New No. 1 Contenders, TJPW On The Bullet Train, 1st 2026 Match Announced

January 6, 2025

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW NEW YEAR CIRCUIT 2025”, 11/01/2025
Kobe Art Center

1. Miu Watanabe Vs Chika Nanase
2. Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Ivy Steele Vs Raku, Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami
3. Moka Miyamoto & Haru Kazashiro Vs Wakana Uehara & Mifu Ashida
4. Kaya Toribami Vs Jada Stone
5. Maki Itoh & Kira Summer Vs HIMAWARI & Toga
6. Mizuki & Suzume Vs Miyu Yamashita & Yoshiko Hasegawa
7. Princess Of Princess Title Next Challenger Battle Royal: Shoko Nakajima Vs Rika Tatsumi Vs Hyper Misao Vs Yuki Aino Vs Pom Harajuku Vs Arisu Endo

We have a new Princess Of Princess Champion so it’s time to find out who Mizuki’s first challenger will be. A 6-Woman Battle Royal will determine the No. 1 Contender.

Jada Stone’s debut in Tokyo Joshi Pro will be against Kaya Toribami.

Yuki Kamifuku will miss the show because she will be wrestling in Singapore Pro Wrestling the same weekend.

DDT “KOTATSU FIGHTING 2025”, 11/01/2025
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. MJ Paul & Demus Vs Yuki Iino & Yuki Ishida
2. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & Ilusion Vs Yukio Naya, Keigo Nakamura & Yuya Koroku
3. KOTATSU FIGHTING! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Danshoku Dieno, Yuki Ueno & Jun Akiyama Vs Kazuki Hirata, Soma Takao & Antonio Honda
4. Special Single Match: To-y Vs Yuni
5. Special Single Match: MAO Vs Kazuma Sumi
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Takeshi Masada Vs Shuji Ishikawa, HARASHIMA & Akito

We also have a No. 1 Contender for the KO-D Openweight Title. With Shuji Ishikawa as his next challenge, Chris Brookes has some preparing to do.

There’s also some singles matches to hype up the next KO-D Tag Team Titles match. MAO faces Kazuma Sumi while To-y takes on Yuni. It’s a path that worked well for the new champions before.

DDT “OTOSHI-NAGE 2025”, 12/01/2025
Osaka Yodogawa Community Center

1. 3 Way Match: Toru Owashi Vs Antonio Honda Vs Yuni
2. KANON Vs Yuki Ishida
3. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Akito, Yukio Naya & Yuya Koroku
4. Yuki Ueno, MAO & To-y Vs Jun Akiyama, Yuki Iino & Kazuma Sumi
5. Special Single Match: Demus Vs Kazuki Hirata
6. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Danshoku Dieno & HARASHIMA

Demus likes to dance, right? Kazuki Hirata can teach him some moves before he goes home.

DDT “NEW YEAR’S☆DOTABA FESTIVAL 2025”, 13/01/2025
Osaka City Oyodo Community Center

1. 3 Way Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Akito Vs Yuki Ishida
2. Yuki Iino & Yuni Vs Yukio Naya & Yuya Koroku
3. KANON, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs To-y, Toru Owashi & Kazuma Sumi
4. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA Vs Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada
5. Special Single Match: Chris Brookes Vs Kazuki Hirata
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Yuki Ueno & MAO Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Demus

The powers of Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA combined is a big challenge for Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada to take on together.

DDT “NEW YEAR, NEW HERO. 2025 ~A NEW STORY BEGINS~”, 26/01/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Shuji Ishikawa

This will be a first ever singles match between Brookes and Ishikawa. If we get a new champion then DDT will return to the days of Ishikawa singing karaoke again to close out the show!

“SANSHIRO TAKAGI 30TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMERATION EVENT ~ NEVER SAY NEVER”, 03/02/2025
Shinjuku FACE

1. Special Single Match: Muscle Sakai Vs Hyper Misao
2. Special Tag Match: Yumiko Hotta & Shinya Aoki Vs Fuminori Abe & Ippanjin Munenori Sawa
3. Special Tag Match: Dump Matsumoto & Toru Owashi Vs Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei
4. Special Single Match: Yuji Nagata Vs Kuroshio TOKYO Japan

The next match added to Sanshiro Takagi’s anniversary show sees Shinya Aoki reunite with Yumiko Hotta a few years after they tried giving dating a shot. Facing them are the quasi father-son team of Munenori Sawa & Fuminori Abe!

