TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE 13TH TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 08/08/2026 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall
1. 13th Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Rika Tatsumi Vs Hyper Misao
2. 13th Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Arisu Endo Vs HIMAWARI
3. 13th Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Winner Of Match 2E Vs Winner Of Match 2F
4. 13th Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Winner Of Match 2G Vs Winner Of Match 2H
Four spaces in the Quarter Finals have been taken, four more are left to be filled. We’ll find out who is joining Rika Tatsumi, Hyper Misao, Arisu Endo and HIMAWARI on Thursday.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026”, 11/08/2026 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Delayed Entry Battle Royal: Raku (c) Vs Yuki Iino Vs Toru Owashi Vs Akito Vs Soma Takao Vs Fuminori Abe Vs Naomi Yoshimura Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs MJ Paul Vs Ilusion Vs Yuni Vs Yuki Ishida Vs Masami Inahata
2. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Sanshiro Takagi Vs Kazuki Hirata & To-y
3. Hinata Kasai 1st Anniversary Debut Match ~ Special Tag Match: Jun Kasai & Hinata Kasai Vs Jun Akiyama & Rukiya
4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato (c) Vs KANON, Yukio Naya & Viento Levante (w/ KIMIHIRO & YUZUKI)
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA (c) Vs Shinya Aoki & Junta Miyawaki
6. Special Single Match: YAMATO Vs Danshoku Dieno
7. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & DOUKI Vs Antonio Honda & Tetsuya Endo
8. DDT Extreme Title: Hideki Okatani (c) Vs Shunma Katsumata
9. DDT Universal Title: Kazuma Sumi (c) Vs Ryusuke Taguchi
10. Dramatic Dream Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Kaisei Takechi
11. KO-D Openweight Title – Goodcom Asset Presents: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs MAO
This is the full lineup for “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026” but the match order has not been decided yet outside of the main event. Yuki Ueno got one over on MAO this past weekend by making him tap out to a Sleeper Hold. He thinks MAO isn’t hitting the heights of his potential for what should be the most important KO-D Openweight Title challenge of his career. MAO is certain he still has that crazy side of himself, it’s just that he has matured a little bit so he can be ready to become DDT’s champion.
There is a shadow following Hideki Okatani’s reign as DDT Extreme Champion that he needs to vanquish next. He needs to defend the belt against Shunma Katsumata! They have fought over the title two times before with Katsumata winning both times as champion. The first match in 2023 was an important stepstone for Okatani because it was his entry into hardcore wrestling. That match was also where Katsumata injured his leg and had to vacate the title afterwards. When he returned and won it back in 2024, Okatani was one of Katsumata’s first defences during that title reign.
A partnership forged in fire has made Shinya Aoki & Junta Miyawaki decide to chase after the KO-D Tag Team Titles together. They previously fought Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA for No. 1 Contendership over the titles back in March. FANTÔMES DRAMATIC won that match and went on to become the champions so there is plenty of setup for the rematch.
DDT are giving Hinata Kasai a tough challenge if he wants to get his first win while teaming with his dad Jun Kasai. They will take on Jun Akiyama and his DDT protege Rukiya.
Minoru Suzuki & Sanshiro Takagi are joining forces after years of being enemies inside the ring, outside the ring, at an empty Tokyo Dome and even on a bullet train. The strength of their alliance will depend on how annoying Kazuki Hirata & To-y will be in front of them.
Speaking of bullet trains, Raku now holds the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. Whoever enters the Battle Royal as the champion will get a bullet train pass for one year to use whenever DDT books them for shows held outside of Tokyo. I’m not sure if that also applies to Tokyo Joshi Pro if Raku gets the prize.
DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2026 IN SHINJUKU 【FINAL COUNTDOWN 3】”, 13/08/2026 Shinjuku FACE
0. Special Dark Match: Ilusion Vs Yoshihiko
1. Rock ‘N’ Roll 4 Way Death Match: Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Junta Miyawaki Vs To-y
2. Enter Sandman Match: Yuki Ueno Vs MAO Vs Daisuke Sasaki Vs Takeshi Masada Vs Danshoku Dieno Vs Super Sasadango Machine
The final set of Beer Garden shows to be held in Shinjuku FACE will happen in August and the usual match gimmicks will be held there. Miyawaki gets to join in the Rock ‘N’ Roll Death Match for the first time. Ilusion and Yoshihiko are also having a pre-show rematch of their Korakuen Hall dark match from April. Last but not least, Kumadori will be on the show.
DDT “THE FINAL SHINJUKU FACE BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING”, 14/08/2026 Shinjuku FACE
1. Special Single Match ~ I’m You, You’re Me: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Fake Daisuke Sasaki
2. Our LariPro ’26: Keisuke Ishii, Danshoku Dieno & Junta Miyawaki Vs Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Iino & Kazuki Hirata
3. Unit Shuffle! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & HARASHIMA Vs Chris Brookes, KANON & To-y
It’s up to Daisuke Sasaki to deal with the fake forms of himself that have been showing up recently. Keisuke Ishii gets to host his Lariat Pro Wrestling match in Shinjuku FACE for one last time.
GANBARE☆PRO “IT’S A SUMMER FILM 2026”, 15/08/2026 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Keisuke Ishii, SUSHI & Sentaro Motoshima Vs Shinichiro Tominaga, Guts Ishijima & Shota Kawakami
2. Moeka Haruhi Vs Rydeen Hagane
3. Yumehito Imanari Vs Hyo Ogawa
4. Ken Ohka 25th Anniversary Match Part 2: Ken Ohka, Masashi Takeda & Akira Shoji Vs Chris Brookes, Isami Kodaka & Fuminori Abe
5. Special Single Match: YuuRI Vs Takumi Iroha
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Takuya Wada & Tyson Maeguchi (c) Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Yuya Susumu
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Mizuki Watase (c) Vs Shigehiro Irie
The Toyama Army that Ken Ohka’s been gathering together has a new member. Masashi Takeda is not from Toyama but apparantly his dad is and he’s visited the area enough times in his life to qualify for membership. There is no disputing that Akira Shoji is part of the team.
Moeka Haruhi and Rydeen Hagane were not on the same page during their tag match over the weekend. They blamed each other for losing that match so the obvious direction to go is have them wrestle each other to settle their differences.
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “FUCKED UP FEST 2026”, 22/08/2026 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR
1. SEKIFUDA 1 YEAR OF BAKA ~ Special Single Match: Kota Sekifuda Vs Minoru Suzuki
It’s been over a year since Kota Sekifuda left Big Japan to go freelance. The first anniversary of his debut in Baka Gaijin + Friends is happening in August too so his present is a match against Minoru Suzuki.
The live music lineup for “FUCKED UP FEST 2026” includes a lot of bands with wrestlers in it. They are Dos Quatro (MAO), Daisetz (Antonio Honda), NωA Jr. (Shunma Katsumata, Kazuma Sumi & Yuni), Channel D (Daisuke Sasaki) and Super P And The Space Bandits (Filipino wrestler Super P). So those might be the clues as to who else will be wrestling on the show.
