This list was revealed back on New Year’s Day but I was busy on holiday. Only got around to doing this now almost three weeks later. Over 340 fans from around the world voted for their favorite Tokyo Joshi Pro matches of 2025. Nearly 140 matches received votes. There was also a correction to some of the scores originally posted in their tweet thread but none of the matches changed places because of it.
TJPW Best Bouts 2025
1. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miu Watanabe 20/09/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
200 pts
2. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe 21/07/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
177 pts
3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao 16/03/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
145 pts
4. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Semi Final: Shoko Nakajima Vs Miu Watanabe 17/08/2025 @ Osaka Edion Arena #2
143 pts
5. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs Suzume 04/01/2025 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
107 pts
6. Princess Of Princess Title – STOMPING Presents: Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi 16/03/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
90 pts
7. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura Vs Yuki Arai 16/03/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
82 pts
8. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Mizuki 04/01/2025 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
80 pts
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Yuki Arai 21/07/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
71 pts
10. Shoko Nakajima Vs Miu Watanabe 13/07/2025 @ The OC, Forney, Texas, USA
70 pts
11. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Miyu Yamashita Vs Arisu Endo 09/08/2025 @ Tokyo Shinagawa The Grand Hall
65 pts
12. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Final: Miu Watanabe Vs Arisu Endo 23/08/2025 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
54 pts
13. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara 20/09/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
53 pts
14. Flag Scramble Weapon Death Match: Rika Tatsumi Vs Pom Harajuku 20/09/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
34 pts
15. Special Single Match: Maki Itoh Vs Yuki Arai 23/08/2025 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
33 pts
16. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) defeated Yuki Aino 18/10/2025 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
32 pts
17. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Yoshiko Hasegawa Graduation Commemorative Match ~ 1 Vs 27 Handicap Match: Yoshiko Hasegawa (c) Vs Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao, Suzume, Rika Tatsumi, Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku, Yuki Aino, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Mahiro Kiryu, Moka Miyamoto, Arisu Endo, Yuki Arai, Kaya Torbami, Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI, Toga, Shino Suzuki, Haru Kazashiro, Mifu Ashida, Kira Summer, Chika Nanase, Uta Takami, Ren Konatsu & Ivy Steele 18/07/2025 @ Shinjuku FACE
30 pts
18. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Final: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku 08/02/2025 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
24 pts
18. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Moka Miyamoto 21/08/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
24 pts
20. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Pom Harajuku (c) Vs Raku 16/03/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
23 pts
Honorable Mentions
These eight matches just missed out on making the Top 20.
21. Special Single Match: Yuki Aino Vs Danshoku Dieno 05/08/2025 @ Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall
22. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Kaya Toribami 07/06/2025 @ Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX
22. LEVEL UP TRIAL Best Of 3 – Match II: Shoko Nakajima Vs Uta Takami 18/10/2025 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
22. Next Generation Tournament ’25 – Final: Chika Nanase Vs Uta Takami 26/10/2025 @ Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall
25. Falls Count Anywhere 8-Woman Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh, Yuki Arai & Max The Impaler Vs Mizuki, Aja Kong, Miu Watanabe & Raku 15/02/2025 @ Nozomi 343 Departing From Tokyo Station
26. International Princess Title Match: Arisu Endo Vs Priscilla Kelly 20/09/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
27. International Princess Title Next Challenger Tournament – Semi Final: HIMAWARI & Uta Takami Vs Haru Kazashiro & Chika Nanase 19/04/2025 @ Tokyo Kanda Myojin Hall
27. Miyu Yamashita Vs Yuki Arai 21/12/2025 @ 21/12/2025
The full cards for all three Tokyo Joshi Pro shows for their tour of Texas have been announced. A lot of the matches will be building towards “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25” later in the month so you are getting as close to the genuine article as TJPW can give you in America. So far the two nights in Houston are both sold out while tickets for the “Dallas” show are still available. As an added bonus, Sayuri Namba will be the special ring announcer for all three shows! She’s already going to be in North America by that point so why not have her show up so soon after graduating.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “QUERI PRESENTS TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 1”, 10/07/2025 POST, Houston, Texas, USA
1. 3 Way Match: Yuki Kamifuku Vs Raku Vs Vert Vixen
2. Yuki Arai Vs Kaylia Capri
3. Miu Watanabe Vs Wakana Uehara
4. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Moka Miyamoto & Shino Suzuki
5. Special Single Match: Miyu Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
6. Mizuki & Pom Harajuku Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
Night 1 features the Princess Of Princess Champion facing the Princess Tag Team Champions in one of the feature matches. Pom Harajuku is the odd one out but as long as Mizuki doesn’t steal her shoes again they should get along well enough to fight Kyoraku Kyomei together. There is also a prelim match relating to the International Princess Title as Suzume and Moka Miyamoto lock horns once again with Arisu Endo and Shino Suzuki along for the ring.
Meanwhile the 11th singles match between Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh takes place. Can Itoh finally get a win over her former 121000000 teammate? A new face showing up in the lineup is Kaylia Capri as a singles opponent for Yuki Arai to focus on.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “QUERI PRESENTS TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 2”, 11/07/2025 POST, Houston, Texas, USA
1. Wakana Uehara Vs Shino Suzuki
2. Arisu Endo Vs Kaylia Capri
3. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Pom Harajuku
4. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Miu Watanabe & Vert Vixen
5. Maki Itoh Vs Raku
6. Mizuki & Suzume Vs Yuki Arai & Moka Miyamoto
Night 2 is the two singles champions facing their upcoming challengers in the main event, providing a massive preview for “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25”. The powerful duo of Miu Watanabe & Vert Vixen will test their mettle against Kyoraku Kyomei. Yamashita will not be on the show for reasons not announced yet but she is involved in a morning meet and greet happening before the show.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN DALLAS PRESENTED BY NEXTSHARK & QUERI”, 13/07/2025 The OC, Forney, Texas, USA
1. Hyper Misao & Shino Suzuki Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku
2. Moka Miyamoto Vs Alejandra Quintanilla
3. Yuki Arai Vs Maya World
4. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
5. Shoko Nakajima Vs Miu Watanabe
6. Yuka Sakazaki & Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita & Vert Vixen
7. Special Single Match: Mizuki Vs Maki Itoh
Then after a day’s rest the tour comes to an end with a battle between the original Itoh Respect Army. That’s right it’s Mizuki Vs Itoh! Yamashita comes back to team with Vixen against the wild card AEW tag team of Yuka Sakazaki & Billie Starkz. This show will also feature the rematch of TJPW’s 2024 match of the year when Watanabe faces Shoko Nakajima.
That’s not all because Daisy Monkey ends the tour taking on the Ober Eats team of Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara. Also Maya World and Alejandra Quintanilla make their TJPW debuts taking on Arai and Miyamoto respectively.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2025 IN FUKUOKA”, 06/04/2025 Acros Fukuoka 335 Fans
1. Moka Miyamoto defeated Mifu Ashida with the Rashomon (6:32).
2. Mahiro Kiryu & Haruna Neko defeated Yoshiko Hasegawa & Chika Nanase when Kiryu pinned Nanase with the Spinebuster (8:16).
3. 3 Way Match: Raku defeated Kaya Toribami and Shino Suzuki when Raku pinned Suzuki with the Hurricane Turn (7:00).
4. Rika Tatsumi & Toga defeated Kira Summer & Ivy Steele when Tatsumi pinned Summer with the Twist Of Fate (9:37).
5. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Miu Watanabe & Uta Takami when Suzume pinned Takami with the Ring A Bell (11:53).
6. Mizuki & Aja Kong defeated Hyper Misao & Pom Harajuku when Kong pinned Harajuku with the Back Drop (11:46).
7. Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara defeated Miyu Yamashita, Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro when Itoh submitted Kazashiro with the Itoh Deluxe (13:27).
It was only fitting that Fukuoka was the location of 121000000’s first match against each other since splitting up. The two hometown girls Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh opened up the match and had an intense back and forth before both tagging out. They had more exchanges in the match but others got in the way. Ober Eats tried working out a Double Flapjack together but Yamashita kicked both Wakana Uehara & Yuki Kamifuku away. But it was Itoh who scored the victory for her team by making Haru Kazashiro submit to the Itoh Deluxe while Yamashita & Yuki Aino were unable to make the save. Itoh gave the microphone to Yamashita after the match to say some words before taking it back to close out the show herself. She got the crowd to call Yamashita the second cutest in the world while Itoh is still the cutest. Backstage Itoh brought up that she and Yamashita are having a singles match in GCW next month. She feels like she cannot lose to her there.
Hyper Misao thought it was unfair that Mizuki got to team up with Aja Kong so she & Pom Harajuku tried bribing Kong with rice crackers to join their side. They also made custom superhero masks for the three of them to wear. Kong declined the offer and hit Misao with the box of crackers while Mizuki stole Harajuku’s shoes. Mizuki also brought a Pico Pico Hammer into the ring. Misao used the Hero Spray to blind Mizuki, causing her to blindly swing the Hammer around in the ring. Kong hit Mizuki over the head with a steel can to stop her. Mizuki regained her sight and used the Hammer to knock the spray can out of Misao’s hands. Kong then knocked out Harajuku with the steel can and pinned her with the Back Drop. Kong assured Mizuki she was never going to turn on her because Kong was teaming with a champion while Misao only wanted to make people look funny wearing the mask. She encouraged Mizuki to go beat Yamashita to a pulp in America.
Buckle up, folks. There is a lot to talk about this month, next month and probably even going into the summer. Konosuke Takeshita is no longer the AEW International Champion. That was to be expected but I am pleasantly surprised he has remained on AEW TV since then and is still winning matches for The Don Callis Family. He remains being protected in the booking so it looks like AEW has something in mind for him down the line even if it’s just building him up to put someone else over. Also in news that is kind of AEW related Yuka Sakazaki is now on the lookout for more wrestling bookings. Sumie Sakai is helping her out on that end but it sounds like Sakazaki will still need AEW’s permission to go ahead with whatever offers come her way.
