DDT Around The World – July 2023

August 1, 2023

America had to deal with the adventures of MAO & Yoshihiko for most of July. The two of them were inseperable and causing chaos on every wrestling show they were booked for. Meanwhile Konosuke Takeshita is fitting into his heel role nicely, bringing the act over from AEW to DDT and creating consequences in both companies. Since next month is AEW’s big week of doing Wembley in London and the United Center in Chicago one after the other you would think Takeshita will get an important match somewhere on either card.

With those topics out of the way that leaves us with Maki Itoh. The experience gained from touring America is doing wonders for her career but she didn’t win the Princess Of Princess Title back in Tokyo Joshi Pro like she hoped. Her storyline in GCW is coming to a head in August and she has her sights set on many more tours in the future. It can make you wonder if she will reach a stage where she might choose to say goodbye to TJPW some day. Her interviews on the subject have been contradictory depending on who she talks to. She would love to get a full time deal from a big American company but she also likes being signed to TJPW because they let her work this kind of international schedule. It’s nothing to fret over right now but the thought has crossed my mind when it became clear her future plans do not include the Princess Title.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 12/07/2023
SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

BCC & The Elite reveal their final members for Blood & Guts!


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 14/07/2023
SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) Vs Mentallo


AAA “TRIPLEMANIA XXXI: TIJUANA”, 15/07/2023
Estadio Chevron, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

Konosuke Takeshita attacks Kenny Omega


CIRCLE 6 “LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE”, 16/07/2023
1720 Warehouse, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. AJ Gray Vs MAO


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 19/07/2023
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

1. Blood & Guts: Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, Nick Jackson, Matt Jackson & Kota Ibushi Vs Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Konosuke Takeshita & PAC


Video starts at 1:01:38 for the match. Go to 01:41:04 for Itoh’s birthday celebration.
SMASH “CAN-US CLASSIC 2023”, 22/07/2023
Western Fair District, London, Ontario, Canada

1. Jody Threat Vs Maki Itoh

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Results


EVE “NMITB”, 02/07/2023
The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England

1. Eve Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Rhio with the Crash Rabbit Heat (21:21).
*V6 for Miyu Yamashita.

Miyu Yamashita was scheduled to defend the EVE Title against Emersyn Jayne but the challenger couldn’t make the show due to travel problems. Yamashita instead had to put the belt on the line against “The Unbreakable” Rhio with both wrestlers having no time to prepare for each other. Rhio’s power was brought into the fore with her getting nearfalls from a Pumphandle Bomb and Death Valley Driver onto her knee. But Yamashita escaped from a Package Piledriver attempt and caught Rhio with the Skull Kick. Rhio fell next to the ropes so she used a rope break to avoid being pinned. Yamashita then wore her down with kicks until she could pin Rhio with the Crash Rabbit Heat.


WEST COAST PRO “CRUEL SUMMER 2023”, 08/07/2023
United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, USA

1. Bryan Keith defeated MAO with the Emerald Tiger Driver (15:55).

MAO’s trip to America began at West Coast Pro where Bryan Keith was waiting for him. Keith had warned MAO not to expect any moonlight on this ocassion while MAO thought he would be fine because he is a “fucked up wrestler with an empty head.” That was proven when Yoshihiko interfered to help him! Keith survived the surprise attack and fired himself up and threw Yoshihiko out of the ring with a Razor’s Edge to even the odds. After a back and forth, Keith pinned MAO with the Emerald Tiger Driver for the win.


JCW “BIG ASS EXTREME BIRTHDAY BASH”, 09/07/2023
Ridgefield Park Knights of Columbus, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA

1. MAO defeated Mike Bailey with the Avalanche Michinoku Driver (14:47).
2. Bunkhouse Stampede: Manders defeated Charles Mason by Ring Out (22:13).
Order Of Elimination: Jay Sawyer, Steve Off, Steve Scott, Grim Reefer, Brogan Finlay, Marcus Mathers, Kaia McKenna, Charlie Tiger, Eddy Herrera, Bam Sullivan, CPA, Ciclope, Miedo Extremo, Yoshihiko, Yoya, John Wayne Murdoch, Parrow and Charles Mason.

Wherever MAO went in America, Yoshihiko followed him the entire way. It led to an awkward reunion with Mike Bailey in JCW. MAO and Speedball faced off in a battle between The Moonlight Express but things went sideways when MAO accidentally knocked out the referee with a Helluva Kick. Yoshihiko grabbed itself a ref shirt and went in as the replacement! However its officiating didn’t meet Bailey’s expectations so Yoshihiko was thrown out of the ring Razor’s Edge style deep into the crowd. The distraction might have led to Bailey’s undoing because MAO went on to beat him with a top rope Michinoku Driver with the original ref making the count.

Yoshihiko would reappear in a Bunkhouse Stampede match booked later in the show. It was a complete free for all where Yoshihiko appeared for a confrontation with Charles Mason and his backup muscle Parrow. The three of them have previous bad blood in the GCW/JCW system because Mason hates being embarrassed by the doll. Parrow tried to throw Yoshihiko out but Yoshihiko grabbed onto him and applied a Sleeper Hold. Mason lost his mind and hit Yoshihiko/Parrow with chairshot after chairshot before finally throwing the doll out of the ring to eliminate it.


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 12/07/2023 (Aired 14/07/2023)
SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Mentallo with a Diving Senton (4:07).

Don Callis went the personal route to help Takeshita prepare for Blood & Guts. The show took place in Canada so Callis got AEW to book Kenny Omega’s longtime friend and training partner Mentallo as Takeshita’s opponent. The masked wrestler put up a good effort but Takeshita was victorious in the end, using a Diving Senton to add a new high flying move to his arsenal.


IWTV “MARCUS MATHERS ALL I WANT 2”, 13/07/2023
H20 Wrestling Center, Williamstown, New Jersey, USA

1. Yoshihiko defeated Jimmy Lloyd with the Yoshihiko Destroyer (9:56).
2. MAO defeated Brandon Kirk with the Phoenix Splash through the Plastic Cases (16:14).

The bottom ring rope snapped off during the first five minutes of the opening match and couldn’t be repaired. That should tell you the kind of night waiting ahead for MAO and Yoshihiko. But that’s the kind of fucked up wrestling MAO wants so he didn’t lose a step fighting against Brandon Kirk. A lot of chairs and plastic boxes were thrown into the mix for the two to beat each other up with.

Yoshihiko was tasked with fighting Jimmy Lloyd and both were prepared to tear the place apart. Yoshihiko did a balcony dive and landed Headbutt first onto Lloyd to break him through a wooden panel. Lloyd tried using a Steiner Screwdriver, Package Piledriver and Sleeper Suplex onto chairs but couldn’t get the three count. He went desperate by taking Yoshihiko to the top rope with chairs laid out below. Yoshihiko flipped him off with a Canadian Destroyer onto the chairs and then followed up with a second Destroyer for the finish.


GCW “NOW AND FOREVER”, 14/07/2023
Melrose Ballroom, Queens, New York, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated Billie Starkz with the Itoh Deluxe (15:16).
2. Mike Bailey defeated Yoshihiko with the Stormbreaker (23:28).
3. GCW World Title: Blake Christian (c) defeated MAO with a Step Up Curb Stomp (14:21)
*V6 for Blake Christian.

