DDT Around The World – October 2025

November 1, 2025

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.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


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

1. Alex Windsor & Yuka Sakazaki defeated Taya Valkyrie & Robyn Renegade (?:??).

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.


AEW “COLLISION – FRIGHT NIGHT”, 29/10/2025 (Aired 01/11/2025)
Bert Ogden Arena, Edinburg, Texas, USA

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.


WXW “25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR”, 21/11/2025
Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany

1. Dani Luna Vs Miyu Yamashita

Yamashita’s big fortnight in Europe kicks off in Germany for wXw. Her match with Dani Luna was already announced last month…


WXW “25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR”, 22/11/2025
Gruenspan, Hamburg, Germany

1. Ahura Vs Miyu Yamashita

… 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.


Final Beer Garden Of 2025, Shoko Vs Viva Van For MLW Women’s Title, DDT Gets Sauna Sponsor

October 22, 2025

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.


Ultimate Party 2025 Card, Takeshita Appearing On More DDT Shows, Interim Omori Title

October 20, 2025

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~” Results

October 19, 2025

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)


Takeshita Becomes The IWGP Champion!

October 13, 2025

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!


DDT Around The World – September 2025

October 1, 2025

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.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


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.


WXW “25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR”, 21/11/2025
Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany

1. Dani Luna Vs Miyu Yamashita

Looks like Germany is definitely the first stop for Yamashita’s European tour.


WXW “25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR”, 22/11/2025
Gruenspan, Hamburg, Germany

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

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.


DDT “EDO NO NAKAMISE FIGHTING” Results

September 2, 2025

DDT “DDT ASAKUSA-KAI PRESENTS EDO NO NAKAMISE FIGHTING”, 02/09/2025
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
??? Fans – Unannounced

0. Dark Match – Nariagari Offer Match: KAKERU & Akinori Ariji defeated Tawaramachi Kid Jr. & Super Nikuyaki Machine when Ariji pinned Kid with the Last Ride (10:30).
1. Rukiya defeated Hinata Kasai with the Proto Bomb (3:43).
2. HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Kazuki Hirata & Danshoku Dieno when HARASHIMA pinned Hirata with a Lariat (0:07).
2a. Rematch: HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Kazuki Hirata & Danshoku Dieno when HARASHIMA pinned Hirata with a Lariat (0:21).
2b. Rematch: HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Kazuki Hirata & Danshoku Dieno when HARASHIMA pinned Hirata with the Somato (9:01).
3. Bunbun In The Bank Ladder Match: Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Hideki Okatani, Ilusion & MJ Paul when Masada grabbed Bunbun (7:45).
4. Yuki Iino, Yukio Naya & Akito defeated Jun Akiyama, Soma Takao & Daichi Sato when Iino pinned Takao with the Spear (10:04).
*Yuki Iino wins Soma Takao’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
5. Yuki Ueno’s Birthday Celebration Match ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, KANON & Yoshihiko (w/ KIMIHIRO) defeated Yuki Ueno, To-y & Kazuma Sumi when Yoshihiko pinned Sumi with the Reincarnation (15:50).
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida defeated Satoshi Kojima, Antonio Honda & Yuya Koroku when Ishida pinned Honda with the Flame Palm (16:47).

Last November was when Satoshi Kojima wrestled in DDT and he came back today in order to team up with Yuya Koroku. The two of them both trained in the Animal Hamiguchi Gym. The main event also had Ryota Nakatsu paying DDT a visit so he can team with Harimao again. Kojima’s team wasn’t able to win but after the match Koroku told a story backstage about him getting an autograph from Kojima eight years ago. At the time he told Kojima he wanted to be a pro wrestler and it would be great if they were in the ring together some day. Kojima said he loves the atmosphere of DDT shows that you can’t find in other companies.

At some point before the show took place, Ilusion kidnapped Bunbun from Takeshi Masada and hung him upside down above the ring! So obviously the match between SCHADENFREUDE International and DAMNATION T.A was turned into a Ladder match to see who could get Bunbun down first! Masada made up for letting Bunbun get captured in the first place by being the one to pull him down after he Power Bombed Ilusion from the ladder.

It should be a brand new day for DDT with a brand new champion at the helm but it turns out winning the KO-D Openweight Title has not made Kazuki Hirata stronger even one tiny bit. He held a press conference in the ring before the show began where he talked about all of the wrestlers who sent him congratulatory messages for the title victory. Konosuke Takeshita sent him a 5,000 yen gift card while Hiromu Takahashi asked if he could get a title shot sometime. Hirata passed on that idea but he was informed that his first scheduled title defence will take place at Korakuen Hall on 28th September. Hirata asked for his opponent to be either the GM Hisaya Imabayashi or the referee Daisuke Kiso but he was denied. Instead Imabayashi told him he has until 12th September to pick his opponent. Hirata said he wants to get a challenger who is as weak as possible.

We then saw how Hirata has made no progress in the second match when he was immediately pinned by HARASHIMA. The match restarted only for HARASHIMA to quickly pin Hirata again. Another restart led to a proper match going ahead but HARASHIMA still got to beat Hirata a third time. It made HARASHIMA ask for a title shot but Hirata turned him down, explaining that it wouldn’t be worth it for HARASHIMA to win the title from a very weak champion. His fans would only approve if HARASHIMA beat an incredibly strong opponent to become the champion again. HARASHIMA understood and let Hirata off the hook.

