TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP” Results

August 3, 2024

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 03/08/2024
Shinjuku FACE
297 Fans

1. Suzume, Arisu Endo & Uta Takami defeated Shino Suzuki, Runa Okubo & Chika Nanase when Suzume pinned Nanase with the Ring A Bell (8:41).
2. Miyu Yamashita, Mahiro Kiryu, Moka Miyamoto & Kaya Toribami defeated Mizuki, Raku, HIMAWARI & Kira Summer when Yamashita pinned HIMAWARI with the Attitude Adjustment (10:35).
3. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Rika Tatsumi defeated Toga with the Dragon Sleeper (7:58).
4. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Yuki Kamifuku defeated Pom Harajuku with the Famouser (6:58).
5. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Ryo Mizunami defeated Haru Kazashiro with the Ichijiku (7:10).
6. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Yuki Arai defeated Wakana Uehara with the Sasori-Katame (9:23).
7. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Zara Zakher defeated Miu Watanabe with the Control Z (12:45).
8. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Yuki Aino defeated Shoko Nakajima with a Shoulder Block (16:54).

Round 2 of the Tokyo Princess Cup is now complete. It could be that this year’s Cinderella run for the tournament will happen to Yuki Aino. She defeated Shoko Nakajima in the main event, the first time that has happened in Aino’s career. She blocked Nakajima from turning the Northern Lights Suplex into the Locomotive version. Nakajima however kicked out of the Venus DDT at one. She hit Aino with the Rider Kick but Aino responded with a Shoulder Block that wiped out her opponent and got her the victory. She is happy to win but it is only one victory so she wants to fight Nakajima even more. The rest of the Princess Cup is only going to get tougher from here but Aino promises to burn, burn, burn this summer!

The semi-main event is even more newsworthy. Zara Zakher, the first foreign outsider to compete in the Princess Cup has eliminated the Princess Of Princess Champion from the tournament! In a match that pitted power against power, Kazher scored the upset by beating Miu Watanabe with her Control Z finisher. She feels great after finally winning a match in Tokyo Joshi Pro, especially since she beat the champion. She moves on to face Mizuki in the Quarter Final. Zakher lost to her once before. She thinks the result will be different next time. Watanabe thinks she lose because of her own momentum and she praised Zakher for having overwhelming potential. She wants to turn this loss into a win someday to prove she is stronger than her.

It’s looking good that Yuki Arai will reach her goal of matching last year’s Princess Cup run where she reached the Semi Finals. Wakana Uehara gave her some trouble with a Brainbuster and the Banana Pillow. But Arai fought back with the Rookie Award and then the Scorpion Deathlock for the win. Arai said Uehara is ambitious and quickly growing in the ring. Beating her has given Arai confidence. She will be facing Suzume in the Quarter Final and is eager to beat her one on one after losing to her in the Princess Tag Team Titles match recently. Uehara said she had a plan ready to win but Arai was just so much stronger than she imagined.

Haru Kazashiro tried to get the jump on Ryo Mizunami early but her attack was easily dealt with. She got some more offence in with Cross Body Attacks and even attempted a Fisherman Suplex. Mizunami took over though and made Kazashiro submit to the Ichijiku Shoulder Lock. She was already looking forward to taking part in the Princess Cup but now her pespective has changed a little. It only takes one loss to get knocked out and getting jumped by Kazashiro flipped a switch. She is now fully determined to win the tournament! Kazashiro was upset after the match. She knew it was unlikely she would win but she wasn’t even a millimeter close to beating Mizunami.

The delayed match between Pom Harajuku and Yuki Kamifuku went ahead today. Harajuku kept kicking Kamifuku in the shin and Kamifuku kept poking Harajuku in the eyes. Harajuku went for a big move and charged in with the P Attack but Kamifuku cut her off with a Horizontal Chop. She then pinned her with the Famouser. Kamifuku explained she was too sick to wrestle last week but if the match went ahead it would have been on the same day as the big RIZIN show. She wants to be a winner this summer just like Ren Hiramoto. She will be facing Aino in the Quarter Final.

Toga came close to beating Rika Tatsumi but it just wasn’t to be. She landed the Rock Bottom but Tatsumi kicked out at two. Toga held on though, threw some Elbow Strikes and tried to use the move again. But Tatsumi countered it into the Dragon Sleeper and made Toga give up. Tatsumi thought the win would be a given and she is relieved with the result. She thinks Toga is a very honest person and should keep her spirits up. Tatsumi will be facing Mizunami next in the Quarter Final and she feels very lucky to be her opponent. Toga said she wanted to give it her all but knew she had to push past her limits to have a chance at winning.

It was announced that Max The Impaler’s next appearance for TJPW in Japan will be on 22nd September for “WRESTLE PRINCESS V”.


