Tag: tokyo joshi pro

Tokyo Joshi Pro continued the CITY CIRCUIT series from last year today, which is normally when they visit a wrestler’s hometown for an event. Today it was their first visit to Kobe since last summer.

Today’s event was held at Kobe Art Center in Kobe and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNVIERSE at a later date (probably Tuesday or Wednesday). There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 237, a full house/near sellout.

Match 1; Nao Kakuta beat HIMAWARI.

Match 2: Yuki Kamifuku beat Kaya Toribami.

Match 3: Yuki Aino & Raku beat Maki Itoh & Hikari Noa. Raku pinned Noa after Doctor Yellow.

Match 4: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao beat Yuka Sakazaki & Mahiro Kiryu. Nakajima pinned Kiryu with a Northern Lights suplex hold.

Match 5: Max The Impaler, Heidi Howitzer & Trish Adora beat Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Pom Harajuku. Max pinned Harajuku after Master Blaster. After being carried to the back by the winners, Harajuku’s whereabouts are in question and her life should be feared for. (That’s meant to be comedy of course)

Main Event: Suzume & Arisu Endo beat Mizuki & Moka Miyamoto. Suzume pinned Miyamoto after Ring A Bell. In the post-main event winners’ promo, Suzume & Endo aka Dejimon declared they would win the upcoming Futari-wa Princess Max Heart Tag Team Tournament. What ends up higher-their win total or number of different Endo hair colors for their matches?

The next event is tomorrow at Okayama Convention Center in Okayama. This is their first event there in a year and is a Yuki Aino hometown event so she gets the main event spot. There will be no live broadcast.

A few minutes ago Tokyo Josbi Pro announced more injury news and it’s more significant: Miyu Yamashita’s scheduled trip to England this weekend to defend the Pro Wrestling EVE Championship is now off. Concussion. According to a loose translation of the Twitter post in Japanese. Yamashita had a headache after yesterday’s event, where she lost to Yuka Sakazaki for the Princess Of Princess Championship in the main event, and was hospitalized, where a subsequent MRI revealed a mild concussion with no abnormalities. Out indefinitely. The EVE matches probably will be rescheduled at a later date. She would have missed this weekend’s TJPW events anyway because of the trip.

More as it becomes available.

The biggest day of the year in Japanese pro wrestling kicks off today with Tokyo Joshi Pro running a matinee to begin their 2023 with their first major event of the year. The event has 8 scheduled matches and a bit of everything, starting with two new debuting wrestlers, then a mini battle royal to determine the next Princess Of Princess Championship challenger, and finally 3 title matches to close it out-first, International Princess Champion Miu Watanabe looks to overcome a huge size disadvantage once again as she defends the title against AEW’s Trish Adora. Second, Princess Tag Team Champions Saki Akai & Yuki Arai have another very tough task ahead as they defend the titles against Heidi Howitzer & Max The Impaler, which has me very worried for AA Eye Candy. Finally, it’s a showdown between the top 2 TJPW wrestlers of all time as Princess Of Princess Champion Yuka Sakazaki defends the title against Miyu Yamashita, who looks to become the first 4-time champion in history against the only other 3-time champion in Sakazaki. It should be another instant classic.

Today’s event will be held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched LIVE on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in Japanese and English. The opening video will be narrated by Japanese voice actress Yuko Minaguchi. The Japanese commentary team will be Haruo Murata, Kagehiro Osano, Sayoko Mita and SKE48 member Marika Tani. The English commentary team will be Chris Brookes & Drew Parker. The promotion has already mentioned the main event will take place roughly 2 hours in so the event should have a total running time of just over 2 1/2 hours. (Pre-show Update: TJPW is projecting the event will end around 2 PM JST, meaning a roughly 2 1/2 hour runtime and finishing about 80 minutes before New Japan’s Tokyo Dome event begins)

Today’s lineup:
HIMAWARI Debut Match: HIMAWARI vs. Yuki Aino
Wakana Uehara Debut Match: Wakana Uehara & Arisu Endo vs. Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano
Nao Kakuta, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami vs. Raku, Pom Harajuku & Neko Haruna
Shoko Nakajima vs. Hyper Misao
6 Woman staggered entry battle royal. The winner will be the next challenger for the Princess Of Princess Championship. Participants-Mizuki, Maki Itoh, Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Kamifuku, Suzume, Hikari Noa
International Princess Champion Miu Watanabe vs. Trish Adora for the title
Princess Tag Team Champions Saki Akai & Yuki Arai vs. Heidi Howitzer & Max The Impaler for the titles
Princess Of Princess Champion Yuka Sakazaki vs. Miyu Yamashita for the title

Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.

