DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 10 ~I WILL NOT SPARE YOUR LIFE OR YOUR REPUTATION~”, 02/07/2023 Osaka Komikyo Higashinari Civic Center 438 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Dosukoi Thank You Vs DDT’s Most Green Boy Combo: Yusuke Okada & Yuki Ishida defeated Kazuma Sumi & Ilusion when Ishida pinned Ilusion with the Ensho (9:30).
2. Pheromones Vs ROMANCE DAWN Vs Yoga Sumo ~Between Compliance And The Taste Of Pheromones~: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno defeated Soma Takao & Shota and Toru Owashi & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi when Iino submitted Hiroshi after the Sexy Peeler (9:28).
3. Diabolical DAMNATION T.A Vs Men With A Thousand Skills: Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul defeated Tsubasa & Makoto Oishi when Sasaki submitted Oishi with the Crossface Lock (8:47).
4. “Did You Hear That? I Heard That Guy’s A Prick” Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Kuishinbo Kamen defeated Kikutaro & Antonio Honda when Endo pinned Honda with the Burning Star Press (14:11).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match – Japan-US Young Wrestling Summit!: Nick Wayne, Kohei Kinoshita & Yuya Koroku defeated MAO, Toy Kojima & Yuni when Wayne pinned Kojima with the Wayne’s World (12:25).
6. Special Tag Match – One Hundred Tales Of Osaka ~Saki Akai, Her Biggest Crisis Before Retirement~: Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai defeated Kazuki Hirata & No Name when Sakaguchi pinned Hirata with the PK (10:10).
7. Magnitude Kishiwada 30th Anniversary Match ~You Guys Will Know When You See It~: Dick Togo, Magnitude Kishiwada & Black Buffalo defeated Shigehiro Irie, Yuto Kikuchi & Takeshi Masada when Kishiwada pinned Masada with the Last Ride (14:58).
8. Right Before Ryogoku! Road To KOKUGIKAN Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuji Hino, Jun Akiyama & Hideki Okatani defeated HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Akito when Hino submitted Akito with the King Kong Sleeper (14:02).
9. Special Single Match – WR ~Wrestling & Respect~: Yuki Ueno defeated HUB with the WR (27:55).
The annual Yukinori Matsui produced show in Osaka was this year headlined with a match between Yuki Ueno and HUB. It is a matchup Matsui put together because one year ago Ueno asked HUB to do the match on this show. HUB spent the bout targeting Ueno’s leg and also used the WR, his original version of the finishing move. He tried to finish his opponent off with the Avalanche Viper Strike but Ueno gave him a Frankensteiner to the canvas instead and used his own WR to win the match.
Afterwards HUB took off his mask in the ring but kept his face covered using a shirt. He said today’s match was the best in his 24 year career. He heard Ueno keeps talking about Konosuke Takeshita. That reminded HUB of the time he fought Takeshita as Zero back in 2016 and how he gave the Zero mask to Takeshita as a gift. Today he is giving Ueno an even better gift, the HUB mask he just took off! If Ueno wants to carry DDT on his back then HUB wants him to stand tall. Ueno said HUB is the wrestler he admires most. He may never become as cool as him but Ueno will make it his goal to be just as good looking!
The show also held the 30th Anniversary match for Magnitude Kishiwada. The special occasion saw the masked wrestler team up with Dick Togo & Black Buffalo to beat Shigehiro Irie, Yuto Kikuchi & Takeshi Masada. After pinning Masada with the Last Ride, Kishiwada declared that his career is only at the halfway point! After all there is no such thing as an actual pro wrestling retirement. Kishiwada’s going to wrestle for the rest of his life if he gets his way. The next thing he wants to do is fight Irie in a singles match.
You never see the wrestlers in Eruption get intimidated by anybody but that was before they had to fight No Name. The horror wrestler was such a scary presence that Eruption and even No Name’s partner Kazuki Hirata all tried to hide away from her. Their fear was warranted when after the match No Name trapped Saki Akai in a strangling submission and choked her unconscious. Yukio Sakaguchi ran away carrying Akai in his arms while No Name decided to chase Hirata around the venue.
After Match #4 Kikutaro told the audience that Matsui lost his wallet a few days ago. The wallet was found and returned to him but it was missing 50,000 yen. Kikutaro proposed the formation of Matsui AID to collect donations from the audience.
Yasu Urano was unable to wrestle on the show due to illness. Shota took his place in Match #2 which meant teaming with Soma Takao as ROMANCE DAWN again.
At the end of the show Matsui said he wants to hold the event again next October. This one is going to be more important than usual because he will be celebrating his 30th Anniversary in wrestling!
DDT “DDT YOKOHAMA UNLIMITED SPECIAL”, 01/07/2023 Yokohama Radiant Hall 219 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul defeated Yusuke Okada & Kazuma Sumi when Sasaki pinned Sumi with the Diving Elbow Drop (7:37).
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari defeated Akito, MAO & Antonio Honda when Iino pinned Akito after the Fight Ippatsu Spear (10:07).
3. Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida defeated Saki Akai & Yuya Koroku when Ishida pinned Akai with the Dosukoi Hold (9:36).
4. BURNING Vs DISASTER BOX!: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Akiyama pinned Hirata with the Jumping Knee Butt (0:06).
4a. Rematch: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Endo pinned Hirata with a Cradle (8:46).
5. Special Hardcore Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani defeated Atsushi Onita & Toy Kojima when Sakaguchi pinned Kojima with the God’s Right Knee with the Chair (12:02).
6. Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi defeated HARASHIMA & Soma Takao when Hino pinned Takao with the Fuckin’ BOMB (14:16).
7. International Special Tag Match: Nick Wayne & Takeshi Masada defeated Yuki Ueno & Yuni when Wayne pinned Yuni with the Wayne’s World (15:55).
Nick Wayne has touched down in DDT and was given the spotlight in the main event along with other young wrestlers in the company. The average age in today’s main event was 20 years old (Yuki Ueno is 27, Yuni is 15, Wayne is 17 and Takeshi Masada is 21). Wayne beat Yuni with his version of the Springboard Cutter called the Wayne’s World. He now hopes to do the same to Ueno in their singles match next week.
Chris Brookes approached the ring after Match #6 to have a stare down with Yuji Hino. Nothing physical took place because according to Hino a tall, handsome amateur like Brookes is not even worth throwing a Chop at. He previously called the tag match on 7th July Brookes’ retirement match but today he joked it is going to be more like Brookes’ professional debut. Hino’s behaviour has reached the point where Makoto Oishi can’t tell if he is praising Brookes or trying to humiliate him.
A Hardcore Tag Match pitting Eruption against Atsushi Onita & Toy Kojima brought a more firey side out of Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani. Onita was thrown into a barbed wire board in the corner and Okatani attacked Kojima with chairs. Onita blinded fought back giving Sakaguchi the Poison Mist followed by a Piledriver through a table. Sakaguchi recovered and used a chair assisted God’s Right Knee to pin Kojima for the three count.
