Event: Tokyo Joshi Pro “Tokyo Princess Cup 2021”
Dates: July 22nd to August 15th, 2021
Broadcast: Streamed on Wrestle Universe

Just about every major promotion in Japan has a marquee tournament that takes place each year and Tokyo Joshi Pro is no different. Every year, generally in late Spring to Summer, the Tokyo Princess Cup takes place with the top wrestlers (or in the case of this year, almost every wrestler) in the promotion taking part. The Tokyo Princess Cup uses the “Knockout” system, meaning it is a single elimination tournament. This year is the biggest year yet, with 23 participants! As that is clearly an odd number, some wrestlers received an automatic bye into the second round if they drew a lucky number. The bracket can be found above, here are all the participants:

• Arisu Endo
• Haruna Neko
• Hikari Noa
• Hyper Misao
• Kaya Toribami
• Mahiro Kiryu
• Maki Itoh
• Marika Kobashi
• Mirai Maiumi
• Miu Watanabe
• Miyu Yamashita
• Mizuki (2019 and 2020 Winner)
• Moka Miyamoto
• Nao Kakuta
• Nodoka Tenma
• Pom Harajuku
• Raku
• Rika Tatsumi
• Shoko Nakajima (2015 Winner)
• Suzume
• Yuki Aino
• Yuki Arai
• Yuki Kamifuku

You can click on the wrestler’s name above to go to their profile on Joshi City, I will be updating their profiles as well over the next month. The only TJPW wrestlers missing are Yuka Sakazaki and Sakisama, so its a pretty complete showing. Instead of reviewing the full events that contained tournament matches, I will strictly be reviewing the tournament matches themselves and then will evaluate the tournament as a whole once it completes on August 15th. Let’s get started!

First Round

Date: July 22nd, 2021
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 142

Here are the tournament matches on this event:

• Round 1: Arisu Endo vs. Mahiro Kiryu
• Round 1: Moka Miyamoto vs. Raku
• Round 1: Mirai Maiumi vs. Pom Harajuku
• Round 1: Miyu Yamashita vs. Nao Kakuta

Arisu Endo vs. Mahiro Kiryu

They trade holds to start and trade wristlocks, they end up on the mat but quickly reach a stalemate and return to their feet. Headlock by Arisu but Mahiro Irish whips out of it, elbows by Arisu and she delivers a dropkick for two. Arisu goes for a sleeper but Mahiro elbows out of it, stomps by Mahiro and she throws Arisu into the corner. Irish whip by Mahiro and she hits a running elbow in the corner before covering Arisu for two. Stomps by Mahiro and she goes for a slam, but Arisu blocks it and hits an elbow. Mahiro delivers the scoop slam on her next attempt, sleeper by Mahiro but Arisu gets to the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Mahiro but Arisu dropkicks her, more dropkicks by Arisu and she elbows Mahiro into the corner. Dropkick by Arisu and she drives Mahiro’s head into the mat with her knee for a two count. Arisu goes off the ropes but Mahiro avoids her kneedrop, dropkick by Mahiro and she puts Arisu in a crab hold. Arisu gets to the ropes again, Mahiro picks her up but Arisu elbows her and the two trade blows. Knee by Mahiro but Arisu boots her back and hits a missile dropkick off the second turnbuckle for two. Camel Clutch by Arisu but Mahiro gets the break, kneedrop by Arisu and she covers Mahiro for a two count. Elbows by Arisu but Mahiro catches her with a backbreaker, but Arisu avoids the elbow drop attempt and puts Mahiro back in the Camel Clutch. Mahiro gets out of the hold and hits an elbow drop, Irish whip by Mahiro and she delivers a spinebuster for the three count! Mahiro Kiryu wins and advances in the tournament.

This was ok but a little clunky at times. Arisu of course I’ll give a pass for having some moves that didn’t look very crisp, she’s still new, but Mahiro two years into her career wasn’t as fluid as one may hope. She wasn’t bad (nor was Arisu), and they both seem to have the basics down, but the elbows and dropkicks didn’t have a lot of impact so it came across as a very “rookie” style match. Maybe Mahiro turns it on against higher ranking opponents, hopefully we’ll find out in the next round or two. Not a bad match but nothing memorable.

Moka Miyamoto vs. Raku

They tie-up to start before getting into a fast exchange, Raku gets Moka to the mat and steps over her a few times before sitting on her chest for a two count. Raku picks up Moka but Moka throws her into the corner and hits a series of elbows. Raku avoids her charge and hits an elbow of her own before taking her around the ring and slamming her into each turnbuckle. Snapmare by Raku and she stands on Moka near the ropes, Raku hopes on Moka’s back and cradles her for a two count cover. Irish whip attempt by Raku but Moka blocks it, she finally gets Moka going but Moka catches her with a scoop slam. Elbows by Moka and she chops Raku in the chest, she throws Raku into the corner and hits a running elbow. Scoop slam by Moka and she covers Raku for two. Moka goes for another slam but Raku slides away and delivers a Side Russian Leg Sweep for a two count. Sleeper by Raku, but Moka drives her into the corner to break up the hold. Running elbow by Moka but Raku chops her in the throat before slamming her head into the mat. Raku gets on the second turnbuckle but Moka blocks her chop and clubs her in the back of the head. Moka applies a stretch hold but Raku gets out of it, Irish whip by Moka and she delivers a dropkick for two. Moka picks up Raku but Raku pushes her off and hits a Sling Blade. Raku waits for Moka to get up and connects with the Dr. Yellow (running neckbreaker), and she picks up the three count! Raku wins and advances in the tournament.

This was wrestled as a straight match, which is good, but I can’t see a lot of long-term potential for either of these two down the road. Nothing here was awkward or messed up but a lot of little things didn’t really connect well – the dropkicks were lackluster, the strikes didn’t pop, and even Raku’s finisher didn’t look like a finisher. Moka has been wrestling for a year now but nothing about her really jumps out, I’m sure she functions well as the “fall wrestler” in a tag match but she still seems a good ways away from getting a push of her own. A step down from the last match, it wasn’t unwatchable but it was utterly skippable.

Mirai Maiumi vs. Pom Harajuku

Pom immediately rolls up Mirai for two as the bell rings, she bites Mirai’s arm before kicking her in the shin. Snapmare by Pom and she clubs on Mirai’s chest, quick cover but it gets two. Irish whip by Pom but Mirai reverses it, Pom goes into a roll into a headscissors but Mirai blocks it. Pom manages to apply the spinning headscissors anyway, kick by Pom and she hits an armdrag out of the corner. Pom goes for Mirai’s leg but Mirai quickly gets to the ropes, Pom tries to kick Mirai’s legs but Mirai climbs the turnbuckle to get away. That doesn’t work as Pom punches her anyway and flings her to the mat before applying a leg submission hold. Mirai gets to the ropes for the break, Pom picks her up but Mirai blocks the Irish whip. Scoop slam by Mirai, she picks up Pom and gets her to the mat before hitting a series of shoulderblocks.

Mirai clubs on Pom’s chest and stomps her, she throws Pom into the corner and hits a running elbow. Mirai charges Pom but Pom ducks out of the way, she goes off the ropes but Mirai levels her with a shoulderblock. Mirai picks up Pom and hits a scoop slam, another slam by Mirai and she covers Pom for two. Back up, the two trade strikes until Pom kicks Mirai in the lower leg. Leg drop to the leg by Pom, she goes off the ropes and dropkicks Mirai in the chest. Pom waits for Mirai to get up and knocks her into the corner, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Mirai elbows her before she can jump off. Mirai grabs Pom but Pom gets away, boot by Pom but Mirai connects with a back elbow. Running lariat by Mirai and she hits a short-range one for a two count. Mirai picks up Pom but Pom wiggles away and cradles her for two. Mirai applies the Miramare (modified armlock), Pom struggles for a moment but has to submit! Mirai Maiumi is the winner and advances in the tournament.

Even though this match was pretty basic, at least it had a story and Mirai is the most impressive wrestler we have seen so far. Mirai’s offense was really simple, lots of scoop slams and shoulderblocks, but at least she looked convincing while doing them. Pom’s lower leg based offense seemed silly at first but she was so persistent with it that I have to respect it. The match felt like it ended too suddenly as Mirai hadn’t really done anything of note to weaken the arm, I’d rather the match ended on one of her strong lariats then on a submission hold that wasn’t built up to. Still, a solid match that just could have used a little more time and an ending that fit the match.  Mildly Recommended

Miyu Yamashita vs. Nao Kakuta

Nao elbows Miyu during the opening handshake and the fight is on, Nao attacks Miyu in the corner and rakes her face against the top rope. Curb stomp by Nao and she covers Miyu for a one count. Nao goes for a kick but Miyu catches her boot and kicks Nao in the leg. Knee to the ribs by Miyu and she stomps Nao, Irish whip by Miyu and she kicks Nao to the mat. Knee to the midsection by Miyu and she applies an armbar, but Nao gets to the ropes for the break. Knee by Miyu and she throws Nao into the corner, but Nao kicks her back when she charges in and applies a hanging necklock over the top rope. She lets go after a moment and tries to snap Miyu’s neck on the top rope, but Miyu knocks her onto the apron and kicks her down to the floor. Nao returns after a moment but is greeted with a kick, Nao fights back with elbows but Miyu kicks her in the chest for a two count. Irish whip by Miyu but Nao reverses it, knee by Miyu and she hits a jumping lariat for two.

Miyu charges Nao in the corner but Nao moves, she slides out to the apron and pulls Miyu’s neck on the top rope before snapping her head over it. Sliding kick by Nao and she applies the Cobra Clutch, but Miyu eventually gets into the ropes for the break. Nao delivers a running boot to Miyu and she nails a modified Complete Shot, but Miyu kicks out of the cover. Nao gets Miyu on her shoulders but Miyu knees out of it, release German by Miyu and she boots Nao into the corner. High kick by Miyu and she knees Nao in the midsection, high kick by Miyu but Nao blocks Miyu’s attempt to put Nao on her shoulders. DDT by Nao and she kicks Miyu in the back of the head, slow cover by Nao but it gets a two count. Nao gets Miyu on her shoulders but Miyu blocks the TKO and delivers a Buzzsaw Kick. Crash Rabbit Heat by Miyu, and she picks up the three count! Miyu Yamashita wins the match and advances in the tournament.

It is hard for Miyu to have a bad match as her strikes are just so much fun to watch. The knees, the kicks, everything she does is on-point and she carries herself as a dominate wrestler even though she is the same size as her opponents. Nao tried to keep up but isn’t on Miyu’s level, it just felt like a Miyu match with a little Nao sprinkled in so that it wouldn’t be a short and lopsided match (although eleven minutes is rather short anyway for a main event). Nao had some decent nearfalls but none felt likely to work, and most of her runs were quickly cut off by the TJPW champion. I enjoyed it because I enjoy Miyu, but I wouldn’t say it was one of her better matches this year as it never felt like she was in serious trouble. The right result anyway, and a decent way to end the show.  Mildly Recommended

Date: July 23rd, 2021
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 142

Here are the tournament matches on this event:

• Round 1: Kaya Toribami vs. Miu Watanabe
• Round 1: Yuki Aino vs. Yuki Arai
• Round 1: Marika Kobashi vs. Nodoka Tenma
• Round 1: Hikari Noa vs. Rika Tatsumi

Kaya Toribami vs. Miu Watanabe

Kaya and Miu trade holds to start, a battle that Kaya wins with an armdrag. Irish whip by Kaya but Miu hits a hard shoulderblock, Kaya rolls over Miu’s back and chops her in the chest. Scoop slam by Miu and she picks up Kaya, throwing her into the corner. Hard elbows by Miu to Kaya’s back, she throws Kaya to the mat and covers her for two. Miu presses Kaya’s back over her knee, Kaya returns to her feet but Miu slams her again. Miu goes off the ropes but Kaya catches her with an overhead armdrag, Kaya elbows Miu into the corner and delivers a dropkick. Irish whip by Kaya, Miu reverses it but Kaya flips over her and hits a step-up kick for two. Kaya picks up Miu and hits a fireman’s carry slam, she goes to do a springboard move but Miu grabs her and hits a gutbuster. Jumping back kick by Kaya and she hits another step-up kick, she goes to the ropes and hits a… springboard elbow drop for a two count. She goes off the ropes again and hits a springboard senton (probably what she was going for the first time) but that gets a two count as well. Irish whip by Kaya but Miu avoids the kick and chops Kaya in the chest. Giant Swing by Miu, she picks up Kaya but Kaya cradles her for two. Back kick by Kaya, she goes off the ropes but Miu slaps her in the chest. Teardrop by Miu, and she covers Kaya for the three count! Miu Watanabe wins and advances in the tournament.

Miu is a stealth beast and I love her for it, she doesn’t look imposing but she is strong and doesn’t mind tossing people around. Kaya is still a work in progress – she has some flash but isn’t crisp yet. Maybe she is a little overly ambitious but practice makes perfect and I don’t really mind wrestlers pushing the boundaries as long as they keep improving (like Saya Kamitani did). I like Miu’s offense and I appreciate Kaya’s attempts at being entertaining, the pieces aren’t all there yet for Kaya but I think Miu is the real deal and could make a big push in this tournament.

Yuki Aino vs. Yuki Arai

They tie-up to start and trade wristlocks, takedown by Aino but Arai gets away and they return to their feet. Waistlock by Aino and she spins Arai back to the mat, but Arai reverses things into an armbar. Arai breaks the hold and goes off the ropes, but Aino greets her with a hard shoulderblock. Arai gets back up and the two trade elbows, Aino elbows Arai into the corner and hits a running back elbow. Snapmare by Aino and she covers Arai for two. Aino applies a chinlock but Arai gets to the ropes for the break. Aino kicks and stomps Arai and goes for a scoop slam, but Arai blocks it and applies a flash pin for two. Aino gets up angry but Arai knocks her down with a back elbow, elbows by Arai but Aino elbows her back and kicks her in the midsection.

Scoop slam by Aino and she covers Arai for a two count. Arai fights back and knocks down Aino with a back elbow, but she collapses to the mat instead of making a cover. She gets back up but Aino hits her with a shoulderblock, running senton by Aino and she applies the full nelson. Arai makes it to the ropes to force the break, Aino gets on the second turnbuckle but Arai avoids her dive and applies a sleeper. Aino attempts to elbow out of it but Arai locks it in deeper, Aino gets to her feet however and slams Arai backwards into the corner to force the break. Full nelson slam by Arai, but Aino kicks out. Aino avoids the heel drop and hits a gutwrench suplex, she applies the full nelson and Arai has to give up! Yuki Aino wins and advances in the tournament.

This is probably the first match of the tournament I’d lean more towards calling it “bad” and not just unpolished. Which it was that as well. Arai doesn’t have a lot of matches under her belt so a competitive singles match may just be too much for her right now, and Aino wasn’t able to lead her into something good. Arai’s selling was bizarre, just randomly falling to the mat to act hurt, and the offense by both was very repetitive and not interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing what Aino can do in the next round, as this wasn’t a great showing by either.

Marika Kobashi vs. Nodoka Tenma

After a quick exchange, armdrag and dropkick by Marika but Nodoka knocks her over with a hard shoulderblock. Irish whip by Nodoka and she applies a side headlock, Marika Irish whips out of it but Nodoka shoulderblocks her again for a two count. Nodoka picks up Marika and throws her into the corner, stomps by Nodoka and she knees Marika. Irish whip by Nodoka to the other corner and she hits a back elbow, scoop slam by Nodoka and she covers Marika for two. Headscissors by Nodoka but Marika gets to the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Nodoka, reversed, and Marika hits a neckbreaker followed by a dropkick. Elbows by Marika and she hits another dropkick, covering Nodoka for two. Leg drop by Marika, she picks up Nodoka and applies a front necklock.

Nodoka quickly gets out of it and hits a shoulderblock, she charges Marika in the corner but Marika moves and applies a sunset flip for two. Marika charges Nodoka but Nodoka catches her with a fallaway slam. Nodoka picks up Marika but Marika elbows her off and the two trade blows. Dropkick by Marika but Nodoka fires back with a shoulderblock, Nodoka goes for a submission but Marika quickly gets into the ropes before she can lock anything in. Elbows by Nodoka and she hits a backbreaker, she goes to the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving body press for two. Nodoka puts Marika in a chicken wing submission but Marika muscles out of it, leg lariat by Marika and she hits a tornado bulldog out of the corner. Nodoka isn’t phased and hits a Samoan Drop, Marika quickly puts her in a front necklock and keeps the hold on while rolling her back to the middle of the ring. Nodoka struggles for a moment but eventually goes unconscious and the referee calls for the bell! Marika Kobashi wins and advances in the tournament.

As a casual TJPW viewer, this feels like an upset and I’m surprised they had Nodoka lose in such a convincing fashion. Nodoka controlled much of the match, and looked good in the process as she is a really solid wrestler. Marika got in her spots but right up until the end it still felt like Nodoka’s match to win until the front necklock was locked in. The placement wasn’t great as Nodoka could have easily reached the ropes, but at least Marika rolled her back to the middle of the ring. It could have used a few more minutes as it felt like they had more to give, all the tournament matches have been on the short side. I enjoyed what they did, I’m a fan of Nodoka and they kept the match entertaining from bell to bell even if I wouldn’t have minded if they gave them more time. Mildly Recommended

Hikari Noa vs. Rika Tatsumi

Rika and Hikari trade waistlocks before Rika gets Hikari to the mat, they jockey for position until Hikari knocks over Rika with a dropkick. Irish whip to the corner by Hikari, reversed, Hikari flips Rika out to the apron and gives her a hard elbow. Rika falls to the mat but Hikari goes out after her, hitting an ax handle from the apron. Hikari attacks Rika around the ring and hits a scoop slam on the floor, Hikari grabs Rika and whips her into the ring post. Hikari finally slides Rika back in the ring, cover by Hikari but it gets two. Hikari grabs Rika by the hair but Rika breaks free, dropkick to the knee by Rika and she throws Hikari into the corner. Rika keeps on the knee as she stands on it in the corner before hitting a dropkick to it. Cover by Rika, but it gets two. Kicks to the leg by Rika as she stays focused on it, putting Hikari in a submission hold. Hikari crawls to the ropes to force the break, Hikari tries to fight back but Rika kicks her in the leg and hits a kneebreaker. Rika picks up Hikari but Hikari blocks the dragon screw, she goes for a dropkick but Rika swats her away. She connects however on her second dropkick attempt, another dropkick by Hikari and she quickly hits a few more. Hikari goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Hikari but it gets two.

Hikari picks up Rika and applies a Cobra Twist, she cradles Rika to the mat but it only gets a two count. Hikari goes off the ropes but Rika avoids the dropkick, she twists Hikari’s leg in the rope and hits a dragon screw. Back in the ring, another dragon screw by Rika and she applies a figure four leglock. Hikari gets to the ropes, Rika picks her up but Hikari avoids the cutter and applies a jackknife cover for two. Rika picks up Hikari, elbow by Hikari and the two trade blows. Hikari knocks Rika to her knees and goes off the ropes, but Rika catches her with a swinging backbreaker. Sleeper by Rika but Hikari gets out of it with a suplex, Hikari puts Rika in the Blue Racer but Rika gets to the ropes for the break. Back up, Rika catches Hikari’s kick and hits a dragon screw, but Hikari grabs her legs and sneaks in a cover for two. Hip attack by Rika, she picks up Hikari and hits the Dragon Twist of Fate for a two count cover. Rika goes to the top turnbuckle but Hikari recovers and joins her, Rika pushes her off but Hikari avoids the Missile Hip. Jumping lariat by Hikari, she picks up Rika and delivers a Blizzard Suplex Hold but Rika lands in the ropes and is able to break up the pin. Superkick by Hikari and she kicks Rika again, Rika avoids the next one however and kicks Hikari in the head. Dragon Twist of Fate by Rika, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the Missile Hip for the three count pinfall! Rika Tatsumi wins and advances in the tournament.

