It is that time of the year again. Fans worldwide gathered together at the wee hours depending on your timezone for the yearly big show a week before the big show in the west. Emanating live from Ryogoku Sumo Hall. The show will be filled with laughs, drama, sadness, heartbreak, Urakens, Giant Pandas, Super Heroes and much more. All this for a total of $8.23 is a steal. Get your gang signs ready as you go L.O.V.E and show your love for Puroresu. This is Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling’s Grand Princess
6-Women Tag Team Match: Chika Nanase & Shino Suzuki & Kira Summer vs. Uta Takami & Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo
In the opening of Grand Princess 2024 we have the rookie showcase match. Chika Nanase and Kira Summer made their debut earlier this month in March. Both are looking to show a wider audience on what they bring to the table as the future of TJPW. Shino Suzuki will be leading the charge for the team and has just a year of experience under but is capable enough to lead this team. On the other side is Runa Okubo and Haru Kazashiro debuted a year ago and are already a fixture in the TJPW family looking to show the two new rookies what it means to be in TJPW. Uta Takami their partner and Up Up Girls member alongside Shino will be made her debut just a few weeks ago and is a super plucky underdog babyface. The opening TJPW showcases matches always deliver and this will be one to look out for for the future of TJPW.
Tag Team Match: Nao Kakuta & Ami Yumoto vs. HIMAWARI & Mahiro Kiryu
The team of HIMAWARI and Mahiro Kiryu are set to take on Nao Kakuta and Ami Yumoto, a former AKB48 idol who is making her TJPW debut.
HIMAWARI is one of Teej’s rising talent who is steadily climbing up the ranks with her use of her long locks that is akin to a certain EST over in North America. She’ll be teaming up with the ever apologetic Mahiro Kiryu, who would normally be teaming with Yuki Kamifuku. Yet, is a dangerous tag team partner to go against with her Spine buster that may have been taken from Here Comes the Pain! For the PS2.
For both HIMAWARI and Mahiro, they’ll be going against the always feisty Nao Kakuta, someone who is willing to go to any lengths to win a match. Yet, her partner, Ami Yumoto, brings a lot of intrigue in her debut match. For starters, Ami is a former member of AKB48, the same idol group of Yuki Arai, as the native of Saitama only graduated from the group last August after being there for a decade. As strange as it may seem, Ami already has some wrestling experience as AKB48 did a wrestling based drama back in 2017 called Tofu Pro Wrestling, where she wrestled under the name Komanechi Yumoto.
The other thing about Ami Yumoto is that she co-starred in a play from December that Nao was a part of. The two started a bond and talked about wrestling and convinced Ami to wrestler for TJPW. Nao hopes Ami would fall in love with wrestling under the Teej like Nao did when she first entered the company back in late late. 2020.
The odds may be in favor of Nao and Ami since musical idols do carry a ton of momentum in Japanese wrestling, but that’s not to say that HIMAWARI and Mahiro are not gonna put up a fight. Rather, HIMAWARI and Mahiro Kiryu are going to give Nao Kakuta and Ami Yumoto their all for this match, and they may not go too easy on the former AKB48 idol.
The real question is can Ami Yumoto hang with the girls of Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling?
Ring rust may play a factor for Ami since, after all, it has been six and a half year since Tofu Pro.
Nevertheless, the match will be a good display for all four wrestlers since Mania Weekend and the summer tournaments are approaching. Whoever wins will have some good momentum for the future.
It all comes down to skill…
Tag Team Match: Andreza Giant Panda & Kaya Toribami w/Haruna Neko vs. Pom Harajuku & Raku
Andreza Giant Panda makes his return to TJPW as he teams up with Kaya Toribami along with Haruna Neko by their corner as they take on the misfitting pair of Pom Harajuku and Raku.
The last time Andreza was at Teej, he was teaming up with Haruna Neko in a losing effort against Shoko Nakajima and Hyper Misao in last year’s Grand Princess as Shoko and Misao used questionable methods to win the match. For this year’s bout, Andreza teams up with “The Bird” Kaya Toribami in search of a victory in Teej with Neko supporting them on. While Toribami has been improving in ring for two years, Andreza is a staple in the world of comedy wrestling in Japan as he faced off Kitukaro, fellow mammals Pokotan & Chiitan, Kazuki Hirata, Super Sasadango Machine, and defeated deathmatch legend Atsushi Onita two years ago in less than four minutes.