Then later in the show Yuki Iino won the red Right To Challenge Arm Cover from Soma Takao. Given his successful history using this prize in the past, Iino wanted to cash it in for a KO-D Title shot straight away. Hirata tried to bribe him with candy to change his mind but it didn’t convince him. However Iino then received a message on his phone telling him that his private gym received a reservation on short notice from a “Mr. Hirata”. Iino no longer had enough time to wrestle another match so he raced off to the gym, leaving Hirata to survive the day as still the champion.


DDT Around The World – August 2025

September 1, 2025

This month’s article starts late because most of Konosuke Takeshita’s month was spent in New Japan where he won the G1 Climax tournament. You can read about that here if you missed it. He will now wait for 13th October to fight for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title at Sumo Hall against either Zack Sabre Jr. or Ren Narita. Until then he is back wrestling in AEW where another path has suddenly appeared in front of him. Are we on the way towards a big singles match against Kazuchika Okada?

Also in August Chris Brookes and Takeshi Masada spent a weekend in the Philippines that turned out to be a very special one for Brookes. “Tupe” now has a third country he can call home if he for some reason ever needs to get away from both England and Japan. Meanwhile over in Malaysia, Kira Summer got to dip her toes outside of Tokyo Joshi Pro for the first time. Will she get the travelling bug like Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh did? Yamashita has a European tour coming up soon and Itoh will be along for one small part of it. Speaking of Itoh, I’ll continue writing about her international bookings for the time being but if she ends up signing to another Japanese company or takes up a busy wrestling schedule elsewhere in Japan then I’m sorry to say it will be time to bid her adieu on this website. I only have so much time on my hands.

Oh, there’s one more quick thing to mention. Maybe I’ll write up a separate post about it soon. A few people on different wrestling Discords have done some detective work and may have found out where Keigo Nakamuara is having his excursion. Is he the new masked luchador named Tokio who showed up in the Mexican indies over the summer? Stay tuned.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “COLLISION”, 23/08/2025
OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland

1. Tomohiro Ishii Vs Konosuke Takeshita


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 27/08/2025
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Bandido, Brody King, Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey Vs Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & Hechicero

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Results


AEW “COLLISION”, 20/08/2025 (Aired 23/08/2025)
OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Tomohiro Ishii with the Raging Fire (10:36).

After taking only a few days of rest, Takeshita travelled all the way over to the UK to be present for a week of “FORBIDDEN DOOR” related events. First stop was Glasgow, Scotland where Takeshita faced off against Tomohiro Ishii. AEW promoted the bout as a rematch from “WRESTLE DYNASTY” back on 5th January. Ishi almost won this time with a Power Bomb but Takeshita got his hand raised in the end by using the Raging Fire.


BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “MNL”, 22/08/2025
The Social House, Makati, Philippines
??? Fans

1. International Dream Match: Crystal & Robin Sane defeated Patricia Ligaia & Dr. Gore (?:??).
2. 3 Way Match: Nigel San Jose defeated Saint John Martin and Danny Zamora when San Jose pinned Martin with a Hot Dog Assisted Knee Strike (?:??).
3. Fabio Makisig defeated El Katipunero (?:??).
4. International Dream Match: Chris Bookes & Takeshi Masada defeated Jake De Leon & Isaiah Valencia when Masada pinned Valencia with the Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (?:??).

I kind of have a report of the show that can be seen here. Credit for the results go out to SEA Wrestling for having them posted on their site.


LLL “IF THE APOCALYPSE COMES, BEEP ME!”, 22/08/2025
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Dulce Tormenta with The Magical Girl Splash (?:??).

This one flew under my radar but Yuka Sakazaki had a match on the indies this month! She appeared at Lucha Libre & Laughs where she beat Dulce Tormenta.


DXCN “PEKSMAN”, 24/08/2025
Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines

1. Kiss Of Death Match: Takeshi Masada defeated Jake De Leon with the Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (?:??).
2. International Dream Match: Chris Brookes defeated Robin Sane with the Praying Mantis Bomb (?:??).

The role Brookes is playing in developing the Pinoy wrestling scene was recognized at the end of the weekend. During the shows the fans gave him the nickname Tupe. The Dexcon show was on the same day as his birthday so after Brookes beat Robin Sane in the main event, everyone came out from the back to throw him a party. He also received a certificate signed by several of the local wrestlers to unofficially declare Christopher “Tupe” Brookes as a Filipino citizen.

The rule for the Kiss Of Death match was that the wrestlers needed to kiss their opponent before delivering their winning move. Masada went full “Baby Girl” mode for the match and even used lip balm to set up his kiss to Jake De Leon.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 27/08/2025
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. All Star 8-Man Tag: Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & Hechicero defeated Bandido, Brody King, Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey when Alexander pinned Bailey with a Forward Rolling Clutch (11:20).

