DDT Around The World – January 2025

February 1, 2025

A new year means new adventures and a fresh sense of excitement to go exploring again. Konosuke Takeshita now has work with New Japan to deal with alongside his AEW duties. It’s opened up a whole new group of opponents to fight in America as well as Japan, especially since he has a championship in each company he wants to defend often. Yuka Sakazaki had a very big month by taking part in a special retirement match and also getting a big chance to do some things on AEW TV. But now that has come and gone I worry that she’s going to vanish from the shows again. Yuki Kamifuku is continuing her series of matches with Alexis Lee across Southeast Asia. Maki Itoh went on tour across the world with GCW but sadly lost her championship along the way.

A lot more destinations are coming up in the Springtime. Chile gets to experience Tokyo Joshi Pro on their own soil, Takeshita gets a very big tag match in Australia, Miyu Yamashita gets to wrestle in Germany for the first time and all roads will be leading us towards the bright lights of Las Vegas. I know I got the tickets I want for Wrestlemania Week.

———————————————————————–

Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


IWA Thailand/SETUP “BANGKOK NAVIGATION”, 18/01/2025
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. IWA Japan World Heavyweight Title Tournament – Qualifying Match: Masahiro Takanashi Vs Jonathan Johnson

AEW “COLLISION – HOMECOMING”, 25/01/2025
Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA


1. TBS Title No. 1 Contender 4 Way Match: Queen Aminata Vs Deonna Purazzo Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Serena Deeb


2. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Katsuyori Shibata


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 29/01/2025
Propst Arena At Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama, USA

1. TBS Title: Mercedes Moné (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki

———————————————————————–

Results


NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM 19 IN TOKYO DOME”, 04/01/2025
Tokyo Dome, Japan
24,107 Fans

1. NEVER Openweight Title & AEW International Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (I/c) defeated Shingo Takagi (N/c) with the Raging Fire (11:42).
*V5 for KONOSUKE TAKESHITA. Shingo Takagi fails in V2. Becomes the 47th/11th Champion!

I already wrote about Takeshita’s big weekend at the Tokyo Dome. You can read it here.


NJPW/AEW/CMLL/STARDOM/ROH “WRESTLE DYNASTY”, 05/01/2025
Tokyo Dome, Japan
16,300 Fans

1. NEVER Openweight Title & AEW International Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c/c) defeated Tomohiro Ishii with the Raging Fire (13:30).
*V1 for NEVER Openweight Title. V6 for AEW International Title.

Same as above.


SPW “CHAMPIONS NEVER YIELD 3”, 10/01/2025
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Queen Of Asia Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c) defeated Alexis Lee with the Diving Famouser (?:??).
V6 for Yuki Kamifuku.

As far as I know it was just the Queen Of Asia Title that was on the line for Kamifuku’s latest appearance at Singapore Pro Wrestling. Her rivalry with Alexis Lee may have turned friendly but Lee still wants to win that title back. Kamifuku was able to beat her again for another title defence. It also won’t be the last time this year they fight each other in SPW. More on that later.


NJPW “BATTLE IN THE VALLEY”, 11/01/2025
San Jose Civic, San Jose, California, USA

1. Sumie Sakai Retirement Match – Tornado Tag Match: Hiromu Takahashi, Mayu Iwatani & Yuka Sakazaki defeated Sumi Sakai, EVIL & SHO when Takahashi pinned Sakai with the TIME BOMB (14:42).
2. NEVER Openweight Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) defeated KUSHIDA with the Raging Fire (15:08).
*V2 for KONOSUKE TAKESHITA.

With a new path forged in New Japan, Takeshita went to fight for the company over in America. California was the place where his next NEVER Openweight Title defence was scheduled. KUSHIDA was his challenger in his latest attempt to take on the heavyweights. His gameplan was to start with breaking down Takeshita’s arm before switching to his legs with sweeping Leg Kicks. The plan worked in that it did weaken Takeshita’s moveset and made the match more competitive than first it looked on paper. But Takeshita was able to stand tall in the end and put away KUSHIDA. Takeshita then went ahead and called his shot. When Hiroshi Tanahashi has his final match in America before he retires, Takeshita wants to be his opponent!

If you want to watch a feel good wrestling match to get you out of the new year dumps, go seek out Sumie Sakai’s retirement bout. She teamed up with House Of Torture members EVIL & SHO because of their connections back in their American excursions days. Sakazaki was one of the many people who wanted to be a part of the match as a thank you to Sakai. She got chosen among the lucky trio that included Hiromu Takahashi from NJPW & Mayu Iwatani from Stardom. There was also a female Kamaitachi hanging around at ringside who nobody has been able to identify since (I’ve seen a few guesses it was Iyo Sky because she was in attendance and I appreciate the cheekiness of it if true). Sakazaki whacked SHO over the head with a foreign object and gave him the Tea Time. Sakai ended up fighting on her own and kept kicking out for as long as she could. Takahashi eventually kept her down for the count with the TIME BOMB.


IWA Thailand/SETUP “BANGKOK NAVIGATION”, 18/01/2025
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. IWA Japan World Heavyweight Title Tournament – Qualifying Match: Jonathan Johnson defeated Masahiro Takanashi with the Swanton Bomb (?:??).

This month saw SETUP become the new bearers of the International Wrestling Association brand by launching the debut IWA Thailand show. Masahiro Takanashi went over to take part in a tournament to determine the No. 1 Contender for the IWA Japan World Heavyweight Title. He had no problem being the bad guy against Jonathan Johnson and even got some ringside help from Shota getting in Johnson’s way whenever it was convenient. However Johnson fought off the numbers disadvantage and made Shota Super Kick Takanashi by mistake. Johnson then countered the Takatonic into an Implant for a nearfall and then hit the Swanton Bomb to get the upset win, knocking Takanashi out of the tournament in the 1st Round.


GCW “THE PEOPLE VS GCW”, 19/01/2025
Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA

1. GCW Ultraviolent Title & GCW Extreme Title – Doors, Ladders & Chairs Unification Match: Matt Tremont defeated Maki Itoh (E/c), John Wayne Murdoch, Drew Parker, Rina Yamashita, Brandon Kirk, Dr. Redacted and Matthew Justice when Tremont grabbed the titles (15:55).
*Maki Itoh fails in V5. Matt Tremont becomes the 10th GCW Ultraviolent Champion and 11th GCW Extreme Champion!

Maki Itoh took a big gamble and it did not pay off. She wanted to double her title collection in GCW by joining the Doors, Ladders & Chairs match where the vacant GCW Ultraviolent Title was on the line. To do that she agreed to put the GCW Extreme Title up for grabs too so both championships would end up being unified together. John Wayne Murdoch complained about her inclusion at the start of the match, causing Itoh to fake cry so everyone else would attack him in her defence. Itoh also did the ladder spin spot, hitting whoever was in her way until Matthew Justice smashed her with a chair. Her last big spot of the match was diving off a ladder onto everyone else outside the ring. She ended up getting taken out of the match when Drew Parker did the Swanton Bomb from the ladder onto herself and Murdoch through some tables at ringside. Matt Tremont ended up being the last one left to climb the ladder and pull down both belts.


BZW/GCW “ENTER THE ZONE”, 25/01/2025
Espace Isabelle De Hainaut, Rue De Saint-Quentin, France

1. BZW Title: Joseph Fenech Jr. (c) defeated Maki Itoh by Disqualification when Itoh was caught with Brass Knuckles (?:??).
*V7 for Joseph Fenech Jr.

One week later Itoh travelled to Europe with GCW for a weekend of shows in France and England. For a brief moment it looked like Itoh was the new champion of Banger Zone Wrestling when she defeated Joseph Fenech Jr. for the BZW Title. However during the match Fenech placed a pair of brass knuckles into Itoh’s gear so when he lost the match, he complained to the ref and accused Itoh of cheating. The ref inspected Itoh, found the brass knucks “hidden” in her costume and decided to reverse the decision.


AEW “COLLISION – HOMECOMING”, 25/01/2025
Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA

1. TBS Title No. 1 Contender 4 Way Match: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Queen Aminata, Deonna Purazzo and Serena Deeb when Sakazaki pinned Purazzo with a Modified Crucifix Pin (9:28).
2. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Katsuyori Shibata with the Raging Fire (13:29).
*V7 for Konosuke Takeshita.

Back in AEW, Takeshita called out an unexpected opponent to be his next challenger for the AEW International Title. He wanted a piece of Katsuyori Shibata after seeing him winning matches in ROH! It was a match that just as much existed to show everyone that Shibata can still take bumps because Takeshita Suplexed him around quite a bit. Shibata though was able to withstand the attacks and push back, fighting his way towards a possible title change. However Don Callis in a panic left the commentary booth to grab Shibata’s leg from ringside as a distraction. Takeshita then grabbed Shibata for the Blue Thunder Bomb. Shibata kicked out of that with a 1 Count so Takeshita put him away with the Raging Fire.

Sakazaki’s AEW direction for this month centered around the TBS Championship. She was thrown into the mix of a 4 Way Match to determine the No. 1 Contender. Her chances improved when Queen Aminata and Serena Deeb fought their way out of the ring and away from ringside. She also benefitted from Deonna Purrazzo getting distracted by Taya Valkyrie being attacked by Harley Cameron. With Purazzo’s guard now down, Sakazaki cradled her into a Crucifix Pin to score the three count and earn herself a title match.


GCW “LIVE IN LONDON”, 26/01/2025
Electric Ballroom, London, England

1. Maki Itoh defeated Man Like DeReiss with a Mouse Trap (11:56).

What Itoh lacked in size against Man Like DeReiss she more than made up for it with ego and personality. She quickly reacted to DeReiss’s big entrance by telling him she’s “not scared, you pussy!” DeReiss still took her lightly, making quips on the microphone while Body Slamming her. But Itoh started a comeback while the Pokémon theme song played over the speakers. However DeReiss took a page out of Itoh’s playbook by crying crocodile tears so Itoh would go easy on him. His plan almost worked until Itoh countered a Power Slam into the Mouse Trap cradle to get the pin out of nowhere.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 29/01/2025
Propst Arena At Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama, USA

1. TBS Title: Mercedes Moné (c) defeated Yuka Sakazaki with the Money Maker (13:40).
*V13 for Mercedes Moné.

Remember back when Mercedes Moné would put out photos and videos on social media of her training at the TJPW dojo and hanging out with the roster? Well after all that time we finally got to see her wrestle a match against someone TJPW related. Moné and Sakazaki got the main event slot on Dynamite for their TBS Title match. Sakazaki got out of the Statement Maker by cradling it into a nearfall. She thought she had Moné where she wanted her by doing a Snap German Suplex. But Moné blocked the Magical Girl Splash with her knees and eventually pinned her with the Moné Maker.


JERICHO CRUISE “CHRIS JERICHO’S ROCK ‘N’ WRESTLING RAGER – SIX ON THE BEACH – NIGHT 1”, 31/01/2025
Norwegian Pearl Cruise Ship

1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Viva Van (?:??).
2. AEW International Title Eliminator Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Tommy Billington (?:??).

Both Takeshita and Sakazaki were a part of Chris Jericho’s annual Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager At Sea cruise. There were four days of shows but from what I could find Sakazaki only wrestled on the first day, beating Viva Van. Takeshita beat the new “Dynamite Kid” Tommy Billington on his first match of the cruise. It has since been promoted in AEW canon as an AEW International Title eliminator match for Ring Of Honor TV. I’ll go through the rest of Takeshita’s matches in next month’s article.

