DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SAPPORO – DAY 2”, 15/10/2023 Hokkaido Sapporo ii-one Stadium 284 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Yusuke Okada defeated Danshoku Dieno with an Inside Cradle (4:38).
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated Yukio Naya & Yuya Koroku when KANON pinned Koroku with the Vietnam Driver II (9:39).
3. Special Tag Match: Kouki Iwasaki & MAO defeated HARASHIMA & Rukiya when Iwasaki submitted Rukiya with the Texas Clover Hold (16:31).
4. Sapporo Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Noriyuki Yoshida defeated Kazuki Hirata, Tomoya & Kazuma Sumi when Yoshida pinned Sumi with the Authorized Lightning Leg Lariat (10:53).
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani (c) defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Makoto Oishi when Sakaguchi pinned Oishi with the God’s Right Knee (17:35). *V5 for Eruption.
6. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Toy Kojima when Brookes pinned Kojima with the Praying Mantis Bomb (21:56).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: MAO defeated Takeshi Masada (c) with a School Boy (3:17 pm). *MAO becomes the 1,581st champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Takeshi Masada defeated MAO (c) with a School Boy (3:43 pm). *Takeshi Masada becomes the 1,582nd champion.
Everybody was given a reminder to how hard headed Kazusada Higuchi is. During an out of the ring brawl Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada both lifted up a table and charged it towards Higuchi. The end result was Higuchi’s head bursting through the center of the table and leaving a hole in it while he was unharmed! Toy Kojima did a call out to Yuki Ueno by using a BME set up for a Diving Cross Body Block on Brookes. Kojima was later given the Praying Mantis Bomb twice. Higuchi broke the pin the first time but wasn’t able to save him the second.
In the final moments of the show Brookes briefly turned on Masada after his speech in order to try and win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. Masada escaped but was rolled up by MAO outside the ring to lose the title anyway. Then during the post-show festivities Masada disguised himself as a fan to get close to MAO and attack him back to regain the belt.
Just like yesterday Sanshiro Takagi had a “Sapporo Castle” built out of stairs positioned near ringside to protect against Eruption. This time however there were three of them around the venue. Hideki Okatani immediately kicked one of them down during his team’s entrance. Yukio Sakaguchi was thrown into the second one and the final one was destroyed when a bunch of the wrestlers tackled each other into it. Makoto Oishi targeted Sakaguchi’s knees again knowing how much they were injured from yesterday’s match. The rest of Eruption made the save and focused their attack on Oishi in return. Saki Akai gave him the Quetzalcoatl, Okatani followed up with the Double Arm Suplex and Sakaguchi used his remaining strength to pin him with the God’s Right Knee.
The win for Eruption means another successful KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles defence and perhaps the last one in their reign. Akai thanked Takagi, Akito & Oishi for being the core of DDT. Takagi handed one of the chairs over to Akai as a gift, calling it a symbol of DDT. Akai took it and said that no matter how long you’re a part of pro wrestling you never fully understand it. Backstage Sakaguchi said this was the last time Eruption will defend the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles and they will hold onto the belts until Akai’s retirement on 12th November. Okatani said they will do the same with the AJPW TV 6-Man Tag Team Titles if they retain them in All Japan next week. Akito asked Takagi & Oishi to team up again in ten years time so they can build an even bigger castle of chairs. Oishi said they will need to add a taller member to achieve that. Takagi suggested they get either Yukio Naya or Giant Silva.
Both MAO and Kouki Iwasaki are considering a DNA reunion show next year to celebrate the project’s 10th anniversary. DNA was launched on 28th November 2014 and a lot of the wrestlers associated with the brand are still active and in touch with each other. The two of them also praised Rukiya for showing great fighting spirit lately.
The new chapter in Danshoku Dieno’s career is a worrying one for him so far. Yesterday Akito overpowered his usual Danshoku antics and put out a theory that everybody in DDT has developed an immunity to Dieno’s style of wrestling. It was put to the test today when Dieno fought Yusuke Okada, a regular opponent/victim of his. The theory proved to be correct when Okada kicked out of the Gaydo Clutch and then countered the Lip Lock into a Small Package for a clean win. Akito annoyed Dieno about it afterwards and suggested that perhaps Dieno’s kisses have lost their charm. Pheromones is finished and Yuki Iino is away moving onto his next step. Perhaps it is time for Dieno to move on from Danshoku style too…
DDT announced their return to Sapporo will be on 28th and 29th April next year at the Sapporo Sun Plaza.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SAPPORO – DAY 1”, 14/10/2023 Hokkaido Sapporo ii-one Stadium 233 Fans
1. Akito defeated Danshoku Dieno with a Lip Lock Cutback (5:52).
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated Tomoya & Yusuke Okada when Sasaki submitted Okada with the Crossface Lock (9:00).
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Makoto Oishi & Kazuma Sumi when Sakaguchi pinned Oishi with a Cradle (10:06).
4. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada defeated Kouki Iwasaki & Rukiya when Higuchi pinned Rukiya with the Doctor Bomb (11:44).
5. Sapporo Specialty Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Noriyuki Yoshida defeated Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku when Endo pinned Koroku with the Burning Star Press (12:21).
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata defeated MAO, Yukio Naya & Toy Kojima when Brookes pinned Kojima with the Praying Mantis Bomb (21:48).
Today was supposed to be the first preliminary tag match between Chris Brookes and Yuki Ueno but Ueno had a flu and missed the show. This mean Brookes did not get the full hot sauna experience from The 37KAMIINA but he tried to make up for it by going to a public bath earlier in the day. He said he felt good after having his first match in almost three weeks. In fact he’s more worried about Kazuki Hirata’s chances over defending the DDT Extreme Title against Takeshi Masada soon. MAO appreciated Yukio Naya coming in to take Ueno’s place on short notice. He also admits he is torn over who to support between Brookes and Ueno.
A lot of new people have shown up in DDT since Kouki Iwasaki was last here. But not matter what changes here, as long as Kazusada Higuchi is in DDT Iwasaki will always come back to fight him again. Higuchi was happy to see him too. He was in a match with Kota Umeda not that long ago and will be reunited with Ryota Nakatsu again soon. Higuchi will always appreciate his DNA classmates but wants everyone to remember he was always DNA’s number one. Masada was excited over his team winning because he gets to keep the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. However Higuchi warned him they will be enemies tomorrow.
Sanshiro Takagi got his team to build a “Sapporo Castle” out of chairs at ringside. Kazuma Sumi was tasked with guarding the castle but Eruption threw him into it causing the chairs to collapse. Eruption were able to win the match but Yukio Sakaguchi came out of it favouring his knees because Makoto Oishi targeted them. He tried not to make a big deal out of it, saying he will kill Takagi tomorrow even on just one leg! Takagi said is Sakaguchi does kill him he will report him to the police right away. The KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match will go ahead tomorrow and Takagi promises his team will win it fair and square.