MAO had a big chance to grab some gold in his trip to GCW proper. He took on Blake Christian for the GCW World Title but things just didn’t work out for him on this night. Christian gave him a Low Blow, a Death Valley Driver and then finished him off with a Curb Stomp for a successful title defence.

There was something familiar about Bailey Vs Yoshihiko but I just can’t quite put my finger as to what it was. In a completely original match Bailey was accompanied by MAO Callis and his bodyguards. MAO was quickly ejected backstage but later returned to hand Bailey a screwdriver to attack Yoshihiko with. He then used the One-Winged Angel but Yoshihiko kicked out at one. Bailey lost his temper so he gave Yoshihiko the Tiger Driver ’91 (maybe that should be written without the apostraphe because he slammed the doll’s head into the mat around 91 times), the Hidden Blade and the Stormbreaker to win the match. It was unlike anything anyone had seen within the space of a three week period.

In a rematch from last August, Itoh defeated Billie Starkz not just in a wrestling match but in a pose-off to see who is cuter that happened midway through. After the match Itoh celebrated with Nick Gage and they then threw out a challenge to Matt Cardona & Steph De Lander. A video message from the two played over the screen in response but it turned out to be a trap! Cardona & De Lander ran into the ring through the crowd and ambushed Maki Death Kill. When they were done with the attack they accepted the challenge for a tag match.


IWS “SCARRED 4 LIFE”, 15/07/2023
L’Olympia, Montreal, Québec, Canada

1. Maki Itoh defeated Vanessa Kraven with the I.S.D. (14:49).

I don’t often talk much about match quality in these articles but you’re best to avoid watching this one. It wasn’t good.


CIRCLE 6 “BARROOM BLITZ”, 15/07/2023
Knucklehead Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. MAO Vs Bobby Beverly

I couldn’t find the result for this match on a show that had no wrestling ring. What I could find was footage of MAO giving Bobby Beverly a really nasty looking Package Piledriver onto a chair with Beverly’s head clipping off of the headrest. There was also footage of MAO singing with a band so win or lose he looked like he was having a great time.


CIRCLE 6 “LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE”, 16/07/2023
1720 Warehouse, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. AJ Gray defeated MAO with a Lariat (?:??).

Yoshihiko again interfered in one of MAO’s matches to aid him, this time against AJ Gray. While Yoshihiko did not get hurled across the room into the audience, Grey overcame the 2-on-1 disadvantage to win.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 19/07/2023
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

1. Blood & Guts: Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, Nick Jackson, Matt Jackson & Kota Ibushi defeated Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Konosuke Takeshita & PAC when Moxley gave up (23:01).

Oh what drama that has been brewing in The Elite Vs Blackpool Combat Club feud in its final month. Takeshita travelled over to Mexico to assault Omega then helped BCC launch another attack on him back in America. That was when The Elite revealed their ace in the hole for Blood & Guts. The return of Kota Ibushi! In a match that was violent as promised, the BCC team fell apart when PAC took an accidental blow from Claudio Castagnoli. PAC has no loyalty to the group so he broke out of the cage and left. When The Elite got their second wind, Callis told Takeshita to leave the cage too! Takeshita did so and The Elite went on to beat BCC to end their feud.


SMASH “CAN-US CLASSIC 2023”, 22/07/2023
Western Fair District, London, Ontario, Canada

1. Maki Itoh defeated Jody Threat with the I.S.D. (?:??).

Itoh was having a good night in Smash to begin with when she defeated Jody Threat. Then at the end of the show she was given a surprise birthday party in the ring because everyone found out it was her birthday that day! How sweet of them.


PRESTIGE “ALL RISE”, 23/07/2023
House Of Independents, Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA

1. Trish Adora defeated Maki Itoh with the Lariat Tubman (13:43).

Itoh’s return to Prestige was for a semi-main event match against Trish Adora. Oddly enough this was the first time they’ve faced each other even though Adora has become a regular opponent for TJPW wrestlers. Itoh lost on this day by running straight into Adora’s Lariat. Itoh declined to shake her hand afterwards.


DEFY “SPIRIT WC”, 28/07/2023
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

1. DEFY Women’s Title: Vert Vixen (c) defeated Maki Itoh with the Game Over (?:??).
*V7 for Vert Vixen.

The main event of DEFY’s women only show was where Itoh had her latest chance to win an American championship. Vert Vixen defeated her, making it three successful DEFY Women’s Title defences against TJPW talent.

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Upcoming Appearances


AEW “DYNAMITE 200”, 02/08/2023
Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida, USA

1. Chris Jericho & Konosuke Takeshita Vs Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia

It was only a matter of time until Chris Jericho would latch onto the new hot act and change the story into one about himself. He got the screen time with Callis while Takeshita was back in Japan wrestling for DDT. When Takeshita returns to America he will team with Jericho to take on Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia in the latest chapter of the Jericho Appreciation Society story. It’s going to suck if the latest direction for “ALL IN” and “ALL OUT” only pushes Takeshita into the background. Maybe there is hope for him getting an important match if  Omega is not going to face Will Ospreay for a third time or if Ibushi is not being a tease about showing up at Wembley.


WRESTLING REVOLVER “HEAT EM UP”, 03/08/2023
Calumet Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA

1. Gringo Loco Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Coming in hot right as I am finishing up this article is news that Takeshita will be at this Thursday’s Wrestling REVOLVER show as a last minute replacement for Jon Moxley. According to Moxley he gave REVOLVER his approval for them to book Takeshita. The original plan was for Moxley to take on Gringo Loco in a Lucha Street Fight. Instead Loco will face Takeshita but the Street Fight stipulation seems to be dropped.


DREAMWAVE “SUMMER SPECTACULAR NIGHT 1”, 04/08/2023
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. 6-Person Scramble: Brittnie Brooks Vs Maki Itoh Vs Zayda Steele Vs B3CCA Vs Kaia McKenna Vs Shazza McKenzie

The winner of the scramble match in DREAMWAVE earns a spot in a match on 14th October that will crown the promotion’s first Women’s Champion.


DREAMWAVE “SUMMER SPECTACULAR NIGHT 2”, 05/08/2023
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Most likely the results on the first show will determine what Itoh is doing on the second. DREAMWAVE says there will be a second Scramble match on this second show where the winner also qualifies for October’s championship match. So if Itoh does not win the first time then maybe she can get a second chance if she demands it.


GCW “NO SIGNAL IN THE HILLS”, 11/08/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. 4 Way Match: Allie Katch Vs Steph De Lander Vs Maki Itoh Vs Masha Slamovich

The four leading women in GCW right now are all set to collide in a 4 Way Match. Itoh has her grudge with De Lander but the likes of Allie Katch and Masha Slamovich could get in her way.


KOPW “THE NEW ERA OF CHINESE PRO WRESTLING III”, 19/08/2023
Tianyue Sports City, Nanhai Foshan, Guangdong, China

1. Mizuki Vs Nao Kakuta

TJPW is sending Mizuki and Nao Kakuta over to China to hold an offer match at the latest King Of Pro Wrestling show. The Chinese promotion has booked joshi before such as Riho, Makoto, Emi Sakura and Mei Suruga.


NJPW “LEC PRESENTS ALL STAR JR FESTIVAL USA 2023”, 19/08/2023
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. El Desperado & MAO Vs Nick Wayne & Jordan Oliver

The first “ALL STAR JR FESTIVAL” in Tokyo earlier this year was such a major success New Japan and the sponsor LEC decided to bring the concept over to America. MAO gets invited back as a result and gets to take on The East West Express again. This time however he is teaming with El Desperado, making it the first time those two will be in the same match together.


