TJPW Futari Wa Princess Max Heart Tournament (15/1/23) Review
The Max Heart Tournament Begins
Front Matter
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As the Max Heart tournament enters its third year, we can probably start referring to it as an annual TJPW tag-team tradition. Although, with some terrifying new tag champions, this might be the first year where winning feels less like a reward and more like a sacrifice. Still, whether anyone wants to face Wasteland War Party or not, the first round kicked off on this show and had the potential for a couple of upsets right out of the gate.
Shoko Nakajima defeated Wakana Uehara
It’s no coincidence that TJPW’s younger wrestlers tend to have some of their best matches with Shoko Nakajima. These two faced off back in October as part of the Dream on the Ring reality series, and that performance won Wakana the show, so we already knew she was comfortable in the ring with the Big Kaiju, and that continued here. Nakajima plays to her strengths, keeping the match slow and deliberate, which allows Uehara to show off her already impressive grappling and selling.
And I think it’s interesting to compare Wakana to TJPW’s other recent debutant, HIMAWARI, as they both excel at different things. Where the sunflower is a ball of energy, instantly appealing, Uehara is a tad more reserved. However, she seems to have taken to wrestling naturally, keeping up with Shoko and making sure to sell her stomach when it got worked over. On the flip side, while her history on TV would suggest she has the kind of personality that would shine through, it’s yet to manifest itself in the ring.
Still, this was another impressive showing from Uehara, as Nakajima’s habit of getting the best out of people continues. Wakana is joining Juria Nagano and Yuki Arai in not working a full-time schedule, but an appearance on a smaller show is a good indicator of her enthusiasm. As she’ll presumably only improve from here, I think it’s safe to note her down as having tremendous potential.
Verdict: Wakana Is Looking Good
Hyper Misao defeated Mizuki and Pom Harajuku in a three-way
Poor Pom found herself trapped between the devil and a superhero, aligning with both at various times only to fall foul of their inevitable betrayals. Poms are famously too trusting.
Still, while Pom’s misfortune was sad, this was an entertaining wee match. It zipped along at a fair old pace, wrapping the comedy up in a well-worked bow and finding a few fun ways to draw laughs from the crowd. We even got to see Pom try and take flight, charging towards Mizuki and leaping into the air with her arms outstretched. Of course, Mizuki laughingly sidestepped the somewhat unusual attack, but I appreciated the effort.
It ended up being everything I want from a TJPW three-way that’s second on the card. A few laughs, a touch of decent wrestling and a moment or two where it looked like Pom might overthrow her tormentors, only for it to fall apart again. It was both classic Pom and classic TJPW.
Verdict: Poms Can’t Fly
Daydream (Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe) & HIMAWARI defeated Daisy Monkey (Suzume & Arisu Endo) & Kaya Toribami
Yes, this show was primarily focused on the Max Heart Tournament, but if it had been titled HIMAWARI meets Rika, I would have been equally excited to tune in. That bouncing ball of energy was on the same team as a force of malevolent evil and would learn the hard way that just because you’re on her side, it doesn’t mean she’ll refrain from beating you up a bit. The worrying thing is how easily Miu was roped into it all, suggesting Rika’s darkness is taking root in her Daydream partner.
Outside of that meeting, this was standard midcard fare, with everyone getting a chance to do their thing. Even when she wasn’t interacting with Rika, HIMAWARI’s relentless enthusiasm continued to shine, as her joy is incredibly infectious. However, Miu was the one who stole the show as she put in a solidly brilliant performance. We’re getting to the point where it’s easy to take Watanabe for granted, as she’s consistently excellent, but Miu’s bursting with confidence at the moment, and it’s a joy to see.
It left this match as something that was far from essential but had enough there to make it worth a watch. If nothing else, it marked HIMAWARI’s first time on the winning team, which, if she does go on to further success, can be counted as a semi-historic moment.
Verdict: HIMAWARI Was Excited, Miu Was Strong: Two Thumbs Up
Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano defeated Toyo Mates (Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu) in the Max Heart Tournament First Round
For the bulk of this match, Kamiyu and Mahiro will have been confident that they had things under control. As the more experienced team, they contained their karate-loving opponents perfectly, controlling the tempo of the action and, crucially, avoiding being caught by any of Nagano’s vicious strikes. It almost felt like their victory was inevitable.
