“MASAHIRO TAKANASHI 20TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW”, 19/09/2023 Shinjuku FACE ??? Fans
0. Dark Match: Dr. Gore & Yasu Urano defeated Monomoth & Kappa Kozo (w/ Miyako Haru) when Urano pinned Monomoth with the Modern Times (5:30).
1. Gauntlet Tag Match: Takashi Sasaki & Baliyan Akki defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Minoru Fujita, Shogo “Jet” Takagi & Antonio Honda (w/ Toru Owashi), Choun-Shiryu & Shin Suzuki, Chie Koishikawa & Hagane Shinno, Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei (w/ Gorgeous Matsuno), and Shota & Gota Ihashi.
1a. Shogo “Jet” Takagi & Antonio Honda (w/ Toru Owashi) defeated Shota & Gota Ihashi when Honda pinned Ihashi with La Magistral Cradle (2:39).
1b. Choun-Shiryu & Shin Suzuki defeated Shogo “Jet” Takagi & Antonio Honda (w/ Toru Owashi) when Shiryu pinned Honda with the Chinese Leg Roll Clutch (1:59).
1c. Chie Koishikawa & Hagane Shinno defeated Choun-Shiryu & Shin Suzuki by Ring Out when Shinno eliminated Suzuki (2:55).
1d. Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei (w/ Gorgeous Matsuno) defeated Chie Koishikawa & Hagane Shinno when Shu pinned Koishikawa with a Cradle (2:54).
1e. Takashi Sasaki & Baliyan Akki defeated Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei (w/ Gorgeous Matsuno) when Sasaki pinned Kei with a Cradle (5:01).
1f. Takashi Sasaki & Baliyan Akki defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Minoru Fujita by Ring Out when Akki eliminated Fujita (7:31).
2. Saki Akai Vs DJ Nira ended in a No Contest (?:??).
3. Special Single Match: Minoru Suzuki defeated Mei Suruga with a European Clutch (12:19).
4. Yukio Sakaguchi, Isami Kodaka & Ken Ohka defeated MAO, Daiki Shimomura & Munetatsu Nakamura when Sakaguchi pinned Nakamura with the God’s Right Knee (15:05).
5. Chris Brookes defeated Masahiro Takanashi with the Praying Mantis Bomb (24:07).
-. Special Exhibition: KUDO (1) defeated Masahiro Takanashi (0) (5:00).
-a. KUDO (1) pinned Masahiro Takanashi (0) with the Diving Double Knee Drop (?:??).
Masahiro Takanashi gathered a bunch of his friends together to celebrate twenty years of him being a pro wrestler. The advertised main event was a singles match between the two CDK teammates Takanashi and Chris Brookes. In the end Brookes countered the Takatonic into the Implant for a nearfall and then used the Praying Mantis Bomb to get the three count. However the final match of the night took place right afterward when KUDO entered the ring in full gear to take part in a five minute long exhibition against Takanashi. It was the first time KUDO got to wrestle in any form since 2019. The five minutes went by in a sprint and KUDO scored a pinfall with the Diving Double Knee Drop right before time expired.
During the post-show interview backstage Takanashi asked KUDO how did it feel to wrestle again after such a long time? KUDO said it felt great and he appreciated the support from the fans. He would like to do it again. He has no plans to retire so he will definitely come back some day. Takanashi said next time he hopes to do a CDK Vs KUDO & Yukio Sakaguchi tag match. Brookes said he doesn’t want to fight Takanashi again anytime soon. CDK is stronger together as a team and they have plenty of dreams they want to chase. Next year will be CDK’s 5th Anniversary as a team so maybe Takanashi will put together a show to celebrate that in 2024 instead of his 21st anniversary.
Minoru Suzuki’s weird weekend was stretched out into Monday when he had to fight Mei Suruga in a singles match. He decided to fight fire with fire by using some of Suruga’s moves and poses against her! Suruga complained about the fans cheering for him because he doesn’t look cute when he acts like her. Suzuki got the win in the end, oddly enough not by choking the life out of Suruga but by using a European Clutch to pin her. Suruga kept attacking Suzuki after the match but he shrugged her off. He praised her for putting up a good fight, gave her a hug and left the ring, ignoring that she was still trying to attack him.
Saki Akai was promised a match if she showed up to the event. When she entered the ring she was immediately attacked by DJ Nira! He also attacked Daisuke Kiso before the bell rang so the match never officially started. Still, Akai tried to wrestle Nira and had him beaten with the Quetzalcoatl. Kiso was still knocked out so Akai went to revive him. Gradually the ring started to fill up with wrestlers like Antonio Honda, Hoshitango, Gota Ihashi and Thanomsak Toba all dressed in diapers. According to Nira they were all old men and it is now up to Akai to take care of them. The match was declared a Diaper Royal when suddenly the room went dark. A voice told the audience that Akai went on to build a facility for the elderly but everyone who lived there got poisoned on the opening day. Kiso was caught as the accomplice so Toba strangled him to death. That’s how the match ended.
Shota & Ihashi entered the Gauntlet Tag Match dressed as Takanashi & Sakaguchi respectively. Ihashi even sported fake body tattoos.
DDT “TETSUYA ENDO LOCAL TRIUMPH! WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2023 TOUR IN SHIROISHI”, 16/09/2023 Miyagi Shiroishi White Cube
1. Pheromones Final Countdown In Shiroishi: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Makoto Oishi
2. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Naya & Kazuma Sumi
3. Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda Vs MAO & Yoshihiko
4. Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima
5. Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Jun Akiyama Vs HARASHIMA & Rukiya
6. Shiroishi Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ BURNING Vs Eruption!: Tetsuya Endo, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani
This may be the last month Pheromones will exist so they have already begun their farewell tour. How they behave in these matches will help Akito decide if the unit should be broken up or not. So far based on the first match that happened yesterday, Pheromones are not going to change their behavior.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~RIKA TATSUMI LOCAL TRIUMPH~”, 16/09/2023 Nagano Kissei Bunka Hall Middle Hall
1. Mahiro Kiryu Vs Toga
2. 3 Way Match: Pom Harajuku Vs Haruna Neko Vs Shino Suzuki
3. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Kaya Toribami & Haru Kazashiro
4. Maki Itoh vs HIMAWARI
5. Mizuki & Hikari Noa Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
6. Aja Kong, Yuki Aino & Raku Vs Shoko Nakajima, Nao Kakuta & Moka Miyamoto
7. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Miyu Yamashita & Hyper Misao
Nagano’s local mascot Arukuma will be at the show to celebrate Rika Tatsumi’s return to her home area. It is a bear obsessed with apples who likes to walk around the area spreading charm to people who aren’t bears. Tatsumi is the kind of person who will strangle that thing to death… with love of course… Oh my God, she’s Elmyra from Tiny Toons!
