TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’26” Results

March 29, 2026

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’26”, 29/03/2026
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
3,089 Fans

1. Uta Takami defeated Shion Kanzaki with the Koala Clutch (5:43).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Raku defeated Antonio Honda (c) by Pinfall (2:46 pm).
*Raku becomes the 1,814th champion.
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Staggered Entry Battle Royal: Sumire Uesaka defeated Raku (c), Antonio Honda, Rika Tatsumi/Great Wakabayashi-kun, Mahiro Kiryu, Mifu Ashida, Kira Summer, Chika Nanase, Sakura Hattori, Matcha, Momo Sato and Minimo (w/ Mari Yaguchi) (26:55).
2a. Raku (c) eliminated Minimo (w/ Mari Yaguchi) with the Poppo Chop!! (3:16).
2b. Chika Nanase submitted Momo Sato with the Inari Torii (7:09).
2c. Rika Tatsumi/Great Wakabayashi-kun eliminated Raku (c) with the Great Wakabayashi-kun Bomb (11:08).
*Rika Tatsumi/Great Wakabayashi-kun becomes the 1,815th champion.
2d. Sakura Hattori eliminated Chika Nanase with the Shinden Fudo Ryu Majime Ura (12:51).
2e. Kira Summer eliminated Sakura Hattori by Ring Out (14:31).
2f. Mahiro Kiryu eliminated Kira Summer and Matcha by Double Ring Out (15:32).
2g. Antonio Honda eliminated Mifu Ashida by Ring Out (21:50).
2h. Mahiro Kiryu eliminated Rika Tatsumi/Great Wakabayashi-kun (c) with an Inside Cradle (22:02).
*Mahiro Kiryu becomes the 1,816th champion.
2i. Sumire Uesaka eliminated Antonio Honda by Ring Out (25:29).
2j. Sumire Uesaka eliminated Mahiro Kiryu (c) with the Victor-Style Kneebar (26:55).
*Sumire Uesaka becomes the 1,817th champion.
3. HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki defeated Toga & Ren Konatsu when HIMAWARI pinned Konatsu with the Sunflower Tempest (10:46).
4. Shoko Nakajima, Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro (w/ Ninja Red, Geki Red & Go-On Red) defeated Aja Kong, VENY & Pom Harajuku when Nakajima pinned Harajuku with the Diving Senton (13:08).
5. Mizuki defeated Andreza Giant Panda with the Diving Foot Stomp (8:04).
6. Sareee & Takumi Iroha defeated Miyu Yamashita & Arisu Endo when Iroha pinned Endo with the Running Three (18:44).
7. Special Tag Match: Yuka Sakazaki & KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Hyper Misao & Super Sasadango Machine when Sakazaki pinned Misao with the Magical Magical Girl Splash (21:29).
8. International Princess Title: Suzume defeated MIRAI (c) with the Spring Ring A Bell (15:24).
*MIRAI fails in V2. Suzume becomes the 17th International Princess Champion!
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Jessie McKay & Cassie Lee defeated Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara (c) when Lee pinned Uehara after the IIdolizer (12:14).
*Ober Eats fails in V4. The IInspiration becomes the 20th Princess Tag Team Champions!
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuki Arai defeated Miu Watanabe (c) with the Finally (21:20)
*Miu Watanabe fails in V5. Yuki Arai becomes the 17th Princess Of Princess Champion!

The largest turnout for a Tokyo Joshi Pro ever gathered together in Sumo Hall to see multiple new champions being crowned along with the coronation of Yuki Arai! After many weeks of back and forth tag matches with Miu Watanabe, Arai got to have the last word with a definitive victory to become the new Princess Of Princess Champion. Watanabe was able to block the Finally but did not expect Arai to follow it up with the Rookie Award. Watanabe hit back with a Batting Hammer swing only for Arai to respond again with a Big Boot followed by the Full Nelson Buster. While Arai was too hurt to make the pin there and then, she got into position to hit the Finally and pin Watanabe for the three count.

Arai received the brand new 3rd Generation Princess Title and thanked Watanabe for the match they just had. She convinced Watanabe to get back into the ring so Arai could talk about how much she aspired to be like her, from her debut match with her and all the time they spent training together ever since. Today is the start of another new day and Arai hopes she will fight Watanabe even more. This time it can be her who accepts Watanabe’s challenge for the title. Watanabe said she would like to see Arai hold the title for as long as she can but she is will still aim to become the champion again so she can hold the new belt. They will always friends who will fight for the rest of their lives. When Watanabe left, Arai thanked everyone on the show today for creating such a wonderful time. She thought a lot about what kind of champion she can be and has come up with an answer. She wants to be a champion who can dream and make those dreams come true with her friends. That dream is to make TJPW even bigger and more loved so they can hold a show at the Tokyo Dome! She admits it takes a lot of courage to say that which is why she is saying it in front of everybody. She wants to dream the biggest, most foolish dreams to show everybody the most unbelievable sights!

 

There was more said during Arai’s backstage comments after the show. She actually talked about a dream like this when she graduated from SKE48 a year ago but it was only in front of 300 people. By being able to dedicate 100% of her time to pro wrestling she has not only grown as a wrestler but has also come to enjoy pro wrestling more. Her first defence will be against J-Rod in Las Vegas next month. They’ve been friends during J-Rod’s tours of Japan but have never wrestled each other. She’s looking forward to fighting her in America and likes that they wear the same costume colours. Watanabe has conflicting feelings coming out of the match. She likes Arai but is worried that she may now start to hate her! She can’t explain what these feelings are. But even though she is no longer the Princess Champion, she will always be Miu-derella. She also seems to have attracted the attention of one of the outsiders today. But more on that later…

Ober Eats wanted to defend the Princess Tag Team Titles against a team more glamourous than them. Well, be careful what your ask for. The newly redesigned Princess Tag Titles now belong to The IInspiration! The challengers looked to be in trouble when Yuki Kamifuku gave them the Double Famouser. Things changed when Wakana Uehara tried to do the Sushi Tornado but Jessie McKay countered it into a Blue Thunder Bomb. Cassie Lee took Kamifuku out of the running with the Twist Of Fate, leaving Uehara all by herself. The IInspiration took advantage of the opening and used The IIdolizer on her to win the titles. Backstage Kamifuku thinks the moment they lost was when they saw The IInspiration walk out looking like they were dressed for a night out in Roppongi. She is annoyed that she lost the titles but looks forward to seeing what her next path will be. Uehara said she wants to win all of the championships, both single and tag team. Kamifuku advised her to reflect on today’s loss first and not to get greedy so quickly. Uehara doesn’t know what the future holds but she thanks everyone for supporting Ober Eats. The IInspiration said they were taken aback by how much heart their opponents showed but they’ve been teaming together for almost 20 years and are unbeatable with that kind of experience.

Every time MIRAI has been in an International Princess Title match this year she has brought along someone from Michinoku Pro to stand in her corner. That continued today with Hayato Jr. Fujita making an appearance! But by the end of the bout the spotlight was on Suzume for bringing the title back to TJPW. MIRAI hit her with some heavy Lariats along the way including one to counter a Diving Cross Body from the top rope after a weird looking standoff. Suzume’s use of the Ring A Bell made the difference, with the springboard version putting MIRAI down for the count. The two BeeStar wrestlers then embraced each other after the match. Backstage MIRAI talked about how often she would lose matches in TJPW and be left looking up at the lights. Today felt a little different because of how much she has grown since leaving TJPW. She definitely wants to fight Suzume again. Meanwhile Suzume said she is who she is today because of MIRAI and meeting her again reaffirmed her love for TJPW. Now that she has the IP Title again she wants to defend it against wrestlers from all over the world to make it a championship that everybody wants to fight for. However Sakura Hattori would find Suzume backstage and hand over a scroll to her. In it was a message declaring a challenge for a title match. Suzume accepted her challenge.

Before the intergender tag match could begin, Super Sasadango Machine had a PowerPoint Presentation to explain how he and Hyper Misao could beat Konosuke Takeshita & Yuka Sakazaki today. However the PowerPoint said they have no chance of winning because the married couple are superior to them in every aspect and have a perfectly harmonious relationship to boot. Instead, Sasadango figured the best plan was to have forced synchronization by getting the audience to speak out CyberFight’s corporate philosophy in unison. Misao then led the audience to chant the 2026 slogan for TJPW, “KAWAII! DREAM! STRONG! Pro wrestling that makes you look forward to tomorrow!” Sasadango also worked out that if you mixed their opponent’s names together, you would get Kohnosuke Sakazaki, the guitarist from The Alfee. Using that as inspiration the plan would be for Sasadango to immobilize Takeshita on the stage while Misao summons several wrestlers dressed like her to all beat Sakazaki in the ring. The final part of the plan would be for Misao to spray Sakazaki in the face and then pin her for the win.

As the match began, Sasadango lured Takeshita up to the stage by waving around his personal 1950s style Leica camera. Sakazaki told Takeshita he could just buy a new one but he ignored her to chase after Sasadango. Misao then summoned her extras Hyper MiKAWAII (Uta Takami), Hyper MiDREAM (Ren Konatsu) and Hyper MiSTRONG (Toga) so the four of them could all attack Sakazaki while chanting their slogan. However the four way spray attack backfired when Sakazaki ran out of the way and everyone blinded each other instead. Later when the fighting escaped the ring again, Takeshita missed a Big Boot meant for Sasadango and accidentally hit Sakazaki with it! Later in the match Misao went for the spray again but found out it was now empty. She called for a pause so she could speak on the microphone because she wasn’t able to do it earlier due to Sasadango’s PowerPoint. In her speech she said she was the first one to raise her hand when TJPW were looking for an opponent for Sakazaki’s return. Misao does not have most of her seniors still around in TJPW and Sakazaki is one of them. When Sakazaki graduated from TJPW, Misao never had the courage to express her feelings and was left to regret it. She pleaded with Takeshita to tag Sakazaki in so she could fight her one on one for the rest of the match. Sakazaki would win that battle but Sasadango broke the pin count believing Misao could still win. The match returned to being two against two and Sakazaki got to beat Misao proper with the Magical Magical Girl Splash. Backstage Sakazaki said the “Cultural Pro Wrestling” style provided by DDT and TJPW is something special. Both Sasadango & Misao will continue to represent that style for a long time to come. She also vaguely remembers feeling a kick to her head at some point during the match but Takeshita told her she’s just imaginining things. Takeshita also said that he and Sakazaki will strive for greater heights together hand in hand along with their pet dog Kenshiro. Misao thanked Sasadango for somehow achieving her selfish wish to fight Sakazaki one on one within a 3 meter radiance of Sumo Hall.

High reviews are popping off for Match #6. Miyu Yamashita & Arisu Endo tried their hardest to stand their ground against Spark Rush. Even from the beginning the tension was high with Yamashita and Sareee staring each other down in the ring with some hair pulling to go with it. Endo lived up to her promise not to be the odd one out of the match by bringing the fight to both Sareee & Takumi Iroha. Late in the match Sareee got to roll Yamashita into position for a Double Stomp only for Yamashita to fire back at her with the Skull Kick. Endo wasn’t able to last much longer fighting Iroha by herself. Despite a spirited fight, she was put away with the Running Three. Backstage Iroha said Yamashita was someone who was always on her radar and she hasn’t had enough of fighting her yet. She’d like to see how Yamashita would fare against her outside of TJPW. Both of Spark Rush also thought Endo was just some brat but it turns out she has a lot of guts. Sareee was happy to have Iroha by her side for her return to TJPW. She would like to fight Yamashita again soon but Miu Watanabe has also caught her attention. Yamashita called the match fun but thinks the fun will disappear if she doesn’t win. Endo wanted to say she will keep chasing Spark Rush until she can beat them but struggled to fight through the tears. Yamashita instructed her to hold her head up high and say it clearly.

Mizuki entered an epic battle of David Vs Goliath armed with the brand new Burn Pico Pico Core Axe Hammer. But it wasn’t just Andreza Giant Panda she had to worry about. Andreza was accompanied by other New Nemuro Pro Wrestling acts like Ossan Tiger and Mr. USA, the latter of which tried to interfere at a different points in the match. Mizuki survived the massive Headbutt and Spinning Back Fist, then bridged out of the Andreza Press to start Double Stomping on the panda. She then grabbed her new weapon, climbed the top rope and just like she did two years earlier knocked him down with an almighty swing! Mr. USA spoiled the moment by pulling the ref out of the ring but Mizuki took care of him by doing the Whirling Candy on top of him. Andreza found the fighting spirit to stand back up but Mizuki took him down again this time with the Diving Foot Stomp right to the face. That was the finishing blow for Mizuki to pin the panda. Backstage Mizuki says she really loves pandas but Andreza is evil. With that said she is willing to put this all behind her so she and the Giant Panda can become friends. Andreza’s excuse for losing is he is usually in hibernation at this time of year until early September. He would like to come back for revenge later in the year during a more warmer season.

The Tojo Tokosatsu Club got to achieve their dream of fighting alongside the Super Sentai. They made a big entrance with three of the red rangers Ninja Red, Geki Red & Goon Red Go-On Red. However their opponents had a suprise of their own when they were joined by a trio of villains from the same show and they took Rise Shirai hostage! Pom Harajuku told the Club they shouldn’t have brought their hobby into the ring. If they want to save Shirai then they should forfeit the match! Yuki Aino admitted she was excited to see the Super Sentai collaboration also included bringing in monsters but her team didn’t know what to do. Suddenly the voice actor Tetsu Inada left the commentary table and entered the ring. He said the Super Sentai will never lose and he encouraged the audience to cheer for them because that powers up superheroes just like it does pro wrestlers. Together, the Super Sentai and Tokosatsu Club sent the villains fleeing from the ring, freeing Shirai in the process. It was then time to start the actual match. Harajuku wasn’t worried because Aja Kong & VENY are more dangerous than any monster. The two of them were a tough pair for the Tokosatsu Club to fight. The Club tried to form a Megazord but collapsed under each other’s weight. The other team suffered a setback of their own when Kong missed Shoko Nakajima with the steel can and hit Harajuku with it instead. Haru Kazashiro knocked Kong out of the ring with a second rope Dropkick and the coast was clear for Nakajima to pin Harajuku with the Diving Senton. Nakajima said she worked way harder than usual because she wanted to look her coolest in front of Ninja Red. Aino didn’t want to show a pathetic performance in front of the Super Sentai. Kazashiro thinks they were stronger than usual because their feelings are the source of their strength and the Super Sentai collaboration magnified them today. Kong blamed Harajuku over calling for her to use the metal can because you can’t use an 18 liter can for everything. There’s a time and place for to use it and Harajuku’s timing is terrible! Kong also thought the monsters were useless because they all came unarmed to fight a bunch of Sentai carrying swords and guns!

Many stressful games of Rock Paper Scissors have prepared Shino Suzuki for today’s big match. She couldn’t help but go through it one more time with HIMAWARI as part of their entrance together. The training paid off because Bumping gRitters were able to win their match! Suzuki used the Belly-To-Belly Suplex on Toga while HIMAWARI was able to pin Ren Konatsu with the Sunflower Tempest for the victory. Suzuki was so happy over the result because before the show she said Bumping gRitters were going to leave the ring by walking up the Ryogoku entrance ramp instead of leaving through the side exit. She got to live up to her word. HIMAWARI said next time they’ll try to do it again but on their own. They think they might even get to fight for a championship the next time they come to Sumo Hall! Konatsu talked about how everyone else in the match is from the 2023 class and seeing them all fired up shows she still has a long way to go. Toga said she’ll work hard to overtake the gRitters and win next time.

The Battle Royal was a free for all before it even began. After Minimo made a big entrance with Mari Yaguchi, a video played on the screen showing Raku backstage pinning Antonio Honda while he was asleep to win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. Raku then made it down to the ring to start the match as the defending champion. Yaguchi interfered to attack Raku with a Sexy Beam but the two then joined forces to fight off Mifu Ashida. Raku broke off the alliance by hitting Minimo with the Poppo Chop for the first elimination. Momo Sato got to show off her skills against Chika Nanase but was ultimately taken out by Nanase’s Inari Torii submission hold. Rika Tatsumi appeared under her psycho persona The Great Wakabayashi-kun. She was armed with a foreign object that she used to choke both Nanase and Kira Summer. It also had a blade hidden inside it which she used to stab Raku’s pillow. After doing that she pinned Raku with the Neck Hanging Bomb to win the title. Sakura Hattori made quick work of eliminating Nanase when she entered the match but putting her attention on Matcha afterwards allowed Summer to knock her from the ring apron to the floor for an elimination. Mahiro Kiryu then got to do the same thing to both Summer and Matcha. Sumire Uesaka made her big entrance by rampaging through the crowd armed with a saber just like Tiger Jeet Singh (Tetsu Inada was following her while dressed as Umanosuke Ueda). Honda used his Gongitsune joke to knock Ashida out of the ring. The Shining Gongitsune meant for Kiryu hit Tatsumi instead and Kiryu rolled her up to win the title next. Honda was now ready to fight his war with Uesaka until Uesaka tripped and injured herself. She told her own Gongitsune joke and hit Honda with it to send him tumbling out of the ring. She then used a Victor Roll on Kiryu to set up a Knee Bar submission, tapping Kiryu out to win the Battle Royal and become Iron Man Champion! She’s a little worried about defending it because her saber went missing during the match and she doesn’t know where to find it. Meanwhile Momo Sato said she had so much fun she wants to start from scratch and join TJPW as a trainee. Her goal as a pro wrestler will be to one day take down her brother Daichi Sato!

