GANBARE☆PRO “EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE 2024”, 18/05/2024 Shin-Kiba 1st RING 218 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Shota Kawakami Debut Match: Ken Ohka defeated Shota Kawakami with a Crab Hold (6:16).
2. Hartley Jackson, Choun-Shiryu & Yuna Manase defeated Ken Ohka, Banny Oikawa & Gabai Ji-chan when Manase pinned Oikawa with the Suzuki Dynamic (13:16).
3. Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase defeated Ken Ohka & Baliyan Akki when Watase pinned Ohka with a Diving Foot Stomp (17:24).
4. Yumehito Imanari defeated Tyson Maeguchi with a Power Bomb (7:07).
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) defeated Shinichiro Tominaga & Daisuke®️ when Katsumura submitted Tominaga with the Triple Three 3 Lock (9:32). *V6 for GROUND ABSOLUTE.
6. Kitsune World Title: Sayaka Unagi (c) defeated YuuRI with the Dai Gi Deatta (12:19). *V2 for Sayaka Unagi.
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) defeated Kouki Iwasaki with a Jumping High Kick (18:24). *V1 for Keisuke Ishii.
One defence in and Keisuke Ishii is already feeling the pain of being a champion. Kouki Iwasaki was such a tough challenge for him to overcome that he did not want to name the next challenger for the Spirit Of Ganbare World Title afterwards. That caused a line of wrestlers to enter the ring one by one, each making the case for a title shot. Yuna Manase, Ken Ohka, Choun-Shiryu, Baliyan Akki, Daisuke®️ and even Gabai Ji-chan were all there. A decision was made to have a Battle Royal on 2nd June to determine the No. 1 Contender. Ishii considers Akki as the favorite to win but admits the winner could be anyone.
Yesterday Sayaka Unagi got to wrestle Arisa Nakajima in Shin-Kiba 1st RING. It made her realize that in pro wrestling you can never know when the end will come. Under that logic her match with YuuRI today in the same venue could be the last time they ever face each other. There was also a heavy atmosphere in the venue because of an injury that happened in the match before it (more on that later). Unagi praised YuuRI for getting the crowd back into the show with their match and it proves she has grown as a pro wrestler. Unagi used to have multiple championships but now she only has the Kitsune World Title so she wants to keep it no matter what. YuuRI called the match a good experience and she learned there are wrestlers she cannot beat even when she gives it her all. She is devoting all of her free time to wrestling and wants to beat Unagi some day.
Apparently Shinichiro Tominaga got injured during the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles match and went to hospital afterwards to get checked up on. That is according to Shuichiro Katsumura’s post-match comments. Tominaga was there for the entire match and dropped the fall by submitting to Katsumura. Daisuke®️ had moments to shine by himself and landed a No Touch Topé con Hilo onto Tominaga & Takuya Wada out of the ring. After the match GROUND ABSOLUTE asked if there was any team out there stronger than they are? Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase entered the ring and stared down the champions.
Due to a bunch of different circumstances Ken Ohka had to wrestle in the first three matches of the show. He beat the rookie Shota Kawakami in Kawakami’s debut match, took a Double Brainbuster from Hartley Jackson & Manase in Match #2 and was pinned by Watase with a Double Stomp in Match #3.
Kawakami had a goal for his debut match. He wanted to put up a good enough fight that Ohka would need to use the Flame Spear to beat him. That did not happen, Ohka instead tapped him out with a Crab Hold. Kawakami still hopes he can get to that point in the future and told fans to keep an eye on him. Ohka said Kawakami should instead put his focus on winning but praised the rookie for showing more passion than anyone else in the world.
Shu Sakurai appeared during the show with some important announcements. He has gotten married this year and the happy couple are expecting their first child! For the time being Sakurai has decided to fully leave Ganbare☆Pro but that does not mean he has retired from pro wrestling.
There is an update on Munetatsu Nakamura. He has been cleared by his doctor to resume training and is planning to return depending on GanPro’s decision.
DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ 2ND ROUND”, 11/05/2024 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. 3 Way Tag Match: KANON & MJ Paul Vs Yuki Iino & Akito Vs Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Poison Sawada JULIE, HARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno Vs Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi
3. Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata Vs Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura
4. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: Chris Brookes Vs Tetsuya Endo
5. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Sanshiro Takagi
6. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: Shuji Ishikawa Vs Kazusada Higuchi
7. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: To-y Vs MAO
Here’s the match order for King Of DDT Round 2. The match pitting two of The 37KAMIINA against each other gets the main event spot. The semi final pairings will be decided with a lottery held at the end of the show.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 SPRING”, 11/05/2024 Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall
1. 3 Way Match: Yuki Kamifuku Vs Raku Vs Uta Takami
2. Mahiro Kiryu Vs Chika Nanase
3. Rika Tatsumi Vs Shino Suzuki
4. Yuki Aino Vs Pom Harajuku
5. Shoko Nakajima, Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI Vs Maki Itoh, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo
6. Miu Watanabe, Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Mizuki, Moka Miyamoto & Kaya Toribami
A few changes to the undercard because Toga is too unwell to wrestle tomorrow. Yuki Aino is now facing Pom Harajuku. The tag match Harajuku was a part of has been changed into a 3 Way Match.
BASARA “BASARA 248 ~TAKAGARI 24~”, 11/05/2024 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. Masato Kamino & Yasu Urano Vs Chicharito Shoki & Daiju Wakamatsu
2. Minoru Fujita Vs SAGAT
3. FUMA, KUBITO & Jet Bar Vs Lil’ Kraken, Leo Isaka & Takahiro Katori
4. Ryuichi Sekine & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Judomaster
5. Union MAX Title Next Challenger Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Daichi Kazato
More injuries to talk about. Takato Nakano dislocated his left shoulder during training this week so he is now out of action. He also tweeted about dealing with knee pain from time to time. He is hoping to recover from everything so and do his best to come back to the ring in perfect condition. Yasu Urano is moved into his spot in the opener of tomorrow’s BASARA show. Jet Bar (an alter ego of Thanomsak Toba) will be taking Urano’s place in the trios bout later in the show.
DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2024 IN MIYAGI”, 12/05/2024 Miyagi Yume Messe West Building Hall
1. Akito & Yuya Koroku Vs Makoto Oishi & Yukio Naya
2. Danshoku Dieno, Kazusada Higuchi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi
3. Special Single Match: Yoshitatsu Vs MJ Paul
4. Yuki Ueno & To-y Vs Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
5. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs DAMNATION T.A!: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
No way was Yoshitatsu Vs MJ Paul going to be the bloody semi-main event!
DDT “EARLY SUMMER BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 2”, 17/05/2024 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. Chris Brookes Vs Yuya Koroku
2. Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura
3. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Jun Akiyama, Yukio Naya & Makoto Oishi
4. MAO & To-y Vs Toru Owashi & Akito
5. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Yuki Ueno & Kazuki Hirata
6. Danshoku Dieno Birthday Eve Commemorative Match ~ Special 3 Way Match: Takeshi Masada Vs Kazuma Sumi (Special Referee: Danshoku Dieno)
7. DDT Extreme Title: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Antonio Honda
After getting examined, Rukiya’s injury has been diagnosed as a cervical sprain. He will be out of action for a while. The only change to this card is his removal from Danshoku Dieno’s match.
GANBARE☆PRO “EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE 2024”, 18/05/2024 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Shota Kawakami Debut Match: Ken Ohka Vs Shota Kawakami
2. Ken Ohka, Banny Oikawa & Gabai Ji-chan vs Hartley Jackson, Choun-Shiryu & Yuna Manase
3. Ken Ohka & Baliyan Akki Vs Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase
4. Yumehito Imanari Vs Tyson Maeguchi
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Shinichiro Tominaga & Daisuke®️
6. Kitsune World Title: Sayaka Unagi (c) Vs YuuRI
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Kouki Iwasaki
It wasn’t meant to be this way but Ken Ohka is going to wrestle three times on this show! Munetatsu Nakamura pulled out because he is sick and HARUKAZE can’t show up because of a scheduling conflict. Apparently Ohka told management he is willing to work twice and step in to fight either Shigehiro Irie or Mizuki Watase. He didn’t expect to be given a tag match against both of them. He also didn’t expect to be put in a third match either! That right there is a lesson in being careful if you offer to do extra work at your job.
DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 11 ~ YUKINORI MATSUI REFEREE 30TH ANNIVERSARY BOX OFFICE ~ MAKING THE SQUARE WORLD INTERESTING”, 19/05/2024 Osaka City Sumiyoshi Civic Center
1. Future Is Here!: Yuni Vs Ilusion Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Staggered Entry Tag Battle Royal “Surprise! Tag Rumble”: Keisuke Ishii & Akito Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Makoto Oishi Vs Soma Takao & Shota Vs KANON & MJ Paul Vs Yuki Iino & Yuki Ishida Vs Toru Owashi & Black Menso-re Vs X & X
3. An Absolutely Outrageous Tag Match Between The Four Heavenly Kings Of The Variety Team: Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
4. ACF & Koyo Daiichi Consultants Co., Ltd. Presents Mixed Martial Arts Battle: Bushimasa Vs Thanomsak Toba
5. THE Non-Stop Action Battle! ~Three High Speed Crows Vs Naniwa Pro Wrestling Three Musketeers~: Naruki Doi, Shunma Katsumata & Keigo Nakamura Vs Yuto Kikuchi, Harutoki & Kohei Kinoshita
6. Seisho Kogyo Co., Ltd. Presents Battle Between Generations! Legends Vs Next Generation Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Jinsei Shinzaki & Sanshiro Takagi Vs Takeshi Masada, To-y & Yuya Korku
7. Tsuji Dental Clinic & Yasuda Dental Clinic Presents Special 6-Man Tag Match – “20 Years Ago THE OSAKA”: Magnitude Kishiwada, HUB & Kengo Takai Vs Tsubasa, Billy Ken Kid & Shoichi Uchida
8. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~Everyone Is Superhuman!~: HARASHIMA, Yuji Hino & Chris Brookes Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Shigehiro Irie & Yukio Naya
9. PANTASIA Presents Special Tag Match Wrestling Masters Vs Let’s Go 40’s ~With The Bolivian Wind~: Dick Togo & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda
10. Triple Main Event Kagoshima no Dancho Presents Special Single Match Kuishinbo Kamen & Kikutaro & Yukinori Matsui, Everyone’s 30th Anniversary, Add Them To Get 90th Anniversary(!) Commemorative Match ~Laughing Fukuraimon~: Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Kikutaro
11. Triple Main Event Ondo Metal Co., Ltd. Presents Special Tag Match ~DDT PRIDE~: Yuki Ueno & Kazusada Higuchi Vs MAO & Tetsuya Endo
12. Triple Main Event – From All Over The World, Arriving In Osaka. Special Singles Match ~THE ALPHA Vs King Of Pro Wrestling~: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Minoru Suzuki
A disagreement broke out between Bushimasa and Thanomsak Toba over what rules they will use for their match. Toba wanted to use MMA rules but Bushimasa wants the match to be a Tire Boxing fight! They eventually agreed to do one round each of both. Round 1 will be an MMA fight with a 3 minute time limit, submissions allowed and a 10 count for Knockout. Round 2 is Tire Boxing where both fighters keep a foot in the middle of a tire and box each other. Victory is achieved by knocking the opponent out of the tire 3 times or knocking them out with a 5 Count. If there is no winner after both rounds then the fight will be ruled a draw.
Here are the names of each of the tag teams entering the Rumble match. Keisuke Ishii & Akito are “Wakamori Generation!“, Masahiro Takanashi & Makoto Oishi are “Team Sneaky People“, Soma Takao & Shota are ROMANCE DAWN of course, KANON & MJ Paul are “DAMNATION T.A Special Attack Team“, Yuki Iino & Yuki Ishida are “Dosukoi BURNING ~100% Yuki~” and Toru Owashi & Black Menso-re are “El Dorado Brother Combination?“.
Rukiya’s injury removes him from the opening match. The tag bout is now a 3 Way.
DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TAKASHIMAYA VOL. 2”, 01/06/2024 Tokyo Shinjuku Takashimaya 1st Floor JR Exit Special Venue
1. Shinjuku Takashimaya Half Day Promotional Ambassador Contest Staggered Entry Battle Royal: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Yuni Vs Keigo Nakamura Vs Kazuma Sumi Vs Pokotan Vs X
2. HARASHIMA, Kazuasada Higuchi & Soma Takao Vs Chris Brookes, Yukio Naya & Takeshi Masada
3. Yuki Ueno, MAO & To-y Vs Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku
The event will have these three matches spread out across the day with different activities going on in between them. Saki Akai will be there to do a talk show for example.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW PRISM ’24”, 09/06/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Vert Vixen
A video message was sent by Vert Vixen from America to Tokyo Joshi Pro earlier today. She is coming back to Japan this summer and has levelled up to the point where she wants to challenge Miu Watanabe for the Princess Of Princess Title!
Another Wrestlemania has come and gone. I would have posted this article sooner but I was in the middle of my own holiday and didn’t want to spend my vacation time keeping track of what MAO was doing or trying to figure out who was in the Clusterfuck and where in the match did they get eliminated. I eventually did find the time to watch as much as I could. It was a good week of work for everyone involved but I come out of it seeing diminished returns for so many groups that aren’t WWE or GCW. I usually love these weeks because there is too much going on and there’s round the clock stories coming out of it. But we’re reaching the point where there’s less fan interest in the indies and more people seem to be happy giving all of their attention towards WWE and AEW so a lot of these shows are kind of becoming wasted energy that could be refocused towards something else. Too many groups are fighting over the same dwindling audience of eyeballs and that just dilutes everything. GCW’s annual themed shows are also starting to look tired now too.
I am wondering how things will turn out next year and how much of it will depend on the time and place. The Wrestlemania related talk coming out of WWE and TKO this week is they still have not announced next year’s location yet and they may consider holding the event later in the calander to avoid clashing with other major sporting events like the NCAA Final Four or the PGA Masters. Up until now wrestling websites and even other media were pretty much convinced that Minnesota was set to be next year’s host. This week’s news now puts that into doubt and continues the years old running joke that Minnesota always gets considered for Wrestlemania but never gets chosen. Hey, if Las Vegas gets it instead and both DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro are going over again then I will be there for sure!
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Videos
AEW “COLLISION”, 06/04/2024 DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Trish Adora
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Results
AEW “COLLISION”, 03/04/2024 (Aired 06/04/2024) DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Trish Adora with The Magical Girl Splash (8:24).
Oh hey, Yuka Sakazaki finally made it back to America! That was a weird few months of her going missing. Don’t have to worry about that anymore, I guess? Sakazaki’s first AEW match since leaving TJPW was also her first appearance on the Collision TV show. She defeated Trish Adora and the result attracted the attention of Serena Deeb. Since then Deeb put out a challenge to face Sakazaki in a match. It has not been answered yet as of the time of this article being posted.
CIRCLE 6 “NEW FEAR CITY”, 03/04/2024 The Fire, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Chris Brookes & MAO Vs Casanova Valentine & Nate Webb
The first taste of DDT to be found in Philadelphia this week was over at Circle 6. Both MAO and Chris Brookes had barely just arrived in America on separate flights before they found themselves ready to fight a crazy no ring brawl together against Casanova Valentine & Nate Webb. I couldn’t find the result to the match but what I did find out was all four wrestlers sang “Wonderwall” and “Teenage Dirtbag” together for everyone in the audience afterwards.
1. Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos defeated MAO & Mike Bailey when Lykos pinned Bailey after a Blockbuster/Gory Special Combo (16:12).
2. Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title – BMF Battle Royal: Schaff (c) defeated Galeno Del Mal by Ring Out (14:57). Order Of Elimination: Gene Munny, LJ Cleary, Mr. Charles Crowly, Shota, Ricky Knight Jr., Luke Jacobs and Galeno Del Mal. *V? for Schaff.
The first appearance Shota made as a new freelancer was for DEFY, entering a Battle Royal for the Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title. Sadly for him he was eliminated by the champion himself Schaff. Shota tried to give him a Tornado DDT but Schaff’s was too big and strong to be pulled off his feet. Instead Schaff lifted Shota up in a Gorilla Press and threw him out of the ring.
What was perhaps the longest 24 hours of MAO’s life begun here. DEFY was where he had the first of four matches he would have in one day. It started off with MAO and Mike Bailey reuniting as The Moonlight Express for a special tag match against another reunited team in CCK. They did their best but Bailey eventually fell to the barrage of signature moves from Brookes & Kid Lykos, ending with a sick tag move to finish him off.
SHP/LOL “EUPHORIA”, 04/04/2024 Attic Brewing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. MAO defeated Matt Makowski with a German Suplex (10:04).
MAO’s second match of the day was held in a ring under a tent over at the Sean Henderson Presents show. His match against Matt Makowski was non-title but the confused commentary team on stream convinced themselves that the DDT Universal Title was on the line. MAO and Makowski brought the match out of the tent so they could briefly fight on the grass. But it returned to the ring where MAO rolled out of Makowski’s Sleeper Hold and used a German Suplex to pin him for the victory.
DDT “DDT GOES PHILADELPHIA!”, 04/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA 750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos defeated Bryan Keith & Shota when Lykos pinned Shota with the Brainbuster (8:28).
2. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo defeated Andrew “The Giant” Everett with the Burning Star Press (11:33).
3. Chiitan☆ defeated Dan The Dad with a Superplex through a Board (5:27).
4. Special Single Match: Yoshihiko defeated Kazuki Hirata with the Reincarnation (5:30).
5. DDT Universal Title – No Rules Match: MAO (c) Vs Billie Starkz ended in a Draw after a Double Pinfall (10:55).
5a. Rock Paper Scissors: MAO (c) defeated Billie Starkz when Scissors beat Paper. *V7 for MAO.
6. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated Nick Wayne & Takeshi Masada when KANON pinned Masada after the Freedom Call (7:11).
7. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Walls Of Takeshita (9:41).
8. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno defeated Mike Bailey with the WR (18:52).
GCW/JCW “GCW/JCW VS THE WORLD”, 04/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. GCW/JCW Vs The World 14-Man Tag Match: Mike Bailey, Tony Deppen, Calvin Tankman, Marcus Mathers, Charlie Tiger, Terry Yaki & Mr. Danger defeated LJ Cleary, Ricky Knight Jr., Yusaku Ito, Lou Nixon, Ho Ho Lun, Shota & Mizuki Watase when Bailey pinned Watase with the Ultima Weapon (9:54).
2. 4 Way Tag Match: MAO & Yoshihiko defeated Ciclope & Miedo Extremo Vs Robert Dreissker & Norman Harras Vs Man Like DeReiss & Leon Slater when Yoshihiko pinned Harras with the Reincarnation (22:36).
The fourth and final match MAO had on this day was another crazy affair. He joined forces with Yoshihiko to take on three other teams from around the world. Maybe it was random, maybe it was luck or maybe this kind of environment best serves their skills because they were able to stand tall against Los Macizos, the wXw team and Boisterous Behaviour to end the night and finally give MAO some rest.
Before the main event there was a 14-Man Tag Match pitting GCW & JCW against the rest of the world. Shota was part of The World team along with an unexpected appearance by Mizuki Watase! It turns out he made the trip over to Philly too. He said wrestling was not the priority of his visit though. He better have had a good reason because his travelling plans were plagued with delays and other problems according to his tweets during the week. It caused him to miss some wrestling bookings back in Japan too. If all of that wasn’t bad enough, he took the fall by taking a bunch of moves from the opposing team, ending with Bailey’s Ultima Weapon.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN PHILLY”, 05/04/2024 Penn’s Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA 750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Yuki Aino & Zara Zakher when Suzume pinned Zakher with the Twinkle Twinkle (11:01).
2. Billie Starkz defeated Hyper Misao with the Swanton Bomb (5:57).
3. Yuki Kamifuku & Viva Van defeated Raku & Trish Adora when Kamifuku pinned Raku with the Famouser (8:53).
4. Mizuki & Vert Vixen defeated Aja Kong & Pom Harajuku when Mizuki pinned Harajuku with the Cutie Special (10:31).
5. Shoko Nakajima defeated Rhio with the Senton Bomb (13:24).
6. Special Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh defeated Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe when Yamashita pinned Tatsumi with the Skull Kick (19:04).
GCW “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK 8”, 05/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh (w/ Dewey Donovan) defeated Danhausen & Ram Kaichow when Itoh pinned Kaichow and Gage pinned Danhausen with the MDKokeshi (12:56).
The weirdest of first time matchups took place at GCW’s Spring Break show. Maki Death Kill had to fight the facepainted combination of Danhausen & Ram Kaichow. Danhausen quickly cast a curse on Maki Itoh but she fired one back with her middle fingers. Kaichow then brought in a voodoo doll and twisted it to make Itoh’s body contort in a painful manner. Itoh grabbed the doll off Kaichow and attacked her with it to break the spell. Things went south for Maki Death Kill when Kaichow blinded Nick Gage with ectoplasm dust and Dropkicked him through a board in the ring corner. Danhausen then grabbed Gage’s pizza cutter and sliced open Itoh’s forehead with it! Kaichow did the same while Danhausen poured a jar of teeth into Itoh’s mouth. Gage returned out of nowhere to tackle Danhausen through a board. Maki Death Kill then gave their opponents DDTs and hit the MDKokeshi on them together for the victory.
GCW/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GCW VS TJPW”, 06/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA 672 Fans – No Vacancy
1. 3 Way Match: Suzume defeated SAKI and Pom Harajuku when Suzume pinned Harajuku with the Ring A Bell (7:54).
2. Session Moth Martina defeated Raku with the Codebreaker (5:56).
3. Arisu Endo defeated Shazza McKenzie with the Ju no Okite (7:29).
4. Steph De Lander defeated Hyper Misao with the Steph Five onto a bulk of Lipstick Cases (8:10).
5. Dark Sheik defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Diving Leg Drop (7:43).
6. Mizuki defeated Allie Katch with the Cutie Special (7:35).
7. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe defeated Billie Starkz & Janai Kai when Watanabe pinned Kai after the Daydream Eternity (13:27).
8. Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Rina Yamashita, Masha Slamovich & Maki Itoh defeated Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino when Itoh submitted Aino with the Itoh Deluxe (21:01).
1. Clusterfuck Match: Microman defeated Nick Gage by Ring Out (117:52). Order Of Elimination: Jimmy Lloyd, Shota, Bam Sullivan, Lindsay Snow, Rob Shit, Loc, DeVito, Shane Douglas, Justin Credible, Jason Knight, Jeffrey John, Charlie Tiger, Facade, Tony Deppen, Tommy Dreamer, Trevor Outlaw, Frank The Clown, Mike Bailey, Masha Slamovich, Pollo Del Mar, Colin Delaney, Cheech, Midas Black, Jay Lyon, Rob Killjoy, White Mike, Davey Bang, August Matthews, Terry Yaki, Bobby Flaco, Mr. Danger, Aerial Van Go, Tara Zep, Philly Mike, Nate Webb, Emil Jay, Green Phantom, Sexxxy Eddy, Cheeseburger, CPA, Alex Zayne, Marcus Mathers, Dark Sheik, Edith Surreal, Jamie Senegal, Mercedes Martinez, Kaplan, Brandon Kirk, 1 Called Manders, Sawyer Wreck, Kasey Catal, Tank, Monomoth, Sam Stackhouse, Beastman, Viva Van, Grim Reefer, Fuego Del Sol, Cole Radrick, Alec Price, Big Vin, Lance Scaper, Kurt Bale, Man Like DeReiss, American Giant, Silver Potato, Dr. Cube, Double Unicorn Dark, Benny Saint-Hubert, Chiitan☆, Aja Kong, Gringo Loco, Johnny Kashmere, Jordan Oliver, Rina Yamashita, Parrow, Yoshihiko and Nick Gage.
One of the biggest signs that the week has reached the end and it’s time to start going home is whenever GCW holds the Clusterfuck match. The free for all Battle Royal features the most random lineups you will ever see on a wrestling show. Sadly almost the entire DDT and TJPW roster had begun their travels back to Japan by this point but there were still a few entries to keep an eye out for. Shota was the 3rd entrant in the match and got to fight Shane Douglas for a few seconds until he was eliminated by Douglas’ patented Belly To Belly Suplex. Chiitan was one of the biggest surprises, entering the ring while it was filled with other wacky looking fighters in massive costumes. Then right afterwards Aja Kong joined in and destroyed all of those competitors, Chiitan included. The last three wrestlers left in the ring by the end was Gage, Yoshihiko and Microman. Gage attacked Yoshihiko with the pizza cutter before eliminating the doll but at the end, it was Microman who was left standing tall.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024 TOUR IN OSAKA DAY 2”, 07/01/2024 Osaka 176BOX 208 Fans
1. Makoto Oishi defeated Yuni with the Fujiyama Knee Lock (4:41).
2. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata defeated Danshoku Dieno with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (10:42).
3. Special Single Match: Yoshitatsu defeated Takeshi Masada with the This Is WWE (8:47).
4. Jun Akiyama, Toru Owashi & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Mizuki Watase, Yusuke Okada & Ilusion when Sakaguchi pinned Ilusion with the God’s Right Knee (10:46).
5. Special Single Match: Hideki Okatani defeated Akito with the Quetzalcoatl (9:54).
6. Special Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Rukiya defeated HARASHIMA & Kazuma Sumi when Rukiya pinned Sumi with the Proto Bomb (9:56).
7. BURNING Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino defeated Daisuke Sasaki & KANON when Iino pinned KANON with the Spear (12:19).
8. Special Tag Match: Yukio Naya & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Yuki Ueno, & Shunma Katsumata when Naya pinned Katsumata with The World’s Best Back Drop (15:48).
There were a bunch of giant truck tyres in the venue today so of course the wrestlers in the main event wanted to use them as weapons. There was a reason Yukio Naya went along with this. He remembers yesterday when Yuki Ueno said the KO-D Openweight Title does not belong to the strongest but to the most fun and interesting. Well today Naya ended up winning the match by using Ueno’s own fun pro wrestling against him. Ueno flat out disagreed and told Naya he did not understand his point. He should stick to what he wants to do if he wants to become the KO-D Champion.
So far Yuki Iino joining BURNING is working out for both parties. DAMNATION T.A attacked them with chairs early in the match but once it calmed down into a more regular tag match, BURNING won out in the end. Tetsuya Endo said he is glad Iino has joined his group and if this feud between the units is what Daisuke Sasaki wants, they should fight each other more. KANON went crazy over losing the match and swore to get revenge on Iino for beating him.
