DDT Around The World – May 2025

June 1, 2025

Can’t say this month has been a quiet one. Konosuke Takeshita had a lot of TV time with AEW and we even got the lovely announcement that he’s married to Yuka Sakazaki. All of Takeshita’s work this month revolves around The Don Callis Family, yes even the American New Japan appearance. The group in its current form is nailing it at the moment with good tag matches week to week and the presence of Don Callis himself is not as overwhelming as it was before. I bet over the coming months Takeshita’s schedule will gradually switch from AEW over to New Japan as we walk through the Forbidden Door and approach the G1 season.

May saw Maki Itoh finish up her remaining dates in America before she travelled back home to rejoin Tokyo Joshi Pro. She has another tour lined up during the Tokyo Princess Cup so the Americans won’t be missing her for long. Miyu Yamashita is entering the second half of her excursion and her schedule is definitely keeping her busy. She’s bouncing back and forth from America to Canada and even found time to visit Italy. Her matches in the Upcoming Appearances section below are not all of the bookings she has left. She included a few unlabeled dates in her schedule on Twitter and it’s pretty easy to find online that they are for GCW’s sister promotion JCW. However JCW themselves haven’t announced her for anything yet so I left them off this post. As you’ll see at the very end, there is always a possible booking cancellation that could happen at any time.

TJPW’s grip on the Southeast Asian scene took something of a hit because Yuki Kamifuku and Raku both lost all of the SEA championships this month. It’s likely not the end of TJPW working with companies from Thailand and Singapore but for now the focus looks to be moving towards the new relationship with Major League Wrestling in America. MLW is currently going through a roster shuffle too with a good amount of contracts not being renewed and some new talent coming in to fill those emptying spots. TJPW may just be used as a temporary solution to fill in the gap but they’ll benefit from it for as long as it lasts.

The thing to watch for in the next month or two is how often Sakazaki will get to wrestle, whether it’s on the indies or if she can get booked in AEW/ROH again. I hear rumours every now and then that there’s an injury clearance issue going on with her. But it wouldn’t make sense if AEW uses that as a reason to keep her on the shelf only to let her go wrestle somewhere else. They haven’t like it in the past when their wrestlers got injured on another promotion’s show.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “COLLISION”, 08/05/2025
Masonic Temple Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, USA

1. Evil Uno & Alex Reynolds Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander (w/ Don Callis)


HOG “WAGING WAR”, 09/05/2025
Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. HOG Women’s Title: Indi Hartwell Vs Miyu Yamashita


AEW “DYNAMITE – BEACH BREAK”, 14/05/2025
NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA

1. Will Ospreay & Hangman Page Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander


AEW “COLLISION”, 22/05/2025
Rio Rancho Events Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero (w/ Lance Archer) Vs Bandido, Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd


AEW “COLLISION”, 31/05/2025
El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero Vs Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Tomohiro Ishii

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Results


TOP TALENT “LIVE AT MIDWAY MUSIC HALL”, 02/05/2025
Midway Music Hall, Edmonton, Canada

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Ava Lawless (?:??).

We start off over in Canada where Yamashita headlined a Top Talent Wrestling show against Ava Lawless. The Canadian knew it was going to be a big test for her and she embraced it but Yamashita came out on top.


HOODSLAM “PHANTASMAGORIA”, 02/05/2025
Continental Club, Oakland, California, USA

1. GLAMpionship: MacDaddy MYLO (c) (w/KEiTA) defeated Maki Itoh with a School Boy (?:??).
*V6 for MacDaddy MYLO.

On the same night one country away, Itoh was main eventing a show of her own with her return to Hoodslam. She was getting a shot at the GLAMpionship, a title that was originally created for the promotion’s sub-brand GLAM but made its way over to the regular shows. MacDaddy MYLO attacked her before she could finish her entrance but made the mistake of slamming her head into the turnbuckles which had no effect. Itoh’s momentum was cut off when MYLO pulled the ref into her way and then jumped in to do a Cutter. Itoh made another comeback only for KEiTA to interfere on the champion’s behalf. Itoh fought them both off and put MYLO in the Itoh Deluxe but KEiTA distracted the ref so she wouldn’t see MYLO tap out. Itoh got rid of KEiTA again but MYLO rolled her up in a School Boy to steal the win.


GCW “CRAZY SCARY SPOOKY HILARIOUS”, 03/05/2025
Ukrainian Culture Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Maki Itoh with the Skull Kick (13:23).

The day after that Yamashita and Itoh’s paths crossed over in GCW. The two of them were heading into a big weekend where they both had title matches to prepare for. But before any of that could happen the two would meet in the ring against each other! Did anyone on GCW commentary know about their history together as 121000000 beyond just them being tag champions a few times? Fucking of course not! At least the fans were super into it. The was the first time Yamashita would face Itoh in a place where Itoh has the home field advantage and while she didn’t go into MDK mode, she was able to put up her biggest fight against Yamashita yet. Even Yamashita seemed to be aware of it because when he knocked down Itoh with the Skull Kick, she ordered the ref to check her for a knockout. The ref dropped Itoh’s arm three times but on the third Itoh kept her hand up and raised a middle finger to the air! She got a second wind and almost scored the victory she waited so long for by countering the Attitude Adjustment into a Small Package. But Yamashita kicked out and nailed another Skull Kick to increase her singles match record with Itoh to 10-0. There was no hard feelings over the result and 121000000 shook hands afterwards.


GCW “WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU”, 04/05/2025
Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. JCW World Title: Masha Slamovich (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the White Knight Driver (10:13).
*V36 for Masha Slamovich.
2. GCW World Title: Effy (c) defeated Maki Itoh with a Spinning Tombstone Piledriver (12:08).
*V16 for Effy.

Well if plan of having iron sharpen iron was to result in championship wins it didn’t work out here. Itoh finished up her latest excursion by getting a shot at the GCW World Title held by Effy before she went home. Effy lightened the mood by singing “Mandy” on the microphone but changed the lyrics to be about Maki. She didn’t like it and told him to stop but that made Effy start to cry. It was all a trap to for Effy to get the one up on Itoh but she quickly escaped and turned the tables. She did a Diving Cross Body from the top rope to Effy outside the ring. Effy brought in chairs and ended up getting Choke Slammed onto one by Itoh! She also kicked out of a Spear at one and sliced Effy’s forehead open with her pizza cutter. Despite all that Effy countered the I.S.D by catching her in mid-air. He then spun it around into a Tombstone Piledriver to get the win.

Also on the show Yamashita challenged Masha Slamovich for the JCW Title in a continuation of their international rivalry. It was an even matchup but just like in Las Vegas last month, Slamovich got Yamashita in the White Knight Driver for the three count. Yamashita slapped away the champion’s hand after the match but immediately offered a handshake of her own, which Slamovich accepted.


AEW “COLLISION”, 08/05/2025
Masonic Temple Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander (w/ Don Callis) defeated Evil Uno & Alex Reynolds when Alexander pinned Reynolds with the C4 Spike (2:30).

Even though Takeshita was already eliminated from the Owen Hart Cup last month, this month he was still in orbit of the tournament. His new tag team with Josh Alexander in The Don Callis Family were set up for a match against the two wrestlers who reached the final. So for a warm up match they went and destroyed two members of The Dark Order in quick fashion on Collision. Alexander picked up Evil Uno and with Takeshita did a Doomsday Jumping Knee to the masked man. Then they smashed Alex Reynolds with a Double Elbow Strike to the head before Alexander pinned him with the C4 Spike.


