TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS III”, 09/10/2022 Tokyo Dome City Hall
1. Aja Kong, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Aino & Max The Impaler
2. Mizuki Vs Hyper Misao
3. International Princess Title: Alex Windsor (c) Vs Miu Watanabe
4. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade
5. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki
The return of Alex Windsor to Japan is happening just in time because there is now a No. 1 Contender for her International Princess Title. Last week Miu Watanabe won the next title shot and will now face Windsor for the belt at “WRESTLE PRINCESS III”. Winning the title here will continue her big momentum coming out of the summer.
Two pro wrestling beasts will collide! For ages Tetsuya Koda thought that Aja Kong was the only monster left in joshi. Then he discovered Max The Impaler and brought the wasteland warrior over to Tokyo Joshi Pro. Max looked unstoppable in their few appearances here so Koda found himself in an embarrassing position to look for help, otherwise his roster is going to get destroyed by Max one wrestler at a time. Luckily for him, Kong always shows up at TJPW’s most important shows and Koda thinks she is the only one who can hunt down Max. There’s one problem though. If Kong and Max fight each other outside the ring they could end up causing a lot of damage around Tokyo Dome City Hall and TJPW will have to pay what will certainly be a massive repair bill. Koda’s solution is to ask the other four women in the match to stop that from happening and keep the two monsters within the squared circle. Kong gets along with Raku & Pom Harajuku while Max took a liking to Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino so there’s a chance our hapless heroes can somehow calm down the monsters enough to keep the match under control.
The main event is between a member of Kyoraku Kyomei and The Magical Sugar Rabbits. So let’s have the other halves of both teams face off against each other too. Hyper Misao and Mizuki have only one previous singles match together that happened back in 2018. Mizuki won that match. Misao will need to come up with something clever to even the score.
DDT “ROJO PRO WRESTLING IN NANIWA HEALTH LAND HOT SPRING~TOPIA”, 10/10/2022 Osaka Naniwa Health Land Hot Spring~Topia
1. Falls Count Anywhere Tag Match: Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima Vs Yukio Naya & Yuya Koroku
DDT will be back in Osaka on 10th October for a second show celebrating Jun Akiyama’s 30th Anniversary. However that is not the only wrestling match DDT will hold that night. At the stroke of midnight Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima, Yukio Naya and Yuya Koroku will have a Falls Count Anywhere Tag match at a Naniwa hot spring. Fans coming over to watch the match have been advised to bring swimwear.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2022”, 23/10/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Pheromones Vs Takagi-gun Complete Settlement Battle FINAL: X Vs X
It’s the final battle between Sanshiro Takagi and Pheromones. Again. For like the fourth time I think? Well they mean it this time. Takagi is once more trying to destroy Pheromones for good before they destroy the company. With four members in the unit, Pheromones claim they are complete and at the pique of their power. But Takagi cannot risk letting them continue to exist in this way. The match type and participants for the climactic battle in this war has not been decided yet. If it’s all four members of Pheromones involved then that means Yuki Iino, Danshoku Dieno, Yumehito Imanari & Koju Takeda taking part. Takagi has been relying lately on Antonio Honda, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata to compete against them. So the cast is there for a 4 Vs 4 Tag match of some kind. That nothing has been decided yet makes me wonder if there is a wild card going to be played by either side.
“The Iai Puncher” Hikaru Machida will be on the show.
“MASAHIRO TAKANASHI INDEPENDENT PERFORMANCE – BOKUTACHI 4 HANJUKU 4 I LOVE YOU! 2022”, 22/11/2022 Shinjuku FACE
1. Daisuke Sekimoto Vs Masahiro Takanashi
Twelve years ago in Shinjuku FACE there was a KO-D Openweight Title defence. The outsider champion Daisuke Sekimoto put the belt on the line against little Masa Takanashi. What followed was a classic David Vs Goliath bout with a performance from Takanashi that was seconds away from being described as a miracle victory. Sekimoto won the match in the end and remained champion. The two never had never faced against each other since then. Well soon will be time for the rematch in the same room. Masahiro Takanashi has grown a lot since that title challenge and after a twelve year wait is going to face Sekimoto one more time in the main event of his own self produced show.
DDT “STERNNESS 30TH ANNIVERSARY ~JUN AKIYAMA 30TH ANNIVERSARY~”, 18/09/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 715 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Yusuke Okada defeated Yuya Koroku with the Sudden Death (7:01).
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata ended in a No Contest (7:16).
3. Akito, Soma Takao & Yukio Naya defeated HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani when Naya submitted Okatani with the Torture Cobra Twist (10:36).
4. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi when KANON pinned Ishida with the Sleepy Hollow (12:40).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Cara Noir, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toi Kojima when Noir submitted Kojima with the Blackout Sleeper (12:47).
6. Naomi Yoshimura defeated Takeshi Masada with the Lariat (10:14).
7. Jun Akiyama Debut 30th Anniversary Match – Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Yuji Nagata, Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata when Akiyama pinned Katsumata with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex (20:34).
On 17th September, 1992 Jun Akiyama made his pro wrestling debut against Kenta Kobashi inside an All Japan ring. Over the next 30 years he fought for both AJPW and NOAH back and forth until he found an unlikely new home in DDT. So it was DDT who got to host his milestone celebration. But there is also some crossover with New Japan on the show with Akiyama inviting both Yuji Nagata and Yoshinobu Kanemaru to compete. Akiyama has close ties with both of them, Nagata was his rival from the enemy company while Kanemaru was his long time tag partner. The DDT involvement in the match included Tetsuya Endo and Konosuke Takeshita, who Akiyama have both taken under his wing in certain ways, as well as Shunma Katsumata. He is here because he reminds Akiyama so much of Kanemaru. Akiyama also received congratulations from Kobashi and President Kitai from the K.O. Gym.
It was only fitting for Akiyama and Nagata to start off the match together. They had a back and forth battle until Kanemaru and Katsumata got involved. Kanemaru went to spit liquor at his opponent but Katsumata ducked and Akiyama got sprayed with it instead. Endo and Takeshita cancelled each other out, particularly when Endo did a Canadian Destroyer and Takeshita hit back with the Zahi for a double down. Katsumata tried to take matters into his own hands but he missed the Totonou Splash aimed for Akiyama. That led to a string of finishers with Kanemaru giving Katsumata the Deep Impact, Endo hitting an Exploder Suplex and Akiyama charging in with a Running Knee Strike. The end came with Akiyama pulling out the Wrist-Clutch Exploder for the pinfall.
After the match Akiyama talked about when he was scouted by Giant Baba to become a pro wrestler. He also learned so much from Jumbo Tsuruta and Mitsuharu Misawa. Sadly they have all since passed away so he told Kobashi to please stay healthy for a long time! He then talked about DDT and how Sanshiro Takagi is their Baba-like figure. He then named Endo, Takeshita, Kazusada Higuchi and Naomi Yoshimura as DDT’s Four Pillars/Heavenly Kings. Akiyama is happy and grateful to be a part of DDT and the company feels like family to him. He ended the show by telling a story about Baba. During Baba’s later years he once said he is no longer in a fight against other wrestlers, but with himself. He will not lost to himself and instead will make the most of each and every day. Akiyama promises to do the same from here on out. Backstage Nagata praised Endo for being competitive and having a good slap.
Akiyama purposely chose Yoshimura versus Takeshi Masada to be in the semi-main event position. The reason is Akiyama’s debut match 30 years ago was in the same spot. Masada is getting so much attention as the rookie with a high ceiling that Akiyama felt he should be given the same opportunity. The result was expected, Yoshimura was dominant for the most part and took Masada’s offence before pinning him with the Lariat. Masada was able to show toughness by kicking out of one of the earlier Lariats. Backstage Yoshimura admitted to feeling nervous over the match because Akiyama put it together. However he wants Akiyama to know that he never looks down on any of the younger wrestlers. He praised Masada for the strength of his strikes, saying he hasn’t felt kicks that hard from a younger wrestler since Keigo Nakamura in his debut match. But Yoshimura is still stronger than him so Masada will have to think of another way to try and beat him. Masada said getting the chance to fight Yoshimura at the peak of his power will definitely help his pro wrestling career in the future.
The ballet wrestler Cara Noir made his DDT debut, performing his dramatic Swan Lake entrance in Japan for the first time. He has a DDT Universal Title shot against Yuki Ueno coming up on 25th September so the two faced off in a 6-Man Tag Match here. Ueno had his usual buddies in The 37KAMIINA on his side while Noir teamed with CDK. Just because those two were the focus of the match didn’t mean the others stepped aside. MAO got a cheap shot Straight Punch in on Noir, CDK got Noir to join in on a human pyramid style group taunt at their opponents’ expense. Toi Kojima tried firing up on the newcomer but once Noir spun into him to apply the Blackout Sleeper, it was all over. Ueno welcomed Noir after the match but told him he won’t give over the Universal Title to him next week. Noir didn’t say anything, instead he just gently stroked the title belt on Ueno’s shoulder and did a dramatic pose.
The confidence surrounding DAMNATION T.A is growing at a rapid rate after today’s result. All four members of the unit were together to win an 8-Man Tag Match against a combination of Harimao and Ω wrestlers. KANON grabbed the victory by pinning Yuki Ishida. Then Daisuke Sasaki started complaining about how much he doesn’t care about Akiyama’s 30th Anniversary. He continues to get Ω confused with Kenny Omega and warned everyone that all of the tag team championships in DDT should belong to DAMNATION T.A! Backstage Sasaki said the unit is now at full strength with Minoru Fujita back from injury and the entire company will be finished thanks to them. KANON then threw his name into the hat for the D-Ou Grand Prix, saying he expects to see a few people in the tournament who owe him favours. Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi are now licking their wounds over today’s defeat. But they know they have so many options in Ω for backup when they and Shiori Asahi challenge DAMNATION T.A for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles on 8th October. Higuchi also warned DAMNATION T.A not to act so arrogant when they face Harimao for the KO-D Tag Team Titles four days later.
Yukio Naya also made a strong appeal to be included in the D-Ou Grand Prix. He got the victory in Match #3 by making Hideki Okatani submit. This was after he took all the kicks he could from HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi. When Akito & Soma Takao was able to clear them out of the ring, Naya took control and won the match for his team. Naya said he learned a lot from Akiyama and Hino over the last year when he was feeling so helpless. He is not only determined to be part of the tournament but also win it too!
Another day another Pheromones match getting cancelled midway through because of, well, Pheromones stuff. You have Koju Takeda attacking Kazuki Hirata with his bare backside while a clean shaven Yumehito Imanari watches on. Takagi tried leading his side in unison which went well until Antonio Honda’s Gongitsune went out of control and wiped the entire team out. Danshoku Dieno then called for the lights to switch off so Yuki Iino could strip completely naked. Hisaya Imabayashi called off the match so he and the ringside attendants could cover up Iino’s waist. Takagi was furious to see Pheromones pull off this stunt during Akiyama’s 30th Anniversary. He demanded an immediate rematch but Imabayashi refused. Instead there will be one final showdown between Takagi and Pheromones on 23rd October. Takagi told Honda & Toru Owashi to join him so they can all get revenge for Hirata. Dieno pointed out this will be their fourth “final battle” in two months. If that is not enough, Takeda later backstage called out Yuki Ueno for not having enough Pheromones in him!
