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Post by "Sweet & Sour" ImSoFudginGreat on Aug 21, 2022 0:43:56 GMT -5
Man, I can barely walk at the moment but I am so tempted to make a trip down to London to catch Hikari’s UK debut.
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Bo Rida
Fry's dog Seymour
Pulled one over on everyone. Got away with it, this time.
Posts: 23,589
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Post by Bo Rida on Aug 21, 2022 7:30:07 GMT -5
Damnit EVE. Why are you doing a show on a schoolnight? Bad timing again.
Anyway does anybody have any idea what the hell Pom was doing in her match with Miu?
Also anyone who doesn't usually watch DDT will probably like Akai/Jun Vs Asuka/Brookes and the singles match the show before it (watch that first if watching both),
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Bo Rida
Fry's dog Seymour
Pulled one over on everyone. Got away with it, this time.
Posts: 23,589
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Post by Bo Rida on Aug 28, 2022 8:38:32 GMT -5
Drew Parker was amusing on commentary, he's used to deathmatches but Joshi strikes were a bit too brutal for him.
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Post by AwamoriRock on Aug 28, 2022 10:26:25 GMT -5
Drew Parker was amusing on commentary, he's used to deathmatches but Joshi strikes were a bit too brutal for him. Most joshi in general doesn't have live commentary outside PPVs (which is a shock to a lot of people I see lol) but TJPW has a huge luxury in having Brookes, Akki, and Parker, guys who wrestle, speak English fluently, and know the roster/scene so well on hand. I
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Bo Rida
Fry's dog Seymour
Pulled one over on everyone. Got away with it, this time.
Posts: 23,589
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Post by Bo Rida on Aug 28, 2022 13:25:33 GMT -5
Drew Parker was amusing on commentary, he's used to deathmatches but Joshi strikes were a bit too brutal for him. Most joshi in general doesn't have live commentary outside PPVs (which is a shock to a lot of people I see lol) but TJPW has a huge luxury in having Brookes, Akki, and Parker, guys who wrestle, speak English fluently, and know the roster/scene so well on hand. I It makes such a big difference, it's not the same without them. Brookes in particular is really good at sprinkling in bits of trivia, history, reasons for weird tag-team names etc without it sounding like Michael Cole reading wikipedia. He gets the mix of staying proffesional and riffing on it with a friend just right, especially pulling his co-commentators out of weird tangents. He's so valuable to cyberfight. Akki and the others are decent too, especialy when English isn't their first language as that must me so difficult, does make me laugh when he's clearly been learning English from Chris though.
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Bo Rida
Fry's dog Seymour
Pulled one over on everyone. Got away with it, this time.
Posts: 23,589
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Post by Bo Rida on Sept 3, 2022 16:52:35 GMT -5
Hikari Noa unsurprisingly failed to win the international title which suggests Alex Windsor will be defending it at wrestle princess.
The uprising will also be going to tjpw with their sights set on the tag titles, another possible WP match but they might be doing smaller shows.
Miyu is going the other way to face Millie McKenzie at wrestle queendom, the show Hyper Misao is on. Takumi Iroha is coming back too and I suspect Asuka/Veny might. Ugh maybe I should have got a seat, standing tickets only now.
Talking of Asuka she's got a match with Chris Brookes tomorrow which should be great, especially if she wears the Harley Quinn gear.
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Post by AwamoriRock on Sept 16, 2022 8:40:21 GMT -5
Alex Windsor vs. Miu Watanabe announced for Wrestle Princess III for the International Princess Championship!
I know some fans are still raw about Miu's tournament booking but hopefully this is her win on the big stage. She's so international crowd friendly and would be a good long term International champion.
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Bo Rida
Fry's dog Seymour
Pulled one over on everyone. Got away with it, this time.
Posts: 23,589
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Post by Bo Rida on Sept 21, 2022 16:51:11 GMT -5
Two more matches added to WP.
Aja Kong, Pom and Raku Vs Max The Impaler, Yuki Aino and Rika.
Hyper Misao Vs Mizuki
The card is shaping up nicely. That tag should be a nice mix of comedy and monster battle. The way they structure the variety into the big cards without many gimmick matches is impressive
I think Miu Vs Windsor will steal the show though, if Miu wins I'm worried she'll dehydrate from crying so much.
Also MagiRabi Vs Pokotan was brilliant (weird zombie thing not so much).
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Bo Rida
Fry's dog Seymour
Pulled one over on everyone. Got away with it, this time.
Posts: 23,589
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Post by Bo Rida on Oct 10, 2022 21:02:46 GMT -5
Poor Pom. Her match against Max stole the show again! Loved the whole dynamic.
