JPN
The first match is between Yagami Ranna and Tetsu Akira. It's a one-on-one battle between two young wrestlers of the same type. While Akira aims for her first victory, Yagami, while lending a hand, aims to win with dignity as a senior.
The two glared at each other in the corner, feeling each other out, before Yagami tackles her to get on top. Akira goes for the neck, and they fight for the back. Yagami goes for a headlock, arm whips, and a dropkick. He corners her and stomps on her face. Akira shouts, "Don't mess with me!" and hits a series of elbows. However, Yagami kicks her arm and back, then hits an armbreaker, followed by a series of knee drops to her left arm, and a soccer ball kick. Yagami taunts her, saying, "Is that all you can do?" as she kicks away. Akira gets up and hits a series of elbows. Backed into the corner, Akira counters with a dropkick. Akira retaliates with Yagami's elbow. Yagami counters with a dropkick. Akira followed up with a Kawazu Otoshi and a facelock to force a submission. When Yagami escaped, Akira warned, "I'm going to throw you!" However, Yagami countered with a thrust high kick, a drop kick, and a penalty kick. When Akira returned, Yagami went up to the corner. "Get down!" Akira kicked him away, sending Yagami to the apron. Yasukura tried to kick him off and hit a series of elbows. Yagami delivered a high kick from the apron, and when he returned to the ring, Akira suplexed him. Akira hit a series of mount elbows and charged forward. Yagami then delivered a Zero Fighter Kick. When Akira returned, Yagami declared the finish and delivered a triangle kick from the corner. Akira was unable to return, and Yagami advanced to the first round.
"I successfully advanced through the first round of the Cinderella Tournament against Tetsu Akira. As I said at the press conference, Akira is the first junior I've ever met. She was frustrated that it took so long for her to make her debut, so I've seen her train like crazy up close and we've even trained together. She's a junior I have a lot of feelings for. But, I still think that a year in this world's highest ring, Stardom, is incredibly big. I'll be Akira's wall for the rest of my life, so let's do it again and again. And in the second round, it's either Kura or Ryuuka. I have no intention of losing no matter who it is, and Kura is especially an opponent I don't want to lose to, as we haven't yet settled our match at Ryogoku (at the end of last year). I'm determined to win again tomorrow and become a Cinderella."
"Cinderella, with Yagami-san... I'm sorry, it's frustrating (tears). It's really frustrating. Since my debut I've had the opportunity to work with many seniors, but this is the one that frustrates me the most. It was such a great chance to show Yagami-san how much I've grown, so I feel disappointed. What's more, what's most frustrating is that even though I lost, I still felt good and had fun, so that's what frustrates me the most. I'll win next time. I think it'll be even more fun if I win. I'll definitely win."