Takeshita didn’t have a match at “FORBIDDEN DOOR” but he did appear during the show. But when Wardlow was revealed to be the newest member of The Don Callis Family, the entire unit gathered together with Takeshita being the last person to show up. He didn’t seem to be enthusiastic over this turn of events but seemed to accept Wardlow into the group. Then a few days later Takeshita was part of the Family’s team for an 8-Man Tag against Brodido & JetSpeed. Here is when cracks within the family began to surface as Takeshita and Okada both got tagged in at the same time and got in each other’s faces over it. They got in each other’s way again later in the match so it’s pretty clear what direction we’re going.


APAC “SLAMFEST 2025”, 30/08/2025
Stadium Juara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1. APAC Women’s Title No. 1 Contender Fatal 4 Way: Tarlee defeated Crystal, Kira Summer and Mio Shirai when Tarlee pinned Summer (?:??).

A big weekend for pro wrestling in Malaysia took place just over the weekend when APAC Wrestling held a show featuring wrestlers from around the world including talent who are under WWE ID deals and hold championships under that project. Not only that but Kira Summer got to take part in a wrestling show outside of Japan for the first time since joining TJPW. She was in a 4 Way Match against fellow Australian wrestler Tarlee, now firmly back from retirement Mio Shirai and Crystal the former APAC Women’s Champion. No. 1 Contendership for that title was on the line and Tarlee got it after pinning Summer to win the match.

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Upcoming Appearances


ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, ??/09/2025
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Round 1: Serena Deeb Vs Yuka Sakazaki

I don’t know which is more surprising, that we’re getting another Yuka Sakazaki match in ROH so soon or that the long planned tournament to crown a ROH Women’s Pure Champion is finally going ahead. She’s entering an eight woman tournament under pure wrestling rules (limited rope breaks, closed fist punches are fouls, etc.) and Serena Deeb is her first round opponent. Since Deeb in storyline is one of the wrestlers most attached to the idea of having a Women’s Pure Title, I don’t like Sakazaki’s odds of making it to the next round.


MLW “FIGHTLAND”, 13/09/2025
NYTEX Sports Centre, Dallas, Texas, USA

1. Yuki Kamifuku Vs X
2. Shoko Nakajima Vs X

It was already known that Shoko Nakajima would be travelling back to Texas next month for an MLW taping but one of their latest advert banners show that Yuki Kamifuku will be part of the event too. The last time Kamifuku was in MLW she and Shotzi Blackheart shared an idea of wrestling each other sometime. Blackheart already has a match booked for the live stream portion of show but that doesn’t mean she can’t have another taped for TV down the line. Or what if Kamifuku gets to challenge Nakajima for the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title?


VGM “FVF WRESTLING STAR MEET AND GREET & PRO WRESTLING MATCH”, 18/10/2025
Full House, Liangxi, Wuxi, China

1. HIMAWARI Vs X
2. Rika Tatsumi Vs X

The China trip for Rika Tatsumi and HIMAWARI seems so far away.


SETUP/IWA THAILAND “A NEW DAWN”, 14/11/2025
TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi

1. Pom Harajuku Vs X
2. Kaya Toribami Vs X
3. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
4. HARASHIMA Vs X

Recently it’s been wrestling from Japan that makes its way over to to Thailand but now the opposite is happening. SETUP (and its spin-off IWA Thailand) will be heading to Tokyo to hold its first ever show in Japan and wrestlers from several Japanese promotions have been invited to take part. DDT will be sending HARASHIMA to the event while TJPW is being represented by Miyu Yamashita, Kaya Toribami and Pom Harajuku.


WXW “25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR”, 21/11/2025
Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Yamashita begins a European winter vacation over in Germany for wXw.


WXW “25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR”, 22/11/2025
Gruenspan, Hamburg, Germany

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

She’ll be part of two shows for wXw on the tour that celebrates the company’s 25th anniversary.


WPE/QPW “EPISODE 2”, 28/11/2025
Salle Albert Marquet, La Frette-sur-Seine, France

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

A few days later Yamashita then goes to France to wrestle on a show co-promoted by two brands. Wrestling Pro Essone and women’s promotion Queens Pro Wrestling held their first show together back in March and for their second event they get to have Yamashita’s first match ever in France!


SAJ “FINAL BOUT 4”, 29/11/2025
Magnete, Via Adriando, Milan, Italy

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Maki Itoh Vs X

Yamashita then returns to Italy for SAJ Wrestling the next day but she won’t be alone. Itoh is there too for a booking that was already announced before she left TJPW. SAJ also said this will be Itoh’s only appearance in Europe but they didn’t say for what period of time. Is it her only European appearance for the month? The rest of the year? Is there a reason why she’s travelling to Italy for only one show, like she has anywhere else to be?


Takeshita’s 2nd G1 Adventure (He Won It!)

August 18, 2025

It only took him two tries to nail it. Konosuke Takeshita took part in his second G1 Climax for New Japan after making his tournament debut last year. Whereas last time Takeshita treated the G1 as his way to spread his name across NJPW with a few short lived alliances and some seed planting for the future, this year he was all in on winning the tournament relying only on himself… and Rocky Romero. Firmly representing The Don Callis Family in AEW, Takeshita had no intention of teaming with any of the NJPW units for his non-tournament bouts. It’s a somewhat lonely decision that paid off in the long run. When the dust had settled, Takeshita had emerged as this year’s G1 winner! He is now the third wrestler with a DDT background to win the big tournament, joining Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi.

