8. Kaito Kiyomiya, Ryohei Oiwa, Yuki Ueno & Yuki Yoshioka defeated YOSHI-HASHI, KAI, Akito & Daiki Inaba when Kiyomiya pinned Inaba with the Shining Lancer (17:51).
The most recent season of “MONDAY MAGIC” promoted a big inter-promotional match featuring wrestlers from NOAH, New Japan, DDT and Dragongate. At the time NOSAWA Rongai acted like it would be a normal tag team match but when it was time for the main event, he surprised everyone by booking an 8-Man Tag instead. In the blue corner was YOSHI-HASHI from NJPW, KAI from DG, Akito from DDT and Daiki Inaba from NOAH. Facing them from the red corner was NOAH’s Kaito Kiyomiya, NJPW’s Ryohei Oiwa, DDT’s Yuki Ueno and DG’s Yuki Yoshioka. Kiyomiya ended up scoring the win for his team by pinning Inaba.
Apparently the point of this match was to gather together two teams of wrestlers from two generations into the same magic wrestling ring. Some of the wrestlers were happy to interact with each other for the first time since the “ALL TOGETHER” shows last year. But Kiyomiya said this generation do not need magic to make the pro wrestling world advance forward. Akito said the future of wrestling is bright while YOSHI-HASHI said next time he shows up here he wants to be in the same ring as KENTA.
NJPW “DOMINION 6.15 IN OSAKA-JO HALL”, 15/06/2025 Osaka Jo Hall 6,525 Fans
6. NEVER Openweight Title: Oleg Boltin defeated KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) with the Kamikaze (13:12). *KONOSUKE TAKESHITA fails in V7. Oleg Boltin becomes the 48th NEVER Openweight Champion!
Some interesting turn of events went on over at New Japan today. Konosuke Takeshita’s five month reign as the NEVER Openweight Champion came to an end when he lost his rubber match with Oleg Boltin. The two wrestlers had one singles win over each other going back to last summer. Boltin beat Takeshita in the G1 Climax last August and then this past February Takeshita won the rematch when the NEVER Title was put on the line. When they crossed paths again in a tag match last month, Boltin said he wanted a third singles match with Takeshita confident he would beat him this time and take the belt.
Boltin lived up to his word and beat Takeshita. At first Takeshita countered the Kamikaze into a Dragon Suplex. Boltin fought back by using a Shotgun Dropkick an then caught Takeshita’s Jumping Knee Strike. From there he turned it into the Kamikaze to pin Takeshita for the three count. Backstage Boltin described Takeshita as a monster who would be an Olympic champion in pro wrestling. Takeshita accepted defeat and called Boltin strong. That only means that from today Takeshita will get even stronger. Now that the NEVER Title is taken away from Takeshita he has his eyes on something new. This summer he will climb to the top in order to get a championship with the letters “IWGP” attached to it!
The big summer climb Takeshita is referring to is the 35th annual G1 Climax. This was spoiled during the week when some eagle eyed visitors to the NJPW store in Suidobashi spotted a G1 advertisement on the wall with Takeshita front and center on the poster. This year’s tournament is starting on 19th July with the final being held on 17th August. Prior to the NEVER Title match the majority of this year’s entrants were revealed. Takeshita will be entering in the B Block alongside El Phantasmo, Shota Umino, Shingo Takagi, Zack Sabre Jr., Great-O-Khan, Gabe Kidd, Ren Narita and two unknown wrestlers to be determined via play in matches.
DDT “THAT’S RIGHT! LET’S GO TO BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING 2025”, 11/06/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. HARASHIMA & Yuya Koroku Vs Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul
2. Blow Away The Rainy Season! Officially Licensed Umbrella Only Death Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Ilusion Vs Yuni & Kazuma Sumi
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ In The RING Rules: Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Shin Suzuki Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida
4. K(ANON)-1 GP 2025: KANON Vs Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
5. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Shinya Aoki Vs MAO & Danshoku Dieno (w/ KIMIHIRO)
6. Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs Akito, Yukio Naya & Daichi Sato
This is the match order for tomorrow’s Beer Garden show.
DDT “ECHIGO POWER SLAM”, 15/06/2025 Niigata City Higashi Ward Plaza
1. Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi Vs Yuni & Daichi Sato
2. HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata Vs Danshoku Dieno & Akito
3. Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Jun Akiyama, Shunma Katsumata, Soma Takao & Yukio Naya
4. After KING OF DDT 2025! Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Yuya Koroku
5. Special 3 Way Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO)
6. DDT Extreme Title: Super Sasadango Machine (c) Vs To-y
After taking us through a journey yesterday, Super Sasadango Machine has his next DDT Extreme Title defence already lined up. To-y has been chosen as his next challenger.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2025 IN KOFU”, 21/06/2025 Yamanashi Kose Sports Park Gymnasium Sub-Arena (Kofu City)
-. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup Preliminary League – Round 1: Pom Harajuku defeated Haruna Neko by Forfeit.
1. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup Preliminary League – Round 1: X Vs X
There was an update from Tokyo Joshi Pro about Haruna Neko that was put out today. Her right knee injury was diagnosed as a torn ACL along with bone bruising in her femur and tibia. She will be out of action for a long time in order to get surgery and rehabilitation. Her Tokyo Princess Cup qualifier match against Pom Harajuku was going to be held on 21st June but Neko has forfeited the match. She will still make an appearance at the show because it is happening just before her sugery takes place.
“SHINJUKU FACE 20TH ANNIVERSARY ~MILESTONE~”, 31/07/2025 Shinjuku FACE
1. Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & Ilusion Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Makoto Oishi
2. Minoru Suzuki & Chinsuke Nakamura Vs Jun Akiyama & Fat Kobashi
3. Mayumi Ozaki, HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya Vs Shin Sakura Hirota, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada (w/ Sanshiro Takagi)
4. Kuroshio TOKYO Japan Vs MAO
5. Hiromu Takahashi & Chris Brookes Vs Yuki Ueno & Atsuki Aoyagi
This July Shinjuku FACE will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of its grand opening. The venue has been holding various pro wrestling events along with other combat sports deep in the heart of Kabukicho ever since. To celebrate the occasion, DDT will be holding an event there along with five other promotions: New Japan, All Japan, OZ Academy, Up Town and West Gate Wrestling Federation. It’s not a massive lineup but some names showing up alongside the DDT wrestlers include Hiromu Takahashi, Atsuki Aoyagi, Kuroshio TOKYO Japan, Mayumi Ozaki, Sakura Hirota, Minoru Suzuki and the parody pair of Chinsuke Nakamura and Fat Kobashi.
DDT/NJPW “ONE-SIDED MATCH ~SUPER SASADANGO MACHINE VS TORU YANO~”, 09/06/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. DDT Pro Wrestling x New Japan Pro Wrestling One-Sided Match: Super Sasadango Machine Vs Toru Yano
Yesterday Super Sasadango Machine gave an impassioned PowerPoint Presentation to explain the history behind this DDT Vs New Japan one match show. He and Toru Yano have both taken past interactions between the two promotions personally and want to settle things their own way. There will be several wrestlers from both companies getting involved one way or another. Antonio Honda and YOH will be the special support ambassadors at ringside. MAO and El Desperado will both be there for special separate autograph sessions. Kazuma Sumi and Daiki Nagai will be working young boy duties. Yukinori Matsui and Kenta Sato have been appointed as the two referees. Also Inoue Mic and Makoto Abe will be the two ring announcers.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SAYURI NAMBA’S DREAM COME TRUE SPECIAL”, 14/06/2025 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Ren Konatsu
2. Moka Miyamoto & Ivy Steele Vs HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki
3. Shoko Nakajima & Chika Nanase Vs Mahiro Kiryu & Toga
4. Special Rounds Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Hideki “Shrek” Sekine
5. LEONA Vs Antonio Honda
6. Mizuki & Suzume (w/ Sayuri Namba) Vs X & X (/w X)
I haven’t seen any hints out there as to who the other team in the main event is going to be. They’re also going to have a third person in their corner too to counter Sayuri Namba.
BASARA “BASARA 281 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 29~”, 15/06/2025 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Martial Arts Health Army Vs Sports Fighting Army: X Vs X
An argument between Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi and Takato Nakano became the inspiration for BASARA’s next team challenge show. Hiroshi thinks martial arts is the best way to stay healthy while Nakano believes other forms of sport is the better way.
DDT “CHARISMANIA II”, 18/06/2025 Shinjuku FACE
1. ~20 Years Of Promise~: Yasu Urano Vs Naohiro Katsumi
2. Brahman Brothers Vs Dirty Cops: Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei & Brahman Ueno Vs Takayuki Ueki, Akito & Mataro
3. LUCHA LIBRE WORLD WIDE: El Pantera Jr. & Sumicaras Vs Ilusion & Sangre Azteca Jr.
4. BIG BOYS BURGER: MJ Paul & Minoru Fujita Vs So Daimonji & Ryoma Tsukamoto
5. Hardcore Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Hideki Okatani
6. GREATEST WRESTLING MATCH EVER: Dick Togo Vs Daisuke Sasaki
A tag team battle of some big boys is the final match added to “CHARISMANIA II”. One team is MJ Paul & Minoru Fujita representing DAMNATION T.A. Their opponents are the two freelancers So Daimonji & Ryoma Tsukamoto.
1. Daiki Shimomura & Takato Nakano Vs Thanomsak Toba & Tyson “Ultimate” Maeguchi
2. Iron Fist Tag Team Titles: Ryuichi Sekine & FUMA (c) Vs Lil’ Kraken & Akira Jo
It’s looking like a new group has formed in BASARA, one with a bond as thick as blood. Lil’ Kraken claims that he is part of a Super Family with Akira Jo, Minoru Fujita & SAGAT. He & Jo will be challenging Hyakusho Ikki for the Iron Fist Tag Team Titles. The champs apparently have Ayumu Honda joining their side but he is not booked for this show.
Tyson Maeguchi is living up to his promise of becoming “Ultimate” whenever he will fight with his gloves on. Why else would he be teaming with Thanomsak Toba again?
DDT “KING OF KINGS ~ARASHI’S JUNE SHOWDOWN~”, 29/06/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: Akito & Kazuma Sumi Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida
1. Jun Akiyama, Daichi Sato & Soma Takao Vs Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Shunma Katsumata & To-y
3. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Kumadori Vs MJ Paul & Ilusion
4. International Special Tag Match: Mansoor & Mason Madden Vs Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata
5. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Yuki Ueno Vs Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura (c) Vs Yukio Naya & Yuki Iino
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi
Four months of recovery time was enough time to keep Yuki Iino away from the ring. He was eager to come back and jumped at the opportunity to team with Yukio Naya so they could challenge Astronauts for the KO-D Tag Team Titles.