1. Toyama Army Vs Anti-Toyama Army: Ken Ohka, Akira Shoji, Shinichiro Tominaga & Leon defeated Yumehito Imanari, Sentaro Motoshima, Moeka Haruhi & Rydeen Hagane when Ohka pinned Haruhi with the Flame Spear (10:40).
2. YuuRI defeated Echika Miyabi with a Camel Clutch Sleeper Hold (11:13).
3. Tyson Maeguchi defeated Shuichiro Katsumura by Referee Stoppage after a Knee Strike (11:31).
4. Takuya Wada defeated Yuya Susumu by Referee Stoppage with a Triangle Choke (12:20).
5. Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao defeated Mizuki Watase, Shota Kawakami & SUSHI when Irie pinned Kawakami with a Lariat (19:24).
The Team Dream Futures reunion was a successful one after they defeated Mizuki Watase’s side. Shigehiro Irie doesn’t want to spend much time in the past however. He hears from fans so often that they used to watch him a lot or they used to like him. Irie wants to show everyone that right now he is alive and well in the wrestling world. He will prove it by winning the Spirit Of Ganbare World Title from Watase at Korakuen Hall on 15th August. Watase then brought up all the times he travelled with Irie around the world from America to Germany. He believes Irie is still the best wrestler he knows which is why he wants to defend the title against him. He does not want to hear any talk about injuries or surgeries from either side from now until the match has ended. Instead he told Irie they should show everyone the best 15th August ever!
Both preview matches for the 15th August Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles bout ended in Referee Stoppages. Tyson Maeguchi knocked out Shuichiro Katsumura after catching him with a Knee Strike while Takuya Wada held Yuya Susumu in a Triangle Choke until the referee had to step in. Katsumura has no memory of how his match ended but he thinks he won while Susumu claims he had Wada pinned in a Cradle for the three count before he passed out in the Triangle Choke. The Deadlock couldn’t help but laugh when they heard that both of their opponents thought they had won. They think next time they should beat them in a way that they will still remember afterwards.
The finish to the opening match happened after Rydeen Hagane accidentally hit Moeka Haruhi with a Lariat, leading to Ken Ohka pinned Haruhi with the Flame Spear afterward. When Haruhi recovered she got into a fight with Hagane after the match and the two blamed each other for losing. Ohka broke things up and decided a match between Haruhi and Hagane will happen at the 15th August Korakuen show.
At the end of the show Ohka revealed his partners for the 6-Man Tag Match on 15th August. His first partner is going to be Akira Shoji but before he could announce his second, Shinichiro Tominaga walked in and complained about not being chosen. He asked why and Ohka said it is because the other partner will be Masashi Takeda! According to Ohka, Masada is allowed to join the Toyama Army because his father is from Toyama and he also spent many summer vacations in the area when he was a student. SUSHI then appeared asking to be booked for the show but Ohka rejected him. Luckily for SUSHI, he later got the booking anyway and he will be part of the undercard at Korakuen.
DDT “CHARISMANIAxMANIAxMANIA SUPPORTED BY HEAD PHONES PRESIDENT”, 02/10/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Minoru Fujita, Hiroshi Yamato & MJ Paul defeated Yuko Miyamoto, Masashi Takeda & Choun Shiryu when Paul pinned Shiryu with the Reverse Splash (10:26).
2. Daisuke Sasaki Memorial Cup Gauntlet Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie defeated Yasutaka Oosera & Ilusion, Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao, Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya, Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada, Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura, Danshoku Dieno & Sumicaras and Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Mataro) (14:50).
2a. Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao defeated Danhoku Dieno & Sumicaras when Hirata eliminated Sumicaras by Ring Out (1:15).
2b. Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao when Yoshimura eliminated Hirata by Ring Out (3:15).
2c. Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Mataro) defeated Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura when Shu & Kei eliminated Yoshimura by Ring Out (7:00).
2d. Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya defeated Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Mataro) and Brahman Chris & Brahman Takeshi (w/ Brahman Bunbun) when Naya eliminated Kei and Takeshi by Double Ring Out (12:14).
2e. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie defeated Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya when Irie eliminated Iino by Ring Out (14:50).
2f. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie defeated Yasutaka Oosera & Ilusion when Ishii pinned Oosera with the Spinning Body Bomb (17:13).
3. Hardcore Match: Jun Kasai defeated Hideki Okatani with the Cross-Arm Stimulation (15:08).
4. Company yY Presents TOGO FAMILY Vs DDT ~ 5 Vs 5: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ueno, HARASHIMA, Akito & To-y defeated Dick Togo, Yasu Urano, KUBITO, Diego & Naohiro Katsumi when Ueno pinned Urano with the BME (15:37).
5. Daisuke Sasaki 20th Anniversary Match: Daisuke Sasaki & El Desperado defeated Shuji Ishikawa & Antonio Honda when Sasaki submitted Honda with the Crossover Face Lock (23:10).
Twenty years of Daisuke Sasaki was celebrated inside Korakuen Hall today for the latest edition of “CHARISMANIA”. There were not only wrestling matches featuring wrestlers closely connected to Sasaki but live music was performed by several bands too. HEAD PHONES PRESIDENT sponsored the entire show, VANISHING played Sasaki’s entrance music as he walked down to the ring and Sasaki’s own band CHANNEL D opened up the show with a song.
For the main event Sasaki teamed up with a previous big show opponent El Desperado from New Japan to take on two wrestlers who have been close to Sasaki for a lot of his career, Shuji Ishikawa & Antonio Honda. A match as important as this made Honda bring out the Tenzan Tombstone Driver to use on Sasaki while Ishikwa gave Desperado the Fire Thunder Driver. The opposing team also gave Sasaki the Double Impact/Doomsday Device but Desperado came back to give Honda the Pinche Loco. And even though it was Sasaki’s day to be the hero, he still cheated by giving Honda a Low Blow when the ref wasn’t looking so he can easily make Honda give up to La Mistica Crossover Face Lock.
The members of HEAD PHONES PRESIDENT congratulated Sasaki after the match and gave him a commemorative gift. He told the fans today was CHANNEL D’s first performance and their next goal is to perform at Budokan Hall. He also gave a shoutout to the injured Masahiro Takanashi, telling him to live his own life while Sasaki continues living in the ring because they will meet again some day. He then ended the show with a rare show of thanks toward the audience followed by a joke that today’s lineup will be back in twenty years time for Sasaki’s 40th Anniversary.
Sasaki is one of the many wrestlers who was trained by Dick Togo over the years so not only did he book Togo for the show, he booked a bunch of his other protégés too! Yasu Urano, KUBITO, Diego & Naohiro Katsumi have all had their lives touched by Togo and with their mentor taking the lead the TOGO FAMILY fought a team of five DDT wrestlers. Togo had moments to fight with HARASHIMA before Akito and KUBITO took over. Togo also exchanged attacks with Kazusada Higuchi and give To-y the Pedigree on top of Yuki Ueno’s back. Togo’s last big move was to cut off HARASHIMA before doing a running dive onto Higuchi from the ring apron. However Yuki Ueno survived a Cross-Arm Power Bomb from Yasu Urano to hit back with a Dropkick and then pin him with the Best Moonsault Ever.
