TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT AUTUMN ~ARISU ENDO LOCAL TRIUMPH~”, 21/10/2022 Fukushima Aizuwakamatsu City Cultural Center
1. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Haruna Neko
2. Yuki Aino Vs Kaya Toribami
3. Maki Itoh & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta
4. Rika Tatsumi Vs Raku
5. Miu Watanabe & Pom Harajuku Vs Shoko Nakajima & Moka Miyamoto
6. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
The hometown girl Arisu Endo is feeling the pressure lately. No matter how much effort she puts into her matches she still loses in the end. She got words of encouragement from Yuka Sakazaki to evolve more because everyone else is also changing as Tokyo Joshi Pro grows bigger. For her homecoming Endo & Suzume are back together as Daisy Monkey to take on The Magical Sugar Rabbits. It’s a rematch of the Princess Tag Team Titles bout back in April. Mizuki pinned Endo to win that one.
Miyu Yamashita is wrestling in Spain this weekend for RCW so she is missing this show.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE MOUNTAIN TOP 2022”, 29/10/2022 Osaka Edion Arena #2
1. International Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Moka Miyamoto
One example of evolution in TJPW is Moka Miyamoto. She now has a new finishing move and gathered together the confidence to be Miu Watanabe’s first challenger for the International Princess Title.
Yuki Arai, Juria Nagano and Willow Nightingale will all be on the show. It will be Nagano’s first time wrestling in Osaka. Nightingale’s delayed tour of TJPW finally begins here.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 OPENING ROUND”, 01/11/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) Vs Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata
1. Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Kazuma Sumi Vs Yusuke Okada, Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida
2. Joey Janela & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
3. Jun Akiyama Produce Match: Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA Vs Yuya Koroku & Takeshi Masada
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuki Ueno
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Naomi Yoshimura Vs RSP
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi Vs KANON
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yuji Hino Vs Yukio Naya
8. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes Vs MAO
What an unlikely tag team Joey Janela & Yukio Sakaguchi is. Janela is currently on the indie run of his life defending the DDT Extreme Title around America and Mexico in Title Vs Title matches. He’s now a triple crown champion sharing a DDT championship with belts from GCW and Lucha Libre Vanguardia. However it sounds like he got a disgusting arm injury in a recent GCW and Zona 23 crossover show. No word yet on if it will effect his DDT bookings.
Once the trainee Kazuma Sumi has his debut match on 23rd October, he will move on to a few tag matches on the undercard of some D-Ou Grand Prix shows.
If Pheromones are forced to split up on 23rd October then the undercard matches may be changed.
GANBARE☆PRO “DIRTY HERO 2022”, 03/11/2022 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Dirty Hero 2022 Special Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao Vs Mizuki Watase & Toi Kojima
2. Kouki Iwasaki Send-Off Special Singles Match: Kouki Iwasaki Vs Shinichiro Tominaga
3. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Hartley Jackson (c) Vs Shuichiro Katsumura
Kouki Iwasaki has three shows left with Ganbare☆Pro before he has his farewell match at the end of the year. Shinichiro Tominaga is going to be one of his last opponents.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN YOKOHAMA DAY 1”, 03/11/2022 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Soma Takao, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada
2. Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida Vs RSP, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi
3. HARASHIMA Produce Match ~ Blindfold Breastfold Tag Death Match: HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda & Shunma Katsumata
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Yuki Ueno Vs Joey Janela
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Daisuke Sasaki
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yuji Hino Vs KANON
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: MAO Vs Yukio Naya
DDT gets to see RSP team up with CDK when they all take on Harimao.
DDT “DDT FREE -NOVEMBER- D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN YOKOHAMA”, 05/11/2022 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
2. Shunma Katsumata & Kazuma Sumi Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
3. Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA, Akito & Makoto Oishi Vs Hideki Okatani, Toi Kojima, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs RSP
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Naomi Yoshimura Vs Joey Janela
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: MAO Vs KANON
DDT’s new generation lines up to face a team of veterans.
Again the undercard could be changed if Pheromones are forced to split up.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN YOKOHAMA DAY 2”, 05/11/2022 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Jun Akiyama, HARASHIMA, Soma Takao & Yukio Naya Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada
2. Harimao Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
3. Yukio Sakaguchi Produce Match ~ 2 Vs 3 Handicap Match: Pokotan & Gota Ihashi Vs Saki Akai, Hideki Okatani & Kazuki Hirata
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Joey Janela
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Yuki Ueno Vs RSP
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yuji Hino
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes Vs KANON
Harimao and DAMNATION T.A are back to fighting each other in a tag match again.
“MASAHIRO TAKANASHI INDEPENDENT PERFORMANCE – BOKUTACHI 4 HANJUKU 4 I LOVE YOU! 2022”, 22/11/2022 Shinjuku FACE
1. Mei Suruga Vs MAO
2. Daisuke Sekimoto Vs Masahiro Takanashi
A battle between two of Masahiro Takanashi’s rivals has been added to his show. He started treating MAO as a rival after their DDT Universal Title match happened in June. He also thinks of Mei Suruga as a rival whenever he watches her matches but kept that opinion secret from everybody until now.
The international adventures of the extended DDT family is a little bit different this month compared to our previous reports. Konosuke Takeshita was back in Japan all last month, Shota completed the first month of his US excursion, the DDT Extreme Title went over there too in Joey Janela’s luggage and there were no AEW bookings in America for the usual crew. Instead Europe was a bigger focus by the end of the month with CDK and others heading over to England. Things will ramp back up in October with Takeshita heading back to the US for almost the rest of this year while Shota continues to get bookings in the underrated Texas territory of the independents along with other places. By the time November comes along it will probably take me a solid week to get these posts ready.
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Videos
Video starts at 18:59 for the match MPW “ENDANGERED”, 02/09/2022 Nordhoff PL, Chatsworth, California, USA
1. Triple Threat Match: Darwin Finch Vs J2 Mattioli Vs Shota
Video starts at 47:25 for the match PWF “ENDANGERED”, 03/09/2022 Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA
1. JJ Blake Vs Shota Suzuki
Video starts at 39:18 for the match JCW “UNCENSORED”, 10/09/2022 Boonton Elks Lodge, Boonton, New Jersey, USA
1. DDT Extreme Title – Bodyslam Challenge Match: Joey Janela (c) Vs Beastman
Video starts at 6:11 for the match ROW “TEXAS GOLD RUSH”, 10/09/2022 Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA
1. Shota Vs Ayden Cristiano
NEW “YEAR ONE ANNIVERSARY”, 16/09/2022 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada
1. Maki Itoh Vs Gisele Shaw
Video starts at 1:54:00 for the match FRONTLINE PRO “A NIGHT FOR TYLER V”, 24/09/2022 Bakerville Bar And Grill, Marshfield, Wisconsin, USA
1. Shota Vs Ragnar The Ruthless
Video starts at 0:21 for Match #1. Go to 1:32:55 for Match #2 MDRN NMD “I SPELL F-L-Y”, 29/09/2022 The Bread Shed, Grosvenor St., Manchester, England
1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs LK Mezinger & Splits McPins
2. Shigehiro Irie Vs Dan Moloney
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Results
EVE “THURSDAY NIGHT RIOT”, 01/09/2022 229 The Venue, London, England
1. Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade defeated Rayne Leverkusen & Harley Hudson when O’Reilly pinned Leverkusen after a Double Elevated DDT (9:40).
2. International Princess Title: Alex Windsor (c) defeated Hikari Noa with the GTF (14:41). *V1 for Alex Windsor.
The month started off with Hikari Noa travelling to Camden Town in London, England. She was there for an EVE show and wanted to take the International Princess Title back to Japan. That did not work out. Instead Alex Windsor was too high a wall for her to climb over and Noa had to leave England empty handed. Windsor will be back in Tokyo Joshi Pro for “WRESTLE PRINCESS III” next month.
The Uprising won their match to get a trip to Japan for TJPW. Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade promised they are coming to Japan to crush whoever is thrown their way. TJPW took their words as them challenging Reiwa AA Cannon for the Princess Tag Team Titles at “WRESTLE PRINCESS III”.
MPW “ENDANGERED”, 02/09/2022 Nordhoff PL, Chatsworth, California, USA
1. Triple Threat Match: J2 Mattioli defeated Darwin Finch and Shota when Mattioli pinned Shota with an Elbow Strike (?:??).
The American excursion for Shota kicked off in California for Millenium Pro Wrestling and he was so close to starting his stay with a win. Shota had Darwin Finch pinned with the Frog Splash when J2 Mattioli struck him in the back of the head with an Elbow Smash. That was a knockout blow and it was Shota who ended up having his shoulders pinned for the three count.
PWF “LIVEWIRE”, 03/09/2022 Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA
1. JJ Blake defeated Shota Suzuki with the Hollywood & Vine (?:??).
The next day Shota travelled over to Houston, Texas where he will be spending a lot of time during his excursion. It was another loss for Shota as his Premier Wrestling Federation with JJ Blake ended with him getting pinned with a Rock Bottom. It was under fairer circumstances because the finish was set up by Blake catching Shota’s Diving Cross Body and rolling him into position for his finisher.
GCW “THE ART OF WAR”, 03/09/2022 Grand Sports Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
1. DDT Extreme Title & 6 Pack Of PBR – 2 Ring Ladder Scramble Match: Joey Janela (c) defeated Mike Bailey, Tony Deppen, Cole Radrick, Drago Kid, Gringo Loco, Dante Leon and Shane Mercer when Janela pinned Deppen with a Diving Elbow from the Ladder (18:26). *V1 for Joey Janela.
Joey Janela has the DDT Extreme Title with him in America and he got DDT to endorse a few title defences while he is over there. The first one was a complete gamble because he put the title on the line in GCW against seven other wrestlers in a two ring ladder match. The one advantage with this is everybody destroys each other by the end so there comes a point where nobody can stop you. Janela found that moment and remained champion among all the chaos.
JCW “UNCENSORED”, 10/09/2022 Boonton Elks Lodge, Boonton, New Jersey, USA
1. DDT Extreme Title – Bodyslam Challenge Match: Joey Janela (c) defeated Beastman with the Body Slam through a Door (13:17). *V2 for Joey Janela.
The following week was a lot more calmer atmosphere for Janela but still a very painful experience. He had to figure out how to Body Slam a big opponent like Beastman in JCW. Janela found his opening when the two found themselves standing on the turnbuckles. Janela struck Beastman with a large bone that Beastman brought with him to the ring. Janela then used the leverage of the turnbuckles to Body Slam his opponent through a door placed over some chairs in the middle of the ring to be declared the winner.
