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?

Comments Off on TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’23” Preview | Previews | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by JamieOD

Grand Princess Newcomers, Sasaki’s Return Match, USA Updates

March 8, 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 Harajuk
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

The Wasteland War Party have completed three successful Princess Tag Team Titles defences in America over the last few weeks. Tokyo Joshi Pro has recognised all three of them. Nobody over there has been able to take the belts from the champs so when they come back to Japan their match against 121000000 will now be a title bout. It was always going to be like this but it’s only been made official a couple of days ago. Those are the kind of semantics a wrestling company has to deal with when they have a travelling champion. The Wasteland War Party will be at the 22nd March show too.

The two teenage trainees have announced their official ring names. Haru is now Haru Kazashiro. She is 158cm tall and was born in Tokyo on 28th March, 2008. She became a fan of TJPW after watching Maki Itoh matches. She is also a fan of The Bakuretsu Sisters and decided to become a pro wrestler after watching Nodoka Tenma’s graduation match. Her debut match is happening one day before her junior high school graduation ceremony.

Momo is now Runa Okubo. She is 155cm tall and was born in Saitama on 15th June, 2008 making her the youngest wrestler in TJPW. She became a pro wrestling fan through her parents and her goal is to reach the level of Yuki Kamifuku.

BASARA “BASARA 213 ~TAKAGARI 15~”, 18/03/2023
Takashimadaira Ward Community Center

1. Isami Kodaka Vs Antonio Honda
2. IRON FIST Tag Titles: Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino (c) Vs FUMA & KUBITO

The new IRON FIST Tag Champions quickly hit a bump in the road after winning the belts. Takato Nakano couldn’t win the Union MAX Title and Masato Kamino dropped a fall to KUBITO. Feeling the need to prove their strength, Aijin Tag had no choice but to nominate FUMA & KUBITO as the No. 1 Contenders for the tag titles.

Hideyoshi Kamitani from Big Japan and Koju Takeda from 666 will both be on the show. Takeda will not be in his Pheromones gimmick but his regular self is still at risk of acting inappropriate in the ring.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM ONITA ~DDO HATAAGE BATTLE~”, 19/03/2023
Kanagawa Tsurumi Fruit & Vegetable Market

1. Yusuke Okada Ve Keigo Nakamura
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Kazuma Sumi
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Toru Owashi, Yukio Naya & Chie Koishikawa
4. MJ Paul & KANON Vs Makoto Oishi & Shinichiro Kawamatsu
5. Harimao Vs BURNING!: Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku
6. Road To Judgement 2023! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Konosuke Takeshita, MAO & Hikaru Machida
7. Jado Alert Issued! Current Blast Jado Missile 6-Man Tag Team Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima Vs HARASHIMA, Soma Takao & Kazuki Hirata

Both teams in the main event have sent demands for more weapons to be included. So not only is there going to be a missile fired at the ring, there will also be exploding blast bats and barbed wire boards placed around the ring.

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2023 ~LONGEST 5 HOUR SPECIAL IN KORAKUEN HISTORY~”, 21/03/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Ilusion & El Unicorn DDTeeeen!! Graduation Match: Ilusion & Munetatsu Nakamura Vs El Unicorn & Raimu Imai
2. Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida Vs Toi Kojima & Kazuma Sumi
3. HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani
4. Pheromones Vs Pheromones Subjugation Army All Out Battle: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Toru Owashi, Hiroshi Yamato & Yusuke Okada
5. Kazuki Hirata Debut 13th Anniversary Match: Kazuki Hirata & Yoshihiko Vs Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao
6. Saki Akai Debut 10th Anniversary Match Vol 1.: Masahiro Takanashi Vs Saki Akai
7. O-40 Title – 3 Way Match: Makoto Oishi Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Shinichiro Kawamatsu
8. Special Single Match: Hikaru Machida Vs Takeshi Masada
9. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ CHARISMA RETURNS!: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Chris Brookes, Drew Parker & Hagane Shinno
10. Special Tag Match: Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda Vs Super Powerhouse Tag Team
11. International Special Single Match: Samuray Del Sol Vs Yuki Ueno
12. DDT 26th Anniversary Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Konosuke Takeshita
13. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu
14. DDT Extreme Title – Regular Pro Wrestling Rules: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Kotaro Suzuki
15. DDT Universal Title: Naruki Doi (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo
16. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuji Hino (c) Vs Yukio Naya

Daisuke Sasaki claims to have a few more matches in him before he disappears to America or Mexico or whatever country it is that he wants to live the rest of his life in. He is added onto the 26th Anniversary show reuniting most of DAMNATION T.A. Their opponents Chris Brookes & Drew Parker are adding Hagane Shinno to their ranks to even the odds.

