Indy World Jr. Title Match Tomorrow, King Of DDT Final, Blast Rocket

August 21, 2020

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “HEAVEN’S DOOR 2020”, 22/08/2020
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. 6 Men And Women Summer Story! Special Mixed 3 Way Tag Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & Moeka Haruhi Vs Yumehito Imanari & Yuna Manase Vs Shota & HARUKAZE
2. Ganpro Vs FREEDOMS All Out Battle!: Washi Sakurai Vs Tomoya Hirata
3. First Single! Toyama’s Strongest Decisive Match!: Ken Ohka Vs Shinichiro Tominaga
4. Teacher & Student Tag Vs Aikata Tag: Keisuke Ishii & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita
5. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Hagane Shinno (c) Vs Asuka

The fate of the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title is decided tomorrow! Will Hagane Shinno seal the title in the twilight of his career or will Asuka become a trailblazer as the youngest person to ever hold the championship?

DDT “BLACK OUT PRESENTS KING OF DDT 2020 FINAL!!”, 23/08/2020
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Under Match – 5 Way Match: Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Yukio Naya
1. King Of DDT 2020 – Semi-Final: Tetsuya Endo Vs Kazusada Higuchi
2. King Of DDT 2020 – Semi-Final: Akito Vs T-Hawk
3. Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs Danshoku Dieno & Seigo Tachibana
4. KING OF DDT 2020 Special 10-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura, Chris Brookes & Minoru Tanaka Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao, Mad Paulie, El Lindaman & Nobuhiro Shimatani
5. Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi, Mizuki Watase & Hideki Okatani Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata, Shinya Aoki & Keigo Nakamura
6. King Of DDT 2020 – Final: X Vs X

Yuki Iino is still out with a back injury and cannot wrestle on this weekend’s show. Keigo Nakamura takes his spot in the semi-main tag. Nakamura has been eager to get in the ring with Jun Akiyama a lot this month. The dark match has also been switched to a 5 Way.

DDT “DDT LIVE! ~SAYONARA TOSHIMAEN~ ATSUSHI ONITA IMMEDIATELY RETIRE IF YOU LOSE SP CURRENT BLAST ON THE STREET”, 27/08/2020
Tokyo Toshimaen

1. Jiro Kuroshio Vs Shunma Katsumata
2. Danshoku Dieno & Yukio Naya Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Saki Akai
3. Super Sasadango Machine, Keigo Nakamura & Yuna Manase (w/ Kuro-chan) Vs Akito, Mizuki Watase & An Chamu (w/ Otake)
4. Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs HARASHIMA, Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura
5. Street Current Blast Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Sanshiro Takagi & Chris Brookes Vs Shinya Aoki, Caol Uno & Konosuke Takeshita

The comedian Kuro-chan has been appointed as the witness for the main event. He joined Sanshiro Takagi, Shinya Aoki and Caol Uno in Chiba for an outdoor demonstration of a Blast Rocket that will be used on the show. The Rocket was created by Atsushi Onita for a death match he did in 2016 but it was so dangerous he never used it since. Until now! The rocket was fired at a watermelon with Kurochan’s picture on it and created a large explosion. The watermelon was not destroyed but a large hole was left in it from the blast. The wrestlers all think it’s amazing but Kurochan is terrified. Even more so when Onita suggested that Kurochan be placed inside a cage at ringside so he won’t run away.

An Chamu is a gravure idol from Shinshu Girls Pro Wrestling. She has two years experience and was trained by Emi Sakura.


Video – Ishii Vs Hagane For The World Jr Indy Title

August 2, 2020

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “KILLER QUEEN 2020”, 26/07/2020
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
101 Fans

Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Hagane Shinno


Beer Garden-Like Shows, Indy Jr. Title Might Get Sealed, Manase Joins Ganpro

July 29, 2020

DDT “BEER GARDEN-LIKE PRO WRESTLING 2020 DAY 1”, 30/07/2020
Shinjuku FACE

1. 3 Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo Vs Makoto Oishi & Mizuki Watase Vs Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya
2. HARASHIMA & Chris Brookes Vs Soma Takao & Mad Paulie
3. Super Sasadango Machine Produce Match – Hell In A Blue Sheet Timed Blast! Kaidan Shin Numabukuro Death Match: Muscle Sakai, Danshoku Dieno & Antonio Honda Vs Akito, Yumehito Imanari & Shota
4. Jun Akiyama & Hideki Okatani Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Keigo Nakamura
5. Saki Akai Produce Match – NEO Biishiki-gun New Member Open Audition: Margaret☆Owashi Vs Francoise☆Ihashi Vs Pirako Vs Generic Martha Vs Kazuko Higuchi Vs X (Judges: Sakisama & Yukio Saint Laurent)
6. Konosuke Takeshita Produce Match – DDT Sauna Club Vs DDT Legend Army!: Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Ueno Vs Sanshiro Takagi, MIKAMI & Tanomusaku Toba

Sanshiro Takagi found out that neither MIKAMI or Tanomusaku Toba follow him on Twitter, after all of these years of working for him! No matter, he still thinks the three of them are such important figures to DDT that they can beat the DDT Sauna Club.

