Video – Lee Moriarty Vs Konosuke Takeshita From Prestige Wrestling

June 23, 2022

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

Lee Moriarty Vs Konosuke Takeshita


Video – Mike Bailey Vs Konosuke Takeshita From West Coast Pro

June 21, 2022

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

Mike Bailey Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Watch this match. Trust me.


Dramatic Dream Talk – Konosuke Takeshita English Interview

June 6, 2022

This interview is done by DDT’s official Youtube channel.

Dramatic Dream Talk Extra Edition goes YouTube!

We have a very special episode for you today, Konosuke Takeshita all the way from America!

What has Takeshita got to say about the Matches on CyberFight Festival?! And he has a message for the wrestlers in NOAH as well?!


DDT Around The World – May 2022

June 1, 2022

I think the plan to do these posts once a month works best. The only part I’m missing now are the DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers getting bookings in other companies around Japan. Stuff like Kazusada Higuchi in NOAH and Suzume in Gatoh Move both happening last weekend for example. I figure the international skew of this blog means I’m better off doing DDT Around The World posts instead of DDT Around Japan. Not enough time in the day for me to dig up where some of the Ganbare☆Pro roster goes to with their outside bookings.

Anyway the AEW excursions for Yuka Sakazaki and Maki Itoh have ended. Both have since tweeted about arriving back in Japan safe and sound. Although Itoh had trouble after losing her phone and credit card. Miyu Yamashita is still in America this week to finish off her schedule. Konosuke Takeshita is gaining more fans every week and has also fallen in love with Cinnabon food, joining in the current craze of wrestlers tweeting about their eating habits while working overseas.

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Videos


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

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Adam Brooks


Video starts at 11:32 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 16/05/2022
USB Arena, Elmont, New York, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki & Anna Jay Vs Nyla Rose & Emi Sakura (w/ Vickie Guerrero)


AEW “DYNAMITE ~ WILD CARD WEDNESDAY”, 18/05/2022
Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Hangman Page Vs Konosuke Takeshita


AEW “DYNAMITE ~ WILD CARD WEDNESDAY”, 18/05/2022
Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas, USA

2. Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament – Round 1: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D (w/ Jamie Hayter & Rebel) Vs Maki Itoh


Video starts at 28:10 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 23/05/2022
Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Skye Blue & Yuka Sakazaki Vs Nyla Rose & Emi Sakura (w/ Vickie Guerrero)


Video starts at 16:08 for the match
AEW “DARK”, 28/05/2022
Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Riho, Yuka Sakazaki & Skye Blue Vs Nyla Rose, Diamanté & Emi Sakura (w/ Vickie Guerrero)


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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Masha Slamovich


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

1. Maki Itoh Vs Miyu Yamashita


Video starts at 0:10 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 30/05/2022
Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Ryan Nemeth

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Results

AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 11/05/2022 (Aired 16/05/2022)
USB Arena, Elmont, New York, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki & Anna Jay defeated Nyla Rose & Emi Sakura (w/ Vickie Guerrero) when Sakazaki pinned Sakura with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (3:32).

Sakazaki’s position in AEW during May was taking part in a series of tag matches against Nyla Rose & Emi Sakura on the Dark portions of the tapings. In their first meeting, Sakazaki teamed with Anna Jay and got the win by pinning Sakura. However Rose took the loss badly and attacked Sakazaki after the bell.

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

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Adam Brooks with the Zahi (8:40).

Takeshita’s visit to Deadlock Pro Wrestling led to an exciting match against the Australian wrestler Adam Brooks. There was one moment in particular when he fired up the crowd and the commentary team by yelling “Let’s fucking go!” He is also taking the time to sharpen his Jumping Knee Strike, using it as a big counter to a Springboard move from Brookes before putting him away with the Zahi.

AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 18/05/2022 (Aired 23/05/2022)
Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Nyla Rose & Emi Sakura (w/ Vickie Guerrero) defeated Skye Blue & Yuka Sakazaki when Rose pinned Blue with the Beast Bomb (6:17).

There was a little bit of a DDT/TJPW takeover on this taping. Sakazaki’s rivalry with Rose & Sakura continued. Skye Blue was her tag partner this time. Unfortunately Blue’s big moment of hitting a Hurricanrana to Rose was ruined when Rose held on, lifted her up and dropped her down with the Beast Bomb to win the match.

AEW “DYNAMITE ~ WILD CARD WEDNESDAY”, 18/05/2022
Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Hangman Page defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Go 2 Sleep (12:14).
2. Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament – Round 1: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D (w/ Jamie Hayter & Rebel) defeated Maki Itoh with the LockJaw (6:44).

Onto Dynamite itself where Takeshita was given his biggest spotlight in AEW so far. He faced Hangman Adam Page, the AEW World Champion in a non-title bout while CM Punk watched on over at the commentary booth. Takeshita lost the match when Page used Punk’s Go 2 Sleep to send his upcoming challenger a message but Takeshita’s performance that night had a lot of people talking highly of him across the board.

