It happened. It’s now done. AEW finally made it to Konosuke Takeshita’s match with Kazuchika Okada and got Takeshita out of The Don Callis Family. At last we can move on with our lives and wait to see if Takeshita’s babyface turn will turn out to be more than just a lateral move. His wife Yuka Sakazaki got some more screentime on ROH this month including a PPV main event. MAO & Yoshihiko brought Kazuma Sumi along on their latest adventure in France, giving Sumi some invaluable overseas experience away from DDT. Chris Brookes gave Munetatsu Nakamura a similar opportunity with a wild weekend over in Manila. Will the summer provide even more wrestling to follow around the globe or can we all take a break for the World Cup? Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s being ruined by American corporate greed and so on but Blue Lock seems to be timing their latest story arc to climax by the time the final takes place so that gives me something to look forward to after Ireland failed to qualify. Also getting to watch South Korea Vs Czech Republic at 3am is the kind of football sicko behavior that’s been missing in my life for a while.
AEW “COLLISION”, 30/05/2026 Propst Arena At Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama, USA
1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Daniel Garcia
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Results
ROH “SUPERCARD SHOWDOWN”, 09/05/2026 (Aired 14/05/2026) SoFi Center, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
1. Athena, Billie Starkz & Marina Shafir defeated Yuka Sakazaki, Maya World, Lacey Lane when Athena pinned Lane after the Swanton Bomb from Starkz
So Ring Of Honor taped a few matches at the same indoor golf course AEW was at last month and they didn’t let Yuka Sakazaki loose around the place? That was a missed opportunity. Instead her warmup match for Survival Of The Fittest also involved some of the other participants Athena, Billie Starkz and Maya World. However a lot of Sakazaki’s time in this match was spent wrestling with Marina Shafir and also building up the hot tag to Lacey Lane. She also hit a big dive out of the ring onto Shafir and World but that left Lane fighting on her own. Starkz gave Lane the Swanton Bomb but not before Athena blind tagged herself in so she could get the pinfall and take the glory for herself.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/05/2026 Harrah’s Cherokee Center, Asheville, North Carolina, USA
1. AEW World Title: Darby Allin (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Coffin Drop (15:29). *V5 for Darby Allin.
Even though Takeshita’s match with Okada was already on the schedule, he was given a big detour a few weeks before the show by getting an AEW World Title shot. It was the latest defence in Darby Allin’s eventful title run where he crammed in many title defences into one month. Takeshita couldn’t get the job done fast enough so El Clon ran down to distract the ref while Don Callis handed Takeshita the Dynamite Diamond Ring to use as a weapon. Takeshita refused to use it and threw it away. Too bad moral victories don’t win you championships because Allin made his comeback after that which included a Coffin Drop to the outside and also the Scorpion Death Drop on top of the steel steps. He hit another Coffin Drop outside the ring but Takeshita wouldn’t be beaten that way. He tried to make a comeback of his own but Allin cut it off with the Scorpion Death Lock, keeping Takeshita down long enough to land one more Coffin Drop for the win.
ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR”, 15/05/2026 Wicomico Youth And Civic Center, Salisbury, Maryland, USA
1. ROH Women’s World Title – Survival Of The Fittest Match: Athena (c) defeated Maya World, Trish Adora, Zada Steel, Yuka Sakazaki and Billie Starkz (26:12).
1a. Athena eliminated Zayda Steel with a Rope-Assisted School Boy (5:01).
1b. Yuka Sakazaki eliminated Trish Adora with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (15:39).
1c. Billie Starkz eliminated Yuka Sakazaki with the Avalanche Star 10 (17:27).
1d. Maya World eliminated Billie Starkz with a Jackknife Pin (21:47).
1e. Athena eliminated Maya World with the O-Face from the Ladder (26:12). *V36 for Athena.
This turned out to be a mess of a match. It turned into a Hardcore Match midway through because of the whole “No DQs In In X Way Match” booking cliche so Sakazaki got to do an American style plunder match for once. She also scored an elimination by pinning Trish Adora with the Magical Merry-Go-Round. Her time in the match came to an end a few minutes later when some high risk fighting ended with Sakazaki taking Starkz’s finisher from the top rope.
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “MNL”, 23/05/2026 Sari Sari Makati, Makati, Philippines ??? Fans
1. Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes defeated Hotdog De San Jose & Super P when Sabre submitted San Jose with a Manjigatame (?:??).
2. Main Ronn, Joya & Robienne Sane defeated Demonyitang Daniella Cavite, Crystal & Max Liwanag when Joya pinned Cavite with the Cutter (?:??).
3. Emman & “Mad Kat” Karina defeated Trainee Kenzo & Trainee Kiko when Emman pinned Kiko with the Styles Clash (?:??).
4. Jonathan Johnson defeated Munetatsu Nakamura with a Bridging Pin (?:??).
5. Jake De Leon & Shivam defeated Black Kat & Lifeguard Jack when De Leon pinned Black Kat with the Jumping Super Kick (?:??).
GCW/BZW “NOW OR NEVER”, 23/05/2026 Espace Isabelle de Hainaut, Rue de Saint-Quentin, Bapaume, France
1. BZW Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Tag Match: MBM & Ultima Sombra defeated MAO & Yoshihiko (c) and Jimmy Lloyd & Jeffrey John when MBM pinned Yoshihiko with the Reincarnation Reversal (15:27). *MAO & Yoshihiko fail in V8. Rivality become the 7th BZW Tag Team Champions!
2. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: Kazuma Sumi (c) defeated Gringo Loco and Leedz Lewis when Sumi pinned Lewis with the Reverse 450 Splash (14:22). *V2 for Kazuma Sumi.
Kazuma Sumi’s goal of defending the DDT Universal Title overseas finally came to pass this month. MAO got him booked for the BZW collab show with GCW in France. His match wasn’t an easy task at all because he had to fight the former Universal Champion Gringo Loco as well as French wrestler Leedz Lewis in a 3 Way bout where he could lose the title without being pinned. Sumi made the most of his moment and pinned Lewis with the Reverse 450 Splash to keep the belt and impress the fans in attendance. He said afterward that he now has a great sense of accomplishment because he can go do his style of wrestling anywhere in the world. He is eager to compete overseas again and spread his name around the planet.
The same success wasn’t there for MAO & Yoshihiko. Their year and a half long reign as BZW Tag Team Champions finally came to an end in a 3 Way Tag against a BZW team and a GCW team. Everybody brawled out of the venue and Yoshihiko did a dive off of a truck to put Jimmy Lloyd through a table. Rivality brought the belts back to their home promotion in the end when MBM found a counter to Yoshihiko’s finishing move, reversing the pin into one of his own for the three count. MAO feels happy that he got to wreak havoc in four different countries while holding the belts with Yoshihiko. His next goal in BZW is to win a singles championship so then some day DDT can hold a show in Europe!
DXCN “DAKILA II”, 24/05/2026 Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines
1. 4 Way Match: Robin Sane defeated Jonathan Johnson, Shaheen and Munetatsu Nakamura (?:??).
2. Dexcon World Title: Jake De Leon (c) defeated Chris Brookes (?:??). *V5 for Jake De Leon.
Another packed weekend in the Philippines is in the books for Brookes. He wasn’t able to come back to Japan with another championship because Jake De Leon was able to defend his Dexcon World Title against him. Munetatsu Nakamura was also part of the Dexcon weekend, taking part in a high flying 4 Way Match where Robin Sane picked up the win over Shaheen.
AEW “DOUBLE OR NOTHING”, 24/05/2026 Louis Armstrong Stadium, New York City, New York, USA
1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Kazuchika Okada (c) with the Raging Fire (19:01). *Kazuchika Okada fails in V10. Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 13th AEW International Champion!
Being at the show live I can tell you the building was very excited to see Okada Vs Takeshita happen with the match graphic on the pre-show getting one of the largest pops out of the lineup. The match was fantastic even with the Don Callis drama at ringside happening midway through. Callis tried to play neutral by telling Okada not to risk injuring Takeshita. While Okada reluctantly followed that instruction, Takeshita did not do the same when Callis gave him the same order. It still took a lot for Takeshita to finally beat Okada, countering the Rainmaker with his own Lariat and then hitting a big Elbow Strike when the Wagamama only got a one count. But when he finally used the Raging Fire there was no fight left in Okada to kick out and Takeshita became the new AEW International Champion! The sweet taste of victory was quickly spoiled when The Don Callis Family all looked to turn on Takeshita after the match. Kyle Fletcher made his big return from injury to hug Takeshita only to turn on him with a backstabbing attack, confirming that our guy is now kicked out of the Family.
AEW “COLLISION”, 30/05/2026 Propst Arena At Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama, USA
1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Daniel Garcia with the Raging Fire (14:27). *V1 for Konosuke Takeshita.
Takeshita had to get over the heartbreak of ProtoShita being split up by having his first International Title defence against Daniel Garcia. A wrestler like Garcia has some tricks up his sleeve, like countering Takeshita’s top rope Clothesline into an Arm Drag to the canvas where he then applied the Sharpshooter. Takeshita blocked a rolling cradle that would have set up another submission hold, turning it over to a German Suplex. The big Elbow Strike after that set up the Raging Fire and Takeshita got his first defence in the bag, all while Jon Moxley was watching on from the commentary table. Members of The Don Callis Family ran into the ring to attack Takeshita after the match while outside the ring the Death Riders and Shane Taylor Promotions all suddenly appeared to brawl with each other. If that wasn’t chaotic enough, The Conglomeration entered the fight and cleared the room so it was only them and Takeshita left in the ring. So we end the month with Takeshita finding a new bunch of friends (or an old friend in Mike Bailey’s case).
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Upcoming Appearances
EVE “EVE 150: HISTORY MAKERS RULE BREAKERS!”, 05/06/2026 Big Penny Social, London, England
1. EVE International Title: Kris Statlander (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
Right, let’s get things out of the way before the World Cup starts. Miyu Yamashita returns to EVE very soon hoping to win gold there again, this time fighting Kris Statlander from AEW for the EVE International Title. As much as I would love to see a result here that follows up from Yamashita’s match with Jamie Hayter last time around, I’m not sure if that’s something EVE is planning for.
WXW “DRIVE OF CHAMPIONS 2026”, 06/06/2026 Turbinenhalle 1, Oberhausen, Germany
1. Ahura & Jun Akiyama Vs 1 Called Manders & Thomas Shire
Germany welcomes Jun Akiyama for the weekend where he will meet Ahura to team up against Cowboy Way.
CMLL “FANTASTICA MANIA 2026”, 19/06/2026 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X
It is CMLL’s turn to host “FANTASTICA MANIA” and Konosuke Takeshita will be there on behalf of New Japan.
SETUP “HELLRAISER”, 27/06/2026 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. Hardcore Unsanctioned Anything Goes Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Jonathan Johnson
The travelling is not ending yet for Daisuke Sasaki. A few weeks after he is done with Best Of The Super Jr. he will be going over to Thailand for a SETUP show. Jonathan Johnson threw out a challenge recently to prove he is one of the best wrestlers in his corner of the world. Sasaki answered his challenge and wants it to be unsanctioned so anything goes!
I haven’t gotten around to looking into what happened on Tokyo Joshi Pro’s two European shows outside of the basic results. All I know is Miyu Yamashita has more plans coming up to wrestle across the world this year. While she doesn’t have to wait long until she packs her suitcase again, Daisuke Sasaki is emptying his after finishing up his month long journey across North America. He found a few more places in America to wrestle in before he made the trip back home.
It’s a little hard to tell if the summer is going to get busier for overseas bookings. Is there much of an appetite for international wrestling when the World Cup is going to be on? CMLL is counting on it and Konosuke Takeshita has at least one date with them in June. I’m going to curse out the company if they use their AI poster art to make him look like a Captain Tsubasa drawing.
LUCHA WRESTLING PURORESU “LUCHA LIBRE MEXICANA”, 19/04/2026 Xander Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Drago, Genio del Aire & Torito Negro Vs Doble Cara, Daisuke Sasaki & Ultimo Maldito
Video starts at 1:48:50 LABOR OF LOVE “THE EXHIBITION”, 25/04/2026 Icebox Project Space, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Anything Goes: Big Callux Vs Daisuke Sasaki
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Results
LUCHA WRESTLING PURORESU “LUCHA LIBRE MEXICANA”, 19/04/2026 Xander Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Drago, Genio del Aire & Torito Negro defeated Doble Cara, Daisuke Sasaki & Ultimo Maldito when Drago pinned Sasaki with the Tail Of The Dragon (?:??).
Sasaki is one of the more likely DDT wrestlers to go in search of lucha libre when he travels over to the Americas. He didn’t go visit Mexico this time around but he got down there close enough by getting a lucha booking in LA. While there he got to lock horns with Drago as part of a trios match. Sasaki and his rudo partners beat down the other team and held Torito Negro in the Kaientai pose. Genio del Aire tried to make a big counter attack by doing a jumping Hurricanrana to Ultimo Maldito from the human tower only to crash on top of his own head and neck in a disasterous looking botch. Drago inspired the tecnico team’s comeback and both of his partners Moonsaulted out of the ring onto Doble Cara & Maldito. That left Sasaki to duke it out with Drago but he was whipped around into the Tail Of The Dragon llave pin, losing the match to the veteran luchador.
EVE/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “EVE X TJPW”, 25/04/2026 Big Penny Social, London, England ??? Fans
1. EVE International Title Next Contender Tournament – Round 1: Shoko Nakajima defeated Hollie Barlow (?:??).
2. EVE International Title Next Contender Tournament – Round 1: Miyu Yamashita defeated Aliss Ink (?:??).
3. Rhio defeated Hyper Misao (?:??).
4. Session Moth Martina & Aliss Ink defeated Lucy Sky & Yuki Aino when Martina pinned Sky (?:??).
5. EVE International Title Next Contender Tournament – Final: Miyu Yamashita defeated Shoko Nakajima (?:??).
The complete results will eventually be found here once I get around to watching the show.
LABOR OF LOVE “THE EXHIBITION”, 25/04/2026 Icebox Project Space, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Anything Goes: Big Callux defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the Black Hole Slam (?:??).
The final stopping point for Sasaki was at The City Of Brotherly Love. Too bad Sasaki hates love because all it ever did was hurt him. The Philly indie scene isn’t what it used to be and hasn’t been for a very long time. But Labor Of Love has popped up to try and find its place in a world that has long since moved on from the days when the corner of Swanson and Ritner St was considered the centrepoint of the American indies. Sasaki went to Philadelphia for a fight with Big Callux where before the match the stipulation was revealed to be Anything Goes. Callux brought along a bag of gifts for Sasaki that included a Gritty toy. Sasaki ripped it in half and threw the remains into the crowd! Callux then gave Sasaki a bouquet of roses but Sasaki just attacked him with them. More fighting broke out with a chair, a chain and also a hockey stick being used as weapons. Sasaki got into the hockey vibes by putting on a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey to piss off the Philly fans even more. He tried to put Callux in the Crossface Lock with the chain to assist him but Callux powered out of it. Sasaki then got the upper hand by unmasking Callux as a distraction to hit him over the head with the chair and then Pedigree him onto it. Callux kicked out though and threw Sasaki from the top rope onto the chair laid out in the middle of the ring. He then hit the Black Hole Slam to win the match, much like how the Philadelphia Flyers went on to win the series against the Penguins in the NHL playoffs a couple of days later.
SAJ/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SAJ X TJPW”, 26/04/2026 Centro Sport Cesate, Milan, Italy
1. Mirko Mori, Nico Inverardi & Adriano Vs Goro, Merak & Spencer
2. Yuki Aino Vs Irene
3. Shoko Nakajima Vs Kanji
4. Sebastian De Witt Vs Miyu Yamashita
5. SAJ & ASCA Tag Team Titles: Mike Bird & Crimi (c) Vs Rhio & Cory Zero
6. SAJ Openweight Title: Lupo (c) Vs Kouga
Similar to the other TJPW show, I have to go seek out video of this show and when I do, you will find the proper report here.