The opening match was given to Yusuke Okada and Yuya Koroku, the two remaining members of BURNING. Akiyama chose them because he wanted the first match to be an exciting start for the show. The more experienced Okada got the win with the Sudden Death shortly after Koroku missed a Moonsault. The two of them congratulated Akiyama on his Anniversary. Okada said he’s been working with Akiyama for the last 6 years so he is proud to be involved today. Koroku promised to keep training hard so he can become as great and strong as Akiyama.
A second show celebrating Akiyama’s 30th Anniversary will be held in his hometown of Izumi, Osaka on 10th December.
The summer is over and I thought this article would be winding down and become easier to write about for a few months. After all, Konosuke Takeshita is back in Japan for a while so his AEW journey is on a little break. Instead Shota decides to go live in America and get bookings for some of the most obscure indie companies I have ever heard of. I mean some are so out of the way if you bring them up to the people who run IWTV their response would probably be “Who?” But once September and October are done and dusted Takeshita will be heading back to the US with bigger goals in mind. I think it’s too early right now to talk about whether or not he’s going to be one foot out the door with DDT for good. It’s definitely something I’ll have to write about some day, just not today.
So this series might look a little different in the coming months. Joey Janela is carrying the DDT Extreme Title around the world and has a number of defences already lined up. I’ll be keeping track of them here for as long as it goes on. The same will go for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title if that ever leaves Japan again. So yeah if you’re expecting next month’s post to be about more of Takeshita’s adventures, you’re probably going to get a face full of Shota and Janela instead. However I have a expectation you’ll still see Yuka Sakazaki, Maki Itoh and Miyu Yamashita popping up in AEW every now and then to go along with their North American indie bookings. Did you see that Sakazaki is going to be in the AEW video game? Take that FTR!
———————————————————————–
Videos
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 05/08/2022 Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Ryan Nemeth
Video starts at 58:37 for the match WIDE BAY PRO “RAMPAGE”, 06/08/2022 Maryborough State High School, Sussex Street, Maryborough, Australia
AEW “BATTLE OF THE BELTS III”, 06/08/2022 Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
1. ROH World Title: Claudio Castagnoli (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
MAW “SUMMER HEAT”, 07/08/2022 Fat Pants Brewing Company, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs JDX
Video starts at 43:23 for the match JCW “AFTER HOURS 2”, 13/08/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Billie Starkz
Video starts at 15:08 for the match AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 15/08/2022 Target Cente, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Cezar Bononi
Video starts at 36:45 for the match AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 22/08/2022 Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, West Virginia, USA
1. Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue Vs Emi Sakura & Maki Itoh
———————————————————————–
Results
AEW “BATTLE OF THE BELTS III”, 05/08/2022 (Aired 06/08/2022) Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
1. ROH World Title: Claudio Castagnoli (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Ricola Bomb (19:59). *V1 for Claudio Castagnoli.
Takeshita is now 0 for 2 in World Championship matches during his excursion. He couldn’t win the PWG World Title in July and last month couldn’t beat Claudio Castagnoli for the ROH World Title. It’s another tale of so close but so far for him. He’s putting up the great performances but just not getting those wins when it matters.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 05/08/2022 Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Ryan Nemeth with the Zahi (1:41).
One good thing to happen on the taping was Takeshita’s first win on national TV. Funny thing is this was taped after the ROH Title match but aired on TV the day before. Takeshita wanted to get that one big win on TV before he went back to Japan. Ryan Nemeth isn’t that big win to be honest but hey, it’s a start.
WIDE BAY PRO “RAMPAGE”, 06/08/2022 Maryborough State High School, Sussex Street, Maryborough, Australia
1. Interstate Title: Mitch Ryder (c) (w/ Todd Eastman) defeated Shota Suzuki with the Rope Assisted Piledriver (?:??). *V? for Mitch Ryder.
You’ll notice that Shota will be using the name Shota Suzuki in some places. It’s to avoid people confusing him with Shota Umino. I can tell you myself whenever I tweet about Shota’s excursion I get a few responses from people thinking I’m talking about the Shota from New Japan. Anyway he had the pleasure of being Wide Bay Pro’s first international guest wrestler on their shows. He was hoping to win the Interstate Title from Mitch Ryder and use the belt as his ticket to wrestle in Australia more. Unfortunately Ryder’s manager Todd Eastman got involved and his distraction led to Shota losing to a see-saw Piledriver over the middle rope.
DPW “BELIEVE THE HYPE”, 06/08/2022 Gov. James E. Holshouser Building, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
1. Emi Sakura defeated Mizuki with the Queen’s Gambit (11:02).
2. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Andrew Everett with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (18:41).
Mixed results on the Deadlock Pro show. The main event had Takeshita beat Andrew Everett in an absolute scorcher of a match. Mizuki’s first match in America ended in a loss to Emi Sakura. The teacher versus student dynamic was on full display. Sakura even got one more dirty reminder after the match by offering a handshake just to attack Mizuki even more. However the fans responded greatly to Mizuki and were happy to hear her shout “I will be back!”
MAW “SUMMER HEAT”, 07/08/2022 Fat Pants Brewing Company, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated JDX with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (17:38).
I heard about this match happening from a few Discords but couldn’t find info on it until after it took place. Midwest All-Star Wrestling is a regular promotion for JDX (Justin D. Xavier, the D stands for Disgusting). He thought Takeshita was going to look past him because his focus was on the ROH Title match. Instead Takeshita put him through a hard fought match and had his hand raised in the end.
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Cezar Bononi with the Zahi (2:37).
With this win over Cezar Bononi, Takeshita has one more opponent he needs to beat for a clean sweep over The Wingmen. Where you at, Peter Avalon?
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 137: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COPPERHEAD”, 13/08/2022 O2 Academy, Sheffield, England
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Leon Slater with the Zahi (12:17).
Over to England now where Takeshita made his PROGRESS debut. His 17 year old opponent Leon Slater was a replacement for an injured Robbie X. Slater put up a heck of a fight but his big mistake was to try and set up a One Man Spanish Fly off the top rope. Takeshita instead used the stalled time to knock Slater off the turnbuckle with a Lariat and then pin him with the Zahi.
JCW “AFTER HOURS 2”, 13/08/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Billie Starkz defeated Maki Itoh with the Assault Driver (11:13).
Those cheeky gits at GCW advertised Maki Itoh for both nights of their Homecoming weekend but her match on the first night was with JCW instead. I think she did fan meet and greets during the GCW show so they can probably get away with avoiding accusations of false advertising. Anyway her match against Billie Starkz happened very late at night. She had a busy schedule for the following day.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 138: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COTTONMOUTH”, 14/08/2022 Boiler Shop, Newcastle, England
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Dean Allmark with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (10:05).
Takeshita’s second day in PROGRESS gave him a far more experienced opponent to deal with in the form of Dean Allmark. He had some tricks up his sleeve like a Headstand Backslide Pin but Takeshita rolled out of it to hit the Zahi for a nearfall. He then hit the Lil Sebastian’s Curse to win. I need to find out if he minds everybody still wanting to call that move the Cinnabomb.
GCW “HOMECOMING PART 2”, 14/08/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Dark Sheik with the Flying DDT (10:54).
If there is one thing you need to know about this match it’s this. They did the Top Rope DDT spot from the Dean Malenko Vs Scotty 2 Hotty match that happened at Backlash 2000. It is also where Itoh started using the I.D.S as her new finisher. That wasn’t the end of Itoh’s night. She appeared during the main event segment where Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green renewed their wedding vows. Itoh sang “L.O.V.E.” by Frank Sinatra for the happy couple before Nick Gage came out and crashed the ceremony with a pizza cutter.
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 17/08/2022 (Aired 22/08/2022) Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, West Virginia, USA
1. Emi Sakura & Maki Itoh defeated Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue when Sakura pinned Blue with the Queen’s Gambit (7:15).
Itoh’s latest stay in America ended with another visit to AEW. She teamed with Emi Sakura to beat Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue. Itoh claims Emi Sakura is the newest member of the Itoh Respect Army but Sakura denies this. At least her singing impressed Matt Menard on commentary.
———————————————————————–
Upcoming Appearances
EVE “THURSDAY NIGHT RIOT”, 01/09/2022 229 The Venue, London, England
1. Rayne Leverkusen & Harley Hudson Vs Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade
2. International Princess Title: Alex Windsor (c) Vs Hikari Noa
Later tonight Hikari Noa will challenge Alex Windsor for the International Princess Title in EVE. Noa arrived in London safe and sound during the week and EVE’s Twitter account shows her enjoying the vibrant sights of Camden. This may be TJPW’s only chance to bring the IP Title back home any time soon though. Windsor tweeted her frustrations over how difficult it’s been to get even an appointment with the Japanese embassy so she can travel back to Japan.
The tag match I included here has implications to pay attention to. The winners will get to wrestle for TJPW in Japan sometime in the future. Nightshade has been in TJPW back in 2019. In EVE she sides with Rhia O’Reilly as part of The Uprising stable. O’Reilly is also an accomplished wrestler across the British women’s scene. Their opponents Rayne Leverkusen & Harley Hudson I don’t know much about. Hudson’s biggest profile appearances seem to be with ICW in Scotland and TNT Extreme in Liverpool. Leverkusen I can’t find much info about other than a few recent EVE matches and Youtube videos of other matches across assorted indies.
MPW “ENDANGERED”, 02/09/2022 Nordhoff PL, Chatsworth, California, USA
1. Triple Threat Match: Darwin Finch Vs J2 Vs Shota
Shota’s new American life begins with Millenium Pro Wrestling in California. The promotion has been in existence since 2001. If Shota can beat Darwin Finch and J2 in a Triple Threat match then he will qualifiy for a Scramble match on 9th September that MPW is putting together to celebrate their anniversary.
PWF “ENDANGERED”, 03/09/2022 Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA
1. JJ Blake Vs Shota Suzuki
The next day Shota travels over to Texas for Premier Wrestling Federation. His opponent here JJ Blake recently accomplished the Triple Crown feat in New Texas Pro Wrestling. That has Shota excited to know he is getting a strong opponent for sure.
GCW “THE ART OF WAR”, 03/09/2022 Grand Sports Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
1. DDT Extreme Title & 6 Pack Of PBR – 2 Ring Ladder Scramble Match: Joey Janela (c) Vs Mike Bailey Vs Tony Deppen Vs Cole Radrick Vs Drago Kid Vs Gringo Loco Vs Dante Leon Vs Shane Mercer
Yeah this is nuts. Janela’s first Extreme Title defence in America will be in one of GCW’s craziest match stipulations. GCW loves Scramble matches. They are also doing their own Wargames match this weekend so will have two rings set up beside each other. Add in ladders along with a Pabst Blue Ribbon sponsorship and you got yourselves a 2 Ring Ladder Scramble Match! That’s not all, Janela is putting himself up against an entire deck full of wild cards. Mike Bailey needs no introduction, Tony Deppen can be unpredictable at times, Cole Radrick is becoming more of a deathmatch wrestler as the months go by, Drago Kid blew everyone’s minds in his previous GCW appearances, Gringo Loco has built up the reputation of being one of the best bases currently on the indies, Dante Leon is the kind of guy who benefits from that and Shane Mercer is an absolute powerhouse who leaves destruction in his wake.
JCW “UNCENSORED”, 10/09/2022 Boonton Elks Lodge, Boonton, New Jersey, USA
1. DDT Extreme Title – Bodyslam Challenge: Joey Janela (c) Vs Beastman
If Janela can somehow crawl out of the chaos mentioned above, he will put the title on the line next against Beastman on a JCW show. The stipulation here is a lot more basic. First wrestler to Body Slam their opponent wins. Beastman has the size advantage in this one.