Something I want to make note of is before the tournament began, whispers had been going around in some online circles that New Japan was putting together big plans for Takeshita this year. That pretty much foreshadowed how his G1 was going to turn out even before it started. Now information like that emerging late in the tournament is not out of the ordinary if you’re deep into the insider stuff but having it happen before the G1 even began? That just shows somebody who is in the weeds had some very loose lips this time around.

Block B

1. Zack Sabre Jr. (14)
2. Shota Umino (12)
-. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (12)
4. Shingo Takagi (10)
-. Ren Narita (10)
6. YOSHI-HASHI (8)
-. Drilla Moloney (8)
-. Great-O-Khan (8)
-. El Phantasmo (8)
10. Gabe Kidd (0)


NJPW “YAMADA INFRA TECHNOS PRESENTS G1 CLIMAX 35”, 19/07/2025
Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kitayell
2,579 Fans

7. G1 CLIMAX 35 – B Block: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (2) defeated Gabe Kidd (0) by Referee Stoppage with the Plus Ultra (13:15).

The opening day of the G1 pitted Takeshita against the most hot-headed wrestler in Block B. Gabe Kidd was taking part as the current IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion and he too was expected to play a big part in the tournament. However Takeshita went blow for blow against him and took things one step further than the mad man. After hitting him with an Elbow Strike to the back of the head, Takeshita then grabbed Kidd’s head and gave him a Neck Snap before applying the Plus Ultra, his version of the Chickenwing Face Lock. Kidd fainted from the move and the match was ruled in Takeshita’s favour. Kidd did regain consciousness and tried to fight Takeshita again after the match but the Young Lions at ringside kept them apart. Backstage Takeshita admitted to blacking out during the match so he felt it was only right to make things even by knocking Kidd out. He had hoped this will be the end of their story but knows they have unfinished business so he challenged Kidd to meet him in the finals. However Kidd eventually ended up pulling out of the rest of the tournament due to injury so his run was ended by Takeshita before it could really get going.


NJPW “YAMADA INFRA TECHNOS PRESENTS G1 CLIMAX 35”, 20/07/2025
Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kitayell
2,520 Fans

8. G1 CLIMAX 35 – B Block: El Phantasmo (2) defeated KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (2) with the CR III (15:02).

Next up was an immediate revisit of Takeshita’s rivalry with El Phantasmo. They had their first singles match together at last year’s G1 where Takeshita was the victor. Since then they had two more singles matches each with a different championship on the line. They had a time limit draw over the NJPW World TV Title and Takeshita then beat ELP in a NEVER Openweight Title defence. This time around ELP finally got a win over Takeshita. He back flipped out of a German Suplex and flipped Takeshita over with a Reverse Hurricanrana. Takeshita kicked out after taking a the CR II so ELP used the move a second time and then finished Takeshita off with the CR III to score his first points of the tournament. Takeshita gave credit to his rival by telling the reporters afterwards that he and ELP are always evolving to take the next step. He then brought up Gabe Kidd and talked about Kidd’s knee injury. That prompted Kidd to approach him on crutches with a warning. One day he’s going to kill Takeshita, leaving Yuka Sakazaki and their pet dog Kenshiro behind all on their lonesome!


NJPW “YAMADA INFRA TECHNOS PRESENTS G1 CLIMAX 35”, 22/07/2025
Miyagi Sendai Sun Plaza Hall
1,714 Fans

3. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Rocky Romero defeated Great-O-Khan & Jakob Austin Young when Romero pinned Young with a Crushed La Magistral Cradle (7:30).

With the death threat out of the way, Takeshita moved onto preparations for his next block match. His first non-tournament bout meant Romero now started to pay his part on the tour as Takeshita’s tag partner. First up for the duo was Great-O-Khan alongside Californian wrestler and United Empire ally Jakob Austin Young. Romero countered Young’s La Magistral Cradle by blocking it mid-move and pressing himself down on his opponent for the pinfall. Meanwhile O-Khan had grabbed Takeshita with an Iron Claw outside the ring and it required the seconds at ringside to break up the hold. After listing all of his sponsors backstage, O-Khan told reporters he has no idea how much skill the fool Takeshita has but he heard about him being strong in AEW. He wants to see that strength in their G1 match because he didn’t see a single glimpse of it here. Takeshita promised to blow O-Khan’s head off his shoulders with his right elbow. When he left, Romero started to brag about aiming to win this year’s “C Block” of non-tournament matches.


NJPW “YAMADA INFRA TECHNOS PRESENTS G1 CLIMAX 35”, 23/07/2025
Niigata Aore Nagaoka
1,547 Fans

8. G1 CLIMAX 35 – B Block: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (4) defeated Great-O-Khan (2) with the Raging Fire (17:05).

