TOKYO JOSHI PRO “CLIMB OVER ’23”, 22/04/2023 Osaka Edion Arena #2
1. Shoko Nakajima, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami Vs Mahiro Kiryu, Wakana Uehara & Toga
2. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao Vs Raku Vs HIMAWARI
3. Vert Vixen Vs Moka Miyamoto
4. Yuki Kamifuku, Yuki Aino & Yuki Arai Vs Maki Itoh, Hikari Noa & Shino Suzuki
5. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
A contract signing was held for the Princess Tag Team Titles a few days ago. The Magical Sugar Rabbits and Pom Harajuku arrived to the building on time but Max The Impaler was nowhere to be seen. The three of them signed the contract anyway and gave comments about the upcoming match. Yuka Sakazaki said if Max does not show up for the title match then Harajuku will be too weak to wrestle by herself. Mizuki thinks the match will have to go ahead as a 2-On-1 Handicap match, which she thinks is convenient for her & Sakazaki. Harajuku was certain that Max would eventually show up and she was proven right. Max burst into the room, took a bite out of the contract, threw the remains at MagiRabi and then grabbed Harajuku and carried her out of the room. Sayuri Namba picked up the remains of the contract and declared it to be an official signature from Max so the title match will go ahead.
The potential next challengers could be coming out of the Daydream Vs Daisy Monkey match.
The trio known as Yuki Yuki Yuki are back teaming together to wrestle in front of a crowd for the first time. I don’t think they figured out who the team captain is yet.
Nao Kakuta is not on the show due to a schedule conflict. Also the teenagers Haru Kazashiro and Runa Okubo were not booked in order to avoid the burden of having to wrestle in Osaka and Tokyo on back to back days.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE UNIVERSE MEMBERS ONLY SHOW – PURE TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING 8”, 23/04/2023 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall
1. Maki Itoh & Toga Vs Vert Vixen & Hikari Noa
2. Kaya Toribami Vs Max The Impaler
3. Shoko Nakajima, Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro Vs Raku, Shino Suzuki & Runa Okubo
4. Special Rules 5 Way Match: Rika Tatsumi Vs Miu Watanabe Vs Hyper Misao Vs Arisu Endo Vs HIMAWARI
5. Special Rules Match: Yuka Sakazaki Vs Moka Miyamoto
6. Costume Change Match: Mizuki, Yuki Kamifuku & Pom Harajuku Vs Suzume, Mahiro Kiryu & Haruna Neko
Everybody in the main event will be wrestling in somebody else’s costume.
Max The Impaler and Vert Vixen get to be the first foreign wrestlers to participate in Tokyo Joshi Pro’s fan club shows. Unless you count all of those last minute replacement gimmicks that always show up when somebody else gets unusually sick…
BASARA “BASARA 217 ~TAKAGARI 16~”, 30/04/2023 Takashimadaira Ward Community Center
1. Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Daichi Kazato
2. KUBITO Vs Masahiro Takanashi
3. Isami Kodaka & Daiki Shimomura Vs Lil’ Kraken & Leo Isaka
4. FUMA Vs X
5. Elimination 6-Man Tag Match: Takumi Tsukamoto, Yasu Urano & Fuminori Abe Vs Ryota Nakatsu, SAGAT & Akiyori Takizawa
Banana Senga’s schedule is preventing him from appearing in BASARA again until May so Takumi Tsukamoto has to keep himself busy until then. Tsukamoto leads Yasu Urano & Fuminori Abe to take on Sparky in an Elimination Tag Match.
A mystery opponent awaits for FUMA.
Lil’ Kraken & Leo Isaka are still teaming together like they promised after they failed to win the IRON FIST Tag Titles.
GANBARE☆JOSHI “GANJO FIRE EMBLEM ’23”, 02/05/2023 Takashimadaira Ward Community Center
0. 5 Minute Exhibition Match: Riara Vs Moeka Haruhi
1. Gatoh Move Offer Match: Chie Koishikawa Vs Tokiko Kirihara
2. Special Single Match: Ami Manase Vs Marika Kobashi
3. Special Tag Match: Moeka Haruhi & YuuRI Vs Tomoka Inaba & HisokA
4. Special Single Match: Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Tae Honma
The next Ganbare☆Joshi show sees the return of Ami Manase and Marika Kobashi for a match between the two. Ami’s sister and the GanJo GM Yuna Manase will be in attendance.
Riara is taking part in another Exhibition match against Moeka Haruhi three days before her pro debut.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “YES! WONDERLAND ’23”, 05/05/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Yuki Arai Debut 2nd Anniversary Match: Yuki Arai & Maki Itoh Vs Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima
2. International Princess Title: Rika Tatsumi (c) Vs Suzume
3. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Sawyer Wreck
Suzume thought it was impossible she would ever be a pro wrestler but Rika Tatsumi inspired her to do it. Now Suzume thinks it is impossible to beat Tatsumi and become the International Princess Champion. She’s done the impossible with the former so maybe she can do it again with the latter!
Yuki Arai fought against and lost to Maki Itoh in her debut match two years ago. They will now be tag partners for Arai’s 2nd Anniversary match. Their opponents are Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima doing a Miraclians reunion.
GANBARE☆PRO “LOVE PHANTOM 2023”, 05/05/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Riara Debut Match: YuuRI Vs Riara
2. Shuichiro Katsumura & Moeka Haruhi Vs Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE
3. Ganbare☆Pro Vs Sento Minzoku: Ken Ohka, Shinichiro Tominaga & Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Isami Kodaka, Minoru Fujita & Daiki Shimomura
4. Special Tag Match: Shota & Soma Takao Vs Dan The Dad & Kody Lane
5. Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Nao Kakuta
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles Tournament – Final: Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Yumehito Imanari Vs Hikaru Sato & Tyson Maeguchi
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Mizuki Watase (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii
Nao Kakuta has been announced as Yoshiko Hasegawa’s opponent!
GANBARE☆PRO “INHERENT VICE 2023”, 06/05/2023 Takashimadaira Ward Community Center
1. GanJo Special Tag Match: YuuRI & Riara Vs Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE
2. Hong Kong International Policeman Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
3. Special Single Match: Shuichiro Katsumura Vs Takuya Wada
Former Shooto and Pancrase champions are facing against each other in Ganbare☆Pro! For years now Shuichiro Katsumura has been wrestling under the GanPro banner but Takuya Wada has been a recent addition to the roster.
BASARA “BASARA 218 ~TAKAGARI 17~”, 13/05/2023 Takashimadaira Ward Community Center
1. Union MAX Title: Banana Senga (c) Vs Takumi Tsukamoto
When Senga is ready to return to BASARA he will put the Union MAX Title on the line against Tsukamoto. Senga found out he gets paid more money as a champion so he wants to earn enough money to get a hair transplant in Turkey (because it’s cheaper there than in Japan). Tsukamoto wants to be the MAX Champion again so he can try to break his tied record for the most title defences.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SHIZUOKA IDOL FESTIVAL IN TSUMAGOI”, 16/04/2023 Shizuoka Tsumagoi Resort Sai no Sato Multipurpose Plaza ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku defeated Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino when Max pinned Aino with a Pop-Up Lariat (16:00).
2. Vert Vixen & Hikari Noa defeated Maki Itoh & Raku when Vixen pinned Raku with the Game Over (12:07).
3. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe defeated Suzume & Shino Suzuki when Watanabe pinned Suzuki with the Tear Drop (17:42).
Rika Tatsumi spent some of the main event eating dorayaki and also force feeding Shino Suzuki some of it. She also ran off with Suzuki’s tour guide flag.
Vert Vixen picked up her first win in Tokyo Joshi Pro.
It seems that Pom Harajuku has gotten comfortable teaming with Max The Impaler. Max is still throwing her around whenever they get the chance to but the team has been working out for the two of them so far.
The Up Up Girls all performed songs at the event.
Hyper Misao was at the event providing live commentary for the crowd.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “STAND ALONE ’23”, 15/04/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 620 Fans
1. Moka Miyamoto defeated Kaya Toribami with the Korokan (7:31).
2. Suzume, Arisu Endo & Runa Okubo defeated Yuki Aino, Haruna Neko & Haru Kazashiro when Suzume pinned Kazashiro with the Ring A Bell (10:15).
3. Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara & Toga defeated Miu Watanabe, Hikari Noa, Raku & Shino Suzuki when Itoh submitted Suzuki with the Itoh Deluxe (13:22).
4. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Yuki Arai & HIMAWARI when Nakajima pinned HIMAWARI with the Northern Lights Suplex (9:02). (Special Referee: Shiori Aoki)
5. Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku defeated Yuka Sakazaki & Mahiro Kiryu when
Harajuku pinned Kiryu after the Wasteland War Justice (9:02).
6. International Princess Title: Rika Tatsumi (c) defeated Vert Vixen with the Torso Choke Dragon Sleeper (10:55). *V2 for Rika Tatsumi.
7. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) defeated Nao Kakuta with the Modified Face Lock (15:45). *V1 for Mizuki.
The brand new Princess Of Princess Title run for Mizuki is off to a good start with a successful defence against Nao Kakuta. Unlike previous Princess Title matches in the past, this one featured fighting at ringside with Kakuta throwing Mizuki into the front row of chairs. Kakuta also used the Avalanche Hair Whip to thrown Mizuki back into the ring from the top rope. However Kakuta took a beating throughout the match too and was too hurt to cover Mizuki when she gave her the Shiden Kai. She went for another version of the move but Mizuki countered it and Double Stomped onto Kakuta’s shoulder when she was left sitting on the canvas empty handed. Mizuki then landed a Flying Double Stomp before taking her opponent’s arm and applying a Modified Face Lock for the submission victory.
