Video – 2nd Half Of GANBARE☆PRO “A HOMANSU 2022”

May 15, 2022

GANBARE☆PRO “A HOMANSU 2022”, 14/05/2022
Chiba 2AW Square
118 Fans – No Vacancy

5. Shinichiro Tominaga 2nd Hometown Triumph Match: GENTARO & Yasu Urano Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Shinichiro Tominaga
6. Special Tag Match: Shigehiro Irie & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Naoya Nomura & Mizuki Watase


GANBARE☆PRO “A HOMANSU 2022” Results

May 14, 2022

GANBARE☆PRO “A HOMANSU 2022”, 14/05/2022
Chiba 2AW Square
118 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Punch Drunker Vs Strong Zero Drunker: Soma Takao defeated Tyson Maeguchi with a Sleeper Hold Switchback (7:14).
2. GanJo Super Fight In Chiba: HARUKAZE & Ann Cham defeated Moeka Haruhi & YuuRI when HARUKAZE submitted YuuRI with the Haru Ichiban (9:26).
3. Nippon University Alumni Association In 2AW Square: Ken Ohka defeated Kyu Mogami with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (8:26).
4. Yuna Manase Triumphant Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Kaji Tomato & Yuna Manase defeated Keisuke Ishii, Shota & Ayame Sasamura when Imanari pinned Shota with the Lariat (12:02).
5. Shinichiro Tominaga 2nd Hometown Triumph Match: GENTARO & Yasu Urano defeated Shuichiro Katsumura & Shinichiro Tominaga when GENTARO submitted Tominaga with a Haragatame (14:37).
6. Special Tag Match: Shigehiro Irie & Kouki Iwasaki defeated Naoya Nomura & Mizuki Watase by TKO when Irie used Repeated Elbow Butts on Watase (21:21).

REAL BLOOD’s first appearance in Ganbare☆Pro ended in defeat to Shigehiro Irie & Kouki Iwasaki. Near the end Iwasaki and Naoya Nomura exchanged German Suplexes to take each other out of the match. Irie then held Mizuki Watase down and unleashed Elbow Strikes to his head until the referee called for the bell. Nomura expected the result, saying REAL BLOOD wouldn’t be as fun if they were successful from the beginning. They’re going to sneak around the wrestling world instead. Watase agrees, thinking it is great that he has something to fight for. Irie said Watase is working harder and Iwasaki is excited at the thought of fighting Nomura again.

Today was the first time in over four years Shinichiro Tominaga got to fight GENTARO. It was also five years since Tominaga was last in Chiba 2AW Square. Injuries and time spent away from wrestling prevented the two from wrestling each other until today. Tominaga thought he gained the experience he needed in that time to win today but was proven wrong when GENTARO stretched him into submission.

Yuna Manase was happy to wrestle in a match promoting her triumphant hometown return. She began wrestling when she was 25 and this year she will turn 35. She does not know if all of her dreams will come true but Ganpro has shown they can if she keeps thinking about them.


Sakazaki Still In AEW, Akito Infiltrating Pheromones, Everyone Warming Up For The Summer’s Big Shows

May 13, 2022

GANBARE☆PRO “A HOMANSU 2022”, 14/05/2022
Chiba 2AW Square

1. Punch Drunker Vs Strong Zero Drunker: Tyson Maeguchi Vs Soma Takao
2. GanJo Super Fight In Chiba: Moeka Haruhi & YuuRI Vs HARUKAZE & Ann Cham
3. Yuna Manase Triumphant Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Kaji Tomato & Yuna Manase Vs Keisuke Ishii, Shota & Ayame Sasamura
4. Nippon University Alumni Association In 2AW Square: Ken Ohka Vs Kyu Mogami
5. Shinichiro Tominaga 2nd Hometown Triumph Match: GENTARO & Yasu Urano Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Shinichiro Tominaga
6. Special Tag Match: Shigehiro Irie & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Naoya Nomura & Mizuki Watase

The entry of REAL BLOOD into Ganabre☆Pro headlines the show tomorrow.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR ’22”, 15/05/2022
Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall

1. Maki Itoh Vs Kaya Toribami
2. 3 Way Match: Hikari Noa Vs Raku Vs Mahiro Kiryu
3. Rika Tatsumi Vs Moka Miyamoto
4. Yuki Aino & Miu Watanabe VsSuzume & Haruna Neko
5. Miyu Yamashita & Pom Harajuku Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Nao Kakuta
6. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Mizuki & Arisu Endo

All is well and good between Kyoraku Kyomei after the Princess Of Princess Title earlier this month. Yuka Sakazaki is staying in America for the rest of this month so it is up to Mizuki & Arisu Endo to fight Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao on her behalf.