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AEX32 SANTIAGO 2025”, 09/02/2025
Estación Mapocho Cultural Center, Santiago, Chile

1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Casey
2. Aja Kong Vs Roma
3. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Pandora & Sara Phoenix

There are changes to the Chile side of the card because Zatara recently got injured and will be unable to recover in time for the show. Pandora will now be in the main event taking her place. Moka Miyamoto’s new opponent is a local wrestler named Casey.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SHINKANSEN JOSHI PRO WRESTLING PRODUCED BY SANSHIRO TAKAGI”, 15/02/2025
Nozomi Shinkansen Train (Tokyo To Shin-Osaka)

1. Falls Count Anywhere 8-Woman Tag Match: Miu Watanabe, Mizuki, Raku & Aja Kong Vs Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh, Yuki Arai & Max The Impaler

The bullet train match that DDT did back in 2023 was such a hit that it’s happening again. This time however it is TJPW starring in the sequel, although Takagi will still be involved with producing the event. This time it will be a bigger match on a longer journey. The train ride will go from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka with an estimated travel time of 2 hours and 27 minutes. Its top speed will be 285km so just imagine a Skull Kick, Whirling Candy, Giant Swing or Goodnight Express going at that kind of speed!

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’26”, 04/01/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao

The first match of 2026 has been announced! But what about Hiroshi Tanahashi’s retirement match I hear you ask? Well he doesn’t have an opponent yet so Kyoraku Kyomei has him beat. It will be the seventh annual match between Shoko Nakajima and Hyper Misao held at the Ittenyon show.


DDT “DDT NEW YEAR PRO WRESTLING FESTIVAL! 2025” Results

January 5, 2025

DDT “ALL SEATS 3,000 YEN! DDT NEW YEAR PRO WRESTLING FESTIVAL! 2025”, 05/01/2025
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
??? Fans

1. Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Yuki Ueno & MAO ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00).
2. Jun Akiyama defeated Gota Ihashi with a Running Knee Attack (6:18).
3. Tetsuya Endo defeated Yuki Iino with the Burning Star Press (13:57).
4. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles – Survival 4 Way 10-Man Tag Match: Keigo Nakamura, To-y, Yuya Koroku, Yuki Ishida & Kazuma Sumi (c) defeated HARASHIMA, Soma Takao, Yukio Naya, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Yuni, Daisuke Dasaki, KANON, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion and Danshoku Dieno, Toru Owashi, Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda (34:01).
4a. Danshoku Dieno, Toru Owashi, Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda eliminated HARASHIMA, Soma Takao, Yukio Naya, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Yuni when Hirata pinned Yuni with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (18:28).
4b. Daisuke Dasaki, KANON, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion eliminated Danshoku Dieno, Toru Owashi, Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda when Demus pinned Honda with the Cavernaria (22:13).
4c. Keigo Nakamura, To-y, Yuya Koroku, Yuki Ishida & Kazuma Sumi eliminated Daisuke Dasaki, KANON, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion when Nakamura pinned Ilusion with the Modified Crucifix Pin (34:01).
*V1 for Keigo Nakamura, To-y, Yuya Koroku, Yuki Ishida & Kazuma Sumi.

Before anyone in DDT could take some rest from the busy holiday season there was one more show to do this week. The tickets for the show only cost 3,000 yen and were already sold out (although for the second show in a row DDT didn’t announce an attendance number which is weird). The entire card was kept as a mystery until the matches took place. The main event was a KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles defence but the surprise was four teams being included in the match to make it a Survival 4 Way. With 20 men involved in total the match was chaos but the champions wound up as the last ones standing, narrowly defeating DAMNATION T.A in the end.

The winners then promoted the D GENERATIONS CUP that will take place in February. Keigo Nakamura said he wants to get everyone in the tournament fired up. Kazuma Sumi proclaimed he is going to beat everyone to win. To-y assured the others they are always going to be best friends but he will crush them to win it two years in a row. Yuki Ishida told Nakamura to be prepared because he wants to beat him specifically. Yuya Koroku made a promise to Tetsuya Endo he will win the tournament. Later backstage To-y and Koroku put aside their differences coming off of the Sumo Hall show and shook hands.

Today is Endo’s last match with DDT for a while so he took on his former BURNING partner Yuki Iino. Endo won the match with the Burning Star Press and told the fans he will go to NOAH with BURNING on his chest and DDT on his back. When he returns he will bring lots of treasure back with him. Iino promised that when he wins the KO-D Openweight Title he will have a rematch with Endo.

A new ring announcer named Task Ono started on today’s show.


D GENERATIONS CUP 2025

January 4, 2025

For the third year in a row DDT is holding the D GENERATIONS CUP, a tournament to determine the strongest wrestler among the company’s young generation. This time the tournament will go back to being a round robin like in the first year. There will be two blocks of four and the winners of each block will meet in the final. The winner of this year’s tournament will be given a KO-D Openweight Title shot in the future. Details on the match schedule along with any other tournament rules will be announced as soon as they are decided on.