HOG “WAGING WAR”, 09/05/2025
Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. HOG Women’s Title: Indi Hartwell defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Full Nelson Facebuster (12:13).
*Indi Hartwell becomes the 8th HOG Women’s Champion!

The stakes were raised for Yamashita’s return to House Of Glory. Right before her match with Indi Hartwell began the HOG commissioner Jason Solomon walked out and announced that the HOG Women’s Title held by Megan Bayne had been vacated. He then announced that this match would determine the new champ! Yamashita had the end of the match under control until Hartwell ducked the Skull Kick and planted her with a Full Nelson Facebuster to win the match out of nowhere and become champion.


NJPW “RESURGENCE”, 09/05/2025
Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA

1. NEVER Openweight Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) (w/ Rocky Romero) defeated El Phantasmo with the Raging Fire (17:48).
*V6 for KONOSUKE TAKESHITA.

Rocky Romero’s involvement with Takeshita in the NJPW USA shows have become a little more clearer now that Romero is part of The Don Callis Family. He accompanied Takeshita for his NEVER Openweight Title defence against El Phantasmo. It couldn’t reach the heights of last year’s G1 match but ELP still did a massive Thunderkiss ’86 dive to Takeshita into the front row, landed a Cutthroat Driver for a nearfall and also gave Takeshita a Piledriver on the ring apron. ELP had the win in his grasp when Romero pulled the referee out of the ring during a pinfall. ELP got some measure of revenge on Romero by Power Bombing him through a table but that gave Takeshita time to recover and pin ELP with the Raging Fire. There is growing respect between the two because they shook hands after the match.


MAPLE LEAF PRO “NORTHERN RISING”, 10/05/2025
Mattamy Athletic Centre, Toronto, Canada

1. Serena Deeb defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Detox (12:55).

Yamashita travelled back up to Canada for another appearance in Maple Leaf Pro. There she faced Serena Deeb who was making her third appearance in a row for the promotion. Yamashita hit the Skull Kick but Deeb made sure to topple out of the ring to avoid getting pinned. When she was put back in the ring, Deeb pushed Yamashita into the ref and then hit her from behind with a Chop Block. She then pinned her with the Detox, which is Deeb’s arm trapped Styles Clash kind of finisher.


MLW “AZTECA LUCHA”, 10/05/2025
Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated Delmi Exo (?:??).
*V1 for Shoko Nakajima.

Right, here’s the funny thing about MLW. Their shows nowadays are one half live iPPV and the other half TV tapings for the upcoming month. That’s not unusual for wrestling but barely anyone who goes to MLW shows cares about spoiling the tapings part. Shoko Nakajima’s appearance on the live PPV was just to be seen sitting in the front row to hype up her next MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title defence. That match is a rematch with Delmi Exo that will air on MLW’s TV show in June. I couldn’t find any result or talk of the rematch online anywhere and the only reason we know Nakajima is still the champion is because she brought the belt back to Japan with her. Once the match airs I’ll come back and write this with any necessary corrections included. Like I don’t know, maybe they went to a 60 minute draw. I can’t prove they did but you can’t prove they didn’t either.


AEW “DYNAMITE – BEACH BREAK”, 14/05/2025
NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA

1. Will Ospreay & Hangman Page defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander (w/ Don Callis) when Page pinned Alexander after the Buckshot Hidden Blade (18:34).

The two Owen Hart Cup finalists Will Ospreay & Hangman Page had to team up before their big PPV match. They needed to be on the same page because Takeshita & Alexander were coming after them like a well oiled machine. There was some communication between them to set things up but it still led to moments where Page almost hit Ospreay with the Buckshot Lariat and Ospreay almost hit Page with the Hidden Blade. But something eventually clicked between the two and they combined their finishers Kinnikuman style on Alexander to get the victory.


GCW “BIG TIME”, 17/05/2025
RJ Meyer Arena, Joppa, Maryland, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Marcus Mathers with the Crash Rabbit Heat (21:02).

Plans changed for Yamashita’s next match in GCW. She was supposed to face Tony Deppen but instead her opponent was Marcus Mathers. The match featured quite a bit of mat work with Mathers looking for spots to take Yamashita into an Ankle Lock. Yamashita also found herself getting thrown around more often than she would back in TJPW. Mathers press dropped her onto the ring apron and tried to do a Power Bomb but it was countered into a Sunset Flip. When Mathers went more high risk he paid for it by springboarding into a glancing Skull Kick for a nearfall. By that point Yamashita knew she had Mathers where she wanted him and wore him down with kicks before pinning him with the Crash Rabbit Heat.


GCW “RUN FOR IT”, 18/05/2025
Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, New York, USA

1. Billie Starkz defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Victory Roll Reversal (10:34).

Yamashita’s final GCW appearance for the month (probably because it was also the last GCW show of the month) was also the fourth singles meeting with Billie Starkz. It turns out Starkz has become a very slippery opponent for Yamashita to beat nowadays because this match was her third defeat in a row to her. Yamashita got a nearfall with an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment and continued the pressure after that but Starkz ended up reversing a Victory Roll to get the three count out of nowhere.


AEW “COLLISION”, 21/05/2025 (Aired 22/05/2025)
Rio Rancho Events Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero (w/ Lance Archer) defeated Bandido, Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd when Takeshita pinned Floyd with the Bastard Driver (9:35).

More shuffling going around within The Don Callis Family yet things look so similar. Trent Beretta is back from injury and has reunited with Rocky Romero. Their Roppongi Vice team in New Japan is now conveniently renamed RPG Vice in AEW. They and Takeshita were put together for a trios match against the wild combination of Bandido and The Outrunners. During the madness Takeshita used a well timed Jumping Knee Strike to make Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd clash into each other. Then at ringside Lance Archer wiped out Bandido so the rest of The Family had the coast clear to finish things off.


MKW “BATTLE OF THE DECADE”, 24/05/2025
Dongxin Plaza, Beijing, China

1. Yuki Kamifuku & Chen Wenbin defeated Alexis Lee & Big Sam when Kamifuku pinned Lee with the Diving Famouser (?:??).

Now let’s head over to Asia to see what some of the other TJPW wrestlers have been up to. Middle Kingdom Wrestling in China brought in Yuki Kamifuku for a mixed tag match with Alexis Lee on the other team, making it a preview for their big title match happening in Singapore one week later. Kamifuku was teaming up with Chinese wrestler Chen Wenbin while Lee had a big British brute named Big Sam as her tag partner. Sam was too strong to a fault because he ended up missing Wenbin and Clotheslining Lee off the ring apron by mistake. Kamifuku by herself couldn’t hurt Big Sam but Wenbin was there to help her out when needed. Things also went wrong for Sam when his manager messed up a pin break and stomped on him, allowing the other team to charge in and Double Big Boot Sam out of the ring. Lee tried to get her hands on Kamifuku afterwards but Kamifuku got the better of her, winning the match with the Diving Famouser.


SAJ “HUNTER’S NET”, 24/05/2025
Via Dante 72, Sporting Cesate, Milan, Italy

1. 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Irene and Session Moth Martina (?:??).

