SUPER JAPAN “COME AGAIN 2025”, 14/10/2025 Shinjuku FACE ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Exhibition Match: Ippanjin Munenori Sawa defeated Sanshiro Takagi with the Shining Wizard (0:28).
1a. Rematch: Ippanjin Munenori Sawa defeated Sanshiro Takagi with the O-Manjigatame (4:20).
2. Mio Shirai Vs DJ Nira ended in an unclear way due to a blackout (10:33).
3. 3 Way Tag Match: Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei defeated MIKAMI & Jun Masaoka and Shota & Ryoma Tsukamoto when Kei pinned Masaoka after the Gotai Fumanzoku (9:33).
4. Special Tag Match: Gym Trainer Kotoka & Mac Matsushita defeated Fuminori Abe & Bryan Ishizaka when Matsushita pinned Ishizaka with the Uso Splash (10:33).
5. Special Tag Match: Suwama & Yuki Kamifuku defeated Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Momoka Hanazono when Kamifuku pinned Hanazono after the Suwama Assisted Famouser (15:04).
6. Special Single Match: Yuji Nagata Vs Shinya Aoki ended in a Time Limit Draw (30:00).
Thirty minutes wasn’t enough to determine a winner between Yuji Nagata and Shinya Aoki. The two of them were both thanked by Sanshiro Takagi afterwards for giving everyone a wonderful match and Nagata in particular confirmed that Takagi was right to make him the ace of Super Japan. Takagi then made a request to Nagata. He will be officially back wrestling again in November and he would like to wrestle Nagata on the final Super Japan show of the year. It will take place on 29th December and Takagi will team with Munenori Sawa while Nagata will get to choose his own partner. That idea brought Kuroshio TOKYO Japan and Fuminori Abe to the ring both volunteering to team with Nagata. Takagi expected something like this would happen so he suddenly brought Jun Kasai into the ring to make this situation a 6-Man Tag Match! Kasai said exciting things can happen when two people with nothing in common get together. However he then pointed out that both he and Nagata do salutes in their matches. Takagi said this match will determine which wrestler’s salute is the real deal!
The tag team of Suwama & Yuki Kamifuku was called Team Shonandai since both of them are from Fujisawa City. They figured they were too powerful for the Up Town team of Kuroshio & Momoka Hanazono to handle. They were proven right. In fact Suwama was so powerful that he ended up making both his opponents and also Kamifuku cry, which led to him apologizing. The other three all kicked him to get some payback but Suwama got back on the same page with Kamifuku to do an Assisted Famouser onto Hanazono for the finish.
Gym Trainer Kotoka lived up to his name by having a full on gym trainer gimmick urging Mac Matsushita to exercise properly. He also held kick training pads and used them to block Fuminori Abe’s kicks before using them as a weapon on both Abe & Bryan Ishizaka.
The match between Mio Shirai and DJ Nira turned into a tragedy. Nira grabbed his umbrella and threatened to use it as a weapon until suddenly he turned it on himself and stabbed his own stomach! The referee check on Nira and when he couldn’t sense any life in him, he too committed seppuku next to the body! Shirai tried to revive the both of them and when she couldn’t, she committed seppeku as well. The lights in the room then switched off. After a few seconds, a lone spotlight shined in the ring showing Antonio Honda wearing a diaper and behaving like a baby being born.
Takagi’s return to the ring is not officially happening until “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” but the opening match was an exhibition bout for him to shake off his ring rust. He lost to Sawa in 28 seconds. The result made one person in the crowd particularly mad. It was the DDT GM Hisaya Imabayashi and he was furious to get this match for the money he spent on his ticket! He called Takagi a conman and ordered a rematch to begin despite having no authority in Super Japan. The restart went ahead and Takagi brawled with Sawa around the venue. Takagi sprayed a fire extinguisher that ended up knocking out the referee. Imabayashi got back on the microphone and ordered the timekeeper to pause the stopwatch until the referee regained consciousness. Meanwhile Sawa tricked Takagi to repeatedly run the ropes back and forth until he ran out of energy. Once Takagi was tired, Sawa put him in the O-Manjigatame and held on for the recovered referee to see Takagi tap out. After the match Takagi announced the 29th December booking, calling it the final episode of Super Japan’s first season.
The 29th December show will also reunite MIKAMI and Takashi Sasaki as a DDT Legend Tag Team. Takagi reminded both of them that when they created DDT, NOSAWA Rongai originally suggested they call the company Super Japan but they all rejected it and came up with Dramatic Dream Team instead. This spin-off exists to see what would have happened if they went with Super Japan so Takagi wondered what if MIKAMI & Sasaki were a tag team here instead of being the rivals they were in DDT? Sasaki agreed because he likes the nostalgic vibe that on Super Japan shows that reminds him of old DDT. MIKAMI said there is a drama in their history that fans of today might not understand so he is enthusiastic to see where this idea goes.
This month’s article starts late because most of Konosuke Takeshita’s month was spent in New Japan where he won the G1 Climax tournament. You can read about that here if you missed it. He will now wait for 13th October to fight for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title at Sumo Hall against either Zack Sabre Jr. or Ren Narita. Until then he is back wrestling in AEW where another path has suddenly appeared in front of him. Are we on the way towards a big singles match against Kazuchika Okada?
Also in August Chris Brookes and Takeshi Masada spent a weekend in the Philippines that turned out to be a very special one for Brookes. “Tupe” now has a third country he can call home if he for some reason ever needs to get away from both England and Japan. Meanwhile over in Malaysia, Kira Summer got to dip her toes outside of Tokyo Joshi Pro for the first time. Will she get the travelling bug like Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh did? Yamashita has a European tour coming up soon and Itoh will be along for one small part of it. Speaking of Itoh, I’ll continue writing about her international bookings for the time being but if she ends up signing to another Japanese company or takes up a busy wrestling schedule elsewhere in Japan then I’m sorry to say it will be time to bid her adieu on this website. I only have so much time on my hands.
Oh, there’s one more quick thing to mention. Maybe I’ll write up a separate post about it soon. A few people on different wrestling Discords have done some detective work and may have found out where Keigo Nakamuara is having his excursion. Is he the new masked luchador named Tokio who showed up in the Mexican indies over the summer? Stay tuned.
AEW “COLLISION”, 23/08/2025 OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland
1. Tomohiro Ishii Vs Konosuke Takeshita
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 27/08/2025 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Bandido, Brody King, Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey Vs Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & Hechicero
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Results
AEW “COLLISION”, 20/08/2025 (Aired 23/08/2025) OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Tomohiro Ishii with the Raging Fire (10:36).
After taking only a few days of rest, Takeshita travelled all the way over to the UK to be present for a week of “FORBIDDEN DOOR” related events. First stop was Glasgow, Scotland where Takeshita faced off against Tomohiro Ishii. AEW promoted the bout as a rematch from “WRESTLE DYNASTY” back on 5th January. Ishi almost won this time with a Power Bomb but Takeshita got his hand raised in the end by using the Raging Fire.
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “MNL”, 22/08/2025 The Social House, Makati, Philippines ??? Fans
1. International Dream Match: Crystal & Robin Sane defeated Patricia Ligaia & Dr. Gore (?:??).
2. 3 Way Match: Nigel San Jose defeated Saint John Martin and Danny Zamora when San Jose pinned Martin with a Hot Dog Assisted Knee Strike (?:??).
3. Fabio Makisig defeated El Katipunero (?:??).
4. International Dream Match: Chris Bookes & Takeshi Masada defeated Jake De Leon & Isaiah Valencia when Masada pinned Valencia with the Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (?:??).
I kind of have a report of the show that can be seen here. Credit for the results go out to SEA Wrestling for having them posted on their site.
LLL “IF THE APOCALYPSE COMES, BEEP ME!”, 22/08/2025 The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Dulce Tormenta with The Magical Girl Splash (?:??).
This one flew under my radar but Yuka Sakazaki had a match on the indies this month! She appeared at Lucha Libre & Laughs where she beat Dulce Tormenta.
DXCN “PEKSMAN”, 24/08/2025 Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines
1. Kiss Of Death Match: Takeshi Masada defeated Jake De Leon with the Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (?:??).
2. International Dream Match: Chris Brookes defeated Robin Sane with the Praying Mantis Bomb (?:??).
The role Brookes is playing in developing the Pinoy wrestling scene was recognized at the end of the weekend. During the shows the fans gave him the nickname Tupe. The Dexcon show was on the same day as his birthday so after Brookes beat Robin Sane in the main event, everyone came out from the back to throw him a party. He also received a certificate signed by several of the local wrestlers to unofficially declare Christopher “Tupe” Brookes as a Filipino citizen.
