DDT Around The World – May 2022

June 1, 2022

I think the plan to do these posts once a month works best. The only part I’m missing now are the DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers getting bookings in other companies around Japan. Stuff like Kazusada Higuchi in NOAH and Suzume in Gatoh Move both happening last weekend for example. I figure the international skew of this blog means I’m better off doing DDT Around The World posts instead of DDT Around Japan. Not enough time in the day for me to dig up where some of the Ganbare☆Pro roster goes to with their outside bookings.

Anyway the AEW excursions for Yuka Sakazaki and Maki Itoh have ended. Both have since tweeted about arriving back in Japan safe and sound. Although Itoh had trouble after losing her phone and credit card. Miyu Yamashita is still in America this week to finish off her schedule. Konosuke Takeshita is gaining more fans every week and has also fallen in love with Cinnabon food, joining in the current craze of wrestlers tweeting about their eating habits while working overseas.

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Videos


DPW “FIRE VOL. 3”, 15/05/2022
Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Adam Brooks


Video starts at 11:32 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 16/05/2022
USB Arena, Elmont, New York, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki & Anna Jay Vs Nyla Rose & Emi Sakura (w/ Vickie Guerrero)


AEW “DYNAMITE ~ WILD CARD WEDNESDAY”, 18/05/2022
Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Hangman Page Vs Konosuke Takeshita


AEW “DYNAMITE ~ WILD CARD WEDNESDAY”, 18/05/2022
Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas, USA

2. Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament – Round 1: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D (w/ Jamie Hayter & Rebel) Vs Maki Itoh


Video starts at 28:10 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 23/05/2022
Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Skye Blue & Yuka Sakazaki Vs Nyla Rose & Emi Sakura (w/ Vickie Guerrero)


Video starts at 16:08 for the match
AEW “DARK”, 28/05/2022
Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Riho, Yuka Sakazaki & Skye Blue Vs Nyla Rose, Diamanté & Emi Sakura (w/ Vickie Guerrero)


PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 3 – NIGHT 1”, 28/05/2022
Roseland Theater, Portland, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Masha Slamovich


PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 3 – NIGHT 2”, 29/05/2022
Roseland Theater, Portland, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Miyu Yamashita


Video starts at 0:10 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 30/05/2022
Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Ryan Nemeth

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Results

AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 11/05/2022 (Aired 16/05/2022)
USB Arena, Elmont, New York, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki & Anna Jay defeated Nyla Rose & Emi Sakura (w/ Vickie Guerrero) when Sakazaki pinned Sakura with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (3:32).

Sakazaki’s position in AEW during May was taking part in a series of tag matches against Nyla Rose & Emi Sakura on the Dark portions of the tapings. In their first meeting, Sakazaki teamed with Anna Jay and got the win by pinning Sakura. However Rose took the loss badly and attacked Sakazaki after the bell.

DPW “FIRE VOL. 3”, 15/05/2022
Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Adam Brooks with the Zahi (8:40).

Takeshita’s visit to Deadlock Pro Wrestling led to an exciting match against the Australian wrestler Adam Brooks. There was one moment in particular when he fired up the crowd and the commentary team by yelling “Let’s fucking go!” He is also taking the time to sharpen his Jumping Knee Strike, using it as a big counter to a Springboard move from Brookes before putting him away with the Zahi.

AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 18/05/2022 (Aired 23/05/2022)
Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Nyla Rose & Emi Sakura (w/ Vickie Guerrero) defeated Skye Blue & Yuka Sakazaki when Rose pinned Blue with the Beast Bomb (6:17).

There was a little bit of a DDT/TJPW takeover on this taping. Sakazaki’s rivalry with Rose & Sakura continued. Skye Blue was her tag partner this time. Unfortunately Blue’s big moment of hitting a Hurricanrana to Rose was ruined when Rose held on, lifted her up and dropped her down with the Beast Bomb to win the match.

AEW “DYNAMITE ~ WILD CARD WEDNESDAY”, 18/05/2022
Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Hangman Page defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Go 2 Sleep (12:14).
2. Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament – Round 1: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D (w/ Jamie Hayter & Rebel) defeated Maki Itoh with the LockJaw (6:44).