Danshoku Dieno used different tactics against Akito in their first singles match against each other since the end of Pheromones. Dieno’s entrance music was replaced with “Ride Of The Valkyries” and he entered the ring behind Akito’s back to ambush him Yoshiaki Fujiwara style. Dieno also brought out Yoshihiko to attack Akito with. However when he gave Akito the Lip Lock, Akito overpowered Dieno and pinned him on his back for the victory. Akito explained afterwards that because of all the Pheromones that was spread over DDT, everybody has gradually developed an immunity to Danshoku style! He said even Yuki Iino has a more powerful Danshoku style than Dieno has now. He warned Dieno that his opponent tomorrow Yusuke Okada will show the same immunity against him. Dieno stuck up his middle finger to Akito and walked out the ring.
The Sumo Hall card was announced earlier today. I’ll have that written up in a separate post later.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS IV”, 09/10/2023 Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe
1. Haru Kazashiro Vs Runa Okubo
2. Arisu Endo, Kaya Toribami & HIMAWARI Vs HARUKAZE, Yoshiko Hasegawa & Riara
3. Moka Miyamoto Vs Juria Nagano
4. Aja Kong, Raku & Shino Suzuki Vs Hyper Misao, Wakane Uehara & Toga
5. Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino Vs Miu Watanabe & Yuki Arai
6. Sakisama, Mei Saint-Michel, Martha & Yukio Saint Laurent Vs Shoko Nakajima, Suzume, Pom Harajuku & Antonio Honda
7. Special Single Match: Nyla Rose Vs Maki Itoh
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta
9. International Princess Title & NWA World Women’s Television Title: Rika Tatsumi (I/c) Vs Max The Impaler (N/c)
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
A press conference for the title matches was held during the week. Miyu Yamashita said from the moment Mizuki became the Princess Of Princess Champion she wanted to challenge her. The timing of it was important so she waited until after she finished her American excursion and won the Tokyo Princess Cup to set up her path to becoming a 4-time Princess Champion. Mizuki said her pro wrestling life is completely different to Yamashita’s. She doesn’t like fighting her but has learned over the years how predictable Yamashita’s offence is. Mizuki loves Yamashita and knows Yamashita loves her back so this match is going to be Mizuki repaying that love many times over.
Two teams who always struggled to reach the top will face off for the vacant Princess Tag Team Titles. It is being made clear by Nao Kakuta that she wants to get rid of her nickname “The Uncrowned Queen”. She’s been wrestling for 9 years now and has lost every championship match she’s been in. She also brought up Hikari Noa’s “curse” of always losing tag team partners. For that reason Free WiFi are fighting for the Princess Tag Titles not with heat or passion but with determination and tenacity. Nao feels blessed to team with somebody as hard working as Kakuta so she wants to help capture her dreams too. As Tokyo Joshi Pro grows bigger the opportunities to become a champion will only get more difficult. Yuki Kamifuku is getting tired of doing her best all year only to fall at the last hurdle. Mahiro Kiryu is always there to support her and vice versa. Kiryu said Free WiFi are in perfect harmony with each other but Toyo Mates have gotten a lot stronger too. She is just as determined as Kakuta to win her first championship.
Max The Impaler was not present for the press conference so Rika Tatsumi came up with an idea to get Max’s attention. After signing the contract for the double title match, Tatsumi brought out a frying pan and tabletop cooker to make some popcorn. Tatsumi explained she has a talent of making popcorn so if she made a fresh batch here it would attract Max into the room. She took a Q&A session while waiting until she discoverd the popcorn wasn’t cooking properly. She then admitted she’s only done this twice. Eventually Max did indeed enter the room and threw the uncooked popcorn away when Tatsumi offered it to them. Max then used their finger to rub some facepaint onto the contract which counts as a signature.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SAPPORO – DAY 1”, 14/10/2023 Hokkaido Sapporo ii-one Stadium
1. 3 Way Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Akito Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Makoto Oishi & Yukio Naya
3. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Tomoya & Yusuke Okada
4. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada Vs Kouki Iwasaki & Rukiya
5. Sapporo Specialty Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Noriyuki Yoshida Vs Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima
Eruption and two of their next challengers have a warmup match the day before the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles bout.
In the aftermath of Pheromones splitting up Yuki Iino is absent for “rehabilitation” and Yumehito Imanari is gone from CyberFight so Danshoku Dieno is now by himself. How will he treat Akito any differently?
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SAPPORO – DAY 2”, 15/10/2023 Hokkaido Sapporo ii-one Stadium
1. 3 Way Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Danshoku Dieno Vs Yusuke Okada
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yukio Naya & Yuya Koroku
3. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Rukiya Vs Kouki Iwasaki & MAO
4. Sapporo Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Noriyuki Yoshida Vs Tomoya, Kazusada Higuchi & Kazuma Sumi
5. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Makoto Oishi
Saki Akai nominated Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Makoto Oishi as the next challengers for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles. She wanted to wrestle against Takagi & Akito because they are the two people most responsible for making DDT what it is day to day. She also wants to have a title match with Oishi because he has been a mentor figure for her throughout her entire wrestling career.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023”, 22/10/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: Soma Takao & Yuni Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda
1. Yukio Naya Vs Yuya Koroku
2. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Tetsuya Endo, Toy Kojima & Rukiya
3. Special Single Match: MIKAMI Vs Kazuma Sumi
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Yusuke Okada Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Makoto Oishi & Akito
5. Saki Akai Debut 10th Anniversary Match Vol. 4 ~ Special Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Saki Akai & Chihiro Hashimoto
6. DDT Extreme Title & Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Kazuki Hirata (E/c) Vs Takeshi Masada (I/c)
7. Road To Ultimate Party 2023! Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA Vs Yuki Ueno & MAO
Another preview for “ULTIMATE PARTY 2023” sets up the next Korakuen Hall card. Chris Brookes and Yuki Ueno clash in a big tag match also involving HARASHIMA and MAO.
A double title match is being advertised between Kazuki Hirata and Takeshi Masada. The match is guaranteed to happen with the DDT Extreme Title on the line but as always the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title is at risk of belonging to someone else by the time the match takes place. DDT has pleaded with Masada not to lose the belt to a New Japan wrestler next week!
This appears to be Akai’s final match in Korakuen Hall, at least for DDT. She gets to team with Chihiro Hashimoto for a showdown against Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani! I wouldn’t call it a fully complete Eruption match because Kazusada Higuchi is somewhere else on the card. But Akai teaming up with Hashimoto more than makes up for that.
