TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 15/07/2023 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall
1. Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI Vs Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo
2. Kaya Toribami Vs Shino Suzuki
3. Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Toga Vs Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta & Arisu Endo
4. Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe, Suzume & Haruna Neko Vs Shoko Nakajima, Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku
5. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1B: Hyper Misao Vs Moka Miyamoto
6. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1A: Miyu Yamashita Vs Mizuki
The Tokyo Princess Cup begins this weekend. The plan for the undercard on these shows is to put wrestlers from upcoming tournament matches in preview tag matches. So for example Rika Tatsumi and Raku are on opposite teams in the same match, Suzume and Shoko Nakajima are on opposite teams, so on and so forth. Hikari Noa and Yuki Arai are the exception because Arai isn’t available to wrestle until their tournament match on 22nd July.
DDT “SUMMER VACATION 2023”, 30/07/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Yukio Sakaguchi 50th Birthday Match ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Thanomsak Toba & Masahiro Takanashi
2. DDT Extreme Title: Kazuki Hirata (c) Vs HARASHIMA
Yukio Sakaguchi is turning 50 years old on 26th July! So to celebrate it DDT is putting together a special match for him. Eruption are going to take on a team made up of wrestlers with some sort of connection to him. Shuji Ishikawa has been a rival of his in the past, Thanomsak Toba is a training buddy and Masahiro Takanashi is his little brother equivalent from Shuten-dōji.
Konosuke Takeshita will be on the show.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GARAFES ~DAIHONMEI!! TOTSUGEKI! SOMERSAULT DROP~”, 30/07/2023 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. Hikari Noa & Toga Vs Raku & Moka Miyamoto
2. Miu Watanabe Vs HIMAWARI
Earlier this year Tokyo Joshi Pro held a couple of matches at an idol festival. They are doing it again at the end of this month. The two matches will take place on a mat placed on the concert stage instead of a wrestling ring.
DDT “SAKI AKAI 10TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR IN KORAKUEN!!”, 13/08/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Sanshiro Takagi (c) Vs X
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Sakura Hirota Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima
3. Saki Akai Debut 10th Anniversary Match Vol. 2 ~ Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Saki Akai, Maya Yukihi & Asuka Vs Takumi Iroha, Rina Yamashita & X
Sakura Hirota is invited to celebrate Saki Akai’s 10th Anniversary. Will she bust out the Akai cosplay again?
While Sanshiro Takagi has been recovering from injury he had been tempting fate on Twitter, talking about how vulnerable he is while as the current Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion. Stuff like asking the wrestlers not to even think about Low Kicking his injured leg when they meet up for example. Nobody has taken advantage of his perdicament and he remains the champion at the moment.
DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2023 TOUR IN HAKODATE”, 16/06/2023 Hakodate City General Wholesale Center Distribution Hall 212 Fans
1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno defeated Akito & Kazuma Sumi when Iino submitted Sumi after the Sexy Shampoo (11:30).
2. SILVER QUEEN Infomercial Match: MAO & Yoshihiko defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Kazuki Hirata when Yoshihiko pinned Hirata with the Reincarnation (11:39).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Sanshiro Takagi defeated Yoshihiko (c) with a School Boy (7:42 pm). *Sanshiro Takagi becomes the 1,572nd champion.
3. HARASHIMA & Hideki Okatani defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Yuya Koroku when HARASHIMA pinned Koroku with the Somato (12:38).
4. Hakodate Specialty Special Single Match: Yuki Ishida defeated Akinori Ariji with the Ensho (6:57).
5. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul defeated Toy Kojima & Rukiya when Sasaki submitted Rukiya with the Crossface Lock (8:16).
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada defeated Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Yukio Sakaguchi when Okada pinned Oishi with the Sudden Death (16:34).
One of the company trucks containing the ring canvas, aprons and turnbuckle pads never made it to the arena so the first half of the show took place on a partially constructed ring. The ring itself was stable but with no canvas that meant everyone was fighting on top of the bare wooden boards. DDT got in touch with one of Hokkaido’s local wrestling promotions Donan Pro Wrestling (ran by former Dragon Gate wrestler Katsuo) to rent out the missing equipment they needed. Donan Ring’s crew were able to arrive after Match #3 and intermission was spent completing construction of the ring.
DAMNATION T.A again attacked Toy Kojima with chairs during their match. Kojima had the chance to fight fire with fire when he grabbed hold of a chair but he chose to fight fairly instead. That didn’t work and MJ Paul attacked him with more chairs outside the ring while Daisuke Sasaki submitted Rukiya with the Crossface Lock.
Just when it looked like Yoshihiko had all the momentum going into the 3 Way DDT Extreme Title match, Sanshiro Takagi takes the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title away from it! Yoshihiko won a tag match by pinning Kazuki Hirata and then had to fight off MAO afterwards. Takagi saw an opening and pinned Yoshihiko with a School Boy to win the title. He said backstage that the value of the title stalled with Yoshihiko as champion. So Takagi put it upon himself to make it shine. He is ready to defend it against anyone (or anything) at anytime!
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “HYPER MISAO PRODUCE – HYPE!”, 25/05/2023 Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall 202 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Hyper Misao II Audition: Suzume defeated Miu Watanabe by Ring Out (11:28). Order Of Elimination: Moka Miyamoto, Yuki Kamifuku, Raku & HIMAWARI and Miu Watanabe.
2. Special Single Match: Yoshihiko defeated Shoko Nakajima with s Cradle (12:26).
3. Miracle Heart Catch Shuffle Tag Tournament Final: Rika Tatsumi & Arisu Endo defeated Yuki Aino & Mahiro Kiryu when Tatsumi submitted Kiryu with the White Dragon Sleeper (11:46).
Today’s show came entirely from the mind of Hyper Misao. She was the producer so anything she said, goes. Proof of that was seen in the first match. It was a Battle Royal where the winner is rewarded with the right to become Hyper Misao II. Nobody booked for the match wanted to be a part of it so Misao gathered them all into a room before the show and brainwashed them into worshipping her. The result was everybody entering the Battle Royal wearing a different Hyper Misao costume from over the years and imitating her gimmick. Miu Watanabe and Yuki Kamifuku fought over the microphone, Raku wore Misao’s very first costume, HIMAWARI showed up as Akemi Daredasore and Moka Miyamoto did all of Misao’s superhero poses. Suzume ended up as the last Misao standing after all six of them sprayed each other in the face. Her full reward was an invitation to join the Hypami Lecture and it will only cost her 990,000 yen (discounted because Suzume already has a superhero costume). Suzume realised this whole thing was a scam and she snapped out of her brainwashing. She stopped Misao from brainwashing her again, took off her mask and told everyone she wants to do her best by being herself.
A first time ever matchup between Shoko Nakajima and Yoshihiko was next. It was a chance for Nakajima to win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title, which she has only held once previously. Yoshihiko ignored a customary handshake before the match began. The two grappled with Yoshihiko getting the upper hand and sending his opponent out of the ring. It followed up with a big Topé Suicida but Nakajima used her big kaiju strength to lift Yoshihiko up with a Gorilla Press onto the ring apron. Back in the ring Nakajima targeted Yoshihiko’s legs with submission holds. Yoshihiko reached the ropes and the two started throwing blows back and forth. It led to a scramble of pins after a Hurricanrana ending with Yoshihiko keeping Nakajima’s shoulders pinned to the mat long enough for the three count.
