Post by LAW-JET Alliance on Jul 29, 2021 6:38:59 GMT
RISE Grand Prix 2021 - A Block Analysis
Written by Yuriko Nishiyama
RISE Grand Prix could be considered THE tournament of Joshi Extreme Takeover and possibly the biggest tournament in women’s wrestling. 24 women separated into 2 blocks of 12 with a title match contract for Cinderella Story. Many consider it as a career defining tour in JET, if you win a RISE Grand Prix tournament, you can survive any challenge that comes your way in JET.
My name is Yuriko Nishiyama and this article will break down all twelve competitors of this year’s RISEGP A Block. This year’s A Block is actually quite interesting considering that whoever will this year’s A Block will be a first time finalist.
Luckily I was able to get comments from multiple JET legends about this year’s tournament and all of the competitors.
---
The legends panel for this article are:
One of the two founders of JET
Miss Manami
JET Accolades:
- JET World Championship (2 times; Inaugural)
- JET Tag Team Championship (4 times; 2x w/ Hanako Nakamoto, 1x w/ Nina Sanada and 1x w/ Lady Akira)
- RISE Grand Prix Winner (1 time; 2008)
- RISE Together (2 times; 2008 and 2011)
Current Co-Chairwoman of JET
Azumi Goto
JET Accolades:
- JET World Champion (1 time)
- JET Tag Team Champion (2 times; 1x w/ Mei Nakahara and 1x w/ Natsu Toyama)
- RISE Grand Prix Winner (1 time; 2015)
- RISE Together Tag Tournament (1 time; 2014)
Nina Sanada
JET Accolades:
- RISE Grand Prix Winner (2 times; 2007 and 2010)
- JET World Champion (5 times)
- JET Tag Team Champion (2 times)
---
Before we got to the competitors of A Block, I asked all of the competitors about the tournament itself. Here is what the panel of legends had to say about the RISE Grand Prix.
“RISE Grand Prix started out as something small just to find the next contender in JET but it evolved into something greater. If you win the tournament, the case can be made for you to be the best wrestler on the JET roster regardless if you are or aren’t the JET World Champion” - Miss Manami
“RISE Grand Prix tends to be every fan’s favorite tour of the year because it’s two months straight of singles competition. It’s always great to see which star is able to break out when the tournament is over.” - Azumi Goto
“It’s true that if you can win a RISE Grand Prix, you can survive through any challenge in JET. As someone who’s won this tournament twice, the importance of the RISE Grand Prix is just as big as the JET World Title.” - Nina Sanada
Following the opening comments, we started to talk about the competitors in the block and of course, we started with the current JET World Champion, JUNKO.
Before you continue to read, here are all the topics we talked about when discussing the competitors
- A General Comment
- Interesting Matchups
- Final Standings Prediction
---
“The Tragic Heart”
JUNKO
GP entry: 3rd time entrant
JET Accolades:
- 2 time and current JET World Champion
Comments from the panel:
“JUNKO is an interesting case for this year’s tournament, despite being the current JET World champion going into the tournament, she’s making her return to the tournament after skipping out on last year’s event. Hopefully she remembers how challenging the tournament really is” - Miss Manami
“Her actions have been quite annoying to deal with but she is an incredible singles competitor. Her win-loss record in singles matches is incredible and she’s definitely a heavy favorite to win her block.” - Azumi Goto
“JUNKO is incredible, she’s always been a great singles competitor. I faced her in the 2018 RISE Grand Prix where she defeated me, despite her attitude and disrespect to the business” - Nina Sanada
Interesting Matchups:
Manami’s answer - vs. SAIKO
Azumi’s answer - vs. Momoko Honda
Nina’s answer - vs. Hannah Rockford
Final Standing predictions:
Interesting that the panel was divided on this as Azumi, Hanako and Manami believed that JUNKO will finish in the top three of A Block. Meanwhile Nina was making the case for JUNKO to win A Block saying that JUNKO is dangerous, ruthless and willing to cheat if needed.