DDT “MEET & GREET & FIGHT” Results

August 2, 2024

DDT “MEET & GREET & FIGHT”, 02/08/2024
Shinjuku FACE
295 Fans

1. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 3 Way Match: Kazuma Sumi defeated Yuni and Ilusion when Sumi pinned Ilusion with the School Boy (10:41).
*Kazuma Sumi wins the White Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Shield.
2. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Single Match: KANON defeated Yukio Naya by TKO with the Cobra Twist 2.0 (12:41).
*KANON wins the Black Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Shield.
3. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Match Staggered Entry Battle Royal: Antonio Honda, HARASHIMA and Keigo Nakamura are the final three survivors (26:14).
Order Of Elimination: Tetsuya Endo, Takeshi Masada, Yuki Iino, Chris Brookes, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Soma Takao, Yuya Koroku, To-y, Makoto Oishi, Kazuki Hirata, Toru Owashi, Masahiro Takanashi & Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul, Danshoku Dieno and Akito.
*Antonio Honda wins the Red Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Shield. HARASHIMA wins the Blue Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Shield. Keigo Nakamura wins the Light Blue Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Shield.

The Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere contract are back and this time they are in shield form! Five of the prizes were on the line across three matches today granting whoever holds them a shot at either the KO-D Openweight Title, DDT Universal Title or DDT Extreme Title whenever they want. However the shield holder risks losing his prize if they directly lose a match in DDT before they cash it in. If the shields look familiar to you then I don’t know what link you’re trying to establish. It’s not like they just went and got a certain piece of video game merch, turned it upside down, painted it a different colour and slapped a logo in the centre…

The three champions who will become potential targets got to talk about the Shields at the start of the show. Yuki Ueno, MAO and Shunma Katsumata know they have to watch their backs for the next few months but are all confident they can defend their title wherever, whenever and against whoever.

The first Shield went to Kazuma Sumi for winning a 3 Way Match against Yuni and Ilusion. Yuni missed a Moonsault so with him out of the picture, Sumi got to pin Ilusion with a School Boy to win. When he received his prize he wanted to cash it in straight away. However Hisaya Imabayashi scolded him for not knowing the rules. The Shields will not become active until 10th August and cannot be cashed in until then.

Yukio Naya’s hopes of getting a Shield was blown away thanks to Ryuichi “Fire” Kawakami interfering in his match. Naya had KANON beaten when MJ Paul distracted the ref so Kawakami could attack Naya with a Lariat. KANON then gave Naya the Sleepy Hollow and held him in the Cobra Twist 2.0 until the ref stopped the match when Naya wouldn’t repond to him.

The main event was a 19-Man Royal Rumble with the three remaining Shields on the line. The last three wrestlers left standing would be declared the winners. When the dust settled Antonio Honda, HARASHIMA and Keigo Nakamura were the survivors.

When they received their prize all five Shield holders got together in the ring to talk about their plans. HARASHIMA said he will aim for the KO-D Title. So will Honda and he promised when he cashes in while Ueno is hurt, he will approach him as if he trying to comfort him. He also threatened to do things like sneak into Ueno’s kitchen and mess with his food just to make him paranoid. KANON won’t say who he will target but it will be at the worst time possible for that champion. Sumi wants to cash in on the Universal Title because MAO has treated him kindly. He would do the match immediately if he was allowed. Nakamura has a grand goal in mind. He wants to win two more Shields so he can challenge all three champions to a 4 Way Match so when he wins he will become the DDT Triple Crown Champion!

A contract signing for the next KO-D Tag Team Titles match on 10th August took place between BURNING and SCHADENFREUDE International. The match was originally booked to celebrate the 2nd Anniversary of Takeshi Masada’s debut match. He talked about his recent losing streak that is getting him criticised by his peers. Akito in particular told him he is missing something and Masada is trying to figure out what it is. Winning the KO-D Tag Titles will help him find the answer. Tetsuya Endo said he won’t lose to a wrestler who is unsure of himself. Yuki Iino said he shaved his beard off for this match and he wants to fight Masada with that kind of resolve.


Tsubasa Suzuki Ends Internship With DDT Early

August 1, 2024

At the start of this year DDT announced they were bringing in student pro wrestler Tsubasa Suzuki as the world’s first ever intern pro wrestler. The plan was for him to work with DDT on a part time basis for a year and at the end the company would decide whether or not to hire him full time. He only wrestled twice in March and had a third match cancelled when he caught a fever. Since then things went quiet with him and he hasn’t been wrestling in DDT at all. Today it was announced by DDT that Suzuki decided to end his internship early and 31st July was his last day with the company.

Suzuki said he was prioritized with schoolwork as well as job hunting which prevented him from getting to spend much time in the ring. He recently received a job offer from somewhere else that made him have to choose between that or pro wrestling. Either option would have made him happy and after much deliberation he decided to go with his new career that will begin next year. He is happy he got to become a pro wrestler for DDT, even if it was only for a brief amount of time. For the remainder of 2024 he will continue to be a student pro wrestler and will support DDT from a distance.