September was looking to be more of a quiet month for looking at the overseas adventures of the DDT extended family until the last week showed up like an avalanche. You can always get a lot of news to cover during tournament weekends. It’s a shame that the current state of the independent scene means those tentpole super weekend events don’t get as much coverage like they used to. Can’t blame them when WWE and AEW dominates everybody’s attention. It’s only going to get tougher when those two companies increase their schedules and reach out even further. This week’s news of WWE getting an ABEMA deal and having NOAH promote it on social media does not thrill me. I’ve seen how this story goes before. Even if some kind of big crossover does happen with WWE it is never worth it for the other company in the long run. And any pundit who says a project like NXT Japan will work as a gateway for getting WWE fans into Japanese wrestling is only fooling themselves. The appetite that audience has for non-WWE wrestling is just not there anymore.
Heading into October we have Konosuke Takeshita deep into a feud with The Golden Lovers. The lack of actual wrestling from Takeshita last month annoyed me. I get holding some wrestlers back for PPV but his standard of ring work has been missing from AEW TV recently. His storyline is also pulling in other wrestlers who are never hurting for screentime which makes me worry he is getting pushed to the side. Maki Itoh has finished up her latest North American tour, Shoko Nakajima had a quick trip to the USA and Miyu Yamashita was in the middle of wrestling in UK and Ireland when the month began. The big chunk of news that completely passed me by until it happened was Mizuki Watase going over to wXw in Germany with Shigehiro Irie. Oh and Tokyo Joshi Pro squeezed in a visit to China right at the deadline.
A few years ago the idea of Yamashita wrestling in OTT would have had me overjoyed but nowadays I don’t want to give the company much of my attention because of how people attached to them handled and disregarded Speaking Out. Her Irish wrestling debut had a slight change in plan thanks to the other team. Debbie Keitel was advertised to team with Anita Vaughan but she instead surprised everyone by bringing along Emersyn Jayne to be her partner instead.
MLW “FURY ROAD”, 03/09/2023 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title No. 1 Contendership: B3CCA defeated Maki Itoh with the World Tour (7:42).
A singer showdown took place when Itoh made her first appearance in MLW. Itoh and B3CCA both love to be the centre of attention and literally fought over the microphone during their match. Itoh won that exchange and told B3CCA to “kiss my ass, bitch!” She also found a Singapore cane to beat up B3CCA with outside the ring. But Itoh made the grave mistake of missing the Flying Big Head, allowing B3CCA to give her a Death Valley Driver to the corner and then pin her with the World Tour 450 Splash.
AEW “ALL OUT”, 03/09/2023 United Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Kenny Omega with the Powerdrive Knee (22:30).
A few days after Takeshita pinned Kenny Omega in England, he did it again back in America this time in a singles match. The match carried history over from Omega’s time in DDT, wearing new green and yellows tights based on what he wore in the early 2010s. Don Callis got involved though and brought the dreaded screwdriver into the match for Takeshita to use. However this time the referee stopped it from being used. It turned out Takeshita wouldn’t have needed it because he went on to beat Omega anyway, pulling down his kneepad to hit a raw Powerdrive Knee for the victory. The match even got ***** from Dave Meltzer! Okay, that doesn’t mean as much as it used to but it’s still a good accomplishment to have. Also let’s face it, when the wrestlers who complain about star ratings actually do get ***** from Meltzer they all of a sudden do a 180 and become grateful for it.
MYSTERY WRESTLING “MYSTERY WRESTLING 3”, 08/09/2023 Centre Aydelu, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
1. Emi Sakura defeated Maki Itoh with La Magistral Cradle (?:??).
This year over in Canada Evil Uno has been running a Mystery Wrestling show on his Twitch channel every couple of months. The surprise headline match for the most recent event was a first time singles bout between Itoh and Emi Sakura. Itoh played a trick to escape from Sakura’s attacks by beginning to cry and then walking out of the match back to the locker room. She then reappeared from the opposite side of the room to attack a confused Sakura from behind. Sakura’s not someone you can beat with just one trick though. She ended up rolling Itoh into La Magistral Cradle to win the match.
GCW “CRUSHED UP”, 10/09/2023 Roulette Intermedium, New York City, New York, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Killer Kelly with a Tornado DDT (10:43).
Itoh’s current run with GCW ended here with a match against Killer Kelly. She’ll be back again later this year but what will be in store for her next? Her feud with Matt Cardona & Steph De Lander can be never ending but there has to be other stuff she wants to do in GCW next. Maybe she already found a new arch nemesis as you will see at the bottom of this post.
WXW “INNER CIRCLE”, 21/09/2023 wXw Wrestling Academy, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
1. Mizuki Watase defeated Danny Fray with a Diving Foot Stomp (7:23).
2. Shigehiro Irie defeated 1 Called Manders with a Roaring Elbow (8:57).
This was already announced earlier in the summer and I completely missed it. Irie & Watase reunited as RENEGADES to enter the annual World Tag Team Festival in Germany! But first the wrestlers took part in separate warmup matches the night before the tournament began. Watase’s first match ever in Germany was a win against Danny Fray. Irie also won his match by beating 1 Called Manders in a hoss fight.
WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2023 – NIGHT 1”, 22/09/2023 Turbinenhalle 2, Oberhausen, Germany
1. World Tag Team Festival 2023 – Round 1: Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase defeated Aigle Blanc & Senza Volto when Irie pinned Blanc with the Beast Bomber (16:41).
Irie won wXw’s other premium tournament the 16 Carat Gold back in March so he had his heart set on winning WTTF with Watase. They eliminated The Frenchadors in the opening round. Aigle Blanc & Senza Volto are former wXw World Tag Team Champions so RENEGADES could not have gotten off to a better start.
1. Shigehiro Irie defeated Arez with the Beast Bomber (9:20).
The WTTF weekend also featured shows promoted by GCW as part of their September European tour. Only Irie was on the first of two GCW shows that weekend where he beat the luchador Arez. Normally I wouldn’t include entries for Irie by himself but since he was RENEGADES affiliated for the weekend, I’m adding it here.
FREELANCE “ONCE UPON A TIME IN FREELANCE”, 22/09/2023 Avondale Music Hall, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. Shoko Nakajima defeated Shazza McKenzie with the Diving Senton (12:19).
Nakajima did a quick trip to the United States near the end of the month. Her first stop was at Freelance where she got over big with the crowd during her win against Shazza McKenzie. Nakajima’s quickness and ability to hit the 619 from any height near the ropes were the key to victory here.
WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2023 – NIGHT 2”, 23/09/2023 Turbinenhalle 2, Oberhausen, Germany
1. World Tag Team Festival 2023 – Round 2: Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase defeated Takuya Nomura & Fuminori Abe when Irie pinned Abe with a Roaring Elbow (16:14).