Today is Uta Takami’s birthday and she got to celebrate it by beating Shion Kanzaki in the opening match of the show. While Kanzaki had some spots of offence including a Jumping Back Elbow from the second rope, Takami took her down with the Koala Clutch and tightened the grip around the body with her legs until Kanzaki gave up. Takami said one of her wrestling goals is to win a match in Sumo Hall. It’s not a big enough goal to make her cry tears of joy but she’s still incredibly happy to achieve it today. Kanzaki said she was very nervous to be in the first match of the show in front of so many people inside a big venue. She gave it her all which is why the defeat feels even more frustrating. She promised to work even harder so that she can beat Takami one day.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’26” Preview

March 28, 2026

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’26”, 29/03/2026
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Uta Takami Vs Shion Kanzaki
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Staggered Entry Battle Royal: Antonio Honda (c) Vs Sumire Uesaka Vs Rika Tatsumi/Great Wakabayashi-kun Vs Raku Vs Mahiro Kiryu Vs Mifu Ashida Vs Kira Summer Vs Chika Nanase Vs Sakura Hattori Vs Matcha Vs Momo Sato Vs Minimo (w/ Mari Yaguchi)
3. HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki Vs Toga & Ren Konatsu
4. Shoko Nakajima, Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro (w/ Ninja Red, Geki Red & Go-On Red) Vs Aja Kong, VENY & Pom Harajuku
5. Mizuki Vs Andreza Giant Panda
6. Miyu Yamashita & Arisu Endo Vs Sareee & Takumi Iroha
7. Special Tag Match: Yuka Sakazaki & KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Hyper Misao & Super Sasadango Machine
8. International Princess Title: MIRAI (c) Vs Suzume
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara (c) Vs Jessie McKay & Cassie Lee
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Yuki Arai

It’s only when I started typing this when I noticed Tokyo Joshi Pro has been running Sumo Hall on a two year cycle this entire time. “GRAND PRINCESS” has been held at Ryogoku in 2022, 2024 and now 2026. The third time looks to be their most ambitious event in the venue with the ultimate goal of reaching a sell out being put in place. I don’t know if the success Stardom got in the building at the end of 2025 has anything to do with it but something prodded TJPW hard enough to get them into marketing their show harder than ever before. We have celebrity and multimedia tie-ins galore on the undercard alongside some new wrestling crossovers that TJPW doesn’t normally go through. Putting it all together is a smorgasbord of different storylines that range from some wrestlers striving to become stronger, others fighting alongside their heroes, a deep throwback to pro wrestling’s Showa days and a main event rivalry that can honest to God find comparisons with King’s Road. Things are looking different compared to the last two Ryogoku shows because TJPW are now firmly trusting their second generation to perform at the top end of the card. Another sign of a new era approaching is the show will debut newly designed belts for the three TJPW championships.

The promotional blitz is all thanks to Super Sasadango Machine. The masked wrestler from DDT is also a savvy business man outside of wrestling with a good reputation for his marketing abilities. TJPW hired him to be the PR Ambassador for this show and he came up with the “Ryogoku Road To Success” Challenge. He approached people from all over the company with tasks, instructions or challenges for them to complete. These ideas would both prepare the wrestlers for their matches while hopefully attract attention and promote the show in the process. The end result is probably the most fun I’ve had seeing a build up for a show like this in a while. Many of the challenges won’t actually apply to the matches themselves once they take place but following everyone’s adventures to get here was a nice way to get more emotional investment in the roster, especially for the lower card wrestlers. Back when DDT first ran Sumo Hall in 2009, part of its success was built on the company being the little engine that could with everyone involved doing their part to sell tickets. It’s silly to call TJPW an underdog with the corporate backing they have these days but given the similar age the company is in here to DDT back then (DDT was 12 years old in 2009, TJPW is currently 12 now), the effort being put in feels like a spiritual successor in a way.

The question I have now going into the show is will this whole thing work out in the box office? TJPW got 1,714 fans in Sumo Hall for 2022 (pandemic era) and 2,349 fans for 2024. Looking at the events page on the TJPW site, a lot of the floor seats have sold out. Although having been in Ryogoku myself recently and seeing first hand what the layout is like, the one person per box seat layout means that isn’t really as big an amount as it sounds. Also pro wrestling is one of those events nowadays where the most expensive tickets almost always sell out to the hardcores even when the standard tickets don’t sell like hot cakes. I personally would be thrilled to see the show at least break the 3,000 mark and go beyond that. I would also be tugging at the collar if it can’t break 2,500 but that’s just projections coming from a fan.

1. Uta Takami Vs Shion Kanzaki

Road To Success Challenge: Shion Kanzaki must perform a live street show by singing and playing the guitar right in the heart of Shinjuku.

We start off with the brightest star of the “Next Generation” taking on the most recent rookie to debut. Uta Takami had been breaking out of the young pack with some in-ring success that is catching up to her endlessly energetic personality. She won the Next Generation Tournament last Autumn and followed up a few months later with a performance that took her all the way to the Max Heart Tournament final. She’s also become creative with her photoshops on Twitter to promote her matches. Now Takami is being entrusted with the opening singles match of the show. Things are looking up (up) for this member of The Up Up Girls.

Shion Kanzaki only just made her debut on 4th January and if there’s a similarity I can make for her, it would be towards HIMAWARI. This is someone who when they only just wrestled their first match, they already looked like a perfect fit for TJPW and fitted in like they’ve already been there this whole time. That doesn’t mean I expect Kanzaki to be giving out Jackhammers like HIMAWARI does anytime soon. She’s still finding herself by fighting up from the bottom. Given her previous history from being in a band, Sasadango instructed her to go sing as a busker in the lively streets of Shinjuku. She was only able to do one song before an unusual interruption brought her session to an end. More will be explained in the next match.

2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Staggered Entry Battle Royal: Antonio Honda (c) Vs Sumire Uesaka Vs Rika Tatsumi/Great Wakabayashi-kun Vs Raku Vs Mahiro Kiryu Vs Mifu Ashida Vs Kira Summer Vs Chika Nanase Vs Sakura Hattori Vs Matcha Vs Momo Sato Vs Minimo (w/ Mari Yaguchi)

Road To Success Challenge: Tetsuya Koda must find a famous guest from outside of wrestling who is big enough to sell out Ryogoku all by themselves and have them make their pro wrestling debut.

Road To Success Challenge: Rika Tatsumi needs to delve into her inner madness.

Road To Success Challenge: Minimo must master a special move through intensive training!

Road To Success Challenge: Sanshiro Takagi must scout another idol to make her pro wrestling debut.

Where do I even begin with this? I think starting with the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title makes the most sense. The championship usually belongs to DDT but thanks to the 24/7 rule, a bunch of different events going back to last summer led it to finding a second home in TJPW. DDT recently got their belt back thanks to Antonio Honda but there is paranoia among management (particularly the DDT GM Hisaya Imabayashi) that Honda could end up losing the belt to a New Japan wrestler, which is the last thing DDT wants. At the time of writing Honda is currently the title holder but there are several people hunting him down just so they have a chance to say they will defend a championship inside Sumo Hall this weekend.

Okay class you’ll need to open up your history books because we’re about to delve into 1970s NJPW for this part. TJPW’s boss Tetsuya Koda was tasked by Sasadango to go find a big star for the show. It must be someone famous enough to sell out Sumo Hall by themselves and they also must be from outside the wrestling scene. Koda had no luck finding anyone to pass this challenge and pretty much gave up on it. Then a weird bit of fortune came his way when he accompanied Shion Kanzaki for her Shinjuku busking. As they were promoting the Sumo Hall show, a saber was suddenly thrown their direction. From out of nowhere the famous singer and voice actress Sumire Uesaka (who once sold out Ryogoku with a solo concert) appeared wearing an Indian robe. She attacked Koda with the saber while ranting about the Iron Man Title she once held a year ago. The incident got coverage in Tokyo Sports where it was compared to Tiger Jeet Singh attacking Antonio Inoki at the same Shinjuku spot back in 1973. They interviewed Uesaka where she explained she accidentally grabbed her saber instead of her umbrella before leaving her home that day (we’ve all been there) and she has no memory of anything that happened afterward. However she also revealed she got hooked on Showa era pro wrestling as a teenager after listening to Singh’s entrance song. She loves the dynamic of strong style Japanese wrestlers fighting villainous foreigners of all shapes and sizes. She has no wrestling skills but will bring the saber along with her as a good luck charm. Then when she found out a wrestler with the name Antonio was now the champion, she declared war on him for the belt! Honda’s response is he will target Uesaka’s arm if they have to fight. That way if she ends up getting hurt, an injured arm won’t get in the way of her voice acting career.

Now here is where things get messy. There are so many other people in this match with their own stories to tell! Well, most of them do. Rika Tatsumi was told by Sasadango to go in search of her inner madness. Tatsumi didn’t understand what he meant because according to her, she is a pure idol wrestler and not a psychopath in any way. She went forth on her journey anyway and got to meet her comedy hero Cookie! to learn how to hone in her more insane instincts. The result of this is the creation of a new persona called The Great Wakabayashi-kun and TJPW are expecting Tatsumi to show it off in the Battle Royal. Speaking of new personas, the masked cassowary Kaya Toribami has now turned into a ninja called Sakura Hattori. The change happened when she went to visit ninja master Genichi Mitsuhashi in Iga City for ninja training and then discovered a mysterious faceguard that seemed to possess her. Hattori has since gone on a four match winning streak that happened during the Texas tour while showing some change in personality. She still appears and interacts with others outside of matches but in the ring Hattori has a more aggressive moveset than last time. She needs to be quicker doing the nine hand seals pose on the top rope though. Maybe in her mind she’s doing it lightning fast but in the real world it takes forever before she completes it.

There are special guests taking part in the match too. Matcha is coming over from Thailand to continue TJPW’s working relationship with SETUP. She recently beat Hattori/Toribami to take the IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles away from K!SS// and this could be their next meeting in the ring. Momo Sato is another celebrity entry. She is here because Sanshiro Takagi was ordered to scout a new idol to make their wrestling debut. Takagi found out that DDT wrestler Daichi Sato has a little sister in the group Harajuku Gakuen who already has some experience with pro wrestling training. When Takagi convinced Momo to take part, Sasadango applauded him for achieving the perfect combination of a nepotism hire with sky high potential. The last piece of pop culture to fill out the field is Minimo-chan, the mascot from the 2000s idol group Minimoni. It will be accompanied by one of its members Mari Yaguchi thanks to a business hookup that took place when TJPW held a show in Malaysia last year. Minimo-chan was instructed by Sasadango to go learn a devastating finishing move for its debut. After some heavy training where Mahiro Kiryu was used as the crash test dummy, Minimo-chan developed a new finishing move called the Drink Some Delicious Milk Pyon! Kick. In the meantime the mascot has been watching AJPW tapes, becoming a big fan of Steve Williams, Doug Furnas and Dan Kroffat in the process. So if anybody complains about this match for being too silly, tell them it is directly influenced by the glory days of New Japan and All Japan.

The Battle Royal also has Raku, Mifu Ashida, Kira Summer and Chika Nanase all taking part but to be honest they are all getting overshadowed by the idols, psychos, ninjas, mascots and tributes to pro wrestling from five decades ago… How the fuck does this Battle Royal have more stories to talk about than the Royal Rumble this year?

3. HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki Vs Toga & Ren Konatsu

Road To Success Challenge: Shino Suzuki must play Rock Paper Scissors against influencers with a combined total of 100,000+ followers on social media and keep playing until she beats three of them.

Road To Success Challenge: To improve her sharpness, Ren Konatsu must take dance lessons at LDH!

I brought up HIMAWARI earlier as a potential path for growth in regards to Kanzaki. Someone who immediately fits in with the company upon debut and gradually work up the card. Another key milestone for a TJPW wrestler like this is to find a connection with another wrestler and form a tag team with them. HIMAWARI did that by forming the Bumping gRitters with Shino Suzuki. They’re still in the early phase where they are pretty much the likeable losers of the division but a match on a show like this is usually a good sign that a team will be moving up a step. The entire build up to this match was pretty much an excuse to find out what the mental breaking point is for Suzuki. Even at the best of times she turns into a cramped up ball of anxiety when thrown into a competitive environment so Sasadango came up with the bright idea to lean into it. He challenged Suzuki to go find influencers with over 100,000 followers and challenge them to games of Rock Paper Scissors (plus an added rule where you have to make them flinch in the right direction after winning). Suzuki would need to keep on doing this until she could beat three influencers. She eventually passed the challenge with a 3-2 record and hopefully she will come out of the experience with a newly enforced iron will. Although I’m struggling to think of any situation where picking scissors will beat taking an Elbow Strike from Toga.

Toga has spent the last few months levelling up in her own way. She formed a tag team with Yuna Manase called Hot Shot and the relationship allowed her to make a rare outside appearance in order to wrestle on a Ganbare☆Pro show. With some new experiences boldening her up, Toga wanted to prove she can go win by herself. She’s continuing to find new ways of stretching her wings by taking an outside booking at Las Vegas during Wrestlemania Week too. She might wind up being a good influence for a rookie like Ren Konatsu to look up to. Konatsu is starting to progress at a nice pace. Having Kanzaki debut means she has somebody below her on the pecking order to win matches against. She now has her first finishing move called the Aries Comet added to her arsenal. Plus she was given a task by Sasadango too. She had to go take dance lessons at a studio owned by LDH (the entertainment agency Kaisei Takechi belongs to). Konatsu claims she is already noticing an improvement to the Aries Comet because of this training so the Bumping gRitters better watch out!

4. Shoko Nakajima, Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro (w/ Ninja Red, Geki Red & Go-On Red) Vs Aja Kong, VENY & Pom Harajuku

Road To Success Challenge: The ToJo Tokusatsu Club must take part in “Fireball Return Training” as seen in Episode #19 of Gekisou Sentai Carranger.

If you haven’t noticed with TJPW, there is a lot of social activity that goes on within the locker room. Long lasting friendships are made away from the wrestling ring as the wrestlers get to know each other further and find out they share similar interests. The ToJo Tokusatsu Club is an example of this for the wrestlers who obsess over Super Sentai. The club originally existed for Shoko Nakajima, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino to show off their hobby during shows but disappeared after Tenma retired. When Haru Kazashiro joined TJPW and expressed her love for tokusatsu, the club returned with a big goal in mind. They want to teach children that pro wrestling can make dreams come true so what better way to do that than to invite the Super Sentai over to Sumo Hall where they can all fight kaiju together!

The timing of this collaboration confused me because Super Sentai only just recently ended its fifty year run on television. The rumour is it happened because a falling out between Toei and Hasbro over the handling of source material and merchandising for Super Sentai and Power Rangers going forward. Heck if I know if that’s true but CyberFight went and organized something with the Super Sentai anyway. The ToJo Tokusatsu Club will be joined by Ninja Red, Geki Red & Go-On Red for their match as the club takes on a trio of the nastiest villains you can think of.

Well, sort of. Max The Impaler was meant to be part of the match but unfortunately couldn’t get a travel visa approved in time so they have to miss the show. At least this allows me to type out the sentence “The kaiju could not appear because of visa problems” which is right up there with “The Human Torch was denied a bank loan.” Max would have reunited with both Aja Kong and Pom Harajuku, which is usually the case for Max’s appearance at TJPW’s bigger shows. Some last minute decision making has resulted in an interesting X factor being thrown into the mix. VENY will be taking the place of Max for the match. If there’s any joshi out there that can capture the bitchy energy of Rita Repulsa, it’s her.

5. Mizuki Vs Andreza Giant Panda

Road To Success Challenge: To fight off the panda, Mizuki must find and acquire a new legendary weapon.

A mystery emerged in TJPW during February when the Pico Pico Hammer belonging to Mizuki was stolen during a show held in Okayama. A clue was found when a small USA flag was left in its place. At the time I thought this was a storyline created for the Texas tour or possibly even next month’s Las Vegas show but it turned out to be something of a red herring. Instead members of New Nemuro Pro Wrestling contacted TJPW to take credit for the theft. It was one of their wrestlers Mr. USA that stole the hammer and left the flag behind but the actual mastermind behind the plot was Andreza Giant Panda! It was two years ago when Mizuki struck Andreza over the head with her hammer in a moment that went viral across the internet due to how photogenic the entire thing was. The amount of attention it had left Andreza feeling humiliated. Ever since that day he had bided his time and waited for the opportunity to get revenge. With Sumo Hall coming up, now is the time for it to take place!