After the match Onita asked Sanshiro Takagi if Jun Akiyama will answer his challenge for an exploding death match at Ota Ward Gymnasium on 9th September. Takagi told him he never got a response from Akiyama. Sakaguchi then told Onita that the All Asia Tag Team Title belt once belonged to his father Seiji Sakaguchi. He can’t continue letting Onita carry it around. Onita agreed to give Sakaguchi a title shot as long as it is in an exploding death match! Takagi endorsed the idea and is now trying to get permission to do the title match in Osaka on 20th August.
Becoming a champion has not changed Kazuki Hirata one bit. He was immediately pinned by Akiyama in his tag match and also dropped the fall to Tetsuya Endo in an immediate rematch. Hirata is trying to convince himself he is in perfect condition because how else would you suffer a perfect defeat like that?
The Dosukoi Hold used by Yuki Ishida has claimed another Eruption victim. This time Saki Akai was pinned with the move. Ishida thinks the hold is now creating the Dosukoi Movement, granting Harimao enough momentum for their upcoming KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles defence against Eruption to make them unstoppable.
Akito placed a bounty on each member of Pheromones for today’s match. Beating Yuki Iino is worth 100,000 yen, beating Yumehito Imanari is worth 50,000 yen and beating Danshoku Dieno is worth 10,000 yen. The reward motiviated MAO at first but he was quickly driven to ignore fighting Dieno because he literally wasn’t worth it. Pheromones took advantage by trying to brainwash MAO to join their side but Akito snapped him out of it by shouting “Money!” at him over and over. His plan ended up failing anyway because Pheromones picked up the win over him.
One year into writing these articles and I knew it was going to be a good idea to keep track of everything. A busy idea every time the end of the month comes but a good one nonetheless. Summer is still going on but the focus on international travels is swapping some of the cast we’re following. Miyu Yamashita ended her Kick Rampage Tour with a long list of matches and companies worked for under her belt. Maki Itoh is also back in Japan gearing up for possibly the biggest match of her career before she goes touring again. The mystery of why Yuka Sakazaki went to America and not wrestle at all has been cleared up. Well, sort of. There’s a few things out there I’m asking around to clarify knowing full well I won’t be getting any answers. We even got a little bit of Mizuki in there too. Now MAO gets to be a featured part of this series going into the rest of the summer. He’s the latest wrestler to get the travel bug and take in some bookings around America.
Oh, one more thing. I put together two Youtube playlists related to this series. The first is following Takeshita’s AEW run using all of the highlight videos AEW posts on their channels. I avoided adding the episodes of Dark because of the episode lengths. One thing I noticed looking back on everything it’s cool to see how many of Takeshita’s opponents on Dynamite and Rampage early in his run have all circled together as part of feud between The Elite and the Blackpool Combat Club. Intentional or not, Takeshita’s year with the company ended up being something that connected a lot of pieces together.
The other playlist is a collection of Yamashita’s matches from her Rampage Kick Tour. All of the videos I included were posted by either the promotions themselves or the wrestlers she faced against. I avoided fancams and highlight videos unless they were official or endorsed. If there’s anything I missed then send the Youtube links my way. If there’s interest in more I’ll see if I can put a playlist together for Itoh or maybe the DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro rosters in general.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 07/06/2023 Broadmoor World Arena, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) Vs Damon Ace
ST. LOUIS ANARCHY “GIANT’S WOKE EYES OPEN”, 09/06/2023 The House of Anarchy, Alton, Illinois, USA
1. Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita
Video starts at 3:21. ENJOY “SOMETHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT”, 17/06/2023 Mr. Smalls Theatre, Millvale, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Ray Lyn
WARRIOR “WARRIOR WRESTLING 30 – FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS”, 30/06/2023 Marian Catholic High School, Chicago Heights, Illinois, USA
1. Warhorse Vs Konosuke Takeshita
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Results
LLL “BEST WISHES WARMEST REGARDS”, 02/06/2023 The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA
1. LLL Women’s Title – 3 Way Match: Heidi Howitzer (c) defeated Masha Slamovich and Miyu Yamashita when Howitzer pinned Yamashita with the Stunner (15:04). *V? for Heidi Howitzer.
Earlier this year Yamashita was able to win the Princess Tag Team Titles from The Wasteland War Party in TJPW. Now it was time for her to enter one of Heidi Howitzer’s haunts Lucha Libre & Laughs to try and win another championship from her. Another of Yamashita’s regular opponents Masha Slamovich was also there to make it a 3 Way Match. Yamashita rocked Slamovich with the Skull Kick but just when she thought the match was won, Howitzer came in and gave her a Stunner for the three count and a successful title defence.
BLACK LABEL PRO “FANCY WRESTLING 2”, 03/06/2023 RDS Gym, Crown Point, Indiana, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Rachel Armstrong with the Skull Kick (11:13).
The gap of experience between Yamashita and Rachel Armstrong put Yamashita firmly in the bullying veteran role for the match. She goaded her opponent into a strike exchange that she shrugged off. Armstrong caught Yamashita off guard by criss-crossing the ropes and landing a Running Elbow Smash that knocked Yamashita out of the ring to set up a dive. But back in the ring Yamashita pushed Armstrong away from doing a Shiranui and lifted her high into the air for the Attitude Adjustment. Once she hit the Skull Kick Yamashita applied a dominant pin on top of Armstrong to win the match.
GCW “CAGE OF SURVIVAL 2”, 04/06/2023 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Janai Kai with the I.S.D. (5:43).
Itoh kicked off GCW’s second annual “CAGE OF SURVIVAL” event by beating Janai Kai but her celebration was cut off by Matt Cardona & Steph De Lander. The two of them were coming out for a tag match against Brandon Kirk & Casey Kirk but first took the time demanding Itoh to keep her nose out of their business. Itoh swore at them and told Cardona to “suck my dick!” Cardona & De Lander went on to beat the Kirks and continued to attack them after the match. Itoh then returned to the ring this time with Nick Gage alongside her. Together Maki Death Kill and The Kirks fought back and Itoh got to smash a bundle of lighttubes over Cardona’s head! If that wasn’t enough she also smeared some of Cardona’s blood she found on the mat over her face afterwards!
INSPIRE A.D. “KIDS OF THE BLACKHOLE”, 04/06/2023 Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA
1. Killa Kate defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Cradle (?:??).
This is possibly the biggest upset defeat Yamashita suffered in her entire excursion. Killa Kate is nicknamed “The Submission Musician” and lived up to it by going for different holds targeting Yamashita’s arm. Yamashita put all of her focus into fighting off the submissions that Kate ended up switching a Cross Armbreaker into a Rolling Cradle to score the pin from out of nowhere.
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 07/06/2023 (Aired ??/06/2023) Broadmoor World Arena, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
I’m seeing conflicting reports on whether or not this match was taped for ROH. On the night everyone at the show who tweeted about it said it was taped and images show the ROH set up in the arena. However AEW’s Japanese Twitter account made it sound like it was just a dark match only for those in attendance to see. That’s a shame if it doesn’t get shown because Itoh and Willow Nightingale together sounds like a fun pairing, Emi Sakura’s work is consistently enjoyable and Megan Bayne was building up a hot streak on the indies before getting injured last year.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 07/06/2023 Broadmoor World Arena, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Damon Ace with the PowerDrive Knee (1:29).
Over in AEW we get to see Konosuke Takeshita with a new attitude under the guidance of Don Callis. He gave Damon Ace a quick beating while video footage of Callis betraying Kenny Omega looped over and over on the arena screens.
