Tag: tjpw

Tokyo Joshi Pro visited Yamanashi for the first time ever today, what was planned to be a Neko Haruna hometown event but was slightly ruined by her latest injury that will again keep her out long-term. It also starts the weekend where we say the official goodbye to Sayuri Namba as she is leaving the promotion.

Today’s event was held at Kofu City Kose Sports Park Gym Sub Arena in Yamanashi and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE Monday. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 117.

Tokyo Princess Cup Qualifier Tournament:
Match 1: Haru Kazashiro beat Ren Konatsu. As a result, Kazashiro advances to the next round.
Match 2: Shino Suzuki beat Uta Takami. As a result, Suzuki advances to the next round.
Match 3: Kaya Toribami beat Chika Nanase. As a result, Toribami advances to the next round.

Neko Haruna appeared after the 3rd match to greet the hometown crowd. This is her final appearance before surgery for her latest injury, which will likely keep her out until at least sometime next year.

Match 4: Moka Miyamoto & HIMAWARI beat Maki Itoh & Ivy Steele. Miyamoto beat Steele with Rashomon.

Match 5: Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Mahiro Kiryu beat Yuki Aino, Yoshiko Hasegawa & Kira Summer. Nakajima pinned Summer with a Northern Lights suplex hold.

Match 6: Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara beat Rika Tatsumi & Toga. Kamifuku pinned Toga after Fameasser.

Main Event: Mizuki, Suzume & Arisu Endo beat Miu Watanabe, Raku & Pom Harajuku. Mizuki pinned Harajuku after a diving foot stomp.

The next event is tomorrow at Ryogoku KFC Hall in Tokyo, which wraps up the spring 2025 house show tour and is Namba’s farewell event (the day we didn’t want to come is sadly here). The event is a legit advance sellout. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin TONIGHT at 8:30 PM PT/11:30 PM ET.

The day almost every Tokyo Joshi Pro fan, myself included, has been dreading for the last few months is fast approaching-in just over a week we have to say goodbye to beloved MC/ring announcer Sayuri Namba as she is leaving the promotion to pursue a career outside wrestling (she intends to relocate to Canada, and hopefully to the US at some point-to become a language teacher). Today is a celebration of her 7+ years and everything she has done to help with the incredible growth of TJPW, especially post-pandemic as it has begun expanding worldwide including the US. She isn’t completely closing the door on her ring announcer career though so it’s always possible we see her somewhere else, maybe in the US. As for today, Namba will even reprise her prior part-time role as a ring card girl for combat sports during a special round system match between Kazuki Hirata & Ryuichi Sekine, plus the roster members not in matches today-Miu Watanabe, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Arisu Endo & Yuki Arai-will take turns acting as ring announcers and wearing Namba’s older outfits from earlier in her career. The main event will see Namba in the corner of Mizuki & Suzume as they face TBA & TBA, which were revealed a short time ago to be RIKADEVIL & YUKIDEVIL with TORIDEVIL seconding them…that almost certainly means RIka Tatsumi & Yuki Aino with Kaya Toribami as a new faction called BABYDEVIL and they even get their own merchandise for sale today! Also present for at least one match will be Yuki Ishii, TJPW’s reporter for Japanese wrestling magazine Weekly Pro.

Today’s event will be held at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo and can be watched LIVE on WRESTLE UNIVERSE. The event is a legit advance sellout. There will likely be no commentary. Although some of the matches will have different rules from the others it probably will still be around a standard house show length of around 2 hours.

Today’s lineup:
Yoshiko Hasegawa vs. Ren Konatsu
Moka Miyamoto & Ivy Steele vs. Shino Suzuki & HIMAWARI
Shoko Nakajima & Chika Nanase vs. Mahiro Kiryu & Toga
Round System Special Match: Kazuki Hirata (DDT) vs. Ryuichi Sekine. Sayuri Namba will be ring card girl
LEONA (Dradition) vs. Antonio Honda (DDT). Sayuri Namba will be ring announcer for this match. Weekly Pro correspondent Yuki Ishii will be match reporter
Mizuki & Suzume with Sayuri Namba vs. RIKADEVIL & YUKIDEVIL with KAYADEVIL. Stremaers/paper tape throwing is allowed for this match

Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.

