Guide To TJPW In Las Vegas… Again

April 15, 2026

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS 2026”, 16/04/2026
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Toga & Uta Takami
2. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Alexis Lee, HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki
3. Special 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita Vs Mizuki Vs Miu Watanabe
4. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Sakura Hattori
5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Jessie McKay & Cassie Lee (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
6. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs J-Rod

Thanks to some business dealings by TKO that has sort of come back to bite WWE in the backside, Tokyo Joshi Pro are running a WrestleMania Week show in Las Vegas for the second year in a row. Is there an alternate timeline where this would be happening in New Orleans instead? Probably, but money talks and Vegas is full with it. What’s noteworthy regarding this year is that TJPW is no longer working with GCW and The Collective in putting this show together. Instead they are part of a block of events called Slam Fest that also has Stardom, CMLL, House Of Glory and Maple Leaf Pro involved. Also DDT has not joined the journey over to America with TJPW. As you are reading this, they are still running shows back in Japan but it’s pretty obvious by now that CyberFight sees TJPW as the brand with the biggest potential to become successful in overseas markets like North America. For their return to Vegas they have put together a relevant card that follows up from their recent tours of Texas and Vancouver. If you need need to freshen up on the product you really only need to pay attention to those shows as well as last month’s Sumo Hall show to get all caught up on what’s happening here. So if you’re new to the world of TJPW, an existing fan wanting to read up on everything or even a commentator looking for context beyond a Wikipedia page (*cough, cough*), this guide is intended for you!

Where and when are the shows taking place?

The show will be held at the Pearl Theater found inside Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on Thursday, 16th April at 11am local time.

Where can I watch it online?

It will air live on Triller TV with English commentary for $19.99 by itself. There are also bundled deals that include the show available for either $44.99 (the Thursday package of TJPW, CMLL & House Of Glory) or $59.99 (the entire two day Slam Fest package). The on-demand version of the show will be available to watch on Wrestle Universe a couple of weeks after the live broadcast.

Is this a proper TJPW show?

Yes for the most part. On paper it is not the same full blown experience that TJPW provided Las Vegas last year. However they are still providing all three championship matches that have all have build up behind them. It’s an unusual situation this year because TJPW are promoting shows outside of Japan more than ever and a lot of the title builds took place on those international shows that took place in North America. So you could take the odd path of only watching the Texas tour, the big “GRAND PRINCESS ’26” show at Sumo Hall and the recent Vancouver tour to get all caught up on the major matches for this card.


1. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Toga & Uta Takami

The show opens up with one of the mainstay tag teams Ober Eats facing two wrestlers from TJPW’s so-called “Next Generation”. Ober Eats are coming off of a lengthy stay at the top of the tag team division, having become the only reigning champions to win the annual Max Heart Tournament. After recently being knocked off their perch, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara agreed to start moving in separate directions but they are still going to team from time to time on shows like this one. Uta Takami is on the upswing after reaching the final of the Max Heart Tournament. She’s only teamed with Toga a handful of times though so this mismatch pairing has some work to do to beat the former tag champs.

Yuki Kamifuku – Also known by her nickname Kamiyu, she is “The Casual Beauty” of TJPW. Grew up in Ohio during her junior high school years so she is the most fluent English speaker out of the Japanese roster. She knows how to get under her opponent’s skin with harsh and catty opinions but there is another side to her where she is loyal and sympathetic to her friends. She is also proud of her modelling background because her accomplishments in the ring is proof that you don’t need to be a die hard pro wrestling fan to succeed in the business.
Moves To Watch Out For: Famouser (Jumping Leg Drop to a bent over opponent), Big Boot, Yahoo 83cm (Headscissors DDT), Manjigatame, Thumb To The Eye

Wakana Uehara – The big eater entered wrestling through a reality series TJPW held for idols and was the only participant to take the path towards turning pro. Ever since she formed Ober Eats with Kamifuku, she learned to come out out of her shell and has taken on some of Kamifuku’s more confident personality traits to make them into her own. One can only imagine the victory meal she’ll have in Vegas to celebrate!
Moves To Watch Out For: Banana Pillow (Triangle Lancer), Sushi Tornado (Sister Abigail variation), Space Rolling Elbow, High Speed Brainbuster

Toga – I can’t say for sure if ice runs through her veins but if you’re looking for somebody cool, calm and collective in the ring then Toga is your girl. In a place filled with colorful personalities, Toga’s way of standing out is to smash opponents in the face with an almighty Elbow Strike. The last year has seen her start to stretch out a little bit, moving on from tag team wrestling to search for success on her own. She has also taken the initiative to take part in a match somewhere else during Mania Week, as you will see at the bottom of this guide.
Moves To Watch Out For: Absolute Zero (Rock Bottom), Elbow Butt, Rolling Thunder, Fall Away Slam

Uta Takami – Here is the first member of The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) to appear on the show. The Up Up Girls are a pop idol group that collaborated with TJPW to create a pro wrestling spin-off stable. TJPW’s version of the act always perform a song or two at the beginning of the shows before competing in matches later on. Takami is the troublemaker of the bunch, bringing along a bratty little sister energy into her matches with a frantic wrestling style. She is currently among the youngest wrestlers on the roster but this year her potential upside has shot through the roof with a strong tag team tournament record. If you like Mei Suruga then Uta Takami will fit into your wrestling tastes as snug as a bug.
Moves To Watch Out For: Koala Clutch (Body Lock Cobra Clutch), Pendulum Dropkick, Missile Dropkick


2. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Alexis Lee, HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki

It’s the Love Triangle taking on Bumping gRitters plus a friend from Singapore. One of the strongest bonds in TJPW is the one that connects Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku together. They are all so close to each other that Love Triangle is the most fittest name to give them. HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki make up the Bumping gRitters, a name they came up with because they want to fight gritty and shine like glitter at the same time. Alexis Lee from Singapore Pro Wrestling is the third woman on their team and has a packed schedule in Vegas ahead of her this week.

Yuki Aino – At one time Yuki Aino was simply a ring announcer for TJPW who became a pro wrestler in order to team up with her sister (the now retired Nodoka Tenma). Tag team wrestling has been her forte and Aino usually finds her way back there whenever her attempts to go solo don’t go to plan. Her love of Tokusatsu TV shows have been a key part of her finding relevance in the company this year but on this show she is back teaming with some old flames. She can be as stubborn as they come and on her best days will hit you like a firetruck fueled by love.
Moves To Watch Out For: Venus DDT (Inverted DDT), UBV/Unlimited Burning Venus (Double Arm Side Buster), Full Nelson Of Love And Fire (Full Nelson Camel Clutch), Side Suplex

Raku – The second member of The Up Up Girls, Raku’s entire personality can be summed down to naps and trains. She knows so much railway trivia that on every TJPW show she will tell the audience what the Train Of The Day is. Raku’s moveset is built around sending her opponents to sleep so she can run over them with the Oyasumi Express. She is also sometimes armed with a pillow. Mix that all together and you get a total package that has made her absolutely adored by fans and the roster alike.
Moves To Watch Out For: Doctor Yellow (Jumping Neckbreaker), Hurricane Turn (Cross-Arm Backslide Pin), Oyasumi/Good Night Express (running on top of the opponent over and over), Good Night Sleeper, Poppo Chop! (Brain Chop)

Pom Harajuku – Bright and colorful costumes, loud screaming and a lot of shin kicking. Pom Harajuku’s fighting style can be compared to a three year old throwing a temper tantrum. What she lacks in traditional pro wrestling strength, she makes up for with creativity and outside the box thinking. If she thinks disguising herself as a turnbuckle, hiding her opponent’s house keys inside a gacha capsule machine or constructing her own Tesla will help her win the match then she will find a way to turn those ideas into a reality.
Moves To Watch Out For: Pom de Justice (Step-Up Guillotine Leg Drop), Laforet Harajuku (Satellite Headscissors), Shin Kick, Denden Taiko (beating the opponent’s chest like a drum)

Alexis Lee – The skeleton from Singapore is regularly seen as an opponent for TJPW wrestlers when they go to wrestle around Southeast Asia. She gets appear in TJPW once or twice a year and returns again as part of what I think is her debut tour in America. Just be careful around her when drinks are around. “Skelly” can drink anybody under the table.
Moves To Watch Out For: No Lee Way (Running Double Knee Attack), Sister Abigail, Biting

HIMAWARI – Bright and cheerful like a sunflower but it’s the kind of sunflower that can use Vine Whip. She claims to have never gotten her long hair cut since she was born and she likes to use her braids as whips against her opponents. She has a background in musicals and stage acting which explains how she is up there as one of the most expressive of wrestlers in TJPW. She often gets to take part in overseas bookings but her win-loss record when it comes to these ventures needs some improvement.
Moves To Watch Out For: Sunflower Tempest (Floatover Jackhammer), Princess Drop (Princess Carry into Pumphandle Drop style slam), Half Crab Hold, Hair Whip

Shino Suzuki – Now we’re up to member No. 3 of The Up Up Girls. Shino Suzuki is one of the newer members of the groups. She is nicknamed “She Know” because she worked as a tour guide before becoming an idol and pro wrestler. While currently low on the totem pole in TJPW, she will display gutsy performances along with her wealth of tourism knowledge. The downside to this is the competitive atmosphere often turns her into a ball of anxiety and half of her battles is trying to get past that while the match goes on.
Moves To Watch Out For: Belly-To-Belly Suplex, Sleeper Hold, Backward Rolling Cradle, Swinging Neckbreaker


3. Special 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita Vs Mizuki Vs Miu Watanabe

Simply put, the three strongest and most decorated wrestlers in TJPW are thrown into the ring all against each other. I could go on all day listing the combined accomplishments of Miyu Yamashita, Mizuki and Miu Watanabe along with arguments for each over who should be seen as the ace of company. It would be fair to guess that whoever wins this match would qualify for No. 1 Contendership, if only there wasn’t the Tokyo Princess Cup coming up. This is odds on favorite to be the match of the show and maybe even a highlight of the entire week.

Miyu Yamashita – “The Pink Striker” has been part of TJPW since Day 1 of the company proper and has almost done it all when it comes to championship reigns, tournament wins and headlining important venues. She is currently the “Leader” of TJPW so her focus nowadays is to fly the flag for the company across the world. The Skull Kick she uses is one of the most deadliest looking finishers around and she enjoys finding opponents who can dish it out to her just as hard as she can dish it out to them.
Moves To Watch Out For: Skull Kick (Backspin High Kick to the head), Crash Rabbit Heat (Running Knee Kick), Attitude Adjustment, Return Crash (Triangle Kick off the turnbuckles)

Mizuki – Although she didn’t start her wrestling career in TJPW, Mizuki has established herself as one of the company’s all time best with multiple championship reigns and important main events to her name. One of the most photogenic wrestlers going today, she constantly goes viral on social media for using moves that leave those who see them locked in a state of awe and inspiration. She doesn’t understand what U3+4 means but she is the closest pro wrestling will ever get to creating a real life Lili from Tekken. Don’t trust that mischievous smile of hers, she is vicious when she wants to be. “The Popping Sugar Rabbit” may sound like a silly nickname but we’ll see who’s laughing when Mizuki is Double Stomping the guts out of her opponents.
Moves To Watch Out For: Cutie Special (Bridging Fall Away Slam), Whirling Candy (Spinning Cross Body Block), Diving Foot Stomp, Face Lock

Miu Watanabe – Last but definitely not least, Miu Watanabe is the final member of The Up Up Girls you will see in action. There are two things she loves most in life: Idols and Pro Wrestling! Always full of energy, Watanabe uses big hand gestures to spell out L-O-V-E along with her theme song during her entrances. She also knows various ways to throw people around with the Giant Swing and cave in chests with Double Sledge style strikes. Watanabe is coming off of a main event run that was so dominant that other wrestlers accused her of fighting more like a monster than a princess!
Moves To Watch Out For: Tear Drop (Modified Flapjack), Reverse Paradox (Gorilla Clutch), Laserbeam (Overhand Chop to the chest), Giant Swing, Canadian Backbreaker, Swinging Backbreaker


4. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Sakura Hattori

The first of three championship matches on the card. Suzume recently won the International Princess Title for the second time and wants to live up to the championship’s intended identity of being defended overseas. She received her first challenge via ninja scroll, which is a new one in my books. Sakura Hattori recently transformed from a masked bird to dangerous ninja and has been reaping the benefits under her new persona. She doesn’t need to hide in the shadows when they get to Vegas, her confidence is at an all time high.

Suzume – As swift as a wasp and just as sharp. She begun her career as a fast learner, only spending seven months in training before making her pro debut. Just based on her aesthetic alone it is of no surprise that speed is the name of her game. It’s served Suzume well because she became the International Princess Champion for the second time this year. It is a belt that has become her greatest treasure but she holds it at a time when a new generation of challengers are growing stronger all around her.
Moves To Watch Out For: Ring A Bell (RKO), Spring Ring A Bell (Oscutter), Mikazuki Meteor Shower (Diving Cross Body), Twinkle (Twisting School Boy), Flying Facecrusher

Sakura Hattori – There was once a masked wrestler named Kaya Toribami. She was a bird and was well liked by everyone but when it came to finding success in the ring it was lacking for her. Turns out having a cassowary gimmick wasn’t the golden ticket to getting a push. So Toribami travelled to Iga City to train under a ninja master but while she was there she discovered a haunted faceguard that sent her into a trance. When she returned she announced she would be moving on from Kaya Toribami to become a ninja called Sakura Hattori. The personality change has worked out for her so far, being unbeaten in singles matches and only suffering one pinfall loss thanks to Suzume. Her moveset has become more aggressive with the change but also more performative. She really needs to learn how to do the Nine Seal hand signals quicker before hitting her moves because they noticeably slow her down.
Moves To Watch Out For: Shinden Fudo Ryu Majime Ura (Kata-Gatame style Shoulder Lock), Rakkateicho (Flying Forearm Strike from the top rope set up with the Nine Hand Seals), Backflip Kick


5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Jessie McKay & Cassie Lee (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao

TJPW’s tag division has been thrown out of whack thanks to The IInspiration. The Australian tag team struck gold by becoming the only pair in history to win tag team championships in WWE, TNA and TJPW. After knocking down Ober Eats for the belts, it has cleared the table for challengers previously beaten by Ober Eats to start making challenges again. First up is Kyoraku Kyomei, one of the longest serving TJPW teams still going with previous success together under their belts. The IInspiration have seen a lot in their careers but have they ever fought a team consisting of a superhero and kaiju before?

Jessie McKay – Formerly known as Billie Kay in WWE but she has experience that goes back to Shimmer in the early 2010s. Eventually found success in WWE when she formed The IIconics and it followed her over to TNA for a little bit too. Yeah… I got nothing else. A lot of people thought that time she shouted “Hey, Kayla” out loud was funny, I guess.
Moves To Watch Out For: The IIdolizer (Inverted Magic Killer), Pedigree, Codebreaker

Cassie Lee – The former KC Cassidy and Peyton Royce took a different path than her tag partner, travelling over to Canada so she could learn from Lance Storm. Hit a road block in WWE when she tried seperating from McKay to go into singles wrestling but things just didn’t work out for the both of them. If the team did anything interesting in TNA outside of their title wins then I don’t know about it.
Moves To Watch Out For: The IIdolizer (Inverted Magic Killer), Blue Thunder Bomb, Twist Of Fate

Shoko Nakajima – Meet the Big Kaiju, all 147cm of her! Shoko Nakajima has pretty much done it all in TJPW as one of the promotion’s longest serving wrestlers. Usually relying on quick reflexes, she also has the strength to put away opponents with the Northern Lights Suplex or the Diving Senton. When put in Hardcore Match situations her favorite weapon of choice is a pile of kaiju toys that she slams her opponents onto. She’s a Swiss Army Knife that can adapt to any kind of situation wrestling can throw at her. That’s helpful when her tag team partner comes up with crazy ideas on a regular basis.
Moves To Watch Out For: Northern Lights Suplex, Diving Senton, Unmanned Local Train Hold (Yurikamome submission hold), 619, Rider Kick (One-Legged Dropkick)

Hyper Misao – When love and peace is under threat in TJPW, you can always rely on Hyper Misao to come to the rescue. Just be aware that her plans to save the world are never as heroic as intended. She often gets on the microphone to greet everyone with “Hello big children” before explaining her plan to save the day. Of course by being a superhero that means she has her own Hypami Combat Bike. She likes to crash it into her opponents along with any unfortunate bystander who happens to be nearby. She also blinds opponents with her Hero Correction Spray. Deep down inside Misao is a multi-layered human being with infinite potential that if harvested correctly could turn her into a very powerful wrestler. But why go through all that baggage when you can just wear a cool mask and cheat like hell instead?
Moves To Watch Out For: Hypami Returns (Final Cut), I Am A Hero (Diving Cross Body), Crossface Chickenwing, Vanitas (Double Arm Facebuster), Cold Spray Attack


6. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs J-Rod

So TJPW has finally gone ahead and put Yuki Arai on top of the mountain when she won the Princess Of Princess Title in Sumo Hall last month. Now the hard work begins because she isn’t going to be wrestling Miu Watanabe over and over anymore. Her first challenger is a tough one. TJPW chose one of their regular American guests J-Rod to face her and she is getting the home field advantage too. J-Rod wants to make history by becoming the first American wrestler to win the Princess Title. She failed to do it once before but does she have the better odds this time against a less powerful champion who is kind of still learning on the job?

Yuki Arai – The day finally came for TJPW’s chosen one when she became the brand new Princess Champion last month. Arai was once a pop idol from the group SKE48 and when she became a pro wrestler she juggled both careers at the same time. She eventually made the decision to leave music behind so she could dedicate herself full time to pro wrestling. It paid off in spades for her as she has become the latest wrestler to achieve the TJPW Grand Slam (which is only held by two other wrestlers). With that being said, she still needs the right dance partner in some situations so it remains to be seen if this title reign requires on the job training, so to speak. She also unintentionally associates herself with France because of her blue, white and red colour scheme. She really likes include the French Tricolor in her tweets.
Moves To Watch Out For: Finally (Heel Drop axe kick), Scorpion Death Lock, Rookie Award (Pump Kick to a kneeling opponent), Full Nelson Buster

J-Rod – The “Ultimate Athlete” will soon be appearing on your screens as Supernova in the latest reboot of American Gladiators. Other than that you will usually find her wrestling in Ohio Valley Wrestling and more recently Juggalo Championship Wrestling. A powerhouse on the level that only Miu Watanabe can match in TJPW, J-Rod has done several tours with the promotion in Japan and one tour in Canada. Yet this will be her first time wrestling on an American TJPW show. It’s only fitting that her match is about whether or not she can become the first American Princess Champion.
Moves To Watch Out For: Ultimate Spear, Samoan Drop, Side Slam, Fall Away Slam

———————————————————————–

There are a few other shows where you will find TJPW wrestlers in action this year. They also have different meet and greets going on at Slam Fest and Wrestlecon but I’m just going to focus on the matches here.


PODER~! “PODERMANIA~!”, 15/04/2026
Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. International Tag Team Match: Amira & Lil Marz Vs Toga & Jazzy Yang

The first place you can find a TJPW wrestler in action will be at the annual “PODERMANIA~!” women’s wrestling show where Toga is teaming up with Jazzy Yang, the daughter of former WCW and WWE wrestler Jimmy Yang. One of their opponents Amira just took part in TJPW’s Vancouver tour while Australian wrestler Lil Marz is finishing up a stay in Europe to take part in this show.


GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XV”, 17/04/2026
Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai

Despite her martial arts background, Yamashita’s appearances in GCW’s Bloodsport spin-off have seen her on the losing end both times with high profile losses to Shayna Bazsler and Nattie Neidhart. Third time may be the charm but she has a poor singles record against Janai Kai too whenever they face each other in a more normal pro wrestling environment.


