DDT Around The World – January 2023

February 1, 2023

The first month of 2023 felt like DDT’s international plans have jumped up a gear. Konosuke Takeshita now finds himself orbiting the current AEW World Title storyline and Yuka Sakazaki has her sights set on a Ring Of Honor championship, making a new enemy (maybe her first?) in the process. Maki Itoh is getting further entrenched into GCW while Miyu Yamashita is also out there growing her stock across America. Things are going to ramp up even further in the coming months as we approach WrestleMania weekend.

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Videos


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 11/01/2023
KIA Forum, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Bryan Danielson Vs Konosuke Takeshita


PRESTIGE “VENDETTA”, 21/01/2023
The Glass House, Pomona, California, USA

1. Kevin Blackwood Vs MAO


Video starts at 2:20:10 for the match
ROH “JAY BRISCOE TRIBUTE AND CELEBRATION OF LIFE”, 25/01/2023
Save Mart Center, Fresno, California, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Sandra Moone

Video starts at 2:03:40 for the match
SETUP “SETUP EP.11”, 28/01/2023
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. International Single Match: Matcha Vs Yuki Kamifuku


Video starts at 22:05 for the match. Go to 39:55 for The Dark Order segment.
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 30/01/2023
Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky, USA

1. Athena & Diamante Vs Yuka Sakazaki & Skye Blue (w/ Madison Rayne)


Video starts at 31:48 for Match #1. Go to 41:03 for Match #2.
AEW “DARK”, 31/01/2023
Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Avery Breaux
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Angelico

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Results


GCW “56 NIGHTS”, 01/01/2023
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. 4 Way Match: Maki Itoh defeated Dark Sheik, Billie Starkz and Sawyer Wreck when Itoh pinned Sheik with the I.S.D (8:01).

I think Itoh is fitting in with GCW a little too well. During her last trip their she became firmly established as a member of Nick Gage’s gang, adopting the pizza cutter as her new weapon of choice and even entering to Gage’s theme music “For Whom The Bell Tolls” by Metallica! It’s been working out for her because she was the last woman standing in a 4 Way against Dark Sheik, Billie Starkz and Sawyer Wreck! She even got a piggy back ride from Gage back to the locker room after the match. Being MDK all day has its benefits.


PWG “BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES 2023 – FIRST STAGE”, 07/01/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Battle Of Los Angeles 2023 – Round 1: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Michael Oku with the Zahi (17:17).

Takeshita’s hectic month began with the Battle Of Los Angeles tournament in PWG. It is one of the most high profile events on the American indies even though it takes about 6 months for official videos of the event to actually surface. Takeshita only had one match on the first night but it was an intense fight against Michael Oku, who is an English wrestler you should be paying attention to. Countering the Blue Thunder Bomb with a Reverse Hurricanrana is no easy feat.


PWG “BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES 2023 – FINAL STAGE”, 08/01/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Battle Of Los Angeles 2023 – Round 2: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Titus Alexander with the Jumping Knee (9:38).
2. Battle Of Los Angeles 2023 – Semi Final: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Komander with a Backslide Pin (5:43).
3. Battle Of Los Angeles 2023 – Final: Mike Bailey defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Flamingo Driver (27:22).

Night two was an even busier night for Takeshita. He went through three rounds to reach the BOLA final, beating the west coast’s own Titus Alexander and luchador Komander. The only man who had an even busier night in the ring was Takeshita’s opponent in the final. It was his good old friend Mike Bailey! Speedball fought four matches in one night due to a busy weekend schedule and won them all. That’s right, Bailey beat Takeshita in the final and he used the Flamingo Driver to do it. It was the very move Bailey first created to beat Takeshita in 2018.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 11/01/2023
KIA Forum, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Bryan Danielson defeated Konosuke Takeshita by Referee Stoppage with the Regal Stretch (14:47).

No rest for the wicked because a few days later Takeshita stepped up to face the one and only Bryan Danielson in AEW! There was more than just a wrestling match to pay attention to because MJF entered the ring after Takeshita to run down everybody on the microphone, Takeshita included. Takeshita responded to the AEW World Champion first in Japanese and then told MJF in English to kiss his ass. Once that was out of the way Takeshita and Danielson put on one hell of a match that ended with Takeshita passing out to the Regal Stretch. Danielson had nothing but the highest of praise for Takeshita afterwards.


ROH “JAY BRISCOE TRIBUTE AND CELEBRATION OF LIFE”, 18/01/2023 (Aired 25/01/2023)
Save Mart Center, Fresno, California, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Sandra Moone with the Magical Magical Girl Splash (3:02)

The January tour for Sakazaki began with what you could say is her debut for Ring Of Honor. It was under sad circumstances because the taping was held in tribute for the late Jay Briscoe, who tragically lost his life in a car crash the previous day. Sakazaki beat Sandra Moone in one of the matches taped for the show and showed good sportsmanship to her opponent afterwards. Oh and there was that one guy in the crowd who was having the time of his life dancing to Sakazaki’s theme song after the match.


WARRIOR “WARRIOR WRESTLING 27”, 21/01/2023
Bendix Arena, South Bend, Indiana, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Zachary Wentz with the Zahi (14:21).

Takeshita was back to winning ways on the indies. His first visit to Warrior Wrestling put him in the ring with Zachary Wentz of The Rascalz. It was a back and forth match that ended with Takeshita hitting the Jumping Knee followed by the Zahi for the three count.


PRESTIGE “VENDETTA”, 21/01/2023
The Glass House, Pomona, California, USA

1. Anything Goes Match: Sonico defeated Shunma Katsumata with the BMF through the Lego covered door (16:53).
2. MAO defeated Kevin Blackwood with a Screw High Kick (13:21).
3. ROH Women’s Title: Athena (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Title Belt Attack (20:59).
*V4 for Athena.

Yamashita’s plan to become a triple crown champion had already fallen apart by the time she travelled to California for her latest Prestige appearance. Now thanks to Athena’s cheating she is also no longer undefeated in the promotion. Athena tricked the referee into thinking Yamashita had hit her with the ROH Women’s Title belt. Then when the ref’s back was turned, Athena grabbed the belt and whacked it over Yamashita’s head for the three count!

MAO had the breakout performance of the show with his win against Kevin Blackwood. The one moment in particular that went viral was MAO giving Blackwood a Springboard Hurricanrana off the corner and then following up with a Swan Dive Phoenix Splash, aka the Marines Tornado Splash!

Shunma Katsumata also had a crazy match with Sonico. It had to be because he was asking fans to bring Lego and other items to the show so they could use them as weapons! The chaotic match ended with Sonico spitting Poison Mist in Katsumata’s eyes and then crashing him through a lego covered door from the top rope. The two showed respect to each other after the match.


AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 25/01/2023 (Aired 30/01/2023)
Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki & Skye Blue (w/ Madison Rayne) defeated Athena & Diamante when Sakazaki pinned Diamante with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (7:11).

Sakazaki’s return to AEW actually began earlier in the month when she started a program with Athena. For weeks Athena has been winning matches and beating up her opponents afterwards. Sakazaki ran down to put a stop to it, sending Athena out of the ring. Sakazaki noticed the ROH Women’s Title belt and showed an interest in taking it. The following week the two women met up backstage and got into a fight, causing them to be pulled apart. That all led to the match on this show. Sakazaki teamed with her usual AEW tag partner Skye Blue while Athena struck a deal with Diamante to tag with her. Sakazaki scored the win after sending Athena out of the ring with a Hurricanrana and then pinning Diamante with the Magical Merry-Go-Round.

