DDT Around The World – Spring 2022

May 10, 2022

There are more and more announcements coming out involving DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers getting bookings outside of Japan. I haven’t been posting about them here, just retweeting the news from the official accounts as they happen. I figured I should gather them together for posts every once in a while. So if this keeps up there will be catch up posts maybe once a month.

A lot of this is going to be about Konosuke Takeshita in AEW along with his US indie appearances. However we’re already seeing some TJPW related bookings in America and Europe happening too. Hopefully it won’t get repetitive.

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Videos


Video starts at 15:32 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 25/04/2022
Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Brandon Cutler


Video starts at 9:12 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 02/05/2022
Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Rhett Titus


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 06/05/2022
Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena, Baltimore, USA

1. Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament – Qualifier: Yuka Sakazaki Vs Riho


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 06/05/2022
Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena, Baltimore, USA

2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Jay Lethal

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Results

AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 20/04/2022 (Aired 25/04/2022)
Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Brandon Cutler with the Jumping Knee Strike (4:57).

Takeshita’s US excursion began with a win over Brandon Cutler on the higher tier of AEW’s two Youtube wrestling shows. Notable moments include a nasty looking Elbow Strike from Takeshita, Cutler’ overly animated elbow drop and the commentary team of Paul Wight & Mark Henry heaping piles of praise towards the newcomer.

EVE “GLOBAL WOMEN STRIKE 3”, 23/04/2022
229 The Venue, London, England

1. Shoko Nakajima defeated Alex Windsor with the Diving Senton (14:17).

Over to England where Shoko Nakajima began her long goal to wrestle in 100 countries other than Japan. England brings her current number to three (along with USA and Mexico) and she left with a victory against Alex Windsor. The match had a 15 minute time limit so the Diving Senton in the final minute was what made the difference.

AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 27/04/2022 (Aired 02/05/2022)
Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Rhett Titus with the Jumping Knee Strike (4:40).

Back in AEW Takeshita’s second week saw him defeat Rhett Titus, the former ROH TV Champion. The Jumping Knee Strike was the key to victory again although this time it was more of a sudden flash win rather than a decisive knockout. Jun Akiyama requested to Tony Khan on Twitter for commentary to correctly call it the Jumping Knee instead of the Flying Knee.

PWG “DELIVERING THE GOODS”, 01/05/2022
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Aramis by Pinfall (10:02).

Takeshita’s American road trip next took him over to Southern California to wrestle on the big show when it comes to the US indies. He watched a lot of PWG growing up so now it’s time to wrestle there! Takeshita impressed the hardcore crowd with his win against the luchador Aramis. The two wrestlers had money thrown at them by fans afterwards for a job well done. That was not the end of his night. During the show’s conclusion the new PWG World Champion and fellow AEW wrestler Daniel Garcia called him out. Garcia decided he will defend the PWG Title against Takeshita at their next show, which does not have a date announced yet.

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 04/05/2022 (Aired 06/05/2022)
Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena, Baltimore, USA

1. Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament – Qualifier: Riho defeated Yuka Sakazaki with the Gannosuke Clutch (9:18).
2. Jay Lethal (w/ Satnam Singh & Sonjay Dutt) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Lethal Injection (9:38).

Then it was back to AEW for Takeshita’s first appearance on national TV. In the week leading up to the match Jay Lethal showed jealousy towards all the welcoming attention Takeshita received so he challenged him to a match. Takeshita came close to winning but Sonjay Dutt distracted the referee so the pin count was delayed long enough for Lethal to kick out. Lethal regained his positioning to hit the Lethal Injection and hand Takeshita his first singles loss in AEW. On the bright side at least Akiyama was happy to hear his move called correctly on commentary.

Yuka Sakazaki’s sudden invite back to AEW was for a qualifying match in the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament. Her match was against Riho who was also returning to AEW after taking time off with an injury. Sakazaki was building up a head of steam when Riho suddenly caught her in the Gannosuke Clutch for the three count out of nowhere. It is currently unknown when Sakazaki will return to Japan but don’t be surprised if she sticks around AEW for another week to wrestle on Elevation before going home.

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Upcoming Appearances

DPW “FIRE VOL. 3”, 15/05/2022
Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, Raleigh, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Adam Brooks

The boys are back in town! North Carolina’s Deadlock Pro Wrestling is Takeshita’s next date on the indies. He takes on Australia’s Adam Brooks, a man who kept himself busy in his home country during the pandemic and is chomping at the bit to have his breakout moment overseas.

PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 3 – NIGHT 1”, 28/05/2022
Roseland Theater, Portland, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Masha Slamovich
2. Interational Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) Vs Mia Yim

TJPW’s new partnership with Prestige Wrestling begins with Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh heading over to Portland. Their matches have now become TJPW Vs Impact bouts even if that wasn’t the case when they were first put together. Yamashita’s opponent on night one is against Masha Slamovich in what promises to be hard hitting from bell to bell. Itoh gets a big challenge against Impact’s newest signing Mia Yim.

EDIT: A few hours after I posted this, Prestige announced on Twitter that Itoh Vs Yim is now for the International Princess Title. The championship is finally being used for its original purpose!

PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 3 – NIGHT 2”, 29/05/2022
Roseland Theater, Portland, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Miyu Yamashita

Night two of Prestige pits Yamashita and Itoh against each other.

WEST COAST PRO “’93 TIL INFINITY”, 10/06/2022
The State Room, South San Francisco, USA

1. Mike Bailey Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Takeshita and Mike Bailey together again! Oh I think I’m going to cry, it’s been so long. West Coast Pro has been running shows since 2018 and has some sort of partnership with Prestige if their co-promoted doubleheader from March is anything to go by.

PRESTIGE “THE NEW REALITY”, 18/06/2022
The Glass House, Pomona, USA

1. Lee Moriarty Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Takeshita makes his Prestige debut although this show is in California instead of Oregon. His match is keeping it AEW with the talented Lee Moriarty and his “TAIGASTYLE” standing across the ring from him.

RCW “MIYUMAMI”, 02/07/2022
Casinet d’Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Yamashita returns to Europe for the first time since 2019 when she goes to Spain for RCW. She is the only announced wrestler for the show so far.

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

The debut show of Garden State Pro Wrestling in New Jersey features both Takeshita and Yamashita. Takeshita is already reaching the point where his indie bookings are more exciting than his AEW bookings because he is taking on the Impact World Champion himself Josh Alexander!

Yamashita finds herself in a 3 Way Match against two of the most recognizable fresh faces in the scene since the US indies came out of the pandemic. Billie Starkz and Janai Kai are two women who would benefit greatly by touring Japan someday so maybe this match will open some opportunities in the future.