ROW “TEXAS GOLD RUSH”, 10/09/2022 Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA
1. Ayden Cristiano defeated Shota with a Modified Stretch (?:??).
The numbers game went against Shota for his return to ROW. Members of La Familia interfered in the match and aided Ayden Cristiano in beating Shota by submission.
NEW “YEAR ONE ANNIVERSARY”, 16/09/2022 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada
1. Maki Itoh defeated Gisele Shaw with the I.S.D (13:23).
Canada got the full Maki Itoh experience with her first visit to the country. She got a big win over there too by beating Impact’s own Gisele Shaw.
PRESTIGE “PERSEVERANCE”, 17/09/2022 The Glass House, Pomona, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Trish Adora with the Skull Kick (14:04).
2. Sandra Moone defeated Maki Itoh with the Moone’s Landing (10:26).
The next day Itoh met up with Miyu Yamashita in America for their latest Prestige appearances. Itoh was given a big spot with a semi-main event match against Sandra Moone. After a heavy back and forth fight, Moone used a Gutwrench Driver to spike Itoh onto the canvas and grab the win.
Earlier in the show Yamashita fought Trish Adora in a highly anticipated match up that’s been receiving high praise from those who have seen it. Seek it out when you can.
MISSION PRO “Welcome To The Jungle”, 17/09/2022 Salvation Army Mission Corps, San Antonio, Texas, USA
1. JP Harlow defeated Shota with the Freedom Bomb (?:??).
Shota still hasn’t gotten a win yet during his American stay. Some of it could be down to bad luck but here in Mission Pro it was because JP Harlow cheated to win.
FRONTLINE PRO “A NIGHT FOR TYLER V”, 24/09/2022 Bakerville Bar And Grill, Marshfield, Wisconsin, USA
1. Ragnar The Ruthless defeated Shota with the TKO (?:??).
I couldn’t find the result for this match. I’ll update the post if I ever do.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 142: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN SNAKE”, 25/09/2022 O2 Academy, Birmingham, England
1. Shigehiro Irie defeated Gene Munny with the Beast Bomber (6:18).
2. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Kid Lykos & Kid Lykos II (19:15).
Home sweet home for Chris Brookes. His last match in England was over two and a half years ago. So much has happened since then. His CCK teammate Kid Lykos went and got another tag partner, turning Joe Nelson into Kid Lykos II. So PROGRESS went and booked CDK against Lykos Gym for Brookes’ big return to the promotion. Masahiro Takanashi ended up seeing a whole lot of his buddy’s past this week.
Meanwhile Shigehiro Irie is sticking around the same general area as CDK during his stay in Europe. He’s taking pretty much the same bookings as them while they are over in this part of the world. His return to PROGRESS ended with a win over Gene Munny, although I heard the allegedly prestigious Gene Munny Championship was not on the line.
PROGRESS “RETURN OF THE FLY”, 27/09/2022 The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England
1. Masahiro Takanashi defeated Luke Jacobs (10:11).
2. PROGRESS Atlas Title: Big Damo (c) defeated Shigehiro Irie (8:18). *V1 for Big Damo.
3. No DQ Match: Kid Lykos defeated Chris Brookes (17:44).
Two days later saw PROGRESS host what is being described by their fans as one of the most memorable matches in the promotion’s recent history. Brookes and Lykos faced off in a singles match that became a violent No DQ bout. Lykos ended up fighting the end to the match with his mask ripped apart and barely hanging off him but he didn’t care about fighting with his face fully exposed. It was an emotional scene when Lykos ended up winning and whatever bad blood that developed between the two was all swept away once the match was over.
Irie got a chance to win the PROGRESS Atlas Title, the promotion’s championship that is fought exclusively in the heavyweight division. He took on the new champion from Northern Ireland, Big Damo who just won the belt a few days earlier.
Takanashi had something to do too. He beat the previous Atlas Champion Luke Jacobs early in the card.
MDRN NMD “I SPELL F-L-Y”, 29/09/2022 The Bread Shed, Grosvenor St., Manchester, England
1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated LK Mezinger & Splits McPins when Brookes pinned Mezinger after the Praying Mantis Bomb & Super Kick Combo (?:??).
2. Dan Moloney defeated Shigehiro Irie (?:??).
All of the drama and seriousness of the PROGRESS matches called for a needed change of pace for our crew. Modern Nomad Pro Wrestling was just the tonic they were looking for. CDK split apart Bowl-A-Rama but Irie suffered an upset loss against Dan Moloney.
WXW “INNER CIRCLE”, 30/09/2022 wXw Wrestling Academy, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
1. Fuminori Abe defeated Masha Slamovich with the Manjigatame (10:22).
2. Shigehiro Irie defeated Peter Tihanyi with the Beast Bomber (11:57).
This result is coming in hot, right before I finished the complete article and had it ready to post. Shigehiro Irie’s weekend in Germany began with a win against Peter Tihanyi.
According to reports on Twitter, there was a spot in the Masha Slamovich Vs Fuminori Abe match where Abe punched a wall. He has at least three more matches this weekend!
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Upcoming Appearances
WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 01/10/2022 Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany
1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie Vs Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Axel Tischer & Eric Young Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi
The World Tag Team Festival lineup is completed and CDK have three teams all completely different from each other to go against. The opening day sees them against a SAnitY reunion! Eric Young is heading over to Germany to team with Axel Tischer, formerly known in WWE as Alexander Wolfe. Meanwhile Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie takes on longtime wXw wrestlers “Avalanche” Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman, together known as Amboss. Irie has fought both of them in the past while Abe has been in the ring with just Dreissker.
PWF “LIVEWIRE”, 01/10/2022 Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA
1. Shota Suzuki Vs Dante Leon
Houston, Texas is Shota’s home away from home during his American stay. It’s a bit of a CyberFight crossover here because Dante Leon wrestled in NOAH recently.
WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 02/10/2022 Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany
1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Senza Volto & Aigle Blanc
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku Vs Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie
Day 2 in wXw sees Abe & Irie meeting Violence Is Forever for the first time. Expect all four wrestlers to beat the hell out of each other in that one. Brookes & Takanashi will have a very different change of pace when they face The Frenchadors. The two masked wrestlers Senza Volto & Aigle Blanc could not be any more different from SAnitY.
WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 03/10/2022 Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany
1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie Vs Nikita Charisma & Michael Schenkenberg
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Prince Ahura & Maggot Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi
The final block matches has both teams taking on wXw regulars. CDK’s opponents Pretty Bastards are the previous winners of the WTTF held back in 2019. Prince Ahura & Maggot are accomplished singles wrestlers in their own right too with Maggot currently holding the wXw Shotgun Title. Abe & Irie’s final group match is against Rot Und Flott, the reigning wXw World Tag Team Champions. As the current title holders that makes Nikita Charisma & Michael Schenkenberg early favorites to win the tournament.
JCW “JCW VS THE WORLD”, 09/10/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Shota Vs Steve Scott
Shota makes his JCW debut. His opponent “2Hot” Steve Scott is a JCW regular with some GCW appearances scattered around here and there.
RCW “WORLD CUP 3”, 22/10/2022 Casinet d’Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain
1. World Cup 3: Maya Yukihi Vs X
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs Millie McKenzie
Over in Spain, RCW are holding a women’s wrestling tournament filled with talent around the world. Maya Yukihi is an entrant representing Japan. Nightshade is taking part as the UK entry. Miyu Yamashita will also be on the show but she is scheduled for a non-tournament match. Now, right before I was about to post this article, I saw RCW’s tweet about Millie McKenzie being on the show as Yamashita’s opponent. If it’s a one-on-one match the timing of that is convenient because…
EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM V – SHOW 1”, 13/11/2022 229 The Venue, London, England
1. Hyper Misao Vs X
2. EVE Title No. 1 Contender Match: Millie McKenzie Vs Miyu Yamashita
The return of Millie McKenzie without restrictions to the British wrestling scene after NXT UK’s closure wasted no time in becoming newsworthy. She made an unexpected appearance at the “THURSDAY NIGHT RIOT” show and after her match was finished, it was announced she will take on Miyu Yamashita in November! It was then later revealed the match will determine the No. 1 Contender for the EVE Title. EVE are splitting “WRESTLE QUEENDOM V” into two shows, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. The Millie Vs Miyu match will be on the afternoon show. Hyper Misao’s match has not been announced yet so she could be on either shows, if not both.
WRESTLERAVE “IN YOUR WAREHOUSE”, 19/11/2022 Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA
1. WrestleRave Title: Aaron Mercer (c) Vs Shota
WrestleRave is a young promotion that’s been running out of the Houston Premier Arena for just over a year. Shota has a chance to become the promotion’s second ever champion if he can beat Aaron Mercer.
PW REVOLUTION/WEST COAST PRO “KING OF INDIES 2022”, 19/11/2022 United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, USA
1. King Of Indies 2022: Konosuke Takeshita Vs X
Konosuke Takeshita made have to run through a growing killer lineup if he wants to win the King Of Indies tournament. Katsuhiko Nakajima is the latest Japanese name entering the tournament while luchador Viento won a qualifying match to earn a spot. I’m hearing there’s been a recent groundswell in support for Titus Alexander to win too.
DDT “STERNNESS 30TH ANNIVERSARY ~JUN AKIYAMA 30TH ANNIVERSARY~”, 18/09/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 715 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Yusuke Okada defeated Yuya Koroku with the Sudden Death (7:01).
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata ended in a No Contest (7:16).
3. Akito, Soma Takao & Yukio Naya defeated HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani when Naya submitted Okatani with the Torture Cobra Twist (10:36).
4. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi when KANON pinned Ishida with the Sleepy Hollow (12:40).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Cara Noir, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toi Kojima when Noir submitted Kojima with the Blackout Sleeper (12:47).
6. Naomi Yoshimura defeated Takeshi Masada with the Lariat (10:14).
7. Jun Akiyama Debut 30th Anniversary Match – Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Yuji Nagata, Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata when Akiyama pinned Katsumata with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex (20:34).
On 17th September, 1992 Jun Akiyama made his pro wrestling debut against Kenta Kobashi inside an All Japan ring. Over the next 30 years he fought for both AJPW and NOAH back and forth until he found an unlikely new home in DDT. So it was DDT who got to host his milestone celebration. But there is also some crossover with New Japan on the show with Akiyama inviting both Yuji Nagata and Yoshinobu Kanemaru to compete. Akiyama has close ties with both of them, Nagata was his rival from the enemy company while Kanemaru was his long time tag partner. The DDT involvement in the match included Tetsuya Endo and Konosuke Takeshita, who Akiyama have both taken under his wing in certain ways, as well as Shunma Katsumata. He is here because he reminds Akiyama so much of Kanemaru. Akiyama also received congratulations from Kobashi and President Kitai from the K.O. Gym.