DDT “BEER GARDEN-LIKE PRO WRESTLING 2020 DAY 2”, 31/07/2020
Shinjuku FACE

1. Soma Takao Vs Hideki Okatani
2. Chris Brookes & Akito Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Mad Paulie
3. Jun Akiyama & Mizuki Watase Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
4. Danshoku Dieno Produce Match – Elimination Tornado Pantyhose Generation Fight!: Danshoku Dieno, Super Sasadango Machine, Makoto Oishi & Antonio Honda Vs Seigo Tachibana, Yuki Iino, Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura
5. HARASHIMA Produce Loser Punishment 5 Way Match – Over The Top Rope Losing Rule: HARASHIMA Vs Toru Owashi Vs Yuki Ueno Vs Naomi Yoshimura Vs Kazuki Hirata
6. Tetsuya Endo Produce Hardcore Tag Match – DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata

The main event will be a Hardcore Match. That was Tetsuya Endo’s idea of course. That’s probably weak stuff for Shunma Katsumata after the Big Japan deathmatch he was in last week.

DDT “BEER GARDEN-LIKE PRO WRESTLING 2020 DAY 3”, 01/08/2020
Shinjuku FACE

0. Special Under Match “Can You Lose?”: Tetsuya Koda Vs Hisaya Imabayashi
1. Mizuki Watase Vs Yukio Naya
2. Danshoku Dieno & Akito Vs Soma Takao & Mad Paulie
3. Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Hideki Okatani Vs HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Keigo Nakamura
4. Drunk 3 Way Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Yuki Iino
5. Rock And Roll 4 Way Death Match: Saki Akai Vs Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Shunma Katsumata
6. Customer Lottery 6-Man Tag Match That Looks Like A Beer Garden Specialty: Tetsuya Endo, Chris Brookes, Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura, Konosuke Takeshita, Kazusada Higuchi

The Beer Garden series will be short and sweet this year.

BASARA “BASARA 130 ~TOKUMARU GAHARA~”, 08/08/2020
Tokyo Takashimadaira Ward Hall

1. Tetsuo Usui Vs Tatsuya Hanami
2. Daichi Kazato & Tsutomu Oosugi Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Yasu Urano
3. Ryota Nakatsu Vs Yusuke Kubo
4. FUMA & SAGAT Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Jaki Numazawa
5. 8-Man Tag Team Elimination Match: Isami Kodaka, Ryuichi Sekine, Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita Vs Fuminori Abe, Takuya Nomura, Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino

The main event sees the entire Sento Minzoku unit take on a mixture of Astronauts and the main BASARA roster.

Takumi Tsukamoto was originally supposed to team with Masashi Takeda but Takeda is now unable to participate. He got injured in yesterday’s FREEDOMS main event. Jaki Numazawa from Big Japan takes his place as Tsukamoto’s tag partner.

Tatsuya Hanami is from 2AW.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “HEAVEN’S DOOR 2020”, 22/08/2020
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Ganpro Vs FREEDOMS All Out Battle!: Washi Sakurai Vs Tomoya Hirata
2. First Single! Toyama’s Strongest Decisive Match!: Ken Ohka Vs Shinichiro Tominaga
3. 6 Men And Women Summer Story! Special Mixed 3 Way Tag Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & Moeka Haruhi Vs Yumehito Imanari & Yuna Manase Vs Shota & HARUKAZE
4. Teacher & Student Tag Vs Aikata Tag: Keisuke Ishii & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita
5. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Hagane Shinno (c) Vs Asuka

These might be the final Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title defence if Hagane Shinno gets his way. The new champion is in the twilight of his wrestling career and believes the title no longer serves its use. His peak was beating Kota Ibushi for the belt which means it should only be defended against a wrestler on the same level. Asuka is getting the title match because it was already promised to her when Keisuke Ishii was the champion. If Asuka can beat Shinno and achieve her goal of becoming the youngest ever Indy Jr. Champion, then Shinno will be convinced she can become as big of a superstar as Ibushi.

