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.

It has been awhile since we visited Tokyo Joshi Pro, but I had to watch my favorite underground indie wrestler Yuka Sakazaki. Tokyo Joshi Pro is a brand of DDT, and as the name implies it is their Joshi brand with mostly very young wrestlers that don’t venture outside of the DDT umbrella. So they don’t get a ton of exposure, but they have a handful of quality wrestlers. This is a small event for the promotion, however it was shown on DDT’s streaming service DDTUniverse.com. Here is the full card:

• Marika Kobashi vs. Syoko Nakajima
• 3 Way Match: Azusa Takigawa vs. Maho Kurone vs. Mizuki
• Rika Tatsumi and Nonoko vs. Yuu and Yuna Manase
• Miyu Yamashita and Nodoka-oneesan vs. Yuka Sakazaki and Reika Saiki

You can click on the names above to go to the wrestler’s profile on Joshi City. A really short show with no really big matches, but Yuka and Reika teaming in the main event should be fun.

Marika Kobashi vs. Syoko Nakajima

They circle each other to start before locking up, Syoko pushes Marika to the mat and locks knuckles with her, but Marika reverses the hold. They end up at a stalemate, waistlock by Marika but Syoko drives her back into the corner. Marika leaps over Syoko and hits an elbow, chops by Marika but Syoko clubs her to the mat. Punches by Syoko and she starts working on Marika’s arm, Syoko puts Marika into the Tarantula before covering her for two. Kicks by Syoko in the corner and she goes back to the arm, but Marika gets into the ropes for the break. Marika slides away from Syoko and hits a dropkick, scoop slam by Marika and she puts Syoko in a single leg crab hold. Syoko gets to the ropes to get out of the hold, Marika goes up top but Syoko punches her in the stomach as she jumps down. Running elbow by Syoko in the corner, she goes for a Tiger Feint Kick but Marika ducks it and rolls her up for two. Marika tries a few more flash pins with no luck, neck drop by Marika and she hits a diving ax handle. Syoko comes back with a dropkick and drives Marika’s face into the mat, Northern Lights Suplex by Syoko and she gets the three count! Syoko Nakajima is the winner.

A really simply laid out and executed match, but probably necessary since Marika is only 16 and just returned to wrestling. Nothing was actively bad about it, just basic and not particularly memorable. Not unwatchable but nothing much to it.

Azusa Takigawa vs. Maho Kurone vs. Mizuki

Maho chases after Mizuki as the match starts, trying to eat her, but Mizuki hides behind Azusa. Maho only wants Mizuki and pays Azusa no mind, Mizuki and Azusa shakes hands before both going after Maho. They both take turns attacking Maho in the corner until Azusa quickly schoolboys Mizuki for a two count. Azusa stands on Mizuki’s hair and continues the beatdown while Maho is still MIA, she comes back just as Mizuki gets an advantage but Azusa tosses Mizuki out of the ring again. Azusa puts on her veil while standing on the second turnbuckle, but Mizuki hits her before she can jump down and throws her to the mat. Crab hold by Mizuki but Azusa gets the microphone slid to her and talks a bit while struggling to get to the ropes. Mizuki lets go, Azusa then goes out to the apron and continues cutting a promo mid-match. She finally stops talking and gets back into the ring, Maho returns too and scoop slams Azusa for a two count. Maho and Mizuki take turns trying to pin Azusa, Mizuki goes off the ropes but Maho puts her in a sleeper. She tries to bite her neck but Mizuki blocks it. Maho and Mizuki trade blows until Mizuki sneaks in a backslide for two, dropkick by Mizuki and she hits a diving footstomp on Maho from the second turnbuckle. Elbows by Mizuki but Maho grabs her and bites her neck, swinging neckbreaker by Maho but Azusa schoolboys her from behind for two. Azusa pulls down the ropes when Maho charges her, sending Maho out of the ring, before hitting Mizuki with a Codebreaker. Azusa gets on the second turnbuckle but Mizuki blocks her dive and applies a backslide for two. Cutie Special by Mizuki, and she picks up the three count! Mizuki is your winner.

This is the type of match that makes me not want to watch smaller indie shows. Maho is a fun gimmick but she isn’t a very good wrestler, making a lot of her sections look a bit awkward. Azusa is pure gimmick, and probably is more funny if I understood Japanese (which I don’t), while Mizuki is a solid wrestler but not one that can pull other wrestlers up. So mostly a clunky ‘take turns’ type three way match and not particularly entertaining.

