DramaticDDT’s Predictions For 2024

December 24, 2023

Merry Christmas! I’m giving this another go despite how bad my predictions for 2023 went. What do I think is in store for DDT, Tokyo Joshi Pro, Ganbare☆Pro, BASARA and maybe even CyberFight as a whole? It’s a tricky challenge this time because whenever I try guessing how 2024 will turn out, all I see is murkiness. There’s a weird contradiction in my thoughts about where wrestling is right now. On the one hand there is a status quo where all the companies around the world are positioned that I do not see changing anytime soon. But then there are changes within the companies themselves, some that are so unexpected that I have no idea what the entire scene will look like this time next year. Like of course WWE will be the top company on the planet but what does it turn into next as it finally moves away from Vince McMahon’s ideas and has the most fan goodwill it has probably ever had? AEW badly fell apart this year but the Continental Classic tournament is providing a nice set of building blocks to rebuild the company with. The problem is will Tony Khan want to use those blocks? It doesn’t help that the loudest podcasters in the room are constantly telling everyone that AEW should be more like WWE in the storyline department. That is my biggest pet peeve with wrestling at the moment, by the way. Whenever I hear people say every wrestling show should be a three ringed circus with something for everybody they’re really just saying “go be like WWE”. It’s the same voices that reject other companies for doing things differently.

And then there is Japan’s wrestling scene still trying to re-establish themselves post-pandemic. It’s mostly alright with some brief moments of greatness but there’s not a lot that has really caught my imagination this year compared to the 2010s. Show attendances week to week isn’t inspiring much hope in me either. It seems like homecoming shows and retirement matches can bring in crowds but outside of that a lot of companies are getting dwindling crowd numbers which has me worried. New Japan and Stardom will be fine as long as they can manage themselves properly. 2023 definitely gave Stardom a lot of lessons about show scheduling and injuries but they seem to be learning from it. All Japan discovering success again should also be a sign that there is still an audience out there in Japan that pro wrestling can appeal to. Now let’s see if this United Japan Pro Wrestling alliance is actually going to mean anything substantial.

Before I give you my predictions for 2024, here is how my 2023’s predictions went. Not very good it turns out.

DDT

✓. Mike Bailey wrestles a match in DDT again.
X. KANON outperforms Daisuke Sasaki.
X. Yuya Koroku becomes the next wrestler from DDT’s new generation (debuted 2020 onwards) to win a championship.
✓. Tetsuya Endo struggles to reclaim the top position in DDT.
X. Dramatic Dream Gate is revived.

The first one was by far the easiest prediction to make. It is basically the free spot on a bingo card. DDT going to America guaranteed that Mike Bailey would be on one of their shows. Although I do think the New Japan appearances he also made this year means he’s fully done with DDT in Japan. KANON is slowly getting pushed but I wouldn’t put his work above Daisuke Sasaki’s in 2023. Hideki Okatani was the breakout in the new generation, not Yuya Koroku like I expected. Tetsuya Endo is definitely struggling and I’ll get back to that point later. No Dramatic Dream Gate revival because DDT worked with All Japan instead of Dragongate.

Tokyo Joshi Pro

X. At least 3 women who originally came from Actwres girl’Z will appear in TJPW and at least 1 of them becomes a regular roster member.
X. An outsider wins the Princess Of Princess Title.
X. Maki Itoh gets to No. 1 on a iTunes or Spotify chart somewhere in the world.
X. A woman from Sakisama’s past comes back to haunt her.
X. Sasha Banks appears at Grand Princess ’23.

Oh so now Actwres girl’Z gets their act together and stops leaking talent left, right and centre! TJPW’s roster growth all came from training their own rookies and bringing in foreign wrestlers. An outsider did become champion but it was Max The Impaler winning the International Princess Title, not the Princess Of Princess Title. No idea how to look up music chart data but if Maki Itoh got No. 1 somewhere we would have heard about it. My Sakisama fantasy booking was inspired by the rumour of CyberFight wanting to sign Maya Yukihi. If Mercedes Moné does end up going back to WWE then the hype surrounding her for an entire year was an absolute waste of time for everyone else involved.

Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling

✓. Some of the wrestlers Shota worked with in America get booked for Ganpro.
X. Keisuke Ishii wins the Spirit Of Ganbare Title.
1/2✓. Ganpro creates a tag team championship and builds it around mixed tag wrestling.
X. Ganbare☆Joshi runs their own show in Korakuen Hall.
X. Kota Ibushi wrestles a match in Ganpro.

Shota’s American excursion got the likes of Dan The Dad and Kody Lane booked in Japan. Keisuke Ishii did get a Spirit Of Ganbare Title but lost that match to Mizuki Watase in one of Ganpro’s best matches of the year. We did get the Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles created and it does allow intergender teams. However it has not been the focal point of the title’s existence yet so I only got it half right. No standalone Ganbare☆Joshi show in Korakuen Hall yet but I think it is only a matter of time before it happens. Who on earth would have guessed Kota Ibushi’s first match back would be in GCW?

Miscellaneous

X. Gake no Fuchi Joshi crosses over with Baka Gaijin + Friends.
X. AEW will host another event in Japan with DDT & TJPW involvement.
X. CyberFight adds another promotion to their portfolio.
X. A brand new puroresu console game gets announced.
✓. BASARA does something new and different.

I’m kind of surprised Miyako Matsumoto hasn’t shown up in Baka Gaijin + Friends yet. It seems like her kind of wrestling but I can’t tell what goes through her mind on most days. AEW seems to have developed less interest in the Japanese scene while they go through something of an identity crisis heading into the fifth year of their existence. No new wrestling brand for CyberFight but there is the United Japan Pro Wrestling brand attaching the big wrestling companies together. No new puroresu game which makes me sad. AEW: Fight Forever is fine and I bet has a good base to create a better sequel. Will that happen though? The last prediction is also the best one for me. BASARA made Banana Senga their champion! That was definitely something new and different.

———————————————————————–

So yeah, let’s ignore all that and get on to next year’s predictions. I came up with 20 predictions for 2024 spread across four categories. Five for DDT, five for Tokyo Joshi Pro, five for Ganbare☆Pro and five guesses that apply to anything attached to BASARA and the CyberFight promotions. I’m also listing them in order from easy to hard, likely to unlikely, mild to spicy, etc. I came up with these predictions using booking patterns, reading tea leaves and coming up with ideas that are just as creative as they are plausible.

DDT

Prediction: Naomi Yoshimura returns from injury and gets a singles push.

It’s been over a year since Naomi Yoshimura last wrestled a match. What’s promising though is his regular appearances seconding the other wrestlers in Harimao. There’s also glimpses on his social media of him training in the DDT dojo again. It at least suggests he will be back in the ring sooner or later. When Yoshimura took time off to recover from a herniated disc he said he wanted to reclaim the KO-D Tag Team Titles for Harimao when he returns. I think too much time has past for that to be his only goal. He should instead focus on catching up with Yuki Ueno. My fingers are crossed he is able to come back, stay healthy and win some accomplishments by himself.

Prediction: Kento Miyahara will be at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”.

At no point this year did I expect DDT and All Japan to be doing inter-promotional matches with each other. What a great thing that turned out to be though. Adding a few DDT Vs AJPW matches on shows here and there spiced up the midcard for both companies. It had history to play off of because of Jun Akiyama’s involvement. It is helping Yukio Naya develop into the heavyweight DDT wants him to be thanks to the feud with The Saito Brothers that will likely continue in AJPW. Eruption got to start their new chapter without Saki Akai by winning the All Asia Tag Team Titles and giving Yukio Sakaguchi an achievement he can now share with his father. Eruption also entered the Real World Tag League which gave Hideki Okatani some valuable experience. I want this working relationship to continue in 2024 and I know the best place where it can reach its climax. DDT will likely have a big guest for their Sumo Hall show in July. Bring on over AJPW’s biggest star Kento Miyahara to liven up the place! He would be a great singles match opponent for somebody like Yuki Ueno or Kazusada Higuchi. He’s definitely someone who Ueno should learn from about how to be a showman in the ring.

Prediction: Sanshiro Takagi fights Hiroshi Tanahashi in a battle of the presidents!

This week New Japan announced Hiroshi Tanahashi has become the new president of the company. Now he has a lot more in common with Sanshiro Takagi. Now Tanahashi has an awkward history with DDT but that was years ago and I’m sure it’s all water under the bridge. But just in case there’s still some bad blood there is always the wrestling ring right there for them to settle their differences. Two presidents of different wrestling companies having a match against each other is the kind of idea Takagi would jump on and I think Tanahashi would be game for it. United Japan Pro Wrestling is going to need something a little bit novel to put on their Budokan Hall card in the summer. Why not this in the midcard?

Prediction: Somebody (or something) from WWE wins the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title.