PRIDESTYLE “OUT OF THIS WORLD”, 17/04/2026
Bizarre Bar, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Special Single Match: Taniya Vs Miu Watanabe

Unless something else gets announced, the last TJPW related match to look forward to in Vegas is Miu Watanabe taking on Taniya at one of the PrideStyle shows. Taniya holds the promotion’s women’s title but this has not been advertised as a title match.

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Posted by JamieOD

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’26” Preview

March 28, 2026

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’26”, 29/03/2026
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Uta Takami Vs Shion Kanzaki
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Staggered Entry Battle Royal: Antonio Honda (c) Vs Sumire Uesaka Vs Rika Tatsumi/Great Wakabayashi-kun Vs Raku Vs Mahiro Kiryu Vs Mifu Ashida Vs Kira Summer Vs Chika Nanase Vs Sakura Hattori Vs Matcha Vs Momo Sato Vs Minimo (w/ Mari Yaguchi)
3. HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki Vs Toga & Ren Konatsu
4. Shoko Nakajima, Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro (w/ Ninja Red, Geki Red & Go-On Red) Vs Aja Kong, VENY & Pom Harajuku
5. Mizuki Vs Andreza Giant Panda
6. Miyu Yamashita & Arisu Endo Vs Sareee & Takumi Iroha
7. Special Tag Match: Yuka Sakazaki & KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Hyper Misao & Super Sasadango Machine
8. International Princess Title: MIRAI (c) Vs Suzume
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara (c) Vs Jessie McKay & Cassie Lee
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Yuki Arai

It’s only when I started typing this when I noticed Tokyo Joshi Pro has been running Sumo Hall on a two year cycle this entire time. “GRAND PRINCESS” has been held at Ryogoku in 2022, 2024 and now 2026. The third time looks to be their most ambitious event in the venue with the ultimate goal of reaching a sell out being put in place. I don’t know if the success Stardom got in the building at the end of 2025 has anything to do with it but something prodded TJPW hard enough to get them into marketing their show harder than ever before. We have celebrity and multimedia tie-ins galore on the undercard alongside some new wrestling crossovers that TJPW doesn’t normally go through. Putting it all together is a smorgasbord of different storylines that range from some wrestlers striving to become stronger, others fighting alongside their heroes, a deep throwback to pro wrestling’s Showa days and a main event rivalry that can honest to God find comparisons with King’s Road. Things are looking different compared to the last two Ryogoku shows because TJPW are now firmly trusting their second generation to perform at the top end of the card. Another sign of a new era approaching is the show will debut newly designed belts for the three TJPW championships.

The promotional blitz is all thanks to Super Sasadango Machine. The masked wrestler from DDT is also a savvy business man outside of wrestling with a good reputation for his marketing abilities. TJPW hired him to be the PR Ambassador for this show and he came up with the “Ryogoku Road To Success” Challenge. He approached people from all over the company with tasks, instructions or challenges for them to complete. These ideas would both prepare the wrestlers for their matches while hopefully attract attention and promote the show in the process. The end result is probably the most fun I’ve had seeing a build up for a show like this in a while. Many of the challenges won’t actually apply to the matches themselves once they take place but following everyone’s adventures to get here was a nice way to get more emotional investment in the roster, especially for the lower card wrestlers. Back when DDT first ran Sumo Hall in 2009, part of its success was built on the company being the little engine that could with everyone involved doing their part to sell tickets. It’s silly to call TJPW an underdog with the corporate backing they have these days but given the similar age the company is in here to DDT back then (DDT was 12 years old in 2009, TJPW is currently 12 now), the effort being put in feels like a spiritual successor in a way.

The question I have now going into the show is will this whole thing work out in the box office? TJPW got 1,714 fans in Sumo Hall for 2022 (pandemic era) and 2,349 fans for 2024. Looking at the events page on the TJPW site, a lot of the floor seats have sold out. Although having been in Ryogoku myself recently and seeing first hand what the layout is like, the one person per box seat layout means that isn’t really as big an amount as it sounds. Also pro wrestling is one of those events nowadays where the most expensive tickets almost always sell out to the hardcores even when the standard tickets don’t sell like hot cakes. I personally would be thrilled to see the show at least break the 3,000 mark and go beyond that. I would also be tugging at the collar if it can’t break 2,500 but that’s just projections coming from a fan.

1. Uta Takami Vs Shion Kanzaki

Road To Success Challenge: Shion Kanzaki must perform a live street show by singing and playing the guitar right in the heart of Shinjuku.

We start off with the brightest star of the “Next Generation” taking on the most recent rookie to debut. Uta Takami had been breaking out of the young pack with some in-ring success that is catching up to her endlessly energetic personality. She won the Next Generation Tournament last Autumn and followed up a few months later with a performance that took her all the way to the Max Heart Tournament final. She’s also become creative with her photoshops on Twitter to promote her matches. Now Takami is being entrusted with the opening singles match of the show. Things are looking up (up) for this member of The Up Up Girls.

Shion Kanzaki only just made her debut on 4th January and if there’s a similarity I can make for her, it would be towards HIMAWARI. This is someone who when they only just wrestled their first match, they already looked like a perfect fit for TJPW and fitted in like they’ve already been there this whole time. That doesn’t mean I expect Kanzaki to be giving out Jackhammers like HIMAWARI does anytime soon. She’s still finding herself by fighting up from the bottom. Given her previous history from being in a band, Sasadango instructed her to go sing as a busker in the lively streets of Shinjuku. She was only able to do one song before an unusual interruption brought her session to an end. More will be explained in the next match.

2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Staggered Entry Battle Royal: Antonio Honda (c) Vs Sumire Uesaka Vs Rika Tatsumi/Great Wakabayashi-kun Vs Raku Vs Mahiro Kiryu Vs Mifu Ashida Vs Kira Summer Vs Chika Nanase Vs Sakura Hattori Vs Matcha Vs Momo Sato Vs Minimo (w/ Mari Yaguchi)

Road To Success Challenge: Tetsuya Koda must find a famous guest from outside of wrestling who is big enough to sell out Ryogoku all by themselves and have them make their pro wrestling debut.

Road To Success Challenge: Rika Tatsumi needs to delve into her inner madness.

Road To Success Challenge: Minimo must master a special move through intensive training!

Road To Success Challenge: Sanshiro Takagi must scout another idol to make her pro wrestling debut.

Where do I even begin with this? I think starting with the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title makes the most sense. The championship usually belongs to DDT but thanks to the 24/7 rule, a bunch of different events going back to last summer led it to finding a second home in TJPW. DDT recently got their belt back thanks to Antonio Honda but there is paranoia among management (particularly the DDT GM Hisaya Imabayashi) that Honda could end up losing the belt to a New Japan wrestler, which is the last thing DDT wants. At the time of writing Honda is currently the title holder but there are several people hunting him down just so they have a chance to say they will defend a championship inside Sumo Hall this weekend.

Okay class you’ll need to open up your history books because we’re about to delve into 1970s NJPW for this part. TJPW’s boss Tetsuya Koda was tasked by Sasadango to go find a big star for the show. It must be someone famous enough to sell out Sumo Hall by themselves and they also must be from outside the wrestling scene. Koda had no luck finding anyone to pass this challenge and pretty much gave up on it. Then a weird bit of fortune came his way when he accompanied Shion Kanzaki for her Shinjuku busking. As they were promoting the Sumo Hall show, a saber was suddenly thrown their direction. From out of nowhere the famous singer and voice actress Sumire Uesaka (who once sold out Ryogoku with a solo concert) appeared wearing an Indian robe. She attacked Koda with the saber while ranting about the Iron Man Title she once held a year ago. The incident got coverage in Tokyo Sports where it was compared to Tiger Jeet Singh attacking Antonio Inoki at the same Shinjuku spot back in 1973. They interviewed Uesaka where she explained she accidentally grabbed her saber instead of her umbrella before leaving her home that day (we’ve all been there) and she has no memory of anything that happened afterward. However she also revealed she got hooked on Showa era pro wrestling as a teenager after listening to Singh’s entrance song. She loves the dynamic of strong style Japanese wrestlers fighting villainous foreigners of all shapes and sizes. She has no wrestling skills but will bring the saber along with her as a good luck charm. Then when she found out a wrestler with the name Antonio was now the champion, she declared war on him for the belt! Honda’s response is he will target Uesaka’s arm if they have to fight. That way if she ends up getting hurt, an injured arm won’t get in the way of her voice acting career.

Now here is where things get messy. There are so many other people in this match with their own stories to tell! Well, most of them do. Rika Tatsumi was told by Sasadango to go in search of her inner madness. Tatsumi didn’t understand what he meant because according to her, she is a pure idol wrestler and not a psychopath in any way. She went forth on her journey anyway and got to meet her comedy hero Cookie! to learn how to hone in her more insane instincts. The result of this is the creation of a new persona called The Great Wakabayashi-kun and TJPW are expecting Tatsumi to show it off in the Battle Royal. Speaking of new personas, the masked cassowary Kaya Toribami has now turned into a ninja called Sakura Hattori. The change happened when she went to visit ninja master Genichi Mitsuhashi in Iga City for ninja training and then discovered a mysterious faceguard that seemed to possess her. Hattori has since gone on a four match winning streak that happened during the Texas tour while showing some change in personality. She still appears and interacts with others outside of matches but in the ring Hattori has a more aggressive moveset than last time. She needs to be quicker doing the nine hand seals pose on the top rope though. Maybe in her mind she’s doing it lightning fast but in the real world it takes forever before she completes it.

There are special guests taking part in the match too. Matcha is coming over from Thailand to continue TJPW’s working relationship with SETUP. She recently beat Hattori/Toribami to take the IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles away from K!SS// and this could be their next meeting in the ring. Momo Sato is another celebrity entry. She is here because Sanshiro Takagi was ordered to scout a new idol to make their wrestling debut. Takagi found out that DDT wrestler Daichi Sato has a little sister in the group Harajuku Gakuen who already has some experience with pro wrestling training. When Takagi convinced Momo to take part, Sasadango applauded him for achieving the perfect combination of a nepotism hire with sky high potential. The last piece of pop culture to fill out the field is Minimo-chan, the mascot from the 2000s idol group Minimoni. It will be accompanied by one of its members Mari Yaguchi thanks to a business hookup that took place when TJPW held a show in Malaysia last year. Minimo-chan was instructed by Sasadango to go learn a devastating finishing move for its debut. After some heavy training where Mahiro Kiryu was used as the crash test dummy, Minimo-chan developed a new finishing move called the Drink Some Delicious Milk Pyon! Kick. In the meantime the mascot has been watching AJPW tapes, becoming a big fan of Steve Williams, Doug Furnas and Dan Kroffat in the process. So if anybody complains about this match for being too silly, tell them it is directly influenced by the glory days of New Japan and All Japan.

The Battle Royal also has Raku, Mifu Ashida, Kira Summer and Chika Nanase all taking part but to be honest they are all getting overshadowed by the idols, psychos, ninjas, mascots and tributes to pro wrestling from five decades ago… How the fuck does this Battle Royal have more stories to talk about than the Royal Rumble this year?

3. HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki Vs Toga & Ren Konatsu

Road To Success Challenge: Shino Suzuki must play Rock Paper Scissors against influencers with a combined total of 100,000+ followers on social media and keep playing until she beats three of them.

Road To Success Challenge: To improve her sharpness, Ren Konatsu must take dance lessons at LDH!

I brought up HIMAWARI earlier as a potential path for growth in regards to Kanzaki. Someone who immediately fits in with the company upon debut and gradually work up the card. Another key milestone for a TJPW wrestler like this is to find a connection with another wrestler and form a tag team with them. HIMAWARI did that by forming the Bumping gRitters with Shino Suzuki. They’re still in the early phase where they are pretty much the likeable losers of the division but a match on a show like this is usually a good sign that a team will be moving up a step. The entire build up to this match was pretty much an excuse to find out what the mental breaking point is for Suzuki. Even at the best of times she turns into a cramped up ball of anxiety when thrown into a competitive environment so Sasadango came up with the bright idea to lean into it. He challenged Suzuki to go find influencers with over 100,000 followers and challenge them to games of Rock Paper Scissors (plus an added rule where you have to make them flinch in the right direction after winning). Suzuki would need to keep on doing this until she could beat three influencers. She eventually passed the challenge with a 3-2 record and hopefully she will come out of the experience with a newly enforced iron will. Although I’m struggling to think of any situation where picking scissors will beat taking an Elbow Strike from Toga.

Toga has spent the last few months levelling up in her own way. She formed a tag team with Yuna Manase called Hot Shot and the relationship allowed her to make a rare outside appearance in order to wrestle on a Ganbare☆Pro show. With some new experiences boldening her up, Toga wanted to prove she can go win by herself. She’s continuing to find new ways of stretching her wings by taking an outside booking at Las Vegas during Wrestlemania Week too. She might wind up being a good influence for a rookie like Ren Konatsu to look up to. Konatsu is starting to progress at a nice pace. Having Kanzaki debut means she has somebody below her on the pecking order to win matches against. She now has her first finishing move called the Aries Comet added to her arsenal. Plus she was given a task by Sasadango too. She had to go take dance lessons at a studio owned by LDH (the entertainment agency Kaisei Takechi belongs to). Konatsu claims she is already noticing an improvement to the Aries Comet because of this training so the Bumping gRitters better watch out!

4. Shoko Nakajima, Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro (w/ Ninja Red, Geki Red & Go-On Red) Vs Aja Kong, VENY & Pom Harajuku

Road To Success Challenge: The ToJo Tokusatsu Club must take part in “Fireball Return Training” as seen in Episode #19 of Gekisou Sentai Carranger.

If you haven’t noticed with TJPW, there is a lot of social activity that goes on within the locker room. Long lasting friendships are made away from the wrestling ring as the wrestlers get to know each other further and find out they share similar interests. The ToJo Tokusatsu Club is an example of this for the wrestlers who obsess over Super Sentai. The club originally existed for Shoko Nakajima, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino to show off their hobby during shows but disappeared after Tenma retired. When Haru Kazashiro joined TJPW and expressed her love for tokusatsu, the club returned with a big goal in mind. They want to teach children that pro wrestling can make dreams come true so what better way to do that than to invite the Super Sentai over to Sumo Hall where they can all fight kaiju together!

The timing of this collaboration confused me because Super Sentai only just recently ended its fifty year run on television. The rumour is it happened because a falling out between Toei and Hasbro over the handling of source material and merchandising for Super Sentai and Power Rangers going forward. Heck if I know if that’s true but CyberFight went and organized something with the Super Sentai anyway. The ToJo Tokusatsu Club will be joined by Ninja Red, Geki Red & Go-On Red for their match as the club takes on a trio of the nastiest villains you can think of.

Well, sort of. Max The Impaler was meant to be part of the match but unfortunately couldn’t get a travel visa approved in time so they have to miss the show. At least this allows me to type out the sentence “The kaiju could not appear because of visa problems” which is right up there with “The Human Torch was denied a bank loan.” Max would have reunited with both Aja Kong and Pom Harajuku, which is usually the case for Max’s appearance at TJPW’s bigger shows. Some last minute decision making has resulted in an interesting X factor being thrown into the mix. VENY will be taking the place of Max for the match. If there’s any joshi out there that can capture the bitchy energy of Rita Repulsa, it’s her.

5. Mizuki Vs Andreza Giant Panda

Road To Success Challenge: To fight off the panda, Mizuki must find and acquire a new legendary weapon.

A mystery emerged in TJPW during February when the Pico Pico Hammer belonging to Mizuki was stolen during a show held in Okayama. A clue was found when a small USA flag was left in its place. At the time I thought this was a storyline created for the Texas tour or possibly even next month’s Las Vegas show but it turned out to be something of a red herring. Instead members of New Nemuro Pro Wrestling contacted TJPW to take credit for the theft. It was one of their wrestlers Mr. USA that stole the hammer and left the flag behind but the actual mastermind behind the plot was Andreza Giant Panda! It was two years ago when Mizuki struck Andreza over the head with her hammer in a moment that went viral across the internet due to how photogenic the entire thing was. The amount of attention it had left Andreza feeling humiliated. Ever since that day he had bided his time and waited for the opportunity to get revenge. With Sumo Hall coming up, now is the time for it to take place!

Mizuki hasn’t been able to retrieve the stolen Pico Pico Hammer but the Texas tour showed that she has a spare in her collection. That won’t be enough to defeat an enraged giant panda so Sasadango came to her aid with an idea. She would have to go find a new legendary weapon to replace the hammer. Her journey (which also includes an isekai side story game TJPW made for their LINE account) led her on the path to meeting Masami Obami, the creator of Brave Bang Bravern and director of other anime in the mecha genre. With the help of Bravern itself, Obami went to work on forging the Burn Pico Pico Core Axe Hammer for Mizuki to use. Prepare for the weapon to be unleashed inside Sumo Hall this weekend!

6. Miyu Yamashita & Arisu Endo Vs Sareee & Takumi Iroha

Road To Success Challenge: Miyu Yamashita should participate in idol practice and undergo intense idol training.

The original plan for this match was for Lei Ying Lee to be a part of it. However TNA pulled Lee from the show because she was needed to wrestle at their PPV last night and presumably their TV tapings happening this weekend too. Because you see it was really important for Lee to be in a 3 Way TNA Knockouts Title match where she was about to win only to get pulled out of the ring so the champion could steal the pinfall instead. The pull out led to TNA sending an apology where they stated neither TJPW nor Lee were at fault over the situation. The English version of the news story was pretty polite but the funny thing is the Japanese report includes TJPW saying they don’t understand how this could have happened when the booking was put together and agreed to well in advance.

On the bright side, TNA’s decision has the knock-on effect of putting together a more interesting tag team match. Sareee was meant to be Lee’s partner as part of her first appearance in TJPW since 2020. The last time she was here she locked horns with Miyu Yamashita and the same plan is in place here. With Lee now out of the picture, TJPW quickly made a deal with Marvelous to replace her with Takumi Iroha. Not only are we now getting the TJPW debut of Iroha but it also means Sareee & Iroha are bringing their Spark Rush tag team over here! The positions these two currently hold in the joshi hierarchy is quite fascinating. Sareee gets to bounce between Stardom, Marigold and other companies while running her own shows while Iroha gets to do her own flirting with different joshi promotions and also NOAH too. I’m trying to think of a good comparison to their current positions and the best I can come up with is maybe Yoshihiro Takayama and Kensuke Sasaki in the late 2000s, early 2010s? Does that make Marvelous comparable to Kensuke Office? No wait, then that means Chigusa Nagayo is Kensuke Sasaki and Iroha is Katsuhiko Nakajima. If that’s the case, Yamashita would need to keep her chin tucked in for the entire match otherwise it will become a massive target… Hang on, where was I?

The hype for the match is built around everyone getting to see Yamashita fight Sareee and Iroha but that story is leaving somebody out to the side. The usually cheerful Arisu Endo isn’t happy that she’s being forgotten about by everyone else. She just as much wants a piece of Spark Rush as Yamashita does. If she gets her way she is going to shine the brightest out of anyone in the match! As I mentioned at the start of this preview, TJPW has found faith in their second generation, which Endo is a part of. A strong performance here wouldn’t shock me if it leads to her getting a main event Korakuen Hall singles match sometime later this year. Maybe at the Tokyo Princess Cup at the earliest, eh? Would that tickle anyone’s fancy? While I shouldn’t ever count out Yamashita from winning more prizes in TJPW, her focus this year seems to be on being the locker room leader while also helping out with the global expansion plans.

Yamashita was the last person to complete their challenge given to them by Sasadango. She was ordered to go take on intensive idol training. She did just that by going to visit three members of Niji No Conquistador. She learned the three most important things of being an idol from Karin Matoba, Mayu Kurihara and Yu Kawabata. They are the introduction, appealing to the fans and pulling off the idol group’s dance. I don’t know how any of those three qualities will help her deal with Spark Rush.

