TJPW were back in Korakuen with their final big show before the Princess Cup. I missed reviewing the last TJPW trip to that famous venue because, while I was there in person, I was horrifically hungover. It meant I came out the other side having enjoyed the show, but feeling unqualified to try and unscramble my thoughts on it. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case with this one. Although, as is now the norm, these rambles are all based on opinions formed in the building, so there’s a chance I missed something, or will feel different on a rewatch.
Uta Takami & Ren Konatsu defeated Shion Kanzaki & Momo Sato
Momo Sato is a 15-year-old idol whose brother already wrestles for DDT, and this marked her debut. At the point when Shion slipped into the ring to be introduced, wee Sato looked terrified, and I was fearing the worst. In the grand scheme of things, though, this was a perfectly solid introduction. She has that rookie tendency to look a bit blank in the gaps between moves, as you can see her brain whirring away, but there was nothing too egregiously bad here. As always, I judge these things with a kind hand. There was no crying, dropping people on their heads, or hiding under the ring, so it counts as a success.
Away from the newbie, I haven’t had much of a chance to write about Shion. The whole moving to Japan thing has meant I’ve been a bit distracted, so I haven’t seen as much of her as I would have liked. Truthfully, she pushes the same buttons in my brain that Wakana did when she first debuted. Her presentation is a bit too polished, a bit too designed to make her a star. Her whole back-and-forth shtick in the corner is the ultimate example of that. She’s got the call-and-response sorted before she’s nailed the wrestling. However, I also kind of acknowledge that it’s unfair to hold that against her. Presenting yourself well is no crime, and while her in-ring work has a long way to go, she is improving. It’s easy, when you like the wrestling I do, to be cynical about people who clearly have their eyes on the top of the card, and I am going to try not to indulge those instincts.
Finally, I was impressed by Ren here. Quietly, in the last few months, she’s become a strong undercard hand. She and Uta, who I always love, were trusted to keep their opponents moving in the right direction, and it never looked like a struggle. It feels about time that she be given a bigger opportunity at one of these Korakuen, just to see what she can do. Anyway, this was a perfectly acceptable opener. With a debut, you just want everyone to get through it in one piece, and with solid-to-good performances from everyone else involved, this did that and a touch more.
Verdict: Welcome, Sato!
Shin Sakura Hirota, HIMAWARI & Mifu Ashida defeated Raku, Pom Harajuku & Chika Nanase
There’s no world in which I’m not going to enjoy TJPW throwing Hirota out there with Pom and Raku. They somehow managed to put her in a match where she was one of the saner people involved.
As always with comedy, I’m loath to ruin the jokes. If you’re reading this, I assume you’re aware of Hirota’s shtick, so imagine throwing that into a TJPW nonsense match and, well, you’ve got the picture. There were boogies, Mifu piloting HIMAWARI like a hair-whipping-mech, and Pom getting to wiggle her arse as she avoided Hirota’s kanchos. In other words, perfection.
To repeat myself from a hundred other reviews of similar matches, you already know whether you’ll like this or not. What I say is irrelevant. I had a great time, and I hope you did, too. If not, well, it’s your loss.
Verdict: You Know What This Match Was
Shunrai Rekka!! Prism Greed (Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro) defeated Mirai & Toga
Mirai and Toga make a lot of sense as a pairing. It took Mirai longer to find it, but they have that same androgynous cool, and their early careers have some similarities. Where Toga had her elbow, Mirai had her lariat. I hope it becomes a regular pairing, as I feel like a run with a more experienced partner would be perfect for helping Toga find the consistency that she’s been somewhat lacking so far.
Where she doesn’t lack it is in her matches with Haru. Those two are great together. Every time I see them paired up, they seem to have come up with something new, and the whole sequence based around Toga cutting off Haru’s springboard dropkick was brilliant. Kazashiro is clearly someone who cares a hell of a lot about this stuff, and Toga’s combination of reliability and strength makes her the ideal opponent for her to try things out with. I hope they get to wrestle each other for a long time.
