The logo of Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling | |
Acronym | TJPW TJP Tokyo Joshi Pro |
Type | Division |
Industry | Professional wrestling Puroresu |
Founded | June 4, 2012 |
Founder(s) | Tetsuya Koda Nozomi |
Style | Joshi puroresu Queens Road with Ark |
Headquarters | Shinjuku, Tokyo,Japan |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Yasuo Okamoto (Representative director and President) Sanshiro Takagi (Director and Vice-president) Naomichi Marufuji (Director and Vice-president) Airhiro Takeda (Director) Akito (Director) |
Products | Television
Publishing Merchandise Streaming network service |
Services | Licensing |
Parent | CyberFight (CyberAgent) |
Sister | Pro Wrestling NOAH DDT Pro-Wrestling |
Website | Official Japanese Website |
Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling (東京女子プロレス, Tōkyō Joshi Puroresu), often abbreviated to TJPW, is a Japanese joshi puroresu or women's professional wrestling promotion is a subsidiary of CyberAgent's professional wrestling promotion CyberFight and was founded in 2012 as a sister promotion of DDT Pro-Wrestling. Initially running alongside other shows such as live music and other idol performances, it became its own standalone promotion starting on February 28, 2015. TJPW's biggest show of the year is the annual January 4th "Ittenyon" show held at Korakuen Hall in the afternoon before NJPW's January 4 Tokyo Dome Show.
History[]
Formation and early years (2012–2015)[]
On June 4, 2012, Tokyo Joshi Pro was announced by DDT Pro-Wrestling. Set to be run by former Ice Ribbon and NEO Japan Ladies Pro-Wrestling promoter and booker Tetsuya Kodo and wrestler Nozomi, the promotion was established in late 2012 and thus a recruitment process began for wrestlers. 4 of the first wrestlers recruited were Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Kanna and Chikage Kiba. The training of the wrestlers was mostly handled by Nozomi herself, with help from DDT wrestler Kyohei Mikami. Nozomi left DDT on November 30, 2012, but on the same day the trainees were introduced to the public in a press conference and it was announced they would debut in 2013. The trainees were required to follow three rules - no drinking, no smoking, and no boyfriends.
Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling's debut show took place on January 30, 2013 at Akihabara Twin Box in Tokyo. The show featured just two matches, a sambo exhibition between trainee Chikage Kiba and DDT referee and former sambo competitor Daisuke Kiso, and a singles match between trainees Miyu Yamashita and Kanna. The show did not use a wrestling ring, and instead all matches took place on training mats, similar to the Ice Ribbon promotion in its early years. Along with wrestling matches, the debut show featured live music from idol units. As TJPW's roster was very small at the start, most of their early shows followed this same formula and only ran small venues. Entry to their first few shows was free as a way of introducing themselves to a bigger audience, and their first paid show was held on April 26. As their roster of trainees expanded in 2014, TJPW began including more matches on their cards, and began using a ring. They also ran a show with an appearance from voice actress/wrestler Ai Shimizu in November 2014. TJPW held its first full show without an idol performance on February 28, 2015 at Shinjuku FACE. At the show, Ai Shimizu and Saki Akai confirmed they would be competing with the promotion regularly, and more trainees debuted at the show.
Rise in popularity (2016–present)[]
On January 4, 2016, TJPW held its first ever show in Korakuen Hall, a famed wrestling venue in puroresu. Main evented by Miyu Yamashita defeating Shoko Nakajima to become the first ever Tokyo Princess of Princess Champion, it also featured the debut of Yuu and an appearance from American wrestler Candice LeRae. In the spring of 2016, Ai Shimizu and Erin announced their departure from the promotion, however, the summer was a success for the promotion, and TJPW earned a broadcasting deal to be shown on idol-centric channel Pigoo.
