DDT Around The World – June 2024

July 1, 2024

June was the most TV time Konosuke Takeshita has gotten in months for AEW. Turns out just sticking the guy in multi-man tag matches every week with other exciting wrestlers is a good idea. His entire month was spent being in the TNT Title picture getting ready for a chaotic Ladder Match against five other people. There was also the big reveal of him entering the G1 Climax later this summer, representing both AEW and DDT. It’s another step to show DDT and New Japan are getting along again. DDT has gotten El Desperado, Hiromu Takahashi and most recently Toru Yano involved in important matches at DDT shows. Takeshita in the G1 is the biggest move of a DDT wrestler doing something of note in New Japan since the days of The Golden Lovers.

The last few dates of Miyu Yamashita’s American tour took place in June. It looks like MLW might have a spot for her whenever she is goes back to America based on how her last match went there. However that’s a company that has a habit of just dropping things from taping to taping at the drop of a hat. Shunma Katsumata got to show GCW what DDT’s version of death match wrestling is like. He is willing to do some nutty things and there are plenty of GCW wrestlers there who would do the same. Maki Itoh has another long tour with them coming up soon. A few others from Tokyo Joshi Pro are lining things up for the summer. We even got a hint from Yuka Sakazaki that she is training again after getting injured back in April.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


MAW “LIFT BRIDGE BASH 4”, 08/06/2024
Lift Bridge Brewing Company, Stillwater, Minnesota, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Laynie Luck


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 12/06/2024
Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa, USA

1. Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly & Orange Cassidy Vs Kyle Fletcher, Roderick Strong & Konosuke Takeshita


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 19/06/2024
EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Virginia, USA

1. Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly, Orange Cassidy & Dante Martin Vs Kyle Fletcher, Roderick Strong, Konosuke Takeshita & Zack Sabre Jr.


Video starts at 1:27:05
MLW “ANNIVERSARY ’24”, 22/06/2024
Center Stage, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

1. Triple Threat Match: Miyu Yamashita Vs Jazzy Yang Vs Dani Jordyn


AEW “COLLISION”, 29/06/2024
KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York, USA

1. Mark Briscoe, Lio Rush & Dante Martin Vs Jack Perry, Konosuke Takeshita & El Phantasmo

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Results


GCW “TOURNAMENT OF SURVIVAL 9”, 01/06/2024
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Tournament Of Survival 9 – Round 1 – DDT Death Match: Brandon Kirk defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Psycho Driver onto Lighttubes and Chairs (12:45).

A big opportunity in the death match world opened up for Katsumata when he was invited to take part in GCW’s annual Tournament Of Survival. In the first round he crossed paths with the underdog fan favorite Brandon Kirk in a fight that was branded a DDT Death Match. That meant plenty of plastic cases and Lego were used in violent ways along with lighttubes. Katsumata thought he had things won when he hit the Totonou Splash but Kirk kicked out at one! From that point on no matter what Katsumata threw at Kirk he couldn’t pin him with it. Instead Kirk got the win by dropping Katsumata onto a row of folded out steel chairs with the Psycho Driver.


MLW “ANNIVERSARY ’24”, 01/06/2024 (Aired 22/06/2024)
Center Stage, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

1. Triple Threat Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Jazzy Yang and Dani Jordyn when Yamashita pinned Jordyn with the Attitude Adjustment (4:17).

After failing to win the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title last month, Miyu Yamashita stuck around in MLW for another taping to take on some new opponents. She was put in a 3 Way Match against Jazzy Yang and Dani Jordyn. Yang is the daughter of Jimmy Yang while Jordyn you might remember seeing on AEW Dark on a regular basis during the pandemic days. Compared to the title match Yamashita had an easier time this time around. Jordyn countered Yang’s Black Hole Slam into a Flatliner to roll her out of the ring and then Cradled Yamashita for a nearfall. Yamashita then gave Jordyn a High Kick and pinned her with the Attitude Adjustment, holding her up for an extra couple of seconds for emphasis.


BLACK LABEL PRO “FAMILY REUNION”, 07/06/2024
Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. BLP Title: Kevin Ku (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Fisherman Buster (18:03).
*V5 for Kevin Ku.

Yamashita’s last shot at winning a championship during her American tour was at a Black Label Pro show. There she found an opponent that hits as hard as she does, Kevin Ku. The two had a war of attrition over the BLP Title going strike for strike against each other. Yamashita used a well timed Leg Sweep to trip Ku onto his knees so she could give him the Skull Kick but Ku kept staying on his feet. Yamashita hit the normal Skull Kick but that only sent Ku falling out of the ring. He was dead weight to lift back into the ring and when he finally got back in, he fell again, dodging another Skull Kick in the process. But it was all a ploy to lure Yamashita into a trap. Yamashita went to pin Ku and Ku cradled her back into a Fisherman Buster that he held onto in order to pin her for the three count. The two paid respect to each other after the match.


MAW “LIFT BRIDGE BASH 4”, 08/06/2024
Lift Bridge Brewing Company, Stillwater, Minnesota, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Laynie Luck with the Skull Kick (?:??).

The next day was Yamashita’s last match of her tour and took place outdoors on a nice, sunny afternoon. She defeated Laynie Luck in the main event of a Midwest All-Star Wrestling show, overcoming some interference in the process.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 12/06/2024
Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa, USA

1. Kyle Fletcher, Roderick Strong & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly & Orange Cassidy when Fletcher pinned Briscoe with a Kneeling Piledriver (13:03).

Last month Takeshita’s road to the IWGP World Heavyweight Title was cut off, at least for now. So in May he took a detour into the TNT Championship picture where he qualified for a big multi-man Ladder Match over the vacated title. It resulted in the most TV match time he’s had in ages as some of the wrestlers involved in the match were put into preview multi-man tags on AEW’s weekly programming. Although in the first tag match it was just Takeshita and Mark Briscoe connected to each other. Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly, Kyle Fletcher and Roderick Strong all have other things going on.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 19/06/2024
EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Virginia, USA

1. All Star 8-Man Tag Match: Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly, Orange Cassidy & Dante Martin defeated Kyle Fletcher, Roderick Strong, Konosuke Takeshita & Zack Sabre Jr. when Cassidy pinned Strong with the Orange Punch (16:41).

Then a week later there was a rematch with Dante Martin and Zack Sabre Jr. joining in on the fun. Martin would become an entrant in the Ladder match too.


AEW “COLLISION”, 26/06/2024 (Aired 29/06/2024)
KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York, USA

1. Jack Perry, Konosuke Takeshita & El Phantasmo defeated Mark Briscoe, Lio Rush & Dante Martin when Takeshita pinned Martin with the Powerdrive Knee (10:52).

The go home show for “FORBIDDEN DOOR” would pit all six wrestlers in the Ladder Match in a final warm up 6-Man Tag. So at this point everyone knew Takeshita would be competing against Briscoe, Martin, Jack Perry, Lio Rush and one of his upcoming G1 opponents El Phantasmo. The G1 weren’t on their minds here though since Takeshita and ELP were able to tag along without any problems. Takeshita even scored the pinfall for his team. But once the match was over all hell broke loose. Perry attacked Takeshita from behind with the TNT Title belt and then one by one everyone started fighting each other, ending with Briscoe climbing a ladder inside the ring and diving onto everyone brawling at ringside below!


AEW/NJPW “FORBIDDEN DOOR 2024”, 30/06/2024
UBS Arena, Elmont, New York, USA

1. TNT Title – Ladder Match: Jack Perry defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Mark Briscoe, Dante Martin, Lio Rush and El Phantasmo when Perry grabbed the title (16:56).
*Jack Perry becomes the 24th TNT Champion!

Takeshita came close to winning the Ladder Match but there was always someone in the way. Mark Briscoe, mainly. Takeshita gave Dante a Deadlift Brainbuster onto a Ladder placed on its side. But then Briscoe sandwiched Takeshita between a chair and table at ringside then hit a Rolling Senton out of the ring through them! Takeshita later put ELP through a table at ringside with the Blue Thunder Bomb from the ring apron. But then Briscoe got in the way again and put Takeshita through a ladder with the Jay Driller. That was the end of Takeshita’s presence in the match since Perry went ahead and won the title.

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Upcoming Appearances


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

1. Battle Of The Best – Round 1: Shoko Nakajima Vs Masha Slamovich

The next TJPW talent to show up at Deadlock Pro is Shoko Nakajima! She is one of the first entrants in their new tournament called Battle Of The Best. Her first round opponent is a familiar face. However Nakajima and Masha Slamovich have only fought each other once before and that was only just recently. They were on opposite sides of the “GCW VS TJPW” main event back in April.


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

1. Lizzy Evo Vs Miyu Yamashita

Lizzy Evo was one of the many women who failed to take the EVE Title from Yamashita during her big reign over there. They get to have a rematch over at NORTH Wrestling when Yamashita travels back over to England this month.


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

1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Hardcore Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Mister Suchart & Anont Alonzo Vs Ultramantis Black & X

Not one but two teams are going to challenge CDK for the IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles. The first challengers are former champions THE GOOD DEAL looking to regain the straps from the team that beat them for it. The other team is a wild card. The UMA Corps are sending over Ultramantis Black and a mystery partner! Is it going to be someone from the Kappa World Order or do they have another monster waiting in the wings?


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

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

So begins Itoh’s next big tour of GCW. All of her dates for August have been announced but none of the matches yet.


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

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

I might have to spam the above poster for the rest of the page.


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

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Who will Itoh step up to in LA?


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

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

This will be a few days after GCW’s tour of Japan, which Itoh will be a part of.


EVE/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “EVE X TJPW”, 24/08/2024
London, England

No location announced as of the time of writing but we do know that Yamashita, Raku, Mahiro Kiryu and HIMAWARI will be heading over representing TJPW. Also Aja Kong will be part of the show too.


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

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Time to start spamming.


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

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Actually, the “HOMECOMING” shows are usually one of GCW’s big weekends of the year so maybe Itoh defends the GCW Extreme Title on one of the nights if she still has it by then.


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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Maki Itoh Vs X

Yamashita will make her return to GCW during Itoh’s tour too.


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

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

The next Queen Of Asia Title defence is going to be held in China for Middle Kingdom Wrestling. Over there Yuki Kamifuku will put the belt on the line against Philippines wrestler Crystal in a first time meeting between the two.


GCW “TBA”, 14/09/2024
Detroit, Michigan, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Spamming again.


GCW “TBA”, 15/09/2024
Rochester, New York, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Spammy, spammy, spam.

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Cancelled Appearances


REPUBLIC OF LUCHA “ROL7: HIT THE LIGHTS”, 01/06/2024
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Mike Bailey

Card Subject To Change reared its ugly head. Takeshita did not wrestle on the show and I can’t find a reason why anywhere. Mike Bailey ended up facing Arez Strange instead.

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Posted by JamieOD

Takeshita Is Entering The G1 Climax!

June 17, 2024

Well holy crap will you look at that! Konosuke Takeshita is entering this year’s G1 Climax on behalf of both AEW and DDT. He will be the second DDT affiliated wrestler to take part in New Japan’s famous tournament after Kota Ibushi. It’s a fascinating announcement after Takeshita recently fought Jon Moxley in AEW just for the chance to get an IWGP World Heavyweight Title shot. He swears to enter the G1 as the eye of the storm because he wants to win it so badly. It hasn’t been announced yet if he will be booked for any non-tournament matches during the tour.

Every block match has a 30 minute time limit. 2 Points for a win, 1 Point for a draw and 0 points for losing or having a No Contest. Head-to-head results are used to determine any tiebreakers. The extra wrinkle added to this year’s tournament is the top three of both blocks enter the knockout rounds. Those who finish 2nd and 3rd in their block will face each other and the winner moves on to face the person who finished in 1st to determine who wins the block. The A Block winner and B Block winner then meet in the grand final.

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NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 34”, 20/07/2024
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium (Osaka EDION Arena)

1. G1 CLIMAX 34 – B Block: Yota Tsuji Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA

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NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 34”, 23/07/2024
Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall

1. G1 CLIMAX 34 – B Block: Jeff Cobb Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA

This round of B Block matches are actually taking place on 21st July but Takeshita is already booked for “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” at Sumo Hall on the same day. So his match against Jeff Cobb is happening two days on what was supposed to be the A Block only show.

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NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 34”, 25/07/2024
Sun Messe Kagawa

1. G1 CLIMAX 34 – B Block: Yuya Uemura Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA

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NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 34”, 28/07/2024
Fukuoka International Center

1. G1 CLIMAX 34 – B Block: Henare Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA

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NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 34”, 31/07/2024
Yamaguchi KDDI Ishin Hall

1. G1 CLIMAX 34 – B Block: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs David Finlay

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NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 34”, 04/08/2024
Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium (Dolphins Arena)

1. G1 CLIMAX 34 – B Block: Hirooki Goto Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA

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NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 34”, 07/08/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. G1 CLIMAX 34 – B Block: El Phantasmo Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA

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NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 34”, 10/07/2024
Miyagi Xebio Arena Sendai

1. G1 CLIMAX 34 – B Block: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs B Block Play-In Winner

The B Block Play-In wrestler will be the winner of a mini-tournament happening in July between Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, Oleg Boltin, Taichi, Satoshi Kojima and TJP.

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NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 34”, 14/07/2024
Shizuoka Hamamatsu Arena

1. G1 CLIMAX 34 – B Block: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Ren Narita

Comments Off on Takeshita Is Entering The G1 Climax! | News, Outside Of DDT, Tournaments | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by JamieOD

DDT Around The World – May 2024

June 1, 2024

Most of May was spent going through what Miyu Yamashita got up to in America (plus a little stopover in Canada). She was quite busy away from shows too because a lot of social media activity revealed she’s been training with Mercedes Moné for her first match back from injury, working out in Ace Steel’s wrestling school and also sharpening her skills in the Dungeon 2.0 with Natalya from WWE. Away from the ring there was even whispers from a blog allegedly written by Kairi Sane that Yamashita and Yuka Sakazaki were guests at a surprise birthday party for Iyo Sky. Isn’t that a nice little thing to hear?

Things went kind of wacky for Konosuke Takeshita in AEW. He was built up for Jon Moxley as an important PPV opponent but things hit a rough patch over whether or not he is really allowed to go anywhere near the IWGP World Heavyweight Title. That situation along with a cartoonish attempt to stack the odds against Jon Moxley casted a shadow that spoiled what could have been an exciting match between the two and left Takeshita looking foolish. A kayfabe interview he did for DDT explaining the problems he is currently going through while adjusting to life as an AEW wrestler has not helped matters either.

Some interesting things are happening around in Asia for a few Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers. Yuki Kamifuku is now a double crown champion, Mizuki unexpectedly ended up fighting some kappa monsters in Thailand and Nao Kakuta got to wrestle in China for one last time. News is not going to stop there because we are hours away from Shunma Katsumata entering a death match tournament, Yamashita is finishing up her US tour, Takeshita has sights on a new championship and TJPW is heading over to England soon.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


TNA “IMPACT!”, 02/05/2024
Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Knockouts World Title: Jordynne Grace (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita


Video starts at 50:05
MLW “FURY ROAD”, 11/05/2024
Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title – 4 Way Match: Janai Kai (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Zayda Vs Delmi Exo


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 22/05/2024
Mechanics Bank Arena, Bakersfield, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) Vs Matt Sydal


LLL “HIGH STRANGENESS – NIGHT ONE”, 24/05/2024
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Abadon Vs Miyu Yamashita


SETUP “CLASH OF THE TITANS”, 25/05/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Matcha (c) Vs Mizuki


LLL “HIGH STRANGENESS – NIGHT TWO”, 25/05/2024
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Dulce Tormenta Vs Miyu Yamashita


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 31/05/2024
The Kia Forum, Inglewood, California, USA

1. TNT Title Eliminator Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Penta El Zero Miedo

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Results


GCW “RATHER YOU THAN ME”, 03/05/2024
Egypt Shrine Center, Tampa, Florida, USA

1. Joey Janela defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Package Piledriver (15:30).

The knee being targeted is what ultimately led to Yamashita losing to Joey Janela. He dealt big damage early on by picking Yamashita up at ringside and dropping her knees first into a chair in the front row. The attack paid off later when Yamashita’s leg gave out in the middle of her charging into Janela. She also took a Death Valley Driver onto the ring apron but kept on fighting. Janela though blocked the Skull Kick, hit her with a Palm Strike and attacked the knee again with a Dragon Screw. Yamashita’s last action was to give Janela the middle finger before he gave her a Thrust Kick followed by the Package Piledriver to win the match.