ROW “TEXAS GOLD RUSH”, 10/09/2022 Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA
1. Shota Vs Ayden Cristiano
Shota’s heading back over to Reality Of Wrestling. This time around his opponent is “The Madman From Madrid” Ayden Cristiano.
NEW “YEAR ONE ANNIVERSARY”, 16/09/2022 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada
1. Maki Itoh Vs Gisele Shaw
Canada prepare yourselves for Maki Itoh. She will wrestle for the first time on Canadian soil for Nation Extreme Wrestling. Her opponent is Gisele Shaw who is coming in as a replacement for Chelsea Green due to scheduling conflicts with the latter. Shaw wrestle twice for TJPW in 2019 including the match to crown the first ever IP Champion. This will be her first in-ring meeting with Itoh.
PRESTIGE “PERSEVERANCE”, 17/09/2022 The Glass House, Pomona, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Sandra Moone
2. Trish Adora Vs Miyu Yamashita
I said it last month that Miyu Yamashita against somebody like Trish Adora would be an attention grabber. There you go.
MISSION PRO “Welcome To The Jungle”, 17/09/2022 Salvation Army Mission Corps, San Antonio, Texas, USA
1. Shota Vs JP Harlow
Mission Pro is Thunder Rosa’s promotion, right? Shota’s just ticking off all of the Texas companies from the get go. If he wasn’t going to bump into JP Harlow at ROW it was only a matter of time he would find him here I guess.
FRONTLINE PRO “A NIGHT FOR TYLER V”, 24/09/2022 Bakerville Bar And Grill, Marshfield, Wisconsin, USA
1. Shota Vs Ragnar The Ruthless
One week later Shota heads to Wisconsin for Frontline Pro. For fuck sake lads I have to trawl through Facebook to find out what this is and where Ragnar The Ruthless comes from.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 142: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN SNAKE”, 25/09/2022 O2 Academy, Birmingham, England
1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
2. Shigehiro Irie Vs X
Shigehiro Irie will be at Progress the same weekend CDK are there.
PROGRESS “RETURN OF THE FLY”, 27/09/2022 The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England
1. Shigehiro Irie Vs X
2. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
Let’s include Irie here too.
MDRN NMD “I SPELL F-L-Y”, 29/09/2022 The Bread Shed, Grosvenor St. , Manchester, England
1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs LK Mezinger & Splits McPins
2. Shigehiro Irie Vs Dan Moloney
Before the entire UK scene fell apart there was a little series of shows called Tuesday Night Graps put together by a group of wrestlers including Chris Brookes. After the pandemic the shows came back under a new group called Modern Nomad Pro Wrestling and this time there’s no need to run shows every Tuesday. Is Masahiro Takanashi into bowling because CDK takes on Bowl-A-Rama in tag team action. Irie gets to take on Dan Moloney in a superfight.
WXW “INNER CIRCLE”, 30/09/2022 wXw Wrestling Academy, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
1. Masha Slamovich Vs Fuminori Abe
The day before the World Tag Team Festival tournament begins, wXw will be holding a smaller scale show inside their wrestling school. They are always a good appetizer to start their big international weekends with some unique matches put together. Like this one here, Fuminori Abe being thrown into the ring against Masha Slamovich!
WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 01/10/2022 – 03/10/2022 Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany
1. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie Vs X
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
We just have to wait and see how both CDK and Abe & Irie will do in the tournament.
EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM V”, 13/11/2022 229 The Venue, London, England
1. Hyper Misao Vs X
Yeah so this was announced back in July and I completely forgot about it until now. Whoops. Hyper Misao’s going to England!
PW REVOLUTION/WEST COAST PRO “KING OF INDIES 2022”, 19/11/2022 United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, USA
1. King Of Indies 2022: Konosuke Takeshita Vs X
There is a tournament in the American independents that holds almost a mythical reputation even if it does not attract the attention of wrestling fans the same way Battle Of Los Angeles, Tournament Of Death or King Of Trios all used to. The King Of Indies tournament originated in the early 2000s with All Pro Wrestling as the hosts. The 2001 edition is well known as being an inspiration towards the creation of Ring Of Honor. The tournament was revived in 2018 with Pro Wrestling Revolution taking the reigns and this year Takeshita gets to add his name to the tournament’s history book. He won’t be the only Japanese participant because Naomichi Marufuji from NOAH will be there along with SB Kento and La Estrella from DRAGONGATE.
DDT “NON-ALCOHOLIC BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING”, 26/08/2022 Tokyo Ueno Park Amphitheater 427 Fans – No Vacancy
0. Dark Match: MJ Paul & KANON defeated Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada when KANON pinned Masada with the Sleepy Hollow (7:49).
1. Bring Your Own Weapons Falls Count Anywhere 8-Man Tag Match: Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya, Yuki Ishida & Ilusion defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao when Naya pinned Hirata with the Choke Slam into the pool (8:12).
2. Crocodile Panda Drunk 3 Way Match: Masahiro Takanashi defeated HARASHIMA and Yukio Sakaguchi when Takanashi completed the Crocodile Panda game (R6 1:00).
3. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki defeated El Unicorn with the Foot Crossface Lock (12:23).
4. The Scariest In History! Shin Numabukuro Ghost Story 3 Way Tag Death Match: Akito & Makoto Oishi Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Antonio Honda & Saki Akai ended in a No Contest (13:00). (Ghost Story Artist: Hisaya Imabayashi)
5. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima defeated Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku when Katsumata pinned Koroku after the Oretachi no MADMAX (9:20).
6. Beer Garden Specialty Customer Lottery 6-Man Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Naomi Yoshimura & Tetsuya Endo defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ueno & Chris Brookes when Takeshita pinned Brookes with the Jumping Knee (18:20).
The fan lottery pitted determined the teams in the main event. Kazusada Higuchi found himself facing off against Konosuke Takeshita again but also his Harimao tag partner Naomi Yoshimura and Tetsuya Endo, the man he just defended the KO-D Openweight Title against. That’s not to say he was teaming with slouches though. Yuki Ueno & Chris Brookes carried their fair share of the match. Takeshita called the match fresh and fun because the other wrestlers have all evolved while he was in America. He can feel DDT’s momentum coming back and he will give it a boost with his KO-D Title match against Higuchi.
Daisuke Sasaki achieved a complete victory over El Unicorn, targeting his leg and removing his mask. His dirty tactics caught the attention of Ilusion who unexpectedly came to Unicorn’s aid and returned the mask to his rival. Unicorn got his second wind but Sasaki blocked a Moonsault with his knees and got the submission win with an Elevated Crossface Lock. Sasaki added insult to injury after the match by faking a handshake so he could low blow and unmask Unicorn one more time. Ilusion, HARASHIMA and Masahiro Takanashi then all ran in and chased him off. Both Unicorn and Sasaki will agree that this is not the end of their feud!
The Drunk 3 Way match was the only time anyone in the venue got to drink alcohol during the show. HARASHIMA, Takanashi and Yukio Sakaguchi all took shots in between rounds. They also played with a crocodile toy where you have to push in the toy’s teeth without it biting your finger. Whenever they got bit they would have a part of their face painted until they looked like a panda.
Demonio Uno appeared in the middle of the opening match and attacked some of the wrestlers.
DDT “NON-ALCOHOLIC BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING”, 26/08/2022 Tokyo Ueno Park Amphitheater
0. Dark Match: MJ Paul & KANON Vs Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada
1. Bring Your Own Weapons Falls Count Anywhere 8-Man Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya, Yuki Ishida & Ilusion
2. Drunk 3 Way Match: Masahiro Takanashi Vs HARASHIMA Vs Yukio Sakaguchi
3. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs El Unicorn
4. The Scariest In History! Shin Numabukuro Ghost Story 3 Way Tag Death Match: Akito & Makoto Oishi Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Antonio Honda & Saki Akai (Ghost Story Artist: Hisaya Imabayashi)
5. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima
6. Beer Garden Specialty Customer Lottery 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Tetsuya Endo, Konosuke Takeshita, Naomi Yoshimura, Yuki Ueno, Chris Brookes
The opening time for the venue was pushed forward by 30 minutes so DDT is changing the match order around a little bit. The original opening match is now a dark match. The show will begin properly at the regular time as advertised.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW PERFECTION”, 27/08/2022 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall
1. 3 Way Match: Mizuki Vs Hyper Misao Vs Yuki Aino
2. Maki Itoh & Moka Miyamoto Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu
3. Rika Tatsumi & Haruna Neko Vs Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta
4. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Raku
5. Miyu Yamashita Vs Pom Harajuku
6. Shoko Nakajima & Miu Watanabe Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
Kaya Toribami’s absence from Tokyo Joshi Pro shows due to a scheduling conflict will continue until after the 4th September show in Nagoya.
GANBARE☆PRO “TOKOROZAWA PARK TOWN SHOPPING STREET 2022”, 27/08/2022 Saitama Tokorozawa Park Town Shopping Street Special
1. GanJo Special 6-Woman Tag Match In Park Town Shopping District: Yuna Manase, Kakeru Sekiguchi & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Cherry, Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE
2. Eternal Rebellious Period And Late Rebellious Period vs Ishii’s Allied Tag Team: Yumehito Imanari & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Gota Ihashi & Kouki Iwasaki
3. ROMANCE DAWN Vs Super Beast Of The World & Hentai Of Toyama: Shota & Soma Takao Vs Aja Kong & Shinichiro Tominaga
4. Fresh Ariyama Presents Special 6-Man Tag Match: Ken Ohka, Shuichiro Katsumura & Keisuke Ishii Vs Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Mizuki Watase & SAGAT
YuuRI suffered a left hand injury at the last Ganbare☆Pro show. She hasn’t recovered from it yet so will miss this show. Cherry takes her spot.
GANBARE☆PRO “PUNCH DRUNK LOVE 2022”, 03/09/2022 Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall
1. GanPro Vs MAKAI: Keisuke Ishii Vs Yuki Kanzaki
2. GanJo Special Tag Match: Yuna Manase & YuuRI Vs Moeka Haruhi & Yoshiko Hasegawa
3. GanPro Special 6-Man Tag Match: Ken Ohka, Shuichiro Katsumura & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Soma Takao, Shinichiro Tominaga & Jun Masaoka
4. Hardcore Mixed Tag Match: Shigehiro Irie & Akane Fujita Vs Mizuki Watase & HARUKAZE
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Yumehito Imanari (c) Vs Hartley Jackson
Harcore Mixed Tag Matches are back in Ganpro. Mizuki Watase & HARUKAZE are still developing their manzai inspired tag team. They decided to name their team Full Nelson Buster. Will either of them use the move against Shigehiro Irie or Akane Fujita?
Yuki Kanzaki was originally an indie wrestler who turned into an All Japan trainee around 2017. However his official debut never took place due to hematoma and he left the company. After a year of recovery he became a stage actor and performed for MAKAI, eventually becoming affiliated with the project. He returned to pro wrestling in November of last year and spends time juggling between both roles.
