DDT “RYOGOKU AFTER ~IT’S A WONDERFUL BATTLE~”, 06/11/2025 Shinjuku FACE ??? fans – Unannounced
1. Demus & Ilusion defeated Kazuki Hirata & Takeshi Masada when Demus pinned Hirata with La Valagueza (11:30).
2. Special Tag Match: Naomi Yoshimura & Kumadori defeated Soma Takao & Hinata Kasai when Yoshimura submitted Kasai with a Side Headlock (9:35).
3. Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul defeated Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Yuya Koroku & Rukiya when Oktani pinned Rukiya with the Skewered Claymore (10:56).
4. Chris Brookes defeated Yuki Ishida with a PK (12:08).
5. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & HARASHIMA defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Daichi Sato when Suzuki pinned Sato with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (13:22).
6. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Antonio Honda with the Raging Fire (18:06).
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Super Sasadango Machine, Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Akiyama defeated Yuki Ueno, To-y & Kazuma Sumi when Sasadango submitted Sumi with a Reverse Shrimp Hold (18:41).
Life moves quickly and DDT is already setting up stakes for their next Korakuen Hall show while “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” shrinks away in the rear view window. Yuki Ueno will now be defending his two championships against Super Sasadango Machine but a condition was put down for the challenger to follow during the contract signing at the start of today’s show. Ueno thinks it is important for the fans to understand why he and Sasadango want to win this match so much so a pre-match hype video will be necessary. So to avoid any time constraints, Ueno told Sasadango he cannot be allowed to hold a PowerPoint Presentation before the match! Sasadango was speechless until he found the words to ask if PowerPoint was always banned for KO-D Openweight Title matches (Sasadango did have a presentation for his only previous KO-D Title match back in 2014 but it was also a surprise Right To Challenge cash in) and if the fans were okay with this? Ueno admitted he is looking out for himself because of how big the stakes are but if Sasadango cannot be confident without PowerPoint then he shouldn’t be in the match. Sasadango reluctantly agreed and signed the contract. There will be no PowerPoint presentation when the KO-D Title and DDT Universal Title are both on the line on 30th November.
So now Sasadango needed to think of a new plan for the double title match. Ueno admitted during the segment that Muscle Sakai’s mind as well as his hard work inspires him and he wants to use that motivation to achieve his dream of bringing DDT to the Tokyo Dome. Sasadango warned that he can think of 100 different moves to make at any given time and he quickly focused on one to prove he deserves to have the double title match. In the main event he unmasked himself and pulled the mask over Ueno’s face to distract him. He then put Kazuma Sumi in a Crab Hold and applied enough pressure to make Sumi give up! That is the new plan Sasadango has come up with to beat Ueno, the Crab H… no wait, the Reverse Shrimp Hold! It is his favorite move because shrimp is his favorite food but he has kept it hidden throughout his entire wrestling career. With his plump body and Ueno’s toned waist, Sasadango warns that the Reverse Shrimp Hold will snap Ueno in half!
Also after the main event, To-y and Sanshiro Takagi argued over their DDT Extreme Title match happening on 30th November. Takagi reminded To-y that the champion is meant to choose the stipulation match. To-y snapped back and said he knows that because he has defended the title five times already. He loves to gamble now so they are going to have a Weapon Gamble match. Takagi likes the idea because it sounds like his favorite gimmick match, the Weapon Rumble. To-y later explained the rules on Twitter. During the match weapons will be brought down to the ring one after the other. Every time a new weapon appears, To-y and Takagi will play a gambling game and only the winner gets to use the weapon. If the loser takes the weapon and uses it instead, they will be disqualified. The usual victory conditions for a wrestling match still apply. With these rules, To-y promises to extinguish Takagi’s fire!
The match between Konosuke Takeshita and Antonio Honda turned into a partial Happy Motel reunion because was at ringside Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi to watch it up close (the missing member Tetsuya Endo is currently ill and I’m unsure if he could have shown up for this). He also got involved by joining in the Gongitsune spot and later slamming Takeshita so Honda would have a better chance at winning. Takeshita ended up using his own Bionic Elbow to defeat Honda’s version before pinning him with the Raging Fire. After the match Takeshita told fans about the existence of Happy Motel and how it turned out to be one of DDT’s least popular units in history. He spent the most important parts of his early twenties being in the group but it was worth it to him because he learned so much from Honda and Hiroshi. The lessons they taught him he still uses today in America and New Japan. Honda was happy to hear that because Happy Motel’s failure still springboarded Takeshita out into the world. Honda also feels like the happiest wrestler in the world because somebody like him got to wrestle against the world famous Takeshita in front of a wonderful audience that all came to see him.
Takeshita promise to use today’s match as motivation for his next IWGP World Heavyweight Title defence at the Tokyo Dome on 4th January. He later said not one moment in his pro wrestling career has been wasted. The reason he has this championship is because he loves pro wrestling. And while he is in DDT revisiting everyone who has helped make him stronger, he next wants to have another singles match with Shinya Aoki! The two last fought each other in Las Vegas back in April but after last week’s Sumo Hall show Aoki also made a comment about wanting to face Takeshita again. DDT have booked the match for 30th November at Korakuen and it will be their first singles bout together since January, 2022.
A flu bug seems to have hit the roster coming out of Sumo Hall. MAO and Yuki Iino had already pulled out of today’s show due to illness but KANON, Akito and Yukio Naya all ended up missing the show too (Endo is also being taken off this weekend’s NOAH show for having the flu). The main members of Strange Love Connection being absent meant KIMIHIRO was at the show by himself with nothing to do. He was given a spot in the middle of the show to perform a rap in the ring but DAMNATION T.A suddenly ran out and attacked him! Hideki Okatani in particular roughed him up with a bamboo stick while Daisuke Sasaki complained that SLC should give up the KO-D Tag Team Titles if they’re not going to show up and get in the ring! Later backstage Okatani brought up how Sasaki broke a rib the last time they fought for the KO-D Tag Titles and he came back to fight again so being sick should be no excuse for MAO & KANON to miss matches. Their challenge was granted and they will face SLC for the KO-D Tag Titles on 30th November.
Another wrestler from DAMNATION T.A caused trouble earlier in the show. Ilusion ran out after the second match and attacked Kumadori at ringside. They went back into the ring where Kumadori tried to spark a comeback but Ilusion cut him off with a Low Blow and then attacked him with a chair. Ilusion explained to Kumadori that he’s just teaching him how painful pro wrestling is and he will drive him into a pro wrestling depression! Kumadori promised to get revenge and he will beat up Ilusion when the time comes.
In the opening match Takeshi Masada stopped Kazuki Hirata from putting on the Hirata GO! glasses because he wanted to see Hirata be cool instead. Demus got his hands on the glasses but refused to put them on because he had his own pair designed in the colours of the Mexican flag. Ilusion gave them to him and when Demus put them on “Escándalo” by Le Sonora Dinamita started playing while everyone in the ring danced with each other for about twenty seconds before Demus attacked Hirata and pinned him with La Valagueza.
DDT “RYOGOKU AFTER ~IT’S A WONDERFUL BATTLE~”, 06/11/2025 Shinjuku FACE
1. Demus & Ilusion Vs Kazuki Hirata & Akito
2. Special Tag Match: Naomi Yoshimura & Kumadori Vs Soma Takao & Hinata Kasai
3. Harimao Vs SCHADENFREUDE International: Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada
4. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & HARASHIMA Vs Yukio Naya & Daichi Sato
5. KANON, Yuya Koroku & Rukiya (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul
6. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Antonio Honda
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, To-y & Kazuma Sumi Vs Super Sasadango Machine, Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Akiyama
The locker room coming out of Sumo Hall is feeling a little lighter going into tomorrow’s DDT show. MAO and Yuki Iino are both off the show because they are feeling in poor condition. Also Danshoku Dieno will remain out of action for the rest of the month so he will be at full fitness when he returns.
There will be a contract signing during the show for Yuki Ueno and Super Sasadango Machine. It will be for their double title match taking place later in the month.
DDT “TONKOTSU SUPLEX”, 08/11/2025 ACROS Fukuoka Event Hall
1. Hideki Okatani Vs Yuki Ishida
2. MJ Paul & Demus Vs Akito & Hinata Kasai
3. Jun Akiyama, HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yuki Iino, Yukio Naya & Yuya Koroku
4. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Takeshi Masada
5. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & To-y Vs Chris Brookes & Daichi Sato
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA, Daisuke Sasaki & Ilusion Vs MAO, KANON & Kazuma Sumi
The Konosuke Takeshita tour continues into the weekend.
DDT “KUMAMOTO WARRIORS”, 09/11/2025 Kumamoto Castle Hall Civic Hall
1. Demus Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion V Chris Brookes, Yuki Iino, Takeshi Masada & Hinata Kasai
3. MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Akito & Yukio Naya
4. Special Single Match: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yuya Koroku
5. Special 3 Way Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Jun Akiyama Vs Kazuki Hirata
6. Kumamoto Castle Sauna No Yu Presents Special 6-Man Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA, Sanshiro Takagi & HARASHIMA Vs To-y, Daichi Sato & Yuki Ishida
I think this will be Takeshita’s last DDT booking for the time being unless new dates get mentioned for the end of the year.
DDT “SHOUT YOUR LOVE IN HAMA’S RING!”, 22/11/2025 Kanagawa Radiant Hall
1. Akito 16th Anniversary Match: Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao Vs Rukiya & Hinata Kasai *Special Referee: Akito
2. Special Tag Match: MAO & Kazuma Sumi Vs MBM & Ultima Sombra
3. O-40 Title: Antonio Honda (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki
On 22nd November Daisuke Sasaki will turn 40 years old. As soon as he realized he will become eligible for the O-40 Title he went and challenged Antonio Honda to a title match.
From this point on to the end of November DDT will be joined by a guest tag team from BZW in Europe. Rivality consists of Belgian wrestlers MBM & Ultima Sombra who may sound familiar to those who followed MAO & Yoshihiko’s adventures around Europe in 2024. They beat Rivality on a BZW show in France but haven’t fought each other since then. Yoshihiko is out injured but as far as I know MAO & Yoshihiko still hold the BZW Tag Team Titles together. Rivality’s first match in DDT puts them in the ring against MAO again so maybe that thread will get back on track.
To celebrate his 16th Anniversary in wrestling, Akito will don the stripes and officiate a match rather than wrestle in it. I bet Kazuki Hirata ruins it somehow.
Demus will be on the show too.
DDT “GORGEOUS NIGHT”, 23/11/2025 Fukushima Toyota Crown Arena (Fukushima National Sports Festival Memorial Gymnasium) Sub-Arena in Fukushima
1. Special Tag Match: To-y & Takeshi Masada Vs MBM & Ultima Sombra
2. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Arisu Endo Vs Kazuki Hirata & Moeka Haruhi
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Jun Akiyama & Antonio Honda Vs Gorgeous Matsuno, MAO & Toru Owashi
DDT puts the spotlight back on Gorgeous Matsuno for his annual Fukushima show. Can he make it extra special by beating the double champ Ueno?
The show also features a first time ever team up of Chris Brookes & Arisu Endo! Makes sense to have Endo on the show because her hometown Aizuwakamatsu is in Fukushima. They’re joining forces for a Mixed Tag Match against Hirata & Moeka Haruhi.
Demus? Also on the show.
DDT “KAZUMA SUMI TRIUMPHANT RETURN! SUMI SOARS FOR MIE!”, 24/11/2025 Mie Cultural Center Multipurpose Hall
1. 3 Way Match: HARASHIMA Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Akito
2. Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya Vs MJ Paul & Demus
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, KANON & Kazuma Sumi Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & Ilusion
The hometown hero position will be given to Kazuma Sumi next when DDT rolls into Mie. Him and Strange Love Connection vanquishing DAMNATION T.A will make Sumi even more of a hero.
Guess who will be here? Demus.
Rivality will be on this show too.
DDT “BE AMBITIOUS ~AUTUMN BATTLE~”, 30/11/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. DDT Extreme Title: To-y (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi
2. KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c/c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine
Yuki Ueno now holds both the KO-D Openweight Title and the DDT Universal Title. His next challenger is an unusual one but has a convincing enough reason to be in this position. They had a match late last year where afterwards Ueno promised to give Sasadango a title shot once he became the KO-D Champion again. Well Ueno won the belt not once but twice in 2025 and yet Sasadango never got was was promised to him. To make up for it, Ueno is also putting the Universal Title on the line since he just won it from Minoru Suzuki and Sasadango once had a retirement match against Suzuki (as Muscle Sakai).
The DDT Extreme Champion of the Reiwa era has one more opponent from the title’s past threatening to take the belt off of him. To-y was given a Stunner by Sanshiro Takagi at Sumo Hall as a reminder that the championship was originally created by Takagi in the first place. It is always a good thing for a DDT wrestler be given the opportunity to drive the boss nuts in a crazy match.
The expectation is for Dieno to be fully recovered from his health problems in time to make his return on this show.