After the match Mizuki said she was really happy that she and Kakuta got to main event a Tokyo Joshi Pro show together. She had wanted Kakuta to show new sides she has never seen before but instead the opposite happened. It’s a kind of fighting relationship she wants to continue with her. Mizuki’s next Princess Title defence is against Sawyer Wreck on 5th May but before then The Magical Sugar Rabbits have a Princess Tag Team Titles defence on 22nd April. So Mizuki’s next priority is to focus on defending the Tag Titles with Yuka Sakazaki because she only wants to concentrate on one goal at a time.
Rika Tatsumi had a brand new opponent for her second International Princess Title defence. Vert Vixen was able to withstand the attacks to her legs and fire back with powerful moves like the Stunner and Blue Thunder Bomb. She also continued using Super Kicks and Big Boots to block Tatsumi’s Hip Attack. Tatsumi switched her attack over to the Dragon Sleeper and despite some resistance at first, she was able to lock in the Body Choke and make Vixen tap out. The two bowed to each other after the match.
Tatsumi praised her challenger and told the fans she wants her title reign to bring her on an even more interesting journey. Suddenly Suzume entered the ring. She said Tatsumi is the reason she became a pro wrestler and changed her life. And it’s because of Tatsumi that it may change again because Suzume is challenging her for the title on 5th May! Tatsumi accepted, bringing up her loss to Suzume at last year’s Tokyo Princess Cup. It’s time for her to avenge the loss and get her win back. Suzume admits it is almost impossible for her to become a champion given her previous attempts to get opportunities all ended in failure. But Tatsumi inspired her to do the impossible and become a wrestler so Tatsumi can make her do the impossible again and become a champion!
The odd couple of Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku might have something going for them after all. Harajuku was understandable scared of the experience, especially when Max lifted her above their head with the intention of throwing her onto the other team. Sakazaki used the team’s lack of cohesion to run circles around them while Mahiro Kiryu focused on beating Harajuku. However Max blew away both Sakazaki & Kiryu with attacks. They then grabbed Harajuku and threw her so she landed on top of Kiryu Pom de Justice style for the surprise three count. After the match Max raised a confused Harajuku’s hand in victory and then pulled her backstage shoulder to shouler. The two are facing The Magical Sugar Rabbits for the Princess Tag Titles on 22nd April. One thing for sure is Sakazaki didn’t figured out how to beat them today.
Being a pro wrestling referee can be a tough job. Shiori Aoki found that out first hand when the SKE48 idol was tasked with officiating a tag match. One with Hyper Misao in it. Misao immediately accused Aoki of bribery because she heard she had a meal with Yuki Arai that Arai paid for a couple of days ago. Misao then ordered her to give Arai a thorough inspection for illegal objects. Aoki did so and completely missed Misao blinding HIMAWARI with a spray can. Misao cradled HIMAWARI and Aoki counted to three. However Daisuke Kiso revealed the result did not count because Aoki never called for the ring bell to start the match. The match restarted with Aoki trying to catch up with Misao’s cheating. Misao’s spray ended up in Arai’s hands. When Aoki grabbed the can and took it away, she accidentally pressed it and sprayed into Aoki’s eyes! HIMAWARI and Shoko Nakajima tried to pin each other with flash moves so for some reason Aoki did a cartwheel before counting the pin. Aoki counted to three for the Northern Lights Suplex and correctly declared Nakajima the winner. Aoki said she felt comfortable in the role and would like to come back as an even stronger referee. HIMAWARI said she will bring her own referee next time so she can win. Meanwhile Arai is trying to figure out if buying a meal for her bandmate counts as bribary then does that mean she should stop eating dinner with her? Kyoraku Kyomei thought she did a good job and she can now be their referee friend. Nakajima encouraged her to go look up footage of Shiro Abe on Youtube so she can imitate him.
An 8-Woman Tag Match put all of the active members of The Up Up Girls together. Wakana Uehara was the unlucky girl to get the full fledge Oyasumi Express attack from all four opponents. She tagged in Toga to get out there but the other rookie didn’t fare much better. Yuki Kamifuku turned things around by resisting the Giant Swing from Miu Watanabe and putting her in a Manjigatame instead. Watanabe countered that into a Front Neck Lock Giant Swing. Kamifuku got her way back into the match by giving both Hikari Noa & Raku the Famouser at the same time. However Watanabe grabbed both her & Uehara in a Double Body Slam. The match came down to Maki Itoh pressuring Shino Suzuki into fighting back against her. Itoh countered a Sleeper Hold with a Chincrusher, landed a DDT and made Suzuki submit to the Itoh Deluxe.
The two youngest rookies Haru Kazashiro and Runa Okubo started off Match #2 against each other. They soon switched out to Haruna Neko and Suzume respectively. Yuki Aino and Arisu Endo then had their exchanges back and forth. Kazashiro tried beating Suzume with a Low Cross Body but Suzume turned things around with a Top Rope Facebuster. She then hit the Ring A Bell for the win.
A missed Overhead Kick may have been what cost Kaya Toribami the match against Moka Miyamoto. It was from that point when Miyamoto took control and kept the attacks up. Toribami was able to hit the Overhead Kick on another attempt but then she missed the Rolling Senton off the second rope. Miyamoto took back the advantage and pinned Toribami with the Korokan.
Hyper Misao is producing her own one-off event called “HYPE!” in Kitazawa Town Hall on 25th May. Misao cannot guarantee that all members of the TJPW roster will be on the show but she wants to create and exciting show for everybody.
A one day trios tournament sponsored by Nivea will take place in Shinagawa on 29th April. The winning team receives a year’s worth of cream care body wash as their prize. Moka Miyamoto Vs Sawyer Wreck will also be on the show in a non-tournament bout.
The Up Up Girls will be holding a solo event in Shinjuku FACE on 10th June.
The 10th annual Tokyo Princess Cup will take place across seven shows this year. The early rounds will be at Ryogoku KFC Hall on 15th, 16th, 17th & 22nd July. The Quarter Finals are at Korakuen Hall on 29th July, the Semi Finals in Korakuen on 12th August and the Final in Korakuen on the 13th.
Yuki Arai & Maki Itoh Vs Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima was announced for 5th May to celebrate Arai’s 2nd anniversary of her wrestling debut.
And here’s the second half covering everything else. Don’t know if I’ll be writing reports for the shows this weekend as soon as they happen. Might be better saving that for when I get home.
BASARA “BASARA 215 ~KOO~”, 15/04/2023 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. KUBITO Vs Tsutomu Oosugi
2. Turnabout Pro Wrestling Trial: Gouma Ryu Vs Banana Senga Vs Daichi Kazato
3. Basara Strange Style Jacket Match: FUMA Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
4. Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino Vs Lil’ Kraken & Yasu Urano
5. Ryuichi Sekine, Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita Vs Ryota Nakatsu, SAGAT & Akiyori Takizawa
6. Union MAX Title Next Challenger Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Takumi Tsukamoto
Even though Banana Senga is the new Union MAX Champion, he still has trials in court to prosecute.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SHIZUOKA IDOL FESTIVAL IN TSUMAGOI”, 16/04/2023 Shizuoka Tsumagoi Resort Sai no Sato Multipurpose Plaza
1. Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
2. Maki Itoh & Raku Vs Vert Vixen & Hikari Noa
3. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Suzume & Shino Suzuki
Tokyo Joshi Pro’s visit to the Shizuoka Idol Festival is bringing Max The Impaler and Vert Vixen along for the ride.
BASARA “BASARA 216 ~KOO~”, 18/04/2023 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Takumi Tsukamoto, Ryota Nakatsu & Yasu Urano Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, Daichi Kazato & Tsutomu Oosugi
2. FUMA & KUBITO Vs Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita
3. Isami Kodaka Vs Gouma Ryu
4. IRON FIST Tag Titles: Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino (c) Vs Lil’ Kraken & Leo Isaka
5. Union MAX Title: Banana Senga (c) Vs SAGAT
A rare non-court related wrestling match for Gouma Ryu.
GANBARE☆PRO “SHOTA DEBUT 15TH ANNIVERSARY PRODUCE SHOW 2023”, 22/04/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Ilusion
2. Gauntlet Mixed Tag Match: Mizuki Watase & HARUKAZE Vs Yumehito Imanari & Miss Mongol Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Moeka Haruhi Vs Soma Takao & YuuRI Vs Kabuto Mitomi & Echika Miyabi
3. Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Tyson Maeguchi
4. Shota Debut 15th Anniversary Special Single Match: Shota Vs Isami Kodaka
Ilusion is taking Yuki Ueno’s advice and looking out beyond DDT for match bookings. He makes his Ganbare☆Pro debut against Shinichiro Tominaga.
GANBARE☆PRO “THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM 2023”, 22/04/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. YuuRI Vs Ancham
2. 3 Way Match: Shota Vs Munetatsu Nakamura Vs KOJIO
3. Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Vs Sento Minzoku!: Ken Ohka & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita
4. Mizuki Watase, Yumehito Imanari & Shuichiro Katsumura Vs Keisuke Ishii, Tyson Maeguchi & Takuya Wada
Ancham makes a few rare appearances for GanPro every now and then. This will be her first for this year. Maybe YuuRI can recruit her for Ganbare☆Joshi.