7. Special Tag Match: Yuka Sakazaki & KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Hyper Misao & Super Sasadango Machine

We’re approaching a year since the day Konosuke Takeshita and Yuka Sakazaki revealed to the world that they are a married couple. That it took this long to book them as a tag team tells you where the state of the wrestling industry’s imagination is at nowadays. Don’t give me your excuses that Takeshita was busy wrestling for three different companies, fighting in tournaments and defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Title. Sakazaki’s only being booked whenever ROH needs to warm up somebody in order to put over someone else. Her last match on record was for TJPW back on 4th January so there’s not a lot to write about. Actually there is one thing. Sakazaki will debut a new theme song at this show called “AYAYAYAY” by Hi-yunk. Hype for the match went lopsided when Shingo Takagi and Natsupoi announced their marriage last month. Fans thought it would make a lot of sense to do a couples versus couples tag like that.

Instead the opposing team is something way more incomprehensible. Hyper Misao took it upon herself to be one of the opponents as part of a plan to acquire as many contracts for herself as possible. Her logic is if she can beat the team of Sakazaki & Takeshita then New Japan, DDT and AEW will all offer her deals to sign with them! She needed a tag team partner who acts just as outside of the box as she does in order to have a chance at winning. That’s where Sasadango comes in. It turns out that the PR in PR Ambassador does not stand for Public Relations. It infact stands for Pro Wrestling Ring and by taking on the role, Sasadango also automatically agreed to wrestle a match on the show without realizing it. He wanted no part of the until Misao talked him into it. She explained that if Sasadango’s appearance can sell even one ticket it would be worth it just to make that one fan happy. If Sasadango can’t even achieve that then there is no hope that his marketing will help sell out Sumo Hall either. Now fired up, Sasadango is ready to bring the fight towards Takeshita & Sakazaki. Not only does he want to win the same contracts that Misao wants, he is aiming to get signed by every wrestling company out there!

8. International Princess Title: MIRAI (c) Vs Suzume

It took a roundabout way to get here but we’re getting the BeeStar championship rivalry that was destined to happen one way or another. MIRAI made her return to TJPW this year and immediately staked her claim for the International Princess Title by beating Arisu Endo for the belt. The title win gave MIRAI the achievement of being the first wrestler to win championships in TJPW, Stardom and Marigold. She took care of Toga in her first defence before calling out someone very close from her past to be her next challenger. Suzume was MIRAI’s classmate and their debuts in 2019 happened only a few months apart of each other. They teamed together as BeeStar until MIRAI split from TJPW in 2021. Since then the two of them took their own paths to grow into successful wrestlers. MIRAI had stays in Stardom and Marigold until she recently moved over to her new home Michinoku Pro. In doing that she is on a wave of success that’s sailing her around Japan’s wrestling scene. Suzume meanwhile stayed in TJPW where her success came from winning the Princess Tag Team Titles as part of Daisy Monkey and also winning the International Princess Title by herself.

And it is the IP Title that brings MIRAI and Suzume together in the ring once more. As much as Suzume appreciates everything MIRAI has done for her in their early days together, the IP Title is a championship that means just as much to her. Meanwhile MIRAI is trying to add an element of TJPW Vs Michinoku Pro to the proceedings. Both women have become stars for their respective home promotions and MIRAI has often brought along M-Pro wrestlers to stand in her corner for her TJPW title matches so far. That might change with this match coming up because she offered Toga to take up that role after the two earned each other’s respect from the previous title defence. MIRAI’s work during this run is a bit odd. The ingredients are there for an inter-promotional feud to take place with MIRAI as an outsider yet she’s pretty much been welcome back with open arms and the workings are here for her to stick around on a semi-regular basis. In fact, TJPW had announced in advance that an IP Title match would take place at their Las Vegas show but they then had to walk it back when they couldn’t book MIRAI for that show. Way to paint yourself into a corner, lads. It can still go ahead if Suzume wins back the title but the way the news was announced kind of comes off as a spoiler no matter how they tried to cut it.

9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara (c) Vs Jessie McKay & Cassie Lee

Road To Success Challenge: Ober Eats must post images or videos that will go viral with 10,000 likes.

I think this video pretty much sums up my opinion of the match.

Look, if this was anywhere in the first seven matches of the card you would get no complaints from me. Have it be non-title, place it in Ota Ward Gymnasium or put another company’s tag belts on the line then fine, awesome, I can live with it. This is the semi-main event of a Sumo Hall show! The previous matches we got in this position with the Princess Tag Titles were The Magical Sugar Rabbits Vs Daydream and Yukiniki Vs Daisy Monkey. Those are good standards to have! Instead we’re getting Ober Eats Vs The IInspiration. Maybe it will be better than Reiwa AA Cannon Vs The Uprising from 2022 but holy hell that’s the faintest praise I can damn it with. I wonder if the plan here is to give Jessie McKay & Cassie Lee a transitional title reign in order to put over another TJPW team in Las Vegas next month.

The reason I think that is because Ober Eats is currently top of the pile in TJPW’s tag division with no nearby contenders in sight. They became the first team to ever win the Max Heart Tournament while holding the Princess Tag Titles. With Sumo Hall next on their list, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara asked for a team more glamourous and buzzworthy than them to be their challengers. They’re thrilled with The IInspiration being chosen for them as a more global challenge to surpass. To help them build up the hype, Sasadango told Ober Eats to go viral on social media by getting 10,000 likes. Kamifuku put out a video of her walking through the streets in her wrestling costume. At the time of writing it is sitting pretty at 6,600+ likes. Meanwhile Uehara unintentionally smashed through the challenge without trying when a picture of her meeting the Buc-ee’s mascot hit 10,000 likes within the day it was posted. (Her actual tweet for the challenge only reached 2,500+ likes). I swear, sometimes everything just goes that girl’s way. Except when it doesn’t, like when The IInspiration beat her in Austin earlier this month as a preview for what’s to come.

10. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Yuki Arai

Is TJPW King’s Road? I’m not joking when I ask this because the rivalry between Miu Watanabe and Yuki Arai over the last two months is the closest thing to the King’s Road philosophy that anyone is doing right now. That philosophy is not dangerous head drops or finisher kick outs. It is telling the story of a rivalry that progresses match by match as the two adversaries figure each other out step by step. And if that means taking a big flat back bump or two onto the floor along the way then so be it.

Watanabe has been enjoying a six month reign as the Princess Of Princess Champion. She has overcome her mental block over whether she fights like a princess or like a monster and has been racking up the usual amount of title defences a typical Princess champion would get for her reign. She also has a match of the year contender with Suzume from 4th January that will likely be remembered as the peak of this title run. TJPW threw together a 6 Way Elimination to determine the No. 1 Contender and Arai came out on top, going as far as to submit Yamashita to win the match. She failed to win the Princess Title in her first attempt last year so now the story is will her inevitable push to a title win happen the second time?

Last month at Korakuen Hall was where the fun began. A preview tag match featuring the two of them took a turn when they fought each other on the ring apron. Arai won the exchange in an extreme manner by using the Full Nelson Buster to throw Watanabe from the apron onto the floor! From that point forward, it was on! Arai put more focus on using the Scorpion Death Lock to win matches while also introducing a new Twister Brainbuster to beat lesser opponents. Watanabe then got to make Arai give up to the Canadian Backbreaker only to get a taste of her own medicine in the next battle after that. Watanabe is sometimes seen having tape strips applied to her back and while the story isn’t yelling to everybody on a loudspeaker that she isn’t 100%, Arai’s use of the Scorpion Death Lock was able to make Watanabe tap out on one occasion during the series. With that being said, any fear of Watanabe having a serious back injury was put to bed after that when she found ways to power her way straight out of Arai’s finishing move in order to turn it into a Giant Swing. The two most recently exchanged wins during the Texas tour. Watanabe has the most recent direct victory while Arai got a moral one by hitting the Finally axe kick after being unable to do so match after match until the end.

As we now finally approach Sumo Hall it’s been something of a stalemate between champion and challenger. Or at least when one of them gets ahead it’s never far enough to prevent the other from catching up and overtaking them. The winner of this match will be heading over to Vegas where they will defend the title against the new American Gladiator J-Rod. That is a match we’ve seen with Watanabe already while it would be something completely fresh for Arai. However international shows such as that is where you can get away with burning a rematch that doesn’t need to be done back in the home market. The reign Watanabe is on has no need to be stopped right now and this build up has done wonders for making Arai an interesting rival for her. Should Arai win the title the question I have for her is can she stay this interesting against other opponents? If she has figured out how to be more dynamic with laying out her matches then maybe the time is now to pull the trigger on her. But if it was up to me I’m more interested in seeing Watanabe hold on for whoever wins the Princess Cup later this year.

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Posted by JamieOD

Judgement 2026 Press Conference

March 20, 2026

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2026 ~29TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION 5 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 22/03/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Yuni Vs Hinata Kasai
0. Dark Match – Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: HIMAWARI, Haru Kazashiro & Chika Nanase Vs Toga, Ren Konatsu & Shion Kanzaki
1. Jun Akiyama Vs Rukiya
2. Special Tag Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya Vs Evil Uno & Akito
3. 3 Way Tag Match: MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Makoto Oishi & Masami Inahata Vs Viento Maligno & Kumadori
4. Special Single Match ~ Shunma Katsumata Return Match: MAO Vs Shunma Katsumata
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles Next Challengers Decision Match: Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA Vs Shinya Aoki & Junta Miyawaki
6. DDT Extreme Title – No Hitting With The Bamboo Sword! If You Want To Use It Make Them Laugh! Staring Contest Punishment Bamboo Sword Deathmatch!!!!!: To-y (c) Vs Hideki Okatani
7. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – 1 Vs 6 Handicap Match: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Danshoku Dieno, Super Sasadango Machine, Antonio Honda & Hisaya Imabayashi
8. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato Vs Naomi Yoshimura, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida
9. Dramatic Dream Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Kazuki Hirata (w/ John Robinson)
10. DDT Universal Title: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Kazuma Sumi
11. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs KANON

A press conference was held in Tokyo earlier today highlighting several of the big matches taking place on the Anniversary show this Sunday. Yuki Ueno has thought a lot about his match with KANON ever since it was announced and came to the conclusion that he should enjoy the day as much as he can. He wants to lead DDT into their 30th year as the KO-D Openweight Champion with the Tokyo Dome as their ultimate destination. KANON knows he will win the title someday but hasn’t thought about what will happen next if he wins on Sunday. Right now his only focus is on winning the title. He’s been with DDT for four years so he is going to put all of those four years into the match on Sunday.

Kazuma Sumi is feeling confused going into his DDT Universal Title match because he cannot figure out how he can beat Daisuke Sasaki. All of the warm up matches leading up to this has had Sasaki counter the School Boy and then beat Sumi with little trouble. However Sumi is not afraid of losing or being embarrassed in front of everyone so he will not give up. He found out that at 22 years of age he can become the youngest person to ever win the Universal Title. He wants to set that record and then break the record for most defences. Sasaki had way more harsh things to say, telling Sumi he has zero chance of winning. He will lose immediately and be forced to take the introductory test all over again, which he will fail! Sasaki recently found out he will be getting a GCW World Title shot when he wrestles in GCW during his American tour next month. He wants to bring the Universal Title with him to make it a Title Vs Title match! He later admitted on Twitter he forgot he also has the O-40 Title, so he corrected himself and said it can become a triple crown title match.

The KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles are up for grabs. Ryota Nakatsu hasn’t fought two of paleyouth’s members much but he has fought Takeshi Masada many times. Yuki Ishida is well used to fighting all three opponents and thinks they are all lacking in substance. Meanwhile Harimao are all strong and they also have Kazusada Higuchi in their corner. Naomi Yoshimura brought up that it’s been one year since he returned from injury. He always wanted to win the 6-Man Titles with Harimao but due to that injury he’s never found the courage to make the challenge until now. He thinks he is in perfect condition now and has no worries of getting hurt. Daichi Sato is still basking in paleyouth winning the titles and despite the team recently losing a warm up match, he is certain their best performance is yet to come. Yuya Koroku brought up that it is the DNA generation that is currently leading the way for DDT. He wants D GENERATIONS to be ones who lead DDT towards the Tokyo Dome. Masada said everybody in the match are all now on the same channel and he hopes everyone else will tune into the came channel to witness a wonderful future coming from this match.

The stipulation chosen for the DDT Extreme Title is a mouthful to say and is also built around Hideki Okatani’s bamboo sword. The weapon will be allowed to use legally under certain circumstances. A button will be placed on the referee’s head and whoever presses it will get a chance to make the ref laugh. If he succeeds then they will be allowed to use the bamboo sword as a weapon for one minute. Other than that, the usual ways of winning wrestling matches applies. Okatani understands the reasoning for the rule, that sometimes you need to sacrifice something to succeed. But he noticed To-y isn’t sacrificing anything for this stipulation. To-y agreed and said he doesn’t need to do that because he is a strong Extreme Champion. He thinks Okatani used to be extreme like him until he joined DAMNATION T.A. Okatani walked away only to come and attack To-y with the bamboo sword. He told To-y he will teach him what real extreme is!

More chaos broke out over the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title match, the result of which has changed the 1 Vs 6 Handicap bout a little bit. Toru Owashi and Super Sasadango Machine couldn’t attend the press conference so both sent messages to be read out loud. Owashi’s message was just an advertisement for the miso he sells while Sasadango demanded that Hisaya Imabayashi should immediately relinquish the title in order to be a good role model for his son who recently got accepted into Keio University. Those who were in attendance all threatened Imabayashi in their own ways. Antonio Honda wants revenge for being hit in the head with the belt, Danshoku Dieno knows that Imabayashi still holds a grudge against him over Pheromones and Sanshiro Takagi complained that the company went through all the trouble of making a new belt to increase its value but it’s now meaningless because Imabayashi is wearing it. Minoru Suzuki was the odd one out because he doesn’t care about this match and wants to go fight Ueno for the KO-D Title instead. Imabayashi said he won the title in order to protect it from being taken by New Japan. He then accused Akito of corporate harassment for forcing him into defending the belt in a 1 V 6 Handicap Match. However he will find a way to remain champion so he can go defend it in Sumo Hall one week later at the Tokyo Joshi Pro show. When it was time for the group photo, Suzuki changed his tune and suddenly put Imabayashi in a Sleeper Hold to win the title! The other wrestlers all warned him they will rip the belt away from him on Sunday but he suggested he might not be the champion by then because he could lose it at the Shawn Capture show he’s wrestling on tomorrow! DDT later officially swapped the positions of Imabayashi and Suzuki so it is now Suzuki on his own against the other six opponents. However the company cannot guarantee the title will make it to TJPW’s Sumo Hall show if the scenario Suzuki came up with comes true.

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DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” Preview

November 3, 2025

DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025”, 03/11/2025
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Sanshiro Takagi Return Match – Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hinata Kasai
2. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Soma Takao, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Rukiya
3. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion Vs Daichi Sato, Yuki Ishida, Kazuma Sumi & Kumadori
4. DDT Extreme Title – 5 Way Blindfold Death Match: To-y (c) Vs Akito Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, HAYATA & Junta Miyawaki Vs Jun Akiyama, Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku
6. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs AMAKUSA
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Survival 3 Way Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu
8. Dramatic Dream Match: Zack Sabre Jr. Vs Chris Brookes
9. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Kaisei Takechi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada
10. KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (K/c) Vs Minoru Suzuki (U/c)

I waited way too long to get this done in time. So long that I’m too tired to write up a proper introduction. It’s DDT back at Sumo Hall. There you go, I’m off to bed.


1. Sanshiro Takagi Return Match – Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hinata Kasai

Welcome back, boss. Things just haven’t been the same without you. This year has felt like Sanshiro Takagi’s influence around DDT as a whole wasn’t entirely there, and for good reason. He had taken a leave of absence as a wrestler July 2024 to focus on his behind the scenes role with CyberFight while also taking better care of his health. He kept it quiet until announcing his return but the health problem he had was angina. He still found ways to stay busy in the public eye because 2025 is his 30th year in wrestling. He celebrated it by launching more DDT spin off brands, the first being MatchMake & Agent which was then turned into Super Japan, an alternate look of the company if it went by that name instead of DDT. These shows captured the island of misfit toys vibe from DDT’s past that just doesn’t exist today while also giving Takagi some sneaky ways to get physical again on his journey back to the ring.

For his return match, Takagi has put himself in the opening bout of the show. His logic is the first match on the card is the second most important match after the main event because it sets the stage for the rest of the show. He needed the right opponent, someone he has never fought before yet still have some sort of connection with so fans will care. Luckily he has just the rookie to fit that bill. Earlier this year one of DDT’s new rookies drew some attention by revealing his name is Hinata Kasai, the son of Jun Kasai! He made the decision to follow in his father’s footsteps and was guided towards joining DDT to become a pro wrestler. So far his skills in the ring aren’t anything to write home about but he got the crowd on his side from the get go and is able to draw sympathy from getting beaten down. He’s looking forward to his Sumo Hall debut and thinks he will make easy work of Takagi. He shouldn’t be underestimating him like that. After all, Takagi was the man who once flushed Hinata’s father fully down the toilet during a Falls Count Anywhere match inside this very building!


2. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Soma Takao, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Rukiya

Not much to write about for this match. The highlight of HARASHIMA’s 2025 was getting to share the ring with Hiroshi Tanahashi again and fully patch over an unpleasant memory from ten years ago. Toru Owashi was around to see his little friend win DDT’s biggest championship and Naomi Yoshimura is rightfully taking his time with getting comfortable in the ring again coming back from injury. Soma Takao still exists to shill the Dropkick Bar while I guess Shinichiro Kawamatsu will continue getting booked so he can do the Axe Bomber in tribute to the late Hulk Hogan. Back in August, Rukiya was able to wrestle matches again after spending over a year on the shelf with a cervical sprain. Given how short his career has been so far, having to start all over again from scratch isn’t as much of a setback as it sounds in his case. He is catching up to the other wrestlers in the D GENERATIONS class and knock on wood should get a moment in the spotlight next year much like the others have gotten in 2025.


3. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion Vs Daichi Sato, Yuki Ishida, Kazuma Sumi & Kumadori

The leader of DAMNATION T.A has a big match later down the card so the rest of the unit are stuck in an 8-Man Tag. Hideki Okatani came back from injury during the first quarter of the year with a chip on his shoulder and immediately joined DAMNATION T.A so he can get violent about it. MJ Paul continues to be around as the low card heavy muscle while the unit now has the grimy luchador Demus reuniting with them for a while (I heard a rumour he was minding an egg back in Mexico). Ilusion has gotten a lot of screen time this year by getting to speak on the microphone while everybody else in the unit just stands around brooding and being quiet. They were also fine with him carrying all of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Title belts whenever they held those titles. Sometimes it pays off to be the little shit of the group.

Facing them are a bunch of wrestlers from DDT’s current young generation. Although they do not have an official unit affiliation, DDT has collectively branded them the D GENERATIONS and they’ve gotten to run their own shows under the name throughout the year. Daichi Sato is the teenage heavyweight that joined DDT from HEAT-UP during the Springtime. The ways things are going for him so far are looking promising and he is already winning matches against other undercard wrestlers. Yuki Ishida can’t help but feel he is the weakest member of Harimao and is trying to fight through that mental block. Kazuma Sumi has been figuring out his place on the roster as the speedy high flyer. MIKAMI’s guidance has inspired him to use the 619 as a set up for the School Boy as an effective way to win matches. The odd one out is Kumadori who only wrestles a handful of matches due to his commitment with the O-MENZ dance group. He has the athleticism to become a good wrestler but I don’t know long he wants to do this for.


4. DDT Extreme Title – 5 Way Blindfold Death Match: To-y (c) Vs Akito Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda

It’s fitting that Halloween just passed because lately To-y has had the enthusiasm of a kid running around playing with fireworks. His run as the DDT Extreme Champion for the second half of the year has been spent finding ways to build up his online presence with match gimmicks built around social media impressions and streamer behavior. To prove he is the modern champion that the title deserves, he wanted his match at Sumo Hall to be against someone from the older generation who most represents DDT’s brand of Extreme wrestling. He didn’t expect there would be a lot of options.