———————————————————————–

Upcoming Appearances


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AEX32 SANTIAGO 2025”, 09/02/2025
Estación Mapocho Cultural Center, Santiago, Chile

1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Casey
2. Aja Kong Vs Roma
3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Pandora & Sara Phoenix

The AEX Santiago convention welcomes Tokyo Joshi Pro to Chile in February. The Princess Tag Team Titles will be defended over there too, possibly changing the course of “GRAND PRINCESS ’25” if 121000000 lose the belts over there. Fans over there will also get to see Aja Kong and Moka Miyamoto in action.


AEW “GRAND SLAM AUSTRALIA”, 15/02/2025
Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia

1. Will Ospreay & Kenny Omega Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher

There’s a lot of logistical confusion going around AEW’s Australia debut but it’s still working out better than that time Takeshita was booked by Sub-Zero Pro back in 2019. He’ll be teaming with Australia’s own Kyle Fletcher as the two members of the Don Callis Family face the combined wrath of Will Ospreay & Kenny Omega!


SPW “UNCHAINED”, 07/03/2025
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Yuki Kamifuku & The Statement Vs Alexis Lee & Da Butcherman

Kamifuku and Lee’s rivalry remains in Singapore for the time being. This time Kamifuku will get involved in a mixed tag match for the first time in SPW. She teams with The Statement (aka Andruew Tang) while Lee will team with Da Butcherman.


WXW “16 CARAT GOLD – NIGHT 3”, 09/03/2025
Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Some of the best wrestling weekends I’ve ever had were in Germany for the 16 Carat Gold tournament. Yamashita’s debut for wXw is only going to be for the third night though. That’s a shame because if she did the entire weekend there would have been a whole list of interesting new matches for her to do.


NJPW “WINDY CITY RIOT”, 11/04/2025
Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Hiroshi Tanahashi Last Match In The USA Final Road ~Kinship~: Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA

America gets a rematch over a decade in the making. In the 2nd year Anniversary of Takeshita’s debut match, he got to fight Tanahashi in his prime at DDT’s Sumo Hall show. He had respect for him for years afterward until 2015 when Tanahashi embarrassed DDT in the same venue. When Takeshita competed in the G1 Climax last year he brought up that situation as a reason for him to chase after Tanahashi in New Japan. Now that Tanahashi is getting ready to retire next year, there’s not a lot of time left to make this match happen. So Takeshita made the demand to be the opponent for Tanahashi’s last match in America (unless AEW gets the itch to book him on super short notice later in the year).


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

1. Maya World Vs Miu Watanabe

DDT and TJPW’s schedule for Wrestlemania Week is focused on the Friday and Saturday. However Miu Watanabe’s schedule unexpectedly starts a little bit earlier. On the Thursday she will be competing in Pandemonium Pro against the promising wrestler from Texas, Maya World.


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

The sixteen women TJPW are planning to bring over to Las Vegas are Mizuki, Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh, Suzume, Yuki Kamifuku, Pom Harajuku, Shoko Nakajima, Rika Tatsumi, Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Arisu Endo, Yuki Arai, Wakana Uehara and Shino Suzuki. There will be a few more international wrestlers taking part too.


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

The first group of DDT wrestlers coming over for the show are MAO, Shinya Aoki, Daisuke Sasaki, Yukio Naya, Antonio Honda, Ilusion, Yuni and Kazuma Sumi. A lot of the regular talent have already been advertised for DDT’s shows back in Japan the same weekend so this might be your lot outside of the guests.


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

Tickets for all three shows are on sale now.


DDT Around The World – August 2024

September 1, 2024

The end of the summer turned out to not go as planned for a few people. Maki Itoh suffered a hand injury that cut short her latest GCW tour. Yuna Manase had some travel problems get in the way of her first time visit to America but at least her story ended happily for her. She ended up winning a championship over there! Things went smoother for Tokyo Joshi Pro as their co-promoted show with EVE in England was a big success. The EVE promoters have their own stories to tell about searching for venues, dealing with the ticket operators and having last minute changes with their production team but once the show began it could not have gone any better in the venue s far as I could tell. Miyu Yamashita also had time to wrestle in a few other places before she heads back to Japan.

The end of the month also had Konosuke Takeshita return to AEW. After his performance in the G1 Climax reminded everyone of his talents (not that we should need any reminding), there is understandably a lack of enthusiasm online to see him go back to AEW where his main role is to stand behind Don Callis’ shoulder week after week. That his first match back happened on Rampage doesn’t do much to quell those worries. With that said though it was a cracking match anyway. If the second Continental Classic happens this year we’re probably still over a month or to away from it.

Heading into September we’re going to see Itoh go back to America. It does not sound like she’s at 100% but she isn’t going to say no to making some more money over there if she’s in any way able to. Some TJPW wrestlers will be spreading their wings around Asia with championships there for the taking. There is a new company opening up in Canada that Takeshita and Yamashita will appear in. Wrestling fans in general might do well to pay attention to that place in regards to whether or not it will effect TNA in the long run given who has been associated with it so far. But if you don’t care about that and want to keep talk to just DDT and TJPW, there is the road to Seattle coming up. We’ll be there before you know it!

———————————————————————–

Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 28/08/2024 (Aired 30/08/2024)
State Farm Arena, Champaign, Illinois, USA

1. 4 Way Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs The Beast Mortos Vs Komander Vs Lio Rush

———————————————————————–

Results


GCW “NOW AND FOREVER”, 02/08/2024
TempleLive Cleveland Masonic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

1. GCW Extreme Title: Maki Itoh (c) defeated John Wayne Murdoch with a School Boy (5:51).
*V2 for Maki Itoh.

Itoh’s first GCW appearance of her tour was against one of the promotion’s death match specialists John Wayne Murdoch. It was also made into a GCW Extreme Title defence. Murdoch got under Itoh’s skin early when he grabbed a “Respect Maki Itoh Or Die” sign and stomped on it in the ring. He then tried to win her over by allowing Itoh to sing for the fans but that was only so he could attack her from behind. Murdhoch brought in a steel chair and tried to Suplex Itoh onto it. Itoh avoided the move and gave Murdoch a Stunner, making him land back and head first into the chair. She then rolled him up with a School Boy to win the match and retain the Extreme Title.


GCW “CAN I TRUST YOU?”, 04/08/2024
House Of Independents, Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA

1. GCW Extreme Title: Maki Itoh (c) defeated Allie Katch with a Mouse Trap (8:32).
*V3 for Maki Itoh.

Later in the weekend Itoh had another Extreme Title defence, this time against Allie Katch. The two get along and have teamed together in the past so their match was all trying to outdo each other. Itoh tried to trick Katch with crocodile tears so Katch decided to lie down and let Itoh do a Kokeshi Headbutt. Except Katch got back up and cut her off to take control of the match. Itoh fired up when her head hit the turnbuckle and she hit a Draping DDT onto the ring apron. The fight came down to duelling strikes and then Itoh trying several different pinning combinations. She finally got the three count on Katch by giving her the Mouse Trap cradle.


SPW “HARDCORE ISLAND 2: A FINE CITY”, 16/08/2024
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. 3 Way Match: Alexis Lee defeated Miyu Yamashita and Kaya Toribami when Lee pinned Toribami after the Skull Kick from Yamashita (?:??).

Over in Singapore both Yamashita and Kaya Toribami were flying the flag for TJPW in a 3 Way Match against Alexis Lee. It was every woman for herself and Lee took advantage of that. Yamashita knocked down Toribami with the Skull Kick only for Lee to steal the pin.


KITSUNE “YABAI!”, 18/08/2024
1110 Bates Ave, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Kitsune World Title: Yuna Manase defeated Megan Bayne and J-Rod when Manase pinned J-Rod with a Lariat (10:11).
*Yuna Manase becomes the 2nd Kitsune World Champion!

It was a long journey for Manase to get to America (more details at the end of the report) but she finally got there and ended up winning a championship! Due to circumstances with her visa, Sayaka Unagi couldn’t make the show and had to vacate the Kitsune World Title. It was now up for grabs in the 3 Way Match that Manase was booked in against J-Rod and Megan Bayne. At one point Manase and Bayne worked together and gave J-Rod the Doomsday Device. Bayne was then taken out of play by J-Rod’s Spear. J-Rod went for the same move on Manase but missed and hit the corner. Manase knocked her down with the Lariat and got the three count to win the title! She celebrated by getting the fans to shout “We are Ganbare!” along with her.


EVE/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “EVE X TJPW: JAPAN & UK WRESTLING UNITE!”, 24/08/2024
Conway Hall, London, England
??? Fans – Unannounced

0. Triple Threat Match: Skye Smitson defeated Anita Vaughan and Kasey when Smitson pinned Vaughan with the Smitson Effect (7:49)
1. Mahiro Kiryu defeated HIMAWARI with the Spinebuster (11:15).
2. Alex Windsor defeated Lena Kross with a Sharpshooter (11:46).
3. Raku defeated Session Moth Martina with the Hurricane Turn (6:18).
4. Zizi & Safire Reed Vs Aja Kong & Max The Impaler defeated Zizi & Safire Reed when Kong pinned Reed with the 2nd Rope Diving Elbow Drop (11:06).
5. EVE Title: Nina Samuels (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Starstruck (19:39).
*V5 for Nina Samuels.

The report for this show can be found here.


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 28/08/2024 (Aired 30/08/2024)
State Farm Arena, Champaign, Illinois, USA

1. 4 Way Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated The Beast Mortos, Komander (w/ Alex Abrahantes) and Lio Rush when Takeshita pinned Komander with the Raging Fire (13:53).

Takeshita’s first appearance in AEW since returning from the G1 was for a wild 4 Way Match against The Beast Mortos, Komander and Lio Rush. He was back to using his actual AEW theme and Callis kept himself to the commentary table. The match was wild as you had the power and speed of Takeshita and Mortos along with the speed and agility of Komander and Rush all mixing up together. Mortos soon wiped out Rush with a Spear and broke Komander over his knee. Takeshita then hit Mortos with the Powerdrive Knee to get rid of him. Komander tried to roll up Takeshita but got a nearfall. Takeshita spun him into the Blue Thunder Bomb and used the Raging Fire to get the win.


MLW “SUMMER OF THE BEASTS”, 29/08/2024
Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA

1. Delmi Exo defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Delmi Driver (6:15).

In an MLW rematch from last December, Delmi Exo got her win back from Yamashita. By winning the match Exo declared herself the No. 1 contender for the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title.


GCW “LIVE FAST DIE YOUNG”, 31/08/2024
Thalia Hall, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Megan Bayne defeated Miyu Yamashita by Disqualification when Broski Jimmy attacked Bayne with a Chair (15:38).

The rematch between Yamashita and Bayne from DREAMWAVE earlier this year took place in GCW but was ruined by outside interference. Bayne gave Yamashita a Choke Slam and was about to use the Tombstone Piledriver when Broski Jimmy ran into the ring with a chair and hit Bayne with it. Yamashita stopped the attack and gave Jimmy the Skull Kick. Bayne got her hands on him too with a Choke Slam and Yamashita followed up by hitting Jimmy over the head with the chair! Bayne then finished him off with the Tombstone. After that was done the two women had a stare down before deciding to shake each other’s hands.

