DDT Around The World – October 2022

November 1, 2022

October was a lighter month for DDT related matches from around the world but there is the news of DDT returning to America next year making up for it. The month has mostly been Shota continuing his excursion of the most obscure American indies I ever heard of while Joey Janela’s been defending the DDT Extreme Title and ended up getting himself his own Triple Crown of independent hardcore championships. Konosuke Takeshita is back in America but kept out of the public eye all month. Whether it’s to acclimate to his new home or just taking a well earned rest remains to be seen. Until his reemerges the monthly column will continue to focus on Shota and the Tokyo Joshi Pro talent working abroad. Oh, and Miyu Yamashita made a new friend.

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Videos


Video starts at 22:33 for the match
PWF “LIVEWIRE 19”, 01/10/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Shota Suzuki Vs Dante Leon


Video starts at 23:52 for the match
JCW “JCW VS THE WORLD”, 09/10/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Shota Vs Steve Scott


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

1. World Cup 3 – Round 1: Sara Leon Vs Maya Yukihi


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

2. RCW World Women’s Title – World Cup 3 – Final – 3 Way Match: Aurora Vs Maya Yukihi Vs Nightshade


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

3. Miyu Yamashita Vs Millie McKenzie


MPX “FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS”, 22/10/2022
MPX Event Center, Bedford, Texas, USA

1. Shota Suzuki Vs Phil Shark


NEW TEXAS PRO “TEXAS CONTENDERS SERIES 7”, 27/10/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Clay Roberts Vs Shota Suzuki

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Results


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

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (3) defeated Axel Tischer & Eric Young (0) when Takanashi & Brookes pinned Tischer with the Hair Of The Dog (12:12).
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman (3) defeated Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie (0) when Dreissker pinned Abe with the Dreissker Bomb (15:57).

The first day of the month was a busy one. It began in Germany where wXw hosted the opening day of the World Tag Team Festival. Our boys CDK started off the group stage hot by beating SAnitY with their tricky tag team stylings. Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie found themselves with opposite fortunes, losing to Amboss in the semi-main event.


PWF “LIVEWIRE 19”, 01/10/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Shota Suzuki defeated Dante Leon with a Crucifix Pin (?:??).

Shota gets his first win in America! It came real close though. Dante Leon had him beaten with a Swanton Bomb onto Shota’s back while Shota was bent over. But a lackadaisical cover allowed Shota to slip Leon into a Crucifix Pin for the surprise three count. There was good sportsmanship shown with a handshake afterwards.


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

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie (3) defeated Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku (3) when Abe submitted Ku with the Manjigatame (15:07).
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Senza Volto & Aigle Blanc (3) defeated Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (3) when Blanc pinned Takanashi with the Tombstone Piledriver (17:58).

Day 2 of the WTTF saw Abe & Irie more than make up for their defeat the previous day. They went to war against Violence Is Forever. Poor Kevin Ku was busted open from a massive Headbutt given to him by Abe. Irie then smashed the guy with the Beast Bomber and Abe twisted him into submission with the Manjigatame. CDK suffered a setback by losing to The Frenchadors. A Moonsault out of the ring from Senza Volto wiped out Chris Brookes. That meant nobody was there to save Masahiro Takanashi from being pinned by Aigle Blanc’s Tombstone.


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

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Prince Ahura & Maggot (4) Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (4) ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie (6) defeated Nikita Charisma & Michael Schenkenberg (3) when Abe submitted Charisma with the Manjigatame (10:38).

The last night ended bittersweet for both teams. CDK went to a time limit draw with The Pretty Bastards while Abe & Irie beat the team known as Rot Und Flott. While those are not bad results, neither was enough for our teams to qualify for the final and fight for the wXw World Tag Team Titles.


GCW “FIGHT CLUB 2022 – NIGHT 1”, 08/10/2022
Garden Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Effy defeated Shota with the Sack Ryder (4:34).

Shota made his big debut under the bright lights of GCW during one of their biggest nights of the year. It should have been taking place at The Showboat in Atlantic City but a double booking snafu led to the show being held outdoors on the boardwalk nearby instead. Shota’s time in the ring with Effy was short and sweet with Effy getting his hand raised in victory at the end.


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

1. Steve Scott defeated Shota with a Rope Assisted Fire Thunder Driver (7:23).

The next afternoon the GCW show was held inside the proper venue along with their spinoff promotion JCW. Unfortunately for him his opponent Steve Scott seemed to have an answer for everything that was thrown at him. He even took selfies while putting Shota in holds. Scott threw away Shota’s Tornado DDT then lifted him up into a Fireman’s Carry. From there Scott draped Shota’s legs over the top rope and dropped him with the Fire Thunder Driver for the win.


GCW “FIGHT CLUB 2022 – NIGHT 2”, 09/10/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. GCW Extreme Title & DDT Extreme Title: Joey Janela (DDT/c) defeated Cole Radrick (GCW/c) with a Cradle (15:42).
*V4 for Joey Janela. Cole Radrick fails in V8. Joey Janela becomes the 9th GCW Extreme Champion!

The working relationship between DDT and GCW has been growing throughout the month, hidden in plain sight while people in GCW have been constantly trolling wrestling news sites over rumours of GCW having connections to WWE. Janela is a focal point of both but let’s focus on the DDT stuff. He beat Cole Radrick in his 4th DDT Extreme Title defence and also won the GCW Extreme Title in the process. It was a wild match with chairs and doors getting broken everywhere. Radrick gave Janela a Superplex but Janela cradled him up on impact to get the three count out of nowhere.


VANGUARDIA/GCW “DEATHMATCH ELITE POR SIEMPRE PT. 2”, 14/10/2022
Deportivo 11 de Julio, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico

1. Vanguardia Extraordinario Title & DDT Extreme Title – 4 Way Match: Joey Janela (DDT/c) defeated Jimmy (V/c), Adrenalina and Calibus when Janela pinned Adrenalina with a Diving Foot Stomp through a Barb Wire Board (15:00).
*V5 for Joey Janela? Joey Janela becomes the 2nd Vanguardia Extraordinario Champion!

At the time of writing DDT has not yet acknowledged if this was an official Extreme Title defence. GCW went over to Mexico for a co-promoted show with Lucha Libre Vanguardia. During the show Janela put the Extreme Title on the line in a 4 Way Match with the Vanguardia Extraordinario Title also on the line. A barb wire board was the main weapon used in the match and Janela Double Stomped it on top of Adrenalina to win the match, taking the belt from the champion Jimmy without every beating him directly.


MSW “20 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE”, 15/10/2022
Fairgrounds Indoor Building, Harrison, Arkansas, USA

1. Shota Vs Phil Shark

You never know who these wrestlers will bump into or what stories they can discover while working overseas. Take Phil Shark for example. This American wrestler is only 22 years old and he hasn’t been wrestling for long. However he spent time training in Japan for 2AW and was briefly a ringside attendant at their shows. Shota seems to like the guy after fighting him at a Mid-States Wrestling show and hopes some of the wrestling promotions in Japan will take notice of him.


