TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2025 IN HIROSHIMA”, 05/04/2025 Hiroshima Industrial Hall 178 Fans
1. Kaya Toribami defeated Uta Takami with the Bird Cage (6:58).
2. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku defeated Mahiro Kiryu, Moka Miyamoto & Chika Nanase when Raku submitted Nanase with the Front Neck Lock (8:43).
3. Rika Tatsumi defeated Mifu Ashida with the Figure 4 Leg Lock (7:49).
4. Miu Watanabe, Haru Kazashiro & Toga defeated Yuki Kamifuku, Kira Summer & Ivy Steele when Watanabe submitted Steele with the Reverse Paradox (11:30).
5. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Hyper Misao & Haruna Neko when Suzume pinned Neko with the Ring A Bell (8:26).
6. Miyu Yamashita defeated Yoshiko Hasegawa with the Skull Kick (11:53).
7. Mizuki & Wakana Uehara defeated Maki Itoh & Shino Suzuki when Mizuki pinned Suzuki with the Cutie Special (12:56).
If you ever need someone to give you a little push in the right direction, Maki Itoh will be happy to do it literally. Shino Suzuki was encouraged to do a dive from the ring apron onto her opponents standing outside the ring but she was too scared to do it. So Itoh made her do it with a kick that knocked her off the apron. Mizuki & Wakana Uehara easily dodged it and Suzuki crashed onto the ground. Back in the ring Suzuki gave Mizuki a Belly-To-Belly Suplex and applied the Sleeper Hold. Mizuki was able to get out of it and pin Suzuki with the Cutie Special. After the match Suzuki said she is surprised by how strong Suzuki has gotten and Itoh was the same as always. She wants to continue bringing the kind of wrestling that makes fans look forward to tomorrow but first she’s going to eat some delicious food with Uehara.
Yoshiko Hasegawa understood she had little to no chance of beating Miyu Yamashita but wanted today’s match to happen before she retires from wrestling later this July. She targeted Yamashita’s legs with Dropkicks and also went for the Muffler Hold but had to let go after a rope break. Yamashita fought back with a High Kick and the Attitude Adjustment. She then won with the Skull Kick. Hasegawa described wrestling Yamashita like she was seeing a monster in front of her but it is still an experience she will cherish. Yamashita will be on her American tour when Hasegawa’s graduation from Tokyo Joshi Pro takes place so she is glad they got to have their match today.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2025 IN HIROSHIMA”, 05/04/2025 Hiroshima Industrial Hall
1. Kaya Toribami Vs Uta Takami
2. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Mahiro Kiryu, Moka Miyamoto & Chika Nanase
3. Rika Tatsumi Vs Mifu Ashida
4. Miu Watanabe, Haru Kazashiro & Toga Vs Yuki Kamifuku, Kira Summer & Ivy Steele
5. Hyper Misao & Haruna Neko Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
6. Miyu Yamashita Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
7. Mizuki & Wakana Uehara Vs Maki Itoh & Shino Suzuki
This weekend is a more normal looking schedule that only sounds like a quiet one when compared to last weekend. Tomorrow has Tokyo Joshi Pro returning to Hiroshima.
DDT “CHANGE AGE 2025 ~YOUR LIE IN APRIL~”, 06/04/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda Vs MJ Paul & Ilusion
1. Naomi Yoshimura’s Return Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida Vs Yukio Naya, To-y, Takeshi Masada & JJ Furno
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Kazuki Hirata & Kumadori Vs Shunma Katsumata, Yuni & Kazuma Sumi
3. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Daichi Sato
4. 2 Vs 1 Special Handicap Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani Vs KANON
5. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Yuki Ueno Vs HARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura (c) Vs Shinya Aoki & Keigo Nakamura
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Yuya Koroku
Earlier today MAO & Yuya Koroku wrestled on the undercard of a New Japan show. Koroku used the match as a last minute tune up for this Sunday’s KO-D Openweight Title match. MAO gave a tease that New Japan will be seeing more of him this May. That sounds Super.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2025 IN SHINJUKU”, 11/04/2025 Shinjuku FACE
1. Mifu Ashida Vs Chika Nanase
2. Moka Miyamoto & Kaya Toribami Vs Kira Summer & Ivy Steele
3. Rika Tatsumi Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
4. Miu Watanabe Vs Toga
5. Maki Itoh, Mahiro Kiryu & Haruna Neko Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku
6. Suzume, Arisu Endo & Uta Takami Vs Haru Kazashiro, HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki
7. Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Miyu Yamashita, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
This will be TJPW’s last proper show before Las Vegas but they do have a fan club show happening in the middle between them. The main event can be treated as the go-home match because it is a team of champions taking on their next challengers in a 6-Woman Tag Match. So it’s the last chance for Mizuki and Miyu Yamashita to size each other up while Kyoraku Kyomei and Ober Eats can get deal a big warning strike to each other.
BASARA “BASARA 275 ~YOKOHAMA MONOGATARI 2~”, 12/04/2025 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. KUBITO Vs Judomaster
2. Daichi Kazato, Banana Senga & Tsutomu Oosugi Vs Lil’ Kraken, Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei
3. 3 Way Match: Takumi Tsukamoto & SAGAT Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino Vs Minoru Fujita & Yasu Urano
4. Gouma Ryu Vs Kikutaro
5. Iron Fist Tag Team Titles: Ryuichi Sekine & FUMA (c) Vs Daiki Shimomura & Keisuke Ishii
6. Union MAX Title: Ryota Nakatsu (c) Vs Isami Kodaka
Looks like Lil’ Kraken is going to become a Lil’ Brahman for one day.
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. 21: THE BEGINNING OF THE END”, 15/04/2025 Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa
1. BK-G Openweight Title – Triple Threat Match: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Mr. Bueno Vs Mr. Malo
So far Chris Brookes has defended the BK-G Openweight Title one time and it wasn’t even at a Baka Gaijin + Friends show. His first defence in home territory will be a Triple Threat match against two Baka Gaijin originals. Both Mr. Bueno and Mr. Malo are stepping up to challenge him at the same time Red Oni, Blue Oni style.
Buckle up, folks. There is a lot to talk about this month, next month and probably even going into the summer. Konosuke Takeshita is no longer the AEW International Champion. That was to be expected but I am pleasantly surprised he has remained on AEW TV since then and is still winning matches for The Don Callis Family. He remains being protected in the booking so it looks like AEW has something in mind for him down the line even if it’s just building him up to put someone else over. Also in news that is kind of AEW related Yuka Sakazaki is now on the lookout for more wrestling bookings. Sumie Sakai is helping her out on that end but it sounds like Sakazaki will still need AEW’s permission to go ahead with whatever offers come her way.
Next let’s talk about Maki Itoh and Miyu Yamashita. Once the Las Vegas shows are done Itoh will be staying in America until 11th May while Yamashita won’t be coming back to Japan until 21st July for “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25”. I was taken aback by the negative response to the news that both of them will be taking another extended hiatus from Tokyo Joshi Pro to wrestle overseas again. I get the frustration in a way. People think both of them are looking for contracts from WWE or AEW. Itoh has brought up stuff like that in past English interviews but I’m not entirely sure Yamashita has the same goal in mind. There was a public talk event sometime ago where Yamashita revealed she spent a lot of money to go follow one of her favorite K-Pop bands on a US tour and she seems to enjoy when she’s not being relied upon by TJPW to be a company ace. Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think the two of them keep taking these options in the search for deals that may never come their way. Of course I may also just be blind to what could possibly be some tryout matches coming up next month.
That brings us up to next month’s chaos that is Wrestlemania Week. I can’t wait for this! Too many wrestling shows going on non-stop in Las Vegas for a solid week. Now that’s my kind of holiday! DDT and TJPW don’t have full cards out for their shows yet and I have the feeling one or two more promotions will be booking the likes of MAO and Itoh before we get there. So many shows are going on during the week that I can’t help but wonder if it will just take one badly made political decision somewhere to throw half the shows into chaos.
And if that’s not enough it turns out there will be even more wrestling shows going on through the year after Wrestlemania is finished. Yeah that took me by surprise too. Anyway next month expect me to write up three separate Around The World articles. One for everything that happens before WM Week, one for the week itself and one for the rest of April after that. If the next month doesn’t burn me out something fierce than nothing will.
1. Yuki Kamifuku & The Statement defeated Alexis Lee & Da Butcherman when Statement pinned Butcherman with an Uppercut (?:??).
The latest chapter in the Southeast Asian rivalry between Yuki Kamifuku and Alexis Lee was a little different this time around. Recently in Singapore Pro Wrestling Lee was stabbed in the back by Andruew Tang, or as he prefers to be called now, The Statement. Lee wanted payback and joined forces with one of Statement’s rivals Da Butcherman to get it. Statement called in Kamifuku to back him up so they can become the royal pair who will rule over SPW together with iron fists. An intense tag match resulted in the referee getting knocked out and Statement being saved by a tag team called The Midnight Bastards. The team attacked Butcherman with chairs and held him in place for Statement to knock him out with an Uppercut. Statement & Kamifuku both stood tall over their rivals holding their championships before leaving. Lee swore revenge and promised to take back the Queen Of Asia Title from Kamifuku!
EVE “WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY”, 07/03/2024 The Big Penny Social, London, England
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Lucia Lee with the Skull Kick (12:48).
