DDT “THE LAST BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING OF 2024”, 17/10/2024 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Antonio Honda
2. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. Street Kickboxing 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Yukimitsu Takahashi & Keigo Nakamura Vs Thanomsak Toba, Takeshi Masada & Gota Ihashi
DDT announced that Kota Ibushi will be missing the two shows they booked him for this month. That is the 17th October Beer Garden show and the 20th October Korakuen Hall show. No reason has been given other than he will be absent. Ibushi will be replaced by Keigo Nakamura on the Beer Garden show.
This news feels a bit weird. Ibushi’s conditioning since he came back hasn’t been up to scratch but this doesn’t sound like an injury situation. He’s wrestling on a GLEAT show tomorrow and there’s no sign that he’s being pulled from that. There’s gossip online over whether or not Kenny Omega has recovered from his health problems and is ready to return. Ibushi on his Instagram account also made it sound like AEW will bring them back together as The Golden Lovers. I won’t rule that out as a possibility. AEW has a TV taping on the 17th but nothing else for a week after that. It wouldn’t explain why Ibushi would miss the DDT show on the 20th. Hopefully this isn’t a situation where Ibushi and DDT had a falling out. Would be a real shame if that bridge is burned after it took so long for it to be rebuilt.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2024 TOUR IN FUKUOKA”, 13/10/2024 Acros Fukuoka
1. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Akito, Yukio Naya & Kazuma Sumi
2. Chris Brookes & Yuki Ishida Vs Soma Takao & Kazuki Hirata
3. Jun Akiyama & Keigo Nakamura Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku
4. Special Tag Match: Shinya Aoki & Yuki Ueno Vs HARASHIMA & Takeshi Masada
5. O-40 Title – 3 Way Match: Azul Dragon (c) Vs Toru Owashi Vs Danshoku Dieno
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Kota Umeda & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
7. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Iino (c) Vs To-y
After successfully defending the KO-D Tag Team Titles yesterday, ShunMao have been informed that their match against Kota Umeda & Tomomitsu Matsunaga later this month is now a title match. Both MAO & Shunma Katsumata have scary memories of Umeda from back in their DNA days so they are not looking forward to seeing him again. Tomomitsu Matsunaga is getting his second shot at the KO-D Tag Titles this year. He previously challenged for them with Jun Akiyama back in April.
DDT “YUKI ISHIDA TRIUMPHANT RETURN! GOD BLESS DDT 2024 TOUR IN KUMAMOTO”, 14/10/2024 Kumamoto L’celmo Yatsushiro
1. Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs To-y
2. Danshoku Dieno & Soma Takao Vs Shunma Katsumata & Keigo Nakamura
3. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA Vs Chris Brookes & Kazuma Sumi
4. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno & MAO Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku
5. Special Single Match: Yuki Iino Vs Kazuki Hirata
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul (c) Vs Akito, Yukio Naya & Yuki Ishida
Kumamoto is Yuki Ishida country so he is getting a title match for his homecoming. He chose to team with Yukio Naya & Akito so they can fight for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles.
DDT “THE LAST BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING OF 2024”, 17/10/2024 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Antonio Honda
2. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. Street Kickboxing 6-Man Tag Match: Kota Ibushi, HARASHIMA & Yukimitsu Takahashi Vs Thanomsak Toba, Takeshi Masada & Gota Ihashi
Now this is the environment I want to see Kota Ibushi flourish in again! A 6-Man Tag Match with Kickboxing rules that I guess can be described as Falls Count Anywhere? I mean the person who gets beaten will be falling over after getting knocked out so that counts, right? The match mixes together several fighting disciplines too. Yukimitsu Takahashi is a pro kickboxer who has been learning from the Ibushi Wrestling Institute since last summer. He will also be fresh off of a kickboxing bout that is happening a few days before this show. Thanomsak Toba is there to represent Muay Thai. Takeshi Masada has a background in Shorinji Kempo. HARASHIMA is going to use “HERO! Martial Arts” That just leaves Gota Ihashi as the human punching bag.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2024”, 20/10/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. DAMNATION T.A Vs SCHADENFREUDE International!: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada
2. DDT Extreme Title: Akito (c) Vs Danshoku Dieno
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs HARASHIMA
War is breaking out between SCHADENFREUDE International and DAMNATION T.A! You can blame Ilusion for that after he betrayed SCHADENFREUDE and stabbed them all in the back to join DAMNATION T.A. It was a plan that Ilusion and DAMNATION have been in cahoots with together from the very beginning. An 8-Man Tag Match in Korakuen Hall might steal the show if the angle created enough heat for it.
DDT “SUMIDA DRAMATIC DREAM! ~FREE SEATING PRO WRESTLING SHOW~”, 04/11/2024 Tokyo Higashin Arena (Sumida City Gymnasium)
1. Touchi-kun Pro Wrestling Debut Match: Touchi-kun Vs X
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Yukio Naya & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Satoshi Kojima, Akito & Antonio Honda
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs X
It’s been so long since Satoshi Kojima last broke bread with DDT. Not counting “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022”, he hasn’t wrestled in DDT since the end of 2012. His mighty Lariat might meet its match though. Shinichiro Kawamatsu is on the other team and he now has the Axe Bomber that was passed down to him from Hulk Hogan!
