DramaticDDT’s Predictions For 2024

December 24, 2023

Merry Christmas! I’m giving this another go despite how bad my predictions for 2023 went. What do I think is in store for DDT, Tokyo Joshi Pro, Ganbare☆Pro, BASARA and maybe even CyberFight as a whole? It’s a tricky challenge this time because whenever I try guessing how 2024 will turn out, all I see is murkiness. There’s a weird contradiction in my thoughts about where wrestling is right now. On the one hand there is a status quo where all the companies around the world are positioned that I do not see changing anytime soon. But then there are changes within the companies themselves, some that are so unexpected that I have no idea what the entire scene will look like this time next year. Like of course WWE will be the top company on the planet but what does it turn into next as it finally moves away from Vince McMahon’s ideas and has the most fan goodwill it has probably ever had? AEW badly fell apart this year but the Continental Classic tournament is providing a nice set of building blocks to rebuild the company with. The problem is will Tony Khan want to use those blocks? It doesn’t help that the loudest podcasters in the room are constantly telling everyone that AEW should be more like WWE in the storyline department. That is my biggest pet peeve with wrestling at the moment, by the way. Whenever I hear people say every wrestling show should be a three ringed circus with something for everybody they’re really just saying “go be like WWE”. It’s the same voices that reject other companies for doing things differently.

And then there is Japan’s wrestling scene still trying to re-establish themselves post-pandemic. It’s mostly alright with some brief moments of greatness but there’s not a lot that has really caught my imagination this year compared to the 2010s. Show attendances week to week isn’t inspiring much hope in me either. It seems like homecoming shows and retirement matches can bring in crowds but outside of that a lot of companies are getting dwindling crowd numbers which has me worried. New Japan and Stardom will be fine as long as they can manage themselves properly. 2023 definitely gave Stardom a lot of lessons about show scheduling and injuries but they seem to be learning from it. All Japan discovering success again should also be a sign that there is still an audience out there in Japan that pro wrestling can appeal to. Now let’s see if this United Japan Pro Wrestling alliance is actually going to mean anything substantial.

Before I give you my predictions for 2024, here is how my 2023’s predictions went. Not very good it turns out.

DDT

✓. Mike Bailey wrestles a match in DDT again.
X. KANON outperforms Daisuke Sasaki.
X. Yuya Koroku becomes the next wrestler from DDT’s new generation (debuted 2020 onwards) to win a championship.
✓. Tetsuya Endo struggles to reclaim the top position in DDT.
X. Dramatic Dream Gate is revived.

The first one was by far the easiest prediction to make. It is basically the free spot on a bingo card. DDT going to America guaranteed that Mike Bailey would be on one of their shows. Although I do think the New Japan appearances he also made this year means he’s fully done with DDT in Japan. KANON is slowly getting pushed but I wouldn’t put his work above Daisuke Sasaki’s in 2023. Hideki Okatani was the breakout in the new generation, not Yuya Koroku like I expected. Tetsuya Endo is definitely struggling and I’ll get back to that point later. No Dramatic Dream Gate revival because DDT worked with All Japan instead of Dragongate.

Tokyo Joshi Pro

X. At least 3 women who originally came from Actwres girl’Z will appear in TJPW and at least 1 of them becomes a regular roster member.
X. An outsider wins the Princess Of Princess Title.
X. Maki Itoh gets to No. 1 on a iTunes or Spotify chart somewhere in the world.
X. A woman from Sakisama’s past comes back to haunt her.
X. Sasha Banks appears at Grand Princess ’23.

Oh so now Actwres girl’Z gets their act together and stops leaking talent left, right and centre! TJPW’s roster growth all came from training their own rookies and bringing in foreign wrestlers. An outsider did become champion but it was Max The Impaler winning the International Princess Title, not the Princess Of Princess Title. No idea how to look up music chart data but if Maki Itoh got No. 1 somewhere we would have heard about it. My Sakisama fantasy booking was inspired by the rumour of CyberFight wanting to sign Maya Yukihi. If Mercedes Moné does end up going back to WWE then the hype surrounding her for an entire year was an absolute waste of time for everyone else involved.

Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling

✓. Some of the wrestlers Shota worked with in America get booked for Ganpro.
X. Keisuke Ishii wins the Spirit Of Ganbare Title.
1/2✓. Ganpro creates a tag team championship and builds it around mixed tag wrestling.
X. Ganbare☆Joshi runs their own show in Korakuen Hall.
X. Kota Ibushi wrestles a match in Ganpro.

Shota’s American excursion got the likes of Dan The Dad and Kody Lane booked in Japan. Keisuke Ishii did get a Spirit Of Ganbare Title but lost that match to Mizuki Watase in one of Ganpro’s best matches of the year. We did get the Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles created and it does allow intergender teams. However it has not been the focal point of the title’s existence yet so I only got it half right. No standalone Ganbare☆Joshi show in Korakuen Hall yet but I think it is only a matter of time before it happens. Who on earth would have guessed Kota Ibushi’s first match back would be in GCW?

Miscellaneous

X. Gake no Fuchi Joshi crosses over with Baka Gaijin + Friends.
X. AEW will host another event in Japan with DDT & TJPW involvement.
X. CyberFight adds another promotion to their portfolio.
X. A brand new puroresu console game gets announced.
✓. BASARA does something new and different.

I’m kind of surprised Miyako Matsumoto hasn’t shown up in Baka Gaijin + Friends yet. It seems like her kind of wrestling but I can’t tell what goes through her mind on most days. AEW seems to have developed less interest in the Japanese scene while they go through something of an identity crisis heading into the fifth year of their existence. No new wrestling brand for CyberFight but there is the United Japan Pro Wrestling brand attaching the big wrestling companies together. No new puroresu game which makes me sad. AEW: Fight Forever is fine and I bet has a good base to create a better sequel. Will that happen though? The last prediction is also the best one for me. BASARA made Banana Senga their champion! That was definitely something new and different.

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So yeah, let’s ignore all that and get on to next year’s predictions. I came up with 20 predictions for 2024 spread across four categories. Five for DDT, five for Tokyo Joshi Pro, five for Ganbare☆Pro and five guesses that apply to anything attached to BASARA and the CyberFight promotions. I’m also listing them in order from easy to hard, likely to unlikely, mild to spicy, etc. I came up with these predictions using booking patterns, reading tea leaves and coming up with ideas that are just as creative as they are plausible.

DDT

Prediction: Naomi Yoshimura returns from injury and gets a singles push.

It’s been over a year since Naomi Yoshimura last wrestled a match. What’s promising though is his regular appearances seconding the other wrestlers in Harimao. There’s also glimpses on his social media of him training in the DDT dojo again. It at least suggests he will be back in the ring sooner or later. When Yoshimura took time off to recover from a herniated disc he said he wanted to reclaim the KO-D Tag Team Titles for Harimao when he returns. I think too much time has past for that to be his only goal. He should instead focus on catching up with Yuki Ueno. My fingers are crossed he is able to come back, stay healthy and win some accomplishments by himself.

Prediction: Kento Miyahara will be at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”.

At no point this year did I expect DDT and All Japan to be doing inter-promotional matches with each other. What a great thing that turned out to be though. Adding a few DDT Vs AJPW matches on shows here and there spiced up the midcard for both companies. It had history to play off of because of Jun Akiyama’s involvement. It is helping Yukio Naya develop into the heavyweight DDT wants him to be thanks to the feud with The Saito Brothers that will likely continue in AJPW. Eruption got to start their new chapter without Saki Akai by winning the All Asia Tag Team Titles and giving Yukio Sakaguchi an achievement he can now share with his father. Eruption also entered the Real World Tag League which gave Hideki Okatani some valuable experience. I want this working relationship to continue in 2024 and I know the best place where it can reach its climax. DDT will likely have a big guest for their Sumo Hall show in July. Bring on over AJPW’s biggest star Kento Miyahara to liven up the place! He would be a great singles match opponent for somebody like Yuki Ueno or Kazusada Higuchi. He’s definitely someone who Ueno should learn from about how to be a showman in the ring.