This will be Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh’s last match in Japan this month before they go over to America for their bookings with Prestige Wrestling. Your guess is as good as mine if there are any suprise appearances either will make between now and then.

As mentioned above, Sakazaki’s excursion to AEW will last for the rest of the month so she will not be on this show. Her first match back in Tokyo Joshi Pro will be on 4th June. TJPW have said that more international bookings for their roster will happen after June and they will inform the fans about them when they happen.

DDT “AUDIENCE 2022”, 22/05/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Naomi Yoshimura Vs Yuki Ishida
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Akito Vs HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda
3. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya, Ilusion & El Unicorn
4. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Kazuki Hirata
5. Super Hardcore Girls Vs Prominence Full-Scale Battle ~ Special Hardcore Match: Carousel❤️Shun & Elizabeth❤️Toy Vs Suzu Suzuki & Akane Fujita
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs MAO & Asuka
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles Tournament – Final: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani

Akito has been convinced to audition for Pheromones to keep the unit under control. The implication that doing this will earn Akito enough trust from CyberFight that he will then some day be promoted to company president is motivating him to go along with the plan. He promised to take it further by gaining Pheromones’ trust before destroying them from the inside. They are going to try out a few warm up tag team matches before fully committing to the big 8-Man Tag Match at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022”. This changes the first two matches on the card to accommodate this new plan.

GANBARE☆PRO “CRAZY THUNDER ROAD 2022”, 26/05/2022
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. PocchaJo Vs GanJo Full-Scale Battle: Yuna Manase, Maika Ozaki & Yappy Vs Moeka Haruhi, HARUKAZE & YuuRI
2. Road To SEKIGAHARA Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Soma Takao & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Ken Ohka, Shuichiro Katsumura & Shigehiro Irie

The build up to “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA” goes up a notch here. Yumehito Imanari and Ken Ohka are now wrestling in the same matches to prepare for the Spirit Of Ganbare Title bout.

Pocchari Joshi has a new lease of life with the new additions of Maika Ozaki & Yappy to the brand. Yuna Manase now wants to gather together with them and test what they are made of against the regular Ganbare☆Joshi group.

Wrestlers advertised to appear include Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Tsuyoshi Okada, Naoya Nomura, Tyson Maeguchi and Ryuya Matsufusa.

DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2022 TOUR IN FUKUOKA”, 28/05/2022
Fukuoka Nishitetsu Hall

1. MJ Paul Vs Yuya Koroku
2. Chris Brookes, Naomi Yoshimura & Saki Akai Vs Soma Takao, Yukio Naya & Maya Yukihi
3. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuji Hino & Yuki Ishida
4. MAO & Toru Owashi Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno
5. Special Single Match: Azul Dragon Vs Kazuki Hirata
6. BURNING Vs Eruption!: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani
7. Fukuoka Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Atsushi Onita, HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki Vs Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Toui Kojima

Fukuoka is getting the unusual trio of Atsushi Onita, HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki teaming together to take on The 37KAMIINA.

The DDT Universal Champion and the DDT Extreme Champion are against each other in Match #4.

DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2022 TOUR IN KUMAMOTO”, 29/05/2022
Kumamoto Castle Hall Civic Hall

1. MAO Vs Toi Kojima
2. Chris Brookes Vs Hideki Okatani
3. 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Yuki Ueno & Soma Takao
4. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Yuya Koroku
5. Special Tag Match: Shinya Aoki & Shunma Katsumata Vs Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya
6. Special Single Match: Saki Akai Vs Maya Yukihi
7. Kumamoto Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida

Yuki Ishida gets to be the homecoming hero taking on the might of BURNING. He has HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura backing him up so it won’t be a hopeless challenge for the youngster.

DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2022”, 01/06/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada Vs Yuya Koroku
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Shinichiro Kawamatsu (c) (w/ Nobutatsu Suzuki) Vs Toru Owashi Vs Thanomusaku Toba Vs Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Gota Ihashi
2. Chris Brookes, Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya, Maya Yukihi & Asuka
3. DAMNATION T.A Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima
4. Road To CyberFight Festival 2022! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Akito Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Shinya Aoki & Yuki Ishida
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Kazusada Higuchi Vs HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura & Soma Takao
6. DDT Extreme Title: Yuki “Sexy” Iino (c) Vs AKIRA
7. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi

A warm up tag match for Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Kazusada Higuchi before “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022”. Higuchi’s comments on their match against the NOAH team shows he isn’t on the same page with BURNING at the moment. It’s not out of skill level or opinions on each other. More that he has his own idea of beating NOAH that doesn’t mix with how the other two think they can win.