———————————————————————–

Upcoming Appearances


F1RST “SATURDAY NIGHT NITRO”, 07/09/2024
Mall Of America, Bloomington, Minnesota, USA

1. Allie Katch & Effy Vs Danhausen & Maki Itoh

The second half of Itoh’s American tour is going ahead despite her injury. One of her next matches will be to team with Danhausen to take on Bussy. That does not sound like the most physically demanding of matchups so even if her hand is not at 100% she’ll be find going out there. The F1RST show is also noteworthy because it is their annual visit to the Mall Of America were the first episode of WCW Nitro was famously taped. This is the third year in a row F1RST are running a show there.


MKW “CHAMPIONSHIP SUPERCARD FROM SHANGHAI”, 14/09/2024
Bandai Namco Shanghai Base, Shanghai, China

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

The next Queen Of Asia Title defence is taking place in China next month. Crystal believes Yuki Kamifuku is not ready to take on an opponent with her kind of wrath, tenacity and power.


GCW “BAD ONE”, 14/09/2024
Harpos Concert Center, Detroit, Michigan, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Kylie Rae

Even after Itoh pulled out of her August dates, GCW continued to promote her September appearances so they already knew how long her recovery would take. Her match with Kyle Rae that was meant to happen on 31st August will now take place on 14th September.


GCW “THA G-CODE”, 15/09/2024
Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, New York, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

This will be the weekend before “WRESTLE PRINCESS V” back in Japan so she will at least get some ring rust off her before heading back to TJPW.


DPW “CAROLINA CLASSIC”, 15/09/2024
Durham Convention Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA

1. Battle Of The Best – Round 2: Shoko Nakajima Vs Trish Adora

Another visit to Deadlock Pro for Shoko Nakajima as she continues the inaugural Battle Of The Best tournament. She faces Trish Adora in Round 2 and the winner advances to the final scheduled for 13th October.


SETUP “CHAOPHRAYA VOYAGE: 12TH ANNIVERSARY OF THAI WRESTLING”, 28/09/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Match: Matcha (c) Vs Raku Vs Pom Harajuku

Fresh back from visiting England, Raku is going to travel again this time to Thailand and with Pom Harajuku following her. The travel buddies will be opponents though as they both take on Matcha for the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title in a 3 Way free for all.


MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 1”, 19/10/2024
St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Josh Alexander Vs Konosuke Takeshita?

Some interesting news coming out of the Canadian scene. Scott D’Amore was fired as president of TNA back in February and in the meantime went about establishing a new venture called Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling. Takeshita will be there for the debut weekend of shows. The first match announced for the weekend is Takeshita against Josh Alexander in a rematch of their 20 minute draw from Garden State Pro Wrestling back in July 2022. Maple Leaf Pro haven’t made clear yet if the match is happening on Night 1 or Night 2.


MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 2”, 20/10/2024
St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Josh Alexander Vs Konosuke Takeshita?

Yamashita will also be booked for both shows that weekend.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “BRIGHT EYES”, 09/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

The twelve wrestlers from TJPW making the trip are Miu Watanabe, Suzume, Arisu Endo, Yuki Kamifuku, Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Rika Tatsumi, Mizuki, Maki Itoh, Yuki Aino, Moka Miyamoto and Wakana Uehara. There will be around 6-8 local or American wrestlers also on the card for a total of 6 or 7 matches.


DDT/DEFY “DDT IN UTERO”, 09/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

Takeshita is the first DDT wrestler announced to be on the show.


DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TRIANGLER DTD”, 10/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

Both Takeshita and the dozen TJPW wrestlers will also be at the weekend finale.

———————————————————————–

Cancelled Appearances


KITSUNE “LOVE MY SHOW!”, 17/08/2024
Brick X Brick, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Aspyn Rose & Yuna Manase Vs Aria Perkins & Delmi Exo

As mentioned above Manase had a hell of an ordeal to go through just to make it to America. Travel from Japan was heavily effected by an incoming typhoon that week and her flight was delayed by many hours. So her first match for Kitsune the day before her title match had to be changed into something without her. Then when she finally made it to America it still took a few more hours to get through immigration customs.


GCW “NO SIGNAL IN THE HILLS PT. 4”, 17/08/2024
Ukrainian Culture Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh Vs Mance Warner & Broski Jimmy

Itoh’s injury cancelled not one but two matches against Mance Warner this month. She would have faced him for the GCW World Title in Japan and then a tag match in America a few days later.


GCW “SAVE ME”, 18/08/2024
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

No appearance at Salt Lake City for Itoh either.


GCW “HOMECOMING – NIGHT 1”, 24/08/2024
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Kerry Morton

I think Kerry Morton lost his booking because he didn’t wrestle on the show from what I could find.


GCW “HOMECOMING – NIGHT 2”, 25/08/2024
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Itoh probably missed out on a few extra Extreme Title defences because of her injury. She is still the champion as far as I’m aware.


GCW “LIVE FAST DIE YOUNG”, 31/08/2024
Thalia Hall, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Kylie Rae

Kylie Rae ended up facing Brooke Havok instead.


INSPIRE A.D. “MAY THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN”, 01/09/2024
Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Devin Carter

Itoh’s getting replaced by Effy on this show.


DDT And TJPW Results From The GCW Japan Tour

August 14, 2024

The GCW tour of Japan continued after their joint show with DDT. They ran two more shows this week both taking place in Shinjuku FACE. The shows also had presence from DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro. The fact that DDT were promoting the cards and posted the results on their website pretty much tells us they had a hand behind the scenes too. I’m just going to focus on the matches relating to both DDT and TJPW in this post.

GCW “THE SKY IS THE LIMIT”, 13/08/2024
Shinjuku FACE
326 Fans

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Broski Jimmy by TKO with the Skull Kick (7:17).
2. GCW Extreme Title: Maki Itoh (c) defeated The Great Sasuke with a Cast Strike (11:49).
*V3 for Maki Itoh.
3. Joey Janella defeated Marcus Mathers with the Package Piledriver (19:37).
4. Effy, Allie Katch & Dark Sheik defeated Aja Kong, Masashi Takeda & MAO when Sheik pinned Kong with the Diving Leg Drop (10:17).
5. Danhausen defeated Kikutaro with a Roll Up (10:43).
6. Rina Yamashita & Masha Slamovich defeated Gringo Loco & Violento Jack when Yamashita pinned Jack after the Super Power Bomb (18:39).
7. GCW World Title: Mance Warner (c) defeated 1 Called Manders with the Impaler DDT (22:47).
*V9 for Mance Warner.

MAO was part of a wild trio put together to take on Thrussy. He teamed with both Masashi Takeda and Aja Kong! Thrussy needed some artillery to even the odds so Allie Katch brought out a water pistol. MAO countered that by finding two bananas and using them to point at everyone like they were guns. That plan backfired when Effy grabbed MAO and forced him to point the bananas on himself. Thrussy were able to gang up on Kong and Dark Sheik hit the Diving Leg Drop on her for the victory. It still took all three members of Thrussy to pile on top of Kong to get the pinfall.

Maki Itoh went into her match against The Great Sasuke with a hand injury, adding more danger since it was also a GCW Extreme Title defence. Sasuke wanted it to be a fair fight so he tried using his spiritual abilities to heal Itoh’s injury. He then targeted her injured hand anyway. Itoh got revenge by attacking Sasuke with a pizza cutter and then striking him with her cast after a ref bump. It dazed Sasuke long enough for the referee to recover and count Itoh’s pin on him.

It is well known by now just how deadly Miyu Yamashita’s Skull Kick is. Today she won her match by Referee Stoppage because the move knocked out Broski Jimmy!

GCW “YOU ONLY DIE ONCE”, 14/08/2024
Shinjuku FACE
375 Fans

1. JCW Title: Masha Slamovich (c) defeated Marcus Mathers with the Half Package Piledriver (15:20).
*V8 for Masha Slamovich.
2. Allie Katch & Dark Sheik defeated Shoko Nakajima & Kaya Toribami when Sheik pinned Toribami with the Welcome to Die (10:14).
3. Tetsuya Endo defeated Gringo Loco with a Tornado Clutch (14:53).
4. GCW Ultraviolent Title: Rina Yamashita (c) defeated 1 Called Manders with the Splash Mountain onto the Chair (13:23).
*V19 for Rina Yamashita.
5. 6-Way Match: Andreza Giant Panda defeated Joey Janela, Broski Jimmy, Kikutaro, Danhausen and Effy when Andreza pinned Janela & Jimmy with the Andreza Press (9:29).
6. GCW World Title: Mance Warner (c) defeated Takayuki Ueki with the Avalanche Impaler DDT onto the Chair (21:03).
*V10 for Mance Warner.

The third and final show of the tour had a few changes to the lineup because of injuries. The big one was Itoh being unable to finish the tour. Her hand injury involves a broken bone so she couldn’t compete in the GCW World Title Match with Mance Warner. Her spot was taken by Takayuki Ueki but Itoh still made an appearance during the match to attack both wrestlers with her pizza cutter.

MAO was thrown into a 6 Way Scramble with a colorful collection of characters. Broski Jimmy recovered from his knockout from the night before, Joey Janela and Effy both wanted to party, Danhausen and Kikutaro had unfinished business but the one who dominated the match more than anyone else was Andreza Giant Panda! Andreza crushed the opposition and pinned both Janela and Jimmy to become the winner.

Zayne was among the injuries that changed the card around. DDT sent in Tetsuya Endo to be his replacement. His match on the show was against Gringo Loco and it turned into a game of one-upmanship. Variations of the One Man Spanish Fly in particular became the point of contention between them. Endo used the Tetsuya In The Sky while Gringo pulled out a Backwards Spanish Fly from the top rope. Soon the aerial attacks were being blocked so Endo pulled out a Tornado Clutch to grab the win in a close contest.

TJPW were also represented on the show by the team of Shoko Nakajima & Kaya Toribami. The two of them fought against The Mothership of Katch & Sheik. The speed and agility of the TJPW duo wasn’t enough to beat the GCW team. Instead Sheik pinned Toribami with the Welcome To Die.


DDT Around The World – March 2024

April 1, 2024

It’s time! The floodgates are open and there is loads of international wrestling to talk about in regards to our buddies in DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro. March was the busiest month Konosuke Takeshita had in ages with some big matches that can be added to his Best Of collection. Maki Itoh made up for lost time in GCW and hit it big by winning one of their championships. CDK went to wrestle in the Phillipines for the first time together. Daisuke Sasaki fitted in a late weekend trip to Mexico before he moves on to the DDT USA show. If that’s not enough, the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title even saw some action in America.

So next up comes the avalanche of wrestling that is Wrestlemania week. Both DDT and TJPW have shows going on in Philadelphia in the upcoming days. Full intro guides for their shows will be posted on this site tomorrow. A few wrestlers will be popping up here and there throughout the week. When that’s done there is even more stuff to follow. Kazusada Higuchi has a US booking coming up. Miyu Yamashita, now without a championship, will begin a two month tour of America. Itoh will always have trips with GCW to look forward to. Plus other joshi like Mizuki, Yuki Kamifuku and Hyper Misao have their own plans lined up as we head towards the summertime.

———————————————————————–

Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 13/03/2024 (Aired 15/03/2024)
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) Vs Komander (w/ Alex Abrahantes)


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 20/03/2024
Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) Vs Rocky Romero


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 27/03/2024
Centre Videotron, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) Vs Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana)

Video starts at 1:24:45
MÁS LUCHA “NACCÍ PERRO, NACÍ PARA SER ELEGIDO”, 31/03/2024
Arena Azteca Budokan, Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico

1. Cirujano Jr. Vs Panic Clown Vs Halloween Jr. Vs Kundra Vs El Fiscal Vs Daisuke Sasaki

———————————————————————–

Results


GCW “PROJECT GCW”, 01/03/2024
Pop’s NightClub, Sauget, Illinois, USA

1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh defeated Ciclope & Miedo Extremo when Gage pinned Ciclope with a Top Rope Piledriver through a Door (9:55).