I think I lost Demus… Nope, he’s on this show and so will Rivality. Phew, that was a close one. I almost had to panic there.
DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025”, 03/11/2025 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Sanshiro Takagi Return Match – Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi defeated Hinata Kasai with the Texas Cloverleaf (7:07).
2. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Soma Takao, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Rukiya when HARASHIMA pinned Rukiya with the Somato (10:05).
3. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion defeated Daichi Sato, Yuki Ishida, Kazuma Sumi & Kumadori when Ilusion pinned Sumi with the Swanton Bomb (11:03).
4. DDT Extreme Title – 5 Way Blindfold Death Match: To-y (c) defeated Akito, Super Sasadango Machine, Kazuki Hirata and Antonio Honda when To-y pinned Hirata with a Crucifix Pin (14:13). *V4 for To-y.
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku defeated Tetsuya Endo, HAYATA & Junta Miyawaki when Akiyama pinned Miyawaki with the Exploder Suplex (14:53).
6. Special Single Match: AMAKUSA defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the Kaikoku (16:23).
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Survival 3 Way Match: MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) defeated Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) and Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu (17:48).
7a. Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) eliminated Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu when Iino pinned Yuu with the Spear (11:14).
7b. MAO & KANON eliminated Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) when MAO pinned Naya with the Cannonball 450 (17:48). *The Apex fails in V6. Strange Love Connection become the 88th KO-D Tag Team Champions!
8. Dramatic Dream Match: Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Chris Brookes with the European Clutch (26:03).
9. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Kaisei Takechi defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada when TAKESHITA pinned Masada with the Raging Fire (24:14).
10. KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (K/c) defeated Minoru Suzuki (U/c) with the Frog Splash (34:30). *V2 for Yuki Ueno. Minoru Suzuki fails at V6. Yuki Ueno becomes the 19th DDT Universal Champion!
Everyone in DDT can now breath a sigh of relief. Yuki Ueno was able to clean up the mess he caused in the first place as promised and for that he now stands on top of the company as both the KO-D Openweight Champion and now the DDT Universal Champion! That now makes him the first person to hold both of those belts at the same time. Minoru Suzuki made him fight for it and nearly took his leg off in the process. He targeted Ueno’s left leg throughout the match including attacking it with a chair and using an extended chain of submissions to try and make him kick. Ueno brought out moves like the Blizzard Suplex and the Bastard Driver but couldn’t go for the pin after using the WR. Suzuki wanted to take advantage of it but Ueno planted Dropkick right to his face before slamming him down with another WR. Suzuki kicked out but Ueno then jumped off the top rope with the Frog Splash and that was the end of it.
As Suzuki was leaving the ring in defeat, Ueno got on the microphone and thanked him because despite being different from each other, Suzuki still always treated Ueno like a pro wrestler. Suzuki will be welcomed back into DDT so they can fight again whenever he wants. Ueno is also looking forward with new goals in mind. First he wants to inspire everyone with his wrestling because watching wrestling will always make your day better. The other goal is he wants to bring DDT to the Tokyo Dome with all of his friends and colleagues from the company involved! Until that day comes DDT will always have their monthly Korakuen Hall shows and yearly visits to Sumo Hall where everyone will continue working hard and having fun.
Ueno then asked if there was anyone out there who wants to be next to challenge him? Suddenly Super Sasadango Machine appeared with an unexpected PowerPoint Presentation to show everyone. He admitted it was a good thing Ueno won his match because if he didn’t then Sasadango wasted his time making it. During the presentation Sasadango talked about Ueno being a respectable public figure in both wrestling and the entertainment industry but it is all a lie! His proof is when Sasadango fought Ueno nearly one year ago, Sasadango used thumbtacks that ended up leaving an L-shaped scar on Ueno’s stomach. Ueno won the match and promised that if he ever became KO-D Champion again he would nominate Sasadango as his challenger and get revenge for the scar. Well now the L stands for Lie because Ueno became KO-D Champion twice in 2025 and he never once gave Sasadango the title shot he promised him! Ueno understood his complaint and accepted his challenge for a KO-D Title match. He also offered to put the Universal Title on the line because Sasadango’s other gimmick Muscle Sakai originally retired after wrestling Minoru Suzuki. Sasadango said he is ready to win both championships except he doesn’t have the energy right now so they can do the match at Korakuen on 30th November.
The show finished with the big ending where Ueno reunited with The 37KAMIINA at the entrance and then passed by many wrestlers in the hallway. Suzuki was among them and he told Ueno this isn’t the end between them. He then entered the dressing room but it was empty. Konosuke Takeshita followed him inside and the two talked about maybe doing a champion versus champion match with each other some day. The rest of the DDT roster started filling in, including Danshoku Dieno and they all ended the show with a big group farewell to the camera.
Takeshita made his big return to DDT as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion fresh off of defending the belt on a New Japan show. Here he was teaming up with DDT’s next big superstar hope Kaisei Takechi facing a team of wrestlers they consider their respective rivals. Takeshita wanted to wrestle Kazusada Higuchi again while Takechi wanted to measure up with Takeshi Masada. While those two pairings were the focus of the match, there was a crossover of opponents that took place too. Takechi cut off a charge from Higuchi with the Swan Dive Forearm while Masada got a nearfall on Takeshita with the Masada No Chikara KOBU Mukimuki. Masada tried to weaken further with Middle Kicks but Takeshita blew him back with an Elbow Strike and stunned him with the Wagamama. Takechi was then able to keep Higuchi away while Takeshita pinned Masada with the Raging Fire.
Both sides showed respect to each other after the match but when Takeshita offered to shake hands with his own partner, Takechi slapped away his hand instead and the two had a stare down in the ring. Takeshita then walked off by himself. Backstage he said he felt how much his opponents have grown and he wanted this match to send a message to Higuchi that he still has a lot more to offer. He’s been keeping an eye on Takechi since he debut and thinks his behavior after the match was his way of saying he wants to fight him. Takechi pretty much confirmed it and said he will work hard everyday so they can stand in the same ring together again. Higuchi said the other team are getting a lot of attention but fans should not overlook Harimao or SCHADENFREUDE International too for that matter. Masada admitted to feeling jealous of Takechi but he will take this loss as a positive one for his wrestling career. He’ll look forward to the day he can get revenge.
There is no bond in wrestling closer than the one shared between Chris Brookes and Zack Sabre Jr… Ok, yeah that’s a lie. The two are pretty close friends and today was their first singles match against each other in eight years but something felt a little off. Yukinori Matsui was ever so slightly acting lenient towards Brookes while being ever so slightly harsh towards Sabre. It then turned scandalous when Sabre had Brookes pinned for certain victory yet Matsui suffered a crisis of conscience during the pinfall and couldn’t count to three. The lights dimmed and Matsui’s heart revealed tender moments spent with Brookes up on the arena screen. Things went south after a ref bump and Brookes summoned Munetatsu Nakamura to come in and attack Sabre. Antonio Honda followed with a chair but he too hesitated to take action. More scandal broke out when Honda’s heart revealed tender moments he has shared with Sabre on the screen! Honda then tried to attack Brookes with Gongitsune but missed and hit Sabre instead. The match continued and Brookes tried to use the Praying Mantis Bomb. Sabre flipped out of it and tangled his opponent into the European Clutch to get the three count. Afterwards the two of them kissed, made up and walked off back up the ramp hand in hand. They said they should do this again in another eight years time. Sabre questioned Brookes over the ethics of a wrestler romancing the referee while Brookes called Sabre being with Honda a forbidden love between NJPW and DDT. They suggested maybe the two couples fight each other in a tag match next time.
The last team standing in the Survival 3 Way would be going home with the KO-D Tag Team Titles. No tags were needed so the match was chaos when all three teams were involved. The Apex grabbed KIMIHIRO and threw him out of the ring onto the rest of Strange Love Connection. They were then targeted by Team 200kg particularly so Yuki Iino and Chihiro Hashimoto could fight each other again. Iino was able to knock down both Team 200kg wrestlers and went on to pin Yuu with the Spear for the first elimination. SLC had to find the power needed to beat The Apex and MAO found it in order to give Yukio Naya the Michinoku Driver II. Naya was also accidentally drilled with the Spear from Iino and KANON cause more damage by giving him the LONELY DEZIRES. MAO followed up with the Cannonball 450 for the win, earning SLC the KO-D Tag Titles for the first time in the team’s existence. KANON said he wants the team to become historic champions so the DDT fans will always remember them. MAO brought up being tag champions with Mike Bailey and VENY in the past. He wants KANON to keep climbing so he can stand shoulder to shoulder with those two. He also wants the team to cause a big stir so they can make more money! Yuu felt regret over not being able to win a DDT championship for Team 200kg’s only appearance on a DDT Ryogoku show. Hashimoto enjoyed the experience but noticed Iino became quiet whenever they were in the ring together. She might continue showing up in DDT just so she can beat him again.
Daisuke Sasaki’s important match of the show went from one end of the spectrum all the way to the other because of Dasnhoku Dieno’s health problems. With Dieno unable to wrestle, Sasaki instead face AMAKUSA, the current persona of his SUPER CREW classmate from 20 years ago Yuki Sato. However AMAKUSA was all in on his current gimmick and had no memory of who Sasaki was. Sasaki tried cheating to win but when that wasn’t getting him the results he wanted, he then took a page out of Dieno’s book and gave AMAKUSA the Lip Lock! He then teased a set up of the Danshoku Driver but instead used his old NOW OR NEVER finisher for a nearfall. AMAKUSA survived taking La Mistica Crossface Lock and used an Elevated Magistral Driver followed by the Pedigree. That was all to put Sasaki in position for AMAKUSA’s Spiral Tap style finisher, the Kaikoku for the victory.
After the match AMAKUSA got on the microphone to remind everyone he has no past but the match he just had rekindled a memory of fighting Sasaki in a small venue twenty years ago. It was both their first match and now twenty years later they got to have a match together in Ryogoku! AMAKUSA has never felt more grateful for pro wrestling than he does today. The two shook hands and hugged while Sasaki told “Sato” not to cry. He said it doesn’t matter if the person in front of him is Yuki Sato or AMAKUSA but his kiss definitely tasted like Sato. AMAKUSA said he doesn’t remember that part of the match. What he does hope to remember though is meeting Sasaki again 25 years from now. Sasaki brought up all the different times they wrestled anniversary matches with each other, the previous being six years ago. He admits the things AMAKUSA has done in NOAH since then means AMAKUSA has surpassed him but he will always have battles with Yuki Sato.
After spending the last 10 months in NOAH, Tetsuya Endo returned to DDT for a day for the other DDT Vs NOAH match of the show. He teamed up with NOAH wrestlers HAYATA & Junta Miyawaki to take on his former allies from BURNING along with Shinya Aoki. There was a little extra BURNING energy on display when Yuya Koroku use Yusuke Okada’s Intercept DDT on Endo. Aoki then did a dive out of the ring to wipe out Endo & HAYATA. Miyawaki tried to tough it out against Jun Akiyama but he eventually fell to the Knee Lift and Exploder Suplex. Endo said the buds he is nurturing in NOAH this year haven’t blossomed yet. He is going to spend a little more time in NOAH so he can bring back the best gift possible for DDT, the GHC Heavyweight Title! However Koroku felt disappointed that Endo wouldn’t even look at him during the match because at last year’s “ULTIMATE PARTY” they were challenging for the KO-D Tag Titles. He wants to get better so Endo will set his sights on him the next time they are in the ring together.
Swerve! We all thought the Blindfold Death Match meant all five wrestlers involved would fight each other while blindfolded. However none of them actually wanted to go through with the stipulation so it was decided that the referee would be blindfolded instead! Yukinori Matsui had no vision whatsoever so he missed out of different finishes as well as weapon usage and other blatant cheating. To-y fought off his four challengers and even had Kazuki Hirata beat when suddenly two masked men that turned out to be Hirata’s hired goons interfered. Matsui tripped over Hirata which then caused Antonio Honda to trip over him. Matsui later walked right into a bear trap which caused Daisuke Kiso to come down as the replacement. He too was blindfolded and had to be led down to the ring by HARASHIMA. Sasadango hit him over the back with a giant mace to stop him counting Akito’s pin on To-y. Honda unmasked Sasadango so he could poke him in the eyes with Gongitsune. He then missed the Diving Fist Drop, landing fist first into the bear trap. Hirata knocked down To-y with a Mecha Fist and pinned him in a relaxed manner. To-y rolled him back in a Crucifix Pin mid-count and Matsui continued counting to three. To-y guided him into raising his hand as the winner so he was officially declared the winner and still the DDT Extreme Champion.
After the match To-y told everyone the Extreme Title belt must love him because it won’t leave his side. He then said anyone can challenge him whenever they want. Then during his celebration, Sanshiro Takagi walked up to him and gave him the Stunner. Takagi told To-y he is the one who created the Extreme Title in the first place so he is going to be the next challenger! To-y promised that as champion he will do something so chaotic it will make Takagi go crazy. It was later decided that their title match will happen on 30th November.