The rule for the Kiss Of Death match was that the wrestlers needed to kiss their opponent before delivering their winning move. Masada went full “Baby Girl” mode for the match and even used lip balm to set up his kiss to Jake De Leon.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 27/08/2025 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. All Star 8-Man Tag: Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & Hechicero defeated Bandido, Brody King, Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey when Alexander pinned Bailey with a Forward Rolling Clutch (11:20).
Takeshita didn’t have a match at “FORBIDDEN DOOR” but he did appear during the show. But when Wardlow was revealed to be the newest member of The Don Callis Family, the entire unit gathered together with Takeshita being the last person to show up. He didn’t seem to be enthusiastic over this turn of events but seemed to accept Wardlow into the group. Then a few days later Takeshita was part of the Family’s team for an 8-Man Tag against Brodido & JetSpeed. Here is when cracks within the family began to surface as Takeshita and Okada both got tagged in at the same time and got in each other’s faces over it. They got in each other’s way again later in the match so it’s pretty clear what direction we’re going.
APAC “SLAMFEST 2025”, 30/08/2025 Stadium Juara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1. APAC Women’s Title No. 1 Contender Fatal 4 Way: Tarlee defeated Crystal, Kira Summer and Mio Shirai when Tarlee pinned Summer (?:??).
A big weekend for pro wrestling in Malaysia took place just over the weekend when APAC Wrestling held a show featuring wrestlers from around the world including talent who are under WWE ID deals and hold championships under that project. Not only that but Kira Summer got to take part in a wrestling show outside of Japan for the first time since joining TJPW. She was in a 4 Way Match against fellow Australian wrestler Tarlee, now firmly back from retirement Mio Shirai and Crystal the former APAC Women’s Champion. No. 1 Contendership for that title was on the line and Tarlee got it after pinning Summer to win the match.
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Upcoming Appearances
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, ??/09/2025 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Round 1: Serena Deeb Vs Yuka Sakazaki
I don’t know which is more surprising, that we’re getting another Yuka Sakazaki match in ROH so soon or that the long planned tournament to crown a ROH Women’s Pure Champion is finally going ahead. She’s entering an eight woman tournament under pure wrestling rules (limited rope breaks, closed fist punches are fouls, etc.) and Serena Deeb is her first round opponent. Since Deeb in storyline is one of the wrestlers most attached to the idea of having a Women’s Pure Title, I don’t like Sakazaki’s odds of making it to the next round.
MLW “FIGHTLAND”, 13/09/2025 NYTEX Sports Centre, Dallas, Texas, USA
1. Yuki Kamifuku Vs X
2. Shoko Nakajima Vs X
It was already known that Shoko Nakajima would be travelling back to Texas next month for an MLW taping but one of their latest advert banners show that Yuki Kamifuku will be part of the event too. The last time Kamifuku was in MLW she and Shotzi Blackheart shared an idea of wrestling each other sometime. Blackheart already has a match booked for the live stream portion of show but that doesn’t mean she can’t have another taped for TV down the line. Or what if Kamifuku gets to challenge Nakajima for the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title?
VGM “FVF WRESTLING STAR MEET AND GREET & PRO WRESTLING MATCH”, 18/10/2025 Full House, Liangxi, Wuxi, China
1. HIMAWARI Vs X
2. Rika Tatsumi Vs X
The China trip for Rika Tatsumi and HIMAWARI seems so far away.
SETUP/IWA THAILAND “A NEW DAWN”, 14/11/2025 TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi
1. Pom Harajuku Vs X
2. Kaya Toribami Vs X
3. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
4. HARASHIMA Vs X
Recently it’s been wrestling from Japan that makes its way over to to Thailand but now the opposite is happening. SETUP (and its spin-off IWA Thailand) will be heading to Tokyo to hold its first ever show in Japan and wrestlers from several Japanese promotions have been invited to take part. DDT will be sending HARASHIMA to the event while TJPW is being represented by Miyu Yamashita, Kaya Toribami and Pom Harajuku.
She’ll be part of two shows for wXw on the tour that celebrates the company’s 25th anniversary.
WPE/QPW “EPISODE 2”, 28/11/2025 Salle Albert Marquet, La Frette-sur-Seine, France
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
A few days later Yamashita then goes to France to wrestle on a show co-promoted by two brands. Wrestling Pro Essone and women’s promotion Queens Pro Wrestling held their first show together back in March and for their second event they get to have Yamashita’s first match ever in France!
SAJ “FINAL BOUT 4”, 29/11/2025 Magnete, Via Adriando, Milan, Italy
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Maki Itoh Vs X
Yamashita then returns to Italy for SAJ Wrestling the next day but she won’t be alone. Itoh is there too for a booking that was already announced before she left TJPW. SAJ also said this will be Itoh’s only appearance in Europe but they didn’t say for what period of time. Is it her only European appearance for the month? The rest of the year? Is there a reason why she’s travelling to Italy for only one show, like she has anywhere else to be?
SUPER JAPAN “SANSHIRO TAKAGI 30TH ANNIVERSARY PROJECT – SUPER JAPAN PRO WRESTLING HATAAGE-SEN”, 19/08/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Special Single Match: Yasu Urano defeated Mikiya Sasaki (w/ Shota) with an Inside Cradle (9:34).
2. Special Single Match: Aero Boy defeated Ryoma Tsukamoto with the Aero Bomb (7:47).
3. Special Tag Match: Shota & Mio Shirai defeated Rion Mizuki & Riara when Shirai pinned Riara with the Purple Flash (10:17).
4. Special Single Match: Poison Sawada JULIE Vs Kuroshio TOKYO Japan ended in a Draw after a Double Knockout (7:01).
5. Special Single Match: Naruki Doi defeated Mac Matsushita with the Bakatare Sliding Kick (10:17).
6. Special Single Match: TAKA Michinoku defeated MIKAMI with the Michinoku Driver II (13:42).
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Hikaru Sato, Fuminori Abe & Ippanjin Munenori Sawa defeated Brahman Yuji, Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei by Countout when Yuji was Counted Out (2:19).
7a. Falls Count Anywhere 6-Man Tag Match: Brahman Yuji, Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei defeated Hikaru Sato, Fuminori Abe & Ippanjin Munenori Sawa when Yuji submitted Sawa with the Arm Lock (18:23).
Partway through his 30th Anniversary celebrations, Sanshiro Takagi decided to scrap his short lived MatchMake & Agent Pro Wrestling brand in order to create something that can break away from the current restraints of modern wrestling. In its place he looked way back into DDT’s past. When the promotion was first formed in 1997, one of the names suggested for it was Super Japan Pro Wrestling. Now 30 years later Takagi decided to make Super Japan a reality! Not only that but he quickly targeted Yuji Nagata to be the potential ace of the brand. His first idea for Nagata was to go team up with The Brahman Brothers and embrace their style of pro wrestling. Nagata declined at first but was eventually convinced to give it a go. So he showed up to today’s main event in complete Brahman cosplay. He got too into the gimmick he ended up getting himself counted out after just two minutes. Nagata bowed to the other wrestlrs in apology and the two teams agreed to restart the match under Falls Count Anywhere rules.
The Brahmans completely disregarded Nagata in the rematch, drenching him with buckets of water alongside the other team. Daiki Nagai was at ringside as Nagata’s second and he too got caught when The Brahmans dunked a bucket of black ink onto him. Hikaru Sato, Fuminori Abe & Munenori Sawa were then all gathered together for Nagata to pour a bucket of blue ink all over them. He then hit Sawa with a traffic sign and applied his trademark Arm Bar while spewing blue slime out of his mouth for the victory. After the match Takagi got the audience to give Nagata a round of applause. He liked seeing this version of him today but wants to see more of Nagata’s normal self in the future. So he invited someone to the show that he would like to see Nagata wrestle in the future. It was Shinya Aoki! He asked Nagata if he would like to have a singles match and Nagata agreed. It will happen at the second Super Japan show on 14th October.
The launch of Super Japan reunited MIKAMI with TAKA Michinoku. The two men knew each other back when MIKAMI was a trainee for Universal and then Michinoku Pro in the early 1990s. MIKAMI brought out a ladder and tried to do the Volcanic Bomb from it but missed. He then tried to repeatedly pin Michinoku with the School Boy but couldn’t win with it. Insead he was put away with the Michinoku Driver II. MIKAMI talked said he’s done a lot in the last 30 years and thinks it is good to have a treasure trove of interesting matches to look back on. He isn’t clear what the concept of this Super Japan launch is but he’d like to do all sort of things here. Michinoku pointed out they are both in their fifties so they should wrestle each other again when they are over sixty!
