Today we dive into our first Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling (TJPW) show to be reviewed on the website, and as such, I feel a little run-down on TJPW is needed for those uninitiated!
TJPW is what happens when the worlds of Japanese idols collides with the wacky world of pro wrestling. As it turns out, this collisions creates one hell of a wrestling company, and I've been hooked since I watched TJPW Gran Princess '24 earlier this year. TJPW uses a lot of homegrown talent who tend to be idols that are trained in house, and combined with a sprinkling of some of the best freelance Joshi talent around, it creates one of the most fun, unique and accessible pro wrestling experiences.
This show emanated from the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan and was main evented by Miu Watanabe and Rika Tatsumi.
Wakana Uehara, Toga, and Runa Okuba vs HIMAWARI, Shino Suzuki, and Haru Kazashiro
Before the show officially starts, we have the traditional idol performance from the Up Up Girls! (which Miu is a member of!) who preform their new song in front of the audience at Korakuen Hall.
The show starts with this big six-women tag, and all the wrestler's here are very green, all debuted for TJPW in 2023. In fact, Haza Kazashiro and Runa Okuba are both teenagers (16 and 15 respectively) which is more normal in Japanese pro wrestling, but feels very weird as a fan of American TV wrestling.
The majority of this match was fairly average and mainly served to build experience for the talent in the ring, however there was a great 5 minute stretch at the end of the match with Suzuki and Toga which really lifted the match. Haru Kazashiro looked very impressive considering her age with the small amount of time she was given, and HIMAWARI stood out with her infectious energy.
Considering the experience level of everyone in the ring, this match delivered and helped to give exposure to some new names on the TJPW roster!
**¾
Chika Nanase vs Kira Summer
Chika Nanase and Kira Summer have less than a year of pro-wrestling experience combined, so this is a real battle of the rookies. Kira fought with the curtain during her entrance, already a true pro by putting over the curtain!
This match was fairly basic. It didn’t go particularly long and ended when Kira Summer got the win with a Samoan Drop. That being said, both women didn’t put a foot wrong and I thought the limited action that they did do was entertaining!
**½
Mei Suruga vs Uta Takami
Uta Takami is only 17 here, another very young rookie here in TJPW. Mei Suruga on the other hand has a good amount of experience and has some awesome entrance gear and even a cool banner displayed at the arena. Mei Suruga and Uta Takami have been feuding on social media before this match with Suruga taunting Uta’s dance to the ring and this taunting continued just before the start of the match with Suruga patting Uta on the head like a child (which she is but condescending still!)
I think the best way to describe this match was that it was the wrestling equivalent of two siblings bullying each other. Uta did not look out of place next to Suruga and played off her heel antics very well. A great spot early on that popped me was Suruga repeatedly rolling and pinning Uta with her legs as Uta had a tantrum on the floor. Suruga got the win after hitting a middle-rope springboard footstomp and then stretching Uta which can only be described as a crazy looking submission for the win. I am super impressed with this match, and even though it didn’t go very long, the match went at break-neck speed and was full of great action and fun taunting between the two. By far the best match of the three so far.
***½
Yuki Aino, Raku, and Pom Harajuku vs. Yuuna Manase, Moeka Haruhi, and Kaya Toribami
Aino, Raku and Pom’s team did request this match to be a summer vacation rules match however the opposite team refused so we are getting a regular 6-woman tag. I'm still somewhat new to TJPW so I’m not sure what that would have entailed, but I need to see a ‘summer vacation rules’ match at some point (whatever that entails).
Aino, Raku and Harajuku attack the opposite team with various summer festival themed props they’ve brought with them, and the ref was about to complain however they gave him a party horn that seems to distract him for a while. The referee eventually gets things under control after they all play with the summer festival props and Manase, Haruhi, and Toribami start beating down on Pom. The rest of this match featured some good wrestling with all the six women getting to showcase their differing styles of wrestling and their gimmicks which was ultimately the aim of this match. The finish came after Yuki Aino hit the Scorpion Death Drop for the three. After the match, Manase beat down Pom Harajuku with a hula hoop to get some of her heat back (poor Pom).