Prediction: Sanshiro Takagi fights Hiroshi Tanahashi in a battle of the presidents!

This week New Japan announced Hiroshi Tanahashi has become the new president of the company. Now he has a lot more in common with Sanshiro Takagi. Now Tanahashi has an awkward history with DDT but that was years ago and I’m sure it’s all water under the bridge. But just in case there’s still some bad blood there is always the wrestling ring right there for them to settle their differences. Two presidents of different wrestling companies having a match against each other is the kind of idea Takagi would jump on and I think Tanahashi would be game for it. United Japan Pro Wrestling is going to need something a little bit novel to put on their Budokan Hall card in the summer. Why not this in the midcard?

Prediction: Somebody (or something) from WWE wins the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title.

WWE looking to carve out their place in Japan is a topic that gets brought up a lot online. This year finally saw the company make their move when they signed a broadcasting deal with ABEMA and also got increased presence in Shukan Puroresu magazine. There were also points throughout the year when Shinsuke Nakamura would pop up. He headlined a big show for NOAH as the final opponent for The Great Muta. He also filmed a special message for Saki Akai that was shown to her during her retirement ceremony. If that’s not enough, on the day I am writing this paragraph All Japan are teasing that the mystery challenger for a Triple Crown title match on 3rd January could be coming from NXT. So if WWE in Japan really is happening, we might as well have some fun with it before everything gets ruined again. DDT will be in Philadelphia during Wrestlemania week and that usually means the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title will be going along for the ride. It’s only a matter of time before somebody in the WWE gets to win the championship for even the briefest of moments. Now I’m not expecting Cody Rhodes to win it in front of 50,000 people to finish the story. But somebody involved with the company hanging out at WrestleCon and taking their chance to win a 24/7 title just to amuse themselves? That sounds more likely. This prediction also applies to any item, prop or official piece of merchandise tied to WWE. If a Jey Uso “Yeet” shirt becomes champion then it counts!

Prediction: Tetsuya Endo should go on an overseas excursion.

This is not so much of a prediction but more a piece of advice. After thinking of ways for Tetsuya Endo to get out of the current position he is in, the best idea I can come up with is for him to go wrestle overseas for a while. Whether that is a several month stay in America or going on weekend trips to Europe every couple of months, he badly needs a change of pace in a new surrounding. Get him in there with Gringo Loco in GCW, have Shigehiro Irie show him the (lack of) sights in Oberhausen during a wXw tournament weekend, book him on ROH so he can travel around with the AEW crew, seat him in the front row behind the commentary table at an NXT taping. He should go broaden his horizons because the direction DDT put him in as Kenta Kobashi’s protégé is not working.

Tokyo Joshi Pro

Prediction: Somebody from the 2023 Class scores a pinfall on a TJPW veteran.

We got six rookies in 2023 and they have all been fun to watch as they learn on the job and figure out who they want to be. Wakana Uehara winning the New Generation Tournament shows that TJPW have faith in her becoming an important part of the roster if she sticks with them. HIMAWARI had her character down flat from day one and her match against Uehara in the final is a great example of how to create a dramatic match with limited movesets. Toga is capturing everyone’s hearts one big Elbow Smash at a time (although really you should thank Hikari Noa for selling that move like a champ), Shino Suzuki has the bonus advantage of being in The Up Up Girls and we might end up with a future generational rivalry between Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo as they learn different wrestling styles separate from each other. Talent development for TJPW needs to be coming quick and fast if there is a need to replace the likes of Yuka Sakazaki. Young blood needs to be beating veterans eventually and it is more likely to happen than you think. Remember, TJPW holds a couple of one day tournaments throughout the year with matches that end in 2 Count pinfalls. That’s where you can see Uehara suddenly beat Mahiro Kiryu or Toga only needing to roll up Kaya Toribami for two seconds to get her hand raised. I don’t expect it to be on the level of Arisu Endo pinning Shoko Nakajima out of nowhere but somebody from the 2023 class is going to get a moment in the spotlight her senpai’s expense in 2024.

Prediction: Mizuki Vs Rika Tatsumi finally happens… in the Tokyo Princess Cup.

When Mizuki’s reign as the Princess Champion ended there was one thing that left me completely baffled. Why was there never a title defence against Rika Tatsumi? One of the longest running pieces of character lore in TJPW is Tatsumi’s crush on Mizuki going all the way back to 2018 when Tatsumi wanted to banish the Forbidden Three rules the in-house roster had to follow because nobody was sure if “No Boyfriends” also meant “No Girlfriends”. Fast forward to 2023 and we got a very good 2-Vs-1 Handicap Match between Daydream and Mizuki where Tatsumi battled those feelings in order to beat her crush. Nothing ever came out of it and to be fair it never intended to be more than an emergency replacement match due to Sakazaki getting injured. TJPW also has an odd thing where some of their big singles matches only ever happen in the Tokyo Princess Cup, either as a 1st Round match to eliminate a top contender early or as a random drawing in the final stages of the tournament. So I think if we ever do get Mizuki Vs Tatsumi, it will be at the Princess Cup instead of a big singles title bout.

Prediction: Maki Itoh wins the GCW World Heavyweight Championship.

I think odds are really good for Maki Itoh to win one of GCW’s championships next year given she is one of the bigger attractions for the group nowadays. Her winning the tag team titles with Nick Gage is an obvious direction to go. But I want to go all in for this prediction. GCW has Blake Christian as their long term heel world champion and groundwork has been laid down for a Blake Vs Gage title match down the road. But we’ve been there, done that with Gage as the top babyface champion for GCW. This is a company that doesn’t mind doing wacky novelty booking with their titles. So how about Itoh unexpectedly gets a title match with Blake, maybe Money In The Bank style and she shockingly beats him for the GCW Title? It would be the peak of her run with the company, that’s for sure.

Prediction: Aja Kong takes on a regular role in TJPW.

Just like how Jun Akiyama became a coach in DDT, I’d like to see Aja Kong do something similar in TJPW. She has been a guest for so many shows at this point it’s not like she would be a stranger to everyone there. Whether it is coaching the youngsters, becoming a matchmaker or just keeping a stern eye on Tetsuya Koda so he won’t lose focus Kong would have a wealth of knowledge to offer the company. And maybe then we get a payoff for her rivalry with Max The Impaler.

Prediction: Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh remain with TJPW for the year.

I’m testing fate with this one, aren’t I? Miyu Yamashita has done almost everything there is to do in TJPW and Maki Itoh spends so much time in America she’s currently divorced from what’s going on in her home promotion. And yet I just don’t believe both of them are ready to graduate from TJPW like Yuka Sakazaki did. At least not in the next 12 months. Yamashita and Itoh will definitely have plenty of American bookings for everyone to look forward to in 2024. But leaving TJPW to focus on that entirely? I don’t think so. They will still have TJPW as their home base.

Ganbare☆Pro

Prediction: Ken Ohka Wins The Spirit Of Ganbare Title From Isami Kodaka

The ways that Ken Ohka and Isami Kodaka have been booked in GanPro this year makes this in my opinion the likeliest prediction to come true. Kodaka is cleaving through the roster with title defence after title defence while Ohka, the main guy behind all of GanPro, has been kept away from the title picture for over a year and a half. Ohka is always fighting from the bottom as the underdog so him never winning the Spirit Of Ganbare Title would fit how he books himself. However that’s not how pro wrestling works and there is bound to be a day when he finally gets his hands on his own promotion’s championship.

Prediction: The Ganbare☆Climax returns.

The last time GanPro held a tournament called the Ganbare☆Climax was in 2021 and that was to crown their first SOG Champion. It would be nice to see it come back to determine a No. 1 Contender during the year. GanPro held tournaments for the Young Ganbare Cup and the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles this year but they both felt like one-offs. That clears up the schedule for a single elimination tournament to happen whenever they want.

