Arai Injured, GanPro In May, Suruga Popping Up In DDT, Giant Peter Pan Tag Match

May 17, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR IN SPRING ’23”, 20/05/2023
Tokyo Otemachi Mitsui Hall

1. Mahiro Kiryu Vs Toga
2. Yuki Kamifuku Vs HIMAWARI
3. Hyper Misao Vs Shino Suzuki
4. Shoko Nakajima, Kaya Toribami & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Suzume, Arisu Endo & Haru Kazashiro
5. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta & Wakana Uehara
6. Mizuki & Moka Miyamoto Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe

Yesterday Yuki Arai suffered a leg injury during rehearsals for a SKE48 concert and is currently out of action. She will still appear at this weekend’s Tokyo Joshi Pro show but will not be wrestling. Hyper Misao will now bw Shino Suzuki’s opponent and Yoshiko Hasegawa is coming in to take Misao’s spot in Match #4.

GANBARE☆PRO “I WILL BE A BUTTERFLY FOR YOU 2023”, 28/05/2023
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. GanJo Special Tag Match: YuuRI & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Moeka Haruhi & Riara
2. GanPro Vs Australia: Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao Vs Hartley Jackson & Mitch Ryder
3. GanPro Vs Sento Minzoku: Ken Ohka & Shota Vs Minoru Fujita & Daiki Shimomura
4. Mizuki Watase, Shuichiro Katsumura & Yuki Kanzaki Vs Yumehito Imanari, Tyson Maeguchi & Shinichiro Tominaga

Members of Sento Minzoku will be involved on some of the day’s shows to continue the BASARA unit’s feud with Ganbare☆Pro. On the first show Ken Ohka & Shota will defend their turf against Minoru Fujita & Daiki Shimomura.

Australian wrestler Mitch Ryder is coming over to GanPro to team with his fellow countryman Hartley Jackson.

Moeka Haruhi’s surgery to donate one of her kidneys has been scheduled for late June so she is able to continue wrestling for a few more weeks. That means she gets to show up at GanPro again after already saying goodbye and have a few extra matches there.

GANBARE☆PRO “WRESTLE YUMEHITO FACTORY 2023”, 28/05/2023
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. Yumehito Poison Rumble: Mizuki Watase Vs Soma Takao Vs Tyson Maeguchi Vs Yuki Kanzaki Vs HARUKAZE Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Riara
2. BEST OF THE SUPER arena Grand Final: Moeka Haruhi Vs YuuRI
3. Shin Rogai-gun Vs Shin Jidai-gun: Shuichiro Katsumura & Shota Vs Ilusion & Munetatsu Nakamura
4. Yumehito Imanari’s GanPro 10th Anniversary Match: Yumehito Imanari & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Ken Ohka & Keisuke Ishii

The second show of GanPro’s May tripleshot is all being put together by Yumehito Imanari. The main event celebrates his 10th anniversary with the promotion. He also decided to do a tag team match between the old generation and the new generation. The joshi match will have both Haruhi and YuuRI wrestling in “arena” branded swimsuits. The opening match will be a Rumble where everyone will enter to Imanari’s theme song “POISON ~In This World Where I Can’t Say What I Want To Say~” by Takashi Sorimachi. Every participant will also have to represent Imanari in some way so I think there is going to be several impersonations of his different gimmicks during the match.

GANBARE☆PRO “GANBARE☆PRO WRESTLING PLAYERS ASSOCIATION PERFORMANCE”, 28/05/2023
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. Mixed Tag Match: Shota & YuuRI Vs Shinichiro Tominaga & HARUKAZE
2. Special Single Match: Choun-Shiryu Vs Moeka Haruhi
3. Elimination 6-Man Tag Match: Mizuki Watase, Soma Takao & Yumehito Imanari Vs Ken Ohka, Keisuke Ishii & Shuichiro Katsumura
4. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title Next Challenger: Isami Kodaka Vs Munetatsu Nakamura

The other Sento Minzoku appearance of course is the big Isami Kodaka Vs Munetatsu Nakamura match to determine who faces Mizuki Watase at “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA II”.

DDT “DDT YOKOHAMA UNLIMITED VOL. 3”, 03/06/2023
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Hideki Okatani, Yuki Ishida & Rukiya
2. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Yuki Ueno & Soma Takao
3. Special Tag Match ~ Gatoh Move Vs DDT’s Comical Strongest Tag: Masahiro Takanashi & Mei Suruga Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata

A week after Mei Suruga celebrates her 5th anniversary in wrestling she is coming over to DDT to team with Masahiro Takanashi on behalf of Gatoh Move. DDT are pitting the two of them against their strongest tag team when it comes to comedy, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata.