---
“The Prodigy”
Hannah Rockford
GP entry: 2nd time
JET accolades:
- 2021 Miss Manami Tributary Shield
- Current JET National Champion
Comments from the panel:
“Hannah Rockford has been improving at a rapid rate this year but I think she isn’t exactly ready to win a RISEGP. Especially comparing her to the other competitors of the block” - Miss Manami
“I have to agree with Manami-sensei about Hannah’s improvement but at the same time, I feel like she’s ready to win a tournament like GP. Especially since she’s good enough to close a show like she did back in June at Wembley.” - Azumi Goto
“Hannah definitely has the best chance to win out of all the foreigners in this year’s tournament but that is quite low. I do expect to have a good collection of wins this year.” - Nina Sanada
Interesting Matchups:
Manami’s answer - vs. Momoko Honda
Azumi’s answer - vs. SAIKO
Nina’s answer - vs. JUNKO
Final Standing predictions:
The panel seemed to agree that Hannah will finish in the top three but Azumi made the case that Hannah has the talent to win her block.
---
“The Power Lifter”
HULK
GP entry: First time entrant
JET Accolades:
- Current JET STRONG Champion
Comments from the panel:
“HULK has been an incredible addition to the JET roster, she’s a brilliant power wrestler but she’s also extremely quick for someone her size and build. GP will be an incredible test for her to see if she can get out of her niche as a competitor and face opponents that she might not face in the STRONG Division.” - Miss Manami
“The STRONG Division Ace and by far, the woman making a case to be JET wrestler of the year at the moment. I’m extremely happy to have had the chance to sign her after being told about her by her mentor Graham Baker. HULK is something we don’t see often in joshi wrestling and I think she’ll do great in her first GP.” - Azumi Goto
“The question with HULK is how resilient she is when she has to wrestle two singles matches a week with minimum rest. I think she’s an incredible talent but it all comes down to her stamina and her endurance. I hope to see big things from HULK as she has future JET World Champion type of potential” - Nina Sanada
Interesting Matchups:
Manami’s answer - vs. Machiko Hasegawa
Azumi’s answer - vs. JUNKO
Nina’s answer - vs. Mei Namikaze and/or vs. Momoko Honda
Final Standing predictions:
All three legends believed that with HULK’s inexperience in a GP style tournament, she may finish in the middle of the pack but most likely will finish with a positive record.
---
“The Mistress of Moonlight”
Mei Namikaze
GP entry: First time entrant
JET Accolades:
- Current JET Tag Team Champion w/Masumi Tsutsumi
Comments from the panel:
“I think Mei is a case that we need to really bring up for next year’s GP. This year is going to be a chance to see if she has what it takes to be a singles wrestler and not just a tag team specialist.” - Miss Manami
“I believe the same as sensei, GP is about what you have as a singles competitor but Mei seems to have the right tools in her arsenal to do that, all she lacks is singles match experience.” - Azumi Goto
“Here’s my thing with Mei, I think the lack of singles matches will hurt her more than anyone in this tournament. She only has a few singles matches at best and tag specialists don’t tend to do well in a tournament like GP” - Nina Sanada
Interesting Matchups
Manami’s answer - vs. JUNKO
Azumi’s answer - vs. Momoko Honda
Nina’s Answer - vs. HULK
Final Standing predictions:
The panel’s answer was the same once again, Mei’s inexperience in singles matches will be her downfall but she could definitely finish in the top half of her block
---
“The Star Warrior”
Momoko Honda
GP entry: Fourth time entrant
JET Accolades:
- 1x JET Academy Champion
Comments from the panel:
“Momoko is precious and she’s ready to step up as a world title contender, GP is interesting especially since she was a favorite to win last year but got eliminated on the final night of competition. I think Momoko could win but she needs to make sure that she keeps her momentum strong all through this tournament” - Miss Manami
“My pick to win this year’s A Block. I’ve seen Momoko grow so much in front of me and I know that she’s ready to win something huge like the RISE Grand Prix. I think we’re looking at one of our finalists for this year’s tournament.” - Azumi Goto
“Azumi might be Momoko’s biggest fan but I’m going to be honest here, Momoko has a long way to go. She recently said that she’s the future Ace but Momoko needs to understand that one win against a formerly retired wrestler isn’t enough. At the same time, she’s going to finish in my top three.” - Nina Sanada
Interesting matchups
Manami’s answer - vs. Mei Namikaze
Azumi’s answer - vs. JUNKO and/or vs. Sora Todoh
Nina’s answer - vs. HULK
Final standing predictions:
Of course, we heard from Azumi declaring her the winner of A Block but it seemed that Manami and Nina aren’t convinced as they believed that Momoko will finish in the top three.