Prediction: Yuna Manase returns from injury and feuds with YuuRI.

One of the key additions to GanPro this year was the relaunch of the Ganbare☆Joshi division built around YuuRI, Yoshiko Hasegawa and Riara. Sadly Yuna Manase was relegated to a GM role while she recovers from her ACL injury. YuuRI in particular put in the work to become the face of the GanJo division in her absence. So let’s say that Manase is able to wrestle again in 2024. Would she be willing to play second fiddle to YuuRI? Or will history continue to be a circle and Manase now finds herself as the veteran unwilling to let the new generation surpass her? Wouldn’t that be interesting given Manase’s feud with Yuu Yamagata a few years ago was over the same idea? YuuRI still has a lot to prove and the dynamic could make Hasegawa and Riara choose sides until the matter is resolved. Build it up to one big singles match and it could end up being a lot of fun to follow.

Prediction: A mixed gender tag team wins the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Titles.

I admit this is just a repackaged prediction I made last year about the SOG Tag Titles being built around intergender wrestling. There’s only been one title defence so far featuring a mixed gender team and that was when Lethal Weapon (Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE) were the challengers. I like seeing them team together but I fear that match in August was their only chance, at least while Ground Absolute hold the belts/trophies. There are always other people in GanPro for HARUKAZE to team with and also Banny Oikawa is now with GanPro mostly to do mixed tags. I bet it is only a matter of time before it happens.

Prediction: A Stardom wrestler appears on a Ganbare☆Joshi show.

Another factor of GanJo’s return this year was seeing that roster interact with wrestlers from TJPW, Ice Ribbon, Marvelous, Diana and more. YuuRI even brought over Ice Ribbon’s main championship for a title defence on a GanJo show. Now let’s add Stardom to the list through the UJNW connection. Stardom and TJPW will probably stay being icy towards each other but Yuna Manase and YuuRI both got to wrestle on a Stardom show in 2022. I see talk online about how cool it would be if all the joshi companies get together in 2024 for a major arena show to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of “BIG EGG UNIVERSE”. Something like that was kind of done in 2022 to celebrate 60 years of Korakuen Hall and even then that had some bruised egos coming out of it when Shukan Puroresu only put Starlight Kid on the front cover at the expense of everyone else involved who were not associated with Stardom. Also TJPW stayed away from the show too which again, some icy relationships are probably going on there. So let’s keep this prediction on a much smaller level and just say a Stardom wrestler shows up at a GanJo event.

Miscellaneous

Prediction: A DDT wrestler makes a full time jump over to BASARA.

Appearances from Kazusada Higuchi during the last quarter of 2023 helped freshen up BASARA a little bit. They’re not a company I expect much change from going forward but they could do with adding another full timer to their roster. Even though they are independent there is history with a DDT wrestler deciding they are better off jumping over to BASARA (or Union Pro before that) so they can play a bigger role at shows. It could be a veteran who already wrestles in BASARA and no longer seeing themselves being relevant in DDT (*cough*Soma Takao*cough*) or maybe one of the younger, less experienced wrestlers are looking for a change of pace. Ilusion for example seems to get along with that group well. Someone from that age group would turn into a rival for Munetatsu Nakamura too if that were to happen.

Prediction: Konosuke Takeshita wrestles in the main event of an AEW PPV.

It is really annoying to see Konosuke Takeshita being wasted in The Don Callis Family storyline. It is also annoying that the next step of the angle is the group using Freebird rules that will obviously set up Sammy Guevara’s return to TV rather than giving more focus to Takeshita or Powerhouse Hobbs for that matter. So what is it that has me thinking Takeshita can be in a PPV main event next year? Just the numbers game, really. AEW are adding more PPVs to their schedule so that should be more opportunities for new title challengers. Also if this storyline continues without Kenny Omega and just becomes the Family feuding with Chris Jericho there is can be something like a new Anarchy In The Arena happening to close out one of the PPVs.

Prediction: Yuka Sakazaki becomes the first ROH Women’s TV Champion.

Sakazaki is getting ready for the next chapter in her pro wrestling life. Given how AEW presents their women’s division, she is probably going to get more time in ROH instead. She already had her shot at Athena and the regular ROH Women’s Title but the group now has something new to fight for. A brand new ROH Women’s TV Title was recently revealed and Sakazaki would make a great choice to be its first champion.

Prediction: Baka Gaijin + Friends runs a show at Shin-Kiba 1st RING.

When I wrote a preview for the “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2023” main event I compared the Baka Gaijin + Friends shows to DDT’s Beer Garden shows. There’s a warm vibe and fun atmosphere to these matches that take place in such a small venue. I think the series has become popular enough that Chris Brookes can go from 50 fans in ARENA Shimokitazawa to a triple digit attendance in Shin-Kiba 1st RING, the place where DDT hosted Beer Garden for many years. See it like Gatoh Move running ChocoPro in Ichigaya on the regular and then every once in a while they move up to a place where a full scale wrestling ring can be set up. As long as the drinks still flow the crowd will be with them all the way.

Prediction: The 2024 New Year’s Eve Shuffle Tag Tournament lasts past midnight again.

It used to be that the final show of the year in Korakuen Hall goes beyond midnight into the early hours of the new year. It hasn’t been that way for a while because of restrictions coming out of the pandemic. Unfortunately I think a reason why this year’s edition still has an early evening start is because the show is not much of a draw anymore. But I want to be proven wrong so Korakuen fans get to count down the new year in the middle of a semi-final tag team match again.

Prediction: Yuka Sakazaki gets arrested for assaulting Mickey Mouse at Disney World.

She’s your problem now, Tony!


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “10TH ANNIVERSARY PERFORMANCE ~WE ARE TJPW~” Results

December 1, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING 10TH ANNIVERSARY PERFORMANCE ~WE ARE TJPW~”, 01/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
714 Fans

1. Kaya Toribami, Toga & Runa Okubo defeated Juria Nagano, Shino Suzuki & Haru Kazashiro when Toga pinned Kazashiro with the Rock Bottom (9:12).
2. Random Official Weapon Rules: Yuki Aino & Raku defeated Hyper Misao & Mahiro Kiryu when Aino pinned Kiryu with the Venus DDT (10:58).
3. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Final: Wakana Uehara defeated HIMAWARI with the Modified Sleeper Hold (12:08).
4. Queen Of Asia Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c) defeated Viva Van with the Famouser (10:43).
*V1 for Yuki Kamifuku.
5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta (c) Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku when Kakuta pinned Harajuku with the Shiden Kai (12:13).
*V2 for Free Wi-Fi.
6. 10th Anniversary Special 10-Woman Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Yuka Sakazaki, Rika Tatsumi & Mizuki (2) defeated Miu Watanabe, Yuki Arai, Suzume, Moka Miyamoto & Arisu Endo (1).
6a. Arisu Endo (1) pinned Shoko Nakajima (0) with a School Boy (7:20).
6b. Yuka Sakazaki (1) pinned Moka Miyamoto (1) with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (13:16).
6c. Miyu Yamashita (2) pinned Miu Watanabe (1) with the Skull Kick (10:07).

On this day ten years ago Tokyo Joshi Pro held their “Flag Raising” launch show at Kitazawa Town Hall. Today the promotion was in Korakuen Hall to celebrate the 10th anniversary of that event. The headline bout was a celebration of TJPW’s current leaders and the next class that’s been chasing after them. It was a Best 2-Out-Of-3 Falls 10-Woman Tag Match with the Senior class (who all held the Princess Of Princess Title at some point) on one side against the Junior class on the other. Each participant got a moment in the spotlight by getting to do their ring entrances by themselves.

The first fall was an upset with the junior team getting one over on the seniors. Rika Tatsumi got jealous of seeing Mizuki doing teamwork with Yuka Sakazaki instead of herself. She purposely got in the way of their moves so Mizuki could do double team stuff with her instead. Shoko Nakajima took centre stage and targeted Arisu Endo but missed a 619 and was shockingly pinned by Endo with a School Boy! The crowd reacted loudly to the unexpected result while the rest of the Juniors piled on Endo to congratulate her.