GANBARE☆JOSHI “GANJO MILON’S SECRET CASTLE ’23”, 17/06/2023
Tokyo GEN Sports Palace

1. Miyako Matsumoto & Alex Lee Vs Marika Kobashi & Echika Miyabi
2. Riara Vs Ancham
3. GanJo Vs JUST TAP OUT! Special Tag Match: YuuRI & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Sumika Yanagawa & Misa Kagura

It’s only a little bit relevant here but JUST TAP OUT is going to changed their name in July to celebrate their 4th anniversary, shortening it down to their initials JTO. They’re keeping the logo the same though.

Riara is getting some more valuable in-ring experience, this time getting a match against Ancham.

The women of Ganbare☆Joshi do not want to deal with Miyako Matsumoto and her new partner in crime Alex Lee so a team from P.P.P. Tokyo will face them instead. PPP are fresh off of their first time in Korakuen Hall so Marika Kobashi & Echika Miyabi must both be feeling extra motivated to represent their company.

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2023”, 23/07/2023
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Special Tag Match: Chiitan☆ & Pokotan Vs Andreza Giant Panda & Super Sasadango Machine
2. Dramatic Dream Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs El Desperado

The mascots are being given the toughest competition DDT could find… Andreza Giant Panda & Super Sasadango Machine.


Was Trios Tournament Win A Fluke? Piercing Death Match, Mascots Team Up

May 15, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR IN SPRING ’23”, 20/05/2023
Tokyo Otemachi Mitsui Hall

1. Mahiro Kiryu Vs Toga
2. Yuki Kamifuku Vs HIMAWARI
3. Yuki Arai Vs Shino Suzuki
4. Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Kaya Toribami Vs Suzume, Arisu Endo & Haru Kazashiro
5. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta & Wakana Uehara
6. Mizuki & Moka Miyamoto Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe

The main event is a preview of the upcoming Princess Tag Team Titles match with Mizuki against Daydream. She has Moka Miyamoto teaming with her to face the might of Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe.

The winners of the Nivea trios tournament from April are taking on the team that couldn’t compete at the last minute. Nao Kakuta pulled out of the show resulting in her team with Hikari Noa & Wakana Uehara getting eliminated by forfeit. Here the three of them have a chance to make up for that let down. Over on the other side it’s up to Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku to prove that their tournament victory was no fluke.

DDT “KING OF DDT 2023 FINAL!!”, 21/05/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Rukiya
0. Dark Match: Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi, Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata & Kazuma Sumi Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai, Soma Takao, Yuni & Yuki Ishida
1. King Of DDT 2023 – Semi Final: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yuki Ueno
2. King Of DDT 2023 – Semi Final: Jun Akiyama Vs Chris Brookes
3. BURNING Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada Vs Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON
4. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Yuji Hino, Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA & Naruki Doi Vs MAO, Toy Kojima, Yuya Koroku & Takeshi Masada
5. DDT Extreme Title – Piercing Death Match: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Hideki Okatani
6. King Of DDT 2023 – Final: X Vs X

The DDT Extreme Title will be on the line in a Piercing Death Match. Shunma Katsumata noticed that Hideki Okatani has no experience with getting ear piercings so he came up with a match where you can win by piercing your opponent’s ear three times! They can win the death match by the other usual means but everything will be provided so they can achieve the goal of sticking stuff through their opponent’s earlobes.

BASARA “BASARA 219 ~KOO~”, 23/05/2023
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Ryuichi Sekine, Minoru Fujita & Yasu Urano Vs FUMA, Takumi Tsukamoto & Ryota Nakatsu
2. 3 Way Match: Gouma Ryu Vs Tatsuhiko Yoshino Vs Takato Nakano
3. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – Round 1 A Block: Isami Kodaka Vs Shiori Asahi
4. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – Round 1 A Block: Daiki Shimomura Vs Daichi Kazato
5. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – Round 1 A Block: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Leo Isaka
6. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – Round 1 A Block: SAGAT Vs Lil’ Kraken

The Chouten ~Itadaki~ begins with the A Block half of the bracket.

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2023”, 23/07/2023
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Special Tag Match: Chiitan☆ & Pokotan Vs X & X
2. Dramatic Dream Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs El Desperado

A bond has formed between Chiitan & Pokotan after their battle over the weekend and now the two agreed to team together.


Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023

May 15, 2023

The 8th annual Chouten ~Itadaki~ tournament is going to be the main focus for BASARA during the summer. This year uses the familiar format of a 16-man single eliminaion bracket. Every match will have a 30 minute time limit except for the final, which has no time limit. A draw of any kind will eliminate both wrestlers from the tournament. An odd bit of scheduling this year is half of the 2nd Round will take place on the same day the 2nd Half of Round 1 is completed. The complete 2nd Round schedule has not been finalized yet for this reason. It will have to be sorted out depending on which wrestlers are available to wrestle on 3rd June and which are available for 17th June. This year’s contestants are:

Isami Kodaka (8th Appearance, 2019 Winner)
Takumi Tsukamoto (8th Appearance)
FUMA (8th Appearance)
Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi (7th Appearance, 2016 Winner)
Daichi Kazato (7th Appearance)
SAGAT (8th Appearance)
Ryota Nakatsu (8th Appearance, 2018 & 2020 Winner)
Daiki Shimomura (5th Appearance)
Takato Nakano (6th Appearance)
Lil’ Kraken (2nd Appearance)
Minoru Fujita (4th Appearance, 2021 Winner)
Yasu Urano (5th Appearance)
Fuminori Abe (6th Appearance, 2022 Winner)
Shiori Asahi (1st Appearance)
Tatsuhiko Yoshino (1st Appearance)
Leo Isaka (1st Appearance)

BASARA “BASARA 219 ~KOO~”, 23/05/2023
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – Round 1 A Block: Isami Kodaka Vs Shiori Asahi
2. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – Round 1 A Block: Daiki Shimomura Vs Daichi Kazato
3. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – Round 1 A Block: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Leo Isaka
4. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – Round 1 A Block: SAGAT Vs Lil’ Kraken

———————————————————————–

BASARA “BASARA 220 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 25~”, 03/06/2023
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR

1. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – Round 1 B Block: Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Yasu Urano
2. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – Round 1 B Block: FUMA Vs Fuminori Abe
3. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – Round 1 B Block: Ryota Nakatsu Vs Tatsuhiko Yoshino
4. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – Round 1 B Block: Takato Nakano Vs Minoru Fujita

———————————————————————–

BASARA “BASARA 221 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 26~”, 03/06/2023
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR

1. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – Round 2: X Vs X
2. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – Round 2: X Vs X

———————————————————————–

BASARA “BASARA 222 ~OENSOGURA~”, 17/06/2023
Miyagino Cultural Center

1. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – Round 2: X Vs X
2. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – Round 2: X Vs X

———————————————————————–

BASARA “BASARA 223 ~KOO~”, 27/06/2023
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – A Block Final: X Vs X
2. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – B Block Final: X Vs X
3. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – Final: X Vs X


DDT/ONLY WE “ONLY WE X DDT SPECIAL! ~YUJI HINO 20TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT~” Results

May 14, 2023

DDT/ONLY WE “ONLY WE X DDT SPECIAL! ~YUJI HINO 20TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT~”, 14/05/2023
Chiba TKP Garden City
241 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Hideki Okatani defeated Rukiya with a Running Elbow Butt (4:55).
2. Pheromones Vs DISASTER BOX!: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Iino submitted Hirata with the Chiba Port Tower (9:34).
3. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Shunma Katsumata, Yusuke Okada & Kazuma Sumi when KANON submitted Sumi with the Crucifixion Cobra Twist (7:54).
4. Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada defeated Hiroshi Yamato & Yuya Koroku when Brookes submitted Koroku with the Ground Octopus Stretch (6:10).
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida defeated Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine (c) when Ishida pinned Machine with the Flame Palm (14:09).
*Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine fail in V2. Harimao becomes the 51st KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
6. Special Tag Match: Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi defeated MAO & Toy Kojima when Oishi pinned Kojima after the Cactus Flower (11:17).
7. Yuji Hino Debut 20th Anniversary Match: Yuji Hino, Jun Akiyama & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Tetsuya Endo, HARASHIMA & Yuji Okabayashi when Hino pinned HARASHIMA with the Fuckin’ BOMB (21:46).

DDT played host to a celebration of Yuji Hino’s 20th anniversary of his debut match. Hino’s first pro match didn’t take place until November 2023 but according to Hino that just means there is time to do a 2nd, 3rd and even 4th show to continue the commemoration across the rest of the year. It’s not like ONLY WE will be doing anything else by themselves. He is already thinking about holding part two in Kumamoto. Hino convinced Jun Akiyama & Yukio Sakaguchi to team up with him for a big trios match against Tetsuya Endo, HARASHIMA & Yuji Okabayashi. His big day was capped off with him pinning HARASHIMA with the Fuckin’ BOMB.

The dream run for Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine has come to an end. They have lost the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles to Harimao. It was Yuki Ishida who stepped up to the plate for the challengers to cause the title change. Sasadango gave Ishida the Lehmann Shock twice but the first pin was broken up and the second was kicked out at two. Ishida avoided the dreaded finisher a third time and opened the gap for Kazusada Higuchi to hit Sasadango with a Lariat. Ishida then hit the Flame Palm and scrambled on top to get the three count. Higuchi is now calling Harimao the best unit in DDT because they have the 6-Man Tag Titles. Ryota Nakatsu also gave a shoutout to Naomi Yoshimura.