Mizuki hasn’t been able to retrieve the stolen Pico Pico Hammer but the Texas tour showed that she has a spare in her collection. That won’t be enough to defeat an enraged giant panda so Sasadango came to her aid with an idea. She would have to go find a new legendary weapon to replace the hammer. Her journey (which also includes an isekai side story game TJPW made for their LINE account) led her on the path to meeting Masami Obami, the creator of Brave Bang Bravern and director of other anime in the mecha genre. With the help of Bravern itself, Obami went to work on forging the Burn Pico Pico Core Axe Hammer for Mizuki to use. Prepare for the weapon to be unleashed inside Sumo Hall this weekend!

6. Miyu Yamashita & Arisu Endo Vs Sareee & Takumi Iroha

Road To Success Challenge: Miyu Yamashita should participate in idol practice and undergo intense idol training.

The original plan for this match was for Lei Ying Lee to be a part of it. However TNA pulled Lee from the show because she was needed to wrestle at their PPV last night and presumably their TV tapings happening this weekend too. Because you see it was really important for Lee to be in a 3 Way TNA Knockouts Title match where she was about to win only to get pulled out of the ring so the champion could steal the pinfall instead. The pull out led to TNA sending an apology where they stated neither TJPW nor Lee were at fault over the situation. The English version of the news story was pretty polite but the funny thing is the Japanese report includes TJPW saying they don’t understand how this could have happened when the booking was put together and agreed to well in advance.

On the bright side, TNA’s decision has the knock-on effect of putting together a more interesting tag team match. Sareee was meant to be Lee’s partner as part of her first appearance in TJPW since 2020. The last time she was here she locked horns with Miyu Yamashita and the same plan is in place here. With Lee now out of the picture, TJPW quickly made a deal with Marvelous to replace her with Takumi Iroha. Not only are we now getting the TJPW debut of Iroha but it also means Sareee & Iroha are bringing their Spark Rush tag team over here! The positions these two currently hold in the joshi hierarchy is quite fascinating. Sareee gets to bounce between Stardom, Marigold and other companies while running her own shows while Iroha gets to do her own flirting with different joshi promotions and also NOAH too. I’m trying to think of a good comparison to their current positions and the best I can come up with is maybe Yoshihiro Takayama and Kensuke Sasaki in the late 2000s, early 2010s? Does that make Marvelous comparable to Kensuke Office? No wait, then that means Chigusa Nagayo is Kensuke Sasaki and Iroha is Katsuhiko Nakajima. If that’s the case, Yamashita would need to keep her chin tucked in for the entire match otherwise it will become a massive target… Hang on, where was I?

The hype for the match is built around everyone getting to see Yamashita fight Sareee and Iroha but that story is leaving somebody out to the side. The usually cheerful Arisu Endo isn’t happy that she’s being forgotten about by everyone else. She just as much wants a piece of Spark Rush as Yamashita does. If she gets her way she is going to shine the brightest out of anyone in the match! As I mentioned at the start of this preview, TJPW has found faith in their second generation, which Endo is a part of. A strong performance here wouldn’t shock me if it leads to her getting a main event Korakuen Hall singles match sometime later this year. Maybe at the Tokyo Princess Cup at the earliest, eh? Would that tickle anyone’s fancy? While I shouldn’t ever count out Yamashita from winning more prizes in TJPW, her focus this year seems to be on being the locker room leader while also helping out with the global expansion plans.

Yamashita was the last person to complete their challenge given to them by Sasadango. She was ordered to go take on intensive idol training. She did just that by going to visit three members of Niji No Conquistador. She learned the three most important things of being an idol from Karin Matoba, Mayu Kurihara and Yu Kawabata. They are the introduction, appealing to the fans and pulling off the idol group’s dance. I don’t know how any of those three qualities will help her deal with Spark Rush.

7. Special Tag Match: Yuka Sakazaki & KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Hyper Misao & Super Sasadango Machine

We’re approaching a year since the day Konosuke Takeshita and Yuka Sakazaki revealed to the world that they are a married couple. That it took this long to book them as a tag team tells you where the state of the wrestling industry’s imagination is at nowadays. Don’t give me your excuses that Takeshita was busy wrestling for three different companies, fighting in tournaments and defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Title. Sakazaki’s only being booked whenever ROH needs to warm up somebody in order to put over someone else. Her last match on record was for TJPW back on 4th January so there’s not a lot to write about. Actually there is one thing. Sakazaki will debut a new theme song at this show called “AYAYAYAY” by Hi-yunk. Hype for the match went lopsided when Shingo Takagi and Natsupoi announced their marriage last month. Fans thought it would make a lot of sense to do a couples versus couples tag like that.

Instead the opposing team is something way more incomprehensible. Hyper Misao took it upon herself to be one of the opponents as part of a plan to acquire as many contracts for herself as possible. Her logic is if she can beat the team of Sakazaki & Takeshita then New Japan, DDT and AEW will all offer her deals to sign with them! She needed a tag team partner who acts just as outside of the box as she does in order to have a chance at winning. That’s where Sasadango comes in. It turns out that the PR in PR Ambassador does not stand for Public Relations. It infact stands for Pro Wrestling Ring and by taking on the role, Sasadango also automatically agreed to wrestle a match on the show without realizing it. He wanted no part of the until Misao talked him into it. She explained that if Sasadango’s appearance can sell even one ticket it would be worth it just to make that one fan happy. If Sasadango can’t even achieve that then there is no hope that his marketing will help sell out Sumo Hall either. Now fired up, Sasadango is ready to bring the fight towards Takeshita & Sakazaki. Not only does he want to win the same contracts that Misao wants, he is aiming to get signed by every wrestling company out there!

8. International Princess Title: MIRAI (c) Vs Suzume

It took a roundabout way to get here but we’re getting the BeeStar championship rivalry that was destined to happen one way or another. MIRAI made her return to TJPW this year and immediately staked her claim for the International Princess Title by beating Arisu Endo for the belt. The title win gave MIRAI the achievement of being the first wrestler to win championships in TJPW, Stardom and Marigold. She took care of Toga in her first defence before calling out someone very close from her past to be her next challenger. Suzume was MIRAI’s classmate and their debuts in 2019 happened only a few months apart of each other. They teamed together as BeeStar until MIRAI split from TJPW in 2021. Since then the two of them took their own paths to grow into successful wrestlers. MIRAI had stays in Stardom and Marigold until she recently moved over to her new home Michinoku Pro. In doing that she is on a wave of success that’s sailing her around Japan’s wrestling scene. Suzume meanwhile stayed in TJPW where her success came from winning the Princess Tag Team Titles as part of Daisy Monkey and also winning the International Princess Title by herself.

And it is the IP Title that brings MIRAI and Suzume together in the ring once more. As much as Suzume appreciates everything MIRAI has done for her in their early days together, the IP Title is a championship that means just as much to her. Meanwhile MIRAI is trying to add an element of TJPW Vs Michinoku Pro to the proceedings. Both women have become stars for their respective home promotions and MIRAI has often brought along M-Pro wrestlers to stand in her corner for her TJPW title matches so far. That might change with this match coming up because she offered Toga to take up that role after the two earned each other’s respect from the previous title defence. MIRAI’s work during this run is a bit odd. The ingredients are there for an inter-promotional feud to take place with MIRAI as an outsider yet she’s pretty much been welcome back with open arms and the workings are here for her to stick around on a semi-regular basis. In fact, TJPW had announced in advance that an IP Title match would take place at their Las Vegas show but they then had to walk it back when they couldn’t book MIRAI for that show. Way to paint yourself into a corner, lads. It can still go ahead if Suzume wins back the title but the way the news was announced kind of comes off as a spoiler no matter how they tried to cut it.

9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara (c) Vs Jessie McKay & Cassie Lee

Road To Success Challenge: Ober Eats must post images or videos that will go viral with 10,000 likes.

I think this video pretty much sums up my opinion of the match.

Look, if this was anywhere in the first seven matches of the card you would get no complaints from me. Have it be non-title, place it in Ota Ward Gymnasium or put another company’s tag belts on the line then fine, awesome, I can live with it. This is the semi-main event of a Sumo Hall show! The previous matches we got in this position with the Princess Tag Titles were The Magical Sugar Rabbits Vs Daydream and Yukiniki Vs Daisy Monkey. Those are good standards to have! Instead we’re getting Ober Eats Vs The IInspiration. Maybe it will be better than Reiwa AA Cannon Vs The Uprising from 2022 but holy hell that’s the faintest praise I can damn it with. I wonder if the plan here is to give Jessie McKay & Cassie Lee a transitional title reign in order to put over another TJPW team in Las Vegas next month.

The reason I think that is because Ober Eats is currently top of the pile in TJPW’s tag division with no nearby contenders in sight. They became the first team to ever win the Max Heart Tournament while holding the Princess Tag Titles. With Sumo Hall next on their list, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara asked for a team more glamourous and buzzworthy than them to be their challengers. They’re thrilled with The IInspiration being chosen for them as a more global challenge to surpass. To help them build up the hype, Sasadango told Ober Eats to go viral on social media by getting 10,000 likes. Kamifuku put out a video of her walking through the streets in her wrestling costume. At the time of writing it is sitting pretty at 6,600+ likes. Meanwhile Uehara unintentionally smashed through the challenge without trying when a picture of her meeting the Buc-ee’s mascot hit 10,000 likes within the day it was posted. (Her actual tweet for the challenge only reached 2,500+ likes). I swear, sometimes everything just goes that girl’s way. Except when it doesn’t, like when The IInspiration beat her in Austin earlier this month as a preview for what’s to come.

10. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Yuki Arai

Is TJPW King’s Road? I’m not joking when I ask this because the rivalry between Miu Watanabe and Yuki Arai over the last two months is the closest thing to the King’s Road philosophy that anyone is doing right now. That philosophy is not dangerous head drops or finisher kick outs. It is telling the story of a rivalry that progresses match by match as the two adversaries figure each other out step by step. And if that means taking a big flat back bump or two onto the floor along the way then so be it.

Watanabe has been enjoying a six month reign as the Princess Of Princess Champion. She has overcome her mental block over whether she fights like a princess or like a monster and has been racking up the usual amount of title defences a typical Princess champion would get for her reign. She also has a match of the year contender with Suzume from 4th January that will likely be remembered as the peak of this title run. TJPW threw together a 6 Way Elimination to determine the No. 1 Contender and Arai came out on top, going as far as to submit Yamashita to win the match. She failed to win the Princess Title in her first attempt last year so now the story is will her inevitable push to a title win happen the second time?

Last month at Korakuen Hall was where the fun began. A preview tag match featuring the two of them took a turn when they fought each other on the ring apron. Arai won the exchange in an extreme manner by using the Full Nelson Buster to throw Watanabe from the apron onto the floor! From that point forward, it was on! Arai put more focus on using the Scorpion Death Lock to win matches while also introducing a new Twister Brainbuster to beat lesser opponents. Watanabe then got to make Arai give up to the Canadian Backbreaker only to get a taste of her own medicine in the next battle after that. Watanabe is sometimes seen having tape strips applied to her back and while the story isn’t yelling to everybody on a loudspeaker that she isn’t 100%, Arai’s use of the Scorpion Death Lock was able to make Watanabe tap out on one occasion during the series. With that being said, any fear of Watanabe having a serious back injury was put to bed after that when she found ways to power her way straight out of Arai’s finishing move in order to turn it into a Giant Swing. The two most recently exchanged wins during the Texas tour. Watanabe has the most recent direct victory while Arai got a moral one by hitting the Finally axe kick after being unable to do so match after match until the end.

As we now finally approach Sumo Hall it’s been something of a stalemate between champion and challenger. Or at least when one of them gets ahead it’s never far enough to prevent the other from catching up and overtaking them. The winner of this match will be heading over to Vegas where they will defend the title against the new American Gladiator J-Rod. That is a match we’ve seen with Watanabe already while it would be something completely fresh for Arai. However international shows such as that is where you can get away with burning a rematch that doesn’t need to be done back in the home market. The reign Watanabe is on has no need to be stopped right now and this build up has done wonders for making Arai an interesting rival for her. Should Arai win the title the question I have for her is can she stay this interesting against other opponents? If she has figured out how to be more dynamic with laying out her matches then maybe the time is now to pull the trigger on her. But if it was up to me I’m more interested in seeing Watanabe hold on for whoever wins the Princess Cup later this year.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’25” Results

March 16, 2025

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’25”, 16/03/2025
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1,212 Fans

1. Yoshiko Hasegawa & Mifu Ashida defeated HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki when Hasegawa pinned Suzuki with the Diving Double Knee Attack (9:42).
2. Kakeru Sekiguchi, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Ivy Steele defeated Kaya Toribami, Kira Summer, Chika Nanase & Uta Takami when Kiryu pinned Nanase with the Spinebuster (10:22).
3. Max The Impaler defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Lariat (5:00).
4. Aja Kong, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara defeated Yuki Aino, Haru Kazashiro & Toga when Uehara submitted Kazashiro with the Banana Pillow (11:22).
5. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Raku defeated Pom Harajuku (c) with the Doctor Yellow (8:04).
*Pom Harajuku fails in V2. Raku becomes the 3rd SETUP All Asia Women’s Champion!
6. Special Single Match: Willow Nightingale defeated Miu Watanabe with the Babe With The Power Bomb (10:15).
7. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura defeated Yuki Arai with the Death Valley Bomb (11:49).
8. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) defeated Arisu Endo with the Spring Ring A Bell (14:28).
*V2 for Suzume.
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) when Misao pinned Yamashita with the Hypami Returns (21:29).
*121000000 fails in V5. Kyoraku Kyomei become the 18th Princess Tag Team Champions!
10. Princess Of Princess Title – STOMPING Presents: Mizuki (c) defeated Rika Tatsumi with the Modified Face Lock (21:14).
*V1 for Mizuki.

Ok so maybe love isn’t always the answer. After many years in the making, Rika Tatsumi finally got to wrestle the love of her life Mizuki and was willing to risk it all to win the Princess Of Princess Title. Her gameplan was to target Mizuki’s legs and pick them apart with Dragon Screws, Kneebusters and the Figure 4 Leg Lock. But Mizuki’s resiliance meant she was able to withstand the pain and still use the Diving Foot Stomp to great effect. Tatsumi had another plan and that was to use the Hip Attack to counter the Whirling Candy. She used the Dragon Sleeper to continue wearing her opponent down but when she climbed the top rope, Mizuki followed her and delivered an Avalanche Cutie Special. She used more Foot Stomps to fight off the Dragon Sleeper and soon applied the Face Lock. Tatsumi tried rolling out of it but reached her breaking point when Mizuki modified the hold into a Crossface variant for the submission victory.

Mizuki told the fans to give her a moment after the match so she could talk to Tatsumi. She’s not as nice as Tatsumi thinks she is but she is still glad to know Tatsumi always liked her. Today they got to know each other better which means Mizuki now loves Tatsumi even more. They hugged and Mizuki thanked the fans for spending this special day with Tokyo Joshi Pro. Backstage Mizuki said she had complicated feelings about the match that she didn’t really understand. She was worried Tatsumi would dislike her if she revealed everything about herself. But she still gave it her all because the championship is so important. She doesn’t know if they’ve become close enough to start teaming together or if she is better off keeping a comfortable distance away from Tatsumi again. Tatsumi admitted she thought her love for Mizuki was always one-sided but today there was a moment when their feelings connected. That’s enough to make her happy and have her looking forward to the future. She would love to team up with Mizuki a lot if it is possible.

Success was on the minds of Kyoraku Kyomei when they came face to face against 121000000. They brought their Max Heart Tournament trophies down to the ring with them and encouraged each other to keep shouting in order to win. That was the cue for Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao to launch an ambush but Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh were ready for them and easily fought back. The match went outside where Misao crashed the Hyper Mobile into Yamashita (who then bumped into Mahiro Kiryu). Itoh then knocked Misao off her bike with her microphone. She later gave Nakajima a Death Valley Driver and but Nakajima fired back with a Top Rope Frankensteiner. The focus switched to Yamashita against Misao where a High Kick from Yamashita knocked Misao’s mask off her face! Misao continued to fight with her face fully exposed but still needed Nakajima’s help until Itoh came to Yamashita’s aid. Nakajima was taken out with the Headbutt/High Knee combo. Misao took more strikes but suddenly countered Yamashita’s Attitude Adjustment into the Vanitas! She wore down Yamashita with the Crossface Chickenwing with a 619 from Nakajima added for more damage. Itoh tried to make the save but Nakajima cut her off from the ring apron with the Diving Senton. With the coast clear, Misao gave Yamashita the Hypami Returns and scored the three count!

