The Power Spot Known as Senjo
Hello everyone! Next week was supposed to be the final column, but surprise! It’s been extended~! It’s all thanks to you guys reading it so much. Thank you! So, I’m going to keep writing about whatever I like, just as always! This time, as I mentioned on X (Twitter), I’m going to write about the July 12th Xebio Arena Sendai show that was recently featured on Senjo Soul. I’ve written about Xebio before, but this time I want to give you a look behind the scenes and share some backstage stories from the perspective of watching the Senjo Soul video.
I’m actually writing this right now while watching the video, and the fact that it starts with Manami-san’s bug spray is already hilarious. Right as we were heading to Xebio, I found out Taichi-san had sent flowers, so I instantly texted Reina lol. Watching the video and seeing Reina get to see Taichi-san’s flowers, plus her reuniting with her incredibly sweet friend, just filled my heart with a warm “Aww, good for her~!” feeling.
It’s only been a month, but it already feels a little nostalgic. Watching the video, I realized I honestly didn’t remember half the stuff I said, like, “Oh wow, I was talking about that?” The actual day of the show was just so incredibly, ridiculously hectic. I was barely keeping my head above water focusing on myself and my own duties, so it’s usually not until I watch the YouTube video later that I realize, “Oh, so that’s what the other wrestlers and my seniors were talking about~!”
There’s a quote I said in the video: “Messy bangs equal a messy mind.” There is actually a proper meaning behind me saying that! lol Part of it is simply that I care about my bangs more than anything else, but what I really meant was how important it will be for us moving forward to be conscious of the fact that we have jobs and positions where we stand in front of an audience. It depends on the person, of course, but doing your makeup, changing up your hair, or dressing nicely naturally lifts your mood, right? If you polish your outward appearance, your inner self naturally starts glowing too, and your sense of beauty goes up. Because we are going to be seen by people on a daily basis more and more—not just on match days, but on YouTube shoot days too—I want to be careful not to ruin that image.
And then there’s Sasadango-sensei… I am so grateful to him that I feel like I just have to call him “Sensei.” I’ve been watching DDT since my fan days, so I watched a TON of Muscle. Stuff like the “Finisher Boys” and the “Hell in a Blue Tarp Deathmatch.” Those match formats completely shocked me in my pro wrestling life. Plus, I absolutely love his hype PowerPoints! I really wanted to see Sasadango-san’s PowerPoint live, but because it happened right after my match, I couldn’t watch it in person and immediately caught it on the stream instead. And when I met Sasadango-san after the match… well, that’s what happened at the 1 hour, 18 minute, and 27-second mark in the YouTube video. I never imagined a wrestler I’ve watched for so long would give me such incredibly kind words, so I was truly happy. I genuinely almost cried! lol Also, I didn’t realize Sasadango-san had been watching me right before my entrance, so I felt a little embarrassed about that! lol Later on, on Sasadango-san’s radio show Che Jibara, he even gave me the title of “The Greatest Gyaru Wrestler Born from Senjo,” which was a massive honor!
As I kept watching the video, at the very, very end when it showed Reina’s dad, the tears just started overflowing… When we were moving into the dorms, I helped carry boxes and got to chat with her dad a lot, so remembering that moment randomly made me get all emotional. That high-five with Rena was the absolute best. crying
This video was a YouTube Premiere, and so many people tuned in to watch it in real-time. Seeing a sight I couldn’t have even imagined a year ago unfold right before my eyes makes me feel like, a year from now, there will be even more unimaginable sights waiting for us. It makes me so excited for the future. I’m so incredibly thankful to the people who discovered Senjo, joshi puroresu, or just pro wrestling in general through Senjo Soul and decided to actually come out to the venues. Like I wrote before, what you see on Senjo Soul is our true selves, but because it’s delivered through camera lenses and editing, you aren’t seeing absolutely everything. So, when you’re deciding what to believe, or wondering how someone might feel reading your words, I’d really appreciate it if you took a second to think before commenting. Basically, I read every single comment. Even if I can’t reply to all the support messages I get in the comments or my DMs, I read them properly. They fill me with gratitude and make me want to tell you all to do your best in your own lives, too.
If you’re ever going through something, come see pro wrestling. Come see Senjo. The current Senjo is overflowing with so much power right now that it’s honestly like a “power spot,” so please come to the venue and absorb some of that power! Our next match is August 28th at the Yoyogi National Stadium 2nd Gymnasium!
See you next Thursday! Bye!
Translator’s Notes:
- Power Spot: A popular Japanese term (Wasei-eigo, or Japanese-English) referring to a spiritually or physically energizing location, such as a nature reserve or a shrine, where people go to recharge their energy and soul.
- Taichi-san’s Flowers: Taichi is a popular veteran wrestler in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Reina Takano is known to be a massive fan of his, making the gesture of him sending flowers to the venue a huge and emotional surprise for her.
- Sasadango-sensei & Che Jibara: Super Sasadango Machine is a beloved masked comedy wrestler in DDT Pro-Wrestling, famous for doing elaborate Microsoft PowerPoint presentations in the ring before his matches. Che Jibara is his weekly local radio show broadcast in Niigata.
- Muscle, Finisher Boys & Hell in a Blue Tarp: Muscle was a legendary, highly theatrical comedy wrestling sub-brand of DDT run by Muscle Sakai (Sasadango’s unmasked alter-ego). “Finisher Boys” (Hissatsuwaza Danshi) and the “Hell in a Blue Tarp Deathmatch” are famously absurd, parody-heavy comedy matches from that era that YUNA grew up watching.
- Gyaru: A Japanese fashion and lifestyle subculture characterized by trendy makeup, manicured hair, and a bubbly, rebellious party-girl attitude. YUNA heavily incorporates the Gyaru aesthetic into her wrestling persona.