Two teams left. That’s it. The Max Heart semi-finalists battled in the Kasukabe Fureai Cube and now the finals are set.
A powerhouse team met some gutsy up-and-comers. Former champs took on a hero and a kaiju. And they all produced some entertaining action along the way.
There’s a good amount to enjoy here from start to finish. The rookies got some time to strut their stuff early on the card before the tournament matches took center stage. Let’s dive into all of it, starting with Ms. Weaponized Ponytail herself.
HIMAWARI vs. Mahiro Kiryu
You gotta look past the result on this one. Yes, the stronger, bigger Kiryu outmuscled the rookie, but everything before that is telling.
This match was built around HIMAWARI. The story of it was her valiant attempt to slug her way to an upset. She got the bulk of the offense and had the crowd behind her big time.
It’s clear TJPW thinks highly of HIMAWARI. With good reason. She has a dynamic energy. She stands out. Her vibe very much gels with TJPW.
Whether she’s winning or not, HIMAWARI is going to be outshining folks this year.
Wakana Uehara vs. Mizuki
A solid little match.
Just like with HIMAWARI, Wakana got a lot of time to work with. And she didn’t look out of place in there with the much more experienced star. She played Mizuki’s pesty, feisty foe pretty dang well.
In the end, though, Mizuki adds to her growing string of wins. The buildup to her Princess of Princess title bout with Yuka Sakazaki continues. She ain’t losing until then, but the big question at that point is does her fellow Magical Sugar Rabbit halt that streak and crush her championship dreams. I remain an optimist here and believe in The Year of the Rabbit.
Raku vs. Yuki Aino vs. Haruna Neko
Raku doesn’t give a damn. She was jumping from mid-match alliance to mid-match alliance. One minute, she’d be double-teaming Neko with her tag partner Aino, the next, she would be working with The Cat to beat on Aino. And she was kicking everyone in the gut with glee in her face.
But if you are a god, you don’t have to play by mortals’ rules.
You got some comedy moments as you’d expect with Raku at the center, but they didn’t lean into her shtick as much as normal. I think that’s in part because of Raku’s in-ring improvement, allowing her to focus on that side of the game more. I predicted on the latest episode of The Ocean Cyclone Show (coming soon!) that Raku will have a four-star match this year.
Here’s hoping the god in yellow will make me look smart before long.
Suzume, Yuki Arai, and Arisu Endo vs. Kaya Toribami, Nao Kakuta, and Hikari Noa
Daisy Monkey plus the pop star vs. Team Free Wi-Fi and the bird doesn’t just round out the card, it’s an entertaining match. If you’re skipping up to the tournament bouts, don’t fast-forward past this one.
Team Free Wi-Fi were absolute menaces, abusing Endo, yanking on her hair, loving every minute of it. Turn that real villain shit dial up. TJPW could use it.
The action was fast-paced and came from every direction. Everyone got a chance to shine. Yuki Arai’s evil face while applying the Sharpshooter remains undefeated. And Suzume’s speed never fails to wow me.
Currently wishing a Suzume vs. AZM match into existence.
Maki Itoh and Miyu Yamashita vs. Moka Miyamoto and Juria Nagano (Max Heart Semi-Finals)
Hell yeah. What a match.
121000000 whooped up on the less experienced team for much of this. Itoh and Yamashita were a pair of bulldozers just powering their way to an easy win. The Karate Girls, though, showed all kinds of heart and made things mighty interesting down the stretch.
They really made me believe that maybe, just maybe a huge upset was in the works.
Juria willing herself free from one of Itoh’s attempts to put her in the Itoh Special was great. Same for Moka’s babyface fire.
In the end, TJPW went with the bigger names to send to the finals. Now we are ever so close to Yamashita actually winning a tournament, her one empty spot on her resume.
Hyper Misao and Shoko Nakajima vs. Miu Watanabe and Rika Tatsumi (Max Heart Semi-Finals)
Things didn’t look good for Misao and Nakajima for the longest. Things started with Miu and Rika cold-spraying Misao in the eyes. Then the former tag champs proceeded to zero in on their opponents’ legs.
Shoko hurt her knee early on and Miu put boots to it. Tatsumi, meanwhile, handed out her own limb abuse to Misao.
It was a fun ride to see Shoko battle back and get the pin for her team.
The talk will now be about Misao and Shoko’s chances in the finals, but let’s not fail to mention how good Watanabe was here, as usual. There was a moment where Misao locked her in the chicken wing and Miu was starting to pass out and she just fought with every part of her being to stay conscious. That’s the kind of thing Miu does super well.
She now gets to focus on defending her International Princess Championship while Nakajima and Misao try to take down two titans in the finals. Best of luck with that.
Next up, TJPW’s anniversary PPV and one-night tournament on Jan. 30. Look out for a column of mine about Teej being around 10 years that includes firsthand quotes from Raku, Miu Watanabe, Yuki Arai, Maki Itoh, and Miyu Yamashita.
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.