CyberFight Festival 2022 Full Lineup

May 10, 2022

DDT “DDT FREE -MAY-”, 11/05/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. Saki Akai & Soma Takao Vs Maya Yukihi & Kazuki Hirata
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Akito
3. HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Yuji Hino & Toi Kojima
4. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Yukio Naya
5. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida
6. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
7. Road To Audience 2022! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda Vs MAO, Asuka & Shunma Katsumata

The match order for tomorrow. But enough about that, let’s get into the meaty stuff.

“CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022”, 12/06/2022
Saitama Super Arena

0. STARTING BATTLE KICKOFF ~ DDT Provided Tag Match: Muscle Sakai & Yukio Naya Vs Soma Takao & Kazuki Hirata
0. STARTING BATTLE 2 ~ TJPW Provided 10-Woman Tag Match: Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino, Raku, Pom Harajuku & Haruna Neko Vs Nao Kakuta, Mahiro Kiryu, Moka Miyamoto, Arisu Endo & Kaya Toribami
0. STARTING BATTLE 3 ~ DDT Vs Ganbare☆Pro Battle: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Ken Ohka, Yuna Manase & Mizuki Watase
1. NOAH Vs DDT Battle: Kinya Okada & Kai Fujimura Vs Toi Kojima & Yuya Koroku
2. TJPW Provided 6-Woman Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh & Juria Nagano Vs Hikari Noa, Suzume & Yuki Arai
3. DDT Provided 8-Man Tag Match: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Akito Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Kendo Kashin, Shinya Aoki & Yumiko Hotta
4. Princess Of Princess Title Next Challenger Decision 4 Way Match: Rika Tatsumi Vs Mizuki Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Miu Watanabe
5. NOAH Provided 10-Man Tag Match: Takashi Sugiura, Kazuyuki Fujita, Masa Kitamiya, Daiki Inaba & Shuhei Taniguchi Vs Michael Elgin, Rene Dupree, El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr., Simon Gotch & X
6. DDT Provided 8-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Asuka
7. NOAH Provided 6-Man Tag Match: Rob Van Dam, Yoshinari Ogawa & HAYATA Vs Kaito Kiyomiya, Daisuke Harada & YO-HEY
8. NOAH Vs DDT Battle: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Naomichi Marufuji, Atsushi Kotoge & Yoshiki Inamura
9. NOAH Vs DDT Battle ~ Special Single Match: Kenoh Vs Daisuke Sasaki
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki
11. GHC Heavyweight Title: Go Shiozaki (c) Vs Satoshi Kojima

According to Satoshi Kojima “various coincidences” led him to challenging for the GHC Heavyweight Title. He believes it is inevitable he will win the championship. Go Shiozaki is only thinking about defending the title and is not letting the grand occasion get to him.

The Princess Of Princess Title match has been decided. Shoko Nakajima nominates Yuka Sakazaki as her challenger. Her reason is because Sakazaki and Miyu Yamashita are seen as the two top wrestlers in Tokyo Joshi Pro. Nakajima thinks she has to beat both of them in championship matches in order to finally surpass them. Also Sakazaki is currently wrestling in the United States so she is going to come back a much stronger wrestler than before. If that is not enough, Nakajima remembers when she lost to Sakazaki in their previous Princess Title match together in Sumo Hall back in 2019. So there is a little bit of revenge fueling this decision. Nakajima is certain this will be the best match of her career so far and it makes her happy that it will happen at a big venue like Saitama Super Arena.

At the press conference for this show Kenoh went off the handle over NOAH having to share the spotlight with the rest of the CyberFight promotions. The one thing that pissed him off in particular is the back page advert on every issue of Weekly Pro-Wrestling magazine always being reserved for DDT, TJPW and Ganbare☆Pro instead of NOAH. He decided it is now up to him to advertise NOAH and he did so by attacking Daisuke Sasaki. He gave Sasaki a Diving Double Stomp off of a table and then set his boot on fire to deliver a flaming kick to Sasaki’s head!

The idea to put Kazusada Higuchi on the same team as two BURNING wrestlers did not make him happy. He doesn’t understand why he has to team up with Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama so he is going to beat NOAH his own way instead of with them. Akiyama is trying to get him on the same page because they will need to co-exist in order to beat any team with Naomichi Marufuji on it. Endo is ready to fight even though he does not have a KO-D Openweight Title defence on the card. He is excited to use his genius to overthrow Marufuji. However Marufuji is more interested in seeing how Atsushi Kotoge & Yoshiki Inamura will fare against the DDT team. Inamura wants to get revenge for his disappointing performance against Akiyama at Budokan Hall two years ago. Kotoge is carrying the weight of NOAH’s Jr. Heavyweight division by taking part in this match.

Kaito Kiyomiya is thankful for the opportunity to wrestle against a world class athlete like Rob Van Dam. He wants to show fans all over the world the power of this generation of Japanese pro wrestling.