Next let’s talk about Maki Itoh and Miyu Yamashita. Once the Las Vegas shows are done Itoh will be staying in America until 11th May while Yamashita won’t be coming back to Japan until 21st July for “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25”. I was taken aback by the negative response to the news that both of them will be taking another extended hiatus from Tokyo Joshi Pro to wrestle overseas again. I get the frustration in a way. People think both of them are looking for contracts from WWE or AEW. Itoh has brought up stuff like that in past English interviews but I’m not entirely sure Yamashita has the same goal in mind. There was a public talk event sometime ago where Yamashita revealed she spent a lot of money to go follow one of her favorite K-Pop bands on a US tour and she seems to enjoy when she’s not being relied upon by TJPW to be a company ace. Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think the two of them keep taking these options in the search for deals that may never come their way. Of course I may also just be blind to what could possibly be some tryout matches coming up next month.
That brings us up to next month’s chaos that is Wrestlemania Week. I can’t wait for this! Too many wrestling shows going on non-stop in Las Vegas for a solid week. Now that’s my kind of holiday! DDT and TJPW don’t have full cards out for their shows yet and I have the feeling one or two more promotions will be booking the likes of MAO and Itoh before we get there. So many shows are going on during the week that I can’t help but wonder if it will just take one badly made political decision somewhere to throw half the shows into chaos.
And if that’s not enough it turns out there will be even more wrestling shows going on through the year after Wrestlemania is finished. Yeah that took me by surprise too. Anyway next month expect me to write up three separate Around The World articles. One for everything that happens before WM Week, one for the week itself and one for the rest of April after that. If the next month doesn’t burn me out something fierce than nothing will.
1. Yuki Kamifuku & The Statement defeated Alexis Lee & Da Butcherman when Statement pinned Butcherman with an Uppercut (?:??).
The latest chapter in the Southeast Asian rivalry between Yuki Kamifuku and Alexis Lee was a little different this time around. Recently in Singapore Pro Wrestling Lee was stabbed in the back by Andruew Tang, or as he prefers to be called now, The Statement. Lee wanted payback and joined forces with one of Statement’s rivals Da Butcherman to get it. Statement called in Kamifuku to back him up so they can become the royal pair who will rule over SPW together with iron fists. An intense tag match resulted in the referee getting knocked out and Statement being saved by a tag team called The Midnight Bastards. The team attacked Butcherman with chairs and held him in place for Statement to knock him out with an Uppercut. Statement & Kamifuku both stood tall over their rivals holding their championships before leaving. Lee swore revenge and promised to take back the Queen Of Asia Title from Kamifuku!
EVE “WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY”, 07/03/2024 The Big Penny Social, London, England
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Lucia Lee with the Skull Kick (12:48).
Plans in EVE changed for Yamashita when her original opponent Session Moth Martina pulled out of the show due to illness. Instead Yamashita was given Lucia Lee as her new opponent. For Lee it was a chance on short notice to step up against Yamashita and prove she can go toe to toe against her. Despite the good effort, Yamashita knocked her over with the Skull Kick anyway.
RCW “MARCH MADNESS”, 08/03/2024 Casinet de Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Amale with the Skull Kick (15:16).
The next day Yamashita was in Spain to wrestle on an RCW show for the first time since October 2022. Her opponent was “The French Hope” Amale, formerly from NXT UK. She sent Yamashita crashing through the front row of chairs with a Topé Suicida and the two soon found themselves brawling around ringside. Back in the ring Amale kicked out of an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment and almost scored the win with a Small Package. But when Yamashita kicked out she quickly had her opponent in her sights and hit the Skull Kick for the victory.
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Anita Vaughan with the Crash Rabbit Heat (13:32).
Yamashita’s busy European weekend ended in Germany where she showed up during wXw’s final day of the annual 16 Carat Gold tournament. She didn’t take part in the 16 Carat tournament itself, instead she fought Anita Vaughan who was already eliminated from the competition by that point. Yamashita made it three wins for three but she needed to use the Crash Rabbit Heat this time to end the weekend with a clean sweep.
AEW “REVOLUTION”, 09/03/2025 Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. AEW International Title: Kenny Omega defeated Konosuke Takeshita (c) with a Cradle (28:30). *Konosuke Takeshita fails in V9. Kenny Omega becomes the 11th AEW International Champion!
That’s the end of Takeshita’s first championship reign in AEW. With thoughts of Hajime no Ippo on their mind and also their gear, Takeshita and Kenny Omega went hell for leather in their rematch from September 2023. Omega’s ribs were violently targeted due to his recent bout with diverticulitis and Takeshita got a little help from Don Callis here and there too. But Omega overcame the odds and kept kicked out of the Powerdrive Knee. Takeshita avoided the One-Winged Angel yet when he went for the Raging Fire, Omega countered it into an Inside Cradle. Only getting a nearfall, Omega then switched to more types of cradle pins until he kept Takeshita’s shoulders down long enough for the three count.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 12/03/2025 Save Mart Center At Fresno State, Fresno, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Max Caster with the Raging Fire (1:30).
Takeshita wasted no time in getting back to work after his title loss. Max Caster held the latest in his open challenges and tried to talk Takeshita out of it when he walked down to the ring with a purpose. Caster asked if Takeshita was actually here to invite him into The Don Callis Family? When he suggested he could use that position to beat Omega, Takeshita attacked him and quickly won with the Raging Fire.
BZW “WAR AT THE CAPITAL”, 16/03/2025 Claridge, Brussels, Belgium
1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) defeated Kid Lykos & Kid Lykos II when Yoshihiko submitted Lykos & Lykos II with a Double Half Crab Hold (?:??). *V3 for MAO & Yoshihiko.
I missed when this was announced last month. MAO & Yoshihiko travelled back to Banger Zone Wrestling this month, this time to defend the BZW Tag Team Titles in Belgium. The challengers were the two troublemakers from Lykos Gym in England: Kid Lykos & Kid Lykos II. They weren’t prepared for Yoshihiko to do a balcony dive onto them nor did they expect the dark spirit that sometimes follows Yoshihiko around to show up and Moonsault onto them either. Lykos II made the big mistake of yelling insults towards Yoshihiko. When he tried to Headbutt it only he felt the impact. Yoshihiko was then able to trap both members of Lykos Gym in a Double Half Crab Hold and made both of them tap out at the same time!
AEW “COLLISION – SLAM DUNK SATURDAY”, 19/03/2025 (Aired 22/03/2025) Liberty First Credit Union Arena, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Brian Cage & Lance Archer defeated Mark Briscoe, Powerhouse Hobbs & Rocky Romero when Takeshita pinned Romero with the Raging Fire (11:22).
Takeshita continued to rebuild his momentum by teaming with more members of The Don Callis Family. He, Brian Cage & Lance Archer all worked over Rocky Romero until Mark Briscoe got the hot tag. Briscoe had the numbers game against him but he held his own until it was time for Powerhouse Hobbs to get the big tag. But The Don Callis Family withstood the comeback. Cage & Archer took out Romero with a Choke Slam/Power Bomb combo and held his partners at bay so Takeshita could pin Romero with the Raging Fire.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 26/03/2025 Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Mark Briscoe with the Raging Fire (11:39).
There was unfinished business between Takeshita and Briscoe from Collision so they met in a singles match the following week on Dynamite. The episode was sponsored by The Minecraft Movie so the venue they were in ended up kind of looking like a Create-An-Arena you would download from the WWE 2K games. Briscoe took a high risk by running across the barricade outside the ring to jump onto Takeshita with a Diving Elbow Drop. Takeshita hit Briscoe with the Powerdrive Knee back in the ring but it got him a nearfall. Briscoe pulled out the Jay Driller that had Takeshita beat but a rope break stopped him from getting pinned for the three count. Takeshita stunned Briscoe with a Rolling Elbow before using the Raging Fire to win by the skin of his teeth.
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Upcoming Appearances
MLW “BATTLE RIOT VII”, 05/04/2025 Thunder Studios Arena, Long Beach, California, USA
1. HIMAWARI Vs Janai Kai
2. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Delmi Exo (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima
There was a report from Fightful’s Patreon account during the month saying MLW has “big plans” in mind for Shoko Nakajima and HIMAWARI and the promotion hopes to get TJPW more involved with their women’s division. I’m a bit skeptical towards what that could be because the way wrestling media reports on MLW often comes across as Court Bauer trying to get his material over and everybody just taking him for his word. Big plans could mean anything from Nakajima beating Delmi Exo for the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title or Janai Kai literally murdering HIMAWARI on behalf of CONTRA Unit and right afterward MLW announces a working relationship with Stardom (go see how CIMA was written out of the company right before MLW aired a Dragongate trailer). Or the big plans might just be TJPW talent being used to put over the regulars MLW wants to push. Which at this moment in time is Exo, Kai and maybe Tara Zep. But hey, who knows. It looks like MLW’s working relationship with CMLL is legit. I’ll be happy to be proven wrong.
NJPW “WINDY CITY RIOT”, 11/04/2025 Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi Last Match In The USA Final Road ~Kinship~: Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA
I recommend watching the Ace Vs Alpha video New Japan put on their Youtube channel (I included it in the video section above) because it shows Takeshita and Hiroshi Tanahashi talking about their previous match together as well as why Takeshita holds a grudge over how Tanahashi treated DDT in the past. It’s not the complete story of what happened back then because that is more HARASHIMA’s story to tell but it is suffice to build up their match happening next month.
PANDEMONIUM PRO “THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS”, 17/04/2025 Fremont Country Club, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Masha Slamovich Vs MAO
2. Maya World Vs Miu Watanabe
Now we hit the busiest wrestling week of the year. Damn it really is a week long this time around with WWE going full throttle with their own schedule in Las Vegas from Tuesday to Tuesday. But enough about them, among the early shows kicking off the week is Pandemonium Pro where Miu Watanabe has a match against Maya World and now MAO will be there too for what is sure to be a crazy battle against Masha Slamovich! The two of them have packed schedules of their own so they better pace themselves.