Chris Brookes cut off Hiroshi Yamato’s singing entrance because he thought it was too noisy. However he & Takeshi Masada had a change of heart after they won their match and asked Yamato to sing it again for everyone.

A contract signing between Shunma Katsumata and Hideki Okatani before the show began revealed the stipulation of their DDT Extreme Title match. It will be a Piercing Death Match! It is a No DQ match where you can either win through normal means or by piercing your opponent’s ears three times. Many of the weapons that will be laid around the ring for the match will be of the sharp variety for this reason. Katsumata tried to attack Okatani’s ear with a piercing staple in a twisted demonstration but Okatani fought him off, grabbed the staple and pierced Katsumata’s ear instead!

It was announced at the start of the show that Nick Wayne’s delayed visit to Japan has been successfully rescheduled and he will now be coming in for a tour of DDT shows this summer. His tour begins at Korakuen Hall on 25th June and will last until 7th July.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR IN SPRING ’23” Results

May 13, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR IN SPRING ’23”, 13/05/2023
Shizuoka Act City Hamamatsu
316 Fans

1. Moka Miyamoto defeated Haru Kazashiro with the Rashomon (4:37).
2. Nao Kakuta & Toga defeated Hyper Misao & Shino Suzuki when Kakuta pinned Suzuki with the Shiden Kai (7:43).
3. Miu Watanabe defeated HIMAWARI with the Canadian Backbreaker (7:59).
4. Hikari Noa & Wakana Uehara defeated Arisu Endo & Kaya Toribami when Noa pinned Toribami with the Blizzard Suplex (9:23).
5. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku defeated Shoko Nakajima, Suzume & Mahiro Kiryu when Aino pinned Kiryu with the Venus DDT (15:17).
6. Mizuki & Yuki Arai defeated Maki Itoh & Yuki Kamifuku when Mizuki pinned Kamifuku with the Diving Foot Stomp (14:59).

Perhaps we are starting to see what Tokyo Joshi Pro is going to look like in the near future with the show that went on today. Due to Yuka Sakazaki travelling overseas and Rika Tatsumi having to pull out on short notice, Mizuki was the only champion at the show today. She remained as her usual self in the main event, passing the end of show speech to Yuki Arai. But in her backstage interview after the main event Mizuki started crying when she was asked about Sakazaki’s graduation coming up in December. She’s worried that if she does not do her best then Sakazaki won’t be able to have her graduation match with peace of mind. That is why Mizuki thinks now is not the time to get sad.

This was Maki Itoh’s final match before she goes on another long expedition of America. She is sure she will return to Japan all beaten up because there are more tougher opponents for her to face in America than in Japan. However she wants to enjoy the experience and work hard so she can come back and win the Princess Of Princess Title from Mizuki. Maybe that is the reason Yuki Kamifuku took the blame for their team losing in the main event. Although Kamifuku also realizes she’s been dropping falls a little bit more ever since she turned 30 in February.

Little by little, Shino Suzuki is getting the hang of this pro wrestling thing. Today’s match was an important one for her because it was taking place in her home city of Shizuoka. Hyper Misao was excited to team with her because they both wear green and she got Suzuki to introduce her in a tour guide way. She also convinced Suzuki to use her tour guide flag as a weapon to choke their opponents with. However Nao Kakuta & Toga recovered momentum and won the match in the end with Kakuta getting the pin on Suzuki.

Rika Tatsumi was unable to be at the show due to being in poor physical condition. Her scheduled opponent Wakana Uehara was added into the 3 Way Match to turn it into a tag team bout.


BASARA “BASARA 218 ~TAKAGARI 17~” Results

May 13, 2023

BASARA “BASARA 218 ~TAKAGARI 17~”, 13/05/2023
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
??? Fans – Withheld

1. Takato Nakano, Yasu Urano & Fuminori Abe defeated SAGAT, Lil’ Kraken & Akiyori Takizawa when Nakano pinned Kraken with the Falconry (13:27).
2. Isami Kodaka & Kaz Hayashi defeated Daichi Kazato & Tsutomu Oosugi when Hayashi pinned Kazato with the Final Cut (8:31).
3. FUMA defeated Ryota Nakatsu with an Upside Down Cross Armbreaker (12:07).
4. Interim IRON FIST TAG Titles: Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita defeated Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Antonio Honda when Fujita pinned Hiroshi with the Tombstone Piledriver (15:20).
*Sento Minzoku become the Interim IRON FIST TAG Champions!
5. Union MAX Title: Takumi Tsukamoto defeated Banana Senga (c) with the High Angle Backslide Pin (18:21).
*Banana Senga fails in V2. Takumi Tsukamoto becomes the 19th Union MAX Champion!

