Updates From Across Golden Week 2026

May 7, 2026

NOAH “LINE YAHOO PRESENTS SPRING MAYHEM RYOGOKU 2026”, 02/05/2026
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
4,539 Fans

1. KENTA, Tetsuya Endo & HAYATA defeated Mohammed Yone, Kazuyuki Fujita & Daiki Odashima when KENTA pinned Odashima with the Go 2 Sleep (8:38).
3. 6-Man Tag 3 Way Match: Manabu Soya, Saxon Huxley & Yuki Iino defeated Kaito Kiyomiya, Harutoki & Alejandro and Masa Kitamiya, Takashi Sugiura & Tadasuke when Soya pinned Alejandro with the Passion IS (5:32).

The unit now known as Passion RATEL’S has hit a rough patch lately with some of their members being put on the shelf. They’ve been reduced to just two men but Manabu Soya claimed to have found a new member, someone who is just as filled with passion as he is. The new member is Yuki Iino and he now looks identical to Soya! How the hell did Iino find an even weirder group of people to wrestle with than the Strange Love Connection?

So far this year Tetsuya Endo has been working in NOAH as part of the White Raven Sqwad. The assumption was his excursion to the company from DDT was only for 2025 but he remained in NOAH without ever giving an update. Fans didn’t have to wait much longer because Endo teased an announcement he was going to give at the next day’s show.

NJPW “NUTS RV PRESENTS WRESTLING DONTAKU 2026”, 03/05/2026
Fukuoka International Center
2,477 Fans

5. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Shota Umino defeated Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi when Umino pinned Takahashi with the Second Chapter (11:43).

Over in New Japan the time has come for Konosuke Takeshita to start making new alliances. He recently fought Shota Umino to a draw over the NJPW World TV Title so there was some clear unfinished business for them to get to. They teamed up on night one of “WRESTLING DONTAKU 2026” and while they won the match, Takeshita rejected Umino’s handshake offer afterwards.

NOAH “AFTER MAYHEM 2026”, 03/05/2026
Shinjuku FACE
468 Fans – Super No Vacancy

5. Manabu Soya & Yuki Iino defeated Atsushi Kotoga & Hi69 when Soya pinned Hi69 with the Passion IS (3:56).
8. KENTA & Tetsuya Endo defeated Shane Haste & HAYATA when Endo pinned HAYATA with the Shooting Star Press (18:42).

Endo gave his announcement the next day. He is not leaving DDT to fully join NOAH but he is not about to go back to his home promotion anytime soon either. Endo wants to leave his mark in NOAH by winning as many of their championships and tournaments as he can so his name will be etched into the history of the GHC Championships. He will not return to DDT until he achieves the results that he wants!

NJPW “NUTS RV PRESENTS WRESTLING DONTAKU 2026”, 04/05/2026
Fukuoka International Center
3,603 Fans – No Vacancy

1. NJPW World TV Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) defeated Chase Owens with the Raging Fire (11:32).
*V3 for KONOSUKE TAKESHITA.

Back in New Japan, Takeshita successfully defended the NJPW World TV Title against Chase Owens, surviving a C-Trigger that probably made someone’s life flash before their eyes and having Umino plus others come out to help him fight off the House Of Torture. A masked man attacked Takeshita after the match and revealed himself to be SANADA returning from injury. Takeshita is willing to defend the TV Title against him since he thinks SANADA must by dying to fight him. He then met with several wrestlers from the Hontai unit and asked if he could fight alongside them from now on. Umino said he does not intend to become friends with Takeshita because they are rivals but since Takeshita is choosing to be with New Japan, he is happy to welcome him into the unit.

NOAH “LEGACY RISE 2026”, 05/05/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,302 Fans – Super No Vacancy

3. Manabu Soya, Yuki Iino, Daiki Odashima & Super Crazy defeated Kazuyuki Fujita, Mohammed Yone, Atsushi Kotoge & Hajime Ohara when Soya pinned Ohara with the Passion IS (8:32).
5. Shane Haste & Tetsuya Endo defeated KENTA & Katsumi Inahata when Haste pinned Inahata with a Lariat (10:51).

