It happened. It’s now done. AEW finally made it to Konosuke Takeshita’s match with Kazuchika Okada and got Takeshita out of The Don Callis Family. At last we can move on with our lives and wait to see if Takeshita’s babyface turn will turn out to be more than just a lateral move. His wife Yuka Sakazaki got some more screentime on ROH this month including a PPV main event. MAO & Yoshihiko brought Kazuma Sumi along on their latest adventure in France, giving Sumi some invaluable overseas experience away from DDT. Chris Brookes gave Munetatsu Nakamura a similar opportunity with a wild weekend over in Manila. Will the summer provide even more wrestling to follow around the globe or can we all take a break for the World Cup? Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s being ruined by American corporate greed and so on but Blue Lock seems to be timing their latest story arc to climax by the time the final takes place so that gives me something to look forward to after Ireland failed to qualify. Also getting to watch South Korea Vs Czech Republic at 3am is the kind of football sicko behavior that’s been missing in my life for a while.
AEW “COLLISION”, 30/05/2026 Propst Arena At Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama, USA
1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Daniel Garcia
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Results
ROH “SUPERCARD SHOWDOWN”, 09/05/2026 (Aired 14/05/2026) SoFi Center, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
1. Athena, Billie Starkz & Marina Shafir defeated Yuka Sakazaki, Maya World, Lacey Lane when Athena pinned Lane after the Swanton Bomb from Starkz
So Ring Of Honor taped a few matches at the same indoor golf course AEW was at last month and they didn’t let Yuka Sakazaki loose around the place? That was a missed opportunity. Instead her warmup match for Survival Of The Fittest also involved some of the other participants Athena, Billie Starkz and Maya World. However a lot of Sakazaki’s time in this match was spent wrestling with Marina Shafir and also building up the hot tag to Lacey Lane. She also hit a big dive out of the ring onto Shafir and World but that left Lane fighting on her own. Starkz gave Lane the Swanton Bomb but not before Athena blind tagged herself in so she could get the pinfall and take the glory for herself.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/05/2026 Harrah’s Cherokee Center, Asheville, North Carolina, USA
1. AEW World Title: Darby Allin (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Coffin Drop (15:29). *V5 for Darby Allin.
Even though Takeshita’s match with Okada was already on the schedule, he was given a big detour a few weeks before the show by getting an AEW World Title shot. It was the latest defence in Darby Allin’s eventful title run where he crammed in many title defences into one month. Takeshita couldn’t get the job done fast enough so El Clon ran down to distract the ref while Don Callis handed Takeshita the Dynamite Diamond Ring to use as a weapon. Takeshita refused to use it and threw it away. Too bad moral victories don’t win you championships because Allin made his comeback after that which included a Coffin Drop to the outside and also the Scorpion Death Drop on top of the steel steps. He hit another Coffin Drop outside the ring but Takeshita wouldn’t be beaten that way. He tried to make a comeback of his own but Allin cut it off with the Scorpion Death Lock, keeping Takeshita down long enough to land one more Coffin Drop for the win.
ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR”, 15/05/2026 Wicomico Youth And Civic Center, Salisbury, Maryland, USA
1. ROH Women’s World Title – Survival Of The Fittest Match: Athena (c) defeated Maya World, Trish Adora, Zada Steel, Yuka Sakazaki and Billie Starkz (26:12).
1a. Athena eliminated Zayda Steel with a Rope-Assisted School Boy (5:01).
1b. Yuka Sakazaki eliminated Trish Adora with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (15:39).
1c. Billie Starkz eliminated Yuka Sakazaki with the Avalanche Star 10 (17:27).
1d. Maya World eliminated Billie Starkz with a Jackknife Pin (21:47).
1e. Athena eliminated Maya World with the O-Face from the Ladder (26:12). *V36 for Athena.
This turned out to be a mess of a match. It turned into a Hardcore Match midway through because of the whole “No DQs In In X Way Match” booking cliche so Sakazaki got to do an American style plunder match for once. She also scored an elimination by pinning Trish Adora with the Magical Merry-Go-Round. Her time in the match came to an end a few minutes later when some high risk fighting ended with Sakazaki taking Starkz’s finisher from the top rope.
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “MNL”, 23/05/2026 Sari Sari Makati, Makati, Philippines ??? Fans
1. Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes defeated Hotdog De San Jose & Super P when Sabre submitted San Jose with a Manjigatame (?:??).
2. Main Ronn, Joya & Robienne Sane defeated Demonyitang Daniella Cavite, Crystal & Max Liwanag when Joya pinned Cavite with the Cutter (?:??).
3. Emman & “Mad Kat” Karina defeated Trainee Kenzo & Trainee Kiko when Emman pinned Kiko with the Styles Clash (?:??).
4. Jonathan Johnson defeated Munetatsu Nakamura with a Bridging Pin (?:??).
5. Jake De Leon & Shivam defeated Black Kat & Lifeguard Jack when De Leon pinned Black Kat with the Jumping Super Kick (?:??).
GCW/BZW “NOW OR NEVER”, 23/05/2026 Espace Isabelle de Hainaut, Rue de Saint-Quentin, Bapaume, France
1. BZW Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Tag Match: MBM & Ultima Sombra defeated MAO & Yoshihiko (c) and Jimmy Lloyd & Jeffrey John when MBM pinned Yoshihiko with the Reincarnation Reversal (15:27). *MAO & Yoshihiko fail in V8. Rivality become the 7th BZW Tag Team Champions!
2. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: Kazuma Sumi (c) defeated Gringo Loco and Leedz Lewis when Sumi pinned Lewis with the Reverse 450 Splash (14:22). *V2 for Kazuma Sumi.
Kazuma Sumi’s goal of defending the DDT Universal Title overseas finally came to pass this month. MAO got him booked for the BZW collab show with GCW in France. His match wasn’t an easy task at all because he had to fight the former Universal Champion Gringo Loco as well as French wrestler Leedz Lewis in a 3 Way bout where he could lose the title without being pinned. Sumi made the most of his moment and pinned Lewis with the Reverse 450 Splash to keep the belt and impress the fans in attendance. He said afterward that he now has a great sense of accomplishment because he can go do his style of wrestling anywhere in the world. He is eager to compete overseas again and spread his name around the planet.
The same success wasn’t there for MAO & Yoshihiko. Their year and a half long reign as BZW Tag Team Champions finally came to an end in a 3 Way Tag against a BZW team and a GCW team. Everybody brawled out of the venue and Yoshihiko did a dive off of a truck to put Jimmy Lloyd through a table. Rivality brought the belts back to their home promotion in the end when MBM found a counter to Yoshihiko’s finishing move, reversing the pin into one of his own for the three count. MAO feels happy that he got to wreak havoc in four different countries while holding the belts with Yoshihiko. His next goal in BZW is to win a singles championship so then some day DDT can hold a show in Europe!
DXCN “DAKILA II”, 24/05/2026 Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines
1. 4 Way Match: Robin Sane defeated Jonathan Johnson, Shaheen and Munetatsu Nakamura (?:??).
2. Dexcon World Title: Jake De Leon (c) defeated Chris Brookes (?:??). *V5 for Jake De Leon.
Another packed weekend in the Philippines is in the books for Brookes. He wasn’t able to come back to Japan with another championship because Jake De Leon was able to defend his Dexcon World Title against him. Munetatsu Nakamura was also part of the Dexcon weekend, taking part in a high flying 4 Way Match where Robin Sane picked up the win over Shaheen.
AEW “DOUBLE OR NOTHING”, 24/05/2026 Louis Armstrong Stadium, New York City, New York, USA
1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Kazuchika Okada (c) with the Raging Fire (19:01). *Kazuchika Okada fails in V10. Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 13th AEW International Champion!
Being at the show live I can tell you the building was very excited to see Okada Vs Takeshita happen with the match graphic on the pre-show getting one of the largest pops out of the lineup. The match was fantastic even with the Don Callis drama at ringside happening midway through. Callis tried to play neutral by telling Okada not to risk injuring Takeshita. While Okada reluctantly followed that instruction, Takeshita did not do the same when Callis gave him the same order. It still took a lot for Takeshita to finally beat Okada, countering the Rainmaker with his own Lariat and then hitting a big Elbow Strike when the Wagamama only got a one count. But when he finally used the Raging Fire there was no fight left in Okada to kick out and Takeshita became the new AEW International Champion! The sweet taste of victory was quickly spoiled when The Don Callis Family all looked to turn on Takeshita after the match. Kyle Fletcher made his big return from injury to hug Takeshita only to turn on him with a backstabbing attack, confirming that our guy is now kicked out of the Family.
AEW “COLLISION”, 30/05/2026 Propst Arena At Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama, USA
1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Daniel Garcia with the Raging Fire (14:27). *V1 for Konosuke Takeshita.
Takeshita had to get over the heartbreak of ProtoShita being split up by having his first International Title defence against Daniel Garcia. A wrestler like Garcia has some tricks up his sleeve, like countering Takeshita’s top rope Clothesline into an Arm Drag to the canvas where he then applied the Sharpshooter. Takeshita blocked a rolling cradle that would have set up another submission hold, turning it over to a German Suplex. The big Elbow Strike after that set up the Raging Fire and Takeshita got his first defence in the bag, all while Jon Moxley was watching on from the commentary table. Members of The Don Callis Family ran into the ring to attack Takeshita after the match while outside the ring the Death Riders and Shane Taylor Promotions all suddenly appeared to brawl with each other. If that wasn’t chaotic enough, The Conglomeration entered the fight and cleared the room so it was only them and Takeshita left in the ring. So we end the month with Takeshita finding a new bunch of friends (or an old friend in Mike Bailey’s case).
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Upcoming Appearances
EVE “EVE 150: HISTORY MAKERS RULE BREAKERS!”, 05/06/2026 Big Penny Social, London, England
1. EVE International Title: Kris Statlander (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
Right, let’s get things out of the way before the World Cup starts. Miyu Yamashita returns to EVE very soon hoping to win gold there again, this time fighting Kris Statlander from AEW for the EVE International Title. As much as I would love to see a result here that follows up from Yamashita’s match with Jamie Hayter last time around, I’m not sure if that’s something EVE is planning for.
WXW “DRIVE OF CHAMPIONS 2026”, 06/06/2026 Turbinenhalle 1, Oberhausen, Germany
1. Ahura & Jun Akiyama Vs 1 Called Manders & Thomas Shire
Germany welcomes Jun Akiyama for the weekend where he will meet Ahura to team up against Cowboy Way.
CMLL “FANTASTICA MANIA 2026”, 19/06/2026 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X
It is CMLL’s turn to host “FANTASTICA MANIA” and Konosuke Takeshita will be there on behalf of New Japan.
SETUP “HELLRAISER”, 27/06/2026 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. Hardcore Unsanctioned Anything Goes Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Jonathan Johnson
The travelling is not ending yet for Daisuke Sasaki. A few weeks after he is done with Best Of The Super Jr. he will be going over to Thailand for a SETUP show. Jonathan Johnson threw out a challenge recently to prove he is one of the best wrestlers in his corner of the world. Sasaki answered his challenge and wants it to be unsanctioned so anything goes!
I haven’t gotten around to looking into what happened on Tokyo Joshi Pro’s two European shows outside of the basic results. All I know is Miyu Yamashita has more plans coming up to wrestle across the world this year. While she doesn’t have to wait long until she packs her suitcase again, Daisuke Sasaki is emptying his after finishing up his month long journey across North America. He found a few more places in America to wrestle in before he made the trip back home.
It’s a little hard to tell if the summer is going to get busier for overseas bookings. Is there much of an appetite for international wrestling when the World Cup is going to be on? CMLL is counting on it and Konosuke Takeshita has at least one date with them in June. I’m going to curse out the company if they use their AI poster art to make him look like a Captain Tsubasa drawing.
LUCHA WRESTLING PURORESU “LUCHA LIBRE MEXICANA”, 19/04/2026 Xander Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Drago, Genio del Aire & Torito Negro Vs Doble Cara, Daisuke Sasaki & Ultimo Maldito
Video starts at 1:48:50 LABOR OF LOVE “THE EXHIBITION”, 25/04/2026 Icebox Project Space, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Anything Goes: Big Callux Vs Daisuke Sasaki
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Results
LUCHA WRESTLING PURORESU “LUCHA LIBRE MEXICANA”, 19/04/2026 Xander Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Drago, Genio del Aire & Torito Negro defeated Doble Cara, Daisuke Sasaki & Ultimo Maldito when Drago pinned Sasaki with the Tail Of The Dragon (?:??).
Sasaki is one of the more likely DDT wrestlers to go in search of lucha libre when he travels over to the Americas. He didn’t go visit Mexico this time around but he got down there close enough by getting a lucha booking in LA. While there he got to lock horns with Drago as part of a trios match. Sasaki and his rudo partners beat down the other team and held Torito Negro in the Kaientai pose. Genio del Aire tried to make a big counter attack by doing a jumping Hurricanrana to Ultimo Maldito from the human tower only to crash on top of his own head and neck in a disasterous looking botch. Drago inspired the tecnico team’s comeback and both of his partners Moonsaulted out of the ring onto Doble Cara & Maldito. That left Sasaki to duke it out with Drago but he was whipped around into the Tail Of The Dragon llave pin, losing the match to the veteran luchador.
EVE/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “EVE X TJPW”, 25/04/2026 Big Penny Social, London, England ??? Fans
1. EVE International Title Next Contender Tournament – Round 1: Shoko Nakajima defeated Hollie Barlow (?:??).
2. EVE International Title Next Contender Tournament – Round 1: Miyu Yamashita defeated Aliss Ink (?:??).
3. Rhio defeated Hyper Misao (?:??).
4. Session Moth Martina & Aliss Ink defeated Lucy Sky & Yuki Aino when Martina pinned Sky (?:??).
5. EVE International Title Next Contender Tournament – Final: Miyu Yamashita defeated Shoko Nakajima (?:??).
The complete results will eventually be found here once I get around to watching the show.
LABOR OF LOVE “THE EXHIBITION”, 25/04/2026 Icebox Project Space, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Anything Goes: Big Callux defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the Black Hole Slam (?:??).
The final stopping point for Sasaki was at The City Of Brotherly Love. Too bad Sasaki hates love because all it ever did was hurt him. The Philly indie scene isn’t what it used to be and hasn’t been for a very long time. But Labor Of Love has popped up to try and find its place in a world that has long since moved on from the days when the corner of Swanson and Ritner St was considered the centrepoint of the American indies. Sasaki went to Philadelphia for a fight with Big Callux where before the match the stipulation was revealed to be Anything Goes. Callux brought along a bag of gifts for Sasaki that included a Gritty toy. Sasaki ripped it in half and threw the remains into the crowd! Callux then gave Sasaki a bouquet of roses but Sasaki just attacked him with them. More fighting broke out with a chair, a chain and also a hockey stick being used as weapons. Sasaki got into the hockey vibes by putting on a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey to piss off the Philly fans even more. He tried to put Callux in the Crossface Lock with the chain to assist him but Callux powered out of it. Sasaki then got the upper hand by unmasking Callux as a distraction to hit him over the head with the chair and then Pedigree him onto it. Callux kicked out though and threw Sasaki from the top rope onto the chair laid out in the middle of the ring. He then hit the Black Hole Slam to win the match, much like how the Philadelphia Flyers went on to win the series against the Penguins in the NHL playoffs a couple of days later.
SAJ/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SAJ X TJPW”, 26/04/2026 Centro Sport Cesate, Milan, Italy
1. Mirko Mori, Nico Inverardi & Adriano Vs Goro, Merak & Spencer
2. Yuki Aino Vs Irene
3. Shoko Nakajima Vs Kanji
4. Sebastian De Witt Vs Miyu Yamashita
5. SAJ & ASCA Tag Team Titles: Mike Bird & Crimi (c) Vs Rhio & Cory Zero
6. SAJ Openweight Title: Lupo (c) Vs Kouga
Similar to the other TJPW show, I have to go seek out video of this show and when I do, you will find the proper report here.