GCW “HOMECOMING – PART 1”, 19/08/2023
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Matt Cardona & Steph De Lander Vs Nick Gage & Maki Itoh

The big grudge match GCW has been building up since March finally takes place near the end of the summer. Maki Death Kill have been trading blows back and forth with Cardona & De Lander ever since. Is one match enough to settle the score?


GCW “HOMECOMING – PART 2”, 20/08/2023
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs B3CCA

If that is the end of the feud then what will be next for Itoh in GCW?


ROW/GCW “GCW VS RENEGADES OF WRESTLING”, 25/08/2023
Roundhouse, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

1. Charli Evans Vs Maki Itoh

The answer of course is go to Australia! GCW is touring over there with a local group called Renegades Of Wrestling. First up Itoh takes on Charli Evans.


ROW/GCW “GCW VS RENEGADES OF WRESTLING”, 26/08/2023
Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

1. ROW Women’s Title: Aysha (c) Vs Maki Itoh

The second Australian show gives Itoh a shot at the ROW Women’s Title held by Aysha. The promotion has only been around for a year so the championships don’t have much history behind them. I think Aysha is more of a regular with Deathmatch Downunder.


EVE/CHOCOPRO “CHOCOPRO X EVE SUPER SHOW”, 26/08/2023
The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England

1. Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Well, well, well, isn’t this a surprise? ChocoPro are heading over to London the same weekend as All In to hold shows with EVE. It makes sense for Masahiro Takanashi to be one of the guests because he is linked to Gatoh Move. But Yamashita appearing on the show is something I didn’t expect even though she is EVE’s main champion. There is also a solo ChocoPro event happening that day but this is the show where you will get to see Yamashita. Do you think AEW is interested in booking her again, for the next day? I hope so but the answer is probably no. Come on, she’ll become the only person to wrestle in the Tokyo Dome and Wembley the same year if they book her!


ROW/GCW “GCW VS RENEGADES OF WRESTLING”, 27/08/2023
Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

1. Allie Katch Vs Maki Itoh

Itoh ends the Australia tour with a match against Allie Katch. Itoh already has a singles win over her in GCW. In fact that was the match where she discovered how useful a pizza cutter is against opponents.


GCW “SAY YOU WILL”, 01/09/2023
Grand Sports Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois New Jersey, USA

1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh Vs X & X

Another tag match for Maki Death Kill? This could go anywhere from fighting The East West Express to taking on Los Macizos or anywhere in between!


MLW “FURY ROAD”, 03/09/2023
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. B3CCA Vs Maki Itoh

Now Major League Wrestling has to deal with Maki Itoh. MLW has a habit of chasing after trends but not really getting much out of them. The company also has a knack of putting out whatever news stories they want and wresting sites will report it without question. Court Bauer just has the clout to say anything and always be taken at face value I guess. The curse of that though is the attention never really pays off with anything substantial. When MLW is at its best their storylines can be really creative and different to what the other promotions are doing. But if they don’t have a plan for you you’re just there to put over people they do have plans for. Even worse is how they sometimes write people out of storylines. Itoh can kayfabe be carried out of her last show inside a body bag if they want to. Or since her opponent B3CCA has a pop singer gimmick on the show they can do a vocal injury if they want to get sinister. But that’s just me fantasy booking based on what they’ve done before.


PRESTIGE “THE RESPECT ISSUE”, 24/09/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Trish Adora Vs Shoko Nakajima

Good to see Shoko Nakajima getting international bookings again. Prestige seems to handle that sort of stuff Stateside thanks to their working relationship with TJPW. They’re trying to get her a couple other bookings while she’s over there. A match with Trish Adora is the first one on the cards for her.

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Video – DDT “IZU GRANPAL PARK ROJO PRO WRESTLING”

July 20, 2023


DDT “IZU GRANPAL PARK ROJO PRO WRESTLING”, 15/04/2015
Shizuoka Izu Granpal Park
500 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. 4 Way Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Kasai Vs Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Danshoku Dieno & Saki Akai Vs Gota Ihashi & Suguru Miyatake

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DDT “MEGA MAX BUMP 2023 IN YOKOHAMA” Results

May 3, 2023

DDT “MEGA MAX BUMP 2023 IN YOKOHAMA”, 03/05/2023
Yokohama Budokan
1,160 Fans

0. Dark Match – Pheromones Vs D GENERATIONS Army Best Of 3 Singles Matches: Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari defeated Rukiya with the Tiger Driver (4:07).
0. Dark Match – Pheromones Vs D GENERATIONS Army Best Of 3 Singles Matches: Ilusion defeated Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno with a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch Hold (5:21).
0. Dark Match – Pheromones Vs D GENERATIONS Army Best Of 3 Singles Matches: Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda defeated Yuki Ishida with the Shining Katame (4:54).
1. Yuya Koroku & Munetatsu Nakamura defeated Toy Kojima & Kazuma Sumi when Koroku submitted Sumi with the Modified Triangle Lancer (8:36).
2. International Special Single Match: Saki Akai defeated Rayne Leverkusen with the Quetzalcoatl (5:51).
3. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul defeated Soma Takao, Yusuke Okada & Diego when Sasaki submitted Diego with the Crossface Lock (11:09).
4. Dance Vs Kickboxing Mixed Martial Arts Challenge: Hikaru Machida defeated Kazuki Hirata by TKO with a Right Straight (R1 0:07). (Round Girl: Sayuri Namba)
4a. Rematch: Kazuki Hirata defeated Hikaru Machida with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (R4 3:32). (Round Girl: Sayuri Namba)
5. Chiitan☆ Debut Match ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chiitan☆, Toru Owashi & Akito defeated Chris Brookes, Masahito Takanashi & Antonio Honda when Chiitan☆ pinned Honda with the Shining Wizard (10:26).
6. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Yuni defeated Vent Vert Jack & Takeshi Masada when Ueno pinned Masada with the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher (12:03).
7. DDT Extreme Title – TLC (Toys, Ladders & Chairs) Match: Shunma Katsumata defeated Jun Akiyama (c) with a School Boy (17:03).
*Jun Akiyama fails in V5. Shunma Katsumata becomes the 57th DDT Extreme Champion!
8. Road To King Of DDT 2023 Special 8-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi, Naruki Doi & KANON defeated Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA, Kotaro Suzuki & Hideki Okatani when Sakaguchi pinned Okatani with the God’s Right Knee (10:40).
9. DDT Universal Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) defeated MAO with the Tetsuya In The Sky (19:17).
*V1 for Tetsuya Endo.
10. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuji Hino (c) defeated Yuki “Super Sexy” Iino with the Fuckin’ BOMB (22:28).
*V2 for Yuji Hino.

All throughout the build up for the Yokohama Budokan Golden Week show, Yuki Iino had promised to seal away his “Sexy” persona in order to get a KO-D Openweight Title shot. It led to him evolving a “Strong” persona that pleased Yuji Hino and left the champion thinking they would deliver a strong style match for the ages. Oh boy was he wrong. A referee bump led to Pheromones interfering and Makoto Oishi jumping in to try and stop them. Hino wanted nothing to do with the nonsense and ran off backstage with everyone chasing after him. Danshoku Dieno took the microphone, said he held Iino back for too long and it was time to give fans a title match only DDT can deliver! Pheromones returned with Hino all gagged up and behind them was the first appearance of Yuki “Super Sexy” Iino! Pheromones did their spots but Oishi was there once again to get in their way and revive Yukinori Matsui. From there the match went back to normal. Iino hit his new Strong Splash finisher but only got a two count. Hino came back throwing Lariats to combat Iino’s Spear. The momentum flipped all the way to the champion and he got the three count with the Fuckin’ BOMB.