Really enjoyed this match, Hikari has been killing it and is putting everything together nicely. They actually gave this match the time it needed and they used the time well, with Rika focusing on the leg while Hikari went for submissions and suplexes. The Blizzard Suplex Hold was a good nearfall with smart placement near the ropes to give Rika an easy way out, and her varied offense kept the match interesting. Rika is good as well, I think she was out-done by Hikari but she still did her part and her leg work was well varied (plus I love a good dragon screw). The best match of the tournament so far by a noticeable margin and a quality main event.  Recommended

Second Round

Date: July 24th, 2021
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 142

With the unusual tournament structure that saw a handful of wrestlers get a bye, we are onto the second round! Here are the tournament matches on this event:

• Round 2: Haruna Neko vs. Yuki Aino
• Round 2: Mirai Maiumi vs. Mizuki
• Round 2: Miyu Yamashita vs. Yuki Kamifuku

Yuki Aino vs. Haruna Neko

They trade hammerlocks to start, side headlock takedown by Aino but Haruna gets out of it as they trade holds on the mat. They end up back on their feet again, Haruna does the cat thing for a bit until she applies a wristlock. Aino gets out of it and hits a shoulderblock, elbows by Aino and she kicks Haruna into the corner. Back elbow by Aino and she snapmares Haruna before covering her for two. Chinlock by Aino but Haruna wiggles to the ropes to force the break, she goes for a slam but Haruna blocks it. Elbow by Aino and she hits another shoulderblock, she goes for a senton but Haruna rolls out of the way and rakes her in the eyes. Jumping neckdrop by Haruna, she throws Aino into the corner and chops her in the throat. Cat scratches follow, snapmare by Haruna and she jumps down on Aino for a two count. Irish whip by Haruna but Aino hits a jumping shoulderblock, senton by Aino and she hits a diving shoulderblock off the second turnbuckle for two. Gutwrench suplex by Aino, she picks up Haruna but Haruna spins away and schoolboys Aino for two. Handstand into a hurricanrana by Haruna, but that gets a two as well. Hard elbow by Aino but Haruna delivers a Codebreaker, front roll by Haruna but Aino kicks her back. Diving neckdrop by Haruna, but Aino kicks out of the cover. Haruna waits for Aino to get up and does a front roll into a Codebreaker attempt, but Aino catches her and slams Haruna to the mat. Bulldog by Aino, she picks up Haruna and drops her with the Venus DDT for the three count! Yuki Aino wins and advances in the tournament.

They put together a well structured match and kept the action moving, which I think is all we could have hoped for. Haruna is going to do cat things, no way around that, but most of it stayed pretty focused on the action and Haruna has a good variety of offense when she gets down to it. Both aren’t what I’d consider natural athletes, some of the movements weren’t very fluid, but overall a watchable match that didn’t do any harm.

Mirai Maiumi vs. Mizuki

Mirai gets Mizuki to the mat first but Mizuki gets better position as they go back and forth. On their feet again, wristlock by Mizuki but Mirai reverses it and applies a headlock. Mizuki drives Mirai into the corner but Mirai gets free and delivers a hard shoulderblock. Scoop slam by Mirai and she hits another one, a third scoop slam by Mirai but Mizuki bridges out of the pin and hits a dropkick. Mizuki stops on Mirai’s hand before clubbing her in the side of the head, Mizuki stomps down Mirai in the corner and mushes her with her boot. Mizuki applies a stretch hold, she releases it after a moment only to stretch Mirai’s back some more. Mirai gets to the ropes this time but Mizuki stomps on her hand, dropkick by Mizuki and Mirai falls out of the ring. Mizuki goes out to the apron and jumps off with a double footstomp. Mizuki slides Mirai back in, elbow by Mizuki but Mirai gets her back. Mizuki tries to flip away but Mirai slams her to the mat, she goes off the ropes and hits a shoulderblock. Two more shoulderblocks by Mirai, she picks up Mizuki and hits a running elbow in the corner followed by a shoulderblock for a two count.

Mirai picks up Mizuki but Mizuki blocks the suplex attempt, kick by Mirai but Mizuki swats away her dropkick and applies a crossface. Mirai gets out of it, kicks by Mizuki and she drop toeholds Mirai onto the second drop. Dropkick by Mizuki and she hits a quick footstomp, she goes to the turnbuckles but Mirai avoids the diving footstomp and drops Mizuki with a powerslam. Mirai goes for Mizuki’s arm but Mizuki quickly gets to the ropes, she picks up Mizuki and the two trade elbows. Mirai applies a modified hammerlock but Mizuki slides out of it and applies the crossface. Mirai crawls to the ropes and makes it for the break, Mizuki charges Mirai and nails the Murder Dropkick. Mizuki goes to the top turnbuckle but Mirai has recovered and elbows her, Mizuki elbows her back and goes for a diving crossbody, but Mirai moves out of the way. Miramare by Mirai but Mizuki is too close to the ropes and makes it for the break. Hard lariat by Mirai and she hits an elbow followed by a short range lariat for a two count. Mirai goes off the ropes but Mizuki catches her with a dropkick, cradle by Mizuki and she hits a footstomp for two. Mizuki grabs Mirai and hits the Cutie Special, and she picks up the three count! Mizuki wins and advances in the tournament.

I like Mirai as I enjoy hard hitting action, but two years into her career I wouldn’t mind a more varied moveset as while effective the shoulderblock isn’t the most exciting move. Love her lariats though. This felt like a real battle as between Mirai’s power and Mizuki’s speed they meshed well to put on a smart match. I actually found myself rooting for the upset, which I am not sure was the intention but Mirai fought with a lot of fire. The ending felt a little sudden as Mirai was in control shortly before the Cutie Special, but the Cutie Special is a quality move so I’ll let it slide. I wish Mirai’s power offense had a wider range and the end stretch was a little longer but an entertaining match.  Mildly Recommended

Miyu Yamashita vs. Yuki Kamifuku

They tie-up to start, Yuki works a headlock but Miyu reverses it. Yuki pushes Miyu into the ropes but gives a clean break, kicks to the chest by Miyu and she covers Yuki for two. Miyu picks up Yuki and kicks her in the midsection, leg kick by Miyu and she finishes with a spinning kick for a two count cover. Miyu applies a Fujiwara Armbar but Yuki gets to the ropes for the break, Miyu picks up Yuki but Yuki elbows her. Handstand by Yuki but Miyu blocks her move attempt and hits a double knee gutbuster. Bodyscissors by Miyu but she lets go so she can kick Yuki in the back, another cover but again it gets two. More kicks by Miyu and she clubs Yuki in the back, knee by Miyu but Yuki kicks her away and boots Miyu in the face. Yuki sits Miyu on the top turnbuckle and boots her, Yuki charges Miyu and dropkicks her off the top turnbuckle down to the floor.

Miyu slowly gets back on the apron but Yuki promptly dropkicks her back to the floor again, Miyu returns again and Yuki quickly puts her in an Octopus Hold. Miyu gets out of it and drops Yuki to the mat, Yuki slowly returns to her feet and the two trade elbows. Miyu sends Yuki to the mat with a hard kick to the chest, knee to the stomach by Miyu but Yuki kicks her in the head. Miyu regains the advantage and delivers a head kick out of the corner, she gets Yuki on her shoulders but Yuki rakes her face and puts Miyu back in the Octopus Hold. She lets go after a moment to hit the Fameasser, she goes off the ropes but Miyu avoids her kick. Chop to the chest by Yuki and she hits a dropkick for a two count. Yuki re-applies the Octopus Hold but Miyu gets to the ropes, kick combination by Miyu but Yuki chops her. Miyu sends Yuki crashing to the mat with a head kick, cover by Miyu but Yuki barely kicks out. Miyu waits for Yuki to get up and nails the Skull Kick, cover by Miyu and she picks up the three count! Miyu Yamashita advances in the tournament.

Yuki Kamifuku is a limited wrestler, but I thought they worked well within her limitations here and put on a good show. Miyu bumped like a mad woman to make Yuki’s offense look as good as possible, and of course her kicks were on point. The repeated use of the Octopus Hold was a little excessive, and Yuki’s strikes aren’t too convincing, but everything else was well put together and the match felt like it went the right amount of time considering the structure of it. Not quite as good as the last match but still solid, as Miyu showed why she is one of the best on the Joshi scene.  Mildly Recommended

Date: July 25th, 2021
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 142

The completion of the second round! Here are the tournament matches on this event:

• Round 2: Mahiro Kiryu vs. Suzume
• Round 2: Maki Itoh vs. Raku
• Round 2: Marika Kobashi vs. Shoko Nakajima
• Round 2: Hyper Misao vs. Rika Tatsumi

Mahiro Kiryu vs. Suzume

Side headlock by Mahiro but Suzume takes her to the mat, they jockey for position but end up in a stalemate. Irish whip by Suzume but Mahiro shoulderblocks her down, both wrestlers go off the ropes and Suzume delivers a dropkick. Suzume throws Mahiro into the corner and elbows her, but Mahiro switches positions with her and returns the favor. Running elbow by Mahiro in the corner and she hits a scoop slam, elbow drop by Mahiro and she covers Suzume for two. Armbar by Mahiro but Suzume gets into the ropes for the break, double knee to Suzume’s back and Mahiro covers her for a two count. Mahiro picks up Suzume but Suzume quickly schoolboys her, Mahiro goes off the ropes but Suzume connects with a running elbow. More elbows by Suzume and she hits a dropkick, Suzume throws Mahiro into the corner but Mahiro avoids her charge.

Suzume boots Mahiro back, sleeper by Suzume but Mahiro drives her into the corner to break it up. Suzume goes to the top turnbuckle but Mahiro elbows her before she can jump off, Suzume ends up hanging off the turnbuckles and Mahiro dropkicks her in the back. Crab hold by Mahiro but Suzume crawls to the ropes to force the break, Mahiro picks her up but Suzume pushes her off and hits a headscissors. Face crusher by Suzume out of the corner, she waits for Mahiro to get up but Mahiro avoids the cutter attempt and hits a sidewalk slam. Mahiro picks up Suzume but Suzume blocks the slam attempt and applies a few flash pins for two counts. Suzume pushes Mahiro to create some space and charges in, delivering the Ring a Bell (modified cutter) for the three count! Suzume wins and advances in the tournament.

These two didn’t break any new ground with this match but it will still pretty well worked with a good flow to it. I’ve mentioned match length a few times in this review but this one being short was fine – they are less experienced wrestlers still honing their craft so putting on a tight eight minute match was a smart way to go. Suzume shows a lot of potential, she is small but connects well with the crowd and has solid execution. Too basic to get excited about but a good way to kick off the tournament portion of the event.

Maki Itoh vs. Raku

Raku applies a waistlock but Itoh easily gets out of it and they trade wristlocks until Raku gets Itoh to the mat. Itoh gets out of her grasp and they return to their feet, Itoh starts acting a little crazy which confuses Raku, giving Itoh a chance to club her to the mat. Itoh throws Raku into the corner and shoulder tackles her in the back, Irish whip by Itoh and she scoop slams Raku for a two count. Itoh puts Raku in the ropes and stretches her, running elbow by Itoh and she covers Raku for another two. Chinlock by Itoh and she switches it to a single leg crab hold, but Raku gets to the ropes for the break. Itoh goes for an Irish whip but Raku blocks it, back elbow by Raku and she hits a few more before dropkicking Itoh off her feet. Raku runs over Itoh and rolls over top of her for a two count. Raku goes off the ropes but Itoh catches her with a sleeper and hits a backbreaker.

Raku elbows Itoh but Itoh elbows her back and the two trade blows. Raku wins the battle but Itoh blocks the leg sweep, face crusher by Raku and she hits a jumping neckdrop. Raku charges Itoh but Itoh moves and delivers an elevated DDT. Raku quickly applies a few flash pins but Itoh kicks out of each, sleeper by Raku but Itoh drives her back into the corner to break it up. Raku gets on the second turnbuckle and tries to chop Itoh in the head, but Itoh’s head is too hard. Raku chops Itoh in the face but Itoh headbutts her and hits a DDT for a two count. Itoh grabs Raku and puts her in the crab hold, Raku almost makes it to the ropes but Itoh pulls her back to the middle of the ring and applies the Itoh Punish (elevated crab hold). Raku struggles for a moment but submits! Maki Itoh wins and advances in the tournament.

Itoh is certainly a character. She isn’t a high-end technician but she makes up for it by being unique, although not everyone appreciates her uniqueness. I like her fine, although I can understand those that don’t as she definitely blurs the line between comedy and serious wrestling within the same match. She gets away with it as she is charismatic, but I am not sure if she’ll ever reach the top level of Tokyo Joshi Pro. Raku hung in there which is all you can hope for, and generally the match was good (although not great). The right result and a decent watch all things considered.  Mildly Recommended

Marika Kobashi vs. Shoko Nakajima

Marika dropkicks Shoko before the match starts, small packages by Marika but each gets a two count. Marika applies a grounded necklock but Shoko muscles out of it with a suplex for a two count cover. Shoko puts Marika in the ropes and hits a 619, Shoko applies a submission but Marika gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Dropkick by Shoko, she picks up Marika but Marika avoids her dropkick attempt and hits a leg lariat. Shoko recovers first but Marika elbows her, hurricanrana by Shoko but Marika reverses the cover into her own two count before quickly applying the grounded necklock. Shoko slams her into the corner to get out of it, strikes by Marika but Shoko hits a back bodydrop. Shoko goes off the ropes but Marika applies the grounded necklock once again until Shoko shakes her off. Shoko drapes Marika over the second rope and hits a DDT, Shoko puts Marika in the ropes but Marika avoids the 619 and hits a dropkick. Marika applies the…. you guessed it, grounded necklock but Shoko wiggles to the ropes and gets there for the break. Marika picks up Shoko but Shoko pushes her off, DDT by Shoko and she delivers the Northern Lights Suplex Hold for the three count! Shoko Nakajima is the winner and advances in the tournament.

I’m a big fan of Shoko but there wasn’t much to this one. While I respect that Marika obviously felt the grounded necklock was her only path to victory, as a fan I would have liked a little more variety to her offense. Something to weaken up Shoko so it wasn’t the same submission move four times in a five minute match. Shoko put away Marika pretty easily when she got back in control, which is fine, but if a match is this short I’d prefer it be more of a sprint. Perfectly watchable but nothing memorable and the match layout wasn’t my favorite.

Hyper Misao vs. Rika Tatsumi

They get right into it as they trade holds, Rika gets the early advantage but Misao evens things out and they end up back on their feet. They trade waistlocks, Rika starts on Misao’s leg, Misao returns to her feet however and hits a footstomp onto Rika’s back. DDT by Misao and she applies an elevated armbar, but Rika gets into the ropes for the break. Stomps by Misao, she throws Rika into the corner and yanks on her arm. Arm snaps by Misao and she throws Rika to the other corner, but Rika avoids her charge and drops her onto the apron. Misao snaps Rika’s arm over the top rope a few times before elbowing her in the back, she whips Rika to the mat and twists her arm before hitting a leg drop on it. Rika fights back with elbows but Misao catches her when she runs in and drops her onto her knee. Charging back elbow by Misao, and she covers Rika for two. Misao stays in control on the mat but Rika snapmares her and hits a quick hip attack. Irish whip by Rika to the corner and she hits a running hip attack, she goes to the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving one for a two count. She goes for the figure four, Misao pushes her off but Rika levels her with a sliding hip attack.

This gives her time to apply the figure four leglock, but Misao is able to get to the ropes for the break. Rika wraps Misao’s leg in the ropes but Misao avoids her dropkick attempt, Misao charges Rika and knees her hard in the back. This sends Rika out of the ring, Misao kicks Rika through the ropes and follows with a diving crossbody off the second rope down to the floor. Misao slides Rika back in but Rika grabs her leg and hits a dragon screw through the ropes. Rika goes back to the apron with Misao but Misao blocks the Dragon Twist of Fate, they trade elbows until Misao Irish whips Rika into the ring post. Misao picks up Rika and goes back into the ring, applying a front necklock before hitting a hanging Final Cut for a two count. Misao goes to the top turnbuckle but Rika recovers and elbows her before she can jump off. Dragon Twist of Fate by Rika, she picks up Misao but Misao puts her in a headlock. Misao goes for the crossface chickenwing and gets it locked in, but Rika breaks free and applies the Dragon Sleeper. Rika rips off Misao’s mask as Misao manages to get to the ropes, she puts it back on and then blocks Rika’s kick before applying La Magistral for two. Sliding back elbow by Misao but Rika fires back with a hip attack, jumping head kick by Rika but Misao avoids the Dragon Twist of Fate. She goes for a flash pin but Rika quickly applies a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch Hold for the three count! Rika Tatsumi wins and advances in the tournament.

I think this match was a small step below Hikari Noa vs. Rika Tatsumi, but still was damn entertaining. Misao is a stealthy really good (maybe even great) wrestler, everything she did here was on point. If anything I think her super hero gimmick holds her back a bit as its not a Champion Gimmick, but it wasn’t the focus of this match as they went right at it. Even her mask coming off didn’t come across as a big deal, she has been mask-less before, so I don’t see that as a big focal point of the match. Both had good strategies with the limb work and had a wide variety of ways to attack said limbs so it never got boring. There were some transition issues that very slightly irked me, such as Rika going right back on offense after Misao’s dive out of the ring and after her Final Cut, as I think big moves should get a little time to breath and be meaningful. And while the limb work was good I wouldn’t have minded if it impacted the ending in some way. But overall it was a fun match with solid action from bell to bell, a really good effort by both to end the second round.  Recommended

Quarter Finals

Date: July 31st, 2021
Location: Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 226

Regular tournament setup from here on out, no more byes. Onto the Quarter Finals! Here are the tournament matches on this event:

• Quarter Final: Maki Itoh vs. Suzume
• Quarter Final: Miu Watanabe vs. Yuki Aino
• Quarter Final: Rika Tatsumi vs. Shoko Nakajima
• Quarter Final: Miyu Yamashita vs. Mizuki

Maki Itoh vs. Suzume

Suzume dropkicks Maki before the match starts while she is doing her singing, establishing herself as the heel in the match. Another dropkick by Suzume and she quickly covers Maki for a two count. She goes for a third but Maki avoids it, she goes for a slam but Suzume lands on her feet and dropkicks Maki out of the ring. Suzume goes out after her and clubs her in the back, Suzume rolls Maki back in but Maki kicks Suzume as she gets on the apron. Back out to the floor, ax handle by Maki and she throws Suzume into the ring post. DDT by Maki on the floor, Maki gets back in the ring with Suzume slowly following. Stomps by Maki and she covers Suzume for two. Scoop slam by Maki and she hits a second one followed by a third, cover by Maki but it gets a two count. Suzume tries to fight back but Maki puts her in a sleeper, she pulls back on Suzume’s neck but Suzume makes it to the ropes for the break. Maki picks up Suzume but Suzume blocks the Irish whip, elbows by Maki but Suzume elbows her back and hits a running back elbow. More elbows by Suzume and she covers Maki for a two count. Suzume picks up Maki and throws her into the corner, running elbow by Suzume and she goes up to the top turnbuckle. Maki avoids her diving body press however, she goes for Suzume’s legs but Suzume pushes her away and hits a headscissors.

Maki falls out of the ring, Suzume goes up top and dives out with a crossbody down to the floor. Suzume slides Maki back in, cover by Suzume but it gets two. Suzume applies a sleeper, Maki struggles but eventually makes it to the ropes for the break. Suzume charges Maki but Maki holds down the top rope, sending Suzume out to the apron. Maki immediately grabs her and drapes her legs over the second rope, delivering a DDT back into the ring. Maki throws Suzume into the corner and sits on the turnbuckles, elbow by Maki and she hits a headbutt. Maki dives off the turnbuckles but Suzume catches her with a cutter, they trade elbows as they return to their feet until Suzume gets Maki back down to the mat. Suzume picks up Maki but Maki headbutts her and snaps off a DDT. Maki goes to the top turnbuckle but Suzume avoids the diving headbutt, face crusher off the ropes by Suzume and she covers Maki for a two count. Suzume waits for Maki to get up but Maki avoids the Ring a Bell, Suzume goes for a few flash pins but each gets a two count. Dropkick by Suzume, she waits for Maki to get up but Maki blocks the Ring a Bell again. Maki rolls Suzume to the mat and puts her in the crab hold, she drags Suzume to the middle of the ring and applies the Itoh Punish. Suzume struggles for a moment but has to tap out! Maki Itoh wins and advances in the tournament.