RENEGADES weren’t the only Japanese team taking part in WTTF weekend. Takuya Nomura & Fuminori Abe from Astronauts were there too! The two team crossed paths in Night 2 where the winners would advance to Sunday’s final.
GCW “GCW VS THE WORLD”, 23/09/2023 Turbinenhalle 2, Oberhausen, Germany
1. Scramble Match: Gringo Loco defeated Mizuki Watase, The Rotation, Arez, Jimmy Lloyd and Aigle Blanc when Loco pinned Blanc with the Base Bomb (11:46).
2. Joey Janela defeated Shigehiro Irie with the Diving Foot Stomp (17:19).
Irie was in GCW again for their other show in Germany, losing to Joey Janela in the main event. Watase also showed up by taking part in one of GCW’s staples, the Scramble Match. Watase hit a big dive and also the Coast To Coast Dropkick but otherwise got lost in the action and did not factor into the finish.
WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2023 – NIGHT 3”, 24/09/2023 Turbinenhalle 2, Oberhausen, Germany
1. wXw World Tag Team Titles – World Tag Team Festival 2023 Final 3 Way Match: Hektor Invictus & Dennis Dullnig defeated Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman (c) and Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase (23:13). *Amboss fails in V1. Hektor Invictus & Dennis Dullnig become the 64th wXw World Tag Team Champions!
RENEGADES made it all the way to the final. Had Irie & Watase won the match and the tournament they would have become the new wXw Tag Champions. Sadly for them they couldn’t pull it off. Instead Hektor Invictus & Dennis Dullnig were the winners, taking the titles away from the defending champions Amboss.
PRESTIGE “THE RESPECT ISSUE”, 24/09/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Trish Adora defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Lariat Tubman (9:51).
Nakajima’s other US booking this month was with Prestige at the Globe Theatre, the same location TJPW will return to this December. Trish Adora was a tougher opponent for her and kicked out of the Northern Lights Suplex. Just when Nakajima thought he had another shot, she was caught off guard and pinned with the Lariat Tubman.
JFC “JINGWU TAN JFC EXOTIC FIGHTING EXHIBITION 2”, 30/09/2023 Rucker Park, Chaoyang, Shanghai, China
1. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Maki Itoh defeated Yuki Aino with the Itoh Deluxe (?:??).
2. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Mizuki defeated Nao Kakuta with the Cutie Special (?:??).
TJPW sent four of their wrestlers over to China for a martial arts expo taking place in Shanghai. They would be presenting two women’s pro wrestling matches to go along with a bunch of other martial art bouts provided by other groups. It is not the first time joshi wrestling has been part of the event. The same organizers had Sareee and Nanae Takahashi wrestle for them during the first expo in the summer. After a lot of searching through Chinese social media I was able to find a clip of Mizuki beating Nao Kakuta and Itoh locking in the Itoh Deluxe on Yuki Aino.
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Upcoming Appearances
AEW “WRESTLEDREAM”, 01/10/2023 Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi Vs Sammy Guevara, Will Ospreay & Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis)
Takeshita has spent the rest of the month either standing to the side Don Callis or wrestling back in Japan for DDT. Oh and he also invaded Kota Ibushi’s gym, attacking him with a kettlebell (and also getting Yumehito Imanari caught in the crossfire) because Callis understands how much Ibushi means to Omega. The big payoff it is leading to will happen later today when The Golden Lovers & Chris Jericho join forces to get revenge on The Don Callis Family. Takeshita is part of that family teaming with Sammy Guevara (newest member) and Will Ospreay (not a member). It is annoying to see what looked like a big push for Takeshita turn into him getting pushed aside so Jericho, Guevara and Ospreay can all squeeze into the spotlight instead.
WARRIOR “WARRIOR WRESTLING 31”, 06/10/2023 Bendix Arena, South Bend, Indiana, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Storm Grayson (w/ Frank The Clown)
One of the few American indies Takeshita wrestles for when he’s not busy with AEW is Warrior Wrestling. The next time he shows up there he takes on one of Frank The Clown’s clients, Storm Grayson.
SPARK “RISING HEAT WEST”, 11/10/2023 LA Dojo, Carson, California, USA
1. Spark Joshi World Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Billie Starkz
A familiar opponent challenges Yamashita for the Spark Joshi Title. She has a 1-1 singles record against Billi Starkz so this championship bout can also end up becoming a rubber match between the two.
SPARK “RISING HEAT EAST”, 14/10/2023 Engelwood Neighborhood Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
1. Miu Watanabe Vs KiLynn King
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs Jessie
A few days later Yamashita takes on Jessie, the former Jessi Kamea from NXT. That’s an interesting matchup because since leaving WWE, Jessie wound up doing a tour in Stardom. So we have a TJPW Vs Stardom match on a Spark show.
But Yamashita won’t be the only Tokyo Joshi there. Miu Watanabe is along for the ride too! She is getting to fight KiLynn King from Impact in what is sure to be a hoss fight. Or a hossette fight? Whatever, two strong women are going to fight each other. What more do you want?
LLL “THE HANDS OF FATE”, 20/10/2023 The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA
1. Lilith Grimm Vs Miyu Yamashita
Are there Lucha Libra & Laughs to be found when Yamashita pays another visit to Denver? Her opponent Lilith Grimm is nicknamed “The War Hammer” and does an entrance where she sets off sparks with a grinder.
SETUP “SETUP EP.16”, 28/10/2023 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. Gatoh Move One And Only Title & SETUP Thailand Openweight Title: Paksa (G/c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi (S/c)
2. Dramatic Dream Match: Chris Brookes Vs Monomoth
Whenever CDK goes over to Thailand and shows up in SETUP they tend to take over the place. One of the local faces Monomoth tries his best to defend his home but Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi find ways to get the better of him. Monomoth now gets to fight Brookes in a big singles match the next time Brookes heads over.
Meanwhile Takanashi has been ruling the roost in SETUP as the SETUP Openweight Champion. He can increase his domination when he has a double title match against Paksa. Takanashi puts his SETUP Title on the line while Paksa is defending a Gatoh Move branded championship called the One And Only Title.
REPUBLIC OF LUCHA “ROL VI VI VI: LA NOCHE DE WALPURGIS”, 30/10/2023 Republic Of Lucha, South Pasadena, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Penta el Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix Vs Shun Skywalker, Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that nobody in The Lucha Brothers gets injured, company politics do not keep Takeshita and Shun Skywalker away from each other and Vampiro does not show up with La Rebelion.
DAIKAIJU PRO “VOL. 1 – THE KAPPAS WALK AMONG US”, 04/11/2023 White Eagle, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
1. Shoko Nakajima Vs X
Something new and monstrous is coming out of Massachusetts. Daikaiju Pro is holding their debut show and seems to have deep ties with SETUP and also the UMA Corps. The new promotion is promising a mixture of talent coming in to mix around with monsters and other strange creatures. A show like these requires a Big Kaiju so Nakajima will be there.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
Miu Watanabe has been added to the lineup.