WRESTLECON “MARK HITCHCOCK MEMORIAL SUPERSHOW”, 17/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Mickie James Vs Maki Itoh
It’s a match for the ages between two fierce opponents. One is a wrestling idol with grand ambitions of becoming a popstar who has in the past been unceremoniously fired in a humiliating fashion. The other is Maki Itoh. I know people who still have nightmares from the Revolution Pro show in London two years ago where a group of fans spent literally the entire match chanting “Hardcore Country” non-stop for Mickie James. I hope for my sake those same fans won’t be at this show.
WEST COAST PRO “VEGAS VACATION”, 17/04/2025 Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. MAO Vs Jiah Jewell
MAO’s second show on the Thursday is against Jiah Jewell at West Coast Pro. Because when you think of local rivalries, you think of Miyagi Vs Louisiana.
GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XIII”, 17/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Charlie Dempsey Vs Shinya Aoki
2. Nattie Neidhart Vs Miyu Yamashita
Whenever Yamashita travels to America, Natalya invites her over to her private training facility in Florida to help teach her what she knows. They’ve apparantly become close friends over time but when Josh Barnett started putting the card together for Bloodsport, Natalya (under her non-WWE moniker Nattie Neidhart) publicly asked for Yamashita to be her opponent. Yamashita jumped at the idea and Barnett was happy to make it happen. This will be the second time Yamashita faces a WWE wrestler at Bloodsport, she lost to Shayna Baszler last July. Here she has the martial arts background advantage and Neidhart’s previous attempt at doing this kind of match with NXT Underground ended in a loss. Usually comparing the legitimate fighting pedigree of two fighters would tip off who wins these things but a main roster WWE wrestler losing on a non-WWE show would be an unusual turn of events. Eh, I’ll still bet a dollar on it.
Shinya Aoki’s announced opponent for the show is NXT wrestler Charlie Dempsey. I’d joke about Bloodsport turning into a WWE psy-op but to be fair Dempsey is a regular competitor on these shows and this will be his fourth fight in the series. Plus I don’t want to just write that he is William Regal’s son. From what I’ve seen he fits into this style of wrestling pretty well. Aoki should have fun tangling with him.
BZW “VIVA LAS VEGAS”, 17/04/2025 Swan Dive, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Cole Radrick & Alec Price
MAO ends his busy day with BZW hosting his third match. At least I think it’s his third show. It’s possible he’ll have a fourth somewhere but I haven’t seen anything yet. The match here is going to be changed too because of injury. MAO & Yoshihiko are supposed to defend the BZW Tag Titles against The Gahbage Daddies but unfortunately word came out a few days ago that Cole Radrick is out of action with a torn MCL and meniscus. No word yet on if Alec Price will still be in the match with a replacement tag partner or if a new team will get the title shot instead.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “QUERI PRESENTS TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Special Single Match: Masha Slamovich Vs Miu Watanabe
2. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Jada Stone
3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
Only a few weeks to go but the major matches have all been set up. Mizuki Vs Yamashita is the biggest match TJPW can do for the Princess Of Princess Title but it’s been done already in Japan so I can see why it would look fresher in America. Kyoraku Kyomei have their first defence of the Princess Tag Team Titles against Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara’s new tag team OberEats. There is a rematch of the International Princess Title when Suzume clashes with Jada Stone again, this time with Stone having the home field advantage. Plus Watanabe continues getting big opponents away from the title scene when she gets in the ring with Slamovich.
DDT “DDT GOES LAS VEGAS!”, 18/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Santana Jackson
2. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Timothy Thatcher
3. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs MAO
4. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs Yoshihiko
The lineup so far is a little more creative than what we got last year and I prefer it this way. Minoru Suzuki Vs Yoshihiko sounds like something GCW would book for “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK” but DDT needs something like that to stand out for themselves.
WRESTLECORE “FEAR & WRESTLECORE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025 Swan Dive, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Another outside booking for Itoh during Mania Week. No opponent has been confirmed by WrestleCore yet but El Phantasmo is trying to convince Itoh to team up with him so they can be The Cutest Tag Team Ever. He just so happens to be on this show too.
GRAPHOUSE “FOR VEGAS, BY VEGAS”, 18/04/2025 Fergusons Downtown, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Lazarus Vs MAO
I think this is MAO’s last non-DDT related booking of the week. Unless…
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GCW “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW”, 19/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
As far as DDT and TJPW are concerned this will be the finale of their weekend. One match announced so far and it’s pretty cool looking. Takeshita & Slamovich teaming up against Aoki & Yamashita. It would be a shame if the show runs long and people start leaving during this match to head over to Wrestlemania.
GCW “CLUSTERF*CK FOREVER”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Clusterfuck Match: X Vs X
I’m adding this to the lineup because odds are good someone DDT or TJPW related ends up in the annual Clusterfuck. Yoshihiko was part of it last year and made it to the final three. In fact there’s already an ex-TJPW wrestler announced to be entering the match. Sayaka Unagi is taking part and I can only imagine what kind of eye opening crazy thing she would do in Las Vegas.
HOG “ISOLATION”, 25/04/2025 NYC Arena, New York City, New York, USA
1. HOG Heavyweight Title: Mike Santana (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Hey good on Mike Santana for taking a gamble on himself. The stuff he’s been doing on TNA and House Of Glory has been nothing to sneeze at so far. He now has a month to prepare for Takeshita because the two of them are set to fight with the HOG Heavyweight Title on the line.
BLACK LABEL PRO “BLP AT SCX III”, 25/04/2025 The Wyndham, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Leyla Hirsch
2. Danhausen & Maki Itoh Vs Davey Bang & August Matthews
Yamashita’s opponent Leyla Hirsch is fresh out of AEW and wants to show everyone how good she is in the ring.
CMLL/LADYS RING “LUCHA FIESTA ESPECIAL”, 27/04/2025 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Octagon & El Hijo del Octagon Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Pantera Jr.
Daisuke Sasaki will be missing the DDT show happening in Sapporo on the same day for this match.
GCW “CRAZY SCARY SPOOKY HILARIOUS”, 03/05/2025 Ukrainian Culture Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Miyu Yamashita
The 121000000 split up match is happening but not in TJPW. It’s in GCW! In the nine previous times they’ve done this match, Yamashita has won eight of them and the odd result out was a time limit draw. Itoh has never beaten Yamashita in a singles match but this 10th attempt might be her best chance yet because she’ll have the GCW fans behind her. She’ll need a good result because the next day she has a match that will be just as important.
GCW “WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU”, 04/05/2025 Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. GCW World Title: Effy (c) Vs Maki Itoh
Itoh was originally supposed to get a GCW World Title match against Mance Warner during GCW’s Japan tour last August but a hand injury prevented it from happening. Now nine months later she finally gets her title shot but the champion now is someone completely different. Effy’s first reign as GCW Champ has seen him defend the belt against the weird and the wonderful. Can Itoh beat him to reach her ultimate form as the Queen of the Outlaws?
NJPW “RESURGENCE”, 09/05/2025 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs X
Just have to wait and see what Takeshita does next after the Tanahashi match.
GCW “BIG TIME”, 17/05/2025 RJ Meyer Arena, Joppa, Maryland, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Tony Deppen
Can Yamashita get a better match out of Tony Deppen than YAMATO could?
GCW “RUN FOR IT”, 18/05/2025 Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, New York, USA
1. Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita
According to GCW this will be the first time ever Yamashita wrestles Billie Starkz. As long as you ignore the EVE match… and the St. Louis Anarchy match… and the SPARK match.
MKW “BATTLE OF THE DECADE”, 24/05/2025 Dongxin Plaza, Beijing, China
1. Yuki Kamifuku & Chen Wenbin Vs Alexis Lee & Big Sam
The Kamifuku Vs Lee rivalry now moves over to China for Middle Kingdom Wrestling’s 10th Anniversary show. Chinese wrestler Chen Wenbin and England’s Big Sam get mixed up in the action too.
SAJ “HUNTER’S NET”, 24/05/2025 Magnete, Milan, Italy
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Italy will soon become the latest country Yamashita has wrestling in. Squash A Jobber Wrestling is the name of the promotion bringing her in which might be the least Italian name I’ve ever heard for a wrestling company.
KITSUNE “GOING BACK TO SAN DIEGO”, 07/06/2025 Primal Compound, San Diego, California, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Vipress & Hudson Envy Vs Nagisa Nozaki & Yuna Manase
We’re reaching into the summer for the end of this month’s article. Kitsune have a doubleshot going on with both Yuna Manase and Miyu Yamashita scheduled to be there. Manase is teaming with Nagisa Nozaki in Night 1 to take on Vipress & Hudson Envy. Yamashita’s match has not been announced yet.
KITSUNE “8888”, 08/06/2025 South Gate, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Yuna Manase Vs X
Manase is still currently the Kitsune World Champion so it would make sense for her to have a title defence on the second show of the doubleshot.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’25”, 16/03/2025 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium 1,212 Fans
1. Yoshiko Hasegawa & Mifu Ashida defeated HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki when Hasegawa pinned Suzuki with the Diving Double Knee Attack (9:42).
2. Kakeru Sekiguchi, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Ivy Steele defeated Kaya Toribami, Kira Summer, Chika Nanase & Uta Takami when Kiryu pinned Nanase with the Spinebuster (10:22).
3. Max The Impaler defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Lariat (5:00).
4. Aja Kong, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara defeated Yuki Aino, Haru Kazashiro & Toga when Uehara submitted Kazashiro with the Banana Pillow (11:22).
5. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Raku defeated Pom Harajuku (c) with the Doctor Yellow (8:04). *Pom Harajuku fails in V2. Raku becomes the 3rd SETUP All Asia Women’s Champion!
6. Special Single Match: Willow Nightingale defeated Miu Watanabe with the Babe With The Power Bomb (10:15).
7. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura defeated Yuki Arai with the Death Valley Bomb (11:49).
8. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) defeated Arisu Endo with the Spring Ring A Bell (14:28). *V2 for Suzume.
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) when Misao pinned Yamashita with the Hypami Returns (21:29). *121000000 fails in V5. Kyoraku Kyomei become the 18th Princess Tag Team Champions!