DDT “JAPAN BAKERY MARKETING PRESENTS KONOSUKE TAKESHITA 10TH ANNIVERSARY ~NISHINARI BAY BLUES~”, 10/09/2022 Osaka Nishinari Kumin Center
1. MJ Paul & KANON Vs Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Staggered Entre Battle Royal: Toru Owashi (c) Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino Vs Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Yusuke Okada Vs Yuya Koroku Vs Akito Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Soma Takao Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Saki Akai Vs Yuki Ishida Vs Ilusion Vs El Unicorn
3. Yasu Urano, Antonio Honda & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Super Sasadango Machine & X
4. The 37KAMIINA Vs Brahmin Brothers: MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima Vs Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei & Brahman Sanshiro
5. Tokyo Joshi Pro 3 Way Tag Offer Match: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Miu Watanabe & Arisu Endo
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yukio Naya Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuji Hino
7. Nobuyuki Onizawa’s Ochakan Radio Presents Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki
8. Japan Bakery Marketing Co., Ltd. Presents Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Daisuke Sasaki
9. Special Tag Match ~ Sakuya Konohana Tag Vs CCK!: Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Ueno Vs Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos
It’s a special show for Konosuke Takeshita so not only is he getting two matches, he wants to do them back to back!
DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2022 TOUR IS ASAKUSA”, 13/09/2022 Tokyo Asakusa Hanayashi Theater
0. Dark Match ~ Nariagari Offer Match: Tawaramachi Kid Jr. & Super Nikuyaki Machine Vs Sumo Ninja Kyu & Tadaki Toronomi
1. 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Akito Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazuki Hirata
2. Asakusa Specialty Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Makoto Oishi & Yoshihiko
3. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Yukio Naya
4. Harimao Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Yuki Ueno & Toi Kojima
Harimao has suddenly gone from tag team to a unit. Yuki Ishida asked to join them after yesterday’s show and he was accepted by both Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura. The three have teamed together before in 6-Man Tag Matches but now they’re going to do so as a united force.
DDT “STERNNESS 30TH ANNIVERSARY ~JUN AKIYAMA 30TH ANNIVERSARY~”, 18/09/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Yusuke Okada Vs Yuya Koroku
2. Naomi Yoshimura Vs Takeshi Masada
3. Jun Akiyama Debut 30th Anniversary Match – Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo & Yoshinobu Kanemaru Vs Yuji Nagata, Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata
30 years ago Jun Akiyama made his debut match against Kenta Kobashi in the semi-main event of an All Japan show in Korakuen Hall. That he is giving Takeshi Masada the same opportunity shows how much he has high hopes for the rookie.
Akiyama also thinks the opening match is important because it gets the audience excited for the rest of the show. That is why he is sticking Yusuke Okada in that spot with Yuya Koroku.
Cara Noir being on this show makes me wonder who Akiyama would book him against?
DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 9 ~NO CLOUDS OVER THE MOON~”, 10/10/2022 Osaka Higashinari Ward Community Center
1. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~Smile Squash Vs DAMNATION T.A~: HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Akito Vs Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON
2. Special Tag Match Sterness Siege ~Men Of Ice Vs Men Of Melting Ice~: Jun Akiyama & Antonio Honda Vs Kuishinbo Kamen & Kikutaro
3. Special Single Match ~Road Of Former Champions~: Tetsuya Endo Vs Masahiro Takanashi
The former KO-D Openweight Champion and former DDT Universal Champion collide on Yukinori Matsui’s annual Osaka show. Matsui is also sticking Akiyama in with the jokers and bringing back Smile Squash for one night only.
Shuji Ishikawa and Harutoki will both be on the show. Harutoki is from Dotonbori Pro.
DDT “GET ALIVE 2022”, 12/10/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Yuki Ishida 1st Anniversary Match: Yuki Ishida Vs X
2. Makoto Oishi 20th Anniversary Match: Makoto Oishi Vs X
Ishida will be celebrating the one year anniversary of his debut match on the same show as Makoto Oishi celebrating his 20th anniversary in wrestling. Oishi has made requests for his match and is looking forward to announcing it next week. Ishida is confused why his one year anniversary is being treated as just as much a big deal but he hopes people come to see it.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022”, 20/08/2022 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium 1,250 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Yusuke Okada, Yuya Koroku & Ilusion defeated Toi Kojima, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada when Koroku submitted Ishida with a Modified Strangle Hold (9:11).
2. 3 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) defeated Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Super Sasadango Machine and Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda by TKO after Pheromones knocked out Hirata with the Sexy Bay Bridge (12:18).
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani defeated Naomi Yoshimura, Kota Umeda & Keisuke Okuda when HARASHIMA pinned Yoshimura with the Somato (12:44).
4. Shinichiro Kawamatsu Debut Match ~ Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Member Vs Bunkyo Ward Assembly Member: Osamu Nishimura, Makoto Oishi & Akito defeated Shinichiro Kawamatsu, Sanshiro Takagi & Soma Takao when Nishimura submitted Kawamatsu with a Figure 4 Leg Lock (14:47).
5. Special Mixed Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Saki Akai defeated Chris Brookes & Asuka when Akai submitted Asuka with an Arm Triangle Choke (15:21).
6. DDT Extreme Title – Special Hardcore Match: Joey Janela (c) defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Death Valley Driver from the Ladder through the Table and Barbed Wire Board (18:56). *V1 for Joey Janela.
7. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno defeated Masahiro Takanashi (c) with the WR (14:26). *Masahiro Takanashi fails in V2. Yuki Ueno becomes the 8th DDT Universal Champion!
8. DDT 25th Anniversary Special 6-Man Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita, MAO & Yasu Urano defeated Dick Togo, Daisuke Sasaki & KANON (w/ MJ Paul & Minoru Fujita) when Takeshita pinned KANON with the Jumping Knee (20:41).
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) defeated Tetsuya Endo with the Brain Claw Slam (25:24). *V1 for Kazusada Higuchi.
The DDT flag is firmly in Kazusada Higuchi’s grasp after today and there can be no denying he is deserving to hold the KO-D Openweight Title. His first defence was against the previous champion Tetsuya Endo, who vacated the belt after suffering a concussion earlier in the summer. Endo threw everything he had to try and win the belt back. Higuchi held firm and delivered his own big bombs like a Brain Claw Slam throwing Endo from the top turnbuckle onto the ring apron. Later Endo looked to be on the verge of getting knocked out only for Higuchi to demand he show his determination and get back up. Endo was able to answer the ten count but was smashed with more Lariats and collisions until he was pinned with another Brain Claw Slam.
Kenta Kobashi presented the KO-D Title to Higuchi and congratulated him after the match. He also shook hands with Endo only for Endo to collapse in front of him. While Endo was helped out of the ring, Higuchi called out to him and said after so much has happened, they both stood together in the ring. Higuchi won today but he looks forward to facing Endo again. Backstage Endo admits he was completely defeated and has now been surpassed. Higuchi is the true 79th KO-D Champion.
Higuchi was then approached by Hisaya Imabayashi. The GM told him the next KO-D Title defence is scheduled for 25th September and then asked if he would like to nominate a challenger. Higuchi did not hesitate and chose Konosuke Takeshita! He would later explain he cannot become the symbol of DDT’s strength if he cannot beat him. Takeshita walked down to the ring and simply said “Let’s fight, Higuchi” before leaving. Backstage Takeshita noted he has never fought Higuchi in a KO-D Title match. He would like to win the title again before continuing his American excursion. He sees it as bringing the KO-D Title home to him rather than taking it over to the USA. Higuchi closed out the show thanking the fans for coming out and creating a good turnout. A lot is still going wrong in the world but everyone in DDT is fighting no matter the difficulties so their fans will have the courage to stand up and push forward.
Takeshita’s return to the title picture was set up in the main event when he got the winning fall. The odds were against him and his team because DAMNATION T.A worked well teaming with Dick Togo. He and Daisuke Sasaki even moved in stereo when they both performed Crossfaces at the same time and then Pedigrees at the same time. MJ Paul and Minoru Fujita also got involved so the numbers game was in DAMNATION’s favour. Takeshita did his best to fight back by blocking Togo’s chair shot only to get hit with another chair from Sasaki. However, the difference in levels between Takeshita and KANON was soon on show when the K-Spike was blocked and KANON was smashed with an Elbow Strike. Takeshita found the opening to hit the Jumping Knee and that was all he needed to get the three count.
After the match Takeshita said he’s only been gone for four months but it’s been the hardest working four months of his entire career. DDT is his home and his goal is to become the best wrestler in the world as a DDT wrestler! He credited his partners for their work today. MAO with his high flying and Yasu Urano with his Socrates-like attitude (Urano found it funny that was all Takeshita could come up with to describe him). Sasaki admits Takeshita has gotten a little stronger by wrestling in America but cannot tell if he’s changed as a person. He also warned today is not the only time you will see DAMNATION T.A and House Of Torture working together! Whenever Sasaki and Togo team up, bad things will happen. However Togo wasn’t as dark with his thoughts and said he’ll come back to DDT at 60 years old wrestling in red tights just like Giant Baba.
Masahiro Takanashi’s hopes of taking the DDT Universal Title around the world to defend against younger generations of wrestlers has been cut short. Yuki Ueno already had youth and physical ability on his side going into the match. All he had to do was figure out Takanashi’s gameplan, which he did. He found ways to block the Takatonic but only when the champion did the move. Takanashi was able to trick Daisuke Kiso into performing it on Ueno for a nearfall. Ueno himself had trouble setting up the WR but finally hit his finisher after a well placed Dropkick to win the title.
He told Takanashi that from the bottom of his heart he considers him to be a deep part of DDT’s history. With those pleasantries out of the way, Ueno then met with Imabayashi to learn about his first title defence. Ueno will put the Universal Title on the line against Cara Noir on 25th September! Noir is an English wrestler and former ballet dancer, known for his literally dramatic ring entrances and match performances. He will be coming to DDT on 18th September before getting his title shot on the 25th. Once this match happens then maybe the title can start to be defended overseas again like it was originally meant to be.
“The Bad Boy” defeats “The Happy Boy” to keep his DDT Extreme Title! A nutty Hardcore match between Joey Janela and Shunma Katsumata delivered some crazy scenes around Ota Ward Gymnasium. Janela rode on a the Dramatic Dream bicycle around ringside and got hit with a toy block covered baseball bat. Katsumata did a balcony dive through a table away from ringside. Janela jumped off a ladder barefoot and missed a Double Stomp, landing feet first onto thumbtacks and toy blocks. The big finish saw Janela give Katsumata the Death Valley Driver from the ladder through a table with a barbed wire board placed on top of it. Janela will now go back to America with the Extreme Title but he promises he will be back. He wants to become part of the DDT family and even enter the D-Oh Grand Prix. Then once he’s finished with that, he wants to go in search for a certain “Mr. Liar”, Atsushi Onita!
The Mixed Tag Match was a new experience for Jun Akiyama. He claims he didn’t feel uncomfortable wrestling with and against the women although Asuka was determined to leave her mark by fighting him. However the match came down to Asuka against Saki Akai and a Moonsault counter completely changed the result from out of nowhere. Asuka did the move and Akai caught her with an Arm Triangle Choke, keeping Asuka trapped until she gave up. It is the first time Asuka directly lost a match to Akai. Asuka slapped Akiyama across the face after the match. Akai was thankful to team with him though and wants to learn more from him. Chris Brookes said he is not angry over the result but the next time he is in the ring with Asuka will be when they face each other in a singles match on 4th September. He is already thinking of ways to win against her. Asuka warned him she has closets full of ideas about what she wants to do against him.