They certainly tried to bring the drama since it was a tournament match, but at the end of the day it really had the setup of any veteran vs. young underdog match. Suzume got in most of the offense and looked good, she has quite a spark to her, but Itoh winning with a modified crab hold while doing little to set it up just made Suzume look way out of her league. Which maybe she is, but for a big Quarter Finals match I wouldn’t have minded a little more drama at the end instead of Maki Itoh getting the quick win. That being said, there was no comedy here as Itoh was focused on the win, which did make the match feel important and showed that she saw Suzume as a threat. An enjoyable match, I just wish that the ending was a little more flushed out instead of going straight to the submission win.  Mildly Recommended

Miu Watanabe vs. Yuki Aino

Miu gets Yuki to the mat early in an armbar, Yuki Irish whips out of it but Miu hits an armdrag followed by a hard shoulderblock. Elbows by Miu in the corner and she stretches Yuki over her knee, focusing her offense on the back. Yuki pushes Miu away and knocks her to the mat, she kicks Miu into the corner before hitting a running elbow. Yuki turns Miu around and delivers a running elbow to her lower back, snapmare by Yuki and she covers Miu for two. Chinlock by Yuki but Miu gets into the ropes for the break, snapmare by Yuki and she applies a stretch hold. Miu gets to the ropes again, running senton by Yuki and she covers Miu for two. Yuki picks up Miu and hits a scoop slam, elbow by Yuki but Miu picks her up and hits a backbreaker. Miu gets Yuki on her shoulder but Yuki slides away, armdrag by Miu and she hits a body avalanche in the corner. Hard shoulderblock by Miu, she goes for Yuki’s legs but Yuki flips her and hits a senton.

Yuki gets on the second rope and hits a reverse splash, but Miu kicks out of the cover. Yuki picks up Miu but Miu blocks a suplex attempt, Yuki gets the Full Nelson locked in but Miu gets into the ropes for the break. Miu gets away from Yuki and throws her into the corner, but Yuki elbows her when she charges in. Yuki gets on the second turnbuckle but Miu grabs her, bringing her back into the ring and giving her the Giant Swing. Miu picks up Yuki and hits a backbreaker over her shoulder, cover by Miu but Yuki barely kicks out. Miu grabs Yuki but Yuki applies a headlock before dropping Miu with a bulldog. Yuki pulls Miu out to the apron and nails a reverse DDT, she pulls Miu back into the ring and goes for another one but Miu snapmares out of it. Gutwrench suplex by Yuki, she picks up Miu but Miu blocks the double underhook. Hard shoulderblock by Yuki but Miu hits a series of hammer blows, Tear Drop by Miu and she covers Yuki for the three count! Miu Watanabe wins and advances in the tournament.

My thoughts on the match may be a little biased as Miu is the type of wrestler I tend to naturally like, but this was a quality match. Miu is a mini-hoss, she isn’t very tall but she has a lot of power and uses it to implement a wide variety of back-focused offense. Yuki did her part as well, even if it felt like Miu stayed in control and Yuki was just doing her best to keep up. The reverse DDT on the apron probably wasn’t necessary as Miu recovered pretty quickly, but it did give the fans a moment to think maybe Yuki could pick up the upset. The ending felt a little sudden as Yuki had finally strung a few moves together, but Miu had done enough offense up to that point that it wasn’t completely out of thin air. Pretty entertaining and I am glad to see Miu continue in the tournament.  Recommended

Rika Tatsumi vs. Shoko Nakajima

Tie-up to start, they trade holds until Shoko gets Rika to the mat but Rika gets away and both wrestlers return to their feet. Side headlock by Shoko but Rika reverses it, Irish whip by Shoko but Rika hits a hard shoulderblock. Both wrestlers go off the ropes until Shoko hits an armdrag followed by a dropkick. Shoko throws Rika into the corner but Rika reverses the Irish whip, Rika trips up Shoko in the corner and starts working on the leg. Shoko gets into the ropes to get a break, Rika picks her up and throws her back into the corner. Rika twists Shoko’s leg in the middle rope but after she lets go, Shoko switches positions with her and hits a series of elbows. Shoko charges Rika but Rika moves and immediately goes back to Shoko’s leg. Rika pulls Shoko’s leg around the post and slams her knee into it, she then gets on the apron and dropkicks Shoko’s leg into the ring post. Rika slides Shoko back in but Shoko dropkicks her as she enters and sails out onto Rika with a tope suicida. Shoko slides Rika back into the ring and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Rika recovers and elbows her. Dragon screw by Rika while Shoko is sitting on the top turnbuckle, she then grabs Shoko’s leg and twists it again before applying the figure four leglock.

Shoko quickly gets to the ropes to force the break, but Rika stays on Shoko and gets the hold re-applied. Shoko manages to reverse the hold so Rika grabs the rope to break it up, 619 by Shoko but Rika elbows her and the two trade blows. Rika charges Shoko but Shoko hits a dropkick, bulldog by Shoko but Rika puts her on the top turnbuckle and applies a Dragon Sleeper. She lets go after a moment and hits a hanging reverse Dragon Twist of Fate, she goes for a regular Dragon Twist of Fate but Shoko blocks it and applies a Northern Lights Suplex Hold for two. Shoko flips Rika into the ropes and hits the 619 again, she goes for another suplex but Rika blocks it and hits a backbreaker. Sleeper by Rika but Shoko blocks it when she goes for the Dragon Sleeper and hits a neckbreaker. Shoko sits Rika on the top turnbuckle and joins her, but Rika pushes her back and hits a diving hip attack. Rika goes back up top but Shoko avoids the Missile Hip and schoolboys Rika for two. Hurricanrana by Shoko but Rika nails her with a hip attack, jumping head kick by Rika and she applies the sleeper. Dragon Sleeper by Rika but Shoko rolls out of it and hits a suplex. Double arm DDT by Shoko, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the Diving Senton for the three count! Shoko Nakajima is the winner and advances in the tournament!

One common theme during this tournament is the wrestler having limb work done on them makes no effort whatsoever to acknowledge it at any point. I don’t know if its a Tokyo Joshi Pro thing or due to the time constraints in the tournament, but they really take it to the next level. Generally I am pretty forgiving about such things, I don’t expect wrestlers to sell every move for the rest of the match, but here it was the focus of Rika’s offense. Even after dropkicking Shoko’s leg into the ring post, which is a pretty notable move, literally ten seconds later Shoko was running around the ring to hit a tope suicida and at no point after did she sell her leg unless it was actively in a move. Just an unforced error that is easily fixed with an occasional leg shake or leg holding. Anyway, if I put that rant aside, this was a pretty good match otherwise. Both wrestlers have fun offense and everything felt like it was done with a purpose as there was no wasted effort. The action was smooth and Shoko looked great as always when in control (not as great with limb selling), maybe she will win this tournament and finally get her rematch. A solid match that was just hurt by Rika’s leg work not being more respected.  Mildly Recommended

Miyu Yamashita vs. Mizuki

Snapmare by Miyu to start but Mizuki hits one of her own, she goes for a quick cradle but Miyu kicks out. Dropkick by Mizuki and Miyu rolls out of the ring, Mizuki goes to the top turnbuckle but Miyu jumps up to the apron and grabs Mizuki. Mizuki slides away but Miyu throws her into the ring post, sending Mizuki down to the floor. Jumping knee by Miyu off the apron to the floor, she gets back in the ring with Mizuki slowly following. Double knee gutbuster by Miyu and she applies a bodyscissors, she switches it to a sleeper but lets go so she can knee Mizuki in the stomach. Mizuki gets back to her feet but Miyu knocks her back to the mat and hits a tornado kneedrop for two. Mizuki goes off the ropes but Miyu drops her with a gutbuster, but Mizuki bridges out of the pin and hits a missile dropkick. Miyu ends up against the ropes so Mizuki nails the Murder Dropkick, Mizuki goes to the top turnbuckle but Miyu avoids her crossbody attempt. Corner springboard kick by Miyu out of the corner, but her cover gets two. Miyu picks up Mizuki and hits a neckbreaker, she puts Mizuki in the Anaconda Vice but Mizuki gets out of it and applies a crossface. Miyu struggles back to her feet but Mizuki gets her back down, Miyu inches to the ropes and eventually makes it to force the break.

Mizuki goes to the top turnbuckle but Miyu kicks her before she can jump off, Miyu joins Mizuki and tries to get her on her shoulders but Mizuki blocks it and elbows Miyu into the Tree of Woe. Miyu gets back up but Mizuki elbows her down again and delivers a diving footstomp to her chest. Miyu ends up on the apron but Mizuki grabs her from inside the ring and hits a crossbody through the ropes, sending Miyu to the floor. Mizuki then gets on the top turnbuckle and nails a diving footstomp down to the floor, Mizuki slides Miyu back in and covers her for two. Mizuki picks up Miyu but Miyu delivers a head kick, more kicks by Miyu but Mizuki elbows her back as they trade blows. Miyu goes off the ropes but Mizuki elbows her, Mizuki goes for a cradle but Miyu blocks it and hits a German suplex hold for two. Head kick by Miyu, she goes to get a running start but Mizuki grabs her leg to stop her. Miyu kicks her off and boots her into the corner, jumping knee by Miyu and she delivers an Attitude Adjustment for two. Miyu goes for a head kick but Mizuki ducks it, cradle by Mizuki and she hits a footstomp for two. Suplex by Mizuki, she goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers the diving footstomp. Cutie Special by Mizuki, and she holds down Miyu for the three count! Mizuki wins and advances in the tournament!

One benefit of the styles of these two is we didn’t have to worry about ignored limb work as Miyu is all about kicks and gutbusters while Mizuki enjoys suplexes and footstomps. Much easier to manage. This match was enjoyable but it felt like they needed a few more minutes, as it was still a pretty back-and-forth match when it ended and it didn’t have a hot ending segment that you’d expect from the main event between wrestlers of their skill levels. The action was really solid though, Miyu is great and Mizuki rises to the occasion when needed. Her offense is more “soft” than Miyu but the diving footstomp is hurt-y no matter who is doing it, so I was glad she stepped it up a bit so she didn’t seem out-gunned. The champion going out this early is a surprise but that’s what happens when you run into Mizuki early, with Mizuki’s past success it looks like she is destined for at the least the Finals. Overall an enjoyable and hard hitting match, only thing holding it back was just the fact it felt a little incomplete for a match of this caliber.  Recommended

Semi Finals

Date: August 14th, 2021
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 437

Time for the Semi Finals! Here are the tournament matches on this event:

• Semi Final: Miu Watanabe vs. Shoko Nakajima
• Semi Final: Maki Itoh vs. Mizuki

Miu Watanabe vs. Shoko Nakajima

Shoko works a headlock to start but Miu Irish whips out of it, they go through a fast exchange until Miu drops Shoko with a hard shoulderblock. Miu puts Shoko in the corner and elbows her repeatedly in the back, backbreaker by Miu and she presses Shoko down over her knee. Miu applies a waistlock but Shoko jumps through the ropes to get out of the hold and snaps Miu over the second rope. Shoko clubs Miu and puts her in a headscissors before slamming Miu’s head into the mat. Miu gets into the ropes for the break, Shoko throws Miu into the corner and delivers a dropkick. Shoko catapults Miu up into the bottom rope, cover by Shoko but it gets a two count. Shoko knees Miu in the back of the head a few times before applying a stretch hold, but Miu muscles out of it. Miu picks up Shoko but Shoko elbows away and hits a quick suplex, she re-applies the hold as she twists up Miu. Miu gets into the ropes again for the break, she goes for the Northern Lights Suplex but Miu blocks it and slams Shoko to the mat. Hard shoulderblock by Miu and she hits a body avalanche in the corner, which she follows with another shoulderblock. Miu goes to pick up Shoko but Shoko kicks her back, Shoko grabs Miu but Miu elbows her off.

Shoko returns fire as the two trade blows, dropkick by Shoko but Miu doesn’t go down and hits a powerslam. Miu picks up Shoko and gets her on her shoulder, but Shoko slides away and hits a Northern Lights Suplex. Shoko goes to the top turnbuckle but Miu avoids the diving senton attempt, she goes for a hurricanrana but Miu catches her. Shoko applies a front guillotine but Miu gets out of it and swings Shoko around in the Giant Swing. Miu picks up Shoko but Shoko pushes her off and drops Miu on the second rope. She goes for the 619 but Miu moves and clubs Shoko in the chest, she then muscles Shoko up and hits a single shoulder backbreaker for a two count. Miu gets Shoko back up again in a backbreaker, Shoko flips out of it but Miu clubs her in the chest for a two count. Miu picks up Shoko but Shoko hits a back bodydrop, Miu clubs Shoko but Shoko snaps off a hurricanrana. Locomotion-Style Northern Light Suplex Hold by Shoko, and she picks up the three count! Shoko Nakajima wins and advances to the Finals.

Even though I never doubted the winner here, I still came out of it impressed by Miu. I wouldn’t say this was the most cohesive match as at times it came across as random offense with iffy transitions, but Miu’s work on Shoko’s back was solid and she has a nice variety of offense. It really felt more like a Miu match than a Shoko match, as her offense and comeback spots were more interesting (and that’s coming from someone that likes Shoko as well). The action was very smooth through with no miscommunications, and they kept it interesting from bell to bell. I wouldn’t have minded if Shoko had a bit more of a clear game plan but still an enjoyable and easy watch.  Mildly Recommended

Maki Itoh vs. Mizuki

They tie-up to start, Maki pushes Mizuki into the ropes and elbows her instead of giving a clean break. Mizuki returns the favor and the two trade blows, Maki grabs Mizuki and tosses her out of the ring. Maki goes out after her and shoulder tackles her into the apron, she then removes part of the mat on the floor. She goes to slam Mizuki on the exposed floor but Mizuki blocks it, so Maki throws her into the guardrail instead. Maki slides Mizuki back into the ring, cover by Maki but it gets a two count. Maki twists up Mizuki in the ropes and elbows her in the back, cover by Maki but Mizuki bridges out of it and hits a footstomp to her back. Mizuki applies a stretch hold, she lets go after a moment but Maki drops her with a face crusher. Maki goes to the second turnbuckle but Mizuki avoids her diving headbutt, which hurt Maki even more than usual as she came into the match with a previously broken face. Mizuki comes out after Maki and slides her back in, cover by Mizuki but it gets a two count. Mizuki picks up Maki and throws her face-first into the corner, running boot by Mizuki and she dropkicks Maki in the back. Diving footstomp by Mizuki, and she covers Maki for a two count. Mizuki stands up Maki on the apron, she then gets a running start in the ring and hits a crossbody between the ropes. Mizuki goes for a diving footstomp off the apron but Maki moves, they both trade slam attempts until Maki successfully slams Mizuki on the previously exposed floor.

Maki slides Mizuki back in, Mizuki pushes Maki into the corner but Maki grabs her and delivers a Tornado DDT. Cover by Maki, but it gets a two count. Maki goes to pick up Mizuki but Mizuki cradles her, Mizuki goes for a few more flash pins but Maki won’t stay down. Murder Dropkick by Mizuki, Maki lands outside the ring, Mizuki goes to the top turnbuckle but Maki recovers and gets back on the apron. Maki grabs Mizuki and DDTs her onto the apron, Maki puts Mizuki in the crab hold but Mizuki gets to the ropes for the break. Maki goes to the top turnbuckle but Mizuki joins her, hitting a superplex to the mat. Cover by Mizuki, but it gets a two count. Mizuki puts Maki across the ropes in the corner and hits a double footstomp, she goes back to the top turnbuckle but Maki avoids the diving footstomp. Tornado DDT by Maki, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the Diving Kokeshi to Mizuki’s back. Cover by Maki, but Mizuki gets a shoulder up. Maki grabs Mizuki and puts her in the Itoh Punish, but Mizuki makes it to the ropes for the break. Maki grabs Mizuki by the wrist and elbows her in the face, but Mizuki fights back and the two trade elbows. Maki headbutts one of Mizuki’s elbow strikes, but Mizuki quickly hits a Cutie Special for a two count. Mizuki picks up Maki but Maki headbutts her, Maki puts Mizuki in the Itoh Deluxe and Mizuki has no choice but to submit! Maki Itoh wins and advances to the Finals!

I think I am finally starting to understand Maki Itoh. Sometimes you have to watch a wrestler within a well told story to get what they are all about, and this tournament has helped me appreciate Itoh and what she brings to the table. She isn’t the best in-ring wrestler, nor has the most “potential,” nor shows off the flashiest moves, but her determination to win just jumps off the screen and she has the ability to pull you into her matches. Sure, maybe her matches in AEW weren’t able to show that off but those were spot matches, they weren’t really telling her story. Here, she came in with a face that was already (legitimately) injured, she is against a wrestler unbeatable in tournaments, and she gave every ounce of what she had to pull off the win. She sold her face extremely well so each time she used it anyway as a weapon, it resonated with the viewer how much she wanted to win. The focus on the back was well done and then led directly to the ending, with one of the most painful looking submissions I’ve ever seen. Mizuki did her part as well, she’s talented and is entertaining, but this match was all about Itoh’s story and it was perfectly told. A gripping and intense match, and easily the best we’ve seen in the tournament thus far. A must-see for Joshi fans or for anyone that doesn’t understand why Maki Itoh has legions of fans around the world.  Highly Recommended

Finals

Date: August 15th, 2021
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 567

Time for the Finals! Naturally, only one tournament match on this event:

• Final: Maki Itoh vs. Shoko Nakajima

Maki Itoh vs. Shoko Nakajima

They tie-up to start before trading holds, Maki gets Shoko in a headlock but Shoko reverses it. They end up back on their feet as they lock knuckles, Maki gets the better of it and she applies a stretch hold. Shoko gets out of it and hits a side headlock takedown, Maki struggles back up and Irish whips out of it but Shoko hits a springboard armdrag followed by a dropkick. Maki throws Shoko into the corner but Shoko flips herself out to the apron, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Maki elbows her before she can jump off. Maki goes out to the apron and hits a hanging DDT on Shoko, scoop slam by Maki on the floor and she drives Shoko back-first into the guard rail. Maki slides Shoko back into the ring and goes in after her, but Shoko dropkicks her as she gets on the apron. Shoko gets a running start in the ring and sails out onto Maki with a tope suicida, Shoko snaps Maki’s neck on the second rope and hits a 619 to Maki’s back. Cover by Shoko, but it gets a two count. Shoko throws Maki into the corner and hits a dropkick, neckbreaker by Shoko and she gets another two. Shoko picks up Maki and elbows her in the back of the head, stomps by Shoko and she starts working on Maki’s leg.

Maki gets into the ropes to force the break, but Shoko catapults Maki neck-first into the bottom rope. She does it a second time before dragging Maki back into the ring for a two count. Elbows to the back of the head by Shoko and she knees Maki a few times in the throat before applying a reverse chinlock. Snapmare by Shoko and she hits a running neckbreaker, but Maki kicks out of the cover. Shoko puts Maki in a submission hold but Maki gets out of it, elbows by Maki and she hits a DDT. Maki gets Shoko up but gets too close to the ropes, allowing Shoko to get away and apply a submission in the ropes. She lets go and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Maki catches her as she dives off and applies a crab hold. Shoko gets to the ropes for the break, running elbow by Maki in the corner and she hits a face crusher. Maki picks up Shoko but Shoko throws her into the corner, she charges Maki but Maki kicks her back and hits a Tornado DDT for a two count. Maki goes for the Ito Punish but Shoko slides away and bulldogs Maki into the turnbuckles. Shoko goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Shoko but it gets a two count. Shoko gets the Mujin Zairaisen applied but Maki wiggles to the ropes and makes it for the break.

Shoko picks up Maki and slams her head-first into the mat, she goes for the Northern Lights Suplex but Maki blocks it and hits a Tornado DDT off the ropes. Maki puts Shoko in a crab hold but Shoko kicks her off and hits a hurricanrana for two. Northern Lights Suplex by Shoko, but her cover gets another two count. Shoko goes up to the top turnbuckle but Maki avoids the diving senton, jumping DDT by Maki and she goes to the top turnbuckle. Shoko recovers and she joins her, delivering a Frankensteiner back down to the mat. Both wrestlers slowly get to their knees as they trade elbows, Maki delivers a series of elbows but Shoko elbows her down to the mat. Headbutt by Maki and she hits a DDT, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Shoko avoids the Diving Kokeshi. Double Arm DDT by Shoko, and she hits a Northern Suplex Hold on Maki for a two count. Shoko drags up Maki but Maki flips her off, hard elbow by Shoko but Maki blocks the Northern Lights Suplex and puts Shoko in the Itoh Punish. Shoko crawls to the ropes and makes it for the break, quick hurricanrana by Shoko but Maki catches her 619 attempt and puts Shoko in the Itoh Deluxe. Shoko struggles for a moment but has no choice but to tap out! Maki Itoh wins the match and the Princess Cup!