For his debut as a wrestler exclusive to Super Japan, Mac Matsushita wrestled in a T-shirt and shorts. It is something completely regular looking compared to his Maku Donaruto alter ego. Naruki Doi forcefully pulled the shirt off him during the match so he could light up his chest with slaps and chops.
A horrifying scene developed during Kuroshio TOKYO Japan’s entrance when Poison Sawada JULIE casted a snake magic spell that made Kuroshio vomit out blood when the match began! Kuroshio was almost counted out but he got back into the ring and used his jacket to deflect some of Sawada’s other spells. He then spat Red Mist at Sawada’s face but Sawada got him back with Green Mist. The two were blinded from the mist but Kuroshio found a microphone and asked if Sawada is him 30 years from now? He challenged him to a headbanging contest but it ended with both men collapsing to the canvas and getting counted out for a Double Knockout.
Rion Mizuki & Riara wanted to raise a toast to the debut of Super Japan but it was just a trick to attack Shota & Mio Shirai while their guards were down. Shirai later got mad at Riara when she stole her Hanging Figure 4 Neck Lock move to use against Shota. Shirai eventually got the win by pinning Riara. Later backstage Shota celebrated by making silly faces and pointing at his head over and over, expecting Shirai to recognize who he was pretending to be.
The next Super Japan show will happen at Shinjuku FACE on 14th October. This was not in Takagi’s plans because he intended the show to be a one and done. However the show today drew a decent turnout so he decided to keep it going for at least a second time. DJ Nira was the first person advertised for the event. Takagi also announced that he expects to start wrestling again at the end of this year. But first he wants to have an exhibition match with Munenori Sawa as his opponent. Sawa told Takagi it’s been a while since Hentai Dai Shacho were scolded for causing so much trouble in a wrestling match. He wants the match to go beyond an exhibition and make it one step too far so they can be scolded again!
The Texas tour is just a sweet memory now and it’s one that will be looked back on fondly. Unless the financial details say otherwise it has to be seen as a resounding success. One that could open some eyes around the industry. Tokyo Joshi Pro being the first ones in joshi to find a way to break into the American market even a little bit should highlight the audience that’s out there. It’s the nerd crowd, the otaku crowd, the anime crowd, whatever you want to call them. I always thought it would be a slam dunk for Bushiroad to strike up a deal with Crunchyroll to localize the weekly episodes of “We Are STARDOM!!” for their streaming service. The sudden explosion of global popularity for Uma Musume last month had me gesturing wildly thinking CyberFight should go talk to Cygames and do something. Then I was told such an idea is completely off the table, at least in regards to crossing over with that franchise in particular. I’m just saying maybe Wrestle Angels or Ring☆Dream can come back to life as a licensed product.
The rest of the summer feels like it will be a calm one for this series. Konosuke Takeshita is busy with the G1 Climax in Japan and the whispers have been unusually loud this time around suggesting that he is going to play a big role for the rest of New Japan’s year. I wonder where that’s coming from (Rocky Romero I am looking in your direction). Maki Itoh won’t be travelling back to America after all and I’m hoping there isn’t anything to worry about regarding that. The few bookings we know about happening in the next month or two mostly surround the Asian wrestling scene.
One more note, I was originally going to write about the GCW Japan tour in this post which is why the partial results are included at the end. However the shows wound up featuring a lot more DDT and TJPW talent than planned because some of the GCW wrestlers were unable to travel. So I will write a separate, more detailed post over the weekend covering those shows then linked them back here.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 02/07/2025 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. Heroes Vs Villains: Bandido, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Nicolas Jackson & Matthew Jackson
Video starts at 2:02:42 for the match JCW “BORN (ALMOST) ON THE FOURTH OF JULY”, 06/07/2025 House Of Independents, Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Billie Starkz & Miyu Yamashita Vs Lena Cross & Megan Bayne
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 09/07/2025 Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, Texas, USA
1. Bandido & Brody King Vs Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita
ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR”, 11/07/2025 Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas, USA
1. Interim ROH Women’s World TV Title – Worldwide Wild Card 4 Way: Miyu Yamashita Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Persephone Vs Mina Shirakawa
2. ROH World Title: Bandido (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
AEW “ALL IN TEXAS”, 12/07/2025 Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas, USA
1. Men’s Casino Gauntlet Match: Mark Briscoe Vs MJF Vs Ricochet Vs Bandido Vs Konosuke Takeshita Vs Mistico Vs Josh Alexander Vs Anthony Bowens Vs Roderick Strong Vs Brody King Vs Juice Robinson Vs Kota Ibushi Vs Beast Mortos Vs Max Caster
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Results
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 02/07/2025 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. Heroes Vs Villains: Konosuke Takeshita, Nicolas Jackson & Matthew Jackson defeated Bandido, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly when Takeshita pinned O’Reilly with the Raging Fire (11:53).
Takeshita has done a sponsored match or two during his time in DDT so him being part of a match to promote the new Superman movie isn’t out of the ordinary for him. Having Roderick Strong use him as a Backbreaker device for Matthew Jackson though? That is out of the ordinary. His main target was Bandido so once Strong and Kyle O’Reilly were taken care of by The Young Bucks, Bandido was in a lot of trouble. He was caught by Takeshita and held in place for Nicholas Jackson to be launched into the air and then spike him down with Takeshita’s Bastard Driver. The Paragon pair came to the rescue and fought off the Bucks but O’Reilly was weakened with Super Kicks and knocked out by Takeshita’s Elbow Strike. More damage was done with an Powerdrive Knee/EVP Trigger combo and Takeshita then pinned him with the Raging Fire.
BZW “LES JEUX SONT FAITS”, 05/07/2025 Casino Barrière de Lille, Lille, France
1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) defeated Danny Black & Joe Lando when MAO pinned Black with the Cannonball 450 (?:??). *V6 for MAO & Yoshihiko.
It looks like no one in Europe can stop the combined powers of MAO & Yoshihiko, not even two Close Personal Friends. Yoshihiko went into the match already bandaged up to cover a head wound and took a heavy beating late in the match when Danny Black & Joe Lando put the boots to it. The damage looked to be too much and Yoshihiko had to be carried to the back due to injury concerns. However it reappeared up in the rafters above the ring and did a huge dive onto CPF below! Yoshihiko then went crazy doing Infinite Destroyers to both Black & Lando but the challengers got a second wind and both went to the top rope for one last big chance. But Yoshihiko leapt right up to them and did a Double Hurricanrana. MAO then did the Cannonball 450 out of nowhere onto Black while Yoshihiko held back Lando during the pinfall. With that result MAO & Yoshihiko remain the BZW Tag Team Champions.
GCW “THE TOP PLAY”, 05/07/2025 The Webster Theatre, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
1. Alec Price, Jordan Oliver & Marcus Mathers defeated Miyu Yamashita, Megan Bayne & Billie Starkz when Price pinned Starkz after an Inverted Razor’s Edge from Oliver (18:54).
Miyu Yamashita’s final weekend with GCW before returning to TJPW turned into a memorable one. She was part of a barnburner of a 6-Person Tag match that was getting recommended outside of the usual accounts that GCW would retweet just because they say nice things about the show. This was actually a great match! Billie Starkz and Jordan Oliver tried pinning each other with a back and forth Sunset Flip spot with Yamashita and Alec Price standing on opposite sides to kick them into the alternating pins. They then knocked each other down with stereo High Kicks. With Starkz & Yamashita busy against YDNP, that left Marcus Mathers and Megan Bayne to fight each other. Bayne countered a Tombstone into a Tombstone Destroyer but that would be her team’s last big move. YDNP took over from there, wiping everyone out with high risk moves. It ended with Price giving Bayne the 720 DDT, Mathers hitting the 450 Splash on Yamashita and Oliver dropped Starks from the turnbuckle to the middle of the ring with an Inverted Razor’s Edge.
JCW “BORN (ALMOST) ON THE FOURTH OF JULY”, 06/07/2025 House Of Independents, Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Billie Starkz & Miyu Yamashita defeated Lena Cross & Megan Bayne when Starkz pinned Cross with the Swanton Bomb (12:37).
