DDT Around The World – October 2024

November 1, 2024

Pop the champagne bottles because this month Konosuke Takeshita won his first AEW championship! The first of many I hope. After he finally achieved his crowning glory he… didn’t wrestle again in AEW for the rest of the month. Typical, eh? But he did wrestle elsewhere, up north in fact. And those were some pretty good matches too. His performances this month was enough to have Dave Meltzer call him one of the best wrestlers in the world. Other than that it was kind of a quiet month for everyone else I cover for this article. Yuka Sakazaki had a match in ROH then fantasized about murdering RJ City for Halloween, Shoko Nakajima was in DPW for a tournament final, Yuki Kamifuku continues being the Queen of Asia and Miyu Yamashita went to Canada.

Things are going to pick up in November though. DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro are having their shows with DEFY in Seattle, MAO and Yoshihiko are going on another European adventure together, Takeshita has stuff lined up with New Japan for the promotion’s next couple of USA shows, Yamashita will be paying GCW another visit and Pom Harajuku is going to be let loose in Southeast Asia. If that’s not enough we even have a peak at what to look forward to in 2025.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


After turning on Ospreay, the Don Callis Family hold a press conference! | 10/16/24, AEW Dynamite

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


1. Gisele Shaw Vs Miyu Yamashita


2. Mike Bailey Vs Konosuke Takeshita

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


1. Laynie Luck & Harley Cameron Vs Miyu Yamashita & Kylie Rae


2. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Josh Alexander


Yuka Has Fun! | Hey! (EW) 10/27/24

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Results


ROH “ROH ON HONOR CLUB”, 08/10/2024 (Aired 17/10/2024)
Spokane Arena, Spokane, Washington, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Viva Van with the Magical Girl Splash (5:44).

Sakazaki’s move over to ROH this month involved a tricky challenge against Viva Van. She was kept on her toes by Van bridging out of a pin and making Sakazaki flinch with a fakeout attack from the ropes. Sakazaki got her own back by also bridging out of a pin and doing her own Sliding Lariat, no fake out needed. She went on to win by using the Magical Merry-Go-Round as well as the Magical Girl Splash.


AEW “WRESTLEDREAM”, 12/10/2024
Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Washington, USA

1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Will Ospreay (c) and Ricochet when Takeshita pinned Ospreay with the Powerdrive Knee (20:42).
*V3 for Will Ospreay fails in V3. Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 10th AEW International Champion!

What a wonderful sight this was. Takeshita was part of a great match with Will Ospreay and Ricochet where everyone went balls to the wall. Takeshita took Ricochet out of the match by putting him through a table at ringside with the Reverse Implant. He also kicked out of Ospreay’s Hidden Blade but looked to be finished when Ospreay hit him with another one. That was when Don Callis pulled the referee out of the ring mid-count. Ospreay got his hands on Callis but just when he was about to give him the Tiger Driver ’91, Kyle Fletcher ran in and hit him over the head with a screwdriver. Takeshita then hit Ospreay with the Powerdrive Knee to win the AEW International Title. Even with the dirty finish the match got a *****1/2 rating from Meltzer.


DEXCON “JAM OF THE JOSHIS”, 13/10/2024
Brawl Pit Bulusan, Manila, Philippines

1. Queen Of Asia Title & VPW Women’s Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c/c) defeated Chelsea Marie with the Diving Famouser (?:??).
*V4 for the Queen Of Asia Title. V2 for the VPW Women’s Title.

The Philippines is where Yuki Kamifuku had her next defence of the Asian Double Crown. She had a close match against Chelsea Marie in what was just as much a battle of beauty as it was wits and skill. Marie almost won by putting Kamifuku in the Code Of Silence submission hold but the champ’s leg was long enough to reach over for a rope break. Marie climbed the ropes but was left vulnerable after Kamifuku reached out and poked her in the eye. Kamifuku Dropkicked her opponent off the turnbuckles then climbed up the same corner to hit the Diving Famouser and win the match.


DPW “SUPER BATTLE”, 13/10/2024
Grady Cole Center, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

1. Battle Of The Best – Final: Dani Luna defeated Shoko Nakajima with a Fireman’s Carry Bomb (13:17).

The winner of the Battle Of The Best tournament would be given a shot at the DPW Women’s World Title so Nakajima was on the cusp of getting that title shot. It wasn’t meant to be unfortunately. Dani Luna kicked out of the Northern Lights Suplex and prevented Nakajima from doing the Diving Senton by kicking her off the top rope. Nakajima didn’t expect Luna to then grab her on the apron from the ropes and throw her back into the ring with a Slingshot German Suplex. It was stunning enough for Luna to pin Nakajima with a Fireman’s Carry Bomb to win the tournament.


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

1. Gisele Shaw defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Denoument (12:36).
2. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Mike Bailey with the Raging Fire (24:39).

The debut weekend of Maple Leaf Pro had both Takeshita and Yamashita taking part in featured matches. The main event of Night 1 was Takeshita and Mike Bailey showing North America what they were missing when Speedball spent most of his time in Japan for DDT. It was already a cross-promotional match between AEW and TNA that became an even bigger deal because it was also the AEW International Champion against the X Division Champion! Bailey kicked out of the Powerdrive Knee but was put away with the Raging Fire. It was another match of Takeshita’s that Meltzer gave the ***** to this month.

History will look back on Miyu Yamashita Vs Gisele Shaw as the buffer match that was placed in between one of the best matches of the year and one of the worst. I admit that’s an unfair way to look at things so seek this out because it was a pretty good match. Had Yamashita won she would have been added to the ROH Women’s World Title match on Night 2. But Shaw wasn’t going to let her get in the way and won this match with her own Running Knee Strike.


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

1. Miyu Yamashita & Kylie Rae defeated Laynie Luck & Harley Cameron when Yamashita pinned Luck with the Skull Kick (9:26).
2. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Josh Alexander with the Raging Fire (29:31).
*V1 for Konosuke Takeshita.

The last time Takeshita fought Josh Alexander one on one it ended in a time limit draw. For the rematch he was putting the AEW International Title on the line. Just like the night before, Takeshita almost won with the Powerdrive Knee and had to use the Raging Fire to put away his opponent. But after the match he and Don Callis decided to continue the attack on Alexander until Ricochet made a surprise appearance to fight Takeshita. The two of them would butt heads again in AEW later in the month so this looks to be Takeshita’s AEW program for November.

On Night 1 Kylie Rae was attacked by Laynie Luck & Harley Cameron so Yamashita’s role here was to even the odds for a tag match. While Rae took care of Cameron outside the ring, Yamashita pinned Luck with the Skull Kick inside the ring.

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Upcoming Appearances


BZW “FRIDAY NIGHT BANGER”, 01/11/2024
Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France

1. MAO Vs KURO

Once the calendar flips over to November MAO will be travelling around the world once more with the DDT Universal Title back in his possession. First destination is in France for a weekend of Banger Zone Wrestling events. KURO will be his opponent on Night 1.


BZW “ALCATRAZ”, 02/11/2024
Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France

1. BZW Tag Team Titles: Jack Sans-Nom & Paul Robinson (c) Vs MAO & Yoshihiko

On Night 2, MAO will be joined by Yoshihiko to cause more international trouble. One of MAO’s goals for his overseas tour this time is to win a foreign company’s championship so the two of them will face Jack Sans-Nom & Paul Robinson for the BZW Tag Team Titles.


SPW “CROWNING GLORY”, 08/11/2024
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Alexis Lee Vs Pom Harajuku

Pom Harajuku is travelling to Singapore by herself without supervision! Is she going to be a sitting duck for Alexis Lee to tear apart limb from limb?


NJPW “FIGHTING SPIRIT UNLEASHED 2024”, 08/11/2024
Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA

1. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs X

What is going to be in store for Takeshita when he goes back to New Japan next month for their next American show? Maybe Ricochet will show up looking for a fight again.


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

1. Rika Tatsumi & Amira Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
2. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Wakana Uehara
3. Moka Miyamoto Vs Rebel Kel
4. Mizuki Vs Liiza Hall
5. Miu Watanabe & Shoko Nakajima Vs Yuki Aino & Zara Zakher
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Vert Vixen & Nicole Matthews

All shows from the DDT/TJPW/DEFY weekend will be airing on Triller via the TrillerTV+ subscription.


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

1. 3 Way Tag Match: Cody Chhun & Guillermo Rosas Vs Bryan Keith & Shota Vs Eddie Pearl & Ricky Gibson
2. Danshoku Dieno Vs Randy Myers
3. Gringo Loco Vs Yuni
4. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Artemis Spencer Vs Gurv Shira & Harv Shira
5. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Kohei Kinoshita
6. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: MAO (c) Vs Mike Bailey Vs Miyu Yamashita

More news for this show has been announced while I’ve been writing this with more still to come. Marina Shafir and Nick Wayne will both be there to wrestle.


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

1. Special Single Match: Gringo Loco Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. Special Tag Match: MAO & Mike Bailey Vs Judas Icarus & Travis Williams
3. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Yuni

I think some of the remaining card will not be decided until the other shows have taken place first.


GCW “CHAOS IN KENTUCKY”, 14/11/2024
Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Brooke Havok

Three GCW matches for Yamashita coming up in November. She faces Brooke Havok in a first time ever meeting between the two.


GCW “GATEWAY TO THE DEATH”, 15/11/2024
Pop’s Nightclub, Sauget, Illinois, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Mike Bailey

If this match is anything like their Pandemonium Pro bout from last December then the GCW fans will be in for a treat. Just make sure to use a better camera angle for the finish this time…


GCW “NICK GAGE INVITATIONAL 9”, 16/11/2024
Level 13 Event Center, Orlando, Florida, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Is GCW going to keep that tournament name even though they’re currently on the outs with Nick Gage? Does that mean Maki Itoh has to drop the Maki Death Kill stuff the next time she goes back there or can she take over the gimmick like Kazuki Hirata did with Magnum TOKYO?


