Dramatic DDT

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’25”, 16/03/2025
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium

1. Yoshiko Hasegawa & Mifu Ashida Vs HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki
2. Kakeru Sekiguchi, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Ivy Steele Vs Kaya Toribami, Kira Summer, Chika Nanase & Uta Takami
3. Max The Impaler Vs Moka Miyamoto
4. Aja Kong, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Yuki Aino, Haru Kazashiro & Toga
5. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Pom Harajuku (c) Vs Raku
6. Special Single Match: Willow Nightingale Vs Miu Watanabe
7. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura Vs Yuki Arai
8. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Arisu Endo
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi

Spring has arrived and with that comes the first big arena show for Tokyo Joshi Pro in 2025. This year TJPW has booked the refurbished Ota Ward Gymnasium as their residency for their three biggest shows in Japan this year: “GRAND PRINCESS ’25” this weekend, “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25” in July and “WRESTLE PRINCESS VI” in September. Let’s stick to the short term because not only is this Sunday’s show pretty important by itself, according to TJPW’s English tweets it will play a big part into deciding the championship matches for their trip to Las Vegas next month. All three TJPW championships are on the line here along with a fourth title from the outside. There’s also a few guests here and there to liven up the undercard as it all builds up to a main event that will be more “Wrestle And Romance” than anything Genichiro Tenryu ever came up with.

1. Yoshiko Hasegawa & Mifu Ashida Vs HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki

The show starts off with the two latest additions to the TJPW roster teaming together. Yoshiko Hasegawa became a regular part of the company last September, sort of filling in the spot on the card left by Nao Kakuta (but not nearly getting as many wins). Her partner here only just joined TJPW at the start of the year catching eyes with her cheerleading entrances. Mifu Ashida hasn’t looked bad in her matches so far but her goal of reaching the top of the company within a year is not going to happen. She’s already been humbled for that so the next step is to see how she will adapt from that.

At the end of last year both HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki had found themselves being overtaken by other wrestlers in their class and needing to catch up. They were both eliminated in the 1st Round of the 2024 Next Generation Tournament. This year they’ve been helping each other turn their fortunes around and it led them to the semi-finals of the Max Heart Tournament. They seem to have a good thing going on and a win here will help their momentum. Getting themselves a team name wouldn’t hurt either.

2. Kakeru Sekiguchi, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Ivy Steele Vs Kaya Toribami, Kira Summer, Chika Nanase & Uta Takami

What can I write about this match when there is not a lot to write about? Has Kakeru Sekiguchi made enough appearances by now for the TJPW roster to tell her apart from Mahiro Kiryu? Surely Haruna Neko will be able to see the difference given that she’s been teaming with Kiryu a lot lately. Ivy Steele has been fitting in and getting matches with a variety of wrestlers up and down the card. Kaya Toribami has usually been on the winning side of the multi-woman tag matches on this level lately. Kira Summer has been the opposite. Chika Nanase exists and Uta Takami added an actually pretty sick looking Cobra Clutch move that she has named the Koala Clutch. So yeah, the result here is going to be a coin flip of a match.

3. Max The Impaler Vs Moka Miyamoto

Well it’s been nice knowing Moka Miyamoto. Her two highlights of 2025 so far are teaming with Yuka Sakazaki on 4th January and getting to wrestle in Chile. The third will be the moment when she attempts the Zero Fighter Kick and bounces off of Max The Impaler like a tennis ball hitting a wall. Most of Max’s appearances in TJPW so far this year was in the Max Heart Tournament where Pompaler made it all the way to the finals before losing. Since then Max has been away from their usual partner rampaging through the company like only they can. Where Max goes from here will be up to them unless the karate skills of Miyamoto can cut The Impaler down to size.

4. Aja Kong, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Yuki Aino, Haru Kazashiro & Toga

Can I get away with calling Aja Kong everyone’s favorite aunt in TJPW because that’s what it feels like whenever she shows up. There are still wrestlers here who want to step up to her and end up getting quite shaken after taking a Back Drop, Diving Elbow Drop or Uraken. But there are also plenty of on the roster who have become reliable partners for her. Yuki Kamifuku is a prime example. She continues to rule over Southeast Asia with the Double Asian Crown in her possession. Every time she gets in the ring she’s the most confident she’s ever been. Wakana Uehara seems to have earned Kong’s respect too going back to their singles match from January 2024.

