TJPW Texas Tour Travel Vlog | Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling in USA

TJPW Texas Tour Travel Vlog | Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling in USA

I feel there’s a common misconception
thrown around among pro wrestling fans that if we follow the logic
that pro wrestling is indeed a sport, then all the industry’s individual promotions
are essentially the teams in a league all competing amongst one
another for the same prize. And so it’s only natural for a fan of one
promotion to want their team to win, to be the most popular sign,
the best talent, to be the best. Most dominant brand in the sport. But I don’t see it that way at all. To me, pro wrestling shares more of a similarity
to the music industry, with its promotions acting more like a record label,
each with its own unique style and vision, signing talents that best reflect
the sound they’re looking to capture and with an ideal audience and culture
in mind in which to promote it. And when it comes to supporting
independent wrestling, it shares a lot of parallels
with following your local music scene. That magic of discovering
fresh talent on the rise, performing in new and fascinating ways
that stoke the imagination. The opportunity to witness their earliest
triumphs in front of the smallest crowds they’d ever work long
before that becomes a near impossibility. Being able to greet them after the show
by the merch that they most likely produce themselves
directly from the source. The opportunity to tell them what
their craft means to you, and to share a brief connection made possible
thanks to a shared love of this art form. There’s also the bittersweet pride of seeing your favorite start
to take flight and achieve their dreams, knowing that you may never see them
play those same intimate clubs again. Yet understanding it’s
what you’ve wanted for them all along and for the rest of the world to catch up
to what you already knew, and to be able to share in that joy
with more people than you ever thought possible. Hey everyone! I’m the pro wrestling VTuber dedicated
to love and Justice Kitzhaber fame. And today I’ll be telling you
all about my cross-country trip to check out my favorite wrestling
promotion in the world. Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling. As they embarked on a three day
tour in the state of Texas, you may have spotted the promotional video I made for the event in my previous video. Not gonna lie, I’ve always kind of
wanted to be an offer code, and not only did I end up making it
to their two shows in Houston, but I also wound up with a real life
cowboy hat as well. Dreams really do come true, y’all. And I’m so glad I made the trip,
because by the end of the tour, it became clear that this would be
a fairly significant weekend in the history of the promotion. As if selling out all three nights of
their tour was an impressive enough, they did it while out, drawing other
nearby promotions and putting up their all time single day attendance
record at their finale in Dallas. And they did it all without having previously stepped foot
in the state of Texas. It’s truly wild how much of a success
this trip was for TJP, and so it’s no surprise to already
hear word that it may become an annual excursion
for the group. Of course, this trip wouldn’t have been possible for me were it
not for all the incredible support that y’all have shown me
for the past year, and we’ve got plenty to celebrate
at the moment. The Beginner’s Guide to TJP continues
to be my most watched video to date
and recently sailed past 10,000 views, making it my first across the five digit
threshold. Even more incredible is seeing this very
channel surpass the 1000 subscriber mark, which is a pretty major milestone
if you ask me. Thank you all so much for your continued
grace, patience, and support as I continue to do my very best
to crank out videos whenever possible. I’d also like to give a special shout out
to those who’ve been joining me
and the Saber Gang over on Twitch as well, where I’ve also recently started
providing alternate English commentary for TJP streams on Wrestling Universe
that don’t currently have any. I’ll probably ask about that
more in the future, but in the meantime, if you haven’t already,
be sure to hit that like and subscribe. It’s truly the best and easiest way to
show your support for all of my efforts. And as always, I do greatly appreciate it. Okay,
now let’s make our way over to California where there’s another trip
across the country currently in progress. But wait wait, wait. What do we mean in California? I just told them we’re going to Texas. It’s in the title,
the video and everything. Hello, guys. But why are we going to California? What do you. What do you mean, just. Read the script. Dude, I broke the script. Read the script, dude. Kiss my ass. Okay, but for real. Why? Why are we going to California? Hello? Hello. What do you mean, goals? Yeah. So Texas
was never originally part of the plan. You see, back in April,
I was supposed to be heading out to Vegas future’s annual appearance at the GSW
collective during WrestleMania weekend. But on account of,
oh, let’s just call it world events, I decided that maybe a bustling weekend
in Vegas wasn’t the best use of my time. Instead, my partner and I refocused our travel efforts on a trip
out to California to see friends eat in and out, partake
in the local culture, visit Disneyland. You know, California stuff. Also. Yes, hello. Hi! I will be appearing in 2D
for the rest of this video, as my computer also decided that it has given up on life