A special training session was made for Hikaru Machida when he went to visit Yukio Sakaguchi’s gym today. Sakaguchi thinks Machida has been lacking something in his switch from MMA to pro wrestling. The solution was to bring in Minowaman to train him! The fighter, now going by the name Minowaman Z told Machida to follow him outside to a nearby park where they would train together. He wanted Machida to learn that you can work out anywhere no matter where you go.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR IN SHINJUKU 2023”, 24/03/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. International Special Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Samuray Del Sol Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada

A first time team up for Konosuke Takeshita & Samuray Del Sol! Brookes & Takeshi Masada have fought together a few times now but how much of an advantage could that give them?

GANBARE☆PRO “HERO NEVER DIE 2023”, 25/03/2023
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. Moeka Haruhi Vs YuuRI
2. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles Tournament – Round 1: Ken Ohka & Shuichiro Katsumura Vs Hikaru Sato & Tyson Maeguchi

The Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Titles Tournament begins.

GANBARE☆PRO “MIZUKI WATASE PRODUCE 2023”, 25/03/2023
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. Hartley Jackson Vs HARUKAZE
2. Special Tag Match: Mizuki Watase & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Keisuke Ishii & Tyson Maeguchi

Mizuki Watase gets to put together his own show. He’s wanted to team with Yukio Sakaguchi for a long time. He also came up with the wild idea to put Hartley Jackson against HARUKAZE!

GANBARE☆PRO “GANBARE☆PRO WRESTLING PLAYERS ASSOCIATION PERFORMANCE”, 25/03/2023
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. Moeka Haruhi & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Rina Amikura & YuuRI
2. Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Daiki Shimomura
3. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles Tournament – Round 1: Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Yumehito Imanari Vs Shota & Soma Takao

A young battle between Ganbare☆Pro and BASARA takes place when Munetatsu Nakamura goes against Daiki Shimomura.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES”, 31/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Janai Kai
2. Rika Tatsumi Vs Billie Starkz
3. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
4. Hyper Misao & Trish Adora Vs Yuki Aino & Raku
5. Shoko Nakajima & Miu Watanabe Vs Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer
6. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh

The full card for the Los Angeles show is here. The Magical Sugar Rabbits Vs 121000000 and Free WiFi Vs Daisy Monkey are the two all Japanese matches. The Wasteland War Party, Trish Adora, Billie Starkz and Janai Kai are included as the international guests.

DDT/GCW “GCW VS DDT”, 31/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Cole Radrick Vs Yoshihiko
2. EFFY & Allie Katch Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno
3. Blake Christian Vs Kazusada Higuchi
4. Dark Sheik Vs Saki Akai
5. Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne Vs MAO & Mike Bailey
6. Homicide & Tony Deppen Vs Jun Akiyama & Tetsuya Endo
7. Joey Janela Vs Yuki Ueno

A seventh match added to the GCW Vs DDT card with Joey Janela taking on Yuki Ueno. Janela will be following DDT back to Japan because he has several bookings with them in April.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GARAFES ~ SPRING IDOL LUNCH MEETING”, 02/04/2023
Tokyo GOTANDA G6/G7

1. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Haruna Neko & Moka Miyamoto Vs Mahiro Kiryu & HIMAWARI

A festival of idol concerts will include a small TJPW performance. TJPW will be holding a mat wrestling match at the venue that day.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SHIZUOKA IDOL FESTIVAL IN TSUMAGOI”, 16/04/2023
Shizuoka Tsumagoi Resort Sainosato Multipurpose Plaza

1. X Vs X
2. X Vs X
3. X Vs X

TJPW will also be at the Shizuoka Idol Festival with a ring set up for three wrestling matches. It’s an outdoor show so there is a risk that stormy weather will cancel the matches.