The first person to answer the call was Akito but pretty soon after that Super Sasadango Machine and Kazuki Hirata put out messages on social media demanding to be added as well. Antonio Honda then joined in and at least had the good manners to tell everyone in person at a DDT show. Now all that was left to do is to pick a match stipulation. To-y has gotten into gambling recently so rather than pick the match as he would be expected to as champion, he held played a dice game called Chinchiro with everyone. Sasadango ended up winning and announced the 5 Way will be a Blindfold Death Match! Being blindfolded means everyone’s training will be for nothing if they cannot see while Sasadango never trains anyway so all of his opponents are now on his level. To-y is willing to bet that he can see through his heart and prove he deserves the Extreme Title more than anyone else!


5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, HAYATA & Junta Miyawaki Vs Jun Akiyama, Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku

The original point of “ULTIMATE PARTY” was to get all of the different promotions connected to DDT involved on the card. It’s not really about that anymore but at least we get to enjoy a DDT Vs NOAH 6-Man Tag match. Shinya Aoki isn’t causing a stir this time around by challenging Kenoh for matches that don’t exist like he did last time. Yuya Koroku is working hard but seems kind of aimless when he isn’t part of a title program. Jun Akiyama is there as a link between both companies. Same with Tetsuya Endo and we’ll likely find out in two months if his excursion will become permanent or not. He played his part in the TEAM 2000X story this year so I don’t know what is left in store for him over there as things currently stand. HAYATA has had the latest season of “MONDAY MAGIC” built around him as the GHC Hardcore Openweight Champion. While I had been following that series, I don’t watch enough of normal NOAH to know what Junta Miyawaki has been up to. As far as I know the only NOAH storylines going on is somebody joins TEAM 2000X, NOSAWA Rongai books something random or somebody gets mad at Naomichi Marufuji and burns a bridge.


6. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs AMAKUSA

Breath a sigh of relief because the original plan for this match was going to be very different. DDT had wanted to do Danshoku Dieno against Daisuke Sasaki in a rematch of the infamous “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” main event where Dieno wrestled part of the bout completely butt fucking naked. Dieno had just gotten out of surgery from acute appendicitis and claimed to have had every last drop of toxicity taken out of his body so this match was going to be the most clean match ever. Sadly for Dieno he developed an intra-abdominal abscess after his surgery and is unable to wrestle for the time being. So that’s him off the Sumo Hall card and Sasaki is now in need of a new opponent.

DDT then decided to go in a completely different direction for the replacement match. Sasaki is now going to face AMAKUSA, the junior heavyweight missionary from NOAH. On the surface this looks like a random pairing but if you delve into the history of both wrestlers you will see they are closely linked. For you see, AMAKUSA is the former Yuki Sato and he debuted in the same SUPER CREW class as Sasaki that was mentored by Dick Togo. Not only that but the two of them faced each other in their debut match! Sasaki was the winner and they would continue to cross each other’s paths for many years until Sato disappeared from the wrestling scene in 2019. That was around the time when Sato joined NOAH under the name Hao and then a few years later transformed into AMAKUSA. His current persona has no memory of ever knowing Sasaki and believes this match will be their first time meeting each other.


7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Survival 3 Way Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu

A match of truly heavyweight proportions coming from all sides. Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya have become a united force known as The Apex and are currently the tag team to beat in DDT. They won the KO-D Tag Team Titles from Astronauts back in June and have had five successful defences so far against teams of all sizes. However it seems like if there is a team out there that are capable of beating them, it must be a pair of heavyweights. The Strange Love Connection believe they are that team of heavyweights. KANON has blown up in size over the last year and now weighs around 103kg while MAO is claiming he has also bulked up to about 100kg thanks to his square-shaped lifestyle. Meanwhile the only heavy hitting that KIMIHIRO can do is entrance introductions and victory speeches because SLC’s microphone work without him always fall apart.

Just when the match was ready to be booked for Sumo Hall, a third team entered into the picture. Team 200kg from Sendai Girls sent in a video demanding that they be the ones to get a title shot because Chihiro Hashimoto has unfinished business with Iino. The two had clashed several times back when ALL OUT and Sendai Girls feuded in 2019 and Hashimoto had her hand raised in victory in most of those battles. Simply the thought of Hashimoto being nearby has now driven Iino to lose his temper and go searching for her around venues so they can fight again. While all of that is going on, the soon to retire Yuu wants to test her might against Naya thinking she will be too much for him to handle. The solution to this three way dilemma is to make the match Survival rules so the last team standing gets to keep the belts for themselves. MAO promises a match chaotic enough to destroy Sumo Hall itself, although he wants it to only reach the level where SLC destroy their opponents instead.


8. Dramatic Dream Match: Zack Sabre Jr. Vs Chris Brookes

Oh the bittersweet memories of BritWres at its peak. It is what helped get these two to where they are today yet getting out of it at the time they did was probably the smartest decisions they ever made. It sent Zack Sabre Jr. on a journey all the way to the top of New Japan. It also showed the world that Chris Brookes was the perfect fit for DDT as he became that company’s top wrestler too. They were able to reunite here and there in Japan over the last couple of years. There were a few DDT appearances for Sabre and also some sneaky cameos on a couple of Baka Gaijin + Friends related events. But a singles match between the two hasn’t happened since 2017 over on the other side of the world.

Since this is happening on a DDT show you can expect the early part of the match to be a bit relaxed and light hearted. Maybe Brookes will do the rubber band spot. I bet Sabre remembers the days of Brian Conley punching his sidekick and telling the audience “It’s just a puppet!” so he can use Bunbun to recreate that gag and have it fly over the entire audience. Once they get all of that stuff out of the way then they can show us what can happen when things get heated in the ring between close friends. Anyone wanting this to be a proper technical masterclass should probably wait for Sabre’s match with KEITA in THE House to take place and hope that makes tape.


9. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Kaisei Takechi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada

Want to see what happens when the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion works more shows for DDT than New Japan in the month of November? Hey, I’m not going to complain about it. Konosuke Takeshita made his dramatic dream come true this year by winning the G1 Climax and then the IWGP Title. He is coming fresh off of a successful title defence against Hirooki Goto as well. DDT are capitalizing on this by having him team up with their newest draw, Kaisei Takechi. The handsome entertainer has now joined DDT to wrestle for them on a more regular basis and recently won his first championship, the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles. Given how important this match is meant to be, Takeshita wanted Kazusada Higuchi to be one of their opponents. He still considers his match with Higuchi from September 2022 as one of his favorites. Takechi then decided he should pick Higuchi’s partner and chose Takeshi Masada because Masada was part of his debut match. It gives Takechi the chance to find out just how much he has grown against someone who can likely become a career long rival.

I’m excited to see Takeshita and Higuchi face off again after so long. DDT’s main event storytelling kind of pulled the rug from under Higuchi this summer as his King Of DDT victory and two month reign on top was brushed aside for a different direction. It probably isn’t something to worry about because as long as he stay healthy he will always be someone they can rely on, maybe not on the level as HARASHIMA but you can count on him staying loyal to them. Masada has become more comfortable as a wrestler by being part of SCHADENFREUDE International. He doesn’t have to worry about being the supernova rookie as first advertised but I hope he doesn’t lose his ambition as time goes by. He had a little taste of New Japan before on a dark match but that was pretty much played for laughs at the time because he had the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. Maybe seeing Takeshita with the IWGP Title up close can stoke the flames a bit more for him.


10. KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (K/c) Vs Minoru Suzuki (U/c)

This entire situation was all Yuki Ueno’s fault and he’s opened the door to making it worse. Back in January Ueno won the DDT Universal Title from Gringo Loco and came up with a grand plan to increase the championship’s value without needing to travel around the world. A couple of months earlier Ueno fought Minoru Suzuki in a tag match that ended in a draw. He wanted to face him again so what better way to lure the “Pirate King” back to DDT than to wave some treasure around to get his attention. A title match was put together at “JUDGEMENT 2025” and Ueno proceeded to balls it all up by losing to Suzuki. So after years of one-off appearances in DDT where Suzuki only showed up to torture Sanshiro Takagi, he had now become one of their champions and decided to stick around to wreck anyone else who dared challenge him. Various challengers of all shapes and sizes stepped up to him just to fall at his feet one after the other. With every victory Suzuki felt more at home in DDT until eventually the time came for him to start looking for the one prize in DDT that is worth even more than the Universal Title.

Ueno was left to regret his decision to bring Suzuki into DDT this way but he got over it in order to come up with another plan to raise his company’s profile. One day he would like to fight Konosuke Takeshita once more and he wants it to happen when both of them are at the height of their powers. Takeshita had the G1 win and later the IWGP Title so Ueno set forth to win back the KO-D Openweight Title. He achieved that at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025” in August then suffered another massive blunder when Kazuki Hirata of all people won the belt off him thanks to an impeccably timed Right To Challenge cash in. Ueno got revenge for that one month later with his own deviously planned RTC cash in and now with the belt back around his waist he is ready to lead DDT again. That is until Suzuki showed up wanting to challenge Ueno for the title in order to dominate DDT once and for all. Ueno saw this as his chance to redeem himself by getting Suzuki to put the Universal Title on the line too so we are now going Title Vs Title at Sumo Hall.

While the fate of DDT’s two main championships hang in the balance for the main event, there is not much actual hatred shared between Ueno and Suzuki. Ueno respects Suzuki for the freedom he has achieved as a pro wrestler and how it strengthens him. It inspires Ueno to believe in his own ideas to become stronger. Meanwhile Suzuki is enjoying the time he has spent conquering DDT this year, describing the experience as a new beginning for him. As we’ve seen over the last two decades, Suzuki likes to make himself at home in a company for a couple of years before eventually jumping over to another for a while and then again onto the next place. With that being said, he still took the opportunity at a press conference to attack Ueno in an attempt to injure him before their match. Even if he likes fighting the guy, he’s going to remind Ueno that pro wrestling should be a ruthless business.

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TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS VI” Preview

September 19, 2025

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS VI”, 20/09/2025
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium

1. Suzume & Ren Konatsu Vs Mei Suruga & Uta Takami
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Staggered Entry Battle Royal: Pokotan (c) Vs Raku Vs Mahiro Kiryu Vs Shino Suzuki Vs Mifu Ashida Vs Kira Summer Vs Chika Nanase Vs Ram Kaichow
3. Aja Kong Vs HIMAWARI
4. Flag Scramble Weapon Death Match: Rika Tatsumi Vs Pom Harajuku
5. Hiroyo Matsumoto & Yuki Arai Vs Haru Kazashiro & Toga
6. Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami Vs Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino
7. International Princess Title Match: Arisu Endo Vs Priscilla Kelly
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miu Watanabe

Act III begins. Tokyo Joshi Pro’s year long trilogy of major shows held at Ota Ward Gymnasium ends with the sixth annual “WRESTLE PRINCESS” show. And to be honest it’s really just the main event that’s doing a the heavy lifting here. That might end up becoming the payoff of a nine month lone storyline while so much of the rest of the card doesn’t have much to talk about when it comes to the last few months of shows. What it lacks in build it instead makes up for with wrestler relationships past and present. Most of the guests have some sort of association with the wrestlers they will be in the ring with. An injury on short notice also caused a couple of changes the card including one of the championship matches.


1. Suzume & Ren Konatsu Vs Mei Suruga & Uta Takami

The show kicks off with a tag match filled with kindred spirits. Suzume was the inspiration for Ren Konatsu to become a wrestler and it didn’t take long after her debut for the two of them to team up. Meanwhile the two sisters from other misters have found each other again. Mei Suruga & Uta Takami are back together to show that apples and ice cream are for everybody. These four have enough energy by themselves to keep the venue’s power in check for the rest of the show.


2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Staggered Entry Battle Royal: Pokotan (c) Vs Raku Vs Mahiro Kiryu Vs Shino Suzuki Vs Mifu Ashida Vs Kira Summer Vs Chika Nanase Vs Ram Kaichow

I might be wrong but ever since the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title got its new belt it feels like the championship has spent more time out of DDT than in it. It’s been hovering near TJPW for over a month now and they seem to like holding the Battle Royal on their undercard. The DDT mascot Pokotan is currently the champion and must fight off seven opponents to survive another day. Not a lot has changed with the usual crew of opponents getting involved. Mahiro Kiryu is still apologetic, Shino Suzuki has her Up Up Girls duties, Mifu Ashida really likes using the Y-Shaped Guillotine in her matches, Kira Summer got to wrestle in Malaysia recently and Chika Nanase is adapting to more of a gal style for her appearance. The wild card is Ram Kaichow. Just like last time she is a late entry to the match and TJPW is anticipating she will pull off a plan to win the championship before the match even starts again. I assume Raku will be glad to help her with that once more.


3. Aja Kong Vs HIMAWARI

I have worked out one realistic way for HIMAWARI to win this match. She will have a chance if she can travel back in time to 1987 so she can claim seniority over a rookie Aja Kong and therefore win via the senpai-kohai pattern of Japanese wrestling booking. Otherwise she’s boned. Those hair whips are not going to do a thing against Kong’s steel can. Even when Kong is having a good day she will still whack someone over the head with one of those things.


4. Flag Scramble Weapon Death Match: Rika Tatsumi Vs Pom Harajuku

Okay this was not in the plans at all. Rika Tatsumi’s original match got pulled because her opponent was bumped up to one of the title matches so instead of fighting the woman who licked her face that one time seven years ago, she now has to babysit Pom Harajuku. It’s bad enough trying to chase Harajuku around but she also usually finds ways to try and trap Tatsumi out of venues so she can almost win by countout. That might not happen here because special rules are being applied to make up for the match change.

Both wrestlers will start the match with a flag in their corner of the ring. If you steal your opponent’s flag you will be allowed to choose one of two pre-determined weapons to use for the rest of the match. What these weapons will be we just have to wait and see. It’s just two weapons though so it will only take both flags being captured for both weapons to come into play. Will Tatsumi bring her sasumata pole back? Can Harajuku wheel in a gacha machine again like she did in Texas? Is Yukinori Matsui going to be the ref so he has to deal with this silliness with that tired look on his face?


5. Hiroyo Matsumoto & Yuki Arai Vs Haru Kazashiro & Toga

Welcome “Lady Destroyer” to TJPW! Hiroyo Matsumoto goes way back with Yuki Arai by being one of her coaches for Tofu Pro Wrestling from 2018. It gives Arai something to bounce back from after losing in the main event of her previous Ota Ward appearance. The young team of Haru Kazashiro & Toga have been chosen to be their opponents. Toga is excited to fight Matsumoto head on and is even confident she can knock her down with her Elbow Strike. Although her new friend Yuna Manase warned Toga she better go all out to stand a chance against Matsumoto.


6. Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami Vs Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino

It’s a Yukiniki reunion! None of Ryo Mizunami’s previous visits to TJPW this year had anything to do with Yuki Aino so it’s nice to finally see them back together after being apart for this long. The highlight of Aino’s year so far was becoming the main character of the third annual “HYPE!” show (and its director’s cut) which again begs the question, has she finally figured out how to take the next step up the card yet? Maybe it’s for the best that Yukiniki stick together because Aino’s best work is as a tag wrestler.

Their opponents aren’t much of a solid team yet but maybe there’s something to be found with this pairing. Miyu Yamashita might be heading into a new stage of her career as TJPW’s first “Leader” of the locker room. She’s out of the title picture and no longer has Maki Itoh to work off of in the company. However she sees potential in Kaya Toribami and wants to see for herself what the masked woman can unleash in the ring. Toribami is getting more confident which is also opening up more opportunities for her. Like getting slapped in the chest by Mizunami a lot. Gotta fly through that fire eventually, bird.


7. International Princess Title Match: Arisu Endo Vs Priscilla Kelly

Can we get Poison Sawada JULIE to take a look at the International Princess Title belt because this championship is back to being cursed again. In a sad turn of events, Moka Miyamoto’s title reign couldn’t even get out of the starting blocks because as soon as she won it at “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25” she then fell ill and had to take time off for treatment. When it became clear that whatever it is she’s been dealing with was keeping her out of action for the long term, the title was vacated. A new champion will have to be crowned at Ota Ward.

I though TJPW’s two choices for the title match was a good piece of booking. On one side was Arisu Endo who is in the middle of a breakout run that included reaching the final of this year’s Tokyo Princess Cup. She is also the tag team partner of the previous champion Suzume. Endo’s opponent would be Jada Stone, the American who fought Suzume in a neat two match series over the title during the year but couldn’t win the belt in either match. That’s an intriguing pairing to me. Then earlier this week Stone posted the bad news that she suffered a knee injury and had to cancel her next tour of Japan to go get an MRI scan.

So plans for the IP Title had to change again. Endo is still in the match and now her opponent is going to be Priscilla Kelly. It’s been over seven years since Kelly had her couple of tours with TJPW. Endo wasn’t around for that so I hope those who were have given her fair warning of what to expect. WWE didn’t change her that much when she was Gigi Dolin over there. Kelly is also starting to build up her own little collection of championships on the American indies. She hasn’t been shy about taking pictures of herself about to lick the belts in victory. Will this be the next fate for the IP Title?


8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara

Terry Funk ain’t wear no mouthpiece and neither does Wakana Uehara.

The last time Kyoraku Kyomei defended the Princess Tag Team Titles against Ober Eats was in Las Vegas back in April. At the time Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara had only just begun teaming and couldn’t match the many years of chemistry that only a kaiju and a superhero could produce together. Shoko Nakajima in particular is having a heck of a year. Not only is she keeping up to her usual level on TJPW shows, she also went and took over MLW’s women’s division in America. To help build up to this match, Nakajima even defended the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title against Kamifuku in Texas just last week. Her message going into this match is loud and clear. You won’t win if you can’t bite like a kaiju!

An injury robbed us of a clever match buildup because while Nakajima and Kamifuku were fighting over a championship in America, TJPW was going to have Hyper Misao face Wakana Uehara on the same day back in Japan. The booking made sense given that Ober Eats earned their rematch thanks to Uehara pinning Misao in an 8-Woman Tag involving the two teams. It felt like a kick in the teeth when the singles match had to be pulled because that’s exactly what happened. Misao accidentally knocked out one of Uehara’s front teeth with a Kingslayer Jumping Knee Strike during a match. Uehara hadn’t wrestled since and has been using the time off to charge herself up for the title bout in between her visits to the dentist.

This is where TJPW is different from a lot of other pro wrestling companies. Normally an injury like this is ripe to build up heat and maybe even lead to a revenge angle at the end of the match as a payoff. But TJPW is not that kind of wrestling promotion. As Misao explained with a tweet after the match, inflicting injuries is not a badge of honour here. This also isn’t the place to where wrestlers are motivated to take an eye for an eye (or a tooth for a tooth). With that being said I bet it will feel pretty sweet for Uehara if she can pin Misao with a Jackknife Pin for the three count again, this time to win the tag titles. It’s a pair of belts that have evaded Kamifuku for as long as both have existed in wrestling.


9. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miu Watanabe

Something that TJPW’s 2025 should be remembered for is the story arc of Mizuki Vs Miu Watanabe. It’s been a tale of princesses and monsters often with the roles being merged together. When the year began, Watanabe was the Princess Of Princess Champion who became so dominant that she was accused of becoming the kind of monster she had to beat to win the prize in the first place. Then on 4th January Mizuki entered the story as the hero slaying the “Monster” to win the title as the true “Princess” she is. As the months progressed, Mizuki held onto the belt with two title defences in Ota Ward along with a successful defence in Las Vegas inbetween. She can make it a hat trick of Ota Ward title defences that can turn this reign into the most defining singles run of her career.

While all of that was going on for the rabbit, the monster had to lick her wounds and go find the princess she knew was inside of her. That journey of discovery took place over the summer where Watanabe won the Tokyo Princess Cup, a tournament that slipped through her fingers three years earlier. With that hole in her heart finally patched up, Watanabe found her glow up and is now ready to have the title rematch with Mizuki. Some hints have been dropped along the way from Mizuki noticing her opponent becoming more Cinderella-like to Watanabe literally tripping out of her shoe and leaving it behind while she was exiting an interview. Just like how some bedtime stories go, it will take a magical Tear Drop to turn the monster into a princess so she can live happily ever after. Hang on, isn’t Mizuki supposed to be the princess in this story? She’s not going to give up that cushy gig without a fight!

