DDT/NJPW “ONE-ON-ONE CONFRONTATION PART 2 ~TEAM SASADANGO VS TEAM YANO 5-ON-5 ELIMINATION TAG BATTLE~”, 08/06/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Team Sasadango Vs Team Yano: X Vs X
2. Team Sasadango Vs Team Yano: X Vs X
3. Team Sasadango Vs Team Yano: X Vs X
4. Team Sasadango Vs Team Yano: X Vs X
5. Team Sasadango Vs Team Yano: X Vs X
A joint press conference was held on Monday between DDT and New Japan to announced a follow up event to last year’s “One Match” show that pitted Super Sasadango Machine against Toru Yano in Korakuen Hall. It was a show that helped heal a decade long rift between the two companies. This time around DDT and New Japan want to hold a similar event but have it be built around sportsmanship so the format is going to be a 5 Vs 5 Team Elimination Challenge. At the press conference Sasadango and Yano both talked about the respect they gained for each other after last year’s match and how much of a learning experience it was for the two companies to understand what they can each provide for the pro wrestling world.
Much like last year, the show will be held as a dual PPV broadcast airing on both NJPW World and Wrestle Universe with each feed being its own complete production. Just like the wrestlers, there was mutual respect earned among the production teams after last year’s show. Yano wants the match to have a definitive winner this time instead of the agreed upon double countout that happened last time. He is ready to call up wrestlers from New Japan’s Hontai unit to be on his team. When Sasadango heard that, he pointed out that he doesn’t currently belong to any DDT unit so he is free to pick whoever he wants in the company to join his team.
The two agreed that they need to be flexible over the rules of the match and they might organize a meeting leading up to the show to hammer out all the details. Sasadango suggested they may include some extra wrestlers placed in reserve should their original picks get injured or decide to leave their company before the match takes place. He also wondered if the 5 Vs 5 format just means five singles matches or if it will be possible to have tag bouts take place? Yano understands the idea and is open to it, again pointing out that the rules need to be flexible for this situation. They both seem to understand that the show will consist of five matches but some may end up being tag team matches instead of singles. The press conference ended with Sasadango saying he trusts New Japan will not betray DDT and Yano said the same vice versa.
BASARA “BASARA 302 ~TAKAGARI 33~”, 21/03/2026 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. Takeru Inoue Vs SAGAT
2. FUMA & Seiya Morohashi Vs Daichi Kazato & Ayato Yoshida
3. Isami Kodaka & Takato Nakano Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Tatsuya Hanami
4. Daiki Shimomura Vs Masato Kamino
5. Battle Royal: Ryota Nakatsu Vs Ryuichi Sekine Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Lil’ Kraken Vs Yasu Urano Vs Shuji Ishikawa
Let’s start up today with a rumour concerning Aijin Tag. Earlier this week, the Super J-Cast Patreon put out a report about New Japan looking into several pro wrestlers on the indies to bring onto their roster, particularly for the Junior Heavyweight division. Two of the names among them are Takato Nakano and Masato Kamino. There isn’t much extra info to that other than out of all the names the J-Cast heard about, the two BASARA wrestlers are the curveballs on the list. It’s something to keep in mind as we approach Best Of The Super Juniors season. Kamino in particular is a funny one because he is still being billed at weighing around 90kg but he’s looked larger than that for a while now.
GANBARE☆PRO “THERE WILL BE BLOOD 2026”, 28/03/2026 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title Next Challenger Determination – Round 1: Keisuke Ishii Vs Yuya Susumu
2. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title Next Challenger Determination – Round 1: Shuichiro Katsumura Vs PSYCHO
3. 3 Way Match: Moeka Haruhi Vs Taiwan Ramen Man Vs Hora-chan
4. Mizuki Watase & Shigehiro Irie Vs Shota Kawakami & Sentaro Motojima
5. Rin Vs YuuRI
6. Ken Ohka, Shinichiro Tominaga & Akira Shoji Vs Yumehito Imanari, Takuya Wada & Tyson Maeguchi
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title Next Challenger Determination – Final: X Vs X
The masked wrestler Taiwan Ramen Man is coming over from the Team DERA promotion in Nagoya. Now Moeka Haruhi has to deal with him along with returning opponent Hora-chan.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS 2026”, 16/04/2026 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara (c) Vs X & X
2. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs J-Rod
The winner of the Princess Of Princess Title match at “GRAND PRINCESS ’26” will go on to Las Vegas where they will defend the title against J-Rod. The returning American powerhouse has a lot going on lately. She is part of the series reboot of American Gladiators and the first episode will be released the day after this show takes place. Her Gladiator name hasn’t been revealed yet. She already fought Miu Watanabe for the Princess Title back in November but Yuki Arai could be a brand new opponent for her.
It was also announced that The IInspiration will be on this show. So it will be either them or Ober Eats who will be defending the Princess Tag Team Titles next month.