It was only fitting for Akiyama and Nagata to start off the match together. They had a back and forth battle until Kanemaru and Katsumata got involved. Kanemaru went to spit liquor at his opponent but Katsumata ducked and Akiyama got sprayed with it instead. Endo and Takeshita cancelled each other out, particularly when Endo did a Canadian Destroyer and Takeshita hit back with the Zahi for a double down. Katsumata tried to take matters into his own hands but he missed the Totonou Splash aimed for Akiyama. That led to a string of finishers with Kanemaru giving Katsumata the Deep Impact, Endo hitting an Exploder Suplex and Akiyama charging in with a Running Knee Strike. The end came with Akiyama pulling out the Wrist-Clutch Exploder for the pinfall.
After the match Akiyama talked about when he was scouted by Giant Baba to become a pro wrestler. He also learned so much from Jumbo Tsuruta and Mitsuharu Misawa. Sadly they have all since passed away so he told Kobashi to please stay healthy for a long time! He then talked about DDT and how Sanshiro Takagi is their Baba-like figure. He then named Endo, Takeshita, Kazusada Higuchi and Naomi Yoshimura as DDT’s Four Pillars/Heavenly Kings. Akiyama is happy and grateful to be a part of DDT and the company feels like family to him. He ended the show by telling a story about Baba. During Baba’s later years he once said he is no longer in a fight against other wrestlers, but with himself. He will not lost to himself and instead will make the most of each and every day. Akiyama promises to do the same from here on out. Backstage Nagata praised Endo for being competitive and having a good slap.
Akiyama purposely chose Yoshimura versus Takeshi Masada to be in the semi-main event position. The reason is Akiyama’s debut match 30 years ago was in the same spot. Masada is getting so much attention as the rookie with a high ceiling that Akiyama felt he should be given the same opportunity. The result was expected, Yoshimura was dominant for the most part and took Masada’s offence before pinning him with the Lariat. Masada was able to show toughness by kicking out of one of the earlier Lariats. Backstage Yoshimura admitted to feeling nervous over the match because Akiyama put it together. However he wants Akiyama to know that he never looks down on any of the younger wrestlers. He praised Masada for the strength of his strikes, saying he hasn’t felt kicks that hard from a younger wrestler since Keigo Nakamura in his debut match. But Yoshimura is still stronger than him so Masada will have to think of another way to try and beat him. Masada said getting the chance to fight Yoshimura at the peak of his power will definitely help his pro wrestling career in the future.
The ballet wrestler Cara Noir made his DDT debut, performing his dramatic Swan Lake entrance in Japan for the first time. He has a DDT Universal Title shot against Yuki Ueno coming up on 25th September so the two faced off in a 6-Man Tag Match here. Ueno had his usual buddies in The 37KAMIINA on his side while Noir teamed with CDK. Just because those two were the focus of the match didn’t mean the others stepped aside. MAO got a cheap shot Straight Punch in on Noir, CDK got Noir to join in on a human pyramid style group taunt at their opponents’ expense. Toi Kojima tried firing up on the newcomer but once Noir spun into him to apply the Blackout Sleeper, it was all over. Ueno welcomed Noir after the match but told him he won’t give over the Universal Title to him next week. Noir didn’t say anything, instead he just gently stroked the title belt on Ueno’s shoulder and did a dramatic pose.
The confidence surrounding DAMNATION T.A is growing at a rapid rate after today’s result. All four members of the unit were together to win an 8-Man Tag Match against a combination of Harimao and Ω wrestlers. KANON grabbed the victory by pinning Yuki Ishida. Then Daisuke Sasaki started complaining about how much he doesn’t care about Akiyama’s 30th Anniversary. He continues to get Ω confused with Kenny Omega and warned everyone that all of the tag team championships in DDT should belong to DAMNATION T.A! Backstage Sasaki said the unit is now at full strength with Minoru Fujita back from injury and the entire company will be finished thanks to them. KANON then threw his name into the hat for the D-Ou Grand Prix, saying he expects to see a few people in the tournament who owe him favours. Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi are now licking their wounds over today’s defeat. But they know they have so many options in Ω for backup when they and Shiori Asahi challenge DAMNATION T.A for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles on 8th October. Higuchi also warned DAMNATION T.A not to act so arrogant when they face Harimao for the KO-D Tag Team Titles four days later.
Yukio Naya also made a strong appeal to be included in the D-Ou Grand Prix. He got the victory in Match #3 by making Hideki Okatani submit. This was after he took all the kicks he could from HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi. When Akito & Soma Takao was able to clear them out of the ring, Naya took control and won the match for his team. Naya said he learned a lot from Akiyama and Hino over the last year when he was feeling so helpless. He is not only determined to be part of the tournament but also win it too!
Another day another Pheromones match getting cancelled midway through because of, well, Pheromones stuff. You have Koju Takeda attacking Kazuki Hirata with his bare backside while a clean shaven Yumehito Imanari watches on. Takagi tried leading his side in unison which went well until Antonio Honda’s Gongitsune went out of control and wiped the entire team out. Danshoku Dieno then called for the lights to switch off so Yuki Iino could strip completely naked. Hisaya Imabayashi called off the match so he and the ringside attendants could cover up Iino’s waist. Takagi was furious to see Pheromones pull off this stunt during Akiyama’s 30th Anniversary. He demanded an immediate rematch but Imabayashi refused. Instead there will be one final showdown between Takagi and Pheromones on 23rd October. Takagi told Honda & Toru Owashi to join him so they can all get revenge for Hirata. Dieno pointed out this will be their fourth “final battle” in two months. If that is not enough, Takeda later backstage called out Yuki Ueno for not having enough Pheromones in him!
The opening match was given to Yusuke Okada and Yuya Koroku, the two remaining members of BURNING. Akiyama chose them because he wanted the first match to be an exciting start for the show. The more experienced Okada got the win with the Sudden Death shortly after Koroku missed a Moonsault. The two of them congratulated Akiyama on his Anniversary. Okada said he’s been working with Akiyama for the last 6 years so he is proud to be involved today. Koroku promised to keep training hard so he can become as great and strong as Akiyama.
A second show celebrating Akiyama’s 30th Anniversary will be held in his hometown of Izumi, Osaka on 10th December.
MUSCLE “HIRAGANA MUSCLE 7 ~IT’S STILL SUMMER ON THE KOSHU KAIDO~”, 07/09/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
This week is the final set of performances for Hiragana Muscle before the brand finishes its current run. They are doing three shows in four days, all will be virtually identical and I bet they will feature some sort of goodbye scene for Hisaya Imabayashi/Amon Tsuurmi. The MUSCLE concept will return one day but right now it won’t be until the year 2030. Muscle Sakai will probably come up with an idea for something before then.
Super Sasadango Machine will be doing a PowerPoint presentation ten minutes before the show begins.
DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2022 TOUR IS ASAKUSA”, 13/09/2022 Tokyo Asakusa Hanayashi Theater
0. Dark Match ~ Nariagari Offer Match: Tawaramachi Kid Jr. & Super Nikuyaki Machine Vs Sumo Ninja Kyu & Tadaki Toronomi
1. 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Akito Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazuki Hirata
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuji Hino & Yuya Koroku
3. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Yukio Naya
4. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos Vs Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada
5. Asakusa Specialty Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Makoto Oishi & Yoshihiko
6. Harimao Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Yuki Ueno & Toi Kojima
The show has sold out.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW AUTUMN TOUR ’22”, 16/09/2022 Shinjuku FACE
1. International Princess Title Next Challenger Match: Miu Watanabe Vs Suzume
The No 1. Contendership for the International Princess Title is on the line here. Either Miu Watanabe or Suzume will be next in line to challenge Alex Windsor for the title.
Both Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh will not be at the show because they will be working indies in North America that weekend.
DDT “STERNNESS 30TH ANNIVERSARY ~JUN AKIYAMA 30TH ANNIVERSARY~”, 18/09/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Yusuke Okada Vs Yuya Koroku
2. HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani & Soma Takao & Yukio Naya
3. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata
4. Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toi Kojima Vs Cara Noir, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi
6. Naomi Yoshimura Vs Takeshi Masada
7. Jun Akiyama Debut 30th Anniversary Match – Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo & Yoshinobu Kanemaru Vs Yuji Nagata, Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata
Cara Noir touches down in DDT teaming with CDK for his first match with the company.
All four members of Pheromones are teaming together for the first time.
I don’t know what Match #2 is supposed to be because it was written that way on the DDT website. I guess it’s a 5 Way all against each other?
DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2022”, 25/09/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Special Tag Match: Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Akito & Yukio Naya
2. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Takeshi Masada Vs Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Soma Takao
3. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & KANON (w/ MJ Paul) Vs Naomi Yoshimura, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi
4. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Cara Noir
5. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
The rookie Takeshi Masada gets to team with BURNING to take on four of DDT’s most established wrestlers.
DDT/ONLY WE “GET ALIVE 2022 TOUR IN CHIBA”, 08/10/2022 Chiba TKP Garden City
1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON (c) Vs Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi
DAMNATION T.A could end up having both sets of tag team titles during October. They currently hold the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles and have to defend them against Ω, the faction that originally came from K-DOJO. When Yuji Hino found out about DAMNATION T.A’s formation he was upset to be left out of it. So he and Makoto Oishi started teaming up again. Now they are bringing back Shiori Asahi and the three of them want to take the belts from Hino’s former friends. They have the homefield advantage too because Chiba was K-DOJO territory. Something Hino might need to be worried about is PERON GRANDES are also booked for the show. That unit is involved in a never ending feud with Hino’s ONLY WE group, who will also be on the show. PERON GRANDES and DAMNATION T.A have gotten along in the past so they can possibly interfere on behalf of the champions.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS III”, 09/10/2022 Tokyo Dome City Hall
1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade
2. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki
Next up on Yuki Arai’s checklist is her first match against foreign opponents. The Uprising won a match in EVE to earn an invitation to wrestle in Japan with Tokyo Joshi Pro. Their threat to destroy all challengers was translated into a demand to face Reiwa AA Cannon for the Princess Tag Team Titles. Both Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade have wrestled in Japan before. O’Reilly was last there in 2018 for Sendai Girls while Nightshade previously wrestled for TJPW in 2019.
