For the second year in a row, Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling rode on into Texas and put on a hell of a show again and again.
Last year, TJPW made its Texas debut in the summer with shows in Houston and Dallas. This time around, the promotion returned in the spring and added two stops in Austin, Texas’ capitol city.
There was plenty to love about this second go-round. Every show had its share of joyful moments, inane antics, and damn good wrestling. Sakura Hattori took the first steps of the next leg of her journey. Pom Harajuku served as the Clown Princess. Stars like Miu Watanabe, Miyu Yamashita, and Shoko Nakajima represented the company super well.
And as a bonus, Texas got quite the treat as Sayuri Namba was back for announcing duties. She left for Canada shortly after the last stay in The Lone Star State. She was back being her ever-charming self on all four nights of the Texas trip.
Austin
TJPW traveled to The Live Music Capitol of the World as part of the SXSW Festival and hit up the Palmer Events Center two nights in a row. The company had over 1,000 people attend each night and twice delivered a fun, memorable show.
On Tuesday, TJPW booked a singles match for the rising star Uta Takami, welcomed The IInspiration to the fold, and featured Daydream battling Ober Eats in the main event. The next night saw them put together some fresh tag teams in Shino Suzuki & Arisu Endo and Miu Watanabe & Suzume.
Each time out, there was a strong mix of comedy and action, singles and tags. The card both help set up Grand Princess with Yuki Arai and Watanabe clashing on the first night and showed off TJPW’s unique flavor. Fans saw Miyu Yamashita and Shoko Nakajima tear it up in the ring as well as a healthy serving of ridiculousness. All in all, a good representation of what TJPW does.
Best Moments
Knowing full well that Hyper Misao would bring a vehicle to the fight, Pom Harajuku came prepared. Misao wheeled around on her trademark bicycle; Pom countered with a cardboard “Tesla.”
With Raku’s help, she careened through the Palmer Event Center trying to flatten TJPW’s resident superhero. She filmed the collision for posterity with her phone.
Her battle cry of “This is my Tesla!” was among the funniest things to happen all tour.
On the first night of the Texas trip, we also got our first look at Kaya Toribami’s new persona—Sakura Hattori. She faced Shino Suzuki in her face appearance as Hattori.
Toribami had long been underachieving and needed some kind of spark. Well damn did she get one. Her transformation, in both look and move set, was eye-catching. She’s more aggressive in the ring and now wields a new neck crank submission move. Her look is big improvement, too: cooler, darker, with a touch of intrigue.
She still needs to iron out the act (some of the ritualistic hand movements take too long, for one), but there’s certainly reason to be excited moving forward. Hattori not only walked out of Austin with two singles victories but with a lot more buzz surrounding her.
Rika Tatsumi is never beating the menace allegations.
In her one-on-one clash with Yuki Aino on night two in Austin, she left the battle to find an unconventional weapon—a bucket of popcorn. She then shoved popcorn into Aino’s mouth in an unusual though effective attack.
As striking a visual as that is, the most entertaining part of the moment happened just before. When Tatsumi went to buy popcorn, bad intentions and all, there was a line of customers in her way. She hopped around with her pocket book in hand, foiled by the dreaded opponent of having to wait your turn. Luckily, two generous fans gave her their bucket to aid Tatsumi in her antics.
Best Matches
While night one’s main event (Yuki Arai & Yuki Kamifuku vs. Miu Watanabe & Rika Tatsumi) was entertaining and the most important in terms of booking, it was a midcard tag battle that stole the show. Double Yuki vs. Daydream was all about having Arai and Miu collide, a display of the power and stardom of Watanabe mixed with Arai looking very much like a legit contender for the Princess of Princess Championship.
Miyu Yamashita and Arisu Endo vs. Mizuki and Yuki Aino from earlier in the card, though, was the most captivating match of the tour’s kickoff.
Chaos and energy powered this one. There was a high-octane pace for much of it. We got some fiery brawling outside of the ring and some hard-hitting action on the inside afterward.
Yuki Aino and Yamashita’s battles popped on the screen while Endo and Mizuki were a fun pairing.
The main event of the second night pitted Uta Takami & Mizuki against Miu Watanabe & Suzume.
Everyone got a chance to flex here. Watanabe did her usual feats of strength which got the crowd hyped. A frenzied Takami was a delight to watch. What an entertaining little gremlin she is, and TJPW wisely paired her with Mizuki, making for quite the intriguing team. Suzume continues to have an impressive year, blotting the scene with moments of electric athleticism.
The word that comes to mind throughout the whole tag clash is “fun.”
Austin fans were blessed to see a fresh chapter rivalry between two of TJPW’s cornerstones when Miyu Yamashita took on Shoko Nakajima. These two have been battling since the company’s infancy and been opposite sides of many a championship match.
Their chemistry propelled this bout from the opening bell.
Yamashita dominated early on, kicking every part of The Biggest Kaiju’s frame. It got to the point where Miyu seemed to be toying with her, a cat playing with a half-dead mouse. But Nakajima charged back and thrilled as she dove out of the ring, darted into the fray.
The rivals hit hard and ramped up the intensity as the match went on. They were just clicking and the crowd ate it up.
If you only watch one match from the Texas trip, this is the one to choose.
Dallas
College Park Center, home of the Dallas Wings, hosted night three of the tour.