Rika Tatsumi and Nonoko vs. Yuu and Yuna Manase

Rika and Yuna start the match, Rika gets Yuna to the mat but Yuna gets out of it and they trade wristlocks. Rika tags in Nonoko so Yuna tags Yuu, Nonoko pulls out a magazine and gives it to Yuu but Yuu throws it to the ground and stomps on Nonoko. Armbar by Yuu and she tags in Yuna, Yuna knocks Nonoko into the corner but Nonoko shoulderblocks Yuna and puts her in a stretch hold. Nonoko tags Rika, Rika starts working on Yuna’s leg before dropping her with a face crusher. Rika hits a running elbow drop but it only gets a two count cover so she tags Nonoko back in. Elbows by Nonoko to Yuna and she hits a double arm DDT into her chest, but Yuna delivers a mid kick and makes the tag to Yuu. Yuu shoulderblocks both Nonoko and Rika, double chop to the chest by Yuu and she covers Nonoko for two. Yuu works on Nonoko’s arm before chopping her to the mat, but Nonoko rams her head into her chest and delivers a Lou Thesz Press. Nonoko tags in Rika, Rika jumps at Yuu but Yuu catches her and slams Rika to the mat. Powerslam by Yuu, she throws Rika into the corner but Rika reverses her Irish whip and dropkicks Yuu in the leg. Dragon screw by Rika and she hits a couple hip attacks for two.

Rika goes for a cutter but Yuu pushes her off and hits a judo throw, giving her time to tag in Yuna. Yuna jumps down onto Rika and kicks her in the back, running boot by Yuna and she covers Rika for two. Yuna goes off the ropes but Rika catches her with a hip attack, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits the diving hip attack for a two count cover. Backbreaker by Rika and she applies the dragon sleeper, but Yuu breaks it up. Rika tags Nonoko, they both throw Yuna into the corner and deliver running strikes. Nonoko picks up Yuna and nails the Boinmaker, she puts her magazine in her shirt before hitting a body press but Yuna kicks out of the cover. Nonoko gives Yuna the magazine to read, Yuna tries to put it on the mat so that Nonoko would trip over it, but Nonoko notices and slams on the breaks. Yuu pushes Nonoko from the apron and Nonoko slips on it anyway, but Rika breaks up Yuna’s cover. Yuu takes care of Rika, Yuna delivers the Kakato Drop (heel drop) to Nonoko and she picks up the three count! Yuu and Yuna Manase win!

The primary issue here is, again, general wrestler quality. TJP does have some really good wrestlers, but they were too spread out here. Yuna is on her third promotion in her short career probably for a reason – she’s a sub-par wrestler. Rika and Yuu are both good, but didn’t do much here to stand out. Nonoko is mostly gimmick, its a quality gimmick but she isn’t going to wow you with in-ring skills (nor is she trying to). So what you end up with is a pretty average match, it had some good sections but it was just inconsistent as Nonoko and Yuna wanted to do their comedy bits while Yuu and Rika were generally more serious. I wouldn’t say it was bad, but it was nothing anyone needs to go find to watch.

Miyu Yamashita and Nodoka-oneesan vs. Yuka Sakazaki and Reika Saiki

Nodoka and Reika start the match for their teams, they trade headlocks and headscissors but end up back on their feet. Reika puts Nodoka in a front headlock and tags in Yuka, but Nodoka gets away and tags in Miyu. Miyu and Yuka go back and forth until Yuka hits a dropkick, but Miyu gets back up and stomps Yuka to the mat. Miyu tags Nodoka, Nodoka puts Yuka in a headlock before elbowing her in the back of the head. Miyu tags back in, snapmare by Miyu and she puts Yuka in a chinlock. Yuka gets to the ropes to force the break, kick by Miyu and she tags in Nodoka. Irish whip by Nodoka to the corner and she hits an elbow, stretch hold by Nodoka but Yuka gets to the ropes. Miyu returns and dropkicks Yuka in the back, cover by Miyu but it gets two. Miyu goes for a backbreaker but Yuka gets away, knee to the stomach by Miyu but Yuka hits a running elbow. She makes the hot tag to Reika, shoulderblock by Reika and she hits an armdrag. Kicks by Reika but Miyu catches one and kicks her back, giving her time to tag Nodoka. Shoulderblock by Nodoka and she hits a crossbody for two. Big kick by Reika and she hits the PK, she picks up Nodoka and bodyslams her to the mat.