DDT “DRAMATIC EXPLOSION 2023”, 18/09/2023 Nagoya International Conference Center Event Hall
1. Pheromones Final Countdown In Nagoya ~ 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata & Akito Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Takeshi Masada
2. Kazuma Sumi Vs Rukiya
3. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Hideki Okatani, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
4. HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya Vs Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima
5. Nagoya Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Tetsuya Endo Vs Shigehiro Irie, Kazusada Higuchi & Shinya Ishida
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, MAO & Antonio Honda Vs Minoru Suzuki, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai
7. All Asia Tag Team Titles – Current Blast Tag Death Match: Atsushi Onita & Yoshitatsu (c) Vs Jun Akiyama & Kotaro Suzuki
Even though Atsushi Onita’s team beat Jun Akiyama’s team in an exploding death match over the weekend, he still accepted the challenge to make the next one an All Asia Tag Team Titles match. It will be the first time since 2014 when the titles will be defended on a DDT show. Onita felt he and Yoshitatsu needed to accept the challenge of Akiyama & Kotaro Suzuki in order to increase the championship’s value. Given how much this match relates to All Japan, Onita will have the late Terry Funk on his mind going into it.
“MASAHIRO TAKANASHI 20TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW”, 19/09/2023 Shinjuku FACE
0. Dark Match: Monomoth & Kappa Kozo (w/ Miyako Haru) Vs Dr. Gore & Yasu Urano
1. Gauntlet Tag Match: Shogo “Jet” Takagi & Antonio Honda (w/ Toru Owashi) Vs Takashi Sasaki & Baliyan Akki, Choun-Shiryu & Shin Suzuki Vs Chie Koishikawa & Hagane Shinno
2. Yukio Sakaguchi, Isami Kodaka & Ken Ohka Vs MAO, Daiki Shimomura & Munetatsu Nakamura
3. Special Exhibition: Masahiro Takanashi Vs KUDO
4. Special Single Match: Mei Suruga Vs Minoru Suzuki
5. Chris Brookes Vs Masahiro Takanashi
The “Thai Smiling Prince” Monomoth makes his Japanese pro wrestling debut on Masahiro Takanashi’s show. He is a regular with the SETUP promotion in Thailand. The dark match Monomoth is in features another SETUP wrestler named Dr. Gore teaming with Yasu Urano. Monomoth’s tag partner is Kappa Kozo from the UMA Corps which of course means Miyako Haru will be there to keep an eye on things.
Saki Akai is on the show but there is still no announcement yet as to what she will be doing there.
DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2023”, 24/09/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya
1. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Hideki Okatani, Yuni & Takeshi Masada
2. Pheromones Final Countdown In Korakuen ~ 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata & Naruki Doi Vs Akito & Antonio Honda
3. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi, HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi
4. Special Tag Match ~ DDT Vs AJPW: Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima Vs Atsuki Aoyagi & Dan Tamura
5. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs MAO
6. DDT Universal Title: Matt Cardona (c) (w/ Steph De Lander) Vs Maki Itoh
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Saki Akai
There was only one person Chris Brookes had in mind for his next challenger. He wants to defend the KO-D Openweight Title against Akai before her retirement in November. The two of them had a double title singles match involving the DDT Extreme Title and Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title inside an empty Korakuen Hall back in May 2021 because of the covid pandemic. Akai gets to challenge for the KO-D Title for the first time ever but warns she is not doing this for sentimental reasons. She wants to win and become champion so Brookes better take her seriously!
The aftermath of Yuki Ueno choosing The 37KAMIINA over Konosuke Takeshita has calmed things down a little bit. Takeshita has said at the end of the day he is still friends with everyone in the unit even if they aren’t seeing eye to eye right now. That claim will be taken to the test after MAO challenged him to a singles match. Is this MAO testing himself against Takeshita when they are at their strongest or will there be some frustations being taken out on each other?
DDT’s inter-promotional rivalry with All Japan continues with Atsuki Aoyagi & Dan Tamura coming on over to fight The 37KAMIINA. Aoyagi is excited to fight Ueno for the first time and sees MAO as a future opponent too. However when Toy Kojima heard that he got worked up at being overlooked as always. He is just as much an important member of The 37KAMIINA as the others but nobody ever names him as an opponent they want to fight. In Aoyagi’s defence, he admits he doesn’t know who Kojima is. But then he repeated he only wants to fight Ueno and MAO so whatever Kojima does to him in response is kind of deserved.
DDT “SAKI AKAI 10TH ANNIVERSARY & FINAL COUNT DOWN IN KYOTO!!”, 30/09/2023 Kyoto KBS Hall
1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani (c) Vs Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Mei Suruga
Brookes offering Akai a KO-D Title match wasn’t something he did for the sake of being charitable. The day after he gave out the challenge he told Eruption he would like a shot at the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles in return. He already has a team put together with Takanashi & Mei Suruga, mixing CDK and ChocoPro together. Eruption want to defend their championships as much as they can before Akai’s retirement and do not mind who their opponents are. The announcement of this match on DDT’s website only mentions the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles so it looks like the AJPW TV 6-Man Tag Team Titles will not be on the line.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 04/10/2023 Shinjuku FACE
1. Pheromones Final Match: X Vs X
2. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Minoru Fujita & KANON (c) Vs Soma Takao & Shota
ROMANCE DAWN quickly made themselves the first challengers for the new KO-D Tag Team Champions. They approached Minoru Fujita & KANON shortly after the title change to set up the time and the place for their shot.
On this date Akito will decide the fate of Pheromones. Will he go with his head and finally split up the group or will he go with his heart and keep them together for their fanbase? He could probably go with another part of his body to come up with a third option but let’s not go into detail with that sort of fantasy booking.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS IV”, 09/10/2023 Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe
1. Sakisama, Mei Saint-Michel, Martha & Yukio Saint Laurent Vs X, X, X & X
2. Special Single Match: Nyla Rose Vs Maki Itoh
3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
The next Princess Tag Team Champions are either going to be Toyo Mates or Free WiFi. Either result will give us a first time champion. I don’t just mean first time tag title reigns for either team but also a first championship for Mahiro Kiryu or Nao Kakuta too. Both Yuki Kamifuku and Hikari Noa have previously held the International Princess Title.
DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2023”, 12/11/2023 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Saki Akai Retirement Match: Saki Akai Vs X
2. Special Single Match: Hiromu Takahashi Vs Kazuki Hirata
It was already announced that Hiromu Takahashi will be at Sumo Hall but the choice of opponent was going to be all up to him. Kazuki Hirata read out a heartfelt letter written for Takahashi asking him to be his opponent at the show. Hirata didn’t expect Takahashi was actually in the room at the time and certainly didn’t expect to roll him up and try to win the Iron Man Title either. Takahashi decided to make Hirata’s dream come true and they will face each other. So far no championship is on the line. Not the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title held by Takahashi nor the DDT Extreme and Iron Man Titles held by Hirata. Things may change as we get closer to the show but who knows what championships either will be hold by the time we get there.
DDT “YUBUN 100TH ANNIVERSARY DDT PRO WRESTLING IN IKEBUKURO FULL MOON FESTIVAL”, 10/09/2023 Tokyo Ikebukuro Nishiguchi Park Outdoor Theater Global Ring Theater ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Yusuke Okada defeated Yuya Koroku with a Backslide Pin (7:02).
2. Pheromones Final Countdown In Ikebukuro: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Rukiya ended in a No Contest (9:49).
3. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON (w/ MJ Paul) defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Kazuma Sumi when KANON pinned Sumi with the Sleepy Hollow (10:25).
4. Sendai Girls Offer Match: Millie McKenzie & Chihiro Hashimoto defeated Lena Cross & Yurika Oka when Hashimoto pinned Oka with a Lariat (8:06).
5. Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani defeated Kazuki Hirata, Yuni & Ilusion when Sakaguchi submitted Ilusion with a Triangle Choke (10:45).
6. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Yukio Naya defeated Yuji Hino & Yuki Ishida when Naya pinned Ishida with the World’s Largest Back Drop (12:15).
7. Ikebukuro Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Takeshi Masada defeated Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima when Brookes pinned Kojima with the Praying Mantis Bomb (17:50).
DDT held a free outdoor wrestling event at an open air theatre inside Ikebukuro Nishiguchi Park. There was also a public press conference held before the show began. At the press conference Chris Brookes said he wanted to challenge Eruption for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles in return for setting up Saki Akai for a KO-D Openweight Title shot. He already has a team in place that mixes together CDK with ChocoPro. His partners for the challenge will be Masahiro Takanashi & Mei Suruga. The challenge was accepted by Yukio Sakaguchi and the match will take place in Akai’s hometown of Kyoto on 30th September.
The press conference also announced the next match in the DDT Vs All Japan feud. AJPW are sending over Atsuki Aoyagi & Dan Tamura to face Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima on 24th September. Aoyagi was at the conference to speak with the DDT team. He said he wanted to fight DDT wrestlers after seeing the inter-promotional match that happened in AJPW over the weekend. When he found out Ueno is one of his opponents it made him look forward to it even more. Kojima however felt insulted when Aoyagi did not acknowledge him. He is getting annoyed that when other wrestlers talk about The 37KAMIINA they only refer to Ueno and MAO. Kojima is the member of the unit who is in charge of firewood so he will be the one to heat up this match! Aoyagi upset Kojima even more when he repeated he is only interested in fighting Ueno and MAO.
As always with this article I start off thinking it is going to be a lighter month than the last until it grows and grows. There are always extra bookings on the horizons whenever the boys and girls from DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro go abroad. August was dominated by two stories in my mind. Konosuke Takeshita wrestling The Golden Lovers in Wembley and Maki Itoh being all over GCW even more so than usual. Other things of note include TJPW announcing its return to America while dipping its toe into China, MAO becoming fast friends with El Desperado and Miyu Yamashita finding herself in ChocoPro territory by virtue of being EVE’s champion. Maybe next month’s article will be the one that finally slows down a little bit.
AEW “DYNAMITE 200”, 02/08/2023 Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida, USA
1. Chris Jericho & Konosuke Takeshita Vs Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia
WRESTLING REVOLVER “HEAT EM UP”, 03/08/2023 Calumet Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA
1. Lucha Street Fight: Gringo Loco Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Video starts at 39:54. MDRN NMD/GATOH MOVE “CHOCO NIGHT GRAPS!”, 29/08/2023 The Bread Shed, Grosvenor St., Manchester, England
1. Masahiro Takanashi Vs Kid Lykos
———————————————————————–
Results
AEW “DYNAMITE 200”, 02/08/2023 Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida, USA
1. Chris Jericho & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia when Jericho pinned Garcia after a Bat Attack from Don Callis (12:21).
As I feared, Takeshita’s storyline with Don Callis was pretty much hijacked by Chris Jericho to set up his own angle with Takeshita’s manager. Takeshita & Jericho teamed up under Callis’s recommendation against two people close to Jericho, Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia. Callis knocked out Garcia with a baseball bat behind the ref’s back and Jericho made the choice to pin him for the victory.
WRESTLING REVOLVER “HEAT EM UP”, 03/08/2023 Calumet Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA
1. Lucha Street Fight: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Gringo Loco with the Diving Senton (14:39).
Takeshita showed up in Wrestling REVOLVER as a short notice replacement for Jon Moxley. His appearance made up for Takeshita’s own cancelled booking with the promotion back in June. Here Takeshita faced Gringo Loco in a Lucha Street Fight. By coincidence one of Loco’s big moves is the Himawari Bomb that Sanshiro Takagi also uses. Takeshita kicked out of the move and then countered a top rope version into a Poison Rana. Loco kicked out of the Powerdrive Knee so Takeshita then took a page out of Moxley’s book by giving Loco the Paradigm Shift. From there Takeshita won with the Diving Senton.
DREAMWAVE “SUMMER SPECTACULAR 2023”, 04/08/2023 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Dreamwave Women’s Title Qualifying Scramble: Zayda Steele defeated Brittnie Brooks, Maki Itoh, B3CCA, Kaia McKenna and Shazza McKenzie when Steele pinned McKenzie after the It’s Brittnie Bitch from Brooks (8:08).
Itoh entered Dreamwave’s 6-Woman Scramble in the hopes of qualifying for their new Women’s Championship. It was first fall to a finish but the ring soon emptied when some of the women, Itoh included got thrown out. She didn’t factor into the finish but would soon find out she had another chance.
DREAMWAVE “THOSE SUMMER NIGHTS”, 05/08/2023 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Dreamwave Women’s Title Qualifying Scramble: Brittnie Brooks defeated Maki Itoh, B3CCA, Kaia McKenna, Maggie Lee and Shelly Benson when Brookes pinned Lee with the It’s Brittnie Bitch (8:08).
The second chance didn’t work out any better for her. Another 6-Woman Scramble was held the next night with some of the same women involved. Itoh tried to submit two opponents at once by giving them a Double Half Crab but it left her vulnerable to a Super Kick. She went to recover outside the ring and couldn’t climb back in time to break the pin.
GCW “NO SIGNAL IN THE HILLS”, 11/08/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. 4 Way Match: Steph De Lander defeated Allie Katch, Maki Itoh and Masha Slamovich when De Lander pinned Itoh with the Fireman’s Carry Facebuster (11:53).
Okay maybe multi-person free for alls are not Itoh’s forte. This one was a bit crazy though. Masha Slamovich had Allie Katch beaten when all of a sudden Blake Christian jumped into the ring and attacked her. Itoh took exception and threw punches at Christian, opening herself up to Steph De Lander giving her an F5-like move to win.
PWG “MYSTERY VORTEX”, 13/08/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
Here’s something I never thought I’d write. Maki Itoh did a balcony dive at a PWG show! It’s been rare to see PWG holding shows nowadays but last month they held one of their signature events “MYSTERY VORTEX” where nothing is advertised before hand and fans only know what the matches are when they happen. Itoh was involved in a bizarre mixture of wrestlers in a 6-Person Tag Match. She teamed with Evil Uno & Aramis to beat Masha Slamovich, Peter Avalon & Látigo in a match mixing together AEW, lucha libre and women’s wrestling talent.
Takeshita was also on the show too, beating Rey Horus. I’d call him a PWG regular at this point if they ran shows more often.
KOPW “THE NEW ERA OF CHINESE PRO WRESTLING III”, 19/08/2023 Tianyue Sports City, Nanhai Foshan, Guangdong, China
1. Mizuki defeated Nao Kakuta with the Cutie Special (?:??).
TJPW made their first steps into China when Mizuki and Nao Kakuta were invited to take part in King Of Pro Wrestling. They faced each other in a non-title match and won over the crowd with their back and forth action.
NJPW “LEC PRESENTS ALL STAR JR FESTIVAL USA 2023”, 19/08/2023 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. El Desperado & MAO defeated Nick Wayne & Jordan Oliver when Desperado pinned Oliver with the Pinche Loco (19:14).