Soya & Iino are quickly proving how much “Passion~!” they have together as a team. They are also currently sharing only one brain cell between them. I can’t argue with the results so far.

MARVELOUS “10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION”, 05/05/2026
Kanagawa Yokohama BUNTAI
3,492 Fans

3. Miyu Yamashita defeated Senka Akatsuki with the Skull Kick (10:14).

We end with a sight of something that is very rare. Miyu Yamashita wrestling in another joshi company! She will wrestle for women’s companies all across the world but when it comes to Japan, it’s Tokyo Joshi Pro or bust for her. However she had a noteworthy appearance in Marvelous for their big 10th Anniversary show, taking on the promotion’s next big hope Senka Akatsuki. To say she was impressed with her opponent was an understatement. She loved fighting Akatsuki! She’s somebody almost custom built in a lab to take Yamashita’s kicks and keep on fighting. The match ended up meaning so much that Yamashita instinctively shook Akatsuki with her left hand instead of her right. There are different meanings to that (longtime readers of this blog may remember Shigehiro Irie doing this because your left hand is closer to your heart) but Yamashita thinks it represents the start of a new rivalry.


Video – DDT Vs Kongo From “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2021”

March 6, 2026


“CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2021”, 06/06/2021
Saitama Super Arena
4,800 Fans – Super No Vacancy

8. DDT Vs Kongo Full Scale 12-Man Tag Team Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Akito, Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yukio Naya Vs Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Manabu Soya, Haoh, Nioh & Tadasuke


Endo’s N1 Adventure

September 24, 2025

Okay Tetsuya Endo now it’s your turn. As part of Endo’s year long stay with NOAH he decided to take part in their annual tournament the N1 Victory. The reason is this tournament was going to be his restart point to get revenge, not just on TEAM 2000X but to give more life back to the step-sibling rivalry between NOAH and DDT. There is also the need for him to catch up with Konosuke Takeshita after his career long rival won the G1 Climax in New Japan. Only makes sense for him to match that by winning NOAH’s premier round robin tournament. He was thrown into the A Block to compete against foes old and new with plenty of potential scalps to claim along the way.

Block A

1. Masa Kitamiya (10)
2. KENTA (8)
-. Kazuyuki Fujita (8)
-. Kaito Kiyomiya (8)
-. Tetsuya Endo (8)
6. Manabu Soya (6)
7. Ulka Sasaki (4)
8. Daga (4)


NOAH “ABEMA PRESENTS N1 VICTORY”, 08/09/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,548 Fans

1. N1 Victory 2025 – A Block: Daga (2) defeated Tetsuya Endo (0) with a Jackknife Pin (10:26).

The start did not go Endo’s way as he lost to Team 2000X member Daga in the very first match of the N1. It was a bit embarrassing because before the tournament Endo said Daga had turned from a lion into a cat from staying in TEAM 2000X. Endo used the Exploder Suplex to put Daga in position for the Burning Star Press but Daga dodged the finisher. He took over and tried to apply the Diablo Wings but Endo avoided it. From there Daga went for different pinning combinations until he finally landed on a Jackknife Pin to get the three count on a surprised Endo. He tried to cover for it by saying he doesn’t mind making a sacrifice or two in order to win the N1.


NOAH “ABEMA PRESENTS N1 VICTORY”, 11/09/2025
Okayama Convention Center
420 Fans

5. N1 Victory 2025 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (2) defeated Ulka Sasaki (0) with the Modified Shooting Star Press (10:30).

Things quickly turned around for Endo starting with the second show of the tour. He already had countermeasures ready for Ulka Sasaki based on the brief time they previously had from wrestling each other. Both of them needed a win and Endo came up on top by using a Corkscrew Shooting Star Press. He told reporters afterward he originally wanted to use the move on OZAWA but he had to pull out with an injury from the first show, so Endo used it here.


NOAH “ABEMA PRESENTS N1 VICTORY”, 14/09/2025
Acros Fukuoka Event Hall
621 Fans

6. N1 Victory 2025 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (4) defeated Manabu Soya (2) with the Modified Shooting Star Press (12:45).