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Upcoming Appearances
ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR”, 15/05/2026 Wicomico Youth And Civic Center, Salisbury, Maryland, USA
1. ROH Women’s World Title – Survival Of The Fittest Match: Athena (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Trish Adora Vs Billie Starkz Vs Persephone Vs Maya World
All of the competitors have been confirmed and it’s official. Yuka Sakazaki is among the six wrestlers entering Ring Of Honor’s annual Survival Of The Fittest elimination match. Athena’s reign as ROH Women’s World Champion has reached preposterous levels of record breaking in terms of length. Seriously is this the longest running championship reign with so few highlights to exist in modern times?
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “MNL”, 23/05/2026 Sari Sari Makati, Makati, Philippines
1. Hotdog De San Jose & Super P Vs Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes
The first match announced for the show has Chris Brookes teaming up with Zack Sabre Jr. again, bringing SchadenTekkers over to the Philippines. Super P has found a sort of familiar looking super friend in Hotdog De San Jose which means together they are Team SuperHotdog!
GCW/BZW “NOW OR NEVER”, 23/05/2026 Espace Isabelle de Hainaut, Rue de Saint-Quentin, Bapaume, France
1. BZW Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) Vs MBM & Ultima Sombra Vs Jimmy Lloyd & Jeffrey John
It’s the biggest risk of danger yet for MAO & Yoshihiko in their travels around Europe. They are stuck in the middle of the BZW Vs GCW battle coming up in France and both sides want to take the BZW Tag Team Titles away from them. In the 3 Way Match BZW are sending in Rivality. They are familiar faces to the champions because MBM & Ultima Sombra did a tour in Japan with DDT last year. GCW will be represented by Jimmy Lloyd & Jeffrey John. Gotta be honest they’re not really sending their best into the fight here. Like they have Nick Gage & Vipress teaming up in one of the other matches. That team sounds like a threat!
DXCN “DAKILA II”, 24/05/2026 Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines
1. 4 Way Match: Jonathan Johnson Vs Robin Sane Vs Shaheen Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
2. Chris Brookes Vs X
It’s likely that Munetatsu Nakamura will be part of the Baka Gaijin in Manila show as well but for now he’s just been announced for the Dexcon show happening the next day. Even if this turns out to be his only match of the weekend it is still his first overseas expedition which is exciting enough by itself.
AEW “DOUBLE OR NOTHING”, 24/05/2026 Louis Armstrong Stadium, New York City, New York, USA
1. AEW International Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Here we go, here we go, here we go! Shenanigans spoiled the previous singles match Takeshita had with Kazuchika Okada and let’s face it, shenanigans will likely happen again. But stakes are still high and the feud is finally heading towards its breaking point. Surely this has to be the blowoff with one of them getting kicked out of The Don Callis Family at the end, right?
EVE “EVE 150: HISTORY MAKERS RULE BREAKERS!”, 05/06/2026 Big Penny Social, London, England
1. EVE International Title: Kris Statlander (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
The tournament that Yamashita won at the EVE x TJPW show made her the No. 1 Contender for the EVE International Title. She held their main championship during her big push there back in 2023. Is history going to repeat itself when she fights Kris Statlander from AEW for EVE’s other singles title?
WXW “DRIVE OF CHAMPIONS 2026”, 06/06/2026 Turbinenhalle 1, Oberhausen, Germany
1. Ahura & Jun Akiyama Vs 1 Called Manders & Thomas Shire
Is Ahura still going to be in wXw by the time this match happens? He was at the WWE European tryout this past week.
CMLL “FANTASTICA MANIA 2026”, 19/06/2026 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X
Takeshita heads back to Mexico this summer when CMLL holds their version of the “FANTASTICA MANIA” series with New Japan.
Writing up this year’s WrestleMania Week report worked out sort of quicker than I expected in regards to the amount of matches to cover, yet some of them were very difficult to track down because of the lack of streaming options available to some of the indies this time around. Tokyo Joshi Pro felt their first burn from their overseas expansion with a low attendance number at Slam Fest. How much that will effect their USA plans for the rest of the year remain to be seen. The reduction of international fans travelling over to Las Vegas again could really be felt on some shows throughout the week. I’d be willing to argue that had just as much effect on the WrestleMania attendance itself rather than just the expensive ticket prices.
The only DDT presence of note in Vegas was Daisuke Sasaki wrestling a few matches. He had a particularly violent match on the New Japan/GCW joint show (that feels weird to type out) that must have left him with a few bruises afterwards. A few TJPW wrestlers spread out across the shows too but the one that sounded noteworthy hasn’t shown up online yet so I’m a little stuck trying to write about it. The week being what it is means some chance meetings happened at some shows, like Miu Watanabe finally meeting her fellow Giant Swing user Claudio Castagnoli.
One of the reasons this report is an incomplete one is thanks to our friend Mizuki Watase. He made the trip over to Las Vegas again after going through a love-hate affair with the city in previous visits for wrestling. He’s written blogs and articles of his past trips where he lost a lot of money but became smitten with the Venetian in particular, naming one of his finishing moves after the casino. This time his trip started off pretty badly with some hotel mishap but his gambling turned into a success this time and for once he left the casino with more money than he had before. Then he spent all the money on booze and got some tattoos while he was drunk. He also wrestled a few matches during the week but I have had no luck trying to find out what they are. That was until I saw a video he recorded of his entrance and it was at the one place I never thought of looking: MicroMania. He was advertised for their week long tour at The Nerd in Fremont Street and he ended up wrestling several matches there. All I could find out is he wanted to do a Spirit Of Ganbare World Title defence for one of his bookings but it was changed to a non-title tag match on short notice (excuse the pun).
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Videos
PRIDESTYLE “OUT OF THIS WORLD”, 17/04/2026 Bizarre Bar, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Special Single Match: Taniya Vs Miu Watanabe
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Results
PODER~! “PODERMANIA~!”, 15/04/2026 Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. International Tag Team Match: Toga & Jazzy Yang defeated Amira & Lil Marz when Toga pinned Marz with the Absolute Zero (8:47).
The first piece of TJPW action to find that week was when Toga went to “PODERMANIA~!”. The eighth annual women’s wrestling show put together by the man known to most as “Ed In San Antonio” saw Toga teaming up with Jazzy Yang in a winning effort against Amira & Lil Marz. Toga even scored the pinfall in a match that can be best described as not the worst thing to have happened on the show.
PANDEMONIUM PRO “WHATEVER, FOREVER”, 15/04/2026 Bizarre Bar, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Jiah Jewell defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the Gator Roll (?:??).
Sasaki’s schedule got off to an aggressive start when he went brawling with Jiah Jewell throughout the venue that Pandemonium Pro held their show in. Sasaki had the upper hand throughout a lot of the match because Jewell kept on telegraphing his finisher, the Gator Roll so Sasaki could block it. However things went wrong for Sasaki and he tried going after the ref for it, allowing Jewell to Gator Roll Sasaki for the three count and score the upset win.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS 2026”, 16/04/2026 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 424 Fans
1. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara defeated Toga & Uta Takami when Kamifuku pinned Takami with the Famouser (10:03).
2. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku defeated Alexis Lee, HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki when Aino pinned Suzuki with the Venus DDT (14:36).
3. Special 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Mizuki and Miu Watanabe when Yamashita pinned Mizuki with the Crash Rabbit Heat (14:05).
4. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) defeated Sakura Hattori with the Ring A Bell (11:36). *V1 for Suzume.
5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Jessie McKay & Cassie Lee (c) defeated Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao when Lee pinned Nakajima after the IIdolizer (12:59). *V1 for The IInspiration.
6. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) defeated J-Rod with the Finally (11:18). *V1 for Yuki Arai.
“DEATH VEGAS INVITACIONAL”, 16/04/2026 Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. The Rigged Roulette – House Rules Hardcore Match: Joey Janela & Gringo Loco defeated Gedo & Daisuke Sasaki when Janela pinned Gedo with the Diving Foot Stomp onto a Door (18:44).
Throughout the week Sasaki has been hanging out with an incognito El Desperado but he also got to spend some time with Gedo, particularly for a violent Hardcore Match that took place on Despy’s own show. Gedo took it extreme by bringing out forks to stab Joey Janela & Gringo Loco with. The opposition fought back by putting Sasaki and Gedo through doors along with some wicked chair shots. Loco used a one man Spanish Fly to smash Sasaki through one door only for Sasaki to recover and spin him into La Mistica Crossface Lock with Gedo giving the assist with a fork attack. Janela made the save though and ended up Double Stomping Gedo into oblivion among the wreckage for the three count. Sasaki’s post-match comments were all complaints about how violent the match was. If his upcoming matches are going to continue being like this then he won’t go back to Japan and will cancel his Best Of The Super Jr. appearance instead.
GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XV”, 17/04/2026 Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Janai Kai by Knockout with the Skull Kick (5:29).
Finally a Bloodsport fight goes Miyu Yamashita’s way and right when Josh Barnett decides to end the whole thing. Janai Kai tried to submit her with the Demon Clutch but Yamashita grabbed her in a Cravate and gave her knee strikes to the head to get out of it. Kanai then switched to kicks leading to wild swinging misses from both wrestlers. Yamashita got the first big hit in with the Skull Kick that knocked Kai straight out. As a bonus for Yamashita, she ended up meeting Nattie Neidhart backstage again as well as Stone Cold Steve Austin!
PRIDESTYLE “OUT OF THIS WORLD”, 17/04/2026 Bizarre Bar, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Special Single Match: Miu Watanabe defeated Taniya with the Tear Drop (?:??).
I haven’t been able to find a result for the match yet but heard Taniya put on a great performance against Miu Watanabe. This will be updated once I do find out what happened.
Only a few days left until WrestleMania Week and there’s a lot to talk about before we even get there. Konosuke Takeshita’s feud with Kazuchika Okada is making some progress but still moving at a glacial pace. Don Callis dangled a carrot in front of Okada promising him a rematch with Okada, this time with the AEW International Title on the line. But it can only happen as long as they team up to beat The Young Bucks. The way Callis sees it, Takeshita and Okada together can be compared to the relationship Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen had together in the Chicago Bulls.
Last month it was Texas, this month it was Vancouver. Tokyo Joshi Pro is continuing to lay their flag in places across North America with their second tour of the year in that region finishing up in Las Vegas this week. Fingers crossed that their travels to and from everywhere go off without a hitch this time.
Our favorite troublemaker Daisuke Sasaki has been making towns during his stay in North America. Some GCW dates here, a few ROH matches there and he even found some work up in Canada. He’ll be in Vegas too for some matches and debauchery. Apparently Mizuki Watase is currently in Vegas right now too but I can’t for the life of me find any information regarding whether or not he will be wrestling there during his stay.
1. Darby Allin, Bandido & Jack Perry Vs Andrade El Ídolo, Mark Davis & Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis)
AEW “DYNASTY”, 12/04/2026 Rogers Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
1. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson Vs Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita
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Results
GCW “LAST CALL”, 03/04/2026 FSW Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Daisuke Sasaki defeated Marcus Mathers with La Mistica Crossface Lock (14:58).
Sasaki made it to Las Vegas a little bit early for a GCW show happening separately away from The Collective. I wouldn’t be surprised if GCW originally booked the venue on this date back when WrestleMania was still scheduled for New Orleans. Sasaki heeled it up for his match against Marcus Mathers, targeting his opponent’s knee and attacking it with a chair. The match came close to being called off at points for the sake of Mathers’s health but he toughened it out and fought back. Sasaki didn’t waver from his gameplan though until a ref bump gave him the opportunity to give Mathers a Low Blow. He got away with it and made Mathers submit afterward.
GCW “MANIAC”, 04/04/2026 Ukrainian Culture Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. GCW World Title: Atticus Cogar (c) defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the Brain Hemorrhage (8:04). *V14 for Atticus Cogar.
The next evening in Los Angeles, Sasaki challenged Atticus Cogar for the GCW World Title. The champion was already looking past Sasaki by walking out to the match wearing an entrance outfit that resembled Hayabusa, his scheduled title challenger for WrestleMania Week. Sasaki didn’t care and attacked Cogar with a chair from the get go. He also used the chair to block Cogar from doing a dive out of the ring. He then took a high risk by doing the Super Elbow Drop onto Cogar from the top rope to the first row, hurting his leg upon landing. Cogar fought back by digging his skewers into Sasaki’s head from the Electric Chair position and also using them to stab his way out of the Crossface Lock. He dug them in one more time before pinning Sasaki with the Brain Hemorrhage finisher.
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 06/04/2026 WJCT Studios, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
1. AR Fox defeated Daisuke Sasaki (?:??).
2. Survival Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Viva Van (?:??).
3. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Matt Menard (?:??).
During the latest ROH tapings there were qualifying matches for their annual Survival Of The Fittest match that will be held at the next PPV. Yuka Sakazaki booked her spot in the match after beating Viva Van.
I don’t have much details about what Takeshita and Sasaki did at the ROH taping other than the results of their matches. Takeshita beat Matt Menard while Sasaki lost to AR Fox. If there is any context to add to those matches we’ll find out when they eventually air on ROH’s weekly show.
1. Andrade El Ídolo, Mark Davis & Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Darby Allin, Bandido & Jack Perry when Andrade pinned Perry with the DM (11:38).
With tension between Takeshita and Okada reaching higher than ever, Don Callis wanted to prove both men can be on the same page no matter how much they disliked each other. The reputation of The Don Callis Family itself was being harmed by this situation so Callis relied on Andrade El Ídolo of all people to be the glue that would keep the group sticking together. When he wasn’t busy flirting with women in the front row, Andrade lived up to his end of the bargain while Mark Davis helped Takeshita throw around the opposition. Bandido was there as a last minute replacement for Brody King but the change did not stop the Family from getting the win. Andrade attacked Darby Allin after the match while Jack Perry was put in a vulnerable position as well. The Young Bucks ran down to save the day until Okada followed them down to stop them. However he then got into a fight with Okada and they had to be pulled apart only for more chaos to break out with Bandido and The Rascalz doing dives onto everybody.
MYSTERY WRESTLING “VANCOUVER PREMIERE – DAY 1”, 11/04/2026 Great Canadian Hastings Racecourse & Casino, Vancouver, BC, Canada
1. 4 Way Match: Nicole Matthews defeated Alexia Nicole, Amira and HIMAWARI when Matthews pinned HIMAWARI after a Stunner from Nicole (?:??).
2. All The Marbles – Mystery Wrestling World Title: London Lightning (c) defeated Daisuke Sasaki with The Smallest Package Ever (?:??). *V2 for London Lightning.
Another title shot came Sasaki’s way when he travelled over to Canada. He was the surprise challenger for London Lightning over at Mystery Wrestling, although 95% of the lineup is usually a surprise because that’s the promotion’s whole gimmick. Especially on this particular show because there were wrestlers from DDT, TJPW, New Japan, Dragon Gate and NOAH all appearing up and down the card. For even more silliness, Mystery Wrestling’s championship is not just represented by a title belt but also a bag of marbles. Which means every time there is a title bout, the match is also “For All The Marbles!” For some reason the referee for the title match was very lenient towards Low Blows because Sasaki kept attacking Lightning’s groin without getting punished for it. Lightning gave him a taste of his own medicine before giving him the Smallest Package Ever to win the match and remain champion.