VPW “SAIGON SLAM”, 04/05/2024
VAIB Studios, Vietnam

1. VPW Women’s Title: Yuki Kamifuku defeated Alexis Lee with the Diving Famouser (?:??).
*Yuki Kamifuku becomes the 1st VPW Women’s Champion!

A new Asian Double Crown Championship has been formed thanks to Kamifuku! The reigning Queen Of Asia Champion has now also become the first ever Women’s Champion for Vietnam Pro Wrestling. Kamifuku even defeated Alexis Lee to win the belt just like she did with the QOA Title. Later in the month Kamifuku defeated Lee again back in Japan at a TJPW show to retain both titles.


MLW “FURY ROAD”, 11/05/2024
Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title – 4 Way Match: Janai Kai (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita, Zayda and Delmi Exo when Kai submitted Zayda with the Demon Clutch(6:45).
*V5 for Janai Kai.

Next stop for Yamashita was an international 4 Way Match over in MLW for the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title. She represented Japan, Delmi Exo represented Mexico, Zayda represented Morocco and Janai Kai disregarded her nationality to fly the CONTRA Unit flag instead. Yamashita thought she picked the right spot when she hit Exo with the Skull Kick in the middle of Exo giving Zayda the Package Piledriver. But Kai knocked down Yamashita with the Tornado Kick and applied the Demon Clutch to her as well as Zayda. Yamashita wasn’t going to quit and had the awareness to grab Zayda’s hand so she wouldn’t tap out either. However Zayda couldn’t hold on for any longer and had to tap out to Kai.


MYSTERY WRESTLING “MYSTERY WRESTLING 8”, 12/05/2024
Centre Aydelu, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada

1. Jordynne Grace defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Juggernaught Driver (?:??).

Yamashita made an unexpected trip up to Canada for a surprise rematch against Jordynne Grace over at the latest Mystery Wrestling show put together by Evil Uno. The result was not any different though. Grace scored the win again and went on to make more newsworthy headlines elsewhere later in the month.


SHINE “SHINE 78”, 18/05/2024
OCC Road House, Clearwater, Florida, USA

1. SHINE Title: Ivelisse Velez (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Cradle (13:47).
*V8 for Ivelisse Velez.

The SHINE Championship is a belt that Yamashita has held once before back in 2019. It was her first championship she won outside of Japan so how nice would it be to win it again almost five year later? It almost happened too. She got the three count on Ivelisse Velez by hitting the Skull Kick but Velez had her foot on the ropes during the pinfall. The match restarted and Velez was able to Cradle Yamashita for the successful defence. Yamashita took the result in her stride and the two bowed to each other afterwards.


DPW “LIMIT BREAK”, 19/05/2024
Durham Convention Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita & Lady Frost defeated Hyan & Vert Vixen when Frost pinned Hyan with the Temperature Drop (13:31).

A new face has appeared on Yamashita’s travels. Her return to Deadlock Pro was also the first time she got to be in the ring with Lady Frost. They make a pretty good team together as shown in their match against Yamashita’s regular rivals Hyan & Vert Vixen. Yamashita hit Vixen with two Skull Kicks and Frost hit her version of the Spiral Tap on Hyan for the victory.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 22/05/2024
Mechanics Bank Arena, Bakersfield, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Matt Sydal with an Elbow Butt (1:58).

Takeshita made quick work of Matt Sydal. The only thing that went wrong for him was Sydal countering the Blue Thunder Bomb into a Hurricanrana but Takeshita got him with the move on the second try. Don Callis then instructed Takeshita to knock out Sydal with an Elbow Strike, allowing Takeshita to pin him with only one hand on the chest. Takeshita then mocked Sydal by giving him a handshake after the match before turning him over with a German Suplex. Moxley then came down to the ring from the crowd looking to say something on the microphone. Instead he clocked Takeshita in the head with it and said he will see him at “DOUBLE OR NOTHING”.


LLL “HIGH STRANGENESS – NIGHT ONE”, 24/05/2024
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Abadon defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Cemetary Drive (?:??).

It was mixed fortunes for Yamashita for her weekend at Lucha Libre & Laughs in Denver. She lost to Abadon on the first show in a match that featured some out of the ring brawling.


LLL “HIGH STRANGENESS – NIGHT TWO”, 25/05/2024
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Dulce Tormenta with the Skull Kick (?:??).

The next night though Yamashita was victorious against the masked luchadora Dulce Tormenta.


SETUP “CLASH OF THE TITANS”, 25/05/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Matcha (c) Vs Mizuki ended in a No Contest (?:??).
*V2 for Matcha?

The match was originally meant to be a 3 Way Match with Monomoth also involved. It was changed to just a singles between Matcha and Mizuki with the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title still on the line. Mizuki looked to be moments away from becoming the new champion when she climbed the top rope to deliver the Diving Foot Stomp. However the monsters from the Kappa World Order interfered in the match to attack both wrestlers. Poor Mizuki was even hit over the head with a chair which is something that usually never happens to her. Matcha and Mizuki were able to fight them off with Matcha giving one Kappa a Back Drop while Mizuki took out the other one with the Whirling Candy. The match had no winner but the two signaled to each other they can do it again sometime.


AEW “DOUBLE OR NOTHING”, 26/05/2024
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. IWGP World Heavyweight Title Eliminator Match: Jon Moxley (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) with the Death Rider (17:24).

Well this turned into a bit of a mess. The day before this show on Collision Takeshita attacked Moxley and Pilmanized his arm with a chair. So now we had the scenario in place where Takeshita could beat a weakened Moxley to earn a shot at the IWGP Title. That didn’t happen. The finish had Takeshita listen to Callis and go bring chairs into the ring to cause even more damage. Moxely then took the opportunity to Curb Stomp Takeshita while his guard was down and then pin him with the Death Rider. So now there is no IWGP Title match in Takeshita’s future. Look, New Japan wasn’t going to let a DDT guy take part in an IWGP Title match of any sort this way. And it’s possible DDT would have wanted a say in the matter too. Wrestling politics can be weird in that way. I get the criticism of how overbooked the story became when you could have just done a straightforward non-title match but I think that argument is a little bit overblown too. Title Eliminator matches in AEW is just their way of calling it a non-title match because the phrase “Non-Title Match” means absolutely nothing to fans these days. You can then complain why do the match in the first place but I’ll argue the match is still worth doing for a big PPV.


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 29/05/2024 (Aired 31/05/2024)
The Kia Forum, Inglewood, California, USA

1. TNT Title Eliminator Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Penta El Zero Miedo with the Power Drive Knee (13:09).

So where to next for Takeshita? Time to take the path towards the vacant TNT Title perhaps? Adam Copeland was stripped of the championship due to injury so now the belt will be put on the line in a multi-man Ladder Match. Takeshita is the first person to qualify after he beat Penta El Zero Miedo. He even got under Penta’s skin a little bit by trying to unmask him midway through the match.


INFIN “PRO WRESTLING”, 31/05/2024
Shanghai, China

1. Yuki Kamifuku defeated Nao Kakuta with the Diving Famouser (?:??).

Right at the end of the month we go to China where TJPW sent over two wrestlers to an event held by INFIN and the Hong Kong group HKWF. The match was Kakuta’s last time wrestling outside of Japan before she retires. She couldn’t get the win here against Kamifuku. When she attempted to lift her up for the Shiden Kai, Kamifuku dropped back down and gave her the Famouser. Kamifuku then climbed the ropes and hit the Diving Famouser for the three count.

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Upcoming Appearances


GCW “TOURNAMENT OF SURVIVAL 9”, 01/06/2024
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Tournament Of Survival 9 – Round 1: Brandon Kirk Vs Shunma Katsumata

We are hours away from Katsumata entering GCW’s annual Tournament Of Survival. He drew Brandon Kirk as his opening round opponent but his real battle seems to be against the airline he flew to America with because they lost his luggage along the way!


REPUBLIC OF LUCHA “ROL7: HIT THE LIGHTS”, 01/06/2024
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Mike Bailey

The original plan was for Republic Of Lucha to hold this show inside the same building that was used as The Temple in Lucha Underground. They got permits to use the building at first but midway during the month those permits were pulled because the building was declared to be unusable. So now the show is taking place in the Ukrainian Cultural Center which is where GCW normally holds their shows in LA. When that was sorted out ROL announced Takeshita’s opponent on the show will be his old buddy Mike Bailey.


BLACK LABEL PRO “FAMILY REUNION”, 07/06/2024
Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. BLP Title: Kevin Ku (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

Before Yamashita heads home she has a chance to win Black Label Pro’s main championship from Kevin Ku. Her opponent has a Karate background just like she does so fire will fight against fire.


MAW “LIFT BRIDGE BASH 4”, 08/06/2024
Lift Bridge Brewing Company, Stillwater, Minnesota, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Laynie Luck

I still can’t find anymore Yamashita matches taking place after this so it looks like her American tour ends here.


AEW/NJPW “FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023”, 30/06/2024
UBS Arena, Elmont, New York, USA

1. TNT Title – Ladder Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs X

The early story setting up this match is The Young Bucks wanted to just give the TNT Title to Jack Perry. So expect Perry to be one of the entrants for the match and perhaps even the favorite to win it.


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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Newcastle gets to experience Yamashita for the first time when she debuts for NORTH Wrestling.


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

1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs X & X

Still weird to me seeing IWA Japan being revived over in Thailand.


EVE/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “EVE X TJPW”, 24/08/2024
London, England

One day before AEW returns to Wembley there will be a few TJPW wrestlers heading over to London for a special joint show with EVE. The EVE promoters are currently finalizing the time and venue for the event because they might try to avoid clashing with Revolution Pro’s big show taking place on the same day. The other thing to take note is this show takes place slap bang inbetween the final two shows of the Tokyo Princess Cup. They won’t be able to announce right away which TJPW wrestlers are coming over because of that tournament. Also I cannot confirm this but I heard Maki Itoh won’t be among the talent going over because she will be in America that month.

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Cancelled Appearances


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 01/05/2024
Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) Vs London Lightning

The dreaded curse of live TV production came for Takeshita at the start of the month. AEW aired Dynamite and Rampage back to back on the same night due to clashing schedules with the NBA. On Dynamite there was a match graphic promoting Takeshita against London Lightning for Rampage. Then Rampage came and went without the match ever happening. Some previous segments overran and Takeshita’s match was cancelled, apparently at the last minute if Takeshita’s interview on the DDT site is entirely honest.

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Posted by JamieOD

DDT Around The World – April 2024

May 1, 2024

Even with WrestleMania Week out of the way there is so much to talk about what happened in April. It’s probably going to be a month Yuka Sakazaki will want to forget. She finally returned to TV screens only to possibly find her way back to the injury list. It only happened two weeks ago so there’s been no update to her condition. All she has tweeted since the match happened is a zombie emoji. She was being set up for a match with Serena Deeb in AEW but that seems to have gone to the wayside because Deeb is already moving ahead in the AEW Women’s Title picture. Just have to wait and see if it was just a knock to the knee or something worse.

In more uplifting news, Konosuke Takeshita is showing interest in taking the IWGP World Heavyweight Title from Jon Moxley. This is going to be facinating watching a DDT affiliated wrestler in an AEW storyline built around New Japan’s top championship. Does he have any realistic chance of becoming champion? Not unless Moxley gets legit knocked out during the match again. New Japan have clearly set their own story over Moxley’s IWGP Title reign. Their roster led by “The Reiwa Musketeers” are all showing frustration over their company playing second fiddle to AEW. Whether it is Moxley not taking part in the Japan tours or handing title matches out to undeserving challengers in America, the story New Japan is telling does not have Takeshita fitting in anywhere as an important player and I do not expect AEW to make booking decisions that will interfere with it. Still though, Takeshita versus Moxley has been good before and the addition of the IWGP Title is a novelty that got me more interested in the rematch.

Wrapping up the month is the Tokyo Joshi Pro portion of appearances. Maki Itoh finished up her latest American tour and got to defend the GCW Extreme Title. Not sure when she is due back in GCW other than we certainly won’t be waiting long to find out. Miyu Yamashita returned to a bunch of familiar promotions from last year’s excursion. The big one was a visit to TNA where she main evented their TV taping. Most important of all, Kaya Toribami stepped in for an injured Hyper Misao to help save the world from a kappa invasion. That’s a good bird.

Oh and there was also the crazy happenings that went on when Kazusada Higuchi and Mecha Mummy went to West Coast Pro. Let’s get to that.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

Video starts at 2:58:38
WEST COAST PRO “CHRIS HERO’S PRO WRES MIXTAPE”, 14/04/2024
Don Quixote Event Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Chris Hero Vs Kazusada Higuchi
2. Tornado Tag Team Match: Chris Hero & Bryan Keith Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Mecha Mummy


AEW “COLLISION”, 20/04/2024
Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois, USA

1. Bunkhouse Brawl: Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli Vs Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 20/04/2024
Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Emi Sakura


PRESTIGE/PRIDESTYLE “PRIDE & PRESTIGE”, 26/04/2024
Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Trish Adora

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Results


WEST COAST PRO “CHRIS HERO’S PRO WRES MIXTAPE”, 14/04/2024
Don Quixote Event Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Chris Hero Vs Kazusada Higuchi ended in a No Contest (12:23).
2. Tornado Tag Team Match: Chris Hero & Bryan Keith defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Mecha Mummy when Keith pinned Mummy with the Emerald Tiger Driver (13:45).

This was not how I thought things were going to go between Higuchi and Chris Hero. I mean the first ten minutes, sure. They hit each other hard and Higuchi no sold hitting the ring post head first. That was all well and good. He even used his own head to block one of Hero’s Elbow Strikes. Unfortunately as they kept fighting in the corner the referee stepped in one too many times and got knocked out with a Lariat. Higuchi kept attacking Hero until Bryan Keith made his entrance and started squaring off with him. Hero & Keith joined forces so Higuchi now found himself needing help. Suddenly Mecha Mummy appeared!

There were plans for a Keith Vs Mummy match to happen on the show but now the fans got a Tornado Tag match between the four fighters instead! Mummy gave Keith an Atomic Drop onto the Mecha Fist but Keith returned fire by giving Mummy a Drop Toe Hold, destroying the fist on impact. Keith then challenged Mummy to a duel but it ended with them giving each other and the referee Low Blows. The ref also got impaled with the Mecha Drill by accident. Hero then fought Mummy all the way up to the balcony where Higuchi followed. Mummy fired the repaired Mecha Fist at Keith from the balcony and raced down to pin him for a nearfall. Hero returned with bottles of water but Higuchi stopped him from pouring it over Mummy. Keith however took a big drink of the bottle and spat it all over Mummy to make it go haywire. He then gave it the Emerald Tiger Driver to win a crazy match.


PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 8”, 14/04/2024
Roseland Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Kylie Rae with the Skull Kick (15:30).

Yamashita’s good run in Prestige continued when she beat Kylie Rae in a hard fought match. Hitting the Return Crash seemed to fire up Yamashita in particular. With that boost she broke out of Rae’s Crippler Crossface and kicked out of a Super Kick at one. She then rolled Rae into a Buzzsaw Kick for a nearfall before putting her down for the count with the Skull Kick.


ROH “ROH ON HONOR CLUB”, 17/04/2024 (Aired 25/04/2024)
Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Leila Grey with the Magical Girl Splash (4:44).

Oh yikes this was bad. There was an awkwardly timed replay segment too right before the finish which only makes me wonder what was cut out because what was left in is the kind of stuff those anti-AEW Twitter accounts would salivate over if people gave a shit about ROH. There was an Elbow Strike exchange that looked like both didn’t want to sell and then Sakazaki tried to do a rope-assisted German Suplex that did not work at all. She was able to beat Leila Grey with the Magical Merry-Go-Round followed by the Magical Girl Splash but that match was one to forget. Or at least it would be if she hadn’t gotten injured in her next match during the month.


UPRISING “UPRISING: WOMEN ATHLETES 2”, 19/04/2024
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated Black Swan with the I.S.D. (9:22).
2. Hyan defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Glam Slam (11:27).

