DDT Around The World – September 2025

October 1, 2025

The post-summer rest is over and done with. There are two separate stories that Konosuke Takeshita is now travelling through. One in New Japan might see him become the next IWGP World Heavyweight Champion with a reign that can bring him right into the Tokyo Dome. The other is a path leading him towards Kazuchika Okada in AEW that could end with him holding the AEW Unified Title when all is said and done. At least that’s how little old optimistic me is seeing things at the moment. He spent September getting built up for a title shot with Okada and came out of it empty handed.

While that was going on, Tokyo Joshi Pro were making moves towards complete global saturation! They’ve already taken over the women’s division in MLW and have more talent coming over to America in the next couple of weeks. Then after that they move on to take over Malaysia and Thailand with some first time shows taking place in those countries later in the year.

We’re also not done with Maki Itoh yet. She broke her silence after leaving TJPW last month by declaring herself the most cutest unemployed wrestler in the world. She has another tour of America coming up so the next step is to see if she will do anything new with GCW now that she can dedicate herself more over there or if she is just going to continue playing the hits.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “COLLISION”, 06/09/2025
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Mark Briscoe Vs Konosuke Takeshita


AEW “COLLISION”, 13/09/2025
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. AEW Unified Title Eliminator Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Anthony Bowens

Video starts at 31:10 for the match
MLW “FIGHTLAND”, 13/09/2025
NYTEX Sports Centre, Dallas, Texas, USA

1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 24/09/2025
Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Mark Briscoe, Hologram & Orange Cassidy Vs Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero

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Results


AEW “COLLISION”, 06/09/2025
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Mark Briscoe with the Raging Fire (17:54).

First up this month was Takeshita taking on Mark Briscoe in the venue most remembered for being the ECW Arena. What came off as a no nonsense singles match ended up being spoiled when MJF unexpectedly ran in to push Briscoe off of the top rope. The appearance was unexpected because MJF was supposedly on his honeymoon at the time. Takeshita appeared not to mind because it gave him the opening to hit Briscoe with the Powerdrive Knee and then pin him with the Raging Fire. However after the match he gave MJF a shove because he actually was annoyed over his interference. Don Callis stepped in before things could heat up and got Takeshita out of the ring before another fight broke out between Briscoe and MJF.


ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 11/09/2025 (Aired 18/09/2025)
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Pure Rules Match: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Janai Kai with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (4:42).

We got a Yuka Sakazaki match this month but not the one I thought it was going to be. Her appearance in the ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament hasn’t taken place yet. Instead she fought Janai Kai in a warm up match using Pure Rules so she can get the hang of them. Although outside of two rope breaks there was nothing different to a normal match. Also Sakazaki walked out to what sounded like a new remix of her entrance song.


AEW “COLLISION”, 11/09/2025 (Aired 13/09/2025)
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. AEW Unified Title Eliminator Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Anthony Bowens with the Raging Fire (9:14).

Next up for Takeshita was his participation in a quick tournament that was put together for the AEW Unified Title match at the next AEW PPV. He fought Anthony Bowens with the winner advancing to a 3 Way title match at “ALL OUT”. Bowens badly needed a result to get himself out of a funk he is currently going through. He at a Reverse Hurricanrana from Takeshita and popped back up to give him a Leaping Famouser from behind. But he ultimately fell to the triple combo of Blue Thunder Bomb, Powerdrive Knee and Raging Fire. Takeshita would then reappear later in the episode to point at Okada and send the message that he is after his stablemate’s championship!


MLW “FIGHTLAND”, 13/09/2025
NYTEX Sports Centre, Dallas, Texas, USA

1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Locomotion Northern Lights Suplex (9:46).
*V3 for Shoko Nakajima.

The working relationship between TJPW and MLW continues to look strong as the joshi side seems to be increasingly filling out the entire women’s division in MLW. It led to a little bit of an ambitious booking to help advance the Kyoraku Kyomei Vs Ober Eats storyline in TJPW. While Shoko Nakajima and Yuki Kamifuku were busy fighting each other over the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title in America, their partners Hyper Misao and Wakana Uehara were meant to have a singles match together back in Japan on the same day. Sadly an accidental injury to Uehara caused by Misao cancelled plans for the latter from happening. Back in MLW, Kamifuku couldn’t put Nakajima away with her usual signature moves so she went up to the second rope to do the Diving Famouser. Nakajima dodged it and pulled out two successive Northern Lights Suplexes to get the win and retain her championship.


AEW “ALL OUT TORONTO”, 20/09/2025
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

1. AEW Unified Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita and Mascara Dorada when Okada pinned Dorada with the Rainmaker (20:55).
*V3 for Kazuchika Okada.

Hey this was a treat! Okada and Takeshita trying to wrestle each other but you throw the new Mascara Dorada from CMLL in there as a wild card to constantly get in the way and you got yourself a heck of a match there. If anything Dorada had something of a breakout performance that stole the spotlight away from the other two. Okada ended up getting away with it in the free for all. Takeshita gave Dorada the Raging Fire but then got hit by Okada’s trademark Dropkick. That sent Takeshita tumbling out of the ring leaving Okada to pick up the pieces and used the Rainmaker on Dorada for the victory.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 24/09/2025
Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Mark Briscoe, Hologram & Orange Cassidy defeated Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero when Hologram pinned Hechicero with the Portal Bomb (10:36).

More cracks were surfacing within The Don Callis Family thanks to the uneasy alliance between Okada and Takeshita. Callis tried to blow it over by revealing his latest work of art to everyone but that was hijacked by the return of Orange Cassidy! Some teamwork from Cassidy & Hologram on Hechicero led to their team getting the win while we end our time this month wondering what is next for this story going on between Okada and Takeshita.


ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 24/09/2025 (Aired 02/10/2025)
Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Pure Rules Match: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Zoey Lynn with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (4:23).

This one slipped past me. Sakazaki got in another Pure Rules match at the end of the month, this time beating Zoey Lynn. Sakazaki had her back worked over and it still looks like like Pure Rules style doesn’t make a difference in how her matches are laid out. But Sakazaki Super Kicked Lynn’s head off and pinned her with the Magical Merry-Go-Round.

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Upcoming Appearances


ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, ??/10/2025
???, USA

1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Round 1: Serena Deeb Vs Yuka Sakazaki

We had to wait a month for this match to happen? What’s the freaking holdup? Now that I notice it, Sakazaki wrestled this month but Serena Deeb didn’t.


MLW “SLAUGHTERHOUSE”, 04/10/2025
Thunder Studios Arena, Long Beach, California, USA

1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs HIMAWARI

TJPW’s takeover of the MLW women’s division moves even further with Nakajima’s next defence. HIMAWARI is coming back for another MLW appearance and is immediately given a title shot. I think the endgame for Nakajima is to face Shotzi Blackheart but MLW are in no rush to get there.


VIP “SETTING THE BAR 11”, 10/10/2025
The Haltom Theater, Haltom City, Texas, USA

1. VIP Women’s Title – 3 Way Match: Maya World (c) Vs Vert Vixen Vs Kaya Toribami

The Texas tour has left a big mark in TJPW’s future plans for America. They see it as a good hub to hunker down in for a potential overseas expansion. They even see the benefit of creating Texas Joshi Pro Wrestling just because they could still call it TJPW. But this is looking way out into the future so for now they’re just going to plant a seed here and there to test things out. First up is Kaya Toribami heading over to compete on a VIP Wrestling show. She gets to be part of a 3 Way Match with Maya World and Vert Vixen with the VIP Women’s Title on the line.


VGM “FIGHT VGM FIGHT WRESTLING STARS MEET AND GREET & PRO WRESTLING MATCH”, 18/10/2025
Full House, Liangxi, Wuxi, China

1. Rika Tatsumi Vs HIMAWARI

China gets another taste of TJPW when Rika Tatsumi and HIMAWARI face off at the Fight VGM Fight show.


CMLL “VIERNES ESPECTACULAR”, 24/10/2025
Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

1. Grand Prix de Amazonas: Persephone, La Catalina, Olympia, Skadi, Reyna Isis, Zeuxis, India Sioux, Lluvia & La Jarochita Vs Kanji, Diamante, Shoko Nakajima, Hazuki, Koguma, Mina Shirakawa, Skye Blue, Julia Hart & Thekla

Back in 2019 Nakajima got to go on a tour of Mexico with CMLL with stops at Arena Mexico, Arena Coliseo and Arena Puebla. There was even a rare DVD of her lucha matches that TJPW and LADY’S RING put out that is in my collection somewhere. Now six years later she gets to go again but as a representative of MLW rather than TJPW. CMLL are holding the fifth annual Grand Prix de Amazonas torneo cibernetico for their women’s division that pits Mexico against the world. The international team has plenty of Japanese talent on it this year. Nakajima will be joined by Mina Shirakawa plus the FWC pair of Hazuki & Koguma. It would be goofy if politics between Stardom and TJPW somehow came into play here. In reality I think it’s just a coincidence that Nakajima is labelled an MLW wrestler instead of a TJPW one because she has been MLW’s long term champion for this year.


GCW “YOU WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND”, 07/11/2025
The Webster, Hartford, Connecticut, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

The Cutest Unemployed Tour begins! Itoh’s first new booking announcements since leaving TJPW are all gathered around GCW in the month of November.


GCW “MASSACRE IN MAINE”, 08/11/2025
Yarmouth Amvets, Yarmouth, Maine USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

She’s going to Connecticut and Maine and Vermont to put them all on the map!


GCW “GREEN MOUNTAINS AND ME”, 09/11/2025
Barre Elks Lodge, Barre, Vermont, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Got confused for a moment and thought this was the Elks Lodge in New York that ECW used to book.


SETUP/IWA THAILAND “A NEW DAWN”, 14/11/2025
TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi

1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Bangkok Death Match: Matcha (c) Vs Ram Kaichow Vs Pom Harajuku
2. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Andruew Tang & Jake De Leon (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami Vs Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr.
3. Double Main Event I – Ace Vs Ace: Shivam Vs HARASHIMA

Big plans are going ahead for SETUP’s first ever show in Japan. They have a double main event planned and HARASHIMA’s in one of them. He is facing Shivam, the leader of Real Global Threat who feels he has ran through all of his competition in Southeast Asia. So now he wants to face the best that Japan has to offer, which is where HARASHIMA steps in.

RGT currently hold the IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles and will defend them against two very different tag teams. The monster team of Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr. are returning to their IWA Japan roots while TJPW is sending Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami over to claim some gold as part of their upcoming visit to Thailand.

TJPW is also betting on Pom Harajuku to win back the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title. She’s beaten Matcha for that belt before in a No DQ Match, a result that Matcha would love to correct. Matcha also got her title back from beating Raku which made Raku’s “husband” Ram Kaichow feeling pretty mad when she found out about it. SETUP decided to let these three collide and to make things even more dangerous it is going to be a Bangkok Death Match!


DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “LOVE & PEACE”, 15/11/2025
JioSpace, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Both DDT and TJPW are putting together a show in Malaysia alongside the local idol group KLP48. So far the DDT talent announced are Sanshiro Takagi, Chris Brookes and Shinichiro Kawamatsu. Also Shota is there as a freelancer. The TJPW side are sending over Miu Watanabe, Raku, Shino Suzuki and Yuki Kamifuku.


HOG “SUPERCLASH”, 15/11/2025
Suffolk Credit Union Arena, Brentwood, New York, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

GCW isn’t the only place you’ll see Itoh in November. She makes her House Of Glory debut as well.


WXW “25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR”, 21/11/2025
Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany

1. Dani Luna Vs Miyu Yamashita

Looks like Germany is definitely the first stop for Yamashita’s European tour.


WXW “25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR”, 22/11/2025
Gruenspan, Hamburg, Germany

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

I haven’t paid much attention to wXw lately so your guess is as good as mine in regards to who Yamashita can wrestle over there.


GCW “DREAM ON”, 22/11/2025
American Dream, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Zayda Steel

What looks to be Itoh’s last GCW appearance for the month has her going toe to toe against Zayda Steel.


WPE/QPW “EPISODE 2”, 28/11/2025
Salle Albert Marquet, La Frette-sur-Seine, France

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Nothing new announced for Yamashita’s match in France.


SAJ “FINAL BOUT 4”, 29/11/2025
Magnete, Via Adriando, Milan, Italy

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Maki Itoh Vs X

Could a brief 121000000 reunion be on the cards or are Yamashita and Itoh staying separated from each other?


PROGRESS “VENDETTA 3”, 30/11/2025
Electric Ballroom, Camden, London, England

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

A new place in England for Yamashita to wrestle in. She makes her Progress debut at the end of November.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN BANGKOK”, 13/12/2025
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

It’s been long enough, after so many guest appearances over the last few years, now is the time for TJPW to bring the whole thing over to Thailand! They’re working with SETUP to bring a dozen wrestlers over to work alongside several women’s wrestlers from across the Southeast Asian scene.

The twelve TJPW members going over are Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Arisu Endo, Shoko Nakajima, Miyu Yamashita, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Suzume, Yuki Arai, Kaya Toribami, Shino Suzuki and Uta Takami. Also part of the show will be Alexis Lee and Matcha from the SEA side.

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Other Appearances


ASW “MUCHA LUCHA”, 06/09/2025
Stephen’s Cocktail Corner Bar, Langley, British Columbia, Canada

ASW “THE COBRA STRIKES BACK”, 13/09/2025
Evergreen Hall, Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada

ASW “SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT”, 20/09/2025
Maritime Labour Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

So it looks like Sayuri Namba has found a place to do some ring announcing while she is living in Canada. She worked at least three shows for All Star Wrestling in British Columbia from what I could find online.


DDT And TJPW Results From The GCW Japan 2025 Tour

August 4, 2025

Originally I was only going to write a little bit about GCW’s latest tour of Japan in my monthly DDT Around The World series because there was only a handful of DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro talent taking part and not even on every show. However plans changed when Masha Slamovich and Microman were both unable to travel to Japan, opening spots up for DDT and TJPW wrestlers to get booked for the shows on short notice. So since there was a lot more to write about, I had to put them in their own post.

GCW “GCW JAPAN 2025 AT SHINJUKU FACE”, 28/07/2025
Shinjuku FACE
??? Fans

1. GCW Tag Team Titles: Alec Price & Jordan Oliver (c) defeated Effy & Dark Sheik when Price pinned Sheik after a Flapjack/Facecrusher Combo (11:48).
*V12 for YDNP.
2. Drew Parker defeated Shotzi Blackheart with the Swanton Bomb (6:48).
3. Jeffrey John defeated Kikutaro with the Pedigree (10:06).
4. MAO defeated Atticus Cogar after a Super Kick/Praying Mantis Bomb Combo with Drew Parker (12:38).
5. Kazusada Higuchi defeated 1 Called Manders with the Claw Slam (14:01).
6. GCW Ultraviolent Title: Matt Tremont (c) defeated Super Crazy with the Death Valley Driver onto a Table (12:07).
*V16 for Matt Tremont.

GCW put together an inter-promotional champion versus champion match. 1 Called Manders was supposed to face Slamovich for the JCW World Title but that match was cancelled. Instead Manders brought along the wXw Unified World Wrestling Title to fight Kazusada Higuchi, the reigning KO-D Openweight Champion in a non-title bout. The two made sure to beat the hell out of each other including a moment at ringside where Higuchi Suplexed Manders onto the exposed floor. The damage done prevented Manders from doing a Gutwrench move later in the match, allowing Higuchi to take over with the Doctor Bomb. But Manders got right back up, Chopped Higuchi in the stomach and pulled off the Gutwrench Suplex on the next attempt. A back and forth series of Chops and Headbutts led to Higuchi reaching out for the Claw Hold but Manders bit his hand instead. A big Lariat from Manders got a two count but Higuchi rocked him back with his own Lariat and used the Claw Slam to get the win. After the match Manders offered to hand the KO-D Title back to Higuchi as a show of respect. Higuchi decided to do the same with the wXw Title.

Opposite attitudes clashed in the ring when MAO fought Atticus Cogar one on one. MAO came into the match wearing shades and a bright orange shirt for the summer while Cogar was all business with no time for dealing with his opponent’s nonsense. When MAO wiggled his way around a Waist Lock, Cogar pulled out his bundle of skewers. The ref took the skewers off him but Cogar pulled another bundle later in the match and threatened the ref when they were taken off him again. MAO ran in to try and stop Atticus but he missed a Big Boot and accidentally knocked the ref out instead! Cogar successfully jabbed MAO in the head with the skewers and then attack him with a chair. Then he suddenly pulled out a dart and was about to stab MAO with it when Drew Parker ran into the ring and stopped him. MAO and Parker then teamed up on Cogar, giving him a Super Kick/Praying Mantis Bomb Combo. MAO was able to pin him while the revived ref counted to three.

GCW “GCW JAPAN 2025 AT TOKYO SQUARE”, 29/07/2025
TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi
??? Fans

1. Shota defeated Jeffrey John with a School Boy (8:17).
2. Hideyoshi Kamitani defeated 1 Called Manders with a Back Drop (11:29).
3. MAO, Alec Price & Jordan Oliver defeated Miyu Yamashita, Dark Sheik & Shotzi Blackheart when Price pinned Sheik after a Double Impaler DDT (15:19).
4. Atticus Cogar defeated Drew Parker with the Headlock Driver (8:32).
5. GCW World Title: Effy (c) defeated Abdullah Kobayashi with the Diving Sack Rider (14:34).
*V25 for Effy.
6. GCW Ultraviolent Title: Matt Tremont (c) defeated Masashi Takeda with the Death Valley Driver into a box of Lighttubes (12:07).
*V17 for Matt Tremont.

Slamovich’s absence meant Miyu Yamashita was called in to team with Dark Sheik & Shotzi Blackheart. As for their opponents, you already have Alec Price & Jordan Oliver as YDNP so add MAO to the mix and you get YDNPM (Young Dumb ‘N Price MAO)! Yamashita hit Price with the Skull Kick at one point but Price got one back on her by hitting a Rebound Lariat. MAO then took out Yamashita & Blackheart with a Quebrada outside the ring into the aisleway. YDNP then finished Sheik off with a Double Impaler DDT for the victory.

GCW “GCW JAPAN 2025 AT KORAKUEN HALL”, 30/07/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
??? Fans

1. GCW Tag Team Titles: Alec Price & Jordan Oliver (c) defeated MAO & Rina Yamashita when Price pinned Yamashita after the Double Impaler DDT (?:??).
*V13 for YDNP.
2. Atticus Cogar defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Headlock Driver (?:??).
3. Dark Sheik, Yoshihiko & Jeffrey John defeated Invisible Stan, Shota & Kikutaro when Sheik pinned Shota with the Diving Leg Drop (?:??).
4. Jun Akiyama defeated 1 Called Manders with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex (?:??).
5. Maki Itoh defeated Shotzi Blackheart with a Crab Hold (12:29).
6. Chris Brookes defeated Drew Parker with two Praying Mantis Bombs (23:16).
7. GCW World Title: Effy (c) defeated Matt Tremont with the Diving Sack Rider onto the Chairs (21:34).
*V26 for Effy.

One of the big matches of the finale in Korakuen Hall was Chris Brookes being in the ring again with Drew Parker. This was the first match together in over two years after Parker left Japan to return home. Parker was busted open early when they brawled up the aisleway and Brookes rammed a table into his face. Parker knocked Brookes onto the table then fought off Takeshi Masada who was there as a cornerman. He had Bunbun with him so Parker grabbed Bunbun, climbed the nearby entrance and did a Diving Body Press to Brookes through the table! Brookes later did a Diving Senton to Parker sending both of them crashing into a stack of plastic boxes in the ring. After a long hard fought battle Brookes started giving Parker different kinds of Piledrivers. There was a Tombstone, then a Snap Piledriver, then a top rope Praying Mantis Bomb. Parker kept kicking out though and tried to show whatever defiance he still had left in him. Brookes then gave him two more Praying Mantis Bombs and Parker was finally down for the three count. The two embraced after the match.

Maki Itoh took part in last year’s GCW tour with a hand injury so in a kind of funny turn of events she took on Shotzi Blackheart who was going through the same thing for this year’s tour. At one point during the match Itoh went into the crowd because she noticed Shoko Nakajima and Miu Watanabe sitting on the bleachers as spectators. Back in the ring there was a strike exchange with Itoh no selling strikes to the head while Blackheart no sold Low Blows. When Blackheart got the upper hand, Itoh pulled out a pizza cutter and attacked her with it. Blackheart went for a Running Knee Strike but Itoh rolled her over into a Crab Hold, increasing the pressure until Blackheart gave up.

If anyone had a hard hitting three days of wrestling it was Manders. His third and final singles match of a tour was a dream come true for him because he got to fight Jun Akiyama. Much like the Higuchi match, both men hit and slammed each other as hard as they could until one reached their limit. That happened when Akiyama gave Manders the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex. Manders gave Akiyama the horns up hand sign after the match and Akiyama replied in kind.

Throughout the tour a grudge developed between Jeffrey John and Kikutaro. It led to Kikutaro costing John a match against Shota and then brought Dark Sheik into the picture to even the playing field. Kikutaro was meant to fight Dark Sheik & Yoshihiko on this show with Microman as his partner. Plans changed so he decided to call in the big guns and invite Invisible Stan to team with him and Shota! Stan’s biggest impact in the match was to do the Korakuen balcony dive onto everyone down below! Back in the ring John landed a Plancha to Kikutaro, Yoshihiko gave Shota a Tornado DDT and Sheik then pinned him with the Diving Leg Drop.

The match Yamashita was scheduled to take part in was a singles bout with Atticus Cogar. Nowadays whenever Yamashita takes part in GCW she gets more and more into the wilder wrestling style of the company compared to TJPW. The same was seen here when she briefly stopped Cogar from using a chair by kicking it apart! The frame was still in one piece so it remained to be used as a weapon by both. Cogar pulled out the skewers but it was Yamashita who jabbed them into his head rather than the other way around! However Cogar recovered and gave her the Air Raid Crash. Yamashita kicked out of it but Cogar immediately rolled it into the Headlock Driver to win the match.