Think the match would have been helped with a bit more time dedicated to the actual wrestling portion, however this was obviously playing heavily into the comedy elements and in that sense it did its job well and the crowd was into it.
***
Yuki Kamifuku vs Kakeru Sekiguchi
I had to do a double-take when I heard Kakeru Sekiguchi’s entrance theme, as it comes from one of my favourite anime series, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and is specifically the theme song of the part four’s main character, Josuke Higashikata (I never thought I would be mentioning JoJo in a wrestling review). Karagu's entrance jacket looks to also be inspired by Josuke’s school uniform. I’ve never seen Yuki Kamifuku but her graceful mannerisms during her entrance and her look alone certainly stand out to me. This match was supposed to be Nao Kakuta and Kamifuku in Nao’s penultimate match in TJPW, however Nao has a lower back injury and so Kareku is standing in her place.
These two put on an enjoyable match, and saw Kakeru’s energy clash against Kamifuku’s ‘elegance’. The last two minutes were really enjoyable and resulted in Kamifuku getting the win with a Famouser (shout out to Billy Gunn). Both wrestler’s utilised Nao Kakuta’s offense, who was at ringside, during the match and that added emotion and heat helped to lift this match. Kamifuku cuts a promo following the match paying tribute to Nao and the three pose for photos together as the crowd applauds them.
Overall a short but fun match, not quite as good as Suruga and Uta for me however this match certainly takes its place as the second best match so far on this show.
***½
Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh vs Mizuki & Emi Sakura
This all-star TJPW tag match here signals the first of four big matches on this card. Maki Itoh has a Birthday Girl banner on her microphone which is a really cool touch - she also has her GCW Extreme Championship with her which looks very cool on her.
Early on in the match, Emi Sakura does the Freddie Mercury Live Aid 1984 spot with the crowd whilst putting Itoh in the Romero special which was very cool. At a later point, her and Mizuki give Maki Itoh a cup of invisible tea when Itoh was doing her crying spot, but Itoh spits it at Mizuki. My favourite section of the match was definitely Emi Sakura and Miyu Yamashita’s couple of minutes in the middle of the match which had some awesome looking stiff strikes and some great comedy from Emi Sakura. The finish of the match comes when Maki Itoh and Miyu hit a top rope DDT and a German Suplex combination on Mizuki, before Miyu connected with the Skull Kick for the win.
This match is the perfect showcase of what TJPW is about - great comedy spots, crowd interaction, some superb wrestling and some really hard hitting strikes. The history between the competitors, particularly Miyu Yamashita and Mizuki, really helps to elevate this match even further. By far the match of the night so fa- OH MY GOD, EMI SAKURA JUST ATTACKED MIZUKI - didn’t see that coming, but Sakura is facing off against Mizuki in a match for the Asia Dream Tag Team Championship in Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling so a smart play from the Queen there (might have to go check that one out)!
****
Aja Kong vs Shoko Nakajima
This is built as a special match as the living legend Aja Kong takes on the “Big Kaiju” Shoko Nakajima. Nakajima has one of my favourite gimmicks in wrestling, her gear makes her look like a big bear or something and despite being quite small, she is convinced that she is a big monster, or “Kaiju”, and her facing an actual monster in Aja Kong is an awesome idea from TJPW.
Shoko Nakajima tried to attack Aja Kong before the match started but Aja just whacks her with a tin can (ouch). This match starts with them brawling on the outside and Kong attacks her with a chair like Shoko owes her money. Shoko starts off a little sloppy with some of her moves however her energy shows through and she doesn’t miss a step as the match progresses into the latter half. The big theme of this match is Shoko using a variety of diving moves to try and stop the bigger Kong whilst Kong uses her size advantage to try and stop Shoko’s diving attacks. There was also a number of beautiful dives onto Kong from Shoko, including a gnarly looking Senton from the top turnbuckle onto Aja Kong. Kong got the win here after hitting a huge elbow drop from the top rope for the three. Kong tells Shoko to face her again when she is stronger and walks off victorious.