The second fall had Daisy Monkey fight tooth and nail against The Magical Sugar Rabbits while Tatsumi fought Miu Watanabe in a Daydream showdown. It came down to Moka Miyamoto doing her best against Sakazaki. She gave her the Korokan but missed a Falling Chop onto the canvas. Sakazaki took advantage and pinned Miyamoto with the Magical Merry-Go-Round to even the score.

The third and final fall had both teams go all out. Yuki Arai tried to finish off Nakajima with the Rookie Award but Sakazaki cut her off and together The Miraclians gave her a Double 619. The fall was decided in the battle between Miyu Yamashita and Miu Watanabe. Yamashita was about to finish her off when Suzume rained down with the Mikazuki Meteor Shower. Nakajima got rid of her with a Topé Suicida and MagiRabi did more damage to the Juniors by doing the Toy Story 4 dives onto everyone. Watanabe kept fighting and hit Yamashita with one Double Sledgehammer Strike after another. But one too many sent Yamashita into the ropes and she rebounded with the Skull Kick to knock Watanabe down and out for the winning pinfall.

The winning team celebrated after the match. Nakajima said this might be the last time all five of them will be together but it was the best. Tatsumi told her not to say it’s the end. She’s happy she got to team up against some truly amazing people to celebrate TJPW’s 10th Anniversary. Mizuki said she is glad to have met everyone and thanked Sakazaki most of all for being here. Yamashita then invited the entire roster into the ring to join them. She said everyone who came here today loves TJPW and in its 11th year there will be more debuts and more excitement for the fans. Sakazaki then thanked the fans for supporting TJPW and the entire group closed out the show together.

Free WiFi had to defend the Princess Tag Team Titles against an unstoppable monster. And also Max The Impaler. A game of chase broke out early in the match with Pom Harajuku trying to outrun the champions. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta caught up and cut her off from both sides before taking her back down to the ring. Max evened the odds by throwing Harajuku onto Free WiFi. Harajuku then returned the favour by doing a Spinning Headscissors on her own partner to send Max slamming into Kakuta with a Cannonball onto the turnbuckle. But Pompaler missed the Wasteland War Justice, opening up a counter attack by the champs. It ended with Kakuta pinning Harajuku with the Shiden Kai for a successful title defence. Both members of Free WiFi praised each other for getting themselves through the match against such a scary opponent. They meant Max that time, not Pom. Next they want to promote themselves in America and would like to do a title defence over there if they can.

The reign of the new Queen Of Asia Champion is off to a good start. Yuki Kamifuku put the title on the line against Viva Van after taking a liking to her when they recently teamed together. While the two get along over how good looking they are, the focus soon turned to fighting as both had their eyes on the championship. Kamifuku pulled off a Superplex and applied the Manjigatame but Van powered out of it and slammed her into the turnbuckle. Kamifuku recovered though and landed the Famouser to remain champion. Van was impressed and said she couldn’t have asked for a better match to have for her first time in Korakuen Hall. Kamifuku said if there is ever an Asian 6-Woman Tag Team Title she would like to join forces with Van and one other person Charlie’s Angels style to fight for it. As for the Queen Of Asia Title, she wants to defend it in places like Thailand and the Phillipines.

The winner of the Next Generation Tournament is Wakana Uehara! She defeated HIMAWARI in dramatic fashion to win the rookie playoff. The match was built around HIMAWARI’s used of the Half Crab against Uehara’s Sleeper Hold. There were times when both women had to fight long and hard to reach for rope breaks. Uehara won out in the end when she grabbed the arm HIMAWARI reached out with and pulled it back to apply more pressure to the Sleeper Hold. It was too tight for HIMAWARI to escape from and she had to tap out. Uehara said the winner’s medal she received is now her precious treasure because this was her first tournament. She next wants to have a singles match with Shoko Nakajima because she admires her the most. HIMAWARI was upset over losing, feeling she didn’t try hard enough. She promised to do her best and avenge this loss.

TJPW decided to do their own version of a Scramble Bunkhouse Death Match. Hyper Misao, Mahiro Kiryu, Yuki Aino and Raku all had to stand in opposite ends of the venue and after a countdown they ran down to the ring. Inside the ring were four mystery boxes, each one containing an item related to one of the wrestlers. Whichever item the wrestler got, they were allowed to use it as a weapon. However they were barred from using the other weapons even though they were items that originally belonged to them. Kiryu pulled out a pillow, Misao pulled out a plastic fan with Raku’s face on it, Aino pulled out Misao’s spray can and Raku had a paper bag with a box of yokan inside. The end result was chaos after Yukinori Matsui got blinded with the spray. He then landed on the pillow and fell asleep. Raku fed Matsui the yokan to wake him up and he was all fired up to do his job! Aino won the match for her team by pinning Kiryu with the Venus DDT.

Kaya Toribami and Juria Nagano led teams of the rest of the 2023 class in the opening bout. Toga & Runa Okubo both brought power to the match with Elbow Strikes and Shoulder Blocks respectively. Shino Suzuki tried to break things up but was taken out for her troubles. Haru Kazashiro went to the well once too often with her Low Altitude Cross Body and took Toga’s big Elbow Strike to the head. Toga then dropped her with the Rock Bottom for the win.

There were newsworthy announcements spread across the show. One was the announcement that Maki Itoh will face Rina Yamashita at the Ittenyon Korakuen show on 4th January. They have fought each other before in America for GCW and this will be the first time the match takes place in Japan.

The next TJPW PPV broadcasting on Wrestle Universe will be released on 10th December. It is the first ever Aquarium Pro Wrestling match! The event was taped at Hakkeijima Sea Paradise in Yokohama.

TJPW will be joining DDT at The Collective in Philadelphia next year for Wrestlemania Week! “TJPW LIVE IN PHILLY” takes place at Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium on 5th April, 2024.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE MOUNTAIN TOP 2023” Results

November 19, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE MOUNTAIN TOP 2023”, 19/11/2023
Osaka Edion Arena #2
413 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Semi-Final: HIMAWARI defeated Shino Suzuki with the Princess Drop (8:09).
2. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Semi-Final: Wakana Uehara defeated Toga with the Modified Sleeper Hold (8:02).
3. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku defeated Hyper Misao, Mahiro Kiryu & Haru Kazashiro when Raku pinned Kazashiro with the Doctor Yellow (10:16).
4. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta defeated Yuki Kamifuku & Runa Okubo when Noa pinned Okubo with the Running Neckbreaker Drop (11:18).
5. Yuki Arai, Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Moka Miyamoto, Juria Nagano & Kaya Toribami when Arai pinned Toribami with the Finally (8:49).
6. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
7. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Short-Range Lariat (10:49).
*V2 for Max The Impaler.

It’s not often that Shoko Nakajima feels intimidated by her opponent but she admitted today was the first time she felt a little scared having to fight Max The Impaler. She had good reason to feel that way because her attacks had little effect. Max caught her on dives and when Nakajima did a Dropkick, Max fired back with one of her own. Not even the Diving Senton landing on Max’s back while they were down on the ring apron gave Nakajima the advantage for long. In the end Max caught her with the Short-Range Lariat to defend the International Princess Title for a second time.

After the match Pom Harajuku entered the ring and congratulated Max on their victory. She thinks they can win the Princess Tag Team Titles together and bring them to Osaka the next time they come back. Harajuku then played interpreter after Max roared. She explained that was just Max asking fans to come see the Tag Title match on 1st December. Backstage Nakajima said Max reminds her of the new Godzilla movie she just watched. There is a line in the movie about how you can kill Godzilla but he still won’t die. She thinks that can be applied to Max too.