That wasn’t the end of Sakazaki’s night though. She was approached by The Dark Order later backstage with an offer to join their group. She kept telling them “Hai!” but they misunderstood and thought she was just saying hello. They left her alone, convinced they were being rejected. She made the Dark Order pose with her hand anyway. So maybe she’s in (or maybe she’s not, brother)?


SPW “CHAMPIONS NEVER YIELD”, 27/01/2023
Foochow Building, Singapore

1. Queen Of Asia Title: Alexis Lee (c) defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Shotgun Double Knees (?:??).
*V1 for Alexis Lee.

In travels much closer to home Yuki Kamifuku took a mini-tour of southeast Asia after her team was eliminated from the Max Heart Tournament. Her first stop was in Singapore Pro Wrestling where she challenged Alexis Lee for the Queen Of Asia Title. Lee successfully defended her title by pinning Kamifuku with the Shotgun Double Knees.


SETUP “SETUP EP.11”, 28/01/2023
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. International Single Match: Yuki Kamifuku defeated Matcha with the Famouser (9:43).

The next day Kamifuku was in Thailand to take on Matcha at a SETUP show. Things got better for her here… sort of. Kamifuku pinned Matcha with the Famouser but for some reason the bell never rang and the two of them decided to continue wrestling. Kamifuku had climbed up to the second rope ready to do a flying Famouser when the bell finally rang and the referee tried to explain to a confused audience that the match had ended with Kamifuku as the winner.


AEW “DARK”, 28/01/2023 (Aired 31/01/2023, 07/02/2023 & 13/02/2023)
Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Avery Breaux with the Magical Girl Splash (4:15)
2. Konosuke Takeshita defeated EJ Nduka with the Zahi (4:15).
3. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Bronson with the Zahi (6:37).

The month for Takeshita and Sakazaki ends with an AEW Dark taping in Universal Studios. Sakazaki’s match with Avery Breaux has already been shown on the most recent episode as I type this. Takeshita’s matches with EJ Nduka and Bronson will be show in February. The EJ Nduka match got some attention online because it is Nduka’s first appearance in the ring since leaving MLW a few weeks earlier.

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Upcoming Appearances


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 01/02/2023
Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Brian Cage (w/ Prince Nana)

So now Takeshita has found himself playing a part in the MJF Vs Danielson feud. In the weeks since his Danielson match, Takeshita has called MJF an asshole in interviews and saved Danielson in the ring from an attack from MJF and Brian Cage. The next part of the story happens tonight when Takeshita faces Cage one on one.


DPW “YOU ALREADY KNOW”, 25/02/2023
NC State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer (c) Vs Raychell Rose & Hyan

The Princess Tag Team Titles are heading over to America thanks to The Wasteland War Party. The new champions have set Deadlock Pro Wrestling as their next target and agreed to defend the titles against Raychell Rose & Hyan. It will be the first time the Princess Tag Titles will be defended outside of Japan. Rose is an established part of DPW’s roster, being the young company’s first women’s champion. Hyan is a talent from the Texas scene who is well travelled around the US indies.


GCW “HOLY SMOKES”, 04/03/2023
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X
2. Joey Janela Vs VENY

Itoh will have a lot to do with GCW in March and she won’t be alone for any of it. Asuka/VENY will be travelling over to Atlantic City alongside her. They’ll be wrestling together on the second show but first, VENY is getting a GCW welcoming party from Joey Janela.


GCW “RANSOM”, 05/03/2023
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh, Rina Yamashita & VENY Vs Sawyer Wreck, Billie Starkz & Janai Kai

Itoh is familiar with all three of her opponents Wreck, Starkz & Janai Kai at this point. Rina Yamashita is joining in the fun and will surely make the match turn out way more violent than anticipated.


EVE “WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY”, 08/03/2023
229 The Venue, London, England

1. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Lizzy Evo

Yamashita’s scheduled EVE Title defence against Lizzy Evo was delayed due to the concussion Yamashita suffered in Tokyo Joshi Pro a few days earlier. She was unable to travel abroad safely because of it. The match will now take place at EVE’s next event in March.


SETUP “SETUP EP.12”, 18/03/2023
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP Thailand Openweight Title: Monomoth (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi

Masahiro Takanashi is getting a title match when he returns to Thailand in March. Monomoth is the current SETUP Openweight Champion and is now counting down the days for his defence against Takanashi to happen.


NEW “NEW 12”, 24/03/2023
Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada

1. Maki Itoh Vs X
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

YYamashita makes her Canadian debut with Nation Extreme Wrestling. Itoh joins her and cannot wait to eat poutine again.


PANDEMONIUM PRO “NEW 12”, 29/03/2023
Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh & Kidd Bandit Vs Taya Valkyrie & Heather Monroe

Damn it this was announced while I was in the middle of finishing this post. Itoh makes her debut for Pandemonium Pro Wrestling teaming with Kidd Bandit. Together they take on Taya Valkyrie & Heather Monroe! Bandit once cosplayed as Itoh and got her approval so will they be showing up in matching costumes on the night?


DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

DDT are sending 16 wrestlers over to Los Angeles for the company’s big return to America. They are Kazusada Higuchi, Jun Akiyama, MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Sanshiro Takagi, Konosuke Takeshita, Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Ueno, Chris Brookes, Saki Akai, KANON, Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Michael Nakazawa, Yoshihiko and the winner of the D GENERATIONS CUP. This will be Takeshita’s only DDT match during the week.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES”, 31/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

The report from The Wrestling Observer last November was true. TJPW is travelling along with DDT to America this March! Here’s the interesting wrinkle. The TJPW show is being held under the Wrestlecon umbrella ran by Highspots while DDT is with GCW and The Collective. Now that’s playing both sides! Somewhere between 12 and 15 members of the TJPW roster will be part of the show along with some international guest wrestlers.


DDT/GCW “GCW VS DDT”, 31/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne Vs MAO & Mike Bailey

The first GCW Vs DDT match announced is sure to be a barn burner. MAO & Mike Bailey are back together as The Moonlight Express for the first time in three years. Their opponents are two of GCW’s most talked about prospects. Together Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne are The East West Express.

Other DDT wrestlers so far confirmed to appear are Higuchi, Akiyama and Yoshihiko. As already mentioned, Takeshita will not be part of the GCW Vs DDT show. ROH have their PPV happening around the same time so maybe he shows up there?


PRESTIGE “NERVOUS BREAKDOWN”, 31/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Taya Valkyrie Vs Miyu Yamashita

Another match that got announced right after I finished this post. You’re killing me here lads. Yamashita faces Valkyrie for the first time ever.


GCW “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK 7”, 31/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Here me out. The payoff to the Itoh and Gage interactions has to be the two of them in the same match together, right? They’re both MDK so Itoh & Gage teaming together makes sense. But “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK” has the reputation of being one of the craziest booked shows to happen anywhere every year. Gage is the GCW World Champion so why not have him defend it against Itoh on this show! Or how about Itoh versus Kota Ibushi now that he’s been announced for the show?