Maki Death Kill wasted no time at the start of the month. They fought Los Macizos in a chaotic match. Miedo Extremo gave Itoh a slap across the face early that made her start crying but it was only a trap so Itoh could hit him back. Ciclope also riled up Itoh by mimicking her poses. Los Macizos thought they were one step ahead by using forks to counter MDK’s pizza cutters but Nick Gage & Itoh were able to cut them up anyway. Gage was later able to give Ciclope a Piledriver off the top rope through a door for the win.


GCW “KEEP IN TOUCH”, 02/03/2024
Marriott East, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh defeated John Wayne Murdoch & Reed Bentley when Itoh pinned Bentley with the I.S.D. (14:07).

MDK then moved on to fight The Rejects on the next show. Again Itoh faked crying to get the jump on her opponent. This time it was John Wayne Murdoch who fell for it. Itoh ended up arming herself with a stapler and used it to great effect on both Murdoch and Reed Bentley. Murdoch got some revenge by hitting Itoh with a trash can over and over. Gage got rid of Bentley by using the Chokebreaker and then he tackled Murdoch through a table. That set up Itoh to hit Murdoch with the I.S.D. to win the match.


AEW “REVOLUTION”, 03/03/2024
Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

1. Will Ospreay defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Hidden Blade (21:57).

Did The Don Callis Family implode? Not really. Callis is feeling so good about his group wiping out all of their targets that he decided it was time for his two best wrestlers to fight each other on PPV just to rub it in. It was also going to be Will Ospreay’s first AEW match under his full time deal with the company. What followed was a classic match between him and Takeshita, surely one of the best of the year. Even though Takeshita lost he wasn’t out of the title chase yet. Ospreay has other plans on his mind for now and the performance gave Takeshita another path towards fighting for the No. 1 Contendership.


GCW “ASHES TO ASHES”, 09/03/2024
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. GCW Extreme Title – Scramble Match: Maki Itoh defeated Joey Janela (c), Jack Cartwheel, Alex Zayne, Marcus Mathers and Broski Jimmy when Itoh pinned Mathers with a Spinning DDT (7:32).
*Joey Janela fails in V7. Maki Itoh becomes the 10th GCW Extreme Champion!

Itoh’s next GCW appearance was revealed to be in a 6 Way Scramble match with Joey Janela putting his GCW Extreme Title on the line. The finishing stretch saw Marcus Mathers crushing Janela with a 450 Splash only for Itoh to run in and drop him with a Spinning DDT to get the pin out of nowhere and become the new champion!


GCW “SO MUCH FUN”, 10/03/2024
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Nick Gage, Matt Tremont & Maki Itoh Vs Effy, Allie Katch & Dark Sheik ended in a No Contest when Mance Warner interfered (17:08).

The day after Itoh won her championship she teamed up with Gage & Matt Tremont to form Maki Death Kill Club. Their match against Thrussy ended up getting thrown out when Mance Warner interfered and attacked members of both teams. He is currently in a bloody feud with Effy so that storyline took precedence and Itoh had no involvement with the finish.


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 13/03/2024 (Aired 15/03/2024)
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Komander (w/ Alex Abrahantes) with the Modified Falcon Arrow (9:39).

The next two weeks had Takeshita wrestling on Rampage to build up his win-loss record. First he defeated Komander, using a Spinning Falcon Arrow to win the match. It also looked like he shook the fallen luchador’s hand after the match. Was it a show of good sportsmanship at a time when Takeshita shies away from that sort of thing under his manager’s watch?


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 20/03/2024
Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Rocky Romero with the Modified Falcon Arrow (8:54).

The next week Takeshita defeated Rocky Romero, again using the Spinning Falcon Arrow. It’s a bit funny that Takeshita finally got to wrestle a few people connected to New Japan this month. Romero was with the company in 2016 perhaps he has some info on what actually happened between NJPW and DDT back then? Ha ha ha…


DEXCON “WRESTLE STORM”, 24/03/2024
Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines

1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Jake De Leon & Ravena when Takanashi pinned Ravena after the Thrust Kick & Praying Mantis Bomb Combo (?:??).
*V1 for CDK.

A new month means a new place in Asia for Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi to wrestle in. They went over to the Philippines for a wrestling promotion called Dexcon. CDK put the SETUP World Tag Team Titles against the team known as Oro Plata Mata. CDK scored the win and successful defence so they were free to celebrate with some drinks after the show.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 27/03/2024
Centre Videotron, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

1. Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana) defeated Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) with the Big Pressure (19:39).

No. 1 Contendership for the AEW World Title was up for grabs when Takeshita fought the highly fancied Swerve Strickland. It was another great match between two fantastic wrestlers. Takeshita almost had an answer for all of Swerve’s attacks. He even kicked out of the Swerve Stomp. However Strickland landed another Double Stomp when Takeshita tried to pop him up into the air. At a time when Takeshita adopted several of Naruki Doi’s moves to use in America, how ironic is it that he lost to Strickland’s version of the Muscular Bomb?


HAKUNA MATATA LUCHAS “HOMENAJE A REY BALSAS”, 30/03/2024
Unidad Habitacional de Fovissste, Puebla, Mexico

1. Karma I & Karma II (2) defeated Kurama & Daisuke Sasaki (1).

Just a few days before DDT reaches America, Daisuke Sasaki decided to travel a week early. He went to Mexico and got himself a couple of lucha libre bookings. I thought it would be impossible to find his first match at Hakuna Matata Luchas but it turns out I should have had no worries because a video of it appeared on Facebook. Sasaki an his tag partner Kurama beat Karma I & Karma II in the first fall with a Diving Body Press and Diving Elbow Drop. Then Karma II (I checked to make sure Karma I wore the golden boots and Karma II wore the silver) used a Llave Crucifix Hold to pin Sasaki for the second fall. The final fall went to the tecnicos when I vaulted II into Kurama & Sasaki like a cannonball into the corner. That resulted in Karma I & II pinning both of them for the victory.


MÁS LUCHA “NACCÍ PERRO, NACÍ PARA SER ELEGIDO”, 31/03/2024
Arena Azteca Budokan, Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico

1. Perros del Mal Light Heavyweight Title: Panic Clown defeated Cirujano Jr. , Halloween Jr., Kundra, El Fiscal and Daisuke Sasaki when Clown submitted Sasaki with a Modified Cross Hammerlock (?:??).
*Panic Clown becomes the new Perros del Mal Light Heavyweight Champion!

Sasaki also took part in a show hosted by Más Lucha. He was put into a 6 Way match with the vacant Perros del Mal Light Heavyweight. The Luchawiki has 2016 as the last time the title was active but I’m not sure even The Cubs Fan himself believes if that is accurate. In a wild match with plenty of dives and some violence involving chairs, Sasaki ended up on the losing end. He did a Diving Cross Body onto Panic Clown but Clown rolled over on top of him and put Sasaki in a Cross Hammerlock kind of submission hold to make him tap out.

———————————————————————–

Iron Man Title In USA


WEST COAST PRO “MARVELOUS COAST”, 23/03/2024
United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, USA

1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Sayaka Unagi (c) defeated Hyan with the Dai Fuhen Mono Ki (9:55).
1a. Sparky Ballard defeated Sayaka Unagi (c) with a School Boy.
*Sparky Ballard becomes the 1,616th champion.
1b. Ref Gil defeated Sparky Ballard (c) with a School Boy.
*Ref Gil becomes the 1,617th champion.
1c. Hyan defeated Ref Gil (c) with the Spear.
*Hyan becomes the 1,618th champion.
1d. Sayaka Unagi defeated Hyan (c) with the Dai Fuhen Mono Ki (9:55).
*Sayaka Unagi becomes the 1,619th champion.

For the first time this year the Iron Man Title made its way over to America. It is one of the many championships currently being held by Sayaka Unagi and West Coast Pro decided Hyan would be a good challenger for her. Unagi struggled to beat Hyan and the growing frustration caused her to shove the referee Sparky Ballard after a disputed nearfall. In the heat of the moment Ballard decided to take things in his own hands so when Unagi turned her back on him he gave her a School Boy and counted to three. He was now the new Iron Man Champion! Then things went nutty when another official affectionately known as Ref Gil got into the ring with a third referee and he pinned Ballard with a School Boy to take the title off of him! Gil’s reign did not last long because Hyan gave him the Spear and pinned him to win the title. Her match with Unagi continued from there and Unagi won to ensure the championship went back to her. She continued to wrestle in America that week and did not lose any matches so there were no further title changes in America. At least none that DDT knows of. She lost a match to Janai Kai in MLW a few days ago but that company gets away with a lot of stuff because nobody likes paying attention to them. That forced Unagi and DDT to come up with a story that she lost the Iron Man Title to a “Strange Foreigner” before the match happened. She then allegedly found the “Strange Foreigner” some time after the match to win it back.

———————————————————————–

Upcoming Appearances


CIRCLE 6 “NEW FEAR CITY”, 03/04/2024
The Fire, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Chris Brookes Vs X
2. MAO Vs X

Let’s get started with Wrestlemania Week! Out of all the DDT wrestlers heading to Philadelphia it will be MAO who has the lion’s share of bookings. On the Wednesday night he and Chris Brookes are both going to a No Ring show held at a nightclub by Circle 6. It’s a dangerous way to begin one of the most schedule intense weeks of the wrestling calander.


DEFY “CAN’T DENY IT”, 04/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos Vs MAO & Mike Bailey

Thursday is even nuttier. MAO has four bookings in one day! It begins with a DEFY show where MAO and Mike Bailey reunite as Moonlight Express to face another team getting back together. Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos get to wrestle together as CDK for the first time in a long while. A lot of things have changed since. Lykos now wrestles unmasked and he is currently the Progress World Champion.


SHP/LOL “EUPHORIA”, 04/04/2024
Attic Brewing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Matt Makowski Vs MAO

When the DEFY match is done with MAO then goes over to another venue where he will wrestle Matt Makowski. On paper that sounds like a straight forward match but some really wacky things have happened at Sean Henderson Presents shows in the past. Don’t let your guard down.


DDT “DDT GOES PHILADELPHIA!”, 04/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Nick Wayne & Takeshi Masada
2. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos Vs Bryan Keith & Shota
3. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Yoshihiko
4. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Andrew “The Giant” Everett
5. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Shunma Katsumata
6. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Mike Bailey
7. DDT Universal Title – No Rules Match: MAO (c) Vs Billie Starkz

As soon as the preview for this show is posted you can find it by clicking here.


GCW/JCW “GCW/JCW VS THE WORLD”, 04/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Shota Vs X
2. 4 Way Tag Match: Ciclope & Miedo Extremo Vs Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman Vs Man Like DeReiss & Leon Slater Vs MAO & Yoshihiko

The final show of the day if you go by the starting time being in the very last minute (yeah right like it won’t be delayed). GCW and its sister promotion JCW have invited the world to take them on. MAO & Yoshihiko will be joining forces to enter a 4 Way Tag Match against GCW’s top team from Mexico Los Macizos, the wXw duo from Germany Amboss and Britain’s own Boisterous Behaviour from NORTH Wrestling.