Plans in EVE changed for Yamashita when her original opponent Session Moth Martina pulled out of the show due to illness. Instead Yamashita was given Lucia Lee as her new opponent. For Lee it was a chance on short notice to step up against Yamashita and prove she can go toe to toe against her. Despite the good effort, Yamashita knocked her over with the Skull Kick anyway.
RCW “MARCH MADNESS”, 08/03/2024 Casinet de Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Amale with the Skull Kick (15:16).
The next day Yamashita was in Spain to wrestle on an RCW show for the first time since October 2022. Her opponent was “The French Hope” Amale, formerly from NXT UK. She sent Yamashita crashing through the front row of chairs with a Topé Suicida and the two soon found themselves brawling around ringside. Back in the ring Amale kicked out of an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment and almost scored the win with a Small Package. But when Yamashita kicked out she quickly had her opponent in her sights and hit the Skull Kick for the victory.
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Anita Vaughan with the Crash Rabbit Heat (13:32).
Yamashita’s busy European weekend ended in Germany where she showed up during wXw’s final day of the annual 16 Carat Gold tournament. She didn’t take part in the 16 Carat tournament itself, instead she fought Anita Vaughan who was already eliminated from the competition by that point. Yamashita made it three wins for three but she needed to use the Crash Rabbit Heat this time to end the weekend with a clean sweep.
AEW “REVOLUTION”, 09/03/2025 Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. AEW International Title: Kenny Omega defeated Konosuke Takeshita (c) with a Cradle (28:30). *Konosuke Takeshita fails in V9. Kenny Omega becomes the 11th AEW International Champion!
That’s the end of Takeshita’s first championship reign in AEW. With thoughts of Hajime no Ippo on their mind and also their gear, Takeshita and Kenny Omega went hell for leather in their rematch from September 2023. Omega’s ribs were violently targeted due to his recent bout with diverticulitis and Takeshita got a little help from Don Callis here and there too. But Omega overcame the odds and kept kicked out of the Powerdrive Knee. Takeshita avoided the One-Winged Angel yet when he went for the Raging Fire, Omega countered it into an Inside Cradle. Only getting a nearfall, Omega then switched to more types of cradle pins until he kept Takeshita’s shoulders down long enough for the three count.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 12/03/2025 Save Mart Center At Fresno State, Fresno, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Max Caster with the Raging Fire (1:30).
Takeshita wasted no time in getting back to work after his title loss. Max Caster held the latest in his open challenges and tried to talk Takeshita out of it when he walked down to the ring with a purpose. Caster asked if Takeshita was actually here to invite him into The Don Callis Family? When he suggested he could use that position to beat Omega, Takeshita attacked him and quickly won with the Raging Fire.
BZW “WAR AT THE CAPITAL”, 16/03/2025 Claridge, Brussels, Belgium
1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) defeated Kid Lykos & Kid Lykos II when Yoshihiko submitted Lykos & Lykos II with a Double Half Crab Hold (?:??). *V3 for MAO & Yoshihiko.
I missed when this was announced last month. MAO & Yoshihiko travelled back to Banger Zone Wrestling this month, this time to defend the BZW Tag Team Titles in Belgium. The challengers were the two troublemakers from Lykos Gym in England: Kid Lykos & Kid Lykos II. They weren’t prepared for Yoshihiko to do a balcony dive onto them nor did they expect the dark spirit that sometimes follows Yoshihiko around to show up and Moonsault onto them either. Lykos II made the big mistake of yelling insults towards Yoshihiko. When he tried to Headbutt it only he felt the impact. Yoshihiko was then able to trap both members of Lykos Gym in a Double Half Crab Hold and made both of them tap out at the same time!
AEW “COLLISION – SLAM DUNK SATURDAY”, 19/03/2025 (Aired 22/03/2025) Liberty First Credit Union Arena, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Brian Cage & Lance Archer defeated Mark Briscoe, Powerhouse Hobbs & Rocky Romero when Takeshita pinned Romero with the Raging Fire (11:22).
Takeshita continued to rebuild his momentum by teaming with more members of The Don Callis Family. He, Brian Cage & Lance Archer all worked over Rocky Romero until Mark Briscoe got the hot tag. Briscoe had the numbers game against him but he held his own until it was time for Powerhouse Hobbs to get the big tag. But The Don Callis Family withstood the comeback. Cage & Archer took out Romero with a Choke Slam/Power Bomb combo and held his partners at bay so Takeshita could pin Romero with the Raging Fire.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 26/03/2025 Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Mark Briscoe with the Raging Fire (11:39).
There was unfinished business between Takeshita and Briscoe from Collision so they met in a singles match the following week on Dynamite. The episode was sponsored by The Minecraft Movie so the venue they were in ended up kind of looking like a Create-An-Arena you would download from the WWE 2K games. Briscoe took a high risk by running across the barricade outside the ring to jump onto Takeshita with a Diving Elbow Drop. Takeshita hit Briscoe with the Powerdrive Knee back in the ring but it got him a nearfall. Briscoe pulled out the Jay Driller that had Takeshita beat but a rope break stopped him from getting pinned for the three count. Takeshita stunned Briscoe with a Rolling Elbow before using the Raging Fire to win by the skin of his teeth.
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Upcoming Appearances
MLW “BATTLE RIOT VII”, 05/04/2025 Thunder Studios Arena, Long Beach, California, USA
1. HIMAWARI Vs Janai Kai
2. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Delmi Exo (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima
There was a report from Fightful’s Patreon account during the month saying MLW has “big plans” in mind for Shoko Nakajima and HIMAWARI and the promotion hopes to get TJPW more involved with their women’s division. I’m a bit skeptical towards what that could be because the way wrestling media reports on MLW often comes across as Court Bauer trying to get his material over and everybody just taking him for his word. Big plans could mean anything from Nakajima beating Delmi Exo for the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title or Janai Kai literally murdering HIMAWARI on behalf of CONTRA Unit and right afterward MLW announces a working relationship with Stardom (go see how CIMA was written out of the company right before MLW aired a Dragongate trailer). Or the big plans might just be TJPW talent being used to put over the regulars MLW wants to push. Which at this moment in time is Exo, Kai and maybe Tara Zep. But hey, who knows. It looks like MLW’s working relationship with CMLL is legit. I’ll be happy to be proven wrong.
NJPW “WINDY CITY RIOT”, 11/04/2025 Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi Last Match In The USA Final Road ~Kinship~: Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA
I recommend watching the Ace Vs Alpha video New Japan put on their Youtube channel (I included it in the video section above) because it shows Takeshita and Hiroshi Tanahashi talking about their previous match together as well as why Takeshita holds a grudge over how Tanahashi treated DDT in the past. It’s not the complete story of what happened back then because that is more HARASHIMA’s story to tell but it is suffice to build up their match happening next month.
PANDEMONIUM PRO “THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS”, 17/04/2025 Fremont Country Club, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Masha Slamovich Vs MAO
2. Maya World Vs Miu Watanabe
Now we hit the busiest wrestling week of the year. Damn it really is a week long this time around with WWE going full throttle with their own schedule in Las Vegas from Tuesday to Tuesday. But enough about them, among the early shows kicking off the week is Pandemonium Pro where Miu Watanabe has a match against Maya World and now MAO will be there too for what is sure to be a crazy battle against Masha Slamovich! The two of them have packed schedules of their own so they better pace themselves.
WRESTLECON “MARK HITCHCOCK MEMORIAL SUPERSHOW”, 17/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Mickie James Vs Maki Itoh
It’s a match for the ages between two fierce opponents. One is a wrestling idol with grand ambitions of becoming a popstar who has in the past been unceremoniously fired in a humiliating fashion. The other is Maki Itoh. I know people who still have nightmares from the Revolution Pro show in London two years ago where a group of fans spent literally the entire match chanting “Hardcore Country” non-stop for Mickie James. I hope for my sake those same fans won’t be at this show.
WEST COAST PRO “VEGAS VACATION”, 17/04/2025 Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. MAO Vs Jiah Jewell
MAO’s second show on the Thursday is against Jiah Jewell at West Coast Pro. Because when you think of local rivalries, you think of Miyagi Vs Louisiana.
GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XIII”, 17/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Charlie Dempsey Vs Shinya Aoki
2. Nattie Neidhart Vs Miyu Yamashita
Whenever Yamashita travels to America, Natalya invites her over to her private training facility in Florida to help teach her what she knows. They’ve apparantly become close friends over time but when Josh Barnett started putting the card together for Bloodsport, Natalya (under her non-WWE moniker Nattie Neidhart) publicly asked for Yamashita to be her opponent. Yamashita jumped at the idea and Barnett was happy to make it happen. This will be the second time Yamashita faces a WWE wrestler at Bloodsport, she lost to Shayna Baszler last July. Here she has the martial arts background advantage and Neidhart’s previous attempt at doing this kind of match with NXT Underground ended in a loss. Usually comparing the legitimate fighting pedigree of two fighters would tip off who wins these things but a main roster WWE wrestler losing on a non-WWE show would be an unusual turn of events. Eh, I’ll still bet a dollar on it.