The politician Shinichiro Kawamatsu made his official pro wrestling debut in his full daytime suit. Well that’s not entirely true. He removed his tie before the match began. He also received a bouquet from Eriko Imai, a member of the House of Councilors. He was able to stand toe to toe against Makoto Oishi & Akito thanks to some help from Sanshiro Takagi and Soma Takao. But the real meat of the match came from Kawamatsu’s interactions with Osamu Nishimura. The ring legend held him in a Full Nelson so Akito could grab a leg and do a Dragon Screw. From there Nishimura applied the Spinning Toe Hold before turning it into a Figure 4 Leg Lock to make his fellow politician submit. After the match Nishimura told Kawamatsu he is free to ask him about pro wrestling whenever he wants, but he will not join his political party! Kawamatsu thanked him for the match and told the fans he would like to stay active in pro wrestling. Takagi later suggested they do another match with Kawamatsu and Nishimura involved but this time hold it in Bukyo Ward. In other words, he means Korakuen Hall!
Naomi Yoshimura’s big DNA reunion was spoiled thanks to HARASHIMA pinning him with the Somato. For HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi, the result shows that their generation is still good. HARASHIMA was also so happy to be wrestling in front of cheering fans again. Hideki Okatani was also pleased to wrestle against the likes of Kota Umeda & Keisuke Okuda, thinking they can bring out the best in him. Today was Okuda’s first match in DDT in around 4 years and it’s been so long since he fought an opponent who wanted to kill him. Sakaguchi is that opponent. They did a fist bump after the match rather than a handshake because they don’t want to get too buddy buddy with each other. It would only ruin the dynamic they have together. Okuda would be happy to do another match like that again if DDT wants to invite him back. Umeda said the competitive spirit he felt in that match is hard to find nowadays both in DDT and elsewhere.
Is there any united force out there that can defeat Pheromones? A team of heavyweights like Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Super Sasadango Machine cannot. There’s no relying on The DDT Variety Team to put a stop to them either. They’ve become unstoppable with the addition of Koju Takeda along with the return of Yumehito Imanari in their corner. That only makes them even more outlandish with their antics. Danshoku Dieno has no problem telling fans that they can blame Pheromones for everything wrong that happened today. Antonio Honda and his Gongitsune was powerless while Toru Owashi was thrown into the Triple Hell Gate. Kazuki Hirata became everyone’s last hope with the power of dance but even that wasn’t enough. Pheromones won the 3 Way Match by total destruction. Dieno then gave a victory speech telling everyone that Pheromones will rewrite DDT and turn it into a world of stupidity!
The opening match featured a mix of wrestlers from BURNING as well as the new generation of DDT. Yuya Koroku felt motivated by the atmosphere created by the crowd and it spurned him on to win the match for his team. Ilusion felt the same. Tomorrow will be the one year anniversary of his debut so he wants to spend the next year wrestling more and getting stronger. Yusuke Okada thought the match was really good and did its job to get the fans excited for the rest of the show. Yuki Ishida was upset to take the fall and blames it on being a bit lax with is preparation. Toi Kojima is feeling the pressure to stand out more now that there are even more young and new wrestlers entering the company. This was Takeshi Masada’s second match and he admitted he still doesn’t know right from left while the action is going on. He thinks his lack of ability is why he was on the losing team today. He promised to train harder so his recent debut won’t be taken lightly by everyone.
LiLiCo promised everyone a big announcement for her appearance on the show. The news is DDT will be going to Tokyo Dome City Hall on 29th December for their last big event of 2022. LiLiCo will serve as the event’s special ambassador and she suggested DDT hand out full price refunds to any ticket buyer who does not enjoy the show. She also offered to take part in the Anal Explosion ceremony! Imabayashi refuses to grant her that request because it’s meant to be a punishment you do not volunteer for and he’s worried over what would happen if a woman takes part. However LiLiCo is determined to go through with it and discussions between the two parties will continue.
The D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 will be held throughout November with the final taking place on 4th December. 12 wrestlers all under the age of 40 will enter the tournament in a two block round robin format. Takagi explained that there are more wrestlers under that age competing in DDT nowadays but not been many in their 20s have competed in the D-Ou GP. Kenta Kobashi will continue his role as the chairman of the tournament committee which was established last year.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022”, 20/08/2022 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Yusuke Okada, Yuya Koroku & Ilusion Vs Toi Kojima, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada
2. 3 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Super Sasadango Machine Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Naomi Yoshimura, Kota Umeda & Keisuke Okuda Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani
4. Shinichiro Kawamatsu Debut Match ~ Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Member Vs Bunkyo Ward Assembly Member: Shinichiro Kawamatsu, Sanshiro Takagi & Soma Takao Vs Osamu Nishimura, Makoto Oishi & Akito
5. Special Mixed Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Saki Akai Vs Chris Brookes & Asuka
6. DDT Extreme Title – Special Hardcore Match: Joey Janela (c) Vs Shunma Katsumata
7. DDT Universal Title: Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Yuki Ueno
8. DDT 25th Anniversary Special 6-Man Tag Match: Dick Togo, Daisuke Sasaki & KANON (w/ MJ Paul) Vs Konosuke Takeshita, MAO & Yasu Urano
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo
It’s back to Ota Ward Gymnasium for this year’s edition of “WRESTLE PETER PAN”. For what is usually one of DDT’s biggest shows of the year, things don’t feel as such this time around. For DDT it’s still a big event but against the rest of the wrestling scene, I’m not feeling it as much this year. Choosing Ota Ward is a downgrade from a usual venue choice like Sumo Hall and DDT themselves have made reference to ticket sales not being that great. The company challenged its roster to sell more tickets with better quality lunches as their rewards. The last update they gave on that was they reached the “Nori Bento” level which refers to between 775 and 1,000 tickets sold. DDT wants their attendance numbers to return to what they were before the pandemic happened. That is going to stay a tough challenge for them until Japan moves past their covid restrictions. Even then it’s hard to say if DDT can grow back their audience. You can’t entirely blame the pandemic for shrinking wrestling’s popularity in Japan when a company like Stardom is growing like crazy over there under the same environment.
This show can end up becoming a turnaround in fortunes though. Through unexpected circumstances a new wind is blowing through the company as DDT’s current two top wrestlers battle over who should be carrying the flag. The man the company was built around for the last few years has all of a sudden gained a brand new global fanbase and maybe a chunk of them will follow him back to see what DDT is like. One of the most infamous wrestlers on the American indie scene has come over wanting to carve his name into the history books. A first time mixed tag match will offer something never seen before. Actual politicians will fight each other. And if that’s not enough, LiLiCo will be there with an important news update she wants to tell everyone.
1. Yusuke Okada, Yuya Koroku & Ilusion Vs Toi Kojima, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada
Some of the youngest wrestlers in DDT gather together for the opening match. And also Yusuke Okada who is only 29 years old even though some days he looks about 42. He’s the veteran base of the match while Yuya Koroku and Toi Kojima get to bring their classmate rivalry onto a big stage. Their clashes in all of the BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA matches over the last year are fun to watch. Yuki Ishida is showing improvement with his performances and developing more fire power to make up for his lack of size. Ilusion has been used sparingly over the summer because the DDTeeeen!! project hasn’t been publicly active. The few opportunities he’s been getting are at least moving him away from his rival El Unicorn so he gets to show they are not attached by the hip. But the spotlight right now is shining brightly on Takeshi Masada. He just had his debut match after only three months of training and dazzled everyone with his performance. If he keeps in good health over the next few years (always remember that rookies break easily) DDT could have a new supernova on their hands.
2. 3 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Super Sasadango Machine Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
Is 2022 the year of Pheromones? The DDT shows that allow cheering usually has that unit getting the most reactions. Maybe it’s because they still use the canned cheering for their ring announcements or maybe it’s because chanting “Sexy!” out loud while sticking out your pinky fingers is a lot of fun. One thing for sure is Pheromones has become more stronger with the latest and perhaps final addition to the unit. A perverted looking masked man began following the group around and was eventually revealed to be Koju Takeda. He appeared in DDT before and is a former KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champion but now has a bigger presence in the company under the name Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda. He’s never been shy about showing off his physique so he is a perfect fit for Pheromones, perhaps filling in the gaps that Yuki Iino and Danshoku Dieno could not fill. Was that meant to be written as a double entendre? You tell me.
The other two teams in this match can’t help but look plain in comparison. Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya have spent over a year bonding as a tag team and working together under the ONLY WE banner. It’s given Naya the ability to finally start climbing up the ladder and reach even a little bit of the potential that others see in him. Super Sasadango Machine is an odd third man to be on that team but this is an odd match to begin with. The other trio is made up of wrestlers sometimes nicknamed The DDT Variety Team. Whenever you get Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda all in the same ring you are guaranteed to get some nonsense coming from them.
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Naomi Yoshimura, Kota Umeda & Keisuke Okuda Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani
We are getting treated to a DNA reunion on the show. The developmental brand for DDT became redundant in 2018 but many wrestlers who came from it have become regular parts of several wrestling rosters. Naomi Yoshimura was a key part of DNA’s second half of its existence and he wanted to team with two men who were a constant presence around him during his time there. His rival Kota Umeda and his ally Keisuke Okuda. Umeda is a part time wrestler with some re-appearances in DDT every now and then. But Okuda’s name being brought up is intriguing. He was once under contract to DDT for two years then left the company for DRAGONGATE. Then recently there seems to be an apparent split between the two and suddenly Okuda is back in DDT by Yoshimura’s request. Maybe it’s just a one time reunion for old time’s sake.
Whether it is or it isn’t, Okuda has another reason to come back. He’s looking for a fight with Yukio Sakaguchi, thinking he is a scared old man. In response to this, Sakaguchi’s Eruption buddy Hideki Okatani is stepping in also wanting to join in the scrap the second it kicks off. Their team needs a calming presence so maybe HARASHIMA can keep things under control with his many years of wisdom under his belt. But he and Yoshimura are on course for a KO-D Tag Team Titles match in the future and they have a lot of recent history together. If the wrong guy gets provoked here then all hell could break loose.
4. Shinichiro Kawamatsu Debut Match ~ Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Member Vs Bunkyo Ward Assembly Member: Shinichiro Kawamatsu, Sanshiro Takagi & Soma Takao Vs Osamu Nishimura, Makoto Oishi & Akito
I don’t have a clue about Japanese politics other than Sanshiro Takagi tried it once and it left him traumatized. It seems that the wrestling bug has bitten Shinichiro Kawamatsu from the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly after the publicity stunt where he won and defended the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. To show his gratitude to DDT and their fans, he decided to try and have a go as a pro wrestler for real. Finding time to train in between his political duties, Kawamatsu is having his official debut match against another politician. One who knows the wrestling ring very well.
Osamu Nishimura has been wrestling for over 31 years but his main priority nowadays is his council work in his hometown of Bunkyo Ward. There is a friendly link between the two in the lead up to the match because Kawamatsu is a longtime fan of Nishimura. Kawamatsu is even focusing his wrestling training on matwork specifically because he wants to fight against Nishimura’s Muga style of pro wrestling. The soft political atmosphere of the match is inspiring Soma Takao because it is taking place in his hometown of Ota Ward. It may end up spurring him on into campaigning for a seat on the Ota Ward Council in the future. Makoto Oishi & Akito will be there to provide more challenges for Kawamatsu. They should be eager to impress Nishimura in the process too.