The mystery X wrestler in the NOAH 10-Man Tag Match will be revealed on 7th June.

The winner of the TJPW 4 Way Match will get a Princess Title shot at “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’22” in Ota Ward Gymnasium on 9th July.

———————————————————————–

So now that is all out of the way, let’s try and figure this out because the full card leaves me scratching my head. Sakazaki getting the Princess Title shot was correctly guessed by some online when nobody came out to challenge Nakajima at the end of TJPW’s last Korakuen Hall show. Those people figured out that Sakazaki probably would have walked down to the ring had she not suddenly got a flight to catch. Also the last time Sakazaki challenge for the Princess Title was at the previous CyberFight Festival one year ago. It’s a good matchup, probably even a great matchup but one that feels too familiar because we’re cycling through the same faces again. The addition of a 4 Way Match to pick the next contender is a fresh idea. Even if the likely result is Rika Tatsumi or Mizuki winning, either of them against Nakajima for a singles title hasn’t been done yet. Mizuki becoming the next Princess Champion would be a long time coming in my opinion and would break the Cycle Of The Three Princesses. However Tatsumi winning and becoming champ would turn it into the Cycle Of The Four Princesses. It doesn’t really solve the problem that the Princess Title will remain focused on the same people as always.

Next, there’s no KO-D Title match? Tetsuya Endo’s position on the show is for an All-Star DDT Vs NOAH trios match, which isn’t bad per se but still leaves the top of the card looking a little lackluster. For the moment his next schedule title defence is not until August. June will be focused on the King Of DDT tournament so unless he finds an opponent for July the KO-D Title is going to be iced for most of the summer. I don’t know if a plan fell through or if the timing of this show just doesn’t give them much material to work with. Was there nobody on the NOAH side they could get for an interpromotional title match who would be happy to put someone else over? Oh wait…… Yeah don’t answer that.

I will say the build for Sasaki Vs Kenoh has been great so far and is an inspired choice for a big DDT Vs NOAH singles match. Watch their angle at the press conference because it’s not just the fire spot that was good about it. Kenoh being the Frank Grimes to DDT’s Homer Simpson can carry the concept of CyberFight Festival by itself for years to come. There’s one problem though. Where on earth is the rest of Kongo? Their only other involvement in the build up to the show is a preview 6-Man Tag match against DAMNATION T.A on the 30th May NOAH event. Something weird is going on if most of the group is not at Saitama Super Arena on 12th June. Imagine if they gatecrash Osaka Jo Hall on behalf of NOAH that day instead?

Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yoshiki Inamura is also happening on the 30th May show to build up their trios match. Might be a sign there is truth to the rumours that the top people in CyberFight weren’t happy about the lack of crossover between NOAH and DDT while NOSAWA Rongai was in charge of NOAH’s match making. Their complaint was why should they spend so much time and resources building bridges with New Japan and DRAGONATE when DDT is right there beside them? I’d be certain of it if more interpromotional matches take place after CyberFight Festival concludes. There’s a whole summer of tournaments coming up for both promotions that need fresh names added to it.

The lack of major crossover between the four promotions is the last problem I have about the lineup. The self-contained matches aren’t that bad on paper, I mean my God look at that Pheromones match. That wouldn’t be out of place on any DDT supershow even with the special guests on Sanshiro Takagi’s team. The TJPW trios match and the DDT Vs NOAH rookies match should both be fun. Eruption Vs Ganpro is a match I think would turn out so much better if it was in Korakuen Hall with one team having the audience on their side (Ganpro as the home team would make the most sense in this situation). I would have loved to see more TJPW Vs Ganbare☆Joshi or even a mixed tag of some sort to get NOAH and TJPW interacting with each other. That CyberFight advert with Kenoh and Mizuki positioned next to each other looking like bratty siblings has been stuck in my head ever since I first saw it.


Video – Nippon Ganbare Union Vs VENYU

May 10, 2022

GANBARE☆PRO “LOVE PHANTOM 2022”, 03/05/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
380 Fans

Nippon Ganbare Union Vs VENYU Full-Scale Battle: Yuna Manase & YuuRI Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Asuka


Video – Ohka Vs Imanari From Ganbare☆Climax 2017

May 6, 2022

GANBARE☆PRO “GANBARE☆CLIMAX 2017 1ST ROUND”, 11/08/2017
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
141 Fans – No Vacancy

Ganbare☆Climax – Round 1: Ken Ohka Vs Yumehito Imanari


Go Go Do It, CDK Summer, REAL BLOOD, Ganpro Ota Ward Main Event

May 4, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GO GO DO IT”, 05/05/2022
Osaka Edion Arena #2