GANBARE☆PRO “RUN LOLA RUN 2023”, 29/04/2023 Osaka 176BOX
1. Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Marika Kobashi
2. GanPro Specialty Mixed Tag Match: Shota & HARUKAZE Vs Soma Takao & YuuRI
3. Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Yumehito Imanari Vs Minoru Fujita & Takahiro Katori
4. Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Vs The 37KAMIINA: Keisuke Ishii & Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Yuki Ueno & MAO
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Mizuki Watase, Ken Ohka & Hartley Jackson Vs Shuichiro Katsumura, Shinichiro Tominaga & Tyson Maeguchi
The All-Star Junior All-Stars need to warm up before their big Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles match next month. Minoru Fujita & Takahiro Katori are joining forces to take them on.
GANBARE☆JOSHI “GANJO FIRE EMBLEM ’23”, 02/05/2023 Takashimadaira Ward Community Center
1. Special Tag Match: Moeka Haruhi & YuuRI Vs Tomoka Inaba & HisokA
2. Special Single Match: Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Tae Honma
The next big challenge for Yoshiko Hasegawa is Tae Honma!
GanJo are getting themselves into a feud with JUST TAP OUT. Both Tomoka Inaba & HisokA are coming over to give Moeka Haruhi & YuuRI a fight.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR IN SPRING ’23”, 08/04/2023 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall 223 Fans
1. Hikari Noa defeated Shinno Suzuki with a Jumping Neckbreaker Drop (6:13).
2. Arisu Endo, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo defeated Mahiro Kiryu, Wakana Uehara & Toga when Endo submitted Uehara with the Camel Clutch (8:27).
3. Suzume defeated HIMAWARI with the Ring A Bell (5:11).
4. Yuki Kamifuku defeated Haruna Neko with the Famouser (6:29).
5. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe defeated Shoko Nakajima & Kaya Toribami when Tatsumi pinned Toribami after the Daydream Eternity (13:11).
6. Nao Kakuta & Pom Harajuku defeated Mizuki & Moka Miyamoto when Kakuta pinned Miyamoto with the Shiden Kai (13:45).
A lot of hair pulling took place between Mizuki and Nao Kakuta in the main event. Kakuta took it one step further by grabbing Mizuki’s hair when both were standing on the top turnbuckle and then she threw her to the mat with an Avalanche Snapmare. After Kakuta won the match she told the fans she feels like a mess right now but is able to win the Princess Of Princess Title no matter how messy she gets. Mizuki thinks there is nobody else in Tokyo Joshi Pro who fights like Kakuta so she will have to face that to defend her championship.
Pom Harajuku was on the winning team in the main event and is still getting over the shock of having to team with Max The Impaler soon. Harajuku said Max can become a strong ally for her so it is up to Harajuku to improve her own support power for the team to be a success. She thinks it will be just like controlling a Gundam. Harajuku later tried to steal Mizuki’s tag title belt while Mizuki was giving an interview but failed.
A lot of the undercard had to be changed around on short notice due to Raku, Hyper Misao and Yuki Aino all falling ill in the days leading up to the show.
Max The Impaler and Vert Vixen were both announced to be on the 16th April show in Shizuoka.
I’m about to go on holiday so if there’s not posts here for the next two weeks it’s because of that. The Tokyo Joshi Pro talent that had their flight cancelled earlier in the week eventually made it home but it sounds like they had a real frustrating experience getting their. Then there’s the news coming out of last night where The 37KAMIINA, Maki Itoh and Mizuki were on the AEW Dark Elevation taping that took place before Dynamite. Then when Dynamite was over Konosuke Takeshita and Miyu Yamashita were on the ROH taping that was held right after it. I’ll write about all of that in next month’s Around The World article.
DDT “APRIL FOOL 2023”, 09/04/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: MJ Paul & KANON Vs Antonio Honda & Kazuma Sumi
1. Rukiya Debut Match: Yuya Koroku Vs Rukiya
2. Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Gota Ihashi Vs Akito, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Toy Kojima
3. Harimao Vs Eruption!: Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani
4. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Yuni
5. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada Vs Naruki Doi, Chris Brookes, Joey Janela & Takeshi Masada
6. WORLD HINO CLASSIC ~Finals~: Yuji Hino, “brother” YASSHI & Makoto Oishi Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura
For the next step in his career, Yuni wants to wrestle in Osaka and Tokyo as much as possible. The reasons are he is from Osaka and has made a lot of friends in Tokyo too. He ultimately wants to grow into a heavyweight but still be able to do high flying just like Tetsuya Endo.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “STAND ALONE ’23”, 15/04/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Kaya Toribami
2. Yuki Aino, Haruna Neko & Haru Kazashiro Vs Suzume, Arisu Endo & Runa Okubo
3. Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara & Toga Vs Miu Watanabe, Hikari Noa, Raku & Shino Suzuki
4. Yuka Sakazaki & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
5. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Yuki Arai & HIMAWARI (Special Referee: Shiori Aoki)
6. International Princess Title: Rika Tatsumi (c) Vs Vert Vixen
7. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Nao Kakuta
What’s this? Max The Impaler is returning to Japan wanting to regain the Princess Tag Team Titles that they lost last month. However they are going on their own because Heidi Howitzer has other matters in the Wasteland to deal with. What can Max do? They demanded to team with one person in particular… Pom Harajuku?!? Max’s obsession with Pom has now turned them from enemies into the unlikeliest of tag teams!
All four current members of The Up Up Girls are teaming together as a foursome for the first time.
Rookies Haru Kazashiro and Runa Okubo will be on opposite teams for the first time ever. All of their previous matches since their debuts had them teaming together.
DDT “DRAMATIC EXPLOSION IN NIIGATA”, 16/04/2023 Niigata Bandaijima Multi-Purpose Plaza
1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine (c) Vs Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
2. Current Blast Bat 6-Man Tag Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima Vs Joey Janela, Sanshiro Takagi & Takeshi Masada
The main event will consist of four baseball bats all rigged to explode at the touch of a button at ringside. The explosions are being advertised to be three times as powerful as usual.
GANBARE☆PRO “BLOODY SUNDAY 2023”, 22/04/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. Moeka Haruhi Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
2. Grappling Tag Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Takuya Wada & Tsuyoshi Okada
3. Secret Captain’s Fall Elimination 6-Man Tag Match: Hartley Jackson, Yumehito Imanari & HARUKAZE Vs Ken Ohka, Soma Takao & YuuRI
4. Mizuki Watase & Shota Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shinichiro Tominaga
Mizuki Watase is also back from America and ready to face the challenge of Keisuke Ishii. I still haven’t found out what new skills Watase learned over in the US.
The Grappling Tag Match can only be won by submission or ref stoppage. Strikes are prohibited and rope breaks will not count towards breaking up holds.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “CLIMB OVER ’23”, 22/04/2023 Osaka Edion Arena #2
1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
Max & Pom are getting a Princess Tag Titles shot! The two of them are going to be The Magical Sugar Rabbits’ first challengers.
GANBARE☆PRO “SHOTA DEBUT 15TH ANNIVERSARY PRODUCE SHOW 2023”, 22/04/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. Gauntlet Mixed Tag Match: Mizuki Watase & HARUKAZE Vs Yumehito Imanari & Miss Mongol Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Moeka Haruhi Vs Soma Takao & YuuRI Vs Kabuto Mitomi & Echika Miyabi
2. Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Tyson Maeguchi
3. Shota Debut 15th Anniversary Special Single Match: Shota Vs Isami Kodaka
Something new for Ganbare☆Pro is a Gauntlet Tag Match. Shota has invited a lot of wrestlers close to him to take part in it.
GANBARE☆PRO “THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM 2023”, 22/04/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. 3 Way Match: Shota Vs Munetatsu Nakamura Vs KOJIO
2. Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Vs Sento Minzoku!: Ken Ohka & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita
3. Mizuki Watase, Yumehito Imanari & Shuichiro Katsumura Vs Keisuke Ishii, Tyson Maeguchi & Takuya Wada
The last GanPro show before they go to Korakuen Hall features a Sento Minzoku invasion. Isami Kodaka is already involved thanks to Shota inviting him over but Minoru Fujita is tagging along with him.
A monster wrestler from the UMA Corps named KOJIO is making its GanPro debut. It very recently emerged in ChocoPro but has also been sighted in wrestling rings across America, Singapore and Thailand over the last year.
GANBARE☆PRO “RUN LOLA RUN 2023”, 29/04/2023 Osaka 176BOX
1. Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Marika Kobashi
2. Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Vs The 37KAMIINA: Keisuke Ishii & Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Yuki Ueno & MAO
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Mizuki Watase, Ken Ohka & Hartley Jackson Vs Shuichiro Katsumura, Shinichiro Tominaga & Tyson Maeguchi
The 37KAMIINA are sending Yuki Ueno & MAO over to visit GanPro. Keisuke Ishii & Munetatsu Nakamura will be waiting for them.
The working relationship with P.P.P. Tokyo brings Marika Kobashi back to GanPro for another appearance.
Tatsuhito Takaiwa and Soma Takao will both be on the show.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES”, 31/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA 665 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta defeated Suzume & Arisu Endo when Noa pinned Endo after the 5G (11:38).
2. Janai Kai defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Tornado Kick (4:57).
3. Hyper Misao & Trish Adora defeated Yuki Aino & Raku when Misao pinned Raku with the I Am A Hero (9:03).
4. Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer defeated Shoko Nakajima & Miu Watanabe when Max pinned Nakajima after the Master Blaster (11:56).