MAO and YDNP became opponents for the final show of the tour. The opening match was a GCW Tag Team Titles bout with MAO joining up with Rina Yamashita as Slamovich’s replacement to challenge the champions. They came close to winning when MAO hit a Frog Splash and Yamashita did a Diving Body Press on Price but Oliver made it in time to break the pin. MAO ran up the corner to do a Jumping Cutter but Price cut him off in midair with a Super Kick. With MAO out of the picture, YDNP were then able to beat Yamashita with the Double Impaler DDT.


DDT Around The World – July 2025

August 1, 2025

The Texas tour is just a sweet memory now and it’s one that will be looked back on fondly. Unless the financial details say otherwise it has to be seen as a resounding success. One that could open some eyes around the industry. Tokyo Joshi Pro being the first ones in joshi to find a way to break into the American market even a little bit should highlight the audience that’s out there. It’s the nerd crowd, the otaku crowd, the anime crowd, whatever you want to call them. I always thought it would be a slam dunk for Bushiroad to strike up a deal with Crunchyroll to localize the weekly episodes of “We Are STARDOM!!” for their streaming service. The sudden explosion of global popularity for Uma Musume last month had me gesturing wildly thinking CyberFight should go talk to Cygames and do something. Then I was told such an idea is completely off the table, at least in regards to crossing over with that franchise in particular. I’m just saying maybe Wrestle Angels or Ring☆Dream can come back to life as a licensed product.

The rest of the summer feels like it will be a calm one for this series. Konosuke Takeshita is busy with the G1 Climax in Japan and the whispers have been unusually loud this time around suggesting that he is going to play a big role for the rest of New Japan’s year. I wonder where that’s coming from (Rocky Romero I am looking in your direction). Maki Itoh won’t be travelling back to America after all and I’m hoping there isn’t anything to worry about regarding that. The few bookings we know about happening in the next month or two mostly surround the Asian wrestling scene.

One more note, I was originally going to write about the GCW Japan tour in this post which is why the partial results are included at the end. However the shows wound up featuring a lot more DDT and TJPW talent than planned because some of the GCW wrestlers were unable to travel. So I will write a separate, more detailed post over the weekend covering those shows then linked them back here.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 02/07/2025
Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA

1. Heroes Vs Villains: Bandido, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Nicolas Jackson & Matthew Jackson

Video starts at 2:02:42 for the match
JCW “BORN (ALMOST) ON THE FOURTH OF JULY”, 06/07/2025
House Of Independents, Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA

1. Billie Starkz & Miyu Yamashita Vs Lena Cross & Megan Bayne


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 09/07/2025
Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, Texas, USA

1. Bandido & Brody King Vs Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita

ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR”, 11/07/2025
Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas, USA


1. Interim ROH Women’s World TV Title – Worldwide Wild Card 4 Way: Miyu Yamashita Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Persephone Vs Mina Shirakawa


2. ROH World Title: Bandido (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita


AEW “ALL IN TEXAS”, 12/07/2025
Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas, USA

1. Men’s Casino Gauntlet Match: Mark Briscoe Vs MJF Vs Ricochet Vs Bandido Vs Konosuke Takeshita Vs Mistico Vs Josh Alexander Vs Anthony Bowens Vs Roderick Strong Vs Brody King Vs Juice Robinson Vs Kota Ibushi Vs Beast Mortos Vs Max Caster

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Results


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 02/07/2025
Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA

1. Heroes Vs Villains: Konosuke Takeshita, Nicolas Jackson & Matthew Jackson defeated Bandido, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly when Takeshita pinned O’Reilly with the Raging Fire (11:53).

Takeshita has done a sponsored match or two during his time in DDT so him being part of a match to promote the new Superman movie isn’t out of the ordinary for him. Having Roderick Strong use him as a Backbreaker device for Matthew Jackson though? That is out of the ordinary. His main target was Bandido so once Strong and Kyle O’Reilly were taken care of by The Young Bucks, Bandido was in a lot of trouble. He was caught by Takeshita and held in place for Nicholas Jackson to be launched into the air and then spike him down with Takeshita’s Bastard Driver. The Paragon pair came to the rescue and fought off the Bucks but O’Reilly was weakened with Super Kicks and knocked out by Takeshita’s Elbow Strike. More damage was done with an Powerdrive Knee/EVP Trigger combo and Takeshita then pinned him with the Raging Fire.


BZW “LES JEUX SONT FAITS”, 05/07/2025
Casino Barrière de Lille, Lille, France

1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) defeated Danny Black & Joe Lando when MAO pinned Black with the Cannonball 450 (?:??).
*V6 for MAO & Yoshihiko.

It looks like no one in Europe can stop the combined powers of MAO & Yoshihiko, not even two Close Personal Friends. Yoshihiko went into the match already bandaged up to cover a head wound and took a heavy beating late in the match when Danny Black & Joe Lando put the boots to it. The damage looked to be too much and Yoshihiko had to be carried to the back due to injury concerns. However it reappeared up in the rafters above the ring and did a huge dive onto CPF below! Yoshihiko then went crazy doing Infinite Destroyers to both Black & Lando but the challengers got a second wind and both went to the top rope for one last big chance. But Yoshihiko leapt right up to them and did a Double Hurricanrana. MAO then did the Cannonball 450 out of nowhere onto Black while Yoshihiko held back Lando during the pinfall. With that result MAO & Yoshihiko remain the BZW Tag Team Champions.


GCW “THE TOP PLAY”, 05/07/2025
The Webster Theatre, Hartford, Connecticut, USA

1. Alec Price, Jordan Oliver & Marcus Mathers defeated Miyu Yamashita, Megan Bayne & Billie Starkz when Price pinned Starkz after an Inverted Razor’s Edge from Oliver (18:54).

Miyu Yamashita’s final weekend with GCW before returning to TJPW turned into a memorable one. She was part of a barnburner of a 6-Person Tag match that was getting recommended outside of the usual accounts that GCW would retweet just because they say nice things about the show. This was actually a great match! Billie Starkz and Jordan Oliver tried pinning each other with a back and forth Sunset Flip spot with Yamashita and Alec Price standing on opposite sides to kick them into the alternating pins. They then knocked each other down with stereo High Kicks. With Starkz & Yamashita busy against YDNP, that left Marcus Mathers and Megan Bayne to fight each other. Bayne countered a Tombstone into a Tombstone Destroyer but that would be her team’s last big move. YDNP took over from there, wiping everyone out with high risk moves. It ended with Price giving Bayne the 720 DDT, Mathers hitting the 450 Splash on Yamashita and Oliver dropped Starks from the turnbuckle to the middle of the ring with an Inverted Razor’s Edge.


JCW “BORN (ALMOST) ON THE FOURTH OF JULY”, 06/07/2025
House Of Independents, Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA

1. Billie Starkz & Miyu Yamashita defeated Lena Cross & Megan Bayne when Starkz pinned Cross with the Swanton Bomb (12:37).

It’s a shame that Starkz & Yamashita never got the chance to fight for the GCW Tag Team Titles but at least they got a win as a team under their belts. Bayne was on the opposite side for this match, teaming with Lena Kross, an Australian wrestler who very recently has become a free agent to watch out for. Yamashita knocked down Kross with the Skull Kick and Starkz took out Bayne with a Hurricanrana followed by a Suicide Dive. With nowhere to go, Kross was given the Attitude Adjustment by Yamashita and was then pinned with the Swanton Bomb by Starkz.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 09/07/2025
Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, Texas, USA

1. Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Bandido & Brody King when Takeshita pinned Bandido with the Raging Fire (13:19).

The go home match before Bandido and Takeshita’s big title fight was another successful showing for Protoshita. As usual Brody King turned out to be a troublesome opponent to deal with. That’s until he charged right into a security barrier at ringside and Kyle Fletcher then Big Booted him into the front row. Bandido used Takeshita’s momentum to do a top rope Moonsault onto Fletcher outside. However his big dive back into the ring was met with an Elbow Strike by Takeshita followed by the Raging Fire.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON NIGHT 1 PRESENTED BY NEXTSHARK & QUERI”, 10/07/2025
POST, Houston, Texas, USA
415 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Miu Watanabe defeated Wakana Uehara with the Canadian Backbreaker (7:24).
2. Yuki Arai defeated Kaylia Capri with the Scorpion Death Lock (7:35).
3. 3 Way Match: Vert Vixen defeated Yuki Kamifuku and Raku when Vixen pinned Raku with the Blue Thunder Bomb (7:08).
4. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Moka Miyamoto & Shino Suzuki when Suzume pinned Suzuki with the Ring A Bell (8:28).
5. Special Single Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Maki Itoh with the Skull Kick (14:00).
6. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Mizuki & Pom Harajuku when Misao pinned Harajuku with the I Am A Hero (11:39).

A report of the show can be found here.


ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR”, 11/07/2025
Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas, USA

1. Interim ROH Women’s World TV Title – Worldwide Wild Card 4 Way: Mina Shirakawa defeated Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki and Persephone when Shirakawa submitted Yamashita with the Figure 4 Leg Lock (13:47).
*Mina Shirakawa becomes the Interim ROH Women’s World TV Champion!
2. ROH World Title: Bandido (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with an Inside Cradle (29:25).
*V3 for Bandido.

Match of the weekend? I’d argue so. After weeks of preview tag matches it was finally time for Bandido and Takeshita to fight tooth and nail over the ROH World Title. They did not disappoint. Takeshita thought he had it by setting up the Raging Fire that he used to pin Bandido just a few days earlier but this time Bandido countered it into a Small Package to get the three count and remain champion. I’ll take those five and 3/4 stars if nobody else wants them, thank you very much!

Welcome back 2019 TJPW it’s like you never left. There’s always something convoluted going on with a championship in Tony Khan’s universe. This time it surrounds the ROH Women’s World TV Title. The champion Red Velvet was not cleared to wrestle at the PPV so Khan decided to book a Worldwide 4 Way Match to crown an interim champion. And by worldwide he means three Japanese women and Persephone from Texas. Oh and those three Japanese women happen to be Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki and Mina Shirakawa who all have history with each other from TJPW. I even had to go back and check if Persephone appeared on a “TJPW INSPIRATION show in the past (she hasn’t). It all turned out to be Shirakawa’s big night in the end. She gave Yamashita a rare submission loss by making her tap out to the Figure 4 Leg Lock. She’s now the Interim ROH Women’s TV Champion and will no doubt have a unification match with Red Velvet down the line. Ok, maybe there’s some doubt. These things are often an avoidable mess that are somehow made unavoidable.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON NIGHT 2 PRESENTED BY NEXTSHARK & QUERI”, 11/07/2025
POST, Houston, Texas, USA
415 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Wakana Uehara defeated Shino Suzuki with the Banana Pillow (6:44).
2. Arisu Endo defeated Kaylia Capri with the Ju no Okite (7:35).
3. Yuki Kamifuku defeated Pom Harajuku with the Famouser (5:31).
4. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Miu Watanabe & Vert Vixen when Nakajima pinned Watanabe with the Locomotion Northern Lights Suplex (11:39).
5. Maki Itoh defeated Raku with the Itoh Deluxe (8:23).
6. Yuki Arai & Moka Miyamoto defeated Mizuki & Suzume when Miyamoto pinned Suzume with the Korokan (14:03).

A report of the show can be found here.


AEW “ALL IN TEXAS”, 12/07/2025
Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas, USA

1. Men’s Casino Gauntlet Match: MJF defeated Roderick Strong after the Jay Driller from Mark Briscoe (34:52).
Order Of Entries: Mark Briscoe, MJF, Ricochet, Bandido, Konosuke Takeshita, Mistico, Josh Alexander, Anthony Bowens, Roderick Strong, Brody King, Juice Robinson, Kota Ibushi, Beast Mortos and Max Caster

The last AEW thing Takeshita did before travelling off to the G1 was appear in the Casino Gauntlet match at “ALL IN TEXAS”. He entered right after Bandido so they continued where they left off from the night before. Then when Josh Alexander entered the match he and Takeshita pretty much annihilated Ricochet with a Doomsday Knee Strike. Kota Ibushi also showed up as a late entry which was nice of him. Neither he nor Takeshita were part of the finish though so they both left the match empty handed.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN DALLAS PRESENTED BY NEXTSHARK & QUERI”, 13/07/2025
The OC, Forney, Texas, USA
2,540 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara when Suzume pinned Uehara with the Ring A Bell (10:24).
2. Moka Miyamoto defeated Alejandra Quintanilla with the Korokan (5:52).
3. Raku & Pom Harajuku defeated Hyper Misao & Shino Suzuki when Raku pinned Suzuki with the Doctor Yellow (10:43).
4. Yuki Arai defeated Maya World with the Finally (7:04).
5. Miu Watanabe defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Tear Drop (16:12).
6. Yuka Sakazaki & Billie Starkz defeated Miyu Yamashita & Vert Vixen when Sakazaki pinned Vixen with an Oklahoma Roll (20:36).
7. Special Single Match: Mizuki defeated Maki Itoh with the Cutie Special (17:13).

A report of the show can be found here.


SETUP “UNDER PRESSURE”, 26/07/2025
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. IWA Japan SETUP World Title – 3 Way Match: Jonathan Johnson (c) defeated Chris Brookes and Andruew Tang when Johnson pinned Tang with the Swanton Bomb (?:??).
*V1 for Jonathan Johnson.

There’s some new alliances being made over in Thailand. Chris Brookes went over to take part in a 3 Way Match for the IWA Japan SETUP World Title. However he failed to win the match and was left out in the cold while Jonathan Johnson pinned Andruew Tang to retain his championship. It was the aftermath that became newsworthy when Tang’s group Real Global Threat arrived to attack the SETUP roster (Ram Kaichow included among them)! Together Brookes and RGT beat Johnson to a bloody pulp and ended the show threatening to take over the company.


GCW “GCW JAPAN 2025 AT SHINJUKU FACE”, 28/07/2025
Shinjuku FACE

1. MAO defeated Atticus Cogar after a Super Kick/Praying Mantis Bomb Combo with Drew Parker (12:38).
2. Kazusada Higuchi defeated 1 Called Manders with the Claw Slam (14:01).

A report of the show can be found here.


GCW “GCW JAPAN 2025 AT TOKYO SQUARE”, 29/07/2025
TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi

1. MAO, Alec Price & Jordan Oliver defeated Miyu Yamashita, Dark Sheik & Shotzi Blackheart when Price pinned Sheik after a Double Impaler DDT (15:19).

A report of the show can be found here.


GCW “GCW JAPAN 2025 AT KORAKUEN HALL”, 30/07/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. GCW Tag Team Titles: Alec Price & Jordan Oliver (c) defeated MAO & Rina Yamashita when Price pinned Yamashita after the Double Impaler DDT (?:??).
*V13 for YDNP.
2. Atticus Cogar defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Headlock Driver (?:??).
3. Dark Sheik, Yoshihiko & Jeffrey John defeated Invisible Stan, Shota & Kikutaro when Sheik pinned Shota with the Diving Leg Drop (?:??).
4. Jun Akiyama defeated 1 Called Manders with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex (?:??).
5. Maki Itoh defeated Shotzi Blackheart with a Crab Hold (12:29).
6. Chris Brookes defeated Drew Parker with two Praying Mantis Bombs (23:16).

A report of the show can be found here.

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Upcoming Appearances


BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “MNL”, 22/08/2025
The Social House, Makati, Philippines

1. Fabio Makisig Vs El Katipunero
2. 3 Way Match: Nigel San Jose Vs Saint John Martin Vs Danny Zamora
3. International Dream Match: Crystal & Robin Sane Vs Patricia Ligaia & Dr. Gore
4. International Dream Match: Jake De Leon & Isaiah Valencia Vs Chris Bookes & Takeshi Masada

The full Baka Gaijin + Friends card for their show in the Philippines squeezes itself in here just in time.


DXCN “PEKSMAN”, 24/08/2025
Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines

1. Kiss Of Death Match: Jake De Leon Vs Takeshi Masada
2. International Dream Match: Robin Sane Vs Chris Brookes

There is a meet and greet event happening on the second day of Dexcon’s tripleheader weekend with matches scheduled to take place on them but I haven’t seen any that will involve Chris Brookes or Takeshi Masada yet.


APAC “SLAMFEST 2025”, 30/08/2025
Stadium Juara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1. APAC Women’s Title No. 1 Contender Fatal 4 Way: Crystal Vs Kira Summer Vs Tarlee Vs Mio Shirai

Here we go, Kira Summer gets to wrestle outside of Japan as a TJPW fighter for the first time! She’s heading to APAC in Malaysia to compete for a shot at their Women’s Championship. However she’s not the only Australian taking part because Tarlee is one of other wrestlers involved. Mio Shirai is travelling over from Japan too as one of the competitors. Crystal is a former APAC Women’s Champion and I think the only one of the four who has previously wrestled in the promotion.


MLW “FIGHTLAND”, 13/09/2025
Nytex Sports Centre, Dallas, Texas, USA

1. Shoko Nakajima Vs X

The next time Shoko Nakajima rampages her way back to MLW will be in September. No mention yet on if she will be defending the MLW Women’s Featherweight Title but given how things are going over there Shotzi Blackheart will eventually be built up as a challenger unless her arm injury delays things.


VGM “TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING CHINA TOUR”, 18/10/2025
Nanxiatang Cultural and Creative Park, Liangxi, Wuxi, China

1. HIMAWARI Vs X
2. Rika Tatsumi Vs X

For the third year in a row TJPW is working with a group called Fight VGM Fight to bring their talent over to China. All of the previous times TJPW sponsored matches have taken place in the country were done thanks to this relationship. Rika Tatsumi and HIMAWARI will be the next pair of wrestlers to go wrestle over there.

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Cancelled Appearances


GCW “HOMECOMING – NIGHT 1”, 23/08/2025
Showboat Hotel Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

GCW “HOMECOMING – NIGHT 2”, 24/08/2025
Showboat Hotel Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

So Maki Itoh’s next tour of America has been cancelled with no reason given for why. I bet TJPW wished they would have known that in hindsight so they could have factored her into their plans for the Tokyo Princess Cup this year but those are the breaks I guess. The only bookings I found for this go around were the two GCW shows happening the same weekend as the Princess Cup final. She still wrestled on their Japan tour and GCW quietly deal with cancelled bookings all the time so there’s no trouble happening there. Could this have been visa related?


DDT Around The World – June 2025

July 1, 2025

Okay where do we start when it comes to July? Do we go with Konosuke Takeshita’s adventures in Mexico, Miyu Yamashita falling foul to the Missouri athletic commission or Maki Itoh voicing a character in Punch Punch Forever? Or how about Tokyo Joshi Pro being used to prop up Major League Wrestling’s shrinking women’s division? Yuka Sakazaki is starting to get more than one booking a month so more of that would be appreciated. Also is Takeshita’s team with Kyle Fletcher only called Protoshita because it makes everyone smirk when they say it out loud?

Oh, and we’re finally starting to find out what sort of deal Yamashita is on over in America. On the surface she’s going around the country like a freelancer and some media back in Japan highlights that is what makes her US work different from the joshi who work full time with WWE or AEW. Except we’re now seeing Yamashita pop up in Ring Of Honor again and her being pulled from one of TJPW’s Texas shows just so happens to line up with the ROH PPV taking place that same day.

Speaking of the Texas tour, that will be the big story for next month. TJPW’s decisions when it comes to the American market are going to pay off well by the sounds of it. Two of the Texas shows have sold out and according to the promoters the third will become the promotion’s highest selling USA show in their history. If the Wrestle Universe live streams go off without a hitch then even more American tours will be planned for the future so TJPW can make some dollars while the fans back in Japan still get to watch it on a reliable service. Given how much the scene suddenly exploded with joshi influenced companies over the last few years, nothing beats the real thing in the end.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


MLW “WAR CHAMBER”, 07/06/2025
Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Delmi Exo


AEW “COLLISION – SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER”, 11/06/2025
Theater Of The Clouds At Moda Center, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Daniel Garcia Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander, Lance Archer & Hechicero

Video starts at 1:20:06 for the match
JCW “REC.SPORTS.PRO.WRESTLING”, 12/06/2025
The Hall, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Jordan Blade


LLL “BUY THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE – NIGHT 1”, 13/06/2025
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Stormi Renee


CMLL “MARTES POPULARES – CMLL Vs AEW Y ROH”, 17/06/2025
Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

1. Ultimo Guerrero, Gran Guerrero, Averno & Euforia Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Rocky Romero & Hechicero


AEW “DYNAMITE – GRAND SLAM MEXICO”, 18/06/2025
Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

1. Bandido, Templario, Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Adam Cole, Brody King & Daniel Garcia Vs Volador Jr., Hechicero, Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander, Lance Archer & Dax Harwood


AEW “COLLISION”, 21/06/2025
accesso ShoWare Center, Kent, Washington, USA

1. Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Daniel Garcia & Bandido Vs Dax Harwood, Cash Wheeler, Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 25/06/2025
accesso ShoWare Center, Kent, Washington, USA

1. 4 Way For The #1 Spot In The Casino Gauntlet At All In Texas: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Mark Briscoe Vs Roderick Strong Vs Bandido

Video starts at 28:22 for the match
MLW “SUMMER OF THE BEASTS”, 26/06/2025
Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA

1. Wakana Uehara Vs Yuki Kamifuku

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Results


NEW TEXAS PRO “BAT CITY”, 01/06/2025
Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA

1. VertVixen & Yuka Sakazaki defeated Charity King & AQA when Sakazaki pinned King with the Magical Girl Splash (16:55).

It’s been around four months since Sakazaki last wrestled and even then it was on a cruise ship. It wasn’t until this month she was back wrestling on land. She showed up to New Texas Pro wearing an all new black outfit to to team up with VertVixen. She needed to shake off the ring rust fast because she started the match fighting against the much larger Charity King. But King quickly learned that Sakazaki is no weakling. AQA, who was returning to wrestling after a three and a half year absence helped King wear down Vixen until Sakazaki hot tagged herself in to even the odds. AQA stopped her momentum in a sort of unintentional way when she jumped up for a Hurricanrana and Sakazaki collapsed beneath her. The match broke down to where Vixen gave AQA the Blue Thunder Bomb and Sakazaki went on to pin King with the Magical Girl Splash.


AEW “COLLISION – FYTER FEST 2025”, 04/06/2025
Mission Ballroom, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero defeated Bandido, Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd when Fletcher pinned Magnum with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (14:16).