In regards to the previously announced International Princess Title match planned for the show, Tokyo Joshi Pro can no longer confirm that it will happen. They had intended to book MIRAI for the show but are unable to do so because of scheduling conflicts with Michinoku Pro. So for now there will just be two title matches happening in Las Vegas instead of three. That could change if Suzume beats MIRAI to win the IP Title but this news sure does feel like TJPW painted themselves into a corner and have to spoil the result of that match to get out of there.
1. Chris Brookes, MAO & Sayaka Vs Mr. Bueno, Mr. Malo & Ram Kaichow
A new opportunity has opened up for Baka Gaijin + Friends. The fashion magazine NYLON JAPAN is celebrating its 22nd Anniversary this year and will be throwing a party inside a nightclub at the Kabukicho Tower. Baka Gaijin gets to be part of the festivities with a one-off match taking place. Pro wrestling is familiar ground for NYLON because they have printed wrestling themed issues and photoshoots in the past under the label PURORESU NYLON.
Phew! Finally made it through the month with a lot more clearer pictures to look at. Konosuke Takeshita has moved on from the Kazuchika Okada feud to become a focal point in the rivalry between The Don Callis Family and the Death Riders. Takeshita against Jon Moxley is the destination while bringing in a variety of wrestlers for some good trios bouts in the process. I’ve been happy watching this feud so far because the matches have been constantly good and highlighting some of the AEW wrestlers I really like. However Okada is still making moves in the background because he might have just stolen Takeshita’s tag partner! He only just formed ProtOkada with Kyle Fletcher this past week which should eventually add another layer to Takeshita’s story with The Family.
Next up we go to Tokyo Joshi Pro and their ever increasing international schedule. After a lot of hullabaloo that had driven me crazy, the return to Las Vegas was finally confirmed to be real. That can be added to the Texas tour, the Vancouver tour and also a show in Italy all coming up in the next couple of months (and maybe more). With that being said, the ticket sales for the Texas tour so far look dismal from what people can find online and the savvy marketing work done by Tokyo Story USA is almost nowhere to be seen this time around. We may be due some harsh lessons this time around, like how maybe last year’s success really did just come from holding the shows next to a big destination wrestling event.
Elsewhere this month some of the TJPW wrestlers have lost their championships. Shoko Nakajima and K!SS// went on their travels and came back home missing their titles. Things fared better for the DDT wrestlers when it comes to gaining or keeping their gold. Now heading into March we have Miyu Yamashita embarking on another excursion, WrestleMania Week all of a sudden getting stuffed with TJPW appearances to look forward to and Daisuke Sasaki is off to North America for a while.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 04/02/2026 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Jon Moxley, PAC & Daniel Garcia (w/ Marina Shafir) Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & El Clon
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 11/02/2026 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & Mark Davis Vs Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & PAC (w/ Marina Shafir)
AEW “GRAND SLAM AUSTRALIA”, 14/02/2026 Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
1. AEW Continental Title: Jon Moxley (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
SETUP “REAL GLOBAL IMPACT”, 21/02/2026 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami (c) Vs Monomoth & Matcha
2. IWA Japan SETUP World Title: Shivam (c) Vs Chris Brookes
AEW “COLLISION”, 21/02/2026 Frontwave Arena, Oceanside, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Mark Davis & El Clon Vs Jon Moxley, PAC & Wheeler Yuta (w/ Marina Shafir)
NJPW “THE NEW BEGINNING”, 27/02/2026 CURE Insurance Arena, Trenton, New Jersey, USA 2,605 Fans
1. NJPW World TV Title: El Phantasmo (c) Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA
Jon Moxley and Konosuke Takeshita can’t wait until AEW Revolution! | AEW Collision, 2/28/26
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Results
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 04/02/2026 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & El Clon defeated Jon Moxley, PAC & Daniel Garcia (w/ Marina Shafir) when Takeshita pinned Garcia with the Raging Fire (13:18).
The current storyline Takeshita is in is a stable war going on between The Don Callis Family and the Death Riders that’s become the backbone of AEW’s mid-card on TV. He and Moxley had plenty of battles against each other this month in 6-Man Tags. Takeshita scored first blood when he teamed with Josh Alexander & El Clon (the evil doppelganger of Hologram) to beat Moxley, PAC & Daniel Garcia. Things could have gone the other way when Garcia put Takeshita in the Dragon Tamer (Sharpshooter) submission hold and Moxley then Curb Stomped him. But Alexander broke the pin and Takeshita got his wind back to slam Garcia. Tandem trios moves from The Family couldn’t keep Garcia down until Takeshita dropped him with the Raging Fire.
MLW “LUCHA APOCALYPTO”, 07/02/2026 Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shotzi Blackheart defeated Shoko Nakajima (c) (?:??). *Shoko Nakajima fails in V7. Shotzi Blackheart becomes the 6th MLW Women’s World Featherweight Champion!