The TJPW appearance on this show happened because they had booked the venue with Mystery Wrestling for a doubleheader. Evil Uno’s promotion took the afternoon slot and then TJPW kicked off their Vancouver tour in the evening. That led to a crossover where HIMAWARI took part in the opening 4 Way Match. The three other wrestlers Nicole Matthews, Alexia Nicole and Amira were also booked for the TJPW show anyway so the ladies all had a busy day of wrestling. Unfortunately HIMAWARI took the pinfall when she took a Stunner from Alexia Nicole. Matthews then knocked Nicole out of the ring so she could steal the victory for herself.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “VANCOUVER PREMIERE – DAY 1”, 11/04/2026 Great Canadian Hastings Racecourse & Casino, Vancouver, BC, Canada 400 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Yuki Kamifuku defeated Shino Suzuki with the Famouser (8:14).
2. Amira defeated Uta Takami with the Squirrel’s Strongest Slam (6:52).
3. Sakura Hattori & Toga defeated Raku & Pom Harajuku when Hattori pinned Harajuku with the Kitchokagome (9:44).
4. Suzume defeated Alexia Nicole with the Ring A Bell (7:11).
5. Nicole Matthews & Liiza Hall defeated Miyu Yamashita & HIMAWARI when Matthews pinned HIMAWARI with the Roll The Dice (12:51).
6. J-Rod & Miu Watanabe defeated Yuki Arai & Wakana Uehara when J-Rod pinned Uehara with the Ultimate Spear (13:05).
AEW “DYNASTY”, 12/04/2026 Rogers Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
1. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson defeated Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita when Matt pinned Okada after the Meltzer Driver (20:10).
Things went haywire between Takeshita and Okada when they tried to team up against The Young Bucks. Okada didn’t take things seriously and briefly dressed up like a Young Buck himself to make fun of them. Things fell apart when Okada and Takeshita started fighting each other until Matt Jackson got between them. A PowerDrive Knee from Takeshita targeting Matt hit Okada by mistake. Then Okada stopped Takeshita from doing the Raging Fire so he could give Matt the Rainmaker instead. Unfortunately Matt ducked and Takeshita took the hit! The Bucks wore down Okada with Super Kicks and the BTE Trigger then set him up for the Meltzer Driver. Takeshita grabbed Nick Jackson from ringside but then had second thoughts about stopping him. He decided to leave Okada hanging and let the Bucks beat him with their finisher. Takeshita only got back into the ring after the match to flip off Okada. Backstage Takeshita gave Okada and Callis a sarcastic apology to rub further salt into the wound.
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WrestleMania Week Appearances
PODER~! “PODERMANIA~!”, 15/04/2026 Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. International Tag Team Match: Amira & Lil Marz Vs Toga & Jazzy Yang
It feels like WrestleMania Week is starting off earlier than ever this year. The first place you can find a TJPW wrestler in action will be at the annual “PODERMANIA~!” women’s wrestling show where Toga is teaming up with Jazzy Yang, the daughter of former WCW and WWE wrestler Jimmy Yang.
PANDEMONIUM PRO “WHATEVER, FOREVER”, 15/04/2026 Bizarre Bar, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Jiah Jewell Vs Daisuke Sasaki
Around the same time Daisuke Sasaki kicks off his week in Vegas by facing Jiah Jewell over at Pandemonium Pro.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS 2026”, 16/04/2026 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Toga & Uta Takami
2. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Alexis Lee, HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki
3. Special 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita Vs Mizuki Vs Miu Watanabe
4. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Sakura Hattori
5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Jessie McKay & Cassie Lee (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
6. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs J-Rod
A preview of the show will be posted soon.
“DEATH VEGAS INVITACIONAL”, 16/04/2026 Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. The Rigged Roulette – House Rules Hardcore Match: Gedo & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Joey Janela & Gringo Loco
Sasaki has walked up to the table at the “DEATH VEGAS INVITACIONAL” and placed down his chips. Standing next to him is Gedo from NJPW while over on the other side of the roulette wheel is Joey Janela & Gringo Loco. It is Hardcore rules but does the roulette theming of the name suggest something like Weapon Rumble rules being added to the equation?
GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XV”, 17/04/2026 Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai
At the moment the only GCW related match going with DDT or TJPW on is Miyu Yamashita fighting Janai Kai in a Bloodsport match. However there is always the Clusterfuck match that happens near the end of the week so you can never count out somebody here showing up over there.
PRIDESTYLE “OUT OF THIS WORLD”, 17/04/2026 Bizarre Bar, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Special Single Match: Taniya Vs Miu Watanabe
With that being said, the last TJPW related match to look forward to in Vegas is Miu Watanabe taking on Taniya at one of the PrideStyle shows. Taniya holds the promotion’s women’s title but this has not been advertised as a title match.
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Upcoming Appearances After WrestleMania Week
EVE/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “EVE X TJPW”, 25/04/2026 Big Penny Social, London, England
1. EVE International Title Next Contender Tournament – Round 1: Shoko Nakajima Vs Hollie Barlow
2. EVE International Title Next Contender Tournament – Round 1: Miyu Yamashita Vs Aliss Ink
3. Rhio Vs Hyper Misao
4. EVE International Title Next Contender Tournament – Final: X Vs X
The veteran chunk of TJPW have more travelling to do at the end of the month for some co-promoted shows in Europe. TJPW has a mini tournament going on with EVE to determine the No. 1 Contender for the EVE International Title. Both Miyu Yamashita and Shoko Nakajima are entering that while Hyper Misao and Yuki Aino will be involved in non-tournament bouts. Misao’s opponent was just announced to be Rhio. A lot has changed with her since she last appeared in a TJPW ring.
SAJ/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SAJ X TJPW”, 26/04/2026 Centro Sport Cesate, Milan, Italy
1. Mirko Mori, Nico Inverardi & Adriano Vs Goro, Merak & Spencer
2. Shoko Nakajima Vs Kanji
3. Session Moth Martina & Flamingo Vs Hyper Misao & El G
4. Sebastian De Witt Vs Miyu Yamashita
5. SAJ Openweight Title: Lupo (c) Vs Kouga
The next day TJPW goes to Italy where they will work with SAJ Wrestling. Misao’s match has now been announced, putting her across the ring from Session Moth Martina. The only previous time they were in the same match was as a tag team back in 2022. The way these European matches are being announced I get the feeling that nobody knows what to do with Aino until everyone else is sorted out first.
ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR”, 15/05/2026 Wicomico Youth And Civic Center, Salisbury, Maryland, USA
1. ROH Women’s World Title – Survival Of The Fittest Match: Athena (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Trish Adora Vs Billie Starkz Vs Persephone Vs Maya World
The Survival Of The Fittest match is a 6-Way Elimination bout. Last one standing is the winner and will leave with the ROH Women’s World Title. All of the challengers Athena will have to face were decided at the already mentioned ROH TV taping. Not only will Sakazaki mix it up with Athena, Billie Starkz and Trish Adora again but she also gets to fight Persephone and Maya World for the first time unless things during the match get way too chaotic.
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “MNL”, 23/05/2026 Sari Sari Makati, Makati, Philippines
1. Chris Brookes Vs X
The Baka Gaijin and their friends are going back to the Philippines. This time it is Chris Brookes and Zack Sabre Jr. being involved.
GCW/BZW “NOW OR NEVER”, 23/05/2026 Espace Isabelle de Hainaut, Rue de Saint-Quentin, Bapaume, France
1. MAO & Yoshihiko Vs X & X
It will be a Baka Gaijin show without MAO though because he’s going on his own weekend trip to France with Yoshihiko in tow.
DXCN “DAKILA II”, 24/05/2026 Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines
1. Chris Brookes Vs X
The Manila weekend is being set up with Dexcon.
WXW “DRIVE OF CHAMPIONS 2026”, 06/06/2026 Turbinenhalle 1, Oberhausen, Germany
1. Ahura & Jun Akiyama Vs 1 Called Manders & Thomas Shire
I like the sound of this one! Jun Akiyama’s big appearance in Germany for wXw has him teaming with the promotion’s current MVP Ahura to take on Cowboy Way. Akiyama got to fight 1 Called Manders during GCW’s Japan tour last year and Manders was the wXw Unified World Champion at that time.
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Postponed Appearances
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “LOVE & PEACE 2026 SPRING SUPPORTED BY TIF ASIA TOUR – DAY 1”, 09/05/2026 JioSpace, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “LOVE & PEACE 2026 SPRING SUPPORTED BY TIF ASIA TOUR – DAY 2”, 09/05/2026 JioSpace, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
This May’s planned return to Malaysia for DDT and TJPW has been postponed because of “changes in international affairs”. They can say that again. A lot of preparation needed to host the two shows have become difficult for the organizers to get together due to the current state of the world around them so the shows have been postponed for the time being. Every party is acting like they will be rescheduled when things settle down and the safety of everyone involved can be guaranteed but who knows how long that will take to happen.
This month was a lot more tiring to write than usual for some reason. Probably it’s because I’m writing most of this after going through the DDT Anniversary show, the Tokyo Joshi Pro preview for Sumo Hall and then the Sumo Hall show itself. That’s a lot of typing for me to do lately. So I’ll keep this introduction brief. Miyu Yamashita went on a short tear in Europe this month, Konosuke Takeshita feuded with Jon Moxley over the AEW Continental Title, TJPW now runs Texas and Daisuke Sasaki has started his North American adventure. Next month is WrestleMania Week. I’m making the foolish decision to travel there mainly because I got a good deal for flights and the hotel in Vegas right around the time when WWE pulled the rug from under New Orleans. I’ll be at the TJPW show and might see Sasaki or some of the TJPW girls wrestle somewhere else.
AEW “COLLISION”, 07/03/2026 Tucson Arena, Tucson, Arizona, USA
1. Claudio Castagnoli Vs Konosuke Takeshita
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 11/03/2026 San Jose Civic, San Jose, California, USA
1. Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli (w/ Marina Shafir) Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero
AEW “COLLISION – SLAM DUNK SUNDAY”, 22/03/2026 Save Mart Center At Fresno State, Fresno, California, USA
1. Mistico, Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander & El Clon
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Results
EVE “WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY #IWD2026”, 06/03/2026 Big Penny Social, London, England
1. Jamie Hayter Vs Miyu Yamashita ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
1a. Overtime: Jamie Hayter Vs Miyu Yamashita ended in a Time Limit Draw (5:00).
The match that had everyone talking from EVE’s big weekend was Yamashita locking horns with Jamie Hayter for a twenty minute spectacle that hit harder than anyone anticipated. As they fought into the final seconds of the match Yamashita kept kicking Hayter until she was given a Backbreaker and then the Lariat before the bell rang for a draw. However protests from Hayter convinced the show producer Will Ospreay to restart the match for five more minutes. Yamashita got back into another slugfest with Hayter with neither wanting to give up. The Skull Kick led to a double down with 40 seconds to go and Yamashita wasn’t fast enough to pin Hayter in time with a Buzzsaw Kick that happened right at the finish. The two shook hands after the draw but made it clear they had unfinished business together.
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Nightshade with the Crash Rabbit Heat (?:??).
With hardly any good time to rest, Yamashita made it to Spain the next night for her first match with RCW Spain in a year. She survived taking Running Cannonballs into the corner from Nightshade and avoided a Neck Hanging Bomb to knock down her opponent with the Skull Kick. While Nightshade was put to her knees and collapsing after every kick, Yamashita made sure to keep up the attacks until she finished her off with the Crash Rabbit Heat.
AEW “COLLISION”, 07/03/2026 Tucson Arena, Tucson, Arizona, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Claudio Castagnoli with the Raging Fire (14:39).
With only a week left for the PPV, Takeshita was so close to his big title match with Moxley but first he had to get through Claudio Castagnoli. Moxley watched on while providing match commentary, keeping his hands clean throughout the whole thing. Castagnoli thought tried to cheat by grabbing his CMLL World Heavyweight Title belt with the intention of using it as a weapon. However Hechicero ran down to the ring to stop him, allowing Takeshita to dive onto Castagnoli and get him back into the ring. The match wasn’t won yet but Takeshita rolled his way out of the Ricola Bomb to hit Castagnoli with the Powerdrive Knee and then pin him with the Raging Fire. Things weren’t done with there because Takeshita and Moxley had a stare down after the match. Hechicero blindsided Moxley much to Takeshita’s surprise and a brawl then broke out between the Death Riders and The Don Callis Family.
EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM VIII”, 08/03/2026 Indigo At The O2, London, England
1. Sudden Death Sixteen: Alexxis Falcon defeated Jamie Hayter, Miyu Yamashita, DASH Chisako, Anita Vaughan, Lucy Sky, Nyla Rose, Aluna, Lil Marz, Emersyn Jane, Princesse Lauriana, Yuu, Molly Spartan, Nightshade, Abi Cartwright and Charlie Morgan (34:43).
The unfinished business between Yamashita and Hayter started right back up again two days later when they were the first two entrants taking part in EVE’s Sudden Death Sixteen match. Imagine the Casino Gauntlet match where it is one fall to a finish but you still get taken out of the match if you are thrown out of the ring Royal Rumble style. Sadly for Yamashita and Hayter that is what happened to them when they knocked each other out of the ring, causing yet another draw in their sudden rivalry. Surely it cannot end like that!
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 11/03/2026 San Jose Civic, San Jose, California, USA
1. Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli (w/ Marina Shafir) defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero when Castagnoli pinned Hechicero with an Inside Cradle (14:09).
The previous week’s scuffle set the stage for this tag match to take place as on the go home show for the PPV. Neither Takeshita or Moxley could get the upper hand to each other so it was left up to Castagnoli to break the deadlock. A near ref bump threw Hechicero off enough for him to get poke in the eye and Castagnoli then rolled him up in a Small Package to steal the win. More fighting continued when Don Callis ordered Lance Archer & Mark Davis down to the ring but Takeshita showed a change of heart when he refused to attack Moxley with a chair. The message Takeshita wanted to send is he wanted to beat Moxley at his best. However the other members of the Family didn’t share the same feelings and felt he just wasted a perfect opportunity to get the upper hand.
PPW “HARDCORE FRIDAY THE 13TH”, 13/03/2026 TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi
1. Hardcore Match: Chris Brookes defeated Gabriel Queen (14:11).
The Polish company PpW Ewenement Wrestling held a mini tour of Japan with two shows in Tokyo during the month. The big one had Chris Brookes involved in the opening match taking on Gabriel Queen. Despite its early placement on the card it was also made into a Hardcore bout, one that drew blood from Brookes and left him busted wide open! Queen didn’t take it seriously at first because he armed himself with a toy mallet. Brookes immediately turned it up a notch by pulling out a stapler in response. A plastic case smashing over Brookes is what cut his forehead open but he would cover up his wound. Queen would later put Brookes in the Crossface but Baliyan Akki would slide the stapler to Brookes from ringside so he could staple Queen’s hand and free himself from the hold. The violence would ramp up even more with chairs being piled up in the ring and Brookes would Superplex Queen onto them. He then got his own back using the plastic cases by slamming Queen through one with the Michinoku Driver for the victory.
AEW “REVOLUTION”, 15/03/2026 Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. AEW Continental Title – No Time Limit: Jon Moxley (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita (23:32). *V2 for Jon Moxley.