Updates below will begin at 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET. The broadcast is scheduled to begin 15 minutes before the event.

7:15 PM PT UPDATE: The live stream has begun. We should be going to the venue in 10-15 minutes.

7:30 PM PT UPDATE; Live updates begin now.

We are LIVE from Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo, Japan. There is no commentary.

The paid attendance will be announced after the event. It’s a legit advance sellout so it depends on the setup-the venue’s full capacity is 600 but post-pandemic they’ve usually limited it to around 350 so we’ll see afterwards. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance-a legit advance sellout-was 284)

Sayuri Namba comes out in a new outfit for the opening announcements.

No Up Up Girls today so Namba does the start call before the match rundown. Different order from what was announced earlier (above). LEONA-Honda is moved from Semifinal to Match 2. Match 3 is the Semifinal aka Match 5.

The matches begin at 7:40 PM PT/10:40 PM ET. For the first match Arisu Endo is the special ring announcer.

Match 1: Yoshiko Hasegawa vs. Ren Konatsu. 15 minute time limit
Result: Yoshiko Hasegawa beat Ren Konatsu by submission

As noted above Sayuri Namba is the ring announcer for the next match, her only one today. Weekly Pro correspondent Yuki Ishii will be match reporter
Match 2: LEONA (Dradition) vs. Antonio Honda (DDT). 15 minute time limit
Result: LEONA beat Antonio Honda by submission. Afterwards, LEONA with microphone to put Namba over. This leads to Namba coming in the ring for a comedy segment between them.

For the third match Raku is the special ring announcer.
Match 3: Moka Miyamoto & Ivy Steele vs. Shino Suzuki & HIMAWARI. 20 minute time limit
Result: Moka Miyamoto & Ivy Steele beat Shino Suzuki & HIMAWARI. Miyamoto beat Suzuki with Rahsomon.

For the fourth match Pom Harajuku is the special ring announcer.
Match 4: Round System Special Match: Kazuki Hirata (DDT) vs. Ryuichi Sekine. Sayuri Namba will be ring card girl
Result: Hideki Sekine beat Kazuki Hirata by submission in seconds. Namba was immediately EN FUEGO. She was not going to have her special event ruined like this! Which led to…
Match 4 (again): Round System Special Match: Kazuki Hirata (DDT) vs. Ryuichi Sekine. Sayuri Namba will be ring card girl
Result: Hideki Sekine beat Kazuki Hirata by submission in round 3 while Namba did the Hirata shades dancing. Every bit the ridiculous comedy match it was meant to be. This was just too much fun.

For the fifth match, much to my delight of course, Yuki Arai is the special ring announcer. That means since she’s the last one to get her turn it will be Miu Watanabe for the main event.
Match 5: Shoko Nakajima & Chika Nanase vs. Mahiro Kiryu & Toga. 20 minute time limit
Result: Mahiro Kiryu & Toga beat Shoko Nakajima & Chika Nanase. Kiryu pinned Nanase.

Since she’s last to get her turn, for the main event Miu Watanabe is the special ring announcer.
Main Event: Mizuki & Suzume with Sayuri Namba vs. RIKADEVIL & YUKIDEVIL with KAYADEVIL. 20 minute time limit. Streamers allowed so Namba got drowned in them. The DEVILS are indeed Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino with Kaya Toribami being goth punks and their own version of the H.A.T.E. faction in Stardom.
Result: Mizuki & Suzume beat RIKADEVIL & YUKIDEVIL. Mizuki pinned YUKIDEVIL with Cutie Special after Namba interfered (she got beaten down quite a bit in this match). Afterwards, everyone gathered in the ring for the final commemorative group photo with Namba to end the show.