10. Princess Of Princess Title – STOMPING Presents: Mizuki (c) defeated Rika Tatsumi with the Modified Face Lock (21:14). *V1 for Mizuki.
Ok so maybe love isn’t always the answer. After many years in the making, Rika Tatsumi finally got to wrestle the love of her life Mizuki and was willing to risk it all to win the Princess Of Princess Title. Her gameplan was to target Mizuki’s legs and pick them apart with Dragon Screws, Kneebusters and the Figure 4 Leg Lock. But Mizuki’s resiliance meant she was able to withstand the pain and still use the Diving Foot Stomp to great effect. Tatsumi had another plan and that was to use the Hip Attack to counter the Whirling Candy. She used the Dragon Sleeper to continue wearing her opponent down but when she climbed the top rope, Mizuki followed her and delivered an Avalanche Cutie Special. She used more Foot Stomps to fight off the Dragon Sleeper and soon applied the Face Lock. Tatsumi tried rolling out of it but reached her breaking point when Mizuki modified the hold into a Crossface variant for the submission victory.
Mizuki told the fans to give her a moment after the match so she could talk to Tatsumi. She’s not as nice as Tatsumi thinks she is but she is still glad to know Tatsumi always liked her. Today they got to know each other better which means Mizuki now loves Tatsumi even more. They hugged and Mizuki thanked the fans for spending this special day with Tokyo Joshi Pro. Backstage Mizuki said she had complicated feelings about the match that she didn’t really understand. She was worried Tatsumi would dislike her if she revealed everything about herself. But she still gave it her all because the championship is so important. She doesn’t know if they’ve become close enough to start teaming together or if she is better off keeping a comfortable distance away from Tatsumi again. Tatsumi admitted she thought her love for Mizuki was always one-sided but today there was a moment when their feelings connected. That’s enough to make her happy and have her looking forward to the future. She would love to team up with Mizuki a lot if it is possible.
Success was on the minds of Kyoraku Kyomei when they came face to face against 121000000. They brought their Max Heart Tournament trophies down to the ring with them and encouraged each other to keep shouting in order to win. That was the cue for Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao to launch an ambush but Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh were ready for them and easily fought back. The match went outside where Misao crashed the Hyper Mobile into Yamashita (who then bumped into Mahiro Kiryu). Itoh then knocked Misao off her bike with her microphone. She later gave Nakajima a Death Valley Driver and but Nakajima fired back with a Top Rope Frankensteiner. The focus switched to Yamashita against Misao where a High Kick from Yamashita knocked Misao’s mask off her face! Misao continued to fight with her face fully exposed but still needed Nakajima’s help until Itoh came to Yamashita’s aid. Nakajima was taken out with the Headbutt/High Knee combo. Misao took more strikes but suddenly countered Yamashita’s Attitude Adjustment into the Vanitas! She wore down Yamashita with the Crossface Chickenwing with a 619 from Nakajima added for more damage. Itoh tried to make the save but Nakajima cut her off from the ring apron with the Diving Senton. With the coast clear, Misao gave Yamashita the Hypami Returns and scored the three count!
Backstage Kyoraku Kyomei said they must be dreaming because they finally beat 121000000 to become the new Princess Tag Team Champions! Both Nakajima and Misao have held the title before but they were at very different point of their careers. Nakajima remembers becoming the first champion with Yuka Sakazaki and thinks they lost the belts before they could become the ideal tag team. Today was the ideal match she had in mind so she’s really happy to finally reach it. Misao felt like she was always chasing after Nakajima and 121000000 for all of the hard work they do to grow TJPW. She felt that way even more when she got injured last year. These are two of the oldest teams in TJPW so today felt like Kyoraku Kyomei’s last chance to fight 121000000 for a big prize. The rematch hurt more than the first match two years ago but it was also more fun for them. They now want to defend the titles in unconventional ways.
As for 121000000 it could be time to call it a day. It was Yamashita’s idea for the team to split up if they couldn’t reach ten successful title defences and they didn’t even make it to five. But she does not want to go ahead with it and will continue the team if Itoh wants her to. Itoh cannot imagine teaming with anyone other than Yamashita… but maybe now is the right time for them to separate for a while so they can become stronger. When the timing is right 121000000 will get back together as a much stronger tag team. Yamashita promised she will do her best to get them to reunite some day.
The battle of Daisy Monkey is now scored at Suzume 4 – 0 Arisu Endo. There was a Camel Clutch spot that put the International Princess Champion in danger. Endo was able to spin Suzume into the centre of the ring with the move but Suzume was still able to fight her way towards getting a rope break. Suzume was then able to counter the Mt. Bandai into a Flying Facecrusher and also the Ju no Okite into a small form Ring A Bell for a nearfall. Endo blocked another Ring A Bell and tried to set up the Ju no Okite again but Suzume slipped out and landed an Oscutter style version of her finisher. That version is called the Spring Ring A Bell and it got Suzume the win! Endo said their bond has deepened even more and she still wants the title because somebody she loves has it! Suzume said Daisy Monkey’s dream has come true. She knows many fans want to see Endo win a singles title and so does she. But she doesn’t want to lose her IP Title and showed her determination with that match. She wants to hold onto the belt forever to prove that it suits her best more than anyone else in the world. Next she wants to go defend it in America before taking it across the world.
The next step for Yuki Arai’s wrestling career was to take on Meiko Satomura all by herself. Arai was able to hit the Rookie Award, the Full Nelson Buster and also apply the Scorpion Death Lock. But she couldn’t take it all the way by hitting the Finally. Satomura had that finisher scouted and blocked every attempt. When she was on the offensive she used moves like the Cartwheel Knee Drop, an STF and the Death Valley Bomb on her way to victory. Satomura gave Arai a hug after the match and later talked about being surprised at how good of a fighter Arai is. She has the right mix of technique, feeling and star quality that other wrestlers do not have. Satomura is glad to have fought Arai just before her own retirement and believes she can carry the future of joshi wrestling on her shoulders. Arai said she felt frustrated because this will be her only match with Satomura. She’ll keep what she learned today in her heart to do her best as a pro wrestler. Her goal now is to become strong enough to make everyone believe she can beat Satomura!
Power was finally matched up against power when Miu Watanabe fought against Willow Nightingale. Head Locks turned to Shoulder Tackles which then turned to Power Slams. Watanabe pulled off the Giant Swing and hit some Batting Hammer strikes before putting Nightingale in the Reverse Paradox. Nightingale fought back using an Oklahoma Stampede as well as a top rope Brainbuster. She avoided the Tear Drop and ran the ropes to crash into Watanabe with the Pounce before using the Babe With The Power Bomb to get the win. Backstage Nightingale talked about how she used Wrestle Universe to watch Watanabe grow but it’s still completely different to actually being in the ring with her. She gets why the two of them get compared to each other and the match reminded her why pro wrestling is amazing. Watanabe is disappointed that she lost but she hopes to follow Nightingale back to America. She’ll even go stay at her house if she’s allowed.
The pressure of being in a major championship match can be draining so Raku decided to bring out a futon so she could take a nap in the ring during her entrance. It also has the bonus feature of being used like a cape for when Raku did a diving Loy Thesz Press onto Pom Harajuku. Raku’s constant nap attacks made Harajuku drowsy so she boosted herself with a bottle of Red Bull and grew wings out of her back! Harajuku was fired up until Raku caught her in the Front Neck Lock to squeeze the energy out of her. Harajuku did hit the Pom de Justice in response but couldn’t follow up with the cover right away. Raku was able to get her senses back and won with the Doctor Yellow to become the new SETUP All Asia Women’s Champion! She said she was able to have the most heart-to-heart match with Harajuku and wants to continue walking with her down the same path. Also now that she has a championship she wants to defend it in many places. Harajuku said she was sad to lose the title but became happy for Raku when she was given the belt. She also has wings now so the championship did change Harajuku into becoming a stronger fighter.
A new costume for Wakana Uehara was just the start of her day. She went on to win a 6-Woman Tag Match that also had Aja Kong & Yuki Kamifuku as her partners. Kong was so strong that Haru Kazashiro & Toga needed to work together to get her off her feet by doing a Rock Bottom/Missile Dropkick combo. Yuki Aino softened up Uehara and left it to Kazashiro to finish the job. But Uehara blocked the Fisherman Suplex and caught her opponent in the Banana Pillow to make her submit. Uehara thanked her two partners for teaming with her. Kamifuku pointed out they all wore glitter to connect as a team together. She also asked Kong if she will be available for her homecoming show on 11th May. There is also a cool bar that recently opened up there that she wants to take Kong to. Kong asked if she could challenge Kamifuku for the Queen Of Asia Title but Kamifuku tried to put her off the idea by making it sound like she’ll have to jump through a lot of hoops with her agency to make that happen. Meanwhile Aino gave an encouraging speech to Kazashiro & Toga. They shouldn’t think they are no good anymore just because they lost today. They are only just two years into their career so they should be thinking “I lost today but I will definitely win next time!”
Max The Impaler was too much of an immovable object for Moka Miyamoto to handle. She was able to knock Max down with the Zero Fighter Kick but when she applied the Rashomon, Max powered out of the move and shook her off. There was a Senton for a nearfall and then a Lariat that put Miyamoto down for the count. Max took Miyamoto’s ribbon after the match to take home as their newest trophy. They are matching it with the hair accessory they previously took from HIMAWARI. Miyamoto said she couldn’t find any weaknesses in Max so she will come up with more countermeasures so she can win the next time they fight.
Remember, Mahiro Kiryu is in the blue gear with the one leg exposed while Kakeru Sekiguchi is in the blue gear with the other leg exposed. Got it? Despite that useful piece of information, Uta Takami couldn’t tell them apart. That gave Haruna Neko the chance to attack while Takami was confused. Ivy Steele and Kira Summer were briefly pitted against each other. Kaya Toribami got to lead her team on the offensive and Chika Nanase wanted to score the win. But Neko stopped Nanase with a Neckbreaker Drop, setting Kiryu up to use the Spinebuster for the win. Toribami apologised to Nanase for not helping her enough. But when Takami apologised for mixing up Kiryu & Sekiguchi, Toribami told her she didn’t have to.