5. International Princess Title: Rika Tatsumi (c) defeated Billie Starkz with the Missile Hip (8:56). *V1 for Rika Tatsumi.
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki defeated Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) when Mizuki pinned Itoh with the Diving Foot Stomp (15:51). *121000000 fails in V1. The Magical Sugar Rabbits becomes the 13th Princess Tag Team Champions!
A big Princess Tag Team Titles change marked Tokyo Joshi Pro’s first visit to America. 121000000 are now the first champions to end their reign with zero successful defences. The Magical Sugar Rabbits are now on their third reign, argubly cementing themselves as the most dominant Princess Tag Champions in history. It all went wrong for the defending champions when their Sandwich High Kick/Headbutt attack missed, causing Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh to hit each other. Yuka Sakazaki got rid of Yamashita with the Magical Merry-Go-Round in the ring followed by going outside to give her a Brainbuster on the floor. She came back to hit the Magical Girl Splash on Itoh, setting up Mizuki to get the three count with the Diving Foot Stomp.
An overjoyed Mizuki told the American audience how “happy happy!” she was to become a double champion. Sakazaki invited the rest of the TJPW roster in the building to come out and join them in the ring so everyone could close out the show together. Backstage Yamashita tried to console Itoh over the result. Itoh kept telling her it’s over because she can’t do it anymore. Yamashita told her she didn’t lose the belt, it was only take from her. They will get their chance some day to get the belts back, Yamashita just doesn’t know when. It was enough to change Itoh’s mind. No matter how long it takes 121000000 will become tag champions again!
The giant rabbit head Billie Starkz wears for her entrance ended up getting used against her by Rika Tatsumi during their match. Tatsumi grabbed the head and shoved it onto Starkz before giving her a Dragon Screw. She then followed up with the Twist Of Fate and then the Missile Hip to score her first International Princess Title defence. Tatsumi wants to make the title more valuable and is anticipating getting to defend it against different opponents. She thinks Starkz is awesome and now that their match is out of the way, she wants to go out and take pictures of Hollywood with her.
The Wasteland War Party returned to TJPW but something wasn’t right. Max The Impaler couldn’t find Pom Harajuku anywhere! Never mind about that, the War Party had a match to win. Shoko Nakajima & Miu Watanabe did their best and put up a good fight. Nakajima hit some dives while Watanabe Body Slammed Max. She also slammed Heidi Howitzer onto Max before spinning Howitzer around in the Giant Swing. But the War Party regained control and pinned Nakajima with the Master Blaster. Howitzer told reporters afterwards that she has to go back to the Wasteland soon so she is leaving the joshi hunting duties to Max while she is away.
Before Match #3 began the fans were introduced to a new superhero by Hyper Misao… Hyper Trish! Misao handed Trish Adora her own superhero mask so the pair can now go defend love and peace together. The mask did not provide any super powers though because Raku was able to send both of them to sleep briefly with a lullaby. Misao got her own back by spraying Raku & Yuki Aino in the eyes. Adora then took down Aino with a Lariat so Misao could pin Raku with the I Am A Hero. According to Misao, America has now been saved! Aino was frustrated to lose but also really happy she got paper streamers during her entrance.
Janai Kai defeated Yuki Kamifuku quick enough to surprise everybody. Right as the match was reaching the five minute mark, Kai dodged the Famouser and beat her opponent with the Tornado Kick. Maybe the match ended up that way because Kamifuku spent too much time daydreaming about finding the love of her life Zac Efron somewhere in LA. She also isn’t impressed with Kai’s toenails which is certainly caused by her fighting barefoot. She promises to take Kai to a nail salon the next time she visits Japan.
The wrestlers involved in the opening match could not have been happier with the crowd response. They were thrilled to hear Free WiFi and Daisy Monkey chants while they were fighting. The match ended with Hikari Noa throwing Suzume over with the Blizzard Suplex and then joining up with Nao Kakuta to finish off Arisu Endo with the 5G. Backstage Noa said when she went to wrestle in England last year she was anxious because she was by herself. But today she was with her important tag team partner along with the rest many other women from the roster.
Just like at every other TJPW show, The Up Up Girls performed their song “Upper Kick” at the start of the show. Also in the time between the venue doors opening and the show beginning, a playlist of entrance music for the wrestlers who weren’t able to come over played over the speakers.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES”, 31/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Janai Kai
2. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
3. Hyper Misao & Trish Adora Vs Yuki Aino & Raku
4. Shoko Nakajima & Miu Watanabe Vs Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer
5. International Princess Title: Rika Tatsumi (c) Vs Billie Starkz
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki
It took three years of waiting but Tokyo Joshi Pro is finally landing in the USA! Originally they were supposed to make their American debut during the WrestleMania Weekend of 2020 but the global pandemic scrapped those plans. This year everything has fallen into place for the trip to go ahead with a new audience coming over to see what all the fuss is about. Maybe you know about TJPW from Yuka Sakazaki and Maki Itoh’s appearances in AEW or from the gifs of Miyu Yamashita kicking the heads off of other girls. Or maybe you just want to find out what is Raku’s Train Of The Day live in person. Whether you are a long time fan, a casual follower or an online reporter who thinks all joshi wrestling is Stardom there is something for everybody on this show.
Where can I watch it online?
The “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES” show will be streaming live on FITE as a PPV costing $19.99. It is NOT included in the FITE+ subscription. The on-demand version of the show will be available to watch on Wrestle Universe two weeks after the live broadcast.
When and where are the shows taking place?
“TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES” is taking place at the Globe Theatre, Los Angeles on Friday 31st March at 12pm pacific time.
Is this a proper TJPW show?
Yes, I’d say so. You’re not getting the entire roster over but the card to me looks like 3/4 of a lineup you would get for one of their Korakuen Hall shows held away from 4th January or Golden Week. Two title matches on one show is a big deal for them. All that’s missing are the low card and rookie wrestlers. The American wrestlers booked have all toured with TJPW this year so none of them are out of place. Plus Sayuri Namba will be there to do her ring announcing duties.
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1. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Janai Kai
Glamour meets martial arts in the opening bout. Yuki Kamifuku is a model who entered TJPW as a party girl then over the years matured into a big sister role for many of the other women. Janai Kai has been making a name for herself across the indies as the “Kick Demon” and stepped into TJPW for the first time this past February.
Yuki Kamifuku: Sometimes called by her nickname Kamiyu, she is the tallest member of TJPW’s core roster. As much as she knows how to get under her opponent’s skin with harsh comments, she is loyal and sympathetic to her friends. Is proud of her modelling background because she has always been herself while proving you do not need to be a die hard pro wrestling fan to succeed in the business. Grew up in Ohio during her junior high school years so she knows the most English out of the bunch. Moves To Watch Out For: Famouser (Jumping Leg Drop), Dropkick, Yahoo 83cm (Headscissors DDT), Manjigatame, Thumb To The Eye
Janai Kai: Looking straight out of a martial arts movie about a lethal fighting tournament, “Kick Demon” is a pretty accurate way to describe Janai Kai. She made her TJPW debut in February, achieving her goal of wrestling in Japan that took her 5 years to reach. She couldn’t bring any gold back home from that tour but will be even more determined to get another chance. Moves To Watch Out For: Tornado Kick, Chaos Kicks (Speedball Kick Combo), Karate Kick to the back, Half Nelson Slam
2. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
How are these for tag team names? Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta are Free WiFi because they think putting that name on the show poster will attract more customers. They also recently came up with a big tag team finisher called the 5G. Suzume & Arisu Endo are called Daisy Monkey because Suzume looks like a flower and Endo pulls her own face like a monkey. The two teams fill out the midcard in TJPW’s tag division although Kakuta does have a big championship match coming up in Japan pretty soon.
Hikari Noa: The first member of The Up Up Girls to have a match on the show. The Up Up Girls are an idol pop group that established a pro wrestling spin-off unit with TJPW. Noa is the member who loves death matches way more than idol music! The only reason she joined the project in the first place was to back door her way into a wrestling career. Her history with tag teams are a little bit cursed because her previous tag partners wound up either leaving the company or leaving pro wrestling entirely. Free WiFi is the first team of hers to last for a year. Moves To Watch Out For: Blizzard Suplex, Thrust Kick, Blue Racer (Modified Cobra Twist)
Nao Kakuta: A member of the original class of Actwres girl’Z, Noa went freelance and jumped over to TJPW transforming herself from a rat chasing catgirl to a roll calling leader. She was previously a kindergarten teacher, a social welfare director and a camp instructor before becoming a stage actress and pro wrestler. She also got really into horse racing during the pandemic. Kakuta is currently gearing up for a big championship match next month so she’s looking to build her momentum here. Moves To Watch Out For: Shiden Kai (Fireman’s Carry into a Stunner), Tarantula Headscissors, Kenka Kick
Suzume: Strong as a wasp, Suzume is the Daisy half of Daisy Monkey. She joined TJPW when a friend invited her to go see a show and went through 7 months of training before making her debut. Has been gradually climbing up the singles ladder and may only be a matter of time before she earns her first championship somehwere. Every time she’s entered the Tokyo Princess Cup tournament she’s reached one round further than the year before. Moves To Watch Out For: Ring A Bell (RKO), Mikazuki Meteor Shower (Diving Cross Body), Twinkle (Twisting School Boy)
Arisu Endo: There was once a cheerleading idol unit called Cheer♡1 and their standout member Reika Saiki became a successful pro wrestler in TJPW. When she left Cheer♡1, her replacement in the group was Arisu Endo. She too wanted to follow in Saiki’s footsteps and eventually took the same path. It’s the reason why she uses the Camel Clutch as one of her signature moves because Saiki used it too. Endo also has a habit of regularly dying her hair into any colour on the spectrum you can think of. Away from wrestling she is a tourism ambassador for her hometown of Aizuwakamatsu City. Moves To Watch Out For: Camel Clutch, Mt. Bandai (2nd Rope Missile Dropkick), Tsuruga Castle (Guillotine Knee Drop)
3. Hyper Misao & Trish Adora Vs Yuki Aino & Raku
A match that will send everyone who watches to dreamland and intentionally so. It’s a dream that could go off the rails though. You have Trish Adora teaming with Hyper Misao, a superhero who fights more like a super villain. The other team is TJPW’s spirit of burning love Yuki Aino fighting alongside Raku, The Up Up Girl who built her entire personality around trains and sleeping.