ST. LOUIS ANARCHY “GIANT’S WOKE EYES OPEN”, 09/06/2023 The House of Anarchy, Alton, Illinois, USA
1. Billie Starkz defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Victory Roll Reversal (14:04).
By this point Yamashita and Billie Starkz have faced each other several times already. But this meeting in St. Louis Anarchy was one that Starkz has been looking forward to for a while. Her persistence paid off because she finally scored her first singles win over Yamashita! The finish came when she tried to use the Sugoi Driver but Yamashita countered it into a Victory Roll. Starkz reversed the hold and rolled herself back on top of Yamashita to get the three count.
SPARK “IGNITE EAST”, 11/06/2023 The Heart Ballroom, Newark, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Brittany Blake with the Itoh Deluxe (9:17).
2. Spark Joshi World Title: Miyu Yamashita defeated Rachael Ellering with the Crash Rabbit Heat (16:20). *Miyu Yamashita becomes the 1st Spark Joshi World Champion!
The debut show for Spark Joshi Puroresu was a good one for Yamashita and Itoh. In the main event Yamashita defeated Rachael Ellering to become the first Spark Joshi World Champion. However Yamashita may need to watch her back for future shows because Starkz threw her name into the hat for a future title shot. She also formed an alliance with Ellering called Xtinguish. On the undercard Itoh beat Brittany Blake.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 14/06/2023 Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C., USA
You know, this would have been a nice match to put on video somewhere. Riho, Itoh & Abadon is a King Of Trios kind of team if I ever saw one. So are Nyla Rose, Marina Shafir & Emi Sakura as a potential Team AEW Dark. Damn it, I miss King Of Trios. Can Tony Khan go do a little bit of grave robbing and grab what’s left of Chikara? Or is that going to unleash a new kind of curse on the world that nobody wants?
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 14/06/2023 (Aired 16/06/2023) Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C., USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Bandido with the PowerDrive Knee (15:11).
Now this is the good stuff! Big Lariats from Takeshita, big Hurricanranas from Bandido, big bombs everywhere else. Takeshita eventually came out on top against Bandido by hitting the Jumping Knee, an Elbow Strike to the back of the head and then the PowerDrive Knee.
SPARK “IGNITE WEST”, 16/06/2023 East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Cultural Center, West Covina, California, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Zeda Zhang with the I.S.D. (9:55).
2. Spark Joshi World Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Delilah Doom with the Skull Kick (19:06). *V1 for Miyu Yamashita.
The second Spark show was full of victories again for Yamashita and Itoh. Yamashita earned her first Spark Joshi Title defence by beating Delilah Doom while Itoh was victorious against Zeda Zhang. After the match Sumie Sakai entered the ring, helped Zhang to her feet and held up the Xtinguish banner with her. Itoh told both of them to “Fuck off.”
ENJOY “SOMETHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT”, 17/06/2023 Mr. Smalls Theatre, Millvale, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Ray Lyn with the Skull Kick (18:06).
The final weekend of Yamashita’s tour took her to Enjoy Wrestling where she beat Ray Lyn.
GCW “THANK ME LATER”, 17/06/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Rina Yamashita defeated Maki Itoh with the Splash Mountain onto a Chair (17:37).
Well the death match stuff was going to catch up with Itoh sooner or later. When she faced Rina Yamashita in GCW she had to fight someone armed with chairs and even a loose door. Itoh had her trusty pizza cutter though and was able to slice her opponent’s head open. However Yamashita put Itoh through the door with an Air Raid Crash, attacked her over and over with the chairs and pinned her with the Splash Mountain onto a chair.
DPW “TAG FESTIVAL 2023”, 18/06/2023 Durham Armory, Durham, North Carolina, USA
1. Emi Sakura & Mizuki (w/ Yuka Sakazaki) defeated Miyu Yamashita & Vert Vixen when Sakura pinned Vixen with La Magistral Cradle (11:37).
Deadlock Pro held the final match of Yamashita’s tour along with Itoh’s last match before she went back to Japan too. A lot of changes happened in the leadup. First the match was supposed to by Yamashita & Hyan against The Magical Sugar Rabbits but Hyan had to pull out because of a schedule conflict. Vert Vixen was brought in to be Yamashita’s new partner. Then Sakazaki got her injury diagnosis and was unable to do the match. DPW decided Mizuki would now team with Emi Sakura, who just so happens to be the DPW Women’s Champion. Sakazaki was still able to attend the show and be at ringside to support Mizuki. Together the three of them became The MagiRabi Queens. Sakazaki even got involved a few times pulling some antics at ringside. Stuff like moving around the ringside railings for wrestlers to get thrown into. She even got in the way and almost had her head kicked off when Yamashita tried to do a running Penalty Kick on the apron. Yamashita stopped herself at the last second while Sakazaki froze in fear, possibly having her life flash before her eyes.
AEW/NJPW “FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023”, 25/06/2023 Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
1. Hangman Page, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, Eddie Kingston & Tomohiro Ishii defeated Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Konosuke Takeshita & Shota Umino when Ishii pinned Yuta with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (21:29).
Hey this just about counts as DDT being part of the Forbidden Door. Takeshita through his new manager formed an alliance with the Blackpool Combat Club in the leadup to the big show. Together they all challenged The Elite along with Eddie Kingston and his choice of partner Tomohiro Ishii. Takeshita put up a big performance on the night highlighted with the incredibly rare sight of him knocking out Ishii with an Elbow Strike! Ishii recovered and went on to score the pinfall for his team but the story is ready to move on to its next chapter.
WARRIOR “WARRIOR WRESTLING 30 – FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS”, 30/06/2023 Marian Catholic High School, Chicago Heights, Illinois, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Warhorse with the PowerDrive Knee (18:06).
Takeshita’s return to Warrior Wrestling was a reminder that no matter what happens to him, there will always be that DDT DNA inside of him. Warhorse went into the match with the intentions of not just beating Takeshita but sending him to the injured list. With an entire football field at their disposal they fought everywhere they could reach. They brawled along the track where Takeshita jumped hurdles on the way to kicking Warhorse with a Big Boot. Warhorse turned the tables near the field goal by inviting Takeshita to kick a football and then doing the old Charlie Brown trick to make him fall over. Warhorse then Body Slammed a few nearby people onto Takeshita for good measure! Takeshita fought back by doing a Brainbuster on the field, leaving both feeling hurt enough to take the match back into the ring. A war of attrition took place from there ending with Takeshita pinning Warhorse with the PowerDrive Knee.
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Upcoming Appearances
EVE “NMITB”, 02/07/2023 The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England
1. Eve Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Emersyn Jayne
Yamashita’s tour is over but she isn’t finished with travelling by a long shot. Last month Emersyn Jayne defeated Rhio to become the No. 1 Contender for the EVE Title. She is arguably the most accomplished wrestler yet to challenge face Yamashita for the championship.
WEST COAST PRO “CRUEL SUMMER 2023”, 08/07/2023 United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, USA
1. Bryan Keith Vs MAO
MAO has his own US trip for the summer planned. First up he meets Bryan Keith in the ring for the first time over in West Coast Pro.