Updates below will begin at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT. The event is scheduled to begin at 9:30 PM ET/6:30 PM PT.

8:45 PM ET UPDATE: The opening announcements are scheduled to begin 10 minutes before the event at 9:20 PM ET/6:20 PM PT.

9 PM ET UPDATE: The live stream has just started. We should be going to the venue in about 15 minutes.

9:15 PM ET UPDATE: Live updates begin now…
We are LIVE deom Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Your Japanese hosts are Haruo Murata, Kagehiro Osano, Sayoko Mita & Marika Tani. Your English hosts are Chris Brookes & Drew Parker.

The paid attendance will be announced after the event. The bleachers on commentary’s side were mostly tarped off but the rest of the venue already looked close to full. So depending on whether or not vocal cheering is allowed, the number will be in flux but it looks like it is not. The available seating looks full or close to it so I’m guessing it’ll be in the 900-1000 range.

The matches should begin in about 20 minutes. During opening announcements they reveal that Miu Watanabe & Suzume will become part of the videogame “The Idolmaster: Cinderella Girls” as part of a special game/TJPW crossover promotion starting on 1/11. And…on 3/31…US DEBUT! TJPW’s first-ever US show! It will be at the Globe Theater in Los Angeles, CA

The matches begin at 9:50 PM ET.

Match 1: HIMAWARI Debut Match: HIMAWARI vs. Yuki Aino. 15 minute time limit
Result; Yuki Aino beat HIMAWARI. HIMAWARI has ponytails long enough to be a Japanese Bianca Belair in terms of appearance although it’s nowhere near as thick as Belair’s.

Match 2: Wakana Uehara Debut Match: Wakana Uehara & Arisu Endo vs. Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano. 20 minute time limit
Result: Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano beat Wakana Uehara & Arisu Endo. Miyamoto beat Uehara with Rashomon. Uehara almost looked like a nicer Maki Itoh.

Match 3: Nao Kakuta, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami vs. Raku, Pom Harajuku & Neko Haruna. 20 minute time limit
Result: Nao Kakuta, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami beat Raku, Pom Harajuku & Neko Haruna. Kakuta pinned Haruna after Shiden Kai.

Match 4: Shoko Nakajima vs. Hyper Misao. 15 minute time limit. This has become some kind of ladder match involving 3 stuffed animals hanging a few feet above the ring. Also apparently some kind of lumberjack match as Yuki Aino, HIMAWARI, Arisu Endo & Mahiro Kiryu came out wearing rabbit ears with blow-up mallets. This, of course as expected, is a comedy match.
Result: Draw. Apparently they both grabbed the last animal at the same time and referee Masayuki declared it a draw after some comedy stuff.

Quick break for ring cleaning and taking down the hanging wires after this last match..

Match 5: 6 Woman staggered entry battle royal. Eliminations by pinfall, submission or over the top rope. The winner will be the next challenger for the Princess Of Princess Championship. Participants-Mizuki, Maki Itoh, Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Kamifuku, Suzume, Hikari Noa. No time limit
Order of entry: Noa, Itoh, Kamifuku, Tatsumi, Mizuki, Suzume.
Order of elimination: Noa by Kamifuku (over the top rope), Kamifuku by Itoh (over the top rope), Tatsumi by Itoh/Mizuki/Suzume (pinfall), Suzume by Itoh (submission), Itoh by MIzuki (pinfall)
Result: Mizuki wins. As a result, Mizuki gets the next Princess Of Princess Championship shot after today. Which could mean facing her BFF Yuka Sakazaki perhaps…

Match 6: International Princess Champion Miu Watanabe vs. Trish Adora for the title. 30 minute time limit
Result: International Princess Champion Miu Watanabe beat Trish Adora to retain the title. V2 for Watanabe.

Match 7: Princess Tag Team Champions Saki Akai & Yuki Arai vs. Heidi Howitzer & Max The Impaler for the titles. 30 minute time limit
Result: Heidi Howitzer & Max The Impaler beat Princess Tag Team Champions Saki Akai & Yuki Arai to win the titles. Howitzer & Max become the 11th Princess Tag Team Champions. Max pinned Arai. Nooooooooo…beyond heartbroken…

Main Event: Princess Of Princess Champion Yuka Sakazaki vs. Miyu Yamashita for the title. 30 minute time limit
Result: Princess Of Princess Champion Yuka Sakazaki beat Miyu Yamashita to retain the title. V2 for Sakazaki. Next up: Mizuki. Yamashita is now headed to England to defend the Pro Wrestling EVE Championship. Mizuki came out and a tense-sounding promo at first between the BFFs ahead of their upcoming title match turned more joyful to end the show.