“ULTIMATE PARTY” is where Kumadori made his pro wrestling debut last year so he was back for this year’s event alongside the rest of O-MENZ for a big ring entrance. DAMNATION T.A ruined the vibe by attacking the other team from the get go. Demus tortured Kazuma Sumi while Hideki Okatani paired off with Yuki Ishida. That left the two big boys MJ Paul and Daichi Sato fighting each other to a stalemate. Ilusion got one over on Kumadori once more by giving him a Low Blow. He also set up some teamwork with Demus to put Sumi away for the finish.
Three former members of DISASTER BOX teamed up for Match #2. While HARASHIMA was happy to shake hands with his opponents, Naomi Yoshimura had a faceoff with Rukiya before the match even started. Toru Owashi and Soma Takao started off instead and when Rukiya tagged in, he quickly targeted Yoshimura and went to fight him instead. Shinichiro Kawamatsu got Yoshimura with the Shitamachi Rocket and hit HARASHIMA with the Somato. But HARASHIMA turned things around on Rukiya and pinned him with the Somato despite a spirited effort from the rookie.
Sanshiro Takagi officially returned to the ring after taking a year and four months off for company management and also health reasons. He chose the rookie Hinata Kasai to be his first opponent because there is something about him that draws him in for reasons other than being Jun Kasai’s son. Takagi was happy to be back while Kasai couldn’t help but show his excitement whenever it looked like he was about to get his first win. Takagi broke him down using the Spicolli Driver followed by the McEnroe Lariat to the leg. He then applied the Texas Cloverleaf to make Kasai give up. After the match Kasai refused to shake Takagi’s hand but backstage he took back all of the times he made fun of his boss for gassing out so easily. Kasai has been watching wrestling since he was a kid though so he knows how this thing works. The wrestling ring isn’t the only place where DDT holds matches so he will one day get a win over Takagi no matter where it literally takes place! Takagi talked about how this match was actually his proper 30th anniversary match but nobody hyped it up that way. He knows how much Kasai loves DDT and that is what he chose him to be in the match. Takagi still has issues over his own conditioning and even mentally wanted to give up halfway through the match. But a pro wrestler keeps going as long as they have the will to. He doesn’t know how often he will be wrestling from this point forward but he is going to treat it with an independent wrestler’s mindset and find his place in life from now on.
Both Shunma Katsumata and Kazuma Sumi kicked off the show with an NωA Jr. performance.
Akito gave reporters an overview of the show at the very end of the evening. He praised AMAKUSA for stepping in on short notice to be Dieno’s replacement for Sasaki. He is grateful to everyone in NOAH for being so accommodating about it. In regards to Ueno’s comments about bringing DDT to the Tokyo Dome, Akito said the great thing about DDT is they allow wrestlers to make their dreams come true. They could only book Sumo Hall once this year because of venue renovations giving them limited scheduling options but next year DDT wants to book the arena twice to build up to the company’s 20th anniversary in 2027. Akito doesn’t know if the Tokyo Dome will ever become part of those place but DDT will do its best to make dreams come true for its fans.
DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025”, 03/11/2025 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Sanshiro Takagi Return Match – Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hinata Kasai
2. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Soma Takao, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Rukiya
3. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion Vs Daichi Sato, Yuki Ishida, Kazuma Sumi & Kumadori
4. DDT Extreme Title – 5 Way Blindfold Death Match: To-y (c) Vs Akito Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, HAYATA & Junta Miyawaki Vs Jun Akiyama, Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku
6. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs AMAKUSA
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Survival 3 Way Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu
8. Dramatic Dream Match: Zack Sabre Jr. Vs Chris Brookes
9. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Kaisei Takechi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada
10. KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (K/c) Vs Minoru Suzuki (U/c)
I waited way too long to get this done in time. So long that I’m too tired to write up a proper introduction. It’s DDT back at Sumo Hall. There you go, I’m off to bed.
1. Sanshiro Takagi Return Match – Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hinata Kasai
Welcome back, boss. Things just haven’t been the same without you. This year has felt like Sanshiro Takagi’s influence around DDT as a whole wasn’t entirely there, and for good reason. He had taken a leave of absence as a wrestler July 2024 to focus on his behind the scenes role with CyberFight while also taking better care of his health. He kept it quiet until announcing his return but the health problem he had was angina. He still found ways to stay busy in the public eye because 2025 is his 30th year in wrestling. He celebrated it by launching more DDT spin off brands, the first being MatchMake & Agent which was then turned into Super Japan, an alternate look of the company if it went by that name instead of DDT. These shows captured the island of misfit toys vibe from DDT’s past that just doesn’t exist today while also giving Takagi some sneaky ways to get physical again on his journey back to the ring.
For his return match, Takagi has put himself in the opening bout of the show. His logic is the first match on the card is the second most important match after the main event because it sets the stage for the rest of the show. He needed the right opponent, someone he has never fought before yet still have some sort of connection with so fans will care. Luckily he has just the rookie to fit that bill. Earlier this year one of DDT’s new rookies drew some attention by revealing his name is Hinata Kasai, the son of Jun Kasai! He made the decision to follow in his father’s footsteps and was guided towards joining DDT to become a pro wrestler. So far his skills in the ring aren’t anything to write home about but he got the crowd on his side from the get go and is able to draw sympathy from getting beaten down. He’s looking forward to his Sumo Hall debut and thinks he will make easy work of Takagi. He shouldn’t be underestimating him like that. After all, Takagi was the man who once flushed Hinata’s father fully down the toilet during a Falls Count Anywhere match inside this very building!
Not much to write about for this match. The highlight of HARASHIMA’s 2025 was getting to share the ring with Hiroshi Tanahashi again and fully patch over an unpleasant memory from ten years ago. Toru Owashi was around to see his little friend win DDT’s biggest championship and Naomi Yoshimura is rightfully taking his time with getting comfortable in the ring again coming back from injury. Soma Takao still exists to shill the Dropkick Bar while I guess Shinichiro Kawamatsu will continue getting booked so he can do the Axe Bomber in tribute to the late Hulk Hogan. Back in August, Rukiya was able to wrestle matches again after spending over a year on the shelf with a cervical sprain. Given how short his career has been so far, having to start all over again from scratch isn’t as much of a setback as it sounds in his case. He is catching up to the other wrestlers in the D GENERATIONS class and knock on wood should get a moment in the spotlight next year much like the others have gotten in 2025.
3. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion Vs Daichi Sato, Yuki Ishida, Kazuma Sumi & Kumadori
The leader of DAMNATION T.A has a big match later down the card so the rest of the unit are stuck in an 8-Man Tag. Hideki Okatani came back from injury during the first quarter of the year with a chip on his shoulder and immediately joined DAMNATION T.A so he can get violent about it. MJ Paul continues to be around as the low card heavy muscle while the unit now has the grimy luchador Demus reuniting with them for a while (I heard a rumour he was minding an egg back in Mexico). Ilusion has gotten a lot of screen time this year by getting to speak on the microphone while everybody else in the unit just stands around brooding and being quiet. They were also fine with him carrying all of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Title belts whenever they held those titles. Sometimes it pays off to be the little shit of the group.
Facing them are a bunch of wrestlers from DDT’s current young generation. Although they do not have an official unit affiliation, DDT has collectively branded them the D GENERATIONS and they’ve gotten to run their own shows under the name throughout the year. Daichi Sato is the teenage heavyweight that joined DDT from HEAT-UP during the Springtime. The ways things are going for him so far are looking promising and he is already winning matches against other undercard wrestlers. Yuki Ishida can’t help but feel he is the weakest member of Harimao and is trying to fight through that mental block. Kazuma Sumi has been figuring out his place on the roster as the speedy high flyer. MIKAMI’s guidance has inspired him to use the 619 as a set up for the School Boy as an effective way to win matches. The odd one out is Kumadori who only wrestles a handful of matches due to his commitment with the O-MENZ dance group. He has the athleticism to become a good wrestler but I don’t know long he wants to do this for.
4. DDT Extreme Title – 5 Way Blindfold Death Match: To-y (c) Vs Akito Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda
It’s fitting that Halloween just passed because lately To-y has had the enthusiasm of a kid running around playing with fireworks. His run as the DDT Extreme Champion for the second half of the year has been spent finding ways to build up his online presence with match gimmicks built around social media impressions and streamer behavior. To prove he is the modern champion that the title deserves, he wanted his match at Sumo Hall to be against someone from the older generation who most represents DDT’s brand of Extreme wrestling. He didn’t expect there would be a lot of options.
The first person to answer the call was Akito but pretty soon after that Super Sasadango Machine and Kazuki Hirata put out messages on social media demanding to be added as well. Antonio Honda then joined in and at least had the good manners to tell everyone in person at a DDT show. Now all that was left to do is to pick a match stipulation. To-y has gotten into gambling recently so rather than pick the match as he would be expected to as champion, he held played a dice game called Chinchiro with everyone. Sasadango ended up winning and announced the 5 Way will be a Blindfold Death Match! Being blindfolded means everyone’s training will be for nothing if they cannot see while Sasadango never trains anyway so all of his opponents are now on his level. To-y is willing to bet that he can see through his heart and prove he deserves the Extreme Title more than anyone else!
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, HAYATA & Junta Miyawaki Vs Jun Akiyama, Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku
The original point of “ULTIMATE PARTY” was to get all of the different promotions connected to DDT involved on the card. It’s not really about that anymore but at least we get to enjoy a DDT Vs NOAH 6-Man Tag match. Shinya Aoki isn’t causing a stir this time around by challenging Kenoh for matches that don’t exist like he did last time. Yuya Koroku is working hard but seems kind of aimless when he isn’t part of a title program. Jun Akiyama is there as a link between both companies. Same with Tetsuya Endo and we’ll likely find out in two months if his excursion will become permanent or not. He played his part in the TEAM 2000X story this year so I don’t know what is left in store for him over there as things currently stand. HAYATA has had the latest season of “MONDAY MAGIC” built around him as the GHC Hardcore Openweight Champion. While I had been following that series, I don’t watch enough of normal NOAH to know what Junta Miyawaki has been up to. As far as I know the only NOAH storylines going on is somebody joins TEAM 2000X, NOSAWA Rongai books something random or somebody gets mad at Naomichi Marufuji and burns a bridge.
6. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs AMAKUSA
Breath a sigh of relief because the original plan for this match was going to be very different. DDT had wanted to do Danshoku Dieno against Daisuke Sasaki in a rematch of the infamous “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” main event where Dieno wrestled part of the bout completely butt fucking naked. Dieno had just gotten out of surgery from acute appendicitis and claimed to have had every last drop of toxicity taken out of his body so this match was going to be the most clean match ever. Sadly for Dieno he developed an intra-abdominal abscess after his surgery and is unable to wrestle for the time being. So that’s him off the Sumo Hall card and Sasaki is now in need of a new opponent.
DDT then decided to go in a completely different direction for the replacement match. Sasaki is now going to face AMAKUSA, the junior heavyweight missionary from NOAH. On the surface this looks like a random pairing but if you delve into the history of both wrestlers you will see they are closely linked. For you see, AMAKUSA is the former Yuki Sato and he debuted in the same SUPER CREW class as Sasaki that was mentored by Dick Togo. Not only that but the two of them faced each other in their debut match! Sasaki was the winner and they would continue to cross each other’s paths for many years until Sato disappeared from the wrestling scene in 2019. That was around the time when Sato joined NOAH under the name Hao and then a few years later transformed into AMAKUSA. His current persona has no memory of ever knowing Sasaki and believes this match will be their first time meeting each other.
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Survival 3 Way Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu
A match of truly heavyweight proportions coming from all sides. Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya have become a united force known as The Apex and are currently the tag team to beat in DDT. They won the KO-D Tag Team Titles from Astronauts back in June and have had five successful defences so far against teams of all sizes. However it seems like if there is a team out there that are capable of beating them, it must be a pair of heavyweights. The Strange Love Connection believe they are that team of heavyweights. KANON has blown up in size over the last year and now weighs around 103kg while MAO is claiming he has also bulked up to about 100kg thanks to his square-shaped lifestyle. Meanwhile the only heavy hitting that KIMIHIRO can do is entrance introductions and victory speeches because SLC’s microphone work without him always fall apart.
Just when the match was ready to be booked for Sumo Hall, a third team entered into the picture. Team 200kg from Sendai Girls sent in a video demanding that they be the ones to get a title shot because Chihiro Hashimoto has unfinished business with Iino. The two had clashed several times back when ALL OUT and Sendai Girls feuded in 2019 and Hashimoto had her hand raised in victory in most of those battles. Simply the thought of Hashimoto being nearby has now driven Iino to lose his temper and go searching for her around venues so they can fight again. While all of that is going on, the soon to retire Yuu wants to test her might against Naya thinking she will be too much for him to handle. The solution to this three way dilemma is to make the match Survival rules so the last team standing gets to keep the belts for themselves. MAO promises a match chaotic enough to destroy Sumo Hall itself, although he wants it to only reach the level where SLC destroy their opponents instead.