Yuna Manase is now a full time member of Ganbare☆Wrestling! Two weeks ago she received an invite from Yumehito Imanari to wrestle for them on a regular basis. She couldn’t give an answer then because she had not finished her commitment to Tokyo Joshi Pro. But when she appeared at last Sunday’s show she announced she wants to do more with the group and be part of the Ganpro family.


DDT And NOAH Management Merge To Create CyberFight

July 27, 2020

Today a joint press conference was held at CyberAgent HQ featuring members of their pro wrestling companies. It was announced that on 1st September the companies DDT Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH will merge their operations together and become a new CyberAgent prof wrestling subsidiary called CyberFight. The president and CEO of CyberFight is Sanshiro Takagi, the current president of both DDT and NOAH. Naomichi Marufuji and Akito will serve as executive vice presidents. DDT director Takahiro Yamauchi and NOAH director Arihiro Takeda will retain their roles.

Since CyberAgent’s purchase of NOAH back in January it was inevitable that the management for DDT and NOAH would be unified. Takagi says that both companies have been in good condition under CyberAgent but they were also greatly damaged by the Coronavirus. Due to the unpredictable nature of this epidemic, a decision was made to merge the managements together in order to keep pro wrestling going ahead with optimized personnel and improved cost efficiency. By uniting DDT and NOAH together, CyberFight will strengthen its ability to respond to the changing times.

 

Takagi, Marufuji, Yamauchi and Takeda are pretty much continuing the management roles they had before. Akito though is the new blood involved. He’s been working with KUDO for the DDT Foods family of restaurants (they are also now part of CyberFight) and earlier this year took over promoting the BOYZ brand. For now he will continue managing the DDT Foods arm of CyberFight as well as the merchandise end. But the hope is for him to become more involved with higher company management in the future.

The actual promotions of DDT and NOAH will still be separate brands with no changes to their identity and in-ring product. The online operations are planned to be improve with an expansion for WRESTLE UNIVERSE being one of the goals. On the wrestling show front, CyberFight is aiming to hold a show at the Tokyo Dome and their overall goal is to take over the No. 1 spot from New Japan Pro Wrestling!

Some of the wrestlers and staff commented on the news. Akito said that since he works with DDT’s restaurants, he often gets to communicate directly with DDT fans. Under his new role he can bring that voice of the fans and their concerns directly to management. He also hopes to serve as a bridge between the young and old generations within the company.

Marufuji never would have expected to see his company change so rapidly. But he wants to focus on the positives instead of the negatives. He would like to continue showing real pro wrestling and he believes CyberFight will raise both NOAH and DDT to the top of the pro wrestling world.

Yuka Sakazaki says this news means Tokyo Joshi Pro is going to get bigger. But Tokyo Joshi will remain as Tokyo Joshi and she will liven it up at her own pace.

Katsuhiko Nakajima from NOAH believes this change is and evolution for his company. He will dream of the day CyberFight becomes number one and will continue taking the next steps forward until then. So keep up with them!

Go Shiozaki is grateful for all that CyberAgent has done for NOAH. He made similar comments as Nakajima of making NOAH the number one wrestling promotion that pushes the industry forward.

Jun Akiyama from DDT (still feels weird typing that) promises to do his best in helping the company catch up to New Japan and then overtake it.

Tetsuya Endo from DDT describes the news as an opportunity. It is all up to the individual work of the wrestlers to make this opportunity a reality.

Chris Brookes says it is a difficult time for pro wrestling to survive while there is a pandemic going on. With NOAH and DDT together in management, WRESTLE UNIVERSE will create more opportunities for people around the world to watch Japanese pro wrestling.

Last but not least, Ken Ohka from Ganbare☆Wrestling gave a somewhat impassioned speech about his small promotion that he created by himself. It is not the size of the other brands in the deal but still Ohka will never give up. He thinks pro wrestling is more amazing than baseball and football. It can give you hope and courage for tomorrow. That is why regardless of the promotion’s size, Ganpro will continue to show their struggle and passion inside the ring. Even if the company changes and grows, what they do in the ring will not change.


