Happy new year! I’m currently in Japan while this is being posted and there’s barely anything to talk about this month, so the article is all nice and easy to write up this time! Konosuke Takeshita’s adventures in the Continental Classic will be posted as a separate article. Yuka Sakazaki’s sole match in December actually happened last month and I didn’t notice (I bet many of you didn’t notice either). Tokyo Joshi Pro had a successful debut in Thailand which again has already been written about and details have emerged about their return to Texas next year. There is an update for Tokio in Mexico as he risked his identity in a mask match for the very first time and lost it all. With a new year coming up in we have Miyu Yamashita’s visit to England next March for what is going to be an eventful week for EVE, a unusual part of the wrestling scene coming to Japan with Chris Brookes along for the ride.
Eat, laugh, and shop! Miu, Raku, Kamifuku, Kira and Ashida take a leisurely food tour of Kuala Lumpur on their day off.
———————————————————————–
Results
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 26/11/2025 (Aired 04/12/2025) Fishers Event Center, Fishers, Indiana, USA
1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Semi Final: Billie Starkz defeated Yuka Sakazaki with a Rope Assisted School Boy (10:43).
I’m confused because it turns out this match was actually already recorded last month but I couldn’t find any reference of it on the show spoilers online back then. That’s on me for not doing a good enough job looking for them and I’m not going back to rewrite last month’s article. Anyway, Sakazaki was knocked out of the ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament by Billie Starkz in a match that was more of a grindfest compared to what we would be used to seeing from both women. It had a real flat finish too with the two striking back and forth until Sakazaki bounced off the ropes and fell into a School Boy where Starkz used the ropes for leverage for the three count. All of Sakazaki’s allowed rope breaks were used up by that point so it was all fair for Starkz to give herself the extra leverage and win off of it. Starkz would go on to lose the final against Deonna Purrazzo at the PPV.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN BANGKOK”, 13/12/2025 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand 327 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Yuki Kamifuku defeated Uta Takami with the Famouser (7:57).
2. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Yuki Arai & Shino Suzuki when Suzume pinned Suzuki with the Ring A Bell (11:08).
3. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated Alexis Lee with the Diving Senton (9:05). *V6 for Shoko Nakajima.
4. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami (c) defeated Raku & Pom Harajuku when Yamashita pinned Raku with the Skull Kick (14:27). *V1 for Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami.
5. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) defeated Matcha with the Spinning Tear Drop (17:47). *V3 for Miu Watanabe.
ARENA PEPE CISNEROS “VOLUMEN 1 – 13 ANIVERSARIO LUCTUOSO DE PEPE CISNEROS”, 28/12/2025 Arena Pepe Cisneros, Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico
1. Máscara Vs Máscara: Ratzinger defeated Tokio with a Crushed Rolling Cradle (?:??).
Our suspicions have been confirmed. The Japanese luchador Tokio who had suddenly appeared in Mexico earlier this year has been unmasked and revealed to be Keigo Nakamura! He wagered his mask against the one belonging to a luchador named Ratzinger just days before the year came to an end. A duel of back and forth cradles led to the finish with Ratzinger blocking a Rolling Prawn Hold and pressing himself down on top of Tokyo to pin him for the three count. Tokio allowed Ratzinger to remove the mask off his head and show his face to the crowd. Is this the end of his days in Mexico or will he continue to wrestle there unmasked for a while longer?
———————————————————————–
Upcoming Appearances
EVE “WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY #IWD2026”, 06/03/2026 Big Penny Social, London, England
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
It seemed the folks over at EVE made a little slip up on their website at the start of the month by prematurely announcing that Yamashita will be going there in March. Or was it a slip up after all? Well, yes it was but the bigger news was yet to come.
EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM VIII”, 08/03/2026 Indigo At The O2, London, England
1. Jamie Hayter Vs Miyu Yamashita
Yamashita’s above appearance was booked for EVE’s regular monthly show in London and that just so happens to take place two days before EVE holds “WRESTLE QUEENDOM VIII”, one of their most ambitious events ever. It didn’t take long for her to have plans made for the big show itself because Jamie Hayter from AEW has challenged her to a match!
PPW “HARDCORE FRIDAY THE 13TH”, 13/03/2026 TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi
1. Chris Brookes Vs Gabriel Queen
A Polish hardcore wrestling promotion named PpW Ewenement Wrestling is going to hold a show in Japan for the very first time with some help from Big Japan next March. One of their stars Gabriel Queen threw out a challenge for the show and is getting a match against Chris Brookes!
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW TEXAS STAMPEDE”, 17/03/2026 – 22/03/2026 Austin/Dallas/Houston, Texas, USA
TJPW returns to Texas next March with a bang! They will host a tour across the state containing four shows within a 6 day period. Two days will be spent in Austin for the South By Southwest festival, one day will be in Dallas and another day will be in Houston. That’s the only information we have for now, more will be revealed soon.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW YEAR-END PARTY 2025”, 27/12/2025 Shinjuku FACE 429 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Yuki Aino defeated Chika Nanase with the Full Nelson Of Love And Flame (8:06).
2. Suzume defeated Uta Takami with the Ring A Bell (8:37).
3. Haru Kazashiro defeated Wakana Uehara with the Fisherman Suplex (7:38).
4. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Rika Tatsumi & Toga defeated Kakeru Sekiguchi & Mahiro Kiryu (c) when Tatsumi submitted Kiryu with the White Dragon Sleeper (10:55). *Rika Tatsumi becomes the 1,791st champion.
5. I Hope Next Year Will Be Filled With Many Happy And Fun Events! Princess Rumble 2025: Mizuki defeated Mifu Ashida with the Cutie Special (35:20). Order Of Elimination: HIMAWARI, Kaya Toribami, Kuishinbo Kamen, Hyper Misao, Ram Kaichow, Miyu Yamashita, Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Kamifuku, Kira Summer, Pom Harajuku, Shino Suzuki, Yuki Arai, Max The Impaler, Miu Watanabe, Arisu Endo, Raku, Mifu Ashida.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Old Maid: Kakeru Sekiguchi defeated Rika Tatsumi (c) and Mahiro Kiryu (2:20). *Kakeru Sekiguchi becomes the 1,792nd champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Mahiro Kiryu defeated Kakeru Sekiguchi (c) with a Banana Peel Pin (13:10 pm). *Mahiro Kiryu becomes the 1,793rd champion.
The final Tokyo Joshi Pro show of 2025 brought along the return of the Princess Rumble for its second edition. Last year’s winner Miu Watanabe couldn’t achieve the repeat thanks to Mizuki, Arisu Endo and Mifu Ashida all piling on top of her for the pinfall elimination. Ashida also used her pompoms to lure Max The Impaler into their elimination. Ram Kaichow, Ryo Mizunami and Kuishinbo Kamen all took part as the guest entrants but the finish came down to Mizuki pinning Ashida with the Cutie Special to win the whole thing. After the match Mizuki thanked the fans for supporting TJPW all year long because 2026 will be here in the blink of an eye. She invited the roster out to the ring and they all promised to give everyone wrestling that will make them look forward to tomorrow. Miyu Yamashita then led everyone in a ippon-jime clap to close out the show.