8. Dramatic Dream Match: Zack Sabre Jr. Vs Chris Brookes
Oh the bittersweet memories of BritWres at its peak. It is what helped get these two to where they are today yet getting out of it at the time they did was probably the smartest decisions they ever made. It sent Zack Sabre Jr. on a journey all the way to the top of New Japan. It also showed the world that Chris Brookes was the perfect fit for DDT as he became that company’s top wrestler too. They were able to reunite here and there in Japan over the last couple of years. There were a few DDT appearances for Sabre and also some sneaky cameos on a couple of Baka Gaijin + Friends related events. But a singles match between the two hasn’t happened since 2017 over on the other side of the world.
Since this is happening on a DDT show you can expect the early part of the match to be a bit relaxed and light hearted. Maybe Brookes will do the rubber band spot. I bet Sabre remembers the days of Brian Conley punching his sidekick and telling the audience “It’s just a puppet!” so he can use Bunbun to recreate that gag and have it fly over the entire audience. Once they get all of that stuff out of the way then they can show us what can happen when things get heated in the ring between close friends. Anyone wanting this to be a proper technical masterclass should probably wait for Sabre’s match with KEITA in THE House to take place and hope that makes tape.
9. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Kaisei Takechi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada
Want to see what happens when the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion works more shows for DDT than New Japan in the month of November? Hey, I’m not going to complain about it. Konosuke Takeshita made his dramatic dream come true this year by winning the G1 Climax and then the IWGP Title. He is coming fresh off of a successful title defence against Hirooki Goto as well. DDT are capitalizing on this by having him team up with their newest draw, Kaisei Takechi. The handsome entertainer has now joined DDT to wrestle for them on a more regular basis and recently won his first championship, the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles. Given how important this match is meant to be, Takeshita wanted Kazusada Higuchi to be one of their opponents. He still considers his match with Higuchi from September 2022 as one of his favorites. Takechi then decided he should pick Higuchi’s partner and chose Takeshi Masada because Masada was part of his debut match. It gives Takechi the chance to find out just how much he has grown against someone who can likely become a career long rival.
I’m excited to see Takeshita and Higuchi face off again after so long. DDT’s main event storytelling kind of pulled the rug from under Higuchi this summer as his King Of DDT victory and two month reign on top was brushed aside for a different direction. It probably isn’t something to worry about because as long as he stay healthy he will always be someone they can rely on, maybe not on the level as HARASHIMA but you can count on him staying loyal to them. Masada has become more comfortable as a wrestler by being part of SCHADENFREUDE International. He doesn’t have to worry about being the supernova rookie as first advertised but I hope he doesn’t lose his ambition as time goes by. He had a little taste of New Japan before on a dark match but that was pretty much played for laughs at the time because he had the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. Maybe seeing Takeshita with the IWGP Title up close can stoke the flames a bit more for him.
10. KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (K/c) Vs Minoru Suzuki (U/c)
This entire situation was all Yuki Ueno’s fault and he’s opened the door to making it worse. Back in January Ueno won the DDT Universal Title from Gringo Loco and came up with a grand plan to increase the championship’s value without needing to travel around the world. A couple of months earlier Ueno fought Minoru Suzuki in a tag match that ended in a draw. He wanted to face him again so what better way to lure the “Pirate King” back to DDT than to wave some treasure around to get his attention. A title match was put together at “JUDGEMENT 2025” and Ueno proceeded to balls it all up by losing to Suzuki. So after years of one-off appearances in DDT where Suzuki only showed up to torture Sanshiro Takagi, he had now become one of their champions and decided to stick around to wreck anyone else who dared challenge him. Various challengers of all shapes and sizes stepped up to him just to fall at his feet one after the other. With every victory Suzuki felt more at home in DDT until eventually the time came for him to start looking for the one prize in DDT that is worth even more than the Universal Title.
Ueno was left to regret his decision to bring Suzuki into DDT this way but he got over it in order to come up with another plan to raise his company’s profile. One day he would like to fight Konosuke Takeshita once more and he wants it to happen when both of them are at the height of their powers. Takeshita had the G1 win and later the IWGP Title so Ueno set forth to win back the KO-D Openweight Title. He achieved that at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025” in August then suffered another massive blunder when Kazuki Hirata of all people won the belt off him thanks to an impeccably timed Right To Challenge cash in. Ueno got revenge for that one month later with his own deviously planned RTC cash in and now with the belt back around his waist he is ready to lead DDT again. That is until Suzuki showed up wanting to challenge Ueno for the title in order to dominate DDT once and for all. Ueno saw this as his chance to redeem himself by getting Suzuki to put the Universal Title on the line too so we are now going Title Vs Title at Sumo Hall.
While the fate of DDT’s two main championships hang in the balance for the main event, there is not much actual hatred shared between Ueno and Suzuki. Ueno respects Suzuki for the freedom he has achieved as a pro wrestler and how it strengthens him. It inspires Ueno to believe in his own ideas to become stronger. Meanwhile Suzuki is enjoying the time he has spent conquering DDT this year, describing the experience as a new beginning for him. As we’ve seen over the last two decades, Suzuki likes to make himself at home in a company for a couple of years before eventually jumping over to another for a while and then again onto the next place. With that being said, he still took the opportunity at a press conference to attack Ueno in an attempt to injure him before their match. Even if he likes fighting the guy, he’s going to remind Ueno that pro wrestling should be a ruthless business.
This month’s article feels like it is the most jam packed one I’ve ever written. Konosuke Takeshita is part of a big angle going on with Kazuchika Okada in AEW that is definitely going to result in a singles match between the two before the end of the year. Too bad the storyline they’re doing is the dreaded “Can They Get Along?” tag team gimmick. The stuff that I find fun is seeing the clumsy balancing act AEW is doing trying to handle Takeshita while he is the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion alongside a strongly protected Okada who is completely divorced from New Japan by now. I just cannot see a Takeshita Vs Okada match take place inside a New Japan ring at this point, whether it’s at the Tokyo Dome or for NJPW’s next attempt at running in the American market. This match is happening in AEW but if the IWGP Title is somehow involved we are all going to be flung headfirst into the salt mines.
There’s no drama to worry about over in Mexico this month. Shoko Nakajima went over there on behalf of Major League Wrestling. There was a slightly awkward moment when an interviewer unaware of the politics between Tokyo Joshi Pro and Stardom put Nakajima on the spot to talk about the other Japanese wrestlers she would be teaming with but it sounds like she handled the situation well. Once that was out of the way, everything Nakajima did over in Mexico looked like fun with five consecutive days of matches to wrestle in across various venues. MLW definitely found a way to get some good sounding news out there by praising their champion’s work during the tour. How often news reports about MLW sound like fluffy press releases will always annoy me (you’re telling Salina de la Renta is taking on an even bigger role behind the scenes yet again?!?) but whatever. I guess I shouldn’t let this stuff bother me.
There was also the return to action for Maki Itoh this month. Now unemployed, she went and had her first match since leaving TJPW. She has a big tour of America coming up this month so I’ll cover that but as for Japan, I’m going to wait and see what she does before I continue writing about her. If she ends up joining another company either full time or as a regular I don’t see much point to pay attention to it from a DDT/TJPW point of view. The same might go for her American bookings if I’m just writing about GCW month after month with no change in the status quo. Kyushu Pro and TAJIRI in particular were really happy with how Itoh’s match went so I can see that place becoming a regular spot for her. It’s funny that Rossy Ogawa went out of his way to tell everyone that Marigold is not interested in bringing her in. I think the reason he did that was to jump ahead of his reputation for poaching wrestlers from other companies. While the Marigold roster has been improving during their second year, suggesting that Itoh isn’t good enough to be in that locker room is nonsense when you see who they’ve already taken in.
Speaking of Marigold, there’s one other thing I want to talk about before diving into the rest of the article. Bryan Alvarez reported on Wrestling Observer Live yesterday that there are tentative plans by WWE to send female NXT wrestlers over to Japan next year much like they’ve been doing with male wrestlers this year. Alvarez doesn’t know which promotion WWE will be working with but guesses it would be Marigold while follow up reports also include NOAH, likely because of the “MONDAY MAGIC” series that usually books joshi matches and is getting expanded in 2026. I actually wouldn’t rule out the idea of TJPW getting to book an NXT wrestler or two out of this if only because of how WWE’s relationship with NOAH is currently going. It’s not like TJPW and AEW are doing much together anyway. Crazier things have happened so I’m just preparing myself for if I ever wake up to news that it’s actually happening.
Oh and TJPW is going back to Texas next Spring but I’ll write about that once more solid info comes out. Tokyo Story USA knows what they’re doing. Same goes for GCW because it looks like DDT and TJPW will be part of The Collective at WrestleMania Week again next year.
AEW “COLLISION”, 04/10/2025 RP Funding Center, Lakeland, Florida, USA
1. MxM TV Casting Call: Mansoor, Mason Madden & Johnny TV (w/ Taya Valkyrie) Vs Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita, & Josh Alexander (w/ El Clon)
Video starts at 1:39:30 for the match MLW “SLAUGHTERHOUSE”, 04/10/2025 Thunder Studios Arena, Long Beach, California, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs HIMAWARI
AEW “DYNAMITE – TITLE TUESDAY”, 07/10/2025 Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
1. Double Jeopardy Eliminator Match: Bandido & Brody King Vs Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita
A birthday celebration for Don Callis!
AEW “WRESTLEDREAM”, 18/10/2025 Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
1. AEW World Tag Team Titles: Bandido & Brody King (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Kazuchika Okada
KYUSHU PRO “OGORI CITIZEN’S FESTIVAL 2025”, 19/10/2025 Ogori City Lifelong Learning Center, Fukuoka, Japan
1. Jet Wei, One☆Kyushu & Princess Pistachio Vs Maki Itoh, TAJIRI & Charles Crowley
Women’s Pure Title Tournament participants Deonna Purrazzo & Yuka Sakazaki stand off ROH TV 10/23/25
CMLL “VIERNES ESPECTACULAR”, 24/10/2025 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Grand Prix de Amazonas: Persephone, La Catalina, Olympia, Skadi, Reyna Isis, Zeuxis, India Sioux, Lluvia & La Jarochita Vs Kanji, Diamante, Shoko Nakajima, Hazuki, Koguma, Mina Shirakawa, Skye Blue, Julia Hart & Thekla
CMLL “DOMINGO FAMILIAR”, 26/10/2025 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Kira & Skadi Vs Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima
Video starts at 38:27 for the main event CHOCOPRO “CHOCOPRO #484”, 27/10/2025 Ichigaya Chocolate Square, Tokyo, Japan
1. Emi Sakura Vs Mizuki
Video starts at 44:29 for the match CMLL “DIA DE MUERTOS”, 27/10/2025 Arena Puebla, Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, Puebla, Mexico
1. Match Relámpago Internacional de Amazonas: Kira Vs Shoko Nakajima
CMLL “DIA DE MUERTOS”, 28/10/2025 Arena Coliseo, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
1. Persephone & Zeuxis Vs Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima
Okada & Takeshita stare each other down, Don Callis introduces new painting | AEW Dynamite, 10/29/25
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Results
AEW “COLLISION”, 02/10/2025 (Aired 04/10/2025) RP Funding Center, Lakeland, Florida, USA
1. MxM TV Casting Call: Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita, & Josh Alexander (w/ El Clon) defeated Mansoor, Mason Madden & Johnny TV (w/ Taya Valkyrie) when Fletcher pinned Mansoor with the Sheer Drop Brainbuster (3:05).
Everyone loves doing open challenges lately, huh? The unit known as MxM TV put one together under the guise of a casting call and it was answered by The Don Callis Family. Together the trio of Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher & Josh Alexander Suplexed their opponents around while helping each other when Johnny TV or Mason Madden tried to make a comeback. Fletcher then sealed the deal on Mansoor with a Sheer Drop Brainbuster for the victory. El Clon just hung around at ringside for the vibes it seems like. It’s a bit difficult being an evil doppelganger when the person you’re the opposite of has to go away because of an injury that you didn’t cause.
MLW “SLAUGHTERHOUSE”, 04/10/2025 Thunder Studios Arena, Long Beach, California, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated HIMAWARI with the Diving Senton (12:22). *V4 for Shoko Nakajima.
Gotta give MLW some credit. They’re getting a good amount out of Nakajima’s working relationship with them. Her latest defence of the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title was against HIMAWARI so the match itself was what you would typically get in TJPW anyway. Nakajima retained the title, went on to Mexico to represent MLW and has another title defence coming up in her home promotion again later this month.
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 07/10/2025 (Aired 23/10/2025) Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki & Alex Windsor defeated Aleah James & Billie Starkz when Windsor pinned James with the Pumphandle Half Nelson Driver (7:45).