GANBARE☆WRESTLING “KILLER QUEEN 2020” Results

July 26, 2020

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “KILLER QUEEN 2020”, 26/07/2020
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
101 Fans

1. Competitive Showdown! SWS Gakusei Wrestling 24th Vs 28th Total Battle: Shinichiro Tominaga defeated Shin Suzuki with a Cobra Clutch (9:42).
2. Summer Cosplay Match Return: Cherry defeated HARUKAZE with the Welcome To Hell (9:44).
3. Ganpro Specialty Special Mixed Tag Match: Shota & Yuna Manase defeated Moeka Haruhi & Washi Sakurai when Shota pinned Sakurai with a Jackknife Pin (10:37).
4. 25 Years Of Confrontation? Special Tag Match: Ken Ohka & Kouki Iwasaki defeated Yasu Urano & Tetsuo Usui when Ohka pinned Usui with the Fire Spear (19:03).
5. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Hagane Shinno defeated Keisuke Ishii (c) with the Ranhei (16:37).
*Keisuke Ishii fails in V8. Hagane Shinno becomes the 30th Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Champion!

The dominant title reign of Keisuke Ishii is over! Hagane Shinno is the new Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Champion and we may be approaching the the end of the championship! Early in the match Shinno almost got counted out after he struck the ring post. There were some high impact moves on the ring apron like a Diving Body Press from Shinno and the Double Arm Extreme Driver from Ishii. Back in the ring, Shinno avoided the Double Arm Extreme Driver and pinned Ishii with the Ranhei to win the title. Backstage Shinno said he is thinking about sealing the championship. It is a past glory that he finally regained and his wrestling career doesn’t have long left to go so there is no need for the title to continue. However Asuka was promised a title shot against today’s winner on 22nd August so he will give her that match. Shinno said when he beats her, the title will be sealed away until a superstar on the same caliber of Kota Ibushi challenges him. If Asuka does beat him then he thinks she can become a superstar like Ibushi.

After the match Shinno and Madoka bumped fists and both left. Ken Ohka and Yumehito Imanari got into the ring in a panic. They don’t want the Indy World Jr. Title to leave Ganpro! Asuka is supposed to get a title shot on 22nd August but what is Shinno seals the championship before then? That’s the title Imanari has been aiming to win so what will he do now if it gets retired? Ohka offered some advice to calm Imanari down. Life and pro wrestling is a marathon without goals. Even when you win a championship you keep running. Imanari was eliminated from the ZERO1 Tenkaichi tournament yesterday but it is not the end of his wrestling life. He lost yesterday but next time he can win. Imanari promised to do his best and together they shouted “Three, Two, Zero One!” The show ended with “LONESOME RYDER” playing before switching into “BAD COMMUNICATION”.

 

Imanari showed up in the middle of the Mixed Tag Match wearing a referee shirt. He wanted to be the special guest referee like Shawn Michaels was at the FMW 10th Anniversary show. When Daisuke Kiso refused, Imanari knocked him out and took his place as White Shoes Imanari. He counted too slow so Moeka Haruhi threw him away. Imanari swung around Yuna Manase and gave Haruhi a Lariat on the rebound. Manase did her own Lariat to Washi Sakurai and Shota rolled him over for the three count.

Imanari explained he didn’t have a match scheduled in today just in case he advanced in the Tenkaichi so he wanted to officiate a match instead. Ohka then entered the ring and asked Manase if she decided to wrestle for Ganpro on a more regular basis? Manase said she wants to do her best as a pro wrestler. She isn’t going to just make regular appearances, she wants to join the Ganbare☆Wrestling family and wrestle for them all the time! Ohka accepted and welcomed Manase to Ganpro! Everyone celebrated by shouting “Three, Two, Zero One!” while “LONESOME RYDER” played.

In the Summer Cosplay match HARUKAZE wore a bug catcher costume while Cherry wrestled in a yukata. HARUKAZE used her bug catching net as a weapon and also tried to strip Cherry’s Yukata off. She got herself tangled in it. Cherry wore her wrestling gear underneath so she had no fear of being exposed. She applied her Welcome To Hell submission version of the Spring Night Love to get the win.


Junretsu, BASARA Is Back, Pink Ready Goes Sour, Two Indy World Jr. Title Matches

July 13, 2020

The unit Jun Akiyama has put together now has an official name. Akiyama-gun will now be called Junretsu. The four members are Akiyama, Makoto Oishi (he’s the leader believe it or not), Mizuki Watase and Hideki Okatani.