It looks like Hyan is one of the few opponents who seems to have Yamashita’s number whenever Yamashita goes over to America. This was their second singles match and there is a tag match to come later this summer. Hyan has beaten Yamashita both times now but it’s been no easy feat. This time Hyan was overwhelmed by Yamashita’s kicks but found ways to avoid the Attitude Adjustment. The last counter led to Hyan giving Yamashita the Glam Slam to win the match.

Itoh was given an opponent who is just as much of a dramatic attention seeker as she is in the form of Black Swan. They spent part of the match fighting outside where Swan threw Itoh into the barricade and then Itoh Body Slammed Swan onto the floor. After going back and forth in the ring, Itoh dropped Swan with a DDT and then got the win by hitting the I.S.D. off the top rope.


DREAMWAVE “ANNIVERSARY IX”, 20/04/2024
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Megan Bayne defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Tombstone Piledriver (9:52).

The next night Uprising’s main promotion DREAMWAVE put together the surprise matchup of Yamashita against Megan Bayne. She is one of the stronger booked wrestlers on the independents right now and her momentum continued here with a clean win over Yamashita. The result seemed to have put Yamashita in a bad mood afterward because she refused to shake Bayne’s hand after the match and left the ring with a sour look on her face.


AEW “COLLISION”, 20/04/2024
Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois, USA

1. Bunkhouse Brawl: Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli defeated Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita when Danielson submitted Fletcher with the Chain Assisted LaBell Lock (16:03).

Add the Bunkhouse Brawl to the list of violent matches Takeshita is finding himself in over at AEW. He was all dressed up for the occasion too as one should be for a stipulation like this. Chairs and chains were used by everyone and things got even more chaotic with interference from Powerhouse Hobbs and Moxley. The presence of Hobbs tipped things in favour for The Don Callis Family even when Moxley came down to get rid of him. Things then went south when Bryan Danielson countered Takeshita’s top rope Power Bomb with a Hurricanrana onto a chair set up in the middle of the ring. Claudio Castagnoli then covered his arm with the chain and hit Takeshita with a Charging European Uppercut. Danielson won the match by hitting Kyle Fletcher with the Busaiku Knee followed by putting him in the LaBell Lock for the submission.


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 20/04/2024
Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Emi Sakura with a Sliding German Suplex (9:31).

And here’s where Sakazaki’s return hit a big bump on the road. During her match with Emi Sakura, Sakazaki tried to do a cartwheel from the top rope onto the ring apron to avoid an attack. She missed landing on the apron and crashed onto the floor outside, hurting her knee in the process. Sakura bought some time with some improvised heel work ringside while Sakazaki tried to walk it off. They were able to continue the match but Sakazaki was still clearly shaken up and using the Sliding German Suplex for the finish was definitely not the original plan. Credit to her for gutting through it and still being able to do most of her moves but she couldn’t hide the upset look on her face after the match.


GCW “HOW HIGH”, 20/04/2024
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. GCW Extreme Title: Maki Itoh (c) defeated Sandra Moone with the I.S.D. (8:55).
*V1 for Maki Itoh.

GCW is keeping us on our toes when it comes to Itoh defending the GCW Extreme Title. It wasn’t until the show took place when they announced her match with Sandra Moone would have the title on the line. No worries! Itoh beat Moone in her first defence and they left the ring together shoulder to shoulder.


TNA “IMPACT!”, 21/04/2024 (Aired 02/05/2024)
Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Knockouts World Title: Jordynne Grace (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Juggernaught Driver (?:??).
*V7 for Jordynne Grace.

Last year Yamashita got to wrestle in Impact for the first time. Now it’s a year later and Impact has gone back to being called TNA. No matter what name it’s under now, she was back to fight Jordynne Grace. The stakes were then made higher when TNA decided to make the match for the Knockouts World Title. Yamashita tried something a little bit new in the match when she hit the Skull Kick to the back of Grace’s head buzzsaw style but Grace recovered and used the Grace Driver to retain her title.


PRESTIGE/PRIDESTYLE “PRIDE & PRESTIGE”, 26/04/2024
Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Trish Adora with the Skull Kick (10:33).

Yamashita’s next Prestige match was at an event co-promoted with PrideStyle Inclusive Pro in Las Vegas. She defeated Trish Adora in a match I haven’t seen the VOD of yet.


DAIKAIJU PRO “VOL. 2 – KAPPAS COUNTERATTACK”, 27/04/2024
White Eagle, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

1. Kaya Toribami defeated Ultramantis Black with the Sento Choryu (?:??).

This was originally supposed to be Hyper Misao coming back to America to protect the land from UltraMantis Black and his kappa army. Unfortunately an ankle injury forced a change of plans. Depending on who you ask she either got injured during her match against Steph de Lander at the “GCW VS TJPW” show or she was the victim of an ambush attack put together by the devious UltraMantis. Either way she sent Kaya Toribami to Daikaiju Pro in her place because they still needed a hero to fight for them. During the match Mantis called upon his kappa army for help but Toribami had backup from all of the other babyfaces to even the odds. In the end good prevailed over evil and Toribami successfully hit the Sento Choryu on Mantis to get the victory.


INSPIRE A.D. “THE EVIL WE DO”, 28/04/2024
Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Maya World (?:??).

The last time Yamashita was at Inspire A.D. she took a surprise upset loss to Killa Kate. That wasn’t going to happen again when she fought Maya World in her return to the promotion.

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Upcoming Appearances


GCW “RATHER YOU THAN ME”, 03/05/2024
Egypt Shrine Center, Tampa, Florida, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Joey Janela

She got a taste of GCW earlier this month with the “GCW VS TJPW” show and is coming back for a proper go this time around. Yamashita is getting thrown into the deep end for her proper GCW debut. Joey Janela is chomping at the bit to break her into pieces so he can rub it in the faces of joshi fans afterwards.


VPW “SAIGON SLAM”, 04/05/2024
VAIB Studios, Vietnam

1. VPW Women’s Title: Alexis Lee Vs Yuki Kamifuku

Will Yuki Kamifuku beat Alexis Lee for the VPW Women’s Title so it can go along with her Queen Of Asia Title?


MLW “AZTECA LUCHA”, 11/05/2024
Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title – 4 Way Match: Janai Kai (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Zayda Vs Delmi Exo

Well Yamashita wasn’t able to win the Knockouts Title in TNA but she has another title match to look forward to in May. She returns to MLW where Janai Kai is defending the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title in a 4 Way Match. The other challengers are Zayda Steele and Delmi Exo but Kai’s previous title defences have mostly been against joshi wrestlers and TJPW wrestlers in particular. She’s beaten Yamashita before outside of MLW. Can she do it again when her MLW Title is on the line and she needs to have eyes on the back of her head?


DPW “LIMIT BREAK”, 19/05/2024
Durham Convention Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita & Lady Frost Vs Hyan & Vert Vixen

It’s back to Deadlock Pro! Yamashita’s first time in the ring with Lady Frost is as a team together and they are both familiar with their opponents. Hyan is now a regular presence in Yamashita’s US tours and Yamashita teamed with Vert Vixen the last time she was in DPW.


LLL “HIGH STRANGENESS – NIGHT ONE”, 24/05/2024
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Abadon Vs Miyu Yamashita

This isn’t the first time Yamashita will be fighting a zombie. She used to do that all the time when Maho Kurone was still wrestling. Abadon though is a bit more intense when it comes to that sort of stuff.


LLL “HIGH STRANGENESS – NIGHT TWO”, 25/05/2024
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

What else is Lucha Libre & Laughs going to throw at Yamashita?


SETUP “CLASH OF THE TITANS”, 25/05/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Matcha (c) Vs Monomoth Vs Mizuki

How possible is is that Mizuki wins the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title and then brings it along for her Queen Of Asia Title shot that is due anytime soon? Add the VPW Women’s Title then we end up with an Asian Triple Crown of women’s championships.


GCW “TOURNAMENT OF SURVIVAL 9”, 01/06/2024
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Tournament Of Survival 9: Shunma Katsumata Vs X

One of the big death match tournaments of the year is held by GCW over in America. The 9th annual Tournament Of Survival will have Shunma Katsumata as one of the Japanese entrants along with Big Japan wrestlers Hideyoshi Kamitani and Yuki Ishikawa.


REPUBLIC OF LUCHA “ROL7: HIT THE LIGHTS”, 01/06/2024
The Temple, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X

The first two seasons of Lucha Underground was a magical time. Season three was good too but the show suffered from taking a massive break mid-season but that’s a conversation for somewhere else. The warehouse that was used to house The Temple for the show tapings is going to host a wrestling show for the first time in seven years. I don’t expect it to look anything like it did in the old days because a lot of that setup was just a TV set but Takeshita getting to wrestle there is pretty neat nonetheless.


MAW “LIFT BRIDGE BASH 4”, 08/06/2024
Lift Bridge Brewing Company, Stillwater, Minnesota, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Laynie Luck

This is still for now the last date on Yamashita’s schedule before she goes back to Japan.


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

1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs X & X

This year is the 30th anniversary of IWA Japan’s launch. What a weird existence this promotion has had. To celebrate there will be a memorial show held by SETUP taking place in Thailand using the IWA branding. CDK will be there to defend the SETUP Tag Team Titles since those belts are also affiliated with IWA Japan. Will Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi have to defend the belts against a pair of kaiju or will they be fighting more normal looking opponents?

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Posted by JamieOD

DDT Around The World – WrestleMania Week 2024

April 18, 2024

Another Wrestlemania has come and gone. I would have posted this article sooner but I was in the middle of my own holiday and didn’t want to spend my vacation time keeping track of what MAO was doing or trying to figure out who was in the Clusterfuck and where in the match did they get eliminated. I eventually did find the time to watch as much as I could. It was a good week of work for everyone involved but I come out of it seeing diminished returns for so many groups that aren’t WWE or GCW. I usually love these weeks because there is too much going on and there’s round the clock stories coming out of it. But we’re reaching the point where there’s less fan interest in the indies and more people seem to be happy giving all of their attention towards WWE and AEW so a lot of these shows are kind of becoming wasted energy that could be refocused towards something else. Too many groups are fighting over the same dwindling audience of eyeballs and that just dilutes everything. GCW’s annual themed shows are also starting to look tired now too.

I am wondering how things will turn out next year and how much of it will depend on the time and place. The Wrestlemania related talk coming out of WWE and TKO this week is they still have not announced next year’s location yet and they may consider holding the event later in the calander to avoid clashing with other major sporting events like the NCAA Final Four or the PGA Masters. Up until now wrestling websites and even other media were pretty much convinced that Minnesota was set to be next year’s host. This week’s news now puts that into doubt and continues the years old running joke that Minnesota always gets considered for Wrestlemania but never gets chosen. Hey, if Las Vegas gets it instead and both DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro are going over again then I will be there for sure!

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Videos


AEW “COLLISION”, 06/04/2024
DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Trish Adora

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Results


AEW “COLLISION”, 03/04/2024 (Aired 06/04/2024)
DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Trish Adora with The Magical Girl Splash (8:24).

Oh hey, Yuka Sakazaki finally made it back to America! That was a weird few months of her going missing. Don’t have to worry about that anymore, I guess? Sakazaki’s first AEW match since leaving TJPW was also her first appearance on the Collision TV show. She defeated Trish Adora and the result attracted the attention of Serena Deeb. Since then Deeb put out a challenge to face Sakazaki in a match. It has not been answered yet as of the time of this article being posted.


CIRCLE 6 “NEW FEAR CITY”, 03/04/2024
The Fire, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Chris Brookes & MAO Vs Casanova Valentine & Nate Webb

The first taste of DDT to be found in Philadelphia this week was over at Circle 6. Both MAO and Chris Brookes had barely just arrived in America on separate flights before they found themselves ready to fight a crazy no ring brawl together against Casanova Valentine & Nate Webb. I couldn’t find the result to the match but what I did find out was all four wrestlers sang “Wonderwall” and “Teenage Dirtbag” together for everyone in the audience afterwards.


DEFY “CAN’T DENY IT”, 04/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos defeated MAO & Mike Bailey when Lykos pinned Bailey after a Blockbuster/Gory Special Combo (16:12).
2. Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title – BMF Battle Royal: Schaff (c) defeated Galeno Del Mal by Ring Out (14:57).
Order Of Elimination: Gene Munny, LJ Cleary, Mr. Charles Crowly, Shota, Ricky Knight Jr., Luke Jacobs and Galeno Del Mal.
*V? for Schaff.

The first appearance Shota made as a new freelancer was for DEFY, entering a Battle Royal for the Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title. Sadly for him he was eliminated by the champion himself Schaff. Shota tried to give him a Tornado DDT but Schaff’s was too big and strong to be pulled off his feet. Instead Schaff lifted Shota up in a Gorilla Press and threw him out of the ring.

What was perhaps the longest 24 hours of MAO’s life begun here. DEFY was where he had the first of four matches he would have in one day. It started off with MAO and Mike Bailey reuniting as The Moonlight Express for a special tag match against another reunited team in CCK. They did their best but Bailey eventually fell to the barrage of signature moves from Brookes & Kid Lykos, ending with a sick tag move to finish him off.


SHP/LOL “EUPHORIA”, 04/04/2024
Attic Brewing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. MAO defeated Matt Makowski with a German Suplex (10:04).

MAO’s second match of the day was held in a ring under a tent over at the Sean Henderson Presents show. His match against Matt Makowski was non-title but the confused commentary team on stream convinced themselves that the DDT Universal Title was on the line. MAO and Makowski brought the match out of the tent so they could briefly fight on the grass. But it returned to the ring where MAO rolled out of Makowski’s Sleeper Hold and used a German Suplex to pin him for the victory.


DDT “DDT GOES PHILADELPHIA!”, 04/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos defeated Bryan Keith & Shota when Lykos pinned Shota with the Brainbuster (8:28).
2. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo defeated Andrew “The Giant” Everett with the Burning Star Press (11:33).
3. Chiitan☆ defeated Dan The Dad with a Superplex through a Board (5:27).
4. Special Single Match: Yoshihiko defeated Kazuki Hirata with the Reincarnation (5:30).
5. DDT Universal Title – No Rules Match: MAO (c) Vs Billie Starkz ended in a Draw after a Double Pinfall (10:55).
5a. Rock Paper Scissors: MAO (c) defeated Billie Starkz when Scissors beat Paper.
*V7 for MAO.
6. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated Nick Wayne & Takeshi Masada when KANON pinned Masada after the Freedom Call (7:11).
7. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Walls Of Takeshita (9:41).
8. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno defeated Mike Bailey with the WR (18:52).

A report of the show can be found here.


GCW/JCW “GCW/JCW VS THE WORLD”, 04/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. GCW/JCW Vs The World 14-Man Tag Match: Mike Bailey, Tony Deppen, Calvin Tankman, Marcus Mathers, Charlie Tiger, Terry Yaki & Mr. Danger defeated LJ Cleary, Ricky Knight Jr., Yusaku Ito, Lou Nixon, Ho Ho Lun, Shota & Mizuki Watase when Bailey pinned Watase with the Ultima Weapon (9:54).
2. 4 Way Tag Match: MAO & Yoshihiko defeated Ciclope & Miedo Extremo Vs Robert Dreissker & Norman Harras Vs Man Like DeReiss & Leon Slater when Yoshihiko pinned Harras with the Reincarnation (22:36).

The fourth and final match MAO had on this day was another crazy affair. He joined forces with Yoshihiko to take on three other teams from around the world. Maybe it was random, maybe it was luck or maybe this kind of environment best serves their skills because they were able to stand tall against Los Macizos, the wXw team and Boisterous Behaviour to end the night and finally give MAO some rest.

Before the main event there was a 14-Man Tag Match pitting GCW & JCW against the rest of the world. Shota was part of The World team along with an unexpected appearance by Mizuki Watase! It turns out he made the trip over to Philly too. He said wrestling was not the priority of his visit though. He better have had a good reason because his travelling plans were plagued with delays and other problems according to his tweets during the week. It caused him to miss some wrestling bookings back in Japan too. If all of that wasn’t bad enough, he took the fall by taking a bunch of moves from the opposing team, ending with Bailey’s Ultima Weapon.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN PHILLY”, 05/04/2024
Penn’s Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Yuki Aino & Zara Zakher when Suzume pinned Zakher with the Twinkle Twinkle (11:01).
2. Billie Starkz defeated Hyper Misao with the Swanton Bomb (5:57).
3. Yuki Kamifuku & Viva Van defeated Raku & Trish Adora when Kamifuku pinned Raku with the Famouser (8:53).
4. Mizuki & Vert Vixen defeated Aja Kong & Pom Harajuku when Mizuki pinned Harajuku with the Cutie Special (10:31).
5. Shoko Nakajima defeated Rhio with the Senton Bomb (13:24).
6. Special Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh defeated Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe when Yamashita pinned Tatsumi with the Skull Kick (19:04).