Hyper Misao: When love and peace is under threat in TJPW, you can always rely on Hyper Misao to come to the rescue. Just don’t be surprised if her battleplan turns out to be not as heroic as she looks. Before her matches begin she will get on the microphone and reveal to everyone what she is intends to achieve in the ring that day. She always greets the audience during these introductions with “Hello big children!” While she has the talent to win fair fights, she usually prefers underhanded tactics like blinding her opponents with cold spray, wrapping them up in tape and crashing the Hyper Mobile bicycle into them. You know, typical hero stuff. Moves To Watch Out For: Hypami Returns (Final Cut), I Am A Hero (Diving Cross Body), Crossface Chickenwing, Vanitas (Double Arm Facebuster), Cold Spray Attack
Trish Adora: The current Pan-Afrikan World Diaspora Wrestling World Champion at the time of writing. Became a pro wrestler after serving for the US Army and has been all over the American indies ever since. The “Afro Punk” got to tour with TJPW in January and is often chosen as an opponent for one of their wrestlers or title matches whenever they come over to America. Away from TJPW she is currently building herself up in the rebooted ROH. Moves To Watch Out For: Lariat Tubman (Short Range Lariat), Cattle Mutilation, Kneeling German Suplex
Yuki Aino: TJPW’s former ring announcer turned pro wrestler. Ever since her sister Nodoka Tenma graduated from wrestling, Aino found herself getting more attached to Raku & Pom Harajuku. The three of them are almost inseparable but sadly Harajuku is not coming over for the show. Aino also recently debuted a brand new look so she is currently trying to figure out where she stands on the roster. As much as she considered going singles, she seems to be most comfortable wrestling in tag matches. Moves To Watch Out For: Venus DDT (Inverted DDT), UBV/Unlimited Burning Venus (Double Arm Side Buster), Full Nelson Of Love And Fire (Full Nelson Camel Clutch)
Raku: The second Up Up Girl you will see on the show. Raku’s entire personality can be summed down to naps and trains. Knows so much railway trivia she often tells fans her Train Of The Day on every show. Will the metro rail in LA meet her standards? Her moveset is built around sending her opponents to sleep with a lullaby so she can run over them with the Oyasumi Express. She also sometimes brings a pillow to her matches to use as a weapon and a shield. Somehow this entire package has made the fans and a good chunk of the roster absolutely adore her. Moves To Watch Out For: Doctor Yellow (Jumping Neckbreaker), Hurricane Turn (Cross-Arm Backslide Pin), Oyasumi Express (running on top of the opponent over and over), Good Night Sleeper
4. Shoko Nakajima & Miu Watanabe Vs Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer
A pair of rampaging warriors called The Wasteland War Party invaded TJPW over the last year, causing havoc in a promotion that would never be associated with that word. Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer are on home turf this time ready for battle against a Big Kaiju and one of the more powerful pop idols you will ever see. Shoko Nakajima is one of the longest serving and most decorated wrestlers on the TJPW roster. Miu Watanabe always catches people’s eyes with her power spots.
Shoko Nakajima: Meet the Big Kaiju, all 147cm of her! Nakajima has almost done it all in the company. Usually a quick and speedy wrestler, she has the strength to put away opponents with the Northern Lights Suplex and her size does not make the Diving Senton any less effective. When put in Hardcore Match situations her favourite weapon is a pile of kaiju toys that she slams her opponents onto. Last time she was on American TV she pulled a gun on some detective in an episode of S.W.A.T. and got arrested. You can see why she gets along with Hyper Misao. Moves To Watch Out For: Northern Lights Suplex, Diving Senton, Unmanned Local Train Hold, 619
Miu Watanabe: The third and last Up Up Girl on the show, also the most powerful. You need to see her doing the Giant Swing because she knows several ways to get opponents into the move. Unlike Noa, she adores idols and can’t keep her cool when she’s around them. Maybe the most improved wrestler on the roster last year, she picked up a ton of steam with her performances in the Tokyo Princess Cup. Uses big hand gestures to spell out L-O-V-E along with her music during her entrances. When she isn’t wrestling she likes to draw art. She has a knack of making every single thing she draws look like the Babadook. Moves To Watch Out For: Tear Drop (Modified Flapjack), Laserbeam (Overhand Chop to the chest), Giant Swing, Canadian Backbreaker
Max The Impaler: When TJPW boss Tetsuya Koda struck a deal to bring the next great foreign wrestler into Japan, he didn’t quite understand who was coming over. Max The Impaler lived up to their name as “The Non-Binary Nightmare” by causing havoc in TJPW. They kidnapped members of the media and levelled anybody brave enough (willingly or otherwise) to stand against them. Oddly enough, some of the wrestlers quickly took a liking to Max and it didn’t take long for them to be welcomed into the family. Except for Pom Harajuku because Max continues to terrorize her at every opportunity. Maybe Max’s time in TJPW has softened them up a little. We found out that Max can get distracted by collecting any cute little objects they happen to come across. That’s where having a tag team partner comes in handy.
Moves To Watch Out For: Welcome To The Wasteland (Canadian Backbreaker Drop), Body Block, Short-Range Lariat
Heidi Howitzer: Whenever Max does lose concentration during their matches, Howitzer is there to snap the focus back into them. Brash and confident, she is full of trash talk whether she’s in the ring or standing on the apron. We haven’t seen what Howitzer is capable of by herself in TJPW yet but she may not ever need to go in that direction. It looks like she’s having too much fun wrecking the place with Max! Moves To Watch Out For: Master Blaster (Max carries Howitzer in an Electric Chair position and throws her onto the opponent lying on the mat), Stunner, Back Drop, Lifting Full Nelson Stretch
5. International Princess Title: Rika Tatsumi (c) Vs Billie Starkz
The International Princess Title is TJPW’s secondary singles championship. It was originally created to be defended around the world against international talent but the pandemic held that idea back for a couple of years. It finally got to be used as intended last year when a title match was held in England and America is going to be the second foreign country to host a defence (the physical belt also briefly visited Mexico while Thunder Rosa was champion). Right now Rika Tatsumi is the champion gearing up for her first defence. Her challenger is America’s own Billie Starkz, a young prodigy with a growing influence on the indies.
Rika Tatsumi: The White Dragon takes her name and some of her moveset from Tatsumi Fujinami. Also has hips as hard of diamonds thanks to her training with Shiro Koshinaka. In recent years she has developed a psycho side which results in her trying to choke opponents. She claims its just her way of making friends. She recently won the IP Title, currently making her the only Grand Slam winner in TJPW history. She decided to behave more America-like in order to become an international champion. Her idea of “AmeRika” so far is wearing sunglasses and drinking cola. Moves To Watch Out For: White Dragon Sleeper, Twist Of Fate, Hip Attack, “Let’s Go!” Elbow Drop
Billie Starkz: A lot of fresh faced wrestlers have come out of the US indies while the entire scene is crawling out of the pandemic. Perhaps none has won over so many fans in as little time as Billie Starkz. Her work has impressed TJPW as seen by her getting a main event title match on her very first tour! She just came back from another tour and wanted to be Tatsumi’s first challenger for the IP Title. Their singles match was already booked for this show so it was an easy decision to make it a title match. “Space Jesus” might just a level of crazy too high for Tatsumi. She’s definitely willing to put her body on the line to win. Moves To Watch Out For: Swanton Bomb, Sugoi Driver (Double Legged One-Winged Angel sometimes on the ring apron), Tombstone Piledriver, German Suplex
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki
The main event pits two of the strongest tag teams in TJPW’s history against each other. 121000000 (pronounced “One To Million” because together their power increases from one to a million) consists of Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh. They recently won the Princess Tag Team Titles and are putting them on the line against The Magical Sugar Rabbits in their first defence. MagiRabi are Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki. Together they recently headlined TJPW’s biggest event ever against each other. Mizuki is currently the top wrestler in TJPW as the new reigning Princess Of Princess Champion.
