DDT Around The World – March 2025

April 1, 2025

Buckle up, folks. There is a lot to talk about this month, next month and probably even going into the summer. Konosuke Takeshita is no longer the AEW International Champion. That was to be expected but I am pleasantly surprised he has remained on AEW TV since then and is still winning matches for The Don Callis Family. He remains being protected in the booking so it looks like AEW has something in mind for him down the line even if it’s just building him up to put someone else over. Also in news that is kind of AEW related Yuka Sakazaki is now on the lookout for more wrestling bookings. Sumie Sakai is helping her out on that end but it sounds like Sakazaki will still need AEW’s permission to go ahead with whatever offers come her way.

Next let’s talk about Maki Itoh and Miyu Yamashita. Once the Las Vegas shows are done Itoh will be staying in America until 11th May while Yamashita won’t be coming back to Japan until 21st July for “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25”. I was taken aback by the negative response to the news that both of them will be taking another extended hiatus from Tokyo Joshi Pro to wrestle overseas again. I get the frustration in a way. People think both of them are looking for contracts from WWE or AEW. Itoh has brought up stuff like that in past English interviews but I’m not entirely sure Yamashita has the same goal in mind. There was a public talk event sometime ago where Yamashita revealed she spent a lot of money to go follow one of her favorite K-Pop bands on a US tour and she seems to enjoy when she’s not being relied upon by TJPW to be a company ace. Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think the two of them keep taking these options in the search for deals that may never come their way. Of course I may also just be blind to what could possibly be some tryout matches coming up next month.

That brings us up to next month’s chaos that is Wrestlemania Week. I can’t wait for this! Too many wrestling shows going on non-stop in Las Vegas for a solid week. Now that’s my kind of holiday! DDT and TJPW don’t have full cards out for their shows yet and I have the feeling one or two more promotions will be booking the likes of MAO and Itoh before we get there. So many shows are going on during the week that I can’t help but wonder if it will just take one badly made political decision somewhere to throw half the shows into chaos.

And if that’s not enough it turns out there will be even more wrestling shows going on through the year after Wrestlemania is finished. Yeah that took me by surprise too. Anyway next month expect me to write up three separate Around The World articles. One for everything that happens before WM Week, one for the week itself and one for the rest of April after that. If the next month doesn’t burn me out something fierce than nothing will.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


SPW “UNCHAINED”, 07/03/2025
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Yuki Kamifuku & The Statement Vs Alexis Lee & Da Butcherman


RCW “MARCH MADNESS”, 08/03/2024
Casinet de Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Amale


Kenny Omega looks at history with AEW International Champ Konosuke Takeshita! | 3/8/25 AEW Collision


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 12/03/2025
Save Mart Center At Fresno State, Fresno, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Max Caster


AEW “COLLISION – SLAM DUNK SATURDAY”, 22/03/2025
Liberty First Credit Union Arena, Omaha, Nebraska, USA

1. Mark Briscoe, Powerhouse Hobbs & Rocky Romero Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Brian Cage & Lance Archer


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 26/03/2025
Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

1. Mark Briscoe Vs Konosuke Takeshita


ACE vs ALPHA: The story of Konosuke Takeshita vs Hiroshi Tanahashi

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Results


SPW “UNCHAINED”, 07/03/2025
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Yuki Kamifuku & The Statement defeated Alexis Lee & Da Butcherman when Statement pinned Butcherman with an Uppercut (?:??).

The latest chapter in the Southeast Asian rivalry between Yuki Kamifuku and Alexis Lee was a little different this time around. Recently in Singapore Pro Wrestling Lee was stabbed in the back by Andruew Tang, or as he prefers to be called now, The Statement. Lee wanted payback and joined forces with one of Statement’s rivals Da Butcherman to get it. Statement called in Kamifuku to back him up so they can become the royal pair who will rule over SPW together with iron fists. An intense tag match resulted in the referee getting knocked out and Statement being saved by a tag team called The Midnight Bastards. The team attacked Butcherman with chairs and held him in place for Statement to knock him out with an Uppercut. Statement & Kamifuku both stood tall over their rivals holding their championships before leaving. Lee swore revenge and promised to take back the Queen Of Asia Title from Kamifuku!


EVE “WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY”, 07/03/2024
The Big Penny Social, London, England

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Lucia Lee with the Skull Kick (12:48).

Plans in EVE changed for Yamashita when her original opponent Session Moth Martina pulled out of the show due to illness. Instead Yamashita was given Lucia Lee as her new opponent. For Lee it was a chance on short notice to step up against Yamashita and prove she can go toe to toe against her. Despite the good effort, Yamashita knocked her over with the Skull Kick anyway.


RCW “MARCH MADNESS”, 08/03/2024
Casinet de Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Amale with the Skull Kick (15:16).

The next day Yamashita was in Spain to wrestle on an RCW show for the first time since October 2022. Her opponent was “The French Hope” Amale, formerly from NXT UK. She sent Yamashita crashing through the front row of chairs with a Topé Suicida and the two soon found themselves brawling around ringside. Back in the ring Amale kicked out of an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment and almost scored the win with a Small Package. But when Yamashita kicked out she quickly had her opponent in her sights and hit the Skull Kick for the victory.


WXW “16 CARAT GOLD – NIGHT 3”, 09/03/2025
Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Anita Vaughan with the Crash Rabbit Heat (13:32).

Yamashita’s busy European weekend ended in Germany where she showed up during wXw’s final day of the annual 16 Carat Gold tournament. She didn’t take part in the 16 Carat tournament itself, instead she fought Anita Vaughan who was already eliminated from the competition by that point. Yamashita made it three wins for three but she needed to use the Crash Rabbit Heat this time to end the weekend with a clean sweep.


AEW “REVOLUTION”, 09/03/2025
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. AEW International Title: Kenny Omega defeated Konosuke Takeshita (c) with a Cradle (28:30).
*Konosuke Takeshita fails in V9. Kenny Omega becomes the 11th AEW International Champion!

That’s the end of Takeshita’s first championship reign in AEW. With thoughts of Hajime no Ippo on their mind and also their gear, Takeshita and Kenny Omega went hell for leather in their rematch from September 2023. Omega’s ribs were violently targeted due to his recent bout with diverticulitis and Takeshita got a little help from Don Callis here and there too. But Omega overcame the odds and kept kicked out of the Powerdrive Knee. Takeshita avoided the One-Winged Angel yet when he went for the Raging Fire, Omega countered it into an Inside Cradle. Only getting a nearfall, Omega then switched to more types of cradle pins until he kept Takeshita’s shoulders down long enough for the three count.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 12/03/2025
Save Mart Center At Fresno State, Fresno, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Max Caster with the Raging Fire (1:30).

Takeshita wasted no time in getting back to work after his title loss. Max Caster held the latest in his open challenges and tried to talk Takeshita out of it when he walked down to the ring with a purpose. Caster asked if Takeshita was actually here to invite him into The Don Callis Family? When he suggested he could use that position to beat Omega, Takeshita attacked him and quickly won with the Raging Fire.


BZW “WAR AT THE CAPITAL”, 16/03/2025
Claridge, Brussels, Belgium

1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) defeated Kid Lykos & Kid Lykos II when Yoshihiko submitted Lykos & Lykos II with a Double Half Crab Hold (?:??).
*V3 for MAO & Yoshihiko.

I missed when this was announced last month. MAO & Yoshihiko travelled back to Banger Zone Wrestling this month, this time to defend the BZW Tag Team Titles in Belgium. The challengers were the two troublemakers from Lykos Gym in England: Kid Lykos & Kid Lykos II. They weren’t prepared for Yoshihiko to do a balcony dive onto them nor did they expect the dark spirit that sometimes follows Yoshihiko around to show up and Moonsault onto them either. Lykos II made the big mistake of yelling insults towards Yoshihiko. When he tried to Headbutt it only he felt the impact. Yoshihiko was then able to trap both members of Lykos Gym in a Double Half Crab Hold and made both of them tap out at the same time!


AEW “COLLISION – SLAM DUNK SATURDAY”, 19/03/2025 (Aired 22/03/2025)
Liberty First Credit Union Arena, Omaha, Nebraska, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Brian Cage & Lance Archer defeated Mark Briscoe, Powerhouse Hobbs & Rocky Romero when Takeshita pinned Romero with the Raging Fire (11:22).

Takeshita continued to rebuild his momentum by teaming with more members of The Don Callis Family. He, Brian Cage & Lance Archer all worked over Rocky Romero until Mark Briscoe got the hot tag. Briscoe had the numbers game against him but he held his own until it was time for Powerhouse Hobbs to get the big tag. But The Don Callis Family withstood the comeback. Cage & Archer took out Romero with a Choke Slam/Power Bomb combo and held his partners at bay so Takeshita could pin Romero with the Raging Fire.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 26/03/2025
Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Mark Briscoe with the Raging Fire (11:39).

There was unfinished business between Takeshita and Briscoe from Collision so they met in a singles match the following week on Dynamite. The episode was sponsored by The Minecraft Movie so the venue they were in ended up kind of looking like a Create-An-Arena you would download from the WWE 2K games. Briscoe took a high risk by running across the barricade outside the ring to jump onto Takeshita with a Diving Elbow Drop. Takeshita hit Briscoe with the Powerdrive Knee back in the ring but it got him a nearfall. Briscoe pulled out the Jay Driller that had Takeshita beat but a rope break stopped him from getting pinned for the three count. Takeshita stunned Briscoe with a Rolling Elbow before using the Raging Fire to win by the skin of his teeth.