While I don’t think it reached the emotional high of Maki Itoh’s last match, this was still pretty damn good. Shoko works better when she isn’t supposed to be selling a body part in particular, as we’ve seen in the tournament, so the random carnage that both were bringing fit in well with her strengths. There wasn’t a ton of structure, besides Maki’s usual back work, but they were throwing big moves and hard strikes at each other pretty consistently for over twenty minutes. Maki didn’t hit a many of her big moves but she made the ones she did hit count, and her bag of tricks ended up being deep enough to win as no one is getting out of the Itoh Deluxe. Since it was so back-and-forth, the match ending on a move counter leading to the finish fit in well with everything that came before it. Well paced and entertaining throughout, a fitting Finale for Tokyo Joshi Pro’s premiere annual tournament.  Recommended

The post Tokyo Joshi Pro “Tokyo Princess Cup 2021” Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: TJPW Tokyo Joshi Pro 2020
Date: January 4th, 2020
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,467

Starting the year with something new – Tokyo Joshi Pro! Not a new promotion of course, but one that I didn’t watch much (if at all) in 2019 as their general style doesn’t always line up with my interests. This is one of their biggest shows of the year however, and the card is really stacked with four title matches and a special singles match between Natsumi Maki and Sareee. Here is the full card:

• Haruna Neko and Suzume vs. Mahiro Kiryu and Sena Shiori
• Rename In The Pinata Loser Name Change Match: Hyper Misao vs. Shoko Nakajima
• DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship: Saki Akai vs. Yuki Kamifuku
• Aja Kong, Pom Harajuku, and Raku vs. Mina Shirakawa, Mirai Maiumi, and Yuna Manase
• Natsumi Maki vs. Sareee
• Mizuki vs. Thunder Rosa
• International Princess Championship: Maki Itoh vs. Hikari Noa
• Princess Tag Team Championship: Miu Watanabe and Rika Tatsumi vs. Nodoka Tenma and Yuki Aino
• Princess Of Princess Championship: Yuka Sakazaki vs. Miyu Yamashita

As Tokyo Joshi Pro is not a promotion I watch very often, I may miss some of the smaller nuances on what is going on but I’ll do my best. All wrestlers have profiles on the site, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Haruna Neko and Suzume vs. Kiryu and Sena Shiori

Suzume and Sena start, they trade holds on their feet before Suzume takes Sena down to the mat. Sena switches positions and applies a leglock but it gets quickly reversed, they jockey for position but end up in a stalemate. Back up, Suzume backs into her corner to tag in Haruna, while Mahiro is also tagged in. Haruna gets the first strike on Mahiro and tries to knock her over, but Mahiro stays up and applies a side headlock. Haruna Irish whips out of it but Mahiro hits a hard shoulderblock, she applies a front necklock as she tags in Sena. Sena tries to throw Haruna into the corner but it gets reversed, seated senton by Haruna to Sena and she covers her for two. Haruna tags in Suzume, Sena is thrown into the corner and she eats running strikes from both her opponents. Cover by Suzume, but it gets two. Suzume picks up Sena but Sena elbows her and the two trade blows, Sena tags in Suzume but Mahiro catches her with a scoop slam. Mahiro slams Suzume into the corner but Suzume connects with a dropkick and tags Haruna. Haruna goes for a slam but it gets blocked, Mahiro goes for a slam but Haruna gets out of it and hits a lariat. Cover by Haruna, but it gets a two count. Haruna tags Suzume, Suzume goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody for two. Suzume elbows Mahiro in the chest but Mahiro connects with a hard elbow and tags in Sena. Dropkick by Sena and she applies a single leg crab hold, but Haruna breaks it up. Mahiro throws Haruna out of the ring, Irish whip by Sena to Suzume but Suzume reverses it. Sena avoids Suzume’s dropkick and re-applies the crab hold, but Suzume wiggles to the ropes and gets the break. Elbows by Sena but Suzume elbows her back, schoolboy attempt by Suzume but Sena rolls through it. Dropkick by Suzume and she puts Sena in a sleeper hold, Sena struggles to escape but taps out! Haruna Neko and Suzume are the winners.

Even for a rookie/young wrestler match, the ending here was pretty sudden as there wasn’t really any foreshadowing that a sleeper finisher was in play. I was really impressed by Mahiro, her poise and mannerisms are great for a rookie and I could see her becoming a force down the line. I was less impressed by Haruna and Suzume, however I concede this was a really small sample size. Sena looked fine for a debut, seemed to be confident and didn’t mess up anything. Not a bad way to start, although a slightly longer end stretch would have been nice.

Hyper Misao vs. Shoko Nakajima

For their respective weapons, Shoko brought with her a giant bag of kaiju action figures while Misao will use…. Tokyo Joshi Pro producer Tetsuya Koda, who is in no way a wrestler. But he does distract Shoko off the start which allows Misao to attack her from behind, Rocking Cradle by Misao while Koda puts a sheet down on the mat. They roll up Shoko in the sheet, Misao gets the ladder and starts climbing up, but the still-cocooned Shoko knocks it over. Koda and Misao grab the ladder but Shoko dropkicks it away from them and gets the sheet off, she puts the ladder on her shoulders and spins it into Misao. Misao falls out of the ring but Shoko dives out onto her, she goes back in the ring to get some of her action figures and starts throwing them at Misao. Misao crawls under the ring to get away, Shoko goes out to try to find her but Misao sneaks up from behind and sprays her from a spray can. Back in the ring, Irish whip by Misao and she hits a crossbody, she sets up the ladder but Shoko pulls her off. They fight over the ladder until Misao smashes Shoko’s hands between the rungs and then throws the ladder at Shoko. Shoko recovers and hits a bulldog into the turnbuckle, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick.

Shoko charges Misao but Misao hiptosses her onto the ladder, Misao sets up the ladder but Shoko takes it back down and drives Misao into the corner with it. Shoko puts the ladder across the ropes in the corner, trapping Misao in, and sets up her toys in the middle of the ring. Misao gets free and charges her, Shoko puts Misao on the top turnbuckle and joins her, hitting a Frankensteiner. Shoko gathers the toys again into a pile, Shoko scoop slams Misao onto the toys before going up top, but Koda runs in and protects Misao. Shoko dives off with a senton attempt but Koda helps Misao get out of the way (maybe?), Misao sets up the ladder and climbs it, but Shoko pulls her off. They trade punches until Misao back bodydrops Shoko onto the toys, but Shoko spins away from her and they both start to climb the ladder. They elbow each other at the top of it, Shoko knocks Misao off the ladder and breaks open the pinata, pulling out the banner! Misao runs up and tries to get it from her but its too late, as Shoko puts it on. Shoko Nakajima is the winner!

These types of matches always annoy me, as just based on skill they could have had a pretty fun ten minute ladder match but in the end it was just about the silly gimmick tied to it. There were a few really nice/painful bumps hidden in here, and when they just got a chance to wrestle this was fine, but when it was about the Hello! Project concert and Koda and toys everything came to a halt. I am sure this match is for someone out there in the world, just not really for me. I want to see destruction in ladder matches, not sub-par comedy.

(c) Saki Akai vs. Yuki Kamifuku
DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Championship

Saki starts with a side headlock, Yuki reverses it and takes Saki to the mat but it only lasts a moment as they return to their feet. Yuki stomps on Saki’s feet and trips her, Saki is thrown into the corner and Yuki elbows her. Saki switches positions with her but Yuki avoids the boot, Yuki charges Saki but Saki kicks her in the stomach. Saki stomps Yuki and chokes her in the corner, kick to the back by Saki and she covers Yuki for two. Saki picks up Yuki and hits a drop toehold into a headscissors, Yuki inches to the ropes and makes it there for the break. Saki goes off the ropes and boots Yuki in the head, cover by Saki but it gets another two. Yuki returns to her feet but Saki kicks her back down again, Saki throws Yuki into the corner and delivers a big boot. Saki goes for a suplex but Yuki lands on her feet and hits a handstand face crusher.

Yuki tosses Saki into the corner and slams her into the turnbuckle repeatedly, boot by Yuki and she covers Saki for two. Yuki picks up Saki but Saki kicks her arm away and the two trade blows, with Saki finally knocking down Yuki with a big boot but Yuki quickly gets up and delivers a “dropkick.” Yuki throws Saki into the corner but Saki knocks her back, head kick by Saki and she goes to the top turnbuckle, but Yuki dropkicks her as she jumps off. Scissors Kick by Yuki, but Saki is too close to the ropes and using them to break up the count. Yuki goes after Saki, Saki quickly puts her in a Triangle Choke but Yuki gets to the ropes. Schoolboy by Yuki, but it gets two. Yuki goes for a dropkick but Saki swats it away and hits a PK for a two count. Saki goes up top again and this time hits a diving crossbody, but Yuki kicks out of the cover. Kick to the chest by Saki and she hits the Pendulum Knee Strike, Quetzalcoatl by Saki and she picks up the three count! Saki Akai wins and is still the champion.

I hate to go back on what I said about nine minutes ago, but this match really needed some comedy elements. Or something. No one has ever accused Saki of being a super worker (I assume, if they have they are wrong), but she can work a good match if put in the right situation. Going up against someone of the same type of wrestler, but worse, was not the right situation. This was awkward, uncoordinated, and poorly laid out. I am not sure why they would do this to Saki and Yuki. Make it a wacky tag match or a five way match or something, give them some protection. The rookies in the opening match put on a better performance, including Sena. Skip this one.

Aja Kong, Harajuku, and Raku vs. Shirakawa, Maiumi, and Manase

Mirai and Pom kick things off and trade wristlocks, they end up on the mat but Mirai locks in a side headlock as they get back up. Mirai drives Pom back and tags in Yuna, while Kong tags in as well. They lock up, Kong pushes Yuna into the ropes and she gives a clean break. Yuna elbows Kong and goes off the ropes, but she fails in her attempts to shoulderblock Kong over. Kong slaps Yuna against the ropes, Irish whip by Yuna and she hits a double chop to the chest. Kong goes for the elbow drop but Yuna moves and kicks Kong in the back, she quickly tags in Mina and Mina goes for the Romero Special, but Kong ignores her and rolls over to break it up. Kong kicks Mina in the leg and tags Raku, Raku runs over Mina’s midsection but Mina moves when she tries to sit down on her. Pom comes in to help get Mina back to the mat, they invite Kong in but she stays on the apron. Raku tries to sit on Mina again but once again she moves, Mina is knocked down and finally Kong agrees to come in. All three take turns running over Mina’s midsection with Kong sitting on Mina to end the spot, cover by Raku but it gets a two count. Mina scoop slams Raku and puts her in the Romero Special, she lets go after a moment and tags in Mirai. Scoop slam by Mirai and she elbows Raku in the corner, Yuna is tagged back in but Raku greets her with elbows to the chest. Yuna avoids Raku’s lariat and hits a hard shoulderblock, she goes for a kick but Raku catches it and hits a face crusher. She makes the tag to Pom, swinging headscissors by Pom to Yuna and she rolls over Yuna for a two count.

Pom kicks Yuna in the leg but Yuna delivers a big boot in the corner, shoulderblock by Yuna and she tags Mina. Diving double chops by Mina but Pom trips her and delivers a dropkick for two. Pom picks up Mina but Mina blocks the scoop slam, Lou Thesz Press by Mina and she covers Pom for two. Pom ducks the backfist and kicks Mina in the shin, giving her time to tag Kong while Mirai is also tagged in. Mirai tries to knock over Kong with no luck, Mirai goes for a scoop slam but Kong doesn’t budge. Scoop slam by Kong, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Mirai pulls her off from behind. Kong quickly comes back with a punch to the face, Mina runs in to try to help and she hits a backfist on Kong. Yuna also gets in the ring and shoulderblocks Kong over, lariat by Mirai to Kong but Kong kicks out at two. Mirai picks up Kong and goes for a backdrop suplex, but Kong blocks it. Elbows by Mirai and she goes off the ropes, but Pom catches her with a forearm. Mina runs in and DDTs Pom, but Raku hits a diving chop to Mina. Yuna boots Raku, she goes to Kong and tries to help Mirai hit a double vertical suplex, but it gets reversed. Kong waits for Mirai to get up and hits a hard lariat, cover by Kong but Mirai bridges out of the pin. Kong looks annoyed, she picks up Mirai and plants her with a backdrop suplex, but the cover is broken up. Kong positions Mirai and gets on the second turnbuckle, falling back elbow drop by Kong and she picks up the three count! Aja Kong, Raku, and Pom Harajuku are the winners.

Post match, they try to trick Aja Kong and pin her to win the DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Championship, but Kong is too smart and bails.

For a midcard match, this was perfectly fine. Not everyone here is a great wrestler so hiding them in a six wrestler tag was a good idea, as it was really about Aja Kong either playing along with some silliness or the younger wrestlers trying to knock her over. Not an original theme but an effective one that I can appreciate. I thought Mirai looked good here, showed a lot of fire and the offense she did connected pretty well which I can’t say for everyone involved. Not critical viewing but decent enough for what it was going for.

Natsumi Maki vs. Sareee

Natsumi dropkicks Sareee right as the match starts, another dropkick by Natsumi but Sareee blocks the crossbody and slams Natsumi. Natsumi bridges out of the pin, armdrag by Natsumi but Sareee armdrags her back and they reach a stalemate after a few trips. Tie-up, Natsumi gets Sareee into the ropes and slaps her as she gives the break. Sareee slaps her back, she throws Natsumi into the corner and tosses her down by the hair. Natsumi returns the favor but Sareee whips her down again, elbows by Natsumi but Sareee elbows her hard to the mat. Stomps by Sareee and she hits a scoop slam, modified Muta Lock by Sareee but she lets go after a moment to kick Natsumi in the leg. Crab hold by Sareee but Natsumi inches to the ropes and makes it there for the break. Sareee jumps down on Natsumi’s back, Irish whip by Sareee but Natsumi connects with a dropkick for two. Natsumi quickly goes for the cross armbreaker and gets it locked in, but Sareee wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Dropkicks by Natsumi before Sareee can get back up, Natsumi goes off the ropes and dropkicks Sareee in the face. Sareee falls out of the ring, Natsumi goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto Sareee with a plancha suicida.

Natsumi slides Sareee back in, she goes up top again and hits a diving crossbody for two. Natsumi applies a waistlock but Sareee reverses it and hits a wheelbarrow German suplex. Sareee picks up Natsumi, Natsumi elbows her but Sareee elbows her right back, sending Natsumi off her feet. They trade elbows back and forth with Sareee generally getting the better of it, dropkick by Natsumi but Sareee dropkicks her back. Running dropkick by Sareee, she picks up Natsumi and hits a fisherman suplex hold for two. Sareee goes for the uranage but Natsumi blocks it, Irish whip by Sareee but Natsumi ducks the lariat and schoolboys Sareee for two. Natsumi goes off the ropes, Sareee goes for a uranage but Natsumi blocks it and cradles Sareee for two. Natsumi picks up Sareee, kick to the head by Natsumi and she goes off the ropes, hitting the Backlash for a two count. Back up, Sareee blocks the suplex attempt and drops Natsumi with a German suplex hold, but Natsumi gets a shoulder up. Sareee goes towards the turnbuckles but Natsumi grabs her leg, Natsumi slaps Sareee but Sareee elbows her and kicks her in the jaw with a back kick. Uranage by Sareee, and she covers Natsumi for the three count! Sareee is the winner!

Even though Natsumi (in experience) isn’t on Sareee’s level, she sure did try to match her move for move. Sareee tried submissions, Natsumi did too, Sareee threw elbows, Natsuki returned fire, almost as if she was trying to prove she could do anything Sareee can. But in the end that was her undoing – her elbows weren’t as hard, her dropkicks weren’t as on point, and her submissions weren’t as effective. It wasn’t a complex story but it was a smart one, realistically Natsumi wasn’t winning this but she wanted to show the fans that she wasn’t intimidated or backing down to The Sun God. Sareee has gotten so good in the last few years, she doesn’t look intimidating but she hits harder than anyone and her suplexes are beautifully executed. While I wish they had gotten more time, they were able to tell the story they wanted to, and overall I really enjoyed it and look forward to where Natsumi goes from here in Tokyo Joshi Pro.  Recommended

Mizuki vs. Thunder Rosa

Mizuki offers her hand to start the match, Thunder Rosa goes to shake it but Mizuki tries to kick her. Thunder Rosa catches the kick and throws Mizuki to the mat. Mizuki is up quickly and hits a tilt-a-whirl armdrag, dropkick by Mizuki but Thunder Rosa throws her into the corner. Mizuki kicks Thunder Rosa back when she charges and goes for a diving crossbody, but Thunder Rosa catches her and hits a backbreaker. Front slam by Thunder Rosa and she covers Mizuki for a two count. Stomps by Thunder Rosa, she picks up Mizuki and slams her again. Thunder Rosa puts Mizuki in the Tree of Woe and dropkicks her in the leg, she picks up Mizuki and hits a scoop slam for two. Single leg crab hold by Thunder Rosa into the rocking cradle, she picks up Mizuki and chops her against the ropes. Mizuki goes for a quick cradle but Thunder Rosa kicks out and boots her in the head, she rakes at Mizuki’s face before slamming her into the mat. Thunder Rosa puts Mizuki in the ropes and chops her in the chest, Irish whip by Thunder Rosa but Mizuki ducks the lariat and connects with a dropkick. Mizuki charges Thunder Rosa and hits a crossbody, sending Thunder Rosa off the apron to the floor.

Mizuki goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out of the ring with a plancha suicida, she slides Thunder Rosa back into the ring and goes up top again, hitting a diving crossbody for two. Mizuki picks up Thunder Rosa but Thunder Rosa knees her in the head, she picks up Mizuki but Mizuki slides down her back and delivers a Backstabber. Armtrap crossface by Mizuki but Thunder Rosa muscles out of it, she gets Mizuki on her shoulders and drives her into the turnbuckles before hitting a Death Valley Bomb. Cover by Thunder Rosa, but Mizuki barely bridges out. Stomps by Thunder Rosa, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Mizuki recovers and joins her. Superplex by Mizuki and both wrestlers are down, they slowly get to their feet as they trade strikes. Chops by Thunder Rosa but Mizuki goes off the ropes and hits a tilt-a-whirl crossbody for two. Mizuki charges Thunder Rosa, Thunder Rosa tries to kick her back but Mizuki slides her legs onto the second ropes and hits a reverse double kneedrop. Mizuki goes up top but Thunder Rosa avoids her dive, running kick by Thunder Rosa and she drops Mizuki with the Thunder Driver for the three count! Thunder Rosa wins!

I guess the best way to describe this match would be fundamentally sound. It was pretty basic but solid, the two worked together pretty well and they kept it short enough that it never felt like it was pushing its time. The beginning was a bit clunky as I didn’t buy Mizuki has being able to out-strike Thunder Rosa, but once she got more to her high flying moves everything they were doing started to sync up. One of the better matches on the show so far, which I mostly credit to the veteran Thunder Rosa, but Mizuki held her own once they got to the meat of the match. Not a bad showing by either.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Maki Itoh vs. Hikari Noa
International Princess Championship

They circle each other to start, Hikari trips Maki and goes for her ankle, Maki reverses it and the two go back and forth. Maki applies a side headlock and takes Hikari down, but Hikari quickly gets out of it and dropkicks Maki out of the ring. Hikari goes out after her and they trade blows, scoop slam attempt by Maki on the floor but Hikari blocks it. Maki drags Hikari around the ring and this time manages to hit the scoop slam, she tells the crowd to move and she hits Hikari down in a chair. Maki stands over Hikari but Hikari slides between her legs and hits her in the back with a chair, she slams Maki into the ring apron and then into the ring post. Back in the ring, cover by Hikari but it gets a two count. Elbows by Hikari and she Irish whips Maki, but Maki reverses it and hits a scoop slam. Maki picks up Hikari but Hikari throws her into the corner, Maki avoids Hikari’s charge and smacks her in the midsection. Maki stands over Hikari in the corner and delivers rapid fire punches, she tosses Hikari back to the middle of the ring but Hikari quickly cradles her for two. Maki goes for a strike, Hikari bridges down to avoid it but Maki hits a falling headbutt. She goes for a submission but Hikari quickly gets out of it, rolling cradle by Hikari and she holds down Maki for two.

