TJPW Live Tour In Spring '23 (27/5/23) Review
Mahiro's Looking After The Kids, Misao Is A Ball & Rika Is Feeling Good
Front Matter
The image used in these reviews are linked to the Twitter account responsible for them: simply click through to bring up the original post. If you are a photographer whose image I have used here, and you do not grant me permission to reproduce your work, please let me know (Twitter: @FlupkeDiFlupke) and I will remove it. Thanks!
写真家さん、ここにイメージが写すことが許可しなければ聞いて下さって私は大至急除きます (ツイターの @FlupkeDiFlupke です)。ありがとうございます！
Subscribe now!
Subscribe to Marshmallow Bomb for free to receive all our posts direct to your inbox, or donate $5 a month to access the full archive. A portion of every subscription supports Amazon Frontlines, an organisation dedicated to working with Indigenous peoples to defend their way of life, the Amazon rainforest, and our climate future.
With a Korakuen just around the corner, it was time for TJPW to put the final touches to the build for their latest visit to that famous venue. We know our main event (Daydream challenging MagiRabbi for the tag titles), but there were a few spots still to be filled, so let’s see if anything exciting popped up.
Moka Miyamoto defeated Shino Suzuki
There were a couple of moments in this match where Moka appeared to be laying things on a little bit stiffer than usual. Don’t get me wrong, she didn’t morph into Stan Hansen, but there was a little more pep behind her offence. It felt like an experienced wrestler making sure this rookie knew what she was in for, and I liked it. While I can’t picture Moka ever getting too nasty, it suggested there is a touch of meanness lurking under the surface, a development that would be to her benefit.
That aside, this was a by-the-numbers opener. There were a couple of clunky moments where Suzuki’s greenness shone through, but nothing egregious, and it was never enough to ruin the action. It was mostly a competently wrestled outing that was perfectly likeable but that no one will remember a week from now.
Verdict: Solid Opening Fare
Yuki Kamifuku defeated Toga
Someone who has always had a slice of meanness running through them is Kamiyu. What were crumbs from Moka were feasts from her, as she showed no qualms about poking Toga in the eye, yanking her throat first into the top rope and booting her in the head. She’s a natural salty veteran, delighting in bullying a rookie, which is funny when you consider where she was when she started wrestling.
I was also impressed by Toga, which was nice to see after a bit of a clunker against Mahiro recently. She perhaps benefitted from facing someone with the confidence to go out and control the match, only really expecting her to sell and pull out the occasional flurry of hope. That’s not an insult to Toga, she’s at the stage of her career when that’s a perfectly valid thing for her to be doing, and with those big forearm shots, she’s well-suited to the role.
It all made for something that was a step up from the first match but still inhabited that standard rookie vs more experienced wrestler zone that we’ve seen a million times before. I enjoyed it, but it’s not something you have to go out of your way to see.
Verdict: Decent
Free WiFi (Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta) & Wakana Uehara defeated Mahiro Kiryu, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Ohkubo
Mahiro is the one member of the TJPW roster who I trust to keep those kids alive. I suspect she spends every minute with them worrying about whether they’ve drunk enough water or put on sunscreen. There is also a good chance that she’s the only TJPW related-person regularly telling them no, but that might be what keeps them from jumping off a building or being convinced to hit Hikari with a light tube. Their main worry is perhaps dying of embarrassment, as I’m pretty sure she spent the opening of this match claiming to be a teenager.
The other side of the ring couldn’t be more different. Hikari and Nao have zero worries about whether Haru and Ruma are suitably hydrated, as they spent a decent portion of this match throwing them across the ring by their hair. They also appear to have taken Wakana under their wing, who is having the time of her life hanging out with the rebels. She hasn’t quite got the hang of things yet, as her attempts to join in the hair abuse were unsuccessful, but it is unlocking her personality and helping me warm up to her.
Those two dynamics were what made this match. In-ring, it was fairly basic, as Haru and Ruma keep things simple, but I was enjoying being in their company enough for that not to matter. Plus, after the absolute joy that was Hype, my affection for Mahiro is so strong that her mere presence is enough to leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy. Sometimes wrestling is about great in-ring action, and other times it’s about hanging out with cool people. This was very much the latter.
Verdict: A Nice Time Was Had
Hyper Misao defeated HIMAWARI
We got a revealing insight into HIMAWARI’s mind in the opening minutes of this match. Initially, she proved herself one of the more clued-in members of the TJPW roster by refusing the opportunity to shake Hyper Misao’s hand. Unfortunately, when Misao responded by curling up into a ball and rolling around the ring, HIMAWARI was so distressed at having upset her that she ended up shaking it anyway and immediately faced the consequences. Still, it gave birth to the image of HIMAWARI chasing Ball Misao, so I think we were the winners.