Takeshita got the bad end to his story with Moxley but at least it was one hell of a match between them. Moxley busted Takeshita open and damaged his leg enough that it stopped him from doing the Powerdrive Knee late in the bout. Takeshita kept on fighting, kicking out of not just the regular Death Rider but a top rope version of it too! Moxley switched his plan over to using a submission hold and he fought to put him into a Rear Naked Choke. Takeshita flipped him off with a middle finger but couldn’t escape the move, losing consciousness and also the match. You know how it goes with Moxley in AEW. You bleed in the ring with him, you earn his respect. Takeshita eventually shook his hand after the match to make it so.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW TEXAS STAMPEDE – AUSTIN DAY 1”, 17/03/2026 Palmer Events Center, Austin, Texas, USA 1,951 Fans
1. Suzume defeated Uta Takami with the Ring A Bell (6:12).
2. Sakura Hattori defeated Shino Suzuki with the Shinden Fudo Ryu Majime Ura (8:54).
3. Raku & Pom Harajuku defeated Hyper Misao & Mifu Ashida when Raku pinned Ashida with the Doctor Yellow (10:25).
4. Miyu Yamashita & Arisu Endo defeated Mizuki & Yuki Aino when Yamashita pinned Aino with the Skull Kick (13:53).
5. Jessie McKay & Cassie Lee defeated Shoko Nakajima & Wakana Uehara when McKay pinned Uehara after the IIdolizer (10:15).
6. Miu Watanabe & Rika Tatsumi defeated Yuki Kamifuku & Yuki Arai when Watanabe pinned Arai with the Tear Drop (15:08).
AEW “COLLISION – SLAM DUNK SUNDAY”, 18/03/2026 (Aired 22/03/2026) Save Mart Center At Fresno State, Fresno, California, USA
1. Mistico, Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander & El Clon when Mistico submits Clon with La Mistica (13:10).
Takeshita got a change of pace for his first match after the PPV by getting into some fast pace trios action with a familiar face on the other team. Always nice to see Takeshita and Mike Bailey in the same ring together. Disaster struck for the Callis Family when Josh Alexander got injured from blocking Bailey’s Standing Moonsault Knee Drop with his own knees. Takeshita & El Clon had to wrestle the rest of the match one man down. Kevin Knight had Takeshita scouted by escaping the Raging Fire and leaping onto Takeshita to give him a DDT that planted him onto the canvas. Mistico went on to tap out Clon with La Mistica.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW TEXAS STAMPEDE – DALLAS”, 21/03/2026 College Park Center, Arlington, Texas, USA 1,481 Fans
1. Shino Suzuki defeated Mifu Ashida with the Modified Cobra Clutch (4:55).
2. Sakura Hattori defeated Uta Takami with the Shinden Fudo Ryu Majime Ura (7:57).
3. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Raku & Pom Harajuku when Endo pinned Harajuku with the Ju no Okite (11:32).
4. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara defeated Yuki Aino & Vert Vixen when Kamifuku pinned Aino with the Diving Famouser (11:55).
5. 3 Way Match: Mizuki defeated Rika Tatsumi and Hyper Misao when Mizuki pinned Misao with the Diving Foot Stomp (13:50).
6. Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Arai defeated Miu Watanabe & Miyu Yamashita when Nakajima pinned Yamashita with the Diving Senton (16:48).
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW TEXAS STAMPEDE – HOUSTON”, 22/03/2026 POST Houston, Houston, Texas, USA 415 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Yuki Aino & Vert Vixen defeated Suzume & Shino Suzuki when Aino pinned Suzuki with the Venus DDT (10:26).
2. Sakura Hattori defeated Mifu Ashida with the Shinden Fudo Ryu Majime Ura (7:25).
3. Hyper Misao defeated Raku with the I Am A Hero (8:39).
4. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara defeated Miyu Yamashita & Kaylia Capri when Uehara submitted Capri with the Banana Pillow (12:20).
5. Yuki Arai defeated Pom Harajuku with the Modified Brainbuster (10:04).
6. Miu Watanabe, Rika Tatsumi & Arisu Endo defeated Shoko Nakajima, Mizuki & Uta Takami when Watanabe pinned Takami with the Tear Drop (16:59).
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 25/03/2026 Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
0. Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Paul Virk (?:??).
I can’t find much information online but Daisuke Sasaki worked a dark match at AEW before that night’s Dynamite show. The ring had the ROH aprons so it was likely taped for their weekly show. I’ll correct the info if that turns out to be the case. Sasaki teamed up with local Minnesota wrestler Paul Virk to lose against The Gates Of Agony.
ROH/MLP “GLOBAL WARS”, 27/03/2026 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. 6 Pack Scramble: Michael Oku defeated Jake Crist, Daisuke Sasaki, Michael Allen Richard Clark, Ace Austin and Brent Banks when Oku pinned Crist with the Six Star Frog Splash (10:26).
Sasaki was advertised for the ROH joint show with Maple Leaf Pro but it wasn’t known in advance what he would get up to. It turns out he was the replacement for Barbaro Cavernario in a 6 Pack Scramble match. He was pretty much lost in the shuffle for most of the match.
MLP “UPRISING”, 28/03/2026 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. No DQ Match: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Bryce Hansen with a chair assisted Diving Splash (8:12).
Sasaki had more to do on the next night’s MLP show when a backstage confrontation with Bryce Hansen forced a No DQ Match to take place between them. Don Callis was on commentary and seemed to be impressed with Sasaki’s dirty tactics. Sasaki hit Hansen below the belt with a kendo stick, Speared him twice into a table (because it didn’t break the first time) and then pinned him with a flying chair dive from the top rope onto the rubble below.
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Upcoming Appearances
GCW “LAST CALL”, 03/04/2026 FSW Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Daisuke Sasaki Vs Marcus Mathers
With Canada out of the way, Sasaki heads on over to America for a couple of GCW appearances. He has two trips to Las Vegas in him and the first is for a match against Marcus Mathers.
GCW “MANIAC”, 04/04/2026 Ukrainian Culture Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. GCW World Title: Atticus Cogar (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki
Sasaki’s big hopes of becoming a triple crown champion have gone up in smoke after he lost the DDT Universal Title before leaving Japan. He can still be a double champion if he can beat Atticus Cogar for the GCW World Title and then remember he still has the O-40 Title back home.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “VANCOUVER PREMIERE – DAY 1”, 11/04/2026 Great Canadian Hastings Racecourse & Casino, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Less than two weeks to go and not a lot announced. J-Rod is officially booked for the Vancouver shows so she might get a warm up match with Yuki Arai before they get to Las Vegas.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “VANCOUVER PREMIERE – DAY 2”, 12/04/2026 Great Canadian Hastings Racecourse & Casino, Vancouver, BC, Canada
What’s the hold up, Sayuri Namba?
PODER~! “PODERMANIA~!”, 15/04/2026 Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. International Tag Team Match: Amira & Lil Marz Vs Toga & Jazzy Yang
Toga is starting things off early for WrestleMania Week.
PANDEMONIUM PRO “WHATEVER, FOREVER”, 15/04/2026 Bizarre Bar, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Jiah Jewell Vs Daisuke Sasaki
I heard about Jiah Jewell being this crazy wrestler last year but his match with MAO wasn’t much to write about. Maybe Sasaki will get a better fight out of him this year.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS 2026”, 16/04/2026 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Toga & Uta Takami
2. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Alexis Lee, HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki
3. Special 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita Vs Mizuki Vs Miu Watanabe
4. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Sakura Hattori
5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Jessie McKay & Cassie Lee (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
6. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs J-Rod
This is the full card for TJPW’s return to Las Vegas. Three championship matches fill up the second half but the match that will surely be the talk of the show will be the 3 Way between Miyu Yamashita, Mizuki and Miu Watanabe.
“DEATH VEGAS INVITACIONAL”, 16/04/2026 Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Daisuke Sasaki Vs X
I’m not expecting Sasaki’s match on this show to be anything spectacular given the lineup so far. Maybe stick him in the ring with ISHIN for something?
GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XV”, 17/04/2026 Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai
Yamashita’s doesn’t have a good winning record against Janai Kai under regular wrestling rules. Is Bloodsport rules the ingredient needed for her to change that?
PRIDESTYLE “OUT OF THIS WORLD”, 17/04/2026 Bizarre Bar, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Special Single Match: Taniya Vs Miu Watanabe
There might be other TJPW related stuff happening during the week (Maple Leaf Pro’s show looks like it will be crossover heavy) but for the moment it looks like Watanabe’s appearance at PrideStyle will be the last TJPW related match on the schedule.
EVE/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “EVE X TJPW”, 25/04/2026 Big Penny Social, London, England
1. EVE International Title Next Contender Tournament – Round 1: Shoko Nakajima Vs Hollie Barlow
2. EVE International Title Next Contender Tournament – Round 1: Miyu Yamashita Vs Aliss Ink
3. EVE International Title Next Contender Tournament – Final: X Vs X
The TJPW contingent heading over to Italy at the end of April have another stop planned in England. EVE is hosting TJPW for a second combined show and this one is being built around a one night mini-tournament to crown the No. 1 Contender for the EVE International Title. Yamashita and Shoko Nakajima are taking part on the TJPW side while EVE is being represented by Hollie Barlow and Aliss Ink. Barlow is apparantly the same height as Nakajima while Ink wants to see if her strikes are at the level of Yamashita’s.
SAJ/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SAJ X TJPW”, 26/04/2026 Centro Sport Cesate, Milan, Italy
1. Mirko Mori, Nico Inverardi & Adriano Vs Goro, Merak & Spencer
2. Shoko Nakajima Vs Kanji
3. Sebastian De Witt Vs Miyu Yamashita
4. SAJ Openweight Title: Lupo (c) Vs Kouga
Plans changed a little bit for the SAJ Wrestling show in Italy. Yamashita’s match against Sebastian De Witt was supposed to be for the SAJ Openweight Title but De Witt lost it at another show earlier this month. Funnily enough the NOAH wrestler now known as Kouga is getting the title shot on this show instead. Nakajima’s match on the show will be a first time meeting with Kanji. TJPW would be good to get Kanji over for a tour or two if she’s up for it.
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “LOVE & PEACE 2026 SPRING SUPPORTED BY TIF ASIA TOUR – DAY 1”, 09/05/2026 JioSpace, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
DDT and TJPW’s tour of Malaysia is back for a second year. It will take place over two days in the same venue as last time with idol performances happening alongside the wrestling matches.
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “LOVE & PEACE 2026 SPRING SUPPORTED BY TIF ASIA TOUR – DAY 2”, 09/05/2026 JioSpace, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
The Japanese wrestlers going over for the shows are Yuki Arai, Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Shino Suzuki, Uta Takami, Marika Kobashi, Shinya Aoki and Shota.
GCW/BZW “NOW OR NEVER”, 23/05/2026 Espace Isabelle de Hainaut, Rue de Saint-Quentin, Bapaume, France
1. MAO & Yoshihiko Vs X & X
MAO & Yoshihiko are heading back to France! They still hold the BZW Tag Team Titles so who will BZW find to challenge them this time? GCW are involved so could it be a team often seen over there?
WXW “DRIVE OF CHAMPIONS 2026”, 06/06/2026 Turbinenhalle 1, Oberhausen, Germany
1. Jun Akiyama Vs X
Don’t mind me slipping this in, I just forgot to include it before posting the article. Jun Akiyama is going over to Germany to wrestle for wXw!
Phew! Finally made it through the month with a lot more clearer pictures to look at. Konosuke Takeshita has moved on from the Kazuchika Okada feud to become a focal point in the rivalry between The Don Callis Family and the Death Riders. Takeshita against Jon Moxley is the destination while bringing in a variety of wrestlers for some good trios bouts in the process. I’ve been happy watching this feud so far because the matches have been constantly good and highlighting some of the AEW wrestlers I really like. However Okada is still making moves in the background because he might have just stolen Takeshita’s tag partner! He only just formed ProtOkada with Kyle Fletcher this past week which should eventually add another layer to Takeshita’s story with The Family.
Next up we go to Tokyo Joshi Pro and their ever increasing international schedule. After a lot of hullabaloo that had driven me crazy, the return to Las Vegas was finally confirmed to be real. That can be added to the Texas tour, the Vancouver tour and also a show in Italy all coming up in the next couple of months (and maybe more). With that being said, the ticket sales for the Texas tour so far look dismal from what people can find online and the savvy marketing work done by Tokyo Story USA is almost nowhere to be seen this time around. We may be due some harsh lessons this time around, like how maybe last year’s success really did just come from holding the shows next to a big destination wrestling event.
Elsewhere this month some of the TJPW wrestlers have lost their championships. Shoko Nakajima and K!SS// went on their travels and came back home missing their titles. Things fared better for the DDT wrestlers when it comes to gaining or keeping their gold. Now heading into March we have Miyu Yamashita embarking on another excursion, WrestleMania Week all of a sudden getting stuffed with TJPW appearances to look forward to and Daisuke Sasaki is off to North America for a while.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 04/02/2026 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Jon Moxley, PAC & Daniel Garcia (w/ Marina Shafir) Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & El Clon
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 11/02/2026 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & Mark Davis Vs Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & PAC (w/ Marina Shafir)
AEW “GRAND SLAM AUSTRALIA”, 14/02/2026 Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
1. AEW Continental Title: Jon Moxley (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
SETUP “REAL GLOBAL IMPACT”, 21/02/2026 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami (c) Vs Monomoth & Matcha
2. IWA Japan SETUP World Title: Shivam (c) Vs Chris Brookes
AEW “COLLISION”, 21/02/2026 Frontwave Arena, Oceanside, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Mark Davis & El Clon Vs Jon Moxley, PAC & Wheeler Yuta (w/ Marina Shafir)
NJPW “THE NEW BEGINNING”, 27/02/2026 CURE Insurance Arena, Trenton, New Jersey, USA 2,605 Fans
1. NJPW World TV Title: El Phantasmo (c) Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA
Jon Moxley and Konosuke Takeshita can’t wait until AEW Revolution! | AEW Collision, 2/28/26
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Results
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 04/02/2026 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & El Clon defeated Jon Moxley, PAC & Daniel Garcia (w/ Marina Shafir) when Takeshita pinned Garcia with the Raging Fire (13:18).
The current storyline Takeshita is in is a stable war going on between The Don Callis Family and the Death Riders that’s become the backbone of AEW’s mid-card on TV. He and Moxley had plenty of battles against each other this month in 6-Man Tags. Takeshita scored first blood when he teamed with Josh Alexander & El Clon (the evil doppelganger of Hologram) to beat Moxley, PAC & Daniel Garcia. Things could have gone the other way when Garcia put Takeshita in the Dragon Tamer (Sharpshooter) submission hold and Moxley then Curb Stomped him. But Alexander broke the pin and Takeshita got his wind back to slam Garcia. Tandem trios moves from The Family couldn’t keep Garcia down until Takeshita dropped him with the Raging Fire.
MLW “LUCHA APOCALYPTO”, 07/02/2026 Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shotzi Blackheart defeated Shoko Nakajima (c) (?:??). *Shoko Nakajima fails in V7. Shotzi Blackheart becomes the 6th MLW Women’s World Featherweight Champion!
By the time this is posted, all I know about this MLW taping is Shoko Nakajima lost the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title to Shotzi Blackheart. Since then there hasn’t been a word about when the match will air. MLW are really taking their time putting their next batch of episodes together.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 11/02/2026 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & PAC (w/ Marina Shafir) defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & Mark Davis when Moxley pinned Alexander with the Death Rider (15:05).
The next trios match had Claudio Castagnoli replacing Garcia and Mark Davis switching in for El Clon. This time Moxley was in danger of losing the match to the teamwork of The Family until PAC came to the rescue. Castagnoli cut off Takeshita with a European Uppercut, giving Moxley the opening to catch Alexander in a Read Naked Choke, wearing him down enough to give him the Death Rider for the victory.
AEW “GRAND SLAM AUSTRALIA”, 14/02/2026 Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
1. AEW Continental Title: Jon Moxley (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00). *V1 for Jon Moxley.
When it was finally time for Moxley and Takeshita to settle their differences one on one in Australia, time wound up running out for them. With the AEW Continental Title on the line, rules were strictly in place to make sure no interference would be allowed. It ended up going to a stalemate. Moxley giving Takeshita a Curb Stomp onto the apron didn’t keep him out of the ring long enough to get counted out. Neither the Powerdrive Knee or the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex was enough to pin Moxley for a three count. Takeshita kicked out of the Death Rider and the two continued throwing bombs at each other until the bell rang. Takeshita was seconds away from performing the Raging Fire so he went ahead and did it anyway after the match was over.