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

1. World Cup 3 – Round 1: Maya Yukihi defeated Sara Leon with a Jumping Knee (?:??).
2. RCW World Women’s Title – World Cup 3 – Final – 3 Way Match: Nightshade defeated Aurora and Maya Yukihi when Nightshade pinned Yukihi with the Neck Hanging Bomb (?:??).
*Nightshade becomes the 1st RCW World Women’s Champion!
3. Millie McKenzie defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Regal Plex (?:??).

I think this show was overshadowed by the story of Yamashita hanging out with Sasha Banks while they were both in Spain. Anyway, Yamashita had her first match against Millie McKenzie but came out on the losing end of it. Meanwhile Maya Yukihi was part of a tournament to crown RCW’s new women’s champion. She made it to the final but was pinned by Nightshade. So close yet so far.


MPX “FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS”, 22/10/2022
MPX Event Center, Bedford, Texas, USA

1. Phil Shark defeated Shota Suzuki with the Deadliest Catch (9:38).

Shota’s appearance for Metroplex Wrestling had him act as a heel which was unlike his previous matches on his excursion. It gave Shark the spotlight to be the hero and he beat Shota with a Twisting Death Valley Driver.


NEW TEXAS PRO “TEXAS CONTENDERS SERIES 7”, 27/10/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Clay Roberts defeated Shota with a Small Package (?:??).

Still in Texas, Shota had a match with Clay Roberts in New Texas Pro that had both on their social media afterwards full of happiness over their performances. It’s also been receiving praise from others who saw it. Unfortunately Roberts made sure to spoil the ending by giving Shota a Low Blow while the ref’s back was turned.


GLORY PRO “THE RELENTLESS”, 30/10/2022
South Broadway Athletic Club, St. Louis, USA

1. STL Vs The World Showcase: Benjamin Trust, ATM & Moses defeated Shota, GPA & Crash Jaxon when Moses submitted GPA with a Crab Hold (?:??).

Shota’s month ended with a trip to St. Louis for Glory Pro. He was part of a worldwide trio taking on three wrestlers representing St. Louis. He came out on the losing side.

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Upcoming Appearances


MPW “NIGHT FALL”, 04/11/2022
Nordhoff PL, Chatsworth, California, USA

1. Dustin Daniels Vs Shota

Shota is pleased with his excursion so far. He’s been getting plenty of bookings to keep him active and is building up more friendships and connections around the wrestling scene. Next up for him in November is a return to Millennium Pro Wrestling for a match against Dustin Daniels.


LEVEL UP “BLINDING LIGHTS”, 05/11/2022
Attitude Brewing Company, San Diego, California, USA

1. Triple Threat Match: Hunter Freeman Vs Fabrizio Vs Shota

A Triple Threat match awaits Shota when he goes to San Diego for the Level Up Pro Wrestling School. One of his opponents is Fabrizio who trained at the school. The other is “The Backwoods Brawler” Hunter Freeman. That guy has been getting attention in GCW with his death match efforts this year.


ROW “FALL FURY”, 12/11/2022
Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA

1. Shota Vs X

Shota will be part of the next Reality Of Wrestling TV taping.


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

1. EVE Tag Team Titles: Rhia O’Reilly & Skye Smitson (c) Vs Hyper Misao & Session Moth
2. EVE Title No. 1 Contender Match: Millie McKenzie Vs Miyu Yamashita

Uh oh. Hyper Misao’s match at EVE is a big one because she gets to challenge for the EVE Tag Team Titles. It’s a chance for a TJPW wrestler to do one better than The Uprising and take the other promotion’s tag titles. However an even bigger wild card is thrown in the mix with Session Moth Martina as Misao’s tag partner!


EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM V – SHOW 2”, 13/11/2022
229 The Venue, London, England

1. Hyper Misao Vs X
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Whatever matches Yamashita and Misao will do on the second show most likely depends on what the results of the first show are. If both of them lose on the first show then don’t be surprised if they are put in the same match on the second show, maybe even against each other.


JCW “SERIES OF SURVIVALS”, 19/11/2022
Boonton Elks Lodge, Boonton, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Janai Kai

Back to the GCW circle where Maki Itoh returns. She’s popping up at JCW too for a first time match against Janai Kai.


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

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

Can Shota win his first American wrestling championship?


GCW “AURA”, 20/11/2022
Fete Music Hall, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Masha Slamovich

It’s been a breakout year for Masha Slamovich. Breaking through Itoh’s hard head might be her toughest test yet.


SPW “ASTRONOMICAL ANNIVERSARY – DAY 1”, 24/11/2022
Foochow Building, Singapore

1. SPW Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Da Butcherman & Dr. Gore

CDK have some dates in Singapore coming up. Two of them is for Singapore Pro Wrestling as they are holding a two day event to celebrate their 9 year anniversary. They have a SPW Tag Team Championship match against The Horrors. I cannot tell if these are existing tag championships, new ones or if the belts are vacant.


SPW “ASTRONOMICAL ANNIVERSARY – DAY 2”, 25/11/2022
Foochow Building, Singapore

1. Chris Brookes Vs X
2. SPW Southeast Asia Title – 4 Way Match: Aiden Rex (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi Vs Andruew Tang Vs Tajiri

Takanashi is in the main event 4 Way Match for the SPW Southeast Asia Title on Day 2. The champion right now is Aiden Rex but he is also defending the title on Day 1. The other challengers involved are former multi-time champion Andruew Tang and Tajiri.

Brookes is looking for an opponent and put out an open challenge for Day 2.


LLL “POD SIX WAS JERKS!”, 25/11/2022
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Shota Vs Austin Reddick

So there’s an Oriental Theater in Denver hosting a Lucha Libre & Laughs wrestling event? Quite the mixture there. Shota takes on Austin Reddick over there and the show also has Max The Impaler on it.


GRAPPLE MAX “GOLD STANDARD”, 03/12/2022
GymKraft, Tampines Street, Singapore

1. Masahiro Takanashi Vs X

Takanashi will also be at Grapple MAX’s 6th anniversary show.


APAC “RISE”, 10/12/2022
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1. APAC Women’s Title Tournament – Round 1: Maki Itoh Vs X
2. APAC Women’s Title Tournament – Round 1: Yuki Kamifuku Vs X

Malaysia in December sounds nice. Itoh and Yuki Kamifuku will be heading over there to compete in a tournament held by APAC Wrestling. It will be a four woman tournament also featuring former NXT wrestler Steph De Lander and Nor “Phoenix” Diana. This will be Kamifuku’s first time wrestling outside of Japan.

APAC “RISE”, 11/12/2022
Malaysia

1. APAC Women’s Title Tournament – Final: X Vs X

The winner of the tournament will be crowned the first APAC Women’s Champion!


PRESTIGE “VENDETTA”, 21/01/2023
The Glass House, Pomona, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Athena

Now here’s a heavy hitting match! Prestige is hosting Yamashita against Athena! Yamashita is undefeated in Prestige and will look to continue her winning streak over there. January of next year looks so far away.


DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

The biggest news of all in October is DDT heading back to America! They are coming to Los Angeles during WrestleMania weekend as part of The Collective. That is GCW’s collaborative series of events with other indies. It is DDT’s first show in America since their New York show in 2019.


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

If that’s not enough, there’s a show the next day pitting DDT wrestlers against GCW wrestlers. While GCW does have a regular core roster they could have anybody showing up repping their colours on the day.

