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6/15/2025, 12:29:33 PM
https://encount.press/archives/810873/
>Starting in 2023, the wrestlers debuting in Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling are called “NexGen.” The year’s end tournaments for two consecutive years were won by NexGen wrestlers — in 2023 by Wakana Uehara, and in 2024 by Haru Kazashiro. Haru fell to HIMAWARI in the first-round match in 2023, but in 2024 defeated Uta Takami, Uehara, and Toga in a row to win the tournament.
>“I think Wakana-san and HIMAWARI-san are a step above the rest. Wakana-san started training later, but made her debut two months before me, alongside HIMAWARI-san. So I felt a bit frustrated and that I was falling behind. I hadn’t gotten many opportunities to face Wakana-san, but I admired the way she boldly shows her strengths, and I was a little envious of that. In 2023’s finals, when I saw their passionate match, I felt there was a huge gap — mentally and in terms of experience — between us. Uta, meanwhile, is my junior, but she’s a ‘genius who’s putting in the hard work,’ and defeating her, then Wakana-san, gave me a bit more confidence. The most frustrating thing, honestly, was that none of the social media predictions had me as the winner (laughs). Furthermore, after the semi-finals, Toga made a comment stating, ‘I thought it would be Wakana who made it.’ I was like, ‘Huh? What’s up with that?’ — I think nobody believed Kazashiro would come through, although there were some people who kept their faith in me. I was more nervous in the finals than I was in my debut match, but I want to make sure I’m a contender for the title from the start in future tournaments.”
>Using her championship opportunity — the right to challenge for a title — Kazashiro chose Toga as her tag team partner and challenged the reigning Princess Tag champions, Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh. However, their challenge fell short.
>Starting in 2023, the wrestlers debuting in Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling are called “NexGen.” The year’s end tournaments for two consecutive years were won by NexGen wrestlers — in 2023 by Wakana Uehara, and in 2024 by Haru Kazashiro. Haru fell to HIMAWARI in the first-round match in 2023, but in 2024 defeated Uta Takami, Uehara, and Toga in a row to win the tournament.
>“I think Wakana-san and HIMAWARI-san are a step above the rest. Wakana-san started training later, but made her debut two months before me, alongside HIMAWARI-san. So I felt a bit frustrated and that I was falling behind. I hadn’t gotten many opportunities to face Wakana-san, but I admired the way she boldly shows her strengths, and I was a little envious of that. In 2023’s finals, when I saw their passionate match, I felt there was a huge gap — mentally and in terms of experience — between us. Uta, meanwhile, is my junior, but she’s a ‘genius who’s putting in the hard work,’ and defeating her, then Wakana-san, gave me a bit more confidence. The most frustrating thing, honestly, was that none of the social media predictions had me as the winner (laughs). Furthermore, after the semi-finals, Toga made a comment stating, ‘I thought it would be Wakana who made it.’ I was like, ‘Huh? What’s up with that?’ — I think nobody believed Kazashiro would come through, although there were some people who kept their faith in me. I was more nervous in the finals than I was in my debut match, but I want to make sure I’m a contender for the title from the start in future tournaments.”
>Using her championship opportunity — the right to challenge for a title — Kazashiro chose Toga as her tag team partner and challenged the reigning Princess Tag champions, Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh. However, their challenge fell short.
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