On the other side of the squared circle are Pom Harajuku and Raku. While the duo are a pair of misfits with one constantly yelling at her opponents and Referees Daisuke Kiso and Yukinori Matsui to get a rise out of them and the other is an idol crazy for locomotives. The two are also two of TJPW’s most colorful wrestlers. To contrast the size of Andreza and the high-flying ability of Toribami, Pom typically kicks her rivals in the shin with no warning while Raku sends her opponents to sleep and chopping her opponent’s noggin from the top rope.
While this match is not on Animal Planet, it will be a wild affair on Wrestle Universe for $8.23 a month. Viewers can watch Grand Princess’ 24 and other TJPW shows including the TJPW Aquarium Pro Wrestling in Yokohama special from December. There will be feathers ruffled, bamboo getting thrown across the ring, and plenty of shenanigans going on throughout the match.
Will the wild pair of Andreza & Toribami run wild and stampede the competition?
Or will the misfitting pair of Pom & Raku someway somehow claw their way to victory?
Either way, this match will be fun and entertaining to watch!
Tag Team Match: Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano vs. Toga & Wakana Uehara
In another tag team match on GRAND PRINCESS ’24 we have four of the top rising stars in TJPW go at it. We have the teams of Moka Miyamoto and Juria Nagano known as Shinken Kusho. They will be going up against the pairing of Toga and Wakana Uehara.
On January 9, 2024, TJPW would hold a press conference, during the press conference Juria Nagano would announce that she will graduating from TJPW on April 13th. Nagano said, “The reason for this is that I would like to put more effort into my work in the entertainment industry in the future, and I don’t want my professional wrestling to become half-hearted, so I decided to do something like this” This will be the last time Moka Miyamoto and Juria Nagano team up with each other, Moka and Nagano have being teaming with each for two years. It is fitting that her chapter with Moka would be closing 2 years after her debut during Grand Princess 2022 where they teamed up together.
Singles Match: Rika Tatsumi vs. Masha Slamovich
Rika Tatsumi has been on an amazing run for the last year. One would have assumed this match would have happened last year if possible for the International Princess Championship, but nonetheless it’s happening. Masha Slamovich getting to go against another pillar of TJPW is nothing to scoff at. January 4th Masha had gone toe to toe with current Princess of Princess Champion Miyu Yamashita in a match that many still have penciled in as their MOTYC. Masha came very close to winning, but she was no match for the Skull Kick.
This match could be another MOTYC for TJPW with the talent involved. Rika is looking to move back up into Princess of Princess title contention and Masha is also probably looking for a rematch downline with Miyu. This match also gives us the TJPW vs. GCW preview for Mania weekend next week. Whoever wins this give their respective promotion the momentum heading in.
Tag Team Match: Aja Kong & Max The Impaler vs. Hyper Misao & Shoko Nakajima
The wacky and awesome team of Hyper Misao and Shoko Nakajima known as Kyoraku Kyomei could steal the show with their antics going up against no bullshit. Taking Joshi Legend Aja Kong and the imposing one known as Max The Impaler.
Kyoraku Kyomei will bring all the fun and antics to stop the imposing duo in order to make sure all the big kids in the world don’t go home sad. Max is here to just destroy and leave while Aja Kong is just looking to beat up people for fun. Look to this match as being lighthearted fun and showcasing the best of TJPW’s comedy bits. You will laugh and cry but most importantly at the end of it all will be leaving all the happier about witnessing this match.
Special Single Match: Minoru Suzuki vs. Maki Itoh
In a special singles match, Maki Itoh will take on the legendary Minoru Suzuki. This will be Minoru Suzuki’s first time in a TJPW ring as Maki Itoh has been making rounds in TJPW while becoming a regular at GCW.
For the uninitiated, Minoru Suzuki is a very decorated figure in the world of Puroresu. Trained by legendary wrestler Karl Gotch, along with being the co-founder of the hybrid MMA promotion Pancrase, Minoru Suzuki has had a fruitful and accomplished career as he multi-time champion in various promotions. Suzuki has won in All Japan where he won the Triple Crown Championship twice, NOAH where he won the GHC Heavyweight Championship. He has also won in RevPro where he won the Undisputed Tag Team belts with Zack Sabre Jr as well as being the Undisputed British Heavyweight Champ. He also won in ROH where he was the World Television Champ, and New Japan where he won the NEVER Openweight belt twice.