Nodoka gets back up and they trade strikes until Reika hits a dropkick, she tags in Yuka and Yuka comes in the ring with a swandive stomp for a two count. Jumping elbow by Yuka in the corner but Nodoka hits a scoop slam and tags Miyu. Kick to the chest by Miyu, she waits for Yuka to get up and delivers a strike combination. Miyu charges Yuka but Yuka avoids the knee, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits the diving hurricanrana. Enzuigiri by Yuka and she delivers a sliding lariat for a two count. Elbows by Yuka but Miyu ducks one and hits a lariat, she lands near her corner and tags Nodoka. Yuka takes Nodoka to the mat and applies a STF, Reika runs in to cut off Miyu but Nodoka makes it to the ropes. Neckbreaker by Yuka, she goes out to the apron and hits the swandive body press, but Miyu breaks up the cover. Reika picks up Miyu and holds her, Yuka walks the ropes and hits a dropkick to Miyu. Yuka goes back to Nodoka but Nodoka hits a quick Samoan Drop for a two count. She hits a second one for another two as Reika breaks it up, Irish whip by Nodoka to the corner but Yuka reverses it and hits a roaring elbow. Reverse STO by Yuka, she goes to the apron and nails the Magical Girl Splash for the three count! Yuka Sakazaki and Reika Saiki win the match.

While a more subdued main event than I would like, it was still pretty solid. Miyu and Yuka are so much fun to watch since they have such unique offenses, and Nodoka was mostly able to keep up with just a few small issues. Reika is capable of more but she didn’t get much of a chance to shine, which is generally an issue with matches that don’t get a lot of time. I did laugh when Yuka accidentally dropkicked Reika in the face when she was holding up Nodoka, she drilled her, but that and the finish were probably the only two really memorable spots in the match. Generally enjoyable but I know they are capable of a lot more.  Mildly Recommended

The post Tokyo Joshi Pro Girl’s Fight Out #5 on 6/24/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: TJPW Princess Tag Team Championship
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

• July 9th, 2016 vs. Yuu
• January 4th, 2017 vs. Cherry
• March 3rd, 2018 with Yuu vs. Azusa Christie and Sakisama  (title challenge)
• February 23rd, 2019 vs. Miyu Yamashita  (title challenge)
• November 7th, 2020 with Yuki Aino vs. Miu Watanabe and Rika Tatsumi  (title win)
• April 17th, 2021 with Yuki Aino vs. Mei Saint-Michel and Sakisama  (title defense)

Signature Moves:

• Backflip
• Cross Body Attack
• Fallaway Slam
• Killswitch
• WAR Special

Sample of Matches Reviewed on Joshi City:

• November 20th, 2016 – Mil Clown and Hyper Misao vs. Yuu and Nodoka-oneesan in Tokyo Joshi Pro
• January 4th, 2017 – Cherry vs. Nodoka-oneesan in Tokyo Joshi Pro
• February 18th, 2017 – Nodoka-oneesan vs. Shoko Nakajima in Tokyo Joshi Pro
• June 24th, 2017 – Miyu Yamashita and Nodoka-oneesan vs. Yuka Sakazaki and Reika Saiki in Tokyo Joshi Pro
• June 3rd, 2018 – Nodoka-oneesan vs. Yuna Manase in Tokyo Joshi Pro
• June 17th, 2018 – Miyu Yamashita vs. Nodoka-oneesan in Tokyo Joshi Pro
• July 8th, 2018 – Nodoka-oneesan vs. Yuu in Tokyo Joshi Pro
• January 4th, 2020 – Miu Watanabe and Rika Tatsumi vs. Nodoka Tenma and Yuki Aino in Tokyo Joshi Pro
• July 23rd, 2021 – Marika Kobashi vs. Nodoka Tenma in Tokyo Joshi Pro

In Action:

Fallaway Slam

Killswitch

Back to Retired Wrestlers

The post Nodoka Tenma appeared first on Joshi City.

Even though this is a small event, I want to represent a variety of promotions on the website, plus I may possibly have a crush on Mil Clown. This is one of their ‘house show’ events (as most of their shows are, they are a small promotion), however all of their stars are here and Saki Akai has stopped by as well. Here is the full card:

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

You can click on the wrestler’s name above to go to their profile if I have one for them on the website. Short show, let’s hop to it.