Hino was presented with the KO-D Title by Kenta Kobashi after the match (apparently Kobashi did not sound the least bit amused by the main event on commentary). Hino told Iino that he is a strong wrestler when they fight each other and he should be choosing his friends more carefully. Dieno defended Iino by telling Hino he dares to be “Sexy” and chose to be that way. When times are tough everyone should look to Pheromones for inspiration. Dieno also warned that the Pheromones way of life will lead him to meet Hino in the ring again some day. Hino gave Iino credit for showing off his real ability today and reminded fans that DDT is the place where amazing wrestlers gather together to have amazing matches.

The war of words between Tetsuya Endo and MAO has come to an end for now after Endo was put down his arch rival. For weeks the two have sent harsh words to each other over who suits the DDT Universal Title more. When it came down to the match itself both tried to outdo each other with big moves. Endo kicked out of the Avalanche Michinoku Driver II and the Cannonball 450 but when Endo hit the Tetsuya In The Sky it was all over. MAO was left beaten but he said afterwards the result did not change his mind. He still intends to win the Universal Title he just has to start from scratch all over again. As long as he behaves how he thinks the Universal Champion should behave then the belt will eventually gravitate towards him by itself. Meanwhile Endo said MAO was just all talk and no better than Daisuke Sasaki’s snot! If MAO wants to get revenge and beat him, he should go home and become his town’s toursim ambassador first!

With MAO now out of the way, Endo has a new mystery challenger on the horizon. As he walked up the ramp to leave ringside, a video played with the message “I have won many titles. Next target is DDT Universal Title. On July 23, Ryogoku. I will go to steal the belt.” The video also mentioned the message was sent from a former WWE wrestler and their identity will be revealed on 21st May. Who could it be? Well maybe it’s the guy who tweeted out a similar vague message a few hours later and then posted the video itself? Endo said a WWE wrestler is the best choice for his next defence. However Endo is about to take part in the King Of DDT tournament and the winner of that will most likely get a KO-D Title match at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2023” on 23rd July. Endo wants to win the tournament and then win the KO-D Title while still holding the Universal Title. If he gets that opportunity then he won’t be able to do two title matches at the Sumo Hall show. It would just be too difficult for him!

A preview for the King Of DDT was on display in an 8-Man Tag Match. Given the amount of people in the match chomping at the bit to wrestle, the match went ahead with No Tag Rules. It led to some of the 1st Round pairings squaring up to each other. Sanshiro Takagi and Yukio Sakaguchi fought each other while Kotaro Suzuki and KANON went back and forth. Hideki Okatani tried cutting off his Eruption stablemate but was pinned with the God’s Right Knee for his troubles. Sakaguchi helped Okatani to the back after the match, showing there was no ill intention over the result. Everyone also gave out comments about King Of DDT. Takagi is now trying to figure out how to prepare for his 1st Round match in three days. Sakaguchi wants Takagi to put his phone away and be ready for him. Suzuki wants to win King Of DDT at all costs. Naruki Doi sees everyone as his enemy because he knows it only takes one loss to get eliminated from the bracket. HARASHIMA wanted his side to win as a team today but their teamwork wasn’t good enough. Kazusada Higuchi was reminded of how tough the competition is going to be so he will tighten his resolve for the early rounds. KANON promised to give Suzuki a nightmare he deserves. Okatani was excited by the match and wants to win no matter what it takes.

The TLC Match was all about Toys, Ladders and Chairs! The idea was put together by Shunma Katsumata to ensure Jun Akiyama would experience a true DDT Extreme Title defence. However the in the build up to the match the plan seemed to have backfired when Akiyama got the bright idea to get Toy Kojima involved because he counts as a “Toy”! The match went ahead with chaos being caused around the ring. Akiyama crashed into a castle of chairs but he also used Kojima as a weapon against Katsumata. One Exploder Suplex was not enough to get the win so Akiyama set up another. However Kojima suddenly showed he had enough of being treated like a toy and he hit Akiyama with a Leg Lariat. That caused Katsumata to roll up Akiyama from behind and get the pin to win the Extreme Title! After the match Kojima yelled at Akiyama, telling him to stop treating people like toys and how Katsumata has always treated him as a friend. His comments got Akiyama to go to management and demand a singles match with him somewhere down the line. Meanwhile Katsumata wants to take the Extreme Title and KO-D Tag Team Titles with MAO worldwide. He also wants to turn the belt strap back from white to purple but that might take some time.

DDT’s young portion of their roster was put on display for Match #6. Yuki Ueno teamed up with Yuni originally expecting to face some international competition. However visa issues prevented Nick Wayne from being able to travel to Japan so Takeshi Masada instead had to team with Vent Vert Jack from Yokohama’s MY WAY promotion. It was the first time Yuni and Jack were in the ring together since the end of the DDTeeeen!! project. Yuni pulled out a Firebird Splash on Masada to give Ueno a nearfall. Jack tried to keep breaking the pins but Ueno scored the win in the end by giving Masada the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher. Ueno said everyone in the match was amazing and makes him wonder how good he himself will be when Wayne does finally come to DDT? His upcoming singles match with HUB is giving him an explosion of motivation and he wants to also face Wayne in a singles match. Yuni also threw his name into the hat to have a match with Wayne. Jack said he would like to come back to DDT for more matches with Yuni and Ilusion. Masada said he was able to see the difference in his career to those of Yuni and Jack. He’s older than both of them but they have far more experience than he does. He sees he has to catch up to them first before he can catch up to Ueno.

The pro wrestling debut of Chiitan saw the mascot get outclassed by its opponents at first. But Toru Owashi & Akito were there to provide backup against CDK & Antonio Honda. Chiitan got into a punch exchange with Chris Brookes until Honda paused the match to give his latest Gongitsune joke. When the match resumed Brookes set Chiitan up for the Praying Mantis Bomb when music suddenly began to play. DDT’s own oversized mascot Pokotan ran down to the ring to the rescue! It instead got attacked and had its head stomped in by Brookes. But unknown to him, Chiitan had climbed the top rope and went on to hit a Diving Cross Body onto Brookes, Honda & Masahiro Takanashi. With the ring cleared, Chiitan then hit the Shining Wizard on Honda to win the match.

The two mascots gathered together afterwards and seemed to be on the same page. Until suddenly Chiitan attacked Pokotan with a baseball bat! The two got into a brawl that Akito tried to break up. Things briefly calmed down long enough for Akito to announce Chiitan and Pokotan will have a match against each other on 13th May but that just caused the mascots to get into another fight. Backstage Akito tried to explain what was going on to the reporters. Pokotan thinks he is DDT’s No. 1 mascot while Chiitan thinks it is Japan’s No. 1 mascot. The two are now determined to end each other!

