TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ~HAMAMATSU PERFORMANCE~”, 04/06/2022 Shizuoka Entetsu Hall 219 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Miu Watanabe defeated Kaya Toribami with the Canadian Backbreaker (8:46).
2. Yuki Aino & Raku Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Haruna Neko when Aino pinned Neko with the Venus DDT (9:47).
3. Nao Kakuta defeated Mahiro Kiryu with the Shiden Kai (8:40).
4. Rika Tatsumi & Suzume defeated Hikari Noa & Pom Harajuku when Tatsumi pinned Harajuku with the Twist Of Fate (12:13).
5. Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Arisu Endo defeated Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Moka Miyamoto when Sakazaki pinned Miyamoto with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (12:33).
6. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) defeated “The Unbreakable” Rhio with the Flying Big Head (13:22). *V4 for Maki Itoh.
Maki Itoh returned to Japan and wasted no time in answering Rhio’s challenge for the International Princess Title. Rhio hit an Avalanche Brainbuster and the Schwein but Itoh recovered to give her the middle finger. Another fight up the top rope ended with Itoh Headbutting Rhio to the canvas and then hitting the Flying Big Head for the victory. Itoh said Rhio was amazing afterwards and told her the next time they fight should be in England. She’s feeling a little tired from her busy schedule, but Itoh is happy to come back to Japan as an international superstar! Rhio said she would like to come back to Japan and stay around for longer next time because everyone in Tokyo Joshi Pro has been very kind to her.
There was also a welcome back party for Yuka Sakazaki due to her returning from AEW. She was given a golden present from Hyper Misao but Misao blinded her with spray and attacked her with the box before she could open it. Sakazaki was able to recover and win the match for her team, showing she has no worries ahead of “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022”. Her opponent Shoko Nakajima said she is going to brush up on what she learned today and be at her best condition on 12th June.
I think the plan to do these posts once a month works best. The only part I’m missing now are the DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers getting bookings in other companies around Japan. Stuff like Kazusada Higuchi in NOAH and Suzume in Gatoh Move both happening last weekend for example. I figure the international skew of this blog means I’m better off doing DDT Around The World posts instead of DDT Around Japan. Not enough time in the day for me to dig up where some of the Ganbare☆Pro roster goes to with their outside bookings.
Anyway the AEW excursions for Yuka Sakazaki and Maki Itoh have ended. Both have since tweeted about arriving back in Japan safe and sound. Although Itoh had trouble after losing her phone and credit card. Miyu Yamashita is still in America this week to finish off her schedule. Konosuke Takeshita is gaining more fans every week and has also fallen in love with Cinnabon food, joining in the current craze of wrestlers tweeting about their eating habits while working overseas.
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Videos
DPW “FIRE VOL. 3”, 15/05/2022 Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Adam Brooks
Video starts at 11:32 for the match AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 16/05/2022 USB Arena, Elmont, New York, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki & Anna Jay Vs Nyla Rose & Emi Sakura (w/ Vickie Guerrero)
AEW “DYNAMITE ~ WILD CARD WEDNESDAY”, 18/05/2022 Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas, USA
1. Hangman Page Vs Konosuke Takeshita
AEW “DYNAMITE ~ WILD CARD WEDNESDAY”, 18/05/2022 Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas, USA
2. Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament – Round 1: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D (w/ Jamie Hayter & Rebel) Vs Maki Itoh
Video starts at 28:10 for the match AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 23/05/2022 Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas, USA
1. Skye Blue & Yuka Sakazaki Vs Nyla Rose & Emi Sakura (w/ Vickie Guerrero)
Video starts at 16:08 for the match AEW “DARK”, 28/05/2022 Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Riho, Yuka Sakazaki & Skye Blue Vs Nyla Rose, Diamanté & Emi Sakura (w/ Vickie Guerrero)
PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 3 – NIGHT 1”, 28/05/2022 Roseland Theater, Portland, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Masha Slamovich
PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 3 – NIGHT 2”, 29/05/2022 Roseland Theater, Portland, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Miyu Yamashita
Video starts at 0:10 for the match AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 30/05/2022 Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Ryan Nemeth
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Results
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 11/05/2022 (Aired 16/05/2022) USB Arena, Elmont, New York, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki & Anna Jay defeated Nyla Rose & Emi Sakura (w/ Vickie Guerrero) when Sakazaki pinned Sakura with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (3:32).