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Upcoming Appearances


MLW “BATTLE RIOT VII”, 05/04/2025
Thunder Studios Arena, Long Beach, California, USA

1. HIMAWARI Vs Janai Kai
2. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Delmi Exo (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima

There was a report from Fightful’s Patreon account during the month saying MLW has “big plans” in mind for Shoko Nakajima and HIMAWARI and the promotion hopes to get TJPW more involved with their women’s division. I’m a bit skeptical towards what that could be because the way wrestling media reports on MLW often comes across as Court Bauer trying to get his material over and everybody just taking him for his word. Big plans could mean anything from Nakajima beating Delmi Exo for the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title or Janai Kai literally murdering HIMAWARI on behalf of CONTRA Unit and right afterward MLW announces a working relationship with Stardom (go see how CIMA was written out of the company right before MLW aired a Dragongate trailer). Or the big plans might just be TJPW talent being used to put over the regulars MLW wants to push. Which at this moment in time is Exo, Kai and maybe Tara Zep. But hey, who knows. It looks like MLW’s working relationship with CMLL is legit. I’ll be happy to be proven wrong.


NJPW “WINDY CITY RIOT”, 11/04/2025
Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Hiroshi Tanahashi Last Match In The USA Final Road ~Kinship~: Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA

I recommend watching the Ace Vs Alpha video New Japan put on their Youtube channel (I included it in the video section above) because it shows Takeshita and Hiroshi Tanahashi talking about their previous match together as well as why Takeshita holds a grudge over how Tanahashi treated DDT in the past. It’s not the complete story of what happened back then because that is more HARASHIMA’s story to tell but it is suffice to build up their match happening next month.


PANDEMONIUM PRO “THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS”, 17/04/2025
Fremont Country Club, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Masha Slamovich Vs MAO
2. Maya World Vs Miu Watanabe

Now we hit the busiest wrestling week of the year. Damn it really is a week long this time around with WWE going full throttle with their own schedule in Las Vegas from Tuesday to Tuesday. But enough about them, among the early shows kicking off the week is Pandemonium Pro where Miu Watanabe has a match against Maya World and now MAO will be there too for what is sure to be a crazy battle against Masha Slamovich! The two of them have packed schedules of their own so they better pace themselves.


WRESTLECON “MARK HITCHCOCK MEMORIAL SUPERSHOW”, 17/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Mickie James Vs Maki Itoh

It’s a match for the ages between two fierce opponents. One is a wrestling idol with grand ambitions of becoming a popstar who has in the past been unceremoniously fired in a humiliating fashion. The other is Maki Itoh. I know people who still have nightmares from the Revolution Pro show in London two years ago where a group of fans spent literally the entire match chanting “Hardcore Country” non-stop for Mickie James. I hope for my sake those same fans won’t be at this show.


WEST COAST PRO “VEGAS VACATION”, 17/04/2025
Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. MAO Vs Jiah Jewell

MAO’s second show on the Thursday is against Jiah Jewell at West Coast Pro. Because when you think of local rivalries, you think of Miyagi Vs Louisiana.


GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XIII”, 17/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Charlie Dempsey Vs Shinya Aoki
2. Nattie Neidhart Vs Miyu Yamashita

Whenever Yamashita travels to America, Natalya invites her over to her private training facility in Florida to help teach her what she knows. They’ve apparantly become close friends over time but when Josh Barnett started putting the card together for Bloodsport, Natalya (under her non-WWE moniker Nattie Neidhart) publicly asked for Yamashita to be her opponent. Yamashita jumped at the idea and Barnett was happy to make it happen. This will be the second time Yamashita faces a WWE wrestler at Bloodsport, she lost to Shayna Baszler last July. Here she has the martial arts background advantage and Neidhart’s previous attempt at doing this kind of match with NXT Underground ended in a loss. Usually comparing the legitimate fighting pedigree of two fighters would tip off who wins these things but a main roster WWE wrestler losing on a non-WWE show would be an unusual turn of events. Eh, I’ll still bet a dollar on it.

Shinya Aoki’s announced opponent for the show is NXT wrestler Charlie Dempsey. I’d joke about Bloodsport turning into a WWE psy-op but to be fair Dempsey is a regular competitor on these shows and this will be his fourth fight in the series. Plus I don’t want to just write that he is William Regal’s son. From what I’ve seen he fits into this style of wrestling pretty well. Aoki should have fun tangling with him.


BZW “VIVA LAS VEGAS”, 17/04/2025
Swan Dive, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Cole Radrick & Alec Price

MAO ends his busy day with BZW hosting his third match. At least I think it’s his third show. It’s possible he’ll have a fourth somewhere but I haven’t seen anything yet. The match here is going to be changed too because of injury. MAO & Yoshihiko are supposed to defend the BZW Tag Titles against The Gahbage Daddies but unfortunately word came out a few days ago that Cole Radrick is out of action with a torn MCL and meniscus. No word yet on if Alec Price will still be in the match with a replacement tag partner or if a new team will get the title shot instead.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “QUERI PRESENTS TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Special Single Match: Masha Slamovich Vs Miu Watanabe
2. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Jada Stone
3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

Only a few weeks to go but the major matches have all been set up. Mizuki Vs Yamashita is the biggest match TJPW can do for the Princess Of Princess Title but it’s been done already in Japan so I can see why it would look fresher in America. Kyoraku Kyomei have their first defence of the Princess Tag Team Titles against Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara’s new tag team OberEats. There is a rematch of the International Princess Title when Suzume clashes with Jada Stone again, this time with Stone having the home field advantage. Plus Watanabe continues getting big opponents away from the title scene when she gets in the ring with Slamovich.


DDT “DDT GOES LAS VEGAS!”, 18/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Santana Jackson
2. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Timothy Thatcher
3. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs MAO
4. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs Yoshihiko

The lineup so far is a little more creative than what we got last year and I prefer it this way. Minoru Suzuki Vs Yoshihiko sounds like something GCW would book for “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK” but DDT needs something like that to stand out for themselves.


WRESTLECORE “FEAR & WRESTLECORE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025
Swan Dive, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Another outside booking for Itoh during Mania Week. No opponent has been confirmed by WrestleCore yet but El Phantasmo is trying to convince Itoh to team up with him so they can be The Cutest Tag Team Ever. He just so happens to be on this show too.


GRAPHOUSE “FOR VEGAS, BY VEGAS”, 18/04/2025
Fergusons Downtown, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Lazarus Vs MAO

I think this is MAO’s last non-DDT related booking of the week. Unless…


DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GCW “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita & Masha Slamovich Vs Shinya Aoki & Miyu Yamashita

As far as DDT and TJPW are concerned this will be the finale of their weekend. One match announced so far and it’s pretty cool looking. Takeshita & Slamovich teaming up against Aoki & Yamashita. It would be a shame if the show runs long and people start leaving during this match to head over to Wrestlemania.


GCW “CLUSTERF*CK FOREVER”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Clusterfuck Match: X Vs X

I’m adding this to the lineup because odds are good someone DDT or TJPW related ends up in the annual Clusterfuck. Yoshihiko was part of it last year and made it to the final three. In fact there’s already an ex-TJPW wrestler announced to be entering the match. Sayaka Unagi is taking part and I can only imagine what kind of eye opening crazy thing she would do in Las Vegas.


HOG “ISOLATION”, 25/04/2025
NYC Arena, New York City, New York, USA

1. HOG Heavyweight Title: Mike Santana (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Hey good on Mike Santana for taking a gamble on himself. The stuff he’s been doing on TNA and House Of Glory has been nothing to sneeze at so far. He now has a month to prepare for Takeshita because the two of them are set to fight with the HOG Heavyweight Title on the line.


BLACK LABEL PRO “BLP AT SCX III”, 25/04/2025
The Wyndham, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Leyla Hirsch
2. Danhausen & Maki Itoh Vs Davey Bang & August Matthews

Yamashita’s opponent Leyla Hirsch is fresh out of AEW and wants to show everyone how good she is in the ring.


CMLL/LADYS RING “LUCHA FIESTA ESPECIAL”, 27/04/2025
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Octagon & El Hijo del Octagon Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Pantera Jr.

Daisuke Sasaki will be missing the DDT show happening in Sapporo on the same day for this match.


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

1. Maki Itoh Vs Miyu Yamashita

The 121000000 split up match is happening but not in TJPW. It’s in GCW! In the nine previous times they’ve done this match, Yamashita has won eight of them and the odd result out was a time limit draw. Itoh has never beaten Yamashita in a singles match but this 10th attempt might be her best chance yet because she’ll have the GCW fans behind her. She’ll need a good result because the next day she has a match that will be just as important.


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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. GCW World Title: Effy (c) Vs Maki Itoh

Itoh was originally supposed to get a GCW World Title match against Mance Warner during GCW’s Japan tour last August but a hand injury prevented it from happening. Now nine months later she finally gets her title shot but the champion now is someone completely different. Effy’s first reign as GCW Champ has seen him defend the belt against the weird and the wonderful. Can Itoh beat him to reach her ultimate form as the Queen of the Outlaws?


