The other day, I participated in "HYPE," a show produced by Hyper Misao from Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling.
I appeared as the "true form" of ○○ — kind of like the secret boss in the hidden world of Dragon Quest — so my appearance was kept a surprise.

Since the event wasn’t broadcast live, it looks like it’ll be available later as a VOD.
That’s why I was hesitant to write anything that might spoil it until the video came out...
But since the official site has already published a report about it, I figured it was okay to go ahead and post something.

I’ve actually been wanting to write about Tokyo Joshi for a while.
I did write about the tournament in Seattle, after all.

But if I want to write properly, I feel like I need to really watch properly, too.
And just writing based on the news feels too shallow, especially since DDT and Tokyo Joshi are so closely connected — so I hadn’t touched on it before.

This time, though, since I actually got to take part in the event, I feel like I can finally write about it.

Not sure when the VOD will be released, but maybe if you read this first and then watch the video, even those who saw it live might notice something new.

First off, let’s talk about HYPE.
That world belongs to Misao-san.
You could call it a spin-off of Tokyo Joshi Pro.
If I had to make a comparison, I’d say it’s kind of like Hiragana MUSCLE — but while it might seem that way, it’s really a completely different thing.
Ah, just to be clear, this is all just my personal opinion, okay?
I don’t actually know how she herself defines it.

It’s definitely possible that Hiragana MUSCLE influenced Misao-san.
But that’s how expression works in this world.
You take what you’ve seen, heard, and experienced throughout your life, and you express it.
So in that sense, anything someone creates is filled with the various essences of their life experiences.
That’s why HYPE is Misao-san’s creation — it’s exactly what she wants to see, what she wants to show.

In the midst of that, she reached out to me.
This recent HYPE 3 was actually a revival performance (a re-staging of a previous one),
but I had originally been invited to the first run of HYPE 3 — the non-revival one.
However, for one reason or another, that ended up not happening.
I don’t really know the full story behind it.
Some fragments of the reason were revealed at the end of the revival show, but even then, from my perspective, it still felt like only part of the picture.

Well, whatever.
In any case, I was given the chance to appear in the revival.

Just so you know, I want to avoid spoilers beyond the bare minimum, so I’ll talk about my perspective on the match from the revival performance behind a paywall.
But the main thing I want to say — I’ll share that for free and in full.

Here, I want to talk about Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, something I’ve been meaning to write about for a long time.
Some of this might overlap with what I wrote in the Seattle article, but I’m just going to write it with a fresh perspective and not worry too much about that.

So, first off: Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling started out as the “little sister” of DDT — a women’s wrestling promotion launched by DDT.

It all began when Sanshiro Takagi coaxed Koda-san, who had been a free agent after NEO dissolved, into starting something new.
The idea was to make a new promotion, with Koda-san as the president.

At the time, the only women’s wrestling promotions around were mostly successor groups that branched off from the major old-school promotions — like All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling, Japan Women’s Pro, or the women's divisions of IWA Japan and FMW. (If I’m wrong, my apologies.) I’m not counting indie one-off events here.

So, Takagi wanted to start a women’s promotion as a business venture, but didn’t have the know-how to run one — which is why he brought Koda-san on board as the leader.
That’s how I understand it.

Technically speaking, the very first contracted wrestler debuted in NEO but had to leave early due to injury.
And though she was involved in the initial stages, she left before Tokyo Joshi officially launched, so for the purposes of this story, I’m treating that as a non-starter.

From the very beginning, Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling followed a kind of isolationist policy.
Its concept was to promote a “unique style of women’s pro wrestling,” but in reality, I think the truth was that they simply weren’t at a level where they could realistically work with other promotions.
So in that sense, maybe it was the other way around:
“If we can’t collaborate with others, then let’s just grow our own world.”
That’s how things got started.

Of the original three wrestlers in the early days, only Miyu Yamashita remains today.
From there, people joined and graduated in cycles, and now it’s grown into quite a large roster.

I’ve been watching since those early days — kind of like a distant uncle keeping an eye on things.
Their first show was in 2013, so this marks their 12th year.
And now, finally, I feel like that original concept — “a unique style of women’s wrestling” — is truly starting to blossom.

