TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW PRISM ’24”, 09/06/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 707 Fans
1. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Runa Okubo & Haru Kazashiro when Suzume pinned Kazashiro with the Ring A Bell (8:34).
2. Chika Nanase defeated Uta Takami with the Inari Dorii (5:12).
3. Nao Kakuta & SAKI defeated Raku & Pom Harajuku when Kakuta pinned Harajuku with the Shiden Kai (8:59).
4. Aja Kong, Yuki Kamifuku & Kira Summer defeated Maki Itoh, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami when Kamifuku pinned Toribami with the Famouser (11:46).
5. Special Single Match: Hikaru Shida defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Falcon Arrow (9:40).
6. Shoko Nakajima, Mizuki, Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino defeated Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI, Toga & Shino Suzuki when Tatsumi pinned Uehara with the Twist Of Fate (14:51).
7. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) defeated LA Taylor with the Finally (10:09). *V3 for Yuki Arai.
8. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) defeated Vert Vixen with the Tear Drop (17:17). *V2 for Miu Watanabe.
Vert Vixen came back to Tokyo Joshi Pro in order to be Miu Watanabe’s second challenger of the Princess Of Princess Title. In the leadup to the match Watanabe unveiled a new submission hold she calls the Reverse Paradox in order to keep her opponent guessing. Maybe it was a mistake to reveal the move too early because Vixen had it scouted today, avoiding the move and being able to rope break out of it once Watanabe got to apply it correctly. Watanabe had to rely on her usual move set which turned out to be the right decision in the end. Her barrage of Laserbeam throws and Double Hammer strikes weakened Vixen enough for the Tear Drop to finish her off.
The two bowed and shook each other’s hands after the match. When Vixen left the ring, Rika Tatsumi entered it to challenger her Daydream partner for the Princess Title! Tatsumi always thought that the match would happen some day but only thinking about it would never make it happen. So she is asking Watanabe directly and didn’t even wait for her to answer. It is happening at “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’24” in Korakuen Hall on 20th July! Watanabe said she always wanted to defend the title against Tatsumi and she definitely won’t lose to her. She still remembers when Tatsumi won the International Princess Title from her last year. She closed out the show by asking the fans “Do you like Tokyo Joshi Pro?” The fans responded with “We love it!”
Speaking of the International Princess Title, Yuki Arai scored her latest defence of the belt by beating English wrestler LA Taylor. The newcomer to TJPW used her size advantage by doing a Fall Away Slam, Lariats and a Michinoku Driver. Her size also made it difficult for Arai to use the Full Nelson and Sharpshooter but she was eventually able to lock in the hold. She also used a Backslide Pin nearfall to hit Taylor with a short range Rookie Award. Taylor was dazed by the move so Arai hit the Finally next to win the match. Arai said she has held the IP Title for half a year now and while she wants to continue defending it, she is not satisfied with only holding one title. She wants to find out if she can win back the Princess Tag Team Titles again with somebody other than Saki Akai! She would be happy to find a new tag partner who can help her improve. Backstage Taylor said it was a dream come true to have the paper ribbons thrown for her during the match introductions.
Tatsumi led a senpai team to victory against the Class Of 2023 in an 8-Woman Tag Match. Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI used their High Speed Combined Brainbuster on Tatsumi and Uehara followed up with the BANANA PILLOW submission hold. Tatsumi escaped and hit her with a Hip Attack while Yuki Aino got rid of Shino Suzuki with the Side Suplex. After that Shoko Nakajima & Mizuki hit dives onto everyone out of the ring and Tatsumi pinned Uehara with the Twist Of Fate. Toga said everyone in her team grows after every fight but their senpais are always growing at a rapid rate too so the gap never closes. She hopes they can catch up to them some day while also becoming a wall for the juniors below them.
Moka Miyamoto was given a big match against AEW wrestler Hikaru Shida. She dodged some of Shida’s attacks to hit her with the Zero Sen Kick and also use the Rashomon. Shida reached the ropes and rallied back, hitting Miyamoto with a big Elbow Smash and using the Falcon Arrow to get the three count. Shida said backstage it’s been two years since she was last in TJPW and back then she thought if Miyamoto showed a little more enthusiasm she could become a really good wrestler. She didn’t expect her to grow so much since then and is glad to discover how much of a threat she has turned into. Also next time she gets invited back to TJPW, Shida wants to show everyone a different side of her. Although Miyamoto lost the match she is happy to show her growth and wants to challenge for a championship in the future.
It was an intimidating sight when Aja Kong’s team all showed up in matching face paint. Meanwhile Maki Itoh’s team all entered the ring with matching twintail hairstyles (apparently Itoh forced them to do it). When Mahiro Kiryu got the upper hand against Kira Summer, Kiryu used her Apology Knee Drop to apologise for beating the Aja Kongs of the world so easily. The real Kong didn’t forgive her. Kong also hit Itoh with a steel can but Itoh’s iron head withstood the blow and she Headbutted Kong in return. Kong almost hit Yuki Kamifuku with the can by accident but pulled back at the last moment. Kaya Toribami tried to take advantage of the crossfire but Kamifuku took care of her and won the match with the Famouser. Backstage Itoh, Kiryu & Toribami all complained that they couldn’t tell which opponent was the real Aja Kong.
SAKI was confused to see Raku & Pom Harajuku lie down to sleep in front of her before their match began. She decided to join in but fell for RakuPom’s trap even though Nao Kakuta tried to stop her. Later SAKI used an Atomic Drop on Harajuku and then gave Raku an Atomic Drop. That set Kakuta up to pin Harajuku with the Shiden Kai. Kakuta said she was happy to team up with SAKI in Japan after their plan to do it at the TJPW USA show had to be cancelled. Harajuku complained the Atomic Drop hurts so bad she can’t sit down and feels like she’s been split in two!
In a match where both wrestlers were fighting for their first win, Chika Nanase defeated Uta Takami. She used a Modified Full Nelson called the Inari Dorii to win by submission. It was a move she used once before in an incomplete form but today she debuted the finished version. Nanase is happy to win but wants to aim higher. Takami thought she was going to shine brightly and win today but admits she became a complete mess instead. Losing has only fired her up even more though and she will cherish every day to work hard so she can win next time.
The show began with a non-title match where Daisy Monkey took on Runa Okubo & Haru Kazashiro. The result was no surprise with Arisu Endo taking out Okubo with a Diving Mt. Tsuruga and Suzume pinning Kazashiro with the Ring A Bell. They enjoyed being in the opening match again because it’s like being the first batter in a baseball game. They feel like they are in top form now and are confident they can defend the Princess Tag Titles against anyone.
It was announced that “WRESTLE PRINCESS V” will be held at Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall on 22nd September.
Nakajima will be getting a match at “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’24” that she has always wanted. She will have a singles bout against Aja Kong! Nakajima has experienced beatings from Kong before in places like Sumo Hall as well as beneath the cherry blossom trees of Shinjo Village. She believes this match will be meaningless if she cannot use this opportunity to beat Kong! Meanwhile Kong said she will be training alone in the mountains to prepare for the match. If she doesn’t she won’t be able to compete against Nakajima.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 SPRING”, 25/05/2024 Kanagawa Fujisawa City Shonandai Cultural Center
1. Nao Kakuta Vs Haru Kazashiro
2. Mahiro Kiryu & Uta Takami Vs Toga & Runa Okubo
3. Suzume, Arisu Endo & Chika Nanase Vs Raku, Pom Harajuku & Kira Summer
4. Shoko Nakajima & HIMAWARI Vs Alexis Lee & Kaya Toribami
5. Miu Watanabe & Shino Suzuki Vs Maki Itoh & Wakana Uehara
6. Aja Kong & Yuki Kamifuku Vs Rika Tatsumi & Moka Miyamoto
Alexis Lee failed to win the championships she wanted but she has another appearance in Tokyo Joshi Pro lined up this weekend.