Takeshita got his revenge the next night but it proved to be a bit difficult to decapitate the guy. He got the big Elbow Strike in as a counter to O-Khan’s strikes and used the Raging Fire for the victory. He then rubbed salt into the wound after the match by doing O-Khan’s standing pose over his prone body. By this point Takeshita understood that he is facing a strong field of opponents this year and can see similarities between himself and O-Khan. He’d like to fight him again but that doesn’t mean he wants to team with him or anything. O-Khan feels the same way. He empathizes with Takeshita over having a triple contract deal that prevents him from touring with NJPW. O-Khan thinks Takeshita does not have to love NJPW in order to belong to the company.


NJPW “YAMADA INFRA TECHNOS PRESENTS G1 CLIMAX 35”, 25/07/2025
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1,308 Fans

4. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Rocky Romero defeated Shingo Takagi & Daiki Nagai when Romero submitted Nagai with an Armbar (7:32).

Next up for Takeshita & Romero is a fight with Shingo Takagi & Daiki Nagai. The Young Lion caused a bit of a stir by declaring he was going to make Romero cry in pain! That didn’t happen. While Takeshita and Takagi had cancelled each other out, Romero captured Nagai in an Armbar to make him tap out. Romero couldn’t resist but ask everyone backstage who is crying now! Takeshita’s message to Takagi before their Block B match is for them to have a fight that surpasses their match from the Tokyo Dome back on 4th January. Nagai later told Takagi about Takeshita’s track and field credentials from middle school and high school because Nagai comes from a similar background. Takagi however thinks that amateur results don’t matter. That’s a lesson the incoming Aaron Wolf should be aware of too. Takagi also revealed he was mad when he heard Takeshita talk about aiming for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title right after he lost the NEVER Title to Oleg Boltin.


NJPW “YAMADA INFRA TECHNOS PRESENTS G1 CLIMAX 35”, 26/07/2025
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
2,250 Fans

9. G1 CLIMAX 35 – B Block: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (6) defeated Shingo Takagi (2) by Referee Stoppage with the Plus Ultra (23:56).

This was the first of several main events Takeshita took part in during the tournament. By this point in the G1 Takagi has had a bad start and it went no better against Takeshita. He was still a formidable opponent who hit Takeshita as hard as Takeshita could hit him. But something Takagi didn’t expect was for Takeshita to use the Made In Japan against him! That wasn’t enough to win so Takeshita had to pull out the Plus Ultra again to render Takagi unconscious. Takeshita told reporters that his wrestling philosophy is to live strong and stay strong. Living strong means living for tomorrow which means Takeshita is the strongest tomorrow, the day after that, a year from now and even a decade into the future!


NJPW “YAMADA INFRA TECHNOS PRESENTS G1 CLIMAX 35”, 27/07/2025
Aichi Port Messe Nagoya Exhibition Hall 1
2,162 Fans

4. Zack Sabre Jr. & Hartley Jackson defeated KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Rocky Romero when Jackson pinned Romero with the Death Valley Bomb (9:01).

All this good momentum Takeshita and his buddy Romero were building up came to a stop when they collided with TMDK. Takeshita now had Zack Sabre Jr. to worry about while Romero was stuck having to wrestle the much bigger Hartley Jackson. Romero proceeded to make the fatal mistake of calling Jackson fat and paid the price when Jackson flattened him with a Cross Body Block before pinning him with the Death Valley Bomb. Takeshita’s night wasn’t much better because Sabre tangled him up with a Cobra Twist outside the ring. Once they were seperated, Sabre taunted Takeshita with the IWGP World Title belt. Takeshita was humbled a bit by what happened but said if he beats Sabre next, it will prove he is the strongest. He will absorb Sabre’s wrestling to become even stronger. Sabre said he isn’t stupid enough to criticise a wrestler like Takeshita. They have some similarities when it comes to their age of debut and their age from when they started to wrestle around the world. The differences are Sabre is the champion and nobody understands technique as much as he does!


NJPW “YAMADA INFRA TECHNOS PRESENTS G1 CLIMAX 35”, 30/07/2025
Osaka Yamato University Yamato Arena
1,390 Fans

9. G1 CLIMAX 35 – B Block: Zack Sabre Jr. (6) defeated KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (6) with a Modified Sleeper Hold (22:37).

Sabre went ahead and taught Takeshita that harsh lesson inside the ring and in Takeshita’s home city of Osaka. He had an answer for everything Takeshita had for him, including the Plus Ultra. Then when Takeshita tried the Raging Fire, Sabre escaped and pulled out the Sabre Driver as a counter. Takeshita kicked out and gained the advantage using Elbow Strikes but the Raging Fire was again countered, this time into a Sleeper Hold. Takeshita did what he could to fight out of it but Sabre kept his grip and wore his opponent down to nothing, leaving Takeshita with no choice but to tap out. After the match Sabre said Takeshita might be The Alpha “but I’m the fucking World Heavyweight Champion, dickhead!”


NJPW “YAMADA INFRA TECHNOS PRESENTS G1 CLIMAX 35”, 01/08/2025
Sun Messe Kagawa
1,244 Fans

2. Drilla Moloney & Taiji Ishimori defeated KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Rocky Romero when Ishimori submitted Romero with the Bone Lock (7:24).

