Dramatic DDT

This month’s article starts late because most of Konosuke Takeshita’s month was spent in New Japan where he won the G1 Climax tournament. You can read about that here if you missed it. He will now wait for 13th October to fight for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title at Sumo Hall against either Zack Sabre Jr. or Ren Narita. Until then he is back wrestling in AEW where another path has suddenly appeared in front of him. Are we on the way towards a big singles match against Kazuchika Okada?

Also in August Chris Brookes and Takeshi Masada spent a weekend in the Philippines that turned out to be a very special one for Brookes. “Tupe” now has a third country he can call home if he for some reason ever needs to get away from both England and Japan. Meanwhile over in Malaysia, Kira Summer got to dip her toes outside of Tokyo Joshi Pro for the first time. Will she get the travelling bug like Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh did? Yamashita has a European tour coming up soon and Itoh will be along for one small part of it. Speaking of Itoh, I’ll continue writing about her international bookings for the time being but if she ends up signing to another Japanese company or takes up a busy wrestling schedule elsewhere in Japan then I’m sorry to say it will be time to bid her adieu on this website. I only have so much time on my hands.

Oh, there’s one more quick thing to mention. Maybe I’ll write up a separate post about it soon. A few people on different wrestling Discords have done some detective work and may have found out where Keigo Nakamuara is having his excursion. Is he the new masked luchador named Tokio who showed up in the Mexican indies over the summer? Stay tuned.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

AEW “COLLISION”, 23/08/2025
OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland

1. Tomohiro Ishii Vs Konosuke Takeshita

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 27/08/2025
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Bandido, Brody King, Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey Vs Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & Hechicero

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Results

AEW “COLLISION”, 20/08/2025 (Aired 23/08/2025)
OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Tomohiro Ishii with the Raging Fire (10:36).

After taking only a few days of rest, Takeshita travelled all the way over to the UK to be present for a week of “FORBIDDEN DOOR” related events. First stop was Glasgow, Scotland where Takeshita faced off against Tomohiro Ishii. AEW promoted the bout as a rematch from “WRESTLE DYNASTY” back on 5th January. Ishi almost won this time with a Power Bomb but Takeshita got his hand raised in the end by using the Raging Fire.

BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “MNL”, 22/08/2025
The Social House, Makati, Philippines
??? Fans

1. International Dream Match: Crystal & Robin Sane defeated Patricia Ligaia & Dr. Gore (?:??).
2. 3 Way Match: Nigel San Jose defeated Saint John Martin and Danny Zamora when San Jose pinned Martin with a Hot Dog Assisted Knee Strike (?:??).
3. Fabio Makisig defeated El Katipunero (?:??).
4. International Dream Match: Chris Bookes & Takeshi Masada defeated Jake De Leon & Isaiah Valencia when Masada pinned Valencia with the Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (?:??).

I kind of have a report of the show that can be seen here. Credit for the results go out to SEA Wrestling for having them posted on their site.

LLL “IF THE APOCALYPSE COMES, BEEP ME!”, 22/08/2025
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Dulce Tormenta with The Magical Girl Splash (?:??).

This one flew under my radar but Yuka Sakazaki had a match on the indies this month! She appeared at Lucha Libre & Laughs where she beat Dulce Tormenta.

DXCN “PEKSMAN”, 24/08/2025
Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines

1. Kiss Of Death Match: Takeshi Masada defeated Jake De Leon with the Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (?:??).
2. International Dream Match: Chris Brookes defeated Robin Sane with the Praying Mantis Bomb (?:??).

The role Brookes is playing in developing the Pinoy wrestling scene was recognized at the end of the weekend. During the shows the fans gave him the nickname Tupe. The Dexcon show was on the same day as his birthday so after Brookes beat Robin Sane in the main event, everyone came out from the back to throw him a party. He also received a certificate signed by several of the local wrestlers to unofficially declare Christopher “Tupe” Brookes as a Filipino citizen.

The rule for the Kiss Of Death match was that the wrestlers needed to kiss their opponent before delivering their winning move. Masada went full “Baby Girl” mode for the match and even used lip balm to set up his kiss to Jake De Leon.

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 27/08/2025
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. All Star 8-Man Tag: Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & Hechicero defeated Bandido, Brody King, Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey when Alexander pinned Bailey with a Forward Rolling Clutch (11:20).