At first, there was definitely a sense that Tokyo Joshi was seen as being on a lower level compared to other promotions.
Even now, since they don’t really interact with other groups, there’s no direct point of comparison — and that old image might still linger because of that.

But the current Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling is by no means “low level.”
Well, that does depend on how you define “level” in the first place.
My personal definition of “level” is: what are you able to give the audience who came to see you?
And by that standard, I can confidently say that Tokyo Joshi today is not low level at all.

Things like professional skill (which itself can mean many different things), or physical strength — I see those more as tools or weapons.

Of course, it’s always better to have those weapons, and sharpening them is definitely part of what it means to be a pro.
But I don’t think the goal of pro wrestling is to simply have those weapons.
What matters is: with the weapons you have now, what can you convey to the audience?
That, to me, is the real purpose.

After my match at HYPE, I said this on the mic:
“Tokyo Joshi is a really good promotion.”

Most pro wrestlers are working really hard.
And that’s not just in Tokyo Joshi — it applies across the board, to both men and women.
But being a pro wrestler means you're not just competing on how hard you work.
What matters is: what do you show as a result of that effort?

The era when Tokyo Joshi didn’t even know how to work hard — that’s long gone.
Miyu Yamashita, who stuck around, along with the other relatively early members, kept pushing and pushing, and through that, they learned how to work hard.
That’s what brought the promotion to where it is now.

I’m not saying the early members are amazing just because they were around from the beginning.
What I want to say is — it’s amazing that they all learned how to push themselves, together.

One of the great things about Tokyo Joshi is that there are people who see that effort — and they know how to turn it into something worth showing to the world.
Misao-san is one of those people.

I also said this on the mic:
Hard work doesn’t always get rewarded.
That’s true not just in pro wrestling — it’s true in life.
But if you don’t work hard, then there’s no chance of being rewarded.
It’s like buying a lottery ticket — if you don’t buy one, you can’t win.
Thinking “I worked hard, so I deserve to be rewarded” — that’s just wishful thinking.
Unless you keep pushing, even without knowing if it’ll pay off, you’ll never get anything back.
That’s just how it is — most of the time.

In the end, luck plays a big role in life.
The more effort you put in, the better your chances — but that’s all it does: increase the odds.
There are people out there who manage to grab hold of success, even with slim odds.

It can feel unbearable, right?
It feels unfair — and honestly, it is.

But even so, the ones who keep going despite that — they’re the ones who can keep pushing those odds higher.

And continuing to work hard even when you’re not being rewarded — that’s actually really tough.
You start wondering, “Is this really okay? Am I doing the right thing?”
That’s why I believe the presence of someone who’s watching — that’s one of the most important things you can have in your environment.

“Someone sees the effort I’m putting in.”

Just that alone can give a person the strength to keep going.
I can’t speak for other promotions, but at the very least, Tokyo Joshi has people who are watching.
There are people who can take what they see and share it with the world — even in the form of a spin-off like HYPE.

That’s why I think Tokyo Joshi is a good promotion — no, that it has become a good promotion.

Honestly, what kind of pro wrestling someone likes — that really just depends on the person.
That goes for both the performers and the audience.

As a viewer, you're free to enjoy wrestling however you like.
You can compare promotions.
You can focus on just one wrestler.
You can soak in the overall vibe.
At the core, it’s all about freedom.
The only thing that’s not okay is watching in a way that causes trouble for others.
Because pro wrestling is something we share with everyone around us.

As a performer, you don’t need to be swayed by the audience.
There’s a difference between making people happy and just chasing after what the crowd wants.
Even if you’re unsure at times, it’s enough to keep trying to find your own direction — because that’s part of how you live your life.
And Tokyo Joshi is a promotion that’s always been doing exactly that.
There’s nothing wrong with everyone rising together.
After all, the whole thing started with the vision of creating a kind of women’s pro wrestling that hadn’t existed before.
Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling really is a good promotion.
I don’t know what kind of direction they’ll take from here as a company, but I do hope the good things they have now last for as long as possible.

…And that’s basically the footnote to what “Lecture Uncle” said on the mic.