The lucha flavour was strong in AEW this month even before they made it over to Mexico. Don Callis has had it up to here with both Bandido and The Outrunners so he challenged them to fight The Don Callis Family but with a twist. Protoshita would be involved but so too would the Family’s newest member, the CMLL luchador Hechicero! Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd tried to play mind games by coming out wearing their own pink luchador masks and being introduced as Los Outrunners. The plan didn’t work and Protoshita dealt them the killing blows to win the match.


KITSUNE “GOING BACK TO SAN DIEGO”, 07/06/2025
Primal Compound, San Diego, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Zara Zakher with the Skull Kick (10:39).
2. Vipress & Hudson Envy defeated Nagisa Nozaki & Yuna Manase when Envy pinned Manased with a Rolling Koppo Kick (18:07).

If Yuna Manase was expecting a warm welcome back to Kitsune by everybody there she was in for a rude surprise. Vipress & Hudson Envy have gold in their sights and saw Manase as a target to get into the promotion’s title picture. Also it turned out Nagisa Nozaki wasn’t exactly on Manase’s side either because she attack her with a chair during the main event! However she also attacked Vipress with the same chair and seemingly only wanted to join forces with Envy. Dark Sheik ran in to chase after Nozaki while Tae Honma wanted to help Manase out. However her Missile Dropkick missed Envy and hit Manase instead. Envy then hit Manase with the Rolling Koppo Kick to get the win for her team. Honma checked on Manase afterwards and handed her over the Kitsune World Title. There’s still trust between the two but they have a title match coming up the next day.

Yamashita was also involved for both of Kitsune’s shows that weekend. Zara Zakher wanted to out-strike her late in their match but Yamashita shrugged off her chops and knocked her down with an Elbow Strike. Zakher got a second wind using a German Suplex and a Clothesline. She even backflipped out of the way from the Skull Kick to give her a Stunner for the nearfall. Yamashita got her back with a Knee Strike to the back of the head and put her down for the count with the Skull Kick. Yamashita pulled back her handshake to Zakher after the match, telling her instead she wants another singles match with her.


KITSUNE “8888”, 08/06/2025
South Gate, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Kidd Bandit with the Skull Kick (16:31).
2. Kitsune World Title – Triple Threat Match: Yuna Manase (c) defeated Tae Honma and Hudson Envy when Manase pinned Honma with the Suzuki Dynamic (17:07).
*V1 for Yuna Manase.

The next night’s main event was thrown for a loop when Envy added herself into the Manase Vs Honma match midway through it! Earlier in the show Envy won a Nine Tails Rumble which granted her a Kitsune Title shot whenever she wanted. So she pulled out the ref while he was counting Manase pinning Honma and cashed in to try and steal the title for herself. However Honma kicked out of her pin to keep the now Triple Threat going. Manase survived to the end and used the Suzuki Dynamic to pin Honma for a successful title defence. She purposely used that move to win as her way of contributing to Honma’s retirement from pro wrestling happening later this year.

Yamashita ended her Kitsune weekend going two for two. She seemed to enjoy picking Kidd Bandit apart but didn’t expect to be hit with a Leaf Hurricane Kick. Just like with Zakher the day before, Bandit wanted to get into a striking duel with Yamashita but it led to her doom when she missed a second Leaf Hurricane and was blown away with the Skull Kick.


ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 11/06/2025 (Aired 19/06/2025)
Adrian Phillips Theater At Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Brooke Havoc with the Skull Kick (3:33).

Now it’s starting to become clearer. Yamashita made an unexpected return to ROH for a quick victory over Brooke Havoc. Her opponent got cocky with a Dropkick and wasn’t aware that Yamashita stood back up behind her to deliver some kicks. Havoc got some chances back with a Superman Elbow Strike as well as a Sunset Flip counter to the Attitude Adjustment. But Yamashita caught her handstand, kicked her down and pinned her with the Skull Kick.


AEW “COLLISION – SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER”, 11/06/2025
Theater Of The Clouds At Moda Center, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander, Lance Archer & Hechicero defeated Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Daniel Garcia when Alexander pinned Strong with a German Suplex (11:56).

Bloody hell it’s like The Don Callis Family is gaining new members every week! They had an 8-Man Tag Match against Paragon & Daniel Garcia but RPG Vice were hanging around at ringside to make it more like 6 Vs 4. Things broke down as they tend to do with Paragon & Garcia all locking in submission holds. Lance Archer powered out of Kyle O’Reilly’s Guillotine Choke by charging him into Garcia’s Sharpshooter on Josh Alexander and then stomping on Adam Cole to break Takeshita free from a Figure 4 Leg Lock. Takeshita also got a cheap shot in by hitting Roderick Strong with an Elbow Strike, allowing Alexander to pin him with a German Suplex.


JCW “REC.SPORTS.PRO.WRESTLING”, 12/06/2025
The Hall, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Jordan Blade with the Skull Kick (11:13).

A fired up Jordan Blade offered Yamashita something different from her previous opponents this month. Blade is a grappler with a focused ground game that put Yamashita on defence a lot more than usual. She also had some impact with using a Saito Suplex and also countering a Front Neck Lock into a Fisherman Suplex. But the temptation to get into a strike battle got into Blade’s head and led to Yamashita turning the tables on her. Blade got her head straight and went back to using grounded submissions. By this point it became a fight of endurance with both wrestlers getting groggy and throwing sloppy strikes. Blade tried to hit a Spinning Back Fist but she got hit back with the Skull Kick for the finish.


LLL “BUY THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE – NIGHT 1”, 13/06/2025
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Abadon defeated Maki Itoh (11:00).
2. Miyu Yamashita defeated Stormi Renee with the Crash Rabbit Heat (?:??).

Oh hey we got a match finish that wasn’t the Skull Kick. Yamashita instead used the Crash Rabbit Heat to put away Stormi Renee.

Fans at Lucha Libre & Laughs got some bonus TJPW representation when Maki Itoh showed up unannounced for the weekend! She lost to Abadon on the first night but things went better on Night 2.


LLL “BUY THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE – NIGHT 2”, 14/06/2025
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated Mo Magee with the Itoh Deluxe (?:??).
2. Dark Sheik defeated Miyu Yamashita (?:??).

The next night Dark Sheik powered herself up by fighting Yamashita while dressed as Vertigo from the X-Men. Turns out that wasn’t a bad plan because she got to beat Yamashita. Itoh meanwhile made sure she would leave Denver as a winner when she beat Mo Magee.


CMLL “MARTES POPULARES – CMLL Vs AEW Y ROH”, 17/06/2025
Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

1. Ultimo Guerrero, Gran Guerrero, Averno & Euforia defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Rocky Romero & Hechicero when Gran pinned Romero with an Avalanche Landslide (17:11).

AEW’s stay in Arena Mexico started a day early when Takeshita was among the AEW wrestlers booked for CMLL’s Tuesday show at the venue. You know maybe this was all meant to be. Even though this was Takeshita’s CMLL debut, he had a very thin attachment to the company already because he had held the KO-D Tag Team Titles multiple times back when it was also a certified CMLL championship. Does that actually mean anything? No but it’s nice to find even the slightest of reasons to connect things. The Don Callis Family fitted in nicely as the rudos for the match while Team CMLL the tecnicos by default even though Ultimo Guerrero, Gran Guerrero, Averno & Euforia usually all tend to be on the rudo side. The match was also only set for one fall instead of CMLL’s traditional Best 2 Out Of 3 rules. So there were a lot more pinfall breakups than you would expect in a CMLL match, although everyone still figured out how to pace it like the latter. Takeshita landed face first from Ultimo Guerrero’s Super Gourdbuster and Gran Guerrero used his own top rope move to pin Rocky Romero.


AEW “DYNAMITE – GRAND SLAM MEXICO”, 18/06/2025
Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

1. Bandido, Templario, Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Adam Cole, Brody King & Daniel Garcia defeated Volador Jr., Hechicero, Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander, Lance Archer & Dax Harwood (w/ Stokely) when Atlantis pinned Harwood with an Inside Cradle (15:47).

Things got even crazier the next night when AEW hosted “DYNAMITE” in Arena Mexico. A planned 12-Man Tag Match was changed into a 14-Man Tag Match mixing CMLL and AEW wrestlers all together. Plus the world got to learn just how much the hardcore CMLL fans do not like Atlantis Jr., which gets his father Atlantis caught in the crossfire too. Takeshita was taken out by a Templario dive late in the match, Bandido did the same to wipe out Volador Jr. and Brody King saved the biggest dive of them all for the end which Takeshita took alongside Hechicero. The match then came down to Atlantis fighting Dax Harwood and taking the victory with an Inside Cradle, much to the annoyance of the hardcores in attendance.


GCW “BANGIN’ IN LITTLE ROCK”, 20/06/2025
The Hall, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Blake Christian with the Skull Kick (15:04).

I wonder if this was another sign that Yamashita has an AEW/ROH deal under wraps. Blake Christian is a regular over in that circle and while he’s not protected over there, he is placed on a high pedestal over in GCW. Plus Yamashita likes to do new things over in that company. Like pull out a door from under the ring and have Christian dive into it, crushing her beneath it! Christian then threw everything he had at her including a Springboard 450 and also a Handspring Ace Crusher. However Yamashita stumbled back up and took a lucky swing, knocking her opponent out with the Skull Kick. Christian crumbled to the mat and Yamashita rolled on top of him for the pin. Yamashita offered a handshake afterwards but Christian gave her the middle finger and walked out. However he reconsidered and went back into the ring to shake her hand after all.


AEW “COLLISION”, 21/06/2025
accesso ShoWare Center, Kent, Washington, USA

1. Dax Harwood, Cash Wheeler, Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Stokely) defeated Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Daniel Garcia & Bandido when Harwood pinned Strong after the Shatter Machine (11:52).

The aftermath of Arena Mexico brought Protoshita back in the sights of Paragon, Garcia & Bandido. At least this time they had both members of FTR fighting alongside them. FTR scored the win for the team and everyone decided to beat down the faces afterwards until The Outrunners arrived to chase them off.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 25/06/2025
accesso ShoWare Center, Kent, Washington, USA

1. 4 Way For The #1 Spot In The Casino Gauntlet At All In Texas: Mark Briscoe defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Roderick Strong and Bandido when Briscoe pinned Strong with the Froggy Bow (11:05).

Now that the road towards “ALL IN TEXAS” is getting clearer, Takeshita starting making his plans to enter the much lauded Casino Gauntlet Match. Mark Briscoe was now added to the mix as four men battled to become the No. 1 entrant in the match. The Casino Gauntlet is an Aztec Warfare/Thunderbastard style match that only lasts for one fall so entering early gives you the advantage to win rather than entering late because you get the chance to win before many of the other participants show up. The danger of having a one fall match was shown here when Bandido threw away Takeshita with the 21 Plex, Strong gave Bandido the End Of Heartache and Briscoe surprised Strong from the top rope with the Froggy Bow to get the win.


MLW “SUMMER OF THE BEASTS”, 26/06/2025
Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA

1. Yuki Kamifuku defeated Wakana Uehara with an Inverted Famouser (7:24).

TJPW’s working relationship with MLW grew with the American group hosting “The Battle Of The Idols” between Yuki Kamifuku and Wakana Uehara. The two Ober Eats partners had a standard match with each other. The only unusual thing was Kamifuku winning the match with an Inverted version of the Famouser instead of the regular one, possibly because Uehara couldn’t get herself in the right position. Kamifuku’s win was enough to get the attention of Shotzi Blackheart who walked to the ring after the match for her first appearance in the promotion. The two women even threw out the idea of them having a match together somewhere down the road.


REAPER “REAPER RISING – A KING’S CORONATION”, 27/06/2025
The Pit, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada

1. Janai Kai defeated Miyu Yamashita by Pinfall (?:??).

How’s this for a match finish over at Reaper Wrestling. Yamashita and Janai Kai keep kicking the hell out of each other, Kai hits the Hurricane Kick, Yamashita hits back with the Skull Kick and Kai falls on top of her to get the pin.


METALMANIA “2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY”, 28/06/2025
Stage 722, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai

Yamashita and Kai faced each other again the next night at METALMANIA. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find the result of the match. The only thing I could see online is a clip of the two kicking each other. They didn’t just do the same match from the day before again, did they?


SPARK “IGNITE TEXAS”, 29/06/2025
Baytown Community Center, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki & Raychell Rose defeated SAKI & Kaia McKenna when Sakazaki pinned McKenna with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (11:25).
2. SPARK Joshi Pacific Title – 3 Way Match: Airica Demia defeated VertVixen (c) and Miyu Yamashita when Demia pinned Vixen after the Skull Kick from Yamashita (13:37)
*VertVixen fails in V1. Airica Demina becomes the 3rd SPARK Joshi Pacific Champion!

We finally get to the end of the month with SPARK Joshi holding its latest show in Texas. I haven’t seen the show yet so I don’t have much info on the matches other than how they finished. Yamashita came close to winning the SPARK Joshi Pacific Title when she used the Skull Kick on the champion Vert Vixen. However the third person in the match Airica Demina took Yamashita out of the way to steal the pin and win the championship instead.

Elsewhere on the card Sakazaki had her second match of the month by teaming with Raychell Rose to beat SAKI & Kaia McKenna. Sakazaki even scored the pin on McKenna by doing the Magical Merry-Go-Round on her.

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Upcoming Appearances


BZW “LES JEUX SONT FAITS”, 05/07/2025
Casino Barrière de Lille, Lille, France

1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Danny Black & Joe Lando

Texas will be the main point of interest next month but first we have something going on in France to pay attention to. MAO & Yoshihiko are heading back to Banger Zone Wrestling to defence the BZW Tag Team Titles. The CPF team of Danny Black & Joe Lando are their latest challengers.


GCW “THE TOP PLAY”, 05/07/2025
The Webster Theatre, Hartford, Connecticut, USA

1. Alec Price, Jordan Oliver & Marcus Mathers Vs Miyu Yamashita, Megan Bayne & Billie Starkz

The GCW Tag Team Titles match didn’t go ahead this month for reasons I will cover at the end of this article. However Yamashita & Billie Starkz will get their hands on YDNP next month for an intergender trios match. Megan Bayne adds firepower to their team while Marcus Mathers comes to the aid of the champions.

This weekend looks to be the end of Yamashita’s latest tour. Her tweet schedule also mentions a booked in New Jersey on 6th July. JCW will be holding a show there on that date but they haven’t promoted Yamashita for it yet and I don’t see where she can fit on such a packed card that’s currently being advertised. I also haven’t been able to find any other shows taking place in the area that day so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “QUERI PRESENTS TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 1”, 10/07/2025
POST, Houston, Texas, USA

1. 3 Way Match: Yuki Kamifuku Vs Raku Vs Vert Vixen
2. Yuki Arai Vs Kaylia Capri
3. Miu Watanabe Vs Wakana Uehara
4. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Moka Miyamoto & Shino Suzuki
5. Special Single Match: Miyu Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
6. Mizuki & Pom Harajuku Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao

The word coming from TJPW and their American promotors is this Texas tour will be a big success.


ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR”, 11/07/2025
Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas, USA

1. ROH World Title: Bandido (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

I have high hopes this will be one of the matches of the weekend. Don’t even have to call it a sleeper. The last month of matches where Bandido went to battle with The Don Callis Family has all led to Takeshita challenging him for the ROH World Title! Can Takeshita become the second Japanese wrestler after Takeshi Morishima to hold the belt?


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “QUERI PRESENTS TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 2”, 11/07/2025
POST, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Wakana Uehara Vs Shino Suzuki
2. Arisu Endo Vs Kaylia Capri
3. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Pom Harajuku
4. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Miu Watanabe & Vert Vixen
5. Maki Itoh Vs Raku
6. Mizuki & Suzume Vs Yuki Arai & Moka Miyamoto

The first two shows in Houston have both sold out.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN DALLAS PRESENTED BY NEXTSHARK & QUERI”, 13/07/2025
The OC, Forney, Texas, USA

1. Hyper Misao & Shino Suzuki Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku
2. Moka Miyamoto Vs Alejandra Quintanilla
3. Yuki Arai Vs Maya World
4. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
5. Shoko Nakajima Vs Miu Watanabe
6. Yuka Sakazaki & Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita & Vert Vixen
7. Special Single Match: Mizuki Vs Maki Itoh

And the “Dallas” show is apparently going to end up becoming TJPW’s biggest drawing show in America ever!


SETUP “UNDER PRESSURE”, 26/07/2025
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. Chris Brookes Vs X

Some late summer travelling for Chris Brookes. First he’ll be going back to Thailand for a SETUP show. Ram Kaichow will be there too.


BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. MNL”, 22/08/2025
The Social House, Makati, Philippines

1. Takeshi Masada Vs X
2. Chris Brookes Vs X

Then a month later Brookes is going over to the Philippines and he’s bringing Takeshi Masada with him. Dexcon will be holding a weekend tripleshot of shows, the first of which will be Baka Gaijin + Friends!


DXCN “???”, 23/08/2025
Philippines

1. Takeshi Masada Vs X
2. Chris Brookes Vs X

I can’t find any info on what the second Dexcon show of the weekend will be other than Brookes and Masada should both be on it.


GCW “HOMECOMING – NIGHT 1”, 23/08/2025
Showboat Hotel Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Itoh returns to GCW in August for a doubleshot weekend.


DXCN “PEKSMAN”, 24/08/2025
Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines

1. Takeshi Masada Vs X
2. Chris Brookes Vs X

The third Dexcon show will be built around local wrestlers taking on the international guests.


GCW “HOMECOMING – NIGHT 2”, 24/08/2025
Showboat Hotel Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

There will likely be a lot more GCW bookings coming for Itoh as usual.

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Cancelled Appearances


WAFFLE HOUSE “GOOD FOOD FAST”, 15/06/2025
Waffle House, Colorado, USA

While Itoh was in Colorado for Lucha Libre & Laughs, she went to a Waffle House fully expecting the place to live up to its online reputation. Unfortunately for her no fights or other bad doings took place while she was there. Instead she got to experience the kind of Waffle House that the late Anthony Bourdain once waxed lyrically about.


GCW “TAKE A PICTURE”, 22/06/2025
The Truman, Kansas City, Missouri, USA

1. GCW Tag Team Titles: Jordan Oliver & Alec Price (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Billie Starkz

Yamashita found herself in the centre of controversy during the month when GCW were running a show in Missouri. The state’s athletic commission refused to give Yamashita a license to wrestle on the show because she has no social security number. GCW argued that she has all of the required documents as well as a valid working visa needed to qualify for a license. They also pointed out that Yamashita has wrestled in Missouri several times previously without any trouble. I can back up that claim because this very series of articles has records of her wrestling in St. Louis, Missouri twice in 2023: once for ROH in March and then for Glory Pro in May. Unfortunately this couldn’t change the commission’s mind and Yamashita wasn’t allowed to wrestle that evening.


DDT Around The World – May 2025

June 1, 2025

Can’t say this month has been a quiet one. Konosuke Takeshita had a lot of TV time with AEW and we even got the lovely announcement that he’s married to Yuka Sakazaki. All of Takeshita’s work this month revolves around The Don Callis Family, yes even the American New Japan appearance. The group in its current form is nailing it at the moment with good tag matches week to week and the presence of Don Callis himself is not as overwhelming as it was before. I bet over the coming months Takeshita’s schedule will gradually switch from AEW over to New Japan as we walk through the Forbidden Door and approach the G1 season.

May saw Maki Itoh finish up her remaining dates in America before she travelled back home to rejoin Tokyo Joshi Pro. She has another tour lined up during the Tokyo Princess Cup so the Americans won’t be missing her for long. Miyu Yamashita is entering the second half of her excursion and her schedule is definitely keeping her busy. She’s bouncing back and forth from America to Canada and even found time to visit Italy. Her matches in the Upcoming Appearances section below are not all of the bookings she has left. She included a few unlabeled dates in her schedule on Twitter and it’s pretty easy to find online that they are for GCW’s sister promotion JCW. However JCW themselves haven’t announced her for anything yet so I left them off this post. As you’ll see at the very end, there is always a possible booking cancellation that could happen at any time.

TJPW’s grip on the Southeast Asian scene took something of a hit because Yuki Kamifuku and Raku both lost all of the SEA championships this month. It’s likely not the end of TJPW working with companies from Thailand and Singapore but for now the focus looks to be moving towards the new relationship with Major League Wrestling in America. MLW is currently going through a roster shuffle too with a good amount of contracts not being renewed and some new talent coming in to fill those emptying spots. TJPW may just be used as a temporary solution to fill in the gap but they’ll benefit from it for as long as it lasts.

The thing to watch for in the next month or two is how often Sakazaki will get to wrestle, whether it’s on the indies or if she can get booked in AEW/ROH again. I hear rumours every now and then that there’s an injury clearance issue going on with her. But it wouldn’t make sense if AEW uses that as a reason to keep her on the shelf only to let her go wrestle somewhere else. They haven’t like it in the past when their wrestlers got injured on another promotion’s show.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “COLLISION”, 08/05/2025
Masonic Temple Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, USA

1. Evil Uno & Alex Reynolds Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander (w/ Don Callis)


HOG “WAGING WAR”, 09/05/2025
Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. HOG Women’s Title: Indi Hartwell Vs Miyu Yamashita


AEW “DYNAMITE – BEACH BREAK”, 14/05/2025
NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA

1. Will Ospreay & Hangman Page Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander


AEW “COLLISION”, 22/05/2025
Rio Rancho Events Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero (w/ Lance Archer) Vs Bandido, Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd


AEW “COLLISION”, 31/05/2025
El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero Vs Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Tomohiro Ishii

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Results


TOP TALENT “LIVE AT MIDWAY MUSIC HALL”, 02/05/2025
Midway Music Hall, Edmonton, Canada

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Ava Lawless (?:??).

We start off over in Canada where Yamashita headlined a Top Talent Wrestling show against Ava Lawless. The Canadian knew it was going to be a big test for her and she embraced it but Yamashita came out on top.