It’s a shame that Starkz & Yamashita never got the chance to fight for the GCW Tag Team Titles but at least they got a win as a team under their belts. Bayne was on the opposite side for this match, teaming with Lena Kross, an Australian wrestler who very recently has become a free agent to watch out for. Yamashita knocked down Kross with the Skull Kick and Starkz took out Bayne with a Hurricanrana followed by a Suicide Dive. With nowhere to go, Kross was given the Attitude Adjustment by Yamashita and was then pinned with the Swanton Bomb by Starkz.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 09/07/2025 Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, Texas, USA
1. Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Bandido & Brody King when Takeshita pinned Bandido with the Raging Fire (13:19).
The go home match before Bandido and Takeshita’s big title fight was another successful showing for Protoshita. As usual Brody King turned out to be a troublesome opponent to deal with. That’s until he charged right into a security barrier at ringside and Kyle Fletcher then Big Booted him into the front row. Bandido used Takeshita’s momentum to do a top rope Moonsault onto Fletcher outside. However his big dive back into the ring was met with an Elbow Strike by Takeshita followed by the Raging Fire.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON NIGHT 1 PRESENTED BY NEXTSHARK & QUERI”, 10/07/2025 POST, Houston, Texas, USA 415 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Miu Watanabe defeated Wakana Uehara with the Canadian Backbreaker (7:24).
2. Yuki Arai defeated Kaylia Capri with the Scorpion Death Lock (7:35).
3. 3 Way Match: Vert Vixen defeated Yuki Kamifuku and Raku when Vixen pinned Raku with the Blue Thunder Bomb (7:08).
4. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Moka Miyamoto & Shino Suzuki when Suzume pinned Suzuki with the Ring A Bell (8:28).
5. Special Single Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Maki Itoh with the Skull Kick (14:00).
6. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Mizuki & Pom Harajuku when Misao pinned Harajuku with the I Am A Hero (11:39).
ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR”, 11/07/2025 Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas, USA
1. Interim ROH Women’s World TV Title – Worldwide Wild Card 4 Way: Mina Shirakawa defeated Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki and Persephone when Shirakawa submitted Yamashita with the Figure 4 Leg Lock (13:47). *Mina Shirakawa becomes the Interim ROH Women’s World TV Champion!
2. ROH World Title: Bandido (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with an Inside Cradle (29:25). *V3 for Bandido.
Match of the weekend? I’d argue so. After weeks of preview tag matches it was finally time for Bandido and Takeshita to fight tooth and nail over the ROH World Title. They did not disappoint. Takeshita thought he had it by setting up the Raging Fire that he used to pin Bandido just a few days earlier but this time Bandido countered it into a Small Package to get the three count and remain champion. I’ll take those five and 3/4 stars if nobody else wants them, thank you very much!
Welcome back 2019 TJPW it’s like you never left. There’s always something convoluted going on with a championship in Tony Khan’s universe. This time it surrounds the ROH Women’s World TV Title. The champion Red Velvet was not cleared to wrestle at the PPV so Khan decided to book a Worldwide 4 Way Match to crown an interim champion. And by worldwide he means three Japanese women and Persephone from Texas. Oh and those three Japanese women happen to be Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki and Mina Shirakawa who all have history with each other from TJPW. I even had to go back and check if Persephone appeared on a “TJPW INSPIRATION” show in the past (she hasn’t). It all turned out to be Shirakawa’s big night in the end. She gave Yamashita a rare submission loss by making her tap out to the Figure 4 Leg Lock. She’s now the Interim ROH Women’s TV Champion and will no doubt have a unification match with Red Velvet down the line. Ok, maybe there’s some doubt. These things are often an avoidable mess that are somehow made unavoidable.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON NIGHT 2 PRESENTED BY NEXTSHARK & QUERI”, 11/07/2025 POST, Houston, Texas, USA 415 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Wakana Uehara defeated Shino Suzuki with the Banana Pillow (6:44).
2. Arisu Endo defeated Kaylia Capri with the Ju no Okite (7:35).
3. Yuki Kamifuku defeated Pom Harajuku with the Famouser (5:31).
4. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Miu Watanabe & Vert Vixen when Nakajima pinned Watanabe with the Locomotion Northern Lights Suplex (11:39).
5. Maki Itoh defeated Raku with the Itoh Deluxe (8:23).
6. Yuki Arai & Moka Miyamoto defeated Mizuki & Suzume when Miyamoto pinned Suzume with the Korokan (14:03).
AEW “ALL IN TEXAS”, 12/07/2025 Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas, USA
1. Men’s Casino Gauntlet Match: MJF defeated Roderick Strong after the Jay Driller from Mark Briscoe (34:52). Order Of Entries: Mark Briscoe, MJF, Ricochet, Bandido, Konosuke Takeshita, Mistico, Josh Alexander, Anthony Bowens, Roderick Strong, Brody King, Juice Robinson, Kota Ibushi, Beast Mortos and Max Caster
The last AEW thing Takeshita did before travelling off to the G1 was appear in the Casino Gauntlet match at “ALL IN TEXAS”. He entered right after Bandido so they continued where they left off from the night before. Then when Josh Alexander entered the match he and Takeshita pretty much annihilated Ricochet with a Doomsday Knee Strike. Kota Ibushi also showed up as a late entry which was nice of him. Neither he nor Takeshita were part of the finish though so they both left the match empty handed.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN DALLAS PRESENTED BY NEXTSHARK & QUERI”, 13/07/2025 The OC, Forney, Texas, USA 2,540 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara when Suzume pinned Uehara with the Ring A Bell (10:24).
2. Moka Miyamoto defeated Alejandra Quintanilla with the Korokan (5:52).
3. Raku & Pom Harajuku defeated Hyper Misao & Shino Suzuki when Raku pinned Suzuki with the Doctor Yellow (10:43).
4. Yuki Arai defeated Maya World with the Finally (7:04).
5. Miu Watanabe defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Tear Drop (16:12).
6. Yuka Sakazaki & Billie Starkz defeated Miyu Yamashita & Vert Vixen when Sakazaki pinned Vixen with an Oklahoma Roll (20:36).
7. Special Single Match: Mizuki defeated Maki Itoh with the Cutie Special (17:13).
SETUP “UNDER PRESSURE”, 26/07/2025 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. IWA Japan SETUP World Title – 3 Way Match: Jonathan Johnson (c) defeated Chris Brookes and Andruew Tang when Johnson pinned Tang with the Swanton Bomb (?:??). *V1 for Jonathan Johnson.
There’s some new alliances being made over in Thailand. Chris Brookes went over to take part in a 3 Way Match for the IWA Japan SETUP World Title. However he failed to win the match and was left out in the cold while Jonathan Johnson pinned Andruew Tang to retain his championship. It was the aftermath that became newsworthy when Tang’s group Real Global Threat arrived to attack the SETUP roster (Ram Kaichow included among them)! Together Brookes and RGT beat Johnson to a bloody pulp and ended the show threatening to take over the company.
GCW “GCW JAPAN 2025 AT SHINJUKU FACE”, 28/07/2025 Shinjuku FACE
1. MAO defeated Atticus Cogar after a Super Kick/Praying Mantis Bomb Combo with Drew Parker (12:38).
2. Kazusada Higuchi defeated 1 Called Manders with the Claw Slam (14:01).
GCW “GCW JAPAN 2025 AT KORAKUEN HALL”, 30/07/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. GCW Tag Team Titles: Alec Price & Jordan Oliver (c) defeated MAO & Rina Yamashita when Price pinned Yamashita after the Double Impaler DDT (?:??). *V13 for YDNP.
2. Atticus Cogar defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Headlock Driver (?:??).
3. Dark Sheik, Yoshihiko & Jeffrey John defeated Invisible Stan, Shota & Kikutaro when Sheik pinned Shota with the Diving Leg Drop (?:??).
4. Jun Akiyama defeated 1 Called Manders with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex (?:??).
5. Maki Itoh defeated Shotzi Blackheart with a Crab Hold (12:29).
6. Chris Brookes defeated Drew Parker with two Praying Mantis Bombs (23:16).
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “MNL”, 22/08/2025 The Social House, Makati, Philippines
1. Fabio Makisig Vs El Katipunero
2. 3 Way Match: Nigel San Jose Vs Saint John Martin Vs Danny Zamora
3. International Dream Match: Crystal & Robin Sane Vs Patricia Ligaia & Dr. Gore
4. International Dream Match: Jake De Leon & Isaiah Valencia Vs Chris Bookes & Takeshi Masada
The full Baka Gaijin + Friends card for their show in the Philippines squeezes itself in here just in time.
DXCN “PEKSMAN”, 24/08/2025 Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines
1. Kiss Of Death Match: Jake De Leon Vs Takeshi Masada
2. International Dream Match: Robin Sane Vs Chris Brookes
There is a meet and greet event happening on the second day of Dexcon’s tripleheader weekend with matches scheduled to take place on them but I haven’t seen any that will involve Chris Brookes or Takeshi Masada yet.
