Here’s the rest of the TJPW August 5 translation!
I really liked Aja Kong vs Sasadango, mainly because the powerpoint gimmick is over with me haha, and since this was a VOD show, I took the time to pause and read all of the slides before watching the match proper, and that made it a lot more fun. Pro wrestling really has some wonderful nonsense, huh?
Sasadango’s three strategies had mixed success. The stainless steel bowl worked great, until Aja got ahold of it. The song had no effect whatsoever, and Aja explained why in her post-match comments.
Aja: “I just said it in the ring, but why was this match part of TJPW wrestler Nakajima’s hometown show? I was the first to ask that. But, well, if Nakajima oversaw it, then I guess it can’t be helped, and I suppose it’s alright. That Sasadango, that bastard. That stainless steel bowl of his… that hurt. It was rock solid. Even my eighteen liter can had no effect. But his thoughts were so shallow. “炎の叫び”, that’s what you’re calling my dark history? You’re wrong. We’re talking about the 王道 of joshi pro wrestling. Get that? I was singing in the ring before the Up Up Girls. I’m not ashamed of a single thing. I’ll do it anytime, even now. …Well, ‘anytime’ might be a bit of an exaggeration. But it’s not something I’m embarrassed about at all. SAM-san from TRF did the choreography, and I even danced in it.”
I wasn’t really sure how to translate 王道 in this context, like if there was some pre-established translation for it with regards to this era of joshi. If there isn’t, I’ll probably just go with “royal road”, but unfortunately I don’t have a whole lot of background knowledge of this era.
This line was a bit tricky: “ね？ アッパーキック！に負けないくらいの踊りを踊ってるからね、こっちも.”
“See? My dancing isn’t going to lose to Upper Kick. You should really study up on that before you come. It’s not dark history. As far as my dark history goes, there’s a lot more there… though I won’t tell it.”
The second sentence here was a bit tricky: “何にしてもササダンゴは勝ちたいんだったらまず一番いいこと教えてあげる。あの空の柿の種の缶だって、（中身が）いっぱい入った柿の種を持ってきてくれたらそれはこっちだって色々考えるよ。人間だもの。そこ、間違いは.”
“But if Sasadango wants to win, I’ll tell him the number one thing to do. That empty can of kaki no tane, if you bring me a full one, I’ll think about it. I’m only human. That was his mistake. So, I think maybe it’s alright to have this kind of thing happen in TJPW from time to time. Please forgive me, everyone. That’s enough for today.”
I really liked how she brought up that she was dancing in the ring before the Up Up Girls. The joshi legends of the 80s and 90s were more than simply their in-ring ability, and they did quite a bit outside of simply wrestling, too. (Kind of on a related note, I liked how Saki Akai talked about studying the photobooks of joshi legends when planning out her own photobook, and how she drew inspiration from them). I thought it was a neat way to sort of draw a connection there between Aja Kong’s work and TJPW which might not be obvious to most people, but which is nonetheless still there.
In Sasadango’s comments, his first sentence was a bit confusing: “一斗缶、ほぼ一斗缶ですよ.”
Sasadango: (falling over) “It’s the eighteen liter can, for the most part. Her backfist… I’m very concussed right now. But it’s alright. I understand now. Realizing that for Aja Kong, 炎の叫び isn’t anything like dark history, that’s what I’m most glad about.”
This sentence was tough: “ああやって自分の生きてきた道を…あんなオレたちの業界の大先輩が、自分たちの通って来た道のすべてを肯定できるって.”
“Being able to affirm in this way the path that she’d lived… that a veteran in this industry like her could do that, it affirmed all of the paths that we had taken. We also want to be that sort of wrestler, and Aja Kong teaches us that we can still grow even at that age. She said that, didn’t she? I could hear her. ‘I’ve been doing this since before the Up Up Girls. I’m the 王道 of joshi pro.’ You can see it now, right? Aja Kong with the Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling), the Reiwa remastered version of 炎の叫び. Can’t you see it? I can see Aja Kong really belting out 炎の叫び one more time in the TJPW ring. If everyone wishes for it, it’ll surely happen. Please ask for it.”
The main event was Shoko & Yuki Aino vs Miyu & Arisu! I thought it was really, really sweet that Yuki teamed up with Shoko for her hometown show just as Shoko had teamed up with Yuki for hers. Unsurprisingly, Shoko got the win here, haha.
Here’s the post-match:
Nakajima: “So many of you came today. Thank you so much!”
I got confused by the ご縁 part in the first part of this sentence: “こんな私ですが凱旋興行させていただけるのも素敵なご縁があったからだと思うし、応援してくれる家族、そしてこうやって遠路はるばる足を運んでくださるみなさんあっての凱旋興行だと思っています.”