There is a new Union MAX Champion and it is Takumi Tsukamoto! He is now a two time champ after beating Banana Senga today. Tsukamoto said he gained a lot of experience over the last three years since his previous title reign. He wants to break the record for most MAX Title defences (he and Ryota Nakatsu are tied in first together with 6 defences each). In order to do that he believes he must surpass his former self to become the true MAX Champion once and for all! Senga is disappointed he is no longer champion but the experience has finally given him a taste for wrestling in singles matches after spending the vast majority of his almost 20 year career as a tag team wrestler. Also now he can no longer rely on getting the champion’s purse to raise money for his hair transplant. He thinks he will have to go the crowdfunding route for that one.

Both members of Aijin Tag were in the room and had to watch Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita be given the IRON FIST TAG Title belts. Sento Minzoku are now the Interim champions and they have mixed feelings over it. They thought Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Antonio Honda were more suited to be the Interim Champs but if they have the belts then they are the champions even if it doesn’t really feel that way. They don’t know if they have to wait until Masato Kamino comes back from injury to do the unification match or if they can defend the interim titles before then.

Hiroshi & Honda both wrestled wearing each other’s wrestling gear for their big title match. Hiroshi thought they were going to wear matching gear and didn’t expect Honda to show up wearing his old USA costume. Sadly for them their efforts to win the Interim IRON FIST TAG Titles ended in defeat against Sento Minzoku. Hiroshi is crushed with the result even though Fuminori Abe praised him afterwards for being cool.

FUMA threatened Ryota Nakatsu and the referee with a musket before their match.

Kaz Hayashi was full of thanks towards Isami Kodaka for inviting him over to BASARA today. He praised Kodaka by calling him a treasure of the pro wrestling world. Kodaka got embarrased by all the kind words and asked Hayashi to stick around and watch the rest of the show.

At the start of the show Kamino told the fans he is still waiting on his injury diagnosis before he can tell them when he can return to action. Takato Nakano said he considered vacating the belts but after discussions with Kodaka the decision was made to go the interim route instead. The unification match is being planned for whenever Kamino is ready.

KUBITO was unable to be at the show due to health problems involving his pancreas. He will be out of action for the time being.

The annual Chouten ~Itadaki~ begins on 23rd May with the final happening on 27th June. This year’s tournament will involve 16 wrestlers in a single elimination format.


DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TAKASHIMAYA VOL. 1” Results

May 13, 2023

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TAKASHIMAYA VOL. 1”, 13/05/2023
Tokyo Shinjuku Takashimaya 1st Floor JR Exit Special Venue
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Kazusada Higuchi, Saki Akai & Yuki Ishida defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi when Higuchi submitted Sumi with the Torture Canadian Backbreaker (10:58).
2. Special Tag Match: Chiitan☆ & Akito defeated Pokotan Vs Kazuki Hirata when Chiitan☆ pinned Hirata after the Chi☆Poco Trigger (13:03).
3. Tetsuya Endo, Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada defeated MAO, Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima when Brookes pinned Kojima with the Praying Mantis Bomb (12:57).

The first in what DDT is hoping to be many co-promoted shows with the Shinjuku Takashimaya department store took place today. Three matches were held throughout the day with public talks and other panels sprinkled in between them. After the main event Tetsuya Endo joked about getting lost in the store for 30 minutes before the show because there are no shops as big as this in Shiroishi City.

The heated rivalry between Chiitan and Pokotan suddenly turned into an alliance when Kazuki Hirata tried to steal the spotlight for himself. Hirata tried knocking everybody out with his chops to the neck but the mascots rallied together and used a unique double team finisher called the Chi☆Poco Trigger to put and end to Hirata’s plan. After the match Akito came up with an idea for Chiitan and Pokotan to form a tag team together. They agreed so Akito decided to make sure their match will be on an even bigger stage than today. Chiitan & Pokotan are going to “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2023” on 23rd July!

A press conference for the King Of DDT finals was held after the first match. Jun Akiyama, Chris Brookes, Kazusada Higuchi and Yuki Ueno all took part and gave their comments about the semi-finals. Ueno wants to win the tournament and grow DDT so it will fill Korakuen Hall all the time and go on to run a show at the Tokyo Dome. Higuchi reminded everyone he won last year’s tournament to win the vacant KO-D Openweight Title but he is not looking past Ueno in the semi-final. Brookes is feeling the pressure because this is the first time he reached the final four in the tournament. The first Japanese pro wrestling show he ever watched was NOAH’s Tokyo Dome show in 2005 so he knows Akiyama is a legend. Akyama said he wants to do his best and become a middle aged star who won’t lose to the younger wrestlers.