At 55 years young, Suzuki has gone against the best in the world and some all-time greats throughout his career. While he has teamed with Maki Itoh back in December 2021 with Chris Brookes, he’ll treat Maki Itoh no differently than 2017 Kazuchika Okada or late 2000s Kensuke Sazaki.
There is no doubt that Maki Itoh is a unique and one of a kind personality, but why? Why challenge Minoru Suzuki to a singles match? Well, let’s just say this isn’t Maki Itoh’s first rodeo in fighting against the opposite gender. In fact, Itoh had to beat men to become an Ironman Heavymetalweight Champion on multiple occasions. She’s fought against Konosuke Takeshita, been involved with many shenanigans with Danshoku Dieno and Yuki Iino, went toe to toe against Matt Cardona, beat Mike Bailey, and endured Effy while fighting alongside Nick Gage. Maki is willing to put out a challenge no matter who is the opponent is, even if it’s impossible task at hand.
While Minoru is Gotch style strong style mixed with elements of MMA, Maki likes to give out headbutts on land and air, hit people in the head with both fist. To top it all off, finish her opponents off with an unlucky Texas Cloverleaf that is known as the Itoh Special. And she’s not going to win the match, Maki Itoh will at least not go down easily nor quickly since she’s gotten too far into her wrestling career to lay down to anybody. Maki Itoh always fights back when she’s forced to her lowest point, and she’ll be willing to do the same against Minoru Suzuki.
As violent as both wrestlers can be, this special match between Minoru Suzuki and Maki Itoh is an excellent matchup on paper between in ring personalities. Suzuki is a ruthless wrestler who laughs at his opponents when they are down while Maki Itoh wrestles with her heart on her sleeve and can be driven by rage, especially as a survival mechanism.
Win, lose, or draw, Maki Itoh will give Minoru Suzuki her all and hopefully Minoru Suzuki doesn’t go to hard against the Cutest in the World before they venture off too Philadelphia for Mania Weekend.*
*Seriously, Suzuki-San, please don’t go too hard on Maki. We really need Maki Itoh for the fun, laughs, and barbarity at Mania Weekend.
Tag Team Match: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki vs. Chris Brookes & Emi Sakura
Just when everyone thought she would be gone to America for a long time, Yuka Sakazaki makes her return to TJPW as she teams up with her long time partner Mizuki.
The team known as the Magical Sugar Rabbits, or MagiRabi for short, will take on a Gatoh Move/ChocoPro staple as the team of Chris Brookes & Emi Sakura will make a visit to TJPW at Ryogoku for Grand Princess ’24.
While Yuka and Mizuki have made their mark as two influential pillars since the early days of TJPW, the duo have cemented themselves as the premier tag team of TJPW. MagiRabi has held the Princess Tag Team Championship belts in three separate occasions and have held the belts for a combined 631 days. Yuka Sakazaki has the tag belt four times, which is tied for the most in TJPW history with Saki Akai/Sakisama. This will be Yuka Sakazaki’s first match back since her graduation special on December 6th and the aquarium matches at Hakkeijima Sea Paradise in Yokohama.
However, Yuka Sakazaki will have a cold homecoming welcome in Ryogoku as Chris Brookes and Emi Sakura are crashing Teej this Sunday.
While Emi Sakura and Chris Brookes have faced off in the opposing sides of ChocoPro mat, they are more similar than they are different. Both Brookes and Sakura are well accomplished wrestlers international, hell, Sakura is a Joshi wrestling legend as Brookes is one of the best British wrestlers in the business! But the two also love to tyrannize their opponents, especially if they so happen to be gaming journalists, struggling idols, fencers dressed in orange, or Antonio Honda.
For Chris Brookes, this is just another day at the offices of CyberFight despite fighting Yuka for the first time; Chris lives for destroying his colleagues in a wrestling match. But for Emi Sakura, this would not be the first time facing off against Yuka as the two are very familiar with one another in an AEW ring. But keep a pair of eyes on Mizuki as she is one of the most talented joshis in the business.
There will be shenanigans, there will high-flying spectacles, and there will be technical magic on display for this match. Whether Yuka Sakazaki’s homecoming to Teej is successful with her long time partner and friend is up to both Yuka & Mizuki as they are fighting a formidable duo.
Nevertheless, it is a welcoming sight to see Yuka Sakazaki in a ring again since December, even if she might go to America for an extended amount of time.