While this isn’t the final chance we’ll have to see and hear Namba in TJPW (two events left next weekend, the first one isn’t live on WRESTLE UNIVERSE but her final event is) this was a very enjoyable send-off and hopefully Namba’s dream did come true today. We love her and will miss her very much. But hopefully we will see her again someday, somewhere, maybe even in TJPW again. The door will always be open.

The next event is 6/21 at Kose Sports Park Gym in Yamanashi. There will be no live broadcast.

Tokyo Joshi Pro has provided an update on Neko Haruna, who recently returned from a major injury but has gone down again with another injury suffered this past weekend…the news is not good again. Right knee ACL rupture & femur tibia bone contusion. Out long-term again. With surgery & rehab her 2025 is over and a 2026 return is best-case. She will appear at a hometown event TJPW is holding on 6/21 at Oze Sports Park Gym in Yamanashi as the surgery will be after that date. Because she was part of the Tokyo Princess Cup Qualifier Tournament and now can’t compete, Pom Harajuku will win their preliminary round match by forfeit and advance to the next round.

UPDATE: In related injury news, Kira Summer & Hyper Misao will return on 6/21 but Yuki Arai & Mifu Ashida are now off that event. Scheduling conflicts. This means the Summer-Walana Uehara Tokyo Princess Cup Qualifier Tournament match that was postponed should be rescheduled for an upcoming event.

Tokyo Joshi Pro continues the spring 2025 house show tour today in Tokyo as part of a doubleheader with DDT. The highlight match is a bit of a promotional crossover as Shoko Nakajima, who won the MLW Women’s Featherweight Championship earlier this year in the US, will defend the title against Kaya Toribami in what has become a heated rivalry since Nakajima won the title. Toribami has been slowly but steadily climbing the ranks and this is her first title shot in TJPW, with the winner likely headed back to the US in a month or two to defend in MLW.

There have been last-minute changes to the event because Uta Takami is now off. Fever. She was to have faced Shino Suzuki in a Tokyo Princess Cup Qualifier Tournament match. That match has been POSTPONED. What had been a 3-way between Maki itoh, Mahiro Kiryu & Chika Nanase has been changed to Itoh & Nanase vs. Kiryu & Suzuki as a result.

Today’s event will be held at Club eX in Shinagawa Prince Hotel in Tokyo and can be watched LIVE on WRESTLE UNIVERSE. There will be no commentary. In spite of the title match, with there now being one fewer match on the card and with the DDT event later today they’re on the clock so this will probably wind up being a standard house show running around 2 hours.

Today’s lineup:
Tokyo Princess Cup Qualifier Tournament: HIMAWARI vs. Mifu Ashida
Maki Itoh & Chika Nanase vs. Mahiro Kiryu & Shino Suzuki
Rika Tatsumi & Ren Konatsu vs. Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro
Mizuki, Yoshiko Hasegawa, Toga & Ivy Steele vs. Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara, Raku & Pom Harajuku
Suzume, Arisu Endo & Jada Stone vs. Miu Watanabe, Yuki Arai & Moka Miyamoto
MLW Women’s Featherweight Champion Shoko Nakajima vs. Kaya Toribami 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 live stream is scheduled to begin 15 minutes before the event.

In other news, it was announced that Yuka Sakazaki will return to TJPW for the 7/13 event in Dallas, TX. She will not be part of the 7/12 event in Houston, TX which likely is due to schedule conflicts (All Elite Wrestling PPV in Arlington, TX at the Texas Rangers baseball stadium).

7:15 PM PT UPDATE: The live stream has started. We should be going to the venue in 10-15 minutes.

7:25 PM PT UPDATE: Live updates begin now.

We are LIVE from Club eX in Shinagawa Prince Hotel in Tokyo, Japan. There is no commentary.