Onto Dynamite itself where Takeshita was given his biggest spotlight in AEW so far. He faced Hangman Adam Page, the AEW World Champion in a non-title bout while CM Punk watched on over at the commentary booth. Takeshita lost the match when Page used Punk’s Go 2 Sleep to send his upcoming challenger a message but Takeshita’s performance that night had a lot of people talking highly of him across the board.

Then there was the surprise appearance of Maki Itoh in the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament as the mystery Joker entrant. Everyone was happy to see her, especially Britt Baker who thought Itoh would just lay down for her. Instead Itoh gave her a fight but the result still ended in Baker’s favour. The possibility of Itoh showing up in AEW was tipped off when TJPW tweeted about her having to miss an autograph session a few days earlier (it is not always 100% the reason these things happen but whenever I get to tweet about it there may as well be a massive “HINT HINT” sign pointing at it).

AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 25/05/2022 (Aired 30/05/2022)
Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Ryan Nemeth (w/ Peter Avalon) with the Jumping Knee Strike (5:31).

Hey I was here for this Dynamite show! The opening match of AEW’s week long celebration for their three years in existence was Takeshita beating Ryan Nemeth. Takeshita’s not fully there with the crowd yet. They didn’t recognise his entrance song but once his name showed up on the screen he got a big response. Still with all the praise going his way lately his future in the company can be really bright. It all depends on what plans Tony Khan already has in place. If you’re paying attention you’ll see this past week has shown he often sticks with his plans. But we all know how much of a massive wrestling fan he is. He must have the Masato Tanaka in ECW playbook lying around somewhere next to his Fulham summer transfer plans.

AEW “SPECIAL DARK”, 27/05/2022 (Aired 28/05/2022)
Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Riho, Yuka Sakazaki & Skye Blue defeated Nyla Rose, Diamanté & Emi Sakura (w/ Vickie Guerrero) when Riho pinned Diamanté with the Somato (6:11).

A few days later at the Rampage taping Sakazaki finished off her current run with AEW. She also ended her series against Rose & Sakura with a win thanks to Riho pinning Diamanté. The women’s tag matches on Dark that feature Sakura in them have often been a highlight of the Youtube shows so I recommend watching them.

PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 3 – NIGHT 1”, 28/05/2022
Roseland Theater, Portland, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Masha Slamovich with the Skull Kick (10:33)
2. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) defeated Mia Yim with the Flying Big Head (15:55).
*V3 for Maki Itoh.

While AEW was busy partying in Las Vegas all weekend, Yamashita & Itoh blew the roof off of the Roseland Theater with their matches in Prestige Wrestling. Yamashita defeated Masha Slamovich in a bout where the two smashed each other to bits. Then Itoh got something of an upset victory over Mia Yim in the main event to defend the International Princess Title.

PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 3 – NIGHT 2”, 29/05/2022
Roseland Theater, Portland, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Maki Itoh with the Skull Kick (15:47).

The next night Itoh was headlining the show again and this time Yamashita was across the ring from her. It was a non-title match and Yamashita increased her winning record against her friend with the Skull Kick. At first it looked like the move may have been deflected off of Itoh’s big head but the damage was there. Itoh fell like a tree and got pinned.

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Upcoming Appearances

DPW “NO PRESSURE”, 05/06/2022
Gov. James E. Holshouser Building, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

1. Golden Opportunity Match: Miyuki Takase Vs Miyu Yamashita

Yamashita is still in America for one more booking this weekend. Deadlock Pro is bringing her in for a big match against joshi freelancer Miyuki Takase. That’s the beautiful thing about Japanese wrestlers going on overseas excursions. You can get people who will never get the chance to fight each other in Japan due to industry politics get booked against each other in other countries miles away from all that stuff. The winner of the match will get a future shot at a DPW championship.

WEST COAST PRO “’93 TIL INFINITY”, 10/06/2022
The State Room, South San Francisco, USA

1. Mike Bailey Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Congratulations to Mike Bailey and Veda Scott for getting married in Vegas!

PRESTIGE “THE NEW REALITY”, 18/06/2022
The Glass House, Pomona, USA

1. Lee Moriarty Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Takeshita will get to feel the love from the Prestige crowd that Itoh & Yamashita got.

RCW “MIYUMAMI”, 02/07/2022
Casinet d’Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

No new info yet. RCW on Twitter said they’ve just started selling tickets and more announcements will come soon.