The long awaited MMA fight between Dance and Kickboxing only lasted 7 seconds when Hikaru Machida immediately knocked out Kazuki Hirata. One person in particular took more offence to the result than anyone else in the building. The round girl Sayuri Namba was furious! She didn’t put all this effort into becoming a round girl again only to see she wasn’t needed. She even handmade her own costume for the match! She took her anger out on Hirata, Machida and the ref Matsui by slapping them all to the canvas. Everyone agreed to restart the match to further avoid her wrath. Namba became a lot more cheerful now she was able to do her job.

In the 3rd Round, Hirata feared he was about to get knocked out again so he got on the microphone and read a letter he wrote about wanting to put smiles on children’s faces. He thinks Machida’s own child would have the biggest smile if Hirata and Machida danced together. In the 4th Round Machida held back his Iai Punch and tearfully told Hirata he will always be a father before a fighter. The two danced to Hirata’s music but Hirata then cradled Machida for a nearfall. Machida hit the Iai Punch but that also got a two count. Hirata then locked in the Miracle One Shot Cradle from out of nowhere to take the win. Namba raised both of their hands and the three of them all danced to close out the match. Backstage Machida said this was the first time he ever lost a fight because his opponent exploited his love for his son. He also never danced in front of so many people before. His cornerman Thanomsak Toba told him that this is pro wrestling and everything is a learning experience. Namba said she would love to do more round girl work but only if the fighters are stronger so the audience can enjoy the fight more.

Diego’s first match with DDT in six years came about when Keigo Nakamura got injured. Diego was already in Japan and had attended a DDT show as Katsumata’s guest so when a spot on this show opened up it was only natural to bring him in. Unfortunately DAMNATION T.A spoiled his return and left him with a loss on his record. Daisuke Sasaki gave him a Low Blow, Minoru Fujita followed up with the Sayonara Tombstone and Sasaki landed a Diving Elbow. Diego kicked out of the pin but was put into the Crossface Lock for the submission ending. Soma Takao & Yusuke Okada still thanked Diego for joining their team on short notice. Sasaki complained about Diego coming back and demanded to fight him one on one in Diego’s home country of Chile. The flights are expensive though so he wants Diego to pay for it.

Rayne Leverkusen’s goal to “Make It Rayne” in Japan was taken down a notch after she lost to Saki Akai. She tried using a Rolling Elbow, German Suplex and Spinebuster to win. Akai fired back with a High Kick, the Rookie Award and then the Quetzalcoatl to get her hand raised in the end. For Akai she didn’t take it for granted that she got a singles match on one of DDT’s big shows of the year. She could tell that Rayne only has a year and a half of experience. She also doesn’t know anything about Iron Maiden so she was able to treat Leverkusen as an opponent and nothing else. Leverkusen said she respects Akai and she also won’t run away whenever her opponents brings up her family’s fame. She will continue to wrestle for her family and is proud to get a big singles match in Japan today. She wants to come back and if she is still a champion when she does, she thinks she will have to give Akai a title match.

The opening match ended with Yuya Koroku cutting off Kazuma Sumi’s Lionsault and then submitting him with the Triangle Lancer. However Koroku is not satisfied with that after failing to win the D GENERATIONS CUP and failing to qualify for King Of DDT. He wants to get even stronger so he can move out of the opening match spot as soon as possible. Munetatsu Nakamura from Ganbare☆Pro was happy to be on the winning team and hopes the next time he comes to DDT he will get to team with Keigo Nakamura as was originally planned. This was the fourth time Kojima & Sumi teamed up together. Kojima figures he has to protect Sumi even more after today’s loss. Sumi meanwhile is getting frustrated because he cannot figure out how to break out of Koroku’s Triangle Lancer.

Most of Pheromones were banished to the pre-show to take part in three dark matches. They pulled out a 2-1 score against a trio of rookies in singles matches. First, Yumehito Imanari beat Rukiya by using the Lariat and then the Tiger Driver. Then there was an upset when Ilusion defeated Danshoku Dieno! Ilusion got unmasked by Dieno during the match but the other rookies had the bright idea to place Dieno’s discarded tights over his head as a replacement. Ilusion then caught Dieno with a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch Hold to get the surprise three count and even the score. The third match was the decider with Yuki Ishida facing Koju Takeda. Ishida using an Emerald Flowsion for a nearfall and went for the Flame Palm. But Takeda countered it with his Shining Katame submission to make Pheromones win the series. Dieno used the result to declare today was going to be Pheromones Day!

A few guest names were announced for “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2023” on 23rd July. First, Andreza Giant Panda will be coming back to DDT. The other was a person that nobody would have predicted, a wrestler by the name of Yoshitomo Shimohigashi. He is considered the first graduate of the Ibushi Wrestling Institute, having debuted in wrestling back in 2018. He also has an athletic background in bowling. Given his connection to Kota Ibushi, Shimohigashi is nicknamed “Golden Stardust” and he now carries on Kota Ibushi’s lineage in pro wrestling. Akito explained he has a hand in the Institute as an advisor and that even though Shimohigashi is unknown to the vast majority of wrestling fans, he is well known within the wrestling industry. Shimohigashi told the fans he wants to make an explosion inside the very ring that Ibushi created.

DDT will go to Sumo Hall for a second time this year on 12th November for “ULTIMATE PARTY 2023”.

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Posted by JamieOD

Hot Shirt Coming Through, Janela’s Violent Vacation, BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA All Month

April 4, 2023

A few things I want to mention before going into the updates. First, I was a guest on Alan4L’s ProWres Paradise over at PWTorch this week. The show is behind their VIP subscription and it is the latest episode in Alan’s “30 4L 30” series that is dedicated to talking about significant wrestling careers over the last 30 years. What if I told you our subject was the life and times of Kota Ibushi? We cover everything from his DDT days right up to his comeback in GCW last weekend with some extra trivia in between. I even try to clear up some misconceptions about his life that people have wondered about the last few years (mainly I really doubt he comes from a rich family). So for any PWTorch subscribers reading this, you can go listen to the episode here.

(Also fun little note, while we were recording this the news of WWE’s business merger with UFC broke online. However we did not find out about it until after we finished recording. Talking about Ibushi for 150 minutes needed the absolute focus he deserves, you know.)

Second, I will be going on holiday to Canada soon and will be away for two weeks. There will be a news post on Thursday before I go. I’m bringing my laptop so if I comfortably have the time to posts results, news and other stuff I will do so. Otherwise things might be kept to the Twitter account while I’m busy going on a loop around all the different Toronto sports teams. I have tickets for the the Impact PPV happening there too so I get to add Canada to the list of countries I’ve seen wrestling in.

And lastly, speaking of travelling. It looks like most of the DDT wrestlers have returned safely to Japan. Daisuke Sasaki took a detour to Texas though where he wrestled and hung out with Sam Adonis & Hernandez. I’ll find out more for the next DDT Around The World article. The Tokyo Joshi Pro roster though had their flight cancelled and their tweets suggest they are waiting a long time at the airport for the next plane ride home.

Now onto the news.