Elsewhere, it’s funny to think of Arai as Mirai’s senior. When someone leaves a promotion and travels around a bit it always feels like they’ve gained a few years of experience. Less funny, but very enjoyable, was watching them bash into each other. TJPW never quite seems willing to get behind Yuki consistently, as she always settles back into a tag role (which she’s incredibly good at), but I’d love to see her and Mirai get a featured match together. I suspect it would tick a lot of the same boxes that Aino vs Miu did.
Anyway, I thought this was good, verging on very good. Aino and Haru getting the win should be setting them up to challenge for the belts, but with the Princess Cup ahead, we’ll have to wait to see if that’s the case. If it is, I’ll be excited to see what they can do with Daydream because that could have a lot of potential.
Verdict: Good Stuff
Aja Kong defeated Arisu Endo
Fuck yes!
I know I go on about it constantly, but I have no time for people who dismiss late-career Aja Kong. She still fucking rules. There is no mountain bigger, and when it comes down to it, no one better at knowing exactly how much to give. Go back and listen to the crowd come alive for Arisu, rallying behind her as they begin to dream that she can do the impossible. They all know it’s never going to happen, but Aja knows that the right bump, or even the right wobble, can make them believe.
Arisu matches her, too. Despite them not teaming together on the big shows, this is quickly becoming the year of Daisy Monkey. Endo might not be in the title matches Suzume is, but she’s finding her own way to make a mark, sculpting out this underdog role for herself. After her defeat at Sumo Hall, Aja told her that ‘it’s going to hurt anyway, so you might as well punch them with your fist’, and Endo took that to heart. Both literally and metaphorically. She caught Aja straight across the jaw with a right hook, and it was one of the many moments when the crowd roared their approval. Not only did she take her beating like a champ, but she fought back with gusto, earning the touches of vulnerability Kong gifted her.
And because of all that, it doesn’t actually matter that Aja won, squashing Endo with a hellish elbow drop from the second rope. In real sport, glorious failure is still failure, but in wrestling that doesn’t hold true. You can gain just as much by staring down the devil and standing your ground. Endo did that and more in this match and, well, as the old song says, Aja Kong is so much more than just the devil.
Verdict: Outstanding
Yuki Kamifuku, Kumadori & Sakura Hattori defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Yumehito Imanari & Mahiro Kiryu
I had never seen this breakdancing lad before, and my feelings are conflicted. It doesn’t always work. A lot of Kumadori’s movements feel egregious, and it’s leaning heavily into that superhero pose nonsense that always winds me up. However, the key to it is that I’ve never seen anything like that, and it was cool as hell. If I was watching it every week, it might lose its lustre, but as a one-off? Yea, I’m down with it.
That aside, this was the first big stop on Kamiyu’s retirement tour, and it had that vibe. It was a chance for her to get in the ring with a bunch of people, have a good time, and receive a warm reception from a crowd who now know their days with her are numbered. Did that make for a great match? No, but it made for an enjoyable one. It’s not often you get to see the likes of Kiryu and Hattori interact with people outside of the TJPW bubble, and I was happy just to go along with it all. Let’s not pretend I have much more to say about it, though.
Instead, I will take a second to talk about Kamiyu. She is a prime example of someone who stumbled into wrestling, with little to no knowledge of what it was, and made it work for her. Was she always good? God no, there was a point where she was, to be perfectly honest, horrendous, but even then she was entertaining. And when the time came, she worked at it, got better, and ended up being the person who defined the then-floundering International Title after a series of unfortunate events derailed its introduction. Honestly, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if she’d retired long ago, and while I think a motivated Kamiyu still has a lot to give, it’s really cool that she’s going out healthy and happy. I’ll miss her, but I’m glad we got as much as we did.
Verdict: At Least We’ve Got A Few More Months
Chris Brookes defeated Mizuki
There is no one better at this style of match than Chris Brookes. The lazy route would be to position it as inter-gender wrestling, but that’s not a style, and it can be done in a million different ways. What Brookes excels at is situations where he has an overwhelming advantage and is an utter prick about it, while, outside of the kayfabe of it all, also being incredibly generous.