The last preview for the Princess Tag Team Titles match ended in favour of the challengers. Haru Kazashiro defeated Wakana Uehara, narrowly avoiding the Banana Pillow to instead pin her opponent with the Fisherman Suplex. Kazashiro brought up their last singles match against each other which was during last November’s Next Generation Tournament ’24. She’s now won two warm up matches in a row and wants to put all of this momentum into the tag titles match on 4th January. Uehara took the loss in her stride. Being a champion has made her stronger so she won’t be crying after losing matches anymore. The 4th January show is the first match of the year for everyone in TJPW so she really wants Ober Eats to successfully defend the belts against Shunrai Rekka!! Prism Greed next week.
The year ended with some Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title shenanigans going on throughout the show as well. Rika Tatsumi submitted the champion Mahiro Kiryu in a tag match to win the belt, then kicked away her tag partner Toga in an act of paranoia. Kiryu and Kakeru Sekiguchi later went looking for Tatsumi, chasing her into a locker room where HIMAWARI was alone eating a banana. They kicked her out and threw away the banana peel while Tatsumi suggested they play a card game of Old Maid to determine who should be champion. Sekiguchi won the game to become the new champ only to slip on the nearby banana peel while walking away and knock herself out. Kiryu quickly pinned her to become the Iron Man Champion again.
Four more teams were announced to take part in next Spring’s Max Heart Tournament. They are Kyoraku Kyomei, Bumping gRitters, Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami and Yuki Arai & Mifu Ashida.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SE-NO, MERRY CHRISTMAS! 2025”, 21/12/2025 Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe 327 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Chika Nanase defeated Uta Takami with the Inari Torii Aratame (6:55).
2. Raku defeated Kira Summer with the Doctor Yellow (5:04).
3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Mahiro Kiryu (c) defeated Shino Suzuki with the Spinebuster (4:20). *V? for Mahiro Kiryu.
4. Kaya Toribami Vs Toga ended in a Time Limit Draw (7:00).
5. Hyper Misao defeated Ren Konatsu with the Chickenwing Face Lock (5:25).
6. Shoko Nakajima defeated Mifu Ashida with the Northern Lights Suplex (5:44).
7. Arisu Endo defeated Pom Harajuku with the Camel Clutch (6:10).
8. Mizuki Vs Rika Tatsumi ended in a Time Limit Draw (7:00).
9. Miyu Yamashita defeated Yuki Arai with the Skull Kick (1:05).
10. Suzume, Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro defeated Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara when Aino pinned Kamifuku after the Updraft!! Overdrive (15:29).
As we move ever so closer into the new year, some of the challengers are building up momentum chasing after the champions. Suzume flew out of the ring and took Miu Watanabe along for the ride with a Flying Facecrusher to the floor below. With them both out of the picture, Shunrai Rekka!! Prism Greed got the better of Ober Eats and used a brand new double team finisher to win the match. Yuki Aino set Yuki Kamifuku into the Venus DDT position and Haru Kazashiro picked up Kamifuku by the legs. The two then lifted Kamifuku up above their heads before dropping her back down to the mat. This elevated Venus DDT was later named the Updraft!! Overdrive and it proved to be an effective weapon on one of the champs. Suzume praised the power of her team today but is not confident the result means she is good enough to beat Watanabe by herself. However she did get to show Watanabe a different side to her today that Watanabe certainly didn’t expect. Kazashiro noted that she has a singles match with Wakana Uehara next week. It will be their last prelim bout before Ittenyon. Watanabe felt like she was stung by Suzume, which probably explains why she is currently feeling a bad itch in her left arm. Ober Eats are also warning they will teach Prism Greed the dangers of going viral.
The nine singles matches on the show were all booked via lottery and had a seven minute time limit applied to them. The final match of the series barely went over one minute. Yuki Arai wanted to get on the attack early and even got a few Big Boots in on Miyu Yamashita but a High Kick completely knocked her for a loop. Yamashita hit another High Kick to make her stumble more before landing the Skull Kick to win in just 65 seconds. Yamashita said Arai still has a long way to go but she is excited to see what she will learn from today and do next from here on out. Arai said she is so shocked from the way she lost that she can’t even cry. She will now go take a look at herself to figure out what is the next best step forward she can take.
Mizuki played around with Rika Tatsumi’s feelings for her both before and after the match. Before the match began they shook hands only for Mizuki to kick Tatsumi in the stomach. Then after the match ended in a time limit draw, Mizuki shook Tatsumi’s hand once more only to kick her again.
Christmas was in the air for Pom Harajuku’s match. She brought down a sack full of treats along with a costume for Arisu Endo to wear. She then encouraged Endo to sit on a cart at ringside and Harajuku proceeded to push her around the venue until she tipped the cart over with Endo still on it (in the same spot where Shoko Nakajima tripped and fell over during her entrance). She then tried to trap Endo in the sack and tie her up in a ribbon. Endo got Uta Takami to free her from the trap and she proceeded to beat Harajuku with the Camel Clutch.
Hyper Misao accused Ren Konatsu of cheating in all of her matches because she colludes with the toy sheep she keeps attached to her outfit! Misao grabbed the toy and pretended to speak as it, admitting to the cheating! She then attacked Konatsu to start the match and continued to carry around the toy as it went on, only dropping it when Konatsu put her in a Sleeper Hold. Misao grabbed the toy again after she put Konatsu in the Chickenwing Face Lock and that somehow became Konatsu’s breaking point to submit. She at least got to grab her toy back after the match.
Shoko Nakajima had an entrance she would rather forget. First she tripped and fell over one of the floor mats on the way to the ring. Then her second Chika Nanase realised she was standing at the wrong corner and had to run over to the opposite side where Nakajima was. Nakajima took her frustrations out on Nanase at ringside while Mifu Ashida was making her own entrance.
The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title had a more quiet appearance than usual on this show. Mahiro Kiryu is currently the champion after she drank the previous champ, a bottle of Ocha tea, shortly after the OCHA NORMA show had finished. Here she was able to beat Shino Suzuki cleanly in a normal title defence, which isn’t normal at all when it comes to this championship.
Raku gave Kira Summer a sleeping mask to wear so she would take a nap in the ring. She then left a Christmas present next to Summer and left the ring before calling to wake her up. Summer saw the gift and tried to look inside it when Raku snuck in from behind and rolled her up for a nearfall.
The opener was a rematch of this year’s Next Generation Tournament final. Due to the double elimination rule that took place during it, Uta Takami and Chika Nanase traded a win each and it resulted in Takami becoming the tournament champion. In what could be seen as a rubber match, Nanase was able to make Takami submit to the elevated version of the Inari Torii with just seconds to go before the time limit could expire.
The first four teams entering next year’s Max Heart Tournament were announced. They are Ober Eats, Daydream, Daisy Monkey and Shunrai Rekka!! Prism Greed. The tournament will have twelve teams in total competing next year.