WWE looking to carve out their place in Japan is a topic that gets brought up a lot online. This year finally saw the company make their move when they signed a broadcasting deal with ABEMA and also got increased presence in Shukan Puroresu magazine. There were also points throughout the year when Shinsuke Nakamura would pop up. He headlined a big show for NOAH as the final opponent for The Great Muta. He also filmed a special message for Saki Akai that was shown to her during her retirement ceremony. If that’s not enough, on the day I am writing this paragraph All Japan are teasing that the mystery challenger for a Triple Crown title match on 3rd January could be coming from NXT. So if WWE in Japan really is happening, we might as well have some fun with it before everything gets ruined again. DDT will be in Philadelphia during Wrestlemania week and that usually means the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title will be going along for the ride. It’s only a matter of time before somebody in the WWE gets to win the championship for even the briefest of moments. Now I’m not expecting Cody Rhodes to win it in front of 50,000 people to finish the story. But somebody involved with the company hanging out at WrestleCon and taking their chance to win a 24/7 title just to amuse themselves? That sounds more likely. This prediction also applies to any item, prop or official piece of merchandise tied to WWE. If a Jey Uso “Yeet” shirt becomes champion then it counts!

Prediction: Tetsuya Endo should go on an overseas excursion.

This is not so much of a prediction but more a piece of advice. After thinking of ways for Tetsuya Endo to get out of the current position he is in, the best idea I can come up with is for him to go wrestle overseas for a while. Whether that is a several month stay in America or going on weekend trips to Europe every couple of months, he badly needs a change of pace in a new surrounding. Get him in there with Gringo Loco in GCW, have Shigehiro Irie show him the (lack of) sights in Oberhausen during a wXw tournament weekend, book him on ROH so he can travel around with the AEW crew, seat him in the front row behind the commentary table at an NXT taping. He should go broaden his horizons because the direction DDT put him in as Kenta Kobashi’s protégé is not working.

Tokyo Joshi Pro

Prediction: Somebody from the 2023 Class scores a pinfall on a TJPW veteran.

We got six rookies in 2023 and they have all been fun to watch as they learn on the job and figure out who they want to be. Wakana Uehara winning the New Generation Tournament shows that TJPW have faith in her becoming an important part of the roster if she sticks with them. HIMAWARI had her character down flat from day one and her match against Uehara in the final is a great example of how to create a dramatic match with limited movesets. Toga is capturing everyone’s hearts one big Elbow Smash at a time (although really you should thank Hikari Noa for selling that move like a champ), Shino Suzuki has the bonus advantage of being in The Up Up Girls and we might end up with a future generational rivalry between Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo as they learn different wrestling styles separate from each other. Talent development for TJPW needs to be coming quick and fast if there is a need to replace the likes of Yuka Sakazaki. Young blood needs to be beating veterans eventually and it is more likely to happen than you think. Remember, TJPW holds a couple of one day tournaments throughout the year with matches that end in 2 Count pinfalls. That’s where you can see Uehara suddenly beat Mahiro Kiryu or Toga only needing to roll up Kaya Toribami for two seconds to get her hand raised. I don’t expect it to be on the level of Arisu Endo pinning Shoko Nakajima out of nowhere but somebody from the 2023 class is going to get a moment in the spotlight her senpai’s expense in 2024.

Prediction: Mizuki Vs Rika Tatsumi finally happens… in the Tokyo Princess Cup.

When Mizuki’s reign as the Princess Champion ended there was one thing that left me completely baffled. Why was there never a title defence against Rika Tatsumi? One of the longest running pieces of character lore in TJPW is Tatsumi’s crush on Mizuki going all the way back to 2018 when Tatsumi wanted to banish the Forbidden Three rules the in-house roster had to follow because nobody was sure if “No Boyfriends” also meant “No Girlfriends”. Fast forward to 2023 and we got a very good 2-Vs-1 Handicap Match between Daydream and Mizuki where Tatsumi battled those feelings in order to beat her crush. Nothing ever came out of it and to be fair it never intended to be more than an emergency replacement match due to Sakazaki getting injured. TJPW also has an odd thing where some of their big singles matches only ever happen in the Tokyo Princess Cup, either as a 1st Round match to eliminate a top contender early or as a random drawing in the final stages of the tournament. So I think if we ever do get Mizuki Vs Tatsumi, it will be at the Princess Cup instead of a big singles title bout.

Prediction: Maki Itoh wins the GCW World Heavyweight Championship.

I think odds are really good for Maki Itoh to win one of GCW’s championships next year given she is one of the bigger attractions for the group nowadays. Her winning the tag team titles with Nick Gage is an obvious direction to go. But I want to go all in for this prediction. GCW has Blake Christian as their long term heel world champion and groundwork has been laid down for a Blake Vs Gage title match down the road. But we’ve been there, done that with Gage as the top babyface champion for GCW. This is a company that doesn’t mind doing wacky novelty booking with their titles. So how about Itoh unexpectedly gets a title match with Blake, maybe Money In The Bank style and she shockingly beats him for the GCW Title? It would be the peak of her run with the company, that’s for sure.

Prediction: Aja Kong takes on a regular role in TJPW.

Just like how Jun Akiyama became a coach in DDT, I’d like to see Aja Kong do something similar in TJPW. She has been a guest for so many shows at this point it’s not like she would be a stranger to everyone there. Whether it is coaching the youngsters, becoming a matchmaker or just keeping a stern eye on Tetsuya Koda so he won’t lose focus Kong would have a wealth of knowledge to offer the company. And maybe then we get a payoff for her rivalry with Max The Impaler.

Prediction: Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh remain with TJPW for the year.

I’m testing fate with this one, aren’t I? Miyu Yamashita has done almost everything there is to do in TJPW and Maki Itoh spends so much time in America she’s currently divorced from what’s going on in her home promotion. And yet I just don’t believe both of them are ready to graduate from TJPW like Yuka Sakazaki did. At least not in the next 12 months. Yamashita and Itoh will definitely have plenty of American bookings for everyone to look forward to in 2024. But leaving TJPW to focus on that entirely? I don’t think so. They will still have TJPW as their home base.

Ganbare☆Pro

Prediction: Ken Ohka Wins The Spirit Of Ganbare Title From Isami Kodaka

The ways that Ken Ohka and Isami Kodaka have been booked in GanPro this year makes this in my opinion the likeliest prediction to come true. Kodaka is cleaving through the roster with title defence after title defence while Ohka, the main guy behind all of GanPro, has been kept away from the title picture for over a year and a half. Ohka is always fighting from the bottom as the underdog so him never winning the Spirit Of Ganbare Title would fit how he books himself. However that’s not how pro wrestling works and there is bound to be a day when he finally gets his hands on his own promotion’s championship.

Prediction: The Ganbare☆Climax returns.

The last time GanPro held a tournament called the Ganbare☆Climax was in 2021 and that was to crown their first SOG Champion. It would be nice to see it come back to determine a No. 1 Contender during the year. GanPro held tournaments for the Young Ganbare Cup and the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles this year but they both felt like one-offs. That clears up the schedule for a single elimination tournament to happen whenever they want.

Prediction: Yuna Manase returns from injury and feuds with YuuRI.

One of the key additions to GanPro this year was the relaunch of the Ganbare☆Joshi division built around YuuRI, Yoshiko Hasegawa and Riara. Sadly Yuna Manase was relegated to a GM role while she recovers from her ACL injury. YuuRI in particular put in the work to become the face of the GanJo division in her absence. So let’s say that Manase is able to wrestle again in 2024. Would she be willing to play second fiddle to YuuRI? Or will history continue to be a circle and Manase now finds herself as the veteran unwilling to let the new generation surpass her? Wouldn’t that be interesting given Manase’s feud with Yuu Yamagata a few years ago was over the same idea? YuuRI still has a lot to prove and the dynamic could make Hasegawa and Riara choose sides until the matter is resolved. Build it up to one big singles match and it could end up being a lot of fun to follow.

Prediction: A mixed gender tag team wins the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Titles.

I admit this is just a repackaged prediction I made last year about the SOG Tag Titles being built around intergender wrestling. There’s only been one title defence so far featuring a mixed gender team and that was when Lethal Weapon (Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE) were the challengers. I like seeing them team together but I fear that match in August was their only chance, at least while Ground Absolute hold the belts/trophies. There are always other people in GanPro for HARUKAZE to team with and also Banny Oikawa is now with GanPro mostly to do mixed tags. I bet it is only a matter of time before it happens.

Prediction: A Stardom wrestler appears on a Ganbare☆Joshi show.