BASARA “BASARA 129 ~BANQUET~”, 14/07/2020
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & SAGAT Vs Masato Kamino & Tetsuo Usui
2. FUMA & Yusuke Kubo Vs Daichi Kazato & Leo Isaka
3. 3 Way Tag Match: Ryuichi Sekine & Minoru Fujita Vs Ryota Nakatsu & Akiyori Takizawa Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Yasu Urano
4. Daiki Shimomura Vs Takato Nakano
5. IRON FIST Tag Titles – Turnabout Pro Wrestling Trial: Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga (c) Vs Gouma Ryu & Ryuji Ito (Defendent: Ryuichi Sekine)
6. Union MAX Title: Fuminori Abe (c) Vs Isami Kodaka

BASARA’s first show since 28th March takes place tomorrow.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “BRAND NEW WRESTLING 4 ~TAKE NOT, BUT GIVE~”, 23/07/2020
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Moka Miyamoto Debut Match: Moka Miyamaoto & Suzume Vs Mirai Maiumi & Sena Shiori
2. Himawari Unagi Return Match: Himawari Unagi & Haruna Neko Vs Pom Harajuku & Mahiro Kiryu
3. Hikari Noa Vs Raku
4. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Mina Shirakawa
5. Yuna Manase Regular Participation Last Match: Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma & Maki Itoh Vs Miyu Yamashita, Mizuki & Natsumi Maki
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
7. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Yuki Aino

The Pink Ready pair haven’t been seeing each other eye to eye after Yuki Kamifuku lost her No. 1 Contender’s match. Mina Shirakawa is taking this chance to surpass her friend.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “KILLER QUEEN 2020”, 26/07/2020
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Summer Cosplay Match Return: HARUKAZE Vs Cherry
2. 25 Years Of Confrontation? Special Tag Match: Ken Ohka & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Yasu Urano & Tetsuo Usui
3. Competitive Showdown! SWS Gakusei Wrestling 24th Vs 28th Total Battle: Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Shin Suzuki
4. Ganpro Specialty Special Mixed Tag Match: Moeka Haruhi & Washi Sakurai Vs Shota & Yuna Manase
5. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Hagane Shinno

Two Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title matches have been made for the rest of the summer. First up Keisuke Ishii defends against Hagane Shinno, a former champion who pinned him in yesterday’s main event. Shinno’s history with the title was brief but important. As Madoka, he fought Kota Ibushi for the title when it was revived back in 2007. He lost to Ibushi then but won the title from him a year later. Sadly, Madoka was beaten by Makoto Oishi in his first defence and he never won it back. He’s had two attempts since then. This will be his third.

Yuna Manase was offered to regularly wrestle in Ganbare☆Wrestling. She isn’t able to decide yet because she is still working for Tokyo Joshi Pro for another two weeks. But she at least wants to make another appearance. We may find out her future by the time this show takes place.

The 24th and 28th SWS Triple Crown Champions collide when Shinchiro Tominaga faces Shin Suzuki in a battle of Student Wrestling prodigies.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “HEAVEN’S DOOR 2020”, 22/08/2020
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii or Hagane Shinno (c) Vs Asuka

Asuka faces the winner of Ishii Vs Shinno. Her goal is to become the youngest Indy World Jr. Champion at the age of 21.


GANBARE☆WRESTLING “CRAZY DIAMOND 2020” Results

July 12, 2020

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “CRAZY DIAMOND 2020”, 12/07/2020
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
110 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Washi Sakurai Trial Single Match: Chikara defeated Washi Sakurai with the Saber Chop (8:21).
2. Ganjo-gun Vs PocchaJo-gun Total Battle: Yumehito Imanari, Miss Mongol & Yuna Manase defeated Shunma Katsumata, Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE when Manase pinned HARUKAZE with the Suzuki Dynamic (11:53).
3. Special Single Match: Asuka defeated Shinichiro Tominaga with the ASKA FANTASY (10:09).
4. Ganpro Vs RENEGADES: Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase defeated Shota & Kouki Iwasaki when Irie pinned Shota with a Rotating Cradle (12:52).
5. Special Tag Match Full Of Indie Jr. Champions: Shiori Asahi & Hagane Shinno defeated Keisuke Ishii & Shuichiro Katsumura when Shinno pinned Ishii with the Reverse Rankei (16:17).

Keisuke Ishii now has two challengers for the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title. Halfway through the show, Asuka challenged Ishii to a title match because she wants to become the youngest champion in the title’s history. Ishii asked for the match to take place on 26th July but Asuka’s busy schedule pushed it back to the agreed date of 22nd August. Then in the main event Hagane Shinno pinned Ishii and asked for a title shot on the 26th July show that Asuka turned down. Ishii accepted that challenge too so he can achieve his 8th and 9th title defences when all is said and done. Asuka told them to do what they want, she will challenge the winner of Ishii Vs Hagane.