IWTV “MARCUS MATHERS ALL I WANT 2”, 13/07/2023 H20 Wrestling Center, Williamstown, New Jersey, USA
1. Yoshihiko Vs X
2. MAO Vs Brandon Kirk
Then MAO heads over to New Jersey to be part of a show being put together by Marcus Mathers. MAO’s opponent will be against death match wrestler Brandon Kirk. He won’t be going there alone though. Yoshihiko will be at the show too but it currently does not have a match announced.
GCW “NOW AND FOREVER”, 14/07/2023 Melrose Ballroom, Queens, New York, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
2. Mike Bailey Vs Yoshihiko
3. GCW World Title: Blake Christian (c) Vs MAO
Some big matches await our crew in GCW the next day. MAO gets a shot at the GCW World Title facing the increasingly unpopular Blake Christian. Yoshihiko faces a great test of its abilities against Mike Bailey in a first time ever singles match. They’ve been opponents in a trios match once before but other than that Bailey didn’t interact with Yoshihiko that much while he was in DDT.
Vanessa Kraven is a long time veteran wrestler who recently returned to the scene after stepping away for a few years. She’s the size of a giant next to Itoh.
CIRCLE 6 “BARROOM BLITZ”, 15/07/2023 Knucklehead Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. MAO Vs Bobby Beverly
A new place for MAO to experience. If you thought GCW is home to a few misfit toys with nowhere else to go then oh boy you haven’t seen Circle 6 yet! The first show is a no ring show taking place inside a bar in Santa Monica where MAO will fight Bobby Beverly, no holds barred.
CIRCLE 6 “LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE”, 16/07/2023 1720 Warehouse, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. AJ Gray Vs MAO
Then the next day MAO takes on AJ Gray. Yeah let’s move on.
No update yet on who Itoh faces when she goes to Smash Wrestling.
PRESTIGE “ALL RISE”, 23/07/2023 House Of Independents, Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Trish Adora
It will be around 10 months since the last time Itoh was on a Prestige show. When she returns Trish Adora will be there to fight her.
DEFY “SPIRIT WC”, 28/07/2023 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Itoh heads over to DEFY for the launch of their new women’s wrestling brand called Spirit WC.
DREAMWAVE “SUMMER SPECTACULAR NIGHT 1”, 04/08/2023 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
DREAMWAVE “SUMMER SPECTACULAR NIGHT 2”, 05/08/2023 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Itoh has two nights at DREAMWAVE coming up in August. Something interesting to note is Mickie James is being advertised to appear at the second show. They’d probably get along if they met, right? Maybe get Itoh to sing “Hardcore Country” and James to sing “Brooklyn The Hole”?
GCW “NO SIGNAL IN THE HILLS”, 11/08/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Itoh’s been with GCW for so long at this point she should get her own vanity show for the next Wrestlemania weekend.
ROW/GCW “GCW VS RENEGADES OF WRESTLING”, 25/08/2023 Roundhouse, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
ROW/GCW “GCW VS RENEGADES OF WRESTLING”, 26/08/2023 Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
ROW/GCW “GCW VS RENEGADES OF WRESTLING”, 27/08/2023 Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Itoh’s heading over to Australia for the first time as part of GCW’s tour with Renegades Of Wrestling. Australians, do her a favor and teach her only the most foulest of the local swear words while she’s over there.
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Cancelled Appearances
WRESTLING REVOLVER “RING OF DESTINY”, 17/06/2023 Calumet Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA
1. JT Dunn (w/ Allie Katch) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Takeshita wasn’t able to make the Wrestling REVOLVER show due to travel issues. JT Dunn instead threw out an open challenge and wrestled Sami Callihan to continue their feud in the company.
GANBARE☆PRO “GHOST HUNTERS 2023”, 30/06/2023 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center 92 Fans
1. Special Just Before Ota Ward! Imanari-gun Vs Katsumura-gun All-Out Battle!!: Mizuki Watase defeated Munetatsu Nakamura with an Arm-Assisted Front Neck Lock (6:32).
2. Haruka Umesaki defeated Riara with the Cutie Special (9:49).
3. HARUKAZE & YuuRI defeated Yoshiko Hasegawa & Kaho Matsushita when YuuRI pinned Matsushita with the Swanton Bomb (10:53).
4. Special Tag Match: Ken Ohka & Kuma Arashi defeated Keisuke Ishii & Shota when Arashi pinned Ishii with the Diving Senton (14:56).
5. Special Just Before Ota Ward! Imanari-gun Vs Katsumura-gun All-Out Battle!! Elimination 6-Man Tag Match: Shuichiro Katsumura, Minoru Fujita & Yuki Kanzaki defeated Yumehito Imanari, Soma Takao & Tyson Maeguchi (26:45).
5a. Shuichiro Katsumura eliminated Tyson Maeguchi by Ring Out (16:10).
5b. Soma Takao and Yuki Kanzaki eliminated each other by Double Ring Out (19:25).
5c. Yumehito Imanari eliminated Minoru Fujita by Ring Out (24:28).
5d. Shuichiro Katsumura eliminated Yumehito Imanari by Ring Out (26:45).
The team challenge between Yumehito Imanari and Shuichiro Katsumura kept the match selections secret until showtime. So everybody was surprised to see Mizuki Watase when normally he would be in the main event. Watase praised his opponent Munetatsu Nakamura and wouldn’t mind being challenged by him again in the future.
Haruka Umesaki said she is looking forward to seeing Riara face Sayaka Unagi at “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA II”. However after assessing Riara in their match today Umesaki thinks she will definitely lose to Unagi. Riara understands her pro wrestling life will be painful but she will do her best and not give up.
After the show ended Ken Ohka and Kuma Arashi held a talk at ringside for the fans who stuck around. The team said they are the driving force behind the excitement for “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA II”.
DDT “DDT YOKOHAMA UNLIMITED SPECIAL”, 01/07/2023 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Yusuke Okada & Kazuma Sumi
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Akito, MAO & Antonio Honda
3. Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs Saki Akai & Yuya Koroku
4. BURNING Vs DISASTER BOX!: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
5. Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs HARASHIMA & Soma Takao
6. Special Hardcore Tag Match: Atsushi Onita & Toy Kojima Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani
7. International Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Yuni Vs Nick Wayne & Takeshi Masada
Two injuries are forcing changes to a few DDT cards in July. Sanshiro Takagi tore his left calf and will be out of action until “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2023” on 23rd July. Rukiya suffered a cracked sternum over the weekend and has no expected date to return yet.
DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 10 ~SPARE MYSELF AND SPARE MY NAME~”, 02/07/2023 Osaka Komikyo Higashinari Civic Center
1. Dosukoi Thank You Vs DDT’s Most Green Boy Combo: Yusuke Okada & Yuki Ishida Vs Kazuma Sumi & Ilusion
2. Pheromones Vs Former Smile Squash Vs Yoga Sumo ~Between Compliance And The Taste Of Pheromones~: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Yasu Urano & Soma Takao Vs Toru Owashi & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
3. Diabolical DAMNATION T.A Vs Men With A Thousand Skills: Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Tsubasa & Makoto Oishi
4. “Did You Hear That? I Heard That Guy’s A Prick” Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Kikutaro & Antonio Honda
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match – Japan-US Young Wrestling Summit!: MAO, Toy Kojima & Yuni Vs Nick Wayne, Kohei Kinoshita & Yuya Koroku
6. Special Tag Match – One Hundred Tales Of Osaka ~Saki Akai, Her Biggest Crisis Before Retirement~: Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs Kazuki Hirata & No Name
7. Right Before Ryogoku! Road To KOKUGIKAN Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuji Hino, Jun Akiyama & Hideki Okatani Vs HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Akito
8. Magnitude Kishiwada 30th Anniversary Match ~You Guys Will Know When You See It~: Dick Togo, Magnitude Kishiwada & Black Buffalo Vs Shigehiro Irie, Yuto Kikuchi & Takeshi Masada
9. Special Single Match – WR ~Wrestling & Respect~: Yuki Ueno Vs HUB
Takagi’s injury means he has to pull out of Yukinori Matsui’s big show this weekend. Yuto Kikuchi from Dotonbori Pro is coming in as a last minute replacement for him.
Ilusion replaces Rukiya in the opening match.
DDT “DDT TANABATA SPECIAL 2023 IN SHINJUKU”, 07/07/2023 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuma Sumi
2. Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & Ilusion Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani
3. DISASTER BOX Vs BURNING!: HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata Vs Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada
4. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Toy Kojima
5. KANON Debut 4th Anniversary Match ~ Special Tag Match: TAKA Michinoku & KANON Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku
6. International Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Nick Wayne
7. Road To PETER PAN 2023! Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi
The aftermath of the KO-D Tag Team Titles match over the weekend sees Toy Kojima looking for revenge against DAMNATION T.A. He is aiming right for the leader by challenging Daisuke Sasaki to a singles match! Does he have something in store because charging straight towards Sasaki and his gang hasn’t worked out for him much lately. There’s only so many chairshots his body can take.
GANBARE☆PRO “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA II”, 09/07/2023 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Masahiro Takanashi
2. YuuRI & Tomoka Inaba Vs Takumi Iroha & Mio Momono
3. Riara Vs Sayaka Unagi
4. Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Miyuki Takase
5. Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao Vs Akito, Shota & Shinichiro Tominaga
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles Next Challengers Decision Survival 4 Way Tag Match: Ken Ohka & Kuma Arashi Vs Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE Vs Minoru Fujita & Daiki Shimomura Vs Tsuyoshi Okada & Yuki Kanzaki
7. Special Single Match: Yumehito Imanari Vs El Lindaman
8. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Hikaru Sato & Tyson Maeguchi (c) Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada
9. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Mizuki Watase (c) Vs Isami Kodaka
The announced match order for “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA II”.
English commentary for the show on Wrestle Universe will be provided by Chris Brookes and Mr. HAKU.
DDT “ROAD TO PETER PAN 2023 IN AOMORI”, 15/07/2023 Aomori Hamanasu Hall
1. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuni
2. 3 Way Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino Vs Akito Vs Antonio Honda
3. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Yuki Ueno, Toy Kojima & Takeshi Masada
4. Special Single Match: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Yuki Ishida
5. Falls Count Anywhere Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku Vs HARASHIMA, Hideki Okatani & Kazuma Sumi
6. Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs Chris Brookes & Kazusada Higuchi
Hideki Okatani has gradually been finding his footing in hardcore matches so he is a suitable replacement for Takagi in the Falls Count Anywhere match.
An upset that saw Yuki Ishida pin Yukio Sakaguchi results in a singles match between the two getting booked. Ishida used his new Dokusoi Hold to score a three count on the veteran. Is Sakaguchi going to be prepared for it the next time?
DDT “60TH BIRTHDAY & 20TH ANNIVERSARY ALL TOGETHER! ~ GORGEOUS NIGHT”, 16/07/2023 Fukushima Toyota Crown Arena Sub Arena
1. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Yusuke Okada, Toy Kojima & Yuya Koroku
2. 3 Way Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino Vs Akito Vs Kazuma Sumi
3. Kazuki Hirata & Yuni Vs Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani
4. BURNING Vs Harimao!: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida
5. Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada
6. Fukushima Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Gorgeous Matsuno, HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Toru Owashi, Danshoku Dieno & Antonio Honda
This is unexpected. Takagi’s replacement in the Fukushima main event is Danshoku Dieno! Since it is an important match for Gorgeous Matsuno, Dieno is not going to be “Dandy” on the day. Granted there’s not much difference between regular Dieno and Pheromones Dieno but it’s still a nice gesture from the guy.
BASARA “BASARA 225 ~SENGUNBANBA~”, 23/07/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Isami Kodaka Vs SHO
2. IRON FIST Tag Team Titles Unification Match: Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino (c) Vs Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita (i/c)
3. Union MAX Title & CCW Canadian Heavyweight Title: Takumi Tsukamoto (M/c) Vs SAGAT (C/c)
A double championship match headlines BASARA’s return to Korakuen Hall next month. SAGAT won the Chouten ~Itadaki~ and challenged Takumi Tsukamoto for the Union MAX Title afterwards. That’s not all because SAGAT also offered to defend the CCW Canadian Heavyweight Title he won from Tsukamoto back in March.
Masato Kamino is fit for return from his knee injury so he & Takato Nakano can go reclaim the IRON FIST Tag Team Titles. They are still technically the champions but Kamino’s injury caused an interim title to be created in his absence. Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita from Sento Minzoku won that prize but would prefer to be acknowledged as the actual champions. That all leads to the unification match happening at Korakuen.
BASARA takes on New Japan when Isami Kodaka faces SHO! Interactions between the two at “ALL STAR JR FESTIVAL 2023” earlier this year weren’t forgotten by either wrestler so the challenge was thrown out for a singles match. Kodaka even told SHO he would be happy to fight under normal rules instead of Hardcore or a death match. His reason for that decision is to prove he does not need to use weapons to beat SHO. Can SHO truthfully say the same given his reputation as a House Of Torture member? A lot of pride is on the line because Kodaka sees himself as a big figure on the independent scene facing the challenge of New Japan head on.
Nothing has been decided on this yet but Ryota Nakatsu said he wants to team with Ryuichi Sekine again on the show. They used to be together in BASARA as Cavalry. However Nakatsu just wants this to be a one time reunion. He is still a member of Sparky, although that unit is about to begin winding down. Nakatsu eventually wants all four members of Sparky to get together again so they can send it off and go their seperate ways. That won’t be happening anytime soon because of Naoki Tanizaki and Akiyori Takizawa’s schedules so that gives Nakatsu the chance to reunite with Sekine in the meantime.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW INSPIRATION”, 17/08/2023 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Pom Harajuku Vs Mahiro Kiryu
2. Saki Akai, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo Vs HIMAWARI, Toga & Shino Suzuki
3. Mizuki Vs Aiger
4. Debut 10th Anniversary Memorial Match: Miyu Yamashita Vs Shoko Nakajima
17th August, 2013 was the date when Miyu Yamashita and Shoko Nakajima had their professional debut match on the pre-show of a DDT Sumo Hall show. They teamed together in a losing effort against the two other first generation TJPW wrestlers Chikage Kiba & KANNA. It’s perfect timing that the next “TJPW INSPIRATION” show is booked on the 10 year anniversary of that match. The main event will be Yamashita against Nakajima one on one for the first time since “GRAND PRINCESS ’22”.