Endo wasn’t scheduled for the third show so he got a little bit of a breather before returning to face Manabu Soya next. He was looking forward to this because their previous matches in NOAH were filled with interference and this time it was truly going to be a one on one fight. Soya took Endo’s biggest hits and kept standing while shouting “Passion!” That was put to an end when Endo gave him the Torture Rack Bomb and then the Corkscrew Shooting Star Press for the win. Endo talked about how Soya is the one person he’s wrestled the most in NOAH and was where Endo first started his quest for revenge against the company. He won this match fair and square so all he had left to say was advice for Soya to take good care of his family.


NOAH “ABEMA PRESENTS N1 VICTORY”, 15/09/2025
Kumamoto Castle Hall Civic Hall
538 Fans

8. N1 Victory 2025 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (6) defeated Kazuyuki Fujita (8) with a Crucific Pin (7:00).

Endo’s momentum just kept on rolling and he helped blow open the race for the A Block by beating the undefeated Kazuyuki Fujita! Trying to match him in brute force was like tearing down a brick wall but he did pull out a familiar move, the God’s Right Knee from Yukio Sakaguchi! That stunned Fujita long enough for Endo to hit the Burning Star Press but Fujita kicked out of it before there was even a one count (typical, eh?)! Luckily for Endo, Fujita kept his guard down as he sat up so Endo flipped him over with a Crucifix Hold to pin him. Endo called the victory a big win for pro wrestlers and also DDT. It’s what he needs because next up he will be facing the man who is carrying NOAH on his shoulders…


NOAH “ABEMA PRESENTS N1 VICTORY”, 17/09/2025
Osaka Edion Arena #2
705 Fans

8. N1 Victory 2025 – A Block: Kaito Kiyomiya (6) defeated Tetsuya Endo (6) with the Skywalk Elbow (14:26).

This was the match that most represented DDT Vs NOAH. Kaito Kiyomiya went into the match with a chip on his shoulder. He also got more fired up when Endo used the God’s Right Knee on him and then asked if that was all that Kiyomiya had got? Kiyomiya got out of the Torture Rack Bomb and did a Tiger Driver for a nearfall. He then increased the pressure on Endo until he couldn’t kick out of the Skywalk Elbow. Kiyomiya then revealed the reason he was ticked off was because he wasn’t on the cover of the new Shukan Puroresu issue! Endo hated that he lost but he admitted he still learned a lot from Kiyomiya both from wrestling and from listening to his promos.


NOAH “ABEMA PRESENTS N1 VICTORY”, 20/09/2025
Shizuoka Act City Hamamatsu
494 Fans

5. N1 Victory 2025 – A Block: Masa Kitamiya (8) defeated Tetsuya Endo (6) by Countout (11:48).

This is where Endo’s chance of winning the A Block came to an end. Before the tournament Endo called Masa Kitamiya a copycat for joining TEAM 2000X and dying his hair black. In Endo’s mind it was proof that the unit had become oversaturated and Kitamiya wasn’t seeing the big picture. Oh how wrong he might turn out to be. The two fought out of the ring and up the aisle after Tadasuke distrated the referee. Kitamiya then gave Endo a Piledriver onto a chair and then applied the Strangle Hold γ until it was time for him to get back into the ring, leaving Endo out there to be counted out. Kitamiya mocked him after the match for losing by countout and he suggested Endo should start over in the NOAH dojo. Endo was now out of the running and I might as well say it here, “The Chairman” went on to win the whole thing!


NOAH “ABEMA PRESENTS N1 VICTORY”, 21/09/2025
Tochigi Light Cube Utsunomiya
617 Fans

9. N1 Victory 2025 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (8) defeated KENTA (8) with the Modified Shooting Star Press (15:02).