More war is breaking out but in mascot form! Touchi-kun is the mascot of the Japan Self-Defence Force’s Tokyo headquarters but his appearance in DDT yesterday made Pokotan very jealous. Jealous enough to make Pokotan attack the other mascot and get into a fight! The solution is to settle it in the ring, meaning Touchi-kun is going to make his pro wrestling debut.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 03/10/2024 Shinjuku FACE 500 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Yukio Naya defeated Yuki Ishida with a Crab Hold (6:24).
2. Jun Akiyama, Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi defeated Toru Owashi, Masahiro Takanashi & Ilusion when Takao pinned Takanashi with the Official Endless Waltz (7:47). *Soma Takao wins Masahiro Takanashi’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Shield.
3. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino defeated Keigo Nakamura & To-y when Endo pinned Nakamura with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb (10:44).
4. Special Tag Match: Makoto Oishi & Kaisei Takechi defeated Akito & Kazuki Hirata when Oishi pinned Hirata with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (12:40).
5. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno defeated Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku when HARASHIMA pinned Koroku with the Somato (10:11).
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul (c) defeated Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada when Sasaki pinned Masada after the Freedom Call (14:14). *V2 for DAMNATION T.A.
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Makoto Oishi’s Last DDT Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) defeated Makoto Oishi & Danshoku Dieno when MAO pinned Oishi with the Iai Kick (25:09). *V1 for ShunMao.
Today was Makoto Oishi’s final day as a DDT pro wrestler. It was a busy day for him because he wrestled twice on the show. His contract has now ended and he is planning to move to Miyagi in order to spend more time with his family. While his wrestling schedule is being reduced for the time being it is not the end of his career. He might even show up in DDT again some day in the future. But as far as everyone was concerned, today was treated as him saying goodbye to the company that’s been his home for 13 years.
Oishi’s final match was put in the main event where he teamed with Danshoku Dieno as Gunname Express to challenge ShunMao for the KO-D Tag Team Titles. There were also DDT wrestlers who’ve been close to Oishi for the last few years that stood in his corner at ringside. Oishi explained why halfway through the match. He got on the microphone and said he wants to give more DDT wrestlers one last chance to fight him so they should enter the ring right now! One by one the DDT roster got into the ring and hit Oishi with one of their signature moves. They were Keigo Nakamura, Kazuma Sumi, Yuki Ueno, To-y, Jun Akiyama, Sanshiro Takagi and finally Kaisei Takechi. After that happened Dieno & Oishi performed a 4 way Lip Lock on MAO & Shunma Katsumata. Katsumata and Dieno both collapsed from it, leaving MAO to pin Oishi with the Iai Kick.
After the match Oishi reminded everyone he isn’t retiring. In fact it is likely he will be at DDT’s shows in Osaki and Fukushima next month because they are not far to travel from Miyagi. Dieno left the ring crying anyway. MAO said Oishi will be gone from DDT but Oishi-ism will remain because ShunMao learned from him. Backstage, Hisaya Imabayashi told ShunMao their next title defence will be against Kota Umeda & Tomomitsu Matsunaga on 13th October. ShunMao refused because neither of them want to be in the ring with Umeda again but Imabayashi ignored them and made the match official.
Ilusion lived up to his name because all this time his dream to join SCHADENFREUDE International was just an illuison! You can thank DAMNATION T.A for that because they were in on it the whole time. Ilusion betrayed SCHADENFREUDE by costing them the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles right when they were about to win the belts. Takeshi Masada had Daisuke Sasaki pinned and beaten when Ilusion pulled away the referee and then attacked Masada with a chair. Sasaki & KANON then finished him off with the Freedom Call for a successful title defence. Sasaki announced Ilusion as the newest member of DAMNATION T.A although in reality he has been with them for a long time. Naturally the SCHADENFREUDE members are devastated by what happened. Chris Brookes though is already putting his mind to getting revenge.
In the first prelim match for the upcoming KO-D Openweight Title challenge, HARASHIMA is feeling good about his chances against Shinya Aoki. After winning the tag match HARASHIMA told Aoki it’s been more than three years since their last singles bout together. Seeing Aoki face to face again reminds HARASHIMA how strong he is which makes him worth defeating. Aoki admitted he should be more cautious going into the title match or else he will lose. Until then he’s going to use the remaining prelim matches to tighten up his resolve.
Oishi’s other match on the show was put together by Takechi’s request. The star wanted to team with his mentor so DDT put the two of them against Akito & Kazuki Hirata. It was the first time Takechi got to experience DDT at its wackiest. He joined in the Hirata GO! dance and outperformed everyone else during it. He then used Oishi’s move the Miracle Ecstasy on Hirata and Oishi followed up with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch for the victory. Takechi then read a letter to Oishi after the match thanking him for teaching him to be a pro wrestler from scratch. He hopes one day he will meet Oishi again whether it’s in private, at work or in the ring.