By the time this is posted, all I know about this MLW taping is Shoko Nakajima lost the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title to Shotzi Blackheart. Since then there hasn’t been a word about when the match will air. MLW are really taking their time putting their next batch of episodes together.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 11/02/2026 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & PAC (w/ Marina Shafir) defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & Mark Davis when Moxley pinned Alexander with the Death Rider (15:05).
The next trios match had Claudio Castagnoli replacing Garcia and Mark Davis switching in for El Clon. This time Moxley was in danger of losing the match to the teamwork of The Family until PAC came to the rescue. Castagnoli cut off Takeshita with a European Uppercut, giving Moxley the opening to catch Alexander in a Read Naked Choke, wearing him down enough to give him the Death Rider for the victory.
AEW “GRAND SLAM AUSTRALIA”, 14/02/2026 Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
1. AEW Continental Title: Jon Moxley (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00). *V1 for Jon Moxley.
When it was finally time for Moxley and Takeshita to settle their differences one on one in Australia, time wound up running out for them. With the AEW Continental Title on the line, rules were strictly in place to make sure no interference would be allowed. It ended up going to a stalemate. Moxley giving Takeshita a Curb Stomp onto the apron didn’t keep him out of the ring long enough to get counted out. Neither the Powerdrive Knee or the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex was enough to pin Moxley for a three count. Takeshita kicked out of the Death Rider and the two continued throwing bombs at each other until the bell rang. Takeshita was seconds away from performing the Raging Fire so he went ahead and did it anyway after the match was over.
AEW “HOUSE RULES AUSTRALIA”, 15/02/2026 Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Boondall, Queensland, Australia
1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Dalton Castle with the Powerdrive Knee (10:47).
Brisbane had extra action for Takeshita during his stay there. AEW ran a rare house show the next day and Takeshita was on it wrestling Dalton Castle for the first time ever. Before the match began Don Callis had Castle’s buddies The Outrunners sent away from ringside because they did not have a manager’s license recognized by the state of Australia. Callis got some cheap shots in on Castle at ringside while the crowds chanted bald jokes at him. Castle fought his way back to give Takeshita the Bangarang for a nearfall but a well timed Elbow Strike gave Takeshita the momentum needed to eventually win the match.
SETUP “REAL GLOBAL IMPACT”, 21/02/2026 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Monomoth & Matcha defeated Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami (c) when Matcha pinned Toribami with the Saito Suplex (12:41). *K!SS// fails in V2. Monomoth & Matcha become the 6th IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Champions!
2. IWA Japan SETUP World Title: Shivam (c) Vs Chris Brookes ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00). *V2 for Shivam.
There were two big title matches to follow over in Thailand for SETUP this month. Chris Brookes challenged Shivam for the IWA Japan SETUP World Title despite both men belonging to the same group, Real Global Threat. In a result that became something of a trend for a lot of title matches I’m writing about in this article, the match latest the full twenty minute time limit and went to a draw. Brookes demanded a restart and called Pumi Boonyatud into the ring to make it happen. But it was all a trap so Brookes could knock out Pumi with a slap! Shivam then got on the microphone to praise Brookes for caring about pro wrestlers like him before attacking Pumi some more until Monomoth ran them out of the ring.
Meanwhile Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami’s reign as IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Champions has come to an end. K!SS// went to Thailand for a big title defence against SETUP’s other two singles champions Monomoth & Matcha. Both teams fought their hardest over the titles until it came down to Toribami against Matcha in the ring. Yamashita dealt with Monomoth by Skull Kicking him off the ring apron but Toribami’s attempt at the Sento Choryu was blocked by Matcha’s knees. Matcha then fought to give Toribami the Saito Suplex, pinning her while a dazed Monomoth held onto Yamashita long enough to prevent her from breaking the count. K!SS// accepted defeat and shook hands with the new champions after the match.
AEW “COLLISION”, 21/02/2026 Frontwave Arena, Oceanside, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Mark Davis & El Clon defeated Jon Moxley, PAC & Wheeler Yuta (w/ Marina Shafir) when Takeshita pinned Yuta with the Raging Fire (14:33).
Since nothing was solved in Australia, the feud between The Family and the Death Riders continued with more 6-Man Tag Matches. Wheeler Yuta was now brought into the fold wrestling in a beanie hat because he recently lost his hair in a wager match. Also Marina Shafir was now getting into the thick of things. She’s been at ringside for most of the matches in this feud and got physically involved this time to stop Davis from using a chair. Yuta was enthusiastic to try and get the win on Takeshita until he was hit with a Pump Kick followed by the Elbow Strike. El Clon wiped out the rest of the Death Riders, allowing Takeshita to pin Yuta with the Raging Fire. Moxley confronted him after the match and thanks to others trying to get in the way, he caught Takeshita off guard and gave him the Paradigm Shift.