DDT “RING FINALE 2025 ~EVERYONE IS THE STAR OF THE CURTAIN CALL~”, 21/12/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: Soma Takao, Yuni & Kazuma Sumi Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Daichi Sato & Rukiya
1. Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani, Demus & Ilusion Vs Toru Owashi, Danshoku Dieno, Super Sasadango Machine & Kazuki Hirata
2. 3 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Shinya Aoki, Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida Vs Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Hinata Kasai
3. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Akito Vs Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku
4. Special Tag Match: Yuji Nagata & Sanshiro Takagi Vs HARASHIMA & Kaisei Takechi
5. DDT Extreme Title – Finish It Now!! If You Don’t Finish It Now, To-y Loses!!: To-y (c) Vs Yasu Urano
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & KANON (c) (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Jun Masaoka & Gaia Hox
7. KO-D Openweight Title – AXSEED Presents: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Takeshi Masada
The stipulation for the next DDT Extreme Title match was decided over a bizarre online game of Rock Paper Scissors. To-y and Yasu Urano had to post videos of their choices at the same time but they kept ending in ties until Urano finally got the win. He came up with rules that every two minutes a different move will be revealed and the wrestlers need to win the match using that move. The moves will be selected by fan suggestions on Twitter. Countouts and disqualifications still apply and if the match ends in a draw, Urano will officially become the Extreme Champion.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SE-NO, MERRY CHRISTMAS! 2025”, 21/12/2025 Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe
1. Kaya Toribami Vs Toga
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs Yuki Arai
3. Uta Takami Vs Chika Nanase
4. Arisu Endo Vs Pom Harajuku
5. Kira Summer Vs Raku
6. Mizuki Vs Rika Tatsumi
7. Hyper Misao Vs Ren Konatsu
8. Mifu Ashida Vs Shoko Nakajima
9. Mahiro Kiryu Vs Shino Suzuki
10. Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Suzume, Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro
The lottery for the singles matches were held this week with Marika Tani drawing all of the names under Rise Shirai’s supervision. The first nine names were all drawn on one side of the card and the remaining nine were picked to be their opponents. Some of the big pairings to look forward to include Mizuki Vs Rika Tatsumi and Miyu Yamashita Vs Yuki Arai. All of the singles matches on the show will have a 7 minute time limit.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW YEAR-END PARTY 2025”, 27/12/2025 Shinjuku FACE
1. Suzume Vs Ren Konatsu
2. Wakana Uehara Vs Haru Kazashiro
3. Yuki Aino Vs Chika Nanase
4. Rika Tatsumi & Toga Vs Kakeru Sekiguchi & Mahiro Kiryu
5. Princess Rumble 2025: Miu Watanabe Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Arisu Endo Vs Shoko Nakajima Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Kaya Toribami Vs Mizuki Vs Yuki Arai Vs Hyper Misao Vs Raku Vs Pom Harajuku Vs HIMAWARI Vs Shino Suzuki Vs Mifu Ashida Vs Kira Summer Vs Uta Takami Vs Max The Impaler Vs Ram Kaichow Vs X Vs X
The final Tokyo Joshi Pro of the year will feature the second annual Princess Rumble. 20 competitors will take part including Ram Kaichow as one of the guests. Two mystery wrestlers are part of the lineup but if it’s like last year at least one of them will be revealed before then.
“Twin Magic” might be on the cards with Kakeru Sekiguchi coming back for the show and teaming with Mahiro Kiryu again.
DDT “DDT NEW YEAR FAN APPRECIATION DAY! 2026”, 12/01/2026 Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX
1. Mascara Contra Cabellera: Daisuke Sasaki & Demus Vs Sumicaras & Yunicaras
2. Yuki Ueno Produce Match: To-y & Invisible Man To-y Vs Kazuki Hirata & Invisible Kazuki Hirata
3. Old Hard Hit Rules ~ Double Bout: Yuki Ueno & HARASHIMA Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuya Koroku
Creative matches galore for the fan appreciation show in January. Classic Hard Hit rules will be in effect for a tag match, invisible wrestlers will show up and Sumicaras puts his valuable “mask” on the line along with his new tag team partner Yunicaras. Can the two of them take the hair of both Daisuke Sasaki & Demus?
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN BANGKOK”, 13/12/2025 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand 327 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Yuki Kamifuku defeated Uta Takami with the Famouser (7:57).
2. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Yuki Arai & Shino Suzuki when Suzume pinned Suzuki with the Ring A Bell (11:08).
3. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated Alexis Lee with the Diving Senton (9:05). *V6 for Shoko Nakajima.
4. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami (c) defeated Raku & Pom Harajuku when Yamashita pinned Raku with the Skull Kick (14:27). *V1 for Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami.
5. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) defeated Matcha with the Spinning Tear Drop (17:47). *V3 for Miu Watanabe.
The last few years of Tokyo Joshi Pro and SETUP working together has all led to this, the first TJPW show to be held in Thailand! Such an important show needed an important match so Match, the current SETUP All Asia Women’s Champion challenged Miu Watanabe for the Princess Of Princess Title. The hometown challenger winning would lead to severe consequences for 4th January and rob that show of a main event title match but Watanabe took the match and won through in the end. A late pin after the Saito Suplex gave Watanabe enough recovery time to kick out. She was then able to block another Saito Suplex, hit Matcha with the Laserbeam strike and finish her off with the Spinning Tear Drop. She told Matcha after the match she is glad they got to show each other their love for pro wrestling in a place that Matcha holds so dear. While Matcha couldn’t win the title, she thinks today was a huge victory for the Thailand wrestling scene because this was the first all-women wrestling show to take place in Southeast Asia.
The connections between TJPW and SETUP also runs deep because a TJPW team currently hold one of SETUP’s championships. Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami were here to defend the IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles and their opponents were two TJPW wrestlers who have already made their mark in SETUP by being champions there in the past. Raku & Pom Harajuku got the jump on the champions at the start by using Raku’s nap trick, then Raku tried to suffocate Toribami with a pillow while Yamashita chased Harauku around ringside. Harajuku armed herself with boxing gloves so she could punch Yamashita but ended up bumping into Raku when they missed some attacks. Toribami knocked Harajuku away with a Shining Enzuigiri while Yamashita set Raku with the Skull Kick for the succesful defence. Toribami was thrilled because this was her first time defending a championship while Yamashita was relieved because she couldn’t predict what Raku & Harajuku would get up to. It’s complicated because on the one hand she doesn’t want to have another title match against them but on the other she thinks they should have a rematch back in Japan. Harajuku is disappointed because if her team won, she wanted to take the black title belt and Raku would get the red one.
The MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title was also defended on this show when Shoko Nakajima put the belt on the line against a regular name around these parts Alexis Lee. When it was clear that Nakajima had the upper hand in ability, Lee resorted to cheating. The referee Shivam was accidentally taken out by Nakajima’s Rider Kick and when Lee gave her the Sister Abigal, nobody was around to count it. Lee then grabbed the belt and hit Nakajima with it before hitting her No Lee Way finisher but Shivam’s slow recovery gave Nakajima enough breathing room to kick out at two. Nakajima then avoided the Sister Abigail to hit Lee with the 619 then followed it up with the Double Arm DDT and Diving Senton for the victory. Nakajima said she now has the right to go and wrestle in Lee’s home country of Singapore so next time they can go fight over there.