A Block

Takeshi Masada (2023 Winner)
Keigo Nakamura
Ilusion
Yuki Ishida

B Block

To-y (2024 Winner)
Yuya Koroku
Yuni
Kazuma Sumi

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DDT “DDT MEET & GREET & FIGHT FEBRUARY”, 04/02/2025
Shinjuku FACE

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DDT “NEXT STEP GAME 2025”, 05/02/2025
Shinjuku FACE

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DDT “SETSUBUN MATCH 2025”, 08/02/2025
Yokohama Radiant Hall

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DDT “SENDAI NEW LEGEND 2025 ~ZUNDAMOCHI~”, 09/02/2025
Miyagi Yume Messe Miyagi

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DDT “NEXT GENERATION 2025 ~KISARAGI ROMAN~”, 23/02/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. D GENERATIONS CUP 2025 – Final: Winner Of A Block Vs Winner Of B Block


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’25” Results

January 4, 2025

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’25”, 04/01/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,483 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Toga & Chika Nanase defeated HIMAWARI & Mifu Ashida when Toga pinned Ashida with the Rock Bottom (10:42).
2. Ryo Mizunami, Kaya Toribami & Yoshiko Hasegawa defeated Matcha, Ivy Steele & Kira Summer when Mizunami pinned Steele with the Spear (8:25).
3. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku defeated Aja Kong, Mahiro Kiryu & Haruna Neko when Aino pinned Neko with the Venus DDT (10:25).
4. New Year! Lumbersnake Death Match: Hyper Misao defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Hypami Returns (12:00).
*Special Referee: Poison Sawada JULIE
5. Yuka Sakazaki & Moka Miyamoto defeated Arisu Endo & Shino Suzuki when Sakazaki pinned Suzuki with the Magical Girl Splash (10:25).
6. Yuki Kamifuku & Lei Ying Lee defeated Rika Tatsumi & Wakana Uehara when Lee pinned Uehara with the Thunder Strike (12:07).
7. International Princess Title: Suzume defeated Yuki Arai (c) with the Modified Ring A Bell (13:20).
*Yuki Arai fails in V7. Suzume becomes the 13th International Princess Champion!
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) defeated Masha Slamovich & Zara Zakher when Yamashita pinned Zakher with the Crash Rabbit Heat (12:05).
*V3 for 121000000.
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki defeated Miu Watanabe (c) with the Cutie Special (18:40).
*Miu Watanabe fails in V6. Mizuki becomes the 15th Princess Of Princess Champion!

Looks like Mizuki was right. She is the princess and Miu Watanabe is the monster she defeated today to become the new Princess Of Princess Champion! Watanabe relied on her great strength to swing Mizuki around but Mizuki hit the Cutie Special into the corner to turn things around. Watanabe was able to do a Reverse Tear Drop but Mizuki hit back with the Whirling Candy. Then with the champion feeling stunned, Mizuki ran up and did a Pop Up Double Stomp to flatten her before using another Cutie Special to win the match.

Mizuki said the match was hard and Watanabe was indeed a monster. But she also saw Watanabe shining like a princess first hand. She wanted to be the champion again and put so much pressure on herself she became worried over what to do if she lost. But hearing everyone’s cheers were what pushed Mizuki to do what she wanted to do and win. She is happy to see so many people come to see the show and told everyone 2025 is only just beginning for Tokyo Joshi Pro! When she exited the ring she saw Yuka Sakazaki watching from behind the entrance curtain and went to go join her. Backstage Watanabe said she feels lonely without the championship but she’ll keep doing her best.

The goal of reaching 10 defences is still on for 121000000. In Defence #3 Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh put the Princess Tag Team Titles on the line against the foreign pairing of Masha Slamovich & Zara Zakher. The champs also debuted new gear as well as a new intro song made by Itoh. Zakher dodged the Skull Kick and used a cartwheel to give Yamashita an RKO but Itoh broke the pin. The champs then gave Zakher a Stunner into a German Suplex. Itoh held Slamovich in a Crab Hold while Yamashita cut down Zakher with a Buzzsaw Kick before finishing her off with the Crash Rabbit Heat. Backstage Yamashita called it a tough match that woke her up from her new year slump. She then tried to get Itoh to apologize for eliminating her from the Princess Rumble. Itoh ignored her and headed back to the locker room. Slamovich told reporters she would like to defend the TNA Knockouts World Title the next time she comes back to Japan. Zakher also wants to keep coming back to TJPW until she wins a championship here.

The year long International Princess Title reign has come to an end! Yuki Arai was defeated by Suzume in her seventh attempted defence. Suzume was able to block the Rookie Award only for Arai to hit it from behind. She hit it again from the front but only got a two count for it. Suzume then countered the Full Nelson Buster into a Facebuster and went for the Ring A Bell. Arai blocked it and pushed Suzume to the ropes where Suzume did a springboard off the middle rope to launch herself into hitting the Ring A Bell for the victory! Suzume said from the first time they met she thought Arai’s presence was so powerful it was intimidating. But Suzume’s desire to win the title is stronger and everyone was cheering her, Arisu Endo included. She wants to fight wrestlers from around the world and break Arai’s title defence record. Arai doesn’t feel as upset as she thought she would be because she gave it her all. She now wants to become a pro wrestler who can take on many challenges and fight for other championships as well as the IP Title.