Then there was the surprise appearance of Maki Itoh in the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament as the mystery Joker entrant. Everyone was happy to see her, especially Britt Baker who thought Itoh would just lay down for her. Instead Itoh gave her a fight but the result still ended in Baker’s favour. The possibility of Itoh showing up in AEW was tipped off when TJPW tweeted about her having to miss an autograph session a few days earlier (it is not always 100% the reason these things happen but whenever I get to tweet about it there may as well be a massive “HINT HINT” sign pointing at it).

AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 25/05/2022 (Aired 30/05/2022)
Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Ryan Nemeth (w/ Peter Avalon) with the Jumping Knee Strike (5:31).

Hey I was here for this Dynamite show! The opening match of AEW’s week long celebration for their three years in existence was Takeshita beating Ryan Nemeth. Takeshita’s not fully there with the crowd yet. They didn’t recognise his entrance song but once his name showed up on the screen he got a big response. Still with all the praise going his way lately his future in the company can be really bright. It all depends on what plans Tony Khan already has in place. If you’re paying attention you’ll see this past week has shown he often sticks with his plans. But we all know how much of a massive wrestling fan he is. He must have the Masato Tanaka in ECW playbook lying around somewhere next to his Fulham summer transfer plans.

AEW “SPECIAL DARK”, 27/05/2022 (Aired 28/05/2022)
Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Riho, Yuka Sakazaki & Skye Blue defeated Nyla Rose, Diamanté & Emi Sakura (w/ Vickie Guerrero) when Riho pinned Diamanté with the Somato (6:11).

A few days later at the Rampage taping Sakazaki finished off her current run with AEW. She also ended her series against Rose & Sakura with a win thanks to Riho pinning Diamanté. The women’s tag matches on Dark that feature Sakura in them have often been a highlight of the Youtube shows so I recommend watching them.

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

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Masha Slamovich with the Skull Kick (10:33)
2. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) defeated Mia Yim with the Flying Big Head (15:55).
*V3 for Maki Itoh.

While AEW was busy partying in Las Vegas all weekend, Yamashita & Itoh blew the roof off of the Roseland Theater with their matches in Prestige Wrestling. Yamashita defeated Masha Slamovich in a bout where the two smashed each other to bits. Then Itoh got something of an upset victory over Mia Yim in the main event to defend the International Princess Title.

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

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Maki Itoh with the Skull Kick (15:47).

The next night Itoh was headlining the show again and this time Yamashita was across the ring from her. It was a non-title match and Yamashita increased her winning record against her friend with the Skull Kick. At first it looked like the move may have been deflected off of Itoh’s big head but the damage was there. Itoh fell like a tree and got pinned.

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Upcoming Appearances

DPW “NO PRESSURE”, 05/06/2022
Gov. James E. Holshouser Building, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

1. Golden Opportunity Match: Miyuki Takase Vs Miyu Yamashita

Yamashita is still in America for one more booking this weekend. Deadlock Pro is bringing her in for a big match against joshi freelancer Miyuki Takase. That’s the beautiful thing about Japanese wrestlers going on overseas excursions. You can get people who will never get the chance to fight each other in Japan due to industry politics get booked against each other in other countries miles away from all that stuff. The winner of the match will get a future shot at a DPW championship.

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

1. Mike Bailey Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Congratulations to Mike Bailey and Veda Scott for getting married in Vegas!

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

1. Lee Moriarty Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Takeshita will get to feel the love from the Prestige crowd that Itoh & Yamashita got.

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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

No new info yet. RCW on Twitter said they’ve just started selling tickets and more announcements will come soon.

PWG “NINETEEN”, 03/07/2022
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Masha Slamovich
2. PWG World Title: Daniel Garcia (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

It was already known that Takeshita will face Daniel Garcia for the PWG World Title. But the big surprise announced for this show is Yuka Sakazaki. That’s right, Sakazaki is so good she got PWG to finally book a women’s match for the first time in over a decade! Alright, alright, Slamovich deserves some of the praise too. If she ends up becoming a preferred opponent for TJPW wrestlers in America then that’s fine by me.

JCW “THE GREAT AMERICAN BIRTHDAY BASH”, 10/07/2022
Phil Sheridan Building, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X

GCW’s sister promotion Jersey Championship Wrestling is the next landing spot for Takeshita. There are a few other unlikely names announced for the show like Negro Casas, Volador Jr. and Delirious. All suitably crazy opponents for Takeshita in their own way.

GARDEN STATE PRO “WELCOME TO EDEN”, 23/07/2022
The Heart Ballroom, Newark, USA

1. 3 Way Match: Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Josh Alexander

No new info but what more needs to be said about these matches?

SETUP “SETUP EP.8”, 30/07/2022
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. Hoshitango Vs X
2. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X

CDK and Hoshitango will be heading over to SETUP Thailand Pro Wrestling next month.


