Masahiro Kubota | Monthly Puroresu | 2.10.24
By: Jeff Brown
TJPW was at Korakuen Hall for the finals of the Max Heart 4 Tournament. Daisy Monkey (Arisu Endo & Suzume) took on Daydream (Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe) in tournament finals and Yuki Arai defended her International Princess Title against Juria Nagano. The show started with the Up Up Girls featuring Uta (in place of Hikari Noa) in a performance of their newest song, “It’s a Battle!”
Earlier at #tjpwMHT4 we saw a big win by rookie Haru Kazashiro, an unruly President, a flying Bird and now the Champ is here!
Down the home stretch to find out who the top tag-team is in #tjpw here in 2024 pic.twitter.com/NZvIxCb9I6
— Monthly Puroresu (@MonthlyPuroresu) February 10, 2024
It was a nice showcase for Yuki Arai to show off everything she has learned in her short career and to have a chance to be the leader in a big singles match. Juria looked ready and was very smooth in the ring. Her career is coming to an end in March, but she has had a good collection of performances with a lot of hard striking and grace that belies her brief tenure. This saw Arai targeting the leg to ground the martial artist Juria in an attempt to dictate the tempo. Juria wouldn’t stay down, though, and fired up with a signature flurry of kicks and chops. The more battle-tested Arai was able to dodge the finishing kicks and hit her full nelson slam, followed by the Finally Kick to retain the International Princess title. Kamiyu was called to the ring and is the next challenger, with the two having the requisite stare down.
Juria Nagano: This was my first time that I’ve challenged for a singles championship. I gave it everything that I could, but Arai was stronger than me, and I wasn’t able to get the title. I’m grateful that Arai gave me the opportunity to face her for the belt.
There’s still ten more matches left for me until my graduation, and I’m glad I was able to have the experience of fighting for a singles championship in Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling.
Yuki Arai: Today I was able to defend my International Princess championship! It was my first time facing Juria one-on-one and to be honest, we hadn’t really gone up against each other that much in tag team matches either.
Her kicks are really great; there were a few times where I thought I’d lose consciousness.
But I’ve only just become the champion, and I was able to persevere and win because of my ambition to continue defending this belt in the future.
Before addressing reporters backstage, Juria Nagano announced her last match as a rookie is 3.31 #tjpw Grand Princess!
Another great addition making the leap into the Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling ring from pop culture, martial arts pic.twitter.com/tJmRyBEYHm
— Thom Fain (@ThomFain) February 10, 2024
The main event was an all-out war; the smaller Daisy Monkey were getting dominated as Miu imposed her will. Rika got involved and grinded away on both Suzume and Arisu Endo. Suzume got the advantage and did a diving cross-body to floor. At this point, the match was wide open with lots of special moves and even more counters as both teams were trying every trick in the book to get the final blow. Miu even did a double giant swing to Endo and Suzume, as well as a double power slam. Rika hit a double Twist of Fate, but when she went for a hip attack, Suzume dodged it and hit her Ring-A-Bell for the pin fall. The post-match saw Daisy Monkey call out the champions, YukiNiki (Ryo Mizunami and Yuki Aino), and then celebrate with their trophies as they finally got the big win.
Suzume: We finally got the result we wanted. I’m such a wreck right now, but we managed to defeat Daydream. I don’t know how many times I would’ve lost the match if I were by myself. Arisu gave me the strength to fight on at every opportunity. I refused to fall down and fought until the end knowing that she was encouraging me to not give up.
Arisu Endo: I believed in you every step of the way. Thank you… thank you so much. But now, I think we can aim higher than before, I know it!
Suzume: So, I guess we know where we’re headed – a big match against the champions at Ryogoku Sumo Hall!
Arisu Endo: We won’t stop our momentum, and we’re going for the Princess Tag Team titles.
Suzume: When we fought Mizunami and Aino at Ittenyon, they were much stronger than us, even if we gave it our all. But now, with these trophies, we have the power to beat them.
Arisu Endo: That’s right, I feel the same way. We can do it!
The undercard was a lot of fun and silliness that featured the younger roster getting much-needed experience as they continue to grow and improve. This was an important step to have Daisy Monkey get the tournament win and return to the title hunt. Miu Watanabe and Rika have already been champs, with Miu now focused on the Ace, Miyu Yamashita, in their Princess of Princess title match. This is a win-win situation for everyone and maximizes the potential of the newer players. TJPW continues to set up new faces in title scenes and has established stars in key positions to help guide the roster into its new era.
Haru Kazashiro def. Shino Suzuki
Yuki Kamifuku, Nao Kakutaa and Mahiro Kiryu def. Raku, Pom Harajuku, and Ram Kaichow
Kaya Toribami def. Moka Miyamoto
Kyoraku Kyomei (Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao) def /Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI
Mizuki def. Zara Zakher
YukiNiki (Ryo Mizunami, Yuki Aino) def. Miyu Yamashita, Toga
International Princess Championship: Yuki Arai def. Juria Nagano
Max Heart Tournament Final: Daisy Monkey (Arisu Endo, Suzume) def. Daydream (Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe)
All Photos by Masahiro Kubota for MP
Date:
February 10, 2024
Category:
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