Shinya Aoki’s announced opponent for the show is NXT wrestler Charlie Dempsey. I’d joke about Bloodsport turning into a WWE psy-op but to be fair Dempsey is a regular competitor on these shows and this will be his fourth fight in the series. Plus I don’t want to just write that he is William Regal’s son. From what I’ve seen he fits into this style of wrestling pretty well. Aoki should have fun tangling with him.
BZW “VIVA LAS VEGAS”, 17/04/2025 Swan Dive, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Cole Radrick & Alec Price
MAO ends his busy day with BZW hosting his third match. At least I think it’s his third show. It’s possible he’ll have a fourth somewhere but I haven’t seen anything yet. The match here is going to be changed too because of injury. MAO & Yoshihiko are supposed to defend the BZW Tag Titles against The Gahbage Daddies but unfortunately word came out a few days ago that Cole Radrick is out of action with a torn MCL and meniscus. No word yet on if Alec Price will still be in the match with a replacement tag partner or if a new team will get the title shot instead.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “QUERI PRESENTS TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Special Single Match: Masha Slamovich Vs Miu Watanabe
2. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Jada Stone
3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
Only a few weeks to go but the major matches have all been set up. Mizuki Vs Yamashita is the biggest match TJPW can do for the Princess Of Princess Title but it’s been done already in Japan so I can see why it would look fresher in America. Kyoraku Kyomei have their first defence of the Princess Tag Team Titles against Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara’s new tag team OberEats. There is a rematch of the International Princess Title when Suzume clashes with Jada Stone again, this time with Stone having the home field advantage. Plus Watanabe continues getting big opponents away from the title scene when she gets in the ring with Slamovich.
DDT “DDT GOES LAS VEGAS!”, 18/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Santana Jackson
2. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Timothy Thatcher
3. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs MAO
4. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs Yoshihiko
The lineup so far is a little more creative than what we got last year and I prefer it this way. Minoru Suzuki Vs Yoshihiko sounds like something GCW would book for “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK” but DDT needs something like that to stand out for themselves.
WRESTLECORE “FEAR & WRESTLECORE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025 Swan Dive, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Another outside booking for Itoh during Mania Week. No opponent has been confirmed by WrestleCore yet but El Phantasmo is trying to convince Itoh to team up with him so they can be The Cutest Tag Team Ever. He just so happens to be on this show too.
GRAPHOUSE “FOR VEGAS, BY VEGAS”, 18/04/2025 Fergusons Downtown, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Lazarus Vs MAO
I think this is MAO’s last non-DDT related booking of the week. Unless…
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GCW “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW”, 19/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
As far as DDT and TJPW are concerned this will be the finale of their weekend. One match announced so far and it’s pretty cool looking. Takeshita & Slamovich teaming up against Aoki & Yamashita. It would be a shame if the show runs long and people start leaving during this match to head over to Wrestlemania.
GCW “CLUSTERF*CK FOREVER”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Clusterfuck Match: X Vs X
I’m adding this to the lineup because odds are good someone DDT or TJPW related ends up in the annual Clusterfuck. Yoshihiko was part of it last year and made it to the final three. In fact there’s already an ex-TJPW wrestler announced to be entering the match. Sayaka Unagi is taking part and I can only imagine what kind of eye opening crazy thing she would do in Las Vegas.
HOG “ISOLATION”, 25/04/2025 NYC Arena, New York City, New York, USA
1. HOG Heavyweight Title: Mike Santana (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Hey good on Mike Santana for taking a gamble on himself. The stuff he’s been doing on TNA and House Of Glory has been nothing to sneeze at so far. He now has a month to prepare for Takeshita because the two of them are set to fight with the HOG Heavyweight Title on the line.
BLACK LABEL PRO “BLP AT SCX III”, 25/04/2025 The Wyndham, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Leyla Hirsch
2. Danhausen & Maki Itoh Vs Davey Bang & August Matthews
Yamashita’s opponent Leyla Hirsch is fresh out of AEW and wants to show everyone how good she is in the ring.
CMLL/LADYS RING “LUCHA FIESTA ESPECIAL”, 27/04/2025 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Octagon & El Hijo del Octagon Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Pantera Jr.
Daisuke Sasaki will be missing the DDT show happening in Sapporo on the same day for this match.
GCW “CRAZY SCARY SPOOKY HILARIOUS”, 03/05/2025 Ukrainian Culture Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Miyu Yamashita
The 121000000 split up match is happening but not in TJPW. It’s in GCW! In the nine previous times they’ve done this match, Yamashita has won eight of them and the odd result out was a time limit draw. Itoh has never beaten Yamashita in a singles match but this 10th attempt might be her best chance yet because she’ll have the GCW fans behind her. She’ll need a good result because the next day she has a match that will be just as important.
GCW “WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU”, 04/05/2025 Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. GCW World Title: Effy (c) Vs Maki Itoh
Itoh was originally supposed to get a GCW World Title match against Mance Warner during GCW’s Japan tour last August but a hand injury prevented it from happening. Now nine months later she finally gets her title shot but the champion now is someone completely different. Effy’s first reign as GCW Champ has seen him defend the belt against the weird and the wonderful. Can Itoh beat him to reach her ultimate form as the Queen of the Outlaws?
NJPW “RESURGENCE”, 09/05/2025 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs X
Just have to wait and see what Takeshita does next after the Tanahashi match.
GCW “BIG TIME”, 17/05/2025 RJ Meyer Arena, Joppa, Maryland, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Tony Deppen
Can Yamashita get a better match out of Tony Deppen than YAMATO could?
GCW “RUN FOR IT”, 18/05/2025 Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, New York, USA
1. Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita
According to GCW this will be the first time ever Yamashita wrestles Billie Starkz. As long as you ignore the EVE match… and the St. Louis Anarchy match… and the SPARK match.
MKW “BATTLE OF THE DECADE”, 24/05/2025 Dongxin Plaza, Beijing, China
1. Yuki Kamifuku & Chen Wenbin Vs Alexis Lee & Big Sam
The Kamifuku Vs Lee rivalry now moves over to China for Middle Kingdom Wrestling’s 10th Anniversary show. Chinese wrestler Chen Wenbin and England’s Big Sam get mixed up in the action too.
SAJ “HUNTER’S NET”, 24/05/2025 Magnete, Milan, Italy
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Italy will soon become the latest country Yamashita has wrestling in. Squash A Jobber Wrestling is the name of the promotion bringing her in which might be the least Italian name I’ve ever heard for a wrestling company.
KITSUNE “GOING BACK TO SAN DIEGO”, 07/06/2025 Primal Compound, San Diego, California, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Vipress & Hudson Envy Vs Nagisa Nozaki & Yuna Manase
We’re reaching into the summer for the end of this month’s article. Kitsune have a doubleshot going on with both Yuna Manase and Miyu Yamashita scheduled to be there. Manase is teaming with Nagisa Nozaki in Night 1 to take on Vipress & Hudson Envy. Yamashita’s match has not been announced yet.
KITSUNE “8888”, 08/06/2025 South Gate, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Yuna Manase Vs X
Manase is still currently the Kitsune World Champion so it would make sense for her to have a title defence on the second show of the doubleshot.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SKE48 YUKI ARAI GRADUATION LIVE ~GO FOR THE DREAM!!~”, 30/03/2025 Aichi Chunichi Hall (Nagoya City) 490 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. It’s the 1998 Class All Gathered Together!: Yuki Arai, Moka Miyamoto & Haruna Neko defeated Suzume, Arisu Endo & Shino Suzuki when Arai pinned Suzuki with the Finally (8:30).
2. Graduation Memorial Battle Royal Full Of Yuki Arai: Raku defeated Pom Harajuku with a Backslide Pin (9:10). Order Of Elimination: Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu, Hyper Misao, Miyu Yamashita, Raku. *Special Referee: Shiori Aoki
3. This Is TJPW Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Mizuki, Rika Tatsumi & Shoko Nakajima Vs Maki Itoh, Miu Watanabe & Yuki Aino ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00).
Yuki Arai’s singing career with SKE48 has now come to an end after she graduated from the idol unit today. She wrestled on the first match of the show with the rest of the 1998 Class so she could get ready to perform her final concert at the second half of the event. It was a full blown SKE48 concert with members past and present all showing up to sing with Arai. For the finale Arai dedicated her last song to SKE48, Tokyo Joshi Pro and her fans. After the show she thanked TJPW for putting together such a wonderful venue and event. She is also gracious to the other members of her unit which she will keep in mind as she now focuses on her pro wrestling careers. She thinks her dual career went by in a flash yet she now can’t remember what her life was like before she started wrestling. If it wasn’t for wrestling she thinks she would still be in the entertainment industry after graduation but she is grateful to have found something that excites her just as much as SKE48.
There was a Battle Royal full of Yuki Arai’s on the undercard. It was done Rumble style with every entrant walking out wearing one of Arai’s previous costumes. Former SKE48 idol Shiori Aoki also appeared as the special guest referee. Everyone tried to imitate Arai in one way or another. Raku used one of her catchphrases, Yuki Kamifuku introduced herself as “Big Yuki”, Hyper Misao wanted to be called Shin Yuki Arai, Mahiro Kiryu tried her best to do the Finally kick, Pom Harajuku called herself the best Arai and Miyu Yamashita made the others laugh with her attempted impersonation. Yamashita took her anger out on everyone but in the end Raku was the last Yuki Arai left standing.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “YUKI ARAI’S LAST TWO-SWORD STYLE ~ GO FOR THE VICTORY!!”, 29/03/2025 Aichi Chunichi Hall (Nagoya City) 536 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Suzume, Mahiro Kiryu & Haruna Neko defeated Yuki Aino, Kaya Toribami & Ivy Steele when Suzume pinned Steele with the Ring A Bell (9:44).