SETUP “YEAR END CLIMAX”, 30/11/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – No DQ Match: Matcha (c) Vs Pom Harajuku

When Harajuku was in a 3 Way Match against Matcha and Raku a month earlier, Matcha was the winner but she pinned Raku and Harajuku was left as the odd one out. Matcha and Harajuku then got into a fight and had to be kept apart. This unexpected grudge is coming to a head in November because SETUP is booking the two of them in a No DQ Match with the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title on the line!


NJPW “STRONG STYLE EVOLVED”, 15/12/2024
Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, California, USA

1. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs X

Takeshita will also be at NJPW USA’s December show. With two dates here for the rest of 2024 one of them would surely be a good place to defend the AEW International Title.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AEX32 SANTIAGO 2025”, 08-09/02/2025
Mapocho Station Cultural Center, Santiago, Chile

Both Yamashita and Itoh have filmed videos promoting their matches at the AEX convention. It sounds like there might be matches featuring local wrestlers as well as whoever else TJPW sends over. At least Yamashita and Itoh said they would like to fight whoever Chile can throw at them.


DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE COLLECTIVE 2025”, 17-19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

The actual shows haven’t been officially announced yet but The Collective tagged DDT and TJPW in their tweet announcing next year’s edition of Wrestlemania Week in Las Vegas. I’ll be there for sure!


DDT Around The World – WrestleMania Week 2023

April 1, 2023

So WrestleMania Week is not over yet by a long shot. The actual shows behind the namesake haven’t even taken place by the time I am posting this. But all of the DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro related wrestling shows are now finished by this point. The wrestlers will be spending the rest of the weekend as convention guests and as tourists enjoying the sights and sounds of Los Angeles.

The vacation hasn’t been entirely relaxing though. The hotel all of the DDT wrestlers were staying at had to be evacuated in the early hours of Friday morning because of a burst pipe flooding the building. It caused all of the DDT wrestlers to lose a lot of sleep before the GCW show. Funny thing is when Sanshiro Takagi explained what happened on Twitter a lot of Japanese fans didn’t believe him. It was already 1st April in Japan because of the time difference so some fans thought Takagi was pulling an April Fool’s Joke!

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Videos


Video starts at 53:28 for the match
AEW “DARK”, 28/03/2023
Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Cole Karter


IMPACT “IMPACT WRESTLING”, 30/03/2023
St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Killer Kelly


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 31/03/2023
Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

1. Sammy Guevara (w/ Tay Melo) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Video starts at 21:10 for the match
ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2023: ZERO HOUR”, 31/03/2023
Galen Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

0. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Willie Mack

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Results


ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 29/03/2023 (Aired 30/03/2023)
Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Shazza McKenzie with the Skull Kick (4:45).

First Impact, now ROH. Is Yamashita keeps going at this rate she might show up at an MLW taping if she’s not careful. She kicked Shazza McKenzie’s head off to win her ROH debut.


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

1. Steph De Lander & Heather Monroe defeated Maki Itoh & Kidd Bandit (?:??).

What on earth happened here? The night started off well for Maki Itoh with her getting backup dancers for her entrance. But her tag partner Kidd Bandit ended up betraying her, costing them the match against Steph De Lander & Heather Monroe. Bandit’s only explanation to Itoh after the match was “There can be only one” and then they walked out on her. Itoh’s response to that was yelling “I hate everyone!”


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 29/03/2023 (Aired 31/03/2023)
Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

1. Sammy Guevara (w/ Tay Melo) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the GTH (9:43).

Konosuke Takeshita’s week began with a match against one of AEW’s chosen pillars at Rampage. Victory was in his grasp until Tay Melo grabbed his leg in the corner for a distraction. That allowed Sammy Guevara to strike Takeshita from behind with a Jumping Knee and then hit the GTH to steal the win.

Yoshihiko took a detour to St. Louis on the way to LA so it could attend the AEW show. It was granted a visitor’s pass and got to enjoy catering while watching the matches. It also hung out with some of the staff like Bryce Remsburg. Since Yoshihiko brought along the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title it made sense to stay near a ref the whole time.


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

1. TJPW 10-Woman Tag Showcase: Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao, Yuki Kamifuku & Yuki Aino defeated Rika Tatsumi, Nao Kakuta, Miu Watanabe, Hikari Noa & Raku when Mizuki pinned Raku with the Diving Foot Stomp (14:21).

While Yamashita and Itoh were busy around the indies, the rest of the TJPW roster went to visit WrestleCon. 10 of them got together to put on a 10-Woman Tag match for the fans. Mizuki led a team consisting of Kyoraku Kyomei, Yuki Kamifuku & Yuki Aino to beat Rika Tatsumi, Nao Kakuta & The Up Up Girls.


DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata defeated Chris Brookes & Yoshihiko (c) when MAO pinned Yoshihiko after the Oretachi no Mad Max (17:29).
*MAO becomes the 1,567th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Chris Brookes defeated MAO (c) with the Praying Mantis Bomb (8:24 pm).
*Chris Brookes becomes the 1,568th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yoshihiko defeated Chris Brookes (c) with 3 Canadian Destroyers in a row (8:25 pm).
*Yoshihiko becomes the 1,569th champion.
2. Pheromones Vs Takagi Army All Out Battle In HOLLYWOOD: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Michael Nakazawa ended in a No Contest (11:08).
3. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada defeated Andrew “The Giant” Everett & Nick Wayne when Higuchi pinned Everett with the Brain Claw Slam (11:33).
4. Saki Akai defeated Vert Vixen with the Quetzalcoatl (6:09)
5. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo defeated Joey Janela with the Burning Star Press (15:28).
6. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Eddie Kingston defeated Daisuke Sasaki & KANON when Akiyama pinned KANON with the Exploder Suplex (10:35).
7. Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Yuki Ueno with the Zahi (15:16).

A report of the show can be found here.


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

1. 4 Way Match: Deonna Purrazzo defeated Masha Slamovich, Gisele Shaw and Miyu Yamashita when Purrazzo pinned Shaw with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (9:20).

Yamashita got off to a good start in Impact last week when she beat Killer Kelly in her debut. Her next challenge saw her get caught in the race for the future of the Knockouts World Title. If she had won the 4 Way match she would have qualified for a title match at Impact’s next PPV in April. Instead she was left out of the result because Deonna Purrazzo pinned Gisele Shaw to win that opportunity.


WPW “RUSSELL CROWE WRESTLING: RUSSEL MANIA III”, 30/03/2023
Burbank Moose Lodge, Burbank, California, USA

1. Mizuki Watase defeated Gregory Sharpe and Eli Everfly (?:??).

I can’t find much info about this match other than Mizuki Watase won using a new move. This is all according to Watase himself. He also had the Spirit Of Ganbare Title with him. Doesn’t sound like it was defended though.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES”, 31/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
665 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta defeated Suzume & Arisu Endo when Noa pinned Endo after the 5G (11:38).
2. Janai Kai defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Tornado Kick (4:57).
3. Hyper Misao & Trish Adora defeated Yuki Aino & Raku when Misao pinned Raku with the I Am A Hero (9:03).
4. Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer defeated Shoko Nakajima & Miu Watanabe when Max pinned Nakajima after the Master Blaster (11:56).
5. International Princess Title: Rika Tatsumi (c) defeated Billie Starkz with the Missile Hip (8:56).
*V1 for Rika Tatsumi.
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki defeated Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) when Mizuki pinned Itoh with the Diving Foot Stomp (15:51).
*121000000 fails in V1. The Magical Sugar Rabbits becomes the 13th Princess Tag Team Champions!

A report of the show can be found here.


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

1. Gringo Loco, Marcus Mathers, Dyln McKay & Jack Cartwheel defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & Takeshi Masada when Cartwheel pinned Masada with the Jack Arrow (10:42).
2. Dark Sheik defeated Saki Akai with a Wrist-Clutch Inside Cradle (7:20).
3. Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne defeated MAO & Mike Bailey when Oliver pinned Bailey after the Combined Springboard Cutter (16:18).
4. Kazusada Higuchi defeated Starboy Charlie with the Brain Claw Slam (11:40).
5. Yuki Ueno defeated Joey Janela with the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher (10:21).
6. Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama defeated Homicide & Tony Deppen when Endo pinned Deppen with the Burning Star Press (12:18).
7. Matthew Justice, Mance Warner & 1 Called Manders defeated Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata & Mizuki Watase when Warner pinned Katsumata with a DDT (15:19).
8. Effy & Allie Katch Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno ended in a No Contest (13:37).
9. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Cole Radrick defeated Yoshihiko (c) with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse onto a Chair (14:49).
*Cole Radrick becomes the 1,570th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yoshihiko defeated Cole Radrick with a Cradle (5:47 pm).
*Yoshihiko becomes the 1,571st champion.

A report of the show can be found here.


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

0. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Willie Mack with the Zahi (9:36).
1. ROH Women’s World Title: Athena (c) defeated Yuka Sakazaki with the O-Face (11:38).
*V7 for Athena.

Before she headed over to the ROH PPV, Yuka Sakazaki regained the Princess Tag Team Titles at the TJPW show. Her hopes of ending the night as a double champion by also winning the ROH Women’s World Title did not come to fruition. Athena kicked out of the Magical Girl Splash and the Magical Merry-Go-Round. She then relied on her mean streak to push the referee into Sakazaki’s way when she climbed the ropes for another Splash. The distraction gave Athena time to climb up the turnbuckles beside Sakazaki and then catch her in the O-Face to retain her title. It was announced later in the night that Athena’s next defence will be against Miyu Yamashita on next week’s ROH show.

Takeshita showed up on Zero Hour for a bonus pre-show match against Willie Mack. Not to take anything away from it but news was broken by Fightful during the day that Takeshita had a different match planned for the PPV itself. His opponent? It was going to be Will Ospreay… Yep. We could have gotten Takeshita Vs Ospreay if it wasn’t for the latter’s injury… God damn it. Well at least now that is out in the open it could still happen down the road somewhere.


