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TJPW Summer Sun Princess 2023 Review

1 year ago
SSP 2023

TJPW Summer Sun Princess 2023 Review

By: Mitchell Adams

As Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling’s biggest annual summer event, fans had high expectations for this year’s Summer Sun Princess held in the 4,000-seat Ota Ward Gymnasium in Tokyo – perhaps too high! While the show was far from bad it’s doubtful to be considered and instant classic.

The undercard, while loaded with fresh up-and-coming Joshi talent from TJPW’s dojo didn’t dazzle like surely Koda-san hopes they will one day. Fans looking for events they can show their friends to turn them into Tokyo Joshi-Pro superfans, this might not be the show. However, there were flashes of brilliance – notably the spectacular main event between Princess of Princess champion Mizuki and the ever-bombastic Maki Itoh, a big bright spot and maybe one of the best matches in the promotion’s recent history.

The event also saw DEFY champ Vert Vixen and AEW’s Nyla Rose enter into the fray from America, along with EVE Championship challenger Sawyer Wreck, while fans eager to see Yuki Aino take the TJPW’s number two strap off champ Rika Tatsumi gave the International Princess Title bout a big-match feel.

Mizuki, at 28 years of age is having a career year in TJPW. Ever since defeating her tag team partner and one-half of the Magical Suger Rabbits Yuka Sakazaki for the POP title at Grand Princess, she has seemed unstoppable. A mere thirteen days later on March 31st she and Sakazaki defeated Maki Itoh and Miyu Yamashita for the Princess Tag Team Championship at TJPW Live in Los Angeles. Mizuki went on to defend both belts for several months until her partner Yuka suffered a bad neck injury, forcing them to vacate the Championship. But even with that bump on the road, Mizuki has roared on all gears racing full speed ahead toward this main event.

 

 

The match itself was like a pendulum. First Itoh would get the advantage then Mizuki would return fire with several big moves, but Itoh would quickly counter. Itoh…Mizuki…Itoh…Mizuki back and forth back and forth until even the referee was exhausted. Fans should really start sparing a thought now and then for the health and well-being of Joshi competitors because it is insane how much punishment they endure in the ring. From Itoh smashing Mizuki’s head into the canvas with several dangerous-looking DDT’s and bending her like a pretzel with a Liontamer that would make Chris Jericho envious. To Mizuki hitting repeated flying double stomps to Itoh’s torso, back, and neck that if a chiropractor were watching they’d be seeing gold bars instead of dollar signs, you could almost feel the pain both athletes must have been feeling!

However in the end, despite the crowd being 100% behind Maki Itoh and many believing that it was finally her time, Mizuki survived several vicious headbutts to hit her signature bridging fallaway slam for the win. The English commentary team noted the heartbreak Itoh must have been feeling and stated that perhaps she was destined to always be a bridesmaid and never a bride in Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling. If that is truly the case, some may question why Itoh doesn’t try to win “the big one” elsewhere…but that is a conversation that deserves its own article here at Monthly Puroresu.

 

 

Full Results:

  • Suzume & Arisu Endo def. Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano
  • Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko, HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki def. Kaya Toribami, Toga, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo
  • Ryo Mizunami & Nao Kakuta def. Yuki Kamifuku & Asuka
  • DEFY Women’s Title: VertVixen (c) def. Hikari Noa
  • 3 Way Tag Team Match: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao def. Aja Kong & Raku and Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
  • Nyla Rose def. Miu Watanabe
  • EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) def. Sawyer Wreck
  • Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel def. Yuki Arai & Wakana Uehara
  • International Princess Title: Rika Tatsumi (c) def. Yuki Aino
  • Princess of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) def. Maki Itoh

Rapid Fire Takeaways:

  • The audio issues during the event were very noticeable and something TJPW’s production team might have to iron out with Wrestle Universe. Fans online complained about buffering during the event’s broadcast on Wrestle Universe as the broadcast switched from English commentary to Japanese commentary sporadically
  • Miyu Yamashita’s dominant 2023 World Tour continued back home with a victory. She heads to England soon, and back to Japan before returning to America this Fall.
  • VertVixen’s debut was impressive and heartwarming, with Japanese fans throwing their support behind her
  • Nyla Rose looked right at home in a TJPW ring and played a great foil to the strong-style of Miu Watanabe
  • The event didn’t manage a sell-out with only 1,222 fans in attendance, similar to the Ariake Arena show in Spring
  • The 3-Way Tag Match provided most of the laughs of the night illustrating once again how TJPW does comedy as good or better than DDT Pro
  • Yuki Kamifuku and Asuka once again provided fans with an extremely entertaining entrance to the tune of Telephone by Lady Gaga

Date:

July 8, 2023

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