“So even though I like her so so so much, I’m going to hate her so that I can surpass her.”
—Mizuki
TJPW Wrestle Princess | November 7, 2020
“I go all out because I love her. I don’t want to lose because I love her.”
—Yuka Sakazaki
Tag team partners Mizuki and Yuka Sakazaki were in the main event of TJPW’s biggest show ever—competing against each other for the Princess of Princess title, the top championship in TJPW.
Mizuki earned her title shot by becoming the first person to win the Tokyo Princess Cup two years in a row. In the build to the title match, at first Yuka and Mizuki pretended that nothing was different between them, but this only worked at the beginning.
Mizuki stopped wanting to tag with Yuka the month before their title match. She wanted Yuka to trust her strength and not come into the ring to save her. After that, Mizuki decided that even though she loves Yuka, for their singles match, she must hate her in order to surpass her.
At the beginning of the match, Mizuki covers her ears when Yuka makes her entrance. She can’t bear to listen to her tag partner’s music when they must fight against each other.
The match that follows is intense and emotional. Yuka and Mizuki both throw everything they’ve got into this. It’s the kind of match that can only happen between two people who genuinely love and trust each other so much.
There’s a sequence near the end when Yuka holds out a hand to Mizuki, and after they link hands, they start to hit each other over and over without letting go.
In the end, Mizuki is still unable to surpass Yuka. Yuka pins Mizuki for the three count, and both women immediately start sobbing. They embrace, and then basically don’t let go of each other after that. Yuka is still crying as she cuts a promo and closes out the show.