The rest of DAMNATION T.A were involved in matches on the undercard. Hideki Okatani’s birthday isn’t happening for another month but Sasaki got him a birthday present anyway. It was a Hardcore Match against Jun Kasai! They fought each other using computer keyboards, chairs, a guitar and even a birdcage as weapons. Kasai put Okatani through a table at ringside by jumping from the top rope onto him. As Kasai was getting the upper hand, he told Okatani out loud that his son Hinata Kasai is grateful for all of his help. Okatani wouldn’t be beaten with the Pearl Harbor Splash even after he got skewers planted into his head and he got pushed off a ladder. He also kicked out of the Vertical Drop Tiger Driver so Kasai had to pull out the Cross-Arm Stimulation to finally put him away. He wanted to shake Okatani’s hand after the match but Okatani refused and gave him the middle finger instead. Despite his behavior, Okatani said backstage that it’s been a while since a Hardcore match got him feeling this excited. Meanwhile Kasai said that since DDT is currently taking care of his son, he would like if it they start taking care of him too!
A “Memorial Cup” for Sasaki was up for grabs in the Tag Gauntlet match that ended up turning into a free for all because some of the teams decided to enter early. Danshoku Dieno spent almost the entire match crouching over the top turnbuckle in the Hell Gate position, even after his team was eliminated when Sumicaras was “unmasked” and thrown out of the ring. When Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao were eliminated, the chaos then began thanks to The Brahman Brothers joining the match. They were accompanied by the long suffering staff member Mataro who was now Mataro Brahman! Mataro took a beating but that just gave The Brahmans the opening to eliminate Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura. Just when things couldn’t get worse, the SCHADENFREUDE International team entered the match with Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Bunbun also dressed up like The Brahmans and doing their spots! The Apex tried to clean things up but were overwhelmed by the ring full of Brahmans. Yukio Naya was shoved face first into Dieno’s Hell Gate, the Brahmans force fed Dieno green slime and by the end of the spot the slime started coming out of Naya’s mouth! Naya got revenge by knocking everyone out of the ring to eliminate both The Brahmans and SCHADENFREUDE. Mataro tried to distract Naya by placing a piece of sashimi onto his head. Naya took a bite out of it and fainted but Yuki Iino then chopped Mataro out of the ring. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie were the last team to enter and used their teamwork to eliminated The Apex and then Yasutaka Oosera & Ilusion back to back to become the last team standing. Their prize for winning was a free beer voucher each. Irie isn’t much of a beer drinker so he gave his voucher to Ishii.
MJ Paul got some shine in the opening match along with part-time DAMNATION T.A member Minoru Fujita as well as a sort of ally Hiroshi Yamato. Fujita was used by Choun Shiryu to vault himself onto everyone outside the ring. Masashi Takeda used his skills to Northern Lights Suplex Fujita & Yamato at the same time. Yuko Miyamoto tried to finish off Fujita but his Tombstone attempt was reversed into the Sayonara version by Fujita. The DAMNATION-ish team ended up focusing on Shiryu which paid off with Paul using the Reverse Splash to pin him.
DDT “ROCK IN RING 2025 ~STRIKE THE BEAT, SHOUT THE CHEERS~”, 13/07/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall ??? Fans – Unannounced
0. Dark Match: Naomi Yoshimura & Antonio Honda defeated Soma Takao & Yuni when Honda pinned Yuni with a Jackknife Pin (6:36).
1. Chris Brookes, Jun Akiyama & Daichi Sato defeated Yuki Iino, Yukio Naya & Yuki Ishida when Sato pinned Ishida with the Mad Splash (8:29).
2. 3 Way Match: Super Sasadango Machine defeated Danshoku Dieno and Kazuki Hirata when Sasadango pinned Hirata with a School Boy (4:19).
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, KANON & Kazuma Sumi (w/ KIMIHIRO) defeated Masashi Takeda, Ilusion & Haruto Sakuraba when MAO pinned Ilusion with a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch (11:10).
4. Special Tag Match: Kosei Fujita & Takeshi Masada defeated To-y & Yuya Koroku when Masada pinned Koroku with the Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (12:22).
5. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) defeated Shinya Aoki by Referee Stoppage with Elbow Strikes (15:17). *V3 for Minoru Suzuki.
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Akito & Kaisei Takechi defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul when Ueno pinned Paul with the BME (11:40).
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) defeated HARASHIMA with the Claw Slam (16:55). *V1 for Kazusada Higuchi.
The new KO-D Openweight Champion treated his first defence as if he was the challenger instead of the title holder. Kazusada Higuchi took on this mindset because his opponent was HARASHIMA, one of his most difficult career opponents who he had never beaten in previous matches where the KO-D Title was on the line. HARASHIMA targeted Higuchi’s arm in a bid to shut down the Claw Hold and Claw Slam. Higuchi caught HARASHIMA’s Somato at ringside and slammed him back first onto the ring apron. He was also able to apply the Claw Hold after catching a kick leaving HARASHIMA open to be grabbed. HARASHIMA took him down with a Cross Armbreaker but Higuchi powered himself back to his feet to slam him down. He did get hit with the Somato but kicked out and was able to pin HARASHIMA with the Claw Slam to score his first defence.
After the match Higuchi called HARASHIMA a crazy 51 year old. Higuchi has only been able to beat him once so he has a long way to go. HARASHIMA told him he will keep challenging again and again if he can so Higuchi should keep polishing the belt for when he takes it back. Hisaya Imabayashi then told Higuchi his next title defence will be at Night 1 of “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025” on 30th August. Before Higuchi could select his challenger, Jun Akiyama entered the ring and said the time is right for Higuchi to wrap the belt around his waist again. Higuchi responded that he will make Akiyama wrap the belt around his waist one more time and accepted the challenge. Akiyama then took the first shot by hitting Higuchi with a Lariat! The winner of the match will go on to defend the title on Night 2 of “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025” on 31st August against the winner of a Battle Royal that will be held on 16th July.
It was a baptism of fire for DDT’s newest signing. Kaisei Takechi brought in a big crowd to the show like he did in his previous DDT appearances last year. Now THE RAMPAGE star will be delving into a deeper adventure into the promotion starting off with a match against DAMNATION T.A. He and Hideki Okatani had fought before and Okatani gave him a cheap shot to start off the match. Takechi relied on teamwork with Yuki Ueno & Akito to control the match until Daisuke Sasaki threw a chair at him and beat him up around ringside. Takechi caught a chairshot from Sasaki only to get hit from behind by Okatani with another chair. Yet the big comeback had Akito Side Suplex MJ Paul and Ueno follow up with a Frog Splash. The Takechi grabbed Sasaki by the neck and Choke Slammed him out of the ring onto the rest of DAMNATION T.A plus a few ringside seconds below. With the ring cleared, Ueno then landed the BME on Paul to win the match.