Hikari gets on the top turnbuckle but Maki recovers and joins her, headbutt by Maki and she tosses Hikari back to the middle of the ring. Itoh Special by Maki to Hikari, but Hikari crawls to the ropes and makes it for the break. Maki stomps at Hikari, Irish whip by Maki but Hikari blocks it and applies a grounded cobra twist. Hikari drags up Maki and hits a short-range lariat, cover by Hikari but it gets a two count. Hikari tries a few more quick pins with no luck, she goes for a lariat but Maki blocks it. Maki goes for a DDT but Hikari pushes her off and hits a dropkick, but Maki kicks out of the cover. Hikari goes for a suplex but Maki blocks it, she goes off the ropes but Maki plants her with a DDT. Maki goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers the diving headbutt, but Hikari barely gets a shoulder up. Maki picks up Hikari but Hikari avoids the headbutt and suplexes Maki to the mat. Hikari elbows Maki as they start to get up, but Maki elbows her back. They trade blows as they get up, dropkick by Hikari but Maki isn’t phased and she goes after Hikari’s injured leg as she puts her in the Itoh Deluxe (Elevated Texas Cloverleaf). Hikari struggles for a moment but is forced to submit! Maki Itoh wins the match and retains the championship.

While the ending felt a bit sudden, I still enjoyed this one. Maki has gotten better since the last time I saw her, I still wouldn’t call her a high-end wrestler but she connects well with the crowd and her offense was both smart and effective. Hikari still wrestles a simple style but it works at this level, my main complaint is that Maki did great work on Hikari’s leg but she never really showed any signs it was hurting her until the very end with the dropkick. I appreciate some quality limb work, but a little limp can go a long way. Still a pretty well structured and executed match, Maki could have just done a bit more to foreshadow the end with the submissions finally wearing her down to the point of having to submit. Mildly Recommended

(c) Miu Watanabe and Rika Tatsumi vs. Nodoka Tenma and Yuki Aino
Princess Tag Team Championship

Miu and Yuki start the match, they both try to shoulderblock each other over until Yuki sends Miu to the mat. Nodoka tags in as does Rika, Rika takes Nodoka to the mat but Nodoka reverses positions with her and the two trade holds. Rika goes off the ropes but Nodoka knocks her down with a shoulderblock, she tags Yuki back in and they double team Rika. Yuki picks up Rika and throws her into the corner but Rika kicks her back when she charges in and tags Miu. Miu elbows Yuki in the corner, elbows to the back by Miu and she hits a running elbow. Miu puts Yuki in a bear hug before throwing her in the corner, she tags Rika and they double team Yuki. Rika puts Yuki in a waistlock but Yuki gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Rika picks up Yuki but Yuki elbows her back, she knocks over Rika and makes the tag to Nodoka. Shoulderblocks by Nodoka to both her opponents and she hits a scoop slam on Rika, crossbody by Nodoka and she gets a two count. Rika throws Nodoka into the corner, she puts her leg over the second rope and dropkicks her in the leg. Rika slams Nodoka’s leg into the ring post a couple times before dropkicking it into the post, cover by Rika but it gets two. Rika hits a dragon screw on Nodoka and follows with a hip attack, Nodoka gets Rika around the waist and picks her up, but her knee gives out.

She tries again and this time hits a Samoan Drop, She crawls to her corner but Rika tags in Miu and Miu cuts off Nodoka, body avalanche by Miu in the corner and she hits a hard shoulderblock. Giant Swing by Miu, she picks up Nodoka but Nodoka slides away and applies a side headlock. Nodoka picks up Miu and hits a fallaway slam, she gets to her corner and tags in Yuki. Yuki boots Miu and Nodoka jumps off her back with a crossbody. Cover by Yuki, but it gets two. Yuki elbows Miu and hits a running elbow in the corner, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Miu avoids her dive. Bulldog by Yuki but Rika comes in and rescues her, Nodoka also comes in however and Rika eats a double shoulderblock. Yuki gets on her shoulders as Nodoka goes up to to give her the Bakuretsu Bulldog, but Miu gets away and Rika hip attacks Nodoka off the top turnbuckle. Miu and Rika drop Yuki with an assisted Dragon Twist of Fate, cover by Miu but Nodoka breaks up the pin. Nodoka goes for the Unprettier on Rika but Rika blocks it and hip attacks Nodoka out of the ring, Miu picks up Yuki and she hits a shoulder backbreaker for two. Miu goes for a punch but Yuki ducks it and hits a gutwrench suplex, Yuki applies a full nelson but Miu snapmares out of it. Punch by Miu, she picks up Yuki and nails the Tear Drop for the three count! Daydream win and retain the tag team championship.

Another solid match. From an outsider’s perspective, the Bakuretsu Sisters appear to be done as threats, as if after two years together all you have are three failed title challenges, maybe its time to move on to something else. Miu and Nodoka were my favorite two here, both of their segments on offense were entertaining and they have a variety of ways to hurt people. The leg work was quickly forgotten but it wasn’t enough of a focus to hurt the match, and the end stretch was really good. Rika and Aino didn’t do anything wrong in the match but it just felt like they were kinda ‘present’ rather than doing anything overly memorable, but Tokyo Joshi Pro is full of wrestlers without a lot of experience and not all wrestlers are going to make a difference in every match. Pretty short for a semi-main title match, but an ease to watch with good pacing and a satisfying ending.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Yuka Sakazaki vs. Miyu Yamashita
Princess of Princess Championship

They begin trading wristlocks and headlocks but reach an early stalemate, Yuka sends Miyu to the mat but Miyu reverses positions with her as they jockey for control. Yuka bails out of the ring to regroup but Miyu goes after her, Yuka strikes Miyu as she leaves the ring and kicks her from the apron. Yuka clubs on Miyu’s back and takes her up into the bleachers before throwing her into a wall. Yuka takes Miyu up further into the crowd and scoop slams her on the floor, she gets a table and gets it ready at the top of the stairs to use as a sled. Yuka sits Miyu on the table and pushes her down the stairs, but security is in the way so she only gets about halfway down. Yuka runs down and pushes her the rest of the way, sending Miyu crashing down to the floor at the bottom. They make their way back to ringside and Yuka throws Miyu into the ring post, Yuka props a table up against the post but Miyu fights back with elbows. Yuka elbows her back and scoop slams Miyu into the table (which obviously doesn’t break), Yuka picks Miyu up and slams her into the table again (it kinda breaks this time, Yuka seems satisfied). Yuka brings Miyu up onto the apron but Miyu gets Yuka on her shoulders and slams her onto the apron.

Miyu throws Yuka back into the ring finally, cover by Miyu but it gets a two count. Snapmare by Miyu and she kicks Yuka in the back, Yuka returns to her feet but Miyu knocks her to the mat again. Running knee by Miyu and she hits a gutbuster, kick combination by Miyu and she puts Yuka in a chinlock, but Yuka gets out of it and pushes Miyu out of the ring. Miyu kicks Yuka from the apron as she returns but Yuka catches her with a diving double chop. Running hurricanrana by Yuka and she hits a jumping forearm, missile dropkick by Yuka but Miyu avoids the Sliding D. Yuka connects on her second try, cover by Yuka but it gets two. High kick by Miyu and she nails a rebound high kick out of the corner, running kick by Miyu and Yuka collapses to the mat. Yuka recovers but Miyu kicks her in the back of the head, cover by Miyu but it gets two. Yuka gets back up and elbows Miyu, Miyu elbows her back but Yuka catches her with a vertical suplex. Rolling vertical suplexes by Yuka, she goes up top but Miyu recovers and joins her.

Yuka pushes Miyu off the top turnbuckle to the floor, she gets on the apron and hits a diving hurricanrana. Yuka puts Miyu up on the apron with her head hanging over and goes to the top turnbuckle, delivering a diving body press. Yuka rolls Miyu back in, cover by Yuka but it gets a two count. Swandive body press attempt by Yuka, but Miyu gets her knees up. Kicks to the chest by Miyu but Yuka slaps on a leg submission hold, Miyu inches to the ropes and makes it for the break. Yuka puts Miyu on the top turnbuckle and joins her, hitting a reverse STO down to the mat. Yuka goes out to the apron and gets on the ropes, but Miyu kicks her in the head before she can jump off. Another head kick by Miyu, she goes out to the apron and dives off the ropes with an elbow to Yuka. Cover by Miyu, but it gets two. More kicks by Miyu but Yuka ducks one and cradles Miyu for two. Rolling elbow by Miyu but Miyu gets her back and hits a German suplex hold for two. Miyu kicks Yuka in the head some more, she goes off the ropes but Yuka catches her with a hammerlock suplex. Miyu goes out to the apron and nails the Magical Magical Girl Splash, cover by Yuka and she picks up the three count! Yuka Sakazaki wins and retains the championship.

I had heard going in that this match was sloppy, and while there were one or two moves that didn’t hit well I wouldn’t consider that overly unusual in a 20 minute match. Maybe the type of thing that keeps a match from being a true MOTYC, but nothing that impacted my overall enjoyment of the match. My main complaint is the ‘outside the ring’ portion felt too long and wasn’t completely satisfying since the sled spot didn’t appear to go as planned, so it felt more like wasting time than contributing to the match. Once they got back into the ring though, business really picked up and both wrestlers are so much fun to watch. Miyu’s kicks are killer, and she can hit them from anywhere as she can deliver a kick to someone that is well over her own head (which she did several times). A classic flyer vs. strikes match, I wouldn’t have minded if the end stretch was longer so Yuka could get in some more offense, but still a fitting main event as they both went all out. I appreciate the effort and desire to create something amazing and memorable even if not everything landed as smooth as they had planned, hopefully next time things will sync better and they will create a true epic.  Recommended

The post TJPW Tokyo Joshi Pro 2020 on 1/4/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

The final spot in the tournament will be determined in a qualifying match between Hikari and Miu on June 3rd. The winner of the tournament will receive a title shot at a later event. If you are new to Tokyo Joshi Pro I highly recommend you check out Heerokun’s Introduction to Tokyo Joshi Pro guide as it does a far better job of explaining things than I’d ever be able to. Let’s get straight to the first show on June 3rd!

Event: Tokyo Joshi Pro “Tokyo Princess Cup 2018” Day 1
Dates: June 3rd, 2018
Location: Shinjuku Village Studio C 106 in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 384

We have five matches on the first night, with the qualifying match for the 16th spot as well as half of the 1st Round matches taking place. Here are tonight’s matches:

• Tokyo Princess Cup – Take A Chance: Hikari vs. Miu
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Nodoka-oneesan vs. Yuna Manase
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Hyper Misao vs. Saki-sama
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Maki Itoh vs. Miyu Yamashita
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Reika Saiki vs. Yuu

All wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name to go straight to it. As this event aired on DDT Universe, all matches are unclipped.

Hikari vs. Miu

They grapple to start, shoulderblock by Miu but Hikari returns the favor and starts on Miu’s leg. Hikari throws Miu in the corner and hits a jumping elbow, cover by Hikari but it gets two. Back up they trade elbows until Miu clubs Hikari in the chest and puts Hikari in a crab hold, but Hikari gets into the ropes. Backbreaker by Miu, she picks up Hikari and throws her into the corner before hitting a body avalanche. Miu tosses Hikari to the mat, cover by Miu but it gets a two. Hikari fire back with a dropkick, Miu goes off the ropes and muscles Hikari up onto her shoulder but Hikari slides away and hits a dropkick. Hikari picks up Miu but Miu hits a scoop slam, Hikari slides away again however and puts Miu in an Cobra Twist. Cradle by Hikari, but Miu gets a shoulder up. Miu clubs Hikari in the chest with a Polish Hammer, she picks up Hikari and gets her onto her shoulder, but Hikari breaks the hold and cradles Miu for two. Hikari dropkicks Miu from behind, Leg Roll Clutch by Hikari and she gets the three count! Hikari wins and is now in the Tokyo Princess Cup!

While it is clear these two are still rookies based on their skill level, they still made an attempt to tell a story. Even with no real knowledge going in, it was clear that Miu kept going for the same move that would have gotten her the victory, but Hikari kept avoiding it and eventually was able to defeat Miu as she had a bigger bag of tricks. Basic but fine enough, I don’t know if either will have a long career in wrestling but for this style of match I have no real complaints.

Nodoka-oneesan vs. Yuna Manase

They begin the match trading wristlocks until Nodoka slaps on a headlock, Yuna gets out of it but Nodoka drops her with a shoulderblock. Nodoka goes off the ropes but Yuna returns the favor with her own shoulderblock, Yuna slams Nodoka’s knee into the mat before flinging her down by the hair. Irish whip by Yuna out of the corner but Nodoka reverses it and hits a running elbow, body press by Nodoka but it only gets a two count. Nodoka goes off the ropes but Yuna plants her with a big boot, snapmare by Yuna and she kicks Nodoka in the back before hitting a seated senton for two. Mounted elbows by Yuna and she puts Nodoka in a headlock, but Nodoka gets a foot on the ropes to force the break. Scoop slam by Yuna, she picks up Nodoka but Nodoka elbows her off and hits a scoop slam. Nodoka tries to get Yuna on her shoulders but Yuna blocks it, body block by Yuna and she hits an over-the-shoulder slam. Running chest bump by Yuna, she covers Nodoka but Nodoka barely gets a shoulder up. Yuna goes for a kick but Nodoka avoids it, diving bulldog by Nodoka but Yuna floors her again with a big boot. Nodoka dropkicks Yuna into the corner but Nodoka quickly hits a Back Flip (Samoan Driver) for a quick three count cover! Nodoka continues in the tournament.

Nodoka is fiery, I like her quite a bit, but Yuna still doesn’t do a lot for me. There is a reason that Yuna has bounced around so much early in her career, she does the fundamentals well but doesn’t really bring anything special to the table. She did a good enough job as just being a foil for Nodoka but for two wrestlers that know each other well the chemistry wasn’t really there with some of the transitions. The match also felt like it ended really quickly as Yuna didn’t feel worn down at all and the Back Flip isn’t a killer move. A decent enough mid-card match but nothing more than that.

Hyper Misao vs. Saki-sama

Even before the match starts, Misao is already being shady as she tells Saki she has stolen some of her stuff and unless she forfeits the match, she won’t get it back. Saki has none of this and boots Misao hard in the face, cover by Saki but Misao kicks out and bails out of the ring. Saki goes out after her but Misao knocks her down and runs away, she disguises someone at ringside in her attire and hides before Saki recovers. Saki sees the impostor but realizes it is not the real Misao, Saki finds her but Misao bails again and runs up the stairwell near ringside. Saki follows her but Misao throws the curtain at her, she then busts out some tape and tapes Saki’s hand to the guardrail. Misao runs back into the ring as the referee’s count continues, but Saki slips out of her glove to get loose and makes it back before the 20 count. Running elbow by Misao and she rams Saki’s head into her knee, Misao exits the ring and comes back with a chair, but the referee stops her from using it. By now Saki has recovered and she boots Misao in the chest, Saki whips at Misao before kicking her in the back of the head for a two count. Saki applies a headscissors but Misao makes it to the ropes, Saki goes off the ropes and she boots Misao out of the ring. Saki gets on the apron and goes to kick Misao, but Misao throws a chair at her leg.

Misao tapes up Saki’s legs and tries to return to the ring but Saki grabs her, and Saki returns the favor by taping up Misao’s legs. They both roll back into the ring, taped up legs and all, and Misao gets her chair. Misao hops over to Saki but the referee tries to take the chair from her, he fails however and goes flying backwards and out of the ring. Misao hops again over to Saki but Saki knocks her back, roll-up by Misao but the referee isn’t around to count it. Saki and Misao both free their legs, Misao goes to find the referee but Saki kicks her from behind. Saki applies a figure four headlock but lets go since there is no referee still, she goes and collects the referee but Misao promptly accidentally elbows him in the corner. Big boot by Saki in the corner but Misao comes back with a crossbody, she crawls to the corner and gets the tape again, but Azusa Christie runs down to help Saki. Azusa frees Saki with scissors, Misao comes back with some type of spray and sprays it into both Saki and Azusa’s eyes. Misao tosses the bottle to Saki as she goes to wake up the referee, and then takes off her own mask and puts it into Saki’s hands as well. As the referee finally recovers, Misao tells him that Saki cheated and stole her mask, and the referee disqualifies Saki! Hyper Misao wins and advances in the tournament.

While I can see that this shtick may get old if it happens repeatedly, to me it is still fresh so I liked it. The lengths of which Misao went through to win was truly impressive, she wasn’t trying the same thing over and over but had a big bag of tricks. Not all worked but the effort was there. Also for comedy-type matches I tend to listen to the crowd more and they really enjoyed it, so clearly they know their audience. An amusing match, I don’t know how Misao is as a traditional wrestler but her gimmickry is on-point.  Mildly Recommended

Maki Itoh vs. Miyu Yamashita

The match starts with wristlocks, headlock by Miyu but Maki elbows out of it. Miyu charges Maki but Maki moves, Maki goes for mounted punches in the corner but Miyu slides away and hits Maki from behind. Miyu goes off the ropes but Maki greets her with a hard elbow, shoulder tackles by Maki in the corner and she finally hits her mounted punches. Maki goes off the ropes but Miyu avoids her attack, stomps by Miyu and she kicks Maki in the back for a two count. Miyu clubs Maki in the back and applies a headscissors, but Maki wiggles to the ropes to force a break. Miyu goes off the ropes and dropkicks Maki in the back, Irish whip by Miyu which is reversed by Maki, but Maki misses a dropkick. Back up they trade strikes, Miyu goes off the ropes but Maki catches her with a dropkick. Scoop slam by Maki and she covers Miyu for a two count. Elbows by Maki but Miyu knees her in the stomach, battering ram by Maki and she hits a falling headbutt for two. Maki headbutts Miyu but Miyu gets her back, elbows by Maki but Miyu returns fire. Miyu goes for a high kick but Maki catches it, headbutts by Maki and she finally knocks Miyu to the mat. Maki puts Miyu in a crab hold but Miyu inches to the ropes for a break. Maki gets on the second turnbuckle but Miyu avoids her body press, now Miyu goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for two. Miyu picks up Maki but Maki slides away, knee by Miyu but Maki elbows her back. High kick by Miyu, she picks up Maki but again Miyu slides off and hits a DDT. Miyu puts Maki in a deep clutch Boston Crab but Miyu is able to make it to the ropes, Maki picks up Miyu and she hits a long series of headbutts. Maki goes off the ropes but Miyu catches her with a pair of high kicks, Attitude Adjustment by Miyu and she picks up the three count! Miyu Yamashita wins and advances in the tournament.

I can see the appeal with Maki, but I wouldn’t say this match ever really went beyond just the ‘good’ level. Course, this is an early round non-main event match so there are some limitations outside of their control, but it all just felt a bit rushed. Maki had a good run at the end to try to put down the clearly more powerful Miyu, but Miyu seemed to shrug it all off a bit too easily to go straight into her home stretch. With a few extra minutes they probably could have wrapped things up a bit better. Miyu’s strikes were on point as always and she has always been one of my favorites in Tokyo Joshi Pro, so I am looking forward to her having longer and more even matches as the tournament progresses.  Mildly Recommended

Reika Saiki vs. Yuu

The match begins with a test of strength, naturally, which Yuu initially wins but Reika gets in top position. Yuu gets back in control but Reika gets into the ropes for the break, headlock by Yuu but Reika gets out of it and they collide with neither wrestler going down. Reika gets Yuu to the mat and kicks her in the back, she picks up Yuu and dropkicks her before hitting a hip toss for a two count. Reika throws Yuu into the corner but Yuu elbows her, Reika returns with an elbow of her own and she puts Yuu in a camel clutch. Yuu gets to the ropes for the break, Reika goes off the ropes but Yuu catches her with a spinning side slam. Reika quickly comes back with a backdrop suplex, Reika picks up Yuu and goes for the Tower Bridge, but Yuu slides away and hits the Oklahoma Stampede. Yuu picks up Reika, Reika goes for a leapfrog but Yuu catches her and slams Yuu to the mat. Senton by Yuu, but Reika kicks out of the cover.