One of the talk panels involved Sanshiro Takagi and Saki Akai talking about their shopping habits. They both claim to be regular customers at Shinjuku Takashimaya. Since a lot of the audience were customers who all discovered there was a wrestling show going on while they were shopping, the rules of pro wrestling were explained to the audience before the matches began.


Interim IRON FIST Titles, Kamifuku Defends Home From Kong, X Is…Not Shiori Asahi?

May 11, 2023

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TAKASHIMAYA VOL. 1”, 13/05/2023
Tokyo Shinjuku Takashimaya 1st Floor JR Exit Special Venue

1. Sanshiro Takagi, Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Saki Akai & Yuki Ishida
2. Special Tag Match: Chiitan☆ & Akito Vs Pokotan Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. Tetsuya Endo, Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs MAO, Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima

A press conference to promote the King Of DDT finals will take place during the event. All four semi-finalists will be in attendance.

BASARA “BASARA 218 ~TAKAGARI 17~”, 13/05/2023
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center

1. SAGAT & Lil’ Kraken Vs Yasu Urano & Fuminori Abe
2. Isami Kodaka, Takato Nakano & Kaz Hayashi Vs KUBITO, Daichi Kazato & Tsutomu Oosugi
3. FUMA Vs Ryota Nakatsu
4. Interim IRON FIST TAG Titles: Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Antonio Honda
5. Union MAX Title: Banana Senga (c) Vs Takumi Tsukamoto

The IRON FIST TAG Titles are becoming an interim championship while Masato Kamino is out with a knee injury. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Antonio Honda are still in the title match but now their opponents will be Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita from Sento Minzoku. Whenever Kamino is able to come back, Aijin Tag will enter a unification match with the interim champions.

Kaz Hayashi from GLEAT enters BASARA for the first time.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR IN SPRING ’23”, 27/05/2023
Kanagawa Fujisawa City Shonandai Cultural Center

1. Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Kamifuku Vs Aja Kong & Mahiro Kiryu

Kanagawa is home to Yuki Kamifuku so she is getting a big main event match for the show. She has to face Aja Kong in a tag match! If that turned out to be Mahiro Kiryu’s idea then she’ll really have to apologize for that. Shoko Nakajima once teamed with Kong but this time they are opponents.

DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2023 TOUR IN HIROSHIMA”, 27/05/2023
Hiroshima JMS Aster Plaza

1. MAO, Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima Vs Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON
2. Special Single Match: Kenshin Chikano Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. Hiroshima Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku Vs HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Rey Paloma

A little bit of Dove Pro is being added to the mix for DDT’s visit to Hiroshima. Rey Paloma and Kenshin Chikano are part of the show.

DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2023 TOUR IN KUMAMOTO”, 28/05/2023
Kumamoto Castle Hall Civic Hall

1. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Toy Kojima
2. Kumamoto Specialty Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs Kota Umeda & Takeshi Masada
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & X Vs Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON

A mystery wrestler is teaming with Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi. Is somebody being added to Ω? Will X turn out to be Shiori Asahi?!?!

The rare annual Kota Umeda appearance is here. He gets to relive the DNA days by fighting Kazusada Higuchi again. Yuki Ishida and Takeshi Masada will need to watch out.


Kamino Injured, TJPW Moving Ahead, HYPE! King Of DDT Final, GanJo Vs JTO

May 8, 2023

BASARA “BASARA 218 ~TAKAGARI 17~”, 13/05/2023
Takashimadaira Ward Community Center

1. SAGAT & Lil’ Kraken Vs Yasu Urano & Fuminori Abe
2. Isami Kodaka, Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita Vs KUBITO, Daichi Kazato & Tsutomu Oosugi
3. FUMA Vs Ryota Nakatsu
4. IRON FIST TAG Titles: Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino (c) Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Antonio Honda
5. Union MAX Title: Banana Senga (c) Vs Takumi Tsukamoto

Busy news day. BASARA announced Masato Kamino has a torn meniscus in his left knee so he will be out of action for a while. No decision has been made yet over the IRON FIST TAG Titles that Kamino holds with Takato Nakano.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR IN SPRING ’23”, 13/05/2023
Shizuoka Act City Hamamatsu

1. Hyper Misao & Shino Suzuki Vs Nao Kakuta & Toga
2. 3 Way Match: Hikari Noa Vs Arisu Endo Vs Kaya Toribami
3. Moka Miyamoto Vs Haru Kazashiro
4. Miu Watanabe Vs HIMAWARI
5. Rika Tatsumi Vs Wakana Uehara
6. Shoko Nakajima, Suzume & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku
7. Mizuki & Yuki Arai Vs Maki Itoh & Yuki Kamifuku

It was already announced before today that Yuka Sakazaki would be missing this show because she will be spending a month wrestling overseas.