The third and final match revealed that even though Hyper Misao produced this show, the hero of today’s story was actually Mahiro Kiryu. Her match teaming with Yuki Arai against Rika Tatsumi & Arisu Endo was suddenly revealed to be the final of the Miracle Heart Catch tournament, a previously unannounced competition shuffling random teams together. Endo had Kiryu trapped in the Camel Cluch late in the match when all of a sudden time froze and a masked woman who looks like Hyper Misao entered the ring. Only Kiryu was still conscious and the women told her she must win this match otherwise the world will collapse! She freed Kiryu from Endo’s frozen grip and the two travelled to another dimension where Kiryu will have another match and win it to save the world.
They found a dimension where Sanshiro Takagi and Tetsuya Koda were looking over resumes for Tokyo Joshi Pro’s new project, a unit of pro wrestling idols collaborating with The Up Up Girls. In this dimension Koda rejects the application from Hikari Noa because she is just a high school student from Hokkaido. Instead Mahiro was chosen as the mahjong loving blue member of The Up Up Girls, Mamamama Mahiro! In the ring she performed two songs with Watanabe & Raku then wrestled her match. Things suddenly went wrong and Mahiro was almost pinned by Tatsumi when time again froze and the masked woman sent her to another dimension to start their plan all over.
This time they entered a dimension at the point in time where Mahiro had not debut yet. Takagi came up with an idea to give TJPW a Takarazuka Revue gimmick and Mahiro was the perfect candidate. She was going to become the Romeo to Aino’s Juliet. However when it was time for the Miracle Heart Catch Final, she discovered that Tatsumi & Endo also had completely different gimmicks. They were now like the violent heels from 1980s joshi attacking their opponents with canes and chains! Mahiro tried her best to defend Aino but suffered the consequences. She was about to lose again when time froze once more. It was time to visit yet another dimension.
The masked woman decided to keep things simple this time and went to a dimension where she simply spiked Tatsumi & Endo’s drinks before the final. It caused the two of them to enter the match with stomach aches while Kiryu & Aino were in perfect condition. Then a twist nobody could see coming suddenly happened. The match was interrupted by the Chiisiki-gun, this dimension’s Biishiki-gun equivalent! Chiisakisama and her devoted maid (who looked a lot like Haruna Neko & Antonio Honda respectively) had crashed the tournament and were now Kiryu’s new opponents! Kiryu was once again going to lose the match when time froze once again. However they were about to reach the end of the road.
A voice from the Space-Time Police interrupted the proceedings and revealed to Kiryu that the masked woman’s real identity is Hyper Misao! They weren’t in fact travelling through different dimensions but were instead travelling back through their own timeline over and over in an effort to rewrite history. Misao defended her plan, asking Mahiro if she ever wanted to go back to the past and correct her mistakes? It is something Misao has been asking herself for the last eight years. As she was saying this she suddenly began to realize that she can’t change the world after all. Kiryu told Misao she used to be a recluse just like her. Kiryu only had her mother’s support to rely on and that helped her gradually become a member of society. However one day her mother’s health began to deteriorate and they soon learned she did not have long left to live. Kiryu could not figure out what to do and had no answer other than wishing it was just a dream. She felt emotionless about her own life until she came across a video of DDT doing their street pro wrestling matches. Just like Misao, she thought it looked so much fun and it made her decide to become a pro wrestler. Kiryu has many regrets but becoming a pro wrestler is not one of them. She cannot change her past but she can change her present and future. Misao understood and for one final time they travelled back to the past to right before today’s main event began.
The match began from the beginning and this time Kiryu was full of determination. She went toe to toe against her opponents, fighting her way out of Endo’s Camel Clutch and grabbing hold onto Tatsumi’s legs to cut off her mobility. She gave Tatsumi the Spinebuster but Endo broke the pin at two. Tatsumi caught her in a Sleeper Hold and transitioned it into the White Dragon Sleeper. Kiryu held on for as long as she could but had no choice but to give up in the end. Afterwards Tatsumi admitted she didn’t expect to see Kiryu be so good in the match today. Kiryu just taught her that whenever she falls down she should look forward and keep going. The two hugged and brought Misao into the ring to close out the show.
Misao told Kiryu she did a good job today and offered her the microphone to speak. Kiryu thanked the audience for coming to see the show and is surprised to see so many people here. Misao said this whole reckless match was her idea. As you can see from the show poster, she brought all these wrestlers together to fight inside her mind. She thinks everybody in TJPW are so incredibly talented that they can all handle her crazy ideas. She didn’t plan on a show closing catchphrase so she thought of one on the spot. In English she told everyone “I get hype! We get hype!”
So WrestleMania Week is not over yet by a long shot. The actual shows behind the namesake haven’t even taken place by the time I am posting this. But all of the DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro related wrestling shows are now finished by this point. The wrestlers will be spending the rest of the weekend as convention guests and as tourists enjoying the sights and sounds of Los Angeles.
The vacation hasn’t been entirely relaxing though. The hotel all of the DDT wrestlers were staying at had to be evacuated in the early hours of Friday morning because of a burst pipe flooding the building. It caused all of the DDT wrestlers to lose a lot of sleep before the GCW show. Funny thing is when Sanshiro Takagi explained what happened on Twitter a lot of Japanese fans didn’t believe him. It was already 1st April in Japan because of the time difference so some fans thought Takagi was pulling an April Fool’s Joke!
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Videos
Video starts at 53:28 for the match AEW “DARK”, 28/03/2023 Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Cole Karter
IMPACT “IMPACT WRESTLING”, 30/03/2023 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Killer Kelly
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 31/03/2023 Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
1. Sammy Guevara (w/ Tay Melo) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Video starts at 21:10 for the match ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2023: ZERO HOUR”, 31/03/2023 Galen Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
0. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Willie Mack
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Results
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 29/03/2023 (Aired 30/03/2023) Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Shazza McKenzie with the Skull Kick (4:45).
First Impact, now ROH. Is Yamashita keeps going at this rate she might show up at an MLW taping if she’s not careful. She kicked Shazza McKenzie’s head off to win her ROH debut.
PANDEMONIUM PRO “BEST DAMN THING”, 29/03/2023 Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Steph De Lander & Heather Monroe defeated Maki Itoh & Kidd Bandit (?:??).
What on earth happened here? The night started off well for Maki Itoh with her getting backup dancers for her entrance. But her tag partner Kidd Bandit ended up betraying her, costing them the match against Steph De Lander & Heather Monroe. Bandit’s only explanation to Itoh after the match was “There can be only one” and then they walked out on her. Itoh’s response to that was yelling “I hate everyone!”
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 29/03/2023 (Aired 31/03/2023) Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
1. Sammy Guevara (w/ Tay Melo) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the GTH (9:43).
Konosuke Takeshita’s week began with a match against one of AEW’s chosen pillars at Rampage. Victory was in his grasp until Tay Melo grabbed his leg in the corner for a distraction. That allowed Sammy Guevara to strike Takeshita from behind with a Jumping Knee and then hit the GTH to steal the win.
Yoshihiko took a detour to St. Louis on the way to LA so it could attend the AEW show. It was granted a visitor’s pass and got to enjoy catering while watching the matches. It also hung out with some of the staff like Bryce Remsburg. Since Yoshihiko brought along the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title it made sense to stay near a ref the whole time.
WRESTLECON “THE MARK HITCHCOCK MEMORIAL SUPERSHOW”, 30/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. TJPW 10-Woman Tag Showcase: Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao, Yuki Kamifuku & Yuki Aino defeated Rika Tatsumi, Nao Kakuta, Miu Watanabe, Hikari Noa & Raku when Mizuki pinned Raku with the Diving Foot Stomp (14:21).