GANBARE☆PRO “LOVE PHANTOM 2023”, 05/05/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles Tournament – Final: X & X Vs X & X

Not only will the first SOG Tag Champions be crowned but two wrestlers from Glory Pro in America will be making their Ganpro debuts. Dan The Dad and Kody Lane will be wrestling on both the 5th May and 6th May Ganpro shows.

Comments Off on Grand Princess Newcomers, Sasaki’s Return Match, USA Updates | News | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by JamieOD

Grand Princess ’23 And Judgement 2023 Full Lineups

February 27, 2023

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

1. Suzume Vs Arisu Endo
2. Haru & Momo Debut Match: Mahiro Kiryu, Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki Vs Kaya Toribami, Toga, Haru & Momo
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

At the time of writing The Wasteland War Party have successfully defended the Princess Tag Team Titles twice in America. They have at least one more defence on their schedule before they return to Japan but odds are real good they will get to defend the belts against 121000000 on this show.

It’s only fitting that the smallest person on the Tokyo Joshi Pro roster gets to team up with Andreza Giant Panda. As long as Haruna Neko does not scratch the panda everything will be ok. No wait, we can’t be trusting Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao not to come up with something dangerous for the match. After all when something that giant comes along it would attract the attention of a kaiju and a superhero.

Good to see Ryo Mizunami back. This time she gets to put Moka Miyamoto to the test.

Ram Kaichow returns to TJPW too, which makes me wonder would Triple Six have more coverage if they got Free WiFi more often? Also the trio of Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku should get a team name at this point. The three of them have been inseperable for months now.

Shove all of the rookies into the same match! Good luck to Mahiro Kiryu and Kaya Toribami for having to keep that one together. Shino Suzuki and Toga will have already debuted by then. It’s Haru & Momo who will be having their first match.

For the first time since Arisu Endo’s debut match, Daisy Monkey are fighting against each other! Can Suzume stay ahead of her partner or has Endo progressed enough to catch up to her?

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2023 ~LONGEST 5 HOUR SPECIAL IN KORAKUEN HISTORY~”, 21/03/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Ilusion & El Unicorn DDTeeeen!! Graduation Match: Ilusion & Munetatsu Nakamura Vs El Unicorn & Raimu Imai
2. Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida Vs Toi Kojima & Kazuma Sumi
3. HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani
4. Pheromones Vs Pheromones Subjugation Army All Out Battle: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Toru Owashi, Hiroshi Yamato & Yusuke Okada
5. Kazuki Hirata Debut 13th Anniversary Match: Kazuki Hirata & Yoshihiko Vs Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao
6. Saki Akai Debut 10th Anniversary Match Vol 1.: Masahiro Takanashi Vs Saki Akai
7. O-40 Title – 3 Way Match: Makoto Oishi Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Shinichiro Kawamatsu
8. Special Single Match: Hikari Machida Vs Takeshi Masada
9. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Drew Parker Vs MJ Paul & KANON
10. Special Tag Match: Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda Vs Super Powerhouse Tag Team
11. International Special Single Match: Samuray Del Sol Vs Yuki Ueno
12. DDT 26th Anniversary Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Konosuke Takeshita
13. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu
14. DDT Extreme Title – Regular Pro Wrestling Rules: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Kotaro Suzuki
15. DDT Universal Title: Naruki Doi (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo
16. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuji Hino (c) Vs Yukio Naya

Sixteen matches in five hours. What is this, an AEW Dark taping? Yukio Naya faces his tag partner and bigger brother figure Yuji Hino for the KO-D Openweight Title. For years now so much has been expected of Naya to become a big player in pro wrestling. Has he finally put it all together to become the champion of DDT? If that is not enough, Kenta Kobashi will be at the show as a special guest commentator for the main event.

The spirit of DNA can be found in the KO-D Tag Team Titles match. ShunMao were feeling good after defending the titles twice in three days but that mood changed once their next opponents showed up. Kazuasada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu were some of their toughest rivals back in the DNA days. Higuchi won his matches against Shunma Katsumata more often than not while Nakatsu was the first person to hand MAO his first loss. While ShunMao do not like having Harimao as their next challengers, they know they must beat them in order to carry on their plans to change the landscape of pro wrestling.