The paid attendance will be announced after the event. What I can see on camera is mostly full already, the setup for events here normally is for maybe 350 so I’m guessing it’ll be between 300-325. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 307, a super full house/very near sellout)

The opening announcements should begin shortly. The matches should begin in 15-20 minutes.

During opening announcements “today’s breaking news” featured Yuki Arai & Arisu Endo coming out for announcements of events on 8/30 at Kyoto KBS Hall in Kyoto and 9/13 at Aizuwakamatsu City Cultural Center in Fukushima, hometown events for both respectively. Then Hyper Misao came out, announcing she will return from injury on 6/21 and announced participation for her next produced event on 6/27.

The matches begin at 7:50 PM PT/10:50 PM ET. And since this is Japan there is a time limit for the MLW Women’s Featherweight Championship match even though there probably wouldn’t be in the US.

Match 1: Tokyo Princess Cup Qualifier Tournament: HIMAWARI vs. Mifu Ashida. No time limit. HIMAWARI sans eye patch since last week and also recently on social media but some noticeable bruising/color around it.
Result: HIMAWARI beat Mifu Ashida. As a result, HIMAWARI advances to the next round of the tournament.

Match 2: Maki Itoh & Chika Nanase vs. Mahiro Kiryu & Shino Suzuki. 20 minute time limit
Result: Mahiro Kiryu & Shino Suzuki beat Maki Itoh & Chika Nanase. Kiryu pinned Nanase after a spinebuster.

Match 3: Rika Tatsumi & Ren Konatsu vs. Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro. 20 minute time limit
Result: Yuki AIno & Haru Kazashiro beat RIka Tatsumi & Ren Konatsu. Aino pinned Konatsu after Venus DDT.

Match 4: Mizuki, Yoshiko Hasegawa, Toga & Ivy Steele vs. Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara, Raku & Pom Harajuku. 20 minute time limit
Result: Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara, Raku & Pom Harjauku beat Mizuki, Yoshiko Hasegawa, Toga & Ivy Steele. Kamifuku pinned Steele after Fameasser. Somehow at the end of the match Harajuku lost her shoes and wound up leaving shoeless.

Match 5: Suzume, Arisu Endo & Jada Stone vs. Miu Watanabe, Yuki Arai & Moka Miyamoto. 20 minute time limit
Result: Miu Watanabe, Yuki Arai & Moka Miyamoto beat Suzume, Arisu Endo & Jada Stone. Miyamoto pinned Suzume. Afterwards, Miyamoto with microphone. As I was expecting following the result, challenge issued for the International Princess Championship. Perhaps the last hope in terms of keeping Suzume from breaking Arai’s record for successful defenses which they now share (6). Accepted. Updates as to when to follow but my first thought is SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25. (UPDATE: That match will happen at SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25 on 7/21)

Main Event: MLW Women’s Featherweight Champion Shoko Nakajima vs. Kaya Toribami for the title. 30 minute time limit
Result: MLW Women’s Featherweight Champion Shoko Nakajima beat Kaya Toribami to retain the title. Afterwards, Nakajima had Hyper Misao join her in the ring for the show-ending promo, but they were attacked in comedy fashion by Tatsumi & Watanabe, seemingly to make a Princess Tag Team Championship challenge. Updates to follow. On a side note, there is an MLW event tonight on YouTube where Nakajima is scheduled to defend the title, however that has already happened and this is a taped broadcast. (UPDATE: That match will also happen at SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25 so we’ve got our 3 title matches)

The next event is “Sayuri Namba’s Dream Come True Special” on 6/14 at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin Friday at 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET. (Also announced is that event is a legit advance sellout)

Tokyo Joshi Pro continues the spring 2025 house show tour today in Nagoya, returning for the first time since Yuki Arai’s emotional farewell to SKE48 at the end of March. Now she comes home for the first time as a full-time pro wrestler, and with a top-selling photobook as well that marked her true idol rite-of-passage, and she is in the main event. It’s a unique match that starts as an 8-woman tag elimination match but when it’s over, the winners-if more than one winner remains-face off in a series of elimination matches with the last woman standing getting the next shot at Mizuki for the Princess of Princess Championship, so it’s a huge opportunity. Elsewhere, a new trainee begins her pro career today at Ren Konatsu, with her full name now given (previously she was just Konatsu), will debut today against Suzume.