While Yamashita and Itoh were busy around the indies, the rest of the TJPW roster went to visit WrestleCon. 10 of them got together to put on a 10-Woman Tag match for the fans. Mizuki led a team consisting of Kyoraku Kyomei, Yuki Kamifuku & Yuki Aino to beat Rika Tatsumi, Nao Kakuta & The Up Up Girls.
DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA 750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata defeated Chris Brookes & Yoshihiko (c) when MAO pinned Yoshihiko after the Oretachi no Mad Max (17:29). *MAO becomes the 1,567th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Chris Brookes defeated MAO (c) with the Praying Mantis Bomb (8:24 pm). *Chris Brookes becomes the 1,568th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yoshihiko defeated Chris Brookes (c) with 3 Canadian Destroyers in a row (8:25 pm). *Yoshihiko becomes the 1,569th champion.
2. Pheromones Vs Takagi Army All Out Battle In HOLLYWOOD: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Michael Nakazawa ended in a No Contest (11:08).
3. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada defeated Andrew “The Giant” Everett & Nick Wayne when Higuchi pinned Everett with the Brain Claw Slam (11:33).
4. Saki Akai defeated Vert Vixen with the Quetzalcoatl (6:09)
5. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo defeated Joey Janela with the Burning Star Press (15:28).
6. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Eddie Kingston defeated Daisuke Sasaki & KANON when Akiyama pinned KANON with the Exploder Suplex (10:35).
7. Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Yuki Ueno with the Zahi (15:16).
IMPACT/NJPW “MULTIVERSE UNITED”, 30/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. 4 Way Match: Deonna Purrazzo defeated Masha Slamovich, Gisele Shaw and Miyu Yamashita when Purrazzo pinned Shaw with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (9:20).
Yamashita got off to a good start in Impact last week when she beat Killer Kelly in her debut. Her next challenge saw her get caught in the race for the future of the Knockouts World Title. If she had won the 4 Way match she would have qualified for a title match at Impact’s next PPV in April. Instead she was left out of the result because Deonna Purrazzo pinned Gisele Shaw to win that opportunity.
1. Mizuki Watase defeated Gregory Sharpe and Eli Everfly (?:??).
I can’t find much info about this match other than Mizuki Watase won using a new move. This is all according to Watase himself. He also had the Spirit Of Ganbare Title with him. Doesn’t sound like it was defended though.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES”, 31/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA 665 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta defeated Suzume & Arisu Endo when Noa pinned Endo after the 5G (11:38).
2. Janai Kai defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Tornado Kick (4:57).
3. Hyper Misao & Trish Adora defeated Yuki Aino & Raku when Misao pinned Raku with the I Am A Hero (9:03).
4. Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer defeated Shoko Nakajima & Miu Watanabe when Max pinned Nakajima after the Master Blaster (11:56).
5. International Princess Title: Rika Tatsumi (c) defeated Billie Starkz with the Missile Hip (8:56). *V1 for Rika Tatsumi.
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki defeated Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) when Mizuki pinned Itoh with the Diving Foot Stomp (15:51). *121000000 fails in V1. The Magical Sugar Rabbits becomes the 13th Princess Tag Team Champions!
DDT/GCW “GCW VS DDT”, 31/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA 551 Fans
1. Gringo Loco, Marcus Mathers, Dyln McKay & Jack Cartwheel defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & Takeshi Masada when Cartwheel pinned Masada with the Jack Arrow (10:42).
2. Dark Sheik defeated Saki Akai with a Wrist-Clutch Inside Cradle (7:20).
3. Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne defeated MAO & Mike Bailey when Oliver pinned Bailey after the Combined Springboard Cutter (16:18).
4. Kazusada Higuchi defeated Starboy Charlie with the Brain Claw Slam (11:40).
5. Yuki Ueno defeated Joey Janela with the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher (10:21).
6. Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama defeated Homicide & Tony Deppen when Endo pinned Deppen with the Burning Star Press (12:18).
7. Matthew Justice, Mance Warner & 1 Called Manders defeated Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata & Mizuki Watase when Warner pinned Katsumata with a DDT (15:19).
8. Effy & Allie Katch Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno ended in a No Contest (13:37).
9. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Cole Radrick defeated Yoshihiko (c) with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse onto a Chair (14:49). *Cole Radrick becomes the 1,570th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yoshihiko defeated Cole Radrick with a Cradle (5:47 pm). *Yoshihiko becomes the 1,571st champion.
ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2023”, 31/03/2023 Galen Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
0. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Willie Mack with the Zahi (9:36).
1. ROH Women’s World Title: Athena (c) defeated Yuka Sakazaki with the O-Face (11:38). *V7 for Athena.
Before she headed over to the ROH PPV, Yuka Sakazaki regained the Princess Tag Team Titles at the TJPW show. Her hopes of ending the night as a double champion by also winning the ROH Women’s World Title did not come to fruition. Athena kicked out of the Magical Girl Splash and the Magical Merry-Go-Round. She then relied on her mean streak to push the referee into Sakazaki’s way when she climbed the ropes for another Splash. The distraction gave Athena time to climb up the turnbuckles beside Sakazaki and then catch her in the O-Face to retain her title. It was announced later in the night that Athena’s next defence will be against Miyu Yamashita on next week’s ROH show.
Takeshita showed up on Zero Hour for a bonus pre-show match against Willie Mack. Not to take anything away from it but news was broken by Fightful during the day that Takeshita had a different match planned for the PPV itself. His opponent? It was going to be Will Ospreay… Yep. We could have gotten Takeshita Vs Ospreay if it wasn’t for the latter’s injury… God damn it. Well at least now that is out in the open it could still happen down the road somewhere.
PRESTIGE “NERVOUS BREAKDOWN”, 31/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Taya Valkyrie defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Road To Valhalla (7:34).
It’s rare to see a day where Yamashita loses twice in a row but there’s going to be times in this tour where we all have to remember she isn’t the big fish in a small pond over here. Taya Valkyrie is on a hot run too that might be approaching its peak with her AEW appearances so the result shouldn’t be that much of a surprise.
GCW “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK 7”, 31/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh Vs Effy & Allie Katch when Itoh pinned Effy with the I.S.D (16:07).
The one and only time Maki Death Kill were teaming up was as chaotic as it sounds. Itoh & Nick Gage each had a pizza cutter and used them against Bussy, leaving Effy & Allie Katch both bleeding. Steel chairs were also brought into the match and Gage threw one in Effy’s face. Itoh then pinned Effy with the Flying DDT while Gage also pinned Katch with a One-Winged Angel. Their celebration was short lived when Matt Cardona and Steph De Lander ambushed them with chairs after the match. They did that because they had no match booked on the show. The segment then morphed into De Lander getting an impromptu GCW World Title match against Masha Slamovich.
Yoshihiko made an unexpected appearance during the show accompanied by a masked handler and even cut a promo. Or at least it nodded when asked if it wants to stick around in GCW. Suddenly Charles Mason and his bodyguard Parrow attacked Yoshihiko because Mason is sick of this kind of nonsense going on. Mason even pulled out a knife and threatened to slash Yoshihiko’s throat open! The handler came to Yoshihiko’s rescue but was overwhelmed and unmasked to reveal he was Jimmy Lloyd. Mason held LLoyd down so Parrow could finish the job until Yoshihiko fought back and slammed Parrow with a German Suplex! Mason had to flee the ring out of fear.