---
“The Shooting Star”
Sora Todoh
GP entry: Third time entrant
JET Accolades:
- 1x. JET Academy Champion
Comment from the panel:
“Just like Momoko, Sora is an interesting competitor this year. Her last two GP performances saw her improve drastically and maybe third time's the charm for Sora. We could be looking at one of the potential block winners.” - Miss Manami
“I faced Sora last year and she was able to beat me, that’s when I realized that she isn’t just a protege of Stephanie but that she’s good enough to step up and be her own competitor. I already told you three my pick for the block winner but I think Sora could finish in the top three.” - Azumi Goto
“Look I get that she’s cute and precious but Sora also needs to understand something right now. She can’t take any major risks during her matches, we’ve seen her decision making in matches get the better of her. It’s the reason why she isn’t the JET Academy Champion at the moment.” - Nina Sanada
Interesting matchups
Manami’s answer - vs. JUNKO
Azumi’s answer - vs. HULK
Nina’s answer - vs. SAIKO
Final Standing prediction:
All three legends believe that Sora’s ceiling for this year’s tournament is top three with Nina especially sticking to the case that Sora needs to grow up and not go for too many risks this year if she wants any chance of winning.
---
“The Mob Psycho”
SAIKO
GP entry: Third time entrant
JET Accolades:
- 1x JET Academy Champion
- 2020 Miss Manami Tributary Shield Winner
Comments from the panel:
“It all comes down to if she wants to win this year or not. Considering JUNKO is in her block, we might as well say that she has one loss guaranteed right? The only way SAIKO is winning this year is if she decides to fight for herself and not for JUNKO.” - Miss Manami
“I feel the same way about SAIKO as Manami-sensei does, I don’t have much to add about her.” - Azumi Goto
“We know that she is obsessed with making sure JUNKO is successful, her personal success doesn’t seem to matter. All I can say is that if that's the case then why is she in this tournament?” - Nina Sanada
Interesting matchups:
Manami’s answer - vs. JUNKO
Azumi’s answer - vs. Hannah Rockford
Nina’s answer - vs. Mei Namikaze
Final Standing predictions:
All three believe that it comes down to if she’s fighting for the success of JUNKO or her own. Despite that, the legends panel have SAIKO finishing in the middle of the pack.
---
“The Heavenly Lioness”
Diantha Rosso
GP entry: First time entrant
JET Accolades
- 2021 RISE Together Tag Tournament (w/ Mizuki Nakata)
Comment from the panel:
“This is an interesting case for sure because Diantha’s momentum that she had to start her JET tenure has seemingly fizzled down. Maybe a GP win is what Diantha needs to kickstart herself back on track to a championship.” - Miss Manami
“I know Diantha really well. As a rival, a competitor, and a close friend, even with all of those things. Diantha hasn’t faced anything quite like a RISE GP. This will truly be the biggest test of her career in JET.” - Azumi Goto
“She needs to realize that winning matches in JET is an easy task but winning championships in JET and winning a GP, that’s the toughest challenge in the world.” - Nina Sanada
Interesting matchups:
Manami’s answer - vs. SAKURA
Azumi’s answer - vs. JUNKO
Nina’s answer - vs. HULK
Final Standing predictions:
Despite being a highly decorated singles competitor in OWA, the panel believe that Diantha’s downward momentum might be her downfall as they placed her in the top half of A Block.
