Yuki Arai Retains Princess of Princess Championship over Arisu Endo at TJPW Yes! Wonderland

By Noah Leatherland

TJPW were back in Korakuen Hall for this year’s edition of Yes! Wonderland. In front of a capacity crowd, the night was punctuated by a trio of title matches on the top end of the card.

Before the action kicked off, the TJPW fans in attendance were greeted by Momo Sato, the promotion’s newest trainee. Sato made her first appearance for TJPW in the DDT Heavymetalweight Title battle royale at GRAND PRINCESS back in March. Fans might not need to wait too long before seeing her back in the ring.

The action kicked off with Ren Konatsu taking on Shion Kanzaki. Kanzaki entered Korakuen Hall yet to claim her first career win. She battled with intensity, but her hunt for that first win continues. Once Konatsu had Kanzaki locked into the Rings of Saturn, the rookie was forced to tap out.

The next bout saw trios action take centre stage. HIMAWARI, Chika Nanase and Shino Suzuki made up the team on one side of the ring. On the other, Wakana Uehara was joined by YuuRI and Kira Summer. Suzuki showed a lot of fight in this content, battling hard against her opponents even after suffering the brunt of their offence. HIMAWARI used her braids to great effect, much to the delight of the Korakuen audience. Uehara put an end to the match, however, landing a Sushi Tornado on Nanase for the win.

More trios action followed. Mei Suruga made a rare appearance in TJPW, joining ranks with Mizuki and Uta Takami. They faced off against the chaotic team of Raku, Yuki Aino and Pom Harajuku. The match began once Raku’s team were woken from their nap on the cushioned bundles of streamers at ringside. While Suruga, Mizuki and Takami thrived when they built up the pace of the match, their opponents did their absolute best to disrupt their flow. Raku laid completely immovable in the middle of the ring, distressing Suruga. Suruga was also thrown off her game when her rope walk was interrupted by a scream in the face from Harajuku. On two ocassions, Harajuku attempted to use her shoes as weapons, only to have them tossed into the crowd. Mizuki managed to secure the win for her team, nailing Harajuku with a diving footstomp for the pinfall.

More tag action followed, this time in a duos setup. Mahiro Kiryu and Kakeru Sekiguchi teamed up to face Yuki Kamifuku and Aja Kong. While Kiryu and Sekiguchi did their best to confuse and misdirect their opponents, Kong had little time for their antics. Open hand strikes from Kong rocked their jaws, with Sekiguchi also receiving a backdrop suplex that Kong has been dumping opponents with for years. In the end, it was a fame-asser from Kamifuku that secured her team the win.

In a break from the action, it was announced that MIRAI will make a return to TJPW soon. She is set to compete at TJPW Stand Alone on June 7th in Korakuen Hall. This will be her first appearance in TJPW since losing the International Princess Title at GRAND PRINCESS.

The action resumed with a singles match between Toga and Ryu Mizunami. Mizunami stirred Korakuen Hall into a party atmosphere, only to deliver perhaps the most brutal match of the night. Toga and Mizunami battered and bruised each other with hard strikes. Toga valiantly fought hard against the seasoned veteran. However, Toga could not resist Mizunami’s spear. Mizunami wiped Toga out and claimed the win.

Next, the reborn team of K!SS took on Hyper Misao and Shoko Nakajima. Misao’s spray to the eyes helped her and Nakajima dominate the early goings. Sakura Hattori and Miyu Yamashita got a foothold in the match once their sharp kicks started to find their targets. Despite their forward momentum, Hattori faultered and found herself wrapped up in a pin from Nakajima, which the referee counted to three for.

After that, the International Princess Title was up for grabs as Suzume defended against Haru Kazashiro. Kazashiro set her sights on Suzume’s arm, inflicting plenty of damage. The damage reached a point where the crowd was on the edge of their seats as Suzume got locked into deadly submissions. While the hurt arm limited her usual offence, Suzume still managed to land a Ring-a-Bell cutter, laying out Kazashiro and maintaining her hold on the International Princess Title.

The Princess Tag Team Championship match followed, as The IInspiration defended against Rika Tatsumi and Miu Watanabe. Despite some slightly underhanded tactics and the synergy that the Aussies have built up for over a decade as a team, Tatsumi and Watanabe proved just too much. After the duo hit their Daydream Eternity double team, Watanabe scored the pinfall.

Watanabe and Tatsumi did not get to celebrate for long before their first challengers emerged. Mizuki and Uta Takami made their way to the ring, and announced their title challenge for TJPW Stand Alone next month.

In their post-match comments, The IInspiration had a few excuses for their loss, as well as a message on their future in TJPW.

The main event saw Yuki Arai make her second defence of the Princess of Princess Championship, facing off against Arisu Endo. The match evolved into an intense battle for the belt, with both women giving it their absolute all in front of the packed Korakuen Hall. To finish the intense, emotional contest, Arai struck Endo with her Finally axe kick, pinning the challenger and retaining the top prize in TJPW.

Arai’s next challenger made themselves known, and it was a surprising twist. Yuki Kamifuku will challenge Yuki Arai for the Princess of Princess Championship at TJPW Stand Alone. This will be Kamifuku’s first ever challenge for the promotion’s top belt. But, until then, Arai will reign as the face of TJPW.