GCW “EMO FIGHT”, 31/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & Mike Bailey defeated Miedo Extremo & Ciclope and Dyln McKay & Marcus Mathers when MAO & Bailey pinned McKay with the Michinoku Tornado Driver (13:47).
Moonlight Express must have been feeling depressed over losing the match after all because they showed up for the main event of GCW’s emo themed show. They fought Los Macizos (where the hell were they earlier?) and Wasted Youth in the early hours of the morning. There was also a bit of a sing song during the match. It might have been done to see if Los Macizos really were emo.
DDT/GCW “GCW VS DDT”, 31/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA 551 Fans
1. Gringo Loco, Marcus Mathers, Dyln McKay & Jack Cartwheel defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & Takeshi Masada when Cartwheel pinned Masada with the Jack Arrow (10:42).
2. Dark Sheik defeated Saki Akai with a Wrist-Clutch Inside Cradle (7:20).
3. Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne defeated MAO & Mike Bailey when Oliver pinned Bailey after the Combined Springboard Cutter (16:18).
4. Kazusada Higuchi defeated Starboy Charlie with the Brain Claw Slam (11:40).
5. Yuki Ueno defeated Joey Janela with the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher (10:21).
6. Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama defeated Homicide & Tony Deppen when Endo pinned Deppen with the Burning Star Press (12:18).
7. Matthew Justice, Mance Warner & 1 Called Manders defeated Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata & Mizuki Watase when Warner pinned Katsumata with a DDT (15:19).
8. Effy & Allie Katch Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno ended in a No Contest (13:37).
9. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Cole Radrick defeated Yoshihiko (c) with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse onto a Chair (14:49). *Cole Radrick becomes the 1,570th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yoshihiko defeated Cole Radrick with a Cradle (5:47 pm). *Yoshihiko becomes the 1,571st champion.
An unlikely main event of the GCW Vs DDT show had Cole Radrick winning the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title from Yoshihiko in a brawl that went all around ringside. Radrick’s hard earned win was then rendered meaningless when Yoshihiko kicked him between the legs after the match. Yoshihiko then rolled Radrick up in a Small Package to reclaim the championship.
Counting through the match results, GCW ended the show with more wins than DDT. But if you ask Effy, everyone was a winner today! Why? Because Pheromones got to show that they are the sexiest and now they can also be part of Bussy too! The proof of that could be seen in their match. It had to be called off when Danshoku Dieno, Allie Katch and Yuki Iino caught the referee in a human centipede over in the corner of the ring.
The trio of Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata & Mizuki Watase were all ready to fight The Second Gear Crew in a brawl. Katsumata appeared in his Super Hardcore Katsumata form while Watase psyched himself up by bringing the Spirit Of Ganbare Title belt with him to the ring. That Ganbare spirit allowed him to absorb chairshots to the head for a while. Lego, plastic boxes, staplers, doors and more were used as weapons. The ring was left in a mess by the time 1 Called Manders threw his own partner Matthew Justice onto everyone outside the ring. That allowed Mance Warner to pin Katsumata with the DDT for the victory.
Jun Akiyama enjoyed his weekend with GCW and said he would work with them again if given the chance. Homicide showed him a similar amount of respect as Eddie Kingston did previously. Tetsuya Endo used the Burning Star Press to pin Tony Deppen and thinks he has proved he is good enough to take on the world.
Both of Joey Janela’s matches on the DDT shows this week were rematches from the D-Ou Grand Prix. Both of them ended in defeat. Yuki Ueno beat him for the second time in a row using his new Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher. It makes Ueno want to spread DDT’s name as well as his own even further than Konosuke Takeshita did.
The card had a few changes for reasons that were not disclosed. Kazusada Higuchi was meant to face Blake Christian but instead got Starboy Charlie and his dungarees. Higuchi won the new match and was impressed with Charlie’s performance. It made Higuchi feel like he received the spirit of a young American and he will now carry it along with his own Yamato Spirit.
The Moonlight Express reunion was spoiled by The East West Express. It was a banner day for the young GCW team because Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne later went on to win the GCW Tag Team Titles later in the night. MAO & Mike Bailey still had fun teaming together for the first time in 3 years. Speedball must have been exhausted from his schedule by this point.
For many years the Quetzalcoatl has been a reliable move for Saki Akai. But today the move was countered by Dark Sheik in a way Akai has never seen before. When Akai was in position to pull off her finisher, Sheik dropped down while grabbing Akai’s wrist, slid through her legs to get behind her and then rolled her up in a Cradle for the flash three count. Akai took the loss but doesn’t want to it end like that. She hopes Sheik will come over to Japan so they can continue their fight.
Another changes to the card happened for the opening match. The GCW team led by Gringo Loco replaced Alec Price and Los Macizos with Jack Cartwheel and the tag team called Wasted Youth. They all gave Takeshi Masada a beating with big high flying moves until he was pinned with Cartwheel’s Jack Arrow finisher. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON blamed both Masada & Sanshiro Takagi backstage for having DDT lose to GCW. When they left the room Takagi then blamed Masada for taking the fall after all of this build up for him finally earning a spot on the Hollywood shows.
DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA 750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata defeated Chris Brookes & Yoshihiko (c) when MAO pinned Yoshihiko after the Oretachi no Mad Max (17:29). *MAO becomes the 1,567th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Chris Brookes defeated MAO (c) with the Praying Mantis Bomb (8:24 pm). *Chris Brookes becomes the 1,568th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yoshihiko defeated Chris Brookes (c) with 3 Canadian Destroyers in a row (8:25 pm). *Yoshihiko becomes the 1,569th champion.
2. Pheromones Vs Takagi Army All Out Battle In HOLLYWOOD: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Michael Nakazawa ended in a No Contest (11:08).
3. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada defeated Andrew “The Giant” Everett & Nick Wayne when Higuchi pinned Everett with the Brain Claw Slam (11:33).
4. Saki Akai defeated Vert Vixen with the Quetzalcoatl (6:09).
5. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo defeated Joey Janela with the Burning Star Press (15:28).
6. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Eddie Kingston defeated Daisuke Sasaki & KANON when Akiyama pinned KANON with the Exploder Suplex (10:35).
7. Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Yuki Ueno with the Zahi (15:16).
It was a long time coming but DDT came back to America! With some help from GCW and The Collective, they arrived in Hollywood to hold their first show in Los Angeles. The main event was between the two top wrestlers in The 3KAMIINA with Konosuke Takeshita facing his longtime friend Yuki Ueno. It was a match originally scheduled as a bonus bout for the cancelled Tokyo Joshi Pro USA event in 2020. The two threw their best moves at each other with Takeshita hitting the Jumping Knee and Ueno pulling out the WR. But Takeshita caught a Moonsault and turned it into an Implant Bomb, putting Ueno in position to take the Zahi for the finish. After the match Takeshita told Ueno and the fans “This is DDT Pro Wrestling!” Backstage he said his performance shows what he’s been doing in America for about a year now. He will always carry a little bit of DDT in him when he wrestles for AEW. He is proud that DDT got to do this show because the only Japanese promotions running overseas at the moment are New Japan, DDT and TJPW. Ueno is taking the loss positively and is motivated to expand DDT even further.