5. Special Mixed Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Saki Akai Vs Chris Brookes & Asuka
Jun Akiyama’s time as a coach in DDT has been invaluable to those who are learning from him. It’s worked out so well that Saki Akai asked him to team with her on this show so she can become a stronger wrestler. Akiyama accepted her request as long as she knew he will treat her no differently to any other wrestler in DDT. When it was decided they were going to get a Mixed Tag Match, Chris Brookes & Asuka was chosen to be their opponents. It will be the first time Akiyama takes part in a Mixed Tag Match. Asuka teased him at a press conference saying she has a good reputation as an opponent for first timers and she’ll be one woman he will never forget!
The whole match has Asuka feeling pretty confident. She has never lost to Akai before and is certain it won’t happen anytime soon. Still, she is encouraging her opponents to work hard together so she will get a good challenge out of them. Akai gave Asuka’s comments a lot of thought. She thinks all wrestlers walk their own paths. Akai’s path may be slower than Asuka’s or maybe it is just a detour. She isn’t going to stay feeling sorry for herself when she has a chance to learn from Akiyama. Brookes is excited about the match because it is a fresh experience for everyone involved. He has previously fought against Asuka in tag matches but they can start something brand new when they team together. Brookes even thinks a new history will begin if Asuka gets the pinfall on Akiyama!
6. DDT Extreme Title – Special Hardcore Match: Joey Janela (c) Vs Shunma Katsumata
It’s “The Bad Boy” against “The Happy Boy”! Joey Janela’s tour of DDT has been two years in the making after his constant viral wrestling matches caught Takagi’s attention. Little appetizers were put together in the meantime with Yoshihiko and the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title being sent over to America for Janela to interact with. When the time came for Janela to finally visit Japan, he wasted no time in making an impact by winning the DDT Extreme Title in the infamous IPPON Lighttube Death Match. A Hardcore Match against Shunma Katsumata was already scheduled before his title win so it is now even more important with the championship stakes being added. Katsumata has developed his own hardcore style in DDT but how different is it to anything that Janela has experienced before? The American has experienced death matches in many forms from violent to wacky. Janela’s goal is to become the greatest foreign wrestler ever in DDT. That’s a tall task given those who previously called the company their Japanese home promotion. But hey, if Janela didn’t have the guts to aim high he wouldn’t have achieved so much in his crazy career. I mean he has a match against Ernest “The Cat” Miller coming up in GCW soon. What if that ends up becoming a DDT Extreme Title match?
7. DDT Universal Title: Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Yuki Ueno
The DDT Universal Title is on the line in a battle between old and new generations of DDT. When Masahiro Takanashi won the title he wanted to do two things. Travel the world with the championship because that is the original point of the title and defend it against all of the younger wrestlers who have stepped up over the last two years while he was out injured. He’s barely gotten started and already he has a high wall in the form of Yuki Ueno standing in his way. The former Universal Champion wants the belt back so he can make DDT more exciting in his own way. The build up consisted of Ueno standing tall in the warmup matches and Takanashi being in physical positions where he has no choice but to look up at his challenger. Even though Takanashi is the champion, he is coming into the match looking like the underdog. But that’s always been the story with him. He wouldn’t be Masahiro Takanashi if he didn’t have to climb up from the bottom each and every time.
8. DDT 25th Anniversary Special 6-Man Tag Match: Dick Togo, Daisuke Sasaki & KANON (w/ MJ Paul) Vs Konosuke Takeshita, MAO & Yasu Urano
Did you ever hear the saying it takes an artist ten years to become an overnight success? It kind of feels like that here. This summer the entire wrestling world fell in love with Konosuke Takeshita. In return he fell in love with America and also Cinnabon. Mostly Cinnabon. Almost entirely Cinnabon. He won’t stop eating their food. Anyway, his excursion to America for both AEW and the independent scene led to rave reviews across the board and even sparked a lot of gossip about his future. Should AEW try to sign him full time and throw him further into their murderer’s row of main eventers? Will a reinvigorated WWE poach him in their search for a new Japanese superstar to add to their roster? How never ending can the line of indie wrestlers wanting to challenge him become? All of a sudden DDT better be careful not to lose the supernova they’ve spent the last decade building their company around because he is very quickly becoming an attraction overseas. He’s back in Japan for two months before continuing his excursion so DDT are putting together some attraction matches for him while he is home.
The attraction here is the return of Dick Togo to DDT. The man has done it all in wrestling from all angles, from being revered for his skills to being despised for his role in with House Of Torture over in New Japan. It looks like Togo is coming to DDT under his normal guise but he always liked to cheat anyway. Plus he is siding with DAMNATION T.A and expecting clean play to come out of them is foolish. Togo is one of the few people who can get Daisuke Sasaki somewhat motivated to improve himself. The timing is right for that to happen here because Sasaki is going to be Takeshita’s opponent for his 10th Anniversary match next month. That’s not all. MJ Paul will be at ringside as the wild card and there is also KANON who has been really promising so far since his entry into DDT. Takeshita has MAO & Yasu Urano to make up a talented trio but can they mesh together as well as DAMNATION T.A can? If they don’t then Takeshita will wish he was back in the states tucking into another Center Of The Roll.
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo
One slap earlier this year created a butterfly effect resulting in a new turbulent wind blowing across DDT. The main event of this year’s “WRESTLE PETER PAN” was probably always supposed to be Kazusada Higuchi Vs Tetsuya Endo but the roles they are in and how we got there is very different. In March Endo walked out of Sumo Hall as the new KO-D Openweight Champion and the man to carry DDT forward. That only lasted until June thanks to the slap heard around the world. A DDT Vs NOAH inter-promotional match at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022” prematurely ended when Katsuhiko Nakajima knocked out Endo with a slap across the face after an awkward exchange where neither looked to be on the same page with the other. The aftermath was disastrous for DDT. Intentional or not, their champion was easily defeated on the big stage for the entire world to see. Even worse, Endo was now out of action with a concussion and a decision was made for him to vacate his championship while he recovered. DDT needed a new flag bearer and quickly went to work setting that person up.
DDT was at least able to get the timing right with their backup plan. The King Of DDT tournament was next on the schedule after “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022” and the vacant KO-D Title was now up for grabs. Higuchi literally waved the DDT flag in Saitama Super Arena and made it clear he was the best choice to lead the promotion in Endo’s absence. He spent his 8 year career struggling to win the KO-D Title and finally achieved his goal by winning the tournament. His victory was a crowning moment both literally and symbolically because he was given the flag once more to represent his emergence as DDT’s strongest wrestler. That was when the new wind started blowing. Higuchi left his unit Eruption to form Harimao with Yoshimura. He also called out his first challenger… Tetsuya Endo!
Endo recovered from his concussion and wanted his return to the ring to be a fresh restart. He accepted the knockout he suffered counts as a loss no matter how you look at it. It wasn’t his intention to immediately return to challenging for the KO-D Title but once Higuchi called him out, he couldn’t resist. Also Endo feels the need to repay his fans for their continued support by becoming the champion again. He answered by throwing out his own title challenge to Higuchi just because it is tradition for the contender to approach the champion instead of vice versa. He went to get advice from Kenta Kobashi like he always does before his important matches. Kobashi’s advice to him was he needs to be angry more and should use the injury as fuel for that. That may be for another story to be told on another day though. This weekend Endo’s focus needs to be on Higuchi and just Higuchi. He has a winning singles record against him but only just. In their previous six singles matches together Endo has three wins, Higuchi has two and there was a Double KO between them. Whoever wins this 7th battle will carry the DDT flag from here on out!
DDT “ROAD TO PETER PAN 2022 IN KORAKUEN ~LET’S SHOUT!~”, 14/08/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 556 Fans
1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Soma Takao when Takeda pinned Takagi with the Shining Driver (8:55).
2. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Yukio Sakaguchi, MAO & Yuki Ishida when KANON pinned Ishida with the Sleepy Hollow (8:00).
3. Takeshi Masada Debut Match: HARASHIMA defeated Takeshi Masada with the Somato (10:28).
4. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Battle Royal: Shinya Aoki defeated Yuji Hino, Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata, Makoto Oishi, Kazuki Hirata, Yusuke Okada, Yukio Naya, Hideki Okatani and Yuya Koroku (16:15).
4a. Yukio Naya eliminated Yusuke Okada with the Back Drop (6:16).
4b. Yuji Hino eliminated Yuya Koroku with the Fuckin’ BOMB (7:35).
4c. Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi eliminated Hideki Okatani by Ring Out (7:44).
4d. Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya eliminated Chris Brookes by Ring Out (12:05).
4e. Shunma Katsumata & Makoto Oishi eliminated Yuji Hino by Ring Out (12:32).
4f. Shinya Aoki eliminated Makoto Oishi with an Ankle Hold (13:26).
4g. Kazuki Hirata was eliminated by Disqualification when he grabbed the wrong envelope (13:40).
4h. Shinya Aoki & Shunma Katsumata eliminated Yukio Naya by Ring Out (14:57).
4i. Shinya Aoki grabbed the Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere envelope (16:15). *Shinya Aoki wins the Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere NFT.
5. Special Single Match: Asuka defeated Saki Akai with the Shiranui (7:22).
6. Yuki Ueno & Toi Kojima defeated Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda when Ueno pinned Honda with the BME (8:45).
7. DDT Extreme Title – Fluorescent Lighttube IPPON Death Match: Joey Janela defeated Akito (c) by IPPON when Akito stepped on the Lighttube (13:45). *Akito fails in V1. Joey Janela becomes the 55th DDT Extreme Champion!
8. Road To WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022! Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama when Yoshimura pinned Akiyama with the Harai Goshi (22:55).
Next week Kazusada Higuchi and Tetsuya Endo will headline Ota Ward Gymnasium for a big KO-D Openweight Title match. Today was their last preview match, a tag bout pitting Harimao against the two strongest members of BURNING. The two cancelled each other out so the match instead came down to Naomi Yoshimura standing up to Jun Akiyama. In a massive statement made to the vocal crowd, Yoshimura flipped Akiyama over with the Harai Goshi and pinned him for the three count! He declared afterward that Harimao is the strongest tag team in DDT, which suddenly caught the attention of an unexpected trio.
DISASTER BOX heard what Yoshimura said and entered the ring to give their opinion on it. Kazuki Hirata praised Yoshimura for getting stronger but reminded him it is because he grew up in their unit. He wants DISASTER BOX to get a shot at the KO-D Tag Team Titles with HARASHIMA & Toru Owashi as the challengers. Yoshimura joked that Owashi only has a decent match in him once every four years so his next one is due. Owashi snapped back by saying he is currently a double crown champion just like Higuchi! He’ll tear the KO-D Tag Titles from Harimao so he can add them to the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title and the O-40 Title. Then he will become a triple crown champion! Yoshimura accepted the challenge then asked why Hirata came out with them when he’s not involved in the match? Everyone agreed to do the title match on 4th September in Nagoya.
Before the show ended, Higuchi was interrupted by Shinya Aoki. The new holder of the Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere title shot simply climbed into the ring, walked past Higuchi and climbed back out. Higuchi shrugged him off and said he is ready to fight Aoki whenever he wants. Endo then entered the ring for one last faceoff with Higuchi. He said no matter how strong Higuchi gets, Endo will still be standing in front of him on 20th August. He pointed out that nobody from DDT was included in TV Asahi’s recent Pro Wrestling General Election poll to determine the most popular wrestlers in Japan. Both Endo and Higuchi agreed it is up to them to spread DDT to the world at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022”!
