Got distracted last night by the sad news that Katsuhiko Nakajima is leaving NOAH 
… プロレスは諸行無常… 
I did finish the translation for TJPW’s September 10 show!
This was actually a 凱旋興行 for Yuki Arai (imagine being able to do your hometown show at KBS Hall. It’s simply not fair!), though her match was in the midcard this time. She faced Yuki Aino, and I was a bit surprised by the result! Miraculously I hadn’t been spoiled for it, so I’d just assumed that Arai would be getting the win to give her a solid hometown victory, but Aino actually won!
Aino: “Today was Yuki Arai-chan’s hometown show in Kyoto, and I won. I beat Yuki Arai in a singles match.”
I got confused by the “それまでに” in this sentence: “シングルマッチで闘ったのは2年ぶりとからしいんですけど、それまでにタッグのベルトを優希ちゃんが持ってたりして、それで闘ったりしてたので.”
“I heard that it had been two years since we last faced each other in a singles match, and then Yuki-chan had the tag belt by that point, and we had fought for those. I knew very well how completely she’d changed, how much stronger she’d gotten. Today wasn’t a tournament or a title match, but there’s the Nagoya show on September 18. I’ll be fighting with Moka in Reiwa AA Cannon’s last match, so this felt like a preview match, and I absolutely had to win it. I don’t want to lose even one more match, and that includes this one. Today Yuki-chan hit me quite a bit with all of her feelings and all of her power, but I thought ‘I absolutely won’t lose to this’, and ‘I won’t drop’, and I persevered. I managed to win. But even though I won this time, I don’t want this to be a fluke. Yuki-chan is already a strong wrestler, just like I thought. Next is AA Cannon’s last match in Nagoya, and I’m absolutely not going to let her get an easy win. I’m not just going to quit while I’m ahead, so as someone who has faced AA Cannon over and over, I want to take them down with Moka.”
I feel like I always have a trouble with translating words like 切り替える and 入れ替える in questions/answers like these: “（この夏はシングルで悔しい負けが続いたが、今日で切り替えられた？）なんか…入れ替えれてはないですけど、悔しい気持ちたくさんして.”
(This summer, you had a series of disappointing singles losses. Did you flip a switch today?)
“Well… I haven’t switched anything up, but I have a lot of frustration. I really hate the part of myself that can’t win. I said it already not too long ago, but I don’t want to lose even one more match. I want to keep fighting with this feeling burning more and more.”
Arai: “I had a singles match with Yuki-san at the Kyoto show. Since it was my hometown show in Kyoto, and the next one will be AA Cannon’s last match in Nagoya, it would have been nice to be able to get revenge for that match two years ago… I’m frustrated that I still fell short. So, next week, it’s already almost here, but next week, even more than today… I’m going to be even more confident so that I’ll be able to get the win on my own. I lost today, but I want to get payback in the next match, and I’m going to do my best.”
(This was your first loss in a show at your hometown)
“Huh, I guess it is. I received a lot of cheers, and so many people came to see me. I received so much support, but I think my abilities just weren’t enough.”
The main event was a 3-way tag match which determined the other team in the tag title match: Toyo Mates vs Daydream vs Daisy Monkey. I knew the result going in, unfortunately, or I think the ending stretch of this would’ve been super tense. It was still neat to see Mahiro get the win, though! I’m proud of how far she’s come.
Here’s the post-match:
Kiryu: “…I won!”
Kamifuku: “Amazing. Amazing, Mahiro. I-I believed in you?”
This part was confusing, haha: “いまベルトが空位になっちゃって、チャンスをね、つかむ…チャンス？ チャンスだった.”
Kiryu: “The belts were vacant, and I seized the chance… The chance? It was a chance. I’m really glad that I won.”
Kamifuku: “I’m usually too embarrassed to say this to Mahiro-chan.”
These sentences were a bit tricky: “誰よりも真弥の近くにいてさ、見ててさ、真弥の成長を…偉そうになっちゃうから、あんまりこういうこと言いたくないけどさ、ホントにすごい成長してて。同い年として見習うことはたくさんあるなって思ってたし.”
“I’m closer to Mahiro than anyone, and I’ve been watching her, seeing her growth, and… I don’t want to say too much, because it sounds self-important, but she has really grown a lot. As someone who is the same age, I thought there was so much we could learn from each other. Recently, since the beginning of the year, we’ve started to hang out a lot in our private lives. We’ll go out and get dinner and such together, and our bond has been getting deeper and deeper, hasn’t it?”