Yumehito Imanari invited Yuna Manase to compete in Ganbare☆Wrestling on a regular basis, believing this is the perfect place for her last run. Manase told him she is still with Tokyo Joshi Pro until 23rd July so she cannot agree to regular participation in Ganpro just yet. But she would like to be on the next Ganpro show on the 26th.

Ken Ohka was pulled from the show due to a fever. Shunma Katsumata took his place in Match #2.


TJPW IS 『   』, Imanari In ZERO1, Akiyama-gun’s New Name, FITE TV, Yoshihiko Going To GCW!

July 10, 2020

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI 2020 SUMMER ~TJPW IS 『   』~”, 12/07/2020
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

The full match card will be revealed on the day of the show.

Okay so I thought the 『   』 was just a placeholder for the show’s complete name but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

DDT “SUMMER ITABASHI SERIES”, 12/07/2020
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Naomi Yoshimura Vs Hideki Okatani
2. Kazusada Higuchi & Saki Akai Vs Antonio Honda & Keigo Nakamura
3. 3 Way Tag Match: Danshoku Dieno & Toru Owashi Vs Makoto Oishi & Mizuki Watase Vs Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Iino
4. 3 Way Match: Chris Brookes Vs Akito Vs Mad Paulie
5. The Evil Yankee Wrestler Seigo Tachibana’s Road To The Top: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Seigo Tachibana
6. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Yukio Naya
7. DAMNATION Vs DISASTER BOX!: Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Soma Takao Vs HARASHIMA, Yuki Ueno & Kazuki Hirata

This is the confirmed match order.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “CRAZY DIAMOND 2020”, 12/07/2020
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Washi Sakurai Trial Single Match: Washi Sakurai Vs Chikara
2. Ganjo-gun Vs PocchaJo-gun Total Battle: Ken Ohka, Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs Yumehito Imanari, Miss Mongol & Yuna Manase
3. Ganpro Vs RENEGADES: Shota & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase
4. Special Single Match: Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Asuka
5. Special Tag Match Full Of Indie Jr. Champions: Keisuke Ishii & Shuichiro Katsumura Vs Shiori Asahi & Hagane Shinno

Yumehito Imanari has entered this year’s Tenkaichi tournament in ZERO1. So far it’s going great, he eliminated Shinjiro Otani in the first round! Their match ended in a 20 minute draw and went into overtime. The sudden death rules included two count pins and it only took 22 seconds for Imanari to snatch the upset win. He advances to wrestle HUB on 25th July. Imanari is able to wrestle in Ganbare☆Wrestling this weekend but he may have to miss the next Ganpro show if he advances further in the tournament and there is a scheduling conflict.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “BRAND NEW WRESTLING 4 ~TAKE NOT, BUT GIVE~”, 23/07/2020
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Moka Miyamoto Debut Match: Moka Miyamaoto Vs X
2. Himawari Unagi Return Match: Himawari Unagi Vs X
3. Yuna Manase Regular Participation Last Match: Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma & Maki Itoh Vs Miyu Yamashita, Mizuki & Natsumi Maki
4. Princess Tag Team Titles: Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
5. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Yuki Aino

The trainee Aona will become Moka Miyamoto when she debuts in the ring. Miyamoto comes from Kanagawa, is 160cm tall and was born on 18th March, 1999. She trained in Shotokan Karate when she was in high school and joined Tokyo Joshi Pro last fall. Her debut match was originally meant to happen on 3rd May but that show was cancelled due to the Coronavirus. Thankfully a new Korakuen Hall date was booked for later this month and her debut will now happen there.

The show will air live on both WRESTLE UNIVERSE and FITE TV. It costs $14.99 on FITE with an option to buy either English or Japanese commentary.

DDT “SUMMER VACATION 2020”, 23/07/2020
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Soma Takao & Mad Paulie Vs Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura
2. Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura & Kazuki Hirata Vs Danshoku Dieno, Super Sasadango Machine & Seigo Tachibana
3. Chris Brookes & Drew Parker Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Nobuhiro Shimatani
4. Akiyama-gun Vs ALL OUT All Out Battle!: Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi, Mizuki Watase & Hideki Okatani Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito, Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Iino
5. DDT Extreme Title: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs Maku Donaruto
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai (c) Vs HARASHIMA, Antonio Honda & Riho
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Yuki Ueno

Akiyama-gun is looking for an official unit name. So far each member proposed a name except for Jun Akiyama himself. He made a poll on Twitter with three options: NEW EXPLOSION, Re: STERNNESS and STERNNESS. NEW EXPLOSION won the poll so that is his entry. Now a second poll is up with the four possible names: NEW EXPLOSION, Junretsu (準烈), Firestar and The Beginning (ザ・ビギニング). It’s not guaranteed that the poll winner will become the official name but Akiyama will for sure make a decision in time for the July Korakuen show.