The Dreams Surrounding The Championships, Unbreakable Rhio Coming To TJPW

May 19, 2022

So how about Konosuke Takeshita and Maki Itoh on AEW Dynamite last night? Not bad, eh? Takeshita faced Hangman Page in a non-title barnburner of a match while Itoh was the “Joker” entry in the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament fighting against a previous ally Britt Baker. Both lost their matches unfortunately but their positions on the show was a great sign of the relationship between DDT/TJPW and AEW.

DDT “AUDIENCE 2022”, 22/05/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Naomi Yoshimura Vs Yuki Ishida
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Akito Vs HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda
3. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Kazuki Hirata
4. Super Hardcore Girls Vs Prominence Full-Scale Battle ~ Special Hardcore Match: Carousel❤️Shun & Elizabeth❤️Toy Vs Suzu Suzuki & Akane Fujita
5. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya, Ilusion & El Unicorn
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs MAO & Asuka
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles Tournament – Final: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani

A press conference was held today featuring CDK, MAO and Asuka to promote both of their upcoming title matches. First up is the KO-D Tag Team Titles match involving all four wrestlers. Asuka thinks she and MAO have a deeper bond together than CDK does. She thinks their high flying skills will fuse together and she is looking forward to becoming the first female KO-D Tag Champion. MAO describes his team with Asuka is a challenging adventure and he wants to help her achieve her goal because as a former tag champion he has a special attachment for those belts.

Masahiro Takanashi appreciates the gesture because he once teamed with Emi Sakura for a KO-D Tag Title match. However he thinks the title are still better off belonging to CDK. Chris Brookes had just watched Takeshita on AEW so he is currently feeling emotional. This show might be the first DDT show AEW fans will watch so Brookes feels the pressure. However he is confident the other three wrestlers will show these fans how great DDT is.

BASARA “BASARA 191 ~GLITTER~”, 25/05/2022
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. SAGAT VS Takato Nakano
2. Tsutomu Oosugi, Banana Senga & Gouma Vs Fuminori Abe, Lil’ Kraken & Yasu Urano
3. Isami Kodaka & Daiki Shimomura Vs FUMA & Daichi Kazato
4. CCW Canadian Heavyweight Title: Takumi Tsukamoto (c) Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
5. Union MAX Title: Ryota Nakatsu (c) Vs Masato Kamino

A big run has been happening for Masato Kamino lately. He defeated Isami Kodaka last month and was the sole survivor of the 6-Man Tag Elimination match on the last show. He is the latest challenger to step up to Ryota Nakatsu’s impressive Union MAX Title reign.

The obscure CCW Canadian Heavyweight Title is being defended again. Takumi Tsukamoto was just about the better man against Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi in the Elimination tag match but now Hiroshi has a score to settle with him over it.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR ’22”, 29/05/2022
Tokyo Otemachi Mitsui Hall

1. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao Vs Nao Kakuta & Mahiro Kiryu
2. Hikari Noa & Kaya Toribami Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku
3. Yuki Aino Vs “The Unbreakable” Rhio
4. 5 Vs 5 Singles Match: Red Corner X Vs Blue Corner X
5. 5 Vs 5 Singles Match: Red Corner X Vs Blue Corner X
6. 5 Vs 5 Singles Match: Red Corner X Vs Blue Corner X
7. 5 Vs 5 Singles Match: Red Corner X Vs Blue Corner X
8. 5 Vs 5 Singles Match: Red Corner X Vs Blue Corner X

Red Corner: Shoko Nakajima, Rika Tatsumi, Mizuki, Yuki Kamifuku & Miu Watanabe

Blue Corner: Yuki Arai, Suzume, Moka Miyamoto, Arisu Endo & Haruna Neko

The senpai squad are taking on the 1998 Class in a special series of singles matches. A lottery will be held soon to determine who faces who in the five matches. Each match will have a 10 minute time limit.

“The Unbreakable” Rhio makes her Tokyo Joshi Pro debut on this show against Yuki Aino. She will also be wrestling on the 4th June show. Rhio is from Lancashire, England and is coming over as part of the relationship between TJPW and Pro Wrestling: EVE. She is 25 years old, 163cm tall and weighs 70kg. The 25 year old has been wrestling for 7 years and also has a background in Karate and Taekwondo.

DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2022”, 01/06/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada Vs Yuya Koroku
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Shinichiro Kawamatsu (c) (w/ Nobutatsu Suzuki) Vs Toru Owashi Vs Thanomusaku Toba Vs Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Gota Ihashi
2. Chris Brookes, Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya, Maya Yukihi & Asuka
3. DAMNATION T.A Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima
4. Road To CyberFight Festival 2022! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Akito Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Shinya Aoki & Yuki Ishida
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Kazusada Higuchi Vs HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura & Soma Takao
6. DDT Extreme Title: Yuki “Sexy” Iino (c) Vs AKIRA
7. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi

The press conference continued with MAO and Takanashi talking about the DDT Universal Title match. This will be Takanashi’s first singles championship match since the Union MAX Title defence in February 2020 when he got injured. Since coming back he wrestled the new generation of DDT wrestlers. He wants to win the Universal Title so he can defend it against those same wrestlers as well as the younger members of the BASARA roster. He also mentioned Kazusada Higuchi and Kota Umeda as potential opponents. There is also one more wrestler he would really want to defend the Universal Title against but he won’t say who it is.