DDT “GET ALIVE 2022”, 12/10/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Yuki Ishida 1st Anniversary Match ~ Playfulness Series Act 4: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Yuki Ishida
2. Makoto Oishi 20th Anniversary Match ~ Men’s Club Vs The 37KAMIINA: Makoto Oishi, MEN’S Teoih & Shiori Asahi Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata
3. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
Daisuke Sasaki & KANON can win a second set of tag titles if they beat Harimao for the KO-D Tag Team Titles.
The summer is over and I thought this article would be winding down and become easier to write about for a few months. After all, Konosuke Takeshita is back in Japan for a while so his AEW journey is on a little break. Instead Shota decides to go live in America and get bookings for some of the most obscure indie companies I have ever heard of. I mean some are so out of the way if you bring them up to the people who run IWTV their response would probably be “Who?” But once September and October are done and dusted Takeshita will be heading back to the US with bigger goals in mind. I think it’s too early right now to talk about whether or not he’s going to be one foot out the door with DDT for good. It’s definitely something I’ll have to write about some day, just not today.
So this series might look a little different in the coming months. Joey Janela is carrying the DDT Extreme Title around the world and has a number of defences already lined up. I’ll be keeping track of them here for as long as it goes on. The same will go for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title if that ever leaves Japan again. So yeah if you’re expecting next month’s post to be about more of Takeshita’s adventures, you’re probably going to get a face full of Shota and Janela instead. However I have a expectation you’ll still see Yuka Sakazaki, Maki Itoh and Miyu Yamashita popping up in AEW every now and then to go along with their North American indie bookings. Did you see that Sakazaki is going to be in the AEW video game? Take that FTR!
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Videos
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 05/08/2022 Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Ryan Nemeth
Video starts at 58:37 for the match WIDE BAY PRO “RAMPAGE”, 06/08/2022 Maryborough State High School, Sussex Street, Maryborough, Australia
AEW “BATTLE OF THE BELTS III”, 06/08/2022 Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
1. ROH World Title: Claudio Castagnoli (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
MAW “SUMMER HEAT”, 07/08/2022 Fat Pants Brewing Company, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs JDX
Video starts at 43:23 for the match JCW “AFTER HOURS 2”, 13/08/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Billie Starkz
Video starts at 15:08 for the match AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 15/08/2022 Target Cente, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Cezar Bononi
Video starts at 36:45 for the match AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 22/08/2022 Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, West Virginia, USA
1. Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue Vs Emi Sakura & Maki Itoh
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Results
AEW “BATTLE OF THE BELTS III”, 05/08/2022 (Aired 06/08/2022) Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
1. ROH World Title: Claudio Castagnoli (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Ricola Bomb (19:59). *V1 for Claudio Castagnoli.
Takeshita is now 0 for 2 in World Championship matches during his excursion. He couldn’t win the PWG World Title in July and last month couldn’t beat Claudio Castagnoli for the ROH World Title. It’s another tale of so close but so far for him. He’s putting up the great performances but just not getting those wins when it matters.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 05/08/2022 Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Ryan Nemeth with the Zahi (1:41).
One good thing to happen on the taping was Takeshita’s first win on national TV. Funny thing is this was taped after the ROH Title match but aired on TV the day before. Takeshita wanted to get that one big win on TV before he went back to Japan. Ryan Nemeth isn’t that big win to be honest but hey, it’s a start.
WIDE BAY PRO “RAMPAGE”, 06/08/2022 Maryborough State High School, Sussex Street, Maryborough, Australia
1. Interstate Title: Mitch Ryder (c) (w/ Todd Eastman) defeated Shota Suzuki with the Rope Assisted Piledriver (?:??). *V? for Mitch Ryder.
You’ll notice that Shota will be using the name Shota Suzuki in some places. It’s to avoid people confusing him with Shota Umino. I can tell you myself whenever I tweet about Shota’s excursion I get a few responses from people thinking I’m talking about the Shota from New Japan. Anyway he had the pleasure of being Wide Bay Pro’s first international guest wrestler on their shows. He was hoping to win the Interstate Title from Mitch Ryder and use the belt as his ticket to wrestle in Australia more. Unfortunately Ryder’s manager Todd Eastman got involved and his distraction led to Shota losing to a see-saw Piledriver over the middle rope.
DPW “BELIEVE THE HYPE”, 06/08/2022 Gov. James E. Holshouser Building, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
1. Emi Sakura defeated Mizuki with the Queen’s Gambit (11:02).
2. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Andrew Everett with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (18:41).
Mixed results on the Deadlock Pro show. The main event had Takeshita beat Andrew Everett in an absolute scorcher of a match. Mizuki’s first match in America ended in a loss to Emi Sakura. The teacher versus student dynamic was on full display. Sakura even got one more dirty reminder after the match by offering a handshake just to attack Mizuki even more. However the fans responded greatly to Mizuki and were happy to hear her shout “I will be back!”
MAW “SUMMER HEAT”, 07/08/2022 Fat Pants Brewing Company, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated JDX with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (17:38).
I heard about this match happening from a few Discords but couldn’t find info on it until after it took place. Midwest All-Star Wrestling is a regular promotion for JDX (Justin D. Xavier, the D stands for Disgusting). He thought Takeshita was going to look past him because his focus was on the ROH Title match. Instead Takeshita put him through a hard fought match and had his hand raised in the end.
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Cezar Bononi with the Zahi (2:37).
With this win over Cezar Bononi, Takeshita has one more opponent he needs to beat for a clean sweep over The Wingmen. Where you at, Peter Avalon?
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 137: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COPPERHEAD”, 13/08/2022 O2 Academy, Sheffield, England
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Leon Slater with the Zahi (12:17).
Over to England now where Takeshita made his PROGRESS debut. His 17 year old opponent Leon Slater was a replacement for an injured Robbie X. Slater put up a heck of a fight but his big mistake was to try and set up a One Man Spanish Fly off the top rope. Takeshita instead used the stalled time to knock Slater off the turnbuckle with a Lariat and then pin him with the Zahi.
JCW “AFTER HOURS 2”, 13/08/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Billie Starkz defeated Maki Itoh with the Assault Driver (11:13).
Those cheeky gits at GCW advertised Maki Itoh for both nights of their Homecoming weekend but her match on the first night was with JCW instead. I think she did fan meet and greets during the GCW show so they can probably get away with avoiding accusations of false advertising. Anyway her match against Billie Starkz happened very late at night. She had a busy schedule for the following day.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 138: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COTTONMOUTH”, 14/08/2022 Boiler Shop, Newcastle, England
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Dean Allmark with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (10:05).
Takeshita’s second day in PROGRESS gave him a far more experienced opponent to deal with in the form of Dean Allmark. He had some tricks up his sleeve like a Headstand Backslide Pin but Takeshita rolled out of it to hit the Zahi for a nearfall. He then hit the Lil Sebastian’s Curse to win. I need to find out if he minds everybody still wanting to call that move the Cinnabomb.
GCW “HOMECOMING PART 2”, 14/08/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Dark Sheik with the Flying DDT (10:54).
If there is one thing you need to know about this match it’s this. They did the Top Rope DDT spot from the Dean Malenko Vs Scotty 2 Hotty match that happened at Backlash 2000. It is also where Itoh started using the I.D.S as her new finisher. That wasn’t the end of Itoh’s night. She appeared during the main event segment where Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green renewed their wedding vows. Itoh sang “L.O.V.E.” by Frank Sinatra for the happy couple before Nick Gage came out and crashed the ceremony with a pizza cutter.
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 17/08/2022 (Aired 22/08/2022) Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, West Virginia, USA
1. Emi Sakura & Maki Itoh defeated Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue when Sakura pinned Blue with the Queen’s Gambit (7:15).
Itoh’s latest stay in America ended with another visit to AEW. She teamed with Emi Sakura to beat Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue. Itoh claims Emi Sakura is the newest member of the Itoh Respect Army but Sakura denies this. At least her singing impressed Matt Menard on commentary.
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Upcoming Appearances
EVE “THURSDAY NIGHT RIOT”, 01/09/2022 229 The Venue, London, England
1. Rayne Leverkusen & Harley Hudson Vs Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade
2. International Princess Title: Alex Windsor (c) Vs Hikari Noa
Later tonight Hikari Noa will challenge Alex Windsor for the International Princess Title in EVE. Noa arrived in London safe and sound during the week and EVE’s Twitter account shows her enjoying the vibrant sights of Camden. This may be TJPW’s only chance to bring the IP Title back home any time soon though. Windsor tweeted her frustrations over how difficult it’s been to get even an appointment with the Japanese embassy so she can travel back to Japan.
The tag match I included here has implications to pay attention to. The winners will get to wrestle for TJPW in Japan sometime in the future. Nightshade has been in TJPW back in 2019. In EVE she sides with Rhia O’Reilly as part of The Uprising stable. O’Reilly is also an accomplished wrestler across the British women’s scene. Their opponents Rayne Leverkusen & Harley Hudson I don’t know much about. Hudson’s biggest profile appearances seem to be with ICW in Scotland and TNT Extreme in Liverpool. Leverkusen I can’t find much info about other than a few recent EVE matches and Youtube videos of other matches across assorted indies.
MPW “ENDANGERED”, 02/09/2022 Nordhoff PL, Chatsworth, California, USA
1. Triple Threat Match: Darwin Finch Vs J2 Vs Shota
Shota’s new American life begins with Millenium Pro Wrestling in California. The promotion has been in existence since 2001. If Shota can beat Darwin Finch and J2 in a Triple Threat match then he will qualifiy for a Scramble match on 9th September that MPW is putting together to celebrate their anniversary.
PWF “ENDANGERED”, 03/09/2022 Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA
1. JJ Blake Vs Shota Suzuki
The next day Shota travels over to Texas for Premier Wrestling Federation. His opponent here JJ Blake recently accomplished the Triple Crown feat in New Texas Pro Wrestling. That has Shota excited to know he is getting a strong opponent for sure.
GCW “THE ART OF WAR”, 03/09/2022 Grand Sports Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
1. DDT Extreme Title & 6 Pack Of PBR – 2 Ring Ladder Scramble Match: Joey Janela (c) Vs Mike Bailey Vs Tony Deppen Vs Cole Radrick Vs Drago Kid Vs Gringo Loco Vs Dante Leon Vs Shane Mercer
Yeah this is nuts. Janela’s first Extreme Title defence in America will be in one of GCW’s craziest match stipulations. GCW loves Scramble matches. They are also doing their own Wargames match this weekend so will have two rings set up beside each other. Add in ladders along with a Pabst Blue Ribbon sponsorship and you got yourselves a 2 Ring Ladder Scramble Match! That’s not all, Janela is putting himself up against an entire deck full of wild cards. Mike Bailey needs no introduction, Tony Deppen can be unpredictable at times, Cole Radrick is becoming more of a deathmatch wrestler as the months go by, Drago Kid blew everyone’s minds in his previous GCW appearances, Gringo Loco has built up the reputation of being one of the best bases currently on the indies, Dante Leon is the kind of guy who benefits from that and Shane Mercer is an absolute powerhouse who leaves destruction in his wake.