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Posted by JamieOD

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’22” Results

March 19, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’22”, 19/03/2022
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1,714 Fans

1. Juria Nagano Debut Match: Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano when Suzume pinned Miyamoto with the Ring A Bell (9:43).
2. Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling Vs Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling: Yuna Manase, Moeka Haruhi, HARUKAZE & YuuRI defeated Nao Kakuta, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami when Manase pinned Kiryu with the Lariat (12:19).
3. Falls Count Anywhere Match: Hyper Misao defeated Sanshiro Takagi with the I Am A Hero (12:00).
4. Asuka defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Moonsault Press (9:37).
5. Yuki Aino defeated Nodoka Tenma with the UBV (9:23).
6. Sakisama, Mei Saint-Michel, Martha & Yukio Saint Laurent defeated Marika Kobashi, Raku, Pom Harajuku & Ram Kaichow when Sakisama pinned Kobashi with the Academy Award (10:51).
7. Special Single Match: Hikaru Shida defeated Hikari Noa with the Falcon Arrow (8:46).
8. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) defeated Yuki Arai with the Itoh Deluxe (16:14).
*V2 for Maki Itoh.
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) defeated Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe when Sakazaki pinned Tatsumi with the Magical Girl Niwatori Yaro (17:02).
*V2 for The Magical Sugar Rabbits.
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima defeated Miyu Yamashita (c) with the Diving Senton (19:04).
*Miyu Yamashita fails in V5. Shoko Nakajima becomes the 10th Princess Of Princess Champion!

In its ninth year of existence, Tokyo Joshi Pro has reached the “Dream Stage” that is Sumo Hall! In the main event, Shoko Nakajima brought an end to Miyu Yamashita’s reign as Princess Of Princess Champion. She took the Skull Kick to the back of the head but was able to dodge a second one thrown from the front. Yamashita was caught in a Frankensteiner for a nearfall and was left stunned with a Double Arm DDT. That was the end for her because Nakajima then hit the Diving Senton for the three count. It is the second Princess Title reign for Nakajima, reclaiming the belt in the same venue she lost it in November 2019.

Nakajima said today was the strongest version of Yamashita she had ever seen. After years of fighting together, no matter what pressure they were under, Yamashita never showed any fear. That is why Nakajima wanted to win so badly today, to be like Yamashita. She doesn’t know for sure if she surpassed her today but she knows for sure one day she will. Either way, the two will continue fighting together for TJPW. Nakajima later said her goal is to defend the Princess Title at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022” in Saitama Super Arena on 12th June. She thought last year’s title match at the show was really cool and would love to be in that position on behalf of everyone. Yamashita has mixed with happy and sad emotions over the show. Her dream to headline Sumo Hall came true but she lost. Today isn’t the happy ending for TJPW because she wants the company to grow even bigger for their supporters! She couldn’t win today but that just means she has to get stronger and restart her training. However she admits if she was to fight Nakajima for the championship again she won’t be able to beat her. The next time she wants to be in a Princess Title match will be when she is confident she will win.

It’s going to be a difficult task to take the Princess Tag Team Titles away from The Magical Sugar Rabbits. The strongest challengers in the company are Daydream and they weren’t able to beat them today. Double team moves were the plays of the day with MagiRabi hitting versions 1, 2 and 3 of Toy Story. Miu Watanabe used her individual strength to give both MagiRabi a Double Giant Swing by herself. Rika Tatsumi tried to put Yuka Sakazaki away with Hip Attacks but couldn’t get the job done. Watanabe got back in only to get wiped out by Mizuki’s Whirling Candy. Tatsumi was then dealt with MagiRabi’s signature moves until Sakazaki finished her off with the Magical Girl Niwatori Yaro. Sakazaki calls this a huge victory because of where it took place. Mizuki is cheery again because she wanted to win the Max Heart Tournament earlier this year and they just beat the winners today. Daydream were obviously upset over losing but they said they will find a new dream to make come true.

Yuki Arai’s first championship match in TJPW career ended in failure thanks to Maki Itoh. The International Princess Title bout was big enough for Kero Tanaka to be the ring announcer for. Also Itoh was joined by Naoko Hara and Mayu Kishida from the idol group Toki wo Ikiru (of which Itoh is also a member) to dance for her entrance. Itoh choked Arai with her microphone stand and showed no mercy as the match progressed. Arai kept fighting and held onto Itoh as much as she could but an Avalanche DDT followed by the Itoh Deluxe made her give up in the end. Itoh asked for Arai’s handshake afterwards and Arai reluctantly accepted. Arai said next time she will win and be the one who asks for Itoh’s handshake instead. However Itoh is sure she will continue beating Arai no matter how many times they fight. But she also believes Arai is stronger than she thinks. She has power, stamina and guts but is missing one thing to make the complete package. Arai has all of the ingredients, she just isn’t a good cook yet. Itoh will still be here for Arai to challenge her again in the future.

Hikaru Shida did the deal because nobody kicks out of the Falcon Arrow! Even though her match against Hikari Noa was not a Hardcore match, the two couldn’t help but hit each other with a kendo stick and a chair outside the ring. Noa’s back was targeted throughout and Shida’s plan paid off when her opponent struggled to throw a Super Kick and could not hold onto the Blizzard Suplex during an attempted pin due to the pain. Shida went on to win but as she walked back up the ramp, she couldn’t help but notice Aja Kong on commentary and give her a determined look. Backstage Shida said she is grateful to wrestle in Japan again. She was surprised that Noa wanted to fight a Hardcore match against her but she likes that kind of spirit. Next time they fight Shida wants it under Hardcore rules for sure!

For the first time in TJPW, the entire NEO Biishiki-gun were together in one place. Sakisama was teaming with her usual loyal servants but the rest of the household stood with them for their entrance. Ai Shimizu, KANNA, Azusa Christie, Yoshiko-sama (with her teddy bear Charlotte) and even Misao were all seen in public again for the first time in years. The grand entrance made everyone forget that minutes earlier Raku & Ram Kaichow were walking down the ramp together looking like a newly married couple. During the match itself the maids Mei Saint-Michel & Martha worked together like a well oiled team against Pom Harajuku. Later Yukio Saint Laurent tried to stab his opponents with an injection but Kaichow turned the needle on himself. She also gave Sakisama the Rainmaker. Marika Kobashi took over and tried using moves like the Front Neck Lock and Shining Wizard on Sakisama. However Martha used a mop to distract her, Saint-Michel (with Charlotte) hit a mop assisted Diving Double Knee Drop and Sakisama pinned Kobashi with the Academy Award. After the match Sakisama gave Kobashi a red rose as a parting gift. Kobashi said that in the past she ripped up the roses Sakisama gave her but this time she will bring it home with her. She can tell this one was given out of respect and maybe even love?

Even though The Bakuretsu Sisters were opponents, they made their entrance together with a live performance of “BAKURETSU POWER” by the band angela. The younger sister won out in the end with Yuki Aino pinning Nodoka Tenma with the UBV. She said she finally found out how strong Tenma is by wrestling her one on one. She was happy to win because she admires her sister the most and shouldn’t be losing to her when Tenma is leaving pro wrestling to farm in Okayama. Tenma wants Aino to continue wrestling and doesn’t think she will need a new tag partner as a substitute for herself.