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Wrestle Peter Pan 2025 Press Conference

August 29, 2025

I don’t have the time to write up full previews for this weekend’s “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025” shows but there was a press conference held during the week where several wrestlers talked about their matches.

The current Right To Challenge Arm Cover holders going into the weekend are Kazuki Hirata (Yellow), Daichi Sato (Green), Hideki Okatani (Blue) and Soma Takao (Red).

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025 – DAY 1”, 30/08/2025
Tokyo Higashin Arena Main Arena

1. Hinata Kasai Debut Match: HARASHIMA Vs Hinata Kasai
2. Soma Takao & Rukiya Vs Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Yuki Ishida
3. 3 Way Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Ilusion, MJ Paul & Haruto Sakuraba Vs Akito, Naomi Yoshimura & Daichi Sato
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shinya Aoki & Kazuma Sumi Vs MAO, KANON & Kumadori (w/ KIMIHIRO)
6. DDT Extreme Title – Earn Your Own Life!! Pro Wrestling Life Or Death Death Match!: To-y (c) Vs Yuya Koroku
7. Muscle Sakai 15th Anniversary Of Retirement Match ~ Special Single Match: Minoru Suzuki Vs Muscle Sakai
8. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada
9. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani
10. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Jun Akiyama

There are two KO-D Openweight Title matches guaranteed to happen this weekend with the first day going to Kazusada Higuchi defending the belt against Jun Akiyama. The challenger said it’s been four years since he last attended a press conference for a big event in this position and he’s excited to be competing at the highest level again. He aims to win the title without getting injured so he can have a good match with Yuki Ueno the next day. He would have wanted to be Higuchi’s first challenger but HARASHIMA beat him to the punch. When Akiyama saw how hard HARASHIMA worked in the match it motivated him to get next in line for a title shot before anyone else.

Higuchi talked about challenging Akiyama for the title four years ago and losing. It remains the most frustrating time of his wrestling career but time has passed long enough for him to develop respect for Akiyama. It is with that respect that he will beat him this time. He also hasn’t put any thought towards any Right To Challenge title shots getting cashed in on him. What motivates Higuchi right now is to make it to Sumo Hall on 3rd November as the KO-D Champion because he never got to have a title defence there during his previous reign.

When Muscle Sakai originally retired after wrestling Minoru Suzuki 15 years ago, Suzuki thought Sakai completely disappeared from the industry. So when he discovered that Sakai quietly returned to the business as Super Sasadango Machine, he decided he will make him pay for going back on his decision to retire! If you get Minoru Suzuki as your final opponent you should never take your decision to retire lightly.

The result of the KO-D Tag Team Titles match on Day 1 will have an effect on Day 2’s card. If The Apex successfully defend the tag titles against DAMNATION T.A then their match against HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki the next day will also be a title match. But if Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani win the titles then they will defend the belts on Day 2 in the 3 Way Tag Match. Sasaki said all that Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya are good for is being big. They aren’t funny, the tag belts don’t suit them and they’re both too ugly. Iino said he can’t tell if Sasaki is ugly or not because he covers 80% of his face with his sunglasses.

At the time when the press conference took place To-y had 15 life points and Yuya Koroku had 14 for their DDT Extreme Title match. Social media numbers are what determine how many Life Points they can get before the match starts. Life Points will be lost in the match after every One Count in a pin, every time someone gives up, every rope break and every time someone is thrown out of the ring. First wrestler to reduce their opponent’s Life Points to zero will be the winner. To-y admits he needed help in his previous title matches and has no shame in admitting he will continue to rely on the help of others from now on. If he can get 100 Life Points before the match begins then he thinks he will can win easily. One of the things Koroku did to prepare for this match is meet up with Animal Hamaguchi at the gym he trained at before going to DDT. The rules of the actual wrestling isn’t any different from a normal match so Koroku thinks he just has to avoid getting pinned while he whittles down To-y’s LP to zero.

The debuting Hinata Kasai wasn’t at the press conference but did an interview online to talk more about himself. His favorite wrestlers are CM Punk and Ric Flair because he loves American wrestling of all shapes and sizes. He wants to be the kind of wrestler who leaves an impact that people will never forget once they see him. It was Sanshiro Takagi’s idea to debut Kasai while he is still a college student because a debut match in a big building like Higashin Arena would draw a lot of attention. Kasai admits he currently does not have a lot of skill and is more of a clumsy type but what sets him apart from others is his mentality. He wants his debut match to stir the audience’s emotions with all of the passion and feelings he has held for pro wrestling ever since he was a child. He would like it if his goal was to win the KO-D Title but he thinks he should win support from the fans and trust from the company first to build himself up to that goal.

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025 – DAY 2”, 31/08/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. D GENERATIONS Special 8-Man Tag Match: To-y, Daichi Sato, Rukiya & Hinata Kasai Vs Ilusion, Yuya Koroku, Munetatsu Nakamura & Yuki Ishida
2. Loser Of 30/08 KO-D Title Match, Super Sasadango Machine & Akito Vs KANON, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda (w/ KIMIHIRO)
3. Special 3-Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida
4. Special Tag Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya Vs HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki
5. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs MAO
6. Double Main Event I ~ Dramatic Dream Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Danshoku Dieno
7. Double Main Event II ~ KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) or Jun Akiyama Vs Yuki Ueno

Ueno cannot predict who he will be facing for the KO-D Title on Day 2. He thinks he has made progress during his time without the championship and he’s been watching Konosuke Takeshita win the G1 Climax. If Ueno becomes champion again he does not want to compare himself to others. He would rather focus on raising DDT and one way to do that is to wrestle Takeshita when both are at the height of their powers! He’ll have to beat either Higuchi or Akiyama to move that plan forward. He knows he’ll have the stamina advantage going into the match because his opponent won’t even have 24 hours to rest after Day 1’s main event ends.

It took Minoru Suzuki becoming the DDT Universal Champion to make MAO feel it is time for him to win the title back for a fourth time. He cannot help but get excited over the thought of beating Suzuki for the belt in front of a packed Korakuen Hall. It’s all he can see in his mind right now. He even said it doesn’t matter if the win is clean or dirty, he will beat Suzuki doing whatever it takes! Suzuki is also looking forward to the match because he’s been wanting to fight MAO ever since they first met. With that being said he’s not here to play around. He’s going to kill MAO!

Matches #3 and #4 may swap places on the card depending on who wins the KO-D Tag Titles on Day 1. The tag title match will be placed as the 4th match. Iino approves of the idea because he wants The Apex to rack up title defences. Sasaki complained he will be too busy celebrating the title victory on Day 1 to defend it on Day 2.

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TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25” Preview

July 19, 2025

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25”, 21/07/2025
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium

1. HIMAWARI & Ren Konatsu Vs Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami
2. Andreza Giant Panda & Raku Vs Kyoko Inoue & Pom Harajuku
3. Yuna Manase, Mahiro Kiryu, Kaya Toribami & Chika Nanase Vs Wakana Uehara, Toga, Mifu Ashida & Kira Summer
4. 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki Kamifuku & VENY Vs Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro Vs Arisu Endo & Jada Stone
5. Special Tag Match: El Desperado & Maki Itoh Vs Chris Brookes & Emi Sakura
6. Special Single Match: Miyu Yamashita Vs Billie Starkz
7. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Moka Miyamoto
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Yuki Arai

Welcome to the middle point of the year and the second of three visits to Ota Ward Gymnasium in 2025. As we enter part two in this trilogy of big venue events for Tokyo Joshi Pro this year I’m trying to figure out if a three act story can be pieced together in regards to the company’s top champion. It’s either going to be that or the inauguration of their next ace. A successful tour of Texas earlier this month has provided a gust of momentum for TJPW going into the show and perhaps even a fresh group of eyes looking towards the event, at least internationally. On the undercard a lot of the wrestlers are focusing on the upcoming Tokyo Princess Cup. Even a few of the champions have set up goals to win the tournament while holding their titles. That’s if they make it out of Ota Ward with the belt still in their hands of course. Then once the Cup is done with the road will take TJPW back here for “WRESTLE PRINCESS VI” in September. Now let’s see if this really is going to be Act II of a year long story.

1. HIMAWARI & Ren Konatsu Vs Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami

I don’t know what it is about the new rookie but whenever I look into Ren Konatsu’s eyes I see the crazy vibes of MAO hiding deep in there somewhere. This is way, way down the line by the way because she hasn’t even entered her third month as a pro wrestler yet. All I’m saying is it only takes the little sheep toy clipped to her belt to start whispering ideas into her head and next thing you know she’s using her opponents to smash plastic boxes into pieces. If the sheep suddenly gets replaced with a Labubu then we’re really going to see some trouble down the line.

I thought TJPW had something going on for HIMAWARI and Shino Suzuki by making them team up every now and then going back to the previous Ota Ward show. Instead they are going to be opponents here. HIMAWARI is teaming with Konatsu and is the only one in this match who qualified for the Princess Cup. Suzuki’s failure to get past the prelimary rounds may become a pivotal point in her career because she is now seeing how little progress she’s been making in her three years as a wrestler. Uta Takami meanwhile has her whole future ahead of her and had a big role on this year’s “HYPE!” show. Maybe she’s the one I should be worried about possibly turning crazy instead of Konatsu.

2. Andreza Giant Panda & Raku Vs Kyoko Inoue & Pom Harajuku

A potential monster bout ended up changing its plans but in doing so brings in a brand new joshi legend into the TJPW ring for the first time. Max The Impaler was supposed to return to Japan so they could team up with Pom Harajuku again. Unfortunately according to TJPW Max has health issues preventing them from being able to travel for the show so that put a stop to Pompaler getting back together for now. Harajuku’s new tag partner is the fearsome and face painted Kyoko Inoue! I wonder if United Japan Pro Wrestling is the reason why we’re getting this appearance? Inoue is the founder and current president of World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana based in Kanagawa. The joshi group recently joined UJPW as a supporting member and TJPW is already a member so the connection is there to be made.

There might be a jealous Up Up Girl in the locker room once Inoue is in the ring because one of the highlights of her classic matches was always the Giant Swing. Will she be the one to do it to Andreza Giant Panda? The last time Andreza showed up in TJPW he went viral for getting bonked over the head with a Pico Pico Hammer. This place is starting to get too dangerous for him. For Raku though she’s been living a dream ever since her last visit to Ota Ward. Back in March she beat Harajuku to win the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title, her first proper championship reign. While she no longer holds the belt things are just going swimmingly for her lately. This match is just going to be another trip inside her sleepy wonderland. Maybe she’ll bring the Buc-ee toy she bought in Texas with her for Andreza to play with.

3. Yuna Manase, Mahiro Kiryu, Kaya Toribami & Chika Nanase Vs Wakana Uehara, Toga, Mifu Ashida & Kira Summer

Time to throw a mixture of women into the ring, shake it back and forth and see who comes out of it the last ones standing. Yuna Manase pays another visit to TJPW. While she’s been rocking the Ganbare☆Joshi division over in Ganbare☆Pro in Japan, she’s also been flying the flag for Kitsune over in America as their top champion. Mahiro Kiryu was settling into a new tag team with Haruna Neko until Neko got injured yet again so she’s sort of just been floating around at the moment. Kaya Toribami finally had something of a level up by getting to challenge for the MLW Women’s Featherweight Title last month and putting in a pretty good performance. She also has a new costume ready to debut for this show so maybe things are looking up for the bird. Chika Nanase is starting to move up into the next phase of her young career. Where she goes from here is anyone’s guess.

Over on the other team Wakana Uehara is progressing at a nice pace. She has a named tag team as part of Ober Eats, got to challenge for a championship and at this point is pretty much guaranteed to be part of the crew for every USA tour. As long as she keeps her appetite, I see good things coming for her in the future. The times Toga has mostly been standing out lately is from whenever she gets to play an ikemen role of some sort. In regular matches though she’s had a few setbacks lately. Mifu Ashida’s win-loss record since coming here hasn’t been great either. She’s been a bit busy doing other things lately but a time like now is always a good place to start turning things around. Kira Summer has been seeing the growth of women’s wrestling in Asia and Australia this year. It is motivating her to join in and play her part in helping it grow even more.

4. 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki Kamifuku & VENY Vs Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro Vs Arisu Endo & Jada Stone

Ober Eats is one of the new teams to appear on the scene this year but Yuki Kamifuku is going back to one of her favorite choices in her wardrobe. She is bringing VENY back so VENYU can team up together again! VENY has spent the year ruling over SEAdLINNNG with a five month reign as Beyond The Sea Champion. Once that title run came to an end she’s been going from place to place in the joshi scene with TJPW becoming her next brief stop. Yuki Aino is fresh off of coming out as the main character of this year’s “HYPE!” show. The lesson she learned coming out of it is she will never be alone in TJPW and that might finally be what leads her out of the maze she’s been stuck in ever since her sister Nodoka Tenma graduated. I’m probably going to be writing that opinion again and again until the end of time.

Aino will be teaming with Haru Kazashiro who continues to grow into a future high card player for the promotion. Once she gets her final year of high school out of the way, the sky’s the limit for how far she will go in the ring. She is already developing the ring smarts to gradually figure out how to perfect the Fisherman Suplex but a 3 Way Tag Match like this is probably too chaotic an environment to show that off. The third team is a fitting mixture of pep and spark. Arisu Endo has been taking a back seat for her Daisy Monkey’s partners success. She hasn’t been letting that dampen her spirits. Jada Stone is now well accustomed to TJPW but it looks like she has a new place to call home. She was recently offered a contract by TNA so I’m not sure if she will continue to do tours here. If this is close to the end then she’s certainly made good use of her time in TJPW.

5. Special Tag Match: El Desperado & Maki Itoh Vs Chris Brookes & Emi Sakura

Are there as many wrestlers out there who are currently living out their dreams like El Desperado has? He gets to fulfill his most violent desires by having several deathmatches with Jun Kasai, pals around with the likes of MAO and Chris Brookes especially when it comes to the more sleazy indies style of wrestling. There’s nobody else in New Japan who is quite as in sync with the current wrestling scene than good ol’ Despy. Now he gets to tick off another line in his bucket list by getting to team with Maki Itoh! The two got to know each other in America two years ago when they were both booked on the same GCW show. The idea was thrown around for them to team up. Now that it’s happening it finally occurred to Despy that he has to learn Itoh’s song and dance in order to be accepted into the Itoh Respect Army. Rehersals so far have not been promising. Brookes was at least able to pull the dance off so the current IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion has no excuse. Come on man you used to carry a guitar around. Surely you can carry a tune too?

TJPW brought Despy & Itoh together because they needed a poison pairing that could match the same level as TeaDK. Brookes & Emi Sakura teamed up in TJPW last March for “GRAND PRINCESS ’24” and it didn’t go according to plan for them. They lost to The Magical Sugar Rabbits and blamed each other over the result. Time healed those wounds so they are teaming up again to give TJPW another go. Sakura has had several matches with Sakura over the years, most of them in an AEW ring. Thankfully they haven’t needed to staple each other over and over like Brookes and Despy do whenever they fight. Oh God, don’t let Itoh arm herself with a stapler!

6. Special Single Match: Miyu Yamashita Vs Billie Starkz

One of Miyu Yamashita’s toughest rivals on her excursions to America is Billie Starkz. When it comes to their previous matches Starkz has beaten Yamashita more than the other way around. It’s a friendly rivalry though and the two of them even had something of a good tag team going on during Yamashita’s recent stay in GCW. So when Yamashita heard that Starkz would love nothing more than to wrestle in Japan again she got TJPW to set this match up.

So yeah, that’s pretty much it. Not a lot of story to set this up and it remains to be seen if this is just a one off attraction match to have for the big show. Yamashita only has one championship left to win in TJPW to have achieved every single accomplishment available to her. If anything her winning this match would be done to establish her as the favorite for the Princess Cup. A win for Starkz here though should be followed up on. A younger wrestler beating Yamashita in her home promotion is worth a title shot of some sort down the line. We don’t really need to worry about locker room politics either because it’s become pretty clear recently that Yamashita has some sort of deal in place with AEW/ROH.

7. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Moka Miyamoto

Now we get into the big three matches of the show. The three championships are all currently on a reliable group of wrestlers so where the belts go from here is a good question to think about. If Suzume was to lose the International Princess Title here she would have left a good mark as champion. Her reign has been a little bit different than the others thanks to a pair of defences against Jada Stone, one in Japan and the rematch in America. It’s unusual for someone to defend a Princess Title against the same challenger twice in one reign. It’s also not that common for the IP Champion to defend the belt overseas when that’s meant to be the whole bloody point of it! When it’s all said and done, Suzume will have a good argument towards having one of the more defining runs as IP Champion. She’s already said she feels like she has evolved from a bee into a hornet because of this title. Her ultimate goal is to become queen bee of TJPW!

Her challenger Moka Miyamoto has also become attached to the belt but it’s becoming for a pretty bad reason. This is going to be her third time challenging for the IP Title after failing to win it twice before. It is the title she wants most because she believes having an international championship is the best way for her to spread Japanese culture across the world. Part of that culture is Japan’s technology and Miyamoto thinks there has to be some kind of Japanese technology out there that is good for getting rid of hornets! The two traded wins with each other during the Texas tour so it’s all even going into Ota Ward.

8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe

Okay where do sasumata poles stand on the police brutality scale because they’re going to be mentioned a lot in this part of the preview and the girls have already used them to literally crucify Tetsuya Koda. The existence of these things have been the blight of Kyoraku Kyomei’s last couple of weeks. Other than that things are going great for the Princess Tag Team Champions. The big kaiju Shoko Nakajima was let loose in MLW and she quickly acquired the MLW Women’s Title. Meanwhile Hyper Misao lived through the stress of putting together the third annual “HYPE!” show and came out of it in one piece. They were looking forward to their next crazy adventure with the Princess Tag Titles but weren’t ready for how it would be set up.

One year ago the headline match of “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’24” was the battle of Daydream between Rika Tatsumi and Miu Watanabe. In the aftermath the two appeared to have gone their separate ways and they went almost a year without teaming up again. That was until a month ago when Daydream reunited and ambushed Kyoraku Kyomei with sasumata poles, demanding a title shot. The champions agreed to the match because Daydream are the kind of strong team they’re looking to beat. Ever since then Tatsumi & Watanabe have been attacking Nakajima & Misao with sasumata poles in their preview matches. Kyoraku Kyomei reached their breaking point over it and stole the sasumatas away from their challengers. They then tried to properly recycle them under the watchful eye of GM Koda until Daydream appeared to try and take their weapons back by force. That led to Nakajima & Misao taping the poles to Koda like a crucifix but Daydream were able to take him back too. Now that the weapons are back in the challengers’ hands they have the advantage going into the title match. Will the champs decided to fight fire with fire or will they have something else under their sleeves to foil Daydream’s plan?

9. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Yuki Arai

This is going one of two ways. Either we are firmly in Mizuki’s era as the dominant Princess Of Princess Champion where she will headline all of the Ota Ward shows or TJPW decides now is the time to crown Yuki Arai as their new top draw. Mizuki has already toppled Watanabe (to win the belt), Tatsumi and Yamashita (the two defences) in this title reign. If she beats Arai here I see her holding onto the belt for a long time to come so she can have her definitive main event run in the promotion. Arai meanwhile made the choice to go all in on having pro wrestling be her career so while she has all the time in the world to achieve the final piece of the TJPW Grand Slam, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the company strike now while the iron is hot.