Saki Akai will also be on the show because the 10th anniversary of her own debut pro wrestling match is one day off. Her first DDT bout happened the next day. Now there’s a bit of trivia that will catch people off guard. Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima and Saki Akai all debuted on the same weekend. And Akai debuted AFTER the other two.
1. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – A Block Final: SAGAT defeated Daiki Shimomura with the Argentine Backbreaker (11:11).
2. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – B Block Final: Ryota Nakatsu defeated Fuminori Abe with the V Slider (9:10).
3. Roundabout Pro Wrestling Trial: Shiori Asahi defeated Banana Senga and Gouma Ryu when Asahi pinned Senga and Ryu with a Flying Kendo Press (6:41).
4. Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita defeated Daichi Kazato & Tsutomu Oosugi when Fujita pinned Oosugi with the Tombstone Piledriver (10:40).
5. Takumi Tsukamoto, Takato Nakano & Yasu Urano defeated FUMA, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Lil’ Kraken when Tsukamoto pinned Hiroshi with an Ouchi-gari (13:48).
6. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – Final: SAGAT defeated Ryota Nakatsu with the Goregrind (17:57).
As a result of winning the Chouten ~Itadaki~ tournament this year SAGAT gets to challenge Takumi Tsukamoto for the Union MAX Title. He is willing to put his CCW Canadian Heavyweight Title on the line to make it a double title match at Korakuen Hall on 23rd July. Meanwhile Ryota Nakatsu talked to SAGAT suggesting it is time for Sparky to disband soon. He wants the full unit to get together one more time before it happens though.
After the show Nakatsu told reporters he wants to team up with Ryuichi Sekine at Korakuen. The two used to be part of a BASARA unit called Cavalry. Nakatsu’s request is not to reform the unit though. He is only asking for one time to team with Sekine again.
Masato Kamino appeared after the semi-main event and announced he is ready to come back from his knee injury on 23rd July. He called on Takato Nakano to immediately focus on winning back the IRON FIST Tag Team Titles they never lost. That means Aijin Tag will face the interim champions Sento Minzoku at Korakuen in a title unification match! Minoru Fujita & Daiki Shimomura accepted the challenge to happen straight away because they want to be upgraded from interim champions to undisputed champions.
It was announced during the show that Isami Kodaka Vs SHO will happen on 23rd July. Kodaka wanted to do the match after his interactions with SHO at the “ALL STAR JR FESTIVAL 2023” back in March. Kodaka sent a message to SHO thanking him for accepting the challenge and said he is happy to hold the match under normal rules without the need for any weapons. He also wants to win the match as a independent wrestler taking on New Japan head on.
BASARA “BASARA 223 ~KOO~”, 27/06/2023 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – A Block Final: Daiki Shimomura Vs SAGAT
2. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – B Block Final: Fuminori Abe Vs Ryota Nakatsu
3. Roundabout Pro Wrestling Trial: Shiori Asahi Vs Banana Senga Vs Gouma Ryu
4. Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita Vs Daichi Kazato & Tsutomu Oosugi
5. Takumi Tsukamoto, Takato Nakano & Yasu Urano Vs FUMA, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Lil’ Kraken
6. Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023 – Final: X Vs X
Tomorrow is the final rounds of the Chouten ~Itadaki~ 2023.
DDT “DDT PRO WRESTLING IN SHIROISHI CASTLE”, 08/07/2023 Miyagi Shiroishi Castle Honmaru Square
1. Kazuki Hirata, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Yuki Ueno, Toy Kojima & Gorgeous Matsuno
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Hideki Okatani & Kazuma Sumi
3. Shiroishi Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Antonio Honda
DDT will be holding a free wrestling show at Shiroishi Castle as part of a local public event. Tetsuya Endo will be in the main event because he is the hometown hero. If there is rainy weather on the day then the show will move over to Shiroishi City Central Public Hall.
GANBARE☆PRO “FRENCH CONNECTION 2023”, 17/07/2023 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. YuuRI Vs Riara
2. Tyson Maeguchi Vs Yuki Kanzaki
3. Yumehito Imanari & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE
4. Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Shingo
5. Ken Ohka & Kuma Arashi Vs Shota & Munetatsu Nakamura
6. Mizuki Watase & Keisuke Ishii Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Soma Takao
The first Ganbare☆Pro show taking place after “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA II” will feature the GanPro debut of Shingo. No not that one. It’s DEEP MMA fighter Shingo Suzuki under his pro wrestling name. His opponent Shinichiro Tominaga has been appointed as GanPro’s gatekeeper for the match.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2023”, 23/07/2023 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Takeshi Masada Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Sanshiro Takagi, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Yuni Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Toy Kojima & Rukiya
3. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Akito, Soma Takao & Yoshitomo Shimohigashi
4. 3 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Kotaro Suzuki, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
5. Special Tag Match: Chiitan☆ & Pokotan Vs Andreza Giant Panda & Super Sasadango Machine
6. Special Tag Match ~ Yukio Naya Return Match: HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya Vs Jun Akiyama & Shigehiro Irie
7. Special Single Match: TAKA Michinoku Vs MAO
8. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Yuki Ueno
9. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani
10. Mexico Kanko Presents Dramatic Dream Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs El Desperado
11. DDT Universal Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Matt Cardona (w/ Steph De Lander)
12. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: Yuji Hino (c) Vs Chris Brookes
This is the full card for DDT’s return to Sumo Hall although maybe the first three matches will be demoted to pre-show status. The main event now has a sponsor. Konosuke Takeshita’s recent makeover in AEW is being taken to another level because in DDT his name is now fully romanized and written all upper case. I’ll write KONOSUKE TAKESHITA for the results but I’m happy sticking to writing his name the normal way everywhere else. I do however endorse any podcast shouting out his name in all caps every time from this point forward. MAO gets a special match with TAKA Michinoku who has been a big influence for him. It’s a rematch from five years ago too. Yukio Naya returns from injury and his first match back also includes Shigehiro Irie showing up in DDT again.
DDT “SUMMER VACATION 2023”, 30/07/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. DDT Extreme Title: Kazuki Hirata (c) Vs HARASHIMA
For many, many, many years Kazuki Hirata has been fighting as an underdog against wrestlers who are way more powerful than he could ever dream to be. Now that he is the DDT Extreme Champion he gets to make the rules and it makes him want to fight the strongest opponents he knows on a more even playing field. HARASHIMA is his first challenger and he is someone who is very familiar with how the Extreme Title works. No matter what kind of funny stipulations Hirata comes up with, HARASHIMA will be game and ready for them.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW INSPIRATION”, 17/08/2022 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Mizuki Vs Aiger
It’s been seven years since Mizuki was last in a match with the haunted joshi wrestler known only as Aiger. The two of them knew each other back in LLPW-X. Another reason the match is happening is because of rumours going around that Aiger will soon be disappearing from the wrestling scene later this year. Reports are speculating it will be happening around the same time Mizuki Endo retires from pro wrestling.