Shino Suzuki led the way in Match #2 by giving everyone else in the match a “tour” of Bangkok in the ring. She & Yuki Arai worked together to wear down Suzume but Arisu Endo was there to save her tag partner. Daisy Monkey then went ahead on the attack with Endo taking care of Arai so Suzume could pin Suzuki with the Ring A Bell.
The height difference of Yuki Kamifuku and Uta Takami was shown throughout the opening match. Kamifuku kept using Big Boots and other moves that relied on her long legs. Takami worked hard to try and avoid the Famouser but her own Koala Clutch was blocked so Kamifuku could win with her finisher anyway.
The show began with a performance from all four members of The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling). Also earlier in the day there was a SETUP show in the venue that featured Watanabe and Matcha signing their contracts for the title match.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW X OCHA NORMA – OCHA PRO☆KORAKUEN”, 07/12/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 910 Fans – No Vacancy
1. HIMAWARI & Haru Kazashiro defeated Arisu Endo & Uta Takami when Kazashiro submitted Takami with the Izayoi (11:01).
2. Ryo Mizunami, Raku & Pom Harajuku defeated Mahiro Kiryu, Shino Suzuki & Chika Nanase when Mizunami pinned Nanase with the Spear (9:31).
3. Ochanor Mask & Kaya Toribami defeated Wakana Uehara & Ren Konatsu when Ochanor pinned Konatsu with La Ochastral Cradle (8:32).
4. OCHA Pro Seikigun Vs Coffee Breakers: Miyu Yamashita, Rika Tatsumi & Mifu Ashida defeated Hyper Misao, Yuki Kamifuku & Kira Summer when Tatsumi pinned Summer with the Missile Hip (11:45).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Mahiro Kiryu defeated Rika Tatsumi (c) by Pinfall (1:17 pm). *Mahiro Kiryu becomes the 1,787th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Natsume Nakayama defeated Mahiro Kiryu (c) after a Choke Hold from Rika Tatsumi (1:18 pm). *Natsume Nakayama becomes the 1,788th champion.
5. Mizuki, Suzume & Yuki Arai defeated Miu Watanabe, Yuki Aino & Toga when Suzume pinned Toga with the Ring A Bell (16:37).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Ocha defeated Natsume Nakayama (c) by Submission (2:44 pm). *Ocha becomes the 1,789th champion.
A crossing of idol worlds took place for Tokyo Joshi Pro’s final Korakuen Hall show for 2025. They collaborated with the group OCHA NORMA for a special one-off show mixing wrestling matches with an idol concert. For the matches, different members of OCHA NORMA would play a role whether it was as a ring announcer, a commentator or simply to cheer on the wrestlers from ringside.
The show did still push forward towards 4th January. The main event had Miu Watanabe and Suzume cross paths again. Watanabe gave Suzume & Mizuki a Double Body Slam followed by the Double Giant Swing. Yuki Arai cut her off from doing the Canadian Backbreaker and Suzume wore her down to the point where she could do a low hanging Ring-A-Bell. Yuki Aino & Toga worked together to double team Suzume but Mizuki came in to give Watanabe the Whirling Candy. Suzume then singled out Toga to hit the Ring-A-Bell and win the match for her team. After the match Suzume said she is happy to see so many people’s love come together here, whether it is for OCHA NORMA or for pro wrestling. She promoted the 4th January show along with her match with Watanabe for the Princess Of Princess Title. Watanabe told Suzume they will meet here in Korakuen on 4th January to clash over what they love.
Tea is a strong concept that follows everything OCHA NORMA does but not everyone in TJPW are into that sort of stuff. There’s a group of wrestlers who think coffee is the superior drink and will fight to prove it! Hyper Misao, Yuki Kamifuku & Kira Summer joined forces to become the Coffee Breakers and promised to paint Korakuen Hall pitch black! They entered to the music from a Japanese coffee commercial then attacked the other team with coffee mugs. Misao also spat coffee into Rika Tatsumi’s face like it was the Poison Mist. However Misao also pulled out a spray can and accidentally blinded Kamifuku when Tatsumi ducked the attack. Tatsumi then sprayed all of the Coffee Breakers. Mifu Ashida threw Misao away with a German Suplex, Miyu Yamashita hit Kamifuku with the Skull Kick and Tatsumi finished off Summer with the Missile Hip.
With Tatsumi victorious the path was now clear for her to achieve her dream. For months now she has been winning and defending the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title just so she can give it as a gift to Natsume Nakayama, her favorite member of OCHA NORMA. After the match Tatsumi invited Nakayama into the ring and laid on the canvas with her eyes closed so she could be pinned. However Mahiro Kiryu entered the ring and pinned Tatsumi to win the title instead! When Tatsumi realised what happened, she got mad and choked Kiryu unconscious. She then invited Nakayama to pin Kiryu but she declined. Tatsumi wouldn’t take no for an answer though and she made Nakayama sit on Kiryu to pin her and become the new champion. Tatsumi’s dream came true and she hopes everyone took lots of cute pictures of them together with the belt.
A special guest from Mexico was booked from the show to make up for Shoko Nakajima being absent due to what was only described as “various circumstances”. Taking her place was Ochanor Mask and she made an odd first impression by deciding to dance instead of shaking her opponents’ hands before the match began. Wakana Uehara & Ren Konatsu didn’t know what to make of the Ocha Libre wrestling style and then things got even more odd when Konatsu accidentally unmasked Ochanor, possibly unveiling that it was really Shoko Nakajima all along! Ochanor tried to keep her face hidden and was still able to pin Konatsu before putting the mask back on in the hopes that no one noticed. Kaya Toribami was happy to win with her new Mexican friend but being a masked wrestler herself, she understands how scary a moment like that can be.
Ryo Mizunami was just as confused as the OCHA NORMA fans in attendance when her match began with Raku & Pom Harajuku taking a nap in the ring, causing their opponents to do the same thing. She woke Raku up and got attacked by her by mistake so the match could go ahead. Mizunami’s team eventually got on the same page and she was able to pin Chika Nanase with the Spear to win.
With a Princess Tag Team Titles shot coming up around the corner, Haru Kazashiro unveiled an upgraded version of her Arm Stretch submission hold. She can now set it up like a Codebreaker and then keep it applied in a way that looks like the Sol Naciente that Masato Yoshino from Dragon Gate used to do. The move that Kazashiro used is now called the Izayoi, which refers to the 16th night of the month that takes place after a full moon… Oh wait, there’s also something here that says it’s a Tokustatsu reference so that’s probably where she got the name from. Anyway, even though Arisu Endo took care of HIMAWARI and left the match up to Uta Takami, Kazashiro turned the tables and used the Izayoi to make Takami give up.
Midway through the show there was a special challenge that pitted TJPW against OCHA NORMA. It was an all out Rock Paper Scissors battle between the two sides. Haru Kazashiro and Pom Harajuku lost their games but Shino Suzuki saved the day for the TJPW team, winning the final game that was worth three points so TJPW ended up beating OCHA NORMA 3-2.