Yuki Aino is unable to be at the show.
DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ FINAL!!”, 26/05/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: Yuni & Keigo Nakamura Vs Ilusion & Kazuma Sumi
1. 3 Way Tag Match: Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi Vs Yukio Naya & Takeshi Masada
2. KANON & MJ Paul Vs HARASHIMA & Akito
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku Vs Poison Sawada JULIE, Shuji Ishikawa & Masahiro Takanashi
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
5. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Semi Final: MAO Vs Kazusada Higuchi
6. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Semi Final – No DQ Match: Chris Brookes Vs Daisuke Sasaki
7. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Final: X Vs X
A request was made by Chris Brookes to have his King Of DDT semi-final against Daisuke Sasaki be held under No Disqualification rules. He expects Sasaki to cheat during the match and wants to fight fire with fire without putting his path to the final at risk.
GANBARE☆PRO “WILD GAMBLE 2024”, 02/06/2024 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title Next Challenger Time Staggered Battle Royal: Ken Ohka Vs Yuna Manase Vs Choun-Shiryu Vs Gabai Ji-chan Vs Baliyan Akki Vs Daisuke®️
2. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase
A successful RENEGADES reunion over the weekend is going to continue. When GROUND ABSOLUTE asked if there was any team better than them out there, Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase answered the challenge. They don’t get to team up as often as they used to but after reaching the final of a tag tournament in Germany last September, RENEGADES believe they have what it takes to become champions together. They don’t want to waste this opportunity to win the Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles.
The winner of the Battle Royal will get a Spirit Of Ganbare World Title shot on 15th July.
It’s been confirmed by Ganbare☆Pro that Shinichiro Tominaga suffered an injury during Saturday’s show. He ruptured his left Achilles tendon during his match and will be out of action for a while.
DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 05/06/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Daisuke Kiso Referee 14th Anniversary Match ~ Special Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs To-y & Yuni
2. CDK 5th Anniversary Match ~ Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul (c) Vs HARASHIMA, Akito & Yasu Urano
4. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi
Both Yuki Ueno and Sanshiro Takagi spent a lot of time talking about having a KO-D Openweight Title match after Takagi eliminated Ueno in the King Of DDT 1st Round. They finally got around to sign a contract and have the match take place next month. It will take place a few days after Takagi moves down from CyberFight president to vice president. With less responsibilities under his new position, Takagi feels like he has no restrictions over how he can win the KO-D Title for one last time.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW PRISM ’24”, 09/06/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Special Single Match: Hikaru Shida Vs Moka Miyamoto
2. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs LA Taylor
3. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Vert Vixen
The last time Hikaru Shida wrestled in TJPW was at “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’22” back in June 2022. Two years later the AEW wrestler returns and her match will be against Moka Miyamoto. The two of them have teamed up before in TJPW. This will be their first match together as opponents.
DDT “SPA & POOL AQUA YUKARI – SAUNA ROJO PRO WRESTLING”, 21/06/2024 Chiba Aqua Yukari
1. DDT Extreme Title – Falls Count Anywhere Survival 4 Way Match: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Yukio Naya Vs To-y Vs Ilusion
A hot evening in the summer is getting even hotter because Shunma Katsumata is defending the DDT Extreme Title against three other wrestlers inside a sauna! Yukio Naya, To-y and Ilusion all wanted a title shot so Katsumata came up with that idea as his solution. It will be Falls Count Anywhere in front of an audience at the sauna.
GANBARE☆PRO “DISASTER ARTIST 2024”, 15/07/2024 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. Moeka Haruhi Comeback Match: Moeka Haruhi Vs X
2. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs 02/06 Battle Royal Winner
Keisuke Ishii defends the SOG Title against the Battle Royal winner here.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 SPRING”, 18/05/2024 Shin-Kiba 1st RING 284 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Nao Kakuta defeated Runa Okubo with the Shiden Kai (6:57).
2. Raku, Moka Miyamoto & Uta Takami defeated Arisu Endo, Kaya Toribami & Chika Nanase when Raku submitted Nanase with the Front Neck Lock (8:59).
3. 3 Way Match: Suzume defeated Mahiro Kiryu and Shino Suzuki when Suzume pinned Suzuki with the Ring A Bell (9:30).
4. Mizuki & Pom Harajuku defeated Shoko Nakajima & Haru Kazashiro when Mizuki submitted Kazashiro with the Face Lock (12:23).
5. Queen Of Asia Title & VPW Women’s Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c/c) defeated Alexis Lee with the Famouser (8:41). *V2 for Queen Of Asia Title. V1 for VPW Women’s Title.
6. Miu Watanabe, Rika Tatsumi & HIMAWARI defeated Maki Itoh, Yuki Aino & Toga when Watanabe pinned Toga with the Tear Drop (16:34).
Daydream were impressed with HIMAWARI’s performance in the main event. Rika Tatsumi told her after the match it is hard to believe it’s only been a year since her pro wrestling debut. She’s not a monster yet like Miu Watanabe but she has already become a reliable wrestler. Watanabe objected to being called a monster.
For so long now whenever somebody from Tokyo Joshi Pro travelled across Asia to wrestle you could count on Alexis Lee to be one of their opponents. It was time for Lee to go the opposite direction and finally wrestle in TJPW. She was here today to fight Yuki Kamifuku for both the Queen Of Asia Title and the VPW Women’s Title. Kamifuku beat her for both championships in their previous matches together. She continued the winning streak, beating Lee with the Famouser to remain a double crown champion. Lee said she has now fought Kamifuku four times and today was the most nervous she’s been because it is her debut in Japan. Even though she lost she feels fulfilled because wrestling in Japan has been her ultimate goal. Kamifuku said when she won the brand new VPW Women’s Title a great looking Vietnamese guy congratulated her. If she was to lose in her first defence today she thinks the same guy would have told her “What’s wrong with you?”
It was announced that Hikaru Shida will return to TJPW on 9th June for a singles match against Moka Miyamoto. It will be Shida’s first match in TJPW since “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’22” in June 2022.
While AEW was over in Japan for the Tokyo Game Show, they put together several exhibition matches at the convention with DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro providing some extra talent. It was the first time AEW held public matches in Japan (their 2021 women’s tournament was behind closed doors). Before all of this happened, Christopher Daniels held a talk panel in the ring where he explained AEW to the audience and played a few single player matches of AEW Fight Forever. In the first game he played as Hikaru Shida and lost to Adam Cole. He apologised to Shida because he knows she would be watching the footage. He then played a second game as Thunder Rosa and lost to Shida. There was a mention that the game is aiming to launch next Spring.
For anyone wondering where Kenny Omega was, he had no involvement (at least publicly that I know of) with the promotion for AEW Fight Forever this weekend. However he was on a Capcom Youtube stream playing Resident Evil and Street Fighter games. Maki Itoh was also advertised to wrestle but she was in North America for indie bookings that were already set up ages ago. I have no idea how that double booking happened.
AEW “TOKYO GAME SHOW 2022 EXHIBITION MATCH”, 16/09/2022 Chiba Makuhari Messe Hall 27,614 Fans – Total Number Of TGS Visitors
1. AEW Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Christopher Daniels defeated Chris Brookes with the Best Moonsault Ever (10:17).
2. AEW Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Ryo Mizunami defeated Hikari Noa with the Hot Limit (8:47).
3. AEW Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Christopher Daniels with the Jumping Knee (9:39).
On Day 1 Daniels defeated Chris Brookes in the afternoon portion of the show to advance on to the evening match where Konosuke Takeshita was waiting for him. Daniels threw the referee in the way to get a cheap shot in, leading to him pinning Brookes with the Best Moonsault Ever. Michael Nakazawa held a post-match interview with Daniels that ended with Daniels attacking him, causing Takeshita to chase him off.