Another factor of GanJo’s return this year was seeing that roster interact with wrestlers from TJPW, Ice Ribbon, Marvelous, Diana and more. YuuRI even brought over Ice Ribbon’s main championship for a title defence on a GanJo show. Now let’s add Stardom to the list through the UJNW connection. Stardom and TJPW will probably stay being icy towards each other but Yuna Manase and YuuRI both got to wrestle on a Stardom show in 2022. I see talk online about how cool it would be if all the joshi companies get together in 2024 for a major arena show to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of “BIG EGG UNIVERSE”. Something like that was kind of done in 2022 to celebrate 60 years of Korakuen Hall and even then that had some bruised egos coming out of it when Shukan Puroresu only put Starlight Kid on the front cover at the expense of everyone else involved who were not associated with Stardom. Also TJPW stayed away from the show too which again, some icy relationships are probably going on there. So let’s keep this prediction on a much smaller level and just say a Stardom wrestler shows up at a GanJo event.

Miscellaneous

Prediction: A DDT wrestler makes a full time jump over to BASARA.

Appearances from Kazusada Higuchi during the last quarter of 2023 helped freshen up BASARA a little bit. They’re not a company I expect much change from going forward but they could do with adding another full timer to their roster. Even though they are independent there is history with a DDT wrestler deciding they are better off jumping over to BASARA (or Union Pro before that) so they can play a bigger role at shows. It could be a veteran who already wrestles in BASARA and no longer seeing themselves being relevant in DDT (*cough*Soma Takao*cough*) or maybe one of the younger, less experienced wrestlers are looking for a change of pace. Ilusion for example seems to get along with that group well. Someone from that age group would turn into a rival for Munetatsu Nakamura too if that were to happen.

Prediction: Konosuke Takeshita wrestles in the main event of an AEW PPV.

It is really annoying to see Konosuke Takeshita being wasted in The Don Callis Family storyline. It is also annoying that the next step of the angle is the group using Freebird rules that will obviously set up Sammy Guevara’s return to TV rather than giving more focus to Takeshita or Powerhouse Hobbs for that matter. So what is it that has me thinking Takeshita can be in a PPV main event next year? Just the numbers game, really. AEW are adding more PPVs to their schedule so that should be more opportunities for new title challengers. Also if this storyline continues without Kenny Omega and just becomes the Family feuding with Chris Jericho there is can be something like a new Anarchy In The Arena happening to close out one of the PPVs.

Prediction: Yuka Sakazaki becomes the first ROH Women’s TV Champion.

Sakazaki is getting ready for the next chapter in her pro wrestling life. Given how AEW presents their women’s division, she is probably going to get more time in ROH instead. She already had her shot at Athena and the regular ROH Women’s Title but the group now has something new to fight for. A brand new ROH Women’s TV Title was recently revealed and Sakazaki would make a great choice to be its first champion.

Prediction: Baka Gaijin + Friends runs a show at Shin-Kiba 1st RING.

When I wrote a preview for the “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2023” main event I compared the Baka Gaijin + Friends shows to DDT’s Beer Garden shows. There’s a warm vibe and fun atmosphere to these matches that take place in such a small venue. I think the series has become popular enough that Chris Brookes can go from 50 fans in ARENA Shimokitazawa to a triple digit attendance in Shin-Kiba 1st RING, the place where DDT hosted Beer Garden for many years. See it like Gatoh Move running ChocoPro in Ichigaya on the regular and then every once in a while they move up to a place where a full scale wrestling ring can be set up. As long as the drinks still flow the crowd will be with them all the way.

Prediction: The 2024 New Year’s Eve Shuffle Tag Tournament lasts past midnight again.

It used to be that the final show of the year in Korakuen Hall goes beyond midnight into the early hours of the new year. It hasn’t been that way for a while because of restrictions coming out of the pandemic. Unfortunately I think a reason why this year’s edition still has an early evening start is because the show is not much of a draw anymore. But I want to be proven wrong so Korakuen fans get to count down the new year in the middle of a semi-final tag team match again.

Prediction: Yuka Sakazaki gets arrested for assaulting Mickey Mouse at Disney World.

She’s your problem now, Tony!

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Posted by JamieOD

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 IN KORAKUEN HALL” Results

December 24, 2023

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 IN KORAKUEN HALL”, 24/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
761 Fans – No Vacancy

-. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Rei Saito (8) defeated Chris Brookes (2) by Forfeit.
1. KANON & MJ Paul defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Rukiya when KANON submitted Rukiya with the Torture Cobra Twist (4:57).
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal ~ Toru Owashi Return Match: Toru Owashi defeated The Great Koji (c), Sanshiro Takagi, Kazuki Hirata, Akito, Kazuma Sumi and Poison Sawada JULIE (10:21).
2a. Sanshiro Takagi eliminated Akito by Over The Top Rope (8:25).
2b. Sanshiro Takagi eliminated Kazuma Sumi by Over The Top Rope (8:25).
2c. Sanshiro Takagi eliminated Kazuki Hirata by Over The Top Rope (8:25).
2d. Poison Sawada JULIE eliminated Sanshiro Takagi by Over The Top Rope (8:25).
2e. Poison Sawada JULIE eliminated The Great Koji (c) with the Cattle Mutilation (10:08).
*Poison Sawada JULIE becomes the 1,597th champion.
2f. Toru Owashi defeated Poison Sawada JULIE (c) with a School Boy (10:21).
*Toru Owashi becomes the 1,598th champion.
3. Special Single Match: Rei Saito defeated Hideki Okatani with the Drill-A-Hole Piledriver (4:43).
4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) defeated Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada when Oishi pinned Honda with a Rotating Cradle (10:41).
*V1 for D.O.A.
5. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Yukio Naya (8) defeated MAO (6) with The World’s Best Back Drop (10:58).
6. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: HARASHIMA (4) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (5) with the Somato (6:37).
7. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Yuki Iino (4) defeated Yuki Ueno (5) with the Spear (8:14).
8. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (6) defeated Kazusada Higuchi (6) with the Burning Star Press (20:37).
– Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Christmas Tree defeated Toru Owashi (c) with a Body Press (1:39 pm).
*Christmas Tree becomes the 1,599th champion.

A Block

1. Tetsuya Endo (6)
-. Kazusada Higuchi (6)
3. Yuki Ueno (5)
-. Daisuke Sasaki (5)
5. Yuki Iino (4)
-. HARASHIMA (4)

B Block

1. Yukio Naya (8)
-. Rei Saito (8)
3. MAO (6)
4. KANON (4)
5. Kazuki Hirata (2)
-. Chris Brookes (2)

Back from the brink, Tetsuya Endo has won the A Block but only just! The last day of group matches in the D-Ou Grand Prix took place at Korakuen Hall on Christmas Eve. Every remaining A Block match had somebody fighting to finish in first so they will qualify for the grand final. The other potential challengers all fell at the final hurdle leaving it all on the line in the main event between Endo and Kazusada Higuchi. Throughout the tournament Endo has been using the Rolling Chop taught to him by Kenta Kobashi. The move here was not enough to put down Higuchi so Endo came up with an even more dangerous idea from Kobashi’s moveset. He wanted to do the Torture Rack Bomb but Higuchi grabbed him with the Brain Claw. Endo resisted and turned the Torture Rack into a Sitout Burning Hammer! He was then able to do the Spinning Torture Rack Bomb but Higuchi kicked out. Endo then hit the Burning Star Press and this time Higuchi was done for, ending the A Block with Endo heading to the final!

The other two frontrunners in the A Block both collapsed, leading to Endo to overtake them. Yuki Ueno was knocked for a loop thanks to Yuki Iino’s Spear. The first one was blocked with a Dropkick but when Ueno went for the WR, Iino countered it with a short-range Spear and pinned last year’s D-Oh winner in an upset! Iino calls the result a very precious victory and he will use this momentum to keep evolving into the next year. Ueno said whether he won or lost in this tournament, he is still the KO-D Openweight Champion coming out of it. He thinks it is still up to him to carry DDT over his back.

Daisuke Sasaki saw his chances of reaching the final blow up in flames thanks to HARASHIMA. Even with MJ Paul at ringside helping him behind the ref’s back, Sasaki fell to the Somato in short order. HARASHIMA credits his battleplan for the win because you have to be careful fighting against Sasaki. He isn’t pleased with only getting 4 points in the tournament but it will spur him on to train harder for next year. Sasaki meanwhile was so upset over his failure to win the Grand Prix that he decided to retire! Then he got cold feet and convinced a nearby reporter to grant permission for him to delay the retirement for one year.

Meeting Endo in the final is Yukio Naya in the B Block. There was only one match left in that group and Naya needed to win or else Rei Saito would go to the final instead. MAO was out of the running due to circumstances out of his control but he still fought like he had a chance to qualify. But despite using the match to get his frustrations out, MAO was hit with Knee Strike after Knee Strike, including one with his kneepad pulled down. It was all over for MAO when he was given The World’s Best Back Drop. He wasn’t happy about the result and complained about Naya not showing enough spirit when he fight. It has MAO wondering if Naya really wants to win this?