LLL “MONSTER ISLAND”, 07/04/2023
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Heidi Howitzer Vs Maki Itoh

Heidi Howitzer got the chance to pick any opponent she wanted for the next Lucha Libre & Laughs show in April. She wants to fight Itoh and made her challenge in words Itoh can understand: “Hey Maki, fuck you!”


WEST COAST PRO “HOME OF THE KILLERS”, 07/04/2023
The State Room, South San Francisco, California, USA

1. West Coast Pro Women’s Title: X (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

Another promotion debut for Yamashita is happening while she is in America this Spring. West Coast Pro will be crowning their first Women’s Champion in March. Whoever it is, her first defence will be against Yamashita in April.

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Cancelled Appearances


EVE “EVE 100”, 07/01/2023
229 The Venue, London, England

1. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Lizzy Evo

As mentioned above, the title match was pushed back to March because of Yamashita’s concussion preventing her from travelling overseas.

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Posted by JamieOD

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’23” Results

January 4, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’23”, 04/01/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,111 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. HIMAWARI Debut Match: Yuki Aino defeated HIMAWARI with the Venus DDT (6:05).
2. Wakana Uehara Debut Match: Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano defeated Arisu Endo & Wakana Uehara when Miyamoto submitted Uehara with the Rashomon (9:15).
3. Nao Kakuta, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami defeated Raku, Pom Harajuku & Haruna Neko when Kakuta pinned Neko with the Shiden Kai (8:36).
4. New Year Special Match: Shoko Nakajima and Hyper Misao both win when they grabbed the “Hit” (14:53).
5. Princess Of Princess Title Next Challenger Decision Battle Royal: Mizuki defeated Rika Tatsumi, Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku, Hikari Noa and Suzume (16:58).
5a. Yuki Kamifuku eliminated Hikari Noa by Ring Out (4:52).
5b. Maki Itoh eliminated Yuki Kamifuku by Ring Out (6:20).
5c. Mizuki eliminated Rika Tatsumi with an Assisted School Boy (8:02).
5d. Maki Itoh eliminated Suzume with the Itoh Punish (10:40).
5e. Mizuki eliminated Maki Itoh with the Cutie Special (16:58).
6. International Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) defeated Trish Adora with the Tear Drop (10:34).
*V2 for Miu Watanabe.
7. Princess Tag Team Titles: Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer defeated Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) when Max pinned Arai after the Master Blaster (11:29).
*Reiwa AA Cannon fails in V4. The Wasteland War Party becomes the 11th Princess Tag Team Champions!
8. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Magical Girl Chicken Dude (16:08).
*V2 for Yuka Sakazaki.

On this date three years ago, Yuka Sakazaki successfully defended the Princess Of Princess Title against Miyu Yamashita at the annual 4th January Korakuen Hall show. Three years later and the result repeated itself. Sakazaki had to pull out her most dangerous moves to beat her most dangerous opponent and expect the same to be given to her. She did a Brainbuster outside the ring only for Yamashita to fire back with a German Suplex on the floor. Yamashita also did the Avalanche Attitude Adjustment and hit the Skull Kick clean. Sakazaki kicked out though and also survived the Crash Rabbit Heat aimed at the back of her head. She fought back using the Magical Merry-Go-Round. A strike exchange caused Yamashita’s kick and Sakazaki’s elbow strike to clash with each other. Sakazaki got the upper hand by using a Rolling Elbow, keeping Yamashita down long enough for the Magical Girl Chicken Dude to find its target and end the match.

While Yamashita was being taken out of the ring with Maki Itoh’s help, Sakazaki said she can do the match again. Yamashita responded by bowing and sticking her fist out with a scream before leaving. Sakazaki then thanked everyone for coming to see the show on a busy 4th January. She now has to talk to her next challenger. It’s the other Magical Sugar Rabbit and her closest friend Mizuki! It’s a match that Sakazaki admits she does not want to do. Mizuki said she felt like she was being left behind while watching Sakazaki get stronger. But she spent the last year working hard and gaining confidence in herself. She is emotional about the match but wants to surpass Sakazaki and be the one who wins the Princess Championship from her. Sakazaki accepts her challenge and wants the match to happen at “GRAND PRINCESS ’23” in Ariake Coliseum on 18th March!

A monster team have defeated Reiwa AA Cannon and taken the Princess Tag Team Titles for themselves! Max The Impaler left a big impact when they invaded Tokyo Joshi Pro last year. Their returning presence is now further strengthened with Heidi Howitzer joining along and together The Wasteland War Party can call themselves champions in Japan! The champions found their usual attacks ineffective with Saki Akai’s Triangle Choke not being strong enough along with the Double Rookie Award not being enough to put down the challengers. The most dread filled moment came when Yuki Arai’s Finally kick was caught by Max and the SKE48 idol was blown away with a Lariat. The end came when the War Party joined up and hit a combined body press called the Master Blaster to get the pinfall. There is still hope left for Reiwa AA Cannon. Akai said shen she looked into Arai’s eyes after the match she could see the fire was not gone from her. Arai said she wants to do her best with Akai in the Max Heart Tournament so they can challenge for the titles again. Backstage Howitzer said the result went exactly how she expected. She also thinks the pink belts look good on her & Max. They will look forward to seeing who TJPW throws their way to try and get their championship back.

Things went better for Miu Watanabe in her title defence. She was able to beat Trish Adora to retain the International Princess Title. Adora twisted the champion several ways including with a Cattle Mutilation. But Watanabe powered out of it and found a way to use the Giant Swing. Adora caught a second wind until it was knocked out of her with a Double Sledgehammer strike and the Laserbeam. The Tear Drop came afterwards and Watanabe achieved her second title defence. She was happy to win against a foreign opponent who is unlike anyone she has fought before. As long as she has the championship, she thinks it will be her ticket towards wrestling in America. Now she just has to learn English. Adora praised Watanabe for being a wonderful champion and the better fighter today. She is confident she will return to TJPW someday.

Mizuki earned her No. 1 Contendership by beating five opponents in a mini Rumble. Hikari Noa and Maki Itoh started off slow until Yuki Kamifuku entered the ring. The three of them stopped fighting each other and all ganged up on Rika Tatsumi after she joined the match. That alliance ended when Noa climbed the top rope and was Dropkicked out of the ring by Kamifuku for the first elimination. Tatsumi finally got some help when Mizuki made her way into the fight but again it was a short lived pairing. Kamifuku then turned on Itoh but made the mistake of charging her near the ropes. Itoh made sure that Kamifuku went over the top rope to the floor to knock her out of the match. Suzume was the last entrant and she helped Mizuki and Itoh pin Tatsumi by piling on top of them. Itoh dodged the Ring A Bell from Suzume and trapped her in the Itoh Punish for the next elimination. That left Itoh and Mizuki as the final two. They went back and forth until Mizuki hit Itoh with a Spinning Back Elbow. That allowed her to do the Cutie Special, pinning Itoh and making Mizuki the next in line for a Princess Title shot.