Whether it counts towards her official AEW record or not, Hikari Noa had her debut match for the promotion against Ryo Mizunami. Noa focused on her Thrust Kicks to find openings and saw the chance to go for the Blizzard Suplex. Mizunami blocked the move and rocked Noa with a Spear, setting her up for the Hot Limit finish. Mizunami said afterwards she has a hot passion to return to America.
The evening match saw Takeshita get his revenge on Daniels. He kicked out of the Angels Wings at one and also the BME at two. Looking for another way to win, Daniels put Takeshita on the top rope thinking about doing a Frankensteiner. Takeshita pushed him off and followed with a Jumping Knee from the top rope. He then hit another Jumping Knee for the win. After the match Takeshita talked about how happy he was to wrestle the person he remembers as Curry Man from Michinoku Pro two decades ago. Nakazawa joked he probably wasn’t supposed to say that out loud. Takeshita hopes to do a rematch in America.
AEW “TOKYO GAME SHOW 2022 EXHIBITION MATCH”, 17/09/2022 Chiba Makuhari Messe Hall Approximately 47,000 Fans – Total Number Of TGS Visitors
1. AEW Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Chris Brookes with the Jumping Knee (10:46).
2. AEW Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Riho defeated Hikari Noa with the Somato (8:19).
3. AEW Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Yuki Ueno defeated Michael Nakazawa with a Half Nelson Suplex (10:29).
4. AEW Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Yuka Sakazaki defeated Christopher Daniels & Ryo Mizunami when Sakazaki pinned Mizunami with the Magical Magical Girl Splash (10:26).
Day 2 began with a singles match between Takeshita and Brookes. The match almost became dangerous for the audience at ringside when Brookes considered trying to Suplex Takeshita out of the ring. Instead Takeshita blocked it and ran the ropes only for Brookes to slingshot himself back into the ring to hit a Cutter. Brookes hit his own version of the Jumping Knee Strike but Takeshita bounced back with the strong version of the Jumping Knee to get the win.
Match 2 was Riho’s first match in an AEW ring since May. Noa gave her a fight that included the two exchanging Elbow Strikes up on the top turnbuckles. Riho threw her off with a Superplex and followed with the Diving Stomp for a close nearfall. Once she hit the Somato though it was all over.
The matches so far were all of the normal variety so the TGS crowd were caught off guard by Michael Nakazawa. They got to see his perverted wrestling style that built up to him pulling off his underwear without removing his tights. If that wasn’t wild enough, Yuki Ueno took the match outside the ring with a Plancha followed by a DDT onto one of the raised floor sections of the venue. Ueno then saw fit to end the match with a Half Nelson Suplex instead of one of his regular finishers.
The day ended with a mixed tag match. On one side was Takeshita and Yuka Sakazaki forming a team called The Magical Cinnabon Monsters. Their opponents were Daniels and Mizunami with Daniels looking to avenge his loss to Takeshita from the previous day. Perhaps in something of an upset The Magical Cinnabon Monsters won! Sakazaki hit the Magical Magical Girl Splash on Mizunami and Takeshita hit the Jumping Knee on Daniels. The two pins happened at the same time but the match result from both DDT and TJPW record it as Sakazaki getting the pinfall.
AEW “TOKYO GAME SHOW 2022 EXHIBITION MATCH”, 18/09/2022 Chiba Makuhari Messe Hall 40,291 Fans – Total Number Of TGS Visitors
1. AEW Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Hikari Noa with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (12:07).
2. AEW Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Hagane Shinno defeated Michael Nakazawa with the Ranhei (7:59)
The third and final day was smaller in scale because DDT had a show in Korakuen Hall happening around the same time while Daniels had a booking with All Japan at Budokan Hall. The afternoon match pitted Sakazaki against Noa, making Noa the ironwoman of the weekend by being the only person to have a match on all three days as well as compete at a TJPW show. They fought outside around the other THQ Nordic booths where Sakazaki found Crypto 137 from Destroy All Humans! She got the alien to distract Noa so she could hit her opponent over the head with the Zap-O-Matic. Sakazaki happily gave the gun back to Crypto, telling him it was now broken. She later won the match with the Magical Merry-Go-Round to end her weekend undefeated at TGS. Sakazaki admitted she wasn’t sure if they were allowed to fight near the other booths. Nakazawa told her they weren’t and he expects they will be scolded later. He also heard that Sakazaki is planning to return to America soon and asked if it’s true? She said she wants to go back as soon as possible and joked it might not be tomorrow.
The very last match to close out the event was Nakazawa taking on Hagane Shinno. Nakazawa thought he was only coming out to do commentary and hastily stripped down into his wrestling gear. He asked Shinno to help him put on his kneepads but it was a trick to ambush him with a microphone shot to the head. Hagane fought back but missed a Moonsault giving Nakazawa the opening to set up the Ultimate Venom Arm. Shinno cut him off with a Kicking Combination and then climbed the top rope. Nakazawa grabbed him with the Ultimate Venom Arm and climbed up after him. However Shinno knocked him over to where Nakazawa was left hanging upside down. Shinno then hit a Diving Stomp off the corner followed by the Ranhei for the victory. Nakazawa complained that he should have won because he is an AEW employee while Shinno was never even associated with the promotion before today. However Shinno said if things go to plan he will be having an American expedition in mid-October so he may show up in AEW proper after all. He’d like to have a rematch with Nakazawa in America if they can do it.
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
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.
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 “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’22”, 09/07/2022 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium 1,130 Fans
1. Moka Miyamoto defeated Juria Nagano with the Rashomon (4:58).
2. Aja Kong, Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku defeated Hyper Misao, Nao Kakuta, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami when Aino pinned Toribami with the Venus DDT (12:28).
3. Ryo Mizunami defeated Miu Watanabe with the Hot Limit (11:53).
4. Hikaru Shida & Hikari Noa defeated Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu when Shida pinned Kiryu with the Arawashi Driver (13:32).
5. Mei Suruga & Suzume defeated Riho & Arisu Endo when Suzume pinned Endo with the Ring A Bell (14:21).
6. International Princess Title: Alex Windsor defeated Maki Itoh (c) with the GTF (13:22). *Maki Itoh fails in V5. Alex Windsor becomes the 8th International Princess Champion!
7. Special Single Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Thunder Rosa with a Cradle (13:39).
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai defeated Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) when Akai pinned Mizuki after the Double Rookie Awards (24:28). *The Magical Sugar Rabbits fail in V6. Reiwa AA Cannon become the 10th Princess Tag Team Champions!
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated Rika Tatsumi with the Diving Senton (19:23). *V4 for Shoko Nakajima.
Not even a White Dragon going crazy can stop the Big Kaiju right now. In front of over a thousand fans allowed to cheer, Shoko Nakajima defeated Rika Tatsumi to defend the Princess Of Princess Title. Tatsumi promised to be more determined than ever to win and proved it by doing the Missile Hip from the top rope to Nakajima outside the ring. However her attempt to lean back with the Dragon Sleeper for leverage backfired when Nakajima rolled out to free herself from the move. The champion turned the tables from there, used a Double Arm DDT and pinned Tatsumi with the Diving Senton. She called her opponent strong after the match and looks forward to meeting her down the road again. Nakajima then thanked the fans for their cheers because it gives the wrestlers more energy than we think. She praised the roster for being great and wants Tokyo Joshi Pro to grow even more. While Tatsumi is upset over losing, she feels strange because it hasn’t broken her heart. Instead it made her love pro wrestling again.