Backstage Kyoraku Kyomei said they must be dreaming because they finally beat 121000000 to become the new Princess Tag Team Champions! Both Nakajima and Misao have held the title before but they were at very different point of their careers. Nakajima remembers becoming the first champion with Yuka Sakazaki and thinks they lost the belts before they could become the ideal tag team. Today was the ideal match she had in mind so she’s really happy to finally reach it. Misao felt like she was always chasing after Nakajima and 121000000 for all of the hard work they do to grow TJPW. She felt that way even more when she got injured last year. These are two of the oldest teams in TJPW so today felt like Kyoraku Kyomei’s last chance to fight 121000000 for a big prize. The rematch hurt more than the first match two years ago but it was also more fun for them. They now want to defend the titles in unconventional ways.

As for 121000000 it could be time to call it a day. It was Yamashita’s idea for the team to split up if they couldn’t reach ten successful title defences and they didn’t even make it to five. But she does not want to go ahead with it and will continue the team if Itoh wants her to. Itoh cannot imagine teaming with anyone other than Yamashita… but maybe now is the right time for them to separate for a while so they can become stronger. When the timing is right 121000000 will get back together as a much stronger tag team. Yamashita promised she will do her best to get them to reunite some day.

The battle of Daisy Monkey is now scored at Suzume 4 – 0 Arisu Endo. There was a Camel Clutch spot that put the International Princess Champion in danger. Endo was able to spin Suzume into the centre of the ring with the move but Suzume was still able to fight her way towards getting a rope break. Suzume was then able to counter the Mt. Bandai into a Flying Facecrusher and also the Ju no Okite into a small form Ring A Bell for a nearfall. Endo blocked another Ring A Bell and tried to set up the Ju no Okite again but Suzume slipped out and landed an Oscutter style version of her finisher. That version is called the Spring Ring A Bell and it got Suzume the win! Endo said their bond has deepened even more and she still wants the title because somebody she loves has it! Suzume said Daisy Monkey’s dream has come true. She knows many fans want to see Endo win a singles title and so does she. But she doesn’t want to lose her IP Title and showed her determination with that match. She wants to hold onto the belt forever to prove that it suits her best more than anyone else in the world. Next she wants to go defend it in America before taking it across the world.

The next step for Yuki Arai’s wrestling career was to take on Meiko Satomura all by herself. Arai was able to hit the Rookie Award, the Full Nelson Buster and also apply the Scorpion Death Lock. But she couldn’t take it all the way by hitting the Finally. Satomura had that finisher scouted and blocked every attempt. When she was on the offensive she used moves like the Cartwheel Knee Drop, an STF and the Death Valley Bomb on her way to victory. Satomura gave Arai a hug after the match and later talked about being surprised at how good of a fighter Arai is. She has the right mix of technique, feeling and star quality that other wrestlers do not have. Satomura is glad to have fought Arai just before her own retirement and believes she can carry the future of joshi wrestling on her shoulders. Arai said she felt frustrated because this will be her only match with Satomura. She’ll keep what she learned today in her heart to do her best as a pro wrestler. Her goal now is to become strong enough to make everyone believe she can beat Satomura!

Power was finally matched up against power when Miu Watanabe fought against Willow Nightingale. Head Locks turned to Shoulder Tackles which then turned to Power Slams. Watanabe pulled off the Giant Swing and hit some Batting Hammer strikes before putting Nightingale in the Reverse Paradox. Nightingale fought back using an Oklahoma Stampede as well as a top rope Brainbuster. She avoided the Tear Drop and ran the ropes to crash into Watanabe with the Pounce before using the Babe With The Power Bomb to get the win. Backstage Nightingale talked about how she used Wrestle Universe to watch Watanabe grow but it’s still completely different to actually being in the ring with her. She gets why the two of them get compared to each other and the match reminded her why pro wrestling is amazing. Watanabe is disappointed that she lost but she hopes to follow Nightingale back to America. She’ll even go stay at her house if she’s allowed.

The pressure of being in a major championship match can be draining so Raku decided to bring out a futon so she could take a nap in the ring during her entrance. It also has the bonus feature of being used like a cape for when Raku did a diving Loy Thesz Press onto Pom Harajuku. Raku’s constant nap attacks made Harajuku drowsy so she boosted herself with a bottle of Red Bull and grew wings out of her back! Harajuku was fired up until Raku caught her in the Front Neck Lock to squeeze the energy out of her. Harajuku did hit the Pom de Justice in response but couldn’t follow up with the cover right away. Raku was able to get her senses back and won with the Doctor Yellow to become the new SETUP All Asia Women’s Champion! She said she was able to have the most heart-to-heart match with Harajuku and wants to continue walking with her down the same path. Also now that she has a championship she wants to defend it in many places. Harajuku said she was sad to lose the title but became happy for Raku when she was given the belt. She also has wings now so the championship did change Harajuku into becoming a stronger fighter.

A new costume for Wakana Uehara was just the start of her day. She went on to win a 6-Woman Tag Match that also had Aja Kong & Yuki Kamifuku as her partners. Kong was so strong that Haru Kazashiro & Toga needed to work together to get her off her feet by doing a Rock Bottom/Missile Dropkick combo. Yuki Aino softened up Uehara and left it to Kazashiro to finish the job. But Uehara blocked the Fisherman Suplex and caught her opponent in the Banana Pillow to make her submit. Uehara thanked her two partners for teaming with her. Kamifuku pointed out they all wore glitter to connect as a team together. She also asked Kong if she will be available for her homecoming show on 11th May. There is also a cool bar that recently opened up there that she wants to take Kong to. Kong asked if she could challenge Kamifuku for the Queen Of Asia Title but Kamifuku tried to put her off the idea by making it sound like she’ll have to jump through a lot of hoops with her agency to make that happen. Meanwhile Aino gave an encouraging speech to Kazashiro & Toga. They shouldn’t think they are no good anymore just because they lost today. They are only just two years into their career so they should be thinking “I lost today but I will definitely win next time!”

Max The Impaler was too much of an immovable object for Moka Miyamoto to handle. She was able to knock Max down with the Zero Fighter Kick but when she applied the Rashomon, Max powered out of the move and shook her off. There was a Senton for a nearfall and then a Lariat that put Miyamoto down for the count. Max took Miyamoto’s ribbon after the match to take home as their newest trophy. They are matching it with the hair accessory they previously took from HIMAWARI. Miyamoto said she couldn’t find any weaknesses in Max so she will come up with more countermeasures so she can win the next time they fight.

Remember, Mahiro Kiryu is in the blue gear with the one leg exposed while Kakeru Sekiguchi is in the blue gear with the other leg exposed. Got it? Despite that useful piece of information, Uta Takami couldn’t tell them apart. That gave Haruna Neko the chance to attack while Takami was confused. Ivy Steele and Kira Summer were briefly pitted against each other. Kaya Toribami got to lead her team on the offensive and Chika Nanase wanted to score the win. But Neko stopped Nanase with a Neckbreaker Drop, setting Kiryu up to use the Spinebuster for the win. Toribami apologised to Nanase for not helping her enough. But when Takami apologised for mixing up Kiryu & Sekiguchi, Toribami told her she didn’t have to.

The first match of the day saw the “transfer student tag team” of Yoshiko Hasegawa & Mifu Ashida beat HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki. Hasegawa and Suzuki fought back and forth trying to apply the Muffler Hold and the Sleeper Hold respectively. HIMAWARI tried to break it off so Ashida took her out of the ring. That allowed Hasegawa to pin Suzuki with the Diving Double Knee Attack. HIMAWARI said she looked forward to fighting Ashida today because she is a type of wrestlers that didn’t previously exist in TJPW. Ashida called the result a new starting point so she and Hasegawa can get into the habit of winning more often.

Sayuri Namba announced TJPW will be part of a marketing campaign for a collaboration between the sports brand FILA and a Korean women’s clothing brand called OJOS. Mizuki and Maki Itoh have already taken part in photoshoots to be used in upcoming marketing material.


Video – Andreza/Toribami Vs RakuPom From “GRAND PRINCESS ’24”

October 4, 2024


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’24”, 31/03/2024
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
2,349 Fans

3. Andreza Giant Panda & Kaya Toribami (w/ Haruna Neko) Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’24” Results

March 31, 2024

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’24”, 31/03/2024
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
2,349 Fans

1. Haru Kazashiro, Runa Okubo & Uta Takami defeated Shino Suzuki, Chika Nanase & Kira Summer when Kazashiro pinned Nanase with a Fisherman Suplex (7:43).
2. Nao Kakuta & Ami Yumoto defeated Mahiro Kiryu & HIMAWARI when Kakuta pinned HIMAWARI with the Shiden Kai (8:52).
3. Raku & Pom Harajuku defeated Andreza Giant Panda & Kaya Toribami (w/ Haruna Neko) when Raku pinned Toribami with the Doctor Yellow (8:38).
4. Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano defeated Wakana Uehara & Toga when Miyamoto pinned Toga with the Korokan (11:11).
5. Masha Slamovich defeated Rika Tatsumi with the White Knight Driver (10:35).
6. Aja Kong & Max The Impaler defeated Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao when Kong pinned Misao with the Diving Back Elbow Drop (12:39).
7. Special Single Match: Minoru Suzuki defeated Maki Itoh by Referee Stoppage with the Sleeper Hold (18:01).
8. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki defeated Emi Sakura & Chris Brookes when Mizuki pinned Sakura with the Aquamarine (15:43).
9. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Finally (11:28).
*V2 for Yuki Arai.
10. Princess Tag Team Titles: Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino (c) when Suzume pinned Aino with the Ring A Bell (15:57).
*Yukiniki fails in V1. Daisy Monkey become the 16th Princess Tag Team Champions!
11. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe defeated Miyu Yamashita (c) with the Tear Drop (20:07).
*Miyu Yamashita fails in V4. Miu Watanabe becomes the 14th Princess Of Princess Champion!

Has the dawn of a new era finally begun up for Tokyo Joshi Pro? The big story coming out of “GRAND PRINCESS ’24” is the young generation of wrestlers surpassing the veterans in each of the three title matches. None was more newsworthy than the main event where Miu Watanabe defeated Miyu Yamashita for the second time in her career to become the new Princess Of Princess Champion! It was as loud of a declaration as she could make in a Sumo Hall main event, kicking out of the pin after taking the Skull Kick (first time that ever happened in TJPW) and pinning Yamashita clean with the Tear Drop. This title win also makes Watanabe the second ever Grand Slam champion in TJPW!

Watanabe was overcome with emotion after the match. She thanked everyone for their support and talked about how much she loves TJPW. The company is entering its 11th year of existence and from now on everyone in TJPW are going to have plenty of big dreams that she wants to see come true. She will do her best to make those dreams come true and hopes everyone will love TJPW forever! The show ended with the entire roster gathered together on the entrance stage and bowing to the audience in thanks for their support. All of the new champions then remained for a group photo together.

Backstage Watanabe told reporters she’s been with TJPW for 6 or 7 years and came into the company not knowing anything about pro wrestling. It was the kindness and love she found within TJPW that made her fall in love with the promotion. It is an important place for her which makes today’s championship win even more meaningful. She looks forward to being here for another 10, 20 and even 30 years so she can expand her dreams! In regards to Yamashita, Watanabe believes she has now caught up with her but it only takes a second for Yamashita to sprint back ahead with incredible speed. It will be the same for the rest of Yamashita’s generation so Watanabe wants to be a champion who can take them all on. Yamashita admitted it was frustrating to lose but she is happy to see Watanabe become the champion. It gives her another reason to keep getting stronger. If Yamashita is currently at her limit then she will now focus on exceeding it.

The other title change of the day was in the semi-main event. Daisy Monkey have now won the Princess Tag Team Titles that’s been out of their reach for so long! Yukiniki put up a good fight and had the plan to isolate Suzume late in the match. Yuki Aino gave her a Side Suplex and Ryo Mizunami followed with the Uranage for a nearfall. Suzume blocked the UBV attempt long enough for Arisu Endo to come back in and even the odds. Together Daisy Monkey used a double team Facebuster on Aino and Suzume finished her off with the Ring A Bell for the title switch.

Daisy Monkey were so happy to win they didn’t even know what to do with the title belts or the streamers that were thrown for them. Suzume said she knew there were always people who supported her and with Endo by her side they were able to fight at their most passionate and win. Endo cried because what makes Suzume happy makes her happy too. So many of the senpais that they admire have held the tag titles and now Daisy Monkey’s name is deservedly added to that lineage. Suzume said their team was missing a pink colour and Yukiniki gave it to them today. So from now on they want to defend the belts against a variety of challengers who will offer them something new. They will absorb all the different colours from them to become more colorful than the rainbow! Aino is upset to lose but feels she has moved to the next level thanks to Mizunami. She is ready to take on new challenges and fight for more championships. Mizunami explained wrestling is a dream-filled profession and seeing Aino become so motivated after losing makes her think she is ready to take her own next step too.

The International Princess Title match ended up having a big connection to Saki Akai thanks to both participants. Yuki Arai used to team with Akai as Reiwa AA Cannon until Akai retired from wrestling. Yuki Kamifuku wrestled the match wearing the costume top Akai gave to her the last time they were in the ring together. She also wanted to steal the spotlight knowing that a lot of SKE48 fans were in the audience today. However Arai went kick for kick against her, dodged the Famouser and beat Kamifuku with the Finally. Arai remembers the last time she wrestled in Sumo Hall two years ago she challenged for the IP Title and lost. Today she successfully defended the same title in the same venue, giving herself even more confidence. It makes her excited to see what she can do in another two years time. Kamifuku admitted her opinions on SKE48 changed today. She wanted to outshine them but when she watched their mini-concert during the show she realised they were too cute and she knew all of their songs. Now Arai is somebody she wants to go out for drinks with someday! Until that happens Kamifuku is considering going on another trip somewhere in Asia to brush up on her beauty tips.

The Magical Sugar Rabbits came back ready to fly all over Sumo Hall against the unusual team of TeaDK. That pair went off to an awkward start when Emi Sakura had to order Chris Brookes into helping her with double team moves that just didn’t work well because of their size difference. MagiRabi took advantage with big dive moves including a double dive that came off one of the aisleway entrances! Yuka Sakazaki also showed her strength by giving Brookes the Magical Merry-Go-Round as well as the Tea Time. TeaDK had more moments of bad teamwork but still overpowered Mizuki with their attacks. Mizuki wiped out Brookes with the Whirling Candy before facing off with Sakura once again. They had a back and forth exchange that ended with Mizuki pinning Sakura with the Aquamarine!

Backstage Sakazaki said the match hurt a lot but still felt so right. It was her first match since graduating from TJPW and she admitted her future turned out differently than what she imagined. She is feeling refreshed and excited because she hasn’t done anything in the last four months. It is still her plan to go to America this year but right now her schedule is undecided. Mizuki was happy to beat Sakura the way she did but admits it doesn’t feel like she won at all. Sakura is always ahead of her and Mizuki fears she can never catch up. Elsewhere TeaDK were at odds over why they lost. Sakura blamed Brookes while he tried to tell her she is not royalty. She wouldn’t listen and Brookes was left thinking he is better off going back to CDK.

Maki Itoh knew she was in for an impossible fight against Minoru Suzuki but she still gave it her best shot. She tried to get on his good side by acting cute and polite but they just made Suzuki ask what’s so cute about her? Suzuki grabbed Itoh by the hair, making her cry. He complained to Yukinori Matsui but took it too far and made him cry too. In Itoh’s case it was just a trap to get the jump on Suzuki. That didn’t work out because Suzuki hit her with a chair outside the ring. Itoh kept trying to fight back both in the fight as well as the war of words. She countered the Gotch-Style Piledriver into a Cradle for a few nearfalls until Suzuki caught her in the Sleeper Hold. Itoh fainted from the move and the match had to be stopped. When Itoh regained consciousness she refused to shake his hand, opting to give him the middle finger instead. Suzuki grabbed Itoh by the middle finger and dragged her backstage all the way to the interview desk. Itoh stuck up her other middle finger and Suzuki grabbed that too. He held on until Itoh apologised. Suzuki patted her on the head and left, promising he will be back. Itoh told the reporters it was fun to wrestle Suzuki. Next time she would like to team with him again.

With the new and improved Hypami Dramatic Dream combat bike fully completed, Kyoraku Kyomei were ready to take on the incoming rampage of Aja Kong & Max The Impaler. They had other tricks up their sleeve like Hyper Misao blinding Kong with a her spray so Kong would miss the Diving Elbow Drop. The match didn’t take long to move out of the ring. Misao tried to run over Kong with the Hypami DD but she dodged out of the way. However Shoko Nakajima caught Kong and kept her in place long enough for Misao to turn the bike around and crash it into her! Back in the ring Max came to Kong’s rescue and soon the two monsters were armed with steel cans. After beating up Kyoraku Kyomei with the cans, Kong & Max decided to give them Piledrivers together. Kong then copied Misao’s “I Am A Hero” catchphrase and hit the Diving Elbow Drop for the three count. Kong called it a forgone conclusion. The Princess Tag Team Champions should consider themselves lucky that Kong & Max aren’t the next challengers. As soon as Kong said that she began to wonder out loud what would happen if they did become the champions…

The reigning JCW Champion came to Sumo Hall and put down one of TJPW’s main stars. Masha Slamovich survived being strangled by Rika Tatsumi and also caught her Hip Attack. Tatsumi was left stunned with a Spin Kick to the head and was done for when Slamovich gave her the White Knight Driver. Slamovich said winning a match in Sumo Hall felt special and she is ready to fight more TJPW wrestlers in Philadelphia next week. Tatsumi hopes she will come back so they can have a rematch. If she doesn’t then Tatsumi will just go searching after her.