“I think it was because I have such wonderful connections that I was able to have this show in my hometown. This show happened thanks to the support of my family, and all of you who came all the way out here to see us. I am truly grateful. Yuki teamed up with me.”
The series of のようなs in this were tricky (and the 妹 AND 姉… I couldn’t really make much sense of that, haha): “ユキはいつも大事な時に私を助けてくれる妹のような親戚のような姉のような、そんな存在です.”
“Yuki is like a sister who always helps me out when I need her, she’s like a relative to me.”
Aino: “All of you from Niigata, Nakajima-san is family to me, so it’s like I’m returning to my hometown, too. Please treat it like that.”
Nakajima: "And Yamashita, who gave us today’s match. Over the past ten years, we’ve come to lead this organization together, and she’s my best colleague… well, I don’t know if she’s the BEST but she’s a very important one. And Arisu. Arisu is also a really important and precious junior who has just been growing and growing recently, and it’s safe to assume that she’ll become a rival someday.”
I had to read this one a couple times before I (maybe?) got it: “東京女子の我々みんなからしたら、この中島翔子さんは初期からずっと東京女子みんなを…このちっちゃな、身長はちっちゃいんですけどね。このおっきな大怪獣の背中で引っ張ってきてくれたんですよ.”
Aino: “From the perspective of all of us at TJPW, since the very beginning, Shoko Nakajima-san has always been—she’s very small, she’s short in stature, but this big, Big Kaiju has been leading everyone at TJPW. She’s a really amazing senpai.”
Nakajima: “The fact that you all came out here to my hometown Niigata, that makes you just like my relatives. All of you, you’re my relatives!” (To her two opponents) “Since you’re here, come stand over here next to me. You might be tired, but I’m tired, too. I’m standing here and trying my best.”
This sentence was a bit tricky: “では何回も何回も言ってるんですけど、ありがとうは何回行ってもいいと思うのでもう1回言わせてください.”
“Well, I’ve said it again and again, but no matter how many times I’ve said thank you, please let me say it one more time. Thank you all so much for today!”
Only Yuki and Shoko got post-match comments:
Nakajima: “Thank you so much for today. I don’t know how many times I’ll say it, but I’m going to keep saying it. Thank you very much. We came to my hometown, so I’m really relieved to have Yuki as my tag partner.”
This line really threw me off: “なんかこうね、自分ちに足を踏み入れられてもあんまりソワソワしない相手ってかんじですね.”
"It’s like even though you’re setting foot on your own territory, she isn’t nervous. I think it’s fate that I’m able to return to my hometown for this show right before our 10th anniversary, or rather it’s destiny. I think this year, lots of special things have been happening for me. So from here, I feel like we’re going to celebrate a very wonderful 10th anniversary. We were able to get the win today. Yamashita and Arisu were really strong. I’m really confident. I’m going to do my best like this.”
(Have you always wanted to have a show in your hometown?)
I wasn’t quite sure about my translation for this line: “うっすらとは思ってるんですけど、そこまで私が意欲的にやりたいなとは実は思ってなくて.”
“I was vaguely thinking about it, but to be honest, I didn’t pursue it very ambitiously. I don’t think I should say too much.” (laughs)
Aino: “Nakajima-san is a shy person.”
Here’s that tricky ご縁 part again (I changed my mind on how to translate it, which means I probably got at least one of them wrong haha): “でもホントにご縁があって、私ひとりでやりたいと思ってもできなかったことを地域の皆さんとか会社のみなさんとか、いろんな方が力を貸してくれてできたことだと思ってます.”
Nakajima: “But I really had a chance, and so many people in the community and in the company lent a hand and allowed me to do something that I wouldn’t have been able to do if I’d wanted to do it on my own.”
(Do you want to keep doing this in the future?)
“Yes! I just get so nervous.”
Aino: “Let’s do it!”
I had a bit of trouble with this bit: “甥っ子と姪っ子が来てるんですよ。生まれたての姪っ子、1回も会ったことないのに大丈夫かなって、怖がられないかなって.” I wasn’t quite sure how many nephews and nieces she has, so I don’t know if I should translate it as plural or not, haha (preserving the ambiguity that exists in the Japanese is hard in English…).
Nakajima: “My nephews and nieces came. I’ve never met my newborn niece before, and I wonder if she’ll be okay, or if she’ll be scared.” (laughs)
I also wasn’t quite sure about Yuki’s “応援してましたよ” and Shoko’s response: “応援してたかな？ それだけ心配で.”
Aino: “They were cheering for you.”
Nakajima: “They were cheering? That’s how anxious I was.”
(You said on the mic that everyone who came today are your “relatives”)
“Yes. Everyone’s an important relative.”
(Do you want to have even more relatives?)
“Yes. I think all of humanity should become my relatives.”
And that’s it for that one! Next up, the TPC semifinals and the finals!