The final match between The Magical Sugar Rabbits and Daydream has been on Yuka Sakazaki’s mind for months. The two teams were meant to face each other for the Princess Tag Titles back in June but Sakazaki had to pull out due to her neck injury and Mizuki fought Daydream by herself in a rare 2-Vs-1 Handicap match. Sakazaki felt responsible for putting Mizuki in that situation and wanted to make it up for her with this match. The result was the teams fighting each other to a 20 minute stalemate. Sakazaki shook hands with Rika Tatsumi afterwards and then hugged Miu Watanabe when he noticed her crying. Backstage Sakazaki said she was happy to have the match but disappointed there was no winner because she isn’t sure if there will ever be a rematch. She praised Watanabe for her growth and wants her to become a leader for Tokyo Joshi Pro. That’s how high her hopes are for her. Tatsumi is certain MagiRabi Vs Daydream will happen again someday.

Mahiro Kiryu wanted the teams in Match #3 to be changed around because she believes the trio of Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku are unbeatable. The others agreed but their solution was to all attack Kiryu to make the match 5 against 1. Kiryu used her apology spot to take back her idea and the match returned to the original teams as advertised.

The final of the Next Generation Tournament has been decided. The first portion of the show featured the two semi-finals where Wakana Uehara submitted Toga and HIMAWARI pinned Shino Suzuki. This is the first time HIMAWARI won a match by pinfall.

Uehara pointed out she and HIMAWARI debuted on the same day so they are often compared to each other by people around them. HIMAWARI still remembers losing to Uehara by submission in their previous singles match together. She wants to get revenge for that.

Production of Hyper Misao’s replacement superbike the Hypami Go will soon begin. However Misao needs to use a crowdfunding site to afford it and will start up a campaign soon. She told fans the more support she gets the more powerful the bike will be.


Sakazaki’s Graduation, Viva Van Coming To TJPW, Slamovich Gets Princess Title Shot At Ittenyon

November 6, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE MOUNTAIN TOP 2023”, 19/11/2023
Osaka Edion Arena #2

1. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Semi-Final: Shino Suzuki Vs HIMAWARI
2. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Semi-Final: Wakana Uehara Vs Toga
3. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
4. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima

Later this week Max The Impaler will be defending the International Princess Title in England for EVE. Should they remain the champion then their next defence after that will be against Shoko Nakajima back in Japan. Nakajima was the last woman standing in a Battle Royal to become the No. 1 Contender.

There’s only a few matches left for Yuka Sakazaki before she graduates from Tokyo Joshi Pro. The next one is what could be the last meeting of The Magical Sugar Rabbits and Daydream. The two teams were meant to face each other for the Princess Tag Team Titles back in June but Sakazaki’s neck injury prevented it from happening. Sakazaki said her neck is back in perfect condition so she can fight with all of her heart for her remaining matches. She wants to do the match with Daydream before she goes so it is happening in Osaka.

Both HIMAWARI and Toga made it to the next round of the Next Generation Tournament. It’s now between them, Shino Suzuki and Wakana Uehara in the race to the final being held next month.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO WILL IMPRESS YOU ’23”, 23/11/2023
Kanagawa Tsurumi Fruit & Vegetable Market

1. X Vs X

TJPW are putting together a variety show at the Tsurumi Fruit & Vegetable Market. Several guests on the show include Super Sasadango Machine, Antonio Honda, Yumehito Imanari, the Bed In idols and making her return to ring announcing for one day only, Minami Momichi!

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~NAGOYA IPPONJIME~”, 26/11/2023
Aichi NGK Sports Plaza 3rd Stadium

1. Viva Van Vs X

The final week of November features the TJPW debut of Viva Van! The Vietnamese-American wrestler is nickname “The Hellbent Vixen” and she has five years of in-ring experience.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING 10TH ANNIVERSARY PERFORMANCE ~WE ARE TJPW~”, 01/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Final: X Vs X
2. 10th Anniversary Special 10-Woman Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Yuka Sakazaki, Rika Tatsumi & Mizuki Vs Miu Watanabe, Yuki Arai, Suzume, Moka Miyamoto & Arisu Endo

A big battle between generations has been added to the 10th Anniversary show. The five Princess Of Princess Champions who are still active with TJPW are all teaming up. It’s up to the team of future main eventers to do their best against TJPW’s top five!

Max The Impaler, Viva Van and Juria Nagano will all be on the show.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING 10TH ANNIVERSARY PERFORMANCE ~YUKA SAKAZAKI GRADUATION SPECIAL~”, 06/12/2023
Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall

1. Yuka Sakazaki Graduation Match: Yuka Sakazaki Vs X

Now that Sakazaki is back in action and making up for lost time, her graduation from TJPW has been pushed back a couple of days. Her final match as a member of the promotion takes place on a special show in Kitazawa Town Hall, the same venue of TJPW’s launch show from ten years ago.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly

The ten women from the regular TJPW roster who will be on the show have all been announced. They are Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh, Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta, Mizuki, Rika Tatsumi, Shoko Nakajima, Miu Watanabe, Pom Harajuku and Moka Miyamoto.

The international wrestlers booked for the show so far are Masha Slamovich, Killer Kelly, Taya Valkyrie and Sandra Moone. More talent is to be announced.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’24”, 04/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Masha Slamovich

Yamashita’s next challenger is one she has become familiar with on her travels over the last two years. Masha Slamovich returns to Japan and is getting a shot at the Princess Title on 4th January! She and Yamashita are currently 1-1 in singles matches against each other. Ittenyon is just the right time and place to have the rubber match.

Max The Impaler will be on the show too.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW INSPIRATION”, 06/01/2024
Shinjuku FACE

1. Death Match: Masha Slamovich Vs Hikari Noa

Slamovich has another date with danger during her stay with TJPW. She will be part of the next “TJPW INSPIRATION” taking on Hikari Noa in a Death Match! What kind of Death Match it will be has not been decided yet but Noa really liked how violent her last one went against Sawyer Wreck.

There will be four matches scheduled and Max The Impaler will be in one of them.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~SAKI AKAI TJPW LAST PARTICIPATION~” Results

November 3, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~SAKI AKAI TJPW LAST PARTICIPATION~”, 03/11/2023
Shinjuku FACE
500 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Round 1: HIMAWARI defeated Haru Kazashiro with a Half Crab Hold (8:54).
2. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Round 1: Toga defeated Runa Okubo with the Modified Rock Bottom (6:12).
3. Miyu Yamashita, Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta defeated Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku when Yamashita pinned Harajuku with the Attitude Adjustment (11:44).
4. Miu Watanabe, Moka Miyamoto & Shino Suzuki defeated Mahiro Kiryu, Kaya Toribami & Wakana Uehara when Watanabe pinned Uehara with the Tear Drop (9:56).
5. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki defeated Suzume & Arisu Endo when Sakazaki pinned Endo with the Magical Girl Splash (11:48).
6. Saki Akai TJPW Last Match: Saki Akai & Yuki Kamifuku defeated Rika Tatsumi & Hyper Misao when Akai pinned Misao with the Quetzalcoatl (15:56).
7. Special Match – Saki Akai Vs Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling ~ 1 Vs 23: Saki Akai defeated Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki, Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe, Hyper Misao, Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu, Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta, Yuki Aino, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Suzume, Arisu Endo, Moka Miyamoto, Kaya Toribami, Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI, Toga, Shino Suzuki, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo when Akai submitted Misao with the Triangle Choke (5:50).

Saki Akai’s busy weekend ended with her final match in Tokyo Joshi Pro. The match went ahead as Akai teaming with Yuki Kamifuku to take on Rika Tatsumi & Hyper Misao. Akai’s opponents walked out wearing protest gear and carrying signs calling themselves the National Federation To Prevent Saki Akai From Retiring. They attacked Akai with the signboards and Misao even tried to use the Quetzalcoatl on her. Kamifuku even the odds but the match came down to Akai and Misao. The match was so important that Misao pulled out the Vanitas. But Akai turned things around and won the match by using the Quetzalcoatl.