PWG “NINETEEN”, 03/07/2022
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Masha Slamovich
2. PWG World Title: Daniel Garcia (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

It was already known that Takeshita will face Daniel Garcia for the PWG World Title. But the big surprise announced for this show is Yuka Sakazaki. That’s right, Sakazaki is so good she got PWG to finally book a women’s match for the first time in over a decade! Alright, alright, Slamovich deserves some of the praise too. If she ends up becoming a preferred opponent for TJPW wrestlers in America then that’s fine by me.

JCW “THE GREAT AMERICAN BIRTHDAY BASH”, 10/07/2022
Phil Sheridan Building, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X

GCW’s sister promotion Jersey Championship Wrestling is the next landing spot for Takeshita. There are a few other unlikely names announced for the show like Negro Casas, Volador Jr. and Delirious. All suitably crazy opponents for Takeshita in their own way.

GARDEN STATE PRO “WELCOME TO EDEN”, 23/07/2022
The Heart Ballroom, Newark, USA

1. 3 Way Match: Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Josh Alexander

No new info but what more needs to be said about these matches?

SETUP “SETUP EP.8”, 30/07/2022
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. Hoshitango Vs X
2. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X

CDK and Hoshitango will be heading over to SETUP Thailand Pro Wrestling next month.


Video – Haruhi/HARUKAZE Vs Takase/Hayashi

April 21, 2021

GANBARE☆PRO “BAD COMMUNICATION 2021”, 07/04/2021
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
409 Fans

Ganjo Vs Actwres girl’Z Full-Scale Battle: Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs Miyuki Takase & Ayumi Hayashi


GANBARE☆PRO “BAD COMMUNICATION 2021” Results

April 7, 2021

GANBARE☆PRO “BAD COMMUNICATION 2021”, 07/04/2021
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
409 Fans

1. THE HALFEE Vs Fujita Wrestling School Full-Scale Battle: Minoru Fujita & Yasu Urano defeated Shuichiro Katsumura & Shu Sakurai when Urano pinned Sakurai with the Modified GENTARO Clutch (12:57).
2. Ganjo Vs Actwres girl’Z Full-Scale Battle: Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE defeated Miyuki Takase & Ayumi Hayashi when HARUKAZE submitted Hayashi with the Haru Ichiban (12:51).
3. GWC 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Asuka, Hagane Shinno & Shinichiro Tominaga (c) defeated Shigehiro Irie, Yumehito Imanari & Yuna Manase when Tominaga pinned Imanari with the Moonsault Press (13:02).
*V1 for Asuka, Hagane Shinno & Shinichiro Tominaga.
4. Ganpro Vs DDT Full Scale Battle: Keisuke Ishii & Shota defeated Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Ueno when Ishii pinned Katsumata with the Kneel Kick (11:40).
5. The Young General Of Ganpro: Kouki Iwasaki defeated Ikuto Hidaka with the Vertical Drop Reverse DDT (15:29).
6. Daihyo Vs Daihyo ~ Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match: Takashi Sasaki defeated Ken Ohka with a Right Knee through lighttubes (18:48).

Way back when Ken Ohka was a high school student, he was part of the school’s baseball team. In his senior year his coach asked him if he knew what to tell the pitcher whenever they were in a pinch. The answer is “Ganbare! (Go for it!)” Those words stayed with Ohka ever since which is how Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling got its name. He was alone when he started Ganpro but gained many friends, enough that today’s show consisted entirely of matches where Ganpro took on other promotions.

The finale highlight this with Ohka taking on the FREEDOMS head honcho Takashi Sasaki in a Lighttube Death Match. Sasaki had Tomoya Hirata & Dragon Libre in his corner. Ohka purposely wore clothing similar to what he wore on the first Ganpro show eight years ago. Glass was smashed as the two fought. Ohka hit the Flame Spear but only got a two count. He went for another one with lighttubes in his arms but Sasaki smashed the glass with a Middle Kick. Ohka kicked out of a Superplex onto a pile of chairs then kicked out again after Sasaki smashed lighttubes into him with a Buzzsaw Kick. Sasaki finally put Ohka away with a Kamigoye style Right Knee through more lighttubes.