When Jun Akiyama & Eddie Kingston were last in the ring together they were opponents in AEW. Kingston earned Akiyama’s respect from those matches so they got to team together today. Here their battle was against Daisuke Sasaki & KANON from DAMNATION T.A. Akiyama & Kingston meshed well as a team and had their opponents rattled. DAMNATION T.A had to start cheating in response. First Sasaki used the middle rope to give Akiyama a Low Blow as he climbed into the ring then KANON gave Akiyama a DDT on the floor. The momentum switched over with Akiyama & Kingston both using the Exploder Suplex on the other two. Akiyama followed up with a Knee Strike to KANON and then pinned him with another Exploder. After the match Akiyama thanked Kingston for teaming with him and is impressed by how much Kingston knows his movements. Kingston said he can go to sleep smiling tonight because he got to share the ring with a legend. Sasaki’s plan to leave Japan for a new life in Hollywood was ruined because now he hates this city! He swore revenge on Akiyama & Kingston if he ever crosses paths with them again in Japan.
A couple of the matches also served as a preview for tomorrow’s GCW Vs DDT show. Tetsuya Endo avenged last year’s D-Ou Grand Prix loss to Joey Janela by beating him here. It also made up for him forgetting to bring the DDT Universal Title belt to America. Big moves were done at the get go from Endo doing the Sasuke Special and Poison Hurricanrana to Janela landing a Package Piledriver and Avalanche Brainbuster. In the end Janela was taken for a spin with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb. Endo then got the win with the Burning Star Press. Backstage Endo said he may not know how to fight in America like Janela does but he was always confident he was going to win. He promises not to forget his title belt the next time he goes overseas. A disgruntled Janela said backstage that GCW is his turf and tomorrow they will go to war against DDT!
Saki Akai was energized from seeing the big crowd who came to see the show. She also thought Vert Vixen gave her a good fight and showed great heart against her. Vixen got close to winning with a Stunner but Akai turned things around with the Quetzalcoatl to get the win. She said she would love to have a rematch with Vixen again. Vixen thinks if they face each other again it will be game over for Akai!
Another DDT Vs GCW tag match saw Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada beating Andrew Everett & Nick Wayne. The match was DDT’s introduction to Wayne who will be coming over for a tour in May. It also gave Wayne a chance to face off with Masada in a battle between the two young prospects. Meanwhile Everett tried to use his giant strength to overpower Higuchi’s Brain Claw. It turned out his agility was a way better skill to counter the move but Higuchi took him down with the Brain Claw Slam in the end. Masada and Wayne gestured to each other after the match that this won’t be the last time they’ll see each other.
If you want proof the LA crowd got a genuine crowd then look at the Pheromones match. It went exactly as you’d think it would go. They took care of Sanshiro Takagi & Michael Nakazawa the only way they know how and I wouldn’t be able to get away with describing it in detal. It set the stage for Danshoku Dieno to perform a magic trick he came up with called Pheromones du Soleil. The payoff involved Yuki Iino getting completely naked while pinning down Nakazawa so the match had to get thrown out. It is proof that even America is not big enough to contain how Sexy Iino is!
The show kicked off with ShunMao taking on Chris Brookes & Yoshihiko. The doll spent yesterday taking a detour over to AEW for a backstage visit and came to LA with extra energy, enough to fight both MAO & Shunma Katsumata at once. However Katsumata used a Kamigoye on Yoshihiko and then set MAO up to pin it with the Oretachi no Mad Max. Since Yoshihiko was coming into the match with the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title that means MAO became the new champion!
But wait! MAO was attacked by Brookes after the match and pinned with the Praying Mantis Bomb. Brookes now claimed the belt and celebrated with Yoshihiko until he too was attacked. Yoshihiko gave Brookes the Canadian Destroyer not once, not twice but three times to become the champion once again.
DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR IN SHINJUKU 2023”, 24/03/2023 Shinjuku FACE 191 Fans
1. HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida when Nakamura pinned Ishida with a Modified Crucifix Pin (10:14).
2. WORLD HINO CLASSIC ~Opening Round~: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno defeated Makoto Oishi & Bambi by TKO when Iino used the Cross Ass Sexy Lock Ass on Oishi (8:52).
3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yusuke Okada defeated Akito (c) with an Inside Cradle (6:56). *Yusuke Okada becomes the 1,564th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Akito defeated Yusuke Okada (c) with an Inside Cradle (7:45 pm). *Akito becomes the 1,565th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yoshihiko defeated Akito (c) with a Choke Slam (7:47 pm). *Yoshihiko becomes the 1,566th champion.
4. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Kazuma Sumi when Paul pinned Sumi with a Throwaway German Suplex (9:49).
5. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku defeated MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima when Koroku submitted Kojima with the Modified Triangle Lancer (13:36).
6. Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani when Hino submitted Okatani with the King Kong Sleeper (10:18).
7. International Special Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Samuray Del Sol defeated Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada when Del Sol pinned Masada with the Solida Del Sol (16:20).
Konosuke Takeshita got a chance to try out some lucha libre by teaming with Samuray Del Sol. The idea was laughed at by Chris Brookes who was only happy to point out that Takeshita cannot wrestle in that style. He was proven right when Takeshita’s attempts to do a tightrope spot on Takeshi Masada failed in a big manner. Del Sol came to the rescue by giving Takeshita his own luchador mask and the two performed double dives onto the other team. Takeshita then blocked the Samurai Driver ’01 from Masada and Samuray took over to pin Masada with the Solida Del Sol. Takeshita admitted the mask felt uncomfortable but he thanked Del Sol for coming to DDT. Masada took the loss in his stride because next week he’s going to Hollywood! He wants DDT to change the show posters to advertise him as “Hollywood Superstar”.
After Yuji Hino won his tag match, an almost Yuki Iino came down to the ring to confront him. Makoto Oishi congratulated Iino for advancing past the Ω Block of the World Hino Classic and then showed a video introducing Iino’s final challenge. It’s “brother” YASSHI! The video explained that YASSHI is Hino’s senior from the same high school wrestling club. Pheromones will have to fight Hino, Oishi & YASSHI at Korakuen Hall on 9th April. If Pheromones win then Iino will get even closer towards having a KO-D Openweight Title shot.
BURNING beat The 37KAMIINA in a match that built up several programs. Tetsuya Endo will soon be defending the DDT Universal Title against MAO, Jun Akiyama is putting the DDT Extreme Title on the line against Shunma Katsumata and both Yuya Koroku and Toy Kojima are fighting for the last spot in the King Of DDT. Koroku picked up the win by tapping out Kojima. However the three wrestlers from The 37KAMIINA are still feeling confident in their chances of succeeding. MAO thinks Endo is scared of him, Katsumata is eager to fight Akiyama and Kojima thinks he can take both Koroku and Hideki Okatani to their limits in the Qualifying Battle.
Kazuma Sumi struck a deal with Kazuki Hirata before their match. If Sumi could beat DAMNATION T.A then he would be allowed to wear the Kazuki GO! glasses and dance to celebrate. Sumi ended up stealing the glasses from Hirata late in the match and was too busy dancing to notice MJ Paul walk up behind him and throw him across the ring with a German Suplex for the finish.
There were a couple of Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title changes setting up the belt’s journey to America next week. Yusuke Okada beat Akito in their scheduled match to become the new champion. Akito rolled him up afterwards to take the belt back. Then Yoshihiko appeared and Choke Slammed Akito for another title change. Yoshihiko then announced in English it is going to Los Angeles as the champion and will be targeting The 37KAMIINA over there!
Iino’s first challenge in the Wolrd Hino Classic was to convince Bambi that he is sexy. According to Oishi, Bambi is an expert on sexy stuff and her proof was using a whip on Pheromones during the match. But Iino & Danshoku Dieno turned the tables by using Pheromones moves on Bambi. With her taken care of, Iino then made Oishi go unconcious with a submission hold that is accruately called the Cross Ass Sexy Lock Ass. After the match Dieno asked Bambi is Iino proved he is sexy. She agreed! That means Iino now qualifies for the World Hino Classic final.
HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura are continuing to build momentum towards their KO-D Tag Team Titles match. HARASHIMA said today’s win is a big deal for Nakamura and makes him look forward to the title match. Nakamura pointed out he lost to Yuki Ishida in the D GENERATIONS CUP so today he got to avenge that result.
The King Of DDT 2023 entries are HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi, Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata, MAO, Chris Brookes, Yukio Naya, KANON, Naruki Doi, Kotaro Suzuki, Takeshi Masada, Sanshiro Takagi and the winner of the 3 Way Qualifying Battle on 1st April.
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2023 ~LONGEST 5 HOUR SPECIAL IN KORAKUEN HISTORY~”, 21/03/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Ilusion & El Unicorn DDTeeeen!! Graduation Match: Ilusion & Munetatsu Nakamura Vs El Unicorn & Raimu Imai
1. Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida Vs Toi Kojima & Kazuma Sumi
2. Kazuki Hirata Debut 13th Anniversary Match: Kazuki Hirata & Yoshihiko Vs Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao
3. O-40 Title – 3 Way Match: Makoto Oishi Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Shinichiro Kawamatsu
4. Pheromones Vs Pheromones Subjugation Army All Out Battle: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Toru Owashi, Hiroshi Yamato & Yusuke Okada
5. Special Tag Match: Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda Vs Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer
6. Saki Akai Debut 10th Anniversary Match Vol 1.: Masahiro Takanashi Vs Saki Akai
7. HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani
8. Special Single Match: Hikaru Machida Vs Takeshi Masada
9. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ CHARISMA RETURNS!: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Chris Brookes, Drew Parker & Hagane Shinno
10. DDT Extreme Title – Regular Pro Wrestling Rules: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Kotaro Suzuki
11. DDT 26th Anniversary Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Konosuke Takeshita
12. International Special Single Match: Samuray Del Sol Vs Yuki Ueno
13. DDT Universal Title: Naruki Doi (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo
14. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Falls Count Anywhere Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu
15. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuji Hino (c) Vs Yukio Naya
A press conference was held in Shinjuku today for some of the matches on the show. Yuki Ueno said he feels honored that an international superstar has come to Japan wanting to fight him. Samuray Del Sol said the one place he has not conquered is Japan. He first learned of DDT by seeing footage of El Generico wrestling Kota Ibushi there. He’s been watching and studying Ueno’s matches so is excited to be wrestling the best.
Konosuke Takeshita reminded everyone that he’s been with DDT for over ten years and the only person he hasn’t wrestled one on one is his boss Sanshiro Takagi. They have no choice but to finally do this match now. He has gratitude for Takagi and sees this as a match between a parent and their child. Takagi’s been a great father figure but the time has come to surpass him. Takagi said he wants to be in the best shape he can for the match. Some injuries have gotten in his way but he isn’t letting that be any excuse. He won’t let Takeshita move past him so easily and will do his best to crush him! Takeshita also said his experience in AEW has given him a hunger he couldn’t get in Japan because spots on their shows are so limited.
The “Super Powerhouse Tag Team” made themselves known while Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda were being interviewed. The two men thought they were going to get Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima until they worked out that TenKoji’s schedule wouldn’t make it possible. Instead they are getting The Wasteland War Party! Both Sasadango & Honda were terrified by the appearance of Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer. The War Party left them laying on the floor with Headbutts. When Honda regained consciousness he began to cry. He thought he was getting a dream match but instead it’s going to be a nightmare!
Away from the press conference in a separate interview, Saki Akai talked about her upcoming match against Masahiro Takanashi. They had one previous singles match together in the 1st Round of the King Of DDT 2018. Takanashi won that match but for the rematch Akai warns there is a part of her that he does not know about. If she can tap into it tomorrow she can find a way to beat him. Then when that match is done Akai wants to focus on Eruption winning the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles in order to push Hideki Okatani up to the next level. She has other plans to celebrate her 10 year anniversary later in the year. Yukio Sakaguchi taught her how to fight in the ring so she would like to face him in a match. She hopes Yoshiko will come back from her break some day for another match. Danshoku Dieno is another past opponent she wants to do a big match with again. She also suggested Takumi Iroha, Rina Yamashita and Sumire Natsu as potential future opponents for her in a DDT ring.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR IN SPRING ’23”, 22/03/2023 Shinjuku FACE
1. Suzume Vs Shino Suzuki
2. Shoko Nakajima, Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI Vs Arisu Endo, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo
3. Hyper Misao & Pom Harajuku Vs Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer
4. Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Raku Vs Yuya Koroku, Mahiro Kiryu & Toga
5. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Moka Miyamoto & Kaya Toribami
6. Mizuki, Yuka Sakazaki & Haruna Neko Vs Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta & Yuki Aino
We have come out of “GRAND PRINCESS ’23” with brand new champions holding all of the titles in Tokyo Joshi Pro. We also have some wrestlers refreshing their looks while the new generation of debuts have landed and taken their first steps. Where we go from here is towards Los Angeles.
It wouldn’t be right if The Wasteland War Party went home without getting a chance to say goodbye to Pom Harajuku. I’m sure she appreciates it.
Shino Suzuki is having her first ever singles match. Suzume is her opponent.
DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR IN SHINJUKU 2023”, 24/03/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Kazuma Sumi
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Akito (c) Vs Yusuke Okada
3. International Special Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Samuray Del Sol Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada
It’s rare to see promotion for an Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title singles match in advance. Akito Vs Yusuke Okada will go ahead even if Akito loses the belt before it happens.
The lineup for the King Of DDT 2023 will be revealed during this show.
BASARA “BASARA 214 ~KOO~”, 28/03/2023 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Lil’ Kraken Vs Leo Isaka
2. Basara Strange Style Jacket Match: Gouma Ryu Vs Ryota Nakatsu
3. Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura Vs FUMA & KUBITO
4. Takato Nakao, Masato Kamino & Yasu Urano Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, Daichi Kazato & Tsutomu Oosugi
5. CCW Canadian Heavyweight Title: Takumi Tsukamoto (c) Vs SAGAT
6. Union MAX Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Banana Senga
The super obscure CCW Canadian Heavyweight Title held by Takumi Tsukamoto is being defended again in BASARA. Tsukamoto brought the belt into the company at the end of 2021. He’s defended it twice here but usually saves his title matches for other indies. SAGAT is his next challenger.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES”, 31/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Janai Kai
2. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
3. Hyper Misao & Trish Adora Vs Yuki Aino & Raku
4. Shoko Nakajima & Miu Watanabe Vs Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer
5. International Princess Title: Rika Tatsumi (c) Vs Billie Starkz
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki
Some of the new champions making their first defences on the USA show. 121000000 Vs The Magical Sugar Rabbits in the main event now has the Princess Tag Team Titles on the line. Yuka Sakazaki wants to show everyone how much MagiRabi has powered up from fighting each other. Mizuki has the least experience wrestling overseas of the four but now she is the Princess Of Princess Champion she is not scared of any challenge. She’s also excited by the possibility of becoming the only person in TJPW to hold two Princess Titles at the same time. Miyu Yamashita believes the timing is right for 121000000 to beat MagiRabi on TJPW’s first USA show. Maki Itoh wants her American simps to know they are getting to see her TJPW form instead of the usual version they see from her previous appearances in the country.