If the opposing team have anything to their name it’s a lot of guts. Yuki Aino is back to floating aimlessly around the card but when you give her an opportunity to be stubborn in the ring she’ll take it. Haru Kazashiro has improved dramatically over the past year and earned her victory at the Next Generation Tournament. She still has a long way to go but I’m not going to argue anyone calling her the top prospect from TJPW’s new generation. Toga is not that far behind her and there is a good chase to be had with them as both tag team partners and opponents. But they should worry about dealing with Auntie Kong first.

5. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Pom Harajuku (c) Vs Raku

Hands up if you ever thought we’d see the day when Raku and Pom Harajuku are booked in a genuine championship match against each other and not one for a comedy belt. Put it down, I know you’re lying. Alright, alright I take that back. This pair genuinely do have it in them to get an audience emotionally invested in a match like this. Harajuku became one of the most unlikeliest champions in TJPW history when she travelled to Thailand last November and won the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title from Matcha in a No DQ Match! With that success came the champion’s boost that saw Harajuku winning more matches in TJPW and even go on a Max Heart Tournament run that took her all the way to the final. It’s been a wonderful story to follow but it led our champion into a match she didn’t want to happen.

It took Harajuku more than one time to beat Matcha for the SETUP Women’s Title. There was a previous attempt in September 2024 when Harajuku and Matcha fought in a 3 Way Match for the title with Raku as the third person. Matcha pinned Raku to win the match and retain the title that night and the result has stayed in Raku’s thoughts ever since. So when Harajuku brought the championship to Japan and was able to keep hold of it for a few months (not just figuratively because she literally dropped the belt that one time), Raku made the challenge for a title shot. Harajuku refused until Raku explained it’s because she loves her. Let me tell you if I had a nickel for every title match on this show that is built around love, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happening twice.

6. Special Single Match: Willow Nightingale Vs Miu Watanabe

It was this month last year when Miu Watanabe climbed to the top of the TJPW mountain at the 2024 edition of this show. Her run on top lasted for the rest of the year and while it is over for now, she still has some tasty looking matches on the horizon. Like this one for example. TJPW originally wanted to do a Watanabe versus Willow Nightingale match back in the summer of 2022 but visa problems on Nightingale’s end prevented her from travelling to Japan. She eventually got to go on a Japan tour with TJPW later in the year and be in the ring with Watanabe but that singles match still never occured. So what a delight it was last month to see a video from Nightingale announcing she is coming back to finally make the match happen! Smiles are guaranteed and so too will there be power spots galore.

7. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura Vs Yuki Arai

You know, it’s funny. Imagine a world where TJPW somehow exists exactly as it does now but without Miyu Yamashita ever existing. In that alternate universe we probably get Meiko Satomura looking like a ray of sunshine every time she appears because she seems to see the positives in every other wrestler in the company except for Yamashita. Satomura is just be over a month away from her pro wrestling retirement so unless we get an unexpected announcement it looks like Yuki Arai gets the honour of being her last ever opponent ever in a TJPW ring.

The match is the latest in the long line of signs that Arai has TJPW’s full backing behind her. She is also approaching the end of a career soon because she will be graduating from SKE48 at the end of March to put her full effort into pro wrestling. Just being in the ring with Satomura as part of the joshi legend’s retirement road is a vote of confidence in her favour. If she’s giving up her singing career to become the new leader of TJPW she knows she will have to shine bright against the yokozuna of joshi. Maybe she’ll level up so much that she can evolve her Finally finishing move and change it from the Heel Drop into the Scorpio Rising!

8. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Arisu Endo

The fated Daisy Monkey showdown! It’s a dream match Suzume wanted to make a reality from the moment she won the International Princess Title on 4th January. But first she had to get past Jada Stone for her February title defence. Good thing that Arisu Endo thought the same way and approached Suzume right after that match asking to be the next challenger. Suzume has the experience advantage, having beaten Endo in their three previous singles matches against each other. In fact one of those matches opened up “GRAND PRINCESS ’23” two years ago. Back then Suzume was concerned that Endo had caught up with and even surpassed her. Things are a bit different this time around.

While the two are the best of friends, Endo admits this match will be more like a sibling rivalry kicking off. Suzume is like a big sister and Endo wants the IP Title even more because her “big sister” currently has it!

9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao

When 121000000 won the Princess Tag Team Titles for a second time they quickly agreed on their next goal as champions. If Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh cannot reach 10 successful title defences in a row then their accomplished tag team will split up. We’re now approaching the halfway point of the target. They have retained the belts four times already with successful defences in America and Chile along the way. They also have more overseas bookings coming on the horizon so there is plenty of opportunities ahead for them to reach that goal before we know it. There’s a big wall now standing in their way though. It’s a pair of wrestlers with chips on their shoulders for multiple reasons and 121000000 are partially responsible for it.