A report of the show can be found here.


GCW “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK 8”, 05/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh (w/ Dewey Donovan) defeated Danhausen & Ram Kaichow when Itoh pinned Kaichow and Gage pinned Danhausen with the MDKokeshi (12:56).

The weirdest of first time matchups took place at GCW’s Spring Break show. Maki Death Kill had to fight the facepainted combination of Danhausen & Ram Kaichow. Danhausen quickly cast a curse on Maki Itoh but she fired one back with her middle fingers. Kaichow then brought in a voodoo doll and twisted it to make Itoh’s body contort in a painful manner. Itoh grabbed the doll off Kaichow and attacked her with it to break the spell. Things went south for Maki Death Kill when Kaichow blinded Nick Gage with ectoplasm dust and Dropkicked him through a board in the ring corner. Danhausen then grabbed Gage’s pizza cutter and sliced open Itoh’s forehead with it! Kaichow did the same while Danhausen poured a jar of teeth into Itoh’s mouth. Gage returned out of nowhere to tackle Danhausen through a board. Maki Death Kill then gave their opponents DDTs and hit the MDKokeshi on them together for the victory.


GCW/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GCW VS TJPW”, 06/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
672 Fans – No Vacancy

1. 3 Way Match: Suzume defeated SAKI and Pom Harajuku when Suzume pinned Harajuku with the Ring A Bell (7:54).
2. Session Moth Martina defeated Raku with the Codebreaker (5:56).
3. Arisu Endo defeated Shazza McKenzie with the Ju no Okite (7:29).
4. Steph De Lander defeated Hyper Misao with the Steph Five onto a bulk of Lipstick Cases (8:10).
5. Dark Sheik defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Diving Leg Drop (7:43).
6. Mizuki defeated Allie Katch with the Cutie Special (7:35).
7. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe defeated Billie Starkz & Janai Kai when Watanabe pinned Kai after the Daydream Eternity (13:27).
8. Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Rina Yamashita, Masha Slamovich & Maki Itoh defeated Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino when Itoh submitted Aino with the Itoh Deluxe (21:01).

A report of the show can be found here.


GCW “JJSB: CLUSTERF*CK FOREVER!”, 06/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Clusterfuck Match: Microman defeated Nick Gage by Ring Out (117:52).
Order Of Elimination: Jimmy Lloyd, Shota, Bam Sullivan, Lindsay Snow, Rob Shit, Loc, DeVito, Shane Douglas, Justin Credible, Jason Knight, Jeffrey John, Charlie Tiger, Facade, Tony Deppen, Tommy Dreamer, Trevor Outlaw, Frank The Clown, Mike Bailey, Masha Slamovich, Pollo Del Mar, Colin Delaney, Cheech, Midas Black, Jay Lyon, Rob Killjoy, White Mike, Davey Bang, August Matthews, Terry Yaki, Bobby Flaco, Mr. Danger, Aerial Van Go, Tara Zep, Philly Mike, Nate Webb, Emil Jay, Green Phantom, Sexxxy Eddy, Cheeseburger, CPA, Alex Zayne, Marcus Mathers, Dark Sheik, Edith Surreal, Jamie Senegal, Mercedes Martinez, Kaplan, Brandon Kirk, 1 Called Manders, Sawyer Wreck, Kasey Catal, Tank, Monomoth, Sam Stackhouse, Beastman, Viva Van, Grim Reefer, Fuego Del Sol, Cole Radrick, Alec Price, Big Vin, Lance Scaper, Kurt Bale, Man Like DeReiss, American Giant, Silver Potato, Dr. Cube, Double Unicorn Dark, Benny Saint-Hubert, Chiitan☆, Aja Kong, Gringo Loco, Johnny Kashmere, Jordan Oliver, Rina Yamashita, Parrow, Yoshihiko and Nick Gage.

One of the biggest signs that the week has reached the end and it’s time to start going home is whenever GCW holds the Clusterfuck match. The free for all Battle Royal features the most random lineups you will ever see on a wrestling show. Sadly almost the entire DDT and TJPW roster had begun their travels back to Japan by this point but there were still a few entries to keep an eye out for. Shota was the 3rd entrant in the match and got to fight Shane Douglas for a few seconds until he was eliminated by Douglas’ patented Belly To Belly Suplex. Chiitan was one of the biggest surprises, entering the ring while it was filled with other wacky looking fighters in massive costumes. Then right afterwards Aja Kong joined in and destroyed all of those competitors, Chiitan included. The last three wrestlers left in the ring by the end was Gage, Yoshihiko and Microman. Gage attacked Yoshihiko with the pizza cutter before eliminating the doll but at the end, it was Microman who was left standing tall.

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Posted by JamieOD

DDT Around The World – March 2024

April 1, 2024

It’s time! The floodgates are open and there is loads of international wrestling to talk about in regards to our buddies in DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro. March was the busiest month Konosuke Takeshita had in ages with some big matches that can be added to his Best Of collection. Maki Itoh made up for lost time in GCW and hit it big by winning one of their championships. CDK went to wrestle in the Phillipines for the first time together. Daisuke Sasaki fitted in a late weekend trip to Mexico before he moves on to the DDT USA show. If that’s not enough, the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title even saw some action in America.

So next up comes the avalanche of wrestling that is Wrestlemania week. Both DDT and TJPW have shows going on in Philadelphia in the upcoming days. Full intro guides for their shows will be posted on this site tomorrow. A few wrestlers will be popping up here and there throughout the week. When that’s done there is even more stuff to follow. Kazusada Higuchi has a US booking coming up. Miyu Yamashita, now without a championship, will begin a two month tour of America. Itoh will always have trips with GCW to look forward to. Plus other joshi like Mizuki, Yuki Kamifuku and Hyper Misao have their own plans lined up as we head towards the summertime.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 13/03/2024 (Aired 15/03/2024)
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) Vs Komander (w/ Alex Abrahantes)


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 20/03/2024
Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) Vs Rocky Romero


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 27/03/2024
Centre Videotron, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) Vs Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana)

Video starts at 1:24:45
MÁS LUCHA “NACCÍ PERRO, NACÍ PARA SER ELEGIDO”, 31/03/2024
Arena Azteca Budokan, Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico

1. Cirujano Jr. Vs Panic Clown Vs Halloween Jr. Vs Kundra Vs El Fiscal Vs Daisuke Sasaki

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Results


GCW “PROJECT GCW”, 01/03/2024
Pop’s NightClub, Sauget, Illinois, USA

1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh defeated Ciclope & Miedo Extremo when Gage pinned Ciclope with a Top Rope Piledriver through a Door (9:55).

Maki Death Kill wasted no time at the start of the month. They fought Los Macizos in a chaotic match. Miedo Extremo gave Itoh a slap across the face early that made her start crying but it was only a trap so Itoh could hit him back. Ciclope also riled up Itoh by mimicking her poses. Los Macizos thought they were one step ahead by using forks to counter MDK’s pizza cutters but Nick Gage & Itoh were able to cut them up anyway. Gage was later able to give Ciclope a Piledriver off the top rope through a door for the win.


GCW “KEEP IN TOUCH”, 02/03/2024
Marriott East, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh defeated John Wayne Murdoch & Reed Bentley when Itoh pinned Bentley with the I.S.D. (14:07).

MDK then moved on to fight The Rejects on the next show. Again Itoh faked crying to get the jump on her opponent. This time it was John Wayne Murdoch who fell for it. Itoh ended up arming herself with a stapler and used it to great effect on both Murdoch and Reed Bentley. Murdoch got some revenge by hitting Itoh with a trash can over and over. Gage got rid of Bentley by using the Chokebreaker and then he tackled Murdoch through a table. That set up Itoh to hit Murdoch with the I.S.D. to win the match.


AEW “REVOLUTION”, 03/03/2024
Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

1. Will Ospreay defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Hidden Blade (21:57).

Did The Don Callis Family implode? Not really. Callis is feeling so good about his group wiping out all of their targets that he decided it was time for his two best wrestlers to fight each other on PPV just to rub it in. It was also going to be Will Ospreay’s first AEW match under his full time deal with the company. What followed was a classic match between him and Takeshita, surely one of the best of the year. Even though Takeshita lost he wasn’t out of the title chase yet. Ospreay has other plans on his mind for now and the performance gave Takeshita another path towards fighting for the No. 1 Contendership.


GCW “ASHES TO ASHES”, 09/03/2024
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. GCW Extreme Title – Scramble Match: Maki Itoh defeated Joey Janela (c), Jack Cartwheel, Alex Zayne, Marcus Mathers and Broski Jimmy when Itoh pinned Mathers with a Spinning DDT (7:32).
*Joey Janela fails in V7. Maki Itoh becomes the 10th GCW Extreme Champion!

Itoh’s next GCW appearance was revealed to be in a 6 Way Scramble match with Joey Janela putting his GCW Extreme Title on the line. The finishing stretch saw Marcus Mathers crushing Janela with a 450 Splash only for Itoh to run in and drop him with a Spinning DDT to get the pin out of nowhere and become the new champion!


GCW “SO MUCH FUN”, 10/03/2024
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Nick Gage, Matt Tremont & Maki Itoh Vs Effy, Allie Katch & Dark Sheik ended in a No Contest when Mance Warner interfered (17:08).

The day after Itoh won her championship she teamed up with Gage & Matt Tremont to form Maki Death Kill Club. Their match against Thrussy ended up getting thrown out when Mance Warner interfered and attacked members of both teams. He is currently in a bloody feud with Effy so that storyline took precedence and Itoh had no involvement with the finish.


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 13/03/2024 (Aired 15/03/2024)
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Komander (w/ Alex Abrahantes) with the Modified Falcon Arrow (9:39).

The next two weeks had Takeshita wrestling on Rampage to build up his win-loss record. First he defeated Komander, using a Spinning Falcon Arrow to win the match. It also looked like he shook the fallen luchador’s hand after the match. Was it a show of good sportsmanship at a time when Takeshita shies away from that sort of thing under his manager’s watch?


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 20/03/2024
Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Rocky Romero with the Modified Falcon Arrow (8:54).

The next week Takeshita defeated Rocky Romero, again using the Spinning Falcon Arrow. It’s a bit funny that Takeshita finally got to wrestle a few people connected to New Japan this month. Romero was with the company in 2016 perhaps he has some info on what actually happened between NJPW and DDT back then? Ha ha ha…


DEXCON “WRESTLE STORM”, 24/03/2024
Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines

1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Jake De Leon & Ravena when Takanashi pinned Ravena after the Thrust Kick & Praying Mantis Bomb Combo (?:??).
*V1 for CDK.

A new month means a new place in Asia for Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi to wrestle in. They went over to the Philippines for a wrestling promotion called Dexcon. CDK put the SETUP World Tag Team Titles against the team known as Oro Plata Mata. CDK scored the win and successful defence so they were free to celebrate with some drinks after the show.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 27/03/2024
Centre Videotron, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

1. Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana) defeated Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) with the Big Pressure (19:39).

No. 1 Contendership for the AEW World Title was up for grabs when Takeshita fought the highly fancied Swerve Strickland. It was another great match between two fantastic wrestlers. Takeshita almost had an answer for all of Swerve’s attacks. He even kicked out of the Swerve Stomp. However Strickland landed another Double Stomp when Takeshita tried to pop him up into the air. At a time when Takeshita adopted several of Naruki Doi’s moves to use in America, how ironic is it that he lost to Strickland’s version of the Muscular Bomb?


HAKUNA MATATA LUCHAS “HOMENAJE A REY BALSAS”, 30/03/2024
Unidad Habitacional de Fovissste, Puebla, Mexico

1. Karma I & Karma II (2) defeated Kurama & Daisuke Sasaki (1).

Just a few days before DDT reaches America, Daisuke Sasaki decided to travel a week early. He went to Mexico and got himself a couple of lucha libre bookings. I thought it would be impossible to find his first match at Hakuna Matata Luchas but it turns out I should have had no worries because a video of it appeared on Facebook. Sasaki an his tag partner Kurama beat Karma I & Karma II in the first fall with a Diving Body Press and Diving Elbow Drop. Then Karma II (I checked to make sure Karma I wore the golden boots and Karma II wore the silver) used a Llave Crucifix Hold to pin Sasaki for the second fall. The final fall went to the tecnicos when I vaulted II into Kurama & Sasaki like a cannonball into the corner. That resulted in Karma I & II pinning both of them for the victory.


MÁS LUCHA “NACCÍ PERRO, NACÍ PARA SER ELEGIDO”, 31/03/2024
Arena Azteca Budokan, Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico

1. Perros del Mal Light Heavyweight Title: Panic Clown defeated Cirujano Jr. , Halloween Jr., Kundra, El Fiscal and Daisuke Sasaki when Clown submitted Sasaki with a Modified Cross Hammerlock (?:??).
*Panic Clown becomes the new Perros del Mal Light Heavyweight Champion!

Sasaki also took part in a show hosted by Más Lucha. He was put into a 6 Way match with the vacant Perros del Mal Light Heavyweight. The Luchawiki has 2016 as the last time the title was active but I’m not sure even The Cubs Fan himself believes if that is accurate. In a wild match with plenty of dives and some violence involving chairs, Sasaki ended up on the losing end. He did a Diving Cross Body onto Panic Clown but Clown rolled over on top of him and put Sasaki in a Cross Hammerlock kind of submission hold to make him tap out.

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Iron Man Title In USA


WEST COAST PRO “MARVELOUS COAST”, 23/03/2024
United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, USA

1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Sayaka Unagi (c) defeated Hyan with the Dai Fuhen Mono Ki (9:55).
1a. Sparky Ballard defeated Sayaka Unagi (c) with a School Boy.
*Sparky Ballard becomes the 1,616th champion.
1b. Ref Gil defeated Sparky Ballard (c) with a School Boy.
*Ref Gil becomes the 1,617th champion.
1c. Hyan defeated Ref Gil (c) with the Spear.
*Hyan becomes the 1,618th champion.
1d. Sayaka Unagi defeated Hyan (c) with the Dai Fuhen Mono Ki (9:55).
*Sayaka Unagi becomes the 1,619th champion.

For the first time this year the Iron Man Title made its way over to America. It is one of the many championships currently being held by Sayaka Unagi and West Coast Pro decided Hyan would be a good challenger for her. Unagi struggled to beat Hyan and the growing frustration caused her to shove the referee Sparky Ballard after a disputed nearfall. In the heat of the moment Ballard decided to take things in his own hands so when Unagi turned her back on him he gave her a School Boy and counted to three. He was now the new Iron Man Champion! Then things went nutty when another official affectionately known as Ref Gil got into the ring with a third referee and he pinned Ballard with a School Boy to take the title off of him! Gil’s reign did not last long because Hyan gave him the Spear and pinned him to win the title. Her match with Unagi continued from there and Unagi won to ensure the championship went back to her. She continued to wrestle in America that week and did not lose any matches so there were no further title changes in America. At least none that DDT knows of. She lost a match to Janai Kai in MLW a few days ago but that company gets away with a lot of stuff because nobody likes paying attention to them. That forced Unagi and DDT to come up with a story that she lost the Iron Man Title to a “Strange Foreigner” before the match happened. She then allegedly found the “Strange Foreigner” some time after the match to win it back.

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Upcoming Appearances


CIRCLE 6 “NEW FEAR CITY”, 03/04/2024
The Fire, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Chris Brookes Vs X
2. MAO Vs X

Let’s get started with Wrestlemania Week! Out of all the DDT wrestlers heading to Philadelphia it will be MAO who has the lion’s share of bookings. On the Wednesday night he and Chris Brookes are both going to a No Ring show held at a nightclub by Circle 6. It’s a dangerous way to begin one of the most schedule intense weeks of the wrestling calander.


