Opinions

TKW: This Week in Joshi

J.P. Tokusen

Joshi rules. As a fan of women’s pro wrestling, and most things Japan, it’s hard not to invest in some of the best women’s wrestling Japan has to offer. I will do my best to start a weekly to bi-weekly column which will feature noteworthy news from the Joshi scene. This includes news and results from STARDOM, Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, Marigold, Sendai Girls, and much more.

I speak intermediate Japanese, I’m taking my second trip back to Japan this summer, and I’m getting tired of the IWC’s constant kindergarten mindset when it comes to the WWE/AEW “war”.

So let’s just have some fun and dive into the wonderful world of Joshi. With that, let’s check some major happenings in the scene right now.

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TJPW CROSS Event Announced; Natsupoi Returns

TJPW

On May 20th, Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling held a brief press conference for their upcoming event: CROSS on July 6th. The main event will feature Nao Kakuta, who announced that she will retire by the end of July from pro wrestling earlier this year, teaming up with Tae Honma to take on the STARDOM duo of Natsupoi and Saori Anou. The event will be held at Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo.

All four women debuted on the very first Actwres girl’Z show together back in 2015.

While sharing talent across promotions is very common in Joshi, it’s hard not to see the recent partnership of TJPW and STARDOM as a sign of potential future talent exchanges. With Rossy Ogawa starting Marigold (and taking some STARDOM talent with him), TJPW and STARDOM could become very beneficial partners in the future.

It’s also worth noting that both STARDOM and TJPW talent have made appearances in AEW, including Maki Itoh and Miyu Yamashita (TJPW) and Mina Shirakawa and AZM (STARDOM). On May 18th, Willow Nightingale defended her TBS Championship against Tam Nakano at STARDOM’s Flashing Champions event in a successful showing.

It’s hard to read too much into one match, but with Marigold fresh on the Joshi scene, and their rumored potential affiliation with WWE, perhaps an strengthened alliance between TJPW and STARDOM is on the horizon.

Here is the card for July 6th:

Cherry vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi *Special Guest Referee: Himeka

Nao Kakuta Graduation Memorial Battle Royal (everyone will dress in Nao Kakuta’s past/current wrestling gear in this match): Yuki Arai, Mizuki, Arisu Endo, Suzume, Pom Harajuku

HIMAWARI vs. Maika Ozaki

Nao Kakuta & Tae Honma vs. Natsupoi & Saori Anou

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GIULIA Injured – Results of first Marigold Show

 

Quick Results

  1. Nanae Takahashi defeated Victoria Yuzuki (14:15)
  2. Miku Aono defeated Nao Ishikawa (8:55)
  3. MIRAI defeated CHIAKI (11:30)
  4. Mai Sakurai & Zayda Steel vs. Myla Grace & Nagisa Nozaki *DRAW* (15:00)
  5. Chika Goto & Kouki Amarei defeated Misa Matsui & Natsumi Showzuki (12:30)
  6. Bozilla & Sareee defeated Giulia & Utami Hayashishita (28:06)

The first Dream Star Marigold show was a success, and was generally well received. The main event lived up to expectations with Saree showing the world why WWE/NXT really dropped the ball with her.  Utami Hayashshita is still a potential future ACE of the company, and Bozilla is well…tall. Go look her up. She was impressive in her debut.

Sadly, however, Giulia fractured her arm during the match, which will put her out of action (including her WWE debut) for some time.

In a statement released by Marigold:

“Giulia’s right wrist was injured in yesterday’s inaugural match. Today, her doctor examined her and diagnosed her with a fracture. Unfortunately, she will miss the Hana Kimura show on the 23rd, and upcoming shows for the time being. We apologize and thank you for understanding.”

Next Marigold Events Just Announced:

7/6 Osaka – 176BOX 1:00PM
7/7 Niigata – Higashi Ward Plaza 1:00PM
7/13 Tokyo – Ryogoku Kokugikan 2:30PM ~MARIGOLD Summer Destiny2024~
7/20 Tokyo – Shinkiba 1stRING 12:00PM

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Hana Kimura Tribute Show

May 23rd will see the fourth annual Hana Kimura tribute show.

Kimura tragically took her own life on May 23rd 2020. There has been a tribute show in her honor every year on that date. A highly featured talent in STARDOM, Kimura will always be remembered for her bright personality, charismatic nature, and in-ring prowess. A victim of cyberbullying, Hana’s memory will always serve as a reminder of the darkness that can lurk within social media circles.

Giulia, who was scheduled to appear on this show, will be replaced by Utami Hayashishita in a match against Veny. The cards is full of talent from STARDOM, TJPW, Sendai Girls, Marigold, and more.

The full card is below:

-Rina vs. Yuna
-Yuko Miyamoto & Dash Chisako vs. Masato Tanaka & Ryo Mizunami
-Veny vs. Utami Hayashishita
-Super Delfin, Super Shisa & Menso-re Oyaji vs. Aja Kong, Ram Kaicho & Jinsei Shinzaki
-Tatsuhito Senga, Tsutomu Oosugi, Fuminori Abe, Menumori Sawa, Shotaro Ashino, Seigo Tachibana, Cherry, Hanako Nakamori, Tsukasa Fujimoto, Sakura Hirota and Yumiko Hotta (BATTLE ROYALE)
-God’s Eye (Syuri & Konami) and Saori Anou vs. Mika Iwata, Chihiro Hashimoto and Miyuki Takase vs. Kaori Yoneyama, Saree and Mio Momono

You can catch the Hana Kimura tribute show on the TrillerTV streaming service.

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Hikaru Shida to Appear at TJPW Event

Hikaru Shida has been announced for TJPW’s June 9th event at Korakuen Hall. She will face Moka Miyamoto in her first appearance in TJPW since Summer Sun Princess 22′.

This is Shida’s first match since April 5th when she faced ROH Women’s World Champion Athena in a losing effort. In her absence from AEW, Shida has continued her YouTube channel where she livestreams games.

If you want to hear her sing and mark out like a total nerd to Yakuza Kiwami 2 (which features Kazuchika Okada as a character), check out the video below.

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Sendai Girls Results – 5/19/2024

The latest Sendai Girls event took place from Kariya City Industrial Promotion Center. Quick results courtesy of PWMania/Cagematch.

Riko Kawahata defeated Yuna via Northern Light Suplex (8:36)

Sendai Girls Tag Team Champion Ryo Mizunami defeated Yura Suzuki via Ichijiku (9:44)

Kurumi Hiiragi defeated Sendai Girls Tag Team Champion Manami via Hitodenashi Driver (10:15)

Tag Team Match
Team 200kg (Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu) defeated Dash Chisako & Maria via Bare Bears (14:17)

Tag Team Match
Sendai Girls World Champion Mika Iwata & Miyuki Takase defeated Mio Momono & Yurika Oka via Raine on Oka (14:59)

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That’s all for now. Until then, remember, Japan is awesome. I will always invite anyone to enjoy the beauty of their country and culture, which includes their great women’s wrestling products.

またね!

-TKW