So the D-Oh final comes down to Endo against Naya. The two had a standoff in the ring after Endo’s match. Naya called Endo as amazing wrestler and Naya has to surpass amazing wrestlers to make up for last year’s defeat in the final. He wants to be the best not just in DDT but also all of Japanese pro wrestling so he cannot afford to lose now. Endo said Naya is bigger than him but not as strong. On 3rd January keep your eyes on Endo because he promises to crush Naya!

D.O.A might be getting a little ahead of themselves by accepting more title challengers than they need to but right now they look like they can handle the pressure. Their first KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles defence was a successful one against Schadenfreude International. The match saw Jun Akiyama using his own Gongitsune to combat Antonio Honda’s version. Things were looking bad when Masahiro Takanashi & Takeshi Masada blocked Danshoku Dieno’s Wasabi Lip Lock. But Makoto Oishi maneuvered Honda to run face first into Dieno’s backside and Oishi then rolled him up for the victory. Even though the champions won, Dieno was in agony because he still had the wasabi stuck in his mouth. Their next defence will be against Bodyguard’s Osaka team on 6th January. That match also has the D.O.A name on the line!

Rei Saito went into today’s show with a forfeit win over Chris Brookes. So with no tournament match Saito instead fought Hideki Okatani in a singles match between an AJPW World Tag Team Champion and an All Asia Tag Team Champion. Okatani had some chances to win but Saito was too big to let the Quetzalcoatl be used against him. Saito used his strength to turn things around and beat Okatani with the Drill-A-Hole Piledriver. Saito is still booked for 3rd January and so is his brother Jun Saito. Since the D-Oh final is no longer on the cards for Rei, The Saito Brothers are instead challenging DDT to give them a tag team to fight. Meanwhile Okatani promised to get revenge on Rei no matter if it is in DDT, All Japan or anywhere else!

The return of Toru Owashi from injury has him back in his natural role. He is and always will be the straight man in a comedy Battle Royal. The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title was on the line as The Great Koji emerged from Parts Unknown against a field of challengers including a mystery opponent. That mystery wrestler turned out to be the championship’s creator Poison Sawada JULIE! He used his Snake Magic on Sanshiro Takagi forcing him to eliminate Akito, Kazuma Sumi and Kazuki Hirata one by one until JULIE eliminated Takagi by himself. Great Koji armed himself with a sickle and resisted JULIE’s magic at first but the spell eventually overpowered him. JULIE then applied his version of the Cattle Mutilation, forcing Koji to give up. JULIE was not the Iron Man champion but Owashi quickly pinned him with a School Boy to win the belt and the match.

Afterwards Takagi attacked JULIE and they fought their way to the back. Owashi stayed in the ring so he could thank the fans for their support during his recovery. Backstage he also made a decision to disband DISASTER BOX! Over the last five months Owashi has seen Hirata grow up and learn to take care of himself. The reason why DISASTER BOX stuck around for so long was so Owashi & HARASHIMA could look after Hirata but now that is no longer needed. Hirata is now walking down a new path, Owashi feels lucky he still has time to be a pro wrestler and HARASHIMA is fighting to remain the ace of DDT so the time is right for DISASTER BOX to end. The unit may come back in the future because it has been revived before. Also the three of them can still team together in some form whenever DDT tells them to so Hirata thinks not much is going to change from this decision.

Both KANON & MJ Paul were interested in fighting Yukio Sakaguchi because he is one half of the All Asia Tag Champions. So KANON felt a bit let down when he had to beat up Rukiya instead. At least DAMNATION T.A are having a year end drinking party at Sasaki’s house to make up for that disappointment.

At the very end of the show everyone came down to the ring dressed in Santa Claus outfits to celebrate Christmas with the fans. Hirata talked about how great DDT is and how he cannot wait for 2024. He then suddenly attacked Owashi with a Christmas Tree and everybody piled on top of them to try and win the Iron Man Title! Yukinori Matsui counted the pin and then seperated the pile of bodies to figure out who won. Everyone was pulled away until the only thing left directly lying on Owashi was the tree. Which means the Christmas Tree is the new Iron Man Champion! Takagi ordered everybody not to attack the tree because it is fitting for it to become a champion on Christmas Eve. Ueno closed out the show telling fans DDT in 2024 will make dreams come true for everyone!

The team challenging for the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles on 5th January have chosen the replacement for Chris Brookes. Taking his place for the title match is Takayuki Ueki. That means the team is not fighting as Schadenfreude International but instead representing Baka Gaijin + Friends!

DDT will be holding two outdoor Beer Garden shows in Tokyo Ueno Park on 21st and 26th March.

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Yusuke Out Sick, Battle Royal For Sumo Hall Main Event, Pom Vs Kamen

December 23, 2023

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 IN KORAKUEN HALL”, 24/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

-. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Rei Saito (8) defeated Chris Brookes (2) by Forfeit.
1. Yukio Sakaguchi & Rukiya Vs KANON & MJ Paul
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal ~ Toru Owashi Return Match: The Great Koji (c) Vs Toru Owashi Vs Sanshiro Takagi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Akito Vs Kazuma Sumi Vs Open Recruitment X
3. Special Single Match: Rei Saito Vs Hideki Okatani
4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada
5. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: MAO (6) Vs Yukio Naya (6)
6. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki (5) Vs HARASHIMA (2)
7. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Yuki Ueno (5) Vs Yuki Iino (2)
8. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (4) Vs Kazusada Higuchi (6)

Yusuke Okada is out sick and will have to miss tomorrow’s show.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW INSPIRATION”, 06/01/2024
Shinjuku FACE

1. Pom Harajuku Vs Kuishinbo Kamen
2. Max The Impaler & Yuki Aino Vs HIMAWARI & Toga
3. Battle Royal To Win The Right To Challenge The Princess Of Princess Champion: Mizuki Vs Rika Tatsumi Vs Shoko Nakajima Vs Maki Itoh Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Miu Watanabe
4. Death Match: Masha Slamovich Vs Hikari Noa

By the end of the first week in January we will know what the main event of “GRAND PRINCESS ’24” is going to be. Miyu Yamashita and Masha Slamovich are fighting over the Princess Of Princess Title on the 4th. Then two days later there will be a Battle Royal between the six biggest potential challengers remaining for the title. The winner will become the No. 1 Contender and gets to face the champion at Sumo Hall on 31st March.

Life is already a circus for Pom Harajuku so it was only a matter of time before she cross paths with Kuishinbo Kamen. She kicks shins and he sells them like Trevor Berbick. It’s like a match made in heaven!

BASARA “BASARA 239 ~UTAGE~”, 07/01/2024
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. KUBITO & Yasu Urano Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
2. Ryuichi Sekine & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
3. Isami Kodaka Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
4. Takumi Tsukamoto, SAGAT & Lil’ Kraken Vs Daichi Kazato, Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura
5. Union MAX Title: FUMA (c) Vs Minoru Fujita

A little bit of Astronauts for you when BASARA holds their first show of 2024. Takuya Nomura is here to team with Fuminori Abe again but they also have Daichi Kazato on their side too.

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Brookes To Get Surgery, D-Oh Paths To The Final

December 21, 2023

News came out from DDT today about Chris Brookes visiting the hospital after feeling pain in his abdomen. Examinations discovered he has a tumour. It is not malignant but he will need to have surgery as soon as possible to remove it. He is expected to be out of action for a few weeks and has forfeited his remaining B Block match in the D-Oh Grand Prix.

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 IN KORAKUEN HALL”, 24/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

-. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Rei Saito (8) defeated Chris Brookes (2) by Forfeit.
1. Yukio Sakaguchi & Rukiya Vs KANON & MJ Paul
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal ~ Toru Owashi Return Match: The Great Koji (c) Vs Toru Owashi Vs Sanshiro Takagi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Akito Vs Yusuke Okada Vs Kazuma Sumi Vs Open Recruitment X
3. Special Single Match: Rei Saito Vs Hideki Okatani
4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada
5. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: MAO (6) Vs Yukio Naya (6)
6. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki (5) Vs HARASHIMA (2)
7. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Yuki Ueno (5) Vs Yuki Iino (2)
8. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (4) Vs Kazusada Higuchi (6)

A Block

1. Kazusada Higuchi (6)
2. Yuki Ueno (5)
-. Daisuke Sasaki (5)
4. Tetsuya Endo (4)
5. Yuki Iino (2)
-. HARASHIMA (2)

B Block

1. Rei Saito (8)
2. Yukio Naya (6)
-. MAO (6)
4. KANON (4)
5. Kazuki Hirata (2)
-. Chris Brookes (2)

Brookes forfeiting his match against Rei Saito has big consequences for the B Block. Saito is now sitting on top of the group with 8 points and will go through to the final if Yukio Naya does not beat MAO. If Naya wins that match then he will reach the final because he holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Saito. MAO however has the disadvantage with Saito and can no longer finish in 1st place even with a win over Naya. So while Naya is fighting for survival against MAO, Saito will face Hideki Okatani in a non-tournament match between an AJPW World Tag Team Champion and an All Asia Tag Team Champion.