JCW “UNCENSORED”, 10/09/2022 Boonton Elks Lodge, Boonton, New Jersey, USA
1. DDT Extreme Title – Bodyslam Challenge: Joey Janela (c) Vs Beastman
If Janela can somehow crawl out of the chaos mentioned above, he will put the title on the line next against Beastman on a JCW show. The stipulation here is a lot more basic. First wrestler to Body Slam their opponent wins. Beastman has the size advantage in this one.
ROW “TEXAS GOLD RUSH”, 10/09/2022 Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA
1. Shota Vs Ayden Cristiano
Shota’s heading back over to Reality Of Wrestling. This time around his opponent is “The Madman From Madrid” Ayden Cristiano.
NEW “YEAR ONE ANNIVERSARY”, 16/09/2022 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada
1. Maki Itoh Vs Gisele Shaw
Canada prepare yourselves for Maki Itoh. She will wrestle for the first time on Canadian soil for Nation Extreme Wrestling. Her opponent is Gisele Shaw who is coming in as a replacement for Chelsea Green due to scheduling conflicts with the latter. Shaw wrestle twice for TJPW in 2019 including the match to crown the first ever IP Champion. This will be her first in-ring meeting with Itoh.
PRESTIGE “PERSEVERANCE”, 17/09/2022 The Glass House, Pomona, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Sandra Moone
2. Trish Adora Vs Miyu Yamashita
I said it last month that Miyu Yamashita against somebody like Trish Adora would be an attention grabber. There you go.
MISSION PRO “Welcome To The Jungle”, 17/09/2022 Salvation Army Mission Corps, San Antonio, Texas, USA
1. Shota Vs JP Harlow
Mission Pro is Thunder Rosa’s promotion, right? Shota’s just ticking off all of the Texas companies from the get go. If he wasn’t going to bump into JP Harlow at ROW it was only a matter of time he would find him here I guess.
FRONTLINE PRO “A NIGHT FOR TYLER V”, 24/09/2022 Bakerville Bar And Grill, Marshfield, Wisconsin, USA
1. Shota Vs Ragnar The Ruthless
One week later Shota heads to Wisconsin for Frontline Pro. For fuck sake lads I have to trawl through Facebook to find out what this is and where Ragnar The Ruthless comes from.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 142: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN SNAKE”, 25/09/2022 O2 Academy, Birmingham, England
1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
2. Shigehiro Irie Vs X
Shigehiro Irie will be at Progress the same weekend CDK are there.
PROGRESS “RETURN OF THE FLY”, 27/09/2022 The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England
1. Shigehiro Irie Vs X
2. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
Let’s include Irie here too.
MDRN NMD “I SPELL F-L-Y”, 29/09/2022 The Bread Shed, Grosvenor St. , Manchester, England
1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs LK Mezinger & Splits McPins
2. Shigehiro Irie Vs Dan Moloney
Before the entire UK scene fell apart there was a little series of shows called Tuesday Night Graps put together by a group of wrestlers including Chris Brookes. After the pandemic the shows came back under a new group called Modern Nomad Pro Wrestling and this time there’s no need to run shows every Tuesday. Is Masahiro Takanashi into bowling because CDK takes on Bowl-A-Rama in tag team action. Irie gets to take on Dan Moloney in a superfight.
WXW “INNER CIRCLE”, 30/09/2022 wXw Wrestling Academy, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
1. Masha Slamovich Vs Fuminori Abe
The day before the World Tag Team Festival tournament begins, wXw will be holding a smaller scale show inside their wrestling school. They are always a good appetizer to start their big international weekends with some unique matches put together. Like this one here, Fuminori Abe being thrown into the ring against Masha Slamovich!
WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 01/10/2022 – 03/10/2022 Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany
1. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie Vs X
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
We just have to wait and see how both CDK and Abe & Irie will do in the tournament.
EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM V”, 13/11/2022 229 The Venue, London, England
1. Hyper Misao Vs X
Yeah so this was announced back in July and I completely forgot about it until now. Whoops. Hyper Misao’s going to England!
PW REVOLUTION/WEST COAST PRO “KING OF INDIES 2022”, 19/11/2022 United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, USA
1. King Of Indies 2022: Konosuke Takeshita Vs X
There is a tournament in the American independents that holds almost a mythical reputation even if it does not attract the attention of wrestling fans the same way Battle Of Los Angeles, Tournament Of Death or King Of Trios all used to. The King Of Indies tournament originated in the early 2000s with All Pro Wrestling as the hosts. The 2001 edition is well known as being an inspiration towards the creation of Ring Of Honor. The tournament was revived in 2018 with Pro Wrestling Revolution taking the reigns and this year Takeshita gets to add his name to the tournament’s history book. He won’t be the only Japanese participant because Naomichi Marufuji from NOAH will be there along with SB Kento and La Estrella from DRAGONGATE.
The summer is winding down and it’s been a whirlwind of international appearances for Konosuke Takeshita and Miyu Yamashita in particular. Things might calm down a little going into the Autumn when Takeshita returns home to Japan for DDT. His plan is to go back for just under two months before continuing his excursion. He is definitely falling in love with America and wants to make the country his second home. But as you will see in the upcoming appearances section below there is a whole wide world out there to explore.
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Alex Windsor with the Skull Kick (15:28).
We start off in Spain where Yamashita travelled over to wrestle for RCW. She was the big draw of the show with the event’s name being a combination of her and the album “Motomami” by Rosalía. She took on Alex Windsor a week before Windsor went on to win the International Princess Title over in Japan.
PWG “NINETEEN”, 03/07/2022 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Masha Slamovich (9:22).
2. PWG World Title: Daniel Garcia (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita (23:19). *V1 for Daniel Garcia.
July turned out to be a rocky patch for Takeshita in the win-loss department. He got to fight for the PWG World Title against Daniel Garcia but couldn’t win the belt from him. Yuka Sakazaki had a better night, winning the first women’s match held in PWG in over a decade against Masha Slamovich. She left quite the impression on everyone for sure.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 06/07/2022 (Aired 08/07/2022) Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York, USA
1. Eddie Kingston defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Spinning Backfist (11:56).
Eddie Kingston made it no secret his dream is to wrestle Jun Akiyama some day. Akiyama passed down the Jumping Knee Strike to Takeshita so this match brought Kingston one little step forward toward that goal. The two smashed each other to bits and both were practically done by the time the match was over. It could have ended in a double knockout had Kingston not fallen on top of Takeshita to get the pin.
JCW “THE GREAT AMERICAN BIRTHDAY BASH”, 10/07/2022 Phil Sheridan Building, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Cole Radrick with the Zahi (15:19).
Takeshita and Cole Radrick finally wrestling each other is like when two pen pals meet in person for the first time. To think it all started when Takeshita used Radrick’s move the Lil Sebastian’s Curse 3 years ago.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/07/2022 Enmarket Arena, Savannah, Georgia, USA
1. Interim AEW World Title Eliminator Match: Jon Moxley defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Bulldog Choke (13:13).
Takeshita’s biggest match in America so far took place in AEW when he took on one of their biggest stars Jon Moxley! It was a non-title match but a win would have catapulted Takeshita into an automatic shot for the Interim AEW World Title. Unfortunately despite another heavily praised performance, Takeshita ended up submitting to the Bully Choke. It was at this point when Takeshita realised he has not won an AEW match on Dynamite or Rampage yet. He made it his next goal to get “one big win” on TV.
DEFY “THE WORLD IS YOURS NIGHT 1”, 16/07/2022 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
Next stop was Seattle for a DEFY doubleshot. In the main event of Night 1 Takeshita beat the veteran journeyman of the indies Davey Richards.
DEFY “THE WORLD IS YOURS NIGHT 2”, 17/07/2022 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Schaff (10:34).
Then on the second night Takeshita beat Schaff. I’m really low on details about what happened on the DEFY shows at the moment so let’s move on.
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 20/07/2022 (Aired 25/07/2022) Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated JD Drake with the Jumping Knee Strike (3:40).
Takeshita has no problem picking up wins on AEW’s Youtube shows. He beat JD Drake in the main event of an episode of Dark Elevation.
TERMINUS “TERMINUS 3”, 21/07/2022 Oasis Event Center, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
1. Jonathan Gresham defeated Konosuke Takeshita by Referee Stoppage with the Modified Octopus Hold (14:55).
Takeshita paid a visit to TERMINUS, the promotion that Jonathan Gresham had been championing while Ring Of Honor was in limbo. The match almost lasted the full 15 minute time limit but the last minute and a half consisted of Gresham locking Takeshita in an Octopus Hold and then finding more ways to torture him. The referee finally called for the bell in the last few seconds, giving Gresham the win. But Takeshita never gave up and even threw an Elbow Strike while in a dazed state right after Gresham let him go. This would not be the last time they were in the ring together this month.
PRESTIGE “NONSTOP FEELING”, 22/07/2022 Hawthorne Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Kevin Blackwood with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (16:55).
Here is where Takeshita started to develop something different. Kevin Blackwood is a pretty tough dude and showed his guts by taking everything Takeshita could throw at him and still kick out of his pins. Takeshita ended up using Radrick’s move the Lil Sebastian’s Curse to finally get the win. Fans want Takeshita to name his version of the move Cinnabomb but he likes the name that Radrick originally gave it.
GARDEN STATE PRO “WELCOME TO EDEN”, 23/07/2022 The Heart Ballroom, Newark, USA
1. 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Billie Starkz and Janai Kai when Yamashita pinned Starkz with the Skull Kick (6:53).
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Josh Alexander ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
Takeshita did end up getting into a time limit draw against Josh Alexander. It was a non-title match but he left holding his head up high over going the distance against the Impact World Champion. Yamashita was thrown into a hectic 3 Way Match against Billie Starkz and Janai Kai. Those young wrestlers have become two of the more familiar names in women’s wrestling on the American indies. The chaos worked out in Yamashita’s favour when Starkz unintentionally knocked Kai out of the ring, leaving her open for the deadly Skull Kick.
AEW “DYNAMITE ~ FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN”, 27/07/2022 DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
1. AEW Women’s World Title: Thunder Rosa (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Fire Thunder Driver (10:02). *V5 for Thunder Rosa.