DDT “APRIL FOOL 2023”, 09/04/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. MJ Paul & KANON Vs Antonio Honda & Kazuma Sumi
2. Rukiya Debut Match: Yuya Koroku Vs Rukiya
3. Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Gota Ihashi Vs Akito, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Toy Kojima
4. Harimao Vs Eruption!: Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani
5. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Yuni
6. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada Vs Naruki Doi, Chris Brookes, Joey Janela & Takeshi Masada
7. WORLD HINO CLASSIC ~Finals~: Yuji Hino, “brother” YASSHI & Makoto Oishi Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura

An unusual training practice was held by HARASHIMA for Keigo Nakamura during the week. A pot of boiling water was in the room and HARASHIMA left a shirt to soak inside it. He instructed Nakamura to put the boiling hot shirt on as fast as he can. If he succeeded then he will be prepared to handle ShunMao’s sauna heat. Nakamura understood and was able to put the shirt on despite scalding himself. He then told HARASHIMA it was his turn to do it next but HARASHIMA said he came here to train, not put on a shirt! They went on to complete their practice session as normal.

Gota Ihashi replaces the injured Yukio Naya in Match #3. If I were DISASTER BOX I’d be asking if there’s another replacement available.

The trainee Rukiya Ikeda has decided on his official ring name. He will officially be simply known as Rukiya when he has his debut match.

DDT “MAX BUMP 2023 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 15/04/2023
Shinjuku FACE

1. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Yuni
2. Elimination 8-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima
3. Falls Count Anywhere Scramble Bunkhouse Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Death Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Joey Janela & Takeshi Masada Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Antonio Honda & Hideki Okatani

A busy weekend awaits for Joey Janela when he comes back to Japan. His first match back in the country for DDT will be a Scramble Bunkhouse Street Fight. The match is happening to prepare Janela, Sanshiro Takagi & Takeshi Masada for the Current Blast Death Match they are having against Atsushi Onita the following day. Since the first match is going to be a Street Fight, every wrestler has been told to go find an outfit different from their wrestling gear to fight in.

A lot of BURNING versus The 37KAMIINA matches to look forward to this month. It kicks off with a big Elimination Tag Match between the two groups.

Yuni’s wrestling career hasn’t been around for long but in the days before he became El Unicorn he already developed a rivalry with Kazuki Hirata. That rivalry is now being brought back for the next chapter of Yuni’s career.

DDT “MAX BUMP 2023 TOUR IN FUKUOKA”, 22/04/2023
Fukuoka Kasuga General Sports Center

1. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima

More clashes between the two units. These are being done to promote the upcoming DDT Universal and DDT Extreme Title matches. Yuki Ueno will be missing this show due to the stage show he’s a part of.

Azul Dragon and Rayne Leverkusen will both be on the show.

DDT “MAX BUMP 2023 TOUR IN OSAKA”, 29/04/2023
Osaka 176BOX

1. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuya Koroku Vs MAO & Yuki Ueno

Dragon and Leverkusen will also be on this show along with Naruki Doi and an Osaka masked wrestler called Tsutenkakka. He is named after the local Tsutenkaku Tower and is apparantely authorised by the tower’s management to fight on behalf of the landmark. He was part of the No Fee Rumble DDT held back in February.

DDT “MAX BUMP 2023 TOUR IN HAMAMATSU”, 30/04/2023
Shizuoka Create Hamamatsu Hall

1. Hamamatsu Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hiroshi Yamato Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Chris Brookes & Yuki Ishida

Leverkusen will be on the show along with Mari Manji from Yanagase Pro Wrestling. She was originally from PURE-J.

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Posted by JamieOD

DramaticDDT’s Predictions For 2023

December 24, 2022

Merry Christmas to you all! There are a lot of things I’m not good at. Making predictions for pro wrestling is one of them. It’s what happens when the crystal ball I look through was bought in Lidl. But I like doing it anyway. The Christmas and New Year period is very busy for covering pro wrestling so I never really have the time to do something like this in previous years. To solve that problem I’ve been jotting down predictions in my free time this month so I could finally put out the article. I came up with 20 predictions for 2023 spread across four categories. Five for DDT, five for Tokyo Joshi Pro, five for Ganbare☆Pro and five guesses for anything even slightly related to DDT or CyberFight. I’m also listing them in order from easy to hard, likely to unlikely, mild to spicy, etc. Some are guesses based on past booking patterns, going with gut feelings, going the opposite of gut feelings and in some places just straight up fantasy booking. None of these are hints or teases of the little inside info I do know about. Will any of them come true? Nah, probably not. But let’s take a stab at it anyway?

DDT


– Brass Monkey, That Funky Monkey
Prediction: Mike Bailey wrestles a match in DDT again.

My evidence supporting this prediction is Mike Bailey’s profile on the DDT roster page is still there. They never took him off the website even though he hasn’t wrestled for the company since April 2020. The man has had a well deserved breakout year in America for 2022 splitting his time between Impact and the indies. I bet he’ll be in the area when DDT are doing their Hollywood shows in April. Also if he has the time to come back to Japan, I think it will be for DDT over anywhere else. There’s a whole new class of guys for him to kick the crap out of. Also a Moonlight Express reunion would be sweet.


– Have A Drink And Watch The Die Get Cast
Prediction: KANON outperforms Daisuke Sasaki.

The top prospect from JTO jumped to DDT back in April and has been all in with the company ever since. KANON was rewarded pretty quickly by being added to DAMNATION T.A while Minoru Fujita was out with injury. He had a rough go at the tournaments though, getting eliminated in the King Of DDT 1st Round and only winning one match in the D-Ou Grand Prix. But I’ve been impressed with his work and he is often the one who picks up the wins in DAMNATION T.A tag matches. I think he performs way better in 2023 and racks up a few achievements. In fact, I think he will achieve more in the next 12 months than his leader Daisuke Sasaki will! I’m talking the number of title matches he gets, the better performances he puts in tournaments and a higher amount of significant singles victories. KANON is going to claim some scalps this year that will leave Sasaki looking jealous. That’s if Sasaki is sober enough to register what’s going on.


– 365 Degrees, Burning Down The House
Prediction: Yuya Koroku becomes the next wrestler from DDT’s new generation (debuted 2020 onwards) to win a championship.

The first draft of this was slightly different. I had Yuya Koroku down as the first new gen wrestler to win any championship. Then I remembered Toi Kojima is currently one of the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Champions and Hideki Okatani once held the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title a year ago. Oh and Keigo Nakamura held both if he counts (debuted 2019 before the pandemic so eh?). As a result this prediction isn’t turning out as sharp as I thought it would be. But I’m sticking with the general idea. There’s a new wave of fresh blood coming into DDT and the highlight for me so far was Koroku and Kojima’s rivalry found within the BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA tag matches. Eyes will be on Yuki Ishida for becoming a bigger part of a diminished Harimao out of necessity, Takeshi Masada as the hot prospect and Kazuma Sumi for his athleticism. There’s still three more trainees yet to debut plus the short term future of El Unicorn and Ilusion is currently unknown. With that said Koroku has the advantage of seniority over most of the other rookies to make this prediction come true. Even if it’s just as the third man holding the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles, I think Koroku has the best odds of getting belted up next year.


– Where’s Your Head At, At?
Prediction: Tetsuya Endo struggles to reclaim the top position in DDT.

This is a cruel one. Tetsuya Endo had everything in place before the summer to finally be the flag bearer for DDT. Then Katsuhiko Nakajima knocked him out and left him concussed, taking all of that away. I wouldn’t say he is a shadow of his former self since coming back but a bit of shine has disappeared in him becoming the leading man again. He has given himself a new goal of winning all of the singles championships. That’s going to be a long journey if it does work out that way. For 2023 I do not see Endo winning back the KO-D Openweight Title and I don’t think he will win any of the singles tournaments. The DDT Universal Title and DDT Extreme Title can be in his grasp but neither of them will bring him back to the number one main eventer spot in the next 12 months. To take a positive stance for this, think of 2023 as his rebuilding year for 2024. He’s already spent the last few months bulking up to become more a bigger heavyweight. Maybe the key to getting over this will be to confront his demon at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2023”…


– Loan Me A Dragon, I Wanna See Space
Prediction: Dramatic Dream Gate is revived.

