TJPW's 5/4/2021 (5/3/2021 if in the US) show is looking like it could be one of the best shows of the year, at least for the company. The card is absolutely stacked. The show will air on DDT-U with English commentary, so if you're looking for a mixture of gimmicks, theatre, sport and an overall fun joshi promotion, this is another chance to jump in. DDT-U is $10 USD a month with the first month free. It comes with a number of other promotions including NOAH, so you're getting more than your money's worth, imo. --
www.ddtpro.com/universeA basic rundown of the roster (Signature moves, etc):
dramaticddt.wordpress.com/rosters/tokyo-joshi-pro-roster/More roster stuff (May not be 100% accurate to this date, but it's good enough):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYr1pGaRhqYAnother roster guide (May not be 100%, etc.):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGOgNnAhvCoThese should help familiarize yourself with the roster. I didn't really need silly nicknames for this roster, compared to STARDOM where I couldn't keep anyone straight. TJPW is mostly individuals with defined goals who rely on the other members of the roster with common goals to achieve those goals (goals, goal, goals, goals, goals). Yo dawg I heard you like goals.
Right.
Rika's got quite the challenge ahead of her with Miyu being the definitive ace and the best chance of taking the belt off of her. Rika has had a pretty great PoP run so far, and as a fan, I hope she doesn't drop the belt -- I think she'll win this one (but it'll be a tough one!) and then faces Shoko in a winning effort before ultimately dropping the belt to Mizuki. The story for this match stretches back a few years to when Rika faced Miyu in a losing effort, and as champion, she's out to prove herself once and for all.
More about Rika:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSqBrQJ0L0QMore about Miyu (and Yuka too):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdxJr0r4gKUSaki-sama and Mei Saint-Michel defeated the Bakuretsu Sisters to win the Tag Team belts at one of the last shows. This will be their first title defense. Neo Bishiiki-gun have been bullying the BeeStar team for the last several weeks. Suzume and Mirai Maiumi is a relatively new team. Suzume has spunk and Mirai has been gaining a ton of momentum this year (though I wouldn't call it Utami-All-Belts momentum). While NBG are considered the champions, MSM is considered "the" champions. MSM wanted to win the titles, and Saki-sama obliged. MSM was petrified by winning the titles and continues to be petrified errantly, so perhaps we're (already?) seeing cracks in the team's dynamics, which has been par for the course with NBG. We'll have to see what happens. NBG will likely win this match, but rest assured that it'll be an absolutely wacky one, especially with all of MSM's antics.
Saki-sama is more-or-less the prime villainess of TJPW. She grants the wishes of younger wrestlers on the card, taking them under her wing. Saki-sama has had multiple wrestlers under her control. Each arc begins with a wrestler who has a wish. Saki-sama brings them into the group, granting them their ultimate wish/meeting their goal and then the group slowly falls apart afterwards. That's the general gist of the characters and the arcs.
More about Sakisama and Neo Bishiiki-gun:
Sakisama (Mei is featured partially in this video):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ1-UfciFf0Azusa Takigawa (Number One Announcer):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnm-IGsE0TYKanna (Forgotten Princess; Not to be confused with KANA/WWE's Asuka or ASUKA, a freelancer):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhSR-R-wXSgDark Misao (Not A Superhero):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0FY2UHIhWcHikari Nao's match against Kamiyu for the International Princess Title will be Hikari's big chance to prove herself worthy after entering the world of hardcore and deathmatch wrestling. The hardcore/deathmatch stuff has been Hikari's big breakout story as of late and the toughness she displayed in her match with Rina Yamashita on April 1st will undoubtedly help her here to win the title. Kamiyu has defended the title multiple times by now, so we may see a title change here. I'm not sure who else would be in line as a credible challenger for the belt after Hikari, if she doesn't win. Pom Harajaku, perhaps, I dunno. Should be a good story to the match, regardless.
Yuka Sakazaki vs Mizuki vs Shoko Nakajima for the #1 Contendership to the Princess of Princess Title. This will undoubtedly be a fast paced, wild match-up. Yuka and Mizuki are a regular tag team and they've been struggling with wins and losses lately. They've been working on some new tag team moves, which have caused things to a-wry mid-match. Shoko has been on a mild tear as of late, picking up a few wins here and there in singles and tag team matches. She'll likely use the momentum to win her chance to face the PoP Champion at the next major showing. Assuming Shoko wins this match and loses the PoP Title Match, that leaves Mizuki as the only other credible threat that Rika hasn't faced for the title yet. Yuka and Mizuki had an absolutely insane match for the PoP Title this past year and I have no doubts that both of them will deliver in this match. Even with predicting a Shoko win, anything can happen here.
More on Shoko:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE4jeyQzH1sMiu idolizes idols. It's one of her favorite things in the world. She's teaming with the returning/debuting Yuki Arai. Yuki is an idol and Miu wants to team with her, which makes the team. Maki is coming off a tough loss to Rika at the last Korakuen show. Arisu Endo is another rookie making her way up through the ranks of TJPW and with the way she's been wrestling, you wouldn't even know she's a rookie. She's certainly one of my favorites to watch. Miu is my number one favorite in the promotion, so I'm going to enjoy this match a lot. Miu/Yuki will probably take this one unless we get a surprise victory for Arisu, but I doubt it happens.
Hyper Misao and the Bakuretsu Sisters have been cooperating on-and-off in their rivalry the last few months. I haven't been paying much attention apparently because I think the team of Mao, Marika and Raku is just kind of thrown together, but they're familiar enough that it should be a good matchup. I'm more surprised that Haruna Neko isn't on their team because usually those three are together. It'll be a good match for something low on the card.
Actual Catgirl Haruna Neko and the Destroyer of Shins, Banger of Drums and Nuisance in Charge, Pom Harajaku have been a feature of openers lately. Haruna's literal cat mannerisms will make this match a lot of fun. Pom is kind of similar to Orange Cassidy, but not quite - Think of her as a superhero - Hold on, that's Hyper Misao. >.> <.< Nah, but for real, she'll destroy your shins and have no qualms about it. Moka is a judoka and not-quite-a-rookie like Arisu, and Kiryu... I don't know what her gimmick is still, unfortunately (Maybe I'm dumb and haven't noticed anything yet). They've been struggling to pick up any wins, so it'll probably be a Haruna/Pom victory here. A fun, goofy opener to the show. It'll certainly set the mood for the rest of the card.