There were three musical performances held throughout the show in between the matches. OCHA NORMA performed for the majority of them but The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) took part in the opening segment. They played two of their own songs along with an OCHA NORMA cover that the actual OCHA NORMA then joined in for at the end.
Nakayama’s reign as the Iron Man champion ended not that long after the show had finished. She was approached by Mahiro Kiryu and Shino Suzuki backstage along with the referee Fumirin. Kiryu convinced Nakayama to give up the championship because Nakayama herself does not want to worry about defending the title. However when she declared she was giving up the title, Fumirin noticed she was holding a bottle of ocha tea next to the belt. Fumirin then decided that Nakayama had given up to the ocha tea which means Ocha is now the champion, not Kiryu!
Normally I put together a hastily written intro for these articles but this month I’m starting with some housekeeping. You may notice that not everything that happened in November related to this series has been included in this post. That is because I will be writing up a separate post about Konosuke Takeshita’s matches in this year’s Continental Classic tournament over in AEW. I really enjoy writing about a DDT wrestler’s journey through a round robin tournament and felt it will be better to chart Takeshita’s C2 run that way instead of mixing it in with everyone else. So at some point at the end of the year you can expect to read about “Konosuke Takeshita’s C2 Adventure”!
Next it’s back to the regular programming. Maki Itoh went to wrestle in America again, Tokyo Joshi Pro made more moves with the Southeast Asian scene, Miyu Yamashita trekked off to Europe and Yuka Sakazaki popped up in Ring Of Honor. With all of that now out of the way it will be a much more quiet end to 2025 than I expected with not much on the horizon for now. There may come a time when I get to pause this series if there are no other bookings to follow outside of Takeshita with AEW, Itoh with GCW and the annual WrestleMania Week of shows. I’ll see if that bridge is worth crossing if I ever get to it.
AEW “SATURDAY TAILGATE BRAWL – FULL GEAR”, 22/11/2025 Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA
1. CMLL World Trios Titles: Mistico, Mascara Dorada & Neon (c) Vs Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero
Match #2 starts at 12:18. Match #4 starts at 41:58. Match #5 starts at 58:52. SETUP/IWA THAILAND “A NEW DAWN”, 14/11/2025 TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi 270 Fans
2. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Bangkok Death Match: Matcha (c) Vs Ram Kaichow Vs Pom Harajuku
4. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Andruew Tang & Jake De Leon (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami Vs Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr.
5. Double Main Event I – Ace Vs Ace: Shivam Vs HARASHIMA
HOG “SUPERCLASH”, 15/11/2025 Suffolk Credit Union Arena, Brentwood, New York, USA
1. Shayna Baszler Vs Maki Itoh
Video starts at 1:48:12. JCW “HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS”, 23/11/2025
The Mecca, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Beastman Body Slam Challenge: Beastman Vs Juni Underwood, Jeffrey John, Emil Jay, Ryan O’Neill, Jimmy Lloyd, Gabby Forza & Maki Itoh
———————————————————————–
Results
GCW “YOU WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND”, 07/11/2025 The Webster, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Kerry Morton with a School Boy (10:11).
The start of Itoh’s GCW tour could have ended very badly for her if it wasn’t for some help from an unlikely ally. Kerry Morton controlled most of the match and acted obnoxious to Itoh throughout it. He even took Itoh’s pizza cutter and threatened to use it against her when Kerry’s father Ricky Morton approached the ring telling him to stop. Kerry pushed his dad away from the ring apron but Ricky pushed him back, right into a School Boy from Itoh that got her the three count.
GCW “MASSACRE IN MAINE”, 08/11/2025 Yarmouth Amvets, Yarmouth, Maine USA
1. KJ Orso defeated Maki Itoh with the Step Up Double Stomp (9:46).
Itoh showed her perseverance in a match with KJ Orso that she almost could have won. Orso resorted to cheap tricks like using the rope to leverage his pin but he was caught by the ref. Itoh took her shot and tried to put Orso in the Itoh Special but he got out of it by raking Itoh’s eyes and then followed it up by hitting the Step Up Double Stomp for the win. Orso wanted to hurt Itoh even worse with a chair attack after the match but Joey Janela came to the rescue and chased Orso off.
GCW “GREEN MOUNTAINS AND ME”, 09/11/2025 Barre Elks Lodge, Barre, Vermont, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Selena Hekate with the Itoh Deluxe (6:03).
This GCW show was being held in Vermont where the local promotion Green Mountain Wrestling got involved with the card. Selena Hekate was Itoh’s opponent, wanting to represent the territory against The Cutest In The World. She ended up getting a Headbutt and DDT for her troubles before Itoh tapped her out with the Itoh Deluxe.
SETUP/IWA THAILAND “A NEW DAWN”, 14/11/2025 TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi 270 Fans
2. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Bangkok Death Match: Matcha (c) defeated Ram Kaichow and Pom Harajuku when Matcha pinned Harajuku with the Saito Suplex (9:52). *V3 for Matcha.
4. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami defeated Andruew Tang & Jake De Leon (c) and Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr. when Toribami pinned Kozo with the Sento Choryu (9:23). *RGT fails in V1. Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami become the 15th IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Champions!
5. Double Main Event I – Ace Vs Ace: HARASHIMA defeated Shivam with the Somato (12:17).
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GOOD LIFE PRESENTS LOVE & PEACE”, 15/11/2025 JioSpace, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. MYPW Sponsored Match: Fienic Rose & ‘Love Warrior’ Syawal defeated Wonder Boy & Miles Karu when Rose pinned Boy with the Atomic Love Bomb (11:35).
2. Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami defeated Marika Kobashi & Kira Summer when Suzuki pinned Summer with a Belly-To-Belly Suplex (9:45).
3. Sanshiro Takagi, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Emman Azman defeated Chris Brookes, Shota & Jack Alexander when Kawamatsu pinned Shota with the Axe Bomber (15:19).
4. Miu Watanabe, Yuki Arai & Raku defeated Yuki Kamifuku, Mifu Ashida & Poppy Shay when Watanabe pinned Ashida with the Tear Drop (11:37).
HOG “SUPERCLASH”, 15/11/2025 Suffolk Credit Union Arena, Brentwood, New York, USA
1. Shayna Baszler defeated Maki Itoh by Referee Stoppage with the Kirifuda Clutch (11:17).
She got choked out but at least Itoh didn’t get her face wrecked by Shayna Baszler. She didn’t take Itoh seriously at first until Itoh got a few slaps to the face on target. Baszler hit her back but dropped her guard for the crocodile tears routine. Once she got back in control, Baszler wrenched Itoh’s arm over and over but then she made the mistake of throwing Itoh head first into the turnbuckle. That fired Itoh up for a comeback, leading to a scramble on the mat as Itoh got Baszler in a Rear Naked Choke instead of the other way around. A falling Head Kick from Baszler backfired as Itoh stumbled into the ropes and from the rebound hit a Kokeshi Headbutt for a nearfall. Itoh then scored big with a Tornado DDT and the Stunner but still couldn’t put Baszler away. Instead grabbed Itoh into a Rear Naked Choke and turned it into the Kirifuda Clutch to squeeze the life out of her until the ref called for the match.