Today’s event will be held at Chunichi Hall in Nagoya and can be watched LIVE on WRESTLE UNIVERSE. You can also watch the entire live broadcast FOR FREE on YouTube. There will be no on demand replay available on YouTube afterwards, only on WRESTLE UNIVERSE. There will be no commentary. There is a DDT event at the venue later today so they will be on the close as to how long the event can go-with how the main event is structured it may run a little longer than a standard house show so I’ll predict it’ll go 2 1/4-2 1/2 hours.

Today’s lineup:
Ren Konatsu Debut Match: Ren Konatsu vs. Suzume
Yoshiko Hasegawa & Moka Miyamoto vs. Toga & Chika Nanase
Rika Tatsumi, Wakana Uehara & Mifu Ashida vs. Mahiro Kiryu, Shino Suzuki & Ivy Steele
Mizuki vs. Uta Takami
Shoko Nakajima & Haru Kazashiro vs. Kaya Toribami & HIMAWARI
Maki Itoh, Yuki Arai, Pom Harajuku & Arisu Endo vs. Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Yuki Aino & Jada Stone in an elimination match. Over the top rope rules in effect. If there is just one left on the winning team at the end, they get a Princess Of Princess Championship match in the future. If more than one winner remains, then either a single match, 3-way or 4-way elimination match will be held depending on how many remain until there is just one left. That one gets the title shot

Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.

Updates below will begin at 8 PM PT/11 PM ET. The WRESTLE UNIVERSE broadcast is scheduled to begin 15 minutes before the event. The YouTube broadcast is scheduled to begin at event time.

7:45 PM PT UPDATE: The WRESTLE UNIVERSE broadcast has begun. We should be going to the venue in 10-15 minutes.

7:56 PM PT UPDATE: Live updates begin now.

We are LIVE from Chunichi Hall in Nagoya, Japan. There is no commentary.

The paid attendance will be announced after the event. The venue’s max capacity is roughly 600 but they’ll be using a smaller setup this time as the ring is on the floor and not the stage, which suggests a setup for maybe 450-500. I’ll predict the total crowd will be close to 400. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 426, a super full house/very near sellout)

The opening announcements and YouTube stream should start in a couple minutes.

8 PM PT UPDATE: The YouTube broadcast is now live. It will only be up for the live broadcast, no on demand replays.

No Raku for Up Up Girls today as she was in Thailand for Setup Pro Wrestling, and it appears she lost the Setup All-Asia Championship to Matcha, who becomes the 3rd Champion. She was the first before losing it to Pom Harajuku.

The matches begin at 8:15 PM PT/11:15 PM ET.

Match 1: Ren Konatsu Debut Match: Ren Konatsu vs. Suzume. 15 minute time limit
Result: Suzume beat Ren Konatsu by submission. A fine debut effort by Konatsu, she looked unsteady at times but had her moments and also some vocal supporters in the crowd. Hopefully with time and more experience she will become another solid rising star in the promotion.

New ring-announcer-in-training Rise Suzuki takes over for Sayuri Namba for now as she continues preparing to take over full-time (they’re alternating matches today). New referee Pumi also comes in for the next match, she just debuted a couple weeks ago.

Match 2: Yoshiko Hasegawa & Moka Miyamoto vs. Toga & Chika Nanase. 20 minute time limit
Result: Yoshiko Hasegawa & Moka Miyamoto beat Toga & Chika Nanase. Miyamoto beat Nanase with Rashomon.

Match 3; Rika Tatsumi, Wakana Uehara & Mifu Ashida vs. Mahiro Kiryu, Shino Suzuki & Ivy Steele. 20 minute time limit
Result: Rika Tatsumi, Wakana Uehara & Mifu Ashida beat Mahiro Kiryu, Shino Suzuki & Ivy Steele. Tatsumi beat Steele with White Dragon Sleeper.

