By Mark Worrall@hoohoowozza
Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall – 07.07.2019
The Tokyo Joshi Pro Princess cup entered its final show of five with both the semi-finals and Final to be decided as we look to crown a new Tokyo Princess cup Champion.
MINA SHIRAKAWA def. POM HARAJUKU
Short opener this with the excitable Harajuku having to be lead through the match and this was visible to the eye as the more competent Shirakawa did not succumb to Harajuku’s shin kicks but controlled her opponent with considerable ease, winning in no time with an implant DDT. Harmless.
TOKYO PRINCESS CUP – SEMI FINAL
YUNA MANASE def. YUKA SAKAZAKI
No surprise that AEW have taken Sakazaki onto their roster with performances such as in this match! Even in defeat she looked terrific against a rather nervous or maybe even overwhelmed Manase who upset the tournament by progressing to the final with what may be seen as a shock win. Sakasaki was inventive throughout the match, twisting not only her body but also her opponents to apply moves that may not seem possible with an opponent such as Manase who is the larger of the ladies. Manase relied on power and after having her neck worked over by Sakazaki she was able to gain some control after it seemed poor Yuka had hurt her left leg after jumping from the top rope landing on Manase. Yuna took the advantage of working the supposed injured leg, applying a Boston crab which would become a one legged crab and even though Sakazaki rallied back, Manase surprised her opponent with a rolling elbow which she followed up with ‘Suzuki Dynamic’ to the gasps of the crowd as Manase moves on. Manase looked taken aback with her win and the reality of one more match to prove herself and maybe the cup could be hers!
TOKYO PRINCESS CUP – SEMI FINAL
MIZUKI def. NATSUMI MAKI
Mizuki has by far faced the toughest route to the finals as she faced another favourite here, although this was an evenly paired match up against Natsumi Maki, Mizuki has beaten the ace Miyu Yamashita and current promotion champion Shokjo Nakajima on reaching the Semi’s! Natsumi has looked impressive throughout her run as she went back and forth with Mizuki to start, both showing good athleticism until both had the idea of a crossbody which halted the flow with Mizuki desperately turning to roll-ups to put Maki away. Natsumi got nasty, turning to hair pulling with Mizuki also countering with hair pulling as this got a little heated as Maki took some control, getting frustrated in the process at not being able to put Mizuki away. In fact it was Natsumi’s attempt at a German that saw Mizuki roll her up stealing the win! Mizuki’s dream progression continues with Natsumi looking a little upset, although there was a nice show of appreciation post match!
NODOKA TENMA/RAKU/YUMI def. YUKI KAMIFUKU/HIMAWARI UNAGI/MAKOTO KIRYA
As a completist I find myself having to watch every match on the card, you never know what you may miss! This match was a run of the mill six-woman tag, nothing special with Tenma and Kamifuku the more experienced each leading out a team of relative newbie’s with everyone on Kamifuki’s team seemingly wanting to wrestle Yumi. Several spots missed in the match, out of sync wrestling with Tenma leading the match and also picking up the win for her team after hitting her version of an ‘unprettier’ on Makoto Kirya. Highly skip-able if I am honest.
NEO BIISHIKI-GUN (SAKI SAMA/MISAO) def. YUKI AINO/MIRAI MAIUMI
One sided affair with Saki Sama and Misao virtually dominating their opponents throughout the match, although Yuki Aino shows a lot of improvement recently and looked good from the start and showed a lot of guts as this was almost like a handicap match. Maiumi was quite poor and no match for the Biishiki-Gun pairing who hold the tag titles and simply played around with poor Maiumi with Aino being kept out of the match, but when Aino did get some ring time she looked competent and kept her own which is understandable as she will pair up with her sister Nodoka Tenma next Saturday 13/7 for a shot at the titles. Saki Sama’s high boot put Maiumi away as she ate the pin; This was followed by Tenma, who was ringside like most of the roster are in Joshi attacking Saki Sama by gnawing at her arm, this obviously a result of being called a pig by Neo Biishiki-Gun at the contract signing at the start of the show!
SHOKO NAKAJIMA/HIKARI NOA/RIKA TATSUMI def. MIYU YAMASHITA/MAKI ITO/MIU WATANABE
Excellent six-woman tag with the better half of the roster demonstrating some really good wrestling that was non-stop for the entire match. Maki Ito and Hikari Noa exchanged middle fingers, and it was good to see Hikari returning the disrespectful finger although this came
back to bite her as she took a lot of punishment from the opposing team who had a lot of control over her. Yamashita still looks to be a shadow of her dominating self whilst she was champion; yes it’s still there, but not being the promotion champion seems to have had an effect on her, although the crowd are still behind her as she received the biggest pop of the show on her entrance! Closing stretch saw Watanabe and Nakajima mixing it up, Watanabe held her own and looked really good, however Nakajima countered and prevented Watanabe from executing her ‘Tear drop’ finisher with a DDT of her own setting her up for the Northern Lights suplex that finished the match. Terrific semi main that was bell to bell and a great way to liven up the crowd for the main event.
TOKYO PRINCESS CUP FINAL
MIZUKI def. YUNA MANASE
The closing stretch to this match was terrific, and so it should be for a final! Yuna looking as overwhelmed as she did in the semi’s caused Mizuki a great deal of difficulty from the start as Mizuki struggled to cope with the bigger lady, her size difference and Yuna’s power as she methodically picked at Mizuki, albeit a little clumsy at times and if I’m to be honest, Yuna’s slow offence silenced the crowd. Mizuki looked to another form of offence, submission work, but yet again, her attempt to lock Manase into a bow and arrow failed so Mizuki began to fly, a crossbody onto Yuna ringside seemed to liven up the crowd and the match switched gears! Mizuki resorted to submission work again which Yuna sold really well and this seem to inspire Manase and the closing moments had the crowd in the palm of their hands. Back and forth, Yuna finding those power moves with two strong lariats that had the crowd believing and Yuna herself! This was to be Mizuki’s day as she capitalised on Yuna’s missed high kick dropping her into a back stabber which she followed with a double stomp from the top that almost had the match, but the finish came when Mizuki hit the ‘Cutie Special’ to take the Tokyo Princess cup.
Mizuki no doubt had the toughest route to the finals; however she performed excellently throughout and now receives a title shot for the Princess of Princess title very soon. Nice show of appreciation from current champion Shoko Nakajima post match