APAC “SLAMFEST 2025”, 30/08/2025 Stadium Juara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1. APAC Women’s Title No. 1 Contender Fatal 4 Way: Crystal Vs Kira Summer Vs Tarlee Vs Mio Shirai
Here we go, Kira Summer gets to wrestle outside of Japan as a TJPW fighter for the first time! She’s heading to APAC in Malaysia to compete for a shot at their Women’s Championship. However she’s not the only Australian taking part because Tarlee is one of other wrestlers involved. Mio Shirai is travelling over from Japan too as one of the competitors. Crystal is a former APAC Women’s Champion and I think the only one of the four who has previously wrestled in the promotion.
MLW “FIGHTLAND”, 13/09/2025 Nytex Sports Centre, Dallas, Texas, USA
1. Shoko Nakajima Vs X
The next time Shoko Nakajima rampages her way back to MLW will be in September. No mention yet on if she will be defending the MLW Women’s Featherweight Title but given how things are going over there Shotzi Blackheart will eventually be built up as a challenger unless her arm injury delays things.
VGM “TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING CHINA TOUR”, 18/10/2025 Nanxiatang Cultural and Creative Park, Liangxi, Wuxi, China
1. HIMAWARI Vs X
2. Rika Tatsumi Vs X
For the third year in a row TJPW is working with a group called Fight VGM Fight to bring their talent over to China. All of the previous times TJPW sponsored matches have taken place in the country were done thanks to this relationship. Rika Tatsumi and HIMAWARI will be the next pair of wrestlers to go wrestle over there.
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Cancelled Appearances
GCW “HOMECOMING – NIGHT 1”, 23/08/2025 Showboat Hotel Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
GCW “HOMECOMING – NIGHT 2”, 24/08/2025 Showboat Hotel Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
So Maki Itoh’s next tour of America has been cancelled with no reason given for why. I bet TJPW wished they would have known that in hindsight so they could have factored her into their plans for the Tokyo Princess Cup this year but those are the breaks I guess. The only bookings I found for this go around were the two GCW shows happening the same weekend as the Princess Cup final. She still wrestled on their Japan tour and GCW quietly deal with cancelled bookings all the time so there’s no trouble happening there. Could this have been visa related?
GANBARE☆PRO “WILD AT HEART 2025”, 19/07/2025 Shin-Kiba 1st RING 172 Fans
0. Exhibition Match: Ken Ohka Vs Sentaro Motoshima went to a Time Limit Draw (5:00).
1. Moeka Haruhi & Yuna Manase defeated Makoto & Chika when Manase pinned Chika with the Lariat (9:16).
2. Tyson Maeguchi defeated Shota Kawakami with the Ago Shitsurei Itashimasu (8:33).
3. YuuRI defeated Mio Shirai with the Swanton Bomb (10:15).
4. Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada defeated Keisuke Ishii & Leatherface when Katsumura pinned Ishii with the KKB (11:40).
5. Masaaki Mochizuki & Ken Ohka defeated Yumehito Imanari & Shinichiro Tominaga when Mochizuki pinned Tominaga with the Twister (14:00).
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Mizuki Watase & Shigehiro Irie (c) defeated Toru Sugiura & Munetatsu Nakamura when Watase pinned Nakamura with the Venetian (19:03). *V5 for Mizuki Watase & Shigehiro Irie.
Toru Sugiura & Munetatsu Nakamura wanted to be a big deal going into the main event so they made their entrance by driving a car into Shin-Kiba 1st RING! In the preview match last month Mizuki Watase used an Arm Lock submission he named the NAGISA to take Nakamura to the brink of injury. He used the move on Nakamura again in this match but this time Nakamura was able to escape it. He tried to gain some momentum on Watase but Shigehiro Irie was there to stop that from happening. Watase had to beat the determination out of Nakamura before he could get a three count with the Venetian. He bowed after the match to show respect but Nakamura was in such an emotional state he slapped Watase in response. Watase took it in his stride and told the fans Nakamura is a talent that Ganbare☆Pro is proud of. However Watase wants GanPro to grow and fill bigger buildings than Shin-Kiba. He will be facing Jun Kasai at Korakuen Hall on 26th August to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his debut. He believes when he beats Kasai it will blow up GanPro to even greater heights!
Sugiura also had praise to give Nakamura backstage. As far as he sees it, Nakamura is no longer Young Ganbare or the future of GanPro. He is a star for GanPro now! Nakamura agrees because new rookies have arrived and he does not want to be lumped in with them. He wants to continue teaming with Sugiura so they can go win the Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles together.
The first time Masaaki Mochizuki & Ken Ohka have teamed up could not have gotten any better for them. When their tag match broke down into chaos, Ohka went and gave Shinichiro Tominaga the Flame Spear and Mochizuki finished him off with the Twister Brainbuster. With a 100% victory record (they’ve only had one match) Ohka thinks the two of them can go straight into challenging for the SOG Tag Titles. Mochizuki couldn’t believe it is that easy to challenge for a title in GanPro but he decided the team isn’t going to work out and he declined the offer. The reason is because Mochizuki has his eyes on a bigger prize. He wants to fight Yumehito Imanari for the Spirit Of Ganbare World Title! Imanari quickly agreed to it and Michiyoshi Mishima was overjoyed to book the match for 26th August as long as Dragongate gives him permission. Mochizuki assured him that they don’t have a show that day so he is 99.999999% certain they will approve it.
Keisuke Ishii took a big risk in teaming with Leatherface and it blew up in his face. They ended up getting in each other’s way once too often and Leatherface ended up attacking Ishii instead of the other team! When the monster left the ring in anger, Shuichiro Katsumura picked up the pieces and pinned Ishii to win.
It was a big day for YuuRI because not only did she wrestle in a new outfit but she defeated Mio Shirai all by herself too. The result completely rips up the plan Shirai had to stay in GanPro. Had she won the match she would have thrown out a challenge to anyone in the promotion to fight her at Korakuen on 26th August. But in the aftermath of losing today’s match she hasn’t received any further booking offers from GanPro. She doesn’t want to believe it because GanPro is built on losers getting second chances. She wonders if she needs to go have a talk with Ohka to get another booking.
The name of Tyson Maeguchi’s finisher is a phrase that’s normally used to politely asked to be excused. The actual move is a Pumping Knee Strike to the face and there’s not really a polite way to do that.
There was a public exhibition involving the trainee Sentaro Motoshima before the show began. He fought a five minute practice match with Ohka where the aim was simply to last the time limit rather than win or lose. Motoshima still tried to pin Ohka after giving him a Body Slam but only got a one count out of it. Ohka then did a Body Slam of his own and held Motoshima in a Crab Hold until the time expired.
GanPro’s sort of friendly rivalry with FREEDOMS is not ending here. At the end of the show Takashi Sasaki confronted Ohka and Katsumura telling them there is still a lot to happen between the two groups. He likes the inter-promotional matches and wants more to help liven up the indies. There will be GanPro Vs FREEDOMS matches taking place on the 11th August GanPro show, the 17th August FREEDOMS show and the 26th August Korakuen show.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “I CAN’T WAIT UNTIL SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25!”, 05/07/2025 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup Preliminary League – Round 2: Wakana Uehara Vs Shino Suzuki
2. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup Preliminary League – Round 2: Haru Kazashiro Vs Ivy Steele
3. Mahiro Kiryu, Toga & Chika Nanase Vs Arisu Endo, Uta Takami & Ren Konatsu
4. Yoshiko Hasegawa & Kaya Toribami Vs HIMAWARI & Riara
5. Yuki Kamifuku, Mifu Ashida & Kira Summer Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku
6. Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Suzume Vs Yuki Arai, Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Moka Miyamoto
Tomorrow’s Tokyo Joshi Pro show is sold out!