Match 4: Mizuki vs. Uta Takami. 15 minute time limit
Result: Mizuki beat Uta Takami. There was a Takami fan who clearly wasn’t Japanese as he kepy pronouncing her first name wrong. Also appreciate fans booing Mizuki at titmes when she acted heel-ish. Mizuki is one of 2 TJPW wrestlers I’ll never like or cheer for (the other? Maki Itoh).

Match 5: Shoko Nakajima & Haru Kazashiro vs. Kaya Toribami & HIMAWARI. 20 minute time limit. Noteworthy: HIMAWARI was sporting an eyepatch over her left eye. Working through an injury?
Result: Shoko Nakajima & Haru Kazashiro beat Kaya Toribami & HIMAWRI. Nakajima pinned Toribami with a Northern Lights suplex hold. (They’re facing off soon for Nakajima’s MLW Women’s Featherweight Championship so there’s beef and Nakajima showed it by taunting Toribami post-match)

Main Event: Maki Itoh, Yuki Arai, Pom Harajuku & Arisu Endo vs. Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Yuki Aino & Jada Stone in an elimination match. Over the top rope rules in effect in addition to pinfalls and submissions. If there is just one left on the winning team at the end, they get a Princess Of Princess Championship match in the future. If more than one winner remains, then either a single match, 3-way or 4-way elimination match will be held depending on how many remain until there is just one left. That one gets the title shot. No time limit
Result: Maki Itoh, Yuki Arai, Pom Harajuku & Arisu Endo beat Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Yuki Aino & Jada Stone. Order of elimination: Kamifuku by Itoh (over the top rope), Harajuku by Watanabe (submission), Stone by Itoh (over the top rope), Itoh by Aino & Watanabe (over the top rope), [at this point if a second match between winners happens it will now be a single match] Watanabe by Endo (over the top rope), Aino by Endo (over the top rope). Endo & Arai win, which means we continue! Right to…
Impromptu match: Yuki Arai vs. Arisu Endo
Result: Yuki Arai beat Arisu Endo. As a result, Arai gets a future Princess Of Princess Championship shot. OMG!!! YES YES YES!!! Could Arai beat Mizuki at SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25 if it happens then? HAPPY HAPPY!!! Will it happen then? We should find out later today. I can’t wait! (Post-show note: If all goes as planned it will be at SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25)

The next event is Saturday at Club eX in Shinagawa Prince Hotel in Tokyo. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin Friday at 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET.

UPDATE: It’s now official. Mizuki-Arai will happen at SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25 on 7/21 at Ota City General Gym in Tokyo.

Tokyo Joshi Pro continued the spring house show tour today in Tokyo, visiting Nerima for the first time in 4 years.

Today’s event was held at Nerima Coconeri Hall 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 238, a super full house/very near sellout.

There were some last-minute changes to the card due to a number of absences-Kira Summer, Hyper Misao & Neko Haruna are all out due to injuries. While not affecting the card, also absent were Raku (also off tomorrow) and Yuki Kamifuku due to international excursions. Kamifuku should be back for the next event.

During opening announcements, it was announced that Max The Impaler will return to TJPW at SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25 on 7/21. Also today is the on-sale date for Sayuri Namba’s new photobook which she says will also be available online worldwide.

Match 1: Tokyo Princess Cup Qualifier League: Moka Miyamoto beat Mahiro Kiryu. As a result, Miyamoto advances to the final qualifiers.

A scheduled Tokyo Princess Cup Qualifier League match between Wakana Uehara & Kira Summer was POSTPONED due to a Summer injury. She is expected to be out 4 weeks as of earlier this week. If Summer can return by June 22 the match will be rescheduled. If not, Uehara will win by forfeit and advance.