as we know it. And so I am currently dealing
with a bunch of technical issues. My apologies
for the lack of heavy editing, as it also ate a lot of my work
at some point. This kind of a model though, was made
by Tensei, and I commissioned them again to add a sweet TJP cowboy
hat for the occasion. Boggled. And for a few months that was the plan. Anyways, until breaking news Tokyo
Joshi Pro Wrestling is returning to the US this July with an unprecedented three day
tour in the Lone Star state of Texas. TJP announced its three day
Texas tour schedule towards the end of that
very trip to California. While I was determined
to teach the next time they returned, I was also really looking forward
to all that novelty cold brew and writing monsters, Inc. one last time. So I relented and initially had no plans
to make it over to Texas. That was, however,
until the tour organizers at Tokyo Story reached out and asked to have a call
to discuss the event. And so I put on my Best Business boy zoom
background and joined them for a chat. Since putting out the beginner’s
Guide to TJP Video, I’ve become a lot of people’s first stop
in understanding Tokyo Joshi Pro, and so I was more than happy
to share my thoughts, guide them towards other, more local creators and influencers
who could help them along. And by the end of the conversation,
I decided maybe we should be in Texas for this
after all. So we remap the California trip
into a Disneyland vacation. So long as I got to see paint the night
one last time, I’d be happy and figured we could at least make it to the first two nights in Houston
before returning to the real world. I’m not going to lie, though,
there was a part of me that wanted to then rent a car and road trip
from Houston to Dallas for both. The last show of the tour,
as well as eight, was all an event,
but it just wasn’t feasible. And so I must continue my three year
on streak of traveling across the country during the biggest weekend of the year
for one promotion, only to completely ignore
them and just see TJ instead. This is commonly referred to as being
one of their strongest soldiers. There was one problem
with this plan, though. It turns out the Disneyland adjacent
Santa Ana Airport to Houston
isn’t a popular flight route, and so the earliest we could arrive for
the first day of TJP tour was 5:30 p.m. local time, which was also
when doors open for night one. So I packed my bags
in such a way that I could go straight from the airport to the venue
without missing too much of the show. I unfortunately did end up missing
the first three matches and the up up girls and their collab performance
with the local Megami Maids group, and my first chance to be a Bacana guy. But let me show you the first moment
I was able to capture after making my way through the building, getting checked in, and finding a spot
against a wall to post up, I took a knee to assemble my camera
and after taking a moment to adjust the settings, I peered through
the viewfinder to see this video. And it was in this moment I realized I’d made the right decision to be here. Daisy Monkey was taking on the team
of Mocha Miyamoto and Chino Suzuki and the vibes,
my friends, were immaculate. The first thing you’ll notice
about all the footage from TJ two Night Run in Houston is the unique situation
of the venue. Post Houston gets its name from the fact
that it’s the former headquarters of the city’s US
Postal Service, and yet only the government could design
something as brutalist as this. So that tracks these days it’s
more of a shared community and culture space, boasting a Skylon,
a museum, local businesses and perhaps most importantly, one of the best food
halls I’ve experienced in years. Every type of food you could imagine
Mexican sushi, dim sum, Pakistani, Latin, South African
ice cream, boba, a skate shop. For some reason that I don’t
fully understand, but that’s cool too. All locally sourced, high quality stuff. Listen, if you’ve been to
as many wrestling shows as I have, you know the venue amenity situation, B
tire, knowing that at any point we could get great food while still being
within earshot of palm cars. YouTube took a lot of stress
out of a scenario like this where I didn’t have a chance to eat
before the show. It’s also that experience in attending shows and specifically Tokyo
Joshi Pro wrestling shows, that gave me the mental headroom
to be able to step back from the experience at hand
and observe the room more fully. The cavernous ceilings, paired
with slick cement floors, made the sellout crowd of 415 paint fans
sound more like 4000, with everyone’s claps and cheers bouncing
and reverberating through the tunnel like hallway and with each move
and subsequent shrill reaction from fans, I couldn’t help but notice
more post visitors following the sound in a daze of bewilderment and gradually,
as the show progressed, more than could be heard
cheering from the sidelines. This is one of TJP its great strengths,
its ability to immediately grab people’s imaginations,
and helping create a space for them to see that there’s more to pro wrestling
than they may have initially thought, and that maybe it has a place for them
as well. It’s one of the reasons why I think so
many of its roster members initially started out as wrestling fans
because of their exposure to TJ and BW. This was also the first time I’ve been
to a TJ EPW show, where the crowd felt fully locked in and intentional
with how they showed their appreciation. You see, every previous TJ show
that I’d attended in the U.S was hosted alongside WrestleMania weekend,