Takeshita didn’t have a match at “FORBIDDEN DOOR” but he did appear during the show. But when Wardlow was revealed to be the newest member of The Don Callis Family, the entire unit gathered together with Takeshita being the last person to show up. He didn’t seem to be enthusiastic over this turn of events but seemed to accept Wardlow into the group. Then a few days later Takeshita was part of the Family’s team for an 8-Man Tag against Brodido & JetSpeed. Here is when cracks within the family began to surface as Takeshita and Okada both got tagged in at the same time and got in each other’s faces over it. They got in each other’s way again later in the match so it’s pretty clear what direction we’re going.

APAC “SLAMFEST 2025”, 30/08/2025
Stadium Juara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1. APAC Women’s Title No. 1 Contender Fatal 4 Way: Tarlee defeated Crystal, Kira Summer and Mio Shirai when Tarlee pinned Summer (?:??).

A big weekend for pro wrestling in Malaysia took place just over the weekend when APAC Wrestling held a show featuring wrestlers from around the world including talent who are under WWE ID deals and hold championships under that project. Not only that but Kira Summer got to take part in a wrestling show outside of Japan for the first time since joining TJPW. She was in a 4 Way Match against fellow Australian wrestler Tarlee, now firmly back from retirement Mio Shirai and Crystal the former APAC Women’s Champion. No. 1 Contendership for that title was on the line and Tarlee got it after pinning Summer to win the match.

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Upcoming Appearances

ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, ??/09/2025
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Round 1: Serena Deeb Vs Yuka Sakazaki

I don’t know which is more surprising, that we’re getting another Yuka Sakazaki match in ROH so soon or that the long planned tournament to crown a ROH Women’s Pure Champion is finally going ahead. She’s entering an eight woman tournament under pure wrestling rules (limited rope breaks, closed fist punches are fouls, etc.) and Serena Deeb is her first round opponent. Since Deeb in storyline is one of the wrestlers most attached to the idea of having a Women’s Pure Title, I don’t like Sakazaki’s odds of making it to the next round.

MLW “FIGHTLAND”, 13/09/2025
NYTEX Sports Centre, Dallas, Texas, USA

1. Yuki Kamifuku Vs X
2. Shoko Nakajima Vs X

It was already known that Shoko Nakajima would be travelling back to Texas next month for an MLW taping but one of their latest advert banners show that Yuki Kamifuku will be part of the event too. The last time Kamifuku was in MLW she and Shotzi Blackheart shared an idea of wrestling each other sometime. Blackheart already has a match booked for the live stream portion of show but that doesn’t mean she can’t have another taped for TV down the line. Or what if Kamifuku gets to challenge Nakajima for the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title?

VGM “FVF WRESTLING STAR MEET AND GREET & PRO WRESTLING MATCH”, 18/10/2025
Full House, Liangxi, Wuxi, China

1. HIMAWARI Vs X
2. Rika Tatsumi Vs X

The China trip for Rika Tatsumi and HIMAWARI seems so far away.

SETUP/IWA THAILAND “A NEW DAWN”, 14/11/2025
TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi

1. Pom Harajuku Vs X
2. Kaya Toribami Vs X
3. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
4. HARASHIMA Vs X

Recently it’s been wrestling from Japan that makes its way over to to Thailand but now the opposite is happening. SETUP (and its spin-off IWA Thailand) will be heading to Tokyo to hold its first ever show in Japan and wrestlers from several Japanese promotions have been invited to take part. DDT will be sending HARASHIMA to the event while TJPW is being represented by Miyu Yamashita, Kaya Toribami and Pom Harajuku.

WXW “25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR”, 21/11/2025
Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Yamashita begins a European winter vacation over in Germany for wXw.

WXW “25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR”, 22/11/2025
Gruenspan, Hamburg, Germany

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

She’ll be part of two shows for wXw on the tour that celebrates the company’s 25th anniversary.

WPE/QPW “EPISODE 2”, 28/11/2025
Salle Albert Marquet, La Frette-sur-Seine, France

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

A few days later Yamashita then goes to France to wrestle on a show co-promoted by two brands. Wrestling Pro Essone and women’s promotion Queens Pro Wrestling held their first show together back in March and for their second event they get to have Yamashita’s first match ever in France!

SAJ “FINAL BOUT 4”, 29/11/2025
Magnete, Via Adriando, Milan, Italy

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Maki Itoh Vs X

Yamashita then returns to Italy for SAJ Wrestling the next day but she won’t be alone. Itoh is there too for a booking that was already announced before she left TJPW. SAJ also said this will be Itoh’s only appearance in Europe but they didn’t say for what period of time. Is it her only European appearance for the month? The rest of the year? Is there a reason why she’s travelling to Italy for only one show, like she has anywhere else to be?