The next event is Saturday at Kobe Art Center in Kobe, resuming the CITY CIRCUIT series. There will be no live broadcast.

UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 1111, a super full house/very near sellout. Outside of the bleachers in the middle next to commentary, I saw only one or two empty seats. Also, Sakazaki-Mizuki is now official for GRAND PRINCESS ’23 at Ariake Arena on 3/18.

UPDATE 2: TJPW has announced on Twitter that Neko Haruna was injured during her match. Shoulder. Out 1-2 weeks and will miss this weekend’s events and 1/15 but hopes to return on 1/19.

In a free YouTube video posted a short time ago, Tokyo Joshi Pro unveiled the full bracket for the 3rd Futari-wa Princess Max Heart Tournament starting in January. The matches were determined via a random draw by ring announcer Sayuri Namba.

The bracket is as follows:
First, because there are 10 teams it means 2 get a free pass into the Quarterfinals. Those lucky two are Suzume & Arisu Endo and last year’s champions Miu Watanabe & Rika Tatsumi. Likewise, 4 teams start in Round 1 and must win an additional match to win it all, including current Princess Tag Team Champions Yuki Arai & Saki Akai.
Round 1 (1/15):
Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu vs. Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano
Yuki Arai & Saki Akai vs. Yuki Aino & Raku

Quarterfinals:
1/15:
Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh vs. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta
1/19:
Suzume & Arisu Endo vs. Kamifuku/Kiryu-Miyamoto/Nagano winner
Miu Watanabe & Rika Tatsumi vs. Arai/Akai-Aino/Raku winner
Hyper Misao & Shoko Nakajima vs. Neko Haruna & Kaya Toribami

Semifinals (1/29):
Yamashita/Itoh-Noa/Kakuta winner vs. Suzume/Endo-1/15 winner
Misao/Nakajima-Haruna/Toribami winner vs. Watanabe/Tatsumi-1/15 winner

Finals (2/11):
1/29 winners

Watanabe & Tatsumi are the defending tournament winners. The winners likely will get a Princess Tag Team Championship shot unless the current champions at the time win. After 1/4 we’ll know if that’s still Arai/Akai or if they, like everyone else, will be going for a shot at Heidi Howitzer & Max The Impaler. As a reminder, there are 3 wrestlers not participating, hence only 10 teams: Yuka Sakazaki (scheduled excursion to All Elite Wresting in USA), Mizuki (refused to participate because she’s a snobby brat and she won’t team with anyone except Sakazaki) and Pom Harajuku (opted out to support Aino/Raku).

Tokyo Joshi Pro wraps up their 2022 schedule today with their annual Christmas event, which is more of a fan appreciation event as they continue a tradition where all the matches, except for the main event, are determined by a fan lottery held at an event earlier in the month. That was again the case here but there have been a couple of last-minute changes because both Rika Tatsumi & Nao Kakuta are now off the card. Tatsumi was pulled earlier today due to gastroenteritis after being hospitalized for the always-vague “poor physical condition”, and Kakuta is off due to coronavirus. The latter had left Yuki Kamifuku in limbo without a match, but with Tatsumi being off and that leaving Mahiro Kiryu without a match, the sometimes-partners will now face each other.

Today’s event will be held at Ryogoku KFC Hall in Tokyo and can be watched LIVE on WRESTLE UNIVERSE. There will be no commentary. Because all the matches except for the main event have 10 minute time limits, even if they go the distance this will be a fast, short event. The total runtime will probably be just under 90 minutes.

Today’s lineup:
Neko Haruna vs. Kaya Toribami
Pom Harajuku vs. Arisu Endo
Yuki Kamifuku vs. Mahiro Kiryu
Hikari Noa vs. Yuki Aino
Miu Watanabe vs. Raku & Juria Nagano in a 3-way
Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima & Suzume vs. Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh, Hyper Misao & Moka Miyamoto

Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.

Updates below will begin at 10:30 PM ET/7:30 PM PT

The stream was to go live at 10 PM ET but that was pushed back last-minute to 10:15 PM ET.

10:30 PM ET UPDATE: Live updates begin now…
We are LIVE from Ryogoku KFC Hall in Tokyo, Japan. There is no commentary.

The paid attendance will be announced after the event but based on ticket sales and same-day advertisements, and Christmas, it’ll probably be on the low side. I’d guess around 175. It may be lower in part because vocal cheering is allowed.

