TJPW Princess Cup (29/7/23) Review
The Princess Cup Is Getting Spicy
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After perhaps the strongest opening round in Princess Cup history, it’s time to whittle the field down even further. At this point, every match was up in the air as to who could win, which had the potential to make for another classic round. Let’s find out if it lived up to that promise.
Before the show, we met two new rookies, Chika, a nineteen-year-old from Osaka and Kira, a twenty-six-year-old from Australia. They were both understandably nervous when introducing themselves, particularly Kira, whose Japanese might not be perfect (although she did better than I would have, and there is every chance it was just the nerves). It’s always exciting to see newbies joining, and while no date was given for their debut, let’s hope we see them again soon.
Kaya Toribami & Juria Nagano defeated Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI
HIMAWARI might be powerful, cheeky and a chappy, but she wanted nothing to do with the Karate Nurses’ kicks. Their first interaction saw her buzzing around Juria Nagano, doing everything she could to avoid them. Sadly, while it was initially successful, she eventually received a formal introduction, shaking hands with a series of great-looking strikes for the finish.
It marked Juria’s first win since she returned from injury and came via an entertaining wee opener. We’ve seen it all before, as they had less than ten minutes to get everything in, but everyone hit their marks well, and Juria’s time out doesn’t seem to have had any lasting negative effects. If anything, she might have improved a touch, as her weaknesses when she wasn’t on the offensive were a bit less noticeable.
With Arisu and Moka moving up in the world, these four are probably at the top of the rookie hierarchy, and they’re a strong (and varied) group. You can never predict the future (an injury can change everything in a second), but you wouldn’t be surprised to see any of them get the chance to bother the top of the card somewhere down the line. At this stage, that’s all you can hope for.
Verdict: Solid
Hyper Misao, Nao Kakuta & Yuki Aino defeated Mahiro Kiryu, Pom Harajuku & Haruna Neko
Poor Mahiro. After Misao tried to sow discord between her, Neko and Pom, she stepped up to put it right. Unfortunately, her attempt to do so mainly involved pointing out that the wee cat and Pom are massive weirdos, which they didn’t take in the intended spirit. Her intentions were pure! It’s just that she’s Mahiro, so things tend not to go to plan. She truly is wrestling’s most relatable character.
Her partners’ anger meant Mahiro lost the match in seconds, forcing her to apologise to them to earn a rematch (that spot is getting increasingly more elaborate), and things got underway on the second attempt. What followed didn’t go much longer and was relatively by the numbers until Nao tied Pom up in a cool-looking submission for the win. It wasn’t bad, and I had fun while it was on, but there was nothing to get the heart beating faster.
Still, the pre-match angle got a lot of smiles, which makes it all worth your time. As much affection as I have for Mahiro, watching her bumble through an awkward social situation will always get a laugh.
Verdict: Pom And Neko Are Weirdos But In The Best Way
Hikari Noa, Suzume, Raku & Shino Suzuki defeated Mizuki, Toga, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo
There was a moment early in this match where Runa, having gone through a rudimentary exchange of chain wrestling with Shino, came away with a smile on her face. In the grand scheme of things, it was a nothing event, but I think it was proof of her ever-growing confidence in the ring. She’s still sticking to the basics, and they shouldn’t be throwing her in the deep end any time soon, but I get the impression she’s starting to enjoy herself. In turn, her wrestling is improving, and her emotions are coming across. They’re all little steps, but they make a difference.
And yet, she wasn’t the rookie who stood out the most here. That was Toga, who, in her final section with Hikari, had me wondering if she would get the win. Part of that was down to Noa bumping around for her like crazy, but Toga also deserves credit, especially when she pulled out a genuinely brilliant-looking Uranagi. It’s a move that can easily lack impact, but she got Hikari impressively high off the ground and put her down hard, as she can add that to her big forearms as a speciality.
Outside of that, we got all the expected fun, plus the occasional awkward moment between the rookies. However, there was nothing catastrophic in there, and it was, on the whole, another entertaining undercard match. Again, I don’t think anyone needs to go out of their way to see it, but if you enjoy following the youngsters’ development, it’s one you’ll want to see.
Verdict: Rookie Fun
Yuki Arai defeated Arisu Endo in the Princess Cup Second-Round
If you’d asked me to predict the tone of this match, I don’t think I would have even considered that it would be what it was. Right from the bell, there was a sense of desperation from Endo and Arai that caught me off guard. They flew into each other, hammering away with forearms, neither willing to give an inch. I don’t think either is an amazing striker, but it didn’t matter. The wild aggression behind it made up for any weakness in that regard.
It also made the match enthralling. Kicking off a second round packed with potential close contests, this might have been the closest of the lot, so there was a real sense that either could win. That particularly paid off in their respective submission holds, Endo’s long crawl to the ropes to escape the Cloverleaf (which she had to make twice after being pulled back) getting the whole of Korakuen behind her. Arai, meanwhile, sold the effects of the Camel Clutch brilliantly. Her facial expressions can often be a bit over the top and silly, but her selling of the damage done to her back was impressive as hell, particularly when she caught Endo with a Finally in the ropes but couldn’t follow up thanks to falling backwards in pain.
The finishing stretch took things to the next level, Endo beating away a Finally, only for Arai to instantly respond with a page from her partner Saki Akai’s book, driving her foot into Endo’s face with the Rookie of the Year Award instead. While her back once again prevented that from being the finish, it was enough to make the second attempt at the Axe Kick possible and for Arai to find her way to the semi-finals. However, this is one of those matches where the result is irrelevant. These two went out there and smashed it, putting on a battle that felt fuelled by a desperate need to win. That’s damn good wrestling.
