That’s it. The crystal ball is going in the bin! I’m doing things a bit different this year because I’ve run out of unique predictions for this article. The only things I could think of were the usual ideas. Things like X wins a championship, Y jumps to another promotion, Z takes part in an angle and so on. But before I post my look into 2025 let’s get this out of the way.
DDT
X. Naomi Yoshimura returns from injury and gets a singles push.
X. Kento Miyahara will be at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”.
X. Sanshiro Takagi fights Hiroshi Tanahashi in a battle of the presidents!
X. Somebody (or something) from WWE wins the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title.
X. Tetsuya Endo should go on an overseas excursion.
We did get to see Naomi Yoshimura hanging around DDT shows quite a bit this year but he’s still not ready to wrestle matches again. Hopefully next year we’ll hear how he is progressing with his rehab training. The DDT Vs All Japan rivalry disappeared after Springtime, right around the time DDT wrestlers started appearing at the NOAH “LIMIT BREAK” shows. So no Kento Miyahara appearance which I think is a missed opportunity. Sanshiro Takagi and Hiroshi Tanahashi teamed up instead of fighting with each other for “ALL TOGETHER”. The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title didn’t go near the WWE at all unless the “Strange Foreigner” that attacked Sayaka Unagi before her MLW appearance turns out to be somebody who was under a WWE deal. Tetsuya Endo’s only match in America this year was in DDT anyway.
Tokyo Joshi Pro
✓. Somebody from the 2023 Class scores a pinfall on a TJPW veteran.
X. Mizuki Vs Rika Tatsumi finally happens… in the Tokyo Princess Cup.
X. Maki Itoh wins the GCW World Heavyweight Championship.
X. Aja Kong takes on a regular role in TJPW.
✓. Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh remain with TJPW for the year.
Take a bow Shino Suzuki for scoring a pinfall on Shoko Nakajima just days before the year ends. It was a 2 Count pinfall but I included that when I predicted it. I could also try to be cheeky and say Zara Zakher getting a few big wins counts as somebody from the 2023 Class beating a veteran but that would go against the spirit of the prediction. I just meant Tokyo Joshi Pro trained wrestlers, not anybody who started wrestling in 2023. No Mizuki Vs Rika Tatsumi match is a booking decision that still confuses me. Maki Itoh won the GCW Extreme Title instead of their World Title, so I was close with that one. Aja Kong still makes TJPW appearances here and there but not enough that I would call her a regular part of the company. The one thing I got right all year is Miyu Yamashita and Itoh staying with TJPW. I don’t think the timing is there for either of them to leave the company yet.
Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling
X. Ken Ohka Wins The Spirit Of Ganbare Title From Isami Kodaka.
X. The Ganbare☆Climax returns.
1/2✓. Yuna Manase returns from injury and feuds with YuuRI.
X. A mixed gender tag team wins the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Titles.
X. A Stardom wrestler appears on a Ganbare☆Joshi show.
The Spirit Of Ganbare Title went from Isami Kodaka to Shuichiro Katsumura, not Ken Ohka. There was no return of the Ganbare☆Climax tournament. I don’t think Ganbare☆Pro has the ability in their current position to pull off something like that unless it was on a smaller scale. Yuna Manase did return from injury but teamed up with YuuRI instead of feuding against her. The two of them also challenged for the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Titles together but failed to win them. The Ganbare☆Joshi branding hasn’t been used a lot lately so there was no chance of anyone from Stardom showing up. Kind of happened with TJPW though.
Miscellaneous
X. A DDT wrestler makes a full time jump over to BASARA.
X. Konosuke Takeshita wrestles in the main event of an AEW PPV.
X. Yuka Sakazaki becomes the first ROH Women’s TV Champion.
X. Baka Gaijin + Friends runs a show at Shin-Kiba 1st RING.
1/2✓. The 2024 New Year’s Eve Shuffle Tag Tournament lasts past midnight again.
Nobody made a full jump from DDT to BASARA. There were a couple of times Kazusada Higuchi and Masahiro Takanashi appeared but not enough to count as a regular. Konosuke Takeshita had a few AEW PPV appearances this year but none of them closed out the show. Yuka Sakazaki wasn’t part of the tournament to crown the first ROH Women’s TV Title. The only time Baka Gaijin + Friends went outside of ARENA Shimokitazawa was for “FUCKED UP FEST” and that was not at Shin-Kiba 1st RING. Last but not least, there was a show at Korakuen Hall on New Year’s Eve that went past midnight but it was not the Shuffle Tag Tournament. Big Japan instead did their own thing to take them into the new year. Screw it I’m giving myself half a point for that. Right, onto something new for 2025.
Dramatic DDT 