Poison Sawada JULIE will be at the show to unveil the new Iron Man Heavymetalweight Championship belt. The second generation belt will continue the long, long, long lineage of the title. JULIE is currently the 1,471st champion as of this post.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25”, 21/07/2025 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Moka Miyamoto
2. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
3. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Yuki Arai
Later this month Hyper Misao will be back from injury and just in time too because Kyoraku Kyomei now have their next Princess Tag Team Titles defence on the horizon. Last year when Miu Watanabe and Rika Tatsumi had their match for the Princess Of Princess Title, Tatsumi afterwards said Daydream were done teaming together because she believed Watanabe no longer needed her. Watanabe didn’t agree with that and the team was left in limbo for almost a year. Yesterday the two reunited and denied any claims that Daydream had disbanded. They are as united as ever and will prove it by going after the Princess Tag Titles again.
Will it be third time’s the charm for Moka Miyamoto. She has challenged for the International Princess Title twice and lost both times to Miu Watanabe and Yuki Arai. She is giving it another go now that Suzume is the champion and she has a recent pinfall over her that qualifies her for a rightful title shot.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2025 IN SHINAGAWA VOL. 2”, 07/06/2025 Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX
1. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup Preliminary League – Round 1: HIMAWARI Vs Mifu Ashida
2. Maki Itoh & Chika Nanase Vs Mahiro Kiryu & Shino Suzuki
3. Rika Tatsumi & Ren Kotatsu Vs Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro
4. Mizuki, Yoshiko Hasegawa, Toga & Ivy Steele Vs Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara, Raku & Pom Harajuku
5. Suzume, Arisu Endo & Jada Stone Vs Miu Watanabe, Yuki Arai & Moka Miyamoto
6. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Kaya Toribami
Uta Takami has a fever and will be unable to wrestle tomorrow. Her Tokyo Princess Cup preliminary match scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed to a later date. Shino Suzuki will be added to the 3 Way Match to make it a tag bout instead.
BASARA “BASARA 280 ~TAKAGARI 28~”, 07/06/2025 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. Takumi Tsukamoto & Banana Senga Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Fuminori Abe
2. 3 Way Match: Daichi Kazato Vs Daiki Shimomura Vs Tsutomu Oosugi
3. SAGAT & Isami Kodaka Vs Lil’ Kraken & Akira Jo
4. Ryota Nakatsu Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
5. Isami Kodaka, Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino Vs Ryuichi Sekine, FUMA & Ayumu Honda
Tomorrow begins Ryota Nakatsu’s search for his Union MAX Title No. 1 Contender.
DDT “MY LOVE LETTER 2025”, 07/06/2025 Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX
1. Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Shunma Katsumata, Yukio Naya & Kazuma Sumi
2. HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki Vs Soma Takao & Daichi Sato
3. Thank You Toru Owashi ~ Toru Owashi 20th Anniversary Of DDT Participation Series Vol. 5: Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata
4. Special 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Jun Akiyama & Danshoku Dieno Vs Yuki Ueno & To-y
5. SCHADENFREUDE International Vs Harimao!: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida
6. Antonio Honda 20th Anniversary Match ~ Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Antonio Honda
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura (c) Vs Akito & Yuya Koroku
There will be a contract signing between Chris Brookes and Kazuasada Higuchi for their upcoming KO-D Openweight Title match during the show. It will take place after the opening match.
DDT/NJPW “ONE-SIDED MATCH ~SUPER SASADANGO MACHINE VS TORU YANO~”, 09/06/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. DDT Pro Wrestling x New Japan Pro Wrestling One-Sided Match: Super Sasadango Machine Vs Toru Yano
If you’re wondering how a Super Sasadango Machine Vs Toru Yano match is going to last long enough to sustain a Korakuen Hall show by itself then look no further to the list of special guests who will be attending the event. DDT are sending over MAO, Antonio Honda, Kazuma Sumi, referee Yukinori Matsui and ring announcer Inoue Mic for various roles on the show. New Japan will be sending El Desperado, YOH, Daiki Nagai, referee Kenta Sato and ring announcer Makoto Abe to do the same on their side of the show.
DDT “THAT’S RIGHT! LET’S GO TO BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING 2025”, 11/06/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. HARASHIMA & Yuya Koroku Vs Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul
2. Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs Akito, Yukio Naya & Daichi Sato
3. Blow Away The Rainy Season! Officially Licensed Umbrella Only Death Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Ilusion Vs Yuni & Kazuma Sumi
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ In The RING Rules: Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Shin Suzuki Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida
5. K(ANON)-1 GP 2025: KANON Vs Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
6. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Shinya Aoki Vs MAO & Danshoku Dieno (w/ KIMIHIRO)
If Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda are able to make KANON laugh during their match then they automatically win. But if KANON can last the entire match without laughing even once then he will be the winner.
Reverse Battle Royal rules are in effect for Match #4. Everyone fights outside the ring and you lose when you get thrown inside it.
Umbrellas are allowed to be used as weapons in Match #3 but only if they are officially licensed and approved beforehand.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SAYURI NAMBA’S DREAM COME TRUE SPECIAL”, 14/06/2025 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Special Rounds Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Hideki “Shrek” Sekine
2. LEONA Vs Antonio Honda
3. Mizuki & Suzume (w/ Sayuri Namba) Vs X & X
There will be six matches in total for Sayuri Namba’s special produce show. She will only do ring announcing for one match, the LEONA Vs Antonio Honda one. The rest will go to five Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers who are all getting a chance to give the role a go. Miu Watanabe, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Yuki Arai and Arisu Endo will be a ring announcer for one match each and they will all be wearing one of Namba’s different costumes from over the years.
DDT “ECHIGO POWER SLAM”, 15/06/2025 Niigata City Higashi Ward Plaza
1. HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata Vs Danshoku Dieno & Akito
2. After KING OF DDT 2025! Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Yuya Koroku
3. Special 3 Way Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO)
Super Sasadango Machine will be on the show because it is being held in his hometown.
DDT “CHARISMANIA II”, 18/06/2025 Shinjuku FACE
1. ~20 Years Of Promise~: Yasu Urano Vs Naohiro Katsumi
2. Brahman Brothers Vs Dirty Cops: Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei & Brahman Ueno Vs Takayuki Ueki, Akito & Mataro
3. LUCHA LIBRE WORLD WIDE: El Pantera Jr. & Sumicaras Vs Ilusion & Sangre Azteca Jr.
4. Hardcore Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Hideki Okatani
5. GREATEST WRESTLING MATCH EVER: Dick Togo Vs Daisuke Sasaki
A big Hardcore Match awaits for Hideki Okatani. He is going to fight Isami Kodaka!
The pro wrestling retirement of Mataro is only going to eight months because he wants to get revenge on The Brahman Brothers! The DDT staff member was humiliated by The Brahmans at last year’s “CHARISMANIA” show so has enlisted the help of Takayuki Ueki & Akito to help him even the score. The move is necessary because there is now a third Brahman Brother on the loose! Brahman Ueno could be anybody…
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN DALLAS”, 13/07/2025 The OC, Forney, Texas, USA
The fourteen TJPW regulars now confirmed to be on the Texas tours are Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao, Suzume, Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Arisu Endo, Yuki Arai, Moka Miyamoto and Shino Suzuki.
But that’s not all. Making her return to TJPW for just the “Dallas” show is Yuka Sakazaki!
It’s been so long since a DDT wrestler last made an appearance in New Japan’s premier tournament for junior heavyweights. The Best Of The Super Jr. was historically the showcase that introduced Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega to the wider wrestling world back when they were with DDT. Daisuke Sasaki also competed in two of the tournaments and his appearance in 2012 was the last time a DDT wrestler was involved… until this year! MAO got the invite to take part in the 2025 edition of BOSJ, no doubt influenced by a certain current IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion who has been molding the division in his vision whenever he can for a while now. When MAO got to wrestle on a NJPW show in April, he gave a tease that fans would see more of him in May. The very next day he was included in the announced field for the BOSJ! His goal was to bring the DDT style into New Japan like a square block fitting into a round hole and hopefully convince some of their fans to give his home promotion a try.
B Block
1. YOH (12)
-. El Desperado (12)
-. MAO (12)
4. Nick Wayne (8)
-. Taiji Ishimori (8)
-. Robbie Eagles (8)
-. SHO (8)
-. Titán (8)
-. Kevin Knight (8)
10. Ryusuke Taguchi (6)
NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 10/05/2025 Chiba YohaS Arena (Chiba Park General Gymnasium) 1,000 Fans
2. Kevin Knight, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato defeated MAO, Tiger Mask & Shoma Kato when Wato pinned Kato with the Tsutenkaku German Suplex (7:38).
MAO was placed in the B Block but his first match on the opening show of the tour was a non-tournament 6-Man Tag. He was happy with that because it lets him casually fit in with New Japan. Two of his opponents were in his block so he got to get some ring time against his first opponent Kevin Knight. Meanwhile Tiger Mask took out Ryusuke Taguchi with a Topé Suicida leaving Shoma Kato to deal with Master Wato. Kato had just returned from a leg injury and was ready to wipe the ring rust off but Wato ended up beating him with the Tsutenkaku German Suplex. Backstage Knight said this match was the first time he got to properly introduce himself to MAO. He likes his style but wants to know if MAO can match him in the ring? After getting to share the ring with Wato, MAO mentioned he would have liked to wrestle him, Hiromu Takahashi or Kosei Fujita from the A Block. But he’s looking forward to face Knight first.
NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 11/05/2025 Miyagi Iwanuma City General Gymnasium (Big Arena) 1,369 Fans
5. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32 – B Block: MAO (2) defeated Kevin Knight (0) with the Iai Kick (9:34).
24 hours later MAO started his tournament off with a win. The “Michinoku Tornado” as NJPW nicknamed him had the home town advantage because the show was held in Miyagi. He also started forming a square shape with his chest which would become a recurring spot of his for the rest of the tour. After a back and forth match, MAO scored a nearfall with the Michinoku Driver II and then finished Knight off with the Iai Kick to score his first two points. MAO spoke of his goal to win BOSJ so he could then win the IWGP Jr. Title and bring it back to DDT where he was born and raised into the strange wrestler he is today. Why would he do this? So a new good era for DDT would begin!
NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 14/05/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,470 Fans – Super No Vacancy
5. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32 – B Block: MAO (4) defeated Taiji Ishimori (0) with the Osaka Rinkai Upper (9:45).