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

1. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs X

Just have to wait and see what Takeshita does next after the Tanahashi match.


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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Tony Deppen

Can Yamashita get a better match out of Tony Deppen than YAMATO could?


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

1. Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita

According to GCW this will be the first time ever Yamashita wrestles Billie Starkz. As long as you ignore the EVE match… and the St. Louis Anarchy match… and the SPARK match.


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

1. Yuki Kamifuku & Chen Wenbin Vs Alexis Lee & Big Sam

The Kamifuku Vs Lee rivalry now moves over to China for Middle Kingdom Wrestling’s 10th Anniversary show. Chinese wrestler Chen Wenbin and England’s Big Sam get mixed up in the action too.


SAJ “HUNTER’S NET”, 24/05/2025
Magnete, Milan, Italy

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Italy will soon become the latest country Yamashita has wrestling in. Squash A Jobber Wrestling is the name of the promotion bringing her in which might be the least Italian name I’ve ever heard for a wrestling company.


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

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

We’re reaching into the summer for the end of this month’s article. Kitsune have a doubleshot going on with both Yuna Manase and Miyu Yamashita scheduled to be there. Manase is teaming with Nagisa Nozaki in Night 1 to take on Vipress & Hudson Envy. Yamashita’s match has not been announced yet.


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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Yuna Manase Vs X

Manase is still currently the Kitsune World Champion so it would make sense for her to have a title defence on the second show of the doubleshot.


DDT “NEPPA OVER FLOWERS 4 ~LOVE SO SAUNA~” Results

February 14, 2025

DDT “NEPPA OVER FLOWERS 4 ~LOVE SO SAUNA~”, 14/02/2025
Shinjuku FACE
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Big NeppoWER!!: Shinya Aoki defeated Keigo Nakamura with the Camel Clutch Full Nelson Hold (10:55).
2. 120℃ High Temperature Sauna Match: Sauna Oyakata & Sauna Kobun defeated Naya Tonttu & Kazuma Sumi when Kobun submitted Sumi with the O-Manjigatame (8:02).
3. Totonoi ALL OUT: Shin KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Shin Shunma Katsumata and Akito when Shin TAKESHITA pinned Shin Katsumata with the Raging Fire (10:42).
4. Ueno Nordic Presents ~Yuki Ueno Löyly~: Takeshi Masada defeated Kuishinbo Kamen and Kikutaro when Masada pinned both Kamen and Kikutaro (11:23).
5. BZW Tag Team Title – NELJAS Presents ~MAO Löyly~: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) defeated Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi when Yoshihiko pinned Takanashi after the Double Rainmaker (18:59).
*V2 for MAO & Yoshihiko.
6. SeaSaunaShack Presents ~To-y Löyly~: Shuji Kondo defeated To-y with the King Kong Lariat (19:20).

All four members of The 37KAMIINA gathered everyone over to Shinjuku FACE for a wrestling show that is supposed to spread the feeling you get being in a sauna. Only two members of the group were actually able to wrestle because of injuries and health scares for the other two. To-y was one of them, fighting against another sauna lover Shuji Kondo in the main event. To-y did his best and even landed the Kojima Wonderland but some well timed Lariats from Kondo put the match in his favour. Kondo received a free bathing ticket from the match sponser for winning the match. Kondo said he heard rumours about how good To-y is and he was impressed with him today. If this show happens again next year he would like to have a rematch. To-y said he had a dream where he fought Kondo and lost. He also lost the real match today. That means the next time they fight will be the third match and it will be third time’s the charm for To-y to beat Kondo!

The BZW Tag Team Titles were defended in Japan for a second time when MAO & Yoshihiko put them on the line against a determined CDK. The tag champs were put in mortal danger when Chris Brookes choked both of them with the rubber strap and hung both of them from the ropes over the ring apron. He also did the stretch band attack with Yoshihiko still attached, launching the doll into MAO. But Yoshihiko landed on Brookes with a dive and gave Masahiro Takanashi a Canadian Destroyer. Takanashi kicked out of the Somato so MAO & Yoshihiko combined their powers to give him the Double Rainmaker for the victory. MAO said the team is ready to defend the belts in BZW again and will be going to Belgium next motnh. He heard BZW is running a show in Las Vegas during WrestleMania week so he & Yoshihiko can be there too. Takanashi was disappointed he didn’t win the title because he wants to go to France. That made Brookes wonder wouldn’t it be better if they won the titles in France instead of Japan?

It is in the bucket list of every Osaka wrestler to take part in a Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Kikutaro match with Yukinori Matsui as the referee. Sadly for Takeshi Masada none of them wanted him to be part of it. Whenever he tried to take part in their spots they either ignored him or shoved him aside. Masada had to fight them properly but ended up getting a DDT from Matsui. That caused Kamen and Kikutaro to figure out it is much more fun to fight Matsui so they attacked him. Matsui fought them off, knocked them down with a Double Lariat and gave Masada a Facebuster on top of them. Masada was left on top of the pile so Matsui counted the pin, making Matsui the winner.

Plans for an ALL OUT reunion fell apart for one reason or another but a Konosuke Takeshita did show up as advertised. Shin Konosuke Takeshita made a grand entrance along with Shin Don Callis, ready to take part in a 3 Way Match against Shin Shunma Katsumata (who looks an awful lot like Yuni) and Akito (who actually really was just Akito). Callis disappeared midway through the match which is exactly when Shin Yuki Iino did a run in spot. He stayed around to help Shin Takeshita pull off her big moves like the German Suplex and the Raging Fire.

A bunch of people booked for Match #2 pulled out of the show for various reasons. Danshoku Dieno was busy minding his pet dog Haku and didn’t want to leave him, Fuminori Abe needed to exorcise his demons at a waterfall and Yukio Naya was recently banned from saunas for having bad manners. So Kazuma Sumi was put in the ring with the sauna fairy Naya Tonttu to fight Sauna Oyakata (Dieno) & Sauna Kobun (Abe). However Tonttu felt the room was too cold so he abandoned Sumi early in the match. He eventually returned when Sumi called for his help it was not enough for them to win the match.

Shinya Aoki put Keigo Nakamura to the test with a challenging singles match. Nakamura got some moments by moving Aoki from a European Clutch into a Gedo Clutch but once he tried to target Aoki’s foot, Aoki reversed course and worked over Nakamura’s leg. Nakamura then put him in the Full Nelson and repositioned it into a Camel Clutch to make Nakamura submit.

At the end of the show MAO encouraged To-y by telling him they will continue to defend the KO-D Tag Team Titles as many times as they can. He called for any team to come out and challenge them. Suddenly Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura walked down to the ring. MAO thought they were hear to challenge him & Yoshihiko for the BZW Tag Titles. Nope, Astronauts are answering the call for a KO-D Tag Titles match! Abe also revealed that there is only one Toy in wrestling who they answer to and it is Yuki Ishikawa (because his real first name is Toyohiko). MAO wants to be in top condition for the match so everyone agreed it will take place at DDT’s 28th Anniversary show on 20th March.

Also at the end of the show Shunma Katsumata had an announcement to make. MAO kept guessing it was Katsumata’s retirement. Thankfully it is not. Katsumata will be returning to the ring on 20th March! He’s been out of action since November with a torn ACL in his left knee.

At the start of the show Yuki Ueno greeted the audience and told them he is currently feeling fine. He is unable to wrestle this weekend after being examined for hematuria symptoms.


Upcoming Title Matches, Banny Replaces HARUKAZE On Haruhi’s Show

January 24, 2025

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE 5TH “FUTARI WA PRINCESS” MAX HEART TOURNAMENT”, 25/01/2025
Shinjuku FACE

1. 3 Way Match: Miu Watanabe Vs Raku Vs Haruna Neko
2. Suzume, Arisu Endo & Uta Takami Vs Yuki Arai, Haru Kazashiro & Toga
3. Yuki Aino, Ivy Steele & Kira Summer Vs Moka Miyamoto, Yoshiko Hasegawa & Kaya Toribami
4. Miyu Yamashita & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Rika Tatsumi & Chika Nanase
5. Mizuki Vs Mifu Ashida
6. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Semi-Final: HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
7. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Semi-Final: Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku

The show will be airing live on Tokyo Joshi Pro’s Youtube channel as well as Wrestle Universe. However for Youtube it is only the live broadcast. It will not be saved on the channel for later viewing.

DDT “NEW YEAR, NEW HERO. 2025 ~A NEW STORY BEGINS~”, 26/01/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Soma Takao & Yukio Naya Vs Yuki Iino & Daichi Sato
2. MAO & Toru Owashi Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda
3. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Jun Akiyama, HARASHIMA & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
4. DDT Extreme Title – Life’s Sparkle Rules: Danshoku Dieno (c) Vs Gorgeous Matsuno
5. Road To D GENERATIONS CUP 2025! Special 8-Man Tag Match: Takeshi Masada, Keigo Nakamura, Ilusion & Yuki Ishida Vs To-y, Yuya Koroku, Yuni & Kazuma Sumi
6. DDT Universal Title: Gringo Loco (c) Vs Yuki Ueno
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Shuji Ishikawa

It’s just the KO-D Openweight Title being defended by itself on Sunday. The BK-G Openweight Title is not involved. Chris Brookes only just defended that in ChocoPro a few days ago.