The All Star Jr. Festival proved to be such a good idea in Japan that they brought the show over to America. MAO was invited along and got to team with El Desperado. The two of them bonded by playing Dragon Quest V on the flight to America so their team name was DQV. They fought a tag team MAO lost to earlier this year, The East West Express. Both Nick Wayne & Jordan Oliver performed Stereo Springboard Cutters to their opponents but both only got a two count. MAO got rid of Wayne by spiking him onto the canvas with a Spinning Headscissors and Desperado pinned Oliver with the Pinche Loco.
GCW “HOMECOMING – PART 1”, 19/08/2023
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh defeated Matt Cardona & Steph De Lander when Gage & Itoh pinned Cardona & De Lander each with the Kokeshi (11:57).
Months of fights between Maki Death Kill and Deathmatch Royalty led to a climactic battle between them finally happening. Itoh & Nick Gage were finally going to get their hands on Matt Cardona & De Lander with nothing in their way to stop them. Cardona & De Lander made a big entrance out of it, arriving at the venue in the Ecto-1 and wearing Ghostbusters outfits. For you see tonight they were the Deathmatch Busters! The joke blew up in their faces because Maki Death Kill sliced the two of them apart with pizza cutters! Cardona & De Lander tried to Pedigree Gage & Itoh onto thumbtacks but they were both Back Body Dropped onto the pile instead. Gage & Itoh then delivered stereo Kokeshi Headbutts to win the match and possibly put an end to the feud.
IMPACT/NJPW “MULTIVERSE UNITED”, 20/08/2023 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Scramble Match: Chris Sabin defeated Kevin Knight, Frankie Kazarian, BUSHI, YOH, Rich Swann, MAO and El Desperado when Sabin pinned YOH with the Cradle Shock (8:06).
MAO was involved even further with the international Jr. Heavyweight Division action the next night. Impact and New Japan held a co-promoted event and MAO was thrown into an 8-Man Scramble match to open the show. He tried joining forces with Desperado again but the numbers game still proved to be too much for the two of them. Instead Chris Sabin ended up being the last man standing. Well, at least until BUSHI blinded him with Poison Mist after the match.
GCW “HOMECOMING – PART 2”, 20/08/2023 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated B3CCA with the Itoh Deluxe (9:21).
In the first of two singles matches they have coming up together, Itoh beat B3CCA in GCW. Will the result be the same when they have a rematch at MLW next month?
ROW/GCW “GCW VS RENEGADES OF WRESTLING”, 25/08/2023 Roundhouse, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
1. Maki Itoh defeated Charli Evans with the Itoh Deluxe (18:03).
Itoh’s next focus in GCW was their tour of Australia with the Renegades Of Wrestling promotion. On Night 1 Itoh defeated Charli Evans and revealed a new word she learned that Aussies like to call other people. I’m not going to type it out here. It’s difficult enough trying to keep this blog from getting caught in web filters.
ROW/GCW “GCW VS RENEGADES OF WRESTLING”, 26/08/2023
Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
1. ROW Women’s Title: Aysha (c) defeated Maki Itoh with a Double Arm DDT (12:58). *V3 for Aysha.
The second night featured Itoh challenged Aysha for the ROW Women’s Title. Itoh had the champion beat when she made her tap out to the Itoh Deluxe but Aysha’s cronies at ringside kept distracting the referee so it wouldn’t be seen. Itoh let go of the hold to chase them off but turned around into a Double Arm DDT, stealing the win for Aysha.
GATOH MOVE “CHOCOPRO”, 26/08/2023 The Yard Theatre, London, England
Just including this result because Masahiro Takanashi is a DDT guy as well as a ChocoPro regular. I have more to talk about the second show of the double header.
EVE/GATOH MOVE “CHOCOPRO X EVE SUPER SHOW”, 26/08/2023 The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England
1. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Emersyn Jayne with the Crash Rabbit Heat (19:39). *V8 for Miyu Yamashita.
2. Mei Suruga & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Kanji & Kid Lykos when Suruga pinned Kanji with the Maple Model (11:25).
Being the EVE Champion got Miyu Yamashita to appear on a ChocoPro branded show for the first time. She opened up the show with a title defence against Emersyn Jayne. That match was supposed to happen in July but travel problems for the challenger prevented that from happening. It finally went ahead here and the match turned out to be a violent one. Yamashita was slammed onto the front row of chairs outside the ring and Jayne ended up getting busted open. Jayne did kick out of the Skull Kick, being one of the few people to do so. But Yamashita followed it up with the Crash Rabbit Heat to remain the champion.
One of ChocoPro’s victories on the show against EVE happened when Masahiro Takanashi & Mei Suruga defeated Kid Lykos & Kanji. It was one of the rare times men got to wrestle on an EVE show too.
The show also left with a question of what could have been because Marika Kobashi was planned to compete as an EVE representative. She is currently staying in Scotland but her flight to London was cancelled and she was unable to make it to the show. Part of her apology included regret over not being able to see Yamashita again so I wonder if she was meant to wrestle her instead of Jayne?
I was at this show by the way. Although I admit leaving during the main event in order to catch my train back to the hotel so I missed Emi Sakura’s surprise induction into EVE’s Hall Of Fame at the end.
ROW/GCW “GCW VS RENEGADES OF WRESTLING”, 27/08/2023 Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
1. Maki Itoh defeated Allie Katch with the I.S.D. (11:03).
Itoh bounced back from her failure to win a title by taking on GCW’s own Allie Katch on the final night of the Australian tour. It was another clean victory for Itoh. She seems to have Katch’s number every time they face each other.
AEW “ALL IN LONDON”, 27/08/2023 Wembley Stadium, London, England
1. Jay White, Juice Robinson & Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn) defeated The Golden Elite Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi & Adam Page when Takeshita pinned Omega with a School Boy (20:28).
I was at this show too! Getting to see Takeshita live in front of 80,000+ people in Wembley was great especially since my first time seeing him was in front of 330 people somewhere in Saitama back in 2016. That I got to see him mix it up with The Golden Lovers was a bonus. Even the result went Takeshita’s way. He countered Kota Ibushi’s Kamigoye with a sick looking Jumping Knee Strike of his own. Then when Kenny Omega was dealing with Bullet Club Gold, Takeshita rolled him up with a School Boy to steal the win.
MDRN NMD/GATOH MOVE “CHOCO NIGHT GRAPS!”, 29/08/2023 The Bread Shed, Grosvenor St., Manchester, England
1. Masahiro Takanashi defeated Kid Lykos with the Takatonic (?:??).
ChocoPro’s trip to England ended with a collaboration show alongside Modern Nomad Pro Wrestling. Takanashi took on Lykos again, this time in a singles match and at a venue where there was no wrestling ring. It was a mat wrestling show similar to ChocoPro’s own events in Ichigaya.
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Upcoming Appearances
GCW “SAY YOU WILL”, 01/09/2023 Grand Sports Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
GCW advertised Maki Death Kill as showing up in the show but they won’t be wrestling together. Gage is facing El Hijo del Vikingo while Itoh’s match on the show has not been announced yet.
OTT “WRESTLERAMA”, 02/09/2023 The Warehouse Red Cow, Dublin, Ireland
1. Session Moth Martina & Miyu Yamashita Vs Debbie Keitel & Anita Vaughan
Yamashita is heading over to my neck of the woods in Ireland for OTT. She’s looking forward to it and I bet Itoh told her stories about what Session Moth Martina is like. Debbie Keitel & Anita Vaughan will be there to stop the party though.
