On December 1st, 2013, Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling held its official debut in front of a capacity crowd in Kitazawa Town Hall. There were three matches between 8 wrestlers, most of whom were rookies trained for this new venture.
Among them were Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Yuka Sakazaki, making her debut, and Rika Tatsumi in training. The show was called Raising an Army.
On December 1st, 2023, TJPW celebrated its 10th Anniversary in Korakuen Hall with a show called We Are TJPW. In their first decade, they’ve trained dozens of wrestlers, gained thousands of fans, and made their name known all over the world.
They have indeed raised an army. And it’s only getting stronger.
TJPW 10th Anniversary Show
Shino Suzuki/Juria Nagano/Haru Kazashiro vs Runa Okubo/Kaya Toribami/Toga
While two of these wrestlers (Juria and Kaya) are sophomores, the rest are all rookies who made their debut in 2023. They’ve all come along well in their ring work, save for a few moments of hesitation here and there.
They’ve all begun the process of developing their character. The toughness. Resiliency. Ingenuity. But part of getting comfortable with who you are is perfecting the moves that only you can do.
Juria has her karate barrage down pat and Kaya knows how to use her agile, bird-like nature to move and evade. Haru has been working on an intricate back bridging pin that looks smoother and is closer to pinning her first victim every time.
But Toga is just too strong. While she may be susceptible to confusion at times, Toga’s raw potential could be great as she picked up the victory here over Haru in a short, decent opener.
TJPW 10th Anniversary Show
Hyper Misao and Mahiro Kiryu vs Raku and Yuki Aino
On TJPW shows, there must always be a wacky comedy match. And these are some of the usual suspects. Raku and Yuki Aino are stablemates who love each other. Hyper Misao and Mahiro Kiryu forged a special bond during the multiversal epic of Hyper Misao’s produced show Hype! earlier this year.
The gimmick for this bout began with four mystery boxes each competitor had to race to from outside the ring. And, of course, everyone ended up with the signature weapon of the other team.
There were hijinks with a cuddly pillow, a can of cold spray, a Raku stan fan, and magical energy snacks. Ref bumps in TJPW are rare, but when they happen, they’re hilarious. The wrestling actually got to be quite heated before Aino picked up the win over Kiryu.
TJPW 10th Anniversary Show
Himawari vs Wakana Uehara
Six rookies debuted at the beginning of 2023, and two remain in a tournament to crown the best of the next generation. Himawari did receive some training before changing schools and appears to be the most polished of the class.
Wakana Uehara is probably the most popular and has the potential to be a major star. Himawari defeated Haru Kazashiro and Shino Suzuki, while Wakana received a bye and only had to defeat the mighty Toga.
They opened with more grappling and slow-paced action than one might expect from Himawari, who thrives off comedy, and Wakana, whose charisma engages the crowd. Their first match in February went 6 minutes, and this one went 12, showing how much they’ve progressed towards a non-rookie standard.
Submission work was the name of the game as the tide shifted back and forth until Himawari tapped out. Wakana received the gold medal of the next generation as her classmates applauded through happy tears.
TJPW 10th Anniversary Show
Yuki Kamifuku vs Viva Van
On November 24th, Yuki Kamifuku won the Singapore Pro Wrestling Queen of Asia title from Alexis Lee. After her miracle run to the finals of the Tokyo Princess Cup over the summer, it’s about time she earned just the second-ever belt in her career.
On November 26th, Viva Van debuted for TJPW and challenged Kamiyu for the belt. Van is a 5-year veteran out of the West Coast, a multiple-time champion on the indies, and a proud Vietnamese-American wrestler.
What started out as a sexy posedown quickly turned into a battle of one-upmanship. Van does lucha-style moves quite well, but a poke to the eyes or a kick in the face was what welcomed her to Japan.
They chopped each other something stiff and really got Korakuen Hall rocking. Kamiyu picked up the win over Viva Van with the Famouser in a solid midcard bout.
TJPW 10th Anniversary Show
Hikari Noa and Nao Kakuta vs Pom Harajuku and Max the Impaler
Winning the Princess Tag Titles at Wrestle Princess brought a sense of validation to the team of Free Wifi. Hikari Noa and Nao Kakuta had been adrift without a partner until they found each other.
For their second defense, they faced one of the most dangerous forces in Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling. Pom Harajuku and her partner, Max the Impaler.
Pom started the match and tried to use her childish gambits of running around outside to gain the advantage. But Free Wifi are as dangerous as their name suggests. They tried to isolate the weaker partner, but Max eventually got the tag and ran roughshod.
Max was already a Princess Tag champion (who lost without taking the fall) and is the current International Princess champion. Max continues to have never been pinned or submitted as it was Pom who fell to Nao Kakuta in a fun little match.
TJPW 10th Anniversary Show
Miyu Yamashita/Yuka Sakazaki/Shoko Nakajima/Rika Tatsumi/Mizuki vs Miu Watanabe/Yuki Arai/Moka Miyamoto/Arisu Endo/Suzume
In Yuka Sakazaki’s penultimate match, before she leaves Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling for the foreseeable future, two generations did battle. On one side was the old guard. The only five wrestlers to have held the Princess of Princess championship.
Across from them was the new generation. If the aforementioned next generation of rookies is set to cook for another five years or so, then this generation is ready to take the reigns sooner rather than later. A two out of three falls match would put it to the test.
Early there was some comedic friction between members of the senpai team. Yuka and Mizuki are close as can be and were having their last tag match together, but Rika loves Mizuki as well and is insanely jealous.
With both squads spilling to the outside, Arisu Endo went one-on-one with the Big Kaiju and scored a quick roll-up victory on Shoko Nakajima. Pinning someone as decorated as Nakajima should be a major boost of confidence to Endo, who has all the tools to one day be on that level. And the crowd agreed.
The next leg of the match focused on a different set of primary players as Mizuki and Miu went to war. Mizuki had her breakout year with the PoP title in 2023, and it should be a foregone conclusion that Miu is on deck to complete her grand slam of titles.
The spotlight then turned to Yuka and Moka. The traditional fighter did her best to survive a submission attempt, but Yuka still planted her with the Magical Merry-Go-Round for the second fall.
A smart game plan meant that Miyu Yamashita was largely saved for the third act. The reigning and defending, 4 time Princess of Princess champion was what awaited the young heroes at the end of the gauntlet.
Miyu Yamashita and Miu Watanabe had a fantastic exchange, perhaps a preview of a future title fight, but in the end, it’s the Ace who always stands tall.
TJPW 10th Anniversary Show
Aftermath
In the post-match, the old guard wondered if this was the last time they’d all be together like this. After all, Yuka Sakazaki’s graduation ceremony will be on December 6th in Kitazawa Town Hall. She will be working primarily in America for AEW, though the door to Japan remains open.
In the end, all 28 wrestlers who performed on the show gathered in the ring. They put their hands together and cheered for Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling going into its 11th year. They posed together for a photo (even with ring announcer Sayuri Namba) as the older and newer TJPW theme songs rang out.
TJPW is having a joint show with Prestige Wrestling, Combat Princess, on December 14th in Los Angeles. They are also having their second American solo show in Philadelphia over Wrestlemania weekend.
As they continue to exchange talent and forge new bonds, the future looks bright. The original cornerstones are getting older and more beat up, if not already leaving, so the rest of the army should be taking over from Haru and Runa to Arisu and Suzume, to Kamiyu and Miu, to Maki and Mizuki. They are TJPW.
