“NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO WRESTLING 2022 ~TOSHIWASURE! SHUFFLE 6-MAN TAG TOURNAMENT~”, 31/12/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
2. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
3. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
4. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
5. Danshoku Dieno, Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata & Shunma Katsumata Vs Ryuji Ito, Abdullah Kobayashi, Jaki Numazawa & Kankuro Hoshino
6. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
7. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
8. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Drew Parker, Cara Noir & RSP Vs Yuji Okabayashi, Kazumi Kikuta, Takuho Kato & Kazumasa Yoshida
9. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Final: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
Ika Ra Takeshi Ki Asu Manji Hai (Driver’s High) – MAO, Yuya Aoki & Yuko Miyamoto Team 2023 – Chris Brookes, Daisuke Sekimoto & Isami Kodaka Zero Hyaku – Yuki Ueno, Daichi Hashimoto & Yuma Aoyagi Big Bombers – Yukio Naya, Hideyoshi Kamitani & Kikutaro Emi Chichichi (Wara Chichichi) – HARASHIMA, Yuki Ishikawa & Masashi Takeda Bara No Ue In The Sky With Diamonds – Tetsuya Endo, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu) Team Kansai – Takeshi Masada, Takuya Nomura & Masato Tanaka Super J Cups – Kazusada Higuchi, Kota Sekifuda & MUSASHI
The eight teams for the New Year’s Eve Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament were all chosen last week. Each team combines together one DDT wrestler, one Big Japan wrestler and one wrestler from outside those two companies. Each trio came up with their own team names based on a something that connects the three wrestlers together. In some cases there was a stretch. Take the Super J Cups for example. Kazusada Higuchi, Kota Sekifuda & MUSASHI were the last three wrestlers remaining after the draw. All three are currently champions but Sekifuda & MUSASHI are both in the Jr. Heavyweight division. Sekifuda told Higuchi that for one night only he gets to move down from Heavyweight to Jr. Heavyweight, which is why Super J Cups became their name.
There are two non-tournament matches also taking place on the show. Both of them are DDT Vs Big Japan 8-Man Tag matches. One of them sees a DDT team of international talent led by Konosuke Takeshita taking on Yuji Okabayashi and his band of Strong BJ fighters. The other has DDT’s comedy troupe pitted against BJW’s Death Match division.
“MASAHIRO TAKANASHI INDEPENDENT PERFORMANCE – BOKUTACHI 4 HANJUKU 4 I LOVE YOU! 2022”, 22/11/2022 Shinjuku FACE
0. Dark Match: Shinsetsu Gomu Ningen & Gota Ihashi (w/ Miyako Haru) Vs SAKI & Yasu Urano (w/ KUDO)
1. Chris Brookes, Mizuki Watase & Antonio Honda Vs Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao
2. Mei Suruga Vs MAO
3. Mixed Gauntlet Tag Match: Ram Kaichow & Yuko Miyamoto Vs Saki Akai & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu) Vs Mochi Natsumi & Hoshitango Vs Cherry & Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Chie Koishikawa & Shin Suzuki Vs Choun-Shiryu & Lee Yoneyama Vs Isami Kodaka & Emi Sakura W
4. Daisuke Sekimoto Vs Masahiro Takanashi
Drew Parker had to pull out of tomorrow’s show due to an arm injury. Mizuki Watase is his replacement.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’22”, 27/11/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Kaya Toribami Vs Pom Harajuku, Haruna Neko & Mahiro Kiryu
2. Suzume Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
3. Mizuki Vs Arisu Endo
4. Maki Itoh & Hikari Noa Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Nao Kakuta
5. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano
6. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Millie McKenzie
7. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Yuki Aino & Raku
8. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Billie Starkz
The undercard has now been filled out. Daydream are back together for a match against the Karate Tag of Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano. Also Yoshiko Hasegawa from Ganbare☆Pro returns for another appearance in Tokyo Joshi Pro. This time she’s getting a singles match against Suzume.
GANBARE☆PRO “TOKIMEKI NISHISU 2022”, 03/12/2022 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. GanPro Vs P.P.P: Yumehito Imanari & Yuna Manase Vs Kentaro Hachisu & Echika Miyabi
2. Tokimeki Nishisu 2022 Special Tag Match: Hartley Jackson & Seiya Morohashi Vs Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase
This is one last chance for Watase to prove he will be some kind of threat against Hartley Jackson. The Spirit Of Ganbare Champion suddenly turned sour on the idea he could be welcomed into the Ganpro family because of Watase’s recent weak efforts against him. So this time Watase is calling in his buddy Shigehiro Irie to provide back up against the champ and Seiya Morohashi. The power of RENEGADES may be just what Watase needs.