The Toyonaka Tag Team of Sanshiro Takagi & Rukiya made the most of their home field advantage. Takagi used the Sling Blade on Kazuma Sumi and set the table for Rukiya to get his first pro wrestling victory. Rukiya used the Proto Bomb twice on Sumi to get the win. He said it took him nine months after debuting to finally win a match and he is happy it happened in his hometown.
Toy Kojima got injured yesterday and could not compete today. Akito replaced him for the match against Hideki Okatani. Also Mizuki Watase from Ganbare☆Pro came in to take Akito’s spot in the 6-Man Tag Match.
GANBARE☆PRO “BAD COMMUNICATION 2023”, 27/12/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 603 Fans
1. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Shota & Soma Takao (c) defeated Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie when Shota pinned Ishii with the Gannosuke Clutch (10:00). *V3 for ROMANCE DAWN.
2. Makoto, HARUKAZE & Banny Oikawa defeated Sumire Natsu, YuuRI & Riara when HARUKAZE pinned Riara with the Flame Spear (11:59).
3. Special Single Match: Yoshiko Hasegawa defeated Arisu Endo with the Diving Double Knee Attack (6:50).
4. Yuko Miyamoto defeated Munetatsu Nakamura with the Moonsault Press (10:02).
5. GanPro Vs GLEAT All Out Battle ~ GanPro’s Famous Elimination 10-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Takuya Wada, Mizuki Watase, Shinichiro Tominaga & Tyson Maeguchi defeated Kaz Hayashi, Minoru Tanaka, Takanori Ito, Check Shimatani & Jun Tonsho (20:13).
5a. Kaz Hayashi eliminated Shinichiro Tominaga with the Final Cut (5:17).
5b. Mizuki Watase eliminated Jun Tonsho with the Venetian (10:00).
5c. Takanori Ito eliminated Tyson Maeguchi by Over The Top Rope (11:55).
5d. Yumehito Imanari & Mizuki Watase eliminated Takanori Ito by Over The Top Rope (12:09).
5e. Minoru Tanaka eliminated Mizuki Watase with HEAT Clutch (15:37).
5f. Minoru Tanaka and Takuya Wada eliminated each other by Double Over The Top Rope (17:25).
5g. Yumehito Imanari eliminated Check Shimatani with the Lou Thesz Press (19:36).
5h. Yumehito Imanari eliminated Kaz Hayashi with the Lariat (20:13).
6. Special Single Match: Ken Ohka defeated Kuma Arashi with the Shin Flame Spear (14:03).
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Shuichiro Katsumura defeated Isami Kodaka (c) with a Moonsault Press (19:47). *Isami Kodaka fails in V5. Shuichiro Katsumura becomes the 6th Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Champion!
The year closes on Ganbare☆Pro with a brand new Spirit Of Ganbare Champion! After clearing through most of the GanPro roster in his reign, Isami Kodaka finally fell and made Shuichiro Katsumura the promotion’s new hero. Katsumura went into the match knowing he would have to do something new to beat Kodaka. When different submission holds to the arm couldn’t get the job done, Katsumura climbed the top turnbuckle and did a Moonsault onto Kodaka to beat him! According to the new champion, he used his own form of pro wrestling to defeat Kodaka’s pro wrestling.
Katsumura didn’t want to shake Kodaka’s hand after the match because he’s not going to do that pretend friendship stuff from the Shonen Jump comics Kodaka likes. By taking the SOG Title away from him he also takes away the BASARA wrestler’s “passport” to enter GanPro. The result also means Katsumura is a double champion in GanPro and that should give him some power to make decisions. So as long as he is champion, Kodaka’s passport will be automatically renewed. However Kodaka refused the gesture and dared Katsumura to raise the SOG Title even higher than he did because Kodaka’s Shonen Jump story is not done yet!
When Kodaka left, Katsumura called down the GanPro roster to the ring so they could all finish the show together. Ken Ohka was given the microphone and he praised everyone in GanPro for working so hard. He then challenged Katsumura for the SOG Title because he wanted to strike while the iron is hot! Katsumura agreed to do a title match against Ohka at Itabashi on 4th January. However Ohka then also challenged him for the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles in Osaka on 6th January with HARASHIMA as his partner! Katsumura accepted on behalf of Ground Absolute so GanPro’s 2024 will start off with two title matches in a three day period!
The reason why Ohka wants these title shots as soon as possible is because he is on a wave of momentum after finally beating Kuma Arashi in a grudge match. Arashi had Koji Doi helping with interference at ringside until Shota pulled him away. With no more trouble in his way, Ohka hit Arashi with the Flame Spear followed by the new and improved Shin Flame Spear to get the three count.
Despite the bad blood between them, Ohka thanked Arashi because every awful thing he did to him over the last six months helped Ohka grow as a 46 year old pro wrestler. Arashi didn’t want to speak but Doi stopped him from leaving. DoiKuma fully accepts defeat today but they enjoyed the atmosphere of GanPro fans booing them and cheering for Ohka. This may be the last time DoiKuma are in a GanPro ring so they asked if they could dance to “Bad Communication” with Ohka one last time? Ohka said of course they could! He also told them that everyone who is exposed to GanPro even once will always become a GanPro fan. The three of them then celebrated while “Bad Communication” played.
The good times for GanPro could be found even further down the card because the home team were victorious against GLEAT in the 10-Man Elimination Match! GLEAT dealt the first blow when Kaz Hayashi pinned Shinichiro Tominaga but Mizuki Watase evened the score by taking out Jun Tonsho. GLEAT went ahead again thanks to Takanori Ito getting Tyson Maeguchi over the top rope and then kicking him to the floor for an elimination. Seeing Ito as the big threat, both Watase & Yumehito Imanari worked together to get him out of the ring. Minoru Tanaka used his old finisher from his HEAT days to pin Watase. Takuya Wada wanted to make Tanaka submit but their struggle send both of them over the ropes to the apron. Check Shimatani then decided to sacrifice Tanaka to eliminate Wada and Dropkicked the both of them to the floor. That left Imanari in a 2-on-1 disadvantage but he pulled off the upset by pinning both Shimatani and then Hayashi to win the match for GanPro! Imanari later said GanPro and GLEAT should do a GxG collaboration again somewhere. That might happen because Hayashi does not want his interactions with Imanari to end like this! Things between Watase and Shimatani were a bit friendlier given their past together in DDT.
Munetatsu Nakamura looks up to Yuko Miyamoto a lot so he decided to wear a purple yankee costume for his match against him. Nakamura hit some big dives and used the Michinoku Driver II for a nearfall. Miyamoto turned the tables by blocking a German Suplex and then throwing his opponent head first over him to the canvas. Miyamoto won the match with the Moonsault Press but was left impressed by Nakamura. He said looking at Nakamura is like looking at a young Isami Kodaka. He wants to see more of him and what he can grow into. Nakamura said if he had beaten Miyamoto at Korakuen Hall on the 1st anniversary of his debut it would have created a great memory for him. Instead he has some regrets over losing. But he wants to continue fighting Miyamoto and even team up with him so he can get stronger.
After so many tries and close calls, Yoshiko Hasegawa has finally won a match by herself! She took on the visiting Arisu Endo from Tokyo Joshi Pro and they had a back and forth match. The difference maker was Hasegawa using a Diving Double Knee Attack from the turnbuckles to pin Endo for the 3 count. Hasegawa said it took her one year and 4 months to finally win a match but she now has a 1-1 record against Endo so they still need to figure out who is stronger. She eventually wants to fight for a championship someday so this result finally puts her on the starting line. The move she used was her first time using it so she hasn’t come up with a name for it yet.
There was more Ganbare☆Joshi action before that with a 6-Woman Tag Match. Makoto led HARUKAZE & Banny Oikawa to victory against the hedonistic team of Sumire Natsu, YuuRI & Riara. HARUKAZE scored the pin on Riara with the Flame Spear.
For the second time this year ROMANCE DAWN defended the KO-D Tag Team Titles in the opening match of a show. Here in GanPro the champions took on Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie in a match that connected Team Drift and the Young Communication generation together. Ishii aimed big by giving Shota the Double Arm Driver from the top rope but Soma Takao came to his partner’s rescue. Shota was then able to trap Ishii in the Gannosuke Clutch to win the match. Takao said it meant a lot for him and Shota to defend the titles against friends and former champions Ishii & Irie. Shota thinks all four of them are still rivals for each other to chase after. Irie said he does not know how many more chances he will get to team with Ishii so he appreciates the times when he does. He will always want to team with him one more time.
Yuna Manase announced she will have her first match back from injury on 23rd February! She told the fans about the frustrations she felt throughout the past year by being on the sidelines but those frustrations will soon disappear. She will be spending the next two months getting ready for her return. She already came up with ideas for a new costume and has decided on who she wants her opponent to be. That will be revealed on GanPro’s social media accounts soon.