That means the final day of the group stage is all built around the A Block. Daisuke Sasaki, Yuki Ueno, Tetsuya Endo and Kazusada Higuchi are all still alive in the race for 1st. Here is what needs to happen for each person to reach the final.

Kazusada Higuchi: A win against Endo sends him straight to the final. If it ends in a time limit draw then Higuchi still goes through if Ueno cannot beat Iino.

Tetsuya Endo: Beating Higuchi is absolutely necessary just to have a chance of making the final. If that happens then Endo had better hope that Ueno couldn’t beat Iino while Sasaki lost to HARASHIMA.

Daisuke Sasaki: Needs to beat HARASHIMA and hope either Endo beats Higuchi or that match ends in a Double Countout/No Contest (those draws are 0 points). If he and Ueno both win their matches and Higuchi loses then a sudden death tiebreaker will happen between Sasaki and Ueno.

Yuki Ueno: Needs to beat Iino, Sasaki not to win against HARASHIMA and Higuchi not to win against Endo. He can still go through if he time limit draws with Iino, Sasaki loses to HARASHIMA and Endo Vs Higuchi ends in Double Countout/No Contest. Ueno might go through if he and Sasaki both win and Higuchi gets a time limit draw. That ends with a 3 way tie at 7 points and I think Ueno would win the tiebreaker because he beat Higuchi while Sasaki could not. There’s also a bizarre possibility of Ueno, Sasaki, Higuchi and maybe Endo all finishing in 1st at 6 points but that requires two time limit draws on the same show along with a 4 way tiebreaker I cannot figure out. Wrestling tournament booking in Japan never gets that silly anyway.

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Full Ittenyon Card, Family Man Vs Divorced Man, MAO’s Crazy 4 Way, Ishida Injured

December 20, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’24”, 04/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Toga Vs Moka Miyamoto, Juria Nagano & Kaya Toribami
2. Mizuki & Runa Okubo Vs Ryo Mizunami & Haru Kazashiro
3. Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao
4. Riho Vs Shino Suzuki
5. Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & HIMAWARI Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku
6. Aja Kong Vs Wakana Uehara
7. Special Single Match: Rina Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
8. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) Vs Yuki Arai
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta (c) Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Masha Slamovich

This is the complete card for the Tokyo Joshi Pro Ittenyon show, ten matches in all. Riho from AEW was the most recent big name added to the lineup. Her match against Shino Suzuki will be her first appearance in TJPW since October 2022.

The match between Rina Yamashita and Maki Itoh does not have any violent stipulation attached to it yet. However Itoh warns that if her opponent uses a weapon then she will too. That is why she always brings her pizza cutter everywhere she goes.

Ryo Mizunami’s match sees her placed in the ring with Mizuki and the two youngest rookies Runa Okubo and Haru Kazashiro. Okubo has been developing a more power-based moveset so Mizunami is going to be a valuable opponent for her to learn from.

BASARA “BASARA 239 ~UTAGE~”, 07/01/2024
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Union MAX Title: FUMA (c) Vs Minoru Fujita

When BASARA returns in the new year FUMA will put the Union MAX Title on the line against Minoru Fujita. The title challenge comes from Fujita wanting to turn around Sento Minzoku’s fortunes in 2024. The match also shows the opposite family lives between champion and challenger. FUMA got married this year and life as a whole has been fulfilling for him lately while Fujita is a divorced man with only pro wrestling to rely on. A man with nothing to lose is always a dangerous foe.

DDT “NEW YEAR’S CURRENT BLAST! 2024”, 14/01/2024
Kanagawa Tsurumi Fruit & Vegetable Market

1. Special 4 Way Match: MAO Vs Mecha Mummy Vs Mecha Pandita Vs Demonio Uno
2. All Asia Tag Team Titles – Current Blast Death Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani (c) Vs Atsushi Onita & Toy Kojima

For some reason the Tsurumi Fruit & Vegetable Market has become home to a number of pro wrestling’s most bizarre creations. Demonio Uno (or Demonio Dos) always pops up when TJPW runs shows there only to find out it is not the scariest monster in the area by a long shot. Mecha Mummy is going to show up after spending a year getting its improvements worked on over at Baka Gaijin + Friends. Then there is Mecha Pandita who as far as I know has not been seen since the short lived Bakuha Koshien promotion that ran during the pandemic. Filling out this 4 Way is MAO who is either the only normal part of the match or the most crazy out of everyone depending on your own point of view.

DDT “NEW YEAR FAN APPRECIATION DAY!”, 20/01/2024
Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX

1. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: KANON Vs Yuni
2. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Ilusion
3. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuma Sumi
4. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs Takeshi Masada
5. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Rukiya
6. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Hideki Okatani
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima Vs Bryan Keith, Soma Takao & Shota

Six up and comers take on some of DDT’s mainstays in separate singles matches.

Yuki Ishida has opted to take time off in order to concentrate on treating a herniated lumbar disc. He had this injury back in August but returned in November. Unfortunately the injury is still bothering him so he is back out of action for the time being.

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The Last Shows Of 2023, Free WiFi Challenged By Daisy Monkey

December 18, 2023

BASARA “BASARA 238 ~UTAGE~”, 19/12/2023
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Takumi Tsukamoto & SAGAT Vs Yasu Urano & Masahiro Takanashi
2. 3 Way Match: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Gouma Ryu Vs A.YAZAWA
3. FUMA, KUBITO & Daichi Kazato Vs Lil’ Kraken, Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
4. Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Munetatsu Nakamura
5. Ryota Nakatsu & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino

Harimao Vs Aijin Tag headlines the last BASARA show of the year.

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 IN KORAKUEN HALL”, 24/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal ~ Toru Owashi Return Match: The Great Koji (c) Vs Toru Owashi Vs Sanshiro Takagi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Akito Vs Yusuke Okada Vs Yuki Ishida Va Kazuma Sumi Vs Rukiya Vs Open Recruitment X
2. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs KANON & MJ Paul
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada
4. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Yuki Ueno (5) Vs Yuki Iino (2)
5. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (4) Vs Kazusada Higuchi (6)
6. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki (5) Vs HARASHIMA (2)
7. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Chris Brookes (2) Vs Rei Saito (6)
8. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: MAO (6) Vs Yukio Naya (6)

Christmas Eve is the last day of the D-Oh Grand Prix group stage and it is still all to play for in both blocks. The A Block will go to either Yuki Ueno, Tetsuya Endo, Kazusada Higuchi or Daisuke Sasaki depending on how all the results will go. B Block is a 3 way tie between Rei Saito, MAO and Yukio Naya. I’ll go work out their paths to the final in a separate post later this week.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SE-NO, MERRY CHRISTMAS! 2023”, 24/12/2023
Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall

1. Mahiro Kiryu Vs Haru Kazashiro
2. Mizuki, HIMAWARI & Runa Okubo Vs Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino & Pom Harajuku
3. Maki Itoh & Yuki Kamifuku Vs Wakana Uehara & Shino Suzuki
4. Hikari Noa & Toga Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
5. Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Yuki Arai & Kaya Toribami Vs Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe, Raku & Moka Miyamoto

Christmas Eve is also the day of Tokyo Joshi Pro’s last show of 2023. It’s only five matches but the main event is an 8-Woman Tag.

GANBARE☆PRO “BAD COMMUNICATION 2023”, 27/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Yuko Miyamoto Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
2. Sumire Natsu, YuuRI & Riara Vs HARUKAZE, Makoto & Banny Oikawa
3. Special Single Match: Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Arisu Endo
4. Special Single Match: Ken Ohka Vs Kuma Arashi
5. GanPro Vs GLEAT All Out Battle ~ GanPro’s Famous Elimination 10-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Takuya Wada, Mizuki Watase, Shinichiro Tominaga & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Kaz Hayashi, Minoru Tanaka, Takanori Ito, Check Shimatani & Jun Tonsho
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Shota & Soma Takao (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Shuichiro Katsumura

Earlier today Shuichiro Katsumura went to the Reversal Gym in Yokohama for a special training session with MMA fighters Seiichiro Ito and Hideo Tokoro. After some sparring Katsumura talked over tactics with them for his Spirit Of Ganbare Title match against Isami Kodaka. They agreed he needed more than just the Ninja Choke to win so Katsumura was taught how to use a series of transtioning submission holds to the arm. The transitions went from Arm Lock to Clothespin to Side Triangle Choke to Cross Armbreaker. Tokoro gave him encouragement for the title match. He also showed support for Ito who will be competing for the Interim King Of Pancrase Flyweight Title on 24th December.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’24”, 04/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Aja Kong Vs Wakana Uehara
2. Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao
3. Rina Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
4. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) Vs Yuki Arai
5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta (c) Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
6. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Masha Slamovich

Another title match added to TJPW’s Ittenyon show. Free WiFi are defending the Princess Tag Team Titles against Daisy Monkey. All of the previous challengers for Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta were makeshift teams but Suzume & Arisu Endo have been an established pair for a good while now. Daisy Monkey has had one previous shot at the belts back in April 2022 when they lost to The Magical Sugar Rabbits. Both Suzume & Endo associate the championship with MagiRabi the most because they were TJPW’s strongest ever team. Now that Yuka Sakazaki is gone from TJPW it makes Daisy Monkey want to win the titles even more to carry on that legacy.