1. Yuki Aino Vs Haruna Neko
2. Hyper Misao Vs Kaya Toribami
3. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku
4. Yuna Manase Vs Mahiro Kiryu
5. Miyu Yamashita & Miu Watanabe Vs Saki Akai & Yuki Kamifuku
6. Osaka Special 8-Woman Tag Match: Shoko Nakajima, Mizuki, Maki Itoh & Rika Tatsumi Vs Yuki Arai, Suzume, Moka Miyamoto & Arisu Endo

No title changes for Tokyo Joshi Pro yesterday so that means Shoko Nakajima and Mizuki are added to tomorrow’s main event. Rika Tatsumi takes Yuka Sakazaki’s place on the team after Sakazaki was invited by AEW to enter a qualifying match for the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. She takes on Riho for a spot in the tournament on the next episode of Rampage.

DDT “AUDIENCE 2022 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 06/05/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Yuki Ishida
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata
3. Children’s Day Special! DDTeeeen!! Challenge Match I: Yuki Ueno Vs Ilusion
4. Children’s Day Special! DDTeeeen!! Challenge Match II: Tetsuya Endo Vs El Unicorn
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles Tournament – Round 1: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles Tournament – Round 1: Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Akito, Hikaru Machida & Thanomsak Toba
7. CDK Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs MAO & Shunma Katsumata

It’s going to be a busy summer for CDK. They are butting heads with MAO in DDT, reigning over everything in ChocoPro and now are getting challenged over in Ganbare☆Pro.

GANBARE☆PRO “A HOMANSU 2022”, 14/05/2022
Chiba 2AW Square

1. Punch Drunker Vs Strong Zero Drunker: Tyson Maeguchi Vs Soma Takao
2. Nippon University Alumni Association In 2AW Square: Ken Ohka Vs Kyu Mogami
3. Special Tag Match: Shigehiro Irie & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Naoya Nomura & Mizuki Watase
4. Shinichiro Tominaga 2nd Hometown Triumph Match: GENTARO & Yasu Urano Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Shinichiro Tominaga
5. GanJo Super Fight In Chiba: Moeka Haruhi & YuuRI Vs HARUKAZE & Ann Cham
6. Yuna Manase Triumphant Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Kaji Tomato & Yuna Manase Vs Keisuke Ishii, Shota & Ayame Sasamura

Remember that story about how a young Shinichiro Tominaga once tried to get into K-DOJO? That’s why he considers Chiba his second home. Both GENTARO & Yasu Urano were involved with K-DOJO at the time Tominaga tried to get in. After all these years will they accept the wrestler he has grown into?

It was a big surprise to see Naoya Nomura show up yesterday asking to wrestle a match in Ganpro. He and Mizuki Watase have formed team in Capture International called REAL BLOOD and they are ready to show it to a new audience. Watase wants everyone to know that he wrestles in other places besides Ganpro so an alliance like this did not come from out of nowhere.

GANBARE☆PRO “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA”, 10/07/2022
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium

1. Special Tag Match ~ CDK Vs ROMANCE DAWN: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Shota & Soma Takao
2. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Yumehito Imanari (c) Vs Ken Ohka

The biggest match in Ganpro history is set. Ken Ohka founded Ganpro in 2013 and Yumehito Imanari was his very first signing. Fast forward to 2022 and they will fight each other in a headline match at Ota Ward Gymnsium. Imanari’s newly won Spirit Of Ganbare Title will also be on the line.

Shota & Soma Takao are having a blast teaming together as ROMANCE DAWN. They now want to take on the best teams around and that means CDK are in their sights. CDK are ready for them but are a little confused that ROMANCE DAWN have not asked for any of their tag team championships to be on the line. For now the match is non-title and advertised as a special attraction.


GANBARE☆PRO “LOVE PHANTOM 2022” Results

May 3, 2022

GANBARE☆PRO “LOVE PHANTOM 2022”, 03/05/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
380 Fans

1. Punch Drunker Vs Nobleman Of The Spirit World: Onryo defeated Tyson Maeguchi with a Cradle (9:30).
2. Ganpro Specialty Mixed Tag Match: HARUKAZE & Tsuyoshi Okada defeated Yuu Yamagata & Shinichiro Tominaga when Okada submitted Tominaga with a Cross Armbreaker (6:40).
3. Nippon Ganbare Union Vs VENYU Full-Scale Battle: Yuki Kamifuku & Asuka defeated Yuna Manase & YuuRI when Kamifuku pinned YuuRI with the Famouser (11:30).
4. Ganpro’s Famous 3 Way Battle! ROMANCE DAWN Vs ChocoPro Vs BASARA: Shota & Soma Takao defeated Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda and Takumi Tsukamoto & Yasu Urano when Shota pinned Honda with the Gannosuke Clutch (14:43).
5. Ganpro Special Single Match ~A Better Tomorrow~: Ken Ohka defeated Muscle Sakai with 3 Flame Spears in a row (11:09).
6. LOVE PHANTOM 2022 ~Special Tag Match~: Keisuke Ishii & Kouki Iwasaki defeated Shuichiro Katsumura & Mizuki Watase when Ishii pinned Watase with the Kneel Kick (21:56).
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Yumehito Imanari defeated Tatsuhito Takaiwa (c) with a Lariat (17:20).
*Tatsuhito Takaiwa fails in V4. Yumehito Imanari becomes the 2nd Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Champion!