The first match of the day saw the “transfer student tag team” of Yoshiko Hasegawa & Mifu Ashida beat HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki. Hasegawa and Suzuki fought back and forth trying to apply the Muffler Hold and the Sleeper Hold respectively. HIMAWARI tried to break it off so Ashida took her out of the ring. That allowed Hasegawa to pin Suzuki with the Diving Double Knee Attack. HIMAWARI said she looked forward to fighting Ashida today because she is a type of wrestlers that didn’t previously exist in TJPW. Ashida called the result a new starting point so she and Hasegawa can get into the habit of winning more often.
Sayuri Namba announced TJPW will be part of a marketing campaign for a collaboration between the sports brand FILA and a Korean women’s clothing brand called OJOS. Mizuki and Maki Itoh have already taken part in photoshoots to be used in upcoming marketing material.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’25”, 16/03/2025 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Yoshiko Hasegawa & Mifu Ashida Vs HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki
2. Kakeru Sekiguchi, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Ivy Steele Vs Kaya Toribami, Kira Summer, Chika Nanase & Uta Takami
3. Max The Impaler Vs Moka Miyamoto
4. Aja Kong, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Yuki Aino, Haru Kazashiro & Toga
5. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Pom Harajuku (c) Vs Raku
6. Special Single Match: Willow Nightingale Vs Miu Watanabe
7. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura Vs Yuki Arai
8. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Arisu Endo
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi
Spring has arrived and with that comes the first big arena show for Tokyo Joshi Pro in 2025. This year TJPW has booked the refurbished Ota Ward Gymnasium as their residency for their three biggest shows in Japan this year: “GRAND PRINCESS ’25” this weekend, “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25” in July and “WRESTLE PRINCESS VI” in September. Let’s stick to the short term because not only is this Sunday’s show pretty important by itself, according to TJPW’s English tweets it will play a big part into deciding the championship matches for their trip to Las Vegas next month. All three TJPW championships are on the line here along with a fourth title from the outside. There’s also a few guests here and there to liven up the undercard as it all builds up to a main event that will be more “Wrestle And Romance” than anything Genichiro Tenryu ever came up with.
The show starts off with the two latest additions to the TJPW roster teaming together. Yoshiko Hasegawa became a regular part of the company last September, sort of filling in the spot on the card left by Nao Kakuta (but not nearly getting as many wins). Her partner here only just joined TJPW at the start of the year catching eyes with her cheerleading entrances. Mifu Ashida hasn’t looked bad in her matches so far but her goal of reaching the top of the company within a year is not going to happen. She’s already been humbled for that so the next step is to see how she will adapt from that.
At the end of last year both HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki had found themselves being overtaken by other wrestlers in their class and needing to catch up. They were both eliminated in the 1st Round of the 2024 Next Generation Tournament. This year they’ve been helping each other turn their fortunes around and it led them to the semi-finals of the Max Heart Tournament. They seem to have a good thing going on and a win here will help their momentum. Getting themselves a team name wouldn’t hurt either.
2. Kakeru Sekiguchi, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Ivy Steele Vs Kaya Toribami, Kira Summer, Chika Nanase & Uta Takami
What can I write about this match when there is not a lot to write about? Has Kakeru Sekiguchi made enough appearances by now for the TJPW roster to tell her apart from Mahiro Kiryu? Surely Haruna Neko will be able to see the difference given that she’s been teaming with Kiryu a lot lately. Ivy Steele has been fitting in and getting matches with a variety of wrestlers up and down the card. Kaya Toribami has usually been on the winning side of the multi-woman tag matches on this level lately. Kira Summer has been the opposite. Chika Nanase exists and Uta Takami added an actually pretty sick looking Cobra Clutch move that she has named the Koala Clutch. So yeah, the result here is going to be a coin flip of a match.
3. Max The Impaler Vs Moka Miyamoto
Well it’s been nice knowing Moka Miyamoto. Her two highlights of 2025 so far are teaming with Yuka Sakazaki on 4th January and getting to wrestle in Chile. The third will be the moment when she attempts the Zero Fighter Kick and bounces off of Max The Impaler like a tennis ball hitting a wall. Most of Max’s appearances in TJPW so far this year was in the Max Heart Tournament where Pompaler made it all the way to the finals before losing. Since then Max has been away from their usual partner rampaging through the company like only they can. Where Max goes from here will be up to them unless the karate skills of Miyamoto can cut The Impaler down to size.
4. Aja Kong, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Yuki Aino, Haru Kazashiro & Toga
Can I get away with calling Aja Kong everyone’s favorite aunt in TJPW because that’s what it feels like whenever she shows up. There are still wrestlers here who want to step up to her and end up getting quite shaken after taking a Back Drop, Diving Elbow Drop or Uraken. But there are also plenty of on the roster who have become reliable partners for her. Yuki Kamifuku is a prime example. She continues to rule over Southeast Asia with the Double Asian Crown in her possession. Every time she gets in the ring she’s the most confident she’s ever been. Wakana Uehara seems to have earned Kong’s respect too going back to their singles match from January 2024.
If the opposing team have anything to their name it’s a lot of guts. Yuki Aino is back to floating aimlessly around the card but when you give her an opportunity to be stubborn in the ring she’ll take it. Haru Kazashiro has improved dramatically over the past year and earned her victory at the Next Generation Tournament. She still has a long way to go but I’m not going to argue anyone calling her the top prospect from TJPW’s new generation. Toga is not that far behind her and there is a good chase to be had with them as both tag team partners and opponents. But they should worry about dealing with Auntie Kong first.
5. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Pom Harajuku (c) Vs Raku
Hands up if you ever thought we’d see the day when Raku and Pom Harajuku are booked in a genuine championship match against each other and not one for a comedy belt. Put it down, I know you’re lying. Alright, alright I take that back. This pair genuinely do have it in them to get an audience emotionally invested in a match like this. Harajuku became one of the most unlikeliest champions in TJPW history when she travelled to Thailand last November and won the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title from Matcha in a No DQ Match! With that success came the champion’s boost that saw Harajuku winning more matches in TJPW and even go on a Max Heart Tournament run that took her all the way to the final. It’s been a wonderful story to follow but it led our champion into a match she didn’t want to happen.
It took Harajuku more than one time to beat Matcha for the SETUP Women’s Title. There was a previous attempt in September 2024 when Harajuku and Matcha fought in a 3 Way Match for the title with Raku as the third person. Matcha pinned Raku to win the match and retain the title that night and the result has stayed in Raku’s thoughts ever since. So when Harajuku brought the championship to Japan and was able to keep hold of it for a few months (not just figuratively because she literally dropped the belt that one time), Raku made the challenge for a title shot. Harajuku refused until Raku explained it’s because she loves her. Let me tell you if I had a nickel for every title match on this show that is built around love, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happening twice.
6. Special Single Match: Willow Nightingale Vs Miu Watanabe
It was this month last year when Miu Watanabe climbed to the top of the TJPW mountain at the 2024 edition of this show. Her run on top lasted for the rest of the year and while it is over for now, she still has some tasty looking matches on the horizon. Like this one for example. TJPW originally wanted to do a Watanabe versus Willow Nightingale match back in the summer of 2022 but visa problems on Nightingale’s end prevented her from travelling to Japan. She eventually got to go on a Japan tour with TJPW later in the year and be in the ring with Watanabe but that singles match still never occured. So what a delight it was last month to see a video from Nightingale announcing she is coming back to finally make the match happen! Smiles are guaranteed and so too will there be power spots galore.
7. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura Vs Yuki Arai
You know, it’s funny. Imagine a world where TJPW somehow exists exactly as it does now but without Miyu Yamashita ever existing. In that alternate universe we probably get Meiko Satomura looking like a ray of sunshine every time she appears because she seems to see the positives in every other wrestler in the company except for Yamashita. Satomura is just be over a month away from her pro wrestling retirement so unless we get an unexpected announcement it looks like Yuki Arai gets the honour of being her last ever opponent ever in a TJPW ring.
The match is the latest in the long line of signs that Arai has TJPW’s full backing behind her. She is also approaching the end of a career soon because she will be graduating from SKE48 at the end of March to put her full effort into pro wrestling. Just being in the ring with Satomura as part of the joshi legend’s retirement road is a vote of confidence in her favour. If she’s giving up her singing career to become the new leader of TJPW she knows she will have to shine bright against the yokozuna of joshi. Maybe she’ll level up so much that she can evolve her Finally finishing move and change it from the Heel Drop into the Scorpio Rising!
8. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Arisu Endo
The fated Daisy Monkey showdown! It’s a dream match Suzume wanted to make a reality from the moment she won the International Princess Title on 4th January. But first she had to get past Jada Stone for her February title defence. Good thing that Arisu Endo thought the same way and approached Suzume right after that match asking to be the next challenger. Suzume has the experience advantage, having beaten Endo in their three previous singles matches against each other. In fact one of those matches opened up “GRAND PRINCESS ’23” two years ago. Back then Suzume was concerned that Endo had caught up with and even surpassed her. Things are a bit different this time around.
While the two are the best of friends, Endo admits this match will be more like a sibling rivalry kicking off. Suzume is like a big sister and Endo wants the IP Title even more because her “big sister” currently has it!
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
When 121000000 won the Princess Tag Team Titles for a second time they quickly agreed on their next goal as champions. If Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh cannot reach 10 successful title defences in a row then their accomplished tag team will split up. We’re now approaching the halfway point of the target. They have retained the belts four times already with successful defences in America and Chile along the way. They also have more overseas bookings coming on the horizon so there is plenty of opportunities ahead for them to reach that goal before we know it. There’s a big wall now standing in their way though. It’s a pair of wrestlers with chips on their shoulders for multiple reasons and 121000000 are partially responsible for it.