History doesn’t paint a clear picture for how this is going to go. Arai won the Princess Tag Titles on her first try and Mizuki was one of the champions back then. Arai was involved with the finish but it was Saki Akai who pinned Mizuki for the victory. When it comes to the International Princess Title however Arai failed to win it twice before becoming champion on her third attempt (hey, that’s a good sign for Miyamoto). This main event is her first time fighting for the Princess Of Princess Title. Only a select few have held the title and none were ever able to beat the champion on their first try. But that’s just the kind of record a wrestler booked like Arai would go on to break, right? After all, this is the idol who only needed one Finally Axe Kick to beat the unstoppable Max The Impaler and earned an endorsement from Meiko Satomura. She’s been groomed since day one to become the promotion’s next ace and her quick success is evidence of it.

Arai is not taking this moment for granted. It’s her first big match since graduating from SKE48. When she juggled her idol career with her wrestling career she felt like she wasn’t as good as everyone else in TJPW. But now that she’s fully focused on just wrestling she is eager to go challenge all of her seniors and eventually take the lead of the promotion. Mizuki has a goal in mind to win the Princess Cup while she holds the Princess Title. She has already proved that princesses are stronger than monsters. But are they stronger than successful pop singers?

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Tokyo Princess Cup 2025 Brackets

July 17, 2025

Earlier today Tokyo Joshi Pro invited the 16 participants for this year’s Tokyo Princess Cup to take part in the random draw for the brackets. It was one of the rare times when every single wrestler showed up and was able to get their bracket spot in person. They got to pick in order of their birthdays. That means it started with Hyper Misao because her birthday is 3rd January and went on all the way to the end with HIMAWARI because her birthday is on 18th December. The bracket is split into four blocks with the Round 1 matches split across the first two shows.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 27/07/2025
Shinjuku FACE

1. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1A: Raku Vs Miu Watanabe
2. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1C: Moka Miyamoto Vs Miyu Yamashita
3. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1E: Mizuki Vs Yuki Aino
4. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1G: Suzume Vs Wakana Uehara

It has been over five years since Raku and Miu Watanabe last had a singles match against each other. Raku is excited because the most fun she had from wrestling against Watanabe was the 3 Way Match they had with Haruna Neko this past January. It was the most fun because Raku won the match! She tried to intimidate Watanabe at the press conference by forming a triangle over her head with her arms. Watanabe thought she was trying to be a traffic cone.

Moka Miyamoto has a very big wall facing her in Round 1 against the returning Miyu Yamashita. She is feeling good after winning her two preliminary matches to qualify for the main tournament and will do her best to make this summer a long one. Yamashita has seen how much stronger Miyamoto has gotten but hasn’t felt that power yet. So she encourages her opponent to hit her harder otherwise she won’t be able to beat her. There is also someone in particular that Yamashita wants to beat in this tournament and that’s Rika Tatsumi! Their last singles match was in May 2021 at an empty Korakuen Hall because of the covid lockdown. She thinks Tatsumi’s matches have become special occassions and she’s noticed how crazier she has become since that last singles match. So Yamashita wants to decide which of them is crazier!

The reigning Princess Of Princess Champion has a big title match coming up in Ota Ward Gymnasium next week but Mizuki sees a vision beyond that. She thinks it would be amazing if the Princess Champion goes and wins the Princess Cup! It’s going to be hard but there are a lot of people in the tournament that Mizuki wants to fight. Yuki Aino wants to focus all of her energy to face the champion in Round 1. That’s if Mizuki is still the champion coming out of Ota Ward. Aino sees a lot of Princess champions in this tournament and she doesn’t want to be left out because she is the princess of the summer!

Funnily enough, during the Texas tour Suzume and Wakana Uehara wrestled each other in a tag match then afterwards talked about how long its been since their last singles match together. Suzume is not going to underestimate Uehara after seeing her advance through the preliminary league. She couldn’t make it to the final four last year so that is her goal this time around. Uehara was pinned by Suzume in Texas but is using this experience to help her win the Princess Cup. If she gets past Suzume then she has some familiar opponents waiting for her in Round 2. It’s either the woman who eliminated her last year or her Ober Eats tag team partner.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 02/08/2025
Shizuoka Act City Hamamatsu

1. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1B: HIMAWARI Vs Haru Kazashiro
2. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1D: Arisu Endo Vs Hyper Misao
3. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1F: Shoko Nakajima Vs Rika Tatsumi
4. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1H: Yuki Kamifuku Vs Yuki Arai

Shades of last year’s Next Gen Tournament still follow around some of the wrestlers. HIMAWARI expects Haru Kazashiro to be a tough opponent because she won last year’s Next Gen Tournament while HIMAWARI was knocked out in Round 1. But HIMAWARI has been working hard and wants to keep her momentum going into the Princess Cup. Kazashiro remembers losing to HIMAWARI in the 2023 Next Gen Tournament and she is an opponent Kazashiro hasn’t been able to beat yet. So the timing of this match is a big deal for her. She will aim to seize the last summer of her high school years!

There was a time when Arisu Endo disliked having to wrestle Hyper Misao because Misao would always cheat. Her opinion slowly changed over time and now Endo sees Misao as a really cool hero! She hopes Misao will fight fair and square this time, just like how Endo always does. Misao said she can’t lost here in Round 1 because the Texas tour reaffirmed what she wants to do in TJPW. She needs a lot of power to protect love and peace in TJPW so she figures the quickest way to get it is to win this tournament.

Shoko Nakajima believes she is the only one who can climb this mountain and win. She is currently a Princess Tag Team Champion and also the MLW Women’s Featherweight Champion. She also wants to face Mizuki in Round 2 for a champion versus champion match. But first she needs to become a kaiju that can step over a dragon. Normally Rika Tatsumi loves the summer but all of a sudden this steep mountain has appeared in front of her. She just heard about Yamashita targeting her and she has a score to settle with Nakajima after they fought each other to a time limit draw last December. And of course there is the chance she could face her beloved Mizuki in Round 2. However she wants to fight Mizuki in a rematch for the Princess Title after she wins the tournament so she is actually rooting for Yuki Aino to win and meet her in Round 2 instead!

While Yuki Arai has been skyrocketing up the company to main event Ota Ward next week, Yuki Kamifuku has been wrestling around Southeast Asia and having fun doing it. She now feels like if TJPW fired her today or tomorrow she would have no trouble surviving it. She wants to show the others that invincible people are the scariest. Suzume, Arai and Uehara all have matches they want to get in Round 2 but Kamifuku is going to be mean and not let them happen. Arai has been taking part in the Princess Cup every year since her debut. It helped her make progress one step at a time but this will be her first since graduating as an idol to focus solely on wrestling. She’s thankful to hear so many wrestlers want to fight her so she hopes to be at her strongest to surpass all of those opponents.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 09/08/2025
Tokyo Shinagawa The Grand Hall

1. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Winner Of Match 1A Vs Winner Of Match 1B
2. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Winner Of Match 1C Vs Winner Of Match 1D
3. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Winner Of Match 1E Vs Winner Of Match 1F
4. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Winner Of Match 1G Vs Winner Of Match 1H

The four blocks all close up here in the Quarter Finals.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 17/08/2025
Osaka Edion Arena #2

1. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Semi Final: X Vs X
2. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Semi Final: X Vs X

Last year Osaka got the Quarter Finals. This time they’re getting the Semi Finals! The bracket will be reset and with the final four being paired together by another lottery held after the Quarter Final stage.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 23/08/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Final: X Vs X

The winner of the 12th Princess Cup tournament will be crowned here.

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Posted by JamieOD

Guide To DDT In Las Vegas

April 16, 2025

DDT “DDT GOES LAS VEGAS!”, 18/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Yuni Vs Starboy Charlie
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Ilusion Vs Mizuki Watase & Shota Vs Dan The Dad & Kody Lane
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Nick Wayne, Shunma Katsumata & Kazuma Sumi Vs Gringo Loco, Marcus Mathers & Tyler Bateman
4. Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Santana Jackson
5. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Timothy Thatcher
6. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs MAO
7. wXw Unified World Wrestling Title: 1 Called Manders (c) Vs Yukio Naya
8. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs Yoshihiko

Bright lights, the sound of money being lost everywhere and of course there’s an impersonator nearby. DDT has come to Las Vegas for WrestleMania Week! Things really feel different with the show this year as many of DDT’s main roster are not making the trip out of Japan. Instead they are going to run more shows side by side with the group going to America. It means a lot of big names you come to expect from DDT are missing and the people brought in to fill those gaps seem a bit random at first. Some start to make sense the more you think about it but if you look at the card above it kind of looks like bits and pieces from other shows all being grouped together into something else. I still bet it will be a good time and if you want to know what’s going on with everything, you’ve come to the right place. You won’t get any gambling tips from me though. I’m already gambling my Switch 2 money to the Fortune Cup machines as you read this.

When and where is the show taking place?

The two shows will be held at the Pearl Theater found inside Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. “DDT GOES LAS VEGAS!” is taking place on Friday, 18th April at 3pm local time. “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW” is taking place on Saturday, 19th April at 2pm local time.

Where can I watch it online?

Both “DDT GOES LAS VEGAS!” and “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW” will air live on Triller TV with English commentary through the TrillerTV+ subscription service. The on-demand versions of both shows will be available to watch on Wrestle Universe a few weeks after the live broadcast.

Is this a proper DDT show?

Ehhhhhhh…… There’s a lot missing. When it comes to expanding into the USA, CyberFight thinks Tokyo Joshi Pro has become the better bet. I don’t think you will get the full DDT experience compared to their shows in Japan or even their recent previous American shows. It will be entertaining and mostly looks unique compared to anything else happening this week but I can’t say this looks like a complete DDT experience. Maybe treat it as a sampler if this is your first time watching the product.

Look at it this way. I’m playing Promoter Mode on Fire Pro Wrestling and I’m trying to remake DDT. A lot of the roster I want too book isn’t unlocked yet and I spent so much money on the couple of star wrestlers I love that I have to make do with who’s available in the Freelance section to fill out the rest of the card. I might end up discovering some new wrestlers I like in the process but the whole package just never seems right. This show kind of feels like that. DDT is always open to becoming a mish-mash of different styles and philosophies which is probably why some of the matches here look like they could have been booked on some of the other prominent shows happening in Vegas.

Got any non-wrestling tips for visiting Las Vegas?

Every casino looks closer to each other than they appear so be prepared to walk a lot. Even in real life The Sphere looks like it is CGI’d into the background when you see it from a distance. I like Secret Pizza in The Cosmopolitan but would not rely on it at all for a full meal. Pin-Up Pizza on the strip is the same quality as Sbarro so only go near it if you really want the novelty of eating a gigantic slice. If you’re going to see Penn & Teller at the Rio Casino, get there early to get a close up look at an old timey magician’s stage while Penn plays jazz music with his band. You might also get to be part of an inside joke that happens during the show. Tape Face is a really fun show to loosen up at. BattleBots Destruct-A-Thon is enjoyable but a little too Medieval Times for my tastes. It is also closer to pro wrestling than some of the actual pro wrestling shows happening this week.

Will The Steiner Brothers be at the show?

No.

———————————————————————–


1. Yuni Vs Starboy Charlie

We open up with two heartthrobs in the making being pitted against each other. Yuni is part of NωA Jr. (New Wrestling Idol Jr.), a pop idol unit that’s been given the task by DDT to go and win a Best Newcomer category at a famous music awards ceremony by the end of the year. All three members of the group will be at this show so you may get a singing performance from them. Starboy Charlie isn’t singing yet but it might be in his future if The Crush Boys project he is involved in with Chigusa Nagayo ever decides to take the musical route. These two boys might just end up being two peas in a pod.

Yuni – See this 17 year old? Yuni made his pro wrestling debut at 8 years old when he and his mom convinced Sanshiro Takagi to let him try out for DDT. How did DDT get away with this at the time? Well it turns out the mom is a retired dancer from a popular idol group in the 90’s so the family is already in show business. Yay nepotism! Now fully ingrained in the business and at an age where DDT won’t get into trouble when he takes a bump, Yuni wants to live his dream of becoming a cool wrestler with loads of high flying moves in his arsenal.
Moves To Watch Out For: Phoenix Splash, Sky Twister Press, Moonault, Spinning Headscissors

Starboy Charlie – Currently making waves on the indies as one half of The Crush Boys with Titus Alexander. Charlie is more familiar with the other side of CyberFight where he has wrestled several tours in NOAH and once challenged for the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title. Yes, he still wrestles in the denim dungarees. I still remember Jim Ross joking that the kid thinks he’s like Jerry Lawler in Memphis when he pulls the straps down.
Moves To Watch Out For: Shooting Star Press, Standing Corkscrew Moonsault, Kip Up into an Overhead Kick


2. 3 Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Ilusion Vs Mizuki Watase & Shota Vs Dan The Dad & Kody Lane

A 3 Way Tag Match like this always looks like it’s thrown together but it makes a little bit of sense here. Two of the three teams are more likely to appear in Ganbare☆Pro rather than DDT. DAMNATION T.A is the odd one out although a previous version of the group did get into a feud with GanPro in 2017 that nearly put the promotion’s entire existence in jeopardy. Mizuki Watase has travelled to Las Vegas before and has gone through the problems such a trip would give anyone. Hopefully he’s better prepared this time. Dan The Dad & Kody Lane have toured in GanPro before so this isn’t unusual territory for them. They are also already an accomplished tag team called Home Cookin’.

Daisuke Sasaki – Here is the grimiest heel you’re ever going to find in DDT. Dirty, drunk and depressed, Daisuke Sasaki is the leader of DAMNATION T.A because this way of life is a “Total Addiction”. He has the talent to reach bigger heights and has achieved success in DDT but every time there is a setback it sends him tumbling back down into despair. Despite putting himself in a self-fulfilled cycle of destruction you can never really count him out of the running.
Moves To Watch Out For: Crossface Lock (sometimes set up with La Mistica), Crossover Face Lock (Gargano Escape), Sasaki-Style Hurricanrana, Diving Elbow Drop

Ilusion – This young masked wrestler started off his career leaning as a heel but showed traces of babyface behaviour when he wanted to join SCHADENFREUDE International. It all turned out to be a ruse he planned with DAMNATION T.A to betray his new friends and leave them with broken hearts. Now Ilusion is just a prick to everyone outside of DAMNATION T.A, flipping off his opponents and cheating like hell.
Moves To Watch Out For: Swanton Bomb, RE:VISION1 (Modified Angels Wings), Missile Dropkick, Giving everyone middle fingers

Mizuki Watase – A former comedian turned pro wrestler and he is freshly back from a ruptured Achilles tendon. He speedran his rehabilitation and made it back to the ring in only 4 months which sounds absolutely crazy when you think about it. He wants to make up for lost time which is why he is putting in four times the amount of effort needed.
Moves To Watch Out For: Venetian (Wrist-Clutch Michinoku Driver), Running Elbow Butt, Back Drop, Hanori Tiger Suplex

Shota – A reliable handyman both inside and out of the ring. Shota has spent the last few years working as a freelancer to do what’s best for himself after spending so many years putting other people in the business first. He still helps out from time to time and likes to wrestling across the indies scenes in both Japan and America. I’m under suspicion that he still helps out CyberFight as a talent scout of some sort from time to time.
Moves To Watch Out For: Gannosuke Clutch, Frog Splash, Sharpshooter

Dan The Dad – Your father’s favorite wrestler. He sometimes has to wrestle the match while drinking his morning cup of joe from his World’s No. 1 Dad mug. He also isn’t afraid to dish out punishment the old fashioned way by whipping the opponent’s behind with his belt. He got involved at last year’s DDT show in Philadelphia where his open challenge was answered by the psycho mascot Chiitan.
Moves To Watch Out For: Baby On Board (Backpack Stunner), You’re Grounded (rope draping Flatliner)

Kody Lane – Wherever Dan The Dad goes, “The Southern Flamingo” is never that far behind him. Although usually they just see each other all the time in Glory Pro anyway. The two travelled together to Japan for a GanPro tour two years ago and they are familar with each other either as partners or opponents. In the ring though Lane loves nothing more than to springboard or slingshot himself off of the ropes.
Moves To Watch Out For: Diving Senton to a bent over opponent, Jay Driller, Top Rope Springboard Moonsault, Waffle Stomp (Elevated Double Stomp to a bent over opponent in the corner)


3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Nick Wayne, Shunma Katsumata & Kazuma Sumi Vs Gringo Loco, Marcus Mathers & Tyler Bateman

Not much to say here other than throw a few high flyers into the ring with a couple of bases and let them all do their thing. Nick Wayne is calling over from AEW to get some ring time before he heads over to New Japan for the summer. Shunma Katsumata & Kazuma Sumi are the other two members of NωA Jr. Maybe they can convince Wayne to be their fourth man. Gringo Loco, Marcus Mathers & Tyler Bateman are all going to try and ruin the other team’s day.

Nick Wayne – It’s been said before that Nick Wayne is a young wrestler who has the world at his feet. That’s all well and good but he really needs to get moving because maybe his father figure in AEW doesn’t have what’s best in mind for him. The son of the late Buddy Wayne toured with DDT in the past to get himself ready for his move to the big leagues. Now the next time he returns to Japan it will be for the Best Of The Super Jr tournament. There will come a day when Wayne is watching over the wrestling scene as a grizzled veteran with hundreds of matches under his belt while still only being in his mid twenties. But he needs to start making his moves sooner rather than later.
Moves To Watch Out For: Wayne’s World (Sprinboard Flying Cutter), Inverted Hurricanrana, Snap Dragon Suplex, Fisherman Suplex

Shunma Katsumata – Nobody in DDT loves saunas as much as this guy. Don’t let his hobby or his eternally youthful looks fool you though. Katsumata can get crazy violent whenever he wants even when his weapons of choice turn out to be Lego and party poppers. That kind of behaviour took its toll and put him on the shelf for a year. So when he came back he traded in the Lego for a microphone to become part of NωA Jr.
Moves To Watch Out For: ¡Hasta la vista! (Lightning Spiral), Totonou Splash (straight Diving Body Press), Aufguss (Diving Foot Stomp to a standing opponent)

Kazuma Sumi – Where does DDT find so many young wrestlers to train and debut quickly? Well the quiet part is they usually attract trainees who dropped out of other company dojos. Kazuma Sumi is one such example because he originally trained with Dragongate before bouncing over to DDT. One year after his debut he was taken under the wing of former DDT mainstay MIKAMI and adopted one of his most successful moves… the School Boy! There’s an alternate reality where he should be doing Swanton Bombs off of ladders instead but we don’t live in it.
Moves To Watch Out For: Lionsault, Standing Moonsault, School Boy

Gringo Loco – Do you need an opponent to be the yin to your high flyer’s yang? Then go get “The Base God”. Gringo Loco left his mark in DDT last November when he unexpectedly won the DDT Universal Title during a series of shows in Seattle. He defended the belt around North America a little bit before losing it once he actually had a title match in Japan. This match will be Loco’s return to DDT, doing what he does best.
Moves To Watch Out For: Base Bomb (Spinning Sit Down Power Bomb), Olympico Slam (Inverted Angle Slam), Gorilla Press Driver, Gringo Cutter

Marcus Mathers – It’s looking like Marcus Mathers is one of the early standouts among the WWE ID class. IWTV is also currently counting on him as their Independent World Wrestling Title. He made one previous appearance in DDT as part of GCW’s Japan tour last August. His big viral spot was crying crocodile tears with Maki Itoh during their match. That might not work here. The guy’s a pretty good spot monkey but that stuff doesn’t get over with WWE’s online fanbase unless it happens inside a WWE ring.
Moves To Watch Out For: 450 Splash, Cutter, Blue Thunder Bomb, 999 (Diamond Dust)

Tyler Bateman – Vegas is a familiar haunt for Tyler Bateman so you may see him a couple of times throughout the week, particularly in the Shooting Star Fest series of shows. He thinks pretty highly of himself and is often introduced as “The God Damn Man”. He finds his moments to strike when the opponent’s guard is down. The big move to watch out for is when he goes for Death From Above, a falling Forearm Smash he usually hits immediately after his opponent kicks out of a pin.
Moves To Watch Out For: Death From Above (Falling Forearm Smash to a grounded opponent), This Is A Kill (Tombstone Piledriver), Love Kill (Northern Lights Bomb)


4. Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Santana Jackson

This is it! Antonio Honda’s love of classic American pop culture has brought forward the perfect opponent for him. Why is he Wanna Be Startin’ Something’ to get into a fight with a living, breathing Michael Jackson impersonator? It will be kind of like fighting The Man In The Mirror. If you think a match like this is going to be Bad then I advise you can go Beat It over to the concession stand…… Thriller.

