SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’23, Tokyo Joshi Pro’s annual summer blowout event, is now in the books.
Today’s event was held at Ota City General Gym in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in Japanese. Japanese voice actress Rika Matsumoto, part of the case of the Japanese version of the iconic “Pokemon” anime (I believe she voiced Brock), was a special guest on commentary. You can also watch a pre-show public signing ceremony that began one hour before the event and the first match FOR FREE on YouTube.
The announced paid attendance was 1222. While probably only about half or close to half capacity depending on the layout, they actually sold out of all but the cheapest seats so this was still a strong number.
Match 1: Juria Nagano Return Match: Suzume & Arisu Endo beat Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano. Endo beat Nagano with a camel clutch. This was Nagano’s first match in roughly 6 months (she was out due to a broken finger).
Match 2: Mahiro Kiryu, Neko Haruna, HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki beat Kaya Toribami, Toga, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo. HIMAWARI beat Kazashiro with a single leg Boston Crab. This was Haruna’s first match in roughly 2 months due to injury.
Match 3: Ryo Mizunami (Independent/Freelancer) & Nao Kakuta beat Yuki Kamifuku & Asuka (Veny). Kakuta pinned Kamifuku after Shiden Kai.
Match 4: DEFY Women’s Champion Vertvixen beat Hikari Noa to retain the title. V6 for Vertvixen.
Match 5: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao beat Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku and Aja Kong (OZ Academy) & Raku in a 3-way when Nakajima pinned Harajuku. Probably not a popular result with the outside-Japan internet fanbase who absolutely loves Wasteland Pom Party.
Match 6: Nyla Rose (All Elite Wrestling) beat Miu Watanabe. And yes, it appears Watanabe managed to EPIC GIANT SWING Rose during the match! This originally was to have been Rose vs. Yuka Sakazaki but plans had to be changed due to a Sakazaki injury.
Match 7: Pro Wrestling EVE Champion Miyu Yamashita beat Sawyer Wreck to retain the title. V7 for Yamashita. This match was held under Spirit Of EVE Rules, which meant no countouts and failure to display sufficient fighting spirit at the referee’s discretion meant a wrestler would be DQ’d.
Match 8: Saki-sama (Saki Akai) & May Saint-Michel (Mei Suruga) beat Yuki Arai & Wakana Uehara. Saki-sama pinned Uehara after Academy Awards. This is the first-and perhaps will be the only-time that Saki & Arai, former Princess Tag Team Champions, will face each other as opponents due to Saki retiring later this year, but we’ll see.
Match 9: International Princess Champion Rika Tatsumi beat Yuki Aino to retain the title. V4 for Tatsumi.
Main Event: Princess Of Princess Champion Mizuki beat Maki Itoh to retain the title. V3 for Mizuki. Once again Itoh is denied the one prize that has eluded her to this date in TJPW. Admittedly the only outcome that would’ve satisfied me here would have been a draw but I guess UNHAPPY UNHAPPY is the lesser of two evils. Next up: Almost certainly the Tokyo Princess Cup winner unless it’s Mizuki. Tentatively put that match down for WRESTLE PRINCESS 4 on 10/8 at Tama Mirai Messe in Tokyo.
The next event is the Tokyo Princess Cup Tournament, the promotion’s annual singles tournament, a single-elimination format with 16 participants this year, beginning Saturday at Ryogoku KFC Hall in Tokyo. The first round will be held over 3 straight days of events there. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin Friday at 8:30 PM PT/11:30 PM ET. Live results are scheduled.
The promotion has also announced a Summer Athletic Park Match PPV event will be held on 7/27 at Lake Sagami Pleasure Forest in Tokyo. 18 wrestlers are scheduled to participate including Yuki Arai & ring announcer Sayuri Namba, Yuka Sakazaki is listed as participating but should be considered questionable due to injury. Everyone will be divided into 2 teams for a best-of-5 Street Pro Wrestling Showdown with a special prize for the winning team. This will be available only as a PPV on WRESTLE UNIVERSE with a separate purchase required. The PPV can be pre-ordered now for 2800 yen (around $19) for paying subscribers and 3500 yen (around $25) for non-subscribers. The PPV will be available to buy until 8/2 at 4 AM PT/7 AM ET and can then be watched on demand until 10/30 at 10 AM PT/1 PM ET. On or after 11/1 it may be available to all WRESTLE UNIVERSE paying subscribers. There will be Japanese commentary for this event. Special support ticket packages with specific wrestler goods/rewards are also available for purchase but this may be Japan-only.