The show will air live on both WRESTLE UNIVERSE and FITE TV. It costs $14.99 on FITE with an option to get either English or Japanese commentary.

GCW “HOMECOMING WEEKEND PART 2”, 26/07/2020
Atlantic City Garden Pier, New Jersey

1. Joey Janela Vs Yoshihiko

The Social Distance Rules match GCW held in March went viral, especially in Japan. Joey Janela in particular caught Sanshiro Takagi’s attention. Interactions on Twitter show that Takagi wants Janela to come over to DDT when the Coronavirus is gone. For now something else is planned. Yoshihiko is heading over to America to fight Janela in GCW!

DDT “BON DEMONE, ATASHA KAMISAMADA YO 2020”, 15/08/2020
Tokyo Kanda Myojin Hall

1. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura (c) Vs X & X

Nautilus are going for their 6th KO-D Tag Team Titles defence next month.


TV SHOW Finale, Akiyama-gun, Saki Vs Meiko, Aino Aims For The Top

June 23, 2020

First things first, I hope Joey Ryan never appears in a DDT ring or any other for that matter ever again. I regret ever supporting him after reading all of the allegations from the last few days.

DDT “DDT TV SHOW! #8”, 27/06/2020
Shinjuku FACE

1. Soma Takao & Mad Paulie Vs Mizuki Watase & Keigo Nakamura
2. Danshoku Dieno & Akito Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
3. Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs Antonio Honda, Hiroshi Yamato & Yukio Naya
4. The Evil Wrestler Seigo Tachibana’s Road To The Top: HARASHIMA Vs Seigo Tachibana
5. Akiyama-gun Vs ALL OUT!: Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Hideki Okatani Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Iino
6. DDT UNIVERSAL Title: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Chris Brookes
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani

This looks to be the finale of DDT TV SHOW now that a more regular schedule is coming back. Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani have been getting the better of Nautilus whether it is by Endo winning matches against them or Shimatani attacking Yuki Ueno. Both Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura agree that the worst thing that could happen to them is if they lose the KO-D Tag Team Titles to Shimatani. Endo is understandable, but Shimatani? No way!

The fighting between Daisuke Sasaki and Chris Brookes is getting more wild but their DDT UNIVERSAL Title match is under regular rules. After the last couple of defences were held in stipulation matches, maybe having a calm head is the way to win this one. Or maybe smashing a signboard over the other guy’s head is the better idea. I don’t know, I’m not the wrestler here.

Jun Akiyama has gathered some disciples under his wing for a feud with ALL OUT. It seems that Konosuke Takeshita has figured something out though. Akiyama is teaching the Royal Road style to the DDT roster but it’s not exactly his own personal style, is it? That is what Takeshita wants to experience when they fight. Akiyama-gun was just going to be the coach, Makoto Oishi & Mizuki Watase but the youngster Hideki Okatani found himself a spot after he stepped up for himself against Takeshita.

If Seigo Tachibana wants to be in DDT so bad he can fight one of the best around in HARASHIMA.

MAO is currently recovering from an MCL injury in his left knee. There is no timetable for his return but he is speaking with his doctor over how to treat it.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TSURUMI VOL. 2”, 28/06/2020
Kanagawa Tsurumi Fruit & Vegetable Market

1. Soma Takao Vs Hideki Okatani
2. Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
3. Sanshiro Takagi & Yukio Naya Vs Akito & Keigo Nakamura
4. 4 Way Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Chris Brookes Vs Antonio Honda Vs Yuki Iino
5. DAMNATION Vs DISASTER BOX!: Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs HARASHIMA, Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura
6. Akiyama-gun Vs ALL OUT!: Jun Akiyama & Mizuki Watase Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata

Watase enters the Akiyama-gun Vs ALL OUT feud here.