Suzume had her best showing, think she'll be more heavily featured going forward.
Miu Vs Windsor and Yuka Vs Shoka were both great, especially the later, they have such good chemistry.
On the downside it felt smaller, no special entrances and The Uprising didn't really feel they shouod have been on this card, didn't fit as well as windsor.
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Post by AwamoriRock on Oct 10, 2022 23:02:11 GMT -5
I feel like TJPW's big shows, like anything with "Princess" in the title or booked at a big arena is getting into must-see viewing territory for me recently. Even if the build isn't totally there like this time, they find a way to really go all out and deliver for them (well, the tag title match was a bit of a misfire this time imo).
I do find the discourse about the main event picture to be interesting. Detractors have been really critical about TJPW not pulling the trigger on pushing newer stars and fresh faces to the title, defaulting to their top circle of Miyu, Yuka, and Shoko. At the same time though, their proven stars are drawing and growing crowds. I dunno what the answer is (if I had to guess Yuka is holding the title to transition to Mizuki finally), but it's going to be interesting to see how gung-ho they'll be on changing things up or just sticking to what their plan seems to be.
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Post by Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby on Oct 11, 2022 14:56:54 GMT -5
I do find the discourse about the main event picture to be interesting. Detractors have been really critical about TJPW not pulling the trigger on pushing newer stars and fresh faces to the title, defaulting to their top circle of Miyu, Yuka, and Shoko. At the same time though, their proven stars are drawing and growing crowds. I dunno what the answer is (if I had to guess Yuka is holding the title to transition to Mizuki finally), but it's going to be interesting to see how gung-ho they'll be on changing things up or just sticking to what their plan seems to be. As a prospective viewer hovering over that "subscribe" button at the moment...I can see both sides of that. They've all been on top long enough to build demand for someone else among the existing fans who've seen their runs, but they're also all still the reason for a lot of new fans to check out the show (along with Maki). The International title seems like a good compromise. Just by following along with results, that seems like a genuinely exciting title scene that's enhanced by being lower down the card.
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Bo Rida
Fry's dog Seymour
Pulled one over on everyone. Got away with it, this time.
Posts: 23,589
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Post by Bo Rida on Oct 11, 2022 19:31:41 GMT -5
It's a weird one. Shoko has a good reign and I'm perfectly happy with Yuka as champion.
But I think the next one had to be someone new and it makes sense it's Mizuki. Can't continue with people getting momentum but failing at the last hurdle.
Miu had that momentum and could have been pushed to the very top but the international title is probably the better option at this point. Build her profile and gain experience.
Maki is the other option and has the international profile but I think she has to beat Miyu for it and I have no desire to see her as champion again anytime soon, instead I think those two should be tag champs.
To me that then leaves Hyper Misao as the other option but can understand leaving her in her own bubble.
It's arguable others could be included but those 7 make the most sense to me (assuming no freelancers/guests have an extended stay).
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Bo Rida
Fry's dog Seymour
Pulled one over on everyone. Got away with it, this time.
Posts: 23,589
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Post by Bo Rida on Nov 14, 2022 17:52:16 GMT -5
Miyu is the new EVE champion. She's scheduled to defend against Millie McKenzie soon. Think she might hold it a while actually as eve don't hold shows that often. Solves the issue of what to do with her outside the tjpw title picture and raises EVE's profile so mutually beneficial.
It was great to see her and Hyper Misao live.
Perhaps more importantly Suzume tied Shoka and Neko's tails together, I just wanted to document that.
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Bo Rida
Fry's dog Seymour
Pulled one over on everyone. Got away with it, this time.
Posts: 23,589
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Post by Bo Rida on Nov 27, 2022 14:59:29 GMT -5
Miyu Vs Mille McKenzie was great, might make my moty list, certainly will the tjpw one. Miyu didn't have to hold back which is always a good sign.
Millie has so much potential. She doesn't really have a character ATM and occasionally does something weird in the ring but once she works that out she'll be heading to the top of... somewhere. Starkz has a bright future too.
Also glad to see Pom is so over.
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Post by Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby on Nov 28, 2022 20:16:32 GMT -5
Welp, count me in as a subscriber now. I'm kind of making my way through All Rise match by match and so far having a great time of it.
I'm inordinately pleased that Heidi Howitzer of all people showed up just after I got my account. I'm already delighted by her intro promo. Can't help but think this would have been Abadon's spot if not for their collarbone injury, but - well, I hope Heidi ends up a great fit for this promotion.