Also on the show is Shota taking his first independent booking since going freelance from Ganbare☆Pro. His match has not been announced yet. Since this is a GCW show it will probably be a Scramble Match since there are a bunch of other wrestlers also advertised with no match yet.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN PHILLY”, 05/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Hyper Misao Vs Billie Starkz
2. Shoko Nakajima Vs Rhio
3. Yuki Aino & Raku Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Viva Van
4. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Nao Kakuta & Zara Zakher
5. Mizuki & Vert Vixen Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
6. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe

As soon as the preview for this show is posted you can find it by clicking here.


GCW “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK 8”, 05/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh Vs Danhausen & Ram Kaichow

While Itoh went back to Japan to wrestle for TJPW again, Gage went and teamed with Danhausen to challenge for the GCW Tag Team Titles. They lost and Danhausen blamed the result on Gage. That caused Gage to come up with a challenge. He and Itoh will fight Danhausen and a partner of his choice at some point during The Collective. All signs pointed towards the annual Spring Break show as the destination for the match. Then Joey Janela broke the news that Danhausen chose Ram Kaichow to be his teammate! Itoh and Kaichow have never crossed paths in the ring before because Kaichow’s TJPW appearances are often contained within the Rakuverse.


GCW/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GCW VS TJPW”, 06/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Suzume Vs Pom Harajuku
2. Session Moth Martina Vs Raku
3. Dark Sheik Vs Yuki Kamifuku
4. Steph De Lander Vs Hyper Misao
5. Shazza McKenzie Vs Arisu Endo
6. Sawyer Wreck & Allie Katch Vs Mizuki & Nao Kakuta
7. Billie Starkz & Janai Kai Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
8. Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Rina Yamashita, Masha Slamovich & Maki Itoh Vs Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino

As soon as the preview for this show is posted you can find it by clicking here. Expect a partial change to one of the matches because Sawyer Wreck broke her hand last weekend and won’t be able to wrestle.


GCW “JJSB: CLUSTERF*CK FOREVER!”, 06/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Clusterfuck Match: X Vs X

I’m including this because there are apparently going to be 88 contestants entering this year’s annual Clusterfuck Match. Surely that means the odds are good for some DDT or TJPW entries showing up in it. Or maybe Itoh will have an Extreme Title defence? Either way this will probably be it for their involvement at WrestleMania Week.


WEST COAST PRO “CHRIS HERO’S PRO WRES MIXTAPE”, 14/04/2024
Don Quixote Event Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Kazusada Higuchi Vs X

West Coast Pro cards have been put together by Chris Hero for a while now but I wouldn’t call any of them vanity shows. I can with this one because it has his name on it right there.


PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 8”, 14/04/2024
Roseland Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. Kylie Rae Vs Miyu Yamashita

After Mania Week is done and everyone in TJPW head back home to Japan, Yamashita will be staying behind. Her latest tour of America will last until June. The first match announced for her stay is a first time match against Kylie Rae. For Rae it will be a big match for her since she only just recently returned to pro wrestling.


UPRISING “UPRISING: WOMEN ATHLETES 2”, 19/04/2024
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Hyan

Can Yamashita get her win back from Hyan?


DREAMWAVE “ANNIVERSARY IX”, 20/04/2024
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Yamashita will be at DREAMWAVE the next night. Her opponent will be somebody out of the Uprising lineup to be determined after that show takes place.


GCW “HOW HIGH”, 20/04/2024
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Itoh will be bouncing back and forth between Japan and America again as Spring heads into Summer.


PRESTIGE/PRIDE STYLE “PRIDE & PRESTIGE”, 26/04/2024
Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

The announcements for Yamashita’s matches in America are coming thick and fast.


DAIKAIJU PRO “VOL. 2 – KAPPAS COUNTERATTACK”, 27/04/2024
White Eagle, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

1. Hyper Misao Vs Ultramantis Black

The first Daikaiju Pro event featured Shoko Nakajima so it only makes sense for the second show to feature her Kyoraku Kyomei tag partner Hyper Misao! She was teased as being “Project M” being brought in to deal with the calamity that is seemingly going on over there. Her impending arrival has caused the great and devious Ultramantis Black to step forward and dare to meet her face to face on the battlefield!


VPW “SAIGON SLAM”, 04/05/2024
VAIB Studios, Vietnam

1. VPW Women’s Title: Alexis Lee Vs Yuki Kamifuku

Yuki Kamifuku will be heading over to Vietnam Pro Wrestling in a bid to become the company’s first Women’s Champion. Her opponent is somebody she’s become familiar with. She and Alexis Lee have fought each other for the Queen Of Asia Title a couple of times and in their last match Kamifuku beat Lee to become the champion. Will she do the same here or can Lee take this new title as revenge for losing the other one?


SETUP “CLASH OF THE TITANS”, 25/05/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Matcha (c) Vs Monomoth Vs Mizuki

Over in Thailand Mizuki has a chance to win a championship over there. She is part of a 3 Way Match with the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title on the line. Matcha is the defending champion and Monomoth is the other challenger.


MAW “LIFT BRIDGE BASH 4”, 08/06/2024
Lift Bridge Brewing Company, Stillwater, Minnesota, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Laynie Luck

Yamashita’s first match back in Japan will be on 15th June. So at the moment her match against Laynie Luck at Midwest All-Star Wrestling looks like it will be her last booking for the tour.


They Forgot About Sasadango, It’s A Battle Show, TJPW USA Card Revealed

March 11, 2024

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2024 ~27TH ANNIVERSARY 5 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 17/03/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. “Intern Wrestler” Tsubasa Suzuki Debut Match: Soma Takao Vs Tsubasa Suzuki
2. Yuya Koroku Return Match: To-y, Ilusion & Rukiya Vs Yuni, Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi
3. Toru Owashi & Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shinichiro Kawamatsu
4. SCHADENFREUDE International Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda Vs Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul
5. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs Shuji Ishikawa & Yoshitatsu
6. Special Single Match: Super Sasadango Machine Vs Akito
7. Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Ken Ohka
8. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Yuma Aoyagi
9. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles – Belt Contra Dissolution: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) Vs Kazuki Hirata, Naruki Doi & Shinya Aoki
10. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino (c) Vs Ryuki Honda & Yuma Anzai
11. DDT Extreme Title – Painful Jungle Death Match: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Hideki Okatani
12. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Takeshi Masada
13. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs HARASHIMA

Over the weekend Super Sasadango Machine noticed something. He is on the poster for this show but hasn’t been booked for a match yet. He thought he was going to be on the show anyway because DDT is celebrating its 27th anniversary so he kept his busy schedule free for that day. Akito used his vice president duties to look into it and apologized when he found out that DDT did indeed forget to book Sasadango for the show. To make up for it one more match has been added to the 5 hour show and Akito himself will be Sasadango’s opponent. Now Keisuke Ishii is also getting booked in order to take Akito’s original spot in Match #3. Sasadango has since showed his appreciation to Akito for owning up o the mistake and apologized for giving him extra work to do. So for the first time ever we’re getting a wrestling match where the buildup involves both wrestlers constantly apologizing to each other.

BASARA “BASARA 244 ~UTAGE~”, 19/03/2024
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Isami Kosaka Vs Kazusada Higuchi
2. Union MAX Title: Minoru Fujita (c) Vs Masato Kamino

At the last BASARA show the top two members of Sento Minzoku challenged Harimao for the IRON FIST Tag Team Titles. The match cannot happen just yet because Minoru Fujita is already scheduled to defend the Union MAX Title and he does not want to take part in another championship bout on the same show. So instead Isami Kodaka will face one-half of the champions Kazusada Higuchi in a singles match to give fans a preview of the full course.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “BALLO BALLO ~ IT’S A BATTLE SHOW~”, 20/03/2024
Shinjuku FACE

1. Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami Vs HIMAWARI & Haru Kazashiro
2. Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Mahiro Kiryu & Toga
3. Miu Watanabe & Moka Miyamoto Vs Shoko Nakajima & Wakana Uehara

The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) are holding their own event that is a mixture of both wrestling matches and a concert. All currently active members will be involved. The management group behind the unit has already said Hikari Noa will not be at the show. She is gradually being mentioned or shown on promotional material again so to me that is a small but positive sign towards her eventually coming back. I think her future will be more clear next month after “GRAND PRINCESS ’24” and the American shows are out of the way. We’re more likely to see her in public again before Kate Middleton that’s for sure.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GANBARE☆JOSHI “SHUFFLE DATE 2024”, 22/03/2024
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. Mahiro Kiryu & Haru Kazashiro Vs Toga & Chika Nanase
2. Rika Tatsumi, Runa Okubo & Uta Takami Vs Moka Miyamoto, Wakana Uehara & Kira Summer
3. HARUKAZE & Kaya Toribami Vs Raku & Shino Suzuki
4. Yuki Kamifuku & YuuRI Vs HIMAWARI & Riara
5. Yuna Manase & Nao Kakuta Vs Shoko Nakajima & Yoshiko Hasegawa

All of the Ganbare☆Joshi wrestlers have been booked already so the remaining card is filled with just Tokyo Joshi Pro girls.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN PHILLY”, 05/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Hyper Misao Vs Billie Starkz
2. Shoko Nakajima Vs Rhio
3. Yuki Aino & Raku Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Viva Van
4. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Nao Kakuta & Zara Zakher
5. Mizuki & Vert Vixen Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
6. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe

This is the complete TJPW card you’re going to get in Philadelphia. Hmmm… I’m not that hot on it to be honest. If last year’s USA show was comparable to a Korakuen Hall show this one is more Ryogoku KFC Hall. I guess they’re a bit more conservative this time around because they have the second show with GCW the day after.

Speaking of GCW, Maki Itoh won the GCW Extreme Title in a 6 Way Scramble match on Saturday night! I’ll write more about it in the next DDT Around The World article at the end of the month.

BASARA “BASARA 245 ~YOKOHAMA STORY~”, 20/04/2024
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. IRON FIST Tag Team Titles: Ryota Nakatsu & Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita

We’ll have to wait until the latter half of April for the IRON FIST Tag Title match to happen.


DDT Around The World – March 2023

March 26, 2023

Welcome to the calm before the storm. I put together this month’s article earlier than usual because there are going to be separate posts covering all of the WrestleMania shows DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro are involved with next week. It’s going to be nuts, maybe not on the level of the New York shows from four years ago but still plenty to look forward to. So much will have to be talked about once the dust settles. I will be writing up preview guides for both “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD” and “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES” so look forward to them whenever they are finished.

While Konosuke Takeshita and Yuka Sakazaki are getting the higher profile appearances lately thanks to AEW/ROH, the amount of bookings Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh are getting in America means the focus will be more on them for the next couple of months. Yamashita in particular is going to have a crazy looking 2023 Career tab on her Cagematch profile by the time she’s done. Plus we get to add some new names to this series. Mizuki Watase is heading over to America too and Daisuke Sasaki found an excuse to go wrestling in Mexico.

———————————————————————–

Videos


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 01/03/2023
Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, USA

1. Face Of The Revolution Match Ladder Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Ortiz Vs Komander Vs Action Andretti Vs Sammy Guevara Vs Powerhouse Hobbs Vs Eddie Kingston Vs AR Fox


AEW “DARK”, 07/03/2023
Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Jack Cartwheel


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 10/03/2023
Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Preston Vance (w/ José The Assistant)


NORTHEAST WRESTLING “WRESTLEFEST XXVII”, 11/03/2023
Crosby High School, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs JT Dunn

Video starts at 2:36:23 for the match
SETUP “SETUP EP.12”, 18/03/2023
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP Thailand Openweight Title: Monomoth (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi

NEW “NEW 12”, 24/03/2023
Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada


1. NEW Women’s Title: Nicole Matthews (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita


2. Maki Itoh Vs Cat Power

———————————————————————–

Results


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 01/03/2023
Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, USA

1. Face Of The Revolution Match Ladder Match: Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Ortiz, Komander, Action Andretti, Sammy Guevara, Eddie Kingston and AR Fox when Hobbs grabbed the Brass Ring (13:46).