Things kept rolling in the right direction because MAO then defeated Taiji Ishimori, a multiple time Jr. Heavyweight champion in both NJPW, NOAH and also the TNA X Division. Ishimori is also from the Miyagi prefecture which made the match became that little bit more meaningful. MAO had KANON in his corner but he had to stand and watch the two fight out of the ring where MAO did a stage dive onto Ishimori. Back in the ring Ishimori countered the Michinoku Driver II with a Reverse Frankensteiner but his 450° Splash missed when MAO moved out of the way. MAO pushed the ref into Ishimori’s way and then leapt over the ref to give Ishimori a Cutter. He then hit the Iai Kick but Ishimori found the power to stay on his feet. So MAO hit him with the Osaka Rinkai Upper palm strike to make the pin and get the three count. MAO said Ishimori is the first Miyagi wrestler he’s hunted down in the tournament and there are two more he is after. Ishimori has a square shape but MAO is becoming a pretty big square too. He is going to turn BOSJ into Best Of The Square Jr.!
NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 15/05/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,365 Fans – No Vacancy
7. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32 – B Block: Titán (4) defeated MAO (4) with the Llave Immortal (9:20).
Any chance of MAO going three for three were put to a halt by Titán, the luchador from CMLL. MAO wanted to fight fire with fire by doing a high risk La Quebrada out of the ring as well as an upside down Llave submission. But Titán started hitting the ropes himself doing a Swan Dive Boy Press and a Topé Suicida. Their match turned into a striking battle with athletic dodges including one where Titán passed through the Hurricane Kick and trapped MAO in his Llave Immortal submission finisher. When he applied it deeper by crossing MAO’s arms over MAO had to give up. Titán paid his respect by describing MAO as one of the strongest opponents he has ever faced. MAO said that submission move is why he never wants to go to Mexico. He’s wrestled in seven different countries but he doesn’t want to make Mexico number eight because the lucha libre over there scares him.
NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 17/05/2025 Tokyo National Yoyogi Stadium Gymnsium #2 1,857 Fans
10. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32 – B Block: El Desperado (4) defeated MAO (4) with the Pinche Loco (23:31).
When MAO realised his match with El Desperado was main eventing the show he made a promise to make it a DDT style match. Apparently Desperado felt the same way because he went along with MAO’s idea. The two fought up the aisle to the entrance while a confused Red Shoes Unno started counting them out. When he was about to reach 20, MAO gave Desperado a Cutter onto one of the security barriers. That scared the ref so much he stopped counting to go check on them. Both were physically able to continue and they went back to the ring to keep the match going. The DDT-ness only got stronger when MAO tried to use Unno as a launchpad to do the Stunner and Despy instead pushed Unno in the way to take the move! MAO got the fans to chant “It’s not MAO” while Despy wondered what could they do now without a ref? MAO decided to pull out a load of plastic boxes from beneath the ring and break one over Desperado’s head. Desperado then responded in kind and the two proceeded to do more plastic box spots, ignoring the protests of the replacement ref Marty Asami. When they got the box bumps out of their system they started wrestling to win and went for their signature moves. Desperado used the Reverse Tiger Driver and then did the Pinche Loco but MAO kicked out at two. Desperado used the pair of moves again, this time with a Vertical Drop version of the Reverse Tiger Driver. MAO tried his best to resist a second Pinche Loco but he was pinned clean in the end.
Despy suggested that next time they should do this in MAO’s promotion although he’s worried that vehicles would be involved over there. He doesn’t want to get run over like Sanshiro Takagi often does. MAO talked about this match being his way of thanking Desperado for inviting him to the “DESPE-INVITACIONAL” last year. He never liked the period when different wrestling companies were talking trash about each other. If Evangelion could finally get a happy ending then why should pro wrestling finish with a bad ending? That’s why he thinks the likes of Despy and Hiromu are different. They have the motivation that drives the wrestling world and it’s why MAO came here to help make BOSJ a true festival that spreads Japanese wrestling across the world.
NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 18/05/2025 Tokyo Esforta Arena Hachioji 1,231 Fans
5. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32 – B Block: YOH (4) defeated MAO (4) with a Dragon Suplex (8:11).
While MAO was feeling spiritually good about how his experience has been so far, he was also hitting a slump results wise. YOH, the second Miyagi wrestler he was chasing after, beat MAO make it three losses in a row. To add insult to injury that cheeky git YOH used the Somato en route to winning the match! Oh he hasn’t forgotten about that match he had with Hiroshi Tanahashi against HARASHIMA & Ken Ohka ten years ago. MAO avoided the move the first time and gave YOH a similar taste of medicine by doing the Sling Blade and the High Fly Flow. But YOH kicked out of it and used the Reverse Frankensteiner to successfully set up the Somato the second time. MAO at least kicked out of it but YOH put him away with a Dragon Suplex afterwards. MAO couldn’t believe what YOH did. He likes New Japan and doesn’t want to kick off a promotional war with DDT but that’s still crossing a line. MAO decided that YOH should attend the Toru Yano Vs Super Sasadango Machine match that’s happening on 9th June. MAO will be there and they can settle their differences together. All YOH had to say is he and MAO are not on the same level. I think I heard something like that from someone else before…
NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 20/05/2025 G-Messe Gunma 842 Fans
2. YOH, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask & Katsuya Murashima defeated El Desperado, MAO, Shoma Kato & Masatora Yasuda when Murashima submitted Yasuda with a Crab Hold (8:48).
The schedule gave MAO a non-tournament match in the middle of the tour to let him and a few others catch their breath a little bit. Despite his slump in form at this point his block was fairly tight across the board so nobody was out of the running yet. The 8-Man Tag match even ended with the Young Lions instead of any of the BOSJ wrestlers. Katsuya Murashima submitted Masatora Yasuda while MAO and Taguchi were doing lewd spots to each other that involved the back of Taguchi’s tights being pulled down. Taguchi is well aware that MAO has Danshoku Dieno supporting him. However Taguchi is not following the Hirooki Goto Revolution nor is he fighting on behalf of New Japan or even Miyagi. He is going to fight MAO by himself. MAO said he’s not shocked by seeing a little bit of butt. He didn’t expect it but now he has a plan to combat it.
NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 22/05/2025 Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #2 (Osaka Edion Arena) 967 Fans
5. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32 – B Block: MAO (6) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi (6) with the Iwanuma City Styles Clash (8:33).
Things could only go up from here but oh man did MAO have to go through some things to get there. In his final match of the “Miyagi Derby”, MAO fought Taguchi and the ever slipping back of his wrestling tights. Not only was his crack exposed but Taguchi eventually stuffed MAO’s head into his tights! That turned out to be the wrong move because MAO was somehow able to keep fighting and a roll up battle resulted in him giving Taguchi the Styles Clash with his head still stuck in the tights! Taguchi admitted defeat because a fake pervert like him could never beat a real pervert like MAO. He only plays a pervert so he will go back to his true self for the rest of the tournament. MAO said he was suffocating in there and just when he was about to lose consciousness he got a flashback to all of the times something like this happened to him in DDT. It makes him glad he was raised in a wrestling company where that sort of stuff was a daily occurrence. This match was fate because MAO was a big fan of Apollo 55. He also now has to leave the Miyagi Derby up to the winner of Taiji Ishimori against YOH.
NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 24/05/2025 Hyogo Arcrea Himeji 1,136 Fans
4. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32 – B Block: MAO (8) defeated Robbie Eagles (6) with the Ultra Big Tone (9:26).
Can you believe that Taguchi match was exactly what MAO needed to get his mojo back? Next up for him was Robbie Eagles and he came up with his own version of the “Robbie! Robbie! Robbie!” chant. He chanted “MAO! MAO! MAO!” and got the fans to shout “Shikaku!” (“Square!”) in response. Eagles would target MAO’s knee to cut off his momentum but the match would instead make its way up to the top turnbuckle. MAO grabbed Eagles in a Dragon Sleeper and used that to set up his AI created finisher the Ultra Big Tone to get the win. MAO pointed out that he is never going to have the same kind of match no matter who he is fighting. Eagles was in shock because he thought MAO was just some fun and chill square guy and instead he tried to kill him! If MAO ever wants a rematch then Eagles wants it to happen in DDT. He’ll even put the Soul Of PWA Title on the line even though MAO has never once stepped foot in Australia.
NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 25/05/2025 Aichi Port Messe Nagoya Exhibition Hall #2 1,404 Fans
5. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32 – B Block: MAO (10) defeated Nick Wayne (8) with the Dick Killer (7:41).
MAO was building up momentum heading into the final stretch and his next opponent was a familiar one. He’s already wrestled with Nick Wayne several times before and wasted no time in continuing their rivalry. MAO tried to rally the fans behind him with “Shikaku” chants but Wayne wasn’t deterred by them. He seemed to have an answer for everything MAO threw at him but he never could has guessed what MAO would do to throw him in a loop. Wayne appeared to hit the Wayne’s World except MAO blocked it with a handstand and cartwheeled out of it! He then went and did his own version of the Wayne’s World, giving Wayne a taste of his own finisher. It only got a two count but MAO quickly applied a Crossface Lock, turning it into the Dick Killer variation to make Wayne tap out. MAO said he’s known Wayne for a long time now and the great thing about being a wrestler is you can enjoy your youth no matter how old you are. With one more match left MAO was still in the running for first place but it was necessary for him to win his last bout.
NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 27/05/2025 Shizuoka Kira Messe Numazu 668 Fans
2. SHO & Yujiro Takahashi defeated MAO & Shoma Kato when Takahashi pinned Kato with the Pimp Juice (4:18).
But before that happens there was one more non-tournament match to get through. It just happened to feature MAO’s last opponent in Block B, SHO from the House Of Torture. SHO attacked him during the entrance and when Kato tried to rescue him, Yujiro Takahashi came over to fight him off. The four brawled around the room where MAO held SHO in a Piledriver position while standing on a dolly. Kato pushed the dolly around until Takahashi found a second dolly nearby. It led to Kato pushing MAO on one dolly and Takahashi pushing MAO on the other until SHO wanted to leave because he had enough. MAO & Kato ended up putting the House Of Torture on both dollies and crashed them into each other. The match finally began in an official manner when everyone returned to the ring. MAO and SHO soon went back to fighting outside the ring but that left Kato in the ring to be beaten by Takahashi’s Pimp Juice. SHO complained about people from Miyagi and he then complained about Niigata where his match with MAO would take place. MAO however promised to show SHO just what DDT is really like. Oh boy, did he…
NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 29/05/2025 Niigata Region Plaza Joetsu 1,027 Fans
7. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32 – B Block: MAO (12) defeated SHO (8) with the Cannonball 450° (11:57).
