A thread ran through TJPW Summer Sun Princess ‘26: the chance to prove yourself on a big stage.
Arisu Endo stepped up against a more powerful Aja Kong with that in mind. Momo Sato arrived on the Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling in her official debut. Yuki Arai continued her quest to show she truly belongs in this top spot with another defense of the Princess of Princess Championship.
TJPW Summer Sun Princess certainly had its hits as it told those stories.
Arai’s battle with Miyu Yamashita was a thriller. Endo shined, Mizuki mixed it up with a replacement opponent, and a top comedy wrestler did her thing under the TJPW spotlight.
Read on for a full look at everything that went down at Korakuen Hall including matches for the PoP, tag team titles and International Princess Championship.
Uta Takami & Ren Konatsu vs. Shion Kanzaki & Momo Sato
Momo Sato’s official debut kicked off the show.
The match started with a lot of solid, basic mat wrestling. A few bursts of action followed. Not a whole noteworthy to talk about.
Konatsu was the only real standout. Her offense was crisp and energetic including an eye-catching dropkick to knock the colorfully dressed Sato into the corner.
Sato, on the other hand, didn’t do much to grab our attention on day one. She did seem pretty comfortable in the ring for someone so green, so there’s that.
Rating: 5/10
Shin Hirota Katsushika Sakura & HIMAWARI & Mifu Ashida vs. Raku & Pom Harajuku & Chika Nanase
Sakura Hirota sighting! This was the famed comedy wrestler’s first TJPW match ever which is pretty surprising. Her goofy schtick is very much a fit for this promotion.
With the names involved in this one, you’d be zero percent surprised that this was unhinged from the jump.
Hirota tried to attack her opponents with booger-smeared fingers. Ashida swatted Nanase with HIMAWARI’s hair from upon her partner’s shoulders. Pom tumbled off the top rope attempting to tightrope it.
The bout moved from bit to bit with barely a breath in between. Much ridiculous fun was had. A good amount of the comedy landed for me, too.
Please come back, Hirota!
Rating: 7/10
Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro vs. MIRAI & Toga
MIRAI and Toga dominated Kazashiro early, and the two bruisers looked good fighting alongside each other. They dished out hard strikes and big slams. They flowed well together. If MIRAI wasn’t a freelancer, I’d start a petition to make this a full-time squad.
The action overall was solid but not special. The most drama came from the times the bout morphed into a battle of armbars between Haru and MIRAI.
This was a collection of wrestlers whose work I enjoy, but the end product didn’t have much spark.
It’s noteworthy, though, that Yuki and Haru got another victory together. They’ve now won six straight wins as a pair. Looks like TJPW is building up this duo, and I can get behind that.
Rating: 6/10
Aja Kong vs. Arisu Endo
A match with Aja Kong is a grueling test of one’s fighting spirit, and that’s exactly what we saw with Arisu Endo going after the legend.
Kong blasted with her kicks and Endo fought back—defiant, stubborn, heated. Aja mocked her and toyed with her, even using Endo’s own signature Camel Clutch against her. Despite Kong’s size, Arisu kept trying to hit her with a waterwheel suplex. She finally did, but the effort cost her, leaving her spent and vulnerable. Lovely detail to deepen the match.
Endo’s energy was infectious. Her selling was tremendous. Another showstopper performance for Endo.
A well-told story and smart match to book.
Rating: 8/10
Yuki Kamifuku & Kumadori & Sakura Hattori vs. Sanshiro Takagi & Yumehito Imanari & Mahiro Kiryu
After a video segment about Kamifuku, we got to see her amid a weird mix of talent. Kamiyu teamed up with TJPW’s resident ninja Sakura Hattori and masked freak athlete Kumadori to face the DDT president, Imanari from Ganbare Pro, and her former tag partner in Mahiro.
The break-dancing Kumadori can do some wild stuff in the ring. Hattori was pretty damn impressive in spurts herself. She and Kumadori looked cool working together, two masked blurs firing off a martial arts-inspired offense.
