Finally finished the second half of the May 6 Korakuen show!
Next up was Mizuki & Nao vs Yuki Arai & Yuki Kamifuku, which was apparently their first time tagging? I was a bit surprised by that, though I guess with Arai’s more limited schedule and with Saki Akai taking up so much of that, it makes sense… I kept getting distracted by Kamiyu wearing literally Saki’s old gear while tagging with Saki’s former partner. Mizuki and Nao’s side of the match was also pretty entertaining, though, haha, with things not gelling particularly well with the two of them as a team… It sucks for poor Nao to eat another loss when she has so few matches left 
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Kamiyu’s first line gave me a bit of trouble: “勝利してくれました。荒井の優希ちゃんです.” I think the second part was maybe a play on their shared “Yuki” name? I was unsure, though.
Kamifuku: “You won for us. The Arai Yuki-chan.”
Arai: “Thank you very much. I’m glad that I could be with Kamifuku-san.”
Kamifuku: “Right? Surprisingly, this is our first time tagging just the two of us.”
This was a bit tricky: “自分的には前回の試合で藤沢のソウルメイトになれた気持ちでいるので、すごい息もあってたし、楽しみながら勝利できたんじゃないかなと思っています.”
“Personally, in the last match, I feel like you became my Fujisawa soulmate, so I think we had great chemistry, and we were able to get the win while enjoying ourselves.”
Arai: “Today was my first match after my third anniversary as a wrestler. I wanted to win because it was the start of my fourth year, and Kamifuku-san put some glitter around my eyes.”
This was also a bit tricky to translate: “そう。少しでも道連れにしたいなって気持ちなので.”
Kamifuku: “Yes. I wanted to drag her along with me even if just a little bit.”
Arai: (laughs) “I had more power than usual.”
Kamifuku: “You have nothing to say?”
Arai: “Huh? Well, I’m surprised to hear that it’s been four years. It went by so fast.”
Kamifuku: “It went by like a roller coaster, so I think everyone is looking forward to what lies ahead even more. Please shine brightly.”
(Your new gear is covered in stars)
Arai: “Yeah. The stars are just there by coincidence, but the person who makes my gear said a star pattern would be nice for the next one.”
This was a bit tricky: “（星に）意味はないんだ。星1個ずつを誰かに例えて潰していく、みたいな。そういうのじゃないんだ。（コスチュームの一部を指し）このへんに山下さんがいたり…違うの？”
Kamifuku: “(The stars) have no meaning. It’s like each star is a person, and you’re going to crush them. Isn’t it like that?” (pointing at part of the gear) “Right here is Yamashita-san, right?”
Arai: “No, no, no.” (laughs) “I don’t think it’s like that, but when Takagi-san first scouted me, he said, ‘I’m going to make you a star.’ I’m going to wear this and channel my fighting spirit and put it into becoming that star.”
Kakuta: “I’m sorry. But I want to team up with Mizuki-san about three more times.”
Mizuki: “Noooooo!”
Kakuta: “I feel like something will come out of doing it. But for me personally, it feels like there’s already so few left. Arai-chan in the senbatsu, too… she’s incredible, she’s doing so much. And working so hard in pro wrestling in the midst of all of that, I think she’s seriously amazing, and I really respect her. I’m really happy and grateful that she made time to have this match with me today, even with everything else she does. I thought maybe I wouldn’t be able to face her before I retired, so I’m really happy. And with Kamiyu, of course I don’t think it’ll end like this, yeah.”
This was a bit tricky: “奈穂ちゃんはごめんって言ったけど、タッグだから負けも一緒やから。だけどー、まぁ、もう組むことはないですかね。こんだけ組んでて、あんまりうまくいってないのによく組むよな.”
Mizuki: "Nao-chan said sorry, but it was a tag match, so if she loses, we lose together. But, well, I don’t think we’re gonna team together again. We’ve teamed this much, and we team up a lot even though it hasn’t gone so well.”
Kakuta: “Because I feel like we have potential.”
This was a bit tricky:
瑞希「ホントに突き飛ばしても突き飛ばしてもこの距離でくるから」
Mizuki: “No matter how much I push her away, she’ll still come regardless of the distance.”