PANDEMONIUM PRO “HOLIDAY IN LA”, 17/12/2023 Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Mike Bailey Vs Miyu Yamashita
Yeah this do quite nicely. Pandemonium Pro is doing Yamashita against Mike Bailey in a first time ever matchup.
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Other Appearances
GCW “SAY YOU WILL”, 01/09/2023 Grand Sports Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
Itoh did not wrestle on the first GCW show of the month. Instead she showed up to attack Frank The Clown with a pizza cutter much to everyone’s delight.
DDT “SAKI AKAI 10TH ANNIVERSARY & FINAL COUNT DOWN IN KYOTO!!”, 30/09/2023 Kyoto KBS Hall
1. Kazusada Higuchi & Rukiya Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
2. Pheromones Final Countdown In Kyoto: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Yuni & Kazuma Sumi
3. Yukio Naya & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Makoto Oishi & Toy Kojima
4. Special Single Match: KANON Vs Takeshi Masada
5. BURNING Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
6. Kazuki Hirata & Akito Vs Yuki Ueno & MAO
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani (c) Vs HARASHIMA, Masahiro Takanashi & Mei Suruga
This is the match order for tomorrow’s DDT show in Kyoto. Saki Akai will get to wrestle in her home region as a double champion after all because she went to Best Body Japan Pro Wrestling a few days ago and won their Women’s Championship in the main event! Best Body’s wrestling promotion is not something I pay attention to much even though they regularly feature DDT wrestlers. Their events happen too far apart from each other for me to remember they exist. Their website has a results page so if DDT is all over those cards then maybe I’ll add a section for them someday.
GANBARE☆PRO “GIRI GIRI CHOP! 2023”, 01/10/2023 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Riara Vs SAKI
2. GanPro’s Famous Mixed 6-Man Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii, Munetatsu Nakamura & HARUKAZE Vs Soma Takao, Shinichiro Tominaga & Kaho Kobayashi
3. GanJo x TJPW Special Tag Match: Yuki Kamifuku & YuuRI Vs Suzume & Yoshiko Hasegawa
4. Loser Haircut Tag Match ~ No Tag Rules: Ken Ohka & Shota Vs Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Hikaru Sato & Tyson Maeguchi
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Yumehito Imanari
It was revealed in a Shukan Puroresu interview this week that Yumehito Imanari is leaving his video team job with CyberFight at the end of September. However he is going to continue his pro wrestling career with Ganbare☆Pro as a freelancer. He intends to start his next chapter as a wrestler by winning the Spirit Of Ganbare Title and becoming the main character of GanPro.
Shota demanded the Hair Vs Hair Match have a No Tag Rule in effect. He noticed that somebody in the match could theoretically not tag in and then abandon their partner to lose because only the wrestler who drops the fall will suffer the punishment. Shota swears he would never do that to Ken Ohka but does not trust Kuma Arashi will do the same for Koji Doi. It wouldn’t be right for Arashi to come up with the Hair Match stipulation only to run away when his team is about to lose. By adding this rule Ohka will then be able to get his hands on Arashi much more easily. DoiKuma agreed to the demand.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN OSAKA”, 01/10/2023 Osaka City Minato Ward Citizens Center
1. Pheromones Final Countdown In Osaka: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Makoto Oishi & Yuni
2. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Akito, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
3. Osaka Specialty 3 Way Match: “brother” YASSHI Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Kazuma Sumi
4. Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Hideki Okatani & Rukiya
5. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs Takeshi Masada
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Masahiro Takanashi & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima
Takeshi Masada’s campaign to enter this year’s D-Ou Grand Prix begins on Sunday.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 04/10/2023 Shinjuku FACE
1. Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Hideki Okatani, Yukio Naya & Rukiya
2. Kazuki Hirata & Makoto Oishi Vs Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi
3. Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs HARASHIMA & Gota Ihashi
4. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Minoru Fujita & KANON (c) Vs Soma Takao & Shota
6. Pheromones Final ~ Special 8-Man Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima
Goodbye Pheromones. This is goodbye… right? The timing of Imanari going freelance is something that points towards the group supposedly splitting up.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SANJO”, 07/10/2023 Niigata Sanjo City Welfare And Welfare Center
1. Yusuke Okada Vs Rukiya
2. Eruption Vs BURNING!: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuyu Koroku
3. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs MJ Paul
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Akito Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima
5. All Asia Tag Team Titles: Jun Akiyama & Kotaro Suzuki (c) Vs Takao Omori & Yoshitatsu
It’s not that long ago when DDT would promote a Yukio Naya Vs MJ Paul match as a Megatonweight bout. You know how pro wrestlers these days have gotten smaller and lighter that when an actual heavyweight shows up they get called a super heavyweight? Yeah it was that sort of idea.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SAPPORO – DAY 1”, 14/10/2023 Hokkaido Sapporo ii-one Stadium
1. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Tomoya & Yusuke Okada
2. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada Vs Kouki Iwasaki & Rukiya
3. Sapporo Specialty Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Noriyuki Yoshida Vs Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima
DDT’s weekend trip to Sapporo sees Noriyuki Yoshida, Kouki Iwasaki and Tomoya joining in the fun.
Barring any setbacks, Chris Brookes will be returning to action here to start his preview matches with Yuki Ueno.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SAPPORO – DAY 2”, 15/10/2023 Hokkaido Sapporo ii-one Stadium
1. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yukio Naya & Yuya Koroku
2. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Rukiya Vs Kouki Iwasaki & MAO
3. Sapporo Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Noriyuki Yoshida Vs Tomoya, Kazusada Higuchi & Kazuma Sumi
4. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima
Iwasaki gets to reform a DNA team with MAO.
Akai will be on the show to wrestle her last match in Sapporo.
An update on Chris Brookes and his injured shoulder was put out by DDT today. Doctors found some damage to his shoulder but not enough to get in the way of his wrestling activities. As a precaution DDT are keeping him off their shows for two weeks. Brookes is expected to wrestle again at the 14th October show in Hokkaido.