Nodoka-oneesan vs. Syoko Nakajima

Nodoka and Syoko trade holds to start, Syoko goes for shoulderblocks but Nodoka knocks her to the mat first. Syoko gets back up and kicks Nodoka, elbow by Syoko in the corner and she snapmares Nodoka to the mat. Syoko puts Nodoka in a headscissors and rams her head into the mat, she picks her back up and elbows Nodoka in the neck. Flipping neckbreaker by Syoko, and she covers Nodoka for two. More strikes by Syoko and she hits another neckbreaker, Nodoka gets away and she hits a hard shoulderblock. Running elbow by Nodoka and she scoop slams Syoko for a two count cover. Nodoka works a headlock, she lets go and goes off the ropes, but Syoko rams her head-first into the turnbuckles. Missile kick by Syoko, she picks up Nodoka and snapmares her face-first into the mat. She goes for a double arm DDT but Nodoka gets out of it with a back bodydrop, crossbody by Nodoka and she gets a two count. Nodoka picks up Syoko but Syoko gets away and drags her to the mat with a double arm grounded necklock. Nodoka gets out of it and hits a shoulderblock, she puts Syoko on her shoulders but Syoko gets away and hits a dropkick. Tiger Feint Kick by Syoko, she picks up Nodoka and hits the Northern Lights Suplex for the three count! Syoko Nakajima is the winner.

For a rookie-style opening match, they got enough time and Nodoka got in a few moves so it wasn’t too one-sided. Syoko has a lot of fun and unique offense, I enjoy watching her, it was a bit limited here of course but she was still impressive. Nodoka mostly does power-type offense and has the strength for it, she may have a future in wrestling but its too early to tell. Decent opener to the show.

Mil Clown and Rika Tatsumi vs. Yuu and Miyu Yamashita

Yuu and Rika start the match, Yuu gets Rika to the mat first before pulling Rika to her corner so she can tag in Miyu. Miyu works a headlock but Rika rolls out of it and reverses the hold, kick to the back by Rika and she tags in Mil Clown. Mil Clown flips Miyu to the mat and runs on her back for awhile, she pokes Miyu in the head before punching her into the corner. Hard shoulderblock by Mil Clown but Miyu hits an armdrag, Mil Clown returns the favor and they trade armdrags until Mil Clown hits a drop toehold. Mil Clown starts in Miyu’s leg and tags in Rika, Rika elbows Miyu and she hits an elbow drop for a two count. Mil Clown is tagged back in and she throws Miyu into the corner before bouncing her off the ropes. Mil Clown tags Rika, Rika elbows Miyu in the chest and twists her arm in the ropes. Mil Clown comes back in, Miyu tosses Mil Clown to the apron but Mil Clown goes up top and cartwheels back in the ring before hitting a dropkick. Mil Clown goes off the ropes but Miyu hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and makes the hot tag to Yuu. Shoulderblock by Yuu and she hits the Oklahoma Stampede on Mil Clown for a two count.

Chops by Yuu but Mil Clown kicks her and tags in Rika. Mil Clown stays in and helps Rika with Yuu, cover by Rika but it gets a two count. Rika goes for a hip attack but Yuu catches her and spins Rika to the mat. Yuu tags in Miyu, leg sweep by Miyu and she covers Rika for two. Knee by Miyu and she dropkicks Rika in the back. Rika elbows Miyu but Miyu knees her and hiptosses her to the mat. Anaconda Vice by Miyu, Mil Clown tries to break it up but Yuu intercepts her. Miyu switches it to a short armbar but Rika gets to the ropes for the break. Miyu goes for a kick but Rika catches it and hits a dragon screw, Rika goes for a Dragon Sleeper but Miyu gets out of it and kicks Rika in the back. Miyu throws Rika into the corner but she hits a hip attack, she goes off the ropes but Yuu runs in and hits a judo throw. Mil Clown headscissors Yuu and then hits an enzuigiri onto Miyu, Rika elbows Miyu but Miyu elbows her back and they trade shots. Kick to the chest by Miyu, she picks up Rika and nails a high kick in the corner. Another high kick by Miyu, she picks up Rika and hits the Attitude Adjustment for the three count! Miyu Yamashita and Yuu win!