角田「瑞希さんに対しては、ですよ？ ホントにいやよいやよも…って思ってるので」
Kakuta: “I’m in opposition to Mizuki-san, huh? She really doesn’t want to do it…”
Mizuki: “Well, today it was Nao-san’s fault that I lost.”
Kakuta: “Sorry.”
Mizuki: “But the next time we team up, we’re going to win. Because we’re a team.”
Kakuta: “Together, huh? Let’s do our best in the next one!”
Mizuki: “Thank you for today!”
Kakuta: “Let’s team up again next time.” (to the camera) “Wrap it up quickly! Hurry! That’s enough!”
After that was the tag title match, Daisy Monkey vs Himawari and Wakana! Honestly, this match blew me away! My expectations are relatively high for the rookies, but they’re still, well, rookies, so I usually don’t expect them to put on a barnburner or anything, but I thought this match was legitimately really good! I had no doubt that Daisy Monkey would defend, but it still managed to keep me engaged, so good job to all of the competitors.
Endo: “We won! We defended our belts! The two of us did.”
This was a bit tricky: “あの2人を舐めてたわけじゃないけど、思ってた以上に…全然（すごくて）。何した？ それくらい勢いが止まんねえ、チャンピオンだけど見せつけられた気がしてて.”
“Not that I’m looking down on them, but they were way more (incredible) than I thought they’d be. What did we do? With that much momentum, we couldn’t stop them, huh? We’re the champions, but I feel like they showed us up. It was frustrating, and because of that, we got fired up, too.”
Suzume: “We understand very well how the challengers’ momentum comes with high expectations, and that it further becomes a tailwind for you. I thought surely that would be what today was for the two of them, so I realized once again that we’re in the position of being chased. We didn’t give up, we didn’t give up, we didn’t give up, and then we made it to the belts. Their future is an unknown factor, so who knows where they’ll end up. But as long as they don’t give up, we’ll always take on their challenge. I want to keep protecting these belts so that they’ll always be able to do it. Let’s do it again and again!”
Endo: “We’re gonna win the next one, too.”
(How about a title match at the Aizuwakamatsu show in September?)
I wasn’t quite sure how to translate this: “全然ありですね.”
“It’s totally possible!”
Suzume: “Let’s do it!”
Endo: “We’ll take on challengers anywhere. But we’re definitely going to defend. We’ll keep the belts safe, but I don’t know what’s going to happen, though I do want to take the belt back to my hometown.”
Suzume: “You’ve been saying that this whole time.”
Endo: “I will make it happen!”
HIMAWARI: “Thank you very much.”
Uehara: “Thank you very much.”
HIMAWARI: “Ah, it’s frustrating…”
This was a bit tricky: “今回、タイトルマッチ挑戦させていただいて…やっぱりタイトルマッチってすごいハードルが高いなってあらためてっていうか初めてだけど、先輩たちの強さをあらためて感じました.”
“This time, we challenged in a title match… and, as it turns out, a title match is still a very high hurdle, or rather, this was my first time, but I really felt my senpais’ strength. I’m disappointed! I thought I could win if I were with Wakana-san, but… we lost. The moment the match started and we made eye contact in the ring, they were looking at us so intensely. Even though we’re still super young, just one year into our careers, they still came at us head-on.” (to Uehara) “It was fun, huh? It was frustrating, but it made me like pro wrestling even more.”
This was a bit tricky to translate: “私もHIMAWARIちゃんとはずっとライバル関係で、組むってお客さンに言った時もみんなビックリするくらいの、そういう関係性だったけど.”
Uehara: “I’ve had a rivalry with HIMAWARI-chan the whole time, and our relationship was such a way that everyone was surprised when we told the audience that we were going to team up. But teaming up like this, I really thought that the two of us could win the belts, so I’m really disappointed. Because anyone and everyone wants to challenge for a belt. Even though we were given this incredible opportunity, we weren’t able to win, which is really disappointing. I’m going to train hard from here on out, and we’ll definitely come back for revenge. We’re not going to give up until we win the belts, so please keep supporting us!”