Video – Tokyo Princess Cup Day 1 Digest

August 1, 2024


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 28/07/2024
Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall
347 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Runa Okubo Vs Yuki Aino
2. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Shino Suzuki Vs Suzume
3. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Yuki Arai Vs Kaya Toribami
4. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Mizuki Vs Moka Miyamoto
5. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Arisu Endo Vs Miu Watanabe


DDT Around The World – July 2024

August 1, 2024

Summer is here and everyone has either gone travelling or are getting their all their plans in order. Funny thing is the people usually being covered for their overseas matches spent most of July wrestling back in Japan. Konosuke Takeshita had a few AEW matches over and done with before he got ready for the G1 Climax. Then Maki Itoh was wrestling in Tokyo Joshi Pro finishing off her latest dates with them before she goes on another GCW tour. So most of the results below are filled up by Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima and CDK related matches.

It’s the rest of the summer that’s going to get busy. A lot of Itoh matches in GCW with Yamashita popping up here and there along the way. Also some TJPW appearances in Southeast Asia and the USA debut of Yuna Manase are all coming up soon. Then there is the matter of DDT and TJPW holding shows abroad with local promotions in places like London and Seattle. Grab some water and stay hydrated because it’s going to be a busy summer of wrestling everywhere.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 05/07/2024
Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher Vs Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen


AEW “COLLISION”, 13/07/2024
Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Tommy Billington


Video starts at 2:27:50 for Match #1. Go to 2:52:58 for Match #2.
IWA JAPAN “HARDCORE FOREVER”, 27/07/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Hardcore Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Mister Suchart & Anont Alonzo Vs Ultramantis Black & Dr. Gore Black (w/ Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr.)
2. IWA Japan SETUP World Title: Ultramantis Black (c) (w/ Dr. Gore Black, Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr.) Vs Chris Brookes (w/ Masahiro Takanashi)


GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XI”, 28/07/2024
Roulette Intermedium, New York City, New York, USA

1. Shayna Baszler Vs Miyu Yamashita

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Results


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 03/07/2024 (Aired 05/07/2024)
Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher defeated Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen when Fletcher pinned Quen with the Kneeling Piledriver (10:10).

Takeshita had bigger stuff to prepare for this month but still got some ring time in AEW before heading back to Japan. He and Kyle Fletcher fought against Private Party, surviving a close call against them. Isiah Kassidy joked around to promote Shark Week and then landed the Swanton Bomb on Fletcher. Marq Quen’s 450 Splash afterwards though was blocked by Fletcher’s knees and Takeshita came in to German Suplex him away. Private Party fought back with a Top Rope Frankensteiner into the Cutter to Takeshita followed by the Silly String to Fletcher. Takeshita kicked out of Quen’s 450 Splash, took out both members with Lariats and then gave Kassidy the Blue Thunder Bomb. Fletcher then got to finish off Kassidy with the Kneeling Piledriver.


DPW “DPW LIVE 7”, 06/07/2024
NC State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

1. Battle Of The Best – Round 1: Shoko Nakajima defeated Masha Slamovich with the Diving Senton (16:16).

Shoko Nakajima touched down on DPW and left North Carolina with a big victory against Masha Slamovich despite taking some heavy hits from her. Slamovich used a Sit Down Power Bomb and also countered the Unmanned Local Train Hold into a Running Air Raid Crash that landed right into a bottom turnbuckle. But Nakajima used the top ropes against Slamovich in order to use a Power Bomb of her own. Slamovich tried using the Power Bomb again but Nakajima slipped down and pulled her into the Double Arm DDT. After that it took a Diving Senton to finish her off and make Nakajima advance to the next round of Battle Of The Best.


AEW “COLLISION”, 10/07/2024 (Aired 13/07/2024)
Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Tommy Billington with the Powerdrive Knee (13:29).

Takeshita’s last AEW appearance for the month was a noteworthy one because his opponent was Tommy Billington, the nephew of the late Dynamite Kid! The new generation Dynamite Kid gave Takeshita a good challenge but fell to the Powerdrive Knee. Don Callis then attempted to recruit Billington to The Don Callis Family by bringing up his family’s heritage. But that was just a trap for Takeshita and the rest of The Family to attack Billington from behind until FTR ran down to save him.


NORTH WRESTLING “THUNDER STRUCK 2”, 13/07/2024
Walker Dome, Newcastle, England

1. Lizzy Evo defeated Miyu Yamashita with an Inside Cradle (13:45).

This was a case of defeat being snatched from the jaws of victory here. Yamashita seemed to have a lot of the match under control until Lizzy Evo saw an opening to hit her with a Knee Strike to the face and then roll her into a Small Package for the three count out of nowhere. For Evo the result is payback for Yamashita beating her in EVE last year.


IWA JAPAN “HARDCORE FOREVER”, 27/07/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Hardcore Match: Mister Suchart & Anont Alonzo defeated Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) and Ultramantis Black & Dr. Gore Black (w/ Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr.) when Alonzo pinned Gore after a Choke Slam/Power Bomb Combo through the Table (?:??).
*CDK fails in V2. THE GOOD DEAL becomes the 2nd IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Champions!
2. IWA Japan SETUP World Title: Ultramantis Black (c) (w/ Dr. Gore Black, Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr.) defeated Chris Brookes (w/ Masahiro Takanashi) with a School Boy (?:??).
*V1 for Ultramantis Black.