The annual Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao match is always an oddity but this time it may have gotten its oddest finish yet. Three toy rabbits were left hanging above the ring with a piece of paper included in each of them. Only one of them was the correct rabbit and grabbing that would win the match. The other two included stipulations that would come into effect if either wrestler grabbed them. Nakajima placed a ladder on top of Misao and climbed up to grab a rabbit. She picked the wrong one and the match turned into Rabbit Lumberjack Rules. Several wrestlers came down to the ring wearing rabbit ears and armed with hammers to attack anyone who left the ring. Both Nakajima and Misao felt their wrath. Misao then climbed the ladder but the rabbit she grabbed turned the match into Hardcore rules where dangerous weapons are now allowed. Nakajima brought in a box of kaiju toys and emptied it in the ring. She later paid the price when Misao slammed her on top of the pile of toys. Misao also crashed her Hyper Bike into her outside the ring. Both of them climbed back up the ladder and grabbed the one rabbit left at the same time. Yukinori Matsui couldn’t decide who won the match so instead of calling it a tie he declared both of them the winners! Misao couldn’t understand if that was possible until Nakajima explained they got three cute rabbit toys out of it. Both of them are happy to win their first match of the year before the Max Heart Tournament begins. Too bad they spent the rest of the day being chased after by the Rabbit Lumberjacks.

Raku began her new year leading Pom Harajuku & Haruna Neko in the Goodnight Express on their opponents. Harajuku tried to continue that momentum by hitting Mahiro Kiryu 108 times only to lose count, allowing Kiryu to escape. Raku & Harajuku cleared the ring of Kiryu & Kaya Toribami. It was all up to Haruna Neko but victory slipped away from her paws. Nao Kakuta got the win for her team after pinning Neko with the Shiden Kai.

Two wrestlers made their pro debuts on the show. Idol Wakana Uehara had already wrestled before on the Yume Pro Wrestling show last year. She decided to go pro and teamed with Arisu Endo on the 2nd anniversary of Endo’s debut. Uehara used Body Slams, Sleeper Holds and Dropkicks during her time in the ring. Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano used double team kicks to get rid of Endo. Miyamoto then put Uehara in the Rashomon to make the rookie give up. Miyamoto praised both of her opponents for their growth while Nagano said Uehara showed great guts. Uehara said she admires Shoko Nakajima the most and hopes to have a high flying battle against her someday.

The other debut was HIMAWARI who took on Yuki Aino in the opener. HIMAWARI repeatedly tried to knock down her opponent with Shoulder Blocks. Her momentum was stopped with a Side Suplex and Aino then finished her off with the Venus DDT. Aino hadn’t seen HIMAWARI train before this match so did not know what to expect from her. But she saw HIMAWARI has passion and enjoyed doing the back and forth Shoulder Blocks with her. HIMAWARI said her debut felt special because it happened at the start of TJPW’s 10th year. She wants to help the company grow from here on out by being a wrestler who makes fans laugh and feel moved.

Five announcements were given out by Sayuri Namba at the beginning of the show. The biggest one is that TJPW will be going to America this Spring! “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES” will take place at the Globe Theater in LA on 31st March as part of the WrestleCon end of the week’s festivities. Around 12 to 15 women from the roster along with foreign talent will be taking part on the show. TJPW was originally meant to have their US debut in Florida back in 2020 but the trip was cancelled because of the Covid pandemic.

The second biggest announcement was the introduction of a new trainee. Toga is a 19 year old from Kanagawa. She promised to do her best and make her debut in a TJPW ring.

All four members of The Up Up Girls performed a musical number together before the opening match. They announced the unit will be holding another audition for new members this year.

The other two announcements were merchandise related. Miu Watanabe and Suzume are the next two wrestlers to collaborate with Idolmaster Cinderella Girls. Watanabe’s costume will be given to Aya Kirino and Suzume’s costume will be given to Aki Yamato. The other merch announcement is the publication of a TJPW fan book releasing nationwide in Japan on 30th March. Early copies will be available to buy at “GRAND PRINCESS ’23”.

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Official TJPW Best Matches Of 2022

January 1, 2023

The annual vote for the best matches in Tokyo Joshi Pro was completed over the holidays and the results were announced today. This year TJPW received over 350 votes on Twitter including an increase of responses from fans overseas. Only matches held on TJPW shows and “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022” were eligible for votes. In the end more than 110 matches received votes and two tied for 20th place.

TJPW Best Bouts 2022


1. Tokyo Princess Cup – Semi Final: Miyu Yamashita Vs Miu Watanabe
13th August @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
195 pts


2. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki
9th October @ Tokyo Dome City Hall
162 pts


3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Saki Akai & Yuki Arai
9th July @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
153 pts


4. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi
9th July @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
143 pts


5. Tokyo Princess Cup – Final: Yuka Sakazaki Vs Miu Watanabe
14th August @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
119 pts


6. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Mizuki
4th January @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
111 pts


7. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
19th March @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
105 pts


8. Pom Harajuku Vs Max The Impaler
13th August @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
88 pts


9. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima
19th March @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
86 pts


10. Mizuki Vs Arisu Endo
27th November @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
62 pts

11. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu
4th September @ Aichi Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall
52 pts

12. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Shoko Nakajima Vs Miu Watanabe
31st August @ Tokyo Otemachi Mitsui Hall
50 pts

13. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Rika Tatsumi Vs Suzume
31st August @ Tokyo Otemachi Mitsui Hall
47 pts

14. Falls Count Anywhere Match: Hyper Misao Vs Sanshiro Takagi
19th March @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
44 pts

15. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Millie McKenzie
27th November @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
38 pts

16. Nodoka Tenma Vs Yuki Aino
19th March @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
35 pts

17. Sakisama, Mei Saint-Michel, Martha & Yukio Saint Laurent Vs Marika Kobashi, Raku, Pom Harajuku & Ram Kaichow
19th March @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
pts

18. Falls Count Anywhere 5 Way Tag Match – Special Rules: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Hyper Misao & Nodoka Tenma Vs Marika Kobashi & Raku Vs Hikari Noa & Yuki Arai
28th February @ WRESTLE UNIVERSE
31 pts

19. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Yuki Aino & Pom Harajuku
27th November @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
30 pts

20. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) Vs Yuki Arai
19th March @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
22 pts

20. Suzume Vs Ryo Mizunami
9th October @ Tokyo Dome City Hall
22 pts

Honorable Mentions

These four matches just missed out on making the Top 20.

22. 2nd “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Final: Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino
11th February @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall

23. Suzume Vs Yuki Arai
11th February @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall

23. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta
3rd May @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall

23. International Princess Title: Alex Windsor (c) Vs Miu Watanabe
9th October @ Tokyo Dome City Hall

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Posted by JamieOD

Mizuki’s 10th Anniversary Match, Masada Wants To Go To Hollywood, Ittenyon Title Matches

November 28, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ANGEL AND RABBIT”, 15/12/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. Mizuki Debut 10th Anniversary Match: Mizuki & Rika Tatsumi Vs Yuka Sakazaki & Nao Kakuta

Oh so that’s why the show is named what it is. Mizuki is celebrating 10 years in wrestling next month and got to put together her own match to celebrate. She decided to team with Rika Tatsumi in a regular tag match for the first time because Tatsumi is the one person in Tokyo Joshi Pro who best represent’s Mizuki’s fanbase. Their opponents are going to be Yuka Sakazaki & Nao Kakuta. Sakazaki is Mizuki’s long time tag partner who regularly dominate the tag division as The Magical Sugar Rabbits. Kakuta is similar to Mizuki because the two started their wrestling careers outside of TJPW and eventually made the place their home.