MLW “FURY ROAD”, 03/09/2023 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. B3CCA Vs Maki Itoh
Funny stuff that MLW announced this match first then GCW went and did it anyway.
AEW “ALL OUT”, 03/09/2023 United Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. Kenny Omega Vs Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis)
It was announced during the “ALL IN” post-show scrum that Omega and Takeshita will face each other this weekend in Chicago at “ALL OUT”.
GCW “CRUSHED UP”, 10/09/2023 Roulette Intermedium, New York City, New York, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Killer Kelly
Itoh’s last match of her current tour is a one on one meeting against Killer Kelly.
PRESTIGE “THE RESPECT ISSUE”, 24/09/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Trish Adora Vs Shoko Nakajima
When Itoh is back in Japan, Shoko Nakajima tags out to be the next one going over to America. It’s all to build up TJPW’s big plan with Prestige as you will see at the bottom of this post.
REPUBLIC OF LUCHA “ROL VI VI VI: LA NOCHE DE WALPURGIS”, 30/10/2023 Republic Of Lucha, South Pasadena, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Penta el Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix Vs Shun Skywalker, Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf
Now isn’t this quite interesting? Takeshita from DDT and Shun Skywalker from Dragongate being pitted against each other. We also have the Lucha Brothers and La Rebelion involved in the match too.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
TJPW with the help of Prestige is coming back to Los Angeles this December! Announced for the show so far are Itoh, Yamashita, Rika Tatsumi, Mizuki, Taya Valkyrie, Masha Slamovich, Killer Kelly and Sandra Moone.
DDT “SAKI AKAI 10TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR IN KORAKUEN!!”, 13/08/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 816 Fans
0. Dark Match: Yuya Koroku defeated Rukiya with the Modified Triangle Lancer (7:14).
1. Special Single Match: KANON defeated Hideki Okatani with the Vietnam Driver II (8:04).
2. Diya Diamond Presents 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Yukio Naya & Yusuke Okada defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada when Naya pinned Masada with the World’s Best Back Drop (9:19).
3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – marcheur Presents Battle Royal: Naruki Doi defeated Sanshiro Takagi (c), HARASHIMA, Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Antonio Honda, Akito and Kazuma Sumi (14:37).
3a. Naruki Doi eliminated Sanshiro Takagi (c) with a Cradle (6:58). *Naruki Doi becomes the 1,573rd champion.
3b. Antonio Honda eliminated Kazuma Sumi by Ring Out (11:41).
3c. Naruki Doi (c) eliminated Antonio Honda by Ring Out (11:59). *V1 for Naruki Doi.
3d. HARASHIMA eliminated Yuki “Sexy” Iino and Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno by Double Ring Out (13:24).
3e. Naruki Doi (c) eliminated HARASHIMA by Ring Out (13:54). *V2 for Naruki Doi.
3f. Naruki Doi (c) eliminated Akito with the Bakatare Sliding Kick (14:37). *V3 for Naruki Doi.
4. Jemile Fran Presents Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima defeated Kyusei Sakisama, Chris Saint Laurent & Martha when Ueno pinned Sakisama with a Cradle (9:58).
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi defeated Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul (c) when Oishi pinned Paul with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (11:13). *DAMNATION T.A fails in V1. Ω becomes the 78th KO-D Tag Team Champions!
6. DDT Extreme Title – Weakness Explosion!! Activation Conditions Are Up To You! Fall & Escape = Ghost & Balloon Explosion Death Match: Kazuki Hirata (c) defeated Yukio Sakaguchi with the Miracle One Shot Cradle from a huge balloon explosion (14:27). *V2 for Kazuki Hirata.
7. Nivea Body Wash Presents Saki Akai Debut 10th Anniversary Match Vol. 2 ~ Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Saki Akai, Maya Yukihi & Asuka defeated Takumi Iroha, Rina Yamashita & Shoko Nakajima when Akai pinned Nakajima with the Quetzalcoatl (19:01).
It came a couple of days early but Saki Akai celebrated the 10th anniversary of her debut pro wrestling match in DDT. With her retirement coming up later this year, Akai is getting several matches dedicated to her decade in the business and today gathered together a lot of women she has attachments with. In the main event Akai teamed up with Maya Yukihi & Asuka, two women who have been her biggest opponents in DDT over the last two years. Their opponents were a trio of wrestlers who all debuted in the same year as Akai. It was the first time Takumi Iroha, Rina Yamashita & Shoko Nakajima all teamed together. Iroha & Yamashita quickly thought up a move where they gave Nakajima a Double Splash Mountain onto Akai. Asuka Moonsaulted onto Iroha & Yamashita outside the ring and Akai rolled out of the way from Nakajima’s Diving Senton. Akai then hit the Rookie Award and pinned Nakajima with the Quetzalcoatl.
Akai thanked the other wrestlers for accepting her invitation, knowing how busy all of their schedules are. She wanted to show the fans all of the wonderful friends she made outside of DDT over the years. She knows they will all continue to shine a light on pro wrestling when she’s gone so everyone should keep watching them. She isn’t sure how many more matches she has left until her retirement but she is going to hone her strength and run all the way to the end. Asuka said she wished the three of them had teamed together sooner and wonders if they could have chased after one of the KO-D championships together. Yamashita overheard that idea and told them they should do it anyway, even if it’s for the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles. Her advice to Akai is to be greedy from this point until the end because she isn’t finished yet. Yukihi feels lucky she got to do her rivalry with Akai in DDT because she didn’t expect Akai’s retirement announcement to come when it did. Akai described all of the women are a fun loving group of people with good hearts.
Kazuki Hirata’s bizarre ideas to even the playing field against his opponents are working for him. The DDT Extreme Champion is normally scared of having to fight Yukio Sakaguchi but this time he got to turn the tables against him. Hirata’s stipulation for the match was to add ghosts and balloons whenever there was a kickout or rope break. Sakaguchi hates the sound of balloons bursting and also fears ghosts so we got the unlikely sight of Sakaguchi being submissive to Hirata and fleeing in fear whenever a ghost chased after him! Sakaguchi tried to fight his fears and found his spots to kick the hell out of Hirata. But by this point there were three ghosts in the ring haunting him with one popping a gigantic balloon right in his face. The fright made Sakaguchi walk right into the Miracle One Shot Cradle and Hirata got the win.
Once all of the ghosts vanished, Sakaguchi calmed down and handed the Extreme Title over to Hirata. He then attacked him a little bit and walked off. Hirata got on the microphone, said he was feeling mentally exhausted and now wants to know who his next challenger is. Naruki Doi walked out carrying the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title he won earlier in the show. Doi said his title win makes him feel more absorbed into DDT and he now wants to win the Extreme Title to become fully immersed in the company. He especially wants to beat Hirata for the belt because Hirata is the DDT wrestler who best expresses what the company is all about. Hirata refused but Hisaya Imabayashi ignored him. A double title match between Hirata and Doi will take place on 9th September. If Doi loses the Iron Man Title before that date then the match will just be for the Extreme Title. Hirata then tried to pin Doi to win the Iron Man Title but only got a two count. Doi chased him back to the locker room.