Whenever CDK goes over to Thailand for SETUP Pro Wrestling that’s enough trouble to handle by itself. This however was not just a SETUP show. It was an event using the IWA Japan banner to celebrate 30 years of the promotion’s existance. CDK came over to defend the IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles in a Hardcore 3 Way Match. They had to fight the previous champions THE GOOD DEAL as well as the UMA Corps pairing of Ultramantis Black and Dr. Gore Black. Things went crazy as everybody fought outside the ring. Mister Suchart even got on a motor scooter and crashed it into everyone at ringside! A stapler gun was brought into the ring for Brookes and Ultramantis to staple each other with. Ultramantis then took advantage of miscommunication between CDK to put Brookes through a mini ironing board with a Back Drop. Masahiro Takanashi was also taken out by Dr. Gore attacking him with a toilet seat. From that point on CDK were too hurt to do anything and THE GOOD DEAL put Gore through a table. Anont Alonzo pinned him afterwards to win the belts.

It did not end there though. Earlier in the show the brand new IWA Japan SETUP World Title was introduced to the world. However Ultramantis and the UMA Corps launched an attack to steal the belt. Brookes was so mad to lose the tag titles in the main event without being pinned that he challenged Ultramantis for a World Title match straight away! Ultramantis refused but then attacked Brookes with the belt, causing the impromptu match to begin. Brookes fought back from the disadvantage and Takanashi was still there to cut off interference from the UMA Corps. But Dr. Gore threw a chair into Brookes’ face at ringside allowing Ultramantis to roll him up and escape with his first successful title defence. The UMA Corps continued to attack CDK until THE GOOD DEAL returned to save the day.


GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XI”, 28/07/2024
Roulette Intermedium, New York City, New York, USA

1. Shayna Baszler defeated Miyu Yamashita by TKO (8:37).

If there is any big story to talk about in this month’s article it is this one. Yamashita taking part in GCW’s Bloodsport event is notable in itself. She gave shoot boxing a go pretty early into her pro wrestling career and has the kind of martial arts cred that would get you booked for a show like this. The big news though was who they chose to be her opponent. In the main event she took on Shayna Baszler from WWE! It’s the latest move from WWE to open themselves up and show they are willing to work with other wrestling companies. It’s been noted online that the Bloodsport show featured talent from WWE/NXT, TNA, AEW/ROH, NJPW’s American arm, MLW and TJPW. Baszler ended up beating Yamashita by catching her Skull Kick, turning it into a Tombstone and then beginning to ground and pound her until the referee stepped in to stop the fight.

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Upcoming Appearances


GCW “NOW AND FOREVER”, 02/08/2024
TempleLive Cleveland Masonic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs John Wayne Murdoch

August is going to be a GCW month for Maki Itoh both in America and Japan. Her next tour begins with an unexpected opponent. She’s taking on one of their most violent wrestlers John Wayne Murdoch. He won the Tournament Of Survival back in June but his win-loss record in the company since then hasn’t been great.


GCW “CAN I TRUST YOU?”, 04/08/2024
House Of Independents, Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Itoh does not have a match announced for the show yet. This date was on her list of advertised bookings last month. The full card seems to have been shown since then and Blake Christian just so happens to have a “Pick Your Poison” style mystery opponent to be announced that day… I don’t see where else she will fit if she is still going to be there.


GCW “THE SKY IS THE LIMIT”, 13/08/2024
Shinjuku FACE, Tokyo, Japan

1. Broski Jimmy Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. The Great Sasuke Vs Maki Itoh

Itoh is also representing GCW for their Japan tour that is going on with some help from DDT. In a matchup that only sounds more mind bending the more I think of it, Itoh is going to fight The Great Sasuke! Yamashita will be on one of the shows too facing Broski Jimmy. That’s another match that I would never expect but more for head scratchy reasons.


GCW “YOU ONLY DIE ONCE”, 14/08/2024
Shinjuku FACE, Tokyo, Japan

1. Allie Katch & Dark Sheik Vs Kaya Toribami & Shoko Nakajima
2. GCW World Title: Mance Warner (c) Vs Maki Itoh

I made a prediction for this year that Itoh is going to win the GCW World Title. If it ever comes true then this will be the show to do it! It won’t though because GCW are all in on Mance Warner as their top champion while Itoh already holds the GCW Extreme Title but just imagine if they did.

Also added is a GCW Vs TJPW tag match. The visitors (or are they the home team because it’s GCW?) Allie Katch & Dark Sheik take on Kaya Toribami & Shoko Nakajima. I’ll probably make a separate post for the GCW Japan results since those matches are happening in Japan and DDT is involved with promoting the whole tour.


SPW “HARDCORE ISLAND 2: A FINE CITY”, 16/08/2024
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. 3 Way Match: Alexis Lee Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Kaya Toribami

Now that Alexis Lee got to wrestle in Japan and fully integrate herself into TJPW it’s time to send more people back over to Singapore Pro Wrestling. This time Lee will be in a 3 Way Match against two TJPW wrestlers. Yamashita and Toribami are on board to go face her in her home country.