The entrances of Asuka and Yuki Kamifuku was just as much a competition as the match itself. Asuka had a routine with a male dancer while Kamifuku arrived in the arena on a motorbike looking for drinks and a smoke. The two began in the ring with light teases that grew more and more aggressive until it became a full on match. Kamifuku’s reliance on the Famouser didn’t work and she was dropped with a Sit Down Power Bomb. Asuka then picked up the win with the Moonsault. Kamifuku admitted to feeling more nervous about this match than any title bout she was ever in. She believes it is up to her to become stronger than Asuka because there will be new people coming into TJPW and looking up to her. And even if she loses to Asuka in the ring, she will never lose to her in the bar! Asuka said their bond has deepened and VENYU will team together again in the future.

TJPW’s first ring announcer Minami Momochi was on hand to witness the match between Hyper Misao and Sanshiro Takagi. She wasn’t the only face from the past because former TJPW wrestlers Nonoko and MIZUHO were in attendance to present flowers to Misao. The superhero said Takagi was not the crazy wrestler he used to be so she wanted to destroy him. Nobody was more shocked than her when Takagi showed up dressed like her in bodypaint! He grabbed the microphone and introduced himself as Hyper Sanshiro, the President who protects sales and numbers in Tokyo Joshi Pro! Misao attacked him with the help of Nonoko and MIZUHO. They then fought up the ramp on bicycles, crashing into each other. Another graduated TJPW wrestler appeared when Akane Miura from the ring crew hit Takagi with a Lariat on the ramp. Takagi knew the match was getting out of control so he ordered the rules be changed to Falls Count Anywhere! After he did that, Misao was seen standing on the top of the aisle and she jumped down onto everyone below! A castle of chairs was built in the ring and Misao got back on her bicycle. She shouted this was what she always dreamed to do in Sumo Hall and crashed into the chairs after Takagi jumped out of the way. Takagi hit her with chairs and called her a phoney hero. He sprayed her with a fire extinguisher, calling it the Hero Beam. But when he attempted to do the I Am A Hero onto some plastic boxes, Misao rolled out of the way and he crashed through them. Misao then did her own I Am A Hero to pin the DDT president for the three count! Misao said that as long as Takagi is her Peter Pan, she will always aim for his head. Takagi said he’s been dressed like this since 8am, even doing the pre-show speech to the entire locker room looking like that. He told Misao that today she has become a real hero! The two hugged and Misao then gave Takagi a Stunner.

Yuna Manase returned to TJPW with a new gang of friends with her. The visiting foursome from Ganbare☆Pro defeated the home team led by Nao Kakuta. Manase took her new role as the female Ken Ohka to heart by wrestling an outfit similar to his. Mahiro Kiryu also debuted a new costume too. Kaya Toribami and HARUKAZE had a sequence against each other that could have went either way. YuuRI joined in with Manasae to deal some pain to Kakuta & Haruna Neko. But Neko got to fight back by giving Moeka Haruhi the Nekodebreaker. The match came down to Manase and Kiryu and ended when Manase pinned her with the Lariat. The TJPW team are taking the loss as a learning experience and that more work needs to be done to make the company stronger. Manase credited her team’s win on the bond formed between all four of them. They all fought using the spirit of Ganbare☆Joshi! Manase wants everyone to know that CyberFight has so much hot joshi action from not just DDT and TJPW but Ganjo too. She wants everyone to come see Ganpro at Ota Ward Gymnasium on 10th July.

The show began with the anticipated debut of the TikTok Karate Nurse Juria Nagano. She teamed with Moka Miyamoto to take on Arisuzu in a losing effort. However it was Miyamoto who took the fall instead of the newcomer. She enjoyed her first match but described how frustrated she felt when she was taken down to the mat because she has no ground game. Suzume was delighted to see how many fans showed up to watch the match and she’s also happy to have new friends. Arisu Endo joked that the match went by too fast for her to enjoy it.

During the show opening introductions, Sayuri Namba brought down KANNA and Chikage Kiba into the ring. They were the two other wrestlers who debuted in the same match with Yamashita and Nakajima in 2013 but both of their wrestling careers only lasted a few years. KANNA cried because she never expected to see TJPW to make it to this point and she thinks it will become the second launch of the company. Kiba said it was a miracle that the show went ahead without anyone having to pull out because of covid. Standing in Sumo Hall with somebody she debuted with felt like a dream come true for her. A voiceover for the show was recorded by another TJPW alumni, Azusa Takigawa.

The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) performed some of their songs and announced will be holding an audition to find a new member! They are looking for girls who want to sing, dance and fight with them. Noa would like someone to do a death match with and who is also imposing enough to beat up Sanshiro Takagi. Raku said she grew up knowing nothing about pro wrestling yet it changed her life 180 degrees and she is now here standing in the middle of Sumo Hall. Watanabe said it also isn’t important if the applicants do not know anything about idols. She is looking forward to hearing from anyone interested to join.

Tokyo Joshi Pro will return to Ota Ward Gymnasium on 9th July for “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’22”.

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TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’22” Preview

March 17, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’22”, 19/03/2022
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Juria Nagano Debut Match: Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano
2. Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling Vs Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling: Nao Kakuta, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami Vs Yuna Manase, Moeka Haruhi, HARUKAZE & YuuRI
3. Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hyper Misao
4. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Asuka
5. Nodoka Tenma Vs Yuki Aino
6. Sakisama, Mei Saint-Michel, Martha & Yukio Saint Laurent Vs Marika Kobashi, Raku, Pom Harajuku & Ram Kaichow
7. Special Single Match: Hikaru Shida Vs Hikari Noa
8. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) Vs Yuki Arai
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima

It took nine years for Tokyo Joshi Pro to start from a tiny little idol stage in Akihabara and make it all the way to running grand old Sumo Hall by themselves. It’s a show bigger than the “WRESTLE PRINCESS” name and is part of a stacked Ryogoku weekend with DDT celebrating its 25th Anniversary the next day. All three Princess Championships will be defended, there are some inter-promotional matches, some emotional backstories, a final call for two beloved roster members before they go away and an anticipated debut so let’s have a look at what’s in store for us.

1. Juria Nagano Debut Match: Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano

The big debut TJPW has been building up since the start of the year is Juria Nagano. She is a woman of many talents being a former children’s world champion karate fighter, actress and nurse with 900,000 TikTok followers. Her 2nd dan black belt in Shito-ryu makes Nagano a suitable tag partner for Moka Miyamoto and her Shotokan background. Nagano was moved to tears when she first discovered the deep bonds the TJPW roster has with each other and is looking forward to forming her own. Even her opponents are excited to be in the ring for her debut match. Suzume said she wants to crush Nagano in the ring with her love and Arisu Endo believes it will be an exciting match showcasing the future of TJPW. Arisuzu are a team to watch out for and the most likely from this new generation to jump up a level together later this year.

2. Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling Vs Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling: Nao Kakuta, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami Vs Yuna Manase, Moeka Haruhi, HARUKAZE & YuuRI

A former TJPW wrestler returns looking for a passionate fight. Yuna Manase was with the promotion from 2017 to 2020 until she found a new home in Ganbare☆Pro. She kept a good relationship with TJPW since then but suddenly called out the company in a fiery speech demanding an opponent who wants to fight her instead of being told to by management. Nao Kakuta answered the call, fueled by memories of working with Manase in Actwres girl’Z before either of their TJPW days. The response is also the first time Kakuta felt like a proper member of Tokyo Joshi by defending the promotion’s honour. However Manase immediately got backup with everyone from the Ganbare☆Joshi division wanting to join in the challenge and take part. The challenge became big enough to suck in more people for an inter-promotional 8-Women Tag Match.

Kakuta gathered together Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami to be on her team. Kiryu was recently in the news for alerting everyone on social media to a convincing looking email scam she almost fell for. Neko continues to live life as a catgirl scratching every person who gets in her way. Toribami hasn’t lost a step in the ring since coming back from a European vacation over the winter but is still at risk of being the team’s weak link. Manase is flanked by the rest of Ganjo, a group of women who became tight from constantly teaming with and fighting against each other. HARUKAZE is the biggest example of that, reinventing herself from one of Japan’s weakest wrestlers to a reliable combatant under the tutelage of Yuu Yamagata. The weathergirl wrestler Moeka Haruhi understands Manase is the sun that everyone else in the match will gravitate around, but she wants to be the rainbow that catches everybody’s attention. The least experienced member is YuuRI. She made a surprise jump from JTO to Ganjo at a time when other joshi were transferring to higher profile companies. For her to wrestle in Sumo Hall is a big deal because that was where she discovered pro wrestling in the first place. Ganpro’s bread and butter is having wrestlers who wear their hearts on their sleeves and giving it their all in the ring despite their limitations. Win or lose, the TJPW team can learn a valuable lesson coming out of this match.

3. Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hyper Misao

At first this match was just thrown out as an announcement promoted as an attraction match with no build attached to it. Still the match by itself makes sense on paper. Hyper Misao is always the most creative woman in TJPW when it comes to making up match structures and stipulations and Sanshiro Takagi will literally do anything in the ring to make DDT and everything surrounding it successful. But Misao was bothered by the idea of this match going ahead. Takagi as he is now isn’t the crazy wrestler she saw when she attended her first wrestling match eight years ago. He’s too much of a boring corporate president these days to inspire Misao on a match as important as this. It’s understandable. Takagi is older and his body isn’t what it used to be. He also has a lot on his plate behind the scenes along with a grudge match happening in DDT the next day. But he is still the crazy pro wrestler Misao saw eight years ago. As the poster says above, this won’t be a normal match!

As time has gone by Misao has become more publicly open about her past life before discovering pro wrestling. To go from feeling lost and empty to becoming a big driving force in TJPW is inspirational to see. Thanks to pro wrestling the “29 year old”* has become a stronger person, gotten married and continues to protect love and peace the only way she can. Meanwhile Takagi got stuck fighting with Pheromones and Michael Nakazawa. Who really has more going for them here?

*Misao became self-conscious over her real age during her last birthday and decided to break up from her year of birth.

4. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Asuka

The speed this friendship is going is really fast. Yuki Kamifuku and Asuka have been close friends outside of wrestling since 2017 but only went public with it last year when they started teaming together as VENYU. The team did well in TJPW this year, reaching the semi-finals of the “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament. But with no chance of winning accolades happening anytime soon the two drinking buddies have nobody to fight but themselves. There have been a few little swipes made in good nature between the two but for Kamifuku it is a chance to climb up to Asuka’s level on the big stage. Asuka feels honored having an important match like this take place while she is a freelancer. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t looking to have fun either. The VENYU entrance is already flashy. What will they be like when Kamifuku and Asuka are trying to out-do one another?

5. Nodoka Tenma Vs Yuki Aino

One of the women leaving pro wrestling soon is Nodoka Tenma. She has been with TJPW since 2016 starting off using a children’s TV character gimmick called Nodoka-oneesan. The time has come for her to retire after she decided to get into food production and agriculture in her hometown. She decided her retirement from pro wrestling will happen on 26th March because she does not want to miss this show. When Tenma & Yuki Aino failed to win the Max Heart Tournament final, Tenma came up with an idea for them to do at Sumo Hall. They should wrestle each other! The Bakuretsu Sisters have never had a singles match by themselves and Tenma does not want to end her wrestling career without doing one. It was an idea that has come up before but Aino always turned it down. This time the match is so important that Tenma will not take no for an answer. Aino has shown flashes of breaking out as a singles wrestler in the past. She seems to be sticking around after her older sister leaves so it is a path she will probably have to take as we head into the summer.

6. Sakisama, Mei Saint-Michel, Martha & Yukio Saint Laurent Vs Marika Kobashi, Raku, Pom Harajuku & Ram Kaichow

The mighty NEO Biishiki-gun returns once more to be a thorn in everyone’s side. This time they are coming nearly at full force. Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel are already established as a nearly unbeatable tag team but we also get the reappearance of Sakisama’s first loyal maid Martha. There is also the dark and foreboding presence of Yukio Saint Laurent to deal with too. The TJPW side put together to fight them are made up of a mixture of cute and sugary personalities but something is a little bit different this time. Ram Kaichow is part of the team and I bet she is something the likes of which NEO Biishiki-gun have never dealt with before. Kaichow has no problem acting like she owns the place whenever she shows up in TJPW so how will a woman as proud as Sakisama react to that? Kaichow recently celebrated 17 years in the wrestling industry and remember most of that was spent in Triple Six. NEO Biishiki-gun is nowhere near the weirdest thing she has seen before.

But what about the rest of the team? Marika Kobashi is the other wrestler who will be leaving TJPW soon. She wants to spend her final years in university living the full college life. However she also made it sound like it will not be the end of her pro wrestling career so it may only be goodbye for now (unless she shows up somewhere else). Raku is still big into trains and now calls her fanbase her “Passengers”. While not performing with The Up Up Girls she has been teaming with Pom Harajuku. That one continues to run around causing mischief like an out of control three year old. Raku & Harajuku are getting used to teaming with each other but they are regular cannon fodder for NEO Biishiki-gun. Chances of an underdog upset here are slim.

7. Special Single Match: Hikaru Shida Vs Hikari Noa

Now we’re getting into the main course. The top four matches on the card are what I’m all hyped for and it begins with the TJPW debut of Hikaru Shida. Signs of a working relationship between AEW and TJPW were made clear last year and now that it’s become a little easier to travel overseas, that means Shida gets to wrestle in her home country again. TJPW gave her the offer to wrestle in Sumo Hall and here we are. The former AEW Women’s Champion looked a little lost in the shuffle at times but a high quality feud against Serena Deeb means she is coming to Sumo Hall riding a fresh wave of interest. This is the perfect test for her opponent, someone who spent the last few years coming out of her shell by making bloodlust look cute.