This was a solid show overall, but arguably the weakest of the tour in terms of in-ring output. It did, however, have some standout matches, including one that wasn’t originally on the card.
A great part of this event was how much it showcased fresh faces. Sakura Hattori was in the spotlight again. Shino Suzuki and Uta Takami both got singles bouts.
Once more, the card had Yuki Arai and Miu Watanabe on opposite sides of the ring. As much as these shows are about having fun and showing off what the brand is all about to the American audience, the company continued its march toward the impending Princess of Princess Championship match between those two wrestlers.
Best Moments
Gacha balls and the machine that housed them were Pom Harajuku’s weapon of choice this time around. She slid the gashapon on the arena floor and bowled over her opponent. Soon after, her partner Raku flung the gacha to interrupt the ref’s count and save Pom from defeat.
This was classic Pom and Raku silliness that also tied in the tour’s sponsor Tokyo Story USA. Give these two anything and they’re sure to create some chaos with it.
In the three-way match between Hyper Misao, Rika Tatsumi, and Mizuki, Misao’s bicycle tire blew mid-attack but the ever-resourceful superhero tried to fling the bike at her foes instead. Of course, she ended up crashing into a pyramid of stacked folding chairs. That seemed like it going to be the most memorable moment of the night before Mizuki dove off the entrance framework.
Mizuki tossed a dash of ECW energy into the mix with a gorgeous jump off the metal structure.
Leave it to the Popping Sugar Rabbit to create a lasting image like this. She has a tendency to create viral moments.
Best Matches
Mizuki vs. Rika Tatsumi vs. Hyper Misao wasn’t even supposed to be on the card. TJPW had to pivot to this bout after Jada Stone wasn’t able to make it to Dallas. Well, things sure worked out in the end.
This three-way clash had the crowd fired up.
It had a little of everything: Hyper Misao shenanigans, fierce offense from Rika, a brawl on the entrance ramp, alliances forming and dissolving in mere seconds. Overall, a solid blend of a Misao-style match and a more traditional (semi) main event.
The afternoon’s final showdown delivered, as well. Miu Watanabe and Miyu Yamashita teamed up to face Shoko Nakajima and Yuki Arai. This pairing served as another preview for Watanabe and Arai’s Princess of Princess title match and once more adding to the brewing bad blood.
This featured Miu hitting a gorgeous spinning scoop slam, Nakajima’s acrobatics, and ample intensity between Arai and Watanabe. Miu did such a great job with her facial expression and body language, expressing wariness and ferocity that popped on the screen.
There were definitely a few awkward moments between them, but for the most part, Yamashita and Nakajima’s chemistry shined. Their exchanges pulsed with energy. Their ongoing history added to the stakes.
Surely, far from the last main event where these two will meet.
Houston
TJPW closed things out where it made its Texas debut last year: POST Houston. The dining and shopping center again transformed a corner of its space into a wrestling arena, complete with the winding stairs in the background.
Vert Vixen and Kaylia Capri joined the regular teej crew. Hyper Misao tried one last time to save a Texas city, this time against the pillow-wielding Raku. Sakura Hattori got another one-on-one opportunity. And in the main event, Daydream (Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe) added Arisu Endo to the fold in a showdown against Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima, and Uta Takami.
The sold-out crowd watched on as up-and-comers continued their rise and TJPW’s stars shone bright in H-town.
Best Moments
This tour has been a coming-out party for Sakura Hattori. The Houston stop emphasized that.
The masked wrestler got one of the bigger reactions from the crowd during her entrance.
Then fans chanted her name with gusto during her match against Mifu Ashida.
This is all new territory for the former Kaya Toribami. She’s gotten over quickly, at least with the Texans, and will return to Japan with all kinds of momentum.
Pom Harajuku, meanwhile, was being her usual menace self.
Against Yuki Arai, Pom made sure early that she had an advantage. Before the opening bell even dinged, she was darting away from ringside to grab two cardboard cutouts. One of herself and one of Arai.
Pom then used the 2-D likenesses to hide from and confuse her foe. She also wielded them like weapons. Arai may have gotten the victory in the end, but this is further proof that Pom is the real Cerebral Assassin.
Best Matches:
The opener rocked. This is how you kick off a show, with electricity and athleticism.
Yuki Aino and Vert Vixen took on Suzume and Shino Suzuki. That pairing allowed TJPW to have some of its best in-ring workers going at it all at once.
Aino and Vixen both had a heel tint to their attack, something that would be terrific to see more of in the future. Suzume and Shino had good chemistry with each other, as well. Vixen fits in so well with everyone, her power elevating the action around her.
The show closed with a trios match that was a beacon of joy and chaos.
It had laughs and acrobatic exchanges, six larger-than-life personalities each getting a share of the spotlight. This delivered all the spots you’d expect, from Riku choking the daylights out of Uta to Miu swinging Takami around as if she intended to launch her into space.
Afterward, Miu addressed the crowd with the POP title draped over her shoulder. She said something to the effect of “TJPW will come back to Texas again.” With as well as the company has been doing with ticket sales, that’s no huge surprise.
As a Houston native, I selfishly hope this happens. But the volume and size of the crowd prove that I’m not alone. Austin, Houston, and Dallas fans are sure to welcome back TJPW warmly and loudly next year or beyond.
RESURA 