2. 3 Way Match: Pom Harajuku defeated Arisu Endo and Chika Nanase when Harajuku pinned Nanase with a Backward Rolling Cradle (8:34).
3. Maki Itoh defeated Yoshiko Hasegawa with the Itoh Deluxe (6:33).
4. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Yuki Kamifuku & Kira Summer when Misao pinned Summer with the Hypami Returns (8:48).
5. Yuki Arai, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami defeated Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI, Haru Kazashiro, Toha & Mifu Ashida when Watanabe submitted Ashida with the Reverse Paradox (13:07).
6. Miyu Yamashita & Moka Miyamoto defeated Mizuki & Rika Tatsumi when Yamashita pinned Mizuki by Referee Stoppage with the Modified Cobra Clutch (13:37).
A big preview tag match for “TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS” headlined today’s show in Aichi. It might be the last chance for Mizuki and Miyu Yamashita to test each other out before their Princess Of Princess Title match in America next month. Meanwhile Rika Tatsumi got her wish to team up with Mizuki and she tried to carry her like a princess only for Moka Miyamoto to push them over. Mizuki & Tatsumi had better luck working together later when they gave Yamashita a Diving Double Stomp/Twist Of Fate combo. Tatsumi also sacrificed herself by pushing Mizuki out of the way from the Crash Rabbit Heat and taking the impact of Yamashita’s finisher instead. But when Mizuki tried to capitalise, Yamashita stunned her with a High Kick and used a Modified Cobra Clutch to drag her down to the mat. Mizuki wouldn’t give up so Yamashita kept applying more preasure with the move until the match had to be stopped.
After the match Yamashita said she’s never been merciless up until now and she will be even more merciless in Vegas so she can win the Princess Title. Miyamoto then got to speak about how enthusiastic she is to team with Yuki Arai on tomorrow’s show. She wants their team to win to make it the best graduation ever for Arai. Miyamoto got praised from Yamashita in the backstage comments. Yamashita said it’s really reassuring to team with her and they know how to work together quickly. Tatsumi was upset at Yamashita & Miyamoto for ruining her dream team with Mizuki. She couldn’t save the princess today so she is not qualified to become her knight.
This whole weekend belongs to Arai because she will be graduating from SKE48 tomorrow in order to dedicate the rest of her career to wrestling with Tokyo Joshi Pro. Today she formed an alliance with The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) first to sing together at the start of the show and then to team up for a 10-Woman Tag Match against the 2023 Class in the semi-main event. They all put the other team in their respective submission holds and Miu Watanabe scored the win when Mifu Ashida submitted to the Reverse Paradox. Watanabe in particular was pretty happy to sing an SKE48 song with Arai. The 2023 Class were happy to all be together in one match for the same time although Shino Suzuki had to be on the other team because she’s in The Up Up Girls. Wakana Uehara said she can feel a new wind blowing for them all.
With the trip to Vegas on the horizon, Kyoraku Kyomei wanted to test out their English. Since their opponents today both speak the language, Hyper Misao tried to do her introduction in English and asked them how it went. Kira Summer said that her pronunciation was good but she needs more practice. She said that in English so Yuki Kamifuku had to translate it back to Japanese. Kamifuku’s interpretation wasn’t accurate though. She told the others that Summer said she couldn’t understand why a highly educated graduate from Aoyama Gakuin University is so bad at English? Also Aoyama Gakuin has a lot of cute looking girls but Misao is so plain so what is it like for her to graduate from there? Misao was so hurt by the comments that it gave Kamifuku & Summer and opening to jump them and start the match. Kyoraku Kyomei were able to win and are now ready for Vegas. Shoko Nakajima wants to win big money at the casinos.
DDT “WEDDING HALL PRO WRESTLING SPRING FESTIVAL IN SENTIR LA SAISON GIFU”, 30/03/2025 Gifu Sentir la Saison
1. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs JJ Furno, Yuni & Keigo Nakamura
2. Yuya Koroku Vs Yuki Ishida
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Jun Akiyama & Yukio Naya Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Toru Owashi & Kazuma Sumi
4. SCHADENFREUDE International Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada Vs Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y
There are so many shows happening this weekend it would take up too much space to include the ones that haven’t been changed going into it. One of the wedding shows on Sunday now has its match order confirmed. This will also be the first match The 37KAMIINA having after MAO leaves the unit tomorrow.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2025 IN HIROSHIMA”, 05/04/2025 Hiroshima Industrial Hall
1. Kaya Toribami Vs Uta Takami
2. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Mahiro Kiryu, Moka Miyamoto & Chika Nanase
3. Rika Tatsumi Vs Mifu Ashida
4. Miu Watanabe, Haru Kazashiro & Toga Vs Yuki Kamifuku, Kira Summer & Ivy Steele
5. Hyper Misao & Haruna Neko Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
6. Miyu Yamashita Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
7. Mizuki & Wakana Uehara Vs Maki Itoh & Shino Suzuki
The cards for Tokyo Joshi Pro’s first weekend of shows in April were announced before Yoshiko Hasegawa’s announcement but they seem to be more fitting now in hindsight. Hasegawa wants to wrestle everybody on the TJPW roster before she retires and this match here with Miyu Yamashita will be a first time singles match between the two.
Both Shoko Nakajima and HIMAWARI will be missing the two shows because they will be wrestling in America for MLW that weekend.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2025 IN FUKUOKA”, 06/04/2025 Acros Fukuoka
1. 3 Way Match: Raku Vs Kaya Toribami Vs Shino Suzuki
2. Moka Miyamoto Vs Mifu Ashida
3. Mahiro Kiryu & Haruna Neko Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa & Chika Nanase
4. Rika Tatsumi & Toga Vs Kira Summer & Ivy Steele
5. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Miu Watanabe & Uta Takami
6. Mizuki & Aja Kong Vs Hyper Misao & Pom Harajuku
7. Miyu Yamashita, Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro Vs Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
The homecoming show for Yamashita and Maki Itoh has turned slightly bitter now that 121000000 have disbanded. The two of them will be on opposite sides of a 6-Woman Tag Match in the main event.
Aja Kong comes along to team up with Mizuki. Eh, I think Hyper Misao & Pom Harajuku can handle them.
DDT “MENTAI WARS”, 12/04/2025 Fukuoka Nishitetsu Hall
1. Kazuma Sumi Vs Ilusion
2. HARASHIMA, Azul Dragon & Kazuki Hirata Vs MAO, Toru Owashi & Akito
3. Jun Akiyama, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Soma Takao & Yukio Naya
4. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs KANON & Yuki Ishida
5. Special Single Match: Hideki Okatani Vs Keigo Nakamura
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, Danshoku Dieno & Takeshi Masada Vs Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y
Does Hideki Okatani have any grief with the other wrestlers from his generation? He’s only been dealing with KANON so far although he hasn’t properly come back to action yet.
DDT “U1 CLIMAX EEL LOVING WRESTLERS BOX OFFICE”, 13/04/2025 “Unagi no Eki” Special Venue, Shibushi City, Kagoshima
1. KANON Vs Keigo Nakamura
2. Jun Akiyama & Yukio Naya, Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida
3. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul, Hideki Okatani & Ilusion Vs MAO, Kazuki Hirata, Daichi Sato & Kazuma Sumi
4. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs To-y
5. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Naomichi Marufuji & Yuki Ueno
6. Yamada Suisan Fish Army Vs Meat Alliance Army, The Final Showdown! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shishamo Power, Unagi Mask & Super Unagi Mask Vs Aja Kong, Shunma “EL TURKEY” Katsumata & Yuya “GIBIE” Koroku
New enemies are emerging to the surface in the seafood versus meat feud that DDT and Yamada Suisan dive into on an annual basis. Shunma “EL TURKEY” Katsumata wants revenge for the meat eating side losing last year’s battle so he went and recruited new teammates. One of them is Yuya “GIBIE” Koroku but the big weapon he’s bringing along is pro wrestling’s most dangerous carnivore Aja Kong! The trio of Shishamo Power, Unagi Mask & Super Unagi Mask are a well armed team at this point but this could be their biggest threat yet!
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “QUERI PRESENTS TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Special Single Match: Masha Slamovich Vs Miu Watanabe
2. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Jada Stone
3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
Vert Vixen has been added to the lineup. She was on last year’s TJPW USA shows in Philadelphia and Seattle.
DDT “DDT GOES LAS VEGAS!”, 18/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Santana Jackson
2. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Timothy Thatcher
3. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs MAO
4. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs Yoshihiko
The match made in hell! Minoru Suzuki said he will defend the DDT Universal Title against any challenger when he travels over to Las Vegas. Be careful what you wish for because Yoshihiko answered the challenge! The doll was already Vegas bound because of a Banger Zone Wrestling booking now it’s taking the gamble to leave with two championships (it still has the BZW Tag Team Titles with MAO).