Remember this unholy alliance? There were three occasions when DDT and Dragongate worked together and promoted shows under the name Dramatic Dream Gate. Once in 2007, again in 2008 and the final one taking place in 2012. Then the relationship between the two companies went icy for a long time after that. Things began to defrost a few years ago thanks to Toru Owashi getting DG bookings and in return bringing one of their wrestlers from his generation over whenever DDT goes to Kobe or Nagano. Now that Naruki Doi is bouncing back and forth between the two companies as a freelancer without pissing anybody off I’d like to think everyone’s now cool with each other. What a way to show it by bringing DDG back for another show! It would be worth it just to see Kazuki Hirata do his Magnum Tokyo parody in front of all the DG wrestlers who weren’t even born when the gimmick first existed. I know, I know, DG currently has a working relationship with NOAH. They’re probably all CyberFight’d out at this point. Doesn’t matter, DDT will continue taking their dojo dropouts anyway…

Tokyo Joshi Pro


– It Ain’t My Fault That I’m Out Here Making News
Prediction: 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.

It’s kind of a running joke at this point. Actwres girl’Z constantly turn dozens of idols into newly trained joshi at a time then whoever emerges as top of the class ends up leaving them for greener pastures. It’s probably one of the more successful development programs in modern pro wrestling when you think about it. AWG’s lossese end up being another company’s gain and TJPW are usually in that group. Yuna Manase, Natsupoi and Nao Kakuta all came from there. Even just recently we have HIMAWARI pulling off a speed run in how to go from AWG to TJPW in record time. I think it’s only going to increase from here. My prediction is not one, not two but three joshi who were associated with AWG at some point in their lives will appear on TJPW shows throughout 2023. I’m giving myself a little bit of rope here because I am not saying they will all be full time roster additions. Somebody like Saori Anou or Miyuki Takase having one or two guest matches like SAKI did this year would count towards this. But yeah, I can at least guarantee there will definitely be one woman on the active AWG roster who will be showing up at Korakuen Hall wearing a TJPW shirt in the next 12 months.


– Pull Up With A Zelda And A Peach And A Daisy
Prediction: An outsider wins the Princess Of Princess Title

In the almost seven years the Princess Of Princess Title has been around its lineage has belonged entirely to the TJPW roster. In Japan it’s rare for a men’s company to have their main championship stay within their walls for this long but in joshi it’s a little more common. However the scene opened up again to the rest of the world this year and there is a wave of new faces we can all look forward to seeing. The risk is they have their eyes on the gold just as much as the regulars do. I think the time has come for somebody outside of TJPW to become the Princess Champion. Whether they are a Japanese freelancer, an invader fans associate with another company or somebody from overseas I bet the top prize will be taken by an outside force sometime in 2023.


– It’s All Around The World, Just La La La La La
Prediction: Maki Itoh gets to No. 1 on a iTunes or Spotify chart somewhere in the world.

Hikari Noa unexpectedly showing up in the Canadian iTunes J-Pop chart at the end of November inspired this one. Some domino is going to fall that will kickstart a chain reaction resulting in Maki Itoh’s music going viral and being discovered by a new audience. She ends up getting a song to No. 1 on one of the digital music services. It doesn’t matter how obscure this gets. It could be No. 1 in Zimbabwe’s chart for the Chamber Psych genre due to input error for all I care.


– Once I Ran To You, Now I Run From You
Prediction: A woman from Sakisama’s past comes back to haunt her.

It is inevitable that NEO Biishiki-gun will come back to terrorize TJPW again. They always do. Sakisama will return to grace TJPW fans with her glamourous presence while rubbing it in about how perfect she is. She makes it look easy. There has to be a reason for that, right? You don’t become that much of a narcissist without having something, or someone, that’s been out of your reach for your entire life. Like a rival perhaps? That one person who no matter how good you are at something, they are always better. Like what if there was somebody in Sakisama’s life who always stole her thunder whether it was in their private classes, on the badminton court or even at an extravagant gala? What if that woman with a familiar looking face from somewhere else suddenly shows up in TJPW and begins to waltz through the roster, tempting NEO Biishiki-gun away from their leader in the process. What if Sakisama finds herself in a position she has never experienced before, becoming the underdog? It would be a big change of pace for the gimmick that’s for sure.


– Cause A Girl Gonna Push It All Out The Way
Prediction: Sasha Banks appears at Grand Princess ’23.

Am I being cheeky with this one? I dunno, something about the Sasha Banks odyssey still sounds kind of murky to me. I don’t think somebody with her leverage is going to settle down with a contract to just one corporation again. I believe she’s aligning with New Japan/Stardom no doubt about that. But why stop there? Something tells me she isn’t going to be exclusive to them in Japan. Not with the people she’s been meeting and spending time with these last few months. TJPW needs something massive if they want to fill up Ariake Colosseum on 18th March. They won’t be doing that by keeping to themselves. Aim big, play big, win big.

Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling


– I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends
Prediction: Some of the wrestlers Shota worked with in America get booked for Ganpro.

Shota accomplished a lot during his three month stay in America. Among the most important during his excursion was connections. He made friends, met new people and whether intentional or not scouted talent. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see some of the people he wrestled across the United States get invited over to Ganpro in the coming year. The likes of Ryan Davidson and Phil Shark have been to Japan before but could we see a wrestler like Clay Roberts or Aaron Mercer get the chance to come over thanks to their links with Shota?


– All The Way (Keep Going, You Got This)
Prediction: Keisuke Ishii wins the Spirit Of Ganbare Title.

Ganpro has been a good home for Keisuke Ishii ever since he came over from DDT in 2018. Maybe it’s because he’s in a smaller pond but he’s been able to stay more consistent up the top of the card. 2023 will be the right time for Ganpro’s resident “Puwota” to challenge for the Spirit Of Ganbare Title and win it. I’m not confident he will be the man to dethrone Hartley Jackson but if Mizuki Watase or Ken Ohka can’t do it, it may have to come down to him anyway.


– Swing Your Partner ‘Round And ‘Round
Prediction: Ganpro creates a tag team championship and builds it around mixed tag wrestling.

This should have been done when they held the Mixed Tag Tournament in 2021! At the moment the Spirit Of Ganbare Title is the only championship being defended in the promotion. Tag Team Titles should be next on the list for Ganpro to grow into a bigger company. They regularly book mixed tag matches anyway and it would be a good way to differentiate the belts from other company’s tag titles. I’m not even calling for it to be a mandatory rule, just have most of the teams competing in title matches be mixed gender.


– Sunshine, Lollipops And Rainbows
Prediction: Ganbare☆Joshi runs their own show in Korakuen Hall.

The Ganbare☆Joshi division took a step back in 2022. Gone were the Ganpro doubleheaders with GanJo running the afternoon shows. It would be nice if they came back with a vengeance in 2023. Not only could they promote their own shows again but they should take a shot at the big time by having an event at Korakuen! It would be a challenge. Maybe Yuna Manase calls in some favors from Ice Ribbon and Gatoh Move or picks a fight with Prominence to build up a headline match. Moeka Haruhi has worked hard all year too so she deserves a spotlight like this too.