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Upcoming Appearances
ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR”, 15/05/2026 Wicomico Youth And Civic Center, Salisbury, Maryland, USA
1. ROH Women’s World Title – Survival Of The Fittest Match: Athena (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Trish Adora Vs Billie Starkz Vs Persephone Vs Maya World
All of the competitors have been confirmed and it’s official. Yuka Sakazaki is among the six wrestlers entering Ring Of Honor’s annual Survival Of The Fittest elimination match. Athena’s reign as ROH Women’s World Champion has reached preposterous levels of record breaking in terms of length. Seriously is this the longest running championship reign with so few highlights to exist in modern times?
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “MNL”, 23/05/2026 Sari Sari Makati, Makati, Philippines
1. Hotdog De San Jose & Super P Vs Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes
The first match announced for the show has Chris Brookes teaming up with Zack Sabre Jr. again, bringing SchadenTekkers over to the Philippines. Super P has found a sort of familiar looking super friend in Hotdog De San Jose which means together they are Team SuperHotdog!
GCW/BZW “NOW OR NEVER”, 23/05/2026 Espace Isabelle de Hainaut, Rue de Saint-Quentin, Bapaume, France
1. BZW Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) Vs MBM & Ultima Sombra Vs Jimmy Lloyd & Jeffrey John
It’s the biggest risk of danger yet for MAO & Yoshihiko in their travels around Europe. They are stuck in the middle of the BZW Vs GCW battle coming up in France and both sides want to take the BZW Tag Team Titles away from them. In the 3 Way Match BZW are sending in Rivality. They are familiar faces to the champions because MBM & Ultima Sombra did a tour in Japan with DDT last year. GCW will be represented by Jimmy Lloyd & Jeffrey John. Gotta be honest they’re not really sending their best into the fight here. Like they have Nick Gage & Vipress teaming up in one of the other matches. That team sounds like a threat!
DXCN “DAKILA II”, 24/05/2026 Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines
1. 4 Way Match: Jonathan Johnson Vs Robin Sane Vs Shaheen Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
2. Chris Brookes Vs X
It’s likely that Munetatsu Nakamura will be part of the Baka Gaijin in Manila show as well but for now he’s just been announced for the Dexcon show happening the next day. Even if this turns out to be his only match of the weekend it is still his first overseas expedition which is exciting enough by itself.
AEW “DOUBLE OR NOTHING”, 24/05/2026 Louis Armstrong Stadium, New York City, New York, USA
1. AEW International Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Here we go, here we go, here we go! Shenanigans spoiled the previous singles match Takeshita had with Kazuchika Okada and let’s face it, shenanigans will likely happen again. But stakes are still high and the feud is finally heading towards its breaking point. Surely this has to be the blowoff with one of them getting kicked out of The Don Callis Family at the end, right?
EVE “EVE 150: HISTORY MAKERS RULE BREAKERS!”, 05/06/2026 Big Penny Social, London, England
1. EVE International Title: Kris Statlander (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
The tournament that Yamashita won at the EVE x TJPW show made her the No. 1 Contender for the EVE International Title. She held their main championship during her big push there back in 2023. Is history going to repeat itself when she fights Kris Statlander from AEW for EVE’s other singles title?
WXW “DRIVE OF CHAMPIONS 2026”, 06/06/2026 Turbinenhalle 1, Oberhausen, Germany
1. Ahura & Jun Akiyama Vs 1 Called Manders & Thomas Shire
Is Ahura still going to be in wXw by the time this match happens? He was at the WWE European tryout this past week.
CMLL “FANTASTICA MANIA 2026”, 19/06/2026 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X
Takeshita heads back to Mexico this summer when CMLL holds their version of the “FANTASTICA MANIA” series with New Japan.
Only a few days left until WrestleMania Week and there’s a lot to talk about before we even get there. Konosuke Takeshita’s feud with Kazuchika Okada is making some progress but still moving at a glacial pace. Don Callis dangled a carrot in front of Okada promising him a rematch with Okada, this time with the AEW International Title on the line. But it can only happen as long as they team up to beat The Young Bucks. The way Callis sees it, Takeshita and Okada together can be compared to the relationship Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen had together in the Chicago Bulls.
Last month it was Texas, this month it was Vancouver. Tokyo Joshi Pro is continuing to lay their flag in places across North America with their second tour of the year in that region finishing up in Las Vegas this week. Fingers crossed that their travels to and from everywhere go off without a hitch this time.
Our favorite troublemaker Daisuke Sasaki has been making towns during his stay in North America. Some GCW dates here, a few ROH matches there and he even found some work up in Canada. He’ll be in Vegas too for some matches and debauchery. Apparently Mizuki Watase is currently in Vegas right now too but I can’t for the life of me find any information regarding whether or not he will be wrestling there during his stay.
1. Darby Allin, Bandido & Jack Perry Vs Andrade El Ídolo, Mark Davis & Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis)
AEW “DYNASTY”, 12/04/2026 Rogers Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
1. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson Vs Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita
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Results
GCW “LAST CALL”, 03/04/2026 FSW Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Daisuke Sasaki defeated Marcus Mathers with La Mistica Crossface Lock (14:58).
Sasaki made it to Las Vegas a little bit early for a GCW show happening separately away from The Collective. I wouldn’t be surprised if GCW originally booked the venue on this date back when WrestleMania was still scheduled for New Orleans. Sasaki heeled it up for his match against Marcus Mathers, targeting his opponent’s knee and attacking it with a chair. The match came close to being called off at points for the sake of Mathers’s health but he toughened it out and fought back. Sasaki didn’t waver from his gameplan though until a ref bump gave him the opportunity to give Mathers a Low Blow. He got away with it and made Mathers submit afterward.
GCW “MANIAC”, 04/04/2026 Ukrainian Culture Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. GCW World Title: Atticus Cogar (c) defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the Brain Hemorrhage (8:04). *V14 for Atticus Cogar.
The next evening in Los Angeles, Sasaki challenged Atticus Cogar for the GCW World Title. The champion was already looking past Sasaki by walking out to the match wearing an entrance outfit that resembled Hayabusa, his scheduled title challenger for WrestleMania Week. Sasaki didn’t care and attacked Cogar with a chair from the get go. He also used the chair to block Cogar from doing a dive out of the ring. He then took a high risk by doing the Super Elbow Drop onto Cogar from the top rope to the first row, hurting his leg upon landing. Cogar fought back by digging his skewers into Sasaki’s head from the Electric Chair position and also using them to stab his way out of the Crossface Lock. He dug them in one more time before pinning Sasaki with the Brain Hemorrhage finisher.
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 06/04/2026 WJCT Studios, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
1. AR Fox defeated Daisuke Sasaki (?:??).
2. Survival Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Viva Van (?:??).
3. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Matt Menard (?:??).
During the latest ROH tapings there were qualifying matches for their annual Survival Of The Fittest match that will be held at the next PPV. Yuka Sakazaki booked her spot in the match after beating Viva Van.
I don’t have much details about what Takeshita and Sasaki did at the ROH taping other than the results of their matches. Takeshita beat Matt Menard while Sasaki lost to AR Fox. If there is any context to add to those matches we’ll find out when they eventually air on ROH’s weekly show.
1. Andrade El Ídolo, Mark Davis & Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Darby Allin, Bandido & Jack Perry when Andrade pinned Perry with the DM (11:38).
With tension between Takeshita and Okada reaching higher than ever, Don Callis wanted to prove both men can be on the same page no matter how much they disliked each other. The reputation of The Don Callis Family itself was being harmed by this situation so Callis relied on Andrade El Ídolo of all people to be the glue that would keep the group sticking together. When he wasn’t busy flirting with women in the front row, Andrade lived up to his end of the bargain while Mark Davis helped Takeshita throw around the opposition. Bandido was there as a last minute replacement for Brody King but the change did not stop the Family from getting the win. Andrade attacked Darby Allin after the match while Jack Perry was put in a vulnerable position as well. The Young Bucks ran down to save the day until Okada followed them down to stop them. However he then got into a fight with Okada and they had to be pulled apart only for more chaos to break out with Bandido and The Rascalz doing dives onto everybody.
MYSTERY WRESTLING “VANCOUVER PREMIERE – DAY 1”, 11/04/2026 Great Canadian Hastings Racecourse & Casino, Vancouver, BC, Canada
1. 4 Way Match: Nicole Matthews defeated Alexia Nicole, Amira and HIMAWARI when Matthews pinned HIMAWARI after a Stunner from Nicole (?:??).
2. All The Marbles – Mystery Wrestling World Title: London Lightning (c) defeated Daisuke Sasaki with The Smallest Package Ever (?:??). *V2 for London Lightning.
Another title shot came Sasaki’s way when he travelled over to Canada. He was the surprise challenger for London Lightning over at Mystery Wrestling, although 95% of the lineup is usually a surprise because that’s the promotion’s whole gimmick. Especially on this particular show because there were wrestlers from DDT, TJPW, New Japan, Dragon Gate and NOAH all appearing up and down the card. For even more silliness, Mystery Wrestling’s championship is not just represented by a title belt but also a bag of marbles. Which means every time there is a title bout, the match is also “For All The Marbles!” For some reason the referee for the title match was very lenient towards Low Blows because Sasaki kept attacking Lightning’s groin without getting punished for it. Lightning gave him a taste of his own medicine before giving him the Smallest Package Ever to win the match and remain champion.
The TJPW appearance on this show happened because they had booked the venue with Mystery Wrestling for a doubleheader. Evil Uno’s promotion took the afternoon slot and then TJPW kicked off their Vancouver tour in the evening. That led to a crossover where HIMAWARI took part in the opening 4 Way Match. The three other wrestlers Nicole Matthews, Alexia Nicole and Amira were also booked for the TJPW show anyway so the ladies all had a busy day of wrestling. Unfortunately HIMAWARI took the pinfall when she took a Stunner from Alexia Nicole. Matthews then knocked Nicole out of the ring so she could steal the victory for herself.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “VANCOUVER PREMIERE – DAY 1”, 11/04/2026 Great Canadian Hastings Racecourse & Casino, Vancouver, BC, Canada 400 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Yuki Kamifuku defeated Shino Suzuki with the Famouser (8:14).
2. Amira defeated Uta Takami with the Squirrel’s Strongest Slam (6:52).
3. Sakura Hattori & Toga defeated Raku & Pom Harajuku when Hattori pinned Harajuku with the Kitchokagome (9:44).
4. Suzume defeated Alexia Nicole with the Ring A Bell (7:11).
5. Nicole Matthews & Liiza Hall defeated Miyu Yamashita & HIMAWARI when Matthews pinned HIMAWARI with the Roll The Dice (12:51).
6. J-Rod & Miu Watanabe defeated Yuki Arai & Wakana Uehara when J-Rod pinned Uehara with the Ultimate Spear (13:05).
AEW “DYNASTY”, 12/04/2026 Rogers Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
1. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson defeated Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita when Matt pinned Okada after the Meltzer Driver (20:10).
Things went haywire between Takeshita and Okada when they tried to team up against The Young Bucks. Okada didn’t take things seriously and briefly dressed up like a Young Buck himself to make fun of them. Things fell apart when Okada and Takeshita started fighting each other until Matt Jackson got between them. A PowerDrive Knee from Takeshita targeting Matt hit Okada by mistake. Then Okada stopped Takeshita from doing the Raging Fire so he could give Matt the Rainmaker instead. Unfortunately Matt ducked and Takeshita took the hit! The Bucks wore down Okada with Super Kicks and the BTE Trigger then set him up for the Meltzer Driver. Takeshita grabbed Nick Jackson from ringside but then had second thoughts about stopping him. He decided to leave Okada hanging and let the Bucks beat him with their finisher. Takeshita only got back into the ring after the match to flip off Okada. Backstage Takeshita gave Okada and Callis a sarcastic apology to rub further salt into the wound.
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WrestleMania Week Appearances
PODER~! “PODERMANIA~!”, 15/04/2026 Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. International Tag Team Match: Amira & Lil Marz Vs Toga & Jazzy Yang
It feels like WrestleMania Week is starting off earlier than ever this year. The first place you can find a TJPW wrestler in action will be at the annual “PODERMANIA~!” women’s wrestling show where Toga is teaming up with Jazzy Yang, the daughter of former WCW and WWE wrestler Jimmy Yang.
PANDEMONIUM PRO “WHATEVER, FOREVER”, 15/04/2026 Bizarre Bar, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Jiah Jewell Vs Daisuke Sasaki
Around the same time Daisuke Sasaki kicks off his week in Vegas by facing Jiah Jewell over at Pandemonium Pro.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS 2026”, 16/04/2026 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Toga & Uta Takami
2. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Alexis Lee, HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki
3. Special 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita Vs Mizuki Vs Miu Watanabe
4. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Sakura Hattori
5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Jessie McKay & Cassie Lee (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
6. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs J-Rod
A preview of the show will be posted soon.
“DEATH VEGAS INVITACIONAL”, 16/04/2026 Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. The Rigged Roulette – House Rules Hardcore Match: Gedo & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Joey Janela & Gringo Loco
Sasaki has walked up to the table at the “DEATH VEGAS INVITACIONAL” and placed down his chips. Standing next to him is Gedo from NJPW while over on the other side of the roulette wheel is Joey Janela & Gringo Loco. It is Hardcore rules but does the roulette theming of the name suggest something like Weapon Rumble rules being added to the equation?
GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XV”, 17/04/2026 Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai
At the moment the only GCW related match going with DDT or TJPW on is Miyu Yamashita fighting Janai Kai in a Bloodsport match. However there is always the Clusterfuck match that happens near the end of the week so you can never count out somebody here showing up over there.
PRIDESTYLE “OUT OF THIS WORLD”, 17/04/2026 Bizarre Bar, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Special Single Match: Taniya Vs Miu Watanabe
With that being said, the last TJPW related match to look forward to in Vegas is Miu Watanabe taking on Taniya at one of the PrideStyle shows. Taniya holds the promotion’s women’s title but this has not been advertised as a title match.
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Upcoming Appearances After WrestleMania Week
EVE/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “EVE X TJPW”, 25/04/2026 Big Penny Social, London, England
1. EVE International Title Next Contender Tournament – Round 1: Shoko Nakajima Vs Hollie Barlow
2. EVE International Title Next Contender Tournament – Round 1: Miyu Yamashita Vs Aliss Ink
3. Rhio Vs Hyper Misao
4. EVE International Title Next Contender Tournament – Final: X Vs X
The veteran chunk of TJPW have more travelling to do at the end of the month for some co-promoted shows in Europe. TJPW has a mini tournament going on with EVE to determine the No. 1 Contender for the EVE International Title. Both Miyu Yamashita and Shoko Nakajima are entering that while Hyper Misao and Yuki Aino will be involved in non-tournament bouts. Misao’s opponent was just announced to be Rhio. A lot has changed with her since she last appeared in a TJPW ring.
SAJ/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SAJ X TJPW”, 26/04/2026 Centro Sport Cesate, Milan, Italy
1. Mirko Mori, Nico Inverardi & Adriano Vs Goro, Merak & Spencer
2. Shoko Nakajima Vs Kanji
3. Session Moth Martina & Flamingo Vs Hyper Misao & El G
4. Sebastian De Witt Vs Miyu Yamashita
5. SAJ Openweight Title: Lupo (c) Vs Kouga
The next day TJPW goes to Italy where they will work with SAJ Wrestling. Misao’s match has now been announced, putting her across the ring from Session Moth Martina. The only previous time they were in the same match was as a tag team back in 2022. The way these European matches are being announced I get the feeling that nobody knows what to do with Aino until everyone else is sorted out first.
ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR”, 15/05/2026 Wicomico Youth And Civic Center, Salisbury, Maryland, USA
1. ROH Women’s World Title – Survival Of The Fittest Match: Athena (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Trish Adora Vs Billie Starkz Vs Persephone Vs Maya World
The Survival Of The Fittest match is a 6-Way Elimination bout. Last one standing is the winner and will leave with the ROH Women’s World Title. All of the challengers Athena will have to face were decided at the already mentioned ROH TV taping. Not only will Sakazaki mix it up with Athena, Billie Starkz and Trish Adora again but she also gets to fight Persephone and Maya World for the first time unless things during the match get way too chaotic.
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “MNL”, 23/05/2026 Sari Sari Makati, Makati, Philippines
1. Chris Brookes Vs X
The Baka Gaijin and their friends are going back to the Philippines. This time it is Chris Brookes and Zack Sabre Jr. being involved.
GCW/BZW “NOW OR NEVER”, 23/05/2026 Espace Isabelle de Hainaut, Rue de Saint-Quentin, Bapaume, France
1. MAO & Yoshihiko Vs X & X
It will be a Baka Gaijin show without MAO though because he’s going on his own weekend trip to France with Yoshihiko in tow.
DXCN “DAKILA II”, 24/05/2026 Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines
1. Chris Brookes Vs X
The Manila weekend is being set up with Dexcon.
WXW “DRIVE OF CHAMPIONS 2026”, 06/06/2026 Turbinenhalle 1, Oberhausen, Germany
1. Ahura & Jun Akiyama Vs 1 Called Manders & Thomas Shire
I like the sound of this one! Jun Akiyama’s big appearance in Germany for wXw has him teaming with the promotion’s current MVP Ahura to take on Cowboy Way. Akiyama got to fight 1 Called Manders during GCW’s Japan tour last year and Manders was the wXw Unified World Champion at that time.
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Postponed Appearances
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “LOVE & PEACE 2026 SPRING SUPPORTED BY TIF ASIA TOUR – DAY 1”, 09/05/2026 JioSpace, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “LOVE & PEACE 2026 SPRING SUPPORTED BY TIF ASIA TOUR – DAY 2”, 09/05/2026 JioSpace, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
This May’s planned return to Malaysia for DDT and TJPW has been postponed because of “changes in international affairs”. They can say that again. A lot of preparation needed to host the two shows have become difficult for the organizers to get together due to the current state of the world around them so the shows have been postponed for the time being. Every party is acting like they will be rescheduled when things settle down and the safety of everyone involved can be guaranteed but who knows how long that will take to happen.
This month’s article starts late because most of Konosuke Takeshita’s month was spent in New Japan where he won the G1 Climax tournament. You can read about that here if you missed it. He will now wait for 13th October to fight for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title at Sumo Hall against either Zack Sabre Jr. or Ren Narita. Until then he is back wrestling in AEW where another path has suddenly appeared in front of him. Are we on the way towards a big singles match against Kazuchika Okada?
Also in August Chris Brookes and Takeshi Masada spent a weekend in the Philippines that turned out to be a very special one for Brookes. “Tupe” now has a third country he can call home if he for some reason ever needs to get away from both England and Japan. Meanwhile over in Malaysia, Kira Summer got to dip her toes outside of Tokyo Joshi Pro for the first time. Will she get the travelling bug like Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh did? Yamashita has a European tour coming up soon and Itoh will be along for one small part of it. Speaking of Itoh, I’ll continue writing about her international bookings for the time being but if she ends up signing to another Japanese company or takes up a busy wrestling schedule elsewhere in Japan then I’m sorry to say it will be time to bid her adieu on this website. I only have so much time on my hands.
Oh, there’s one more quick thing to mention. Maybe I’ll write up a separate post about it soon. A few people on different wrestling Discords have done some detective work and may have found out where Keigo Nakamuara is having his excursion. Is he the new masked luchador named Tokio who showed up in the Mexican indies over the summer? Stay tuned.
AEW “COLLISION”, 23/08/2025 OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland
1. Tomohiro Ishii Vs Konosuke Takeshita
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 27/08/2025 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Bandido, Brody King, Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey Vs Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & Hechicero
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Results
AEW “COLLISION”, 20/08/2025 (Aired 23/08/2025) OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Tomohiro Ishii with the Raging Fire (10:36).
After taking only a few days of rest, Takeshita travelled all the way over to the UK to be present for a week of “FORBIDDEN DOOR” related events. First stop was Glasgow, Scotland where Takeshita faced off against Tomohiro Ishii. AEW promoted the bout as a rematch from “WRESTLE DYNASTY” back on 5th January. Ishi almost won this time with a Power Bomb but Takeshita got his hand raised in the end by using the Raging Fire.
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “MNL”, 22/08/2025 The Social House, Makati, Philippines ??? Fans
1. International Dream Match: Crystal & Robin Sane defeated Patricia Ligaia & Dr. Gore (?:??).
2. 3 Way Match: Nigel San Jose defeated Saint John Martin and Danny Zamora when San Jose pinned Martin with a Hot Dog Assisted Knee Strike (?:??).
3. Fabio Makisig defeated El Katipunero (?:??).
4. International Dream Match: Chris Bookes & Takeshi Masada defeated Jake De Leon & Isaiah Valencia when Masada pinned Valencia with the Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (?:??).
I kind of have a report of the show that can be seen here. Credit for the results go out to SEA Wrestling for having them posted on their site.
LLL “IF THE APOCALYPSE COMES, BEEP ME!”, 22/08/2025 The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Dulce Tormenta with The Magical Girl Splash (?:??).
This one flew under my radar but Yuka Sakazaki had a match on the indies this month! She appeared at Lucha Libre & Laughs where she beat Dulce Tormenta.
DXCN “PEKSMAN”, 24/08/2025 Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines
1. Kiss Of Death Match: Takeshi Masada defeated Jake De Leon with the Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (?:??).
2. International Dream Match: Chris Brookes defeated Robin Sane with the Praying Mantis Bomb (?:??).
The role Brookes is playing in developing the Pinoy wrestling scene was recognized at the end of the weekend. During the shows the fans gave him the nickname Tupe. The Dexcon show was on the same day as his birthday so after Brookes beat Robin Sane in the main event, everyone came out from the back to throw him a party. He also received a certificate signed by several of the local wrestlers to unofficially declare Christopher “Tupe” Brookes as a Filipino citizen.
The rule for the Kiss Of Death match was that the wrestlers needed to kiss their opponent before delivering their winning move. Masada went full “Baby Girl” mode for the match and even used lip balm to set up his kiss to Jake De Leon.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 27/08/2025 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. All Star 8-Man Tag: Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & Hechicero defeated Bandido, Brody King, Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey when Alexander pinned Bailey with a Forward Rolling Clutch (11:20).
Takeshita didn’t have a match at “FORBIDDEN DOOR” but he did appear during the show. But when Wardlow was revealed to be the newest member of The Don Callis Family, the entire unit gathered together with Takeshita being the last person to show up. He didn’t seem to be enthusiastic over this turn of events but seemed to accept Wardlow into the group. Then a few days later Takeshita was part of the Family’s team for an 8-Man Tag against Brodido & JetSpeed. Here is when cracks within the family began to surface as Takeshita and Okada both got tagged in at the same time and got in each other’s faces over it. They got in each other’s way again later in the match so it’s pretty clear what direction we’re going.
APAC “SLAMFEST 2025”, 30/08/2025 Stadium Juara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1. APAC Women’s Title No. 1 Contender Fatal 4 Way: Tarlee defeated Crystal, Kira Summer and Mio Shirai when Tarlee pinned Summer (?:??).
A big weekend for pro wrestling in Malaysia took place just over the weekend when APAC Wrestling held a show featuring wrestlers from around the world including talent who are under WWE ID deals and hold championships under that project. Not only that but Kira Summer got to take part in a wrestling show outside of Japan for the first time since joining TJPW. She was in a 4 Way Match against fellow Australian wrestler Tarlee, now firmly back from retirement Mio Shirai and Crystal the former APAC Women’s Champion. No. 1 Contendership for that title was on the line and Tarlee got it after pinning Summer to win the match.
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Upcoming Appearances
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, ??/09/2025 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Round 1: Serena Deeb Vs Yuka Sakazaki
I don’t know which is more surprising, that we’re getting another Yuka Sakazaki match in ROH so soon or that the long planned tournament to crown a ROH Women’s Pure Champion is finally going ahead. She’s entering an eight woman tournament under pure wrestling rules (limited rope breaks, closed fist punches are fouls, etc.) and Serena Deeb is her first round opponent. Since Deeb in storyline is one of the wrestlers most attached to the idea of having a Women’s Pure Title, I don’t like Sakazaki’s odds of making it to the next round.
MLW “FIGHTLAND”, 13/09/2025 NYTEX Sports Centre, Dallas, Texas, USA
1. Yuki Kamifuku Vs X
2. Shoko Nakajima Vs X
It was already known that Shoko Nakajima would be travelling back to Texas next month for an MLW taping but one of their latest advert banners show that Yuki Kamifuku will be part of the event too. The last time Kamifuku was in MLW she and Shotzi Blackheart shared an idea of wrestling each other sometime. Blackheart already has a match booked for the live stream portion of show but that doesn’t mean she can’t have another taped for TV down the line. Or what if Kamifuku gets to challenge Nakajima for the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title?
VGM “FVF WRESTLING STAR MEET AND GREET & PRO WRESTLING MATCH”, 18/10/2025 Full House, Liangxi, Wuxi, China
1. HIMAWARI Vs X
2. Rika Tatsumi Vs X
The China trip for Rika Tatsumi and HIMAWARI seems so far away.
SETUP/IWA THAILAND “A NEW DAWN”, 14/11/2025 TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi
1. Pom Harajuku Vs X
2. Kaya Toribami Vs X
3. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
4. HARASHIMA Vs X
Recently it’s been wrestling from Japan that makes its way over to to Thailand but now the opposite is happening. SETUP (and its spin-off IWA Thailand) will be heading to Tokyo to hold its first ever show in Japan and wrestlers from several Japanese promotions have been invited to take part. DDT will be sending HARASHIMA to the event while TJPW is being represented by Miyu Yamashita, Kaya Toribami and Pom Harajuku.
She’ll be part of two shows for wXw on the tour that celebrates the company’s 25th anniversary.
WPE/QPW “EPISODE 2”, 28/11/2025 Salle Albert Marquet, La Frette-sur-Seine, France
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
A few days later Yamashita then goes to France to wrestle on a show co-promoted by two brands. Wrestling Pro Essone and women’s promotion Queens Pro Wrestling held their first show together back in March and for their second event they get to have Yamashita’s first match ever in France!
SAJ “FINAL BOUT 4”, 29/11/2025 Magnete, Via Adriando, Milan, Italy
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Maki Itoh Vs X
Yamashita then returns to Italy for SAJ Wrestling the next day but she won’t be alone. Itoh is there too for a booking that was already announced before she left TJPW. SAJ also said this will be Itoh’s only appearance in Europe but they didn’t say for what period of time. Is it her only European appearance for the month? The rest of the year? Is there a reason why she’s travelling to Italy for only one show, like she has anywhere else to be?
The Texas tour is just a sweet memory now and it’s one that will be looked back on fondly. Unless the financial details say otherwise it has to be seen as a resounding success. One that could open some eyes around the industry. Tokyo Joshi Pro being the first ones in joshi to find a way to break into the American market even a little bit should highlight the audience that’s out there. It’s the nerd crowd, the otaku crowd, the anime crowd, whatever you want to call them. I always thought it would be a slam dunk for Bushiroad to strike up a deal with Crunchyroll to localize the weekly episodes of “We Are STARDOM!!” for their streaming service. The sudden explosion of global popularity for Uma Musume last month had me gesturing wildly thinking CyberFight should go talk to Cygames and do something. Then I was told such an idea is completely off the table, at least in regards to crossing over with that franchise in particular. I’m just saying maybe Wrestle Angels or Ring☆Dream can come back to life as a licensed product.
The rest of the summer feels like it will be a calm one for this series. Konosuke Takeshita is busy with the G1 Climax in Japan and the whispers have been unusually loud this time around suggesting that he is going to play a big role for the rest of New Japan’s year. I wonder where that’s coming from (Rocky Romero I am looking in your direction). Maki Itoh won’t be travelling back to America after all and I’m hoping there isn’t anything to worry about regarding that. The few bookings we know about happening in the next month or two mostly surround the Asian wrestling scene.
One more note, I was originally going to write about the GCW Japan tour in this post which is why the partial results are included at the end. However the shows wound up featuring a lot more DDT and TJPW talent than planned because some of the GCW wrestlers were unable to travel. So I will write a separate, more detailed post over the weekend covering those shows then linked them back here.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 02/07/2025 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. Heroes Vs Villains: Bandido, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Nicolas Jackson & Matthew Jackson
Video starts at 2:02:42 for the match JCW “BORN (ALMOST) ON THE FOURTH OF JULY”, 06/07/2025 House Of Independents, Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Billie Starkz & Miyu Yamashita Vs Lena Cross & Megan Bayne
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 09/07/2025 Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, Texas, USA
1. Bandido & Brody King Vs Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita
ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR”, 11/07/2025 Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas, USA
1. Interim ROH Women’s World TV Title – Worldwide Wild Card 4 Way: Miyu Yamashita Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Persephone Vs Mina Shirakawa
2. ROH World Title: Bandido (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
AEW “ALL IN TEXAS”, 12/07/2025 Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas, USA
1. Men’s Casino Gauntlet Match: Mark Briscoe Vs MJF Vs Ricochet Vs Bandido Vs Konosuke Takeshita Vs Mistico Vs Josh Alexander Vs Anthony Bowens Vs Roderick Strong Vs Brody King Vs Juice Robinson Vs Kota Ibushi Vs Beast Mortos Vs Max Caster
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Results
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 02/07/2025 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. Heroes Vs Villains: Konosuke Takeshita, Nicolas Jackson & Matthew Jackson defeated Bandido, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly when Takeshita pinned O’Reilly with the Raging Fire (11:53).
Takeshita has done a sponsored match or two during his time in DDT so him being part of a match to promote the new Superman movie isn’t out of the ordinary for him. Having Roderick Strong use him as a Backbreaker device for Matthew Jackson though? That is out of the ordinary. His main target was Bandido so once Strong and Kyle O’Reilly were taken care of by The Young Bucks, Bandido was in a lot of trouble. He was caught by Takeshita and held in place for Nicholas Jackson to be launched into the air and then spike him down with Takeshita’s Bastard Driver. The Paragon pair came to the rescue and fought off the Bucks but O’Reilly was weakened with Super Kicks and knocked out by Takeshita’s Elbow Strike. More damage was done with an Powerdrive Knee/EVP Trigger combo and Takeshita then pinned him with the Raging Fire.
BZW “LES JEUX SONT FAITS”, 05/07/2025 Casino Barrière de Lille, Lille, France
1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) defeated Danny Black & Joe Lando when MAO pinned Black with the Cannonball 450 (?:??). *V6 for MAO & Yoshihiko.
It looks like no one in Europe can stop the combined powers of MAO & Yoshihiko, not even two Close Personal Friends. Yoshihiko went into the match already bandaged up to cover a head wound and took a heavy beating late in the match when Danny Black & Joe Lando put the boots to it. The damage looked to be too much and Yoshihiko had to be carried to the back due to injury concerns. However it reappeared up in the rafters above the ring and did a huge dive onto CPF below! Yoshihiko then went crazy doing Infinite Destroyers to both Black & Lando but the challengers got a second wind and both went to the top rope for one last big chance. But Yoshihiko leapt right up to them and did a Double Hurricanrana. MAO then did the Cannonball 450 out of nowhere onto Black while Yoshihiko held back Lando during the pinfall. With that result MAO & Yoshihiko remain the BZW Tag Team Champions.
GCW “THE TOP PLAY”, 05/07/2025 The Webster Theatre, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
1. Alec Price, Jordan Oliver & Marcus Mathers defeated Miyu Yamashita, Megan Bayne & Billie Starkz when Price pinned Starkz after an Inverted Razor’s Edge from Oliver (18:54).
Miyu Yamashita’s final weekend with GCW before returning to TJPW turned into a memorable one. She was part of a barnburner of a 6-Person Tag match that was getting recommended outside of the usual accounts that GCW would retweet just because they say nice things about the show. This was actually a great match! Billie Starkz and Jordan Oliver tried pinning each other with a back and forth Sunset Flip spot with Yamashita and Alec Price standing on opposite sides to kick them into the alternating pins. They then knocked each other down with stereo High Kicks. With Starkz & Yamashita busy against YDNP, that left Marcus Mathers and Megan Bayne to fight each other. Bayne countered a Tombstone into a Tombstone Destroyer but that would be her team’s last big move. YDNP took over from there, wiping everyone out with high risk moves. It ended with Price giving Bayne the 720 DDT, Mathers hitting the 450 Splash on Yamashita and Oliver dropped Starks from the turnbuckle to the middle of the ring with an Inverted Razor’s Edge.
JCW “BORN (ALMOST) ON THE FOURTH OF JULY”, 06/07/2025 House Of Independents, Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Billie Starkz & Miyu Yamashita defeated Lena Cross & Megan Bayne when Starkz pinned Cross with the Swanton Bomb (12:37).
It’s a shame that Starkz & Yamashita never got the chance to fight for the GCW Tag Team Titles but at least they got a win as a team under their belts. Bayne was on the opposite side for this match, teaming with Lena Kross, an Australian wrestler who very recently has become a free agent to watch out for. Yamashita knocked down Kross with the Skull Kick and Starkz took out Bayne with a Hurricanrana followed by a Suicide Dive. With nowhere to go, Kross was given the Attitude Adjustment by Yamashita and was then pinned with the Swanton Bomb by Starkz.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 09/07/2025 Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, Texas, USA
1. Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Bandido & Brody King when Takeshita pinned Bandido with the Raging Fire (13:19).
The go home match before Bandido and Takeshita’s big title fight was another successful showing for Protoshita. As usual Brody King turned out to be a troublesome opponent to deal with. That’s until he charged right into a security barrier at ringside and Kyle Fletcher then Big Booted him into the front row. Bandido used Takeshita’s momentum to do a top rope Moonsault onto Fletcher outside. However his big dive back into the ring was met with an Elbow Strike by Takeshita followed by the Raging Fire.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON NIGHT 1 PRESENTED BY NEXTSHARK & QUERI”, 10/07/2025 POST, Houston, Texas, USA 415 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Miu Watanabe defeated Wakana Uehara with the Canadian Backbreaker (7:24).
2. Yuki Arai defeated Kaylia Capri with the Scorpion Death Lock (7:35).
3. 3 Way Match: Vert Vixen defeated Yuki Kamifuku and Raku when Vixen pinned Raku with the Blue Thunder Bomb (7:08).
4. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Moka Miyamoto & Shino Suzuki when Suzume pinned Suzuki with the Ring A Bell (8:28).
5. Special Single Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Maki Itoh with the Skull Kick (14:00).
6. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Mizuki & Pom Harajuku when Misao pinned Harajuku with the I Am A Hero (11:39).
ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR”, 11/07/2025 Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas, USA
1. Interim ROH Women’s World TV Title – Worldwide Wild Card 4 Way: Mina Shirakawa defeated Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki and Persephone when Shirakawa submitted Yamashita with the Figure 4 Leg Lock (13:47). *Mina Shirakawa becomes the Interim ROH Women’s World TV Champion!
2. ROH World Title: Bandido (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with an Inside Cradle (29:25). *V3 for Bandido.
Match of the weekend? I’d argue so. After weeks of preview tag matches it was finally time for Bandido and Takeshita to fight tooth and nail over the ROH World Title. They did not disappoint. Takeshita thought he had it by setting up the Raging Fire that he used to pin Bandido just a few days earlier but this time Bandido countered it into a Small Package to get the three count and remain champion. I’ll take those five and 3/4 stars if nobody else wants them, thank you very much!
Welcome back 2019 TJPW it’s like you never left. There’s always something convoluted going on with a championship in Tony Khan’s universe. This time it surrounds the ROH Women’s World TV Title. The champion Red Velvet was not cleared to wrestle at the PPV so Khan decided to book a Worldwide 4 Way Match to crown an interim champion. And by worldwide he means three Japanese women and Persephone from Texas. Oh and those three Japanese women happen to be Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki and Mina Shirakawa who all have history with each other from TJPW. I even had to go back and check if Persephone appeared on a “TJPW INSPIRATION” show in the past (she hasn’t). It all turned out to be Shirakawa’s big night in the end. She gave Yamashita a rare submission loss by making her tap out to the Figure 4 Leg Lock. She’s now the Interim ROH Women’s TV Champion and will no doubt have a unification match with Red Velvet down the line. Ok, maybe there’s some doubt. These things are often an avoidable mess that are somehow made unavoidable.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON NIGHT 2 PRESENTED BY NEXTSHARK & QUERI”, 11/07/2025 POST, Houston, Texas, USA 415 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Wakana Uehara defeated Shino Suzuki with the Banana Pillow (6:44).
2. Arisu Endo defeated Kaylia Capri with the Ju no Okite (7:35).
3. Yuki Kamifuku defeated Pom Harajuku with the Famouser (5:31).
4. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Miu Watanabe & Vert Vixen when Nakajima pinned Watanabe with the Locomotion Northern Lights Suplex (11:39).
5. Maki Itoh defeated Raku with the Itoh Deluxe (8:23).
6. Yuki Arai & Moka Miyamoto defeated Mizuki & Suzume when Miyamoto pinned Suzume with the Korokan (14:03).
AEW “ALL IN TEXAS”, 12/07/2025 Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas, USA
1. Men’s Casino Gauntlet Match: MJF defeated Roderick Strong after the Jay Driller from Mark Briscoe (34:52). Order Of Entries: Mark Briscoe, MJF, Ricochet, Bandido, Konosuke Takeshita, Mistico, Josh Alexander, Anthony Bowens, Roderick Strong, Brody King, Juice Robinson, Kota Ibushi, Beast Mortos and Max Caster
The last AEW thing Takeshita did before travelling off to the G1 was appear in the Casino Gauntlet match at “ALL IN TEXAS”. He entered right after Bandido so they continued where they left off from the night before. Then when Josh Alexander entered the match he and Takeshita pretty much annihilated Ricochet with a Doomsday Knee Strike. Kota Ibushi also showed up as a late entry which was nice of him. Neither he nor Takeshita were part of the finish though so they both left the match empty handed.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN DALLAS PRESENTED BY NEXTSHARK & QUERI”, 13/07/2025 The OC, Forney, Texas, USA 2,540 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara when Suzume pinned Uehara with the Ring A Bell (10:24).
2. Moka Miyamoto defeated Alejandra Quintanilla with the Korokan (5:52).
3. Raku & Pom Harajuku defeated Hyper Misao & Shino Suzuki when Raku pinned Suzuki with the Doctor Yellow (10:43).
4. Yuki Arai defeated Maya World with the Finally (7:04).
5. Miu Watanabe defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Tear Drop (16:12).
6. Yuka Sakazaki & Billie Starkz defeated Miyu Yamashita & Vert Vixen when Sakazaki pinned Vixen with an Oklahoma Roll (20:36).
7. Special Single Match: Mizuki defeated Maki Itoh with the Cutie Special (17:13).
SETUP “UNDER PRESSURE”, 26/07/2025 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. IWA Japan SETUP World Title – 3 Way Match: Jonathan Johnson (c) defeated Chris Brookes and Andruew Tang when Johnson pinned Tang with the Swanton Bomb (?:??). *V1 for Jonathan Johnson.
There’s some new alliances being made over in Thailand. Chris Brookes went over to take part in a 3 Way Match for the IWA Japan SETUP World Title. However he failed to win the match and was left out in the cold while Jonathan Johnson pinned Andruew Tang to retain his championship. It was the aftermath that became newsworthy when Tang’s group Real Global Threat arrived to attack the SETUP roster (Ram Kaichow included among them)! Together Brookes and RGT beat Johnson to a bloody pulp and ended the show threatening to take over the company.
GCW “GCW JAPAN 2025 AT SHINJUKU FACE”, 28/07/2025 Shinjuku FACE
1. MAO defeated Atticus Cogar after a Super Kick/Praying Mantis Bomb Combo with Drew Parker (12:38).
2. Kazusada Higuchi defeated 1 Called Manders with the Claw Slam (14:01).
GCW “GCW JAPAN 2025 AT KORAKUEN HALL”, 30/07/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. GCW Tag Team Titles: Alec Price & Jordan Oliver (c) defeated MAO & Rina Yamashita when Price pinned Yamashita after the Double Impaler DDT (?:??). *V13 for YDNP.
2. Atticus Cogar defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Headlock Driver (?:??).
3. Dark Sheik, Yoshihiko & Jeffrey John defeated Invisible Stan, Shota & Kikutaro when Sheik pinned Shota with the Diving Leg Drop (?:??).
4. Jun Akiyama defeated 1 Called Manders with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex (?:??).
5. Maki Itoh defeated Shotzi Blackheart with a Crab Hold (12:29).
6. Chris Brookes defeated Drew Parker with two Praying Mantis Bombs (23:16).
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “MNL”, 22/08/2025 The Social House, Makati, Philippines
1. Fabio Makisig Vs El Katipunero
2. 3 Way Match: Nigel San Jose Vs Saint John Martin Vs Danny Zamora
3. International Dream Match: Crystal & Robin Sane Vs Patricia Ligaia & Dr. Gore
4. International Dream Match: Jake De Leon & Isaiah Valencia Vs Chris Bookes & Takeshi Masada
The full Baka Gaijin + Friends card for their show in the Philippines squeezes itself in here just in time.
DXCN “PEKSMAN”, 24/08/2025 Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines
1. Kiss Of Death Match: Jake De Leon Vs Takeshi Masada
2. International Dream Match: Robin Sane Vs Chris Brookes
There is a meet and greet event happening on the second day of Dexcon’s tripleheader weekend with matches scheduled to take place on them but I haven’t seen any that will involve Chris Brookes or Takeshi Masada yet.
APAC “SLAMFEST 2025”, 30/08/2025 Stadium Juara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1. APAC Women’s Title No. 1 Contender Fatal 4 Way: Crystal Vs Kira Summer Vs Tarlee Vs Mio Shirai
Here we go, Kira Summer gets to wrestle outside of Japan as a TJPW fighter for the first time! She’s heading to APAC in Malaysia to compete for a shot at their Women’s Championship. However she’s not the only Australian taking part because Tarlee is one of other wrestlers involved. Mio Shirai is travelling over from Japan too as one of the competitors. Crystal is a former APAC Women’s Champion and I think the only one of the four who has previously wrestled in the promotion.
MLW “FIGHTLAND”, 13/09/2025 Nytex Sports Centre, Dallas, Texas, USA
1. Shoko Nakajima Vs X
The next time Shoko Nakajima rampages her way back to MLW will be in September. No mention yet on if she will be defending the MLW Women’s Featherweight Title but given how things are going over there Shotzi Blackheart will eventually be built up as a challenger unless her arm injury delays things.
VGM “TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING CHINA TOUR”, 18/10/2025 Nanxiatang Cultural and Creative Park, Liangxi, Wuxi, China
1. HIMAWARI Vs X
2. Rika Tatsumi Vs X
For the third year in a row TJPW is working with a group called Fight VGM Fight to bring their talent over to China. All of the previous times TJPW sponsored matches have taken place in the country were done thanks to this relationship. Rika Tatsumi and HIMAWARI will be the next pair of wrestlers to go wrestle over there.
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Cancelled Appearances
GCW “HOMECOMING – NIGHT 1”, 23/08/2025 Showboat Hotel Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
GCW “HOMECOMING – NIGHT 2”, 24/08/2025 Showboat Hotel Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
So Maki Itoh’s next tour of America has been cancelled with no reason given for why. I bet TJPW wished they would have known that in hindsight so they could have factored her into their plans for the Tokyo Princess Cup this year but those are the breaks I guess. The only bookings I found for this go around were the two GCW shows happening the same weekend as the Princess Cup final. She still wrestled on their Japan tour and GCW quietly deal with cancelled bookings all the time so there’s no trouble happening there. Could this have been visa related?
Okay where do we start when it comes to July? Do we go with Konosuke Takeshita’s adventures in Mexico, Miyu Yamashita falling foul to the Missouri athletic commission or Maki Itoh voicing a character in Punch Punch Forever? Or how about Tokyo Joshi Pro being used to prop up Major League Wrestling’s shrinking women’s division? Yuka Sakazaki is starting to get more than one booking a month so more of that would be appreciated. Also is Takeshita’s team with Kyle Fletcher only called Protoshita because it makes everyone smirk when they say it out loud?
Oh, and we’re finally starting to find out what sort of deal Yamashita is on over in America. On the surface she’s going around the country like a freelancer and some media back in Japan highlights that is what makes her US work different from the joshi who work full time with WWE or AEW. Except we’re now seeing Yamashita pop up in Ring Of Honor again and her being pulled from one of TJPW’s Texas shows just so happens to line up with the ROH PPV taking place that same day.
Speaking of the Texas tour, that will be the big story for next month. TJPW’s decisions when it comes to the American market are going to pay off well by the sounds of it. Two of the Texas shows have sold out and according to the promoters the third will become the promotion’s highest selling USA show in their history. If the Wrestle Universe live streams go off without a hitch then even more American tours will be planned for the future so TJPW can make some dollars while the fans back in Japan still get to watch it on a reliable service. Given how much the scene suddenly exploded with joshi influenced companies over the last few years, nothing beats the real thing in the end.
MLW “WAR CHAMBER”, 07/06/2025 Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Delmi Exo
AEW “COLLISION – SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER”, 11/06/2025 Theater Of The Clouds At Moda Center, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Daniel Garcia Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander, Lance Archer & Hechicero
Video starts at 1:20:06 for the match JCW “REC.SPORTS.PRO.WRESTLING”, 12/06/2025 The Hall, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Jordan Blade
LLL “BUY THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE – NIGHT 1”, 13/06/2025 The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Stormi Renee
CMLL “MARTES POPULARES – CMLL Vs AEW Y ROH”, 17/06/2025 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Ultimo Guerrero, Gran Guerrero, Averno & Euforia Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Rocky Romero & Hechicero
AEW “DYNAMITE – GRAND SLAM MEXICO”, 18/06/2025 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Bandido, Templario, Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Adam Cole, Brody King & Daniel Garcia Vs Volador Jr., Hechicero, Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander, Lance Archer & Dax Harwood
AEW “COLLISION”, 21/06/2025 accesso ShoWare Center, Kent, Washington, USA
1. Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Daniel Garcia & Bandido Vs Dax Harwood, Cash Wheeler, Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 25/06/2025 accesso ShoWare Center, Kent, Washington, USA
1. 4 Way For The #1 Spot In The Casino Gauntlet At All In Texas: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Mark Briscoe Vs Roderick Strong Vs Bandido
Video starts at 28:22 for the match MLW “SUMMER OF THE BEASTS”, 26/06/2025 Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA
1. Wakana Uehara Vs Yuki Kamifuku
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Results
NEW TEXAS PRO “BAT CITY”, 01/06/2025 Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA
1. VertVixen & Yuka Sakazaki defeated Charity King & AQA when Sakazaki pinned King with the Magical Girl Splash (16:55).
It’s been around four months since Sakazaki last wrestled and even then it was on a cruise ship. It wasn’t until this month she was back wrestling on land. She showed up to New Texas Pro wearing an all new black outfit to to team up with VertVixen. She needed to shake off the ring rust fast because she started the match fighting against the much larger Charity King. But King quickly learned that Sakazaki is no weakling. AQA, who was returning to wrestling after a three and a half year absence helped King wear down Vixen until Sakazaki hot tagged herself in to even the odds. AQA stopped her momentum in a sort of unintentional way when she jumped up for a Hurricanrana and Sakazaki collapsed beneath her. The match broke down to where Vixen gave AQA the Blue Thunder Bomb and Sakazaki went on to pin King with the Magical Girl Splash.
1. Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero defeated Bandido, Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd when Fletcher pinned Magnum with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (14:16).
The lucha flavour was strong in AEW this month even before they made it over to Mexico. Don Callis has had it up to here with both Bandido and The Outrunners so he challenged them to fight The Don Callis Family but with a twist. Protoshita would be involved but so too would the Family’s newest member, the CMLL luchador Hechicero! Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd tried to play mind games by coming out wearing their own pink luchador masks and being introduced as Los Outrunners. The plan didn’t work and Protoshita dealt them the killing blows to win the match.
KITSUNE “GOING BACK TO SAN DIEGO”, 07/06/2025 Primal Compound, San Diego, California, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Zara Zakher with the Skull Kick (10:39).
2. Vipress & Hudson Envy defeated Nagisa Nozaki & Yuna Manase when Envy pinned Manased with a Rolling Koppo Kick (18:07).
If Yuna Manase was expecting a warm welcome back to Kitsune by everybody there she was in for a rude surprise. Vipress & Hudson Envy have gold in their sights and saw Manase as a target to get into the promotion’s title picture. Also it turned out Nagisa Nozaki wasn’t exactly on Manase’s side either because she attack her with a chair during the main event! However she also attacked Vipress with the same chair and seemingly only wanted to join forces with Envy. Dark Sheik ran in to chase after Nozaki while Tae Honma wanted to help Manase out. However her Missile Dropkick missed Envy and hit Manase instead. Envy then hit Manase with the Rolling Koppo Kick to get the win for her team. Honma checked on Manase afterwards and handed her over the Kitsune World Title. There’s still trust between the two but they have a title match coming up the next day.
Yamashita was also involved for both of Kitsune’s shows that weekend. Zara Zakher wanted to out-strike her late in their match but Yamashita shrugged off her chops and knocked her down with an Elbow Strike. Zakher got a second wind using a German Suplex and a Clothesline. She even backflipped out of the way from the Skull Kick to give her a Stunner for the nearfall. Yamashita got her back with a Knee Strike to the back of the head and put her down for the count with the Skull Kick. Yamashita pulled back her handshake to Zakher after the match, telling her instead she wants another singles match with her.
KITSUNE “8888”, 08/06/2025 South Gate, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Kidd Bandit with the Skull Kick (16:31).
2. Kitsune World Title – Triple Threat Match: Yuna Manase (c) defeated Tae Honma and Hudson Envy when Manase pinned Honma with the Suzuki Dynamic (17:07). *V1 for Yuna Manase.
The next night’s main event was thrown for a loop when Envy added herself into the Manase Vs Honma match midway through it! Earlier in the show Envy won a Nine Tails Rumble which granted her a Kitsune Title shot whenever she wanted. So she pulled out the ref while he was counting Manase pinning Honma and cashed in to try and steal the title for herself. However Honma kicked out of her pin to keep the now Triple Threat going. Manase survived to the end and used the Suzuki Dynamic to pin Honma for a successful title defence. She purposely used that move to win as her way of contributing to Honma’s retirement from pro wrestling happening later this year.
Yamashita ended her Kitsune weekend going two for two. She seemed to enjoy picking Kidd Bandit apart but didn’t expect to be hit with a Leaf Hurricane Kick. Just like with Zakher the day before, Bandit wanted to get into a striking duel with Yamashita but it led to her doom when she missed a second Leaf Hurricane and was blown away with the Skull Kick.
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 11/06/2025 (Aired 19/06/2025) Adrian Phillips Theater At Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Brooke Havoc with the Skull Kick (3:33).
Now it’s starting to become clearer. Yamashita made an unexpected return to ROH for a quick victory over Brooke Havoc. Her opponent got cocky with a Dropkick and wasn’t aware that Yamashita stood back up behind her to deliver some kicks. Havoc got some chances back with a Superman Elbow Strike as well as a Sunset Flip counter to the Attitude Adjustment. But Yamashita caught her handstand, kicked her down and pinned her with the Skull Kick.
AEW “COLLISION – SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER”, 11/06/2025 Theater Of The Clouds At Moda Center, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander, Lance Archer & Hechicero defeated Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Daniel Garcia when Alexander pinned Strong with a German Suplex (11:56).
Bloody hell it’s like The Don Callis Family is gaining new members every week! They had an 8-Man Tag Match against Paragon & Daniel Garcia but RPG Vice were hanging around at ringside to make it more like 6 Vs 4. Things broke down as they tend to do with Paragon & Garcia all locking in submission holds. Lance Archer powered out of Kyle O’Reilly’s Guillotine Choke by charging him into Garcia’s Sharpshooter on Josh Alexander and then stomping on Adam Cole to break Takeshita free from a Figure 4 Leg Lock. Takeshita also got a cheap shot in by hitting Roderick Strong with an Elbow Strike, allowing Alexander to pin him with a German Suplex.
JCW “REC.SPORTS.PRO.WRESTLING”, 12/06/2025 The Hall, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Jordan Blade with the Skull Kick (11:13).
A fired up Jordan Blade offered Yamashita something different from her previous opponents this month. Blade is a grappler with a focused ground game that put Yamashita on defence a lot more than usual. She also had some impact with using a Saito Suplex and also countering a Front Neck Lock into a Fisherman Suplex. But the temptation to get into a strike battle got into Blade’s head and led to Yamashita turning the tables on her. Blade got her head straight and went back to using grounded submissions. By this point it became a fight of endurance with both wrestlers getting groggy and throwing sloppy strikes. Blade tried to hit a Spinning Back Fist but she got hit back with the Skull Kick for the finish.
LLL “BUY THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE – NIGHT 1”, 13/06/2025 The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA
1. Abadon defeated Maki Itoh (11:00).
2. Miyu Yamashita defeated Stormi Renee with the Crash Rabbit Heat (?:??).
Oh hey we got a match finish that wasn’t the Skull Kick. Yamashita instead used the Crash Rabbit Heat to put away Stormi Renee.
Fans at Lucha Libre & Laughs got some bonus TJPW representation when Maki Itoh showed up unannounced for the weekend! She lost to Abadon on the first night but things went better on Night 2.
LLL “BUY THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE – NIGHT 2”, 14/06/2025 The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Mo Magee with the Itoh Deluxe (?:??).
2. Dark Sheik defeated Miyu Yamashita (?:??).
The next night Dark Sheik powered herself up by fighting Yamashita while dressed as Vertigo from the X-Men. Turns out that wasn’t a bad plan because she got to beat Yamashita. Itoh meanwhile made sure she would leave Denver as a winner when she beat Mo Magee.
CMLL “MARTES POPULARES – CMLL Vs AEW Y ROH”, 17/06/2025 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Ultimo Guerrero, Gran Guerrero, Averno & Euforia defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Rocky Romero & Hechicero when Gran pinned Romero with an Avalanche Landslide (17:11).
AEW’s stay in Arena Mexico started a day early when Takeshita was among the AEW wrestlers booked for CMLL’s Tuesday show at the venue. You know maybe this was all meant to be. Even though this was Takeshita’s CMLL debut, he had a very thin attachment to the company already because he had held the KO-D Tag Team Titles multiple times back when it was also a certified CMLL championship. Does that actually mean anything? No but it’s nice to find even the slightest of reasons to connect things. The Don Callis Family fitted in nicely as the rudos for the match while Team CMLL the tecnicos by default even though Ultimo Guerrero, Gran Guerrero, Averno & Euforia usually all tend to be on the rudo side. The match was also only set for one fall instead of CMLL’s traditional Best 2 Out Of 3 rules. So there were a lot more pinfall breakups than you would expect in a CMLL match, although everyone still figured out how to pace it like the latter. Takeshita landed face first from Ultimo Guerrero’s Super Gourdbuster and Gran Guerrero used his own top rope move to pin Rocky Romero.
AEW “DYNAMITE – GRAND SLAM MEXICO”, 18/06/2025 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Bandido, Templario, Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Adam Cole, Brody King & Daniel Garcia defeated Volador Jr., Hechicero, Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander, Lance Archer & Dax Harwood (w/ Stokely) when Atlantis pinned Harwood with an Inside Cradle (15:47).
Things got even crazier the next night when AEW hosted “DYNAMITE” in Arena Mexico. A planned 12-Man Tag Match was changed into a 14-Man Tag Match mixing CMLL and AEW wrestlers all together. Plus the world got to learn just how much the hardcore CMLL fans do not like Atlantis Jr., which gets his father Atlantis caught in the crossfire too. Takeshita was taken out by a Templario dive late in the match, Bandido did the same to wipe out Volador Jr. and Brody King saved the biggest dive of them all for the end which Takeshita took alongside Hechicero. The match then came down to Atlantis fighting Dax Harwood and taking the victory with an Inside Cradle, much to the annoyance of the hardcores in attendance.
GCW “BANGIN’ IN LITTLE ROCK”, 20/06/2025 The Hall, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Blake Christian with the Skull Kick (15:04).
I wonder if this was another sign that Yamashita has an AEW/ROH deal under wraps. Blake Christian is a regular over in that circle and while he’s not protected over there, he is placed on a high pedestal over in GCW. Plus Yamashita likes to do new things over in that company. Like pull out a door from under the ring and have Christian dive into it, crushing her beneath it! Christian then threw everything he had at her including a Springboard 450 and also a Handspring Ace Crusher. However Yamashita stumbled back up and took a lucky swing, knocking her opponent out with the Skull Kick. Christian crumbled to the mat and Yamashita rolled on top of him for the pin. Yamashita offered a handshake afterwards but Christian gave her the middle finger and walked out. However he reconsidered and went back into the ring to shake her hand after all.
AEW “COLLISION”, 21/06/2025 accesso ShoWare Center, Kent, Washington, USA
1. Dax Harwood, Cash Wheeler, Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Stokely) defeated Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Daniel Garcia & Bandido when Harwood pinned Strong after the Shatter Machine (11:52).
The aftermath of Arena Mexico brought Protoshita back in the sights of Paragon, Garcia & Bandido. At least this time they had both members of FTR fighting alongside them. FTR scored the win for the team and everyone decided to beat down the faces afterwards until The Outrunners arrived to chase them off.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 25/06/2025 accesso ShoWare Center, Kent, Washington, USA
1. 4 Way For The #1 Spot In The Casino Gauntlet At All In Texas: Mark Briscoe defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Roderick Strong and Bandido when Briscoe pinned Strong with the Froggy Bow (11:05).
Now that the road towards “ALL IN TEXAS” is getting clearer, Takeshita starting making his plans to enter the much lauded Casino Gauntlet Match. Mark Briscoe was now added to the mix as four men battled to become the No. 1 entrant in the match. The Casino Gauntlet is an Aztec Warfare/Thunderbastard style match that only lasts for one fall so entering early gives you the advantage to win rather than entering late because you get the chance to win before many of the other participants show up. The danger of having a one fall match was shown here when Bandido threw away Takeshita with the 21 Plex, Strong gave Bandido the End Of Heartache and Briscoe surprised Strong from the top rope with the Froggy Bow to get the win.
MLW “SUMMER OF THE BEASTS”, 26/06/2025 Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA
1. Yuki Kamifuku defeated Wakana Uehara with an Inverted Famouser (7:24).
TJPW’s working relationship with MLW grew with the American group hosting “The Battle Of The Idols” between Yuki Kamifuku and Wakana Uehara. The two Ober Eats partners had a standard match with each other. The only unusual thing was Kamifuku winning the match with an Inverted version of the Famouser instead of the regular one, possibly because Uehara couldn’t get herself in the right position. Kamifuku’s win was enough to get the attention of Shotzi Blackheart who walked to the ring after the match for her first appearance in the promotion. The two women even threw out the idea of them having a match together somewhere down the road.
REAPER “REAPER RISING – A KING’S CORONATION”, 27/06/2025 The Pit, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada
1. Janai Kai defeated Miyu Yamashita by Pinfall (?:??).
How’s this for a match finish over at Reaper Wrestling. Yamashita and Janai Kai keep kicking the hell out of each other, Kai hits the Hurricane Kick, Yamashita hits back with the Skull Kick and Kai falls on top of her to get the pin.
METALMANIA “2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY”, 28/06/2025 Stage 722, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai
Yamashita and Kai faced each other again the next night at METALMANIA. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find the result of the match. The only thing I could see online is a clip of the two kicking each other. They didn’t just do the same match from the day before again, did they?
SPARK “IGNITE TEXAS”, 29/06/2025 Baytown Community Center, Houston, Texas, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki & Raychell Rose defeated SAKI & Kaia McKenna when Sakazaki pinned McKenna with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (11:25).
2. SPARK Joshi Pacific Title – 3 Way Match: Airica Demia defeated VertVixen (c) and Miyu Yamashita when Demia pinned Vixen after the Skull Kick from Yamashita (13:37) *VertVixen fails in V1. Airica Demina becomes the 3rd SPARK Joshi Pacific Champion!
We finally get to the end of the month with SPARK Joshi holding its latest show in Texas. I haven’t seen the show yet so I don’t have much info on the matches other than how they finished. Yamashita came close to winning the SPARK Joshi Pacific Title when she used the Skull Kick on the champion Vert Vixen. However the third person in the match Airica Demina took Yamashita out of the way to steal the pin and win the championship instead.
Elsewhere on the card Sakazaki had her second match of the month by teaming with Raychell Rose to beat SAKI & Kaia McKenna. Sakazaki even scored the pin on McKenna by doing the Magical Merry-Go-Round on her.
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Upcoming Appearances
BZW “LES JEUX SONT FAITS”, 05/07/2025 Casino Barrière de Lille, Lille, France
1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Danny Black & Joe Lando
Texas will be the main point of interest next month but first we have something going on in France to pay attention to. MAO & Yoshihiko are heading back to Banger Zone Wrestling to defence the BZW Tag Team Titles. The CPF team of Danny Black & Joe Lando are their latest challengers.
GCW “THE TOP PLAY”, 05/07/2025 The Webster Theatre, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
1. Alec Price, Jordan Oliver & Marcus Mathers Vs Miyu Yamashita, Megan Bayne & Billie Starkz
The GCW Tag Team Titles match didn’t go ahead this month for reasons I will cover at the end of this article. However Yamashita & Billie Starkz will get their hands on YDNP next month for an intergender trios match. Megan Bayne adds firepower to their team while Marcus Mathers comes to the aid of the champions.
This weekend looks to be the end of Yamashita’s latest tour. Her tweet schedule also mentions a booked in New Jersey on 6th July. JCW will be holding a show there on that date but they haven’t promoted Yamashita for it yet and I don’t see where she can fit on such a packed card that’s currently being advertised. I also haven’t been able to find any other shows taking place in the area that day so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “QUERI PRESENTS TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 1”, 10/07/2025 POST, Houston, Texas, USA
1. 3 Way Match: Yuki Kamifuku Vs Raku Vs Vert Vixen
2. Yuki Arai Vs Kaylia Capri
3. Miu Watanabe Vs Wakana Uehara
4. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Moka Miyamoto & Shino Suzuki
5. Special Single Match: Miyu Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
6. Mizuki & Pom Harajuku Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
The word coming from TJPW and their American promotors is this Texas tour will be a big success.
ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR”, 11/07/2025 Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas, USA
1. ROH World Title: Bandido (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
I have high hopes this will be one of the matches of the weekend. Don’t even have to call it a sleeper. The last month of matches where Bandido went to battle with The Don Callis Family has all led to Takeshita challenging him for the ROH World Title! Can Takeshita become the second Japanese wrestler after Takeshi Morishima to hold the belt?
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “QUERI PRESENTS TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 2”, 11/07/2025 POST, Houston, Texas, USA
1. Wakana Uehara Vs Shino Suzuki
2. Arisu Endo Vs Kaylia Capri
3. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Pom Harajuku
4. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Miu Watanabe & Vert Vixen
5. Maki Itoh Vs Raku
6. Mizuki & Suzume Vs Yuki Arai & Moka Miyamoto
The first two shows in Houston have both sold out.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN DALLAS PRESENTED BY NEXTSHARK & QUERI”, 13/07/2025 The OC, Forney, Texas, USA
1. Hyper Misao & Shino Suzuki Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku
2. Moka Miyamoto Vs Alejandra Quintanilla
3. Yuki Arai Vs Maya World
4. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
5. Shoko Nakajima Vs Miu Watanabe
6. Yuka Sakazaki & Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita & Vert Vixen
7. Special Single Match: Mizuki Vs Maki Itoh
And the “Dallas” show is apparently going to end up becoming TJPW’s biggest drawing show in America ever!
SETUP “UNDER PRESSURE”, 26/07/2025 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. Chris Brookes Vs X
Some late summer travelling for Chris Brookes. First he’ll be going back to Thailand for a SETUP show. Ram Kaichow will be there too.
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. MNL”, 22/08/2025 The Social House, Makati, Philippines
1. Takeshi Masada Vs X
2. Chris Brookes Vs X
Then a month later Brookes is going over to the Philippines and he’s bringing Takeshi Masada with him. Dexcon will be holding a weekend tripleshot of shows, the first of which will be Baka Gaijin + Friends!
DXCN “???”, 23/08/2025 Philippines
1. Takeshi Masada Vs X
2. Chris Brookes Vs X
I can’t find any info on what the second Dexcon show of the weekend will be other than Brookes and Masada should both be on it.
GCW “HOMECOMING – NIGHT 1”, 23/08/2025 Showboat Hotel Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Itoh returns to GCW in August for a doubleshot weekend.
DXCN “PEKSMAN”, 24/08/2025 Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines
1. Takeshi Masada Vs X
2. Chris Brookes Vs X
The third Dexcon show will be built around local wrestlers taking on the international guests.
GCW “HOMECOMING – NIGHT 2”, 24/08/2025 Showboat Hotel Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
There will likely be a lot more GCW bookings coming for Itoh as usual.
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Cancelled Appearances
WAFFLE HOUSE “GOOD FOOD FAST”, 15/06/2025 Waffle House, Colorado, USA
While Itoh was in Colorado for Lucha Libre & Laughs, she went to a Waffle House fully expecting the place to live up to its online reputation. Unfortunately for her no fights or other bad doings took place while she was there. Instead she got to experience the kind of Waffle House that the late Anthony Bourdain once waxed lyrically about.
GCW “TAKE A PICTURE”, 22/06/2025 The Truman, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
1. GCW Tag Team Titles: Jordan Oliver & Alec Price (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Billie Starkz
Yamashita found herself in the centre of controversy during the month when GCW were running a show in Missouri. The state’s athletic commission refused to give Yamashita a license to wrestle on the show because she has no social security number. GCW argued that she has all of the required documents as well as a valid working visa needed to qualify for a license. They also pointed out that Yamashita has wrestled in Missouri several times previously without any trouble. I can back up that claim because this very series of articles has records of her wrestling in St. Louis, Missouri twice in 2023: once for ROH in March and then for Glory Pro in May. Unfortunately this couldn’t change the commission’s mind and Yamashita wasn’t allowed to wrestle that evening.
Pop the champagne bottles because this month Konosuke Takeshita won his first AEW championship! The first of many I hope. After he finally achieved his crowning glory he… didn’t wrestle again in AEW for the rest of the month. Typical, eh? But he did wrestle elsewhere, up north in fact. And those were some pretty good matches too. His performances this month was enough to have Dave Meltzer call him one of the best wrestlers in the world. Other than that it was kind of a quiet month for everyone else I cover for this article. Yuka Sakazaki had a match in ROH then fantasized about murdering RJ City for Halloween, Shoko Nakajima was in DPW for a tournament final, Yuki Kamifuku continues being the Queen of Asia and Miyu Yamashita went to Canada.
Things are going to pick up in November though. DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro are having their shows with DEFY in Seattle, MAO and Yoshihiko are going on another European adventure together, Takeshita has stuff lined up with New Japan for the promotion’s next couple of USA shows, Yamashita will be paying GCW another visit and Pom Harajuku is going to be let loose in Southeast Asia. If that’s not enough we even have a peak at what to look forward to in 2025.
After turning on Ospreay, the Don Callis Family hold a press conference! | 10/16/24, AEW Dynamite
MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 1”, 19/10/2024 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Gisele Shaw Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. Mike Bailey Vs Konosuke Takeshita
MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 2”, 20/10/2024 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Laynie Luck & Harley Cameron Vs Miyu Yamashita & Kylie Rae
2. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Josh Alexander
Yuka Has Fun! | Hey! (EW) 10/27/24
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Results
ROH “ROH ON HONOR CLUB”, 08/10/2024 (Aired 17/10/2024) Spokane Arena, Spokane, Washington, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Viva Van with the Magical Girl Splash (5:44).
Sakazaki’s move over to ROH this month involved a tricky challenge against Viva Van. She was kept on her toes by Van bridging out of a pin and making Sakazaki flinch with a fakeout attack from the ropes. Sakazaki got her own back by also bridging out of a pin and doing her own Sliding Lariat, no fake out needed. She went on to win by using the Magical Merry-Go-Round as well as the Magical Girl Splash.
AEW “WRESTLEDREAM”, 12/10/2024 Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Washington, USA
1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Will Ospreay (c) and Ricochet when Takeshita pinned Ospreay with the Powerdrive Knee (20:42). *V3 for Will Ospreay fails in V3. Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 10th AEW International Champion!
What a wonderful sight this was. Takeshita was part of a great match with Will Ospreay and Ricochet where everyone went balls to the wall. Takeshita took Ricochet out of the match by putting him through a table at ringside with the Reverse Implant. He also kicked out of Ospreay’s Hidden Blade but looked to be finished when Ospreay hit him with another one. That was when Don Callis pulled the referee out of the ring mid-count. Ospreay got his hands on Callis but just when he was about to give him the Tiger Driver ’91, Kyle Fletcher ran in and hit him over the head with a screwdriver. Takeshita then hit Ospreay with the Powerdrive Knee to win the AEW International Title. Even with the dirty finish the match got a *****1/2 rating from Meltzer.
DEXCON “JAM OF THE JOSHIS”, 13/10/2024 Brawl Pit Bulusan, Manila, Philippines
1. Queen Of Asia Title & VPW Women’s Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c/c) defeated Chelsea Marie with the Diving Famouser (?:??). *V4 for the Queen Of Asia Title. V2 for the VPW Women’s Title.
The Philippines is where Yuki Kamifuku had her next defence of the Asian Double Crown. She had a close match against Chelsea Marie in what was just as much a battle of beauty as it was wits and skill. Marie almost won by putting Kamifuku in the Code Of Silence submission hold but the champ’s leg was long enough to reach over for a rope break. Marie climbed the ropes but was left vulnerable after Kamifuku reached out and poked her in the eye. Kamifuku Dropkicked her opponent off the turnbuckles then climbed up the same corner to hit the Diving Famouser and win the match.
DPW “SUPER BATTLE”, 13/10/2024 Grady Cole Center, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
1. Battle Of The Best – Final: Dani Luna defeated Shoko Nakajima with a Fireman’s Carry Bomb (13:17).
The winner of the Battle Of The Best tournament would be given a shot at the DPW Women’s World Title so Nakajima was on the cusp of getting that title shot. It wasn’t meant to be unfortunately. Dani Luna kicked out of the Northern Lights Suplex and prevented Nakajima from doing the Diving Senton by kicking her off the top rope. Nakajima didn’t expect Luna to then grab her on the apron from the ropes and throw her back into the ring with a Slingshot German Suplex. It was stunning enough for Luna to pin Nakajima with a Fireman’s Carry Bomb to win the tournament.
MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 1”, 19/10/2024 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Gisele Shaw defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Denoument (12:36).
2. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Mike Bailey with the Raging Fire (24:39).
The debut weekend of Maple Leaf Pro had both Takeshita and Yamashita taking part in featured matches. The main event of Night 1 was Takeshita and Mike Bailey showing North America what they were missing when Speedball spent most of his time in Japan for DDT. It was already a cross-promotional match between AEW and TNA that became an even bigger deal because it was also the AEW International Champion against the X Division Champion! Bailey kicked out of the Powerdrive Knee but was put away with the Raging Fire. It was another match of Takeshita’s that Meltzer gave the ***** to this month.
History will look back on Miyu Yamashita Vs Gisele Shaw as the buffer match that was placed in between one of the best matches of the year and one of the worst. I admit that’s an unfair way to look at things so seek this out because it was a pretty good match. Had Yamashita won she would have been added to the ROH Women’s World Title match on Night 2. But Shaw wasn’t going to let her get in the way and won this match with her own Running Knee Strike.
MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 2”, 20/10/2024 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Miyu Yamashita & Kylie Rae defeated Laynie Luck & Harley Cameron when Yamashita pinned Luck with the Skull Kick (9:26).
2. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Josh Alexander with the Raging Fire (29:31). *V1 for Konosuke Takeshita.
The last time Takeshita fought Josh Alexander one on one it ended in a time limit draw. For the rematch he was putting the AEW International Title on the line. Just like the night before, Takeshita almost won with the Powerdrive Knee and had to use the Raging Fire to put away his opponent. But after the match he and Don Callis decided to continue the attack on Alexander until Ricochet made a surprise appearance to fight Takeshita. The two of them would butt heads again in AEW later in the month so this looks to be Takeshita’s AEW program for November.
On Night 1 Kylie Rae was attacked by Laynie Luck & Harley Cameron so Yamashita’s role here was to even the odds for a tag match. While Rae took care of Cameron outside the ring, Yamashita pinned Luck with the Skull Kick inside the ring.
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Upcoming Appearances
BZW “FRIDAY NIGHT BANGER”, 01/11/2024 Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France
1. MAO Vs KURO
Once the calendar flips over to November MAO will be travelling around the world once more with the DDT Universal Title back in his possession. First destination is in France for a weekend of Banger Zone Wrestling events. KURO will be his opponent on Night 1.
BZW “ALCATRAZ”, 02/11/2024 Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France
1. BZW Tag Team Titles: Jack Sans-Nom & Paul Robinson (c) Vs MAO & Yoshihiko
On Night 2, MAO will be joined by Yoshihiko to cause more international trouble. One of MAO’s goals for his overseas tour this time is to win a foreign company’s championship so the two of them will face Jack Sans-Nom & Paul Robinson for the BZW Tag Team Titles.
Pom Harajuku is travelling to Singapore by herself without supervision! Is she going to be a sitting duck for Alexis Lee to tear apart limb from limb?
NJPW “FIGHTING SPIRIT UNLEASHED 2024”, 08/11/2024 Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
1. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs X
What is going to be in store for Takeshita when he goes back to New Japan next month for their next American show? Maybe Ricochet will show up looking for a fight again.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TJPW BRIGHT EYES”, 09/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. Rika Tatsumi & Amira Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
2. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Wakana Uehara
3. Moka Miyamoto Vs Rebel Kel
4. Mizuki Vs Liiza Hall
5. Miu Watanabe & Shoko Nakajima Vs Yuki Aino & Zara Zakher
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Vert Vixen & Nicole Matthews
All shows from the DDT/TJPW/DEFY weekend will be airing on Triller via the TrillerTV+ subscription.
DDT/DEFY “DDT IN UTERO”, 09/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. 3 Way Tag Match: Cody Chhun & Guillermo Rosas Vs Bryan Keith & Shota Vs Eddie Pearl & Ricky Gibson
2. Danshoku Dieno Vs Randy Myers
3. Gringo Loco Vs Yuni
4. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Artemis Spencer Vs Gurv Shira & Harv Shira
5. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Kohei Kinoshita
6. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: MAO (c) Vs Mike Bailey Vs Miyu Yamashita
More news for this show has been announced while I’ve been writing this with more still to come. Marina Shafir and Nick Wayne will both be there to wrestle.
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TRIANGLER DTD”, 10/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. Special Single Match: Gringo Loco Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. Special Tag Match: MAO & Mike Bailey Vs Judas Icarus & Travis Williams
3. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Yuni
I think some of the remaining card will not be decided until the other shows have taken place first.
GCW “CHAOS IN KENTUCKY”, 14/11/2024 Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Brooke Havok
Three GCW matches for Yamashita coming up in November. She faces Brooke Havok in a first time ever meeting between the two.
GCW “GATEWAY TO THE DEATH”, 15/11/2024 Pop’s Nightclub, Sauget, Illinois, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Mike Bailey
If this match is anything like their Pandemonium Pro bout from last December then the GCW fans will be in for a treat. Just make sure to use a better camera angle for the finish this time…
GCW “NICK GAGE INVITATIONAL 9”, 16/11/2024 Level 13 Event Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Is GCW going to keep that tournament name even though they’re currently on the outs with Nick Gage? Does that mean Maki Itoh has to drop the Maki Death Kill stuff the next time she goes back there or can she take over the gimmick like Kazuki Hirata did with Magnum TOKYO?
SETUP “YEAR END CLIMAX”, 30/11/2024 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – No DQ Match: Matcha (c) Vs Pom Harajuku
When Harajuku was in a 3 Way Match against Matcha and Raku a month earlier, Matcha was the winner but she pinned Raku and Harajuku was left as the odd one out. Matcha and Harajuku then got into a fight and had to be kept apart. This unexpected grudge is coming to a head in November because SETUP is booking the two of them in a No DQ Match with the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title on the line!
NJPW “STRONG STYLE EVOLVED”, 15/12/2024 Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, California, USA
1. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs X
Takeshita will also be at NJPW USA’s December show. With two dates here for the rest of 2024 one of them would surely be a good place to defend the AEW International Title.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AEX32 SANTIAGO 2025”, 08-09/02/2025 Mapocho Station Cultural Center, Santiago, Chile
Both Yamashita and Itoh have filmed videos promoting their matches at the AEX convention. It sounds like there might be matches featuring local wrestlers as well as whoever else TJPW sends over. At least Yamashita and Itoh said they would like to fight whoever Chile can throw at them.
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE COLLECTIVE 2025”, 17-19/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
The actual shows haven’t been officially announced yet but The Collective tagged DDT and TJPW in their tweet announcing next year’s edition of Wrestlemania Week in Las Vegas. I’ll be there for sure!
God it feels like it’s been forever since I wrote so much about AEW in this series of articles. Konosuke Takeshita is getting more screen time with the one and only Kazuchika Okada becoming his new main target. Also Yuka Sakazaki returned to the ring and had several matches surrounding the AEW Women’s World Title. It even ended with an unusual reunion with somebody she used to know from Tokyo Joshi Pro. Sakazaki’s story did not end with her achieving gold and glory. It looks like she’s able to stick around this time though. She might end up taking a back seat in AEW from here on out or maybe she’ll drop down to Ring Of Honor but fingers crossed at least we all get to see her again.
Speaking of TJPW, a good few of the women there spent a lot of time travelling this month. Maki Itoh went back to America to finish off what was left of her disrupted tour. Shoko Nakajima reminded everyone she is quite the tournament wrestler by reaching yet another final. Yuki Kamifuku is continuing to prove why she deserves to be called the Queen Of Asia Champion. Plus in a change of pace we also got Raku & Pom Harajuku going on an adventure together in Thailand. As shown above Kenoh from NOAH was there too but he’s not important.
AEW “COLLISION”, 06/09/2024 NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
1. Continental Contenders Challenge: Konosuke Takeshita Vs The Beast Mortos
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 13/09/2024 Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) Vs Action Andretti (w/Lio Rush & Leila Grey)
MKW “CHAMPIONSHIP SUPERCARD FROM SHANGHAI”, 14/09/2024 Bandai Namco Shanghai Base, Shanghai, China
1. Queen Of Asia Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c) defeated Crystal (w/ Chairman Al)
AEW “COLLISION”, 14/09/2024 Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Serena Deeb
GCW “BAD ONE”, 14/09/2024 Harpos Concert Center, Detroit, Michigan, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Kylie Rae
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 18/09/2024 Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki & Queen Aminata Vs Mariah May & Serena Deeb
2. Kazuchika Okada, Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson Vs Will Ospreay, Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher
AEW “DYNAMITE – GRAND SLAM”, 25/09/2024 Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York City, New York, USA
1. AEW Women’s World Title: Mariah May (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 27/09/2024 MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Angelico
SETUP “CHAOPHRAYA VOYAGE: 12TH ANNIVERSARY OF THAI WRESTLING”, 28/09/2024 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Match: Matcha (c) Vs Raku Vs Pom Harajuku
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Results
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 04/09/2024 UW Panther Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
1. Dark Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Komander (w/ Alex Abrahantes) (?:??).
Not much to talk about Takeshita’s first match of the month. He beat Komander in a post-Dynamite dark match that followed up on the 4 Way they were both a part of the week prior. The result was pretty much the same here as it was in the 4 Way. Don Callis ordered Takeshita to give Komander another beating after the match but The Beast Mortos ran down to stop him. Takeshita and Mortos then got into a pull apart brawl.
AEW “COLLISION”, 06/09/2024 NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
1. Continental Contenders Challenge: Konosuke Takeshita defeated The Beast Mortos with the Raging Fire (12:00).
So a few days later Takeshita and Mortos faced off with a little something extra on the line. The winner would qualify for a 4 Way Match at “ALL OUT” that also includes Okada putting the AEW Continental Title on the line. Takeshita discovered it would take a lot more than just using his big Elbow Strike to knock the minotaur down and out. Mortos was hard headed enough to keep standing after taking a German Suplex that made him land on the top of his dome. The two of them also fought up to the top rope where Mortos lifted Takeshita up in a Gorilla Press and threw him down from such a high height. Things went to even more of a standstill after a Double Heabutt spot but Takeshita survived the trampling and got in a critical hit by using a Busaiku Knee Strike. After that he used the Raging Fire on Mortos and that won him the match.
F1RST “SATURDAY NIGHT NITRO”, 07/09/2024 Mall Of America, Bloomington, Minnesota, USA
1. Allie Katch & Effy defeated Danhausen & Maki Itoh when Effy pinned Danhausen with a Cradle (?:??).
The famous Mall Of America was the location where Itoh met up with Danhausen again. This time they were teaming up as Very Cute, Very Evil Makihausen and that meant Itoh showed up in face paint! Their match against Bussy started off as a contest to see who was cutest between all four of them. Danhausen & Itoh both poured a jar of teeth down their opponents’ mouths and then kicked their faces. But things went wrong for them when they both tried to curse their opponents. Effy & Allie Katch both ducked the curse, leaving Danhausen & Itoh to curse each other! They started arguing leading to Danhausen giving Itoh a shove. Katch didn’t like what she was seeing and pushed Danhausen away from Itoh, unintentionally tripping him over Effy. Effy then pinned down Danhausen for the three count while Itoh got a comforting hug from Katch.
AEW “ALL OUT 2024”, 07/09/2024 NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
1. AEW Continental Title – 4 Way Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy and Konosuke Takeshita when Okada pinned Cassidy with the Rainmaker (14:59). *V5 for Kazuchika Okada.
Okada is as big of a target that Takeshita could ask for in all of pro wrestling let alone AEW or Japan. But he had two other bodies to contend with because Orange Cassidy and Mark Briscoe were also in the match aiming to win the Continental Title. He needed eyes in the back of his head and that was proven by the finish. Takeshita almost beat Briscoe with the Powerdrive Knee but Cassidy broke the pin. Takeshita then countered the Orange Punch with an Elbow Strike and tried to set up the Raging Fire only for Okada to stop him. Okada then gave Briscoe the Rainmaker, Dropkicked Takeshita from the apron to the floor and after a small scare from Cassidy, he pinned Cassidy with the Rainmaker to remain champion. The cameras made sure to stay on Takeshita while Okada left to celebrate his victory. Things aren’t over between them yet.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 11/09/2024 (Aired 13/09/2024) Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Action Andretti (w/Lio Rush & Leila Grey) with the Raging Fire (11:53).
Things at the PPV didn’t go Takeshita’s way so it was time to bounce back. Action Andretti turned out to be more of a challenge than the match-up suggested on paper. However Andretti missed a Springboard 450 and also jumped right into an Elbow Smash. Takeshita then used the Powerdrive Knee but held up Andretti at a 2 count. That was just so Takeshita could use the Raging Fire to end things on an even more painful looking note.
AEW “COLLISION”, 12/09/2024 (Aired 14/09/2024) Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Serena Deeb with the Magical Girl Splash (10:38).
Guess who returned after being sidelined with an injury for the last five months? Sakazaki was back and her first AEW match in a long time was going to be against Serena Deeb. That was a matchup AEW were building up to anyway before Sakazaki got hurt so it seemed like whatever was planned back then was held aside all this time until Sakazaki was ready again. But first she introduced herself to Mariah May backstage and told her she is coming after the AEW Women’s Title. May didn’t take too kindly to that idea but her violent threats were no sold by Sakazaki. Later in the show Sakazaki went on to not only beat Deeb but also fend off a post-match attack from May. Sakazaki celebrated a good night by holding up the title belt.
MKW “CHAMPIONSHIP SUPERCARD FROM SHANGHAI”, 14/09/2024 Bandai Namco Shanghai Base, Shanghai, China
1. Queen Of Asia Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c) defeated Crystal (w/ Chairman Al) (?:??). *V3 for Yuki Kamifuku.
The reigning Queen Of Asia Champion travelled to China for her latest title defence. Kamifuku headlined a Middle Kingdom Wrestling show in Shanghai, beating Crystal to retain one of the Asian Double Crown belts. She gave a speech to the fans in both Chinese and English after the match.
GCW “BAD ONE”, 14/09/2024 Harpos Concert Center, Detroit, Michigan, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Kylie Rae with the Stunner (9:23).
Maki Itoh’s GCW dates in August got cut short due to injury but she was able to come back this month to get through the second half of her latest tour. Nobody was happier to see her than Kylie Rae because they were meant wrestle each other on one of Itoh’s cancelled dates. It didn’t take long for the fun and games to turn into slaps and strikes though. In fact Rae started losing her cool and started pulling cheap tricks to try and win like using the ropes to leverage a pin. The ref caught her doing it though and stopped his count. Itoh’s hard head gave her the defensive advantage and she was able to beat Rae with the Stunner. Itoh forgave Rae for playing dirty and the two made up after the match.
GCW “THA G-CODE”, 15/09/2024 Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, New York, USA
1. 4 Way Match: Sawyer Wreck defeated Maki Itoh, Brooke Havok and Dark Sheik when Wreck pinned Havok with a Neck Hanging Bomb (7:54).
The next night Itoh found herself in a 4 Way Match with opponents old and new. She’s been in the ring with both Sawyer Wreck and Dark Sheik a bunch of times while Brooke Havok was a new face for her to wrestle. Itoh was taken out by a Tornado Kick from Shiek, Havok dropped Sheik with a Pumphandle Drop and Wreck then pinned Sheik with a Neck Hanging Bomb. Itoh was too far away to break the pin before the three count.
DPW “CAROLINA CLASSIC”, 15/09/2024 Durham Convention Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
1. Battle Of The Best – Round 2: Shoko Nakajima defeated Jada Stone with the Diving Senton (?:??).
The Big Kaiju returned to Deadlock Pro to compete in the next round of the Battle Of The Best tournament. However plans had to change when her scheduled opponent Trish Adora was unable to compete. Jada Stone grabbed the opportunity to fill in for Adora by winning a pre-show match held to determine Nakajima’s new opponent. She put up a good fight but in the end Nakajima booked her place in the final using the Diving Senton to win.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 18/09/2024 Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki & Queen Aminata defeated Mariah May & Serena Deeb by Disqualification when May attacked Sakazaki with the AEW Women’s World Title Belt (7:57).
2. Will Ospreay, Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher defeated Kazuchika Okada, Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson when Fletcher pinned Matt Jackson after the Coriolis (21:05).
Things are getting a little more tense with Takeshita now. He had another chance to face Okada in the ring but had to team with other members of The Don Callis Family. There’s a little “family” rivalry brewing between him and Will Ospreay so some jealous looks during tags were hard to hide from everybody. Okada also had The Young Bucks backing him up to be a pain in everyone’s sides. Ospreay & Kyle Fletcher pulled out the win in the end but the aftermath only showed there are more signs of infighting between Takeshita and Ospreay.
It was now clear that Sakazaki will be facing May for the AEW Women’s Title near the end of the month. A preview tag had Sakazaki dealing with both May and Deeb again. Her tag partner Queen Aminata had also been spending the month so far in a similar position so they became a team with common enemies. Sakazaki had was about to beat Deeb with the Magical Girl Splash again for the second time in a row when May ran into the ring with her title belt and hit Sakazaki behind the head with it. The match ended in a DQ but May continued to attack Sakazaki with the title to get her own back for what happened a week earlier.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 21/09/2024 (Aired 27/09/2024) MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Angelico with the Raging Fire (9:09).
Due to AEW’s taping schedule this match was kept in the bag for a week and didn’t air until near the end of the month. Just like with the Andretti match, Angelico made the grave mistake of going high risk and jumping his way right into an Elbow Smash to the jaw. The Blue Thunder Bomb and then the Raging Fire ended Takeshita’s month with a win.
AEW “DYNAMITE – GRAND SLAM”, 25/09/2024 Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York City, New York, USA
1. AEW Women’s World Title: Mariah May (c) defeated Yuka Sakazaki with the Storm Zero (6:11). *V2 for Mariah May.
Sadly for Sakazaki her long delayed quest to win the AEW Women’s Title ended in failure over at Arthur Ashe Stadium. May beat her clean by blocking the Magical Girl Splash with her knees and then using the Storm Zero for the three count. May wanted to continue attacking Sakazaki after the match but Willow Nightingale ran down to make the save. Then in an interesting reunion Mina Shirakawa made her entrance with the intention of protecting her close friend by evening the odds. However her “incredible live show charisma” was such a distraction that Nightingale dropped her guard allowing May strike her from behind with the title belt. May ran off to celebrate with Shirakawa, Shirakawa was confused by her actions and Sakazaki tried to chase after May before stopping in front of her old workmate.
SETUP “CHAOPHRAYA VOYAGE: 12TH ANNIVERSARY OF THAI WRESTLING”, 28/09/2024 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Match: Matcha (c) defeated Raku and Pom Harajuku when Matcha pinned Raku with the Stunner (?:??). *V3 for Matcha.
Both Raku and Harajuku made their way over to Thailand to be part of a big SETUP show. The event also included Kenoh as one of the headline stars but I’m not here to write about him. Raku got to perform for the crowd at the start of the show and then returned later to fight for a championship. Matcha put her SETUP All Asia Women’s Title on the line against her and Harajuku in a 3 Way Match. Raku took a bried nap in the middle of the ring, forcing Matcha and Harajuku to wrestle each other over her. Raku and Harajuku went on to have some fun at Matcha’s expense until the champion reached her limit and put a stop to it all. Harajuku gave Raku the Pom de Justice but Matcha then threw Harajuku out of the ring. She then gave Raku a Stunner and went for the pin. The ref stopped himself at two thinking there was a kickout (there clearly wasn’t) so Matcha gave Raku another Stunner and this time got the three count. Afterward Matcha and Harajuku got into an argument and began to fight, forcing the ringside officials to pull them apart. You read that right, Pom Harajuku was in a pull apart brawl!
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Upcoming Appearances
DEXCON “JAM OF THE JOSHIS”, 13/10/2024 Brawl Pit Bulusan, Manila, Philippines
1. Queen Of Asia Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c/c) Vs Chelsea Marie
If Kamifuku can successfully defend the Double Asian Crown against Xiz Zhao in TJPW then she will next bring the Queen Of Asia Title over to the Philippines. “The Pinay Vixen” Chelsea Marie won a match at the last DEXCON show to become Kamifuku’s challenger for this joshi themed event.
DPW “SUPER BATTLE”, 13/10/2024 Grady Cole Center, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
1. Battle Of The Best – Final: Shoko Nakajima Vs Dani Luna
A future shot for the DPW Women’s World Title is within reach for Nakajima. All she has to do is beat Dani Luna in the Battle Of The Best final.
MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 1”, 19/10/2024 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Mike Bailey Vs Konosuke Takeshita
A familiar friend and foe will be Takeshita’s first opponent at Maple Leaf Pro’s opening weekend. It will be the first time he wrestles Mike Bailey in Bailey’s home country of Canada.
MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 2”, 20/10/2024 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Josh Alexander Vs Konosuke Takeshita
The Takeshita Vs Bailey match announcement also cleared up which night the Josh Alexander match would take place. It looks like it will be the main event of the entire weekend.
With Thailand checked off, Pom Harajuku’s next trip will be to Singapore Pro Wrestling for a match against Alexis Lee. She is going to try and avoid being bitten while Lee will try to avoid her shins getting kicked off.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TJPW BRIGHT EYES”, 09/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
I bet we’ll start getting some more announcements soon. TJPW are sending over Miu Watanabe, Suzume, Arisu Endo, Yuki Kamifuku, Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Rika Tatsumi, Mizuki, Maki Itoh, Yuki Aino, Moka Miyamoto and Wakana Uehara. The DEFY side will be using 6-8 local/American wrestlers and the card is expected to have 6 or 7 matches.
DDT/DEFY “DDT IN UTERO”, 09/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
The DDT show later that day is advertising Konosuke Takeshita, Daisuke Sasaki, Dansoku Dieno, MAO, Gringo Loco, Shota, Yuni and Yoshihiko to all appear.
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TRIANGLER DTD”, 10/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
The next day will bring everyone together for one big finale.
GCW “CHAOS IN KENTUCKY”, 14/11/2024 Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Once the DEFY shows are over Yamashita will be sticking around in the US for one of GCW’s big tentpole weekends of the year.
GCW “GATEWAY TO THE DEATH”, 15/11/2024 Pop’s Nightclub, Sauget, Illinois, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
There was a piece of an interview with Yamashita from a Japanese site I saw during the month. She said something like this has been the first year in her career where she hasn’t worried about the pressure of being the company ace or the headline champion for another promotion. It allowed her to learn how to just enjoy wrestling without carrying the weight of a company on her shoulders (the interview was before she won the Princess Tag Team Titles with Itoh so so much for that break). That could explain why she’s drawn to GCW. She gets to do things she wouldn’t normally do in TJPW, like smack someone over the head with a steel chair.
GCW “NICK GAGE INVITATIONAL 9”, 16/11/2024 Level 13 Event Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Yamashita’s not going to enter the Nick Gage Invitational tournament, is she? There’s already another Yamashita taking part in it.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AEX32 SANTIAGO 2025”, 09/02/2025 Mapocho Station Cultural Center, Santiago, Chile
Next February TJPW will be making its first mark in Chile. They are sending over a few wrestlers to have matches at the AEX Santiago anime convention. Yamashita and Itoh are the first names announced. The event graphics hints at least two other people from the roster will join them. Apparently Chiitan is going to be there too so 121000000 can have a reunion with the mascot.
It’s time! The floodgates are open and there is loads of international wrestling to talk about in regards to our buddies in DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro. March was the busiest month Konosuke Takeshita had in ages with some big matches that can be added to his Best Of collection. Maki Itoh made up for lost time in GCW and hit it big by winning one of their championships. CDK went to wrestle in the Phillipines for the first time together. Daisuke Sasaki fitted in a late weekend trip to Mexico before he moves on to the DDT USA show. If that’s not enough, the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title even saw some action in America.
So next up comes the avalanche of wrestling that is Wrestlemania week. Both DDT and TJPW have shows going on in Philadelphia in the upcoming days. Full intro guides for their shows will be posted on this site tomorrow. A few wrestlers will be popping up here and there throughout the week. When that’s done there is even more stuff to follow. Kazusada Higuchi has a US booking coming up. Miyu Yamashita, now without a championship, will begin a two month tour of America. Itoh will always have trips with GCW to look forward to. Plus other joshi like Mizuki, Yuki Kamifuku and Hyper Misao have their own plans lined up as we head towards the summertime.
1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) Vs Rocky Romero
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 27/03/2024 Centre Videotron, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) Vs Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana)
Video starts at 1:24:45 MÁS LUCHA “NACCÍ PERRO, NACÍ PARA SER ELEGIDO”, 31/03/2024 Arena Azteca Budokan, Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico
1. Cirujano Jr. Vs Panic Clown Vs Halloween Jr. Vs Kundra Vs El Fiscal Vs Daisuke Sasaki
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Results
GCW “PROJECT GCW”, 01/03/2024 Pop’s NightClub, Sauget, Illinois, USA
1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh defeated Ciclope & Miedo Extremo when Gage pinned Ciclope with a Top Rope Piledriver through a Door (9:55).
Maki Death Kill wasted no time at the start of the month. They fought Los Macizos in a chaotic match. Miedo Extremo gave Itoh a slap across the face early that made her start crying but it was only a trap so Itoh could hit him back. Ciclope also riled up Itoh by mimicking her poses. Los Macizos thought they were one step ahead by using forks to counter MDK’s pizza cutters but Nick Gage & Itoh were able to cut them up anyway. Gage was later able to give Ciclope a Piledriver off the top rope through a door for the win.
GCW “KEEP IN TOUCH”, 02/03/2024 Marriott East, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh defeated John Wayne Murdoch & Reed Bentley when Itoh pinned Bentley with the I.S.D. (14:07).
MDK then moved on to fight The Rejects on the next show. Again Itoh faked crying to get the jump on her opponent. This time it was John Wayne Murdoch who fell for it. Itoh ended up arming herself with a stapler and used it to great effect on both Murdoch and Reed Bentley. Murdoch got some revenge by hitting Itoh with a trash can over and over. Gage got rid of Bentley by using the Chokebreaker and then he tackled Murdoch through a table. That set up Itoh to hit Murdoch with the I.S.D. to win the match.
AEW “REVOLUTION”, 03/03/2024 Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
1. Will Ospreay defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Hidden Blade (21:57).
Did The Don Callis Family implode? Not really. Callis is feeling so good about his group wiping out all of their targets that he decided it was time for his two best wrestlers to fight each other on PPV just to rub it in. It was also going to be Will Ospreay’s first AEW match under his full time deal with the company. What followed was a classic match between him and Takeshita, surely one of the best of the year. Even though Takeshita lost he wasn’t out of the title chase yet. Ospreay has other plans on his mind for now and the performance gave Takeshita another path towards fighting for the No. 1 Contendership.
GCW “ASHES TO ASHES”, 09/03/2024 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. GCW Extreme Title – Scramble Match: Maki Itoh defeated Joey Janela (c), Jack Cartwheel, Alex Zayne, Marcus Mathers and Broski Jimmy when Itoh pinned Mathers with a Spinning DDT (7:32). *Joey Janela fails in V7. Maki Itoh becomes the 10th GCW Extreme Champion!
Itoh’s next GCW appearance was revealed to be in a 6 Way Scramble match with Joey Janela putting his GCW Extreme Title on the line. The finishing stretch saw Marcus Mathers crushing Janela with a 450 Splash only for Itoh to run in and drop him with a Spinning DDT to get the pin out of nowhere and become the new champion!
GCW “SO MUCH FUN”, 10/03/2024 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Nick Gage, Matt Tremont & Maki Itoh Vs Effy, Allie Katch & Dark Sheik ended in a No Contest when Mance Warner interfered (17:08).
The day after Itoh won her championship she teamed up with Gage & Matt Tremont to form Maki Death Kill Club. Their match against Thrussy ended up getting thrown out when Mance Warner interfered and attacked members of both teams. He is currently in a bloody feud with Effy so that storyline took precedence and Itoh had no involvement with the finish.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 13/03/2024 (Aired 15/03/2024) TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Komander (w/ Alex Abrahantes) with the Modified Falcon Arrow (9:39).
The next two weeks had Takeshita wrestling on Rampage to build up his win-loss record. First he defeated Komander, using a Spinning Falcon Arrow to win the match. It also looked like he shook the fallen luchador’s hand after the match. Was it a show of good sportsmanship at a time when Takeshita shies away from that sort of thing under his manager’s watch?
1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Rocky Romero with the Modified Falcon Arrow (8:54).
The next week Takeshita defeated Rocky Romero, again using the Spinning Falcon Arrow. It’s a bit funny that Takeshita finally got to wrestle a few people connected to New Japan this month. Romero was with the company in 2016 perhaps he has some info on what actually happened between NJPW and DDT back then? Ha ha ha…
DEXCON “WRESTLE STORM”, 24/03/2024 Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines
1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Jake De Leon & Ravena when Takanashi pinned Ravena after the Thrust Kick & Praying Mantis Bomb Combo (?:??). *V1 for CDK.
A new month means a new place in Asia for Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi to wrestle in. They went over to the Philippines for a wrestling promotion called Dexcon. CDK put the SETUP World Tag Team Titles against the team known as Oro Plata Mata. CDK scored the win and successful defence so they were free to celebrate with some drinks after the show.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 27/03/2024 Centre Videotron, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
1. Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana) defeated Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) with the Big Pressure (19:39).
No. 1 Contendership for the AEW World Title was up for grabs when Takeshita fought the highly fancied Swerve Strickland. It was another great match between two fantastic wrestlers. Takeshita almost had an answer for all of Swerve’s attacks. He even kicked out of the Swerve Stomp. However Strickland landed another Double Stomp when Takeshita tried to pop him up into the air. At a time when Takeshita adopted several of Naruki Doi’s moves to use in America, how ironic is it that he lost to Strickland’s version of the Muscular Bomb?
HAKUNA MATATA LUCHAS “HOMENAJE A REY BALSAS”, 30/03/2024 Unidad Habitacional de Fovissste, Puebla, Mexico
1. Karma I & Karma II (2) defeated Kurama & Daisuke Sasaki (1).
Just a few days before DDT reaches America, Daisuke Sasaki decided to travel a week early. He went to Mexico and got himself a couple of lucha libre bookings. I thought it would be impossible to find his first match at Hakuna Matata Luchas but it turns out I should have had no worries because a video of it appeared on Facebook. Sasaki an his tag partner Kurama beat Karma I & Karma II in the first fall with a Diving Body Press and Diving Elbow Drop. Then Karma II (I checked to make sure Karma I wore the golden boots and Karma II wore the silver) used a Llave Crucifix Hold to pin Sasaki for the second fall. The final fall went to the tecnicos when I vaulted II into Kurama & Sasaki like a cannonball into the corner. That resulted in Karma I & II pinning both of them for the victory.
MÁS LUCHA “NACCÍ PERRO, NACÍ PARA SER ELEGIDO”, 31/03/2024 Arena Azteca Budokan, Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico
1. Perros del Mal Light Heavyweight Title: Panic Clown defeated Cirujano Jr. , Halloween Jr., Kundra, El Fiscal and Daisuke Sasaki when Clown submitted Sasaki with a Modified Cross Hammerlock (?:??). *Panic Clown becomes the new Perros del Mal Light Heavyweight Champion!
Sasaki also took part in a show hosted by Más Lucha. He was put into a 6 Way match with the vacant Perros del Mal Light Heavyweight. The Luchawiki has 2016 as the last time the title was active but I’m not sure even The Cubs Fan himself believes if that is accurate. In a wild match with plenty of dives and some violence involving chairs, Sasaki ended up on the losing end. He did a Diving Cross Body onto Panic Clown but Clown rolled over on top of him and put Sasaki in a Cross Hammerlock kind of submission hold to make him tap out.
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Iron Man Title In USA
WEST COAST PRO “MARVELOUS COAST”, 23/03/2024 United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, USA
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Sayaka Unagi (c) defeated Hyan with the Dai Fuhen Mono Ki (9:55).
1a. Sparky Ballard defeated Sayaka Unagi (c) with a School Boy. *Sparky Ballard becomes the 1,616th champion.
1b. Ref Gil defeated Sparky Ballard (c) with a School Boy. *Ref Gil becomes the 1,617th champion.
1c. Hyan defeated Ref Gil (c) with the Spear. *Hyan becomes the 1,618th champion.
1d. Sayaka Unagi defeated Hyan (c) with the Dai Fuhen Mono Ki (9:55). *Sayaka Unagi becomes the 1,619th champion.
For the first time this year the Iron Man Title made its way over to America. It is one of the many championships currently being held by Sayaka Unagi and West Coast Pro decided Hyan would be a good challenger for her. Unagi struggled to beat Hyan and the growing frustration caused her to shove the referee Sparky Ballard after a disputed nearfall. In the heat of the moment Ballard decided to take things in his own hands so when Unagi turned her back on him he gave her a School Boy and counted to three. He was now the new Iron Man Champion! Then things went nutty when another official affectionately known as Ref Gil got into the ring with a third referee and he pinned Ballard with a School Boy to take the title off of him! Gil’s reign did not last long because Hyan gave him the Spear and pinned him to win the title. Her match with Unagi continued from there and Unagi won to ensure the championship went back to her. She continued to wrestle in America that week and did not lose any matches so there were no further title changes in America. At least none that DDT knows of. She lost a match to Janai Kai in MLW a few days ago but that company gets away with a lot of stuff because nobody likes paying attention to them. That forced Unagi and DDT to come up with a story that she lost the Iron Man Title to a “Strange Foreigner” before the match happened. She then allegedly found the “Strange Foreigner” some time after the match to win it back.
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Upcoming Appearances
CIRCLE 6 “NEW FEAR CITY”, 03/04/2024 The Fire, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Chris Brookes Vs X
2. MAO Vs X
Let’s get started with Wrestlemania Week! Out of all the DDT wrestlers heading to Philadelphia it will be MAO who has the lion’s share of bookings. On the Wednesday night he and Chris Brookes are both going to a No Ring show held at a nightclub by Circle 6. It’s a dangerous way to begin one of the most schedule intense weeks of the wrestling calander.
Thursday is even nuttier. MAO has four bookings in one day! It begins with a DEFY show where MAO and Mike Bailey reunite as Moonlight Express to face another team getting back together. Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos get to wrestle together as CDK for the first time in a long while. A lot of things have changed since. Lykos now wrestles unmasked and he is currently the Progress World Champion.
SHP/LOL “EUPHORIA”, 04/04/2024 Attic Brewing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Matt Makowski Vs MAO
When the DEFY match is done with MAO then goes over to another venue where he will wrestle Matt Makowski. On paper that sounds like a straight forward match but some really wacky things have happened at Sean Henderson Presents shows in the past. Don’t let your guard down.
1. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Nick Wayne & Takeshi Masada
2. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos Vs Bryan Keith & Shota
3. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Yoshihiko
4. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Andrew “The Giant” Everett
5. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Shunma Katsumata
6. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Mike Bailey
7. DDT Universal Title – No Rules Match: MAO (c) Vs Billie Starkz
As soon as the preview for this show is posted you can find it by clicking here.
GCW/JCW “GCW/JCW VS THE WORLD”, 04/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Shota Vs X
2. 4 Way Tag Match: Ciclope & Miedo Extremo Vs Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman Vs Man Like DeReiss & Leon Slater Vs MAO & Yoshihiko
The final show of the day if you go by the starting time being in the very last minute (yeah right like it won’t be delayed). GCW and its sister promotion JCW have invited the world to take them on. MAO & Yoshihiko will be joining forces to enter a 4 Way Tag Match against GCW’s top team from Mexico Los Macizos, the wXw duo from Germany Amboss and Britain’s own Boisterous Behaviour from NORTH Wrestling.
Also on the show is Shota taking his first independent booking since going freelance from Ganbare☆Pro. His match has not been announced yet. Since this is a GCW show it will probably be a Scramble Match since there are a bunch of other wrestlers also advertised with no match yet.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN PHILLY”, 05/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Hyper Misao Vs Billie Starkz
2. Shoko Nakajima Vs Rhio
3. Yuki Aino & Raku Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Viva Van
4. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Nao Kakuta & Zara Zakher
5. Mizuki & Vert Vixen Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
6. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
As soon as the preview for this show is posted you can find it by clicking here.
GCW “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK 8”, 05/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh Vs Danhausen & Ram Kaichow
While Itoh went back to Japan to wrestle for TJPW again, Gage went and teamed with Danhausen to challenge for the GCW Tag Team Titles. They lost and Danhausen blamed the result on Gage. That caused Gage to come up with a challenge. He and Itoh will fight Danhausen and a partner of his choice at some point during The Collective. All signs pointed towards the annual Spring Break show as the destination for the match. Then Joey Janela broke the news that Danhausen chose Ram Kaichow to be his teammate! Itoh and Kaichow have never crossed paths in the ring before because Kaichow’s TJPW appearances are often contained within the Rakuverse.
GCW/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GCW VS TJPW”, 06/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Suzume Vs Pom Harajuku
2. Session Moth Martina Vs Raku
3. Dark Sheik Vs Yuki Kamifuku
4. Steph De Lander Vs Hyper Misao
5. Shazza McKenzie Vs Arisu Endo
6. Sawyer Wreck & Allie Katch Vs Mizuki & Nao Kakuta
7. Billie Starkz & Janai Kai Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
8. Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Rina Yamashita, Masha Slamovich & Maki Itoh Vs Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino
As soon as the preview for this show is posted you can find it by clicking here. Expect a partial change to one of the matches because Sawyer Wreck broke her hand last weekend and won’t be able to wrestle.
I’m including this because there are apparently going to be 88 contestants entering this year’s annual Clusterfuck Match. Surely that means the odds are good for some DDT or TJPW entries showing up in it. Or maybe Itoh will have an Extreme Title defence? Either way this will probably be it for their involvement at WrestleMania Week.
WEST COAST PRO “CHRIS HERO’S PRO WRES MIXTAPE”, 14/04/2024 Don Quixote Event Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Kazusada Higuchi Vs X
West Coast Pro cards have been put together by Chris Hero for a while now but I wouldn’t call any of them vanity shows. I can with this one because it has his name on it right there.
PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 8”, 14/04/2024 Roseland Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. Kylie Rae Vs Miyu Yamashita
After Mania Week is done and everyone in TJPW head back home to Japan, Yamashita will be staying behind. Her latest tour of America will last until June. The first match announced for her stay is a first time match against Kylie Rae. For Rae it will be a big match for her since she only just recently returned to pro wrestling.
UPRISING “UPRISING: WOMEN ATHLETES 2”, 19/04/2024 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Hyan
Can Yamashita get her win back from Hyan?
DREAMWAVE “ANNIVERSARY IX”, 20/04/2024 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Yamashita will be at DREAMWAVE the next night. Her opponent will be somebody out of the Uprising lineup to be determined after that show takes place.
GCW “HOW HIGH”, 20/04/2024 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Itoh will be bouncing back and forth between Japan and America again as Spring heads into Summer.
PRESTIGE/PRIDE STYLE “PRIDE & PRESTIGE”, 26/04/2024 Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
The announcements for Yamashita’s matches in America are coming thick and fast.
DAIKAIJU PRO “VOL. 2 – KAPPAS COUNTERATTACK”, 27/04/2024 White Eagle, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
1. Hyper Misao Vs Ultramantis Black
The first Daikaiju Pro event featured Shoko Nakajima so it only makes sense for the second show to feature her Kyoraku Kyomei tag partner Hyper Misao! She was teased as being “Project M” being brought in to deal with the calamity that is seemingly going on over there. Her impending arrival has caused the great and devious Ultramantis Black to step forward and dare to meet her face to face on the battlefield!
Yuki Kamifuku will be heading over to Vietnam Pro Wrestling in a bid to become the company’s first Women’s Champion. Her opponent is somebody she’s become familiar with. She and Alexis Lee have fought each other for the Queen Of Asia Title a couple of times and in their last match Kamifuku beat Lee to become the champion. Will she do the same here or can Lee take this new title as revenge for losing the other one?
SETUP “CLASH OF THE TITANS”, 25/05/2024 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Matcha (c) Vs Monomoth Vs Mizuki
Over in Thailand Mizuki has a chance to win a championship over there. She is part of a 3 Way Match with the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title on the line. Matcha is the defending champion and Monomoth is the other challenger.
Yamashita’s first match back in Japan will be on 15th June. So at the moment her match against Laynie Luck at Midwest All-Star Wrestling looks like it will be her last booking for the tour.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 