DDT “SAKI AKAI 10TH ANNIVERSARY & FINAL COUNT DOWN IN KYOTO!!”, 30/09/2023 Kyoto KBS Hall
1. Kazusada Higuchi & Rukiya Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
2. Yukio Naya & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Makoto Oishi & Toy Kojima
3. Pheromones Final Countdown In Kyoto: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Yuni & Kazuma Sumi
4. Special Single Match: KANON Vs Takeshi Masada
5. Kazuki Hirata & Akito Vs Yuki Ueno & MAO
6. BURNING Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani (c) Vs HARASHIMA, Masahiro Takanashi & Mei Suruga
Sanshiro Takagi will miss this weekend’s shows after being diagnosed with a contagious form of dry eye.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN OSAKA”, 01/10/2023 Osaka City Minato Ward Citizens Center
1. Pheromones Final Countdown In Osaka: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Makoto Oishi & Yuni
2. Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Hideki Okatani & Rukiya
3. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Akito, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
4. Osaka Specialty 3 Way Match: “brother” YASSHI Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Kazuma Sumi
5. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs Takeshi Masada
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Masahiro Takanashi & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima
Takagi being missing from the shows leads to Yuni coming in to fill the gap.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 04/10/2023 Shinjuku FACE
1. Kazuki Hirata & Makoto Oishi Vs Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi
2. Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs HARASHIMA & Gota Ihashi
3. Pheromones Final ~ Special 8-Man Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima
4. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Minoru Fujita & KANON (c) Vs Soma Takao & Shota
Tetsuya Endo & Kazusada Higuchi are teaming up for the first time since the dreaded match at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022” where Endo got knocked out. They join forces to fight Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023”, 22/10/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Special Single Match: MIKAMI Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Saki Akai Debut 10th Anniversary Match Vol. 4 ~ Special Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Saki Akai & Chihiro Hashimoto
The next stop on Saki Akai’s retirement road accomplishes two things at once. First is a chance to team up with Chihiro Hashimoto for the first time. The rare times they’ve been in the ring together were as opponents. Second is Akai facing the rest of Eruption. This time she will be fighting not with Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani but against them!
Recent communication between Kazuma Sumi and MIKAMI had resulted in MIKAMI planning to show up in DDT again. Sumi wants to learn from DDT’s original high flyer and inherit his skills. If we are getting the full MIKAMI experience then that means a ladder will be brought into play.
DDT “SAKI AKAI 10TH ANNIVERSARY & FINAL COUNT DOWN IN KYOTO!!”, 30/09/2023 Kyoto KBS Hall
1. Kazusada Higuchi & Rukiya Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
2. Sanshiro Takagi & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Makoto Oishi & Yukio Naya
3. Pheromones Final Countdown In Kyoto: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toy Kojima & Kazuma Sumi
4. Special Single Match: KANON Vs Takeshi Masada
5. Kazuki Hirata & Akito Vs Yuki Ueno & MAO
6. BURNING Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani (c) Vs HARASHIMA, Masahiro Takanashi & Mei Suruga
There is a change to this weekend with Chris Brookes. He is getting his right shoulder examined for injury this week and is unable to wrestle on either shows. DDT will update everyone on when Brookes can return as soon as they get his results. HARASHIMA will take his place in the main event for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. The earlier match HARASHIMA was booked for will now have Akito in it instead.
GANBARE☆PRO “GIRI GIRI CHOP! 2023”, 01/10/2023 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Riara Vs SAKI
2. GanPro’s Famous Mixed 6-Man Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii, Munetatsu Nakamura & HARUKAZE Vs Soma Takao, Shinichiro Tominaga & Kaho Kobayashi
3. GanJo x TJPW Special Tag Match: Yuki Kamifuku & YuuRI Vs Suzume & Yoshiko Hasegawa
4. Loser Haircut Tag Match: Ken Ohka & Shota Vs Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Hikaru Sato & Tyson Maeguchi
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Yumehito Imanari
The contracts for the two title matches were signed earlier today. Yumehito Imanari spoke of the pride he felt seeing Shinichiro Tominaga try to beat Isami Kodaka for the Spirit Of Ganbare Title. Tominaga failed but his efforts inspired Imanari to be the next challenger to step in front in Kodaka. Even though Kodaka originally planned for this title reign to be like an invasion he has felt the warmth, fun and brightness of Ganbare☆Pro over time. So when he beat Tominaga it brought him back to reality when he noticed the fans were disappointed with the result. He wants to remain champion in order to keep getting guaranteed bookings from GanPro. His previous memories of Imanari are only from back when Imanari was on the DDT video team. He is confident he will beat him because he cannot envision what kind of pro wrestler Imanari can be.
Hentai Punch Drunkers said they want to win back the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles because they never got to hold onto the physical belts while they were champions. Hikaru Sato said that means you cannot say he and Tyson Maeguchi ever “lost the belts”. It is a loose end that needs to be tied up. In fact, Maeguchi is acting like this is his first ever championship match and believes the title he is fighting for has a lot of history behind it (no and no). Takuya Wada complained that GanPro was too leniant over the decision to book this rematch because Maeguchi hasn’t done anything recently to deserve another chance. Shuichiro Katsumura wants to win in order to prevent the first champion team from ever establishing a connection with the physical title belts. Wada and Maeguchi then almost got into a fight during the group photo and had to be kept apart.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN OSAKA”, 01/10/2023 Osaka City Minato Ward Citizens Center
1. Pheromones Final Countdown In Osaka: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Makoto Oishi
2. Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Hideki Okatani & Rukiya
3. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Akito, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
4. Osaka Specialty 3 Way Match: “brother” YASSHI Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Kazuma Sumi
5. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs Takeshi Masada
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Masahiro Takanashi & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima
Akito also gets moved out of the “brother” YASSHI tag match to take part in a 6-Man Tag against DAMNATION T.A.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 04/10/2023 Shinjuku FACE
1. Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs HARASHIMA & Gota Ihashi
2. Pheromones Final ~ Special 8-Man Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima
3. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Minoru Fujita & KANON (c) Vs Soma Takao & Shota
All four members of Pheromones will be together for what is supposed to be the group’s final match. Akito has The 37KAMIINA backing him up just in case there’s any funny business going on.
BASARA “BASARA 231 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 27~”, 07/10/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR
1. ~Song Corner~: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Antonio Honda Vs Takumi Tsukamoto Vs X
2. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Trans-Am ★ Ryota Vs Trans-Am ★ Takato & Trans-Am ★ Ika
3. 3 Way Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Ryuichi Sekine Vs Daiki Shimomura
4. Fuminori Abe Vs A.YAZAWA
5. Hardcore Tag Match: Takumi Tsukamoto & Akane Fujita Vs SAGAT & Jun Masaoka
The first show in BASARA’s October tripleshot is being produced by the promotion’s bar in Shinjuku called Pro Wrestling Clutch. One of the guests on the show is Akane Fujita from Prominence.
BASARA “BASARA 232 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 28~”, 07/10/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR
1. Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Ryuichi Sekine
2. 3 Way Match: SAGAT Vs Ryota Nakatsu Vs Daiki Shimomura
3. FUMA, KUBITO & Lil’ Kraken Vs Takato Nakano, Masato Kamino & Fuminori Abe
4. IRON FIST TAG TOURNAMENT – Round 1B: Isami Kodaka & Gouma Ryu Vs Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda
5. IRON FIST TAG TOURNAMENT – Round 1A: Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Daichi Kazato
The tripleshot also features the first round of this year’s IRON FIST TAG TOURNAMENT.