The new ring costumes worn by Wakana Uehara & Toga were not enough for them to beat Shinken Kusho. Instead it was the teamwork of Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano that made the difference. Nagano took care of Uehara allowing Miyamoto to beat Toga with the Korokan. With only a short time remaining until Nagano’s graduation, Shinken Kusho were happy to win in the same building where Nagano debuted and started teaming with Miyamoto two years ago.

It turns out that Raku’s lullaby is super effective against giant pandas. She was able to send Andreza Giant Panda to dreamland, thanks to some help from Pom Harajuku placing a pillow beneath his head. Andreza woke up when they tried to pin him with the Oyasumi Express. When Andreza became too powerful to fight directly, RakuPom turned their attention to Kaya Toribami. Andreza ended up Headbutting Toribami by accident, giving Raku the opening to give her the Doctor Yellow and win. Andreza took the result in his stride though and was happy he got along with both Toribami and Haruna Neko. He wants to make even more animal friends so they can all be part of an Animal Paradise. He also warned TJPW that some of the stuff that happened to him in the ring today counts as animal abuse and he will be calling the animal welfare centre later.

It was a successful debut match for Ami Yumoto. She started off the match against HIMAWARI and held her own. Things got difficult when HIMAWARI tagged in Mahiro Kiryu but Nao Kakuta was there to save the day. Yumoto did a dive onto Kiryu out of the ring while Kakuta beat HIMAWARI with the Shiden Kai. Yumoto wished she could have done more in training to be better prepared. She hopes this match will be a good opportunity to set up another one in the future. She said she has always been a tomboy since she was a kid and would like to do more high flying moves next time. Kakuta would like to team with her again but her advice to Yumoto is to prioritise her health and career.

The JK Trio of Haru Kazashiro, Runa Okubo & Uta Takami won in the opening contest. Does this make them the youngest pro wrestling team to ever win a match in Sumo Hall? The match went back and forth until the teenagers hit a Triple Dropkick to Shino Suzuki, Chika Nanase & Kira Summer. Kazashiro then used a Fisherman Suplex to pin Nanase.

Five members of SKE48 including Yuki Arai held a mini-concert after the third match. For one member Marika Tani it turned out to be her final live performance because today is her graduation from the idol unit. One thing she noticed is at SKE48 concerts the fans chant “Yuki-chan” for Yuki Arai but at wrestling shows the fans chant “Arai” for her instead.

Did April Fool’s come a day early? There was an announcement at the beginning of the show of a collaboration between TJPW and mecha franchise Armored Trooper Votoms. As part of the collaboration famed mecha designer Kunio Okawara created illustrations of existing Votoms robots with colour schemes and accessories related to TJPW wrestlers. The first revealed designs are Berserga Pink Striker based on Miyu Yamashita and Cat Shoulder based on Haruna Neko.

It was announced that “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’24” will be held at Korakuen Hall on 20th July. Normally that show would be held somewhere like Ota Ward Gymnasium. However that building won’t be available for a while because it is being renovated for the rest of the year.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’23” Results

March 18, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’23”, 18/03/2023
Ariake Coliseum
1,513 Fans

1. Suzume defeated Arisu Endo with the Ring A Bell (8:48).
2. Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo Debut Match: Mahiro Kiryu, Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki defeated Kaya Toribami, Toga, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo when Kiryu pinned Toga with the Spinebuster (11:23).
3. Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta & Ram Kaichow defeated Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku when Noa pinned Harajuku after the 5G (10:23).
4. Ryo Mizunami defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Diving Guillotine Drop (11:46).
5. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Andreza Giant Panda & Haruna Neko when Nakajima pinned Neko with the Northern Lights Suplex (10:25).
6. Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel defeated Yuki Kamifuku & Billie Starkz when Saint-Michel pinned Kamifuku after La Revolucion (13:42).
7. Special Single Match: Aja Kong defeated Yuki Arai with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (13:00).
8. International Princess Title: Rika Tatsumi defeated Miu Watanabe (c) with the White Dragon Sleeper (18:31).
*Miu Watanabe fails in V4. Rika Tatsumi becomes the 10th International Princess Champion!
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh defeated Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer (c) when Itoh pinned Howitzer with the Flying Big Head (13:42).
*The Wasteland War Party fails in V4. 121000000 become the 12th Princess Tag Team Champions!
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki defeated Yuka Sakazaki (c) with the Cutie Special (21:02).
*Yuka Sakazaki fails in V3. Mizuki becomes the 12th Princess Of Princess Champion!

A clean sweep of title changes marked Tokyo Joshi Pro’s big day at Ariake Coliseum. In the main event Mizuki added her name to the short list of people to hold the Princess Of Princess Title, beating her closest friend Yuka Sakazaki. It was an emotional match for both Magical Sugar Rabbits because neither wanted to fight each other but knew it had to happen. Sakazaki used a top rope version of the Magical Merry-Go-Round before doing the regular kind but Mizuki was barely able to kick out. Mizuki missed the Whirling Candy the first time but eventually caught Sakazaki with the move. She landed the Diving Foot Stomp a few times but Sakazaki became dead weight that Mizuki struggled to roll over, giving her enough time to kick out of the pin. In the end it took one rolling strike to counter another with Mizuki stopping Sakazaki in her tracks with a Back Elbow. It then took two Cutie Specials for Mizuki to finally become the new champion.

The two hugged after the match and Mizuki received her title belt. She got on the microphone and told the audience how much she loves everyone in TJPW. She will hold onto the Princess Title and do her best to be like the previous champions who she all admires. Now that she is champion she promises to work with everyone to make TJPW even more exciting. She also won’t let anybody take Sakazaki away from her. In regards to any title defences she said backstage she wants to fight anyone but her tag partner.

The Princess Tag Team Titles have been rescued from The Wasteland War Party but it could be going on a new adventure around the world. 121000000 entered the arena with new ring costumes and an extra pep in their step. The contract signing for the title match only took place an hour before the show began. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh got fired up during it after Heidi Howitzer called both of them weak. The match got off to a rough start for the challengers when Howitzer & Max The Impaler ambushed them. However the tide changed when Yamashita got Max with a High Kick and German Suplex combo. The champions targeted Itoh and had her set up for the Master Blaster when she got out of the way, giving Yamashita an opening to hit the Return Crash. Max was given the Skull Kick and Itoh landed the Flying Big Head on Howitzer to get the three count. Yamashita is about to embark on a three month expedition to America. She made it clear she wants 121000000 to defend the titles around the world. Backstage they again tried to get the media to join along in their “One To…” “…Million!” catchphrase but again they kept silent.

Rika Tatsumi can now call herself the one and only grand slam champion in TJPW! She defeated her Daydream partner Miu Watanabe to win the International Princess Title, becoming the only wrestler to have won that, the Princess Of Princess Title and the Princess Tag Team Titles in their career. She made her entrance sporting a new short haircut and focused on using submission holds like the Figure 4 and Dragon Sleeper. Watanabe countered it with her strength, lifting Tatsumi out of the Sleeper and spinning her around into a Neck Hanging Giant Swing! But the Dragon Sleeper came back as a way for Tatsumi to counter the Tear Drop. Tatsumi then switched it into the White Dragon Sleeper to make Watanabe submit. Backstage Tatsumi said she saw a version of Watanabe she never knew before and experienced a daydream she never knew existed. She went into this match thinking it could result in Daydream splitting up but she would rather stay together with Watanabe and continue teaming with her. Watanabe agrees and is looking forward to seeing how her tag partner’s title reign will go. Now that Tatsumi has the IP Title and the grand slam, she now wants to recapture the other belts so she can truly become the Triple Crown King!

It was a good effort from Yuki Arai but she just couldn’t beat Aja Kong. She took some risk by using a Missile Dropkick for the first time to rock her opponent. The size difference rendered both the Sharpshooter and the Full Nelson Buster uselss so Arai found ways to hit the Finally kick from higher ground, whether it was from standing on the ropes or standing on the ring apron while Kong was outside. The tactic almost got Kong counted out but she made it back by 19. Kong launced the counter attack with her steel can. Arai took a Piledriver and kicked out of a Back Drop. She dodged the Diving Back Elbow and started throwing kicks to fight Kong off. A Short-Range Lariat knocked Arai down and she was able to kick out at one but the Vertcial Drop Brainbuster brought her spirited performance to an end. Kong gave Arai some words outside the ring afterwards before leaving. Kong’s words were “Let’s do it again.”

Match #6 featured a few returns. Billie Starkz is back and she got to form an American Midwest tag team with Yuki Kamifuku. Their opponents NEO Biishiki-gun were not flattered by Starkz’s appearance. Sakisama stared her down while Mei Saint-Michel got annoyed by Starkz ignoring her. That didn’t last long especially at that moment when Starkz did a Swanton Bomb out of the ring towards Saint-Michel’s direction. NEO Biishiki-gun regrouped and scored the win when they got Kamifuku with La Revolucion. Backstage Sakisama said she isn’t sure how long she will be around TJPW this time. It all depends on what mood she and Saint-Michel are in. Also Saint-Michel wants to go visit Odaiba because she heard there’s a giant robot there.

Have no fear, citizens. The threat of a rampaging Andreza Giant Panda destroying Ariake Coliseum has been squashed by Kyoraku Kyomei! Andreza’s tag partner Haruna Neko made the mistake of entering the ring while the panda was still walking down the ramp at slow speed. Hyper Misao attacked Haruna while Shoko Nakajima stood on the top turnbuckle shooting at it with a laser cannon. When Andreza got to enter the ring Misao sprayed it with a fire extinguisher. Andreza fought back with massive Headbutts. Misao tried attacking it with a glowing Kyoraku Saber but it didn’t have any effect. Andreza missed a Headbutt, hitting Neko by mistake. Misao then crashed the Hyper Mobile in the panda outside the ring while Nakajima pinned Neko with the Northern Lights Suplex. Backstage Neko said she would like to team with Andreza again. She knows the rest of Andreza’s family have wrestled in matches before so they can join in too.

Ryo Mizunami was feeling the groove in her return to TJPW. She even surprised Yukinori Matsui with a hearty slap on the back during the in-ring inspection before the bell rang. Moka Miyamoto took some heavy hits from her before getting to make a comeback. Mizunami took her best shots though and held her guard. The gap in experience was too much for Miyamoto and she ended up getting pinned with the Diving Guillotine Drop. Backstage Mizunami praised Miyamoto for still having life in her eyes after getting beaten. She’d like to fight her again when Miyamoto gets stronger.

A new double team finisher called the 5G was shown off by Free WiFi, but it’s a move that comes from Hikari Noa’s past. Noa & Nao Kakuta both picked up Pom Harajuku in a Double Argentine Backbreaker and then flipped her over into a Facebuster for the pin. The move was used by Noa before when she was in Pandemic Boo-Boo but now it belongs to her & Kakuta. The match also showed some trouble in the relationship between Raku and Ram Kaichow. When they were in the ring together, Raku accused Kaichow of cheating on her! Kaichow got the last word in by hitting Raku with the Rainmaker before Free WiFi did their finish. Even though Kaichow was on the winning team, she couldn’t help but do the Goodnight Express pose to the cameras while leaving the ring. She stopped once she noticed Free WiFi saw her doing it. Backstage Kaichow tried explaining to everyone that she’s not cheating on Raku because she would never do that to a girl that cute. She also thinks Raku is a genius for bringing in a pillow to do her nap spots. This entire drama took all then attention away from Yuki Aino’s new outfit too. She doesn’t mind though. In fact she brought up an idea to team with Kaichow as The Raku Lovers Alliance!

The 2023 class was put on full display for Match #2. Both Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo made their debuts teaming with Kaya Toribami & Toga. Both Kazashiro and Okubo got to show off on HIMAWARI. Kazehiro hit a Shoulder Blow while Okubo did a Waterwheel Drop. Wakana Uehara & Shino Suzuki played their parts to cut off the other team while Mahiro Kiryu pinned Toga with the Spinebuster. Backstage Toribami apologised to the rest of her team because she wanted to give them all their first win. Okubo said she was nervous but had fun. She wants to become a cute and cool wrestler that people will admire. Kazashiro has been watching TJPW since primary school and felt honored when she heard Sayuri Namba announce her name. She wants to be the kind of wrestler who will inspire people to work harder.

The first match of the show was the Daisy Monkey showdown. Suzume and Arisu Endo fought their hearts out against each other, ending with Suzume hitting the Ring A Bell for the victory. Backstage Suzume said Endo is the girl she would like to be: bright, straightforward and loved by everyone. Suzume can see a future where the two of them are champions together. Endo thinks the two of them were able to convey their feelings for each other through wrestling.

The show began with a musical performance from The Up Up Girls. It included the debut of their brand new song “SHINING MARK”.

There will be three more “big match” TJPW events taking place later this year. “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’23” will be at Ota Ward Gymnasium on 8th July. Then “WRESTLE PRINCESS IV” will be held in Tama Mirai Messe on 9th October. Lastly, the 10th anniversary show “WE ARE TJPW” is happening in Korakuen Hall on 1st December.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’23” Preview

March 16, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’23”, 18/03/2023
Ariake Coliseum

1. Suzume Vs Arisu Endo
2. Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo Debut Match: Mahiro Kiryu, Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki Vs Kaya Toribami, Toga, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo
3. Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta & Ram Kaichow Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku
4. Ryo Mizunami Vs Moka Miyamoto
5. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Andreza Giant Panda & Haruna Neko
6. Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Billie Starkz
7. Special Single Match: Aja Kong Vs Yuki Arai
8. International Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Mizuki


It’s been almost seven years since pro wrestling last took place in Ariake Coliseum. That event was the last Super J Cup to be held in Japan. For women’s wrestling it’s been even longer. Almost two decades! It’s a venue that served as a regular base for RINGS in the 1990s and NOAH in the 2010s, holding many wrestling related memories of all kinds. Tatsumi Fujinami won his first IWGP Title against Big Van Vader there in New Japan, Atsushi Onita fought Leon Spinks there in FMW, Kenta Kobashi dropped his fifth Burning Hammer there in NOAH, Dragon Kid unmasked Darkness Dragon there in Toryumon and an alternate universe Nobuhiko Takada was dragged down into the demon world by The Great Muta there in HUSTLE. Even WWE booked the Coliseum during their 2008 tour of Japan.

In the joshi scene Ariake Coliseum was often used by companies attempting to establish themselves away from AJW. From JWP to Jd’ to GAEA to ARSION until the alphabet soup of promotion names fittingly ended with AtoZ. This weekend Tokyo Joshi Pro gets to enter the arena with “GRAND PRINCESS ’23”. It is the second annual “GRAND PRINCESS” supershow, a name they are going to use for their biggest matches inside the biggest venues. A running theme going through the card is teams and friendships being put to the test. Three of the five singles matches are built around tag team partners fighting each other to prove who is the best between them. There’s a lot more in store besides that so let’s see what’s on offer.


1. Suzume Vs Arisu Endo

We kick off with Daisy Monkey revisiting 4th January, 2021. That was the date of Arisu Endo’s debut match and Suzume was her opponent. 26 months later and it’s time for the rematch. Suzume is one of the rare TJPW talent to wrestle elsewhere in Japan over the last 12 months, appearing in Gatoh Move and Ganbare☆Pro. Endo was there with Suzume for a Gatoh Move match too but other than that she’s been chasing behind her ever since her debut. It was only just recently that Endo won a singles match for the first time, using the Camel Clutch she inherited from Reika Saiki to get her hand raised in victory. The win-loss records between the two say otherwise but Endo’s recent progression has led Suzume to ask herself if her tag partner has already surpassed her. If that did happen then it’s up to Suzume to kick up the pace and overtake Endo until they keep doing it back and forth over and over! But there’s no fear of their tag team suddenly fracturing over what happens in the match. Suzume has made it known many times she wants to team with Endo forever!


2. Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo Debut Match: Mahiro Kiryu, Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki Vs Kaya Toribami, Toga, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo

A match to introduce the class of 2023 to a larger audience. If I did the match correctly the combined in-ring experience of everyone in this match is close 7 years. Four of those years belong to Mahiro Kiryu and almost two belongs to Kaya Toribami. Everyone else are either brand new or barely a few months into their pro careers. So it will be up to Kiryu and Toribami to be the guiding hands for an 8-Woman Tag Match, which, um… yeah that’s going to be a challenge. Okay, I admit I’m being ridiculous thinking about this. It’s not like they will go out there and attempt to recreate the Michinoku Pro 10-Man tag… But what if they did! Just imagine it. An 8 person Kaientai DX Tower spot with Kiryu kneeling on top of the pile to give out her apology. That alone would bring the show up to the same level of “THESE DAYS” easily.