The supernova rise of Yuki Arai continues with the “genius girl” winning her first championship in TJPW! Her team with Saki Akai was the force that finally broke The Magical Sugar Rabbits and ended their Princess Tag Team Titles reign. At first Arai looked to be out of her depth against the champions but once she got to show off her teamwork with Akai it turned out they had MagiRabi well scouted. Together they blocked one of the Toy Story double team attacks and Arai threw Mizuki off the top rope with the Full Nelson Buster. Akai was also too tall for Yuka Sakazaki to give the Magical Merry-Go-Round to. Mizuki tried to intervene until she was struck in the back of the head with Arai’s Finally kick. Arai went for the move a second time and Sakazaki took the bullet after pushing Mizuki out of harm’s way. Reiwa AA Cannon then took inspiration from the one achievement they both share by performing a Double Rookie Award to Mizuki. Akai then pinned Mizuki for the title change while Arai held Sakazaki back.
Akai admits that they wouldn’t have been able to beat MagiRabi 99 times out of 100. It was Arai’s luck that made today the 1 time they were going to win. Akai thought she was going to be leading the team but her tag partner supported her more than she realised. Now they have the Princess Tag Titles there will be many teams chasing after them. Akai tells Arai this is the hard part because they now have to run further ahead of everyone else. Arai said she feels the weight of carrying the title belt because she is also carrying the history of the previous champions. She wants to be somebody who won’t be ashamed of holding this title. She also can’t wait to show the belt to all the fans of SKE48.
In the days leading up to the show, Thunder Rosa sent a message to TJPW saying if Miyu Yamashita could beat her today then she will give her a AEW Women’s Title shot back in America. The new stakes added more to Rosa’s anticipated return to TJPW for the first time in two and a half years. Yamashita hit the Skull Kick but she couldn’t get the three count with a rope break. She then went for the Attitude Adjustment but Rosa countered it into a Cradle. Yamashita suddenly reversed the Cradle and got a three count out of nowhere to win the match! Rosa said she now knows what to do because she isn’t going to let the AEW Women’s Title be taken away from her like the International Princess Title was. Whenever Yamashita is back in America, she knows where to find Rosa to get her title match. Yamashita said having the home field advantage was why she won today. She would like to have the rematch against Rosa in America but wants to fight that match for herself, not as a representative for TJPW.
England’s Alex Windsor had some bad luck travelling to Japan because she lost her gear and luggage on the way over. However she must be all smiles after today because she beat Maki Itoh to become the new International Princess Champion! Itoh fought big by using an Avalanche DDT but missed the Flying Big Head. Windsor fought back with her own big moves by using a Liger Bomb and another Power Bomb as a counter. She then put Itoh away with a Modified Fisherman Buster called the GTF to win the title. Windsor says she is taking over the world and will take the IP Title where ever she wants to. Meanwhile a sad Itoh is left asking herself why is she always so weak? She has an overseas tour coming up in August so she knows she has to fight more different wrestlers from around the world. She is also upset she couldn’t live up to the expectations of the fans who could now cheer for her today.
The first match for MeiBee Surprise was a success for Mei Suruga & Suzume. They were paired against two opponents who are very close to them. Suruga and Riho have a lot of history together while Suzume regularly teams with Arisu Endo as Daisy Monkey. The match came down to Suzume against Endo. Suzume came out on top after hitting the Ring A Bell on her friend. Riho said she was excited to have the match because it was her first time wrestling in Japan for 9 months. Suzume described the match as a red string getting all tangled up because she has attachments to everyone involved. She also said she will continue fighting to surpass Suruga. You’d think Suruga would see that as a threat but she just laughed it off.
Previous opponents Hikaru Shida & Hikari Noa were now teaming together on today’s show. Together they brushed off Toyo Mates even when they attempted to fight fire with fire. Mahiro Kiryu stopped Noa from using a chair but then tried using the same chair on Shida. That was blocked and Shida pinned her with the Arawashi Driver. Yuki Kamifuku gave encouragement to Kiryu afterwards, telling her life goes by fast and can be over in the blink of an eye. They can become strong people who can take a beating together. Noa said she had a lot of time to think about her previous match with Shida. She enjoyed today’s match more than anything and was happy to use weapons with Shida again. Shida thinks she made a good start in her quest to wreck havoc in TJPW with her appearances so far. She doesn’t know who she will face next but is looking forward to coming back here.
It doesn’t matter if her opponent was changed on short notice. Somebody was going to get a Giant Swing from Miu Watanabe! That somebody happened to be Ryo Mizunami. Watanabe had to work hard for it though because her veteran opponent put her through the wringer with Chops, slams and Lariats. Mizunami gained the upper hand with a Spear and never let go of the momentum, finishing off Watanabe with the Hot Limit. She praised Watanabe, saying she was blown away by her opponent’s power. It doesn’t matter if she is an idol with less experience in the ring, when Watanabe enters through those ropes she is a pro wrestler! Mizunami also appreciated the warm reception she got from the TJPW fans. Watanabe also gave credit to the fans for pushing her on. Even when she was hurt, the fans calling her name made her want to do her best. She achieved her goal to give Mizunami the Giant Swing. Her ultimate goal is to do that to Aja Kong!
Speaking of Kong, she was happy to be back in TJPW. Yuki Aino & Pom Harajuku in particular were surprised to see Kong give Raku a big hug during their entrance all together. Hyper Misao also welcomed Kong back and was nice to her. But that was because Misao wanted to swap teams and be on Kong’s side instead of being her opponent. Misao later sprayed Kong’s face but its effects didn’t last long. Kong wiped out Nao Kakuta & Haruna Neko with a Double Lariat, giving Aino the space to beat Kaya Toribami with the Venus DDT. Misao later said she would like to fight Kong again. Her tag partners are not as enthusiastic over the idea.
The opening match was special for Moka Miyamoto and Juria Nagano because it was the first time they got to experience wrestling in front of a cheering crowd. Nagano used a new combination of kicks but still went back to the Brazilian Kick late in the match. Miyamoto eventually got her in the Rashomon to earn the submission victory. She was glad to win because she knows she would lose to Nagano in a Karate bout. But this is pro wrestling and Miyamoto is more experienced than her here.
There will be a collaboration between TJPW and Idolmaster Cinderella Girls. Two of the characters in the game Akane Hino & Yuko Hori will receive costumes based on the ring gear Yuki Arai and Maki Itoh wore for their IP Title match from “GRAND PRINCESS ’22”. In return, Arai and Itoh will soon receive real life costumes based on Hino & Hori to wear for portraits and other related merchandise.
“GO GIRL 3” will be held at Korakuen Hall on 28th August. It is a show for only women in the audience and admission will be free. There will also be a brand new logo for Tokyo Joshi Pro unveiled at the show.
“The Non-Binary Nightmare” Max The Impaler will make their TJPW debut on the 13th & 14th August Korakuen Hall shows. If there is anything you need to know about Max it this. They hate idols!
I’ll now include the official Youtube videos of matches to these posts. Last month’s article was updated to include the videos available from May and I’ll go back to add more if they get uploaded. Konosuke Takeshita having matches across the American indies that are so good they have to be put up for free on Youtube is going to be the trend this summer. The other trend seems to be Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers unexpectedly appearing on AEW’s Youtube shows whenever they are in the country. The Forbidden Door is behind us for the time being so if there was any red tape preventing Takeshita from having a higher profile that should be gone now. Even then he’s keeping himself busy as you will see below. By the way it is incredibly satisfying to see how successful that show turned out. So many wrestling analysts and personalities last month predicted failure because let’s be honest, they personally don’t care about New Japan. It is obvious to me that a lot of them used the “casual fan” argument as a cover for their own lack of interest or knowledge for Japanese wrestling. But the PPV being a success proves there is an audience out there that does care. I mean that’s why you’re here right now reading this post, right?
SPOILER WARNING: The results section includes spoilers for taped AEW matches that have not aired yet.