Kyoraku Kyomei have been together as a tag team for five years and spent most of that time as the bridesmaids of the tag division. It was a team put together when Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao wanted to cheer people up during the pandemic. When the pairing clicked better than expected, they started aiming for success only to fall short on every occasion. The failure that hurt them the most was in the 2023 Max Heart Tournament final when they lost to, you guessed it, 121000000. That loss in particular has stuck with Nakajima & Misao like a thorn in their hearts filling them with bitterness and resentment. So after they finally won the Max Heart Tournament this year (as the only remaining team to compete in all 5 tournaments), they could not be more fired up to get their rematch with Yamashita & Itoh. The champions welcome the challenge. They don’t even mind being compared to overpowered tournament level Pokémon (Yamashita only understood the reference once she saw that Ogerpon does kind of resemble her). Itoh in particular feeds off of that kind of loathing and jealousy towards other people.
If Kyoraku Kyomei can win the match and finally win the championship together, it could result in a massive change in direction for the Princess Tag Titles. Misao has put forward the idea of taking on brand new challengers in future title defences. She wants to fight teams that Kyoraku Kyomei have never faced before even if it means the challengers end up being pairs of wrestlers who don’t normally team with each other. Potential title matches might even get special rules attached to them because Misao has a habit of doing that for her normal matches. She promised management she won’t do that unless the situation calls for it but knowing her that may as well be every situation! Nakajima will be game for it either way.
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi
It has taken over seven years for this match to finally happen. I’d argue it is even the most protected match in TJPW history given what it means to the two people involved and their feelings towards each other. Let’s start on the surface. The Princess Of Princess Title is on the line. Mizuki is on her second reign as champion after proving that princess beat monsters and this is the first defence lined up for her. She has been the defending champion in Ota Ward before and came out on top so this is not an unusual experience for her. The challenger Rika Tatsumi is a former champion too but her sole Princess Title reign from 2021 was hobbled thanks to circumstances beyond her control. Her title matches were held in front of reduced Korakuen Hall crowds because of the pandemic and the reign met it’s inevitable end at the hands of Yamashita earlier than expected (and inside an empty venue to boot). At least Tatsumi was able to use those three months as champion to develop her personality more and get a little drunk with power like an immortal dragon should. I wouldn’t call it a wasted title run even if it doesn’t stand among the most memorable.
So what makes this matchup so important? Why did it take almost eight years for Mizuki and Tatsumi to have a singles match against each other? There’s more to this main event than just having a championship on the line. It is all about love. Back in 2018 TJPW still enforced the “Forbidden Three” rules to its in-house roster: no alcohol, no smoking and no boyfriends. Mizuki was approaching the end of her first year working with TJPW as a freelancer and in that time was already leaving strong impressions with different members of the roster. For Tatsumi those impressions were aiming straight for her heart. Spurred on by these developing feelings, Tatsumi confronted Sanshiro Takagi on a DDT edition of the ABEMA talk show “The NIGHT” and poked a pretty big hole in one of the Forbidden Three rules. She publicly admitted to having a crush on Mizuki but didn’t know if that is breaking the rule. Does no boyfriends allowed also mean no girlfriends are allowed too? Tatsumi received a lot of support from fans for calling out the outdated rules and from that point forward her crush on Mizuki became one of her biggest character quirks.
Mizuki’s opinion on the matter was usually kept to herself. It wasn’t long after this when Mizuki formed The Magical Sugar Rabbits with Yuka Sakazaki and became wrestling soulmates with her instead. Every once in a while Tatsumi would show her appreciation for Mizuki whether it was by wanting them to work together despite being on opposite teams or by winning a prize and handing it straight over to her as a gift. It was only in the recent buildup to this match that Mizuki revealed she still has posession of the first love letter Tatsumi ever gave her. It shows that she at least understands and appreciates Tatsumi’s feelings towards her. The reason she kept her distance from Tatsumi for all of these years was over concern that Tatsumi would start to dislike her if they ever did become close.
So now we go back to the Princess Title, the one object that can potentially turn this love story into a tragedy. Tatsumi still regrets how short lived her first title reign went. She has worked hard and achieved other accomplishments since then but feels the rewards were never enough for the challenges she had to get through. She thinks she will have to become ruthless like a dragon to become the Princess Champion again even if that means Mizuki will end up hating her. Mizuki is also willing to risk losing this special bond with Tatsumi if it means she will defend the Princess Title she worked so hard to reclaim. She is certain the two of them will shine in the ring together. But a story like this usually ends up with somebody getting their heart broken.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE NIGHT BEFORE GRAND PRINCESS ’25”, 01/03/2025 Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall 215 Fans
1. Pom Harajuku defeated Uta Takami with the Pom de Justice (6:19).
2. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara defeated Kira Summer & Chika Nanase when Kamifuku submitted Nanase with the Fujisawa Koroshi (9:06).
3. Miu Watanabe defeated Ivy Steele with the Reverse Paradox (7:27).
4. Suzume, HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki defeated Moka Miyamoto, Yoshiko Hasegawa & Mifu Ashida when Suzume pinned Ashida with the Ring A Bell (9:02).
5. Mizuki & Arisu Endo defeated Haru Kazashiro & Toga when Endo pinned Kazashiro with the Ju no Okite (10:15).
6. Hyper Misao 10th Anniversary Match “hypedesz PROJECT-AUDITION” Final Audition ~ 1 Vs 5 Handicap Match: Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Aino, Raku, Mahiro Kiryu & Haruna Neko defeated Hyper Misao when all five pinned Misao (5:44).
7. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh defeated Shoko Nakajima & Kaya Toribami when Itoh submitted Toribami with the Itoh Deluxe (14:50).
There’s still a handful of Tokyo Joshi Pro events coming up before “GRAND PRINCESS ’25” but this is pretty much the go home show. It was Shoko Nakajima’s last chance at facing 121000000 before their Princess Tag Team Titles. She teamed up with Kaya Toribami but was helpless to save her partner from tapping out to Maki Itoh. 121000000 taunted Nakajima with their title belts after the match but also admitted being frustrated by fighting her today. Miyu Yamashita even admitted that Nakajima made her angry today so she’s going to let it all out at the title match. It’s not enough for 121000000 to defend the titles. They also want to completely defeat Kyoraku Kyomei once and for all!
Nakajima’s usual tag partner Hyper Misao had other matters to deal with today. Namely her match that was celebrating the 10th anniversary of her debut. It was advertised as a 6-Woman Tag Match but when the other five wrestlers made their entrances, Misao came out and revealed they were actually taking part in the HyPro Final Audition of the Hypedesz Project. It would play out as a 5 Way Match with two count pinfalls. Whoever scores a fall would then be given a Misao related task and if they passed it, they would win the audition and become her best friend. Haruna Neko scored a fall and was told to perfectly copy Misao’s entrance. She tried to do it but Misao told her it looks completely different. Raku got the same task but also failed. When Mahiro Kiryu scored a fall she was told to listen to Misao’s entrance song and continue singing it without making any mistakes. She failed and Misao started to complain that nobody was motivated to win. By this point Rika Tatsumi got fed up, threw Misao into the ring and dared her to fight everyone else in a 5 Vs 1 Handicap Match. Surprisingly Misao accepted.
The match rules changed and Misao even put up a good fight against the number disadvantage. She even manipulated Yuki Aino into giving her some unintentional piggy back assistance so she could attack everyone with her Hero Spray. However the numbers took their toll and all five opponents piled on top of Misao to pin her after she did the I Am A Hero onto Tatsumi & Aino. Misao said she was disappointed she couldn’t even pass her own audition but she also packed in a bunch of unreasonable requests when putting this match together so in a way she feels satisfied. In the end she decided everyone passed! The lights then went out and a message appeared on the screen. “HYPE! 3” will take place at Kitazawa Town Hall on 27th June! As usual she hasn’t figured out what the show is actually going to be yet. But this time she is considering holding a public dress rehearsal for the show.
The Fujisawa Koroshi used by Yuki Kamifuku to win her match today is the temporary name for her Foot-Clutch Manjigatame submission hold.
Pom Harajuku wanted to spend her match celebrating Hinamatsuri (Girl’s Day) because it is happening in two days time. Uta Takami refused because she wanted to take their match seriously. Harajuku was still able to find ways to make Takami and also Daisuke Kiso play along with her.
There are some new homecoming shows being added to this year’s schedule. Yuki Kamifuku’s homecoming in Fujisawa will be on 11th May. Shino Suzuki’s homecoming in Shimizu will be o 24th May. Haruna Neko’s homecoming in Kofu will be on 21st June.
Are you sure that everybody wans Mina Shirakawa? Because this month it sure looked like everybody wanted Konosuke Takeshita! He had a big month in AEW, he has big matches coming up in New Japan soon, he wrestled a bunch of times on a cruise and right when it looked like he would have a break, CMLL came calling out for him. If you’re the type who keeps track of any Wrestler Of The Year contenders, Takeshita’s work in February should put him up near the top as an early frontrunner.
He’ll have more to do over the coming months but March will see the Tokyo Joshi Pro side of things take more of the spotlight. Miyu Yamashita has a packed weekend in Europe coming up and Yuki Kamifuku will continue to gift with Southeast Asia her presence. Then in April it’s the big one. Wrestlemania Week! I’ll need to find the time to write a big piece about what DDT and TJPW will be doing during that period.
I don’t have much to write about for Takeshita’s remaining matches that happened during the Jericho Cruise. But hey some of these sound really good on paper, right? At least this match here gave attendees a taste of what Will Ospreay and Takeshita’s tag match in Australia happening later in the month would be like. Lance Archer probably bounced Komander around like a basketball too.
JERICHO CRUISE “CHRIS JERICHO’S ROCK ‘N’ WRESTLING RAGER – SIX ON THE BEACH – NIGHT 3”, 02/02/2025 Norwegian Pearl Cruise Ship
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Brian Cage & Lance Archer defeated Daniel Garcia, Mark Briscoe & Jay Lethal (?:??).
Like this one for example. It would be great if footage of this shows up somewhere. Takeshita, Archer & Brian Cage all teaming up together against Daniel Garcia, Mark Briscoe & Jay Lethal is the kind of match on paper that would have carried Night 3 of a packed indies weekend we used to get a decade ago.