Tatsumi didn’t want the match to end and she told Akai there are still loads of wrestlers in TJPW she hasn’t fought yet. She then came up with an idea for Akai to take on the entire TJPW roster immediately! Akai refused, explaining she is tired from just wrestling a match now as well as from her DDT match earlier today. Tatsumi slapped some sense into Akai and suddenly she agreed. It was now going to be Akai against 23 TJPW wrestlers as her final match in the promotion!

Actually, there were more than 23 members of the TJPW team that got involved in the match. During a train attack set up by the entire roster on Akai, graduates Akane Miura and Nodoka Tenma joined in and got their hits in. Tetsuya Koda was also dragged into the attack but Akai blocked him with a Big Boot and then Penalty Kicked him in the back. Akai was then confronted by Miyu Yamashita for a quick preview of Akai’s retirement match on 12th November. Misao tricked Akai into reading a heartfelt letter she wrote so she could roll her up for a pin but Akai countered it into a Triangle Choke to make Misao give up.

After the match Misao thanked Akai for letting everyone in TJPW show their feelings for her. Akai told all of the roster to be strong, noble and beautiful so they can show TJPW to the entire world. She took a group photo with everyone (including the injured Haruna Neko) but purposely avoided giving Yamashita a hug. They will be wrestling each other one last time pretty soon so they did a fist bump instead.

Yuka Sakazaki has a lot of catching up to do on her road to graduation. But there’s only so many matches left for her and Mizuki to be together as The Magical Sugar Rabbits. Today they fought Daisy Monkey and beat them thanks to Sakazaki pinning Arisu Endo with the Magical Merry-Go-Round. There will be two more matches left for MagiRabi together as a team. Sakazaki does not want to treat them lightly although she was quick to point out this does not mean the team is splitting up. Suzume calls MagiRabi a tag team she always admired and wanted to beat. She thinks it is because of them that Daisy Monkey was able to grow this far.

The opening round of the Next Generation Tournament took place in the first two matches. Toga was met with a strong defence from Runa Okubo. She was knocked off her feet often but dropped her opponent with the Rock Bottom to win. Okubo didn’t want to lose but she now supports Toga to go and win the tournament so next time they fight, Okubo will beat her. Toga will now face Wakana Uehara in Round 2. Uehara beat her the last time they had a singles match together. Toga promised to show all of her potential to win the rematch.

The other 1st Round match ended with HIMAWARI beating Haru Kazashiro by submission. She wasn’t able to lock in the Half Crab first time around but eventually applied it right to get the win. Kazashiro admitted she cannot compete with HIMAWARI so she’ll just have to keep practicing until she can beat her. HIMAWARI said she couldn’t afford to lose. She faces Shino Suzuki in the next round and is confident she will beat her because she has already done it before.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’23” Results

October 27, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’23”, 27/10/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
686 Fans

1. Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI & Runa Okubo defeated Toga, Shino Suzuki & Haru Kazashiro when HIMAWARI submitted Kazashiro with a Half Crab Hold (10:06).
2. Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino defeated Maki Itoh & Kaya Toribami when Aino pinned Toribami with the Venus DDT (12:54).
3. International Princess Title Next Challenger 8-Woman Battle Royal: Shoko Nakajima defeated Raku with the Locomotion Northern Lights Suplex (17:53)
Order Of Elimination: Mahiro Kiryu, Suzume, Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe, Arisu Endo, Yuki Kamifuku and Raku.
4. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki defeated Hyper Misao & Pom Harajuku when Sakazaki pinned Harajuku with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (10:15)
5. Saki Akai defeated Yuki Arai with the Quetzalcoatl (13:30).
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta (c) defeated Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano when Noa pinned Nagano with the Blizzard Suplex (14:36).
*V1 for Free Wi-Fi.
7. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Regina with the Crash Rabbit Heat (12:40).
*V1 for Miyu Yamashita.

A new championship reign for Miyu Yamashita begun with a brand new opponent for her. Regina has spent the last couple of weeks touring with Tokyo Joshi Pro but did not have a chance to wrestle Yamashita until today’s main event. The wrestler from Finland attacked Yamashita from the start and yet her aggressive battle plan didn’t throw Yamashita off her game. That was even when Regina threw Yamashita into the front row of chairs at ringside and injured her knee. Yamashita found a chance to hit it big when she was able to carry Regina in the Attitude Adjustment position but that failed and Regina hit the Finnish. However Yamashita kicked out, gave Regina a German Suplex, knocked her down with the Skull Kick and won with the Crash Rabbit Heat. She offered a handshake after the match but Regina spat at her hand and walked off.

Backstage after the show Yamashita said Regina was a good opponent to put the Princess Of Princess Title on the line against because she is big, strong and a champion in her own country. However she didn’t like how Regina rejected her handshake. It makes Yamashita want to go visit Finland so she can kick Regina’s ass again, then visit a sauna and go meet Moomin. Regina explained her actions, saying she thought she was going to win. She admits Yamashita is good for a Japanese wrestler but not enough to deserve a handshake from her.

The other title defence on the show was also a successful V1 result for the champions. Free WiFi put the belts on the line against Shinken Kusho, the newly named team of Karate fighters. The 5G was used to take Moka Miyamoto out of the equation and Hikari Noa took on the responsibility of finishing off Juria Nagano. The Thrust Kick found its mark and Noa pinned Nagano with the Blizzard Suplex. She said there was no way they would lose today because she could feel how strong their WiFi signal was. But she and Nao Kakuta admitted they could see strong radio waves coming from Shinken Kusho. Miyamoto said she doesn’t want to end her team with Nagano here so they will get stronger to earn another title shot. Nagano said she was nervous because it was her first title match. She has regrets over the mistakes she made but understands it was good experience too.

For the first and last time ever Reiwa AA Cannon fought each other in a singles match. Yuki Arai got to put out everything she learned from teaming with Saki Akai against her in her only chance to surpass her partner. She came close to winning by hitting her own version of the Rookie Award followed by the Finally for a nearfall. Akai fought back with the authentic Rookie Award and got to win with the Qetzalcoatl. Akai thanked Arai afterwards for being her final singles opponent in Korakuen Hall. The next time she will step foot inside the building will be as a fan in the audience. She’s experienced a lot and encouraged Arai by telling her there will be many new experiences for her in the future including from people she has never met before. There will be setbacks and even times that will break Arai’s heart but Arai reminded her she has many friends who support her including herself.

After being on the shelf since the summer began Yuka Sakazaki made it back to action today, kicking off her graduation tour with Mizuki by her side. The Magical Sugar Rabbits were met with Hyper Misao and Pom Harajuku who were both dressed for a welcome back party. They gave Sakazaki a cake as a gift but it was just so they could shove it in Sakazaki’s face! The Magical Sugar Rabbits fought back by spraying silly string at their opponents. Sakazaki showed she was back in physical form by using the Magical Merry-Go-Round to pin Harajuku. She was happy with how her return went and wants to enjoy every moment of her final matches in TJPW.

A small-scale Rumble match was used to determine the No. 1 Contender for the International Princess Title. The champion Max The Impaler is currently away from Japan and has a scheduled title defence for EVE in England next month. This match here was to decide the next challenger after that. Mahiro Kiryu was the first elimination when she was the main victim of a Camel Clutch chain that involved all of the wrestlers in the match. Miu Watanabe then eliminated Suzume with the Tear Drop. Daydream fell apart when Rika Tatsumi decided to choke Watanabe. Their infighting cause them to fall over the top rope onto the apron and then both get knocked to the floor for a double elimination. Yuki Kamifuku pinned Arisu Endo with the Famouser and then everybody thought the match ended when Shoko Nakajima pinned Kamifuku with a Hurricanrana. That was until Raku got into the ring after briefly disappearing from view. She tried to pin Nakajima with a surprise attack but Nakajima fought back and pinned her with the Locomotion Northern Lights Suplex. Nakajima admitted she had enough luck to win and wants to make the most of her opportunity when she gets her title shot on 19th November.

Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino were feeling the Halloween spirit when Mizunami walked out wearing pumpkin headwear. She then made Yukinori Matsui wear it briefly. The team seems to be catching on because this time Aino scored the win by pinning Kaya Toribami with the Venus DDT. It is something Mizunami said she wants to build even further. Maki Itoh said it’s been two years since she last fought Mizunami. That happened in America when they were both in AEW. She respects Mizunami because of that history and wished she could have expressed her feelings even more to her in the ring.

A preview of the Next Generation Tournament was the first match on the show. In the end it was HIMAWARI who submitted Haru Kazashiro to win for her team. She hopes the result will move her up to the next gear just in time for the tournament to begin. Wakana Uehara pointed out she may have to fight HIMAWARI in the bracket but if they do she knows she will beat her. Runa Okubo is concerned to fight Toga because her Elbow Strikes looked stronger than everyone else’s. Shino Suzuki thinks she is feeling left behind and decided that she won’t be anymore starting right now!


Next Generation Tournament ’23 Brackets

October 23, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~SAKI AKAI TJPW LAST PARTICIPATION~”, 03/11/2023
Shinjuku FACE

1. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Round 1A: Haru Kazashiro Vs HIMAWARI
2. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Round 1B: Toga Vs Runa Okubo
3. Saki Akai TJPW Last Match: Saki Akai & Yuki Kamifuku Vs Rika Tatsumi & Hyper Misao

The bracket for the Next Generation Tournament ’23 have been decided. Round 1 will feature Haru Kazashiro Vs HIMAWARI and Toga Vs Runa Okubo.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE MOUNTAIN TOP 2023”, 19/11/2023
Osaka Edion Arena #2

1. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Semi-Final: Shino Suzuki Vs Winner Of Match 1A
2. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Semi-Final: Wakana Uehara Vs Winner Of Match 1B
3. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) Vs Winner Of 27/10 Battle Royal

Both Shino Suzuki and Wakana Uehara get byes into the semi-final.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING 10TH ANNIVERSARY PERFORMANCE ~WE ARE TJPW~”, 01/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Final: X Vs X

The final takes place at Tokyo Joshi Pro’s 10th Anniversary show.


Next Generation Tournament ’23

October 16, 2023

To help build up towards Tokyo Joshi Pro’s 10th anniversary of their launch show in December, a Next Generation Tournament will be held featuring all of the TJPW wrestlers who debuted this year. HIMAWARI, Wakana Uehara, Shino Suzuki, Toga, Haru Kazashiro and Runa Okubo are all part of the 2023 Class. The bracket will be fully revealed on a later date.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~SAKI AKAI TJPW LAST PARTICIPATION~”, 03/11/2023
Shinjuku FACE

1. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Round 1A: X Vs X
2. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Round 1B: X Vs X
3. Saki Akai TJPW Last Match: Saki Akai & Yuki Kamifuku Vs Rika Tatsumi & Hyper Misao

———————————————————————–

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE MOUNTAIN TOP 2023”, 19/11/2023
Osaka Edion Arena #2

1. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Semi-Final: X Vs Winner Of Match 1A
2. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Semi-Final: X Vs Winner Of Match 1B

———————————————————————–

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING 10TH ANNIVERSARY PERFORMANCE ~WE ARE TJPW~”, 01/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Final: X Vs X


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~SHINAGAWA PERFORMANCE~” Results

October 15, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~SHINAGAWA PERFORMANCE~”, 15/10/2023
Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX
286 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Yuki Arai defeated Shino Suzuki with the Sasori-Katame (6:52).
2. Hyper Misao & Raku defeated Mahiro Kiryu & Toga when Raku pinned Toga with the Hurricane Turn (7:28).
3. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Yuki Kamifuku & Runa Okubo when Endo submitted Okubo with the Camel Clutch (8:11).
4. Maki Itoh defeated HIMAWARI with the Itoh Punish (8:39).
5. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta defeated Moka Miyamoto & Haru Kazashiro when Kakuta pinned Kazashiro with the Shiden Kai (10:51).
6. Rika Tatsumi defeated Wakana Uehara with a Figure 4 Leg Lock (9:53).
7. Max The Impaler, Yuki Aino & Pom Harajuku defeated Shoko Nakajima, Mizuki & Kaya Toribami when Max pinned Toribami with the Lariat (13:00).

Max The Impaler is looking for their first challenger for the International Princess Title. Maybe it might be Yuki Aino or Pom Harajuku who both sported little bits of warpaint across their cheeks while they teamed with Max today. It was announced at the start of the show that a Battle Royal will take place at Korakuen Hall on 27th October to determine the No. 1 Contender for IP Title. The winner will face Max for the title in Osaka on 19th November.

In a preview of the Princess Tag Team Titles match on 27th October, Free WiFi defeated Moka Miyamoto but Moka was without Juria Nagano today. She was teaming with Haru Kazashiro instead and it was the rookie who took the fall. Miyamoto believes that she can definitely beat Free WiFi with Nagano by her side.

The 2023 Class of Tokyo Joshi Pro will be put into a rookies tournament this November. The Next Generation Tournament ’23 will begin on 3rd November with two opening round matches, move onto the semi-finals on the 19th and then hold the final on 1st December. The six wrestlers who all debuted in TJPW this year will be taking part. That’s HIMAWARI, Wakana Uehara, Shino Suzuki, Toga, Haru Kazashiro and Runa Okubo for those not keeping track.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS IV” Results

October 9, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS IV”, 09/10/2023
Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe
868 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Runa Okubo defeated Haru Kazashiro with a Half Crab Hold (5:16).
2. Arisu Endo, Kaya Toribami & HIMAWARI defeated HARUKAZE, Yoshiko Hasegawa & Riara when Endo submitted Hasegawa with the Camel Clutch (12:07).
3. Moka Miyamoto defeated Juria Nagano with the Korokan (6:28).
4. Aja Kong, Raku & Shino Suzuki defeated Hyper Misao, Wakana Uehara & Toga when Kong pinned Uehara with a Back Drop (11:04).
5. Miu Watanabe & Yuki Arai defeated Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino when Arai pinned Aino with the Finally (13:10).
6. Sakisama, Mei Saint-Michel, Martha & Yukio Saint Laurent defeated Shoko Nakajima, Suzume, Pom Harajuku & Antonio Honda when Sakisama pinned Harajuku with the Academy Award (14:45).
7. Special Single Match: Nyla Rose defeated Maki Itoh with the Beast Bomb (12:20).
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta defeated Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu when Kakuta pinned Kiryu with the Shiden Kai (13:37).
*Free WiFi becomes the 14th Princess Tag Team Champions!
9. International Princess Title & NWA World Women’s Television Title: Max The Impaler (N/c) defeated Rika Tatsumi (I/c) with the Short-Range Lariat (15:19).
*V3 for Max The Impaler. Rika Tatsumi fails in V5. Max The Impaler becomes the 11th International Princess Champion!
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita defeated Mizuki (c) with the Crash Rabbit Heat (21:24).
*Mizuki fails in V4. Miyu Yamashita becomes the 13th Princess Of Princess Champion!

For the fourth time Miyu Yamashita has become the Princess Of Princess Champion! She was able to toughen out Mizuki’s Face Lock, Cutie Special and also the Whirling Candy as well as several Diving Foot Stomps. Mizuki also showed her determination by kicking out of the Skull Kick. Yamashita kept focus and landed a High Kick before finishing Mizuki off with the Crash Rabbit Heat. Yamashita wanted to shake Mizuki’s hand after the match but Mizuki hugged her instead. The title win makes Yamashita a worldwide triple crown champion! She now holds singles championships from Japan, Britain (EVE) and America (SPARK). Yamashita got on the microphone and said the belt still feels as extremely heavy as it did the previous times she won it. The reason she’s been able to have this success for the last decade is because she is strong but Mizuki is why the belt shines as bright as it does right now. She closed out the show by telling the fans not to set their own limits.

