Wakana Uehara & Yuki Kamifuku to Face Mizuki & Uta Takami in TJPW Max Heart Tournament Finals

By Noah Leatherland

The semi-finals of the TJPW Max Heart Tournament took place in Shinjuku FACE, with four teams looking to book their place in the finals. As the dust settled, the reigning tag champions Ober Eats confirmed their spot in the finals across from Uta Takami and Mizuki.

Takami and Mizuki came up against former Princess Tag Team champions, Daisy Monkey, in their semi-final bout. Despite being much less experienced as a duo, Takami and Mizuki managed to best Arisu Endo and Suzume. Combination offence that finished with Mizuki hitting the Cutie Special confirmed their place in the finals.

Ober Eats also had a formidable challenge as they came up against Max the Impaler and Pom Harajuku. However, Uehara and Kamifuku showed exactly why they stand at the top of the TJPW tag team division. They managed to divide and conquer, scoring a pin on Harajuku to book their spot in the Max Heart finals.

The closing moments of the show saw both finalist teams in the ring together, with a few words exchanged between them.

Kamifuku:

Hmph. Mizuki. You really are something else, Mizuki. You’re as cool as a cucumber, as if this were the most natural thing in the world. The kid surprised me, though. Mizuki. You were my debut opponent, but I’ve become this strong since Korakuen. So I’m thrilled to be fighting you again after all this time, and I’ll give it my all at Korakuen. Bring the kid along as an extra.

Uehara:

We’re in such a state right now, yet you two look so cool and collected. It’s infuriating! We’re absolutely going to win this tag tournament!

Takami:

Honestly, even I didn’t imagine we’d get this far when the tag tournament was decided. But we’ve fought hard to get here. Right now, I can see us winning it all.

Mizuki:

Honestly, I didn’t think we’d climb this far either, but it wasn’t some miracle – I believe we made it happen together. I want to win this tournament with Takami, and when we do, we’re taking those belts. We look forward to it.

Then, the champions addressed the fans, making a promise for the closing night of the Max Heart Tournament.

Uehara:

Last year, we didn’t even have a tag team name yet, and we were defeated in the semi-finals of this tournament, here in this very venue, by Max and Pom. But now, we can advance to the finals with the belts in our hands.

Kamifuku:

I’m not usually one to show my emotions. I don’t come across as particularly competitive. People’s emotions change constantly, 365 days a year. We are human beings, so Ober Eats is not ChatGPT or AI. We will deliver a very emotional and moving match that you won’t find from such sources. See you at Korakuen! Thank you very much!

(Quotes translated via DeepL)

The finals of the TJPW Max Heart Tournament take place on February 14th in Korakuen Hall.

Here are the full results of TJPW Max Heart Tournament Semi-Finals, courtesy of purolove.com:

• HIMAWARI def. Shion Kanzaki (6:24)
• Hyper Misao def. Shino Suzuki (8:16)
• Shoko Nakajima, Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro def. Yuki Arai, Mifu Ashida & Kira Summer (10:40)
• Miu Watanabe, Rika Tatsumi & Mahiro Kiryu def. Miyu Yamashita, Raku & Ren Konatsu (9:07)
• MIRAI & Sara Phoenix def. Toga & Chika Nanase (14:59)
• Max Heart Tournament – Semi Final: Mizuki & Uta Takami def. Suzume & Arisu Endo (13:16)
• Max Heart Tournament – Semi Final: Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara def. Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku (13:29)