25) Review

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.

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27/08/2025 0

Shoko Nakajima vs Miu Watanabe, Princess Cup (17/8/25), TJPW

I adore how Shoko has used the 619 recently. Credit: TJPW

The times they are a-changing in TJPW. I can’t quite pinpoint when it started, but there has been a noticeable shift towards working a limb. My completely baseless assumption is that with Yuka Sakazaki gone and Miyu Yamashita spending more time working overseas, it’s a consequence of the growing influence of Shoko Nakajima (and perhaps, to a lesser extent, Rika Tatsumi), which could never be a bad thing. It’s been particularly evident in 2025’s Princess Cup. Both semi-finals saw at least one body part being treated most unkindly, and I don’t think that would have been the case a year ago, never mind even further back. It’s a noticeable shift in the house style that seems to be carving itself into the company’s roots.

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19/08/2025 1

Marvelous (8/8/25) Review

Sareee looks very confused. Credit: Here

The 8th of August is a special day in Marvelous canon, as it’s when Chigusa Nagayo debuted as a wrestler. In recent years, it has been reserved for Korakuen, and with the feud with Marigold only getting hotter, the roster was out to defend their honour on the anniversary of the start of their boss’s career. Let’s see if they did a good job.

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11/08/2025 1

Mei Suruga vs Miya Yotsuba, It’s Timeee (18/7/25), ChocoPro

It’s quite the upgrade. Credit: Screenshot

Conventional wisdom dictates that we all eventually morph into our parents. It doesn’t matter how different a road you might walk down, nature or nurture will lead you back to the door you were born behind. That certainly seems true for Mei Suruga. The deeper into her career Mei gets, the more Emi Sakura creeps into her game. We’ve seen it with her bullying of youngsters in Ichigaya, and now we get the joy of watching her go in as the dominant champion against a wrestler she trained. Miya Yotsuba was Mei’s first student to debut, and while she perhaps doesn’t feel like she’s walking in Mei’s footsteps (more on that in a second), she was desperate to prove herself the equal of her teacher.

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31/07/2025 0

TJPW Summer Sun Princess (21/7/25) Review

It feels like forever since we’ve had a big Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling show. Sure, there have been trips to America, farewells to beloved ring announcers and Yoppy’s retirement in that time, but we haven’t had a bells and whistles Tokyo Joshi event since March, which might as well be last year. Thankfully, they have come back with a bang. The now former idol has the championship shot, the two best tag teams in the company are facing off and a giant panda has turned up to wreck havoc in the undercard. It had the potential to be special – let’s find out if it was.

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22/07/2025 2

Mio Momono & Senka Akatsuki vs Mirai & Kizuna Tanaka, Marvelous (13/7/25)

Mio and her large adult daughter. Credit: Here

She’s back!

There is joy in watching Mio Momono wrestle. The grin on her face when she kipped up for the first time, the way she slapped Mirai across the face before standing toe-to-toe with her or even the affectionate chuckle with which Chigusa Nagayo calls her Chuckie on commentary, the love bursting through for her wee menace of a pupil. There are a lot of great wrestlers in the world, and I am fond of many of them, but there are none that make me feel as alive as Mio Momono does. In that, she stands alone.

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15/07/2025 1

Magenta (Maria & Riko Kawahata) vs Takumi Iroha & Ai Houzan, Marvelous (31/5/25)

Tommy was not impressed. Credit: Screenshot

In many ways, the heel turn is the easy bit. You throw a tag team partner through a window, whack someone with a chair or shave off your eyebrows and don some black leather. It’s what comes next that most people struggle with. Especially if, like Maria and Riko Kawahata, you’ve spent most of your career working as an underdog babyface. Suddenly, you’re having to readjust everything you do in the ring, switching to being the one in control and setting other people up for the flurries that you once benefited from. It’s understandable that it would take a while to put that shtick together, but this match, on the typically light-hearted Marvelous tour of Hokkaido, might be the best example of Magenta doing so yet.

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09/06/2025 1

Ren Konatsu vs Suzume, Spring Tour In Nagoya (1/6/25), TJPW

The Arai influence comes through in the facial expressions. Credit: TJPW

When looking at a wrestler’s debut, I think it’s important to focus on what is there rather than what’s lacking. Despite what some like to claim, no one turns fully formed, and as brilliant as the likes of Mio Momono and Mei Suruga proved to be in their rookie years, they’ve only improved since. I’ve previously joked that I consider it a successful first match if they can make it through without hiding under the ring, crying (too much) or dropping someone on their head, but there’s a degree of truth to it. This isn’t music, no one’s best showing is their debut, so if you can get through it without messing up and, in the process, give the world a glimpse of what makes you special, then you’ve done damn well.

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03/06/2025 0

Marvelous 9th Anniversary (5/5/25) Ramblings

I hate reviewing one-day tournaments. The nature of the beast is that you end up with a bunch of short, simple matches that don’t necessarily lend themselves to my usual ramblings. I could, of course, cut it all back, but I don’t really see the point. Writing a 100 words that don’t say anything isn’t quite as mind-numbingly stupid as describing a match move-for-move, but it’s equally valueless. However, there was still stuff I wanted to talk about on this show, so I’m not going to skip it entirely. Instead of the usual shtick, here’s some semi-organised ramblings about Marvelous’s latest trip to Korakuen.

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09/05/2025 2

Mizuki vs Miyu Yamashita, TJPW Live in Las Vegas (18/4/25)

I was going to do a full review of this show, but having done my initial watch with friends, and therefore not exactly spent time taking notes, that would require watching it all again, and I can’t put up with that much of the fucking atrocious commentary and ring announcing. That shit is always excruciating in America (and Britain, to be fair), but it’s even worse when it’s about something you like.

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24/04/2025 0