The matches begin at 10:40 PM ET. Took me a bit to notice it’s hard-camera-only setup today.

Match 1: Neko Haruna vs. Kaya Toribami. 10 minute time limit
Result: Kaya Toribami beat Neko Haruna. I think that’s her first ever singles win, and maybe just her second win overall, if not first.

Match 2: Arisu Endo (with new entrance music) vs. Pom Harajuku. 10 minute time limit
Result: Pom Harajuku beat Arisu Endo. Christmas themed comedy match (which of course was a lot of fun).

Match 3: Miu Watanabe vs. Raku & Juria Nagano in a 3-way. 10 minute time limit
Result: Miu Watanabe beat Raku & Juria Nagano in a 3-way by pinning Nagano.

Match 4: Yuki Kamifuku vs. Mahiro Kiryu. 10 minute time limit
Result: Yuki Kamifuku beat Mahiro Kiryu

Match 5: Hikari Noa vs. Yuki Aino. 10 minute time limit
Result: Time Limit Draw. And now we know they still use the old TJPW theme music when that happens. I prefer it over the new one (it’s fine for games like Final Fantasy-one of their composers did it, but for wrestling like this, no)

Quick break for ring maintenance/repairs..This lasted about 5 minutes.

Main Event: Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima & Suzume vs. Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh, Hyper Misao & Moka Miyamoto. 30 minute time limit
In progress.

Post-show Update: The announced paid attendance was 335, a super full house/very near sellout. That means they were much closer to full capacity than they had been all year (I believe the venue’s full capacity is in the 400-500 range).

Tokyo Joshi Pro has announced another last-minute change for today’s (12/24) event: Rika Tatsumi is now off. Gastroenteritis. It was diagnosed after she was hospitalized for the always vague “poor physical condition”. She was to have faced Mahiro Kiryu. Yuki Kamifuku, who lost her scheduled match when Nao Kakuta was pulled due to coronavirus, is the replacement. The event will now have 6 matches, all but the main event have 10 minute time limits.

DDT has just announced the field for Tokyo Joshi Pro’s 3rd Futari-wa Princess Max Heart Tournament in January & February. There will be 10 teams entered this year, which are as follows:
Yuki Arai & Saki Akai
Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh
Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta
Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu
Yuki Aino & Raku
Suzume & Arisu Endo
Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano
Neko Haruna & Kaya Toribami

Noticeably missing: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki. Sakazaki plans to go back to the US during this time, presumably for a return to All Elite Wrestling, and being the obnoxious, privileged brat she is Mizuki won’t enter the tournament if she can’t team with Sakazaki. Also out is Pom Harajuku, she is out in order to support Aino & Raku.

The first round will be on 1/15 at Otemachi Mitsui Hall in Tokyo with 2 teams getting a free pass to the Quarterfinals. The Quarterfinals will be on 1/19 at Shinjuku Face with 2 of the 1/15 winners getting a free pass to the Semifinals. The Semifinals are on 1/29 at Kusakabe Fureai Cube in Saitama with the Finals on 2/11 at Korakuen Hall. The tournament winners likely will get a Princess Tag Team Championship match at GRAND PRINCESS ’23 in March against whoever comes out of the upcoming Arai/Akai-Heidi Howitzer/Max The Impaler title match as champions.

Matchups TBA.

DDT just announced on Twitter and their website that, although it’s not because of her stage schedule this time, Nao Kakuta is now out of yet another event as she is off Saturday’s year-ending Tokyo Joshi Pro event. Coronavirus. She was to have faced Yuki Kamifuku. No replacement named yet.

Tokyo Joshi Pro held a Mizuki 10th Anniversary event today, which also featured a fan lottery to determine the pairings for a number of 1-minute matches at their upcoming Christmas event.

Today’s event was held at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.

The announced paid attendance was 316, a super full house/very near sellout.

During the opening announcements, 2 new wrestlers debuting soon are introduced and the fan lottery to determine matches for 12/24 were held. Those matches will be announced soon.

Match 1: Shoko Nalajima beat Juria Nagano.

Match 2: Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Neko Haruna beat Hikari Noa, Raku & Kaya Toribami. Kamifuku pinned Toribami after Fameasser.

Match 3: Yuki Aino won a “Full Of Mizuki 10th Anniversary” battle royal, last eliminating Pom Harajuku. Order of elimination: Miyu Yamashita DQ’d, Suzume by Hyper Misao, Hyper Misao by Aino, Miu Watanabe by Aino & Harajuku, Harajuku by Aino.