Takechi got on them microphone afterwards and spoke about his goal to bring pro wrestling to people who have never seen it before. If these dots connect they can make the circle of fans even bigger and create an amazing whirlwind that will help DDT become more popular. He wants to fight more opponents in DDT and also confirmed he will compete at “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” in Sumo Hall on 3rd November. Akito, speaking from his role as a CyberFight director later said he would like to get Takechi to appear in DDT as regularly as he can before that show. Ueno asked if that means he could even be at the outdoor Ueno Park shows? Akito said absolutely! DAMNATION T.A also wants to fight Takechi more often. They accept him as a DDT wrestler but warn him that next time he won’t get away with the trouble he caused them today!
There’s been a few times Minoru Suzuki and Shinya Aoki have shared the wrestling ring together but today was the first singles match between the two accomplished fighters. The DDT Universal Title held by Suzuki was on the line too so both were trying to be at the top of their game. Suzuki flipped a switch and turned a back and forth grapple exchange into a ringside fight. Aoki hit a dive and then back in the ring went for different submissions until he locked in the Full Nelson Hold. However when he rolled it into the Aoki Clutch it was too close to the ropes and Suzuki escaped the pin because of it. Aoki applied the Full Nelson again but this time Suzuki rolled out of it and applied the Sleeper Hold as a counter. Aoki tried reversing it only to end up back in the Sleeper Hold. However Aoki still had some fight left in him and did what he could to avoid the Gotch-Style Piledriver until Suzuki fish hooked his mouth to finally pull off the move. Rather than go for the pin, Suzuki instead slapped and threw elbow strikes at Aoki repeatedly until Yukinori Matsui called for the match to end by TKO.
Suzuki told Aoki this is how much fun pro wrestling can be. Someone like Aoki cannot even get a foothold on Suzuki so Suzuki told him to get out of the ring. He then asked if there was any challenger out there who deserves to be called a Universal Champion? MAO came down to the ring and Suzuki admitted he was waiting for him to show up. MAO talked about his recent success with Strange Love Connection as well as his performances in the Best Of The Super Juniors. All of a sudden he is now feeling the urge to beat Suzuki, bring the Universal Title back to DDT and more importantly bring it back to himself! Suzuki accepted the challenge and said he’s been wanting to wrestle MAO after travelling to shows in other countries with him. MAO later called the Universal Title his ex-lover and he’s going to rescue it from that lust-driven old man!
A close friendship that crosses wrestling companies led to Takeshi Masada inviting this year’s BOSJ winner Kosei Fujita over for a tag match. The two of them fought To-y & Yuya Koroku in a match showcasing their generation. Most of the match pitted Fujita against To-y while Masada and Koroku continued their growing rivalry. Masada & Fujita ended up gelling greatly as a team and won in the end. Fujita wiped out T-oy with a dive out of the ring allowing Masada to pin Koroku with the Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki.
Things went up a notch after the match when Chris Brookes entered the ring with Bunbun on his hand. Shortly following after him was the arrival of Zack Sabre Jr.! All of a sudden there was a face off between the SCHADENFREUDE International side and the TMDK side. Bunbun started mouthing off so Sabre grabbed him off Brookes’s hand and threw him out of the ring. While this was going on Hisaya Imabayashi had gotten in contact with New Japan and got their permission to book Sabre’s match at Night 1 of “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025”. It’s going to be Brookes & Masada against Sabre & Fujita! Backstage Fujita said he had fun in DDT today and he’d like to return the favour and invite Masada over to NJPW sometime.
DAMNATION T.A’s massive weapon was back for his second match. Haruto Sakuraba teamed with KANON for his debut but things were different this time. Now KANON is the enemy that Sakuraba came to rip apart while Ilusion and Masashi Takeda made life hell for MAO & Kazuma Sumi. However Sumi was in sync with the Strange Love Connection and KANON fought to match Sakuraba’s power with his own. Sakuraba came out on top of the exchange but Ilusion couldn’t capitalize on it. He missed the Swanton Bomb aimed for MAO and was rolled up in a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch while KANON used the Cobra Twist on Sakuraba and Sumi pinned down Takeda with a School Boy to hold them both back from breaking the pin. After the match KANON and Sakuraba continued to provoke each other. Then backstage Sakuraba blamed Ilusion for losing the match and said it isn’t over between him and KANON.
The participants of the 3 Way Match were given strict instructions by Hisaya Imabayashi to not waste any time and start right at the climax. So Danshoku Dieno immediately went into the Hell Gate position in the corner while Super Sasadango Machine unmasked himself and laid prone on the canvas. He then got back up to attack Kazuki Hirata once Hirata finished his entrance. When Dieno got the back of his tights fully pulled down, Imabayashi ran into the ring to protest it and give Sasadango a Stunner. Hirata knocked out the GM and shoved him face first into Dieno’s Hell Gate. He then hit Sasadango with an Axe Bomber but as he posed heroicly, Sasadango rolled him up with a School Boy to win the match.
After the 3 Way Match ended, Sasadango had a PowerPoint presentation to shoe everyone. In it he talked about his recent DDT Vs NJPW match and how afterwards Hiroshi Tanahashi met him in the waiting room asking to be treated to a meal sometime. Sasadango couldn’t help but wonder what Tanahashi’s intention was so he looked into the origin of the word “ogoru” (“treat”). He found out the word can be used for arrogance or pride, then discovered a Greek origin where it refers to someone following their desires and stepping into forbidden territory. So when Tanahashi asked him to treat him to a meal, Sasadango worked out that what he really meant was Tanahashi wants a singles match against Danshoku Dieno! DDT then confirmed the match will happen at Night 2 of “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025” on 31st August!
When Dieno heard about the match he said it will not be about DDT or NJPW. For him the match is his final chance to see if Dieno’s way of life can reach Tanahashi. He then talked about the recent “shocking” discovery that Sasadango is really Muscle Sakai, who retired from pro wrestling 15 years ago. The anniversary of that retirement is coming up so Dieno thinks it would be a good time for Sakai to revisit that match. This is going to be Dieno’s treat to Sasadango. It was then announced that Muscle Sakai will face Minoru Suzuki at Night 1 of “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025” on 30th August!
The Apex met their next challengers in a preview of the upcoming KO-D Tag Team Titles match. Jun Akiyama & Daichi Sato went toe to toe with them with Chris Brookes and Yuki Ishida throwing themselves into the action. Sato suffered the numbers game against Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya but Akiyama & Brookes were there to cut them off. That left Sato to give Ishida a Fire Thunder Driver and then get the win with the Mad Splash.
The dark match had Antonio Honda telling his jokes, Naomi Yoshimura joining in the fun, Soma Takao shilling the Dropkick Bar shirt and Yuni Moonsaulting into Honda’s raised feet so he could get pinned with a Jackknife afterwards.