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Can KANON Steal The Block? GanPro Ready For The New Year, 5th Annual Shoko Vs Misao Match

December 14, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023
The Vermont Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Rika Tatsumi & Amira Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
2. Moka Miyamoto Vs Trish Adora
3. Mizuki Vs Sandra Moone
4. Shoko Nakajima Vs Taya Valkyrie
5. Miu Watanabe Vs Hyan
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta (c) Vs Janai Kai & Shazza McKenzie
7. Special Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly

There were a few speed bumps along the way but tonight is the night Tokyo Joshi Pro is back in America thanks to Prestige!

GANBARE☆JOSHI “GANJO BINARY LAND ’23”, 15/12/2023
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall

1. GanJo Vs Evo Joshi: Riara Vs ZONES
2. GanJo Vs Evo Joshi: YuuRI Vs Chi Chi
3. Ram Kaichow & Alex Lee Vs Sumire Natsu & Marika Kobashi
4. Tae Honma & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Yuu & Banny Oikawa

Yoshiko Hasegawa gets to main event the final Ganbare☆Joshi show of 2023.

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 IN FUKUOKA”, 16/12/2023
Fukuoka Nishitetsu Hall

0. Dark Match – Kyushu Sangyo University Pro Wrestling Research Department Offer Match: Ionazun Shirai & Tiger Nishiya Mask Vs Great Tamu & Occult Daimao
1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Toy Kojima & Van Vert Jack Vs Azul Dragon, Akito & Kazuma Sumi
2. Yukio Sakaguchi & Soma Takao Vs Yukio Naya & Yusuke Okada
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi Vs Hideki Okatani, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada
4. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Yuki Ueno (2) Vs HARASHIMA (2)
5. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (4) Vs Daisuke Sasaki (1)
6. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Kazusada Higuchi (4) Vs Yuki Iino (3)
7. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Chris Brookes (2) Vs Kazuki Hirata (0)
8. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: KANON (4) Vs Rei Saito (4)

It’s still a close race in the A Block but if KANON pulls off a second upset in a row he will suddenly find himself on top of the B Block! Rei Saito needs to win this or he will not be able to qualify for the final.

Kazuki Hirata’s last block match is against Chris Brookes. Lost this and Hirata ends the tournament with the wooden spoon award. A win though will save him some face, even if it’s just by a little bit.

BASARA “BASARA 238 ~UTAGE~”, 19/12/2023
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Takumi Tsukamoto & SAGAT Vs Yasu Urano & Masahiro Takanashi
2. 3 Way Match: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Gouma Ryu Vs A.YAZAWA
3. Ryota Nakatsu & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
4. FUMA, KUBITO & Daichi Kazato Vs Lil’ Kraken, Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
5. Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Munetatsu Nakamura

This is the last BASARA show of the year. The main event sees Sento Minzoku’s top two facing the visitors from Ganbare☆Pro. Just over a week later Isami Kodaka and Shuichiro Katsumura will fight at the main event of GanPro’s end of year Korakuen Hall show.

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 IN KORAKUEN HALL”, 24/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal ~ Toru Owashi Return Match: The Great Koji (c) Vs Toru Owashi Vs Sanshiro Takagi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Akito Vs Yusuke Okada Vs Yuki Ishida Va Kazuma Sumi Vs Rukiya Vs Open Recruitment X
2. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs KANON & MJ Paul
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada
4. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Yuki Ueno Vs Yuki Iino
5. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Kazusada Higuchi
6. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs HARASHIMA
7. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Chris Brookes Vs Rei Saito
8. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: MAO Vs Yukio Naya

Toru Owashi admits he is more worried about the mental stress of being in the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title Battle Royal for his return match rather than the physical stress. He knows his best skill is managing traffic during chaotic matches but the appearance of this new guy called The Great Koji has him a little concerned the pressure will be too much to handle. Owashi thinks he can beat Koji to win the Iron Man Title but to be honest, he doesn’t really want it.

GANBARE☆PRO “BAD COMMUNICATION 2023”, 27/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Yuko Miyamoto Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
2. Sumire Natsu, YuuRI & Riara Vs HARUKAZE, Makoto & Banny Oikawa
3. Special Single Match: Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Arisu Endo
4. Special Single Match: Ken Ohka Vs Kuma Arashi
5. GanPro Vs GLEAT All Out Battle ~ GanPro’s Famous Elimination 10-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Takuya Wada, Mizuki Watase, Shinichiro Tominaga & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Kaz Hayashi, Minoru Tanaka, Takanori Ito, Check Shimatani & Jun Tonsho
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Shota & Soma Takao (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Shuichiro Katsumura

During the week Ken Ohka & Keisuke Ishii travelled to the All Japan dojo in Yokohama so they could train for a few hours with Shuji Ishikawa. The three of them have ties going back to Union Pro. Ishii invaded the promotion and kicked Ohka out of Union by winning a Loser Leaves Town match. Ohka went on to form GanPro and started a war with Union and Ishikawa. A lot of time has passed since then and Ohka is proud to see how far all three of them have advanced since then. The training session included Ishikawa coming up with ideas to improve Ohka’s finisher the Fire Spear. The move has been countered a lot by Ohka’s current enemy Kuma Arashi in their recent matches. Ishikawa and Ishii instructed Ohka new ways to use the Spear so there will be less opportunities for it to be countered. By the end of the session Ohka can now hit the Spear with more accuracy, less momentum and also from a shorter range.

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 THE FINAL”, 03/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. New Year’s GiFt Special Single Match: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan Vs Danshoku Dieno
2. Special Tag Match ~ Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima
3. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – Final: Winner Of A Block Vs Winner Of B Block

Shunma Katsumata revealed the reason why he wanted Eruption to be his opponents for his return match. 2024 is going to be Katsumata’s 10th year in wrestling and Yukio Sakaguchi was one of his opponents in his debut match. So Katsumata wants to kick off his tenth year by fighting his very first pro opponent again. He is impressed by how well Hideki Okatani performed in the Real World Tag League. And finally Katsumata appreciates all the hard work Toy Kojima did to protect The 37KAMIINA while he was recovering at home. Katsumata also has his eyes on winning back the DDT Extreme Title and KO-D Tag Team Titles in 2024.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’24”, 04/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Aja Kong Vs Wakana Uehara
2. Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao
3. Rina Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
4. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) Vs Yuki Arai
5. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Masha Slamovich

The Ittenyon tradition continues with the fifth annual Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao singles match! Nothing extra has been announced yet but there is always a wacky stipulation attached to these matches. The first two matches also had the winner change the loser’s name for a month but they stopped doing that for the third and fourth matches in order to keep the harmony within Kyoraku Kyomei for the upcoming Max Heart Tournament. Giving one of them an identity crisis right before the big tag team tournament is not a good idea.

Ryo Mizunami will be on the show.

GANBARE☆PRO “2024 GANBARE☆THE FIGHT BEGINS”, 04/01/2024
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. YuuRI & Riara Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa & Kaho Matsushita
2. Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE Vs Shigehiro Irie & Banny Oikawa
3. New Year Special 3 Way Match: Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Yuni Vs Ilusion
4. GanPro New Year Special Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Yumehito Imanari Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Soma Takao
5. GanPro New Year Special Tag Match: Ken Ohka & Mizuki Watase Vs Shota & Shinichiro Tominaga

The first GanPro show of 2024 features a new generation 3 Way Match reuniting several members of DDTeeeen!! It’s time for Munetatsu Nakamura, Yuni and Ilusion to all show each other how much they have learned since they were last in the ring with each other.

Also on the show is the return of Lethal Weapon! The duo of Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE have arguably been the top mixed tag team in GanPro. That makes them the perfect opponents for Banny Oikawa who is continuing down her path of intergender tag wrestling. She teams with Shigehiro Irie.

Kaho Matsushita is from Ice Ribbon. That company just announced a restructure with new investments attached to them so it might be an interesting story to see what they can do in 2024.

GANBARE☆PRO “GANPRO 2024 ROSIER”, 06/01/2024
Osaka 176BOX

1. Legendary Hostess Vs The Toughest Girl In Osaka: Riara Vs Momoka Hanazono
2. Banny Oikawa & YuuRI Vs HARUKAZE & Yoshiko Hasegawa
3. Yumehito Imanari & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Soma Takao & Mizuki Watase
4. Keisuke Ishii & Shota Vs Ilusion & Munetatsu Nakamura
5. GanPro New Year Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Ken Ohka & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Shuichiro Katsumura, Takuya Wada & Tsuyoshi Okada

HARASHIMA joins in with GanPro’s new year celebrations.

