TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE 4TH “FUTARI WA PRINCESS” MAX HEART TOURNAMENT”, 10/02/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 674 Fans
1. Haru Kazashiro defeated Shino Suzuki with a Rotating Leg Fold (7:31).
2. Yuki Kamifuku, Nao Kakuta & Mahiro Kiryu defeated Raku, Pom Harajuku & Ram Kaichow when Kamifuku pinned Harajuku with the Famouser (11:46).
3. Kaya Toribami defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Sento Choryu (7:31).
4. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI when Misao submitted HIMAWARI with the Chickenwing Face Lock (11:34).
5. Mizuki defeated Zara Zakher with the Cutie Special (8:40).
6. Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino defeated Miyu Yamashita & Toga when Aino submitted Toga with the Full Nelson Of Love And Fire (12:35).
7. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) defeated Juria Nagano with the Finally (11:41). *V1 for Yuki Arai.
8. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Final: Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe when Suzume pinned Tatsumi with the Ring A Bell (19:37).
All the hard work and struggles along the way has paid off for Daisy Monkey because they are the winners of this year’s Max Heart Tournament! It only took them having to beat Daydream for the first time ever to do it. It took them all they had to win. Arisu Endo used her new Argentine Neckbreaker Drop on Miu Watanabe but was then hit with Rika Tatsumi’s Hip Attack. Suzume tried to stop Tatsumi’s momentum but for a while it looked like it wouldn’t happen. But then she dodged the Hip Attack and suddenly hit the Ring A Bell on Tatsumi for the victory!
After Daisy Monkey received their trophies, they called out Yukiniki and challenged them for the Princess Tag Team Titles. The champions were happy to oblige and Yuki Aino told them the match should happen in Sumo Hall! The title match will go ahead at “GRAND PRINCESS ’24” on 31st March. Ryo Mizunami told Daisy Monkey she will be waiting for them there. Endo said she may have lost to Yukiniki the last time she and Suzume fought for the Tag Titles but they definitely won’t lose this time! Suzume said it was everyone’s support that took them this far.
Meanwhile Daydream tried to come to terms with losing the match backstage. Tatsumi called the result a nightmare and apologized for taking the fall. Watanabe is already competing for the Princess Of Princess Title at “GRAND PRINCESS ’24” but revealed she was prepared to do two title matches on the same day if Daydream won this tournament so Tatsumi could win a championship too. Tatsumi asked if she could have the Princess Title shot instead but Watanabe declined to give it to her. Tatsumi begged and then choked Watanabe until she calmed down and left the room. Watanabe felt the need to ask the reporters why does nobody ever try to stop Tatsumi from strangling people?
That’s the first successful International Princess Title for Yuki Arai out of the way. This was Juria Nagano’s only chance at fighting for the championship since she will be graduating from Tokyo Joshi Pro in April. She blocked the Finally and used her Karate offence to set up her finisher. She also used a Shihonage throw that Moka Miyamoto taught her. But Arai cut her off from using the Senpukyaku by hitting her with a Big Boot. Arai then hit the Full Nelson Buster followed by the Finally to win. Arai thanked Nagano for the challenge afterwards. She said it was a match that made her feel really strong.
Arai’s next opponent then made herself known. Yuki Kamifuku entered the ring and praised Arai for working really hard in both TJPW and the idol industry. That balancing act includes a lot of travelling back and forth between Nagoya and Tokyo. Kamifuku also said she likes finding ways to make TJPW more exciting. One way to do that is by having two women who value their looks fight each other for a championship. In other words, Kamifuku wants a title shot and wants it at Sumo Hall! Arai can draw in her fans from Nagoya while Kamifuku can bring over her fans in Fujisawa City. It is also a chance for Kamifuku to become a Double Crown Champion since she currently holds the Queen Of Asia Title.
Before Yukiniki could go watch the Max Heart final, they had a non-title match to deal with. Miyu Yamashita & Toga were eliminated in the 1st Round but wanted to keep teaming and a chance to fight the Princess Tag Champions together is just what they wanted. The match was also the first time Yamashita and Mizunami were in the ring together. However the result came down to Aino in her new costume submitting Toga with the Full Nelson Of Love And Fire.
The TJPW debut of American wrestler Zara Zakher put her against one of the best around. Mizuki found out right away just how powerful Zakher can be despite her small size. She used a Screw Bomb move called the Control Z as well as a Lariat for nearfalls. But Mizuki took those shots and fired back, hitting Diving Foot Stomps until she got the three count with the Cutie Special. Mizuki admitted the win is a huge relief for her because she never expected Zakher to be so powerful with only just a year of pro wrestling experience. Zakher thanked TJPW for inviting her over and she is sure she will see them again soon.
Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao were given a tag match against Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI, two wrestlers who debuted on the same day back at last year’s Ittenyon show. While that’s nice and all, Kyoraku Kyomei used the match as a chance to stretch their opponents apart. The less experience pair had a moment where things went their way but it turned around badly for them and HIMAWARI had to submit to Misao.
In perhaps a little bit of an upset Kaya Toribami defeated Moka Miyamoto, busting out a new and improved finisher to win. Previously she’s been using a Twisting Senton from the middle rope. Today she did a Half-Twisted Lionsault to pin Miyamoto for the 3 count. The move is called the Sento Choryu.
Valentine’s Day is coming up so it was time for Raku & Ram Kaichow to go on a date. Pom Harajuku was there too as the third wheel. Their opponents though were here to take the match seriously. Nao Kakuta avoided Kaichow’s Rainmaker, Kamifuku was too tall to get Eye Poked and Mahiro Kiryu apologized the way only she knows how. The match ended with Kamifuku pinning Harajuku with the Famouser. At least Kaichow still had a box of chocolates to eat afterwards.
The opening match was put together to guarantee that either Shino Suzuki or Haru Kazashiro would earn their first ever singles win. Suzuki relied too much on using a Sleeper Hold. Kazashiro eventually figured out a way to escape it and pin Suzuki with a Rotating Leg Fold. The two hugged after the match but their emotions afterwards were far apart. Kazashiro is sure that Runa Okubo was at home watching the match. Her next goal is to beat her for the first time! Suzuki was betting she would win today and now feels embarrassed to ever think that. She wonders if she’s been naive about everything up until now. She doesn’t want to lose whether it is against her classmates or her seniors.
Last year’s Hyper Misao produced show “HYPE!” is getting a sequel! “HYPE! 2” will take place in Kitazawa Town Hall on 19th April.
Two of TJPW’s current trainees are going to make their debuts soon. Kirra from Australia and Uta from The Up Up Girls will have their first matches in Shinjuku FACE on 3rd March.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN NAGANO”, 04/02/2024 Nagano Act Hall
1. Hideki Okatani Vs Rukiya
2. Sanshiro Takagi, Yoshitatsu & Yukio Naya Vs Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi
3. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuki Iino & Akito
4. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata Vs HARASHIMA & Soma Takao
5. Special Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata & Kazusada Higuchi
6. Nagano Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Toru Owashi & Akihiro Vs Danshoku Dieno, Makoto Oishi & Tetsuya Endo
Yoshihiko has gotten itself into trouble after getting double booked this weekend. It will be travelling to Europe with MAO to wrestle in France and England. However DDT had also booked Yoshihiko for their show in Nagano this Sunday. It’s too late to change plans so DDT is pulling their other battle doll Akihiro out of storage to take Yoshihiko’s place. The company has strictly warned Yoshihiko not to double book itself like that again. However MAO is defending his friend because their European dates were booked well in advance and MAO has been promoting them online since December so DDT had plenty of time to avoid this scenario.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 07/02/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Kazuki Hirata & Danshoku Dieno Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi
2. Jun Akiyama, Yoshitatsu & Soma Takao Vs Toru Owashi, Akito & Kazuma Sumi
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Naya & Makoto Oishi
4. Special Tag Match ~ DDT Vs AJPW: Takeshi Masada & Rukiya Vs Ryuki Honda & Yuma Anzai
5. DDT Extreme Title Next Challenger Match: Hideki Okatani Vs MJ Paul
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino
7. Yukio Sakaguchi Retirement Match: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs HARASHIMA
The DDT Extreme Title picture has a new direction after Shunma Katsumata regained the championship over the weekend and two potential challengers approached him. Hideki Okatani wants to rekindle his rivalry with Katsumata over the title from last year. However MJ Paul has also stepped forward wanting a title shot, even going through the effort to write a letter to declare his challenge. A fight broke out between everyone over the situation so a decision was made to have Okatani and Paul fight each other in a No. 1 Contender’s Match.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE 4TH “FUTARI WA PRINCESS” MAX HEART TOURNAMENT”, 10/02/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Shino Suzuki Vs Haru Kazashiro
2. Yuki Kamifuku, Nao Kakuta & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Raku, Pom Harajuku & Ram Kaichow
3. Moka Miyamoto Vs Kaya Toribami
4. Mizuki Vs Zara Zakher
5. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI
6. Miyu Yamashita & Toga Vs Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino
7. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs Juria Nagano
8. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Final: Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
The Max Heart Tournament could get its first two-time winner if Daydream beats Daisy Monkey in the final. The tournament winners usually move on to challenge for the Princess Tag Team Titles and Rika Tatsumi previously made a suggestion that Miu Watanabe can do two title matches at “GRAND PRINCESS ’24”. Watanabe would go along with the idea even if she isn’t super enthusiastic about it. Suzume & Arisu Endo keep finding ways to get shots at the top teams, Daydream included, but it always ends in failure for them. Will this turn out differently?