Antonio Honda – He has almost two decades of experience under his belt while his knees behave like he’s gone through four. Antonio Honda went through several phases of an unlikely pro wrestling career, settling into this weird mix of tranquil slapstick with hints of Memphis wrestling hidden beneath. Honda is the poster child of high risk equals high failure because he injures his knee in a clumsy way in almost every match he’s in. The pain is so bad he threatens to retire every time unless he gets to tell the story of Gon The Little Fox, a child’s tale that he then turns into a filthy joke. But it’s all a ruse so he can poke people in the eyes while his hand is in the shape of Gon. Honda loves classic American pop culture too so DDT went and found him the perfect opponent for his visit to Vegas.
Moves To Watch Out For: Octopus Hold, Diving Fist Drop, Bionic Elbow, Gongitsune/Gon The Fox (makes a fox out of his hand, says a lewd joke and pokes people in either the eyes or the nipples).

Santana Jackson – How’s this for a double life? A Michael Jackson tribute act in Vegas who moonwalks moonlights as a pro wrestler with the same gimmick. Genius! Santana Jackson usually goes viral for doing Moonwalk DDTs or replicating the baby balcony spot in Hardcore Matches. Think of an MJ cliche and he’s probably done it in the ring. Honda is going to have the time of his life against this guy. Although believe it or not, Santana is not the first Michael Jackson impersonator to wrestle in DDT. Someone by the name of Michael Okamoto beat him to the punch around 17 years ago.
Moves To Watch Out For: Sleepwalk DDT, King Of Pop Elbow Drop, Rope Walk Arm Drag, Dancing like Michael Jackson


5. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Timothy Thatcher

Are we sure this wasn’t meant to be booked for Bloodsport? I mean are we really, really sure? Okay then. DDT has somehow become the pro wrestling home for MMA fighter Shinya Aoki. He certainly made the most of it so far. His opponent is someone you couldn’t find in DDT at all yet is still a fitting match for him. If Timothy Thatcher is going to feel a thrill from going hold to hold against Aoki, we’re not going to see it on his face. He’s there to win or accept total defeat from trying.

Shinya Aoki – If you were never around for even the immediate post-glory years of Japanese MMA then you missed a magical time. Shinya Aoki played a role in it as this little asshole who would come out to the Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo theme song and then rip his opponents apart with submission holds. It was wonderful. He unexpectedly turned to DDT in 2018 and gradually made himself at home by winning several championships including DDT’s main belt, the KO-D Openweight Title. Thankfully for everybody and their arms his personality had mellowed out by then and he has found wrestlers to get along with. His skills on the mat are still unmatched to this day and his mind for fighting is his most valuable weapon. Even his biggest doubters in wrestling couldn’t help but be impressed to see him develop the humble little Full Nelson Hold into a nigh-on unbreakable pinning manoeuvre.
Moves To Watch Out For: Sleeper Hold, Full Nelson Hold, European Clutch, Topé Suicida

Timothy Thatcher – In Europe he was once the housewive’s favourite but nowadays you can find him tangling with WWE ID recruits. No nonsense to a fault, Timothy Thatcher takes to the mat like no one else and braces for his opponent’s strikes the same way a brick wall would. You may think DDT would be the most uncharacteristic place for a guy like Thatcher to wrestle in but the company has always embraced wrestlers with catch style or MMA related backgrounds. It goes all the way back to their very beginning with the late Koichiro Kimura. So there’s sort of a legacy he can fit into.
Moves To Watch Out For: Fujiwara Armbar, Butterfly Suplex, Enzuigiri, European Uppercut


6. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs MAO

Nothing is stopping the Konosuke Takeshita hype train! The man has been on a roll lately and he may not be done just yet. He has some old business to deal with back in DDT where he tests how much his former allies in The 37KAMIINA have grown without him. MAO has certainly found ways to progress up the card and make himself feel a level above what he was before. But he might be in for a rude awakening if Takeshita doesn’t budge to his antics anymore.

Konosuke Takeshita – No matter where his career in AEW and now New Japan will take him, Takeshita will always have a home in DDT. He is gradually taking over the wrestling world while holding contracts with those three companies. Once he was part of a unit of sauna loving wrestlers called The 37KAMIINA until he left to chase his biggest dreams. That journey so far has evolved him into “The Alpha” you see today. He has done everything there is to do in DDT and only comes back to fight opponents he wants to fight. So you know this match matters to him when you see who his opponent is.
Moves To Watch Out For: Raging Fire (Spinning Falcon Arrow), Powerdrive Knee/Wagamama (V-Trigger style Knee Strike), German Suplex, Blue Thunder Bomb, Takeshita Line (Leaping Clothesline from the ropes)

MAO – Lives by the motto “Fucked up wrestling for a fucked up world!” so you can’t say he’s out of place in 2025. He was scouted by DDT as a teenager when they found his Youtube videos of him doing wrestling moves at home and outdoors. Just like Takeshita, MAO was part of The 37KAMIINA but very recently decided to leave the unit to move in a fresh direction. He has been immature for his entire career but in recent times developed an unshakeable confidence in his abilities and wrestling philosophy. MAO feels at his most alive during Falls Count Anywhere style situations. Putting him in an environment like Las Vegas is just asking for trouble.
Moves To Watch Out For: Iai Kick (Powerful Thrust Kick), Cannonball 450 (450 Splash), Michinoku Driver, Whirlwind Kick


7. wXw Unified World Wrestling Title: 1 Called Manders (c) Vs Yukio Naya

All of a sudden we’ve got an extra title match on our hands! Straight from Germany the wXW Unified World Wrestling Title will be defended in Las Vegas a few times this week. If all goes to plan, 1 Called Manders will put the belt on the line against his scheduled DDT opponent Yukio Naya. Manders is having a breakthrough year, one that I can’t help but wonder if Naya could have gotten in the past if things had turned out differently for him.

1 Called Manders – Previously known for being part of The Second Gear Crew in GCW and the surrounding indies, Manders went his own way and his hard work over the last few years is now paying off. His feud on the indies with Mad Dog Connelly consisting of Dog Collar and Texas Bull Ropes matches found its audience and received great acclaim online. Then a lengthy trek to Europe this year rewarded him with more success, particularly in Germany where he won the fabled 16 Carat Gold tournament and soon after that took the vacant wXw Title. He’s your man if you like your wrestling to be hard hitting with a bit of grit.
Moves To Watch Out For: Lariat, Stampede Slam, Chops

Yukio Naya – The Heavyweight division is something DDT has been trying to boost up for the last few years. Yukio Naya is someone they’ve had high hopes for in the past due to his lineage coming from a famous family of sumo wrestlers. His grandfather was the 48th yokozuna, his father was kicked out of the sport in disgrace and his three younger brothers are all currently active up and down the divisions. Sumo was never the road that Naya wanted to take though and instead he was directed towards pro wrestling by Satoru Sayama. Development was slow but when DDT became his home he eventually started to piece things together. He is in no way a finished product but through sheer determination it may someday finally all click into place for him. Watch out if he does because he can run you over easy.
Moves To Watch Out For: The World’s Best Back Drop, Choke Slam, Knee Lift


8. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs Yoshihiko

There’s going to be a few bruised egos in Vegas this week over a sex doll getting more bookings than some of the wrestlers coming to town. I’m not even making a crass joke at someone’s expense, Yoshihiko really has a couple of non-DDT matches going on as well as possibly getting the main event of this show! It is facing the one man who isn’t playing along with the joke though. Minoru Suzuki currently holds the DDT Universal Title and wants to travel the world defending it against all comers. So a sex doll suddenly appearing nearby wherever he goes is just an unfunny prank to him that is better off ignoring. With that being said have you seen what Suzuki’s schedule for this week looks like? This genuinely will end up being one of the more entertaining matches. Yoshihiko just needs to figure out how to make its dark power have an effect on Suzuki even a little bit. It’s almost as if it’s just an inanimate object…

Minoru Suzuki – The “Pirate King” of pro wrestling recently returned to DDT when Yuki Ueno used the Universal Title as a piece of treasure to lure him into a match. Ueno’s plan backfired spectacularly and now Suzuki holds DDT’s second most important championship. Since it is an international title, Suzuki now comes to America looking for anyone brave enough to challenge him. He has seen it all in his travels across the wrestling world but even he cannot believe who was first to answer his call. He’s going to show up to the event expecting to fight somebody because he isn’t buying that he’ll be headlining a wrestling show against a Dutch Wife.
Moves To Watch Out For: Gotch-Style Piledriver, Rear Naked Choke, Heel Hook, Slaps

Yoshihiko – The Grave Digger Doll From Hell has been a mysterious force in DDT for almost two decades now. It first showed up as the brother of Muscle Sakai, constantly replacing him in matches whenever Sakai suffered gun-related injuries backstage (it’s a long story). Yoshihiko vanished after that only to reappear years later as Danshoku Dieno’s surprise tag team partner. Over time the doll’s powers have only gotten stronger. It gained the ability to transform into powerful wrestlers such as The Great Muta, The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan. You can rip it limb from limb and it will survive. You can drive over it with a car and it will survive. You can throw it off a building and it will survive. To fight Yoshihiko is almost like fighting yourself. Only then can you discover your true talent as a pro wrestler.
Moves To Watch Out For: Reincarnation (multiple rotations into a Hurricanrana), Canadian Destroyer, Yoshihiko Destroyer (multiple Canadian Destroyers in a row)

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DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GCW “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Mizuki, Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Miu Watanabe, Suzume, Arisu Endo, Yuki Arai & Shino Suzuki
2. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Brooke Havok & Sandra Moone
3. Rika Tatsumi & Antonio Honda Vs Kidd Bandit & Shota
4. 3 Way Match: MAO & Yoshihiko Vs Jimmy Lloyd & Alec Price Vs Jack Cartwheel & Kazuma Sumi
5. Special Tag Match: 1 Called Manders & Maki Itoh Vs Yukio Naya & Microman
6. Special Tag Match: Mance Warner & Shunma Katsumata Vs John Wayne Murdoch & Matt Tremont
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Ilusion & Dark Sheik Vs Super Crazy, Marcus Mathers & Shoko Nakajima
8. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Masha Slamovich Vs Shinya Aoki & Miyu Yamashita

I made the Fire Pro comparison earlier but holy hell does this card look like I random selected everything on my save. Now don’t get me wrong, the lineup we have so far is so nutty looking that I’m looking forward to it. This isn’t even the full line up yet. Out of all the shows happening this week this may end up being the one with the most amount of never seen before and never seen again matches ever. I can’t do a proper preview of this justice so just join me in confusion at the sight of Super Crazy and Shoko Nakajima are doing double team moves together, Manders punting Microman into the third row and Yoshihiko taking Jack Cartwheel’s WWE ID deal away from him.

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There will be other chances to see a few DDT wrestlers in action across Philadelphia that week. Mainly MAO. You are going to get a lot of MAO. Yoshihiko is in demand quite a bit too.


PANDEMONIUM PRO “THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS”, 17/04/2025
Fremont Country Club, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Masha Slamovich Vs MAO

MAO is taking on the crazy schedule of wrestling 8 matches in just over 48 hours. He first match of the trip at Pandemonium Pro is already putting the pedal to the metal because his opponent is Masha Slamovich! The woman is one of the toughest people you will find in either TNA or GCW and just the kind of person who likes to match crazy with crazy.


CIRCLE 6 “MAYHEM AT THE MUSEUM”, 17/04/2025
The Punk Rock Museum, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Bestia 666 Vs MAO

Around the same time MAO is fighting Slamovich he also has a match with Bestia 666 at a Circle 6 show. They’re only like a 10 minute drive away from each other so which will happen first?


WEST COAST PRO “VEGAS VACATION”, 17/04/2025
Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. MAO Vs Jiah Jewell

Forget about LSU Vs Ole Miss. Louisiana Vs Osaka? Now there’s a real sports rivalry! Although I can’t find Modesto on the map of Louisiana and any cajun I ask tells me the only place I’ll find a Modesto over there would be in the craft beer aisle. Jiah Jewell is another crazy opponent for MAO to fight.


GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XIII”, 17/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Charlie Dempsey Vs Shinya Aoki

Look, I’m not saying I want to see Aoki break Charlie Dempsey’s arm and flip him off afterwards. It’s just that if you’re going to call this Bloodsport then give us a bloodsport. Dempsey’s dad would understand that.


BZW “VIVA LAS VEGAS”, 17/04/2025
Swan Dive, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Marcus Mathers & Alec Price

If you haven’t heard, MAO & Yoshihiko have a side story going on where they are the tag team champions of Banger Zone Wrestling in France and Belgium. BZW are among the more obscure wrestling companies that decided to run a show in Vegas this year but at least they’re taking a good swing at it. The champs were originally meant to face The Gahbage Daddies for the belts but Cole Radrick is unfortunately out of action. Alec Price was able to get Marcus Mathers in as a substitute so wacky times are still a go-go.


PRIDESTYLE “OUT OF THIS WORLD”, 18/04/2025
Swan Dive, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

0. Yoshihiko’s Super Special Open Challenge: Yoshihiko Vs X
1. G-Sharpe Vs MAO

MAO is also taking in favours from the Nevada based promotions during the week. There is a heel unit in PrideStyle named The Cartel de Los Villanos who have called MAO in to deal with one of their enemies G-Sharpe. While that is going on, Yoshihiko will also be there on the pre-show looking to put out an open challenge.


GRAPHOUSE “FOR VEGAS, BY VEGAS”, 18/04/2025
Fergusons Downtown, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Lazarus Vs MAO

By the looks of things MAO ends his run of Vegas shows with one of the local promotions called GrapHouse. His opponent Lazarus is being advertised as the W4TN Champion but I’m not sure if the title will be on the line. Lazarus is also nicknamed “The Cannibal Cryptid”. Sounds about right. Also I think the venue is near Fremont Street so MAO should find a way to do a Moonsault off of Vegas Vic.


GCW “CLUSTERF*CK FOREVER”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Clusterfuck Match: Yoshihiko Vs X

Almost anyone and anything could show up at GCW’s annual Clusterfuck match that usually draws the non-WWE side of the week to a close. Yoshihiko has been confirmed to take part in the match for a second year in a row. Last year it made it all the way to the final three. Former TJPW wrestler Sayaka Unagi is also being advertised to take part. Can you imagine the kind of eye opening things Unagi would do in Vegas?

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Posted by JamieOD

Guide To TJPW In Las Vegas

April 16, 2025

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “QUERI PRESENTS TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Rika Tatsumi, Shino Suzuki & Vert Vixen Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Viva Van
2. Yuki Arai Vs Arisu Endo
3. Maki Itoh & Zara Zakher Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
4. TNA World Knockouts Title: Masha Slamovich (c) Vs Miu Watanabe
5. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Jada Stone
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
7. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

I never would have thought a company as innocent as Tokyo Joshi Pro would dive head first into Las Vegas but here we are. The busiest week of the wrestling calendar has arrived and TJPW has one of the bigger shows going on in regards to big stakes for the important matches. All three championships belonging to the promotion will be on the line as the show is pretty much replacing the annual Golden Week event for this year. So if you’re new to the world of TJPW, an existing fan wanting to read up on everything or even a commentator looking for context beyond a Wikipedia page, this guide is intended for you!

Where and when are the shows taking place?

The two shows will be held at the Pearl Theater found inside Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. “TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS” is taking place on Friday, 18th April at 11am local time. “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW” is taking place on Saturday, 19th April at 2pm local time.

Where can I watch it online?

Both “TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS” and “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW” will air live on Triller TV with English commentary through the TrillerTV+ subscription service. The on-demand versions of both shows will be available to watch on Wrestle Universe a few weeks after the live broadcast.

Is this a proper TJPW show?

Yes and it’s being lined up to be one of their most important shows of the year. For many years TJPW would run a show at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo during Golden Week in May. However they have changed their schedule for this year and are instead doing two smaller scale shows outside of Tokyo during the week. The reason for that is because all of the important championships matches you would normally see at Korakuen are happening at this Las Vegas show instead.  The veteran side of the roster are all here and accounted for. The people missing are the low carders and young generation who only have one or two years of experience under their belts. They will staying behind in Japan to run a separate TJPW show alongside this one. The guest wrestlers taking part here have all been regularly booked by TJPW in the past as well so nobody sticks out like a sore thumb.

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1. Rika Tatsumi, Shino Suzuki & Vert Vixen Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Viva Van

Don’t know what to expect from the start? How about a little bit of everything this promotion has to offer? Every corner of what TJPW can do can be found in this match from accomplished former champions and tough midcarders to comedy gimmicks and a few guests thrown in for good measure. Rika Tatsumi is one of the pillars of the company, what Shino Suzuki lacks in experience she makes up for with her peppiness and Vert Vixen gets to step into the TJPW ring again. On the other team we have two thirds of the Love Triangle teaming up with a familiar opponent. Yuki Aino is ready to go as always, Raku is already set to have this year be her best one yet after she recently won her first championship and Viva Van is being introduced back into the fold before she returns to TJPW for a tour in Japan next month.

Rika Tatsumi – “The White Dragon” Rika Tatsumi takes her name and some of her moveset from Tatsumi Fujinami. She has also developed hips as hard of diamonds thanks to some special training with Shiro Koshinaka. She is one of TJPW’s most decorated wrestlers, being one of only two grand slam champions in the promotion (and the first one at that). But turning into such a powerful creature eventually came at a cost. The weight of success and power she obtained gradually turned her a little bit psycho. When you step into the ring with Tatsumi whether as friend or foe, she will find a way to strangle you.
Moves To Watch Out For: White Dragon Sleeper, Twist Of Fate, Hip Attack, “Let’s Go!” Elbow Drop, Strangling Her Opponents

Shino Suzuki – Welcome the first of three Up Up Girls to appear on the show. The Up Up Girls are a pop idol group that collaborated with TJPW to create a pro wrestling spin-off stable. The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) always perform a song or two at the beginning of TJPW shows before wrestling matches later on the card. Shino Suzuki is one of the newer members of the groups. She is nicknamed “She Know” because she worked as a bus guide before becoming an idol and pro wrestler. While currently low on the totem pole in TJPW, she will display gutsy performances along with her wealth of tourism knowledge.
Moves To Watch Out For: Sleeper Hold, Backward Rolling Cradle, Swinging Neckbreaker

Vert Vixen – Going from what I see online you can spell the name as either VertVixen or Vert Vixen. Obsessed with video games, her ring gear is often inspired by something gaming related. She is nicknamed Player One because Player One always wins! In previous TJPW appearances she has been successful enough to get a few title shots but she has yet to win a championship in this company. She has a busy schedule coming up for the week that might mix her up with other corners of the joshi world.
Moves To Watch Out For: Game Over (Ki Crusher), Blue Thunder Bomb, Rolling Stunner, Sharpshooter

Yuki Aino – At one time Yuki Aino was simply a ring announcer for TJPW who turned into a pro wrestler in order to team up with her sister (the now retired Nodoka Tenma). For years tag team wrestling has been her forte and Aino usually finds her way back there whenever her attempts to go solo end in failure. However 2024 was her best period yet as a singles wrestler. She had a Cinderella run in the Tokyo Princess Cup that led her all the way to the final. Don’t take her lightly when you hear she is powered by love. She can be as stubborn as they come and on her best days will hit you like a firetruck fuelled by love.
Moves To Watch Out For: Venus DDT (Inverted DDT), UBV/Unlimited Burning Venus (Double Arm Side Buster), Full Nelson Of Love And Fire (Full Nelson Camel Clutch), Side Suplex

Raku – The second member of The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) to appear on the card, Raku’s entire personality can be summed down to naps and trains. She knows so much railway trivia that on every show she will have a Train Of The Day to tell the audience. Will the Las Vegas Monorail be up to her standards? Raku’s moveset is built around sending her opponents to sleep so she can run over them with the Oyasumi Express. She is also sometimes armed with a pillow. Somehow this entire package has made her absolutely adored by fans and the roster alike. She also inexplicably became a proper champion this year by winning the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title.
Moves To Watch Out For: Doctor Yellow (Jumping Neckbreaker), Hurricane Turn (Cross-Arm Backslide Pin), Oyasumi/Good Night Express (running on top of the opponent over and over), Good Night Sleeper, Poppo Chop! (Brain Chop)

Viva Van – “The Hellbent Vixen” is one of the most well travelled female wrestlers on the scene today and can currently be seen in ROH. Thanks to working relationships between the promotions she has also done tours of Mexico with CMLL in the past six months. So her appearances in TJPW have been few and far between. The last time she was here she was fighting against Aino & Raku. This time around she is giving Love Triangle a shot by joining forces with them.
Moves To Watch Out For: Hellevator (Electric Chair spun into a Power Bomb), Ocean Cyclone Suplex, Code Red, Meteora, Butterfly Suplex


2. Yuki Arai Vs Arisu Endo

A match that will present a bright future for TJPW. Yuki Arai has been the company’s biggest pet project for a few year’s now. The idol has become one of their draws for her “Two-Sword” careers in both music and wrestling. But the music career has now ended so she can become fully dedicated as a pro wrestler. If they hadn’t been pushing her hard before, the stage is set for it to happen now! Her opponent Arisu Endo is currently licking her wounds after losing a big match against her own tag team partner. There’s a strong bond connecting all TJPW wrestlers who were born in 1998, aka The 1998 Class, which these two are a part of. Endo will want to show that it’s not just Arai who TJPW can count on in the future.