GANBARE☆PRO “LADY BIRD 2025 ~ MOEKA HARUHI 20TH ANNIVERSARY DEBUT”, 11/02/2025
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Keisuke Ishii’s 40th Birthday Commemorative Match: Ken Ohka & Shota Kawakami Vs Keisuke Ishii & Hajime Enshu
2. Takuya Wada Vs Yoshihiro Horaguchi
3. Yumehito Imanari & Shigehiro Irie Vs Tyson Maeguchi & Munetatsu Nakamura
4. Shuichiro Katsumura & Rekka Vs Yasu Urano & PSYCHO
5. Yuna Manase, YuuRI & Banny Oikawa Vs Takumi Iroha, Riko Kawahata & Ai Houzan
6. Presented By Kintaro Sushi Shinobazu Branch – Moeka Haruhi Debut 20th Anniversary Match: Moeka Haruhi Vs Hanako Nakamori

Due to another scheduling conflict HARUKAZE will not be able to be at this show. Banny Oikawa will take her place.

DDT “NEPPA OVER FLOWERS 4 ~LOVE SO SAUNA~”, 14/02/2025
Shinjuku FACE

1. Special Tag Match: X & X Vs Akito & Yuki Iino
2. Special Single Match: To-y Vs Sauna Lover X
3. Special 3 Way Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Kikutaro
4. BZW Tag Team Title: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi

What surprises do The 37KAMIINA have in store on Valentine’s Day? MAO & Yoshihiko are going to defend the BZW Tag Team Titles in Japan again, this time against CDK. The next chapter in the eternal rivalry between Kuishinbo Kamen and Kikutaro has Yuki Ueno being thrown in between them. The bottom half of the card has a bunch of mystery wrestlers showing up. To-y is going to fight somebody who might love saunas more than he does. Maybe the tag team facing Akito & Yuki Iino will have to go ALL OUT to beat them.

BASARA “BASARA 271 ~HIEN~”, 21/02/2025
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Iron Fist Tag Team Titles: Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura (c) Vs Ryuichi Sekine & FUMA

With Ryuichi Sekine fitting back into a regular schedule with BASARA he has been bonding with FUMA over their farming experiences outside of wrestling. Together they are going to fight Astronauts for the Iron Fist Tag Team Titles.

Also scheduled for the show are Ayato Yoshida & Ayumu Honda from 2AW, Yuki Ishida from DDT and Shuichiro Katsumura & Shota Kawakami from Ganbare☆Pro.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’25”, 16/03/2025
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium

1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Winners Of Max Heart Tournament
2. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi

It was confirmed right at the start of the Max Heart Tournament that this year’s winners will get a Princess Tag Team Titles match at “GRAND PRINCESS ’25”. The champions right now are 121000000 but they have a title defence coming up in Chile next month. If Zatara & Sara Phoenix beat them on 9th February then it will be the Chile team who will be defending the belts at Ota Ward Gymnasium.

Both Aja Kong and Max The Impaler will be at the show along with Yuki Arai.


DDT “NEW YEAR☆DRAMATIC PARADE 2025 ~ANSWERS WILL BE REVEALED ONE YEAR LATER~” Results

January 3, 2025

DDT “NEW YEAR☆DRAMATIC PARADE 2025 ~ANSWERS WILL BE REVEALED ONE YEAR LATER~”, 03/01/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
??? Fans

1. To-y, Akito & Soma Takao defeated Toru Owashi, Super Sasadango Machine & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when To-y pinned Matsunaga with the Kojima Impact (6:45).
2. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion defeated Yuni, Kazuma Sumi, Daichi Sato & Yuki Ishida when Ilusion pinned Ishida with the Swanton Bomb (9:21).
3. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) defeated Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda when Yoshihiko submitted Hirata with the Arc de Triomphe Hold (11:54).
*V1 for MAO & Yoshihiko.
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Hikaru Sato defeated Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Keigo Nakamura when Brookes submitted Nakamura with the Ground Octopus Stretch (13:39).
5. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo defeated Yuya Koroku with an Exploder Suplex (13:50).
6. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Jun Akiyama defeated Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya when TAKESHITA pinned Iino with the Raging Fire (18:46).
7. KO-D Openweight Title Next Challenger 4 Way Match: Shuji Ishikawa defeated Danshoku Dieno, HARASHIMA and KANON when Ishikawa pinned KANON with the Splash Mountain (13:20).

A new year brings new challenges. The main event for DDT’s first show of 2025 was a 4 Way Match to determine the No. 1 Contender for the KO-D Openweight Title. The four competitors all have never faced Chris Brookes for the title before so whoever wins would be a brand new challenger for the champion. Danshoku Dieno was extra grabby than usual given the amount of people in the match and Shuji Ishikawa became everyone’s target for being the biggest threat. HARASHIMA almost beat him with the Somato and same went for Dieno using the Gaydo Clutch on him. KANON attacked Dieno in the corner and left him knocked over in the Hell Gate position. That came back to haunt KANON because Ishikawa lifted him up and drove him head first into Dieno’s backside. KANON got revenge by giving Ishikawa the Sleepy Hollow but he only got a two count out of it. Ishikawa returned the attack by giving KANON the Fire Thunder on top of Dieno’s butt. Ishikawa later cut off Dieno with a Knee Lift and pinned KANON with the Splash Mountain to win the match.

Ishikawa told Brookes after the match that he’s wanted a real singles match with him after they wrestled each other in Osaka last May. He knows Brookes is at his strongest whenever he fights for the KO-D Title. So Ishikawa will face him head to head and beat him at his strongest to become the new champion! Brookes told Ishikawa this will be the most interesting title defence. Ishikawa is a little scary but he will be looking forward to fighting him. Ishikawa then promised when he beats Brookes to a pulp on 26th January he will take the belt and sing karaoke in the ring once more to celebrate!

Konosuke Takeshita started a busy weekend by returning to DDT once more with Don Callis joining him. Waiting for him were two heavyweights each hungry to surpass him. Takeshita teamed with Jun Akiyama for the match but it felt more like a 2-Vs-1 Handicap match because Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya were both determined to beat Takeshita directly. They worked together to try and break down Takeshita. Iino hit the Burning Elbow but Takeshita hit him back with the Knee Strike. Naya Choke Slammed Takeshita but Akiyama got in and threw him with the Exploder Suplex. That left Iino to fight Takeshita by himself. He hit two Spears but Takeshita blocked a third one and used the Raging Fire to pin him straight away. Takeshita’s message to his opponents is to never forget how they feel today. The big wrestlers need to train and work 100 times harder than the smaller wrestlers. It’s up to them to make that their weakness or their weapon. Takeshita also gave his support to Tetsuya Endo for his excursion to NOAH. His message to him is putting your life on the line is life changing and he looks forward to seeing him rise up from here. Iino said he is having a great time fighting tough heavyweights like Takeshita and Tomohiro Ishii. Naya promised to avenge this loss to Takeshita when DDT goes back to America in April!

This week is the last we will see Tetsuya Endo in DDT for a while. He made the decision to go wrestle in NOAH for the foreseeable future (he will still be DDT affiliated when he does). His last DDT match will be on 5th January but before that happened he fought Yuya Koroku today. Iino was at ringside for the match so the three final members of BURNING were together. Koroku targeted Endo’s arm and even went high flying with a Moonsault. But Endo had him done for with the Torture Rack Bomb and Burning Star Press. Rather than pin him with that move, Endo got Koroku back up, told him to do his best while he’s gone and then gave him an Exploder Suplex to win the match.

After the match Endo told Koroku he will be find after the breakup of BURNING. He was able to stand with spirit at the end of the match and if he can keep that up he can do it alone from now on. BURNING is gone but Endo will never forget the three years he spent with Iino & Koroku. Endo will now be wrestling in NOAH but that doesn’t mean he is leaving DDT. Once he takes the top spot in NOAH he will come back to take the top sport in DDT! He told Iino and Koroku to get stronger because the next time they fight it will be when the KO-D title on the line!

Match #4 had a pair of unusual appearances in it. First Hikaru Sato came in on short notice to replace Takeshi Masada who was out with a suspected fever. Also Bryce Remsburg from AEW served as the referee for the bout. Sato got involved with CDK’s prank team work while Remsburg was tricked by the other team into taking part in the reversal. Shinya Aoki got to tussle with Sato and also hit a Topé Suicida to everyone outside. Keigo Nakamura missed a Diving Headbutt aimed for Brookes but kicked out of a Piledriver. Brookes then put him in the Octopus Stretch and increased the pressure until Nakamura gave up.

Some French flavour was added to the proceedings with a BZW Tag Team Titles defence. MAO & Yoshihiko came into the match as champions ready to fight the just as wacky pairing of Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda. Yoshihiko interrupted Honda’s Gongitsune spot by using AI to come up with its own folk tale to tell everybody. Yoshihiko also grabbed the legs of both opponents and held them in a Double Achilles Tendon Hold called the Arc de Triomphe Hold. The challengers couldn’t withstand the pain and gave up. MAO wants to defend the titles even more and called out teams from any country to come challenge them.