The Imanari Revolution that began four years ago has reached its climax. Yumehito Imanari is the new Spirit Of Ganbare Champion! The first champion Tatsuhito Takaiwa looked to be unbeatable especially when he used the Death Valley Bomb to put away all challengers. But today Imanari withstood the move, forcing the champion to hit an Avalanche version and tiring him out in the process. The two got into a Lariat duel until Imanari gave Takaiwa a taste of his own medicine by using his own finisher on him! Takaiwa kicked out at two but was finally down for the count after Imanari hit him with one more Lariat.

Imanari thanked Takaiwa for coming to Ganbare☆Pro and increasing the value of the title by being its first champion. Imanari defeated him today but the respect he has for him remains the same. Takaiwa told Imanari to polish the belt and make it even more valuable. He also gave out words of encouragement for the injured Shinjiro Otani. When he left, Ken Ohka came out and challenged Imanari for a title shot at Ota Ward Gymnasium on 10th July. Imanari accepted because if it wasn’t for Ohka and Ganpro, he would not be in this position today.

The pure-blooded tag team match showdown between Keisuke Ishii & Kouki Iwasaki against Shuichiro Katsumura & Mizuki Watase was a hard fought battle. Watase was taken to his limit by Ishii. It took two Tiger Suplexes and the Kneel Kick to finally put him away. Katsumura wants it to be known that these four all represent Ganpro and it is up to them to make Ganpro more exciting. He also welcomes adding more wrestlers to the promotion. He said this in response to the big appearance after the match.

Former All Japan wrestler Naoya Nomura entered the ring after the tag match. He called it an exciting match, one that makes him want to be involved with them. So on 14th May when Ganpro goes to Chiba he wants to wrestle a match there! Nomura is currently involved with a promotion called Capture International where he and Watase formed a team called REAL BLOOD. He asked Watase if they should bring REAL BLOOD to Ganpro!

Ken Ohka’s journey back to the top of the mountain he created led him to an emotional match with his close friend Muscle Sakai. Their match featured voices coming from their hearts, interrupting the action to tell the audience what their friendship meant to them. It also revealed their true motives. Sakai wants to beat Ohka while Ohka never wants to lose! In the end Ohka had to hit Sakai with the Fire Spear three times before he finally won. Ohka declared his challenge for the Spirit Of Ganbare Title afterwards and spoke of his joy over getting to wrestle Sakai again. Sakai spoke of discovering something thanks to this match. He found out he does his best when his opponent is trying to kill him!

The 3 Way Tag match ended with ROMANCE DAWN getting their hands raised. Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda almost had Takumi Tsukamoto beaten but Yasu Urano made the save. Honda then got into an exchange with Shota. He started winding up for a big Bionic Elbow when Shota suddenly rolled him over with the Gannosuke Clutch to score the three count. Shota said he’s been teaming with Soma Takao for half a year now and they’re getting good responses. It makes him enthusiastic to fight the best tag teams out there so he wants ROMANCE DAWN to take on CDK at Ota Ward Gym! Masahiro Takanashi questioned if Shota only wants it to be a “Special Tag Match” and not for any of their tag team championships. But he accepted the challenge to a match on 10th July.

The friendship between Yuna Manase and Yuki Kamifuku was briefly put aside when Nippon Ganbare Union took on VENYU. The heavy hits came from Manase and Asuka while YuuRI stepped up to give Kamifuku some trouble. Asuka wiped out Manase with an Asai Moonsault. YuuRI’s momentum of nearfalls got cut down when Kamifuku gave her the Famouser. The win for VENYU was a natural result according to Asuka. Manase and Kamifuku though put aside their problems and shook hands after the match.

A mixed tag match reunited HARUKAZE with Yuu Yamagata, although they were on opposite sides here. The result was determined by the men though when Tsuyoshi Okada made Shinichiro Tominaga submit to a Cross Armbreaker.

No matter how much Tyson Maeguchi is learning about pro wrestling, nothing could have prepared him for Onryo. Plenty of dusty ectoplasm flew around and covered Maeguchi inside, outside and even underneath the ring. A referee distraction caused Maeguchi to get blinded with more powder so Onryo could roll him up for the three count.