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

1. Taya Valkyrie defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Road To Valhalla (7:34).

It’s rare to see a day where Yamashita loses twice in a row but there’s going to be times in this tour where we all have to remember she isn’t the big fish in a small pond over here. Taya Valkyrie is on a hot run too that might be approaching its peak with her AEW appearances so the result shouldn’t be that much of a surprise.


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

1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh Vs Effy & Allie Katch when Itoh pinned Effy with the I.S.D (16:07).

The one and only time Maki Death Kill were teaming up was as chaotic as it sounds. Itoh & Nick Gage each had a pizza cutter and used them against Bussy, leaving Effy & Allie Katch both bleeding. Steel chairs were also brought into the match and Gage threw one in Effy’s face. Itoh then pinned Effy with the Flying DDT while Gage also pinned Katch with a One-Winged Angel. Their celebration was short lived when Matt Cardona and Steph De Lander ambushed them with chairs after the match. They did that because they had no match booked on the show. The segment then morphed into De Lander getting an impromptu GCW World Title match against Masha Slamovich.

Yoshihiko made an unexpected appearance during the show accompanied by a masked handler and even cut a promo. Or at least it nodded when asked if it wants to stick around in GCW. Suddenly Charles Mason and his bodyguard Parrow attacked Yoshihiko because Mason is sick of this kind of nonsense going on. Mason even pulled out a knife and threatened to slash Yoshihiko’s throat open! The handler came to Yoshihiko’s rescue but was overwhelmed and unmasked to reveal he was Jimmy Lloyd. Mason held LLoyd down so Parrow could finish the job until Yoshihiko fought back and slammed Parrow with a German Suplex! Mason had to flee the ring out of fear.


GCW “EMO FIGHT”, 31/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & Mike Bailey defeated Miedo Extremo & Ciclope and Dyln McKay & Marcus Mathers when MAO & Bailey pinned McKay with the Michinoku Tornado Driver (13:47).

Moonlight Express must have been feeling depressed over losing the match after all because they showed up for the main event of GCW’s emo themed show. They fought Los Macizos (where the hell were they earlier?) and Wasted Youth in the early hours of the morning. There was also a bit of a sing song during the match. It might have been done to see if Los Macizos really were emo.


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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 – September 2022

October 1, 2022

The international adventures of the extended DDT family is a little bit different this month compared to our previous reports. Konosuke Takeshita was back in Japan all last month, Shota completed the first month of his US excursion, the DDT Extreme Title went over there too in Joey Janela’s luggage and there were no AEW bookings in America for the usual crew. Instead Europe was a bigger focus by the end of the month with CDK and others heading over to England. Things will ramp back up in October with Takeshita heading back to the US for almost the rest of this year while Shota continues to get bookings in the underrated Texas territory of the independents along with other places. By the time November comes along it will probably take me a solid week to get these posts ready.

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Videos


Video starts at 18:59 for the match
MPW “ENDANGERED”, 02/09/2022
Nordhoff PL, Chatsworth, California, USA

1. Triple Threat Match: Darwin Finch Vs J2 Mattioli Vs Shota


Video starts at 47:25 for the match
PWF “ENDANGERED”, 03/09/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. JJ Blake Vs Shota Suzuki


Video starts at 39:18 for the match
JCW “UNCENSORED”, 10/09/2022
Boonton Elks Lodge, Boonton, New Jersey, USA

1. DDT Extreme Title – Bodyslam Challenge Match: Joey Janela (c) Vs Beastman


Video starts at 6:11 for the match
ROW “TEXAS GOLD RUSH”, 10/09/2022
Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA

1. Shota Vs Ayden Cristiano


NEW “YEAR ONE ANNIVERSARY”, 16/09/2022
Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada

1. Maki Itoh Vs Gisele Shaw


Video starts at 1:54:00 for the match
FRONTLINE PRO “A NIGHT FOR TYLER V”, 24/09/2022
Bakerville Bar And Grill, Marshfield, Wisconsin, USA

1. Shota Vs Ragnar The Ruthless


Video starts at 0:21 for Match #1. Go to 1:32:55 for Match #2
MDRN NMD “I SPELL F-L-Y”, 29/09/2022
The Bread Shed, Grosvenor St., Manchester, England

1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs LK Mezinger & Splits McPins
2. Shigehiro Irie Vs Dan Moloney

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Results


EVE “THURSDAY NIGHT RIOT”, 01/09/2022
229 The Venue, London, England

1. Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade defeated Rayne Leverkusen & Harley Hudson when O’Reilly pinned Leverkusen after a Double Elevated DDT (9:40).
2. International Princess Title: Alex Windsor (c) defeated Hikari Noa with the GTF (14:41).
*V1 for Alex Windsor.

The month started off with Hikari Noa travelling to Camden Town in London, England. She was there for an EVE show and wanted to take the International Princess Title back to Japan. That did not work out. Instead Alex Windsor was too high a wall for her to climb over and Noa had to leave England empty handed. Windsor will be back in Tokyo Joshi Pro for “WRESTLE PRINCESS III” next month.

The Uprising won their match to get a trip to Japan for TJPW. Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade promised they are coming to Japan to crush whoever is thrown their way. TJPW took their words as them challenging Reiwa AA Cannon for the Princess Tag Team Titles at “WRESTLE PRINCESS III”.


MPW “ENDANGERED”, 02/09/2022
Nordhoff PL, Chatsworth, California, USA

1. Triple Threat Match: J2 Mattioli defeated Darwin Finch and Shota when Mattioli pinned Shota with an Elbow Strike (?:??).

The American excursion for Shota kicked off in California for Millenium Pro Wrestling and he was so close to starting his stay with a win. Shota had Darwin Finch pinned with the Frog Splash when J2 Mattioli struck him in the back of the head with an Elbow Smash. That was a knockout blow and it was Shota who ended up having his shoulders pinned for the three count.


PWF “LIVEWIRE”, 03/09/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. JJ Blake defeated Shota Suzuki with the Hollywood & Vine (?:??).

The next day Shota travelled over to Houston, Texas where he will be spending a lot of time during his excursion. It was another loss for Shota as his Premier Wrestling Federation with JJ Blake ended with him getting pinned with a Rock Bottom. It was under fairer circumstances because the finish was set up by Blake catching Shota’s Diving Cross Body and rolling him into position for his finisher.


GCW “THE ART OF WAR”, 03/09/2022
Grand Sports Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA

1. DDT Extreme Title & 6 Pack Of PBR – 2 Ring Ladder Scramble Match: Joey Janela (c) defeated Mike Bailey, Tony Deppen, Cole Radrick, Drago Kid, Gringo Loco, Dante Leon and Shane Mercer when Janela pinned Deppen with a Diving Elbow from the Ladder (18:26).
*V1 for Joey Janela.

Joey Janela has the DDT Extreme Title with him in America and he got DDT to endorse a few title defences while he is over there. The first one was a complete gamble because he put the title on the line in GCW against seven other wrestlers in a two ring ladder match. The one advantage with this is everybody destroys each other by the end so there comes a point where nobody can stop you. Janela found that moment and remained champion among all the chaos.


JCW “UNCENSORED”, 10/09/2022
Boonton Elks Lodge, Boonton, New Jersey, USA

1. DDT Extreme Title – Bodyslam Challenge Match: Joey Janela (c) defeated Beastman with the Body Slam through a Door (13:17).
*V2 for Joey Janela.

The following week was a lot more calmer atmosphere for Janela but still a very painful experience. He had to figure out how to Body Slam a big opponent like Beastman in JCW. Janela found his opening when the two found themselves standing on the turnbuckles. Janela struck Beastman with a large bone that Beastman brought with him to the ring. Janela then used the leverage of the turnbuckles to Body Slam his opponent through a door placed over some chairs in the middle of the ring to be declared the winner.


ROW “TEXAS GOLD RUSH”, 10/09/2022
Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA

1. Ayden Cristiano defeated Shota with a Modified Stretch (?:??).

The numbers game went against Shota for his return to ROW. Members of La Familia interfered in the match and aided Ayden Cristiano in beating Shota by submission.


NEW “YEAR ONE ANNIVERSARY”, 16/09/2022
Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada

1. Maki Itoh defeated Gisele Shaw with the I.S.D (13:23).

Canada got the full Maki Itoh experience with her first visit to the country. She got a big win over there too by beating Impact’s own Gisele Shaw.


PRESTIGE “PERSEVERANCE”, 17/09/2022
The Glass House, Pomona, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Trish Adora with the Skull Kick (14:04).
2. Sandra Moone defeated Maki Itoh with the Moone’s Landing (10:26).

The next day Itoh met up with Miyu Yamashita in America for their latest Prestige appearances. Itoh was given a big spot with a semi-main event match against Sandra Moone. After a heavy back and forth fight, Moone used a Gutwrench Driver to spike Itoh onto the canvas and grab the win.

Earlier in the show Yamashita fought Trish Adora in a highly anticipated match up that’s been receiving high praise from those who have seen it. Seek it out when you can.


MISSION PRO “Welcome To The Jungle”, 17/09/2022
Salvation Army Mission Corps, San Antonio, Texas, USA

1. JP Harlow defeated Shota with the Freedom Bomb (?:??).

Shota still hasn’t gotten a win yet during his American stay. Some of it could be down to bad luck but here in Mission Pro it was because JP Harlow cheated to win.


FRONTLINE PRO “A NIGHT FOR TYLER V”, 24/09/2022
Bakerville Bar And Grill, Marshfield, Wisconsin, USA

1. Ragnar The Ruthless defeated Shota with the TKO (?:??).

I couldn’t find the result for this match. I’ll update the post if I ever do.