Yamashita can now scratch Italy off her growing list of countries she’s wrestled in. SAJ Wrestling brought her in for a 3 Way Match against Italy’s own Irene and the Irish wrestler Session Moth Martina. The latter was really looking forward to this because she was meant to face Yamashita at EVE earlier in the year but she had to cancel it due to illness. Yamashita also tweeted that her first time in Italy was an incredible experience.


AEW “DOUBLE OR NOTHING”, 25/05/2025
Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, Arizona, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher & Josh Alexander defeated Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly when Fletcher pinned O’Reilly with (12:48).

Takeshita and co. were put in the unenviable position of following the annual Anarchy In The Arena match. They all did alright given the circumstances. Takeshita has crossed paths with Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly before but not when all three have been together as Paragon. In fact the previous times Takeshita has been in the ring with Strong was as tag partners. The Don Callis Family ended up isolating O’Reilly and left it to Kyle Fletcher to finish him off. The Family continued the attack after the match until an unlikely trio of wrestlers came to the rescue. Hiroshi Tanahashi made a suprise appearance leading Tomohiro Ishii & Brody King to the ring to chase off The Family. It’s all to set up the next “FORBIDDEN DOOR” that will be held in England this year. It’s since been confirmed that the show will feature Tanahashi’s final wrestling match in the UK before he retires. Could Takeshita become a part of it just like he was for Tanahashi’s last USA match?


AEW “COLLISION”, 28/05/2025 (Aired 31/05/2025)
El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero defeated Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Tomohiro Ishii when Takeshita pinned Ishii with the Raging Fire (10:18).

Chaos broke out from the get go when The Don Callis Family attacked their opponents from behind only for Paragon & Ishii to bring the fight to them outside the ring. Don Callis also briefly got away from the commentary table to deliver a cheap shot. Takeshita and Ishii threw bombs at each other until Takeshita pushed Ishii into the ref. That allowed Romero to Low Blow Ishii from behind so Takeshita could pin him with the Raging Fire.


SPW “MAYHEM”, 30/05/2025
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Queen Of Asia Title: Alexis Lee defeated Yuki Kamifuku (c) (?:??).
*Yuki Kamifuku fails in V7. Alexis Lee becomes the 6th Queen Of Asia Champion!

The Queen Of Asia has been defeated. Long live the new Queen Of Asian Champion! Lee wanted one more shot at Kamifuku’s title in SPW and was willing to put up the biggest gamble of her life to do it. She promised to put her career on the line and retire from wrestling if she couldn’t take the title from Kamifuku! The bet paid off because Lee was able to get the win and become a two time Queen Of Asia Champion. Thing along with Kamifuku losing the VPW Women’s Title in TJPW earlier in the month brings her Southeast Asian dominance to an end, maybe just for the time being.


SETUP “THE FALLEN KINGDOM”, 31/05/2025
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Matcha defeated Raku (c) with the Stunner (?:??).
*Raku fails in V2. Matcha becomes the 4th SETUP All Asia Women’s Champion!

The good folks at SETUP have kept me up to date on Raku’s return to Thailand this month which I appreciate greatly. Matcha wanted a chance to win back the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title she lost to TJPW and would get it with Raku coming over to defend it. But Raku had a devious plan put in place to give her the advantage. When Matcha was in Japan for a TJPW tour, Raku purposely sang “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” to her her backstage to send her to sleep. Raku then sent a recording of the song over to the SETUP dojo, making everyone over there who played it fall asleep on the spot. SETUP staff also told me that Raku played the same prank on a delivery driver on Matcha’s birthday so her birthday cake would never arrive! So Matcha tried to fight fire with fire by bringing along a certain kind of pillow and mat used in Thailand for Raku to lie on. Raku almost fell asleep but had the awareness to roll up Matcha when she tried to pin her. The two proceeded to wrestle the match using the mat as a weapon on each other, mostly by one bundling up the other in the mat to try and immobilize them. When it came down to the final moments of the match, Matcha countered Raku’s Doctor Yellow into the Last Rights. After that she hit the Stunner to win and regain her championship! Raku was upset to lose the title but Matcha made it up to her after the match by giving her the pillow to bring home as a keepsake. Raku may have also got to sing Zack Sabre Jr. to sleep at the merch table as the main photo at the top of the article suggests.

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Upcoming Appearances


NEW TEXAS PRO “BAT CITY”, 01/06/2025
Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA

1. Charity King & AQA Vs VertVixen & Yuka Sakazaki

There was only one previous time when VertVixen & Yuka Sakazaki were in the ring together and it was for an AEW Dark match. They meet again for Sakazaki’s return to the American indies, this time teaming together over at New Texas Pro. Someone in this match who is also getting attention is AQA. She was seen as an exciting prospect on the indies a few years ago and even signed a deal with AEW (she got the graphic and everything) but unexpectedly quit the business only a few months later. All of a sudden New Texas Pro announced her return and this is going to be her first match back in three years. Charity King will be there to lend her a helping hand for the comeback.


KITSUNE “GOING BACK TO SAN DIEGO”, 07/06/2025
Primal Compound, San Diego, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Zara Zakher
2. Vipress & Hudson Envy Vs Nagisa Nozaki & Yuna Manase

Not long to go now until Yuna Manase returns for the next weekend of Kitsune shows. Yamashita will be there too.


KITSUNE “8888”, 08/06/2025
South Gate, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Kitsune World Title: Yuna Manase (c) Vs Tae Honma

Manase has a Kitsune World Title defence against Tae Honma lined up while Yamashita won’t know who she faces until the day of the show.


LLL “BUY THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE – NIGHT 1”, 13/06/2025
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Yamashita’s first opponent for her weekend at Lucha Libre & Laughs has not been announced yet.


LLL “BUY THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE – NIGHT 2”, 14/06/2025
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Dark Sheik Vs Miyu Yamashita

But her opponent on the second night is already known. It’s Dark Sheik!


GCW “BANGIN’ IN LITTLE ROCK”, 20/06/2025
The Hall, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

It won’t be until them middle of the month when Yamashita jumps back into GCW. There will be a couple of both new and familiar faces showing up by then, giving Yamashita a few potentially fresh opponents.


GCW “TAKE A PICTURE”, 22/06/2025
The Truman, Kansas City, Missouri, USA

1. GCW Tag Team Titles: Jordan Oliver & Alec Price (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Billie Starkz

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em! Yamashita and Starkz are teaming up for a crack at the GCW Tag Team Titles currently held by Jordan Oliver & Alec Price. This could be Yamashita’s last chance on this tour to win some gold.


MLW “SUMMER OF THE BEASTS”, 26/06/2025
Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA

1. Wakana Uehara Vs Yuki Kamifuku

The relationship between TJPW and Major League Wrestling will continue with more TJPW wrestlers crossing over to the world that never stops! While Nakajima is defending MLW’s Women’s Title in Japan, TJPW will be sending over Yuki Kamifuku and Wakana Uehara to compete against each other in the MLW ring. Cesar Duran says this is part of a new era for MLW’s women’s division being helmed by Salina de la Renta.


REAPER “REAPER RISING – A KING’S CORONATION”, 27/06/2025
The Pit, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai

This is one of those times when the wrestling promotion in question is so far out of my reach I half consider if it’s someone’s eFed because the info is so sparse. However I can confirm Reaper Wrestling is a real company in Canada. Yamashita will get to face Janai Kai again and she sent a video warning Kai that nothing has changed since the last time they fought each other.