PPW/BZW “FRIDAY NIGHT BANGER”, 27/02/2026 PPW Training Facility, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England
1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) defeated Liam Slater & HMD (?:??). *V7 for MAO & Yoshihiko.
It’s been so long since I last heard about the BZW Tag Team Titles that I wasn’t sure if MAO & Yoshihiko were still the champions. Turns out they are and they travelled all the way to England for their latest defence. MAO was over there to take part in training seminars and brought Yoshihiko over so they could wrestle on a show co-promoted by BZW and Pursuit Pro Wrestling. They defeated Liam Slater & HMD to retain the gold.
NJPW “THE NEW BEGINNING”, 27/02/2026 CURE Insurance Arena, Trenton, New Jersey, USA 2,605 Fans
1. NJPW World TV Title: El Phantasmo (c) Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (w/ Rocky Romero) ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00).
1a. Overtime: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated El Phantasmo (c) with the Raging Fire (2:43). *El Phantasmo fails in V7. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA becomes the 10th NJPW World TV Champion!
Another title match and another time limit draw for Takeshita. Although this time he got a chance to make up for it. New Japan returned to America with a fresh attempt at running a big show in the country. Having El Phantasmo and Takeshita go at it with the NJPW World TV Title again was one of the big bouts of the show. They pretty much played the hits until ELP gave Takeshita a taste of his own medicine by using the Raging Fire on him! However the bell rang right afterwards to announce the match ended in a tie. ELP got on the microphone and talked about how much time limit draws suck and demanded the match to restart for another five minutes. Takeshita considered walking out with Rocky Romero next to him but turned around and got the match going again. This time Takeshita gave ELP the CR II, using the champion’s own finisher against him. ELP kicked out and snuck in a Crucifix Pin for a nearfall but Takeshita hit back and won the match with the Raging Fire. Now a champion in NJPW again, Takeshita thinks the company wants him to raise the value of the NJPW World TV Title.
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Upcoming Appearances
EVE “WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY #IWD2026”, 06/03/2026 Big Penny Social, London, England
1. Jamie Hayter Vs Miyu Yamashita
We’re at the time of year where Yamashita goes travelling everywhere. Europe is the next up for her with EVE as an important destination. Her first of two EVE bookings for March has her facing Jamie Hayter in a much anticipated singles match.
Yamashita then goes over to Spain the next day for a return to RCW Spain. Her opponent Nightshade has done tours with TJPW in the past but this will be the first time these two will be in a match together.
EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM VIII”, 08/03/2026 Indigo At The O2, London, England
1. Sudden Death Sixteen: Alexxis Falcon Vs DASH Chisako Vs Jamie Hayter Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Amale Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X
Then the day after that Yamashita goes back to London for EVE’s most important show they’ve probably ever put on. She is entering a Sudden Death Sixteen match which seems to be the next step in promoters trying to make their own Royal Rumble. It’s the Casino Gauntlet match where the first fall crowns the winner outright but you can still be eliminated before then by going over the top rope to the floor. The winner gets to challenge for any of EVE’s championships.
PPW “HARDCORE FRIDAY THE 13TH”, 13/03/2026 TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi
1. Chris Brookes Vs Gabriel Queen
Given all of the international work Brookes has been involved with lately, he is seeing the world like a wrestling buffet. Coming up soon on the menu is Gabriel Queen.
AEW “REVOLUTION”, 15/03/2026 Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. AEW Continental Title – No Time Limit: Jon Moxley (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Not long to wait until Moxley and Takeshita go at it again. This time there will be no time limit in place so a winner should be guaranteed… unless we get a double countout or double knockout…
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW TEXAS STAMPEDE – AUSTIN DAY 1”, 17/03/2026 Palmer Events Center, Austin, Texas, USA
The wrestlers announced to appear on this tour are Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara, Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Mizuki, Rika Tatsumi, Hyper Misao, Raku, Yuki Aino, Suzume, Pom Harajuku, Arisu Endo, Yuki Arai, Kaya Toribami, Shino Suzuki, Mifu Ashida and Uta Takami.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW TEXAS STAMPEDE – AUSTIN DAY 2”, 18/03/2026 Palmer Events Center, Austin, Texas, USA
The American and any other international talent for the tour have not been announced yet.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW TEXAS STAMPEDE – DALLAS”, 21/03/2026 College Park Center, Arlington, Texas, USA
They better start announcing stuff soon because the ticket seat map for this show is currently looking grim.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW TEXAS STAMPEDE – HOUSTON”, 22/03/2026 POST Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
It took a while but Tokyo Story USA confirmed the date and location of the Houston show. TJPW will be back at the POST Houston on 22nd March.
ROH/MLP “GLOBAL WARS”, 27/03/2026 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Daisuke Sasaki Vs X
There is a good chance Daisuke Sasaki will be bringing the DDT Universal Title with him to North America. We have to wait and see if he can defend it at DDT’s Anniversary show first before we find out what plans he has for this trip.