A possible glimpse into the future was shown before the match even began when Yuka Sakazaki’s entrance cut off Deonna Purrazzo’s post-match celebration from the previous bout. The two of them are in opposite sides of the ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament bracket so if they were to face off in that it would be in the final. When that moment passed, Sakazaki went on to team with Alex Windsor to beat Aleah James & Billie Starkz. While Windsor has toured with TJPW in the past, I don’t think she was ever in the same match with Sakazaki until here. Starkz got some licks in on the team while James even pushed them into each other to create an opening. But James & Starkz ended up on different pages and their teamwork broke down when Starkz started yelling at her partner. She then abandoned James when Windsor applied a Sharpshooter and James reached out for help. Sakazaki stood confused on the ring apron but hey, a win’s a win.
AEW “DYNAMITE – TITLE TUESDAY”, 07/10/2025 Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
1. Double Jeopardy Eliminator Match: Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Bandido & Brody King when Okada pinned Bandido with the Rainmaker (12:04).
Someone was coming out of this match getting a title shot of some sort. Okada & Takeshita fought Brodido in a tag match full of champions. Takeshita did the hard work of dealing with Brody King but had a trickier time fighting Bandido once more. Okada grabbed hold of Bandido from the ring apron but took the full brunt of Takeshita’s Jumping Knee Strike after Bandido broke himself free. Bandido tried to capitalize but his injured shoulder prevented him from giving Takeshita the 21 Plex. Takeshita gave him a Reverse Rana but Okada then blind tagged himself in to finish off Bandido with the Rainmaker. Okada & Takeshita had won the match but they weren’t on good terms with each other in the aftermath.
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 08/10/2025 Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
This match hasn’t aired yet but it is nice to see Windsor & Sakazaki establishing a tag team together. The only substantial thing that might come out of it though is a challenge for the AEW Women’s World Tag Team Titles once that thing is up and running. Robyn Renegade’s been wrestling without her sister for a while now and just seems to be thrown together with Taya Valkyrie every now and then.
VIP “SETTING THE BAR 11”, 10/10/2025 The Haltom Theater, Haltom City, Texas, USA
1. VIP Women’s Title – 3 Way Match: Vert Vixen defeated Maya World (c) and Kaya Toribami (12:06). *Maya World fails in V3. Vert Vixen becomes the 3rd VIP Women’s Champion!
The flag has been planted in Texas. Now it’s time for the slow process of TJPW spreading out from there. Kaya Toribami was sent over to VIP Wrestling to continue this mission, taking part in a 3 Way Match with the VIP Women’s Title on the line. The champion Maya World was dethroned but sadly for Toribami the title change was not for her. Instead Vert Vixen won the match to become the new champion.
VGM “FIGHT VGM FIGHT WRESTLING STARS MEET AND GREET & PRO WRESTLING MATCH”, 18/10/2025 Full House, Liangxi, Wuxi, China
1. Rika Tatsumi defeated HIMAWARI with the Missile Hips (?:??).
HIMAWARI also travelled to China this month with Rika Tatsumi by her side. The two of them had a TJPW offer match at the latest Fight VGM Fight show. Again it was pretty much the kind of singles match they would have back home.
AEW “WRESTLEDREAM”, 18/10/2025 Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
1. AEW World Tag Team Titles: Bandido & Brody King (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Kazuchika Okada when Bandido pinned Okada with the 21 Plex (27:26). *V5 for Brodido.
By the time Takeshita had his next match in AEW he had won the IWGP Title in New Japan! The news didn’t exactly make Okada feel thrilled and now the two of them had to be on the same page for a rematch against Brodido, this time with the AEW World Tag Team Titles on the line. A similar situation to last time occurred where Okada held onto Bandido from behind with Takeshita standing in front of them. This time Okada tried doing the Rainmaker but Bandido ducked and Takeshita got hit with the big Clothesline instead! Okada found it kind of funny while Don Callis was left speechless on commentary. Okada paid the price in the end because Bandido used the 21 Plex on him to get the big victory.
KYUSHU PRO “OGORI CITIZEN’S FESTIVAL 2025”, 19/10/2025 Ogori City Lifelong Learning Center, Fukuoka, Japan
1. Maki Itoh, TAJIRI & Charles Crowley defeated Jet Wei, One☆Kyushu & Princess Pistachio when Itoh submitted Pistachio with the Itoh Deluxe (17:38).
I’m not going to write about Itoh’s matches in Japan that often anymore but this was her first match back since leaving TJPW (and was booked when she was still with the company) so I might as well include it here. She was at Kyushu Pro to team with TAJIRI and the British carnival wrestler Charles Crowley. Their opponents were Kyushu Pro’s own One☆Kyushu alongside two wrestlers from Taiwan, Jet Wei & Princess Pistachio. The match was built around Itoh as the star although Pistachio got to get some cheers over her at points by trying to out-cute her. Itoh got to submit Pistachio with the Itoh Deluxe while her partners held back the other team with their own submission holds.
CMLL “VIERNES ESPECTACULAR”, 24/10/2025 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Grand Prix de Amazonas: Persephone, La Catalina, Olympia, Skadi, Reyna Isis, Zeuxis, India Sioux, Lluvia & La Jarochita defeated Kanji, Diamante, Shoko Nakajima, Hazuki, Koguma, Mina Shirakawa, Skye Blue, Julia Hart & Thekla (56:44).
1d. Shoko Nakajima eliminated India Sioux with the Northern Lights Suplex (29:54).
1i. La Catalina eliminated Shoko Nakajima with the One-Winged Angel (41:24).
What a trip this turned out to be. Nakajima went to Mexico as a representative of MLW for CMLL’s annual October series that is marketed around women’s wrestling. Nakajima was there as a member of The World team taking on Team Mexico in the Grand Prix de Amazonas torneo de cibernetico. The MLW connection meant she was able to wrestle in the same match as Hazuki & Koguma in ways that bypass the politics that still exist between Stardom and TJPW. Her status also might have given her the stronger booking because Nakajima was able to score an elimination on India Sioux while the FWC pair were both taken out of the match quite early on. Nakajima was beaten around the middle portion thanks to La Catalina (the “Cata-Cata-Cata-Catalina” chorus of her song is difficult to get out of my head whenever I hear it).
CMLL “SÁBADOS DE LUCHA LIBRE”, 25/10/2025 Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. CMLL Vs ROH & MLW: Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima defeated Kira & Candela (11:56).
The rest of Nakajima’s week was spent travelling around CMLL’s main haunts. Diamanté became her partner in crime for most of these shows as the two became an ROH/MLW aligned tag team for the tour. Things got off to a good start with them beating Kira & Candela in Arena Coliseo.
CMLL “DOMINGO FAMILIAR”, 26/10/2025 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Kira & Skadi defeated Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima when Kira pinned Diamanté after a Power Bomb Assisted Senton and Skadi pinned Nakajima with a Double Arm Backbreaker (?:??).
Diamanté & Nakajima were back in Arena Mexico the next day for a show that used Formula 1 style marketing because the Mexican Grand Prix was being held that weekend. Their tag match against Kira & Skadi was only held for one fall instead of the traditional Best 2 out of 3 rules. It was fun to see Nakajima fight someone much bigger than her. That is until she was broken in half with a Backbreaker for part of the finish.
CHOCOPRO “CHOCOPRO #484”, 27/10/2025 Ichigaya Chocolate Square, Tokyo, Japan
1. Emi Sakura Vs Mizuki ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00).
This year marks 30 years in the business for Emi Sakura. A big show at Shinjuku FACE was planned for her by ChocoPro at the end of the month and Sakura had wanted Mizuki to have been a part of it. Unfortunately the scheduling didn’t work out to get her on for that show so instead Sakura and Mizuki got to have a match together a couple of days earlier in ChocoPro’s home venue of Ichigaya Chocolate Square. It was their first singles match against each other in over two years and I think it is the first to happen in Japan since 2014! The two fought to a 15 minute draw with Sakura using her surroundings to get the upper hand while Mizuki eventually adapted to the unusual environment. In the final seconds Mizuki landed a Diving Cross Body but Sakura rolled her over for a nearfall. She was then in the middle of applying La Magistral Cradle when the time expired and the match ended. Mizuki offered a handshake afterwards but Sakura got the last laugh by slapping it away.
CMLL “DIA DE MUERTOS”, 27/10/2025 Arena Puebla, Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, Puebla, Mexico
1. Match Relámpago Internacional de Amazonas: Kira defeated Shoko Nakajima with the German Suplex (7:40).
The CMLL series turned spooky for the rest of the week because they were all Day Of The Dead themed. Nakajima got into the spirit of things by wrestling her match wearing a skeleton shirt. Would have been nice if Kira wore her Togepi outfit too but she already used it two days earlier. The singles match was the Lightning match of the show, which is the format CMLL uses for midcard singles bouts held within a 10 minute time limit. Thankfully for Nakajima it was early enough in the card where she wasn’t offered up as a sacrifice to the Aztec gods for losing the match. That fate was kept for Hazuki & Koguma one match later.
CMLL “DIA DE MUERTOS”, 28/10/2025 Arena Coliseo, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
1. Persephone & Zeuxis defeated Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima when Persephone pinned Nakajima with a Rope-Assisted Crucifix Pin and Zeuxis pinned Diamanté with a Cradle (?:??).
Nakajima’s tour with CMLL came to an end with a chance for her to fight the Grand Prix de Amazonas winner Persephone before going home. Again the tag match was held to one fall only and things went south for the visitors. Diamanté had her pin on Zeuxis countered around into her getting pinned instead. Meanwhile Nakajima got to hit the Diving Senton onto Persephone but was then rolled back into a Crucifix Pin. Persephone also clasped onto the bottom rope with her own feet to get added leverage for the three count.
1. Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Max Caster & Anthony Bowens (?:??).
Tensions are only getting worse between Okada and Takeshita. With pro wrestling being what it is, the only answer is to keep them teaming together until things boil over! In fact, AEW thought it was a wise idea to stick them against The Acclaimed, another tag team that cannot get along with each other. If you play the odds that way then surely one side will resolve their problems, right? It’s the kind of logic that might get Fulham some points over Liverpool this season.
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Upcoming Appearances
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, ??/11/2025 ???, USA
1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Round 1: Serena Deeb Vs Yuka Sakazaki
This tournament is really going at a snail’s pace, huh? I heard someone say the matches are purposely being kept back for PPV so I dunno, maybe we’re finally going to see this happen at “FINAL BATTLE” in another month’s time. Serena Deeb didn’t fall into an inter-dimensional vortex somewhere, right?
GCW “YOU WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND”, 07/11/2025 The Webster, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Kerry Morton
If we remember what happened at the Clusterfuck this year, Kerry Morton made it known he is not a fan of idol music when he interrupted The Up Up Girls. He went on a rather foul mouthed rant about them too. He should probably be careful if he pulls that same stunt on Itoh. She can swear with the best of ’em.
GCW “MASSACRE IN MAINE”, 08/11/2025 Yarmouth Amvets, Yarmouth, Maine USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs KJ Orso
Itoh’s already throwing insults at the former Fuego del Sol, telling KJ Orso he should have kept his mask on.
GCW “GREEN MOUNTAINS AND ME”, 09/11/2025 Barre Elks Lodge, Barre, Vermont, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
No match for Itoh has been announced yet but she will be there in Vermont.
SETUP/IWA THAILAND “A NEW DAWN”, 14/11/2025 TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Bangkok Death Match: Matcha (c) Vs Ram Kaichow Vs Pom Harajuku
2. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Andruew Tang & Jake De Leon (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami Vs Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr.
3. Double Main Event I – Ace Vs Ace: Shivam Vs HARASHIMA
Let’s see how much of a payoff there is for SETUP’s working relationship with DDT and TJPW when they touch down in Japan.
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “LOVE & PEACE”, 15/11/2025 JioSpace, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
1. MYPW Sponsored Match: Wonder Boy & Miles Karu Vs Fienic Rose & ‘Love Warrior’ Syawal
2. Marika Kobashi & Kira Summer Vs Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami
3. Sanshiro Takagi, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Emman Azman Vs Chris Brookes, Shota & Jack Alexander
4. Miu Watanabe, Yuki Arai & Raku Vs Yuki Kamifuku, Mifu Ashida & Poppy Shay
The combined DDT and TJPW show in Malaysia will also be featuring performances by the KLP48 idol group. One of their members Suzuha Yamane has spent time rehearsing with The Up Up Girls because she has never performed while standing inside a wrestling ring before.
HOG “SUPERCLASH”, 15/11/2025 Suffolk Credit Union Arena, Brentwood, New York, USA
1. Shayna Baszler Vs Maki Itoh
As brave of a fighter that Itoh has become in recent years, there are still some opponents who can scare her. Shayna Baszler is one who Itoh admits will have to bend some rules just to have a chance at beating her. She has probably accepted her fate over what will happen in House Of Glory and at least asked Baszler not to destroy her face.