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB – BLACK FRIDAY”, 19/11/2025 (Aired 28/11/2025) Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Round 1: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Serena Deeb with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (10:31).
After all that wait, was it worth it in the end? Eh, maybe. The ROH Pure Wrestling ruleset is still something Sakazaki isn’t purposely taking into consideration for her tournament matches but if there was any opponent to make it a factor, it was Serena Deeb. Except she ended up getting foiled by the very rules she was supposed to excel in. Deeb was the one who used up all of her rope breaks in the match and then she made the big mistake of trying to push Sakazaki around with some disrespectful slaps to the head like she wasn’t worth her time. That made Sakazaki go into mini-terminator mode and hit her back with some big Elbow Strikes. Deeb almost turned things around by blocking the Magical Girl Splash but Sakazaki dropped her with the Magical Merry-Go-Round and got the three count. Deeb actually got her foot on the rope but since she ran out of rope breaks, it couldn’t stop her from getting pinned.
WXW “25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR – DAY 1”, 21/11/2025 Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany
1. Dani Luna defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Luna Landing (16:51).
You don’t usually get to see Yamashita get involved with some deep crowd brawling past the first couple of rows but when an environment like wXw gives you a chance to shake things up, you should take it. Dani Luna got to hit her back just as hard though while the German fans filled the room with their football chants. She even had the Return Crash scouted, turning the move into a bouncing Blue Thunder Bomb off the ropes for a nearfall. Yamashita missed the Skull Kick but held onto Luna with a Sleeper Hold to wear her down. However despite getting a Buzzsaw Kick in, Yamashita was lifted back up onto her opponent’s shoulders and was given the Luna Landing (Fireman’s Sitout Bomb) to give Lina a very impressive victory.
WXW “25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR – DAY 2”, 22/11/2025 Gruenspan, Hamburg, Germany
1. Ahura defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Salamandra (17:17).
Ahura took Yamashita lightly at first, placing her on the top turnbuckle and giving her some words. But Yamashita pushed him back, paint brushed his head and then kicked it to show she should be taken seriously. She continued to kick the hell out of him while Ahura tried to take breaks to stop himself from losing control of the match. Soon Ahura was bleeding from the mouth but he soon took advantage a gave Yamashita a big Power Bomb. She recovered and fought back to set up the Skull Kick but Ahura dodged it to roll out of the ring again. Ahura then dug his thumb into Yamashita’s eye from the ring apron but Yamashita made another comeback to give him the Attitude Adjustment from the second rope. She went for the Crash Rabbit Heat only for Ahura to catch her and Power Bomb her into the ropes so she would bounce right into a big Lariat. He was then able to win by using the Salamandra, which I can best describe as a Fireman’s Carry that twists into a Spinning Emerald Flowsion. Yamashita slapped away Ahura’s offer for a handshake after the match but it was only so she could offer him the handshake instead.
GCW “DREAM ON”, 22/11/2025 American Dream, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Jeffrey John with the I.S.D (5:40).
Unfortunately Itoh’s last GCW match of the month had to be changed. Her original opponent Zayda Steel was unable to make the show so Itoh instead took on “The Babushka Baron” Jeffrey John. He’s called that because he wears a babushka during his matches you see. He gave Itoh a Death Valley Driver but she kicked out of it. He then tried to Superplex her off the top rope but Itoh Headbutted him back down and gave him the I.S.D off the turnbuckles to win the match.
AEW “SATURDAY TAILGATE BRAWL – FULL GEAR”, 22/11/2025 Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA
1. CMLL World Trios Titles: Mistico, Mascara Dorada & Neon (c) defeated Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero when Mistico submitted Hechicero with La Mistica (13:44). *V3 for El Sky Team.
Well this was a mess. Takeshita returned to AEW after finishing up his DDT dates and walked right into a championship match with other members of The Don Callis Family. They were challenging El Sky Team, the reigning CMLL World Trios Titles but were a man down when Kazuchika Okada didn’t show up due to alleged travel issues according to Don Callis. Things turned out better for the challengers when Hechicero attacked Mistico and seemed to have injured his shoulder before the match even began, sending one third of the champions out of the match to get medical attention. Then when Mascara Dorada & Neon were making a comeback, Okada finally arrived in the parking lot and walked out of his sportscar in full gear (…ohhhhh, I get it!) right down to ringside to enter the match. He kept unapologetically getting in Takeshita’s way and purposely gave him the Rainmaker while Mistico made a triumphant return to action. El Sky Team were now a united force while The Don Callis Family were all on opposite pages, allowing Mistico to win by making Hechicero tap out to La Mistica.
REVPRO “LIVE IN COVENTRY”, 23/11/2025 HMV Empire, Coventry, England
1. Kanji defeated Miyu Yamashita (?:??).
Yamashita’s next country to visit was a return to England where she made her Revolution Pro debut. It ended in defeat to Kanji, continuing her growing losing streak on this tour. It’s not a result to be ashamed of though, Kanji is one of the bright prospects in the current United Kingdom scene and RevPro seem to have a solid direction in mind for her heading into 2026.
JCW “HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS”, 23/11/2025 The Mecca, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Beastman Body Slam Challenge: Maki Itoh defeated Beastman with the Body Slam.
Another of Itoh’s big matches planned for the month didn’t go ahead. Queen Aminata was out of action with an injury so Itoh decided to enter Beastman’s Body Slam Challenge instead. After a list of different wrestlers all tried and failed to Body Slam the giant opponent, Itoh looked like she was not going to fare any better. She tried doing a Diving Cross Body to weaken Beastman but was caught in midair and slammed onto the mat. Beastman then climbed the ropes attempting to jump onto Itoh when Thomas Shire ran into the ring to make the save. He knocked Beastman down with a Lariat, giving Itoh the opening to successfully Body Slam her opponent like she was Ahmed Johnson slamming Yokozuna in 1995. Her celebration was immediately cut short when Mad Dog Connelly ran into the ring and Clotheslined her, leading Connolly and Shire to start brawling as their match was next.
WPE/QPW “EPISODE 2”, 28/11/2025 Salle Albert Marquet, La Frette-sur-Seine, France
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Lauriana (?:??).
From one princess to another. Yamashita’s visit to France had her go face to face with “Princess” Lauriana. I couldn’t find much information on how the match went other than Yamashita won.
SAJ “FINAL BOUT 4”, 29/11/2025 Magnete, Via Adriando, Milan, Italy
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Luke Jacobs with the Skull Kick (?:??).
2. Maki Itoh defeated Flamingo with the Itoh Deluxe (?:??).
Did 121000000 become two ships passing by during one night in Milan? The SAJ Wrestling show had both Itoh and Yamashita on the card, making it the first show to have both of them on since Itoh left TJPW. If they had interactions it wasn’t in the ring because Itoh was busy beating up a wrestler named Flamingo.