MLP “UPRISING”, 28/03/2026 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Daisuke Sasaki Vs X
I haven’t really thought about what Maple Leaf Pro going to do with Sasaki for the ROH weekend.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “VANCOUVER PREMIERE – DAY 1”, 11/04/2026 Great Canadian Hastings Racecourse & Casino, Vancouver, BC, Canada
The wrestlers announced to appear on the Canada tour are Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara, Miyu Yamashita, Yuki Arai, Suzume, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Kaya Toribami, HIMAWARI, Toga, Shino Suzuki and Uta Takami.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “VANCOUVER PREMIERE – DAY 2”, 12/04/2026 Great Canadian Hastings Racecourse & Casino, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Like with the Texas tour above, they best start announcing matches soon because tickets haven’t been flying off the shelves for either tour. I hope Sayuri Namba isn’t betting the house on this.
PODER~! “PODERMANIA~!”, 15/04/2026 Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. International Tag Team Match: Amira & Lil Marz Vs Toga & Jazzy Yang
The big clue this month that TJPW was going to Vegas came from Toga unexpectedly got booked for the eighth annual “PODER~!” show that is put together by Edward Loredo, aka “Ed In San Antonio” of F4W Board infamy. Toga is going to team with Jazzy Yang, the daughter of Jimmy Wang Yang. Together they will take on Amira from America and Lil Marz from Australia for an international tag showcase.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS 2026”, 16/04/2026 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Ta-da! It was happening all along! TJPW adds even more to their growing international schedule by going back to Las Vegas for Mania Weekend. This time instead of working with The Collective, they have joined a new collection of shows called Slam Fest that is being put together by the Paragon Talent Agency. The move keeps the show at Palms Casino and now has TJPW siding with Stardom, CMLL, House Of Glory and MLP for the week. I doubt we’re going to see any significant crossovers but you never know when it comes to events like this.
The Japanese talent coming to Vegas are Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara, Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Mizuki, Hyper Misao, Raku, Yuki Aino, Suzume, Pom Harajuku, Yuki Arai, Kaya Toribami, Shino Suzuki, HIMAWARI, Toga and Uta Takami.
“DEATH VEGAS INVITACIONAL”, 16/04/2026 Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Daisuke Sasaki Vs X
This is the show I’m personally most looking forward to at Mania Week. El Desperado is hosting another “Invitacional” show, continuing the death match theme of the previous one and also bringing it to America for the first time. The first couple of wrestlers announced are from Japan, the latest of whom being Daisuke Sasaki! There’s also been a hint from Mizuki Watase that he might be on the card too because he recently said he will be travelling to USA in April to wrestle in a death match.
GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XV”, 17/04/2026 Horseshoe, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
So far Yamashita is the only woman announced for Bloodsport and I’m not expecting an intergender fight to happen.
PRIDESTYLE “OUT OF THIS WORLD”, 17/04/2026 Bizarre Bar, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Special Single Match: Taniya Vs Miu Watanabe
The week gives Miu Watanabe another chance to spread her wings a little and wrestle on an American indie show. This time she’s popping over to PrideStyle where she faces Taniya, the current holder of the PrideStyle New Wave World Title. So far it hasn’t been said if the championship will be on the line.
SAJ “SAJ X TJPW”, 26/04/2026 Centro Sport Cesate, Milan, Italy
More details have emerged for TJPW’s trip to Italy to join up with friends from SAJ Wrestling. The Japanese contingent will include Miyu Yamashita, Hyper Misao, Shoko Nakajima and Yuki Aino. There will be wrestlers not just from Italy but also across Europe taking part too.
NJPW “SANSEI R&D PRESENTS WRESTLE KINGDOM 20 IN TOKYO DOME – HIROSHI TANAHASHI RETIREMENT”, 01/04/2026 Tokyo Dome 46,913 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
0. NJPW World TV Title: El Phantasmo (c) Vs Chris Brookes
NJPW “SANSEI R&D PRESENTS WRESTLE KINGDOM 20 IN TOKYO DOME – HIROSHI TANAHASHI RETIREMENT”, 01/04/2026 Tokyo Dome 46,913 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
0. NJPW World TV Title: El Phantasmo (c) defeated Chris Brookes with the Super Thunder Kiss ’86 (11:48). *V6 for El Phantasmo.
1. NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Titles – Tornado Rambo: Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson defeated Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Oleg Boltin when Sabre pinned Boltin with the European Clutch (20:43). Order Of Elimination: Yuto-Ice/OSKAR/Clark Conners, Tiger Mask/Togi Makabe/Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomohiro Ishii/Taichi/Satoshi Kojima and Shota Umino/Yuya Uemura/Kaisei Takechi, Toru Yano/YOH/Master Wato (c), Ren Narita/SANADA/Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Hirooki Goto/YOSHI-HASHI/Oleg Boltin. *Toru Yano, YOH & Master Wato fail in V4. TMDK become the 32nd NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
6. IWGP World Heavyweight Title & IWGP Global Heavyweight Title: Yota Tsuji (c/g) defeated KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c/w) with a Crab Hold (29:20). *V2 for Yota Tsuji. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA fails in V2. Yota Tsuji becomes the 15th IWGP World Heavyweight Champion!