Kiryu’s side has what little experience advantage there is. Wakana Uehara is the sole survivor of TJPW’s Youtube series Yume Pro Wrestling -dream on the ring-. She was the only idol from that show who decided to go ahead and continue giving pro wrestling a shot. Her performances so far are can be added to the growing pile of evidence that Sanshiro Takagi’s dream of creating the Idol Wrestle Grand Prix sometime in the future isn’t such a bad idea. HIMAWARI originally caught the eyes of some fans with her distinct look during her very brief time in Actwres girl’Z. Since debuting in TJPW she’s been more focused on being entertaining rather than winning matches. Shino Suzuki only just debuted in the ring as the newest member of The Up Up Girls (who are debuting a brand new song at the show by the way), adding bus tourism knowledge that goes hand and hand with another member’s love for trains.

Over on the other team Toribami has kind of been given the short end of the stick. She’s been starting to win matches by herself because of the new blood coming in if nothing else. Toga only just debuted at the start of the month on the same day Suzuki did. What we have seen of Toga is she can throw a pretty mean Elbow Strike if given the chance. Haru Kazashiro (blue) & Runa Okubo (pink) are both having their first ever matches. Both girls are 14 year old junior high school students. Kazashiro in particular is wrestling this match one day before her school’s graduation ceremony. She was inspired to join TJPW after seeing Nodoka Tenma’s final match while Okubo became a wrestling fan because both of her parents are wrestling fans. Other than that info it’s hard to tell what kind of athletic background they have and how it is going to form their wrestling style. Maybe they’ll surprise us and start whipping out some Dick Togo & MEN’S Teioh style double team moves. Alright, alright, I’ll stop it with the Michinoku Pro jokes.


3. Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta & Ram Kaichow Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku

The mascot of Triple Six returns to TJPW for the first time in a year. Last year’s “GRAND PRINCESS” in fact. Whether she is fighting on behalf of 666 or the Rebel X Enemy faction, Ram Kaichow’s match schedule is as full as ever. She even found time to win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title with a blink and you’ll miss it reign last November. Plus she’s one of the few wrestlers who will get to have matches in both Stardom and TJPW within the same week of each other. Look at her playing both sides. That’s 18 years in the business shining through right there! Fighting by her side in the Coliseum is Free WiFi, which I think the arena already has. Hikari Noa’s progress in the last year has slowed down compared to her 2021 singles run. Perhaps the biggest positive is she finally found a regular tag team partner who did not leave her within 12 months. Nao Kakuta has been fitted firmly in the midcard being the useful hand in tag matches. As much as she enjoys starting roll calls on social media, she hasn’t been getting that many chances to lead the charge this year. Free WiFi suffered an early 1st Round exit in the Max Heart Tournament but it was by losing to the eventual winners. Maybe Kaichow’s ghostly presence can boost their coverage somehow.

Their opponents are possibly the most tight knit trio around in TJPW right now. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku have been hanging around and teaming with each other so much lately I still don’t understand why they haven’t been given an official team or unit name yet. The bond between them reached its strongest point last November when Raku fell sick right before she could team with Aino for a Princess Tag Team Titles match. Harajuku stepped in as her substitute and teamed with Aino to fight Reiwa AA Cannon who were on top form as champions. Their challenge ended in failure but it was a heartwarming story of friendship between the three that was on show for everyone to witness. Will there be jealousy from a certain white-faced opponent? Kaichow did team with Aino & Raku on last year’s show. Her and Raku looked like such a happy couple together too. No, seriously go back and watch the entrance if you don’t remember them literally dressed like a newly married couple walking down the aisle.


4. Ryo Mizunami Vs Moka Miyamoto

It’s becoming a staple now on TJPW’s major shows for the company to put one of their young prospects against a veteran figure like Ryo Mizunami. This is the third time now that Mizunami is putting somebody here to the test. So step onto the stage, Moka Miyamoto. The Max Heart Tournament gave the karate girl some big boost in experience, advancing to the final four as part of an underdog team with Juria Nagano (who does not have a match at this show due to a finger injury but will be there to provide commentary). Even before that she developed a new Neckbreaker finisher called the Korokan that brought her all the way to and International Princess Title shot. At this point she is comfortably out of her rookie phase but an opponent like Mizunami is still a high wall to climb. Mizunami has split her 2023 between Sendai Girls, OZ Academy and SEAdLINNNG so far but does not have a lot of wins in any of those places. Could an upset be on the cards if the stars are alligned the right way on the night? Probably not because there will likely still be daylight outside by the time this match starts.


5. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Andreza Giant Panda & Haruna Neko

It’s been a while since we’ve seen good ol’ Andreza Giant Panda around these parts. The reason is a sad one. Its handler Samson Miyamoto passed away in 2020 and their home promotion New Nemuro Pro Wrestling had already gone on hiatus for a few years. People attached to N2W decided to relaunch the brand last October to hold an anniversary event for Miyamoto and continue on his motto: “Do not overdo it, do not get injured, work tomorrow!” Andreza then began to tour again, directly beating Onita not once but twice in a weekend of FMWE shows due to its overwhelming size and power. So how did we end up with Andreza getting involved with TJPW? Would you believe me if I said it’s because of an Idolmaster marketing campaign? TJPW has been collaborating merchandise with The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls, giving characters from the game the costumes worn by TJPW’s wrestlers. The recent batch unexpectedly included Andreza and the N2W brand so it was only a matter of time until the “Big Beast Of The North” made its way over here. Joining the panda’s side is Haruna Neko, the resident catgirl. And just like my friend’s pet cats you never see her do anything until you stop paying attention. Then all of a sudden there she claws out and ready to scratch something while perched on the shoulders of a giant. All together now. “Andreza is really neat! It is filled with panda meat! We all love you, Andreza!”

A danger of that magnitude needs an unbeatable defence force to keep the whole building standing. What could be better than the alliance between a Big Kaiju and a Superhero who has sworn to defend love and peace? Kyoraku Kyomei were so close to winning this year’s Max Heart Tournament, falling just short in the final. Despite that setback Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao are as tight a partnership as they have ever been. What other team could fight each other in a Ladder match and both come out of it as the official winners? Nakajima has a movie library’s worth of knowledge in how to defend a site from a kaiju attack. Misao has the most experience in actually turning those kinds of ideas into reality. If Andreza is not careful it could end up getting all of the wind knocked out of it by Kyoraku Kyomei! You ever see a panda deflate? It’s a sad sight to be honest. Like watching a snowman melt in fast forward.


6. Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Billie Starkz

It will be one day short of a year when NEO Biishiki-gun returns once again to TJPW. Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel have kept to themselves since their last public appearance. Who knows if anything has changed with the two since then. They have a unique combination of opponents waiting for them connected together via the Midwest region of the USA. Yuki Kamifuku (remember, she grew up in Ohio) has a history with the group, being one of the few women on the roster to be considered beautiful by Sakisama. In 2018 Kamifuku convinced Sakisama to make her an apprentice only to go back on the idea two weeks later because she quickly figured out it wasn’t a good fit for her. Then in 2019 Sakisama beat Kamifuku in a singles match. Afterwards Kamifuku asked for Sakisama to keep a watch over her as she continues to work harder to become a more beautiful fighter. In a rare show of public empathy Sakisama agreed. They’ve been opponents many times since then but there is a measure of respect between the two.

I don’t think there’s going to be any of the same respect shown for Kamifuku’s tag partner. What will a lady like Sakisama think of Billie Starkz when she sees her in person for the first time? How does a well kept maid like Saint-Michel behave in front of someone that’s been nicknamed “Space Jesus”? Starkz only had one match in TJPW so far but it won over the roster as well as the audience over there. While there’s been a lot of hype for her online as one of the new faces coming out of the independent scene since the pandemic, getting more opportunities to wrestle overseas is what’s going to make her a better wrestler. It’s cool that she has a tight knit group of people supporting her everywhere she goes in America but you don’t want to risk turning that into her being coddled. But hey if having a chance to dump Saint-Michel headfirst onto the ring apron is what gets her over then more power to her.


7. Special Single Match: Aja Kong Vs Yuki Arai

The “Genius Girl” experiment continues at full pace with another big challenge thrown Yuki Arai’s way. Over the last 12 months Arai bonded with the other wrestlers her age by teaming together. The goal of the 1998 class was to help each other become stronger so they could all beat their senpais. Then came the return of her Reiwa AA Cannon team with Saki Akai, leading towards Arai’s first ever championship win. The two of them became the team to finally take the Princess Tag Team Titles from The Magical Sugar Rabbits during the summer. Then the rest of the year was spent defending those titles with a respectful 6 month long reign. When that came to an end at the start of this year, Arai quickly found out what path she was taking next. A singles match with Aja Kong! Their first meeting was in a tag match that took place only 5 months after Arai turned pro. A second tag match took place in February. Arai got the win for her team but did not take the fall from Kong, which made what should be an important victory taste bittersweet. She thinks she has developed so much as a wrestler since their first match that she can now stand face to face against the legend.

It’s fitting that this match is taking place in Ariake Coliseum because it’s kind of like the boss level for Kong. You know that list of joshi promotions I included in the intro that ran the Coliseum? Kong wrestled on three of those shows (JWP, Jd’ and GAEA), winning her match in all three. It is where she defeated Dynamite Kansai with a non-stop whirlwind of Uraken Backfists and then six years later defended the AAAW Title against a young Meiko Satomura. Kong has already paid respect to Akai by disregarding any kind of freakshow advertising a match between a pop singer and a monster heel will attract. When you stand in the ring with Aja Kong you are a pro wrestler in her eyes so she will treat you as one. Which leads to an interesting direction the match could take. Obviously Arai will be figuring out how to counter Kong’s moves but does this attitude mean that Kong will do the same against Arai’s moveset? Those tin cans she uses as weapons look like good shields that can block the Finally Axe Kick for example.


8. International Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi

The second of three matches where close tag team partners have to fight each other. A breakout performance in last year’s Tokyo Princess Cup launched Miu Watanabe towards a well deserved International Princess Title reign. After taking the belt from Alex Windsor at “WRESTLE PRINCESS III”, Watanabe set up goals to make sure the title lived up to its international name. She won it from a foreign wrestler and got to defend it against more foreign wrestlers (Trish Adora and Janai Kai). It’s all so she can reach her destination of being the champion when TJPW goes to Los Angeles this April. The reason for this plan? To finally surpass her seniors who have dominated the main event scene for so long. That just so happens to include her Daydream tag partner.

Watanabe’s journey to become the pro wrestler she is today was an inspiration for Rika Tatsumi. Her tag partner has grown into somebody she would love to fight some day. So after Watanabe’s last defence, Tatsumi told her just that and challenged her to a title match! There is an ulterior motive to Tatsumi’s request though. She later revealed that if she becomes the IP Champion then she will become the only grand slam champion in the history of TJPW! Once she realised it this match gave her the desire of a dragon to win the belt. Problem is she found out in the prelim tag matches that Watanabe has become as strong as a demon! Sometimes Tatsumi’s acts of violence are really a show of affection, like whenever she chokes somebody in the ring it’s just her way of making friends with that person. Those are her words and I’m not one to question them. She might have to find “friendlier” ways of dealing with her tag partner in order to win here.


9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh

Maybe the most fun I’ve had writing about TJPW since the last “GRAND PRINCESS” is the invasion of Max The Impaler. How would someone like Max adapt to the sugar and sweet environment TJPW typically provides? From the moment Max raided the Tokyo Sports office and kidnapped a reporter in the promotion’s misguided attempt to get media attention I knew it was going to be a good time. Following that up by attaching Max to a feud with Pom Harajuku turned out to be inspired booking as their interactions became a highlight of shows. It was also a relief for the rest of the roster because Harajuku does such a “good job” being a distraction for Max to target anybody else. Although with that being said, Max did develop friendly affections towards wrestlers like Yuki Aino during her time here. If focus was becoming a problem for Max then it was time for a buddy of theirs to join in the fun. Heidi Howitzer regularly teams with Max in America as The Wasteland War Party and at the start of this year they sent a threat that nobody in TJPW wanted to hear. They were coming to Japan for the Princess Tag Titles! They did just that on 4th January by defeating the champions Reiwa AA Cannon before quickly returning to America with their new prize. Since then Max & Heidi have defended the titles three times on the US indies, marking the first time those championships have been defended outside of TJPW and Japan.

Their absence coincidentally timed with the annual Max Heart Tournament. As is tradition in Japan, the purpose for tournaments like these is to determine the strongest wrestlers in the company. It’s not necessarily always about winning a title shot but one always leads to the other. So with the Tag Titles currently out of play this was the stage now to decided who was the best tag team TJPW has on their roster. In the end the winners were 121000000 in a milestone achievement for the two wrestlers on the team. For Maki Itoh she became the first person to win both the Max Heart Tournament and the Tokyo Princess Cup. For Miyu Yamashita it was the first ever tournament she has won in her decade long career that’s lasted alongside the entire existence of TJPW! Even without the guarantee of The Wasteland War Party still holding the titles by the time March came around, 121000000 demanded to fight them at Ariake Coliseum with or without the belts. Once Max & Heidi swept aside their remaining challengers in America the promotion finally acknowledged the championships will be on the line. Whatever the result is, the titles are going to go on another crazy adventure anyway.

For Yamashita & Itoh their schedules over the next few months will be big. Itoh’s fandom in America has recently seen her switch from fighting in AEW over to appearing in GCW where she became an unlikely ally of Nick Gage*, turning his MDK catchphrase into Maki Death Kill. She’s taken to it like a duck to water, hitting opponents with lighttubes and using pizza slicers as a weapon as well as a makeshift compact mirror (I mean, she’s still an idol at heart). Meanwhile Yamashita is about to embark on a 3 month tour of America that will include continuing appearances for EVE in England as their current champion. Both have promised TJPW that if they win the Princess Tag Titles they will find the time to defend them in Japan whenever they are told to. They also really like the idea of defending the belts in America whenever their paths will cross over during their excursions. It’s a lofty goal for two women who are going to have a lot on their plates going into the summer. That’s if they can even beat The Wasteland War Party in the first place. If they can’t then it’s probably back to Plan Pom for the forseeable future.

*Holy crap I just imagined what Itoh & Gage Vs Max & Pom would be like as a dream match.


10. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Mizuki

What else was the main event going to be in this, the Year Of The Rabbit? Whether together as a team or on their own as singles The Magical Sugar Rabbits are often the strongest two wrestlers in the TJPW roster. It’s a position that’s sometimes felt daunting for Yuka Sakazaki because as the Princess Of Princess Champion she has to fight the strongest challengers even when she doesn’t want to. Sure, there are opponents she has fun fighting against like Billie Starkz but she never looks forward to defending the belt against, say Miyu Yamashita. The one match she dreads the most is also the one she knows must happen next. Sakazaki has to fight Mizuki.

It’s been almost five years since MagiRabi were randomly assigned together in a one-day tag team tournament. They won that tournament and came up with the team name straight afterwards, kicking off this wonderful bond that’s only gotten stronger and stronger as time went by. Despite their numerous success, recently Mizuki started feeling like she was lagging behind her friend. Sakazaki won the Princess Cup, became a 3-time Princess Champion and went to AEW to get even stronger. Mizuki got over her crisis in confidence and even though this challenge has her feeling emotional, there is nothing she wants more than to be the one who beats Sakazaki for the title!

There was one previous time when this match happened for the Princess Title. Sakazaki successfully defended the belt against Mizuki at the first “WRESTLE PRINCESS” in 2020. The few times the two have wrestled each other one on one, Mizuki has never gotten her hand raised in victory. The best result she has is a short time limit draw that happened all the way back in 2017. Her preparations for this upcoming match was to wrestle a lot of the roster in singles matches, building up her winning streak while Sakazaki was away in America. If she wins here she’ll be only the second woman who started her career outside of TJPW to become the Princess Champion. The “Four Princesses” that have been around TJPW the longest hold a tight grip on the belt. Will the Year Of The Rabbit mean it is finally Mizuki’s time to take that treasure for herself?


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS III” Results

October 9, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS III”, 09/10/2022
Tokyo Dome City Hall
1,007 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano defeated Arisu Endo & Kaya Toribami when Nagano pinned Toribami with the Senpukyaku (9:24).
2. Nao Kakuta, Yuna Manase & Yoshiko Hasegawa defeated Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Haruna Neko when Kakuta pinned Neko with the Shiden Kai (12:11).
3. Ryo Mizunami defeated Suzume with the Lariat (11:05).
4. TDC (Tottemo Dekkai Chance) Rules: Mizuki defeated Hyper Misao with the Diving Foot Stomp from the Ladder (8:25).
5. Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Aino & Max The Impaler defeated Aja Kong, Raku & Pom Harajuku when Tatsumi pinned Harajuku with the Sliding Hip Attack (12:48).
6. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh defeated Riho & Hikari Noa when Itoh submitted Noa with the Itoh Special (13:44).
7. International Princess Title: Miu Watanabe defeated Alex Windsor (c) with the Tear Drop (10:21).
*Alex Windsor fails in V2. Miu Watanabe becomes the 9th International Princess Champion!
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) defeated Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade when Arai pinned Nightshade with the Finally (10:21).
*V2 for Reiwa AA Cannon.
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Shoko Nakajima (c) with the Magical Girl Niwatori Yaro (22:44).
*Shoko Nakajima fails in V5. Yuka Sakazaki becomes the 11th Princess Of Princess Champion!