The big reason for Yamashita’s return to America was for this. A shot at the AEW Women’s World Title she earned from beating Thunder Rosa in Tokyo Joshi Pro earlier in the month. The late part of the rematch almost became a mirror of the TJPW bout with the Attitude Adjustment being countered into a Cradle only to get reversed into another one. This time however Rosa kicked out and caught Yamashita with her own High Kick. Rosa then hit her version of the Fire Thunder Driver to avenge the loss and successfully defend the title. Unfortunately it wasn’t a great match. They weren’t on the same page in the first half and although they got back in track with Yamashita’s German Suplex spot, the rest of the match was pretty much a repeat of what they did in TJPW.
BLACK LABEL PRO “THE GANG CROSSES THE LINE”, 29/07/2022 Nashville Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Nick Wayne with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (12:40).
Takeshita ended his month over at the Starrcast convention for two matches. The first took place in Black Label Pro against the highly regarded youngster Nick Wayne. Even though Takeshita won, he was so impressed by Wayne that he passed down his nickname of “The Future” to him!
SETUP “SETUP EP.8”, 30/07/2022 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. Hoshitango defeated Bital Hasdin with the Midnight Buenos Aires (8:34).
2. Asia Dream Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) defeated Terry Diesel & Monomoth when Brookes pinned Monomoth after the Super Kick & Praying Mantis Bomb (23:40). *V4 for CDK.
Time to go a completely different direction over to Thailand where CDK went off on an adventure. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi were part of a Gatoh Move related group of wrestlers taking part in a SETUP show. CDK successfully defended the Asia Dream Tag Team Titles against two of SETUP’s best in Terry Diesel & Monomoth. Also taking part was Hoshitango. He gave the local super rookie Bital Hasdin his first loss in pro wrestling. There was even a DJ Nira sighting at some point during the show.
JCP “RIC FLAIR’S LAST MATCH”, 31/07/2022 Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
1. PROGRESS World Title #1 Contender – 4 Way Match: Jonathan Gresham defeated Alan Angels, Nick Wayne and Konosuke Takeshita when Gresham pinned Angels with an O’Connor Roll (5:40).
Takeshita was added to the undercard of Ric Flair’s dedicated attempt at turning the final scene of “The Wrestler” into reality. He took part in a 4 Way with previous opponents Gresham and Wayne along with former AEW wrestler Alan Angels.
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Upcoming Appearances
AEW “BATTLE OF THE BELTS III”, 05/08/2022 (Airing 06/08/2022) Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
1. ROH World Title: Claudio Castagnoli (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
He couldn’t win the PWG Title so let’s go after the ROH World Title! Takeshita takes on Claudio Castagnoli himself in an absolute whopper of a match on paper. As mentioned above, Takeshita wants his first AEW win on TV to be a big one and this would fit the bill.
WIDE BAY PRO “RAMPAGE”, 06/08/2022 Maryborough State High School, Sussex Street, Maryborough, Australia
1. Interstate Title: Mitch Ryder (c) Vs Shota
Here’s an unexpected addition. Shota is gearing up for an American excursion in a few month’s time but this month he is heading over to Australia for a one-off appearance in Wide Bay Pro. He is going to challenge one of their champions Mitch Ryder (not the American one who died two years ago).
DPW “BELIEVE THE HYPE”, 06/08/2022 Gov. James E. Holshouser Building, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
1. Mizuki Vs Emi Sakura
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Andrew Everett
Back over to the maniac matchmaking of Deadlock Pro. On one of their recent shows Andrew Everett called out Takeshita for a match! If that isn’t enough to tickle your fancy, DPW somehow put together the rare matchup of Mizuki against Emi Sakura! It will be Mizuki’s first ever appearance in America and also Sakura’s first US booking outside of AEW ever since she worked with the company.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 137: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COPPERHEAD”, 13/08/2022 O2 Academy, Sheffield, England
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Robbie X
Robbie X is a journeyman of the British wrestling scene who seems to be finally breaking through and climbing up the ladder. He is Takeshita’s first opponent when he travels over to England.
GCW “HOMECOMING PART 1”, 13/08/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
That Itoh’s first GCW match hasn’t been announced yet makes me think she’ll be added to a Scramble 6 Way. She’ll have a busy day nonetheless.
JCW “AFTER HOURS 2”, 13/08/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Billie Starkz
GCW’s sister promotion JCW will be running a show in the same venue afterwards. Itoh is taking part by having a match against Starkz. She got along well with Yamashita. If Itoh takes a liking to her too then maybe a tour of Japan is in Starkz’s future. It will do her a world of good if she ever wants to develop as a pro wrestler.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 138: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COTTONMOUTH”, 14/08/2022 Boiler Shop, Newcastle, England
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Dean Allmark
Dean Allmark is another longtime British wrestler going beyond the indie scene. He’s been through the infamous schedule of wrestling at summer camps across the country.
GCW “HOMECOMING PART 2”, 14/08/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Dark Sheik
Now here is someone with an attitude that Itoh will appreciate. “Fuck The Fans” is a motto that Dark Sheik lives by even though she is pretty cool towards her fanbase. Hoodslam is her home but she’s gotten comfy wrestling in GCW lately too.
PRESTIGE “PERSEVERANCE”, 17/09/2022 The Glass House, Pomona, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Maki Itoh Vs Sandra Moone
Yamashita & Itoh are heading back over to Prestige in September. Itoh has an opponent announced in the form of Sandra Moone. Yamashita is still waiting to hear who she will be against. Taya Valkyrie and Trish Adora are both advertised for the show. Either of them facing Yamashita would be an attention grabber. Just saying.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 142: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN SNAKE”, 25/09/2022 O2 Academy, Birmingham, England
1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
There’s some extra slightly DDT related news for this show. Shigehiro Irie is being booked for it.
PROGRESS “RETURN OF THE FLY”, 27/09/2022 The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England
1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
CDK have another PROGRESS show to go to. The naming of it seems to match Brookes’ interests too.
WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 01/10/2022 – 03/10/2022 Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany
1. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie Vs X
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
A couple more teams have been added to the World Tag Team Festival but nothing related to what I’m doing here. Probably going to stay that way until the tournament takes place.
GANBARE☆PRO “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA”, 10/07/2022 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium 804 Fans
1. Four Beasts Of Fate Gathered In Sekigahara ~Special Tag Match~: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs Isami Kodaka & Shuji Ishikawa
2. Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Vs Takaiwa Army: Kouki Iwasaki & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Tatsuhito Takaiwa & 5th Black Tiger
3. Ganpro Specialty 6-Man Tag Match Match: Ganbare Tamagawa, Nobuhiro Shimatani & HARUKAZE Vs Onryo, YuuRI & Lingerie Muto
4. Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Vs Eruption: Mizuki Watase, Moeka Haruhi & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani
5. Special Single Match: Yuna Manase Vs Sayaka Unagi
6. Special Single Match: Shuichiro Katsumura Vs Minoru Suzuki
7. Special Tag Match ~ CDK Vs ROMANCE DAWN: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Shota & Soma Takao
8. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Yumehito Imanari (c) Vs Ken Ohka
GANBARE☆PRO “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA”, 10/07/2022 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium 804 Fans
1. Four Beasts Of Fate Gathered In Sekigahara ~Special Tag Match~: Isami Kodaka & Shuji Ishikawa defeated Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie when Ishii pinned Kodaka with the Isamiashi Zan (13:42).
2. Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Vs Takaiwa Army: Kouki Iwasaki & Tyson Maeguchi defeated Tatsuhito Takaiwa & 5th Black Tiger when Maeguchi pinned Tiger with the Tyson Splash (14:00).
3. Ganpro Specialty 6-Man Tag Match Match: Ganbare Tamagawa, Nobuhiro Shimatani & HARUKAZE defeated Onryo, YuuRI & Lingerie Muto when HARUKAZE pinned YuuRI with the Flame Spear (9:13).
4. Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Vs Eruption: Mizuki Watase, Moeka Haruhi & Shinichiro Tominaga defeated Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani when Watase pinned Sakaguchi with an Elbow Butt (15:22).
5. Special Single Match: Sayaka Unagi defeated Yuna Manase with the Jomon Toppa (12:59).
6. Special Single Match: Minoru Suzuki defeated Shuichiro Katsumura with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (21:45).
7. Special Tag Match ~ CDK Vs ROMANCE DAWN: Shota & Soma Takao defeated Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi when Shota pinned Brookes with the Gannosuke Clutch (23:09).
8. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Yumehito Imanari (c) defeated Ken Ohka with the Lariat (19:25). *V1 for Yumehito Imanari.
Today Ganbare☆Pro reached Ota Ward Gymnasium to hold the biggest event in its nine year history. The two men most important to the promotion faced off in the main event. On the one side is Ganpro’s founder Ken Ohka, the man who created the company in the hopes of making his own major sports league. His opponent is the first person to stand by him during Ganpro’s creation. Yumehito Imanari was just a member of DDT’s video team who wrestled on a part time basis. Today he was headlining Ota Ward Gym as the defending Spirit Of Ganbare Champion. The two fought each other knowing it was the most important match of their lives. Ohka relied on the Flame Spear but it was Imanari’s use of the Lariat that ended the match with his arm raised in the air and a successful first title defence.
After the match Imanari said when he became a pro wrestler he embarrassed himself a lot. But it is that shame that led him to the treasure he has now. He said Ganpro is necessary in the wrestling world because there is nowhere else where you can put your life on the line in such a muddy atmosphere. If you ever have a hard time, look at Ganpro! Ohka didn’t cry when he lost. He laughed instead. He doesn’t understand why because it should be the opposite. At 45 years of age he believes he still has room to grow. He wants to work hard with the younger wrestlers and continue his work to make pro wrestling into a major sport. The attendance of 804 fans today is considered a success and is going to inspire Ganpro when they decide on their next big goal.
The other important matches on the show were built around matches where Ganpro wrestlers fought outsiders. The tag team battle between ROMANCE DAWN and CDK was Ganpro’s top tag team taking on the notorious duo found in DDT and ChocoPro. CDK did some cheating throughout the match. Early on Chris Brookes taped Soma Takao to a dolly and rolled him away from ringside, leaving Shota fighting in a 2 on 1 disadvantage. Takao was able to get freed and return to the ring. Brookes also grabbed HARUKAZE and Gorilla Pressed her out of the ring onto everyone below. Later Masahiro Takanashi pulled the referee out of the ring to break up Shota’s Frog Splash on Brookes. Shota was then hit over the head with the Asia Dream Tag Team Title belt but he kicked out of the pin. ROMANCE DAWN was able to get the win out of nowhere when Shota countered the Praying Mantis Bomb into the Gannosuke Clutch, pinning Brookes for the victory. Shota said he is ready to go for a rematch while Takao was happy to win in his hometown with his friend. Brookes is making demands for a singles match. He wants to go one on one. But not against Shota, he is demanding a match against HARUKAZE! Takanashi backs up the idea and suggested they do a tag match if HARUKAZE has a tag partner.
