TJPW Stick Out '23 (10/6/23) Review
Amidst Trouble, The Next Generation Stand Up
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The build to TJPW’s latest Korakuen trip can hardly be called ideal. A few days before the show, the news broke that Yuka Sakazaki had injured her neck and would no longer be able to defend the Princess Tag Titles in the main event. On top of that, Magical Sugar Rabbits would be vacating said belts. That would be a bit of a disaster at the best of times, but with this show being the beginning of the end for Yuka as a member of the TJPW roster, it’s doubly so. As of the time of writing, we don’t know how long she’ll be out, but I’m crossing all my fingers and toes that it won’t stop her from wrestling for TJPW before she leaves. Still, the show must go on, and while that left this card looking quite a bit weaker than usual, betting against TJPW in Korakuen is always a mistake.
Before we got going, Juria Nagano announced her return from injury, which will happen at Summer Sun Princess. We also got Yuka and Mizuki handing over their belts, although it would take a bit of convincing on Sakazaki’s part. It was actually rather sweet, as Mizuki had to put her in her place, shouting down her partner’s claim that she could still wrestle and insisting that she look after her health. That this will probably be the way MagiRabbi’s final tag title reign ends fucking sucks, but at least they still love each other.
Then, as if to raise the mood, the Up Up Girls decided to drop a whole ass new song on us. I’ve since learnt that they debuted TWO new songs at their show the day before, but I didn’t know that when watching live, so it was a huge surprise. It’s called ‘Babyface’ and is a lovely little bop that’s quite a change from their usual fare, but I instantly adore it. Finally, we met Uta, the latest Up Up Girl, who had also been officially unveiled the day before. She’s a sixteen-year-old Miu Watanabe fan who lists reviewing ice cream as one of her talents. Her introduction to the crowd was adorable, as she is only wee and was obviously quite nervous (with good reason), but she did a stellar job, surviving being asked whether she likes trains and blood. Who knows when we’ll see her debut, but a new Up Up Girl is always worth celebrating.
Free WiFi (Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta) defeated Toga & Runa Okubo
Hikari and Nao have been positioned as the bulliers of children recently, and I think they enjoy it. They showed zero qualms about laying into Runa, continuing their previously established practice of going after her hair and seemingly delighting in putting the young lass through the wringer. There is a long history of wrestlers coming to life when given a rookie to torment, and Free WiFi are proudly continuing that tradition.
As for the rest of the action, it was solid. Toga followed up a strong performance against Kamiyu with another one here, and her big forearm shot thudded confidently into Hikari. There was nothing particularly unique or exciting, but it was decently wrestled, and the two rookies got through it without any issues. In other words, it goes down as an alright start, but probably not one you need to seek out. Unless you’re into child bullying, then you’ll have a great time.
Verdict: Fine
Pom Harajuku defeated HIMAWARI
Wait, did I say this card wasn’t TJPW’s strongest? What nonsense! They gave us HIMAWARI vs Pom! Before the match started, Pom had to be helped to free herself from the streamers she’d managed to get wrapped up in, setting the tone for what was to come.
In my last TJPW review, I talked about HIMAWARI already developing a bit of a knack for these nonsense midcard matches, and this more than backed up that assertion. The Powerful Cheeky Chappy has a real talent for bafflement, as displayed by her reaction to Pom trying to deploy her hair (which she’d braided for the occasion) as a whip, stealing HIMAWARI’s gimmick. She’s not quite at the Miu Watanabe level of expressive faces, but she’s close, so simply watching her respond to the madness is enough to keep me entertained.
What I think was most impressive about this, though, was the way that it built on the nonsense to become a genuinely decent back-and-forth match. Pom’s improvement over the last couple of years has been clear for all to see, and she proved a good dance partner for HIMAWARI, working over her shins while also proving susceptible to being thrown around. In fact, with Pom’s relatively lowly status on the card, I genuinely bought into the idea that HIMAWARI could get the win, making the home stretch that little bit more exciting.
It all combined to become my favourite kind of TJPW midcard action, as they melded nonsense with decent wrestling to create a lovely wee treat. These are becoming HIMAWARI’s speciality, and while I suspect there are bigger things in her future, I’d be more than happy to see her spend a career putting on gems in the TJPW midcard club.