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GCW “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW”, 19/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Masha Slamovich Vs Shinya Aoki & Miyu Yamashita
Alright this is a good start for a card that needs to be as crazy as possible to attract a right crowd before Wrestlemania begins. Konosuke Takeshita has fought Shinya Aoki several times before. Same goes for Yamashita and Masha Slamovich. So let’s mix them all up together for a unreal tag team battle!
Apparently tomorrow is when the official DDT website gets a makeover while Tokyo Joshi Pro will finally get an official website of their own again. For my own sake I hope it’s not going to make getting info more difficult.
1. Takato Nakano Vs Shota Kofuji
2. Isami Kodaka Vs Kosuke Sato
3. Daiki Shimomura Vs Keisuke Ishii
4. Masato Kamino Vs Yuko Miyamoto
5. Ryuichi Sekine, FUMA & Ryota Nakatsu V Takumi Tsukamoto, SAGAT & Yasu Urano
The match order for tomorrow’s BASARA show is swapped around a little bit.
DDT “O-HANAMI PRO WRESTLING 2025 – DAY 1”, 26/03/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Kazusada Higuchi & JJ Furno
2. 3 Way Match: Shishamo Power Vs Takeshi Masada Vs Yuni
3. Falls Count Anywhere Blindfold Scramble Bunkhouse Match: Chris Brookes Vs Danshoku Dieno Vs HARASHIMA Vs Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata
4. Hanami KING OF DRUNK Preliminary Rumble: Yuki Ueno Vs MAO Vs Shunma Katsumata Vs Daisuke Sasaki Vs Soma Takao Vs Yukio Naya Vs Kazuma Sumi Vs Yuki Ishida
5. Special Tag Match: Takuya Nomura & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku
6. Special Single Match: Fuminori Abe Vs Keigo Nakamura
To-y hasn’t recovered from his injury yet so he will be missing this week’s shows. The show on 26th March now has one less match on it after a bunch of wrestlers were moved around for To-y’s absence.
DDT “O-HANAMI PRO WRESTLING 2025 – DAY 2”, 27/03/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. 3 Way Tag Match: Makoto Oishi & Akito Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs MJ Paul & Ilusion
2. Maximum Allowance Of 5,000 Yen For Bringing The Weapons Death Match: Takeshi Masada & Keigo Nakamura Vs Yuni & Munetatsu Nakamura
3. Special Single Match: Yuya Koroku Vs JJ Furno
4. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
5. Hanami KING OF DRUNK Hangover 6-Man Tag Match For Losers Of The Preliminary Rumble: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
6. Hanami KING OF DRUNK Final: X Vs X
Not as many changes to Night 2 but a chunk of that lineup depends on how the KING OF DRUNK stuff turns out anyway. Makoto Oishi is now on the show though.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “YUKI ARAI’S LAST TWO-SWORD STYLE ~ GO FOR THE VICTORY!!”, 29/03/2025 Aichi Chunichi Hall (Nagoya City)
1. Suzume, Mahiro Kiryu & Haruna Neko Vs Yuki Aino, Kaya Toribami & Ivy Steele
2. 3 Way Match: Pom Harajuku Vs Arisu Endo Vs Chika Nanase
3. Maki Itoh Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
4. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Kira Summer
5. Yuki Arai, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami Vs Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI, Haru Kazashiro, Toha & Mifu Ashida
6. Mizuki & Rika Tatsumi Vs Miyu Yamashita & Moka Miyamoto
At first it seems weird that Yuki Arai’s match isn’t the main event of this show but then I remember she has a concert to prepare for that’s happening at the end. Also there’s a Princess Of Princess Title match that needs to be built up. Priorities, people!
DDT “OWARI WARS 2025”, 29/03/2025 Aichi Chunichi Hall & Conference
1. 3 Way Match: Yukio Naya Vs JJ Furno Vs Yuki Ishida
2. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Toru Owashi, Yasu Urano & Yuni
3. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Antonio Honda
4. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kazuma Sumi Vs Yuya Koroku & Kazusada Higuchi
5. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Akito Vs Shinya Aoki & Keigo Nakamura
6. MAO’s Last The 37KAMIINA Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs HARASHIMA, Danshoku Dieno, Kazuki Hirata & Takeshi Masada
DDT have put together a ragtag team for MAO’s last match as a member of The 37KAMIINA. It starts out looking like an all-star squad with HARASHIMA and Danshoku Dieno then we get wacky with Kazuki Hirata and end with a youthful wild card in Takeshi Masada.
DDT “DDT MEET & GREET & FIGHT APRIL”, 03/04/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya Vs Kazuma Sumi & Yuki Ishida
2. Ilusion Vs Yuni
3. Special Tag Match: Yuya Koroku & Keigo Nakamura Vs To-y & Takeshi Masada
The young wrestlers take most of the stage for April’s “MEET & GREET & FIGHT” show including a return to the generational rivalry between Yuni and Ilusion.
DDT “CHANGE AGE 2025 ~YOUR LIE IN APRIL~”, 06/04/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda Vs MJ Paul & Ilusion
1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Kazuki Hirata & Kumadori Vs Shunma Katsumata, Yuni & Kazuma Sumi
2. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Daichi Sato
3. Naomi Yoshimura’s Return Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida Vs Yukio Naya, To-y, Takeshi Masada & JJ Furno
4. 2 Vs 1 Special Handicap Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani Vs KANON
5. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Yuki Ueno Vs HARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura (c) Vs Shinya Aoki & Keigo Nakamura
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Yuya Koroku
This looks a little bit awkward. Minoru Suzuki clearly enjoys being in the ring with Yuki Ueno but he did just take the DDT Universal Title away from him. How is Ueno going to act next to him when they team up together? The match is a chance for either HARASHIMA or Danshoku Dieno to nab themselves a future Universal Title shot if things go their way too.
GANBARE☆PRO “MAD MAX 2025 ~ GANBARE☆PRO WRESTLING 12TH ANNIVERSARY BOX OFFICE”, 11/04/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Mixed 6-Man Tag Match: Hartley Jackson, Daisuke®️ & HARUKAZE Vs Yasu Urano, PSYCHO & Banny Oikawa
2. Hikaru Sato & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Toru Sugiura & Munetatsu Nakamura
3. Mizuki Watase’s Return Match: Mizuki Watase, Shigehiro Irie, Choun-Shiryu & Rekka Vs Kouki Iwasaki, Takuya Wada, Fuminori Abe & Shota Kawakami
4. Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Yuna Manase, Koguma & Hazuki Vs Moeka Haruhi, YuuRI & Ami Manase
5. Special Single Match: Ken Ohka Vs Masaaki Mochizuki
6. Special Tag Team Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & Keisuke Ishii Vs Yuji Nagata & Tatsuhito Takaiwa
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Yumehito Imanari (c) Vs Shinichiro Tominaga
Here’s the full line up for Ganbare☆Pro’s return to Korakuen Hall. After weeks of searching Ken Ohka found his star opponent. It’s Masaaki Mochizuki from Dragongate! We also have Mizuki Watase returning in an 8-Man Tag (looks to me like he isn’t 100% ready yet) and a reunion of the Hentai Punch Drunkers. Meanwhile Munetatsu Nakamura picked up a friend from his recent FREEDOMS appearance, bringing Toru Sugiura over to team with him.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “QUERI PRESENTS TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Special Single Match: Masha Slamovich Vs Miu Watanabe
2. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Jada Stone
3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
The three title matches for Las Vegas are now confirmed. Mizuki has taken the risk of choosing Miyu Yamashita for her next Princess Title defence in the hopes she can finally beat her one on one. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara have formed the team Ober Eats to challenge Kyoraku Kyomei for the Princess Tag Team Titles. Last but not least there is the rematch of Suzume versus Jada Stone with the International Princess Title again on the line.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GOLDEN WEEK FAN APPRECIATION DAY 「WEST」”, 05/05/2025 Osaka Edion Arena #2
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Raku (c) Vs Nor ‘Phoenix’ Diana
TJPW’s Golden Week shows will feature the Japanese debut of Malaysian wrestler Nor ‘Phoenix’ Diana. As part of her tour she will face Raku for the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title. Diana currently holds the APAC Women’s Title in Malaysia and is the latest name from the Southeast Asian wrestling scene to work with TJPW.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2025 IN YOKOHAMA”, 22/03/2025 Yokohama Radiant Hall 258 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Mahiro Kiryu defeated Ivy Steele with the Spinebuster (6:46).
2. 3 Way Match: Rika Tatsumi defeated Haruna Neko and HIMAWARI when Tatsumi pinned Neko and HIMAWARI with a Double Roll Up (6:27).
3. Raku & Pom Harajuku defeated Yoshiko Hasegawa & Chika Nanase when Raku pinned Nanase with the Doctor Yellow (7:19).
4. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara defeated Haru Kazashiro & Toga when Uehara submitted Toga with the Banana Pillow (10:03).
5. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Maki Itoh & Mifu Ashida when Suzume pinned Ashida with the Ring A Bell (9:45).
6. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Miu Watanabe & Uta Takami when Nakajima pinned Takami with the Northern Lights Suplex (12:25).
7. Mizuki, Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami defeated Yuki Aino, Moka Miyamoto & Shino Suzuki when Yamashita pinned Suzuki with the Skull Kick (12:59).