MAO’s history of matches against Takanashi were mostly in NωA Vs Shuten-dōji 6-Man Tags. The fact that he and Takanashi are about to headline Korakuen Hall is like a tribute for wrestlers like KUDO and Makoto Oishi. MAO has his own dream opponent for a title defence. He definitely wants to defend the Universal Title against Mike Bailey!


Punch Drunk On REAL BLOOD, Naya Vs Hino, Nakajima Gunning For Double Gold

May 17, 2022

GANBARE☆PRO “CRAZY THUNDER ROAD 2022”, 26/05/2022
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Tiger Vs Dragon Part 2: Keisuke Ishii Vs Ryuya Matsufusa
2. Mr. SHOWTIME Vs Shivering Arm Locker: Shota Vs Tsuyoshi Okada
3. Highball & Punch Drunker Vs REAL BLOOD: Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Naoya Nomura & Mizuki Watase
4. PocchaJo Vs GanJo Full-Scale Battle: Yuna Manase, Maika Ozaki & Yappy Vs Moeka Haruhi, HARUKAZE & YuuRI
5. Road To SEKIGAHARA Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Soma Takao & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Ken Ohka, Shuichiro Katsumura & Shigehiro Irie

The REAL BLOOD tour of Ganbare☆Pro continues with the former Spirit Of Ganbare Champion now in their sights. The match is also a big learning session for Tyson Maeguchi since he will be in the ring with Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Naoya Nomura & Mizuki Watase.

Ryuya Matsufusa is back to take on another tiger. His Ganpro debut was against Watase so now he steps up to take on Keisuke Ishii.

DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2022 TOUR IN KUMAMOTO”, 29/05/2022
Kumamoto Castle Hall Civic Hall

1. MAO Vs Toi Kojima
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Yuki Ueno & Soma Takao
3. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Yuya Koroku
4. Shinya Aoki & Shunma Katsumata Vs Chris Brookes & Hideki Okatani
5. Special Single Match: Yuji Hino Vs Yukio Naya
6. Special Single Match: Saki Akai Vs Maya Yukihi
7. Kumamoto Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida

Over the weekend Yukio Naya asked his tag partner Yuji Hino for a singles match. It’s the latest step towards Naya wanting to get stronger. Just teaming with Hino is not enough. The challenge was accepted and a small change is made to the card. It replaces the Chris Brookes Vs Hideki Okatani match and those two are now in the tag match against Shinya Aoki & Shunma Katsumata.

DDT/ONLY WE “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2022 IN CHIBA”, 05/06/2022
Chiba 2AW Square

1. Toi Kojima Vs Yuya Koroku
2. Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda Vs Soma Takao & Kazuki Hirata
3. MAO & Yusuke Okada Vs HARASHIMA & Chris Brookes
4. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuki Ishida Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani
5. Kaji Tomato & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata
6. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Hiroshi Yamato
7. ONLY WE x DDT Special 6-Man Tag Match – No DQ Match: Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Quiet Storm Vs Shogun Okamoto, Akira Raijin & Hoshitango

DDT hosts the next chapter of the ONLY WE Vs PERON GRANDES feud. In April a brawl that happened after a main event between the two units led to challenges for a No DQ Match to be held in June. Naya is backing up ONLY WE while PERON GRANDES seem to have recruited Hoshitango to their side.

Former DAMNATION allies Daisuke Sasaki and Hiroshi Yamato are pitted against each other. Yamato was the only person to stand up for Sasaki during the DAMNATION mutiny of 2020. I think this will be their first match of any kind together since the DAMNATION break up last year.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ADDITIONAL ATTACK ’22”, 19/06/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao

The tag team of Kyoraku Kyomei is as powerful as they’ve ever been thanks to their Princess Of Princess Title match that took place this month. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao are now even more of a united force and ready to take the Princess Tag Team Titles from The Magical Sugar Rabbits. This was Misao’s idea and Nakajima is going ahead with it confident she will end up as the first person in Tokyo Joshi Pro to hold two Princess Championships at the same time. Mizuki accepted the challenge without Yuka Sakazaki’s consent but Sakazaki quickly changed her opinion and is committed to the title defence.

Speaking of Sakazaki, it was announced today she will be wrestling Masha Slamovich at PWG in California on 3rd July! Konosuke Takeshita will be in a PWG World Title match against the champion Daniel Garcia on the same show.