Yamashita on the other hand had a big change in plans. Her original opponent JJ Gale was not on the show due to reasons I could not make out from the translation but she was given another British brute of a wrestler to take on instead, Luke Jacobs. She even got to beat him clean! It’s a bit of a funny result because she got to beat the previous PROGRESS World Champion one day before she actually made her PROGRESS debut.
PROGRESS “VENDETTA 3”, 30/11/2025 Electric Ballroom, Camden, London, England
1. Alexxis Falcon defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Off With Her Head (?:??).
Yamashita’s European vacation ended London for her debut in PROGRESS. Things were going mostly well for her against Alexxis Falcon until she took her opponent’s finisher, a Shellshock style Swinging DDT that was given to Yamashita while she was draped on the ropes. She kicked out of it the first time but Falcon was able to pull of the move again, this time getting the win with it.
———————————————————————–
Upcoming Appearances
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 03/12/2025 Fishers Event Center, Fishers, Indiana, USA
1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Semi Final: Billie Starkz Vs Yuka Sakazaki
OK so we’re sprinting into the home stretch for this tournament. Sakazaki meets Billie Starkz in the ring once again with a spot in the grand final on the line. Should Sakazaki win she will be facing either Deonna Purrazzo or Queen Aminata a couple of days later at the ROH PPV. There the ROH Women’s Pure Champion will finally be crowned.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN BANGKOK”, 13/12/2025 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Uta Takami
2. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Yuki Arai & Shino Suzuki
3. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami (c) Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku
4. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Alexis Lee
5. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Matcha
Wait, is this the last upcoming thing I have on the list outside of Takeshita’s C2 schedule? Oh my God I might get to take it easy next month! The girls in TJPW won’t be taking it easy though. Three title matches are on the cards for their Thailand debut along with a few other matches to look forward to.
DDT “BAN’ETSU EAST LINE TRAIN PRO WRESTLING”, 29/11/2025 Ban-etsu East Line Train
There will be a train ride leaving Koriyama Station to the destination Iwaki Station where several street pro wrestling matches will be held. The matches will be announced on the day of the show.
The wrestlers taking part include Yuki Ueno, To-y, MAO, KANON, HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi (replacing Danshoku Dieno who hasn’t been cleared to wrestle), Chris Brookes, Kazuki Hirata, Yukio Naya, Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku and Kazuma Sumi. Several of them will be on the train ride too.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “STEP FORWARD ’25”, 29/11/2025 Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall
1. Toga Vs Chika Nanase
2. Arisu Endo Vs Shino Suzuki
3. Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Uta Takami & Ren Konatsu
4. Mizuki & Mifu Ashida Vs Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro
5. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Yuki Arai & Mahiro Kiryu
6. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Kaya Toribami & Kira Summer
7. Miu Watanabe & Rika Tatsumi Vs Suzume & HIMAWARI
The Princess Of Princess Title match buildup is getting more serious with the big guns now starting to appear. Miu Watanabe & Rika Tatsumi are teaming up as Daydream again for the first time since July to give Suzume a big challenge ahead of the title match. Suzume isn’t teaming with Arisu Endo to reform Daisy Monkey though. Maybe that will happen down the line. Instead she is teaming with HIMAWARI.
Miyu Yamashita won’t be on the show because she is still on her European tour.
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. 26: WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER?”, 02/12/2025 Shinjuku FACE
1. The Great Baka Mecha Wars Volume 2: Mecha MAO Vs Takagi Sanshirobo (w/ Mad Dr. Hige) Vs X
2. BK-G Openweight Title – Mascara Contra Mascara: Mr. Malo (c) Vs Mr. Bueno
It’s been a while since Mecha MAO and Takagi Sanshirobo fought their epic mecha battles in front of everyone. Now a third mecha is entering the fight. The X in the The Great Baka Mecha Wars has been greatly hinted to be something in the form of Minoru Suzuki. The possibility of it brings my memories back to Suzuki’s infamous match with Mecha Mummy at a MUSCLE show where a Gotch-Style Piledriver into a shallow lake caused a massive explosion that destroyed Mecha Mummy while leaving Suzuki with a significant piece of technology embedded in his eye. Imagine thinking we would ever get a follow up to that ending 16 years later?
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW X OCHA NORMA – OCHA PRO☆KORAKUEN”, 07/12/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Arisu Endo & Uta Takami Vs HIMAWARI & Haru Kazashiro
2. Ryo Mizunami, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Mahiro Kiryu, Shino Suzuki & Chika Nanase
3. Ochanor Mask & Kaya Toribami Vs Wakana Uehara & Ren Konatsu
4. OCHA Pro Seikigun Vs Coffee Breakers: Miyu Yamashita, Rika Tatsumi & Mifu Ashida Vs Hyper Misao, Yuki Kamifuku & Kira Summer
5. Miu Watanabe, Yuki Aino & Toga Vs Mizuki, Suzume & Yuki Arai
The full card of the show’s wrestling portion has been decided. Miyu Yamashita, Rika Tatsumi & Mifu Ashida are joining forces as die hard fans of OCHA NORMA to defend the group’s honour against the Coffee Breakers of Hyper Misao, Yuki Kamifuku & Kira Summer.
The two masked women are being paired together as a tag team. Surely Kaya Toribami will find something in common with the newcomer Ochanor Mask.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN BANGKOK”, 13/12/2025 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami (c) Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku
2. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Alexis Lee
3. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Matcha
Two more title matches are added to the Thailand show, one of which clears up a piece of reporting from Fightful’s paywall that ended up being unintentionally sloppy. Their Patreon page reported that MLW are expecting Shoko Nakajima to defend the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title in Asia again in the next coming months. The problem is they reported this just days after she had a title defence in Japan for Tokyo Joshi Pro and they clearly had no idea that had happened, so it came off as both a late slip as well as “No shit, Sherlock.” Now we see that the title defence being talked about is this match against Alexis Lee that is happening at TJPW’s Thailand show but again, Fightful’s never gave any detail like that so their reporting still comes off like nobody over there pays attention to the product (and continues my gripes over MLW news often being just glorified press releases). Considering part of their audience for a time thought Marigold closed down because they hadn’t heard anything about the company from the site since its first Sumo Hall event shows how bad their general Japan coverage is. Even their recent report that many of New Japan’s deals with their wrestlers no longer default to January every year is old news to the die hard fans.
The new IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Champions will hold their first defence of the titles in Thailand. Yamashita & Toribami’s opponents are two wrestlers who have held championships in SETUP before and even fought over it in TJPW. Do Raku & Pom Harajuku have it in them to win more gold in Southeast Asia?
There will also be a small scale SETUP show taking place the same afternoon before this show although I don’t know if anyone from TJPW will be on it.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’26”, 04/01/2026 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao
2. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Suzume
January will see J-Rod come back to TJPW for a second tour. She will be at the 4th January show in Korakuen Hall as well as the 10th January show in Shinjuku FACE.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW INSPIRATION”, 19/11/2025 Shin-Kiba 1st RING 247 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Kaya Toribami defeated Toga with the Sento Choryu (8:29).