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Cancelled Appearances


PW REVOLUTION/WEST COAST PRO “KING OF INDIES 2022”, 19/11/2022
United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, USA

1. King Of Indies 2022: Konosuke Takeshita Vs X

Well so much for that. Takeshita has been pulled from the big King Of Indies tournament. It’s taking place the same day as AEW’s big PPV “FULL GEAR”. Hopefully there is something being planned for him there because I was really looking forward to seeing how he would have fared in this tournament.

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Posted by JamieOD

DDT Around The World – September 2022

October 1, 2022

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

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Videos


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

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


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

1. JJ Blake Vs Shota Suzuki


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

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


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

1. Shota Vs Ayden Cristiano


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

1. Maki Itoh Vs Gisele Shaw


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

1. Shota Vs Ragnar The Ruthless


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

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

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Results


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

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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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Upcoming Appearances


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

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

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


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

1. Shota Suzuki Vs Dante Leon

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

1. Shota Vs Steve Scott

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


PW REVOLUTION/WEST COAST PRO “KING OF INDIES 2022”, 19/11/2022
United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, USA

1. King Of Indies 2022: Konosuke Takeshita Vs X

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

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A Bunch Of Recent Video Interviews

September 28, 2022

I gathered together a few recent Youtube interviews from DDT & TJPW related figures. I don’t know how often this will be happening so I’ll probably keep future videos to single posts rather than bundling them all together every month.

All Real Wrestling Podcast: Konosuke Takeshita talks DDT pro, AEW, Dream match, Future goals & his love for Cinnabon – ARWP 92

Kotatsu Studios: [Kotatsu Studios PILOT SERIES] Shota Interview (August 22, 2022)

Joseph Montecillo: An Interview with DDT’s Kazusada Higuchi

Fightful Wrestling: Yuka Sakazaki Talks AEW, Japan, More | 2022 Interview

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DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2022” Results

September 25, 2022

DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2022”, 25/09/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
701 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. Dark Match: Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima defeated Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida when Okatani pinned Ishida with the Double Arm Suplex (6:37).
1. MAO, Asuka & Saki Akai defeated Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda when Akai pinned Honda with the Rookie Award (6:44).
2. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 3 Way Match: Shinya Aoki defeated Shunma Katsumata and Yuki “Sexy” Iino (w/ Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno) when Aoki pinned Katsumata with the European Clutch (6:58).
3. Special Tag Match: Akito & Yukio Naya defeated Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu when Naya submitted Kawamatsu with the Torture Cobra Twist (11:41).
4. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & KANON (w/ MJ Paul) defeated Naomi Yoshimura, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi when Sasaki submitted Oishi with the Crossface Lock (11:21).
5. Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Soma Takao defeated Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Takeshi Masada when Sakaguchi pinned Okada with the God’s Right Knee (11:18).
6. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Cara Noir with the WR (13:01).
*V1 for Yuki Ueno.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Buchikamashi (18:57).
*V2 for Kazusada Higuchi.

A hard headed effort from Kazusada Higuchi withstood the challenge of Konosuke Takeshita, preventing the KO-D Openweight Title from leaving Japan once Takeshita goes back to America. Higuchi’s iron toughness was on show when Takeshita pulled him by the arms, driving him head first into the steel ring post. Higuchi took a second long pause to register what happened and calmly fired back with a Headbutt that drew some blood from Takeshita’s forehead. Higuchi later attempted a big Choke Slam from the top rope but it was countered into a Frankensteiner followed by the Zahi. Higuhci kicked out of that and also the German Suplex before catching the Jumping Knee. More big bombs were thrown between the two and Takeshita finally hit the Jumping Knee. What he didn’t see coming was Higuchi standing firm and then charging in with the Buchikamashi sumo tackle. That put Takeshita down for the three count and Higuchi remains the champion.

After the match Takeshita gave his approval to Higuchi for being the champion and told him to do his best. He will be in America for around two and a half months before coming back for a DDT booking at the end of the year. Shinya Aoki then came down to ringside but rather than tease cashing in his title shot, he reached through the ropes to give Higuchi a fist bump instead and left. Yukio Sakaguchi then came out during Higuchi’s victory speech. He said Higuchi understands why he came out and he still does not understand true fear the likes of which Sakaguchi is capable of. Higuchi accepted his challenge and the two former “brothers” will fight for the KO-D Title on 23rd October.

You ever hear when wrestling commentators joke about how “it ain’t ballet”? Isn’t that in reality an insult backfire when you think about it? I’ve watched footage of ballet training and that stuff looks like hell on Earth even when compared to pro wrestling drills. Okay, okay, I’m getting distracted because I don’t want to make the usual theatre puns when writing about Cara Noir. The English wrestler performed his big entrance for the fans and then jumped Yuki Ueno with a John Woo Dropkick. Ueno was able to defend himself and escape from the Blackout Sleeper. He then returned with a Dropkick of his own, hitting Noir right in his face. The WR afterwards got Ueno the win and a successful DDT Universal Title defence under his belt.

There is a language barrier between the two but Ueno thanked Noir for coming to Japan after their match. It is a difficult time for Ueno to do what he wants and defend the Universal Title abroad, so he appreciates foreign opponents coming to DDT to challenge him. The three main members of Pheromones then entered the ring. Yuki Iino stepped over to Ueno and then turned around, revealing Ueno’s iPhone sticking out of his butt. Ueno pulled out his phone and found out he got a message from Koju Takeda. He read the message containing accusations that he does not have enough Pheromones. Takeda wants to measure their hormone levels together and so challenges Ueno for the Universal Title on 23rd October. Ueno accepts and wants to see how much Takeda has changed since their days in DNA together.

Sakaguchi cemented his claim for a KO-D Title shot by grabbing the win in Match #5. He was part of a DDT all veteran team against three members of BURNING along with the rookie Takeshi Masada. For some reason Sanshiro Takagi was a target for the opposing team. Tetsuya Endo got some ring time with HARASHIMA but Masada in particular wanted to beat Takagi. Jun Akiyama explained to the reporters backstage it’s because pro wrestling is the only place where it is acceptable to beat up the company president. It’s also acceptable to kick the heck out of Yusuke Okada like Sakaguchi did to win the match. Soma Takao was just kind of there. Even he noticed that he isn’t in any of the match pictures on DDT’s website.

DAMNATION T.A gave some of their next KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles opponents a taste of what’s to come. Minoru Fujita & KANON had their hands full with Naomi Yoshimura & Yuji Hino until MJ Paul got into a brawl with Hino out of the ring and up towards the balcony. Daisuke Sasaki had Makoto Oishi right where he wanted him from there. DAMNATION T.A benefited from the numbers game and Sasaki ended up tapping out Oishi with the Crossface Lock. Sasaki mocked Oishi for being so weak and wanted to injure him with a chair. Suddenly Shiori Asahi’s music began playing and he ran out to rescue his friend, fighting off Sasaki with a skateboard. Together, Oishi & Asahi then gave KANON the Cactus Flower. Asahi said it’s been a long time since he showed up as X on DDT shows. Hino said Ω is getting closer to a complete recovery. They will show DAMNATION T.A what real evil looks like when they take the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles from them!