Sakazaki’s position in AEW during May was taking part in a series of tag matches against Nyla Rose & Emi Sakura on the Dark portions of the tapings. In their first meeting, Sakazaki teamed with Anna Jay and got the win by pinning Sakura. However Rose took the loss badly and attacked Sakazaki after the bell.
DPW “FIRE VOL. 3”, 15/05/2022 Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Adam Brooks with the Zahi (8:40).
Takeshita’s visit to Deadlock Pro Wrestling led to an exciting match against the Australian wrestler Adam Brooks. There was one moment in particular when he fired up the crowd and the commentary team by yelling “Let’s fucking go!” He is also taking the time to sharpen his Jumping Knee Strike, using it as a big counter to a Springboard move from Brookes before putting him away with the Zahi.
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 18/05/2022 (Aired 23/05/2022) Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas, USA
1. Nyla Rose & Emi Sakura (w/ Vickie Guerrero) defeated Skye Blue & Yuka Sakazaki when Rose pinned Blue with the Beast Bomb (6:17).
There was a little bit of a DDT/TJPW takeover on this taping. Sakazaki’s rivalry with Rose & Sakura continued. Skye Blue was her tag partner this time. Unfortunately Blue’s big moment of hitting a Hurricanrana to Rose was ruined when Rose held on, lifted her up and dropped her down with the Beast Bomb to win the match.
AEW “DYNAMITE ~ WILD CARD WEDNESDAY”, 18/05/2022 Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas, USA
1. Hangman Page defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Go 2 Sleep (12:14).
2. Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament – Round 1: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D (w/ Jamie Hayter & Rebel) defeated Maki Itoh with the LockJaw (6:44).
Onto Dynamite itself where Takeshita was given his biggest spotlight in AEW so far. He faced Hangman Adam Page, the AEW World Champion in a non-title bout while CM Punk watched on over at the commentary booth. Takeshita lost the match when Page used Punk’s Go 2 Sleep to send his upcoming challenger a message but Takeshita’s performance that night had a lot of people talking highly of him across the board.
Then there was the surprise appearance of Maki Itoh in the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament as the mystery Joker entrant. Everyone was happy to see her, especially Britt Baker who thought Itoh would just lay down for her. Instead Itoh gave her a fight but the result still ended in Baker’s favour. The possibility of Itoh showing up in AEW was tipped off when TJPW tweeted about her having to miss an autograph session a few days earlier (it is not always 100% the reason these things happen but whenever I get to tweet about it there may as well be a massive “HINT HINT” sign pointing at it).
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 25/05/2022 (Aired 30/05/2022) Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Ryan Nemeth (w/ Peter Avalon) with the Jumping Knee Strike (5:31).
Hey I was here for this Dynamite show! The opening match of AEW’s week long celebration for their three years in existence was Takeshita beating Ryan Nemeth. Takeshita’s not fully there with the crowd yet. They didn’t recognise his entrance song but once his name showed up on the screen he got a big response. Still with all the praise going his way lately his future in the company can be really bright. It all depends on what plans Tony Khan already has in place. If you’re paying attention you’ll see this past week has shown he often sticks with his plans. But we all know how much of a massive wrestling fan he is. He must have the Masato Tanaka in ECW playbook lying around somewhere next to his Fulham summer transfer plans.
AEW “SPECIAL DARK”, 27/05/2022 (Aired 28/05/2022) Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Riho, Yuka Sakazaki & Skye Blue defeated Nyla Rose, Diamanté & Emi Sakura (w/ Vickie Guerrero) when Riho pinned Diamanté with the Somato (6:11).