This time MAO jumped SHO during his entrance. Well, not jumped, more like ran over with the Dramatic Dream bike! Takahashi and Ren Narita helped SHO attack MAO but KANON & Kazuma Sumi ran over to even the odds and take the fight out of the building! Not only did MAO clear House Of Torture with a dive out from the doorway but he climbed into a nearby van and knocked over SHO with it! The match hadn’t started yet so MAO was allowed wheel SHO back to the ring on a dolly and throw him into the ring. SHO somehow kicked out of a pin and had House Of Torture attack the Dramatic Dream bike. He then picked apart MAO’s arm until MAO made his comeback. Takahashi & Narita tried to interfere again but KANON & Sumi were there to keep them at bay. During the chaos the DDT wrestlers got the upper hand with Strange Love Connection even getting to hit SHOT with a Lariat/McEnroe style Total Elimination. Yoshinobu Kanemaru then suddenly appeared, spat Whiskey Mist into KANON’s face and hit MAO with the bottle. MAO kicked out of SHO’s Cross Arm Piledriver so SHO distracted the ref by bringing his NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Title belt into the ring. The ref took the belt off him but didn’t notice SHO was hiding a wrench behind his back. But when SHO went to attack MAO with it, he found out MAO was suddenly armed with Mecha Mummy’s Mecha Fist! MAO knocked the wrench out of his hands, ducked the Whiskey Mist from Kanemaru that blinded SHO instead and then MAO knocked SHO down with a Rocket Punch followed by the Iai Kick. SHO still kicked out of the pin so MAO did the Cannonball 450° from the top rope and that got him the win.
Sadly for MAO the result was not enough to reach the final. He was able to finish Block B on 12 points, enough to tie with YOH and El Desperado for first place. But by losing to both of them earlier in the tournament, the head-to-head tiebreakers were not in his favor and he had no way of reaching the final. MAO looks back on his matches with YOH and Desperado thinking what could have been if they ended differently but he is still happy they turned out to be some exciting matches they created. He gave it his all and he thinks he is the only person to have done so well in BOSJ using the DDT style. He’d like to come back to New Japan and when he does maybe he’ll become a bit more square.
NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 01/06/2025 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium 3,044 Fans
3. Shota Umino, El Phantasmo, MAO & Nick Wayne defeated Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, Hartley Jackson & Robbie Eagles when Phantasmo pinned Jackson with the CR II (10:38).
It turns out MAO had one more appearance lined up to close out the tour. For the final night of BOSJ he got to team with Shota Umino, El Phantasmo & Nick Wayne to take on TMDK in an 8-Man Tag Match. Before it began all four of them posed together as squares in front of their opponents. MAO spent most of his time in the match facing off with Ryohei Oiwa but he had some time in there with Zack Sabre Jr. too. MAO & Wayne also co-operated with each other pretty well, much to Eagles’s chagrin. They were smashed aside by Hartley Jackson though but Umino & ELP were there to put the big guy down and win the match. MAO told the others after the match he’d like to return to NJPW in a casual manner like Jackson does. If there is another Jackson or TAKA Michinoku like spot on the roster he’d like to take it. He also got to reminisce with Umino about the time they met each other in England back in 2019. Maybe the four of them can continue to be together as Team Square Hearts somewhere down the line?
Can’t say this month has been a quiet one. Konosuke Takeshita had a lot of TV time with AEW and we even got the lovely announcement that he’s married to Yuka Sakazaki. All of Takeshita’s work this month revolves around The Don Callis Family, yes even the American New Japan appearance. The group in its current form is nailing it at the moment with good tag matches week to week and the presence of Don Callis himself is not as overwhelming as it was before. I bet over the coming months Takeshita’s schedule will gradually switch from AEW over to New Japan as we walk through the Forbidden Door and approach the G1 season.
May saw Maki Itoh finish up her remaining dates in America before she travelled back home to rejoin Tokyo Joshi Pro. She has another tour lined up during the Tokyo Princess Cup so the Americans won’t be missing her for long. Miyu Yamashita is entering the second half of her excursion and her schedule is definitely keeping her busy. She’s bouncing back and forth from America to Canada and even found time to visit Italy. Her matches in the Upcoming Appearances section below are not all of the bookings she has left. She included a few unlabeled dates in her schedule on Twitter and it’s pretty easy to find online that they are for GCW’s sister promotion JCW. However JCW themselves haven’t announced her for anything yet so I left them off this post. As you’ll see at the very end, there is always a possible booking cancellation that could happen at any time.
TJPW’s grip on the Southeast Asian scene took something of a hit because Yuki Kamifuku and Raku both lost all of the SEA championships this month. It’s likely not the end of TJPW working with companies from Thailand and Singapore but for now the focus looks to be moving towards the new relationship with Major League Wrestling in America. MLW is currently going through a roster shuffle too with a good amount of contracts not being renewed and some new talent coming in to fill those emptying spots. TJPW may just be used as a temporary solution to fill in the gap but they’ll benefit from it for as long as it lasts.
The thing to watch for in the next month or two is how often Sakazaki will get to wrestle, whether it’s on the indies or if she can get booked in AEW/ROH again. I hear rumours every now and then that there’s an injury clearance issue going on with her. But it wouldn’t make sense if AEW uses that as a reason to keep her on the shelf only to let her go wrestle somewhere else. They haven’t like it in the past when their wrestlers got injured on another promotion’s show.
TOP TALENT “LIVE AT MIDWAY MUSIC HALL”, 02/05/2025 Midway Music Hall, Edmonton, Canada
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Ava Lawless (?:??).
We start off over in Canada where Yamashita headlined a Top Talent Wrestling show against Ava Lawless. The Canadian knew it was going to be a big test for her and she embraced it but Yamashita came out on top.
HOODSLAM “PHANTASMAGORIA”, 02/05/2025 Continental Club, Oakland, California, USA
1. GLAMpionship: MacDaddy MYLO (c) (w/KEiTA) defeated Maki Itoh with a School Boy (?:??). *V6 for MacDaddy MYLO.
On the same night one country away, Itoh was main eventing a show of her own with her return to Hoodslam. She was getting a shot at the GLAMpionship, a title that was originally created for the promotion’s sub-brand GLAM but made its way over to the regular shows. MacDaddy MYLO attacked her before she could finish her entrance but made the mistake of slamming her head into the turnbuckles which had no effect. Itoh’s momentum was cut off when MYLO pulled the ref into her way and then jumped in to do a Cutter. Itoh made another comeback only for KEiTA to interfere on the champion’s behalf. Itoh fought them both off and put MYLO in the Itoh Deluxe but KEiTA distracted the ref so she wouldn’t see MYLO tap out. Itoh got rid of KEiTA again but MYLO rolled her up in a School Boy to steal the win.
GCW “CRAZY SCARY SPOOKY HILARIOUS”, 03/05/2025 Ukrainian Culture Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Maki Itoh with the Skull Kick (13:23).
The day after that Yamashita and Itoh’s paths crossed over in GCW. The two of them were heading into a big weekend where they both had title matches to prepare for. But before any of that could happen the two would meet in the ring against each other! Did anyone on GCW commentary know about their history together as 121000000 beyond just them being tag champions a few times? Fucking of course not! At least the fans were super into it. The was the first time Yamashita would face Itoh in a place where Itoh has the home field advantage and while she didn’t go into MDK mode, she was able to put up her biggest fight against Yamashita yet. Even Yamashita seemed to be aware of it because when he knocked down Itoh with the Skull Kick, she ordered the ref to check her for a knockout. The ref dropped Itoh’s arm three times but on the third Itoh kept her hand up and raised a middle finger to the air! She got a second wind and almost scored the victory she waited so long for by countering the Attitude Adjustment into a Small Package. But Yamashita kicked out and nailed another Skull Kick to increase her singles match record with Itoh to 10-0. There was no hard feelings over the result and 121000000 shook hands afterwards.
GCW “WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU”, 04/05/2025 Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. JCW World Title: Masha Slamovich (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the White Knight Driver (10:13). *V36 for Masha Slamovich.
2. GCW World Title: Effy (c) defeated Maki Itoh with a Spinning Tombstone Piledriver (12:08). *V16 for Effy.
Well if plan of having iron sharpen iron was to result in championship wins it didn’t work out here. Itoh finished up her latest excursion by getting a shot at the GCW World Title held by Effy before she went home. Effy lightened the mood by singing “Mandy” on the microphone but changed the lyrics to be about Maki. She didn’t like it and told him to stop but that made Effy start to cry. It was all a trap to for Effy to get the one up on Itoh but she quickly escaped and turned the tables. She did a Diving Cross Body from the top rope to Effy outside the ring. Effy brought in chairs and ended up getting Choke Slammed onto one by Itoh! She also kicked out of a Spear at one and sliced Effy’s forehead open with her pizza cutter. Despite all that Effy countered the I.S.D by catching her in mid-air. He then spun it around into a Tombstone Piledriver to get the win.
Also on the show Yamashita challenged Masha Slamovich for the JCW Title in a continuation of their international rivalry. It was an even matchup but just like in Las Vegas last month, Slamovich got Yamashita in the White Knight Driver for the three count. Yamashita slapped away the champion’s hand after the match but immediately offered a handshake of her own, which Slamovich accepted.
AEW “COLLISION”, 08/05/2025 Masonic Temple Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander (w/ Don Callis) defeated Evil Uno & Alex Reynolds when Alexander pinned Reynolds with the C4 Spike (2:30).
Even though Takeshita was already eliminated from the Owen Hart Cup last month, this month he was still in orbit of the tournament. His new tag team with Josh Alexander in The Don Callis Family were set up for a match against the two wrestlers who reached the final. So for a warm up match they went and destroyed two members of The Dark Order in quick fashion on Collision. Alexander picked up Evil Uno and with Takeshita did a Doomsday Jumping Knee to the masked man. Then they smashed Alex Reynolds with a Double Elbow Strike to the head before Alexander pinned him with the C4 Spike.
HOG “WAGING WAR”, 09/05/2025 Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. HOG Women’s Title: Indi Hartwell defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Full Nelson Facebuster (12:13). *Indi Hartwell becomes the 8th HOG Women’s Champion!
The stakes were raised for Yamashita’s return to House Of Glory. Right before her match with Indi Hartwell began the HOG commissioner Jason Solomon walked out and announced that the HOG Women’s Title held by Megan Bayne had been vacated. He then announced that this match would determine the new champ! Yamashita had the end of the match under control until Hartwell ducked the Skull Kick and planted her with a Full Nelson Facebuster to win the match out of nowhere and become champion.
NJPW “RESURGENCE”, 09/05/2025 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. NEVER Openweight Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) (w/ Rocky Romero) defeated El Phantasmo with the Raging Fire (17:48). *V6 for KONOSUKE TAKESHITA.