This one started slow but it picked up by the end and turned out pretty enjoyable. Unlike some other matches in Tokyo Joshi Pro, really no comedy here as it was a pretty straight wrestling match. Mil Clown and Miyu are high end wrestlers/entertainers, both are a lot of fun to watch and work together well. Yuu is solid, I’m not completely sold on her but she is only a year into her career and does her power moves well. A good match with a quality home stretch, even though some of the beginning felt uninspired.  Mildly Recommended

Akane Miura vs. Maho Kurone

Akane won’t shake Maho’s hand, Maho chases after Akane but Akane knocks her down with a pair of shoulderblocks. Full nelson by Akane, she throws Maho in the corner and hits a running elbow followed by a lariat. Body press by Akane, and she covers Maho for two. Maho fights back and clubs on Akane, she puts her in a single leg crab hold but Akane makes it to the ropes. Maho throws Akane into the corner and hits a running elbow, she goes off the ropes but Akane hits a powerslam. Side slam by Akane, and she covers Maho for two. Akane elbows Maho a few times but Maho elbows her back, neckbreaker by Maho but Akane pushes her away and hits a shoulderblock. Powerslam by Akane, she nails a lariat and she covers Maho for the three count! Akane Miura wins the match.

Its hard to get excited about a match that goes under five minutes, especially when the dominating wrestler is leaving in a month anyway. Akane’s offense is fine, Maho generally doesn’t show a whole lot so I assume skill-wise she is still a bit behind many of the other wrestlers in the promotion. Nothing wrong with it, just short and not very memorable.

Saki-nami and Martha vs. Azusa Takigawa and Nonoko

Azusa and Martha start off and trade holds, Martha pushes Azusa to the mat so she tags in Nonoko. Nonoko makes Martha uncomfortable so she tags in Akai, Nonoko pulls her into her chest but Akai gets out of it. Akai pulls down Nonoko by the hair, Azusa gets on the microphone and taunts her, allowing Nonoko to attack Akai from behind. Nonoko tags in Azusa while she is still on the microphone, double elbow to Akai and Azusa covers her for two. Azusa stomps down Akai in the corner but Akai kicks her and chokes Azusa in the corner. Back elbow by Akai and she drops a knee onto Azusa for a two count. Akai tags in Martha, Martha elbows Azusa in the back of the head and stomps her. Scoop slam by Martha, Akai returns and Azusa plays the Face in Peril for several minutes (even though she isn’t a “face” I don’t think), she finally hits a Codebreaker on Akai and makes the hot tag to Nonoko. Nonoko chest bumps both Akai and Martha, double arm DDT of sorts by Nonoko and she hits a body press for two. Nonoko goes for the Boinmaker but Akai gets out of it, she goes off the ropes but Nonoko hits a Lou Thesz Press. She tags Azusa, Azusa gets on the second turnbuckle and puts on a wedding veil before hitting an ax handle for two.

She picks up Akai and kicks her but Akai catches her with a STO. She tags in Martha, Azusa rolls up Martha but it gets a two count. Face buster by Azusa but Akai breaks up the cover, Nonoko comes in too and she catapults Azusa into Akai. They try to do the same with Martha but Martha catches Azusa, Akai kicks Azusa in the chest and Martha covers her for two. Akai goes off the ropes but Azusa avoids her kick, Akai drives Azusa back into the corner and goes for an elbow, but she hits the referee by accident. Martha gets her mop but Nonoko takes it from her, lariat by Martha to Nonoko and she gets the mop again, but the recovered referee takes it from her. Martha attacks the referee and goes back to the mop, but Rika Tatsumi comes in to help. Azusa rolls up Akai, and Rika makes the count, but Akai kicks out at two. Big boot by Akai to Azusa, she picks up Azusa and Martha holds her from the apron, but Akai boots Martha in the face by accident. Superkick by Azusa to Akai, cover by Azusa and Rika makes the three count! Azusa and Nonoko win?

Well no they don’t win, as Rika is not an authorized referee. The referee recovers and returns to the ring, Akai boots Azusa in the face but Azusa hits another superkick for a two count. Azusa charges Akai but Akai grabs her and takes her to the mat. After struggling for a bit, Akai locks Azusa in a Foot Choke, and Azusa quickly submits! Saki-nami and Martha are the winners!

While storyline-wise it did a good job, this match was desperately missing someone that the in-ring skills to tie everything together. All four of these wrestlers are more style than substance so the match going over 15 minutes was a bit problematic. There were spurts of solid action, but overall there just wasn’t a lot of interesting stuff going on. From the character side of things it was fine, but the action itself for the bulk of the match was a bit lackluster.

The post Tokyo Joshi Pro “Girls Fight Out #3” on 2/18/17 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

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