TJPW Autumn Tour (Dec. 3) Review
Not Exactly Must-See Material
(Credit: TJPW)
No one is going to revoke your Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling superfan card if you fast forward past an opener with The Cat and some middling midcard fare to the get to the good stuff.
At this Yokohama Radiant Hall show, fans some more of Millie McKenzie doing her thing and Raku return after having to step away due to COVID. A six-woman tag got us ready for Yuka Sakazaki vs. Miyu Yamashita. Pom took a hostage.
Despite all the happenings, a lot of the stuff on the Yokohama show was just okay. Check out those last two matches. The rest of it is for hardcores and folks looking to kill some time until all the massive events on their way.
Mizuki vs. Haruka Neko
The Mizuki for Princess of Princess Championship contender campaign rolls on!
Don’t watch the match. Just log the result—another singles win for Mizuki which makes number 5 in a row.
She’s been extra eye-catching in the ring of late, but she’s no miracle worker. She can’t make a Neko match anything but a slog. This was slow and lifeless, and I ain’t putting that on the Popping Sugar Rabbit.
Hyper Misao and Kaya Toribami vs. Raku and Yuki Aino
Raku and Aino took a nap in the center of the ring before the bell. Talk about relatable. I would sure as hell need a quick rest before doing all that running around.
(Credit: TJPW)
Misao didn’t rely on her usual bag of tricks. No cold spray. No rolling people in a mat. No shenanigans at all really. That was her downfall. When you go up against a team that is half god, you need to do extra cheating, not play it straight.
Action-wise, nothing noteworthy here. Just a little undercard fun.
Glad to see Raku back and teaming with Aino again. They are a good pairing that should get more airtime.
Rika Tatsumi vs. Pom Harajuku
Pom knew she had an uphill climb here, so went to the hold-Neko-hostage-outside-the-ring-as-a-distraction well rather quickly.
There was a certain poetry to each wrestler zeroing in on the other’s leg and smashing the hell out of it. Pom did her damage in her usual comical style; Tatsumi was more of a tactician.
Pom showed some good heart as an aggressive Rika dominated her for much of the bout. She hasn’t slowed down on the silly side of her shtick, but more and more she’s infusing more traditional wrestling, and becoming quite the intriguing babyface as a result.
Miu Watanabe vs. Mahiro Kiryu
Both wrestlers were solid in a fine match. We got the usual beats from both Miu and Mahiro.
Kiryu is smart opponent for Watanabe, making the International Princess champ look even stronger by having her physically overpower a bigger woman. In between Miu’s big title defenses (Trish Adora, here we come!), though, maybe she should be straight up squashing people. Put in one of those trainees and let Miu go all out ripping her apart.
Shoko Nakajima and Suzume vs. Millie McKenzie and Yuki Kamifuku
Hey now! Millie McKenzie is kicking ass in TJPW.
What a get she’s been. After tearing it up against Miyu Yamashita at All Rise, the Brit bruiser showed out in this tag match where her size and power made for a fun dynamic against the smaller, faster Suzume and Shoko.
This was a high-octane match with plenty of big spots. Suzume dropped Millie on her head with a facebuster; Shoko nailed a top rope Tiger Feint Kick!
If you are watching this show piecemeal style, don’t skip this one. Lots of fun action to chew on.
Arisu Endo, Hikari Noa, and Yuka Sakazaki vs. Maki Itoh, Miyu Yamashita, and Moka Miyamoto
A satisfying main event did exactly what it was supposed to do—showcase everyone involved and serve as a preview of the Sakazaki vs. Yamashita Princess of Princess Championship match set for January 4.
Intensity throughout made this an entertaining watch. You could really feel the tension between Yuka and Miyu when they were mixing it up. Hikari Noa and Maki Itoh also showed off some palpable animosity.
The champ and her squad had fun out there. And there’s something so chilling/hilarious about Yuka grinning so sweetly as she’s beating on somebody. But ultimately, Yamashita got the pin and the momentum that comes with it as she charges toward a possible 4th reign with the POP title.
There are but a few opportunities to hype that story and match. TJPW has three more shows scheduled for the month including Mizuki’s anniversary show on Dec. 15. Let’s see who else suffers Yamashita’s wrath during her pursuit of gold.
Ryan Dilbert is a columnist for Wrestle Inn, the host of Flight of 5, co-host of the Ocean Cyclone Show, and a below-average social media user. You can find links to his work on his linktr.ee.