13th May is Wakana Uehara’s birthday so her present is a match against Rika Tatsumi.

Haru Kazashiro gets her first singles match and will also be debuting her entrance song.

Haruna Neko is missing the show because of a knee injury.

Runa Okubo is not on the show due to “academic reasons”.

DDT/ONLY WE “ONLY WE X DDT SPECIAL! ~YUJI HINO 20TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT~”, 14/05/2023
Chiba TKP Garden City

1. Hideki Okatani Vs Rukiya
2. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Shunma Katsumata, Yusuke Okada & Kazuma Sumi
3. Hiroshi Yamato & Yuya Koroku Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada
4. Pheromones Vs DISASTER BOX!: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
5. Special Tag Match: MAO & Toy Kojima Vs Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida
7. Yuji Hino Debut 20th Anniversary Match: Yuji Hino, Jun Akiyama & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Tetsuya Endo, HARASHIMA & Yuji Okabayashi

The aftermath of last weekend showed Yuki Iino in an overwhelming “Sexy” state, one that even Danshoku Dieno was taken aback by. Dieno promises that Iino has calmed down now and his “Sexy” levels are back to where they were from before.

Add Hiroshi Yamato to the guest list celebrating Yuji Hino’s 20th Anniversary.

DDT “KING OF DDT 2023 FINAL!!”, 21/05/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Rukiya
0. Dark Match: Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi, Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata & Kazuma Sumi Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai, Soma Takao, Yuni & Yuki Ishida
1. King Of DDT 2023 – Semi Final: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yuki Ueno
2. King Of DDT 2023 – Semi Final: Jun Akiyama Vs Chris Brookes
3. BURNING Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada Vs Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON
4. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Yuji Hino, Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA & Naruki Doi Vs MAO, Toy Kojima, Yuya Koroku & Takeshi Masada
5. DDT Extreme Title: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Hideki Okatani
6. King Of DDT 2023 – Final: X Vs X

The King Of DDT is down to four men. The crown will go to either Jun Akiyama, Chris Brookes, Yuki Ueno or last year’s winner Kazusada Higuchi.

Hideki Okatani was offered a DDT Extreme Title match by Shunma Katsumata after he beat him in Round 1 of the tournament. Katsumata said he will come up with a match stipulation that will show off Okatani’s true self to the fans.

BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. FIVE: THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL”, 23/05/2023
Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa

1. Special Single Match: Takayuki Ueki Vs Mecha Mummy
2. Special Tag Team Match: MAO & Mei Suruga Vs Chie Koishikawa & Hagane Shinno
3. Special Single Match: Hyper Misao Vs Chris Brookes
4. Special Single Match: Drew Parker Vs Masahiro Takanashi

A wacky mix of new faces join the Baka Gaijin + Friends fun. Hyper Misao, Hagane Shinno and Mecha Mummy all get to experience the action over there inside ARENA Shimokitazawa.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “HYPER MISAO PRODUCE – HYPE!”, 25/05/2023
Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall

1. Hyper Misao II Audition: Miu Watanabe Vs Raku Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Suzume Vs Moka Miyamoto Vs HIMAWARI
2. Special Single Match: Shoko Nakajima Vs Yoshihiko
3. THE FIRST HYPE!: Rika Tatsumi & Arisu Endo Vs Yuki Aino & Mahiro Kiryu

Hyper Misao came up with all of these matches. The rights to become the 2nd generation Hyper Misao are on the line in the opener, Shoko Nakajima fights Yoshihiko for the first time ever and the main event comes off as a random tag match but it is two pairings Misao wants to see fight each other.

GANBARE☆PRO “GANBARE☆PRO WRESTLING PLAYERS ASSOCIATION PERFORMANCE”, 28/05/2023
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title Next Challenger: Isami Kodaka Vs Munetatsu Nakamura

An upset from the weekend saw Ganbare☆Pro’s rookie Munetatsu Nakamura pin Isami Kodaka in a 6-Man Tag Match. When Kodaka later asked Mizuki Watase for a title shot, he was turned down for that reason. Watase then came up with the idea to put Kodaka and Nakamura in a No. 1 Contender’s match to determine who he defends the Spirit Of Ganbare Title against at Ota Ward Gymnasium this July.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “STICK OUT ’23”, 11/06/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe

Even though Sakazaki will be leaving Tokyo Joshi Pro at the end of the year, she still wants to hold onto the Princess Tag Team Titles with Mizuki for as long as possible. Her next match in Japan won’t be until this show so it was decided The Magical Sugar Rabbits will defend the belts against Daydream.