As time goes by Hikari Noa pushes TJPW closer inch by inch towards a more violent style of wrestling. He dream is to become the Queen of Deathmatch wrestling and she has jumped into the deep end whenever the opportunity presents itself. Now Shida is not a deathmatch wrestler per se but she has no problem getting dragged into the hardcore style. I mean, this is a woman we recently discovered will threaten decapitation if she hates somebody enough. Like I said, a perfect test for Noa. There are high expectations though and from studying footage Shida thinks Noa has been struggling to meet those expectations. She can tell Noa enjoys wrestling and is hungry to win but does she have the mental and emotional state to succeed?

This may not be the end of Shida in TJPW too. She wasn’t aware of the promotion until she went to America and the interactions she’s had with TJPW wrestlers since then have impressed her. Maybe there will be more interactions between them in AEW or Japan. She performed on stage with Arisu Endo before and Shida hasn’t seen any of her matches other than her debut. Plus there is a certain unbeatable champion in the main event that Shida has been thinking about. But now is not the time to talk about that…

8. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) Vs Yuki Arai

If there is a result on this show that will cause a shockwave throughout TJPW is will be Yuki Arai beating Maki Itoh for the International Princess Title. Itoh became a two time IP Champion on 4th January, ending Hikari Noa’s deathmatch title dreams. With the belt back in her hands, Itoh’s goal is to reestablish the championship as a global prize to be defended overseas. She isn’t shy (when is she ever?) about going back to AEW and defending the title against former champion Thunder Rosa to finally complete a thread that’s been left hanging ever since the pandemic began. She has a trip to America coming up in May and the title could be a necessary accessory for her plans. The worst thing that could happen now is if a far more popular idol steals her glory, her thunder and her championship. How typical would that be?

Momentum is such an overused word in pro wrestling but it really does apply here for Arai. The SKE48 idol has been a big boost for TJPW’s business and the wrestling media in Japan is throwing every Best Rookie achievement they can find in her direction. And she isn’t slumming it in the ring. The hard work is on show even when the match layout every now and then is a bit obvious in highlighting her strengths while hiding her flaws. I shouldn’t knock it when it works though, especially if it gets applied to a rivalry like this.

Whether Arai wanted it to happen or not, she was destined to be Itoh’s enemy. It’s only natural when it is an idol as successful as her to rub Itoh the wrong way. Even more so when the one place Itoh can feel superior is inside the wrestling ring. Itoh tapped out Arai in her debut match and encouraged her to keep coming back fo as long as it will take for Arai to finally beat her. A full year hasn’t even been passed since then but Arai is already confident she now has what she needs to beat Itoh. It would be an unusual result but these are two unusual idols.

9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe

We now reach the point where the remaining title matches are between the two strongest opponents. The Princess Tag Team Titles are what helped form The Magical Sugar Rabbits together in the first place. Their first reign holds the current record for the most title defences. In second place is the reign held by Daydream, who are their opponents here. The Max Heart Tournament is what sets up this match. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki were shockingly eliminated in the opening round, preventing them from facing Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe in Round 2. Daydream then went on to win the entire tournament. The two teams weren’t anywhere near each other in the bracket but MagiRabi know it is their duty as champions to beat the Max Heart winners.

The challengers have a lot on their plate. Tatsumi’s crush on Mizuki is well known but winning back the Princess Tag Titles is now more important. She doesn’t care about that anymore and accepts that Mizuki will hate her for taking the belts away from MagiRabi. Mizuki isn’t worried about a problem like that because she thinks her team is not going to lose anyway. Watanabe sees the champions as a wall she hasn’t been able to climb over until now. Sakazaki’s only concern is defending the belts so MagiRabi can continue bringing fans into their happy, sparkling world!

10. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima

Let’s finish this one strong. The two longest serving members of TJPW headline the promotion’s biggest show yet in Sumo Hall. It is the very same building where Miyu Yamashita and Shoko Nakajima had their official pro wrestling debuts on 17th August 2013. Funny thing is they were both on the same team back then and lost to two wrestlers who are since long gone from the company. In the nine years since then Miyu Yamashita has been the constant ace in TJPW, growing up with the most dominant Princess Of Princess Title reigns in the championship’s history. She has been the female face of CyberFight’s expansion, sharing centre stage with the likes of Jun Akiyama and Naomichi Marufuji. Ever since her debut in Ryogoku, Yamashita has dreamed of Tokyo Joshi holding their own show there. This won’t mean much to her if she cannot beat her biggest opponent on TJPW’s biggest show.

Shoko Nakajima has beaten her for the Princess Title once before, back in 2019. It was how Yamashita’s 10 defence title reign was finally brought to an end. In fact, Yamashita and Nakajima are currently 1-1 in Princess Title matches against each other. Yet the Big Kaiju has always felt small around her rival. No matter how many times Nakajima won matches against her, Yamashita would easily shrug them off and return to winning ways. It can get disheartening. With this match taking place in Sumo Hall, Nakajima doesn’t know if she will ever get a title shot as important as this ever again. This is the Big Kaiju’s best chance to take down an even bigger monster and finally become the superior champion. Whatever the result is, the future of Tokyo Joshi Pro will be made clear when the dust is settled.

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Videos – “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’22”

March 14, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’22”, 04/01/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
695 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Mahiro Kiryu & Moka Miyamoto Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo

2. New Year Tiger Cub Rescue Match: Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao

3. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Nao Kakuta

4. Nodoka-oneesan One Day Revival Special Match: Nodoka-oneesan, Yuki Aino & Haruna Neko Vs Marika Kobashi, Raku & Pom Harajuku

5. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Yuki Arai

6. International Princess Title: Hikari Noa (c) Vs Maki Itoh

7. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Mizuki

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Grand Princess Press Conference

March 10, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’22”, 19/03/2022
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Juria Nagano Debut Match: Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano
2. Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling Vs Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling: Nao Kakuta, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami Vs Yuna Manase, Moeka Haruhi, HARUKAZE & YuuRI
3. Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hyper Misao
4. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Asuka
5. Nodoka Tenma Vs Yuki Aino
6. Sakisama, Mei Saint-Michel, Martha & Yukio Saint Laurent Vs Marika Kobashi, Raku, Pom Harajuku & Ram Kaichow
7. Special Single Match: Hikaru Shida Vs Hikari Noa
8. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) Vs Yuki Arai
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima

During the week Tokyo Joshi Pro held another press conference to promote “GRAND PRINCESS ’22” featuring the wrestlers involved from four of the matches on the card. For Miyu Yamashita and Shoko Nakajima they will be headlining Sumo Hall, the same venue where they both had their official debuts in a dark match back in 2013. Nakajima always thought of Yamashita as the strongest wall in TJPW and a bigger kaiju than she is. No matter how many times Nakajima won against her, Yamashita would easily overturn her setbacks and go back to the top. But if Nakajima can win the Princess Of Princess Title from her in the main event of Sumo Hall, she can finally believe she has surpassed her. It is her best chance and maybe her last chance to become a bigger kaiju than Yamashita. The champion has dreamed of TJPW reaching Sumo Hall since her debut and thinks it will all be meaningless if she cannot beat her strongest challenger. She also thinks they will show everyone the future of Tokyo Joshi and beyond.

