Author: Alex Pavon
Wrestle Princess IV marks the climax of the year for Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling and what a year 2023 has been. The 10th anniversary of TJPW has seen a total shakeup of the team, from the largest influx of rookies thus far to major shifts at the top of the card. Some wrestlers are moving up, some are moving around, and one is moving on. The TJPW calendar is bolstered by four tentpole shows: Ittenyon in January, Grand Princess in March, Summer Sun Princess in July, and Wrestle Princess in October. If Wrestle Princess IV can follow in the tradition…
Mizuki and Maki Itoh are two of the hottest names in the landscape of Japanese women’s wrestling. Mizuki’s athleticism and high flying can wow any stranger. Maki Itoh’s emotion and charisma can capture any audience. And in their early years, they used to be an inseparable tag team. It’s a tale as old as time, as cliche as that may be. They were barely even friends. But friendships start and end unexpectedly. Mizuki’s Heart: Be Our Guest Once upon a time, a girl named Mizuki moved from Kobe to Tokyo to become an idol-pro wrestler. She debuted at the age…
In 2023, the 10th trophy was awarded at Tokyo Princess Cup 10 coinciding with the 10-year anniversary of Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling. Future champions have topped these brackets, and MOTYCs have emerged from the ranks. The winner will go on to challenge for the Princess of Princess title at TJPW’s climactic show in October, Wrestle Princess IV. The single-elimination tournament has narrowed its scope from recent years, selecting the 16 best available wrestlers on the roster to vie for their place in history. No byes, no rookies, and no Yuka Sakazaki due to injury. It’s been the story of the…
The open window of Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling returns. After last year’s inaugural show that fostered international partnership unlike any other, Summer Sun Princess is back with another wide array of special guests. Three top titles from three countries are on the line amidst a mosaic of different styles, faces, and backgrounds. In the new era of the promotion, the four tentpole events are January 4th, Grand Princess in the Spring, Summer Sun Princess, and Wrestle Princess in the Fall. Here Mizuki meets her age-old rival, Maki Itoh, for the Princess of Princess championship, reigniting one of the best stories…
On May 8th, Yuka Sakazaki announced that she would be graduating from Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling at the end of 2023, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of her in-ring debut. After a decade of giving it her all and helping raise this company from birth, she’s more than earned an easier schedule overseas. Days before she and Mizuki were set for a major defense of the tag titles against a divisional rival at TJPW Stick Out, Yuka was ruled as medically unable to compete for the foreseeable future due to neck injury. TJPW’s 10th anniversary year was already tumultuous in…
Against all odds, Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling was founded by coincidence. During the introductory press conference in June 2012, the big boss of DDT Pro-Wrestling Sanshiro Takagi explained that it all started when a rookie named Takashi Dai had recently made his debut for DDT and he thought the name sounded familiar. Dai did indeed have an older sister named Nozomi who briefly wrestled for NEO Women’s Pro Wrestling (which had since gone defunct in 2010). And thus Takagi got in contact with her and former NEO President Tetsuya Koda to discuss forming a new enterprise in TJPW. Following the…
TJPW Yes Wonderland this year falls on Children’s Day, the final national holiday of Japan’s Golden Week to celebrate the individuality and joy of all children. May’s monthly Korakuen Hall show is one of the older traditions in Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, dating back to 2018. 2023’s version marks the fifth iteration under this event name, having missed one in 2020. With one of the largest rookie classes in the promotion’s history, Children’s Day is the perfect timing for TJPW Yes Wonderland 23. The entire roster each has their unique strengths to work on and their own happiness to chase.…
It’s training season in Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling. After a milestone event at last month’s Grand Princess followed by a sold-out show in Los Angeles for their American debut, it’s good to take a breather from the mania and go back to basics with TJPW Stand Alone 23. In Japan, April is the start of the school year: when the cherry blossoms bloom and new life can spring forth. However, the current class of rookies is going to have to continue their education without a headmaster for the time being. The longtime Ace Miyu Yamashita is away on excursion, impressing…
New Japan Pro Wrestling had been resurrected. Blame it on an economic bubble bursting, MMA on the rise, or Inokism squandering talent; NJPW was on the brink of bankruptcy for a period of time after the turn of the 21st century. Under new management starting in 2006, the company saved itself through a shift in philosophy and making new stars. Tanahashi, Okada, and the Golden Age Hiroshi Tanahashi became the Ace. Shinsuke Nakamura, his second in command. The lost Third Generation (Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan) were rehabilitated. A supporting cast of Hirooki Goto, Togi Makabe, and Toru Yano…
Konosuke Takeshita and Tetsuya Endo started wrestling for DDT in the same year. While Takeshita made his debut as a 17 year old prodigy to great acclaim, Endo had a slower start. On April 1, 2012, Endo arrived as a 20-year-old with a smaller stature than his 6’0 contemporary. As per rookie tradition, Endo lost most of his early matches. That summer, he would pick up his first big win at Korakuen Hall in a chaotic 12-man tag. However, Takeshita always seemed to defeat him whenever their paths crossed. At the end of 2013, Endo and Takeshita formed a tag…