The mindsets of champion and challenger for the upcoming DDT Universal Title match could not be any more different. Yuki Iino is relaxed and confident that he is going to win while To-y is getting paranoid that he will be given the Spear at any moment. To-y said he is going to take everything that makes Iino BURNING and turn it into NeppoWER!! However Iino told him the reason why he Spears him so easily is because To-y has no guts! When the title match happens Iino promises he will use the Spear to split his opponent in two!
How in the hell did we end up with Soma Takao holding both of the remaining Right To Challenge Shields? He considered auctioning them off but decided against it. Instead he is planning to carefully use them one by one and warned everyone to keep their eyes on him.
Yuki Ishida wants a shot at the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles on 14th October because that is the date of his homecoming show in Kumamoto. His wish was granted and he chose Yukio Naya & Akito to be his tag partners.
There was a special guest who paid DDT a visit today. Touchi-kun is the mascot of the Japan Self-Defence Force’s Tokyo headquarters. However his appearance drew the ire of a jealous Pokotan and the two mascots got into a fight at ringside! DDT decided to settle this problem by giving Touchi-kun his debut wrestling match on the 4th November show in Sumida Ward!
It was announced that Satoshi Kojima will also be at the 4th November show.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 03/10/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Yukio Naya Vs Yuki Ishida
2. Jun Akiyama, Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi Vs Toru Owashi, Masahiro Takanashi & Ilusion
3. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Keigo Nakamura & To-y
4. Special Tag Match: Makoto Oishi & Kaisei Takechi Vs Akito & Kazuki Hirata
5. Special Tag Match: Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku Vs HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul (c) Vs Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Makoto Oishi’s Last DDT Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Makoto Oishi & Danshoku Dieno
Contract signings for both the DDT Universal Title match on 13th October and the KO-D Openweight Title match on 20th October will be held at the start of the show.
The remaining Right To Challenge Shield holders are Masahiro Takanashi (Blue) and Soma Takao (White).
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2024 TOUR IN ASAKUSA”, 09/10/2024 Tokyo Asakusa Hanayashi Theater
0. Dark Match ~ Sponsored By Nariagari: X Vs X
1. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Chris Brookes, Akito & Kazuma Sumi
2. Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Yukio Naya
3. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Moka Miyamoto Vs Haru Kazashiro
4. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura Vs Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Yoshihiko Vs Shunma Katsumata, Soma Takao & Kazuki Hirata
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & To-y Vs Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku
Rounding out the card is a match between Antonio Honda and Yukio Naya as well as some pre-show wrestling provided by the Nariagari amateur group.
1. Ram Kaichow, Mr. Bueno & Mr. Malo Vs Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Chie Koishikawa
The room already gets cramped whenever Baka Gaijin + Friends books a tag team match. How do they have the room to do a 6-Man Tag? Also Mr. Bueno and Mr. Malo have been described as being complete opposites of each other. Does that make mean they will make a good team or a bad team? Ram Kaichow might need to be the anchor of the trio. CDK (or should that be ChieDK?) will have nothing to worry about since Chie Koishikawa has been a compatible teammate for both Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi in the past.
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.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 03/10/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Yukio Naya Vs Yuki Ishida
2. Jun Akiyama, Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi Vs Toru Owashi, Masahiro Takanashi & Ilusion
3. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Keigo Nakamura & To-y
4. Special Tag Match: Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku Vs HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul (c) Vs Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada
6. Special Tag Match: Makoto Oishi & Kaisei Takechi Vs Akito & Kazuki Hirata
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Makoto Oishi’s Last DDT Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Makoto Oishi & Danshoku Dieno
A press conference was held today for ShunMao and the challengers to sign the KO-D Tag Team Titles match contract. Danshoku Dieno appeared alone and called Makoto Oishi to find out where he is. Oishi said he overslept and he was already in a taxi on the way over to the building. After a 10 minute wait Oishi still had not appeared so the contract signing went ahead without him. Dieno apologized dogeza style and convinced ShunMao to let him sign the contract without the need for Oishi’s signature. Shunma Katsumata called it a sign of Oishi being careless and MAO said when the match happens he will deliver the final blow to Oishi. When it was time for the group photo, Oishi finally arrived and entered the room intending to ambush the champions. But MAO noticed him coming and kicked him in the groin. Oishi admitted he was going to attack MAO to give his team the advantage but he really did oversleep and arrived to the conference late. He explained he went to be late last night, woke up this morning to do his laundry, went back to bed until almost noon. Oishi apologised by doing a full vertical headstand that he calls the ultimate dogeza. He then talked about the title match but mistakingly said it was happened on 3rd November, not 3rd October. MAO scolded him for getting the date wrong and called it was a disgrace.
Oishi’s last day in DDT has gotten even busier. He helped train Kaisei Takechi for his wrestling matches and Takechi wants to show his appreciation for it by teaming with him before he goes. Oishi already has a KO-D Tag Titles match lined up but ShunMao gave their blessing for him to do the Takechi match too. It sounds like the Takechi match will happen before the title match on the day.