Miyu Yamashita: The Pink Striker has officially been part of TJPW since Day 1 and has had the company built around her more often than not. Her Skull Kick is one of the most vicious looking finishers around. This week is the beginning of a three month expedition across North America with a few detours to England planned in between. She could find herself becoming the in-demand breakout wrestler on the indies with the schedule she has planned. Moves To Watch Out For: Skull Kick (Backspin High Kick to the head), Crash Rabbit Heat (Running Knee Kick), Attitude Adjustment, Return Crash (Triangle Kick off the turnbuckles)
Maki Itoh: A disgraced idol who wasn’t considered good enough for the job reinvented into a foul mouthed psycho pro wrestler with an endless appetite for fame. For years Itoh struggled to progress in the ring because her skills could not match her ambition. Her fortunes changed by going to America to wrestle for AEW and GCW, gaining a brand new fanbase of simps cheering her on to succeed. Since then Itoh has racked up the wins and achievements in TJPW. When she’s about to punch her opponent in the corner she always shouts “Who is the cutest in the world?” and the audience respond with “Itoh-chan!” Moves To Watch Out For: Itoh Special/Deluxe/Punish (Variations of the Texas Cloverleaf), Flying Big Head (Diving Headbutt), I.S.D/Itoh Suicide DDT (Flying DDT from the top rope), The Cutest Knuckle Punch In The World
Yuka Sakazaki: It can be argued that The Magical Girl is TJPW’s true ace instead of Yamashita. Always lights up the room with her entrance music that includes the lyrics “AYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY”. As much as her cheerful personality wins over new fans wherever she goes, do not take her lightly. She’s at the point in her career where she can be absolutely vicious against unsuspecting opponents. Almost unbeatable in TJPW, her regular excursions to AEW only make her come back even stronger. Moves To Watch Out For: Magical Girl Splash (Swan Dive Diving Body Press, sometimes done with a rotation), Magical Merry-Go-Round (Spinning Fireman’s Carry into a Facebuster), Tea Time (Northern Lights Bomb), Toy Story 1-4 (Variations of Double Dives with Mizuki)
Mizuki: Right now Mizuki is top of the mountain as the Princess Champion. Her bond with Sakazaki is one of the strongest out there in wrestling, the two have stayed together through thick and thin even when they have to wrestle each other. Only wrestled in America once before and that only happened last year. Has gone viral for using the Whirling Candy in matches, a move that leaves those who see it in amazement. The Popping Sugar Rabbit might sound like a silly nickname but we’ll see who’s laughing once she starts Double Stomping people to oblivion. Here’s the answer, it’s going to be her. Moves To Watch Out For: Cutie Special (Bridging Fall Away Slam), Whirling Candy (Spinning Cross Body Block), Diving Foot Stomp, Toy Story 1-4 (Variations of Double Dives with Sakazaki)
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But wait there’s more! Several TJPW wrestlers will have busy schedules throughout the week. Not only will members of the roster be at WrestleCon doing meet and greets but a few of them will be wrestling matches at other shows. Below is a list of events where you will see TJPW wrestlers in action.
PANDEMONIUM PRO “BEST DAMN THING”, 29/03/2023 Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Maki Itoh & Kidd Bandit Vs Steph De Lander & Heather Monroe
It all kicks off tonight with Maki Itoh heading over to Pandemonium Pro. She will be teaming with Kidd Bandit, who caught Itoh’s attention online a few years ago by showing off her own Maki Itoh cosplay. Heather Monroe was originally supposed to team with Taya Valkyrie but Valkyrie had to pull out due to new booking priorities. Instead Monroe will be teaming with Steph De Lander, a former NXT wrestler who is reinventing her career on the indies. Itoh previously fought and lost to De Lander at a show in Malaysia last December.
WRESTLECON “THE MARK HITCHCOCK MEMORIAL SUPERSHOW”, 30/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. TJPW 10-Woman Tag Showcase: X, X, X, X & X Vs X, X, X, X & X
Ten TJPW wrestlers will get to do their thing in front of WrestleCon’s premier event of the week. Who they are will not be revealed until the match takes place.
IMPACT/NJPW “MULTIVERSE UNITED”, 30/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. 4 Way Match: Masha Slamovich Vs Deonna Purrazzo Vs Gisele Shaw Vs Miyu Yamashita
Yamashita’s North American excursion is going to take her everywhere. It was surprising enough to see her in Impact but by going there she is now technically showing up in New Japan too! The winner of the 4 Way will qualify for a Knockouts World Title match taking place on next month’s Impact PPV in Toronto. Masha Slamovich is a familiar opponent and there will be more matches between them in the future. Gisele Shaw also has history with Yamashita. Deonna Purrazzo will be a brand new experience for her. Will this be the only time we see Yamashita enter through the Forbidden Door or is there something even bigger on the horizon for her?
ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2023”, 31/03/2023 Galen Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. ROH Women’s World Title: Athena (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki
Not everyone feels joy and happiness when Sakazaki enters the room. Athena has grown to really dislike her ever since Sakazaki ran in to stop Athena from bullying her beaten opponents. It’s led to a couple of fights between the two during AEW shows. Athena thought she finally got rid of Sakazaki when she injured her leg in a post-match assault. Instead she found out Sakazaki fully recovered in Japan and went back to wrestling like nothing had happened. At the time of writing Athena is about to defend the ROH Women’s Title against Emi Sakura on ROH’s weekly show. If she wins then Athena will put the title on the line against Sakazaki at the PPV just so she can get her hands on her again.
PRESTIGE “NERVOUS BREAKDOWN”, 31/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Taya Valkyrie Vs Miyu Yamashita
Yamashita’s match with Valkyrie on Friday is not effected by the AEW wrestler’s new commitments.
GCW “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK 7”, 31/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh Vs Effy & Allie Katch
Last but not least we finally get to see Maki Death Kill team up together! The alliance between Itoh and Nick Gage is a GCW storyline that caught fire with Itoh adopting a lot of Gage’s attitude and violent tendancies. For one night only they put out an open challenge for any two wrestlers to face them. Effy & Allie Katch, the team affectionally known as Bussy made it to the front of the queue and will get the match. When Itoh found out who her opponents were her message to them was loud and clear: “WE WILL DESTROY YOUR BUSSY.”
Welcome to the calm before the storm. I put together this month’s article earlier than usual because there are going to be separate posts covering all of the WrestleMania shows DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro are involved with next week. It’s going to be nuts, maybe not on the level of the New York shows from four years ago but still plenty to look forward to. So much will have to be talked about once the dust settles. I will be writing up preview guides for both “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD” and “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES” so look forward to them whenever they are finished.
While Konosuke Takeshita and Yuka Sakazaki are getting the higher profile appearances lately thanks to AEW/ROH, the amount of bookings Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh are getting in America means the focus will be more on them for the next couple of months. Yamashita in particular is going to have a crazy looking 2023 Career tab on her Cagematch profile by the time she’s done. Plus we get to add some new names to this series. Mizuki Watase is heading over to America too and Daisuke Sasaki found an excuse to go wrestling in Mexico.
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Videos
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 01/03/2023 Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, USA
1. Face Of The Revolution Match Ladder Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Ortiz Vs Komander Vs Action Andretti Vs Sammy Guevara Vs Powerhouse Hobbs Vs Eddie Kingston Vs AR Fox
AEW “DARK”, 07/03/2023 Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Jack Cartwheel
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 10/03/2023 Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Preston Vance (w/ José The Assistant)
NORTHEAST WRESTLING “WRESTLEFEST XXVII”, 11/03/2023 Crosby High School, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs JT Dunn
Video starts at 2:36:23 for the match SETUP “SETUP EP.12”, 18/03/2023 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. SETUP Thailand Openweight Title: Monomoth (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi
NEW “NEW 12”, 24/03/2023 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada
1. NEW Women’s Title: Nicole Matthews (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. Maki Itoh Vs Cat Power
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Results
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 01/03/2023 Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, USA
1. Face Of The Revolution Match Ladder Match: Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Ortiz, Komander, Action Andretti, Sammy Guevara, Eddie Kingston and AR Fox when Hobbs grabbed the Brass Ring (13:46).
So close and yet so far. Takeshita almost won the Ladder match after giving Komander a crazy looking Blue Thunder Bomb from a bridged ladder onto the ring canvas. He also fought off interference from Daniel Garcia who was there to help out Sammy Guevara. But as he climbed up the ladder and reached out to grab the literal brass ring, here came Powerhouse Hobbs charging into the ladder to knock Takeshita out of the ring. Hobbs then went on to grab the giant ring and win.
A few days later on Rampage, Takeshita spoke about his recent lack of success in AEW and considered it was time for him to go back to Japan. Don Callis stepped in and continued his push to become Takeshita’s manager. The argument he made is if Takeshita left all of the behind the scenes logistics to him, then Takeshita could put his entire focus just on wrestling in the ring and finally get the results his talent deserves. Ever since then Callis has continued trying to convince Takeshita to take on his services.
AEW “DARK”, 03/03/2023 (Aired 07/03/2023) Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Jack Cartwheel with the Zahi (3:56).
An impressive performance from Jack Cartwheel made this match one to watch if you’re unfamiliar with him.
GCW “HOLY SMOKES”, 04/03/2023 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. GCW Extreme Title: Joey Janela (c) defeated VENY with an Avalanche Brainbuster (16:33). *V2 for Joey Janela.
2. Maki Itoh defeated LuFisto with the I.S.D (10:44).
Itoh’s further run into GCW continued with her beating LuFisto, an inductee of The Indie Wrestling Hall Of Fame that the promotion is associated with. LuFisto wanted to give Itoh a Superplex but a bite to the face stopped her. Itoh gave her a Top Rope DDT and then got back up the ropes to do the I.S.D for the win. Itoh got to celebrate with Nick Gage after the match.
Joey Janela and VENY ended up going buck wild fighting around ringside for a lot of their match. Janela threw VENY into rows of seats, sending a lot of the GCW fans fleeing. VENY fought back with a Moonsault to the floor. Janela VENY in midair when she tried another Moonsault inside the ring and he countered it into a Tombstone. VENY went back to the Moonsault again and landed one onto Janela while he was laying on top of a door. That wasnt enough for Janela or the door so he smashed it to pieces and the two attacked each other with the remains. More big bomb moves were dropped and it took an Avalance Brainbuster for Janela to finally get the three count.