Back up they trade strikes until Yuu chops Reika to the mat, Yuu picks up Reika but Reika knocks her back and the battle continues. Irish whip by Yuu and she chops Reika to the mat again, cover by Yuu but it gets a two count. Yuu picks up Reika, Reika goes off the ropes but Yuu drops her with a judo throw. Yuu applies a cobra clutch but Reika quickly gets into the ropes, Yuu charges Reika but Reika leapfrogs over her and dropkicks Yuu into the corner. Reika grabs Yuu and puts her in the Tower Bridge, but quickly tosses her back down and stomps on Yuu’s back. Missile dropkick by Reika, she waits for Yuu to get up but Yuu ducks her kick and re-applies the Cobra Clutch. Reika gets out of the hold and goes for the Shining Wizard, but Yuu catches her and hits a buckle bomb. Last Ride attempt by Yuu but Reika slides away and hits a Shining Wizard to the back of Yuu’s head. Head kick by Reika, she picks up Yuu and goes for the Jackhammer, but Yuu blocks it and hits a hard elbows. John Woo by Yuu, she drags up Reika and she nails a Last Ride for the three count pinfall! Yuu picks up the win and advances in the tournament.

It took a few minutes to get going, but once it did I got the hoss battle that I was hoping for. The only thing holding back Yuu is she isn’t very charismatic so she has to work a bit harder to get the crowd into what she is doing. But she has the skill which is a big component of that, if she sticks with it and improves some in crowd engagement she could be a big star. I really enjoyed when they were trading bombs in the match as that is both wrestler’s style, a few of the spots were repeated and the strike battle may have been a bit too long in a shorter match, but its hard to get mad at two strong wrestlers tossing each other around. For a main event it didn’t seem quite as ‘special’ as one would hope but they packed a lot of content into it, an entertaining match even though it had its flaws.  Mildly Recommended

Event: Tokyo Joshi Pro “Tokyo Princess Cup 2018” Day 2
Dates: June 9th, 2018
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 302

On paper, the second night of the first round should have had four matches, but sadly that turned out not to be the case. Marika Kobashi was forced out of the tournament due to a poorly timed injury, and Maho Kurone forfeited her match as at the time she was taking a leave of absence from TJPW (sadly, since that time it has been announced that she is not returning). So instead of four matches, we get two matches, as a couple wrestlers get automatic byes. Here is the line-up for the event as we conclude the 1st Round:

• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Hikari vs. Marika Kobashi (Hikari advances via forfeit)
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Shoko Nakajima vs. Maho Kurone (Shoko Nakajima advances via forfeit)
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Azusa Christie vs. Rika Tatsumi
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Mizuki vs. Yuka Sakazaki

All wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name to go straight to it. As this event aired on DDT Universe, all matches are unclipped.

Azusa Christie vs. Rika Tatsumi

They jockey for position in the ropes as the match begins, Irish whip by Rika but she can’t shoulderblock Azusa over. Azusa throws down Rika by the hair and into the corner, kicks by Azusa and she knocks Rika out of the ring. Azusa goes out after her and rams Rika into the apron, Azusa whacks Rika with a weapon before rolling her back into the ring. Rika greets Azusa with boots and hits a face crusher, hip attack by Rika and she hits an elbow drop for a two count. Rika kicks Azusa in the leg and applies a cross kneelock, she picks her up after a moment and drops Azusa with a dragon screw leg whip. Kneebreaker by Rika, but Azusa kicks out of the cover. Irish whip by Rika but it is reversed, Azusa knocks Rika to the mat but Rika recovers and the two trade strikes until Azusa applies a crucifix into a cover for two. Azusa keeps hold of her arms and applies a double armbar, she lets go and picks up Rika, but Rika gets Azusa in the corner and dropkicks her in the leg. Dragon screw by Rika and she quickly puts Azusa in the figure four, but Azusa makes it to the ropes for the break. Rika picks up Azusa but Azusa blocks the cutter and hits a Codebreaker, running forearm by Azusa but her cover gets two. Azusa and Rika trade elbows, hip attack by Rika and she twists on Azusa’s leg before hitting another quick hip attack for two. Cutter by Rika, she goes up top but Azusa avoids the diving hip attack and hits a running facecrusher. Azusa kicks Rika twice in the chest but Rika hits a backbreaker, sleeper by Rika and she reverts it into a Dragon Sleeper. Azusa struggles for a moment but eventually has to tap out! Rika Tatsumi wins and advances in the tournament.

Not an overly exciting match but pretty well executed. Rika has a lot of fire and I like her offense, but her offense doesn’t really fit together as she was focusing on different parts of Azusa throughout the match. The potential is there, she just needs to tie it all together. Azusa was a bit clunkier, but the bigger issue is that I never really saw her as winning the match. Even without any backstories, just as a casual viewer it always felt like it was Rika’s match to win. Decent enough but it still feels like everyone is holding back a bit for the later rounds of the tournament.

Mizuki vs. Yuka Sakazaki

Mizuki quickly goes for flash pins but Yuka kicks out of each one, she returns the favor with a few flash pins of her own but she can’t get the three count either. Eventually both wrestlers roll out of the ring exhausted from the flash pin sequence, but they return after a moment with Yuka taking control. Yuka works over Mizuki on the mat and then in the corner, elbows by Yuka and she covers Mizuki for a two count. Yuka’s methodical offense on Mizuki continues until Mizuki flings Yuka out of the ring, Mizuki goes up top but Yuka quickly rolls back in and twists Mizuki’s leg in the top rope. Snapmare by Yuka down to the mat and she covers Mizuki for two. Yuka picks up Mizuki and throws her into the corner, running elbow by Yuka and she delivers a high kick for another two count. Yuka knocks Mizuki into the corner again but this time Mizuki scores with five straight dropkicks, hard elbow by Mizuki and she connects with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors which sends Yuka out of the ring. Mizuki goes up top and dives out onto Yuka with a crossbody, she gets Yuka back into the ring and puts her in a leg submission. Stretch hold by Mizuki, she lets go after a moment and hits a cartwheel into a body press for two. A leg scissors roll-up also gets two, she goes for a wheelbarrow but Yuka catches her and slams Mizuki to the mat. Yuka gets on the second turnbuckle but Mizuki dropkicks her as she jumps off, Mizuki throws Yuka into the corner but Yuka elbows her as she charges in and hits a dropkick of her own.

Mizuki falls out of the ring, Yuka charges the ropes and dives out onto her with a springboard plancha. Yuka slides Mizuki back in, Yuka slams Mizuki and puts her in an armbar, but Mizuki rolls to the ropes for the break. Rolling snapmare by Yuka and she delivers a sliding lariat, Yuka goes up top but Mizuki gets her knees up on the diving body press attempt. Both wrestlers are slow to get up and they trade elbows as they do so, running elbow by Yuka and she kicks Mizuki in the stomach, but Mizuki drop toeholds her into the ropes and dropkicks Yuka in the back. Mizuki gets on the second rope and hits a diving footstomp, cover by Mizuki but it gets two. Crossface by Mizuki but Yuka quickly counters it, ankle hold by Yuka but Mizuki crawls to the ropes for the break. Yuka rolls Mizuki to the mat but Mizuki catches her sliding lariat attempt and applies a crossface, she lets go after a moment and applies a stretch hold but Yuka gets into the ropes. Back up, enzuigiri by Yuka and she goes off the ropes, but Mizuki catches her with the Cutie Special. Mizuki goes up top and delivers the diving footstomp, but Yuka kicks out of the cover. Elbows by Mizuki and she cradles Yuka, but Yuka reverses it for her own two count. Discus elbow by Yuka and she delivers the Merry Go Round, she goes out to the apron and nails the Magical Magical Girl Splash for the three count! Yuka Sakazaki wins and advances!

Even with a bit of time-stretching, I enjoyed this match quite a bit. Mizuki was very spunky, while I think everyone assumed that Yuka Sakazaki was winning they made it a pretty even affair with Mizuki getting plenty of chances to shine. Yuka is so smooth in the ring and she has grown a lot in the last few years from being mostly just cool spots to putting together a full offensive game. It never really reached that next level but it was a well-executed and entertaining match.  Recommended

Event: Tokyo Joshi Pro “Tokyo Princess Cup 2018” Day 3
Dates: June 17th, 2018
Location: Narimasu Act Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 326

And we are onto the second round! All the second round matches take place on the same day and everyone survived the first round healthy so no issue with forfeits. The Tokyo Princess Cup matches were the last four matches on the event, here are the pairings:

• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Hikari vs. Yuka Sakazaki
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Miyu Yamashita vs. Nodoka-oneesan
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Hyper Misao vs. Yuu
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Rika Tatsumi vs. Shoko Nakajima

All wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name to go straight to it. As this event aired on DDT Universe, all matches are unclipped. Since I already gave a brief summary for the wrestlers before their first round matches, from now on we will just get straight to the matches.

Hikari vs. Yuka Sakazaki

I love Yuka Sakazaki but there wasn’t much to this one. Hikari is too green to really hang with Yuka and so it was a very toned down more mat-based match. They gave Hikari a few hope spots, which was polite but none were particularly convincing and then the match suddenly ended with a slow developing submission hold. Definitely the most skippable match of the tournament thus far, course Hikari advancing in the first place likely wasn’t the plan so they had to do the best they could with the cards they were dealt.

Miyu Yamashita vs. Nodoka-oneesan

Nodoka gets on the second turnbuckle but Miyu gets her knees up when she jumps off, push kick by Miyu and she hits a second one, kick combination by Miyu but Nodoka catches one and elbows Miyu in the leg. Miyu comes right back with a hard high kick, she knocks Nodoka into the corner and delivers a jumping knee. Miyu picks up Nodoka but Nodoka gets away and hits a shoulderblock, Nodoka picks up Miyu and she hits a scoop slam. Nodoka gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press, she applies the WAR Special but Miyu gets out of it and hits a lariat. Back up, elbows by Nodoka but Miyu kicks her in the back of the head. Another kick by Miyu, she goes off the ropes and she kicks Nodoka in the head. Miyu picks up Nodoka and nails the Attitude Adjustment, but Nodoka gets a shoulder up at two. Miyu goes up top but Nodoka recovers and joins her, she gets Miyu on her shoulders and delivers an Avalanche Back Flip. Cover by Nodoka, but Miyu barely kicks out. Miyu is up first, she picks up Nodoka but Nodoka elbows her. Miyu returns with a kick, another head kick by Miyu but when she goes off the ropes she eats a hard Nodoka elbow. Backflip by Nodoka, and she picks up the three count! Nodoka wins the match and advances in the tournament.

This is by far the biggest upset in the tournament up to this point, as Miyu Yamashita is one of the top wrestlers in Tokyo Joshi Pro while Nodoka is popular but didn’t have a big singles win yet in her career. Even though I still am not impressed with the Back Flip as a finisher, at least she also hit an avalanche version in this match so it didn’t feel like Miyu went down too easy. Miyu’s kicks in this match were crazy, I’m not sure how Nodoka was even still standing at times, she really is one of the top Joshi strikers in the business. Not a long match but an action packed one, my favorite of the tournament so far.  Recommended

Hyper Misao vs. Yuu

Yuu elbows Misao in the corner, Irish whip attempt by Yuu but Misao reverses it and “accidentally” throws Yuu into the referee. While the referee is out, Misao sprays Yuu in the eyes with cold air spray before taking off her own mask and handing it to Yuu. The referee recovers, but Misao forgot to give Yuu the cold air spray so she still has it in her hand. She tries to play it off by spraying herself but the referee isn’t having it, as he appears to finally be getting wise to Misao’s tricks. Misao gets her mask back on, Misao shakes Yuu’s hand again but Yuu catches her kick and hits a double chop. More chops by Yuu, Irish whip and she hits a spinning sidewalk slam for two. Yuu grabs Misao, Misao slides away but Yuu scoops her up and goes for the Oklahoma Stampede. Misao blocks it and applies a chickenwing, but Yuu gets to the ropes. Misao goes for the Final Cut but Yuu blocks it, Misao goes off the ropes but Yuu catches her with a powerslam. Misao avoids Yuu’s senton and applies La Magistral, but Yuu kicks out. Misao rams Yuu’s head into his knee, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving crossbody for two. Misao knocks Yuu into the corner but Yuu catches her with a Judo Toss when she charges in. Yuu grabs Misao and puts her in a One Wing Twist, and Misao taps out! Yuu wins and advances in the tournament.

This was a pretty good contrast to the last Misao match, as here her schemes just didn’t work and she was forced to wrestle Yuu. What was interesting is when she was concentrating on wrestling, she almost was able to go toe to toe with Yuu and got in some notable offense. Maybe there is an underlying story here of Misao not really needing the tricks to win as even though she lost, after her last trick failed it was a pretty even match until Yuu just overpowered her. I enjoyed it, Misao offers something different and its a nice change of pace.  Mildly Recommended

Rika Tatsumi vs. Shoko Nakajima

Dropkick to the leg by Rika and she hits a couple hip attacks, elbow drop by Rika and she covers Shoko for two. Rika picks up Shoko but Shoko rolls it into a grounded headlock, cradle by Shoko but Rika blocks it and applies the figure four leglock. Shoko gets to the ropes for the break, Rika picks up Shoko but Shoko cradles her for two. Hurricanrana by Shoko, but that gets a two as well as does the Northern Lights Suplex. Shoko elbows Rika but Rika elbows her back as they trade blows, hip attack by Rika but Shoko comes back with a dropkick. Rika ducks the first Tiger Feint Kick attempt but Shoko hits it over the bottom rope instead, she goes up top but Rika avoids the diving senton. Rika picks up Shoko and hits a modified cutter, she hip attacks Shoko in the head and covers her for two. Rika goes up top but Shoko elbows her before she jumps off, Shoko joins her and hits a Frankensteiner but is too hurt to make a cover. She finally gets an arm on Rika, but Rika gets a shoulder up. Shoko picks up Rika and delivers the double arm DDT, she goes for another Northern Lights Suplex but Rika blocks it and hits a cutter. Rika puts Shoko in the sleeper, she tries to revert it into a Dragon Sleeper but Shoko rolls her up for two. Shoko goes off the ropes but Rika catches her with a backbreaker, she gets the sleeper applied again and this time successfully switches it to the Dragon Sleeper. Shoko struggles but Rika grapevines her and Shoko has to tap out! Rika Tatsumi wins and advances!

Another quality match, Day 3 easily eclipsed the first two events of the tournament. I love Shoko, her offense feels fresh and since it was her first match of the tournament it gave us something different to watch. I still don’t really understand Rika’s leg-based offense being a lead-in for the Dragon Sleeper, I have nothing against limb work but the hip attacks would seem to be a better setup for her finisher. Still, the match had a little bit of everything (submissions, strikes, high risk moves) and was an enjoyable 15 minutes. A fitting main event and probably my new favorite match we have seen thus far.  Recommended

Event: Tokyo Joshi Pro “Tokyo Princess Cup 2018” Final
Dates: July 8th, 2018
Location: KFC Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 404

Tonight the tournament will conclude, as both the Semi Finals and Finals will take place on the same event. The show opens with the two Semi Final matches and finishes with the Finals, here are the tournament matches on the card:

• Tokyo Princess Cup Semi Final: Nodoka-oneesan vs. Yuu
• Tokyo Princess Cup Semi Final: Rika Tatsumi vs. Yuka Sakazaki
• Tokyo Princess Cup Final: Winner of Match #1 vs. Winner of Match #2

Per usual, all wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name to go straight to it. As this event aired on DDT Universe, all matches are unclipped.

Nodoka-oneesan vs. Yuu

A little on the short side but a fun match. Nodoka is the ultimate underdog, as she is undersized but had the crowd behind her as she tried to take down the stronger and more experienced Yuu. And Nodoka certainly got in her spots, including hitting the Back Flip, but she isn’t ready yet to overcome someone of Yuu’s stature. A solid start to the final night of the tournament.  Mildly Recommended

Rika Tatsumi vs. Yuka Sakazaki

Yuka springs up to the top turnbuckle and hits the missile dropkick, but Rika rolls out of the ring. Yuka goes off the ropes and springboards down onto Rika, Yuka gets Rika into the ring and covers her for a two count. Yuka slams Rika into the mat and goes for a submission, but Rika quickly grabs the ropes. Sliding lariat by Yuka, she goes up top but Rika recovers and hits a dragon screw off the top turnbuckle to the mat. Grounded dragons crew by Rika and she hits the short-range hip attack for two. Figure Four by Rika, but Yuka inches to the ropes and forces the break. Back up they trade elbows, running elbow by Yuka but Rika hits a hip attack. Yuka returns with a kick of her own and both wrestlers fall to the mat, they trade elbows as they get back up, with Yuka winning the battle with a discus elbow smash. Yuka goes to do a springboard move but Rika stops her and hits a cutter, Rika goes up top and nails a diving hip attack for a two count. Rika puts Yuka in a Dragon Sleeper but Yuka pushes Rika’s shoulders to the mat so she has to break the hold. Rika goes for a backdrop suplex but Yuka lands on her feet and hits an enzuigiri, Yuka picks up Rika and nails the Merry Go Round. Yuka goes to the apron and delivers the Magical Magical Girl Splash, and she picks up the three count! Yuka Sakazaki wins and advances to the Finals!

Someone that follows TJPW is going to get mad at me for calling out Rika for doing great limb work but winning with Dragon Sleepers, the issue here though is the lengths at which Yuka went to blow off all said leg work. Its not that all leg work has to be sold forever but Rika did such a good job with it that it was disappointing that it just got immediately forgotten in the last few minutes of the match. Aside from that issue I enjoyed it but I do wish Yuka would hit the Magical Magical Girl Splash with a bit more urgency as she forces her opponents to not move for a long time. Rika showed me a lot here and I am leaving this review as a big fan of hers, if she just can tie together better the two halves of her offense she’d really be the total package. An entertaining match due to the general action and pacing but not without its flaws.  Recommended

Yuka Sakazaki vs. Yuu
Tokyo Princess Cup Final

A more condensed match than one would hope for as a tournament final (under ten minutes), but at least what they did was decent. My main issue is that Yuka never felt like she was about to win, both times she went to the apron Yuu was up before Yuka could even think about doing a move, and Yuu was constantly cutting her off each time it looked like Yuka was getting the upper-hand. If the idea here was to make Yuu look really strong, they did that, but for the long journey I just went on it didn’t feel like that big climax that I was hoping for. It felt more like two quality wrestlers having a fun midcard match than the finals of a promotion’s biggest tournament of the year. Not a bad watch but overall disappointing since it was the finals and not on the level I was expecting.

The post Tokyo Joshi Pro “Tokyo Princess Cup 2018” Review appeared first on Joshi City.

I am going back a bit further than I wanted, but this will be the final January review. I just really wanted to watch this show as I adore some of the wrestlers in Joshi Tokyo Pro, and this is their biggest event of the year. It is a full seven match card, and has several special wrestler appearances including Candice LeRae and Laura James. In the main event, Yuu defends her championship against Syoko Nakajima! Here is the full card:

• Cherry vs. Nodoka-oneesan
• Hyper Misao vs. Maho Kurone vs. Rika Tatsumi
• Ai Shimizu and Laura James vs. Azusa Takigawa and Nonoko
• Itoh Maki vs. Reika Saiki
• Candice LeRae vs. Mil Clown
• Saki Akai vs. Miyu Yamashita
• TOKYO Princess Of Princess Championship: Yuu vs. Syoko Nakajima

What a show! I need to add a lot more wrestler profiles but if I have one on the site, you can click on their name above to go to it. Please note that I don’t follow Tokyo Joshi Pro on a week to week basis, so I am not fully up to speed on their storylines. I’ll do my best but there may be some nuances that I miss.

Cherry vs. Nodoka-oneesan

They trade holds on the mat to start with neither getting a clear advantage, elbows by Nodoka and she goes back and forth on the ropes until Cherry trips her. Cherry picks up Nodoka and hits a scoop slam, footstomp by Cherry and she yanks on Nodoka’s arm. Mounted elbows by Cherry and she goes for an armbreaker, but Nodoka makes it into the ropes. Cherry picks up Nodoka but Nodoka elbows her and they trade shots, scoop slam by Nodoka and she hits a crossbody for two. Cherry goes for the cross armbreaker again but gets the seated armbar instead, but Nodoka gets a toe on the ropes for a break. Cherry picks up Nodoka and hits a double wrist armsault, but it gets two. Back up, they trade elbows until Nodoka hits a Samoan Drop, she goes off the ropes but Cherry knees her in the head before going back to the round. Spring Night Love by Cherry, and Nodoka has to submit! Cherry wins the match.

Not a bad way to start off the show, although a bit one-sided. We knew that Cherry was winning of course but I wouldn’t have minded if Nodoka got a nearfall or two, she has been wrestling for a year so it wouldn’t have been too out of the realm of normal if she had a bit more offense than she got. On the plus side, Nodoka didn’t seem awkward or out of place, which is always nice to see in younger wrestlers. A lower end mentor vs. apprentice match, but not poorly worked.

Hyper Misao vs. Maho Kurone vs. Rika Tatsumi

Hyper Misao sends Maho with her knees with garlic and a cross, but she uses the garlic on Rika too which gives Maho time to recover. Minami is still in the ring but hides in the corner, just as Maho gets to her she is rescued by Rika. Misao returns as well and they double team Maho, diving hip attack by Rika and Misao goes for the cover, but Rika breaks it up. Rika goes after Misao and puts her in a kneelock, Flashing Elbow by Rika but Maho breaks up the cover. Maho pounds on Misao, Misao is knocked out of the ring as Rika returns and she puts Maho in a figure four leglock. Maho gets into the ropes, Rika picks her up but Maho puts her in a sleeper. Maho bites Rika’s neck and hits a swinging neckbreaker, but Misao breaks up the pin. Maho puts Misao in a crab hold but Minami helps her get into the ropes, Maho knocks Minami into the ring but Rika comes in also, Misao comes in and tries to hit Maho but she hits Rika by accident. Maho goes back to Minami but Minami hits a neckbreaker drop, Misao goes up top and delivers the diving crossbody, but Maho rolls through it. Rika knocks Misao out of the ring before hitting a backbreaker onto Maho, she puts Maho in a sleeper before changing it to a Dragon Sleeper. Even vampires have to breath, so Maho submits! Rika Tatsumi is the winner.

This was interesting. It was fun in a whimsical kind of way, which is what they were going for, I don’t think any of them are bad wrestlers but there was no way to tell from this match. Since Tokyo Joshi Pro is a brand of DDT there is going to be some matches that are comedy based, that is just part of the package. I would have liked to see more of what the wrestlers could do skill-wise, harmless fun but nothing more than that.

Ai Shimizu and Laura James vs. Azusa Takigawa and Nonoko

While Ryan is kissing his wife, Azusa and Nonoko attack their opponents, with Azusa staying in the ring with Shimizu. She knocks her over but Ryan isn’t paying any attention so he doesn’t count the cover. He finally does but counts really slow, giving Shimizu plenty of time to bridge out. Nonoko and Laura are tagged in, Nonoko distracts Ryan which makes Laura mad, but Nonoko shoulderblocks Laura over. Nonoko puts Laura in an abdominal stretch while distracting Ryan at the same time before tagging in Shimizu. Shimizu and Nonoko elbow Laura to the mat, but again Ryan does a slow count. Laura elbows Azusa and attacks her in the corner, giving her time to tag in Shimizu. Shimizu grabs Azusa’s arm and walks the ropes before hitting an armdrag, leg drop by Shimizu and she covers Azusa for two. Surfboard by Shimizu, she releases it after a moment and tags Laura back in. Scoop slam by Laura and she puts Azusa in a stretch hold, she goes for a Northern Lights Suplex but Azusa blocks it.

Codebreaker by Azusa, and she makes the hot tag to Nonoko. Body blocks by Nonoko, she picks up Laura and hits a body avalanche in the corner before rubbing her chest in Laura’s face. I was trying to be PG but some things just have to be stated. Cover by Nonoko, but Ryan does a slow count which gives Laura time to kick out. Nonoko goes for the Boinmaker but Laura ducks it, Nonoko goes off the ropes but Laura connects with a hip attack. Nonoko and Laura both crawl to their corners and tags in, Shimizu elbows Azusa in the corner and hits a rolling fireman’s carry for a two count. Azusa regains control and pushes Ryan, she gets her Zexy Magazine but Shimizu ducks the attempt to use it. Nonoko comes in the ring but Shimizu’s husband runs in to protect her from being hit from the magazine, Ryan jumps in front of them but Laura then jumps in front of Ryan. Azusa goes to hit all of them with the magazine but they move, so she accidentally whacks Nonoko in the head. Laura puts a lollipop into Azusa’s mouth and kicks Azusa in the face, Fishergirl Suplex by Shimizu and she picks up the three count! Ai Shimizu and Laura James are your winners.

Needless to stay, this wasn’t a particularly serious match either. It was amusing though, I will give it that. Love or hate Joey Ryan, he is very good at the character as he has all the mannerisms down pat, if the match is going to be silly it may as well go over the top and have Ryan doing his thing. Like the last match, I wish I could have seen them wrestle more as I still have no idea how good Laura James is, but for the type of match they were going for I think it was well done.  Mildly Recommended

Itoh Maki vs. Reika Saiki

Reika pushes Itoh into the ropes as the match begins but gives a clean break, they enter into a Test of Strength which Reika easily wins. Wristlock by Reika into a side headlock, but Itoh reverses it. Reika Irish whips out of it but Itoh hits a shoulderblock, running elbow by Reika in the corner and she kicks Itoh in the back and chest. Kick to the chest by Reika, she puts Itoh into the corner and kicks her repeatedly in the back. Reika picks up Itoh but Itoh puts her in a headlock, scoop slam by Itoh and she covers Reika for two. Itoh applies a crab hold but Reika crawls to the ropes to force the break, Itoh picks up Reika but Reika clubs her in the chest. Reika and Itoh trade shots, Reika wins the battle and she covers Itoh for a two count. Kicks to the chest by Reika but Itoh catches one and delivers a headbutt. Itoh goes off the ropes and dropkicks Reika, another dropkick by Itoh and she gets a count cover. Itoh goes off the ropes but Reika catches her with her own dropkick, vertical suplex by Reika and she gets a two count. Reika picks up Itoh and puts her in the Tower Bridge, and Itoh has no choice but to submit! The winner is Reika Saiki.

A match like this is the type that should be the opener, but Tokyo Joshi Pro in general is a very young promotion so sometimes rookie matches appear a bit higher up on the card. This was fine but very basic, when a scoop slam or a vertical suplex is a nearfall you know they aren’t doing anything too complicated. I think Reika has a solid base to become a good wrestler, it is just a bit too early to tell. Technically fine but nothing exciting.

Candice LeRae vs. Mil Clown

After trading holds to kick things off, Candice grabs Mil Clown by her tongue but lets go and apologizes. Wristlock by Candice but Mil Clown eventually kips out of it and springboards off the ropes before armdragging Candice. A heel kick by Mil Clown sends Candice out of the ring, Mil Clown goes to the ropes and hits a headscissors through them down to the floor. Mil Clown stomps on Candice at ringside and tries to slide Candice back in the ring, but Candice kicks her in the head. Candice sits Mil Clown down in a seat and kicks her in the chest, they return to the ring and Candice covers her for two. Mounted elbows by Candice and she yanks on Mil Clown’s arm before putting her in a choke submission, but Mil Clown gets to the ropes for the break. Back up, Mil Clown goes for a dropkick by Candice avoids it, Irish whip by Candice from the corner but Mil Clown boots her when she charges in and gets up on the turnbuckle. She cartwheels off when Candice charges in and connects with a dropkick, cover by Mil Clown but it gets a two count.

Mil Clown applies a unique stretch hold but Candice gets out of it, she rolls Candice to the mat and applies an armbar. Mil Clown picks up Candice and elbows her in the corner, she goes for an Irish whip by Candice sends her back into the same corner before hitting a running elbow. She hits another one, swinging neckbreaker by Candice but Mil Clown kicks out of the cover. Candice goes for the Balls-Plex but Mil Clown blocks it and pokes her in the eyes, she then pushes the referee into Candice, and the blinded Candice thinks it is Mil Clown. She realizes her mistake but Mil Clown catches her with a jumping kick, scoop slam by Mil Clown and she goes for the swandive moonsault but Candice rolls out of the way. Candice goes for the Balls-Plex again but Mil Clown reverses it and slams Candice to the mat. She goes for the swandive moonsault again but Candice pushes the referee into her, Candice finally hits the Balls-Plex but Mil Clown barely kicks out of the pin. Irish whip by Candice but Mil Clown hits a hammerlock slam, Candice goes for a quick pin but Mil Clown reverses it. Mil Clutch α by Mil Clown, and she picks up the three count! Mil Clown wins!

Hooray Mil Clown! It is hard to really describe Mil Clown. Her mannerisms are just fantastic, the head tilts and the way she walks, she is completely embracing the character and it comes across as both authentic and hilarious. She is a good wrestler too, at times it felt like she had to slow down a bit for Candice and Candice is no slouch either. This was mostly the Mil Clown show for me but it was a solid match, it was too short to be a classic but they used the time well. And more importantly, Mil Clown avenged her sister’s defeat so all is right with the world.  Recommended

Saki Akai vs. Miyu Yamashita

Miyu anxiously charges at Saki to start and gets her into the ropes, but Saki switches positions with her before giving a mostly clean break. Miyu goes to run off the ropes but Saki pulls her down by the hair, Miyu gets Saki down in the corner however and chokes her with her boot. Saki returns with kicks of her own, but Miyu knees her in the stomach and hits a dropkick to the back. She goes off the ropes but Martha trips her from the apron, Miyu goes out to confront Martha but Saki kicks Miyu from the apron. Saki throws Miyu into the ring post, kick to the chest by Saki and she rolls Miyu back in. Irish whip by Saki and she elbows Miyu in the chest, kneedrop by Saki and she covers Miyu for two. Saki picks up Miyu but Miyu elbows her off, STO by Saki but Miyu kicks out of the pin. PK by Saki and she puts Miyu in a submission hold, but Miyu gets to the ropes for the break.

Big boot by Saki in the corner but Miyu avoids the next one, she goes off the ropes but Saki kicks her in the stomach. Saki goes off the ropes but Miyu catches her with a lariat, leg sweep by Miyu and she hits a backbreaker for two. Sleeper by Miyu but Saki gets a foot on the bottom rope, they trade elbows and knees, kick to the head by Saki but Miyu fires back with a release German. Back fist by Saki but Miyu avoids the scissors kick and nails a heel kick of her own, picking up a two count. Miyu picks up Saki but Saki catches her kick, Miyu slides under her legs and she applies a chinlock, but Martha distracts the referee. Miyu goes to confront Martha, Saki comes over but she boots Martha in the face by accident. Jumping knee by Miyu in the corner, she hits a fireman’s carry slam but it gets a two count. Buzzsaw Kick by Miyu, she goes off the ropes but Saki avoids her charge and kicks her twice in the back of the head. High kicks by Saki, she nails the Two Step Face Kick and she gets the three count! Saki Akai is the winner.

I enjoyed this match too. Saki is more persona than in-ring ability, but she does have some solid kicks so can hold her own in most situations. Miyu was on fire here, she was really feeling it throughout the match and everything she did was on point. I liked that Martha didn’t play into the end of the match, I don’t mind some ringside shenanigans but prefer that the ending stay relatively clean, so no issues there. I would love to see Miyu against some other wrestlers as skill wise I think she is the best in Tokyo Joshi Pro, she has the fire and strikes that you want to see in a young wrestler. Miyu really brought up the match while Saki was just along for the ride, really solid even if the wrestler I wanted to win was defeated.  Recommended

(c) Yuu vs. Syoko Nakajima
TOKYO Princess of Princess Championship

Yuu gets Syoko to the mat first, she goes for Syoko’s arm but Syoko spins out of it. Yuu keeps Syoko down for several minutes but Syoko eventually gets top position. Yuu quickly regains the advantage, she puts Syoko in a grounded necklock but Syoko gets out of the hold and applies a headlock. Syoko trips Yuu and bridges back up, armdrag by Syoko and she avoids Yuu’s charge in the corner. Syoko slides out to the apron and snaps her neck over the second rope, she slides back in and puts Yuu in a figure four necklock. Syoko slides Yuu to the apron and slams her head onto the mat, Yuu gets back on the apron but Syoko kicks her as she does. Neckbreaker by Syoko, and she covers Yuu for two. Syoko goes off the ropes and hits a flipping neckbreaker, she picks up Yuu and trips her before driving Syoko into the mat head-first. Syoko applies a necklock but Yuu drives her into the corner to get out of it, Syoko goes for a headscissors but Yuu catches her and slams her to the mat. Running elbow by Yuu and she hangs Syoko in the corner, running elbow by Yuu and she covers Syoko for a two count. Sidewalk slam by Yuu, she picks up Syoko but Syoko slides away, she goes off the ropes but Yuu catches her and hits the Oklahoma Slam for two. Syoko goes off the ropes but Yuu swats away her dropkick, Yuu goes off the ropes but Syoko connects on her second try. Yuu falls out of the ring but Syoko dives out after her with a tope suicida.

Syoko slides Yuu back in and elbows her in the corner, she bulldogs Yuu into the turnbuckles before going up top and hitting a missile dropkick for two. Syoko picks up Yuu and drives her face into the mat, double arm takedown by Syoko and she keeps it locked in for a submission. Yuu gets to the ropes for the break so Syoko puts her in a tarantula, she goes up top but Yuu chops her before she could jump off and judo throws her to the mat. Syoko goes for an elbow in the corner but Yuu catches her and spins Syoko down, John Woo by Yuu and she chops Syoko in the chest. Syoko elbows her back and they trade blows, Syoko goes for a dropkick but Yuu doesn’t budge. Yuu chops Syoko in the corner and flips Syoko to the mat before goes for the cross armbreaker. Syoko blocks it and hits a hurricanrana, Northern Lights Suplex by Syoko but it gets a two count. Syoko goes for a double arm DDT but Yuu back bodydrops out of it, she picks up Syoko but Syoko spins her to the mat and holds her down for two. Dropkick by Syoko and she goes for a Tiger Feint Kick, Yuu ducks it so she hits one under the second rope instead. Double arm DDT by Syoko, she picks up Yuu but Yuu hip tosses her to the mat and applies the cross armbreaker. Syoko gets a toe on the ropes to get the break, Yuu picks up Syoko and applies a Cobra Clutch. Yuu picks up Syoko and nails a Last Ride Powerbomb, and she gets the three count! Yuu is still the champion.

I love Syoko, still not completely sold on Yuu. Now that may sound like a mean thing to say about a rookie, but she is the promotion’s champion so even one year into her career she is held to a higher standard. She seems solid, I love some of her throws, but nothing about her really pops or excites. Syoko has some fun and unique offense that helped keep the match entertaining, and she sells like a demon. It was a little longer than it needed to be, they may not have the experience yet to have 20+ min long matches, but the last five minutes or so were well done. An enjoyable match but not without its faults.  Mildly Recommended

The post Tokyo Joshi Pro 2017 on 1/4/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

I know I said on Twitter that I was done reviewing 2016 events, but then I was alerted to a site online that shows Tokyo Joshi Pro events and my plans changed. Tokyo Joshi Pro is (well, was) one of the few promotions currently running that I had never seen a full show from, so I had to jump at the opportunity to review it as well. Tokyo Joshi Pro is a very small Joshi promotion that is affiliated with DDT. Their wrestlers rarely wrestle in other promotions outside of the DDT umbrella, so while I have seen some of the wrestlers on an “Offer” match on a big DDT show, I’ve never seen them in their home environment. Until now! Very exciting. Here is the card:

• Maho Kurone vs. Nonoko
• Mil Clown and Hyper Misao vs. Yuu and Nodoka-oneesan
• Azusa Takigawa vs. Rika Tatsumi
• Akane Miura vs. Syoko Nakajima vs. Miyu Yamashita

Not a long show but looks like nothing was clipped.

Maho Kurone vs. Nonoko

As a quasi-comedy match, this was fine. As mentioned, Nonoko uses her chest for almost all her moves, including her variations of the Cobra Clutch, Boma Ye, and Rainmaker. I couldn’t get a real feel if either are talented wrestlers without that style since the match was too short, but neither looked lost or confused either and the offense was hit smoothly. Decent opener.

Mil Clown and Hyper Misao vs. Yuu and Nodoka-oneesan

Mil Clown formally wrestled in Tokyo Joshi Pro as Yuka Sakazaki, she is a quality young wrestler. I wanted to love this one, because I love crazy gimmicks, but I can’t say that I did. There were a fair number of little mistakes, things that just weren’t hit as smoothly as you’d like which took me out of it a bit. No one thing was terrible, just small issues here and there. There were also some match-structure issues like with Mil Clown works on Nodoka’s leg, then Misao comes in and starts working on the arm instead. Misao doesn’t appear to be very good but Yuu and Mil Clown both looked solid. A pretty average match overall, with the high points being leveled out by the lower points.

Azusa Takigawa vs. Rika Tatsumi

I don’t mind a comedy match, or a match with comedic elements, but it has to work. Admittedly, whatever is said on the mic is going to go over my head since I don’t understand Japanese, but having multiple people trip (poorly) over a book was an odd way to go and it didn’t really work. The match wasn’t long enough to make up for that clumsiness, although I do think that Rika in particular looked good with her offense. Clearly Nonoko and Azusa have some comedic flair which isn’t surprising since Tokyo Joshi Pro is owned by DDT, but it wasn’t particularly entertaining in this match.

Akane Miura vs. Syoko Nakajima vs. Miyu Yamashita

This leaves Syoko and Miyu battling for the victory. Miyu elbows Syoko but Syoko elbows her back and they trade blows, kick to the chest by Miyu and she covers Syoko for two. Miyu picks up Syoko but Syoko gets away and hits a dropkick. Syoko goes for a double underhook but Miyu shrugs her off and nails a high kick in the corner. Miyu picks up Syoko and hits a judo toss while keeping on an Anaconda Vice, but Syoko gets into the ropes. Running lariat by Miyu, and she covers Syoko for two. Miyu goes for a high kick but Syoko ducks it, Syoko goes for a hurricanrana but Mayumi rolls through it and hits a buzzsaw kick for two. Miyu goes off the ropes but Syoko connects with the hurricanrana, Northern Lights Suplex by Syoko but Miyu gets a shoulder up. Elbows by Syoko but Mayumi connects with another high kick, she picks up Syoko but Syoko slides away and hits a double arm DDT. Syoko picks up Miyu and hits another Northern Lights Suplex Hold, this one while hooking the leg and she picks up the three count! Syoko Nakajima wins!

Maybe going in with low expectations made this match better than it was, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Everyone played their parts perfectly, there are so many wrestlers today that have the size but don’t play ‘monster’ as good as Akane did here, while Miyu was great on her strikes while Syoko was perfect with her higher speed and suplex-based offense. For younger wrestlers they worked together so well, Triple Threat matches can feel like a cluster but this one never did. I loved Syoko ‘upgrading’ the Northern Lights Suplex to get the win, and the way both Akane and Miyu went out kept them protected. Fast paced, wide variety of offense and fun from bell to bell, I wish it was longer but about all you could ask for from a wrestling match.  Recommended

The post Tokyo Joshi Pro “Battle Mission 2016 Code.6” on 11/20/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Every now and then, there are Joshi matches on non-Joshi shows that sometimes fly under the radar. Promotions such as DDT, K-DOJO, Mr. Gannosuke, FMW, and FREEDOMS all either have Joshi wrestlers on their roster or frequently bring in Joshi wrestlers for special matches. Once a few Joshi matches have taken place in various non-Joshi promotions, I will review them to help get some exposure for some of the lesser-known wrestlers that don’t make TV as often. Plus you never know, there may be a hidden gem that is just waiting to be uncovered.

I am a bit behind in doing this, so I have a lot of recent matches to review today! I will be reviewing:

• June 21st, 2016 – Dump Matsumoto vs. Miss Mongol on FMW “June Blood”
• July 13th, 2016 – Ayako Hamada and Ryo Mizunami vs. GENTARO and The Winger on FREEDOMS “Tokyo Death Match Carnival 2016”
• July 19th, 2016 – Manami Kanda vs. Micro on GUTS World “Vol. 98: Bukotsu War 2016”
• July 19th, 2016 – Drake Morimatsu vs. Konaka = Pehlwan on GUTS World “Vol. 98: Bukotsu War 2016”
• July 21st, 2016 – Emi Sakura and Hibiscus Mii vs. Riho, Kotori, and Sayaka Obihiro on HEAT-UP “Dream-Up 2016”
• July 26th, 2016 – Koharu Hinata vs. Micro on Mr. Gannosuke Produce “Kishindo Returns 20”
• July 29th, 2016 – Hana Kimura vs. Reika Saiki on WRESTLE-1 “Symbol Tour”
• July 31st, 2016 – Alex Lee and Tiran Shisa vs. Ayumu Honda and Bambi on K-DOJO “Super In TKO Garden City Chiba”
• August 28th, 2016 – Akane Miura, Miyu Yamashita, and Yuka Sakazaki vs. Hyper Misao, Syoko Nakajima, and Yuu on DDT “Ryogoku Peter Pan 2016”

Lots of wrestling! Sleaze! Hardcore! Intergender! Babies! Everything you could ask for.