Kiryu: “Of course!”
Kamifuku: “This is a title match that the two of us earned, and I am going to follow Mahiro-chan’s lead with all my power.”
Kiryu: “I will do my best. You know, Kamifuku-san, you were really cool in the Princess Cup. But I haven’t been able to leave any mark. I’m taking these belts. I want to win that belt!”
Kamifuku: “Me too! Let’s do our best together!”
This sentence was a bit tricky to translate: “ホントに埒が明かないマイクだ.”
“This is getting directionless. Make sure you close the show properly.”
Kiryu: “Got it!”
Kamifuku: “What are you going to say? What are you going to have them shout back?”
I wasn’t quite sure about this: “えーと…上福さんはなんだかんだ魂という言葉が好きなので。東洋盟友魂って言ったら、みなさんでいくぞ！ってしてくれたら嬉しいです.”
Kiryu: “Um… Kamifuku-san likes to say ‘something or other spirit’. So when I say ‘Toyo Mates Spirit!’, I’d be happy if you all say, ‘Everyone, let’s go!’”
Kamifuku: “Please.”
最後は2人での掛け声で京都大会を締めた。
They close the Kyoto show with a rallying shout from the audience.
I wasn’t quite sure how to translate 掛け声 when Kamiyu used it a bit earlier, and when shupro used it at the end there…
Kamifuku: “Mahiro-chan did it!”
Kiryu: “I did it! I did it!! And so, October… 9? At Tama Mirai Messe, the challenge, we can do it.”
Kamifuku: “Uh, did you only just recently learn Japanese?”
Kiryu: “Sorry, I’m a little bit at a loss for words.”
Kamifuku: “To be honest, I got burned out in the summer tournament.”
I think maybe I got this, but also it’s Kamiyu, so I never feel confident, haha: “真弥とのタッグ…頑張るには頑張るけど、自分のこと優先したいなって思ってたので、若干ね…ホントにごめんね。ごめんねだけど、期待…期待をそこまで真弥ちゃんに（してなくて）、できんのかな？って疑いの気持ちの方が正直強かったんですよ。でもやっぱ仕事だから頑張ろうって言わなきゃいけないじゃん。だから真弥頑張れるって口では言ってたけど、心では真弥ダメなのかなってちょっと思ってた.”
“I thought, ‘Tag team with Mahiro… I’ll do my best, but I want to put myself first.’ So I’m a bit—I’m REALLY sorry. I’m sorry, but my expectations were… I thought, ‘Can I really expect that much from Mahiro-chan?’ Honestly I felt more skepticism than anything. But it’s my job after all, so I have to say ‘I’ll do my best.’ So the words coming out of my mouth were ‘Mahiro can do her best’, but in my heart, I was wondering if she really was no good after all. But I’m sorry about all that.”
Kiryu: “Oh, thank you. For apologizing.”
Kamifuku: “I’m apologizing. I’m sorry.”
I wasn’t quite sure about this: “ホントに上福さんのこの夏の活躍、私の力に勝手にさせていただいて.”
Kiryu: “Really, Kamifuku-san’s success this summer, I took advantage of it and let it give me strength.”
Kamifuku: “I’m glad. I’m truly not making this up, for two days (the August Korakuen shows), she seriously seconded me the entire time.”
The first sentence here was a bit tricky: “1日目なんてさ、物販ないから次の日もあるし、みんな早く帰りたいから早々に私服になって着替えてたわけよ。その中で真弥ちゃんは私のセコンドにつくためだけにそのままいてくれて.”
“On the first day, since we weren’t selling any goods, there was another show the next day, and everyone wanted to go home early, so everyone was changing out of their ring gear quickly. But despite that, Mahiro-chan kept her gear on just so that she could second me. I really felt the goodness of her character as a person, as a human being. But I still had yet to see her greatness as a professional wrestler. First, in the summer, I really became aware of the goodness of Mahiro’s character. We went out together, we got lunch together. So from here, this fall, I want to be fully aware of Mahiro’s greatness as a pro wrestler, and the two of us will do our best in our thirties.”
Kiryu: “Yes! In our thirties, that’s right. Let’s do our best.”
Kamifuku: “Then let’s close. That’s also something important. Mahiro, close it properly, okay?” (she leaves)
Kiryu: “Free WiFi, we’re going to cut off your signal. Let’s go for it!”
Tatsumi: “It’s no good… we lost. It wasn’t supposed to go like this.”