ENJOY “RITES OF SPRING”, 04/03/2023 Mr. Smalls Theatre, Millvale, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer (c) defeated Trish Adora & Jordan Blade (?:??). *V3 for The Wasteland War Party.
The Wasteland War Party scored their third and what turned out to be their last successful defence of the Princess Tag Team Titles by beating Trish Adora & Jordan Blade at an Enjoy Wrestling show.
GCW “RANSOM”, 05/03/2023 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh, Rina Yamashita & VENY defeated Sawyer Wreck, Billie Starkz & Janai Kai when Yamashita pinned Kai with the Splash Mountain (18:56).
Itoh & VENY got to have some fun with Rina Yamashita by faking out their opponents on a triple dive. Sawyer Wreck, Billie Starkz & Janai Kai all flinched and were left bracing for impact outside while Itoh and her team danced inside the ring. Yamashita went on to pin Kai with the Splash Mountain.
EVE “WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY”, 08/03/2023 229 The Venue, London, England
1. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Lizzy Evo with the Skull Kick (14:42). *V3 for Miyu Yamashita.
A fully determined Lizzy Evo was ready to become the new EVE Champion on this night. But her hot streak came to an end thanks to the Skull Kick.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 08/03/2023 (Aired 10/03/2023) Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Preston Vance (w/ José The Assistant) with La Espalda (7:52).
Takeshita took out a trick from the Osaka Pro book to beat Preston Vance. La Espalda is the tricky looking Twisting Backslide Pin that Billy Ken Kid likes to use a lot.
EVE “RIOT! AT THE YARD THEATRE”, 09/03/2023 The Yard Theatre, London, England
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Miyuki Takase with the Skull Kick (14:46).
Apparently this will be the last time Yamashita and Miyuki Takase will face each other one on one. If that’s true then Yamashita ends the series with a 2-0 winning record.
NORTHEAST WRESTLING “WRESTLEFEST XXVII”, 11/03/2023 Crosby High School, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated JT Dunn with the Zahi (12:18).
A Rolling Elbow was used by JT Dunn to counter the Jumping Knee and the match also built up to how the Tombstone Piledriver was used. Takeshita kicked out of the move the first and and reversed a second attempt into a Reverse Implant. Takeshita held onto Dunn after that and threw him over with a Wheelbarrow German Suplex. Dunn was left in a heap after that so Takeshita got to finish him off with the Zahi.
SETUP “SETUP EP.12”, 18/03/2023 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. SETUP Thailand Openweight Title: Masahiro Takanashi defeated Monomoth (c) with the Takatonic (?:??). *Monomoth fails in V?. Masahiro Takanashi becomes the ??th SETUP Thailand Openweight Champion!
Masahiro Takanashi adds another Asian championship to his collection after he took the SETUP Thailand Openweight Title from Monomoth. Takanashi didn’t do it clean either because Baliyan Akki was there to interfere on his behalf. Monomoth did what he could to fight against the 2-on-1 disadvantage, including diving onto both of them outside the ring. He had Takanashi beaten with a Northern Lights Suplex but Akki pulled the referee out of the ring to stop the pin count. Members of the SETUP roster had enough of the cheating and came to Monomoth’s aid. However Takanashi kicked out of a Tornado DDT and threw the ref towards Monomoth while the champion was standing on the top rope. Monomoth jumped over the ref but landed into a Thrust Kick, causing him to get pinned with the Takatonic.
AEW “DARK”, 24/03/2023 (Aired ??/??/2023) Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, USA
1. Michael Nakazawa defeated Baliyan Akki (?:??).
I don’t usually include Michael Nakazawa’s matches in AEW for these articles because he is a full time employee for them. But I bet somebody reading this will get a kick out of hearing he fought and beat Akki on Dark.
NEW “NEW 12”, 24/03/2023 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada
1. NEW Women’s Title: Nicole Matthews (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita by Referee Stoppage with a Dragon Sleeper (?:??). *V5 for Nicole Matthews.
2. Maki Itoh defeated Cat Power with the I.S.D (?:??).
Mixed fortunes for 121000000 on the first night of their North American trip. Itoh was able to beat Cat Power but Yamashita got choked out by Nicole Matthews with a Dragon Sleeper. It’s a reminder that this three month expedition is not going to be a cake walk for Yamashita.
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Killer Kelly with the Skull Kick (10:14).
I didn’t expect Yamashita to show up in Impact. There’s more to talk about it below but her first match with the promotion was a win against Killer Kelly. I think it was taped for TV too.
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Upcoming Appearances – WrestleMania Week
PANDEMONIUM PRO “BEST DAMN THING”, 29/03/2023 Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Maki Itoh & Kidd Bandit Vs Steph De Lander & Heather Monroe
Taya Valkyrie had to pull out of the show due to a change in schedule. That this show is taking place on a Wednesday and Valkyrie recently signed a deal with AEW, it’s easy to figure out what her priority is. Replacing her is Steph De Lander who has really stepped up and increased her presence around the indies recently.
WRESTLECON “THE MARK HITCHCOCK MEMORIAL SUPERSHOW”, 30/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. TJPW 10-Woman Tag Showcase: X, X, X, X & X Vs X, X, X, X & X
The lineup for the TJPW 10-Woman Tag is being kept secret until the show, Mystery Vortex style. Are all ten going to be from the regular TJPW roster or will a few guests be included?
DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Saki Akai Vs Vert Vixen
2. Pheromones Vs Takagi Army All Out Battle In HOLLYWOOD: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Michael Nakazawa
3. Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Chris Brookes & Yoshihiko
4. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada Vs Andrew “The Giant” Everett & Nick Wayne
5. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Joey Janela
6. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Eddie Kingston Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
7. Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Yuki Ueno
Some of the guests being booked for the show now make more sense given recent announcements. Both Nick Wayne and Vert Vixen are heading to Japan for DDT and TJPW respectively in the next couple of months.
IMPACT/NJPW “MULTIVERSE UNITED”, 30/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Masha Slamovich Vs Deonna Purrazzo Vs Gisele Shaw Vs Miyu Yamashita
So not only is Yamashita wrestling for Impact but she is also technically getting a New Japan appearance out of it too, which is completely bizarre seeing a TJPW wrestler under that banner instead of somebody from Stardom. Originally this 4 Way Match was supposed to include Mickie James and her Knockouts Title was going to be on the line. But just a few days ago Impact announced that James is unable to wrestle because of a rib injury. So now the 4 Way Match has Masha Slamovich added to it and whoever wins will get to face Jordynne Grace in Toronto next month with the Knockouts Title on the line. If James is cleared to wrestle she will also be in that match as the defending champion, otherwise she will have to vacate it before the match begins.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES”, 31/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Janai Kai
2. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
3. Hyper Misao & Trish Adora Vs Yuki Aino & Raku
4. Shoko Nakajima & Miu Watanabe Vs Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer
5. International Princess Title: Rika Tatsumi (c) Vs Billie Starkz
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki
Two of the matches are now title matches thanks to the results that happened at “GRAND PRINCESS ’23” earlier this month. The main event has the Princess Tag Titles on the line when the new champions 121000000 face The Magical Sugar Rabbits. There is also now an International Princess Title match between Rika Tatsumi (embracing a new “AmeRika” personality) and Billie Starkz.
DDT/GCW “GCW VS DDT”, 31/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Ciclope, Miedo Extremo, Gringo Loco & Alec Price Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & Takeshi Masada
2. Matthew Justice, Mance Warner & 1 Called Manders Vs Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata & Mizuki Watase
3. Effy & Allie Katch Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno
4. Dark Sheik Vs Saki Akai
5. Cole Radrick Vs Yoshihiko
6. Homicide & Tony Deppen Vs Jun Akiyama & Tetsuya Endo
7. Blake Christian Vs Kazusada Higuchi
8. Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne Vs MAO & Mike Bailey
9. Joey Janela Vs Yuki Ueno
Nine matches on the card now. The latest addition is an 8-Man Tag Match mixing together a lot of people. DDT is relying on DAMNATION T.A to play ball with Sanshiro Takagi & Takeshi Masada. GCW are going the lucha route by letting Gringo Loco put together a squad. He chose Alec Price and Los Macizos. Prince is an up and coming name on the indies while Ciclope & Miedo Extremo are former GCW Tag Team Champions.
No idea what the match order is going to be for the GCW Vs DDT show. This might be the last of DDT’s involvement in shows for the week. Unless Takeshita shows up in ROH or Pheromones crash “Effy’s Big Gay Brunch” on Saturday.
ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2023”, 31/03/2023 Galen Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. ROH Women’s World Title: Athena (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki
After weeks and weeks of tension building up between Athena and Yuka Sakazaki, things finally blew up and Athena sent Sakazaki back to Japan with an injury. However when Athena found out Sakazaki was able to continue wrestling no problem, it only made her even madder. The grudge is going to get settled in LA with Sakazaki getting a shot at the ROH Women’s World Title.
PRESTIGE “NERVOUS BREAKDOWN”, 31/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Taya Valkyrie Vs Miyu Yamashita
Valkyrie will be in LA on the Friday evening for her Prestige match against Yamashita.
GCW “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK 7”, 31/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh Vs X & X
Well Nick Gage is no longer the GCW World Champion so my idea of him against Itoh has gone up in smoke. However they are going ahead with the next best idea and that is Maki Death Kill teaming up for one night only!