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Mozenrath
FANatic
Foppery and Whim
Speedy Speed Boy
Posts: 121,126
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Post by Mozenrath on Nov 28, 2022 20:24:09 GMT -5
Welp, count me in as a subscriber now. I'm kind of making my way through All Rise match by match and so far having a great time of it. I'm inordinately pleased that Heidi Howitzer of all people showed up just after I got my account. I'm already delighted by her intro promo. Can't help but think this would have been Abadon's spot if not for their collarbone injury, but - well, I hope Heidi ends up a great fit for this promotion. Heidi rocks, so, big thumbs up.
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Post by Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby on Nov 28, 2022 22:09:28 GMT -5
My big observation after getting through All Rise is..man, the TJPW undercard has either collectively been hitting a stride, or they've been underrated and underserved by what TJPW puts up on Youtube. I felt like everyone was at least a little better than my incoming impression of them gleaned from free matches, and maybe that's just being on a show worth performing well on, but I came away thinking much more highly of the whole roster.
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Bo Rida
Fry's dog Seymour
Pulled one over on everyone. Got away with it, this time.
Posts: 23,589
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Post by Bo Rida on Nov 29, 2022 9:14:47 GMT -5
My big observation after getting through All Rise is..man, the TJPW undercard has either collectively been hitting a stride, or they've been underrated and underserved by what TJPW puts up on Youtube. I felt like everyone was at least a little better than my incoming impression of them gleaned from free matches, and maybe that's just being on a show worth performing well on, but I came away thinking much more highly of the whole roster. I find Tjpw has a way of having everyone win you over eventually. Often a match doesn't sound that great on paper but over delivers and characters also evolve or just work better in different combinations. Eg. I like Pom a lot more since she's faced Max. But there's also many hitting their stride, Miu Watanabe and Suzume in particular have gotten so much better this year. So many haven't actually been wrestling that long, the two I mentioned have four and three year careers respectively. Yuki Arai has only been around for a year and it's not even her main job. So they're always improving.
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Post by Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby on Dec 13, 2022 16:11:22 GMT -5
So after my free trial has run out and I'm sticking around for a bit (especially with the exchange rate making it very affordable for the time being), I guess nobody can stop me from just posting my impression of each roster member so far from mostly watching matches here and there from 2022:
The Top Three:
Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki, and Shoko Nakajima are, for the most part, That Damn Good. Miyu is definitely in that awkward "What do you do with her when she isn't the champion?" phase, especially with the stuff I have gotten from JoShizzle videos (RIP his Youtube channel). Yuka is my favorite, although it's close. I also really liked Shoko's title reign this year.
The Upper Mid Tier:
Maki Itoh: It's interesting to see Maki in this current phase of her career, where she's clearly gotten good enough that she isn't "just" a comedy wrestler, but she's also not guaranteed to work as a long-term main eventer.
Hyper Misao: The free Youtube matches really give a strange impression of Misao. I wasn't super impressed by the Neo-Bishiki-Gun stuff I'd seen, and a lot of the more recent comedy stuff that gets posted is honestly unflattering to her (at least if you aren't able to follow her mic work). I came into my subscription wondering if she really could work a proper match, and the answer is adamantly yes. But she's probably one of the biggest gaps in entertainment value between her big matches and her average matches.
Rika Tatsumi: Man. I just cannot get into Rika. Her character is sort of annoying to me, and her moveset...OK, first, after getting used to Toni Storm and Asuka making butt-based moves look like utter death, it's kind of off-putting to see someone with so much offense built around hip attacks and for so many of them to look like light grazes. The rest of her moves look like an efed wrestler's listed moves, where they seem to have been plucked from all over wrestling for names and thematic cohesion without actually fitting together in a match. She's technically very good to where I totally get why she's the #4 in the promotion, but she's the only major wrestler where I'm just kind of meh when she's wrestling.
Mizuki: I'm on board with her as the right choice for the next champion. While I'm still summing her up to my wife as "the Riho Echo Fighter," that's an increasingly unfair description of her. In short, Mizuki rules, and I think she plays the sweet-but-not-always-nice thing better than Rika does.
Yuki Aino: I'm putting her here because she's gotten a Princess of Princess title match this year and has held the tag belt, but..I don't remember the last time I've seen a wrestler who's so clearly hanging out waiting for a repackage. The "Burning Venus" moniker isn't much of a gimmick, and she's in that "perfectly good but why should I care?" territory for me right now...except for her bit as Max the Impaler's handler, that stuff is great and I hope there's some build on it even if Max tags more with Heidi Howitzer in the future.
Kamiyu: Seems very comfortably situated as someone who can get the International Princess title now and again, wrestle some special guests, and generally stay over without doing much interesting. Kinda feel like she's the right tag partner away from hitting another level, though.