The politician tag team of Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu were back at it again, this time wrestling against Akito & Yukio Naya. Two two are becoming more cohesive by doing double team moves together. However Naya was able to break them apart and submit Kawamatsu with the Cobra Twist. Nishimura gave advice to Kawamatsu by comparing a wrestling career to an election. Elections are the accumulation of everything politicians do day by day. Kawamatsu admits that every time he steps into the ring to wrestle his head goes blank and everything happens at a blink of an eye. Akito thinks this won’t be the last we see of Kawamatsu. Naya meanwhile has more important matters to get ready for.

Aoki had no choice but to put his Right To Challenge NFT on the line against Shunma Katsumata and Yuki Iino in a 3 Way Match. Katsumata dealt with Iino by sticking party poppers into his backside and setting them off. What he couldn’t have anticipated was Aoki turning into a Pheromones gimmick! He reappeared wearing very little and pinned Katsumata with the European Clutch. He still hasn’t publicly told people when he wants to cash in the NFT for a KO-D Title shot. The only hint he gives is it will happen soon.

Romance was unexpectedly in the air during the opening bout. Toru Owashi and Antonio Honda’s grappling gradually turned into them slowly embracing each other for a kiss. That was interrupted by the others but soon some unintentional hugging led to Saki Akai wanting to kiss Asuka and MAO wanting to kiss Kazuki Hirata. Before they could almost all of them snapped back to normal and Akai pinned Honda with the Rookie Award. Asuka was left in a frozen state with her eyes closed, still waiting for Akai to kiss her. Yukinori Matsui woke her up causing Asuka to scream at the sight of him and leave.

The dark match saw Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima beat Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida in a tag battle between the young generation. Ishida kicked out of Okatani’s Northern Lights Suplex so Okatani had to pull out the Double Arm Suplex for the win.

19 year old trainee Kazuma Sumi will make his debut against Kazuki Hirata on 23rd October. He spoke to the crowd and called Hirata a very talented person so he will do his best. Sumi has a background in karate and gymnastics. He is the second of the trainee class introduced in May to make his debut, the first being Takeshi Masada.

Danshoku Dieno has written a book to celebrate his 20th Anniversary in pro wrestling. He said he lied to the publisher about making a self-help book to convince them to sell it. However he will be covering topics about the pro wrestling business from his point of view based on his two decades of experience. It will be available in December and Dieno is hosting a special event at Korakuen Hall on the 21st to commemorate the release. Attendees will receive a copy of the book but the cost of it will be added on top of the ticket price.

The D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 lineup was revealed. The A Block consists of Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura, Joey Janela, Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki and Rickey Shane Page. The B Block consists of Kazusada Higuchi, Chris Brookes, MAO, Yuji Hino, KANON and Yukio Naya.

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Video – Konosuke Takeshita’s Debut Match Against El Generico

September 24, 2022

DDT “BUDOKAN PETER PAN 2012 ~ DDT 15TH ANNIVERSARY”, 18/08/2012
Tokyo Nippon Budokan
10,124 Fans – Super No Vacancy

Konosuke Takeshita Debut Match: El Generico Vs Konosuke Takeshita

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Takeshita Heading Back To USA Next Month, El Unicorn Taking Time Off To Study

September 22, 2022

GANBARE☆PRO “TWIN PEAKS 2022”, 23/09/2022
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. GanPro Three Major Singles Match: Shuichiro Katsumura Vs Yuki Ishida
2. GanPro Specialty! Mixed 6-Man Tag Match: Ken Ohka, Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs Yumehito Imanari, Yuna Manase & YuuRI
3. GanPro Three Major Singles Match: Soma Takao Vs Yuki Kanzaki
4. GanPro Three Major Singles Match: Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Jun Masaoka
5. Twin Peaks 2022 Special Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Kouki Iwasaki & Mizuki Watase

Here’s the match order for the first Ganbare☆Pro show of the day. They are a few ticket sales away from a sell out.

GANBARE☆PRO “ENEMY OF AMERICA 2022”, 23/09/2022
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. Young Drama Generation Vs Reiwa Dramatic Generation: Keisuke Ishii Vs Toi Kojima
2. GanPro Three Major Tag Match: Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs Miyuki Takase & Yoshiko Hasegawa
3. YuuRI GanPro 1st Anniversary Match: Yuna Manase Vs YuuRI
4. GanPro Three Major Tag Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Kouki Iwasaki & Yuki Kanzaki
5. GanPro Three Major Tag Match: Ken Ohka & Yumehito Imanari Vs Soma Takao & Mizuki Watase

And here’s the match order for the evening. This show is sold out.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW AUTUMN TOUR ’22”, 24/09/2022
Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall

1. 3 Way Match: Hikari Noa Vs Suzume Vs Moka Miyamoto
2. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Miu Watanabe & Arisu Endo
3. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Kaya Toribami
4. Nao Kakuta Vs Haruna Neko
5. Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino Vs Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki, Raku & Pom Harajuku

A contract signing with Shoko Nakajima and Yuka Sakazaki for the main event of “WRESTLE PRINCESS III” will be held during the show.

Both Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh are back from their American bookings. They are together as 121000000 for their first match back.

Mahiro Kiryu will miss the show due to a shoulder injury.

BASARA “BASARA 200 ~TAKAGARI 12~”, 24/09/2022
Takashimadaira Ward Community Center

1. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Antonio Honda Vs Fuminori Abe & Yasu Urano
2. 3 Way Match: Ryota Nakatsu Vs SAGAT Vs Akiyori Takizawa
3. Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Jun Masaoka
4. Elimination 6-Man Tag Match: Isami Kodaka, Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita Vs Lil’ Kraken, Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
5. IRON FIST Tag Titles: Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino (c) Vs FUMA & Daichi Kazato

A big jump up the card for Lil’ Kraken. The “mystery” masked wrestler teams with Speed Of Sounds to take on Sento Minzoku in an Elimination Tag Match.

The three regular members of Sparky are going all against each other in a 3 Way Match.

DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2022”, 25/09/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima Vs Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida
1. MAO, Asuka & Saki Akai Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
2. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 3 Way Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Shunma Katsumata Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino (w/ Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno)
3. Special Tag Match: Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Akito & Yukio Naya
4. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & KANON (w/ MJ Paul) Vs Naomi Yoshimura, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi
5. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Takeshi Masada Vs Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Soma Takao
6. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Cara Noir
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

A press conference was held earlier today featuring the participants of the two title matches. Konosuke Takeshita announced he is returning to America in October so his goal for Sunday is to win the KO-D Openweight Title and bring it with him to AEW. He does not believe Kazusada Higuchi’s claim that a new wind is blowing through DDT. Higuchi disagrees and thinks the KO-D Title has already taken a new form that will not change back if Takeshita wins it off him and takes it abroad. Win or lose, this is the match Higuchi has been looking for.

Nobody was able to get a word out of Cara Noir during the press conference. Even Yuki Ueno tried to make him speak by asking him questions in English but Noir stayed silent throughout. However his physical gestures made it clear he wants to beat Ueno and become the new DDT Universal Champion. Ueno hopes that if he can successfully defend the title it will open the door to him having a title defence in the United Kingdom. He also wants to defend the belt in Thailand to live up to a promise that Masahiro Takanashi made when he was the champion.

The full line-up of this year’s D-Ou Grand Prix tournament will be revealed during the show.