KITSUNE “LOVE MY SHOW!”, 17/08/2024
Brick X Brick, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Yuna Manase Vs X

I was wondering how long it was going to take until I get to write about more of the American “Joshi” promotions that are currently around. Kitsune emerged around the same time period as SPARK Joshi and Sukeban. This one though has actually been able to run a show in Japan thanks to a lot of help from Marvelous. Their next shows in California is where Yuna Manase will be making her American wrestling debut.


GCW “NO SIGNAL IN THE HILLS PT. 4”, 17/08/2024
Ukrainian Culture Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Itoh will be following GCW back to America after the Japan tour ends.


GCW “SAVE ME”, 18/08/2024
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

More Itoh in GCW here.


KITSUNE “YABAI!”, 18/08/2024
1110 Bates Ave, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Kitsune World Title: Yuna Manase Vs Megan Bayne Vs J-Rod

The original plan was for Manase to be in a 3 Way Match with Sayaka Unagi and J-Rod for the Kitsune World Title. However Unagi is unable to get her visa approved in time and won’t be able to travel to America anytime soon. Since she was the champion, Kitsune made the decision to vacate the belt. It will now go to the winner of a new 3 Way Match between Manase, J-Rod and Megan Bayne.


EVE/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “EVE X TJPW: JAPAN & UK WRESTLING UNITE!”, 24/08/2024
Conway Hall, London, England

Finally we got a venue for the show. Yamashita, Raku, Mahiro Kiryu and HIMAWARI along with Aja Kong are the Japanese talent coming over to TJPW’s joint show with EVE. The EVE wrestlers being promoted for the show so far include Alex Windsor, Nina Samuels, Lena Cross and Session Moth Martina.


GCW “HOMECOMING – NIGHT 1”, 24/08/2024
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Kerry Morton

The match is in GCW but Itoh gets a little taste of NWA with Kerry Morton as her opponent here. Kerry is the son of Ricky Morton and has been spending a lot of time in NWA as part of The Southern Six. He was even on the winning team at The Crockett Cup a few months ago.


GCW “HOMECOMING – NIGHT 2”, 25/08/2024
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

None of her GCW matches next month have been announced as Extreme Title defences yet.


MLW “SUMMER OF THE BEASTS”, 29/08/2024
Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA

1. Delmi Exo Vs Miyu Yamashita

MLW wrote a really long passage about this match on their Twitter page but we don’t need to go through all that. Yamashita beat Delmi Exo last December, next month is time for the rematch. The difference here is Exo now has the support of MLW’s main authority figure Cesar Duran by her side.


GCW “LIVE FAST DIE YOUNG”, 31/08/2024
Thalia Hall, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Megan Bayne
2. Maki Itoh Vs Kylie Rae

Prepare for cute smiles everywhere when Itoh is in the ring with Kylie Rae. Things might get ugly though if Itoh ends up feeling threatened by Rae’s cheerfulness. Yamashita getting another match with Megan Bayne is something she might not want to smile about either. They wrestled each other at a DREAMWAVE show back in April. Bayne won clean and Yamashita was in a pretty bad mood about it afterwards, rejecting her post-match handshake.


INSPIRE A.D. “MAY THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN”, 01/09/2024
Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Devin Carter

One of the non-GCW bookings Itoh is taking after the summer is over at Inspire A.D. in Texas. “The Fashionista” Devin Carter is her opponent. They have only been wrestling for a couple of years, mostly around the Texas scene.


MKW “CHAMPIONSHIP SUPERCARD FROM SHANGHAI”, 14/09/2024
Bandai Namco Shanghai Base, Shanghai, China

1. Queen Of Asia Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c) Vs Crystal

Still another while until Yuki Kamifuku defends the Queen Of Asia Title against Crystal. Kamifuku has been stepping her game up over the last twelve months and it’s really been paying off for her lately.


GCW “BAD ONE”, 14/09/2024
Harpos Concert Center, Detroit, Michigan, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

This will be the last weekend of Itoh’s current tour.


GCW “THA G-CODE”, 15/09/2024
Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, New York, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

And Itoh’s last American booking as of now is here.


SETUP “CHAOPHRAYA VOYAGE: 12TH ANNIVERSARY OF THAI WRESTLING”, 28/09/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Match: Matcha (c) Vs Raku Vs Pom Harajuku

TJPW sent a video message to SETUP announcing the next opponents for Matcha and the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title she currently holds. Both Raku and Pom Harajuku are coming to Thailand to wrestle there for the first time!


TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “BRIGHT EYES”, 09/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

A big weekend is going down in Seattle during November. TJPW is teaming up with DEFY for a show. Expect around 10-12 TJPW talent to be coming over. That was already announced a while ago…


DDT/DEFY “DDT IN UTERO”, 09/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

What turned out to be new news about the event is DEFY will be bringing over DDT for an evening show too! DDT has not said yet how many people they are going to bring over.


DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TRIANGLER DTD”, 10/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

The weekend ends with DDT, TJPW and DEFY all joining forces for a triple promotion show.


Right To Challenge Matches, Full DDT Vs GCW Card, Naya Is Turning 30, Takao’s 15th Anniversary

July 31, 2024

DDT “MEET & GREET & FIGHT”, 02/08/2024
Shinjuku FACE

1. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 3 Way Match: Yuni Vs Ilusion Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Single Match: KANON Vs Yukio Naya
3. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Match Staggered Entry Battle Royal: Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuki Iino Vs Daisuke Sasaki Vs MJ Paul Vs Chris Brookes Vs Masahiro Takanashi Vs Antonio Honda Vs Takeshi Masada Vs HARASHIMA Vs Toru Owashi Vs Danshoku Dieno Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs To-y Vs Keigo Nakamura Vs Yuya Koroku

The DDT version of Money In The Bank is back and ready to leave a trail of chaos in its wake this summer. This year there will be five Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere prizes up for grabs across three matches. Three contracts will go to the last three survivors of a Battle Royal featuring all of DDT’s mainstays. One will go to the winner of KANON Vs Yukio Naya. The final one will go to the winner of the 3 Way Match between Yuni, Ilusion and Kazuma Sumi. So by the time the five holders are determined it will be a group of wrestlers spreading all over the main event, midcard and rookie scenes.

There are also some slight changes to the rules for the prize this year. The contracts will become active from 10th August to 23rd November. They can be cashed in on any DDT related show held during that period for either a KO-D Openweight Title shot, a DDT Universal Title shot or a DDT Extreme Title shot. If a contract holder directly loses a match on a DDT show then the contract is given to whoever beats them. That is not a new rule but limiting it happening to just DDT related events is a new change.

DDT/GCW “NEVER ENDING NOISY SUMMER”, 12/08/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Masha Slamovich, Yuni & Ilusion Vs Maki Itoh, Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Marcus Mathers
2. DDT Variety Team Vs The Mothership: Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda Vs Allie Katch & Dark Sheik
3. DDT Vs GCW Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Rina Yamashita & Broski Jimmy
4. DDT Vs GCW Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Gringo Loco & 1 Called Manders
5. DDT Vs GCW Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Effy
6. GCW World Title – 3 Way Hardcore Match: Mance Warner (c) Vs Shunma Katsumata Vs Joey Janela
7. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Alex Zayne

The full DDT Vs GCW card is here. Some of the new tag matches added includes BURNING facing Gringo Loco & 1 Called Manders as well as DAMNATION T.A having to deal with the odd couple team of Rina Yamashita & Broski Jimmy. Are Allie Katch & Dark Sheik prepared for the silliness of Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda? That’s not all, Masha Slamovich and Marcus Mathers find themselves dropped deep into the DDT roster for an 8-Man Tag Match. There will be more DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro involvement later on in GCW’s tour of Japan but I’ll write about it in tomorrow’s DDT Around The World article.

DDT “MEMORIES OF SUMMER VACATION 2024 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 17/08/2024
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Michael Nakazawa
2. Yukio Naya’s Birthday Celebration Match ~ Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs Yuki Iino

On the day Yukio Naya turns 30 years old he will celebrate it by fighting Yuki Iino in a big heavyweight match.

DDT “MEMORIES OF SUMMER VACATION 2024”, 25/08/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Soma Takao 15th Anniversary ~ Special Single Match: Soma Takao Vs Keisuke Ishii
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Shinya Aoki

A fitting opponent for Soma Takao. When he debuted in DDT 15 years ago one of his teammates was Keisuke Ishii. The two then went on to grow up in wrestling together with the rest of the Young Communication generation and then joined forces with Shigehiro Irie to create Team Drift. This match as added importance because Ishii is the current Spirit Of Ganbare World Champion.

Ryuichi “Fire” Kawakami will be on the show.


BASARA “BASARA 253 ~UTAGE~” Results

July 31, 2024

BASARA “BASARA 253 ~UTAGE~”, 30/07/2024
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Takumi Tsukamoto & Fuminori Abe defeated Ryota Nakatsu & Masato Kamino when Abe pinned Kamino with a Frankensteiner (10:07).
2. Gouma Ryu defeated Judo Master with an Inside Cradle (4:41).
3. Takato Nakano, Daiju Wakamatsu & Yuki Kanzaki defeated Lil’ Kraken, Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga when Nakano pinned Kraken with the Takagari (12:02).
4. Yasu Urano defeated SAGAT with the Tombstone Piledriver (12:10).
5. Elimination 6-Man Tag Match: Isami Kodaka, Ryuichi Sekine & Minoru Fujita defeated FUMA, KUBITO & Daichi Kazato (20:22).
5a. Isami Kodaka eliminated FUMA by Ring Out (10:33).
5b. KUBITO eliminated Ryuichi Sekine with the Crossover Face Lock (15:19).
5c. Minoru Fujita eliminated Daichi Kazato by Ring Out (17:58).
5d. Minoru Fujita eliminated KUBITO by Ring Out (20:22).