Match 2: Miu Watanabe, Wakana Uehara & Ivy Steele beat Pom Harajuku, HIMAWARI & Haru Kazashiro. Watanabe beat Kazashiro with a Canadian backbreaker.

Match 3: Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino beat Yuki Arai & Mifu Ashida. Tatsumi pinned Ashida after Twist Of Fate.

Match 4: Mizuki & Jada Stone beat Maki Itoh & Ura Takami. Stone pinned Takami after Spark Stunner. Based on a post-match promo, Takami may now be part of a new faction Itoh is assembling.

Match 5: Kaya Toribami, Toga & Shino Suzuki beat Shoko Nakajima, Arisu Endo & Chika Nanase. Toribami pinned Nanase.

Main Event: International Princess Champion Suzume beat Yoshiko Hasegawa to retain the title. V6 for Suzume. That ties the record for most successful defenses set just this past year by Arai, so if a V7 comes that admittedly won’t sit well with me (I like Suzume but only want her to lose the title because she beat Arai to win it).

The next event is tomorrow at Chunichi Hall in Nagoya, which will feature a unique match starting as an 8-woman tag then becoming an elimination match for the next Princess Of Princess Championship match and the debut of a new wrestler. This is also Yuki Arai’s return to her hometown for the first time since her departure from SKE48 following her final performances in March. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin TONIGHT at 8 PM PT/11 PM ET and you will also be able to watch the live broadcast FOR FREE on YouTube (on demand will only be available on WRESTLE UNIVERSE).

Tokyo Joshi Pro has announced a trio of injury issues but one is actually an update from prior news-first the update: Kira Summer has not been recovering as well as hoped for from a left thigh bruise, or a henatoma in her words. Out another 4 weeks. Expected back in late June. Also now out of action is the most concerning-Hyper Misao, half of the Princess Tag Team Champions. Right elbow. Out at least a month. Also expected back in late June. Finally, Neko Haruna is out of action again. Knee. Out indefinitely. Changes for this weekend’s events have been announced. Summer’s absence means her Tokyo Princess Cup Qualifier match this weekend against Wakana Uehara has been POSTPONED. But if she can’t return in a certain timeframe Uehara would win by forfeit. Also off this weekend’s events are Raku (competing in Thailand) and Yuki Kamifuku (off Saturday only-appearance in Singapore).

More as it becomes available.

Also in unrelated TJPW news, it was decided that Konatsu, who will debut Sunday vs. Suzume, will have the ring name Ren Konatsu. For this weekend there is no live broadcast Saturday but WRESTLE UNIVERSE will have a live broadcast Sunday (starts Saturday at 8 PM PT/11 PM ET.

UPDATE: It was just announced by TJPW that you will also be able to watch Sunday’s live broadcast FOR FREE on YouTube. This will be for the live event only, on demand will only be available on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.

Tokyo Joshi Pro continued their spring house show tour today in Shizuoka with a hometown event for Shino Suzuki.

Today’s event was held at Shimizu Marine Building in Shizuoka and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE Tuesday. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 232, a full house/near sellout.

There were some late changes to the card due to Kira Summer being removed a couple days prior. Leg/thigh injury (she is recovering well but advised by doctors to rest due to heat/humidity aggravating it).

Match 1: Toga beat Mifu Ashida.

Match 2: Raku beat Mahiro Kiryu & Ivy Steele in a 3-way by pinning Steele.

Match 3: Yuki Arai & Moka Miyamoto beat Yoshiko Hasegawa & Chika Nanase. Miyamoto beat Nanase with Rashomon.

Match 4: Rika Tatsumi beat Pom Harajuku by submission.

Match 5: Suzume & Arisu Endo beat Maki Itoh & Uta Takami. Suzume pinned Takami after Ring A Bell.

Match 6: Shoko Nakajima, Yuki Aino & Neko Haruna beat Kaya Toribami, Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI. Nakajima pinned HIMAWARI with a Northern Lights suplex hold.