Takeshita’s rocky patch of results continued when he had to go fight wrestlers from Bullet Club WAR DOGS again. Drilla Moloney entered NJPW as a Jr. Heavyweight but switched up to the heavier weight class this year. Takeshita looked like he could get the better of him here but the match came down to Taiji Ishimori catching Romero in La Mistica and then tapping him out with the Bone Lock. Moloney revealed after the match he had no grudge with Takeshita. That was until Takeshita injured Kidd in the opening day. That robbed Moloney of the chance to wrestle his best friend in the G1. Ishimori also hyped up Moloney for going into the match with a 4-1 record in the tournament so far. Takeshita warned Moloney not to get too cocky just because he is motivated to get revenge on behalf of Kidd. Romero called the WAR DOGS nothing more than a pack of miniature poodles.


NJPW “YAMADA INFRA TECHNOS PRESENTS G1 CLIMAX 35”, 02/08/2025
Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall
2,002 Fans

8. G1 CLIMAX 35 – B Block: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (8) defeated Drilla Moloney (8) with the Raging Fire (14:01).

Takeshita got things back on track by beating Moloney in the B Block. The two had a brief staredown and then fought out of the ring where Takeshita gave Moloney a Brainbuster into a row of chairs. Moloney kept going for the Gore back in the ring but when he finally hit it, there wasn’t enough damage done to soften Takeshita up for the Drilla Killer. Instead Takeshita hit a Rolling Elbow and also the Wagamama. Moloney had some fight left in him but ultimately fell to the Raging Fire shortly afterwards. Takeshita said he could feel Moloney’s strong will but nothing is going to stop him from reaching the top. Moloney admitted he let his emotions get to him and he tried to hurt Takeshita for Kidd when he should have been fighting to get himself more points.


NJPW “YAMADA INFRA TECHNOS PRESENTS G1 CLIMAX 35”, 03/08/2025
Fukuoka International Center
2,534 Fans

1. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Rocky Romero defeated YOSHI-HASHI & Shoma Kato when Romero pinned Kato with the Slice Rocky (8:13).

The turnaround meant Romero got to taste victory again too. Takeshita’s next non-tournament match was a preview for his G1 bout with YOSHI-HASHI. The Young Lion Shoma Kato got to show his tenacity by hitting Takeshita with Shoulder Blocks over and over until he could finally knock him down with the move. YOSHI-HASHI was able to get Takeshita out of the ring but Romero kept up his part of the bargain by pinning Kato with the Slice Rocky. Takeshita and YOSHI-HASHI kept fighting each other after the match before being seperated. Backstage Takeshita said he heard about the time YOSHI-HASHI miraculously defeated Kenny Omega in the G1 but he is never going to beat The Alpha! Their match is going to be an easy one for Takeshita. YOSHI-HASHI took offence to that and promised to break Takeshita’s long nose! Meanwhile Kato was annoyed that Takeshita didn’t remember him from when they wrestled each other during last year’s G1 tour. He doesn’t want to wait another year to fight him again.


NJPW “YAMADA INFRA TECHNOS PRESENTS G1 CLIMAX 35”, 05/08/2025
Intex Osaka Hall #5
1,142 Fans

6. G1 CLIMAX 35 – B Block: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (10) defeated YOSHI-HASHI (8) with the Raging Fire (15:13).

Takeshita went on to reach 10 points after beating YOSHI-HASHI, equaling his score from last year. While victory was not in doubt, Takeshita still had to work hard to earn it. YOSHI-HASHI had counters for the Raging Fire from using Inside Cradles to making him fall with DDTs. He got a nearfall with the Swanton Bomb and tried to win with the Karma but Takeshita countered that into a Stunner. Once Takeshita pulled off the Raging Fire, victory was his. He’d love to call that an easy win but it was nothing like it. He hates guys like YOSHI-HASHI the most because they are the veteran wrestlers who act like they are steadily declining until a match that matters happen and they become serious just like that. Those are the guys Takeshita thinks make pro wrestling boring. YOSHI-HASHI said it is clear Takeshita loves pro wrestling and knows a lot about NJPW’s history. There were parts of the match where Takeshita even reminded YOSHI-HASHI of Kazuchika Okada. But Okada is even more of a monster than Takeshita is.


NJPW “YAMADA INFRA TECHNOS PRESENTS G1 CLIMAX 35”, 07/08/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,509 Fans

4. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Rocky Romero defeated Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma when TAKESHITA submitted Honma with the Plus Ultra (5:38).

Shota Umino was eager to start fighting with Takeshita as soon as they could but Takeshita let Romero start off the match instead. Tomoaki Honma though got some hits in and scored a nearfall on Takeshita with the Kokeshi. Takeshita quickly put a stop to that by countering the Kokeshi Rocket with an Elbow Strike and then forced Honma to give up to the Plus Ultra. Umino tried to attack Takeshita after the match but was given a Brainbuster onto the floor for his troubles. Takeshita heard that Umino is currently going through his “Second Chapter” but from his perspective Umino hasn’t even started his prologue yet. There is a world of difference between them so he wants Umino to think carefully about how he can win. Whatever he comes up with, Takeshita is sure he can surpass it. Romero added to the insults by saying everyone was talking about Takeshita after the Tokyo Dome this year while nobody had anything positive to say about Umino.