HIMAWARI: “Please!”
(All of your classmates were watching from ringside)
This was a bit tricky: “試合始まる前から、っていうかベルト挑戦するって私たちが発表した直後からずっと応援してくれてて。会うたびに『ベルトもうすぐだね』って言ってくれてたので、今日もホントにすごい応援の気持ちが伝わったので、余計に今日は勝ちたかったんですけど…”
Uehara: “Since before the match started—since immediately after we challenged, really—they’ve been supporting us the whole time. Every time we saw each other, they’d say, ‘you’ll have the belts soon’. So today I could really feel their support, and I wanted to win even more badly, but… I am very happy, though, that we had their support today.”
This was a bit tricky: “23年組、同期たちは今日挑戦の日だったので、これで志乃さんもやっと初勝利できて。凍雅はもちろん相手したから負けちゃったけど、でもすごいいい試合だったから。すごい…なんだろう。スッキリした顔してて。もちろん悔しいだろうけど、いい試合だったから。で、ハルも琉那も先輩たちと笑って…もちろんね、勝てるわけなかったけど.”
HIMAWARI: “For the class of ‘23, today was our title challenge, and Shino-san was also finally able to get her first win. Of course, since Toga was her opponent, she lost, but it was a great match. It was amazing… I don’t even know. She looked so relieved. Of course she must be frustrated, but it was a good match. And Haru and Runa were having fun with their senpais… of course there was no way on earth they’d win, though. But they showed just how much they’d grown. Seeing everyone else, I thought that the two of us who were designated the Next Generation forerunners, we had to do our best, too, in order to gain more momentum. And they were at ringside, cheering us on so much. Because they were showing us so much support, I really didn’t want to lose. It’s frustrating, and it made me realize once again that I wanted to get even stronger so that I could live up to the support of my peers and the audience.”
And finally, the main event! Miu vs Shoko! I thought this match was awesome! There were some really great exchanges in this, and the match really kept me on the edge of my seat. Shoko had a fantastic counter to the giant swing, and Miu also transitioned into the swing in another super cool way (how does she keep finding new ways to do it??). I was admittedly rooting for Miu, but I was still sad to see Shoko lose… You’ll get her next time, 大怪獣 
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Here’s the post-match:
Miu: “I defended my belt! I’m so glad I got to face Nakajima-san with the belt on the line, and I’m so glad that I won… I think I have grown as a champion. People are calling it a new era, but for me, the new era means that all of the members here today are part of that new era. I think that each and every wrestler belongs to the new era. From here on out, I want to fight everyone for this belt, and I want TJPW to get bigger and bigger, and I’m going to do my best so that I can grow as the champion even more. I love TJPW so much, and I’m sure that everyone here loves it so much, they can’t help but love it, to the point where they can’t sleep at night. So I hope there will be even more people who love us, and I want to spend my whole life in this space that I love. Thank you again for today!”
Miu: “This was my first defense after winning the belt, and I was able to successfully defend my title.”
This one was a headache trying to put it into English… “日本で最初の試合で『これ取りました～』ってワクワクした気持ちで来て負けてしまったところから、自分がチャンピオンとしていつでも先輩にだって誰にだって狙われてる立場だなっていう部分とかの認識をあらためてすることができたし.”
“When I went into my first match in Japan after winning the belt feeling giddy with excitement only to then lose, that reaffirmed my awareness that in my position as the champion, I will at all times be a target for my senpais and everyone else.”
This sentence was also hard in a classic Miu way: “中島さんは、私が努力が結果につながるんだっていうのを体で表現？ 体現？してくれた先輩なので、とっても尊敬しているし.”
“Nakajima-san, for being the senpai who gave me the expression—or for being the embodiment?—that, with my body, hard work leads to results, I respect her so much. Nakajima-san had said that she’ll continue to grow the rest of her life and will become like Aja-san, and as we fought today, I realized anew that she truly has Aja-san-like lifelong strength, and if I keep going for two, three, ten, or even 50 years more, we’ll probably be able to have title matches.”