and while you do get the hardcore weirdos like myself who will intentionally
make the trip out to see Teej, the majority of those tickets are going to people
who are truly there for the bigger events, and so checking out TJ is a curiosity
more than anything else. Or, as has been the case in recent years
with the G7 collective, Take a Seat will be included as part of an all weekend
package deal, and so there will be folks in attendance who may not even be aware
that they have tickets to see a TJ show that day,
or what it even is to begin with. All this to say,
shows have drawn mixed crowds, and while they’ve always been won
over by the end, I’ve also wanted to know what it’s like to be at a teen show
where everyone else is more or less in on the more you know,
and this was definitely that crowd. These Houston shows have been sold out
for about a month, and that kind of early sellout is indicative
of a more knowledgeable audience. The fans in Houston
were clapping along to everyone’s songs, shouting their favorites names
to encourage them, and by the time the main event rolled around, a rare
one day one encounter between tag team partners Mew Yamashita and Monkey Ito,
the crowd was simply electric. Let’s talk about Maki here
for just a moment. The loudest reactions of the weekend
were reserved for the cutest in the world, and if that wasn’t enough
to convince anyone how over she is, she also had a meet and greet line
bigger than most of the other talent combined to back it up. I’d mentioned in my beginner’s guide video
that one truly couldn’t overstate the importance of Maki
Ito to TJ, and weekends like
these are exactly what I’m talking about. People love Maki here in the West,
and while some fans may criticize her Western excursions with JC
for supposedly being to one dimensional, too cartoonish,
or leaning too much into being a mean wrestler,
which, first of all, how fucking dare you! Not only do I not agree
with any of those sentiments, I also have to say that looking
at the past few years of Ito’s career, I genuinely appreciate all she’s done
to help expose new fans to Tokyo
Joshi Pro-Wrestling here in the US. Her and Yamashita both actually the time
they’ve spent away from TJP on these long trips overseas. Touring the U.S
as extensively as these two have has only helped raise the profile
of their home promotions, and these rabid sellouts and reactions
and Texas are proof of that. In the past, Mikey Ito may have been
a lot of fans gateway to TJ with her wild giftable punk rock antics and Newmaster Yamashita
may have been a similar gateway for fans, with clips of her
iconic skull cake constantly going viral, but these days they’re the gateway
because of the time they’ve spent on the road building relationship
with Western audiences, and now they’ve got them coming back
to see more. After the show, I made my way over
to the meet and greet area and despite my VIP wristband, was still woefully
unprepared, having shown up late. You see, after TJ shows,
there’s typically a meet and greet where all the wrestlers
get set up at a table with their merch and sign autographs,
take photos, all that good stuff. Typical Indy post-show happenings
that you see all over the U.S. and Japan, where TJ differs from most
post-show meet and greets in the West, however, is their use
of a pre-purchase system to acquire autographs and photos
from the town. For $30, you can choose a physical print
of the available talent, which you then bring to their line
and hand over for an autograph and even a cheeky little photo
if you’d like. And if you brought something from home to have signed that same 30 bucks
can also get you a generic ticket, which you then hand over to the talent
along with the personal item. It’s actually a very cool, well done system, but only if you arrive
early and make use of it. And I, well, did not. Once I’d gotten inside and recalled
how the system worked, there was already an Ito sized line
at the print table. I was fortunately not caught. Chucky lost though, as I did
had my recently collected BBM Joshi pro wrestling cards,
a few of which I’d brought to be signed. I pulled out my prized casual dress
while Carnet O’Hara and hopped in line
to meet the dreaming star. Also,
I think we got a casual coming up here. Ooh ooh ooh. That’s what Chyna. I wonder how
she’s wearing a charge on your ass. Oh, my God, what’s going. So let us, I know those eyes anywhere like that. That’s gotta be what? Got a brother, dude, this is the photo I want them to find in my wallet when I’m dying in the water wars. Okay. Oh, wow. This is the guy. The shit man would go to war and die for. It’d be like I got a girl back home. I got this girl back home. I gotta make it back to La Cod. And she was incredibly sweet.
Of course she was. We had a brief chat about what
she planned to eat while she was here. Barbecue? Of course. I also apologize for missing her
mash that day, and assured her that I’d make up for it
by being extra loud for her tomorrow. This I promised. I wished our mukbang champion all my best and stepped aside
to put my freshly signed card away. This is also
where my social battery dropped clear on my ass
because I was exhausted by this point. Being up early to catch our flight
going straight from the plane. The venue, not having seating, standing while shooting footage
with a heavy camera, maintaining composure and not embarrassing myself
in front of impossibly cute girls. Always high on one’s list of social
anxieties, regardless of circumstance. I’m sure I was drained and ready