DDT Around The World – Spring 2022

May 10, 2022

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

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

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Videos


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

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Brandon Cutler


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

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Rhett Titus


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

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


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

2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Jay Lethal

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Results

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Upcoming Appearances

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

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Adam Brooks

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. Maki Itoh Vs Miyu Yamashita

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

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

1. Mike Bailey Vs Konosuke Takeshita

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

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

1. Lee Moriarty Vs Konosuke Takeshita

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

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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

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

GARDEN STATE PRO “WELCOME TO EDEN”, 23/07/2022
The Heart Ballroom, Newark, USA

1. 3 Way Match: Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Josh Alexander

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

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


DDT/ONLY WE “MAX BUMP 2022 TOUR IN CHIBA” Results

April 17, 2022

DDT/ONLY WE “MAX BUMP 2022 TOUR IN CHIBA”, 17/04/2022
Chiba 2AW Square
116 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Soma Takao defeated Yuya Koroku with the Official Endless Waltz (8:41).
2. Pheromones Vs The Iyasareru!: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda ended in a No Contest (11:33).
3. Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani defeated Hiroshi Yamato, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida when Higuchi pinned Ishida with the Brain Claw Slam (9:20).
4. Yukio Naya & KANON defeated Akito & Shunma Katsumata when Naya pinned Katsumata with the Back Drop (13:20).
5. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada defeated Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toui Kojima when Okada pinned Kojima with the Sudden Death (20:29).
6. DDT x ONLY WE Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Yuji Hino & Quiet Storm defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Shogun Okamoto & Akira Raijin when Storm pinned Raijin with the 50cm Arm Lariat (14:13).

Man, DDT helps out ONLY WE by co-promoting a few shows with them and they end up in the middle of a faction war! HARASHIMA sided with ONLY WE in the main event while Daisuke Sasaki teamed with their rivals from PERON GRANDES. The matchup led to Sasaki facing off with Yuji Hino with their past in DAMNATION together still fresh on their minds. Meanwhile Shogun Okamoto & Akira Raijin fought dirty whenever they could with plenty of ringside brawling and chair attacks. In the end however Quiet Storm fought from behind and with the help of his teammates, pinned Raijin with the 50cm Arm Lariat.

After the match Sasaki & Okamoto attacked ONLY WE with chairs until Yukio Naya ran into the ring for the rescue. Storm challenged Okamoto to a No DQ 6-Man Tag Match between ONLY WE and PERON GRANDES on 5th June when DDT and ONLY WE hold their next show in Chiba together. It will be Hino, Storm & Naya against Okamoto, Raijin and third member of their unit.

Tetsuya Endo and Yuki Ueno were stuck fighting outside the ring while their trios match reached its conclusion. Yusuke Okada picked up the win for his team and declared that BURNING will be holding both the KO-D Openweight Title and KO-D Tag Team Titles at the end of the Yokohama Budokan show on 1st May. On The 37KAMIINA side, everyone was frustrated with the loss as they move onto life without Konosuke Takeshita. According to Ueno, Takeshita left Japan this afternoon.

KANON is quickly learning that wrestling in DDT is not always a walk in the park (not literally in this case but there’s plenty of time for that yet). Despite his size advantage he had his struggles wrestling against Akito & Shunma Katsumata even though he ended up being on the winning team with Naya. What KANON learned coming out of the match is to become more ambitious otherwise he won’t rise above everyone else in DDT anytime soon.

A fired up Hideki Okatani tried picking a fight with Naomi Yoshimura but ended up having Yuki Ishida wanting a go at himself instead. Okatani even got Hiroshi Yamato mad by making fun of the seaweed he likes to sell at his merch stand. Good thing he had the rest of Eruption there to watch his back.

Everyone was given a scary warning when Danshoku Dieno said that Yuki Iino was not wearing anything underneath his wrestling gear today. The Iyasareru came up with a smart idea to tape his straps to his shoulders to prevent him from pulling them down. Unfortunately Iino eventually found the power to free himself from the tape and his costume. That led to Pheromones taking the match out of control, Hisaya Imabayashi calling it off and getting publicly executed for his troubles.


DDT “APRIL FOOL 2022” Results

April 10, 2022

DDT “APRIL FOOL 2022”, 10/04/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
580 Fans

0. Dark Match: Yuya Koroku & Ilusion defeated Toui Kojima & El Unicorn when Koroku pinned Kojima with a Hold Down Triangle Choke (6:57).
0. Dark Match – Lucha Libre Rules: Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura & Kazuki Hirata defeated Akito, Soma Takao & Gota Ihashi when Hirata pinned Ihashi with La Magistral Cradle (6:53).
1. KANON defeated Yuki Ishida with the Modified Cobra Twist (4:34).
2. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) defeated Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya when Takanashi pinned Naya after the Everclear (13:19).
*V1 for CDK.
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul defeated Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari (c) when Fujita pinned Dieno with the Modified Samson Clutch (10:37).
*Pheromones fail in V3. DAMNATION T.A become the 45th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
4. DDT 25th Anniversary Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Maya Yukihi defeated Cherry & Miyako Matsumoto when Akai pinned Matsumoto with the Rookie Award (7:15).
5. Special Single Match: Yusuke Okada defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Sudden Death (8:51).
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs Eruption!: Yuki Ueno & MAO defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani when Ueno pinned Okatani with the BME (10:34).
7. Tetsuya Endo 10th Anniversary Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Konosuke Takeshita, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda when Endo pinned Honda with the Burning Star Press (20:16).