---
“The Demolition Angel”
Yukiko Kusanagi
GP entry: First time entrant
JET Accolades:
- None
Comment from the panel:
“Yukiko Kusanagi is someone I’ve been keeping an eye on, she had an extremely impressive showing at New World Revolution USA. Definitely a wildcard pick but I can see her doing well.” - Miss Manami
“What I think Yukiko needs to think about is the opportunity she is getting by being in this year’s tournament. Winning the whole GP might be out of her reach but she has three champions that she can possibly challenge if she can get wins against them.” - Azumi Goto
“I agree with Azumi on this, Yukiko Kusanagi needs to look at scoring wins against the champs in her block and only think about winning her block if she’s able to get a good start in her first half.” - Nina Sanada
Interesting matchups:
Manami’s answer - vs. HULK
Azumi’s answer - vs. JUNKO
Nina’s answer - vs. HULK
Final Standing predictions:
It seems that Nina and Manami believe that Yukiko will finish with 10 points at highest as it is her first GP but Azumi was willing to make the case that she could finish in the top half of the block with 12 or so points.
---
“The Powerhouse DESPERADO”
Machiko Hasegawa
GP entry: Third time entrant
JET Accolades:
- None
Comments from the panel:
“The newest recruit for DESPERADOS, Machiko Hasegawa is an interesting pickup for the faction but the question with her is if she uses this as momentum to finish anywhere higher than the bottom three of her block.” - Miss Manami
Azumi and Nina Sanada seemed to have nothing to add as they believed that Machiko has a low chance of competing against the top half of her block.
Interesting matchups:
All three legends gave similar answers and said that they would like to see the match against HULK. Believe that the trilogy could be interesting now that Machiko has a new mindset now.
Final Standing predictions:
All three legends believed that Machiko’s chances of winning her block were quite low but she had a chance of breaking into the top half to end the tournament.
---
“The Cherry Blossom”
SAKURA
GP entry: First time entrant
JET Accolades:
- None
Comments from the panel:
“Honestly, SAKURA reminds me of a younger Azumi. She has a ton of potential and similar to a few people in this block, this is an opportunity to showcase what she’s got. Even if she finishes with a poor record.” - Miss Manami
“Now that you say that, she does remind me a little bit of a younger me. I agree this is a similar spot to Mei, where she needs to really showcase what she has as a singles competitor and that should be her main goal.” - Azumi Goto
Nina didn’t seem to add anything as she believed the same thing that Manami and Azumi had said.
Interesting matchups:
Manami’s answer - vs. JUNKO
Azumi’s answer - vs. Momoko Honda
Nina’s answer - vs. HULK or Machiko
Final Standing predictions:
All three were in agreement that this GP should be SAKURA’s chance to make huge improvements as a wrestler and only think about a singles accolade after this tournament.
---
“The Wild Card”
Jei Satasuka
GP entry: First time entrant
JET Accolades:
- None
Comments from the panel:
“Honestly Jei’s nickname of the wild card should be taken a bit more seriously, she could pull out some huge upsets if possible.” - Miss Manami
“The question with Jei is how she will handle matches against the top tier competitors of her block but I’m excited to see her matchup against the likes of HULK and Machiko.” - Azumi Goto
“Since I’m the one here who tends to be harsher on the competitors, Jei hasn’t impressed me at all. This is her chance, if she can pull even five wins, I’ll consider her an interesting prospect for JET in the future but right now? I believe she’ll finish in the bottom half of her block.” - Nina Sanada
Interesting Matchups:
Manami’s answer - vs. HULK
Azumi’s answer - vs. Machiko
Nina’s answer - vs. SAIKO
Final Standing predictions:
Azumi and Nina were in agreement that Jei could end up in the bottom half of her block’s final standings but Manami was persistent that Jei had the ability to finish in the top half.
---
After we talked about the block competitors, I asked them a simple question about who they see as the block winner for the 2021 RISEGP A Block and here were the answers.
Final Block Winner predictions:
Azumi’s pick - Momoko Honda
Manami’s pick - Sora Todoh
Nina’s pick - JUNKO
That wraps up the portion where I talked with Azumi, Nina and Manami. I would like to thank the three for taking time out of their day to talk about the A Block. I will be returning with a different batch of JET legends to talk about B Block and will be doing that very soon.