METALMANIA “2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY”, 28/06/2025
Stage 722, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

And the award for the most unlikely place to book Yamashita during her excursion goes to METALMANIA! It’s where you go in Portland to see lucha mix with death metal music. Never would have thought Yamashita to be a headbanger.


SPARK “IGNITE TEXAS”, 29/06/2025
Baytown Community Center, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Yuka Sakazaki Vs X

When was the last time Yamashita and Sakazaki were on the same show together? It wasn’t when Sakazaki graduated from TJPW a year and a half ago, was it? As you can see in the pic above, there’s also some Stardom talent appearing on the show. If SPARK has the pull to put together the tag match I’m thinking of then good job to them.


BZW “LES JEUX SONT FAITS”, 05/07/2025
Casino Barrière de Lille, Lille, France

1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Danny Black & Joe Lando

It’s back to France for a quick summer break. Or maybe not because MAO & Yoshihiko have some business to attend to for their return to Banger Zone Wrestling. British wrestlers Danny Black & Joe Lando have challenged them for the BZW Tag Team Titles. The pair from the CPF (Close Personal Friends) stable held the titles before and are getting this match at the same venue where they lost them.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 1”, 10/07/2025
POST, Houston, Texas, USA

The current lineup “confirmed” for the Texas tour is Maki Itoh, Miyu Yamashita, Miu Watanabe, Suzume, Yuki Arai, Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima, Pom Harajuku, Moka Miyamoto, Arisu Endo, Raku, Shino Suzuki and Yuki Kamifuku.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 2”, 11/07/2025
POST, Houston, Texas, USA

The only one not “confirmed” yet but still included in the promotional material is Hyper Misao. That might depend on if she recovers from her elbow injury in time.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN DALLAS”, 13/07/2025
The OC, Forney, Texas, USA

The only other thing known about the show lineups right now is each night will have different matches.

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Cancelled Appearances


MPX “METROPLEX WRESTLING”, 31/05/2025
Harwood Road, Bedford, Texas, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Maya World

A cancelled flight prevented Yamashita from travelling to Texas for her first appearance at Metroplex Wrestling. She was meant to fight Maya World at the show and called in a favour to Athena to be her replacement.


PRESTIGE “UNIT3D”, 01/06/2025
Vermont Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Not much to say about this other than I’m including it just for the sake of record. When Yamashita first posted her list of USA bookings she included one for Prestige on 1st June. She later had an update saying the booking was cancelled and she was available for other dates on the weekend. Nothing was said on Prestige’s end but that’s also because they hadn’t at any point promoted she would appear on the show.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2025 IN NERIMA” Results

May 31, 2025

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2025 IN NERIMA”, 31/05/2025
Tokyo Nerima Coconeri Hall
268 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup Preliminary League – Round 1: Moka Miyamoto defeated Mahiro Kiryu with the Korokan (8:28).
2. Miu Watanabe, Wakana Uehara & Ivy Steele defeated Pom Harajuku, HIMAWARI & Haru Kazashiro when Watanabe submitted Kazashiro with the Canadian Backbreaker (7:59).
3. Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino defeated Yuki Arai & Mifu Ashida when Tatsumi pinned Ashida with the Twist Of Fate (12:41).
4. Mizuki & Jada Stone defeated Maki Itoh & Uta Takami when Stone pinned Takami with the Spark Stunner (11:08).
5. Kaya Toribami, Toga & Shino Suzuki defeated Shoko Nakajima, Arisu Endo & Chika Nanase when Toribami pinned Nanase with the Sento Choryu (9:41).
6. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) defeated Yoshiko Hasegawa with the Ring A Bell (11:01).
*V5 for Suzume.

With only one month left until Yoshiko Hasegawa graduates from Tokyo Joshi Pro and retires from pro wrestling, she got her wish to challenge Suzume for the International Princess Title. Hasegawa focused her gameplan on using the Muffler Hold but Suzume ultimately fought her way to get the rope break. Hasegawa then went for the Diving Double Knee Attack but missed, allowing Suzume to run up the corner to do a Flying Facecrusher and then use the Ring A Bell to win the match. She said she was glad to feel all of Hasegawa’s emotions along with her passion and aggression. Even though she has beaten Hasegawa in all of their singles matches she still considers her a rival. Hasegawa was disappointed to lose but thanked Suzume for granting her selfish request. She will continue to be selfish until her last day because she wants to help liven up TJPW in her own way. Later Suzume said she will be ready to have her sixth title defence at “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25” on 21st July with the goal of matching Yuki Arai’s record of title defences.

Social media messages sent between Maki Itoh and Uta Takami in the lead up to this show resulted in today’s match becoming the final test. If Takami passes then she would be accepted into the Itoh Respect Army. They performed “Setsunairo” together like last time then started the match well enough. But when Itoh & Takami did stereo Knuckle Punch spots in the ring corners, Takami made a fatal error. She called herself the cutest in the world and Itoh the second cutest! Itoh was so made at that she made Takami wrestle most of the match by herself. Itoh eventually got back into the match to make it a fair fight but Mizuki & Jada Stone ended up winning anyway.

When the match was over Itoh grabbed Takami by the scruff of the neck and brought her backstage. In the post-match interview she asked Takami who did she say the second cutest in the world is? Takami again said it was Itoh. That was her last strike and Takami was rejected from the Itoh Respect Army! Itoh was still mad but at least admitted it is good for a wrestler like Takami to have an ego. She doesn’t need to team with Itoh and should go forge her own path so they can meet again somewhere down the line. Takami said there’s so much she wants to learn from Itoh but Itoh complained that she’s taking things for granted and only saying what’s convenient for her. She will never team with Takami again! Takami promised she will try harder and the next time she is with Itoh either as a tag partner or her opponent she will be even stronger.

There is a theme park in Nerima that currently includes a Harry Potter world in it so Pom Harajuku entered this match dressed as a wizard (she wore a Slytherin cloak and tie). She kept trying to cast spells on Ivy Steele with her wand but nothing worked. But when Steele took the wand for her and cast a spell, it worked and knocked Harajuku off her feet. HIMAWARI wrestled the match in an eye patch but it is only for a minor injury. There is nothing to suggest she got poked in the eye with a wand or anything like that.

The Tokyo Princess Cup Preliminary League began with only one match so far due to Wakana Uehara Vs Kira Summer being postponed until Summer returns from injury. The match that did go ahead was Moka Miyamoto’s victory over Mahiro Kiryu. Given what was on the line in the match, Kiryu skipped past her usual apologies and went straight for the Double Knee Drop to everyone’s surprise. However Miyamoto took control and comfortably won with the Korokan. She now just has to win her 2nd Round match to qualify for the Princess Cup proper. She has a feeling she is going to be in for a long summer. Kiryu said that she is now in her 30s and starting to realise what she’s been lacking is honesty. She wants to express more of her emotions in the ring and show off a new side of her, like the B-Side of a tape.

It was announced that Max The Impaler will return to TJPW for “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25” on 21st July.


DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TAKASHIMAYA VOL. 3” Results

May 31, 2025

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TAKASHIMAYA VOL. 3”, 31/05/2025
Tokyo Shinjuku Takashimaya 1st Floor JR Exit Special Venue
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Time Delayed Entry Battle Royal For Shinjuku Takashimaya’s Half Day Promotional Ambassador: KANON defeated Poison Sawada JULIE by Ring Out (17:20).
Order Of Elimination: Yukio Naya, Yuki Ishida, Yuno & Kazuma Sumi, Pokotan, Kazuki Hirata, Poison Sawada JULIE.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Poison Sawada JULIE defeated Pokotan’s Head (c) with a Senton (11:54 am).
*Poison Sawada JULIE becomes the 1,748th champion.
2. Kazusada Higuchi, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul when Higuchi pinned Paul with a Lariat (13:39).
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y defeated Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Takeshi Masada when Ueno pinned Masada after the Everybody’s MADMAX (20:50).

This is the third year in a row DDT has run a show at the Shinjuku Takashimaya outlet. Shunma Katsumata was fired up for it because he missed the previous two events here. He combined his powers with Yuki Ueno & To-y to get The 37KAMIINA the victory in the main event. All three of them worked together to use a triple team version of the MADMAX for the win. Their prize was some Ibaraki Melons presented to them by the “Ibara King”. To-y said he injured his shoulder and suffered a nose bleed during the match but eating one of the melons gave him an instant recovery! Ueno told the fans that many people in DDT look forward to this event every year and it will continue thanks to everyone’s support.

A Battle Royal was held to determine who in DDT would become the special store ambassador for the rest of the day. Pokotan put on an unusually powerful performance, possibly driven by the need to protect the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title despite only its head being the champion. The mascot was eliminated by Poison Sawada JULIE’s snake magic. However KANON used a mirror to deflect the magic back at Sawada, petrifying him and causing him to be easily eliminated. KANON won the match and proceeded to take on his ambassador role but after the match Sawada jumped onto Pokotan’s Head and pinned it to become the new Iron Man Champion! Later backstage Sawada announced that as the man who originally created the championship back in 2000, he decided a new 2nd generation belt will be created to replace the current strap! He promised the new title belt will be ready for the 29th June Korakuen Hall show.

Saki Akai held a talk show with Hisaya Imabayashi in the middle of the event. Their special guest was Yuki Iino who is still out with an injury. He demonstrated to the audience some easy stretching exercises you can do while sitting down.


Video – Colt Cabana Vs Antonio Honda From YaroZ

May 30, 2025


YAROZ “YAROZ PART 4”, 14/02/2017
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
259 Fans – Super No Vacancy

5. Special Single Match: Colt Cabana Vs Antonio Honda


TJPW Injury Updates, Ren Konatsu, GanPro Ultimate Rules, MxM Collection Coming To DDT

May 29, 2025

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2025 IN NERIMA”, 31/05/2025
Tokyo Nerima Coconeri Hall

1. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup Preliminary League – Round 1: Mahiro Kiryu Vs Moka Miyamoto
2. Miu Watanabe, Wakana Uehara & Ivy Steele Vs Pom Harajuku, HIMAWARI & Haru Kazashiro
3. Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino Vs Yuki Arai & Mifu Ashida
4. Shoko Nakajima, Arisu Endo & Chika Nanase Vs Kaya Toribami, Toga & Shino Suzuki
5. Mizuki & Jada Stone Vs Maki Itoh & Uta Takami
6. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa

An injury report was given out by Tokyo Joshi Pro today for three of their wrestlers. Hyper Misao’s arm injury has been revealed to be ligament damage in her right elbow and she will remain out of action until late June. Haruna Neko picked up another knee injury and will miss this weekend’s shows. She is currently having it examined so TJPW will give an update once her diagnosis is known.

Kira Summer has a thigh injury and will be resting for another 4 weeks. Her Tokyo Princess Cup qualifier match with Wakana Uehara that was meant to happen on Saturday is postponed until she returns. However if she is still not cleared to wrestle by late June she may have to forfeit the match.

Parts of the undercard for Saturday’s show has been changed because of Neko and Summer’s injuries. There is now one less match and Uehara takes Neko’s place in Match #2.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2025 IN NAGOYA”, 01/06/2025
Aichi Chunichi Hall

1. Ren Konatsu Debut Match: Suzume Vs Ren Konatsu
2. Yoshiko Hasegawa & Moka Miyamoto Vs Toga & Chika Nanase
3. Rika Tatsumi, Wakana Uehara & Mifu Ashida Vs Mahiro Kiryu, Shino Suzuki & Ivy Steele
4. Shoko Nakajima & Haru Kazashiro Vs Kaya Toribami & HIMAWARI
5. Mizuki Vs Uta Takami
6. Last One Standing 8-Woman Tag Team Elimination Match: Maki Itoh, Yuki Arai, Pom Harajuku & Arisu Endo Vs Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Yuki Aino & Jada Stone

The teams for the Last One Standing Elimination Match have been decided. The next Princess Of Princess Title challenger will be decided here.

Match #2 & #3 are mixed around to fill in the gaps Neko and Summer opened up. Ivy Steele is bumped up the card a little while Moka Miyamoto swaps sides.

The trainee Konatsu will now go by the name Ren Konatsu for her debut. She was born in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka on 26th May 2001 and is 153cm tall. She was originally an SKE48 fan and started watching TJPW to follow Yuki Arai. However it was Suzume who inspired Konatsu to try wrestling out for herself so Suzume gets to be her very first opponent.

GANBARE☆PRO “GRAND BLEU 2025”, 01/06/2025
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center

1. Shota Kawakami Vs Keisuke Goto
2. Ken Ohka, PSYCHO & Moeka Haruhi Vs Shinichiro Tominaga, Daisuke® & Banny Oikawa
3. YuuRI & Nanami Hatano Vs Yuna Manase & Mio Shirai
4. GanPro Ultimate Rules: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada Vs Tyson Maeguchi & Thanomsak Toba
5. Yumehito Imanari, Mizuki Watase & Shigehiro Irie Vs Keisuke Ishii, Toru Sugiura & Munetatsu Nakamura

A shootfight style ruleset is being tried out by Ganbare☆Pro for Match #4. The GanPro Ultimate Rules can be won by knockout, submission or referee stoppage. There are no rope breaks and moves involving use of the ropes or corners are prohibited. Also double team moves and tag partners breaking up the opponent’s holds are not allowed. Should a grounded fighter position himself onto the ring apron the referee will shout “Don’t Move” and the match will pause for the wrestlers to reposition themselves over to the centre of the ring. Intentional fouls are an immediate disqualification while non-serious fouls result in a warning. Two warnings will result in a disqualification. Given the fighting styles of Shuichiro Katsumura, Takuya Wada, Tyson Maeguchi and Thanomsak Toba they should all adapt to the rules no problem.

