Cero Reviews TJPW Tokyo Joshi Pro '22

[cero2k]

TJPW Tokyo Joshi Pro '22
January 4th, 2022
Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan

Mahiro Kiryu & Moka Miyamoto vs. Arisu Endo & Suzume - 4/10
Not sure when she debuted the look, but Miyamoto has a modified version of her old look, showing some muscle.

Match was ok, Endo and Suzume are one of my favorite teams in TJPW, so I probably enjoyed more than some, and for that matter, they're so good that they made Miyamoto and Kiryu, especially the latter, look bad. Endo tapped out Miyamoto with a camel clutch just as I was starting to think the match was going long.

New Year Tiger Child Rescue Match
Shoko Nakajima vs. Hyper Misao - 5/10
It's now tradition that Nakajima and Misao battle on January 4th, usually with a character change on the line. This time around, there is a stuffed tiger hanging for the ladder aspect of the match.

Notable spots were Misao wrapping Shoko on of the ring skirts while Misao tried to get the tiger, by getting on Kiryu's shoulders. Shoko brought out her kaijus and some gatcha capsules, dropped a ladder on Misao and then Frankensteinered her onto more Kaijus. Shoko at the end hit a 619, DDT, and big ladder senton before going for the tiger and getting the win.

Nao Kakuta & Yuki Kamifuku vs. Hakuchumu (Miu Watanabe & Rika Tatsumi) - 5.5/10
This was fun. Daydream are finally together and with a win. I enjoyed seeing Kamiyu pair up with them, they were a good complement to her and made her look good. Really liked the execution of Watanabe's swing on Kamiyu.

Marika Kobashi, Pom Harajuku & Raku vs. Haruna Neko, Nodoka-Oneesan & Yuki Aino - 5.5/10
Fun match. Nodoka and Kobashi are closing in on their graduation date, so I think this is the start of a series of matches where they'll be getting a strong spotlight, against each other and probably teaming up later on. The match was mostly spots here and there, but the pair up between Kobashi and Tenma was quite good, especially the guillotine that Kobashi locked in. Finish saw Tenma win with a pop-up Samoan drop on Pom.

Post-match - Nodoka tried to pass on her Oneesan gimmick to Pom, but Harajuku apologetically rejected the idea.

Yuka Sakazaki vs. Yuki Arai - 6.5/10
Really good match, up there with Arai's best match when she wrestled Yamashita in Nagoya. Sakazaki was in total control, but Arai had a couple of spots where she caught her by surprise and got some offense, but you never really saw Sakazaki lose control. Sakazaki won with a Magical Merry-Go-Round.

International Princess Title Match
Hikari Noa (c) vs. Maki Itoh - 7.5/10
Two years ago, I saw this match live, but Itoh was the champion back then, and Noa the challenger. Commentary did a good job telling you how this match is a big deal for Noa, defending the title against Itoh could establish her as a bigger name in the top echelon of the promotion, because even if she's the Intl champion, she's not considered to be one of the top 4.

Match was great, Itoh started working the back towards Itoh Deluxe and Itoh Punishment, but she also kept dropping Noa on her head when available. Noa mostly relied on strikes and slams, she tried to get a bit hardcore early on, but it backfired. Noa did managed to escape the Itoh Deluxe, but would later fall to the Punishment by referee stoppage.

As of now, 121000000 are both champions. As for Noa, I really hope she somehow finds herself getting a shot at the PoP title soon, I even think she should win a tournament, but not wait for the Princess Cup necessarily. I think taking on Yamashita in a strong match could set Noa up high in the rankings, and forcing Yamashita into a 'deathmatch' could definitely help the champ's reign since it would be completely out of her comfort zone.

Princess Of Princess Title Match
Miyu Yamashita (c) vs. Mizuki - 8.5/10
This match was the definition of 'desperation' wrestling, in the sense that the level difference was soo much that most of Mizuki's offense ended up being out of desperation to survive Yamashita. Right from the get go, Yamashita dominated, started slamming Mizuki left and right, it wouldn't be until about a third of the match in that Mizuki managed to drop Yamashita on the floor and hit a big foot stomp that she hurt Yamashita, but in doing so, Mizuki also hurt her leg, something that would end up costing her big later on when she finally had gained enough momentum, only for her leg to buckle and give Yamashita the opening to cut her off. At the end, Yamashita had kicked Mizuki about seven thousand times before she deliver the Crash Rabbit Raid for the win.

Post-match - Yamashita thanked Mizuki for the match and then nominated Shoko Nakajima for the big Sumo Hall show coming up on March. Nakajima came out and accepted.

OVERALL THOUGHTS
Good show. January 4th TJPW shows have been delivering for years, I wasn't expecting anything but quality. Also as usual, the last three matches carried the show, but the rest was fun enough to give it my time.