to head back to the hotel. I’d also come to the show alone,
as my partner was too exhausted to make it to tonight’s show,
and while I’m used to attending shows by myself, it definitely requires
a different sort of energy. And I didn’t have the battery to spare. Not having dinner
also probably didn’t help, so I grabbed a delicious catfish sandwich,
hopped in an Uber, and headed back to the hotel
to crash out and try again tomorrow. So I wake up around 12 p.m. the next day. Not even really sure
if that’s the real time, but to be honest, we’ve been going pretty hard and knowing
we didn’t actually have anywhere to be. The next morning
for the first time in nearly a week, and also without any sad puppies
who also had immediate needs, I think it may have been the first time
in months I’d been able to just sleep
in, in spite of a temporary coma. I did have two things to look forward to
with the day show. First is actually being able to arrive early enough to sort unpack
Prince situation. And second,
we actually had seats this time when it came to the prints, I opted for
Monkey and Missile to start, as I knew I’d want to meet mochi and have assigned
the jacket I’d put together for the event. Misao is someone I’d met previously,
but she’d already sold out of all her prints and merch, and so I knew
I wanted to make up for that. I also had to make sure to pick up my TJP
cowboy hat before the show. Something I absolutely could not resist. Your boy’s going to look so fresh rocking
this and a cardigan haul next year. After getting settled in,
it was time to start the show with the up up girls
who prepped a familiar tune. But then when it came time to start some. Shout outs Samu Watanabe, our fearless, pink
clad idol leader for taking charge and buying production some extra time
and shout outs to my gaming maids as well. They’re a Texas based
made themed idol group who partnered with the event and added
some really fun atmosphere to the show. We always love a mass
upper cake routine day. The first match on deck
this evening was also my chance to make up for something I couldn’t do. The previous Night Bowl. Carnegie got up or got up as a dreaming star. Awaken, O’Hara took on a pop girl,
Sheena Suzuki, up. Here. I hope so, Jax. For today’s show cycle. That’s what I love with her. Of course, as you know. Yeah. Girl. Oh, yeah. Yeah. You know, I was recently,
we kind of had a matchup yesterday against fans that are new to TJP. We talked to a little bit
about this group that back elbow I had. Getting to watch night
two from start to finish gave me an appreciation for the cards TJP
put together for these shows. They really just gave us
the most typical city circuit style
KFC haul ass show is possible. And quite honestly, as a hardcore fan,
you love to see it. You see most of TJP. Previous shows in the US were scheduled
alongside WrestleMania weekends, and there’s an expectation
for a lot of these visiting promotions to present supercard style affairs
with lots of big and important singles matches typically featuring
a lot of outside talent. And while it makes for some great cards,
it’s also not really indicative of what makes TJ stand apart
from other promotions out there. It typically just feels like JC featuring
a bunch of TJ wrestlers most of the time. Teaches first two nights in Houston
felt very much like the Hachem only City circuit shows featuring a variety of fun
tag matches, lower stakes singles affairs, and fun gags that incorporate
bits of the local culture. That might not sound super impressive,
but as a fan, I think it’s exactly what I’ve been
wanting to see this entire time. The tour format also gave talent room
to stretch their performances, with Cars Harajuku somehow coming up with unique gags and gimmicks
for each day of the tour. That’s my goat right there. You’re the girl on. It wasn’t just the formatting
that had this feeling like one of the most authentic
TJP shows in the US. Yeah, we got the above girls, but
we also got Corey Namba hosting the show. Fresh off her graduation event of the company
and continuing the tradition of Teej performers appearing more on the company
after leaving than anywhere else. And we wouldn’t want it any other way
because numbers one of one v goat I know I just said palm was the goat. I got a lot of goats. Okay, what truly cemented this feeling,
however, was seeing Hyper Misao charging around the ring in her hyper
dream cycle in all its neon green glory, a feat that I later find out
was made possible by an event volunteer. More on that later. The Houston
shows felt like organic buildups towards the bigger cart in Dallas,
all while presenting the most authentic TJP shows seen on US soil to date. Truly some of the most fun
I’ve had watching a pair of pro wrestling shows for the main event of night two. We were treated to a Summer Sun
Princess preview match featuring its singles champions
taking on their challengers, with Mizuki and Susanna teaming up against Yuki,
Ariya and Moka Miyamoto. That’s America’s
favorite, saying that back away from. And as I’m watching this match, all I can really think is, goddamn,
I love TJP. I love this roster. I could not imagine choosing anything else
over this pro wrestling is the greatest. Following the show,
it was time for the second round of meet and greets and armed with my two prints
ready to go, I added a third of Sayori number
on the way in, since I had to meet the goat of goats, and armed
with the knowledge of the previous night, I’d be blinded straight from Monkey
Ito’s table to beat the rush. I’d mentioned in a previous video
