It’s a bit later than I would have liked, thanks to life, but I finally managed to sit down and gather my thoughts on Wrestle Princess VII. As has recently been the norm with these big shows, I decided not to go match-by-match, but instead focus on the broader themes. It was a good one! While these tent-pole events aren’t my favourite TJPW shows (more on that below), that doesn’t mean I don’t have a lovely time at them.
These Shows Aren’t For Me, But That’s Okay
I don’t love big shows. For my taste, Korakuen Hall is the ideal size for a marquee event (the perfect every-week venue is much smaller), so rooms like Ota City Ward Gymnasium will never be my favourite place to watch wrestling. They’re too big, too echoey. I love the sounds of wrestling. The thump of the ring, the rattle of the ropes and the whack of a stiff strike. You lose that in these rooms. I know why companies run them, and there is a value to them, but I’ll always be more excited for a Korakuen.
There’s also the fact that these cards lean broader. They cross over more with DDT and introduce things like the Jushin Liger guest referee spot. I like almost all the wrestlers who appeared on this card, and it was cool to see Liger again, but I don’t come to TJPW for that stuff. Truthfully, I get more excited about seeing Ren and Uta in the opener than I do watching Kumadori. That’s not an insult. The guy is spectacular, and I can see why they’re positioning him as a special attraction, but my attachment to wrestling is very emotion-first. I care about wrestlers I’ve watched for a long time. Shipping someone in for a one-off never means as much.
Which isn’t to say I didn’t like this show. I’m about to go into a bunch of stuff I enjoyed a lot. Wrestle Princess just doesn’t enthral me the way Ittenyon or even a regular monthly Korakuen does. That’s okay, though. These shows are looking to bring in new faces, and if they succeed, I’m happy. Not everything has to be designed to appeal specifically to me.
The Kids Look Great
I already mentioned Uta vs Ren, but I was really impressed by their opener. The last few months have been big for Konatsu. She’s coming alive as a personality. For a while, she was the happy-to-be-there smiley girl, but we’re starting to see the depth behind it, which, combined with her work seemingly improving every week, is making her a lot of fun to watch. With Uta already one of the company’s more reliable undercard wrestlers, it made them the perfect pairing to trust with the important role of kicking things off.
They weren’t the only ones to look good, though. It blows my mind that Shion is somehow already in a position where she can be the veteran on a trios team (and we’ve got more kids on the way). Momo Sato has settled quickly, and while still clearly a rookie, she’s quietly impressive for someone that young. Chieri Sakimori, meanwhile, breezed through her introduction without any major issues. As I always say, if you don’t cry, drop anyone on their head, or hide under the ring, I count it as a successful debut. It’s hard to stand out too much on a big show with 5 other people involved, but it was enough to leave me intrigued to see how she gets on in the next few months.
When you throw in the already reliably good team of HIMAWARI, Shino Suzuki and Mifu Ashida, Haru winning her first title (more on that later), Suzume and Arisu impressing yet again, Toga and Wakana having Venyu’s last match, and Chika and Kira getting the biggest opportunity of their careers so far, this was a very good show for the younger wrestlers in TJPW. While all those mentioned have been around for varying amounts of time, it adds up to TJPW’s bench being loaded up with young talent, a bunch of whom feel like they’re just waiting for a spot to open up. The future is bright!
The Randomness And Guests Mainly Work
It’s funny that on a show where three mascots wrestled (one of whom stabbed Mahiro), the weirdest match still felt like the mish-mash of Aja Kong, Kumadori and Sakura Hattori vs Chris Brookes, Kira Summer and Chika Nanase. I can only assume they booked the rest of the show and then shoved whoever was left over together. However, as much as I moaned about it a bit above, I thought it worked better than expected. Kira and Chika managed not to be overwhelmed when surrounded by unfamiliar wrestlers; Hattori has been finding her groove as this new character, and Aja Kong danced. When you look at it like that, you have to see it as a positive.
Elsewhere, the mascot stuff was what it was. You’re never going to get anything particularly dynamic when you have people in cumbersome suits blundering around, but Raku, Pom, and Mahiro made it work. Plus, the sad one with a knife was funny. Liger’s cameo mainly hits the beat you’d expect, but it’s Liger, so you don’t need much else. It’s amazing that he still moves like a wrestler. The suit obviously helps hide his age, but if you told me that the guy under there was ready to go tomorrow, I’d believe you. Sadly, it did feel like his involvement probably prevented Misao from dragging Mizuki into her full galaxy brain potential, but I’ll forgive it. Misao will get other chances to nonsense.
Finally, Venyu’s farewell was another solid addition to the Kamiyu retirement road. It was cool to see Toga mix it up with Veny, and Wakana obviously added a further emotional element to it. Plus, we got another horny entrance, which, let’s be honest, is what Venyu will truly be remembered for. Like the other matches I’m lumping into this category, it was nowhere near the best thing on the card, but it was what it needed to be.
The Foreign Belts Fill A Spot
With Suzume wrapped up in the main event, the International Princess title was off the board, so TJPW turned to the Setup and Eve belts their wrestlers have picked up to fill the gap. Shoko vs Zara Zakher was what you’d expect. Zara is a great athlete, who I think has improved as a worker since she was last around, and Shoko is Shoko. She’s the best wrestler in the company, so when you give her someone with that much raw talent, she’ll produce something good. I obviously have no idea how long Nakajima will hold the Setup belt for (and I’m hoping she’ll get her hands on another one), but if TJPW want to position it in a similar way to how ChocoPro uses the DPW Title and Marvelous the West Coast Pro one, I think that would be great for all involved.