DDT “NEVER MIND 2022”, 29/12/2022
Tokyo Dome City Hall

1. Sanshiro Takagi Vs Takeshi Masada
2. Pheromones Vs “Miyako & Ward” Pheromones Subjugation Allied Forces: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Osamu Nishimura, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Shunma Katsumata
3. Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai Vs Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata
4. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Chihiro Hashimoto
5. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs X

From out of left field we are getting Shinya Aoki versus Chihiro Hashimoto at the end of the year. In other words this is Shinya/Hashimoto. This is a match Aoki has been wanting to do after seeing Hashimoto wrestle in GLEAT earlier this year.

Takeshi Masada is hoping to be part of DDT’s trip to Los Angeles next year so he can get to wrestle in Hollywood. Sanshiro Takagi is fired up over the show too but isn’t convinced Masada is ready to be part of the big shows. If Masada can beat Takagi in a singles match, he can then be allowed to convince Takagi he deserves to go.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’23”, 04/01/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. International Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Trish Adora
2. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer
3. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

At the end of yesterday’s show Miyu Yamashita approached Sakazaki and asked her to put the Princess Of Princess Title on the line against her at the annual 4th January show in Korakuen Hall. Sakazaki didn’t want to but would change her mind if Yamashita promised to buy her some high quality cream puffs. Well Yamashita spent today asking for recommendations, went to buy the treats and has since gifted them to Sakazaki. That means the title match is going ahead!

Reiwa AA Cannon has done a good job defending the Princess Tag Team Titles so far. Now comes their biggest and toughest challenge yet. Max The Impaler is coming back to TJPW and is bringing The Wasteland War Party with them! Max is teaming with Heidi Howitzer to challenge the champions. They both think the pink title belts will look good on them.

Miu Watanabe defeated a foreign wrestler to win the International Princess Title and is now going to defend against a foreign wrestler for the first time. Trish Adora has been one of the standouts of the American indy scene over the last few years. She recently had a hard fought match with Yamashita, which leads to her coming to TJPW at the start of 2023.

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TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’22” Results

November 27, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’22”, 27/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
657 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Suzume defeated Yoshiko Hasegawa with the Ring A Bell (8:13).
2. 2 Vs 3 Handicap Match: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami when Nakajima pinned Neko with the Northern Lights Suplex (9:17).
3. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe defeated Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano when Tatsumi submitted Nagano with the Dragon Sleeper (13:01).
4. Mizuki defeated Arisu Endo with the Cutie Special (9:55).
5. Yuki Kamifuku & Nao Kakuta defeated Maki Itoh & Hikari Noa when Kakuta pinned Noa with the Shiden Kai (13:22).
6. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Millie McKenzie with the Crash Rabbit Heat (13:52).
*V1 for Miyu Yamashita.
7. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) defeated Yuki Aino & Pom Harajuku when Arai pinned Harajuku with the Finally (14:45).
*V3 for Reiwa AA Cannon.
8. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) defeated Billie Starkz with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (14:50).
*V1 for Yuka Sakazaki.

Tokyo Joshi Pro’s final visit to Korakuen Hall for this year was headlined with Yuka Sakazaki’s successful first defence of the Princess Of Princess Title. Her opponent was Billie Starkz, a high school pro wrestler from America on her first tour of Japan. Starkz left a big impression with her high impact moveset, particularly the Sugoi Driver and Swanton Bomb that were both landed onto Sakazaki on the ring apron. Sakazaki had her own rough streak by doing a Brainbuster on the floor and adding a more vertical drop to the Tea Time. She later blocked another Swanton Bomb with her knees and pinned Starkz with the Magical Merry-Go-Round to win.

Sakazaki praised her challenger after the match and called her the best future star in the American scene because she gets to wrestle both men and women over in there. Her mood changed when Miyu Yamashita walked out and entered the ring. She tried ignoring Yamashita until she was challenged to a Princess Title match on the 4th January Korakuen show. Sakazaki immediately refused. Fans in the audience started calling for Yamashita to promise a treat for Sakazaki in order to get the title match because that is what she did for their previous Ittenyon match in 2020. Yamashita listed off all the different sweet food she could buy and Sakazaki turned each one down until she was offered cream puffs. That led to a little more deliberation and Sakazaki finally agreed to do the match as long as Yamashita gifts her double custard cream puffs tomorrow. Yamashita forcibly shook her hand and made her take a commemorative photo of the challenge to seal the deal.

Sadly Raku was at home sick with covid but she was still at Korakuen in spirit to support Yuki Aino & Pom Harajuku challenging for the Princess Tag Team Titles. Aino & Harajuku did the Goodnight Express together on Saki Akai for the early advantage. Harajuku in particular had the spotlight shining over her for the dramatic moments of the match. She fought with Yuki Arai and hit the Pom de Justice but Akai broke the count. Arai fought back with a Big Boot, leading the Reiwa AA Cannon to join up and hit the Double Rookie Award. Arai then finished Harajuku off with the Finally to score the team’s third successful title defence. Backstage Arai & Harajuku agreed that they want to challenge for the belts again and this time do it with Raku on their team.

Reiwa AA Cannon’s victory speech was interrupted when the room went dark and a video began playing on the screen behind them. The video showed Max The Impaler along with their tag team partner on the indies Heidi Howitzer. Together they are The Wasteland War Party and they are coming to TJPW on 4th January to fight the Princess Tag Team Champions! The message was in English but Akai & Arai were able to figure out the challenge was aimed at them. Akai said a champion has to overcome many difficulties such as this to make the title belts shine brighter. Arai understood and is ready to end her year on a happy note by getting ready for her first match of 2023.

Yamashita’s main focus of the show was to defend the EVE Championship against Millie McKenzie. The two have developed a rivalry recently in Europe splitting singles matches against each other in Spain and English. Today Japan was hosting the rubber match. Yamashita was in danger early on taking a German Suplex on the floor as well as a Topé Suicida, the Spear and a Sleeper Hold. She regained her ground using High Kicks and a close range Crash Rabbit Heat. McKenzie kicked out but was bombarded with the Skull Kick, Buzzsaw Kick and a full range Crash Rabbit Heat to take the fall. Today is meant to be the final match of their rivalry but Yamashita wants to continue fighting her in more countries around the world. McKenzie said she was disappointed over the loss because she let EVE down. However if she had to lose to anybody, she believe’s there is no better opponent than Yamashita.

Previously when Yuki Kamifuku & Nao Kakuta teamed together they were called Uma x3 as a reference to horse racing. Kamifuku showed some horseplay by getting Maki Itoh to drop her guard for a selfie and then poking her in the eyes. Later, Itoh & Hikari Noa were gathered together for Kamifuku to both give them the Famouser together. Nao Kakuta finished the sweep by pinning Noa with the Shiden Kai.

Arisu Endo was given brand new entrance music starting today called “My Way Is The Rainbow”. What hasn’t changed is she still can’t win a singles match. Mizuki left her beaten after an exchange that went from her Crossface Lock to Endo’s Camel Clutch. Mizuki fought out of the Waterwheel Drop and stunned Endo with a Spinning Back Elbow. That gave her the opening to hit the Cutie Special and win the match.