A “Super Powerhouse Tag Team” is coming over to take on Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda. No other clues about the team’s identity have been found yet.

Now that Drew Parker is giving up death match wrestling maybe he will find more time to wrestle in DDT more often. Him and Chris Brookes teaming together as the Baka Gaijins will add a little freshness to the tag team division.

Both Saki Akai and Kazuki Hirata are getting matches to celebrate their pro wrestling anniversaries. Both matches feature wrestlers who have been close to Akai and Hirata respectively throughout their entire careers.

We say goodbye to the DDTeeeen!! project with Ilusion & El Unicorn both moving up to the main roster. Raimu Imai was a part of the short lived project so he gets to be in the match. Munetatsu Nakamura is a new face for the three of them to be in the ring with.

Comments Off on Grand Princess ’23 And Judgement 2023 Full Lineups | News | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by JamieOD

New Tag Names, Sento Minzoku Vs Aijin Tag, USA Updates

February 13, 2023

DDT “HEAT WAVE OVER FLOWERS 2 ~THE WORLD THAT EVERYONE DOES NOT KNOW~”, 14/02/2023
Shinjuku FACE

1. Anshin Oyado Presents ~The World Unknown To ShunMao~ Reprinted Men’s Club! Special 4 Way Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga (Special Referee: MEN’S Teioh)
2. D GENERATIONS CUP – A Block: Kazuma Sumi (0) Vs Ilusion (0)
3. D GENERATIONS CUP – B Block: Keigo Nakamura (2) Vs Yuki Ishida (0)
4. sauna line Presents ~The World Unknown To Yuki~ A Fair And Square Special Handicap Match Where Blood Is Washed Away: Yuki Ueno Vs Gorgeous Matsuno & Gabai Ji-chan
5. SeaSaunaShack Presents ~The World Unknown To Toi~ Burn The Firewood! Special Singles Match: Toi Kojima Vs Yasu Urano
6. Special Tag Match: Akito & Sakura Hirota Vs Tetsuya Endo & Kazuki Hirata
7. Final Set – Naniwa Kenko Land Yu~topia Presents ~The World Unknown To The 37KAMIINA~ Beyond The Totonoi: MAO Vs Shunma Katsumata Vs Yuki Ueno Vs Toi Kojima

What kind of match the main event is going to be will not be known until it happens. Could be a 4 Way free for all, a tag match, a handicap match or something else entirely.

Keigo Nakamura Vs Yuki Ishida is the only D GENERATIONS CUP match taking place on this show that has something on the line. Nakamura needs to win to stay in the B Block race. Kazuma Sumi Vs Ilusion has nothing but pride on the line for those two.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT WINTER ~NAGOYA PERFORMANCE~”, 18/02/2023
Nagoya International Conference Center Event Hall

1. Hikari Noa & Wakana Uehara Vs Yuki Aino & HIMAWARI
2. 3 Way Match: Nao Kakuta Vs Haruna Neko Vs Pom Harajuku
3. Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Kaya Toribami Vs Rika Tatsumi, Suzume & Arisu Endo
4. Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Raku Vs Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu
5. International Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Janai Kai
6. Miyu Yamashita & Yuki Arai Vs Aja Kong & Moka Miyamoto

A few team names to learn off the undercard. Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Raku are MagiRabi Express. They’ve teamed together under that name before. Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu are Toyo happy. I think that’s a new one. Rika Tatsumi, Suzume & Arisu Endo are DraDaisy Mon (short for Dragon Daisy Monkey). Somehow Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Kaya Toribami are the only trio not with a special name attached to them. Unless Kyoraku Kyomei + Toribami counts as a name.

BASARA “BASARA 210 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 23~”, 18/02/2023
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR

1. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Masato Kamino
2. 1 Count Rules: Banana Senga, Isami Kodaka & FUMA Vs Tsutomu Oosugi, SAGAT & Takumi Tsukamoto
3. Give Up Only Match: Ryuichi Sekine Vs KUBITO
4. Horror! Jusenkyo Tag Match: Daichi Kazato & Lil’ Kraken Vs Ryota Nakatsu & Fuminori Abe
5. Daiki Shimomura Vs Takato Nakano

Sento Minzoku Army: Isami Kodaka, Ryuichi Sekine, Daiki Shimomura, FUMA, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, Daichi Kazato, Lil’ Kraken and Banana Senga

Aijin Tag Army: Takato Nakano, Masato Kamino, Takumi Tsukamoto, KUBITO, SAGAT, Ryota Nakatsu, Fuminori Abe and Tsutomu Oosugi

Next Saturday’s BASARA doubleshot is being built around the Sento Minzoku Vs Aijin Tag match. The two teams picked wrestlers from the BASARA roster to represent them on the undercard with most of the matches being determined via lottery.