Yuki Arai – Remember the name if you want to follow joshi because TJPW has grand plans in place for Yuki Arai. Up until recently she was a pop idol with the group SKE48 and was known for juggling her singing career with her wrestling career. But she recently graduated from SKE48 to fully dedicate herself to pro wrestling. Already a multiple time champion she is only missing the big one to reach the TJPW Grand Slam. And given how much TJPW is behind her it feels like it will only be a matter of time before she wins it.
Moves To Watch Out For: Finally (Heel Drop axe kick), Rookie Award (Pump Kick to a kneeling opponent), Sharpshooter, Full Nelson Buster

Arisu Endo – One of the big tag teams in TJPW is called Daisy Monkey. Arisu Endo makes up the Monkey part of the team. She is Aizuwakamatsu City’s most cheerful tourism ambassador, representing her hometown with a thumbs up and a smile. Endo also has a habit of constantly dying her hair in new ways, using every colour in the world you can think of. She has so much pride in where she comes from that she named many of her moves after local destinations and traditions. She has also become good friends with Arai away from wrestling so them getting a match like this on a big stage is going to mean a lot to them.
Moves To Watch Out For: Ju no Okite (Hercules Cutter), Camel Clutch, Mt. Bandai (2nd Rope Springboard Dropkick), Tsuruga Castle (Guillotine Knee Drop)


3. Maki Itoh & Zara Zakher Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku

Pairing Maki Itoh and Zara Zakher together might be the most attitude TJPW can get out of any tag team they can think of. Zakher’s wrestling career is still fairly new and she is busy earning her stripes on a WWE ID contract. Itoh made it no secret in the past she would take a big fat contract from an American company if she gets offered one. Maybe Zakher can put in a good word for her if they do well against their opponents. What happens when you put a wasteland warrior like Max The Impaler with the childlike innocence of Pom Harajuku? You get Pompaler, a buddy-buddy tag team that Pixar wished they came up with themselves. Want to see someone use their friend as a human missile? Then this is the match to watch.

Maki Itoh – A failed idol with an endless appetite for fame who won the hearts of pro wrestling fans around the world by transforming into a cute, foul mouthed psychopath. When she’s about to punch her opponent in the corner she always shouts “Who is the cutest in the world?” and the audience always yell “Itoh-chan!” back at her. She used to be self-conscious over being big-headed until she discovered that having an iron head is perfect for wrestling. After spending years trying to find acceptance and success in TJPW, she ended up finding it overseas in places like GCW. In fact nowadays you’re more likely to see Itoh carving up opponents with a pizza cutter in GCW than you will see her trying to be an idol in TJPW!
Moves To Watch Out For: Itoh Special/Deluxe/Punish (Variations of the Texas Cloverleaf), Flying Big Head (Diving Headbutt), Kokeshi Headbutt, I.S.D/Itoh Suicide DDT (Flying DDT from the top rope), The Cutest Knuckle Punch In The World

Zara Zakher – Many wrestling fans discovered Zara Zakher last November when she was one of the first wrestlers announced to be part of the brand new WWE ID initiative. But TJPW fans were ahead of the curve many months before that thanks to her tours of Japan throughout 2024. With only two years of experience under her belt, Zakher was able to hold her own against some of TJPW’s veteran guard for her first couple of tours. Then came the summer tour where she entered the Tokyo Princess Cup, went on a wild run of upsets against tournament favourites and made it all the way to the semi finals. Her performances have earned her title shots and while she has come out of them empty handed, it is undeniable that the Petite Powerhouse has already left a mark in TJPW.
Moves To Watch Out For: Control Z (Screw Bomb), Lariat, Standing Moonsault

Max The Impaler – Puroresu has a history of bringing over wild rampaging warriors from the western world to cause chaos in their rings. Who could have guess TJPW of all companies would join in the tradition? Whenever “The Non-Binary Nightmare” comes over to TJPW you can expect a path of chaos being left in their wake. And yet Max has ended up becoming really well liked by the roster resulting in some pretty strong bonds of friendship being forged out of it. Sure there are times when Max tears the building apart and management gets a little worried about getting future bookings with those venues but Max is now part of the family. And there is one wrestler more than anyone else who Max has established a very strong attachment with.
Moves To Watch Out For: Welcome To The Wasteland (Canadian Backbreaker Drop), Short-Range Lariat, Body Block

Pom Harajuku – Bright and colorful costumes, loud screaming and a lot of shin kicking. Pom Harajuku’s fighting style can be compared to a three year old throwing a temper tantrum. In recent years she has become the centre of Max The Impaler’s attention. They were originally opponents in matches that more resembled a movie monster chasing down their prey until Max began forming an attachment to Harajuku. Before we knew it the two of them became a tag team called Pompaler where Max constantly finds new ways to throw Harajuku at their opponents. When not being used as a projectile, Harajuku has had something of a breakout year in 2024 by reaching the final of the Max Heart Tournament with Max and also winning her first ever championship during a tour of Thailand. Even without Max, Harajuku can be a lot to handle by herself and that’s just from the screaming.
Moves To Watch Out For: Pom de Justice (Step-Up Guillotine Leg Drop), Laforet Harajuku (Satellite Headscissors), Shin Kick, Denden Taiko (beating the opponent’s chest like a drum)


4. TNA World Knockouts Title: Masha Slamovich (c) Vs Miu Watanabe

EDIT: It has since been announced that the match will be for the TNA World Knockouts Title.

This has the makings of a show-stealer. These are two wrestlers who went through breakout years in 2024 set to clash against each other. Masha Slamovich has become a top tier talent in both TNA and GCW while Miu Watanabe finally reached the summit of TJPW after fans waited so long to see her get up there. Now that her run as champion has ended for now she is getting put in the ring against the best female stars from around the world that TJPW can find (and haven’t been locked down by exclusive contracts).

Masha Slamovich – Maybe the toughest girl going in wrestling today. She is currently the TNA Knockouts Champion, was the only woman to ever hold the GCW World Title and has also become unstoppable in Jersey Championship Wrestling as their champion. TJPW is a corner of the world that’s given her a challenge though. She’s fought for championships here before and come out of them empty handed. When it comes to the promotion bringing in guests, she has become one of the highest walls for even TJPW’s most accomplished wrestlers to try and climb over. This match here is another example of that.
Moves To Watch Out For: White Knight Driver/From Russia With Love (Half Package Piledriver), Snow Plow/Russian Death Device (Northern Lights Bomb), Liger Bomb, Shining Wizard

Miu Watanabe – The third and last Up Up Card on the show, Miu Watanabe has two things she loves most in life: Idols and Pro Wrestling! She is also the strongest and most successful of the lot when it comes to what happens inside the ring. She is the second Grand Slam champion so you can say she’s almost done it all in TJPW yet she still has the whole world at her feet. Always full of energy, Watanabe uses big hand gestures to spell out L-O-V-E along with her theme song during her entrances. She also knows various ways to throw people around with the Giant Swing and cave some chests in with Double Sledge strikes.
Moves To Watch Out For: Tear Drop (Modified Flapjack), Reverse Paradox (Gorilla Clutch), Laserbeam (Overhand Chop to the chest), Giant Swing, Canadian Backbreaker, Swinging Backbreaker


5. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Jada Stone

Let’s head into the championship bouts. The International Princess Title is TJPW’s midcard title that is meant to be built around international competition. That’s not always the case but here it fits the bill. Suzume has been on a run with the belt since winning it from Yuki Arai and an overseas title defence is currently missing from this résumé. Jada Stone has challenged Suzume for the title once before but couldn’t get the job done. She is getting a rematch and should theoretically have the home field advantage this time.

Suzume – As sharp and swift as a wasp, Suzume is the Daisy half of Daisy Monkey. She begun her career as a fast learner, only spending seven months in training before making her pro debut. Just based on her aesthetic alone it is of no surprise that speed is the name of her game. It’s served her well because she became the International Princess Champion at the start of the year and has held onto it ever since. She also already has a successful title defence against her opponent here.
Moves To Watch Out For: Ring A Bell (RKO), Spring Ring A Bell (Oscutter), Mikazuki Meteor Shower (Diving Cross Body), Twinkle (Twisting School Boy), Flying Facecrusher

Jada Stone – “The Spark” caused a bit of a stir in Deadlock Pro last September. With only two years of experience at the time, she won a dark match to enter the Battle Of The Best tournament as a last minute stand in. She then wrestled a second match on the night losing to Shoko Nakajima in the tournament but her performances that evening won over a lot of people. Word went back to TJPW and they brought her in for tours this year that included an IP Title shot. Again she lost the match but TJPW liked what they saw between her and Suzume so much that they decided to run it back in Vegas.
Moves To Watch Out For: Spark Stunner (Backflip into a Stone Cold Stunner), Moonsault, Meteora, Sliding Lariat


6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara

Next up the Princess Tag Team Titles are on the line. Kyoraku Kyomei is what happens when Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao decided to become a fun loving tag team living to their fullest during the pandemic because neither of them knew what tomorrow would bring. They are one of the longest serving active tag teams in TJPW but only just recently won the tag titles for the first time together. This is going to be their first defence. Their opponents are a newly put together team called Ober Eats. If you ask Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara where they got the name from they might say it’s because Uehara likes to over eat. Or they might come up with something else because really they just needed to think up a team name on short notice in order to get Kyoraku Kyomei to accept their challenge.

Shoko Nakajima – Meet the Big Kaiju, all 147cm of her! Shoko Nakajima has pretty much done it all in TJPW as one of the promotion’s longest serving wrestlers. Usually relying on quick reflexes, she also has the strength to put away opponents with the Northern Lights Suplex. The Diving Senton she uses is nothing to sneeze at either. When put in Hardcore Match situations her favourite weapon is a pile of kaiju toys that she slams her opponents onto. She’s a Swiss Army Knife that can adapt to any kind of situation wrestling can throw at her. She also very recently won the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title.
Moves To Watch Out For: Northern Lights Suplex, Diving Senton, Unmanned Local Train Hold (Yurikamome submission hold), 619, Rider Kick (One-Legged Dropkick)

Hyper Misao – When love and peace is under threat in TJPW, you can always rely on Hyper Misao to come to the rescue. Just be aware that her plans to save the world are never as heroic as they’re meant to be. She often gets on the microphone to greet everyone with “Hello big children” before explaining her plan to save the day. Of course by being a superhero that means she has her own Hyper Mobile. She likes to crash it into her opponents along with any unfortunate bystander who happens to be nearby. She also blinds opponents with her Hero Correction Spray. Deep down inside Misao is a multi-layered human being with infinite potential that if harvested correctly could make her a very powerful wrestler. But why go through all that baggage when you can just wear a cool mask and cheat like hell instead?
Moves To Watch Out For: Hypami Returns (Final Cut), I Am A Hero (Diving Cross Body), Crossface Chickenwing, Vanitas (Double Arm Facebuster), Cold Spray Attack

Yuki Kamifuku – Also known by her nickname Kamiyu, she is “The Casual Beauty” of TJPW. Grew up in Ohio during her junior high school years so she knows the most English out of the bunch. She knows how to get under her opponent’s skin with harsh and catty opinions but there is another side to her where she is loyal and sympathetic to her friends. She is also proud of her modelling background because her accomplishments in the ring is proof you do not need to be a die hard pro wrestling fan to succeed in the business. Over the last two years she has emerged as the most dominant woman in the Southeast Asian wrestling scene where she currently holds both the Queen Of Asia Title from Singapore and the VPW Women’s Title from Vietnam. The two belts together can be referred to as the Double Asian Crown. If she can win the Tag Titles here she’ll have something in her wardrobe to match with the belt for sure.
Moves To Watch Out For: Famouser (Jumping Leg Drop to a bent over opponent), Big Boot, Yahoo 83cm (Headscissors DDT), Manjigatame, Thumb To The Eye

Wakana Uehara – “WAKANAAAAAA!” One of the emerging stars climbing up the ranks is popular with fans because of her noticeably big… appetite. Wakana Uehara entered wrestling through a reality series TJPW held for idols called Yume Pro Wrestling -dream on the ring- and was the sole person who stayed on to turn pro. She made her mark by winning the first Next Generation Tournament in 2023, hit a road block in 2024 and this year ended up attaching herself to Kamifuku as a tag team to jump start her momentum again. This will be her first ever chance at winning a championship. One can only imagine the victory meal she’ll have in Vegas to celebrate!
Moves To Watch Out For: Banana Pillow (Triangle Lancer), Sleeper Hold, Space Rolling Elbow, High Speed Brainbuster


7. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

To put it simply, the main event is TJPW’s two strongest wrestlers against each other. This is going to be one of the biggest matches the company will book this year anywhere in the world. Only a select few have held the Princess Of Princess Title in the championship’s nine years of existence. Mizuki is currently on her second reign and only wants to defend it against the best to ensure she is a stronger champion now than she was the first time back in 2023. That means defending the belt against the one woman she has yet to beat one on one, the ace of TJPW Miyu Yamashita! Already a four time Princess Champion, Yamashita is using this show to kick off her latest American excursion that will last up until the summer. There’s no bad intentions behind the decision but if she wins the title again then that means TJPW will be without their main championship for several months. The only times Mizuki has gotten the better of Yamashita has been in tag matches but when it comes to singles clashes, it’s been Yamashita on top every time. Will this finally be the day when the strongest princess slays the strongest monster?

Mizuki – “The Popping Sugar Rabbit” did not start her wrestling career in TJPW but she has established herself as one of the company’s all time best with multiple championship reigns and big show main events to her name. One of the most photogenic wrestlers going today. She constantly goes viral on social media for using moves that leave those who see them locked in a state of inspiration and amazement. She doesn’t understand what U3+4 means but she is the closest pro wrestling will ever get to creating a real life Lili from Tekken. Now a two-time Princess Champion she wants to fight the best so she herself can get even stronger. Don’t trust that mischievous smile of hers, she is vicious when she wants to be. “The Popping Sugar Rabbit” may sound like a silly nickname but we’ll see who’s laughing when Mizuki is Double Stomping the guts out of her opponent.
Moves To Watch Out For: Cutie Special (Bridging Fall Away Slam), Whirling Candy (Spinning Cross Body Block), Diving Foot Stomp, Face Lock

Miyu Yamashita – “The Pink Striker” has been part of TJPW since Day 1 of the company proper and is never far away from winning one of their championships. She is such a major part of the company that her dominance has long become a big fish in a small pond scenario. The Skull Kick she uses is one of the most deadliest looking finishers around. In recent years she has taken time away from TJPW to wrestle across America and Europe. That trend continues because after this show takes place Yamashita will begin a fresh stay in America that will last from April until July.
Moves To Watch Out For: Skull Kick (Backspin High Kick to the head), Crash Rabbit Heat (Running Knee Kick), Attitude Adjustment, Return Crash (Triangle Kick off the turnbuckles)

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DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GCW “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Mizuki, Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Miu Watanabe, Suzume, Arisu Endo, Yuki Arai & Shino Suzuki
2. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Brooke Havok & Sandra Moone
3. Rika Tatsumi & Antonio Honda Vs Kidd Bandit & Shota
4. 3 Way Match: MAO & Yoshihiko Vs Jimmy Lloyd & Alec Price Vs Jack Cartwheel & Kazuma Sumi
5. Special Tag Match: 1 Called Manders & Maki Itoh Vs Yukio Naya & Microman
6. Special Tag Match: Mance Warner & Shunma Katsumata Vs John Wayne Murdoch & Matt Tremont
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Ilusion & Dark Sheik Vs Super Crazy, Marcus Mathers & Shoko Nakajima
8. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Masha Slamovich Vs Shinya Aoki & Miyu Yamashita

Welcome to this year’s edition of “Real Matches Or My Fire Pro Save?” This is a mental set of matches booked so far and there’s still like a third of the card still to be put together. GCW did an admirable job last year of finding women on their shows to match up against TJPW. They don’t have to worry about being strict this time around so maybe we get something like Pom Harajuku interacting with Effy or maybe Max The Impaler gets to kidnap Yuni? At least all parties involved can honestly say they came up with a show that is absolutely unlike anything else going on this week.

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But wait. There’s more! A few TJPW wrestlers are taking bookings on other shows happening through the week.


PANDEMONIUM PRO “THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS”, 17/04/2025
Fremont Country Club, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Maya World Vs Miu Watanabe

It all starts with Watanabe taking a rare outside booking with Pandemonium Pro a few days before the TJPW show. Maya World is one of the many talents looking to grab attention for themselves and beating a former Princess Champion would do just that.


WRESTLECON “MARK HITCHCOCK MEMORIAL SUPERSHOW”, 17/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Mickie James Vs Maki Itoh

In one corner stands a wrestling idol with grand ambitions of becoming a popstar who was unceremoniously fired in a humiliating fashion in the past. In the other corner is Maki Itoh. Also if any British fans start chanting “Hardcore Country” at Mickie James for literally the entire match you have my permission to throw a brick at them.


GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XIII”, 17/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Nattie Neidhart Vs Miyu Yamashita

Unlikely friends fighting each other in an unlikely match up. The last time Yamashita entered GCW’s Bloodsport she lost to Shayna Baszler. She will face another WWE wrestler for her return but this one hits a little closer to home. A home away from home if you will. Whenever Yamashita does her excursions to America she often visits Natalya to train at her invite-only wrestling school. It was a given that someday the two would eventually fight each other. Nattie Neidhart has a chip on her shoulder because the expectations are always that she is expected to be a stepping stone for her opponents. Yamashita doesn’t want to be underestimated either. Get your $1 bets ready for this one.


WRESTLECORE “FEAR & WRESTLECORE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025
Swan Dive, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. ELP Vs Maki Itoh

Oh what could have been. In the lead up to this week El Phantasmo was sending messages to Itoh asking if they could team up together as The World’s Cutest Tag Team. Plans didn’t go the way they were intended so now the two of them are at each other’s throats! Only a match against each other on the WrestleCore show will solve this problem.


GCW “CLUSTERF*CK FOREVER”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Clusterfuck Match: X Vs X

Maybe Itoh or Yamashita shows up in the Clusterfuck? What about Raku? No wait she’ll be sleeping through it. Throw Shino Suzuki in there.

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