Here’s to ten years of Tetsuya Endo and here’s to ten years more. Some of the most important faces from his past and present gathered together for a DDT all star trios main event. Endo had Jun Akiyama and Yukio Sakaguchi on his team to take on Konosuke Takeshita, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda. It ended up with Endo and Honda exchanging Bionic Elbows until Endo cut him off with an Overhead Kick. Endo couldn’t put Honda away with the Torture Rack Bomb so he busted out the Burning Star Press for the victory.

Endo spoke about having his debut match a few months before Sakaguchi joined the company. He thanked HARASHIMA for supporting him since day one and said Honda was like a father raising him in Happy Motels. Takeshita was leaving ringside when Endo suddenly called out to him. He understands Takeshita going overseas is a big deal and told him not to worry because DDT will remain interesting as long as Endo is the KO-D Openweight Champion. He will prove it when he defends the title against Takeshita’s friend Yuki Ueno on 1st May. Endo also wants everyone to know that he will be the winner of course. Ueno got on the microphone and said he will beat Endo. He is confident he will have more wonderful days as KO-D Champion than Endo, Takeshita and even HARASHIMA! Takeshita told both of them that DDT in Japan is in good hands with either of them as the champion. Endo had one last thing to tell Takeshita. He still hates him. Ueno still loves him though.

Before everyone left the ring to end the show, Yusuke Okada asked Akiyama for his attention. He said he hasn’t been part of DDT long enough to know their history but he wants to do more to support the version of BURNING Endo has built. To do that Okada wants to himself and Akiyama to challenge for the KO-D Tag Team Titles! The two of them were granted permission from Hisaya Imabayashi to make the challenge. CDK emerged at the entrance and both agreed to do the title match on 1st May. Endo encouraged his stablemates to win the belts so all eyes at the Yokohama Budokan will be on BURNING!

Ueno is building up momentum for his title shot. Today he teamed with MAO to beat Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani. MAO cheapshotted Higuchi with a Rock Punch and later got his just desserts when Higuchi grabbed him in the Brain Claw. But the match came down to a back and forth between Ueno and Okatani. The 37KAMIINA hit Shining Wizards and Enzuigiris to the Eruption members to get the upper hand. Ueno then came out on top with the BME onto Okatani.

The 37KAMIINA heat waves from Shunma Katsumata was a challenge for Yusuke Okada to overcome when the two of them faced off. Katsumata targeted his neck which slowed Okada down, even when he was on the attack with a Diving Headbutt. However Okada’s use of a Lariat and the Tricolor DDT did big damage and he was able to win with the Sudden Death. Okada repeated after the show that Endo can’t do all the work in BURNING. Akiyama agrees and also mentioned that he hates how CDK always gets the referee physically involved in their matches. He just as much wants to beat them up for that reason than to win the tag titles.

It’s been a busy weekend of tag team adventuring for Saki Akai. Yesterday she teamed with Yuki Arai in Tokyo Joshi Pro and today she teamed with Maya Yukihi in DDT. They were victorious over the team of Cherry & Miyako Matsumoto. Akai said she learned a lot about Yukihi by fighting her all the way over to Sumo Hall. She hopes to continue working with her so they can both improve each other. Yukihi was happy to wrestle with Cherry again but thought she was finally done with Matsumoto. She came in as a replacement for Bambi so Yukihi had to deal with her one more time.

Pheromones are no longer the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions which means DDT won’t have to worry about their title matches being banned from Youtube! With that said, this match still tried to cross the line as much as it could. Yuki Iino stripped down to his O-Back even as Daisuke Sasaki kept hitting him in the ass with a chair. Hisaya Imabayashi ran in ordering Pheromones to stop their usual antics and he gave Danshoku Dieno a Stunner. DAMNATION T.A then went on the attack with Sasaki and Iino brawling their way up towards the balcony while the GM chased after them. Meanwhile Dieno, Yumehito Imanari, Minoru Fujita and MJ Paul were still wrestling in the ring while this was going down. Up in the balcony, Sasaki fully stripped Iino naked and threw his O-Back over the balcony! Imabayashi jumped onto Iino to stop him from fully exposing himself to the audience. Back in the ring, Fujita caught Dieno in the Samson Clutch to score the win out of nowhere. After the match Sasaki said that a new member will join DAMNATION T.A on 1st May. He warned the roster that the person standing next to them may be a traitor so everyone should be looking forward to the reveal. However if a reporter wants to go drinking with Sasaki and pay his tab, he will give them a hint in return.