… but her second match with wXw is completely different. I remember seeing Ahura for the first time back in 2019 when he had a breakout weekend as part of The Pretty Bastards when they won the World Tag Team Festival that took place right as the pandemic lockdowns began. He’s become something of a top guy for wXw since then, particularly this year when he reached the final of 16 Carat Gold and then just recently winning the first König der Catcher tournament. He’s a good opponent for Yamashita to fight.
GCW “DREAM ON”, 22/11/2025 American Dream, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Zayda Steel
A lot is going on for Zayda Steel lately, including an appearance on the EVOLVE brand that WWE decided to revive because they don’t have enough development systems in place apparently (I know, I know, it’s to take up more TV deals while also shutting out the competition). Itoh will keep her busy in New Jersey.
REVPRO “LIVE IN COVENTRY”, 23/11/2025 HMV Empire, Coventry, England
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Kanji
Now the result of this match is going to be interesting. The Undisputed British Women’s Title that belongs to Revolution Pro is currently among the dozen championship belts in Mercedes Moné’s collection. It’s a cool storyline, I think it’s great that Moné is doing this but I’m also relieved that TJPW hasn’t been involved with it because I’d rather not have an absentee championship in the promotion right now especially after what went on with the International Princess Title. Anyway, RevPro have been clearly signaling that Kanji is going to eventually challenge Moné and maybe even be the one to take the title away from her for this promotion’s big payoff to the storyline. Kanji facing Yamashita is a good way to build up some credibility on her road to becoming No. 1 Contender. But there’s a wild card that can be played here. Moné doesn’t keep it a secret how much she likes training with Yamashita and the TJPW crew whenever she gets the chance to. She’s even said in a Q&A that she would have liked to wrestle in TJPW but there’s just never been a time when the two sides could work something out. So what if instead Moné finally gets to wrestle Yamashita outside of Japan, like in England where Yamashita already has some cachet over there because of her history with EVE? You can say I’m coping all you want, what I just did now was put in the effort explaining why this match is appealing.
JCW “HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS”, 23/11/2025 The Mecca, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Queen Aminata Vs Maki Itoh
The original plan for Itoh on this JCW show was to team up with Matt Tremont & Bam Sullivan for a 6-Person Tag Match. Plans changed for the better because now she’s getting a singles match against Queen Aminata instead! We’re going to get headbutts that will shake the building to its core.
WPE/QPW “EPISODE 2”, 28/11/2025 Salle Albert Marquet, La Frette-sur-Seine, France
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Still not match revealed for Yamashita in France yet but Queens Pro Wrestling did advertise a meet and greet with her and Cara Noir together. Seeing that graphic without the context made me do a double take because that would be a unique match-up.
SAJ “FINAL BOUT 4”, 29/11/2025 Magnete, Via Adriando, Milan, Italy
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs JJ Gale
I’ve seen JJ Gale wrestle a couple of times in RevPro. He’s decent, definitely a big guy for Yamashita to try and knock down. He also has a tour of Japan coming up with ZERO1 at the end of the year. I thought SAJ would have Itoh’s match decided by now too. Still feels kind of odd she’s only doing this one booking for a European trip unless it’s just for some extra holiday money.
PROGRESS “VENDETTA 3”, 30/11/2025 Electric Ballroom, Camden, London, England
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
So the current PROGRESS Women’s World Champion is Rayne Leverkusen, a name that might sound familiar if you remember she did a tour with DDT a few years back. However Session Moth Martina is challenging her for the title in November and I know she still wants to have a match with Yamashita after the previous time in EVE was cancelled. That’s two ideas for possible opponents Yamashita can get on this show.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN BANGKOK”, 13/12/2025 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
I don’t think there’s been any new updates on TJPW’s Thailand show this month. The current lineup is Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Arisu Endo, Shoko Nakajima, Miyu Yamashita, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Suzume, Yuki Arai, Kaya Toribami, Shino Suzuki, Uta Takami, Matcha and Alexis Lee.
DDT “BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING 2025 ~THE FINAL~”, 23/10/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. Something Between 4 Members Of D GENERATIONS: Yuya Koroku, Kazuma Sumi, Rukiya, Hinata Kasai
2. “I Am The Apex!” “Come On!” “Dosukoi!” No-Look Match: Yuki Iino Vs To-y Vs Yuki Ishida
3. Yukio Naya, Jun Akiyama & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion
4. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO)
5. KING OF DRUNK 2025 FINAL ~Annual Championship Decision Match~: MAO Vs HARASHIMA Vs Daisuke Sasaki Vs Chris Brookes
6. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Shinya Aoki Vs Takeshi Masada & Daichi Sato
The D GENERATIONS wrestlers are being encouraged to be creative over what kind of match they will put together tomorrow.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’25”, 09/11/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Hiroyo Matsumoto & Yuki Arai Vs Yuna Manase & Toga
2. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Viva Van
3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara (c) Vs 4IMAWARI & Shino Suzuki
3. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs J-Rod
The last time Viva Van was in Tokyo Joshi Pro was during Golden Week when she won the VPW Women’s Title from Yuki Kamifuku. She gets the chance to do something similar for her return to the promotion because she has been given the opportunity to take the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title away from Shoko Nakajima!
The tag team of Hiroyo Matsumoto & Yuki Arai is coming back for a second go around since the first time went so well. Toga will be one of their opponents again and she is looking forward to rematching with Matsumoto, especially since she now has Yuna Manase as her own tag team partner. The match might be the rebound Hot Shot are looking for.
DDT “KUMAMOTO WARRIORS”, 09/11/2025 Kumamoto Castle Hall Civic Hall
1. Kumamoto Castle Sauna No Yu Presents Special 6-Man Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA, Sanshiro Takagi & HARASHIMA Vs To-y, Daichi Sato & Yuki Ishida
One of Konosuke Takeshita’s return matches in DDT is now being sponsored by a local men’s sauna. That’s them IWGP World Heavyweight Title bucks being a difference maker right there.
DDT “BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING 2025 ~THE FINAL~”, 23/10/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. Yukio Naya, Jun Akiyama & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion
2. Something Between 4 Members Of D GENERATIONS: Yuya Koroku, Kazuma Sumi, Rukiya, Hinata Kasai
3. “I Am The Apex!” “Come On!” “Dosukoi!” No-Look Match: Yuki Iino Vs To-y Vs Yuki Ishida
4. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO)
5. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Shinya Aoki Vs Takeshi Masada & Daichi Sato
6. KING OF DRUNK 2025 FINAL ~Annual Championship Decision Match~: MAO Vs HARASHIMA Vs Daisuke Sasaki Vs Chris Brookes
This week’s Beer Garden show will now include a match involving four wrestlers involved with the D GENERATIONS. But what the match is exactly won’t be revealed until the show itself.
DDT “EMPEROR OF THE RING”, 25/10/2025 Osaka City Ikuno Ward Community Center
1. 3 Way Match: Hideki Okatani Vs Yuki Ishida Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Kazuki Hirata “Second Match Triumphant Return” Series Vol. 3: MAO (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. Yuki Iino, Akito & Hinata Kasai Vs Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & Ilusion
4. Jun Akiyama, Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs HARASHIMA, Antonio Honda & Yuya Koroku
5. The 37KAMIINA Vs SCHADENFREUDE International!: Yuki Ueno & To-y Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada
6. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs KANON
With the next KO-D Tag Team Titles match now decided, Yukio Naya and KANON will face off in a small preview of what’s to come.
DDT “LET’S GO! IMAIKE MOTOIKE 2025”, 26/10/2025 Aichi Imaike Gas Hall
1. Antonio Honda Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs KANON, Naomi Yoshimura, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato
3. Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Kazuki Hirata & Akito
4. Yukio Naya & HARASHIMA Vs Jun Akiyama & Hinata Kasai
5. The 37KAMIINA Vs Harimao!: Yuki Ueno & To-y Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida
6. Special Single Match: Yuki Iino Vs MAO (w/ KIMIHIRO)
The next day brings in Yuki Iino and MAO to do the same thing.
DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025”, 03/11/2025 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Sanshiro Takagi Return Match – Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hinata Kasai
2. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Soma Takao, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Rukiya
3. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion Vs Daichi Sato, Yuki Ishida, Kazuma Sumi & Kumadori
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, HAYATA & Junta Miyawaki Vs Jun Akiyama, Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku
5. DDT Extreme Title – 5 Way Match: To-y (c) Vs Akito Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Survival 3 Way Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu
7. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Danshoku Dieno
8. Dramatic Dream Match: Zack Sabre Jr. Vs Chris Brookes
9. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Kaisei Takechi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada
10. KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (K/c) Vs Minoru Suzuki (U/c)
Just like that we have the entire lineup for Sumo Hall next month. Konosuke Takeshita wanted Kazusada Higuchi to be in his tag match so Kaisei Takechi asked for Takeshi Masada to be Higuchi’s tag partner. Danshoku Dieno is feeling like a new person after getting surgery but doesn’t understand that his match with Daisuke Sasaki is the rematch of an infamous Sumo Hall main event they had together back on 2018. The KO-D Tag Titles match doesn’t just have The Apex and Strange Love Connection involved. Team 200kg from Sendai Girls are included as well to make it a Survival 3 Way Match.
DDT “RYOGOKU AFTER ~IT’S A WONDERFUL BATTLE~”, 06/11/2025 Shinjuku FACE
1. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Antonio Honda
Shortly after Sumo Hall, Takeshita is sticking around for a few more DDT dates. One of them is to have a singles match with Antonio Honda, his old pal and mentor from Happy Motels.
DDT “TONKOTSU SUPLEX”, 08/11/2025 ACROS Fukuoka Event Hall
1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA, Daisuke Sasaki & Ilusion Vs MAO, KANON & Kazuma Sumi
After that he teams up with DAMNATION T.A again. Sasaki started respecting Takeshita when he turned heel in AEW and left The 37KAMIINA in DDT so he must really look up to him now that he won the IWGP World Heavyweight Title.
DDT “KUMAMOTO WARRIORS”, 09/11/2025 Kumamoto Castle Hall Civic Hall
1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA, Sanshiro Takagi & HARASHIMA Vs To-y, Daichi Sato & Yuki Ishida
So, er… Takeshita’s going to work a few New Japan shows during this period too, right? Because he’s not beating the allegations so far. Would be funny if Takeshita’s entire title reign is spent wrestling the likes of Antonio Honda and Sanshiro Takagi instead of say Shota Umino or Yuya Uemura.
DDT “UTAN FESTA 2025”, 16/11/2025 Tokyo JR Omori Station East Exit Square
1. Omori World Title Next Challenger Battle Royal: X Vs X
2. Interim World Omori Title: Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda
The current World Omori Champion is the injured Masahiro Takanashi so an interim champion is being crowned in the meantime. Either Kazuki Hirata or Antonio Honda will become Takanashi’s stand-in for the annual Omori Title Match while another No. 1 Contender will be determined in a Battle Royal.
DDT “WRESTLING HARVEST ~CRIMSON SKY~”, 19/10/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Naomi Yoshimura, Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi defeated Keisuke Ishii, Munetatsu Nakamura & Hinata Kasai when Sumi pinned Kasai with the School Boy (8:26).
2. Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada defeated Super Sasadango Machine, Akito & Fuminori Abe when Honda pinned Sasadango with the Diving Fist Drop (12:00).
3. Daichi Sato & Rukiya defeated Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Sato pinned Matsunaga with the Mad Splash (8:45).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, KANON & Kumadori (w/ KIMIHIRO) defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul when MAO pinned Paul with the Cannonball 450 (12:43).
5. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata defeated Shinya Aoki with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (7:25).
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida when Naya pinned Ishida with The World’s Best Back Drop (22:20). *V5 for The Apex.
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno, To-y & Kaisei Takechi (c) defeated Minoru Suzuki, HARASHIMA & Yuya Koroku when Ueno pinned Koroku with the WR (28:51). *V1 for Yuki Ueno, To-y & Kaisei Takechi.
We’re less than a month away from “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” and the entire lineup has fallen into place after today’s show. First up there was the matter of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match to deal with. It was another chance for Yuki Ueno and Minoru Suzuki to fight each other but other parties was at play too. Kaisei Takechi wanted to test himself against Suzuki so he can experience the thrill of that first hand. Suzuki definitely made sure it was an experience hat Takechi isn’t going to forget anytime soon. HARASHIMA & Yuya Koroku were both willing to team with Suzuki since it was a good shot at both of them winning a championship again. Takechi had To-y helping out when he could and he was even able to hold Suzuki back while Ueno pinned Koroku with the WR for a successful title defence.