Backstage she repeated her praise for Mizuki, saying this match was the motivation that kept Yamashita going while she was wrestling in America for three months. She wants to defend the Princess Title overseas but also anticipates defending against wrestlers from around the world within Tokyo Joshi Pro. Mizuki said she couldn’t help but feel scared when she lost the match but so many fans in the audience and wrestlers backstage showed their support for her when it was over. It was another reminder of how blessed she is and it gives her another reason to become stronger. If she gets a chance she wants to win the title back but she realises there are more things she can do than just win belts. She’ll continue to be herself because she wants to become everyone’s princess forever.

A double championship match was in the semi-main event position, marking the first time in 8 and a half years an NWA championship was defended in Japan. Max The Impaler defeated Rika Tatsumi not only to retain the NWA Women’s TV Title but win the International Princess Title too! Max threw Tatsumi around the ring a lot early so Tatsumi came up with a plan. When they were both outside the ring Tatsumi threw some of the other wrestlers at Max! Miu Watanabe was easily knocked aside, Pom Harajuku was safely stopped in her place and Wakana Uehara was thrown right back at Tatsumi. Back in the ring Tatsumi changed tactics to target Max’s knee. It seemed to have paid off when Max favoured the knee after giving her opponent a Backbreaker. Tatsumi wore down Max and applied the Dragon Sleeper but it was power countered into a Fire Thunder Driver. Max then fired Lariats at Tatsumi until they got the 3 count. Max showed enough respect to shake Tatsumi’s hand after the match. Tatsumi is speechless by the result because she will now have to start her defence road all over again. She wants Max to hold onto the title so she can get revenge by winning it back from them.

The alleged curses that’s been following Free WiFi have now been extinguished because they are the new Princess Tag Team Champions! The vacant titles were on the line when Free WiFi took on Toyo Mates with both sides fighting to win the belts for the first time. Mahiro Kiryu tried to apologise for “disconnecting” Free WiFi but her opponents cut her off. Hikari Noa avoided the Famouser from Yuki Kamifuku and got rid of her with the Blizzard Suplex. Free WiFi then gave Kiryu the 5G and Nao Kakuta tried to use the Shiden Kai. Kiryu struggled to break out but Kakuta eventually hit the move for the victory. The title win means Kakuta can finally get rid of her “Uncrowned Queen” nickname while Noa is rewarded for being in a tag team that has not split up over time. Kamifuku said she hates that Toyo Mates have not been able to get good results despite being together for so long. She thinks if they take seperate paths she will be able to beat Aja Kong while Kiryu can go on to beat Miyu Yamashita. They can then reunite and use their massively increased salary to fund different improvements for Toyo University.

A little bit of AEW action was in the undercard when Maki Itoh faced off against Nyla Rose. Itoh was in trouble after taking a Power Bomb but she dodged Rose’s Diving Guillotine Knee Drop and stunned her with the Kokeshi Headbutt. Itoh caused more damage with a Swinging DDT but made the mistake of missing the Flying Big Head. Rose quickly took advantage and used the Beast Bomb to put Itoh away. Rose said Itoh has a hard head and thinks the expression “hard-headed” came from her. She sees similarities between herself and Itoh but admits Itoh is cuter. Itoh said she will do her best to beat Rose next time and this is to be continued.

Speculation over NEO Biishiki-gun’s future in TJPW spread across the fanbase leading into the show. The main four figureheads of the group gathered together once more to battle a ragtag bunch of misfits led by Shoko Nakajima. One of those misfits was Antonio Honda and he took the weirdest punishment by taking an injection in the backside from Yukio Saint Laurent. That injection turned out to be an unintentional energy boost, sending NEO Biishiki-gun packing until he tripped on the ropes before a dive. NEO Biishiki-gun regrouped to one by one take out the opposition. Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel gave Nakajima the Tarte Tatin, Martha used her mop to stretch out Suzume and Saint Laurent tortured Honda some more. All that was left to do was for Sakisama to pin Pom Harajuku with the Academy Award.

After the match Sakisama spoke about NEO Biishiki-gun’s victory. She said she is done shining a light in TJPW and it is time for her to shine the light somewhere else. She is always travelling around the world but this time she is bringing the rest of NEO Biishiki-gun along with her. She told the audience that whenever they see a red rose, she wants them to think of her. All four members bowed and left the ring, perhaps for the final time.

Yuki Arai’s pro wrestling career has now introduced her to Ryo Mizunami. The two of them started off their tag match against each other with Arai taking the full brunt of the veteran’s attacks. Miu Watanabe kept things level by matching her power with Mizunami’s. That meant Arai now had to focus on Yuki Aino who has become a regular opponent of her’s. The Venus DDT only got Aino a 2 count and Arai slipped out of the UBV. She hit Aino from behind with the Finally to the back of the head. Arai then hit another Finally from the front to win the match. Watanabe praised her tag partner’s performance, describing her like a flower blooming from another flower. Mizunami also recognised the passion coming from Arai just for taking her Chops alone.

Hyper Misao has not forgotten about Aja Kong destroying the Hyper Cycle back at “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’23” in July. She declared she would get revenge today by defeating Kong directly. Although Misao was able to blind Kong with spray at the beginning, she wasn’t able to achieve her goal. Instead Kong performed the Oyasumi Express with Raku on top of poor Toga and then turn her attention to Wakana Uehara. Misao had brought up Uehara’s harsh experience of training with Kong on the Yume Pro Wrestling show last year. Today was Uehara’s chance to show her worth. She wore down Kong with the Sleeper Hold and avoided the Vertical Drop Brainbuster but Kong grabbed her in the Back Drop and that was all she needed to win. She then encouraged Uehara to slap her across the face after the match. Uehara did so and Kong pushed her back down.

In a match between two karate fighters, Moka Miyamoto came out on top against Juria Nagano. During the match Nagano got to show off a little bit of submission work by countering the Rashomon into an Arm Lock. When it came to strikes though, Miyamoto got the winning exchange by dodging the Hurricane Kick and hitting the Zero-Sen Kick in return. She then pinned Nagano with the Korokan. Miyamoto said she thinks she knows Nagano the best and could sense how much she has grown. For that reason she wants to continue teaming with Nagano and together fight for the Princess Tag Team Titles. Nagano likes the idea and agreed to go that direction next. Free WiFi accepted the challenge when they found out about it.

The last time TJPW fought against Ganbare☆Joshi in a multi-woman tag match was at “GRAND PRINCESS ’22” where they lost to the visiting team. This time however the TJPW team were victorious. Riara dealt the first blow by putting Arisu Endo in the Paradise Lock and getting the rest of the team to pose a toast over her. HIMAWARI reversed fortunes and Kaya Toribami did a number on Riara until HARUKAZE came in with the Spear Of Fire. Yoshiko Hasegawa tried her best to finish off Endo but Endo turned the tables and made Hasegawa submit to the Camel Clutch.

The first match of the day was between the two youngest members of TJPW’s active roster, both only six months into their wrestling careers. Runa Okubo scored the first win in her career by making Haru Kazashiro submit to a Half Crab Hold. Okubo said she doesn’t want anybody looking down on her. It will make her happy if she wins and make people think she is strong. Although Kazashiro was upset to lose she is still happy she got to wrestle Okubo in a singles match today because they train together. She has no choice but to look ahead and do her best so she can beat Okubo some day.

The first couple of big events for 2024 were announced during the show. The 9th annual Ittenyon is at Korakuen Hall on 4th January. The “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament begins in January and the final is taking place at Korakuen on 10th February. “GRAND PRINCESS ’24” will be held in Sumo Hall on 31st March. It will be the second time the event takes place there.

“The Nordic Monster” Regina will make her TJPW debut later this month. Regina is from Fight Club Finland and is currently the FCF Finnish Heavyweight Champion over there. She is wrestling in Aizuwakamatsu on the 20th, Sendai on the 21st and Korakuen on the 27th.

Yuki Arai, Moka Miyamoto & Shino Suzuki Vs Suzume, Arisu Endo & Wakana Uehara is the TJPW Offer Match booked for DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2023” at Sumo Hall on 12th November.