BASARA “BASARA 233 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 29~”, 07/10/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR
1. Isami Kodaka Vs Lil’ Kraken
2. Ryuichi Sekine, Fuminori Abe & Banana Senga Vs Ryota Nakatsu, Daichi Kazato Vs Yasu Urano
3. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Tsutomu Oosugi
4. IRON FIST TAG TOURNAMENT – Round 1D: Takumi Tsukamoto & SAGAT Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
5. IRON FIST TAG TOURNAMENT – Round 1C: Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita Vs FUMA & KUBITO
The current Union MAX Champion and IRON FIST Tag Team Champions are facing off in the opening round. IRON PRIEST are former champions too.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS IV”, 09/10/2023 Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe
1. Haru Kazashiro Vs Runa Okubo
2. Arisu Endo, Kaya Toribami & HIMAWARI Vs HARUKAZE, Yoshiko Hasegawa & Riara
3. Moka Miyamoto Vs Juria Nagano
4. Aja Kong, Raku & Shino Suzuki Vs Hyper Misao, Wakane Uehara & Toga
5. Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino Vs Miu Watanabe & Yuki Arai
6. Sakisama, Mei Saint-Michel, Martha & Yukio Saint Laurent Vs Shoko Nakajima, Suzume, Pom Harajuku & Antonio Honda
7. Special Single Match: Nyla Rose Vs Maki Itoh
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta
9. International Princess Title & NWA World Women’s Television Title: Rika Tatsumi (I/c) Vs Max The Impaler (N/c)
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
This is the complete card for “WRESTLE PRINCESS IV”. We have the next appearance for NEO Biishiki-gun against a force assembled by Shoko Nakajima. The pairing of Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino are back again. Aja Kong gets to reunite with Raku after Raku missed their last scheduled match together due to illness. Moka Miyamoto and Juria Nagano get pitted together for a karate fight. Tokyo Joshi Pro gets to do another inter-promotional match with Ganbare☆Joshi and this time Riara gets to be part of the TJPW experience. Last but not least the two youngest rookies on the roster Haru Kazashiro and Runa Okubo face each other in the opener.
DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2023”, 12/11/2023 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Saki Akai Retirement Match: Saki Akai Vs X
2. Special Single Match: Hiromu Takahashi Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. Dramatic Dream Match: Chris Jericho Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA
4. DDT Universal Title: Matt Cardona (c) (w/ Steph De Lander) Vs MAO
5. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Yuki Ueno
I’m betting that Brookes’ shoulder injury is not bad enough to take him out of “ULTIMATE PARTY 2023” where he is advertised to defend the KO-D Openweight Title against Yuki Ueno. I’m daring fate here.
Despite losing his big match over the weekend, MAO was still encouraged to go his own direction and make a decision that will be best for himself. That quickly sent him down the road to challenging Matt Cardona for the DDT Universal Title. Of course Steph De Lander will be there too by the champion’s side. Maki Itoh had the right idea to try and incapacitate her in order to beat Cardona. Give MAO that battleplan and he will come up with an even crazier way to get that done.
So yeah, Chris Jericho is going to be on the show fighting Konosuke Takeshita. I didn’t expect that. The AEW feud surrounding Don Callis is going to have a chapter over in DDT where Takeshita is establishing himself back into a face for the home fans. I’m among the critics of Jericho who accuse him of constantly positioning himself into AEW angles that take the spotlight away from people who are getting over. But I’ll give it to him here, it’s paying off with a big match for DDT in Sumo Hall.
DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2023”, 24/09/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 967 Fans – No Vacancy
0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya when Koroku submitted Rukiya with the Triangle Lancer (8:42).
1. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul defeated Hideki Okatani, Yuni & Takeshi Masada when Sasaki pinned Yuni with the Vietnam Driver IV (7:43).
2. Pheromones Final Countdown In Korakuen ~ 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno defeated Kazuki “Magnum” Hirata & Naruki Doi and Akito & Antonio “FOXY” Honda when Iino submitted Akito with the Eiffel Tower (7:24).
3. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya defeated Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi, HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi when Naya pinned Oishi with The World’s Largest Back Drop (13:39).
4. Special Tag Match ~ DDT Vs AJPW: Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima defeated Atsuki Aoyagi & Dan Tamura when Ueno pinned Tamura with the BME (10:12).
5. DDT Universal Title: Matt Cardona (c) (w/ Steph De Lander) defeated Maki Itoh by Pinfall (15:03). *V1 for Matt Cardona.
6. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated MAO with the Wagamama (11:28).
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) defeated Saki Akai by Referee Stoppage with the Modified Octopus Stretch (21:00). *V2 for Chris Brookes.
In the last ten years as a pro wrestler, Saki Akai had never competed for the KO-D Openweight Title before today. With retirement from the business around the corner, Akai was chosen by Chris Brookes to be his next challenger so they could have a rematch of their 2021 bout at Korakuen Hall, this time in front of an audience. Akai went into the match determined to show this opportunity was earned and wasn’t given to her out of charity. She fired with a Big Boot from the beginning but Brookes quickly turned things around by doing a Death Valley Bomb on the ring apron. The challenger had to pull out some deep moves to fight back, including her old Riemann Galaxy submission as well as the Takatonic. The two wrestlers found themselves fighting on the top rope where Akai dropped Brookes with the Avalanche Quetzalcoatl. However Akai wasn’t able to pin him afterwards, giving Brookes valuable recovery time. Brookes powered out of a Triangle Choke but was given the regular version of the Quetzalcoatl. To Akai’s surprise it only got a two count, marking it one of the rare times when her finisher did not end her opponent. Brookes fought back with a Piledriver, Double Knee Drop, Buzzsaw Kicks and the Praying Mantis Bomb but Akai kicked out of all of them. Brookes had to twist and pull Akai apart with the Octopus Stretch until Yukinori Matsui called for the match to end.
After the match Brookes reminded the fans he will face Akai again on 30th September, this time with the roles reversed because Eruption are defending the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles against CDK & Mei Suruga. He thanked Akai for doing her best and asked her to continue doing so until her retirement because we only live once. Brookes next wanted to talk about his next KO-D Title defence at “ULTIMATE PARTY 2023” on 12th November. Yuki Ueno walked out to the ring and appealed for the title shot. Brookes accepted and the two talked about being close friends for the last four years even though they hang out in seperate units. He wants the best challenger at the biggest stage so he’s fighting Ueno at Sumo Hall! Backstage Akai spoke about the pressure and responsibility she felt going into today’s main event. She is going to fight for herself as well as for everyone who supports her starting with the KO-D 6-Man Tag Title match taking place in Kyoto. She wants to pin Brookes in her hometown to clear up her regrets from today!