Suzuki shrugged off the loss and pointed out that Ueno couldn’t beat him today. The one who is going to hold the KO-D Openweight Title and DDT Universal Title together at the same time first will be Minoru Suzuki! Ueno talked back and said he will beat the “King Of Pro Wrestling” because he is the “King Of DDT“! Suzuki then reintroduced himself to DDT’s “King” and the two grabbed each other by the neck before shoving each other away. When Suzuki left, Takechi talked about his upcoming Sumo Hall tag match where he will team with Konosuke Takeshita. The other team hasn’t been announced yet but Takechi heard that Takeshita wants Kazusada Higuchi to be one of the opponents. Takechi wants to nominate a wrestler too. He wants to fight one of his opponents from his debut match, Takeshi Masada! The request was accepted and the tag match will be Takeshita & Takechi versus Higuchi & Masada.
The challenges are only ramping up higher for The Apex. Today they had to defend the KO-D Tag Team Titles against the Harimao pair of Higuchi & Yuki Ishida. The latter was no problem for Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya to handle but Higuchi remained a regular presence in the match to keep it difficult for the champions. Ishida got to give Naya a taste of their own medicine and throw him around with a Superplex. But one Dosuoki Splash after the other from Higuchi and then Ishida wasn’t enough to win. Iino used the Spear on Higuchi to get rid of him while Ishida couldn’t get the victory with the Flame Palm or the Dosukoi Clutch. Instead Naya cut him off with a Knee Lift and used The World’s Best Back Drop to put the spirited underdog away.
Naya said Ishida thinks of himself as pathetic and embarrassing but after the match they just had, nobody will think that of him now. Naya had a senior that pulled him out of being hopeless and helped turn him into the wrestler he is today. He reminded Ishida that he has many supporting seniors around him and he is a strong DDT wrestler. The two shook hands over it before The Apex turned their attention to their next title defence. They suddenly received a video message from Team 200kg asking for a title shot! Iino went looking around Korakuen Hall to see if Chihiro Hashimoto was really in the venue but neither she nor Yuu were there. Naya reminded everyone that Hashimoto has singles match wins against Iino so of course Iino would have unfinished business with her. Suddenly the Strange Love Connection then entered the ring. MAO revealed he’s had a secret plan up until now to bulk up and weigh over 100kg so he can beat either The Apex or Harimao for the tag titles. Since KANON now weighs 103kg that means SLC can be called Team 200kg too but Iino now has Hashimoto on his mind so the secret plan has been ruined. Hisaya Imabayashi came up with a solution. The KO-D Tag Titles will be on the line at Sumo Hall in a Survival 3 Way between The Apex, SLC and Team 200kg!
Kazuki Hirata had to rely on all of his wits and luck to just have a chance at beating Shinya Aoki. Instead it went beyond that. Hirata first asked for the match to have special rules including joint locks being banned and Aoki needing a 10 count pin to win. Aoki refused and got the match to start normally. Hirata left the ring when the going got tough and used the ringside attendants Rukiya and Hinata Kasai as shields when Aoki did a Topé Suicida onto them. Aoki seemed to lose him temper and threw everyone including the referee into the front row before attacking them all with chairs. Imabayashi tried to stop Aoki but the fighter then grabbed him in a Sleeper Hold and dragged him around ringside. Back in the ring Rukiya and Kasai tried to help Hirata but Aoki quickly regained momentum. That was until Imabayashi reappeared and grabbed Aoki from the top rope! Hirata & Imabayashi worked together but Aoki again took back control. However Hirata kicked out of the European Clutch, Imabayashi gave him the Stunner and Hirata applied the Miracle One Shot Cradle. Aoki briefly reversed it but it was reversed back resulting in an upset victory for Hirata! Their actions unexpectedly earned them Aoki’s respect and Imabayashi was carried out of the arena on top of Hirata and Aoki’s shoulders while the Pride FC victory theme played. Backstage Hirata said that maybe with this new bond he, Aoki & Imabayashi might one day challenge for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles. Aoki was told a friendship was born but he joked it will break soon. He doesn’t understand how he has all of a sudden drifted away from the KO-D Title scene like this.
Match #4 was changed from an 8-Man Tag to a 6-Man Tag because Ilusion was feeling unwell and couldn’t wrestle. SLC welcomed back Kumadori so they could go fight against DAMNTION T.A together. Daisuke Sasaki tripped Kumadori while he was going for a dive and put him in the Crossface Lock. MAO tried a hot tag but Hideki Okatani attacked him with the bamboo stick to cut him off. KANON came to the rescure by Suplexing MJ Paul so SLC & Kumadori could all do flippy drop moves on top of him. Paul resisted Hurricane Kicks and Lariats until a Cross Lariat/McEnroe combo by SLC finally took him down. MAO then finished him off with the Cannonball 450. MAO said things are livening up with SLC thanks to KIMIHIRO’s rapping and Kumadori’s dance moves. Pro wrestling is 80% about the entrances anyway. Kumadori hasn’t forgotten about Ilusion though. He advised him to get plenty of rest and sleep so they can wrestle once he’s fully recovered.
The young tag team of Daichi Sato & Rukiya got an upset win over the veterans Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga. Rukiya got Body Slammed to heck and back before getting thrown into the ring post. Sato was put through the meat grinder too with Lariats and a Scorpion Death Lock but Rukiya was able to break him free. Rukiya then Double Dropkicked the other team, allowing Sato to build up momentum with differen kicks to Matsunaga. That kept Matsunaga down long enough for Sato to land the Mad Splash and pin him. Both he and Rukiya gave Akiyama a respectful bow after the match.
The rubber band spot backfired on SCHADENFREUDE International early on in their match when Antonio Honda tripped and hurt his knee while he was walking up the steps. The other team simply let go of the band while he was explaining what happened and the band snapped into him. Fuminori Abe then got permission from a fan sitting in a wheelchair at ringside to push them into Honda while Chris Brookes was chasing Akito around the ring. After the big Gongitsune spot, Brookes twisted Super Sasadango Machine’s mask over his eyes to blind him and then did a Codebreaker/Back Senton combo with Masada. Honda then pinned Sasadango with the Diving Fist Drop for the win.
Kazuma Sumi was moved from Match #4 to the opener because of Ilusion’s absence. Keisuke Ishii was also added to the match to even up the numbers, making him and Soma Takao opponents for the first time in a while. The change gave Sumi and Munetatsu Nakamura an opportunity to show off their agility against each other. Hinata Kasai tried to beat Sumi at his own game with School Boy pins but Sumi fought him off. Kasai then switched to a Backslide Pin and pulled off the move with help from Nakamura’s Super Kick. But Naomi Yoshimura broke the pin. Sumi got back on his feet and used the Tiger Feint Kick to give himself the momentum to swing Kasai into the School Boy for the three count out of nowhere.
A happy and relaxed looking Danshoku Dieno greeted the fans during the show to update everyone on his current status. He recently underwent emergency surgery for appendicitis that removed all of the toxins in his body. His return match will be at Sumo Hall on 3rd November where everyone will see a more beautiful side of him than ever before. He is currently only at 70% fitness but he is using his regular walks with his pet dog Haku to get his conditioning back. At the end of the show it was revealed that Dieno’s return match will be against Daisuke Sasaki! Dieno said backstage that when he was laying in his hospital bed he thought back on some of his past actions and felt embarrassed. He promised this more beautiful side of Dieno will wrestle clean matches from now on. When Sasaki found out about the match announcement it reminded him of the main event they had at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” where Dieno wrestled the late portion of the match completely naked. Sasaki warned Dieno that DDT is expecting them to deliver a rematch that goes beyond nudity this time! Dieno apparently has no memory of that match (he ended up being locked in a casket after losing and the trauma he suffered had blocked his memory) and doesn’t understand what Sasaki means by going beyond nudity.
The full card for “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” was announced at the end of the show. The match order outside of the opening bout and the main event has not been decided on yet.
DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025”, 03/11/2025 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Sanshiro Takagi Return Match – Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hinata Kasai
2. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Soma Takao, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Rukiya
3. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion Vs Daichi Sato, Yuki Ishida, Kazuma Sumi & Kumadori
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, HAYATA & Junta Miyawaki Vs Jun Akiyama, Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku
5. DDT Extreme Title – 5 Way Match: To-y (c) Vs Akito Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Survival 3 Way Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu
7. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Danshoku Dieno
8. Dramatic Dream Match: Zack Sabre Jr. Vs Chris Brookes
9. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Kaisei Takechi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada
10. KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (K/c) Vs Minoru Suzuki (U/c)
NJPW “KING OF PRO-WRESTLING 2025”, 13/10/2025 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan 5,372 Fans
9. IWGP World Heavyweight Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Zack Sabre Jr. (c) with the Wagamama (31:16). *Zack Sabre Jr. fails in V3. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA becomes the 14th IWGP World Heavyweight Champion!
He did it! After winning the G1 Climax during the summer, Konosuke Takeshita has now taken the next step up and has won the IWGP World Heavyweight Title! He went into today’s show having a 1-1 singles record with Zack Sabre Jr. coming out of the G1. Now was the big rubber match with New Japan’s top championship on the line. Sabre tried to break Takeshita down limb by limb and the damage he inflicted prevented Takeshita from capitalizing on some possible comebacks. However he was able to survive being tangled into submission holds and relied on those big impact moves to take their toll on Sabre. With both wrestlers reaching their limit, a spent Takeshita took Sabre’s wind out of his sails with German Suplexes before catching him unaware with a Reverse Hurricanrana. Takeshita then decided to pull down his own kneepad and hit a raw Wagamama knee strike that kept Sabre down for the pin count.
While Takeshita was making a promise to Sabre after the match about protecting the IWGP Title, he noticed the reaction in Sumo Hall to his victory was mixed. Takeshita acknowledged there are New Japan fans who aren’t happy to see him become the champion and is certain some of the wrestlers in the company feel the same way. He called for anyone to come down and challenge him. Hirooki Goto answered the call and entered the ring. Goto said Takeshita knew this would be coming because he wants to win the IWGP Title again. Takeshita was surprised to see Goto because he expected one of the younger NJPW wrestlers to challenge him first. However he has unfinished business with Goto from last year’s G1 tournament and he is not going to start following Goto’s revolution, so he accepts the challenge. Backstage Takeshita told reporters that winning the championship is not his end goal. He wants to defend the championship at the Tokyo Dome but is not taking that position for granted. That’s why he wants his title defence against Goto to take place before “WRESTLE KINGDOM 20”.
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Can you guess how much I’m beaming with joy right now? I’ve been following this guy’s career since the beginning so to see him go from winning the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title in DDT before his debut to winning the IWGP Title in New Japan just has me feeling delighted right now. But there’s quite a number of NJPW fans out there who aren’t in a celebratory mood over this result like I am. NJPW has had a cold year and Takeshita’s presence when he is there isn’t doing anything to help warm it up. One common complaint are that it’s because he only shows up for the big events and is nowhere to be seen on the tour loops. Another is that Takeshita’s presentation hasn’t caught on with the fans. Try as he might to act like he’s about to be crowned Japan’s next big star, he still comes off as an outsider to the company’s fanbase. An obvious answer to this problem is to lean into that and have Takeshita play the role of the new boss monster for NJPW’s stars to eventually take down. But New Japan themselves haven’t committed to that idea ever since the halfway point of the G1 when Takeshita switched to acting more like a face wanting to unite the wrestling world instead of dominating it all as “The Alpha”.
Takeshita as IWGP Champion is also now the focal point of an issue that is dividing two specific fanbases, the relationship between New Japan and AEW. How far you lean into being a fan of one or the other opens up different paths. For the AEW fan there is fun to be had fantasy booking what happens next with Takeshita in The Don Callis Family, especially since he is currently involved in a slow build storyline with Kazuchika Okada. Both men are now champions and they just so happen to have a chance this upcoming weekend to win the AEW World Tag Team Titles together. They win and that’s a pretty amazing tag team you got there. They lose and we’ll likely get the next chapter in the story where Takeshita gets kicked out of the Family and turns face in AEW.
New Japan fans though do not give a shit about from what I’ve seen of their responses online. They’re sick of seeing their company playing second fiddle in this relationship and they don’t want a repeat of Jon Moxley’s title reign where the champ was absent from a couple of tours in Japan only to take part in a throw away title defence with zero build on AEW TV. I bet tempers will flare even hotter if the brand new IWGP Champion was to immediately take a pinfall loss on PPV less than a week later even if it was all part of an angle to turn (big) babyface. They’re also sick of AEW fans fantasy booking Takeshita Vs Okada for the IWGP Title at the Tokyo Dome. I myself am not expecting that match to happen mainly because Okada has almost completely avoided doing anything New Japan related ever since he jumped ship to AEW. There’s been his appearances at “FORBIDDEN DOOR” this year and last and I think that’s been it.
As for me? I’m soaking in the moment. One of my favorite wrestlers in now a top champion and chances are I’m going to see him defend the belt at the Tokyo Dome this 4th January. That’s my boy!
The post-summer rest is over and done with. There are two separate stories that Konosuke Takeshita is now travelling through. One in New Japan might see him become the next IWGP World Heavyweight Champion with a reign that can bring him right into the Tokyo Dome. The other is a path leading him towards Kazuchika Okada in AEW that could end with him holding the AEW Unified Title when all is said and done. At least that’s how little old optimistic me is seeing things at the moment. He spent September getting built up for a title shot with Okada and came out of it empty handed.