AEW “HOUSE RULES AUSTRALIA”, 15/02/2026 Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Boondall, Queensland, Australia
1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Dalton Castle with the Powerdrive Knee (10:47).
Brisbane had extra action for Takeshita during his stay there. AEW ran a rare house show the next day and Takeshita was on it wrestling Dalton Castle for the first time ever. Before the match began Don Callis had Castle’s buddies The Outrunners sent away from ringside because they did not have a manager’s license recognized by the state of Australia. Callis got some cheap shots in on Castle at ringside while the crowds chanted bald jokes at him. Castle fought his way back to give Takeshita the Bangarang for a nearfall but a well timed Elbow Strike gave Takeshita the momentum needed to eventually win the match.
SETUP “REAL GLOBAL IMPACT”, 21/02/2026 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Monomoth & Matcha defeated Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami (c) when Matcha pinned Toribami with the Saito Suplex (12:41). *K!SS// fails in V2. Monomoth & Matcha become the 6th IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Champions!
2. IWA Japan SETUP World Title: Shivam (c) Vs Chris Brookes ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00). *V2 for Shivam.
There were two big title matches to follow over in Thailand for SETUP this month. Chris Brookes challenged Shivam for the IWA Japan SETUP World Title despite both men belonging to the same group, Real Global Threat. In a result that became something of a trend for a lot of title matches I’m writing about in this article, the match latest the full twenty minute time limit and went to a draw. Brookes demanded a restart and called Pumi Boonyatud into the ring to make it happen. But it was all a trap so Brookes could knock out Pumi with a slap! Shivam then got on the microphone to praise Brookes for caring about pro wrestlers like him before attacking Pumi some more until Monomoth ran them out of the ring.
Meanwhile Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami’s reign as IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Champions has come to an end. K!SS// went to Thailand for a big title defence against SETUP’s other two singles champions Monomoth & Matcha. Both teams fought their hardest over the titles until it came down to Toribami against Matcha in the ring. Yamashita dealt with Monomoth by Skull Kicking him off the ring apron but Toribami’s attempt at the Sento Choryu was blocked by Matcha’s knees. Matcha then fought to give Toribami the Saito Suplex, pinning her while a dazed Monomoth held onto Yamashita long enough to prevent her from breaking the count. K!SS// accepted defeat and shook hands with the new champions after the match.
AEW “COLLISION”, 21/02/2026 Frontwave Arena, Oceanside, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Mark Davis & El Clon defeated Jon Moxley, PAC & Wheeler Yuta (w/ Marina Shafir) when Takeshita pinned Yuta with the Raging Fire (14:33).
Since nothing was solved in Australia, the feud between The Family and the Death Riders continued with more 6-Man Tag Matches. Wheeler Yuta was now brought into the fold wrestling in a beanie hat because he recently lost his hair in a wager match. Also Marina Shafir was now getting into the thick of things. She’s been at ringside for most of the matches in this feud and got physically involved this time to stop Davis from using a chair. Yuta was enthusiastic to try and get the win on Takeshita until he was hit with a Pump Kick followed by the Elbow Strike. El Clon wiped out the rest of the Death Riders, allowing Takeshita to pin Yuta with the Raging Fire. Moxley confronted him after the match and thanks to others trying to get in the way, he caught Takeshita off guard and gave him the Paradigm Shift.
PPW/BZW “FRIDAY NIGHT BANGER”, 27/02/2026 PPW Training Facility, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England
1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) defeated Liam Slater & HMD (?:??). *V7 for MAO & Yoshihiko.
It’s been so long since I last heard about the BZW Tag Team Titles that I wasn’t sure if MAO & Yoshihiko were still the champions. Turns out they are and they travelled all the way to England for their latest defence. MAO was over there to take part in training seminars and brought Yoshihiko over so they could wrestle on a show co-promoted by BZW and Pursuit Pro Wrestling. They defeated Liam Slater & HMD to retain the gold.
NJPW “THE NEW BEGINNING”, 27/02/2026 CURE Insurance Arena, Trenton, New Jersey, USA 2,605 Fans
1. NJPW World TV Title: El Phantasmo (c) Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (w/ Rocky Romero) ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00).
1a. Overtime: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated El Phantasmo (c) with the Raging Fire (2:43). *El Phantasmo fails in V7. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA becomes the 10th NJPW World TV Champion!
Another title match and another time limit draw for Takeshita. Although this time he got a chance to make up for it. New Japan returned to America with a fresh attempt at running a big show in the country. Having El Phantasmo and Takeshita go at it with the NJPW World TV Title again was one of the big bouts of the show. They pretty much played the hits until ELP gave Takeshita a taste of his own medicine by using the Raging Fire on him! However the bell rang right afterwards to announce the match ended in a tie. ELP got on the microphone and talked about how much time limit draws suck and demanded the match to restart for another five minutes. Takeshita considered walking out with Rocky Romero next to him but turned around and got the match going again. This time Takeshita gave ELP the CR II, using the champion’s own finisher against him. ELP kicked out and snuck in a Crucifix Pin for a nearfall but Takeshita hit back and won the match with the Raging Fire. Now a champion in NJPW again, Takeshita thinks the company wants him to raise the value of the NJPW World TV Title.
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Upcoming Appearances
EVE “WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY #IWD2026”, 06/03/2026 Big Penny Social, London, England
1. Jamie Hayter Vs Miyu Yamashita
We’re at the time of year where Yamashita goes travelling everywhere. Europe is the next up for her with EVE as an important destination. Her first of two EVE bookings for March has her facing Jamie Hayter in a much anticipated singles match.
Yamashita then goes over to Spain the next day for a return to RCW Spain. Her opponent Nightshade has done tours with TJPW in the past but this will be the first time these two will be in a match together.
EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM VIII”, 08/03/2026 Indigo At The O2, London, England
1. Sudden Death Sixteen: Alexxis Falcon Vs DASH Chisako Vs Jamie Hayter Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Amale Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X
Then the day after that Yamashita goes back to London for EVE’s most important show they’ve probably ever put on. She is entering a Sudden Death Sixteen match which seems to be the next step in promoters trying to make their own Royal Rumble. It’s the Casino Gauntlet match where the first fall crowns the winner outright but you can still be eliminated before then by going over the top rope to the floor. The winner gets to challenge for any of EVE’s championships.
PPW “HARDCORE FRIDAY THE 13TH”, 13/03/2026 TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi
1. Chris Brookes Vs Gabriel Queen
Given all of the international work Brookes has been involved with lately, he is seeing the world like a wrestling buffet. Coming up soon on the menu is Gabriel Queen.
AEW “REVOLUTION”, 15/03/2026 Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. AEW Continental Title – No Time Limit: Jon Moxley (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Not long to wait until Moxley and Takeshita go at it again. This time there will be no time limit in place so a winner should be guaranteed… unless we get a double countout or double knockout…
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW TEXAS STAMPEDE – AUSTIN DAY 1”, 17/03/2026 Palmer Events Center, Austin, Texas, USA
The wrestlers announced to appear on this tour are Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara, Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Mizuki, Rika Tatsumi, Hyper Misao, Raku, Yuki Aino, Suzume, Pom Harajuku, Arisu Endo, Yuki Arai, Kaya Toribami, Shino Suzuki, Mifu Ashida and Uta Takami.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW TEXAS STAMPEDE – AUSTIN DAY 2”, 18/03/2026 Palmer Events Center, Austin, Texas, USA
The American and any other international talent for the tour have not been announced yet.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW TEXAS STAMPEDE – DALLAS”, 21/03/2026 College Park Center, Arlington, Texas, USA
They better start announcing stuff soon because the ticket seat map for this show is currently looking grim.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW TEXAS STAMPEDE – HOUSTON”, 22/03/2026 POST Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
It took a while but Tokyo Story USA confirmed the date and location of the Houston show. TJPW will be back at the POST Houston on 22nd March.
ROH/MLP “GLOBAL WARS”, 27/03/2026 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Daisuke Sasaki Vs X
There is a good chance Daisuke Sasaki will be bringing the DDT Universal Title with him to North America. We have to wait and see if he can defend it at DDT’s Anniversary show first before we find out what plans he has for this trip.
MLP “UPRISING”, 28/03/2026 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Daisuke Sasaki Vs X
I haven’t really thought about what Maple Leaf Pro going to do with Sasaki for the ROH weekend.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “VANCOUVER PREMIERE – DAY 1”, 11/04/2026 Great Canadian Hastings Racecourse & Casino, Vancouver, BC, Canada
The wrestlers announced to appear on the Canada tour are Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara, Miyu Yamashita, Yuki Arai, Suzume, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Kaya Toribami, HIMAWARI, Toga, Shino Suzuki and Uta Takami.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “VANCOUVER PREMIERE – DAY 2”, 12/04/2026 Great Canadian Hastings Racecourse & Casino, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Like with the Texas tour above, they best start announcing matches soon because tickets haven’t been flying off the shelves for either tour. I hope Sayuri Namba isn’t betting the house on this.
PODER~! “PODERMANIA~!”, 15/04/2026 Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. International Tag Team Match: Amira & Lil Marz Vs Toga & Jazzy Yang
The big clue this month that TJPW was going to Vegas came from Toga unexpectedly got booked for the eighth annual “PODER~!” show that is put together by Edward Loredo, aka “Ed In San Antonio” of F4W Board infamy. Toga is going to team with Jazzy Yang, the daughter of Jimmy Wang Yang. Together they will take on Amira from America and Lil Marz from Australia for an international tag showcase.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS 2026”, 16/04/2026 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Ta-da! It was happening all along! TJPW adds even more to their growing international schedule by going back to Las Vegas for Mania Weekend. This time instead of working with The Collective, they have joined a new collection of shows called Slam Fest that is being put together by the Paragon Talent Agency. The move keeps the show at Palms Casino and now has TJPW siding with Stardom, CMLL, House Of Glory and MLP for the week. I doubt we’re going to see any significant crossovers but you never know when it comes to events like this.
The Japanese talent coming to Vegas are Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara, Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Mizuki, Hyper Misao, Raku, Yuki Aino, Suzume, Pom Harajuku, Yuki Arai, Kaya Toribami, Shino Suzuki, HIMAWARI, Toga and Uta Takami.
“DEATH VEGAS INVITACIONAL”, 16/04/2026 Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Daisuke Sasaki Vs X
This is the show I’m personally most looking forward to at Mania Week. El Desperado is hosting another “Invitacional” show, continuing the death match theme of the previous one and also bringing it to America for the first time. The first couple of wrestlers announced are from Japan, the latest of whom being Daisuke Sasaki! There’s also been a hint from Mizuki Watase that he might be on the card too because he recently said he will be travelling to USA in April to wrestle in a death match.
GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XV”, 17/04/2026 Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
So far Yamashita is the only woman announced for Bloodsport and I’m not expecting an intergender fight to happen.
PRIDESTYLE “OUT OF THIS WORLD”, 17/04/2026 Bizarre Bar, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Special Single Match: Taniya Vs Miu Watanabe
The week gives Miu Watanabe another chance to spread her wings a little and wrestle on an American indie show. This time she’s popping over to PrideStyle where she faces Taniya, the current holder of the PrideStyle New Wave World Title. So far it hasn’t been said if the championship will be on the line.
SAJ “SAJ X TJPW”, 26/04/2026 Centro Sport Cesate, Milan, Italy
More details have emerged for TJPW’s trip to Italy to join up with friends from SAJ Wrestling. The Japanese contingent will include Miyu Yamashita, Hyper Misao, Shoko Nakajima and Yuki Aino. There will be wrestlers not just from Italy but also across Europe taking part too.
The final month of the year now includes a new tradition from AEW. It’s the Continental Classic tournament! Their take on the round robin format that Japan’s wrestling scene has down to a science still has a lot of bugs in it. Mainly there’s none of the pageantry you’d expect from collecting together a dozen great wrestlers for a month long tournament and the lack of matches scheduled in advance takes the fun out of predicting how the booking is going to go. That latter part does mean AEW can keep fans on their toes and throw a few curveballs with doing the more anticipated matches at unexpected times. The shorter, more packed schedule this year helped things out more because these tournaments work when you don’t have to wait many days for the next show to advance further through the group stage.
The hope was for Konosuke Takeshita to take part in the C2 this year after not being selected for the inaugural event. With a G1 Climax victory from earlier this year under his belt it would have been insane to leave him out again. Thankfully he made it into the field and was put into a group with no other members of The Don Callis Family involved. There were still plenty of familiar opponents for him to fight with and as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, losing to anyone right before he goes to defend the belt in the Tokyo Dome would take another hit to how he’s currently being perceived. Well, at least he made it through the block undefeated…
AEW “COLLISION – THANKSGIVING”, 26/11/2025 (Aired 27/11/2025) The Pinnacle, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (3) defeated Roderick Strong (0) with the Raging Fire (13:15).
Takeshita got off to a good start… or did he…? Uh… yes, it turns out he did even though a fake spoiler rattled up a lot of fans in the day between when the match was taped and when it aired on TV. Neither Takeshita nor Roderick Strong were concerned if they broke each other in half. Outside the ring Takeshita gave Strong the Blue Thunder Bomb on top of a guardrail while back in the ring Strong dropped Takeshita from the top rope over the turnbuckles Backbreaker style. With so many bombs being thrown, Strong broke down first and he was finished off with the Powerdrive Knee followed by the Raging Fire. After the match Strong is feeling like he is in a slump because he is entering the tournament as a replacement for Kyle O’Reilly. This result is a wake up call for him to compete in the rest of the C2 for himself instead of anyone else.
AEW “COLLISION”, 06/12/2025 Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA
1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (6) defeated Jon Moxley (3) with the Raging Fire (17:29).
Takeshita has fought Jon Moxley in AEW singles matches three previous times and lost all of them. For his fourth attempt he finally got the better of him for the first time. An apparent leg injury hampered Moxley during the match but he kept on fighting, drilling Takeshita onto the ring apron with the Curb Stomp. He also countered the Blue Thunder Bomb with a Headlock Takeover, transitioning it into an Ankle Lock. That harmed Takeshita’s leg to even the playing field but he dropped a big Blue Thunder Bomb onto the remains of the commentary table (that had flimsily fallen apart when Takeshita grabbed the AEW Continental Title that was placed there). Moxley recovered to hit the Paradigm Shift but Takeshita saved himself with a rope break to stop the pin. Moxely hit him more with some strikes until his own knee gave way, allowing Takeshita to strike with the Powerdrive Knee for a nearfall. Takeshita pulled down his kneepad to hit a raw Powerdrive Knee and was able to pull off the Raging Fire to finally get his first win over Moxley.
AEW “COLLISION – WINTER IS COMING”, 13/12/2025 Utilita Arena Cardiff, Cardiff, Wales, UK
1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (7) Vs Claudio Castagnoli (7) ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
There should be a bit of magic in the air whenever you have a world champion from one company take on a world champion from another. Just last month Claudio Castagnoli went to Mexico and won the CMLL World Heavyweight Title, a championship that’s in an odd position because people who don’t follow lucha libre think it’s a much bigger prize than it actually is. Still, Castagnoli is making sure the belt is nothing to sneeze at while he is holding it and he became the first bump in the road to slow down Takeshita. The two ended up fighting all the way to the time limit, making it the first match in this year’s C2 to end in a draw. The two kept on fighting anyway! Backstage Takeshita said he didn’t care about proving which world champion was better, he instead wanted to show Castagnoli just who is The Alpha! Castagnoli said the last time he wrestled Takeshita was three years ago. He is confident he won’t have to wait that long to fight him again.