That was the opening act of a match that was an utter delight. Not only did we have the ball antics, but HIMAWARI exhausted herself with her own dropdown spot before this morphed into a crafty veteran vs power rookie showdown. The Powerful Cheeky Chappy already feels like a threat because of the simple fact that she can pick opponents up and throw them around, which she was able to do to Misao on more than one occasion. It’s nothing complex, but when it works, it works.
Of course, it only worked to a certain extent, as Misao eventually got the win, but HIMAWARI is making a habit of having these delightful wee midcard matches. She’s got all the personality in the world, and while her wrestling isn’t perfect, that does a lot of work in papering over the cracks. It also means that you can already feel confident sending her out with someone like Misao, safe in the knowledge that you’ll get something entertaining out of it, which was exactly what we got here.
Verdict: A Lovely Time
Mizuki & Suzume defeated Shoko Nakajima & Kaya Toribami
I might have been undervaluing the bird. Kaya’s improvement has been apparent, but it was only watching her here that I realised how significant it’s been. She was in there with three of the best wrestlers in the company, definitely three of the smoothest, and it was to her credit she never once looked out of place. I kept expecting her tagging in to cause the action to shift slightly, but it never happened, and she more than held her own. While she’s not yet on the same level as the others, she is at the point where she can be pulled up to it, and that deserves a lot of credit.
Of course, Shoko’s interactions with Suzume and Mizuki were brilliant. It was silky smooth wrestling but also inventive as hell, with loads of lovely little touches littered throughout. Someone like Suzume is constantly finding new ways to get into her signature offence, and Shoko is the perfect person for her to experiment with. Occasionally, perfect wrestling can be a bit dull, but that’s not something you have to worry about with these combinations.
Despite her improvements, Kaya was eventually left alone with Mizuki and never really stood a chance. Before the pin, we did get a couple of impressive saves from Shoko, though, with her using a 619 to break a Crossface being particularly eye-catching, but she was delaying the inevitable. Still, Kaya can go home pleased with a job well done in a good match.
Verdict: Good Stuff
Raku, Yuki Aino & Pom Harajuku fought Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Arisu Endo to a time-limit draw
If you’ve ever wondered why Miu and Rika are partners, listen for the sound of Watanabe laughing as Tatsumi repeatedly throttled Pom Harajuku. She might seem all nice and bubbly, but there is a darkness in the soul of that Miu. Talking of Rika, she had big ‘I’ve been ill for a few weeks, but now I’m better and feeling great, so let’s murder a Pom’ energy in this match. While it’s a specific mood, it’s obvious when you see it, as she was not only intent on strangling Pom but also managed to beat her so hard that her shoe came off. To give Tatsumi credit, she did help her put it back on again. We’ll ignore that her method of doing so led to more Pom screaming.
Away from Rika having a murderous old time, the highlight of the main event was Yuki Aino’s extended run towards the end. The whole thing was great, but Aino got a real chance to spread her wings, pairing off with Rika and Arisu and looking great against both. I’ve always admired her ability to sell the struggle of wrestling, and as she and Endo battled against the clock, that came to the fore. There was a sense that either of them could win it, as they kept getting progressively closer to hitting that big finishing move but never quite managed to get it over the line. It was the kind of action that made me forget that this was a relatively meaningless tag and had me fully invested in who would come out on top.
Sadly for them, neither did, but that is good news for the rest of us. After the match, Aino put forward her claim to challenge Rika, only for Arisu to make the point that she would also like to put her name in the hat. Tatsumi, being the terrifying genius she is, responded that they could have a number one contender match at the next Korakuen, which after this performance, is a-okay with me. As for the rest of the action, it was all enjoyable, as Raku, Pom and Aino have become a sneakily brilliant trio, while the other three are as reliably brilliant as they come. I’d even say it was sneaking towards must-watch-territory, especially if you’re a TJPW fan.
Verdict: A Fantastic Main
Overall Show
That was a fun show with a great pair of final matches. These smaller TJPW shows often excel at simply being very watchable, but now and then, you get something like the main event, which I’d urge people to go out of their way to see. It also filled that spot on the Korakuen card, giving us another tasty-looking treat to look forward to.
Watch Tokyo Joshi Pro: https://www.wrestle-universe.com/en/videos?labels=-tjpw.