Verdict: A Delight
Yuki Kamifuku, Kaya Toribami & Wakana Uehara defeated Yuki Arai, Raku & Shino Suzuki
Yuki Arai, Raku and Shino Suzuki celebrated Yuki’s return to the ring by each donning one of the other’s armbands, a nice touch that made them feel like a real team. Although we later got to see the darker side of Raku as Kamiyu and Kaya suggested they might disrupt the Goodnight Express, forcing her to menacingly make her way to their corner, raising her hand in a way that saw Kamiyu instantly retreat. When you’ve tussled with Raku, I imagine that fear becomes instinctive.
Jokes aside, it was lovely to have Arai back as she and Kamiyu got down to booting each other in the face. It was all a notch or two more violent than it needed to be for this midcard fun, but I ain’t about to start complaining about that. They’ve got a talent for delivering big boots, and if they want to unleash it on each other, who am I to stop them?
Outside of that, Shino and Wakana were the ones to impress, as this continued to be a strong show for the youngsters. When she first came in, I struggled to warm up to Wakana, but as I’ve noted in other reviews, she’s started to blossom beyond just being a solid in-ring worker. Shino, meanwhile, is the opposite. That’s not to say she’s a bad worker, but she’s nailed her sympathetic babyface routine. Or at least she had. It’s possible Kamiyu dropkicked that ability out of her during a strong homestretch between the two. Let’s hope not because she, alongside her fellow rookie, played a pivotal role in making this an enjoyable match.
Verdict: Good Stuff
They announced that Sakisama and Mei Saint-Michel shall bless us with their presence at Summer Sun Princess, facing off against Arai and Wakana. Of course, we never know when Sakisama might decide to return to Versailles and never come back, so we should appreciate these appearances whenever we get them.
Hyper Misao defeated Mahiro Kiryu
Is there anything more Hyper Misao than taking a megaphone to the ring and then choosing to speak into both it and the mic simultaneously? Anyway, after the beautiful main event of Misao’s galaxy-brained HYPE! show, I have a hell of a lot of love for this pair. Sadly, Misao does not share that feeling. She’d brought her megaphone because, as the producer of that match, she was furious that Mahiro got all the social media buzz. While Kiryu attempted to stand up for herself, pointing out how out of her comfort zone she was, it was clear Misao was in a very ‘I made you, so now I must destroy you’ mood.
And this was another match that went so much harder than it needed to. We had Misao hitting Final Cuts on the apron as they played the whole thing surprisingly straight. She even threw in some limb work, attacking Kiryu’s arm, which sadly has to go down as a mistake. Not to go all selling nerd, but that is far from Mahiro’s greatest strength, and it never once felt like it was limiting her offence. I get what they were going for, and it played into the tone of the action, but sometimes chasing the story can lead you down alleys that don’t work for your skill set.
Still, as I said, I am on Misao and Mahiro’s side right now, and on the whole, this was a good match. Kiryu feels like she’s riding a wave of confidence, as while her general demeanour still leans towards charming awkwardness, she is looking more comfortable in the ring. In turn, that’s shining through in her wrestling, and while I don’t think anyone will count this as a classic, it was an impressive showing from two people I think we’re all rooting for.
Verdict: I Love Them
Before the next match, they announced the entrants for the Princess Cup, and there weren’t any surprises. TJPW are sticking to a sixteen-person tournament, so none of the rookies made the cut, but I prefer it that way. It prevents it from following some other competitions I can think of into issues of bloat.
Shoko Nakajima & Moka Miyamoto defeated Suzume & Haru Kazashiro
Haru recently met Nodoka Tenma (her wrestling hero) for the first time and appears to have promptly burst into tears. To be fair to her, that is the correct response to meeting Nodoka. Tears or not, she seems to have taken some inspiration from that meeting, as this was the best performance of her young career by quite a distance.
Of course, Haru spending a decent chunk of her ring time facing off against Shoko probably also helped with that, but this wasn’t just a rookie being led through a match. No, it was about how she held herself in the ring. Her and Runa’s confidence has been slowly improving, but this is the most at home either of them has ever looked, and it showed in the rest of her performance. Sure, Shoko played to her strengths, but Haru put in the work, and keeping up with Shoko is no easy task.
Outside of Haru, this was all about Nakajima vs Suzume, a pairing that got an audible reaction when they first tagged in. They’ve only had the one singles match (if we don’t count their three-minute meeting on the 10th-anniversary mat show) over three years ago, so we are due another. When we get it, I fully expect it to rule, as they’ve got fantastic chemistry together and always have a couple of cool setups in the bag, ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice.