GANBARE☆JOSHI “GANJO MILON’S SECRET CASTLE ’23”, 17/06/2023
Tokyo GEN Sports Palace

1. GanJo Vs JUST TAP OUT! Special Tag Match: YuuRI & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Sumika Yanagawa & Misa Kagura

Two “assassins” are being sent over to Ganbare☆Joshi by JUST TAP OUT to continue the growing rivalry between the two brands. Both Sumika Yanagawa & Misa Kagura have been with JTO since 2020 and are familiar with YuuRI from her time there. Yoshiko Hasegawa is the odd one out in this match.

Miyako Matsumoto and Alex Lee will both be on the show and this time they are actually booked for it.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’23”, 08/07/2023
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium

1. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Maki Itoh

A promise was made two years ago that when Mizuki would become the Princess Of Princess Champion then she would give Maki Itoh a title shot. Itoh has come to collect and Mizuki decided it is a big enough match for Ota Ward Gym. Itoh is dedicating her next tour of American bookings to prepare for the title match.


Yuka Sakazaki Graduating From TJPW This December

May 8, 2023

A press conference was held by Tokyo Joshi Pro today with both Tetsuya Koda and Yuka Sakazaki in attendance. The big new coming out of the event is Sakazaki’s announcement that she will be graduating from TJPW on 1st December at the promotion’s 10th Anniversary show in Korakuen Hall. She will continue her pro wrestling career but it will happen overseas because she is also going to relocate to America in 2024. Sakazaki said it was a difficult decision to make but wanted it to happen during a big milestone which is why she picked the 10th Anniversary as her final match in the company. Koda said Sakazaki has several overseas tours scheduled for the rest of this year starting with an expedition to USA from 13th May to 4th June. These tours are being done to help Sakazaki prepare for her move to America next year so she will have limited appearances with TJPW for the rest of 2023.

Therefore Koda announced that The Magical Sugar Rabbits will defend the Princess Tag Team Titles against Daydream on the 11th June Korakuen show. This is going to be Sakazaki’s next match in Japan due to her busy schedule. Even though Sakazaki is leaving TJPW, she is still determined to hold onto the Tag Titles with Mizuki and continue their latest championship reign. When asked what caused Sakazaki to make this decision, she said she knew the day would come when she would have to leave the company and the last 10 years have gone in a blink of an eye. TJPW is special to her but she feels she could not stay there forever for that very reason. She loves pro wrestling and wants to continue doing it as she enters the next stage in her life. But if she was to continue wrestling in Japan for other promotions it would interfere with TJPW which is why she is choosing to relocate and wrestle in America instead. She is undecided if she will ever wrestle in Japan again but if she does it will 100% not be for another joshi promotion.

Sakazaki said there are still things she wants to do in TJPW before she finishes up there. She said there is one particular story she wants to finish up but did not explain what it is. Even though there are 7 months left in 2023, her busy schedule means it is more like three and a half months for her. When she consulted with Mizuki about her decision, Mizuki’s response was she didn’t want Sakazaki to leave her. But Mizuki supports the decision and the two intend to stay as Princess Tag Champions for as long as they can so they can bring the belts to Disneyland together. Sakazaki would also like to invite an AEW wrestler over for a match at “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’23” in Ota Ward Gymnasium on 8th July. She thinks it would be a good opportunity for Japanese AEW fans to see one of the company’s wrestlers up close and in person.

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A day like this was always going to come eventually. Yuka Sakazaki is now the biggest name yet in TJPW’s history to leave the company after being there for almost the entirety of its lifetime. Really it’s just Miyu Yamashita and Shoko Nakajima left that are ahead of her seniority wise with Rika Tatsumi right behind her. What amazes me and keeps this story a positive one is Sakazaki’s decision to continue wrestling and to go do it in America. As TJPW approaches the 10th Anniversary of their launch event it is astounding to look back and see how it has grown. There’s a list a mile long of all the different DDT offshoots and spinoffs that only lasted a few years at best (heck DDTeeeen!! wasn’t even that long ago). When TJPW first started in 2012 I didn’t expect it to be any different. NOZOMI came and went. They replaced her with a bunch of young trainees and I thought they would only last a few years then vanish like so many wrestlers of any gender have done over the years. Instead we got Yamashita, Nakajima, Sakazaki & Tatsumi successfully holding up the fort as the company matured and the roster grew. Now TJPW has carved out a pretty nice spot for themselves in a wrestling landscape. It’s good enough to be the No. 2 women’s promotion in Japan and they’ve produced several wrestlers who are now able to make a name for themselves in America. Sakazaki will likely call AEW her home next year, Yamashita is in big demand on the US indies and Maki Itoh will have probably taken over GCW by the time she is done with them. All that’s missing now is for WWE to poach Hyper Misao so she can keep watch over the NXT parking lot.

So yeah, good news, feeling a bit emotional. I’m not looking forward to typing this all again whenever Yamashita, Nakajima and/or Tatsumi calls it a day.