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Videos
DPW “NO PRESSURE”, 05/06/2022 Gov. James E. Holshouser Building, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
1. Golden Opportunity Match: Miyu Yamashita Vs Miyuki Takase
Video starts at 21:24 for the match AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 06/06/2022 The Kia Forum, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Skye Blue & Miyu Yamashita Vs Serena Deeb & Nyla Rose
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 08/06/2022 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. Casino Battle Royale: Darby Allin Vs Tony Nese Vs Daniel Garcia Vs Lance Archer Vs Eddie Kingston Vs Ricky Starks Vs Jake Hager Vs Rey Fenix Vs Swerve Strickland Vs Keith Lee Vs John Silver Vs Konosuke Takeshita Vs Max Caster Vs Austin Gunn Vs Colten Gunn Vs Powerhouse Hobbs Vs Bobby Fish Vs Kyle O’Reilly Vs Dante Martin Vs Wheeler Yuta Vs Andrade El Idolo
WEST COAST PRO “’93 TIL INFINITY”, 10/06/2022 The State Room, South San Francisco, USA
1. Mike Bailey Vs Konosuke Takeshita
ROW “LOCK UP”, 11/06/2022 Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA
1. Ryan Davidson Vs Shota
Video starts at 37:43 for the match AEW “DARK”, 14/06/2022 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Nick Comoroto (w/ Aaron Solo)
PRESTIGE “THE NEW REALITY”, 18/06/2022 The Glass House, Pomona, USA
1. Lee Moriarty Vs Konosuke Takeshita
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Results
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 01/06/2022 (Aired 06/06/2022) The Kia Forum, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Serena Deeb & Nyla Rose defeated Skye Blue & Miyu Yamashita when Deeb submitted Blue with the Serenity Lock (7:40).
When the month began, the joshi wrestlers who were hanging around in America all went back to Japan except for Miyu Yamashita. She still had an indie date left to do but there was an unusually long gap of time until it took place. Turns out the extra time was filled up with Yamashita’s first AEW booking. She unexpectedly had her debut match with the company on Dark Elevation teaming with Skye Blue against two of AEW’s top threats in the women’s division: Serena Deeb & Nyla Rose. There were complaints from fans that you shouldn’t be just throwing Yamashita into a Youtube match like that but there’s a long game being played here. AEW are well aware of Yamashita’s status in the joshi scene and have kept an eye on her for her entire US trip last month. There’s even some hearsay that her indie bookings went through AEW as part of getting her over to the USA in the first place. They’ve been so impressed with her performances that considerations are under way to put together a future AEW Women’s Title program between her and Thunder Rosa. Those plans are separate from the Rosa Vs Yamashita match happening in TJPW later this month. I know the booking of the AEW women’s division is incredibly frustrating to follow but I assure you there is some thought being put behind what to do with Yamashita in the future.
AEW “DARK”, 03/06/2022 (Aired 14/06/2022) Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Nick Comoroto (w/ Aaron Solo) with the Jumping Knee Strike (6:42).
We’re getting into odd territory with the Dark tapings. Takeshita’s match against Nick Comoroto was recorded on 3rd June but was not used until the episode that aired on the 14th.
DPW “NO PRESSURE”, 05/06/2022 Gov. James E. Holshouser Building, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
1. Golden Opportunity Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Miyuki Takase with the Skull Kick (15:27).
A first time meeting took place in Deadlock Pro when Yamashita took on the freelancer Miyuki Takase. The match had a little bit of everything from strike exchanges, slight comedy, big moves like an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment and Takase running a lap around the building to set up the longest Clothesline spot you’ll ever see. Yamashita found her opponent’s limit with High Kicks and finished her off with the Skull Kick to win. According to the match stipulation Yamashita now has a championship shot of some sort for whenever she wants when she returns to DPW.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 08/06/2022 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. Casino Battle Royale: Kyle O’Reilly defeated Wheeler Yuta by Ring Out (24:59). Order Of Elimination: Tony Nese, Lance Archer, Max Caster, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn, Keith Lee, John Silver, Daniel Garcia, Eddie Kingston, Jake Hager, Konosuke Takeshita, Dante Martin, Ricky Starks, Bobby Fish, Darby Allin, Swerve Strickland, Powerhouse Hobbs, Rey Fenix, Andrade El Idolo and Wheeler Yuta.
Takeshita entered the annual Casino Battle Royal where the winner would face Jon Moxley later in the night. It was all part of a long, sudden journey to crown an Interim AEW World Champion thanks to CM Punk unexpectedly going out of action with injury. Takeshita entered the match in the middle of the pack but was thrown out by both Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs. That left Takeshita tweeting about if he should find some new friends for backup should a similar situation ever repeats itself.
WEST COAST PRO “’93 TIL INFINITY”, 10/06/2022 The State Room, South San Francisco, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Mike Bailey with the German Suplex (17:50).
Well he got to reunite with one of his friends a couple of days later. The long awaited rematch with Mike Bailey delivered and then some. What are you doing reading this when you can watch it up at the top of the post above?
AEW “DARK”, 11/06/2022 (Aired 19/07/2022)
Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Anthony Henry with the Jumping Knee Strike (7:48).
Back to the weirdness of the tapings. Takeshita’s match against Anthony Henry hasn’t aired yet. AEW now tapes month’s worth of Dark matches in Universal Studios a couple times a year. Details results of the tapings aren’t common so for the moment we just know who won. I’ll come back to edit this post when the match does air.
ROW “LOCK UP”, 11/06/2022 Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA
1. Ryan Davidson defeated Shota with the Davidson Driver (?:??).
Hey Ganbare☆Pro can join in on the fun now. Shota finally got to travel to America after his original plans to do so went kaput two years ago because of the pandemic. He went over to Texas to perform on a Reality Of Wrestling show. That is the promotion run by none other than Booker T. Shota took on Ryan Davidson, an American wrestler who wrestled in both DDT and Ganpro back in 2018. Shota stayed in America for a few more days and went to an AEW event in St. Louis where he hung out with Takeshita and Michael Nakazawa backstage.
PRESTIGE “THE NEW REALITY”, 18/06/2022 The Glass House, Pomona, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Lee Moriarty with the Zahi (17:55).
Another very entertaining match worth watching. Lee Moriarty is such a good talent who can shine through your screen with his ring work. He’s a good opponent for Takeshita as you can see when you watch the video way up above.
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 29/06/2022 (Aired 04/07/2022) Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan, USA
1. Hikaru Shida & Yuka Sakazaki defeated Heather Reckless & Laynie Luck when Shida pinned Reckless with the Falcon Arrow (2:53).
It was a surprise to everyone when both Yuka Sakazaki and Hikaru Shida showed up to wrestle as a tag team this past Wednesday. I didn’t realize Sakazaki had left Japan for her PWG booking and it wasn’t publicly known that Shida was returning to the US either. The match against Heather Reckless & Laynie Luck will air on Dark Elevation next Monday. Hopefully for Sakazaki’s sake they edit her entrance because she tripped and fell on the ramp while running out. She got revenge on the ramp after the match by stomping on it while leaving ringside.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 29/06/2022 (Aired 01/07/2022) Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan, USA
1. Royal Rampage: Brody King defeated Darby Allin by Ring Out (22:41). Order Of Elimination: Tony Nese, John Silver, Max Caster, Penta Oscuro & Rush, Matt Hardy, Frankie Kazarian, Dante Martin, Dustin Rhodes, Konosuke Takeshita, Orange Cassidy, Keith Lee, Swerve Strickland, Ricky Starks, Hangman Page, The Blade, The Butcher and Darby Allin.
Tonight’s episode of Rampage has Takeshita entering the first ever Royal Rampage match. It is reportedly a Royal Rumble match involving two wrestling rings and the last wrestlers left in each ring face off in the finale. Remember earlier when I said Takeshita wants to look for backup so he won’t get eliminated by a tag team? Well it happened again when The Butcher & The Blade worked together to throw him out of the ring.
