue aside, this was a great start to the show. Fast-paced, bright and easy, it left me with a smile on my face. I’ll never ask for more than that.
Verdict: A Joyous Start
Mahiro Kiryu won a Delayed Entry Battle Royal for the Ironman Heavyweight Title
Our second match was essentially a rerun of the Ironman Title Delayed Entry Battle Royal from the Princess Cup Final, but they’d swapped out the small arm-wrestling idol for a big otter.
That’s an observation that should not be mistaken for a complaint. The nonsense world of the Ironman Title is one where I feel very much at home. My only issue with them is a selfish one: they’re a pain in the arse to write about. It’s easy to fall into the mistake of relaying all your favourite jokes, but I can promise you that, whether it’s me or someone else writing them down, they’re nowhere near as funny as they are on the screen.
Still, I like to provide some highlights, my pick of which was Shino Suzuki’s performance. Whether she was seriously wrestling an otter, attempting her first heel turn or being put upon by everyone else involved, I thought she was great here. I suspect there might be some value in her having an Ironman run where she desperately tries to hold onto her belt. We also got a taste of an old DDT staple, as an inanimate object found itself at the centre of the whole thing, all of which was very enjoyable.
You know what this is. It’s not going to suddenly produce something you weren’t expecting. It’s light-hearted, nonsense wrestling that was in the perfect spot on this card. I also happen to adore it. I adore it for the joy it takes in that nonsense and how it lets everyone take a moment to show just how delightful they are. If these are going to become a regular staple on big TJPW shows going forward, you won’t hear a single complaint from me.
Plus, Mahiro’s a champ!
Verdict: A Blast
Aja Kong defeated HIMIWARI
Talking about knowing what to expect. Aja Kong’s role in TJPW is well established. She’s either there to do odd-couple comedy with Raku and Pom or to school someone in a short singles match that will, hopefully, give her opponent something in defeat. Wrestle Princess gave the Powerful, Cheeky Chappy an opportunity to try her luck at the former.
A lot of people, understandably, approach their matches with Aja Kong with their serious face on. Aja is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, and even as she’s adjusted to the damage her body has taken over the years, she’s still got that big, beautiful wrestling brain to fall back on. Wrestling Kong will always be an opportunity, so people want to show the best of themselves. The problem is, when you go all serious, you can often lose the things that make you special. Part of what has made Aja’s interactions with Pom and Raku over the years so delightful is that they show no desire to prove to her that they’re great wrestlers. They meet her as themselves, and she clearly loves getting to mess around with them.
And while this was not a nonsense squad match, HIMAWARI did something similar here. She wrestled the Aja Kong match, throwing some of the hardest forearms of her career and eating bins to the head, but she retained her innate HIMAWARI-ness. There was hair-swinging and attempts to flee, all of which made this so much more than just another Aja Kong match. She managed to make it a HIMAWARI and Aja Kong match, and how many people can seriously say that? HIMAWARI attacked the monster in a way that only she could, and while the outcome was ultimately the same, of all the Aja Kong outings I’ll watch this year, I suspect this is the one I’ll remember best.
Verdict: The Powerful, Cheeky Chappy Smashed It
Pom Harajuku defeated Rika Tatsumi in a “Flag Scramble” Authorised Weapon Death Match
Glorious! Utterly glorious!
On a show loaded up on nonsense, I did wonder if this match was going to feel a touch too much. I’m an idiot. Who better to make sure they stand out from the rest than Pom and Rika?
The stipulation was essentially a glorified capture the flag, with your prize for capturing it being one of the two weapons you had chosen before the match. There were a whole load of punchlines in there based around said weapons, all of which were great, but that was window dressing. The core of this match was a lot simpler than that. It was all about Rika, one of life’s great bullies, underestimating Pom, one of life’s great underdogs. Sometimes you just need to add those two things together and let them loose.