Fans were allowed to cheer which meant everyone got to shout “Kaze Ni Nare!” during Minoru Suzuki’s entrance. But when it was time for his match to begin, the cheers and chants were for Ganpro’s own Shuichiro Katsumura. The match was filled with strikes and submission holds with a little bit of chair usage from Suzuki. He broke out of the Ninja Choke and dropped Katsumura with the Gotch-Style Piledriver to win the match. In a rare act of sportsmanship, Suzuki shook Katsumura’s hand and left to ring to give his opponent the spotlight. He even later admitted to enjoying the match! Katsumura said getting the match he always wanted is no big deal and he will continue to wrestle for Ganpro.
Emotions ran high for Yuna Manase’s match against Sayaka Unagi. The two have history together that recently mutated into Unagi holding a grudge. Their only previous singles match happened early in Unagi’s career and the loss to Manase has haunted her ever since. She showed erratic behavior at a press conference for the match by biting Manase’s chest. She did the same here when the match began. The match continued to heat up with Manase throwing Lariats. But Unagi broke through her defences and got the three count after hitting the Jomon Toppa. After the match Unagi confessed that she does not hate Ganpro and she does not believe Manase is on her last run. She learned about the fun and freedom of pro wrestling from Manase so she’s not going to let her quit so easily. They also now have a 1-1 record against each other. Unagi believes she will one day become the top wrestler in Stardom and the world of pro wrestling. When she does she will look for Manase so they can have the rubber match.
Ganpro’s previous experiences with Eruption have ended with the DDT unit bullying them. Yukio Sakaguchi in particular has been a pain in the back for Mizuki Watase to deal with. It ended up causing Watase to shave his own head after he dropped the fall to Sakaguchi in a Ganpro Vs Eruption match at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022”. Today was Watase’s shot at redemption when he teamed with Moeka Haruhi & Shinichiro Tominaga against the same trio of Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani. He finally got his day in the sun when he pinned Sakaguchi with an Elbow Butt to the face. Once Sakaguchi got over the shock of defeat, he gave Watase a congratulatory pat to the body and left him to celebrate with his team.
The advertised 3 Vs 2 Handicap Match turned into a 6-Man Tag Match on short notice. Munenori Sawa wasn’t around so in his place was Lingerie Muto as an active participant in the match! Ganbare Tamagawa thought he was going to get a hero’s welcome for his first Ganpro appearance in years. He even created a new move for the occassion called the Ganbare☆Pro Elbow. Instead he got booed. YuuRI on the other hand got loads of streamers thrown at her, leaving her in tears of joy because she debuted during the pandemic and never experienced an audience response like this. The ring was also filled with ecto dust whenever Onryo did something with Nobuhiro Shimatani. In the end, HARUKAZE was the one to win the match when she pinned YuuRI with the Flame Spear.
After nine months wrestling for Ganpro, Tyson Maeguchi finally gets his first direct win! The opportunity came when Tatsuhito Takaiwa accidentally hit 5th Black Tiger with a Lariat. Kouki Iwasaki then gave Tiger a Vertical Drop Brainbuster and left him for Maeguchi to finish off. Maeguchi did so with a Diving Body Press taught to him by Kota Ibushi. He now believes this is the end of Taison Maeguchi: the weak pro wrestler. From this day forth he is Taison Maeguchi: the strong pro wrestler! Next up he would like to aim for a championship. Takaiwa said this is not the end of him or his Takaiwa Army because he is still looking to understand the Ganbare Spirit.
The show opened with a barnburner between four wrestlers linked together through a time before Ganpro even existed. Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie, Isami Kodaka and Shuji Ishikawa smashed each other to pieces until somebody reached their breaking point. That came when Kodaka hit Ishii with the Isamiashi Zan. Even when the match was over tempers were flaring. Kodaka said he is the top wrestler of BASARA and Ishikawa is the top wrestler of All Japan. He thinks Ishii and Ganpro haven’t grown at all in the decade that passed since Union Pro closed down. Ishikawa was in a happier mood and congratulated Kodaka on his 20th anniversary in wrestling. He explained he can’t be at Kodaka’s 20th Anniversary show because he has a booking with AJPW on the same day.
The new Ganbare☆Joshi signing is Yoshiko Hasegawa! The former Actwres girl’Z wrestler left the business at the end of last year after dealing with a neck injury. However after a year and seven months since her last match, she will re-debut for Ganpro on 13th August. She calls it her re-debut because she is starting again from scratch. Part of the reason is because Ganpro does mixed gender matches and she wants to take part in them to get stronger. She is also currently still getting treatment on her neck but assures everyone she will be ready to wrestle again on 13th August.
I’ll now include the official Youtube videos of matches to these posts. Last month’s article was updated to include the videos available from May and I’ll go back to add more if they get uploaded. Konosuke Takeshita having matches across the American indies that are so good they have to be put up for free on Youtube is going to be the trend this summer. The other trend seems to be Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers unexpectedly appearing on AEW’s Youtube shows whenever they are in the country. The Forbidden Door is behind us for the time being so if there was any red tape preventing Takeshita from having a higher profile that should be gone now. Even then he’s keeping himself busy as you will see below. By the way it is incredibly satisfying to see how successful that show turned out. So many wrestling analysts and personalities last month predicted failure because let’s be honest, they personally don’t care about New Japan. It is obvious to me that a lot of them used the “casual fan” argument as a cover for their own lack of interest or knowledge for Japanese wrestling. But the PPV being a success proves there is an audience out there that does care. I mean that’s why you’re here right now reading this post, right?
SPOILER WARNING: The results section includes spoilers for taped AEW matches that have not aired yet.
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Videos
DPW “NO PRESSURE”, 05/06/2022 Gov. James E. Holshouser Building, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
1. Golden Opportunity Match: Miyu Yamashita Vs Miyuki Takase
Video starts at 21:24 for the match AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 06/06/2022 The Kia Forum, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Skye Blue & Miyu Yamashita Vs Serena Deeb & Nyla Rose
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 08/06/2022 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. Casino Battle Royale: Darby Allin Vs Tony Nese Vs Daniel Garcia Vs Lance Archer Vs Eddie Kingston Vs Ricky Starks Vs Jake Hager Vs Rey Fenix Vs Swerve Strickland Vs Keith Lee Vs John Silver Vs Konosuke Takeshita Vs Max Caster Vs Austin Gunn Vs Colten Gunn Vs Powerhouse Hobbs Vs Bobby Fish Vs Kyle O’Reilly Vs Dante Martin Vs Wheeler Yuta Vs Andrade El Idolo
WEST COAST PRO “’93 TIL INFINITY”, 10/06/2022 The State Room, South San Francisco, USA
1. Mike Bailey Vs Konosuke Takeshita
ROW “LOCK UP”, 11/06/2022 Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA
1. Ryan Davidson Vs Shota
Video starts at 37:43 for the match AEW “DARK”, 14/06/2022 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Nick Comoroto (w/ Aaron Solo)
PRESTIGE “THE NEW REALITY”, 18/06/2022 The Glass House, Pomona, USA
1. Lee Moriarty Vs Konosuke Takeshita
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Results
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 01/06/2022 (Aired 06/06/2022) The Kia Forum, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Serena Deeb & Nyla Rose defeated Skye Blue & Miyu Yamashita when Deeb submitted Blue with the Serenity Lock (7:40).
When the month began, the joshi wrestlers who were hanging around in America all went back to Japan except for Miyu Yamashita. She still had an indie date left to do but there was an unusually long gap of time until it took place. Turns out the extra time was filled up with Yamashita’s first AEW booking. She unexpectedly had her debut match with the company on Dark Elevation teaming with Skye Blue against two of AEW’s top threats in the women’s division: Serena Deeb & Nyla Rose. There were complaints from fans that you shouldn’t be just throwing Yamashita into a Youtube match like that but there’s a long game being played here. AEW are well aware of Yamashita’s status in the joshi scene and have kept an eye on her for her entire US trip last month. There’s even some hearsay that her indie bookings went through AEW as part of getting her over to the USA in the first place. They’ve been so impressed with her performances that considerations are under way to put together a future AEW Women’s Title program between her and Thunder Rosa. Those plans are separate from the Rosa Vs Yamashita match happening in TJPW later this month. I know the booking of the AEW women’s division is incredibly frustrating to follow but I assure you there is some thought being put behind what to do with Yamashita in the future.
AEW “DARK”, 03/06/2022 (Aired 14/06/2022) Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Nick Comoroto (w/ Aaron Solo) with the Jumping Knee Strike (6:42).
We’re getting into odd territory with the Dark tapings. Takeshita’s match against Nick Comoroto was recorded on 3rd June but was not used until the episode that aired on the 14th.
DPW “NO PRESSURE”, 05/06/2022 Gov. James E. Holshouser Building, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
1. Golden Opportunity Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Miyuki Takase with the Skull Kick (15:27).
A first time meeting took place in Deadlock Pro when Yamashita took on the freelancer Miyuki Takase. The match had a little bit of everything from strike exchanges, slight comedy, big moves like an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment and Takase running a lap around the building to set up the longest Clothesline spot you’ll ever see. Yamashita found her opponent’s limit with High Kicks and finished her off with the Skull Kick to win. According to the match stipulation Yamashita now has a championship shot of some sort for whenever she wants when she returns to DPW.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 08/06/2022 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. Casino Battle Royale: Kyle O’Reilly defeated Wheeler Yuta by Ring Out (24:59). Order Of Elimination: Tony Nese, Lance Archer, Max Caster, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn, Keith Lee, John Silver, Daniel Garcia, Eddie Kingston, Jake Hager, Konosuke Takeshita, Dante Martin, Ricky Starks, Bobby Fish, Darby Allin, Swerve Strickland, Powerhouse Hobbs, Rey Fenix, Andrade El Idolo and Wheeler Yuta.
Takeshita entered the annual Casino Battle Royal where the winner would face Jon Moxley later in the night. It was all part of a long, sudden journey to crown an Interim AEW World Champion thanks to CM Punk unexpectedly going out of action with injury. Takeshita entered the match in the middle of the pack but was thrown out by both Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs. That left Takeshita tweeting about if he should find some new friends for backup should a similar situation ever repeats itself.
WEST COAST PRO “’93 TIL INFINITY”, 10/06/2022 The State Room, South San Francisco, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Mike Bailey with the German Suplex (17:50).