I loved this. If you haven’t watched the show, you’ve probably already seen some of the clips, as Mizuki’s talent for going viral has struck again. It came at a cost, though. She took a beating. Brookes hoisting her over the top rope by her ankle got gasps from the people around me, and it’s easy to see why. It felt like she was in the ring with a giant. Joshi wrestlers typically wrestle other joshi wrestlers, so it’s easy to forget how small they are, but when the rabbit was perched on the top rope and was still only a touch taller than Chris, you remember quite how vast the difference is. He’s a tall hat-stealing fucker.
And yes, you’ve got the viral spots, but it also worked because of how great Mizuki’s offence was. Against someone at size, she was free to hammer home every stomp and throw every forearm as hard as possible. While she was an underdog here, she is still the devil, and she knows how to hurt someone. Mizuki’s size gave Brookes the freedom to throw her around, but Brookes’ size gave Mizuki the freedom to do things she couldn’t do against another member of the TJPW roster.
I’m sure the match with Willow Nightangale would have been great, and hopefully we get to see it someday, but this was something unique, and it made for a great match.
Verdict: A Perfect Pairing
Suzume defeated Wakana Uehara to retain the International Princess Title
I was certain that Wakana was going to win this match. With Arai on top, it felt like the next step in the TJPW plan. Thankfully, I was wrong. Suzume is on a great run, and Wakana would be the wrong person to end it.
The action backed up that opinion. This was easily the weakest of Suzume’s defences so far, and I don’t think it was because of her. There was something about this match that always kept me at a distance. In theory, it was laid out correctly. Suzume has found herself as an underdog champion, unlocking new ways to survive her opponent’s tactics, and this followed a similar idea. Much like Haru, Wakana went after the arm, repeatedly going to the Banana Pillow to try and put the bee away. Unfortunately, unlike Haru, I never bought it. Where Haru’s attacks felt focused and planned out, Wakana lacked that drive. She’s got a lot of fancy ways to get into the Banana Pillow, and some of those look great, but that’s the extent of the plan. Go for the move and hope it works out.
I should maybe throw in the somewhat unusual caveat that I was bursting for a piss during this match, so there is every chance that dulled its edge for me. It’s never great when you’re hoping something will end so you can nip off to the toilet. However, ignoring that, the whole thing summed up a lot of my issues with Wakana’s work. Her big match stuff never quite rings true for me. Wakana won me over after a rocky start to her career (in terms of my opinion, she was doing fine elsewhere) with the realisation that she’s a try-hard nerd who is desperate to impress, but she hasn’t found a way to translate that likeability into these matches. I always come out of her big stuff feeling like she’s playing a pro-wrestler.
The opposite is true of Suzume, though. This title run has worked because of how real she feels. She’s not going to let that belt go without a fight, and these underdog matches play perfectly to her strengths. Yea, she could have probably sold the arm more. I think she did a better job of that in the Haru match, but with Haru’s offence being so focused in that direction, it kind of makes sense. Wakana only went there at the big moments, and while there wasn’t much around it, Suzume’s escapes from the Banana Pillow did get the reactions you would hope for. It wasn’t enough to sell me on this being anything better than alright, but it was enough to convince me the magic hasn’t drained out of her run yet.
Verdict: It Fell Short
Daydream (Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe) defeated Kyoraku Kyomei (Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao) to retain the Princess Tag Titles
I hope these two teams do this forever. They’re great together.
However, if you were to be harsh, you could describe this as a greatest hits set. Kyokyo have figured out the formula, getting the nonsense the crowd want to see out of the way in the opening third, and then knuckling down for the rest of the match. We got the usual bike antics up in the Korakuen stand, with the added joy of Rika kidnapping Mahiro, depositing her on the Hyper Mobile, and helping her act out a modicum of revenge for every time she’s been the one on the receiving end of the bike. If I know anything about Kiryu’s luck, it will be a short-lived victory, but it was a nice moment all the same.