On January 4, 2017, TJPW held its second annual Korakuen show, main evented by Yuu retaining the Tokyo Princess of Princess title over Shoko Nakajima. On May 29, an audition was held for four young wrestlers to form a wrestling/idol group to be known as the "Up-Up Girls". On July 20, four women were picked and began training to wrestle shortly after. On December 4, the Up-Up Girls debuted with an idol performance, but didn't appear in ring until January 4, 2018.
On January 4, 2018, TJPW's third annual Korakuen show proved to be a success, drawing over 1000 fans for the first time ever. The show was also broadcast on AbemaTV for the first time, as well as DDT's streaming service DDT Universe. The show was main evented by TJP ace Miyu Yamashita defeating Reika Saiki to win back the Tokyo Princess of Princess Championship. On February 28, the TJPW show from Shinjuku FACE was once again broadcast on AbemaTV, and it was announced Abema had picked up TJPW to broadcast it regularly. This also marked the end of TJPW being broadcast on Pigoo. On November 1, 2018, the three trainee rules were officially bought to an end, allowing wrestlers to drink, smoke and have relationships on their own accord.
The 2019 January 4 show was once again a success, drawing 1300 fans to Korakuen Hall. In April 2019 TJPW, would enter in a working relationship with American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). On July 16, 2019, TJPW announced, via their Twitter account, a new title named the International Princess Championship. They also announced that the Tokyo Princess of Princess Championship and the Tokyo Princess Tag Team Championship would be dropping "Tokyo" from their names. On March 19, 2022, TJPW's first Ryōgoku Kokugikan show proved to be a success, drawing over 1714 fans for the first time drawing the promotion's biggest attendence ever. The show was also broadcast on CyberFight's streaming service Wrestle Universe.
On December 15, 2023, TJPW was announced as one of the founding members of the United Japan Pro-Wrestling alliance, as part of a joint effort to further develop professional wrestling through promotion and organization, with Seiji Sakaguchi being named as the chairman of the project.
On May 16, 2024, in a press conference, it was announced that Yasuo Okamoto would take over as new president of all promotions within CyberFight and Sanshiro Takagi and Naomichi Marufuji would serve, as duo vice-presidents.
Roster[]
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Up Up Girls |
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BeeStar |
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NEO Biishiki-gun |
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Bakuretsu Sisters |
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Notable Alumini[]
- Akane Miura
- Ayumi Takada
- Azusa Takigawa
- Chikage
- Himawari Unagi
- Kiba Erin
- Kanna
- Maho Kurone
- Mina Shirakawa
- Mizuho
- Mirai Maiumi
- Natsumi Maki
- Nonoko
- Nozomi
- Pinano Pipipipi
- Reika Saiki
- Shiori Sena
- Yuu
Broadcasters[]
Domestic:
- Abema (2017–present, online linear television service, live-streaming episodes)
- Fighting TV Samurai (2012–present, currently broadcasting live specials, retrospective shows)
- Pigoo (2016-2018, broadcasted weekly highlights shows and live specials)
- OPENREC.tv (2020–2021, streaming service)
Worldwide:
- Wrestle Universe (streaming service, broadcasting most TJPW shows live, as well as on-demand classic, as well as content from other promotions, beginning with TJPW sister promotions Pro Wrestling NOAH and DDT Pro-Wrestling)
Championships[]
Championship | Current champion(s) | Reign | Date won | Days held | |
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Princess of Princess Championship | Yuka Sakazaki | 3 | October 9, 2022 | 791+ | |
International Princess Championship | Miu Watanabe | 1 | |||
Princess Tag Team Championship | File:Princesstag-wastelandwpc.jpg | Wasteland War Party Cannon (Heidi Howitzer and Max The Impaler) |
1 (1/1) |
January 4, 2023 | 704+ |
Annual tournaments[]
Tournament | Last winner | Last held |
---|---|---|
Tokyo Princess Cup | Yuka Sakazaki | August 14, 2022 |
Max Heart Tournament | Hakuchumu (Miu Watanabe and Rika Tatsmui) |
February 11, 2022 |