Daydream were put against a tag team of Karate wrestlers. Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano did their best to put their skills together to good use but the experience gap was too large to overcome. Rika Tatsumi had Nagano trapped into the Dragon Sleeper to make her give up.

Match #2 was officially a 2 Vs 3 Handicap Match. Kyoraku Kyomei weren’t going to stand for that so they dragged the TJPW GM Tetsuya Koda into the ring and encouraged him to take part in the match! Koda was convinced after the crowd chanted his name and then he got beaten up by the other team. If that wasn’t bad enough, Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao decided to join in and all five women stomped him before throwing him out. They went on with the match as normal without him. Misao took out Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami with the I Am A Hero, leaving the ring clear for Nakajima to pin Haruna Neko with the Northern Lights Suplex.

Today is Suzume’s birthday and she got to celebrate by beating the guest Yoshiko Hasegawa in the opener. The Ganbare☆Pro wrestler did a Flying Cross Body of her own to match Suzume’s. She went into a flurry of Elbow Strikes until Suzume cut her off with a Facebuster and won with the Ring A Bell.

There were a few announcements to kick off the show. Miu Watanabe learned she will be defending the International Princess Title on 4th January against Trish Adora from America. Watanabe said she is nervous to defend the title against foreign wrestlers but wants to kick off her 2023 by successfully defending the belt.

Mizuki is celebrating her 10th Anniversary in wrestling next month and got to book her own commemorative match on 15th December. She is teaming with her longtime admirer Rika Tatsumi to take on Yuka Sakazaki & Nao Kakuta. Sakazaki is there because it is the rare time when The Magical Sugar Rabbits are pitted against each other. Kakuta is involved because she began her wrestling career outside of TJPW like Mizuki did. Tatsumi was chosen to be Mizuki’s tag patner because Tatsumi represents Mizuki’s fans.

When the Yume Pro Wrestling -dream on the ring- series ended it was left up to the three contestants to decide if they wanted to continue on the path to pro wrestling. One of them is doing just that. Wakana Uehara announced her plans to stay in the business and wrestle for TJPW when she is ready. She did not know a thing about pro wrestling when she agreed to take part in the series and over time grew to love it along with developing an admiration for TJPW. She will train to wrestle while continuing her career as an actress and TV personality. Her first goal is to develop her skills high enough that she gets to wrestle against Shoko Nakajima.

Since Raku was absent, Shino was again in her place performing with the rest of The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) as the show opening act.

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Posted by JamieOD

Pom’s Tears For Her Tag Title Match, Spirit Of EVE Ruleset, Katsumura Returning Home Empty Handed

November 26, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’22”, 27/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Suzume Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
2. 2 Vs 3 Handicap Match: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Haruna Neko, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami
3. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano
4. Mizuki Vs Arisu Endo
5. Maki Itoh & Hikari Noa Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Nao Kakuta
6. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Millie McKenzie
7. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Yuki Aino & Pom Harajuku
8. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Billie Starkz

The match contract for the Princess Tag Team Titles match was signed earlier this week. Everyone involved gave comments on the match too. Saki Akai has been watching Yuki Aino’s matches ever since she debuted but she doesn’t sense any of the burning passion that Aino always talks about. She does not feel threatened by the challenging team for that reason. Yuki Arai does not feel used to defending her championship and is still nervous over these matches. Aino was meant to go into this match with Raku and will still be motivated to fight for her while she is absent with covid. Pom Harajuku broke down into tears because she wanted to see her friends challenge for the championship and now Raku cannot do it. Aino encouraged her to fight together and suggested they can divide the Tag Titles into thirds if they win. This match is happening around the same time as Harajuku’s 4th anniversary so she thinks it might be God/Raku telling her it’s time to show everyone she is an adult pro wrestler. Oddly enough, Akai thought the sight of Harajuku crying was kind of scary…

The EVE Title match will be held under the “Spirit Of EVE” ruleset used by the British promotion. The match has a 30 minute time limit, no countouts and the referee can end the match if one of wrestlers no longer shows the spirit to continue fighting. Really, it’s the no countout rule that is the only real difference here. Tokyo Joshi Pro’s title matches also have 30 minute time limits and there’s been referee stoppages over here in the past for knockouts and submissions.

There will be three people greeting the audiences during Sayuri Namba’s opening announcements before the show begins. It could be anything from some of the trainees learning about their pro debuts, outsiders visiting to promote an upcoming match with the company, members of the roster having news to tell everyone and so on.

DDT “UTAN FESTA 2022”, 27/11/2022
Tokyo JR Omori Station East Exit Square

1. Sanshiro Takagi, Yusuke Okada & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Toru Owashi, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Kazuma Sumi
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Joey Janela, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku
4. World Omori Title: Chikara (c) Vs Soma Takao
5. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani
6. Omori Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & RSP Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata

Here is the match order for tomorrow’s outdoor show.

GANBARE☆PRO “TOKIMEKI NISHISU 2022”, 03/12/2022
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. GanJo Special Single Match: Moeka Haruhi Vs YuuRI
2. GanPro Specialty Mixed Tag Match: Shinichiro Tominaga & HARUKAZE Vs Yuki Kanzaki & Yoshiko Hasegawa
3. GanPro Special 6-Man Tag Match In YOKOHAMA: Ken Ohka, Shuichiro Katsumura & Tsuyoshi Okada Vs Keisuke Ishii, Soma Takao & Tyson Maeguchi
4. GanPro Vs P.P.P: Yumehito Imanari & Yuna Manase Vs Kentaro Hachisu & Echika Miyabi
5. Tokimeki Nishisu 2022 Special Tag Match: Hartley Jackson & Seiya Morohashi Vs Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase

Shuichiro Katsumura returns to his hometown of Yokohama for the first time in Ganbare☆Pro since his failed attempt to win the Spirit Of Ganbare Title in the venue.

Fresh off of her first ever win, YuuRI dials up the difficulty level and takes on Moeka Haruhi.

DDT “NEXTBODY PRESENTS STERNNESS 30TH ANNIVERSARY VOL. 2 IN OSAKA ~JUN AKIYAMA DEBUT 30TH ANNIVERSARY ROUND 2~”, 10/12/2022
Osaka Izumi City Plaza Yayoi no Kaze Hall

1. Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku Vs Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Kazuki Hirata
3. Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Soma Takao Vs Toru Owashi, Chris Brookes & Toi Kojima
4. Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya
5. The 37KAMIINA Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON
6. Special Single Match: Tigers Mask Vs Yusuke Okada
7. NEXTBODY presents Jun Akiyama Debut 30th Anniversary Match In Osaka ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo & Sanshiro Takagi Vs Zeus, Bodyguard & Ryouji Sai

The injured Naomi Yoshimura is being replaced by Sanshiro Takagi on this show.

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Gilberto Style, Pom Replaces Raku, Naya’s Forbidden Training

November 23, 2022

BASARA “BASARA 204 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 21~”, 26/11/2022
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR

1. Daichi Kazato & Lil’ Kraken Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
2. 3 Way Match: SAGAT Vs Daiki Shimomura Vs Takato Nakano
3. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Ryota Nakatsu
4. FUMA Vs Yasu Urano
5. Isami Kodaka & Masato Kamino Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Fuminori Abe

We’re building up to Isami Kodaka against Fuminori Abe for the Union MAX Title next month.