1. $1,000,000 (£750,000) Winner Takes All Trios Match: Kenny Omega, Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson defeated Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero when Omega pinned Hechicero with the Indy Taker One-Winged Angel (22:31)
A side story popped up in the middle of the tournament focusing on The Don Callis Family at large. They had to go fight Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks who had all gotten over their problems with each other and revived The Elite. Loads of money was put on the line in a trios match between the two sides but that kind of motivation wasn’t enough to keep Takeshita and Kazuchika Okada on the same page. An opening for Takeshita to go in for the Powerdrive Knee was interrupted by Okada stepping in wanting to do the Rainmaker instead. Hechicero could only watch on in despair as his partners argued with each other. The Elite took advantage to clear house and triple team Hechicero into oblivion. Okada & Takeshita attacked The Elite afterwards and hit their finishers on The Young Bucks. However they still couldn’t help but get into a shoving contest with each other after that.
AEW “DYNAMITE ON 34TH STREET”, 20/12/2025 (Aired 24/12/2025) Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA
1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (10) defeated Orange Cassidy (6) with the Raging Fire (15:26).
The final matches in the Blue League happened in a rush over the Christmas period but Takeshita had nothing to worry about. His win over Orange Cassidy booked his ticket to the semi final round, even with a mini-scare where Cassidy countered the Raging Fire into a Small Package. However it turned out Takeshita was still in control and he powered out of the nearfall to lift his opponent right into the Raging Fire for the win.
AEW “CHRISTMAS COLLISION”, 21/12/2025 (Aired 25/12/2025) Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA
1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (13) defeated Mascara Dorada (6) with the Raging Fire (11:40).
At this point a win for Takeshita was just to cement his position on top of the Blue League while also killing off any chances Mascara Dorada had left of qualifying for the semi-final. Just like with Cassidy, Takeshita’s power had to fight off the speed and agility of his opponent, although Dorada took things to another level with his acrobatics off of the ropes. It looked like Dorada’s closest moment to victory was countering the Last Ride into a Canadian Destroyer but Takeshita popped back up and knocked him away with a Lariat instead. Another big Lariat came when both were standing on the top rope together. From there Takeshita just needed to do the Powerdrive Knee and then the Raging Fire to finish on top of his group.
AEW “WORLDS END”, 27/12/2025 NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
1. Continental Classic – Semi Final: Kazuchika Okada defeated Konosuke Takeshita with a Screwdriver Attack (17:17).
Fate played its hand when the two league standings resulted in Takeshita and Okada meeting each other in the semi final. After so much wait for the match to happen, a screwdriver took it in another direction. Late in the match Okada reached into one of the turnbuckle sleeves and pulled a screwdriver out of it. Then a missed Rainmaker spot knocked the referee out of position so he couldn’t see anything. Okada then struck Takeshita over the head with the screwdriver and got away with it scot free. Don Callis on commentary claimed not to have seen anything and he walked off with the winner.
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Videos
AEW “COLLISION – THANKSGIVING”, 26/11/2025 (Aired 27/11/2025) The Pinnacle, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (0) Vs Roderick Strong (0)
AEW “COLLISION”, 06/12/2025 Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA
1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Jon Moxley (3) Vs Konosuke Takeshita (3)
AEW “COLLISION – WINTER IS COMING”, 13/12/2025 Utilita Arena Cardiff, Cardiff, Wales, UK
1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (6) Vs Claudio Castagnoli (6)
Happy new year! I’m currently in Japan while this is being posted and there’s barely anything to talk about this month, so the article is all nice and easy to write up this time! Konosuke Takeshita’s adventures in the Continental Classic will be posted as a separate article. Yuka Sakazaki’s sole match in December actually happened last month and I didn’t notice (I bet many of you didn’t notice either). Tokyo Joshi Pro had a successful debut in Thailand which again has already been written about and details have emerged about their return to Texas next year. There is an update for Tokio in Mexico as he risked his identity in a mask match for the very first time and lost it all. With a new year coming up in we have Miyu Yamashita’s visit to England next March for what is going to be an eventful week for EVE, a unusual part of the wrestling scene coming to Japan with Chris Brookes along for the ride.
Eat, laugh, and shop! Miu, Raku, Kamifuku, Kira and Ashida take a leisurely food tour of Kuala Lumpur on their day off.
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Results
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 26/11/2025 (Aired 04/12/2025) Fishers Event Center, Fishers, Indiana, USA
1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Semi Final: Billie Starkz defeated Yuka Sakazaki with a Rope Assisted School Boy (10:43).
I’m confused because it turns out this match was actually already recorded last month but I couldn’t find any reference of it on the show spoilers online back then. That’s on me for not doing a good enough job looking for them and I’m not going back to rewrite last month’s article. Anyway, Sakazaki was knocked out of the ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament by Billie Starkz in a match that was more of a grindfest compared to what we would be used to seeing from both women. It had a real flat finish too with the two striking back and forth until Sakazaki bounced off the ropes and fell into a School Boy where Starkz used the ropes for leverage for the three count. All of Sakazaki’s allowed rope breaks were used up by that point so it was all fair for Starkz to give herself the extra leverage and win off of it. Starkz would go on to lose the final against Deonna Purrazzo at the PPV.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN BANGKOK”, 13/12/2025 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand 327 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Yuki Kamifuku defeated Uta Takami with the Famouser (7:57).
2. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Yuki Arai & Shino Suzuki when Suzume pinned Suzuki with the Ring A Bell (11:08).
3. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated Alexis Lee with the Diving Senton (9:05). *V6 for Shoko Nakajima.
4. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami (c) defeated Raku & Pom Harajuku when Yamashita pinned Raku with the Skull Kick (14:27). *V1 for Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami.
5. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) defeated Matcha with the Spinning Tear Drop (17:47). *V3 for Miu Watanabe.
ARENA PEPE CISNEROS “VOLUMEN 1 – 13 ANIVERSARIO LUCTUOSO DE PEPE CISNEROS”, 28/12/2025 Arena Pepe Cisneros, Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico
1. Máscara Vs Máscara: Ratzinger defeated Tokio with a Crushed Rolling Cradle (?:??).
Our suspicions have been confirmed. The Japanese luchador Tokio who had suddenly appeared in Mexico earlier this year has been unmasked and revealed to be Keigo Nakamura! He wagered his mask against the one belonging to a luchador named Ratzinger just days before the year came to an end. A duel of back and forth cradles led to the finish with Ratzinger blocking a Rolling Prawn Hold and pressing himself down on top of Tokyo to pin him for the three count. Tokio allowed Ratzinger to remove the mask off his head and show his face to the crowd. Is this the end of his days in Mexico or will he continue to wrestle there unmasked for a while longer?
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Upcoming Appearances
EVE “WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY #IWD2026”, 06/03/2026 Big Penny Social, London, England
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
It seemed the folks over at EVE made a little slip up on their website at the start of the month by prematurely announcing that Yamashita will be going there in March. Or was it a slip up after all? Well, yes it was but the bigger news was yet to come.
EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM VIII”, 08/03/2026 Indigo At The O2, London, England
1. Jamie Hayter Vs Miyu Yamashita
Yamashita’s above appearance was booked for EVE’s regular monthly show in London and that just so happens to take place two days before EVE holds “WRESTLE QUEENDOM VIII”, one of their most ambitious events ever. It didn’t take long for her to have plans made for the big show itself because Jamie Hayter from AEW has challenged her to a match!
PPW “HARDCORE FRIDAY THE 13TH”, 13/03/2026 TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi
1. Chris Brookes Vs Gabriel Queen
A Polish hardcore wrestling promotion named PpW Ewenement Wrestling is going to hold a show in Japan for the very first time with some help from Big Japan next March. One of their stars Gabriel Queen threw out a challenge for the show and is getting a match against Chris Brookes!
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW TEXAS STAMPEDE”, 17/03/2026 – 22/03/2026 Austin/Dallas/Houston, Texas, USA
TJPW returns to Texas next March with a bang! They will host a tour across the state containing four shows within a 6 day period. Two days will be spent in Austin for the South By Southwest festival, one day will be in Dallas and another day will be in Houston. That’s the only information we have for now, more will be revealed soon.
Normally I put together a hastily written intro for these articles but this month I’m starting with some housekeeping. You may notice that not everything that happened in November related to this series has been included in this post. That is because I will be writing up a separate post about Konosuke Takeshita’s matches in this year’s Continental Classic tournament over in AEW. I really enjoy writing about a DDT wrestler’s journey through a round robin tournament and felt it will be better to chart Takeshita’s C2 run that way instead of mixing it in with everyone else. So at some point at the end of the year you can expect to read about “Konosuke Takeshita’s C2 Adventure”!
Next it’s back to the regular programming. Maki Itoh went to wrestle in America again, Tokyo Joshi Pro made more moves with the Southeast Asian scene, Miyu Yamashita trekked off to Europe and Yuka Sakazaki popped up in Ring Of Honor. With all of that now out of the way it will be a much more quiet end to 2025 than I expected with not much on the horizon for now. There may come a time when I get to pause this series if there are no other bookings to follow outside of Takeshita with AEW, Itoh with GCW and the annual WrestleMania Week of shows. I’ll see if that bridge is worth crossing if I ever get to it.
AEW “SATURDAY TAILGATE BRAWL – FULL GEAR”, 22/11/2025 Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA
1. CMLL World Trios Titles: Mistico, Mascara Dorada & Neon (c) Vs Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero
Match #2 starts at 12:18. Match #4 starts at 41:58. Match #5 starts at 58:52. SETUP/IWA THAILAND “A NEW DAWN”, 14/11/2025 TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi 270 Fans
2. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Bangkok Death Match: Matcha (c) Vs Ram Kaichow Vs Pom Harajuku
4. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Andruew Tang & Jake De Leon (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami Vs Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr.
5. Double Main Event I – Ace Vs Ace: Shivam Vs HARASHIMA
HOG “SUPERCLASH”, 15/11/2025 Suffolk Credit Union Arena, Brentwood, New York, USA
1. Shayna Baszler Vs Maki Itoh
Video starts at 1:48:12. JCW “HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS”, 23/11/2025
The Mecca, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Beastman Body Slam Challenge: Beastman Vs Juni Underwood, Jeffrey John, Emil Jay, Ryan O’Neill, Jimmy Lloyd, Gabby Forza & Maki Itoh
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Results
GCW “YOU WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND”, 07/11/2025 The Webster, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Kerry Morton with a School Boy (10:11).
The start of Itoh’s GCW tour could have ended very badly for her if it wasn’t for some help from an unlikely ally. Kerry Morton controlled most of the match and acted obnoxious to Itoh throughout it. He even took Itoh’s pizza cutter and threatened to use it against her when Kerry’s father Ricky Morton approached the ring telling him to stop. Kerry pushed his dad away from the ring apron but Ricky pushed him back, right into a School Boy from Itoh that got her the three count.
GCW “MASSACRE IN MAINE”, 08/11/2025 Yarmouth Amvets, Yarmouth, Maine USA
1. KJ Orso defeated Maki Itoh with the Step Up Double Stomp (9:46).
Itoh showed her perseverance in a match with KJ Orso that she almost could have won. Orso resorted to cheap tricks like using the rope to leverage his pin but he was caught by the ref. Itoh took her shot and tried to put Orso in the Itoh Special but he got out of it by raking Itoh’s eyes and then followed it up by hitting the Step Up Double Stomp for the win. Orso wanted to hurt Itoh even worse with a chair attack after the match but Joey Janela came to the rescue and chased Orso off.
GCW “GREEN MOUNTAINS AND ME”, 09/11/2025 Barre Elks Lodge, Barre, Vermont, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Selena Hekate with the Itoh Deluxe (6:03).
This GCW show was being held in Vermont where the local promotion Green Mountain Wrestling got involved with the card. Selena Hekate was Itoh’s opponent, wanting to represent the territory against The Cutest In The World. She ended up getting a Headbutt and DDT for her troubles before Itoh tapped her out with the Itoh Deluxe.
SETUP/IWA THAILAND “A NEW DAWN”, 14/11/2025 TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi 270 Fans
2. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Bangkok Death Match: Matcha (c) defeated Ram Kaichow and Pom Harajuku when Matcha pinned Harajuku with the Saito Suplex (9:52). *V3 for Matcha.
4. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami defeated Andruew Tang & Jake De Leon (c) and Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr. when Toribami pinned Kozo with the Sento Choryu (9:23). *RGT fails in V1. Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami become the 15th IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Champions!
5. Double Main Event I – Ace Vs Ace: HARASHIMA defeated Shivam with the Somato (12:17).
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GOOD LIFE PRESENTS LOVE & PEACE”, 15/11/2025 JioSpace, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. MYPW Sponsored Match: Fienic Rose & ‘Love Warrior’ Syawal defeated Wonder Boy & Miles Karu when Rose pinned Boy with the Atomic Love Bomb (11:35).
2. Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami defeated Marika Kobashi & Kira Summer when Suzuki pinned Summer with a Belly-To-Belly Suplex (9:45).
3. Sanshiro Takagi, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Emman Azman defeated Chris Brookes, Shota & Jack Alexander when Kawamatsu pinned Shota with the Axe Bomber (15:19).
4. Miu Watanabe, Yuki Arai & Raku defeated Yuki Kamifuku, Mifu Ashida & Poppy Shay when Watanabe pinned Ashida with the Tear Drop (11:37).
HOG “SUPERCLASH”, 15/11/2025 Suffolk Credit Union Arena, Brentwood, New York, USA
1. Shayna Baszler defeated Maki Itoh by Referee Stoppage with the Kirifuda Clutch (11:17).
She got choked out but at least Itoh didn’t get her face wrecked by Shayna Baszler. She didn’t take Itoh seriously at first until Itoh got a few slaps to the face on target. Baszler hit her back but dropped her guard for the crocodile tears routine. Once she got back in control, Baszler wrenched Itoh’s arm over and over but then she made the mistake of throwing Itoh head first into the turnbuckle. That fired Itoh up for a comeback, leading to a scramble on the mat as Itoh got Baszler in a Rear Naked Choke instead of the other way around. A falling Head Kick from Baszler backfired as Itoh stumbled into the ropes and from the rebound hit a Kokeshi Headbutt for a nearfall. Itoh then scored big with a Tornado DDT and the Stunner but still couldn’t put Baszler away. Instead grabbed Itoh into a Rear Naked Choke and turned it into the Kirifuda Clutch to squeeze the life out of her until the ref called for the match.
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB – BLACK FRIDAY”, 19/11/2025 (Aired 28/11/2025) Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Round 1: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Serena Deeb with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (10:31).
After all that wait, was it worth it in the end? Eh, maybe. The ROH Pure Wrestling ruleset is still something Sakazaki isn’t purposely taking into consideration for her tournament matches but if there was any opponent to make it a factor, it was Serena Deeb. Except she ended up getting foiled by the very rules she was supposed to excel in. Deeb was the one who used up all of her rope breaks in the match and then she made the big mistake of trying to push Sakazaki around with some disrespectful slaps to the head like she wasn’t worth her time. That made Sakazaki go into mini-terminator mode and hit her back with some big Elbow Strikes. Deeb almost turned things around by blocking the Magical Girl Splash but Sakazaki dropped her with the Magical Merry-Go-Round and got the three count. Deeb actually got her foot on the rope but since she ran out of rope breaks, it couldn’t stop her from getting pinned.
