Emi Sakura's Whirling Candy Is The Greatest Thing I've Ever Seen
I mean that both ironically and earnestly, because that's how multifaceted our highness is.
Sometimes a match comes along that checks off all of the boxes you could possibly have for it. The platonic ideal of what you look for in a match of its type. A seven star classic of its genre.
Maki Itoh and Miyu Yamashita vs Mizuki and Emi Sakura at TJPW Summer Sun Princess ‘24 was that kind of match for me.
It has everything that the kind of wrestling fan I am wanted from that promotion and those wrestlers on that show. Four distinct talents doing what they do they best! Physical feats! Shenanigans! Playful character work that fuelled all of the above! Four veterans proving that they are still very much with it on a card that was predominantly dedicated to youth! (Which I think was a significant statement to make at such a critical juncture in TJPW. The future might be here, but wrestlers like Yamashita, Itoh, and Mizuki are nowhere near being old news yet. And they’re holding their own against one of the prototypes for longevity in modern day joshi to prove it.)
Most importantly, though, this match features Emi Sakura’s Whirling Candy.
Now this is just a funny and perfectly executed spot on its own. Sakura set the stage in the days leading up to the match by saying that she was jealous of her former pupil and soon to be tag team partner, Mizuki, and wanted to be able to do something as impressive as the Whirling Candy. She went on to declare that she had her own take on the move.
I can’t imagine that anyone reading this is unfamiliar with Mizuki’s version, but one can never have too much Whirling Candy, so here it is for comparison’s sake:
In the the early stages of the match, Sakura’s Gatoh Move and ChocoPro compatriot, Baliyan Akki, makes sure to get those points over on English commentary, too.
Your Highness jacks up that initial anticipation with a long preamble when her moment finally comes.
She hits the cross body and then there’s a little pause, a perfect moment of comic timing, before she starts the rotation and lands the punchline.
It’s not just a brilliantly conceived and delivered spot my a master of cheeky wrestling, though. This moment also happens to contain the essence of who Emi Sakura is as a wrestler and what makes her so great.
She’s smart and has a mind for wrestling that is reflected not only in her talents, but also in the performances of her murderer’s row of trainees. She is funny and charismatic. She has the physical chops to pull off the majority of what that magnificent brain of hers comes up with—and she’s also sharp enough to come up with alternatives for the things she can’t do.
And she is completely unselfish.
The joke is that Sakura can’t do the move that highlights her physical comedy chops. But that moment is also a celebration of her former pupil. Look at how talented Mizuki is. Look at how impossible it is to reproduce her move, even when you’re a 30 year veteran who is still very much at the top of her game. Look at how far Mizuki has come since she was under Sakura’s wing.
If you’ve ever watched any of her AEW work, you’ve definitely seen this unselfishness improve everyone she’s touched in the ring. All of her trainees and associates are given their chances to dazzle at her “expense” in Gatoh Move and ChocoPro, too. (And her proteges are paying it forward. Mei Suruga’s own Summer Sun Princess match being a perfect example.)
This generosity is also liberally sprinkled throughout the rest of the match in question. Mizuki might be the biggest beneficiary of it, but everyone gets their moments with Sakura. And Sakura has clearly put a lot of thought into each of them, because she finds a way to cater to each wrestler’s strengths and hallmarks.
She plays up and plays off of Maki Itoh’s humour and connection with the crowd.
She goes strike for strike with Miyu Yamashita.
She also puts the spotlight on Mizuki’s ring awareness, dexterity, and high flying drama in their tandem moves.
In character, our cocky queen is obviously showing these snotty young punks that anything they can do she can do better. But what she’s really doing in each case is highlighting their unique talents and appeal.
And the best part is that she doesn’t lose any face for this approach. If anything, it makes her look even better, because it’s not just “look what she can do against a bunch of useless wrestlers who aren’t on her level,” it’s “look at how well she can keep up with these clearly amazing wrestlers.”
If Emi Sakura is shining, everyone is going to shine.