Rocky Romero’s involvement with Takeshita in the NJPW USA shows have become a little more clearer now that Romero is part of The Don Callis Family. He accompanied Takeshita for his NEVER Openweight Title defence against El Phantasmo. It couldn’t reach the heights of last year’s G1 match but ELP still did a massive Thunderkiss ’86 dive to Takeshita into the front row, landed a Cutthroat Driver for a nearfall and also gave Takeshita a Piledriver on the ring apron. ELP had the win in his grasp when Romero pulled the referee out of the ring during a pinfall. ELP got some measure of revenge on Romero by Power Bombing him through a table but that gave Takeshita time to recover and pin ELP with the Raging Fire. There is growing respect between the two because they shook hands after the match.
MAPLE LEAF PRO “NORTHERN RISING”, 10/05/2025 Mattamy Athletic Centre, Toronto, Canada
1. Serena Deeb defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Detox (12:55).
Yamashita travelled back up to Canada for another appearance in Maple Leaf Pro. There she faced Serena Deeb who was making her third appearance in a row for the promotion. Yamashita hit the Skull Kick but Deeb made sure to topple out of the ring to avoid getting pinned. When she was put back in the ring, Deeb pushed Yamashita into the ref and then hit her from behind with a Chop Block. She then pinned her with the Detox, which is Deeb’s arm trapped Styles Clash kind of finisher.
MLW “AZTECA LUCHA”, 10/05/2025 Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated Delmi Exo (?:??). *V1 for Shoko Nakajima.
Right, here’s the funny thing about MLW. Their shows nowadays are one half live iPPV and the other half TV tapings for the upcoming month. That’s not unusual for wrestling but barely anyone who goes to MLW shows cares about spoiling the tapings part. Shoko Nakajima’s appearance on the live PPV was just to be seen sitting in the front row to hype up her next MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title defence. That match is a rematch with Delmi Exo that will air on MLW’s TV show in June. I couldn’t find any result or talk of the rematch online anywhere and the only reason we know Nakajima is still the champion is because she brought the belt back to Japan with her. Once the match airs I’ll come back and write this with any necessary corrections included. Like I don’t know, maybe they went to a 60 minute draw. I can’t prove they did but you can’t prove they didn’t either.
AEW “DYNAMITE – BEACH BREAK”, 14/05/2025 NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
1. Will Ospreay & Hangman Page defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander (w/ Don Callis) when Page pinned Alexander after the Buckshot Hidden Blade (18:34).
The two Owen Hart Cup finalists Will Ospreay & Hangman Page had to team up before their big PPV match. They needed to be on the same page because Takeshita & Alexander were coming after them like a well oiled machine. There was some communication between them to set things up but it still led to moments where Page almost hit Ospreay with the Buckshot Lariat and Ospreay almost hit Page with the Hidden Blade. But something eventually clicked between the two and they combined their finishers Kinnikuman style on Alexander to get the victory.
GCW “BIG TIME”, 17/05/2025 RJ Meyer Arena, Joppa, Maryland, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Marcus Mathers with the Crash Rabbit Heat (21:02).
Plans changed for Yamashita’s next match in GCW. She was supposed to face Tony Deppen but instead her opponent was Marcus Mathers. The match featured quite a bit of mat work with Mathers looking for spots to take Yamashita into an Ankle Lock. Yamashita also found herself getting thrown around more often than she would back in TJPW. Mathers press dropped her onto the ring apron and tried to do a Power Bomb but it was countered into a Sunset Flip. When Mathers went more high risk he paid for it by springboarding into a glancing Skull Kick for a nearfall. By that point Yamashita knew she had Mathers where she wanted him and wore him down with kicks before pinning him with the Crash Rabbit Heat.
GCW “RUN FOR IT”, 18/05/2025 Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, New York, USA
1. Billie Starkz defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Victory Roll Reversal (10:34).
Yamashita’s final GCW appearance for the month (probably because it was also the last GCW show of the month) was also the fourth singles meeting with Billie Starkz. It turns out Starkz has become a very slippery opponent for Yamashita to beat nowadays because this match was her third defeat in a row to her. Yamashita got a nearfall with an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment and continued the pressure after that but Starkz ended up reversing a Victory Roll to get the three count out of nowhere.
AEW “COLLISION”, 21/05/2025 (Aired 22/05/2025) Rio Rancho Events Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero (w/ Lance Archer) defeated Bandido, Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd when Takeshita pinned Floyd with the Bastard Driver (9:35).
More shuffling going around within The Don Callis Family yet things look so similar. Trent Beretta is back from injury and has reunited with Rocky Romero. Their Roppongi Vice team in New Japan is now conveniently renamed RPG Vice in AEW. They and Takeshita were put together for a trios match against the wild combination of Bandido and The Outrunners. During the madness Takeshita used a well timed Jumping Knee Strike to make Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd clash into each other. Then at ringside Lance Archer wiped out Bandido so the rest of The Family had the coast clear to finish things off.
MKW “BATTLE OF THE DECADE”, 24/05/2025 Dongxin Plaza, Beijing, China
1. Yuki Kamifuku & Chen Wenbin defeated Alexis Lee & Big Sam when Kamifuku pinned Lee with the Diving Famouser (?:??).
Now let’s head over to Asia to see what some of the other TJPW wrestlers have been up to. Middle Kingdom Wrestling in China brought in Yuki Kamifuku for a mixed tag match with Alexis Lee on the other team, making it a preview for their big title match happening in Singapore one week later. Kamifuku was teaming up with Chinese wrestler Chen Wenbin while Lee had a big British brute named Big Sam as her tag partner. Sam was too strong to a fault because he ended up missing Wenbin and Clotheslining Lee off the ring apron by mistake. Kamifuku by herself couldn’t hurt Big Sam but Wenbin was there to help her out when needed. Things also went wrong for Sam when his manager messed up a pin break and stomped on him, allowing the other team to charge in and Double Big Boot Sam out of the ring. Lee tried to get her hands on Kamifuku afterwards but Kamifuku got the better of her, winning the match with the Diving Famouser.
SAJ “HUNTER’S NET”, 24/05/2025 Via Dante 72, Sporting Cesate, Milan, Italy
1. 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Irene and Session Moth Martina (?:??).
Yamashita can now scratch Italy off her growing list of countries she’s wrestled in. SAJ Wrestling brought her in for a 3 Way Match against Italy’s own Irene and the Irish wrestler Session Moth Martina. The latter was really looking forward to this because she was meant to face Yamashita at EVE earlier in the year but she had to cancel it due to illness. Yamashita also tweeted that her first time in Italy was an incredible experience.
AEW “DOUBLE OR NOTHING”, 25/05/2025 Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, Arizona, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher & Josh Alexander defeated Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly when Fletcher pinned O’Reilly with (12:48).
Takeshita and co. were put in the unenviable position of following the annual Anarchy In The Arena match. They all did alright given the circumstances. Takeshita has crossed paths with Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly before but not when all three have been together as Paragon. In fact the previous times Takeshita has been in the ring with Strong was as tag partners. The Don Callis Family ended up isolating O’Reilly and left it to Kyle Fletcher to finish him off. The Family continued the attack after the match until an unlikely trio of wrestlers came to the rescue. Hiroshi Tanahashi made a suprise appearance leading Tomohiro Ishii & Brody King to the ring to chase off The Family. It’s all to set up the next “FORBIDDEN DOOR” that will be held in England this year. It’s since been confirmed that the show will feature Tanahashi’s final wrestling match in the UK before he retires. Could Takeshita become a part of it just like he was for Tanahashi’s last USA match?
AEW “COLLISION”, 28/05/2025 (Aired 31/05/2025) El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero defeated Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Tomohiro Ishii when Takeshita pinned Ishii with the Raging Fire (10:18).
Chaos broke out from the get go when The Don Callis Family attacked their opponents from behind only for Paragon & Ishii to bring the fight to them outside the ring. Don Callis also briefly got away from the commentary table to deliver a cheap shot. Takeshita and Ishii threw bombs at each other until Takeshita pushed Ishii into the ref. That allowed Romero to Low Blow Ishii from behind so Takeshita could pin him with the Raging Fire.
1. Queen Of Asia Title: Alexis Lee defeated Yuki Kamifuku (c) (?:??). *Yuki Kamifuku fails in V7. Alexis Lee becomes the 6th Queen Of Asia Champion!
The Queen Of Asia has been defeated. Long live the new Queen Of Asian Champion! Lee wanted one more shot at Kamifuku’s title in SPW and was willing to put up the biggest gamble of her life to do it. She promised to put her career on the line and retire from wrestling if she couldn’t take the title from Kamifuku! The bet paid off because Lee was able to get the win and become a two time Queen Of Asia Champion. Thing along with Kamifuku losing the VPW Women’s Title in TJPW earlier in the month brings her Southeast Asian dominance to an end, maybe just for the time being.
SETUP “THE FALLEN KINGDOM”, 31/05/2025 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Matcha defeated Raku (c) with the Stunner (?:??). *Raku fails in V2. Matcha becomes the 4th SETUP All Asia Women’s Champion!
The good folks at SETUP have kept me up to date on Raku’s return to Thailand this month which I appreciate greatly. Matcha wanted a chance to win back the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title she lost to TJPW and would get it with Raku coming over to defend it. But Raku had a devious plan put in place to give her the advantage. When Matcha was in Japan for a TJPW tour, Raku purposely sang “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” to her her backstage to send her to sleep. Raku then sent a recording of the song over to the SETUP dojo, making everyone over there who played it fall asleep on the spot. SETUP staff also told me that Raku played the same prank on a delivery driver on Matcha’s birthday so her birthday cake would never arrive! So Matcha tried to fight fire with fire by bringing along a certain kind of pillow and mat used in Thailand for Raku to lie on. Raku almost fell asleep but had the awareness to roll up Matcha when she tried to pin her. The two proceeded to wrestle the match using the mat as a weapon on each other, mostly by one bundling up the other in the mat to try and immobilize them. When it came down to the final moments of the match, Matcha countered Raku’s Doctor Yellow into the Last Rights. After that she hit the Stunner to win and regain her championship! Raku was upset to lose the title but Matcha made it up to her after the match by giving her the pillow to bring home as a keepsake. Raku may have also got to sing Zack Sabre Jr. to sleep at the merch table as the main photo at the top of the article suggests.
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Upcoming Appearances
NEW TEXAS PRO “BAT CITY”, 01/06/2025 Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA
1. Charity King & AQA Vs VertVixen & Yuka Sakazaki
There was only one previous time when VertVixen & Yuka Sakazaki were in the ring together and it was for an AEW Dark match. They meet again for Sakazaki’s return to the American indies, this time teaming together over at New Texas Pro. Someone in this match who is also getting attention is AQA. She was seen as an exciting prospect on the indies a few years ago and even signed a deal with AEW (she got the graphic and everything) but unexpectedly quit the business only a few months later. All of a sudden New Texas Pro announced her return and this is going to be her first match back in three years. Charity King will be there to lend her a helping hand for the comeback.