Warning, everybody involved in Match #3 all like to drink a lot of alcohol.

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Posted by JamieOD

TJPW Title Defences In North America, Something By DISASTER BOX, An Unpaid Debt Between MAO & Keith

December 8, 2023

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 IN OSAKA”, 09/12/2023
Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall

1. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Yuki Iino & Rukiya
2. Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi Vs Akito & Kazuma Sumi
3. Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada Vs MAO, Toy Kojima & Ilusion
4. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Kazuki Hirata (0) Vs Rei Saito (2)
5. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Yukio Naya (6) Vs KANON (2)
6. All Asia Tag Team Titles: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani (c) Vs Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada
7. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Kazusada Higuchi (2) Vs HARASHIMA (2)
8. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Yuki Ueno (3) Vs Tetsuya Endo (2)

The D-Oh Grand Prix continues tomorrow. A Block still has everyone in the race so it’s only fair to have Yuki Ueno Vs Tetsuya Endo and Kazusada Higuchi Vs HARASHIMA be the top two matches of the show. But over in B Block Yukio Naya is one more step towards cleaning up the entire group if he beats KANON. The Kazuki Hirata Vs Rei Saito match is pretty much just for pride at this point. Not that Hirata has that much pride to begin with but you know what I mean.

Eruption are also back from the Real World Tag League looking to shake off their middle of the table finish. They might have a long line of challengers forming up in front of them so they need to retain the All Asia Tag Team Titles against BURNING if they have any intention of dealing with that.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’24”, 04/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Aja Kong Vs Wakana Uehara
2. Rina Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
3. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) Vs Yuki Arai
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Masha Slamovich

Last night in the space of about half an hour there were two Tokyo Joshi Pro title matches taking place in North America. Over in Quebec, Canada Max The Impaler had a surprise International Princess Title defence at the Mystery Wrestling show put together by Evil Uno. Max defeated Jody Threat in the semi-main event. Word of the match reached back to TJPW and they officially recognize it as Max’s third successful title defence. That now means if Max beats Yuki Arai on 4th January they will tie the current record for most IP Title defences in a single reign at four wins.

Then as soon as that match had finished Miyu Yamashita was entering the ring in New York, USA to defend the Princess Of Princess Title against Delmi Exo at an MLW show. She won that match to earn her second defence in this latest title run. Maki Itoh was also on the show but she lost to Janai Kai in a match for the MLW World Featherweight Title. I’ll write more about the matches on the next DDT Around The World article at the start of next month.

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 05/01/2024
Shinjuku FACE

1. Something by HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, etc.: X Vs X
2. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno, MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toy Kojima & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda, Takeshi Masada & Mecha Mummy

The three main members of DISASTER BOX are all putting their heads together to book something for DDT’s first visit to Shinjuku FACE in 2024. Whatever it is the three of them will be involved along with others.

GANBARE☆PRO “GANPRO 2024 ROSIER”, 06/01/2024
Osaka 176BOX

1. Legendary Hostess Vs The Toughest Girl In Osaka: Riara Vs Momoka Hanazono

When Ganbare☆Pro heads to Osaka in the new year Riara takes on Momoka Hanazono. This joshi wrestler’s nickname may not match with all of the flowers and bubbles she surrounds herself with but it is still accurate. Hanazono has a background in rugby before becoming a pro wrestler.

HARASHIMA, Soma Takao, Ilusion, Tyson Maeguchi and Banny Oikawa will all be on the show.

DDT “NEW YEAR FAN APPRECIATION DAY!”, 20/01/2024
Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX

1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima Vs Bryan Keith, Soma Takao & Shota

Three days of DDT appearances await for Bryan Keith in the new year. He makes his Japanese wrestling debut here by teaming with ROMANCE DAWN against The 37KAMIINA. Keith was an opponent for Shota during Shota’s US excursion last year.

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024 TOUR IN SHINAGAWA”, 21/01/2024
Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX

1. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Bryan Keith

The next day Keith gets the match MAO has been demanding. The DDT Universal Title is on the line for this rematch from West Coast Pro during the summer. Keith won the first battle and MAO wants revenge! What happens to a bounty hunter when it’s time for them to repay a debt?

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024”, 28/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Naruki Doi

Keith’s third and last appearance on this tour will be at Korakuen Hall near the end of the month.

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Posted by JamieOD

TJPW Lottery Line Up, New Year’s Eve 1st Round Matches, Ittenyon Updates, Bryan Keith Heading To DDT

December 7, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023
The Vermont Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Rika Tatsumi & Amira Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
2. Moka Miyamoto Vs Trish Adora
3. Mizuki Vs Sandra Moone
4. Shoko Nakajima Vs Taya Valkyrie
5. Miu Watanabe Vs Hyan
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta (c) Vs Janai Kai & Shazza McKenzie
7. Special Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly

Ok so now The Globe Theater actually is closed down. For real this time. Prestige announced the event is now taking place at The Vermont Hollywood. The show will airing as a PPV on Wrestle Universe with English commentary from Jordan Castle and Veda Scott.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~KASUKABE PERFORMANCE~”, 17/12/2023
Saitama Kasukabe Fureai Cube

1. 3 Way Match: Yuki Kamifuku Vs Shino Suzuki Vs Runa Okubo
2. Arisu Endo Vs Haru Kazashiro
3. Hyper Misao Vs Kaya Toribami
4. Mahiro Kiryu Vs Wakana Uehara
5. Suzume Vs HIMAWARI
6. Shoko Nakajima Vs Toga
7. Raku Vs Juria Nagano
8. Yuki Aino Vs Pom Harajuku
9. Miu Watanabe Vs Moka Miyamoto
10. Maki Itoh Vs Hikari Noa

The fan lottery was held yesterday to determine the matchups. Maki Itoh Vs Hikari Noa main events the show but the other match to take note of is Yuki Aino Vs Pom Harajuku. The two of them have spent the last year closely linked together along with Raku so that friendship needs to be pushed aside for up to seven minutes.

“NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO WRESTLING 2023 ~TOSHIWASURE! SHUFFLE 6-MAN TAG TOURNAMENT~”, 31/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1A: HARASHIMA, Kota Sekifuda & Yuji Hino Vs Takeshi Masada, Yuya Aoki & Koji Iwamoto
2. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1B: Kazusada Higuchi, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kohei Kinoshita Vs Chris Brookes, Kazumasa Yoshida & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
3. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1C: Yukio Naya, Hideyoshi Kamitani & Minoru Suzuki Vs Danshoku Dieno, Daichi Hashimoto & Ikuto Hidaka
4. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1D: Hideki Okatani, Yuki Ishikawa & Brahman Shu (w/ Brahman Kei) Vs Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sekimoto & Fuminori Abe
5. So Daimonji, Ender Kara, Leyton Buzzard & Tempesta Vs Kazumi Kikuta, Kazuki Hashimoto, Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya
6. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Winners Of Match 1A Vs Winners Of Match 1B
7. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Winners Of Match 1C Vs Winners Of Match 1D
8. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda Vs Takuya Nomura, Abdullah Kobayashi & Kankuro Hoshino
9. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Final: X, X & X Vs X, X & X

Bati Bati F’N In The Sky: Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sekimoto & Fuminori Abe
Big Bombers Kai: Yukio Naya, Hideyoshi Kamitani & Minoru Suzuki
Team Katagi Returns: Kazusada Higuchi, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kohei Kinoshita
Anal Destruction Hidaka: Danshoku Dieno, Daichi Hashimoto & Ikuto Hidaka
The Kind People: Chris Brookes, Kazumasa Yoshida & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
Lonely Hot College Students: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Aoki & Koji Iwamoto
Smile Lizard King Kong: HARASHIMA, Kota Sekifuda & Yuji Hino
Go For It! The Three Inokori Brothers: Hideki Okatani, Yuki Ishikawa & Brahman Shu (w/ Brahman Kei)

The Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament is out. Round 1 has Smile Lizard King Kong versus Lonely Hot College Students first, Team Katagi Returns versus The Kind People second, Big Bombers Kai versus Anal Destruction Hidaka third and Go For It! The Three Inokori Brothers versus Bati Bati F’N In The Sky last.

There are two non-tournament matches. The big one is the DDT team of Yuki Ueno, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda against the Big Japan trio of Takuya Nomura, Abdullah Kobayashi & Kankuro Hoshino. The other match has DDT and Big Japan joining forces to fight the international unit PROJECT: HAVOC. That group has been a thorn in Big Japan’s side for a couple of months now.

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 THE FINAL”, 03/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. New Year’s GiFt Special Single Match: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan Vs Danshoku Dieno
2. Special Tag Match ~ Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima
3. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – Final: Winner Of A Block Vs Winner Of B Block

DDT’s gift for their fans to open up 2024 is a match between Kuroshio TOKYO Japan and Danshoku Dieno… Did they keep the receipt?