The FUMA Vs Yasu Urano match can be treated as an unofficial 3rd place playoff from the Chouten ~Itadaki~ tournament. Both of them were eliminated from the semi finals.

BASARA “BASARA 205 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 22~”, 26/11/2022
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR

1. Submission Tag Match: Daiki Shimomura & Takato Nakano Vs Man Man Kai Kind & Fuminori Abe
2. Jacket Tag Match: Daichi Kazato & Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Masato Kamino & Lil’ Kraken
3. Horror! Jusenkyo Single Match: Tsutomu Oosugi Vs Banana Senga (Special Referee: Isami)
4. Loser Loses Gilberto Style Match: Yasu Urano Vs Isami Kodaka
5. Kung Fu Yoga Allied Forces Vs Ninja USA Forces Counter Attack: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & FUMA Vs Ryota Nakatsu & SAGAT

Asian Kung Fu Revolution are producing the evening show. Can the alliance of Kung Fu and Yoga defeat American ninjas in the final battle of the night?

The Gilberto Style Match between Urano and Kodaka is taken from the anime Baki The Grappler. In the anime it is a contest where both fighters hold onto the same handkerchief while they fight. The first one to let go of the handkerchief loses. The “Loser Loses” wordplay is because the Loser Loses his honour in defeat.

Speed Of Sounds having a match against each other is notable by itself but the match title sounding like a reference to Ranma 1/2’s cursed springs has me confused over what they could be planning.

DDT “UTAN FESTA 2022”, 27/11/2022
Tokyo JR Omori Station East Exit Square

1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Kazuma Sumi
2. Sanshiro Takagi, Yusuke Okada & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Toru Owashi, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada
3. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Joey Janela, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku
5. World Omori Title: Chikara (c) Vs Soma Takao
6. Omori Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & RSP Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata

Harimao will be without Naomi Yoshimura for a while but at least Kazusada Higuchi still has Yuki Ishida with him. They will team up with RSP to take on The 37KAMIINA.

We’re getting a preview of Joey Janela against Jun Akiyama. It may be the most normal action we’re going to get between the two as they prepare for the DDT Extreme Title match.

No Battle Royal to determine next year’s No. 1 Contender for the World Omori Title?

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’22”, 27/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. 2 Vs 3 Handicap Match: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Haruna Neko, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami
2. Suzume Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
3. Mizuki Vs Arisu Endo
4. Maki Itoh & Hikari Noa Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Nao Kakuta
5. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano
6. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Millie McKenzie
7. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Yuki Aino & Pom Harajuku
8. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Billie Starkz

Raku tested positive for covid and is unable to appear on this weekend’s show. Yuki Aino will now team with Pom Harajuku for the Princess Tag Team Titles match. Harajuku was chosen because the show coincides with the 4th anniversary of her debut match and this will be her first ever title shot.

DDT/ONLY WE “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2022 IN CHIBA”, 03/12/2022
Chiba 2AW Square

1. Yusuke Okada & Kazuma Sumi Vs Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Hiroshi Yamato
3. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku
4. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match ~ DAMNATION T.A Vs PERON GRANDES!: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Shogun Okamoto Vs Akira Raijin
5. ONLY WE x DDT Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & Quiet Storm Vs Chris Brookes, RSP & Takeshi Masada
6. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya

Yoshimura’s injury changes the top matches for the DDT & ONLY WE collaboration. Ω now faces the team of HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya, giving Naya a chance to fight Yuji Hino again. Higuchi is now in a 6-Man Tag Match with Ishida and Quiet Storm against the international trio of Chris Brookes, RSP & Takeshi Masada.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 THE FINAL”, 04/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Antonio Honda
2. Soma Takao, Hideki Okatani & Hikaru Machida Vs Yuya Koroku, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada
3. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo & Yusuke Okada Vs MAO & Shunma Katsumata
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazuma Sumi
5. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuji Hino, Chris Brookes & RSP Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON
6. DDT Extreme Title: Joey Janela (c) Vs Jun Akiyama
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – Final: Yuki Ueno Vs Yukio Naya

Naya visited his father Takatoriki Tadashige this week to give him the latest report on his pro wrestling career as well as talk about his brother Oho’s currently impressive run at the Grand Sumo Tournament in Fukuoka. Naya told his father he was competing in the D-Ou Grand Prix and qualified for the final next month. Takatoriki praised his son for working hard but told him he always had weak luck. Everybody likes people who are hungry to succeed and try their best but those qualities can be useless if Naya does not have the spirit to bring down his opponent and win. So Takatoriki offered to teach Naya that spirit by using forbidden gambling training to improve his luck.

The training is forbidden because Takatoriki was a retired sumo wrestler who became blackballed from the sport after admitting to illegal gambling on baseball games which resulted borrowing large amounts of money to pay off his debts. Despite his dark history with gambling, he felt this was necessary and challenged Naya to beat him in a game of blackjack. Naya succeeded and his father promised to reward him with a 6 month gift voucher at a Personal Training gym if he wins the D-Ou Grand Prix.

Four of the D-Ou Grand Prix participants who failed to make the final now have to team up together and fight the entire DAMNATION T.A.

Naruki Doi returns and gets his request to fight HARASHIMA granted. It’s in a 6-Man Tag Match though and HARASHIMA has to fight against the rest of his DISASTER BOX stablemates.

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Posted by JamieOD

Yamashita Wins EVE Title!

November 14, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’22”, 27/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Millie McKenzie
2. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Yuki Aino & Raku
3. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Billie Starkz

Yesterday in England, EVE held two shows called “WRESTLE QUEENDOM V” with Miyu Yamashita and Hyper Misao among the talent involved*. Yamashita came out of the shows as one of the big winners of the weekend. She beat Millie McKenzie in a No. 1 Contender match on the first show, then on the second show beat Alex Windsor to become the new EVE Champion! McKenzie challenged Yamashita for the title afterwards, reminding everyone she beat her in Spain last month and they now have a 1-1 record against each other. Yamashita agreed and since McKenzie is already going to wrestle in Japan next week, it will be the perfect time to do the rubber match over there!

The team of Yuki Aino & Raku are the newest challengers for Reiwa AA Cannon. The two of them being paired together recently has raised Raku’s confidence and she would like nothing more but to win the Princess Tag Team Titles and give her belt the perfect window seat on her train journeys.

*I’ll write a more detailed report in my Around The World post at the start of next month.

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Posted by JamieOD

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT AUTUMN ~YUKI ARAI TRIUMPHANT PERFORMANCE~” Results

November 13, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT AUTUMN ~YUKI ARAI TRIUMPHANT PERFORMANCE~”, 13/11/2022
Kyoto KBS Hall
308 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Moka Miyamoto defeated Kaya Toribami with the Korokan (6:21).
2. 3 Way Match: Shoko Nakajima defeated Suzume and Haruna Neko when Nakajima pinned Neko with an Inverted Hurricanrana (8:16).
3. Yuki Aino & Raku defeated Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu when Raku pinned Kiryu with the Doctor Yellow (11:31).
4. Rika Tatsumi defeated Arisu Endo with the Figure 4 Leg Lock (9:23).
5. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki defeated Maki Itoh & Hikari Noa when Sakazaki pinned Noa with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (15:07).
6. Saki Akai & Yuki Arai defeated Miu Watanabe & Pom Harajuku when Arai pinned Harajuku with the Finally (18:34).