The road to Las Vegas now has a clear direction at least when it comes to the championship matches. Today’s show had plenty of challenges and announcements thrown out regarding the titles you will currently find in Tokyo Joshi Pro. After the main event Mizuki noticed Miyu Yamashita was like a rowdy monster in the ring today. She said she has never beaten Yamashita in a singles title match and really hates losing to her. She wants to become stronger so she nominates Yamashita to be her next challenger for the Princess Of Princess Title! Yamashita was surprised over how sudden this is and she would love it if they have the title match in America. Mizuki then asked Kaya Toribami who she will root for? Toribami hesitated and picked Mizuki because she is kind and Yamashita is scary.
The Princess Tag Team Titles match for Vegas is also set although it took a bit of effort to get there. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara approached Kyoraku Kyomei to challenge them for the belts. Kamifuku has started to work really hard lately because Uehara’s parents recently gave her a gift in return for taking care of their daughter. However Shoko Nakajima thought the two of them were taking the concept of a title challenge for granted. Hyper Misao also doesn’t sense they vibe together as a proper tag team because they don’t even have a name yet (I guess Ayase Town Hills New Hills didn’t catch on). Kamifuku wanted to give up but Uehara kept trying to think up of a name. It wasn’t until later in the show backstage when Kamifuku & Uehara approached Kyoraku Kyomei again. They threw out another challenge because this time they have a tag team name. Together they are called OberEats! Nakajima thinks the name sounds familiar but she and Misao were convinced enough to give them the title shot for Vegas.
It was announced that Suzume will defend the International Princess Title against Jada Stone again. The rematch of last month’s title bout will happen in Las Vegas on 18th April. Suzume knows it won’t be easy to beat Stone again. Also things are still good between Daisy Monkey after their recent title match. Suzume & Arisu Endo had fun teaming up again today and remembered being next to each other is the best.
The bond between Raku and Pom Harajuku has also become stronger after their title match. They spent just as much time playing games with Raku’s pillow than they did wrestle their opponents. It was also revealed that Raku’s first defence of the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title will happen in May. Malaysian wrestler Nor ‘Phoenix’ Diana is coming to TJPW on 3rd May and will face Raku in a title match on 5th May. Raku predicts Diana will be sleep deprived from the flight to Japan so she will listen to some Malaysian lullabies as part of her strategy to beat her.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’25”, 16/03/2025 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium 1,212 Fans
1. Yoshiko Hasegawa & Mifu Ashida defeated HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki when Hasegawa pinned Suzuki with the Diving Double Knee Attack (9:42).
2. Kakeru Sekiguchi, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Ivy Steele defeated Kaya Toribami, Kira Summer, Chika Nanase & Uta Takami when Kiryu pinned Nanase with the Spinebuster (10:22).
3. Max The Impaler defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Lariat (5:00).
4. Aja Kong, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara defeated Yuki Aino, Haru Kazashiro & Toga when Uehara submitted Kazashiro with the Banana Pillow (11:22).
5. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Raku defeated Pom Harajuku (c) with the Doctor Yellow (8:04). *Pom Harajuku fails in V2. Raku becomes the 3rd SETUP All Asia Women’s Champion!
6. Special Single Match: Willow Nightingale defeated Miu Watanabe with the Babe With The Power Bomb (10:15).
7. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura defeated Yuki Arai with the Death Valley Bomb (11:49).
8. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) defeated Arisu Endo with the Spring Ring A Bell (14:28). *V2 for Suzume.
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) when Misao pinned Yamashita with the Hypami Returns (21:29). *121000000 fails in V5. Kyoraku Kyomei become the 18th Princess Tag Team Champions!
10. Princess Of Princess Title – STOMPING Presents: Mizuki (c) defeated Rika Tatsumi with the Modified Face Lock (21:14). *V1 for Mizuki.
Ok so maybe love isn’t always the answer. After many years in the making, Rika Tatsumi finally got to wrestle the love of her life Mizuki and was willing to risk it all to win the Princess Of Princess Title. Her gameplan was to target Mizuki’s legs and pick them apart with Dragon Screws, Kneebusters and the Figure 4 Leg Lock. But Mizuki’s resiliance meant she was able to withstand the pain and still use the Diving Foot Stomp to great effect. Tatsumi had another plan and that was to use the Hip Attack to counter the Whirling Candy. She used the Dragon Sleeper to continue wearing her opponent down but when she climbed the top rope, Mizuki followed her and delivered an Avalanche Cutie Special. She used more Foot Stomps to fight off the Dragon Sleeper and soon applied the Face Lock. Tatsumi tried rolling out of it but reached her breaking point when Mizuki modified the hold into a Crossface variant for the submission victory.
Mizuki told the fans to give her a moment after the match so she could talk to Tatsumi. She’s not as nice as Tatsumi thinks she is but she is still glad to know Tatsumi always liked her. Today they got to know each other better which means Mizuki now loves Tatsumi even more. They hugged and Mizuki thanked the fans for spending this special day with Tokyo Joshi Pro. Backstage Mizuki said she had complicated feelings about the match that she didn’t really understand. She was worried Tatsumi would dislike her if she revealed everything about herself. But she still gave it her all because the championship is so important. She doesn’t know if they’ve become close enough to start teaming together or if she is better off keeping a comfortable distance away from Tatsumi again. Tatsumi admitted she thought her love for Mizuki was always one-sided but today there was a moment when their feelings connected. That’s enough to make her happy and have her looking forward to the future. She would love to team up with Mizuki a lot if it is possible.
Success was on the minds of Kyoraku Kyomei when they came face to face against 121000000. They brought their Max Heart Tournament trophies down to the ring with them and encouraged each other to keep shouting in order to win. That was the cue for Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao to launch an ambush but Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh were ready for them and easily fought back. The match went outside where Misao crashed the Hyper Mobile into Yamashita (who then bumped into Mahiro Kiryu). Itoh then knocked Misao off her bike with her microphone. She later gave Nakajima a Death Valley Driver and but Nakajima fired back with a Top Rope Frankensteiner. The focus switched to Yamashita against Misao where a High Kick from Yamashita knocked Misao’s mask off her face! Misao continued to fight with her face fully exposed but still needed Nakajima’s help until Itoh came to Yamashita’s aid. Nakajima was taken out with the Headbutt/High Knee combo. Misao took more strikes but suddenly countered Yamashita’s Attitude Adjustment into the Vanitas! She wore down Yamashita with the Crossface Chickenwing with a 619 from Nakajima added for more damage. Itoh tried to make the save but Nakajima cut her off from the ring apron with the Diving Senton. With the coast clear, Misao gave Yamashita the Hypami Returns and scored the three count!
Backstage Kyoraku Kyomei said they must be dreaming because they finally beat 121000000 to become the new Princess Tag Team Champions! Both Nakajima and Misao have held the title before but they were at very different point of their careers. Nakajima remembers becoming the first champion with Yuka Sakazaki and thinks they lost the belts before they could become the ideal tag team. Today was the ideal match she had in mind so she’s really happy to finally reach it. Misao felt like she was always chasing after Nakajima and 121000000 for all of the hard work they do to grow TJPW. She felt that way even more when she got injured last year. These are two of the oldest teams in TJPW so today felt like Kyoraku Kyomei’s last chance to fight 121000000 for a big prize. The rematch hurt more than the first match two years ago but it was also more fun for them. They now want to defend the titles in unconventional ways.
As for 121000000 it could be time to call it a day. It was Yamashita’s idea for the team to split up if they couldn’t reach ten successful title defences and they didn’t even make it to five. But she does not want to go ahead with it and will continue the team if Itoh wants her to. Itoh cannot imagine teaming with anyone other than Yamashita… but maybe now is the right time for them to separate for a while so they can become stronger. When the timing is right 121000000 will get back together as a much stronger tag team. Yamashita promised she will do her best to get them to reunite some day.
The battle of Daisy Monkey is now scored at Suzume 4 – 0 Arisu Endo. There was a Camel Clutch spot that put the International Princess Champion in danger. Endo was able to spin Suzume into the centre of the ring with the move but Suzume was still able to fight her way towards getting a rope break. Suzume was then able to counter the Mt. Bandai into a Flying Facecrusher and also the Ju no Okite into a small form Ring A Bell for a nearfall. Endo blocked another Ring A Bell and tried to set up the Ju no Okite again but Suzume slipped out and landed an Oscutter style version of her finisher. That version is called the Spring Ring A Bell and it got Suzume the win! Endo said their bond has deepened even more and she still wants the title because somebody she loves has it! Suzume said Daisy Monkey’s dream has come true. She knows many fans want to see Endo win a singles title and so does she. But she doesn’t want to lose her IP Title and showed her determination with that match. She wants to hold onto the belt forever to prove that it suits her best more than anyone else in the world. Next she wants to go defend it in America before taking it across the world.
The next step for Yuki Arai’s wrestling career was to take on Meiko Satomura all by herself. Arai was able to hit the Rookie Award, the Full Nelson Buster and also apply the Scorpion Death Lock. But she couldn’t take it all the way by hitting the Finally. Satomura had that finisher scouted and blocked every attempt. When she was on the offensive she used moves like the Cartwheel Knee Drop, an STF and the Death Valley Bomb on her way to victory. Satomura gave Arai a hug after the match and later talked about being surprised at how good of a fighter Arai is. She has the right mix of technique, feeling and star quality that other wrestlers do not have. Satomura is glad to have fought Arai just before her own retirement and believes she can carry the future of joshi wrestling on her shoulders. Arai said she felt frustrated because this will be her only match with Satomura. She’ll keep what she learned today in her heart to do her best as a pro wrestler. Her goal now is to become strong enough to make everyone believe she can beat Satomura!