A few days later at the Rampage taping Sakazaki finished off her current run with AEW. She also ended her series against Rose & Sakura with a win thanks to Riho pinning Diamanté. The women’s tag matches on Dark that feature Sakura in them have often been a highlight of the Youtube shows so I recommend watching them.
PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 3 – NIGHT 1”, 28/05/2022 Roseland Theater, Portland, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Masha Slamovich with the Skull Kick (10:33)
2. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) defeated Mia Yim with the Flying Big Head (15:55). *V3 for Maki Itoh.
While AEW was busy partying in Las Vegas all weekend, Yamashita & Itoh blew the roof off of the Roseland Theater with their matches in Prestige Wrestling. Yamashita defeated Masha Slamovich in a bout where the two smashed each other to bits. Then Itoh got something of an upset victory over Mia Yim in the main event to defend the International Princess Title.
PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 3 – NIGHT 2”, 29/05/2022 Roseland Theater, Portland, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Maki Itoh with the Skull Kick (15:47).
The next night Itoh was headlining the show again and this time Yamashita was across the ring from her. It was a non-title match and Yamashita increased her winning record against her friend with the Skull Kick. At first it looked like the move may have been deflected off of Itoh’s big head but the damage was there. Itoh fell like a tree and got pinned.
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Upcoming Appearances
DPW “NO PRESSURE”, 05/06/2022 Gov. James E. Holshouser Building, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
1. Golden Opportunity Match: Miyuki Takase Vs Miyu Yamashita
Yamashita is still in America for one more booking this weekend. Deadlock Pro is bringing her in for a big match against joshi freelancer Miyuki Takase. That’s the beautiful thing about Japanese wrestlers going on overseas excursions. You can get people who will never get the chance to fight each other in Japan due to industry politics get booked against each other in other countries miles away from all that stuff. The winner of the match will get a future shot at a DPW championship.
WEST COAST PRO “’93 TIL INFINITY”, 10/06/2022 The State Room, South San Francisco, USA
1. Mike Bailey Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Congratulations to Mike Bailey and Veda Scott for getting married in Vegas!
PRESTIGE “THE NEW REALITY”, 18/06/2022 The Glass House, Pomona, USA
1. Lee Moriarty Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Takeshita will get to feel the love from the Prestige crowd that Itoh & Yamashita got.
No new info yet. RCW on Twitter said they’ve just started selling tickets and more announcements will come soon.
PWG “NINETEEN”, 03/07/2022 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Masha Slamovich
2. PWG World Title: Daniel Garcia (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
It was already known that Takeshita will face Daniel Garcia for the PWG World Title. But the big surprise announced for this show is Yuka Sakazaki. That’s right, Sakazaki is so good she got PWG to finally book a women’s match for the first time in over a decade! Alright, alright, Slamovich deserves some of the praise too. If she ends up becoming a preferred opponent for TJPW wrestlers in America then that’s fine by me.
JCW “THE GREAT AMERICAN BIRTHDAY BASH”, 10/07/2022 Phil Sheridan Building, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X
GCW’s sister promotion Jersey Championship Wrestling is the next landing spot for Takeshita. There are a few other unlikely names announced for the show like Negro Casas, Volador Jr. and Delirious. All suitably crazy opponents for Takeshita in their own way.
GARDEN STATE PRO “WELCOME TO EDEN”, 23/07/2022 The Heart Ballroom, Newark, USA
1. 3 Way Match: Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Josh Alexander
No new info but what more needs to be said about these matches?
SETUP “SETUP EP.8”, 30/07/2022 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. Hoshitango Vs X
2. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
CDK and Hoshitango will be heading over to SETUP Thailand Pro Wrestling next month.
Today’s show was already happening while I was typing this up. Results will be posted later but I wanted to get this done first.
DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2022”, 01/06/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada Vs Yuya Koroku
1. Road To CyberFight Festival 2022! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Akito Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Shinya Aoki & Yuki Ishida
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Shinichiro Kawamatsu (c) (w/ Nobutatsu Suzuki) Vs Toru Owashi Vs Thanomsak Toba Vs Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Pokotan
3. Asuka, Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Maya Yukihi Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai, Hideki Okatani & Hiroshi Yamato
4. DAMNATION T.A Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima
5. DDT Extreme Title – Sexy Movie Star Rules: Yuki “Sexy” Iino (c) Vs AKIRA
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Kazusada Higuchi Vs HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura & Soma Takao
7. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi
The DDT Extreme Title match will be held under Sexy Movie Star Rules because Yuki Iino is a sexy star and AKIRA is a movie star. The match will involve Director MacToba (Thanomsak Toba) directing both wrestlers to complete certain scenarios before they can win the match by pinfall or submission. All scenarios must be completed and approved by Toba or else the match result will not count.
During the week Akito had another attempt at the Excalibur Challenge so he could join Pheromones. His task was to pull the sword Sexcalibur out of Sexy Hill, aka Yuki Iino’s butt. Akito failed to succeed so he tried again this time with the aid of a massage gun but still could not pull out the sword. He pleaded to have one more go but Danshoku Dieno told him to wait until Korakuen Hall for his final chance. If he does not succeed then Pheromones will have to find another partner for “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022”.
Chris Brookes has been diagnosed with a sprained ankle and has not been cleared to wrestle on the show. He is expected to return at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022” on 12th June. Hiroshi Yamato takes his place on this show.
Gota Ihashi will also be absent due to enteritis. Pokotan replaces him in the Battle Royal.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ~HAMAMATSU PERFORMANCE~”, 04/06/2022 Shizuoka Entetsu Hall
1. Yuki Aino & Raku Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Haruna Neko
2. Miu Watanabe Vs Kaya Toribami
3. Rika Tatsumi & Suzume Vs Hikari Noa & Pom Harajuku
4. Nao Kakuta Vs Mahiro Kiryu
5. Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Moka Miyamoto Vs Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Arisu Endo
6. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) Vs “The Unbreakable” Rhio
Over in America, Maki Itoh achieved her 3rd International Princess Title defence by beating Mia Yim at a Prestige Wrestling show. That same day back in Japan, Rhio made her Tokyo Joshi Pro debut and made herself the next contender for the championship. Itoh’s return to Japan will be to defend the title against Rhio.
Yuka Sakazaki also returns from her AEW excursion to get the ball rolling on her Princess Of Princess Title match against Shoko Nakajima.
Miyu Yamashita is still on her American excursion this week so won’t be at the show. She’ll be back in time for “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022”.
DDT/ONLY WE “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2022 IN CHIBA”, 05/06/2022 Chiba 2AW Square
1. Toi Kojima Vs Yuya Koroku
2. Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda Vs Soma Takao & Kazuki Hirata
3. MAO & Yusuke Okada Vs HARASHIMA & Masahiro Takanashi
4. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuki Ishida Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani
5. Kaji Tomato & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata
6. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Hiroshi Yamato
7. ONLY WE x DDT Special 6-Man Tag Match – No DQ Match: Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Quiet Storm Vs Shogun Okamoto, Akira Raijin & Hoshitango
Brookes is replaced by his CDK partner Masahiro Takanashi.
GANBARE☆PRO “PUMPING IRON 2022”, 07/06/2022 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. GanJo Special Tag Match: HARUKAZE & YuuRI Vs Riko Kawahata & Maria
2. ROMANCE DAWN Vs Horrible Arm Locker: Soma Takao Vs Tsuyoshi Okada
3. Special Tag Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & Shigehiro Irie Vs Kouki Iwasaki & Tyson Maeguchi
4. Road To SEKIGAHARA ~ ROMANCE DAWN Vs CDK Special Single Match: Shota Vs Masahiro Takanashi
5. Road To SEKIGAHARA Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Keisuke Ishii & Yuna Manase Vs Ken Ohka, Mizuki Watase & Moeka Haruhi
Soma Takao was originally meant to face Chris Brookes on this show to continue the ROMANCE DAWN Vs CDK feud. With Brookes out injured, Takao was challenged by Tsuyoshi Okada to a singles match instead.