The KO-D Tag Team Titles aren’t ready to settle down with a team yet. DAMNATION T.A’s reign ended in their first defence, losing the belts to Ω. The champions tried to isolate Makoto Oishi and also get KANON involved to interfere for them. Yuji Hino came in to make a difference but his attempt to Fuckin’ BOMB MJ Paul was cut off by Daisuke Sasaki. That left Oishi to deal with Paul by himself. Paul threw Lariats at him but Oishi caught him with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch for the flash pinfall and title change. Hino praised Oishi for winning the KO-D Tag Titles under his own strength, calling it a miracle. Oishi was too exhausted to respond so Hino encouraged the audience to give him a round of applause.
KANON then entered the ring demanding a title shot but not as a member of DAMNATION T.A. There is another wrestler out there he considers a mentor. Hino thought he meant TAKA Michinoku but KANON said it is actually someone else because TAKA is busy. KANON’s partner is going to be Minoru Fujita! Imabayashi granted the request and booked the title match for 9th September. KANON helped Oishi back up to his feet, shook his hand… and then gave him a Clothesline before leaving.
Before Match #4 could begin it was announced that Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi were not at the show because they were both too hungover to wrestle. Then “The Rose Of Versailles” began to play and what appeared to be NEO Biishiki-gun walked out. Martha was there but instead of Yukio Saint Laurent we got Chris Saint Laurent instead. Also Sakura Hirota was nowhere to be seen, seemingly replaced in the match by Kyusei Sakisama. Despite their appearance looking weirder than usual, they were still NEO Biishiki-gun through and through. The 37KAMIINA had to deal with the unit’s antics. “Saint Laurent” jabbed an injection needle into Yuki Ueno’s neck, Martha was a nuisance towards MAO and Toy Kojima ended up suffering a Kancho attack involving Martha’s mop. “Sakisama” used the Academy Award finisher on Ueno but her glamorous pin was reversed and Ueno posed on top of her for the three count instead. The 37KAMIINA celebrated with their sponsored prize after the match until all of NEO Biishiki-gun gave them Kancho attacks and took the prizes for themselves.
Doi won the Iron Man Title pretty early in the Battle Royal. In fact him pinning Sanshiro Takagi to become champion was the first elimination in the match. Doi then had to fight through the rest of the field to survive. He still got caught up in the Pheromones experience with Kazuma Sumi, fell for Antonio Honda’s Gongitsune joke and outsmarted HARASHIMA. All that was left for him was a battle with Akito that ended with the DOI 555 and the Bakatare Sliding Kick. Doi promised to raise the value of the Iron Man Title then immediately had to fight off Sumi. That was when he realised the title is defended 24/7. He will stick to his promise anyway even if there’s a risk of him losing it in another company. Rukiya then tried to pin him so Doi kicked him away.
The 2nd match was overshadowed by the appearance of Evolution from All Japan. During the week Suwama told Tokyo Sports he had tickets for this show and was going in order to confront Jun Akiyama over a grudge held going back to Akiyama’s time as AJPW president. Suwama sat in his seat along with other Evolution members Hikaru Sato & Dan Tamura to see Akiyama’s team beat Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada. Then after the match Evolution approached the ring, throwing aside Yuya Koroku and Rukiya who were trying to block them. Naya then wanted to stand in Suwama’s way but Suwama said he isn’t here for him. Suwama asked “useless former president” Akiyama why he is going to do an Exploding Death Match soon when he hated the idea of Suwama doing one six years ago? He then challenged Akiyama to come to Yoyogi on 8th September when AJPW is running a show there. He can even bring along Takagi so they can do a big Evolution Vs DDT match! Akiyama called the idea crazy but agreed to do it. He then told Suwama to stop making decisions without the AJPW president’s approval! Backstage Sato told DDT to send their icons like Dieno or HARASHIMA because as a former KO-D Openweight Champion and winner of a DDT General Election himself, he thinks he should be a DDT icon too. Tamura said he wants Yusuke Okada to come over because they have unfinished business from Okada’s time in AJPW.
KANON is sticking with the Vietnam Driver II as his new finisher, using it to beat Hideki Okatani in their first singles match against each other. KANON said the match left him more tired than he expected but that’s probably because of the summer heat. Okatani didn’t like the result and warned KANON he will beat him the next time they meet.
Koroku and Rukiya probably thought their dark match was the only physicality they would both experience today. Then Evolution came along and beat them up later in the show. In the match itself Rukiya tried to win with a Running Elbow Strike but Koroku took him down into a Modified Triangle Lancer to win by submission.
Chris Brookes has been appointed as the sales manager for “DDT BIG BANG 2023” at Ota Ward Gymnasium on 9th September. Also announced was Mei Suruga being at the 30h September show in Kyoto KBS Hall. That show is part of Akai’s countdown towards her retirement.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 29/07/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Juria Nagano & Kaya Toribami Vs Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI
2. Hyper Misao, Nao Kakuta & Yuki Aino Vs Mahiro Kiryu, Pom Harajuku & Haruna Neko
3. Mizuki, Toga, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo Vs Hikari Noa, Raku, Suzume & Shino Suzuki
4. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Arisu Endo Vs Yuki Arai
5. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Yuki Kamifuku Vs Miu Watanabe
6. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Rika Tatsumi Vs Shoko Nakajima
7. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Miyu Yamashita Vs Moka Miyamoto
The Tokyo Princess Cup moves over to Korakuen Hall for its remaining rounds. Next up is the Quarter Finals this Saturday.
DDT “SUMMER VACATION 2023”, 30/07/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: Yuni Vs Kazuma Sumi
1. Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul Vs Soma Takao & Rukiya
2. Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Yukio Naya Vs Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
3. Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Kotaro Suzuki & Yuki Ishida
4. Special Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Naruki Doi
5. Yukio Sakaguchi 50th Birthday Match ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Thanomsak Toba & Masahiro Takanashi
6. DDT Extreme Title – Super Fierce Battle! Hirata’s Miraculous Allies Gather! No Touch Captain’s Fall & 2 Count Hall Handicap Death Match: Kazuki Hirata (C/c), Broom, Kokeshi, Chair, Yakitori & X (w/ Other Merry Ultimate Fighters) Vs HARASHIMA (C)
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA, Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima
The final image everyone saw at the end of “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2023” was Konosuke Takeshita and Daisuke Sasaki shaking hands in a hallway backstage. Now we see Takeshita is teaming up with DAMNATION T.A to take on The 37KAMIINA! Takeshita denies having any intention of joining DAMNATION T.A. Instead he claims The 37KAMIINA no longer needs him so he now wants to stand across the ring from them. That Takeshita is choosing to team with Sasaki & KANON in order to do this is an unusual turn of events. It’s another chance for Yuki Ueno to chase after his friend. Toy Kojima also hasn’t been happy with Takeshita’s change in behaviour. MAO is a wild card coming out of Sumo Hall with a big win behind him.
Today Kazuki Hirata announced the match stipulation for his DDT Exteme Title defence against HARASHIMA. His big idea to even the odds is to use every idea he has. So it’s a Captain’s Fall Handicap Match with no tags needed, you only need a 2 count pinfall to win and HARASHIMA is on his own while Hirata’s team is filled up with a bunch of inanimate objects.
Two injuries came out this weekend. Tetsuya Endo suffered a left hand injury and later found out his fractured a metacarpal bone. Toru Owashi had a neck injury that was then diagnosed as a cervical spine injury. Both are now out of action with no timetable yet for either to return.