It was all set up for DDT to hijack one of the biggest wrestling events to happen in years but in the end it was all dashed away. Oh well at least New Japan made all of the right moves to help take care of their own problems. On the day that Hiroshi Tanahashi ended his legendary wrestling career, Konosuke Takeshita was there in the semi-final of the Tokyo Dome taking part in a double championship match against Yota Tsuji. Takeshita was putting the IWGP World Heavyweight Title on the line while Tsuji was defending the IWGP Global Heavyweight Title. Instead of wearing the “blessed” kneepad from yesterday’s DDT show, Takeshita had a different costume on that included a red bandana wrapped around his arm. It was later confirmed to belong to Shinsuke Nakamura who couldn’t be there on the night. The grand battle came down to Takeshita and Tsuji charging into each other, Wagamama versus Gene Blaster. The Gene Blast won out but rather than go for the pin, Tsuji instead put Takeshita in the Crab Hold to make him tap out! Takeshita admitted defeat afterwards but knows he can get stronger and climb higher. According to him, this is just the beginning.
Kaisei Takechi’s appearance in the Tornado Rambo match turned out to be rather pointless. He got to make a big entrance along with the rest of THE RAMPAGE with a live performance of the song “BREAK IT DOWN”. However the rules of the match resulted in his team’s elimination happening in a rather uneventful manner. Yuya Uemura and Taichi eliminated each other double Battle Royal style, meaning both of their teams were taken out of the match too. It wasn’t really a good showcase for Takechi, Uemura or Shota Umino in anyway outside of THE RAMPAGE entrance. Takechi wants to team up with the others again because he regrets how little they did in the match. Then maybe after that he could fight against them too.
The pre-show match allowed Chris Brookes to bring some SCHADENFREUDE International energy into the Tokyo Dome. With the likes of Antonio Honda, Baliyan Akki, Munetatsu Nakamura and Bunbun on his side, Brookes got to pull out the rubber band spot that stretched all the way up the Tokyo Dome entrance ramp. El Phantasmo had too much fight in him though and he kicked out of the Praying Mantis Bomb. Brookes kicked out of the CRIII but ELP quickly hit him with the Super Thunder Kiss ’86 to successfully defend the NJPW World TV Title. Backstage ELP talked about how a decade ago Brookes was one of the few wrestlers to give him a hand while he was touring the UK and that always meant a lot to him. He also talked about how the health scare Brookes had last year is what led to him finding out about his own cancer diagnosis months later. For that he will be forever greatful to Brookes. He also predicts 2026 is going to be a crazy year for pro wrestling in Japan and today they got to give everyone a taste of what it could be like.
Almost ten years after my last visit to Japan, I’m a day away from flying back out there. Spending the new year in Tokyo and attending Wrestle Kingdom at the Tokyo Dome has been something I’ve wanted to do for over a decade but real life obligations prevented me from ever going through with it. Luckily for me, this time around everything has fallen into place for me to actually do it and the timing of it means I’m going to the biggest Wrestle Kingdom to happen in years. Not only that but the itinerary I’ve put together for this trip has become the mother of all wrestling holidays. Stardom at Sumo Hall? I’m going to that. NOAH in Budokan Hall? I’ll be there. DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro having their year opening events in Korakuen Hall? You bet I wouldn’t miss that for the world! Add in shows at Shinjuku FACE, Shin-Kiba 1st RING, TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi and even Ichigaya Chocolate Hall it all ends up with me pretty much speed running all of the famous and infamous Tokyo wrestling venues within a fortnight.
As for what will get posted on this blog while I am gone? I honestly don’t know at the moment. I’m bringing my laptop with me and will at least post the match results when I can but show reports, up to date news and other stuff will likely be put on the wayside until I return home and get some rest. I did a small one for the DDT show I went to in Saitama back in 2016 (which you can read here). Same goes for any end of trip report where I talk about what the experience is like. Worrying about that sort of stuff would only get in the way while I’m trying to enjoy my holiday. What I’ll likely do is tweet about all the shows I’m going to so you might get not non-DDT and non-TJPW related stuff from me on your feeds for the next two weeks.