BASARA “BASARA 211 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 24~”, 18/02/2023
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR

1. Horror! Jusenkyo Single Match: Daichi Kazato Vs KUBITO
2. Basara Strange Style Jacket Match: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Takumi Tsukamoto
3. 2 Count Rules: Ryuichi Sekine, FUMA & Lil’ Kraken Vs Fuminori Abe, Masahiro Takanashi & SAGAT
4. Chicharito Shoki Vs Ryota Nakatsu
5. IRON FIST Tag Titles: Isami Kodaka & Daiki Shimomura (c) Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino

Sento Minzoku Army: Isami Kodaka, Ryuichi Sekine, Daiki Shimomura, FUMA, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, Daichi Kazato, Lil’ Kraken and Chicharito Shoki

Aijin Tag Army: Takato Nakano, Masato Kamino, Takumi Tsukamoto, KUBITO, SAGAT, Ryota Nakatsu, Fuminori Abe and Masahiro Takanashi

The IRON FIST Tag Titles match was the only bout already announced before the team challenge was put together. Chicharito Shoki and Masahiro Takanashi fill in for Speed Of Sounds in the evening show.

DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2023”, 26/02/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. D GENERATIONS CUP 6-Man Tag Match: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
2. D GENERATIONS CUP – Final: Winner Of A Block Vs Winner Of B Block
3. 4 Way Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Gota Ihashi Vs Saki Akai & Kazuki Hirata Vs Losers Of 23/2 KO-D Tag Team Titles Match
4. MJ Paul & KANON Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda
5. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Shishamo Power Vs Jun Akiyama & Unagi Mask
6. International Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuji Hino, Naruki Doi & Makoto Oishi Vs Kip Sabian (w/ Penelope Ford), Chris Brookes & Hagane Shinno
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada (c) Vs Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Hikaru Machida
9. KO-D Openweight Title Next Challenger Decision Match: HARASHIMA Vs Yukio Naya

Whoever comes out of Burlesque Tokyo as the KO-D Tag Team Champions will only have a few days to recover from their hangover before the belts are put on the line again. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hikaru Machida are the next team stepping up to challenge for the titles.

The teams for the D GENERATIONS CUP 6-Man Tag Match will be announced at a later date so it may not automatically be all the wrestlers in A Block against all the wrestlers in B Block.

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

1. Haru Debut Match: Haru Vs X
2. Momo Debut Match: Momo Vs X
3. Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Billie Starkz
4. Special Single Match: Aja Kong Vs Yuki Arai
5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Princess Tag Team Titles: Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh
6. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Mizuki

The winners of this year’s Max Heart Tournament are calling their shot. 121000000 wants to fight The Wasteland War Party inside Ariake Coliseum! Later this month Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer will be defending the Princess Tag Team Titles in Deadlock Pro Wrestling. Should they remain the champions coming out of that show then this will be their next scheduled title defence. Even if they lose the titles, they are guaranteed to face Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh at “GRAND PRINCESS ’23”.

Billie Starkz returns to Tokyo Joshi Pro. What will the likes of NEO Biishiki-gun think of her?

The two junior high school trainees Haru and Momo will both make their debuts on the show.

Andreza Giant Panda will also be on the show.

DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Saki Akai Vs Vert Vixen
2. Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Chris Brookes & Yoshihiko
3. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Joey Janela
4. Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Yuki Ueno

Saki Akai is looking forward to having two singles matches back to back when DDT goes to America. She faces Vert Vixen on the Thursday show.

After being seen in public again last week, Daisuke Sasaki’s request to appear at the Los Angeles show has been granted by DDT. Has he really retired from pro wrestling to live the Hollywood dream? That dream being to work part time at a McDonalds.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES”, 31/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

Billie Starkz is the first “international” talent being added to the TJPW USA show.