DEFY “CAN’T DENY IT”, 04/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos Vs MAO & Mike Bailey

Thursday is even nuttier. MAO has four bookings in one day! It begins with a DEFY show where MAO and Mike Bailey reunite as Moonlight Express to face another team getting back together. Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos get to wrestle together as CDK for the first time in a long while. A lot of things have changed since. Lykos now wrestles unmasked and he is currently the Progress World Champion.


SHP/LOL “EUPHORIA”, 04/04/2024
Attic Brewing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Matt Makowski Vs MAO

When the DEFY match is done with MAO then goes over to another venue where he will wrestle Matt Makowski. On paper that sounds like a straight forward match but some really wacky things have happened at Sean Henderson Presents shows in the past. Don’t let your guard down.


DDT “DDT GOES PHILADELPHIA!”, 04/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Nick Wayne & Takeshi Masada
2. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos Vs Bryan Keith & Shota
3. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Yoshihiko
4. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Andrew “The Giant” Everett
5. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Shunma Katsumata
6. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Mike Bailey
7. DDT Universal Title – No Rules Match: MAO (c) Vs Billie Starkz

As soon as the preview for this show is posted you can find it by clicking here.


GCW/JCW “GCW/JCW VS THE WORLD”, 04/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Shota Vs X
2. 4 Way Tag Match: Ciclope & Miedo Extremo Vs Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman Vs Man Like DeReiss & Leon Slater Vs MAO & Yoshihiko

The final show of the day if you go by the starting time being in the very last minute (yeah right like it won’t be delayed). GCW and its sister promotion JCW have invited the world to take them on. MAO & Yoshihiko will be joining forces to enter a 4 Way Tag Match against GCW’s top team from Mexico Los Macizos, the wXw duo from Germany Amboss and Britain’s own Boisterous Behaviour from NORTH Wrestling.

Also on the show is Shota taking his first independent booking since going freelance from Ganbare☆Pro. His match has not been announced yet. Since this is a GCW show it will probably be a Scramble Match since there are a bunch of other wrestlers also advertised with no match yet.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN PHILLY”, 05/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Hyper Misao Vs Billie Starkz
2. Shoko Nakajima Vs Rhio
3. Yuki Aino & Raku Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Viva Van
4. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Nao Kakuta & Zara Zakher
5. Mizuki & Vert Vixen Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
6. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe

As soon as the preview for this show is posted you can find it by clicking here.


GCW “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK 8”, 05/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh Vs Danhausen & Ram Kaichow

While Itoh went back to Japan to wrestle for TJPW again, Gage went and teamed with Danhausen to challenge for the GCW Tag Team Titles. They lost and Danhausen blamed the result on Gage. That caused Gage to come up with a challenge. He and Itoh will fight Danhausen and a partner of his choice at some point during The Collective. All signs pointed towards the annual Spring Break show as the destination for the match. Then Joey Janela broke the news that Danhausen chose Ram Kaichow to be his teammate! Itoh and Kaichow have never crossed paths in the ring before because Kaichow’s TJPW appearances are often contained within the Rakuverse.


GCW/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GCW VS TJPW”, 06/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Suzume Vs Pom Harajuku
2. Session Moth Martina Vs Raku
3. Dark Sheik Vs Yuki Kamifuku
4. Steph De Lander Vs Hyper Misao
5. Shazza McKenzie Vs Arisu Endo
6. Sawyer Wreck & Allie Katch Vs Mizuki & Nao Kakuta
7. Billie Starkz & Janai Kai Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
8. Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Rina Yamashita, Masha Slamovich & Maki Itoh Vs Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino

As soon as the preview for this show is posted you can find it by clicking here. Expect a partial change to one of the matches because Sawyer Wreck broke her hand last weekend and won’t be able to wrestle.


GCW “JJSB: CLUSTERF*CK FOREVER!”, 06/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Clusterfuck Match: X Vs X

I’m including this because there are apparently going to be 88 contestants entering this year’s annual Clusterfuck Match. Surely that means the odds are good for some DDT or TJPW entries showing up in it. Or maybe Itoh will have an Extreme Title defence? Either way this will probably be it for their involvement at WrestleMania Week.


WEST COAST PRO “CHRIS HERO’S PRO WRES MIXTAPE”, 14/04/2024
Don Quixote Event Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Kazusada Higuchi Vs X

West Coast Pro cards have been put together by Chris Hero for a while now but I wouldn’t call any of them vanity shows. I can with this one because it has his name on it right there.


PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 8”, 14/04/2024
Roseland Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. Kylie Rae Vs Miyu Yamashita

After Mania Week is done and everyone in TJPW head back home to Japan, Yamashita will be staying behind. Her latest tour of America will last until June. The first match announced for her stay is a first time match against Kylie Rae. For Rae it will be a big match for her since she only just recently returned to pro wrestling.


UPRISING “UPRISING: WOMEN ATHLETES 2”, 19/04/2024
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Hyan

Can Yamashita get her win back from Hyan?


DREAMWAVE “ANNIVERSARY IX”, 20/04/2024
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Yamashita will be at DREAMWAVE the next night. Her opponent will be somebody out of the Uprising lineup to be determined after that show takes place.


GCW “HOW HIGH”, 20/04/2024
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Itoh will be bouncing back and forth between Japan and America again as Spring heads into Summer.


PRESTIGE/PRIDE STYLE “PRIDE & PRESTIGE”, 26/04/2024
Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

The announcements for Yamashita’s matches in America are coming thick and fast.


DAIKAIJU PRO “VOL. 2 – KAPPAS COUNTERATTACK”, 27/04/2024
White Eagle, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

1. Hyper Misao Vs Ultramantis Black

The first Daikaiju Pro event featured Shoko Nakajima so it only makes sense for the second show to feature her Kyoraku Kyomei tag partner Hyper Misao! She was teased as being “Project M” being brought in to deal with the calamity that is seemingly going on over there. Her impending arrival has caused the great and devious Ultramantis Black to step forward and dare to meet her face to face on the battlefield!


VPW “SAIGON SLAM”, 04/05/2024
VAIB Studios, Vietnam

1. VPW Women’s Title: Alexis Lee Vs Yuki Kamifuku

Yuki Kamifuku will be heading over to Vietnam Pro Wrestling in a bid to become the company’s first Women’s Champion. Her opponent is somebody she’s become familiar with. She and Alexis Lee have fought each other for the Queen Of Asia Title a couple of times and in their last match Kamifuku beat Lee to become the champion. Will she do the same here or can Lee take this new title as revenge for losing the other one?


SETUP “CLASH OF THE TITANS”, 25/05/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Matcha (c) Vs Monomoth Vs Mizuki

Over in Thailand Mizuki has a chance to win a championship over there. She is part of a 3 Way Match with the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title on the line. Matcha is the defending champion and Monomoth is the other challenger.


MAW “LIFT BRIDGE BASH 4”, 08/06/2024
Lift Bridge Brewing Company, Stillwater, Minnesota, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Laynie Luck

Yamashita’s first match back in Japan will be on 15th June. So at the moment her match against Laynie Luck at Midwest All-Star Wrestling looks like it will be her last booking for the tour.

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Posted by JamieOD

DDT Around The World – February 2024

March 1, 2024

I can feel it in the air, the road towards Wrestlemania Week has begun. There’s not too much to talk about what happened in February but the announcements for what’s going down in Philadelphia this April are beginning to drip out. Konosuke Takeshita is getting set to be the welcoming party for AEW’s newest big signing, Miyu Yamashita has another American tour on the way and Maki Itoh is back in action with a return to GCW coming very soon. That’s not all, Mizuki Watase is going to be in Philly that week and is currently looking for bookings. I hope he gets some because the few matches he was able to do last year I thought got him over in the venues. His problem seems to be a lack of international coverage for his body of work in Japan. You have to see him in action to get him.

The other story of the month is MAO and Yoshihiko’s European tour. They kept it short and sweet with only two bookings in a weekend but it seems to have done wonders for MAO. He’s been booming with confidence ever since and it shows with his recent DDT performances. I can’t put my finger on what exactly made him improve lately but he has put it all together in a complete package that makes him stand out. He is his own wrestler that is able to make his style adapt to his opponent and the environment they are in. He did good with the American indies last year and I would love to see him break out even higher on the scene in 2024.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 07/02/2024
Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

1. Chris Jericho Vs Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis)

Video starts at 2:55:30 for the angle. Match begins at 2:59:27.
WEST COAST PRO “UNDER THE BRIDGE”, 18/02/2024
Don Quixote Event Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Chris Hero, Konosuke Takeshita & Titus Alexander Vs Adrian Quest, Danny Rose & Ricky Gee


AEW “COLLISION”, 24/02/2024
Great Southern Bank Arena, Springfield, Missouri, USA

1. Bryan Danielson Vs Jun Akiyama

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Results


BZW “X”, 03/02/2024
Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France

1. MAO & Yoshihiko defeated MBM & Ultima Sombra (?:??).

The European trip started out in France where MAO & Yoshihiko defeated Rivality in BZW. I think the promotion was originally called BodyZoi Wrestling but then changed their name to Banger Zone Wrestling. Anyway Yoshihiko ended up needing a neck brace after it was put through a table. It got its own back by giving both MBM & Ultima Sombra a Double Low Blow and a Double Choke Slam.


TNT EXTREME “MERSEYSIDE MASSACRE”, 04/02/2024
Hanger34, Liverpool, England

1. Fatal 4 Way: Yoshihiko defeated Jordan Oliver, Leon Slater and MAO (?:??).

The next night MAO and Yoshihiko made it to England for a TNT Extreme show. They weren’t teaming together this time. Instead they were opponents along with Jordan Oliver and Leon Slater in a Fatal 4 Way match. Neither of them escaped the match unscathed. Yoshihiko was thrown from the ring into the balcony only to dive out of there onto everyone back in the ring! It ended up winning the match but still needed medical help over concerns it suffered a concussion. MAO got a medical check-up too but he was fine as long as he got some beer.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 07/02/2024
Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Chris Jericho with the Walls Of Takeshita (13:51).

Takeshita got his win back from Chris Jericho in a rematch from DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2023” last November. This time Takeshita had counters for a lot of Jericho’s moves. He avoided the Walls Of Jericho and after some struggle repositioned himself to Wheelbarrow Suplex his opponent. He stopped Jericho from doing the Lionsault, grabbing him from the ropes to do a Blue Thunder Bomb instead. He also avoided a top rope Frankensteiner to do a Super Blue Thunder Bomb too! Jericho finally caught Takeshita in the Walls Of Jericho but that was when Don Callis came into play. He slid a chair into the ring to distract the ref and then hit Jericho in the head with a screwdriver. Takeshita took advantage by putting Jericho in the Walls Of Takeshita, dragging him into the middle of the ring to make him tap out!


WEST COAST PRO “UNDER THE BRIDGE”, 18/02/2024
Don Quixote Event Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Chris Hero, Konosuke Takeshita & Titus Alexander defeated Adrian Quest, Danny Rose & Ricky Gee (20:56).

A match between Chris Hero and Adrian Quest over at West Coast Pro ended in a No Contest when Danny Rose & Ricky Gee interfered and attacked Hero. Titus Alexander came to Hero’s aid but the numbers game by Quest and Los Suavecitos eventually overwhelmed them. Who would come out to the rescue but Konosuke Takeshita! After he cleared the ring with Elbow Strikes an impromptu 6-Man Tag Match broke out. After the match Hero told a story back from around 2007 about him going to see an Osaka Pro show during a tour with NOAH. He wanted to take a tour of the venue but wasn’t allowed do it by himself. So a 10 year old Takeshita had to chaperone him around the building!


AEW “COLLISION”, 24/02/2024
Great Southern Bank Arena, Springfield, Missouri, USA

1. Bryan Danielson defeated Jun Akiyama with the Busaiku Knee Kick (15:59).

AEW’s booking method for Bryan Danielson lately is to book him against a who’s who of the wrestling landscape. He’s been in the ring with the likes of Yuji Nagata, luchadors from CMLL and the latest one was Jun Akiyama. This match had extra spice to it because Eddie Kingston was at ringside and he admires Akiyama greatly. So of course Danielson would have some fun getting to beat up Kingston’s hero right in front of him. However Akiyama put up a big fight, clashing Knee Strike to Knee Strike. It couldn’t last though and Danielson ultimately got his hand raised in the end. He shook Akiyama’s hand after the match only to give him a Low Blow. An angry Kingston attacked Danielson which brought out Claudio Castagnoli and then FTR for a little brawl before things calmed down.

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Upcoming Appearances


GCW “PROJECT GCW”, 01/03/2024
Pop’s NightClub, Sauget, Illinois, USA

1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh Vs Ciclope & Miedo Extremo

Itoh returns to America and making up for lost time. She is going to spend most of the month wrestling with Nick Gage so there is going to be a lot of Maki Death Kill for everybody! First up the duo takes on Los Macizos. Itoh’s streak of doing death matches without having to take any actual bumps through glass will be at risk here.


GCW “KEEP IN TOUCH”, 02/03/2024
Marriott East, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh Vs John Wayne Murdoch & Reed Bentley

Then the next night Maki Death Kill face The Rejects.


AEW “REVOLUTION”, 03/03/2024
Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

1. Will Ospreay Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Yeah this is going to be awesome. Don Callis has become so satisfied with how things are turning out for himself and the Don Callis Family in AEW that he is now going to make his own wrestlers fight each other because there is no one else on their level. Takeshita is going to be Will Ospreay’s first opponent now that Ospreay is signed full time to AEW. Expectations are going to be high, high, high for this one.


GCW “ASHES TO ASHES”, 09/03/2024
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Nothing announced yet for Itoh’s third GCW appearance of the month. Gage is busy fighting Ryuji Ito at that show.


GCW “SO MUCH FUN”, 10/03/2024
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Nick Gage, Matt Tremont & Maki Itoh Vs Effy, Allie Katch & Dark Sheik

But for the fourth appearance she gets to team with Matt Tremont for the first time. Mix together Maki Death Kill with the H8 Club and you get Maki Death Kill Club! Her friendships with Thrussy goes out the window here.


SHP/LOL “EUPHORIA”, 04/04/2024
Attic Brewing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Matt Makowski Vs MAO

The first place you will find a DDT wrestler during WrestleMania week is at a Sean Henderson Presents show. MAO is looking for a lot of bookings in Philadelphia, particularly all on the same day. Three of them have been announced already beginning with this match against Matt Makowski.


DDT “DDT GOES PHILADELPHIA!”, 04/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Yoshihiko

DDT’s first match announcement for their USA show is a doozy. Kazuki Hirata and Yoshihiko bring their dramatic dream match to America!

The other DDT wrestlers announced for the USA show are Yuki Ueno, MAO, Konosuke Takeshita, Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki, Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata, KANON and Takeshi Masada. Also coming in are Mike Bailey, Andrew Everett, Kid Lykos, Nick Wayne, Bryan Keith and Billie Starkz.


GCW/JCW “GCW/JCW VS THE WORLD”, 04/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Yoshihiko Vs X
2. Shota Vs X
3. MAO Vs X

One minute before the clock strikes midnight, GCW and JCW will start taking on the world. MAO, Yoshihiko and a newly freelance Shota will all be there for the action.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN PHILLY”, 05/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Announced so far for TJPW’s USA show are Miyu Yamashita, Yuki Aino, Shoko Nakajima, Rika Tatsumi, Mizuki, Maki Itoh, Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Hyper Misao, Nao Kakuta, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Suzume and Arisu Endo. Joining them are Vert Vixen, Billie Starkz, “The Unbreakable” Rhio, Viva Van, Max The Impaler and Zara Zakher.

Yamashita begins her latest American tour with this show. She will be staying in America for two months, heading back to Japan during the middle of June.


GCW/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GCW VS TJPW”, 06/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

The non-TJPW lineup for this show will not feature most if not any of the women who are booked for the day before. Instead it will all be GCW relevant wrestlers taking mixing it up with the TJPW roster.


PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 8”, 14/04/2024
Roseland Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. Kylie Rae Vs Miyu Yamashita

Prestige has always been a good place for Yamashita to visit during her American tours. Her next appearance will be for a match against Kylie Rae, who has recently returned to wrestling.


UPRISING “UPRISING: WOMEN ATHLETES 2”, 19/04/2024
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Hyan

Back in December DREAMWAVE announced they were spinning off their women’s wrestling shows into its own promotion. Thus Uprising: Women Athletes was born. Yamashita will be showing up for Uprising’s second event to take on Hyan in a rematch from last year’s American summer tour. Yamashita lost to Hyan in New Texas Pro back in May. Now almost a year later they will square off again.