So close and yet so far. Takeshita almost won the Ladder match after giving Komander a crazy looking Blue Thunder Bomb from a bridged ladder onto the ring canvas. He also fought off interference from Daniel Garcia who was there to help out Sammy Guevara. But as he climbed up the ladder and reached out to grab the literal brass ring, here came Powerhouse Hobbs charging into the ladder to knock Takeshita out of the ring. Hobbs then went on to grab the giant ring and win.

A few days later on Rampage, Takeshita spoke about his recent lack of success in AEW and considered it was time for him to go back to Japan. Don Callis stepped in and continued his push to become Takeshita’s manager. The argument he made is if Takeshita left all of the behind the scenes logistics to him, then Takeshita could put his entire focus just on wrestling in the ring and finally get the results his talent deserves. Ever since then Callis has continued trying to convince Takeshita to take on his services.


AEW “DARK”, 03/03/2023 (Aired 07/03/2023)
Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Jack Cartwheel with the Zahi (3:56).

An impressive performance from Jack Cartwheel made this match one to watch if you’re unfamiliar with him.


GCW “HOLY SMOKES”, 04/03/2023
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. GCW Extreme Title: Joey Janela (c) defeated VENY with an Avalanche Brainbuster (16:33).
*V2 for Joey Janela.
2. Maki Itoh defeated LuFisto with the I.S.D (10:44).

Itoh’s further run into GCW continued with her beating LuFisto, an inductee of The Indie Wrestling Hall Of Fame that the promotion is associated with. LuFisto wanted to give Itoh a Superplex but a bite to the face stopped her. Itoh gave her a Top Rope DDT and then got back up the ropes to do the I.S.D for the win. Itoh got to celebrate with Nick Gage after the match.

Joey Janela and VENY ended up going buck wild fighting around ringside for a lot of their match. Janela threw VENY into rows of seats, sending a lot of the GCW fans fleeing. VENY fought back with a Moonsault to the floor. Janela VENY in midair when she tried another Moonsault inside the ring and he countered it into a Tombstone. VENY went back to the Moonsault again and landed one onto Janela while he was laying on top of a door. That wasnt enough for Janela or the door so he smashed it to pieces and the two attacked each other with the remains. More big bomb moves were dropped and it took an Avalance Brainbuster for Janela to finally get the three count.


ENJOY “RITES OF SPRING”, 04/03/2023
Mr. Smalls Theatre, Millvale, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer (c) defeated Trish Adora & Jordan Blade (?:??).
*V3 for The Wasteland War Party.

The Wasteland War Party scored their third and what turned out to be their last successful defence of the Princess Tag Team Titles by beating Trish Adora & Jordan Blade at an Enjoy Wrestling show.


GCW “RANSOM”, 05/03/2023
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh, Rina Yamashita & VENY defeated Sawyer Wreck, Billie Starkz & Janai Kai when Yamashita pinned Kai with the Splash Mountain (18:56).

Itoh & VENY got to have some fun with Rina Yamashita by faking out their opponents on a triple dive. Sawyer Wreck, Billie Starkz & Janai Kai all flinched and were left bracing for impact outside while Itoh and her team danced inside the ring. Yamashita went on to pin Kai with the Splash Mountain.


EVE “WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY”, 08/03/2023
229 The Venue, London, England

1. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Lizzy Evo with the Skull Kick (14:42).
*V3 for Miyu Yamashita.

A fully determined Lizzy Evo was ready to become the new EVE Champion on this night. But her hot streak came to an end thanks to the Skull Kick.


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 08/03/2023 (Aired 10/03/2023)
Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Preston Vance (w/ José The Assistant) with La Espalda (7:52).

Takeshita took out a trick from the Osaka Pro book to beat Preston Vance. La Espalda is the tricky looking Twisting Backslide Pin that Billy Ken Kid likes to use a lot.


EVE “RIOT! AT THE YARD THEATRE”, 09/03/2023
The Yard Theatre, London, England

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Miyuki Takase with the Skull Kick (14:46).

Apparently this will be the last time Yamashita and Miyuki Takase will face each other one on one. If that’s true then Yamashita ends the series with a 2-0 winning record.


NORTHEAST WRESTLING “WRESTLEFEST XXVII”, 11/03/2023
Crosby High School, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated JT Dunn with the Zahi (12:18).

A Rolling Elbow was used by JT Dunn to counter the Jumping Knee and the match also built up to how the Tombstone Piledriver was used. Takeshita kicked out of the move the first and and reversed a second attempt into a Reverse Implant. Takeshita held onto Dunn after that and threw him over with a Wheelbarrow German Suplex. Dunn was left in a heap after that so Takeshita got to finish him off with the Zahi.


SETUP “SETUP EP.12”, 18/03/2023
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP Thailand Openweight Title: Masahiro Takanashi defeated Monomoth (c) with the Takatonic (?:??).
*Monomoth fails in V?. Masahiro Takanashi becomes the ??th SETUP Thailand Openweight Champion!

Masahiro Takanashi adds another Asian championship to his collection after he took the SETUP Thailand Openweight Title from Monomoth. Takanashi didn’t do it clean either because Baliyan Akki was there to interfere on his behalf. Monomoth did what he could to fight against the 2-on-1 disadvantage, including diving onto both of them outside the ring. He had Takanashi beaten with a Northern Lights Suplex but Akki pulled the referee out of the ring to stop the pin count. Members of the SETUP roster had enough of the cheating and came to Monomoth’s aid. However Takanashi kicked out of a Tornado DDT and threw the ref towards Monomoth while the champion was standing on the top rope. Monomoth jumped over the ref but landed into a Thrust Kick, causing him to get pinned with the Takatonic.


AEW “DARK”, 24/03/2023 (Aired ??/??/2023)
Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, USA

1. Michael Nakazawa defeated Baliyan Akki (?:??).

I don’t usually include Michael Nakazawa’s matches in AEW for these articles because he is a full time employee for them. But I bet somebody reading this will get a kick out of hearing he fought and beat Akki on Dark.


NEW “NEW 12”, 24/03/2023
Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada

1. NEW Women’s Title: Nicole Matthews (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita by Referee Stoppage with a Dragon Sleeper (?:??).
*V5 for Nicole Matthews.
2. Maki Itoh defeated Cat Power with the I.S.D (?:??).

Mixed fortunes for 121000000 on the first night of their North American trip. Itoh was able to beat Cat Power but Yamashita got choked out by Nicole Matthews with a Dragon Sleeper. It’s a reminder that this three month expedition is not going to be a cake walk for Yamashita.


IMPACT “SACRIFICE FALLOUT”, 25/03/2023 (Aired 30/03/2023)
St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Killer Kelly with the Skull Kick (10:14).

I didn’t expect Yamashita to show up in Impact. There’s more to talk about it below but her first match with the promotion was a win against Killer Kelly. I think it was taped for TV too.

———————————————————————–

Upcoming Appearances – WrestleMania Week


PANDEMONIUM PRO “BEST DAMN THING”, 29/03/2023
Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh & Kidd Bandit Vs Steph De Lander & Heather Monroe

Taya Valkyrie had to pull out of the show due to a change in schedule. That this show is taking place on a Wednesday and Valkyrie recently signed a deal with AEW, it’s easy to figure out what her priority is. Replacing her is Steph De Lander who has really stepped up and increased her presence around the indies recently.


WRESTLECON “THE MARK HITCHCOCK MEMORIAL SUPERSHOW”, 30/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. TJPW 10-Woman Tag Showcase: X, X, X, X & X Vs X, X, X, X & X

The lineup for the TJPW 10-Woman Tag is being kept secret until the show, Mystery Vortex style. Are all ten going to be from the regular TJPW roster or will a few guests be included?


DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Saki Akai Vs Vert Vixen
2. Pheromones Vs Takagi Army All Out Battle In HOLLYWOOD: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Michael Nakazawa
3. Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Chris Brookes & Yoshihiko
4. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada Vs Andrew “The Giant” Everett & Nick Wayne
5. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Joey Janela
6. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Eddie Kingston Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
7. Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Yuki Ueno

Some of the guests being booked for the show now make more sense given recent announcements. Both Nick Wayne and Vert Vixen are heading to Japan for DDT and TJPW respectively in the next couple of months.


IMPACT/NJPW “MULTIVERSE UNITED”, 30/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Masha Slamovich Vs Deonna Purrazzo Vs Gisele Shaw Vs Miyu Yamashita

So not only is Yamashita wrestling for Impact but she is also technically getting a New Japan appearance out of it too, which is completely bizarre seeing a TJPW wrestler under that banner instead of somebody from Stardom. Originally this 4 Way Match was supposed to include Mickie James and her Knockouts Title was going to be on the line. But just a few days ago Impact announced that James is unable to wrestle because of a rib injury. So now the 4 Way Match has Masha Slamovich added to it and whoever wins will get to face Jordynne Grace in Toronto next month with the Knockouts Title on the line. If James is cleared to wrestle she will also be in that match as the defending champion, otherwise she will have to vacate it before the match begins.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES”, 31/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Janai Kai
2. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
3. Hyper Misao & Trish Adora Vs Yuki Aino & Raku
4. Shoko Nakajima & Miu Watanabe Vs Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer
5. International Princess Title: Rika Tatsumi (c) Vs Billie Starkz
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki

Two of the matches are now title matches thanks to the results that happened at “GRAND PRINCESS ’23” earlier this month. The main event has the Princess Tag Titles on the line when the new champions 121000000 face The Magical Sugar Rabbits. There is also now an International Princess Title match between Rika Tatsumi (embracing a new “AmeRika” personality) and Billie Starkz.


DDT/GCW “GCW VS DDT”, 31/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Ciclope, Miedo Extremo, Gringo Loco & Alec Price Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & Takeshi Masada
2. Matthew Justice, Mance Warner & 1 Called Manders Vs Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata & Mizuki Watase
3. Effy & Allie Katch Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno
4. Dark Sheik Vs Saki Akai
5. Cole Radrick Vs Yoshihiko
6. Homicide & Tony Deppen Vs Jun Akiyama & Tetsuya Endo
7. Blake Christian Vs Kazusada Higuchi
8. Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne Vs MAO & Mike Bailey
9. Joey Janela Vs Yuki Ueno

Nine matches on the card now. The latest addition is an 8-Man Tag Match mixing together a lot of people. DDT is relying on DAMNATION T.A to play ball with Sanshiro Takagi & Takeshi Masada. GCW are going the lucha route by letting Gringo Loco put together a squad. He chose Alec Price and Los Macizos. Prince is an up and coming name on the indies while Ciclope & Miedo Extremo are former GCW Tag Team Champions.

No idea what the match order is going to be for the GCW Vs DDT show. This might be the last of DDT’s involvement in shows for the week. Unless Takeshita shows up in ROH or Pheromones crash “Effy’s Big Gay Brunch” on Saturday.


ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2023”, 31/03/2023
Galen Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. ROH Women’s World Title: Athena (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki

After weeks and weeks of tension building up between Athena and Yuka Sakazaki, things finally blew up and Athena sent Sakazaki back to Japan with an injury. However when Athena found out Sakazaki was able to continue wrestling no problem, it only made her even madder. The grudge is going to get settled in LA with Sakazaki getting a shot at the ROH Women’s World Title.