While that was going on, Tokyo Joshi Pro were making moves towards complete global saturation! They’ve already taken over the women’s division in MLW and have more talent coming over to America in the next couple of weeks. Then after that they move on to take over Malaysia and Thailand with some first time shows taking place in those countries later in the year.
We’re also not done with Maki Itoh yet. She broke her silence after leaving TJPW last month by declaring herself the most cutest unemployed wrestler in the world. She has another tour of America coming up so the next step is to see if she will do anything new with GCW now that she can dedicate herself more over there or if she is just going to continue playing the hits.
AEW “COLLISION”, 06/09/2025 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Mark Briscoe Vs Konosuke Takeshita
AEW “COLLISION”, 13/09/2025 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. AEW Unified Title Eliminator Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Anthony Bowens
Video starts at 31:10 for the match MLW “FIGHTLAND”, 13/09/2025 NYTEX Sports Centre, Dallas, Texas, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 24/09/2025 Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Mark Briscoe, Hologram & Orange Cassidy Vs Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero
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Results
AEW “COLLISION”, 06/09/2025 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Mark Briscoe with the Raging Fire (17:54).
First up this month was Takeshita taking on Mark Briscoe in the venue most remembered for being the ECW Arena. What came off as a no nonsense singles match ended up being spoiled when MJF unexpectedly ran in to push Briscoe off of the top rope. The appearance was unexpected because MJF was supposedly on his honeymoon at the time. Takeshita appeared not to mind because it gave him the opening to hit Briscoe with the Powerdrive Knee and then pin him with the Raging Fire. However after the match he gave MJF a shove because he actually was annoyed over his interference. Don Callis stepped in before things could heat up and got Takeshita out of the ring before another fight broke out between Briscoe and MJF.
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 11/09/2025 (Aired 18/09/2025) 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Pure Rules Match: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Janai Kai with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (4:42).
We got a Yuka Sakazaki match this month but not the one I thought it was going to be. Her appearance in the ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament hasn’t taken place yet. Instead she fought Janai Kai in a warm up match using Pure Rules so she can get the hang of them. Although outside of two rope breaks there was nothing different to a normal match. Also Sakazaki walked out to what sounded like a new remix of her entrance song.
AEW “COLLISION”, 11/09/2025 (Aired 13/09/2025) 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. AEW Unified Title Eliminator Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Anthony Bowens with the Raging Fire (9:14).
Next up for Takeshita was his participation in a quick tournament that was put together for the AEW Unified Title match at the next AEW PPV. He fought Anthony Bowens with the winner advancing to a 3 Way title match at “ALL OUT”. Bowens badly needed a result to get himself out of a funk he is currently going through. He at a Reverse Hurricanrana from Takeshita and popped back up to give him a Leaping Famouser from behind. But he ultimately fell to the triple combo of Blue Thunder Bomb, Powerdrive Knee and Raging Fire. Takeshita would then reappear later in the episode to point at Okada and send the message that he is after his stablemate’s championship!
MLW “FIGHTLAND”, 13/09/2025 NYTEX Sports Centre, Dallas, Texas, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Locomotion Northern Lights Suplex (9:46). *V3 for Shoko Nakajima.
The working relationship between TJPW and MLW continues to look strong as the joshi side seems to be increasingly filling out the entire women’s division in MLW. It led to a little bit of an ambitious booking to help advance the Kyoraku Kyomei Vs Ober Eats storyline in TJPW. While Shoko Nakajima and Yuki Kamifuku were busy fighting each other over the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title in America, their partners Hyper Misao and Wakana Uehara were meant to have a singles match together back in Japan on the same day. Sadly an accidental injury to Uehara caused by Misao cancelled plans for the latter from happening. Back in MLW, Kamifuku couldn’t put Nakajima away with her usual signature moves so she went up to the second rope to do the Diving Famouser. Nakajima dodged it and pulled out two successive Northern Lights Suplexes to get the win and retain her championship.
AEW “ALL OUT TORONTO”, 20/09/2025 Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
1. AEW Unified Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita and Mascara Dorada when Okada pinned Dorada with the Rainmaker (20:55). *V3 for Kazuchika Okada.
Hey this was a treat! Okada and Takeshita trying to wrestle each other but you throw the new Mascara Dorada from CMLL in there as a wild card to constantly get in the way and you got yourself a heck of a match there. If anything Dorada had something of a breakout performance that stole the spotlight away from the other two. Okada ended up getting away with it in the free for all. Takeshita gave Dorada the Raging Fire but then got hit by Okada’s trademark Dropkick. That sent Takeshita tumbling out of the ring leaving Okada to pick up the pieces and used the Rainmaker on Dorada for the victory.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 24/09/2025 Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Mark Briscoe, Hologram & Orange Cassidy defeated Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero when Hologram pinned Hechicero with the Portal Bomb (10:36).
More cracks were surfacing within The Don Callis Family thanks to the uneasy alliance between Okada and Takeshita. Callis tried to blow it over by revealing his latest work of art to everyone but that was hijacked by the return of Orange Cassidy! Some teamwork from Cassidy & Hologram on Hechicero led to their team getting the win while we end our time this month wondering what is next for this story going on between Okada and Takeshita.
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 24/09/2025 (Aired 02/10/2025) Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Pure Rules Match: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Zoey Lynn with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (4:23).
This one slipped past me. Sakazaki got in another Pure Rules match at the end of the month, this time beating Zoey Lynn. Sakazaki had her back worked over and it still looks like like Pure Rules style doesn’t make a difference in how her matches are laid out. But Sakazaki Super Kicked Lynn’s head off and pinned her with the Magical Merry-Go-Round.
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Upcoming Appearances
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, ??/10/2025 ???, USA
1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Round 1: Serena Deeb Vs Yuka Sakazaki
We had to wait a month for this match to happen? What’s the freaking holdup? Now that I notice it, Sakazaki wrestled this month but Serena Deeb didn’t.
MLW “SLAUGHTERHOUSE”, 04/10/2025 Thunder Studios Arena, Long Beach, California, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs HIMAWARI
TJPW’s takeover of the MLW women’s division moves even further with Nakajima’s next defence. HIMAWARI is coming back for another MLW appearance and is immediately given a title shot. I think the endgame for Nakajima is to face Shotzi Blackheart but MLW are in no rush to get there.
VIP “SETTING THE BAR 11”, 10/10/2025 The Haltom Theater, Haltom City, Texas, USA
1. VIP Women’s Title – 3 Way Match: Maya World (c) Vs Vert Vixen Vs Kaya Toribami
The Texas tour has left a big mark in TJPW’s future plans for America. They see it as a good hub to hunker down in for a potential overseas expansion. They even see the benefit of creating Texas Joshi Pro Wrestling just because they could still call it TJPW. But this is looking way out into the future so for now they’re just going to plant a seed here and there to test things out. First up is Kaya Toribami heading over to compete on a VIP Wrestling show. She gets to be part of a 3 Way Match with Maya World and Vert Vixen with the VIP Women’s Title on the line.
VGM “FIGHT VGM FIGHT WRESTLING STARS MEET AND GREET & PRO WRESTLING MATCH”, 18/10/2025 Full House, Liangxi, Wuxi, China
1. Rika Tatsumi Vs HIMAWARI
China gets another taste of TJPW when Rika Tatsumi and HIMAWARI face off at the Fight VGM Fight show.
CMLL “VIERNES ESPECTACULAR”, 24/10/2025 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Grand Prix de Amazonas: Persephone, La Catalina, Olympia, Skadi, Reyna Isis, Zeuxis, India Sioux, Lluvia & La Jarochita Vs Kanji, Diamante, Shoko Nakajima, Hazuki, Koguma, Mina Shirakawa, Skye Blue, Julia Hart & Thekla
Back in 2019 Nakajima got to go on a tour of Mexico with CMLL with stops at Arena Mexico, Arena Coliseo and Arena Puebla. There was even a rare DVD of her lucha matches that TJPW and LADY’S RING put out that is in my collection somewhere. Now six years later she gets to go again but as a representative of MLW rather than TJPW. CMLL are holding the fifth annual Grand Prix de Amazonas torneo cibernetico for their women’s division that pits Mexico against the world. The international team has plenty of Japanese talent on it this year. Nakajima will be joined by Mina Shirakawa plus the FWC pair of Hazuki & Koguma. It would be goofy if politics between Stardom and TJPW somehow came into play here. In reality I think it’s just a coincidence that Nakajima is labelled an MLW wrestler instead of a TJPW one because she has been MLW’s long term champion for this year.
GCW “YOU WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND”, 07/11/2025 The Webster, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
The Cutest Unemployed Tour begins! Itoh’s first new booking announcements since leaving TJPW are all gathered around GCW in the month of November.
GCW “MASSACRE IN MAINE”, 08/11/2025 Yarmouth Amvets, Yarmouth, Maine USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
She’s going to Connecticut and Maine and Vermont to put them all on the map!
GCW “GREEN MOUNTAINS AND ME”, 09/11/2025 Barre Elks Lodge, Barre, Vermont, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Got confused for a moment and thought this was the Elks Lodge in New York that ECW used to book.
SETUP/IWA THAILAND “A NEW DAWN”, 14/11/2025 TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Bangkok Death Match: Matcha (c) Vs Ram Kaichow Vs Pom Harajuku
2. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Andruew Tang & Jake De Leon (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami Vs Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr.
3. Double Main Event I – Ace Vs Ace: Shivam Vs HARASHIMA
Big plans are going ahead for SETUP’s first ever show in Japan. They have a double main event planned and HARASHIMA’s in one of them. He is facing Shivam, the leader of Real Global Threat who feels he has ran through all of his competition in Southeast Asia. So now he wants to face the best that Japan has to offer, which is where HARASHIMA steps in.
RGT currently hold the IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles and will defend them against two very different tag teams. The monster team of Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr. are returning to their IWA Japan roots while TJPW is sending Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami over to claim some gold as part of their upcoming visit to Thailand.
TJPW is also betting on Pom Harajuku to win back the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title. She’s beaten Matcha for that belt before in a No DQ Match, a result that Matcha would love to correct. Matcha also got her title back from beating Raku which made Raku’s “husband” Ram Kaichow feeling pretty mad when she found out about it. SETUP decided to let these three collide and to make things even more dangerous it is going to be a Bangkok Death Match!
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “LOVE & PEACE”, 15/11/2025 JioSpace, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Both DDT and TJPW are putting together a show in Malaysia alongside the local idol group KLP48. So far the DDT talent announced are Sanshiro Takagi, Chris Brookes and Shinichiro Kawamatsu. Also Shota is there as a freelancer. The TJPW side are sending over Miu Watanabe, Raku, Shino Suzuki and Yuki Kamifuku.
HOG “SUPERCLASH”, 15/11/2025 Suffolk Credit Union Arena, Brentwood, New York, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
GCW isn’t the only place you’ll see Itoh in November. She makes her House Of Glory debut as well.
I haven’t paid much attention to wXw lately so your guess is as good as mine in regards to who Yamashita can wrestle over there.
GCW “DREAM ON”, 22/11/2025 American Dream, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Zayda Steel
What looks to be Itoh’s last GCW appearance for the month has her going toe to toe against Zayda Steel.
WPE/QPW “EPISODE 2”, 28/11/2025 Salle Albert Marquet, La Frette-sur-Seine, France
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Nothing new announced for Yamashita’s match in France.
SAJ “FINAL BOUT 4”, 29/11/2025 Magnete, Via Adriando, Milan, Italy
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Maki Itoh Vs X
Could a brief 121000000 reunion be on the cards or are Yamashita and Itoh staying separated from each other?
PROGRESS “VENDETTA 3”, 30/11/2025 Electric Ballroom, Camden, London, England
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
A new place in England for Yamashita to wrestle in. She makes her Progress debut at the end of November.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN BANGKOK”, 13/12/2025 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
It’s been long enough, after so many guest appearances over the last few years, now is the time for TJPW to bring the whole thing over to Thailand! They’re working with SETUP to bring a dozen wrestlers over to work alongside several women’s wrestlers from across the Southeast Asian scene.
The twelve TJPW members going over are Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Arisu Endo, Shoko Nakajima, Miyu Yamashita, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Suzume, Yuki Arai, Kaya Toribami, Shino Suzuki and Uta Takami. Also part of the show will be Alexis Lee and Matcha from the SEA side.
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Other Appearances
ASW “MUCHA LUCHA”, 06/09/2025 Stephen’s Cocktail Corner Bar, Langley, British Columbia, Canada
ASW “THE COBRA STRIKES BACK”, 13/09/2025 Evergreen Hall, Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada
ASW “SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT”, 20/09/2025 Maritime Labour Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
So it looks like Sayuri Namba has found a place to do some ring announcing while she is living in Canada. She worked at least three shows for All Star Wrestling in British Columbia from what I could find online.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 