Comments Off on New Tag Names, Sento Minzoku Vs Aijin Tag, USA Updates | International, News | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by JamieOD

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE 3RD “FUTARI WA PRINCESS” MAX HEART TOURNAMENT” Results

February 11, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE 3RD “FUTARI WA PRINCESS” MAX HEART TOURNAMENT”, 11/02/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
657 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Wakana Uehara defeated HIMAWARI with a Sleeper Hold (6:26).
2. Yuki Kamifuku, Nao Kakuta & Mahiro Kiryu defeated Raku, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami when Kamifuku pinned Toribami with the Famouser (11:32).
3. Arisu Endo defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Camel Clutch (9:27).
4. Yuki Arai defeated Pom Harajuku with the Finally (6:40).
5. Hikari Noa & Janai Kai defeated Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino when Kai pinned Aino with the Tornado Kick (12:30).
6. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki defeated Miu Watanabe & Suzume when Sakazaki pinned Suzume after the Toy Story 4 (12:58).
7. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Final: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh defeated Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao when Itoh submitted Nakajima with the Itoh Deluxe (25:35).

The result of this Max Heart Tournament final is historic for two reasons. First, Maki Itoh is now the first woman to win both the Max Heart Tournament and Tokyo Princess Cup. And second, Miyu Yamashita has finally won a tournament after almost ten years of trying! 121000000 had to fight their biggest challenge in the end, Kyoraku Kyomei. Before the match began Hyper Misao got on the microphone and said she is happy these were the two teams in the final. Of course it was to set up a sneak attack and 121000000 saw it coming. They blocked the ambush and took control of the opening minutes. Misao briefly had her mask fall off during the match but she ignored it to hit Yamashita’s leg against the ring post. She put the mask back on and continued targeting the leg. Itoh tagged in but her momentum was cut off by Shoko Nakajima. Kyoraku Kyomei kept trying to isolate Itoh until Yamashita came to the rescue leading to all four wrestlers being falling down on the canvas. 121000000 got up first and fired each other up by headbutting each other. Yamashita countered the Hypami Returns with the Skull Kick to get rid of Misao. Nakajima was then given a Flying DDT/Wheelbarrow German Suplex combo. Itoh followed up by locking in the Itoh Deluxe, making Nakajima tap out!

Nakajima gave Itoh a nod of respect after the match before being helped to the back by Misao. 121000000 were then presented with the trophies and gave out a victory speech. Itoh said after seeing the look on Nakajima’s face, she understands how she feels. It makes her want to do her best for Nakajima and everyone else in Tokyo Joshi Pro. That leads to their next challenge. It is now up to 121000000 to take the Princess Tag Team Titles from The Wasteland War Party and it’s going to happen at Ariake Coliseum on 18th March! Yamashita said it was frustrating that her team with Itoh wasn’t able to produce good results for this long because they are so great together. It’s fun to work with Itoh and fight with Itoh so they are perfect business partners. No matter how long Yamashita lives for, Itoh will always be her partner business or otherwise. They then tried to close out the show by saying “One To…” “…Million!” expecting the fans to chant along. It didn’t really catch on so they spent their post-match interview backstage workshopping it in front of the reporters. The professional media did not join in.

Fresh off of her American expedition, Yuka Sakazaki reunited with Mizuki and you wouldn’t tell there is any tension between them as we get closer towards “GRAND PRINCESS ’23”. They were just as happy to be teaming together as The Magical Sugar Rabbits as they always are. Their teamwork was on par and led to them beating Miu Watanabe & Suzume with the Toy Story 4. Backstage Mizuki said she watched Sakazaki’s matches in America and saw how different they are compared to over here. The deal meant Mizuki was able to wrestle a lot of singles matches too so she is preparing for their Princess Of Princess Title match on 18th March. Sakazaki said she can tell TJPW is even better than before because everyone cherishes each and every match they take part in. She also wants MagiRabi to be the next wrestlers collaborating with Idolmaster Cinderella Girls because they just beat the current girls involved with the marketing campaign. Speaking of that franchise, Watanabe & Suzume were hoping to get a lot of Idolmaster fans supporting them today because there was an Idolmaster concert going on next door in the Tokyo Dome.