The team up of Yuki Kamifuku & Lei Ying Lee worked out well enough for them to win. As Kamifuku described it afterwards: yesterday’s enemy is tomorrow’s friend. She took out Rika Tatsumi with a Reverse Famouser while Lee ended up pinning Wakana Uehara with a Modified Hercules Cutter followed by the Thunder Strike. Lee said she had a great time in TJPW and would also like a rematch with Kamifuku for her championships. Kamifuku told her she’ll ask the company if they’re interested. Tatsumi said her new year fortune warned her that a storm-like disaster will occur and all of a sudden it happened here today! She also said Lee has an aura around her that nobody in TJPW has. Tatsumi also got mad when she heard Uehara say she would like to team up with Kamifuku next.

The return of Sakazaki to TJPW was slightly changed due to Haru Kazashiro falling ill. Her and Moka Miyamoto were still teaming up and Shino Suzuki was moved up the card to team with Endo in Kazahsiro’s place. Suzuki took her chance by putting Sakazaki in the Sleeper Hold but she was shaken off and dropped with the Tea Time. Endo tried to help her out but got brushed aside so Sakazaki & Miyamoto could finish Suzuki off. Sakazaki described Suzuki in her current state as a soft shelled turtle. She has a lot of guts and will grow into becoming a good wrestler. Sakazaki also noticed Endo has become calmer and more reliable than the last time they fought each other. She told Miyamoto to take care of TJPW so she can watch with peace of mind when everyone is doing their best. She would like to come back again even just to watch from the sidelines but is unsure of what her future schedule will be like.

2025 is the Year Of The Snake so that explains why Poison Sawada JULIE has suddenly returned to TJPW! He was called upon to be the special referee for the annual Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao match that was being held this year as a Lumber Snake Death Match. Sawada got up to his tricks before it even begun when Nakajima found an “energy drink” backstage, drank it and then fainted. The drink was actually Sawada’s potion that transformed her into a Snake Person! It turned out Sawada tricked several wrestlers into becoming Snake People and he led them out dancing to the song “Nikumikirenai Rokudenashi” by Kenji Sawada. He then announced he will transform TJPW into Hebikai Joshi Pro Wrestling! If Misao wants to bring everyone back to normal she will have to win and take the antidote from Sawada. Otherwise Misao will be forced to drink the potion too and become Viper Misao!

Misao now had to fight off an entire snake powered joshi company invasion by herself. It was made even tougher when Sawada stepped in to use his Snake Magic against her. She was able to block some of it by using her cape as a shield but Nakajima tucked the cape away to make it useless. Misao was attacked by the lumberjacks outside the ring so she ran off to get on the Hyper Mobile but Sawada’s magic steered her towards crashing into Mahiro Kiryu instead of his warriors. Misao fought back in the ring but when she was close to victory, Sawada pulled the ref out of the ring. Misao fought to get her cape back and when Nakajima used Snake Magic on her, Misao deflected it into Sawada to knock him out. She then gave Nakjima the Hypami Returns to win the match.

She quickly gave antidotes to the wrestlers after the match only to find out one was missing for Nakajima. Sawada revealed he purposely did not have enough antidotes for everyone so Nakajima would remain under his control! However Nakajima restrained herself from following his orders because she is determined to win the tag titles with Misao this year. Sawada could see Nakajima still has a human side to her so he revealed he actually does have one more antidote left and gave it to her. However as long as there is darkness in someone’s heart, he will return. Sawada also told Misao before leaving that she is too good to be a hero. TJPW then announced the annual Kyoraku Kyomei match will happen again at next year’s Ittenyon show.

Aja Kong was given the full Love Triangle experience and in return she gave them the full Aja Kong experience. Before the match began Kiryu was excluded from the other five wrestlers who all agreed to give her the Oyasumi Express. Kiryu lost her temper and Body Slammed all three opponents while Kong & Haruna Neko agreed to team with her as scheduled. She then demanded Kong apologize to her not once but twice because she felt the first one was not heartfelt. Kong told her she doesn’t know how to apologize so Kiryu demonstrated one by doing the Dogeza Knee Drop to Pom Harajuku. Kong was then asked by Harajuku for a New Year’s Gift so she hit Harajuku over the head with the steel can. Raku armed herself with her pillow to fight against Kong and her can. She hit Kong over the head with the pillow but got a Lariat in return. Yuki Aino came to the rescue and won the match for her team after giving Neko the Venus DDT. Kong blamed Kiryu for the loss because if she just accepted the 5-On-1 fight in the first place then Neko wouldn’t have lost! Kong also has bad knees so Kiryu shouldn’t have ordered her to apologize because it only would have made her knees worse!

The trio of Matcha, Ivy Steele & Kira Summer were excited to be in Japan for the holidays and wished everyone a happy new year while stretching Yoshiko Hasegawa in the middle of the ring. Hasegawa got some help from Kaya Toribami and together the two of them knocked Matcha & Summer out of the ring. That left Steele having to fight Ryo Mizunami by herself and she was beaten with a Spear. Mizunami said she was super happy to start the year with TJPW in front of a packed crowd. Despite losing, Matcha still thinks she was part of a good team and looks forward to seeing what will happen next.