Juria Nagano is making sure to do as much as she can in the ring before her graduation in April. Her big goal is to win a championship or tournament. She couldn’t do it in the Max Heart Tournament so now she wants to challenge Yuki Arai for the International Princess Title. Nagano sees Arai as a wrestling senpai to surpass rather than some big celebrity.
The next foreign wrestler to enter Tokyo Joshi Pro is Zara Zakher from the California wrestling scene. She is 22 years old and only been wrestling for a year but her talent and potential as a breakout prospect leads her over to TJPW. Mizuki has been selected to be her opponent for her Korakuen Hall debut.
The opening match is going to give either Shino Suzuki or Haru Kazashiro their first singles win.
Ryo Mizunami and Ram Kaichow are both paying a visit here again.
BASARA “BASARA 241 ~TAKAGARI 22~”, 10/02/2024 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. Lil’ Kraken Vs Masahiro Takanashi
2. Ryuichi Sekine Vs Takato Nakano
3. Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & SAGAT
4. FUMA, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Daichi Kazato Vs Masato Kamino, Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
5. IRON FIST Tag Team Titles: Ryota Nakatsu & Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs KUBITO & Yasu Urano
Masahiro Takanashi is going over to BASARA for a match against Lil’ Kraken.
GANBARE☆JOSHI “GANJO EMERALD DRAGON ’24”, 12/02/2024 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. Special Single Match: Riara Vs Kizuna Tanaka
2. Ram Kaichow & Sumire Natsu Vs Kaho Kobayashi & Banny Oikawa
3. Alex Lee & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Yappy & JC Storm
4. Special Single Match: YuuRI Vs Mio Momono
Last year at “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA II” there was a joshi tag match with YuuRI and Mio Momono on opposite teams. Now they get to fight each other in Ganbare☆Joshi one on one!
An international tag match gathers together Alex Lee from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Yoshiko Hasegawa from Japan, Yappy from the Philippines and JC Storm from America. Storm is currently in Japan to wrestle for Ice Ribbon.
DDT “NEPPA OVER FLOWERS 3 ~TOTONOI TO YOU~”, 14/02/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Hideki Okatani, Yuni & Ilusion Vs Takeshi Masada, Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya
2. ~Kazuki Hirata’s Sauna Room?~: Kazuki Hirata Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yukio Naya
3. ~Toy Kojima’s Sauna Room~: Toy Kojima Vs Masato Tanaka
4. ~Shunma Katsumata’s Sauna Room~: Shunma Katsumata Vs Kuroshio TOKYO Japan
5. ~Mao Inoue’s Sauna Room~: MAO Vs Chris Brookes
6. KO-D Openweight Title ~Yuki Ueno’s Sauna Room~: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Danshoku Dieno
A request was made by Yuki Ueno to defend the KO-D Openweight Title against Danshoku Dieno. He wanted his next challenger to be the most interesting person in DDT since the championship is more than just about who is the strongest. There is already a singles match between them booked for The 37KAMIINA’s produce show in Shinjuku FACE. To make his point even clearer, Ueno convinced DDT to turn that match into a KO-D Title bout because it does not matter to him where it takes place. This will be the first KO-D Title match held in front of an audience in around 8 years. Dieno warns Ueno that there’s a reason why the company never wants him to win that championship even if he symbolises the spirit of DDT more than anyone else. The entire direction of the KO-D Title will change if Dieno gets his hands on it!
Kazuki Hirata gets to keep his spot on the show despite turning down The 37KAMIINA’s offer to join their unit. He now has his mind set on creating his own stable and he is searching for potential members.
DDT “PRO WRESTLING WINTER FESTIVAL 2024 IN JOETSU DAY 2 – INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN NIIGATA”, 18/02/2024 Niigata Dúo CEREZO
1. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuki Iino & Rukiya
2. Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs HARASHIMA & Akito
3. Kazuki Hirata Vs Toy Kojima
4. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Yoshitatsu Vs Tetsuya Endo & Makoto Oishi
5. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Super Sasadango Machine
Does Toy Kojima take it personally that Hirata turned him down along with the rest of the sauna boys? Does Hirata take it personally that Kojima is the reason he is no longer the Extreme Champion? If there are any sore feelings between them coming out of the weekend, it’s best to settle them as soon as possible.
GANBARE☆PRO “GANPRO 2024 DESIRE”, 23/02/2024 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. YuuRI & Riara Vs HARUKAZE & Banny Oikawa
2. Ken Ohka, Mizuki Watase & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Keisuke Ishii, Soma Takao & Shinichiro Tominaga
3. Shota Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
4. Yuna Manase Return Match: Yuna Manase & Yumehito Imanari Vs Sayaka Unagi & Minoru Fujita
5. EVE International Title: Yuu (c) Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Shuichiro Katsumura (c) Vs Takuya Wada
The rest of the Ganbare☆Pro and GanJo roster fills up the Yokohama card.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 23/02/2024 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Kazusada Higuchu & Kazuma Sumi
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs MAO & Kazuki Hirata
3. Special Single Match: Yoshitatsu Vs Soma Takao
4. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda, Takeshi Masada & Mecha Mummy (c) Vs Maya Yukihi, Ram Kaichow, Rina Yamashita, Sanshiro Takagi & Akito
If there is anyone out there who ever thought Yoshitatsu and Soma Takao should have a match together then mark 23rd February down on your calendar right now.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024”, 25/02/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Kaisei Takechi Debut Match ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Kaisei Takechi Vs Tetsuya Endo, Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada.
2. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Hikaru Machida
The 37KAMIINA are on Kaisei Takechi’s side for his debut. He will team with Ueno & Katsumata for his big first match. Facing them is a trio mixing three wrestlers together. Tetsuya Endo, Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada will put the newcomer through his paces.
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2024 ~27TH ANNIVERSARY 5 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 17/03/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Tsubasa Suzuki Debut Match: Tsubasa Suzuki Vs X
2. DDT Extreme Title: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Winner Of 7/2 Next Challenger Match
3. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Yuma Aoyagi
4. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs X
The very next KO-D Title match was supposed to be at DDT’s 27th Anniversary show until Ueno made his request to fight Dieno. The winner of that headlines Korakuen the next month.
The winner of Okatani Vs Paul faces Katsumata for the Extreme Title here too.
We have talent announcements for Wrestlemania Week. Announced so far for DDT’s USA show are Yuki Ueno, MAO, Kazuki Hirata, Konosuke Takeshita, Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki, Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata, KANON, Takeshi Masada and Yoshihiko.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN PHILLY”, 05/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
TJPW are sending over 14 women to Philadelphia for Wrestlemania Week. They are Miyu Yamashita, Yuki Aino, Shoko Nakajima, Rika Tatsumi, Mizuki, Maki Itoh, Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Hyper Misao, Nao Kakuta, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Suzume and Arisu Endo. All 14 of them will be at “GCW VS TJPW” the next day too.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE 4TH “THE FUTARI WA PRINCESS” MAX HEART TOURNAMENT”, 27/01/2024 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall 307 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Mahiro Kiryu defeated Haru Kazashiro with a Crab Hold (6:42).
2. Yuki Aino & Toga defeated Shoko Nakajima & Kaya Toribami when Aino pinned Toribami with the Venus DDT (11:03).
3. Special Setsuban Match: Hyper Misao defeated Pom Harajuku with the I Am A Hero (11:07).
4. Miyu Yamashita, Yuki Kamifuku & HIMAWARI defeated Mizuki, Raku & Shino Suzuki when Yamashita pinned Suzuki with the Attitude Adjustment (12:35).
5. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Semi-Final: Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano when Endo submitted Nagano with the Camel Clutch (15:43).
6. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Semi-Final: Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe defeated Yuki Arai & Wakana Uehara when Watanabe pinned Uehara with the Tear Drop (16:27).
On the weekend Rika Tatsumi celebrated her 10th anniversary in pro wrestling, Daydream booked their spot in the Max Heart Tournament final. Yuki Arai & Wakana Uehara scrambled to save each other from Daydream’s double team moves when they could. But the match came down to Miu Watanabe against Uehara and Watanabe picked up the win with the Tear Drop. The result stings even more for Arai because this is the third year in a row Daydream eliminated her from the Max Heart Tournament. But at least she has a new ally in Uehara, who said she would be happy to team with Arai more often from now on.
Meeting Daydream in the final is Daisy Monkey! They were already on a tournament best performance by making it past the 2nd Round for the first time this year but Shinken Kusho gave them a big challenge. Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano got rid of Suzume with their Double Kick moves and went to finish off Arisu Endo. It took Endo breaking out a new move to survive, giving Nagano a Modified Hercules Cutter before making her submit to the Camel Clutch. Suzume said she & Endo have had so many frustrating times together but now they’re absolutely confident that those feelings have become their strength. They are sure they won’t lose to Daydream in the final on 10th February!