DDT “YUBUN PRESENTS DDT PRO WRESTLING IN IKEBUKURO FULL MOON FESTIVAL”, 01/10/2022
Ikebukuro Nishiguchi Park Outdoor Theater Global Ring Theater

1. Yukio Naya Vs Yuya Koroku
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Kazuki Hirata
3. DDTeeeen!! Special Single Match: Ilusion Vs El Unicorn
4. Toru Owashi & Makoto Oishi Vs Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani
5. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuji Hino & Takeshi Masada
6. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs HARASHIMA, MAO & Antonio Honda
7. Harimao Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida Vs Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima

El Unicorn will be taking time off from pro wrestling to prepare for his upcoming high school entrance exams. Before he leaves he will get one more singles match against his DDTeeeen!! rival Ilusion. El Unicorn said he is sad he won’t be able to wrestle for a while but he also understands this will be good for the future of his pro wrestling career.

GANBARE☆PRO “NERAWARETA GAKUEN 2022”, 02/10/2022
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Union Alumni Assocation In Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling: Ken Ohka Vs Daichi Kazato
2. Toyama & India Vs Ota Ward & Nakano All-Out Battle!: Shinichiro Tominaga & Baliyan Akki Vs Soma Takao & Mizuki Watase
3. England x Makai x GanJo! Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Nightshade, Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs Ram Kaichow, YuuRI & Yoshiko Hasegawa
4. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Hartley Jackson (c) Vs Yuna Manase

We haven’t seen Baliyan Akki around Ganpro since April. He’s been doing well since then, just coming back from wrestling across America including a couple of AEW appearances.

Daichi Kazato from BASARA is coming over for a Union Pro reunion with Ken Okha. Both of them have changed a lot since they were last in the ring together.

Tyson Maeguchi and Yuki Kanzaki will also be on the show.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 9 ~NO CLOUDS OVER THE MOON~”, 10/10/2022
Osaka Higashinari Ward Community Center

1. The Man Called Supernova & The Man Who Was Once Called Supernova Vs The Men Who Were Never Called Supernova: Soma Takao & Takeshi Masada Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuki Ishida
2. A Song Of Geniuses! Special 4 Way Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Makoto Oishi Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Yoshihiko
3. DDT Dotonbori THE NEXT!: Toi Kojima & Harutoki Vs Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~Smile Squash Vs DAMNATION T.A~: HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Akito Vs Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON
5. Special Tag Match Sterness Siege ~Men Of Ice Vs Men Of Melting Ice~: Jun Akiyama & Antonio Honda Vs Kuishinbo Kamen & Kikutaro
6. Special Single Match ~Road Of Former Champions~: Tetsuya Endo Vs Masahiro Takanashi
7. Special Tag Match ~Wrestling Master Jrs Vs The 37KAMIINA~: Daisuke Sasaki & HUB Vs Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata
8. Naniwa Earthquake! Super Special 6-Man Tag Match: Magnitude Kishiwada, Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Yukio Sakaguchi & Chris Brookes
9. Special Tag Match Osaka Monogatari ~ Destruction Demon King Vs The “It Was The Power Of Wrestling That Resolved The Worst Of Their Relationship To The Point Where They Didn’t Even See Eye To Eye. Their Belief Is That There Is Never A Normal Good Match And The Common Denominator Is An Unusual wrestling Head”z~: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Shigehiro Irie & MAO

Harutoki is been wrestling for three years with Dotonbori Pro.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2022 TOUR IN SAPPORO – DAY 1”, 15/10/2022
Hokkaido Sapporo ii-one Stadium

1. Kazuki Hirata & Saki Akai Vs Shunma Katsumata & Manami Kanda
2. Special Single Match: Kouki Iwasaki Vs Hideki Okatani
3. Sapporo Specialty Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Noriyuki Yoshida & Yuya Koroku

Several guests have been booked for the show. On this very day one year ago Noriyuki Yoshida fought Jun Akiyama in an emotional match to celebrate his 15th wrestling anniversary. They meet again this time in a tag match with other members of BURNING. Also on the show are Kouki Iwasaki, Manami Kanda and Tomoya.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2022 TOUR IN SAPPORO – DAY 2”, 16/10/2022
Hokkaido Sapporo ii-one Stadium

1. HARASHIMA & Makoto Oishi Vs Tomoya & Takeshi Masada
2. Special Single Match: Saki Akai Vs Manami Kanda
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Chris Brookes Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Noriyuki Yoshida

The next day will see Akiyama and Yoshida teaming together.

Kanda’s weekend in DDT is built around matches against Saki Akai.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2022”, 23/10/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Osamu Nishimura, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Yuki Ishida
2. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Takeshi Masada Vs Soma Takao & Hikaru Machida
3. Pheromones Vs Takagi-gun Complete Settlement Battle FINAL: X Vs X

Kickboxer Hikaru Machida is coming back to DDT and HARASHIMA will be there waiting for him. The big matches are also piling up for the rookie Takeshi Masada. He’s getting some ring time with Soma Takao both as teammates and opponents in October.

Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu are sticking around in DDT. They have a battle alongside Yuki Ishida against BURNING coming up next month.

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AEW “TOKYO GAME SHOW 2022 EXHIBITION MATCH” Results

September 18, 2022

While AEW was over in Japan for the Tokyo Game Show, they put together several exhibition matches at the convention with DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro providing some extra talent. It was the first time AEW held public matches in Japan (their 2021 women’s tournament was behind closed doors). Before all of this happened, Christopher Daniels held a talk panel in the ring where he explained AEW to the audience and played a few single player matches of AEW Fight Forever. In the first game he played as Hikaru Shida and lost to Adam Cole. He apologised to Shida because he knows she would be watching the footage. He then played a second game as Thunder Rosa and lost to Shida. There was a mention that the game is aiming to launch next Spring.

For anyone wondering where Kenny Omega was, he had no involvement (at least publicly that I know of) with the promotion for AEW Fight Forever this weekend. However he was on a Capcom Youtube stream playing Resident Evil and Street Fighter games. Maki Itoh was also advertised to wrestle but she was in North America for indie bookings that were already set up ages ago. I have no idea how that double booking happened.

AEW “TOKYO GAME SHOW 2022 EXHIBITION MATCH”, 16/09/2022
Chiba Makuhari Messe Hall
27,614 Fans – Total Number Of TGS Visitors

1. AEW Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Christopher Daniels defeated Chris Brookes with the Best Moonsault Ever (10:17).
2. AEW Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Ryo Mizunami defeated Hikari Noa with the Hot Limit (8:47).
3. AEW Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Christopher Daniels with the Jumping Knee (9:39).

On Day 1 Daniels defeated Chris Brookes in the afternoon portion of the show to advance on to the evening match where Konosuke Takeshita was waiting for him. Daniels threw the referee in the way to get a cheap shot in, leading to him pinning Brookes with the Best Moonsault Ever. Michael Nakazawa held a post-match interview with Daniels that ended with Daniels attacking him, causing Takeshita to chase him off.

Whether it counts towards her official AEW record or not, Hikari Noa had her debut match for the promotion against Ryo Mizunami. Noa focused on her Thrust Kicks to find openings and saw the chance to go for the Blizzard Suplex. Mizunami blocked the move and rocked Noa with a Spear, setting her up for the Hot Limit finish. Mizunami said afterwards she has a hot passion to return to America.