For the third time in her career, Yuka Sakazaki has become the Princess Of Princess Champion! She avenged her loss against Shoko Nakajima from June at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022” to regain the belt for the first time in 21 months. Nakajima pulled out her biggest moves to try and defend the title including the Locomotion Northern Lights Suplex as well as the Diving Senton onto the ring apron. But Sakazaki went high risk by performing the Magical Merry-Go-Round off the top turnbuckle. The Magical Girl Splash was not enough to finish off the champ so Sakazaki had to pull out the 450 version to win in the end.

Sakazaki was thrilled with the result and hugged Nakajima after the match. Nakajima wrapped the title belt around her waist in return. Sakazaki then told the fans she was finally able to beat Nakajima and got to do so in a big venue in front of a sold out crowd. She said it is because of the fans supporting Tokyo Joshi Pro that she’s been able to steadily improve her skills enough to make this moment happen. She also talked about TJPW’s growth resulting in her making new friends not just in Japan but from overseas too.

As the show was reaching its end, the entire roster gathered together and Sakazaki told them there is an important announcement about to be made. A video played containing two messages. First, the annual Ittenyon show at Korakuen Hall on 4th January will take place again in 2023 for the 8th consecutive year. Secondly, “GRAND PRINCESS ’23” is taking place at Ariake Coliseum on 18th March, 2023! It will be the first wrestling show to be held in the venue in 6 and a half years.

The growing relationship between TJPW and EVE resulted in several British wrestlers taking part in title matches below the main event. The Uprising of Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade were brand new opponents for Reiwa AA Cannon. It was the first time Yuki Arai was taking on wrestlers from another country. However with Saki Akai’s guidance, the champions were able to retain. Together they took out O’Reilly with Double Rookie Awards and Akai got to pin Nightshade with the Finally. Akai explained in her post match interview that even though The Uprising had the size and power advantage, she could sense herself & Arai climbing up step by step towards victory as the match went on. Arai said the match is a reminder she still has a lot to learn but she got good experience from it. Akai does not know when their next defence is but she wants to spend Christmas and New Year’s with Arai and take their title reign all the way to Valentine’s Day so they can exchange their belts to each other.

Miu Watanabe’s breakout performance at this year’s Tokyo Princess Cup has paid off with her winning the International Princess Title! She beat Alex Windsor by kicking out of the Liger Bomb and pinning her with the Tear Drop. This is not the first time Watanabe has held gold in TJPW but she’s been waiting so long to win a singles title as a reward for her progress that it sure felt like her first time today. After the summer Watanabe had, she believes today’s result was destiny. The president of the idol agency The Up Up Girls are signed to once told her that the day she becomes a full-fledged pro wrestler will also be the day she becomes a full-fledged idol. She wants to do her best to grow the value of the championship while also continuing to grow as a wrestler herself. That includes defending the title overseas.

The last time Miyu Yamashita fought Riho was in 2019 for DDT so she really wanted to spend a lot of time in the ring against her today. Maki Itoh wanted to fight Riho of course and tried replicating her athletic bridging pin kickout. Hikari Noa was also happy to finally team with Riho for the first time. It was a match that Riho was really looking forward to and at the end she picked Yamashita as someone she would like to fight more often. The two of them pretty much cancelled each other out so it was up to Itoh to get the win by making Noa tap out.

Monster collided with monster when Max The Impaler and Aja Kong were put on opposite sides of the trios match. Everyone else involved were just as much trying to stop those two from tearing down the arena together than they were trying to win. Max threw Pom Harajuku around a lot and then threw her own partner Yuki Aino at Kong. Raku’s idea to arm herself with a pillow for her sleep inducing offence worked about as well as you’d expect. Kong kept Max at bay by attacking her with a steel can while Rika Tatsumi pinned Harajuku with the Sliding Hip Attack. That didn’t stop the two monsters fighting after the match and they brawled up to the stage entrance with everyone else trying to break things up. When things finally calmed down backstage, Tatsumi said they all became closer. Aino absolutely disagreed. What they could agree on was Tokyo Dome City Hall was successfully protected from the Great Monster War. Meanwhile Kong is demanding another match with Max and wants it to be held in a venue that will let her do whatever she wants!

Hyper Misao thinks she is almost evenly matches with Mizuki. The one big difference is she lacks the flowery personality of Mizuki that makes her so princess-like. So Misao asked for the match to be held under TDC (Tottemo Dekkai Chance) Rules. A large bag of random treats and goodies was brought into the ring and everything within it was allowed to be used as a weapon. The ring was soon covered in ribbons, balloons, party string while Misao and Mizuki attacked each other with Pico Pico Hammers. Misao then emptied out a box of Nakajima’s kaiju toys to slam her opponent onto. They fought up to the stage where Misao trapped Mizuki in a garbage can and walked off to find her Combat Bike. Meanwhile Mizuki quietly escaped and hid behind the can with a fire extinguisher, spraying Misao with it when she charged in from across the stage (she later revealed Sanshiro Takagi taught her how to use it). Mizuki brought her back to the ring, climbed a ladder and hit the Diving Stomp off of it to get the win. Mizuki said she proved she can be even more crazy than Misao. But she doesn’t want to be like that so please continue calling her cute.

The speed of Suzume clashed with the brawn of Ryo Mizunami in a first time match. Suzume did some dives early but was drawn into Elbow Smash battles of which Mizunami came out on top of. Suzume switched to some clever matwork but was worn down with more Elbow Smashes. When she was on her last legs, Mizunami encouraged her to stand back up under her own strength so she could be finished off with the Lariat. This was Mizunami’s second match in TJPW and she is becoming fascinated by the place. She sees the future potential in everyone here which encourages herself to keep being stronger. Suzume wants to fight her again so she can also become strong and not lose so easily.

The Actwres girl’Z alumni were victorious against the TJPW home team. Toyo Mates organised some teamwork with Haruna Neko but Yuna Manase broke it apart with a Lariat to Mahiro Kiryu. She was then hit by Yuki Kamifuku’s Big Boot and Kamifuku was wiped out from Yoshiko Hasegawa’s Flying Cross Body. Neko got rid of her with the Nekodebraker and tried to wrap things up against Nao Kakuta. But Kakuta got the upper hand and pinned Neko after a Cross-Arm DDT followed by the Shiden Kai. Backstage Kakuta said it’s been two years since she announced her participation with TJPW in TDC Hall. Two years later and she got to be with both Manase and Hasegawa again. She wrestled in a new costume today but will be evolving herself to become better. The match was Hasegawa’s first victory since returning to wrestling so it is a big deal for her. Manase said she will do her best so that the day will come when they get to fight together again.

Seven months after her debut, Juria Nagano scores her first win. She teamed with Moka Miyamoto in the opener against Arisu Endo & Kaya Toribami in a new generation clash. Miyamoto used a Rotating Brainbuster on Endo, giving Nagano the opening to hit a Whirlwind Kick on Toribami for the win. It was a move Nagano was secretly working on but it has a bad hit rate so she waited until she had the chance to finally use it. Nagano’s next goal is to win a singles match. She hasn’t won one yet and feels the need to prove she can win without the help of her seniors.

The Up Up Girls performed at the beginning of the show like they usually do. This time however the newest member Shino performed one of the songs with the rest of the group. She is still getting ready for her eventual pro wrestling debut.

There are two new trainees, both from middle school. Haru is 14 years old and a 3rd year junior high school student from Tokyo. Momo is from Saitama, also 14 years old and is in her 2nd year of junior high. Both said they will do their best to make it to their debut matches.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’22” Results

March 19, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’22”, 19/03/2022
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1,714 Fans

1. Juria Nagano Debut Match: Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano when Suzume pinned Miyamoto with the Ring A Bell (9:43).
2. Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling Vs Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling: Yuna Manase, Moeka Haruhi, HARUKAZE & YuuRI defeated Nao Kakuta, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami when Manase pinned Kiryu with the Lariat (12:19).
3. Falls Count Anywhere Match: Hyper Misao defeated Sanshiro Takagi with the I Am A Hero (12:00).
4. Asuka defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Moonsault Press (9:37).
5. Yuki Aino defeated Nodoka Tenma with the UBV (9:23).
6. Sakisama, Mei Saint-Michel, Martha & Yukio Saint Laurent defeated Marika Kobashi, Raku, Pom Harajuku & Ram Kaichow when Sakisama pinned Kobashi with the Academy Award (10:51).
7. Special Single Match: Hikaru Shida defeated Hikari Noa with the Falcon Arrow (8:46).
8. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) defeated Yuki Arai with the Itoh Deluxe (16:14).
*V2 for Maki Itoh.
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) defeated Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe when Sakazaki pinned Tatsumi with the Magical Girl Niwatori Yaro (17:02).
*V2 for The Magical Sugar Rabbits.
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima defeated Miyu Yamashita (c) with the Diving Senton (19:04).
*Miyu Yamashita fails in V5. Shoko Nakajima becomes the 10th Princess Of Princess Champion!

In its ninth year of existence, Tokyo Joshi Pro has reached the “Dream Stage” that is Sumo Hall! In the main event, Shoko Nakajima brought an end to Miyu Yamashita’s reign as Princess Of Princess Champion. She took the Skull Kick to the back of the head but was able to dodge a second one thrown from the front. Yamashita was caught in a Frankensteiner for a nearfall and was left stunned with a Double Arm DDT. That was the end for her because Nakajima then hit the Diving Senton for the three count. It is the second Princess Title reign for Nakajima, reclaiming the belt in the same venue she lost it in November 2019.

Nakajima said today was the strongest version of Yamashita she had ever seen. After years of fighting together, no matter what pressure they were under, Yamashita never showed any fear. That is why Nakajima wanted to win so badly today, to be like Yamashita. She doesn’t know for sure if she surpassed her today but she knows for sure one day she will. Either way, the two will continue fighting together for TJPW. Nakajima later said her goal is to defend the Princess Title at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022” in Saitama Super Arena on 12th June. She thought last year’s title match at the show was really cool and would love to be in that position on behalf of everyone. Yamashita has mixed with happy and sad emotions over the show. Her dream to headline Sumo Hall came true but she lost. Today isn’t the happy ending for TJPW because she wants the company to grow even bigger for their supporters! She couldn’t win today but that just means she has to get stronger and restart her training. However she admits if she was to fight Nakajima for the championship again she won’t be able to beat her. The next time she wants to be in a Princess Title match will be when she is confident she will win.

It’s going to be a difficult task to take the Princess Tag Team Titles away from The Magical Sugar Rabbits. The strongest challengers in the company are Daydream and they weren’t able to beat them today. Double team moves were the plays of the day with MagiRabi hitting versions 1, 2 and 3 of Toy Story. Miu Watanabe used her individual strength to give both MagiRabi a Double Giant Swing by herself. Rika Tatsumi tried to put Yuka Sakazaki away with Hip Attacks but couldn’t get the job done. Watanabe got back in only to get wiped out by Mizuki’s Whirling Candy. Tatsumi was then dealt with MagiRabi’s signature moves until Sakazaki finished her off with the Magical Girl Niwatori Yaro. Sakazaki calls this a huge victory because of where it took place. Mizuki is cheery again because she wanted to win the Max Heart Tournament earlier this year and they just beat the winners today. Daydream were obviously upset over losing but they said they will find a new dream to make come true.

Yuki Arai’s first championship match in TJPW career ended in failure thanks to Maki Itoh. The International Princess Title bout was big enough for Kero Tanaka to be the ring announcer for. Also Itoh was joined by Naoko Hara and Mayu Kishida from the idol group Toki wo Ikiru (of which Itoh is also a member) to dance for her entrance. Itoh choked Arai with her microphone stand and showed no mercy as the match progressed. Arai kept fighting and held onto Itoh as much as she could but an Avalanche DDT followed by the Itoh Deluxe made her give up in the end. Itoh asked for Arai’s handshake afterwards and Arai reluctantly accepted. Arai said next time she will win and be the one who asks for Itoh’s handshake instead. However Itoh is sure she will continue beating Arai no matter how many times they fight. But she also believes Arai is stronger than she thinks. She has power, stamina and guts but is missing one thing to make the complete package. Arai has all of the ingredients, she just isn’t a good cook yet. Itoh will still be here for Arai to challenge her again in the future.

Hikaru Shida did the deal because nobody kicks out of the Falcon Arrow! Even though her match against Hikari Noa was not a Hardcore match, the two couldn’t help but hit each other with a kendo stick and a chair outside the ring. Noa’s back was targeted throughout and Shida’s plan paid off when her opponent struggled to throw a Super Kick and could not hold onto the Blizzard Suplex during an attempted pin due to the pain. Shida went on to win but as she walked back up the ramp, she couldn’t help but notice Aja Kong on commentary and give her a determined look. Backstage Shida said she is grateful to wrestle in Japan again. She was surprised that Noa wanted to fight a Hardcore match against her but she likes that kind of spirit. Next time they fight Shida wants it under Hardcore rules for sure!

For the first time in TJPW, the entire NEO Biishiki-gun were together in one place. Sakisama was teaming with her usual loyal servants but the rest of the household stood with them for their entrance. Ai Shimizu, KANNA, Azusa Christie, Yoshiko-sama (with her teddy bear Charlotte) and even Misao were all seen in public again for the first time in years. The grand entrance made everyone forget that minutes earlier Raku & Ram Kaichow were walking down the ramp together looking like a newly married couple. During the match itself the maids Mei Saint-Michel & Martha worked together like a well oiled team against Pom Harajuku. Later Yukio Saint Laurent tried to stab his opponents with an injection but Kaichow turned the needle on himself. She also gave Sakisama the Rainmaker. Marika Kobashi took over and tried using moves like the Front Neck Lock and Shining Wizard on Sakisama. However Martha used a mop to distract her, Saint-Michel (with Charlotte) hit a mop assisted Diving Double Knee Drop and Sakisama pinned Kobashi with the Academy Award. After the match Sakisama gave Kobashi a red rose as a parting gift. Kobashi said that in the past she ripped up the roses Sakisama gave her but this time she will bring it home with her. She can tell this one was given out of respect and maybe even love?

Even though The Bakuretsu Sisters were opponents, they made their entrance together with a live performance of “BAKURETSU POWER” by the band angela. The younger sister won out in the end with Yuki Aino pinning Nodoka Tenma with the UBV. She said she finally found out how strong Tenma is by wrestling her one on one. She was happy to win because she admires her sister the most and shouldn’t be losing to her when Tenma is leaving pro wrestling to farm in Okayama. Tenma wants Aino to continue wrestling and doesn’t think she will need a new tag partner as a substitute for herself.

The entrances of Asuka and Yuki Kamifuku was just as much a competition as the match itself. Asuka had a routine with a male dancer while Kamifuku arrived in the arena on a motorbike looking for drinks and a smoke. The two began in the ring with light teases that grew more and more aggressive until it became a full on match. Kamifuku’s reliance on the Famouser didn’t work and she was dropped with a Sit Down Power Bomb. Asuka then picked up the win with the Moonsault. Kamifuku admitted to feeling more nervous about this match than any title bout she was ever in. She believes it is up to her to become stronger than Asuka because there will be new people coming into TJPW and looking up to her. And even if she loses to Asuka in the ring, she will never lose to her in the bar! Asuka said their bond has deepened and VENYU will team together again in the future.

TJPW’s first ring announcer Minami Momochi was on hand to witness the match between Hyper Misao and Sanshiro Takagi. She wasn’t the only face from the past because former TJPW wrestlers Nonoko and MIZUHO were in attendance to present flowers to Misao. The superhero said Takagi was not the crazy wrestler he used to be so she wanted to destroy him. Nobody was more shocked than her when Takagi showed up dressed like her in bodypaint! He grabbed the microphone and introduced himself as Hyper Sanshiro, the President who protects sales and numbers in Tokyo Joshi Pro! Misao attacked him with the help of Nonoko and MIZUHO. They then fought up the ramp on bicycles, crashing into each other. Another graduated TJPW wrestler appeared when Akane Miura from the ring crew hit Takagi with a Lariat on the ramp. Takagi knew the match was getting out of control so he ordered the rules be changed to Falls Count Anywhere! After he did that, Misao was seen standing on the top of the aisle and she jumped down onto everyone below! A castle of chairs was built in the ring and Misao got back on her bicycle. She shouted this was what she always dreamed to do in Sumo Hall and crashed into the chairs after Takagi jumped out of the way. Takagi hit her with chairs and called her a phoney hero. He sprayed her with a fire extinguisher, calling it the Hero Beam. But when he attempted to do the I Am A Hero onto some plastic boxes, Misao rolled out of the way and he crashed through them. Misao then did her own I Am A Hero to pin the DDT president for the three count! Misao said that as long as Takagi is her Peter Pan, she will always aim for his head. Takagi said he’s been dressed like this since 8am, even doing the pre-show speech to the entire locker room looking like that. He told Misao that today she has become a real hero! The two hugged and Misao then gave Takagi a Stunner.