HOODSLAM “PHANTASMAGORIA”, 02/05/2025
Continental Club, Oakland, California, USA

1. GLAMpionship: MacDaddy MYLO (c) (w/KEiTA) defeated Maki Itoh with a School Boy (?:??).
*V6 for MacDaddy MYLO.

On the same night one country away, Itoh was main eventing a show of her own with her return to Hoodslam. She was getting a shot at the GLAMpionship, a title that was originally created for the promotion’s sub-brand GLAM but made its way over to the regular shows. MacDaddy MYLO attacked her before she could finish her entrance but made the mistake of slamming her head into the turnbuckles which had no effect. Itoh’s momentum was cut off when MYLO pulled the ref into her way and then jumped in to do a Cutter. Itoh made another comeback only for KEiTA to interfere on the champion’s behalf. Itoh fought them both off and put MYLO in the Itoh Deluxe but KEiTA distracted the ref so she wouldn’t see MYLO tap out. Itoh got rid of KEiTA again but MYLO rolled her up in a School Boy to steal the win.


GCW “CRAZY SCARY SPOOKY HILARIOUS”, 03/05/2025
Ukrainian Culture Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Maki Itoh with the Skull Kick (13:23).

The day after that Yamashita and Itoh’s paths crossed over in GCW. The two of them were heading into a big weekend where they both had title matches to prepare for. But before any of that could happen the two would meet in the ring against each other! Did anyone on GCW commentary know about their history together as 121000000 beyond just them being tag champions a few times? Fucking of course not! At least the fans were super into it. The was the first time Yamashita would face Itoh in a place where Itoh has the home field advantage and while she didn’t go into MDK mode, she was able to put up her biggest fight against Yamashita yet. Even Yamashita seemed to be aware of it because when he knocked down Itoh with the Skull Kick, she ordered the ref to check her for a knockout. The ref dropped Itoh’s arm three times but on the third Itoh kept her hand up and raised a middle finger to the air! She got a second wind and almost scored the victory she waited so long for by countering the Attitude Adjustment into a Small Package. But Yamashita kicked out and nailed another Skull Kick to increase her singles match record with Itoh to 10-0. There was no hard feelings over the result and 121000000 shook hands afterwards.


GCW “WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU”, 04/05/2025
Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. JCW World Title: Masha Slamovich (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the White Knight Driver (10:13).
*V36 for Masha Slamovich.
2. GCW World Title: Effy (c) defeated Maki Itoh with a Spinning Tombstone Piledriver (12:08).
*V16 for Effy.

Well if plan of having iron sharpen iron was to result in championship wins it didn’t work out here. Itoh finished up her latest excursion by getting a shot at the GCW World Title held by Effy before she went home. Effy lightened the mood by singing “Mandy” on the microphone but changed the lyrics to be about Maki. She didn’t like it and told him to stop but that made Effy start to cry. It was all a trap to for Effy to get the one up on Itoh but she quickly escaped and turned the tables. She did a Diving Cross Body from the top rope to Effy outside the ring. Effy brought in chairs and ended up getting Choke Slammed onto one by Itoh! She also kicked out of a Spear at one and sliced Effy’s forehead open with her pizza cutter. Despite all that Effy countered the I.S.D by catching her in mid-air. He then spun it around into a Tombstone Piledriver to get the win.

Also on the show Yamashita challenged Masha Slamovich for the JCW Title in a continuation of their international rivalry. It was an even matchup but just like in Las Vegas last month, Slamovich got Yamashita in the White Knight Driver for the three count. Yamashita slapped away the champion’s hand after the match but immediately offered a handshake of her own, which Slamovich accepted.


AEW “COLLISION”, 08/05/2025
Masonic Temple Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander (w/ Don Callis) defeated Evil Uno & Alex Reynolds when Alexander pinned Reynolds with the C4 Spike (2:30).

Even though Takeshita was already eliminated from the Owen Hart Cup last month, this month he was still in orbit of the tournament. His new tag team with Josh Alexander in The Don Callis Family were set up for a match against the two wrestlers who reached the final. So for a warm up match they went and destroyed two members of The Dark Order in quick fashion on Collision. Alexander picked up Evil Uno and with Takeshita did a Doomsday Jumping Knee to the masked man. Then they smashed Alex Reynolds with a Double Elbow Strike to the head before Alexander pinned him with the C4 Spike.


HOG “WAGING WAR”, 09/05/2025
Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. HOG Women’s Title: Indi Hartwell defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Full Nelson Facebuster (12:13).
*Indi Hartwell becomes the 8th HOG Women’s Champion!

The stakes were raised for Yamashita’s return to House Of Glory. Right before her match with Indi Hartwell began the HOG commissioner Jason Solomon walked out and announced that the HOG Women’s Title held by Megan Bayne had been vacated. He then announced that this match would determine the new champ! Yamashita had the end of the match under control until Hartwell ducked the Skull Kick and planted her with a Full Nelson Facebuster to win the match out of nowhere and become champion.


NJPW “RESURGENCE”, 09/05/2025
Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA

1. NEVER Openweight Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) (w/ Rocky Romero) defeated El Phantasmo with the Raging Fire (17:48).
*V6 for KONOSUKE TAKESHITA.

Rocky Romero’s involvement with Takeshita in the NJPW USA shows have become a little more clearer now that Romero is part of The Don Callis Family. He accompanied Takeshita for his NEVER Openweight Title defence against El Phantasmo. It couldn’t reach the heights of last year’s G1 match but ELP still did a massive Thunderkiss ’86 dive to Takeshita into the front row, landed a Cutthroat Driver for a nearfall and also gave Takeshita a Piledriver on the ring apron. ELP had the win in his grasp when Romero pulled the referee out of the ring during a pinfall. ELP got some measure of revenge on Romero by Power Bombing him through a table but that gave Takeshita time to recover and pin ELP with the Raging Fire. There is growing respect between the two because they shook hands after the match.


MAPLE LEAF PRO “NORTHERN RISING”, 10/05/2025
Mattamy Athletic Centre, Toronto, Canada

1. Serena Deeb defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Detox (12:55).

Yamashita travelled back up to Canada for another appearance in Maple Leaf Pro. There she faced Serena Deeb who was making her third appearance in a row for the promotion. Yamashita hit the Skull Kick but Deeb made sure to topple out of the ring to avoid getting pinned. When she was put back in the ring, Deeb pushed Yamashita into the ref and then hit her from behind with a Chop Block. She then pinned her with the Detox, which is Deeb’s arm trapped Styles Clash kind of finisher.


MLW “AZTECA LUCHA”, 10/05/2025
Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated Delmi Exo (?:??).
*V1 for Shoko Nakajima.

Right, here’s the funny thing about MLW. Their shows nowadays are one half live iPPV and the other half TV tapings for the upcoming month. That’s not unusual for wrestling but barely anyone who goes to MLW shows cares about spoiling the tapings part. Shoko Nakajima’s appearance on the live PPV was just to be seen sitting in the front row to hype up her next MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title defence. That match is a rematch with Delmi Exo that will air on MLW’s TV show in June. I couldn’t find any result or talk of the rematch online anywhere and the only reason we know Nakajima is still the champion is because she brought the belt back to Japan with her. Once the match airs I’ll come back and write this with any necessary corrections included. Like I don’t know, maybe they went to a 60 minute draw. I can’t prove they did but you can’t prove they didn’t either.


AEW “DYNAMITE – BEACH BREAK”, 14/05/2025
NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA

1. Will Ospreay & Hangman Page defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander (w/ Don Callis) when Page pinned Alexander after the Buckshot Hidden Blade (18:34).

The two Owen Hart Cup finalists Will Ospreay & Hangman Page had to team up before their big PPV match. They needed to be on the same page because Takeshita & Alexander were coming after them like a well oiled machine. There was some communication between them to set things up but it still led to moments where Page almost hit Ospreay with the Buckshot Lariat and Ospreay almost hit Page with the Hidden Blade. But something eventually clicked between the two and they combined their finishers Kinnikuman style on Alexander to get the victory.


GCW “BIG TIME”, 17/05/2025
RJ Meyer Arena, Joppa, Maryland, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Marcus Mathers with the Crash Rabbit Heat (21:02).

Plans changed for Yamashita’s next match in GCW. She was supposed to face Tony Deppen but instead her opponent was Marcus Mathers. The match featured quite a bit of mat work with Mathers looking for spots to take Yamashita into an Ankle Lock. Yamashita also found herself getting thrown around more often than she would back in TJPW. Mathers press dropped her onto the ring apron and tried to do a Power Bomb but it was countered into a Sunset Flip. When Mathers went more high risk he paid for it by springboarding into a glancing Skull Kick for a nearfall. By that point Yamashita knew she had Mathers where she wanted him and wore him down with kicks before pinning him with the Crash Rabbit Heat.


GCW “RUN FOR IT”, 18/05/2025
Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, New York, USA

1. Billie Starkz defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Victory Roll Reversal (10:34).

Yamashita’s final GCW appearance for the month (probably because it was also the last GCW show of the month) was also the fourth singles meeting with Billie Starkz. It turns out Starkz has become a very slippery opponent for Yamashita to beat nowadays because this match was her third defeat in a row to her. Yamashita got a nearfall with an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment and continued the pressure after that but Starkz ended up reversing a Victory Roll to get the three count out of nowhere.


AEW “COLLISION”, 21/05/2025 (Aired 22/05/2025)
Rio Rancho Events Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero (w/ Lance Archer) defeated Bandido, Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd when Takeshita pinned Floyd with the Bastard Driver (9:35).

More shuffling going around within The Don Callis Family yet things look so similar. Trent Beretta is back from injury and has reunited with Rocky Romero. Their Roppongi Vice team in New Japan is now conveniently renamed RPG Vice in AEW. They and Takeshita were put together for a trios match against the wild combination of Bandido and The Outrunners. During the madness Takeshita used a well timed Jumping Knee Strike to make Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd clash into each other. Then at ringside Lance Archer wiped out Bandido so the rest of The Family had the coast clear to finish things off.


MKW “BATTLE OF THE DECADE”, 24/05/2025
Dongxin Plaza, Beijing, China

1. Yuki Kamifuku & Chen Wenbin defeated Alexis Lee & Big Sam when Kamifuku pinned Lee with the Diving Famouser (?:??).

Now let’s head over to Asia to see what some of the other TJPW wrestlers have been up to. Middle Kingdom Wrestling in China brought in Yuki Kamifuku for a mixed tag match with Alexis Lee on the other team, making it a preview for their big title match happening in Singapore one week later. Kamifuku was teaming up with Chinese wrestler Chen Wenbin while Lee had a big British brute named Big Sam as her tag partner. Sam was too strong to a fault because he ended up missing Wenbin and Clotheslining Lee off the ring apron by mistake. Kamifuku by herself couldn’t hurt Big Sam but Wenbin was there to help her out when needed. Things also went wrong for Sam when his manager messed up a pin break and stomped on him, allowing the other team to charge in and Double Big Boot Sam out of the ring. Lee tried to get her hands on Kamifuku afterwards but Kamifuku got the better of her, winning the match with the Diving Famouser.


SAJ “HUNTER’S NET”, 24/05/2025
Via Dante 72, Sporting Cesate, Milan, Italy

1. 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Irene and Session Moth Martina (?:??).

Yamashita can now scratch Italy off her growing list of countries she’s wrestled in. SAJ Wrestling brought her in for a 3 Way Match against Italy’s own Irene and the Irish wrestler Session Moth Martina. The latter was really looking forward to this because she was meant to face Yamashita at EVE earlier in the year but she had to cancel it due to illness. Yamashita also tweeted that her first time in Italy was an incredible experience.


AEW “DOUBLE OR NOTHING”, 25/05/2025
Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, Arizona, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher & Josh Alexander defeated Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly when Fletcher pinned O’Reilly with (12:48).

Takeshita and co. were put in the unenviable position of following the annual Anarchy In The Arena match. They all did alright given the circumstances. Takeshita has crossed paths with Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly before but not when all three have been together as Paragon. In fact the previous times Takeshita has been in the ring with Strong was as tag partners. The Don Callis Family ended up isolating O’Reilly and left it to Kyle Fletcher to finish him off. The Family continued the attack after the match until an unlikely trio of wrestlers came to the rescue. Hiroshi Tanahashi made a suprise appearance leading Tomohiro Ishii & Brody King to the ring to chase off The Family. It’s all to set up the next “FORBIDDEN DOOR” that will be held in England this year. It’s since been confirmed that the show will feature Tanahashi’s final wrestling match in the UK before he retires. Could Takeshita become a part of it just like he was for Tanahashi’s last USA match?


AEW “COLLISION”, 28/05/2025 (Aired 31/05/2025)
El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero defeated Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Tomohiro Ishii when Takeshita pinned Ishii with the Raging Fire (10:18).

Chaos broke out from the get go when The Don Callis Family attacked their opponents from behind only for Paragon & Ishii to bring the fight to them outside the ring. Don Callis also briefly got away from the commentary table to deliver a cheap shot. Takeshita and Ishii threw bombs at each other until Takeshita pushed Ishii into the ref. That allowed Romero to Low Blow Ishii from behind so Takeshita could pin him with the Raging Fire.


SPW “MAYHEM”, 30/05/2025
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Queen Of Asia Title: Alexis Lee defeated Yuki Kamifuku (c) (?:??).
*Yuki Kamifuku fails in V7. Alexis Lee becomes the 6th Queen Of Asia Champion!

The Queen Of Asia has been defeated. Long live the new Queen Of Asian Champion! Lee wanted one more shot at Kamifuku’s title in SPW and was willing to put up the biggest gamble of her life to do it. She promised to put her career on the line and retire from wrestling if she couldn’t take the title from Kamifuku! The bet paid off because Lee was able to get the win and become a two time Queen Of Asia Champion. Thing along with Kamifuku losing the VPW Women’s Title in TJPW earlier in the month brings her Southeast Asian dominance to an end, maybe just for the time being.


SETUP “THE FALLEN KINGDOM”, 31/05/2025
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Matcha defeated Raku (c) with the Stunner (?:??).
*Raku fails in V2. Matcha becomes the 4th SETUP All Asia Women’s Champion!

The good folks at SETUP have kept me up to date on Raku’s return to Thailand this month which I appreciate greatly. Matcha wanted a chance to win back the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title she lost to TJPW and would get it with Raku coming over to defend it. But Raku had a devious plan put in place to give her the advantage. When Matcha was in Japan for a TJPW tour, Raku purposely sang “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” to her her backstage to send her to sleep. Raku then sent a recording of the song over to the SETUP dojo, making everyone over there who played it fall asleep on the spot. SETUP staff also told me that Raku played the same prank on a delivery driver on Matcha’s birthday so her birthday cake would never arrive! So Matcha tried to fight fire with fire by bringing along a certain kind of pillow and mat used in Thailand for Raku to lie on. Raku almost fell asleep but had the awareness to roll up Matcha when she tried to pin her. The two proceeded to wrestle the match using the mat as a weapon on each other, mostly by one bundling up the other in the mat to try and immobilize them. When it came down to the final moments of the match, Matcha countered Raku’s Doctor Yellow into the Last Rights. After that she hit the Stunner to win and regain her championship! Raku was upset to lose the title but Matcha made it up to her after the match by giving her the pillow to bring home as a keepsake. Raku may have also got to sing Zack Sabre Jr. to sleep at the merch table as the main photo at the top of the article suggests.

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Upcoming Appearances


NEW TEXAS PRO “BAT CITY”, 01/06/2025
Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA

1. Charity King & AQA Vs VertVixen & Yuka Sakazaki

There was only one previous time when VertVixen & Yuka Sakazaki were in the ring together and it was for an AEW Dark match. They meet again for Sakazaki’s return to the American indies, this time teaming together over at New Texas Pro. Someone in this match who is also getting attention is AQA. She was seen as an exciting prospect on the indies a few years ago and even signed a deal with AEW (she got the graphic and everything) but unexpectedly quit the business only a few months later. All of a sudden New Texas Pro announced her return and this is going to be her first match back in three years. Charity King will be there to lend her a helping hand for the comeback.


KITSUNE “GOING BACK TO SAN DIEGO”, 07/06/2025
Primal Compound, San Diego, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Zara Zakher
2. Vipress & Hudson Envy Vs Nagisa Nozaki & Yuna Manase

Not long to go now until Yuna Manase returns for the next weekend of Kitsune shows. Yamashita will be there too.


KITSUNE “8888”, 08/06/2025
South Gate, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Kitsune World Title: Yuna Manase (c) Vs Tae Honma

Manase has a Kitsune World Title defence against Tae Honma lined up while Yamashita won’t know who she faces until the day of the show.


LLL “BUY THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE – NIGHT 1”, 13/06/2025
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Yamashita’s first opponent for her weekend at Lucha Libre & Laughs has not been announced yet.


LLL “BUY THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE – NIGHT 2”, 14/06/2025
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Dark Sheik Vs Miyu Yamashita

But her opponent on the second night is already known. It’s Dark Sheik!


GCW “BANGIN’ IN LITTLE ROCK”, 20/06/2025
The Hall, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

It won’t be until them middle of the month when Yamashita jumps back into GCW. There will be a couple of both new and familiar faces showing up by then, giving Yamashita a few potentially fresh opponents.


GCW “TAKE A PICTURE”, 22/06/2025
The Truman, Kansas City, Missouri, USA

1. GCW Tag Team Titles: Jordan Oliver & Alec Price (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Billie Starkz

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em! Yamashita and Starkz are teaming up for a crack at the GCW Tag Team Titles currently held by Jordan Oliver & Alec Price. This could be Yamashita’s last chance on this tour to win some gold.


MLW “SUMMER OF THE BEASTS”, 26/06/2025
Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA

1. Wakana Uehara Vs Yuki Kamifuku

The relationship between TJPW and Major League Wrestling will continue with more TJPW wrestlers crossing over to the world that never stops! While Nakajima is defending MLW’s Women’s Title in Japan, TJPW will be sending over Yuki Kamifuku and Wakana Uehara to compete against each other in the MLW ring. Cesar Duran says this is part of a new era for MLW’s women’s division being helmed by Salina de la Renta.


REAPER “REAPER RISING – A KING’S CORONATION”, 27/06/2025
The Pit, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai

This is one of those times when the wrestling promotion in question is so far out of my reach I half consider if it’s someone’s eFed because the info is so sparse. However I can confirm Reaper Wrestling is a real company in Canada. Yamashita will get to face Janai Kai again and she sent a video warning Kai that nothing has changed since the last time they fought each other.


METALMANIA “2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY”, 28/06/2025
Stage 722, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

And the award for the most unlikely place to book Yamashita during her excursion goes to METALMANIA! It’s where you go in Portland to see lucha mix with death metal music. Never would have thought Yamashita to be a headbanger.


SPARK “IGNITE TEXAS”, 29/06/2025
Baytown Community Center, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Yuka Sakazaki Vs X

When was the last time Yamashita and Sakazaki were on the same show together? It wasn’t when Sakazaki graduated from TJPW a year and a half ago, was it? As you can see in the pic above, there’s also some Stardom talent appearing on the show. If SPARK has the pull to put together the tag match I’m thinking of then good job to them.


BZW “LES JEUX SONT FAITS”, 05/07/2025
Casino Barrière de Lille, Lille, France

1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Danny Black & Joe Lando

It’s back to France for a quick summer break. Or maybe not because MAO & Yoshihiko have some business to attend to for their return to Banger Zone Wrestling. British wrestlers Danny Black & Joe Lando have challenged them for the BZW Tag Team Titles. The pair from the CPF (Close Personal Friends) stable held the titles before and are getting this match at the same venue where they lost them.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 1”, 10/07/2025
POST, Houston, Texas, USA

The current lineup “confirmed” for the Texas tour is Maki Itoh, Miyu Yamashita, Miu Watanabe, Suzume, Yuki Arai, Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima, Pom Harajuku, Moka Miyamoto, Arisu Endo, Raku, Shino Suzuki and Yuki Kamifuku.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 2”, 11/07/2025
POST, Houston, Texas, USA

The only one not “confirmed” yet but still included in the promotional material is Hyper Misao. That might depend on if she recovers from her elbow injury in time.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN DALLAS”, 13/07/2025
The OC, Forney, Texas, USA

The only other thing known about the show lineups right now is each night will have different matches.

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Cancelled Appearances


MPX “METROPLEX WRESTLING”, 31/05/2025
Harwood Road, Bedford, Texas, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Maya World

A cancelled flight prevented Yamashita from travelling to Texas for her first appearance at Metroplex Wrestling. She was meant to fight Maya World at the show and called in a favour to Athena to be her replacement.


PRESTIGE “UNIT3D”, 01/06/2025
Vermont Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Not much to say about this other than I’m including it just for the sake of record. When Yamashita first posted her list of USA bookings she included one for Prestige on 1st June. She later had an update saying the booking was cancelled and she was available for other dates on the weekend. Nothing was said on Prestige’s end but that’s also because they hadn’t at any point promoted she would appear on the show.


DDT Around The World – Late April 2025

May 1, 2025

What a month. Felt like the moment WrestleMania Week ended the wrestling world just kept going. Konosuke Takeshita was involved with the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament in AEW and when that came to an end he very quickly established a new tag team with Josh Alexander. Then in Japan some DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers took part in Deadlock Pro’s weekend in the country’s capital. There was also some lucha libre action happening in Tokyo a few days later. Back in America Maki Itoh got her face painted again in a very nice and very evil manner. Then the very busy month came to an end with Miyu Yamashita stepping foot back inside AEW after a two or three year absence.

Yamashita is going to have a packed schedule in May. Itoh has a few things coming up but she will be back in TJPW in the middle of the month. Yamashita though has plenty on her plate and the AEW appearance came about at a good time to replenish some interest in her. What’s included below is not the complete schedule she posted on her Twitter account. There are plenty more dates coming up over the next few months but some haven’t been announced by the promotions yet so I left them out just to save some space. Our old pal Yuka Sakazaki got her first booking on the indies in quite a while too. Another thing to keep an eye on is just where will Keigo Nakamura land for his indefinite overseas excursion. Apparently wherever he’s going he is has gone travelling over there already. If he is indeed still going to wrestle I’ll do my best to keep track of it in these articles.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “DYNAMITE – SPRING BREAKTHRU”, 16/04/2025
MGM Music Hall At Fenway, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

1. Owen Hart Foundation 2025 Men’s Tournament – Semi Final: Will Ospreay Vs Konosuke Takeshita


AEW “COLLISION – SPRING BREAKTHRU”, 17/04/2025
MGM Music Hall At Fenway, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

1. Josh Alexander & Konosuke Takeshita Vs Rocky Romero & Tomohiro Ishii


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 23/04/2025
Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

1. Will Ospreay & Brody King Vs Josh Alexander & Konosuke Takeshita


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 30/04/2025
Chartway Arena, Norfolk, Virginia, USA

1. AEW Women’s World Title Eliminator Match: Toni Storm (w/ Luther) Vs Miyu Yamashita

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Results


AEW “DYNAMITE – SPRING BREAKTHRU”, 16/04/2025
MGM Music Hall At Fenway, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

1. Owen Hart Foundation 2025 Men’s Tournament – Semi Final: Will Ospreay defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Stormbreaker (21:43).