JERICHO CRUISE “CHRIS JERICHO’S ROCK ‘N’ WRESTLING RAGER – SIX ON THE BEACH – NIGHT 4”, 03/02/2025 Norwegian Pearl Cruise Ship
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Brian Cage & Lance Archer defeated Bandido, Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd (?:??).
The last day of the Jericho Cruise had The Don Callis Family still together against the weird mix of Bandido & The Outrunners. I don’t know how much Takeshita would be into the retro 80s American vibe that The Outrunners bring with them. That’s more up Antonio Honda’s alley.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 05/02/2025 Gateway Center Arena, College Park, Georgia, USA
1. International All-Star Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher defeated Brody King & Buddy Matthews when Fletcher pinned King after an Assisted Brainbuster (14:15).
There was one last warmup match for Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher before they headed off to Australia. Here they took on the newly renamed Hounds Of Hell. They are the former House Of Black now without Malakai Black involved because he finally made his exit from the company. The challenge in this match was how much it took to put away the immovable force that is Brody King. Takeshita & Fletcher were able to get rid of Buddy Matthews no problem but when it came to King they had to throw everything at him but he wouldn’t stay down. Takeshita had to assist Fletcher with a Vertical Drop Brainbuster to keep the big guy down for the pinfall.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AEX32 SANTIAGO 2025”, 09/02/2025 Estación Mapocho Cultural Center, Santiago, Chile ??? Fans
1. Casey defeated Moka Miyamoto with a Loaded Backpack Attack (7:43).
2. Aja Kong defeated Roma with the Uraken (8:55).
3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) defeated Sara Phoenix & Pandora when Yamashita pinned Phoenix with the Skull Kick (18:19). *V4 for 121000000.
AEW “GRAND SLAM AUSTRALIA”, 15/02/2025 Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia
1. Will Ospreay & Kenny Omega defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher when Omega pinned Takeshita after the Hidden Blade/One-Winged Angel Combination (21:20).
Talk about a match that delivered! The big tag match in Australia went ahead and ended with something we haven’t seen in a while: Takeshita taking a pinfall loss. It took a combination of the Hidden Blade and One-Winged Angel being mashed together like a Doomsday Device for it to happen which should wind up becoming one of the most memorable match finishes of the year. The aftermath confirmed there is more to come. Ospreay and Fletcher have their own feud moving ahead while Kenny Omega announced his intentions to go after Takeshita’s AEW International Title.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 26/02/2025 Frontwave Arena, Oceanside, California, USA
1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Orange Cassidy with the Raging Fire (12:30). *V8 for Konosuke Takeshita.
But first AEW had to go the long route to set up the match. Before Takeshita goes to a big title match with Omega he first had to beat Orange Cassidy in a with the belt on the line. Takeshita took a table bump when Cassidy dropped him on top of the announce desk with the Beach Break. He was still in danger after getting hit with the Orange Punch and also a Flying DDT outside the ring. But Cassidy made the big mistake of climbing the top turnbuckle. And whenever Takeshita’s opponent jumps off the top turnbuckle there is an Elbow Strike waiting right for them upon landing. There were still some very close calls to come but Takeshita caught the Orange Punch and countered it into the Raging Fire for the win. Don Callis then rubbed salt on the wound by putting Cassidy’s sunglasses onto Takeshita after the match.
CMLL “VIERNES ESPECTACULAR”, 28/02/2025 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. NEVER Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Ángel de Oro with the Raging Fire (?:??). *V4 for Konosuke Takeshita.
The month ended with Takeshita’s first time in the hallowed grounds of lucha libre known as Arena Mexico. CMLL made it a big deal that he was coming over to wrestle on their famed Friday night show on short notice and offered up Ángel de Oro as a challenger for the NEVER Openweight Title. So this was put together more through CMLL’s relationship with NJPW rather than AEW. Or maybe it’s both at this point because Rocky Romero is the connection point and his backstage connections run pretty deep nowadays. The match itself unintentionally ended up becoming bloody after de Oro suffered a hand injury of some sort. With only one fall needed to win rather than the traditional two, Takeshita came out on top after the two went back and forth with big moves until the Raging Fire brought things to an end.
Backstage Takeshita was asked by reporters who else in CMLL he would like to wrestle? He told a story about the first wrestling show he ever attended when he was a child. It was an Osaka Pro show and the merchandise he bought at the show was a Blue Panther mask. That is his first ever wrestling memory in general so perhaps one day he will cross paths with Blue Panther or a member of his family in the ring.
1. Yuki Kamifuku & The Statement Vs Alexis Lee & Da Butcherman
An alliance seems to have formed between Yuki Kamifuku and The Statement over in Singapore Pro Wrestling. Maybe the two champions believe it is in their best interests to be on the same side when some familiar rivals are marching forth towards them again. The Statment and Da Butcherman have fought each other plenty of times before. So too have Kamifuku and Alexis Lee. So now the next step is to throw them all in the ring at the same time.
EVE “WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY”, 07/03/2024 The Big Penny Social, London, England
1. Session Moth Martina Vs Miyu Yamashita
A busy weekend in Europe sees Miyu Yamashita wrestling in three countries. First up she is heading back to EVE in England where she will present herself as a big challenge for Session Moth Martina to overcome.
RCW “MARCH MADNESS”, 08/03/2024 Casinet de Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Amale
Then on the Saturday Yamashita returns to Spain for her first appearance in RCW since October 2022. Her opponent will be French wrestler and former NXT UK performer Amale.
Yamashita finishes off the weekend with an appearance at wXw on the last day of the 16 Carat Gold tournament. Unless wXw announces her match beforehand it is a complete roll of the dice who she gets to face at the show.
AEW “REVOLUTION”, 09/03/2025 Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Kenny Omega
It took 18 months to get here but we’re finally back on track to having another Takeshita Vs Omega match. I’m not going to sugar coat it. I think the title reign ends here and Takeshita’s priorities are about to switch over to New Japan for the spring and summer months.
MLW “BATTLE RIOT VII”, 05/04/2025 The Commerce, California, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Delmi Exo (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima
I think we know what to expect here. MLW brings in a Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestler, in this case Shoko Nakajima, and they lose to their women’s champion, in this case Delmi Exo. Although that was done a lot when Janai Kai was the champ so who knows? Maybe Nakajima takes the title from Exo and ends her second reign before it can properly take off.
NJPW “WINDY CITY RIOT”, 11/04/2025 Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi Last Match In The USA Final Road ~Kinship~: Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA
I know Hiroshi Tanahashi is getting an IWGP World Heavyweight Title shot at New Japan’s anniversary show in March. And NJPW have announced there will be IWGP Title matches taking place in their next two shows in America. Hmmm…. Alright, alright, that’s just wishful thinking on my part. Although I can see the NEVER Title being on the line when Tanahashi and Takeshita clash in Chicago.
PANDEMONIUM PRO “THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS”, 17/04/2025 Fremont Country Club, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Maya World Vs Miu Watanabe
At the moment it doesn’t seem like there will be any other DDT or TJPW talent appearing on the show. So it’s just going to be Miu Watanabe having a match here by the looks of it.
WEST COAST PRO “VEGAS VACATION”, 17/04/2025 Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. MAO Vs Jiah Jewell
Later in the afternoon MAO will be at the West Coast Pro show and the promotion are promising the opponent is just as crazy as he is! Jiah Jewell has made it his goal to “Gator Roll The World” and that sounds like the fucked up wrestling MAO likes to fight for.
GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XIII”, 17/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Shinya Aoki Vs X
No surprise to see Shinya Aoki getting added to the show. The funny thing is the match he’s having on the DDT show would have made much more sense to happen on the Bloodsport show!
Yamashita also returns to Bloodsport for a second go around.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “QUERI PRESENTS TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs X
2. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs X & X
3. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs X
The card will begin to take shape right after “GRAND PRINCESS ’25” is over and done with. What we do know for now is there will be championship matches for the Princess Of Princess Title, the Princess Tag Team Titles and the International Princess Title.
DDT “DDT GOES LAS VEGAS!”, 18/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Santana Jackson
2. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Timothy Thatcher
Like I said above, doesn’t Shinya Aoki Vs Timothy Thatcher sound more like a Bloodsport match than a DDT match? Now Antonio Honda Vs Santana Jackson, that’s a match you’re absolutely not going to see anywhere else.
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GCW “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW”, 19/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
I really don’t know what the vibe and turnout for this show will be when it happens right slap bang in between the big NXT show and the first night of WrestleMania.
BLACK LABEL PRO “BLP AT SCX III”, 25/04/2025 The Wyndham, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Danhausen & Maki Itoh Vs Davey Bang & August Matthews
Very cute, very evil and back teaming up again. Danhausen & Maki Itoh reunite as Makihausen for a tag match against Bang And Matthews over at Black Label Pro.
CMLL/LADYS RING “LUCHA FIESTA ESPECIAL”, 27/04/2025 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Octagon & El Hijo del Octagon Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Pantera Jr.
So this is happening in Japan but since it is a one off lucha libre show that is disconnected from everything else going on I decided to include it in this series. This is the Sumo Hall show that made headlines for announcing the debut of a new Hayabusa. One of the lucha matches originally booked for the show was a 3 Way Match between Octagon, El Hijo del Octagon and Pantera Jr. However Daisuke Sasaki crashed one of the press conferences demanding to be part of the show because of his lucha skills. The promoters decided to let him in so he gets to team with Pantera Jr. against the two (kayfabe?) generations of Octagon.
NJPW “RESURGENCE”, 09/05/2025 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs X
Probably another New Japan title defence for Takeshita when he goes to California in May. Hopefully it’s with the IWGP Ti-okay, okay, I’ll give it a break.