Yuna Manase and Echika Miyabi are in another match together after the two enjoyed their first rendezvous. This time the match is attracting other members of Ganpro and P.P.P Tokyo because Yumehito Imanari and Kentaro Hachisu are getting involved too.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 THE FINAL”, 04/12/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. DDT Extreme Title: Joey Janela (c) Vs Jun Akiyama
2. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – Final: Yuki Ueno Vs Yukio Naya
The D-Ou Grand Prix final is between Yuki Ueno and Yukio Naya. Ueno lost in last year’s final and is determined not to repeat that result. Naya has already called his shot after he wins the tournament to challenge Kazusada Higuchi for the KO-D Openweight Title in Tokyo Dome City Hall at the end of the year.
Why does Eddie Kingston get to have all the fun? Joey Janela wants to fight Jun Akiyama too and is willing to put the DDT Extreme Title on the line for it to happen.
DDT “DANSHOKU DIENO 20TH ANNIVERSARY BOOK PUBLICATION COMMEMORATION”, 21/12/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Selfishly For The 2nd Time In 20 Years, A Single Match That Danshoku Dieno Just Wants To See: Yuki “Sexy” Iino Vs Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari
2. Selfishly For The 1st Time In 20 Years, Danshoku Dieno’s Self-Satisfaction Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Muscle Sakai
A book launch to celebrate 20 years in the business is a good enough reason to give Danshoku Dieno some match making powers for the event. He is happily being selfish with the power by booking himself against his old friend Muscle Sakai. He also wants to see what Yuki Iino versus Yumehito Imanari would be like.
GANBARE☆PRO “GIRI GIRI CHOP! 2022”, 27/12/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Munetatsu Nakamura Debut Match: Munetatsu Nakamura Vs X
2. Kouki Iwasaki Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Last Match: Keisuke Ishii Vs Kouki Iwasaki
3. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Hartley Jackson (c) Vs Mizuki Watase
The new rookie Munetatsu Nakamura is a 21 year old college student from Chiba. He is 168cm tall, weighs 65kg and his athletic experience is with wrestling and Judo. Nakamura originally trained for the DDTeeeen!! project but never wrestled a match (unless he was Ilusion all along but I have no evidence to back that up). Instead he switched his training over to Ganpro earlier this year and will make his pro debut with them.
DDT “NEVER MIND 2022”, 29/12/2022 Tokyo Dome City Hall
1. Pheromones Vs “Miyako & Ward” Pheromones Subjugation Allied Forces: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Osamu Nishimura, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Shunma Katsumata
2. Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai Vs Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs X
The KO-D Title shot at the end of the year is not the automatic prize for the D-Ou winner but it’s clear Ueno or Naya is going to get it.
Akito needs some powerful and influential people to help him keep Pheromones under control or else DDT is at risk of being banned from Korakuen Hall and probably all the other venues within Tokyo Dome City. Who could be more powerful and influential than politcians? Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu are here to help. Shunma Katsumata is also getting dragged into the fight.
It’s already been announced but here’s a reminder that Konosuke Takeshita and Cara Noir will be on the show. Takeshita is still part of the DDT roster along with his new affiliation with AEW.
“NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO WRESTLING 2022 ~TOSHIWASURE! SHUFFLE 6-MAN TAG TOURNAMENT~”, 31/12/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
The lineup for the annual New Year’s Eve trios tournament has been revealed. There will be eight teams involved each containing one DDT wrestler, one Big Japan wrestler and one “Dream” wrestler. The teams will be chosen on 24th November. There will be two non-tournament matches happening on the New Year’s Eve show as well.
“Konosuke Takeshita has signed a contract with All Elite Wrestling. With that, he will be an active member of both the DDT and AEW roster going forward.
Please look forward to the future successes of Takeshita’s wrestling career.”
On Saturday afternoon Tony Khan tweeted an official confirmation that Konosuke Takeshita has signed a contract with AEW and is now “All Elite”. Takeshita was already down as an active member of the roster but this makes it clear he is now on a full time deal. A few minutes later Sanshiro Takagi tweeted his congratulations to Takeshita and clarified he now belongs to both AEW and DDT. So whenever Takeshita is back in Japan he will be wrestling in a DDT ring while AEW will serve as his American home. DDT have said they fully support him taking this challenge to make it in America.
Takagi is in America accompanying Takeshita and Jun Akiyama for their appearances in AEW this past week. The fact he was there should have been a tip off that a business dealing of some sort was going on. The next clue was Takeshita getting a brand new entrance song from AEW’s musical maestro Mikey Rukus (for those who haven’t heard it yet it sounds like a mix of Daisuke Sekimoto’s theme and “Gangplank Galleon” from Donkey Kong Country of all things). While Akiyama and Takeshita were doing their matches, Takagi spent his time meeting up with members of the AEW roster who he previously worked with such as Kenny Omega (who he credited for making “all the connections” in the first place), Sammy Guevara, Ethan Page, Ricky Starks and even Luther.
A little bit more news came from the “FULL GEAR” post-show media scrum. Khan was asked about the deal and if other DDT wrestlers would be brought into AEW going forward. Khan said there are people in DDT who have already the visas needed to make it work so he is open to the idea of using them for TV and PPV.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Posted by JamieOD 