It turned out Konosuke Takeshita did not come back to DDT alone this time around. Midway during Takeshita’s match with MAO, his manager Don Callis walked down to ringside. MAO was taken aback by his appearance but kept his focus on the match. He tried to go big with the Avalanche Michinoku Driver but Takeshita blocked the move and turned it into an Avalanche Driver of his own. MAO tried to turn things around with a Palm Strike but Takeshita worn him down with Jumping Knee Strikes and the Zahi to get the win. Despite the recent differences between the two, Takeshita encouraged MAO after the match to take his own path because he is proving his style of pro wrestling can be successful around the world. They both joined DDT as teenagers and they are already in their late twenties so Takeshita thinks it is time for MAO to make decisions for himself.
Takeshita then introduced the DDT audience to Don Callis and spoke about how much they get booed in America. He said the Don Callis Family is only getting started so the entire pro wrestling world should pay attention to them from this point forward. Takeshita revealed his next appearance in DDT will be at “ULTIMATE PARTY 2023” where he would like to make everyone dream again. Suddenly the lights in the room went out and a video played on the screen. The video is sent by Chris Jericho and he is challenging Takeshita to a singles match at Sumo Hall! Jericho listed all of the Japanese wrestling legends he has fought over the years and swore to get revenge on Takeshita for his recent attacks over in AEW. Takeshita agreed to the match, calling it a “dramatic dream” to defeat him in a DDT ring. He promised to destroy everything about Jericho from “Lionheart” to “Y2J” to “The Painmaker”!
The GCW feud between Deathmatch Royalty and Maki Death Kill made its way over to Japan when Matt Cardona put the DDT Universal Title on the line against Maki Itoh. The champion was accompanied by Steph De Lander while Itoh went into the match alone. She had a plan to battle the number disadvantage though. Cardona made a big mistake by giving Itoh a Low Blow and being confused when it didn’t effect her. He then accidentally knocked out the referee Matsui with a missed Clothesline. Itoh’s plan came into play when she ducked De Lander’s attack with the title belt causing Cardona to get hit instead. Itoh took out a trolley at ringside, taped De Lander to it and pushed her away from ringside. She then took out a pizza cutter back in the ring and sliced Cardona’s forehead open with it! However De Lander freed herself from the trolley, returned to the ring with a chair and dropped Itoh onto it with a Modified Facebuster. Cardona pinned Itoh while De Lander revived Matsui so he could count to three.
Backstage Cardona complained about his match not being in the main event while De Lander said she wants DDT to put her in a match against Itoh the next time she shows up here. Itoh regretted not using more tape on De Lander. She knows this feud isn’t finished and there will be more matches against them when she goes back to America. She will chase after Cardona & De Lander to the depths of Hell in order to beat them one more time! Meanwhile MAO made the decision to challenge Cardona for the Universal Title at Sumo Hall. His thought process is if he can beat the indie wrestling god then he can become a puroresu god! Cardona accepted his challenge with a handshake but then attacked MAO with a belt strike from behind. When MAO recovered he warned Cardona that he just pulled out the Joker card.
The new DDT Vs All Japan rivalry continued with AJPW sending over Atsuki Aoyagi & Dan Tamura to take on The 37KAMIINA. The visitors entered the ring wearing sauna caps and then paired off against their opponents. Toy Kojima spent a lot of time fighting Aoyagi while Ueno went back and forth against Tamura. Ueno scored the win for the home team by pinned Tamura with the BME. He called the match fun and praised All Japan for being bright, intense and fun in a way that feels similar to The 37KAMIINA. Kojima then stole the All Japan team’s sauna cap and dared them to try and take it back. Aoyagi mentioned he will be wrestling MAO in AJPW on 5th October so his fight against The 37KAMIINA isn’t done yet.
Yuji Hino finished up his run with DDT by getting HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi to wrestle in Ω shirts. Makoto Oishi had his cane taken by Jun Akiyama while HARASHIMA went toe to toe with Tetsuya Endo. It wouldn’t have been Hino’s last match with DDT if he didn’t get into a chop battle with Kazusada Higuchi so one went down here. In the end though it was Yukio Naya who won the match for his team by pinning Oishi with The World’s Largest Back Drop. Hino thanked all the wrestlers after the match. He told the fans not to be said because today does not mean Hino will never wrestle in DDT again. He spoke about his children and how it is up to parents to protect their children. Backstage Hino said his wrestling future will be with Yasu Urano because apparently Urano is his mentor, not TAKA Michinoku. Oishi called him out for lying. Naya said the next time Hino will wrestle him will be when he is the KO-D Champion. Naya will even pick Hino as his first challenger.
A threat loomed over the 3 Way Tag Match when Danshoku Dieno announced that somebody among the other two teams was a traitor! Much to Akito and Naruki Doi’s horror it was gradually revealed that Kazuki Hirata and Antonio Honda were wearing O-backs, which means they are both with Pheromones! From there Yuki Iino, Dieno, Kazuki “Magnum” Hirata & Antonio “FOXY” Honda all joined forces to defeat Akito, giving Pheromones the victory. The effect on Hirata and Honda is only temporary but Dieno explained afterwards that even when Pheromones dies, it will never die!
Daisuke Sasaki unleashed a fourth version of the Vietnam Driver to win the opening match for DAMNATION T.A. While their match was against Hideki Okatani, Yuni & Takeshi Masada there were more people for them to fight when ROMANCE DAWN appeared. Shota & Soma Takao started a brawl at ringside when they stopped Minoru Fujita from interfering. KANON went over to help Fujita fight them while MJ Paul was there to stop anybody from breaking up Sasaki’s pin.
There was a Dark Match where Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya. The rookies team showed teamwork when Sumi Dropkicked Koroku into a Backslide Pin from Rukiya for a nearfall. Koroku took control by grabbing Rukiya’s arm and eventually grinded him into submission.
Before the main show began there was a contract signing for the KO-D Tag Team Titles match on 4th October. ROMANCE DAWN talked about how long they have known each other and their excitement of fighting for the championship together. Fujita didn’t find their story interesting while KANON started acting erraticly. He started crying at one point and then switched to shouting at people before excitedly posing for the group photo.
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. EIGHT: THE DIRECTOR’S CUT”, 20/09/2023 Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa ??? Fans
1. Special Single Match: Yoshihiko Vs Antonio Honda
2. Special Single Match: Mecha Mummy (w/ Mad Dr. Ueki) Vs HARASHIMA
3. Mad Dr. Ueki (w/ Mecha Mummy) Vs Baliyan Akki
4. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs El Hijo del Chris Brookes & El Hijo del Takanashi
5. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Monomoth & Dr. Gore
Posted by JamieOD 