CDK couldn’t beat Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya in a fight because of the size difference, so they had to outsmart them to keep the KO-D Tag Titles. Naya put Masahiro Takanashi in the Cobra Twist when outside the ring, Chris Brookes rang the bell and tricked Naya into thinking he won. While Naya and the referee were distracted, Takanashi grabbed one of the Asia Dream Tag Team Title belts and nailed Naya in the head with it. Hino broke the pin to keep the match going but CDK then used a combined Crucifix and Jackknife Pin on Naya to get the three count and steal a title defence. Takanashi praised Brookes for his strange plan working out but knows they won’t be able to get away with it again. They’re relieved they won’t have to defend the titles against Hino & Naya again but the challengers think otherwise.

The DDT debut of KANON saw him defeat Yuki Ishida. KANON hit Soccer Ball Kicks, Backbreakers and K Spike chops. Ishida fought back with a Brainbuster and his Sumo Chop Rush. KANON recovered from that and put Ishida in the Cobra Twist to make him submit. He praised Ishida for having a strong core because of his sumo background. KANON also said he is looking forward to doing more with DDT in the future.

One of the dark matches went out of control thanks to the addition of Lucha tag rules. Kazuki Hirata ended up knocking out both Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura so he put himself in a 3-on-1 disadvantage. His solution was to give Hirata GO! glasses to all of his opponents. Akito, Soma Takao & Gota Ihashi danced with him and then attacked. However Ihashi missed a Moonsault and Hirata rolled him up with La Magistral to escape with the win.

Two young rivalries met in the very first match of the day. El Unicorn and Ilusion continue their back and forth feud. Toui Kojima hit a setback in his rivalry against Yuya Koroku. Kojima had finally beaten him by using a Triangle Choke so he went for it again today. This time though Koroku defended himself and rolled over on top of Kojima to pin him for the three count.

The result caused Kojima to come out during the show opening announcements where Shinya Aoki was already in the ring. Kojima asked him for a singles match on 1st May so Kojima can get stronger and catch up to the rest of The 37KAMIINA. Aoki accepted and wondered if Kojima wasn’t taking things seriously until now.

The full card for the Yokohama Budokan show on 1st May was revealed at the end of the show. One of the new matches is a KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles defence. Also HARASHIMA will team with Hikaru Sato to take on Higuchi & Sakaguchi from Eruption.

DDT “MEGA MAX BUMP 2022 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 01/05/2022
Yokohama Budokan

0. Dark Match: KANON Vs Yuya Koroku
0. Dark Match: Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Antonio Honda & Yuki Ishida
1. Shinya Aoki Vs Toui Kojima
2. Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Maya Yukihi & Shunma Katsumata
3. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & X Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Soma Takao
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ Pheromones Vs GM Imabayashi Final Battle: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Hisaya Imabayashi, AKIRA & Muscle Sakai
5. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Hikaru Sato Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi
6. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Thanomsak Toba (w/ Naomi Susan) (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Yoshiaki Yatsu, Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Gorgeous Matsuno
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada
8. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Asuka
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Yuki Ueno


Daisy Monkey, Reiwa AA Cannon, Endo 10th Anniversary

April 8, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “STILL INCOMPLETE ’22”, 09/04/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Pom Harajuku & Moka Miyamoto Vs Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs Juria Nagano
3. Marika Kobashi Vs Raku
4. Maki Itoh & Yuki Kamifuku Vs Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta
5. Hyper Misao Vs Miu Watanabe
6. Saki Akai & Yuki Arai Vs Rika Tatsumi & Mahiro Kiryu
7. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
8. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuki Aino

Arisuzu have a brand new tag team name. Suzume is the Daisy and Arisu Endo is the Monkey so together they are now called Daisy Monkey!

Saki Akai & Yuki Arai got together during the week for a special training session. First they announced their tag team name. They are called Reiwa AA Cannon. The AA stands for two things. They have the same blood type (A) and they both won the same Award for Best Newcomer from Tokyo Sports. Or maybe it’s just both of their surnames beginning with A and somebody wanted to make a BI Cannon reference. Akai wanted to teach Arai the most important thing in pro wrestling… The ring entrance! It is what shows off the individuality of a pro wrestler the most and walking out there looking like a bore will make fans lose interest. Arai agrees because it was the entrances that caught her eye when she saw pro wrestling for the first time. Akai taught Arai to copy her entrance and in returned then tried to replicate Arai’s entrance.

GANBARE☆PRO “CRY BABY 2022”, 09/04/2022
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Ganpro Specialty Two Major Singles Match: Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Tyson Maeguchi
2. Ganpro Specialty Mixed 6-Man Tag Match: Yuna Manase, YuuRI & SAGAT Vs Moeka Haruhi, HARUKAZE & Baliyan Akki
3. Ganpro Specialty Two Major Singles Match: Ken Ohka Vs Mizuki Watase
4. Katsumura-gun Vs ROMANCE DAWN: Shuichiro Katsumura & Tsuyoshi Okada Vs Shota & Soma Takao
5. Takaiwa Army Vs Ganpro Full-Scale Battle: Tatsuhito Takaiwa, 5th Black Tiger & Kenya Maeda Vs Yumehito Imanari, Keisuke Ishii & Kouki Iwasaki

A contract signing for the upcoming Spirit Of Ganbare Title match between Tatsuhito Takaiwa and Yumehito Imanari will take place before the show.