DDT “THAT’S RIGHT! LET’S GO TO BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING 2025”, 03/06/2025
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. 1 Vs 4 Handicap Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Yuya Koroku, Yuni, Yuki Ishida & Kazuma Sumi
2. Thank You Toru Owashi ~ Toru Owashi 20th Anniversary Of DDT Participation Series Vol. 4: HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
3. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Daichi Sato Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya
4. Lumberjack Pool Crocodile Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & Ilusion Vs Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada
5. Referee Daisuke Kiso 15th Anniversary Match ~Special 6-Man Tag Match~: MAZADA, Minoru Fujta & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Yasu Urano, Akito & Shoko Nakajima
6. STRANGE LOVE CONNECTION Vs The 37KAMIINA!: MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Shunma Katsumata & To-y

Today was MAO’s final block match in the Best Of The Super Juniors tournament. He was able to beat SHO using everything he learned in DDT throughout his career and finished tied for first in his block with 12 points. However due to head-to-head tiebreakers he did not qualify for the final. I will write a full report for his tour with New Japan next week. Next week he comes back home to rejoin KANON and fight some old friends.

The rules for the Lumberjack Pool Crocodile Match have not been explained yet. Not even those in charge of DDT knows what it’s going to be.

The next match in Toru Owashi’s 20th Anniversary series is a partial reunion of DISASTER BOX! He will be in the same match as HARASHIMA, Yuki Ueno and Kazuki Hirata. Sadly Naomi Yoshimura will not be in attendance to complete the reunion.

Now that Danshoku Dieno is done with being a Strong Style wrestler, he’ll have to find his strength somewhere else to fight four opponents at once.

BASARA “BASARA 280 ~TAKAGARI 28~”, 07/06/2025
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center

1. Ryota Nakatsu Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
2. 3 Way Match: Daichi Kazato Vs Daiki Shimomura Vs Tsutomu Oosugi
3. Takumi Tsukamoto & Banana Senga Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Fuminori Abe
4. SAGAT & Isami Kodaka Vs Lil’ Kraken & Akira Jo
5. Isami Kodaka, Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino Vs Ryuichi Sekine, FUMA & Ayumu Honda

Right now in BASARA the field is wide open for future title challengers to emerge. Maybe one of them will be Akira Jo!!!

DDT “MY LOVE LETTER 2025”, 07/06/2025
Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX

1. Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Shunma Katsumata, Yukio Naya & Kazuma Sumi
2. HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki Vs Soma Takao & Daichi Sato
3. Special 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Jun Akiyama & Danshoku Dieno Vs Yuki Ueno & To-y
4. Thank You Toru Owashi ~ Toru Owashi 20th Anniversary Of DDT Participation Series Vol. 5: Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata
5. SCHADENFREUDE International Vs Harimao!: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida
6. Antonio Honda 20th Anniversary Match ~ Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Antonio Honda
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura (c) Vs Akito & Yuya Koroku

Owashi’s just never going to be able to get away from Hirata, is he?

M&A “SANSHIRO TAKAGI 30TH ANNIVERSARY PROJECT ~MATCHMAKE & AGENT~”, 25/06/2025
Shinjuku FACE

1. Special Tag Match: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Momoka Hanazono Vs Ippanjin Munenori Sawa & Mio Shirai
2. Special Tag Match: Rika Tatsumi & Antonio Honda Vs Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei
3. Special Single Match: Fuminori Abe Vs Shota
4. Special Single Match: Suwama Vs Muscle Sakai
5. Special Single Match: Yuji Nagata Vs Ken Ohka
6. Special Single Match: Momo Kohgo Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa

Two weeks before Yoshiko Hasegawa retires from pro wrestling she gets to be in the ring with Momo Kohgo one last time. The two wrestlers both debuted in Actwrez Girl’z back in 2019 so this it will be the perfect time for the two classmates to reunite and face each other. It is also Sanshiro Takagi’s way of getting to book the rare Stardom Vs TJPW match on his show.

One of the last additions to the card is the Pro Wrestling Up Town pair of Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Momoka Hanazono taking on the once retired but not really anymore duo of Munenori Sawa & Mio Shirai.

DDT “KING OF KINGS ~ARASHI’S JUNE SHOWDOWN~”, 29/06/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. International Special Tag Match: Mansoor & Mason Madden Vs Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi

Here comes the latest American tag team to make their DDT debuts. Straight from the lands of AEW and ROH it’s MxM Collection! Both Mansoor & Mason Madden sent a video where they said DDT should get ready to touch their tips. When Takagi heard that he immediately knew which two wrestlers should face them at Korakuen Hall. It’s the gatekeeper team of Dieno & Hirata!

BASARA “BASARA 285 ~CONTINUATION IS POWER~”, 03/08/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Union MAX Title: Ryota Nakatsu (c) Vs X

There is currently no one worthy to challenge Ryota Nakatsu for the Union MAX Title. Normally at this time of year it would be the winner of Chouten ~Itadaki~ but that just so happens to be Nakatsu this time around. It’s not possible for him to fight himself so he is going to spend the summer wrestling on BASARA shows to decide for himself who should be the No. 1 Contender. He will not defend the title before then.


Video – “BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS VOL. TWENTY TWO”

May 28, 2025


BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. 22: THE BEGINNING IS THE END IS THE BEGINNING”, 27/05/2025
Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa
??? Fans

1. Special Tag Team Match: Chris Brookes & Shikaku SAYA (w/ Bunbun) Vs Chie Brookes & Kota Ibushikoshi (w/ Fukafuka)
2. Special Single Match: Mr. Bueno Vs Fuminori Abe
3. BK-G Openweight Title: Mr. Malo (c) Vs Antonio Honda
4. Special Tag Team Match: Great King Ueki & Munek Vs Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei (w/ Karate Brahman)


DDT “KIRANAH BBQ STREET PRO WRESTLING 2025 ~MEAT! BEER! FESTIVAL!~” Results

May 28, 2025

DDT “KIRANAH BBQ STREET PRO WRESTLING 2025 ~MEAT! BEER! FESTIVAL!~”, 28/05/2025
Tokyo Kiranah Garden Toyosu
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Falls Count Anywhere 3 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y defeated Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Mecha Mummy and HARASHIMA, Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata when Katsumata pinned Mummy and Hirata with the Sauna Trance Splash on the Pool (37:18).

A leisure resort containing a massive barbecue field is the latest location to get the DDT street wrestling experience. For The 37KAMIINA this match was the perfect warm up for their KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles shot coming up on 1st June. SCHADENFREUDE International called in Mecha Mummy to bolster their side while the third team was possibly the most DDT trio you could find with HARASHIMA, Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata all teaming up together.

The match begun like a regular wrestling bout with all three teams fighting each other on the grass. Soon enough they moved over to the public dining area where they snuck in some food and drink in the middle of the brawling. Dieno briefly disappeared from the action and returned riding on the Dramatic Dream combat bike. He crashed it into other wrestlers one after the other. He also used Bunbun as an unwilling weapon to duel with Mecha Mummy when Mummy was armed with the Mecha Drill.

Takeshi Masada came to Bunbun’s rescue and held Dieno in place for Chris Brookes to attach the rubber band to Dieno’s backside. Brookes then made it up to the second floor of the restaurant, attached the other end of the band to the Mecha Fist and launched it directly at Dieno’s rear end! The other wrestlers added insult to injury by attacking Dieno’s backside afterwards.

More of the fighting made its way into the crowd where Shunma Katsumata found Yoshihiko hanging out. There was an attempt to do a Headscissors chain that flipped over from a Crab Hold by Brookes but it had to be broken up because the gravel on the ground was too painful for the wrestlers to roll in.