Moeka Haruhi made an appearance during the opening announcements to greet the fans and joke around with ring announced Michiko Nonaka.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING 10TH ANNIVERSARY PERFORMANCE ~YUKA SAKAZAKI GRADUATION SPECIAL~”, 06/12/2023 Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall
1. Wakana Uehara, Shino Suzuki & Runa Okubo Vs HIMAWARI, Toga & Haru Kazashiro
2. Miu Watanabe, Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami
3. Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta, Mizuki & Moka Miyamoto Vs Hyper Misao. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku
4. Yuka Sakazaki & Rika Tatsumi Vs Antonio Honda & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
5. Yuka Sakazaki Graduation Special 3 Way Match: Yuka Sakazaki Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Shoko Nakajima
Tomorrow is the final day of Yuka Sakazaki as a Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestler and it is in the same venue where she had her debut match a decade ago.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Rika Tatsumi & Amira Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
2. Moka Miyamoto Vs Trish Adora
3. Mizuki Vs Sandra Moone
4. Shoko Nakajima Vs Taya Valkyrie
5. Miu Watanabe Vs Hyan
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta (c) Vs Janai Kai & Shazza McKenzie
7. Special Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly
The Princess Tag Team Champions want to defend the belts in America! Free WiFi made the request after their recent title defence last week and it’s been accepted. They were originally scheduled to face Janai Kai & Johnnie Robbie in Los Angeles but Robbie pulled out with an injury. Shazza McKenzie will now take her place and could become a TJPW champion in her first appearance with them.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~KASUKABE PERFORMANCE~”, 17/12/2023 Saitama Kasukabe Fureai Cube
1. 3 Way Match: X Vs X Vs X
2. X Vs X
3. X Vs X
4. X Vs X
5. X Vs X
6. X Vs X
7. X Vs X
8. X Vs X
9. X Vs X
10. X Vs X
Participants: Hikari Noa, Shoko Nakajima, Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku, Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Mahiro Kiryu, Suzume, Moka Miyamoto, Arisu Endo, Kaya Toribami, Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI, Shino Suzuki, Toga, Haru Kazashiro, Runa Okubo and Juria Nagano
A schedule conflict means Nao Kakuta will not be part of this show after all. So instead of 11 matches the show will have 10 with one being a 3 Way Match. It could be anywhere on the card. I’m just placing it as Match #1 for convenience sake.
GANBARE☆PRO “BAD COMMUNICATION 2023”, 27/12/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Yuko Miyamoto Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
2. Sumire Natsu, YuuRI & Riara Vs HARUKAZE, Makoto & Banny Oikawa
3. Special Single Match: Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Arisu Endo
4. Special Single Match: Ken Ohka Vs Kuma Arashi
5. GanPro Vs GLEAT All Out Battle ~ GanPro’s Famous Elimination 10-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Takuya Wada, Mizuki Watase, Shinichiro Tominaga & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Kaz Hayashi, Minoru Tanaka, Takanori Ito, Check Shimatani & Jun Tonsho
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Shota & Soma Takao (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Shuichiro Katsumura
The KO-D Tag Team Champions also took control of where they wanted to defend their belts next. ROMANCE DAWN have used their title reign to have matches against other wrestlers from the Young Communication generation of the indies. It continues in Ganbare☆Pro because their match here against Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie now has the belts on the line! Ishii & Irie once held the titles together back in the winter of 2011.
Over the last few days videos were being sent in thick and fast to both GanPro and GLEAT from wrestlers volunteering to take part in the inter-promotional 10-Man Tag. Some were doing it out of pride for their home company while others were either calling out rivals from the other side or accepting challenges from them. Yumehito Imanari’s team includes Takuya Wada, Mizuki Watase, Shinichiro Tominaga & Tyson Maeguchi all ready to fight for GanPro’s burning spirit. The GLEAT visitors consists of Kaz Hayashi, Minoru Tanaka, Takanori Ito, former DDT wrestler Check Shimatani & Jun Tonsho. The match itself is Elimination rules where you are taken out of the match by either pinfall, submission or being thrown over the top rope and out of the ring.
GANBARE☆PRO “ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS ’23”, 23/11/2023 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center 220 Fans – No Vacancy
1. SAKI & Yoshiko Hasegawa defeated YuuRI & Riara when SAKI submitted Riara with the Sasori-katame (9:28).
2. Yumehito Imanari defeated Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi with a Crab Hold (11:30).
3. Dan The Dad, Tyson Maeguchi & Banny Oikawa defeated Soma Takao, Shinichiro Tominaga & HARUKAZE when Dan pinned Tominaga with the You’re Grounded (12:51).
4. Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi defeated Ken Ohka & Mizuki Watase when Doi pinned Watase with a Lariat (14:31).
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) defeated Keisuke Ishii & Munetatsu Nakamura when Katsumura submitted Nakamura with the Triple Three 3 Lock (14:34). *V3 for Ground Absolute.
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) defeated Shota with a Cradle Cutback (22:17). *V4 for Isami Kodaka.
There seems to be no stopping Isami Kodaka’s run through the Ganbare☆Pro roster. His latest challenger for the Spirit Of Ganbare Title today was Shota. The challenger came into this match promising fans he would win the title and become the new protagonist of GanPro. In a match that saw Kodaka kick out of the Gannosuke Clutch and the Frog Splash, Shota was still finding ways to win. Kodaka landed on his back with the Diving Double Knee Drop and turned it into a Bow And Arrow Lock when Shota wriggled his way out of it and laid on top for a pin. However Kodaka rolled Shota over and pinned him down for the three count to retain the title.
Shota accepted the result. His own career feels like it has reached over 100 volumes just like One Piece but he still hasn’t become strong enough to beat Kodaka. It’s a bit unfair but Shota cannot deny that Kodaka is still the protagonist. Kodaka said that is the number one reason why people hate him. Shuichiro Katsumura entered the ring and told Kodaka it doesn’t matter who the protagonist of this story is. He is here to take the SOG Title back to GanPro! He cannot stay quiet any longer after seeing his friends lose to Kodaka one by one. He is the only one left so he wants to face Kodaka in a title match at Korakuen Hall on 27th December. Kodaka accepted, knowing that if he wins that match he is guaranteed to stick around in GanPro next year. After all, the SOG Title is his passport to remain in GanPro whether he is wanted here or not.
Katsumura now has a chance of becoming a double champion by the end of the year. He & Takuya Wada are still the Spirit Of Ganbare Team Team Champions after the defeated Keisuke Ishii & Munetatsu Nakamura. The challengers were fired up, Nakamura in particular. But the youngest wrestler on the GanPro roster was too eager and he accidentally kicked Ishii in the head when he aimed for Katsumura. He then got taken down and pulled apart into submission. Later on Katsumura apologised to Wada for going ahead and challenging Kodaka because that means there will not be a SOG Tag Title match on 27th December. Wada told him not to worry because he already has an idea of what else he can do on the show and it involves a particular challenge from another promotion. More will be explained below.
Ken Ohka had two months to start growing his hair back but he was still looking to get revenge on DoiKuma. He had another brawl against the team this time with Mizuki Watase as his partner. Unfortunately it ended in defeat again with Koji Doi pinning Watase while Kuma Arashi threw Ohka into rows of chairs outside the ring. Ohka still wanted to fight Arashi after the match and challenged him to a singles bout on the 27th December Korakuen show. Arashi wasn’t interested because it would just be another easy win for him. He eventually changed his mind but only if the match is done on his terms. If Arashi wins then he gets title shots for both the SOG Title and SOG Tag Titles. Ohka instantly accepted, only just realising what he agreed to when he calmed down. Doi then promoted an independent show he and Arashi are running together on 4th December. He wants Wrestle Universe to promote it too because it is being financed with DoiKuma’s own money and they don’t want to go bankrupt if it flops.
The mixed tag match was Banny Oikawa’s entry into GanPro that’s been promised to her all year while she wrestled on Ganbare☆Joshi shows. It was also Dan The Dad’s return match in Japan. He communicated with Oikawa & Tyson Maeguchi by taking out a pen and telling them “This is a pen”. It is a common basic phrase Japanese people learn when taking English lessons. The friendly gesture took a life of its own when HARUKAZE stole the pen and soon had everyone fighting over it. When that was done with, Oikawa took out Soma Takao and Dan pinned Shinichiro Tominaga with a Backpack Stunner that is also called “You’re Grounded”.
During the opening speeches it was announced that GanPro has invited GLEAT to take part in an inter-promotional challenge on 27th December at Korakuen. When Yumehito Imanari won his match against Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, he threw his name into the hat because he has already wrestled on several GLEAT shows this year. If there is anyone who is responsible for inspiring the “GxG Collaboration” it is him! He then called out Kaz Hayashi to come to the show because he’ll be waiting for him. Later on, Takuya Wada said he wanted to take part in any GanPro Vs GLEAT match too.