The first appearance of Joey Janela in DDT turned out to be a smashing success for the American. He outsmarted Akito in the IPPON Lighttube Death Match to become the new DDT Extreme Champion! The goal of the match was to avoid breaking the lone lighttube involved in the match. That led to both Akito and Janela doing whatever they could to prevent themselves from landing on the lighttube or tricking each other into damaging it. The climactic rush of antics led to Janela sliding the lighttube across the ring while Akito charged towards him, causing Akito to step on it and break the glass everywhere. The former champion congratulated Janela and later said his sense for “Extreme” wrestling is outstanding. Janela described the finish to the media like it was something from the movie “Home Alone”.
Janela’s next scheduled match in DDT is against Shunma Katsumata on 20th August. While Janela was in the middle of a foul mouthed victory speech where he revealed his goal is to become the best foreign wrestler in DDT history, Katsumata came out to interrupt him. Neither person speaks the other’s language so a lot was lost in translation. Janela eventually figured out that Katsumata wants their match next week to have the Extreme Title on the line. Once Janela understood that Hisaya Imabayashi is the one in charge of making decisions, the challenge was accepted for 20th August. Katsumata then told “The Bad Boy” that he is “The Happy Boy”! That only confused Janela further.
Another preview match for “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022” was built around Yuki Ueno’s challenge for the DDT Universal Title held by Masahiro Takanashi. With Toi Kojima on his team, Ueno got the better of Takanashi & Antonio Honda on this day. He countered the Takatonic with the Gin And Tonic and then pinned Honda with the BME. While a beaten Takanashi was being carried out of the arena by Chris Brookes, Ueno got on the microphone. He said Takanashi always climbs up from the bottom but he needs to understand that DDT is no longer at the bottom! Ueno promised the fans he will win the Universal Title from Takanashi and make DDT even more lively. Backstage Kojima described how different wrestling in front of a cheering crowd is like for him. He feels completely different than usual in a good way and hopes the fans will get to continue making noise soon.
The singles match between Saki Akai and Asuka was a big meeting for both of them before their Mixed Tag Match with Akiyama and Brookes next week. The Big Boots went flying from both. Akai went for the Quetzalcoatl but Asuka avoided it and went on to win after hitting the Shiranui to her opponent. She only previously used that move as part of a double team attack with MAO. The move works so well for her she decided to adopt the regular version of it as a new finisher. Afterwards Asuka bragged about never losing to Akai and predicts the result of the Mixed Tag Match will be the same. However she also encouraged Akai to do her best when teaming with Akiyama. Akai said if she felt discouraged after today’s results then the last nine years she spent wrestling would have be in vain. She will move forward and get ready to team with Akiyama.
The Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere gimmick was brought back after being absent for a while. This year’s match was a combination Battle Royal/Ladder match, which is the usual choice for this prize. However the twist this time involved three envelopes hanging above the ring. Only one of the envelopes was the real prize that needed to be grabbed to win the match. The other two were dummy prizes that disqualified whoever would grab them. Hirata found that out the hard way when he was the first to pick a wrong envelope. As other wrestlers got knocked out of the match through normal means, Aoki and Katsumata ended up as the final two. Aoki used the ladder to pin Katsumata down to the canvas so he could climb it and grab the real prize, winning the match. Katsumata didn’t believe it so he grabbed the last envelope, just to confirm it wasn’t the right one.
It was promoted before the show that the actual prize representing the Right To Challenge title shot this year is something that has never been used before in pro wrestling. Imabayashi handed Aoki an iPad with an image loaded up on the screen. He then explained that Aoki’s prize is the Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere NFT! DDT decided to create one in order to prevent the title shot from being forged or stolen. Aoki will have to create an account to claim the NFT but the rules for the title shot are the same as always. He has one year to claim his KO-D Title shot at any DDT show he wants. But if Aoki directly loses any wrestling match, the NFT and the title shot is given to whoever beats him. This continues until the title match is cashed in or the year long timeframe expires. Imabayashi asked Aoki if he has an idea of when to use his title shot. Aoki simply smiled and walked off.
The anticipated debut of Takeshi Masada lived up to expectations. With only three months of training, Masada is already receiving high praise for his performance against the backbone of DDT, HARASHIMA. A lot of his moveset in the match was kick heavy because of his Shorinji Kempo background but he also pulled out a Falcon Arrow, using one of HARASHIMA’s own moves against him. The rookie was grounded with a Crab Hold which gave him a chance to show determination by fighting for a rope break. He got back into the swing of things with a kicking exchange until HARASHIMA swept his legs from under him and smashed him with the Somato to win the match. HARASHIMA congratulated him for making his debut and said it was amazing to hear the crowd cheer for the newcomer. He also said the debut match is the weakest point of a pro wrestler’s life so Masada will only get stronger from here. Masada said the match was a great experience. He got to fight HARASHIMA so now his next goal is to pin him for the three count! He also explained his ring gear is inspired by “Saturday Night Fever” because he likes old things.
DAMNATION T.A used their match to rub it in Yukio Sakaguchi’s face that they hold the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. Sakaguchi made it literal when he pressed his face into the belt KANON held up to him to build up more tension between the two. Daisuke Sasaki got a cheap shot in by throwing a chair at Sakaguchi while he was leaning over the middle rope. MAO got one back by sucker punching MJ Paul on the ring apron. Yuki Ishida ended up getting worked on by DAMNATION T.A. He made a small comeback but fell to the numbers disadvantage and got pinned by KANON’s Sleepy Hollow. Sasaki said it is about time for KANON to give old man Sakaguchi some guidance and lead him into retirement.
The big reveal of the show was the identity of White Briefs Man. The masked man who’s been following Pheromones around showed up still wearing the costume and wrestled as such. Pheromones were without Yumehito Imanari today because he is still recovering from yesterday’s Ganbare☆Pro show. That meant nobody was there to throw opponents into Danshoku Dieno & Yuki Iino’s exposed backsides. That gave Owashi & Soma Takao the chance to clear the ring and leave White Briefs Man with Sanshiro Takagi. The mask was pulled off and the identity was revealed. It’s Koju Takeda from Triple Six! Takeda pinned Takagi with the Shining Driver and was welcomed into Pheromones as Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda! Dieno said the unit is now complete with this addition. Takagi couldn’t believe it. He remembers Takeda used to wrestle in DNA and is a former KO-D 6-Man Tag Champion. This means Pheromones is getting stronger and he does not know how to stop it!
The 30th Anniversary of Jun Akiyama’s debut match will be celebrated on 18th September. Akiyama will team with Endo & Yoshinobu Kanemaru to take on Yuji Nagata, Konosuke Takeshita & Katsumata. Akiyama said Nagata and Kanemaru are two people who were indespensible to him over the last 30 years. Endo and Takeshita are in the match because Akiyama has passed down his techniques to both of them. Finally Katsumata is involved because Akiyama predicts he will become like Kanemaru in the future.
Kenta Kobashi will be at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022” to be the special witness for the Higuchi Vs Endo main event.
DDT “ROAD TO PETER PAN 2022 IN YOKOHAMA”, 06/08/2022 Yokohama Radiant Hall 149 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Yukio Naya defeated Toi Kojima with the Back Drop (7:54).
2. No Tag Rules: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari defeated Akito, Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata (w/ Sanshiro Takagi) when Imanari pinned Hirata with the Diamond Cutter (0:22).
2a. Rematch: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari defeated Akito, Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata (w/ Sanshiro Takagi) when Iino pinned Hirata with La Magistral Cradle (10:08).
3. Yukio Sakaguchi & MAO defeated Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku when Sakaguchi submitted Koroku with the Triangle Choke (7:59).
4. Minoru Fujita & KANON defeated Shunma Katsumata & El Unicorn when KANON submitted Unicorn with the Cobra Twist (12:31).
5. Special Single Match: Yuji Hino defeated Makoto Oishi with the Fuckin’ BOMB (10:23).
6. Masahiro Takanashi & Chris Brookes defeated Yuki Ueno & Soma Takao when Takanashi pinned Takao with the Everclear (13:42).
7. Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida by Knockout when Higuchi gave Ishida the Buchikamashi (19:21).
Positive covid tests during the week resulted in this show getting matches changed several times. Kazusada Higuchi was meant to have his first preview tag match with Tetsuya Endo today but Endo was absent due to covid. Instead Harimao were put against the young generation team of Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida. Despite putting up as strong a fight as they could, the youngsters were destroyed by Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura by the end. Ishida couldn’t get up past the 10 count after he was hit with the Buchikamashi so Higuchi was awarded the match by knockout. Higuchi encouraged Ishida to keep going at this level because he will accept a challenge from him anytime. Meanwhile Yoshimura’s advice to Okatani is to stop thinking too much about what to do. He needs to keep it simple and put all of his feelings into his fights.
Yuki Ueno thanked Masahiro Takanashi for nominating him for the DDT Universal Title match on 20th August. It’s a match Ueno has wanted to do many times but something would always stop it from happening. He also wants to become Universal Champion so he can spread DDT across the world and make the company more exciting. Takanashi praised Ueno for his speech and told him only the top wrestlers in DDT can say things like he did. Since Takanashi was outside the ring at this point he saw how funny it is that the challenger is in the ring looking down at the champion in this situation. But that has always been Takanashi’s story and history in DDT. On 20th August he will put that history against Ueno with the Universal Title on the line.
The original plan was for Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi to team up again but illnesses turned the match into a singles bout between them instead. Hino’s overwhelming power defeated Oishi’s quick thinking and the two stayed in good moods after the match. The two agreed to move their tag team reunion to next week’s show in Chiba. The Ω (Omega) revival will happen after all!
El Unicorn was unmasked by DAMNATION T.A for the second time. This time it was KANON who pulled off the hood right after he submitted him with the Cobra Twist. Hideki Okatani ran in and attacked KANON in response to this. The rest of Eruption entered the ring and challenged DAMNATION T.A for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles on 4th September. Even though Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul were not at the show, Minoru Fujita accepted the challenge on their behalf. KANON also nodded in agreement. Backstage Unicorn promised to beat all of DAMNATION T.A to a pulp until he is satisfied!
Match #2 was turned into a Lucha Rules match in tribute to Toru Owashi who was off the show sick with covid. Yumehito Imanari then immediately pinned Kazuki Hirata to win the match. A restart was agreed upon and this time Hirata’s team tried to work in Owashi’s moves. It was all going to plan until the White Briefs Man emerged and gave Hirata a Low Blow. Yuki Iino then added insult to injury by pinning him with La Magistral Cradle, a move Owashi usually wins with.
Sanshiro Takagi attacked the White Briefs Man after the match and unmasked him in the ring. His identity is Keigo Nakamura! Or is it? It turns out he was just a decoy because another White Briefs Man, the original one, ran into the ring and gave Takagi a Low Blow. Danshoku Dieno bragged that the masked man’s identity is still a mystery until 14th August. The only clue people learned today is it’s not Nakamura. Dieno also stirred the pot further by pointing out how suspicious it is that Owashi isn’t here today. Imanari said the people who can’t wait and want to find out now are all premature ejaculators. Takagi forgave Nakamura for his involvement in this stunt and they two of them will spend tomorrow finding out who White Briefs Man really is. Nakamura explained the last thing he remembers is crossing paths with Pheromones and his memory stops there until Takagi unmasked him. He also said he is still rehabilitating his injury so it will be a little while longer until he returns to wrestling. But when he does come back he will be in perfect condition as himself.
The show opening speech was done by HARASHIMA via phone call. He said he is already feeling fine after testing positive with covid.