After the match Sasaki explained his history with Ohka to the fans in attendance. When Ohka first came to DDT he was a bad trainee who couldn’t do anything. According to Sasaki, he had to teach Ohka how to wrestle from scratch. This year when Ohka challenged him to a match, he was surprised. For years Sasaki thought Ohka saw him as some scary teacher that he didn’t want to remember. Now that they’ve spilled each other’s blood in a death match, it doesn’t matter if they are master and disciple. They should work hard together from now on. Sasaki told Ohka he has so many friends who support him so he should be grateful for them every day and do his best to repay them. And if Ganpro ever has any problems, Ohka is always welcome to ask Sasaki for help. Ohka said he definitely wanted to beat Sasaki today but his life will continue even though he lost. Ohka will turn 43 years old tomorrow and he will have another child later this year. That’s why he can’t stop Ganpro where it is now. He promises to make Ganpro bigger and one day defeat Takashi Sasaki! Ohka and Sasaki celebrated to “Bad Communication” to close out the show.

Kouki Iwasaki has stopped Ikuto Hidaka! It was a fight Iwasaki originally started so it was up to him to stop it in the rematch. The two almost fought to a double knockout but made it back to their feets for a final faceoff. Hidaka hit the Stray Dog High Kick but Iwasaki kept standing to give him a Back Drop. That momentum switch allowed Iwasaki to finally give Hidaka his first loss in Ganpro with the Vertical Drop Reverse DDT finishing him off. Iwasaki said he was feeling a bit silly because he took way more kicks to the head in the match than he wanted. He wanted to be nice to Hidaka though so he told him “Age is just a number!” He thanked Hidaka for becoming an important part in his pro wrestling life. Hidaka told Iwasaki he doesn’t trust anyone who acts like a good boy when they win. He won today so he should be proud of himself.

Ganpro got a win over DDT when Keisuke Ishii & Shota beat The 37KAMIINA pair of Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Ueno. Katsumata hid a firecracker and pulled it in Ishii’s mouth but it didn’t do much damage. Ishii blocked the ¡Hasta La Vista! and hit the Tiger Suplex then put him away with the Kneel Kick.

The first GWC 6-Man Tag Team Titles defence for the new champions was a successful one. Their challengers went full steam ahead with the pWo presentation. It all went wrong though when Yumehito Imanari was struck with a Double Super Kick from Asuka & Hagane Shinno. The duo then got rid of Shigehiro Irie with a Double Spin Kick before Yuna Manase wiped them out with a Double Lariat. But with the ring cleared, Shinichiro Tominaga took his chance and pinned Imanari with the Moonsault. Backstage Tominaga said relationships are built over time but he wants his trio to become a happy unit together so they can achieve more defences. Asuka & Shinno are looking forward to that. They were all born and raised differently but they will die together! Meanwhile Irie asked Imanari what would Shinjiro Otani say to them right now? According to Imanari, Otani would say “Even if people call you chubby, love your body and keep passing that energy on to others!” Manase said she wants to win a championship with Imanari & Irie so they promised her they will get another chance some day. “pWo for life!”

Ganbare☆Joshi had a good day at the office with a win over an Actwres girl’Z team. HARUKAZE wrestled in new black and white gear that looks a lot like Tifa’s outfit from Final Fantasy VII. She also got the submission win, making Ayumi Hayashi tap out while Moeka Haruhi kept Miyuki Takase at bay.

The show began with Minoru Fujita & Yasu Urano announcing they are hijacking Ganpro on behalf of the Fujita Pro Wrestling School! They proved their bad intentions by attacking THE HALFEE during their musical performance. On thing they didn’t anticipate was THE HALFEE using their numbers advantage because Moeka Haruhi briefly joined in to help her partners out. Shuichiro Katsumura tied up his opponents before tagging in Shu Sakurai to finish the job. It all went pear shaped when Fujita held onto Urano’s leg to stop him from being thrown around. Urano then stole the three count by using a European Side Headlock to roll Sakurai onto his shoulders to be pinned.


Video – Haruhi/HARUKAZE Vs Takase/Hayashi

August 15, 2019

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “GANBARE MONSTER RED 2019”, 10/08/2019
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
152 Fans

Jinjiryu! Ganjo Vs Actwres girl’Z All Round Fight Round 3: Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs Miyuki Takase & Ayumi Hayashi