Now that Shinken Kusho are out of the tournament, Nagano is not sure if she will get any more chances to team with Miyamoto again. She also still wants to win a championship before her graduation in April as proof of her time in pro wrestling. So she has decided to challenge Arai for the International Princess Title. She always thought of Arai as a strong senpai rather than a celebrity or idol. It will be a big challenge but it’s one she wants to take on and succeed at. Arai was surprised to hear about the challenge but understands Nagano wants to graduate with no regrets so she’ll be happy to fight her one on one.
Both Hyper Misao and Pom Harajuku agreed to have a Special Setsuban Match. The rules allowed wrestlers to wear an Oni costume after they knock their opponent outside the ring. While wearing the Oni costume the wrestler then only needs a 2-Count pin to win. The costume also included a big club to attack the opponent with. Both Misao and Harajuku got chances to wear the costume until they both fell out of the ring at the same time. That meant both were allowed to wear Oni costumes at the same time. The match remained that way until Misao pinned Harajuku with the I Am A Hero for the 2-Count victory.
California wrestler Zara Zakher will be coming to Tokyo Joshi Pro for the 10th February Korakuen Hall show.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’24”, 04/01/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,235 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Toga defeated Moka Miyamoto, Juria Nagano & Kaya Toribami when Kamifuku pinned Toribami with the Famouser (9:34).
2. Raku, Ram Kaichow & Pom Harajuku defeated HIMAWARI, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo when Raku pinned Kazashiro with the Doctor Yellow (6:43).
3. Mizuki defeated Nao Kakuta with the Cutie Special (8:48).
4. New Year! Make Your Dreams Come True! Daruma Match: Shoko Nakajima defeated Hyper Misao when Nakajima painted the eye on the Daruma Doll (14:07).
5. Riho defeated Shino Suzuki with the Sakura Hold (5:33).
6. Aja Kong defeated Wakana Uehara with the Back Drop (6:57).
7. Special Single Match: Rina Yamashita defeated Maki Itoh with the Splash Mountain (16:43).
8. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai defeated Max The Impaler (c) with the Finally (10:19). *Max The Impaler fails in V4. Yuki Arai becomes the 12th International Princess Champion!
9. Princess Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino defeated Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe and Suzume & Arisu Endo when Aino pinned Endo with the UBV (13:19). *Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino become the 15th Princess Tag Team Champions!
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Masha Slamovich with the Crash Rabbit Heat (17:20). *V3 for Miyu Yamashita.
The Miyu Yamashita Vs Masha Slamovich rivalry from America made its way over to Japan for this year’s Tokyo Joshi Pro Ittenyon show. It is both a matchup Yamashita wanted to show her home fans and also a risky challenger to defend the Princess Of Princess Title against. That risk was on full show when Slamovich gave her a Doctor Bomb on the ring apron, hit a dive out of the ring and also Double Stomped Yamashita in the corner. Slamovich even gave the champion a taste of her own medicine by hitting her own Skull Kick! But Yamashita avoided taking the White Knight Driver whenever her opponent tried to set it up. The Avalanche Attitude Adjustment gave Yamashita some breathing room and soon she wore down Slamovich with strikes until she finished her off with the Crash Rabbit Heat.
The two shook hands after the match and Slamovich indicated she still wants to fight Yamashita again another time. Yamashita told the fans about the previous times she won and lost against her, then said those matches are always a lot of fun. Yamashita said TJPW will continue to do their best at any time under any circumstances and they look forward to everyone’s support in 2024. She did not nominate her next challenger for the Princess Title. Instead she wants to wait for somebody to challenge her. There will a Battle Royal in two days time to determine the No. 1 Contender “GRAND PRINCESS ’24” in March. It is possible she may defend the title overseas before then but she expects the Sumo Hall challenger will be a difficult opponent no matter who it is.
The vacant Princess Tag Team Titles were up for grabs in a 3 Way Tag Match. Original challengers Daisy Monkey now had to face both Daydream as well as Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino. Mizunami has played a clutch substitute role for TJPW over the last year and today good karma came her way. She saved Aino from the double team moves from both sets of opponents and Aino paid her back by pinning Arisu Endo to win the Tag Titles! Mizunami admits they are not as good a team as Daydream or Daisy Monkey but now that they are champions they can build a lot of things together from here. Aino is so happy to win the titles again it made her cry. They now need a team name. Mizunami suggested they be called Yukiniki. Meanwhile Suzume & Endo find themselves starting from zero yet again. They won’t give up on their dream to become TJPW’s strongest tag team. As for Daydream, Rika Tatsumi told Miu Watanabe to treat today’s match as a trial for the upcoming Max Heart Tournament. They intend to win it for a second time.
On this day one year ago Max The Impaler pinned Yuki Arai in the middle of the ring to take the Princess Tag Titles away from her. They also stole Arai’s hair clip. Today Arai got her revenge by beating Max to become the new International Princess Champion! Oh, and she got her hairclip back too. It took a lot of effort to get there though. Max threw Arai around Korakuen Hall, sending her into the front row and also Body Slamming her on the floor in front of another member of SKE48. Arai reached her limit trying to fight back but when Max caught the Flying Cross Body, Arai flipped her over with an Inside Cradle, got back up and suddenly knocked Max out with the Finally! Arai then pinned Max to win the title. When Max recovered their senses, they returned to the ring and handed Arai’s hairclip back to her. Arai admitted she wanted to run away from Max so many times and she’s glad she didn’t. She thinks 2024 is going to be her best year yet and she wants to become strong enough that fans will think of her as TJPW’s top champion.
Another match from America was put on display in Japan for the first time. Over the last two years both Maki Itoh and Rina Yamashita have become integral parts of GCW. They even wrestled each other there and the rematch was taking place here. The match was supposed to be held under normal rules and Yukinori Matsui refused to let Itoh use her pizza cutter. An inadvertent low blow to the ref gave Itoh the chance to slice open Yamashita’s head with the cutter. That only fired up Yamashita though and she brought in chairs to turn the match hardcore. While Itoh’s iron head resisted the chair attacks, Yamashita was able to beat her by using a Diving Body Press, Thrust Kick and then the Splash Mountain. The two flashed MDK gang signs to each other after the match. Backstage Yamashita joked that she didn’t expect to be covered in her own blood inside a TJPW ring. She wants to continue fighting Itoh until Itoh is covered in her own blood! Itoh responded that she is always ready to get covered in blood. She didn’t make it clear if she meant her own though. She also said she wants to do her best to balance her time between America and Japan this year because she didn’t get to do much in TJPW during 2023.
An eager Wakana Uehara used a Space Rolling Elbow to surprise Aja Kong before the bell rang. Kong let Uehara continue the attack until she tried to give her a Brainbuster. Not a smart move. However she got Kong onto the canvas by using a Sunset Flip to lure Kong into doing a Hip Drop and avoided that by rolling out of the way. Uehara then kept trying to use the Sleeper Hold but Kong kept getting out of it. A Sunset Flip into a Bridging pin gave Uehara a nearfall and then she went back to the Sleeper Hold. This time Kong squashed Uehara to break the hold and then hit a Lariat. Uehara kicked out to get the fans cheering for her but Kong then pinned her with the Back Drop. She lifted her finger up to Uehara’s face telling her she wants one more match and she then shoved her to the mat. Backstage Kong said Uehara’s use of the Sleeper Hold shows she is starting to be confident in herself. Today Kong has gained one more rival. Uehara said Kong is a wall too high for her to climb right now but she will definitely beat her someday.
Fresh off of an AEW PPV appearance, Riho showed up in TJPW for a match against Shino Suzuki. After using a Sleeper Hold, Suzuki ran into a Jumping Knee Strike. Riho then gave her the 619 followed by the Sakura Hold to make Suzuki give up. She noted that Suzuki does not have a lot of skill but made up for it with a lot of passion and that made her a fun opponent to fight against. Riho will now be going back to America to grow up even more before returning to Japan again. Suzuki said she is grateful to get the match and she now realizes who she is at this point of time. Riho has a similar physique as her but was overwhelmingly stronger. So now Suzuki will stop convincing herself she is weak just because of her size.
This year’s Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao match had a winner and a loser this time. A Daruma Doll was left hanging above the ring and the first person to climb the ladder and paint an eye on the doll would become the winner and get to make a wish for 2024. Misao arrived riding on her new and improved Hypami Dramatic Dream bike but she crashed it into Mahiro Kiryu. Nakajima and Misao then fought in the Korakuen lobby where Misao crashed the bike again, this time into a castle made of chairs and kaiju toys. She then crashed the bike a third time when she cycled down the aisle of chairs into both Nakajima and Kiryu. Nakajima fought back using a box of kaiju toys before wiping out Misao with a Topé Suicida. She then climbed the ladder and painted an eye on the Daruma to win. Nakajima is going to be greedy this year because she both wishes to win the Princess Tag Titles with Misao and also win the Battle Royal on 6th January to get the Princess Title shot in Sumo Hall!