DDT “APRIL FOOL 22”, 10/04/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Toui Kojima & El Unicorn Vs Yuya Koroku & Ilusion
0. Dark Match: Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura & Kazuki Hirata Vs Akito, Soma Takao & Gota Ihashi
1. KANON Vs Yuki Ishida
2. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul
4. DDT 25th Anniversary Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Maya Yukihi Vs Cherry & Miyako Matsumoto
5. Special Single Match: Shunma Katsumata Vs Yusuke Okada
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs Eruption!: Yuki Ueno & MAO Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani
7. Tetsuya Endo 10th Anniversary Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Konosuke Takeshita, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda

10 years of Tetsuya Endo will be celebrated in the main event. Looking back on his debut I’m surprised Akito isn’t part of his match because Endo submitted to him back then. Keisuke Ishii and the wrestler now known as Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi were the other two people in that match but I can understand why DDT didn’t bring them over. How about this for trivia? Endo’s original tag partner for his debut was supposed to be another DDT rookie Takashi Dai. Unfortunately he suffered a career ending injury in his own debut match two weeks earlier so Ishii replaced him.

After this show Konosuke Takeshita will take part in an Youtube autograph signing and then that’s it for him in DDT for the time being. Don’t be surprised if he shows up somewhere in AEW next week because it sounds like the beginning of his excursion is imminent.

It’s unusual to see two KO-D championship matches placed so early on the card back to back. I don’t know what the schedules outside of DDT are like for the wrestlers involved so I can’t say for certain if it is because somebody is working somewhere else later that day. I don’t think it is for the partial live broadcast on Youtube either because it’s just the two dark matches that are being advertised for that.

DDT “THE WORLD’S BEST ROJO PRO WRESTLING TOURNAMENT ~KING OF STREET WRESTLING~”, 10/04/2022
WRESTLE UNIVERSE

1. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1A – Tokyo Shin-Kiba Studio Flamme: Chris Brookes Vs Onryo
2. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1B – Kanagawa Enoshima Beach: Hikaru Machida Vs Worawutnoi Keatchaiyong
3. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1C – Kanagawa Big Japan Dojo: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Abdullah Kobayashi
4. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1D – Tokyo Shibuya Kitaya Park: Shunma Katsumata Vs Suzu Suzuki

The opening round matches have already been taped (and may have been in the can for a while) but we won’t know the results until they are broadcasted.

DDT/ONLY WE “MAX BUMP 2022 TOUR IN CHIBA”, 17/04/2022
Chiba 2AW Square

1. Soma Takao Vs Yuya Koroku
2. Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Hiroshi Yamato, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida
3. Pheromones Vs The Iyasareru!: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda
4. Special Tag Match: Kaji Tomato & Yukio Naya Vs Akito & Shunma Katsumata
5. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toui Kojima
6. DDT x ONLY WE Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Yuji Hino & Quiet Storm Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Shogun Okamoto & Akira Raijin

DDT is brought back into the world of ONLY WE and the group’s feud with PERON GRANDES. Joining the two sides is HARASHIMA teaming with ONLY WE and Daisuke Sasaki teaming with PERON GRANDES.

A nice little reunion for The Iyasareru is happening here. Or maybe not given who their opponents are. I can’t tell if DDT switching the naming positions of Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno on upcoming cards is an intentional hint of something coming up on the horizon or just a sign that Iino has become the centerpiece of Pheromones. Iino has been the more successful of the two in-ring recently but Dieno still looks like he is calling the shots.

DDT “DDT FREE -APRIL-”, 22/04/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. Special Tag Match: Shishamo Power & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Akito & Yukio Naya

After the masked man’s debut in January, Shishamo Power is back to wrestle in Tokyo for the first time but so far his trainer Toru Owashi is nowhere to be seen. He is teaming with Naomi Yoshimura but his opponents remain the same. Akito & Yukio Naya do not want the people to eat fish like Shishamo recommends. They are meat eaters through and through!

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

1. Chris Brookes Vs Yuya Koroku
2. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Akito & Toui Kojima
3. Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Yuki Ishida
4. DISASTER BOX Vs Eruption!: HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani
5. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata
6. Kobe Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Genki Horiguchi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Antonio Honda

The addition of Genki Horiguchi to the show means Kazuki Hirata gets to take another step on his journey through the Dragon System. There’s an alternate universe where Hirata never left Kobe and instead he made it onto the DRAGONGATE roster. Who knows where his wrestling career would have taken him from there? I bet he and Horiguchi would have turned face and heel on each other at least twice both ways.

DDT “MEGA MAX BUMP 2022 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 01/05/2022
Yokohama Budokan

1. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ Pheromones Vs GM Imabayashi Final Battle: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Hisaya Imabayashi, AKIRA & Muscle Sakai
2. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Asuka
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Yuki Ueno

Yoshiaki Yatsu will be on the show.