Miu: “Yeah… If we’d won the tag belts, I had something I wanted to do. We absolutely had to win them here. Since we had the chance, we couldn’t let them slip away from us here, so that’s really frustrating.”
Tatsumi: “Yeah. I haven’t had the pink belt around my waist in a long time, and I miss it, Pink Belt-chan.”
Miu: “I think it (the belt) probably misses you, too.”
Rika’s comment confused me at first: “なんですけど。それに私はここを取って、10・9、このベルトの防衛戦もやるし、ピンクのベルトを懸けた決定戦も2戦やるつもりだったので.”
Tatsumi: “I know it does. Besides, I was going to win the belts, and then on October 9, I was going to defend this belt, and also do a deciding match with the pink belts on the line.”
Miu: “You were going to do two matches?”
Tatsumi: “Yes, I was. It’s better to do both.”
These lines were a bit tricky:
未詩「はい。…え？ もちろん、そのつもり…でしたよね？」
Miu: “Yes. …What? Naturally, that plan… were you really going to do that?”辰巳「で、未詩に負担をかけようって思ってたの」
Tatsumi: “I was thinking of putting the burden on Miu.”未詩「なんで？ え、分かんない、分かんない。私はこっち（IP王座）はお休みでタッグって思ってたんですけど」
Miu: “Why? I don’t get it, I don’t understand. I thought the tag belts would mean you took the day off with this one (the International Championship).”辰巳「そんなわけないじゃん」
Tatsumi: “Out of the question.”未詩「すみません。そんなわけないです。誰ですか、そんなこと言ったの」
Miu: “Sorry. There’s no way. Who was it who said that?”Tatsumi: “Now it’s just an unrealistic dream.”
Miu: “If Rika-san is constantly defending this, there might be another show with a double title match.”
Tatsumi: “Be ready for it at all times.”
Miu: “I’ll be ready. I won’t give up yet, and I want to win those tag belts and do the thing that I want to do. I’ll do my best.”
Tatsumi: “Please look forward to it.”
The two of them sit down together.
Suzume: “I’m sorry, I couldn’t save you. But truly, Daisy Monkey, we were given a bit of time to recharge our batteries.”
The first part of this was a bit tricky: “昨日もめっちゃバッチリだったし、東京女子で一番手ってくらいチームワーク抜群だと思ってたんですけど…やっぱり先輩たちはめちゃめちゃ強いし、タッグとしても強くて.”
“Yesterday, too, we were right on the mark, and I thought that our teamwork was so outstanding that we had the distinction of being the best in TJPW… But our senpais were really strong, and they were strong as a team, too. I feel that we still haven’t shown our true power as a tag team, so please keep watching Daisy Monkey from here.”
Endo: “We’ll definitely surpass them.”
Suzume: “Yes!”
Endo: “We’ll become the best tag team in the world!”
Suzume: “Thank you. Let’s do it again. And thank you, too, to everyone who supports us.”
Endo: “Thank you very much!”
Kakuta: “I watched it. I personally lost to Kamiyu in the tournament this year, and I also lost to her in my first TJPW title match. Since my relationship with Kamiyu is one where we’re always trading wins and losses, as I watched, I thought that I absolutely can’t lose this next one.”
This line was tricky: “桐生真弥は1回謝罪を何を言ってるのかハッキリ喋れるようになってから出直してきてください.”
“Mahiro Kiryu, please come back after you can speak clearly and convey what you’re apologizing about.”
Hikari: “I was so nervous to see who was going to come forward out of the match today. Thinking back to the match yesterday, I think no matter who came forward, I’ll be able to win with Nao-san. Nao-san won yesterday. When I thought we could go to Tama Mirai Messe and win the tag belts, I wanted to see Nao-san with a belt, and I wanted to be next to her. It’d make me really happy if we could win the matching belts at that show.”
This line was a bit tricky: “その想像しかできないので、私はあとはやるだけかなって思います.”
“That’s all I can think about, so all that’s left is for us to do it.”
Kakuta: “No matter who wins, it’ll be a first time championship, but I want to show everyone the scenery you’ll get to see with Free WiFi as the tag champions.”
Both: “DENPA RYOKO! BIBIBIBI!”
And that’s it for that one! I’m actually nearly done with the next show, even though it’s a pretty long one! Then 9.18 and 9.23 are both like Korakuen length, so I might have to pick up the pace a little more for that last stretch if we want to be caught up well in time for Wrestle Princess… I’m still expecting there to be a press conference or something in there, so I’m trying to make sure I have ample time to get around to that as soon as possible if they release one 
.