Power was finally matched up against power when Miu Watanabe fought against Willow Nightingale. Head Locks turned to Shoulder Tackles which then turned to Power Slams. Watanabe pulled off the Giant Swing and hit some Batting Hammer strikes before putting Nightingale in the Reverse Paradox. Nightingale fought back using an Oklahoma Stampede as well as a top rope Brainbuster. She avoided the Tear Drop and ran the ropes to crash into Watanabe with the Pounce before using the Babe With The Power Bomb to get the win. Backstage Nightingale talked about how she used Wrestle Universe to watch Watanabe grow but it’s still completely different to actually being in the ring with her. She gets why the two of them get compared to each other and the match reminded her why pro wrestling is amazing. Watanabe is disappointed that she lost but she hopes to follow Nightingale back to America. She’ll even go stay at her house if she’s allowed.
The pressure of being in a major championship match can be draining so Raku decided to bring out a futon so she could take a nap in the ring during her entrance. It also has the bonus feature of being used like a cape for when Raku did a diving Loy Thesz Press onto Pom Harajuku. Raku’s constant nap attacks made Harajuku drowsy so she boosted herself with a bottle of Red Bull and grew wings out of her back! Harajuku was fired up until Raku caught her in the Front Neck Lock to squeeze the energy out of her. Harajuku did hit the Pom de Justice in response but couldn’t follow up with the cover right away. Raku was able to get her senses back and won with the Doctor Yellow to become the new SETUP All Asia Women’s Champion! She said she was able to have the most heart-to-heart match with Harajuku and wants to continue walking with her down the same path. Also now that she has a championship she wants to defend it in many places. Harajuku said she was sad to lose the title but became happy for Raku when she was given the belt. She also has wings now so the championship did change Harajuku into becoming a stronger fighter.
A new costume for Wakana Uehara was just the start of her day. She went on to win a 6-Woman Tag Match that also had Aja Kong & Yuki Kamifuku as her partners. Kong was so strong that Haru Kazashiro & Toga needed to work together to get her off her feet by doing a Rock Bottom/Missile Dropkick combo. Yuki Aino softened up Uehara and left it to Kazashiro to finish the job. But Uehara blocked the Fisherman Suplex and caught her opponent in the Banana Pillow to make her submit. Uehara thanked her two partners for teaming with her. Kamifuku pointed out they all wore glitter to connect as a team together. She also asked Kong if she will be available for her homecoming show on 11th May. There is also a cool bar that recently opened up there that she wants to take Kong to. Kong asked if she could challenge Kamifuku for the Queen Of Asia Title but Kamifuku tried to put her off the idea by making it sound like she’ll have to jump through a lot of hoops with her agency to make that happen. Meanwhile Aino gave an encouraging speech to Kazashiro & Toga. They shouldn’t think they are no good anymore just because they lost today. They are only just two years into their career so they should be thinking “I lost today but I will definitely win next time!”
Max The Impaler was too much of an immovable object for Moka Miyamoto to handle. She was able to knock Max down with the Zero Fighter Kick but when she applied the Rashomon, Max powered out of the move and shook her off. There was a Senton for a nearfall and then a Lariat that put Miyamoto down for the count. Max took Miyamoto’s ribbon after the match to take home as their newest trophy. They are matching it with the hair accessory they previously took from HIMAWARI. Miyamoto said she couldn’t find any weaknesses in Max so she will come up with more countermeasures so she can win the next time they fight.
Remember, Mahiro Kiryu is in the blue gear with the one leg exposed while Kakeru Sekiguchi is in the blue gear with the other leg exposed. Got it? Despite that useful piece of information, Uta Takami couldn’t tell them apart. That gave Haruna Neko the chance to attack while Takami was confused. Ivy Steele and Kira Summer were briefly pitted against each other. Kaya Toribami got to lead her team on the offensive and Chika Nanase wanted to score the win. But Neko stopped Nanase with a Neckbreaker Drop, setting Kiryu up to use the Spinebuster for the win. Toribami apologised to Nanase for not helping her enough. But when Takami apologised for mixing up Kiryu & Sekiguchi, Toribami told her she didn’t have to.
The first match of the day saw the “transfer student tag team” of Yoshiko Hasegawa & Mifu Ashida beat HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki. Hasegawa and Suzuki fought back and forth trying to apply the Muffler Hold and the Sleeper Hold respectively. HIMAWARI tried to break it off so Ashida took her out of the ring. That allowed Hasegawa to pin Suzuki with the Diving Double Knee Attack. HIMAWARI said she looked forward to fighting Ashida today because she is a type of wrestlers that didn’t previously exist in TJPW. Ashida called the result a new starting point so she and Hasegawa can get into the habit of winning more often.
Sayuri Namba announced TJPW will be part of a marketing campaign for a collaboration between the sports brand FILA and a Korean women’s clothing brand called OJOS. Mizuki and Maki Itoh have already taken part in photoshoots to be used in upcoming marketing material.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’25”, 16/03/2025 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Yoshiko Hasegawa & Mifu Ashida Vs HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki
2. Kakeru Sekiguchi, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Ivy Steele Vs Kaya Toribami, Kira Summer, Chika Nanase & Uta Takami
3. Max The Impaler Vs Moka Miyamoto
4. Aja Kong, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Yuki Aino, Haru Kazashiro & Toga
5. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Pom Harajuku (c) Vs Raku
6. Special Single Match: Willow Nightingale Vs Miu Watanabe
7. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura Vs Yuki Arai
8. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Arisu Endo
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi
Spring has arrived and with that comes the first big arena show for Tokyo Joshi Pro in 2025. This year TJPW has booked the refurbished Ota Ward Gymnasium as their residency for their three biggest shows in Japan this year: “GRAND PRINCESS ’25” this weekend, “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25” in July and “WRESTLE PRINCESS VI” in September. Let’s stick to the short term because not only is this Sunday’s show pretty important by itself, according to TJPW’s English tweets it will play a big part into deciding the championship matches for their trip to Las Vegas next month. All three TJPW championships are on the line here along with a fourth title from the outside. There’s also a few guests here and there to liven up the undercard as it all builds up to a main event that will be more “Wrestle And Romance” than anything Genichiro Tenryu ever came up with.
The show starts off with the two latest additions to the TJPW roster teaming together. Yoshiko Hasegawa became a regular part of the company last September, sort of filling in the spot on the card left by Nao Kakuta (but not nearly getting as many wins). Her partner here only just joined TJPW at the start of the year catching eyes with her cheerleading entrances. Mifu Ashida hasn’t looked bad in her matches so far but her goal of reaching the top of the company within a year is not going to happen. She’s already been humbled for that so the next step is to see how she will adapt from that.
At the end of last year both HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki had found themselves being overtaken by other wrestlers in their class and needing to catch up. They were both eliminated in the 1st Round of the 2024 Next Generation Tournament. This year they’ve been helping each other turn their fortunes around and it led them to the semi-finals of the Max Heart Tournament. They seem to have a good thing going on and a win here will help their momentum. Getting themselves a team name wouldn’t hurt either.
2. Kakeru Sekiguchi, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Ivy Steele Vs Kaya Toribami, Kira Summer, Chika Nanase & Uta Takami
What can I write about this match when there is not a lot to write about? Has Kakeru Sekiguchi made enough appearances by now for the TJPW roster to tell her apart from Mahiro Kiryu? Surely Haruna Neko will be able to see the difference given that she’s been teaming with Kiryu a lot lately. Ivy Steele has been fitting in and getting matches with a variety of wrestlers up and down the card. Kaya Toribami has usually been on the winning side of the multi-woman tag matches on this level lately. Kira Summer has been the opposite. Chika Nanase exists and Uta Takami added an actually pretty sick looking Cobra Clutch move that she has named the Koala Clutch. So yeah, the result here is going to be a coin flip of a match.
3. Max The Impaler Vs Moka Miyamoto
Well it’s been nice knowing Moka Miyamoto. Her two highlights of 2025 so far are teaming with Yuka Sakazaki on 4th January and getting to wrestle in Chile. The third will be the moment when she attempts the Zero Fighter Kick and bounces off of Max The Impaler like a tennis ball hitting a wall. Most of Max’s appearances in TJPW so far this year was in the Max Heart Tournament where Pompaler made it all the way to the finals before losing. Since then Max has been away from their usual partner rampaging through the company like only they can. Where Max goes from here will be up to them unless the karate skills of Miyamoto can cut The Impaler down to size.
4. Aja Kong, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Yuki Aino, Haru Kazashiro & Toga
Can I get away with calling Aja Kong everyone’s favorite aunt in TJPW because that’s what it feels like whenever she shows up. There are still wrestlers here who want to step up to her and end up getting quite shaken after taking a Back Drop, Diving Elbow Drop or Uraken. But there are also plenty of on the roster who have become reliable partners for her. Yuki Kamifuku is a prime example. She continues to rule over Southeast Asia with the Double Asian Crown in her possession. Every time she gets in the ring she’s the most confident she’s ever been. Wakana Uehara seems to have earned Kong’s respect too going back to their singles match from January 2024.