A highly anticipated rematch in the Owen Hart Cup saw Takeshita clash with Will Ospreay once again. Ospreay looked to have had Takeshita’s number until Takeshita purposely collapsed to avoid taking the Hidden Blade. Takeshita even caught Ospreay in mid-air with an Elbow Strike only for Ospreay to kick out at one and hit the Hidden Blade from out of nowhere. Takeshita kicked out at one as well leading to a role reversal where Ospreay used the Bastard Driver into the German Suplex and Takeshita responded with a Hidden Blade of his own. More counters came with Ospreay turning the Raging Fire into a Hurricanrana that then switched into the Styles Clash. Takeshita countered another Hidden Blade with a Backslide into a Powerdrive Knee but Ospreay flipped over a Lariat and lifted Takeshita into the Stormbreaker, winning a hard fought match that booked his spot in the final.


AEW “COLLISION – SPRING BREAKTHRU”, 17/04/2025
MGM Music Hall At Fenway, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

1. Josh Alexander & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Rocky Romero & Tomohiro Ishii when Alexander pinned Ishii with a Power Bomb (10:18).

There wasn’t much time for Takeshita to lick his wounds but The Don Callis Family are already regrouping with a new addition to the unit. AEW’s newest signing Josh Alexander has taken on Don Callis’s management services and made to team with Takeshita. They won their first match as a tag team but one of the reasons it happened was because Rocky Romero ended up abandoning Tomohiro Ishii and left him to the wolves. Alexander & Takeshita rocked Ishii with a Double Roaring Elbow then Alexander finished him off with a Power Bomb. There was then more drama when Trent Beretta made his return after the match and attacked Ishii with Romero. Callis gave a wrench to Beretta and he used it to knock Ishii out.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 23/04/2025
Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

1. Josh Alexander & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Will Ospreay & Brody King when Alexander pinned King after the Assisted C4 Spike (13:08).

Winning ways continued for The Don Callis Family when they took on Takeshita’s two opponents from the Owen Hart Cup. It was a heck of a task getting there though. Brody King ran through them like a tank while Ospreay and Takeshita had unfinished business from their match last week. The Family needed Lance Archer to distract the ref in order to turn the tables. Even then it took a lot fo Alexander & Takeshita to put King away. It eventually took Takeshita helping Alexander lift King up for the C4 Spike to finally put the big boy away.


DPW “SPIRIT RISING – NIGHT 1”, 24/04/2025
Shinjuku FACE

1. Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA Vs LaBron Kozone & Calvin Tankman ended in a Draw (?:??).
2. DPW Women’s World Title: Dani Luna (c) defeated Rika Tatsumi (?:??).
*V3 for Dani Luna.

I couldn’t get any proper results from DPW’s two shows in Japan since they’re usually pretty good at keeping things under wraps until the matches get uploaded to their streaming service. But some scraping through Twitter I was able to piece together some things. Rika Tatsumi failed in her bid to win the DPW Women’s Title from Dani Luna. Also the DPW Vs DDT match went to a draw, I assume of the time limit kind. One of the big spots was HARASHIMA going to do the Somato on LaBron Kozone only to get ran over in midair with the Pounce from Calvin Tankman.


DPW “SPIRIT RISING – NIGHT 2”, 25/04/2025
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Calvin Tankman & Kazuma Sumi defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida (?:??).
2. Emi Sakura, Chris Brookes, Mei Suruga & Baliyan Akki defeated Miyuki Takase, Kevin Ku, Dominic Garrini & Ryo Mizunami (?:??).

On Night 2 Chris Brookes was part of a ChocoPro team against a USA/Japan alliance representing DPW. Meanwhile Tankman got thrown in with some DDT wrestlers for a tag match between two pairs of big man and little man. Tankman is remaining in Japan for a ZERO1 tour but who knows, maybe DDT will come calling while he’s there.


HOG “ISOLATION”, 25/04/2025
NYC Arena, New York City, New York, USA

1. HOG Heavyweight Title: Mike Santana (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita ended in a No Contest when Charles Mason interfered (15:57).
*V14 for Mike Santana.

Well that kind of felt like a waste of time. The HOG Heavyweight Title was on the line and neither Mike Santana nor Takeshita were in a position to take a loss. So Charles Mason came out and ruined the whole thing. Santana had Takeshita pinned with the Spin The Block Roaring Lariat but Santana pulled the ref out of the ring mid-count and attacked Santana to stop the match. Takeshita tried to come to the rescue but Mason fled the ring unharmed. Santana and Takeshita raised each other’s hands to everyone afterward.


BLACK LABEL PRO “BLP AT SCX III”, 25/04/2025
The Wyndham, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Leyla Hirsch with the Skull Kick (?:??).
2. Danhausen & Maki Itoh defeated Davey Bang & August Matthews when Danhausen pinned Matthews and Itoh pinned Bang with the Double Kokeshi (?:??).

The latest American tours for Itoh & Yamashita kicked off over in Black Label Pro. Itoh joined forces with Danhausen once again to reunite Very Cute, Very Evil Makihausen. Itoh had the face fully painted to match her tag partner and be battle ready to go against Bang And Matthews. Itoh was in grave danger when Davey Bang & August Matthews combined to hit the Spears Tower on her but Danhausen broke the pin. When they tried the same move on Danhausen he paused them with a Curse that resulted in Itoh tripping them over. The two then filled their opponents’ mouths with jars of teeth before kicking them in their faces. Itoh & Danhausen then finished them off with Stereo Kokeshi Headbutts.

This month saw Leyla Hirsch return to action, now as a freelancer. Yamashita got to be one her of first opponents back and didn’t show much ring rust with her performance. She tried wearing down Yamashita with an Ankle Lock but Yamashita fired back with strikes that took a lot out of her opponent. Hirsch then missed a Moonsault and charged right into the Skull Kick for the finish.


MEXICO KANKO “LUCHA FIESTA ESPECIAL”, 27/04/2025
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
2,714 Fans

1. Mexican Tourist Belt – The Road To Studying In Mexico 6 Way Match: Yuki Mashiro defeated Honoka, YuuRI, SONYA, CoCo and Yoshiko Hasegawa when Mashiro pinned Hasegawa with a Modified Suplex Hold (?:??).
Order Of Elimination: SONYA, CoCo, Honoka, YuuRI, Yoshiko Hasegawa.
2. Octagon & El Hijo del Octagon Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Pantera Jr. ended in a Draw when El Hijo del Octagon and Pantera Jr. pinned each other from a Romero Special (?:??).

The warm vibes of lucha libre were in the air surrounding Sumo Hall for a sponsored show put together by the Mexico Kanko tourism company. Daisuke Sasaki was thrown in with some luchadors for a tag match. Naturally Sasaki was on the rudo side teaming with Pantera Jr. to take on the supposedly family pair of Octagon & El Hijo del Octagon. Sasaki stepped in to stop Octagon from doing dive from the top turnbuckle. But the match ended up going to a draw when Pantera put El Hijo del Octagon in the Romero Special. The move leaned both luchadors back onto their shoulders resulting in a double pinfall. After some arguing over the finish, all four wrestlers raised each others hands in the ring.

A sixth woman was added to the Mexican Tourist Belt match. Yoshiko Hasegawa may be retiring from wrestling soon but she didn’t want to miss a chance to win a holiday to Mexico! She came close to winning too, eliminating YuuRI and making it to the final two with Yuki Mashiro. She tried to win using the Fisherman Buster but Mashiro got the better of her and won the match with a Modified Suplex.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 30/04/2025
Chartway Arena, Norfolk, Virginia, USA

1. AEW Women’s World Title Eliminator Match: Toni Storm (w/ Luther) Vs Miyu Yamashita

Right at the end of the month Yamashita wound up in a familiar place. She came back to AEW for the first time since 2022 (or maybe 2023 if you want to count ROH). She was here to repeat what she did back then and that was to fight the AEW Women’s World Champion and beat her to get a title shot. We’re far past the days of Thunder Rosa though. It’s Toni Storm’s time now, which also happens to rewind the clock back one century thanks to her Timeless gimmick. Yamashita got into the swing of things by literally kicking Storm’s ass around the ring as well as kicking away the loyal butler Luther. She also hit the Skull Kick but was too fatigued to make the pin in time. I couldn’t tell if she broke the pin herself or if Storm kicked out of it because both looked like they happened at the same time. Storm made a comeback and avoided the Crash Rabbit Heat to throw Yamashita over to the corner with a German Suplex. She then landed the Running Hip Attack and pinned Yamashita with the Storm Zero. The booking sounds like it was a one time thing for Yamashita during this latest stay in the States. But she promised if she ever comes back to AEW she will kick someone else’s head in!

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Upcoming Appearances


TOP TALENT “LIVE AT MIDWAY MUSIC HALL”, 02/05/2025
Midway Music Hall, Edmonton, Canada

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Ava Lawless

May starts off with Yamashita and Itoh going in separate directions for a while. Yamashita will be in Canada to face Ava Lawless in her Top Talent Wrestling debut.


HOODSLAM “PHANTASMAGORIA”, 02/05/2025
Continental Club, Oakland, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Meanwhile Itoh returns to a Hoodslam that is currently in chaos. But when is it ever quiet over there?


GCW “CRAZY SCARY SPOOKY HILARIOUS”, 03/05/2025
Ukrainian Culture Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Miyu Yamashita

The next day 121000000 are back together but this time as opponents. Can Itoh finally beat Yamashita one on one for the first time ever?


GCW “WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU”, 04/05/2025
Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. JCW World Title: Masha Slamovich (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. GCW World Title: Effy (c) Vs Maki Itoh

Then soon after that the two of them have the chance to both become champions in the GCW sphere on the same night. While Itoh faces Effy for the GCW World Title, Yamashita gets in the ring again with Masha Slamovich in a bid to take away her JCW World Title. Slamovich just recently pinned Yamashita at the “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW” show which seems to be what set this title match up. At the moment this looks to be Itoh’s last booking before she goes back to Japan. Her TJPW return will be on 11th May.


HOG “WAGING WAR”, 09/05/2025
Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Indi Hartwell Vs Miyu Yamashita

Yamashita gets another match with someone who knows what it’s like to wrestle in WWE. This time it is the Indi Hartwell, the former NXT Women’s Champion (bet some of you forgot she held that title for a month) turned TNA’s latest signing.


NJPW “RESURGENCE”, 09/05/2025
Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA

1. NEVER Openweight Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) Vs El Phantasmo

It’s now been confirmed that Takeshita will defend the NEVER Openweight Title against El Phantasmo at New Japan’s next USA show. This is also happening a week after they face each other in Japan with the NJPW World TV Title on the line. Does Rocky Romero get involved after the ambush he committed on ELP last month?


MAPLE LEAF PRO “NORTHERN RISING”, 10/05/2025
Mattamy Athletic Centre, Toronto, Canada

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Serena Deeb

Yamashita is just bouncing back and forth between Canada and America during this trip. Serena Deeb will want to be the road block that stops her.


MLW “AZTECA LUCHA”, 10/05/2025
Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois USA

1. Shoko Nakajima Vs X

After winning the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title earlier this month, Shoko Nakajima is set to return to MLW for their next “AZTECA LUCHA” taping. Nothing has been announced yet for what her match is going to be. Could it be a title defence against a luchadora from CMLL?


GCW “BIG TIME”, 17/05/2025
RJ Meyer Arena, Joppa, Maryland, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Tony Deppen

Itoh will be long gone home by this time so GCW could become Yamashita’s for the taking in her absence. Beating the promotion’s gatekeeper Tony Deppen would send her in the right direction.


GCW “RUN FOR IT”, 18/05/2025
Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, New York, USA

1. Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita

What kind of momentum will be following Yamashita by the time she fights Billie Starkz again?


MKW “BATTLE OF THE DECADE”, 24/05/2025
Dongxin Plaza, Beijing, China

1. Yuki Kamifuku & Chen Wenbin Vs Alexis Lee & Big Sam

Could this be the penultimate chapter of the rivalry between Yuki Kamifuku and Alexis Lee?


SAJ “HUNTER’S NET”, 24/05/2025
Via Dante 72, Sporting Cesate, Milan, Italy

1. Irene Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Session Moth Martina

A change of venue for Yamashita’s debut in Italy due to an electrical problem in the original building. She is also finally going to face Session Moth Martina after their scheduled match in EVE back in March got cancelled. One week later Martina got to team with Italian wrestler Irene at the most recent SAJ Wrestling show. I haven’t seen it so I don’t know if anything happened as a reason to make them opponents here or if this is just three wrestlers who want to have some fun in the ring.


SPW “MAYHEM”, 30/05/2025
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Queen Of Asia Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c) Vs Alexis Lee

If all goes wrong for Kamifuku in May she could end up losing both the VPW Women’s Title and the Queen Of Asia Title!


NEW TEXAS PRO “BAT CITY”, 01/06/2025
Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs X

Finally Sakazaki gets to wrestle somewhere again! I don’t know if her lack of ring time lately is AEW/ROH not wanting to book her or if there’s an undisclosed injury of some sort holding her back but she’s making a reappearance on the American indies with New Texas Pro as her first stop.


KITSUNE “GOING BACK TO SAN DIEGO”, 07/06/2025
Primal Compound, San Diego, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Zara Zakher
2. Vipress & Hudson Envy Vs Nagisa Nozaki & Yuna Manase

The first singles meeting between Yamashita and Zara Zakher. They fought each other once before in a Princess Tag Team Titles match back in January. Yamashita pinned Zakher in that match. Will she do it again?


KITSUNE “8888”, 08/06/2025
South Gate, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Kitsune World Title: Yuna Manase (c) Vs Tae Honma

This October Tae Honma is going to retire from pro wrestling. One of her last big singles matches will be in America when Yuna Manase defends the Kitsune World Title against her.


LLL “BUT THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE NIGHT 2”, 14/06/2025
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Dark Sheik Vs Miyu Yamashita

Yamashita returns to Lucha, Libre & Laughs for two nights but only one of them has a match announced so far. She faces Dark Sheik on Night 2. Nothing yet on what match she will get on Night 1.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 1”, 10/07/2025
POST, Houston, Texas, USA

Four wrestlers are currently confirmed for TJPW’s big tripleshot in Texas.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 2”, 11/07/2025
POST, Houston, Texas, USA

Yamashita and Itoh will be there as will Miu Watanabe and Suzume. So far that’s all of the official announcements.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN DALLAS”, 13/07/2025
The OC, Forney, Texas, USA

Psst… the English website promoting the show also lists Yuki Arai, Mizuki, Hyper Misao, Shoko Nakajima, Pom Harajuku, Moka Miyamoto, Shino Suzuki, Raku and Arisu Endo as all “awaiting confirmation” to be on the show. I guess they could go and confirm them all but as we saw with Harajuku this month they might be making sure everything is absolutely ready for them all to travel first.


DDT Around The World – WrestleMania Week 2025

April 25, 2025

Still recovering from the last week? I know I am. It was a good week of wrestling over in Las Vegas. Plenty to go see and the stuff I watched in person was for the most part good to great. The return of DGUSA was alright, Pandemonium Pro was a fun time, WrestleCon had a good first half that turned bizarre in the middle before ending with a good main event and Bloodsport is a decent idea that’s getting bogged down by GCW’s working relationship with WWE. As for the DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro related shows I enjoyed all three of them. TJPW’s show was as close to a Korakuen Hall level event they could put on in America, DDT’s show didn’t have a dull moment on it and I was surprised by how good the Vs GCW show turned out in the end. Attendance though is another thing. TJPW I think are happy with the 812 number especially since I doubt they would get that for a Golden Week Korakuen show this year even with the big main event. DDT is still keeping their numbers a secret which I am now looking at in a different light because of a certain big takeover story that happened in the industry during the weekend.* The Vs GCW show had the worst turnout yet the people who did show up wanted to watch the show so there was still a good atmosphere inside the venue.

I reckon DDT/TJPW are happy to keep working with GCW and The Collective for next year’s WrestleMania Week. There’s definitely too many shows going on and not enough of an audience to fill them up. I saw plenty of shows in person and on screen over the week where the empty seats were noticeable. However TJPW in particular was one of the success stories coming out of Vegas and they seem to be getting more out of their American shows then some of the other Japanese promotions. Hopefully the momentum carries over to their events in Texas for All In Weekend this July.

*Let the record show that the moment I learned about WWE acquiring AAA happened while Maki Itoh and Microman were fighting each other.

———————————————————————–

Videos


Video starts at 00:00 for Match #1. Go to 39:41 for Match #2.
PANDEMONIUM PRO “THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS”, 17/04/2025
Fremont Country Club, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Masha Slamovich Vs MAO
2. Maya World Vs Miu Watanabe


WEST COAST PRO “VEGAS VACATION”, 17/04/2025
Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. MAO Vs Jiah Jewell


GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XIII”, 17/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Nattie Neidhart Vs Miyu Yamashita

———————————————————————–

Results


PANDEMONIUM PRO “THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS”, 17/04/2025
Fremont Country Club, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Masha Slamovich defeated MAO with a High Kick (9:30).
2. Miu Watanabe defeated Maya World with the Tear Drop (11:30).

Thursday was when the busy schedules all kicked off for everyone. Miu Watanabe not only got to wrestle a rare match outside of TJPW but she got to perform her song for everyone during the pre-show too. Apparently when the promoter for Pandemonium Pro asked her if she had any requests in regards to the booking, she made it absolutely clear she wanted to sing at the show. When it came time to wrestle, she was ready to face the power and agility of Maya World. A Gory Special Go 2 Sleep, a Crippler Crossface, a Sunset Flip Power Bomb from the corner and a hanging German Suplex were all used by World but couldn’t get her the win. Watanabe’s power won out instead thanks to the Giant Swing, Power Slam, Laserbeam and then the Tear Drop.

The first of four matches in one day for MAO began here when he fought Masha Slamovich, who is somebody else that would spend most of the week wrestling non-stop all over the place. MAO fought a little bit dirty so even though he normally does something to the ref to leap over them for a Ace Crusher, here it was done to get the fans on Slamovich’s side. The two ended up in a fighting exchange that looked like it was about to end in a draw after Double High Kicks from each other both found their targets. But MAO fell down first with Slamovich landing on top of him to get the win.


CIRCLE 6 “MAYHEM AT THE MUSEUM”, 17/04/2025
The Punk Rock Museum, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. MAO defeated Bestia 666 with the Cannonball 450 (?:??).

With the Pandemonium Pro done, MAO quickly travelled over to The Punk Rock Museum where Circle 6 was hosting his next match in the parking lot. There was a ring set up in the lot and MAO could not help but brawl with Bestia 666 up to the nearby concert stage. MAO took some time to sit at the drums and play them for a bit before bringing Bestia back to the ring where he beat him with the Cannonball 450.


WRESTLECON “MARK HITCHCOCK MEMORIAL SUPERSHOW”, 17/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Mickie James defeated Maki Itoh with the Mickie DDT (14:25).
2. Minoru Suzuki Vs Butterbean (w/ Don Frye) ended in a Double Countout (R3 9:06).
*Special Guest Enforcer: Dan Severn

I wasn’t going to write about any of Minoru Suzuki’s matches on this trip but I was in attendance for this show, Suzuki had the DDT Universal Title with him so and these two matches are going to be remembered for all the wrong reasons for a long time to come. So let’s get to it. Suzuki fought against Butterbean in one of the most bizarre looking matches happening in the weekend. Dan Severn was there as the special guest referee and also Don Frye was in the room as part of Butterbean’s entourage. What followed was a car crash of a match that nobody could turn away from. Three rounds of… er… I guess you can call it combat but there wasn’t much that could actually happen given the physical limitations between those involved. In the third round Suzuki and Butterbean ended up fighting outside the ring and when the bell rang for the final time, Severn informed everyone that the two of them were both counted out. Then after the commotion settled down, Severn gave an instruction to the ring announcer and it was just to repeat that the match ended in a Double Countout (I know he did that spot somewhere before but can’t remember where). It was certainly a freak show fight I’ll never forget.

Let’s not mince words, the Mickie James Vs Maki Itoh that happened before this was complete dog shit. On paper the match layout done correctly would have been acceptable. Start the match with a challenge for a singing contest, one of them gets slighted over being upstaged and does something heelish then the other makes the babyface comeback and wins. Should be easy peasy but oh boy did they fuck this up something rotten. They already began wrestling for a few minutes while everyone noticed the microphone was still in the ring. James then finally grabs it but instead of making the challenge straight away, she instead starts talking shit about Dave Meltzer for cheap pops (apparantly he was in the crowd?). The singoff eventually starts with Itoh singing in Japanese so James makes the typical “I don’t understand what you said” joke that would have fitted in at the WrestleMania roast later that weekend given how low effort it was. Then James tried singing her song, throwing in some adlibbed insults at Itoh for having a small butt that just came off like James couldn’t think of anything funny on the spot. They finally went back to wrestling but by this point the air has already escaped the room and nobody cared how it went. An absolute bomb of a match that exposed James as being thin-skinned and unprepared while Itoh had nowhere near the ability to try and save it.


WEST COAST PRO “VEGAS VACATION”, 17/04/2025
Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. MAO defeated Jiah Jewell with an Anaconda Vice (?:??).

Time was already getting tight for MAO heading into his third match of the day. He came out for his match with Jiah Jewell looking like he only just arrived in the venue. He also had to call his next Uber before the match began. The match itself was not much to talk about. Given the promotion was two crazy wrestlers being put against each other, there isn’t much to talk about. There was a little bit of storyline with Jewell’s rival JT Thorne sitting at ringside to watch the match and MAO has added the Anaconda Vice to his arsenal. Other than that this became one of MAO’s more quiet periods of the week.


GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XIII”, 17/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Charlie Dempsey defeated Shinya Aoki by Referee Stoppage with the Regal Plex (9:18).
2. Nattie Neidhart defeated Miyu Yamashita by Referee Stoppage with the Sharpshooter (7:14).

After so much time spent hyping it up Miyu Yamashita and Nattie Neidhart finally had their match, taking place in the no-rope Bloodsport ring. Yamashita countered Neidhart’s Discus Elbow with the Skull Kick but that wasn’t called as a knockout so she went for the submission. Neidhart ended up kicking Yamashita away, pushing her into the corner post. That pretty much knocked out Yamashita and when she was put in the Sharpshooter, the referee stopped the match. That’s how it was supposed to look on paper but in practice it didn’t look great, which is why a lot of the match reports out there are confused as to why Yamashita was rendered unconscious by the Sharpshooter so quickly. At least Neidhart was thrilled by how the match went and would like to fight Yamashita again, this time in the WWE.

Maybe the big upset of the show happened when Charlie Dempsey from NXT defeated Shinya Aoki. The match was mostly grappling with Dempsey throwing in some European Uppercuts late in the game. Aoki almost had the fight won with a Sleeper Hold but Dempsey grabbed victory from the jaws of defeat by countering it into the Regal Plex. Aoki didn’t respond after that and the match was called in his opponent’s favor.


BZW “VIVA LAS VEGAS”, 17/04/2025
Swan Dive, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) defeated Marcus Mathers & Alec Price when Yoshihiko pinned Mathers with a Hurricanrana (?:??).
*V4 for MAO & Yoshihiko.

This is how you end a night in Las Vegas. By teaming up with a sex doll to defend a tag team championship from France against a team with one guy who will probably end up on WWE TV somewhere in the next few year. As you do. Marcus Mathers & Alec Price were able to keep MAO at bay but Yoshihiko proved to be too much to handle. It had Price pinned with a Victory Roll counter for the Doomsday Device but the ref held his count believing that Mathers kicked out of it. So the challengers tried another double team move, this time with a Power Bomb set up. But Yoshihiko fought off Price from the corner and flipped over Mathers with a Hurricanrana to get the three count. MAO & Yoshihiko would go on to defend the BZW Tag Team Titles a second time later in the week, this time at the “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW” show.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “QUERI PRESENTS TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
812 Fans

1. Yuki Arai defeated Arisu Endo with the Finally (7:17).
2. Yuki Aino, Ram Kaichow & Viva Van defeated Rika Tatsumi, Shino Suzuki & Vert Vixen when Aino pinned Suzuki with the Venus DDT (13:56).
3. Maki Itoh & Zara Zakher defeated Max The Impaler & Raku when Itoh submitted Raku with the Itoh Deluxe (9:44).
4. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) defeated Jada Stone with the Ring A Bell (12:36).
*V3 for Suzume.
5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) defeated Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara when Nakajima pinned Uehara with the Diving Senton (13:20).
*V1 for Kyoraku Kyomei.
6. TNA World Knockouts Title: Masha Slamovich (c) defeated Miu Watanabe with the White Knight Driver (10:45).
*V8 for Masha Slamovich.
7. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Cutie Special (17:40).
*V2 for Mizuki.

A report of the show can be found here.


DDT “DDT GOES LAS VEGAS!”, 18/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Starboy Charlie defeated Yuni with the Shooting Starboy Press (8:58).
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Ilusion defeated Mizuki Watase & Shota and Dan The Dad & Kody Lane when Sasaki submitted Dan with the Crossface Lock (13:07).
3. Special Single Match: Santana Jackson defeated Antonio Honda with the Moonwalk DDT (9:37).
4. wXw Unified World Wrestling Title: 1 Called Manders (c) defeated Yukio Naya with the Lariat (9:33).
*V3 for 1 Called Manders.
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Nick Wayne, Shunma Katsumata & Kazuma Sumi defeated Gringo Loco, Marcus Mathers & Tyler Bateman when Wayne pinned Bateman with the Wayne’s World (13:37).
6. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki defeated Timothy Thatcher with the Aoki Clutch (9:20).
7. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) defeated Yoshihiko with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (15:10).
*V1 for Minoru Suzuki.
8. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated MAO with the Raging Fire (17:24).

A report of the show can be found here.


WRESTLECORE “FEAR & WRESTLECORE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025
Swan Dive, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Cutest Match In The World: Maki Itoh defeated ELP when ELP said he is not the cutest in the world. (?:??).

Things have gotten drastic between Maki Itoh and El Phantasmo over who the cutest wrestler in the world is. The only way this matter could be settled in the ring was in a fight to the death! Or at least hurt the opponent badly enough that they admit on the microphone that they are not the cutest, I Quit style. Phantasmo brought a chair into the ring only for Itoh to stop him with a Low Blow. Itoh then bashed the chair over his head and use it to choke him into submission, forcing ELP to admit he is not the cutest in the world. Itoh was happy with that and made up with ELP after the match so the two could pose together.


PRIDESTYLE “OUT OF THIS WORLD”, 18/04/2025
Swan Dive, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

0. Yoshihiko’s Super Special Open Challenge: Yoshihiko Vs Ricky Tenacious
1. G-Sharpe Vs MAO

I couldn’t find any results of the PrideStyle show. I was able to find a clip of Yoshihiko wrestling Ricky Tenacious and there were other people involved so I guess the open challenge turned into a multi-man match.


GRAPHOUSE “FOR VEGAS, BY VEGAS”, 18/04/2025
Fergusons Downtown, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Gauntlet Match: Yoshihiko defeated G-Sharpe (?:??).
2. W4TN Title: Lazarus (c) defeated MAO (?:??).
*V? for Lazarus.

MAO probably saved his craziest stuff for last when he fought Lazarus over at GrapHouse. With the WILD4THENIGHT Title on the line both champion and challenger did nutty things. There was crowd brawling, there were plastic cases being smashed apart and there were plenty of chairs being used too. MAO even took a Stunner that sent him bouncing backwards into a trash can! Lazarus ended up winning to retain his W4TN Title.

From what I could find, Yoshihiko was also booked on the show as part of a Gauntlet Match and ended up winning it. But I do not know who it fought on the way to victory. I think G-Sharpe was there for part of it.


DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GCW “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Mizuki, Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino, Raku & Jada Stone defeated Miu Watanabe, Suzume, Arisu Endo, Yuki Arai & Shino Suzuki when Mizuki pinned Suzuki with the Cutie Special (10:13).
2. Kidd Bandit & Shota defeated Rika Tatsumi & Antonio Honda when Bandit pinned Honda with the Hidden Lotus (10:02).
3. Gringo Loco & Arez defeated Starboy Charlie & Yuni when Loco pinned Yuni with the Base Bomb and Arez pinned Charlie with the Made In Mexico (11:23).
4. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara defeated Brooke Havok & Sandra Moone when Kamifuku pinned Moone with the Diving Famouser (7:01).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Super Crazy, Marcus Mathers & Shoko Nakajima defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Ilusion & Dark Sheik when Crazy submitted Ilusion with La Guitarra (8:48).
6. Special Tag Match: Yukio Naya & Microman defeated 1 Called Manders & Maki Itoh when Microman pinned Itoh with a Naya Assisted Body Press (11:27).
7. Hardcore Tag Match: John Wayne Murdoch & Matt Tremont defeated Mance Warner & Shunma Katsumata when Tremont pinned Katsumata with the Death Valley Driver (9:37).
8. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Masha Slamovich defeated Shinya Aoki & Miyu Yamashita when Slamovich pinned Yamashita with the White Knight Driver (11:10).
9. BZW Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) defeated Jimmy Lloyd & Alec Price and Jack Cartwheel & Kazuma Sumi when MAO pinned Sumi with the Ultra Big Tone (13:48).
*V5 for MAO & Yoshihiko.

A report of the show can be found here.


GCW “CLUSTERF*CK FOREVER”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Clusterfuck Match: Brodie Lee Jr. defeated Joey Janela (2:19:45).
Order Of Elimination: Kerry Morton, The Up Up Girls, B3CCA, Steven Crowe, MBM and MBM’s Friend, Swipe Right, Shreddy, The Warlord, Tombstone Jesus, Nate Webb, Human Tornado, Santana Jackson, Yoshihiko, Blanket Jackson, Gene Snitsky, Tara Zep, Zayda Steel, Vipress, Viva Van, Sonny Kiss, Sayaka Unagi, Jai Vidal, Ashley Vox, Bodhi Young Prodigy, Channing Decker, Sonico, Randy Myers, Parrow, Rhys Maddox, CPA, Jeffery Jhn, Super Crazy, Juventud Guerrera, Dustin Thomas, Kidd Bandit, Microman, New Roy, Team Game Changer Wrestling and Team Juggalo Championship Wrestling, Sleepy Ed, Dan Barry, Frank The Clown, Dan The Dad, Cheeseburger, Jack Cartwheel, Manny Lemons, Harlon Abbot, Effy, The Invisible Man, JGeorge and Lady Killjoy, Tommy Invincible, Frankie B, Brittnie Brookes, Sam Holloway, Thomas Shire, Mike Jackson, Lena Kross, Jay Lucas and Terry Yaki, Bobby Flaco, Aerial Van Go and Davey Bang and Brayden Toon, Starboy Charlie, Paul London, Masha Slamovich, Alec Price, 1 Called Manders, Man Like DeReiss, Megan Bayne, Joey Janela.

So Yoshihiko appearing at the Clusterfuck was known in advance but The Up Up Girls showing up as Entry #1 to perform “Upper Kick”? Nobody saw that coming! Although any joy to come from that was spoiled by Kerry Morton coming out to interrupt them with a foul mouthed rant. But when he got into the ring Miu Watanabe, Raku & Shino Suzuki all beat him up and threw him out of the ring before going back to singing. The next entrant was B3CCA then tried to get on The Up Up Girls’ side only to jump them. They fought back until Zayda Steel entered the match followed by the stable Swipe Right. A distraction from Swipe Right allowed B3CCA & Steel to all eliminated The Up Up Girls from behind.

Later in the match Yoshihiko made its appearance only to get eliminated by Gene Snitsky. Hey, it wasn’t his fault…


DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GCW “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW” Results

April 20, 2025

DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GCW “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Mizuki, Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino, Raku & Jada Stone defeated Miu Watanabe, Suzume, Arisu Endo, Yuki Arai & Shino Suzuki when Mizuki pinned Suzuki with the Cutie Special (10:13).
2. Kidd Bandit & Shota defeated Rika Tatsumi & Antonio Honda when Bandit pinned Honda with the Hidden Lotus (10:02).
3. Gringo Loco & Arez defeated Starboy Charlie & Yuni when Loco pinned Yuni with the Base Bomb and Arez pinned Charlie with the Made In Mexico (11:23).
4. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara defeated Brooke Havok & Sandra Moone when Kamifuku pinned Moone with the Diving Famouser (7:01).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Super Crazy, Marcus Mathers & Shoko Nakajima defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Ilusion & Dark Sheik when Crazy submitted Ilusion with La Guitarra (8:48).
6. Special Tag Match: Yukio Naya & Microman defeated 1 Called Manders & Maki Itoh when Microman pinned Itoh with a Naya Assisted Body Press (11:27).
7. Hardcore Tag Match: John Wayne Murdoch & Matt Tremont defeated Mance Warner & Shunma Katsumata when Tremont pinned Katsumata with the Death Valley Driver (9:37).
8. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Masha Slamovich defeated Shinya Aoki & Miyu Yamashita when Slamovich pinned Yamashita with the White Knight Driver (11:10).
9. BZW Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) defeated Jimmy Lloyd & Alec Price and Jack Cartwheel & Kazuma Sumi when MAO pinned Sumi with the Ultra Big Tone (13:48).
*V5 for MAO & Yoshihiko.

On the final day of The Collective series of shows and just hours before the first night of WrestleMania began, a triple threat collaboration took place between DDT, Tokyo Joshi Pro & GCW. And just to add another promotion to the mix, the main event was for a Banger Zone Wrestling championship. MAO & Yoshihiko defended the BZW Tag Team Titles in a 3 Way Match and came out of it with the belts still in their grasps. Yoshihiko was all bandaged up from the night before and took more abuse today, this time at the hands of Jimmy Lloyd & Alec Price. Meanwhile Kazuma Sumi got along well with Jack Cartwheel but had a bad end to the afternoon when MAO used his AI created finisher the Ultra Big Tone to beat him. MAO’s busy week finally came to an end and while he was now feeling tired, he isn’t satisfied because DDT wasn’t able to fill out the venue either today or yesterday.

The show was filled with one of a kind matches that never happened before and likely will never happen again. The semi-main event highlighted this most with Konosuke Takeshita teaming with Masha Slamovich to take on the pair of Shinya Aoki & Miyu Yamashita. Takeshita against Aoki and Slamovich against Yamashita have happened before but Takeshita against Yamashita is very rare. Yamashita was able to hit Takeshita with the Skull Kick that stunned him rather than knocked him out. But Slamovich hit Yamashita with her own Skull Kick, allowing Takeshita to give her the Blue Thunder Bomb. With Aoki unable to make the save, Slamovich then pinned Yamashita with the White Knight Driver. Takeshita admitted backstage he doesn’t remember anything that happened after getting hit with the Skull Kick. He also wants to team with Slamovich again because they had good chemistry as a team.

All through the weekend 1 Called Manders entered the ring to “Wanted Dead Or Alive” by Bon Jovi so today Maki Itoh walked out wearing a cowboy hat and lip-synced along to the song for their entrance. Yukio Naya’s big entrance was carrying Microman out to the stage. Itoh and Microman got into a fight over who is cuter. Naya wouldn’t actually fight Itoh but kept trying to scare her into submission with his size. Itoh began to cry and when Microman went over to comfort her, Naya knocked him down and made him cry too. Manders confronted Naya over it and after a shove couldn’t help but cry along with the others. Naya joined in too when the weight of guilt became too much for him to bare. When they all got it out of their system the action continued. Manders missed a Lariat and hit Itoh by mistake. Naya gave Manders The Best Back Drop In The World. He then picked up Microman and dropped him on top of Itoh for the pin.


Guide To DDT In Las Vegas

April 16, 2025

DDT “DDT GOES LAS VEGAS!”, 18/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Yuni Vs Starboy Charlie
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Ilusion Vs Mizuki Watase & Shota Vs Dan The Dad & Kody Lane
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Nick Wayne, Shunma Katsumata & Kazuma Sumi Vs Gringo Loco, Marcus Mathers & Tyler Bateman
4. Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Santana Jackson
5. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Timothy Thatcher
6. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs MAO
7. wXw Unified World Wrestling Title: 1 Called Manders (c) Vs Yukio Naya
8. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs Yoshihiko

Bright lights, the sound of money being lost everywhere and of course there’s an impersonator nearby. DDT has come to Las Vegas for WrestleMania Week! Things really feel different with the show this year as many of DDT’s main roster are not making the trip out of Japan. Instead they are going to run more shows side by side with the group going to America. It means a lot of big names you come to expect from DDT are missing and the people brought in to fill those gaps seem a bit random at first. Some start to make sense the more you think about it but if you look at the card above it kind of looks like bits and pieces from other shows all being grouped together into something else. I still bet it will be a good time and if you want to know what’s going on with everything, you’ve come to the right place. You won’t get any gambling tips from me though. I’m already gambling my Switch 2 money to the Fortune Cup machines as you read this.

When and where is the show taking place?

The two shows will be held at the Pearl Theater found inside Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. “DDT GOES LAS VEGAS!” is taking place on Friday, 18th April at 3pm local time. “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW” is taking place on Saturday, 19th April at 2pm local time.

Where can I watch it online?

Both “DDT GOES LAS VEGAS!” and “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW” will air live on Triller TV with English commentary through the TrillerTV+ subscription service. The on-demand versions of both shows will be available to watch on Wrestle Universe a few weeks after the live broadcast.

Is this a proper DDT show?

Ehhhhhhh…… There’s a lot missing. When it comes to expanding into the USA, CyberFight thinks Tokyo Joshi Pro has become the better bet. I don’t think you will get the full DDT experience compared to their shows in Japan or even their recent previous American shows. It will be entertaining and mostly looks unique compared to anything else happening this week but I can’t say this looks like a complete DDT experience. Maybe treat it as a sampler if this is your first time watching the product.

Look at it this way. I’m playing Promoter Mode on Fire Pro Wrestling and I’m trying to remake DDT. A lot of the roster I want too book isn’t unlocked yet and I spent so much money on the couple of star wrestlers I love that I have to make do with who’s available in the Freelance section to fill out the rest of the card. I might end up discovering some new wrestlers I like in the process but the whole package just never seems right. This show kind of feels like that. DDT is always open to becoming a mish-mash of different styles and philosophies which is probably why some of the matches here look like they could have been booked on some of the other prominent shows happening in Vegas.

Got any non-wrestling tips for visiting Las Vegas?

Every casino looks closer to each other than they appear so be prepared to walk a lot. Even in real life The Sphere looks like it is CGI’d into the background when you see it from a distance. I like Secret Pizza in The Cosmopolitan but would not rely on it at all for a full meal. Pin-Up Pizza on the strip is the same quality as Sbarro so only go near it if you really want the novelty of eating a gigantic slice. If you’re going to see Penn & Teller at the Rio Casino, get there early to get a close up look at an old timey magician’s stage while Penn plays jazz music with his band. You might also get to be part of an inside joke that happens during the show. Tape Face is a really fun show to loosen up at. BattleBots Destruct-A-Thon is enjoyable but a little too Medieval Times for my tastes. It is also closer to pro wrestling than some of the actual pro wrestling shows happening this week.

Will The Steiner Brothers be at the show?

No.

———————————————————————–


1. Yuni Vs Starboy Charlie

We open up with two heartthrobs in the making being pitted against each other. Yuni is part of NωA Jr. (New Wrestling Idol Jr.), a pop idol unit that’s been given the task by DDT to go and win a Best Newcomer category at a famous music awards ceremony by the end of the year. All three members of the group will be at this show so you may get a singing performance from them. Starboy Charlie isn’t singing yet but it might be in his future if The Crush Boys project he is involved in with Chigusa Nagayo ever decides to take the musical route. These two boys might just end up being two peas in a pod.

Yuni – See this 17 year old? Yuni made his pro wrestling debut at 8 years old when he and his mom convinced Sanshiro Takagi to let him try out for DDT. How did DDT get away with this at the time? Well it turns out the mom is a retired dancer from a popular idol group in the 90’s so the family is already in show business. Yay nepotism! Now fully ingrained in the business and at an age where DDT won’t get into trouble when he takes a bump, Yuni wants to live his dream of becoming a cool wrestler with loads of high flying moves in his arsenal.
Moves To Watch Out For: Phoenix Splash, Sky Twister Press, Moonault, Spinning Headscissors

Starboy Charlie – Currently making waves on the indies as one half of The Crush Boys with Titus Alexander. Charlie is more familiar with the other side of CyberFight where he has wrestled several tours in NOAH and once challenged for the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title. Yes, he still wrestles in the denim dungarees. I still remember Jim Ross joking that the kid thinks he’s like Jerry Lawler in Memphis when he pulls the straps down.
Moves To Watch Out For: Shooting Star Press, Standing Corkscrew Moonsault, Kip Up into an Overhead Kick


2. 3 Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Ilusion Vs Mizuki Watase & Shota Vs Dan The Dad & Kody Lane

A 3 Way Tag Match like this always looks like it’s thrown together but it makes a little bit of sense here. Two of the three teams are more likely to appear in Ganbare☆Pro rather than DDT. DAMNATION T.A is the odd one out although a previous version of the group did get into a feud with GanPro in 2017 that nearly put the promotion’s entire existence in jeopardy. Mizuki Watase has travelled to Las Vegas before and has gone through the problems such a trip would give anyone. Hopefully he’s better prepared this time. Dan The Dad & Kody Lane have toured in GanPro before so this isn’t unusual territory for them. They are also already an accomplished tag team called Home Cookin’.

Daisuke Sasaki – Here is the grimiest heel you’re ever going to find in DDT. Dirty, drunk and depressed, Daisuke Sasaki is the leader of DAMNATION T.A because this way of life is a “Total Addiction”. He has the talent to reach bigger heights and has achieved success in DDT but every time there is a setback it sends him tumbling back down into despair. Despite putting himself in a self-fulfilled cycle of destruction you can never really count him out of the running.
Moves To Watch Out For: Crossface Lock (sometimes set up with La Mistica), Crossover Face Lock (Gargano Escape), Sasaki-Style Hurricanrana, Diving Elbow Drop

Ilusion – This young masked wrestler started off his career leaning as a heel but showed traces of babyface behaviour when he wanted to join SCHADENFREUDE International. It all turned out to be a ruse he planned with DAMNATION T.A to betray his new friends and leave them with broken hearts. Now Ilusion is just a prick to everyone outside of DAMNATION T.A, flipping off his opponents and cheating like hell.
Moves To Watch Out For: Swanton Bomb, RE:VISION1 (Modified Angels Wings), Missile Dropkick, Giving everyone middle fingers

Mizuki Watase – A former comedian turned pro wrestler and he is freshly back from a ruptured Achilles tendon. He speedran his rehabilitation and made it back to the ring in only 4 months which sounds absolutely crazy when you think about it. He wants to make up for lost time which is why he is putting in four times the amount of effort needed.
Moves To Watch Out For: Venetian (Wrist-Clutch Michinoku Driver), Running Elbow Butt, Back Drop, Hanori Tiger Suplex

Shota – A reliable handyman both inside and out of the ring. Shota has spent the last few years working as a freelancer to do what’s best for himself after spending so many years putting other people in the business first. He still helps out from time to time and likes to wrestling across the indies scenes in both Japan and America. I’m under suspicion that he still helps out CyberFight as a talent scout of some sort from time to time.
Moves To Watch Out For: Gannosuke Clutch, Frog Splash, Sharpshooter

Dan The Dad – Your father’s favorite wrestler. He sometimes has to wrestle the match while drinking his morning cup of joe from his World’s No. 1 Dad mug. He also isn’t afraid to dish out punishment the old fashioned way by whipping the opponent’s behind with his belt. He got involved at last year’s DDT show in Philadelphia where his open challenge was answered by the psycho mascot Chiitan.
Moves To Watch Out For: Baby On Board (Backpack Stunner), You’re Grounded (rope draping Flatliner)

Kody Lane – Wherever Dan The Dad goes, “The Southern Flamingo” is never that far behind him. Although usually they just see each other all the time in Glory Pro anyway. The two travelled together to Japan for a GanPro tour two years ago and they are familar with each other either as partners or opponents. In the ring though Lane loves nothing more than to springboard or slingshot himself off of the ropes.
Moves To Watch Out For: Diving Senton to a bent over opponent, Jay Driller, Top Rope Springboard Moonsault, Waffle Stomp (Elevated Double Stomp to a bent over opponent in the corner)


3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Nick Wayne, Shunma Katsumata & Kazuma Sumi Vs Gringo Loco, Marcus Mathers & Tyler Bateman

Not much to say here other than throw a few high flyers into the ring with a couple of bases and let them all do their thing. Nick Wayne is calling over from AEW to get some ring time before he heads over to New Japan for the summer. Shunma Katsumata & Kazuma Sumi are the other two members of NωA Jr. Maybe they can convince Wayne to be their fourth man. Gringo Loco, Marcus Mathers & Tyler Bateman are all going to try and ruin the other team’s day.