What I have done in preparation for this trip is take part in a podcast about it. I was invited onto Wrestling Omakase for a massive roundtable covering as many of the shows happening around Wrestle Kingdom and the New Year’s period as we could. My lion’s share of the recording is in Part 1 for the men’s companies where I talk about DDT, NJPW, NOAH and BASARA. Then I pop up for half an hour in Part 2 as part of the TJPW section. Links to the episodes can be found below:
Wrestling Omakase #276: Wrestle Kingdom Week 2025-26 Preview Part 1 (NJPW, NOAH, AJPW, DDT, BASARA, Ganbare, BJW & GLEAT)
NJPW “SANSEI R&D PRESENTS WRESTLE KINGDOM 20 IN TOKYO DOME – HIROSHI TANAHASHI RETIREMENT”, 01/04/2026 Tokyo Dome
0. NJPW World TV Title: El Phantasmo (c) Vs Chris Brookes
1. NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Titles – Tornado Rambo: Toru Yano, YOH & Master Wato (c) Vs Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Oleg Boltin Vs Ren Narita, SANADA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru Vs Tiger Mask, Togi Makabe & Ryusuke Taguchi Vs Shota Umino, Yuya Uemura & Kaisei Takechi
7. IWGP World Heavyweight Title & IWGP Global Heavyweight Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c/w) Vs Yota Tsuji (c/g)
Some DDT filled surprises appeared at today’s New Japan show in Korakuen Hall. It was the final NJPW event of 2025 as well as the go home show for “WRESTLE KINGDOM 20” in the Tokyo Dome. The first surprise happened after the opening match. El Phantasmo had just successfully defended the NJPW World TV Title against Ryusuke Taguchi in an open challenge when Christmas music began to play. Santa Claus (looking very Tatsuya Matsumoto shaped) walked down to the ring with a present for ELP. The champion opened it up to reveal Bunbun was inside it! Chris Brookes suddenly appeared in the ring, gave ELP a Low Blow and attacked both Santa as well as Jado the reindeer. Brookes got on the microphone and said even though they are good friends, he has to take an opportunity like this. ELP is always looking for challengers so Brookes is challenging him for the NJPW TV Title at the Tokyo Dome! He gave Phantasmo the Praying Mantis Bomb before telling everyone that things are going to change in 2026, starting with Brookes winning the TV Title.
There was another DDT related appearance a few matches later. The House Of Torture had just won a 10-Man Tag Match in dominating fashion and they continued to beat down their opponents afterwards. Kaisei Takechi unexpectedly got into the ring to try and put a stop to things, receiving some help from Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura to chase them off. When things calmed down, Umino joked if this means Takechi will be showing up at the Tokyo Dome (he’s already booked). Takechi told Umino he always wanted to wrestle him and they could team up with Uemura to enter the Tornado Rambo together. Uemura said it takes more than just looking cool to wrestle in a New Japan ring but if that’s what Takechi wants, he is up for going after the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Titles with them.
NJPW “NIGHT OF THE PURGE ~PURGE NIGHT OF TORTURE~”, 07/10/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,481 Fans – No Vacancy
4. SANADA, DOUKI & SHO defeated Yuki Ueno, Akito & Kaisei Takechi by Referee Stoppage when DOUKI used the Italian Stretch No. 32 on Akito (16:08).
A few DDT wrestlers were given an invite to a dangerous event held in a New Japan ring. The House Of Torture are the latest act in the company who got to run a vanity show of their own, following in the footsteps of El Desperado and Taiji Ishimori. But while the previous shows were put together for the sake of having crazy ideas come to life, today’s event had a more evil (or should I say EVIL) motive. The House Of Torture had a list of wrestlers they wanted to purge for one reason or another and EVIL wanted to see Kaisei Takechi in particular be punished for his success.
SHO started things off by making fun of THE RAMPAGE and called everyone on Takechi’s team a bunch of country bumpkins. Akito then got under SHO’s skin by pointing out that SHO may be hiding his true feelings but he is taking everything in this match seriously. The proof is right there in how much he prepared his speech to introduce each wrestler on the team to the audience. Also you don’t get a physique with low body fat like that without some serious training.
The House ended up getting the last laugh with a destructive victory over the DDT team. SANADA broke a guitar over Yuki Ueno’s head while DOUKI used the Italian Stretch No. 32 on Akito, holding onto him with a tight grip. SHO added extra damage by hitting Akito over the head with a tray while he was stuck in the hold, leading the referee to stop the match for Akito’s safety and declare HOT the winners. The team then added extra insult to injury by attacked Takechi after the bell, holding him upside down with his legs split apart so SANADA could karate chop him in the crotch.
Backstage DOUKI said that just because Takechi is good looking, has a great body and can do super cool moves that doesn’t mean he is a match for HOT. All of his lame fans who support THE RAMPAGE shouldn’t underestimate pro wrestling! The same goes for anyone who thinks DDT and NJPW are on the same level. However Ueno noticed there was a giant glint in DOUKI’s eye while they were wrestling each other because the two of them used to train together in DDT’s old dojo ten years ago. With that being said there is only on wrestler in NJPW that makes Ueno’s heart flutter and that’s Hiromu Takahashi. If Ueno ever comes back to New Japan, he will be on the lookout for him. Meanwhile Takechi stepped forward under his own volition and told reporters he wants to have a match with Hiroshi Tanahashi somewhere before Tanahashi’s retirement takes place.