PRESTIGE/PRIDE STYLE “PRIDE & PRESTIGE”, 26/04/2024
Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Who else will Prestige have for her Yamashita in April?


DAIKAIJU PRO “VOL. 2 – KAPPAS COUNTERATTACK”, 27/04/2024
White Eagle, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

1. Hyper Misao Vs X

The debut of Daikaiku Pro featured Shoko Nakajima in the main event. For their second show they promotion said they are going to unleash “Project M”. It turns out Project M is Hyper Misao!

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Posted by JamieOD

DDT Around The World – January 2024

February 1, 2024

Don’t worry everyone, Konosuke Takeshita got to wrestle a bit last month! His time spent in AEW during January was matches involving Darby Allin but by the time the month ended, he is back to targeting Chris Jericho for an upcoming rematch of their “ULTIMATE PARTY 2023” bout. Tokyo Joshi Pro had some more involvement with Major League Wrestling. Another noteworthy thing is Yukio Sakaguchi on the verge of retirement having his last wrestling match in Taiwan. We also got updates on DDT and TJPW for their shows during Wrestlemania Week coming up in April.

Other schedules went pear-shaped last month due to injuries and illnesses. Maki Itoh had to cancel her American dates in order to take time off for recovery reasons. The good news is she will be back wrestling again near the end of February and will return to the American indies in March. Chris Brookes getting surgery to remove a tumor from his abdomen prevented him from travelling around Southeast Asia with Masahiro Takanashi. It’s a more quiet month than usual because of Itoh and Brookes being absent. Only going to make things busier when they get back to normal.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 03/01/2024
Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA

1. Darby Allin Vs Konosuke Takeshita


Video starts at 44:10
MLW “RELOAD”, 06/01/2024
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Nao Kakuta Vs Moka Miyamoto


AEW “DYNAMITE – HOMECOMING”, 10/01/2024
Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA

1. Tornado Tag Match: Darby Allin & Sting Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Powerhouse Hobbs (w/ Don Callis)


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 26/01/2024
Enmarket Arena, Savannah, Georgia, USA

1. Christopher Daniels Vs Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis)

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Results


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 03/01/2024
Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Darby Allin with the Powerdrive Knee (12:50).

Takeshita throwing Allin around the ring was so much fun he got to do it even more this month. Allin got his licks in too with a top rope Stunner and a few dives. But Takeshita blocked the Coffin Drop with his knees, fought off a dead leg to German Suplex Allin across the ring. He then turned him inside out with a Lariat, kicked his face off with a Helluva Kick and then German Suplex him off the top rope. Takeshita finished him off with the Powerdrive Knee. More of this please!


MLW “KINGS OF COLOSSEUM”, 06/01/2024
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Nao Kakuta defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Shiden Kai (6:23).
2. MLW World Featherweight Title: Janai Kai (c) (w/ Salina de la Renta & Jesus Rodriguez) defeated Hyper Misao with the Demon Clutch (7:15).
*V3 for Janai Kai.

Several TJPW wrestlers went to New York to compete at MLW’s latest supershow. Hyper Misao got a shot at the MLW World Featherweight Title, becoming the second TJPW wrestler in a row to challenge Janai Kai for the belt. She brought along the Combat Bike and cycled around the outside of the ring to hit Kai with a Lariat. Salina de la Renta stood on the apron to distract Misao but got sprayed in the face for her troubles. The distraction still worked though because Misao turned around into the Tornado Kick from Kai and she then gave up to the Demon Clutch Dragon Sleeper.

TJPW also provided an exhibition match between Nao Kakuta and Moka Miyamoto. Kakuta won the match but afterwards Miyamoto was approached in the ring by Love Doug. He wanted to ask her out for dinner and she said yes.


AEW “DYNAMITE – HOMECOMING”, 10/01/2024
Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA

1. Tornado Tag Match: Darby Allin & Sting (w/ Ric Flair) defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Powerhouse Hobbs (w/ Don Callis) when Sting pinned Hobbs with the Scorpion Death Drop through a Table (9:53).

And we did get more of this! Takeshita’s AEW debut took place in Daily’s Place during the pandemic so it meant a lot to him to be in a Dynamite main event there. It was a wild Tornado Tag match that also dragged Don Callis and Ric Flair into the ring. The fighting went over to the entrance where Allin hit a Coffin Drop from a bleacher onto Takeshita, taking the two of them out of action. Powerhouse Hobbs carried Sting over to a stage with the intention of putting him through a table. But Sting reversed it and gave Hobbs the Scorpion Death Drop off the stage through the table instead.


SPW “CHAMPIONS NEVER YIELD 2”, 19/01/2024
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Queen Of Asia No. 1 Contender Match: Mizuki defeated Alexis Lee (?:??).
2. SPW Southeast Asia Tag Team Titles: Da Butcherman & Dr. Gore defeated HARASHIMA & Masahiro Takanashi (c) (?:??).
*The Horrors become the 11th SPW Southeast Asia Tag Team Champions!

CDK’s plans for the month were changed because of Brookes’ health issues. Takanashi had to find some replacement tag partners for his matches in Singapore and Thailand. Over in Singapore Pro Wrestling Takanashi still had to defend the SPW Southeast Asia Tag Team Titles without Brookes. The good news was HARASHIMA agreed to join him as a substitute so the match against The Horrors could go ahead. The makeshift team couldn’t pull it off though. CDK’s long reign with the titles were ended by Da Butcherman & Dr. Gore.

Also on the show was a No. 1 Contenders match for the Queen Of Asia Title. The championship currently belongs to Yuki Kamifuku and is being kept with her in TJPW. The former champion Alexis Lee needed to beat Mizuki in order to get a rematch. However Mizuki was too much for her to handle and it will instead be Mizuki who is getting the next shot. It’s possible that match will happen at a TJPW show in Japan rather than in Singapore for SPW but we’ll have to wait and see what gets announced.


NTW “THE GOD’S RIGHT KNEE RETURNS”, 20/01/2024
Xingren Road, Zhongli District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan

1. Special Single Match: THE JOKER defeated Yukio Sakaguchi (8:00).

During Sakaguchi’s announcement about his retirement plans he mentioned one of his remaining matches was taking place in Taiwan. It was for New Taiwan Entertainment Wrestling and was put together when Sakaguchi was challenged by THE JOKER in December. THE JOKER is someone who Sakaguchi fought years previously and he holds Sakaguchi is high esteem. The match meant even more for him because Sakaguchi gave him his ring robe as a gift afterwards.


SETUP “BANGKOK SHOWDOWN”, 20/01/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. 3 Way Tag Match: Kevin Weng & Pondhub defeated Masahiro Takanashi & Rubber Man and Anont Alonzo & Mister Suchart (?:??).

Takanashi needed to find another partner over in Thailand for the SETUP show. Oddly enough Sanshiro Takagi was in the area visiting for business reasons but he wasn’t available to take part. Instead Takanashi had to team up with Rubber Man, one of the many monsters that comes from the UMA Corps.


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 24/01/2024 (Aired 26/01/2024)
Enmarket Arena, Savannah, Georgia, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Christopher Daniels with the Powerdrive Knee (3:06).

A little rest to recover from the Tornado Tag match put Takeshita back on track. His next match was a win against Christopher Daniels, an opponent he previously faced on a AEW branded ring in Japan. He countered the Angel’s Wings into the Implant and then turned that into a German Suplex. All that was left to do was hit the Powerdrive Knee for the victory.

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Upcoming Appearances


BZW “X”, 03/02/2024
Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France

1. MBM & Ultima Sombra Vs MAO & Yoshihiko

Travel buddies MAO and Yoshihiko begin their European weekend with Banger Zone Wrestling in France. Their opponents are Rivality, the team of MBM & Ultima Sombra.


TNT EXTREME “MERSEYSIDE MASSACRE”, 04/02/2024
Hanger34, Liverpool, England

1. Fatal 4 Way: Jordan Oliver Vs Leon Slater Vs Yoshihiko Vs MAO

One day later the pair travel to England for TNT Extreme. Even though this booking has been known since December, Yoshihiko still got in trouble with DDT when they booked the doll for their Nagoya show on the same day only to find out it already has this tour organized. DDT warned Yoshihiko not to let this happen again.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 07/02/2024
Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

1. Chris Jericho Vs Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis)

The time has come for the rematch! Chris Jericho defeated Takeshita in DDT last November and Takeshita’s been biding his time to even the score. Go get that win back!


DDT “DDT GOES PHILADELPHIA!”, 04/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Announced so far for DDT’s USA show are Yuki Ueno, MAO, Kazuki Hirata, Konosuke Takeshita, Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki, Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata, KANON, Takeshi Masada and Yoshihiko.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN PHILLY”, 05/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

TJPW are sending over 14 women to Philadelphia for Wrestlemania week. They are Miyu Yamashita, Yuki Aino, Shoko Nakajima, Rika Tatsumi, Mizuki, Maki Itoh, Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Hyper Misao, Nao Kakuta, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Suzume and Arisu Endo.


GCW/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GCW VS TJPW”, 06/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

When GCW put out a blurred image teasing the complete schedule for The Collective I joked the blurred part looked like it said “GCW VS TJPW”. Turns out that’s what it actually is! All 14 TJPW wrestlers above will be part of the crossover show pitting their side against GCW’s female contingent.

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Cancelled Appearances


GCW “NO COMPADRE”, 12/01/2024
Thalia Hall, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Maki Itoh, Effy & Allie Katch Vs Matt Cardona, Steph de Lander & Broski Jimmy

Itoh taking time off for recuperation led to a few cancelled appearances this month. She wasn’t able to team up with Bussy against Deathmatch Royalty for example.


GCW “56 BIRDZ”, 13/01/2024
Valley Dale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Tony Deppen

The world will have to wait another day to see what Itoh wrestling Tony Deppen would be like.


F1RST “WRESTLEPALOOZA – NIGHT 2”, 14/01/2024
First Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Itoh hopes she will get to be at a F1RST show somewhere in the future.


GCW “LOOK AT ME”, 26/01/2024
Egypt Shrine Center, Tampa, Florida, USA

1. 4 Way Match: Allie Katch Vs Maki Itoh Vs Dark Sheik Vs Lindsay Snow

Itoh was replaced by Masha Slamovich on the show and Slamovich ended up winning the match.

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Posted by JamieOD

DDT Around The World – December 2023

January 1, 2024

Happy new year! December featured plenty of CyberFight related appearances in North America. Tokyo Joshi Pro held its second show in USA. They also had two seperate championship matches happening within minutes from each other in two different countries. Konosuke Takeshita remains stuck in AEW limbo, Maki Itoh wrapped up the latest leg of her US bookings, Shota paid a visit to California and MAO partied hard as the end of 2023 counted down to midnight.

So what is there new to expect in 2024 when it comes to international stuff for DDT and its family? I think the focus will be what Yuka Sakazaki will get up to. I will continue following her career using these articles. If she sticks within AEW/ROH then it won’t be much work to see what she gets up to every month. But I want to see her spread out to some of the indies. At least go to Deadlock Pro every now and then. She owes them a match anyway.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


Video starts at 11:02.
MPW “THE LONG NIGHT”, 08/12/2023
MPW Academy, Chatsworth, California, USA

1. Miggy Rose & Michael Hopkins Vs Shota & J2 Mattioli


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 08/12/2023
Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

1. Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal Vs Powerhouse Hobbs & Konosuke Takeshita


DREAMWAVE “GOOD AS GOLD”, 09/12/2023
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita & Emi Sakura Vs Zayda Steel & Maggie Lee


SKYFIRE PRO “NAVIDAD NIGHTMARE”, 10/12/2023
Bay City Brewing Co., San Diego, California, USA

1. Rebel Storm Vs Shota


TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023
The Vermont Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
400 Fans – Super No Vacancy

7. Special Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly


Video starts at 16:20.
MPW “NAUGHTY OR NICE 2023”, 15/12/2023
MPW Academy, Chatsworth, California, USA

1. Shota Vs Jr Mattioli


PANDEMONIUM PRO “HOLIDAY IN LA”, 17/12/2023
Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Mike Bailey Vs Miyu Yamashita


CIRCLE 6 “BARROOM BLITZ”, 31/12/2023
Knucklehead Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Nate Webb

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Results


BLACK LABEL PRO “SLAMILTON”, 02/12/2023
Berwyn Eagles Club, Berwyn, Illinois, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated Rachel Armstrong with the Itoh Deluxe (11:22).

Let’s begin with a show that has become an annual event for Black Label Pro. Six months ago Rachel Armstrong had a match here against Miyu Yamashita so now it was Itoh’s turn to see what the fuss is all about. A naïve Armstrong fell for Itoh’s crocodile tears act but took control using her speed and agility. A Northern Lights Suplex in particular came very close to getting her the win. But Itoh had control for most of the match, trapping Armstrong in the Itoh Special and then building her way up to the Itoh Deluxe to make her tap out.


GCW “WHAT IS YOUR CHOICE?”, 03/12/2023
Roulette Intermedium, Brooklyn, New York, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated Mike Bailey with a Cradle (16:14).

Is this the upset of the year? Mike Bailey learned the hard way not to kick Itoh in the head because it is as hard as iron! When the shock of that wore out, Bailey took her seriously, even pulling out the Flamingo Driver that Itoh kicked out of. His frustration led to his undoing because when he grabbed Itoh’s legs to do a Boston Crab, Itoh twisted over and cradled Bailey for the flash pin! Itoh had to console Bailey after the match because he burst into tears over the result.


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 06/12/2023 (Aired 08/12/2023)
Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

1. Powerhouse Hobbs & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal when Hobbs pinned Daniels with The World’s Most Dangerous Slam (8:38).

What was looking to be Takeshita’s only match of the month was teaming up with Powerhouse Hobbs to beat Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal after the latter tried standing up to The Don Callis Family. During the month Don Callis announced that his unit will now be using “Family Rules” for their tag team matches against Chris Jericho & Kenny Omega going forward, which is just their name for Freebird Rules. The storyline they’re doing is falling apart though because Omega is now out of action indefinitely with diverticulitis.


MYSTERY WRESTLING “MYSTERY WRESTLING 5”, 07/12/2023
Centre Aydelu, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada

1. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) defeated Jody Threat (?:??).
*V3 for Max The Impaler.

There was a surprise International Princess Title match for the fans at this month’s Mystery Wrestling show. Evil Uno runs these events every couple of months, airs them live on his Twitch channel and keeps the VOD on his Patreon. Max The Impaler was brought in for a match against Jody Threat and agreed to put the championship on the line. TJPW gave their authorization and recognizes the result as an official title defence.


MLW “ONE-SHOT”, 07/12/2023
Melrose Ballroom, Queens, New York, USA

1. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Delmi Exo with the Skull Kick (9:13).
*V2 for Miyu Yamashita.
2. MLW World Featherweight Title: Janai Kai (c) (w/ Salina de la Renta & Jesus Rodriguez) defeated Maki Itoh with the Modified Dragon Sleeper (7:27).
*V2 for Janai Kai.

Both Itoh and Yamashita were at MLW’s final show of the year, each in a championship match. Itoh was given a big title match against Janai Kai for the MLW World Featherweight Title. She had an unfair disadvantage though because Kai had both Salina de la Renta and Jesus Rodriguez (the former Ricardo Rodriguez from WWE) in her corner to interfere when needed. There was also an unexpected run-in from the masked wrestler Ichiban that distracted Itoh long enough for her to miss a Diving Headbutt. If that wasn’t bad enough, Matt Striker on commentary completely did not understand Itoh’s gimmick. Maybe he had good intentions by trying to put Itoh over as a fighter to be taken seriously but he’s been so bad as a colour commentator for so long he should not get the benefit of the doubt.

Yamashita was at the show to defend the Princess Of Princess Title against Delmi Exo. Her opponent is a former MLW Featherweight Champion and brought her best fight to the match. Yamashita kicked out of the Ocean Cyclone Suplex and got Exo up to the top rope for an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment. Yamashita kept the pressure up and Exo was helpless by the time she was beaten with the Skull Kick. The result helps establish Yamashita’s current title reign being about taking on opponents from around the world. Her next challenger will be back in TJPW on 4th January against Masha Slamovich.


DREAMWAVE “UPRISING”, 08/12/2023
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Shazza McKenzie with the Skull Kick (10:59).