Kyoraku Kyomei have been together as a tag team for five years and spent most of that time as the bridesmaids of the tag division. It was a team put together when Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao wanted to cheer people up during the pandemic. When the pairing clicked better than expected, they started aiming for success only to fall short on every occasion. The failure that hurt them the most was in the 2023 Max Heart Tournament final when they lost to, you guessed it, 121000000. That loss in particular has stuck with Nakajima & Misao like a thorn in their hearts filling them with bitterness and resentment. So after they finally won the Max Heart Tournament this year (as the only remaining team to compete in all 5 tournaments), they could not be more fired up to get their rematch with Yamashita & Itoh. The champions welcome the challenge. They don’t even mind being compared to overpowered tournament level Pokémon (Yamashita only understood the reference once she saw that Ogerpon does kind of resemble her). Itoh in particular feeds off of that kind of loathing and jealousy towards other people.

If Kyoraku Kyomei can win the match and finally win the championship together, it could result in a massive change in direction for the Princess Tag Titles. Misao has put forward the idea of taking on brand new challengers in future title defences. She wants to fight teams that Kyoraku Kyomei have never faced before even if it means the challengers end up being pairs of wrestlers who don’t normally team with each other. Potential title matches might even get special rules attached to them because Misao has a habit of doing that for her normal matches. She promised management she won’t do that unless the situation calls for it but knowing her that may as well be every situation! Nakajima will be game for it either way.

10. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi

It has taken over seven years for this match to finally happen. I’d argue it is even the most protected match in TJPW history given what it means to the two people involved and their feelings towards each other. Let’s start on the surface. The Princess Of Princess Title is on the line. Mizuki is on her second reign as champion after proving that princess beat monsters and this is the first defence lined up for her. She has been the defending champion in Ota Ward before and came out on top so this is not an unusual experience for her. The challenger Rika Tatsumi is a former champion too but her sole Princess Title reign from 2021 was hobbled thanks to circumstances beyond her control. Her title matches were held in front of reduced Korakuen Hall crowds because of the pandemic and the reign met it’s inevitable end at the hands of Yamashita earlier than expected (and inside an empty venue to boot). At least Tatsumi was able to use those three months as champion to develop her personality more and get a little drunk with power like an immortal dragon should. I wouldn’t call it a wasted title run even if it doesn’t stand among the most memorable.

So what makes this matchup so important? Why did it take almost eight years for Mizuki and Tatsumi to have a singles match against each other? There’s more to this main event than just having a championship on the line. It is all about love. Back in 2018 TJPW still enforced the “Forbidden Three” rules to its in-house roster: no alcohol, no smoking and no boyfriends. Mizuki was approaching the end of her first year working with TJPW as a freelancer and in that time was already leaving strong impressions with different members of the roster. For Tatsumi those impressions were aiming straight for her heart. Spurred on by these developing feelings, Tatsumi confronted Sanshiro Takagi on a DDT edition of the ABEMA talk show “The NIGHT” and poked a pretty big hole in one of the Forbidden Three rules. She publicly admitted to having a crush on Mizuki but didn’t know if that is breaking the rule. Does no boyfriends allowed also mean no girlfriends are allowed too? Tatsumi received a lot of support from fans for calling out the outdated rules and from that point forward her crush on Mizuki became one of her biggest character quirks.

Mizuki’s opinion on the matter was usually kept to herself. It wasn’t long after this when Mizuki formed The Magical Sugar Rabbits with Yuka Sakazaki and became wrestling soulmates with her instead. Every once in a while Tatsumi would show her appreciation for Mizuki whether it was by wanting them to work together despite being on opposite teams or by winning a prize and handing it straight over to her as a gift. It was only in the recent buildup to this match that Mizuki revealed she still has posession of the first love letter Tatsumi ever gave her. It shows that she at least understands and appreciates Tatsumi’s feelings towards her. The reason she kept her distance from Tatsumi for all of these years was over concern that Tatsumi would start to dislike her if they ever did become close.

So now we go back to the Princess Title, the one object that can potentially turn this love story into a tragedy. Tatsumi still regrets how short lived her first title reign went. She has worked hard and achieved other accomplishments since then but feels the rewards were never enough for the challenges she had to get through. She thinks she will have to become ruthless like a dragon to become the Princess Champion again even if that means Mizuki will end up hating her. Mizuki is also willing to risk losing this special bond with Tatsumi if it means she will defend the Princess Title she worked so hard to reclaim. She is certain the two of them will shine in the ring together. But a story like this usually ends up with somebody getting their heart broken.