There are some good moments here, but I couldn’t connect with much of it.
There was some discussion online ahead of this event about TJPW having too many men on its card and pointing out Chris Brookes as an example of that. This match is the better example. I don’t care about these random dudes from DDT. Takagi has never done anything for me. There were so many better ways to spotlight Kamiyu and/or Hattori.
There’s a moment where Kamiyu instructs her two partners to go on the attack and they slide into position on command. The alpha leading her pack. It’s a glimpse into an alternate universe where Yuki took over the Sakisama role and became the promotion’s no. 1 sassy villain. The fact that I was thinking more about this than the actual match going on says a lot.
Rating: 4.5/10
Mizuki vs. Chris Brookes
This was supposed to be Mizuki vs. Willow Nightingale, but travel issues forced TJPW to make a switch. Plan B turned out pretty well.
It started with Mizuki smashing Brookes with her trusty rubber hammer and ended with Chris straight ragdolling her.
The fight spilled out into the crowd early and the Brit soon took control, manhandling The Popping Sugar Rabbit. This highlight of this was Brookes yanking Mizuki off the floor with one leg and dumping her into the ring. Damn, sir.
Mizuki battled back in thrilling fashion, spectacular Whirling Candy and all. I would have loved to have seen more of that and her outsmarting and out-speeding him to a win, but this was fun with a clear story.
Rating: 7.75/10
Suzume vs. Wakana Uehara (International Princess Championship)
In her fourth defense of the international title, Suzume had to fend off the woman with the bottomless stomach.
Wakana tried to match the champ with athleticism and found out she was much better off leaning on submission wrestling instead. You can see where they were going with this, but they just couldn’t make it pop.
Of course, they are some highlights—we are talking about Suzume here—but the whole thing lacked spark. It wasn’t as fast, smooth, or intense as Suzume’s best work. There’s a moment Wakana cranks on the Banana Pillow where it looks like Suzume might actually tap out. It’s one of the few exchanges with real bite.
I’ve long been a fan of Wakana and championed her, but it feels like she’s hit a wall. She hasn’t been able to go from good to great, from promising talent to bona fide star.
Rating: 6/10
Miu Watanabe & Rika Tatsumi vs. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (Princess Tag Team Championship)
Referee Matsui had no shot of keeping this under control. It was chaos from moment one. Sweet, sweet chaos.
In the ring, the teams dashed at each other in whirlwind action. Outside, it became a battle between the Hyper Mobile and Daydream’s man-catchers.
Letting Mahiro Kiryu drive the Hyper Mobile after getting hit with it for so many years was a fun moment. The same goes for Rika putting on a double figure-four to both challengers.
This was a fast–paced title bout with all the antics you’d expect from both teams. The action remained engaging whether it was leaning more silly or more serious. The teams know each other so well, and they were able to weave that into the match with counters, reversals, escapes.
A great defense for Watanabe and Tatsumi and a memorable entry into the Kyoraku Kyomei-Hakuchumu rivalry. The TJPW tag scene is crackling right now.
Rating: 8.5/10
Yuki Arai vs. Miyu Yamashita (Princess of Princess Championship)
The fourth and most massive title defense for Arai. Now she had to tangle with the Ace, the four-time champ, The Final Boss.
Arai’s defense went great her for in the early going with her outwrestling and outmaneuvering Miyu but then came the kicks. Yamashita blasted her in the chest, in the thigh. The champ fought right back, though.
Theirs was a sharp, fierce battle. We saw Arai have to turn up her aggression in order to beat Yamashita. Plenty of drama. Animosity overflowing.
Arai leaning way back on the Sharpshooter so she can look Miyu in the face will stick with me for a long time.
It’s time to stop doubting Arai. Sure, she took an unconventional path to this spot, but she’s earned the right to lead the company. She’s doing everything you want her to do as champ, including thriving against the indomitable Yamashita.
Arai looks poised to hold onto that gold until the end of the year, and there promises to be plenty of grandeur and greatness to take in along the way.
Rating: 9/10
RESURA 