DDT “SEE YOU AT DDT 2020”, 03/07/2020
Shinjuku FACE

1. Saki Akai “Okibariyasu” 7 Match Series – Final Match: Meiko Satomura Vs Saki Akai

The finale of Saki Akai’s Okibariyasu trial is a main event match against Meiko Satomura! In fact this is the first time a DDT show has ever had an all women main event. Akai’s record in the trial so far is 3-3 so she gets the toughest challenge possible to end with a winning record.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “STAND PROUD”, 04/07/2020
Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall

1. Princess Of Princess Title Challenger Match: Yuki Aino Vs Yuki Kamifuku
2. Princess Tag Team Titles: Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Maki Itoh & Raku

The progress Yuki Aino has made over the last few months has been something to behold. Back in February she picked up the win in the Main Event Prospect tag match then she reached the final of the Haru Beautiful One Day Tournament. Since then she has been close to the top of the card in the few Tokyo Joshi Pro shows that went ahead over the COVID-19 shutdown. So it’s fair for her to challenge for the Princess Of Princess Title. However, Yuki Kamifuku thinks she should get the next shot instead so we’re getting a No. 1 Contender match.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “CRAZY DIAMOND 2020”, 12/07/2020
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Washi Sakurai Trial Single Match: Washi Sakurai Vs Chikara
2. Special Single Match: Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Asuka
3. Ganjo-gun Vs Pocchajo-gun Total Battle: Ken Ohka, Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs Yumehito Imanari, Miss Mongol & Yuna Manase
4. Ganpro Vs RENEGADES: Shota & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase
5. Special Tag Match Full Of Indie Jr. Champions: Keisuke Ishii & Shuichiro Katsumura Vs Shiori Asahi & Hagane Shinno

A lot of reunions and past faces appearing for next month’s Ganbare☆Wrestling show. A bunch of Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Champions get together, RENEGADES are showing up for a fight and the two joshi sub-brands Ganbare☆Joshi & Pocchari Joshi are set to clash.

That opening match is… sheesh!

DDT “SUMMER VACATION 2020”, 23/07/2020
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai (c) Vs X, X & X

The newly crowned KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions hold their first defence at Korakuen Hall next month. For now Eruption has to wait until a trio of challengers are chosen for them.


GANBARE☆WRESTLING “COMEBACK ANYTIME 2020” Results

June 14, 2020

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “COMEBACK ANYTIME 2020”, 14/06/2020
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
82 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Shuhei Washida Trial Singles Match: Minoru Fujita defeated Washi Sakurai with the Suffering Lock (10:35).
2. Master And Disciple Confrontation! Special Mixed Tag Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & Moeka Haruhi defeated Yumehito Imanari & HARUKAZE when Katsumura pinned Imanari with a Low Kick (18:37).
3. Special Single Match: Asuka defeated Shota with the ASKA FANTASY (10:48).
4. Ganpro Vs RENEGADES Full Face to Face Battle: Shinichiro Tominaga & Kouki Iwasaki defeated Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase when Tominaga pinned Watase with a Power Bomb Switchback (17:05).
5. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) defeated Ken Ohka with the Neck And Arm Lock (14:38).
*V7 for Keisuke Ishii.

Ganbare☆Wrestling is the next compaby to say they are now back to holding shows after a two and a half month absence. The roster all came down to the ring one by one at the start of the show. Only Ken Ohka and Yumehito Imanari got into the ring after Ohka told the others to respect social distancing. Together Ganpro promised to make today’s show a success in front of the crowd.

In the main event Keisuke Ishii successfully defended the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title for the 7th straight time. Ohka hit the Fire Spear twice but couldn’t get the pin. In return Ishii struck Ohka with a Kneelift to the face, landed a Double Knee Drop and locked in the Neck And Arm Lock to get the submission victory. Afterwards Ishii said if he makes it to over 10 defences in this title reign then he will break the record for most overall defences in the championship’s history. He wanted to defend the title today and originally thought Ohka didn’t deserve to be the challenger. However, Ohka’s passion for pro wrestling in the match they just had proved Ishii wrong. Ohka reminded Ishii that their Loser Leaves Town Match in Union Pro seven years ago is what led to the creation of Ganbare☆Wrestling! He encouraged Ishii to break the title defence record but warned he wants to be the one who stops his reign.

The semi-main event tag had an awkward ending where Shinichiro Tominaga grabbed onto the referee to prevent Mizuki Watase from doing a Tiger Suplex. Watase tried to do a Power Bomb instead but Tominaga Cradled him to steal the three count. He was happy to win it that way. Meanwhile Kouki Iwasaki and Shigehiro Irie had a staredown with each other after the match.