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “YOSHIKO HASEGAWA GRADUATION EVENT – NONFICTION”, 08/07/2025 Shinjuku FACE
1. 3 Way Match: Raku Vs Mahiro Kiryu Vs Shino Suzuki
2. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup Preliminary League – Round 2: Pom Harajuku Vs HIMAWARI
3. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup Preliminary League – Round 2: Moka Miyamoto Vs Kaya Toribami
4. Maki Itoh, Mifu Ashida & Ren Konatsu Vs Kira Summer, Chika Nanase & Ivy Steele
5. Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Yuki Aino Vs Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Toga
6. Mizuki, Suzume, Arisu Endo & Haru Kazashiro Vs Yuki Arai, Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara & Uta Takami
7. Yoshiko Hasegawa Graduation Commemorative Match ~ 1 Vs 27 Handicap Match: Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao, Suzume, Rika Tatsumi, Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku, Yuki Aino, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Mahiro Kiryu, Moka Miyamoto, Arisu Endo, Yuki Arai, Kaya Torbami, Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI, Toga, Shino Suzuki, Haru Kazashiro, Mifu Ashida, Kira Summer, Chika Nanase, Uta Takami, Ren Konatsu & Ivy Steele
Nao Kakuta will be at Yoshiko Hasegawa’s graduation show as a special guest commentator. Another special guest will be Teppei Arita, a Japanese comedian who has written several books about pro wrestling and also hosts his own Youtube series about current stories from around the industry. In fact Hasegawa was interviewed on a recent episode that was uploaded last week.
BASARA “BASARA 283 ~UTAGE~”, 08/07/2025 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Daiki Shimomura Vs Takeru Inoue
2. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Gouma Ryu Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
3. Daichi Kazato & Munetatsu Nakamura Vs SAGAT & Minoru Fujita
4. Isami Kodaka & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Takato Nakano
5. Ryuichi Sekine, FUMA & Ayumu Honda Vs Masato Kamino, Lil’ Kraken & Fuminori Abe
Last month Ayumu Honda joined forces with Hyakusho Ikki even though he didn’t really want to. Blame Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi for that. We’ll see how much of a united force they can be in a few days time.
GANBARE☆PRO “WILD AT HEART 2025”, 19/07/2025 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Moeka Haruhi & Yuna Manase Vs Makoto & Chika
2. YuuRI Vs Mio Shirai
3. Yumehito Imanari & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Masaaki Mochizuki & Ken Ohka
4. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Mizuki Watase & Shigehiro Irie (c) Vs Toru Sugiura & Munetatsu Nakamura
High hopes are fueling Toru Sugiura & Munetatsu Nakamura’s challenge for the Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles. Nakamura would have gotten injured by Mizuki Watase last month if it wasn’t for Sugiura throwing in the towel. Watase gets needing to preserve yourself for the big title match but he and Shigehiro Irie want the challengers to not say die once the actual match takes place.
Bad tension is building up between YuuRI and Mio Shirai. Will it spill over into something worse when they have their singles match?
Chika is coming over from Pro Wrestling Evolution.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25”, 21/07/2025 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Andreza Giant Panda & Raku Vs Kyoko Inoue & Pom Harajuku
2. Special Tag Match: El Desperado & Maki Itoh Vs Chris Brookes & Emi Sakura
3. Special Single Match: Miyu Yamashita Vs Billie Starkz
4. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Moka Miyamoto
5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
6. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Yuki Arai
What’s the most chaotic pair of opponents you can find for Chris Brookes & Emi Sakura? How about El Desperado & Maki Itoh! The two originally met in America while working the same GCW show and have been tweeting back and forth for a while about teaming up. Now looks like the perfect time to make it happen. Itoh wants Desperado to learn the Itoh Respect Army dance for their entrance. He didn’t expect that to be part of the deal.
TJPW say a health issue is preventing Max The Impaler from participating at “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25” so Pom Harajuku needs a new tag team partner. Luckily for her TJPW has decided to bring in Kyoko Inoue as the replacement! The joshi legend currently wrestles for Diana, a promotion that just so happened to join the UJPW recently so I wonder if that new connection helped put this deal together.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GARAFES DASH!! ~UENO KITEKITE DAI SAKUSEN~”, 26/07/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. Miu Watanabe, Haru Kazashiro & Uta Takami Vs Yuki Arai, Raku & Shino Suzuki
Yuki Arai will wrestle at a Garafes show for the first time.
BASARA “BASARA 285 ~CONTINUATION IS POWER~”, 03/08/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. GRACE PROJECT Sponsored Match: Toru Sugiura, Captain Grace, Shigehiro Irie & Daiki Shimomura Vs Tomoya Hirata, Mizuki Watase, Ultra Soki & HIROYA
2. Special Tag Match: Isami Kodaka & El Desperado Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
3. Union MAX Title: Ryota Nakatsu (c) Vs X
A couple of weeks after Despy appears in TJPW he will then show up in BASARA to team with Isami Kodaka. The two of them were specifically put together for Aijin Tag to fight against.
The Grace Group bus company have their own independent wrestling promotion called GRACE PROJECT. They don’t really have their own roster, save for Captain Grace who is the man in charge of the whole thing. Instead their shows are filled with indie wrestlers from across Japan including those who compete in BASARA. So a lot of familiar faces are showing up in their offer match for the show.
SUPER JAPAN “SANSHIRO TAKAGI 30TH ANNIVERSARY PROJECT ~SUPER JAPAN PRO WRESTLING HATAAGE-SEN”, 19/08/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. Special Single Match: Yasu Urano Vs Mikiya Sasaki
2. Special Single Match: TAKA Michinoku Vs MIKAMI
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Brahman Yuji, Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei Vs Fuminori Abe, Takuya Nomura & Ippanjin Munenori Sawa
Looks like Sanshiro Takagi and The Brahman Brothers are going to get their way. For one night Yuji Nagata is going to become Brahman Yuji! That’s bad news for Astronauts and Munenori Sawa because Nagata does look like he has a good bowling arm.
What can I write about a Yasu Urano Vs Mikiya Sasaki match? Nothing much.
1. Special Single Match: Fuminori Abe defeated Shota with a Spinning Leg Lock Counter Cradle (7:38).
2. Special Tag Match: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Momoka Hanazono defeated Ippanjin Munenori Sawa & Mio Shirai when Kuroshio pinned Shirai with a Forward Rolling Cradle (8:56).
3. Special Single Match: Momo Kohgo defeated Yoshiko Hasegawa with the Nectar Peach (11:29).
4. Special Tag Match: Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei defeated Rika Tatsumi & Antonio Honda when Kei pinned Honda after the Gotai Fumanzoku (14:35).
5. Special Single Match: Suwama defeated Muscle Sakai with the Back Drop (13:22).
6. Special Single Match: Yuji Nagata defeated Ken Ohka with the Back Drop Hold (12:23).
Just as quick as it started, MatchMake & Agent Pro Wrestling has already come to an end. Sanshiro Takagi kicked off the show with a big announcement regarding the future of this spin-off project that was made to celebrate his 30 years in the business. The announcement is today’s the final M&A show! He assured everyone this decision is not for any kind of troubling reason. Takagi is going to continue booking these kind of shows but he decided to give them a makeover. The 19th August show that was meant to be an M&A event is now the debut of Super Japan Pro Wrestling! The name was originally one of the options to call DDT when it launched way back in 1997. It was NOSAWA Rongai who suggested “Cho Nippon Pro Wrestling” because every wrestling promotion at the time was called ___ Japan Pro Wrestling. Takagi rejcted it, leading to Dramatic Dream Team being chosen instead. But since multiverses are all the rage nowadays, Takagi wants to imagine what it would be like if Super Japan was the name chosen over DDT.
The main event of what is now the last M&A show had Yuji Nagata from New Japan facing Ken Ohka from Ganbare☆Pro in what was a dream match for Ohka. He used Headbutts to fight against Nagata’s kicks and chops then used the Flame Spear for a nearfall. Nagata fought back with an Exploder Suplex, Middle Kicks and the Back Drop Hold to get the three count. After the match Ohka said he had watched Nagata on TV for years and here he is standing in front of him. But Ohka knew that he couldn’t win with admiration so he fought as hard as he could. He asked Nagata to give him encouragement so he can continue wrestling for another five years and become strong enough to some day beat him. Nagata praised Ohka for having soul and told him a truly strong person is someone who can get up on their own even when they lose. Ohka is already a strong person so Nagata told him to work harder to get even stronger. He then slapped Ohka across the face and promised him they can have a rematch in five years time.
Before the show could end, Takagi came back out to talk to Nagata. He told everyone that Nagata is going to be the ace of Super Japan! Not only that but there are some people in the back who would love to team up with him. Out came The Brahman Brothers! They asked Nagata to team up with them on 19th August to give everyone an exciting match. They even said they want to do it Blue Justice style while he can become Brahman Yuji! Nagata apologetically turned them down and left the ring. The Brahmans chased after him to reconsider while Takagi told the fans to please wait for an official decision in the future.