WXW “25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR – DAY 1”, 21/11/2025 Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany
1. Dani Luna defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Luna Landing (16:51).
You don’t usually get to see Yamashita get involved with some deep crowd brawling past the first couple of rows but when an environment like wXw gives you a chance to shake things up, you should take it. Dani Luna got to hit her back just as hard though while the German fans filled the room with their football chants. She even had the Return Crash scouted, turning the move into a bouncing Blue Thunder Bomb off the ropes for a nearfall. Yamashita missed the Skull Kick but held onto Luna with a Sleeper Hold to wear her down. However despite getting a Buzzsaw Kick in, Yamashita was lifted back up onto her opponent’s shoulders and was given the Luna Landing (Fireman’s Sitout Bomb) to give Lina a very impressive victory.
WXW “25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR – DAY 2”, 22/11/2025 Gruenspan, Hamburg, Germany
1. Ahura defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Salamandra (17:17).
Ahura took Yamashita lightly at first, placing her on the top turnbuckle and giving her some words. But Yamashita pushed him back, paint brushed his head and then kicked it to show she should be taken seriously. She continued to kick the hell out of him while Ahura tried to take breaks to stop himself from losing control of the match. Soon Ahura was bleeding from the mouth but he soon took advantage a gave Yamashita a big Power Bomb. She recovered and fought back to set up the Skull Kick but Ahura dodged it to roll out of the ring again. Ahura then dug his thumb into Yamashita’s eye from the ring apron but Yamashita made another comeback to give him the Attitude Adjustment from the second rope. She went for the Crash Rabbit Heat only for Ahura to catch her and Power Bomb her into the ropes so she would bounce right into a big Lariat. He was then able to win by using the Salamandra, which I can best describe as a Fireman’s Carry that twists into a Spinning Emerald Flowsion. Yamashita slapped away Ahura’s offer for a handshake after the match but it was only so she could offer him the handshake instead.
GCW “DREAM ON”, 22/11/2025 American Dream, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Jeffrey John with the I.S.D (5:40).
Unfortunately Itoh’s last GCW match of the month had to be changed. Her original opponent Zayda Steel was unable to make the show so Itoh instead took on “The Babushka Baron” Jeffrey John. He’s called that because he wears a babushka during his matches you see. He gave Itoh a Death Valley Driver but she kicked out of it. He then tried to Superplex her off the top rope but Itoh Headbutted him back down and gave him the I.S.D off the turnbuckles to win the match.
AEW “SATURDAY TAILGATE BRAWL – FULL GEAR”, 22/11/2025 Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA
1. CMLL World Trios Titles: Mistico, Mascara Dorada & Neon (c) defeated Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero when Mistico submitted Hechicero with La Mistica (13:44). *V3 for El Sky Team.
Well this was a mess. Takeshita returned to AEW after finishing up his DDT dates and walked right into a championship match with other members of The Don Callis Family. They were challenging El Sky Team, the reigning CMLL World Trios Titles but were a man down when Kazuchika Okada didn’t show up due to alleged travel issues according to Don Callis. Things turned out better for the challengers when Hechicero attacked Mistico and seemed to have injured his shoulder before the match even began, sending one third of the champions out of the match to get medical attention. Then when Mascara Dorada & Neon were making a comeback, Okada finally arrived in the parking lot and walked out of his sportscar in full gear (…ohhhhh, I get it!) right down to ringside to enter the match. He kept unapologetically getting in Takeshita’s way and purposely gave him the Rainmaker while Mistico made a triumphant return to action. El Sky Team were now a united force while The Don Callis Family were all on opposite pages, allowing Mistico to win by making Hechicero tap out to La Mistica.
REVPRO “LIVE IN COVENTRY”, 23/11/2025 HMV Empire, Coventry, England
1. Kanji defeated Miyu Yamashita (?:??).
Yamashita’s next country to visit was a return to England where she made her Revolution Pro debut. It ended in defeat to Kanji, continuing her growing losing streak on this tour. It’s not a result to be ashamed of though, Kanji is one of the bright prospects in the current United Kingdom scene and RevPro seem to have a solid direction in mind for her heading into 2026.
JCW “HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS”, 23/11/2025 The Mecca, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Beastman Body Slam Challenge: Maki Itoh defeated Beastman with the Body Slam.
Another of Itoh’s big matches planned for the month didn’t go ahead. Queen Aminata was out of action with an injury so Itoh decided to enter Beastman’s Body Slam Challenge instead. After a list of different wrestlers all tried and failed to Body Slam the giant opponent, Itoh looked like she was not going to fare any better. She tried doing a Diving Cross Body to weaken Beastman but was caught in midair and slammed onto the mat. Beastman then climbed the ropes attempting to jump onto Itoh when Thomas Shire ran into the ring to make the save. He knocked Beastman down with a Lariat, giving Itoh the opening to successfully Body Slam her opponent like she was Ahmed Johnson slamming Yokozuna in 1995. Her celebration was immediately cut short when Mad Dog Connelly ran into the ring and Clotheslined her, leading Connolly and Shire to start brawling as their match was next.
WPE/QPW “EPISODE 2”, 28/11/2025 Salle Albert Marquet, La Frette-sur-Seine, France
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Lauriana (?:??).
From one princess to another. Yamashita’s visit to France had her go face to face with “Princess” Lauriana. I couldn’t find much information on how the match went other than Yamashita won.
SAJ “FINAL BOUT 4”, 29/11/2025 Magnete, Via Adriando, Milan, Italy
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Luke Jacobs with the Skull Kick (?:??).
2. Maki Itoh defeated Flamingo with the Itoh Deluxe (?:??).
Did 121000000 become two ships passing by during one night in Milan? The SAJ Wrestling show had both Itoh and Yamashita on the card, making it the first show to have both of them on since Itoh left TJPW. If they had interactions it wasn’t in the ring because Itoh was busy beating up a wrestler named Flamingo.
Yamashita on the other hand had a big change in plans. Her original opponent JJ Gale was not on the show due to reasons I could not make out from the translation but she was given another British brute of a wrestler to take on instead, Luke Jacobs. She even got to beat him clean! It’s a bit of a funny result because she got to beat the previous PROGRESS World Champion one day before she actually made her PROGRESS debut.
PROGRESS “VENDETTA 3”, 30/11/2025 Electric Ballroom, Camden, London, England
1. Alexxis Falcon defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Off With Her Head (?:??).
Yamashita’s European vacation ended London for her debut in PROGRESS. Things were going mostly well for her against Alexxis Falcon until she took her opponent’s finisher, a Shellshock style Swinging DDT that was given to Yamashita while she was draped on the ropes. She kicked out of it the first time but Falcon was able to pull of the move again, this time getting the win with it.
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Upcoming Appearances
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 03/12/2025 Fishers Event Center, Fishers, Indiana, USA
1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Semi Final: Billie Starkz Vs Yuka Sakazaki
OK so we’re sprinting into the home stretch for this tournament. Sakazaki meets Billie Starkz in the ring once again with a spot in the grand final on the line. Should Sakazaki win she will be facing either Deonna Purrazzo or Queen Aminata a couple of days later at the ROH PPV. There the ROH Women’s Pure Champion will finally be crowned.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN BANGKOK”, 13/12/2025 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Uta Takami
2. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Yuki Arai & Shino Suzuki
3. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami (c) Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku
4. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Alexis Lee
5. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Matcha
Wait, is this the last upcoming thing I have on the list outside of Takeshita’s C2 schedule? Oh my God I might get to take it easy next month! The girls in TJPW won’t be taking it easy though. Three title matches are on the cards for their Thailand debut along with a few other matches to look forward to.
This month’s article feels like it is the most jam packed one I’ve ever written. Konosuke Takeshita is part of a big angle going on with Kazuchika Okada in AEW that is definitely going to result in a singles match between the two before the end of the year. Too bad the storyline they’re doing is the dreaded “Can They Get Along?” tag team gimmick. The stuff that I find fun is seeing the clumsy balancing act AEW is doing trying to handle Takeshita while he is the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion alongside a strongly protected Okada who is completely divorced from New Japan by now. I just cannot see a Takeshita Vs Okada match take place inside a New Japan ring at this point, whether it’s at the Tokyo Dome or for NJPW’s next attempt at running in the American market. This match is happening in AEW but if the IWGP Title is somehow involved we are all going to be flung headfirst into the salt mines.
There’s no drama to worry about over in Mexico this month. Shoko Nakajima went over there on behalf of Major League Wrestling. There was a slightly awkward moment when an interviewer unaware of the politics between Tokyo Joshi Pro and Stardom put Nakajima on the spot to talk about the other Japanese wrestlers she would be teaming with but it sounds like she handled the situation well. Once that was out of the way, everything Nakajima did over in Mexico looked like fun with five consecutive days of matches to wrestle in across various venues. MLW definitely found a way to get some good sounding news out there by praising their champion’s work during the tour. How often news reports about MLW sound like fluffy press releases will always annoy me (you’re telling Salina de la Renta is taking on an even bigger role behind the scenes yet again?!?) but whatever. I guess I shouldn’t let this stuff bother me.
There was also the return to action for Maki Itoh this month. Now unemployed, she went and had her first match since leaving TJPW. She has a big tour of America coming up this month so I’ll cover that but as for Japan, I’m going to wait and see what she does before I continue writing about her. If she ends up joining another company either full time or as a regular I don’t see much point to pay attention to it from a DDT/TJPW point of view. The same might go for her American bookings if I’m just writing about GCW month after month with no change in the status quo. Kyushu Pro and TAJIRI in particular were really happy with how Itoh’s match went so I can see that place becoming a regular spot for her. It’s funny that Rossy Ogawa went out of his way to tell everyone that Marigold is not interested in bringing her in. I think the reason he did that was to jump ahead of his reputation for poaching wrestlers from other companies. While the Marigold roster has been improving during their second year, suggesting that Itoh isn’t good enough to be in that locker room is nonsense when you see who they’ve already taken in.
Speaking of Marigold, there’s one other thing I want to talk about before diving into the rest of the article. Bryan Alvarez reported on Wrestling Observer Live yesterday that there are tentative plans by WWE to send female NXT wrestlers over to Japan next year much like they’ve been doing with male wrestlers this year. Alvarez doesn’t know which promotion WWE will be working with but guesses it would be Marigold while follow up reports also include NOAH, likely because of the “MONDAY MAGIC” series that usually books joshi matches and is getting expanded in 2026. I actually wouldn’t rule out the idea of TJPW getting to book an NXT wrestler or two out of this if only because of how WWE’s relationship with NOAH is currently going. It’s not like TJPW and AEW are doing much together anyway. Crazier things have happened so I’m just preparing myself for if I ever wake up to news that it’s actually happening.
Oh and TJPW is going back to Texas next Spring but I’ll write about that once more solid info comes out. Tokyo Story USA knows what they’re doing. Same goes for GCW because it looks like DDT and TJPW will be part of The Collective at WrestleMania Week again next year.
AEW “COLLISION”, 04/10/2025 RP Funding Center, Lakeland, Florida, USA
1. MxM TV Casting Call: Mansoor, Mason Madden & Johnny TV (w/ Taya Valkyrie) Vs Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita, & Josh Alexander (w/ El Clon)
Video starts at 1:39:30 for the match MLW “SLAUGHTERHOUSE”, 04/10/2025 Thunder Studios Arena, Long Beach, California, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs HIMAWARI
AEW “DYNAMITE – TITLE TUESDAY”, 07/10/2025 Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
1. Double Jeopardy Eliminator Match: Bandido & Brody King Vs Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita
A birthday celebration for Don Callis!
AEW “WRESTLEDREAM”, 18/10/2025 Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
1. AEW World Tag Team Titles: Bandido & Brody King (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Kazuchika Okada
KYUSHU PRO “OGORI CITIZEN’S FESTIVAL 2025”, 19/10/2025 Ogori City Lifelong Learning Center, Fukuoka, Japan
1. Jet Wei, One☆Kyushu & Princess Pistachio Vs Maki Itoh, TAJIRI & Charles Crowley
Women’s Pure Title Tournament participants Deonna Purrazzo & Yuka Sakazaki stand off ROH TV 10/23/25
CMLL “VIERNES ESPECTACULAR”, 24/10/2025 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Grand Prix de Amazonas: Persephone, La Catalina, Olympia, Skadi, Reyna Isis, Zeuxis, India Sioux, Lluvia & La Jarochita Vs Kanji, Diamante, Shoko Nakajima, Hazuki, Koguma, Mina Shirakawa, Skye Blue, Julia Hart & Thekla
CMLL “DOMINGO FAMILIAR”, 26/10/2025 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Kira & Skadi Vs Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima
Video starts at 38:27 for the main event CHOCOPRO “CHOCOPRO #484”, 27/10/2025 Ichigaya Chocolate Square, Tokyo, Japan
1. Emi Sakura Vs Mizuki
Video starts at 44:29 for the match CMLL “DIA DE MUERTOS”, 27/10/2025 Arena Puebla, Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, Puebla, Mexico
1. Match Relámpago Internacional de Amazonas: Kira Vs Shoko Nakajima
CMLL “DIA DE MUERTOS”, 28/10/2025 Arena Coliseo, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
1. Persephone & Zeuxis Vs Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima
Okada & Takeshita stare each other down, Don Callis introduces new painting | AEW Dynamite, 10/29/25
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Results
AEW “COLLISION”, 02/10/2025 (Aired 04/10/2025) RP Funding Center, Lakeland, Florida, USA
1. MxM TV Casting Call: Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita, & Josh Alexander (w/ El Clon) defeated Mansoor, Mason Madden & Johnny TV (w/ Taya Valkyrie) when Fletcher pinned Mansoor with the Sheer Drop Brainbuster (3:05).
Everyone loves doing open challenges lately, huh? The unit known as MxM TV put one together under the guise of a casting call and it was answered by The Don Callis Family. Together the trio of Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher & Josh Alexander Suplexed their opponents around while helping each other when Johnny TV or Mason Madden tried to make a comeback. Fletcher then sealed the deal on Mansoor with a Sheer Drop Brainbuster for the victory. El Clon just hung around at ringside for the vibes it seems like. It’s a bit difficult being an evil doppelganger when the person you’re the opposite of has to go away because of an injury that you didn’t cause.
MLW “SLAUGHTERHOUSE”, 04/10/2025 Thunder Studios Arena, Long Beach, California, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated HIMAWARI with the Diving Senton (12:22). *V4 for Shoko Nakajima.
Gotta give MLW some credit. They’re getting a good amount out of Nakajima’s working relationship with them. Her latest defence of the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title was against HIMAWARI so the match itself was what you would typically get in TJPW anyway. Nakajima retained the title, went on to Mexico to represent MLW and has another title defence coming up in her home promotion again later this month.
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 07/10/2025 (Aired 23/10/2025) Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki & Alex Windsor defeated Aleah James & Billie Starkz when Windsor pinned James with the Pumphandle Half Nelson Driver (7:45).
A possible glimpse into the future was shown before the match even began when Yuka Sakazaki’s entrance cut off Deonna Purrazzo’s post-match celebration from the previous bout. The two of them are in opposite sides of the ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament bracket so if they were to face off in that it would be in the final. When that moment passed, Sakazaki went on to team with Alex Windsor to beat Aleah James & Billie Starkz. While Windsor has toured with TJPW in the past, I don’t think she was ever in the same match with Sakazaki until here. Starkz got some licks in on the team while James even pushed them into each other to create an opening. But James & Starkz ended up on different pages and their teamwork broke down when Starkz started yelling at her partner. She then abandoned James when Windsor applied a Sharpshooter and James reached out for help. Sakazaki stood confused on the ring apron but hey, a win’s a win.
AEW “DYNAMITE – TITLE TUESDAY”, 07/10/2025 Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
1. Double Jeopardy Eliminator Match: Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Bandido & Brody King when Okada pinned Bandido with the Rainmaker (12:04).