BASARA “BASARA 258 ~SOUEN~”, 11/10/2024 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Takato Nakano Vs Takeru Inoue
2. FUMA, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & KUBTIO Vs Takumi Tsukamoto, Yasu Urano & Gouma Ryu
3. Isami Kodaka & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Masato Kamino & Yusuke Kodama
4. Daichi Kazato Vs Billy Ken Kid
5. Union MAX Title: Minoru Fujita (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi
The next couple of guests coming over to BASARA are Billy Ken Kid and Yusuke Kodama.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2024 TOUR IN FUKUOKA”, 13/10/2024 Acros Fukuoka
1. O-40 Title – 3 Way Match: Azul Dragon (c) Vs Toru Owashi Vs Danshoku Dieno
2. Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Kota Umeda & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
3. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Iino (c) Vs To-y
After a whole bunch of failed cash in attempts, To-y lost his chance at fighting Yuki Iino for the DDT Universal Title when the Right To Challenge Shield was taken away from him. However To-y didn’t let that stop him from still trying to get Iino’s attention. No matter how many times Iino took him down with the Spear, To-y refused to give up. Iino now sees how much heart To-y is showing him so he agreed to finally give him his title shot.
I found out where Azul Dragon defended the O-40 Title. He held an event back in June called Karaokekan Pro Wrestling and retained the title in a 3 Way Match with a bunch of silly rules attached to it.
GANBARE☆PRO “HANARE BANARE NI 2024”, 14/10/2024 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. Shota Kawakami Vs Yuki Kanzaki
2. Shuichiro Katsumura, Choun-Shiryu & Takuya Wada Vs Masamune, Yumehito Imanari & Tyson Maeguchi
3. Ken Ohka Vs Daisuke®️
4. Keisuke Ishii Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
5. Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs Makoto & SAKI
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase (c) Vs Yuna Manase & YuuRI
The three singles matches on the show are put together to see if the new wrestlers can show what the future of Ganbare☆Pro will be like. It’s a big spot for the likes of Munetatsu Nakamura, Daisuke®️, Shota Kawakami and maybe even Yuki Kanzaki. But if Keisuke Ishii and Ken Ohka win their matches in dominant ways that too could show GanPro’s future is not going to change much.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2024”, 20/10/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. DDT Extreme Title: Akito (c) Vs Danshoku Dieno
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs HARASHIMA
In the past there have been three singles matches Shinya Aoki and HARASHIMA had against each other. Aoki has a 2-1 record against HARASHIMA but still considers his opponent to be the undisputed ace of DDT. He is looking forward to finding out if he can make it three wins out of four or if HARASHIMA will even the score and win the KO-D Openweight Title in the process.
The new DDT Extreme Champion wasted no time in choosing his first challenger. Akito has always admired Dieno for being a symbol of DDT’s creativity. Even when Akito feuded with Pheromones he hated seeing Dieno play in a supporting role rather than the group leader. Akito played a part in taking away Pheromones from Dieno so he wants to flip roles and give Dieno a chance to take his beloved Extreme Title away from him.
DDT “DRAMATIC INFINITY 2024 ~ 3 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 29/09/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,650 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Special Tag Match: Shinya Aoki & HARASHIMA defeated Jun Akiyama & Keigo Nakamura when HARASHIMA pinned Nakamura with the Somato (12:20).
2. Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuya Koroku defeated Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Yuki Ishida when Takao pinned Hirata with a School Boy (10:51). *Soma Takao wins Kazuki Hirata’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Shield.
3. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul defeated Antonio Honda, To-y & Ilusion when KANON pinned Ilusion after the Freedom Call (11:39).
4. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Makoto Oishi (c) defeated Danshoku Dieno with a Sleeper Hold (10:23). *Makoto Oishi becomes the 1,674th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Danshoku Dieno defeated Makoto Oishi (c) with a Sleeper Hold (12:27 pm). *Danshoku Dieno becomes the 1,675th champion.
5. DDT Extreme Title – IPPON Lighttube Tag Team Death Match: Akito & Yuni defeated Shunma Katsumata (c) & Kazuma Sumi by IPPON when Yuni did a Diving Foot Stomp to Katsumata on the Lighttube (15:02). *Shunma Katsumata fails in V7. Akito becomes the 60th DDT Extreme Champion!
6. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Iino (c) defeated Yukio Naya with the Spear (17:04). *V1 for Yuki Iino.
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Kaisei Takechi defeated Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Takeshi Masada when Ueno pinned Masada with the WR (25:11).
For the second time this year DDT can thank Kaisei Takechi for getting them a sold out Korakuen Hall. Seven months after his impressive debut, Takechi was back to have another match. He was with Yuki Ueno and The 37KAMIINA again this time with MAO along for the ride. Takeshi Masada was a familiar opponent from last time but now he’s a part of SCHADENFREUDE International. And when you get SCHADENFREUDE you get the antics of Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi to deal with. They used the rubber band spot on him from across the room and Brookes threw Takechi’s into the iron rails at ringside. Brookes also beat Takechi’s chest red with Chops. However Takechi fought back by hitting a No Touch Topé Con Hilo onto everyone outside the ring and then giving Brookes a Choke Slam. The match then came down to Ueno pinned Masada with the WR ensuring that Masada is still unbeaten after two matches.