Daisuke Sasaki was at the show to meet up with KUBITO. The two confronted Fuminori Abe to promote their match with Astronauts for the Iron Fist Tag Team Titles on 4th August. Sasaki also hit Abe from behind before escaping the ring with KUBITO.

During one point of the show at ringside, Isami Kodaka talked to the trainee Takeru Inoue and wished him luck when he debuts on 4th August. Kodaka is going to be his first opponent.


Tomorrow’s BASARA Card, Princess Cup Round 2, Ice Ribbon Heading Back To GanPro

July 29, 2024

BASARA “BASARA 253 ~UTAGE~”, 30/07/2024
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Takumi Tsukamoto & Fuminori Abe Vs Ryota Nakatsu & Masato Kamino
2. Gouma Ryu Vs Judo Master
3. Takato Nakano, Daiju Wakamatsu & Yuki Kanzaki Vs Lil’ Kraken, Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
4. SAGAT Vs Yasu Urano
5. Elimination 6-Man Tag Match: Isami Kodaka, Ryuichi Sekine & Minoru Fujita Vs FUMA, KUBITO & Daichi Kazato

Tomorrow is BASARA’s go home show for this Sunday’s event in Korakuen Hall.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 03/08/2024
Shinjuku FACE

1. Suzume, Arisu Endo & Uta Takami Vs Shino Suzuki, Runa Okubo & Chika Nanase
2. Miyu Yamashita, Mahiro Kiryu, Moka Miyamoto & Kaya Toribami Vs Mizuki, Raku, HIMAWARI & Kira Summer
3. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2E: Pom Harajuku Vs Yuki Kamifuku
4. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2H: Haru Kazashiro Vs Ryo Mizunami
5. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2G: Rika Tatsumi Vs Toga
6. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2D: Miu Watanabe Vs Zara Zakher
7. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2F: Yuki Aino Vs Shoko Nakajima
8. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2B: Yuki Arai Vs Wakana Uehara

The Pom Harajuku Vs Yuki Kamifuku match was postponed to this show because Kamifuku was too unwell to wrestle yesterday. So now it is the six remaining Round 2 matches that will be completed on the same day. Miu Watanabe, Yuki Aino and Yuki Arai are the three that advanced past the opening round to get here.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 10/08/2024
Osaka Edion Arena #2

1. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Suzume Vs Winner Of Match 2B
2. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Mizuki Vs Winner Of Match 2D
3. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Winner Of Match 2E Vs Winner Of Match 2F
4. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Winner Of Match 2G Vs Winner Of Match 2H

So far Mizuki and Suzume are the first wrestlers to qualify for the Quarter Finals thanks to how the bracket was laid out. Suzume will face the winner of Yuki Arai Vs Wakana Uehara. Mizuki will take one the winner of Miu Watanabe Vs Zara Zakher.

GANBARE☆PRO “UNCUT DIAMONDS 2024”, 16/08/2024
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Hartley Jackson Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
2. Yuna Manase & YuuRI Vs Tsukasa Fujimoto & Kirari Wakana
3. Yumehito Imanari & Rekka Vs Tyson Maeguchi & Shota Kawakami
4. Shuichiro Katsumura, PSYCHO & Moeka Haruhi Vs Masamune, Daisuke®️ & HARUKAZE
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase (c) Vs Ken Ohka & Shuji Ishikawa
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Takuya Wada

Another Ganbare☆Joshi Vs Ice Ribbon tag match is coming up. This time Ice Ribbon are sending people from both sides of the experience scale. There should be no need to explain who Tsukasa Fujimoto is at this point. She has been a central figure for the company for so long now. Teaming with her is the brand new rookie Kirari Wakana. The 18 year old only just had her debut match earlier this month and is already getting some good results her way. Yuna Manase & YuuRI better watch out and not take her lightly.


DDT “AFTER PETER PAN 2024 IN NAGOYA – DAY 2” Results

July 28, 2024

DDT “AFTER PETER PAN 2024 IN NAGOYA – DAY 2”, 28/07/2024
Aichi Nagoya Imaike Gas Hall
260 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. KANON defeated Kazuma Sumi with the Just Cobra Twist (6:56).
2. 3 Way Match: Antonio Honda defeated To-y and Yuni when Honda pinned Yuni with a Reverse Cradle (7:57).
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi defeated HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Oishi pinned Hirata with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (10:05).
4. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata defeated Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku when MAO pinned Koroku after the Our MADMAX (15:43).
5. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Ryuichi “Fire” Kawakami defeated Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura when Kawakami pinned Nakamura with the Thunder Fire Bomb (14:16).
6. Special Single Match: Akito defeated Takeshi Masada with the Figure 4 Leg Lock (17:27).

What is going on with Takeshi Masada? He has a KO-D Tag Team Titles shot coming up but he’s dropping falls left, right and centre recently. Today’s show was in Akito’s homeplace of Nagoya but even he is calling out Masada over not stepping up for matches he cannot afford to lose. He thinks there is something missing with Masada and he should think even more about pro wrestling. Since Sanshiro Takagi is now resting, Akito is taking it upon himself to take charge of DDT both in the ring and behind the scenes. He hopes what he said today will inspire Masada. His words have at least gotten Masada angry. He said Akito does not know how he feels about wanting to win the KO-D Tag Titles on the 2nd anniversary of his debut.