If the opposing team have anything to their name it’s a lot of guts. Yuki Aino is back to floating aimlessly around the card but when you give her an opportunity to be stubborn in the ring she’ll take it. Haru Kazashiro has improved dramatically over the past year and earned her victory at the Next Generation Tournament. She still has a long way to go but I’m not going to argue anyone calling her the top prospect from TJPW’s new generation. Toga is not that far behind her and there is a good chase to be had with them as both tag team partners and opponents. But they should worry about dealing with Auntie Kong first.
5. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Pom Harajuku (c) Vs Raku
Hands up if you ever thought we’d see the day when Raku and Pom Harajuku are booked in a genuine championship match against each other and not one for a comedy belt. Put it down, I know you’re lying. Alright, alright I take that back. This pair genuinely do have it in them to get an audience emotionally invested in a match like this. Harajuku became one of the most unlikeliest champions in TJPW history when she travelled to Thailand last November and won the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title from Matcha in a No DQ Match! With that success came the champion’s boost that saw Harajuku winning more matches in TJPW and even go on a Max Heart Tournament run that took her all the way to the final. It’s been a wonderful story to follow but it led our champion into a match she didn’t want to happen.
It took Harajuku more than one time to beat Matcha for the SETUP Women’s Title. There was a previous attempt in September 2024 when Harajuku and Matcha fought in a 3 Way Match for the title with Raku as the third person. Matcha pinned Raku to win the match and retain the title that night and the result has stayed in Raku’s thoughts ever since. So when Harajuku brought the championship to Japan and was able to keep hold of it for a few months (not just figuratively because she literally dropped the belt that one time), Raku made the challenge for a title shot. Harajuku refused until Raku explained it’s because she loves her. Let me tell you if I had a nickel for every title match on this show that is built around love, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happening twice.
6. Special Single Match: Willow Nightingale Vs Miu Watanabe
It was this month last year when Miu Watanabe climbed to the top of the TJPW mountain at the 2024 edition of this show. Her run on top lasted for the rest of the year and while it is over for now, she still has some tasty looking matches on the horizon. Like this one for example. TJPW originally wanted to do a Watanabe versus Willow Nightingale match back in the summer of 2022 but visa problems on Nightingale’s end prevented her from travelling to Japan. She eventually got to go on a Japan tour with TJPW later in the year and be in the ring with Watanabe but that singles match still never occured. So what a delight it was last month to see a video from Nightingale announcing she is coming back to finally make the match happen! Smiles are guaranteed and so too will there be power spots galore.
7. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura Vs Yuki Arai
You know, it’s funny. Imagine a world where TJPW somehow exists exactly as it does now but without Miyu Yamashita ever existing. In that alternate universe we probably get Meiko Satomura looking like a ray of sunshine every time she appears because she seems to see the positives in every other wrestler in the company except for Yamashita. Satomura is just be over a month away from her pro wrestling retirement so unless we get an unexpected announcement it looks like Yuki Arai gets the honour of being her last ever opponent ever in a TJPW ring.
The match is the latest in the long line of signs that Arai has TJPW’s full backing behind her. She is also approaching the end of a career soon because she will be graduating from SKE48 at the end of March to put her full effort into pro wrestling. Just being in the ring with Satomura as part of the joshi legend’s retirement road is a vote of confidence in her favour. If she’s giving up her singing career to become the new leader of TJPW she knows she will have to shine bright against the yokozuna of joshi. Maybe she’ll level up so much that she can evolve her Finally finishing move and change it from the Heel Drop into the Scorpio Rising!
8. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Arisu Endo
The fated Daisy Monkey showdown! It’s a dream match Suzume wanted to make a reality from the moment she won the International Princess Title on 4th January. But first she had to get past Jada Stone for her February title defence. Good thing that Arisu Endo thought the same way and approached Suzume right after that match asking to be the next challenger. Suzume has the experience advantage, having beaten Endo in their three previous singles matches against each other. In fact one of those matches opened up “GRAND PRINCESS ’23” two years ago. Back then Suzume was concerned that Endo had caught up with and even surpassed her. Things are a bit different this time around.
While the two are the best of friends, Endo admits this match will be more like a sibling rivalry kicking off. Suzume is like a big sister and Endo wants the IP Title even more because her “big sister” currently has it!
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
When 121000000 won the Princess Tag Team Titles for a second time they quickly agreed on their next goal as champions. If Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh cannot reach 10 successful title defences in a row then their accomplished tag team will split up. We’re now approaching the halfway point of the target. They have retained the belts four times already with successful defences in America and Chile along the way. They also have more overseas bookings coming on the horizon so there is plenty of opportunities ahead for them to reach that goal before we know it. There’s a big wall now standing in their way though. It’s a pair of wrestlers with chips on their shoulders for multiple reasons and 121000000 are partially responsible for it.
Kyoraku Kyomei have been together as a tag team for five years and spent most of that time as the bridesmaids of the tag division. It was a team put together when Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao wanted to cheer people up during the pandemic. When the pairing clicked better than expected, they started aiming for success only to fall short on every occasion. The failure that hurt them the most was in the 2023 Max Heart Tournament final when they lost to, you guessed it, 121000000. That loss in particular has stuck with Nakajima & Misao like a thorn in their hearts filling them with bitterness and resentment. So after they finally won the Max Heart Tournament this year (as the only remaining team to compete in all 5 tournaments), they could not be more fired up to get their rematch with Yamashita & Itoh. The champions welcome the challenge. They don’t even mind being compared to overpowered tournament level Pokémon (Yamashita only understood the reference once she saw that Ogerpon does kind of resemble her). Itoh in particular feeds off of that kind of loathing and jealousy towards other people.
If Kyoraku Kyomei can win the match and finally win the championship together, it could result in a massive change in direction for the Princess Tag Titles. Misao has put forward the idea of taking on brand new challengers in future title defences. She wants to fight teams that Kyoraku Kyomei have never faced before even if it means the challengers end up being pairs of wrestlers who don’t normally team with each other. Potential title matches might even get special rules attached to them because Misao has a habit of doing that for her normal matches. She promised management she won’t do that unless the situation calls for it but knowing her that may as well be every situation! Nakajima will be game for it either way.
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi
It has taken over seven years for this match to finally happen. I’d argue it is even the most protected match in TJPW history given what it means to the two people involved and their feelings towards each other. Let’s start on the surface. The Princess Of Princess Title is on the line. Mizuki is on her second reign as champion after proving that princess beat monsters and this is the first defence lined up for her. She has been the defending champion in Ota Ward before and came out on top so this is not an unusual experience for her. The challenger Rika Tatsumi is a former champion too but her sole Princess Title reign from 2021 was hobbled thanks to circumstances beyond her control. Her title matches were held in front of reduced Korakuen Hall crowds because of the pandemic and the reign met it’s inevitable end at the hands of Yamashita earlier than expected (and inside an empty venue to boot). At least Tatsumi was able to use those three months as champion to develop her personality more and get a little drunk with power like an immortal dragon should. I wouldn’t call it a wasted title run even if it doesn’t stand among the most memorable.
So what makes this matchup so important? Why did it take almost eight years for Mizuki and Tatsumi to have a singles match against each other? There’s more to this main event than just having a championship on the line. It is all about love. Back in 2018 TJPW still enforced the “Forbidden Three” rules to its in-house roster: no alcohol, no smoking and no boyfriends. Mizuki was approaching the end of her first year working with TJPW as a freelancer and in that time was already leaving strong impressions with different members of the roster. For Tatsumi those impressions were aiming straight for her heart. Spurred on by these developing feelings, Tatsumi confronted Sanshiro Takagi on a DDT edition of the ABEMA talk show “The NIGHT” and poked a pretty big hole in one of the Forbidden Three rules. She publicly admitted to having a crush on Mizuki but didn’t know if that is breaking the rule. Does no boyfriends allowed also mean no girlfriends are allowed too? Tatsumi received a lot of support from fans for calling out the outdated rules and from that point forward her crush on Mizuki became one of her biggest character quirks.
Mizuki’s opinion on the matter was usually kept to herself. It wasn’t long after this when Mizuki formed The Magical Sugar Rabbits with Yuka Sakazaki and became wrestling soulmates with her instead. Every once in a while Tatsumi would show her appreciation for Mizuki whether it was by wanting them to work together despite being on opposite teams or by winning a prize and handing it straight over to her as a gift. It was only in the recent buildup to this match that Mizuki revealed she still has posession of the first love letter Tatsumi ever gave her. It shows that she at least understands and appreciates Tatsumi’s feelings towards her. The reason she kept her distance from Tatsumi for all of these years was over concern that Tatsumi would start to dislike her if they ever did become close.
So now we go back to the Princess Title, the one object that can potentially turn this love story into a tragedy. Tatsumi still regrets how short lived her first title reign went. She has worked hard and achieved other accomplishments since then but feels the rewards were never enough for the challenges she had to get through. She thinks she will have to become ruthless like a dragon to become the Princess Champion again even if that means Mizuki will end up hating her. Mizuki is also willing to risk losing this special bond with Tatsumi if it means she will defend the Princess Title she worked so hard to reclaim. She is certain the two of them will shine in the ring together. But a story like this usually ends up with somebody getting their heart broken.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 