The evening match saw Takeshita get his revenge on Daniels. He kicked out of the Angels Wings at one and also the BME at two. Looking for another way to win, Daniels put Takeshita on the top rope thinking about doing a Frankensteiner. Takeshita pushed him off and followed with a Jumping Knee from the top rope. He then hit another Jumping Knee for the win. After the match Takeshita talked about how happy he was to wrestle the person he remembers as Curry Man from Michinoku Pro two decades ago. Nakazawa joked he probably wasn’t supposed to say that out loud. Takeshita hopes to do a rematch in America.

AEW “TOKYO GAME SHOW 2022 EXHIBITION MATCH”, 17/09/2022
Chiba Makuhari Messe Hall
Approximately 47,000 Fans – Total Number Of TGS Visitors

1. AEW Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Chris Brookes with the Jumping Knee (10:46).
2. AEW Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Riho defeated Hikari Noa with the Somato (8:19).
3. AEW Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Yuki Ueno defeated Michael Nakazawa with a Half Nelson Suplex (10:29).
4. AEW Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Yuka Sakazaki defeated Christopher Daniels & Ryo Mizunami when Sakazaki pinned Mizunami with the Magical Magical Girl Splash (10:26).

Day 2 began with a singles match between Takeshita and Brookes. The match almost became dangerous for the audience at ringside when Brookes considered trying to Suplex Takeshita out of the ring. Instead Takeshita blocked it and ran the ropes only for Brookes to slingshot himself back into the ring to hit a Cutter. Brookes hit his own version of the Jumping Knee Strike but Takeshita bounced back with the strong version of the Jumping Knee to get the win.

Match 2 was Riho’s first match in an AEW ring since May. Noa gave her a fight that included the two exchanging Elbow Strikes up on the top turnbuckles. Riho threw her off with a Superplex and followed with the Diving Stomp for a close nearfall. Once she hit the Somato though it was all over.

The matches so far were all of the normal variety so the TGS crowd were caught off guard by Michael Nakazawa. They got to see his perverted wrestling style that built up to him pulling off his underwear without removing his tights. If that wasn’t wild enough, Yuki Ueno took the match outside the ring with a Plancha followed by a DDT onto one of the raised floor sections of the venue. Ueno then saw fit to end the match with a Half Nelson Suplex instead of one of his regular finishers.

The day ended with a mixed tag match. On one side was Takeshita and Yuka Sakazaki forming a team called The Magical Cinnabon Monsters. Their opponents were Daniels and Mizunami with Daniels looking to avenge his loss to Takeshita from the previous day. Perhaps in something of an upset The Magical Cinnabon Monsters won! Sakazaki hit the Magical Magical Girl Splash on Mizunami and Takeshita hit the Jumping Knee on Daniels. The two pins happened at the same time but the match result from both DDT and TJPW record it as Sakazaki getting the pinfall.

AEW “TOKYO GAME SHOW 2022 EXHIBITION MATCH”, 18/09/2022
Chiba Makuhari Messe Hall
40,291 Fans – Total Number Of TGS Visitors

1. AEW Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Hikari Noa with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (12:07).
2. AEW Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Hagane Shinno defeated Michael Nakazawa with the Ranhei (7:59)

The third and final day was smaller in scale because DDT had a show in Korakuen Hall happening around the same time while Daniels had a booking with All Japan at Budokan Hall. The afternoon match pitted Sakazaki against Noa, making Noa the ironwoman of the weekend by being the only person to have a match on all three days as well as compete at a TJPW show. They fought outside around the other THQ Nordic booths where Sakazaki found Crypto 137 from Destroy All Humans! She got the alien to distract Noa so she could hit her opponent over the head with the Zap-O-Matic. Sakazaki happily gave the gun back to Crypto, telling him it was now broken. She later won the match with the Magical Merry-Go-Round to end her weekend undefeated at TGS. Sakazaki admitted she wasn’t sure if they were allowed to fight near the other booths. Nakazawa told her they weren’t and he expects they will be scolded later. He also heard that Sakazaki is planning to return to America soon and asked if it’s true? She said she wants to go back as soon as possible and joked it might not be tomorrow.

The very last match to close out the event was Nakazawa taking on Hagane Shinno. Nakazawa thought he was only coming out to do commentary and hastily stripped down into his wrestling gear. He asked Shinno to help him put on his kneepads but it was a trick to ambush him with a microphone shot to the head. Hagane fought back but missed a Moonsault giving Nakazawa the opening to set up the Ultimate Venom Arm. Shinno cut him off with a Kicking Combination and then climbed the top rope. Nakazawa grabbed him with the Ultimate Venom Arm and climbed up after him. However Shinno knocked him over to where Nakazawa was left hanging upside down. Shinno then hit a Diving Stomp off the corner followed by the Ranhei for the victory. Nakazawa complained that he should have won because he is an AEW employee while Shinno was never even associated with the promotion before today. However Shinno said if things go to plan he will be having an American expedition in mid-October so he may show up in AEW proper after all. He’d like to have a rematch with Nakazawa in America if they can do it.

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DDT “STERNNESS 30TH ANNIVERSARY ~JUN AKIYAMA 30TH ANNIVERSARY~” Results

September 18, 2022

DDT “STERNNESS 30TH ANNIVERSARY ~JUN AKIYAMA 30TH ANNIVERSARY~”, 18/09/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
715 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Yusuke Okada defeated Yuya Koroku with the Sudden Death (7:01).
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata ended in a No Contest (7:16).
3. Akito, Soma Takao & Yukio Naya defeated HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani when Naya submitted Okatani with the Torture Cobra Twist (10:36).
4. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi when KANON pinned Ishida with the Sleepy Hollow (12:40).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Cara Noir, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toi Kojima when Noir submitted Kojima with the Blackout Sleeper (12:47).
6. Naomi Yoshimura defeated Takeshi Masada with the Lariat (10:14).
7. Jun Akiyama Debut 30th Anniversary Match – Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Yuji Nagata, Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata when Akiyama pinned Katsumata with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex (20:34).

On 17th September, 1992 Jun Akiyama made his pro wrestling debut against Kenta Kobashi inside an All Japan ring. Over the next 30 years he fought for both AJPW and NOAH back and forth until he found an unlikely new home in DDT. So it was DDT who got to host his milestone celebration. But there is also some crossover with New Japan on the show with Akiyama inviting both Yuji Nagata and Yoshinobu Kanemaru to compete. Akiyama has close ties with both of them, Nagata was his rival from the enemy company while Kanemaru was his long time tag partner. The DDT involvement in the match included Tetsuya Endo and Konosuke Takeshita, who Akiyama have both taken under his wing in certain ways, as well as Shunma Katsumata. He is here because he reminds Akiyama so much of Kanemaru. Akiyama also received congratulations from Kobashi and President Kitai from the K.O. Gym.

It was only fitting for Akiyama and Nagata to start off the match together. They had a back and forth battle until Kanemaru and Katsumata got involved. Kanemaru went to spit liquor at his opponent but Katsumata ducked and Akiyama got sprayed with it instead. Endo and Takeshita cancelled each other out, particularly when Endo did a Canadian Destroyer and Takeshita hit back with the Zahi for a double down. Katsumata tried to take matters into his own hands but he missed the Totonou Splash aimed for Akiyama. That led to a string of finishers with Kanemaru giving Katsumata the Deep Impact, Endo hitting an Exploder Suplex and Akiyama charging in with a Running Knee Strike. The end came with Akiyama pulling out the Wrist-Clutch Exploder for the pinfall.

After the match Akiyama talked about when he was scouted by Giant Baba to become a pro wrestler. He also learned so much from Jumbo Tsuruta and Mitsuharu Misawa. Sadly they have all since passed away so he told Kobashi to please stay healthy for a long time! He then talked about DDT and how Sanshiro Takagi is their Baba-like figure. He then named Endo, Takeshita, Kazusada Higuchi and Naomi Yoshimura as DDT’s Four Pillars/Heavenly Kings. Akiyama is happy and grateful to be a part of DDT and the company feels like family to him. He ended the show by telling a story about Baba. During Baba’s later years he once said he is no longer in a fight against other wrestlers, but with himself. He will not lost to himself and instead will make the most of each and every day. Akiyama promises to do the same from here on out. Backstage Nagata praised Endo for being competitive and having a good slap.

Akiyama purposely chose Yoshimura versus Takeshi Masada to be in the semi-main event position. The reason is Akiyama’s debut match 30 years ago was in the same spot. Masada is getting so much attention as the rookie with a high ceiling that Akiyama felt he should be given the same opportunity. The result was expected, Yoshimura was dominant for the most part and took Masada’s offence before pinning him with the Lariat. Masada was able to show toughness by kicking out of one of the earlier Lariats. Backstage Yoshimura admitted to feeling nervous over the match because Akiyama put it together. However he wants Akiyama to know that he never looks down on any of the younger wrestlers. He praised Masada for the strength of his strikes, saying he hasn’t felt kicks that hard from a younger wrestler since Keigo Nakamura in his debut match. But Yoshimura is still stronger than him so Masada will have to think of another way to try and beat him. Masada said getting the chance to fight Yoshimura at the peak of his power will definitely help his pro wrestling career in the future.

The ballet wrestler Cara Noir made his DDT debut, performing his dramatic Swan Lake entrance in Japan for the first time. He has a DDT Universal Title shot against Yuki Ueno coming up on 25th September so the two faced off in a 6-Man Tag Match here. Ueno had his usual buddies in The 37KAMIINA on his side while Noir teamed with CDK. Just because those two were the focus of the match didn’t mean the others stepped aside. MAO got a cheap shot Straight Punch in on Noir, CDK got Noir to join in on a human pyramid style group taunt at their opponents’ expense. Toi Kojima tried firing up on the newcomer but once Noir spun into him to apply the Blackout Sleeper, it was all over. Ueno welcomed Noir after the match but told him he won’t give over the Universal Title to him next week. Noir didn’t say anything, instead he just gently stroked the title belt on Ueno’s shoulder and did a dramatic pose.

The confidence surrounding DAMNATION T.A is growing at a rapid rate after today’s result. All four members of the unit were together to win an 8-Man Tag Match against a combination of Harimao and Ω wrestlers. KANON grabbed the victory by pinning Yuki Ishida. Then Daisuke Sasaki started complaining about how much he doesn’t care about Akiyama’s 30th Anniversary. He continues to get Ω confused with Kenny Omega and warned everyone that all of the tag team championships in DDT should belong to DAMNATION T.A! Backstage Sasaki said the unit is now at full strength with Minoru Fujita back from injury and the entire company will be finished thanks to them. KANON then threw his name into the hat for the D-Ou Grand Prix, saying he expects to see a few people in the tournament who owe him favours. Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi are now licking their wounds over today’s defeat. But they know they have so many options in Ω for backup when they and Shiori Asahi challenge DAMNATION T.A for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles on 8th October. Higuchi also warned DAMNATION T.A not to act so arrogant when they face Harimao for the KO-D Tag Team Titles four days later.

Yukio Naya also made a strong appeal to be included in the D-Ou Grand Prix. He got the victory in Match #3 by making Hideki Okatani submit. This was after he took all the kicks he could from HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi. When Akito & Soma Takao was able to clear them out of the ring, Naya took control and won the match for his team. Naya said he learned a lot from Akiyama and Hino over the last year when he was feeling so helpless. He is not only determined to be part of the tournament but also win it too!

Another day another Pheromones match getting cancelled midway through because of, well, Pheromones stuff. You have Koju Takeda attacking Kazuki Hirata with his bare backside while a clean shaven Yumehito Imanari watches on. Takagi tried leading his side in unison which went well until Antonio Honda’s Gongitsune went out of control and wiped the entire team out. Danshoku Dieno then called for the lights to switch off so Yuki Iino could strip completely naked. Hisaya Imabayashi called off the match so he and the ringside attendants could cover up Iino’s waist. Takagi was furious to see Pheromones pull off this stunt during Akiyama’s 30th Anniversary. He demanded an immediate rematch but Imabayashi refused. Instead there will be one final showdown between Takagi and Pheromones on 23rd October. Takagi told Honda & Toru Owashi to join him so they can all get revenge for Hirata. Dieno pointed out this will be their fourth “final battle” in two months. If that is not enough, Takeda later backstage called out Yuki Ueno for not having enough Pheromones in him!

The opening match was given to Yusuke Okada and Yuya Koroku, the two remaining members of BURNING. Akiyama chose them because he wanted the first match to be an exciting start for the show. The more experienced Okada got the win with the Sudden Death shortly after Koroku missed a Moonsault. The two of them congratulated Akiyama on his Anniversary. Okada said he’s been working with Akiyama for the last 6 years so he is proud to be involved today. Koroku promised to keep training hard so he can become as great and strong as Akiyama.

A second show celebrating Akiyama’s 30th Anniversary will be held in his hometown of Izumi, Osaka on 10th December.

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TGS Exhibition Matches, Abadon Off TJPW Show, This Is Not Meant To Be An AEW Blog I Swear

September 15, 2022

AEW “TOKYO GAME SHOW 2022 EXHIBITION MATCH”, 16/09/2022
Chiba Makuhari Messe Hall

1. AEW: Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Christopher Daniels Vs Chris Brookes
2. AEW: Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Ryo Mizunami Vs Hikari Noa
3. AEW: Fight Forever Exhibition Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Winner Of Match #1

There’s the confirmation over what I was talking about from yesterday’s post. AEW are holding exhibition matches at the Tokyo Game Show with DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro also involved. There will be matches held over three days with a variety of wrestlers from the promotions already mentioned plus a few more names in store. On Day 1 the first two matches will be held at 1:00 pm. Match #3 will be at 3:00 pm.

Other names advertised to appear during the weekend are Riho, Michael Nakazawa, Yuka Sakazaki, Maki Itoh, Hagane Shinno and Yuki Ueno. Itoh I’m surprised by because she has a match in Canada on Friday and a match in America on Saturday. Does the time difference work out for her to make it back on Sunday? There are also a few big name omissions given who is also in the country this weekend. Earlier today Hikaru Shida starred in the latest Makai performance and Emi Sakura was running a Gatoh Move event. And of course there is all the talk surrounding Kenny Omega. He is currently suspended from AEW related business due to investigations over the incident that is now referred to online as “Brawl Out”.