2. Rika Tatsumi defeated Gabai Ji-chan with a Reverse Figure 4 Leg Lock (11:31).
3. Mizuki & Yuki Aino defeated Raku & HIMAWARI when Mizuki pinned Raku with the Cutie Special (14:59).
4. Shoko Nakajima & Miyu Yamashita Vs Yuu & Yuki Kamifuku ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
You never forget where you came from. Yuu never forgot where she came from either. It’s been seven years since she graduated from Tokyo Joshi Pro and she hadn’t stepped foot back inside until today. She will be retiring from pro wrestling at the end of the year but before that can happen she just had to come by for one last appearance. For the special match Yuu teamed with Yuki Kamifuku to take on Miyu Yamashita & Shoko Nakajima, two former rivals she has fought with over the Princess Of Princess Title in the past. Yamashita relished the chance to kick her again while Yuu took the blows and threw her around just as hard. Nakajima and Kamifuku weren’t left out of the action either and all four of them were spent when the bell rang for a time limit draw.
After the match Kamifuku got on the microphone to welcome Yuu back to TJPW. She told Yuu how sad she was when Yuu left the promotion but Kamifuku used that as motivation to work harder. Now she is a champion leading the younger generation. She joked that Yuu couldn’t imagine this matchup ending in a draw knowing how often Kamifuku lost her matches back then. She has improved so much that she wants her three seniors to start praising her. As soon as this match was announced, Yamashita was reminded of all the times she and Yuu exchanged blows like crazy. Today was just like that and even though Yamashita’s chest was left red, it felt so good. The red marks will go away but the Chops Yuu gave her will always be in her heart. Nakajima pointed out that she is the same age as Yuu and they share the same birthday. However when it comes to wrestling Nakajima is a little bit older so it makes her sad to see Yuu is retiring before her.
Yuu promised she wasn’t going to cry until she retires but she couldn’t help doing it today because she’s never going to fight with these wrestlers again. She was the first woman to graduate from TJPW but continue wrestling elsewhere. While she didn’t always see eye to eye with Tetsuya Koda, she wanted to take this chance to thank him along with everyone else in the company for giving her a warm send off at the time. She loves pro wrestling and is truly grateful that she’ll be able to retire while still loving it. From next year onwards she will support TJPW as a fan.
When Match #3 began Raku immediately asked Yuki Aino for a hug and offered her an eye mask so they could take a nap in the ring together. Mizuki told Aino not to take the offer but Aino couldn’t resist. Raku quickly rolled her up for a nearfall but Aino kicked out and briefly wrestled while still having the eye mask blocking her sight. She went on to handle HIMAWARI while Mizuki pinned Raku with the Cutie Special.
Rika Tatsumi tried to be polite to Gabai Ji-chan by holding down the bottom ring rope for him to enter the ring but he decided to trip her down with his walking cane. Then as they wrestled, Tatsumi strangled Ji-chan in the corner until he fainted. She got upset thinking he died but he was only playing possum to roll her up for a nearfall. He also did the Old School rope walk by using his cane for assitance. Tatsumi pulled the cane away, causing him to get crotched on the ropes. Ji-chan tried fighting back but his legs kept giving up on him whenever he attempted a Body Slam. He also injured his knee from giving Tatsumi (with her diamond hips) an Atomic Drop. Tatsumi worked the leg but that couldn’t stop Ji-chan from suddenly using Keiji Muto’s moveset from the Dragon Screw to the Shining Wizard to the Ribbreaker. He then went for the Moonsault, landing on his feet when Tatsumi moved out of the way and injuring his knee again. That ended up costing him the match because when he later tried to put on a Figure 4 Leg Lock, Tatsumi turned over to reverse it and he immediately tapped out from the pain.
Fresh off of winning the IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles with Yamashita last week, Kaya Toribami fought Toga in a singles match. She countered the Rock Bottom to roll Toga into position for an Enzuigiri and then once Toga was laid into position, Toribami pinned her with the Sento Choryu.
Chika Nanase worked the show as a ringside attendant but she also joined Rise Shirai for the show opening announcements.
SETUP/IWA THAILAND “A NEW DAWN”, 14/11/2025 TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi 270 Fans
2. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Bangkok Death Match: Matcha (c) defeated Ram Kaichow and Pom Harajuku when Matcha pinned Harajuku with the Saito Suplex (9:52). *V3 for Matcha.
4. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami defeated Andruew Tang & Jake De Leon (c) and Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr. when Toribami pinned Kozo with the Sento Choryu (9:23). *RGT fails in V1. Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami become the 15th IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Champions!
5. Double Main Event I – Ace Vs Ace: HARASHIMA defeated Shivam with the Somato (12:17).
Note: The results and attendance number was given to me by SETUP Thailand Pro Wrestling themselves.
After a long time of planning, SETUP was able to land in Tokyo to hold their very first full show in Japan. Through their working relationships with several wrestlers and promotions (they took over the IWA Japan lineage after Tatsukuni Asano passed away last year, hence IWA Thailand now existing) they put together a card inside TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi and were able to draw in quite a big crowd to it. DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro had some presence on the shows and while I normally would have saved this for the next DDT Around The World article at the end of the month, some timely news coming out of the show means it is best for me to post it now.
DDT was represented in the first of two main events on the show. HARASHIMA was called in to face SETUP’s top wrestler Shivam in an Ace Vs Ace showdown. He was able to keep on his toes by relying on the Somato to cut off Shivam’s momentum. He hit the move out of nowhere after taking a Sit Down Power Bomb and then used it a few more times on route to victory.
TJPW were involved in two matches on the day with high risks leading to mixed results. The good news for TJPW fans is Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami are now champions together! The two of them won the IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles in a 3 Way Tag Match. Fighting them were the defending champions Real Global Threat and pestering nuisance that is the Kappa World Order. Given the environment, things got out of control and it ended up costing RGT their belts. Andruew Tang & Jake De Leon were on track to winning the match when a third Kappa at ringside grabbed and pulled them out of the ring. The TJPW team then took down the kWo, using a combo of the Skull Kick from Yamashita followed by the Sento Choryu from Toribami for the surprise title change.
The other 3 Way with a championship on the line didn’t go as well for Pom Harajuku. She was thrown into a Bangkok Death Match against Matcha and Ram Kaichow with the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title on the line. It was a chance for Harajuku to take the belt from Matcha for a second time in their career but this time things went differently. Some of the Bangkok themed moments in the match included the women playing Kra-dòht yan with a rope until Kaichow snipped it in half with scissors, Harajuku wearing muay thai cosplay and everyone hitting each other with metal trays. Harajuku’s muay thai cosplay dragged Thanomsak Toba into the match where he ended up putting a glove on at ringside and knocked out both Matcha and Harajuku with punches. Matcha was able to recover and used the Saito Suplex to pin Harajuku back inside the ring for a successful title defence.
Now that Matcha got revenge on Harajuku and is gathering momentum on her side, she is now looking towards the distant future. TJPW will be coming to Thailand for their own show on 13th December and Matcha will be a part of it. She wants to get a title match on that show but it won’t be her defending her own championship. She is challenging Miu Watanabe for the Princess Of Princess Title in Bangkok next month!
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 