The opening match was the TJPW debut of their newest signing, Mifu Ashida. She made a cheerleader type of entrance and used her agility to run circles around Toga & Chika Nanase. Toga cut her off with the Elbow Smash and hit a Rolling Thunder. She only got a two count because HIMAWARI broke the pin. Ashida tried fighting back but Toga hit her with another Elbow Smash and pinned her with the Rock Bottom. Toga said she sees Ashida as her rival because they debuted in the same year. She can tell she has a competitive side and would like to have a singles match against her. HIMAWARI called Ashida an immediate asset because she has a body with flexibility she has never seen before. Ashida herself is confident she can become a top wrestlers in TJPW within a year.

TJPW will soon be taking a ride on the bullet train! Sanshiro Takagi announced he will produce another wrestling match inside a travelling bullet train and this time it will involve TJPW. “SHINKANSEN JOSHI PRO WRESTLING” will be held on 15th February on the Nozomi line from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka. It will be an 8-Woman Falls Count Anywhere Match between Miu Watanabe, Mizuki, Raku & Aja Kong against Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh, Yuki Arai & Max The Impaler!

At the start of the show The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) debuted a new song called “Stand Up! Proof Of Love”. They were down a member because Uta Takami was out sick. When they finished the performance it was revealed that the lyrics were written by Hyper Misao!


DDT “NEW YEAR☆DRAMATIC PARADE 2025 ~ANSWERS WILL BE REVEALED ONE YEAR LATER~” Results

January 3, 2025

DDT “NEW YEAR☆DRAMATIC PARADE 2025 ~ANSWERS WILL BE REVEALED ONE YEAR LATER~”, 03/01/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
??? Fans

1. To-y, Akito & Soma Takao defeated Toru Owashi, Super Sasadango Machine & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when To-y pinned Matsunaga with the Kojima Impact (6:45).
2. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion defeated Yuni, Kazuma Sumi, Daichi Sato & Yuki Ishida when Ilusion pinned Ishida with the Swanton Bomb (9:21).
3. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) defeated Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda when Yoshihiko submitted Hirata with the Arc de Triomphe Hold (11:54).
*V1 for MAO & Yoshihiko.
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Hikaru Sato defeated Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Keigo Nakamura when Brookes submitted Nakamura with the Ground Octopus Stretch (13:39).
5. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo defeated Yuya Koroku with an Exploder Suplex (13:50).
6. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Jun Akiyama defeated Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya when TAKESHITA pinned Iino with the Raging Fire (18:46).
7. KO-D Openweight Title Next Challenger 4 Way Match: Shuji Ishikawa defeated Danshoku Dieno, HARASHIMA and KANON when Ishikawa pinned KANON with the Splash Mountain (13:20).

A new year brings new challenges. The main event for DDT’s first show of 2025 was a 4 Way Match to determine the No. 1 Contender for the KO-D Openweight Title. The four competitors all have never faced Chris Brookes for the title before so whoever wins would be a brand new challenger for the champion. Danshoku Dieno was extra grabby than usual given the amount of people in the match and Shuji Ishikawa became everyone’s target for being the biggest threat. HARASHIMA almost beat him with the Somato and same went for Dieno using the Gaydo Clutch on him. KANON attacked Dieno in the corner and left him knocked over in the Hell Gate position. That came back to haunt KANON because Ishikawa lifted him up and drove him head first into Dieno’s backside. KANON got revenge by giving Ishikawa the Sleepy Hollow but he only got a two count out of it. Ishikawa returned the attack by giving KANON the Fire Thunder on top of Dieno’s butt. Ishikawa later cut off Dieno with a Knee Lift and pinned KANON with the Splash Mountain to win the match.

Ishikawa told Brookes after the match that he’s wanted a real singles match with him after they wrestled each other in Osaka last May. He knows Brookes is at his strongest whenever he fights for the KO-D Title. So Ishikawa will face him head to head and beat him at his strongest to become the new champion! Brookes told Ishikawa this will be the most interesting title defence. Ishikawa is a little scary but he will be looking forward to fighting him. Ishikawa then promised when he beats Brookes to a pulp on 26th January he will take the belt and sing karaoke in the ring once more to celebrate!

Konosuke Takeshita started a busy weekend by returning to DDT once more with Don Callis joining him. Waiting for him were two heavyweights each hungry to surpass him. Takeshita teamed with Jun Akiyama for the match but it felt more like a 2-Vs-1 Handicap match because Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya were both determined to beat Takeshita directly. They worked together to try and break down Takeshita. Iino hit the Burning Elbow but Takeshita hit him back with the Knee Strike. Naya Choke Slammed Takeshita but Akiyama got in and threw him with the Exploder Suplex. That left Iino to fight Takeshita by himself. He hit two Spears but Takeshita blocked a third one and used the Raging Fire to pin him straight away. Takeshita’s message to his opponents is to never forget how they feel today. The big wrestlers need to train and work 100 times harder than the smaller wrestlers. It’s up to them to make that their weakness or their weapon. Takeshita also gave his support to Tetsuya Endo for his excursion to NOAH. His message to him is putting your life on the line is life changing and he looks forward to seeing him rise up from here. Iino said he is having a great time fighting tough heavyweights like Takeshita and Tomohiro Ishii. Naya promised to avenge this loss to Takeshita when DDT goes back to America in April!