NJPW “KING OF PRO-WRESTLING 2025”, 13/10/2025 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan 5,372 Fans
9. IWGP World Heavyweight Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Zack Sabre Jr. (c) with the Wagamama (31:16). *Zack Sabre Jr. fails in V3. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA becomes the 14th IWGP World Heavyweight Champion!
He did it! After winning the G1 Climax during the summer, Konosuke Takeshita has now taken the next step up and has won the IWGP World Heavyweight Title! He went into today’s show having a 1-1 singles record with Zack Sabre Jr. coming out of the G1. Now was the big rubber match with New Japan’s top championship on the line. Sabre tried to break Takeshita down limb by limb and the damage he inflicted prevented Takeshita from capitalizing on some possible comebacks. However he was able to survive being tangled into submission holds and relied on those big impact moves to take their toll on Sabre. With both wrestlers reaching their limit, a spent Takeshita took Sabre’s wind out of his sails with German Suplexes before catching him unaware with a Reverse Hurricanrana. Takeshita then decided to pull down his own kneepad and hit a raw Wagamama knee strike that kept Sabre down for the pin count.
While Takeshita was making a promise to Sabre after the match about protecting the IWGP Title, he noticed the reaction in Sumo Hall to his victory was mixed. Takeshita acknowledged there are New Japan fans who aren’t happy to see him become the champion and is certain some of the wrestlers in the company feel the same way. He called for anyone to come down and challenge him. Hirooki Goto answered the call and entered the ring. Goto said Takeshita knew this would be coming because he wants to win the IWGP Title again. Takeshita was surprised to see Goto because he expected one of the younger NJPW wrestlers to challenge him first. However he has unfinished business with Goto from last year’s G1 tournament and he is not going to start following Goto’s revolution, so he accepts the challenge. Backstage Takeshita told reporters that winning the championship is not his end goal. He wants to defend the championship at the Tokyo Dome but is not taking that position for granted. That’s why he wants his title defence against Goto to take place before “WRESTLE KINGDOM 20”.
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Can you guess how much I’m beaming with joy right now? I’ve been following this guy’s career since the beginning so to see him go from winning the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title in DDT before his debut to winning the IWGP Title in New Japan just has me feeling delighted right now. But there’s quite a number of NJPW fans out there who aren’t in a celebratory mood over this result like I am. NJPW has had a cold year and Takeshita’s presence when he is there isn’t doing anything to help warm it up. One common complaint are that it’s because he only shows up for the big events and is nowhere to be seen on the tour loops. Another is that Takeshita’s presentation hasn’t caught on with the fans. Try as he might to act like he’s about to be crowned Japan’s next big star, he still comes off as an outsider to the company’s fanbase. An obvious answer to this problem is to lean into that and have Takeshita play the role of the new boss monster for NJPW’s stars to eventually take down. But New Japan themselves haven’t committed to that idea ever since the halfway point of the G1 when Takeshita switched to acting more like a face wanting to unite the wrestling world instead of dominating it all as “The Alpha”.
Takeshita as IWGP Champion is also now the focal point of an issue that is dividing two specific fanbases, the relationship between New Japan and AEW. How far you lean into being a fan of one or the other opens up different paths. For the AEW fan there is fun to be had fantasy booking what happens next with Takeshita in The Don Callis Family, especially since he is currently involved in a slow build storyline with Kazuchika Okada. Both men are now champions and they just so happen to have a chance this upcoming weekend to win the AEW World Tag Team Titles together. They win and that’s a pretty amazing tag team you got there. They lose and we’ll likely get the next chapter in the story where Takeshita gets kicked out of the Family and turns face in AEW.
New Japan fans though do not give a shit about from what I’ve seen of their responses online. They’re sick of seeing their company playing second fiddle in this relationship and they don’t want a repeat of Jon Moxley’s title reign where the champ was absent from a couple of tours in Japan only to take part in a throw away title defence with zero build on AEW TV. I bet tempers will flare even hotter if the brand new IWGP Champion was to immediately take a pinfall loss on PPV less than a week later even if it was all part of an angle to turn (big) babyface. They’re also sick of AEW fans fantasy booking Takeshita Vs Okada for the IWGP Title at the Tokyo Dome. I myself am not expecting that match to happen mainly because Okada has almost completely avoided doing anything New Japan related ever since he jumped ship to AEW. There’s been his appearances at “FORBIDDEN DOOR” this year and last and I think that’s been it.
As for me? I’m soaking in the moment. One of my favorite wrestlers in now a top champion and chances are I’m going to see him defend the belt at the Tokyo Dome this 4th January. That’s my boy!
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 