DAMNATION T.A took out a team of youngsters early in the card. Daichi Sato wanted to go toe-to-toe against the similarly sized MJ Paul. The two ended up fighting towards the commentary table where voice actress Hana Hishikawa was sitting as a special guest. She is a notable fan of Paul so he was happy to take a quick time out to go shake her hand before continuing his fight with Sato. Kazuma Sumi and Demus continued their little rivalry with quick exchanges in the ring. Daisuke Sasaki led a train attack on Yuki Ishida and despite a small comeback from Ishida, Ilusion ended up pinning him with the Swanton Bomb.

For the opening match Akito asked Sanshiro Takagi to come down to the ring and come up with a theme for the match. Takagi decided the winner would receive a New Year’s Gift from him taken from his own pocket. The promise of a rich prize was just the encouragement everyone needed to do their best. Toru Owashi and To-y got into a Chop Battle, Super Sasadango Machine and Soma Takao did whatever they could to win and Tomomitsu Matsunaga threw Lariats at whoever was near him friend of foe. In the end To-y pinned Matsunaga with the Kojima Impact and received 10,000 yen from Takagi as his prize. Everyone then tried to attack Takagi for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title until he ran off.


BZW Tag Titles To Be Defended In DDT, Is Kihara Getting Two Paychecks? TJPW Vs Chile Matches Announced

December 18, 2024

DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2024”, 28/12/2024
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Demus & Ilusion Vs Yuni & Kazuma Sumi
2. Shuji Ishikawa, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Daichi Sato & Yuki Ishida
3. DDT Vs TJPW Full-Scale 6-Man Tag Match: Toru Owashi, Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda Vs Rika Tatsumi, Hyper Misao & Pom Harajuku
4. Special Tag Match ~ O-MENZ Kumadori Debut Match: Kazuki Hirata & Kumadori Vs Makoto Oishi & Akito
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ Haruto Sakuraba Debut Match: KANON, MJ Paul & Haruto Sakuraba Vs HARASHIMA, Yuki Iino & Soma Takao.
6. Special Tag Match: Shinya Aoki & Keigo Nakamura Vs Kenoh & Yu Owada
7. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Takeshi Masada
8. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Yukio Naya
9. Special Single Match: Great-O-Khan Vs Danshoku Dieno
10. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & To-y Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku
11. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes Vs Daisuke Sasaki

The rest of O-MENZ will be joining Kumadori for a special dance performance as part of his ring entrance.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW YEAR-END PARTY 2024”, 29/12/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Ivy Steele Vs Chika Nanase
2. Dot Money Presents TJPW RUSH! Year End Special Red And White Team 5 Vs 5 Knockout Match: Shoko Nakajima, Arisu Endo, Moka Miyamoto, Haru Kazashiro & Toga Vs Mizuki, Suzume, Yoshiko Hasegawa, Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami
3. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Pom Harajuku (c) Vs Matcha
4. Queen Of Asia Title & VPW Women’s Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c/c) Vs Lei Ying Lee
5. WINTICKET Presents I Hope There Will Be Lots Of Fun And Exciting Things Next Year! New Year’s Japanese Pro Wrestling! 20 Wrestler PRINCESS RUMBLE 2024: Miu Watanabe Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh Vs Yuki Arai Vs Rika Tatsumi Vs Hyper Misao Vs Yuki Aino Vs Raku Vs Mahiro Kiryu Vs Haruna Neko Vs Kaya Toribami Vs Wakana Uehara Vs HIMAWARI Vs Kira Summer Vs Yuna Manase Vs Antonio Honda Vs X Vs XX Vs XXX Vs XXXX

The Red and White teams have been decided for the TJPW RUSH match. Now it is up to the captains Shoko Nakajima and Mizuki to come up with their team orders based on how Kendo handles team competitions. From start to end the positions are Senpo, Jiho, Chuken, Fukusho and Taisho. Since this is a Gauntlet match there is a chance that it can end with some wrestlers on the winning team not even getting to take part. If that happens then the wrestlers who did not get to enter will be added into the Princess Rumble. Tokyo Joshi Pro wants to ensure that everybody booked on the show will get to wrestle on it.

Antonio Honda is the latest unexpected entry into the Princess Rumble. There are four spots remaining but they may be kept open for whoever gets potentially left out of the TJPW RUSH match. You never know if the match ends up with only one wrestler going on a clean sweep leaving the other four on the team waiting on the sidelines for nothing.

DDT “NEW YEAR☆DRAMATIC PARADE 2025 ~ANSWERS WILL BE REVEALED ONE YEAR LATER~”, 03/01/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
2. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Jun Akiyama Vs Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya
3. KO-D Openweight Title Next Challenger 4 Way Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Shuji Ishikawa Vs HARASHIMA Vs KANON

A few days ago I mentioned Shuji Ishikawa’s appearance here could be a hint towards big things on the horizon for the Evolution Joshi group that he helps manages with Suwama. Yesterday it was announced that the group will soon become a fully fledged pro wrestling company called Pro Wrestling Evolution. They will mainly focus on their home grown roster of joshi wrestlers but Ishikawa and Suwama will also be providing men’s matches on their shows. Could Ishikawa be on a path to win the KO-D Openweight Title to bring some prestige into his new venture? He did that before with Union Pro so history might get a chance to repeat itself.

Last month in France MAO & Yoshihiko turned Banger Zone Wrestling upside down by winning the BZW Tag Team Titles. They don’t have a return date set in stone yet so for the time being they are going to defend the titles at DDT shows in Japan. Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda are joining forces to be their first challengers.

“SANSHIRO TAKAGI 30TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMERATION EVENT ~ NEVER SAY NEVER”, 03/02/2025
Shinjuku FACE

1. Special Tag Match: Dump Matsumoto & Toru Owashi Vs Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei

The next guest appearing at Sanshiro Takagi’s anniversary show is Fumihito Kihara. He was originally a ring announcer for All Japan goin back to the 1980s and ended up becoming a pro wrestler himself decades later. He wrestled in Ganbare☆Pro several times during the promotion’s early years. Here he will be pulling double duty because Takagi is booking him both as a wrestler and as the ring announcer!

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AEX32 SANTIAGO 2025”, 09/02/2025
Estación Mapocho Cultural Center, Santiago, Chile

1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Pandora
2. Aja Kong Vs Roma
3. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Zatara & Sara Phoenix

Three matches have been announced for TJPW’s convention show in Chile for AEX Santiago. They are sending over Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh, Moka Miyamoto and also Aja Kong as a bonus. Their opponents are all local luchadoras from the Chile wrestling scene. Zatara & Sara Phoenix are familiar with each other both as opponents and teammates. Roma has been in wrestling for just as long as those two. Pandora is the same age as Miyamoto and has a similar level of experience as her so on paper they should be on an equal footing.


DDT Around The World – November 2024

December 1, 2024

Oh come on, AEW didn’t put Konosuke Takeshita in the Continental Classic?!? Great, just great. So what’s there to write about this month? Well MAO and Yoshihiko had a wild weekend over in France. Takeshita spent the month feuding with Ricochet and defending the AEW International Title in companies outside of AEW. We also see that Takeshita has unfinished business in New Japan which probably explains why he’s not involved in the C2. DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro had a heck of a time in Seattle. Also it is now official they are both Las Vegas bound for next April. Miyu Yamashita in particular got to do and achieve so many things this month that TJPW would not have done for her back home. Pom Harajuku also got to act out of control in Singapore and Thailand away from the usual supervision. She also… won a championship? And didn’t lose it immediately? What? That can’t be right…

The end of the year will be quiet for international bookings but Takeshita has a lot going on at home in the new year. AEW seems to have written him off their TV for December with Don Callis already cutting promos about 2025 being the year of The Don Callis Family. I’ll do a separate write-up for his New Japan match(es) at the Tokyo Dome when they happen but I wanted to include the build up to them here because AEW is connected to it. January will be business as usual for Maki Itoh too with her plan to tour with GCW again. My mind is going to be stuck on Vegas for a lot of early 2025.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 06/11/2024
SNHU Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher Vs Ricochet & Powerhouse Hobbs


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/11/2024
Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Adam Cole


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 20/11/2024
Santander Arena, Reading, Pennsylvania, USA

1. All Star 8-Man Tag: Will Ospreay, Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricochet & Mark Davis Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Lance Archer & Brian Cage


SETUP “YEAR END CLIMAX”, 30/11/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – No DQ Match: Matcha (c) Vs Pom Harajuku

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Results


BZW “FRIDAY NIGHT BANGER”, 01/11/2024
Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France

1. MAO defeated KURO by Disqualification when Jack Sans-Nom attacked MAO (?:??).

The first night of MAO’s trip to France turned nasty but it was through no fault of his opponent KURO. They wrestled their match as normal and when MAO was on the top rope getting ready to hit the finishing blow, Jack Sans-Nom ran into the ring and attacked MAO with a wet floor sign for the DQ.


BZW “ALCATRAZ”, 02/11/2024
Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France

1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko defeated Jack Sans-Nom & Paul Robinson (c) when Yoshihiko pinned Sans-Nom with a Rainmaker (?:??).
*Jack Sans-Nom & Paul Robinson fail in V2. MAO & Yoshihiko become the 6th BZW Tag Team Champions!