Having to vacate the Princess Tag Titles on New Year’s Eve left Nao Kakuta needing to take her frustrations out on somebody so good thing Mizuki was there to meet those needs and return in kind! Mizuki ended up winning a tough fight with some Diving Foot Stomps followed by the Cutie Special. Kakuta is taking the loss in her stride because she had a lot of fun out there and felt the warmth of the fans’ support. Her goal in 2024 is to enjoy pro wrestling. She also wants to surpass Mizuki but that might take a bit longer than a year to accomplish. Mizuki described their relationship as rivals but still friends. She also thinks they might share a bond because they both had to give up the Princess Tag Titles because their partners were unable to wrestle for one reason or another.
TJPW fans got to see Raku & Ram Kaichow being a happy couple again. They joined hands together and gave a Double Diving Chop to Haru Kazashiro. The other rookie Runa Okubo got a new year’s gift from Pom Harajuku but it turned out to be getting kicked in the feet. Kaichow took out HIMAWARI with a Diving Cross Body and Raku pinned Kazashiro with the Doctor Yellow. Kaichow gave her a kiss on the cheek afterward to celebrate.
Toyo Mates & Toga were victorious in the opening bout against Shinken Kusho & Kaya Toribami. Kiryu used Moka Miyamoto as her human mat for the Apology Knee Drop. Miyamoto got her own back when she & Juria Nagano kicked Kiryu away. Toga then got rid of Nagano with the Elbow Strike. The match came down to Yuki Kamifuku against Toribami and Kamifuku pinned her with the Famouser.
At the start of the show The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) debuted a new song called “Barobaro ~It’s A Battle!~”. Uta took Hikari Noa’s place in the performance.
This week already feels like the craziest January schedule of wrestling shows in years.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’24”, 04/01/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Toga Vs Moka Miyamoto, Juria Nagano & Kaya Toribami
2. Raku, Ram Kaichow & Pom Harajuku Vs HIMAWARI, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo
3. Mizuki Vs Nao Kakuta
4. Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao
5. Riho Vs Shino Suzuki
6. Aja Kong Vs Wakana Uehara
7. Special Single Match: Rina Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
8. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) Vs Yuki Arai
9. Princess Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Masha Slamovich
The participants of tomorrow’s three title matches all gathered together for contract signings and a press conference earlier today. Masha Slamovich bragged about her success in 2023 that included pinning Miyu Yamashita at “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”. She thinks it is time for a new Princess Of Princess Champion to be crowned in 2024. If she becomes champion she intends to defend it around the world and have the longest reign in the title’s history. Yamashita said she visited many states in America last year and wherever she went, Slamovich was always there. After wrestling each other so much in USA, Yamashita wanted to wrestle her in Japan and asked Tetsuya Koda to bring her over to have this title match. She feels the pressure but enjoys it because she wants to take bigger risks so her fourth title reign can stand out.
Three teams are now ready to fight each other for the vacant Princess Tag Team Titles. As far as Daisy Monkey are concerned the situation has not changed for them. Suzume & Arisu Endo want to win the belts that were held by Tokyo Joshi Pro’s strongest tag teams. Daydream last held the titles in 2020 so Miu Watanabe would like to make her daydreams with Rika Tatsumi come true again. Tatsumi always thought it was strange that Daydream were not the next challengers in the first place. Yuki Aino is happy to get a chance to win the tag titles with Ryo Mizunami. Her tag partner is often called “Everyone’s Aniki” but when they win Aino wants it to change to “My Aniki”! Mizunami said 2024 is the Year Of The Dragon and she was also born in the Year Of The Dragon. So it is fate that she and Aino can leave a mark in TJPW by becoming the new tag champions!
Yuki Arai signed the International Princess Title match contract while waiting for Max The Impaler to show up. She talked about this being her second shot at the title and how she lost the Princess Tag Titles at last year’s Ittenyon show. She wants to start off her year shining and become champion for Saki Akai. Max then finally arrived at the building and marked the contract with their thumb which counts as their signature. Max then pulled out a hair band that Arai recognised. It is the hairband that Max took from her when The Wasteland War Party beat Reiwa AA Cannon for the Princess Tag Titles last year! Arai promised to win the belt and also get her hairband back!
GANBARE☆PRO “2024 GANBARE☆THE FIGHT BEGINS”, 04/01/2024 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
1. YuuRI & Riara Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa & Kaho Matsushita
2. Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE Vs Shigehiro Irie & Banny Oikawa
3. New Year Special 3 Way Match: Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Yuni Vs Ilusion
4. GanPro New Year Special 6-Man Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii, Yumehito Imanari & Mizuki Watase Vs Shota, Soma Takao & Shinichiro Tominaga
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Shuichiro Katsumura (c) Vs Ken Ohka
Munetatsu Nakamura must be feeling like a million bucks after winning the Best Newcomer category at the Japan Indie Grand Prix Awards on New Year’s Eve.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 05/01/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Ilusion
2. Eruption Vs D.O.A!: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi
4. BURNING Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Tetsuya Endo & Yusuke Okada Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
5. DISASTER BOX Final Match: HARASHIMA Vs Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata
5. Jun Akiyama, Yoshitatsu & Yukio Naya Vs Akito, Yuki Iino & Rukiya
6. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno, MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toy Kojima & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda, Takayuki Ueki, Takeshi Masada & Mecha Mummy
The first new addition to DDT this year is Yoshitatsu. He left All Japan a few days ago and chose DDT as his landing spot because the place reminds him of how fun pro wrestling can be. Jun Akiyama is someone in particular he wants to be in the ring with again so they get to team up in Yoshitatsu’s first match under this new arrangement.
Daisuke Sasaki approached Tetsuya Endo after today’s show and suggested they should join forces again. His argument is Endo no longer has any ties to BURNING without Akiyama involved and with that he shouldn’t have anything holding him back either. He left before Endo could respond so what will happen next?
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024 TOUR IN OSAKA DAY 1”, 06/01/2024 Osaka 176BOX
1. Kazusada Higuchi Vs Rukiya
2. Special Single Match: Yoshitatsu Vs Kazuma Sumi
3. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs HARASHIMA & Yuni
4. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Yuki Iino & Toy Kojima
5. Special Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Toru Owashi & Shunma Katsumata
6. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs Takeshi Masada
7. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno & MAO Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yusuke Okada
8. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles – DEAD OR ALIVE Contra DEAD OR ALIVE: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) Vs Bodyguard, Naruki Doi & Tsutenkakka
The next day Yoshitatsu faces Kazuma Sumi.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024 TOUR IN OSAKA DAY 2”, 07/01/2024 Osaka 176BOX
1. Makoto Oishi Vs Yuni
2. Special Single Match: Yoshitatsu Vs Takeshi Masada
3. Jun Akiyama & Toru Owashi Vs Akito & Yuki Iino
4. BURNING Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Tetsuya Endo & Yusuke Okada Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
5. Special Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Rukiya Vs HARASHIMA & Kazuma Sumi
6. Special Single Match: Hideki Okatani Vs Toy Kojima
7. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Danshoku Dieno
8. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Yukio Naya, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi
Then the day after that he takes on Takeshi Masada. The previously announce 3 Way Match Masada was in is now just Makoto Oishi against Yuni.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024 TOUR IN SHINAGAWA”, 21/01/2024 Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX
1. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Soma Takao & Shota (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
2. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Bryan Keith
Sasaki & KANON have become the next challengers for the KO-D Tag Team Titles. Sasaki is trying to rile up ROMANCE DAWN over their connection to the Young Communication generation. Shota is proud to be part of that circle of wrestlers but Sasaki thinks his connection to the group is insignificant. Soma Takao meanwhile wants revenge on DAMNATION T.A for the chairshot they gave him earlier today.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024”, 28/01/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. MAO Birthday Commemorative Match: MAO Vs X
2. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Naruki Doi
3. DDT Extreme Title: Kazuki Hirata (c) Vs Shunma Katsumata
4. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Yukio Naya
The winner of the D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 is Yukio Naya which means he is now lined up for a KO-D Openweight Title shot! Yuki Ueno admits Naya proved he is the strongest wrestler in DDT but the championship belongs to only the most interesting. The battles over different visions for what DDT should be will continue to flare throughout this year.
The previous DDT Extreme Champion is back from injury and wants to win the belt again. Shunma Katsumata has been a a big supporter of Kazuki Hirata’s current title reign and is eager to find out what rules Hirata will come up with.
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2024 ~27TH ANNIVERSARY 5 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 17/03/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Tsubasa Suzuki Debut Match: Tsubasa Suzuki Vs X
2. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Yuma Aoyagi
The biggest match yet in the DDT Vs All Japan rivalry has been announced. Konosuke Takeshita will be representing DDT on its 27th Anniversary against Yuma Aoyagi! The former Triple Crown Champion wants to introduce his own “Dramatic Dream” to Takeshita and sees this match as a path that will lead him down to Yuki Ueno and the KO-D Title!
For the first time DDT has an intern pro wrestler. Tsubasa Suzuki is a student wrestler from Hitotsubashi University World Pro Wrestling Alliance (or HWWA for short). He was born in Shizuoka on 14th August 2002. He is 176cm tall, weighs 80kg and has a background in track and field as well as his student wrestling club. He will work several shows for DDT on an internship. After a certain amount of time DDT will decide if they want to officially hire him.