Billie Starkz claims she was going to challenge the International Princess Champion no matter who it was coming out “GRAND PRINCESS ’23”. That it happens to be her already scheduled opponent Rika Tatsumi made it a lot easier for her to get the title shot. With the match happening in America, Starkz will get to fight for the championship in front of her friends and family. The new champion Tatsumi has already begun changing her look to be more America-like (or “AmeRika”) in order to truly act like an international champion. She went to this press conference wearing sunglasses and drinking a cola. She isn’t worried about fighting Starkz in her home country because it is still happening on a TJPW show. That means Tatsumi still has the home field advantage.
DDT “DRAMATIC EXPLOSION IN NIIGATA”, 16/04/2023 Niigata Bandaijima Multi-Purpose Plaza
1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine (c) Vs Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
2. Current Blast 6-Man Tag Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima Vs Joey Janela, Sanshiro Takagi & Takeshi Masada
According to Atsushi Onita he paid 400,000 yen to trademark the Current Blast Death Match. Rather than trying to buy it off him, Sanshiro Takagi would rather take it by force. He still wants DDT to take ownership of the trademark and is joining forces with Joey Janela to do it. Janela has made it his number one goal during his latest tour of Japan to destroy his hero Onita in an exploding death match. Takagi also picked Takeshi Masada to be their tag partner, thinking this kind of dangerous atmosphere is just what the super rookie has been missing. Onita has his DDO allies Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima backing him up. If their winning ways continue then Onita has promised to create a new Current Blast 6-Man Tag Team Championhip as something new for them to fight for!
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. FOUR: WHEN GOOD DOGS DO BAD THINGS”, 18/04/2023 Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa
1. Special Single Match: Masashi Takeda Vs Death Worm
2. Special Tag Team Match: Sayaka & Baliyan Akki Vs MAO & Chie Koishikawa
3. Special Tag Team Match: Rina Yamashita & Drew Parker Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi
Rina Yamashita and Masashi Takeda are the next guests to join in the Baka Gaijin party. Also Baliyan Akki & Sayaka will together wrestle their first match on one of these shows. It’s about time Akki wrestled on one of them. Maybe Chris Brookes & Drew Parker will do the camera work and commentary for his match.
1. MJ Paul & KANON defeated Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi when Paul pinned Sumi with a Running Body Press (7:51).
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Akito defeated Yoshihiko (c), Shunma Katsumata, Makoto Oishi, Chris Brookes, Akito, Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata, Saki Akai, Yuki “Sexy” Iino and Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno (19:07).
2a. Makoto Oishi eliminated Saki Akai by Ring Out (14:35).
2b. Antonio Honda eliminated Makoto Oishi by Ring Out (14:39).
2c. Yuki “Sexy” Iino eliminated Antonio Honda with the Ketsugoye (15:27).
2d. Shunma Katsumata eliminated Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno by Ring Out (16:16).
2e. Shunma Katsumata eliminated Yuki “Sexy” Iino by Ring Out (16:50).
2f. Yoshihiko (c) eliminated Shunma Katsumata with the Reincarnation (17:10).
2g. Yoshihiko (c) eliminated Chris Brookes with a School Boy (17:20).
2h. Kazuki Hirata eliminated Yoshihiko (c) with the World Liner (18:44).
*Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,562nd champion.
2i. Akito eliminated Kazuki Hirata (c) with an Ankle Lock (19:07). *Akito becomes the 1,563rd champion.
3. DISASTER BOX Vs Harimao!: HARASHIMA & Toru Owashi defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida when HARASHIMA pinned Ishida with the Somato (8:58).
4. Keigo Nakamura & Hideki Okatani defeated Toi Kojima & Yuya Koroku when Okatani pinned Kojima with the Double Arm Suplex (9:16).
5. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Kotaro Suzuki defeated Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada when Suzuki pinned Okada with the Tiger Driver (11:31).
6. Special Single Match: Ryota Nakatsu defeated MAO with the V Slider (12:52).
7. Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Yukio Naya & Takeshi Masada when Hino pinned Masada with the Fuckin’ BOMB (13:13).
Yuji Hino is enjoying the warm up matches against Yukio Naya. He thinks tomorrow’s one is going to be hotter than today’s and the temperature will keep on rising until “JUDGEMENT 2023” when the KO-D Openweight Title match will be the hottest of all. Naya agrees that the matches are only going to get more intense from here and he has to work harder in every one.
Bad memories clouded MAO’s mind as he wrestled Ryota Nakatsu. He never liked wrestling him back in DNA and was reminded of those experiences by Nakatsu’s kicks. Whenever MAO was on the offensive, he apologised to his opponent in between his attacks. Nakatsu kicked out of the Michinoku Driver II and pinned MAO with the V Slider. After the match Nakatsu told MAO he is an amazing Jr. Heavyweight but he is still unable to beat his senpai after all this time. If MAO is so scared of him then maybe Nakatsu & Kazusada Higuchi should take the KO-D Tag Team Titles away from him. MAO has come up with an idea though. If he avoids making eye contact with Nakatsu he does not feel so scared of him.
Has the time finally come for Kotaro Suzuki to surpass Jun Akiyama? He got the upper hand today, knocking him away with the Running Elbow before pinning Yusuke Okada with the Tiger Driver. Backstage Suzuki even said facing Akiyama would have been more of a challenge for him a decade ago. Tetsuya Endo is not picking sides despite being on Suzuki’s team today. He wants to see the match purely as a neutral.
Halfway through the show Daisuke Sasaki made an unexpected appearance, showing up at a wrestling show for the first time in almost two months. He had a beer in hand and thought he was at the “HANAMI PRO WRESTLING 2023” event that is scheduled for next week. He then complained that nobody was chanting his name (chants were prohibited for today’s show). Hisaya Imabayashi tried to talk sense into him while KANON & MJ Paul entered the ring. Sasaki ended up revealing that his eye injury has recovered enough that he is allowed to wrestle again earlier than expected. He was supposed to have his first match back at “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD” but Imabayashi allowed him to return to the ring at “JUDGEMENT 2023” on 21st Match instead. Sasaki said he hasn’t paid attention to what DAMNATION T.A was doing while he was gone, or almost anything else for that matter. All he knows is Keiji Muto retired. He also plans to go to Mexico and do whatever he wants after the DDT USA shows.
Akito believes that holding the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title is the last chance any DDT wrestler has of being added to the Los Angeles trip at the end of the month. The belt makes him a champion for now and champions should be part of the LA shows!
A lot to get through here. I’ll save the “GRAND PRINCESS ’23” and “JUDGEMENT 2023” for the next post just to give the pages some breathing room. There will be so much to write about between the two “Big Match” events, Wrestlemania Weekend, a whole bunch of debuting wrestlers and all of the other international bookings to keep track of. Staying up to date with the all of the news and shows in the next month is probably going to kill me.
BASARA “BASARA 212 ~KOO~”, 28/02/2023 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Daichi Kazato Vs Lil’ Kraken & Tsutomu Oosugi
2. Turnabout Pro Wrestling Trial: Gouma Ryu Vs Banana Senga Vs Antonio Honda
3. FUMA & KUBITO Vs Masato Kamino & Yasu Urano
4. Takumi Tsukamoto Vs SAGAT
5. Ryota Nakatsu & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Daiki Shimomura & Fuminori Abe
6. Union MAX Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Takato Nakano
The lineup for the “ALL STAR JR FESTIVAL 2023~” was revealed over the weekend and it turns out Isami Kodaka is the only BASARA representative on the show. Takato Nakano was convinced he would be on it. Maybe winning the Union MAX Title away from Kodaka tomorrow will lead to a last minute change of plan.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT WINTER ~YOKOHAMA PERFORMANCE~”, 04/03/2023 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. 3 Way Match: Yuki Aino Vs Hikari Noa Vs Kaya Toribami
2. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI
3. Mizuki Vs Pom Harajuku
4. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Raku
5. Miyu Yamashita & Moka Miyamoto Vs Shoko Nakajima & Mahiro Kiryu
6. Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku & Haruna Neko Vs Rika Tatsumi, Hyper Misao & Nao Kakuta
One more chance for Miu Watanabe and Rika Tatsumi to test themselves against each other before the International Princess Title match.