PROGRESS “CHAPTER 142: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN SNAKE”, 25/09/2022
O2 Academy, Birmingham, England

1. Shigehiro Irie defeated Gene Munny with the Beast Bomber (6:18).
2. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Kid Lykos & Kid Lykos II (19:15).

Home sweet home for Chris Brookes. His last match in England was over two and a half years ago. So much has happened since then. His CCK teammate Kid Lykos went and got another tag partner, turning Joe Nelson into Kid Lykos II. So PROGRESS went and booked CDK against Lykos Gym for Brookes’ big return to the promotion. Masahiro Takanashi ended up seeing a whole lot of his buddy’s past this week.

Meanwhile Shigehiro Irie is sticking around the same general area as CDK during his stay in Europe. He’s taking pretty much the same bookings as them while they are over in this part of the world. His return to PROGRESS ended with a win over Gene Munny, although I heard the allegedly prestigious Gene Munny Championship was not on the line.


PROGRESS “RETURN OF THE FLY”, 27/09/2022
The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England

1. Masahiro Takanashi defeated Luke Jacobs (10:11).
2. PROGRESS Atlas Title: Big Damo (c) defeated Shigehiro Irie (8:18).
*V1 for Big Damo.
3. No DQ Match: Kid Lykos defeated Chris Brookes (17:44).

Two days later saw PROGRESS host what is being described by their fans as one of the most memorable matches in the promotion’s recent history. Brookes and Lykos faced off in a singles match that became a violent No DQ bout. Lykos ended up fighting the end to the match with his mask ripped apart and barely hanging off him but he didn’t care about fighting with his face fully exposed. It was an emotional scene when Lykos ended up winning and whatever bad blood that developed between the two was all swept away once the match was over.

Irie got a chance to win the PROGRESS Atlas Title, the promotion’s championship that is fought exclusively in the heavyweight division. He took on the new champion from Northern Ireland, Big Damo who just won the belt a few days earlier.

Takanashi had something to do too. He beat the previous Atlas Champion Luke Jacobs early in the card.


MDRN NMD “I SPELL F-L-Y”, 29/09/2022
The Bread Shed, Grosvenor St., Manchester, England

1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated LK Mezinger & Splits McPins when Brookes pinned Mezinger after the Praying Mantis Bomb & Super Kick Combo (?:??).
2. Dan Moloney defeated Shigehiro Irie (?:??).

All of the drama and seriousness of the PROGRESS matches called for a needed change of pace for our crew. Modern Nomad Pro Wrestling was just the tonic they were looking for. CDK split apart Bowl-A-Rama but Irie suffered an upset loss against Dan Moloney.


WXW “INNER CIRCLE”, 30/09/2022
wXw Wrestling Academy, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

1. Fuminori Abe defeated Masha Slamovich with the Manjigatame (10:22).
2. Shigehiro Irie defeated Peter Tihanyi with the Beast Bomber (11:57).

This result is coming in hot, right before I finished the complete article and had it ready to post. Shigehiro Irie’s weekend in Germany began with a win against Peter Tihanyi.

According to reports on Twitter, there was a spot in the Masha Slamovich Vs Fuminori Abe match where Abe punched a wall. He has at least three more matches this weekend!

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Upcoming Appearances


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

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie Vs Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Axel Tischer & Eric Young Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi

The World Tag Team Festival lineup is completed and CDK have three teams all completely different from each other to go against. The opening day sees them against a SAnitY reunion! Eric Young is heading over to Germany to team with Axel Tischer, formerly known in WWE as Alexander Wolfe. Meanwhile Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie takes on longtime wXw wrestlers “Avalanche” Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman, together known as Amboss. Irie has fought both of them in the past while Abe has been in the ring with just Dreissker.


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

1. Shota Suzuki Vs Dante Leon

Houston, Texas is Shota’s home away from home during his American stay. It’s a bit of a CyberFight crossover here because Dante Leon wrestled in NOAH recently.


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

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Senza Volto & Aigle Blanc
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku Vs Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie

Day 2 in wXw sees Abe & Irie meeting Violence Is Forever for the first time. Expect all four wrestlers to beat the hell out of each other in that one. Brookes & Takanashi will have a very different change of pace when they face The Frenchadors. The two masked wrestlers Senza Volto & Aigle Blanc could not be any more different from SAnitY.


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

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie Vs Nikita Charisma & Michael Schenkenberg
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Prince Ahura & Maggot Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi

The final block matches has both teams taking on wXw regulars. CDK’s opponents Pretty Bastards are the previous winners of the WTTF held back in 2019. Prince Ahura & Maggot are accomplished singles wrestlers in their own right too with Maggot currently holding the wXw Shotgun Title. Abe & Irie’s final group match is against Rot Und Flott, the reigning wXw World Tag Team Champions. As the current title holders that makes Nikita Charisma & Michael Schenkenberg early favorites to win the tournament.


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

1. Shota Vs Steve Scott

Shota makes his JCW debut. His opponent “2Hot” Steve Scott is a JCW regular with some GCW appearances scattered around here and there.


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

1. World Cup 3: Maya Yukihi Vs X
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs Millie McKenzie

Over in Spain, RCW are holding a women’s wrestling tournament filled with talent around the world. Maya Yukihi is an entrant representing Japan. Nightshade is taking part as the UK entry. Miyu Yamashita will also be on the show but she is scheduled for a non-tournament match. Now, right before I was about to post this article, I saw RCW’s tweet about Millie McKenzie being on the show as Yamashita’s opponent. If it’s a one-on-one match the timing of that is convenient because…


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

1. Hyper Misao Vs X
2. EVE Title No. 1 Contender Match: Millie McKenzie Vs Miyu Yamashita

The return of Millie McKenzie without restrictions to the British wrestling scene after NXT UK’s closure wasted no time in becoming newsworthy. She made an unexpected appearance at the “THURSDAY NIGHT RIOT” show and after her match was finished, it was announced she will take on Miyu Yamashita in November! It was then later revealed the match will determine the No. 1 Contender for the EVE Title. EVE are splitting “WRESTLE QUEENDOM V” into two shows, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. The Millie Vs Miyu match will be on the afternoon show. Hyper Misao’s match has not been announced yet so she could be on either shows, if not both.


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

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

WrestleRave is a young promotion that’s been running out of the Houston Premier Arena for just over a year. Shota has a chance to become the promotion’s second ever champion if he can beat Aaron Mercer.


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

Konosuke Takeshita made have to run through a growing killer lineup if he wants to win the King Of Indies tournament. Katsuhiko Nakajima is the latest Japanese name entering the tournament while luchador Viento won a qualifying match to earn a spot. I’m hearing there’s been a recent groundswell in support for Titus Alexander to win too.


DDT Around The World – August 2022

September 1, 2022

The summer is over and I thought this article would be winding down and become easier to write about for a few months. After all, Konosuke Takeshita is back in Japan for a while so his AEW journey is on a little break. Instead Shota decides to go live in America and get bookings for some of the most obscure indie companies I have ever heard of. I mean some are so out of the way if you bring them up to the people who run IWTV their response would probably be “Who?” But once September and October are done and dusted Takeshita will be heading back to the US with bigger goals in mind. I think it’s too early right now to talk about whether or not he’s going to be one foot out the door with DDT for good. It’s definitely something I’ll have to write about some day, just not today.

So this series might look a little different in the coming months. Joey Janela is carrying the DDT Extreme Title around the world and has a number of defences already lined up. I’ll be keeping track of them here for as long as it goes on. The same will go for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title if that ever leaves Japan again. So yeah if you’re expecting next month’s post to be about more of Takeshita’s adventures, you’re probably going to get a face full of Shota and Janela instead. However I have a expectation you’ll still see Yuka Sakazaki, Maki Itoh and Miyu Yamashita popping up in AEW every now and then to go along with their North American indie bookings. Did you see that Sakazaki is going to be in the AEW video game? Take that FTR!

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Videos


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 05/08/2022
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Ryan Nemeth


Video starts at 58:37 for the match
WIDE BAY PRO “RAMPAGE”, 06/08/2022
Maryborough State High School, Sussex Street, Maryborough, Australia

1. Interstate Title: Mitch Ryder (c) (w/ Todd Eastman) Vs Shota Suzuki


AEW “BATTLE OF THE BELTS III”, 06/08/2022
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

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


MAW “SUMMER HEAT”, 07/08/2022
Fat Pants Brewing Company, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs JDX


Video starts at 43:23 for the match
JCW “AFTER HOURS 2”, 13/08/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Billie Starkz


Video starts at 15:08 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 15/08/2022
Target Cente, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Cezar Bononi


Video starts at 36:45 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 22/08/2022
Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, West Virginia, USA

1. Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue Vs Emi Sakura & Maki Itoh

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Results


AEW “BATTLE OF THE BELTS III”, 05/08/2022 (Aired 06/08/2022)
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

1. ROH World Title: Claudio Castagnoli (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Ricola Bomb (19:59).
*V1 for Claudio Castagnoli.

Takeshita is now 0 for 2 in World Championship matches during his excursion. He couldn’t win the PWG World Title in July and last month couldn’t beat Claudio Castagnoli for the ROH World Title. It’s another tale of so close but so far for him. He’s putting up the great performances but just not getting those wins when it matters.


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 05/08/2022
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Ryan Nemeth with the Zahi (1:41).

One good thing to happen on the taping was Takeshita’s first win on national TV. Funny thing is this was taped after the ROH Title match but aired on TV the day before. Takeshita wanted to get that one big win on TV before he went back to Japan. Ryan Nemeth isn’t that big win to be honest but hey, it’s a start.


WIDE BAY PRO “RAMPAGE”, 06/08/2022
Maryborough State High School, Sussex Street, Maryborough, Australia

1. Interstate Title: Mitch Ryder (c) (w/ Todd Eastman) defeated Shota Suzuki with the Rope Assisted Piledriver (?:??).
*V? for Mitch Ryder.