Today DDT announced the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles have been vacated by DAMNATION T.A. The status of the championship was up in the air since Sunday after KANON was kicked out of the unit. He was one third of the champions along with Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul but the situation between them was “deemed difficult” according to DDT for future title defences to be scheduled. A match to determine the 57th champions will be announced as soon as it is decided on. I swear DAMNATION T.A have the weirdest luck with tag team championships. They either lose them immediately or hold onto them long enough for something within them to fall apart.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE NIGHT BEFORE GRAND PRINCESS ’25”, 01/03/2025 Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall
1. Pom Harajuku Vs Uta Takami
2. Miu Watanabe Vs Ivy Steele
3. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Kira Summer & Chika Nanase
4. Suzume, HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki Vs Moka Miyamoto, Yoshiko Hasegawa & Mifu Ashida
5. Mizuki & Arisu Endo Vs Haru Kazashiro & Toga
6. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Shoko Nakajima & Kaya Toribami
7. Hyper Misao 10th Anniversary Match: Hyper Misao, Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino Vs Raku, Mahiro Kiryu & Haruna Neko
While Hyper Misao is celebrating her 10th Anniversary, Shoko Nakajima gets one more prelim match against 121000000 before their Princess Tag Team Titles match takes place. She’ll be teaming with Kaya Toribami but I don’t know how much of a difference the bird is going to make to be honest.
DDT “YACCHAINA FIGHT 2025”, 08/03/2025 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. MAO, Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata Vs Toru Owashi, Soma Takao & Yukio Naya
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, HARASHIMA & Yuya Koroku Vs Shinya Aoki, Keigo Nakamura & Kazuma Sumi
3. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & To-y Vs Minoru Suzuki & Akito
There will be only one prelim match between Yuki Ueno and Minoru Suzuki before the DDT Universal Title bout. Yokohama will host it just under two weeks before the 28th Anniversary show.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GARAFES ~KAGAYAKI JAPAN MIDDAY YOUTH SERENADE~”, 09/03/2024 Tokyo Toyosu PIT
1. Maki Itoh Vs Uta Takami
2. Miu Watanabe, Raku & Haru Kazashiro Vs Pom Harajuku, Wakana Uehara & Shino Suzuki
I think this will be the first time Maki Itoh is wrestling at a Garafes mat wrestling event.
DDT “IT’S FINALLY HERE!! KAZUKI HIRATA 15TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE EVENT ~ TALK! 15 YEARS OF HIRATA GO!!”, 12/03/2025 Shinjuku FACE
1. Starting With The Young Communication Generation: Shigehiro Irie, Akito & Shota Vs To-y, Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura
2. Staggered Entrance Battle Royal: Chris Brookes Vs Yuya Koroku Vs Yuni Vs Kazuma Sumi Vs Gota Ihashi Vs X
3. Punch-san, I Am Looking Forward To This Tag Match: Danshoku Dieno & Antonio Honda Vs Toru Owashi & Punch Tominaga
4. They’re Back! Zuncha♪Muscle Survivor’s Tearful Reunion!: Shinya Aoki & Naruki Doi Vs Yuki Ueno & Yuki Ishida
5. Crazy Semi-Final!: MAO & Yoshihiko Vs HARASHIMA & Pokotan
6. Talk! 15 Years Of HIRATA GO!! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazuki Hirata, Hiromu Takahashi & Keisuke Ishii Vs YO-HEY, Kenshin Chikano & Soma Takao *Special Referee: Katsumi Tamagawa.
What a load of surprises Kazuki Hirata has in store for everyone. He’s bringing in Hiromu Takahashi for the main event, Yoshihiko and Pokotan will clash against each other, there will be a Zuncha♪Muscle Survivor reunion, Punch Tominaga is getting thrown in with the weird people and he’ll even have a prize for the winner of the Battle Royal that he promises will cheer them up.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’25”, 16/03/2025 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Yoshiko Hasegawa & Miyu Ashida Vs HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki
2. Kakeru Sekiguchi, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Ivy Steele Vs Kaya Toribami, Kira Summer, Chika Nanase & Uta Takami
3. Max The Impaler Vs Moka Miyamoto
4. Aja Kong, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Yuki Aino, Haru Kazashiro & Toga
5. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Pom Harajuku (c) Vs Raku
6. Special Single Match: Willow Nightingale Vs Miu Watanabe
7. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura Vs Yuki Arai
8. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Arisu Endo
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi
This will be the first of three trips to Ota Ward Gymnasium for Tokyo Joshi Pro this year. Meiko Satomura will face Yuki Arai in what may become Satomura’s final appearance in the promotion before her retirement. Raku has challenged Pom Harajuku for the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title and is doing so out of love. Aja Kong is going to cause some destruction again. Moka Miyamoto is going to bounce off of Max The Impaler like a tennis ball being thrown into a wall. Kakeru Sekiguchi returns to TJPW to team with Mahiro Kiryu again and this time she’ll be introduced to Kiryu’s cat Haruna Neko.
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2025 ~28TH ANNIVERSARY 5 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 20/03/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. 3 Way Match: Toru Owashi Vs Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata
2. Makoto Oishi, Akito & Soma Takao Vs Yukio Naya, Yuya Koroku & Keigo Nakamura
3. Special Tag Match: MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs JJ Furno & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
4. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Daichi Sato Vs HARASHIMA & Takeshi Masada
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ Kazusada Higuchi & Shunma Katsumata Double Comeback Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida Vs Shunma Katsumata, Yuni & Kazuma Sumi
6. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs KANON
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & To-y (c) Vs Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura
8. DDT Extreme Title: Danshoku Dieno (c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine *Special Referee: Amon Tsurumi.
9. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Minoru Suzuki
10. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi
Meanwhile Chris Brookes decided to defend his KO-D Openweight Title against his longtime CDK teammate Masahiro Takanashi. But this is not being done out of love or friendship. The two want to give DDT fans a fight to remember to close out one of the most important shows of the year for the company.
Danshoku Dieno and Super Sasadango Machine are threatening to give everyone the worst match ever for their DDT Extreme Title bout. Hisaya Imabayashi will be turning back into Amon Tsurumi for one night only to officiate the match.
He doesn’t understand why he’s been expelled from DAMNATION T.A but KANON wants to get revenge on Daisuke Sasaki. DDT quickly put together the singles match between them for this show.
It’s planned to be a five hour show but the card still has to be crammed together a little bit. That means Kazusada Higuchi and Shunma Katsumata will make their respective returns from injury in the same match. It’s also a good excuse to have a Harimao Vs NωA Jr. trios match.
DDT “CHANGE AGE 2025 ~YOUR LIE IN APRIL~”, 06/04/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Hideki Okatani Return Match: Hideki Okatani Vs X
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Yuya Koroku
Whoever comes out of Korakuen as the KO-D Champion in March will return there in April to defend it against the D GENERATIONS CUP winner Yuya Koroku.
KANON was kicked out of DAMNATION T.A to be replaced by the return of Hideki Okatani! He isn’t ready to wrestle again just yet but once April comes around, the world will see what this new version of Okatani will get up to.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO 2025 WINTER FES. 「EAST」”, 22/02/2025 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall 335 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Toga defeated Ivy Steele with a Face Lock (5:48).
2. Yoshiko Hasegawa, Kaya Toribami & Wakana Uehara defeated Mahiro Kiryu, Kira Summer & Chika Nanase when Uehara submitted Nanase with the Banana Pillow (11:29).
3. Haruna Neko defeated Shino Suzuki with the Nekodebreaker (5:02).
4. Raku & Pom Harajuku defeated Miu Watanabe & Uta Takami when Raku pinned Takami with the Doctor Yellow (8:13).
5. Yuki Arai & Moka Miyamoto defeated Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro when Arai submitted Kazashiro with the Scorpion Death Lock (11:44).
6. Mizuki, Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh & Suzume defeated Rika Tatsumi, Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Arisu Endo when Yamashita pinned Nakajima with the Skull Kick (19:18).
In a preview for “GRAND PRINCESS ’25” the champions beat their challengers in an 8-Woman Tag Match. Hyper Misao suggested at the start of the match to have a Horse Riding Battle against the other team. Maki Itoh agreed to it because she wanted to be carried on everyone else’s shoulders like a jockey. It ended up collapsing because Rika Tatsumi reached out to choke Miyu Yamashita. During the chaos Mizuki & Suzume focused on attacking Misao so Misao defended herself with her Hero Spray. Even though Daisy Monkey were on opposite teams, they both went on like a house on fire at the same time until they got to face each other. The final minutes of the match came down to 121000000 against Kyoraku Kyomei. Itoh held Misao in a Crab Hold while Yamashita pinned Shoko Nakajima with the Skull Kick in the final minute.
After the match Yamashita said the champion team were really strong today. She assured the fans that 121000000 will remain the Princess Tag Team Champions and continue to bring the titles around the world with them. Suzume said she wanted more time to fight Arisu Endo and is now even more determined not to lose the International Princess Title to her. Mizuki is feeling frustrated but seeing everyone work hard around her pushed her to work harder too. She really wants to defend the Princess Of Princess Title against Tatsumi at Ota Ward Gymnasium. Even though the challenger team lost each member of the team is now more motivated to win their title match.
Raku brought out two cups connected to each other with string and used them to sing her opponents to sleep with lullabies. However Pom Harajuku would then scream into the cups to wake them up. They were able to win the match and afterwards Raku wanted to have a talk with Harajuku. She always has fun wrestling with her so she wants to challenge her for the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title! Harajuku refused because she doesn’t want to fight Raku. So Raku used the cups to tell Harajku she wants to fight her because she loves her. Harajuku understood her feelings and said they should have the title match at “GRAND PRINCESS ’25”. Raku told reporters backstage that she still remembers going to Thailand with Harajuku to fight for the title in a 3 Way Match. Raku lost that match by taking the fall and she hasn’t stopped thinking about it since.
Due to illness Yuki Kamifuku could not be at the show today so her 3 Way Match with Haruna Neko and Shino Suzuki was turned into a singles match. Neko won the match, making this her first proper singles win since January 2019!!!
Yuki Arai’s match for “GRAND PRINCESS ’25” was announced at the start of the show. On 16th March she is going to face Meiko Satomura! She talked about it being her last big match as a member of SKE48 before she graduates to become a full time pro wrestler. She will put everything she has done so far to aim for the win and shine even more as someone who can lead Tokyo Joshi Pro.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 