Miu Watanabe calls The Magical Sugar Rabbits her biggest obstacles given how often she has lost to them. She feels the confidence she lacked against them finally came to her when Daydream won the Max Heart Tournament. With Rika Tatsumi by her side she believes she can now break through any wall and win. Tatsumi thinks they can be even better champions now than they were during their first reign. She understands that Mizuki will hate her if she takes away the Princess Tag Team Titles from MagiRabi but she doesn’t care about that anymore. Tatsumi is prepared to be hated by Mizuki in order to become a champion again! Mizuki told her not to worry about that because MagiRabi won’t lose. Instead they will have a match that will make all of Mizuki’s fans smile. Yuka Sakazaki realizes that her friends and the supporters have brought TJPW to Ryogoku. She wants to defend the Tag Titles so they can shine even more and bring everyone a into a happy, sparkling world!

The words Maki Itoh spoke to Yuki Arai last May after Arai’s debut is what brought her to this point. Back then Itoh challenged Arai to crush her no matter how long it will take. It hasn’t even been a year but Arai thinks the time is now right for her to do that and win the International Princess Title! However she just wants to crush Itoh while Itoh wants to crush every superstar around the world! Arai has been watching her tapes and Itoh admits her opponent has the size advantage but experience wise, Itoh is confident she can deal with whatever Arai throws at her.

When the debuting Juria Nagano began training for TJPW, she was moved to tears after discovering the deep bonds the entire roster has with each other. Everyone does their best to raise each other’s spirits. She has been training in karate since she was 5 years old and looks forward to teaming with Moka Miyamoto because they are linked by traditional karate. Miyamoto promised to do her best to help Nagano win her debut match. Suzume is happy to spend precious time with Nagano and crush her with all her love. Arisu Endo believes there is no way the match won’t be exciting and Arisuzu will win.

I’ll have a full preview of the show written up next week.

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Videos – “POSITIVE CHAIN ’22”

February 24, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “POSITIVE CHAIN ’22”, 11/02/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
536 Fans

1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Arisu Endo

2. Hyper Misao, Mahiro Kiryu & Ram Kaichow Vs Asuka, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami

4. Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku

5. Miyu Yamashita, Nao Kakuta & Marika Kobashi Vs Shoko Nakajima, Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki

6. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku

7. 2nd “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Final: Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino

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Brookes Off This Week’s Shows, New Grand Princess Matches, LiLiCo Retirement Match, Genki In DDT

February 13, 2022

DDT “DDT FREE -FEBRUARY- ULTIMATE TAG LEAGUE 2022 IN SHINJUKU!!”, 14/02/2022
Shinjuku FACE

-. Ultimate Tag League 2022 – B Block: Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul (2) defeated Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (2) by Forfeit.
0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada Vs Yuya Koroku
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – 5 Way Match: Toru Owashi (c) Vs Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Masahiro Takanashi Vs Antonio Honda Vs Shunma Katsumata
2. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul Vs Akito, MAO & Yuki Ishida
3. Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Toui Kojima Vs Maya Yukihi & Yukio Naya
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura & Soma Takao Vs Jun Kasai, Yuji Hino & Yukio Sakaguchi
5. DDT Extreme Title – Turkish Wrestling Rules: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino
6. Ultimate Tag League 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama (4) Vs Shuji Kondo & Kazuki Hirata (0)
7. Ultimate Tag League 2022 – A Block: Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Ueno (4) Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani (0)

B Block

1. HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura (4)
-. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari (4)
3. Shunma Katsumata & MAO (2)
-. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul (2)
-. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (2)

What an utter disaster the Ultimate Tag League has become for CDK. First Masahiro Takanashi had to pull out of a match because of covid forcing the team to forfeit against Pheromones and now Chris Brookes has been pulled from tomorrow’s show due to illness (so far not confirmed to be covid related), forcing them to forfeit another match. This time DAMNATION T.A are getting the free two points and their first win in the tournament.

The card is changes several matches as a result of this. DAMNATION T.A are now in a non-tournament match but on the plus side have Minoru Fujita with them again. The trio demolished their opponents yesterday and made it clear they want to dominate DDT. However Sasaki is being targeted by MAO because of his DDT Universal Title challenge, which Sasaki has declined over and over. Takanashi now has to take MAO’s place in the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title 5 Way Match. Another change is Yusuke Okada and Yuya Koroku becoming opponents in a dark match instead of teaming together in the opener.

DDT “HANAYORI NEPPA ~TOTONOU IN THE MIDDLE OF SHINJUKU~”, 15/02/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. Shinya Aoki Vs Toui Kojima
2. Hardcore Judo: MAO Vs Takayuki Ueki
3. Sea Sauna Shack Presents SSS Cup Special Gauntlet Tag Match ~Beyond Totoi~: Soma Takao & Shota Vs Akito & Kazuki Hirata Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Yukio Naya Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs Antonio Honda & Yoshihiko Vs Hyper Misao & Mecha Mummy
4. Vihta JP Presents Special 6-Man Tag Match ~Into The Light~: Yuki Ueno, Sanshiro Takagi & HERO! Vs Toru Owashi, Danshoku Dieno & Masahiro Takanashi
5. Hokuo Presents Special Tag Match ~WE GOTTA NeppWER!!~: Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata Vs Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka

Brookes also has to miss teaming with Yoshihiko in the wacky sauna sponsored Gauntlet Match. Antonio Honda is filling in for him there.

The winners of Match #4 will be rewarded with 365 bags of bath salts from the match sponsors. Sounds relaxing… I hope?

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’22”, 19/03/2022
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Juria Nagano Debut Match: Juria Nagano Vs X
2. Special Single Match: Hikaru Shida Vs Hikari Noa
3. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) Vs Yuki Arai
4. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
5. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima

Fresh off of the Max Heart Tournament we are left with the two strongest teams in Tokyo Joshi Pro fighting over the Princess Tag Team Titles. On one side are the champions, The Magical Sugar Rabbits. Their pride was bruised after an early elimination from the tournament so they feel the need to defend the belts against the Max Heart winners. That team is Daydream. They made one dream come true, now they have an even bigger one. They want to win the Tag Titles at Sumo Hall!

The growing history shared by Maki Itoh and Yuki Arai reaches another chapter. Arai is cashing in on her supernova rookie year by challenging Itoh for the International Princess Title. It wasn’t long ago that Itoh dared Arai to try and beat her with as many attempts as she wants to use. Arai thinks the time is now to strike and she has earned every strength needed to win against her fellow rival idol.