By the time the last match of the A Block took place, Endo was completely out of the running but he had a chance to play spoiler against the current GHC Heavyweight Champion. He was confident he could beat KENTA because he got seven hours of sleep during the night plus two more on the coach trip to the venue so there was no need for him to Go 2 Sleep. He got staggered badly though when KENTA blocked the Burning Star Press with his knees and then hit the Busaiku Knee Kick. However Endo lived up to his promise by avoiding the Go 2 Sleep and giving KENTA a Reverse Hurricanrana instead. He then hit the God’s Right Knee followed by the Corkscrew Shooting Star Press to end his tournament with a win over the GHC Champion! Endo thinks he hasn’t achieved enough during his stay in NOAH so far. When the N1 happens again next year he wants to be the first person to enter it!


NOAH “ABEMA PRESENTS N1 VICTORY”, 23/09/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,598 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. N1 Consolation: KENTA, Manabu Soya, Ulka Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated Galeno, Kenoh, Daiki Inaba & Ricky Knight Jr. when Soya pinned Inaba with the Death Valley Bomb (9:31).

Endo’s match on the final night of the tournament was an 8-Man Tag pitting the A Block against the B Block. He got to make fun of Daiki Inaba’s attempts at showing “Passion” and had a speedy back and forth with Ricky Knight Jr. Inaba got to take the lead of his team for a moment by sending Knight, Kenoh & Galeno on a train attack but he ended up injuring his leg from missing a Diving Body Press from the top rope. Soya picked up the pieces and pinned him with the Death Valley Bomb. Inaba then had to be stretchered out of the ring.


Endo Loses National Title In NOAH, Takeshita Defends NEVER Title In NJPW

February 12, 2025

Yesterday two of DDT’s biggest exports were both involved in title matches for different companies. Let’s see how they got on.


NOAH “STAR NAVIGATION PREMIUM ~NOAH JR. TAG LEAGUE 2025~”, 11/02/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,560 Fans – Super No Vacancy

5. GHC National Title: Manabu Soya defeated Tetsuya Endo (c) with the Dando (12:20).
*Tetsuya Endo fails in V1. Manabu Soya becomes the 15th GHC National Champion!

Well that puts a dampener of Tetsuya Endo’s heel turn. Not long after he won the GHC National Title and joined TEAM 2000X he loses it back to Manabu Soya in the rematch. In the preview matches coming up to this bout, Endo taunted Soya by telling him the result would be the same and his family would get so fed up by Soya’s failure they would abandon him! However Soya was determined to reclaim his championship even if he had to overcome a damaged elbow to do so. He also got help from the RATEL’S unit to fend off interference from TEAM 2000X. With the fight now evened out, Soya went on to beat Endo and win back the National Title.

Endo blamed the loss on the referee’s pin count but will not dwell on it for long. He is already missing the sweet voice of a NOAH championship and does not intend to return to DDT empty handed. He has long stay in NOAH ahead of him and when the time comes for him to go back home, he will bring a souvenir for DDT back with him.


NJPW “THE NEW BEGINNING IN OSAKA”, 11/02/2025
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium (Osaka Edion Arena)
5,502 Fans – Super No Vacancy

6. NEVER Openweight Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) defeated Oleg Boltin with the Raging Fire (11:33).
*V3 for KONOSUKE TAKESHITA.

Fortunes fared better for Konosuke Takeshita over in New Japan. He put the NEVER Openweight Title on the line against Oleg Boltin in a rematch from last year’s G1 Climax. This time Takeshita was able to survive the Kamikaze Drop and use a Front Neck Lock to sap the life out of his opponent. Boltin was unable to kick out of the Raging Fire after that. Backstage Takeshita said he was thankful to Boltin ever since the G1 match because losing to him only made Takeshita stronger. He looks forward to a third and final showdown to happen some day.

Takeshita quickly found out who is next to face him for the title. Ryohei Oiwa approached him after the match. He said it would be interesting to see Takeshita’s worldwide wrestling style line up against Oiwa’s Japanese only style (Oiwa famously never went on the traditional overseas excursion every young lion goes through). Takeshita warned him that a world class wrestler like himself is very strong.


