Maki Itoh Announces Departure From TJPW

By: Noah Leatherland

Maki Itoh has announced via her X page that she is leaving TJPW. In her post, Itoh revealed that August 23rd was the last date in her contract.

Itoh’s last appearance in the company was a losing effort to Yuki Arai on the undercard of the Tokyo Princess Cup finals. Before departing the ring, the often foul-mouthed and bird-flipping Itoh showed her opponent a measure of respect. In her backstage comments after the match, Itoh noted:

“I’ve got no comment. I’ve left everything I’ve got on the ring, so work it out for yourselves. That’s Maki Itoh’s comment.’ (Translated by Deepl)

Itoh had her first match for TJPW back in January 2017 and had been a regular fixture of the roster ever since. She finishes her TJPW run with two reigns as International Princess Champion, and two reigns as Princess Tag Team Champion with Miyu Yamashita.

In her post on X, Itoh noted that she will continue her wrestling career elsewhere. Over the past few years, Itoh has made more and more appearances on the US independent circuit. She has most notably competed in Game Changer Wrestling, where she held the GCW Extreme Championship for nearly a year. With a fanbase both in Japan and in the West, Itoh’s TJPW departure leads up to speculate on where she might take her talents next. Wherever Itoh ends up, she will most definitely still be the cutest in the world.