GANBARE☆PRO “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA”, 10/07/2022 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Special Single Match: Yuna Manase Vs Sayaka Unagi
2. Special Tag Match ~ CDK Vs ROMANCE DAWN: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Shota & Soma Takao
3. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Yumehito Imanari (c) Vs Ken Ohka
A face from Yuna Manase’s past has come to Ganbare☆Pro in search of a match against her. Sayaka Unagi previously had a singles match against Manase in TJPW back in 2019. Sayaka not only wants to avenge that loss but also show that the moves she made since leaving TJPW for Stardom have made her far stronger than Manase. In Sayaka’s mind, you need more than just doing your best to succeed in pro wrestling.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR ’22”, 29/05/2022 Tokyo Otemachi Mitsui Hall 256 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Raku & Pom Harajuku defeated Hikari Noa & Kaya Toribami when Harajuku pinned Toribami with the Pom de Justice (9:17).
2. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao defeated Nao Kakuta and Mahiro Kiryu when Misao pinned Kiryu with a Gedo Clutch (7:25).
3. “The Unbreakable” Rhio defeated Yuki Aino with the Dreaded End (9:52).
4. 5 Vs 5 Singles Match: Yuki Kamifuku defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Famouser (6:54).
5. 5 Vs 5 Singles Match: Rika Tatsumi defeated Arisu Endo with the Dragon Sleeper (8:16).
6. 5 Vs 5 Singles Match: Mizuki defeated Haruna Neko with the Face Lock (7:26).
7. 5 Vs 5 Singles Match: Shoko Nakajima defeated Yuki Arai with the Northern Lights Suplex (8:39).
8. 5 Vs 5 Singles Match: Miu Watanabe Vs Suzume ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
Blue Corner: Yuki Arai, Suzume, Moka Miyamoto, Arisu Endo & Haruna Neko
The format of today’s show was built around a 5 Vs 5 series of singles matches randomly determined by lottery. On one side was the “1998 Class” of Tokyo Joshi Pro, all featuring wrestlers born around the year 1998. The other team consisted of Shoko Nakajima and the four women entering the No. 1 Contender’s match for the Princess Of Princess Title at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022”. It was almost a clean sweep for the veteran team. Only Miu Watanabe was unable to win her match, instead fighting Suzume to a 10 minute draw in the main event.
Nakajima against Yuki Arai was the spotlight match of the series. Although Arai lost she understood she got valuable ring time against the champion. She knows she can work hard with her friends in the 1998 Class to get stronger and someday beat her seniors. Nakajima thinks Arai’s mindset coming out of the match should be “My training is paying off.”
The TJPW debut of Rhio saw the English wrestler defeat Yuki Aino with a Modified Neck Screw she calls the Dreaded End. After winning her first match here, Rhio is already calling out Maki Itoh for a shot at the International Princess Title. Hours later in America, Itoh successfully defended the title against Mia Yim at a Prestige Wrestling show so Rhio has to wait for her response.
A new CyberFight project called Yume Pro Wrestling -dream on the ring- will begin on 3rd June. Four untrained women with backgrounds in the entertainment industry will compete in a weekly Youtube show to become pro wrestlers. The four contestants were introduced at the start of the show. They are Wakana Uehara, Ema, Himari Manaka and Risako.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR ’22”, 15/05/2022 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall 164 Fans
1. Maki Itoh defeate Kaya Toribami with the Itoh Punish (8:11).
2. Yuki Aino & Miu Watanabe defeated Suzume & Haruna Neko when Watanabe pinned Neko with the Tear Drop (11:36).
3. 3 Way Match: Raku defeated Hikari Noa and Mahiro Kiryu when Raku pinned Kiryu with the Hurricane Turn (6:29).