Also during the show Michiyoshi Mishima announced that Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Arisu Endo will take place on 27th December. Hasegawa submitted to Endo at “WRESTLE PRINCESS IV” in October and hasn’t forgot about it. She said GanPro wrestlers always get back up after losing and she wants to show Endo that kind of spirit in her home promotion. She is looking to get a complete victory against Endo when they meet again.
DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2023”, 12/11/2023 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Staggered Entry Tag Rumble: KANON & MJ Paul Vs Naruki Doi & Kazuma Sumi Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Toy Kojima & Yuki Ishida Vs Yuni & Rukiya
2. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer 6-Woman Tag Match: Yuki Arai, Moka Miyamoto & Shino Suzuki Vs Suzume, Arisu Endo & Wakana Uehara
3. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Akito, Makoto Oishi & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Yoshitatsu, Yoshihiko, Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ DDT Vs VOODOO-MURDERS: Jun Akiyama, HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya Vs Jun Saito, Rei Saito & Toshizo
5. Special Single Match: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan Vs Takeshi Masada
6. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Tetsuya Endo
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Soma Takao & Shota (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda
8. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Nivea Cream Care Body Wash Presents ~ Dramatic Dream Round “Let’s Have Fun!!” What Will Happen!? Fun Death Match: Hiromu Takahashi (c) Vs Kazuki Hirata
9. DDT Universal Title: Matt Cardona (c) (w/ Steph De Lander) Vs MAO
10. Goodcom Presents Saki Akai Retirement Match ~Strong, Noble, Beautiful~: Saki Akai, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Naomichi Marufuji, Kazusada Higuchi & Miyu Yamashita
11. Dramatic Dream Match: Chris Jericho Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA
12. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Yuki Ueno
Danshoku Dieno’s team has been spending time together in preparation for their match against Sanshiro Takagi’s squad. The latest meeting had Dieno, Yoshitatsu & Yoshihiko go visit MMA fighter Hideo Tokoro’s gym to learn some new techniques. Yoshitatsu has been friends with Tokoro since childhood and Tokoro also got along with Dieno when he found out they are all 46 years old. Tokoro tried to teach them submission holds by using Yoshihiko as a training dummy. He then showed Dieno a way to apply multiple submissions at once by demonstrating a Cobra Twist and Muffler Hold combination. Dieno failed to apply the combination to Yoshitatsu and was scolded for not taking the training seriously.
Suddenly Takagi, Akito & Makoto Oishi barged into the gym. They heard from the media about this session going on and told Dieno that training with Tokoro for just a few minutes isn’t going to work. Dieno disagreed but Akito reminded him he is currently in a slump. Oishi said he will make sure Dieno won’t even make it to Sumo Hall and he suddenly attacked him. However all of a sudden Dieno outwrestled Oishi and successfully applied the submission combination he tried earlier while also reaching over to touch Oishi’s groin. This caused Oishi to submit while in great pain. Takagi, Akito & Oishi then fled from the scene. Dieno announced he is naming his new submission move the Danshoku Fantasy. Tokoro was surprised at how quickly Dieno learned the move. Dieno explained that people tend to get stronger when they are backed into a corner. He is in a slump and adversity was the key for him to break out of it.
Dieno then invited Tokoro to give pro wrestling a try. Tokoro declined, saying he would have to start off as a trainee. Dieno pointed out that DDT is unlike other wrestling companies. As long as you are willing to put your life on the line then you can step into the DDT ring. He told Tokoro the possibility will always be there if he is interested.
DDT “ROJO PRO WRESTLING IN NARAHA TOWN”, 18/11/2023 Fukushima Tenjin Misaki Sports Park
1. Falls Count Anywhere 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & Toy Kojima Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Makoto Oishi Vs Yukio Naya & Kazuma Sumi (Special Referee: Shunma Katsumata)
Wrestling in his hometown is not the only advantage Toy Kojima might have for this Falls Count Anywhere match. Shunma Katsumata is the special guest referee so he might play favorites with The 37KAMIINA team.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE MOUNTAIN TOP 2023”, 19/11/2023 Osaka Edion Arena #2
1. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Semi-Final: Shino Suzuki Vs HIMAWARI
2. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Semi-Final: Wakana Uehara Vs Toga
3. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Runa Okubo
4. Hyper Misao, Mahiro Kiryu & Haru Kazashiro Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku
5. Yuki Arai, Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Moka Miyamoto, Juria Nagano & Kaya Toribami
6. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
7. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima
The main event is subject to change if Max The Impaler loses the International Princess Title to Kasey in EVE later this week.
It’s been over a year since Juria Nagano has wrestled in Osaka so Tokyo Joshi Pro is putting her in the same match as Yuki Arai to make it a bigger deal. The two of them have only been in the same match once before and that was at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022”.
Miyu Yamashita is not at the show because she will in wrestling at EVE in England that same day.
BASARA “BASARA 236 ~TAKAGARI 21~”, 23/11/2023 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. SAGAT Vs Akiyori Takizawa
2. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Daichi Kazato Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shinichiro Tominaga
3. Takumi Tsukamoto & Lil’ Kraken Vs KUBITO & Ryuichi Sekine
4. Ryota Nakatsu, Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino Vs Tsutomu Oosugi, Banana Senga & Yasu Urano
5. Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita Vs FUMA & Hagane Shinno
As we get closer to the last Union MAX Title match of the year FUMA and Isami Kodaka are both bringing in reinforcements. Kodaka is staying within Sento Minzoku and has Minoru Fujita on his side. FUMA is calling in an old ally of his from BASARA’s early years. Hagane Shinno will be teaming with him.
This weekend Masato Kamino will be challenging T-Hawk for the G-REX Title in GLEAT. Will he be their new champion by the time BASARA’s next show takes place?
This is Akiyori Takizawa’s first appearance in BASARA since Sparky disbanded.
GANBARE☆PRO “ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS ’23”, 23/11/2023 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. YuuRI & Riara Vs SAKI & Yoshiko Hasegawa
2. Dan The Dad, Tyson Maeguchi & Banny Oikawa Vs Soma Takao, Shinichiro Tominaga & HARUKAZE
3. Yumehito Imanari Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
4. Ken Ohka & Mizuki Watase Vs Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii & Munetatsu Nakamura
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Shota
Kind of cheeky for Ken Ohka to lose a hair match and then take a month off from running main Ganbare☆Pro shows so it would have grown back a little bit when the next one takes place. He has wrestled on other indies since then so it’s not like he’s been avoiding attention. Anyway he still wants revenge on DoiKuma and gets another tag match against them. This time Mizuki Watase is teaming with him.
Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi pays a visit from BASARA to face Yumehito Imanari.
After months of preparation on Ganbare☆Joshi shows Banny Oikawa finally gets her wish to wrestle on a main GanPro show. She’s taking part in an intergender tag match too which is the style she came back to wrestling for. What a weird world we live in when we get a match that has both her and Dan The Dad involved.
BASARA “BASARA 237 ~GRIND AN AXE TO MAKE A NEEDLE~”, 03/12/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Takato Nakano Vs Yuko Miyamoto
2. Lil’ Kraken Vs The Great Sasuke
3. IRON FIST Tag Team Titles: Ryota Nakatsu & Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
4. Union MAX Title: FUMA (c) Vs Isami Kodaka
Kodaka has the slight edge over FUMA after he pinned him with a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch yesterday. A flash pin from moves like that or the Samson Clutch is a danger that FUMA needs to watch out for.
The IRON FIST Tag Team are now shared between a BASARA wrestler and a DDT wrestler. Kazusada Higuchi for now has to bounce back and forth between the two promotions while representing the Harimao stable with Ryota Nakatsu. Their first title defence is against Speed Of Sounds and will be held on the same day as a DDT show. However Higuchi made sure that none of his D-Ou Grand Prix matches are taking place that day so he can concentrate on defending the belts without having to worry about his tournament run at the same time.
Two of BASARA’s younger wrestlers have each been given challenging opponents in an effort to make them step up and progress further. Lil’ Kraken grew up watching videos of The Great Sasuke and would love nothing more than to surpass the legend. Takato Nakano steps into the ring to fight Yuko Miyamoto. The match seems to be held under normal rules but if Miyamoto wants to make it hardcore, who is going to tell him no? Nakano would take on that challenge if he had to.
No matches announced yet for Abdullah Kobayashi and Hideyoshi Kamitani. They were already announced for the show along with Leo Isaka.
“NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO WRESTLING 2023 ~TOSHIWASURE! SHUFFLE 6-MAN TAG TOURNAMENT~”, 31/12/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1A: DDT X, Big Japan X & Dream Slot X Vs DDT X, Big Japan X & Dream Slot X
2. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1B: DDT X, Big Japan X & Dream Slot X Vs DDT X, Big Japan X & Dream Slot X
3. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1C: DDT X, Big Japan X & Dream Slot X Vs DDT X, Big Japan X & Dream Slot X
4. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1D: DDT X, Big Japan X & Dream Slot X Vs DDT X, Big Japan X & Dream Slot X
5. X Vs X
6. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Winners Of Match 1A Vs Winners Of Match 1B
7. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Winners Of Match 1C Vs Winners Of Match 1D
8. X Vs X
9. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Final: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
DDT: Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA, Danshoku Dieno, Tetsuya Endo, Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Naya, Hideki Okatani and Takeshi Masada
Big Japan: Yuki Ishikawa, Yuya Aoki, Daisuke Sekimoto, Yasufumi Nakanoue, Daichi Hashimoto, Hideyoshi Kamitani, Kota Sekifuda and Kazumasa Yoshida
New Year Dream Slot: Minoru Suzuki, Yuji Hino, Ikuto Hidaka, Koji Iwamoto, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, Kohei Kinoshita, Brahman Shu (w/ Brahman Kei) and Fuminori Abe
The New Year’s Eve tradition continues with Minoru Suzuki, Yuji Hino, Ikuto Hidaka, Koji Iwamoto and Kohei Kinoshita as some of the special guests. There will also be around two non-tournament matches booked on the show.
The lottery to determine all of the teams entering this year’s Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament will be held on 15th November.
September was looking to be more of a quiet month for looking at the overseas adventures of the DDT extended family until the last week showed up like an avalanche. You can always get a lot of news to cover during tournament weekends. It’s a shame that the current state of the independent scene means those tentpole super weekend events don’t get as much coverage like they used to. Can’t blame them when WWE and AEW dominates everybody’s attention. It’s only going to get tougher when those two companies increase their schedules and reach out even further. This week’s news of WWE getting an ABEMA deal and having NOAH promote it on social media does not thrill me. I’ve seen how this story goes before. Even if some kind of big crossover does happen with WWE it is never worth it for the other company in the long run. And any pundit who says a project like NXT Japan will work as a gateway for getting WWE fans into Japanese wrestling is only fooling themselves. The appetite that audience has for non-WWE wrestling is just not there anymore.
Heading into October we have Konosuke Takeshita deep into a feud with The Golden Lovers. The lack of actual wrestling from Takeshita last month annoyed me. I get holding some wrestlers back for PPV but his standard of ring work has been missing from AEW TV recently. His storyline is also pulling in other wrestlers who are never hurting for screentime which makes me worry he is getting pushed to the side. Maki Itoh has finished up her latest North American tour, Shoko Nakajima had a quick trip to the USA and Miyu Yamashita was in the middle of wrestling in UK and Ireland when the month began. The big chunk of news that completely passed me by until it happened was Mizuki Watase going over to wXw in Germany with Shigehiro Irie. Oh and Tokyo Joshi Pro squeezed in a visit to China right at the deadline.
A few years ago the idea of Yamashita wrestling in OTT would have had me overjoyed but nowadays I don’t want to give the company much of my attention because of how people attached to them handled and disregarded Speaking Out. Her Irish wrestling debut had a slight change in plan thanks to the other team. Debbie Keitel was advertised to team with Anita Vaughan but she instead surprised everyone by bringing along Emersyn Jayne to be her partner instead.
MLW “FURY ROAD”, 03/09/2023 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title No. 1 Contendership: B3CCA defeated Maki Itoh with the World Tour (7:42).
A singer showdown took place when Itoh made her first appearance in MLW. Itoh and B3CCA both love to be the centre of attention and literally fought over the microphone during their match. Itoh won that exchange and told B3CCA to “kiss my ass, bitch!” She also found a Singapore cane to beat up B3CCA with outside the ring. But Itoh made the grave mistake of missing the Flying Big Head, allowing B3CCA to give her a Death Valley Driver to the corner and then pin her with the World Tour 450 Splash.
AEW “ALL OUT”, 03/09/2023 United Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Kenny Omega with the Powerdrive Knee (22:30).
A few days after Takeshita pinned Kenny Omega in England, he did it again back in America this time in a singles match. The match carried history over from Omega’s time in DDT, wearing new green and yellows tights based on what he wore in the early 2010s. Don Callis got involved though and brought the dreaded screwdriver into the match for Takeshita to use. However this time the referee stopped it from being used. It turned out Takeshita wouldn’t have needed it because he went on to beat Omega anyway, pulling down his kneepad to hit a raw Powerdrive Knee for the victory. The match even got ***** from Dave Meltzer! Okay, that doesn’t mean as much as it used to but it’s still a good accomplishment to have. Also let’s face it, when the wrestlers who complain about star ratings actually do get ***** from Meltzer they all of a sudden do a 180 and become grateful for it.
MYSTERY WRESTLING “MYSTERY WRESTLING 3”, 08/09/2023 Centre Aydelu, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
1. Emi Sakura defeated Maki Itoh with La Magistral Cradle (?:??).
This year over in Canada Evil Uno has been running a Mystery Wrestling show on his Twitch channel every couple of months. The surprise headline match for the most recent event was a first time singles bout between Itoh and Emi Sakura. Itoh played a trick to escape from Sakura’s attacks by beginning to cry and then walking out of the match back to the locker room. She then reappeared from the opposite side of the room to attack a confused Sakura from behind. Sakura’s not someone you can beat with just one trick though. She ended up rolling Itoh into La Magistral Cradle to win the match.
GCW “CRUSHED UP”, 10/09/2023 Roulette Intermedium, New York City, New York, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Killer Kelly with a Tornado DDT (10:43).
Itoh’s current run with GCW ended here with a match against Killer Kelly. She’ll be back again later this year but what will be in store for her next? Her feud with Matt Cardona & Steph De Lander can be never ending but there has to be other stuff she wants to do in GCW next. Maybe she already found a new arch nemesis as you will see at the bottom of this post.
WXW “INNER CIRCLE”, 21/09/2023 wXw Wrestling Academy, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
1. Mizuki Watase defeated Danny Fray with a Diving Foot Stomp (7:23).
2. Shigehiro Irie defeated 1 Called Manders with a Roaring Elbow (8:57).
This was already announced earlier in the summer and I completely missed it. Irie & Watase reunited as RENEGADES to enter the annual World Tag Team Festival in Germany! But first the wrestlers took part in separate warmup matches the night before the tournament began. Watase’s first match ever in Germany was a win against Danny Fray. Irie also won his match by beating 1 Called Manders in a hoss fight.
WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2023 – NIGHT 1”, 22/09/2023 Turbinenhalle 2, Oberhausen, Germany
1. World Tag Team Festival 2023 – Round 1: Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase defeated Aigle Blanc & Senza Volto when Irie pinned Blanc with the Beast Bomber (16:41).
Irie won wXw’s other premium tournament the 16 Carat Gold back in March so he had his heart set on winning WTTF with Watase. They eliminated The Frenchadors in the opening round. Aigle Blanc & Senza Volto are former wXw World Tag Team Champions so RENEGADES could not have gotten off to a better start.
1. Shigehiro Irie defeated Arez with the Beast Bomber (9:20).
The WTTF weekend also featured shows promoted by GCW as part of their September European tour. Only Irie was on the first of two GCW shows that weekend where he beat the luchador Arez. Normally I wouldn’t include entries for Irie by himself but since he was RENEGADES affiliated for the weekend, I’m adding it here.
FREELANCE “ONCE UPON A TIME IN FREELANCE”, 22/09/2023 Avondale Music Hall, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. Shoko Nakajima defeated Shazza McKenzie with the Diving Senton (12:19).
Nakajima did a quick trip to the United States near the end of the month. Her first stop was at Freelance where she got over big with the crowd during her win against Shazza McKenzie. Nakajima’s quickness and ability to hit the 619 from any height near the ropes were the key to victory here.
WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2023 – NIGHT 2”, 23/09/2023 Turbinenhalle 2, Oberhausen, Germany
1. World Tag Team Festival 2023 – Round 2: Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase defeated Takuya Nomura & Fuminori Abe when Irie pinned Abe with a Roaring Elbow (16:14).
RENEGADES weren’t the only Japanese team taking part in WTTF weekend. Takuya Nomura & Fuminori Abe from Astronauts were there too! The two team crossed paths in Night 2 where the winners would advance to Sunday’s final.
GCW “GCW VS THE WORLD”, 23/09/2023 Turbinenhalle 2, Oberhausen, Germany
1. Scramble Match: Gringo Loco defeated Mizuki Watase, The Rotation, Arez, Jimmy Lloyd and Aigle Blanc when Loco pinned Blanc with the Base Bomb (11:46).
2. Joey Janela defeated Shigehiro Irie with the Diving Foot Stomp (17:19).
Irie was in GCW again for their other show in Germany, losing to Joey Janela in the main event. Watase also showed up by taking part in one of GCW’s staples, the Scramble Match. Watase hit a big dive and also the Coast To Coast Dropkick but otherwise got lost in the action and did not factor into the finish.
WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2023 – NIGHT 3”, 24/09/2023 Turbinenhalle 2, Oberhausen, Germany
1. wXw World Tag Team Titles – World Tag Team Festival 2023 Final 3 Way Match: Hektor Invictus & Dennis Dullnig defeated Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman (c) and Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase (23:13). *Amboss fails in V1. Hektor Invictus & Dennis Dullnig become the 64th wXw World Tag Team Champions!