Yamashita is currently in Spain ready and waiting for this weekend’s show with RCW. Her opponent is an interesting choice. Alex Windsor has been on a roll in England lately for both Revolution Pro and Pro Wrestling: EVE. She will be coming to Japan one week later to challenge for the International Princess Title too. No bigger message to send TJPW than to beat their first ace before heading over.
PWG “NINETEEN”, 03/07/2022 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Masha Slamovich
2. PWG World Title: Daniel Garcia (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Takeshita has had no luck chasing after AEW championships. The PWG World Title however is so close he should be able to taste it. The champion Daniel Garcia is beaten up from doing a Blood & Guts cage match. Sakazaki gets to be added to the short list of women to have wrestled for PWG. She can make Masha Slamovich 0 for 2 against TJPW talent.
JCW “THE GREAT AMERICAN BIRTHDAY BASH”, 10/07/2022 Phil Sheridan Building, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Cole Radrick
This is a match with more history than meets the eye. Takeshita and Cole Radrick have gotten along on Twitter for the last year, sharing gifs of them doing each other’s moves in matches. Does that mean when they finally meet they will play mind games by swapping movesets against each other?
DEFY “THE WORLD IS YOURS NIGHT 1”, 16/07/2022 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Davey Richards
Davey Richards has taken up the indie gatekeeper role ever since he returned to active competition. Takeshita getting an opponent as established as him in a promotion as energetic as DEFY should result in magic.
TERMINUS “TERMINUS 3”, 21/07/2022 Oasis Event Center, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
1. Jonathan Gresham Vs Konosuke Takeshita
The hits keep on coming! Takeshita should expect a change of pace here because TERMINUS uses an alternate ruleset that encourages more grappling and less theatrics. Jonathan Gresham flies the flag for that style (often literally) and has been pretty much unbeatable since becoming the ROH World Champion. It would be a good idea for Takeshita to remember what he learned from wrestling Shinya Aoki and fight fire with fire.
PRESTIGE “NONSTOP FEELING”, 22/07/2022 Hawthorne Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Kevin Blackwood
The next day Takeshita returns to Prestige for his second match in the promotion. Kevin Blackwood has been gaining notoriety in the indies this year and just last week got a big win over Takeshita’s buddy Mike Bailey.
GARDEN STATE PRO “WELCOME TO EDEN”, 23/07/2022 The Heart Ballroom, Newark, USA
1. 3 Way Match: Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Josh Alexander
Takeshita will also be holding a seminar for Garden State Pro on the day of the show.
BLACK LABEL PRO “THE GANG CROSSES THE LINE”, 29/07/2022 Nashville Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Nick Wayne
A teenage prodigy being hailed as the future of pro wrestling with the world at his feet. Sounds familiar. Nick Wayne is sort of where Takeshita was a decade ago. The young phenomenon is becoming a must see wrestler on the indies and supposedly has an AEW contract waiting for him once he is eligible to sign it. One future will get to see the next future first hand.
SETUP “SETUP EP.8”, 30/07/2022 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. Hoshitango Vs Bital Hasdin
2. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
Hoshitango’s opponent Bital Hasdin is being promoted as Thailand’s super rookie.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 137: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COPPERHEAD”, 13/08/2022 O2 Academy, Sheffield, England
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X
Takeshita heads over to England in August for a tour with PROGRESS, the company that wishes it was still 2019. His first show will be in Sheffield and then he will be in Newcastle the next day.
GCW “HOMECOMING PART 1”, 13/08/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
GCW is not ready for Maki Itoh.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 138: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COTTONMOUTH”, 14/08/2022 Boiler Shop, Newcastle, England
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X
Takeshita won’t be the only DDT talent PROGRESS gets to experience this year…
GCW “HOMECOMING PART 2”, 14/08/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
I repeat, they are so not ready for her.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 142: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN SNAKE”, 25/09/2022 O2 Academy, Birmingham, England
1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
Chris Brookes is coming back to Europe and he’s bringing Masahiro Takanashi with him!
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
Take it from me, wXw tournaments in Oberhausen make for great weekend breaks if you’re with other wrestling fans. They have done tag team tournaments every Autumn for years but the World Tag Team Festival branding is only a recent creation that got interrupted by the pandemic. CDK was one of the first teams announced to enter the annual tournament. They are joined by two familiar faces, the team of Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie!
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ~KOBE PERFORMANCE~”, 25/06/2022 Kobe Art Center
1. Hikari Noa Vs Mahiro Kiryu
2. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao Vs Haruna Neko Vs Kaya Toribami
3. Yuka Sakazaki, Raku & Arisu Endo Vs Yuki Aino, Yuki Kamifuku & Yuki Arai
4. Maki Itoh Vs Pom Harajuku
5. Miyu Yamashita & Moka Miyamoto Vs Mizuki & Nao Kakuta
6. Shoko Nakajima & Suzume Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
Full steam ahead towards the big summer shows at Ota Ward Gymnasium! First up it’s preparation time for Shoko Nakajima and Rika Tatsumi. They have time to see what the other has got in the lead up to the Princess Of Princess Title match.
DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2022 IN YOKOHAMA”, 25/06/2022 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Akito “Cochin” Nishigaki Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao
2. Naomi Yoshimura Vs Yuya Koroku
3. Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya Vs HARASHIMA & Hideki Okatani
4. DAMNATION T.A Vs The The Iyasareru!: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda
5. BURNING Vs Eruption!: Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi
6. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Thanomsak Toba (w/ Naomi Susan) (c) Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Shinya Aoki
There’s now some time to take a breather from King Of DDT. One of the semi-finals is involved in the BURNING Vs Eruption tag in Yokohama.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ~FUKUOKA PERFORMANCE~”, 26/06/2022 Fukuoka Nishitetsu Hall
1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Kaya Toribami
2. 3 Way Match: Rika Tatsumi Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Raku
3. Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Miu Watanabe, Pom Harajuku & Yuki Arai
4. Hyper Misao Vs Arisu Endo
5. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta Vs Suzume & Haruna Neko
6. Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino Vs Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh
For the first time in 3 years, 121000000 are teaming together in their hometown of Fukuoka!
DDT “KING OF DDT 2022 FINAL!!”, 03/07/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Toru Owashi, Soma Takao & Toi Kojima
0. Dark Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuji Hino & Yuki Ishida
1. King Of DDT 2022 – Semi Final: Yuki Ueno Vs Naomi Yoshimura
2. King Of DDT 2022 – Semi Final: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Jun Akiyama
3. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Akito “Cochin” Nishigaki Vs Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata & Yukio Naya
4. Masahiro Takanashi & HARASHIMA Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
5. Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Chris Brookes & X
6. KO-D Openweight Title – King Of DDT 2022 – Final: X Vs X
The King Of DDT final four are Kazusada Higuchi, Jun Akiyama, Yuki Ueno and Naomi Yoshimura. The semi-finals divide them into two existing rivalries. Higuchi and Akiyama put aside their past differences to work as a functional tag team at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022” but the premature ending to that match left that loose thread up in the air. Both have promised to become the KO-D Openweight Champion on behalf of Tetsuya Endo and carry on in his place while he is injured. Ueno and Yoshimura have become rivals since their tag team Nautilus split up. Yoshimura has beaten Ueno in all of their previous singles matches.
A mystery wrestler is teaming up with Chris Brookes to take on MAO & Shunma Katsumata? Who could it be? Maybe it’s a certain Welshman who Brookes and The 37KAMIINA have been in the ring with before. No, not CdawgVA!