And this was a match built on Rika Tatsumi’s hubris, of which she has plenty. From pulling down one of her flags herself, in order to torment Pom more, to her second weapon choice ultimately proving her downfall, Tatsumi was too focused on the bullying and not enough on the winning. Meanwhile, amongst all the nonsense, Harajuku was fighting for her life. Yes, her first weapon choice proved ineffective, as she seemed to have gone for the more equals better approach to life (admittedly, that does fit her three-year-old ideology), but she was going for this. It’s not often Pom gets the chance to wrestle a main eventer on a big show, so while none of her matches are ever going to be entirely serious affairs, there was a sense that she wanted it. For Rika, this was a chance to be a bit violent and have some fun. For Pom, it was a chance to make a statement.
What a perfect way to do it, too. Rika isn’t hurt by slipping up in a nonsense fest. She can pin Pom the next time they face each other in a tag, and it’s all forgotten. However, this is still a moment for Harajuku. It’s a lovely way to give someone who has worked their arse off, chiselled out a spot for themselves on the card and, importantly, got really good, a moment to shine on a show of value. TJPW seems to have realised just how important people like Pom, Raku and Mahiro are to what they do in recent years, and this is yet more proof of that. I couldn’t be happier.
Verdict: That’s Our Pom!
Hiroyo Matsumoto & Yuki Arai defeated Toga & Haru Kazashiro
Is Hiroyo Matsumoto’s TJPW debut her completing the set. Are there any prominent joshi companies left that she hasn’t wrestled for?
I feel like I come back to this every month or so, but how amazing was it to see Haru grinning from ear to ear as she called out Matsumoto? That shy wee lass who couldn’t be interviewed for a documentary without having Runa around is long gone. Everyone knows how easy it is to be cynical about the way wrestling treats its performers, but watching her grow up and come to life in that ring has been a real pleasure. Even the way she moves around the ring now feels like seeing a different person, and so much of that is down to her confidence. She holds herself like a wrestler now.
That little gem aside, this was TJPW putting another hoss in Toga’s path and seeing how she dealt with it. Her answer was to get all fired up. The first time she tagged in, she barrelled through Arai to get to Hiroyo. Sure, she repeatedly ate shit for her efforts, no matter how hard she laid down those forearms, but she wasn’t blown away, and that’s the important part. When Toga first debuted, you got the impression that she found this all a bit too easy. It was easy for her to slip into the groove because she was already a step ahead of where she should be. By putting her in the ring with a Manase or a Aniki, you’re giving her someone who can push her buttons, challenging her to match them as they bring the power. It makes all the difference, and I hope this will follow the path of the last attempt by setting up a singles match between the two of them.
It meant I enjoyed this more than I expected to. Matsumoto can often feel like she’s going through the motions on shows like these, but both Haru and Toga came at her, and that seemed to push her to bring something to it all. As for Arai, it’s unusual for her to be in a match on a big show that isn’t about her, as she’s become used to being the centre of attention. However, I think that’s no bad thing. Some of her best work was alongside Saki Akai, and she was able to settle into a similar role here, playing second fiddle to Matsumoto. With her having done all the big title shots recently, a tag-team like this could be the perfect way to help her continue her adjustment to life as more than just a special attraction.
Verdict: More Toga vs Hiroyo, Please
Ryo ‘Aniki’ Mizunami & Yuki Aino defeated Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami
Between this, the Princess Cup and being part of the Ironman Title Battle Royal on the last Korakuen, it’s been really nice to see Miyu Yamashita enjoy her wrestling again. Okay, that’s probably the wrong wording. I’m sure Miyu has been enjoying wrestling. However, she has been working a lot of matches with foreigners that required her to have American indie style ‘epics’. What I’ve always respected about Yamashita’s ability as an Ace is that she is an adaptable wrestler. Some of my favourite matches of hers have been five-minute early on the card affairs where she’s been caught off guard by Pom’s shin kicks or Neko’s scratches. She can be fun! Watching her frantically try to escape Aniki’s chops while Toribami sacrificed her to protect herself was a reminder of that.
Not that this was another piss about. Aniki brings the fun, but she also knows how to get the best out of people, and she needled Yamashita the perfect amount before this began. In between fearing those chops, Miyu was going for it, laying in those strikes as she looked to assert her dominance. Aniki is not someone who will go down for you if you treat her lightly, but she’s also not going to get drawn into anything too stupid. In other words, she was the perfect person to bring the best out of Miyu, and this was one of my favourite performances from her in a while. Everything felt crisp and violent without the excess that has come in from her time overseas.
And yet, in a swerve I did not see coming, that’s not what this match was about. I don’t quite know how to explain this (fashion is not my strong point), but Aino’s new gear feels like the choice of someone confident in themselves. I don’t think it’s ridiculous to suggest that even after Tenma’s retirement, Yuki has struggled to escape the shadow of being her little sister. However, in the last year or so, it’s felt like she’s finally starting to figure herself out. It’s perhaps silly to say it, as she has ultimately become the second name in another tag team, but partnering with Aniki appears to have uncorked her. This switch in gear to something more feminine and fluffy, plays into that. She’s taking the parts of herself that were there as part of a team with her sister, but pushing them out, adapting them to herself and becoming even more of her own person than she already was. Plus, she’s been wrestling damn well, and while the booking hadn’t caught up with that before, this felt like that moment. Beating Miyu in TJPW will always mean something, never mind tapping her out in the centre of the ring on one of the biggest shows of the year.
It made for another match that I enjoyed a lot more than I expected. It felt like a way to get a few people on the card in a relatively high-profile spot, but once it got going, they all made it feel like more than that. I haven’t touched on her at all, but Toribami is having easily the best year of her career, and while she was fourth fiddle here, she did everything that was asked of her brilliantly. Sometimes everything just falls into place and creates something close to the best version of it that it can be. This felt like one of those moments.
Verdict: Yes, Aino!
Arisu Endo defeated Priscilla Kelly to win the International Princess Title
Confession time, I don’t give a flying fuck about Priscilla Kelly. I can’t pretend I’ve seen a whole lot of her, but the stuff I saw on her previous indie run was underwhelming at best, and I can’t imagine a few years learning from Shawn Michaels has changed that. She’s also not the kind of import I’m particularly interested in seeing TJPW take over. Their best work in that realm has always been total wildcards like Max the Impaler or unknown names who catch you off guard. With a couple of exceptions, the GCW adjacent crowd are the worst of the lot.
Sadly, this wasn’t the match to change my mind. She’s just trying a bit too hard, isn’t she? The arse slapping, stink faces and giant gestures to the back row. I’ve spent a fair amount of my time in metal clubs and at various alternative gigs over the years, and Kelly reminds me of the teenagers you see at a lot of these things. The ones who have only just got into the scene and are going overboard in an attempt to fit in. You don’t have to prove yourself. You’re already here! I promise you the rest of us don’t care half as much about you as you think we do.
It’s the same with her wrestling. Everything feels like a sequence, something she’s worked on until it’s perfect. She’s got her taunts after something successful or her screams of frustration after a kickout. It’s more like a video game than an actual human. I know every wrestler does stuff like that, but the best still make it feel organic and off the cuff. Endo firing up is no less cliche, but it feels less like something that she’s ticking off the list because it’s the time in the match when she’s supposed to do that. She’s, and I hate to use the word, less fake.
Arisu’s performance wasn’t enough to save this, though. The match was built around Kelly being dominant, raising the worry of it not being Endo’s moment, even as we all knew it should be. In that sense, it worked. The fans chanted Endo’s name towards the end, and her final flurry, delivered with a busted nose to add to the visual, was exciting. It’s not a match I’m ever going to go back to, but when that moment is clipped up for a video package, it will look badass, and I guess that’s always something. Plus, Endo is champ! I could never be too down on that.
Verdict: The Match Was What It Was, But The Result Was Perfect
Ober Eats (Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara) defeated Kyoraku Kyomei (Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao) to win the Princess Tag Titles
We’ll never know what this match would have looked like if a misplaced Misao knee hadn’t knocked out three of Wakana’s teeth, but one suspects it would have been very different. If nothing else, Wakana probably wouldn’t have eaten a burger in the ring pre-match as a sign of defiance.