International Princess Championship Match: Yuki Arai (c) vs. Yuki Kamifuku
In the first of three championship matches, we have the International Princess Championship on the line, as we have the International Princess Champion Yuki Arai defending her title against Yuki Kamifuku. This will be Yuki Arai’s second title defense.
Yuki Arai won the International Princess Championship on January 4, 2024, she defeated the former champion Max The Impaler. Arai has held the title for about 73 days now. Arai’s first successful title defense was on February 10, she went up against Juria Nagano after the match Kamifuku would come out to the ring and praised Arai for working really hard in both TJPW and the idol industry. Kamifuku would then tell Arai she likes finding ways to make TJPW more exciting. One way to do that is by having two women who value their looks fight each other for a championship. Kamifuku would ask Arai that she wants the next title shot.
Kamifuku said she is looking to walk out on March 31st as double champ as Kamifuku is the current SPW Queen Of Asia Champion. Kamifuku is familiar with the International Princess Championship because Kamifuku did hold the International Princess Championship. The last time she won the International Princess title was on November 7, 2020, she would hold the belt until May 5, 2021. For Yuki Arai she is looking to have a second successful title defense.
Semi-Main Event Princess Tag Team Championship Match: Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino (c) vs. Suzume Arisu Endo
In the semi-main event we have the Princess Tag Team Championship, the champs Ryo Mizunami and Yuki Aino defend the titles against Daisy Monkey’s Suzume and Arisu Endo. This will be Ryo Mizunami and Yuki Aino’s first title defense since winning the titles back on January. 4, 2024.
On December 3, 2023, TJPW held a press conference to announce that Free Wi-Fi will relinquish the Princess Tag Team Championship, Free Wi-Fi were scheduled to defend their tag titles on January 4, 2024, against Daisy Monkey. The match would be changed to a three-way tag team match with the teams of Ryo Mizunami and Yuki Aino vs. DayDream (Miu Watanabe & Rika Tatsumi) vs. Daisy Monkey (Arisu Endo & Suzume). Ryo Mizunami and Yuki Aino would win that match and become the new Princess Tag Team Champions.
On February 10, Daisy Monkey would win the 2024 Futari Wa Princess Max Heart Tournament, a tournament that was held from January 20 to February 10. The winners of the Max Heart Tournament get a Princess Tag Team Championship title shot, Daisy Monkey defeated DayDream (Miu Watanabe & Rika Tatsumi) in the finals. After the match Daisy Monkey would call out Yukiniki to challenge them for the Princess Tag Team titles. Yukiniki would accept the challenge. Ryo Mizunami would then tell Daisy Monkey they will be waiting for them at Grand Princess. Endo told Yukiniki even though they lost to Yukiniki the last time for Tag Titles that they will definitely won’t lose to them again, Suzume said it was everyone’s support that took them this far.
Daisy Monkey are looking to defeat Yukiniki and are not looking to lose to Yukiniki and let their supporters down, Daisy Monkey are looking to get their first title in TJPW by becoming the new Princess Tag Team Champions. For Yukiniki they are looking to not lose at Grand Princess in their first defense and are looking to walk out of still tag champs.
Main Event Princess of Princess Championship Match: Miyu Yamashita (c) vs. Miu Watanabe
In the main event. The Princess of Princess Championship is ever so closer to the powerhouse of Up Up Girls and the one spreading L.O.V.E all over TJPW, Miu Watanabe. Miyu Yamashita is heading in with three successful title defenses against — Regina, Delmi Exo and Masha Slamovich. Yamashita was able to become a four time Princess of Princess champion after winning the Tokyo Princess Cup in 2023 and then going on to defeat the champion at the time Mizuki at Wrestle Princess 4 in October.
Miu Watanabe earned her title shot after winning a Princess Of Princess Title #1 Contendership Battle Royal. The battle royal featured previous champion Mizuki, Rika Tatsumi, Shoko Nakajima and Yuki Kamifuku. Miu was able to out last the four other opponents after finally eliminating Kamifuku to get the win and punching her ticket for Grand Princess.
There are lots of eyes on this match as fans have been clamoring for Miu Watanabe to finally be crowned with the Princess of Princess championship for the last two years. Watanabe has only had one Princess of Princess championship match that occurred on February 11th 2021, in Korakuen Hall going up against then champion Rika Tatsumi. Can Miu be successful and finally win the big one fans have been clamoring for or will Miu just fall victim to Yamashita’s Skull Kick and just be V4 for Miyu. All eyes are on this match, and we are hoping for a miracle.
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