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’22”, 09/07/2022 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Juria Nagano
2. Aja Kong, Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Hyper Misao, Nao Kakuta, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami
3. Miu Watanabe Vs Willow Nightingale
4. Hikaru Shida & Hikari Noa Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu
5. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) Vs Alex Windsor
6. Riho & Arisu Endo Vs Mei Suruga & Suzume
7. Special Single Match: Thunder Rosa Vs Miyu Yamashita
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Saki Akai & Yuki Arai
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi
The complete card for “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’22” was revealed today. The Magical Sugar Rabbits have been challenged by Reiwa AA Cannon for the Princess Tag Team Titles. Special guests from AEW feature up and down the show with the big match being Thunder Rosa Vs Miyu Yamashita in a first time meeting. Riho pops up to team with Arisu Endo against Mei Suruga & Suzume. Previous opponents Hikaru Shida & Hikari Noa are now on the same team as they take on the newly renamed Toyo Mates. There is going to be so much joy and power on show when Miu Watanabe and Willow Nightingale are in the same ring together. Aja Kong has her first match back in Tokyo Joshi Pro since October. Karate meets Karate when Moka Miyamoto faces Juria Nagano.
A challenger has been found for Maki Itoh. Over in England this past weekend, Alex Windsor won the SHE-1 tournament in Pro Wrestling: EVE. During her victory speech, she called out Itoh and demanded a shot at the International Princess Title! Itoh received the message and accepted the challenge so Windsor will soon be on her way to Japan.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022”, 20/08/2022 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Shinichiro Kawamatsu Debut Match: Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs X
2. International Special Hardcore Match: Joey Janela Vs Shunma Katsumata
3. DDT Universal Title: Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs X
4. KO-D Openweight Title: KO-D Champion (c) Vs X
The tycoon of America’s indie scene finally arrives in DDT! Joey Janela has long been sought after by Sanshiro Takagi going back to the Social Distancing match GCW held very early into the pandemic. He will be arriving in Japan a week earlier but his first confirmed match is taking place at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022”. He takes on Katsumata in a Hardcore Match. Since Janela is nicknamed “The Bad Boy”, Katsumata is now calling himself “The Happy Boy”.
Shinichiro Kawamatsu is returning to DDT to have a proper debut pro wrestling match. The politician wasn’t satisfied with his previous wrestling match relying on his bodyguard only to get beaten into submission once he had to fight for himself. So he is finding time during his political duties to train for a proper match. He actively trains in Jiu Jitsu so he already has some martial arts experience to lean on.
BASARA “BASARA 194 ~TAKAGARI 10~”, 11/06/2022 Takashimadaira Ward Community Center
1. Daichi Kazato Vs Lil’ Kraken
2. Daiki Shimomura Vs Akiyori Takizawa
3. SAGAT VS Fuminori Abe
4. Takumi Tsukamoto & Yasu Urano Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
5. Elimination 6-Man Tag Match: Ryota Nakatsu, Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga Vs Isami Kodaka, FUMA & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
Yep, that’s a BASARA card.
“CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022”, 12/06/2022 Saitama Super Arena
0. STARTING BATTLE KICKOFF ~ DDT Provided Tag Match: Muscle Sakai & Yukio Naya Vs Soma Takao & Kazuki Hirata
0. STARTING BATTLE 2 ~ TJPW Provided 10-Woman Tag Match: Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino, Raku, Pom Harajuku & Haruna Neko Vs Nao Kakuta, Mahiro Kiryu, Moka Miyamoto, Arisu Endo & Kaya Toribami
0. STARTING BATTLE 3 ~ DDT Vs Ganbare☆Pro Battle: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Ken Ohka, Yuna Manase & Mizuki Watase
1. NOAH Vs DDT Battle: Kinya Okada & Kai Fujimura Vs Toi Kojima & Yuya Koroku
2. TJPW Provided 6-Woman Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh & Juria Nagano Vs Hikari Noa, Suzume & Yuki Arai
3. DDT Provided 8-Man Tag Match: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Akito Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Kendo Kashin, Shinya Aoki & Yumiko Hotta
4. Princess Of Princess Title Next Challenger Decision 4 Way Match: Rika Tatsumi Vs Mizuki Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Miu Watanabe
5. NOAH Provided 10-Man Tag Match: Takashi Sugiura, Kazuyuki Fujita, Masa Kitamiya, Daiki Inaba & Shuhei Taniguchi Vs Timothy Thatcher, Michael Elgin, Rene Dupree, El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. & Simon Gotch
6. DDT Provided 8-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Asuka
7. NOAH Provided 6-Man Tag Match: Rob Van Dam, Yoshinari Ogawa & HAYATA Vs Kaito Kiyomiya, Daisuke Harada & YO-HEY
8. NOAH Vs DDT Battle: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Katsuhiko Nakajima, Atsushi Kotoge & Yoshiki Inamura
9. NOAH Vs DDT Battle ~ Special Single Match: Kenoh Vs Daisuke Sasaki
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki
11. GHC Heavyweight Title: Go Shiozaki (c) Vs Satoshi Kojima
Today’s NOAH show in Korakuen Hall featured an invasion of DDT wrestlers. First, Jun Akiyama appeared at ringside to provide commentary for the Kongo Vs Sugiura-gun match. After the match Kenoh & Katsuhiko Nakajima dared Akiyama to enter the ring and confront them. He did so, revealing he was armed with the stun gun Daisuke Sasaki used to attack Kenoh with! That’s not all, as Akiyama approached the ring Tetsuya Endo, Kazusada Higuchi, Yuya Koroku & Toi Kojima appeared from the other side of Korakuen and entered the ring behind Kongo. There was a lot of threats and tough talk between the NOAH and DDT sides until they broke off from each other. Backstage Akiyama talked about how much NOAH has changed since he worked for them. Kenoh meanwhile complained about Sasaki being nowhere to be found.
The mystery wrestler in the NOAH 10-Man Tag was revealed yesterday to be Timothy Thatcher! The housewives’ favourite in Europe is now in the company.
DDT “KING OF DDT 2022 2ND ROUND”, 19/06/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. THE KICKBOXING MATCH 2022: Shinya Aoki & Toi Kojima Vs Hikaru Machida & Gota Ihashi
2. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 2: Winner Of Match 1A Vs Winner Of Match 1B
3. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 2: Winner Of Match 1C Vs Winner Of Match 1D
4. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 2: Winner Of Match 1E Vs Winner Of Match 1F
5. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 2: Winner Of Match 1G Vs Winner Of Match 1H
The big combat event of the year in Japan is this month’s RIZIN Vs K-1 kickboxing bout between Tenshin Nasukawa and Takeru Segawa. It is an event so big that it is being promoted simply as “THE MATCH”. Well, at least it’s supposed to be happening this month. The massive TV deal for the fight fell through following news articles alleging the president of RIZIN to having connections with organized crime. The planned broadcast is now going to be a PPV on ABEMA. That same day in Korakuen, DDT will be doing their own version of THE MATCH with Shinya Aoki and Hikaru Machida both involved. Toi Kojima is also taking part, continuing his fighting relationship with Aoki. Finally whenever DDT does boxing things they usually bring in Gota Ihashi to be the human punching bag. He’ll be fine.
DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2022 IN YOKOHAMA”, 25/06/2022 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Thanomsak Toba (w/ Naomi Susan) (c) Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Shinya Aoki
Aoki is joining forces with The 37KAMIINA to fight for KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles. The current champions are now known as Legend-gun and their schedules make it difficult to nail down dates for title defences.
GANBARE☆PRO “KINDERGARTEN COP 2022”, 29/06/2022 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Road To SEKIGAHARA Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Shota & Soma Takao Vs Ken Ohka, Masahiro Takanashi & Chris Brookes
The go home show for “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA” sees Yumehito Imanari teaming with ROMANCE DAWN to take on Ken Ohka & CDK! So far Imanari has had Ohka’s number in the previous two warm up matches. However CDK’s antics have made them a difficult problem for ROMANCE DAWN to solve.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’22”, 09/07/2022 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Winner Of 12/6 4 Way Match
Suzume has spent time in Gatoh Move these last few weeks getting to know Mei Suruga. She was the special opponent for Suruga’s 4th Anniversary match held two weeks ago. Then today she showed up at ChocoPro to promote “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’22”. Suzume and Suruga agreed to team up for the show and are currently working on what name to call themselves. Too many people involved with the promotions have already shot down AppleBees as an option so don’t even think about suggesting it.