You’ll notice that Shota will be using the name Shota Suzuki in some places. It’s to avoid people confusing him with Shota Umino. I can tell you myself whenever I tweet about Shota’s excursion I get a few responses from people thinking I’m talking about the Shota from New Japan. Anyway he had the pleasure of being Wide Bay Pro’s first international guest wrestler on their shows. He was hoping to win the Interstate Title from Mitch Ryder and use the belt as his ticket to wrestle in Australia more. Unfortunately Ryder’s manager Todd Eastman got involved and his distraction led to Shota losing to a see-saw Piledriver over the middle rope.


DPW “BELIEVE THE HYPE”, 06/08/2022
Gov. James E. Holshouser Building, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

1. Emi Sakura defeated Mizuki with the Queen’s Gambit (11:02).
2. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Andrew Everett with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (18:41).

Mixed results on the Deadlock Pro show. The main event had Takeshita beat Andrew Everett in an absolute scorcher of a match. Mizuki’s first match in America ended in a loss to Emi Sakura. The teacher versus student dynamic was on full display. Sakura even got one more dirty reminder after the match by offering a handshake just to attack Mizuki even more. However the fans responded greatly to Mizuki and were happy to hear her shout “I will be back!”


MAW “SUMMER HEAT”, 07/08/2022
Fat Pants Brewing Company, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated JDX with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (17:38).

I heard about this match happening from a few Discords but couldn’t find info on it until after it took place. Midwest All-Star Wrestling is a regular promotion for JDX (Justin D. Xavier, the D stands for Disgusting). He thought Takeshita was going to look past him because his focus was on the ROH Title match. Instead Takeshita put him through a hard fought match and had his hand raised in the end.


AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 10/08/2022 (Aired 15/08/2022)
Target Cente, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Cezar Bononi with the Zahi (2:37).

With this win over Cezar Bononi, Takeshita has one more opponent he needs to beat for a clean sweep over The Wingmen. Where you at, Peter Avalon?


PROGRESS “CHAPTER 137: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COPPERHEAD”, 13/08/2022
O2 Academy, Sheffield, England

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Leon Slater with the Zahi (12:17).

Over to England now where Takeshita made his PROGRESS debut. His 17 year old opponent Leon Slater was a replacement for an injured Robbie X. Slater put up a heck of a fight but his big mistake was to try and set up a One Man Spanish Fly off the top rope. Takeshita instead used the stalled time to knock Slater off the turnbuckle with a Lariat and then pin him with the Zahi.


JCW “AFTER HOURS 2”, 13/08/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Billie Starkz defeated Maki Itoh with the Assault Driver (11:13).

Those cheeky gits at GCW advertised Maki Itoh for both nights of their Homecoming weekend but her match on the first night was with JCW instead. I think she did fan meet and greets during the GCW show so they can probably get away with avoiding accusations of false advertising. Anyway her match against Billie Starkz happened very late at night. She had a busy schedule for the following day.


PROGRESS “CHAPTER 138: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COTTONMOUTH”, 14/08/2022
Boiler Shop, Newcastle, England

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Dean Allmark with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (10:05).

Takeshita’s second day in PROGRESS gave him a far more experienced opponent to deal with in the form of Dean Allmark. He had some tricks up his sleeve like a Headstand Backslide Pin but Takeshita rolled out of it to hit the Zahi for a nearfall. He then hit the Lil Sebastian’s Curse to win. I need to find out if he minds everybody still wanting to call that move the Cinnabomb.


GCW “HOMECOMING PART 2”, 14/08/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated Dark Sheik with the Flying DDT (10:54).

If there is one thing you need to know about this match it’s this. They did the Top Rope DDT spot from the Dean Malenko Vs Scotty 2 Hotty match that happened at Backlash 2000. It is also where Itoh started using the I.D.S as her new finisher. That wasn’t the end of Itoh’s night. She appeared during the main event segment where Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green renewed their wedding vows. Itoh sang “L.O.V.E.” by Frank Sinatra for the happy couple before Nick Gage came out and crashed the ceremony with a pizza cutter.


AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 17/08/2022 (Aired 22/08/2022)
Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, West Virginia, USA

1. Emi Sakura & Maki Itoh defeated Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue when Sakura pinned Blue with the Queen’s Gambit (7:15).

Itoh’s latest stay in America ended with another visit to AEW. She teamed with Emi Sakura to beat Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue. Itoh claims Emi Sakura is the newest member of the Itoh Respect Army but Sakura denies this. At least her singing impressed Matt Menard on commentary.

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Upcoming Appearances


EVE “THURSDAY NIGHT RIOT”, 01/09/2022
229 The Venue, London, England

1. Rayne Leverkusen & Harley Hudson Vs Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade
2. International Princess Title: Alex Windsor (c) Vs Hikari Noa

Later tonight Hikari Noa will challenge Alex Windsor for the International Princess Title in EVE. Noa arrived in London safe and sound during the week and EVE’s Twitter account shows her enjoying the vibrant sights of Camden. This may be TJPW’s only chance to bring the IP Title back home any time soon though. Windsor tweeted her frustrations over how difficult it’s been to get even an appointment with the Japanese embassy so she can travel back to Japan.

The tag match I included here has implications to pay attention to. The winners will get to wrestle for TJPW in Japan sometime in the future. Nightshade has been in TJPW back in 2019. In EVE she sides with Rhia O’Reilly as part of The Uprising stable. O’Reilly is also an accomplished wrestler across the British women’s scene. Their opponents Rayne Leverkusen & Harley Hudson I don’t know much about. Hudson’s biggest profile appearances seem to be with ICW in Scotland and TNT Extreme in Liverpool. Leverkusen I can’t find much info about other than a few recent EVE matches and Youtube videos of other matches across assorted indies.


MPW “ENDANGERED”, 02/09/2022
Nordhoff PL, Chatsworth, California, USA

1. Triple Threat Match: Darwin Finch Vs J2 Vs Shota

Shota’s new American life begins with Millenium Pro Wrestling in California. The promotion has been in existence since 2001. If Shota can beat Darwin Finch and J2 in a Triple Threat match then he will qualifiy for a Scramble match on 9th September that MPW is putting together to celebrate their anniversary.


PWF “ENDANGERED”, 03/09/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. JJ Blake Vs Shota Suzuki

The next day Shota travels over to Texas for Premier Wrestling Federation. His opponent here JJ Blake recently accomplished the Triple Crown feat in New Texas Pro Wrestling. That has Shota excited to know he is getting a strong opponent for sure.


GCW “THE ART OF WAR”, 03/09/2022
Grand Sports Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA

1. DDT Extreme Title & 6 Pack Of PBR – 2 Ring Ladder Scramble Match: Joey Janela (c) Vs Mike Bailey Vs Tony Deppen Vs Cole Radrick Vs Drago Kid Vs Gringo Loco Vs Dante Leon Vs Shane Mercer

Yeah this is nuts. Janela’s first Extreme Title defence in America will be in one of GCW’s craziest match stipulations. GCW loves Scramble matches. They are also doing their own Wargames match this weekend so will have two rings set up beside each other. Add in ladders along with a Pabst Blue Ribbon sponsorship and you got yourselves a 2 Ring Ladder Scramble Match! That’s not all, Janela is putting himself up against an entire deck full of wild cards. Mike Bailey needs no introduction, Tony Deppen can be unpredictable at times, Cole Radrick is becoming more of a deathmatch wrestler as the months go by, Drago Kid blew everyone’s minds in his previous GCW appearances, Gringo Loco has built up the reputation of being one of the best bases currently on the indies, Dante Leon is the kind of guy who benefits from that and Shane Mercer is an absolute powerhouse who leaves destruction in his wake.


JCW “UNCENSORED”, 10/09/2022
Boonton Elks Lodge, Boonton, New Jersey, USA

1. DDT Extreme Title – Bodyslam Challenge: Joey Janela (c) Vs Beastman

If Janela can somehow crawl out of the chaos mentioned above, he will put the title on the line next against Beastman on a JCW show. The stipulation here is a lot more basic. First wrestler to Body Slam their opponent wins. Beastman has the size advantage in this one.


ROW “TEXAS GOLD RUSH”, 10/09/2022
Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA

1. Shota Vs Ayden Cristiano

Shota’s heading back over to Reality Of Wrestling. This time around his opponent is “The Madman From Madrid” Ayden Cristiano.


NEW “YEAR ONE ANNIVERSARY”, 16/09/2022
Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada

1. Maki Itoh Vs Gisele Shaw

Canada prepare yourselves for Maki Itoh. She will wrestle for the first time on Canadian soil for Nation Extreme Wrestling. Her opponent is Gisele Shaw who is coming in as a replacement for Chelsea Green due to scheduling conflicts with the latter. Shaw wrestle twice for TJPW in 2019 including the match to crown the first ever IP Champion. This will be her first in-ring meeting with Itoh.


PRESTIGE “PERSEVERANCE”, 17/09/2022
The Glass House, Pomona, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Sandra Moone
2. Trish Adora Vs Miyu Yamashita

I said it last month that Miyu Yamashita against somebody like Trish Adora would be an attention grabber. There you go.


MISSION PRO “Welcome To The Jungle”, 17/09/2022
Salvation Army Mission Corps, San Antonio, Texas, USA

1. Shota Vs JP Harlow

Mission Pro is Thunder Rosa’s promotion, right? Shota’s just ticking off all of the Texas companies from the get go. If he wasn’t going to bump into JP Harlow at ROW it was only a matter of time he would find him here I guess.


FRONTLINE PRO “A NIGHT FOR TYLER V”, 24/09/2022
Bakerville Bar And Grill, Marshfield, Wisconsin, USA

1. Shota Vs Ragnar The Ruthless

One week later Shota heads to Wisconsin for Frontline Pro. For fuck sake lads I have to trawl through Facebook to find out what this is and where Ragnar The Ruthless comes from.