HARASHIMA placed Katsumata next to a leaning table and aimed to do the Somato. Katsumata got out of the way and HARASHIMA crashed into the table by himself. Meanwhile a bunch of wrestlers found horse hopping toys nearby and they all decided to have a race! To-y won but it meant nothing so the match continued. Hirata put his glasses on his horse toy and started dancing with it until Brookes sprayed him with a fire extinguisher.

There was a castle of chairs built nearby that Yuki Ueno & To-y both slammed Masada into. Then over at the stage there was a ladder that Dieno climbed standing over an inflatable pool of water. He ended up leaning over the ladder with his backside sticking out exposed. One by one the other wrestlers got their heads shoved into Dieno’s rear which then knocked them into the pool. Katsumata sprayed Mummy with a hose causing the robot to malfunction and fall into the pool next to Hirata. Katsumata then climbed the Ladder and hit the Sauna Trance Splash onto Hirata & Mummy in the pool to get the three count.

After the match To-y pointed to Tokyo Tower in the distance and told the fans DDT is bigger than it! He encouraged everyone to go eat a lot of meat and drink a lot of beer. Then all of the wrestlers did bumps into the pool. Later Katsumata said The 37KAMIINA is now down to three people but the three of them have developed a stronger desire to win the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles.


Takeshita And Sakazaki Announce They Are Married

May 27, 2025

The open secret is finally made public! With Konosuke Takeshita about to turn 30 years old later this week, he posted on his Instagram account today that he is indeed married to Yuka Sakazaki. Following that announcement, Sakazaki posted a similar message on her own Instagram. The two also revealed that they have a pet dog named Kenshiro. To quote DDT’s congratulatory message to the pair: “We hope that your dreams will forever remain dramatic!”

So this has been an open secret for quite a while. Although the fun thing about open secrets is they are still secrets to some people. I’ve been entertained by the general response to the news today because half of it is people saying finally it’s been confirmed and the other half is people saying they never had a clue the two of them were ever together in the first place.

Neither Takeshita nor Sakazaki said in their messages when they got married or how long they have been together for but there’s been some careless evidence left out there about Takeshita’s relationship status over the years. There was one time years ago (I want to say pre-pandemic but I’m not certain) when Konosuke’s mother Keiko Takeshita showed a photograph of Konosuke where he had a wedding ring visible on his finger. It had to be edited out but I can’t remember if it was from video footage for something or a social media post that got deleted.

Then two years ago there was a podcast dedicated to another puroresu company that had a conversation over the growing trend of Japanese wrestlers moving their careers to America. The guest listed a bunch of wrestlers during the conversation who had left Japan and mentioned “Takeshita and his wife” among them. I’m omitting the podcast and guest’s names simply to spare them from getting further grief over the subject. They were stunned at the time because to them it was just a throwaway comment but they ended up getting so many inquiries about it afterwards, far more than for any of the actual content on their episode.

But the loudest hints came from the couple’s co-workers in AEW. If there is any lesson to learn about this story it’s this. Should you ever want to know the family status of a Japanese wrestler just wait for a foreign wrestler to tweet about how great they are behind the scenes. When Takeshita tweeted about moving to America in 2022, Dax Harwood let it slip in his response that Takeshita had a wife. Also Sammy Guevara & Tay Melo weren’t shy about sharing photos online of their baby meeting Takeshita & Sakazaki together a while ago. It’s kind of like how we all found out Asuka is a mother because other women in WWE always bring it up whenever they get the chance to talk about her in interviews.

But anyway, congratulations to the happy couple. They certainly made this the most romantic Dragon Quest Day ever.


BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. 22: THE BEGINNING IS THE END IS THE BEGINNING” Results

May 27, 2025

BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. 22: THE BEGINNING IS THE END IS THE BEGINNING”, 27/05/2025
Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa
??? Fans

1. Special Tag Team Match: Chris Brookes & Shikaku SAYA (w/ Bunbun) defeated Chie Brookes & Kota Ibushikoshi (w/ Fukafuka) when SAYA pinned Kota Ibushikoshi with the Roll Cake (?:??).
2. Special Single Match: Fuminori Abe defeated Mr. Bueno with the O-Manjigatame (?:??).
3. BK-G Openweight Title: Mr. Malo (c) defeated Antonio Honda with the Unprettier (?:??).
*V1 for Mr. Malo.
4. Special Tag Team Match: Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei (w/ Karate Brahman) defeated Great King Ueki & Munek when Shu & Kei pinned Munek with the Gotai Fumanzoku (?:??).

This is what happens when somebody wants the most complete Brahman Brothers experience. Fans in ARENA Shimokitazawa were warned in advance to cover themselves with ponchos and protect their valuables for the main event because Baka Gaijin + Friends could not promise to protect them from The Brahmans in any way, shape or form. Great King Ueki & Munek weren’t intimidated by the warnings because they were more concerned over their plan to kidnap another princess. They got a woman in the crowd to step into their magical chamber (i.e stand behind the bar) and become their prisoner. This turn of events meant The Brahman Brothers were in fact the unlikely heroes coming to save the day! They were even accompanied by Karate Brahman in a rare public appearance.

The rescue attempt devolved into mayhem in quick fashion. Munek summoned an invisible wall to block his opponents but The Brahmans found a way to spray water passed it. They then proceeded to drench the venue with bottles and buckets of water while brawling with the other team. They opened up space in the room to do their bowling ball into the suitcase spot but Munek did his own magical version in return. That was when Karate Brahman unleashed his secret weapon. He stuck some fireworks up his nose, stripped down to his underwear and started singing while the other Brahmans lit up the fireworks! Ueki then sprayed him with a fire extinguisher which somehow caused Karate to join his side. Ueki stole the black ink from The Brahmans and used it to spit Poison Mist but he missed his target and blinded Karate by accident. The Brahmans then filled a plate with pizza sauce and threw it at Ueki, missing him and hitting Karate in the butt with it instead. Ueki pulled out more fireworks but Munek got pulled in the way of the blast. Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei then rolled up Munek in their Crucifix/Jackknife Pin combo to get the win. Karate Brahman tried to profess his love to the princess that was rescued but he was rejected.

In a much more tame affair, Mr. Malo defended the BK-G Openweight Title against Antonio Honda. The challenger was outmatched by Malo’s holds and had to grab random fans by the head to initiate rope breaks. Once Honda found his groove Malo resorted to cheating. However Honda had him scouted and blocked a Low Blow to keep control of the match. Malo turned things around my deflecting Gongitsune into hitting Daisuke Kiso. He grabbed a beer bottle but Honda took it from him. A recovered Kiso stopped Honda from using it as a weapon, accidentally making him drop it to the ground where it was smashed into pieces! Malo took advantage by giving Honda a Low Blow when Kiso couldn’t see it and he then won by doing the Unprettier onto the broken pieces of the bottle.

Mr. Bueno thought he was ready for a martial arts fight with Fuminori Abe but he was quickly kicked to the floor when the match began. Then as they fought back and forth Bueno wanted to know more about his opponent and asked for his name. When Abe answered him, Bueno confused him for Hiroshi Abe which made Fuminori mad. Bueno then kept confusing him for other famous Abe’s but when he introduced himself, Abe kept thinking his name was Ueno. Later Abe trapped Bueno in the Manjigatame and demanded he say his name right. Bueno fought out of it but when he wound up in the move again he tapped out.