The “GRAND PRINCESS ’23” main event are in separate singles matches. Yuka Sakazaki has to fight Raku and her dreaded pillow. Mizuki continues going through a… um… well calling it a murderer’s row of opponents isn’t accurate given how little a challenge they’ve given her so far. More like a jaywalker’s path? That’s kind of the level of crime Pom Harajuku would commit I guess.
Daisy Monkey are back teaming up to take on the rookie pairing of Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI.
Maki Itoh is missing the show because she will be in America wrestling for GCW that day.
DDT “DDT YOKOHAMA UNLIMITED VOL. 2”, 04/03/2023 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Keigo Nakamura & Hideki Okatani Vs Toi Kojima & Yuya Koroku
2. MJ Paul & KANON Vs Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi
3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Yoshihiko (c) Vs Shunma Katsumata Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Chris Brookes Vs Akito Vs Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Saki Akai Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino Vs Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno
4. DISASTER BOX Vs Harimao!: HARASHIMA & Toru Owashi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida
5. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs Tetsuya Endo & Kotaro Suzuki
6. Special Single Match: MAO Vs Ryota Nakatsu
7. Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Yukio Naya & Takeshi Masada
All aboard for the journey to DDT’s 26th Anniversary show! The top three matches in Yokohama are all building towards “JUDGEMENT 2023”. Yuji Hino and Yukio Naya have a few preview tag matches to get ready for.
The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title is now safe and sound in the hands of Yoshihiko. The doll still has a big challenge coming up, defending the belt in a Battle Royal.
Yuki Ueno will be absent from a few DDT shows this month because he got a part in a stage show.
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2023 TOUR IN NAGANO”, 05/03/2023 Nagano City Art Center Act Space
1. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Soma Takao & Yuya Koroku
2. KANON Vs Yuki Ishida
3. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Gota Ihashi Vs Akito, Keigo Nakamura & Kazuma Sumi
4. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada
5. Nagano Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yasushi Kanda, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima
6. Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs Yukio Naya & Chris Brookes
Nagano is getting a Dragongate adjacent trio led by Yasushi Kanda taking on The 37KAMIINA.
GANBARE☆PRO “SHOOTING IN THE COLD RAIN, A GUN FOR PROMISE 2023”, 05/03/2023 Takashimadaira Ward Community Center
1. GanJo Special Tag Match: HARUKAZE & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Moeka Haruhi & Asahi
2. GanJo Special Single Match: YuuRI Vs Miyuki Takase
3. GanPro Three Big Singles Match: Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Takuya Wada
4. GanPro Three Big Singles Match: Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Shuichiro Katsumura
5. GanPro Three Big Singles Match: Shota Vs Soma Takao
6. GanPro Special 6-Man Tag Match: Mizuki Watase, Shinichiro Tominaga & Tatsuhito Takaiwa Vs Ken Ohka, Keisuke Ishii & Yumehito Imanari
Tatsuhito Takaiwa makes his first appearance in Ganbare☆Pro since November.
The ROMANCE DAWN rivalry ends here. Shota and Soma Takao want to settle their conflict once and for all before they team up to chase after the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE NIGHT BEFORE GRAND PRINCESS ’23”, 06/03/2023 Shinjuku FACE
1. Toga Debut Match: Toga Vs X
2. Shino Suzuki Debut Match: Miu Watanabe & Hikari Noa Vs Raku & Shino Suzuki
Shino of The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) will now be known as Shino Suzuki! The former bus guide had a dream of becoming an idol that she just could not give up so she auditioned for the unit last year. Suzuki is 157cm tall and was born in Shizuoka on 15th July, 1998. Her hobby is collecting stamps and her special skill is tourist information.
DDT “HANAMI PRO WRESTLING 2023”, 12/03/2023 Saitama Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park Outdoor Stage
1. Student Pro Wrestling Support Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Great-GO-Khan & “Mother’s Child” Mazakon Kid Vs Antonio Honda, Macho Gallows & Dopyu♡McIntyre
2. MJ Paul & KANON Vs Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku
3. Yuki “Sexy” Iino Produce Match ~ Pheromone Rumble: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Shunma Katsumata Vs Chris Brookes Vs Yusuke Okada Vs Toi Kojima Vs Kazuma Sumi Vs Sacrifice X
4. Kazuki Hirata Produce Match ~ Bring Items Anywhere Falls Count Fair And Square Full Settlement Tag Team Match: Kazuki Hirata, Soma Takao, Gota Ihashi & Keigo Nakamura Vs Toru Owashi & Yukio Sakaguchi
5. Tetsuya Endo Produce Match ~ Shiraishi Castle Love Song: Tetsuya Endo & Keisuke Ishii Vs Akito & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
6. Special Challenge Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Takeshi Masada
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuji Hino, MAO & Makoto Oishi Vs Yukio Naya, Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida
Takeshi Masada gets to face Jun Akiyama one on one as a bonus prize for winning the D GENERATIONS CUP.
The student pro wrestlers Great-GO-Khan, “Mother’s Child” Mazakon Kid, Macho Gallows and Dopyu♡McIntyre have all been invited back for a special 6-Man Tag Match. Joining in the fun are HARASHIMA and Antonio Honda, two wrestlers who came from the same student wrestling scene long, long ago.
DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Saki Akai Vs Vert Vixen
2. Pheromones Vs Takagi Army All Out Battle In HOLLYWOOD: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Michael Nakazawa
3. Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Chris Brookes & Yoshihiko
4. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Joey Janela
5. Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Yuki Ueno
6. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Eddie Kingston Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
Well… Sanshiro Takagi did promise he was getting somebody from AEW to help him fight Pheromones in Los Angeles. Michael Nakazawa is an AEW wrestler so where’s the lie?
Takeshi Masada will be on the show as his main prize for winning the D GENERATIONS CUP. He is demanding a first class ticket to get there too. Kazusada Higuchi is also booked for the show so if there’s room for one more match that pairing would be a good one.
DDT “APRIL FOOL 2023”, 09/04/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Rukiya Ikeda Debut Match: Rukiya Ikeda Vs X
2. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs X & X
Whoever wins the KO-D Tag Team Titles match between ShunMao and Harimao at “JUDGEMENT 2023” will next defend the belts on 9th April.
The third trainee in the recent class of five is ready to make his debut. Rukiya Ikeda is from Toyonaka City, Osaka and was born on 25th February, 2001. He is 177cm tall and weighs 80kg. His athletic background is in baseball and grappling.
Naruki Doi and Kotaro Suzuki will both be on the show.
DDT “DRAMATIC EXPLOSION IN NIIGATA”, 16/04/2023 Niigata Bandaijima Multi-Purpose Plaza
1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine (c) Vs Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
Super Sasadango Machine had a plan to win the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles from BURNING in order to set up a big match in his hometown against Jun Akiyama. The plan worked perfectly! Akiyama has picked Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku to be his partners for the match. It means Sasadango, Ueno & Shinya Aoki now have to face BURNING again but if they win here then they will have beaten every member of the group!
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 