BASARA “BASARA 226 ~HAKUSEKIREI NO YORU~”, 06/08/2023 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
1. Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Lil’ Kraken
2. SAGAT & Akiyori Takizawa Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
3. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Shinichiro Tominaga
4. KUBITO Return Match: KUBITO & Daichi Kazato Vs Yasu Urano & Fuminori Abe
5. Isami Kodaka & Daiki Shimomura Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
6. Union MAX Next Challenger Match: FUMA Vs Ryota Nakatsu
Both FUMA and Ryota Nakatsu wanted to be the next challenger for the Union MAX Title so we’re getting a No. 1 Contender’s match between them.
KUBITO returns for his first match since April. He’s been out of action ever since dealing with health problems involving his pancreas.
Shinichiro Tominaga comes over to pay BASARA a visit. Although he is a regular with Ganbare☆Pro his actual home promotion is with a small indy in Tokyo called Come On Wrestling Party.
1. Special Single Match: Mecha Mummy (w/ Mad Dr. Ueki) Vs Takeshi Masada
2. Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Ram Kaichow
3. Special Single Match: Hagane Shinno Vs Maya Yukihi
4. Special Single Match: Chris Brookes Vs Yoshihiko
The next Baka Gaijin + Friends show is also a big birthday party for Chris Brookes! Among the invited guests are Yoshihiko, Hagane Shinno, Maya Yukihi, Antonio Honda, Ram Kaichow, Mecha Mummy and Takeshi Masada.
Looks like Takayuki Ueki is fully adopting a mad doctor gimmick for these shows.
BASARA “BASARA 227 ~UTAGE~”, 29/08/2023 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. IRON FIST Tag Team Titles: Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita (c) Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
2. Union MAX Title: Takumi Tsukamoto (c) Vs Winner Of 06/08 Match
The winner of FUMA Vs Nakatsu will face Takumi Tsukamoto for the MAX Title. Tsukamoto wanted to wait until the 29th August show for his next title defence because that show is when BASARA will be going back to serving all you can drink beers at Shin-Kiba 1st RING.
Sento Minzoku are now the undisputed IRON FIST Tag Team Champions but they have former two time champions Speed Of Sounds as their next challengers.
DDT “DDT BIG BANG 2023”, 09/09/2023 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Pheromones Vs Subjugation Final Match! Special Single Match ~ Dissolution Contra Vice President: Yuki “Sexy” Iino (w/ Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno) Vs Akito
2. Current Blast Death Match: Atsushi Onita Vs X
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Shigehiro Irie
Sunday was a dream come true for Brookes after he won the KO-D Openweight Title. He now has a big challenge in the form of Shigehiro Irie to prepare for this September. Irie coming out to challenge him was a surprise because Brookes expected somebody like Ueno to do that first. The two know each other from wrestling in Europe and they currently have a 1-1 singles record together. Irie has world domination on his mind so he intends to win the KO-D Title and bring it with him on his upcoming overseas tours (because that worked out sooooo well last time).
Akito has called out Pheromones and wants to put an end to their feud once and for all. For real this time. No seriously. He means it. He will face Yuki Iino in a match that will not be prematurely stopped or called off for any reason. If Akito wins then Pheromones must disband. However Danshoku Dieno complained that the match was put together without Akito putting anything at risk. After having a public meeting with Dieno today, Akito agreed to put his Vice President position on the line!
“MASAHIRO TAKANASHI 20TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW”, 19/09/2023 Shinjuku FACE
1. Special Single Match: Mei Suruga Vs Minoru Suzuki
2. Chris Brookes Vs Masahiro Takanashi
For the first time ever Mei Suruga takes on Minoru Suzuki in what will surely become a bloodbath! What caused Masahiro Takanashi to come up with such a sadistic idea for a match?
DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2023”, 24/09/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. DDT Universal Title: Matt Cardona (w/ Steph De Lander) (c) Vs Maki Itoh
The next DDT Universal Title match brings one of the big feuds in GCW over to Japan. Matt Cardona is still soaking in the glory of his title win and now calls the belt the DMK (Death Match King) Universal Championship. Meanwhile Steph De Lander is wondering if she would go on a date with the injured Tetsuya Endo as long as he pays for every single thing she wants. Maki Itoh was so annoyed to see Cardona win the title she immediately sent a video to DDT demanding a title shot. She is certain she is the right person to bring the belt back to DDT and restore its prestige.
DDT “DDT YOKOHAMA UNLIMITED VOL. 3”, 03/06/2023 Yokohama Radiant Hall 189 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Yuya Koroku defeated Kazuma Sumi with a Running Elbow Butt (6:20).
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno defeated Antonio Honda & Rukiya when Iino submitted Honda with the Cross Ass Sexy Lock Ass (8:56).
3. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani defeated Yusuke Okada & Yuki Ishida when Okatani pinned Ishida with the Double Arm Suplex (9:21).
4. Sanshiro Takagi & Akito defeated Yuki Ueno & Yuni when Takashi submitted Yuni with a Texas Cloverleaf (9:05).
5. Special Tag Match: MAO & Mei Suruga defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Suruga pinned Hirata after the Houkiboshi (11:49).
6. Toy Kojima defeated Daisuke Sasaki (w/ MJ Paul) by Disqualification when Sasaki attacked Kojima with a Chair (8:25).
7. Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama defeated HARASHIMA & Soma Takao when Endo pinned Takao with the Burning Star Press (11:03).
8. Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada when Hino submitted Masada with the King Kong Sleeper (14:20).
The show began with Chris Brookes greeting the fans and announcing his dislocate shoulder turned out not to be a serious injury. His recovery is on track and he will return to action on 7th July. However Masahiro Takanashi pulled out of the show at the last minute with a fever. In the main event Yuji Hino submitted Takanashi’s replacement Takeshi Masada and then blamed Brookes for having to get chopped by Kazusada Higuchi today! Hino also admitted he hurt his own back last week so they should agree to give each other time to recover. He is really looking forward to their KO-D Openweight Title match so he wants himself and Brookes to be healthy for it. Brookes said he is frustrated he couldn’t wrestle today and currently has no confidence until he returns on 7th July.
Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul kept attacking Toy Kojima with chairs, causing Sasaki to get Disqualified. After arguing with the referee over the result, Sasaki then declared that he & Paul will be the other team facing Kojima & Yuki Ueno for the vacant KO-D Tag Team Titles on 25th June. In fact, Sasaki thinks it is guaranteed DAMNATION T.A will win the titles so 25th June will be more like a title presentation ceremony. Kojima stood up to Sasaki and told him he is prepared to fight for Shunma Katsumata. No amount of cheating will stop Kojima from beating Sasaki for the belts! Backstage Sasaki warned that when DAMNATION T.A win the titles they will turn the belts even more red by dying them with human blood!
Upcoming DDT Extreme Title opponents MAO and Kazuki Hirata faced off in a preview tag match with Mei Suruga and Toru Owashi also involved. MAO & Suruga’s trickery along with Owashi’s insistence to side with them against Hirata made the match feel more like a 3 Vs 1 Handicap bout. Suruga countered the Hirata GO! glasses with her own pair of apple shaped glasses and then used the Houkiboshi double pin with MAO to beat Hirata. After the match MAO & Suruga admitted it was probably a mistake to bring their tag team to DDT but at least they now have a good win rate here. MAO also threatened to kick Hirata to death in order to win the Extreme Title. However Hirata said he is always ready to be kicked to death!