3rd May Lineups For TJPW & Ganpro, First Announcements For CyberFight Festival 2022

May 2, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “YES! WONDERLAND 2022 ~SPREAD THE WINGS OF YOUR DREAMS~”, 03/05/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta
2. Exhibition Match: Reika Saiki Vs Arisu Endo
3. Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami
4. Suzume Vs Juria Nagano
5. Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Yuki Arai Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku
6. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Hikaru Shida & Moka Miyamoto
7. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Hyper Misao

The Princess Tag Team Titles match has been moved to the opening spot of the card. Yuka Sakazaki is pretty much leaving Japan for trip to America as soon as her match is done. As I write this post, AEW has not advertised her for any of their shows yet. Their much maligned habit of only booking one women’s match per TV show suggests she may not be on Dynamite or Rampage this week because both episodes are already advertising a women’s match each. It all depends on how long she will be in America for because flying her over on short notice just for an appearance on Dark or Elevation will be weird. It’s not like Hikaru Shida is going back with her either because she has a full schedule in Japan all week this week.

GANBARE☆PRO “LOVE PHANTOM 2022”, 03/05/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Punch Drunker Vs Nobleman Of The Spirit World: Tyson Maeguchi Vs Onryo
2. Ganpro Specialty Mixed Tag Match: Yuu Yamagata & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs HARUKAZE & Tsuyoshi Okada
3. Nippon Ganbare Union Vs VENYU Full-Scale Battle: Yuna Manase & YuuRI Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Asuka
4. Ganpro’s Famous 3 Way Battle! ROMANCE DAWN Vs ChocoPro Vs BASARA: Shota & Soma Takao Vs Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Yasu Urano
5. Ganpro Special Single Match ~A Better Tomorrow~: Ken Ohka Vs Muscle Sakai
6. LOVE PHANTOM 2022 ~Special Tag Match~: Keisuke Ishii & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Mizuki Watase
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Tatsuhito Takaiwa (c) Vs Yumehito Imanari

Tomorrow is now or never for Yumehito Imanari.

GANBARE☆PRO “A HOMANSU 2022”, 14/05/2022
Chiba 2AW Square

1. GanJo Super Fight In Chiba: Moeka Haruhi & YuuRI Vs HARUKAZE & Ann Cham
2. Yuna Manase Triumphant Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Kaji Tomato & Yuna Manase Vs Keisuke Ishii, Shota & Ayame Sasamura

The Ganbare☆Joshi division gets another visit from Ann Cham. Also Moeka Haruhi is expected to be back from illness to take part in the match.

“CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022”, 12/06/2022
Saitama Super Arena

1. NOAH Vs DDT Battle ~ Special Single Match: Kenoh Vs Daisuke Sasaki
2. GHC Heavyweight Title: Go Shiozaki (c) Vs Satoshi Kojima

The NOAH side of CyberFight announced their headline match for “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022”. The GHC Heavyweight Title will be on the line when the new champion Go Shiozaki defends against… Satoshi Kojima from New Japan? Kojima’s surprise appearance in NOAH over the weekend had some fans talking about him potentially jumping ship. His presence here is a little bit similar to Jun Akiyama working with DDT while still under contract to All Japan. The two companies made a deal at the time allowing Akiyama to work with DDT but he ended up staying there until his contract with All Japan ended. Then a few weeks later Akiyama was all clear to sign with DDT. Maybe something similar is happening here because at the moment Kojima is reportedly still under contract to New Japan. He is being coy over it. He wore a NOAH shirt for his appearance and made vague comments on social media about why he is doing this now. The other big story driving this match is Kojima’s attempt to achieve a grand slam of wrestling championships with him already being a former IWGP, NWA and Triple Crown Champion.

Kenoh crashed the party at “MEGA MAX BUMP 2022” yesterday, complaining about DDT like he usually does whenever he has to show up here. He wanted another fight with Sanshiro Takagi but instead drew the attention of Daisuke Sasaki. The challenge for this one is if Kenoh is looking to fight the best wrestler in DDT then Sasaki is standing right here. Kenoh is disgusted to see Sasaki of all people stand up for DDT so the match between them is going ahead.

NOAH announced that Rob Van Dam will be on the show. Look I can’t complain here and act like DDT is above this. Remember when they booked Sabu back in 2018?


Golden Week 2022 Lineups

April 28, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR ’22”, 29/04/2022
Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall

1. Miu Watanabe Vs Haruna Neko
2. Yuki Aino Vs Kaya Toribami
3. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta Vs Rika Tatsumi & Arisu Endo
4. Miyu Yamashita Vs Moka Miyamoto
5. Shoko Nakajima & Pom Harajuku Vs Hyper Misao & Suzume
6. Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Raku Vs Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu

The Golden Week pro wrestling schedule is about to begin or already begun depending on what companies you follow. I’m feeling antsy about it this year because over the last few days several wrestlers from across the scene have tested positive for covid. I wouldn’t be surprised if there will be more wrestlers getting sick and pulling out of these upcoming shows. Fingers crossed that everyone stays safe over the busiest time of the year in puroresu.