Main Event: Mizuki & Haru Kazashiro beat Shino Suzuki & Miu Watanabe. Mizuki pinned Suzuki with Cutie Special.

The next event is 5/31 at Coconeri Hall in Tokyo with Suzume vs. Yoshiko Hasegawa for the International Princess Championship. There will be no live broadcast. On demand on 6/3. 5/31 will also be the first chance for fans to buy Sayuri Namba’s upcoming photobook which will be released on that date. It will also be available in digital form on Amazon which means hopefully fans outside Japan can buy it too (Namba says that will be possible).

In other news, the matches and entrants for the upcoming Tokyo Princess Cup Tournament are set. Today drawings were held for qualifier matches to fill 4 of the 16 entries, which will be a tournament itself starting with 16 entrants. The 8 winners will advance then another drawing will be held to determine 4 more single matches, with the winners of those 4 matches getting into the tournament. Those initial 8 matches are as follows: Toribami vs. nanase, HIMAWARI vs. Ashida, Toga vs. Steele, Kazashiro vs. Kinatsu (debuting soon, tentative name), Uehara vs. Summer, Harajuku vs. Haruna, Kiryu vs. Miyamoto and Suzuki vs. Takami. Already in as announced before: Mizuki, Nakajima, Hyper Misao, Suzume, Yuki Kamifuku, Raku, Miyu Yamashita, Tatsumi, Watanabe, Aino, Endo, Arai. The only one not in this year? Maki Itoh because of scheduled overseas expeditions during the tournament.
The qualifier matches will be held on 5/31, 6/7, 6/21 & 6/22 followed by the second round of qualifiers on 7/5 & 7/8. The official tournament matches will be held on 7/27 (Round 1), 8/2 (Round 1), 8/9 (Quarterfinals), 8/17 (Semifinals) and 8/23 (Finals). The winner presumably will get a Princess Of Princess Championship match, likely at WRESTLE PRINCESS 6 on 9/19 at Ota City General Gym in Tokyo, unless it’s the current champion (it may not be current champion Mizuki).

UPDATE: It was announced afterwards that Konatsu, the next new trainee, will debut on 6/1 vs. Suzume. If Suzume retains the International Princess Championship on 5/31 it will be a NON-TITLE match. Also announced is that Raku will miss 6/1 due to an excursion to Thailand to compete in Setup Pro Wrestling.

Tokyo Joshi Pro has announced a late injury change to Saturday’s (tomorrow night) event in Shizuoka: Kira Summer is now off. Leg. In a social media post in both Japanese and English, Summer explained she had soft tissue damage in her thigh and while it was improving recent hot weather in Japan aggravated the condition and doctors recommended rest as a priority. Out indefinitely as a result. She was to have faced Rika Tatsumi. Pom Harajuku will now face Tatsumi-as a result, what had been a match of Harajuku & Raku vs. Ivy Steele & Mahiro Kiryu is now a 3-way. It’s not yet known how long Summer will be out.

More as it becomes available.

At their spring tour event this past Saturday in Tokyo, Tokyo Joshi Pro made a noteworthy announcement at the start of the event: They have found someone to do the impossible-fill the shoes of departing ring announcer Sayuri Namba when she leaves the promotion next month. They introduced Rise Shirai as the new ring announcer-to-be, she will train over the next few weeks before taking over full-time once Namba departs next month, with her debut coming this Saturday. Also of note, Namba will reprise one of her prior roles as a ring card girl on 6/14 (what may be her farewell event) for a special rounds rules match between Kazuki Hirata & Hideki Sekine.

I certainly hope Shirai does well and will support her but let’s be honest, Namba is irreplaceable with all she has contributed to the growth of TJPW over the last 5+ years, much of that from just her natural personality & enthusiasm (and it doesn’t help she can speak decent English). She isn’t closing the door to an eventual return or maybe at least connecting when TJPW returns to North America (which next happens in July in Texas), so hopefully this won’t be goodbye and just a see you later.