After the match Masada wanted to keep fighting Takechi even though he lost. Brookes though calmed things down and even shook Takechi’s hand. Takechi said he is still new at wrestling and does not want to stop here. Makoto Oishi is one of his mentors and he heard Oishi’s final match with DDT is on 3rd October. Takechi wants to have a match with Oishi on that show even though he knows Oishi is already booked for a KO-D Tag Team Titles match. Oishi thought about it. He pointed out it would be disrespectful towards the champions if he uses up some of his energy wrestling another match beforehand. However ShunMao both gave them the thumbs up to do the match. DDT later announced that match will be Takechi & Oishi against Akito & Kazuki Hirata. Until then Takechi is going straight back to doing his duties with THE RAMPAGE. Backstage Masada complained that him losing this match and Hideki Okatani losing the first match back in February is not showing the future of DDT in a good light. He swears the next time he faces Takechi he will beat him with a three count.
Takechi drawing in a big crowd fired up the undercard to show what the rest of DDT is made of. Yuki Iino’s defence of the DDT Universal Title against Yukio Naya was a battle between the last two homegrown heavyweights still standing in the company. In a match filled with Chops, slams, Shoulder Blocks and Lariats Iino had to hit three Spears on Naya to beat him. It took three Spears because Naya kicked out at one the first time, at two the second and was finally pinned for three on the third time. The two shook hands after the match and praised each other.
Iino was then suddenly ambushed by To-y after Naya left the ring. He gave Iino a Dropkick but was then taken down with the Spear. To-y’s spirit wouldn’t break though and he challenged Iino for a shot at the Universal Title. Iino ran the ropes looking to Spear him again but instead stopped himself and accepted the challenge because To-y wants it so badly. It will happen in Fukuoka on 13th October. Iino warns that it will only take one Spear to beat To-y and he is confident it will happen. To-y wants to start winning championships like everyone else in The 37KAMIINA is doing. He can’t stay in the position he is in and has no choice but to move forward. That’s why he isn’t losing any heart despite getting Speared over and over.
A new generation of wrestlers got to experience the IPPON Lighttube Death Match. Shunma Katsumata put the DDT Extreme Title on the line against Akito in a tag team version of the match. The added stipulation was Katsumata teamed with Kazuma Sumi and Akito teamed with Yuni. If Katsumata’s team won then it is a successful title defence but if they lost then Akito becomes the new champion no matter who was directly involved in the finish. Yuki Ishida and Yuya Koroku demonstrated the rules of the match using a plastic baseball bat to explain who would lose depending on how the lighttube would break. The match itself had many close calls and near misses with the lighttube. The finish came when Akito Body Slammed Katsumata onto the lighttube, placed Sumi on top of him and then pinned the both of them down. Yuni then did a Diving Foot Stomp onto the pile, causing the lighttube to be crushed underneath. Since Katsumata was lying directly on top of it, the ruling was he broke the lighttube so Akito wins the championship!
Akito was pleased with how the match went and told the others that the stipulation does not exclusively belong to him. He wants the match to belong to represent DDT so he is passing it down to them. Whenever Katsumata, Yuni or Sumi find an opponent who they think can put on an amazing IPPON Lighttube Death Match, Akito wants them to use those rules. Akito then nominated Danshoku Dieno to be his first challenger because he had a secret to tell him. Dieno entered the ring carrying his beloved pet dog Haku and listened to what Akito had to say. Back when Akito was sent by Sanshiro Takagi to go destroy Pheromones, Akito actually liked the gimmick in general. But he hated Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno because he admires Dieno too much to see him in a supporting role. Pheromones meant so much to Dieno and Akito got rid of it so Akito wants to put what is most important to him on the line against Dieno to make up for it. What matters most to Akito is the Extreme Title. Dieno said Akito underestimated him. It’s true that he cared a lot about Pheromones but Dieno has so many other important purposes in life. He also has room to add the Extreme Title to that list on 20th October! Akito shook Haku’s paw to seal the deal.
Dieno was the opponent chosen for Oishi’s final singles match under contract for DDT with the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title on the line. Daisuke Kiso was the referee for the match but Hisaya Imabayashi warned both wrestlers that Yukinori Matsui was sitting backstage and if anybody broke the rules, he would come out and deliver strict justice! A camera backstage filmed Matsui watching the match and Imabayashi would put that footage on the screen as a warning whenever the rules were being bent. Matsui did get angry watching Dieno and Oishi’s antics but he remained backstage. Imabayashi though lost his temper and climbed into the ring to complain, pushing down Kiso for not doing a good enough job. That was Matsui’s breaking point and he marched down to ringside Goldberg style. He got distracted by a few different people including Imabayashi trying to stop him. But they settled their differences with a kiss and entered the ring together along with Dieno’s pet dog Haku. Matsui asked Kiso to let Dieno and Oishi keep wrestling they way they want to because it is Oishi’s last DDT match in Korakuen. The match continued and Oishi immediately tapped out Dieno with a Sleeper Hold to win the Iron Man Title. Dieno then grabbed Oishi in the same move after the match to win it back.