Dump Matsumoto vs. Miss Mongol
FMW “June Blood” on June 21st, 2016

Mongol attacks Matsumoto outside the ring before the match starts, which quickly backfires as Matsumoto hits Mongol with a kendo stick and stabs her repeatedly in the head with a spike. We clip ahead to them being in the ring and Mongol hitting Matsumoto with a metal pin, cover by Mongol but it gets two. We jump to Matsumoto trying to throw Mongol into the barbed wire, but Mongol slides down to stop her momentum. Matsumoto does care and rakes her into the barbed wire anyway before Irish whipping her into the barbed wire ropes on the other side. Koharu Hinata runs in to try to help Mongol but she elbows Mongol by accident, leading to Mongol kicking Hinata out of the ring while Matsumoto watches. Lariat by Matsumoto and she hits a body press, but Hinata breaks up the cover. Matsumoto gets mad and approaches Hinata, but Mongol sneaks up from behind and pushes her into the barbed wire ropes. Inside Cradle by Mongol, and she picks up the three count! Miss Mongol wins!

This was a six minute match clipped down to two minutes, so obviously not enough was shown to get excited about. It is always fun to see Matsumoto though, she moves slower than she used to but she still has that violent streak that we know and love. A few fun spots and both took a ride into the barbed wire so the pain felt evenly distributed. I enjoyed it for what it was.

Ayako Hamada and Ryo Mizunami vs. GENTARO and The Winger
FREEDOMS “Tokyo Death Match Carnival 2016” on July 13th, 2016

Hamada and Mizunami charge their opponents to start but the idea quickly backfires as they are both attacked with chairs. They set up chairs in the corners but Hamada and Mizunami throw them into the chairs, Hamada grabs Winger and tries walking the ropes, but she is knocked out of the ring. Mizunami is thrown out of the ring too but Hamada takes the chair from GENTARO and throws him into the ring post. Winger avenges GENTARO by doing the same to Hamada and then chokes her with a chair, while GENTARO gets another chair and hits Mizunami in the head with it. Hamada boots GENTARO and goes to check on Mizunami, while the men return to the ring to wait. Hamada gets in too and takes the chair from GENTARO, but she gets double teamed before GENTARO covers her for two. Mizunami gets in the ring, bleeding from the head, which GENTARO makes worse by biting her. Winger picks up Mizunami and he bites Mizunami in the head too, DDT by Winger onto a chair and he covers her for two. GENTARO returns and hits a splash on Mizunami, but he gets a two count as well. GENTARO goes for a piledriver but Mizunami blocks it with a back bodydrop. Mizunami hits GENTARO with a chair but Winger runs in and attacks her from behind.

GENTARO picks up Mizunami and goes for a chair shot, but Mizunami ducks it and spears him. Lariat by Mizunami in the corner, Hamada comes in with a chair while GENTARO is put in the Tree of Woe. Hamada throws the chair at Winger before hitting a baseball slide on GENTARO. They then use the chairs to hit Winger low before doing the same to GENTARO, Mizunami picks up GENTARO and slams him to the mat before going up top and deliver the diving leg drop for a two count. Lariat by Mizunami to Winger, they set up chairs in the ring and sit both GENTARO and Winger onto them, but when they charge them they are drop toeholed onto the chairs. GENTARO throws Mizunami out of the ring and picks up Hamada, hitting a brainbuster onto the chair for a two count. Double flapjack to Hamada onto a chair, cover by GENTARO but Mizunami breaks it up. Mizunami is thrown out of the ring while Winger breaks a lighttube into the ring, but Hamada takes it from him and hits Winger in the head. Hamada grabs a chair before going up top, and she nails a moonsault onto Winger with the chair. Cover by Hamada, but Winger gets a shoulder up. Hamada picks up Winger and she delivers the AP Cross on the chair, picking up the three count pinfall! Hamada and Mizunami are the winners.

That was definitely a crazy match. It was a little over ten minutes long but never slowed down for a second, there was constantly someone being hit with a chair or having some other act of violence done against them. Mizunami and Hamada are about the same size as GENTARO and Winger so it never felt like an uneven match, Hamada is more than capable of holding her own which she showed by easily putting away Winger. The amount of chairs used was due to it being GENTARO’s primary weapon of choice but it just made it all the more meaningful the one time a lighttube was used as it felt like something fresh. A chaotic and fun bloody brawl.  Recommended

Manami Kanda vs. Micro
GUTS World “Vol. 98: Bukotsu War 2016” on July 19th, 2016

They tie-up to start, Kanda kicks Micro and she bounces the little one off the ropes. Kanda throws down Micro by her hair and slams her head into the mat before applying a Camel Clutch. Irish whip by Kanda but Micro hits a trio of crossbodies for a quick two count. Micro throws Kanda into the corner and hits a dropkick, but Kanda comes back with a lariat and hits a scoop slam. Crab hold by Kanda but Micro gets into the ropes, scoop slam by Kanda but Micro rolls her up for a two count. Micro picks up Kanda but Kanda hits a scoop slam, she goes off the ropes and hits a bodypress for two. Kanda throws Micro into the corner and hits an elbow followed by a face crusher, Kanda gets on the second turnbuckle but Micro shakes the ropes to send her back to the mat. Now Micro goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Micro but Kanda gets a shoulder up. Kanda and Micro trade elbows, shoulderblock by Kanda and she covers Micro for two. Kanda picks up Micro but Micro applies an inside cradle for two. Micro tries a few more quick pins with no luck, hard shoulderblock by Kanda but Micro applies a crucifix pin for two. Micro tries more quick pins but can’t hold Kanda down, running footstomp by Kanda and she knocks down Micro with a lariat. Sliding lariat by Kanda, and she gets the three count! Manami Kanda wins!

All I can say is that this was an actively average and bland match. It was just not engaging or interesting in any way, there is probably a reason that they have stayed on smaller indies. Neither were bad, there weren’t any mistakes, but there was nothing really positive about it either. Thoroughly skippable.

Drake Morimatsu vs. Konaka = Pehlwan
GUTS World “Vol. 98: Bukotsu War 2016” on July 19th, 2016

The match starts really slow as they are in no rush to get started, Drake finally stops messing around and hits Konaka with a baseball bat. Chops by Drake and she chokes Konaka against the ropes before throwing him down into the corner. Drake starts on Konaka’s arm as I regret watching this match, chinlock by Drake but Konaka gets into the ropes. Now it is Konaka that works on Drake’s arm but Drake snapmares him and hits a leg drop. Konaka kicks Drake back and applies a necklock over the top rope, swandive chop to the head by Konaka and he does a quick post before going for the cross armbreaker. Drake gets into the ropes but Konaka quickly applies an armbar, Drake again inches to the ropes and she forces another break. Stomps by Konaka but Drake fires back with a lariat, Konaka rolls out of the ring but Drake goes out after him. Konaka attacks Drake from behind but Drake chops him and they battle into the stands. They return to the ring and Drake hits Konaka with a chair but Konaka takes it from her, Drake takes it back and tosses the chair out of the ring before hitting a lariat. Another lariat by Drake and she covers Konaka, but picks him up before the three count. Samoan Driver by Drake, she picks up Konaka and hits a Michinoku Driver, but Konaka grabs her arm when she goes for a cover and applies an armbar. Drake struggles for a moment before she taps out! Konaka = Pehlwan wins the match.

No lie, this match kinda bored me to tears. Konaka doesn’t show a lot of emotion and Drake is obviously limited so for a ten minute match not a whole hell of a lot happened. I am not sure who the target audience for this match is but it wasn’t me, just a flat mid-card match.

Emi Sakura and Hibiscus Mii vs. Riho, Kotori, and Sayaka Obihiro
HEAT-UP “Dream-Up 2016” on July 21st, 2016

Sakura is jumped before the match starts and is triple teamed, Mii comes in the ring to help but Kotori requests her to leave so she does. I bet being able to understand the pre-match talking would have helped. Sakura comes back and hits a crossbody on all three before tagging in Mii, Kotori stays in to face her and immediately puts Mii in the cross armbreaker. Mii gets into the ropes but Sakura runs up the corner and hits an armdrag before tagging in Obihiro. Obihiro floors Mii but Mii bridges out of the cover, elbow by Obihiro but Mii bridges out again. They go through this a few times until Mii collapses, Mii manages to hit a Stunner and she dropkicks Obihiro in the head. Sakura isn’t around for her to tag while Riho is also tagged in, Kotori comes in too and they all roll over Mii. Mii gets away and manages to tag Sakura this time, and they double team Riho. Riho dropkicks Mii out of the ring and tags in Kotori, Obihiro also comes in but Sakura rams them into each other and hits a crossbody in the corner on them both. Double underhook slam attempt by Sakura but Kotori slides down her back and applies a sleeper. Mii runs in but Riho grabs her, Obihiro comes in but Sakura kicks her away. Riho and Kotori get on the second turnbuckle and hit dual footstomps onto Sakura, cover by Kotori but it gets two. Kotori goes off the ropes but Sakura catches her with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, giving her time to tags in Mii. Riho is also tagged in and slaps Mii, dropkick by Riho and she hits a jumping knee in the corner. Eye poke by Mii but Kotori hits a diving crossbody as does Riho for a two count. Northern Lights Suplex by Riho, but Mii kicks out again, Riho throws Mii in the corner but Mii slides out to the apron and hits a missile dropkick. Mii tags Sakura, she picks up Riho and hits the double underhook backbreaker. Sakura goes up top but Riho moves when she goes for a senton, tilt-a-whirl roll-up by Riho but Sakura kicks out. Kotori comes in and hits a judo throw on Sakura, Somato by Riho and she covers Sakura for the three count! Riho, Kotori, and Obihiro win!

This was a cute short little mid-card match. Kotori and Riho are a lot of fun to watch, I always enjoy it when I get a chance to watch them. Two young wrestlers with a lot of potential. Sakura and Mii are great too, and the match was really fluid for a crazy match with tons of interference and quick offense. Not a ton of substance but enjoyable.  Mildly Recommended

Koharu Hinata vs. Micro
Mr. Gannosuke Produce “Kishindo Returns 20” on July 26th, 2016

Unlike the last match, this one starts slowly as they feel each other out with Micro hitting the first move of the match with a bodyslam. She picks up Hinata and throws her down by her hair, but Hinata returns the favor and stomps down Micro in the corner. Scoop slam by Micro and she puts Hinata in a crab hold, but Hinata crawls to the ropes and forces the break. Micro at one point trapped Hinata’s arms too so she couldn’t grab the ropes, which is a smarter tactic than I am used to seeing in my pro wres. Hinata comes back with a kick, Micro scoops her up but Hinata falls on top of Micro for a two count. Now it is Hinata that puts Micro in the crab hold, she then lets it go only to put Micro in a Surfboard. Back up they trade elbows, Micro goes off the ropes but Hinata catches her with a dropkick. Another dropkick by Hinata, she picks up Micro and hits a few slaps before kicking her again. Scoop slam by Hinata and she covers Micro for a two. Knees by Hinata and she kicks Micro out of the corner, diving crossbody by Hinata but that gets a two as well. Bodyscissors into a roll-up by Hinata and she also tries an inside cradle as well as a backslide, but Micro kicks out each time. Micro charges Hinata and grabs her by the leg, she hits a unique leg sweep roll-up and she gets the three count! Micro wins!

I enjoyed this a bit more than I probably should have, it wasn’t anything special and wasn’t overly exciting, but Micro does so many little things that I had a good time watching it. Trapping the arms when putting on a crab hold is so smart but rarely done, and I loved the leg sweep pin which I have never seen before. Hinata was solid too, both wrestlers are itty bitty so they are limited in what they can do, but overall it was still a pretty solid match.  Mildly Recommended

Hana Kimura vs. Reika Saiki
WRESTLE-1 “Symbol Tour” on July 29th, 2016

They begin with a knuckle lock and a Test of Strength which Hana gets the better of. Hana applies a headlock on the mat before applying a leg submission, Hana then gets in the mount position and goes for an armbreaker but Reika gets to the ropes. Scoop slam by Hana and she applies a crab hold, but again Reika gets to the ropes to force a break. Back up they trade elbows, dropkick by Reika and she dropkicks Hana into the corner. Kicks to the chest by Reika and she hits a scoop slam, kicks by Reika to Hana’s leg and she hits another slam for a two count cover. Reika goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but Hana bridges out of the pin. Hana applies a stretch hold before tossing Reika off and slams her into the corner. Double knee to the back by Hana and she dropkicks Reika for a two count cover. Hana picks up Reika but Reika sneaks in an inside cradle, kicks by Reika and she nails an enzuigiri for a two. Head kick by Reika, and she picks up the three count pinfall! The winner of the match is Reika Saiki.

This was a very rookiesque match. A little rough around the edges, pretty basic, and nothing incredibly exciting. Some moves were executed really well, Reika has nice kicks and Hana’s ground game is solid, but other moves looked a bit weaker and they seemed to get a bit lost at least once. A necessary match for their growth but not something I could recommend.

Alex Lee and Tiran Shisa vs. Ayumu Honda and Bambi
K-DOJO “Super In TKO Garden City Chiba” on July 31st, 2016

Shisa starts with Honda, they bounce off the ropes until Shisa hits an armdrag followed by a dropkick. Lee and Bambi are tagged in and trade wristlocks, they both go for shoulderblocks until Lee knocks Bambi to the mat. Lee tags in Shisa, he goes for a scoop slam but Bambi lands on top of him. Honda comes in the ring and they both boot Shisa, Bambi puts Shisa into the ropes and both she and Honda kick Shisa in the chest. Bambi tags in Honda, Honda dropkicks Shisa and hits an armbreaker followed by a body press onto Shisa’s arm. He tags Bambi back in, kicks by Bambi and she covers Shisa for a two count. Bambi gets her whip and chokes Shisa with it, she lets go just to whip him and makes the tag to Honda. Honda dropkicks Shisa in the corner, another dropkick by Honda and he tags Bambi. Shisa kicks Bambi when she charges her and delivers a dropkick, giving him time to tag in Lee. Lee knees Bambi but Honda hits her from the apron, he comes in the ring but Lee kicks them before hitting a double face crusher. Kick to the face by Lee, and she covers Bambi for two. Lee and Bambi trade elbows, Lee goes off the ropes but Bambi catches her with a boot. Another boot by Bambi, and she gets a two count cover. Bambi applies a double reverse armbar, but Lee gets a foot on the bottom rope. Bambi tags in Honda, armbreaker by Honda and he hits a hammerlock Backstabber. Lee kicks Honda in the chest and hits a high kick, she tags in Shisa and Shisa hits a jumping elbow in the corner. Running seated senton by Shisa in the corner and he hits a gutwrench suplex for two. Shisa goes off the ropes but Honda catches him with a kick, Northern Lights Suplex by Shisa but Honda kicks out. Shisa goes for a corkscrew quebrada but Honda avoids he, he knocks Lee off the apron as Bambi comes in the ring, and they double team Shisa. Bambi hits a running knee on Shisa, Honda gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick, but Lee breaks up the cover. Shisa sneaks in a schoolboy on Honda for a two count, he also tries a backslide and La Magistral but those get a two count as well. Shisa charges Honda but Honda hits a cross armbreaker takedown, and Shisa submits! Ayumu Honda and Bambi win the match!

As everyone that knows me is aware I have a natural liking of wrestlers in wrestling masks, so I naturally thought that Shisa was by far the most impressive wrestler in this match. Bambi and Lee are both pretty stiff/awkward, they are competent wrestlers but don’t really do anything to set themselves apart. Honda wasn’t impressing me until the cross armbreaker takedown, which I will admit looked really nice, but otherwise this was just a match on a small show that felt like it went a bit too long. Some solid moments but overall lackluster.

Akane Miura, Miyu Yamashita, and Yuka Sakazaki vs. Hyper Misao, Syoko Nakajima, and Yuu
DDT “Ryogoku Peter Pan 2016” on August 28th, 2016

Nakajima and Yamashita are the first two in, Nakajima takes Yamashita to the mat but Yamashita applies a headscissors. Nakajima bridges out of it, knee by Yamashita and she tags in Akane. Yuu tags in too, Yuu and Akane try to shoulderblock each other over which Yuu gets the better of. She tags in Misao but Akane catches her crossbody attempt and slams her to the mat. Akane tags in Sakazaki, spinning headscissors by Sakazaki but Misao chokes her with a handkerchief. Snapmare by Misao and she puts Sakazaki in the Rocking Horse, cover by Misao but it gets a two count. She tags in Yuu, Yuu chops Sakazaki and she hits a spinning side slam. She tags in Nakajima, flipping neckbreaker by Nakajima but Sakazaki elbows her away. Nakajima stops her from tagging out though, Sakazaki tries to shoot a streamer gun at Nakajima but Nakajima reverses it. Dropkick by Sakazaki and she makes the hot tag to Akane, Akane shoulderblocks everyone and hits a double lariat on Nakajima and Misao. Nakajima comes back with a springboard armdrag, Nakajima puts Akane in a few quick pins but Akane kicks out each time. Nakajima goes for a double underhook but Akane back bodydrops out of it, hurricanrana by Nakajima and she tags in Yuu. Yamashita tags in too, chops by Yuu and she hits the Oklahoma Stampede for a two count. High kick by Yamashita but Yuu catches her with a Judo Throw and tags in Misao. Jumping crossbody by Misao and she hits a few weak uppercuts, another crossbody by Misao and she slams Yamashita onto her knee for a two count. Misao gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody, but Yamashita rolls through it and hits a Buzzsaw Kick for two. Misao tags in Nakajima, Akane comes in and she blocks Nakajima’s Tiger Feint Kick. Akane holds Nakajima so that Yamashita can hit her Magical Girl Kick, jumping lariat by Yamashita to Misao and she nails the Attitude Adjustment for the three count! Akane Miura, Miyu Yamashita, and Yuka Sakazaki are the winners!

I really love the Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers, they all have unique characters and show a strong ability on the mat to go with their flashy moves to wow the crowd. Misao was the clear weak link of the teams as she got lost once and has weak strikes, but everyone else looked solid. Yamashita is someone that more Joshi fans would be talking about if she “made TV” more often, hopefully DDT will allow/encourage them to take bookings other places at some point so she can get out in the wild a bit more. A fun exhibition match with memorable spots and some quality wrestlers.  Mildly Recommended

The post Joshi Match Review Medley: FMW, DDT, WRESTLE-1, and K-DOJO! appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: Tokyo Joshi Pro Princess Tag Team Championship
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

• June 8th, 2019 with Sakisama vs. Mizuki and Yuka Sakazaki  (title win)
• September 15th, 2019 vs. Shoko Nakajima  (title challenge)
• November 3rd, 2019 with Sakisama vs. Miu Watanabe and Rika Tatsumi  (title defense)
• January 4th, 2020 vs. Shoko Nakajima
• July 23rd, 2020 with Shoko Nakajima vs. Miu Watanabe and Rika Tatsumi  (title challenge)
• January 4th, 2021 vs. Shoko Nakajima
• July 25th, 2021 vs. Rika Tatsumi

Signature Moves:

• Hero Correction System (La Campana)
• Hyper Gotham Crash (Headlock Knee Smash)
• Hypermi Returns (Final Cut)
• I Am A Hero (Diving Crossbody)
• Schoolboy
• Vanitas (Lifting Double Underhook Facebuster)

Sample of Matches Reviewed on Joshi City:

• November 20th, 2016 – Mil Clown and Misao vs. Yuu and Nodoka-oneesan in Tokyo Joshi Pro
• January 4th, 2017 – Hyper Misao vs. Maho Kurone vs. Rika Tatsumi in Tokyo Joshi Pro
• June 3rd, 2018 – Hyper Misao vs. Sakisama in Tokyo Joshi Pro
• January 4th, 2020 – Hyper Misao vs. Shoko Nakajima in Tokyo Joshi Pro
• July 25th, 2021 – Hyper Misao vs. Rika Tatsumi in Tokyo Joshi Pro

In Action:

Hypermi Returns

I Am A Hero

Vanitas

Back to Tokyo Joshi Pro Roster

The post Hyper Misao appeared first on Joshi City.