PRESTIGE “NERVOUS BREAKDOWN”, 31/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Taya Valkyrie Vs Miyu Yamashita

Valkyrie will be in LA on the Friday evening for her Prestige match against Yamashita.


GCW “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK 7”, 31/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh Vs X & X

Well Nick Gage is no longer the GCW World Champion so my idea of him against Itoh has gone up in smoke. However they are going ahead with the next best idea and that is Maki Death Kill teaming up for one night only!


WPW “RUSSELL CROWE WRESTLING: RUSSEL MANIA III”, 31/03/2023
Burbank Moose Lodge, Burbank, California, USA

1. Mizuki Watase Vs Gregory Sharpe Vs Eli Everfly

Well Mizuki Watase did say he was going on an American excursion so he had to be somewhere other than a DDT show. He’s ended up going somewhere even weirder. Wrestling Pro Wrestling is a comedy promotion and is home to Cerealman, a pro wrestler with a box of cereal for a head. Would it surprise you to find out a lot of Hoodslam guys also work here? Let’s see how Watase can handle himself when he’s in the ring with Gregory Sharpe and Eli Everfly.

———————————————————————–

Upcoming Appearances – Everywhere Else After WrestleMania


WRESTLING REVOLVER “REVOLVER THURSDAY”, 06/04/2023
Calumet Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Allie Katch

Looks like there’s going to be a week off for Yamashita to get over the WrestleMania hangover. After that it’s time to hit the road with her first stop being a match with Allie Katch at Wrestling REVOLVER.


LLL “MONSTER ISLAND”, 07/04/2023
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Heidi Howitzer Vs Maki Itoh

One of the former Princess Tag Champions has a chance at revenge. Heidi Howitzer was already looking forward to kicking Itoh’s ass. Now there’s going to be some more hatred behind it after Itoh pinned Howitzer to cause the title change.


WEST COAST PRO “HOME OF THE KILLERS”, 07/04/2023
The State Room, South San Francisco, California, USA

1. West Coast Pro Women’s Title: Masha Slamovich (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

The last West Coast Pro show crowned their first Women’s Champion. Masha Slamovich defeated Sandra Moone to win the title and now gets Yamashita for her first defence.


HOODSLAM “FALLEN IDOLS”, 08/04/2023
Continental Club, Oakland, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Vipress

Itoh has fought Dark Sheik a bunch of times already so when she arrives in Hoodslam it will be Sheik’s current tag team partner Vipress waiting for her. Earlier this month Sheik & Vipress won the Intergalactic Tag Team Titles together.


DEFY “THE REALEST”, 08/04/2023
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

1. DEFY Women’s Title: Vert Vixen Vs Miyu Yamashita

Before Vixen travels to Japan for TJPW, she defends the DEFY Women’s Title against Yamashita. Heck of a warm up match to get ready for that tour.


CCW “DEAD-ZONE”, 15/04/2023
Houston Volunteer Fire Department, Houston, Delaware, USA

1. CCW Title & CCW Title Match Network Title – 4 Corner Survival Match: Kilynn King (c) Vs Killer Kelly Vs Steph De Lander Vs Miyu Yamashita

What was first advertised as a 3 Way Match is now a 4 Corner Survival with Steph De Lander added to the mix. Which makes me wonder did certain people signing contracts recently lead to a situation where nobody in the 3 Way politically can take the fall and a fourth person had to be used as a solution? Kilynn King is now signed to Impact and Killer Kelly is under contract to them too. Maybe I’m overthinking it.


LUCHA MEMES “???”, 15/04/2023
Arena Solis, Cuautlacingo, Puebla, Mexico

1. Raider Boy, Tormento & Fantasmin Vs Osiris, Garrobo Punk & Daisuke Sasaki

Alright we’re getting to talk about Mexico again. About time. Daisuke Sasaki will be making his Lucha Memes debut in April. The promotion is fond of bringing in independent talent from America. As far as I could find I think Ultimo Dragon and Satoshi Kojima are the only other Japanese wrestlers to have previously worked there. Lucha Memes is also running Arena Solis in Puebla for the first time.


DPW “DPW LIVE 2”, 16/04/2023
Phil Sheridan Building, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Is Yamashita still owed a title match in Deadlock Pro or did I misunderstand the stipulation of her previous match there? Also did you hear that news today about DPW going to Japan to do joint shows with Gatoh Move soon?


RIW “FIGHT UNTIL WE DIED”, 16/04/2023
Gimnasio Coliseo Arena, Toluca, Mexico

1. Daisuke Sasaki Vs X

The next day in Mexico, Sasaki is heading over to Revolution Indy Wrestling.


UWE “DAWN OF A NEW ERA”, 22/04/2023
Dauphin County Tech School, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Dani Mo Vs Miyu Yamashita

I was able to find more social media pages for Ultimate Wrestling Empire so it is indeed an actual show taking place.


PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 5”, 29/04/2023
Roseland Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Queen Aminata

Will Yamashita still be undefeated in Prestige by the time her match with Queen Aminata takes place?


REPUBLIC OF LUCHA “ROL IV”, 30/04/2023
Republic Of Lucha, South Pasadena, California, USA

1. Kidd Bandit Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. Daga Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Not sure if Takeshita’s match with Daga will still happen. Daga suffered a left knee injury at a show co-promoted by NWA and AAA at the start of the month. According to Konnan the injury is a fractured fibula and a torn miniscus that will take him out of action for two months. If that’s true then the timing could make this turn out to be Daga’s return match if his recovery goes better than anticipated.


EVE “LUCKY 13”, 05/05/2023
The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England

1. EVE Title – Iron Woman Match: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Millie McKenzie

Yamashita’s international series with Millie McKenzie continues with McKenzie putting up a big challenge in the hopes of finally winning the EVE Title. Given the back and forth results the two wrestlers produce against each other, they will now face off in an Iron Woman match. Whoever scores the most falls within the 30 minute time limit will be the champion at the end.


MAW “VENDETTA”, 13/05/2023
2nd St. Depot, Hastings, Minnesota, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Sierra

Can’t find confirmation but it would make sense if this is a MAW Women’s Title match with Sierra putting the belt on the line.


AIW “GAUNTLET FOR THE GOLD 16”, 20/05/2023
Force Sports, Eastlake, Ohio, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Just have to wait and see what her match is going to be.


GCW “THE WAY I AM”, 20/05/2023
Harpo’s Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Itoh’s next appearance for GCW after Mania week will be in Detroit.


GCW “I CAN’T SAVE YOU”, 21/05/2023
Valley Dale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Itoh will be in Ohio too.


ST. LOUIS ANARCHY “GIANTS WOKE, EYES OPEN”, 09/06/2023
The House of Anarchy, Alton, Illinois, USA

1. Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita

Yamashita was bound to get a match with Starkz somewhere during the tour. This also isn’t the last show on Yamashita’s schedule anymore.


ENJOY “???”, 17/06/2023
Mr. Smalls Theatre, Millvale, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Ray Lyn Vs Miyu Yamashita

The final booking of Yamashita’s tour seems to be her match with Rey Lyn at Enjoy Wrestling. Her first match back in Japan won’t be until 25th June so she can squeeze in at least one more match if she wanted to.

———————————————————————–

Corrections


NORTHEAST WRESTLING “MARCH MAYHEM”, 18/03/2023
NEW Arena, Bethany, Connecticut, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X

From what I could find online Takeshita was only on the show for a meet and greet, not to wrestle a match.


DDT Around The World – October 2022

November 1, 2022

October was a lighter month for DDT related matches from around the world but there is the news of DDT returning to America next year making up for it. The month has mostly been Shota continuing his excursion of the most obscure American indies I ever heard of while Joey Janela’s been defending the DDT Extreme Title and ended up getting himself his own Triple Crown of independent hardcore championships. Konosuke Takeshita is back in America but kept out of the public eye all month. Whether it’s to acclimate to his new home or just taking a well earned rest remains to be seen. Until his reemerges the monthly column will continue to focus on Shota and the Tokyo Joshi Pro talent working abroad. Oh, and Miyu Yamashita made a new friend.

———————————————————————–

Videos


Video starts at 22:33 for the match
PWF “LIVEWIRE 19”, 01/10/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Shota Suzuki Vs Dante Leon


Video starts at 23:52 for the match
JCW “JCW VS THE WORLD”, 09/10/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Shota Vs Steve Scott


RCW “WORLD CUP 3”, 22/10/2022
Casinet d’Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

1. World Cup 3 – Round 1: Sara Leon Vs Maya Yukihi


RCW “WORLD CUP 3”, 22/10/2022
Casinet d’Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

2. RCW World Women’s Title – World Cup 3 – Final – 3 Way Match: Aurora Vs Maya Yukihi Vs Nightshade


RCW “WORLD CUP 3”, 22/10/2022
Casinet d’Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

3. Miyu Yamashita Vs Millie McKenzie


MPX “FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS”, 22/10/2022
MPX Event Center, Bedford, Texas, USA

1. Shota Suzuki Vs Phil Shark


NEW TEXAS PRO “TEXAS CONTENDERS SERIES 7”, 27/10/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Clay Roberts Vs Shota Suzuki

———————————————————————–

Results


WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 01/10/2022
Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (3) defeated Axel Tischer & Eric Young (0) when Takanashi & Brookes pinned Tischer with the Hair Of The Dog (12:12).
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman (3) defeated Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie (0) when Dreissker pinned Abe with the Dreissker Bomb (15:57).

The first day of the month was a busy one. It began in Germany where wXw hosted the opening day of the World Tag Team Festival. Our boys CDK started off the group stage hot by beating SAnitY with their tricky tag team stylings. Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie found themselves with opposite fortunes, losing to Amboss in the semi-main event.


PWF “LIVEWIRE 19”, 01/10/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Shota Suzuki defeated Dante Leon with a Crucifix Pin (?:??).

Shota gets his first win in America! It came real close though. Dante Leon had him beaten with a Swanton Bomb onto Shota’s back while Shota was bent over. But a lackadaisical cover allowed Shota to slip Leon into a Crucifix Pin for the surprise three count. There was good sportsmanship shown with a handshake afterwards.


WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 02/10/2022
Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie (3) defeated Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku (3) when Abe submitted Ku with the Manjigatame (15:07).
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Senza Volto & Aigle Blanc (3) defeated Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (3) when Blanc pinned Takanashi with the Tombstone Piledriver (17:58).

Day 2 of the WTTF saw Abe & Irie more than make up for their defeat the previous day. They went to war against Violence Is Forever. Poor Kevin Ku was busted open from a massive Headbutt given to him by Abe. Irie then smashed the guy with the Beast Bomber and Abe twisted him into submission with the Manjigatame. CDK suffered a setback by losing to The Frenchadors. A Moonsault out of the ring from Senza Volto wiped out Chris Brookes. That meant nobody was there to save Masahiro Takanashi from being pinned by Aigle Blanc’s Tombstone.


WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 03/10/2022
Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Prince Ahura & Maggot (4) Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (4) ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie (6) defeated Nikita Charisma & Michael Schenkenberg (3) when Abe submitted Charisma with the Manjigatame (10:38).

The last night ended bittersweet for both teams. CDK went to a time limit draw with The Pretty Bastards while Abe & Irie beat the team known as Rot Und Flott. While those are not bad results, neither was enough for our teams to qualify for the final and fight for the wXw World Tag Team Titles.


