All Star Jr Festival 2023 Announced

January 23, 2023

“LEC PRESENTS JUNIOR DREAM FESTIVAL ~ALL STAR JR FESTIVAL 2023~”, 01/03/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

This is a show that has been years in the making yet I never thought was going to happen. Wrestlers like Hiromu Takahashi and El Desperado have said over and over on interviews their desire for there to be an all star show that gathers together the best junior heavyweights from across the Japanese wrestling scene. Meanwhile other junior heavyweights from different promotions keep interacting with each other on social media teasing matches at times when there were no chances of those matches ever happening. Well now it’s finally happening thanks to sponsorship from LEC, a company that seems to have sponsored every notable Japanese wrestling promotion you can think of at some point in the last decade.

The only details announced so far is it will be taking place in Korakuen Hall and will be broadcast as a PPV on NJPW World. 22 different wrestling companies are attached to the show with wrestlers and matches to be announced as soon as they are decided on.

The participating promotions are:

– Dark Pro Wrestling 666
– Osaka Pro Wrestling
– Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling
– Kyushu Pro Wrestling
– New Japan Pro Wrestling
– All Japan Pro Wrestling
– Big Japan Wrestling
– Pancrase MISSION
– Pro Wrestling SECRET BASE
– Pro Wrestling ZERO1
– Pro Wrestling NOAH
– Pro Wrestling BASARA
– Pro Wrestling FREEDOMS
– Michinoku Pro Wrestling
– Ryukyu Dragon Wrestling
– CMLL
– DDT Pro Wrestling
– DRADITION
– DragonGate
– GLEAT
– JUST TAP OUT
– 2AW

We have a lot of choices among DDT, Ganbare☆Pro and BASARA to throw onto the show. Shunma Katsumata, MAO, Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Keisuke Ishii, Shuichiro Katsumura, Shota, Isami Kodaka, Daiki Shimomura, Takato Nakano, the list goes on and on. Not Tetsuya Endo though. He’s been bulking up recently and now weighs over 100kg.

It’s been pointed out online that the show will take place the day after New Japan and CMLL finish up their “FANTASTICA MANIA” tour which explains why CMLL is part of an otherwise Japan only line-up. Also AEW was never going to be a part of this. Even if they could have been, the show is on a Wednesday anyway.


Tomorrow’s Baka Gaijins Show, Princess Of The Decade, From Purple Back To White?

January 23, 2023

“BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS VOL. TWO”, 24/01/2023
Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa

1. Special Singles Match: Fuminori Abe Vs Death Worm
2. Thai Boxing Vs Death Match: Thanomsak Toba Vs Drew Parker
3. Special Tag Match: Ram Kaichow & Onryo Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi

Tomorrow’s Baka Gaijin + Friends show will be airing live on Gatoh Move/ChocoPro’s Youtube channel like the first one. Hopefully this time the recording does not get blocked for copyright reasons.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE 3RD “FUTARI WA PRINCESS” MAX HEART TOURNAMENT”, 29/01/2023
Saitama Kasukabe Fureai Cube

1. Mizuki Vs Wakana Uehara
2. Mahiro Kiryu Vs HIMAWARI
3. Yuki Aino & Haruna Neko Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku
4. Yuki Arai, Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta & Kaya Toribami
5. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Semi-Final: Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano Vs Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh
6. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Semi-Final: Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao

Next up for Wakana Uehara is a singles match against Mizuki. There’s high hopes for her with all of the big name opponents she’s been getting so far.

Yuki Kamifuku will be missing the last set of Tokyo Joshi Pro shows in January because she will be touring southeast Asia that week. She has a match at SPW in Singapore on the 27th and another match at SET-UP in Thailand on the 28th.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “BEYOND THE ORIGIN, TO THE FUTURE”, 30/01/2023
TwinBox AKIHABARA

1. Princess Of The Decade: X Vs X

A one night tournament is taking place in the venue where TJPW held their very first event. TwinBox AKIHABARA was where Miyu Yamashita, KANNA and Chikage Kiba had their first exhibition matches on 30th January, 2013. To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of that event, TJPW is holding the Princess Of The Decade tournament on PPV featuring 19 wrestlers from the roster taking part. It will be an empty arena show with all of the matches being held on mats instead of a wrestling ring. The winner of the tournament will receive a luxurious prize. Yuka Sakazaki, Yuki Kamifuku and Wakana Uehara will not be on the show. Sakazaki and Kamifuku are both wrestling overseas while Uehara has a scheduling conflict.

BASARA “BASARA 209 ~GLITTER~”, 31/01/2023
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Takato Nakano Vs Lil’ Kraken
2. Jacket 3 Way Match: FUMA Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Gouma Ryu
3. KUBITO & Daichi Kazato Vs Masato Kamino & Fuminori Abe
4. SAGAT & Akiyori Takizawa Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
5. Ryota Nakatsu Vs Kazusada Higuchi
6. IRON FIST Tag Titles: Takumi Tsukamoto & Yasu Urano (c) Vs Isami Kodaka & Daiki Shimomura

Isami Kodaka has his eyes set on becoming the first wrestler to hold both BASARA championships at the same time. The current Union MAX Champion beat Yasu Urano over the weekend in a successful title defence. Now that he has a win over one half of the IRON FIST Tag Champions, Kodaka is calling upon Daiki Shimomura to help him achieve his goal while Urano & Takumi Tsukamoto are up for a challenging first defence.

DDT “FRIENDSHIP, EFFORT, VICTORY IN NAGOYA 2023”, 18/02/2023
Aichi Nagoya International Conference Center Event Hall

1. D GENERATIONS CUP – A Block: Hideki Okatani Vs Yuya Koroku
2. D GENERATIONS CUP – B Block: Toi Kojima Vs Takeshi Masada
3. DDT Extreme Title: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Akito
4. DDT Universal Title: Naruki Doi (c) Vs KANON

The next challenger for Jun Akiyama is another wrestler who has a deep bond with the DDT Extreme Title. It’s Akito! He considers the Extreme Title to be the most important championship he has ever held and is not too thrilled to see the belt strap be changed from purple to white. The match will be happening in Nagoya too which is Akito’s home region.