that while I’ve had a few opportunities to meet Maki in the past,
I’d always opted not to. Out of fear, I end up getting emotional and crying in front of her,
and I’m not trying to do that. We’re not trying to cry
in front of wrestlers out here. Like many fans, though, Maki
was my introduction to TJP back in 2018 and I really do credit her
for saving my love of pro wrestling. If it weren’t for Monica Ito, there
probably wouldn’t be a Cat saber fan right now. As I got to the front, however,
any fears of becoming a blubbering mess in front of my idol had vanished, as Maki was in high spirits
and super animated in her enthusiasm. I told Maki a bit about my story,
how she’s the reason that I got the DJ to some of the highlights
that I recall from those early days, and I thanked her for all the hard work
that she puts into the promotion. She popped huge for the jacket
I’d put together and carefully signed on the middle
finger, though in all the excitement I actually forgot to get a picture
with her or of any of this. Really? So my bad y’all. I guess this is really just an excuse
to go see Maki again the next time. Afterwards, I made my way over to Hyper
Misao, who was posing alongside the Hyper Dream Cycle. Misao was also in high spirits,
and I was impressed with just how much her English skills have improved
since I last saw her in Philadelphia. Same for Shoko as well, who I had a brief
chat with while I was signing my print. She had recognized me from her time
in North Carolina and we both expressed
a need for her to visit again some time. My last official meet
and greet of the night was with number one ring announcer salary number, which was something
I absolutely could not miss out on. When TJP came to Philly last year,
I was bummed that now Cogta had to cancel during her retirement run,
and with Namba having recently graduated from the promotion, there’s no guarantee that she’ll be on
any of these shows moving forward. So it really felt like Now
or never to meet her numbers. A sweetheart, of course, and
to our discussion, I basically reiterated everything I said about her in this ramp
steer with the boy. She’s done
all of this shit that you care about. It was also during this time, the meet and greet area
that I ended up having a few of my own. I was so happy to meet a few of y’all
who watched my videos, some of whom spotted me from the Monkey
eater jacket that I’d been posting about before the show,
and even some who recognize my voice. Which is wild because I don’t really
think of myself as having a particularly distinct voice,
but unique enough to be spotted as suppose I met Grim Recycler from our discord,
who was actually volunteering for the event, which is very cool to see. I also met a couple that had learned
about Tokyo Pro-Wrestling from the advertisements
for the show, and wound up watching the Beginner’s Guide video
multiple times over as research. And for the record,
if you do think you spot me at a show, feel free to come say hi. I do my best to maintain my VTuber
World of illusion as much as possible. For those
who don’t want the immersion breaks, but otherwise I typically have stickers on me for just such an occasion
and I’m always happy to meet folks. Come meet buddy
the vape dog at your local indie today. I also had the pleasure of getting to meet one of my favorite creators
around, Meerkat Ultra. If you’re on my channel,
then you’re most likely familiar with theirs
as they’re one of the most prominent video creators covering joshi
pro-wrestling on YouTube here in the list. And much like how they were inspired
by the early videos of Myojo Shizzle when it comes to creating video essays
about Japanese wrestling, it was their videos
that in part inspired my own seeing cat, making fun and silly yet
informative and heartfelt videos for wrestling inspired me to take a chance
and talk about wrestling in my own unique way as well. And it didn’t end there because a
week later they joined me over on Twitch, where we shared our videos and experiences
from Everything Teach in Texas. TJP managed
to sell out two nights in Houston, Texas, and now it was time to see
if they could do the same in Dallas. As for me, I’d be heading back home
where I’d be watching the show a few days later on demand. Thankfully it wouldn’t be long, though,
until we heard how the rest of the trip turned out for TJP. Was there ever a consideration
when y’all were planning it that you’d be overseeing
the biggest single day attendance? Or for TJP? I was like, I didn’t even know what
the record was that I was like, oh, wow. Okay, so, so no, not at all. I had no idea
we were going to kind of break that record that Sunday afternoon, July 20th, not only the Tokyo Joshi Pro
Wrestling managed to sell out the third straight day of its tour on wake ups,
but in doing so achieved the highest single day
attendance in the promotion’s history with 2540 fans packed into the OC Theater in Fourni,
Texas, besting its previous single day record of 2349 fans for Grand Princess
two four held in Tokyo, Japan last year. It also now holds a unique claim
as the biggest single day event for a joshi promotion
in the United States. This is an incredible achievement
in more ways than one, and to help put this in perspective, TJP sold more tickets for their one day
show in Dallas than they did their past
three WrestleMania weekend shows combined, and that Dallas number becomes
even more impressive when you compare it to all the promotions
running shows in Texas that week as well. While not on the scale of a WrestleMania