Hikaru Shida Vs Hikari Noa is definitely happening, no mistranslation here (why yes, I am one to talk). Excluding her recent MAKAI work and the AEW tournament she produced last year (empty arena), this will be Shida’s first pro wrestling match in front of a Japanese audience in over two and a half years.

Yuna Manase, Ram Kaichow and NEO Biishiki-gun will all be on the show. Manase is looking for an opponent to step up and face her in the ring. Nao Kakuta has shown interest in doing so given their history from Actwres girl’Z.

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2022 ~DDT 25TH ANNIVERSARY~”, 20/03/2022
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. LiLiCo Retirement Match: LiLiCo, Ryohei Odai & Akito (w/ Junretsu) Vs Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari
2. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Naomi Susan)
3. DDT 25th Anniversary Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Michael Nakazawa
4. Special Single Match: Saki Akai Vs Maya Yukihi
5. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo

So when LiLiCo asked for her retirement match to be filled with handsome men, it only made sense to include her husband in it. Ryohei Odai is a Kamen Rider actor and former member of the pop band Junretsu (which the DDT unit was also named after). He has little athletic experience but his inclusion in the match will be very important for LiLiCo. Speaking of Junretsu, they will be in the married couple’s corner while Akito takes up the last spot on the team.

It was LiLiCo’s decision to make Pheromones her opponents. She has had many unforgettable experiences with Danshoku Dieno so it is fitting for him to be one of her final opponents. Unfortunately for Odai, he got a, um, taste of Pheromones when they crashed the press conference announcing this match. They attacked Odai and Dieno shoved one of the Junretsu member’s face into Yuki Iino’s crotch while Yumehito Imanari filmed it.

DDT “MAX BUMP 2022 TOUR IN KOBE”, 24/04/2022
Kobe Art Center

Has Open The Forbidden Gate been used by DRAGONGATE yet? I’m sure it’s been used by them before. Let’s use it anyway. Genki Horiguchi is the latest name from the promotion coming over for a DDT appearance. The previous ones all worked on DDT shows booked by Toru Owashi in Nagoya but here it is for a show happening in Kobe. It’s slap bang in the middle DG territory but still progress in a seemingly growing relationship between the two companies. It’s another small step towards Kazuki Hirata jumping over and forcing them to play “Tokyo GO!” again.

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Video – TOKYO JOSHI PRO “POSITIVE CHAIN ’22

February 11, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “POSITIVE CHAIN ’22”, 11/02/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
536 Fans

1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Arisu Endo
2. Hyper Misao, Mahiro Kiryu & Ram Kaichow Vs Asuka, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami
3. Suzume Vs Yuki Arai
4. Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku
5. Miyu Yamashita, Nao Kakuta & Marika Kobashi Vs Shoko Nakajima, Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki
6. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku
7. 2nd “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Final: Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino

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TOKYO JOSHI PRO “POSITIVE CHAIN ’22” Results

February 11, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “POSITIVE CHAIN ’22”, 11/02/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
536 Fans

1. Moka Miyamoto defeated Arisu Endo with the Rashomon (6:02).
2. Hyper Misao, Mahiro Kiryu & Ram Kaichow defeated Asuka, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami when Misao pinned Toribami with the Hypami Returns (10:36).
3. Yuki Arai defeated Suzume with the Finally (11:14).
4. Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel defeated Raku & Pom Harajuku when Saint-Michel pinned Harajuku after La Revolution (11:54).
5. Shoko Nakajima, Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki defeated Miyu Yamashita, Nao Kakuta & Marika Kobashi when Sakazaki pinned Kobashi with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (14:08).
6. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Itoh Deluxe (11:37).
*V1 for Maki Itoh.
7. 2nd “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Final: Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe defeated Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino when Tatsumi pinned Tenma with the Missile Hips (20:30).

The second ever Max Heart Tournament goes to Daydream! The big final was a rubber match between them and The Bakuretsu Sisters after they had a 1-1 record against each other going back to 2020. Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino hit their big move the Bakuretsu Bulldog to their opponents early but couldn’t win off of it. Rika Tatsumi countered Tenma’s Killswitch into the Twist Of Fate, letting her regroup with Miu Watanabe. Aino was taken care of with the Tear Drop and Tenma was given the Daydream Eternity. Tatsumi then finished her off with the Missile Hips to win the tournament! It wasn’t the fairytale ending for Tenma as her wrestling career reaches its final weeks. But she is sure the battles between The Bakuretsu Sisters and Daydream will live on in the history of Tokyo Joshi Pro.

For Daydream they received their prize for winning the Max Heart Tournament. However they still have an even bigger dream they want to come true. They want to challenge The Magical Sugar Rabbits for the Princess Tag Team Titles at Sumo Hall! The champions came out and accepted the challenge for 19th March. Yuka Sakazaki agreed that Daydream earned the right to have the match. Meanwhile MagiRabi has to make up for getting eliminated in Round 1 so Sakazaki & Mizuki are as determined as ever to keep the championships. They also asked if they could get the Max Heart trophies if they beat Daydream.

The International Princess Title match had an unusual interruption when Maki Itoh had Yuki Kamifuku almost beaten. Itoh had locked in the Itoh Punish when Kamifuku grabbed the rope and then reached over to Mahiro Kiryu. It turned out Kiryu was holding up Kamifuku’s phone and somebody was calling her. Kamifuku answered and told everyone it was her mother. She then passed the phone over to Itoh asking her to join in the call. Itoh reluctantly did and Kamifuku suddenly gave her a School Boy for a nearfall. Itoh regained her composure and put her opponent in the Itoh Deluxe for the victory. Afterwards Kamifuku admitted that Itoh is the cutest in the world and more importantly, her friend who she supports. She still poked her in the eye causing Itoh to start swearing in English.

Once Itoh calmed down she declared she is ready to defend the IP Title as many times as she wants around the world. So whoever wants to fight her next should come out down. Enter Yuki Arai! She politely asked Itoh for a title shot and brought up Itoh being in her debut match last year. At the time Itoh gave Arai the goal to crush her no matter how long it will take. Arai thinks now is the right time to achieve that goal. Itoh accepted the challenge and said the title match will happen at Sumo Hall on 19th March!

The Ryogoku main eventers Miyu Yamashita and Shoko Nakajima (with a new haircut) were pitted against each other in a 6-Woman Tag, giving them more chances to figure each other out. Yamashita got the last hit on her challenger with the Skull Kick. Mizuki got rid of Yamashita with the Cutie Special. From there, MagiRabi were too much for Marika Kobashi to handle. Kobashi’s Front Neck Lock was broken and Sakazaki pinned her with the Magical Merry-Go-Round. Nakajima had fun teaming with MagiRabi again but she needs to make sure to avoid that Skull Kick.