The next night MAO brought Yoshihiko with him to try and get revenge on San-Nom by winning the BZW Tag Team Titles from him and Paul Robinson. The challengers almost had the match won by pinning Robinson together but Sans-Nom pulled the referee out of the ring during the pin count. However Yoshihiko got its hands on him with MAO’s help and hit a Rainmaker. A three count later and BZW got new unexpected tag team champions!


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 06/11/2024
SNHU Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA

1. Ricochet & Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher when Ricochet pinned Takeshita with the Spear Gun (14:36).

Takeshita found out there was unfinished business between himself and Ricochet stemming from the previous month. A tag team match in AEW put Takeshita with Kyle Fletcher against Ricochet and his returning mystery partner Powerhouse Hobbs. Ricochet was the better man on this night. Takeshita tried to catch a Springboard Hurricanrana and turn it into a Power Bomb but Ricochet countered the counter and pulled off his Hurricanrana after all. He then weakened Takeshita with a Shooting Star Press for another nearfall. It took Ricochet using his new Hidden Blade inspired finisher called the Spear Gun to finally get the win over Takeshita (it’s weird how almost a decade ago I would have told people Will Ospreay tries to wrestle like Ricochet and nowadays it feels completely like the opposite). Fletcher got some revenge after the match by attacking the other team with a chair until his former tag partner Mark Davis ran down causing drama that Takeshita wasn’t involved with so I’m not going to write any more about it.


SPW “CROWNING GLORY”, 08/11/2024
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Alexis Lee defeated Pom Harajuku (?:??).

Harajuku went to Singapore to have a lot of fun with Alexis Lee, or at least have a lot of fun at Lee’s expense. Their match made its way out of the ring but rather than cause a violent brawl, Harajuku instead encouraged Lee to go drink alcohol. They also fought their way up to the balcony to add some danger to the proceedings. I was able to see a brief clip of Lee hitting the Somato from behind to Harajuku but I do not know if that was the finish.


NJPW “FIGHTING SPIRIT UNLEASHED 2024”, 08/11/2024
Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA

1. AEW International Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) defeated TJP with the Avalanche Raging Fire (14:13).
*V2 for KONOSUKE TAKESHITA.

Takeshita had to shake off his loss to Ricochet and get himself focused on his next International Title defence. It happened at New Japan’s latest American show with TJP as the challenger. TJP pulled a lights out trick for his entrance to surprise Takeshita with an ambush from behind. He also had his face and body painted to resemble his Aswang alter ego. At first it looked like he was in his normal form but late in the match he blinded Takeshita with the Poison Mist to try and get the advantage. He used the Hidden Blade and Mamba Splash but Takeshita kicked out of both moves. Takeshita’s power soon took over and he was able to get TJP over to the corner, lifting him up from the top rope to hit an Avalanche Falcon Arrow for the victory. After the match Takeshita told the fans he will next defend the International Title at the Tokyo Dome! He called out for anyone to challenge him and Shingo Takagi answered the call! Takagi will fight him at “WRESTLE KINGDOM”! That wasn’t the end though because Tomohiro Ishii then walked out and signaled to them he wants to fight the winner!


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW BRIGHT EYES”, 09/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
405 Fans

1. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Rika Tatsumi & Amira when Suzume pinned Amira with the Ring A Bell (10:21).
2. Yuki Kamifuku defeated Wakana Uehara with the Famouser (7:19).
3. Rebel Kel defeated Moka Miyamoto with a Falcon Arrow (5:45).
4. Mizuki defeated Liiza Hall with the Diving Foot Stomp (11:07).
5. Yuki Aino & Zara Zakher defeated Miu Watanabe & Shoko Nakajima when Zakher pinned Watanabe with the Control Z (16:43).
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) defeated Vert Vixen & Nicole Matthews when Yamashita pinned Matthews with the Skull Kick (24:05).
*V1 for 121000000.

The report of the show can be found here.


DDT/DEFY “DDT IN UTERO”, 09/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
447 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Gringo Loco defeated Yuni with the Base Bomb (10:32).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Randy Myers defeated Danshoku Dieno with a School Boy (8:26 pm).
*Randy Myers becomes the 1,691st champion.
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Danshoku Dieno defeated Randy Myers (c) with the Gaydo Clutch (8:01).
*Danshoku Dieno becomes the 1,692nd champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yoshihiko defeated Danshoku Dieno (c) by Referee Stoppage with a Sleeper Hold (8:36 pm).
*Yoshihiko becomes the 1,693rd champion.
3. Nick Wayne defeated Jack Cartwheel with the Wayne’s World (11:49).
4. DEFY Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Tag Match: Cody Chhun & Guillermo Rosas (c) defeated Bryan Keith & Shota and Eddie Pearl & Ricky Gibson when Rosas pinned Shota after the Combined Pop-Up Power Bomb (10:19).
*V2 for C4.
5. DEFY Women’s Title: Marina Shafir (c) defeated Danika Della Rouge with the Mother’s Milk (7:35).
*V3 for Marina Shafir.
6. Special Tag Match: Gurv Shira & Harv Shira defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Artemis Spencer when Gruv pinned Spencer after a Combined Diving Elbow Drop (15:54).
7. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Kohei Kinoshita with an Avalanche Falcon Arrow (12:41).
8. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated MAO (c) and Mike Bailey when Yamashita pinned Bailey with the Skull Kick (21:25).
*MAO fails in V1. Miyu Yamashita becomes the 15th DDT Universal Champion!

The report of the show can be found here.


DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TRIANGLER DTD”, 10/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
389 Fans

1. Vert Vixen, Yuki Kamifuku & Moka Miyamoto defeated Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Aino & Arisu Endo when Vixen pinned Endo with a Sit Down Power Bomb (8:38).
2. Bryan Keith defeated Shota with the Diamond Dust (7:59).
3. Maki Itoh & Zara Zakher defeated Amira & Danika Della Rouge when Itoh pinned Rouge with the I.S.D (8:41).
4. Daisuke Sasaki & Kohei Kinoshita Vs Danshoku Dieno & Randy Myers ended in a No Contest (9:32).
5. Miu Watanabe & Suzume defeated Mizuki & Wakana Uehara when Watanabe pinned Uehara with the Tear Drop (10:33).
6. DEFY Women’s Title: Marina Shafir (c) defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Mother’s Milk (14:08).
*V4 for Marina Shafir.
7. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Yuni with the Wagamama (12:14).
8. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: Gringo Loco defeated Miyu Yamashita (c) and Nick Wayne when Loco pinned Yamashita with the Base Bomb (17:08).
*Miyu Yamashita fails in V1. Gringo Loco becomes the 16th DDT Universal Champion.
9. Special Tag Match: Judas Icarus & Travis Williams defeated MAO & Mike Bailey when Icarus pinned Bailey after the Sudden Silence (22:06).

The report of the show can be found here.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/11/2024
Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Adam Cole with a Dynamite Diamond Ring Assisted Punch (9:38).

Takeshita’s next AEW appearance was to act as a road block for Adam Cole. There was a storyline going on this month where Cole had to win three matches in order to get a PPV match against MJF. He was two wins in going into this night and needed to beat Takeshita to reach his goal. Cole countered the Takeshita Line with a well placed Super Kick and followed up with the Panama Sunrise. But when he went for the Boom knee strike, Takeshita rolled out of the ring to make some distance between them. He then reached under the ring and pulled out the Dynamite Diamond Ring, which belongs to MJF but was recently handed over to Don Callis. Takeshita placed the ring on his finger and punched Cole in the face without the referee seeing the ring, knocking Cole out for the pin. Roderick Strong ran down to get revenge but Takeshita gave him a Low Blow. Then Kyle O’Reilly entered the ring to chase Takeshita away. But once Takeshita was at the entrance and his guard was down, Ricochet appeared and he knocked him over with a Pump Kick.


GCW “CHAOS IN KENTUCKY”, 14/11/2024
Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Brooke Havok with the Skull Kick (17:13).

The TJPW shows at Seattle were done but Yamashita stayed behind in America for a weekend of GCW action. On the first show she put Brooke Havok through the meat grinder with kicks and stomps. Havok had some moments of hope and did well to last as long as she did. The Skull Kick put an end to any hope of an upset win though.


GCW “GATEWAY TO THE DEATH”, 15/11/2024
Pop’s Nightclub, Sauget, Illinois, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Mike Bailey with the Crash Rabbit Heat (17:14).

A much tougher challenge awaited Yamashita on the second GCW show. A few days after she pinned Mike Bailey to win the DDT Universal Title, the two met again one on one with nobody else going to get in their way. Bailey hit a Shooting Star Press for a nearfall. Bailey tried to follow up with the Corkscrew Kick into the corner but Yamashita countered it with the Skull Kick. She was too slow to make the pin though so Bailey was able to kick out of it. Bailey took back control but made a fatal mistake when he missed the Ultima Weapon. Yamashita hit him with a Knee Strike from behind after that and scored the pinfall after finding her target once more with the Crash Rabbit Heat. The two traded a fist bump through the ropes after the match.