There was a lot of news announcements at the beginning of the show. Rukiya announced he will return from injury on 17th August. He has been out of action since May 2024 with a cervical sprain. He described how frustrated he was seeing the other young wrestlers working so hard while he’s been gone so he is starting from scratch in a bid to catch up, surpass them and reach to the top.
A new trainee introduced himself to everybody and this one is noteworthy. If “Happy Boy” Hinata Kasai is a name that sounds familiar then it should because he is the son of “Crazy Monkey” Jun Kasai! Hinata is 21 years old from Yokohama, is 171cm tall and weighs 79kg. He will make his pro wrestling debut at Night 1 of “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025” on 30th August. There is a dream he set out for himself and that is to surpass his father as a pro wrestler!
This year’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere challenge was announced. It will begin next month with four Right To Challenge prizes being put on the line in matches held on the 9th, 10th, 16th and 17th August. The four prizes are all KO-D Openweight Title shots that can be cashed in during the period between 9th August and 19th October. If a prize holder directly loses a match on a DDT show they will transfer their title shot over to the person that beat them.
During the week Shunma Katsumata injured his knee during practice and was diagnosed with a torn ACL in his left knee. He will be out of action for a while. It is the same injury he suffered last November that kept him on the shelf until this past March so he is having rotten luck with his health lately. A lot of his matches for July were already booked so plenty of show lineups had to be changed around because of his injury.
DDT “YOKOHAMA NIGHT SPLASH”, 05/07/2025 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Special Single Match: KANON V MJ Paul
2. 5 Way Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Akito Vs Naomi Yoshimura Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Yuya Koroku
3. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Kazuma Sumi Vs Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Iino, To-y & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Jun Akiyama, Hikaru Sato & Daichi Sato
5. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs HARASHIMA & Soma Takao
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & Ilusion (c) Vs Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada
Katsumata was meant to team with Yuki Ueno to take on Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida from Harimao. Ueno will now team with Kazuma Sumi.
The public contract signing for the next KO-D Openweight Title match will happen before the show starts.
DDT “JAPAN PARA-WRESTLING FEDERATION PRESENTS CHARITY PRO WRESTLING FESTIVAL ~REIWA 7TH ODAWARA BATTLE~”, 06/07/2025 Kanagawa Odawara Arena Sub-Arena
1. Ilusion Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Daichi Sato & Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Yuki Ishida
3. Special Tag Match: Danshoku Dieno & Pokotan (w/ Umemaru) Vs Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
4. Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul Vs HARASHIMA, Soma Takao & Yukio Naya
5. Special Single Match: KANON Vs Yuya Koroku
6. Uchiyama Kenichi Presents Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tatsumi Fujinami, Yoshiaki Yatsu & Jun Akiyama Vs Yuki Ueno, To-y & Akito
7. Shonan Spirits Co. Ltd. Presents Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Iino Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada
Akito replaces Katsumata to face the legends on Sunday’s show.
DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2025 IN UENO”, 08/07/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. Makoto Oishi & Kazuma Sumi Vs Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida
2. Dance Vs Idol Battle Without Honor & Humanity ~ Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Yuni
3. Falls Count Anywhere Crocodile Death Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & Ilusion Vs Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya Vs Jun Akiyama, Daichi Sato & Soma Takao
5. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & To-y Vs Hikaru Sato & Akito
6. KANON 6th Anniversary Match ~ Special Tag Match: MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs HARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno
With To-y and Hikaru Sato about to face each other for the DDT Extreme Title soon, they’re first going to test each other out in a tag match.
The KO-D Champion and KO-D Tag Team Champions are teaming up together. Two of their opponents will be challenging for the tag titles soon but Soma Takao is sticking out like a sore thumb here.
DDT “ROCK IN RING 2025 ~PLAY THE STRIKES, SHOUT THE CHEERS”, 13/07/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: Naomi Yoshimura & Antonio Honda Vs Soma Takao & Yuni
1. 3 Way Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata
2. Yuki Iino, Yukio Naya & Yuki Ishida Vs Chris Brookes, Jun Akiyama & Daichi Sato
3. Special Tag Match: Kosei Fujita & Takeshi Masada Vs To-y & Yuya Koroku
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Masashi Takeda, Ilusion & Haruto Sakuraba Vs MAO, KANON & Kazuma Sumi (w/ KIMIHIRO)
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Akito & Kaisei Takechi Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul
6. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs Shinya Aoki
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs HARASHIMA
The new champion Kazusada Higuchi instantly attracted one of the best wrestlers in DDT to challenge him for the title. HARASHIMA always wants to fight the strongest wrestlers and admires Higuchi for having the strength to climb back to the top of the mountain after returning from his injuries.
Akito will also be filling in for Katsumata on this show for the all important Kaisei Takechi match.
DAMNATION T.A are really ramping things up. Not only do they have Haruto Sakuraba coming back for his second wrestling match but now Masashi Takeda will be on his team! Ilusion may not even have to do much on the day other than be an annoying little shit to the opponents and that’s second nature to him at this point.
DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2025 IN SHINJUKU – DAY 2”, 16/07/2025 Shinjuku FACE
1. Dedicated To Lafcadio Hearn! Ghost Story Shin-Numabukuro Death Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Akito Vs KANON Vs Soma Takao *Ghost Story Artist: Hisaya Imabayashi
2. Noryo KING OF DRUNK Decision Match: HARASHIMA Vs Daisuke Sasaki Vs Shunma Katsumata
3. Special Single Match: Ilusion Vs Kumadori
4. Beer Garden Specialty Customer Lottery 8-Man Tag Match: To-y, Yuki Ueno, MAO, Kazuki Hirata, Antonio Honda, Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku and Yuki Ishida
Ilusion’s behavior has gotten under someone’s skin for them to do something about it. Kumadori has had enough of Ilusion’s cheating and insults so he wants to deal with him one on one.
Just because Katsumata blew out his ACL again doesn’t mean he can’t compete in the KING OF DRUNK contest. He’s still taking part in it as far as I can tell.
DDT “SANKO MANUFACTURING CO., LTD. OME PRESENTS HARASHIMA RETURNS HOME! ~WE’RE HOLDING A SHOW IN OME! WHY? BECAUSE IT’S MY HOMETOWN!~”, 27/07/2025 Sumitomo Metal Mine Arena Ome Sports Hall 1
1. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) Vs Jun Akiyama & Daichi Sato
2. HARASHIMA Debut 24th Anniversary Match – Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Togi Makabe & Yasu Urano Vs Shinya Aoki, Shuji Ishikawa & Akito
The brand new tag team called The Apex are now the KO-D Tag Champs. Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya now have another pair of heavyweights coming to take their new belts. Ever since Daichi Sato became a full fledged member of DDT he’s been teaming with Jun Akiyama a lot. The legend has seen to it to become the teenager’s mentor and could end up being rewarded for it by with a first time KO-D Tag Title reign.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025 – DAY 1”, 30/08/2025 Tokyo Higashin Arena Main Arena
1. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs X
Zack Sabre Jr. will be on the show. Looks like he will only be on Day 1 of “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025” and not Day 2.