Muscle Sakai had a lot of thoughts on his mind going into today’s show. He was here to say goodbye to everyone because Suwama was about to destroy him. After coming off an historic one match show where he as Super Sasadango Machine defended the DDT Extreme Title against Toru Yano, he was now being booked to fight Suwama only because Takagi thinks they have similar looking faces. He has no ideas and is entering the match empty handed. But when he and Suwama fought their way up to the entrance stage, Sasadango suddenly appeared shouting like Takagi usually does! He attacked Suwama and even brought out the Dramatic Dream bike to crash it into him. Suddenly Suwama’s music started playing and Sakai reappeared wearing a homemade Suwama costume! The two Suwamas teamed up on “Sasadango” until the fake Suwama hit the real one with a Lariat by mistake. The real Suwama hit back with a Lariat and then gave Sakai the Back Drop to get the pin.
After the match Suwama unmasked “Sasadango” to show it was indeed Takagi underneath. Takagi said it was all Sakai’s idea so Suwama should get mad at him. Sakai was surprised to find out he survived the match and told Suwama he passed his test. He explained he’s been looking for a new master to learn from after being under Takagi’s tutelage for many years. Sakai is currently a freelancer so he asked Suwama if he could join Pro Wrestling Evolution as their third super heavyweight wrestler? Suwama said no and told Sakai that the Sasadango mask suits him better. Takagi asked Suwama to reconsider because this was the final MatchMake & Agent show and advised Sakai to write up a proper resume. Suwama agreed and ordered Sakai to get all of his documents in order, then he will consider it.
The Brahman Brothers crossed paths with somebody who may just be as crazy as they are. No, not Antonio Honda but Rika Tatsumi! The match quickly transformed into a massive water fight throughout the venue. Back in the ring The Brahmans did their bowling ball and suitcase spot with Tatsumi taking the brunt of the damage. But she got her own back by doing the same spot to them. Brahman Kei grabbed Honda so Brahman Shu could hit him with a traffic sign but Tatsumi blocked it by choking him. She then grabbed the sign but when she swung it at her opponent, Honda got hit instead. The Brahmans then got rid of Tatsumi and used the Gotai Fumanzoku to pin Honda.
Yoshiko Hasegawa’s retirement road reunited her with Momo Kohgo resulting in a rare Tokyo Joshi Pro Vs Stardom singles match. But the focus was more on the two’s history with each other going back to Actwres girl’Z. Hasegawa kept trying to put Kohgo in the Muffler Hold but in the end Kohgo pinned her with the Nectar Peach for the victory. She thanked Hasegawa for choosing her for one of her last remaining matches before retirement. She also thanked Takagi for putting the match together and Taro Okada for permitting it to happen. She then talked about her history with Yoppy up to when they went their seperate ways and how they would go eat ramen together on their way home. Yoppy joked about how they would always get told off in the dressing room for being clumsy and they would talk to each other about it on the train ride home. She thanked Stardom and TJPW for watching over her retirement road then told Kohgo they should go eat ramen together again.
The always long-lasting entrance of Kuroshio TOKYO Japan led to a split of opinion on the other team. Munenori Sawa enjoyed it and was having fun while Mio Shirai got sick of it to the point she got on the microphone to complain. She eventually convinced the sound team to cut the music so the match could start. Her grumpy attitude also made Momoka Hanazono upset. She started crying when Shirai stopped her from using her bubble toy as a weapon. Both Kuroshio and Sawa tried to step in but Shirai got angry at them too, causing the two men to also start crying. That caused all three of them to team up against Shirai until Hanazono accidentally hit Sawa with the bubble toy. The match continued normal from there and Hanazono used the bubble toy once more, hitting Shirai with it so Kuroshio could reverse her Rolling Cradle pin and steal the victory.
The opening match between Shota and Fuminori Abe had the two switch to a more classic style of wrestling in order to out-do one another. Abe got the upper hand and repositioned himself from a Roll Up to pin Shota with a German Suplex.
At the end of the show Takagi announced the very first match for Super Japan’s debut show on 19th August. He invited MIKAMI down to the ring and reminded fans he is one of DDT’s founding members. Takagi wants to rewrite history by putting MIKAMI in Super Japan’s first match and his opponent will be TAKA Michinoku! MIKAMI congratulated Takagi on finally launching Super Japan and said he himself has a deep bond with Michinoku because they are both turning 52 this year. He is going to go back to basics for this match and start again from scratch.
GANBARE☆PRO “GRAND BLEU 2025”, 01/06/2025 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center 137 Fans
1. Keisuke Goto defeated Shota Kawakami with a Vertical Drop Brainbuster (9:06).
2. Ken Ohka, PSYCHO & Moeka Haruhi defeated Shinichiro Tominaga, Daisuke® & Banny Oikawa when PSYCHO pinned Daisuke® with the God Trap (10:54).
3. Yuna Manase & Mio Shirai defeated YuuRI & Nanami Hatano when Shirai pinned YuuRI with the Purple Flash (9:52).
4. GanPro Ultimate Rules: Tyson Maeguchi & Thanomsak Toba defeated Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada by Knockout when Maeguchi knocked out Katsumura with a Right Backhand Blow (14:00).
5. Keisuke Ishii, Toru Sugiura & Munetatsu Nakamura defeated Yumehito Imanari, Mizuki Watase & Shigehiro Irie when Nakamura pinned Watase with the German Suplex (21:34).
Munetatsu Nakamura was recently given the nickname “GanPro’s Promising Hope” and he is starting to prove he deserves the moniker. He scored the pinfall on Mizuki Watase in the main event thanks to some help from Toru Sugiura. The two set Watase up with a German Suplex for a nearfall. Then Sugiura hit Watase with a Rolling Elbow and Nakamura landed another German Suplex to get the three count. Nakamura then challenged Watase & Shigehiro Irie for the Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles on 22nd June. However both Irie and Sugiura have bookings elsewhere that day. Michiyoshi Mishima decided the title match can happen on 19th July and 22nd June will get a Watase Vs Nakamura singles match instead.
The GanPro Ultimate Rules fitted Tyson Maeguchi really well and he ended up knocking out Shuichiro Katsumura to win the match for his team. In fact he likes the rules so much he might start calling himself Tyson “Ultimate” Maeguchi whenever he fights with gloves on. Bolstered by the win, he approached Yumehito Imanari at the end of the show and challenged him for the Spirit Of Ganbare World Title. He told Imanari he’s been treading the muddy waters of indie wrestling for the last year and finally climbed his way up to this point. Imanari agreed and wants the title match to happen on 22nd June. He pointed out that they both belong to the Ibushi Wrestling Institute and he knows what it is like to get stuck in the muddy waters of independent wrestling.
Mio Shirai is getting comfortable being in the ring again ever since she returned from retirement five months ago. After beating YuuRI today she wonders if YuuRI has been getting any stronger too wrestling in Ganbare☆Pro and Ice Ribbon? YuuRI may think she is but she should be training even harder if she wants to beat Shirai. If she has a problem with that then they can have a singles match against each other. GanPro obliged and booked the match for 19th July.
Mishima introduced everyone to a new trainee. Sentaro Motoshima was born in Kagoshima on 4th October, 2001. He is currently getting ready for his debut match and will participate in exhibition matches on upcoming shows as part of his preparations.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2025 IN NERIMA”, 31/05/2025 Tokyo Nerima Coconeri Hall
1. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup Preliminary League – Round 1: Mahiro Kiryu Vs Moka Miyamoto
2. Miu Watanabe, Wakana Uehara & Ivy Steele Vs Pom Harajuku, HIMAWARI & Haru Kazashiro
3. Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino Vs Yuki Arai & Mifu Ashida
4. Shoko Nakajima, Arisu Endo & Chika Nanase Vs Kaya Toribami, Toga & Shino Suzuki
5. Mizuki & Jada Stone Vs Maki Itoh & Uta Takami
6. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
An injury report was given out by Tokyo Joshi Pro today for three of their wrestlers. Hyper Misao’s arm injury has been revealed to be ligament damage in her right elbow and she will remain out of action until late June. Haruna Neko picked up another knee injury and will miss this weekend’s shows. She is currently having it examined so TJPW will give an update once her diagnosis is known.
Kira Summer has a thigh injury and will be resting for another 4 weeks. Her Tokyo Princess Cup qualifier match with Wakana Uehara that was meant to happen on Saturday is postponed until she returns. However if she is still not cleared to wrestle by late June she may have to forfeit the match.