NJPW “YAMADA INFRA TECHNOS PRESENTS G1 CLIMAX 35”, 08/08/2025
Yokohama Budokan
2,448 Fans

9. G1 CLIMAX 35 – B Block: Shota Umino (10) defeated KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (10) with the Second Chapter (25:46).

Umino did indeed find a way to beat Takeshita and the result of that put Takeshita’s chances of advancing out of Block B in danger. This was also Takeshita’s longest match of the tournament up to this point. He gave Umino another Brainbuster on the floor just like the day before but nothing could put Umino away, not even the Plus Ultra. He hit back with Lariats, countered one Raging Fire into a Neckbreaker and countered another into the Second Chapter, winning the match at Takeshita’s expense. Umino said it doesn’t matter which dojo Takeshita came from. He has to remember there are people around the world who love pro wrestling. It is the role of a wrestler to visit these places and give back to those people. Backstage Takeshita said in the next five to ten years Umino will look back on today and think he could only ever beat Takeshita once.


NJPW “YAMADA INFRA TECHNOS PRESENTS G1 CLIMAX 35”, 10/08/2025
G-Messe Gunma
2,053 Fans

4. Ren Narita & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Rocky Romero when Narita submitted Romero with a Cross Kneebar (6:25).

Here comes trouble. With Takeshita at risk of not reaching the playoffs he had to put all of his focus on Ren Narita. It was the exact same way last year. Even the bit where House Of Torture beats Takeshita’s team in a non-tournament match because of Yoshinobu Kanemaru happened last time around too. What happened here was Kanemaru hit Romero in the knee with a whiskey bottle while Narita distracted the ref. Then once the coast was clear Narita made Romero submit to a Cross Kneebar. Narita is sick of hearing Takeshita rambling on and on about being the strongest. However what happened here only made Takeshita even more determined to beat all of the House Of Torture.


NJPW “YAMADA INFRA TECHNOS PRESENTS G1 CLIMAX 35”, 13/08/2025
Shizuoka Act City Hamamatsu
1,730 Fans

9. G1 CLIMAX 35 – B Block: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (12) defeated Ren Narita (10) by Referee Stoppage with the Plus Ultra (20:50).

You know the drill by now. It’s the last day of the group stage and Takeshita needs to win. By this point the other results in Block B all went a certain way for him to qualify for the playoffs as long as he could beat Narita. History repeated itself and Takeshita was able to render Narita unconscious to the point where his gumshield was knocked out of his mouth again. Other House Of Torture members ambushed Takeshita and Romero before the match began. They continued to attack Takeshita by targeting his left leg in the hopes of counting him out of the ring. Takeshita withstood Narita’s knee submissions while Romero did whatever he could to combat Dick Togo and Don Fale’s interference at ringside. Takeshita wiped everyone out with a dive which allowed Romero to chase Togo away while the Young Lions escorted Fale to the back. That didn’t stop Narita from using more ways to cheat and also bring in Kanemaru for even more interference. That backfired when a spray of Whiskey Mist blinded Narita instead of Takeshita. After bumping Kanemaru to the floor, Takeshita then put Narita in the Plus Ultra to choke him out and win his last block match.


NJPW “YAMADA INFRA TECHNOS PRESENTS G1 CLIMAX 35”, 14/08/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,518 Fans

6. G1 CLIMAX 35 – Final Tournament Qualifier: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated David Finlay with the Raging Fire (17:02).

Takeshita still had a long way to go. By finishing third in the B Block he had to start in the earliest round of the playoffs where David Finlay from the A Block was waiting for him. They hadn’t fought each other since last year’s G1 where Finlay was the victor. He was even more vicious this time around, Power Bombing Takeshita from the aprong through two tables at ringside. Takeshita later kicked out of the Into Oblivion at the 1 Count and then kicked out of a Power Bomb at 2. He avoided the Overkill and used a Last Ride to set Finlay up for the Wagamama. After that he dropped Finlay with the Raging Fire to get the win. Takeshita said losing the Quarter Final to Yota Tsuji was the first time he cried since he became a pro wrestler because it felt like the ultimate failure. But a pro wrestler is someone who gets back up which means he has no choice but to win and become No. 1! Romero then hyped up Takeshita by calling him the Uncrowned King Of Pro Wrestling.


NJPW “YAMADA INFRA TECHNOS PRESENTS G1 CLIMAX 35”, 16/08/2025
Tokyo Ariake Arena
4,558 Fans

8. G1 CLIMAX 35 – Semi Final: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Zack Sabre Jr. with the Raging Fire (26:46).

The semi final brought Takeshita right back to Zack Sabre Jr. In a rematch from the B Block a spot in the grand final was on the line for both men. This time Takeshita pulled out something pretty dangerous to be the difference maker. When the two of them were both standing on the top rope fighting each other, Takeshita lifted Sabre up into the air and dropped him onto his head with the Avalanche Raging Fire! The move knocked Sabre completely loopy but he wasn’t finished just yet so Takeshita gave him another Raging Fire to make sure he was completely beaten. Sabre said getting dropped on your head sucks but so too is losing to EVIL. So he is throwing his support behind Takeshita for the final. Otherwise if EVIL wins then Zack will throw himself into the Pacific Ocean and the IWGP World Title would probably have to be vacated.