DDT “CHARISMANIA”, 06/11/2024 Shinjuku FACE 500 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. KUBITO & Naohiro Katsumi 19th Anniversary Match: KUBITO defeated Naohiro Katsumi with the Crossface Lock (6:59).
2. Ram Kaichow, Endo Kaichow & Kodara Kaichow (w/ Mataro) defeated Brahman Shu, Brahman Masa & Brahman Keigo (w/ Brahman Kei) when Ram pinned Keigo with a School Boy (10:12).
3. Demus, Ilusion & Anarko Montaña defeated Kaito Ishida, Shunma Katsumata & Diego when Ilusion pinned Diego with the Swanton Bomb (10:53).
4. Ryuichi “Fire” Kawakami & MJ Paul defeated Masashi Takeda & Daichi Sato when Paul pinned Sato with the Reverse Splash (15:27).
5. Special Single Match: Shigehiro Irie defeated KANON with the Beast Bomber (17:37).
6. The Greatest Wrestling Match Of CHARISMANIA: Daisuke Sasaki & Yuko Miyamoto defeated Dick Togo & Minoru Fujita when Sasaki submitted Fujita with La Mistica Crossface Lock (25:19).
Has the student has surpassed his master? Daisuke Sasaki is now entering his 20th year as a pro wrestler so to celebrate he organized “CHARISMANIA” and put himself in the main event with his mentor Dick Togo as well as two wrestlers he looks up to Yuko Miyamoto and Minoru Fujita. All four wrestlers are used to either wrestling dirty or fighting in violent death matches but they instead all fought clean for today’s special match. Togo used La Mistica Crossface Lock on Sasaki and Fujita followed up with the SAYONARA Tombstone. They wanted to finish him off with the Double Impact but Miyamoto cut them off. Sasaki gave Togo the Pedigree and then used his own La Mistica Crossface Lock to submit Fujita. Sasaki & Miyamoto received a prize from members of the rock band HEAD PHONES PRESIDENT for winning the main event.
Sasaki said the other three wrestlers will eternally be his idols. For his 20th anniversary he wants to finally surpass his master and challenged Togo to a singles match. Togo said he isn’t in the best condition right now and there is a clear difference between them. He asked Sasaki to wait five years so Togo can get into his best shape and also get to wrestle the match at 60! Sasaki will be turning 40 next November but don’t tell him he’s getting weaker as he gets older. He doesn’t have time to get old and promised he will defeat his master eventually! Sasaki also wants to run “CHARISMANIA” as an annual event until he’s held it 2000 times!
Naturally DAMNATION T.A were the featured players for most of the show. KANON also took the fair play route when he fought Shigehiro Irie. He tried fighting as hard as he could by giving Irie a Falcon Arrow as well as the Cobra Twist. Irie smashed him with an Elbow Strike, dropped him from the top rope with an Avalanche Back Flip and pinned him with the Beast Bomber. KANON gave Irie the middle finger instead of shaking his hand after the match.
It wasn’t all clean and fair fighting from the DAMNATION T.A wrestlers. Ryuichi “Fire” Kawakami & MJ Paul got into a chair fight with Masashi Takeda & Daichi Sato during their tag match. To be fair, Takeda was just as responsible for making the match violent and also wanted to attack Fire Damnation with his pair of scissors. Sato also stepped up to Paul but was ultimately beaten by him with the Reverse Splash.
Ilusion was joined by Demus & Anarko Montaña to take on the babyface trio of Kaito Ishida, Shunma Katsumata & Diego. Demus brought a more grimy style that worked well with Ilusion & Montaña’s high flying. It ended with that team getting the win when Ilusion pinned Diego with the Swanton Bomb.
Match #2 was the Brahman Army taking on the Kaichow Army with a lot of wrestlers taking either gimmick. The Brahman Brothers got Masahiro Takanashi & Keigo Nakamura to act like them while Ram Kaichow convinced Tetsuya Endo & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi to copy her looks and behavior. Kaichow also brought along the now retired Mataro to be in her team’s corner. Mataro is the member of DDT’s video team who was kept getting put into DAMNATION T.A’s matches during this year’s Beer Garden shows until he was forced to retire from the bit. The Brahman Army attacked him with bats, poured buckets of water over him, dripped slime from their mouths onto him and also put him in the line of fire for the bowling ball suitcase spot. He at least got revenge by doing the same bowling ball spot to the Brahmans. He then got blinded when Kaichow missed her Ectoplasm powder throw and hit him with it by accident. Brahamn Shu threw the suitcase at Kaichow but she dodged it and Nakamura got hit instead. Kaichow took advantage and pinned Nakamura with a School Boy to win.
Two other wrestlers from the SUPER CREW class who debuted along with Sasaki got a spot in the opener. KUBITO beat Naohiro Katsumi in a match that celebrated the 19th anniversary of their debuts. It was also Katsumi’s first wrestling match in 12 years! The two made comments to each other during the match about how long it’s been since they last saw each other. Katsumi also gradually remembered his signature moves as the match went on.
DDT “ADULT RESORT PRO WRESTLING IN KIRANAH GARDEN TOYOSU”, 30/10/2024 Tokyo Kiranah Garden Toyosu
1. Yuki Iino Vs Yuki Ishida
2. Akito, Yuki Ueno & Keigo Nakamura Vs Danshoku Dieno, Soma Takao & Kazuki Hirata
3. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Toru Owashi, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Yukio Naya
4. Special Single Match: Demus Vs Kazuma Sumi
5. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku
6. Kiranah Garden Toyosu First Opening Commemoration! Special Tag Match: Shinya Aoki & MAO Vs Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA
The main event for this show now has wrestlers swapping teams. Shinya Aoki and Chris Brookes were originally booked to team up but that is changing after Brookes challenged Aoki for the KO-D Openweight Title. So now Aoki is teaming with MAO which means the KO-D Champion and DDT Universal Champion are fighting on the same side. Brookes will be jumping over to the other side of the ring to team with one of the recent previous challengers HARASHIMA.
BASARA “BASARA 260 ~KOO~”, 30/10/2024 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Daichi Kazato Vs Gouma Ryu
2. Masato Kamino Vs Daisuke Sekimoto
3. KUBITO & SAGAT Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Yasu Urano
4. Isami Kodaka & Ryuichi Sekine Vs Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita
5. Takumi Tsukamoto, FUMA & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Takato Nakano, Lil’ Kraken & Takeru Inoue
6. Iron Fist Tag Team Titles: Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura (c) Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
While I’m writing this Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura are busy holding their second Kakuto Tanteidan show. But this day next week Astronauts will be back in BASARA to defend the Iron Fist Tag Team Titles against Speed Of Sounds. The challengers SOS are fighting to become three time Iron Fist Tag Champions.