DDT “DDT BIG BANG 2023”, 09/09/2023 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Current Blast Death Match: Atsushi Onita Vs X
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuji Hino (c) Vs X
DDT’s next big show after “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2023” will be the newly announced “DDT BIG BANG 2023” in September. The selling point of the show will be the first exploding death match to take place inside a big indoor Tokyo venue since 2015. I think that is referring to the main event of Naoshi Sano’s self produced Sumo Hall show that happened that year. Atsushi Onita told Sanshiro Takagi he wants to fight Jun Akiyama in the match in order to make it a battle between two former All Japan wrestlers.
The show will also be the date of the next KO-D Openweight Title defence after “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2023”. So either Yuji Hino or Chris Brookes will be the defending champion on the day.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR IN SPRING ’23”, 25/06/2023 Fukuoka Nishitetsu Hall 437 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Suzume defeated Shino Suzuki with the Ring A Bell (5:44).
2. Moka Miyamoto defeated Toga with the Rashomon (5:29).
3. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao defeated Arisu Endo and HIMAWARI when Misao pinned HIMAWARI with a Jackknife Pin (6:55).
4. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta defeated Yuki Arai & Haru Kazashiro when Noa pinned Kazashiro with the Running Neckbreaker Drop (9:54).
5. Mizuki defeated Mahiro Kiryu with the Diving Foot Stomp (10:47).
6. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku defeated Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Kaya Toribami when Aino pinned Toribami with the Venus DDT (13:33).
7. Miyu Yamashita & Shoko Nakajima Vs Maki Itoh & Yuki Kamifuku ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
The hometown heroes Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh were on opposite sides of the main event. Yamashita teamed up with Shoko Nakajima while Itoh was paired with Yuki Kamifuku. The match lasted the full 20 minutes with no winner by the end. In the final moments Itoh gave Yamashita a Tornado DDT and Kamifuku stopped Nakajima from coming for the save by giving her the Famouser. The bell rang before Itoh could do anything to get the finish she wanted.
Both Yamashita and Itoh wanted the match to continue but their tag partners declined, preferring both teams to have a temporary truce. Itoh said she will never team with Yamashita again but changed her mind when Yamashita said business is business. Itoh then said she wants Tokyo Joshi Pro to run the bigger Fukuoka Convention Center the next time they come here. They can even do Yamashita Vs Itoh as the main event!
Yuki Aino was fired up to bring the fight to Rika Tatsumi. The two went back and forth during their time in the ring with Arai coming out on top. She countered the Twist Of Fate by freeing herself behind Tatsumi, lifting her up into an Electric Chair position and then dropping her forward onto the canvas. Arai then went on to pin Kaya Toribami with the Venus DDT. Aino said the matches between Tatsumi and herself are heating up. She thinks when the time comes for their International Princess Title bout to happen the two of them will burn each other into ashes!
DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2023”, 25/06/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 755 Fans
0. Dark Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Toru Owashi & Yuni Vs Akito, Soma Takao, Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya ended in a No Contest (5:44).
1. Special Single Match: Naruki Doi defeated Takeshi Masada with a Cradle (7:04).
2. Ryota Nakatsu, Yuki Ishida, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai, Hideki Okatani & Sanshiro Takagi when Ishida pinned Sakaguchi with the Dosukoi Hold (9:22).
3. Special Single Match: HARASHIMA defeated Minoru Fujita by Disqualification after Fujita attacked the Referee (7:31).
4. International Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo defeated Nick Wayne with the Burning Star Press (13:44).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuji Hino, Jun Akiyama & Makoto Oishi defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda when Hino submitted Honda with the King Kong Sleeper (13:23).
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul defeated Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima when Sasaki submitted Kojima with the Crossface Lock (15:29). *DAMNATION T.A becomes the 77th KO-D Tag Team Champions!
7. DDT Extreme Title – 3 Way Dance: Kazuki Hirata defeated MAO and Yoshihiko (21:25).
7a. MAO and Kazuki Hirata eliminated Yoshihiko with a Double Reincarnation Cutback (17:36).
7b. Kazuki Hirata eliminated MAO with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (21:25). *Kazuki Hirata becomes the 58th DDT Extreme Champion!
Believe it or not Kazuki Hirata is now a singles champion! For weeks leading up to the 3 Way Dance, everybody including Hirata himself expected him to be taken out of the picture very quickly so MAO and Yoshihiko would fight each other over the vacant DDT Extreme Title. Instead Hirata persisted against his two opponents. He and MAO used their combined power to roll over from Yoshihiko’s Reincarnation and together pin the doll to eliminate it from the match. MAO took control of the match but none of his big moves could work. Hirata ended up countering the Michinoku Driver II into the Miracle One Shot Cradle to pull off the shock of all shocks. He is now the new Extreme Champion!
Hirata now finds himself in a position he never thought about previously. As a champion he now gets to nominate his challengers. Hisaya Imabayashi asked him who he wants to face in his first defence on 30th July. Hirata said there is a lot of people he wants to fight and he gets to pick the rules that will make him beat them too. So his first opponent is his DISASTER BOX stablemate HARASHIMA! He admits he can never beat HARASHIMA in a regular head-to-head fight but he can come up with funny rules that will even the odds. HARASHIMA accepted the challenge because he is a mutltiple time Extreme Champion and has fought in many different kinds of matches over the years.
Poor Toy Kojima suffered so much abuse at the hands of DAMNATION T.A and unfortunately it was all for nothing. The vacant KO-D Tag Team Titles were on the line when Kojima & Yuki Ueno represented The 37KAMIINA against Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul. Ueno & Kojima used their new double team move the My MADMAX on Sasaki but Paul broke up the pin. Then when Kojima used the Kojima In Wonderland on Sasaki, the injured KANON ran down to the ring armed with a stungun! The referee Tomomitsu Matsunaga ran over to stop KANON from entering the ring and missed Sasaki giving two Low Blows to Kojima. Sasaki stayed on the offensive and made Kojima tap to the Crossface Lock to make DAMNATION T.A the new Tag Champions. Backstage Sasaki said Kojima must never forget this day because today is the day he experienced absolute despair and humiliation! Now that DAMNATION T.A is back to full force, they are going to make the second half of 2023 crazy for everybody. Sasaki also said if Ueno, Kojima or anybody else wants to do something about it they are always welcome to join DAMNATION T.A.
Jun Akiyama found a way to fit in with Ω by wearing their shirt along with a bandana and sunglasses. The fun and games for Yuji Hino sort of stopped when Antonio Honda tried standing up to him on behalf of his friend Chris Brookes. The match then moved on to Hino and Kazusada Higuchi squaring off again while Makoto Oishi dealt with Masahiro Takanashi. Honda tagged in ready for his moment when he tripped over the ropes and fell like he always does. But instead of telling a Gongitsune joke, Honda asked himself why does he always fall down? He figured out it’s to get back up! If his best friend Brookes goes back to England, he will get back up. If he gets injured, he will get back up. He will always get back up because he is chasing his dream! A fired up Honda then poked Hino in the eyes and knocked him down with the Bionic Elbow for a nearfall. Unfortunately Hino recovered and countered the Octopus Hold into the King Kong Sleeper to make Honda give up.