The more exciting pairing was Miyu Yamashita vs Arisu Endo, with the only real downside being that the Eve belt was on the line. Endo is having a year of heroic failures. Her matches against Spark Rush and Aja Kong being the prime examples. Now, she feels ready to get that big win. I want her to overcome a senior and cement herself alongside her Daisy Monkey partner Suzume at the top of the card. Sadly, with a random Eve title on the line, that was never likely to be the case. They weren’t going to let something that interesting happen.
However, Endo still delivered. She’s really good in this underdog role. That combo of power and speed makes her perfect for it, and there were moments that reminded me of the best Yamashita vs Yuka Sakazaki matches. Endo doesn’t have Sakazaki’s presence, and she doesn’t hit the way Yuka did either, but she’s putting those pieces together. It’s about figuring out how to combine those elements into a complete package that doesn’t leave you stuck between two houses. She’s working out how to be a wee hoss while also showing the vulnerability required to be an underdog. It’s really impressive. Next, we need to see her maintain both of those aspects while becoming someone who wins.
Yamashita deserves credit for it, too. I’ve said it already, but 2026 will go down as one of her best years in a long time. She feels like that Ace again. Someone who will make you look good right until the moment she kicks your head off. The finish, in particular, had a touch of that old magic, Endo leaving one opening and Miyu responding with the Skull Kick that instantly put her to sleep. She’s not as unbeatable as she once was, but she’s still Miyu Yamashita, and that’s a cool thing to have on your roster. As much as I wanted Endo to win, I think there’s also value in not having Miyu put everyone over straight away. If Arisu ever does beat her, it will mean more because of this result.
Haru Wins a Title
Okay, I am vowing to make this the last time I follow this path while talking about Haru. It feels like a good time to retire the bit. However, before I do, I have to, once again, reflect on how far she’s come. As she burst into tears, holding her newly won title while sitting next to one of her heroes, it was impossible not to think of that shy, quiet wee lass who started in TJPW just a few years ago. She’s come to life since then, and in the process, become a damn good wrestler. I’m proud of her. Or as proud as someone who doesn’t actually know her is allowed to be.
And the match ruled. The one downside of The Nerd Squad taking these belts is that it means we don’t get these monthly Daydream defences. You know Miu and Rika will deliver. However, while I don’t think Aino and Haru are quite at their level, they can definitely do something similar. They might not have Rika’s crazy, but they’ve got that power-and-technique combo working for them. Aino batters her way through opponents while Haru goes after the arm. The final act, with Yuki and Tatsumi battling it out in the ring while Haru tried everything to keep Watanabe on the outside, was thrilling. While it was a shame that one part of it didn’t come together perfectly (Aino seemed to be trying to reverse a hip attack into an electric chair position), that wasn’t anywhere near enough to damage the action. They were all brilliant.
It was also lovely to see Miu unable to stop smiling afterwards, seemingly as happy for Haru as I was. She and Rika have taken that MagiRabbi spot. They’re a super team that you can throw into the mix at any moment, but who can also go their separate ways and dominate elsewhere. They teased dissension in the build to this match, but I’m glad they patched that up before the big event. While I’ve no problem with Rika and Miu falling out (another match between the two would be greeted warmly), I didn’t want it to blunt the title change. Shunrai Rekka Prism Greed (I’ve got to write it out at least once) deserved those belts, and they deserved to win them because of their own work. Now I can’t wait to see what they do with them.
Arai Is Getting There
I’ve talked at length about my issues with Yuki Arai and why I think she’s unsuited for the title run she’s having. It doesn’t matter how many people she beats – I just don’t buy her as this Yamashita-esque killer. However, I’ve got to give her credit where it’s due. This topped her match with Miyu as the best of her reign, and by quite a margin, too. It was one of the first times it felt like she was able to bring what she does in the build-up tags into the main event.
And part of that was obviously down to the bee. Suzume is having a special year. Her International Princess defences have been consistently great, and she brought that same energy into this match. Suzume makes other wrestlers look good. She’s such a natural babyface, and thanks to the size difference, Arai was essentially able to bully her. They didn’t go too far with it. Arai isn’t about to start working heel. However, this was a match built on the premise of Suzume being the better wrestler, but the champ being able to power through. Again, we got that great big boot spot, with Suzume blocking the initial blow only for Arai to keep pushing and stomp her into the mat. It looked and felt great, a real moment of dominance from a champion who doesn’t always feel capable of it. That’s the Arai I want.
I can’t lie, my instinct is to complain about the result. There was no real reason to believe Suzume would win here. If nothing else, she’s still the International champ. However, I want Arai to have that weakness. For Yamashita, it was Shoko Nakajima. It didn’t matter how good she was – you knew Shoko could cut her off. I worry that Arai (and Miu, to an extent) doesn’t have that. Suzume could have been that foil. She represents something very similar: a fast, intelligent wrestler who can catch even the strongest opponent off guard. Hey, who knows, maybe Shoko will be Arai’s Shoko, what with her being the next challenger (and I’m very up for another Nakajima title run), but if you want to do this generational shift, you have to let the golden girl lose to someone at her level.
However, that’s a worry for the future. On the whole, this was a really good main event. It didn’t reach the level of Miu vs Suzume, but Arai isn’t Miu. However, it did show that she’s improving. She’s slowly figuring out how to work this bigger match style by herself, and while Suzume was obviously the veteran out there, this is the first time I think it’s been successful with someone closer to her experience level. If she can bring more of this into her future title matches, she might win me over yet.
Watch Tokyo Joshi: https://www.wrestle-universe.com/en/videos?labels=-tjpw.
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