It all meant that this match felt like a combination of the old and the new stepping up to fill a gap. I don’t think it’s too wild a guess to assume it got a lot more time than it would have if Yuka had remained fit, and there was a sense Shoko was pushing everyone involved to give all they could. What’s impressive, though, is that they managed it. That’s a promising sign for the future and a reminder of Shoko Nakajima’s importance to this company.
Verdict: Haru Did Great!
Daydream (Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe) defeated Mizuki in a handicap match
No one wanted to be having this match, but it’s what they were left with, and damn, they did a lot with it. It was a masterclass in structure, as, despite the odds being stacked against her, they managed to build a strong argument for why Mizuki might win, even as you knew that Miu and Rika had to be the favourites.
Part of that argument was built on an old idea, as Tatsumi’s love for Mizuki still burns bright. At the start of the match, she was actually unwilling to tag Miu in, batting Watanabe away whenever she called her over. While I don’t know if her motivation was fairness or wanting to spend as much time with Mizuki as possible (even if it was mainly violent time), it made it easy for Mizuki to play with that affection, turning Rika against her long-term partner and briefly rewarding her with some attention. The champ was finding, nae excelling at finding, ways to even the odds.
However, when Rika finally came to her senses, allowing everyone to get on with it, the number game proved to be too much for Mizuki to handle. She tried damn hard, putting in a heroic performance that was impressive from a sheer stamina point of view alone, but slowly and surely, Miu and Rika chipped away at her, opening up ways to attack. Even Mizuki’s big match offence, including that double stomp to the floor, wasn’t enough to take both members of Daydream out at once. Meanwhile, her legs got ever heavier, and when Tatsumi started to go after them, there was little chance of her making it out of the other end in control.
It meant this match played out its narrative perfectly, ensuring none of them came out the other side diminished. Plus, Rika has now pinned the big champ, and if that leads to a Tatsumi vs Mizuki title showdown, I will be delighted.
Verdict: A Masterclass
Yuki Aino defeated Arisu Endo to become the #1 contender for the International Princess Title
Out of adversity comes opportunity, as this was a main event that Arisu and Aino would never have gotten without Yuka’s injury. The question then becomes what they’re going to do with it. Could they step up and deliver on that level? Or would it all come crashing down? Thankfully, it was very much the former.
And this became a battle of scrappy energy vs power as Arisu flew out the gate, looking to sneak out with an upset before Aino knew what hit her. However, that could only last so long, and when Aino’s strength started to the fore, Endo was forced onto the back foot, looking for openings to throw herself into. Thankfully for her, that’s where she excels, as she’s a wonderfully emotional wrestler with a knack for timing. Every time Aino beat her back, even slamming her on the corner of the apron at one point, Endo found another gear, pulling out some big-match offence as she hit a Super Waterwheel Drop from the second turnbuckle.
Unfortunately for Endo, this match would hinge on one tiny mistake. When she got the Camel Clutch on, she did it all right, even dragging Aino back to the centre of the ring when she escaped. However, she was so intent on stopping her going forward that she didn’t notice her shuffling backwards, and Yuki’s ring awareness allowed her to escape by finding the ropes behind them. All it would have needed was for Endo to realise where they were and readjust to prevent Aino from making the break, and this match would have been hers, but that killer instinct wasn’t quite there. Aino, in contrast, survived the Clutch and went straight for the win, using her sister’s Bulldog to set up the finish before Arisu could catch her again.
However, regardless of the winner, this was a triumph and put the cherry on the cake of a show where everyone stepped up in rough circumstances. Aino and Arisu have had great matches before, some in big spots, but they’ve always been with more established figures. A Korakuen main event together was their chance to show what they could do, and they grasped that opportunity with both hands.
Verdict: Outstanding!
Overall Show
Stick Out won’t go down as the best TJPW show of the year. However, this still felt important. They were already without Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh, so when you throw Yuka’s injury in there, there was a lot of missing star power, not to mention a card that had to be shifted around days before the show. And yet, everyone on that roster stepped up. From Haru to Shoko to Aino, you could feel how important it was to them to deliver something worth watching. They did that and more, and I hope they were all damn proud of their efforts because it was fantastic.
Watch Tokyo Joshi Pro: https://www.wrestle-universe.com/en/videos?labels=-tjpw.