Over to DREAMWAVE where Yamashita appeared on a weekend of shows for them. The first one was an all women’s event where Yamashita beat Shazza McKenzie in a rematch from their ROH bout from earlier this year. DREAMWAVE later announced they will be spinning off a new all women’s wrestling promotion called Uprising: Women’s Athletes so don’t be surprised to see Yamashita show up there in 2024.


MPW “THE LONG NIGHT”, 08/12/2023
MPW Academy, Chatsworth, California, USA

1. Miggy Rose & Michael Hopkins defeated Shota & J2 Mattioli when Rose & Hopkins pinned Mattioli with a Sunset Flip & Body Press (?:??).

Shota spent the month of December travelling over to America again for a short tour. Just like last year, Shota found went to the obscure end of the US indies including Millennium Pro Wrestling who welcomed him back with open arms. Shota teamed with one of his opponents from the last excursion, J2 Mattioli to take on a team called 24K. Sadly the team lost when Miggy Rose & Michael Hopkins used a double team Sunset Flip to pin Mattioli. Afterwards Mattioli apologised to Shota for losing and then challenged him to a singles match for the following week. Shota accepted and shook his hand.


DREAMWAVE “GOOD AS GOLD”, 09/12/2023
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita & Emi Sakura defeated Zayda Steel & Maggie Lee when Sakura pinned Steel with the Double Arm Backbreaker (8:02).

There was a small change to the match when one of the original opponents Zamaya was bumped up to the semi-main event for the DREAMWAVE Women’s Title. So Yamashita & Emi Sakura instead found themselves teaming up against Zayda Steel and Zamaya’s replacement Maggie Lee. A lot of the match was Steel & Lee working on Yamashita so Sakura can get the hot tag. Still it’s not everyday you get to see Sakura & Yamashita teaming together. They won when Sakura gave Steel the Double Arm Backbreaker and Yamashita gave Lee the Attitude Adjustment, leading to a double pin.


EWF “PRO WRESTLING LUCHA LIBRE”, 09/12/2023
VFW Post 8737, San Bernardino, California, USA

1. EWF Vs The World: Kid Noah defeated Shota (?:??).

An outdoor show held in December doesn’t sound that pleasant even if it’s in California. Shota wrestled twice outdoors during the tour. The first one was at Empire Wrestling Federation where he lost to Kid Noah.


GCW “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM 2”, 09/12/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Johnny Game Changer & Taya Valkyrie defeated Nick Gage & Maki Itoh (17:42).

Itoh’s last GCW appearance of the year had Maki Death Kill back together to take on the husband and wife team of Johnny Game Changer & Taya Valkyrie. The match went from a normal two vs two tag into a brawl with chairs and doors being used as weapons. Valkyrie put Nick Gage through one of the doors and then tried giving Itoh the Road To Valhalla. Itoh countered it into a Roll Up but Valkyrie then blocked the counter and grabbed onto Itoh’s tights to pin her for the three count. Itoh demanded a singles match against Valkyrie afterwards.


SKYFIRE PRO “NAVIDAD NIGHTMARE”, 10/12/2023
Bay City Brewing Co., San Diego, California, USA

1. Rebel Storm defeated Shota with the Thunderstruck (?:??).

Shota’s second outdoor match of the month was for Skyfire Pro Lucha Libre. He tried his best to outwrestle his opponent but Rebel Storm stopped him in his tracks with a Headbutt followed by the Twist Of Fate that he calls Thunderstruck.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023
The Vermont Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
400 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku defeated Rika Tatsumi & Amira when Harajuku pinned Amira after the Wasteland War Justice with Max (10:20).
2. Trish Adora defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Lariat (8:42).
3. Mizuki defeated Sandra Moone with the Cutie Special (10:21).
4. Miu Watanabe defeated Hyan with the Tear Drop (8:33).
5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta (c) defeated Janai Kai & Shazza McKenzie when Noa pinned McKenzie with the Blizzard Suplex (9:42).
*V3 for Free WiFi.
6. Taya Valkyrie defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Road To Valhalla (10:47).
7. Special Tag Match: Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly defeated Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh when Slamovich pinned Yamashita with the White Knight Driver (18:00).

The show report can be found here.


MPW “NAUGHTY OR NICE 2023”, 15/12/2023
MPW Academy, Chatsworth, California, USA

1. J2 Mattioli defeated Shota with the Playmaker Lariat (?:??).

The match between Shota and Mattioli was a mostly friendly back and forth match between the two. Mattioli ended up using his Playmaker Lariat to win, capping off a year he was really happy with.


PANDEMONIUM PRO “HOLIDAY IN LA”, 17/12/2023
Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Keita defeated Shota (?:??).
2. Miyu Yamashita defeated Mike Bailey with the Skull Kick (?:??).

Okay so this month we found out that Bailey’s weakness is Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers. He lost to Itoh in GCW and here in Pandemonium Pro he lost clean to Yamashita! There were no tears in this one, instead these two tried to kick the tar out of each other!

Shota completed his USA tour by making Pandemonium Pro his final stop. Originally he was going to face Vinnie Massaro but that guy is busy living it up on a NOAH tour right now. So Shota was given the newcomer Keita as a replacement opponent. Keita made the most of this opportunity and beat the more experienced Shota.


AEW “WORLDS END”, 30/12/2023
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York, USA

1. Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Sting & Darby Allin defeated Ricky Starks, Big Bill, Powerhouse Hobbs & Konosuke Takeshita when Guevara pinned Starks with a Shooting Star Press (15:42).

What a mess this storyline has turned out to be. Omega falling ill meant that he and Jericho couldn’t go ahead with challenging Ricky Starks & Big Bill for the AEW World Tag Team Titles so they had to throw in The Don Callis Family, Sting, Darby Allin and the return of Sammy Guevara to make it an 8-Man Tag Match. Takeshita was not part of the lineup when the match was made but then a day later AEW swapped him into the match and took Kyle Fletcher out. Then on the day of the show allegations of Jericho’s past behavior resurfaced online from Nick Hausman as part of Jericho’s online spat with a lawyer with a that could not have been handled any more uglier than it did. Almost everybody except the alleged victim is coming out of it as a bunch of massive scumbags. So come to the part of the show when the match happened and there was an uncomfortable atmosphere that could be felt through the screen as the match went on. I wish I could instead focus on Takeshita getting to wrestle Sting and throw Allin around like he’s Yoshihiko but everyone watching was in a bad mood over what emerged throughout the day.


CIRCLE 6 “KING OF THE DEATHMATCHES”, 30/12/2023
Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. King Of The Deathmatches – Round 1 – Ultraviolent Baptism: Bobby Beverly defeated MAO with the Fisherman DDT (?:??).

How about taking part in a deathmatch tournament to bring out the end of the year? MAO entered the King Of The Deathmatches that was being held by Circle 6 and faced Bobby Beverly in the 1st Round. MAO brought along chairs and plastic boxes but soon smashed lighttubes over his opponent. He also put Beverly through a bunch of chairs with a Double Arm Piledriver and used high flying moves but couldn’t get the win. A triple Low Blow spot that also included the referee brought the match back to an even fight. Wooden skewers were stabbed into each other’s heads and Beverly smashed MAO with lighttubes before pinning him with the Fisherman DDT.


CIRCLE 6 “BARROOM BLITZ”, 31/12/2023
Knucklehead Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) defeated Nate Webb with the Diving Radio Silence from the Bar Counter (?:??).
*V3 for MAO.

MAO stuck around in Circle 6 on New Year’s Eve so he could defend the DDT Universal Title against Spyder Nate Webb. The match went outside to Santa Monica Blvd so they could fight on the street as traffic drove by.

———————————————————————–

Upcoming Appearances


MLW “KINGS OF COLOSSEUM”, 06/01/2024
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Nao Kakuta
2. MLW World Featherweight Title: Janai Kai (c) Vs Hyper Misao

TJPW’s working relationship with MLW continues into the new year. Hyper Misao has been selected to be Kai’s next challenger for the MLW Featherweight Title.

Also happening on the show is a TJPW offer match between Moka Miyamoto and Nao Kakuta. Miyamoto is only just now starting to wrestle abroad while Kakuta has already done it a few times in 2023. The two matches here are a little glimpse of what TJPW in Philadelphia will look like next April.


GCW “NO COMPADRE”, 12/01/2024
Thalia Hall, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Maki Itoh, Effy & Allie Katch Vs Matt Cardona, Steph de Lander & Broski Jimmy

Itoh and Bussy all share grudges with Matt Cardona & Steph de Lander so it was inevitable that Maki Death Bussy would join forces to take on Deathmatch Royalty. The latest development in the story is Cardona forced Jimmy Lloyd to become his new disciple in GCW, turning Lloyd into Broski Jimmy.


GCW “56 BIRDZ”, 13/01/2024
Valley Dale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Tony Deppen

The day after that Itoh will take on Tony Deppen in a first time match. GCW at times have promoted Deppen as their gatekeeper. A win for Itoh here could be a sign of things to come for her in GCW.


F1RST “WRESTLEPALOOZA – NIGHT 2”, 14/01/2024
First Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

No match announced yet for Itoh’s appearance at F1RST.


SPW “CHAMPIONS NEVER YIELD 2”, 19/01/2024
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Mizuki Vs Alexis Lee
2. SPW Southeast Asia Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Da Butcherman & Dr. Gore

In November 2022 CDK defeated The Horrors to win the SPW Southeast Asia Tag Team Titles. Now after more than a year later comes the rematch. Dr. Gore got to wrestle in Japan for a little while and gain some experience while Da Butcherman kept himself busy in Singapore. There is a chance the match might not go ahead because Chris Brookes had surgery this month to remove a tumor from his abdomen. At the time of writing there is no decision made yet on when he can start wrestling again. But even if he can’t make the trip, Masahiro Takanashi still will.

SPW’s own Alexis Lee continues to be the opponent of choice for joshi coming into Singapore. She lost the Queen Of Asia Title to Yuki Kamifuku last month but is looking to bounce right back with a win against Mizuki.


SETUP “BANGKOK SHOWDOWN”, 20/01/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Kevin Weng & Pondhub Vs Anont Alonzo & Mister Suchart

If CDK can go ahead with travelling together in January then they have a tough challenge waiting for them in Thailand. SETUP is making them defend the IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles in a 3 Way Match against St. John Innocent College and THE GOOD DEAL. CDK won the titles from THE GOOD DEAL in an impromptu match bck in October. But even though the former champions are getting a rematch, they have to share it with St. John Innocent College. That kind of multi-man chaos is an environment that CDK benefits from.


GCW “LOOK AT ME”, 26/01/2024
Egypt Shrine Center, Tampa, Florida, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

What will await Itoh in Florida next month?


BZW “X”, 03/02/2024
Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France

1. Yoshihiko Vs X
2. MAO Vs X

MAO is coming to France and he’s brining Yoshihiko with him! Also Minoru Suzuki and KUSHIDA are booked for the show too. Banger Zone Wrestling won’t know what hit them.


TNT EXTREME “MERSEYSIDE MASSACRE”, 04/02/2024
Hanger34, Liverpool, England

1. Yoshihiko Vs X

Yoshihiko heads over to Liverpool the next day for TNT Extreme. Surely not by itself though.


DDT “DDT GOES PHILADELPHIA!”, 04/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

DDT won’t be the only CyberFight presence in Philly that week…


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN PHILLY”, 05/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

… because TJPW is going there too! They will also be part of The Collective which is interesting to note because last time TJPW were with WrestleCon.

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Posted by JamieOD

DramaticDDT’s Predictions For 2024

December 24, 2023

Merry Christmas! I’m giving this another go despite how bad my predictions for 2023 went. What do I think is in store for DDT, Tokyo Joshi Pro, Ganbare☆Pro, BASARA and maybe even CyberFight as a whole? It’s a tricky challenge this time because whenever I try guessing how 2024 will turn out, all I see is murkiness. There’s a weird contradiction in my thoughts about where wrestling is right now. On the one hand there is a status quo where all the companies around the world are positioned that I do not see changing anytime soon. But then there are changes within the companies themselves, some that are so unexpected that I have no idea what the entire scene will look like this time next year. Like of course WWE will be the top company on the planet but what does it turn into next as it finally moves away from Vince McMahon’s ideas and has the most fan goodwill it has probably ever had? AEW badly fell apart this year but the Continental Classic tournament is providing a nice set of building blocks to rebuild the company with. The problem is will Tony Khan want to use those blocks? It doesn’t help that the loudest podcasters in the room are constantly telling everyone that AEW should be more like WWE in the storyline department. That is my biggest pet peeve with wrestling at the moment, by the way. Whenever I hear people say every wrestling show should be a three ringed circus with something for everybody they’re really just saying “go be like WWE”. It’s the same voices that reject other companies for doing things differently.

And then there is Japan’s wrestling scene still trying to re-establish themselves post-pandemic. It’s mostly alright with some brief moments of greatness but there’s not a lot that has really caught my imagination this year compared to the 2010s. Show attendances week to week isn’t inspiring much hope in me either. It seems like homecoming shows and retirement matches can bring in crowds but outside of that a lot of companies are getting dwindling crowd numbers which has me worried. New Japan and Stardom will be fine as long as they can manage themselves properly. 2023 definitely gave Stardom a lot of lessons about show scheduling and injuries but they seem to be learning from it. All Japan discovering success again should also be a sign that there is still an audience out there in Japan that pro wrestling can appeal to. Now let’s see if this United Japan Pro Wrestling alliance is actually going to mean anything substantial.

Before I give you my predictions for 2024, here is how my 2023’s predictions went. Not very good it turns out.

DDT

✓. Mike Bailey wrestles a match in DDT again.
X. KANON outperforms Daisuke Sasaki.
X. Yuya Koroku becomes the next wrestler from DDT’s new generation (debuted 2020 onwards) to win a championship.
✓. Tetsuya Endo struggles to reclaim the top position in DDT.
X. Dramatic Dream Gate is revived.

The first one was by far the easiest prediction to make. It is basically the free spot on a bingo card. DDT going to America guaranteed that Mike Bailey would be on one of their shows. Although I do think the New Japan appearances he also made this year means he’s fully done with DDT in Japan. KANON is slowly getting pushed but I wouldn’t put his work above Daisuke Sasaki’s in 2023. Hideki Okatani was the breakout in the new generation, not Yuya Koroku like I expected. Tetsuya Endo is definitely struggling and I’ll get back to that point later. No Dramatic Dream Gate revival because DDT worked with All Japan instead of Dragongate.

Tokyo Joshi Pro

X. At least 3 women who originally came from Actwres girl’Z will appear in TJPW and at least 1 of them becomes a regular roster member.
X. An outsider wins the Princess Of Princess Title.
X. Maki Itoh gets to No. 1 on a iTunes or Spotify chart somewhere in the world.
X. A woman from Sakisama’s past comes back to haunt her.
X. Sasha Banks appears at Grand Princess ’23.

Oh so now Actwres girl’Z gets their act together and stops leaking talent left, right and centre! TJPW’s roster growth all came from training their own rookies and bringing in foreign wrestlers. An outsider did become champion but it was Max The Impaler winning the International Princess Title, not the Princess Of Princess Title. No idea how to look up music chart data but if Maki Itoh got No. 1 somewhere we would have heard about it. My Sakisama fantasy booking was inspired by the rumour of CyberFight wanting to sign Maya Yukihi. If Mercedes Moné does end up going back to WWE then the hype surrounding her for an entire year was an absolute waste of time for everyone else involved.

Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling

✓. Some of the wrestlers Shota worked with in America get booked for Ganpro.
X. Keisuke Ishii wins the Spirit Of Ganbare Title.
1/2✓. Ganpro creates a tag team championship and builds it around mixed tag wrestling.
X. Ganbare☆Joshi runs their own show in Korakuen Hall.
X. Kota Ibushi wrestles a match in Ganpro.

Shota’s American excursion got the likes of Dan The Dad and Kody Lane booked in Japan. Keisuke Ishii did get a Spirit Of Ganbare Title but lost that match to Mizuki Watase in one of Ganpro’s best matches of the year. We did get the Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles created and it does allow intergender teams. However it has not been the focal point of the title’s existence yet so I only got it half right. No standalone Ganbare☆Joshi show in Korakuen Hall yet but I think it is only a matter of time before it happens. Who on earth would have guessed Kota Ibushi’s first match back would be in GCW?