GCW “NICK GAGE INVITATIONAL 9”, 16/11/2024
Level 13 Event Center, Orlando, Florida, USA

1. Hardcore Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Broski Jimmy with the Skull Kick (7:44).

The final night of Yamashita’s GCW tour was completely unlike the other two. Yamashita has crossed paths with Broski Jimmy in a few of her other GCW appearances this year. She knocked him out in a match on GCW’s tour of Japan. Then a few shows later in America he interfered in one of her matches so she hit him over the head with a chair. Since this show was being held in the middle of a deathmatch tournament, Yamashita and Jimmy’s grudge match promised to used Hardcore rules. The end result was the closest thing to a death match Yamashita has ever done! She may as well have called herself Rina Yamashita for the night. Chairs, doors, trash cans and even glass were used as weapons. Jimmy even gave Yamashita the Package Piledriver on top of a row of chairs but Yamashita kicked out at one! Yamashita got revenge by giving Jimmy the Attitude Adjustment through a panel of glass in the corner of the ring. She then smashed some lighttubes over Jimmy’s head before breaking the remains of one over her own. All that was left for her to do was hit the Skull Kick for the win.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 20/11/2024
Santander Arena, Reading, Pennsylvania, USA

1. All Star 8-Man Tag: Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Lance Archer & Brian Cage defeated Will Ospreay, Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricochet & Mark Davis when Takeshita pinned Davis with the Wagamama (14:33).

The current version of The Don Callis Family were brought together for a match against Ospreay, Hobbs, Ricochet & Davis in a preview for the PPV. Hobbs was taken out of action midway through the match after his knee was attacked with the ring steps but he eventually returned to the match like a house on fire. Things went crazy with everyone hitting their big moves one after another. The end came when Ospreay went for the Hidden Blade and Fletcher pulled Davis into harm’s way. Davis took the full blow and he took another one when Takeshita pulled down his knee pad and hit the Wagamama knee strike for the win.


AEW “FULL GEAR”, 23/11/2024
Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA

1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) (w/ Don Callis) defeated Ricochet with the Avalanche Raging Fire (19:12).
*V3 for Konosuke Takeshita.

After this it’s safe to say Takeshita doesn’t have to worry about Ricochet anymore. Ricochet threw pretty much everything he could do at this stage at him and couldn’t win. Takeshita dodged the Spear Gun this time but couldn’t hit the Wagamama. Ricochet landed a version of the Benadryller instead but Takeshita kicked out of the pin. Then when Ricochet climbed the top rope, Takeshita got up and tripped him by the legs. He hit him with a Knee Strike, climbed up to him and dropped him to the canvas with the Avalanche Falcon Arrow, pinning him clean for a successful title defence.


SETUP “YEAR END CLIMAX”, 30/11/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – No DQ Match: Pom Harajuku defeated Matcha (c) with two Pom de Justices onto a Chair (?:??).
*Matcha fails in V4. Pom Harajuku becomes the 2nd SETUP All Asia Women’s Champion!

This does not feel real. So let me get this straight. Pom Harajuku went to Thailand, fought in a No DQ Match against Matcha because they hold a grudge from the previous time Harajuku was there and Harajuku won the championship by driving Matcha’s face into a chair with the Pom de Justice. Twice. Unbelievable! This is Harajuku’s first championship win in her career. TJPW is now collecting women’s title belts from around Southeast Asia with the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title now being added to the pile. What a crazy turn of events.

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Upcoming Appearances


NJPW “STRONG STYLE EVOLVED”, 15/12/2024
Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, California, USA

1. Special Tag Team Grudge Match: Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Jack Perry

So is this path why we didn’t get Takeshita in the Continental Classic this year? Looks like it. The only stuff announced for him for the next few weeks are for New Japan events including the next one happening in America. There is still some AEW involvement though because Jack Perry is teaming with Takeshita here. Also Takeshita gets back in the ring with Yota Tsuji for the first time since the G1 Climax playoff stage. Shingo will be his main target but getting a little bit of revenge on Tsuji will please him too.


NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM 19 IN TOKYO DOME”, 04/01/2025
Tokyo Dome, Japan

1. NEVER Openweight Title: Shingo Takagi (c) Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA

Well if I’m writing about stuff happening around the world I guess I can include stuff happening in Japan outside of the DDT bubble. As mentioned earlier, Takeshita wants to defend the International Title at the Tokyo Dome and Takagi answered his challenge. Takagi is also the NEVER Openweight Champion so we are on course for a title versus title match on 4th January! There is the risk that Takeshita could lose his championship before this match happens but Takagi’s NEVER Title is guaranteed to be on the line.


“WRESTLE DYNASTY”, 05/01/2025
Tokyo Dome, Japan

1. NEVER Openweight Title: Shingo Takagi or KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) Vs Tomohiro Ishii

The winner of the Wrestle Kingdom match will face Ishii the next day at the other big Tokyo Dome show. This event is bringing New Japan, AEW, CMLL, Ring Of Honor and Stardom all together but DDT could secretly sneak in there thanks to Takeshita. If the International Title is indeed involved on 4th January then it will be on the line here too.


GCW “THE PEOPLE VS GCW”, 19/01/2025
Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

January sees Itoh working with GCW again for a few important shows. GCW are returning to the scene of the crime, the Hammerstein Ballroom in an attempt to redeem themselves for blowing their big shot at the infamous venue three years earlier. At the time of writing their chances of achieving that redemption are not looking good. Maybe Itoh can do her part to help things out even just a little bit.


GCW “LIVE IN LONDON”, 26/01/2025
Electric Ballroom, London, England

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Then a week later Itoh will be wrestling for GCW in London at the Electric Ballroom. That venue has been the home of PROGRESS for most of its existence and they’re helping GCW put this show together.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AEX32 SANTIAGO 2025”, 09/02/2025
Mapocho Station Cultural Center, Santiago, Chile

No updates yet on who will be joining Yamashita and Itoh at the anime convention or if anyone in Chile wants to challenge them.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

And we’re off! Next year’s WrestleMania Week in Las Vegas is now confirmed to have DDT and TJPW coming over. Both promotions will be holding shows on the same day at The Collective. TJPW is up first with an 11am start on the Friday morning. They are promising it will be TJPW’s biggest show in America to date!


DDT “DDT GOES LAS VEGAS!”, 18/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Then at 3pm that afternoon DDT will have their show. Friday is going to be a warzone of wrestling shows clashing with each other. DDT & TJPW are among the first companies to get their announcements out there. I’ll be there for both but now I have to worry about what’s going to be happening at the same time!


DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GCW “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Now here’s something a little bit interesting. DDT and TJPW have just held a triple partner show with DEFY so it makes sense to do one with GCW as well. But this show is happening on Saturday, the same day as Night 1 of “WRESTLEMANIA”. So right now there is no start time announced for the event. Remember, this is happening on the West Coast where WrestleMania will be opening its doors in the afternoon. Is this show going to take place in the morning before everyone rushes over to the stadium? Or will they take a risk and hold this show at night, slap bang in the middle between the two WM shows?


DDT Around The World – October 2024

November 1, 2024

Pop the champagne bottles because this month Konosuke Takeshita won his first AEW championship! The first of many I hope. After he finally achieved his crowning glory he… didn’t wrestle again in AEW for the rest of the month. Typical, eh? But he did wrestle elsewhere, up north in fact. And those were some pretty good matches too. His performances this month was enough to have Dave Meltzer call him one of the best wrestlers in the world. Other than that it was kind of a quiet month for everyone else I cover for this article. Yuka Sakazaki had a match in ROH then fantasized about murdering RJ City for Halloween, Shoko Nakajima was in DPW for a tournament final, Yuki Kamifuku continues being the Queen of Asia and Miyu Yamashita went to Canada.

Things are going to pick up in November though. DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro are having their shows with DEFY in Seattle, MAO and Yoshihiko are going on another European adventure together, Takeshita has stuff lined up with New Japan for the promotion’s next couple of USA shows, Yamashita will be paying GCW another visit and Pom Harajuku is going to be let loose in Southeast Asia. If that’s not enough we even have a peak at what to look forward to in 2025.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


After turning on Ospreay, the Don Callis Family hold a press conference! | 10/16/24, AEW Dynamite

MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 1”, 19/10/2024
St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada


1. Gisele Shaw Vs Miyu Yamashita


2. Mike Bailey Vs Konosuke Takeshita

MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 2”, 20/10/2024
St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada


1. Laynie Luck & Harley Cameron Vs Miyu Yamashita & Kylie Rae


2. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Josh Alexander


Yuka Has Fun! | Hey! (EW) 10/27/24

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Results


ROH “ROH ON HONOR CLUB”, 08/10/2024 (Aired 17/10/2024)
Spokane Arena, Spokane, Washington, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Viva Van with the Magical Girl Splash (5:44).

Sakazaki’s move over to ROH this month involved a tricky challenge against Viva Van. She was kept on her toes by Van bridging out of a pin and making Sakazaki flinch with a fakeout attack from the ropes. Sakazaki got her own back by also bridging out of a pin and doing her own Sliding Lariat, no fake out needed. She went on to win by using the Magical Merry-Go-Round as well as the Magical Girl Splash.


AEW “WRESTLEDREAM”, 12/10/2024
Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Washington, USA

1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Will Ospreay (c) and Ricochet when Takeshita pinned Ospreay with the Powerdrive Knee (20:42).
*V3 for Will Ospreay fails in V3. Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 10th AEW International Champion!