Welcome to TJPW, Janai Kai! Not everyone gave Kai a happy hello in her first match with the promotion. Rika Tatsumi pretty quickly tried to strangle her. Kai did get along with her tag partner Hikari Noa. Tatsumi missed a Hip Attack and hit Yuki Aino by mistake. Noa & Kai did their trademark moves alongside each other and Kai pinned Aino with the Tornado Kick. Backstage Kai said she’s been studying Watanabe’s matches and is ready to fight her for the International Princess Title on 18th February. Tatsumi now thinks she is friends with Kai. Aino didn’t believe her because she doesn’t choke people she wants to be friends with. Tatsumi explained her attempt to strangle Kai was just a baptism ceremony in order to establish friendship.

Before Yuki Arai gets to fight Aja Kong in Ariake she had to deal with another dangerous monster today… Pom Harajuku! Arai’s opponent today came out dressed in SKE48 merchandise and looked like she wanted to enjoy a concert rather than wrestle. Harajuku asked Arai to perform SKE48’s new single instead of doing the match. Arai agreed when the audience began clapping along so she danced to the song until Harajuku rolled her up for a nearfall. Harajuku targeted Arai’s shins but her tactics didn’t work. Arai was able to hit her with the Finally and get the win. She has two matches with Kong coming up and wants to make sure Kong sees how good she has become.

It was a day of firsts across the board. Yamashita won her first tournament, Kai had her first match in Japan, SKE48 had their new song played in the Kanto region for the first time and Arisu Endo earned her first ever singles win! She was able to beat Moka Miyamoto by trapping her in the Camel Clutch and keeping the pressure up until Miyamoto submitted. She said it was a big deal she was able to get her first win by herself. She wants to get stronger and win more often. She also promised to send an update about her big achievement over to Reika Saiki when she gets the chance. She inherited the Camel Clutch from Saiki which is why she is always so determined to win with it.

If you forgot that Yuki Kamifuku is a dog person she made it clear by stomping on Haruna Neko a lot. Neko recovered after Mahiro Kiryu’s Apology Knee Drop to tag in Raku. Neko returned later to take out both Kiryu & Nao Kakuta with a Double Neckbreaker Drop. She was stopped with a Big Boot from Kamifuku who then went on to give Kaya Toribami a Brainbuster. She then won with the Famouser.

Wakana Uehara gets her first ever wrestling win too! She caught HIMAWARI in a Sleeper Hold and kept it on to drag her opponent down into submission. The result makes Uehara really happy because whenever she trains with her seniors she feels like she is not ready yet. Today’s result makes her want to work even harder so she can compete against more of the TJPW roster. HIMAWARI said this loss is more frustrating than the others but she will treat it as a lesson she has to learn. She will now go train her mind to become so strong she will never give up to a Sleeper Hold again!

There were several announcements throughout the show, many of them related to “GRAND PRINCESS ’23”. One of them is the return of NEO Biishiki-gun! The team of Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel will go against Yuki Kamifuku & Billie Starkz on the show.

Juria Nagano gave everyone an update on her finger injury. She fractured her left index finger during her most recent match on 29th January. There wasn’t a date given for her return but she promised the fans she is definitely coming back to the TJPW ring.

Watanabe & Suzume promoted their crossover merch with Idolmaster Cinderella Girls at the start of the show. They were then surprised with the unexpected appearance of Andreza Giant Panda! After the panda struggled to get into the ring it was then announced Andreza will be part of “GRAND PRINCESS ’23”.

Three trainees will make their pro wrestling debuts in March. Toga will have her first match in Shinjuku on 6th March. Haru and Momo will both make their debuts at “GRAND PRINCESS ’23”.

Last but not least a few new shows were added to the schedule, each of them being a homecoming show for a TJPW wrestler. Kamifuku is getting a show in Kanagawa on 27th May. Yamashita & Itoh are getting a show in Fukuoka on 25th June.

Comments Off on TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE 3RD “FUTARI WA PRINCESS” MAX HEART TOURNAMENT” Results | Results, Tournaments | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by JamieOD

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.

1 Comment | Results | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by JamieOD

Next Entries »