KITSUNE “GOING BACK TO SAN DIEGO”, 07/06/2025 Primal Compound, San Diego, California, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Zara Zakher
2. Vipress & Hudson Envy Vs Nagisa Nozaki & Yuna Manase
Not long to go now until Yuna Manase returns for the next weekend of Kitsune shows. Yamashita will be there too.
KITSUNE “8888”, 08/06/2025 South Gate, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Kitsune World Title: Yuna Manase (c) Vs Tae Honma
Manase has a Kitsune World Title defence against Tae Honma lined up while Yamashita won’t know who she faces until the day of the show.
LLL “BUY THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE – NIGHT 1”, 13/06/2025 The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Yamashita’s first opponent for her weekend at Lucha Libre & Laughs has not been announced yet.
LLL “BUY THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE – NIGHT 2”, 14/06/2025 The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA
1. Dark Sheik Vs Miyu Yamashita
But her opponent on the second night is already known. It’s Dark Sheik!
GCW “BANGIN’ IN LITTLE ROCK”, 20/06/2025 The Hall, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
It won’t be until them middle of the month when Yamashita jumps back into GCW. There will be a couple of both new and familiar faces showing up by then, giving Yamashita a few potentially fresh opponents.
GCW “TAKE A PICTURE”, 22/06/2025 The Truman, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
1. GCW Tag Team Titles: Jordan Oliver & Alec Price (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Billie Starkz
If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em! Yamashita and Starkz are teaming up for a crack at the GCW Tag Team Titles currently held by Jordan Oliver & Alec Price. This could be Yamashita’s last chance on this tour to win some gold.
MLW “SUMMER OF THE BEASTS”, 26/06/2025 Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA
1. Wakana Uehara Vs Yuki Kamifuku
The relationship between TJPW and Major League Wrestling will continue with more TJPW wrestlers crossing over to the world that never stops! While Nakajima is defending MLW’s Women’s Title in Japan, TJPW will be sending over Yuki Kamifuku and Wakana Uehara to compete against each other in the MLW ring. Cesar Duran says this is part of a new era for MLW’s women’s division being helmed by Salina de la Renta.
REAPER “REAPER RISING – A KING’S CORONATION”, 27/06/2025 The Pit, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai
This is one of those times when the wrestling promotion in question is so far out of my reach I half consider if it’s someone’s eFed because the info is so sparse. However I can confirm Reaper Wrestling is a real company in Canada. Yamashita will get to face Janai Kai again and she sent a video warning Kai that nothing has changed since the last time they fought each other.
METALMANIA “2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY”, 28/06/2025 Stage 722, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
And the award for the most unlikely place to book Yamashita during her excursion goes to METALMANIA! It’s where you go in Portland to see lucha mix with death metal music. Never would have thought Yamashita to be a headbanger.
SPARK “IGNITE TEXAS”, 29/06/2025 Baytown Community Center, Houston, Texas, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Yuka Sakazaki Vs X
When was the last time Yamashita and Sakazaki were on the same show together? It wasn’t when Sakazaki graduated from TJPW a year and a half ago, was it? As you can see in the pic above, there’s also some Stardom talent appearing on the show. If SPARK has the pull to put together the tag match I’m thinking of then good job to them.
BZW “LES JEUX SONT FAITS”, 05/07/2025 Casino Barrière de Lille, Lille, France
1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Danny Black & Joe Lando
It’s back to France for a quick summer break. Or maybe not because MAO & Yoshihiko have some business to attend to for their return to Banger Zone Wrestling. British wrestlers Danny Black & Joe Lando have challenged them for the BZW Tag Team Titles. The pair from the CPF (Close Personal Friends) stable held the titles before and are getting this match at the same venue where they lost them.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 1”, 10/07/2025 POST, Houston, Texas, USA
The current lineup “confirmed” for the Texas tour is Maki Itoh, Miyu Yamashita, Miu Watanabe, Suzume, Yuki Arai, Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima, Pom Harajuku, Moka Miyamoto, Arisu Endo, Raku, Shino Suzuki and Yuki Kamifuku.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 2”, 11/07/2025 POST, Houston, Texas, USA
The only one not “confirmed” yet but still included in the promotional material is Hyper Misao. That might depend on if she recovers from her elbow injury in time.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN DALLAS”, 13/07/2025 The OC, Forney, Texas, USA
The only other thing known about the show lineups right now is each night will have different matches.
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Cancelled Appearances
MPX “METROPLEX WRESTLING”, 31/05/2025 Harwood Road, Bedford, Texas, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Maya World
A cancelled flight prevented Yamashita from travelling to Texas for her first appearance at Metroplex Wrestling. She was meant to fight Maya World at the show and called in a favour to Athena to be her replacement.
PRESTIGE “UNIT3D”, 01/06/2025 Vermont Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Not much to say about this other than I’m including it just for the sake of record. When Yamashita first posted her list of USA bookings she included one for Prestige on 1st June. She later had an update saying the booking was cancelled and she was available for other dates on the weekend. Nothing was said on Prestige’s end but that’s also because they hadn’t at any point promoted she would appear on the show.
The open secret is finally made public! With Konosuke Takeshita about to turn 30 years old later this week, he posted on his Instagram account today that he is indeed married to Yuka Sakazaki. Following that announcement, Sakazaki posted a similar message on her own Instagram. The two also revealed that they have a pet dog named Kenshiro. To quote DDT’s congratulatory message to the pair: “We hope that your dreams will forever remain dramatic!”
So this has been an open secret for quite a while. Although the fun thing about open secrets is they are still secrets to some people. I’ve been entertained by the general response to the news today because half of it is people saying finally it’s been confirmed and the other half is people saying they never had a clue the two of them were ever together in the first place.
Neither Takeshita nor Sakazaki said in their messages when they got married or how long they have been together for but there’s been some careless evidence left out there about Takeshita’s relationship status over the years. There was one time years ago (I want to say pre-pandemic but I’m not certain) when Konosuke’s mother Keiko Takeshita showed a photograph of Konosuke where he had a wedding ring visible on his finger. It had to be edited out but I can’t remember if it was from video footage for something or a social media post that got deleted.
Then two years ago there was a podcast dedicated to another puroresu company that had a conversation over the growing trend of Japanese wrestlers moving their careers to America. The guest listed a bunch of wrestlers during the conversation who had left Japan and mentioned “Takeshita and his wife” among them. I’m omitting the podcast and guest’s names simply to spare them from getting further grief over the subject. They were stunned at the time because to them it was just a throwaway comment but they ended up getting so many inquiries about it afterwards, far more than for any of the actual content on their episode.
But the loudest hints came from the couple’s co-workers in AEW. If there is any lesson to learn about this story it’s this. Should you ever want to know the family status of a Japanese wrestler just wait for a foreign wrestler to tweet about how great they are behind the scenes. When Takeshita tweeted about moving to America in 2022, Dax Harwood let it slip in his response that Takeshita had a wife. Also Sammy Guevara & Tay Melo weren’t shy about sharing photos online of their baby meeting Takeshita & Sakazaki together a while ago. It’s kind of like how we all found out Asuka is a mother because other women in WWE always bring it up whenever they get the chance to talk about her in interviews.
But anyway, congratulations to the happy couple. They certainly made this the most romantic Dragon Quest Day ever.
DDT “EARLY SUMMER BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING 2025 – DAY 1”, 13/05/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. 3 Way Match – Submission Rules Only: Kazusada Higuchi Vs KANON Vs Yuya Koroku
2. Thank You Toru Owashi ~Toru Owashi 20th Anniversary Of DDT Participation Series Vol. 1~ Lucha Libre Rules: Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & Ilusion Vs Toru Owashi, Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi
3. Jun Akiyama & Antonio Honda Vs HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata
4. Danshoku Dieno Produce Match ~ Woof Woof Paradise Insurance Match: Akito Vs Yukio Naya
5. Danshoku Dieno Produce Match ~ Woof Woof Paradise: Danshoku Dieno (w/ Haku) Vs Shunma Katsumata (w/ Ponta & Komachi) Vs Yuki Kamifuku (w/ Zac) Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa (w/ Qoo)
6. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Yuki Ueno Vs To-y & Takeshi Masada
There is now a two week break from the King Of DDT tournament until the final takes place near the end of the month. Instead DDT is heading back to Ueno Park for a series of early summer shows.
DDT “D GENERATIONS 2 ~THERE’S NO LIMIT TO GROWING PAINS~”, 14/05/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. Special Single Match: Keisuke Ishii Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Soma Takao Vs Takumi Saito
3. Yuni Vs Ali Najima
4. Hideki Okatani & Ilusion Vs Munetatsu Nakamura & Shota Kawakami
5. Special Single Match: Ryoma Tsukamoto Vs To-y
6. Special Tag Match: Shigehiro Irie & Shota Vs Takeshi Masada & Yuya Koroku
The match order for the second D GENERATIONS show has been decided.
BASARA “BASARA 278 ~KOO~”, 14/05/2025 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
More tournament action this week with BASARA holding the second round of its Chouten ~Itadaki~ tournament.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2025 IN SHINAGAWA VOL. 1”, 17/05/2025 Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX
1. 3 Way Match: Pom Harajuku Vs Mahiro Kiryu Vs Chika Nanase
2. Yuki Aino Vs Ivy Steele
3. Yuki Kamifuku & Raku Vs Rika Tatsumi & Haruna Neko
4. Mizuki, Wakana Uehara & Mifu Ashida Vs Miu Watanabe, Toga & Kira Summer
5. Shoko Nakajima & Kaya Toribami Vs Yuki Arai & Moka Miyamoto
6. Maki Itoh Vs Uta Takami
7. Suzume, Arisu Endo & Haru Kazashiro Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa, HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki
The singles match between Maki Itoh and Uta Takami is going to mean a lot to Takami. She tweeted about the time she was a trainee and took an Elbow Strike from Itoh for the first time. She would never forget the pain. Then when Takami got to wrestle Itoh for the first time back in January she hit her with an Elbow Strike using all of her heart. However Itoh hit back with an Elbow Strike using all of her soul. They then had a singles match at the Garafes show in March where Takami felt like she couldn’t do anything against Itoh. It was the most depressed she ever felt so with this rematch coming up she is going to put all of her soul into it.
The two current holders of Asian championships are teaming up on this show. Yuki Kamifuku recently lost the VPW Women’s Title but still has the Queen Of Asia Title in her possession while Raku is currently the SETUP All Asia Women’s Champion.
Hyper Misao is still out of action with the right hand injury she suffered last week.