This week is the last we will see Tetsuya Endo in DDT for a while. He made the decision to go wrestle in NOAH for the foreseeable future (he will still be DDT affiliated when he does). His last DDT match will be on 5th January but before that happened he fought Yuya Koroku today. Iino was at ringside for the match so the three final members of BURNING were together. Koroku targeted Endo’s arm and even went high flying with a Moonsault. But Endo had him done for with the Torture Rack Bomb and Burning Star Press. Rather than pin him with that move, Endo got Koroku back up, told him to do his best while he’s gone and then gave him an Exploder Suplex to win the match.

After the match Endo told Koroku he will be find after the breakup of BURNING. He was able to stand with spirit at the end of the match and if he can keep that up he can do it alone from now on. BURNING is gone but Endo will never forget the three years he spent with Iino & Koroku. Endo will now be wrestling in NOAH but that doesn’t mean he is leaving DDT. Once he takes the top spot in NOAH he will come back to take the top sport in DDT! He told Iino and Koroku to get stronger because the next time they fight it will be when the KO-D title on the line!

Match #4 had a pair of unusual appearances in it. First Hikaru Sato came in on short notice to replace Takeshi Masada who was out with a suspected fever. Also Bryce Remsburg from AEW served as the referee for the bout. Sato got involved with CDK’s prank team work while Remsburg was tricked by the other team into taking part in the reversal. Shinya Aoki got to tussle with Sato and also hit a Topé Suicida to everyone outside. Keigo Nakamura missed a Diving Headbutt aimed for Brookes but kicked out of a Piledriver. Brookes then put him in the Octopus Stretch and increased the pressure until Nakamura gave up.

Some French flavour was added to the proceedings with a BZW Tag Team Titles defence. MAO & Yoshihiko came into the match as champions ready to fight the just as wacky pairing of Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda. Yoshihiko interrupted Honda’s Gongitsune spot by using AI to come up with its own folk tale to tell everybody. Yoshihiko also grabbed the legs of both opponents and held them in a Double Achilles Tendon Hold called the Arc de Triomphe Hold. The challengers couldn’t withstand the pain and gave up. MAO wants to defend the titles even more and called out teams from any country to come challenge them.

DAMNATION T.A took out a team of youngsters early in the card. Daichi Sato wanted to go toe-to-toe against the similarly sized MJ Paul. The two ended up fighting towards the commentary table where voice actress Hana Hishikawa was sitting as a special guest. She is a notable fan of Paul so he was happy to take a quick time out to go shake her hand before continuing his fight with Sato. Kazuma Sumi and Demus continued their little rivalry with quick exchanges in the ring. Daisuke Sasaki led a train attack on Yuki Ishida and despite a small comeback from Ishida, Ilusion ended up pinning him with the Swanton Bomb.

For the opening match Akito asked Sanshiro Takagi to come down to the ring and come up with a theme for the match. Takagi decided the winner would receive a New Year’s Gift from him taken from his own pocket. The promise of a rich prize was just the encouragement everyone needed to do their best. Toru Owashi and To-y got into a Chop Battle, Super Sasadango Machine and Soma Takao did whatever they could to win and Tomomitsu Matsunaga threw Lariats at whoever was near him friend of foe. In the end To-y pinned Matsunaga with the Kojima Impact and received 10,000 yen from Takagi as his prize. Everyone then tried to attack Takagi for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title until he ran off.


Video – Current Blast Death Match Outside Saitama Super Arena

January 3, 2025


DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI ROAD WRESTLING IN SAITAMA SUPER ARENA”, 11/03/2020
Saitama Super Arena
45,000 AbemaTV Views

6. Current Blast 8-Man Tag Death Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya Vs Atsushi Onita, Danshoku Dieno, Chris Brookes & MAO


Card Updates Due To Illnesses

January 3, 2025

DDT “NEW YEAR☆DRAMATIC PARADE 2025 ~ANSWERS WILL BE REVEALED ONE YEAR LATER~”, 03/01/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. To-y, Akito & Soma Takao Vs Toru Owashi, Super Sasadango Machine & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
2. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion Vs Yuni, Kazuma Sumi, Daichi Sato & Yuki Ishida
3. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Hikaru Sato Vs Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Keigo Nakamura
5. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuya Koroku
6. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Jun Akiyama Vs Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya
7. KO-D Openweight Title Next Challenger 4 Way Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Shuji Ishikawa Vs HARASHIMA Vs KANON