Nick Wayne – It’s been said before that Nick Wayne is a young wrestler who has the world at his feet. That’s all well and good but he really needs to get moving because maybe his father figure in AEW doesn’t have what’s best in mind for him. The son of the late Buddy Wayne toured with DDT in the past to get himself ready for his move to the big leagues. Now the next time he returns to Japan it will be for the Best Of The Super Jr tournament. There will come a day when Wayne is watching over the wrestling scene as a grizzled veteran with hundreds of matches under his belt while still only being in his mid twenties. But he needs to start making his moves sooner rather than later.
Moves To Watch Out For: Wayne’s World (Sprinboard Flying Cutter), Inverted Hurricanrana, Snap Dragon Suplex, Fisherman Suplex

Shunma Katsumata – Nobody in DDT loves saunas as much as this guy. Don’t let his hobby or his eternally youthful looks fool you though. Katsumata can get crazy violent whenever he wants even when his weapons of choice turn out to be Lego and party poppers. That kind of behaviour took its toll and put him on the shelf for a year. So when he came back he traded in the Lego for a microphone to become part of NωA Jr.
Moves To Watch Out For: ¡Hasta la vista! (Lightning Spiral), Totonou Splash (straight Diving Body Press), Aufguss (Diving Foot Stomp to a standing opponent)

Kazuma Sumi – Where does DDT find so many young wrestlers to train and debut quickly? Well the quiet part is they usually attract trainees who dropped out of other company dojos. Kazuma Sumi is one such example because he originally trained with Dragongate before bouncing over to DDT. One year after his debut he was taken under the wing of former DDT mainstay MIKAMI and adopted one of his most successful moves… the School Boy! There’s an alternate reality where he should be doing Swanton Bombs off of ladders instead but we don’t live in it.
Moves To Watch Out For: Lionsault, Standing Moonsault, School Boy

Gringo Loco – Do you need an opponent to be the yin to your high flyer’s yang? Then go get “The Base God”. Gringo Loco left his mark in DDT last November when he unexpectedly won the DDT Universal Title during a series of shows in Seattle. He defended the belt around North America a little bit before losing it once he actually had a title match in Japan. This match will be Loco’s return to DDT, doing what he does best.
Moves To Watch Out For: Base Bomb (Spinning Sit Down Power Bomb), Olympico Slam (Inverted Angle Slam), Gorilla Press Driver, Gringo Cutter

Marcus Mathers – It’s looking like Marcus Mathers is one of the early standouts among the WWE ID class. IWTV is also currently counting on him as their Independent World Wrestling Title. He made one previous appearance in DDT as part of GCW’s Japan tour last August. His big viral spot was crying crocodile tears with Maki Itoh during their match. That might not work here. The guy’s a pretty good spot monkey but that stuff doesn’t get over with WWE’s online fanbase unless it happens inside a WWE ring.
Moves To Watch Out For: 450 Splash, Cutter, Blue Thunder Bomb, 999 (Diamond Dust)

Tyler Bateman – Vegas is a familiar haunt for Tyler Bateman so you may see him a couple of times throughout the week, particularly in the Shooting Star Fest series of shows. He thinks pretty highly of himself and is often introduced as “The God Damn Man”. He finds his moments to strike when the opponent’s guard is down. The big move to watch out for is when he goes for Death From Above, a falling Forearm Smash he usually hits immediately after his opponent kicks out of a pin.
Moves To Watch Out For: Death From Above (Falling Forearm Smash to a grounded opponent), This Is A Kill (Tombstone Piledriver), Love Kill (Northern Lights Bomb)


4. Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Santana Jackson

This is it! Antonio Honda’s love of classic American pop culture has brought forward the perfect opponent for him. Why is he Wanna Be Startin’ Something’ to get into a fight with a living, breathing Michael Jackson impersonator? It will be kind of like fighting The Man In The Mirror. If you think a match like this is going to be Bad then I advise you can go Beat It over to the concession stand…… Thriller.

Antonio Honda – He has almost two decades of experience under his belt while his knees behave like he’s gone through four. Antonio Honda went through several phases of an unlikely pro wrestling career, settling into this weird mix of tranquil slapstick with hints of Memphis wrestling hidden beneath. Honda is the poster child of high risk equals high failure because he injures his knee in a clumsy way in almost every match he’s in. The pain is so bad he threatens to retire every time unless he gets to tell the story of Gon The Little Fox, a child’s tale that he then turns into a filthy joke. But it’s all a ruse so he can poke people in the eyes while his hand is in the shape of Gon. Honda loves classic American pop culture too so DDT went and found him the perfect opponent for his visit to Vegas.
Moves To Watch Out For: Octopus Hold, Diving Fist Drop, Bionic Elbow, Gongitsune/Gon The Fox (makes a fox out of his hand, says a lewd joke and pokes people in either the eyes or the nipples).

Santana Jackson – How’s this for a double life? A Michael Jackson tribute act in Vegas who moonwalks moonlights as a pro wrestler with the same gimmick. Genius! Santana Jackson usually goes viral for doing Moonwalk DDTs or replicating the baby balcony spot in Hardcore Matches. Think of an MJ cliche and he’s probably done it in the ring. Honda is going to have the time of his life against this guy. Although believe it or not, Santana is not the first Michael Jackson impersonator to wrestle in DDT. Someone by the name of Michael Okamoto beat him to the punch around 17 years ago.
Moves To Watch Out For: Sleepwalk DDT, King Of Pop Elbow Drop, Rope Walk Arm Drag, Dancing like Michael Jackson


5. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Timothy Thatcher

Are we sure this wasn’t meant to be booked for Bloodsport? I mean are we really, really sure? Okay then. DDT has somehow become the pro wrestling home for MMA fighter Shinya Aoki. He certainly made the most of it so far. His opponent is someone you couldn’t find in DDT at all yet is still a fitting match for him. If Timothy Thatcher is going to feel a thrill from going hold to hold against Aoki, we’re not going to see it on his face. He’s there to win or accept total defeat from trying.

Shinya Aoki – If you were never around for even the immediate post-glory years of Japanese MMA then you missed a magical time. Shinya Aoki played a role in it as this little asshole who would come out to the Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo theme song and then rip his opponents apart with submission holds. It was wonderful. He unexpectedly turned to DDT in 2018 and gradually made himself at home by winning several championships including DDT’s main belt, the KO-D Openweight Title. Thankfully for everybody and their arms his personality had mellowed out by then and he has found wrestlers to get along with. His skills on the mat are still unmatched to this day and his mind for fighting is his most valuable weapon. Even his biggest doubters in wrestling couldn’t help but be impressed to see him develop the humble little Full Nelson Hold into a nigh-on unbreakable pinning manoeuvre.
Moves To Watch Out For: Sleeper Hold, Full Nelson Hold, European Clutch, Topé Suicida

Timothy Thatcher – In Europe he was once the housewive’s favourite but nowadays you can find him tangling with WWE ID recruits. No nonsense to a fault, Timothy Thatcher takes to the mat like no one else and braces for his opponent’s strikes the same way a brick wall would. You may think DDT would be the most uncharacteristic place for a guy like Thatcher to wrestle in but the company has always embraced wrestlers with catch style or MMA related backgrounds. It goes all the way back to their very beginning with the late Koichiro Kimura. So there’s sort of a legacy he can fit into.
Moves To Watch Out For: Fujiwara Armbar, Butterfly Suplex, Enzuigiri, European Uppercut


6. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs MAO

Nothing is stopping the Konosuke Takeshita hype train! The man has been on a roll lately and he may not be done just yet. He has some old business to deal with back in DDT where he tests how much his former allies in The 37KAMIINA have grown without him. MAO has certainly found ways to progress up the card and make himself feel a level above what he was before. But he might be in for a rude awakening if Takeshita doesn’t budge to his antics anymore.

Konosuke Takeshita – No matter where his career in AEW and now New Japan will take him, Takeshita will always have a home in DDT. He is gradually taking over the wrestling world while holding contracts with those three companies. Once he was part of a unit of sauna loving wrestlers called The 37KAMIINA until he left to chase his biggest dreams. That journey so far has evolved him into “The Alpha” you see today. He has done everything there is to do in DDT and only comes back to fight opponents he wants to fight. So you know this match matters to him when you see who his opponent is.
Moves To Watch Out For: Raging Fire (Spinning Falcon Arrow), Powerdrive Knee/Wagamama (V-Trigger style Knee Strike), German Suplex, Blue Thunder Bomb, Takeshita Line (Leaping Clothesline from the ropes)

MAO – Lives by the motto “Fucked up wrestling for a fucked up world!” so you can’t say he’s out of place in 2025. He was scouted by DDT as a teenager when they found his Youtube videos of him doing wrestling moves at home and outdoors. Just like Takeshita, MAO was part of The 37KAMIINA but very recently decided to leave the unit to move in a fresh direction. He has been immature for his entire career but in recent times developed an unshakeable confidence in his abilities and wrestling philosophy. MAO feels at his most alive during Falls Count Anywhere style situations. Putting him in an environment like Las Vegas is just asking for trouble.
Moves To Watch Out For: Iai Kick (Powerful Thrust Kick), Cannonball 450 (450 Splash), Michinoku Driver, Whirlwind Kick


7. wXw Unified World Wrestling Title: 1 Called Manders (c) Vs Yukio Naya

All of a sudden we’ve got an extra title match on our hands! Straight from Germany the wXW Unified World Wrestling Title will be defended in Las Vegas a few times this week. If all goes to plan, 1 Called Manders will put the belt on the line against his scheduled DDT opponent Yukio Naya. Manders is having a breakthrough year, one that I can’t help but wonder if Naya could have gotten in the past if things had turned out differently for him.

1 Called Manders – Previously known for being part of The Second Gear Crew in GCW and the surrounding indies, Manders went his own way and his hard work over the last few years is now paying off. His feud on the indies with Mad Dog Connelly consisting of Dog Collar and Texas Bull Ropes matches found its audience and received great acclaim online. Then a lengthy trek to Europe this year rewarded him with more success, particularly in Germany where he won the fabled 16 Carat Gold tournament and soon after that took the vacant wXw Title. He’s your man if you like your wrestling to be hard hitting with a bit of grit.
Moves To Watch Out For: Lariat, Stampede Slam, Chops

Yukio Naya – The Heavyweight division is something DDT has been trying to boost up for the last few years. Yukio Naya is someone they’ve had high hopes for in the past due to his lineage coming from a famous family of sumo wrestlers. His grandfather was the 48th yokozuna, his father was kicked out of the sport in disgrace and his three younger brothers are all currently active up and down the divisions. Sumo was never the road that Naya wanted to take though and instead he was directed towards pro wrestling by Satoru Sayama. Development was slow but when DDT became his home he eventually started to piece things together. He is in no way a finished product but through sheer determination it may someday finally all click into place for him. Watch out if he does because he can run you over easy.
Moves To Watch Out For: The World’s Best Back Drop, Choke Slam, Knee Lift


8. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs Yoshihiko

There’s going to be a few bruised egos in Vegas this week over a sex doll getting more bookings than some of the wrestlers coming to town. I’m not even making a crass joke at someone’s expense, Yoshihiko really has a couple of non-DDT matches going on as well as possibly getting the main event of this show! It is facing the one man who isn’t playing along with the joke though. Minoru Suzuki currently holds the DDT Universal Title and wants to travel the world defending it against all comers. So a sex doll suddenly appearing nearby wherever he goes is just an unfunny prank to him that is better off ignoring. With that being said have you seen what Suzuki’s schedule for this week looks like? This genuinely will end up being one of the more entertaining matches. Yoshihiko just needs to figure out how to make its dark power have an effect on Suzuki even a little bit. It’s almost as if it’s just an inanimate object…

Minoru Suzuki – The “Pirate King” of pro wrestling recently returned to DDT when Yuki Ueno used the Universal Title as a piece of treasure to lure him into a match. Ueno’s plan backfired spectacularly and now Suzuki holds DDT’s second most important championship. Since it is an international title, Suzuki now comes to America looking for anyone brave enough to challenge him. He has seen it all in his travels across the wrestling world but even he cannot believe who was first to answer his call. He’s going to show up to the event expecting to fight somebody because he isn’t buying that he’ll be headlining a wrestling show against a Dutch Wife.
Moves To Watch Out For: Gotch-Style Piledriver, Rear Naked Choke, Heel Hook, Slaps

Yoshihiko – The Grave Digger Doll From Hell has been a mysterious force in DDT for almost two decades now. It first showed up as the brother of Muscle Sakai, constantly replacing him in matches whenever Sakai suffered gun-related injuries backstage (it’s a long story). Yoshihiko vanished after that only to reappear years later as Danshoku Dieno’s surprise tag team partner. Over time the doll’s powers have only gotten stronger. It gained the ability to transform into powerful wrestlers such as The Great Muta, The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan. You can rip it limb from limb and it will survive. You can drive over it with a car and it will survive. You can throw it off a building and it will survive. To fight Yoshihiko is almost like fighting yourself. Only then can you discover your true talent as a pro wrestler.
Moves To Watch Out For: Reincarnation (multiple rotations into a Hurricanrana), Canadian Destroyer, Yoshihiko Destroyer (multiple Canadian Destroyers in a row)

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DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GCW “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Mizuki, Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Miu Watanabe, Suzume, Arisu Endo, Yuki Arai & Shino Suzuki
2. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Brooke Havok & Sandra Moone
3. Rika Tatsumi & Antonio Honda Vs Kidd Bandit & Shota
4. 3 Way Match: MAO & Yoshihiko Vs Jimmy Lloyd & Alec Price Vs Jack Cartwheel & Kazuma Sumi
5. Special Tag Match: 1 Called Manders & Maki Itoh Vs Yukio Naya & Microman
6. Special Tag Match: Mance Warner & Shunma Katsumata Vs John Wayne Murdoch & Matt Tremont
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Ilusion & Dark Sheik Vs Super Crazy, Marcus Mathers & Shoko Nakajima
8. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Masha Slamovich Vs Shinya Aoki & Miyu Yamashita

I made the Fire Pro comparison earlier but holy hell does this card look like I random selected everything on my save. Now don’t get me wrong, the lineup we have so far is so nutty looking that I’m looking forward to it. This isn’t even the full line up yet. Out of all the shows happening this week this may end up being the one with the most amount of never seen before and never seen again matches ever. I can’t do a proper preview of this justice so just join me in confusion at the sight of Super Crazy and Shoko Nakajima are doing double team moves together, Manders punting Microman into the third row and Yoshihiko taking Jack Cartwheel’s WWE ID deal away from him.

———————————————————————–

There will be other chances to see a few DDT wrestlers in action across Philadelphia that week. Mainly MAO. You are going to get a lot of MAO. Yoshihiko is in demand quite a bit too.


PANDEMONIUM PRO “THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS”, 17/04/2025
Fremont Country Club, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Masha Slamovich Vs MAO

MAO is taking on the crazy schedule of wrestling 8 matches in just over 48 hours. He first match of the trip at Pandemonium Pro is already putting the pedal to the metal because his opponent is Masha Slamovich! The woman is one of the toughest people you will find in either TNA or GCW and just the kind of person who likes to match crazy with crazy.


CIRCLE 6 “MAYHEM AT THE MUSEUM”, 17/04/2025
The Punk Rock Museum, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Bestia 666 Vs MAO

Around the same time MAO is fighting Slamovich he also has a match with Bestia 666 at a Circle 6 show. They’re only like a 10 minute drive away from each other so which will happen first?


WEST COAST PRO “VEGAS VACATION”, 17/04/2025
Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. MAO Vs Jiah Jewell

Forget about LSU Vs Ole Miss. Louisiana Vs Osaka? Now there’s a real sports rivalry! Although I can’t find Modesto on the map of Louisiana and any cajun I ask tells me the only place I’ll find a Modesto over there would be in the craft beer aisle. Jiah Jewell is another crazy opponent for MAO to fight.


GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XIII”, 17/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Charlie Dempsey Vs Shinya Aoki

Look, I’m not saying I want to see Aoki break Charlie Dempsey’s arm and flip him off afterwards. It’s just that if you’re going to call this Bloodsport then give us a bloodsport. Dempsey’s dad would understand that.


BZW “VIVA LAS VEGAS”, 17/04/2025
Swan Dive, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Marcus Mathers & Alec Price

If you haven’t heard, MAO & Yoshihiko have a side story going on where they are the tag team champions of Banger Zone Wrestling in France and Belgium. BZW are among the more obscure wrestling companies that decided to run a show in Vegas this year but at least they’re taking a good swing at it. The champs were originally meant to face The Gahbage Daddies for the belts but Cole Radrick is unfortunately out of action. Alec Price was able to get Marcus Mathers in as a substitute so wacky times are still a go-go.


PRIDESTYLE “OUT OF THIS WORLD”, 18/04/2025
Swan Dive, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

0. Yoshihiko’s Super Special Open Challenge: Yoshihiko Vs X
1. G-Sharpe Vs MAO

MAO is also taking in favours from the Nevada based promotions during the week. There is a heel unit in PrideStyle named The Cartel de Los Villanos who have called MAO in to deal with one of their enemies G-Sharpe. While that is going on, Yoshihiko will also be there on the pre-show looking to put out an open challenge.


GRAPHOUSE “FOR VEGAS, BY VEGAS”, 18/04/2025
Fergusons Downtown, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Lazarus Vs MAO

By the looks of things MAO ends his run of Vegas shows with one of the local promotions called GrapHouse. His opponent Lazarus is being advertised as the W4TN Champion but I’m not sure if the title will be on the line. Lazarus is also nicknamed “The Cannibal Cryptid”. Sounds about right. Also I think the venue is near Fremont Street so MAO should find a way to do a Moonsault off of Vegas Vic.


GCW “CLUSTERF*CK FOREVER”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Clusterfuck Match: Yoshihiko Vs X

Almost anyone and anything could show up at GCW’s annual Clusterfuck match that usually draws the non-WWE side of the week to a close. Yoshihiko has been confirmed to take part in the match for a second year in a row. Last year it made it all the way to the final three. Former TJPW wrestler Sayaka Unagi is also being advertised to take part. Can you imagine the kind of eye opening things Unagi would do in Vegas?


Guide To TJPW In Las Vegas

April 16, 2025

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “QUERI PRESENTS TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Rika Tatsumi, Shino Suzuki & Vert Vixen Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Viva Van
2. Yuki Arai Vs Arisu Endo
3. Maki Itoh & Zara Zakher Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
4. TNA World Knockouts Title: Masha Slamovich (c) Vs Miu Watanabe
5. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Jada Stone
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
7. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

I never would have thought a company as innocent as Tokyo Joshi Pro would dive head first into Las Vegas but here we are. The busiest week of the wrestling calendar has arrived and TJPW has one of the bigger shows going on in regards to big stakes for the important matches. All three championships belonging to the promotion will be on the line as the show is pretty much replacing the annual Golden Week event for this year. So if you’re new to the world of TJPW, an existing fan wanting to read up on everything or even a commentator looking for context beyond a Wikipedia page, this guide is intended for you!

Where and when are the shows taking place?

The two shows will be held at the Pearl Theater found inside Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. “TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS” is taking place on Friday, 18th April at 11am local time. “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW” is taking place on Saturday, 19th April at 2pm local time.

Where can I watch it online?

Both “TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS” and “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW” will air live on Triller TV with English commentary through the TrillerTV+ subscription service. The on-demand versions of both shows will be available to watch on Wrestle Universe a few weeks after the live broadcast.

Is this a proper TJPW show?

Yes and it’s being lined up to be one of their most important shows of the year. For many years TJPW would run a show at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo during Golden Week in May. However they have changed their schedule for this year and are instead doing two smaller scale shows outside of Tokyo during the week. The reason for that is because all of the important championships matches you would normally see at Korakuen are happening at this Las Vegas show instead.  The veteran side of the roster are all here and accounted for. The people missing are the low carders and young generation who only have one or two years of experience under their belts. They will staying behind in Japan to run a separate TJPW show alongside this one. The guest wrestlers taking part here have all been regularly booked by TJPW in the past as well so nobody sticks out like a sore thumb.

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1. Rika Tatsumi, Shino Suzuki & Vert Vixen Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Viva Van

Don’t know what to expect from the start? How about a little bit of everything this promotion has to offer? Every corner of what TJPW can do can be found in this match from accomplished former champions and tough midcarders to comedy gimmicks and a few guests thrown in for good measure. Rika Tatsumi is one of the pillars of the company, what Shino Suzuki lacks in experience she makes up for with her peppiness and Vert Vixen gets to step into the TJPW ring again. On the other team we have two thirds of the Love Triangle teaming up with a familiar opponent. Yuki Aino is ready to go as always, Raku is already set to have this year be her best one yet after she recently won her first championship and Viva Van is being introduced back into the fold before she returns to TJPW for a tour in Japan next month.