Someone was coming out of this match getting a title shot of some sort. Okada & Takeshita fought Brodido in a tag match full of champions. Takeshita did the hard work of dealing with Brody King but had a trickier time fighting Bandido once more. Okada grabbed hold of Bandido from the ring apron but took the full brunt of Takeshita’s Jumping Knee Strike after Bandido broke himself free. Bandido tried to capitalize but his injured shoulder prevented him from giving Takeshita the 21 Plex. Takeshita gave him a Reverse Rana but Okada then blind tagged himself in to finish off Bandido with the Rainmaker. Okada & Takeshita had won the match but they weren’t on good terms with each other in the aftermath.
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 08/10/2025 Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
This match hasn’t aired yet but it is nice to see Windsor & Sakazaki establishing a tag team together. The only substantial thing that might come out of it though is a challenge for the AEW Women’s World Tag Team Titles once that thing is up and running. Robyn Renegade’s been wrestling without her sister for a while now and just seems to be thrown together with Taya Valkyrie every now and then.
VIP “SETTING THE BAR 11”, 10/10/2025 The Haltom Theater, Haltom City, Texas, USA
1. VIP Women’s Title – 3 Way Match: Vert Vixen defeated Maya World (c) and Kaya Toribami (12:06). *Maya World fails in V3. Vert Vixen becomes the 3rd VIP Women’s Champion!
The flag has been planted in Texas. Now it’s time for the slow process of TJPW spreading out from there. Kaya Toribami was sent over to VIP Wrestling to continue this mission, taking part in a 3 Way Match with the VIP Women’s Title on the line. The champion Maya World was dethroned but sadly for Toribami the title change was not for her. Instead Vert Vixen won the match to become the new champion.
VGM “FIGHT VGM FIGHT WRESTLING STARS MEET AND GREET & PRO WRESTLING MATCH”, 18/10/2025 Full House, Liangxi, Wuxi, China
1. Rika Tatsumi defeated HIMAWARI with the Missile Hips (?:??).
HIMAWARI also travelled to China this month with Rika Tatsumi by her side. The two of them had a TJPW offer match at the latest Fight VGM Fight show. Again it was pretty much the kind of singles match they would have back home.
AEW “WRESTLEDREAM”, 18/10/2025 Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
1. AEW World Tag Team Titles: Bandido & Brody King (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Kazuchika Okada when Bandido pinned Okada with the 21 Plex (27:26). *V5 for Brodido.
By the time Takeshita had his next match in AEW he had won the IWGP Title in New Japan! The news didn’t exactly make Okada feel thrilled and now the two of them had to be on the same page for a rematch against Brodido, this time with the AEW World Tag Team Titles on the line. A similar situation to last time occurred where Okada held onto Bandido from behind with Takeshita standing in front of them. This time Okada tried doing the Rainmaker but Bandido ducked and Takeshita got hit with the big Clothesline instead! Okada found it kind of funny while Don Callis was left speechless on commentary. Okada paid the price in the end because Bandido used the 21 Plex on him to get the big victory.
KYUSHU PRO “OGORI CITIZEN’S FESTIVAL 2025”, 19/10/2025 Ogori City Lifelong Learning Center, Fukuoka, Japan
1. Maki Itoh, TAJIRI & Charles Crowley defeated Jet Wei, One☆Kyushu & Princess Pistachio when Itoh submitted Pistachio with the Itoh Deluxe (17:38).
I’m not going to write about Itoh’s matches in Japan that often anymore but this was her first match back since leaving TJPW (and was booked when she was still with the company) so I might as well include it here. She was at Kyushu Pro to team with TAJIRI and the British carnival wrestler Charles Crowley. Their opponents were Kyushu Pro’s own One☆Kyushu alongside two wrestlers from Taiwan, Jet Wei & Princess Pistachio. The match was built around Itoh as the star although Pistachio got to get some cheers over her at points by trying to out-cute her. Itoh got to submit Pistachio with the Itoh Deluxe while her partners held back the other team with their own submission holds.
CMLL “VIERNES ESPECTACULAR”, 24/10/2025 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Grand Prix de Amazonas: Persephone, La Catalina, Olympia, Skadi, Reyna Isis, Zeuxis, India Sioux, Lluvia & La Jarochita defeated Kanji, Diamante, Shoko Nakajima, Hazuki, Koguma, Mina Shirakawa, Skye Blue, Julia Hart & Thekla (56:44).
1d. Shoko Nakajima eliminated India Sioux with the Northern Lights Suplex (29:54).
1i. La Catalina eliminated Shoko Nakajima with the One-Winged Angel (41:24).
What a trip this turned out to be. Nakajima went to Mexico as a representative of MLW for CMLL’s annual October series that is marketed around women’s wrestling. Nakajima was there as a member of The World team taking on Team Mexico in the Grand Prix de Amazonas torneo de cibernetico. The MLW connection meant she was able to wrestle in the same match as Hazuki & Koguma in ways that bypass the politics that still exist between Stardom and TJPW. Her status also might have given her the stronger booking because Nakajima was able to score an elimination on India Sioux while the FWC pair were both taken out of the match quite early on. Nakajima was beaten around the middle portion thanks to La Catalina (the “Cata-Cata-Cata-Catalina” chorus of her song is difficult to get out of my head whenever I hear it).
CMLL “SÁBADOS DE LUCHA LIBRE”, 25/10/2025 Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. CMLL Vs ROH & MLW: Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima defeated Kira & Candela (11:56).
The rest of Nakajima’s week was spent travelling around CMLL’s main haunts. Diamanté became her partner in crime for most of these shows as the two became an ROH/MLW aligned tag team for the tour. Things got off to a good start with them beating Kira & Candela in Arena Coliseo.
CMLL “DOMINGO FAMILIAR”, 26/10/2025 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Kira & Skadi defeated Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima when Kira pinned Diamanté after a Power Bomb Assisted Senton and Skadi pinned Nakajima with a Double Arm Backbreaker (?:??).
Diamanté & Nakajima were back in Arena Mexico the next day for a show that used Formula 1 style marketing because the Mexican Grand Prix was being held that weekend. Their tag match against Kira & Skadi was only held for one fall instead of the traditional Best 2 out of 3 rules. It was fun to see Nakajima fight someone much bigger than her. That is until she was broken in half with a Backbreaker for part of the finish.
CHOCOPRO “CHOCOPRO #484”, 27/10/2025 Ichigaya Chocolate Square, Tokyo, Japan
1. Emi Sakura Vs Mizuki ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00).
This year marks 30 years in the business for Emi Sakura. A big show at Shinjuku FACE was planned for her by ChocoPro at the end of the month and Sakura had wanted Mizuki to have been a part of it. Unfortunately the scheduling didn’t work out to get her on for that show so instead Sakura and Mizuki got to have a match together a couple of days earlier in ChocoPro’s home venue of Ichigaya Chocolate Square. It was their first singles match against each other in over two years and I think it is the first to happen in Japan since 2014! The two fought to a 15 minute draw with Sakura using her surroundings to get the upper hand while Mizuki eventually adapted to the unusual environment. In the final seconds Mizuki landed a Diving Cross Body but Sakura rolled her over for a nearfall. She was then in the middle of applying La Magistral Cradle when the time expired and the match ended. Mizuki offered a handshake afterwards but Sakura got the last laugh by slapping it away.
CMLL “DIA DE MUERTOS”, 27/10/2025 Arena Puebla, Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, Puebla, Mexico
1. Match Relámpago Internacional de Amazonas: Kira defeated Shoko Nakajima with the German Suplex (7:40).
The CMLL series turned spooky for the rest of the week because they were all Day Of The Dead themed. Nakajima got into the spirit of things by wrestling her match wearing a skeleton shirt. Would have been nice if Kira wore her Togepi outfit too but she already used it two days earlier. The singles match was the Lightning match of the show, which is the format CMLL uses for midcard singles bouts held within a 10 minute time limit. Thankfully for Nakajima it was early enough in the card where she wasn’t offered up as a sacrifice to the Aztec gods for losing the match. That fate was kept for Hazuki & Koguma one match later.
CMLL “DIA DE MUERTOS”, 28/10/2025 Arena Coliseo, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
1. Persephone & Zeuxis defeated Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima when Persephone pinned Nakajima with a Rope-Assisted Crucifix Pin and Zeuxis pinned Diamanté with a Cradle (?:??).
Nakajima’s tour with CMLL came to an end with a chance for her to fight the Grand Prix de Amazonas winner Persephone before going home. Again the tag match was held to one fall only and things went south for the visitors. Diamanté had her pin on Zeuxis countered around into her getting pinned instead. Meanwhile Nakajima got to hit the Diving Senton onto Persephone but was then rolled back into a Crucifix Pin. Persephone also clasped onto the bottom rope with her own feet to get added leverage for the three count.
1. Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Max Caster & Anthony Bowens (?:??).
Tensions are only getting worse between Okada and Takeshita. With pro wrestling being what it is, the only answer is to keep them teaming together until things boil over! In fact, AEW thought it was a wise idea to stick them against The Acclaimed, another tag team that cannot get along with each other. If you play the odds that way then surely one side will resolve their problems, right? It’s the kind of logic that might get Fulham some points over Liverpool this season.
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Upcoming Appearances
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, ??/11/2025 ???, USA
1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Round 1: Serena Deeb Vs Yuka Sakazaki
This tournament is really going at a snail’s pace, huh? I heard someone say the matches are purposely being kept back for PPV so I dunno, maybe we’re finally going to see this happen at “FINAL BATTLE” in another month’s time. Serena Deeb didn’t fall into an inter-dimensional vortex somewhere, right?
GCW “YOU WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND”, 07/11/2025 The Webster, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Kerry Morton
If we remember what happened at the Clusterfuck this year, Kerry Morton made it known he is not a fan of idol music when he interrupted The Up Up Girls. He went on a rather foul mouthed rant about them too. He should probably be careful if he pulls that same stunt on Itoh. She can swear with the best of ’em.
GCW “MASSACRE IN MAINE”, 08/11/2025 Yarmouth Amvets, Yarmouth, Maine USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs KJ Orso
Itoh’s already throwing insults at the former Fuego del Sol, telling KJ Orso he should have kept his mask on.
GCW “GREEN MOUNTAINS AND ME”, 09/11/2025 Barre Elks Lodge, Barre, Vermont, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
No match for Itoh has been announced yet but she will be there in Vermont.
SETUP/IWA THAILAND “A NEW DAWN”, 14/11/2025 TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Bangkok Death Match: Matcha (c) Vs Ram Kaichow Vs Pom Harajuku
2. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Andruew Tang & Jake De Leon (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami Vs Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr.
3. Double Main Event I – Ace Vs Ace: Shivam Vs HARASHIMA
Let’s see how much of a payoff there is for SETUP’s working relationship with DDT and TJPW when they touch down in Japan.
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “LOVE & PEACE”, 15/11/2025 JioSpace, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
1. MYPW Sponsored Match: Wonder Boy & Miles Karu Vs Fienic Rose & ‘Love Warrior’ Syawal
2. Marika Kobashi & Kira Summer Vs Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami
3. Sanshiro Takagi, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Emman Azman Vs Chris Brookes, Shota & Jack Alexander
4. Miu Watanabe, Yuki Arai & Raku Vs Yuki Kamifuku, Mifu Ashida & Poppy Shay
The combined DDT and TJPW show in Malaysia will also be featuring performances by the KLP48 idol group. One of their members Suzuha Yamane has spent time rehearsing with The Up Up Girls because she has never performed while standing inside a wrestling ring before.
HOG “SUPERCLASH”, 15/11/2025 Suffolk Credit Union Arena, Brentwood, New York, USA
1. Shayna Baszler Vs Maki Itoh
As brave of a fighter that Itoh has become in recent years, there are still some opponents who can scare her. Shayna Baszler is one who Itoh admits will have to bend some rules just to have a chance at beating her. She has probably accepted her fate over what will happen in House Of Glory and at least asked Baszler not to destroy her face.
… but her second match with wXw is completely different. I remember seeing Ahura for the first time back in 2019 when he had a breakout weekend as part of The Pretty Bastards when they won the World Tag Team Festival that took place right as the pandemic lockdowns began. He’s become something of a top guy for wXw since then, particularly this year when he reached the final of 16 Carat Gold and then just recently winning the first König der Catcher tournament. He’s a good opponent for Yamashita to fight.
GCW “DREAM ON”, 22/11/2025 American Dream, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Zayda Steel
A lot is going on for Zayda Steel lately, including an appearance on the EVOLVE brand that WWE decided to revive because they don’t have enough development systems in place apparently (I know, I know, it’s to take up more TV deals while also shutting out the competition). Itoh will keep her busy in New Jersey.
REVPRO “LIVE IN COVENTRY”, 23/11/2025 HMV Empire, Coventry, England
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Kanji
Now the result of this match is going to be interesting. The Undisputed British Women’s Title that belongs to Revolution Pro is currently among the dozen championship belts in Mercedes Moné’s collection. It’s a cool storyline, I think it’s great that Moné is doing this but I’m also relieved that TJPW hasn’t been involved with it because I’d rather not have an absentee championship in the promotion right now especially after what went on with the International Princess Title. Anyway, RevPro have been clearly signaling that Kanji is going to eventually challenge Moné and maybe even be the one to take the title away from her for this promotion’s big payoff to the storyline. Kanji facing Yamashita is a good way to build up some credibility on her road to becoming No. 1 Contender. But there’s a wild card that can be played here. Moné doesn’t keep it a secret how much she likes training with Yamashita and the TJPW crew whenever she gets the chance to. She’s even said in a Q&A that she would have liked to wrestle in TJPW but there’s just never been a time when the two sides could work something out. So what if instead Moné finally gets to wrestle Yamashita outside of Japan, like in England where Yamashita already has some cachet over there because of her history with EVE? You can say I’m coping all you want, what I just did now was put in the effort explaining why this match is appealing.
JCW “HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS”, 23/11/2025 The Mecca, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Queen Aminata Vs Maki Itoh
The original plan for Itoh on this JCW show was to team up with Matt Tremont & Bam Sullivan for a 6-Person Tag Match. Plans changed for the better because now she’s getting a singles match against Queen Aminata instead! We’re going to get headbutts that will shake the building to its core.
WPE/QPW “EPISODE 2”, 28/11/2025 Salle Albert Marquet, La Frette-sur-Seine, France
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Still not match revealed for Yamashita in France yet but Queens Pro Wrestling did advertise a meet and greet with her and Cara Noir together. Seeing that graphic without the context made me do a double take because that would be a unique match-up.
SAJ “FINAL BOUT 4”, 29/11/2025 Magnete, Via Adriando, Milan, Italy
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs JJ Gale
I’ve seen JJ Gale wrestle a couple of times in RevPro. He’s decent, definitely a big guy for Yamashita to try and knock down. He also has a tour of Japan coming up with ZERO1 at the end of the year. I thought SAJ would have Itoh’s match decided by now too. Still feels kind of odd she’s only doing this one booking for a European trip unless it’s just for some extra holiday money.
PROGRESS “VENDETTA 3”, 30/11/2025 Electric Ballroom, Camden, London, England
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
So the current PROGRESS Women’s World Champion is Rayne Leverkusen, a name that might sound familiar if you remember she did a tour with DDT a few years back. However Session Moth Martina is challenging her for the title in November and I know she still wants to have a match with Yamashita after the previous time in EVE was cancelled. That’s two ideas for possible opponents Yamashita can get on this show.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN BANGKOK”, 13/12/2025 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
I don’t think there’s been any new updates on TJPW’s Thailand show this month. The current lineup is Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Arisu Endo, Shoko Nakajima, Miyu Yamashita, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Suzume, Yuki Arai, Kaya Toribami, Shino Suzuki, Uta Takami, Matcha and Alexis Lee.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 