The feud between Ryuichi “Fire” Kawakami and Yukio Naya is heating up even more with both wrestlers telling each other what they are going to do next after their singles match on 8th September. Kawakami says he is going to move on and challenge for the KO-D Openweight Title while Naya claims he will go to GLEAT and take the G-REX Title before Kawakami ever can!

Both Jun Akiyama & Danshoku Dieno agreed that Makoto Oishi will remain a member of D.O.A after he leaves DDT in October. Oishi showed his appreciation by trying to roll up Dieno for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title after their match. Dieno kicked out and escaped, leaving Oishi empty handed.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP” Results

July 28, 2024

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 28/07/2024
Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall
347 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Shoko Nakajima, Raku, HIMAWARI, Haru Kazashiro & Uta Takami defeated Zara Zakher, Wakana Uehara, Toga, Kira Summer & Chika Nanase when Raku pinned Nanase with the Doctor Yellow (8:40).
2. Maki Itoh & Pom Harajuku defeated Rika Tatsumi & Mahiro Kiryu when Itoh pinned Kiryu with the Itoh Clutch (11:55).
3. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Yuki Aino defeated Runa Okubo with the Venus DDT (4:56).
4. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Suzume defeated Shino Suzuki with the Ring A Bell (7:09).
5. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Yuki Arai defeated Kaya Toribami with the Finally (8:38).
6. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Mizuki defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Diving Foot Stomp (12:28).
7. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Miu Watanabe defeated Arisu Endo with the Foot Stomp (14:38).

The 11th annual Tokyo Princess Cup began with a mixture of matches from Round 1 and Round 2 due to the number of entrants creating an uneven tournament bracket to work off of. The big match of the opening round was Miu Watanabe against Arisu Endo in a battle of champions. Endo’s moves couldn’t land a decisive blow and it came down to Watanabe using the Tear Drop to win. She pointed out she has had a singles match against Endo every year that Endo has been around for so it was fate for them to have it here. She’ll be facing Zara Zacker in Round 2 and is keeping a strong attitude so she can accomplish the ultimate grand slam in Tokyo Joshi Pro. Arisu thought this would be the year she would finally beat Watanabe but in the end she lost. She thinks she was still able to show how much she has improved since last year. She wants to be frustrated but she doesn’t have time to feel depressed over it.

Over in Round 2 Mizuki is among the early wrestlers to already qualify for the Quarter Finals thanks to her win against Moka Miyamoto. The Cutie Special followed by the Diving Foot Stomp was the difference maker. Mizuki always wants to be number one but she also has more desires beyond that. She was excited to discover just how much Miyamoto has grown and it makes her want to fight even more so she can become number one again. Miyamoto finds herself down at the bottom again. She just recently lost a Princess Tag Team Titles match and now got eliminated early in the Princess Cup. Her only solution is to keep working harder and get stronger to win more.

Back in Round 1 Yuki Arai took care of Kaya Toribami in a match between wrestlers who debuted only a month away from each other. Arai dodged the 2nd Rope Rolling Senton and gave Toribami the Full Nelson Buster followed by the Finally for the three count. Arai always wanted to have a singles match with Toribami and could feel her determination to win. Arai will now face Wakana Uehara in Round 2. They teamed together in this year’s Max Heart Tournament but Arai will not let anyone stop her from reaching the top four again for a second year in a row. Toribami said she did not feel any panic today and was able to do her best. She wonders if the difference comes from Arai being a champion?

The other girl to start from Round 2 and advance straight on to the Quarter Finals is Suzume. She defeated Shino Suzuki to take this path. They’ve wrestled each other countless times already so Suzume knows just how persistent Suzuki can be. She thinks it even gave her a passionate boost today as she waits to find out who she will face in the Quarter Final. Suzuki said she fought with everything she had but still lost. She does not know if she’s grown at all since her first singles match which was also against Suzume.

A fresh red hair dye job complimented Yuki Aino’s victory over Runa Okubo in Round 1. The rookie tried beating Aino with a Crab Hold and Elbow Strikes but Aino took her down with a Bulldog Headlock before pinning her with the Venus DDT. Aino is pleased to finally advance past the opening round after getting knocked out of it for the past two years. now moves on to fight Shoko Nakajima in Round 2. It is a match that both women are looking forward to. Okubo admitted she lost the match in both strength and momentum. All she’s feeling now is frustration.

Yuki Kamifuku was feeling unwell and could not be at the show today. Her Round 2 match against Pom Harajuku has been postponed until 3rd August. Harajuku was moved to Match #2 instead, turning the 3 Way Match into a tag match. She wanted to see the scheduled 3 Way Match anyway and encouraged the other participants to wrestle the match without her. However it was just a trick so Harajuku could get the jump on the other team.