RENEGADES made it all the way to the final. Had Irie & Watase won the match and the tournament they would have become the new wXw Tag Champions. Sadly for them they couldn’t pull it off. Instead Hektor Invictus & Dennis Dullnig were the winners, taking the titles away from the defending champions Amboss.
PRESTIGE “THE RESPECT ISSUE”, 24/09/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Trish Adora defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Lariat Tubman (9:51).
Nakajima’s other US booking this month was with Prestige at the Globe Theatre, the same location TJPW will return to this December. Trish Adora was a tougher opponent for her and kicked out of the Northern Lights Suplex. Just when Nakajima thought he had another shot, she was caught off guard and pinned with the Lariat Tubman.
JFC “JINGWU TAN JFC EXOTIC FIGHTING EXHIBITION 2”, 30/09/2023 Rucker Park, Chaoyang, Shanghai, China
1. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Maki Itoh defeated Yuki Aino with the Itoh Deluxe (?:??).
2. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Mizuki defeated Nao Kakuta with the Cutie Special (?:??).
TJPW sent four of their wrestlers over to China for a martial arts expo taking place in Shanghai. They would be presenting two women’s pro wrestling matches to go along with a bunch of other martial art bouts provided by other groups. It is not the first time joshi wrestling has been part of the event. The same organizers had Sareee and Nanae Takahashi wrestle for them during the first expo in the summer. After a lot of searching through Chinese social media I was able to find a clip of Mizuki beating Nao Kakuta and Itoh locking in the Itoh Deluxe on Yuki Aino.
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Upcoming Appearances
AEW “WRESTLEDREAM”, 01/10/2023 Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi Vs Sammy Guevara, Will Ospreay & Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis)
Takeshita has spent the rest of the month either standing to the side Don Callis or wrestling back in Japan for DDT. Oh and he also invaded Kota Ibushi’s gym, attacking him with a kettlebell (and also getting Yumehito Imanari caught in the crossfire) because Callis understands how much Ibushi means to Omega. The big payoff it is leading to will happen later today when The Golden Lovers & Chris Jericho join forces to get revenge on The Don Callis Family. Takeshita is part of that family teaming with Sammy Guevara (newest member) and Will Ospreay (not a member). It is annoying to see what looked like a big push for Takeshita turn into him getting pushed aside so Jericho, Guevara and Ospreay can all squeeze into the spotlight instead.
WARRIOR “WARRIOR WRESTLING 31”, 06/10/2023 Bendix Arena, South Bend, Indiana, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Storm Grayson (w/ Frank The Clown)
One of the few American indies Takeshita wrestles for when he’s not busy with AEW is Warrior Wrestling. The next time he shows up there he takes on one of Frank The Clown’s clients, Storm Grayson.
SPARK “RISING HEAT WEST”, 11/10/2023 LA Dojo, Carson, California, USA
1. Spark Joshi World Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Billie Starkz
A familiar opponent challenges Yamashita for the Spark Joshi Title. She has a 1-1 singles record against Billi Starkz so this championship bout can also end up becoming a rubber match between the two.
SPARK “RISING HEAT EAST”, 14/10/2023 Engelwood Neighborhood Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
1. Miu Watanabe Vs KiLynn King
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs Jessie
A few days later Yamashita takes on Jessie, the former Jessi Kamea from NXT. That’s an interesting matchup because since leaving WWE, Jessie wound up doing a tour in Stardom. So we have a TJPW Vs Stardom match on a Spark show.
But Yamashita won’t be the only Tokyo Joshi there. Miu Watanabe is along for the ride too! She is getting to fight KiLynn King from Impact in what is sure to be a hoss fight. Or a hossette fight? Whatever, two strong women are going to fight each other. What more do you want?
LLL “THE HANDS OF FATE”, 20/10/2023 The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA
1. Lilith Grimm Vs Miyu Yamashita
Are there Lucha Libra & Laughs to be found when Yamashita pays another visit to Denver? Her opponent Lilith Grimm is nicknamed “The War Hammer” and does an entrance where she sets off sparks with a grinder.
SETUP “SETUP EP.16”, 28/10/2023 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. Gatoh Move One And Only Title & SETUP Thailand Openweight Title: Paksa (G/c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi (S/c)
2. Dramatic Dream Match: Chris Brookes Vs Monomoth
Whenever CDK goes over to Thailand and shows up in SETUP they tend to take over the place. One of the local faces Monomoth tries his best to defend his home but Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi find ways to get the better of him. Monomoth now gets to fight Brookes in a big singles match the next time Brookes heads over.
Meanwhile Takanashi has been ruling the roost in SETUP as the SETUP Openweight Champion. He can increase his domination when he has a double title match against Paksa. Takanashi puts his SETUP Title on the line while Paksa is defending a Gatoh Move branded championship called the One And Only Title.
REPUBLIC OF LUCHA “ROL VI VI VI: LA NOCHE DE WALPURGIS”, 30/10/2023 Republic Of Lucha, South Pasadena, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Penta el Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix Vs Shun Skywalker, Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that nobody in The Lucha Brothers gets injured, company politics do not keep Takeshita and Shun Skywalker away from each other and Vampiro does not show up with La Rebelion.
DAIKAIJU PRO “VOL. 1 – THE KAPPAS WALK AMONG US”, 04/11/2023 White Eagle, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
1. Shoko Nakajima Vs X
Something new and monstrous is coming out of Massachusetts. Daikaiju Pro is holding their debut show and seems to have deep ties with SETUP and also the UMA Corps. The new promotion is promising a mixture of talent coming in to mix around with monsters and other strange creatures. A show like these requires a Big Kaiju so Nakajima will be there.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
Miu Watanabe has been added to the lineup.
PANDEMONIUM PRO “HOLIDAY IN LA”, 17/12/2023 Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Mike Bailey Vs Miyu Yamashita
Yeah this do quite nicely. Pandemonium Pro is doing Yamashita against Mike Bailey in a first time ever matchup.
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Other Appearances
GCW “SAY YOU WILL”, 01/09/2023 Grand Sports Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
Itoh did not wrestle on the first GCW show of the month. Instead she showed up to attack Frank The Clown with a pizza cutter much to everyone’s delight.
DDT “DDT BIG BANG 2023”, 09/09/2023 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Ilusion Vs Yuni, Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya
2. HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Soma Takao Vs Yukio Naya, Yuya Koroku & Takeshi Masada
3. Pheromones Vs Subjugation Final Match! Special Single Match ~ Dissolution Contra Vice President: Yuki “Sexy” Iino (w/ Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno) Vs Akito
4. First Time In History! Time Difference Scramble Bunkhouse Current Blast 6-Man Tag Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Yoshi Tatsu & Toy Kojima Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada
5. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yuki Ueno & MAO
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs Minoru Fujita & KANON
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles & AJPW TV 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani (c/c) Vs Yuko Miyamoto, Isami Kodaka & Ram Kaichow
8. DDT Extreme Title & Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – All Humans Are Equal! Kazuki Hirata Death Match: Kazuki Hirata (E/c) Vs Naruki Doi (I/c)
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Shigehiro Irie
Tension continues to grow between Chris Brookes and Shigehiro Irie. They traded direct wins back and forth over each other in recent tag matches. It’s causing them to shove and strike each other even more after the matches had finished.
Kazuki Hirata is bringing back a match stipulation he used against Shinya Aoki in a DDT Extreme Title match two years ago. In a All Humans Are Equal Death Match Naruki Doi must wrestle on the same level as Hirata. If he does any moves or actions that the judges at ringside do not consider to be Hirata-like then the match will be paused until Doi corrects himself. Doi himself previously said he wants to be fully immersed into DDT so he now must prepare himself in both body and mind to be just like Hirata! He doesn’t understand the concept and is going to treat it like a regular match with normal rules.
Eruption have already defended their double trios championships in All Japan over the weekend. After dealing with ATM, DASH Chisako & Black Menso~re they are now cleared to put all of their belts on the line in DDT this weekend against the Triple Six team. It will be their third defence of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles and their second defence of the AJPW TV 6-Man Tag Team Titles.
What a night Konosuke Takeshita had last night! He is now returning to DDT on fire after beating Kenny Omega in AEW.
GANBARE☆PRO “GIRI GIRI CHOP! 2023”, 01/10/2023 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Loser Haircut Tag Match: Ken Ohka & Shota Vs Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi
2. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Yumehito Imanari
It is now up to Yumehito Imanari to try and bring the Spirit Of Ganbare Title back home. If he beats Isami Kodaka he will become the first two-time SOG Champion.
The feud between GanPro and DoiKuma is leading into a Hair Vs Hair Match! Ken Ohka & Shota lost to Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi back in July. Their rematch only got granted when they agreed to put their hair on the line. Whoever drops the fall in the match will get their head cut bald as punishment!
Mizuki Watase will not be at the show because he is booked for Dotonbori Pro in Okinawa that day.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 