NJPW “YAMADA INFRA TECHNOS PRESENTS G1 CLIMAX 35”, 17/08/2025
Tokyo Ariake Arena
6,870 Fans

8. G1 CLIMAX 35 – Final: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated EVIL with the Raging Fire (26:26).

And so we come to the end of a G1 that was quite frankly not to anyone’s cup of tea. EVIL had made it to the final thanks to the usual over reliance of cheating from House Of Torture that not a lot of people enjoy. But Takeshita reaching the final as something of an outsider at the expense of NJPW’s current generation of homegrown talent had been a sore spot for New Japan’s hardcore fans going into this match too. House Of Torture didn’t wait long to make their presence felt but Romero, the Young Lions and even Sabre all played their part in chasing off the unit so Takeshita and EVIL could go through the rest of the match mano a mano. Takeshita used EVIL’s own finisher against him but EVIL resorted to using a Low Blow to take back the advantage. EVIL also blocked the Wagamama and tried to throw an Elbow Strike only for Takeshita to beat him to the punch with one of his own. Seeing his opening, he immediately gave EVIL the Raging Fire and three second later became the winner of the 35th G1 Climax!

When Takeshita was presented with his trophy he told the fans a pro wrestler is someone who dreams, make those dreams come true and gives dreams to others. He is now standing at the pinnacle and invites everyone to put their dreams on him while he makes NJPW and the world of pro wrestling more exciting. Backstage he said his next goal is to stand in the Tokyo Dome on 4th January as the IWGP Champion so he wants to challenge Sabre for the title in the near future. He also talked about how grateful he is for Romero because he always helps him out all over the world. He also praised EVIL for being one of his best opponents he’s ever faced. He understands there are some wrestlers out there who think this result is crap but Takeshita believes his strength is something he’s been carrying since his teenage years. When he is no longer strong, that will be when it will be time to quit pro wrestling.


Hype! 3 Rerun, BASARA Looking For Momentum, Takeshita & Tekechi Teaming Up

August 4, 2025

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “HYPER MISAO PRODUCE ~ HYPE! 3 (RERUN)”, 05/08/2025
Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall

The second performance of “HYPE! 3” will not be completely identical to the first one. It sounds like it will be the same story but with some changes here and there. Hyper Misao said she made some decisions with the first performance when she wasn’t under the right frame of mind so we’re going to see if this is more like a director’s cut or if it goes in a completely different direction.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 09/08/2025
Tokyo Shinagawa The Grand Hall

1. Maki Itoh & Raku Vs Rika Tatsumi & Mifu Ashida
2. Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Suzume, Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami
3. 3 Way Match: Yuki Kamifuku Vs Pom Harajuku Vs HIMAWARI
4. Toga & Chika Nanase Vs Kira Summer & Ivy Steele
5. Kaya Toribami Vs Ren Konatsu
6. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Wakana Uehara Vs Yuki Arai
7. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Mizuki Vs Shoko Nakajima
8. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Miyu Yamashita Vs Arisu Endo
9. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Miu Watanabe Vs Haru Kazashiro

All of the Tokyo Princess Cup Quarter Finals will take place on the same show. When this round is completed the drawing for the semi finals will take place sometime afterward.

This will be Ivy Steele’s last match with Tokyo Joshi Pro before she travels home.

SUPER JAPAN “SANSHIRO TAKAGI 30TH ANNIVERSARY PROJECT ~SUPER JAPAN PRO WRESTLING HATAAGE-SEN”, 19/08/2025
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. Special Single Match: Yasu Urano Vs Mikiya Sasaki (w/ Shota)
2. Special Tag Match: Rion Mizuki & Riara Vs Shota & Mio Shirai
3. Special Single Match: Aero Boy Vs Ryoma Tsukamoto
4. Special Single Match: Naruki Doi Vs Mac Matsushita
5. Special Single Match: TAKA Michinoku Vs MIKAMI
6. Special Single Match: Poison Sawada JULIE Vs Kuroshio TOKYO Japan
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Brahman Yuji, Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei Vs Fuminori Abe, Takuya Nomura & Ippanjin Munenori Sawa

The card for Super Japan’s debut show has been completed. Kuroshio TOKYO Japan was waiting on who his opponent will be and it’s Poison Sawada JULIE!

BASARA “BASARA 286 ~UTAGE AOI – SOUEN~”, 20/08/2025
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Takato Nakano, Masato Kamino & Lil’ Kraken Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
2. Isami Kodaka & Daiki Shimomura Vs FUMA & Ryuichi Sekine
3. Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Takeru Inoue
4. SAGAT Vs Ayumu Honda
5. Union MAX Title: Ryota Nakatsu (c) Vs Daichi Kazato

After a successful Korakuen Hall return BASARA is looking to build some momentum for their monthly Shin-Kiba 1st RING shows. Ryota Nakatsu is already getting his next Union MAX Title defence on the schedule after Daichi Kazato challenged him.

DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025”, 03/11/2025
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Kaisei Takechi Vs X & X

A dream tag team of Konosuke Takeshita & Kaisei Takechi is going to be the focus of DDT’s next appearance in Sumo Hall. Now we wait to see who their opponents will be.