This was also a bit tricky to put into English: “こっから先も中島さんと…今回は先輩みたいな意識があってしまったんですけど。私はこの1試合で成長することができたって思いたいので、こっから中島さんと切磋琢磨できるようにもっと頑張りたいなと思いました.”
“From here on out, Nakajima-san and I… This time, I felt very conscious of her as my senpai, but I want to think that I was able to grow in this one match, so I want to work even harder so that I can cultivate a friendly rivalry with Nakajima-san from here on out.”
(Do you have anything in mind with regards to your next challenger?)
“Hmm… well, at the moment nothing comes to mind as far as who specifically I’d like to see step forward.”
I wasn’t quite sure about this: “やっぱりいままで持ってた人…瑞希さんだったり、リカさんだったりもそうですし.”
“But of course the people who’ve held the title before… Mizuki-san, Rika-san, I’d like to face them, too. And actually I think the opponent that’ll enable me to grow more might be someone I’ve never even imagined.”
This one was a question of “how do I translate this Miu-ism?” 
“来次第、ウェルカム…ウェルカム系です.”
“I welcome them as they come… I welcome everyone.”
(Was that a match that you could only have because you were with Nakajima?)
The rest of this was… difficult 
: “そうですね。お互い道場で毎日顔を合わせていて、だからこその闘い方だったり、こんなまだ新しい動きあるんだって中島さんは一生してて。中島さんを見るたびに、今日の大会名が「YES！ WONDERLAND」なんですけど、なんか…（モーニング娘。の「ここにいるぜぇ！」のリズムに乗って）ボクらーは～、まだ夢の途中～、なんだなって思います（笑）。みんなみんなそうなんだ、です。ずっと成長し続けます、人は誰だって…です！”
"Yes. We see each other every day at the dojo, and so that’s why her way of fighting and such, Nakajima-san has spent her whole career still adding new moves. Whenever I see her, I feel like the name of today’s show, “YES! WONDERLAND”, it’s like… (in the rhythm of Morning Musume’s “ここにいるぜぇ！”) “I feel like we’re still in a dream.” (laughs) “Everyone here is like that. We’ll always keep growing, every single one of us!”
I didn’t know the best way to translate the “ここにいるぜぇ！”, and have also never seen Morning Musume…
Nakajima: “I lost! I lost, no way! I’m so frustrated! I was all like ‘I think this’ll be the last time…’ at the start, but I’m too frustrated. I have no choice but to challenge again. I’m going back on my own words, so even though I said that I’d do it with the feeling that this would be the last time, since I lost today… I’m going to be vigilant and keep building myself up so that I can grab the opportunity to challenge again.”
(How do you feel about Miu as the champion?)
This was tricky: “どうだろうな～、チャンピオンだからどうこうっていうのはもちろんあるんだろうな～。ここ一番の時もさ、心の折れないかんじとかを私はへし折ってやろうと思って最初から出し惜しみしなかったんですけど。あえて探りを入れる隙を与えずに攻めていこうと思ったから、最初からけっこう出していったんですけど…折れなかったですね.”
“Hmm… since she’s the champion, of course she has certain qualities. Even right from the getgo, I thought I’d break her spirit and was unsparing from the start. I boldly attacked without giving her time to seek out an opening, so I went pretty hard right from the beginning, but… her spirit didn’t break. I could really feel her strength.”
(You still haven’t given up on the belt?)
“I’m absolutely still aiming for it. It’s only my 10th year. I’m gonna be Aja Kong. I got at least 20 years left. I’m going to be persistent.”
And that’s it for that one!
The May 11 VOD show didn’t have comments, and the post-match was really short, so I wasn’t sure I was going to bother to do a translation, but when I actually watched it, there were a few fun language quirks haha (assuming I’m correctly interpreting what happened there) so I think maybe I’ll translate it anyway.
) ですよ？ is like “I’m making sure you know this, okay?”, not like “huh?”/“isn’t it?”
. I suppose we’ll never find out exactly what happened there unless she chooses to speak about it. I wonder if she’ll pop up anywhere else, or if she’s done wrestling…
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