What a wonderful sight this was. Takeshita was part of a great match with Will Ospreay and Ricochet where everyone went balls to the wall. Takeshita took Ricochet out of the match by putting him through a table at ringside with the Reverse Implant. He also kicked out of Ospreay’s Hidden Blade but looked to be finished when Ospreay hit him with another one. That was when Don Callis pulled the referee out of the ring mid-count. Ospreay got his hands on Callis but just when he was about to give him the Tiger Driver ’91, Kyle Fletcher ran in and hit him over the head with a screwdriver. Takeshita then hit Ospreay with the Powerdrive Knee to win the AEW International Title. Even with the dirty finish the match got a *****1/2 rating from Meltzer.


DEXCON “JAM OF THE JOSHIS”, 13/10/2024
Brawl Pit Bulusan, Manila, Philippines

1. Queen Of Asia Title & VPW Women’s Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c/c) defeated Chelsea Marie with the Diving Famouser (?:??).
*V4 for the Queen Of Asia Title. V2 for the VPW Women’s Title.

The Philippines is where Yuki Kamifuku had her next defence of the Asian Double Crown. She had a close match against Chelsea Marie in what was just as much a battle of beauty as it was wits and skill. Marie almost won by putting Kamifuku in the Code Of Silence submission hold but the champ’s leg was long enough to reach over for a rope break. Marie climbed the ropes but was left vulnerable after Kamifuku reached out and poked her in the eye. Kamifuku Dropkicked her opponent off the turnbuckles then climbed up the same corner to hit the Diving Famouser and win the match.


DPW “SUPER BATTLE”, 13/10/2024
Grady Cole Center, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

1. Battle Of The Best – Final: Dani Luna defeated Shoko Nakajima with a Fireman’s Carry Bomb (13:17).

The winner of the Battle Of The Best tournament would be given a shot at the DPW Women’s World Title so Nakajima was on the cusp of getting that title shot. It wasn’t meant to be unfortunately. Dani Luna kicked out of the Northern Lights Suplex and prevented Nakajima from doing the Diving Senton by kicking her off the top rope. Nakajima didn’t expect Luna to then grab her on the apron from the ropes and throw her back into the ring with a Slingshot German Suplex. It was stunning enough for Luna to pin Nakajima with a Fireman’s Carry Bomb to win the tournament.


MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 1”, 19/10/2024
St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

1. Gisele Shaw defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Denoument (12:36).
2. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Mike Bailey with the Raging Fire (24:39).

The debut weekend of Maple Leaf Pro had both Takeshita and Yamashita taking part in featured matches. The main event of Night 1 was Takeshita and Mike Bailey showing North America what they were missing when Speedball spent most of his time in Japan for DDT. It was already a cross-promotional match between AEW and TNA that became an even bigger deal because it was also the AEW International Champion against the X Division Champion! Bailey kicked out of the Powerdrive Knee but was put away with the Raging Fire. It was another match of Takeshita’s that Meltzer gave the ***** to this month.

History will look back on Miyu Yamashita Vs Gisele Shaw as the buffer match that was placed in between one of the best matches of the year and one of the worst. I admit that’s an unfair way to look at things so seek this out because it was a pretty good match. Had Yamashita won she would have been added to the ROH Women’s World Title match on Night 2. But Shaw wasn’t going to let her get in the way and won this match with her own Running Knee Strike.


MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 2”, 20/10/2024
St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

1. Miyu Yamashita & Kylie Rae defeated Laynie Luck & Harley Cameron when Yamashita pinned Luck with the Skull Kick (9:26).
2. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Josh Alexander with the Raging Fire (29:31).
*V1 for Konosuke Takeshita.

The last time Takeshita fought Josh Alexander one on one it ended in a time limit draw. For the rematch he was putting the AEW International Title on the line. Just like the night before, Takeshita almost won with the Powerdrive Knee and had to use the Raging Fire to put away his opponent. But after the match he and Don Callis decided to continue the attack on Alexander until Ricochet made a surprise appearance to fight Takeshita. The two of them would butt heads again in AEW later in the month so this looks to be Takeshita’s AEW program for November.

On Night 1 Kylie Rae was attacked by Laynie Luck & Harley Cameron so Yamashita’s role here was to even the odds for a tag match. While Rae took care of Cameron outside the ring, Yamashita pinned Luck with the Skull Kick inside the ring.

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Upcoming Appearances


BZW “FRIDAY NIGHT BANGER”, 01/11/2024
Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France

1. MAO Vs KURO

Once the calendar flips over to November MAO will be travelling around the world once more with the DDT Universal Title back in his possession. First destination is in France for a weekend of Banger Zone Wrestling events. KURO will be his opponent on Night 1.


BZW “ALCATRAZ”, 02/11/2024
Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France

1. BZW Tag Team Titles: Jack Sans-Nom & Paul Robinson (c) Vs MAO & Yoshihiko

On Night 2, MAO will be joined by Yoshihiko to cause more international trouble. One of MAO’s goals for his overseas tour this time is to win a foreign company’s championship so the two of them will face Jack Sans-Nom & Paul Robinson for the BZW Tag Team Titles.


SPW “CROWNING GLORY”, 08/11/2024
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Alexis Lee Vs Pom Harajuku

Pom Harajuku is travelling to Singapore by herself without supervision! Is she going to be a sitting duck for Alexis Lee to tear apart limb from limb?


NJPW “FIGHTING SPIRIT UNLEASHED 2024”, 08/11/2024
Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA

1. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs X

What is going to be in store for Takeshita when he goes back to New Japan next month for their next American show? Maybe Ricochet will show up looking for a fight again.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TJPW BRIGHT EYES”, 09/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

1. Rika Tatsumi & Amira Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
2. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Wakana Uehara
3. Moka Miyamoto Vs Rebel Kel
4. Mizuki Vs Liiza Hall
5. Miu Watanabe & Shoko Nakajima Vs Yuki Aino & Zara Zakher
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Vert Vixen & Nicole Matthews

All shows from the DDT/TJPW/DEFY weekend will be airing on Triller via the TrillerTV+ subscription.


DDT/DEFY “DDT IN UTERO”, 09/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

1. 3 Way Tag Match: Cody Chhun & Guillermo Rosas Vs Bryan Keith & Shota Vs Eddie Pearl & Ricky Gibson
2. Danshoku Dieno Vs Randy Myers
3. Gringo Loco Vs Yuni
4. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Artemis Spencer Vs Gurv Shira & Harv Shira
5. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Kohei Kinoshita
6. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: MAO (c) Vs Mike Bailey Vs Miyu Yamashita

More news for this show has been announced while I’ve been writing this with more still to come. Marina Shafir and Nick Wayne will both be there to wrestle.


DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TRIANGLER DTD”, 10/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

1. Special Single Match: Gringo Loco Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. Special Tag Match: MAO & Mike Bailey Vs Judas Icarus & Travis Williams
3. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Yuni

I think some of the remaining card will not be decided until the other shows have taken place first.


GCW “CHAOS IN KENTUCKY”, 14/11/2024
Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Brooke Havok

Three GCW matches for Yamashita coming up in November. She faces Brooke Havok in a first time ever meeting between the two.


GCW “GATEWAY TO THE DEATH”, 15/11/2024
Pop’s Nightclub, Sauget, Illinois, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Mike Bailey

If this match is anything like their Pandemonium Pro bout from last December then the GCW fans will be in for a treat. Just make sure to use a better camera angle for the finish this time…


GCW “NICK GAGE INVITATIONAL 9”, 16/11/2024
Level 13 Event Center, Orlando, Florida, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Is GCW going to keep that tournament name even though they’re currently on the outs with Nick Gage? Does that mean Maki Itoh has to drop the Maki Death Kill stuff the next time she goes back there or can she take over the gimmick like Kazuki Hirata did with Magnum TOKYO?


SETUP “YEAR END CLIMAX”, 30/11/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – No DQ Match: Matcha (c) Vs Pom Harajuku

When Harajuku was in a 3 Way Match against Matcha and Raku a month earlier, Matcha was the winner but she pinned Raku and Harajuku was left as the odd one out. Matcha and Harajuku then got into a fight and had to be kept apart. This unexpected grudge is coming to a head in November because SETUP is booking the two of them in a No DQ Match with the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title on the line!


NJPW “STRONG STYLE EVOLVED”, 15/12/2024
Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, California, USA

1. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs X

Takeshita will also be at NJPW USA’s December show. With two dates here for the rest of 2024 one of them would surely be a good place to defend the AEW International Title.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AEX32 SANTIAGO 2025”, 08-09/02/2025
Mapocho Station Cultural Center, Santiago, Chile

Both Yamashita and Itoh have filmed videos promoting their matches at the AEX convention. It sounds like there might be matches featuring local wrestlers as well as whoever else TJPW sends over. At least Yamashita and Itoh said they would like to fight whoever Chile can throw at them.


DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE COLLECTIVE 2025”, 17-19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

The actual shows haven’t been officially announced yet but The Collective tagged DDT and TJPW in their tweet announcing next year’s edition of Wrestlemania Week in Las Vegas. I’ll be there for sure!