Miscellaneous

X. Gake no Fuchi Joshi crosses over with Baka Gaijin + Friends.
X. AEW will host another event in Japan with DDT & TJPW involvement.
X. CyberFight adds another promotion to their portfolio.
X. A brand new puroresu console game gets announced.
✓. BASARA does something new and different.

I’m kind of surprised Miyako Matsumoto hasn’t shown up in Baka Gaijin + Friends yet. It seems like her kind of wrestling but I can’t tell what goes through her mind on most days. AEW seems to have developed less interest in the Japanese scene while they go through something of an identity crisis heading into the fifth year of their existence. No new wrestling brand for CyberFight but there is the United Japan Pro Wrestling brand attaching the big wrestling companies together. No new puroresu game which makes me sad. AEW: Fight Forever is fine and I bet has a good base to create a better sequel. Will that happen though? The last prediction is also the best one for me. BASARA made Banana Senga their champion! That was definitely something new and different.

———————————————————————–

So yeah, let’s ignore all that and get on to next year’s predictions. I came up with 20 predictions for 2024 spread across four categories. Five for DDT, five for Tokyo Joshi Pro, five for Ganbare☆Pro and five guesses that apply to anything attached to BASARA and the CyberFight promotions. I’m also listing them in order from easy to hard, likely to unlikely, mild to spicy, etc. I came up with these predictions using booking patterns, reading tea leaves and coming up with ideas that are just as creative as they are plausible.

DDT

Prediction: Naomi Yoshimura returns from injury and gets a singles push.

It’s been over a year since Naomi Yoshimura last wrestled a match. What’s promising though is his regular appearances seconding the other wrestlers in Harimao. There’s also glimpses on his social media of him training in the DDT dojo again. It at least suggests he will be back in the ring sooner or later. When Yoshimura took time off to recover from a herniated disc he said he wanted to reclaim the KO-D Tag Team Titles for Harimao when he returns. I think too much time has past for that to be his only goal. He should instead focus on catching up with Yuki Ueno. My fingers are crossed he is able to come back, stay healthy and win some accomplishments by himself.

Prediction: Kento Miyahara will be at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”.

At no point this year did I expect DDT and All Japan to be doing inter-promotional matches with each other. What a great thing that turned out to be though. Adding a few DDT Vs AJPW matches on shows here and there spiced up the midcard for both companies. It had history to play off of because of Jun Akiyama’s involvement. It is helping Yukio Naya develop into the heavyweight DDT wants him to be thanks to the feud with The Saito Brothers that will likely continue in AJPW. Eruption got to start their new chapter without Saki Akai by winning the All Asia Tag Team Titles and giving Yukio Sakaguchi an achievement he can now share with his father. Eruption also entered the Real World Tag League which gave Hideki Okatani some valuable experience. I want this working relationship to continue in 2024 and I know the best place where it can reach its climax. DDT will likely have a big guest for their Sumo Hall show in July. Bring on over AJPW’s biggest star Kento Miyahara to liven up the place! He would be a great singles match opponent for somebody like Yuki Ueno or Kazusada Higuchi. He’s definitely someone who Ueno should learn from about how to be a showman in the ring.

Prediction: Sanshiro Takagi fights Hiroshi Tanahashi in a battle of the presidents!

This week New Japan announced Hiroshi Tanahashi has become the new president of the company. Now he has a lot more in common with Sanshiro Takagi. Now Tanahashi has an awkward history with DDT but that was years ago and I’m sure it’s all water under the bridge. But just in case there’s still some bad blood there is always the wrestling ring right there for them to settle their differences. Two presidents of different wrestling companies having a match against each other is the kind of idea Takagi would jump on and I think Tanahashi would be game for it. United Japan Pro Wrestling is going to need something a little bit novel to put on their Budokan Hall card in the summer. Why not this in the midcard?

Prediction: Somebody (or something) from WWE wins the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title.

WWE looking to carve out their place in Japan is a topic that gets brought up a lot online. This year finally saw the company make their move when they signed a broadcasting deal with ABEMA and also got increased presence in Shukan Puroresu magazine. There were also points throughout the year when Shinsuke Nakamura would pop up. He headlined a big show for NOAH as the final opponent for The Great Muta. He also filmed a special message for Saki Akai that was shown to her during her retirement ceremony. If that’s not enough, on the day I am writing this paragraph All Japan are teasing that the mystery challenger for a Triple Crown title match on 3rd January could be coming from NXT. So if WWE in Japan really is happening, we might as well have some fun with it before everything gets ruined again. DDT will be in Philadelphia during Wrestlemania week and that usually means the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title will be going along for the ride. It’s only a matter of time before somebody in the WWE gets to win the championship for even the briefest of moments. Now I’m not expecting Cody Rhodes to win it in front of 50,000 people to finish the story. But somebody involved with the company hanging out at WrestleCon and taking their chance to win a 24/7 title just to amuse themselves? That sounds more likely. This prediction also applies to any item, prop or official piece of merchandise tied to WWE. If a Jey Uso “Yeet” shirt becomes champion then it counts!

Prediction: Tetsuya Endo should go on an overseas excursion.

This is not so much of a prediction but more a piece of advice. After thinking of ways for Tetsuya Endo to get out of the current position he is in, the best idea I can come up with is for him to go wrestle overseas for a while. Whether that is a several month stay in America or going on weekend trips to Europe every couple of months, he badly needs a change of pace in a new surrounding. Get him in there with Gringo Loco in GCW, have Shigehiro Irie show him the (lack of) sights in Oberhausen during a wXw tournament weekend, book him on ROH so he can travel around with the AEW crew, seat him in the front row behind the commentary table at an NXT taping. He should go broaden his horizons because the direction DDT put him in as Kenta Kobashi’s protégé is not working.

Tokyo Joshi Pro

Prediction: Somebody from the 2023 Class scores a pinfall on a TJPW veteran.

We got six rookies in 2023 and they have all been fun to watch as they learn on the job and figure out who they want to be. Wakana Uehara winning the New Generation Tournament shows that TJPW have faith in her becoming an important part of the roster if she sticks with them. HIMAWARI had her character down flat from day one and her match against Uehara in the final is a great example of how to create a dramatic match with limited movesets. Toga is capturing everyone’s hearts one big Elbow Smash at a time (although really you should thank Hikari Noa for selling that move like a champ), Shino Suzuki has the bonus advantage of being in The Up Up Girls and we might end up with a future generational rivalry between Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo as they learn different wrestling styles separate from each other. Talent development for TJPW needs to be coming quick and fast if there is a need to replace the likes of Yuka Sakazaki. Young blood needs to be beating veterans eventually and it is more likely to happen than you think. Remember, TJPW holds a couple of one day tournaments throughout the year with matches that end in 2 Count pinfalls. That’s where you can see Uehara suddenly beat Mahiro Kiryu or Toga only needing to roll up Kaya Toribami for two seconds to get her hand raised. I don’t expect it to be on the level of Arisu Endo pinning Shoko Nakajima out of nowhere but somebody from the 2023 class is going to get a moment in the spotlight her senpai’s expense in 2024.

Prediction: Mizuki Vs Rika Tatsumi finally happens… in the Tokyo Princess Cup.

When Mizuki’s reign as the Princess Champion ended there was one thing that left me completely baffled. Why was there never a title defence against Rika Tatsumi? One of the longest running pieces of character lore in TJPW is Tatsumi’s crush on Mizuki going all the way back to 2018 when Tatsumi wanted to banish the Forbidden Three rules the in-house roster had to follow because nobody was sure if “No Boyfriends” also meant “No Girlfriends”. Fast forward to 2023 and we got a very good 2-Vs-1 Handicap Match between Daydream and Mizuki where Tatsumi battled those feelings in order to beat her crush. Nothing ever came out of it and to be fair it never intended to be more than an emergency replacement match due to Sakazaki getting injured. TJPW also has an odd thing where some of their big singles matches only ever happen in the Tokyo Princess Cup, either as a 1st Round match to eliminate a top contender early or as a random drawing in the final stages of the tournament. So I think if we ever do get Mizuki Vs Tatsumi, it will be at the Princess Cup instead of a big singles title bout.

Prediction: Maki Itoh wins the GCW World Heavyweight Championship.

I think odds are really good for Maki Itoh to win one of GCW’s championships next year given she is one of the bigger attractions for the group nowadays. Her winning the tag team titles with Nick Gage is an obvious direction to go. But I want to go all in for this prediction. GCW has Blake Christian as their long term heel world champion and groundwork has been laid down for a Blake Vs Gage title match down the road. But we’ve been there, done that with Gage as the top babyface champion for GCW. This is a company that doesn’t mind doing wacky novelty booking with their titles. So how about Itoh unexpectedly gets a title match with Blake, maybe Money In The Bank style and she shockingly beats him for the GCW Title? It would be the peak of her run with the company, that’s for sure.

Prediction: Aja Kong takes on a regular role in TJPW.

Just like how Jun Akiyama became a coach in DDT, I’d like to see Aja Kong do something similar in TJPW. She has been a guest for so many shows at this point it’s not like she would be a stranger to everyone there. Whether it is coaching the youngsters, becoming a matchmaker or just keeping a stern eye on Tetsuya Koda so he won’t lose focus Kong would have a wealth of knowledge to offer the company. And maybe then we get a payoff for her rivalry with Max The Impaler.

Prediction: Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh remain with TJPW for the year.

I’m testing fate with this one, aren’t I? Miyu Yamashita has done almost everything there is to do in TJPW and Maki Itoh spends so much time in America she’s currently divorced from what’s going on in her home promotion. And yet I just don’t believe both of them are ready to graduate from TJPW like Yuka Sakazaki did. At least not in the next 12 months. Yamashita and Itoh will definitely have plenty of American bookings for everyone to look forward to in 2024. But leaving TJPW to focus on that entirely? I don’t think so. They will still have TJPW as their home base.

Ganbare☆Pro

Prediction: Ken Ohka Wins The Spirit Of Ganbare Title From Isami Kodaka

The ways that Ken Ohka and Isami Kodaka have been booked in GanPro this year makes this in my opinion the likeliest prediction to come true. Kodaka is cleaving through the roster with title defence after title defence while Ohka, the main guy behind all of GanPro, has been kept away from the title picture for over a year and a half. Ohka is always fighting from the bottom as the underdog so him never winning the Spirit Of Ganbare Title would fit how he books himself. However that’s not how pro wrestling works and there is bound to be a day when he finally gets his hands on his own promotion’s championship.

Prediction: The Ganbare☆Climax returns.

The last time GanPro held a tournament called the Ganbare☆Climax was in 2021 and that was to crown their first SOG Champion. It would be nice to see it come back to determine a No. 1 Contender during the year. GanPro held tournaments for the Young Ganbare Cup and the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles this year but they both felt like one-offs. That clears up the schedule for a single elimination tournament to happen whenever they want.

Prediction: Yuna Manase returns from injury and feuds with YuuRI.

One of the key additions to GanPro this year was the relaunch of the Ganbare☆Joshi division built around YuuRI, Yoshiko Hasegawa and Riara. Sadly Yuna Manase was relegated to a GM role while she recovers from her ACL injury. YuuRI in particular put in the work to become the face of the GanJo division in her absence. So let’s say that Manase is able to wrestle again in 2024. Would she be willing to play second fiddle to YuuRI? Or will history continue to be a circle and Manase now finds herself as the veteran unwilling to let the new generation surpass her? Wouldn’t that be interesting given Manase’s feud with Yuu Yamagata a few years ago was over the same idea? YuuRI still has a lot to prove and the dynamic could make Hasegawa and Riara choose sides until the matter is resolved. Build it up to one big singles match and it could end up being a lot of fun to follow.

Prediction: A mixed gender tag team wins the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Titles.

I admit this is just a repackaged prediction I made last year about the SOG Tag Titles being built around intergender wrestling. There’s only been one title defence so far featuring a mixed gender team and that was when Lethal Weapon (Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE) were the challengers. I like seeing them team together but I fear that match in August was their only chance, at least while Ground Absolute hold the belts/trophies. There are always other people in GanPro for HARUKAZE to team with and also Banny Oikawa is now with GanPro mostly to do mixed tags. I bet it is only a matter of time before it happens.

Prediction: A Stardom wrestler appears on a Ganbare☆Joshi show.

Another factor of GanJo’s return this year was seeing that roster interact with wrestlers from TJPW, Ice Ribbon, Marvelous, Diana and more. YuuRI even brought over Ice Ribbon’s main championship for a title defence on a GanJo show. Now let’s add Stardom to the list through the UJNW connection. Stardom and TJPW will probably stay being icy towards each other but Yuna Manase and YuuRI both got to wrestle on a Stardom show in 2022. I see talk online about how cool it would be if all the joshi companies get together in 2024 for a major arena show to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of “BIG EGG UNIVERSE”. Something like that was kind of done in 2022 to celebrate 60 years of Korakuen Hall and even then that had some bruised egos coming out of it when Shukan Puroresu only put Starlight Kid on the front cover at the expense of everyone else involved who were not associated with Stardom. Also TJPW stayed away from the show too which again, some icy relationships are probably going on there. So let’s keep this prediction on a much smaller level and just say a Stardom wrestler shows up at a GanJo event.

Miscellaneous

Prediction: A DDT wrestler makes a full time jump over to BASARA.

Appearances from Kazusada Higuchi during the last quarter of 2023 helped freshen up BASARA a little bit. They’re not a company I expect much change from going forward but they could do with adding another full timer to their roster. Even though they are independent there is history with a DDT wrestler deciding they are better off jumping over to BASARA (or Union Pro before that) so they can play a bigger role at shows. It could be a veteran who already wrestles in BASARA and no longer seeing themselves being relevant in DDT (*cough*Soma Takao*cough*) or maybe one of the younger, less experienced wrestlers are looking for a change of pace. Ilusion for example seems to get along with that group well. Someone from that age group would turn into a rival for Munetatsu Nakamura too if that were to happen.

Prediction: Konosuke Takeshita wrestles in the main event of an AEW PPV.

It is really annoying to see Konosuke Takeshita being wasted in The Don Callis Family storyline. It is also annoying that the next step of the angle is the group using Freebird rules that will obviously set up Sammy Guevara’s return to TV rather than giving more focus to Takeshita or Powerhouse Hobbs for that matter. So what is it that has me thinking Takeshita can be in a PPV main event next year? Just the numbers game, really. AEW are adding more PPVs to their schedule so that should be more opportunities for new title challengers. Also if this storyline continues without Kenny Omega and just becomes the Family feuding with Chris Jericho there is can be something like a new Anarchy In The Arena happening to close out one of the PPVs.

Prediction: Yuka Sakazaki becomes the first ROH Women’s TV Champion.

Sakazaki is getting ready for the next chapter in her pro wrestling life. Given how AEW presents their women’s division, she is probably going to get more time in ROH instead. She already had her shot at Athena and the regular ROH Women’s Title but the group now has something new to fight for. A brand new ROH Women’s TV Title was recently revealed and Sakazaki would make a great choice to be its first champion.

Prediction: Baka Gaijin + Friends runs a show at Shin-Kiba 1st RING.

When I wrote a preview for the “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2023” main event I compared the Baka Gaijin + Friends shows to DDT’s Beer Garden shows. There’s a warm vibe and fun atmosphere to these matches that take place in such a small venue. I think the series has become popular enough that Chris Brookes can go from 50 fans in ARENA Shimokitazawa to a triple digit attendance in Shin-Kiba 1st RING, the place where DDT hosted Beer Garden for many years. See it like Gatoh Move running ChocoPro in Ichigaya on the regular and then every once in a while they move up to a place where a full scale wrestling ring can be set up. As long as the drinks still flow the crowd will be with them all the way.

Prediction: The 2024 New Year’s Eve Shuffle Tag Tournament lasts past midnight again.

It used to be that the final show of the year in Korakuen Hall goes beyond midnight into the early hours of the new year. It hasn’t been that way for a while because of restrictions coming out of the pandemic. Unfortunately I think a reason why this year’s edition still has an early evening start is because the show is not much of a draw anymore. But I want to be proven wrong so Korakuen fans get to count down the new year in the middle of a semi-final tag team match again.

Prediction: Yuka Sakazaki gets arrested for assaulting Mickey Mouse at Disney World.

She’s your problem now, Tony!

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