DDT “EARLY SUMMER BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING 2025 – DAY 2”, 21/05/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. Daisuke Sasaki & Ilusion Vs Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
2. No English Match: HARASHIMA, Akito & Yuya Koroku Vs Yukio Naya, Daichi Sato & Yuki Ishida
3. 3 Count Vs 1 Count! Count Handicap Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Kazuma Sumi
4. Thank You Toru Owashi ~ Toru Owashi 20th Anniversary Of DDT Participation Series Vol. 2: Toru Owashi Vs Danshoku Dieno
5. Takeshi Masada Produce Match – Hardcore Match: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Shunma Katsumata & To-y
6. Road To KING OF DDT 2025 FINAL!! Special 4 Way Match: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yuki Ueno Vs KANON Vs Hideki Okatani
There will be a big preview of the semi finals taking place just a few days before. The final four will be pitted against each other in a 4 Way Match.
More Beer Garden inspired silliness is happening on the show. Kazuma Sumi only needs a 1 Count Pinfall to beat Jun Akiyama while Akiyama will follow the usual rules. There will also be a match where speaking in English for any reason is prohibited!
“HEISEI’S PRO WRESTLING MASTERMIND – KATSUJI NAGASHIMA’S FINAL MOVE! IKEBUKURO ROOFTOP WRESTLING”, 24/05/2025 Tokyo Yodobashi HD Ikebukuro Building Special Rooftop Venue
1. GLEAT Offer Match: Katsuhiko Nakajima & El Lindaman Vs Minoru Tanaka & Yumehito Imanari
2. DDT Offer Final nWJ Match: Ken Ohka, Yukio Nay & Soma Takao (w/ Sanshiro Takagi) Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi
A special memorial show for the late Katsuji Nagashima will be taking place later this month. DDT, New Japan, GLEAT and Ganbare☆Pro along with the Battle News website will hold the show at the rooftop of the Yodobashi HD Ikebukuro Building in Tokyo to pay tribute to the Heisei era’s pro wrestling mastermind who passed away back in February. Admission to the event is free although visitors are encouraged to leave a donation at the reception desk with all of the funds minus the minimum expenses being donated to his widow.
The DDT match of the show will be the final match for New World Japan, the nWo Japan parody that Sanshiro Takagi put together in 2012 that included Nagashima as the unit’s backer. The GLEAT match includes Katsuhiko Nakajima who had his debut match in Wrestle Japan, the company that Nagashima helped launch after he left NJPW. The other wrestlers in the match El Lindaman, Minoru Tanaka and Yumehito Imanari also had connections with Nagashima when he was alive.
Yuji Nagata will be at the event as one of the guests for a talk show segment being held in between the two matches. Also former AKB48 idol Chisato Nakata will be the special ring announcer for the event. She was a radio host with Nakajima for over two years on a show called Avalanche Brainbuster Radio.
DDT “KING OF DDT 2025 FINAL!!”, 25/05/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. 4 Way Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata Vs Akito & Yuya Koroku Vs Toru Owashi & Yuki Ishida Vs Yuni & Kazuma Sumi
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Yukio Naya & Daichi Sato Vs Shinya Aoki, Shunma Katsumata & To-y
3. SCHADENFREUDE International Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada Vs Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & Ilusion
4. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs Danshoku Dieno
5. King Of DDT 2025 – Semi Final: KANON Vs Hideki Okatani
6. King Of DDT 2025 – Semi Final: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yuki Ueno
7. King Of DDT 2025 – Final: X Vs X
So how are the semi finals shaking out? Kazusada Higuchi and Yuki Ueno are both trying to climb back to the top of DDT. Higuchi’s run has been presenting him as being completely recovered from his injuries while Ueno has a specific vision of DDT in mind that he feels only he can lead. Meanwhile KANON has a grudge match with Hideki Okatani. It was Okatani who helped DAMNATION T.A kick KANON out of the unit as his replacement and the new mean streak has served him well ever since. KANON found a new path to change the error of his ways but a chance at revenge might briefly turn him back into a psychopath.
1. Akito Vs Yuya Koroku
2. Thank You Toru Owashi ~ Toru Owashi 20th Anniversary Of DDT Participation Series Vol. 3: Toru Owashi Vs Danshoku Dieno Vs Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida
4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & Ilusion (c) Vs Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y
Nagoya sees Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida joining together as a tag team for the first time since Yoshimura’s return from injury. Their opponents are the Smile Squash tag team of HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano.
What a month. Felt like the moment WrestleMania Week ended the wrestling world just kept going. Konosuke Takeshita was involved with the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament in AEW and when that came to an end he very quickly established a new tag team with Josh Alexander. Then in Japan some DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers took part in Deadlock Pro’s weekend in the country’s capital. There was also some lucha libre action happening in Tokyo a few days later. Back in America Maki Itoh got her face painted again in a very nice and very evil manner. Then the very busy month came to an end with Miyu Yamashita stepping foot back inside AEW after a two or three year absence.
Yamashita is going to have a packed schedule in May. Itoh has a few things coming up but she will be back in TJPW in the middle of the month. Yamashita though has plenty on her plate and the AEW appearance came about at a good time to replenish some interest in her. What’s included below is not the complete schedule she posted on her Twitter account. There are plenty more dates coming up over the next few months but some haven’t been announced by the promotions yet so I left them out just to save some space. Our old pal Yuka Sakazaki got her first booking on the indies in quite a while too. Another thing to keep an eye on is just where will Keigo Nakamura land for his indefinite overseas excursion. Apparently wherever he’s going he is has gone travelling over there already. If he is indeed still going to wrestle I’ll do my best to keep track of it in these articles.
AEW “DYNAMITE – SPRING BREAKTHRU”, 16/04/2025 MGM Music Hall At Fenway, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
1. Owen Hart Foundation 2025 Men’s Tournament – Semi Final: Will Ospreay Vs Konosuke Takeshita
AEW “COLLISION – SPRING BREAKTHRU”, 17/04/2025 MGM Music Hall At Fenway, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
1. Josh Alexander & Konosuke Takeshita Vs Rocky Romero & Tomohiro Ishii
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 23/04/2025 Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
1. Will Ospreay & Brody King Vs Josh Alexander & Konosuke Takeshita
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 30/04/2025 Chartway Arena, Norfolk, Virginia, USA
1. AEW Women’s World Title Eliminator Match: Toni Storm (w/ Luther) Vs Miyu Yamashita
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Results
AEW “DYNAMITE – SPRING BREAKTHRU”, 16/04/2025 MGM Music Hall At Fenway, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
1. Owen Hart Foundation 2025 Men’s Tournament – Semi Final: Will Ospreay defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Stormbreaker (21:43).
A highly anticipated rematch in the Owen Hart Cup saw Takeshita clash with Will Ospreay once again. Ospreay looked to have had Takeshita’s number until Takeshita purposely collapsed to avoid taking the Hidden Blade. Takeshita even caught Ospreay in mid-air with an Elbow Strike only for Ospreay to kick out at one and hit the Hidden Blade from out of nowhere. Takeshita kicked out at one as well leading to a role reversal where Ospreay used the Bastard Driver into the German Suplex and Takeshita responded with a Hidden Blade of his own. More counters came with Ospreay turning the Raging Fire into a Hurricanrana that then switched into the Styles Clash. Takeshita countered another Hidden Blade with a Backslide into a Powerdrive Knee but Ospreay flipped over a Lariat and lifted Takeshita into the Stormbreaker, winning a hard fought match that booked his spot in the final.
AEW “COLLISION – SPRING BREAKTHRU”, 17/04/2025 MGM Music Hall At Fenway, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
1. Josh Alexander & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Rocky Romero & Tomohiro Ishii when Alexander pinned Ishii with a Power Bomb (10:18).
There wasn’t much time for Takeshita to lick his wounds but The Don Callis Family are already regrouping with a new addition to the unit. AEW’s newest signing Josh Alexander has taken on Don Callis’s management services and made to team with Takeshita. They won their first match as a tag team but one of the reasons it happened was because Rocky Romero ended up abandoning Tomohiro Ishii and left him to the wolves. Alexander & Takeshita rocked Ishii with a Double Roaring Elbow then Alexander finished him off with a Power Bomb. There was then more drama when Trent Beretta made his return after the match and attacked Ishii with Romero. Callis gave a wrench to Beretta and he used it to knock Ishii out.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 23/04/2025 Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
1. Josh Alexander & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Will Ospreay & Brody King when Alexander pinned King after the Assisted C4 Spike (13:08).
Winning ways continued for The Don Callis Family when they took on Takeshita’s two opponents from the Owen Hart Cup. It was a heck of a task getting there though. Brody King ran through them like a tank while Ospreay and Takeshita had unfinished business from their match last week. The Family needed Lance Archer to distract the ref in order to turn the tables. Even then it took a lot fo Alexander & Takeshita to put King away. It eventually took Takeshita helping Alexander lift King up for the C4 Spike to finally put the big boy away.
DPW “SPIRIT RISING – NIGHT 1”, 24/04/2025 Shinjuku FACE
1. Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA Vs LaBron Kozone & Calvin Tankman ended in a Draw (?:??).
2. DPW Women’s World Title: Dani Luna (c) defeated Rika Tatsumi (?:??). *V3 for Dani Luna.
I couldn’t get any proper results from DPW’s two shows in Japan since they’re usually pretty good at keeping things under wraps until the matches get uploaded to their streaming service. But some scraping through Twitter I was able to piece together some things. Rika Tatsumi failed in her bid to win the DPW Women’s Title from Dani Luna. Also the DPW Vs DDT match went to a draw, I assume of the time limit kind. One of the big spots was HARASHIMA going to do the Somato on LaBron Kozone only to get ran over in midair with the Pounce from Calvin Tankman.
DPW “SPIRIT RISING – NIGHT 2”, 25/04/2025 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Calvin Tankman & Kazuma Sumi defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida (?:??).
2. Emi Sakura, Chris Brookes, Mei Suruga & Baliyan Akki defeated Miyuki Takase, Kevin Ku, Dominic Garrini & Ryo Mizunami (?:??).
On Night 2 Chris Brookes was part of a ChocoPro team against a USA/Japan alliance representing DPW. Meanwhile Tankman got thrown in with some DDT wrestlers for a tag match between two pairs of big man and little man. Tankman is remaining in Japan for a ZERO1 tour but who knows, maybe DDT will come calling while he’s there.
HOG “ISOLATION”, 25/04/2025 NYC Arena, New York City, New York, USA
1. HOG Heavyweight Title: Mike Santana (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita ended in a No Contest when Charles Mason interfered (15:57). *V14 for Mike Santana.