After the match Ω called for Brookes’ attention while Honda was being tended to outside the ring. Oishi lambasted him for taking it easy while Hino’s been working hard in the ring week after week. How can Brookes become the KO-D Openweight Champion when all of Hino’s hard work has made him reach his perfect condition? Hino calmed Oishi down and asked Brookes when he can start wrestling again? Brookes said 7th July. Hino said that is a long way off so he is going to make sure that date will become Brookes’ retirement match! Backstage Brookes admits he is feeling guilty over not being able to wrestle because of his injury. He promised to do his best when he returns as his way of showing thanks for everyone who fought for him while he’s been out of action.
Nick Wayne was thrown into the deep end for his Japanese DDT debut when he took on Tetsuya Endo. The young American went for impactful moves like the Poison Hurricanrana and Dragon Suplex. But Endo hit back with the Tetsuya In The Sky and also caught him in mid-air to set up the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb. Wayne kicked out of both moves but became a sitting duck for the Burning Star Press. Endo thinks Wayne will absorb the Japanese way of wrestling during his stay here and it will expand his range. It makes Endo look forward to having a rematch some day. One he thinks he will still win of course. Wayne told reporters he is very inspired by the wrestlers in DDT and being in the same environment makes him feel like he can give 100% every match.
The match between HARASHIMA and Minoru Fujita started off awkwardly when Fujita refused to shake his opponent’s hand and instead give him the HERO! pose. He then accepted HARASHIMA’s handshake but only so he could cheap shot him afterwards. Fujita continued fighting dirty by using the ropes for pin leverage and bringing a chair into the ring. He threw the chair at HARASHIMA right when he was setting up the Somato. Then he gave Yukinori Matsui a Low Blow to purposely get disqualified. Fujita also gave HARASHIMA a Low Blow before doing another HERO! pose and leaving.
In a KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match preview, Harimao scored a big win over Eruption with an unlikely result. Yuki Ishida ended up pinning Yukio Sakaguchi! He used a move that looks similar to a backwards Gannosuke Clutch to get the three count. He told Ryota Nakatsu that he used “Dokusoi” spirit to beat Sakaguchi so the two of them agreed to call the move the Dosukoi Hold. The move is based on a sumo technique so you can bet Ishida wants to use it again at Sumo Hall. However Sakaguchi wants him to know today’s result isn’t the end of their story so he shouldn’t be getting carried away. Saki Akai was interested to fight Nakatsu for the first time today because they are both from Kyoto. Unfortunately for Sanshiro Takagi, his time in the ring today didn’t last long. According to a tweet he posted after the show he tore a muscle in his leg during the match.
Naruki Doi was the latest big name opponent for the super rookie Takeshi Masada to face one on one. Masada did quite well and looked to be on his way towards scoring a huge upset. But Doi countered the Samurai Driver ’01 into a Cradle to win instead.
Strange bedfellows were put together for the dark match because Toru Owashi & Yuni had to team with Pheromones. Usually the likes of them would be their opponents. We found out the reason why because Akito wanted to ruin Yuni’s reputation by getting pictures of him doing lewd stuff with Pheromones in the ring! Imabayashi told Akito off because creating a scandal like that would harm CyberFight too. Still when Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno stacked themselves in the corner with their backsides exposed, Akito tried to force Yuni head first into there. It didn’t matter to him if Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya had to suffer the same fate. Just when Akito looked like he was going to succeed, Imabayashi cancelled the match. Akito went out of control throwing more wrestlers into butts until Soma Takao stopped him. Akito then invited Takao to help him destroy Pheromones. Takao tried not to listen but was eventually convinced to join Akito’s side.
The injured Shunma Katsumata was at ringside for the final two matches. He had to vacate both the Extreme Title and KO-D Tag Title due to a foot injury. He told the fans it will be a while until he gets back to wrestling again but he is currently feeling fine with his recovery.
Also making an appearance today was Yukio Naya. He came here to announce his return match from injury will be “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2023” on 23rd July! He’s been recovering from a fractured right ankle since the end of March. His goal once he returns is to reach the top of DDT in the shortest amount of time possible.
Shota was at the show during the opening announcements. He was there to promote Ganbare☆Pro’s big event “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA II” at Ota Ward Gymnasium on 9th July.
DDT will also be going to Ota Ward this Autumn. They announced “DDT BIG BANG 2023” will take place there on 9th September. Another announcement regarding the event will be revealed tomorrow.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2023”, 23/07/2023 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Takeshi Masada Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Sanshiro Takagi, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Yuni Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Toy Kojima & Rukiya
3. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Akito, Soma Takao & Yoshitomo Shimohigashi
4. 3 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Kotaro Suzuki, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
5. Special Tag Match: Chiitan☆ & Pokotan Vs Andreza Giant Panda & Super Sasadango Machine
6. Special Tag Match ~ Yukio Naya Return Match: HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya Vs Jun Akiyama & Shigehiro Irie
7. Special Single Match: TAKA Michinoku Vs MAO
8. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Yuki Ueno
9. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani
10. Mexico Kanko Presents Dramatic Dream Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs El Desperado
11. DDT Universal Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Matt Cardona (w/ Steph De Lander)
12. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuji Hino (c) Vs Chris Brookes
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR IN SPRING ’23”, 24/06/2023 Kobe Art Center 316 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Kaya Toribami defeated Haru Kazashiro with the Bird Cage (5:43).
2. Nao Kakuta defeated Toga with the Homare (5:36).
3. 3 Way Match: Yuki Kamifuku defeated Hikari Noa and Shino Suzuki when Kamifuku pinned Suzuki with the Famouser (5:42).
4. Yuki Arai defeated HIMAWARI with the Sasori Katame (8:18).
5. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Raku & Pom Harajuku when Nakajima pinned Harajuku with the Northern Lights Suplex (11:32).
6. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe defeated Yuki Aino & Mahiro Kiryu when Tatsumi pinned Kiryu after the Daydream Eternity (12:27).
7. Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh & Moka Miyamoto defeated Mizuki, Suzume & Arisu Endo when Itoh submitted Endo with the Itoh Deluxe (14:39).
The return of Maki Itoh from her American tour means her program with Mizuki finally gets back on track. Today’s show was in Mizuki’s hometown of Kobe and she rallied the fans to be behind her instead of Itoh and Miyu Yamashita. As Itoh would go on to tell everybody after the match, the booing pissed her off and flicked the switch inside her. She fired up and submitted Arisu Endo to win for her team.
Backstage Yamashita told reporters her three month stay in America has made her more open minded because she discovered how much anything goes in American wrestling. Itoh said she got tougher in America because she was able to wrestle around 10 matches in the space of a month. Moka Miyamoto told the two of them she felt lonely while they were gone but she also got tremendously stronger too. Mizuki is now left figuring out what is missing from her game that prevented her from winning today’s match.
Match #5 was a preview of the 3 Way Tag Match happening at “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’23”. Future opponents Raku and Pom Harajuku had to team up against Kyoraku Kyomei. Next month Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao will face both of them again but this time Raku will be with Aja Kong and Harajuku will have Max The Impaler with her!
Yuki Arai got to have a singles match against a lesser experienced opponent for the first time when she took on HIMAWARI. She doesn’t know if she looked like a veteran out in the ring but she was able to win with a Scorpion Deathlock.
The next “TJPW INSPIRATION” will be held on 17th August. The first match announced for the show is Mizuki Vs Aiger.
Posted by JamieOD 
