Tag: tjpw

Ahead of her retirement later this month, Tokyo Joshi Pro held a Nao Kakuta Produced event today dubbed “CROSS”, featuring outside participation and more.

Today’s event was held at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE. I had planned to do live results but was unable to due to a lengthy cable/internet outage in my area that was not resolved until after the event.

The announced paid attendance was 284, a legit advance sellout.

Match 1: Himeka beat Cherry & Sho Sekiguchi (?). This was supposed to have been Cherry vs. Sekiguchi with Himeka as special referee but instead Himeka pinned both.

Match 2; Arisu Endo won a 5 woman battle royal, last eliminating Pom Harajuku. The other participants were Suzume, Mizuki & Yuki Arai. All were dressed as Nao Kakuta.

Match 3: Meika Ozaki beat HIMAWARI.

Main Event: Saori Anou & Natsupoi (Stardom) beat Nao Kakuta & Tae Honma. Natstpoi pinned Kakuta after Fairy Gift. AIna Aiba was guest ring announcer.

The next event is an Up Up Girls second unit special event tomorrow at Ueno Park Outdoor Stage in Tokyo. There will be no live broadcast.

Tokyo Joshi Pro ran an event in Tokyo with an after-party to follow later on.

Today’s event was held at Club eX in Shinagawa Prince Hotel in Tokyo and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 262..

Match 1: Haru Kazashiro beat Chika Nanase.

Match 2: Wakana Uehara beat Uta Takami.

Match 3: Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Kira Summer beat Raku, Pom Harajuku & HIMAWARI. Kamifuku pinned HIMAWARI after Fameasser.

Match 4: Maki Itoh beat Tuna Okubo.

Match 5: Nao Kakuta & Yuki Aino beat Shoko Nalajima & Yoshiko Hasegawa (Independent/Freelancer). Kakuta pinned Hasegawa after Shiden Kai.

Match 6: Miyu Yamashita & Toga beat Mizuki & Shino Suzuki. Yamashita pinned Suzuki after Attitude Adjustment.

Main Event: Miu Watanabe, Suzume & Arisu Endo beat Rika Tatsumi, Moka Miyamoto & Kaya Toribami. Suzume pinned Toribami after Ring A Bell.

The next event is CROSS, a Nao Kakuta Produced event, on 7/6 at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring. The event isa legit advance sellout. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin on 7/5 at 8 PM PT/11 PM ET.

A short time ago, Tokyo Joshi Pro announced the entrants for this year’s Tokyo Princess Cup, their annual singles tournament. A field of 19 makes up this year’s tournament, with round 1 & 2 matches TBA. The field: Miu Watanabe, Yuki Arai, Suzume, Arisu Endo, Yuki Kamifuku, Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima, Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Aino, Pom Harajuku, Kaya Toribami, Wakana Uehara, Shino Suzuki, Haru Kazashiro, Runa Okubo, Ryo Mizunami, Zara Zakher.

Notably not in the field: Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh, Raku, HIMAWARI & Mahiro Kiryu. All but Itoh will be in the UK when the Semifinals & Finals take place so they will miss the tournament as a result. Itoh will be in the US again in August and will miss all events that month. Also not entered due to being rookies (presumably) are Kira Summer & Uta Takami.

The tournament begins 7/28 at Ryogoku KfC Hall in Tokyo then continues on 8/3 at Shinjuku Face, 8/10 at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2 in Osaka (Quarterfinals), 8/23 at Shinjuku Face (Semifinals) and concludes 8/25 at Korakuen Hall (Finals). It also has been announced that Arai, Mizunami & Zakher will participate in all events regardless of tournament results.

Tokyo Joshi Pro continued the CITY CIRCUIT Tour today with an event in Shizuoka that just concluded.

Today’s event was held at Act City Hamamatsu in Shizuoka and should be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE Wednesday. There was no live broadcast.

The paid attendance has not yet been announced.

There were late changes to the card due to Yuki Aino being pulled off the event. The always-vague poor health/physical condition.

Match 1: Mahiro Kiryu beat Chika Nanase.

Match 2: Shoko Nakajima & Kira Summer beat Haru Kazashiro & Uta Takami. Nakajima pinned Takami.

Match 3: Mizuki beat Runa Okubo by submission.

Match 4: Nao Kakuta beat Shino Suzuki.

Match 5: Maki Itoh & Yuki Kamifuku beat Raku & Pom Harajuku. Itoh beat Harajuku with Itoh Deluxe.

Match 6: Miyu Yamashita, Moka Miyamoto & Toga beat Suzume, Arisu Endo & Kaya Toribami. Miyamoto beat Endo with Rashomon.

Main Event: Miu Watanabe & Wakana Uehara beat Rika Tatsumi & HIMAWARI. Watanabe pinned HIMAWARI after Teardrop.

The next event is Thursday at Loft9 Shibuya in Tokyo, which will be a fundraiser for the injured Hyper Misao to help cover her medical expenses. It will be streamed live on Twitcasting for 1500 Japanese yen (around $10 US) beginning at 3 AM PT/6 AM ET. Event format TBA.