Hikaru Shida is the latest guest star added to the show. So that’s her and Riho both coming in from AEW.
GANBARE☆PRO “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA”, 10/07/2022 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Special Single Match: Yuna Manase Vs Sayaka Unagi
2. Special Tag Match ~ CDK Vs ROMANCE DAWN: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Shota & Soma Takao
3. Special Single Match: Shuichiro Katsumura Vs Minoru Suzuki
4. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Yumehito Imanari (c) Vs Ken Ohka
Be careful what you wish for. Shuichiro Katsumura asked for a strong opponent to fight at Ota Ward Gymnasium and Minoru Suzuki answered the challenge! Suzuki didn’t waste any time in giving Katsumura a taste of what’s to come, sparking a short brawl between the two. Suzuki said this is what you get when you pick a fight with him for two reasons. One, because it sells the match and two, because Katsumura will need to use everything he knows to have a chance at beating him.
Ganbare Tamagawa (aka Batten x Burabura) will be on the show wrestling in Ganbare☆Pro for the first time in 8 and a half years. He was one of the first people to join Ganpro after it formed in 2013, first as an ally to Ken Ohka that lead to a heel turn out of bitterness for being so weak. He saw the error of his ways and turned back face but was done with the promotion after its first year. Since then he has stayed home in Fukuoka to focus on his family business while occasionally wrestling for Kyushu Pro Wrestling.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “YES! WONDERLAND 2022 ~SPREAD THE WINGS OF YOUR DREAMS~”, 03/05/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 695 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) defeated Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta when Mizuki pinned Noa with the Cutie Special (13:53). *V4 for The Magical Sugar Rabbits.
2. Reika Saiki Retirement – Exhibition Match: Reika Saiki Vs Arisu Endo ended in a Time Limit Draw (3:00).
3. Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu defeated Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami when Kiryu submitted Toribami with a Crab Hold (10:09).
4. Suzume defeated Juria Nagano with the Ring A Bell (5:46).
5. Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Yuki Arai defeated Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku when Arai pinned Harajuku with the Finally (13:41).
6. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh defeated Hikaru Shida & Moka Miyamoto when Yamashita pinned Miyamoto with the Skull Kick (15:02).
7. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated Hyper Misao with the Diving Senton (14:29). *V2 for Shoko Nakajima.
No time to rest just because the Golden Week show is over because “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022” is coming up on the horizon. Shoko Nakajima defeated her partner in crime (figure of speech) Hyper Misao for her second defence of the Princess Of Princess Title. Misao wanted to prove she would fight fair to the best of her ability and placed down all of her hidden sprays before the match. She didn’t cheat but her plan was to find a way to beat Nakajima as quickly as possible. Nakajima’s gameplan was to target Misao’s arm and it paid off when Misao couldn’t use the Vanitas late in the match. Nakajima saw her moment to strike and dropped Misao with a Double Arm DDT before pinning her with the Diving Senton.
Nakajima told Misao she is amazing because she can do anything. Misao sees Nakajima as the main character but Nakajima thinks that does not mean the second best wrestler can never become champion. Both of them felt each other’s pain today and Kyoraku Kyomei will become an even better team because of it. Nakajima wants Misao to help her grab the box of toys that is Tokyo Joshi Pro and turn it upside down together. Next for the champion is to defend the belt at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022” in Saitama Super Arena on 12th June. The previous women who held the Princess Title have all been great champions and Nakajima wants to surpass them all!
Hikaru Shida got to experience both sides of 121000000 for her return to TJPW. Maki Itoh attempted to hit Shida in the head with a microphone like she did in AEW a year ago. But this time Shida grabbed the mic off her and whacked her over the head with it. Itoh’s big head no sold it. A new experience for Shida was getting to fight Miyu Yamashita and they two went at it. Moka Miyamoto benefitted with her own actions in the match. Her rush of attacks had Yamashita on the defensive until she stopped her momentum with a Front Kick. The end then came when Yamashita hit the Skull Kick for the win. Yamashita has expressed interest in a singles match with Shida. The two of them also praised Miyamoto for exceeding their expectations. Itoh however found the match to be a frustrating experience. She wants to go back to America so she can get stronger!
One year into her career Yuki Arai is still shining bright. Miu Watanabe was her tag partner in her debut so it was only fitting she was by her side again along with Rika Tatsumi bringing up the rear. The three of them all put Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku in separate submission holds. Harajuku changed course and almost had Arai beat with the Pom de Justice but it was broken it up. They cleaned out the ring so Arai could pin Harajuku with the Finally Axe Kick. She is happy to show everyone how much she has grown in one year. Tatsumi joked that Arai will overtake her someday but she isn’t going to lose to her.
Juria Nagano’s third pro wrestling match pitted her against Suzume. Her standing strikes are something to fear but her weakness continues to be what happens when she is taken to the ground. Suzume got to work on some submission holds this way and cut off Nagano’s comeback with a Facebuster before winning with the Ring A Bell. Suzume credited her recent singles match with Yamashita as a sign she can overwhelm lesser experienced opponents. Nagano said she wants fight more like a pro wrestler in her next match without relying on Karate. She would like to participate in TJPW more often but she has patients to protect as a nurse so she can only wrestle once a month for the time being.
Match #3 had an unexpected guest at ringside. Yuna Manase appeared before the match to promote the Ganbare☆Pro show taking place later in the evening. She stayed to watch the Toyo University Tag defeat Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami. The finish came when Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu gave Toribami a Big Boot/Spinebuster combo. Kiryu then turned her over into a Crab Hold to make her submit. Kiryu exchanged some words with Manase by the commentary table after the match. The two will be facing each other in a singles match on 5th May.
Almost three years ago Reika Saiki’s pro wrestling career got sidelined when she got a broken jaw. Although she recovered, her return to the ring never came and she eventually made the decision to retire both from pro wrestling and bodybuilding. She chose Tokyo Joshi Pro to host her retirement ceremony, although there was a shoutout to her other home promotion when she wore a wristband with the WRESTLE-1 logo on it. The retirement match was only a three minute exhibition bout against Arisu Endo, a fellow member of the Cheer♡1 idol group they both came from. The match ended in a draw but it was Endo who had the upper hand in the final seconds when she applied a Camel Clutch and Saiki struggled to reach the ropes.
The ceremony had Saiki receive gifts from the roster (news reports also said Saori Anou was there to congratulate her backstage). She said it’s been two years and eight months since she last wrestled and her time here was too short. She loves pro wrestling and was happy to remember what it is like to be a wrestler for three more minutes. The Arisu Endo she briefly fought today isn’t the same person she knew from Cheer♡1 but she has turned into a good wrestler. Saiki’s wrestling career only lasted 3 and a half years and most of it was in TJPW. She will continue to love TJPW for that reason.
A sudden change in travel schedules for Yuka Sakazaki moved the Princess Tag Team Titles match to the opening spot on the show. Free WiFi relied on their plan to remove the turnbuckle pad because it’s been working for them so far. Both Mizuki and Yuka Sakazaki ended up feeling the exposed metal of the corner because of it. However The Magical Sugar Rabbits turned things around to defend the titles. Sakazaki took care of Nao Kakuta with the Magical Merry-Go-Round and after that Mizuki pinned Hikari Noa with the Cutie Special. Sakazaki was relieved with the win because it means she can go to the United States with confidence. She also admitted she could finally sense a little bit Free WiFi’s good receptions. Kakuta called the result a complete defeat but promised her team with Noa is just getting started.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 