GCW “FIGHT CLUB 2022 – NIGHT 1”, 08/10/2022
Garden Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Effy defeated Shota with the Sack Ryder (4:34).

Shota made his big debut under the bright lights of GCW during one of their biggest nights of the year. It should have been taking place at The Showboat in Atlantic City but a double booking snafu led to the show being held outdoors on the boardwalk nearby instead. Shota’s time in the ring with Effy was short and sweet with Effy getting his hand raised in victory at the end.


JCW “JCW VS THE WORLD”, 09/10/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Steve Scott defeated Shota with a Rope Assisted Fire Thunder Driver (7:23).

The next afternoon the GCW show was held inside the proper venue along with their spinoff promotion JCW. Unfortunately for him his opponent Steve Scott seemed to have an answer for everything that was thrown at him. He even took selfies while putting Shota in holds. Scott threw away Shota’s Tornado DDT then lifted him up into a Fireman’s Carry. From there Scott draped Shota’s legs over the top rope and dropped him with the Fire Thunder Driver for the win.


GCW “FIGHT CLUB 2022 – NIGHT 2”, 09/10/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. GCW Extreme Title & DDT Extreme Title: Joey Janela (DDT/c) defeated Cole Radrick (GCW/c) with a Cradle (15:42).
*V4 for Joey Janela. Cole Radrick fails in V8. Joey Janela becomes the 9th GCW Extreme Champion!

The working relationship between DDT and GCW has been growing throughout the month, hidden in plain sight while people in GCW have been constantly trolling wrestling news sites over rumours of GCW having connections to WWE. Janela is a focal point of both but let’s focus on the DDT stuff. He beat Cole Radrick in his 4th DDT Extreme Title defence and also won the GCW Extreme Title in the process. It was a wild match with chairs and doors getting broken everywhere. Radrick gave Janela a Superplex but Janela cradled him up on impact to get the three count out of nowhere.


VANGUARDIA/GCW “DEATHMATCH ELITE POR SIEMPRE PT. 2”, 14/10/2022
Deportivo 11 de Julio, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico

1. Vanguardia Extraordinario Title & DDT Extreme Title – 4 Way Match: Joey Janela (DDT/c) defeated Jimmy (V/c), Adrenalina and Calibus when Janela pinned Adrenalina with a Diving Foot Stomp through a Barb Wire Board (15:00).
*V5 for Joey Janela? Joey Janela becomes the 2nd Vanguardia Extraordinario Champion!

At the time of writing DDT has not yet acknowledged if this was an official Extreme Title defence. GCW went over to Mexico for a co-promoted show with Lucha Libre Vanguardia. During the show Janela put the Extreme Title on the line in a 4 Way Match with the Vanguardia Extraordinario Title also on the line. A barb wire board was the main weapon used in the match and Janela Double Stomped it on top of Adrenalina to win the match, taking the belt from the champion Jimmy without every beating him directly.


MSW “20 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE”, 15/10/2022
Fairgrounds Indoor Building, Harrison, Arkansas, USA

1. Shota Vs Phil Shark

You never know who these wrestlers will bump into or what stories they can discover while working overseas. Take Phil Shark for example. This American wrestler is only 22 years old and he hasn’t been wrestling for long. However he spent time training in Japan for 2AW and was briefly a ringside attendant at their shows. Shota seems to like the guy after fighting him at a Mid-States Wrestling show and hopes some of the wrestling promotions in Japan will take notice of him.


RCW “WORLD CUP 3”, 22/10/2022
Casinet d’Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

1. World Cup 3 – Round 1: Maya Yukihi defeated Sara Leon with a Jumping Knee (?:??).
2. RCW World Women’s Title – World Cup 3 – Final – 3 Way Match: Nightshade defeated Aurora and Maya Yukihi when Nightshade pinned Yukihi with the Neck Hanging Bomb (?:??).
*Nightshade becomes the 1st RCW World Women’s Champion!
3. Millie McKenzie defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Regal Plex (?:??).

I think this show was overshadowed by the story of Yamashita hanging out with Sasha Banks while they were both in Spain. Anyway, Yamashita had her first match against Millie McKenzie but came out on the losing end of it. Meanwhile Maya Yukihi was part of a tournament to crown RCW’s new women’s champion. She made it to the final but was pinned by Nightshade. So close yet so far.


MPX “FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS”, 22/10/2022
MPX Event Center, Bedford, Texas, USA

1. Phil Shark defeated Shota Suzuki with the Deadliest Catch (9:38).

Shota’s appearance for Metroplex Wrestling had him act as a heel which was unlike his previous matches on his excursion. It gave Shark the spotlight to be the hero and he beat Shota with a Twisting Death Valley Driver.


NEW TEXAS PRO “TEXAS CONTENDERS SERIES 7”, 27/10/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Clay Roberts defeated Shota with a Small Package (?:??).

Still in Texas, Shota had a match with Clay Roberts in New Texas Pro that had both on their social media afterwards full of happiness over their performances. It’s also been receiving praise from others who saw it. Unfortunately Roberts made sure to spoil the ending by giving Shota a Low Blow while the ref’s back was turned.


GLORY PRO “THE RELENTLESS”, 30/10/2022
South Broadway Athletic Club, St. Louis, USA

1. STL Vs The World Showcase: Benjamin Trust, ATM & Moses defeated Shota, GPA & Crash Jaxon when Moses submitted GPA with a Crab Hold (?:??).

Shota’s month ended with a trip to St. Louis for Glory Pro. He was part of a worldwide trio taking on three wrestlers representing St. Louis. He came out on the losing side.

———————————————————————–

Upcoming Appearances


MPW “NIGHT FALL”, 04/11/2022
Nordhoff PL, Chatsworth, California, USA

1. Dustin Daniels Vs Shota

Shota is pleased with his excursion so far. He’s been getting plenty of bookings to keep him active and is building up more friendships and connections around the wrestling scene. Next up for him in November is a return to Millennium Pro Wrestling for a match against Dustin Daniels.


LEVEL UP “BLINDING LIGHTS”, 05/11/2022
Attitude Brewing Company, San Diego, California, USA

1. Triple Threat Match: Hunter Freeman Vs Fabrizio Vs Shota

A Triple Threat match awaits Shota when he goes to San Diego for the Level Up Pro Wrestling School. One of his opponents is Fabrizio who trained at the school. The other is “The Backwoods Brawler” Hunter Freeman. That guy has been getting attention in GCW with his death match efforts this year.


ROW “FALL FURY”, 12/11/2022
Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA

1. Shota Vs X

Shota will be part of the next Reality Of Wrestling TV taping.


EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM V – SHOW 1”, 13/11/2022
229 The Venue, London, England

1. EVE Tag Team Titles: Rhia O’Reilly & Skye Smitson (c) Vs Hyper Misao & Session Moth
2. EVE Title No. 1 Contender Match: Millie McKenzie Vs Miyu Yamashita

Uh oh. Hyper Misao’s match at EVE is a big one because she gets to challenge for the EVE Tag Team Titles. It’s a chance for a TJPW wrestler to do one better than The Uprising and take the other promotion’s tag titles. However an even bigger wild card is thrown in the mix with Session Moth Martina as Misao’s tag partner!


EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM V – SHOW 2”, 13/11/2022
229 The Venue, London, England

1. Hyper Misao Vs X
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Whatever matches Yamashita and Misao will do on the second show most likely depends on what the results of the first show are. If both of them lose on the first show then don’t be surprised if they are put in the same match on the second show, maybe even against each other.


JCW “SERIES OF SURVIVALS”, 19/11/2022
Boonton Elks Lodge, Boonton, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Janai Kai

Back to the GCW circle where Maki Itoh returns. She’s popping up at JCW too for a first time match against Janai Kai.


WRESTLERAVE “IN YOUR WAREHOUSE”, 19/11/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. WrestleRave Title: Aaron Mercer (c) Vs Shota

Can Shota win his first American wrestling championship?


GCW “AURA”, 20/11/2022
Fete Music Hall, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Masha Slamovich

It’s been a breakout year for Masha Slamovich. Breaking through Itoh’s hard head might be her toughest test yet.


SPW “ASTRONOMICAL ANNIVERSARY – DAY 1”, 24/11/2022
Foochow Building, Singapore

1. SPW Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Da Butcherman & Dr. Gore

CDK have some dates in Singapore coming up. Two of them is for Singapore Pro Wrestling as they are holding a two day event to celebrate their 9 year anniversary. They have a SPW Tag Team Championship match against The Horrors. I cannot tell if these are existing tag championships, new ones or if the belts are vacant.


SPW “ASTRONOMICAL ANNIVERSARY – DAY 2”, 25/11/2022
Foochow Building, Singapore

1. Chris Brookes Vs X
2. SPW Southeast Asia Title – 4 Way Match: Aiden Rex (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi Vs Andruew Tang Vs Tajiri

Takanashi is in the main event 4 Way Match for the SPW Southeast Asia Title on Day 2. The champion right now is Aiden Rex but he is also defending the title on Day 1. The other challengers involved are former multi-time champion Andruew Tang and Tajiri.

Brookes is looking for an opponent and put out an open challenge for Day 2.


LLL “POD SIX WAS JERKS!”, 25/11/2022
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Shota Vs Austin Reddick

So there’s an Oriental Theater in Denver hosting a Lucha Libre & Laughs wrestling event? Quite the mixture there. Shota takes on Austin Reddick over there and the show also has Max The Impaler on it.


GRAPPLE MAX “GOLD STANDARD”, 03/12/2022
GymKraft, Tampines Street, Singapore

1. Masahiro Takanashi Vs X

Takanashi will also be at Grapple MAX’s 6th anniversary show.


APAC “RISE”, 10/12/2022
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1. APAC Women’s Title Tournament – Round 1: Maki Itoh Vs X
2. APAC Women’s Title Tournament – Round 1: Yuki Kamifuku Vs X

Malaysia in December sounds nice. Itoh and Yuki Kamifuku will be heading over there to compete in a tournament held by APAC Wrestling. It will be a four woman tournament also featuring former NXT wrestler Steph De Lander and Nor “Phoenix” Diana. This will be Kamifuku’s first time wrestling outside of Japan.

APAC “RISE”, 11/12/2022
Malaysia

1. APAC Women’s Title Tournament – Final: X Vs X

The winner of the tournament will be crowned the first APAC Women’s Champion!


PRESTIGE “VENDETTA”, 21/01/2023
The Glass House, Pomona, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Athena

Now here’s a heavy hitting match! Prestige is hosting Yamashita against Athena! Yamashita is undefeated in Prestige and will look to continue her winning streak over there. January of next year looks so far away.


DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

The biggest news of all in October is DDT heading back to America! They are coming to Los Angeles during WrestleMania weekend as part of The Collective. That is GCW’s collaborative series of events with other indies. It is DDT’s first show in America since their New York show in 2019.


DDT/GCW “GCW VS DDT”, 31/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

If that’s not enough, there’s a show the next day pitting DDT wrestlers against GCW wrestlers. While GCW does have a regular core roster they could have anybody showing up repping their colours on the day.

———————————————————————–

Cancelled Appearances


PW REVOLUTION/WEST COAST PRO “KING OF INDIES 2022”, 19/11/2022
United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, USA

1. King Of Indies 2022: Konosuke Takeshita Vs X

Well so much for that. Takeshita has been pulled from the big King Of Indies tournament. It’s taking place the same day as AEW’s big PPV “FULL GEAR”. Hopefully there is something being planned for him there because I was really looking forward to seeing how he would have fared in this tournament.