Tokyo Joshi Pro has just announced Nao Kakuta’s final match in the promotion on 7/25 before she retires. The event, to be held at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo, will see Kakita close her TJPW career against Mizuki. Fans can throw streamers during that match and the post-match retirement ceremony. No other matches announced yet.

Tokyo Joshi Pro runs their monthly major event today, this month’s dubbed ‘PRISM ’24”. 2 title matches headline the event today as international outsiders come back looking for some gold. First up, International Princess Champion Yuki Arai must overcome a considerable height & size handicap once again as she defends against foreigner L.A. Taylor. Then in the main event, Princess Of Princess Champion Miu Watanabe defends the title against the popular American wrestler Vertvixen, back for another shot at the gold. And with the return of Miyu Yamashita to Japan looming, along with the Tokyo Princess Cup, Watanabe’s days as champion may be numbered…although what may work in the champion’s favor is Yamashita is among 5 wrestlers who are out of the Tokyo Princess Cup because they will be in England during the Semifinals and Finals (also no Raku, HIMWARI & Mahiro Kiryu. No Maki Itoh as well as she’ll be back in the US). The undercard is highlighted by the return of former All Elite Wrestling Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida to TJPW, and another appearance by Hall Of Famer Aja Kong.
In other news, the promotion today also announced a fundraiser event for 6/27 at LOFT9 Shibuya in Tokyo, which will be an event to help raise funds for Hyper Misao, who is out of action due to injury. All proceeds from the event will go to her medical expenses. The event format is undecided but it will be livestreamed on Twitcasting for 1500 Japanese ten (around or just under $10 US).

Today’s event will be held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched LIVE on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in Japanese and English. Former SKE48 member Marika Tani, who left the group a couple months ago but remains active elsewhere in the entertainment industry, will return as a special guest on Japanese commentary. Fans are allowed to throw streamers/paper tape today. There will be a post-event party next door to the venue, which plays into the event name (Prism Hall is next to Korakuen). That event will perhaps have some influence on the running time even though it’s subject to change, so anticipate this event running about 2 1/2 hours. Based on time limits for matches the longest it could possibly go it about 3 hours. Also, for the last hour or so I’ll be split-screening due to another live event starting.

Today’s lineup (in order):
Suzume & Arisu Endo vs. Runa Okubo & Haru Kazashiro
Chika Nanase vs. Uta Takami
Nao Kakuta & SAKI vs. Raku & Pom Harajuku
Aja Kong, Yuki Kamifuku & Kira Summer vs. Maki Itoh, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami
Hikaru Shida vs. Moka Miyamoto
Shoko Nakajima, Mizuki, Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino vs. Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI, Toga & Shino Suzuki
International Princess Champion Yuki Arai vs. L.A. Taylor for the title
Princess Of Princess Champion Miu Watanabe vs. Vertvixen for the title

Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.

Updates below will begin at 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET. The stream is scheduled to go live 30 minutes prior to the event.

7 PM PT UPDATE: The live stream has begun. We should go to the venue in 20-25 minutes.

7:18 PM PT UPDATE: Live updates begin now.

We are LIVE from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Your hosts are Haruo Murata, Kagehiro Osano, Sayoko Mita & Marika Tani. Tour English hosts are Mr. Haku & Gaia Hox.

The paid attendance will be announced after the event. They’re using the normal reduced capacity setup with most of the opposite-hard camera bleacher seats closed off except in the middle. Too early to guess on the attendance but I usually estimate around 700 for these events. (After seeing some crowd shots during opening match entrances, I’m revising my estimate down to around 650) (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 707)

The matches should begin in 20-30 minutes.

Opening announcements begin at 7:25 PM PT/10:25 PM ET. The final announcement is a big one-WRESTLE PRINCESS 5, the annual fall blowout event that was their biggest annual event prior to GRAND PRINCESS. This year it will be held on 9/22 at Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall 6 in Chiba.

Up Up Girls time.

The matches begin at 7:45 PM PT/10:45 PM ET. And as noted above, we have STREAMERS!

Match 1: Suzume & Arisu Endo vs. Runa Okubo & Haru Kazashiro. 20 minute time limit
Result: Suzume & Arisu Endo beat Runa Okubo & Haru Kazashiro. Suzume pinned Kazashiro after Ring A Bell.

Match 2: Chika Nanase vs. Uta Takami. 15 minute time limit
Result: Chika Nanase beat Uta Takami by submission

Match 3: Nao Kakuta & SAKI (Independent/Freelancer) vs. Raku & Pom Harajuku. 20 minute time limit
Result: Nao Kakuta & SAKI beat Raku & Pom Harajuku. Kakuta pinned Harajuku after Shiden Kai.

Match 4: Aja Kong, Yuki Kamifuku & Kira Summer vs. Maki Itoh, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami. 20 minute time limit. Kira & Kamifuku have Kong’s face paint too!
Result: Aja Kong, Yuki Kamifuku & Kira Summer beat Maki Itoh, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami. Kamifuku pinned Toribami after Fameasser.

