JPN
Defending champion Hanan begins her quest for a second consecutive victory, following in the footsteps of Mayu Iwatani and MIRAI. Her first-round opponent is Tomoka Inaba of JTO. In a match that could easily be seen in the final, will Hanan advance to her second consecutive victory, or will Tomoka prevail and the defending champion be eliminated in the first round? As
soon as the gong sounds, they charge forward and exchange elbows. Tomoka dodges Hanan's lariat and uses the ropes. Hanan goes for Tomoka's arm, but Tomoka escapes. They lock up and grapple, testing their strength. They grapple for each other's backs, with Hanan delivering a dropkick and a knee attack from behind. Tomoka kicks out at one count, and Hanan delivers a body slam, which is countered by a sleeper hold. When Tomoka escapes, Hanan kicks her in the face. Tomoka grabs her leg to stop her and delivers a series of elbows, which Hanan retaliates with. Tomoka goes for a face lock, but Hanan quickly escapes. Tomoka landed a series of strikes followed by a middle kick to knock Hanan down. When Hanan kicked back, Tomoka applied a face lock. When Hanan escaped, Tomoka kicked her in the face and applied another face lock, followed by a series of elbows to the back of her head. Hanan broke free and delivered an elbow smash. Tomoka threw Hanan into the corner, but she reversed and dove, though Tomoka countered with a middle kick. They both attempted throws, and Hanan caught Tomoka's charge and threw her backwards. Both got up and charged, and Hanan's running elbow smash connected. Hanan declared, "I'm going to fly!" and performed a plancha to the outside, shouting, "I'm going to win the championship!" She returned to the ring and attempted a Famouser. Tomoka kicked back, and Hanan declared, "I'm going to finish this!" and attempted a Blockbuster. Tomoka landed a series of knees followed by a high kick, and Hanan responded with an elbow smash and threw her backwards. Hanan attempted a Blockbuster hold, but Tomoka's shoulders rose. Hanan pulled Tomoka up and prepared for a back drop. Tomoka endures and counters with a high kick. Both are down, and Tomoka declares she's going for a knockout blow! Tomoka Kick. Hanan tries to stop her but Tomoka kicks her away and declares a knockout blow! Tomoka Kick. Hanan dodges and hits Seventeen, Tomoka turns around, Hanan gets back on but it's only a two count. Tomoka lands a series of elbows from behind, pulls her up and tries to hit an Inaba Drop. Hanan counters with a high-angle back drop. Tomoka gets up and hits an Inaba Drop. However, Hanan manages to turn it around. 10 minutes have passed. Tomoka screams and tries to hit a knockout blow! Tomoka Kick. Hanan stops her and hits a back drop hold for the three count.
"I made it through the first round of the Cinderella Tournament. Phew, that was close! I think Inaba Tomoka was a final-level opponent in this first round, on par with the finalists. But my goal is to win the championship. I'm going to win and take that white belt. Looking at today's results, I have no idea who my opponent in the final will be, and Ruika lost too. I wonder who it will be? I don't know who it will be, but I'm looking forward to finding out who my opponent in the final will be."
"I thought we were finally going to have a rematch...but I lost. This is the difference between Hanan and me now. It's frustrating."