4. Yuki Kamifuku & Nao Kakuta defeated Miyu Yamashita & Pom Harajuku when Kamifuku pinned Harajuku with the Famouser (9:29).
5. Rika Tatsumi defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Twist Of Fate (10:02).
6. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Mizuki & Arisu Endo when Misao pinned Endo with the Hypami Returns (13:42).
Today was a new chapter for Kyoraku Kyomei. It was their first time teaming together in three months and since then Shoko Nakajima defended the Princess Of Princess Title against Hyper Misao. They showed they are still on the same page by beating Mizuki & Arisu Endo in the main event. Misao said this new and improved version of Kyoraku Kyomei feels comfortable and she is convinced they are the best tag team in Tokyo Joshi Pro history! So without consulting Nakajima, Misao asked for a Princess Tag Team Titles match against the Magical Sugar Rabbits. Even though Yuka Sakazaki was absent, Mizuki accepted the challenged (Sakazaki watched the show live from America and her tweets quickly went from “Refuse!” to “I’ll do it!”). Nakajima asked for the match to take place at Korakuen Hall on 19th June, a week after “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022”. She promised to become TJPW’s first Double Crown Princess Champion!
Both Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh commented on their upcoming trip to America for Prestige Wrestling at the end of the month. Itoh will be defending the International Princess Title against Mia Yim on the 28th May show in Portland, Oregon. She said she wants to crush the former NXT wrestler to increase the value of her championship. The belt has been waiting for her so Itoh promises to do her best so she can come back to Japan with her heart held high. Yamashita’s opponent on the 28th is Masha Slamovich. Yamashita describes her as a ferocious opponent from Impact Wrestling so she wants to kick her ass. Yamashita and Itoh will face each other on the second Prestige show taking place the next night.
English wrestler “The Unbreakable” Rhio will begin her first tour of TJPW on 29th May as part of the company’s relationship with Pro Wrestling EVE. Rhio is 25 years old, born in Lancashire and been wrestling for seven years. She is 163cm tall, weighs 70kg and has a background in both Karate and Taekwondo. She will be the first foreign wrestler to enter TJPW in two and a half years.
There are more and more announcements coming out involving DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers getting bookings outside of Japan. I haven’t been posting about them here, just retweeting the news from the official accounts as they happen. I figured I should gather them together for posts every once in a while. So if this keeps up there will be catch up posts maybe once a month.
A lot of this is going to be about Konosuke Takeshita in AEW along with his US indie appearances. However we’re already seeing some TJPW related bookings in America and Europe happening too. Hopefully it won’t get repetitive.
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Videos
Video starts at 15:32 for the match AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 25/04/2022 Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Brandon Cutler
Video starts at 9:12 for the match AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 02/05/2022 Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Rhett Titus
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 06/05/2022 Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena, Baltimore, USA
1. Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament – Qualifier: Yuka Sakazaki Vs Riho
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 06/05/2022 Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena, Baltimore, USA
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Jay Lethal
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Results
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 20/04/2022 (Aired 25/04/2022) Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Brandon Cutler with the Jumping Knee Strike (4:57).
Takeshita’s US excursion began with a win over Brandon Cutler on the higher tier of AEW’s two Youtube wrestling shows. Notable moments include a nasty looking Elbow Strike from Takeshita, Cutler’ overly animated elbow drop and the commentary team of Paul Wight & Mark Henry heaping piles of praise towards the newcomer.
EVE “GLOBAL WOMEN STRIKE 3”, 23/04/2022 229 The Venue, London, England
1. Shoko Nakajima defeated Alex Windsor with the Diving Senton (14:17).
Over to England where Shoko Nakajima began her long goal to wrestle in 100 countries other than Japan. England brings her current number to three (along with USA and Mexico) and she left with a victory against Alex Windsor. The match had a 15 minute time limit so the Diving Senton in the final minute was what made the difference.