New match announcement for SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’24 on 7/20 at Korakuen: SHoko Nakajima vs…Aja Kong!

Match 5: Hikaru Shida (All Elite Wrestling) vs. Moka Miyamoto. 20 minute time limit
Result: HIkaru Shida beat Moka Miyamoto

Match 6: Shoko Nakajima, Mizuki, Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino vs. Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI, Toga & Shino Suzuki. 20 minute time limit
Result: Shoko Nakajima, Mizuki, Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino beat Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI, Toga & Shino Suzuki. Tatsumi pinned Uehara after Twist Of Fate.

Match 7: International Princess Champion Yuki Arai vs. L.A. Taylor (Pro Wrestling EVE) for the title. 30 minute time limit
Result: International Princess Champion Yuki Arai beat L.A. Taylor to retain the title. V3 for Arai. It wasn’t easy and she was mostly beaten down by the much bigger Taylor, but one counter sometimes, one opportunity, is all it takes and it came at the right time. And I go home happy.

Main Event: Princess Of Princess Champion Miu Watanabe vs. Vertvixen for the title. 30 minute time limit
Result: Princess Of Princess Champion Miu Watanabe beat Vertvixen to retain the title. V2 for Watanabe. Next up: No time to celebrate…Rika Tatsumi came out immediately. Accepted. At this point all signs would seem to point to SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’24 but we’ll hopefully know more in the next day or so, but apparently Daydream is going to face off. Watanabe finished her victory promo to end the show. (UPDATE: Not yet official but the official results page on DDT’s website says it’s happening on 7/20 which is SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’24)

UPDATE 2: It’s now official.

The next event is Saturday at Kobe Art Center in Kobe. There will be no live broadcast. In fact, no more live broadcasts are scheduled this month. At this time the next live broadcast will be the Nao Kakuta Produced event on 7/6.

Tokyo Joshi Pro held what is now becoming an annual hometown event for Yuki Kamifuku in her home city of Fujisawa City.

Today’s event was held at Fujisawa City Shonandai Cultural Center in Kanagawa and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 347.

There was a last-minute change to the event as Mahiro Kiryu was removed due to a lower back injury. She was to have teamed with Uta Takami to face Runa Okubo & Toga. Kakeru Sekiguchi was the replacement, making her first TJPW appearance.

Match 1: Nao Kakuta beat Haru Kazashiro.

Match 2: Kakeru Sekiguchi & Uta Takami beat Runa Okubo & Toga. Sekiguchi beat Okubo with SG Clutch.

Match 3: Suzume, Arisu Endo & Chika Nanase beat Raku, Pom Harajuku & Kira Summer. Endo beat Summer with a camel clutch.

Match 4: Alexis Lee & Kaya Toribami beat Shoko Nakajima & HIMAWARI. Lee pinned HIMAWARI after Noble Way.

Match 5: Miu Watanabe & Shino Suzuki beat Maki Itoh & Wakana Uehara. Watanabe pinned Uehara.

Main Event: Aja Kong & Yuki Kamifuku beat Rika Tatsumi & Moka Miyamoto. Kamifuku pinned Miyamoto after a diving Fameasser. Afterwards, Kong may have asked for a future match against Kamifuku.

The next event is PRISM ’24 on 6/9 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Already set for that event are International Pricess Champion Yuki Arai vs. LA Taylor for the title, Princess Of Princess Champion Miu Watanabe vs. Vertvixen for the title and the return of AEW star Hikaru Shida to the promotion. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin on 6/8 at 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET.

Many fans and even some wrestlers recently, including occasional visitor Max The Impaler (and myself too), have been wondering about Hikari Noa. She has been absent from Tokyo Joshi Pro since missing events in December due to the ever-vague poor physical condition. Now we have an update on her status, but it’s not good for us-Noa has left the promotion. They say she “graduated” and the promotion’s announcement made it sound like a personal decision to leave after discussing future plans there is/will be no comment from Noa but TJPW said she apologized to fans for not being able to live up to their wishes & expectations. A separate announcement from the Up Up Girls website says Noa made the decision to leave Wednesday (May 15).

Noa’s profile page has already been removed from DDT’s website but she was both an International Princess Champion and Princess Tag Team Champion (the latter with the soon-retiring Nao Kakuta, who has posted fond memories of them on Twitter) and also was in the first true hardcore matches in TJPW. No was also a member of the Up Up Girls group with (at the time) Miu Watanabe, Raku and-when she first joined-Shino Suzuki. She has been wrestling for 7 years but it’s not known if that will continue.

We join on wishing Noa the best in her future endeavors

Tokyo Joshi Pro announced the full 5/12 card today, and some unplanned absences with it-one is not injury-related as Nao Kakuta is off due to a scheduling conflict (stage performance) but one is as rookie Kira Summer will be out of action for the first time in her career. The always-vague poor physical condition coming out of yesterday, but serious enough to require a second examination. Out indefinitely. No changes will be needed for 5/12.

More as it becomes available.

In unrelated TJPW news, I also join her many fans and the roster in wishing Yuki Arai a happy 26th birthday!