– Shine On You Crazy Diamond
Prediction: Kota Ibushi wrestles a match in Ganpro.

The aftermath of what happens in January could be either a rising flame of a phoenix or an absolute trash fire. There is plenty of gossip online about Kota Ibushi being done completely with New Japan when his contract is allegedly expected to expire during the month. So if he is going to become a free agent you’d think there will be a lot of suitors out there looking for his services. That might not happen if the guy decides to let loose and produce an exposé on his time with NJPW. If he instead behaves and decide against that then there should be nothing to be worried about, right? Hmmm, can’t be too sure on that one. Ibushi made it clear on Twitter he has no interest in ever going back to DDT. He also sounds bullish about doing work with NOAH when rumours of that surfaced online. Money doesn’t sound like it’s a big motivation for his future plans. If that’s true then wouldn’t a place like Ganpro be more his vibe? It’s where you can wrestle with your heart on your sleeve and a fire in your belly. It would be a wild move to see Ibushi do one match in Korakuen for Ganpro while he is sorting out the Ibushi Wrestling Institute or whatever crazy project he’s been thinking about during his time away from the ring.

Miscellaneous


– You Know That I Would Love To See You Next Year, I Hope That I Am Still Alive Next Year
Prediction: Gake no Fuchi Joshi crosses over with Baka Gaijin + Friends.

It’s been a while since we last heard from Gake no Fuchi Joshi. Seems like Miyako Matsumoto has moved on to other priorities. The spirit of insanity we see in those shows could easily fit in with the newly formed Baka Gaijin + Friends. Matsumoto’s chaotic energy is not something Chris Brookes & Drew Parker want to be responsible for but what power do they have to stop it if she ever steps foot inside one of their shows?


– Are You Ready To Meet And Defeat The Elite?
Prediction: AEW will host another event in Japan with DDT & TJPW involvement.

AEW held half of a women’s tournament in Japan during 2021 and produced exhibition matches at the Tokyo Game Show in 2022. They have it in them to do something in Japan for a third year in the row with DDT/TJPW along for the ride. I’m thinking it will be something on a similar scale as the first two events. A project separate from the TV shows and instead taking place on Youtube. That’s if it is intended for broadcast at all. But hey, if they want to go full blown Dynamite taping in Korakuen Hall with Konosuke Takeshita in a title match I’ll take that any day of the week.


– Back To The Family, I Guarantee Emergency
Prediction: CyberFight adds another promotion to their portfolio.

CyberFight’s recent financial losses don’t concern me. In fact I think they’re due for a slight expansion and will add a fifth wrestling promotion to their collection. In past interviews Sanshiro Takagi talked about ideas to launch a new death match group or present another joshi company separate from TJPW. If this happens it can be something brand new or maybe there’s going to be a smaller company that’s finally at the end of their rope and needs to be sold to survive. The recent power shift in WWE kind of winds the clock back to 2019 with their desire to launch spin-offs around the world returning to the surface. The last attempt at that resulted in Stardom selling to Bushiroad and NOAH selling to CyberFight. I could see a repeat happening with another company if WWE wants to go shopping in Japan again. But that’s the cynical prediction. CyberFight might create something brand new to fill in a gap that none of their existing properties can reach. Like what if a certain star who has crazy ideas for his own wrestling company strikes a deal with CyberFight to make it a reality in return for making a few dates with the other promotions? What a golden scenario that would be.


– Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, When I Was Dead Broke, Man I Couldn’t Picture This
Prediction: A brand new puroresu console game gets announced.

Come on, what’s the freaking hold up? I love Fire Pro Wrestling World but I have squeezed every last drop of blood out of that stone. Time for something new. I think this prediction is possible but it all hangs on whether or not AEW: Fight Forever becomes a success. I’m really looking forward to that game and you all know the first thing I’m going to do is pick Yuka Sakazaki but I still have my worries it will turn out to be a bumpy AA title at launch. If it does take off then my hope is for Yuke’s re-using the assets to make a Japan only wrestling game get one step closer to coming true. One where they strike a deal with Bushiroad or CyberFight (or hopefully both). For this prediction Fight Forever releasing “Forbidden Door” DLC doesn’t count, Makoto being added to The Wrestling Code doesn’t count and phone games do not count. I am looking for a full fledged console game here. If it works on the Steam Deck then that would be cool too.


– Same As It Ever Was
Prediction: BASARA does something new and different.

Please? Things have been stale with BASARA for a long time. Even the summer series with Dove Pro I always look forward too is the same old stuff. Probably harsh of me to say that because I hear they are more or less happy with the way things are. They have their regular schedule with their regular crowd always showing up. Sometimes that’s all you need to keep a good thing going. I still wish they showed more ambition though.

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Video – Kota Ibushi Vs Michael Nakazawa From 2014

March 19, 2022

DDT “TENKSANBU NO KEI”, 14/12/2014
Hakata Star Lanes
503 Fans – Super No Vacancy

Michael Nakazawa Holiday Countdown 2 – Farewell Formidable Enemy! Nakazawa’s Unexpected Retreat! Flattery Unexpected! Reflection Unexpected!: Kota Ibushi Vs Michael Nakazawa

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Video – Sumo Hall Falls Count Anywhere Match From “JUDGEMENT 2016”

February 21, 2022

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2016 ~DDT 19th ANNIVERSARY~”, 21/03/2016
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
6,938 Fans – No Vacancy

Kota Ibushi Comeback & Ibushi Wrestling Institute 1st Leg – East & West Toward The Front Over The Entire Surface Falls Count Anywhere Weapon Treasure Hunt Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Kasai Vs KENSO & Michael Nakazawa Vs Kota Ibushi & Gota Ihashi

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Video – Factory Pro Wrestling From 2013

February 14, 2022

DDT “ROJO PRO WRESTLING IN MIYAJI IRONWORKS”, 29/05/2013
Tokyo Miyaji Ironworks
146 Fans – Overcrowded

2 Vs 2 Vs 3 Handicap Falls Count Anywhere Match: Kazuyoshi Sakai, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Kota Ibushi Vs Michael Nakazawa & Hiroshi Fukuda

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Video – Aomori Rock Wrestling Festival

October 13, 2021

DDT “AOMORI ROCK FESTIVAL WRESTLING” Results, 22/09/2012
Yogoshiyama Ski Resort
??? Fans

Kota Ibushi, KUDO & Makoto Oishi Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Antonio Honda & Michael Nakazawa

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Video – Nobunaga’s Ambition Sengoku Warlords Match

October 8, 2021

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2017 ~ DDT 20TH ANNIVERSARY BOX OFFICE”, 20/03/2017
Saitama Super Arena
10,702 Fans – Super No Vacancy

Kou Shibusawa 35th Anniversary “Nobunaga’s Ambition ~Our Warring States~” Sengoku Warlords Match: Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Sanshiro Takagi), Shingen Takeda (Keiji Muto) & Yukimura Sanada (Isami Kodaka) (w/ Matsu-hime (Kimika Tokuta)) Vs Katsuie Shibata (Daisuke Sekimoto), Kenshin Uesugi (Jun Akiyama) & Nobunaga Oda (Kota Ibushi) (w/ Oichi (Mai Iriya))

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