Masato Kamino wants to change his focus from tag team wrestling to the singles division. He’s getting a big opponent from Big Japan, the one and only Daisuke Sekimoto!
DDT “CHARISMANIA”, 06/11/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Demus, Ilusion & Anarko Montaña Vs Kaito Ishida, Shunma Katsumata & Diego
2. Ram Kaichow, Endo Kaichow & Kodara Kaichow Vs Brahman Shu, Brahman Masa & Brahman Keigo
3. Ryuichi “Fire” Kawakami & MJ Paul Vs Masashi Takeda & Daichi Sato
4. Special Single Match: KANON Vs Shigehiro Irie
5. KUBITO & Naohiro Katsumi 19th Anniversary Match: KUBITO Vs Naohiro Katsumi
6. The Greatest Wrestling Match Of CHARISMANIA: Daisuke Sasaki & Yuko Miyamoto Vs Dick Togo & Minoru Fujita
More matches from the mind of Daisuke Sasaki are becoming a reality. FIRE DAMNATION will be represented with the return of Ryuichi “Fire” Kawakami to team with MJ Paul. One of their opponents is Daichi Sato, the teenager from HEAT-UP who was also on the short lived DDTeeeen!! shows a couple of years ago. That doesn’t sound threatening at all but Masashi Takeda as Sato’s partner will give that team a fighting chance against the heavyweights.
A battle will break out between Ram Kaichow and Brahman Shu! They have gone forth to gather soldiers under their respective banners and those soldiers may end up looking familiar to everyone in the venue.
Last but not least is an international 6-Man Tag Match where Demus & Ilusion are joined by Anarko Montaña on the DAMNATION T.A side. Facing them is the babyface trio of Kaito Ishida, Shunma Katsumata & Diego.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 AUTUMN”, 22/11/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Next Generation Tournament ’24 – Final: X Vs X
2. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs Shazza McKenzie
Next month Shazza McKenzie will be wrestling in Japan for the first time ever. She has two dates booked with Tokyo Joshi Pro during this tour. The first is on 16th November but the big match on her calender is happening a week later. She is the latest challenger for Yuki Arai to defend the International Princess Title against. The Australian has appeared in TJPW before but that was for the joint show with Prestige in America last year.
DDT “GET ALIVE 2024”, 23/11/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Akito 15th Anniversary Debut Special Single Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Akito
2. DDT Extreme Title & Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Danshoku Dieno (c/c) Vs Yuni
Akito wanted a special opponent for a match that will celebrate the 15th Anniversary of his debut. When Akito wrestled as a freelancer in Tokyo, Isami Kodaka became a close companion of his. They worked, drank and studied wrestling together. Kodaka was also a big influence for the kind of pro wrestler Akito developed into. Akito credits Kodaka for helping him create the IPPON Lighttube Death Match. However they rarely have the chance to wrestle each other because they are so busy with their jobs in DDT and BASARA respectively. So for Akito’s 15th Anniversary he wants to finally get in the ring with Kodaka again so they can reminisce about old memories while also fighting with the passion from those times.
The GCW tour of Japan continued after their joint show with DDT. They ran two more shows this week both taking place in Shinjuku FACE. The shows also had presence from DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro. The fact that DDT were promoting the cards and posted the results on their website pretty much tells us they had a hand behind the scenes too. I’m just going to focus on the matches relating to both DDT and TJPW in this post.
GCW “THE SKY IS THE LIMIT”, 13/08/2024 Shinjuku FACE 326 Fans
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Broski Jimmy by TKO with the Skull Kick (7:17).
2. GCW Extreme Title: Maki Itoh (c) defeated The Great Sasuke with a Cast Strike (11:49). *V3 for Maki Itoh.
3. Joey Janella defeated Marcus Mathers with the Package Piledriver (19:37).
4. Effy, Allie Katch & Dark Sheik defeated Aja Kong, Masashi Takeda & MAO when Sheik pinned Kong with the Diving Leg Drop (10:17).
5. Danhausen defeated Kikutaro with a Roll Up (10:43).
6. Rina Yamashita & Masha Slamovich defeated Gringo Loco & Violento Jack when Yamashita pinned Jack after the Super Power Bomb (18:39).
7. GCW World Title: Mance Warner (c) defeated 1 Called Manders with the Impaler DDT (22:47). *V9 for Mance Warner.
MAO was part of a wild trio put together to take on Thrussy. He teamed with both Masashi Takeda and Aja Kong! Thrussy needed some artillery to even the odds so Allie Katch brought out a water pistol. MAO countered that by finding two bananas and using them to point at everyone like they were guns. That plan backfired when Effy grabbed MAO and forced him to point the bananas on himself. Thrussy were able to gang up on Kong and Dark Sheik hit the Diving Leg Drop on her for the victory. It still took all three members of Thrussy to pile on top of Kong to get the pinfall.
Maki Itoh went into her match against The Great Sasuke with a hand injury, adding more danger since it was also a GCW Extreme Title defence. Sasuke wanted it to be a fair fight so he tried using his spiritual abilities to heal Itoh’s injury. He then targeted her injured hand anyway. Itoh got revenge by attacking Sasuke with a pizza cutter and then striking him with her cast after a ref bump. It dazed Sasuke long enough for the referee to recover and count Itoh’s pin on him.
It is well known by now just how deadly Miyu Yamashita’s Skull Kick is. Today she won her match by Referee Stoppage because the move knocked out Broski Jimmy!
GCW “YOU ONLY DIE ONCE”, 14/08/2024 Shinjuku FACE 375 Fans
1. JCW Title: Masha Slamovich (c) defeated Marcus Mathers with the Half Package Piledriver (15:20). *V8 for Masha Slamovich.
2. Allie Katch & Dark Sheik defeated Shoko Nakajima & Kaya Toribami when Sheik pinned Toribami with the Welcome to Die (10:14).
3. Tetsuya Endo defeated Gringo Loco with a Tornado Clutch (14:53).
4. GCW Ultraviolent Title: Rina Yamashita (c) defeated 1 Called Manders with the Splash Mountain onto the Chair (13:23). *V19 for Rina Yamashita.
5. 6-Way Match: Andreza Giant Panda defeated Joey Janela, Broski Jimmy, Kikutaro, Danhausen and Effy when Andreza pinned Janela & Jimmy with the Andreza Press (9:29).
6. GCW World Title: Mance Warner (c) defeated Takayuki Ueki with the Avalanche Impaler DDT onto the Chair (21:03). *V10 for Mance Warner.
The third and final show of the tour had a few changes to the lineup because of injuries. The big one was Itoh being unable to finish the tour. Her hand injury involves a broken bone so she couldn’t compete in the GCW World Title Match with Mance Warner. Her spot was taken by Takayuki Ueki but Itoh still made an appearance during the match to attack both wrestlers with her pizza cutter.