Sanshiro Takagi & Akito were both impressed with Yuni’s performance in their tag match. If Yuni keeps showing the kind of toughness and fearlessness he had today then they think he will be successful. Meanwhile Yuni said he now wants to have a singles match against Takagi.
DDT “DDT YOKOHAMA UNLIMITED VOL. 3”, 03/06/2023 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Takeshi Masada Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. 2 Vs 3 Handicap Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Antonio Honda, Yuya Koroku & Rukiya
3. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuki Ishida
4. Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs HARASHIMA & Soma Takao
5. Daisuke Sasaki (w/ MJ Paul) Vs Toy Kojima
6. Sanshiro Takagi & Akito Vs Yuki Ueno & Yuni
7. Special Tag Match: MAO & Mei Suruga Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
8. Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Masahiro Takanshi
DDT confirmed that Chris Brookes dislocated his right shoulder yesterday. He will be resting for three weeks but no date has been given yet for when he can return to wrestling. This weekend’s shows have been changed around to make up for Brookes’ absence. Kazusada Higuchi is living up to his promise to help Brookes prepare for the KO-D Openweight Title match as much as he can and still intends to put Yuji Hino’s to the test this weekend.
The Yokohama show is changed a lot because of Brookes’ injury. Masahiro Takanashi replaces him in the main event, MAO now has to team with Mei Suruga again, Yuni will be teaming with Yuki Ueno to fight their bosses Sanshiro Takagi & Akito plus more changes were made down the card.
DDT “JAPAN PARA-WRESTLING FEDERATION CHARITY SHOW ~ WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2023 TOUR IN ODAWARA”, 04/06/2023 Kanagawa Odawara Arena Sub Arena
1. Takeshi Masada Vs Rukiya
2. Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Kazuki Hirata & Toy Kojima
3. DAMNATION T.A Vs BURNING!: Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
4. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi
5. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Akito
6. Odawara Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yoshiaki Yatsu, Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Makoto Oishi
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuji Hino, HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Kazusada Higuchi, MAO & Yuki Ishida
The Kanagawa show the next day does not have as many changes. MAO replaces Brookes in the main event, turning Harimao into HariMAO! Also Soma Takao is now getting booked to take MAO’s original spot in the Yoshiaki Yatsu match.
GANBARE☆PRO “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA II”, 09/07/2023 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Miyuki Takase
2. YuuRI & Tomoka Inaba Vs Takumi Iroha & Mio Momono
3. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Mizuki Watase (c) Vs Isami Kodaka
The friendly rivalry that’s been brewing between YuuRI & Tomoka Inaba is leading to them teaming together. Their opponents come from Marvelous as that promotion is sending Takumi Iroha & Mio Momono over to Ganbare☆Pro!
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~SHOKO NAKAJIMA LOCAL TRIUMPH~”, 05/08/2023 Niigata Dúo CEREZO
This show is a long way out but I’m including it for the list of talent announced so far: Yuki Arai, Aja Kong and… Super Sasadango Machine? Well the event it taking place in his hometown after all. Last time he was in Tokyo Joshi Pro it was to help Hyper Misao reveal she got married.
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. FIVE: THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL”, 23/05/2023 Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa ??? Fans
1. Special Single Match: Hyper Misao Vs Chris Brookes
2. Special Single Match: Takayuki Ueki Vs Mecha Mummy
3. Special Tag Team Match: MAO & Mei Suruga Vs Chie Koishikawa & Hagane Shinno
4. Special Single Match: Drew Parker Vs Masahiro Takanashi
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. FIVE: THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL”, 23/05/2023 Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa ??? Fans
1. Special Single Match: Chris Brookes defeated Hyper Misao with a Death Valley Driver through a Plastic Box (12:10).
2. Special Single Match: Takayuki Ueki defeated Mecha Mummy with a Falling Headbutt (4:58).
3. Special Tag Team Match: MAO & Mei Suruga defeated Chie Koishikawa & Hagane Shinno when MAO & Mei Suruga pinned Chie Koishikawa & Hagane Shinno after the Hair Of The Dog (12:13).
4. Special Single Match: Drew Parker defeated Masahiro Takanashi with a Somato (16:28).
Drew Parker and Masahiro Takanashi had their first ever singles match together to main event the latest Baka Gaijin + Friends show. Unlike previous main events from the group, this one stayed almost entirely inside the tiny little mat in the centre of the room. Other than a moment when Parker Dropkicked Takanashi into a fan it was a match of oneupmanship rather than a crazy brawl. Parker did a Swanton Bomb from a stepstool but Takanashi kicked out so he hit a Somato to get the win.
The silliness was more on show in the tag team match. MAO & Mei Suruga joined forces to fight Chie Koishikawa & Hagane Shinno, the pairing also known as Egg Tart. Both Suruga and Koishikawa were put in uncomfortable positions after getting trapped in different objects. Koishikawa got tangled up inbetween stepstool legs. Shinno then came up with an idea to put Suruga sitting through the frame of an upside down stool and then placing her on top of Koishikawa. That way MAO and Shinno could fight each other without the women getting in the way. Koishikawa remained trapped in her stepstool until MAO put her in an Ankle Lock. She slipped out of the stool and freed herself from MAO’s submission. The match then split apart into two fights in opposite sides of the room. They all met back in the middle and kept the match going until MAO & Suruga used a combined cradle combination to pin both members of Egg Tart at the same time.
Mecha Mummy made a rare appearance for its first pro wrestling match in years. It looked a little shorter than the last time we saw him but it could still frantically shake its fists at everything. Takayuki Ueki’s solution to fighting Mummy and its rocket fist was to pull out his gun and pull the trigger. However the bullet ricocheted off of Mummy’s chest plate and hit Daisuke Kiso instead! Mummy readied its fist and was about to deliver a finishing blow to Ueki when suddenly Hyper Misao ran out to rescue him! Misao shot Mummy with an electrified bow and arrow, causing Mummy to short circuit. Ueki Heabutted it to the ground, then placed the Rocket Fist over his head to drop another Falling Headbutt. A wounded Kiso slowly counted the pin to give Ueki the victory. Mummy’s system rebooted and it took out an antidote to heal Kiso’s bullet wound. Kiso lost briefly lost consciousness but jumped back to his feet to give this story a happy ending.
Misao’s match with Chris Brookes unexpectedly opened the show and the two of them almost tore the place apart with their fighting. Misao stapled advertising posters of her self-produced show “HYPE!” on Brookes’ arm and chest. Brookes got his own back by stapling a poster onto Misao’s head. He then took out some plastic boxes and tried to Suplex Misao onto them from the bar counter. But Misao backed him off and hit a Diving Cross Body, making Brookes land onto the boxes. Misao then brought out chairs and placed them out sideways. He sprayed Misao in the face and then Body Slammed him onto the chairs! Getting desperate, Misao took out a plastic toy mallet with firecrackers attached to it. She put a flame to the firecrackers and set them off but Brookes dodged her attack and smashed a plastic box over her head. He then got Kiso to put the firecrackers onto another box and set them alight while he put Misao through it with a Death Valley Driver for the three count.
Antonio Honda sung a few songs for the fans before the main event. He had musicians playing a guitar and a saxophone accompanying him.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 