The latest gossip is Omega will not be involved with the promotion for AEW’s video game at TGS. News has since come out that both Nakazawa and Christopher Daniels have been cleared of any wrongdoing so their suspensions have been lifted and they can go ahead with their duties. Omega however is over in Japan on his own volition working on personal projects with Sega and Capcom. He visited Sega’s office and posted pictures of himself getting scanned, presumably to become a character for one of the upcoming Yakuza/Like A Dragon games in production. The Capcom connection is an upcoming panel appearance to talk about Street Fighter 6. Oh yeah and he reunited with Kota Ibushi too. As much as that tugs on my heartstrings I won’t go any further with that unless The Golden Lovers reunion makes its way over to DDT. Don’t hold your breath with that one.

Once every match from all three days is completed I will gather them all together for a results post along with video links should they be filmed on any of THQ Nordic’s social channels. Normally I would save AEW results for my Around The World posts but this is all happening in Japan with more direct involvement from DDT and TJPW than usual. So I may as well give the results their own post.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW AUTUMN TOUR ’22”, 16/09/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Haruna Neko
2. Moka Miyamoto Vs Mei Suruga
3. Rika Tatsumi Vs Mahiro Kiryu
4. Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta & Kaya Toribami Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku
5. Shoko Nakajima & Arisu Endo Vs Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki
6. International Princess Title Next Challenger Match: Miu Watanabe Vs Suzume

Sadly Abadon could not get a visa ready in time to travel and cannot be in Japan this weekend. Their appearance at tomorrow’s TJPW show has been cancelled and Mei Suruga is being called in to be Moka Miyamoto’s new opponent. Abadon was meant to be at TGS first and foremost. The TJPW booking was made after the fact but visa troubles with the “event organiser” happened shortly afterwards. Attempts were made to solve the problem but the booking was cancelled in the end. This is not a problem exclusive to AEW contracted wrestlers (see Timothy Thatcher and NOAH last month) but I’m worried this happening so close to Willow Nightingale’s cancelled booking is revealing a trend.

DDT “STERNNESS 30TH ANNIVERSARY ~JUN AKIYAMA 30TH ANNIVERSARY~”, 18/09/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Yusuke Okada Vs Yuya Koroku
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata
3. HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani & Soma Takao & Yukio Naya
4. Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toi Kojima Vs Cara Noir, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi
6. Naomi Yoshimura Vs Takeshi Masada
7. Jun Akiyama Debut 30th Anniversary Match – Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo & Yoshinobu Kanemaru Vs Yuji Nagata, Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata

Jun Akiyama gave a few comments on the card for DDT’s website. He made some DDT to All Japan comparisons, saying Sanshiro Takagi is DDT’s Giant Baba. He also named Konosuke Takeshita, Tetsuya Endo, Kazusada Higuchi and Naomi Yoshimura as DDT’s Four Pillars. Because Takagi is like Baba, Akiyama describes Takagi’s tag match against Pheromones as something like the Family Gundan Vs Akuyaku Shokai comedy bouts that AJPW held throughout the 90s. Does that make Antonio Honda this generation’s Rusher Kimura?

Kenta Kobashi will be a special guest commentator on the show. He was Akiyama’s debut opponent.

GANBARE☆PRO “NERAWARETA GAKUEN 2022”, 02/10/2022
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. England x Makai x GanJo! Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Nightshade, Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs Ram Kaichow, YuuRI & Yoshiko Hasegawa
2. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Hartley Jackson (c) Vs Yuna Manase

A big shift in Ganbare☆Pro’s main event scene was made after Hartley Jackson won the Spirit Of Ganbare Title from Yumehito Imanari. The first person to challenge him for the belt is Yuna Manase! The two have been in the ring together before over at ZERO1. Manase thinks Jackson does not know the meaning of Ganbare so she won’t let him extinguish its flame.

Nightshade won’t just be working with TJPW when she returns to Japan next month. She will be at Ganpro for the first time in 3 years too. Her match is a chaotic mix of joshi talent including the Ganpro debut of Ram Kaichow!

DDT “GET ALIVE 2022”, 12/10/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. 4 Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuji Hino Vs HARASHIMA, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi
3. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match! Yuki Ishida 1st Anniversary Match ~ Playfulness Series Act 4: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Yuki Ishida
4. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match!: Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Toi Kojima
5. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match!: Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata
6. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match!: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Takeshi Masada
7. Makoto Oishi 20th Anniversary Match ~ Men’s Club Vs The 37KAMIINA: Makoto Oishi, MEN’S Teoih & Shiori Asahi Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON

The midcard is filled up with four significant singles matches. Yukio Sakaguchi is the latest veteran to put the super rookie Takeshi Masada to the test, Toru Owashi and Kazuki Hirata are finally facing each other in a regular one on one match, Koju Takeda has his first singles bout in DDT since joining Pheromones and Yuki Ishida celebrates his 1 year anniversary.

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DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2022 TOUR IS ASAKUSA” Results

September 13, 2022

DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2022 TOUR IS ASAKUSA”, 13/09/2022
Tokyo Asakusa Hanayashi Theater
233 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. Dark Match ~ Nariagari Offer Match: Tawaramachi Kid Jr. & Super Nikuyaki Machine defeated Sumo Ninja Kyu & Tadaki Toronomi when Kid pinned Toronomi after the Bakuretsu Bulldog (8:53).
1. 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Akito Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazuki Hirata ended in a No Contest (8:18).
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated Yuji Hino & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Sasaki submitted Matsunaga with the Crossface Lock (8:19).
3. Asakusa Specialty Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata defeated Makoto Oishi & Yoshihiko when Katsumata pinned Oishi with the Totonou Splash (11:34).
4. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos defeated Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada when Lykos pinned Masada after the Ink Bomb (9:31).
5. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Yukio Naya defeated Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada when Naya pinned Okada with the Back Drop (12:59).
6. Harimao Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuki Ueno & Toi Kojima defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida when Takeshita pinned Ishida with the Zahi (19:09).

The last preview match for the KO-D Openweight Title bout at the end of the month saw The 37KAMIINA come out on top against Harimao. The champion Kazusada Higuchi was taken out by Konosuke Takeshita’s Jumping Knee before Takeshita pinned Yuki Ishida with the Zahi. Takeshita told Higuchi that their title match on 25th September is going to be more interesting than what happened today. Backstage he also said he doesn’t have much time left before he goes back to America. He and the rest of his generation in DDT has to create a new era for pro wrestling in Japan this month and winning the KO-D Title will help accomplish that. Higuchi said all he can do now is fight. He is looking forward to doing that with Takeshita in Korakuen Hall.

The KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match hasn’t happened yet but Daisuke Sasaki is already claiming today’s win counts as DAMNATION T.A’s third successful defence. He called Yuji Hino a vengeful spirit who remained in this world because of the original DAMNATION split. Sasaki promised he will send him to heaven in the title match!

Yuya Koroku was pulled off the show at the last minute due to being a close contact case with covid. Tomomitsu Matsunaga took his place in Match #2.

The 3 Way Tag Match was called off after Yuki Iino had a blatant wardrobe malfunction and purposely tried to wrestle as nude as possible.

TV personality Koriki Choshu appeared during the show and gave a speech. He also performed the Para Para dance with Akito and Makoto Oishi in the ring.

“The Iai Puncher” Hikaru Machida returns to DDT on 23rd October.

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