Today’s DDT show and tomorrow’s Tokyo Joshi Pro show have a few changes because of some illnesses going around. Takeshi Masada has fever symptoms so he’s been taken off today’s show as a precaution. Hikaru Sato will be taking his place as a last minute replacement.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’25”, 04/01/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. HIMAWARI & Mifu Ashida Vs Toga & Chika Nanase
2. Ryo Mizunami, Kaya Toribami & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Matcha, Ivy Steele & Kira Summer
3. Aja Kong, Mahiro Kiryu & Haruna Neko Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku
4. New Year! Lumbersnake Death Match: Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao
*Special Referee: Poison Sawada JULIE
5. Yuka Sakazaki & Moka Miyamoto Vs Arisu Endo & Shino Suzuki
6. Yuki Kamifuku & Lei Ying Lee Vs Rika Tatsumi & Wakana Uehara
7. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs Suzume
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Masha Slamovich & Zara Zakher
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Mizuki

Both Haru Kazashiro and Uta Takami have been feeling unwell so they are off tomorrow’s show. The undercard and match order has been slightly changed to reflect this.


Tetsuya Endo Is Spending 2025 In NOAH

January 2, 2025

NOAH “NEW YEAR REBOOT 2025”, 02/01/2025
Shinjuku FACE
480 Fans

3. Tetsuya Endo defeated Atsushi Kotoge with the Burning Star Press (14:16).

There was another Tetsuya Endo appearance in NOAH today and we all learned he is going to make many more this year. After the confrontation he had with Atsushi Kotoge in Budokan Hall yesterday, NOAH booked them in a singles match today. Endo used the Exploder Suplex and then the Torture Rack Bomb on Kotoge before finishing him off with the Burning Star Press. After the match Endo greeted the NOAH fans and explained to them the BURNING unit in DDT that connects him to Jun Akiyama and Kenta Kobashi. In order to get further in touch with the origins of BURNING, Endo has decided he will spend 2025 wrestling in NOAH!

His ultimate goal is to win the GHC Heavyweight Title but he will have his eye on winning all of the championships available to him in NOAH. He later proved this by coming out to challenge Manabu Soya for the GHC National Championship after Soya won his latest title defence. Soya scalded Endo for approaching him because Soya normally decides by himself who he wants his next challenger to be. He also does not know what BURNING means because “Passion” is more his thing. Endo later defended himself because in DDT it’s normal for wrestlers to confront champions and challenge them. You can’t get to the top by being a good boy so if Endo has to break the rules to get what he wants in NOAH then he’ll do it.

DDT later announced that Endo will be wrestling on the 3rd and 5th January shows. After that he will be taking an indefinite leave from the promotion in order to take on a regular schedule with NOAH. The way DDT talks about it sounds like it’s an idea Endo wanted to do. So I don’t know if we have a trade coming up and tomorrow somebody from NOAH will jump over to DDT.

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It’s about time a move like this is happening yet I’m still surprised they’re finally going through with it. Endo has pretty much done it all in DDT across his almost 13 year career and DDT should be doing talent exchanges with NOAH through their CyberFight connection more often to freshen up both rosters. Endo already has a good link to fit him in with NOAH from the get go because of his association with Akiyama and Kobashi in recent years. Given his workout habits he will likely bounce back and forth between heavyweight and Jr. heavyweight throughout the year. While I would be thrilled to see him win a championship over there I’m not expecting him to beat Soya for the National Title. At least not the first time around. So is this it for Endo and DDT? It’s possible the indefinite absence can turn into a permanent transfer in a year or so. I’ll keep an eye on how he does over there and post about any big matches or achievements that comes his way.


Endo Moving To NOAH, Lumber Snake Death Match, Ashida Joins TJPW, GanPro Ready For 2025

January 2, 2025

DDT “NEW YEAR☆DRAMATIC PARADE 2025 ~ANSWERS WILL BE REVEALED ONE YEAR LATER~”, 03/01/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. To-y, Akito & Soma Takao Vs Toru Owashi, Super Sasadango Machine & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
2. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion Vs Yuni, Kazuma Sumi, Daichi Sato & Yuki Ishida
3. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Takeshi Masada Vs Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Keigo Nakamura
5. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuya Koroku
6. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Jun Akiyama Vs Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya
7. KO-D Openweight Title Next Challenger 4 Way Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Shuji Ishikawa Vs HARASHIMA Vs KANON

I’ll write a separate post about today’s Tetsuya Endo news after this one. Long story short Endo will be taking a leave of absence from DDT after 5th January to go wrestle on a regular basis for NOAH. He is also going to challenge Manabu Soya for the GHC National Title soon as part of this sudden turn of events.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’25”, 04/01/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. HIMAWARI, Mifu Ashida & Chika Nanase Vs Shino Suzuki, Toga & Uta Takami
2. Aja Kong, Mahiro Kiryu & Haruna Neko Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku
3. Ryo Mizunami, Kaya Toribami & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Matcha, Ivy Steele & Kira Summer
4. Yuki Kamifuku & Lei Ying Lee Vs Rika Tatsumi & Wakana Uehara
5. Yuka Sakazaki & Moka Miyamoto Vs Arisu Endo & Haru Kazashiro
6. New Year! Lumbersnake Death Match: Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao
7. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs Suzume
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Masha Slamovich & Zara Zakher
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Mizuki

We’re not done with Poison Sawada JULIE just yet. He is sticking around for another show as the special guest referee for Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao. That’s not all, his presence means the match is also going to be a Lumbersnake Death Match! The match rules will be announced at the show but the name suggests it is a Lumberjack Match where all of the lumberjacks will be controlled by Sawada’s snake magic.