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 27/04/2022 (Aired 02/05/2022) Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Rhett Titus with the Jumping Knee Strike (4:40).
Back in AEW Takeshita’s second week saw him defeat Rhett Titus, the former ROH TV Champion. The Jumping Knee Strike was the key to victory again although this time it was more of a sudden flash win rather than a decisive knockout. Jun Akiyama requested to Tony Khan on Twitter for commentary to correctly call it the Jumping Knee instead of the Flying Knee.
PWG “DELIVERING THE GOODS”, 01/05/2022 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Aramis by Pinfall (10:02).
Takeshita’s American road trip next took him over to Southern California to wrestle on the big show when it comes to the US indies. He watched a lot of PWG growing up so now it’s time to wrestle there! Takeshita impressed the hardcore crowd with his win against the luchador Aramis. The two wrestlers had money thrown at them by fans afterwards for a job well done. That was not the end of his night. During the show’s conclusion the new PWG World Champion and fellow AEW wrestler Daniel Garcia called him out. Garcia decided he will defend the PWG Title against Takeshita at their next show, which does not have a date announced yet.
1. Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament – Qualifier: Riho defeated Yuka Sakazaki with the Gannosuke Clutch (9:18).
2. Jay Lethal (w/ Satnam Singh & Sonjay Dutt) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Lethal Injection (9:38).
Then it was back to AEW for Takeshita’s first appearance on national TV. In the week leading up to the match Jay Lethal showed jealousy towards all the welcoming attention Takeshita received so he challenged him to a match. Takeshita came close to winning but Sonjay Dutt distracted the referee so the pin count was delayed long enough for Lethal to kick out. Lethal regained his positioning to hit the Lethal Injection and hand Takeshita his first singles loss in AEW. On the bright side at least Akiyama was happy to hear his move called correctly on commentary.
Yuka Sakazaki’s sudden invite back to AEW was for a qualifying match in the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament. Her match was against Riho who was also returning to AEW after taking time off with an injury. Sakazaki was building up a head of steam when Riho suddenly caught her in the Gannosuke Clutch for the three count out of nowhere. It is currently unknown when Sakazaki will return to Japan but don’t be surprised if she sticks around AEW for another week to wrestle on Elevation before going home.
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Upcoming Appearances
DPW “FIRE VOL. 3”, 15/05/2022 Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, Raleigh, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Adam Brooks
The boys are back in town! North Carolina’s Deadlock Pro Wrestling is Takeshita’s next date on the indies. He takes on Australia’s Adam Brooks, a man who kept himself busy in his home country during the pandemic and is chomping at the bit to have his breakout moment overseas.
PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 3 – NIGHT 1”, 28/05/2022 Roseland Theater, Portland, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Masha Slamovich
2. Interational Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) Vs Mia Yim
TJPW’s new partnership with Prestige Wrestling begins with Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh heading over to Portland. Their matches have now become TJPW Vs Impact bouts even if that wasn’t the case when they were first put together. Yamashita’s opponent on night one is against Masha Slamovich in what promises to be hard hitting from bell to bell. Itoh gets a big challenge against Impact’s newest signing Mia Yim.
EDIT: A few hours after I posted this, Prestige announced on Twitter that Itoh Vs Yim is now for the International Princess Title. The championship is finally being used for its original purpose!
PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 3 – NIGHT 2”, 29/05/2022 Roseland Theater, Portland, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Miyu Yamashita
Night two of Prestige pits Yamashita and Itoh against each other.
WEST COAST PRO “’93 TIL INFINITY”, 10/06/2022 The State Room, South San Francisco, USA
1. Mike Bailey Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Takeshita and Mike Bailey together again! Oh I think I’m going to cry, it’s been so long. West Coast Pro has been running shows since 2018 and has some sort of partnership with Prestige if their co-promoted doubleheader from March is anything to go by.