This match was fun although I think it should have been given a little bit more time - the story of Shoko trying her best to stop the bigger Kong was told pretty well however as these two have good in-ring charisma and it certainly made me want to see these two face off again.
***½
Suzume & Arisu Endo (c) vs Yuki Arai & Moka Miyamoto - Princess Tag Championship
Suzume and Endo, otherwise known as Daisy Monkey, are making their second defence of their tag belts against Arai and Miyamoto. Moka Miyamoto earned this shot after beating Endo, and the International Princess Champion Yuki Arai offered to tag with her for that title shot.
This match was full of great high-pace wrestling from all four competitors, with some fun tag team spots throughout, that being mainly from Suzume and Endo who have great chemistry together. The last portion saw Miyamoto and Arai frantically try to beat Endo, however Endo and Suzume take care of Arai with a double facebuster before Endo eventually gets the better of Miyamoto with a mean looking camel clutch, getting her revenge on Moka for beating her for this title shot. The four all hugged after the match which was very wholesome to see, a well deserved embrace.
Real awesome match from these four, Daisy Monkey have some fantastic chemistry and that really lifted this match. Best match of the night so far, the main event has a high bar to jump over!
****¼
Miu Watanabe vs. Rika Tatsumi - Princess of Princesses Championship
It’s main event time, and it’s the champion Miu Watanabe making her third defence of her Princess of Princesses championship against the only other grand slam champion in the company apart from Miu, Rika Tatsumi. Rika has previously beaten Miu for the International Princess Championship in 2023 and is looking to repeat the feat again to reclaim the top prize in TJPW. Miu Watanabe beat Miyu Yamashita for the belt at TJPW Gran Princess ‘24, and has not looked back since as she has gone on to defeat Shoko Nakajima and Vert Vixen in fantastic matches. Miu has cemented herself as a top star in TJPW and Joshi wrestling through her in-ring ability and L-O-V-E-able personality.
This match featured a lot of technical wrestling early on which makes sense considering Rika Tatsumi’s fighting style, and Miu Watanabe did not look out of place in at all in this style of match. Miu early on picks up Rika on the outside and carried her up the stairs in the crowd, which Rika responds with by bringing a push cart from the back and pushing Miu Watanabe across the arena before throwing her down the stairs in the crowd (thankfully not on a cart). Following this, Miu manages to catch Rika on the outside after an attempted top rope hip attack, and Miu manages to do a reverse giant swing while Rika pulls one of the aprons completely off in her attempt to stop her.
Rika spends much of this match trying to attack the right knee of Miu in order to make her Dragon Sleeper finisher far more effective, Miu meanwhile uses her strength to try and overpower RIka. The finishing sequences sees Miu managing to reverse a dragon sleeper into a giant swing and then into a dragon sleeper of her own - Rika then reverses the original dragon sleeper into her own one after running up the turnbuckle (shades of Austin vs Bret). Miu manages to drag herself to the ropes, before hitting a softball chop, a Lazerbeam and then the Teardrop for the three.
Really great match, a good mixture of great wrestling with some creative spots which resulted in a solid main event match and another great title defence for Miu Watanabe. Despite the match being over 20 minutes long, I think they could have gone a little longer to turn this great match into a stellar one. Miu cuts a promo after the match praising Rika and saying she wants to work against and with her more - she then talks about the Tokyo Princess Cup and says she aims to win the tournament as Champion before thanking the crowd.
****
A pretty good show all around, and the baseline quality of match on this card was really high. Match of the night has to go to the Princess of Princess Tag match, although the main event and the all-star tag match are both worthy of consideration. Looking forward to watching the upcoming Tokyo Princess Cup, and long live the reign of Miu Watanabe!
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