Cero Reviews TJPW Tokyo Princess Cup 2020 Round 1

[cero2k]

TJPW Tokyo Princess Cup 2020 Round 1
August 8th, 2020
Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo Princess Cup 2020 First Round Match
Haruna Neko vs. Suzume - 5.5/10
Good opener, but nothing special. These ladies have their basics down, it's just experience that they're lacking, but I can see both of them getting better with more time. These two (and many more in TJPW) are tiny, so it makes the ring look huge, but it also makes some move way more devastating, especially anything from the top rope. Suzune won with a crossbody. I guess the only thing worth noting is that this is Suzune's first TPC win and it was against her senpai.

Tokyo Princess Cup 2020 First Round Match
Maki Ito vs. Himawari Unagi - 6.5/10
Fun match. Unagi uses her breasts as weapons for the Mountain Range from Above move, so they did a little comedy with Ito trying to do the same, but lacking the cushion and hurting herself instead. The rest was mostly Unagi going for the leg drop, while Ito worked the leg itself. Ito won with the Flying Big Head to the leg, followed by the Ito Special for the submission.

3-on-2 Handicap Match
Hyper Misao & Shoko Nakajima vs. Mirai Maiumi, Moka Miyamoto & Sena Shiori - 6/10
The superhero and the kaiju teamed up against a team of rookies, Misao was somewhat extra confident yet cocky here, calling Miyamoto and Shiori 'nobodies'. Misao wasn't exactly wrong, these girls are green, but again, their basics are there and can pull off what they need to for the match to look competent, and Shoko and Misao are experienced enough to drive them there. Mirai did give Shoko and Misao problems, but the experience difference was still there. Misao submitted Sena for the win. Good action towards the end.

Tokyo Princess Cup 2020 First Round Match
Natsumi Maki vs. Mina Shirakawa - 7/10
Natsumi is wearing Kairi Hojo's old pink pirate attire today for some reason. This was really good. The match itself was really basic, Shikarawa started strong, Mika cut her off and turned the match around, worked on her for a bit, until Shikarawa made a comeback and won the match.

Hikari Noa, Miu Watanabe, Pom Harajuku & Rika Tatsumi vs. Mahiro Kiryu, Mizuki, Yuki Aino & Yuki Kamifuku - 6/10
Ok match, it was there to put more people in the card. Everyone got a chance to show of a bit. Tatsumi was extra excited to fight Mizuki today, so they had some good time. Watanabe and Mizuke were definitely the aces of the match, the latter actually getting the pin on POM with a double foot stomp, which I found surprising since I believe POM is still in the tournament.

Tokyo Princess Cup 2020 First Round Match
Miyu Yamashita vs. Raku - 6.5/10
It wasn't a squash, Raku had some hope spots and survived for a while, but this was Yamashita beast mode and she likes to kick people. She focused on Raku's right arm to the point that it was dangling on the side of Raku towards the end. She eventually won with an AA.

Tokyo Princess Cup 2020 First Round Match
Yuka Sakazaki vs. Nodoka Tenma - 7.5/10
A speed vs power match. Yuka was clearly the better wrestler, but Nodoka's approach to the tournament and this match was just to stand up no matte what, and that's what she did, Yuka couldn't keep her down for the three count. That's not to say that Tenma didn't have some good offense, she got a really good near fall with a top rope plancha, but it was Yuka's Magical Girl Splash that got her the win at the end.

Post-match - Yuka said that a lot of people expected an upset tonight, and that was the nature of a single elimination tournament, it only takes one match to completely eliminate your favorite wrestlers, but regardless, cheer them all on!

OVERALL THOUGHTS
Ok show by TJPW, nothing special per say, but it was short, fun, and enjoyable.