Well Mizuki Watase did say he was going on an American excursion so he had to be somewhere other than a DDT show. He’s ended up going somewhere even weirder. Wrestling Pro Wrestling is a comedy promotion and is home to Cerealman, a pro wrestler with a box of cereal for a head. Would it surprise you to find out a lot of Hoodslam guys also work here? Let’s see how Watase can handle himself when he’s in the ring with Gregory Sharpe and Eli Everfly.
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Upcoming Appearances – Everywhere Else After WrestleMania
WRESTLING REVOLVER “REVOLVER THURSDAY”, 06/04/2023 Calumet Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Allie Katch
Looks like there’s going to be a week off for Yamashita to get over the WrestleMania hangover. After that it’s time to hit the road with her first stop being a match with Allie Katch at Wrestling REVOLVER.
LLL “MONSTER ISLAND”, 07/04/2023 The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA
1. Heidi Howitzer Vs Maki Itoh
One of the former Princess Tag Champions has a chance at revenge. Heidi Howitzer was already looking forward to kicking Itoh’s ass. Now there’s going to be some more hatred behind it after Itoh pinned Howitzer to cause the title change.
WEST COAST PRO “HOME OF THE KILLERS”, 07/04/2023 The State Room, South San Francisco, California, USA
1. West Coast Pro Women’s Title: Masha Slamovich (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
The last West Coast Pro show crowned their first Women’s Champion. Masha Slamovich defeated Sandra Moone to win the title and now gets Yamashita for her first defence.
HOODSLAM “FALLEN IDOLS”, 08/04/2023 Continental Club, Oakland, California, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Vipress
Itoh has fought Dark Sheik a bunch of times already so when she arrives in Hoodslam it will be Sheik’s current tag team partner Vipress waiting for her. Earlier this month Sheik & Vipress won the Intergalactic Tag Team Titles together.
DEFY “THE REALEST”, 08/04/2023 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. DEFY Women’s Title: Vert Vixen Vs Miyu Yamashita
Before Vixen travels to Japan for TJPW, she defends the DEFY Women’s Title against Yamashita. Heck of a warm up match to get ready for that tour.
CCW “DEAD-ZONE”, 15/04/2023 Houston Volunteer Fire Department, Houston, Delaware, USA
1. CCW Title & CCW Title Match Network Title – 4 Corner Survival Match: Kilynn King (c) Vs Killer Kelly Vs Steph De Lander Vs Miyu Yamashita
What was first advertised as a 3 Way Match is now a 4 Corner Survival with Steph De Lander added to the mix. Which makes me wonder did certain people signing contracts recently lead to a situation where nobody in the 3 Way politically can take the fall and a fourth person had to be used as a solution? Kilynn King is now signed to Impact and Killer Kelly is under contract to them too. Maybe I’m overthinking it.
LUCHA MEMES “???”, 15/04/2023 Arena Solis, Cuautlacingo, Puebla, Mexico
1. Raider Boy, Tormento & Fantasmin Vs Osiris, Garrobo Punk & Daisuke Sasaki
Alright we’re getting to talk about Mexico again. About time. Daisuke Sasaki will be making his Lucha Memes debut in April. The promotion is fond of bringing in independent talent from America. As far as I could find I think Ultimo Dragon and Satoshi Kojima are the only other Japanese wrestlers to have previously worked there. Lucha Memes is also running Arena Solis in Puebla for the first time.
DPW “DPW LIVE 2”, 16/04/2023 Phil Sheridan Building, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Is Yamashita still owed a title match in Deadlock Pro or did I misunderstand the stipulation of her previous match there? Also did you hear that news today about DPW going to Japan to do joint shows with Gatoh Move soon?
RIW “FIGHT UNTIL WE DIED”, 16/04/2023 Gimnasio Coliseo Arena, Toluca, Mexico
1. Daisuke Sasaki Vs X
The next day in Mexico, Sasaki is heading over to Revolution Indy Wrestling.
UWE “DAWN OF A NEW ERA”, 22/04/2023 Dauphin County Tech School, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Dani Mo Vs Miyu Yamashita
I was able to find more social media pages for Ultimate Wrestling Empire so it is indeed an actual show taking place.
PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 5”, 29/04/2023 Roseland Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Queen Aminata
Will Yamashita still be undefeated in Prestige by the time her match with Queen Aminata takes place?
REPUBLIC OF LUCHA “ROL IV”, 30/04/2023 Republic Of Lucha, South Pasadena, California, USA
1. Kidd Bandit Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. Daga Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Not sure if Takeshita’s match with Daga will still happen. Daga suffered a left knee injury at a show co-promoted by NWA and AAA at the start of the month. According to Konnan the injury is a fractured fibula and a torn miniscus that will take him out of action for two months. If that’s true then the timing could make this turn out to be Daga’s return match if his recovery goes better than anticipated.
EVE “LUCKY 13”, 05/05/2023 The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England
1. EVE Title – Iron Woman Match: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Millie McKenzie
Yamashita’s international series with Millie McKenzie continues with McKenzie putting up a big challenge in the hopes of finally winning the EVE Title. Given the back and forth results the two wrestlers produce against each other, they will now face off in an Iron Woman match. Whoever scores the most falls within the 30 minute time limit will be the champion at the end.
MAW “VENDETTA”, 13/05/2023 2nd St. Depot, Hastings, Minnesota, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Sierra
Can’t find confirmation but it would make sense if this is a MAW Women’s Title match with Sierra putting the belt on the line.
AIW “GAUNTLET FOR THE GOLD 16”, 20/05/2023 Force Sports, Eastlake, Ohio, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Just have to wait and see what her match is going to be.
GCW “THE WAY I AM”, 20/05/2023 Harpo’s Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Itoh’s next appearance for GCW after Mania week will be in Detroit.
GCW “I CAN’T SAVE YOU”, 21/05/2023 Valley Dale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Itoh will be in Ohio too.
ST. LOUIS ANARCHY “GIANTS WOKE, EYES OPEN”, 09/06/2023 The House of Anarchy, Alton, Illinois, USA
1. Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita
Yamashita was bound to get a match with Starkz somewhere during the tour. This also isn’t the last show on Yamashita’s schedule anymore.
ENJOY “???”, 17/06/2023 Mr. Smalls Theatre, Millvale, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Ray Lyn Vs Miyu Yamashita
The final booking of Yamashita’s tour seems to be her match with Rey Lyn at Enjoy Wrestling. Her first match back in Japan won’t be until 25th June so she can squeeze in at least one more match if she wanted to.
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Corrections
NORTHEAST WRESTLING “MARCH MAYHEM”, 18/03/2023 NEW Arena, Bethany, Connecticut, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X
From what I could find online Takeshita was only on the show for a meet and greet, not to wrestle a match.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR IN SPRING ’23”, 22/03/2023 Shinjuku FACE 207 Fans
1. Suzume defeated Shino Suzuki with the Mikazuki Meteor Shower (6:31).
2. Shoko Nakajima, Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI defeated Arisu Endo, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo when Nakajima submitted Kazashiro with a Butterfly Lock (9:16).
3. Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer defeated Hyper Misao & Pom Harajuku when Max pinned Harajuku with a Short Range Lariat (7:39).
4. Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Raku defeated Yuya Koroku, Mahiro Kiryu & Toga when Tatsumi pinned Toga with the Twist Of Fate (11:56).
5. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh defeated Moka Miyamoto & Kaya Toribami when Yamashita pinned Toribami with a Right High Kick (10:06).
6. Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta & Yuki Aino defeated Mizuki, Yuka Sakazaki & Haruna Neko when Kakuta pinned Neko with the Shiden Kai (12:39).
After the main event Nao Kakuta got on the microphone and told Mizuki how amazed she was seeing her win the Princess Of Princess Title at “GRAND PRINCESS ’23”. Kakuta then brought up Mizuki’s 10th Anniversary from December and how happy she was that Mizuki chose her to take part in it. Today Kakuta is the one choosing Mizuki because she wants a Princess Title shot! Mizuki said if she was chosen then she cannot refuse the challenge. She did however decline to shake Kakuta’s hand. The title match will headline the 15th April Korakuen Hall show.
Today was Miyu Yamashita’s last match in Tokyo Joshi Pro before she embarks on her three month tour of America. Her return match in Japan will be at Fukuoka on 25th June. Maki Itoh will be with her on and off during this time depending on Itoh’s own schedule. For example they will be flying to Canada together because they are both wrestling on a Nation Extreme Wrestling show this Friday.
Hyper Misao came up with a plan to beat The Wasteland War Party called “Operation Hansel And Gretel”. It involved Misao leaving a bunch of cute objects around ringside to distract Max The Impaler. When Max gets distracted, Misao would then tape them to the ring post. Max fell for the trap but easily got rid of the tape. Pom Harajuku tried to fight off Heidi Howitzer with Shin Kicks until Max returned. That caused Misao & Harajuku to keep tagging each other in to avoid Max. They finally found the courage to find back and even got to trap Howitzer against the ropes. Harajuku had her big moment to shine by attempting the Pom de Justice but Max countered it with a Lariat for the 3 count.
Texas wrestler Vert Vixen will be touring with TJPW in April. She will be wrestling on the shows booked for 15th, 22nd and 23rd April. Yuka Sakazaki fought Vixen on AEW Dark Elevation last month.
Shiori Aoki from SKE48 is making her referee debut on 15th April. The match she is officiating will be Kyoraku Kyomei Vs Yuki Arai & HIMAWARI.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 