Rika Tatsumi – “The White Dragon” Rika Tatsumi takes her name and some of her moveset from Tatsumi Fujinami. She has also developed hips as hard of diamonds thanks to some special training with Shiro Koshinaka. She is one of TJPW’s most decorated wrestlers, being one of only two grand slam champions in the promotion (and the first one at that). But turning into such a powerful creature eventually came at a cost. The weight of success and power she obtained gradually turned her a little bit psycho. When you step into the ring with Tatsumi whether as friend or foe, she will find a way to strangle you.
Moves To Watch Out For: White Dragon Sleeper, Twist Of Fate, Hip Attack, “Let’s Go!” Elbow Drop, Strangling Her Opponents

Shino Suzuki – Welcome the first of three Up Up Girls to appear on the show. The Up Up Girls are a pop idol group that collaborated with TJPW to create a pro wrestling spin-off stable. The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) always perform a song or two at the beginning of TJPW shows before wrestling matches later on the card. Shino Suzuki is one of the newer members of the groups. She is nicknamed “She Know” because she worked as a bus guide before becoming an idol and pro wrestler. While currently low on the totem pole in TJPW, she will display gutsy performances along with her wealth of tourism knowledge.
Moves To Watch Out For: Sleeper Hold, Backward Rolling Cradle, Swinging Neckbreaker

Vert Vixen – Going from what I see online you can spell the name as either VertVixen or Vert Vixen. Obsessed with video games, her ring gear is often inspired by something gaming related. She is nicknamed Player One because Player One always wins! In previous TJPW appearances she has been successful enough to get a few title shots but she has yet to win a championship in this company. She has a busy schedule coming up for the week that might mix her up with other corners of the joshi world.
Moves To Watch Out For: Game Over (Ki Crusher), Blue Thunder Bomb, Rolling Stunner, Sharpshooter

Yuki Aino – At one time Yuki Aino was simply a ring announcer for TJPW who turned into a pro wrestler in order to team up with her sister (the now retired Nodoka Tenma). For years tag team wrestling has been her forte and Aino usually finds her way back there whenever her attempts to go solo end in failure. However 2024 was her best period yet as a singles wrestler. She had a Cinderella run in the Tokyo Princess Cup that led her all the way to the final. Don’t take her lightly when you hear she is powered by love. She can be as stubborn as they come and on her best days will hit you like a firetruck fuelled by love.
Moves To Watch Out For: Venus DDT (Inverted DDT), UBV/Unlimited Burning Venus (Double Arm Side Buster), Full Nelson Of Love And Fire (Full Nelson Camel Clutch), Side Suplex

Raku – The second member of The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) to appear on the card, Raku’s entire personality can be summed down to naps and trains. She knows so much railway trivia that on every show she will have a Train Of The Day to tell the audience. Will the Las Vegas Monorail be up to her standards? Raku’s moveset is built around sending her opponents to sleep so she can run over them with the Oyasumi Express. She is also sometimes armed with a pillow. Somehow this entire package has made her absolutely adored by fans and the roster alike. She also inexplicably became a proper champion this year by winning the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title.
Moves To Watch Out For: Doctor Yellow (Jumping Neckbreaker), Hurricane Turn (Cross-Arm Backslide Pin), Oyasumi/Good Night Express (running on top of the opponent over and over), Good Night Sleeper, Poppo Chop! (Brain Chop)

Viva Van – “The Hellbent Vixen” is one of the most well travelled female wrestlers on the scene today and can currently be seen in ROH. Thanks to working relationships between the promotions she has also done tours of Mexico with CMLL in the past six months. So her appearances in TJPW have been few and far between. The last time she was here she was fighting against Aino & Raku. This time around she is giving Love Triangle a shot by joining forces with them.
Moves To Watch Out For: Hellevator (Electric Chair spun into a Power Bomb), Ocean Cyclone Suplex, Code Red, Meteora, Butterfly Suplex


2. Yuki Arai Vs Arisu Endo

A match that will present a bright future for TJPW. Yuki Arai has been the company’s biggest pet project for a few year’s now. The idol has become one of their draws for her “Two-Sword” careers in both music and wrestling. But the music career has now ended so she can become fully dedicated as a pro wrestler. If they hadn’t been pushing her hard before, the stage is set for it to happen now! Her opponent Arisu Endo is currently licking her wounds after losing a big match against her own tag team partner. There’s a strong bond connecting all TJPW wrestlers who were born in 1998, aka The 1998 Class, which these two are a part of. Endo will want to show that it’s not just Arai who TJPW can count on in the future.

Yuki Arai – Remember the name if you want to follow joshi because TJPW has grand plans in place for Yuki Arai. Up until recently she was a pop idol with the group SKE48 and was known for juggling her singing career with her wrestling career. But she recently graduated from SKE48 to fully dedicate herself to pro wrestling. Already a multiple time champion she is only missing the big one to reach the TJPW Grand Slam. And given how much TJPW is behind her it feels like it will only be a matter of time before she wins it.
Moves To Watch Out For: Finally (Heel Drop axe kick), Rookie Award (Pump Kick to a kneeling opponent), Sharpshooter, Full Nelson Buster

Arisu Endo – One of the big tag teams in TJPW is called Daisy Monkey. Arisu Endo makes up the Monkey part of the team. She is Aizuwakamatsu City’s most cheerful tourism ambassador, representing her hometown with a thumbs up and a smile. Endo also has a habit of constantly dying her hair in new ways, using every colour in the world you can think of. She has so much pride in where she comes from that she named many of her moves after local destinations and traditions. She has also become good friends with Arai away from wrestling so them getting a match like this on a big stage is going to mean a lot to them.
Moves To Watch Out For: Ju no Okite (Hercules Cutter), Camel Clutch, Mt. Bandai (2nd Rope Springboard Dropkick), Tsuruga Castle (Guillotine Knee Drop)


3. Maki Itoh & Zara Zakher Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku

Pairing Maki Itoh and Zara Zakher together might be the most attitude TJPW can get out of any tag team they can think of. Zakher’s wrestling career is still fairly new and she is busy earning her stripes on a WWE ID contract. Itoh made it no secret in the past she would take a big fat contract from an American company if she gets offered one. Maybe Zakher can put in a good word for her if they do well against their opponents. What happens when you put a wasteland warrior like Max The Impaler with the childlike innocence of Pom Harajuku? You get Pompaler, a buddy-buddy tag team that Pixar wished they came up with themselves. Want to see someone use their friend as a human missile? Then this is the match to watch.

Maki Itoh – A failed idol with an endless appetite for fame who won the hearts of pro wrestling fans around the world by transforming into a cute, foul mouthed psychopath. When she’s about to punch her opponent in the corner she always shouts “Who is the cutest in the world?” and the audience always yell “Itoh-chan!” back at her. She used to be self-conscious over being big-headed until she discovered that having an iron head is perfect for wrestling. After spending years trying to find acceptance and success in TJPW, she ended up finding it overseas in places like GCW. In fact nowadays you’re more likely to see Itoh carving up opponents with a pizza cutter in GCW than you will see her trying to be an idol in TJPW!
Moves To Watch Out For: Itoh Special/Deluxe/Punish (Variations of the Texas Cloverleaf), Flying Big Head (Diving Headbutt), Kokeshi Headbutt, I.S.D/Itoh Suicide DDT (Flying DDT from the top rope), The Cutest Knuckle Punch In The World

Zara Zakher – Many wrestling fans discovered Zara Zakher last November when she was one of the first wrestlers announced to be part of the brand new WWE ID initiative. But TJPW fans were ahead of the curve many months before that thanks to her tours of Japan throughout 2024. With only two years of experience under her belt, Zakher was able to hold her own against some of TJPW’s veteran guard for her first couple of tours. Then came the summer tour where she entered the Tokyo Princess Cup, went on a wild run of upsets against tournament favourites and made it all the way to the semi finals. Her performances have earned her title shots and while she has come out of them empty handed, it is undeniable that the Petite Powerhouse has already left a mark in TJPW.
Moves To Watch Out For: Control Z (Screw Bomb), Lariat, Standing Moonsault

Max The Impaler – Puroresu has a history of bringing over wild rampaging warriors from the western world to cause chaos in their rings. Who could have guess TJPW of all companies would join in the tradition? Whenever “The Non-Binary Nightmare” comes over to TJPW you can expect a path of chaos being left in their wake. And yet Max has ended up becoming really well liked by the roster resulting in some pretty strong bonds of friendship being forged out of it. Sure there are times when Max tears the building apart and management gets a little worried about getting future bookings with those venues but Max is now part of the family. And there is one wrestler more than anyone else who Max has established a very strong attachment with.
Moves To Watch Out For: Welcome To The Wasteland (Canadian Backbreaker Drop), Short-Range Lariat, Body Block

Pom Harajuku – Bright and colorful costumes, loud screaming and a lot of shin kicking. Pom Harajuku’s fighting style can be compared to a three year old throwing a temper tantrum. In recent years she has become the centre of Max The Impaler’s attention. They were originally opponents in matches that more resembled a movie monster chasing down their prey until Max began forming an attachment to Harajuku. Before we knew it the two of them became a tag team called Pompaler where Max constantly finds new ways to throw Harajuku at their opponents. When not being used as a projectile, Harajuku has had something of a breakout year in 2024 by reaching the final of the Max Heart Tournament with Max and also winning her first ever championship during a tour of Thailand. Even without Max, Harajuku can be a lot to handle by herself and that’s just from the screaming.
Moves To Watch Out For: Pom de Justice (Step-Up Guillotine Leg Drop), Laforet Harajuku (Satellite Headscissors), Shin Kick, Denden Taiko (beating the opponent’s chest like a drum)


4. TNA World Knockouts Title: Masha Slamovich (c) Vs Miu Watanabe

EDIT: It has since been announced that the match will be for the TNA World Knockouts Title.

This has the makings of a show-stealer. These are two wrestlers who went through breakout years in 2024 set to clash against each other. Masha Slamovich has become a top tier talent in both TNA and GCW while Miu Watanabe finally reached the summit of TJPW after fans waited so long to see her get up there. Now that her run as champion has ended for now she is getting put in the ring against the best female stars from around the world that TJPW can find (and haven’t been locked down by exclusive contracts).

Masha Slamovich – Maybe the toughest girl going in wrestling today. She is currently the TNA Knockouts Champion, was the only woman to ever hold the GCW World Title and has also become unstoppable in Jersey Championship Wrestling as their champion. TJPW is a corner of the world that’s given her a challenge though. She’s fought for championships here before and come out of them empty handed. When it comes to the promotion bringing in guests, she has become one of the highest walls for even TJPW’s most accomplished wrestlers to try and climb over. This match here is another example of that.
Moves To Watch Out For: White Knight Driver/From Russia With Love (Half Package Piledriver), Snow Plow/Russian Death Device (Northern Lights Bomb), Liger Bomb, Shining Wizard

Miu Watanabe – The third and last Up Up Card on the show, Miu Watanabe has two things she loves most in life: Idols and Pro Wrestling! She is also the strongest and most successful of the lot when it comes to what happens inside the ring. She is the second Grand Slam champion so you can say she’s almost done it all in TJPW yet she still has the whole world at her feet. Always full of energy, Watanabe uses big hand gestures to spell out L-O-V-E along with her theme song during her entrances. She also knows various ways to throw people around with the Giant Swing and cave some chests in with Double Sledge strikes.
Moves To Watch Out For: Tear Drop (Modified Flapjack), Reverse Paradox (Gorilla Clutch), Laserbeam (Overhand Chop to the chest), Giant Swing, Canadian Backbreaker, Swinging Backbreaker


5. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Jada Stone

Let’s head into the championship bouts. The International Princess Title is TJPW’s midcard title that is meant to be built around international competition. That’s not always the case but here it fits the bill. Suzume has been on a run with the belt since winning it from Yuki Arai and an overseas title defence is currently missing from this résumé. Jada Stone has challenged Suzume for the title once before but couldn’t get the job done. She is getting a rematch and should theoretically have the home field advantage this time.

Suzume – As sharp and swift as a wasp, Suzume is the Daisy half of Daisy Monkey. She begun her career as a fast learner, only spending seven months in training before making her pro debut. Just based on her aesthetic alone it is of no surprise that speed is the name of her game. It’s served her well because she became the International Princess Champion at the start of the year and has held onto it ever since. She also already has a successful title defence against her opponent here.
Moves To Watch Out For: Ring A Bell (RKO), Spring Ring A Bell (Oscutter), Mikazuki Meteor Shower (Diving Cross Body), Twinkle (Twisting School Boy), Flying Facecrusher

Jada Stone – “The Spark” caused a bit of a stir in Deadlock Pro last September. With only two years of experience at the time, she won a dark match to enter the Battle Of The Best tournament as a last minute stand in. She then wrestled a second match on the night losing to Shoko Nakajima in the tournament but her performances that evening won over a lot of people. Word went back to TJPW and they brought her in for tours this year that included an IP Title shot. Again she lost the match but TJPW liked what they saw between her and Suzume so much that they decided to run it back in Vegas.
Moves To Watch Out For: Spark Stunner (Backflip into a Stone Cold Stunner), Moonsault, Meteora, Sliding Lariat


6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara

Next up the Princess Tag Team Titles are on the line. Kyoraku Kyomei is what happens when Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao decided to become a fun loving tag team living to their fullest during the pandemic because neither of them knew what tomorrow would bring. They are one of the longest serving active tag teams in TJPW but only just recently won the tag titles for the first time together. This is going to be their first defence. Their opponents are a newly put together team called Ober Eats. If you ask Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara where they got the name from they might say it’s because Uehara likes to over eat. Or they might come up with something else because really they just needed to think up a team name on short notice in order to get Kyoraku Kyomei to accept their challenge.

Shoko Nakajima – Meet the Big Kaiju, all 147cm of her! Shoko Nakajima has pretty much done it all in TJPW as one of the promotion’s longest serving wrestlers. Usually relying on quick reflexes, she also has the strength to put away opponents with the Northern Lights Suplex. The Diving Senton she uses is nothing to sneeze at either. When put in Hardcore Match situations her favourite weapon is a pile of kaiju toys that she slams her opponents onto. She’s a Swiss Army Knife that can adapt to any kind of situation wrestling can throw at her. She also very recently won the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title.
Moves To Watch Out For: Northern Lights Suplex, Diving Senton, Unmanned Local Train Hold (Yurikamome submission hold), 619, Rider Kick (One-Legged Dropkick)

Hyper Misao – When love and peace is under threat in TJPW, you can always rely on Hyper Misao to come to the rescue. Just be aware that her plans to save the world are never as heroic as they’re meant to be. She often gets on the microphone to greet everyone with “Hello big children” before explaining her plan to save the day. Of course by being a superhero that means she has her own Hyper Mobile. She likes to crash it into her opponents along with any unfortunate bystander who happens to be nearby. She also blinds opponents with her Hero Correction Spray. Deep down inside Misao is a multi-layered human being with infinite potential that if harvested correctly could make her a very powerful wrestler. But why go through all that baggage when you can just wear a cool mask and cheat like hell instead?
Moves To Watch Out For: Hypami Returns (Final Cut), I Am A Hero (Diving Cross Body), Crossface Chickenwing, Vanitas (Double Arm Facebuster), Cold Spray Attack

Yuki Kamifuku – Also known by her nickname Kamiyu, she is “The Casual Beauty” of TJPW. Grew up in Ohio during her junior high school years so she knows the most English out of the bunch. She knows how to get under her opponent’s skin with harsh and catty opinions but there is another side to her where she is loyal and sympathetic to her friends. She is also proud of her modelling background because her accomplishments in the ring is proof you do not need to be a die hard pro wrestling fan to succeed in the business. Over the last two years she has emerged as the most dominant woman in the Southeast Asian wrestling scene where she currently holds both the Queen Of Asia Title from Singapore and the VPW Women’s Title from Vietnam. The two belts together can be referred to as the Double Asian Crown. If she can win the Tag Titles here she’ll have something in her wardrobe to match with the belt for sure.
Moves To Watch Out For: Famouser (Jumping Leg Drop to a bent over opponent), Big Boot, Yahoo 83cm (Headscissors DDT), Manjigatame, Thumb To The Eye

Wakana Uehara – “WAKANAAAAAA!” One of the emerging stars climbing up the ranks is popular with fans because of her noticeably big… appetite. Wakana Uehara entered wrestling through a reality series TJPW held for idols called Yume Pro Wrestling -dream on the ring- and was the sole person who stayed on to turn pro. She made her mark by winning the first Next Generation Tournament in 2023, hit a road block in 2024 and this year ended up attaching herself to Kamifuku as a tag team to jump start her momentum again. This will be her first ever chance at winning a championship. One can only imagine the victory meal she’ll have in Vegas to celebrate!
Moves To Watch Out For: Banana Pillow (Triangle Lancer), Sleeper Hold, Space Rolling Elbow, High Speed Brainbuster


7. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

To put it simply, the main event is TJPW’s two strongest wrestlers against each other. This is going to be one of the biggest matches the company will book this year anywhere in the world. Only a select few have held the Princess Of Princess Title in the championship’s nine years of existence. Mizuki is currently on her second reign and only wants to defend it against the best to ensure she is a stronger champion now than she was the first time back in 2023. That means defending the belt against the one woman she has yet to beat one on one, the ace of TJPW Miyu Yamashita! Already a four time Princess Champion, Yamashita is using this show to kick off her latest American excursion that will last up until the summer. There’s no bad intentions behind the decision but if she wins the title again then that means TJPW will be without their main championship for several months. The only times Mizuki has gotten the better of Yamashita has been in tag matches but when it comes to singles clashes, it’s been Yamashita on top every time. Will this finally be the day when the strongest princess slays the strongest monster?

Mizuki – “The Popping Sugar Rabbit” did not start her wrestling career in TJPW but she has established herself as one of the company’s all time best with multiple championship reigns and big show main events to her name. One of the most photogenic wrestlers going today. She constantly goes viral on social media for using moves that leave those who see them locked in a state of inspiration and amazement. She doesn’t understand what U3+4 means but she is the closest pro wrestling will ever get to creating a real life Lili from Tekken. Now a two-time Princess Champion she wants to fight the best so she herself can get even stronger. Don’t trust that mischievous smile of hers, she is vicious when she wants to be. “The Popping Sugar Rabbit” may sound like a silly nickname but we’ll see who’s laughing when Mizuki is Double Stomping the guts out of her opponent.
Moves To Watch Out For: Cutie Special (Bridging Fall Away Slam), Whirling Candy (Spinning Cross Body Block), Diving Foot Stomp, Face Lock

Miyu Yamashita – “The Pink Striker” has been part of TJPW since Day 1 of the company proper and is never far away from winning one of their championships. She is such a major part of the company that her dominance has long become a big fish in a small pond scenario. The Skull Kick she uses is one of the most deadliest looking finishers around. In recent years she has taken time away from TJPW to wrestle across America and Europe. That trend continues because after this show takes place Yamashita will begin a fresh stay in America that will last from April until July.
Moves To Watch Out For: Skull Kick (Backspin High Kick to the head), Crash Rabbit Heat (Running Knee Kick), Attitude Adjustment, Return Crash (Triangle Kick off the turnbuckles)

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DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GCW “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Mizuki, Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Miu Watanabe, Suzume, Arisu Endo, Yuki Arai & Shino Suzuki
2. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Brooke Havok & Sandra Moone
3. Rika Tatsumi & Antonio Honda Vs Kidd Bandit & Shota
4. 3 Way Match: MAO & Yoshihiko Vs Jimmy Lloyd & Alec Price Vs Jack Cartwheel & Kazuma Sumi
5. Special Tag Match: 1 Called Manders & Maki Itoh Vs Yukio Naya & Microman
6. Special Tag Match: Mance Warner & Shunma Katsumata Vs John Wayne Murdoch & Matt Tremont
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Ilusion & Dark Sheik Vs Super Crazy, Marcus Mathers & Shoko Nakajima
8. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Masha Slamovich Vs Shinya Aoki & Miyu Yamashita

Welcome to this year’s edition of “Real Matches Or My Fire Pro Save?” This is a mental set of matches booked so far and there’s still like a third of the card still to be put together. GCW did an admirable job last year of finding women on their shows to match up against TJPW. They don’t have to worry about being strict this time around so maybe we get something like Pom Harajuku interacting with Effy or maybe Max The Impaler gets to kidnap Yuni? At least all parties involved can honestly say they came up with a show that is absolutely unlike anything else going on this week.

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But wait. There’s more! A few TJPW wrestlers are taking bookings on other shows happening through the week.


PANDEMONIUM PRO “THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS”, 17/04/2025
Fremont Country Club, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Maya World Vs Miu Watanabe

It all starts with Watanabe taking a rare outside booking with Pandemonium Pro a few days before the TJPW show. Maya World is one of the many talents looking to grab attention for themselves and beating a former Princess Champion would do just that.


WRESTLECON “MARK HITCHCOCK MEMORIAL SUPERSHOW”, 17/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Mickie James Vs Maki Itoh

In one corner stands a wrestling idol with grand ambitions of becoming a popstar who was unceremoniously fired in a humiliating fashion in the past. In the other corner is Maki Itoh. Also if any British fans start chanting “Hardcore Country” at Mickie James for literally the entire match you have my permission to throw a brick at them.


GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XIII”, 17/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Nattie Neidhart Vs Miyu Yamashita

Unlikely friends fighting each other in an unlikely match up. The last time Yamashita entered GCW’s Bloodsport she lost to Shayna Baszler. She will face another WWE wrestler for her return but this one hits a little closer to home. A home away from home if you will. Whenever Yamashita does her excursions to America she often visits Natalya to train at her invite-only wrestling school. It was a given that someday the two would eventually fight each other. Nattie Neidhart has a chip on her shoulder because the expectations are always that she is expected to be a stepping stone for her opponents. Yamashita doesn’t want to be underestimated either. Get your $1 bets ready for this one.


WRESTLECORE “FEAR & WRESTLECORE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025
Swan Dive, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. ELP Vs Maki Itoh

Oh what could have been. In the lead up to this week El Phantasmo was sending messages to Itoh asking if they could team up together as The World’s Cutest Tag Team. Plans didn’t go the way they were intended so now the two of them are at each other’s throats! Only a match against each other on the WrestleCore show will solve this problem.


GCW “CLUSTERF*CK FOREVER”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Clusterfuck Match: X Vs X

Maybe Itoh or Yamashita shows up in the Clusterfuck? What about Raku? No wait she’ll be sleeping through it. Throw Shino Suzuki in there.