A few days ago I asked if Tokyo Joshi Pro was going to dive into the loaded joshi free agency scene this year. Then on New Year’s Day they announced at noon on the dot that Mifu Ashida has joined the company. Ashida was among the group of wrestlers from Ice Ribbon who announced in November that they would be leaving the company over payment issues. Ashida only just had her last match with the company on New Year’s Eve. She has a background in cheerleading and became a pro wrestler in 2023 after she was cast in a movie called “THE CHALLENGER: Ring Of Hope” that Ice Ribbon helped produce.

BASARA “BASARA 266 ~SOUEN~”, 10/01/2025
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Turnabout Pro Wrestling Trial: Minoru Fujita Vs Gouma Ryu Vs Banana Senga
2. SAGAT Vs Takeru Inoue
3. 3 Way Tag Match: KUBITO & Daichi Kazato Vs Daiki Shimomura & Tsutomu Oosugi Vs Yasu Urano Vs Judomaster
4. Isami Kodaka, Takumi Tsukamoto & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Takato Nakano, Masato Kamino & Lil’ Kraken
5. Ryuichi Sekine Vs FUMA

Minoru Fujita has gone from from losing the championship straight to the courthouse, er… ring. Always sad to see a champion spiral out of control after they lose their title. What does Banana Senga have on him and can Gouma Ryu get him out of trouble?

GANBARE☆PRO “NEW YEAR’S BLUES 2025”, 13/01/2025
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Shota Kawakami
2. Shigehiro Irie, Rekka & Moeka Haruhi Vs Hartley Jackson, Choun-Shiryu & HARUKAZE
3. Tyson Maeguchi Vs Fuminori Abe
4. Kitsune World Title Next Challenger Decision Match: Yuna Manase Vs YuuRI
5. Shinichiro Tomingaga Return Match: Ken Ohka, Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada Vs Keisuke Ishii, Shinichiro Tomingaga & Daisuke®️
6. Yumehito Imanari Vs Yasu Urano

Many years ago (2017 to be exact) Yumehito Imanari lost a match to Yasu Urano by submitting to a Headlock. Now this isn’t actually as pathetic as it sounds because Urano has used the move to win matches several times in his career. It’s rare but does happen. With that being said, it is a loss that still haunts Imanari so right after he won the Spirit Of Ganbare World Title, he brought up that memory as a reason to challenge Urano to a match. Ganbare☆Pro have not decided to make it a title match yet but Imanari wants to put the belt on the line.

Last May was when Shinichiro Tomingaga blew out his Achilles tendon. After almost 8 months on the shelf he is ready to come back and make up for lost time.

Before Ganbare☆Joshi holds its joint show with Kitsune on 28th January there is the little matter of who should face MICHIKO for the Kitsune World Title to sort out first. Obviously Yuna Manase wants to get a rematch so she can win the title back. But YuuRI also showed interest in challenging MICHIKO for the title. The only way to solve this conundrum is to have Manase and YuuRI fight each other for the No. 1 Contendership.

Tyson Maeguchi Vs Fuminori Abe sounds like a match that is going to hurt.


Tetsuya Endo’s NOAH Appearance At Budokan Hall

January 1, 2025

NOAH “THE NEW YEAR 2025”, 01/01/2025
Tokyo Nippon Budokan
5,088 Fans

2. NEW YEAR LIMIT BREAK: Go Shiozaki, Mohammed Yone, Atsushi Kotoge & Hajima Ohara defeated Kazuyuki Fujita, Shuji Ishikawa, Tetsuya Endo & Black Menso-re when Shiozaki pinned Menso-re with the Gowan Lariat (8:25).

One of the first wrestling shows of 2025 was NOAH holding a big event at Budokan Hall for New Year’s Day. Tetsuya Endo got to be on the undercard as part of the Limit Break branded match. He was part of a team made up of outsiders going against four members of TEAM NOAH. Endo got to look good by hitting a Sasuke Special onto a bunch out wrestlers outside the ring. After that he didn’t play a part in the finish where Go Shiozaki pinned Black Menso-re with his Lariat. However Endo got involved in something after the match when Atsushi Kotoge Headbutted him and then slapped him across the face! Kotoge wanted to provoke Endo into fighting him more but Endo ignored him and went back to the locker room.

Backstage Kotoge told reporters he is trying to repay a debt to Endo over their feud from last July. He thought he was lighting a fire under Endo today but if Endo wants to act cool and arrogant then Kotoge will crush him in an instant! Endo in his post-match interview said their grudge from last summer ended when he beat Kotoge and they shook each other’s hands. He thinks what Kotoge did today was just lame.