weekend, you did have House of glory and yes, eight all running shows the Week of all in which ultimately drew 27,000 fans itself. TJP show in Dallas sold more tickets
than every other show in Dallas that week, with the exception of All In, of Course
and the Go Home Dynamite in Garland. And while it wasn’t in Texas,
I did also throw in an NXT Great American Bash because,
I mean, come on, that’s pretty funny. Two weeks later, back in Japan,
TJP would host the second of its big three events of the year
Summer Sun Princess two five, drawing a crowd of 1384 paying fans,
which is surprising because you’d think they’d be able to draw
more easily with their home crowds. So how did this happen? I’m no expert on the matter,
but an aggressive local promotion plan courtesy of the event organizers
at Tokyo Story, probably had something to do with it. So it was, for me. To me, it was more like a proof of concept
event with our 100 pals. They do the Japanese Joshi all of us can reach out to, like,
general public. And I think it proved that. And most importantly, us viewers,
beyond the traditional wrestling fans, I think that par Nick and I
are still analyzing that, our tentative I wouldn’t say conclusion about a take
is that we did successfully, appeal to nontraditional wrestling fans
this time earlier. I talked about the authenticity
of these Texas tour shows and how the event production helped
make it feel no different than what we’re used to seeing overseas. Part of this was the tour structure
and TJP owning the show themselves, allowing them to tap into the cultural
aspect of performing in Texas. When TJP towards in Japan,
they like to incorporate local customs, cuisines, marine life,
you name it, and seen the girls at TJP fully embrace the Texas sized
nature of the event really helped endear them to the audience, especially those in
the crowd newer to wrestling in general. But one of the more fun aspects
I think of the show was the cowboy hats. Yeah, where did I right for that? Where did the cowboy hats come from? Whose idea was this? And and did they sell out? I happen to have a friend
that just makes cowboy hats. Oh, okay. And I thought I was like, well,
if they’re if we’re going to have these girls come to Texas
for the first time, what’s what’s more iconic than Texas
and like, cowboys, right? So I was like this little cowboy hats. I have a friend that literally does it. And we made a conservative amount of them. And yeah, they sold out. I think even if we made double,
they probably would have still sold out. But yeah, we want to be very conservative
because it’s like it’s not something that if people are going to wear every day,
well, we got right. And I want one thing I loved about it
was that a lot of the girls incorporated the cowboy hats into the show.
That was the only choice. We didn’t. We just gave it to them as a gift. We didn’t say, like, pleased with them
here or anything like that. So I’m glad that they enjoyed the hats
too, and they got to kind of showcase it. One of my favorite parts of the weekend
was just seeing all the different jokes and gimmicks that Palmer’s Uku
could squeeze into each show. So I guess my big question there is whose
idea was it to give her a gacha machine? It’s hard as she wanted it. Yeah, I kind of asked them
to do something with gas, so that was as the tail as I said. So did you expect them to be like, great. Oh, well, we’ll use it. Yeah. The whole thing. I mean, I have to admit at home
Harajuku is like, this is really impressed me. I see her that’s
that’s a different character compared to she came to Texas before and I was very impressed by the Bucky’s
part to her, accent. And the expression was it was amazing. Likewise, on on a similar note,
seeing Hyper Missile bring out the hyper cycle that that is
was one of the most shocking,
most surprising moments of the show. Essentially, what happened was I remember
even then, I remember y’all, but somehow we had to make the bike and,
and I know I was like, not crafty at all. And I’m like,
oh my God, we have to make it like. And I looked up pictures of it. And it doesn’t help
that every bike is a little bit different based on, you know, I guess, like where they are
and how she wants to make it. I’m over here as a very non crafty person,
looking at all the pictures of the bikes, I think to myself, I don’t even know
which one to base it off. So we put it out there
and then one of the volunteers, named Ben, he reached out and he said
he was very interested, in doing it. And we just kind of said,
please help us so much. We really need you to help.
I cannot do this. Think like Larry. Did they,
before you sent us a picture of it? Yeah. I was like, this is great. Then he showed up with it. He showed us that they had, like, working
lights and everything and all of that. And then he made the little hole
that Texas, the Texas, south front of it. Yeah. So it was really cool. And it was, it was really cool
to have someone that really loves the character, to be able
to make something from his heart for her and have her use it. I thought that was really cool, seeing talent,
being able to fully express themselves and make the most of their unique
environments also made me realize how some of these wild
or more eccentric elements of type shows tend to be more toned down
for the WrestleMania weekend shows. Even when riding with the outlaws,
they’re still ascending down of TJP edges to try
and make it more appealing to its partner. Promotion’s audience this weekend also
showed me that there’s nothing about TJP you need to change