Verdict: Fantastic
Yuki Kamifuku defeated Miu Watanabe in the Princess Cup Second Round
You get the impression that Yuki Kamifuku confuses Miu. In the preview tags, she ducked and dodged around her, refusing to engage before sneaking in to deliver a poke to the eyes or an attack on her hand. For Miu, who, with her strength and pure heart, is almost like the hero in a fairytale, Kamiyu is something she can’t quite figure out. She knows that in a straight fight, she can overpower her, but she can’t rely on it being a straight fight.
And that’s how this match played out. From the start, Kamiyu pulled out every trick in the book, luring Miu in and striking when she least expected it. Even poor Mahiro got dragged into it, Kamiyu deploying her friend as a human shield. Watanabe, meanwhile, seemed determined to keep coming, Terminator-like, as she tried to power her way through to Kamiyu. When she did catch her, you had to wonder if Yuki regretted her plan, as a frustrated and angry Miu hammering on your chest can’t feel nice.
However, when she had no choice but to stand and fight, Kamiyu proved to be no slouch. Miu delivered some thudding blows, but Kamiyu returned with a string of stiff chops before countering Watanabe’s powering out of the Fameasser into a roll-up that got a great near fall. She might have run out of tricks, but when the battle gets tough, she’s a damn good wrestler, and Watanabe learnt that lesson the hard way. A quick Fameasser wasn’t enough, but the one that followed was, and Kamiyu picked up perhaps her biggest win since she lost the International Title.
It was also a hell of a performance, as these two followed Arisu vs Arai by having a very different match, but one that was no less enthralling. They found a way to merge their respective styles, tying them around each other and paying it off with a satisfying conclusion. Sure, the fairytale hero didn’t win, but those types need to have the air knocked out of them now and then, and Kamiyu was the perfect person to do it.
Verdict: Kamiyu Got Her
Miyu Yamashita defeated Moka Miyamoto in the Princess Cup Second Round
Since returning from America, Miyu Yamashita has felt like someone on a mission. You almost get the impression that she walked into the locker room and didn’t get the reaction she wanted, leaving her determined to remind everyone on the roster who she is. Every kick is a bit stiffer, and the look in her eyes has traditionally suggested she’ll soon be strapping a title around her waist.
All of that put Moka in the unenviable position of trying to figure out how to beat her. In the preview tag, we saw her potential route to victory when she blocked the Skull Kick with her arm, but that was just one part of the puzzle. Before that, she had to figure out a way to survive the onslaught of kicks and strikes. Miyu was almost playing with her in the opening minutes, confident in her ability to beat the shit out of this kid. Miyamoto, however, had other ideas, and she grew into this match, taking her beating and getting up for more. Slowly but surely, she began to dish it out herself, matching Yamashita as a flicker of uncertainty spread across the Ace’s face.
Sadly, it wasn’t to be, but there were a couple of moments where I was sure she had it. There was steel in the usually laidback Miyamoto, and every time it looked like Miyu had beaten away her best idea, she came back with something else. What had started as Miyu dishing out lessons turned into a fight, and while Moka didn’t have what it took to get it over the line, she came mighty close. It was perhaps summed up best by the aftermath, Miyu offering her hand only for Moka to turn away. Not long ago, I’d have expected her to take that offer, happy for the show of respect, but not this time, and I suspect that’s a sign she’ll be back to give it another go.
Verdict: Bravo, Moka!
Rika Tatsumi defeated Shoko Nakajima in the Princess Cup Second Round
Back-and-forth wrestling matches are difficult. It seems, on paper, like the natural way to do big main events, but it so often turns into two people taking turns to do stuff, and that’s usually the most boring kind of wrestling. If you want to get across the idea of two evenly-matched wrestlers doing battle, you need to be smarter than that. I want to believe that it’s not simply that they’re both really good but that they’re cancelling each other out.
That’s what Shoko and Rika did brilliantly here. These two are old foes who can, and have, headlined bigger rooms than Korakuen Hall, and there was a sense that this was a continuation of their battles rather than a new one. They still went to their usual tricks, Rika attacking the leg and Shoko using her speed and the 619 to pave the way for other moves, but they had to work ten times harder to do it. The first time Shoko went for a dive, Rika caught her around the throat, throttling her on the apron while Tatsumi had to find increasingly inventive ways to hit those Dragon Screw Leg Whips.
Most importantly, when they hit that final act, Shoko and Rika didn’t forget that it was a fight. There was no dancing between finisher attempts as they battled to see who made a mistake or found a moment of genius first. Here, it was Rika brute forcing her way into the Dragon Sleeper and refusing to let go, bending Shoko back until she had no choice but to tap. The momentum had swung all match, so the damage was done, and she was the one who could take advantage of it. A lot of people could learn a thing or two from these two.
Verdict: Greate Big Match Wrestling
Overall Show
I don’t say this often, but you can probably skip the undercard of this Korakuen. It’s pretty watchable, but if you’re in a rush or have 500 other shows you want to watch, it’s not essential. However, I would argue that all four tournament efforts are. When you get a bunch of singles matches in a row like that, it’s easy for them to bleed into one (watch nearly any G1 or 5STAR show, for example), but these all felt unique, as they managed to find their own personalities. I described the first round as the best in Princess Cup history, and with this matching, if not besting it, we might just be heading towards that being true for the whole tournament.
Watch Tokyo Joshi Pro: https://www.wrestle-universe.com/en/videos?labels=-tjpw.