Saki Akai: TJPW's Randy Orton, for me. I definitely see why she's seemingly been entrusted with the tag division being built around her. Her matches are well put together, she has great timing and presence, there's a lot to her craft that I'm impressed by. But it's hard not to think of her as the woman who just does a lot of kicks.
The Lower Mid Tier:
Miu Watanabe: Her rise this year was a big part of what got me subscribing, really. She's good. Her moveset is kinda basic, but in contrast to what I said about Rika, it coheres. She's an undersized bruiser. Reminds me of 2005 Roderick Strong, before Strong got more rounded as a wrestler but less interesting as a prospect, where she can play the hoss role despite not exactly towering over anyone and she looks great doing it. I assume she's in line to be ace-level within the next five years. Oh, and I can't decide whether she has the best or worst entrance song in the promotion - distinctive but really feels like a hammer being driven into my brain.
Hikari Noa: Someone else who really caught my eye. Feels like she may have stalled out this year, like she may have hit the wall separating a promising rookie from a really good wrestler. Still much better than a lot of wrestlers who end up in that spot.
Yuki Arai: She's definitely impressive, that Maki match was what it was talked up to be and I really like her tag team matches with Akai. She's good, but there's something I'm not quite vibing with - but that might just be that she seems like such a ready-made star that I don't have much to root for?
Suzume: Much like Aino above, I'm not sure if she's the bottom of this tier or the top of the one below, but...y'know, I like her. She's really solid, and I get future ace vibes off her like I do Miu and Hikari, albeit a bit further down the line. I'm torn between thinking "She should do more with the bee thing" and "If she did anything at all with the bee thing it would probably be stupid," because I love her aesthetics but she's one of those "cool costume on a perfectly good wrestler" packages.
Pom Harajuku: If Miu, Hikari, and Suzume are the next Miyu, Yuka, and Shoko (in that order), then Pom might be the next Maki or Kamiyu...might. I think the current hype on her is accurate - that you should give her a chance and find that there's more to her than the comedy beats that jump out immediately. If anything, I think the comedy beats might be holding her back, because they aren't as conducive to putting a full match together as Maki's are and the chest-pounding thing is just too silly. At any rate, her character stuff is top notch, she's like if Luigi were a wrestler and the "working the shin" routine works surprisingly well.
Moka Miyamoto: Wasn't sure if she should be up here or down in the next one, but this feels right. She's...fine. Her offense is kind of a mixed bag for me, but her work is always solid.
The Low Tier:
Mahiro Kiryu: I like her "apologetic attacker" character and her flusteredness around shady tag partners. Feels like she was trained to be a big bruiser, especially since her outfit makes her look bigger, but she's not really ready to be that yet, so being a big shy lug with a heart of gold is working out for now.
Nao Kakuta: ...I dunno what to say about her except that I like her team with Hikari. She's fine.
Raku: In a promotion known for its "pop the crowd" low card comedy gimmicks, Raku is...the most that. I also feel like I dislike her ring gear more than I have any particular feeling about her, I just find all of the floof distracting.
Kaya Toribami: Really good spots for how new she is. Of course, those spots are sometimes facilitated by her opponents waiting a while for her to get into position. (I get this impression that TJPW handles rookie wrestlers differently than most promotions? It's interesting and not a bad thing.) She's not much more than a high flying jobber in a bird mask, but that's not a bad thing to be.
Haruna Neko: OK, straight up my least favorite in the promotion so far. I've got nothing against catgirl wrestlers! Let it be known that I like Allie Kat and Cat Power just fine. But...eh. She's got that same thing Rika's got with the efed wrestler moveset, where her moves seem to have been chosen entirely for the puns instead of for how well she does them or how well they work as a set.
Juria Nagano: I kinda like that she's like...a special attraction Young Lioness? Not a lot more to say except that she seems to be treated as a novelty for now and she works that way.
Arisu Endo: I've semi-arbitrarily decided that she's the one I'm rooting for. I could say it's because she's really solid and seems to have tag chemistry with everyone and I like her fire, but I think it's honestly more I just latched onto her for very little reason. I'm also down to watch any time she's tagging with Suzume.
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Bo Rida
Fry's dog Seymour
Pulled one over on everyone. Got away with it, this time.
Posts: 23,589
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Post by Bo Rida on Dec 14, 2022 6:21:35 GMT -5
^^ Interesting how many of your opinions match mine, especially with Rika. That said if you haven't seen Summer Sun Princess watch that, she's capable of so much more than her average routine.
Neko makes me laugh now though, she often looks like she's confused how she got there so I've decided to believe that really is the case. She was just working in a cat maid cafe and was forced into a fighting league. She seems so ill-suited to wrestling it's endearing, especially as she's actually fine in her role despite that.
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