If you love Tokyo Joshi, you should feel proud — regardless of what other promotions are doing.
I think I’ve said the same thing about DDT too.
And hey, I once called myself the “Icon of DDT,” and maybe some people saw me that way — so if I’m saying this, it means I truly believe it.
Not that my approval means much, but still.

Sure, there are areas that need work.
There are things that could be improved.
There’s always room to grow.
But right now, the level is not low.
Or to put it more simply — just ask yourself: “Do I want to come back and see this again?”
That’s all that really matters.

That’s it for the free portion of this article.

From here on, it’ll be behind a paywall — I’ll be talking about why that match at HYPE turned out the way it did.
Once the VOD is released, if you watch it and find yourself curious, come back and give this a read.
I’ll be sharing some pretty interesting insights.

Also, just a heads-up — there will be some spoilers. So please keep that in mind.

Spoiler Alert.

I had a singles match with Yuki Aino.

If I had to sum up why it ended up being a singles match in the simplest terms — it’s because the producer, Misao-san, wanted to see it.

What follows is my interpretation.
This event was Misao-san’s way of putting Yuki-san in the spotlight.
And in the end, she wanted to tell a story through pro wrestling that centered on Yuki-san.
To do that, she chose me as the opponent.
She wanted — and wanted to show — Danshoku Dieno vs. Yuki Aino.

From what I understand, Yuki-san isn’t the type who likes to take the lead role.
But Misao-san wanted her to be the lead.
And the question became: how could I help bridge the gap between those two positions?
In short, Misao-san was asking me:
“Face Yuki. Help make her the protagonist.”

And I genuinely wanted to get to know the Yuki Aino of today — so I accepted the offer.

Once the match began, I chose to push Yuki-san to her limits.
Physically and in terms of experience, I clearly have the upper hand.
Overwhelmingly so.
So instead of blurring that reality, I made sure to put it right in front of her.
Because I think that was the situation Misao-san really wanted to see.

During the match, I consciously refused to let Yuki-san take control.
Because I wanted to see how she would fight when things didn’t go her way.

To me, that match was a conversation with Yuki-san.
I was asking her:
“What will you do when things get tough?”
And every one of her attacks had meaning behind it.

From what I understand, Yuki-san got into pro wrestling because she admired her older sister.
Her sister moved on from wrestling ahead of her and chose a new path as a mother.
And from my perspective, Yuki-san has that “younger sibling” nature.
Like, if things go wrong, my big sister will come help me — or someone will come help me.
I got the sense that maybe… deep down, she still thinks that way.

So, I pushed her to the limit.
I wondered, What would she do when she’s really backed into a corner?

Let me repeat:
Every one of Yuki-san’s attacks had intention behind it.

To be honest, I planned to never give up control throughout the match.
I shut down all of Yuki-san’s signature moves — especially her tackles, which normally work well against female opponents.
(Kind of lame to reveal the secret like this, but hey, this is the paid section.)

But even with her trusted tackles blocked, Yuki-san forcefully took the lead — without anyone helping her, without me holding back,
she took control all on her own.
Finally, she stood her ground against an opponent with a huge physical advantage.

That’s when I realized I had misjudged her.
Yuki-san is truly walking her own path in life.
And maybe that’s what Misao-san wanted to show — more than anyone else, to Yuki-san herself.

I hate sounding like I’m talking down to her, but thanks to Misao-san, I feel like I really got to know who Yuki-san is now.
And once again, I thought: Tokyo Joshi Pro really is a great promotion.
Every single wrestler who performed that day, regardless of career or status, was genuinely watching and cheering for Yuki-san.
Not because anyone told them to, but as if it were their own personal matter.
That’s something rare and hard to pull off.

Sure, it was a spin-off, but on the flip side, maybe that’s why people can show their true selves.

As her uncle from afar, I’m proud — and fond of her.

I hope she’ll keep being that wonderful niece going forward.
That’s the story.

If you watch the VOD with this in mind, I think you’ll see the match from a whole new angle.

For me, it was the day I thought:
Tokyo Joshi Pro? Yeah, I’ll carry the weight and face Tanahashi-san.
That’s how I felt.