PROGRESS “CHAPTER 142: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN SNAKE”, 25/09/2022
O2 Academy, Birmingham, England

1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
2. Shigehiro Irie Vs X

Shigehiro Irie will be at Progress the same weekend CDK are there.


PROGRESS “RETURN OF THE FLY”, 27/09/2022
The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England

1. Shigehiro Irie Vs X
2. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X

Let’s include Irie here too.


MDRN NMD “I SPELL F-L-Y”, 29/09/2022
The Bread Shed, Grosvenor St. , Manchester, England

1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs LK Mezinger & Splits McPins
2. Shigehiro Irie Vs Dan Moloney

Before the entire UK scene fell apart there was a little series of shows called Tuesday Night Graps put together by a group of wrestlers including Chris Brookes. After the pandemic the shows came back under a new group called Modern Nomad Pro Wrestling and this time there’s no need to run shows every Tuesday. Is Masahiro Takanashi into bowling because CDK takes on Bowl-A-Rama in tag team action. Irie gets to take on Dan Moloney in a superfight.


WXW “INNER CIRCLE”, 30/09/2022
wXw Wrestling Academy, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

1. Masha Slamovich Vs Fuminori Abe

The day before the World Tag Team Festival tournament begins, wXw will be holding a smaller scale show inside their wrestling school. They are always a good appetizer to start their big international weekends with some unique matches put together. Like this one here, Fuminori Abe being thrown into the ring against Masha Slamovich!


WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 01/10/2022 – 03/10/2022
Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie Vs X
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X

We just have to wait and see how both CDK and Abe & Irie will do in the tournament.


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

1. Hyper Misao Vs X

Yeah so this was announced back in July and I completely forgot about it until now. Whoops. Hyper Misao’s going to England!


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

There is a tournament in the American independents that holds almost a mythical reputation even if it does not attract the attention of wrestling fans the same way Battle Of Los Angeles, Tournament Of Death or King Of Trios all used to. The King Of Indies tournament originated in the early 2000s with All Pro Wrestling as the hosts. The 2001 edition is well known as being an inspiration towards the creation of Ring Of Honor. The tournament was revived in 2018 with Pro Wrestling Revolution taking the reigns and this year Takeshita gets to add his name to the tournament’s history book. He won’t be the only Japanese participant because Naomichi Marufuji from NOAH will be there along with SB Kento and La Estrella from DRAGONGATE.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE MOUNTAIN TOP 2019 ~I WILL NOT LOSE TO ANYONE~” Results

September 1, 2019

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE MOUNTAIN TOP 2019 ~I WILL NOT LOSE TO ANYONE~”, 01/09/2019
Osaka Edion Arena #2
417 Fans

1. Mirai Maiumi defeated Suzume with a Lariat (5:28).
2. Himawari Unagi & YUMI defeated Pom Harajuku & Mahiro Kiryu when Unagi submitted Harajuku with the Big Fuhen Hold (9:04).
3. Miyu Yamashita & Miu Watanabe defeated Gisele Shaw & Yuki Kamifuku when Yamashita pinned Kamifuku with the Attitude Adjustment (12:08).
4. Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino defeated Natsumi Maki, Hikari Noa & Raku when Manase pinned Maki with a Lariat (10:13).
5. Su Yung defeated Maki Itoh with the Panic Switch (10:11).
6. Sakisama, Misao & Martha (w/ Yukio Saint Laurent) defeated Yuka Sakazaki, Rika Tatsumi & Antonio Honda when Misao pinned Tatsumi with the Vanitas (15:16).
7. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated Mizuki with the Diving Senton (16:44).
*V2 for Shoko Nakajima.

For the second year in a row the Tokyo Princess Cup winner has failed to win their Princess Title challenge. The champion Shoko Nakajima appeared with the original TOKYO Princess Title belt and was given the new 2nd Gen Princess Title belt after defeating Mizuki. The match took a lot out of the wrestlers. Nakajima couldn’t hold her pinning posture after hitting the Northern Lights Suplex. She was able to keep control and pinned Mizuki with the Diving Senton. In her backstage interview, Mizuki admitted that she is not the kind of person who wants to be a main character yet this past summer she overcame many challenges. So she was in fact motivated to become the main character. It was a hard summer for her but she still had fun.

When Nakajima received the new belt she said it felt like she just won a championship for the first time again. She wants to continue winning matches so she can get familiar with holding the belt. Misao came out and congratulated Nakajima, then gave her condolences because today will be the last time Nakajima successfully defends the title. Misao already has the Princess Tag Titles but that is not enough to satisfy her. Nakajima accepted her challenge. She ended the show by saying Osaka has been invaded by the Big Kaiju. She next wants to invade all of Japan!

The entire active members of NEO Biishiki-gun were victorious over the trio of Yuka Sakazaki, Rika Tatsumi & Antonio Honda. The maid Martha used her mop as a weapon and Yukio Saint Laurent used his injections to knock out Honda & Sakazaki. Tatsumi continued to fight on her own but Misao pinned her with the Vanitas. Sakisama credited her presence in Osaka as the reason why the Hanshin Tigers won their baseball game today.

Gotta give it to Maki Itoh, she was just as determined to scare Su Yung with her screams as Yung was trying to scare her. Their screams together were enough to scare away Daisuke Kiso. Yung blinded Itoh with Red Mist but Itoh tried to fight on by applying a Sleeper Hold. Yung countered it by lifting Itoh onto her shoulders to do the Panic Switch for the win.

After last week’s career high, Natsumi Maki was sent crashing back down to Earth when Yuna Manase pinned her in a trios match. Manase used a Lariat to counter the Backlash. They talked about their history together and how they are like sisters. That led to Manase challenging Maki for the International Princess Title. Maki accepted and said she won a championship within four years of wrestling while Manase hasn’t won any title in seven.

Momoiro Sparkling bounced back from their failed Princess Tag Titles match last week by beating Gisele Shaw & Yuki Kamifuku. Shaw is still looking for a way to avenge her defeat in England to Miyu Yamashita.

The hometown hero Himawari Unagi picked up the win in her tag match.

Mirai Maiumi won her first singles match by beating the other rookie Suzume. Maiumi entered the ring with a Japanese fishing flag with a good fortune written on it. She explained that she grew up near the ocean and her ring name also contains the kanji for “Sea” (海 / umi). She wants to express the feeling of the ocean when she wrestles.


DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2019 EXTRA EDITION ~SHINKIBA BEER GARDEN ONE NIGHT STAND~” Results

September 1, 2019

DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2019 EXTRA EDITION ~SHINKIBA BEER GARDEN ONE NIGHT STAND~”, 30/08/2019
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
450 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Naomi Yoshimura, Saki Akai & Gisele Shaw defeated Akito, Shunma Katsumata & Asuka when Yoshimura pinned Katsumata with the Shonenba (9:19).
2. Blindfold 3 Way Match: Mad Paulie defeated Masahiro Takanashi and Kazuki Hirata when Paulie pinned Hirata with the Paulie Buster (10:32).
3. Lucha Libre Rules: Tetsuya Endo & Puma King defeated Toru Owashi & Yuki Ueno when Endo pinned Ueno with La Magistral Cradle (9:03).
4. Budweiser Presents Drunk Match: Jiro Kuroshio & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao when Higuchi pinned Sasaki with the Airplane Spin Doctor Bomb (15:39).
5. I Don’t Know If It Is A Lie Or A True Ghost Story Shin Numabukuro 5 Way Death Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Hiroshi Yamato Vs Yukio Naya Vs Su Yung ended in a Time Limit Draw (3:00).
6. Special Single Match ~Gongitsune Vs Cobra~: Santino Marella defeated Antonio Honda with the Cobra (13:25).
7. HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Ken Ohka defeated Konosuke Takeshita, MAO & Nobuhiro Shimatani when HARASHIMA pinned Shimatani with the Somato (17:54).

The summer has come to an end so DDT spent their final days of the season running one more Beer Garden show. The main event finish saw Nobuhiro Shimatani take the finishers from every member of the opposing team. The show ended with the DDT roster minus DAMNATION all having a toast inside the ring. HARASHIMA called on the fans to look forward to DDT’s next Korakuen Hall and Sumo Hall shows. Kazuki Hirata danced to “TOKYO GO!” until Ken Ohka hit him with the Fire Spear. Ohka told everyone that they have to continue fighting, even the wrestlers from BASARA and Ganbare☆Wrestling. It turns out NOAH is running Sumo Hall the day before “ULTIMATE PARTY 2019!” and Big Japan will be the day after. There is a wrestling world war going on and Ohka wants to win it!

Antonio Honda came prepared for his clash with Santino Marella and his dreaded Cobra but it had to be a last ditch plan. When Marella used the Cobra to strike Honda in his Gongitsune arm, Honda pulled out a recorder and played a snake charming song to make Marella lose control of the Cobra. Then Honda took out his secret weapon, a Gon The Fox hand puppet! The Fox bit the Cobra, leaving Honda in a weakened state. Honda went for the Shining Gongitsune but Marella caught him with the Cobra strike to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Honda told Marella that he wanted the Fox to eat the Cobra but it couldn’t because half of Marella’s heart is in Canada but the other half is in Japan! Marella told everyone that he learned Judo in Koshigaya, Saitama years ago. He is a retired pro wrestler but was happy to get the chance to unleash the Cobra in his second home.

Yukio Naya was the only person new to the spooky storytelling of the Shin Numabukuro Death Match. When he learned that a ghost story would be told if the match didn’t end in three minutes, he told everyone that he gets scared easily. Things were made even scarier when Su Yung entered the ring! The match was now a 5 Way and if it ended in three minutes then Yung would eat everyone! She attacked the trainee Keigo Nakamura and dragged him away from ringside. When she came back out she was carrying Nakamura’s detached arm! The three minutes ran out and everyone was terrified they were about to get eaten. Hisaya Imabayashi then revealed that this was the scary story! The fear of getting eaten by a zombie was exactly the kind of reaction he wanted to get this year. Danshoku Dieno asked if that meant no one would get eaten? Imabayashi said Yung could still eat somebody and he suddenly pointed at Dieno, making him faint. He then pointed at the others one by one, causing them all to faint. But when he pointed at Yung she didn’t react. Imabayashi woke everyone up and together they all pointed at Yung to defeat her. Imabayashi said the world is now protected and “Wild Thing” played over the sound system. But when he left the ring, zombie Nakamura appeared and ate him!

Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao came to the ring drinking beer. They said that due to demands from a “third party” their match against Jiro Kuroshio & Kazusada Higuchi is now a Drunk Match sponsored by Budweiser. A wrestler had to take a drink after a kick out or a rope break. Also everyone had to take a drink whenever music played. As the wrestlers got drunker, Sasaki and Takao got more and more into calling themselves Higuchi’s dad. Higuchi got drunk enough to consider it was possible and he ended up fighting Kuroshio instead. However he snapped out of it and used an Airplane Spin variation of the Doctor Bomb to pin Sasaki.

Toru Owashi asked for his tag match to be held under Lucha Rules. Puma King replied in Spanish and Yuki Ueno badly translated it. He said King called him “the nice guy in the white costume” and King called Owashi a “black pig”. Owashi later got mad at Tetsuya Endo and Yuki Ueno for doing a regular lock-up instead of lucha transitions. They began to trade Arm Drags until Yukinori Matsui got involved. Matsui did one and Endo punched him in the stomach afterwards. Owashi put Endo in the Paradise Lock then King put Owashi in the Paradise Lock. Ueno tried to do the move to King but didn’t know how to do it. King put Ueno in a Romero Special but Owashi crawled on top of King for a pin. Endo broke the pin, gave an Overhead Kick to Ueno and pinned him with La Magistral Cradle.

The Blindfold 3 Way match saw Kazuki Hirata and then Masahiro Takanashi both attack Keigo Nakamura outside the ring, knocking off his glasses in the process. Hirata picked up the glasses thinking they were his HIRATA GO glasses. He put them on but the music that played was “TOKIO” by Kenji Sawada. Mad Paulie found the HIRATA GO glasses and the usual “TOKYO GO” music played when he put them on. He struck Hirata while they danced and got the win with the Paulie Buster.

Gisele Shaw’s DDT debut was a successful one, teaming with Naomi Yoshimura & Saki Akai to defeat Akito, Shunma Katsumata & Asuka.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “BRAND NEW WRESTLING 2019 ~STRONGER THAN ANYONE!~” Results

August 25, 2019

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “BRAND NEW WRESTLING 2019 ~STRONGER THAN ANYONE!~”, 25/08/2019
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
905 Fan

1. Yuki Aino defeated Hikari Noa with the Venus DDT (9:42).
2. Himawari Unagi & Pom Harajuku defeated YUMI & Mahiro Kiryu when Unagi submitted Kiryu with the Big Fuhen Hold (8:43).
3. Yuna Manase, Yuki Kamifuku & Mina Shirakawa defeated Rika Tatsumi, Nodoka Tenma & Raku when Manase pinned Raku with the Suzuki Dynamic (11:12).
4. Special Single Match: Yuka Sakazaki Vs Su Yung ended in a Double Knockout (13:40).
5. Special Single Match: Mizuki defeated Maki Itoh with the Cutie Special (17:00).
6. Suzume Debut Match: Shoko Nakajima & Riho defeated Mirai Maiumi & Suzume when Nakajima pinned Suzume with the Northern Lights Suplex (11:16).
7. International Princess Title – 1st Champion Decision Battle: Natsumi Maki defeated Gisele Shaw with a German Suplex (14:25).
*Natsumi Maki becomes the 1st International Princess Champion!
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Sakisama & Misao (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita & Miu Watanabe when Misao pinned Watanabe with the Vanitas (17:25).
*V2 for NEO Biishiki-gun.

NEO Biishiki-gun continue to reign as the Princess Tag Team Champions. The new Momoiro Sparkling team worked well together but the gap between them and the champions was too wide for them to handle. The history between Miyu Yamashita and Sakisama came back to the spotlight when they were in the ring together while Misao enjoyed torturing Miu Watanabe. The challengers had their moment to shine when Watanabe gave Sakisama a Giant Swing then put Misao in the Canadian Backbreaker. Yamashita then jumped off the top rope and hit a Diving Knee to Misao while she was still in the hold. However NEO Biishiki-gun used a 3D to get rid of Yamashita and Misao got the pin on Watanabe with the Vanitas.

Sakisama told Misao that the path she chose was the right one. Misao agreed. She hated this world until she found Sakisama and won the tag titles with her. Together they are searching for a new landscape to create a new strong, noble and beautiful world. Sakisama & Misao were joined in the ring by Martha and Yukio Saint Laurent to close out the show. Sakisama reminded everyone that the four of them will be fighting together in Osaka on 1st September.

The first International Princess Champion has been crowned and it is Natsumi Maki! She won a hard fought battle against Gisele Shaw to earn the honour. Shaw almost won with a Spanish Fly from the top rope. However when Shaw went to climb the turnbuckles again Maki threw her off with German Suplex. Another German Suplex came shortly afterwards to give Maki the victory. Maki said she has been waiting for a moment like this for so long that she still doesn’t believe it is happening. Since it is an international championship, she hopes to go abroad to defend it. She also mentioned Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki and Maki Itoh as opponents she wants to defend against. Whatever it takes to make the championship valuable!

The debuting Suzume was thrown straight into the fire when the first person she faced off with was Shoko Nakajima! She got to hit a Diving Cross Body to Nakajima thanks to a Lariat set up for Mirai Maiumi. However Riho got in and hit Suzume with the 619. From there Nakajima did the Rider Kick and went for the Northern Lights Suplex. Suzume fought out of it but Nakajima dropped her with a Double Arm DDT then finished her off with the Northern Lights. Suzume appreciated the cheers from the crowd but she felt so overwhelmed by her opponents that she couldn’t do anything against them. Nakajima & Riho were happy to team up as the Twin Cam Monsters after a long time away from each other. Riho mentioned she will be busy wrestling in Stardom but she would like to wrestle in Tokyo Josho Pro again when the chance comes. She wants to continue what she has built with Nakajima.

The rivalry between Maki Itoh and Mizuki was brought back to the foreground with their latest match. Itoh quickly went for the World’s Cutest Knuckle Punch but Mizuki escaped. The two fought outside where Itoh grabbed a microphone and used the cord to strangle Mizuki against the ring post! Itoh even asked “Who is the cutest in the world” on the microphone while she was choking Mizuki. Back in the ring the two scrambled for submission holds from the Face Lock to the Itoh Special. Itoh used a Headbutt to block a Cross Body but Mizuki then beat her down with Elbow Strikes. Mizuki hit the Diving Double Stomp but did not go for the pin. Itoh struggle to get up and when Mizuki approached her, she stuck out the middle finger. Mizuki pushed her hand away and hit the Cutie Special for the win.

After the match Itoh cried into the microphone. She said she wanted to be in the leading role this summer. She now realises that Mizuki is in that leading role, not her. Itoh will now play the supporting role for Mizuki because that way she will still have an influence on how the big story plays out.

Yuka Sakazaki Vs Su Yung promised to be a chaotic match and delivered. Sakazaki quickly fled the ring when made her entrance. She went over to Tetsuya Koda and took his shoes and socks to defend herself with. Yung caught up with Sakazaki and they fought around the room. Sakazaki placed Yung flat on a table and slid her down the stairs. She then put Yung through the table with the Magical Girl Splash from the entrance gate. She threw Yung back into the ring but Yung kicked out of the pin. Yung spat Poison Mist and Sakazaki but she had her face protected from getting blinded. Yung went for the Mandible Claw so Sakazaki did the same move with Koda’s sock covering her hand. The two claws were thrown into Daisuke Kiso’s face, knocking him out. Yung and Sakazaki then applied the claws to each other at the same time, knocking each other out. Yukinori Matsui came down to replace Kiso and he called the match off because everyone was unconscious.

Yuna Manase, Yuki Kamifuku & Mina Shirakawa are now being called Cat’s Pye. Shirakawa even created a rap song for the three of them to enter the ring to. Their new unit went off to a successful start with a win over Rika Tatsumi, Nodoka Tenma & Raku.

Himawari Unagi has been using the Big Fuhen Hold for a while but today was the first time she won a match with it.

The show began with Yuki Aino defeated Hikari Noa. It took a Side Suplex, a Full Nelson style Camel Clutch and then the Venus DDT for the finish. Noa said she is doing everything she can but she is getting angry at herself for her irresponsible nature. She will use today’s result as a way to take a proper look at herself. Aino is happy to win matches on her own with the level of power she has now.

Tokyo Joshi will return to Korakuen Hall on 4th January, 2020.


Naya Wants To Visit TIF! Isami Triple Crown? Saki Brings Her Demon, Santino Coming To DDT

July 30, 2019

DDT “ROJO PRO WRESTLING IN TOKYO IDOL FESTIVAL 2019”, 02/08/2019
Tokyo Odaiba SMILE GARDEN Stage

1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – 10 Minute Falls Count Anywhere Battle Royal: Yukio Sakaguchi (c) Vs Danshoku Dieno Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Yukio Naya Vs Maki Itoh Vs Hikari Noa Vs Miu Watanabe Vs Raku Vs Natsume Misaki (chuLa) Vs Momomi Wagatsuma (Hakoiri♡Musume) Vs Aika Sawaguchi (dela) Vs Rise Shiokawa (Transfer Girls*)

The Battle Royal will last for 10 minutes. Whoever is the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion at the end of the time limit will be crowned the winner.

Some idols have agreed to take part. Natsume Misaki is from chuLa, Momomi Wagatsuma is from Hakoiri♡Musume, Aika Sawaguchi is from dela and Rise Shiokawa is from Transfer Girls*.