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’24”, 04/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Aja Kong Vs Wakana Uehara
2. Rina Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
3. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) Vs Yuki Arai
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Masha Slamovich

The two new matches announced for the Tokyo Joshi Pro Ittenyon show can all be traced back to this year’s Ittenyon show. Max The Impaler will defend the International Princess Title against Yuki Arai. This past January Max took the Princess Tag Team Titles from Arai. But now one year later the roles will be reversed and Arai has a chance to beat Max to take away their championship.

On the first anniversary of her pro debut, Wakana Uehara gets to fight Aja Kong! This is the Uehara’s reward for winning the Next Generation Tournament. The two have a little bit of history going back to before Uehara’s debut. When she was on the Youtube series Yume Pro Wrestling -dream on the ring- there was an episode with Kong as the special guest trainer. Then at “WRESTLE PRINCESS IV” in October Kong beat Uehara in a 6-Woman Tag match. Uehara is still excited for the match though and wants to show Kong how much she has grown as a wrestler.

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024”, 28/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Naruki Doi

DDT announced the first two dates for Konosuke Takeshita’s return in 2024. The first is a big singles match against Naruki Doi on DDT’s second Korakuen Hall show of the year. The second date is for “JUDGEMENT 2024” at Korakuen on 17th March.

Bryan Keith is coming to DDT in January! “The Bounty Hunter” will be at shows on 20th, 21st and 28th January. The announcement of his appearance immediately got MAO’s attention. They fought each other at West Coast Pro in America back in July with Keith coming out as the winner. MAO wants to avenge that loss and might use the DDT Universal Title as the reward to convince Keith into taking a rematch.

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Posted by JamieOD

D-Oh Halfway Point, Some Unique TJPW Shows, GanJo Vs Evo Joshi, 10-Man Titles Return

December 4, 2023

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 IN OSAKA”, 09/12/2023
Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall

1. Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada Vs MAO, Toy Kojima & Ilusion
2. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Yuki Iino & Rukiya
3. Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi Vs Akito & Kazuma Sumi
4. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Yuki Ueno (3) Vs Tetsuya Endo (2)
5. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Kazusada Higuchi (2) Vs HARASHIMA (2)
6. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Yukio Naya (6) Vs KANON (2)
7. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Kazuki Hirata (0) Vs Rei Saito (2)
8. All Asia Tag Team Titles: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani (c) Vs Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada

We’re around the halfway point of the D-Oh Grand Prix. It’s too early to predict how the A Block is going to go. The B Block is a different manner. If Yukio Naya beats KANON then only MAO can potentially compete with him for the spot in the final. Rei Saito can also catch up on points but Naya already has the tiebreaker advantage over him. It’s a must win for KANON to remain in the race. Chris Brookes is teetering on the edge while Kazuki Hirata is the first wrestler who is already mathematically out of the tournament.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW AQUARIUM PRO WRESTLING IN YOKOHAMA HAKKEIJIMA SEA PARADISE”, 10/12/2023
Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise

1. X Vs X

Before the year ends Tokyo Joshi Pro has a surprise gift for everybody. They recently recorded a Street Wrestling match held inside the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama. Twelve TJPW wrestlers were split into two teams for the competition and the winners received “luxery prizes”. The participants were Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki, Rika Tatsumi, Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao, Nao Kakuta, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Suzume, Arisu Endo, Yuki Arai and HIMAWARI. The video is being shown on Wrestle Universe as a PPV.

GANBARE☆JOSHI “GANJO BINARY LAND ’23”, 15/12/2023
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall

1. Ram Kaichow & Alex Lee Vs Sumire Natsu & Marika Kobashi
2. Tae Honma & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Yuu & Banny Oikawa
3. GanJo Vs Evo Joshi: Riara Vs ZONES
4. GanJo Vs Evo Joshi: YuuRI Vs Chi Chi

A new challenge is coming to Ganbare☆Joshi. This year saw the launch of a new women’s wrestling group called Evolution. Three women debuted as pro wrestlers with Suwama from All Japan helping oversee the project. One of the three recently retired due to injury but the other two have kept at it and will soon visit GanJo. Chi Chi gets the bigger challenge by being put in the main event against YuuRI. The other match has the eye-catching ZONES taking on Riara.

Yuu returns to GanJo for the first time since 2020.

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 IN FUKUOKA”, 16/12/2023
Fukuoka Nishitetsu Hall

0. Dark Match – Kyushu Sangyo University Pro Wrestling Research Department Offer Match: Ionazun Shirai & Tiger Nishiya Mask Vs Great Tamu & Occult Daimao
1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Toy Kojima & Van Vert Jack Vs Azul Dragon, Akito & Kazuma Sumi
2. Yukio Sakaguchi & Soma Takao Vs Yukio Naya & Yusuke Okada
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi Vs Hideki Okatani, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada
4. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Yuki Ueno Vs HARASHIMA
5. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Daisuke Sasaki
6. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yuki Iino
7. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Chris Brookes Vs Kazuki Hirata
8. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: KANON Vs Rei Saito

A small change with Yuya Koroku being out injured. Since he can’t take part in a 6-Man Tag Match, Rukiya also gets removed to keep the teams even.

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 IN KUMAMOTO”, 17/12/2023
Kumamoto Sakurajuji Hall Yatsushiro Multipurpose Hall

1. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi
2. Danshoku Dieno, Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Chris Brookes, Akito & Takeshi Masada
3. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Naya & Rukiya
4. The 37KAMIINA Vs Harimao!: Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida
5. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yuki Iino
6. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: MAO Vs KANON

The first three matches on this show have been changed around too because of Koroku’s injury.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~KASUKABE PERFORMANCE~”, 17/12/2023
Saitama Kasukabe Fureai Cube

1. X Vs X
2. X Vs X
3. X Vs X
4. X Vs X
5. X Vs X
6. X Vs X
7. X Vs X
8. X Vs X
9. X Vs X
10. X Vs X
11. X Vs X

A special format is being used for TJPW’s final visit to Saitama this year. A fan lottery on 6th December will choose the entire card for this event. Every match will be a singles match with just a seven minute time limit. The 22 participants are Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta, Shoko Nakajima, Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku, Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Mahiro Kiryu, Suzume, Moka Miyamoto, Arisu Endo, Kaya Toribami, Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI, Shino Suzuki, Toga, Haru Kazashiro, Runa Okubo and Juria Nagano.

GANBARE☆PRO “BAD COMMUNICATION 2023”, 27/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Sumire Natsu, YuuRI & Riara Vs HARUKAZE, Makoto & Banny Oikawa
2. Yuko Miyamoto Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
3. GanPro Vs GLEAT All Out Battle: Yumehito Imanari, Shinichiro Tominaga, X, X & X Vs Kaz Hayashi, X, X, X & X
4. Special Tag Match: Shota & Soma Takao Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie
5. Special Single Match: Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Arisu Endo
6. Special Single Match: Ken Ohka Vs Kuma Arashi
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Shuichiro Katsumura

Slowly but surely wrestlers are signing up for the Ganbare☆Pro Vs GLEAT match. Kaz Hayashi has answered Yumehito Imanari’s request for him to be involved in the match. Imanari has also added Shinichiro Tominaga to the GanPro team.

Munetatsu Nakamura is a fan of Yuko Miyamoto so GanPro is getting them together for a match.

Both YuuRI & Riara have been developing a sister-like relationship with Sumire Natsu in GanJo throughout this year. Let’s see how the three can work together as a “family” against HARUKAZE, Makoto & Banny Oikawa.

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 THE FINAL”, 03/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special Tag Match ~ Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima
2. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – Final: Winner Of A Block Vs Winner Of B Block

Jun Saito has been added to the show. So if Rei Saito doesn’t make it to the final expect The Saito Brothers to team up for a match instead.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’24”, 04/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Rina Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
2. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Masha Slamovich

A rematch from GCW is happening at the Ittenyon show. Rina Yamashita beat Maki Itoh in America back in June. Will Itoh’s pizza cutter make its first appearance in TJPW?

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 05/01/2024
Shinjuku FACE

1. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno, MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toy Kojima & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda, Takeshi Masada & Mecha Mummy

Over the weekend SCHADENFREUDE International made it known they want to fight for the dormant KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles. They even have Mecha Mummy with them to be the fifth member of their team. The titles still belong to The 37KAMIINA & Shinya Aoki despite not being defended since June 2022. The match is booked for 5th January but DDT found out Aoki is currently unavailable because he is busy training for an MMA fight against Sage Northcutt. Luckily the championship has a rule where the champion team can temporarily replace up to two members and still be eligible to defend the titles. For this match Aoki is being replaced by Yoshihiko! For statistical purposes, should the champions win it counts as a successful defence for Aoki not Yoshihiko.

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Posted by JamieOD

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