for Western audiences to enjoy, they just need to know it
exists in the first place and partnering with an event organizer like Tokyo Story
as opposed to a typical pro wrestling company, meant
they actually received a real promotion that reached beyond the existing pro
wrestling audience. For example, a month prior to the Texas
tour, Tokyo Story had a booth promoting
their TJP w events at the Tokyo X convention, an indoor
Japanese cultural festival conveniently located in Houston
where two of its shows would be held. They not only reached more women and non
wrestling fans with this appearance, but they also discovered
that a lot of people who don’t consider themselves
wrestling fans do recognize Maki Ito, and that sort of research came in clutch
when the PR firm, contracted by their Houston
venue post coordinated with Tokyo Story for an appearance on Great Day
Houston, a local morning show. What was it
like getting Maki Ito onto a morning show? Like what was
what were those conversations like? That was through the PR team
that is contracted out with host, which is the location
that we helped the Houston show. Oh, okay. They have a they
I guess I have a standing contract with that PR team to help promote
any events that they have. So they connected them with us. And then they found Kenji. You, very day to kind of bring them out. I hadn’t guessed that the venue
was helping out like that. That’s really cool. House is basically considered
like a like a cultural center. They do a ton of events there. So they, they have a PR team
that helps them for morale. Are there events externally from what
they can do from their own social media? These are the sorts of things that their
previous partners wouldn’t even attempt. And like, let me just put it this way. Game Changer Wrestling is known for being cheapskates
when it comes to paying his talent. Do you really think they’re buying Mizuki
a billboard? I don’t think so. Also, for the record, it was revealed in
an interview with the Japanese publication Battle News that, in fact, Tokyo Story’s
most successful marketing tactic was to give an influencer $300 to create a seven second clip of Mizuki that directly resulted in $10,000
in ticket sales alone. First of all, if that’s really all
it takes to move tickets for Tokyo Joshi Pro
to simply have a chance to show people even a fraction
of what they’re capable of in that ring, then I think it really speaks to the desire out there
for a different kind of pro-wrestling, for fans to have that opportunity
to open their eyes, see pro-wrestling
for the first time again, and realize that maybe it’s not pro wrestling
they don’t like, but just one specific brand’s vision
for what pro wrestling should be. And secondly, make sure you think big for the house on your way out
tonight, brother. Thank you guys for for helping
bring TJP you to Texas. Oh no no, thank you for helping us. Thank you for helping us. What did I do at the end of the day?
Oh, wait, wait here. Here’s a question for you a great video. Oh, well. Hey, did I sell any tickets? Yeah. Yeah. You did. Oh. All right. Okay. Final question
that everybody would want to know. Are you running it back? Yeah. Yeah, I guess, no, you’re gonna
you’re gonna try and bring them back 100%. Yeah. When I got back from the trip to Texas,
there was definitely something different. A certain switch had been flipped, and I think it was the realization that, yeah, I really do love this promotion. Why else would I be going through
such extraordinary lengths to see it whenever possible? In all my years of watching pro wrestling,
I’d never actually hopped on a plane specifically to go to a show until TJP w and it’s been a few years
now where I’ve been making those trips, and that maybe I had more to offer that maybe there was more work to be done. When it comes to helping more fans
in the West discover and take part in the joy of Tokyo,
Joshi Pro Wrestling. So I reached out to some friends
in the community, formed a little group, and we launched a brand new subreddit
dedicated to TJ discussion with its goal to help more fans
discover and learn more about Teej. I woke up at 4 a.m. to perform live pro wrestling commentary
for the first time in my life alongside night one of the Tokyo Princes Cup,
which aired without a commentary track. I never really thought about doing it,
but then I realized I came back from Texas with a reaffirmed love of this
wild world of TJP. And while I don’t know
exactly where I’m heading with it all, I just know that I’m happy to be here now
with you all experiencing what joy we can in an increasingly bleak world. And we all need that. Even if it takes running over material cure you with a bicycle,
we’ll do it as many times as it needs to be done in fact,
we will run over my hero cure. You with a bicycle as many times as it takes for the world to heal. And that, my friends, is something I think we can all get behind. As in behind the handlebars of the bicycle
that is running over me here in Korea. I think we all can find joy in that. Thank you so much for making it
all the way to the end of the video. You, my friend, are a real one. And thank you to Nick and Joe
at Tokyo Story USA for taking care of me while in Texas,
and for sitting down for an interview. And thank all of you
for your continued support. As soon as this video is published,
I’ll start the process of backing up my current PC for its great reinstall. And so with any luck, I’ll be back in full
3D form in no time. And remember y’all, pro wrestling is for everyone
and pro wrestling can be anything.

Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling (TJPW) made history in Texas with the biggest single event for a Japanese’s women’s wrestling promotion in US history! And you know I had to be there…. eventually.

🐺 Be part of the Sabregang, join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2vM8zuRrD4

L I N K S & S O U R C E S

• A Beginner’s Guide to TJPW: https://youtu.be/NcH73YJ8Od0?si=TIY_pdVMIO5A57aM
• pngtuber by Tensaye: https://vgen.co/Tensaye
• Megami Maids, TX: https://www.instagram.com/megami_maids/
• @meerkat_ultra Texas Vlog: https://youtu.be/ConG_hubCAw?si=sN1PB9gC8tpwIgyj
• Our new TJPW Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/teej/
• TJPW on Great Day Houston: https://youtu.be/3Eo3TDiNhxA?si=PPjGAWOeVfUJ-82t
• DramaticDDT’s translation of Battle News interview: https://x.com/DramaticDDT/status/1952409390268514748
• https://tokyostoryusa.com/

M U S I C

• https://youtu.be/sVYTN1DN8R4?si=znM6DDoNO6lDJVNQ
• https://youtu.be/org3q6kXgWc?si=qyfV4Hh9NXjUlExh
• https://youtu.be/d3KfkKXRDzk?si=Ejd0IXXsSsVfWKRb

E Q U I P M E N T
• Fujifilm X-T30 w/ Fuji XF 50-140 f.28
• Dji Pocket 3
• iPhone 13 Pro

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🌙 C H A P T E R S

00:00 – Intro
04:42 – Day Zero, California
07:47 – Day One, TJPW in Texas
17:17 – Day Two, TJPW in Texas
27:02 – One Week Later

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📺 W H A T T O W A T C H N E X T

Get to Know Me Vtuber Edition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbupUH65NeM&list=PLebij8TdrNfJKOWCaajYQRy4ZIpHsWK2l&index=2

Everything I’ve learned about NXT has been against my will: https://youtu.be/MZbpW3l_hKk

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🐺 S O C I A L S

Web: https://sabrefang.io
Twitch: http://twitch.tv/kitsabrefang
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/sabrefang.io

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#tjpw #prowrestling #womenswrestling