The summer is winding down and it’s been a whirlwind of international appearances for Konosuke Takeshita and Miyu Yamashita in particular. Things might calm down a little going into the Autumn when Takeshita returns home to Japan for DDT. His plan is to go back for just under two months before continuing his excursion. He is definitely falling in love with America and wants to make the country his second home. But as you will see in the upcoming appearances section below there is a whole wide world out there to explore.
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Alex Windsor with the Skull Kick (15:28).
We start off in Spain where Yamashita travelled over to wrestle for RCW. She was the big draw of the show with the event’s name being a combination of her and the album “Motomami” by Rosalía. She took on Alex Windsor a week before Windsor went on to win the International Princess Title over in Japan.
PWG “NINETEEN”, 03/07/2022 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Masha Slamovich (9:22).
2. PWG World Title: Daniel Garcia (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita (23:19). *V1 for Daniel Garcia.
July turned out to be a rocky patch for Takeshita in the win-loss department. He got to fight for the PWG World Title against Daniel Garcia but couldn’t win the belt from him. Yuka Sakazaki had a better night, winning the first women’s match held in PWG in over a decade against Masha Slamovich. She left quite the impression on everyone for sure.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 06/07/2022 (Aired 08/07/2022) Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York, USA
1. Eddie Kingston defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Spinning Backfist (11:56).
Eddie Kingston made it no secret his dream is to wrestle Jun Akiyama some day. Akiyama passed down the Jumping Knee Strike to Takeshita so this match brought Kingston one little step forward toward that goal. The two smashed each other to bits and both were practically done by the time the match was over. It could have ended in a double knockout had Kingston not fallen on top of Takeshita to get the pin.
JCW “THE GREAT AMERICAN BIRTHDAY BASH”, 10/07/2022 Phil Sheridan Building, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Cole Radrick with the Zahi (15:19).
Takeshita and Cole Radrick finally wrestling each other is like when two pen pals meet in person for the first time. To think it all started when Takeshita used Radrick’s move the Lil Sebastian’s Curse 3 years ago.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/07/2022 Enmarket Arena, Savannah, Georgia, USA
1. Interim AEW World Title Eliminator Match: Jon Moxley defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Bulldog Choke (13:13).
Takeshita’s biggest match in America so far took place in AEW when he took on one of their biggest stars Jon Moxley! It was a non-title match but a win would have catapulted Takeshita into an automatic shot for the Interim AEW World Title. Unfortunately despite another heavily praised performance, Takeshita ended up submitting to the Bully Choke. It was at this point when Takeshita realised he has not won an AEW match on Dynamite or Rampage yet. He made it his next goal to get “one big win” on TV.
DEFY “THE WORLD IS YOURS NIGHT 1”, 16/07/2022 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
Next stop was Seattle for a DEFY doubleshot. In the main event of Night 1 Takeshita beat the veteran journeyman of the indies Davey Richards.
DEFY “THE WORLD IS YOURS NIGHT 2”, 17/07/2022 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Schaff (10:34).
Then on the second night Takeshita beat Schaff. I’m really low on details about what happened on the DEFY shows at the moment so let’s move on.
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 20/07/2022 (Aired 25/07/2022) Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated JD Drake with the Jumping Knee Strike (3:40).
Takeshita has no problem picking up wins on AEW’s Youtube shows. He beat JD Drake in the main event of an episode of Dark Elevation.
TERMINUS “TERMINUS 3”, 21/07/2022 Oasis Event Center, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
1. Jonathan Gresham defeated Konosuke Takeshita by Referee Stoppage with the Modified Octopus Hold (14:55).
Takeshita paid a visit to TERMINUS, the promotion that Jonathan Gresham had been championing while Ring Of Honor was in limbo. The match almost lasted the full 15 minute time limit but the last minute and a half consisted of Gresham locking Takeshita in an Octopus Hold and then finding more ways to torture him. The referee finally called for the bell in the last few seconds, giving Gresham the win. But Takeshita never gave up and even threw an Elbow Strike while in a dazed state right after Gresham let him go. This would not be the last time they were in the ring together this month.
PRESTIGE “NONSTOP FEELING”, 22/07/2022 Hawthorne Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Kevin Blackwood with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (16:55).
Here is where Takeshita started to develop something different. Kevin Blackwood is a pretty tough dude and showed his guts by taking everything Takeshita could throw at him and still kick out of his pins. Takeshita ended up using Radrick’s move the Lil Sebastian’s Curse to finally get the win. Fans want Takeshita to name his version of the move Cinnabomb but he likes the name that Radrick originally gave it.
GARDEN STATE PRO “WELCOME TO EDEN”, 23/07/2022 The Heart Ballroom, Newark, USA
1. 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Billie Starkz and Janai Kai when Yamashita pinned Starkz with the Skull Kick (6:53).
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Josh Alexander ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
Takeshita did end up getting into a time limit draw against Josh Alexander. It was a non-title match but he left holding his head up high over going the distance against the Impact World Champion. Yamashita was thrown into a hectic 3 Way Match against Billie Starkz and Janai Kai. Those young wrestlers have become two of the more familiar names in women’s wrestling on the American indies. The chaos worked out in Yamashita’s favour when Starkz unintentionally knocked Kai out of the ring, leaving her open for the deadly Skull Kick.
AEW “DYNAMITE ~ FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN”, 27/07/2022 DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
1. AEW Women’s World Title: Thunder Rosa (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Fire Thunder Driver (10:02). *V5 for Thunder Rosa.
The big reason for Yamashita’s return to America was for this. A shot at the AEW Women’s World Title she earned from beating Thunder Rosa in Tokyo Joshi Pro earlier in the month. The late part of the rematch almost became a mirror of the TJPW bout with the Attitude Adjustment being countered into a Cradle only to get reversed into another one. This time however Rosa kicked out and caught Yamashita with her own High Kick. Rosa then hit her version of the Fire Thunder Driver to avenge the loss and successfully defend the title. Unfortunately it wasn’t a great match. They weren’t on the same page in the first half and although they got back in track with Yamashita’s German Suplex spot, the rest of the match was pretty much a repeat of what they did in TJPW.
BLACK LABEL PRO “THE GANG CROSSES THE LINE”, 29/07/2022 Nashville Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Nick Wayne with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (12:40).
Takeshita ended his month over at the Starrcast convention for two matches. The first took place in Black Label Pro against the highly regarded youngster Nick Wayne. Even though Takeshita won, he was so impressed by Wayne that he passed down his nickname of “The Future” to him!
SETUP “SETUP EP.8”, 30/07/2022 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. Hoshitango defeated Bital Hasdin with the Midnight Buenos Aires (8:34).
2. Asia Dream Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) defeated Terry Diesel & Monomoth when Brookes pinned Monomoth after the Super Kick & Praying Mantis Bomb (23:40). *V4 for CDK.
Time to go a completely different direction over to Thailand where CDK went off on an adventure. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi were part of a Gatoh Move related group of wrestlers taking part in a SETUP show. CDK successfully defended the Asia Dream Tag Team Titles against two of SETUP’s best in Terry Diesel & Monomoth. Also taking part was Hoshitango. He gave the local super rookie Bital Hasdin his first loss in pro wrestling. There was even a DJ Nira sighting at some point during the show.
JCP “RIC FLAIR’S LAST MATCH”, 31/07/2022 Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
1. PROGRESS World Title #1 Contender – 4 Way Match: Jonathan Gresham defeated Alan Angels, Nick Wayne and Konosuke Takeshita when Gresham pinned Angels with an O’Connor Roll (5:40).
Takeshita was added to the undercard of Ric Flair’s dedicated attempt at turning the final scene of “The Wrestler” into reality. He took part in a 4 Way with previous opponents Gresham and Wayne along with former AEW wrestler Alan Angels.
———————————————————————–
Upcoming Appearances
AEW “BATTLE OF THE BELTS III”, 05/08/2022 (Airing 06/08/2022) Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
1. ROH World Title: Claudio Castagnoli (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
He couldn’t win the PWG Title so let’s go after the ROH World Title! Takeshita takes on Claudio Castagnoli himself in an absolute whopper of a match on paper. As mentioned above, Takeshita wants his first AEW win on TV to be a big one and this would fit the bill.
WIDE BAY PRO “RAMPAGE”, 06/08/2022 Maryborough State High School, Sussex Street, Maryborough, Australia
1. Interstate Title: Mitch Ryder (c) Vs Shota
Here’s an unexpected addition. Shota is gearing up for an American excursion in a few month’s time but this month he is heading over to Australia for a one-off appearance in Wide Bay Pro. He is going to challenge one of their champions Mitch Ryder (not the American one who died two years ago).
DPW “BELIEVE THE HYPE”, 06/08/2022 Gov. James E. Holshouser Building, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
1. Mizuki Vs Emi Sakura
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Andrew Everett
Back over to the maniac matchmaking of Deadlock Pro. On one of their recent shows Andrew Everett called out Takeshita for a match! If that isn’t enough to tickle your fancy, DPW somehow put together the rare matchup of Mizuki against Emi Sakura! It will be Mizuki’s first ever appearance in America and also Sakura’s first US booking outside of AEW ever since she worked with the company.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 137: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COPPERHEAD”, 13/08/2022 O2 Academy, Sheffield, England
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Robbie X
Robbie X is a journeyman of the British wrestling scene who seems to be finally breaking through and climbing up the ladder. He is Takeshita’s first opponent when he travels over to England.
GCW “HOMECOMING PART 1”, 13/08/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
That Itoh’s first GCW match hasn’t been announced yet makes me think she’ll be added to a Scramble 6 Way. She’ll have a busy day nonetheless.
JCW “AFTER HOURS 2”, 13/08/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Billie Starkz
GCW’s sister promotion JCW will be running a show in the same venue afterwards. Itoh is taking part by having a match against Starkz. She got along well with Yamashita. If Itoh takes a liking to her too then maybe a tour of Japan is in Starkz’s future. It will do her a world of good if she ever wants to develop as a pro wrestler.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 138: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COTTONMOUTH”, 14/08/2022 Boiler Shop, Newcastle, England
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Dean Allmark
Dean Allmark is another longtime British wrestler going beyond the indie scene. He’s been through the infamous schedule of wrestling at summer camps across the country.
GCW “HOMECOMING PART 2”, 14/08/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Dark Sheik
Now here is someone with an attitude that Itoh will appreciate. “Fuck The Fans” is a motto that Dark Sheik lives by even though she is pretty cool towards her fanbase. Hoodslam is her home but she’s gotten comfy wrestling in GCW lately too.
PRESTIGE “PERSEVERANCE”, 17/09/2022 The Glass House, Pomona, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Maki Itoh Vs Sandra Moone
Yamashita & Itoh are heading back over to Prestige in September. Itoh has an opponent announced in the form of Sandra Moone. Yamashita is still waiting to hear who she will be against. Taya Valkyrie and Trish Adora are both advertised for the show. Either of them facing Yamashita would be an attention grabber. Just saying.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 142: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN SNAKE”, 25/09/2022 O2 Academy, Birmingham, England
1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
There’s some extra slightly DDT related news for this show. Shigehiro Irie is being booked for it.
PROGRESS “RETURN OF THE FLY”, 27/09/2022 The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England
1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
CDK have another PROGRESS show to go to. The naming of it seems to match Brookes’ interests too.
WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 01/10/2022 – 03/10/2022 Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany
1. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie Vs X
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
A couple more teams have been added to the World Tag Team Festival but nothing related to what I’m doing here. Probably going to stay that way until the tournament takes place.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 