DDT “JUST BEFORE YOKOHAMA BUDOKAN! ROJO PRO WRESTLING IN I-CANAL STREET”, 29/04/2022
Yokohama i-Canal Street

1. Falls Count Anywhere 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Yukio Naya & Yuki Ishida

The match will air live on DDT’s Youtube channel.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR ’22”, 30/04/2022
Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall

1. Yuki Aino Vs Arisu Endo
2. Suzume Vs Kaya Toribami
3. Maki Itoh Vs Moka Miyamoto
4. 3 Way Match: Rika Tatsumi Vs Raku Vs Haruna Neko
5. Miyu Yamashita & Miu Watanabe Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu
6. Shoko Nakajima, Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Hyper Misao, Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta

Pom Harajuku will not be at the show due to family reasons.

DDT “MEGA MAX BUMP 2022 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 01/05/2022
Yokohama Budokan

0. Dark Match: KANON Vs Yuya Koroku
0. Dark Match: Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Antonio Honda & Yuki Ishida
1. Shinya Aoki Vs Toui Kojima
2. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Thanomsak Toba (w/ Naomi Susan) (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Yoshiaki Yatsu, Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Gota Ihashi
3. Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Maya Yukihi & Shunma Katsumata
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ Pheromones Vs GM Imabayashi Final Battle: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Hisaya Imabayashi, AKIRA & Muscle Sakai
5. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & X Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Soma Takao
6. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Hikaru Sato Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi
7. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Asuka
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Kitai Jisho Group K.O. GYM Presents: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Yuki Ueno

Gorgeous Matsuno will not be at the show due to family circumstances. Gota Ihashi will take his place in the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles match.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “YES! WONDERLAND 2022 ~SPREAD THE WINGS OF YOUR DREAMS~”, 03/05/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Hikaru Shida & Moka Miyamoto
2. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta
3. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Hyper Misao

They’re leaving it late to put out the full card. No need to worry though, it will likely be revealed after this weekend’s shows. Yuki Arai and Juria Nagano are advertised for the show along with Reika Saiki’s retirement ceremony.

GANBARE☆PRO “LOVE PHANTOM 2022”, 03/05/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Punch Drunker Vs Nobleman Of The Spirit World: Tyson Maeguchi Vs Onryo
2. Ganpro Specialty Mixed Tag Match: Yuu Yamagata & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs HARUKAZE & Tsuyoshi Okada
3. Nippon Ganbare Union Vs VENYU Full-Scale Battle: Yuna Manase & YuuRI Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Asuka
4. Ganpro’s Famous 3 Way Battle! ROMANCE DAWN Vs ChocoPro Vs BASARA: Shota & Soma Takao Vs Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Yasu Urano
5. LOVE PHANTOM 2022 ~Special Tag Match~: Keisuke Ishii & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Mizuki Watase
6. Ganpro Special Single Match ~A Better Tomorrow~: Ken Ohka Vs Muscle Sakai
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Tatsuhito Takaiwa (c) Vs Yumehito Imanari

In a Yahoo interview promoting the show, Shuichiro Katsumura calls his match a Ganbare Pure Blood Tag Match. He wants to have a match that will make fans think he should be the next challenger for the Spirit Of Ganbare Title.

Earlier this week Moeka Haruhi tested positive for covid and missed the Pocchari Joshi show. She will also be absent from this show. Yuu Yamagata takes her place in the mixed tag match. It’s a chance for HARUKAZE to show her first hand how much she has grown since they were last together.

A donation box for Shinjiro Otani will be set up in the venue. Ganbare☆Pro will also be selling Otani portraits with all proceeds going toward his medical expenses.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GO GO DO IT”, 05/05/2022
Osaka Edion Arena #2

1. Miyu Yamashita & Miu Watanabe Vs Saki Akai & Yuki Kamifuku
2. Osaka Special 8-Woman Tag Match: Yuki Arai, Suzume, Moka Miyamoto & Arisu Endo Vs Maki Itoh, Princess Of Princess Champion & Princess Tag Team Champions

The aftermath of Korakuen Hall will be filled with matches based on the results of that show. Saki Akai & Yuki Kamifuku wanted to team together so they will get a match against Momoiro Sparkling. It will be interesting to see how Akai and Miyu Yamashita will act towards each other. Their history in Tokyo Joshi Pro has been retconned into Yamashita feuding with Sakisama. But if anyone asks one doesn’t have anything to do with the other, wink wink.