Even more than that, though, Kyoraku Kyomei responded to Wakana becoming naturally sympathetic by veering in the opposite direction. Misao’s pre-match promo was taunting, and while there was a touch of bike nonsense at the start, they quickly got down to isolating Wakana and working her arm. It’s not a role we’ve really seen Shoko and Misao work together, but they’re good at most things, so it wasn’t a shock that they pulled it off. The work on Wakana was good, and while it wasn’t actually connected to her arm, her hand continually straying to her mouth really added to the whole thing. I’ve no idea if it was selling or genuine worry, but you did get the impression that the injury had got into her head, making Misao’s attempt at returning to the jumping knee feel even crueller than it would have anyway.
On the other hand, I don’t think it’s unfair to say that Kamiyu is having an uninspired year. She’s not been bad, but she’s going through the motions, and I was hoping that having a bit of juice behind this match might inspire her. Sadly, that wasn’t the case. Wakana felt like someone with something to prove here, but Kamiyu simply hit her beats, right up until the absolutely baffling decision to have her get the win. I didn’t want Kyoraku Kyomei to lose, but Wakana’s injury and her quick return to make this match gave you a strong reason to have them drop the belts. However, if you’re doing that, why is Kamiyu getting the three? Wakana took Misao out, but this was surely her moment.
I’m happy for Wakana, but that was a rubbish end to one of my favourite runs of the year. While Kyoraku Kyomei will bounce back, and I’m sure Ober Eats will have better title matches, both teams can do much better than this.
Verdict: Meh
Miu Watanabe defeated Mizuki to win the Princess of Princess Title
Miu Watanabe is not a complicated wrestler, and no one will ever brand her a genius. That’s not an insult. She’s amazing at what she does, but what she does is brutal and to the point. Miu will work over your back with a series of slams, spin you around a bit, cave in your chest and drop you on your face. It’s predictable, but because of her pure power, it’s incredibly hard to stop.
Mizuki is a complicated wrestler. Born of Sakuraism, she can easily carry the title of genius. Where Miu is straightforward, Mizuki lives on the edge, catching you off-guard with a moment of inspiration. See the moment in this match when she hit Miu with an improvised Cutie Special on the apron or her counters to the first attempt at the Giant Swing. She can throw a mean forearm for her size and can always fall back on stomping you into the floor, but her brilliance comes from her improvisation.
And for all their arguing about who is a princesses, that was the clash at the heart of this match. Mizuki has previously got one over Miu with her touches of magic, but Watanabe is only getting stronger, and she’s closed that gap with everyone she’s wrestled. The rabbit did everything in her power to cut her off here, attacking the arm and pulling out moves we haven’t seen before, but she just couldn’t stop her. Miu kept coming forward, finding an answer to every question thrown at her, and brute-forcing her way through the ones she couldn’t.
Truthfully, I have my issues with this result. I think it’s a touch too early to go back to Miu with the belt, and she’s now beaten everyone at the top of the card. Even when Miyu Yamashita was dominant, she had Shoko Nakajima as her living banana skin, ready to slip her up at any moment. Unless someone else is going to be elevated, Miu doesn’t have that now. She feels like she’s taken Yamashita’s place as the all-dominant champion, and it’s hard to imagine anyone overcoming her.
However, that’s probably a discussion for another day because, unlike the last match, this made up for my issues with the booking with the action in the ring. Miu and Mizuki built on what they’ve done before, both finding new ways to try and get out with the win, until Miu was forced to dig deep and hit a new spinning version of the Teardrop. For all that I started this laying out why she’s straightforward, she was the one who was able to pull something completely new out of the bag, catching Mizuki off-guard just as it looked like she might survive, and dropping her for the three. Does that make her a princess? Who knows, but maybe she could be a genius after all.
Verdict: Quibbles With The Booking Aside, This Was A Great Match
In the aftermath, Yuki Aino came out to challenge for the belt. My only issue with that is that having her be Miu’s first defence means there is very little chance of her winning it.
Overall Show
That ended up being a weird show in the end. The undercard was great. Everything was breezy and fun with a few real shocker results in there, too. Then the title matches started, and things dropped off a bit. The main event was great, and I’m delighted that Endo has finally got the belt, but between Priscilla Kelly and an uninspired tag match, it wasn’t the best. Still, on the whole, I really enjoyed this show, and there was a lot more good than bad.
Watch Tokyo Joshi Pro: https://www.wrestle-universe.com/en/videos?labels=-tjpw.
Ramblings About Wrestling 