MAO was thrown into a 6 Way Scramble with a colorful collection of characters. Broski Jimmy recovered from his knockout from the night before, Joey Janela and Effy both wanted to party, Danhausen and Kikutaro had unfinished business but the one who dominated the match more than anyone else was Andreza Giant Panda! Andreza crushed the opposition and pinned both Janela and Jimmy to become the winner.
Zayne was among the injuries that changed the card around. DDT sent in Tetsuya Endo to be his replacement. His match on the show was against Gringo Loco and it turned into a game of one-upmanship. Variations of the One Man Spanish Fly in particular became the point of contention between them. Endo used the Tetsuya In The Sky while Gringo pulled out a Backwards Spanish Fly from the top rope. Soon the aerial attacks were being blocked so Endo pulled out a Tornado Clutch to grab the win in a close contest.
TJPW were also represented on the show by the team of Shoko Nakajima & Kaya Toribami. The two of them fought against The Mothership of Katch & Sheik. The speed and agility of the TJPW duo wasn’t enough to beat the GCW team. Instead Sheik pinned Toribami with the Welcome To Die.
“DESPE-INVITACIONAL SUPPORTED BY ROLLING CRADLE”, 10/06/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,506 Fans – Super No Vacancy
0. The Buy In: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano & Kyoko Inoue defeated Yuko Miyamoto, Isami Kodaka & DASH Chisako when Tanahashi pinned Kodaka with the High Fly Flow (9:57).
1. Dragon Kid & Starlight Kid defeated El Desperado & Mima Shimoda when Starlight submitted Shimoda with the Black Tiger Foot Kill (17:25).
2. Lucha Rules 4 Way Match: DOUKI, Eita and Daisuke Sasaki defeated Violento Jack when DOUKI, Eita and Sasaki all pinned Jack after the Super Power Bomb onto the Empty Can Board (11:36).
3. Jun Kasai & Hiromu Takahashi defeated Minoru Suzuki & Takayuki Ueki when Takahashi pinned Ueki with the Pearl Harbor Splash (19:53).
4. Hardcore 4 Way Match: Chris Brookes Vs MAO Vs El Phantasmo Vs Masashi Takeda ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
5. Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Hikaru Sato with the Orienteering with Napalm Death (10:55).
6. Gedo & Dick Togo defeated El “Exotico” Desperado & Danshoku Dieno when Gedo pinned Dieno with the Gedo Clutch (18:18).
I’m only going to write about the DDT and BASARA related matches but I wanted to include results for the entire card because just look at it! I’d say this is a show full of Fire Pro matches but that reference is a bit old hat nowadays. The influence here is more GCW Spring Break and PWG Mystery Vortex given how much of a modern day wrestling nerd El Desperado is. He has spent the last two months handing out invitations to wrestlers he would like to be in the ring with for a special mystery show he was producing in Korakuen Hall. He also narrated the introductions for each match, either explaining why he put them together or revealing another unexpected surprise he had in store for everyone.
There were hints as to who got invited to take part in the show. Videos were posted on the event’s Twitter page teasing fans with clips of unknown wrestlers being handed the invitations. But one in particular took place in public at a recent DDT show. Desperado straight up asked Danshoku Dieno to come along with a partner of his choice because Despy wanted to see Pheromones chase some Bullet Club wrestlers around the venue. Dieno couldn’t bring Pheromones back so he thought of a good replacement. If El Desperado wanted to experience Pheromones so bad then he will be Dieno’s tag partner! After all this match was the main event and Despy should be headlining his own show.
Desperado was given a spare Danshoku costume and as he went off to get changed the other team made their entrance. It was the two managers of the current New Japan heel factions: Gedo from Bullet Club War Dogs and Dick Togo from House Of Torture! Dieno then did his big Pheromones introduction for El “Exotico” Desperado! The match was as close to the Pheromones experience as they could get away with as both Desperado & Dieno stripped down to their O-backs by the end of it. However Gedo & Togo worked saved each other from taking the Danshoku Driver. Togo gave Dieno the Pedigree and Gedo pinned him with the Gedo Clutch.
There was more DDT involvement elsewhere on the show. Both Chris Brookes and MAO were put into a Hardcore 4 Way Match with El Phantasmo and Masashi Takeda also involved. Desperado admitted in the introduction that he expected one of them to turn down the match because it sounded too dangerous and was surprised no one did. Brookes and MAO smashed each other with plastic boxes. Takeda threatened everyone with his large pair of scissors and eventually got to cut open Brookes’s forehead with it. MAO, ELP and Takeda all ended up underneath the ring and Brookes flushed them out by spraying a fire extinguisher beneath the apron. ELP then took out a literal clothesline with clothes pegs included. He pinched them to Takeda’s ears and Brookes’s nipples. MAO then wrapped the other end of the line around his foot and Super Kicked ELP, pulling the pinched pegs off of the other two! The match lasted the full twenty minute time limit without a winner and had to end in a four way draw.
Afterwards Brookes remained in the ring and got on the microphone. First, he said he would have won if the match lasted longer and complained that a 20 minute time limit is too short. He then told Desperado to get into the ring because he wanted to tell him something. They have known each other for a while but have never been in the ring at the same time until now. Brookes is tired of waiting so he is challenging Desperado to a match at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” in Sumo Hall on 21st July! Despy agreed and shook Brookes’s hand. He then tried to pin him with a School Boy in an attempt to win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title but Brookes kicked out and escaped.
Daisuke Sasaki got to be part of the show in the other 4 Way Match of the night. Despy wanted it to be a match filled with wrestlers who have lucha libre skills so Sasaki was in there with DOUKI, Eita and most unexpected of all Violento Jack! Lucha moves were used but Jack also brought out a board with sharp halves of plastic cans attached to them. None of the other three wanted to get slammed onto it so they all teamed up together and Super Power Bombed Jack onto it instead. They then piled on top of Jack to pin him for the three count. The referee determined all three pinned Jack at the same time so DOUKI, Eita and Sasaki were each declared winners.
There was even a pre-show match because Despy wanted to see Toru Yano wrestle in Match #0 of the card. He was accompanied by Hiroshi Tanahashi and both were dressed in yankii uniforms. Yano gave out a hint for who their other partner was going to be. He asked what was the name of the heroine played by Miho Nakayama in the movie Be-Bop High School? Tanahashi’s answer was Kyoko. Their partner is Kyoko Inoue and she entered the ring wearing a schoolgirl uniform! Their opponents were also a bunch of Yankees in the forms of Yuko Miyamoto, Isami Kodaka & DASH Chisako! Unfortunately for BASARA fans Kodaka took the fall when he was pinned with Tanahashi’s High Fly Flow. After the match Tanahashi & Yano both gave Inoue a kiss on the cheek at the same time.
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. FOUR: WHEN GOOD DOGS DO BAD THINGS”, 18/04/2023 Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa 60 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Special Tag Team Match: Baliyan Akki & Sayaka Vs MAO & Chie Koishikawa
2. Special Single Match: Masashi Takeda Vs Death Worm
3. Special Tag Team Match: Rina Yamashita & Drew Parker Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi