DDT “DDT PRO WRESTLING IN SHINGASHI”, 02/11/2024 Saitama Takashina Elementary School ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Shunma Katsumata, To-y & Kazuma Sumi defeated Yukio Naya, Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida when Katsumata pinned Ishida with the Totonou Splash (10:43).
2. Special Tag Match: Makoto Oishi & Yoshiko Hasegawa submitted Akito & Kaya Toribami when Hasegawa submitted Toribami with the Muffler Hold (8:14).
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Danshoku Dieno, HARASHIMA & Tetsuya Endo defeated Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Keigo Nakamura when HARASHIMA pinned Nakamura with the Somato (19:24).
Rainy weather in Saitama resulted in a messy day for DDT. They held a short outdoor wrestling show at the Takashina Elementary School and had the ring set up in the middle of a muddy school yard. A lot of kids were in the crowd so the wrestlers encouraged them to chant “Go baldy” at Keigo Nakamura. Even Chris Brookes bullied him a bit despite being on the same team. Brookes and Danshoku Dieno both held Nakamura upside down and spun his head around on the muddy ground. But Nakamura became the children’s favorite as the match went on. Too bad he ended up losing to HARASHIMA.
Yoshiko Hasegawa also had a lot of support from the crowd because she is from Saitama. Akito targeted her throughout the match but Hasegawa was able to put Kaya Toribami in the Muffler Hold after she dodged the Rolling Senton. Akito was also caught in Makoto Oishi’s Fujiyama Knee Lock at the time so he couldn’t stop Toribami from giving up.
1. Moeka Haruhi & Yuna Manase Vs HARUKAZE & YuuRI
2. Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Harutoki
3. Ken Ohka, Yumehito Imanari & Tsuyoshi Okada Vs Shuichiro Katsumura, Shota Kawakami & Hiroaki Moriya
4. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase (c) Vs Naoki Tanizaki & Kohei Kinoshita
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Hartley Jackson
Hiroaki Moriya is coming to Ganbare☆Pro looking to “Energize” the place. He’s been in the ring with Ken Ohka before but hasn’t with Yumehito Imanari so he’s looking forward to fighting both for different reasons.
DDT “SUMIDA DRAMATIC DREAM! ~FREE SEATING PRO WRESTLING SHOW~”, 04/11/2024 Tokyo Higashin Arena (Sumida City Gymnasium)
1. Maruto Potori Foods Presents Tag Match: Keigo Nakamura & Yuki Ishida Vs Yuni & Kazuma Sumi
2. Special Tag Match ~ Touchi-kun & Oshinari-kun & Higapyon Pro Wrestling Debut Match: Touchi-kun & Pokotan Vs Oshinari-kun & Higapyon
3. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON, MJ Paul & Demus Vs Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino, Masahiro Takanashi & Yuya Koroku
4. STOMPING Presents Tag Match: Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Makoto Oishi & Soma Takao
5. Special Single Match: Takeshi Masada Vs Ilusion
6. Tokyo Higashi Shinkin Bank Presents Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Yukio Naya & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Satoshi Kojima, Akito & Antonio Honda
7. Toho Kogyo Presents Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs HARASHIMA, Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine
8. KO-D Openweight Title – Houset Co., Ltd Presents: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs Chris Brookes
Thought we were all clear from Shinya Aoki’s threats to fight Katsuhiko Nakajima somewhere down the line? Not so fast! Aoki held a short interview with Tokyo Sports today where he said his goal is to hold onto the KO-D Openweight Title long enough that he will still be the champion when he has a grappling match in ONE FC this December. Aoki cannot believe he got a fight in ONE scheduled before he got a booking in GLEAT. He then started rambling about Nakajima and asking why he hasn’t been in the news lately?
BASARA “BASARA 261 ~SOUEN~”, 08/11/2024 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita Vs Daichi Kazato & Ayato Yoshida
Earlier this year Ayato Yoshida came to BASARA as an opponent for Daichi Kazato. Now they are teaming up for his next appearance.
DDT/DEFY “DDT IN UTERO”, 09/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. 3 Way Tag Match: Cody Chhun & Guillermo Rosas Vs Bryan Keith & Shota Vs Eddie Pearl & Ricky Gibson
2. Danshoku Dieno Vs Randy Myers
3. Gringo Loco Vs Yuni
4. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Artemis Spencer Vs Gurv Shira & Harv Shira
5. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Kohei Kinoshita
6. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: MAO (c) Vs Mike Bailey Vs Miyu Yamashita
Miyu Yamashita’s involvement in the DEFY weekend is resulting in some creative matchups. She was already announced as one of MAO’s opponents in the DDT Universal Title match and now we know the other opponent is Mike Bailey! Yamashita could be at a disadvantage if The Moonlight Express decided to use the numbers game against her.
This is not the full card. Both Nick Wayne and Marina Shafir have been announced for the show and do not have their matches announced yet.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “LOOKING AROUND THE WORLD, ISN’T JAPAN AMAZING AFTER ALL!?”, 10/11/2024 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall
1. Rakuhan Vs Pom-chan Army: X Vs X
2. Rakuhan Vs Pom-chan Army: X Vs X
3. Rakuhan Vs Pom-chan Army: X Vs X
4. Rakuhan Vs Pom-chan Army: X Vs X
5. Rakuhan Vs Pom-chan Army: X & X Vs X & X
6. Rakuhan Vs Pom-chan Army: X & X Vs X & X
Rakuhan: Raku, Yuki Arai, HIMAWARI, Shino Suzuki, Haru Kazashiro, Chika Nanase, Ryo Mizunami and Ram Kaichow
Pom-chan Army: Pom Harajuku, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko, Kaya Toribami, Toga, Kira Summer, Uta Takami and Yoshiko Hasegawa
The match card will be decided on the day by the two team captains Raku and Pom Harajuku.
DDT “UTAN FESTA 2024”, 10/11/2024 Tokyo JR Omori Station East Exit Plaza
1. MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Takeshi Masada & Gota Ihashi
2. KANON Vs Keigo Nakamura
3. World Omori Title Next Challenger Battle Royal: Toru Owashi Vs Antonio Honda Vs Akito Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Demus Vs Diego
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku Vs HARASHIMA, Chikara & Yuki Ishida
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Toy- Vs Jun Akiyama, Chris Brookes & Yukio Naya
6. World Omori Title: Soma Takao (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi
Masahiro Takanashi is chosen to face Soma Takao for the World Omori Title. There is also going to be a Battle Royal to determine next year’s No. 1 Contender.
The full force of BURNING must meet the power of Chikara head on! No one shall be spared.
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TRIANGLER DTD”, 10/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. Special Single Match: Gringo Loco Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. Special Tag Match: MAO & Mike Bailey Vs Judas Icarus & Travis Williams
3. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Yuni
Come on Tony, give Yuni a shot at the AEW International Title. Do it for the sickos.
The Moonlight Express will team up proper at the end of the DEFY weekend for a tag match against Sinner & Saint.
I don’t know what kind of person would ever think up a Miyu Yamashita Vs Gringo Loco match but that’s some good booking right there.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 AUTUMN”, 22/11/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Next Generation Tournament ’24 – Final: X Vs X
2. Rika Tatsumi & Arisu Endo Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
3. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs Shazza McKenzie
Big children rejoice for it’s the return of Hyper Misao to save the day! No better choice for her first match back from injury than to team up with Shoko Nakajima as Kyoraku Kyomei again. Rika Tatsumi will certainly welcome her back with a big hug that will suspiciously look a lot like a strangulation. Arisu Endo will probably stand to the side and give it a thumbs up.
Zara Zakher will be on the show.
DDT “GET ALIVE 2024”, 23/11/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Akito 15th Anniversary Debut Special Single Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Akito
2. DDT Extreme Title & Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Danshoku Dieno (c/c) Vs Yuni
3. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku
BURNING have found themselves back in the front of the line for a KO-D Tag Team Titles shot. This time however Tetsuya Endo is teaming with Yuya Koroku instead of Yuki Iino. Koroku has a pinfall win over Shunma Katsumata and that interested MAO enough to accept his title challenge.
Pop the champagne bottles because this month Konosuke Takeshita won his first AEW championship! The first of many I hope. After he finally achieved his crowning glory he… didn’t wrestle again in AEW for the rest of the month. Typical, eh? But he did wrestle elsewhere, up north in fact. And those were some pretty good matches too. His performances this month was enough to have Dave Meltzer call him one of the best wrestlers in the world. Other than that it was kind of a quiet month for everyone else I cover for this article. Yuka Sakazaki had a match in ROH then fantasized about murdering RJ City for Halloween, Shoko Nakajima was in DPW for a tournament final, Yuki Kamifuku continues being the Queen of Asia and Miyu Yamashita went to Canada.
Things are going to pick up in November though. DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro are having their shows with DEFY in Seattle, MAO and Yoshihiko are going on another European adventure together, Takeshita has stuff lined up with New Japan for the promotion’s next couple of USA shows, Yamashita will be paying GCW another visit and Pom Harajuku is going to be let loose in Southeast Asia. If that’s not enough we even have a peak at what to look forward to in 2025.
After turning on Ospreay, the Don Callis Family hold a press conference! | 10/16/24, AEW Dynamite
MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 1”, 19/10/2024 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Gisele Shaw Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. Mike Bailey Vs Konosuke Takeshita
MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 2”, 20/10/2024 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Laynie Luck & Harley Cameron Vs Miyu Yamashita & Kylie Rae
2. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Josh Alexander
Yuka Has Fun! | Hey! (EW) 10/27/24
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Results
ROH “ROH ON HONOR CLUB”, 08/10/2024 (Aired 17/10/2024) Spokane Arena, Spokane, Washington, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Viva Van with the Magical Girl Splash (5:44).
Sakazaki’s move over to ROH this month involved a tricky challenge against Viva Van. She was kept on her toes by Van bridging out of a pin and making Sakazaki flinch with a fakeout attack from the ropes. Sakazaki got her own back by also bridging out of a pin and doing her own Sliding Lariat, no fake out needed. She went on to win by using the Magical Merry-Go-Round as well as the Magical Girl Splash.
AEW “WRESTLEDREAM”, 12/10/2024 Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Washington, USA
1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Will Ospreay (c) and Ricochet when Takeshita pinned Ospreay with the Powerdrive Knee (20:42). *V3 for Will Ospreay fails in V3. Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 10th AEW International Champion!
What a wonderful sight this was. Takeshita was part of a great match with Will Ospreay and Ricochet where everyone went balls to the wall. Takeshita took Ricochet out of the match by putting him through a table at ringside with the Reverse Implant. He also kicked out of Ospreay’s Hidden Blade but looked to be finished when Ospreay hit him with another one. That was when Don Callis pulled the referee out of the ring mid-count. Ospreay got his hands on Callis but just when he was about to give him the Tiger Driver ’91, Kyle Fletcher ran in and hit him over the head with a screwdriver. Takeshita then hit Ospreay with the Powerdrive Knee to win the AEW International Title. Even with the dirty finish the match got a *****1/2 rating from Meltzer.
DEXCON “JAM OF THE JOSHIS”, 13/10/2024 Brawl Pit Bulusan, Manila, Philippines
1. Queen Of Asia Title & VPW Women’s Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c/c) defeated Chelsea Marie with the Diving Famouser (?:??). *V4 for the Queen Of Asia Title. V2 for the VPW Women’s Title.
The Philippines is where Yuki Kamifuku had her next defence of the Asian Double Crown. She had a close match against Chelsea Marie in what was just as much a battle of beauty as it was wits and skill. Marie almost won by putting Kamifuku in the Code Of Silence submission hold but the champ’s leg was long enough to reach over for a rope break. Marie climbed the ropes but was left vulnerable after Kamifuku reached out and poked her in the eye. Kamifuku Dropkicked her opponent off the turnbuckles then climbed up the same corner to hit the Diving Famouser and win the match.
DPW “SUPER BATTLE”, 13/10/2024 Grady Cole Center, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
1. Battle Of The Best – Final: Dani Luna defeated Shoko Nakajima with a Fireman’s Carry Bomb (13:17).
The winner of the Battle Of The Best tournament would be given a shot at the DPW Women’s World Title so Nakajima was on the cusp of getting that title shot. It wasn’t meant to be unfortunately. Dani Luna kicked out of the Northern Lights Suplex and prevented Nakajima from doing the Diving Senton by kicking her off the top rope. Nakajima didn’t expect Luna to then grab her on the apron from the ropes and throw her back into the ring with a Slingshot German Suplex. It was stunning enough for Luna to pin Nakajima with a Fireman’s Carry Bomb to win the tournament.
MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 1”, 19/10/2024 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Gisele Shaw defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Denoument (12:36).
2. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Mike Bailey with the Raging Fire (24:39).
The debut weekend of Maple Leaf Pro had both Takeshita and Yamashita taking part in featured matches. The main event of Night 1 was Takeshita and Mike Bailey showing North America what they were missing when Speedball spent most of his time in Japan for DDT. It was already a cross-promotional match between AEW and TNA that became an even bigger deal because it was also the AEW International Champion against the X Division Champion! Bailey kicked out of the Powerdrive Knee but was put away with the Raging Fire. It was another match of Takeshita’s that Meltzer gave the ***** to this month.
History will look back on Miyu Yamashita Vs Gisele Shaw as the buffer match that was placed in between one of the best matches of the year and one of the worst. I admit that’s an unfair way to look at things so seek this out because it was a pretty good match. Had Yamashita won she would have been added to the ROH Women’s World Title match on Night 2. But Shaw wasn’t going to let her get in the way and won this match with her own Running Knee Strike.
MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 2”, 20/10/2024 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Miyu Yamashita & Kylie Rae defeated Laynie Luck & Harley Cameron when Yamashita pinned Luck with the Skull Kick (9:26).
2. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Josh Alexander with the Raging Fire (29:31). *V1 for Konosuke Takeshita.
The last time Takeshita fought Josh Alexander one on one it ended in a time limit draw. For the rematch he was putting the AEW International Title on the line. Just like the night before, Takeshita almost won with the Powerdrive Knee and had to use the Raging Fire to put away his opponent. But after the match he and Don Callis decided to continue the attack on Alexander until Ricochet made a surprise appearance to fight Takeshita. The two of them would butt heads again in AEW later in the month so this looks to be Takeshita’s AEW program for November.
On Night 1 Kylie Rae was attacked by Laynie Luck & Harley Cameron so Yamashita’s role here was to even the odds for a tag match. While Rae took care of Cameron outside the ring, Yamashita pinned Luck with the Skull Kick inside the ring.
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Upcoming Appearances
BZW “FRIDAY NIGHT BANGER”, 01/11/2024 Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France
1. MAO Vs KURO
Once the calendar flips over to November MAO will be travelling around the world once more with the DDT Universal Title back in his possession. First destination is in France for a weekend of Banger Zone Wrestling events. KURO will be his opponent on Night 1.
BZW “ALCATRAZ”, 02/11/2024 Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France
1. BZW Tag Team Titles: Jack Sans-Nom & Paul Robinson (c) Vs MAO & Yoshihiko
On Night 2, MAO will be joined by Yoshihiko to cause more international trouble. One of MAO’s goals for his overseas tour this time is to win a foreign company’s championship so the two of them will face Jack Sans-Nom & Paul Robinson for the BZW Tag Team Titles.
Pom Harajuku is travelling to Singapore by herself without supervision! Is she going to be a sitting duck for Alexis Lee to tear apart limb from limb?
NJPW “FIGHTING SPIRIT UNLEASHED 2024”, 08/11/2024 Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
1. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs X
What is going to be in store for Takeshita when he goes back to New Japan next month for their next American show? Maybe Ricochet will show up looking for a fight again.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TJPW BRIGHT EYES”, 09/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. Rika Tatsumi & Amira Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
2. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Wakana Uehara
3. Moka Miyamoto Vs Rebel Kel
4. Mizuki Vs Liiza Hall
5. Miu Watanabe & Shoko Nakajima Vs Yuki Aino & Zara Zakher
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Vert Vixen & Nicole Matthews
All shows from the DDT/TJPW/DEFY weekend will be airing on Triller via the TrillerTV+ subscription.
DDT/DEFY “DDT IN UTERO”, 09/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. 3 Way Tag Match: Cody Chhun & Guillermo Rosas Vs Bryan Keith & Shota Vs Eddie Pearl & Ricky Gibson
2. Danshoku Dieno Vs Randy Myers
3. Gringo Loco Vs Yuni
4. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Artemis Spencer Vs Gurv Shira & Harv Shira
5. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Kohei Kinoshita
6. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: MAO (c) Vs Mike Bailey Vs Miyu Yamashita
More news for this show has been announced while I’ve been writing this with more still to come. Marina Shafir and Nick Wayne will both be there to wrestle.
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TRIANGLER DTD”, 10/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. Special Single Match: Gringo Loco Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. Special Tag Match: MAO & Mike Bailey Vs Judas Icarus & Travis Williams
3. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Yuni
I think some of the remaining card will not be decided until the other shows have taken place first.
GCW “CHAOS IN KENTUCKY”, 14/11/2024 Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Brooke Havok
Three GCW matches for Yamashita coming up in November. She faces Brooke Havok in a first time ever meeting between the two.
GCW “GATEWAY TO THE DEATH”, 15/11/2024 Pop’s Nightclub, Sauget, Illinois, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Mike Bailey
If this match is anything like their Pandemonium Pro bout from last December then the GCW fans will be in for a treat. Just make sure to use a better camera angle for the finish this time…
GCW “NICK GAGE INVITATIONAL 9”, 16/11/2024 Level 13 Event Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Is GCW going to keep that tournament name even though they’re currently on the outs with Nick Gage? Does that mean Maki Itoh has to drop the Maki Death Kill stuff the next time she goes back there or can she take over the gimmick like Kazuki Hirata did with Magnum TOKYO?
SETUP “YEAR END CLIMAX”, 30/11/2024 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – No DQ Match: Matcha (c) Vs Pom Harajuku
When Harajuku was in a 3 Way Match against Matcha and Raku a month earlier, Matcha was the winner but she pinned Raku and Harajuku was left as the odd one out. Matcha and Harajuku then got into a fight and had to be kept apart. This unexpected grudge is coming to a head in November because SETUP is booking the two of them in a No DQ Match with the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title on the line!
NJPW “STRONG STYLE EVOLVED”, 15/12/2024 Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, California, USA
1. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs X
Takeshita will also be at NJPW USA’s December show. With two dates here for the rest of 2024 one of them would surely be a good place to defend the AEW International Title.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AEX32 SANTIAGO 2025”, 08-09/02/2025 Mapocho Station Cultural Center, Santiago, Chile
Both Yamashita and Itoh have filmed videos promoting their matches at the AEX convention. It sounds like there might be matches featuring local wrestlers as well as whoever else TJPW sends over. At least Yamashita and Itoh said they would like to fight whoever Chile can throw at them.
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE COLLECTIVE 2025”, 17-19/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
The actual shows haven’t been officially announced yet but The Collective tagged DDT and TJPW in their tweet announcing next year’s edition of Wrestlemania Week in Las Vegas. I’ll be there for sure!
1. 4 Way Match: Sayaka Vs MAO Vs Keiko Nakamura Vs Hondako Antonio
2. HARASHIMA Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
3. Ms. Kaichow, Mr. Bueno & Mr. Malo Vs Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Chie Koishikawa
1. Isami Kodaka & Ryuichi Sekine defeated Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita when Kodaka pinned Shimomura with a Vertical Drop Brainbuster (12:17).
2. Daichi Kazato defeated Gouma Ryu by forfeit when Ryu injured himself from doing an Argentine Backbreaker (7:21).
3. KUBITO & SAGAT defeated Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Yasu Urano by Knockout when SAGAT knocked out Hiroshi & Urano (12:10).
4. Daisuke Sekimoto defeated Masato Kamino with the Big Bang Catastrophe (13:33).
5. Takato Nakano, Lil’ Kraken & Takeru Inoue defeated Takumi Tsukamoto, FUMA & Ryota Nakatsu when Nakani pinned Nakatsu with a Cradle (14:47).
6. Iron Fist Tag Team Titles: Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura (c) defeated Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga when Abe submitted Oosugi with a Modified Figure 4 Leg Lock (17:14). *V3 for Astronauts.
It’s been almost a year and a half since the last time a BASARA show in Shin-Kiba 1st RING was held under the “KOO” branding. That meant it was not an all you can drink kind of show that you would get with the “UTAGE” events. Astronauts were confident the fans would still have fun watching them fight Speed Of Sounds for the Iron Fist Tag Team Titles. After winning the match, Fuminori Abe suggested the next opponents could include somebody like Daichi Kazato or Yasu Urano because Takuya Nomura has never gotten a chance to fight either of them.
Match #3 featured so many tags and partners running in that the teams ended up getting mixed up and everyone lost track of who they were meant to fight. It ended up with Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Yasu Urano knocking each other out, making KUBITO & SAGAT the winners.
Daichi Kazato and Gouma Ryu wrestled each other both knowing they are evenly matched. So they believed they could fight forever to make each other stronger. Ryu soon got the upper hand and got over confident. He lifted up Kazato into the Argentine Backbreaker but that caused his back to go out so he had to give up while still doing the move.
All of Sento Minzoku were reunited with the return of Daiki Shimomura from his year long suspension from BASARA and absence from pro wrestling in general. He lost the match but told the fans starting today he will do his best for BASARA again.
DDT “ADULT RESORT PRO WRESTLING IN KIRANAH GARDEN TOYOSU”, 30/10/2024 Tokyo Kiranah Garden Toyosu 191 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Yuki Iino defeated Tomomitsu Matsunaga with the BURNING Elbow Drop (10:00).
2. Danshoku Dieno, Soma Takao & Kazuki Hirata defeated Akito, Keigo Nakamura & Yuki Ishida when Hirata pinned Ishida with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (14:48).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Kazuki Hirata defeated Danshoku Dieno (c) with a Hammer Attack (6:07 pm). *Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,684th champion.
3. Special Single Match: Demus defeated Kazuma Sumi with La Valagueza (8:14).
4. No Tag Rules: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON, MJ Paul & Ilusion defeated Toru Owashi, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Yukio Naya when Sasaki submitted Honda with the Crossface Lock (13:53).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Danshoku Dieno defeated Kazuki Hirata (c) with a Sleeper Hod (6:54 pm). *Danshoku Dieno becomes the 1,685th champion.
5. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku defeated Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata when Koroku pinned Katsumata with a Crucifix Pin (14:14).
6. Kiranah Garden Toyosu First Opening Commemoration! Special Tag Match: Shinya Aoki & MAO defeated Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA when Aoki submitted Brookes with the Manjigatame (18:26).
The stage is getting set for next week’s KO-D Openweight Title match. Before today’s show began Shinya Aoki and Chris Brookes held a contract signing ceremony and talked about the upcoming title bout. Brookes called Aoki the strongest wrestler in the world but Brookes’s love for DDT is stronger. Aoki on the other hand said he will crush Brookes with all of his might and without any emotion just to show there is a clear difference of skill between them. Then in today’s main event Aoki gave an example by using the Manjigatame to make Brookes submit. Afterwards he said he is two steps stronger than him and if he keeps this up he will be fine on 4th November. Brookes praised Aoki for having dangerous Elbow Strikes to go along with his strong submissions. He isn’t letting today’s result put him down.
The undercard had to be changed around because To-y picked up a virus and couldn’t wrestle. Yuki Ueno stepped up to team with Shunma Katsumata and take on the BURNING team of Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku. BURNING pulled off the win against the stronger team thanks to Koroku catching Katsumata off guard with a Crucifix Pin for the three count. Koroku then challenged ShunMAO for the KO-D Tag Team Titles on 23rd November with Endo going to be his partner again. Katsumata refused because he thinks Endo is too strong. MAO however got on a microphone away from the ring and said he finds it interesting that Koroku beat Katsumata. But according to MAO, Katsumata is the weakest member of ShunMao. MAO wants to see if Koroku can beat him too so he accepted the challenge. He also explained to Katsumata later that they should be giving DDT’s younger wrestlers more chances to win championships if they want to lead the company.
The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title changed hands twice during the show. The first change happened after the second match when Kazuki Hirata knocked out Danshoku Dieno with the ring bell hammer and pinned him. Dieno got his revenge during intermission by sneaking up to Hirata at the autograph table and choking him out with a Sleeper Hold.
Yesterday there was a discovery on Twitter over Kota Ibushi’s recent return to DDT that suddenly came to an abrupt end. The discovery was his two DDT matches from 25th August and 8th September have both been scrubbed off Wrestle Universe and can no longer be watched on the service.* When you go to watch the 25th August show on Wrestle Universe his match is still talked about on the pre-show and the match graphic still appears in the opening video. The match itself though has been edited off the stream and it goes straight from the end of Match #5 to the video package of the main event. The card lineups on each video both have “Some matches have been cut due to circumstances” written on the bottom of the page. That’s not all, DDT also pulled some of their recent Youtube videos of Ibushi’s past matches that they originally uploaded to promote his return. This follows the news at the start of the month of Ibushi’s two October dates with DDT being cancelled with no explanation given by anyone.
*Update: A day after this post was written, Wrestle Universe also removed the Weapon Rumble match from 21st July which featured Ibushi’s actual return to DDT.
I thought that news sounded weird when it happened. Ibushi wasn’t injured and even had a match in GLEAT the next day. There was some guessing online that maybe he was being called upon by AEW and couldn’t be available for the DDT dates anymore. I didn’t want to rule it out because those kind of short notice bookings have happened with DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro talent in the past. But looking at the AEW schedule at the time it didn’t make much sense to me. He’d miss one booking but had plenty of time to make it back to Japan for the second booking. So when those dates came and went without Ibushi showing up anywhere, I didn’t think about it again until the Wrestle Universe thing was discovered.
So if Ibushi’s absence was not because of injury and was not because of other obligations getting in the way, then that suggests there could have been a falling out between Ibushi and DDT. That’s when I remembered what happened at the very end of the 25th August show. As the crowd was making their way to the exit MAO & Shunma Katsumata announced their intentions to challenge for DDT’s tag team championships. Nothing unusual about that. They continued talking about theirs goals backstage during their post-show interview until MAO changed the subject and brought up “Golden Star Syndrome”. That was the phrase he used to describe Ibushi’s fanbase and the lapsed DDT fans who came to the show just to see him chase old glories again. MAO’s point was the fans should not take the current generation for granted because they are the ones who kept DDT going after Ibushi left and the company went downhill from their peak of popularity.
They were not the only wrestlers who made comments about Ibushi’s return to DDT. Yuki Ueno also spoke about it backstage after his defeat in the main event. Ueno said DDT became what it is today thanks to Ibushi and everyone should be grateful for that. Sanshiro Takagi loves him like family which means Ueno also treats him like family. However, Ueno also questioned Ibushi’s motive for returning to DDT and revealed there are other people in the company who are not happy he came back. Ueno wants to make DDT better but he couldn’t tell if Ibushi’s intentions are the same.
When Ibushi found out about those comments he tweeted out his response. He wonders if the wrestlers were criticizing him out of jealousy? He isn’t interested enough to get involved any further and decided to ignore them. He also asked if those wrestlers are DDT’s current aces and suggested if this deal isn’t working out he still has AEW to go to. At the time of writing those comments are still the most recent tweets on his X account.
A few days later Michael Nakazawa posted a blog to give his thoughts on the matter. He wrote them to be as neutral as possible but admits they will likely come off as defending his close friend Ibushi anyway. He understands there are people who support DDT’s current era that are annoyed to see all of the fan and media attention go to Ibushi for his sudden return to the company. He points out that cutting a promo built around real emotions can sometimes go in an unexpected direction. That happened here when Ibushi did not react the way Ueno, MAO & Katsumata supposedly wanted him to. Nakazawa said if there is anyone who didn’t like the company’s decision to book Ibushi then they should have spoken to someone in the company instead of making the matter public. He also thinks it would not have done Ibushi any good if he picked up on the promo because Ibushi just wants to have fun matches. Nakazawa also compared Ibushi to Kaisei Takechi when it comes to drawing in fans from outside of DDT’s current audience to their shows. However Nakazawa admits Ibushi could have handled the situation in a more mature manner.
The next part of the story takes a surprising turn. While our attention was on the Wrestle Universe story, Marvelous played a video at their show of Ibushi standing around in their dojo. It was a teaser to promote that Ibushi will be in attendance for the promotion’s next Korakuen Hall event on 1st December. Even though Marvelous is a joshi promotion first and foremost, there is often a men’s match booked on the undercard of their shows. Ibushi went to his Instagram to talk about it and wondered if this video will be on their Youtube channel (I can’t tell if this was meant to be a joke about his DDT videos being pulled down).
Ibushi then turned his attention to his situation with DDT. I tried translating it and the comments come out sounding negative. It sounds like Ibushi is accusing DDT of caring more about money than their 20 years of working together. His post also includes hashtags referring to Sanshiro Takagi, DDT collapsing as a company and decisions being made to make up for a deficit. Whatever it is that Ibushi has a problem with, he would like to get an apology over it. Now his focus is going to be on the upcoming Marvelous show.
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So that’s what I’ve been able to gather together so far. Kota Ibushi and DDT have had a falling out and it seems to stem from the comments made by Yuki Ueno & MAO. Whether that was just meant to be a promo to build up a future match and it blew up in everyone’s face isn’t fully clear to me. The few matches Ibushi had in DDT this year had nothing to do with The 37KAMIINA. There was a trios match where Ibushi got to fight Tetsuya Endo again, a nostalgia match where Ibushi reunited with other DDT figures from his generation and the cancelled bout was a freak show kickboxing comedy match where he would have treated his best friend Gota Ihashi as a human crash test dummy like he always does. Maybe something would have been set up for the end of year Sumo Hall show but I guess we will never know now.
It sounds like it was DDT’s decision to remove the videos. I remember early in NJPW World’s existence when Naoya Ogawa successfully requested to have videos of his matches removed but Ibushi’s behavior doesn’t come off like he made any demands like that. But his decision to talk up rumours of DDT’s business decline isn’t going to help things one bit. It’s a bridge burner if I ever heard one and kind of not that far off from how he talked about New Japan when that relationship went sour. At least he hasn’t said anything as extreme as who he suggested some pro wrestling companies were in bed with back then.
I hope what I’ve written helps clear up even a little bit of what’s going on. I wanted to shine a light on the situation after the videos go scrubbed from Wrestle Universe. It makes what happened above way more notable in hindsight than I thought they were at the time. There is still so much we don’t know about behind the scenes but at least this is something to work with if people out there want to talk about it. If there are any mistakes, contradictions or other comments about what I wrote please tell me because the last thing I want to happen is this post causing trouble because of wrong information (causing trouble because of correct information is A-OK though).
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UPDATE: The 4th November issue of the Wrestling Observer newsletter had a write up on the situation based on this post. Dave Meltzer also had additional information from a source close to the matter. The new info was written like this:
“Another person with knowledge of the situation wrote to us saying, “There were comments backstage from the younger guys towards Ibushi that he felt were disrespectful and I guess when the president (Takagi) asked them to apologize and squash the beef, most of the talent didn’t really want to, so Ibushi chose not to work for DDT anymore.” The person also said he felt that this was blown out of proportion”
1. 4 Way Match: MAO defeated Sayaka, Keiko Nakamura and Hondako Antonio when MAO pinned Nakamura with a Rainmaker (?:??).
2. HARASHIMA defeated Munetatsu Nakamura with the Somato (?:??).
3. Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Chie Koishikawa defeated Ms. Kaichow, Mr. Bueno & Mr. Malo when Brookes & Takanashi pinned Bueno with the HOD (?:??).
Halloween needed a sequel before it even happens so Baka Gaijin + Friends went to work. ChieDK all showed up to the main event in monstrous forms. Chie Koishikawa was now walking the earth as a zombie, Masahiro Takanashi entered the room as a vampire and Chris Brookes was reduced to being a sad clown. Things were a little different for their opponents. Mr. Bueno & Mr. Malo were their usual selves while Ram Kaichow was now wrestling in her own lucha mask under the name Ms. Kaichow (although Brookes quickly unmasked her). At a time when the masked wrestlers needed to be a united team against the forces of darkness, Bueno & Malo soon started to argue because Bueno wanted to fight fair while Malo wasn’t afraid to fight dirty. Things went south when Bueno stopped Malo from using a beer bottle as a weapon. Malo then decided to break the bottle over Bueno’s head! He walked off to let CDK beat Bueno and then returned to drop a pumpkin on top of Bueno’s prone body.
The rest of the card was not announced before the show so fans were surprised to see HARASHIMA show up wearing a pumpkin costume. He also wore plain wrestling trunks he had to borrow from someone else because he forgot to bring his regular wrestling gear. But when it came to his match against Munetatsu Nakamura, HARASHIMA kept it simple and outgrappled his opponent to win.
The opening bout was a 4 Way Match with every wrestler involved competing in a school girl sailor outfit. MAO and Sayaka were in the match as themselves in the costume but Keigo Nakamura and Antonio Honda went full on roleplaying as school girls. MAO ended up taking off his costume to reveal he was wearing a tight gym top and speedo underneath before pinning Nakamura with the Rainmaker.
A costume contest was hosted by Takayuki Ueki during the show. Ueki recently dislocated his shoulder so his costume was Zangief from Street Fighter II after he loses a fight. The winner came dressed a Chris Brookes and was even brought back for the main event to briefly swap places with the real Chris Brookes.
Baka Gaijin will be holding their 2nd Anniversary show on 10th December.
1. Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Harutoki
2. Moeka Haruhi & Yuna Manase Vs HARUKAZE & YuuRI
3. Ken Ohka, Yumehito Imanari & Tsuyoshi Okada Vs Shuichiro Katsumura, Shota Kawakami & Hiroaki Moriya
4. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase (c) Vs Naoki Tanizaki & Kohei Kinoshita
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Hartley Jackson
Keisuke Ishii has mindset of a challenger going into next weekend’s show even though he is the defending Spirit Of Ganbare World Champion. All of his favorite wrestlers growing up beat strong foreign opponents so he would like to do the same. However Hartley Jackson’s stock in Japan has been rising lately with appearances in New Japan, All Japan and GLEAT. If Ishii can beat him then he will tie the record for most SOG Title defences.
Things are a little different for Mizuki Watase. He sees Ishii as a fortress that protects Ganbare☆Pro. Watase & Shigehire Irie however see themselves as an attacking force that invades other fortresses. That’s why he is excited for the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles defence against the Osaka team of Naoki Tanizaki & Kohei Kinoshita. It will be in a GanPro ring but it will also be in Osaka so who truly has the homefield advantage?
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “LOOKING AROUND THE WORLD, ISN’T JAPAN AMAZING AFTER ALL!?”, 10/11/2024 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall
1. Rakuhan Vs Pom-chan Army: X Vs X
2. Rakuhan Vs Pom-chan Army: X Vs X
3. Rakuhan Vs Pom-chan Army: X Vs X
4. Rakuhan Vs Pom-chan Army: X Vs X
5. Rakuhan Vs Pom-chan Army: X & X Vs X & X
6. Rakuhan Vs Pom-chan Army: X & X Vs X & X
Rakuhan: Raku, Yuki Arai, HIMAWARI, Shino Suzuki, Haru Kazashiro, Chika Nanase, Ryo Mizunami and Ram Kaichow
Pom-chan Army: Pom Harajuku, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko, Kaya Toribami, Toga, Kira Summer, Uta Takami and Yoshiko Hasegawa
The team challenge between Rakuhan and Pom-chan Army is now sponsored by Yamada Suisan so the winning team will receive 10kg of Yamada Unagi as their luxurious prize.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE MOUNTAIN TOP 2024”, 16/11/2024 Osaka Edion Arena #2
1. Next Generation Tournament ’24 – Semi Final: Toga Vs Kira Summer
2. Next Generation Tournament ’24 – Semi Final: Haru Kazashiro Vs Winner Of Match 1D
3. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Zara Zakher
The winner of Wakana Uehara Vs Chika Nanase next week will meet Haru Kazashiro in the Next Generation Tournament semi-finals.
GANBARE☆PRO “WHERE EAGLES DARE 2024”, 17/11/2024 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
It wasn’t that long ago when GanPro was Kouki Iwasaki’s home promotion. He left in 2022 but returned this year for a couple of appearances. So in the run up to DNA’s 10th Anniversary, GanPro will be throwing a celebratory match for Iwasaki with Tatsuhito Takaiwa and Rekka among the invited guests.
Posted by JamieOD 