Parts of the undercard for Saturday’s show has been changed because of Neko and Summer’s injuries. There is now one less match and Uehara takes Neko’s place in Match #2.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2025 IN NAGOYA”, 01/06/2025 Aichi Chunichi Hall
1. Ren Konatsu Debut Match: Suzume Vs Ren Konatsu
2. Yoshiko Hasegawa & Moka Miyamoto Vs Toga & Chika Nanase
3. Rika Tatsumi, Wakana Uehara & Mifu Ashida Vs Mahiro Kiryu, Shino Suzuki & Ivy Steele
4. Shoko Nakajima & Haru Kazashiro Vs Kaya Toribami & HIMAWARI
5. Mizuki Vs Uta Takami
6. Last One Standing 8-Woman Tag Team Elimination Match: Maki Itoh, Yuki Arai, Pom Harajuku & Arisu Endo Vs Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Yuki Aino & Jada Stone
The teams for the Last One Standing Elimination Match have been decided. The next Princess Of Princess Title challenger will be decided here.
Match #2 & #3 are mixed around to fill in the gaps Neko and Summer opened up. Ivy Steele is bumped up the card a little while Moka Miyamoto swaps sides.
The trainee Konatsu will now go by the name Ren Konatsu for her debut. She was born in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka on 26th May 2001 and is 153cm tall. She was originally an SKE48 fan and started watching TJPW to follow Yuki Arai. However it was Suzume who inspired Konatsu to try wrestling out for herself so Suzume gets to be her very first opponent.
GANBARE☆PRO “GRAND BLEU 2025”, 01/06/2025 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
A shootfight style ruleset is being tried out by Ganbare☆Pro for Match #4. The GanPro Ultimate Rules can be won by knockout, submission or referee stoppage. There are no rope breaks and moves involving use of the ropes or corners are prohibited. Also double team moves and tag partners breaking up the opponent’s holds are not allowed. Should a grounded fighter position himself onto the ring apron the referee will shout “Don’t Move” and the match will pause for the wrestlers to reposition themselves over to the centre of the ring. Intentional fouls are an immediate disqualification while non-serious fouls result in a warning. Two warnings will result in a disqualification. Given the fighting styles of Shuichiro Katsumura, Takuya Wada, Tyson Maeguchi and Thanomsak Toba they should all adapt to the rules no problem.
DDT “THAT’S RIGHT! LET’S GO TO BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING 2025”, 03/06/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. 1 Vs 4 Handicap Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Yuya Koroku, Yuni, Yuki Ishida & Kazuma Sumi
2. Thank You Toru Owashi ~ Toru Owashi 20th Anniversary Of DDT Participation Series Vol. 4: HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
3. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Daichi Sato Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya
4. Lumberjack Pool Crocodile Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & Ilusion Vs Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada
5. Referee Daisuke Kiso 15th Anniversary Match ~Special 6-Man Tag Match~: MAZADA, Minoru Fujta & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Yasu Urano, Akito & Shoko Nakajima
6. STRANGE LOVE CONNECTION Vs The 37KAMIINA!: MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Shunma Katsumata & To-y
Today was MAO’s final block match in the Best Of The Super Juniors tournament. He was able to beat SHO using everything he learned in DDT throughout his career and finished tied for first in his block with 12 points. However due to head-to-head tiebreakers he did not qualify for the final. I will write a full report for his tour with New Japan next week. Next week he comes back home to rejoin KANON and fight some old friends.
The rules for the Lumberjack Pool Crocodile Match have not been explained yet. Not even those in charge of DDT knows what it’s going to be.
The next match in Toru Owashi’s 20th Anniversary series is a partial reunion of DISASTER BOX! He will be in the same match as HARASHIMA, Yuki Ueno and Kazuki Hirata. Sadly Naomi Yoshimura will not be in attendance to complete the reunion.
Now that Danshoku Dieno is done with being a Strong Style wrestler, he’ll have to find his strength somewhere else to fight four opponents at once.
BASARA “BASARA 280 ~TAKAGARI 28~”, 07/06/2025 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. Ryota Nakatsu Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
2. 3 Way Match: Daichi Kazato Vs Daiki Shimomura Vs Tsutomu Oosugi
3. Takumi Tsukamoto & Banana Senga Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Fuminori Abe
4. SAGAT & Isami Kodaka Vs Lil’ Kraken & Akira Jo
5. Isami Kodaka, Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino Vs Ryuichi Sekine, FUMA & Ayumu Honda
Right now in BASARA the field is wide open for future title challengers to emerge. Maybe one of them will be Akira Jo!!!
DDT “MY LOVE LETTER 2025”, 07/06/2025 Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX
1. Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Shunma Katsumata, Yukio Naya & Kazuma Sumi
2. HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki Vs Soma Takao & Daichi Sato
3. Special 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Jun Akiyama & Danshoku Dieno Vs Yuki Ueno & To-y
4. Thank You Toru Owashi ~ Toru Owashi 20th Anniversary Of DDT Participation Series Vol. 5: Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata
5. SCHADENFREUDE International Vs Harimao!: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida
6. Antonio Honda 20th Anniversary Match ~ Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Antonio Honda
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura (c) Vs Akito & Yuya Koroku
Owashi’s just never going to be able to get away from Hirata, is he?
1. Special Tag Match: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Momoka Hanazono Vs Ippanjin Munenori Sawa & Mio Shirai
2. Special Tag Match: Rika Tatsumi & Antonio Honda Vs Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei
3. Special Single Match: Fuminori Abe Vs Shota
4. Special Single Match: Suwama Vs Muscle Sakai
5. Special Single Match: Yuji Nagata Vs Ken Ohka
6. Special Single Match: Momo Kohgo Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
Two weeks before Yoshiko Hasegawa retires from pro wrestling she gets to be in the ring with Momo Kohgo one last time. The two wrestlers both debuted in Actwrez Girl’z back in 2019 so this it will be the perfect time for the two classmates to reunite and face each other. It is also Sanshiro Takagi’s way of getting to book the rare Stardom Vs TJPW match on his show.
One of the last additions to the card is the Pro Wrestling Up Town pair of Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Momoka Hanazono taking on the once retired but not really anymore duo of Munenori Sawa & Mio Shirai.
DDT “KING OF KINGS ~ARASHI’S JUNE SHOWDOWN~”, 29/06/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. International Special Tag Match: Mansoor & Mason Madden Vs Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi
Here comes the latest American tag team to make their DDT debuts. Straight from the lands of AEW and ROH it’s MxM Collection! Both Mansoor & Mason Madden sent a video where they said DDT should get ready to touch their tips. When Takagi heard that he immediately knew which two wrestlers should face them at Korakuen Hall. It’s the gatekeeper team of Dieno & Hirata!
BASARA “BASARA 285 ~CONTINUATION IS POWER~”, 03/08/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Union MAX Title: Ryota Nakatsu (c) Vs X
There is currently no one worthy to challenge Ryota Nakatsu for the Union MAX Title. Normally at this time of year it would be the winner of Chouten ~Itadaki~ but that just so happens to be Nakatsu this time around. It’s not possible for him to fight himself so he is going to spend the summer wrestling on BASARA shows to decide for himself who should be the No. 1 Contender. He will not defend the title before then.
1. Ken Ohka & Mio Shirai defeated Daisuke® & YuuRI when Ohka pinned Daisuke® after a kick from Shirai (7:59).
2. Yuki Kanzaki & Tyson Maeguchi defeated Mizuki Watase & Reiya Igarashi when Maeguchi pinned Igarashi with a Flying Knee Kick (11:04).
3. Kyoko Inoue & Moeka Haruhi defeated Yuna Manase & Ibuki Hoshi when Inoue pinned Hoshi with a Power Bomb (7:58).
4. The Great Sasuke & Munetatsu Nakamura defeated Shinichiro Tominaga & Shota Kawakami when Nakamura pinned Kawakami with the Michinoku Driver II (8:03).
5. Yumehito Imanari, Keisuke Ishii & Tatsuhito Takaiwa defeated Shuichiro Katsumura, Takuya Wada & Choun-Shiryu when Imanari pinned Shiryu with the Lariat (13:19).
A wrestling ring was set up next to the boat race lake for Ganbare☆Pro to host a couple of matches in between the races. While none of the wrestlers were unlucky enough to take a dip in the water, the main event did spread out of the ring to take advantage of the surroundings. Also some of the wrestlers in Match #2 attacked each other with water guns.
Having The Great Sasuke as one of the guest wrestlers inspired Munetatsu Nakamura to use the Michinoku Driver II to win their tag match.
Ken Ohka & Mio Shirai had an uneasy time teaming up again for the first time in 13 years but they were able to find that chemistry again as the match went on. Shirai also got into a fight with YuuRI after the match to build up their tag bout on 1st June.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 