NJPW “NIGHT OF THE PURGE ~PURGE NIGHT OF TORTURE~”, 07/10/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,481 Fans – No Vacancy
4. SANADA, DOUKI & SHO defeated Yuki Ueno, Akito & Kaisei Takechi by Referee Stoppage when DOUKI used the Italian Stretch No. 32 on Akito (16:08).
A few DDT wrestlers were given an invite to a dangerous event held in a New Japan ring. The House Of Torture are the latest act in the company who got to run a vanity show of their own, following in the footsteps of El Desperado and Taiji Ishimori. But while the previous shows were put together for the sake of having crazy ideas come to life, today’s event had a more evil (or should I say EVIL) motive. The House Of Torture had a list of wrestlers they wanted to purge for one reason or another and EVIL wanted to see Kaisei Takechi in particular be punished for his success.
SHO started things off by making fun of THE RAMPAGE and called everyone on Takechi’s team a bunch of country bumpkins. Akito then got under SHO’s skin by pointing out that SHO may be hiding his true feelings but he is taking everything in this match seriously. The proof is right there in how much he prepared his speech to introduce each wrestler on the team to the audience. Also you don’t get a physique with low body fat like that without some serious training.
The House ended up getting the last laugh with a destructive victory over the DDT team. SANADA broke a guitar over Yuki Ueno’s head while DOUKI used the Italian Stretch No. 32 on Akito, holding onto him with a tight grip. SHO added extra damage by hitting Akito over the head with a tray while he was stuck in the hold, leading the referee to stop the match for Akito’s safety and declare HOT the winners. The team then added extra insult to injury by attacked Takechi after the bell, holding him upside down with his legs split apart so SANADA could karate chop him in the crotch.
Backstage DOUKI said that just because Takechi is good looking, has a great body and can do super cool moves that doesn’t mean he is a match for HOT. All of his lame fans who support THE RAMPAGE shouldn’t underestimate pro wrestling! The same goes for anyone who thinks DDT and NJPW are on the same level. However Ueno noticed there was a giant glint in DOUKI’s eye while they were wrestling each other because the two of them used to train together in DDT’s old dojo ten years ago. With that being said there is only on wrestler in NJPW that makes Ueno’s heart flutter and that’s Hiromu Takahashi. If Ueno ever comes back to New Japan, he will be on the lookout for him. Meanwhile Takechi stepped forward under his own volition and told reporters he wants to have a match with Hiroshi Tanahashi somewhere before Tanahashi’s retirement takes place.
A new year means new adventures and a fresh sense of excitement to go exploring again. Konosuke Takeshita now has work with New Japan to deal with alongside his AEW duties. It’s opened up a whole new group of opponents to fight in America as well as Japan, especially since he has a championship in each company he wants to defend often. Yuka Sakazaki had a very big month by taking part in a special retirement match and also getting a big chance to do some things on AEW TV. But now that has come and gone I worry that she’s going to vanish from the shows again. Yuki Kamifuku is continuing her series of matches with Alexis Lee across Southeast Asia. Maki Itoh went on tour across the world with GCW but sadly lost her championship along the way.
A lot more destinations are coming up in the Springtime. Chile gets to experience Tokyo Joshi Pro on their own soil, Takeshita gets a very big tag match in Australia, Miyu Yamashita gets to wrestle in Germany for the first time and all roads will be leading us towards the bright lights of Las Vegas. I know I got the tickets I want for Wrestlemania Week.
IWA Thailand/SETUP “BANGKOK NAVIGATION”, 18/01/2025 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. IWA Japan World Heavyweight Title Tournament – Qualifying Match: Masahiro Takanashi Vs Jonathan Johnson
AEW “COLLISION – HOMECOMING”, 25/01/2025 Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
1. TBS Title No. 1 Contender 4 Way Match: Queen Aminata Vs Deonna Purazzo Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Serena Deeb
2. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Katsuyori Shibata
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 29/01/2025 Propst Arena At Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama, USA
1. TBS Title: Mercedes Moné (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki
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Results
NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM 19 IN TOKYO DOME”, 04/01/2025 Tokyo Dome, Japan 24,107 Fans
1. NEVER Openweight Title & AEW International Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (I/c) defeated Shingo Takagi (N/c) with the Raging Fire (11:42). *V5 for KONOSUKE TAKESHITA. Shingo Takagi fails in V2. Becomes the 47th/11th Champion!
I already wrote about Takeshita’s big weekend at the Tokyo Dome. You can read it here.
NJPW/AEW/CMLL/STARDOM/ROH “WRESTLE DYNASTY”, 05/01/2025 Tokyo Dome, Japan 16,300 Fans
1. NEVER Openweight Title & AEW International Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c/c) defeated Tomohiro Ishii with the Raging Fire (13:30). *V1 for NEVER Openweight Title. V6 for AEW International Title.
SPW “CHAMPIONS NEVER YIELD 3”, 10/01/2025 Foo Chow Building, Singapore
1. Queen Of Asia Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c) defeated Alexis Lee with the Diving Famouser (?:??). V6 for Yuki Kamifuku.
As far as I know it was just the Queen Of Asia Title that was on the line for Kamifuku’s latest appearance at Singapore Pro Wrestling. Her rivalry with Alexis Lee may have turned friendly but Lee still wants to win that title back. Kamifuku was able to beat her again for another title defence. It also won’t be the last time this year they fight each other in SPW. More on that later.
NJPW “BATTLE IN THE VALLEY”, 11/01/2025 San Jose Civic, San Jose, California, USA
1. Sumie Sakai Retirement Match – Tornado Tag Match: Hiromu Takahashi, Mayu Iwatani & Yuka Sakazaki defeated Sumi Sakai, EVIL & SHO when Takahashi pinned Sakai with the TIME BOMB (14:42).
2. NEVER Openweight Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) defeated KUSHIDA with the Raging Fire (15:08). *V2 for KONOSUKE TAKESHITA.
With a new path forged in New Japan, Takeshita went to fight for the company over in America. California was the place where his next NEVER Openweight Title defence was scheduled. KUSHIDA was his challenger in his latest attempt to take on the heavyweights. His gameplan was to start with breaking down Takeshita’s arm before switching to his legs with sweeping Leg Kicks. The plan worked in that it did weaken Takeshita’s moveset and made the match more competitive than first it looked on paper. But Takeshita was able to stand tall in the end and put away KUSHIDA. Takeshita then went ahead and called his shot. When Hiroshi Tanahashi has his final match in America before he retires, Takeshita wants to be his opponent!
If you want to watch a feel good wrestling match to get you out of the new year dumps, go seek out Sumie Sakai’s retirement bout. She teamed up with House Of Torture members EVIL & SHO because of their connections back in their American excursions days. Sakazaki was one of the many people who wanted to be a part of the match as a thank you to Sakai. She got chosen among the lucky trio that included Hiromu Takahashi from NJPW & Mayu Iwatani from Stardom. There was also a female Kamaitachi hanging around at ringside who nobody has been able to identify since (I’ve seen a few guesses it was Iyo Sky because she was in attendance and I appreciate the cheekiness of it if true). Sakazaki whacked SHO over the head with a foreign object and gave him the Tea Time. Sakai ended up fighting on her own and kept kicking out for as long as she could. Takahashi eventually kept her down for the count with the TIME BOMB.
IWA Thailand/SETUP “BANGKOK NAVIGATION”, 18/01/2025 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. IWA Japan World Heavyweight Title Tournament – Qualifying Match: Jonathan Johnson defeated Masahiro Takanashi with the Swanton Bomb (?:??).
This month saw SETUP become the new bearers of the International Wrestling Association brand by launching the debut IWA Thailand show. Masahiro Takanashi went over to take part in a tournament to determine the No. 1 Contender for the IWA Japan World Heavyweight Title. He had no problem being the bad guy against Jonathan Johnson and even got some ringside help from Shota getting in Johnson’s way whenever it was convenient. However Johnson fought off the numbers disadvantage and made Shota Super Kick Takanashi by mistake. Johnson then countered the Takatonic into an Implant for a nearfall and then hit the Swanton Bomb to get the upset win, knocking Takanashi out of the tournament in the 1st Round.
GCW “THE PEOPLE VS GCW”, 19/01/2025 Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA
1. GCW Ultraviolent Title & GCW Extreme Title – Doors, Ladders & Chairs Unification Match: Matt Tremont defeated Maki Itoh (E/c), John Wayne Murdoch, Drew Parker, Rina Yamashita, Brandon Kirk, Dr. Redacted and Matthew Justice when Tremont grabbed the titles (15:55). *Maki Itoh fails in V5. Matt Tremont becomes the 10th GCW Ultraviolent Champion and 11th GCW Extreme Champion!
Maki Itoh took a big gamble and it did not pay off. She wanted to double her title collection in GCW by joining the Doors, Ladders & Chairs match where the vacant GCW Ultraviolent Title was on the line. To do that she agreed to put the GCW Extreme Title up for grabs too so both championships would end up being unified together. John Wayne Murdoch complained about her inclusion at the start of the match, causing Itoh to fake cry so everyone else would attack him in her defence. Itoh also did the ladder spin spot, hitting whoever was in her way until Matthew Justice smashed her with a chair. Her last big spot of the match was diving off a ladder onto everyone else outside the ring. She ended up getting taken out of the match when Drew Parker did the Swanton Bomb from the ladder onto herself and Murdoch through some tables at ringside. Matt Tremont ended up being the last one left to climb the ladder and pull down both belts.
BZW/GCW “ENTER THE ZONE”, 25/01/2025 Espace Isabelle De Hainaut, Rue De Saint-Quentin, France
1. BZW Title: Joseph Fenech Jr. (c) defeated Maki Itoh by Disqualification when Itoh was caught with Brass Knuckles (?:??). *V7 for Joseph Fenech Jr.
One week later Itoh travelled to Europe with GCW for a weekend of shows in France and England. For a brief moment it looked like Itoh was the new champion of Banger Zone Wrestling when she defeated Joseph Fenech Jr. for the BZW Title. However during the match Fenech placed a pair of brass knuckles into Itoh’s gear so when he lost the match, he complained to the ref and accused Itoh of cheating. The ref inspected Itoh, found the brass knucks “hidden” in her costume and decided to reverse the decision.
AEW “COLLISION – HOMECOMING”, 25/01/2025 Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
1. TBS Title No. 1 Contender 4 Way Match: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Queen Aminata, Deonna Purazzo and Serena Deeb when Sakazaki pinned Purazzo with a Modified Crucifix Pin (9:28).
2. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Katsuyori Shibata with the Raging Fire (13:29). *V7 for Konosuke Takeshita.
Back in AEW, Takeshita called out an unexpected opponent to be his next challenger for the AEW International Title. He wanted a piece of Katsuyori Shibata after seeing him winning matches in ROH! It was a match that just as much existed to show everyone that Shibata can still take bumps because Takeshita Suplexed him around quite a bit. Shibata though was able to withstand the attacks and push back, fighting his way towards a possible title change. However Don Callis in a panic left the commentary booth to grab Shibata’s leg from ringside as a distraction. Takeshita then grabbed Shibata for the Blue Thunder Bomb. Shibata kicked out of that with a 1 Count so Takeshita put him away with the Raging Fire.
Sakazaki’s AEW direction for this month centered around the TBS Championship. She was thrown into the mix of a 4 Way Match to determine the No. 1 Contender. Her chances improved when Queen Aminata and Serena Deeb fought their way out of the ring and away from ringside. She also benefitted from Deonna Purrazzo getting distracted by Taya Valkyrie being attacked by Harley Cameron. With Purazzo’s guard now down, Sakazaki cradled her into a Crucifix Pin to score the three count and earn herself a title match.
GCW “LIVE IN LONDON”, 26/01/2025 Electric Ballroom, London, England
1. Maki Itoh defeated Man Like DeReiss with a Mouse Trap (11:56).
What Itoh lacked in size against Man Like DeReiss she more than made up for it with ego and personality. She quickly reacted to DeReiss’s big entrance by telling him she’s “not scared, you pussy!” DeReiss still took her lightly, making quips on the microphone while Body Slamming her. But Itoh started a comeback while the Pokémon theme song played over the speakers. However DeReiss took a page out of Itoh’s playbook by crying crocodile tears so Itoh would go easy on him. His plan almost worked until Itoh countered a Power Slam into the Mouse Trap cradle to get the pin out of nowhere.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 29/01/2025
Propst Arena At Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama, USA
1. TBS Title: Mercedes Moné (c) defeated Yuka Sakazaki with the Money Maker (13:40). *V13 for Mercedes Moné.
Remember back when Mercedes Moné would put out photos and videos on social media of her training at the TJPW dojo and hanging out with the roster? Well after all that time we finally got to see her wrestle a match against someone TJPW related. Moné and Sakazaki got the main event slot on Dynamite for their TBS Title match. Sakazaki got out of the Statement Maker by cradling it into a nearfall. She thought she had Moné where she wanted her by doing a Snap German Suplex. But Moné blocked the Magical Girl Splash with her knees and eventually pinned her with the Moné Maker.
JERICHO CRUISE “CHRIS JERICHO’S ROCK ‘N’ WRESTLING RAGER – SIX ON THE BEACH – NIGHT 1”, 31/01/2025 Norwegian Pearl Cruise Ship
1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Viva Van (?:??).
2. AEW International Title Eliminator Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Tommy Billington (?:??).
Both Takeshita and Sakazaki were a part of Chris Jericho’s annual Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager At Sea cruise. There were four days of shows but from what I could find Sakazaki only wrestled on the first day, beating Viva Van. Takeshita beat the new “Dynamite Kid” Tommy Billington on his first match of the cruise. It has since been promoted in AEW canon as an AEW International Title eliminator match for Ring Of Honor TV. I’ll go through the rest of Takeshita’s matches in next month’s article.
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Upcoming Appearances
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AEX32 SANTIAGO 2025”, 09/02/2025 Estación Mapocho Cultural Center, Santiago, Chile
1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Casey
2. Aja Kong Vs Roma
3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Pandora & Sara Phoenix
The AEX Santiago convention welcomes Tokyo Joshi Pro to Chile in February. The Princess Tag Team Titles will be defended over there too, possibly changing the course of “GRAND PRINCESS ’25” if 121000000 lose the belts over there. Fans over there will also get to see Aja Kong and Moka Miyamoto in action.
AEW “GRAND SLAM AUSTRALIA”, 15/02/2025 Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia
1. Will Ospreay & Kenny Omega Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher
There’s a lot of logistical confusion going around AEW’s Australia debut but it’s still working out better than that time Takeshita was booked by Sub-Zero Pro back in 2019. He’ll be teaming with Australia’s own Kyle Fletcher as the two members of the Don Callis Family face the combined wrath of Will Ospreay & Kenny Omega!
1. Yuki Kamifuku & The Statement Vs Alexis Lee & Da Butcherman
Kamifuku and Lee’s rivalry remains in Singapore for the time being. This time Kamifuku will get involved in a mixed tag match for the first time in SPW. She teams with The Statement (aka Andruew Tang) while Lee will team with Da Butcherman.
Some of the best wrestling weekends I’ve ever had were in Germany for the 16 Carat Gold tournament. Yamashita’s debut for wXw is only going to be for the third night though. That’s a shame because if she did the entire weekend there would have been a whole list of interesting new matches for her to do.
NJPW “WINDY CITY RIOT”, 11/04/2025 Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi Last Match In The USA Final Road ~Kinship~: Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA
America gets a rematch over a decade in the making. In the 2nd year Anniversary of Takeshita’s debut match, he got to fight Tanahashi in his prime at DDT’s Sumo Hall show. He had respect for him for years afterward until 2015 when Tanahashi embarrassed DDT in the same venue. When Takeshita competed in the G1 Climax last year he brought up that situation as a reason for him to chase after Tanahashi in New Japan. Now that Tanahashi is getting ready to retire next year, there’s not a lot of time left to make this match happen. So Takeshita made the demand to be the opponent for Tanahashi’s last match in America (unless AEW gets the itch to book him on super short notice later in the year).
PANDEMONIUM PRO “THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS”, 17/04/2025 Fremont Country Club, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Maya World Vs Miu Watanabe
DDT and TJPW’s schedule for Wrestlemania Week is focused on the Friday and Saturday. However Miu Watanabe’s schedule unexpectedly starts a little bit earlier. On the Thursday she will be competing in Pandemonium Pro against the promising wrestler from Texas, Maya World.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
The sixteen women TJPW are planning to bring over to Las Vegas are Mizuki, Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh, Suzume, Yuki Kamifuku, Pom Harajuku, Shoko Nakajima, Rika Tatsumi, Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Arisu Endo, Yuki Arai, Wakana Uehara and Shino Suzuki. There will be a few more international wrestlers taking part too.
DDT “DDT GOES LAS VEGAS!”, 18/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
The first group of DDT wrestlers coming over for the show are MAO, Shinya Aoki, Daisuke Sasaki, Yukio Naya, Antonio Honda, Ilusion, Yuni and Kazuma Sumi. A lot of the regular talent have already been advertised for DDT’s shows back in Japan the same weekend so this might be your lot outside of the guests.
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GCW “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW”, 19/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Let’s make this a quick one because the end of this year felt like a safe landing after a long flight. Konosuke Takeshita was building up two separate challengers, one in AEW and one in New Japan. The DDT Universal Title was spotted over in Canada. January sees the international schedules heating up again with matches going on in North America, Southeast Asia and Europe. Then in February South America gets to join in the fun. That’s enough of the introductions, here is what happened in December.
1. DDT Universal Title: Gringo Loco (c) Vs Sidney Akeem
AEW “RAMPAGE – HOLIDAY BASH”, 20/12/2024 Entertainment & Sports Arena, Washington, District Of Columbia, USA
1. Powerhouse Hobbs & Mark Davis Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Brian Cage
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Results
AEW “RAMPAGE – WINTER IS COMING”, 11/12/2024 (Aired 13/12/2024) T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
1. Mark Davis & Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Lance Archer when Hobbs pinned Archer with the Spinebuster (12:00).
In December Takeshita was getting ready to deal with upcoming challengers from two fronts. In AEW it was starting to look like Powerhouse Hobbs was going to be the next person he would defend the AEW International Title again. They met in a tag match but Takeshita was taken out of the ring by Mark Davis. Hobbs instead switched his attention over to Lance Archer and he pinned him with the Spinebuster. Takeshita tried to attack Hobbs after the match but he too was given the Spinebuster and Hobbs then posed with his title.
NJPW “STRONG STYLE EVOLVED”, 15/12/2024 Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, California, USA
1. Special Tag Team Grudge Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Jack Perry defeated Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji when Perry pinned Tsuji with the Glass Jaw (17:44).
Takeshita had to change his focus over to another challenger over in New Japan because Shingo Takagi also has him in his sights. They clashed in a tag match that also mixed in Yota Tsuji as Takagi’s partner and Jack Perry as Takeshita’s. That caused most of the focus to be on Tsuji Vs Perry which led to a ref bump. Perry gave Tsuji a Low Blow and then hit the Glass Jaw knee strike to get the victory for his team.
AEW “RAMPAGE – HOLIDAY BASH”, 18/12/2024 (Aired 20/12/2024) Entertainment & Sports Arena, Washington, District Of Columbia, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita & Brian Cage defeated Powerhouse Hobbs & Mark Davis when Takeshita pinned Davis with the Raging Fire (12:27).
This here is Takeshita’s final match on “RAMPAGE” because that show is now coming to an end. He faced off against Hobbs & Davis again but this time had Brian Cage as his tag partner. Cage was able to keep Hobbs at bay so Takeshita could beat Davis with the Powerdrive Knee followed by the Raging Fire. That was it for the warm up matches. The next time Takeshita and Hobbs would meet was on PPV for the title match!
1. DDT Universal Title: Gringo Loco (c) defeated Sidney Akeem with an Avalanche Inverted Angle Slam (?:??). *V1 for Gringo Loco.
For the last month the DDT Universal Title has been following around Gringo Loco. He’s brought it with him to many of his different bookings but DDT only gave him permission for one title defence. It happened in Canada for Demand Lucha and Loco’s opponent was Sidney Akeem, the former WWE wrestler who has been doing pretty good on the indies lately particularly with GCW. Given who was involved there were plenty of big moves hit throughout the match. Akeem did a 360 Twirling Double Knee Drop from the top rope as well as multiple cartwheels that led into a Cutter. Loco would have lost to that if he hadn’t reached his arm out for a rope break. The two fought there way up to the top rope once more where Loco gave Akeem an Inverted Olympic Slam to the canvas to get the three count.
AEW “WORLDS END”, 28/12/2024 T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Powerhouse Hobbs with the Raging Fire (16:30). *V4 for Konosuke Takeshita.
Takeshita’s final match of the year saw him defeat Hobbs to remain as the International Champion. The match got plenty of “Meat!” chants and also a “Please Be Careful” chant when the two fell off the top rope for a botched Superplex spot. Hobbs used the Spinebuster to counter the Powerdrive Knee for a nearfall. But damage accumulated to his knee over time slowed Hobbs down and he had to pause himself in order to take off his knee brace. Takeshita capitalized on the injury and take over the match. He kept up the attack until he pinned Hobbs with the Raging Fire. And with that done it is now onto the Tokyo Dome for Takeshita!
GCW “TAKE CARE”, 28/12/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. DDT Universal Title: Gringo Loco (c) defeated Rich Swann with the Avalanche Base Bomb (14:20). *V2 for Gringo Loco.
Loco squeezed in a second Universal Title defence before the end of the year although nobody at the time seemed to be aware of it. His match against Rich Swann at GCW was never announced in the venue or on commentary as a title match (although GCW commentary not being aware of what’s going on half the time is a bad habit of theirs) and DDT has only said Loco has two successful defences under his belt without saying which matches they are (which is why I do these reports to keep track of everything myself). I had to go the title history page on Shukan Puroresu’s site to find out that this match is the one considered to be Loco’s second title defence.
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Upcoming Appearances
NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM 19 IN TOKYO DOME”, 04/01/2025 Tokyo Dome, Japan
1. NEVER Openweight Title & AEW International Title: Shingo Takagi (N/c) Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (I/c)
The inter-promotional match between Takagi and Takeshita is now confirmed to be for both the NEVER Openweight Title and the AEW International Title! They only showed a small amount of what they are capable of at Walter Pyramid so what are they going to pull off in the Tokyo Dome?
NJPW/AEW/CMLL/STARDOM/ROH “WRESTLE DYNASTY”, 05/01/2025 Tokyo Dome, Japan
1. NEVER Openweight Title & AEW International Title: Shingo Takagi or KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c/c) Vs Tomohiro Ishii
There will be no rest for the wicked because the winner of the double title match returns the next day to defend both championships against Tomohiro Ishii. And who knows, maybe Takeshita will show up at “NEW YEAR’S DASH” the day after that!
SPW “CHAMPIONS NEVER YIELD 3”, 10/01/2025 Foo Chow Building, Singapore
1. Queen Of Asia Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c) Vs Alexis Lee
It was back in November 2023 when Yuki Kamifuku won the Queen Of Asia Title from Alexis Lee. Then in May of this year Kamifuku successfully defended the title against Lee in TJPW. Since then Lee has been winning matches in Singapore Pro Wrestling and built herself back up for another title shot. This time it will happen on home ground. No word yet on if the VPW Women’s Title will also be defended. The two of them battled over that belt when it was created earlier this year too.
NJPW “BATTLE IN THE VALLEY”, 11/01/2025 San Jose Civic, San Jose, California, USA
1. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs X
2. Sumie Sakai Retirement Match: Hiromu Takahashi, Mayu Iwatani & Yuka Sakazaki Vs Sumi Sakai, EVIL & SHO
What in the fever dream is this match? Sumie Sakai has played a vital role for many Japanese wrestlers who stayed in America for their excursions over the years. She often took wrestlers in to live and travel with her while she sorted out their bookings across the country. So when she announced her retirement many people requested to take part in it. First was Hiromu Takahashi so once he got involved Sakai came up with an idea to have both teams feature one man and two women for the match. Mayu Iwatani quickly asked to be involved and so too did Yuka Sakazaki. So we have Hiromu, Mayu and Yuka all teaming together for the first time ever which is wild as hell to think about. Sakai had a couple of ideas for who she wants to team with. There were other people higher up on the list but in the end she wanted EVIL & SHO from The House Of Torture to be on her team. They too were under her watch on their American excursions lifetimes ago and she would love nothing more than to make one last previous memory with them. If that doesn’t interest you then Sakazaki & Iwatani being in the same match together should.
Win, lose or draw at the Tokyo Dome, Takeshita is guaranteed to be making more appearances for New Japan this year.
IWA Thailand/SETUP “BANGKOK NAVIGATION”, 18/01/2025 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
So IWA Japan has now officially closed down after the passing of its president Tatsukuni Asano in November. In its place SETUP has launched IWA Thailand to continue the brand’s lineage. Masahiro Takanashi will be part of the “debut” show in January.
GCW “THE PEOPLE VS GCW”, 19/01/2025 Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Be careful out there when you’re parking near the Hammerstein Ballroom. I left two tickets for this show in my car. Somebody broke in and left four more.
BZW/GCW “ENTER THE ZONE”, 25/01/2025 Espace Isabelle De Hainaut, Rue De Saint-Quentin, France
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Maki Itoh’s GCW adventures are going to bring her over to Europe later this month. Banger Zone Wrestling is sure to give her a warm welcome to France.
GCW “LIVE IN LONDON”, 26/01/2025 Electric Ballroom, London, England
1. Maki Itoh Vs Man Like DeReiss
Then the next day Itoh will be in London when GCW visits PROGRESS’s home venue. Man Like DeReiss has kind of made intergender matches his thing in 2024. His GCW win-loss record also hasn’t been great. But give him a microphone and he will leave you with a lasting impression. Itoh might not like getting shown up like that.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AEX32 SANTIAGO 2025”, 09/02/2025 Estación Mapocho Cultural Center, Santiago, Chile
1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Pandora
2. Aja Kong Vs Roma
3. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Zatara & Sara Phoenix
The Tokyo Joshi Pro show at the anime convention will be all made of up Japan Vs Chile matches. 121000000 will be facing Zatara & Sara Phoenix in the main event, Aja Kong will become one of the biggest opponents Roma has ever faced and Moka Miyamoto tests her skills against Pandora.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Hopefully we will get more details on the show very soon.
DDT “DDT GOES LAS VEGAS!”, 18/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Same goes for this one.
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GCW “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW”, 19/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
It’s entirely possible I will be spending the whole week following the shows that book DDT and TJPW talent instead of everything else happening in Vegas.
UJPW “ALL TOGETHER”, 06/05/2024 Tokyo Nippon Budokan 4,583 Fans
1. EVIL, Ren Narita & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Sanshiro Takagi & Naomichi Marufuji when EVIL pinned Tanahashi with the EVIL (8:50).
2. Kenoh defeated Kosei Fujita with the PFS (9:44).
3. Starlight Kid & Natsupoi defeated AZM & Miyu Amasaki when Ken pinned Amasaki with the Star Suplex (9:50).
4. Tomohiro Ishii & Daisuke Sekimoto defeated Jeff Cobb & Masa Kitamiya when Ishii pinned Cobb with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (13:15).
5. El Desperado, HAYATA, Ninja Mack, MAO & Kota Minoura defeated Hiromu Takahashi, Dragon Bane, Alpha Wolf, Shunma Katsumata & YAMATO when Minoura pinned YAMATO after an accidental Hiromu-chan Bomber from Takahashi (13:21).
6. Taichi & KAI defeated Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes when Taichi pinned Brookes with the Taichi-Style Gedo Clutch (14:59).
7. Jake Lee, David Finlay & Gabe Kidd defeated Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji when Lee pinned Naito with the FBS (17:46).
8. Shota Umino, Kaito Kiyomiya & Yuki Ueno defeated Yuya Uemura, KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Shun Skywalker when Kaito Kiyomiya pinned Uemura with the Modified Shining Wizard (23:18).
Let’s have a little look at what DDT got up to at the “ALL TOGETHER” show that took place earlier today. Yuki Ueno and Konosuke Takeshita were part of the main event on opposite teams. They had moments in the match to fight each other as well as everyone else. Ueno along with Shota Umino & Kaito Kiyomiya delivered a Triple Missile Dropkick to Yuya Uemura. Ueno then hit a Moonsault to Takeshita & Shun Skywalker outside the ring, leaving Kiyomiya to finish off Uemura with the Shining Wizard. Ueno and Takeshita left separate comments to reporters after the match. Ueno said every company involved in United Japan Pro Wrestling have joined forces to make pro wrestling more exciting because wrestling gives strength to everyone. He got to wrestle inside Budokan Hall today as a champion and he wants to continue making wrestling fun for everyone with DDT. Takeshita however had more demanding things to say about the main event. He wants his generation to create a new era and that will not happen when everyone behaves like friends. If everyone wants to be the best like he does then they should step up and do singles matches with himself and each other. If any of the other five in the main event have the courage to do that then they should step forward.
Zack Sabre Jr. and Chris Brookes got to team up together again. They are now getting SCHADEN TEKKERS across as their team name but they failed to wear matching gear. They enjoyed getting to wrestle against Taichi but maybe didn’t feel the same about KAI. That all came to a head when KAI brought a chair into the ring and Taichi stopped him from attacking Sabre and instead hit KAI with it. He went back to wrestling Brookes and pinned him with the Gedo Clutch. KAI attacked Taichi after the match but SCHADEN TEKKERS came to the rescue.
The Junior Heavyweight divisions of several promotions all banded together for a 10-Man Tag Match. MAO and Shunma Katsumata were there on behalf of DDT. Katsumata was a last minute replacement for Tetsuya Endo because Endo got hurt during yesterday’s DDT show and needed more time to recover. MAO started the match with Hiromu Takahashi and got help from El Desperado when YAMATO came to aid Takahashi. Ninja Mack kept wanting to do the Sasuke Special but kept getting cut off by Katsumata and the rest of his team. He got to hit his dive and so did Dragon Bane and Alpha Wolf. Takahashi’s teamwork with YAMATO self-destructed when he accidentally hit YAMATO with a Clothesline. Kota Minoura then Cradled YAMATO for the three count. MAO told Desperado after the match that Brookes should invite him to Baka Gaijin + Friends some day. MAO will even deliver the invitation to New Japan. Desperado told him he doesn’t think the idea will be possible. Katsumata blamed the loss on his team not having enough NeppoWER!!
The super team of super presidents failed to beat House Of Torture in the opening match of the show. Not even Sanshiro Takagi crashing the Dramatic Dream bike into everyone outside the ring was enough to win the battle. Dick Togo interfered in the match until Takagi gave him the Stunner and Naomichi Marufuji Thrust Kicked him. They even used the same moves to set EVIL up for Hiroshi Tanahashi’s Sling Blade. However the numbers game tipped in House Of Torture’s favour when more of their members showed up for interferene. Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Togo overwhelmed the presidents and EVIL beat Tanahashi to ruin everyone’s day. Backstage Takagi was confused to see Togo out there because he thought he retired years ago.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 