If Match #3 was a test to see if Ilusion deserves to be part of the upcoming KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match then he failed it. DAMNATION T.A all brought chairs to the ring and threw them at Ilusion’s team before the bell. Antonio Honda summoned Gongitsune but the attack hit his teammates and the referee by mistake. Ilusion was thrown into the ropes where MJ Paul broke a chair over his head. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON then finished him off with the Freedom Call to give DAMNATION T.A the win.
Good news for Kazuki Hirata. He doesn’t have to worry about holding the white Right To Challenge Shield anymore because Soma Takao beat him for it. That was in fact Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku’s goal for the match too. All of them wanted to pin Hirata to take the Shield off of him. Hirata had Toru Owashi & Yuki Ishida to play bodyguard for him but that trust eventually ran out. Hirata used the Tegatana chop to knock out both his opponents as well as his own teammates. Endo grabbed Hirata and lifted him up for the Torture Rack Bomb but Hirata slipped on a pair of Hirata GO! glasses over his face to stop it. The two of them danced but when the song ended, Takao rolled up Hirata for the three count behind Endo’s back.
It always feels weird to me when the main championship is the curtain jerker for any wrestling show. But Shinya Aoki had things to do involving the RIZIN show that was happening in Saitama later in the evening so here we have the KO-D Openweight Champion in the opening match. He got to face off against Jun Akiyama but the tag match came down to HARASHIMA pinning Keigo Nakamura with the Somato. HARASHIMA thanked Aoki for teaming with him. He then said he cannot wait any long to try and win a Right To Challenge Shield so he is challenging Aoki for the KO-D Title! It turns out Aoki has been waiting for this moment to happen all along because he thinks HARASHIMA is the undisputed ace of DDT. He accepted the challenge for 20th October and promised to use all of his strength to defend the strongest championship in Japan.
DDT announced they found a main sponsor for their free show in Sumida on 4th November. Geeniest is a character goods company that usually provides pop-up shops in department stores and event halls.
NOAH “THE LEAVE PRESENTS LIMIT BREAK EX.”, 28/09/2024 Yokohama Radiant Hall 290 Fans
1. Hajime Ohara defeated Yuya Koroku with the Mui Bien (8:48).
3. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino defeated Kai Fujimura & Kohei Kinoshita when Endo pinned Fujimura with the Torture Rack Bomb (17:33).
5. Best 2 Out Of 3 Falls: Go Shiozaki, Akitoshi Saito, Mohammed Yone & Atsushi Kotoge (2) defeated Jun Akiyama, Yukio Naya, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Harutoki (1).
5a. Harutoki pinned Go Shiozaki with El Momento de Muerte (23:26).
5b. Go Shiozaki pinned Harutoki with the Strong Arm Lariat (2:10).
5c. Akitoshi Saito pinned Tomomitsu Matsunaga with the Sickle Death (9:28).
It’s been a while since I wrote about the “LIMIT BREAK” shows over at NOAH. The last one took place back in July and I skipped over it. The only DDT related matches on it were Jun Akiyama and Tomomitsu Matsunaga in the opening two bouts so there wasn’t much to write about. Today though was different because those two along with Yukio Naya were in a big main event against TEAM NOAH. The three of them along with Harutoki fought TEAM NOAH in a Best 2 Out Of 3 Falls match. The first two falls were both decided by Go Shiozaki and Harutoki. The visiting team unexpectedly won the first fall when Harutoki blocked Shiozaki’s Lariat with a High Kick and then used a Cross-Arm Falcon Arrow to get the pinfall. The second fall didn’t last long because Harutoki went for the quick win only to get cut down by Shiozaki’s Lariat for the three count. The final fall began with Atsushi Kotoge facing off against Naya before switching over to Akitoshi Saito against Akiyama. Matsunaga tagged in but got caught by the teamwork of Saito & Mohammed Yone. That led to Saito pinning Matsunaga with the Sickle Death to end the match. Later Saito said he would like to team up with Akiyama once last time before he retires.
BURNING fared better in their match against Kai Fujimura & Kohei Kinoshita. Late in the match Tetsuya Endo went after Fujimura with Swan Dive attacks and Yuki Iino took out Kinoshita with the Spear. Endo then caught Fujimura with the Tetsuya In The Sky before pinning him with the Torture Rack Bomb. Endo & Iino promised to keep on burning while the other team wants to have more matches against them.
Well, most of BURNING fared better. Yuya Koroku was in the opening match and lost to Hajime Ohara. He targeted Ohara’s left arm but his plan didn’t work out. Instead Ohara trapped him in the Muy Bien submission and made him tap out. Ohara would later become the newest member of TEAM NOAH at the end of the show.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 AUTUMN”, 28/09/2024 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Haru Kazashiro Vs Chika Nanase
2. Kaya Toribami Vs Wakana Uehara
3. Mizuki & Uta Takami Vs Mahiro Kiryu & Toga
4. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Kira Summer
5. Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Aino & Shino Suzuki Vs Suzume, Arisu Endo & Moka Miyamoto
6. Miu Watanabe, Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Max The Impaler, Shoko Nakajima & HIMAWARI
Three shows from three promotions this weekend. Tokyo Joshi Pro starts it off on Saturday with Max The Impaler still around to crate some more danger.
DDT “DRAMATIC INFINITY 2024 ~ 3 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 29/09/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Special Tag Match: Shinya Aoki & HARASHIMA Vs Jun Akiyama & Keigo Nakamura
2. Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuya Koroku Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Yuki Ishida
3. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Antonio Honda, To-y & Ilusion
4. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Makoto Oishi
5. DDT Extreme Title – IPPON Lighttube Tag Team Death Match: Shunma Katsumata (c) & Kazuma Sumi Vs Akito & Yuni
6. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Iino (c) Vs Yukio Naya
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Kaisei Takeshi Vs Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Masahiro Takanashi
Then on Sunday DDT welcomes back Kaisei Takeshi to the fold for his second ever wrestling match. He is fitting this in a very busy schedule that is full of different kinds of performances in different places. He is aiming for this match to surpass the shock of his debut.
BASARA “KANRA TOWN 65TH ANNIVERSARY – KANRA PRO WRESTLING FESTIVAL”, 29/09/2024 Gunma Kanra Junior High School Gymnasium
1. Takeru Inoue Vs Yujiro Yamamoto
2. Takumi Tsukamoto & SAGAT Vs Ryota Nakatsu & Shuichiro Katsumura
3. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Daichi Kazato Vs Banana Senga & Ryota Hama
4. KUBITO Vs Yasu Urano
5. Isami Kodaka, Minoru Fujita & MAZADA Vs Ryuichi Sekine, Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
6. FUMA Vs Hideki “Shrek” Sekine
The weekend is finished off with BASARA hosting a show in the Gunma region where FUMA looks to take down Hideki Sekine.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2024 TOUR IN FUKUOKA”, 13/10/2024 Acros Fukuoka
1. O-40 Title – 3 Way Match: Azul Dragon (c) Vs Toru Owashi Vs Danshoku Dieno
2. Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Kota Umeda & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
3. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Iino (c) Vs X
The next DDT Universal Title defence after this weekend will happen on 13th October. Will Yuki Iino still be the champion or is Yukio Naya taking his spot?
The show will feature a rare Kota Umeda sighting! Just as rare is the O-40 Title being defended. Azul Dragon won the belt back in April and has defended it just once since then. I’ll have to go look where that defence happened because it wasn’t in DDT.
Shinya Aoki will be on the show.
DDT “YUKI ISHIDA TRIUMPH! GOD BLESS DDT 2024 TOUR IN KUMAMOTO”, 14/10/2024 Kumamoto L’celmo Yatsushiro
1. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA Vs Chris Brookes & Kazuma Sumi
2. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno & MAO Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku
3. Special Single Match: Yuki Iino Vs Kazuki Hirata
Whether he’s champion or not, Iino will have to deal with Kazuki Hirata in Kumamoto. If Hirata still has the Right To Challenge Shield by then he could use it for a title shot. However he seems to despise being in possession of the Shield and has not shown interest in using it for a title shot of any kind.
GANBARE☆PRO “HANARE BANARE NI 2024”, 14/10/2024 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs Makoto & SAKI
2. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase (c) Vs Yuna Manase & YuuRI
The lack of movement up the card for Ganbare☆Joshi has gotten to Yuna Manase so it’s time for a change. She wants GanJo matches to move up to the main event of Ganbare☆Pro events! She and YuuRI got themselves a big opportunity to do that by challenging Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase For the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles.
1. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Hartley Jackson
Yumehito Imanari blew his chance of facing Keisuke Ishii for the Spirit Of Ganbare World Title and ended up causing Ishii to defend the title against an even bigger challenger! Hartley Jackson is ready to remind everyone in GanPro that he is Ichiban by becoming a two-time champion.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 AUTUMN”, 28/09/2024 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Haru Kazashiro Vs Chika Nanase
2. Kaya Toribami Vs Wakana Uehara
3. Mizuki & Uta Takami Vs Mahiro Kiryu & Toga
4. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Kira Summer
5. Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Aino & Shino Suzuki Vs Suzume, Arisu Endo & Moka Miyamoto
6. Miu Watanabe, Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Max The Impaler, Shoko Nakajima & HIMAWARI
A few people are missing from the show for different reasons. Both Raku and Pom Harajuku are missing the show because they will be wrestling in Thailand for SETUP that same day. Yoshiko Hasegawa won’t be there because of a scheduling conflict. Runa Okubo is out of action with an injury she suffered during her match at “WRESTLE PRINCESS V”.
DDT “DRAMATIC INFINITY 2024 ~ 3 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 29/09/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Special Tag Match: Shinya Aoki & HARASHIMA Vs Jun Akiyama & Keigo Nakamura
2. Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuya Koroku Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Yuki Ishida
3. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Antonio Honda, To-y & Ilusion
4. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Makoto Oishi
5. DDT Extreme Title – IPPON Lighttube Tag Team Death Match: Shunma Katsumata (c) & Kazuma Sumi Vs Akito & Yuni
6. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Iino (c) Vs Yukio Naya
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Kaisei Takeshi Vs Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Masahiro Takanashi
To-y and Yuki Ishida swap places in Match #2 and Match #3 for some reason.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 03/10/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Jun Akiyama, Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi Vs Toru Owashi, Masahiro Takanashi & Ilusion
2. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Keigo Nakamura & To-y
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul (c) Vs Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Makoto Oishi’s Last DDT Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Makoto Oishi & Danshoku Dieno
On the day that Makoto Oishi’s contract ends with DDT he gets to challenge for the KO-D Tag Team Titles with Danshoku Dieno. The two of them have never held the titles together and don’t even know what will happen next if they beat ShunMao. It won’t be the last time we will ever see Oishi in DDT but whenever he does show up again it will be as a freelancer. The match means a lot to MAO & Shunma Katsumata too because Oishi has been a mentor to them for their entire careers.
Ilusion has gotten SCHADENFREUDE International a shot at the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles but he isn’t allowed to be on the challenger team. DAMNATION T.A don’t want to defend the titles against him but have no problem putting the belts on the line against the rest of SCHADENFREUDE.
Out of all the possible DDT Universal Title challengers stepping forward, To-y is one of the more unlikely to beat Yuki Iino. But he is looking for ways to get a title shot. He couldn’t go through with cashing in his Right To Challenge Shield because Iino physically stopped him at every opportunity. Now To-y no longer has the Shield but is taking the chance of facing Iino directly in a tag match. This is all if Iino is still the champion after his defence with Yukio Naya of course.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’24”, 06/10/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Wakana Uehara & Haru Kazahiro Vs Toga & Uta Takami
2. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Kakeru Sekiguchi, Kira Summer & Chika Nanase
3. Suzume & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Moka Miyamoto & Kaya Toribami
4. Mizuki & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Andreza Giant Panda & Shino Suzuki
5. Maki Itoh & Rika Tatsumi Vs Yuna Manase & HIMAWARI
6. Ryo Mizunami Vs Arisu Endo
7. Queen Of Asia Title & VPW Women’s Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c/c) Vs Xia Zhao
8. Miu Watanabe & Miyu Yamashita Vs Meiko Satomura & Shoko Nakajima
When news came out about Meiko Satomura’s plan to retire from pro wrestling next year, Miyu Yamashita immediately went to Tetsuya Koda asking him to bring Satomura back to Tokyo Joshi Pro for one more match. Yamashita never got along with Satomura in their interactions together back in 2017 because Satomura wasn’t impressed with her as a wrestler. So now here we are seven years later and this might be Yamashita’s final chance to measure herself up against the legend. Miu Watanabe and Shoko Nakajima are also getting in on the action to get their one and only match with Satomura.
Xia Zhao has a pinfall victory over Yuki Kamifuku so she next wants to take the Asian Double Crown from her. Yuki Kamifuku is willing to put both the Queen Of Asia Title & VPW Women’s Title because gambling big in this situation works out for her no matter the result. She either rips off the bandage by losing both belts at the same time or looks cool for defending two championships at once.
Both Ryo Mizunami and Arisu Endo are coming off of title losses at “WRESTLE PRINCESS V”. Where they go from here might depend on the result of this match.
The idea of putting Maki Itoh & Rika Tatsumi together as a team sounds unhinged. Yuna Manase can deal with it but HIMAWARI might find herself in trouble should she end up in a 2-on-1 situation.
It will be up to Shino Suzuki to guide Andreza Giant Panda safely down to the ring. Mizuki is going to have so much fun trying to Double Stomp him that Mahiro Kiryu will have to apologise on her behalf!
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2024 TOUR IN ASAKUSA”, 09/10/2024 Tokyo Asakusa Hanayashi Theater
1. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Moka Miyamoto Vs Haru Kazashiro
2. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura Vs Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Yoshihiko Vs Shunma Katsumata, Soma Takao & Kazuki Hirata
4. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & To-y Vs Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku
A few guests are coming in for DDT’s return to Asakusa. Ryota Nakatsu is coming over and wants to be in the ring with HARASHIMA. Also TJPW will be presenting a match between Moka Miyamoto and Haru Kazashiro.
BASARA “BASARA 258 ~SOUEN~”, 11/10/2024 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Union MAX Title: Minoru Fujita (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi
The unexpected next challenger for the Union MAX Title is Masahiro Takanashi! He held the title once before during 2019 and 2020. His final successful defence was even against the current champion Minoru Fujita. That result is something Fujita wants to avenge so he is ready to face Takanashi in a rematch over four years in the making.