Fans of Tokyo Joshi Pro were invited to submit their votes for TJPW’s best matches of 2023. This year there were votes from over 380 fans worldwide and over 120 matches received votes.
TJPW Best Bouts 2023
1. 10th Anniversary Special 10-Woman Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Yuka Sakazaki, Rika Tatsumi & Mizuki Vs Miu Watanabe, Yuki Arai, Suzume, Moka Miyamoto & Arisu Endo 1st December @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
228 pts
2. International Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi 18th March @ Ariake Coliseum
194 pts
3. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita 9th October @ Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe
179 pts
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Maki Itoh 8th July @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
145 pts
5. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Mizuki 18th March @ Ariake Coliseum
121 pts
6. Miracle Heart Catch Shuffle Tag Tournament Final: Rika Tatsumi & Arisu Endo Vs Yuki Aino & Mahiro Kiryu 25th May @ Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall
109 pts
7. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta 9th October @ Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe
91 pts
8. Tokyo Princess Cup – Final: Miyu Yamashita Vs Yuki Kamifuku 13th August @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
86 pts
9. Tokyo Princess Cup – Semi Final: Miyu Yamashita Vs Yuki Arai 12th August @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
64 pts
10. Saki Akai Vs Yuki Arai 27th October @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
54 pts
11. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Final: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao 11th February @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
53 pts
12. Tokyo Princess Cup – Semi Final: Rika Tatsumi Vs Yuki Kamifuku 12th August @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
51 pts
13. Special Single Match: Aja Kong Vs Yuki Arai 18th March @ Ariake Coliseum
46 pts
14. Yuka Sakazaki Graduation Special 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita Vs Shoko Nakajima Vs Yuka Sakazaki 6th December @ Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall
39 pts
14. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Final: Wakana Uehara Vs HIMAWARI 1st December @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
39 pts
16. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Nao Kakuta 15th April @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
32 pts
17. Moka Miyamoto Vs Arisu Endo 11th February @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
29 pts
17. Debut 10th Anniversary Memorial Match: Miyu Yamashita Vs Shoko Nakajima 17th August @ Shin-Kiba 1st RING
29 pts
19. Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match: Hikari Noa Vs Sawyer Wreck 1st May @ Shin-Kiba 1st RING
26pts
20. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Shoko Nakajima Vs Rika Tatsumi 29th July @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
25 pts
20. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta (c) Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku 1st December @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
25 pts
Honorable Mentions
These five matches just missed out on making the Top 20.
22. Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino Vs Miu Watanabe & Yuki Arai 9th October @ Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe
23. Special Single Match: Shoko Nakajima Vs Yoshihiko 25th May @ Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall
24. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita 4th January @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
25. 1 Vs 2 Handicap Match: Mizuki Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe 11th June @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
25. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Yuki Arai Vs Arisu Endo 29th July @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Happy new year! December featured plenty of CyberFight related appearances in North America. Tokyo Joshi Pro held its second show in USA. They also had two seperate championship matches happening within minutes from each other in two different countries. Konosuke Takeshita remains stuck in AEW limbo, Maki Itoh wrapped up the latest leg of her US bookings, Shota paid a visit to California and MAO partied hard as the end of 2023 counted down to midnight.
So what is there new to expect in 2024 when it comes to international stuff for DDT and its family? I think the focus will be what Yuka Sakazaki will get up to. I will continue following her career using these articles. If she sticks within AEW/ROH then it won’t be much work to see what she gets up to every month. But I want to see her spread out to some of the indies. At least go to Deadlock Pro every now and then. She owes them a match anyway.
Video starts at 11:02. MPW “THE LONG NIGHT”, 08/12/2023
MPW Academy, Chatsworth, California, USA
1. Miggy Rose & Michael Hopkins Vs Shota & J2 Mattioli
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 08/12/2023 Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
1. Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal Vs Powerhouse Hobbs & Konosuke Takeshita
DREAMWAVE “GOOD AS GOLD”, 09/12/2023 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita & Emi Sakura Vs Zayda Steel & Maggie Lee
SKYFIRE PRO “NAVIDAD NIGHTMARE”, 10/12/2023 Bay City Brewing Co., San Diego, California, USA
1. Rebel Storm Vs Shota
TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023 The Vermont Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA 400 Fans – Super No Vacancy
7. Special Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly
Video starts at 16:20. MPW “NAUGHTY OR NICE 2023”, 15/12/2023 MPW Academy, Chatsworth, California, USA
1. Shota Vs Jr Mattioli
PANDEMONIUM PRO “HOLIDAY IN LA”, 17/12/2023 Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Mike Bailey Vs Miyu Yamashita
CIRCLE 6 “BARROOM BLITZ”, 31/12/2023 Knucklehead Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Nate Webb
———————————————————————–
Results
BLACK LABEL PRO “SLAMILTON”, 02/12/2023 Berwyn Eagles Club, Berwyn, Illinois, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Rachel Armstrong with the Itoh Deluxe (11:22).
Let’s begin with a show that has become an annual event for Black Label Pro. Six months ago Rachel Armstrong had a match here against Miyu Yamashita so now it was Itoh’s turn to see what the fuss is all about. A naïve Armstrong fell for Itoh’s crocodile tears act but took control using her speed and agility. A Northern Lights Suplex in particular came very close to getting her the win. But Itoh had control for most of the match, trapping Armstrong in the Itoh Special and then building her way up to the Itoh Deluxe to make her tap out.
GCW “WHAT IS YOUR CHOICE?”, 03/12/2023 Roulette Intermedium, Brooklyn, New York, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Mike Bailey with a Cradle (16:14).
Is this the upset of the year? Mike Bailey learned the hard way not to kick Itoh in the head because it is as hard as iron! When the shock of that wore out, Bailey took her seriously, even pulling out the Flamingo Driver that Itoh kicked out of. His frustration led to his undoing because when he grabbed Itoh’s legs to do a Boston Crab, Itoh twisted over and cradled Bailey for the flash pin! Itoh had to console Bailey after the match because he burst into tears over the result.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 06/12/2023 (Aired 08/12/2023) Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
1. Powerhouse Hobbs & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal when Hobbs pinned Daniels with The World’s Most Dangerous Slam (8:38).
What was looking to be Takeshita’s only match of the month was teaming up with Powerhouse Hobbs to beat Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal after the latter tried standing up to The Don Callis Family. During the month Don Callis announced that his unit will now be using “Family Rules” for their tag team matches against Chris Jericho & Kenny Omega going forward, which is just their name for Freebird Rules. The storyline they’re doing is falling apart though because Omega is now out of action indefinitely with diverticulitis.
MYSTERY WRESTLING “MYSTERY WRESTLING 5”, 07/12/2023 Centre Aydelu, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
1. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) defeated Jody Threat (?:??). *V3 for Max The Impaler.
There was a surprise International Princess Title match for the fans at this month’s Mystery Wrestling show. Evil Uno runs these events every couple of months, airs them live on his Twitch channel and keeps the VOD on his Patreon. Max The Impaler was brought in for a match against Jody Threat and agreed to put the championship on the line. TJPW gave their authorization and recognizes the result as an official title defence.
MLW “ONE-SHOT”, 07/12/2023 Melrose Ballroom, Queens, New York, USA
1. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Delmi Exo with the Skull Kick (9:13). *V2 for Miyu Yamashita.
2. MLW World Featherweight Title: Janai Kai (c) (w/ Salina de la Renta & Jesus Rodriguez) defeated Maki Itoh with the Modified Dragon Sleeper (7:27). *V2 for Janai Kai.
Both Itoh and Yamashita were at MLW’s final show of the year, each in a championship match. Itoh was given a big title match against Janai Kai for the MLW World Featherweight Title. She had an unfair disadvantage though because Kai had both Salina de la Renta and Jesus Rodriguez (the former Ricardo Rodriguez from WWE) in her corner to interfere when needed. There was also an unexpected run-in from the masked wrestler Ichiban that distracted Itoh long enough for her to miss a Diving Headbutt. If that wasn’t bad enough, Matt Striker on commentary completely did not understand Itoh’s gimmick. Maybe he had good intentions by trying to put Itoh over as a fighter to be taken seriously but he’s been so bad as a colour commentator for so long he should not get the benefit of the doubt.
Yamashita was at the show to defend the Princess Of Princess Title against Delmi Exo. Her opponent is a former MLW Featherweight Champion and brought her best fight to the match. Yamashita kicked out of the Ocean Cyclone Suplex and got Exo up to the top rope for an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment. Yamashita kept the pressure up and Exo was helpless by the time she was beaten with the Skull Kick. The result helps establish Yamashita’s current title reign being about taking on opponents from around the world. Her next challenger will be back in TJPW on 4th January against Masha Slamovich.
DREAMWAVE “UPRISING”, 08/12/2023 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Shazza McKenzie with the Skull Kick (10:59).
Over to DREAMWAVE where Yamashita appeared on a weekend of shows for them. The first one was an all women’s event where Yamashita beat Shazza McKenzie in a rematch from their ROH bout from earlier this year. DREAMWAVE later announced they will be spinning off a new all women’s wrestling promotion called Uprising: Women’s Athletes so don’t be surprised to see Yamashita show up there in 2024.
MPW “THE LONG NIGHT”, 08/12/2023 MPW Academy, Chatsworth, California, USA
1. Miggy Rose & Michael Hopkins defeated Shota & J2 Mattioli when Rose & Hopkins pinned Mattioli with a Sunset Flip & Body Press (?:??).
Shota spent the month of December travelling over to America again for a short tour. Just like last year, Shota found went to the obscure end of the US indies including Millennium Pro Wrestling who welcomed him back with open arms. Shota teamed with one of his opponents from the last excursion, J2 Mattioli to take on a team called 24K. Sadly the team lost when Miggy Rose & Michael Hopkins used a double team Sunset Flip to pin Mattioli. Afterwards Mattioli apologised to Shota for losing and then challenged him to a singles match for the following week. Shota accepted and shook his hand.
DREAMWAVE “GOOD AS GOLD”, 09/12/2023 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita & Emi Sakura defeated Zayda Steel & Maggie Lee when Sakura pinned Steel with the Double Arm Backbreaker (8:02).
There was a small change to the match when one of the original opponents Zamaya was bumped up to the semi-main event for the DREAMWAVE Women’s Title. So Yamashita & Emi Sakura instead found themselves teaming up against Zayda Steel and Zamaya’s replacement Maggie Lee. A lot of the match was Steel & Lee working on Yamashita so Sakura can get the hot tag. Still it’s not everyday you get to see Sakura & Yamashita teaming together. They won when Sakura gave Steel the Double Arm Backbreaker and Yamashita gave Lee the Attitude Adjustment, leading to a double pin.
EWF “PRO WRESTLING LUCHA LIBRE”, 09/12/2023 VFW Post 8737, San Bernardino, California, USA
1. EWF Vs The World: Kid Noah defeated Shota (?:??).
An outdoor show held in December doesn’t sound that pleasant even if it’s in California. Shota wrestled twice outdoors during the tour. The first one was at Empire Wrestling Federation where he lost to Kid Noah.
GCW “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM 2”, 09/12/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Johnny Game Changer & Taya Valkyrie defeated Nick Gage & Maki Itoh (17:42).
Itoh’s last GCW appearance of the year had Maki Death Kill back together to take on the husband and wife team of Johnny Game Changer & Taya Valkyrie. The match went from a normal two vs two tag into a brawl with chairs and doors being used as weapons. Valkyrie put Nick Gage through one of the doors and then tried giving Itoh the Road To Valhalla. Itoh countered it into a Roll Up but Valkyrie then blocked the counter and grabbed onto Itoh’s tights to pin her for the three count. Itoh demanded a singles match against Valkyrie afterwards.
SKYFIRE PRO “NAVIDAD NIGHTMARE”, 10/12/2023 Bay City Brewing Co., San Diego, California, USA
1. Rebel Storm defeated Shota with the Thunderstruck (?:??).
Shota’s second outdoor match of the month was for Skyfire Pro Lucha Libre. He tried his best to outwrestle his opponent but Rebel Storm stopped him in his tracks with a Headbutt followed by the Twist Of Fate that he calls Thunderstruck.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023 The Vermont Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA 400 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku defeated Rika Tatsumi & Amira when Harajuku pinned Amira after the Wasteland War Justice with Max (10:20).
2. Trish Adora defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Lariat (8:42).
3. Mizuki defeated Sandra Moone with the Cutie Special (10:21).
4. Miu Watanabe defeated Hyan with the Tear Drop (8:33).
5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta (c) defeated Janai Kai & Shazza McKenzie when Noa pinned McKenzie with the Blizzard Suplex (9:42). *V3 for Free WiFi.
6. Taya Valkyrie defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Road To Valhalla (10:47).
7. Special Tag Match: Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly defeated Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh when Slamovich pinned Yamashita with the White Knight Driver (18:00).
MPW “NAUGHTY OR NICE 2023”, 15/12/2023 MPW Academy, Chatsworth, California, USA
1. J2 Mattioli defeated Shota with the Playmaker Lariat (?:??).
The match between Shota and Mattioli was a mostly friendly back and forth match between the two. Mattioli ended up using his Playmaker Lariat to win, capping off a year he was really happy with.
PANDEMONIUM PRO “HOLIDAY IN LA”, 17/12/2023 Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Keita defeated Shota (?:??).
2. Miyu Yamashita defeated Mike Bailey with the Skull Kick (?:??).
Okay so this month we found out that Bailey’s weakness is Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers. He lost to Itoh in GCW and here in Pandemonium Pro he lost clean to Yamashita! There were no tears in this one, instead these two tried to kick the tar out of each other!
Shota completed his USA tour by making Pandemonium Pro his final stop. Originally he was going to face Vinnie Massaro but that guy is busy living it up on a NOAH tour right now. So Shota was given the newcomer Keita as a replacement opponent. Keita made the most of this opportunity and beat the more experienced Shota.
AEW “WORLDS END”, 30/12/2023 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York, USA
1. Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Sting & Darby Allin defeated Ricky Starks, Big Bill, Powerhouse Hobbs & Konosuke Takeshita when Guevara pinned Starks with a Shooting Star Press (15:42).
What a mess this storyline has turned out to be. Omega falling ill meant that he and Jericho couldn’t go ahead with challenging Ricky Starks & Big Bill for the AEW World Tag Team Titles so they had to throw in The Don Callis Family, Sting, Darby Allin and the return of Sammy Guevara to make it an 8-Man Tag Match. Takeshita was not part of the lineup when the match was made but then a day later AEW swapped him into the match and took Kyle Fletcher out. Then on the day of the show allegations of Jericho’s past behavior resurfaced online from Nick Hausman as part of Jericho’s online spat with a lawyer with a that could not have been handled any more uglier than it did. Almost everybody except the alleged victim is coming out of it as a bunch of massive scumbags. So come to the part of the show when the match happened and there was an uncomfortable atmosphere that could be felt through the screen as the match went on. I wish I could instead focus on Takeshita getting to wrestle Sting and throw Allin around like he’s Yoshihiko but everyone watching was in a bad mood over what emerged throughout the day.
CIRCLE 6 “KING OF THE DEATHMATCHES”, 30/12/2023 Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. King Of The Deathmatches – Round 1 – Ultraviolent Baptism: Bobby Beverly defeated MAO with the Fisherman DDT (?:??).
How about taking part in a deathmatch tournament to bring out the end of the year? MAO entered the King Of The Deathmatches that was being held by Circle 6 and faced Bobby Beverly in the 1st Round. MAO brought along chairs and plastic boxes but soon smashed lighttubes over his opponent. He also put Beverly through a bunch of chairs with a Double Arm Piledriver and used high flying moves but couldn’t get the win. A triple Low Blow spot that also included the referee brought the match back to an even fight. Wooden skewers were stabbed into each other’s heads and Beverly smashed MAO with lighttubes before pinning him with the Fisherman DDT.
CIRCLE 6 “BARROOM BLITZ”, 31/12/2023 Knucklehead Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) defeated Nate Webb with the Diving Radio Silence from the Bar Counter (?:??). *V3 for MAO.
MAO stuck around in Circle 6 on New Year’s Eve so he could defend the DDT Universal Title against Spyder Nate Webb. The match went outside to Santa Monica Blvd so they could fight on the street as traffic drove by.
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Upcoming Appearances
MLW “KINGS OF COLOSSEUM”, 06/01/2024 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Nao Kakuta
2. MLW World Featherweight Title: Janai Kai (c) Vs Hyper Misao
TJPW’s working relationship with MLW continues into the new year. Hyper Misao has been selected to be Kai’s next challenger for the MLW Featherweight Title.
Also happening on the show is a TJPW offer match between Moka Miyamoto and Nao Kakuta. Miyamoto is only just now starting to wrestle abroad while Kakuta has already done it a few times in 2023. The two matches here are a little glimpse of what TJPW in Philadelphia will look like next April.
GCW “NO COMPADRE”, 12/01/2024 Thalia Hall, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. Maki Itoh, Effy & Allie Katch Vs Matt Cardona, Steph de Lander & Broski Jimmy
Itoh and Bussy all share grudges with Matt Cardona & Steph de Lander so it was inevitable that Maki Death Bussy would join forces to take on Deathmatch Royalty. The latest development in the story is Cardona forced Jimmy Lloyd to become his new disciple in GCW, turning Lloyd into Broski Jimmy.
GCW “56 BIRDZ”, 13/01/2024 Valley Dale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Tony Deppen
The day after that Itoh will take on Tony Deppen in a first time match. GCW at times have promoted Deppen as their gatekeeper. A win for Itoh here could be a sign of things to come for her in GCW.
F1RST “WRESTLEPALOOZA – NIGHT 2”, 14/01/2024 First Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
No match announced yet for Itoh’s appearance at F1RST.
SPW “CHAMPIONS NEVER YIELD 2”, 19/01/2024 Foo Chow Building, Singapore
1. Mizuki Vs Alexis Lee
2. SPW Southeast Asia Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Da Butcherman & Dr. Gore
In November 2022 CDK defeated The Horrors to win the SPW Southeast Asia Tag Team Titles. Now after more than a year later comes the rematch. Dr. Gore got to wrestle in Japan for a little while and gain some experience while Da Butcherman kept himself busy in Singapore. There is a chance the match might not go ahead because Chris Brookes had surgery this month to remove a tumor from his abdomen. At the time of writing there is no decision made yet on when he can start wrestling again. But even if he can’t make the trip, Masahiro Takanashi still will.
SPW’s own Alexis Lee continues to be the opponent of choice for joshi coming into Singapore. She lost the Queen Of Asia Title to Yuki Kamifuku last month but is looking to bounce right back with a win against Mizuki.
SETUP “BANGKOK SHOWDOWN”, 20/01/2024 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Kevin Weng & Pondhub Vs Anont Alonzo & Mister Suchart
If CDK can go ahead with travelling together in January then they have a tough challenge waiting for them in Thailand. SETUP is making them defend the IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles in a 3 Way Match against St. John Innocent College and THE GOOD DEAL. CDK won the titles from THE GOOD DEAL in an impromptu match bck in October. But even though the former champions are getting a rematch, they have to share it with St. John Innocent College. That kind of multi-man chaos is an environment that CDK benefits from.
GCW “LOOK AT ME”, 26/01/2024 Egypt Shrine Center, Tampa, Florida, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
What will await Itoh in Florida next month?
BZW “X”, 03/02/2024 Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France
1. Yoshihiko Vs X
2. MAO Vs X
MAO is coming to France and he’s brining Yoshihiko with him! Also Minoru Suzuki and KUSHIDA are booked for the show too. Banger Zone Wrestling won’t know what hit them.
TNT EXTREME “MERSEYSIDE MASSACRE”, 04/02/2024 Hanger34, Liverpool, England
1. Yoshihiko Vs X
Yoshihiko heads over to Liverpool the next day for TNT Extreme. Surely not by itself though.
DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 IN OSAKA”, 09/12/2023 Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall
1. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Yuki Iino & Rukiya
2. Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi Vs Akito & Kazuma Sumi
3. Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada Vs MAO, Toy Kojima & Ilusion
4. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Kazuki Hirata (0) Vs Rei Saito (2)
5. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Yukio Naya (6) Vs KANON (2)
6. All Asia Tag Team Titles: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani (c) Vs Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada
7. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Kazusada Higuchi (2) Vs HARASHIMA (2)
8. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Yuki Ueno (3) Vs Tetsuya Endo (2)
The D-Oh Grand Prix continues tomorrow. A Block still has everyone in the race so it’s only fair to have Yuki Ueno Vs Tetsuya Endo and Kazusada Higuchi Vs HARASHIMA be the top two matches of the show. But over in B Block Yukio Naya is one more step towards cleaning up the entire group if he beats KANON. The Kazuki Hirata Vs Rei Saito match is pretty much just for pride at this point. Not that Hirata has that much pride to begin with but you know what I mean.
Eruption are also back from the Real World Tag League looking to shake off their middle of the table finish. They might have a long line of challengers forming up in front of them so they need to retain the All Asia Tag Team Titles against BURNING if they have any intention of dealing with that.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’24”, 04/01/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Aja Kong Vs Wakana Uehara
2. Rina Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
3. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) Vs Yuki Arai
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Masha Slamovich
Last night in the space of about half an hour there were two Tokyo Joshi Pro title matches taking place in North America. Over in Quebec, Canada Max The Impaler had a surprise International Princess Title defence at the Mystery Wrestling show put together by Evil Uno. Max defeated Jody Threat in the semi-main event. Word of the match reached back to TJPW and they officially recognize it as Max’s third successful title defence. That now means if Max beats Yuki Arai on 4th January they will tie the current record for most IP Title defences in a single reign at four wins.
Then as soon as that match had finished Miyu Yamashita was entering the ring in New York, USA to defend the Princess Of Princess Title against Delmi Exo at an MLW show. She won that match to earn her second defence in this latest title run. Maki Itoh was also on the show but she lost to Janai Kai in a match for the MLW World Featherweight Title. I’ll write more about the matches on the next DDT Around The World article at the start of next month.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 05/01/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Something by HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, etc.: X Vs X
2. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno, MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toy Kojima & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda, Takeshi Masada & Mecha Mummy
The three main members of DISASTER BOX are all putting their heads together to book something for DDT’s first visit to Shinjuku FACE in 2024. Whatever it is the three of them will be involved along with others.
1. Legendary Hostess Vs The Toughest Girl In Osaka: Riara Vs Momoka Hanazono
When Ganbare☆Pro heads to Osaka in the new year Riara takes on Momoka Hanazono. This joshi wrestler’s nickname may not match with all of the flowers and bubbles she surrounds herself with but it is still accurate. Hanazono has a background in rugby before becoming a pro wrestler.
HARASHIMA, Soma Takao, Ilusion, Tyson Maeguchi and Banny Oikawa will all be on the show.
DDT “NEW YEAR FAN APPRECIATION DAY!”, 20/01/2024 Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX
1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima Vs Bryan Keith, Soma Takao & Shota
Three days of DDT appearances await for Bryan Keith in the new year. He makes his Japanese wrestling debut here by teaming with ROMANCE DAWN against The 37KAMIINA. Keith was an opponent for Shota during Shota’s US excursion last year.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024 TOUR IN SHINAGAWA”, 21/01/2024 Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX
1. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Bryan Keith
The next day Keith gets the match MAO has been demanding. The DDT Universal Title is on the line for this rematch from West Coast Pro during the summer. Keith won the first battle and MAO wants revenge! What happens to a bounty hunter when it’s time for them to repay a debt?
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024”, 28/01/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Naruki Doi
Keith’s third and last appearance on this tour will be at Korakuen Hall near the end of the month.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023 The Vermont Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Rika Tatsumi & Amira Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
2. Moka Miyamoto Vs Trish Adora
3. Mizuki Vs Sandra Moone
4. Shoko Nakajima Vs Taya Valkyrie
5. Miu Watanabe Vs Hyan
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta (c) Vs Janai Kai & Shazza McKenzie
7. Special Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly
Ok so now The Globe Theater actually is closed down. For real this time. Prestige announced the event is now taking place at The Vermont Hollywood. The show will airing as a PPV on Wrestle Universe with English commentary from Jordan Castle and Veda Scott.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~KASUKABE PERFORMANCE~”, 17/12/2023 Saitama Kasukabe Fureai Cube
1. 3 Way Match: Yuki Kamifuku Vs Shino Suzuki Vs Runa Okubo
2. Arisu Endo Vs Haru Kazashiro
3. Hyper Misao Vs Kaya Toribami
4. Mahiro Kiryu Vs Wakana Uehara
5. Suzume Vs HIMAWARI
6. Shoko Nakajima Vs Toga
7. Raku Vs Juria Nagano
8. Yuki Aino Vs Pom Harajuku
9. Miu Watanabe Vs Moka Miyamoto
10. Maki Itoh Vs Hikari Noa
The fan lottery was held yesterday to determine the matchups. Maki Itoh Vs Hikari Noa main events the show but the other match to take note of is Yuki Aino Vs Pom Harajuku. The two of them have spent the last year closely linked together along with Raku so that friendship needs to be pushed aside for up to seven minutes.
“NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO WRESTLING 2023 ~TOSHIWASURE! SHUFFLE 6-MAN TAG TOURNAMENT~”, 31/12/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1A: HARASHIMA, Kota Sekifuda & Yuji Hino Vs Takeshi Masada, Yuya Aoki & Koji Iwamoto
2. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1B: Kazusada Higuchi, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kohei Kinoshita Vs Chris Brookes, Kazumasa Yoshida & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
3. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1C: Yukio Naya, Hideyoshi Kamitani & Minoru Suzuki Vs Danshoku Dieno, Daichi Hashimoto & Ikuto Hidaka
4. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1D: Hideki Okatani, Yuki Ishikawa & Brahman Shu (w/ Brahman Kei) Vs Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sekimoto & Fuminori Abe
5. So Daimonji, Ender Kara, Leyton Buzzard & Tempesta Vs Kazumi Kikuta, Kazuki Hashimoto, Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya
6. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Winners Of Match 1A Vs Winners Of Match 1B
7. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Winners Of Match 1C Vs Winners Of Match 1D
8. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda Vs Takuya Nomura, Abdullah Kobayashi & Kankuro Hoshino
9. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Final: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
Bati Bati F’N In The Sky: Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sekimoto & Fuminori Abe Big Bombers Kai: Yukio Naya, Hideyoshi Kamitani & Minoru Suzuki Team Katagi Returns: Kazusada Higuchi, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kohei Kinoshita Anal Destruction Hidaka: Danshoku Dieno, Daichi Hashimoto & Ikuto Hidaka The Kind People: Chris Brookes, Kazumasa Yoshida & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Lonely Hot College Students: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Aoki & Koji Iwamoto Smile Lizard King Kong: HARASHIMA, Kota Sekifuda & Yuji Hino Go For It! The Three Inokori Brothers: Hideki Okatani, Yuki Ishikawa & Brahman Shu (w/ Brahman Kei)
The Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament is out. Round 1 has Smile Lizard King Kong versus Lonely Hot College Students first, Team Katagi Returns versus The Kind People second, Big Bombers Kai versus Anal Destruction Hidaka third and Go For It! The Three Inokori Brothers versus Bati Bati F’N In The Sky last.
There are two non-tournament matches. The big one is the DDT team of Yuki Ueno, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda against the Big Japan trio of Takuya Nomura, Abdullah Kobayashi & Kankuro Hoshino. The other match has DDT and Big Japan joining forces to fight the international unit PROJECT: HAVOC. That group has been a thorn in Big Japan’s side for a couple of months now.
DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 THE FINAL”, 03/01/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. New Year’s GiFt Special Single Match: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan Vs Danshoku Dieno
2. Special Tag Match ~ Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima
3. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – Final: Winner Of A Block Vs Winner Of B Block
DDT’s gift for their fans to open up 2024 is a match between Kuroshio TOKYO Japan and Danshoku Dieno… Did they keep the receipt?
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’24”, 04/01/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Aja Kong Vs Wakana Uehara
2. Rina Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
3. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) Vs Yuki Arai
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Masha Slamovich
The two new matches announced for the Tokyo Joshi Pro Ittenyon show can all be traced back to this year’s Ittenyon show. Max The Impaler will defend the International Princess Title against Yuki Arai. This past January Max took the Princess Tag Team Titles from Arai. But now one year later the roles will be reversed and Arai has a chance to beat Max to take away their championship.
On the first anniversary of her pro debut, Wakana Uehara gets to fight Aja Kong! This is the Uehara’s reward for winning the Next Generation Tournament. The two have a little bit of history going back to before Uehara’s debut. When she was on the Youtube series Yume Pro Wrestling -dream on the ring- there was an episode with Kong as the special guest trainer. Then at “WRESTLE PRINCESS IV” in October Kong beat Uehara in a 6-Woman Tag match. Uehara is still excited for the match though and wants to show Kong how much she has grown as a wrestler.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024”, 28/01/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Naruki Doi
DDT announced the first two dates for Konosuke Takeshita’s return in 2024. The first is a big singles match against Naruki Doi on DDT’s second Korakuen Hall show of the year. The second date is for “JUDGEMENT 2024” at Korakuen on 17th March.
Bryan Keith is coming to DDT in January! “The Bounty Hunter” will be at shows on 20th, 21st and 28th January. The announcement of his appearance immediately got MAO’s attention. They fought each other at West Coast Pro in America back in July with Keith coming out as the winner. MAO wants to avenge that loss and might use the DDT Universal Title as the reward to convince Keith into taking a rematch.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING 10TH ANNIVERSARY PERFORMANCE ~YUKA SAKAZAKI GRADUATION SPECIAL~”, 06/12/2023 Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall 294 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Japanese I Quit Match: Yuka Sakazaki & Rika Tatsumi defeated Antonio Honda & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi when Sakazaki made Honda say “I Give Up” (9:23).
2. Wakana Uehara, Shino Suzuki & Runa Okubo defeated HIMAWARI, Toga & Haru Kazashiro when Uehara submitted Kazashiro with the Sleeper Hold (9:57).
3. Miu Watanabe, Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami when Watanabe pinned Toribami with the Tear Drop (10:37).
4. Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta, Mizuki & Moka Miyamoto defeated Hyper Misao. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku when Mizuki pinned Harajuku with the Cutie Special (11:15).
5. Yuka Sakazaki Graduation Special 3 Way Match: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Miyu Yamashita and Shoko Nakajima when Sakazaki pinned Nakajima with an Elbow Butt (17:45).
6. Special Match: Yuka Sakazaki Vs Mizuki ended in a Time Limit Draw (3:00).
Today Yuka Sakazaki said goodbye to Tokyo Joshi Pro, ending her decade long attachment to the promotion that grew up with her. Her debut match was held inside Kitazawa Town Hall so it was only fitting that her graduation from TJPW took place there as well. She had a busy day that began with a unique tag team match. Rika Tatsumi teamed up with Sakazaki against male wrestlers Antonio Honda and Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi. All four have history together as part of a music group called DPG (Dramatic Perfect Group) that opened up the doors for both Sakazaki and Tatsumi to join TJPW and become pro wrestlers.
Honda got on the microphone before the match began and introduced everyone to the final showdown of DPG. It was going to be a Japanese I Quit Match where the match would only end when a wrestler gives up while speaking Japanese. Honda kept teasing he would give up when he was put in a hold only to change the subject and say something else. Hiroshi did the same but swerved into singing. Sakazaki ended up putting Honda in a Heel Hold while Tatsumi applied the Figure 4 Leg Lock to Hiroshi. Honda kept yelling at Hiroshi over and over not to give up. Honda himself then gave up. After the match Sakazaki said it is thanks to Honda and Hiroshi that she and Tatsumi were able to become who they are today. Tatsumi said she is glad she became a pro wrestler. Honda and Hiroshi agreed because pro wrestling is the best!
Sakazaki’s second match of the show was her graduation match in the main event. It was a 3 Way Match between the three longest serving members of TJPW: Sakazaki, Miyu Yamashita and Shoko Nakajima. It could be the last time Sakazaki fought both Yamashita and Nakajima so there was plenty of time shared in the ring against each of them. Yamashita rolled out of the way from the Magical Girl Chicken Dude but immediately became the target of Nakajima’s Diving Senton. Yamashita was a non-factor from that point on. Sakazaki and Nakajima fought their hearts out against each other until they were spent. The match ended with a hug between the two, Sakazaki saying “Thank you” and then knocking out Nakajima with an Elbow Strike. She hugged her again while pinning her for the three count.
After the match Sakazaki said when she was putting her final TJPW match together her first thought was to do a singles bout with Nakajima. But she wanted Yamashita to be part of it too so it became a 3 Way instead. Nakajima said she never wanted to lose to Sakazaki which is why she worked so hard. Sakazaki is leaving but Nakajima still lost to her today so now she gets to keep that motivation to always become a better wrestler. She also warned Sakazaki not to catch a cold in America. Yamashita described Sakazaki like an older sister or mother figure to her. She would always get mad when Yamashita does badly but she was also always there when Yamashita got sad or depressed. They always feel linked together so even if Yamashita leaves her alone from now on she still feels like she can help her. If things ever get tough for Sakazaki, Yamashita can always fly over to support her.
Sakazaki then invited one more special person to join her in the ring. Mizuki has been holding in her emotions for as long as she could but still is not happy to see Sakazaki leave TJPW. She wants the two of them to continue teaming together and being in the same ring. Sakazaki said the schedule meant they couldn’t have one more match against each other but they could do it today even if it was just for one minute. Tetsuya Koda then announced over the speakers they have enough time for a three minute match!
The two shook hands and did everything they could against each other within three minutes. Mizuki hit the Diving Foot Stomp while Sakazaki gave her the Magical Merry-Go-Round off of the top rope. They spent the final seconds of their short match hitting each other with Elbow Strikes until Mizuki landed the Whirling Candy and went for the pin. She was at a 2 count when the bell rang, ending the match in a draw. Yamashita, Nakajima and Tatsumi all got in the ring to join the hug Sakazaki and Mizuki were giving each other.
The graduation ceremony began and Sakazaki received gifts from the entire TJPW roster. Everyone then gathered together for a final group photo with her. Sakazaki told them today made her realize how lucky she is to come from TJPW. She hopes everyone will continue to support her and in return wants everyone to continue supporting TJPW for many years to come. She shook hands and hugged every member of the roster one by one as they left the ring until she was the last one left. Also after the show Sakazaki stood at the exit and high fived everyone in the audience as they left the venue.
Backstage Sakazaki had a few more comments when interviewed by the wrestling media. She wanted to thank Sanshiro Takagi for accepting her into TJPW. As already mentioned, she was originally just going to do a match with Nakajima but wanted to include Yamashita. She also couldn’t leave Mizuki out of her final match no matter how short it was. She is proud of everyone in TJPW and thinks each woman is a treasue who should continue to live their lives believing in themselves. The only regret she had during the road to graduation was never getting to defend the Princess Tag Team Titles against Mickey Mouse at DisneyLand. But as long as she is a wrestler that dream may still someday come true.
Two new matches were revealed for the Ittenyon show at Korakuen Hall on 4th January. Max The Impaler’s opponent for the International Princess Title match was revealed to be Yuki Arai! This match is happening exactly one year after Max pinned Arai to win the Princess Tag Titles from her. Now one year later and Arai has the chance to get revenge by taking the IP Title away from Max.
The other match is Wakana Uehara’s reward for winning the Next Generation Tournament. She is going one on one against Aja Kong! It sounds like a daunting task but since the match is happening on the anniversary of Uehara’s debut, she wants to show everything she’s learned over the last year to Kong in the ring. The two already have a history together because Kong was a guest trainer on the Yume Pro Wrestling series that set up Uehara’s entry into wrestling and TJPW.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 