Yuna Manase returned to TJPW with a new gang of friends with her. The visiting foursome from Ganbare☆Pro defeated the home team led by Nao Kakuta. Manase took her new role as the female Ken Ohka to heart by wrestling an outfit similar to his. Mahiro Kiryu also debuted a new costume too. Kaya Toribami and HARUKAZE had a sequence against each other that could have went either way. YuuRI joined in with Manasae to deal some pain to Kakuta & Haruna Neko. But Neko got to fight back by giving Moeka Haruhi the Nekodebreaker. The match came down to Manase and Kiryu and ended when Manase pinned her with the Lariat. The TJPW team are taking the loss as a learning experience and that more work needs to be done to make the company stronger. Manase credited her team’s win on the bond formed between all four of them. They all fought using the spirit of Ganbare☆Joshi! Manase wants everyone to know that CyberFight has so much hot joshi action from not just DDT and TJPW but Ganjo too. She wants everyone to come see Ganpro at Ota Ward Gymnasium on 10th July.

The show began with the anticipated debut of the TikTok Karate Nurse Juria Nagano. She teamed with Moka Miyamoto to take on Arisuzu in a losing effort. However it was Miyamoto who took the fall instead of the newcomer. She enjoyed her first match but described how frustrated she felt when she was taken down to the mat because she has no ground game. Suzume was delighted to see how many fans showed up to watch the match and she’s also happy to have new friends. Arisu Endo joked that the match went by too fast for her to enjoy it.

During the show opening introductions, Sayuri Namba brought down KANNA and Chikage Kiba into the ring. They were the two other wrestlers who debuted in the same match with Yamashita and Nakajima in 2013 but both of their wrestling careers only lasted a few years. KANNA cried because she never expected to see TJPW to make it to this point and she thinks it will become the second launch of the company. Kiba said it was a miracle that the show went ahead without anyone having to pull out because of covid. Standing in Sumo Hall with somebody she debuted with felt like a dream come true for her. A voiceover for the show was recorded by another TJPW alumni, Azusa Takigawa.

The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) performed some of their songs and announced will be holding an audition to find a new member! They are looking for girls who want to sing, dance and fight with them. Noa would like someone to do a death match with and who is also imposing enough to beat up Sanshiro Takagi. Raku said she grew up knowing nothing about pro wrestling yet it changed her life 180 degrees and she is now here standing in the middle of Sumo Hall. Watanabe said it also isn’t important if the applicants do not know anything about idols. She is looking forward to hearing from anyone interested to join.

Tokyo Joshi Pro will return to Ota Ward Gymnasium on 9th July for “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’22”.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’22” Preview

March 17, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’22”, 19/03/2022
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Juria Nagano Debut Match: Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano
2. Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling Vs Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling: Nao Kakuta, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami Vs Yuna Manase, Moeka Haruhi, HARUKAZE & YuuRI
3. Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hyper Misao
4. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Asuka
5. Nodoka Tenma Vs Yuki Aino
6. Sakisama, Mei Saint-Michel, Martha & Yukio Saint Laurent Vs Marika Kobashi, Raku, Pom Harajuku & Ram Kaichow
7. Special Single Match: Hikaru Shida Vs Hikari Noa
8. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) Vs Yuki Arai
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima

It took nine years for Tokyo Joshi Pro to start from a tiny little idol stage in Akihabara and make it all the way to running grand old Sumo Hall by themselves. It’s a show bigger than the “WRESTLE PRINCESS” name and is part of a stacked Ryogoku weekend with DDT celebrating its 25th Anniversary the next day. All three Princess Championships will be defended, there are some inter-promotional matches, some emotional backstories, a final call for two beloved roster members before they go away and an anticipated debut so let’s have a look at what’s in store for us.

1. Juria Nagano Debut Match: Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano

The big debut TJPW has been building up since the start of the year is Juria Nagano. She is a woman of many talents being a former children’s world champion karate fighter, actress and nurse with 900,000 TikTok followers. Her 2nd dan black belt in Shito-ryu makes Nagano a suitable tag partner for Moka Miyamoto and her Shotokan background. Nagano was moved to tears when she first discovered the deep bonds the TJPW roster has with each other and is looking forward to forming her own. Even her opponents are excited to be in the ring for her debut match. Suzume said she wants to crush Nagano in the ring with her love and Arisu Endo believes it will be an exciting match showcasing the future of TJPW. Arisuzu are a team to watch out for and the most likely from this new generation to jump up a level together later this year.

2. Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling Vs Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling: Nao Kakuta, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami Vs Yuna Manase, Moeka Haruhi, HARUKAZE & YuuRI

A former TJPW wrestler returns looking for a passionate fight. Yuna Manase was with the promotion from 2017 to 2020 until she found a new home in Ganbare☆Pro. She kept a good relationship with TJPW since then but suddenly called out the company in a fiery speech demanding an opponent who wants to fight her instead of being told to by management. Nao Kakuta answered the call, fueled by memories of working with Manase in Actwres girl’Z before either of their TJPW days. The response is also the first time Kakuta felt like a proper member of Tokyo Joshi by defending the promotion’s honour. However Manase immediately got backup with everyone from the Ganbare☆Joshi division wanting to join in the challenge and take part. The challenge became big enough to suck in more people for an inter-promotional 8-Women Tag Match.

Kakuta gathered together Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami to be on her team. Kiryu was recently in the news for alerting everyone on social media to a convincing looking email scam she almost fell for. Neko continues to live life as a catgirl scratching every person who gets in her way. Toribami hasn’t lost a step in the ring since coming back from a European vacation over the winter but is still at risk of being the team’s weak link. Manase is flanked by the rest of Ganjo, a group of women who became tight from constantly teaming with and fighting against each other. HARUKAZE is the biggest example of that, reinventing herself from one of Japan’s weakest wrestlers to a reliable combatant under the tutelage of Yuu Yamagata. The weathergirl wrestler Moeka Haruhi understands Manase is the sun that everyone else in the match will gravitate around, but she wants to be the rainbow that catches everybody’s attention. The least experienced member is YuuRI. She made a surprise jump from JTO to Ganjo at a time when other joshi were transferring to higher profile companies. For her to wrestle in Sumo Hall is a big deal because that was where she discovered pro wrestling in the first place. Ganpro’s bread and butter is having wrestlers who wear their hearts on their sleeves and giving it their all in the ring despite their limitations. Win or lose, the TJPW team can learn a valuable lesson coming out of this match.

3. Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hyper Misao

At first this match was just thrown out as an announcement promoted as an attraction match with no build attached to it. Still the match by itself makes sense on paper. Hyper Misao is always the most creative woman in TJPW when it comes to making up match structures and stipulations and Sanshiro Takagi will literally do anything in the ring to make DDT and everything surrounding it successful. But Misao was bothered by the idea of this match going ahead. Takagi as he is now isn’t the crazy wrestler she saw when she attended her first wrestling match eight years ago. He’s too much of a boring corporate president these days to inspire Misao on a match as important as this. It’s understandable. Takagi is older and his body isn’t what it used to be. He also has a lot on his plate behind the scenes along with a grudge match happening in DDT the next day. But he is still the crazy pro wrestler Misao saw eight years ago. As the poster says above, this won’t be a normal match!

As time has gone by Misao has become more publicly open about her past life before discovering pro wrestling. To go from feeling lost and empty to becoming a big driving force in TJPW is inspirational to see. Thanks to pro wrestling the “29 year old”* has become a stronger person, gotten married and continues to protect love and peace the only way she can. Meanwhile Takagi got stuck fighting with Pheromones and Michael Nakazawa. Who really has more going for them here?

*Misao became self-conscious over her real age during her last birthday and decided to break up from her year of birth.

4. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Asuka

The speed this friendship is going is really fast. Yuki Kamifuku and Asuka have been close friends outside of wrestling since 2017 but only went public with it last year when they started teaming together as VENYU. The team did well in TJPW this year, reaching the semi-finals of the “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament. But with no chance of winning accolades happening anytime soon the two drinking buddies have nobody to fight but themselves. There have been a few little swipes made in good nature between the two but for Kamifuku it is a chance to climb up to Asuka’s level on the big stage. Asuka feels honored having an important match like this take place while she is a freelancer. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t looking to have fun either. The VENYU entrance is already flashy. What will they be like when Kamifuku and Asuka are trying to out-do one another?

5. Nodoka Tenma Vs Yuki Aino

One of the women leaving pro wrestling soon is Nodoka Tenma. She has been with TJPW since 2016 starting off using a children’s TV character gimmick called Nodoka-oneesan. The time has come for her to retire after she decided to get into food production and agriculture in her hometown. She decided her retirement from pro wrestling will happen on 26th March because she does not want to miss this show. When Tenma & Yuki Aino failed to win the Max Heart Tournament final, Tenma came up with an idea for them to do at Sumo Hall. They should wrestle each other! The Bakuretsu Sisters have never had a singles match by themselves and Tenma does not want to end her wrestling career without doing one. It was an idea that has come up before but Aino always turned it down. This time the match is so important that Tenma will not take no for an answer. Aino has shown flashes of breaking out as a singles wrestler in the past. She seems to be sticking around after her older sister leaves so it is a path she will probably have to take as we head into the summer.

6. Sakisama, Mei Saint-Michel, Martha & Yukio Saint Laurent Vs Marika Kobashi, Raku, Pom Harajuku & Ram Kaichow

The mighty NEO Biishiki-gun returns once more to be a thorn in everyone’s side. This time they are coming nearly at full force. Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel are already established as a nearly unbeatable tag team but we also get the reappearance of Sakisama’s first loyal maid Martha. There is also the dark and foreboding presence of Yukio Saint Laurent to deal with too. The TJPW side put together to fight them are made up of a mixture of cute and sugary personalities but something is a little bit different this time. Ram Kaichow is part of the team and I bet she is something the likes of which NEO Biishiki-gun have never dealt with before. Kaichow has no problem acting like she owns the place whenever she shows up in TJPW so how will a woman as proud as Sakisama react to that? Kaichow recently celebrated 17 years in the wrestling industry and remember most of that was spent in Triple Six. NEO Biishiki-gun is nowhere near the weirdest thing she has seen before.

But what about the rest of the team? Marika Kobashi is the other wrestler who will be leaving TJPW soon. She wants to spend her final years in university living the full college life. However she also made it sound like it will not be the end of her pro wrestling career so it may only be goodbye for now (unless she shows up somewhere else). Raku is still big into trains and now calls her fanbase her “Passengers”. While not performing with The Up Up Girls she has been teaming with Pom Harajuku. That one continues to run around causing mischief like an out of control three year old. Raku & Harajuku are getting used to teaming with each other but they are regular cannon fodder for NEO Biishiki-gun. Chances of an underdog upset here are slim.

7. Special Single Match: Hikaru Shida Vs Hikari Noa

Now we’re getting into the main course. The top four matches on the card are what I’m all hyped for and it begins with the TJPW debut of Hikaru Shida. Signs of a working relationship between AEW and TJPW were made clear last year and now that it’s become a little easier to travel overseas, that means Shida gets to wrestle in her home country again. TJPW gave her the offer to wrestle in Sumo Hall and here we are. The former AEW Women’s Champion looked a little lost in the shuffle at times but a high quality feud against Serena Deeb means she is coming to Sumo Hall riding a fresh wave of interest. This is the perfect test for her opponent, someone who spent the last few years coming out of her shell by making bloodlust look cute.

As time goes by Hikari Noa pushes TJPW closer inch by inch towards a more violent style of wrestling. He dream is to become the Queen of Deathmatch wrestling and she has jumped into the deep end whenever the opportunity presents itself. Now Shida is not a deathmatch wrestler per se but she has no problem getting dragged into the hardcore style. I mean, this is a woman we recently discovered will threaten decapitation if she hates somebody enough. Like I said, a perfect test for Noa. There are high expectations though and from studying footage Shida thinks Noa has been struggling to meet those expectations. She can tell Noa enjoys wrestling and is hungry to win but does she have the mental and emotional state to succeed?

This may not be the end of Shida in TJPW too. She wasn’t aware of the promotion until she went to America and the interactions she’s had with TJPW wrestlers since then have impressed her. Maybe there will be more interactions between them in AEW or Japan. She performed on stage with Arisu Endo before and Shida hasn’t seen any of her matches other than her debut. Plus there is a certain unbeatable champion in the main event that Shida has been thinking about. But now is not the time to talk about that…

8. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) Vs Yuki Arai

If there is a result on this show that will cause a shockwave throughout TJPW is will be Yuki Arai beating Maki Itoh for the International Princess Title. Itoh became a two time IP Champion on 4th January, ending Hikari Noa’s deathmatch title dreams. With the belt back in her hands, Itoh’s goal is to reestablish the championship as a global prize to be defended overseas. She isn’t shy (when is she ever?) about going back to AEW and defending the title against former champion Thunder Rosa to finally complete a thread that’s been left hanging ever since the pandemic began. She has a trip to America coming up in May and the title could be a necessary accessory for her plans. The worst thing that could happen now is if a far more popular idol steals her glory, her thunder and her championship. How typical would that be?

Momentum is such an overused word in pro wrestling but it really does apply here for Arai. The SKE48 idol has been a big boost for TJPW’s business and the wrestling media in Japan is throwing every Best Rookie achievement they can find in her direction. And she isn’t slumming it in the ring. The hard work is on show even when the match layout every now and then is a bit obvious in highlighting her strengths while hiding her flaws. I shouldn’t knock it when it works though, especially if it gets applied to a rivalry like this.

Whether Arai wanted it to happen or not, she was destined to be Itoh’s enemy. It’s only natural when it is an idol as successful as her to rub Itoh the wrong way. Even more so when the one place Itoh can feel superior is inside the wrestling ring. Itoh tapped out Arai in her debut match and encouraged her to keep coming back fo as long as it will take for Arai to finally beat her. A full year hasn’t even been passed since then but Arai is already confident she now has what she needs to beat Itoh. It would be an unusual result but these are two unusual idols.

9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe

We now reach the point where the remaining title matches are between the two strongest opponents. The Princess Tag Team Titles are what helped form The Magical Sugar Rabbits together in the first place. Their first reign holds the current record for the most title defences. In second place is the reign held by Daydream, who are their opponents here. The Max Heart Tournament is what sets up this match. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki were shockingly eliminated in the opening round, preventing them from facing Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe in Round 2. Daydream then went on to win the entire tournament. The two teams weren’t anywhere near each other in the bracket but MagiRabi know it is their duty as champions to beat the Max Heart winners.

The challengers have a lot on their plate. Tatsumi’s crush on Mizuki is well known but winning back the Princess Tag Titles is now more important. She doesn’t care about that anymore and accepts that Mizuki will hate her for taking the belts away from MagiRabi. Mizuki isn’t worried about a problem like that because she thinks her team is not going to lose anyway. Watanabe sees the champions as a wall she hasn’t been able to climb over until now. Sakazaki’s only concern is defending the belts so MagiRabi can continue bringing fans into their happy, sparkling world!

10. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima

Let’s finish this one strong. The two longest serving members of TJPW headline the promotion’s biggest show yet in Sumo Hall. It is the very same building where Miyu Yamashita and Shoko Nakajima had their official pro wrestling debuts on 17th August 2013. Funny thing is they were both on the same team back then and lost to two wrestlers who are since long gone from the company. In the nine years since then Miyu Yamashita has been the constant ace in TJPW, growing up with the most dominant Princess Of Princess Title reigns in the championship’s history. She has been the female face of CyberFight’s expansion, sharing centre stage with the likes of Jun Akiyama and Naomichi Marufuji. Ever since her debut in Ryogoku, Yamashita has dreamed of Tokyo Joshi holding their own show there. This won’t mean much to her if she cannot beat her biggest opponent on TJPW’s biggest show.

Shoko Nakajima has beaten her for the Princess Title once before, back in 2019. It was how Yamashita’s 10 defence title reign was finally brought to an end. In fact, Yamashita and Nakajima are currently 1-1 in Princess Title matches against each other. Yet the Big Kaiju has always felt small around her rival. No matter how many times Nakajima won matches against her, Yamashita would easily shrug them off and return to winning ways. It can get disheartening. With this match taking place in Sumo Hall, Nakajima doesn’t know if she will ever get a title shot as important as this ever again. This is the Big Kaiju’s best chance to take down an even bigger monster and finally become the superior champion. Whatever the result is, the future of Tokyo Joshi Pro will be made clear when the dust is settled.