Match 4: Rio & Maki Itoh beat Yuki Arai & Moka Miyamoto. Rio pinned Miyamoto after Draised End. Rio is now returning to Pro Wrestling EVE in England.

Main Event: Mizuki 10th Anniversary Match: Mizuki & Rika Tatsumi beat Yuka Sakazaki & Nao Kakuta. Mizuki pinned Kakuta with Cutie Special.

The next event is “Se-no, Merry Christmas! 2022”, their final event of the year, on 12/24 at Ryogoku KFC Hall in Tokyo. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin on 12/23 at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT.

UPDATE: The new wrestlers introduced are Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI. They will debut on 1/4. Uehara, 26, is also an actress who makes occasional appearances on NTV (Nippon TV) and YouTube programs. Her athletic background includes swimming, martial arts, dance and ballet and she once placed 3rd in a Japanese national cheerleading competition. HIMAWARI will turn 25 Sunday but nothing else was revealed about her.

UPDATE 2: The “Full Of Mizuki” Battle Royal was named that because all the participants were dressed as Mizuki (they all wore copies of her ring outfit. Yes, even Yamashita)

Tokyo Joshi Pro continues the CITY CIRCUIT 2022 series with a visit to Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka Prefecture today. For the most part it’s a regular house show but there is a title match on tap-Miyu Yamashita will defend the EVE Championship against Rio, and it’s been decided that it will have EVE rules. This differs from a regular title match in that there are no countouts, and if a wrestler isn’t fighting with enough spirit after ref warnings, they can be DQ’d.

Also, once again there are several missing names from the lineup-Maki Itoh & Yuki Kamifuku are out due to being in Malaysia, while Nao Kakuta continues to be absent due to stage performances.

Today’s event will be held at Entetsu Hall in Shizuoka and can be watched LIVE on WRESTLE UNIVERSE. There will be no commentary. Since there are 4 single matches on the 6 match card it should be an average house show length-wise, with an anticipated total running time of just under 2 hours.

Today’s lineup:
Suzume vs. Kaya Toribami
Hyper Misao vs. Mahiro Kiryu
Hikari Noa vs. Neko Haruna
Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki vs. Raku & Pom Harajuku
Shoko Nakajima, Yuki Aino & Arisu Endo vs. Miu Watanabe, Rika Tatsumi & Moka Miyamoto
Pro Wrestling EVE Champion Miyu Yamashita vs. Rio for the title

Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results

Updates below will begin at 11 PM ET/8 PM PT.

11 PM ET UPDATE: Live updates start now.

We are LIVE from Entetsu Hall in Shizuoka, Japan. There is no commentary. Already technical issues at the start but they hopefully fixed it by restarting the stream.

The paid attendance will be announced after the event but vocal cheering is allowed so lower capacity. Most tickets were sold in advance but it looks like a potential sellout, likely in the 150-200 range.

The matches begin at 11:15 PM ET. We may be hard-camera only again even though there’s one video cameraman at ringside.

In the early moments of the event, TJPW announced on Twitter the Shizuoka return date is 5/13/23 at Act City Hamamatsu Exhibition Event Hall.

Match 1: Suzume vs. Kaya Toribami. 15 minute time limit
Result: Suzume beat Kaya Toribami

Match 2: Hyper Misao vs. Mahiro Kiryu. 15 minute time limit
Result: Hyper Misao beat Mahiro Kiryu

Match 3: Hikari Noa vs. Neko Haruna. 15 minute time limit
Result: Hikari Noa beat Neko Haruna

Quick break for ring maintenance.

Match 4: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki vs. Raku & Pom Harajuku. 20 minute time limit
Result: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki beat Raku & Pom Harajuku. Sakazaki pinned Harajuku after a diving body press.

Match 5: Shoko Nakajima, Yuki Aino & Arisu Endo vs. Miu Watanabe, Rika Tatsumi & Moka Miyamoto. 20 minute time limit
Result: Miu Watanabe, Rika Tatsumi & Moka Miyamoto beat Shoko Nakajima, Yuki Aino & Arisu Endo. Watanabe pinned Endo after Teardrop.

Main Event: Pro Wrestling EVE Champion Miyu Yamashita vs. Rio for the title. EVE Rules (no countouts, can be DQ’s for lack of fighting spirit after referee warnings). 30 minute time limit
Result: Pro Wrestling EVE Champion Miyu Yamashita beat Rio to retain the title. V2 for Yamashita.

The next event is “Angel And Rabbit” Thursday at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo, which will be a Mizuki 10th Anniversary event. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin at 2 AM PT/5 AM ET.

UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 215, a super full house/very near sellout.