Well that kind of felt like a waste of time. The HOG Heavyweight Title was on the line and neither Mike Santana nor Takeshita were in a position to take a loss. So Charles Mason came out and ruined the whole thing. Santana had Takeshita pinned with the Spin The Block Roaring Lariat but Santana pulled the ref out of the ring mid-count and attacked Santana to stop the match. Takeshita tried to come to the rescue but Mason fled the ring unharmed. Santana and Takeshita raised each other’s hands to everyone afterward.
BLACK LABEL PRO “BLP AT SCX III”, 25/04/2025 The Wyndham, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Leyla Hirsch with the Skull Kick (?:??).
2. Danhausen & Maki Itoh defeated Davey Bang & August Matthews when Danhausen pinned Matthews and Itoh pinned Bang with the Double Kokeshi (?:??).
The latest American tours for Itoh & Yamashita kicked off over in Black Label Pro. Itoh joined forces with Danhausen once again to reunite Very Cute, Very Evil Makihausen. Itoh had the face fully painted to match her tag partner and be battle ready to go against Bang And Matthews. Itoh was in grave danger when Davey Bang & August Matthews combined to hit the Spears Tower on her but Danhausen broke the pin. When they tried the same move on Danhausen he paused them with a Curse that resulted in Itoh tripping them over. The two then filled their opponents’ mouths with jars of teeth before kicking them in their faces. Itoh & Danhausen then finished them off with Stereo Kokeshi Headbutts.
This month saw Leyla Hirsch return to action, now as a freelancer. Yamashita got to be one her of first opponents back and didn’t show much ring rust with her performance. She tried wearing down Yamashita with an Ankle Lock but Yamashita fired back with strikes that took a lot out of her opponent. Hirsch then missed a Moonsault and charged right into the Skull Kick for the finish.
1. Mexican Tourist Belt – The Road To Studying In Mexico 6 Way Match: Yuki Mashiro defeated Honoka, YuuRI, SONYA, CoCo and Yoshiko Hasegawa when Mashiro pinned Hasegawa with a Modified Suplex Hold (?:??). Order Of Elimination: SONYA, CoCo, Honoka, YuuRI, Yoshiko Hasegawa.
2. Octagon & El Hijo del Octagon Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Pantera Jr. ended in a Draw when El Hijo del Octagon and Pantera Jr. pinned each other from a Romero Special (?:??).
The warm vibes of lucha libre were in the air surrounding Sumo Hall for a sponsored show put together by the Mexico Kanko tourism company. Daisuke Sasaki was thrown in with some luchadors for a tag match. Naturally Sasaki was on the rudo side teaming with Pantera Jr. to take on the supposedly family pair of Octagon & El Hijo del Octagon. Sasaki stepped in to stop Octagon from doing dive from the top turnbuckle. But the match ended up going to a draw when Pantera put El Hijo del Octagon in the Romero Special. The move leaned both luchadors back onto their shoulders resulting in a double pinfall. After some arguing over the finish, all four wrestlers raised each others hands in the ring.
A sixth woman was added to the Mexican Tourist Belt match. Yoshiko Hasegawa may be retiring from wrestling soon but she didn’t want to miss a chance to win a holiday to Mexico! She came close to winning too, eliminating YuuRI and making it to the final two with Yuki Mashiro. She tried to win using the Fisherman Buster but Mashiro got the better of her and won the match with a Modified Suplex.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 30/04/2025 Chartway Arena, Norfolk, Virginia, USA
1. AEW Women’s World Title Eliminator Match: Toni Storm (w/ Luther) Vs Miyu Yamashita
Right at the end of the month Yamashita wound up in a familiar place. She came back to AEW for the first time since 2022 (or maybe 2023 if you want to count ROH). She was here to repeat what she did back then and that was to fight the AEW Women’s World Champion and beat her to get a title shot. We’re far past the days of Thunder Rosa though. It’s Toni Storm’s time now, which also happens to rewind the clock back one century thanks to her Timeless gimmick. Yamashita got into the swing of things by literally kicking Storm’s ass around the ring as well as kicking away the loyal butler Luther. She also hit the Skull Kick but was too fatigued to make the pin in time. I couldn’t tell if she broke the pin herself or if Storm kicked out of it because both looked like they happened at the same time. Storm made a comeback and avoided the Crash Rabbit Heat to throw Yamashita over to the corner with a German Suplex. She then landed the Running Hip Attack and pinned Yamashita with the Storm Zero. The booking sounds like it was a one time thing for Yamashita during this latest stay in the States. But she promised if she ever comes back to AEW she will kick someone else’s head in!
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Upcoming Appearances
TOP TALENT “LIVE AT MIDWAY MUSIC HALL”, 02/05/2025 Midway Music Hall, Edmonton, Canada
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Ava Lawless
May starts off with Yamashita and Itoh going in separate directions for a while. Yamashita will be in Canada to face Ava Lawless in her Top Talent Wrestling debut.
HOODSLAM “PHANTASMAGORIA”, 02/05/2025 Continental Club, Oakland, California, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Meanwhile Itoh returns to a Hoodslam that is currently in chaos. But when is it ever quiet over there?
GCW “CRAZY SCARY SPOOKY HILARIOUS”, 03/05/2025 Ukrainian Culture Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Miyu Yamashita
The next day 121000000 are back together but this time as opponents. Can Itoh finally beat Yamashita one on one for the first time ever?
GCW “WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU”, 04/05/2025 Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. JCW World Title: Masha Slamovich (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. GCW World Title: Effy (c) Vs Maki Itoh
Then soon after that the two of them have the chance to both become champions in the GCW sphere on the same night. While Itoh faces Effy for the GCW World Title, Yamashita gets in the ring again with Masha Slamovich in a bid to take away her JCW World Title. Slamovich just recently pinned Yamashita at the “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW” show which seems to be what set this title match up. At the moment this looks to be Itoh’s last booking before she goes back to Japan. Her TJPW return will be on 11th May.
HOG “WAGING WAR”, 09/05/2025 Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. Indi Hartwell Vs Miyu Yamashita
Yamashita gets another match with someone who knows what it’s like to wrestle in WWE. This time it is the Indi Hartwell, the former NXT Women’s Champion (bet some of you forgot she held that title for a month) turned TNA’s latest signing.
NJPW “RESURGENCE”, 09/05/2025 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. NEVER Openweight Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) Vs El Phantasmo
It’s now been confirmed that Takeshita will defend the NEVER Openweight Title against El Phantasmo at New Japan’s next USA show. This is also happening a week after they face each other in Japan with the NJPW World TV Title on the line. Does Rocky Romero get involved after the ambush he committed on ELP last month?
MAPLE LEAF PRO “NORTHERN RISING”, 10/05/2025 Mattamy Athletic Centre, Toronto, Canada
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Serena Deeb
Yamashita is just bouncing back and forth between Canada and America during this trip. Serena Deeb will want to be the road block that stops her.
MLW “AZTECA LUCHA”, 10/05/2025 Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois USA
1. Shoko Nakajima Vs X
After winning the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title earlier this month, Shoko Nakajima is set to return to MLW for their next “AZTECA LUCHA” taping. Nothing has been announced yet for what her match is going to be. Could it be a title defence against a luchadora from CMLL?
GCW “BIG TIME”, 17/05/2025 RJ Meyer Arena, Joppa, Maryland, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Tony Deppen
Itoh will be long gone home by this time so GCW could become Yamashita’s for the taking in her absence. Beating the promotion’s gatekeeper Tony Deppen would send her in the right direction.
GCW “RUN FOR IT”, 18/05/2025 Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, New York, USA
1. Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita
What kind of momentum will be following Yamashita by the time she fights Billie Starkz again?
MKW “BATTLE OF THE DECADE”, 24/05/2025 Dongxin Plaza, Beijing, China
1. Yuki Kamifuku & Chen Wenbin Vs Alexis Lee & Big Sam
Could this be the penultimate chapter of the rivalry between Yuki Kamifuku and Alexis Lee?
SAJ “HUNTER’S NET”, 24/05/2025 Via Dante 72, Sporting Cesate, Milan, Italy
1. Irene Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Session Moth Martina
A change of venue for Yamashita’s debut in Italy due to an electrical problem in the original building. She is also finally going to face Session Moth Martina after their scheduled match in EVE back in March got cancelled. One week later Martina got to team with Italian wrestler Irene at the most recent SAJ Wrestling show. I haven’t seen it so I don’t know if anything happened as a reason to make them opponents here or if this is just three wrestlers who want to have some fun in the ring.
1. Queen Of Asia Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c) Vs Alexis Lee
If all goes wrong for Kamifuku in May she could end up losing both the VPW Women’s Title and the Queen Of Asia Title!
NEW TEXAS PRO “BAT CITY”, 01/06/2025 Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs X
Finally Sakazaki gets to wrestle somewhere again! I don’t know if her lack of ring time lately is AEW/ROH not wanting to book her or if there’s an undisclosed injury of some sort holding her back but she’s making a reappearance on the American indies with New Texas Pro as her first stop.
KITSUNE “GOING BACK TO SAN DIEGO”, 07/06/2025 Primal Compound, San Diego, California, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Zara Zakher
2. Vipress & Hudson Envy Vs Nagisa Nozaki & Yuna Manase
The first singles meeting between Yamashita and Zara Zakher. They fought each other once before in a Princess Tag Team Titles match back in January. Yamashita pinned Zakher in that match. Will she do it again?
KITSUNE “8888”, 08/06/2025 South Gate, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Kitsune World Title: Yuna Manase (c) Vs Tae Honma
This October Tae Honma is going to retire from pro wrestling. One of her last big singles matches will be in America when Yuna Manase defends the Kitsune World Title against her.
LLL “BUT THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE NIGHT 2”, 14/06/2025 The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA
1. Dark Sheik Vs Miyu Yamashita
Yamashita returns to Lucha, Libre & Laughs for two nights but only one of them has a match announced so far. She faces Dark Sheik on Night 2. Nothing yet on what match she will get on Night 1.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 1”, 10/07/2025 POST, Houston, Texas, USA
Four wrestlers are currently confirmed for TJPW’s big tripleshot in Texas.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 2”, 11/07/2025 POST, Houston, Texas, USA
Yamashita and Itoh will be there as will Miu Watanabe and Suzume. So far that’s all of the official announcements.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN DALLAS”, 13/07/2025 The OC, Forney, Texas, USA
Psst… the English website promoting the show also lists Yuki Arai, Mizuki, Hyper Misao, Shoko Nakajima, Pom Harajuku, Moka Miyamoto, Shino Suzuki, Raku and Arisu Endo as all “awaiting confirmation” to be on the show. I guess they could go and confirm them all but as we saw with Harajuku this month they might be making sure everything is absolutely ready for them all to travel first.
Posted by JamieOD 