Back in the ring, Miu and Shoko’s chemistry is well-established, while Rika is great with everyone, but Misao is always something of a secret weapon in these matches. She might generally be a step or two behind the others (which is no insult – it’s more about how good they are than weaknesses in Misao), but you can tell how much these mean to her. She hits a bit harder, works that little bit faster and, considering what she’s up against, never looks out of place. Even there, though, there were some familiar beats, including a reprise of her losing her mask, complete with a Veritas before she was able to get it back on. It wasn’t an exact repeat of what we saw before, but there also wasn’t a huge effort to expand their borders.
The thing is, those greatest hits? They’re brilliant. Yes, this didn’t blow my mind or leave me feeling like I’d watched a match of the year contender, but it was still better than 95% of other things. Just watching Shoko and Miu jockey for position, Nakajima’s speed and talent up against Watanabe’s pure power, is an utter joy. Then there’s Rika, the wildcard in it all, who pulled out a dive from the top to the floor, leading with that Diamond Arse, to set up the final act. She’s so bursting with charisma that you can’t take your eyes off her when she steps into that ring. And not only because there is a good chance she’s going to try and strangle someone.
At times, a pairing is so good that your expectations almost become insurmountable. It’s unfair to expect these two teams to have constructed something entirely new when they’ve already made something pretty damn great. Going out and working within the same structure might not be as fresh as it was, but it’s still a hell of a ride, and I really do hope we get to watch this match-up a bunch more times in the years ahead. It would be a waste if we don’t.
Verdict: It’s Still Great
Yuki Arai defeated Miyu Yamashita to retain the Princess of Princess Title
Okay, I’ve got a few different angles on this one, so let’s start with the most positive. Not long ago, I thought I was over Miyu Yamashita. In the midst of the 121000000 run when her attention was increasingly focused overseas, I would have been happy with her following Itoh’s lead and quietly stepping away. At her height, she was an outstanding Ace, but it felt like she’d mentally checked out. I no longer feel that way. In the eight months or so, Yamashita has clicked back into gear, finding some of the fire that made her so great and carving out a new spot for herself on the card. She’s working with the younger wrestlers, helping to elevate them, while also reminding everyone of who she is.
And that made her a great opponent for Arai. My issues with the current champ’s main events come when she’s required to control them. Against an Endo, or even a Kamiyu, Arai is given too much of the action, and she often struggles to fill it. However, as we saw in her title win against Miu, she is suited to that underdog role, and that’s the one Yamashita pushed her into. As she booted her around the ring, invoking memories of so many other title runs that have ended thanks to a skull-shattering kick, Arai looked so much more at home. Whatever you think of her, there were a lot of fans in a busy Korakuen in her corner, and as she took her beatings, they were willing her on to overcome. It’s a formula that works.
Which brings us to the result. Not only did Arai survive the beating, but she triumphed. I wanted Miyu to win this. It would be painted as a backward step by many, I’m sure, but it made sense. Arai, on her first reign, feels like she’s being given just a little too much. Yamashita may not be the Ace she was, but she’s still Miyu Yamashita, and her standing as a wall ahead of the former idol, one that she still can’t overcome, could be the hook for the next who knows how long in her career. The likes of Rika Tatsumi were made by bashing themselves against Miyu, and it felt like time for Arai to meet the same fate. I get it, she’s selling tickets, and that’s a hard thing to pivot away from, but in the long term, I think she needs some fragility.
There is, of course, every chance that comes. Maybe Miyu is simply happy now to step back, giving that role to another, and there is nothing inherently wrong with that. It just felt like if there was to be another Yamashita run on top any time soon (and it’s worth remembering, she is 31, she has loads of time), this was when to pull the trigger. As it is, she still delivered a hell of a main event, and the best Arai has been involved in since she won the belt, so that Miyu magic is still there.
Verdict: Great Match, I Have Thoughts About The Other Stuff
Overall Show
That was a really good Korakuen. A decent debut, some Hirota nonsense, Endo delivering big against Aja and two out of three of the title matches delivering. On top of that, as much as I am very much not an attendance person, the room was busy and the crowd were engaged. TJPW feels like they’re in a good spot right now, and with the Princess Cup having already started, let’s hope they can keep it going.
Watch Tokyo Joshi Pro: https://www.wrestle-universe.com/en/videos?labels=-tjpw.
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