The opening contest was designed to be one team of Chris Brookes & MAO taking on another team of Chris Brookes & MAO. Except the actual MAO was nowhere to be seen. Brookes instead teamed with Sakaya who tried her best to fill the square shaped hole that MAO left behind. The two were also accompanied by Bunbun. Facing them were Chie Koishikawa who was acting like Brookes and Kota Ibushikoshi who was acting like MAO. The two of them were joined by by Fukafuka, a hammerhead shark toy who looked identical to Chie’s usual shark toy Hanma-san. Both Bunbun and Fukufuka were tied to the rubber band for that spot and slingshotted into the wrestlers. The two MAO lookalikes tried to replicate the real thing but needed help to do so. Brookes had to lift up Sayaka and flip her around to make it look like she was doing a Moonsault for example. Also thanks to a slap from the real Brookes, Sayaka was able to roll up Ibushikoshi in the Cake Roll to get the win.

After a lengthy clean up the show ended with an announcement by Shin Suzuki. He will be producing his own show at TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi on 13th September called “STEEL HEART RUN” to celebrate the “10th (+1) Anniversary” of his debut. The +1 is because he’s one year off from when he actually debuted. He originally wanted to face Masahiro Takanashi in the main event but that is not currently possible so Brookes volunteered to be Suzuki’s opponent instead. Suzuki agreed to i and just to prove he won’t take it lightly, he grabbed Brookes by the nose and knocked him off his feet!

The next Baka Gaijin + Friends show will take place on 1st July. Brookes also announced that “FUCKED UP FEST 2” will take place at Tokyo BASEMENT MONSTAR later this year.


Did Itoh Replace Mizuki With Takami? Next KO-D & Universal Title Defences

May 26, 2025

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2025 IN NERIMA”, 31/05/2025
Tokyo Nerima Coconeri Hall

1. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup Preliminary League – Round 1: Mahiro Kiryu Vs Moka Miyamoto
2. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup Preliminary League – Round 1: Wakana Uehara Vs Kira Summer
3. Miu Watanabe, Haruna Neko & Ivy Steele Vs Pom Harajuku, HIMAWARI & Haru Kazashiro
4. Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino Vs Yuki Arai & Mifu Ashida
5. Shoko Nakajima, Arisu Endo & Chika Nanase Vs Kaya Toribami, Toga & Shino Suzuki
6. Mizuki & Jada Stone Vs Maki Itoh & Uta Takami
7. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa

Jada Stone’s return to Tokyo Joshi Pro begins with her teaming up with Mizuki to face what is apparently the new and improved Itoh Respect Army. How will Mizuki react to Uta Takami singing her part of “Setsunairo” with Maki Itoh?

The Preliminary League for this year’s Tokyo Princess Cup begins with two opening round qualifying matches. Mahiro Kiryu, Moka Miyamoto, Wakana Uehara and Kira Summer are the first four up. Two go through, two go out.

Both Yuki Kamifuku and Raku will be missing the show because they will be wrestling overseas that weekend. Kamifuku will be in Singapore for SPW while Raku is in Thailand for SETUP.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2025 IN NAGOYA”, 01/06/2025
Aichi Chunichi Hall

1. Konatsu Debut Match: Suzume Vs Konatsu
2. Yoshiko Hasegawa, Kira Summer & Ivy Steele Vs Moka Miyamoto, Toga & Chika Nanase
3. Rika Tatsumi, Wakana Uehara & Mifu Ashida Vs Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Shino Suzuki
4. Shoko Nakajima & Haru Kazashiro Vs Kaya Toribami Vs HIMAWARI
5. Mizuki Vs Uta Takami
6. Last One Standing 8-Woman Tag Team Elimination Match: Miu Watanabe Vs Maki Itoh Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Yuki Aino Vs Yuki Arai Vs Pom Harajuku Vs Arisu Endo Vs Jada Stone

Well if Mizuki is feeling like Takami replaced her in the Itoh Respect Army she doesn’t have to wait long to get her alone in the ring.

There is also another prelim tag match for Shoko Nakajima and Kaya Toribami to get them ready for their MLW Women’s Title bout.

The trainee Konatsu’s debut match will be against Suzume! Konatsu’s official ring name will be revealed soon.

Raku will miss this show but Kamifuku will have returned in time to take part.

DDT “NAGOYA FIGHT FEVER 2025”, 01/06/2025
Aichi Chunichi Hall & Conference

1. Akito Vs Yuya Koroku
2. Jun Akiyama & Yuni Vs Daichi Sato & Kazuma Sumi
3. Thank You Toru Owashi ~ Toru Owashi 20th Anniversary Of DDT Participation Series Vol. 3: Toru Owashi Vs Danshoku Dieno Vs Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata
4. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida
5. After KING OF DDT 2025! Special Single Match: KANON Vs Takeshi Masada
6. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Minoru Suzuki Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & Ilusion (c) Vs Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y

The KO-D Openweight Champion and DDT Universal Champion are teaming up again! The last time Chris Brookes & Minoru Suzuki were tag partners was last November when they fought Yuki Ueno & MAO to a time limit draw. This time they will be taking on Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya.

DDT “MY LOVE LETTER 2025”, 07/06/2025
Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX

1. Antonio Honda 20th Anniversary Match ~ Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Antonio Honda
2. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura (c) Vs Akito & Yuya Koroku

The KO-D Tag Team Titles have been away from DDT for the last month because Astronauts have been defending the belts in other promotions to build up victories on the long road to breaking the current record. With successful title defences in Big Japan and BURST, Astronauts have now retained the championship four times in this reign. Only Akito & Yuya Koroku seemed to have noticed the title’s absence from DDT. They also enjoyed teaming up together over the weekend and would like to continue doing that so they’re going to challenge Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura to bring the titles back home.

DDT “MACHIDA KANSAI PRO WRESTLING FESTIVAL 2025”, 21/06/2025
Tokyo Machida GION Stadium Glass Garden Special Ring

1. Danshoku Dieno, Kazuki Hirata & Pokotan Vs Yukio Naya, Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi
2. MAO & KANON Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida
3. Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada Vs Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y

DDT are holding a few matches outside the stadium of a FC Machida Zelvia home game.

A reminder that Pokotan’s Head is currently the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion. Not Pokotan, just his detached head.

DDT “KING OF KINGS ~ARASHI’S JUNE SHOWDOWN~”, 29/06/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi

This year’s King Of DDT is getting his KO-D Title shot at the end of June. Higuchi can give his comeback the ultimate happy ending if he can beat Brookes to become the champion of DDT again.

Both Minoru Suzuki and Shinya Aoki will be on the show. Speaking of which…

DDT “ROCK IN RING 2025 ~PLAY THE STRIKES, SHOUT THE CHEERS”, 13/07/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs Shinya Aoki

Suzuki is now getting his kind of fighter for his next title defence. Aoki is tired of seeing Suzuki being treated like an invincible warrior who cannot be defeated so he is stepping forward to face him for the Universal Title. Suzuki is done fighting the likes of Yoshihiko and Danshoku Dieno. He will be happy if the Aoki facing him is the real deal and not somebody who has succumbed to DDT’s silliness.

Haruto Sakuraba will be on the show taking part in his second wrestling match. He is specifically targeting KANON with the goal of destroying him for good so KANON will never get in DAMNATION T.A’s way again.