Yukio Naya has demanded to be a part of the Battle Royal. According to Makoto Oishi, Naya is a big idol fan and visits the Tokyo Idol Festival every year. No matter what question Naya gets asked lately, his answer is “Please put me in TIF!”

Sanshiro Takagi is unable to compete because of his arm injury. But he will be at the Battle Royal to accompany the idols taking part in the match.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “FUN FUN SUMMER VACATION! ~TOKYO JOSHI☆SUMMER FESTIVAL 2019~”, 04/08/2019
Kanagawa Tsurumi Fruit & Vegetable Market

1. Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino Vs Maki Itoh & Hikari Noa
2. Yuna Manase & Yuki Kamifuku Vs Makoto Kiryu & Mirai Maiumi
3. Sakisama & Misao Vs Himawari Unagi & Pom Harajuku
4. Miyu Yamashita Vs Miu Watanabe
5. “I Sincerely Hope For Peace In Tokyo Joshi Pro!”: Rika Tatsumi Vs Demonio Uno
6. Summer Vacation Special Plan, I’m Excited About Summer Tokyo Joshi Festival 2019 “Chu! Natsu Party Death Match”: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Nodoka Tenma & Mina Shirakawa

Rika Tatsumi has plenty of experience handling paranormal wrestlers so she is the perfect opponent for Demonio Uno.**

A match between Miyu Yamashita and Miu Watanabe is supposedly going to make them a better team before they challenge for the Princess Tag Team Titles.

BASARA “BASARA 103 ~BURNING SWORD~”, 11/08/2019
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Union MAX Title: Ryuichi Sekine (c) Vs Isami Kodaka

Isami Kodaka gets his Union MAX Title match that he earned for winning the Heaven Summit ~Itadaki~. He is extra motivated to win so he can become a triple crown champion. He currently holds the BJW Death Match Title and the UWA World 6-Man Tag Team Titles. That last one he shares with the MAX Champ Ryuichi Sekine so Sekine is also one belt away from becoming a triple champion himself.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “BRAND NEW WRESTLING 2019 ~STRONGER THAN ANYONE!~”, 25/08/2019
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Izumi Debut Match: Shoko Nakajima & Riho Vs Mirai Maiumi & Izumi
2. Special Single Match: Maki Itoh Vs Mizuki
3. Special Single Match: Yuka Sakazaki Vs Su Yung
4. Princess Tag Team Titles: Sakisama & Misao (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Miu Watanabe
5. International Princess Title – 1st Champion Decision Battle: Natsumi Maki Vs Gisele Shaw

Su Yung isn’t taking it easy for her Tokyo Joshi Pro return. She is already gunning after one of the big names in Yuka Sakazaki.

Riho is still a freelancer, for now at least. Let’s not worry about it.

DDT “SUMMER VACATION MEMORIES 2019”, 25/08/2019
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Calbee & Frito Lay Collaboration Match ~Love And Potato Snacks Save The Earth~: King Potato Chips & Dragon Potato Mask Vs Kazuki Hirata & Hiroshi Yamato
2. Saki & Su Yung Vs Asuka & Makoto
3. Summer Jumbo Special Two Big Singles Match: Puma King Vs Yuki Ueno
4. Summer Jumbo Special Two Big Singles Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Makoto Oishi
5. Konosuke Takeshita’s Summer Measures Against Shinya Aoki: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Danshoku Dieno Army Elite Members

Konosuke Takeshita found out that Danshoku Dieno is putting him through a series of high level opponents in order to prepare for his match with Shinya Aoki. Takeshita doesn’t know what to expect out of this.

The plan was to have Saki Akai team with Su Yung but Akai has the day off and will not be changing her plans. Instead Akai has made DDT book a distant non-blood relative of hers simply named Saki. Her name is written as “娑鬼” which can be translated to “Demon”. Akai claim the only times they have met in person were when they were children. Even then her memory of what Saki looks like is blurry. Akai drew a picture of what she thinks Saki looks like now. She assures to everyone that Saki is not part of the UMA Corps (Akai isn’t liked by them) but she is not certain if she is a human or a demon. Akai used her parents to contact Saki in the Kyoto mountains to set up this match with Yung against Asuka & Makoto.

Puma King is back in DDT for the first time since January.

This show will feature the DDT debut of Santino Marella! It will be his first appearance in DDT but he is a former Iron Man Champion.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE MOUNTAIN TOP 2019 ~I WILL NOT LOSE TO ANYONE~”, 01/09/2019
Osaka Edion Arena #2

1. Mirai Maiumi Vs Izumi
2. Maki Itoh Vs Su Yung
3. Sakisama, Misao & Martha Vs Yuka Sakazaki, Rika Tatsumi & X
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Mizuki

A NEO Biishiki-gun reunion is on the cards but one person isn’t looking forward to it. Tatsumi still believes that the child maid Martha is really an old man who drinks a lot. A trios match has been put together and Tatsumi is gathering her team. She already has Sakazaki on her side and she promises a super special person will be joining them.

Gisele Shaw will be on the show.

*No footnote. That’s just how the idol unit name is spelled.

**Oh wait, this is being posted on the one year anniversary of Maho Kurone leaving Tokyo Joshi Pro. There’s your footnote.


Summer Of Wrestling Continues, Ganbare’s August, Gisele Shaw In TJPW

July 26, 2019

DDT “YOKOHAMA TWILIGHT 2019 ~JULY~”, 27/07/2019
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Akito & Yukio Naya Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase
2. MAO & Mike Bailey Vs Asuka & Shunma Katsumata
3. Saki Akai & Makoto Oishi Vs Miyako Matsumoto & Nobuhiro Shimatani
4. Soma Takao Vs Shunsuke Sayama
5. Akito Marunage Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Ueno Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ueno
6. DAMNATION Vs DISASTER BOX: Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
7. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yukio Sakaguchi (c) Vs Antonio Honda

I’m losing count of how many shows there are over the next month. Tomorrow kicks off nine days in a row of DDT related wrestling shows and matches!

BASARA “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2019 ~BASARA DAY~”, 03/08/2019
Shinjuku FACE

1. BASARA x DOVE Mischievous Match Countdown Song?: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Rey Paloma
2. Drunkers 8 Way Match: FUMA Vs Yusuke Kubo Vs SAGAT Vs Daichi Kazato Vs Fuminori Abe Vs Takato Nakano Vs Masato Kamino Vs Shoichi Uchida
3. BASARA x DOVE Famous Match Countdown Song!: Ryota Nakatsu Vs Kenshin Chikano
4. Hardcore Tag Match: Takumi Tsukamoto & Yasu Urano Vs Gunso & Yuki Aoki
5. UWA World 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Ryuichi Sekine, Isami Kodaka & Daiki Shimomura Vs Naoki Tanizaki, “brother” YASSHI & Kohei Kinoshita

BASARA is involved with Beer Garden too. Sento Minzoku recently won the UWA World 6-Man Tag Team Titles in Big Japan. They agreed to defend them against a Dove Pro team led by Naoki Tanizaki. The inter-promotional feud is featured all over the rest of the card.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “GANBARE MONSTER RED 2019”, 10/08/2019
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Iwasaki Vs BJW All Out Match First Round: Kouki Iwasaki Vs Akira Hyodo
2. Jinjiryu! Ganjo Vs Actwres girl’Z All Round Fight Round 3: Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs Miyuki Takase & Ayumi Hayashi
3. Ganpro Army Vs Real GUTS Army: Yumehito Imanari Vs X
4. Ganpro Army Vs Real GUTS Army: Miss Mongol Vs Shota
5. Ganpro Army Vs Real GUTS Army: Ken Ohka Vs Masked Mystery
6. East Japan Vs West Japan Full War!: Keisuke Ishii & Shuhei Washida Vs Takeshi Okada & Ryutaro Watanabe
7. A Phantom Dream! Single Match Of Fate!: Shuichiro Katsumura Vs Minoru Fujita

No Ganbare☆Climax this year. Instead Ganbare☆Wrestling’s August doubleheader in Itabashi Green Hall focuses on their war with Real GUTS Army.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “GANBARE MONSTER GREEN 2019”, 11/08/2019
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Ganpro Five Big Matches Of Scorching Heat – Iwasaki Vs BJW All Out Match Second Round: Kouki Iwasaki Vs Ryuichi Kawakami:
2. Ganpro Five Big Matches Of Scorching Heat: Shuhei Washida Vs Ryotaro Watanabe
3. Ganpro Five Big Matches Of Scorching Heat: HARUKAZE Vs Cherry
4. Ganpro Five Big Matches Of Scorching Heat: Keisuke Ishii Vs Chikara
5. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title – Ganpro Five Big Matches Of Scorching Heat: Shuichiro Katsumura (c) Vs Takeshi Okada
6. GWC 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Ken Ohka, Yumehito Imanari & Miss Mongol (c) Vs Guts Ishijima, Masked Mystery & Shota

Takeshi Okada has challenged Shuichiro Katsumura to an Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title match. Both men begun their careers in Shooto and Okada’s debut pro wrestling match was against Katsumura. Okada wants to test how much he has grown since then and if he can be a champion at his current growth.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “BRAND NEW WRESTLING 2019 ~STRONGER THAN ANYONE!~”, 25/08/2019
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Izumi Debut Match: Izumi Vs X
2. Special Single Match: Maki Itoh Vs Mizuki
3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Sakisama & Misao (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Miu Watanabe
4. International Princess Title – 1st Champion Decision Battle: Natsumi Maki Vs Gisele Shaw

The International Representative has been chosen! Gisele Shaw is from the Philippines and trained under Lance Storm. She is 170cm tall and has been wrestling for four and a half years mostly wrestling in the UK. In June she wrestled Miyu Yamashita in England’s Frontline Wrestling promotion and the match was highly praised by Will Ospreay on Twitter.