The antics of Raku & Pom Harajuku were enough to send Sakisama to sleep. A lullaby from Raku made Sakisama drowsy and eventually she just had to take that nap on the ring apron. Mei Saint-Michel had to bang on the ring bell to wake her up. NEO Biishiki-gun ended up winning and Saint-Michel started complaining about being hungry. She wanted to go eat chanko stew. That reminded Sakisama of the Sumo Hall show next month so she decided NEO Biishiki-gun will be there! Meanwhile Raku & Harajuku blamed their loss today on the referee. Harajuku wants to get revenge on Yukinori Matsui but she doesn’t want to see him again either.

Arai got her confidence to challenge for the IP Title by beating Suzume earlier in the show. Suzume hit a Facebuster and went for the Ring A Bell but Arai hit back with the Full Nelson Buster and the Finally axe kick to win. Arai wants to have many more matches with Suzume because she thinks the two of them make each other improve so much. Suzume is upset to lose in front of her fans. There are many wrestlers she doesn’t want to lose against and now Arai is the one she wants to beat the most.

Today was only the second time Ram Kaichow has been in TJPW but she is already making the place feel like home. Perhaps she is getting a little bit too comfortable because she got Hyper Misao and Mahiro Kiryu to carry her on their shoulders down to the ring. Misao also had extra masks as gifts for her tag partners but they quietly left them on the canvas when she wasn’t paying attention. Misao then tried giving one to Asuka but was rejected again. Kiryu gave Haruna Neko a Sidebuster but she was then wiped out by a mistargeted Asai Moonsault from Asuka. Kaichow gave Asuka the Codebreaker and Misao pinned Kaya Toribami with the Hypami Returns. It was then announced that Kaichow will be back for the Sumo Hall show.

The opening match had classmates Arisu Endo and Moka Miyamoto going against each other. Their previous singles match last July ended in a draw. Miyamoto avoided the Waterwheel Drop and applied the Rashomon submission hold. Endo tried struggling out of it but had to give up in the end. Miyamoto is happy to win but is aware Endo has become stronger.

A former member of TJPW made her presence known at the beginning of the show. Yuna Manase came out and announced she will be at the Sumo Hall show next month! However this is not the old Yuna Manase that TJPW fans will remember. She is the burning hot Yuna Manase of Ganbare☆Pro! It would be easy for her to nominate an opponent right now but she doesn’t want to fight somebody just because she or the company told them to. No, she wants an opponent who wants to fight her under their own initiative. She doesn’t care how old they are or where they come from. They can even come over to Ganbare☆Joshi and challenge her there if they want! Or maybe Manase will bring her friends from Ganjo over instead. Nao Kakuta heard her call and threw her name into the hat to fight Manase at Sumo Hall.

Even though Hikari Noa was missing from today’s show, she still was involved in something newsworthy. She is getting a singles match against Hikaru Shida from AEW at Sumo Hall!

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Yamashita Vs Kobashi, Positive Chain Matches, DDT’s Past Returns For 25th Anniversary

January 31, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI 2022 WINTER ~YOKOHAMA PERFORMANCE~”, 05/02/2022
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Marika Kobashi

One more homecoming for Marika Kobashi before she graduates from Tokyo Joshi Pro in April. She gets the biggest challenge possible, a singles match against Miyu Yamashita!

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “POSITIVE CHAIN ’22”, 11/02/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Arisu Endo
2. Hyper Misao, Nao Kakuta & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Asuka, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami
3. Suzume Vs Yuki Arai
4. Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku
5. Miyu Yamashita, Hikari Noa & Marika Kobashi Vs Shoko Nakajima, Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki
6. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku
7. 2nd “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Final: Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino

The two strongest teams in TJPW right now seem to be Daydream and The Bakuretsu Sisters. They both reached the Max Heart Tournament final and the time is coming to see which side is better. There have been two previous matches between the teams and the Princess Tag Team Titles were on the line both times. Daydream won the first one and the Sisters won the second time. This will be the definitive rubber match given how Nodoka Tenma’s wrestling career is nearing its end. Yuki Aino thinks this match is their destiny. She still wants to wrestle with her sister which she thinks is one of the reasons why they were so successful in this tournament. However Miu Watanabe believes Daydream is now at their strongest. Rika Tatsumi is looking ahead to the winners most likely getting the next Princess Tag Titles shot against The Magical Sugar Rabbits.

When Yuki Kamifuku pinned Maki Itoh earlier in the tournament, Itoh kept her temper knowing that Kamifuku would become a potential challenger for the International Princess Title. Her instinct was proven correct and Kamifuku gets the title shot at Korakuen Hall. Itoh wants her current reign to surpass Kamifuku’s time with the belt so whatever feelings Kamifuku shows in the match, Itoh will give it back 100 times more. Kamifuku feels motivated after teaming with Asuka and thinks it will be a bad look for their friendship if she has nothing to show from working so hard. If she becomes champion again she wants to expand the Wrestle Universe audience across Asia, because America and Europe are already being catered to. Harsh words were also given when Kamifuku called herself the coolest in the world. Itoh said “Piss off you piece of shit” in response.

Two classmates born in 1998 will face off when Suzume takes on Yuki Arai in a first time singles match. Suzume has two years of extra experience in the ring but Arai is coming off of a super rookie year that’s been covered by the Japanese wrestling press across the board. While Suzume knows how popular Arai is, she remembers getting many votes herself to qualify for the IP Title No. 1 Contender Battle Royal last December (Suzume even beat Arai 210 votes to 199). Who gets attention doesn’t bother her, she just wants to win against Arai in a match between two TJPW wrestlers.

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2022 ~DDT 25TH ANNIVERSARY~”, 20/03/2022
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. LiLiCo Retirement Match: LiLiCo Vs X
2. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Naomi Susan)
3. DDT 25th Anniversary Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Michael Nakazawa
4. Special Single Match: Saki Akai Vs Maya Yukihi
5. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo

Wrestlers from DDT’s past will come to Sumo Hall to celebrate the company’s 25th Anniversary. The rumored AEW name turned out to be Michael Nakazawa and he blatantly tried to make people think it would be Kenny Omega to get more attention. His long rivalry with Sanshiro Takagi gets revived for the big occasion.

The DDT Legend Army consists of DDT’s big players from the 2000s era of the company. Poison Sawada JULIE and his paranormal powers made him a force to be reckoned with in his prime. Takashi Sasaki is still going today, flying the flag for FREEDOMS over the last 12 years. His Aka Rangers tag partner GENTARO was a DDT mainstay from 2001-2003. The Suicide Boyz of MIKAMI & Tanomusaku Toba were the focal point of DDT’s tag division throughout the decade both together and in separate teams. Tying up the challenging team is Naomi Susan at ringside. She played a major role for DDT behind the scenes as the liaison for foreign wrestlers and was also the manager for Union Pro Wrestling.

Celebrity and former multiple DDT title holder LiLiCo wants to wrestle one more match before she calls time on her pro wrestling career. 2018 was the last time she wrestled in DDT and it will really make it worth her while if they can find her some handsome opponents for her farewell.

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