Endo Wins A Championship In NOAH, Also Joins TEAM 2000X

January 11, 2025

NOAH “STAR NAVIGATION PREMIUM 2025”, 11/01/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,535 Fans – Super No Vacancy

8. GHC National Title: Tetsuya Endo defeated Manabu Soya (c) with the Burning Star Press (19:30).
*Manabu Soya fails in V6. Tetsuya Endo becomes the 14th GHC National Champion!

Well so much for entering NOAH to learn more about his BURNING roots. Tetsuya Endo instead showed that you can take him out of DAMNATION but you cannot take DAMNATION out of him! During his GHC National Title main event against the champion Manabu Soya, Endo paused on the top rope when he saw all of TEAM 2000X approach ringside. Endo went back to Soya but missed the Burning Star Press. However when Soya was on the verge of winning the match, Yoshitatsu pulled the referee out of the ring. Soya fought off several members of TEAM 2000X and Endo grabbed a nightstick from Yoshitatsu’s hands. However he then turned around and hit Soya with it! Endo then gave Soya the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb and pinned him with the Burning Star Press to become the new National Champion!

Endo told the fans he is a member of TEAM 2000X and he was never interested in the origins of BURNING. The only reason he came to NOAH is to destroy it, even if it means putting his life on the line! He explained more backstage that this was his goal from the beginning when he jumped from DDT to NOAH. It was NOAH’s style of wrestling that ruined his life so in 2025 he has come to destroy NOAH. Winning the National Title was his first step and an easy one at that. Elsewhere Jun Akiyama on Twitter said he does not care what decision Endo makes. As long as he thinks and acts for himself Akiyama will support him. He is going to tell Kenta Kobashi about it though.


Tetsuya Endo Is Spending 2025 In NOAH

January 2, 2025

NOAH “NEW YEAR REBOOT 2025”, 02/01/2025
Shinjuku FACE
480 Fans

3. Tetsuya Endo defeated Atsushi Kotoge with the Burning Star Press (14:16).

There was another Tetsuya Endo appearance in NOAH today and we all learned he is going to make many more this year. After the confrontation he had with Atsushi Kotoge in Budokan Hall yesterday, NOAH booked them in a singles match today. Endo used the Exploder Suplex and then the Torture Rack Bomb on Kotoge before finishing him off with the Burning Star Press. After the match Endo greeted the NOAH fans and explained to them the BURNING unit in DDT that connects him to Jun Akiyama and Kenta Kobashi. In order to get further in touch with the origins of BURNING, Endo has decided he will spend 2025 wrestling in NOAH!

His ultimate goal is to win the GHC Heavyweight Title but he will have his eye on winning all of the championships available to him in NOAH. He later proved this by coming out to challenge Manabu Soya for the GHC National Championship after Soya won his latest title defence. Soya scalded Endo for approaching him because Soya normally decides by himself who he wants his next challenger to be. He also does not know what BURNING means because “Passion” is more his thing. Endo later defended himself because in DDT it’s normal for wrestlers to confront champions and challenge them. You can’t get to the top by being a good boy so if Endo has to break the rules to get what he wants in NOAH then he’ll do it.

DDT later announced that Endo will be wrestling on the 3rd and 5th January shows. After that he will be taking an indefinite leave from the promotion in order to take on a regular schedule with NOAH. The way DDT talks about it sounds like it’s an idea Endo wanted to do. So I don’t know if we have a trade coming up and tomorrow somebody from NOAH will jump over to DDT.

———————————————————————–

It’s about time a move like this is happening yet I’m still surprised they’re finally going through with it. Endo has pretty much done it all in DDT across his almost 13 year career and DDT should be doing talent exchanges with NOAH through their CyberFight connection more often to freshen up both rosters. Endo already has a good link to fit him in with NOAH from the get go because of his association with Akiyama and Kobashi in recent years. Given his workout habits he will likely bounce back and forth between heavyweight and Jr. heavyweight throughout the year. While I would be thrilled to see him win a championship over there I’m not expecting him to beat Soya for the National Title. At least not the first time around. So is this it for Endo and DDT? It’s possible the indefinite absence can turn into a permanent transfer in a year or so. I’ll keep an eye on how he does over there and post about any big matches or achievements that comes his way.