Tokyo Joshi Pro is in Nagoya this weekend for a very big, and very emotional, doubleheader as Yuki Arai says goodbye to SKE48 and her J-pop idol career after over 12 years. They call it graduating in Japan, but the hidden truth is, at 26 (27 in May), Arai is now too old for them (it’s idol group culture unfortunately-doesn’t mean one’s musical career is over though and some idols continue as actresses or entertainers including some of Arai’s former teammates like Marika Tani, who is now a regular guest on WRESTLE UNIVERSE live broadcasts of DDT). But when one door closes, another door opens, and after this weekend she will take a break for most of April before continuing with TJPW full-time going forward, but will be making her first US appearance next month in Las Vegas, NV (sadly I can’t be there). Today will be her first match of the weekend and, as a bonus, she will join Up Up Girls for a one-day-only special live performance.
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, only on WRESTLE UNIVERSE). It’s not known if there will be any commentary. There are 6 matches scheduled plus the mini-live performance so it probably will run a little longer than a normal TJPW event, I’m thinking it’ll be about 2 1/4 hours depending on the mini-live length. (It can’t run too long because there is a DDT event scheduled for the venue afterwards)
Today’s lineup:
Suzume, Mahiro Kiryu & Neko Haruna vs. Yuki Aino, Kaya Toribami & Ivy Steele
Pom Harajuku vs. Arisu Endo & Chika Nanase in a 3-way
Maki Itoh vs. Yoshiko Hasegawa
Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao vs. Yuki Kamifuku & Kira Summer
Yuki Arai, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami vs. Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI, Haru Kazashiro, Toga & Mifu Ashida
Mizuki & Rika Tatsumi vs. Miyu Yamashita & Moka Miyamoto
Yuki Arai & Up Up Girls Mini-Live Performance (not known where this will be in the lineup)
Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.
Updates below will begin at 8 PM PT/11 PM ET. The WRESTLE UNIVERSE livestream is scheduled to begin 15 minutes prior to the event. The YouTube livestream is scheduled to begin at event start time.
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 has 3 different event areas and it looks like they’re using the smallest of them, which has a full capacity of around 575. The largest one has a capacity of 650. Advance ticket sales were very good so it depends on the setup but I’m guessing it will wind being about 500. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 536, a super full house/very near sellout)
The opening announcements start a couple minutes early. The matches should begin in 15-20 minutes but that depends on if the Yuki Arai-Up Up Girls mini-live starts things off. (It will so the matches will start closer to 8:30 PM PT). It’s 3 songs for a very vocal and energetic crowd. They should make Arai part of Up Up Girls going forward!
The matches begin at 8:25 PM PT/11:25 PM ET.
Match 1: Suzume, Mahiro Kiryu & Neko Haruna vs. Yuki Aino, Kaya Toribami & Ivy Steele. 20 minute time limit
Result: Suzume, Mahiro Kiryu & Neko Haruna beat Yuki Aino, Kaya Toribami & Ivy Steele. Suzume pinned Steele after Ring A Bell.
Match 2: Pom Harajuku vs. Arisu Endo & Chika Nanase in a 3-way. 20 minute time limit
Result: Pom Harajuku beat Arisu Endo & Chika Nanase in a 3-way by pinning Nanase.
Match 3: Maki Itoh vs. Yoshiko Hasegawa. 15 minute time limit
Result: Maki Itoh beat Yoshiko Hasegawa by submission
Match 4: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao vs. Yuki Kamifuku & Kira Summer. 20 minute time limit
Result: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao beat Yuki Kamifuku & Kira Summer. Misao pinned Summer after Hypami Returns.
Match 5: Yuki Arai, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami vs. Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI, Haru Kazashiro, Toga & Mifu Ashida. 20 minute time limit
Result: Yuki Arai, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami beat Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI, Haru Kazashiro, Toga & Mifu Ashida. Watanabe beat Ashida with a modified sharpshooter.
Main Event: Mizuki & Rika Tatsumi vs. Miyu Yamashita & Moka Miyamoto. 20 minute time limit
Result: Miyu Yamashita & Moka Miyamoto beat Mizuki & Rika Tatsumi. Yamashita beat Mizuki with what started as a modified facelock and transitioned into a very impressive-looking leg lock/arm lock choke. That’ll send me home HAPPY HAPPY!
The next event is tomorrow, a special event with 3 matches followed by Yuki Arai’s final SKE48 performance. The event is a legit advance sellout. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE as a PPV will begin at 11:20 PM PT/2:20 AM ET. The PPV is available for pre-purchase for 3000 yen for non-subscribers (around $20 US) and 2500 yen for subscribers (around $17 US) and includes on demand replays for the next week. One of the matches (a battle royal) may not be broadcast on PPV, that match will have Japanese commentary (clarification-all 3 matches will be shown live on PPV, but only the battle royal will actually be live at the venue. That match will have Japanese commentary from Haruo Murata & Matika Tani). The entire SKE48 live performance, scheduled to run 90 minutes, will be included in the PPV. I plan to buy it later in the day and watch it on demand. The PPV will be available for viewing until 4/6 at 10 PM PT/1 AM ET.