PRESTIGE “THE NEW REALITY”, 18/06/2022 The Glass House, Pomona, USA
1. Lee Moriarty Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Takeshita makes his Prestige debut although this show is in California instead of Oregon. His match is keeping it AEW with the talented Lee Moriarty and his “TAIGASTYLE” standing across the ring from him.
Yamashita returns to Europe for the first time since 2019 when she goes to Spain for RCW. She is the only announced wrestler for the show so far.
GARDEN STATE PRO “WELCOME TO EDEN”, 23/07/2022 The Heart Ballroom, Newark, USA
1. 3 Way Match: Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Josh Alexander
The debut show of Garden State Pro Wrestling in New Jersey features both Takeshita and Yamashita. Takeshita is already reaching the point where his indie bookings are more exciting than his AEW bookings because he is taking on the Impact World Champion himself Josh Alexander!
Yamashita finds herself in a 3 Way Match against two of the most recognizable fresh faces in the scene since the US indies came out of the pandemic. Billie Starkz and Janai Kai are two women who would benefit greatly by touring Japan someday so maybe this match will open some opportunities in the future.
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”, 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.
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.
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
During the week Tokyo Joshi Pro held another press conference to promote “GRAND PRINCESS ’22” featuring the wrestlers involved from four of the matches on the card. For Miyu Yamashita and Shoko Nakajima they will be headlining Sumo Hall, the same venue where they both had their official debuts in a dark match back in 2013. Nakajima always thought of Yamashita as the strongest wall in TJPW and a bigger kaiju than she is. No matter how many times Nakajima won against her, Yamashita would easily overturn her setbacks and go back to the top. But if Nakajima can win the Princess Of Princess Title from her in the main event of Sumo Hall, she can finally believe she has surpassed her. It is her best chance and maybe her last chance to become a bigger kaiju than Yamashita. The champion has dreamed of TJPW reaching Sumo Hall since her debut and thinks it will all be meaningless if she cannot beat her strongest challenger. She also thinks they will show everyone the future of Tokyo Joshi and beyond.
Miu Watanabe calls The Magical Sugar Rabbits her biggest obstacles given how often she has lost to them. She feels the confidence she lacked against them finally came to her when Daydream won the Max Heart Tournament. With Rika Tatsumi by her side she believes she can now break through any wall and win. Tatsumi thinks they can be even better champions now than they were during their first reign. She understands that Mizuki will hate her if she takes away the Princess Tag Team Titles from MagiRabi but she doesn’t care about that anymore. Tatsumi is prepared to be hated by Mizuki in order to become a champion again! Mizuki told her not to worry about that because MagiRabi won’t lose. Instead they will have a match that will make all of Mizuki’s fans smile. Yuka Sakazaki realizes that her friends and the supporters have brought TJPW to Ryogoku. She wants to defend the Tag Titles so they can shine even more and bring everyone a into a happy, sparkling world!
The words Maki Itoh spoke to Yuki Arai last May after Arai’s debut is what brought her to this point. Back then Itoh challenged Arai to crush her no matter how long it will take. It hasn’t even been a year but Arai thinks the time is now right for her to do that and win the International Princess Title! However she just wants to crush Itoh while Itoh wants to crush every superstar around the world! Arai has been watching her tapes and Itoh admits her opponent has the size advantage but experience wise, Itoh is confident she can deal with whatever Arai throws at her.
When the debuting Juria Nagano began training for TJPW, she was moved to tears after discovering the deep bonds the entire roster has with each other. Everyone does their best to raise each other’s spirits. She has been training in karate since she was 5 years old and looks forward to teaming with Moka Miyamoto because they are linked by traditional karate. Miyamoto promised to do her best to help Nagano win her debut match. Suzume is happy to spend precious time with Nagano and crush her with all her love. Arisu Endo believes there is no way the match won’t be exciting and Arisuzu will win.
I’ll have a full preview of the show written up next week.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 