Well he got to reunite with one of his friends a couple of days later. The long awaited rematch with Mike Bailey delivered and then some. What are you doing reading this when you can watch it up at the top of the post above?
AEW “DARK”, 11/06/2022 (Aired 19/07/2022)
Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Anthony Henry with the Jumping Knee Strike (7:48).
Back to the weirdness of the tapings. Takeshita’s match against Anthony Henry hasn’t aired yet. AEW now tapes month’s worth of Dark matches in Universal Studios a couple times a year. Details results of the tapings aren’t common so for the moment we just know who won. I’ll come back to edit this post when the match does air.
ROW “LOCK UP”, 11/06/2022 Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA
1. Ryan Davidson defeated Shota with the Davidson Driver (?:??).
Hey Ganbare☆Pro can join in on the fun now. Shota finally got to travel to America after his original plans to do so went kaput two years ago because of the pandemic. He went over to Texas to perform on a Reality Of Wrestling show. That is the promotion run by none other than Booker T. Shota took on Ryan Davidson, an American wrestler who wrestled in both DDT and Ganpro back in 2018. Shota stayed in America for a few more days and went to an AEW event in St. Louis where he hung out with Takeshita and Michael Nakazawa backstage.
PRESTIGE “THE NEW REALITY”, 18/06/2022 The Glass House, Pomona, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Lee Moriarty with the Zahi (17:55).
Another very entertaining match worth watching. Lee Moriarty is such a good talent who can shine through your screen with his ring work. He’s a good opponent for Takeshita as you can see when you watch the video way up above.
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 29/06/2022 (Aired 04/07/2022) Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan, USA
1. Hikaru Shida & Yuka Sakazaki defeated Heather Reckless & Laynie Luck when Shida pinned Reckless with the Falcon Arrow (2:53).
It was a surprise to everyone when both Yuka Sakazaki and Hikaru Shida showed up to wrestle as a tag team this past Wednesday. I didn’t realize Sakazaki had left Japan for her PWG booking and it wasn’t publicly known that Shida was returning to the US either. The match against Heather Reckless & Laynie Luck will air on Dark Elevation next Monday. Hopefully for Sakazaki’s sake they edit her entrance because she tripped and fell on the ramp while running out. She got revenge on the ramp after the match by stomping on it while leaving ringside.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 29/06/2022 (Aired 01/07/2022) Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan, USA
1. Royal Rampage: Brody King defeated Darby Allin by Ring Out (22:41). Order Of Elimination: Tony Nese, John Silver, Max Caster, Penta Oscuro & Rush, Matt Hardy, Frankie Kazarian, Dante Martin, Dustin Rhodes, Konosuke Takeshita, Orange Cassidy, Keith Lee, Swerve Strickland, Ricky Starks, Hangman Page, The Blade, The Butcher and Darby Allin.
Tonight’s episode of Rampage has Takeshita entering the first ever Royal Rampage match. It is reportedly a Royal Rumble match involving two wrestling rings and the last wrestlers left in each ring face off in the finale. Remember earlier when I said Takeshita wants to look for backup so he won’t get eliminated by a tag team? Well it happened again when The Butcher & The Blade worked together to throw him out of the ring.
Yamashita is currently in Spain ready and waiting for this weekend’s show with RCW. Her opponent is an interesting choice. Alex Windsor has been on a roll in England lately for both Revolution Pro and Pro Wrestling: EVE. She will be coming to Japan one week later to challenge for the International Princess Title too. No bigger message to send TJPW than to beat their first ace before heading over.
PWG “NINETEEN”, 03/07/2022 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Masha Slamovich
2. PWG World Title: Daniel Garcia (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Takeshita has had no luck chasing after AEW championships. The PWG World Title however is so close he should be able to taste it. The champion Daniel Garcia is beaten up from doing a Blood & Guts cage match. Sakazaki gets to be added to the short list of women to have wrestled for PWG. She can make Masha Slamovich 0 for 2 against TJPW talent.
JCW “THE GREAT AMERICAN BIRTHDAY BASH”, 10/07/2022 Phil Sheridan Building, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Cole Radrick
This is a match with more history than meets the eye. Takeshita and Cole Radrick have gotten along on Twitter for the last year, sharing gifs of them doing each other’s moves in matches. Does that mean when they finally meet they will play mind games by swapping movesets against each other?
DEFY “THE WORLD IS YOURS NIGHT 1”, 16/07/2022 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Davey Richards
Davey Richards has taken up the indie gatekeeper role ever since he returned to active competition. Takeshita getting an opponent as established as him in a promotion as energetic as DEFY should result in magic.
TERMINUS “TERMINUS 3”, 21/07/2022 Oasis Event Center, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
1. Jonathan Gresham Vs Konosuke Takeshita
The hits keep on coming! Takeshita should expect a change of pace here because TERMINUS uses an alternate ruleset that encourages more grappling and less theatrics. Jonathan Gresham flies the flag for that style (often literally) and has been pretty much unbeatable since becoming the ROH World Champion. It would be a good idea for Takeshita to remember what he learned from wrestling Shinya Aoki and fight fire with fire.
PRESTIGE “NONSTOP FEELING”, 22/07/2022 Hawthorne Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Kevin Blackwood
The next day Takeshita returns to Prestige for his second match in the promotion. Kevin Blackwood has been gaining notoriety in the indies this year and just last week got a big win over Takeshita’s buddy Mike Bailey.
GARDEN STATE PRO “WELCOME TO EDEN”, 23/07/2022 The Heart Ballroom, Newark, USA
1. 3 Way Match: Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Josh Alexander
Takeshita will also be holding a seminar for Garden State Pro on the day of the show.
BLACK LABEL PRO “THE GANG CROSSES THE LINE”, 29/07/2022 Nashville Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Nick Wayne
A teenage prodigy being hailed as the future of pro wrestling with the world at his feet. Sounds familiar. Nick Wayne is sort of where Takeshita was a decade ago. The young phenomenon is becoming a must see wrestler on the indies and supposedly has an AEW contract waiting for him once he is eligible to sign it. One future will get to see the next future first hand.
SETUP “SETUP EP.8”, 30/07/2022 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. Hoshitango Vs Bital Hasdin
2. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
Hoshitango’s opponent Bital Hasdin is being promoted as Thailand’s super rookie.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 137: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COPPERHEAD”, 13/08/2022 O2 Academy, Sheffield, England
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X
Takeshita heads over to England in August for a tour with PROGRESS, the company that wishes it was still 2019. His first show will be in Sheffield and then he will be in Newcastle the next day.
GCW “HOMECOMING PART 1”, 13/08/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
GCW is not ready for Maki Itoh.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 138: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COTTONMOUTH”, 14/08/2022 Boiler Shop, Newcastle, England
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X
Takeshita won’t be the only DDT talent PROGRESS gets to experience this year…
GCW “HOMECOMING PART 2”, 14/08/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
I repeat, they are so not ready for her.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 142: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN SNAKE”, 25/09/2022 O2 Academy, Birmingham, England
1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
Chris Brookes is coming back to Europe and he’s bringing Masahiro Takanashi with him!
WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 01/10/2022 – 03/10/2022 Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany
1. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie Vs X
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
Take it from me, wXw tournaments in Oberhausen make for great weekend breaks if you’re with other wrestling fans. They have done tag team tournaments every Autumn for years but the World Tag Team Festival branding is only a recent creation that got interrupted by the pandemic. CDK was one of the first teams announced to enter the annual tournament. They are joined by two familiar faces, the team of Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie!
GANBARE☆PRO “KINDERGARTEN COP 2022”, 29/06/2022 Shin-Kiba 1st RING 112 Fans
1. Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Vs Dotonbori Pro Wrestling: Kouki Iwasaki defeated Ryuya Matsufusa with a Texas Cloverleaf (10:15).
2. Ganpro Special Mixed 6-Man Tag Match: Mizuki Watase, Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE defeated Shuichiro Katsumura, Yuna Manase & YuuRI when Haruhi submitted YuuRI with the 19.5MHz (11:47).
3. Spirit World Drunkers Vs Dragon Beast Bombers: Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Shigehiro Irie defeated Onryo & Tyson Maeguchi when Takaiwa pinned Maeguchi with the Death Valley Bomb (11:34).
4. Ishii-gun Vs Pro Wrestling BASARA: Keisuke Ishii & Nobuhiro Shimatani defeated Isami Kodaka & Daiki Shimomura when Ishii pinned Shimomura with the Kneel Kick (16:52).
5. Road To SEKIGAHARA Special 6-Man Tag Match: Ken Ohka, Masahiro Takanashi & Chris Brookes defeated Yumehito Imanari, Shota & Soma Takao when Ohka pinned Imanari with the Flame Spear (20:32).
The third and final preview match for “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA” saw Ken Ohka finally pick up a win against Yumehito Imanari. The same match also had CDK leave ROMANCE DAWN frazzled with their tag team moves. However Ohka credited himself for winning the match because he was able to beat such a strong opponent. He not only wants to win the Spirit Of Ganbare Title but also make sure the biggest show in Ganbare☆Pro history will be a success. He gathered round the Ganpro roster after the show and gave a motivating speech promoting the Ota Ward Gymnasium show on 10th July.
Later backstage Ohka said in an interview he has caused unthinkable miracles throughout his life. He has wrestled Jushin Liger, won a tag team match against Hiroshi Tanahashi, very briefly became the KO-D Openweight Champion. Meanwhile Imanari has in the last couple of years won matches against Shinjiro Otani and Tatsuhito Takaiwa. On 10th July there will be another miracle no matter who wins the main event!
Another preview of Ota Ward had Keisuke Ishii on the winning team against Isami Kodaka. An attack from Ishii early in the match resulted in Kodaka getting his forehead busted open. Ishii pinned Daiki Shimomura to win the match but continued brawling with Kodaka after the match was over. Later Ishii talked about memories good and bad from his short time wrestling in Union Pro with Kodaka and Shuji Ishikawa. He expects to have a great match when he & Shigehiro Irie face Kodaka & Ishikawa. Kodaka promises to give it his all in the match despite also having another important match in BASARA that same day.
Some of the other Ganpro wrestlers are now ready and waiting for “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA” to begin. Yuna Manase wrestles to be happy and wants Sayaka Unagi to be honest with her in the ring when their match takes place. Shuichiro Katsumura is feeling in good condition from all of the matches he’s done lately and has confidence he can beat Minoru Suzuki. He is ready to fight him in any style whether it is brawling, ground work or trading submission holds. Moeka Haruhi sees how aggressive Mizuki Watase has become and promises to stand with him against Eruption. She will improve her skills and cherish every minute before then.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 