The advantage of being able to kick someone’s head off, though, is that you only need one second to do it in. For all Kamiyu and Mahiro’s dominance, they couldn’t put Juria away, so when Moka came flying in and caught Kiryu with a beautiful dropkick, it was the sliver of an opening the Karate Nurse needed. A picture-perfect spinning roundhouse to the side of the head and all that good work crumbled as our first match of the tournament also gave us our first upset.
It made for perhaps the best use of Nagano’s strikes yet. She’s always been presented as a threat, but this took it to the next level, turning her into a killer. I also thought the Toyo Mates played their role well, doing a good job of being the veteran pairing with a plan. Nagano’s lethal boot may get all the headlines, but they set it up to do so, pulling off their first-round defeat in style. Good stuff all-round!
Verdict: Well Executed
Reiwa AA Cannon (Saki Akai & Yuki Arai) defeated Yuki Aino & Raku in the Max Heart Tournament First Round
This match-up should have been our tag title bout back in November, but with Raku catching COVID, she had to drop out, and Pom Harajuku came in. Sadly, this time around, there were no belts to be won, but it was nice to get a taste of what they had planned.
And one did get the feeling that the lack of titles was playing into the mood of this match, but perhaps not in the way you’d expect. Saki Akai is still hurting from that loss and had no intention of messing around, interrupting the Goodnight Express by booting Raku in the back (making it one of the few Raku matches where it didn’t happen). It was clear after their title defeat that Akai felt she had unfinished business with Max and Heidi, and this tournament is a chance to face them again, so she was determined not to fuck it up in the first round. Everything she did had an edge, those long legs regularly being deployed to kick people away.
It gave Yuki Aino and Raku a daunting challenge, but they were mostly up to the task. Aino was particularly impressive, daring to stand up to Saki and trade blows, finding a way to hold her own. However, she wasn’t alone, as this was a rare example of serious Raku, the pillow deployed to block attacks rather than support a nap. It was a reminder that while she might never be a regular main eventer, Raku can go up the gears, keeping up even when the action gets serious.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. In the past, Akai has seemed happy to give Arai the space to shine, standing back and seeing how her inexperienced partner does. This time, she took control, wrestling the bulk of the action and eventually tapping Raku out. Beforehand, I had this tagged as a potential upset, but with Saki in that mood, I’m suddenly intrigued by the idea of her trying to get those titles back.
Verdict: Saki Is On The Warpath
121000000 (Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh) defeated Free WiFi (Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta) in the Max Heart First Round
Free WiFi are the TJPW tag division wildcard. As of yet, they haven’t had that much success as a team, their title challenge against MagiRabbi being their peak, but there is an element of chaos to everything they do, which makes you feel like they could beat anyone. It’s because they’re not only great wrestlers but are more than happy to bash you over the head with a chair if it’s required.
Sadly, there were no chairs here, and they did lose to the supergroup of Yamashita and Itoh, but they were still the team I came out of this match focused on. Hikari and Noa’s connection is evident when watching them wrestle, as they seem to have a genuine friendship that translates into their teamwork. At times, it almost feels like there are more than two of them as they swarm over opponents, overwhelming them with violence. They’ve also been working on their double team moves, pulling out an elaborate pin/submission combination that the setup for wasn’t entirely smooth, but it still looked cool when they figured it out. Free WiFi left me feeling like TJPW could, and probably should, be doing more with them.
This match was about 121000000, though, who are a good pairing in their own right. When Itoh and Yamashita got together, they had big supergroup energy, as they were perhaps less than the sum of their parts, but they’ve grown a lot as a team, and I enjoy their odd-couple dynamic. Together, they’re packing a lot of fire-power and, having navigated a tricky opening tie, are now two of the favourites for this tournament. As for this, it was a fun match, but I reckon these four could do even better if they did it on a bigger stage and let Hikari and Nao loose with those chairs I mentioned.
Verdict: Good, But They Could Do More
Overall Show
The opening round of the Max Heart tournament didn’t deliver any blow away matches, but it did pull out a couple of really well-worked ones. They set Moka and Juria up as a pair of lethal dark horses before establishing Saki is on a mission, which counts as a job well done. Throw in a fun undercard and a good main event, and it’s a show worth watching.
Watch Tokyo Joshi Pro: https://www.wrestle-universe.com/en/videos?labels=-tjpw.