Momo Sato to Face Ren Konatsu in Next Gen Tournament Finals at TJPW All Rise

By: Noah Leatherland

TJPW were in the KFC Hall in Ryogoku as the last stop before All Rise on November 8th. In the opening bout, Momo Sato punched her ticket to the Next Generation Tournament finals.

In the double elimination tournament, Ren Konatsu had swept the field, picking up wins over Momo Sato and Shion Kanzaki. With those two having picked up a win each on Chieri Sakimori, a face off between Sato and Kanzaki would decide the second participant in the tournament finals.

Despite being the less experienced of the two, Sato managed to get the upper hand on Kanzaki. Sato locked her into a single leg crab and forced a submission out of Kanzaki. With that win, Sato has secured herself the biggest match in her young career. Speaking backstage, Sato shared the thrill of the victory:

I made it to the finals. I’m so happy I was able to beat Shion, who I’ve always wanted to beat, and I feel like I’ve gotten stronger. My next match is the final against Konatsu on November 8th—I’ll keep this momentum going, and Momo Sato will definitely win and take home the trophy.

Meanwhile, Kanzaki bared her emotions as she reckoned with the loss:

Since I lost to Momo-chan, my Next Generation run is over … Ever since Momo-chan debuted, she was the one I beat for my very first victory. But rather than feeling happy when I won, I had this feeling that I might lose to her someday, and I voiced that sentiment in various places. I think that might have been my downfall. I also wanted to win here, advance to the finals, and get my revenge on Konatsu-san, but the fact that Shion wasn’t the one to make it to the finals is incredibly frustrating. Right now, I’m so frustrated that I can’t quite process my feelings, but I want to take a hard look at where I am now and do my best to keep growing.

(Quotes translated via DeepL)

Sato has a tall task ahead of her at TJPW All Rise. Due to the double elimination rules of the tournament, Sato will need to get two falls on Konatsu, while Konatsu only needs one. As a prize, the winner will get to make a request to TJPW for whatever they desire.

TJPW All Rise takes place on November 8th at Korakuen Hall.

Here are the full results for TJPW There May Not Be An Answer, But Let’s Wish For Happiness, courtesy of purolove.com:

• Next Gen Tournament: Momo Sato def. Shion Kanzaki (6:14)
• Sakura Hattori & Ren Konatsu def. Wakana Uehara & Chieri Sakimori (8:31)
• HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki def. Arisu Endo & Chika Nanase (11:36)
• Rika Tatsumi def. Kira Summer (11:15)
• Miyu Yamashita, Miu Watanabe & Mifu Ashida def. Mizuki, Mahiro Kiryu & Toga (8:50)
• Hyper Misao def. Yuki Kamifuku (8:57)
• Shoko Nakajima, Raku, Pom Harajuku & Uta Takami def. Yuki Arai, Yuki Aino, Haru Kazashiro & Suzume (18:56)