After the main event Yuki Aino & Raku challenged Reiwa AA Cannon for the Princess Tag Team Titles. Raku said she has tried many times to win that championship and failed. She’s been teaming with Aino a lot recently and thinks she is now ready to finally win it. Aino backed up Raku’s words and believes together they can beat the strongest and most gorgeous team of Saki Akai & Yuki Arai. Reiwa AA Cannon accepted the challenge and the match will happen at Korkauen Hall on 27th November.

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Posted by JamieOD

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS III” Results

October 9, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS III”, 09/10/2022
Tokyo Dome City Hall
1,007 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano defeated Arisu Endo & Kaya Toribami when Nagano pinned Toribami with the Senpukyaku (9:24).
2. Nao Kakuta, Yuna Manase & Yoshiko Hasegawa defeated Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Haruna Neko when Kakuta pinned Neko with the Shiden Kai (12:11).
3. Ryo Mizunami defeated Suzume with the Lariat (11:05).
4. TDC (Tottemo Dekkai Chance) Rules: Mizuki defeated Hyper Misao with the Diving Foot Stomp from the Ladder (8:25).
5. Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Aino & Max The Impaler defeated Aja Kong, Raku & Pom Harajuku when Tatsumi pinned Harajuku with the Sliding Hip Attack (12:48).
6. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh defeated Riho & Hikari Noa when Itoh submitted Noa with the Itoh Special (13:44).
7. International Princess Title: Miu Watanabe defeated Alex Windsor (c) with the Tear Drop (10:21).
*Alex Windsor fails in V2. Miu Watanabe becomes the 9th International Princess Champion!
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) defeated Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade when Arai pinned Nightshade with the Finally (10:21).
*V2 for Reiwa AA Cannon.
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Shoko Nakajima (c) with the Magical Girl Niwatori Yaro (22:44).
*Shoko Nakajima fails in V5. Yuka Sakazaki becomes the 11th Princess Of Princess Champion!

For the third time in her career, Yuka Sakazaki has become the Princess Of Princess Champion! She avenged her loss against Shoko Nakajima from June at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022” to regain the belt for the first time in 21 months. Nakajima pulled out her biggest moves to try and defend the title including the Locomotion Northern Lights Suplex as well as the Diving Senton onto the ring apron. But Sakazaki went high risk by performing the Magical Merry-Go-Round off the top turnbuckle. The Magical Girl Splash was not enough to finish off the champ so Sakazaki had to pull out the 450 version to win in the end.

Sakazaki was thrilled with the result and hugged Nakajima after the match. Nakajima wrapped the title belt around her waist in return. Sakazaki then told the fans she was finally able to beat Nakajima and got to do so in a big venue in front of a sold out crowd. She said it is because of the fans supporting Tokyo Joshi Pro that she’s been able to steadily improve her skills enough to make this moment happen. She also talked about TJPW’s growth resulting in her making new friends not just in Japan but from overseas too.

As the show was reaching its end, the entire roster gathered together and Sakazaki told them there is an important announcement about to be made. A video played containing two messages. First, the annual Ittenyon show at Korakuen Hall on 4th January will take place again in 2023 for the 8th consecutive year. Secondly, “GRAND PRINCESS ’23” is taking place at Ariake Coliseum on 18th March, 2023! It will be the first wrestling show to be held in the venue in 6 and a half years.

The growing relationship between TJPW and EVE resulted in several British wrestlers taking part in title matches below the main event. The Uprising of Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade were brand new opponents for Reiwa AA Cannon. It was the first time Yuki Arai was taking on wrestlers from another country. However with Saki Akai’s guidance, the champions were able to retain. Together they took out O’Reilly with Double Rookie Awards and Akai got to pin Nightshade with the Finally. Akai explained in her post match interview that even though The Uprising had the size and power advantage, she could sense herself & Arai climbing up step by step towards victory as the match went on. Arai said the match is a reminder she still has a lot to learn but she got good experience from it. Akai does not know when their next defence is but she wants to spend Christmas and New Year’s with Arai and take their title reign all the way to Valentine’s Day so they can exchange their belts to each other.

Miu Watanabe’s breakout performance at this year’s Tokyo Princess Cup has paid off with her winning the International Princess Title! She beat Alex Windsor by kicking out of the Liger Bomb and pinning her with the Tear Drop. This is not the first time Watanabe has held gold in TJPW but she’s been waiting so long to win a singles title as a reward for her progress that it sure felt like her first time today. After the summer Watanabe had, she believes today’s result was destiny. The president of the idol agency The Up Up Girls are signed to once told her that the day she becomes a full-fledged pro wrestler will also be the day she becomes a full-fledged idol. She wants to do her best to grow the value of the championship while also continuing to grow as a wrestler herself. That includes defending the title overseas.

The last time Miyu Yamashita fought Riho was in 2019 for DDT so she really wanted to spend a lot of time in the ring against her today. Maki Itoh wanted to fight Riho of course and tried replicating her athletic bridging pin kickout. Hikari Noa was also happy to finally team with Riho for the first time. It was a match that Riho was really looking forward to and at the end she picked Yamashita as someone she would like to fight more often. The two of them pretty much cancelled each other out so it was up to Itoh to get the win by making Noa tap out.

Monster collided with monster when Max The Impaler and Aja Kong were put on opposite sides of the trios match. Everyone else involved were just as much trying to stop those two from tearing down the arena together than they were trying to win. Max threw Pom Harajuku around a lot and then threw her own partner Yuki Aino at Kong. Raku’s idea to arm herself with a pillow for her sleep inducing offence worked about as well as you’d expect. Kong kept Max at bay by attacking her with a steel can while Rika Tatsumi pinned Harajuku with the Sliding Hip Attack. That didn’t stop the two monsters fighting after the match and they brawled up to the stage entrance with everyone else trying to break things up. When things finally calmed down backstage, Tatsumi said they all became closer. Aino absolutely disagreed. What they could agree on was Tokyo Dome City Hall was successfully protected from the Great Monster War. Meanwhile Kong is demanding another match with Max and wants it to be held in a venue that will let her do whatever she wants!

Hyper Misao thinks she is almost evenly matches with Mizuki. The one big difference is she lacks the flowery personality of Mizuki that makes her so princess-like. So Misao asked for the match to be held under TDC (Tottemo Dekkai Chance) Rules. A large bag of random treats and goodies was brought into the ring and everything within it was allowed to be used as a weapon. The ring was soon covered in ribbons, balloons, party string while Misao and Mizuki attacked each other with Pico Pico Hammers. Misao then emptied out a box of Nakajima’s kaiju toys to slam her opponent onto. They fought up to the stage where Misao trapped Mizuki in a garbage can and walked off to find her Combat Bike. Meanwhile Mizuki quietly escaped and hid behind the can with a fire extinguisher, spraying Misao with it when she charged in from across the stage (she later revealed Sanshiro Takagi taught her how to use it). Mizuki brought her back to the ring, climbed a ladder and hit the Diving Stomp off of it to get the win. Mizuki said she proved she can be even more crazy than Misao. But she doesn’t want to be like that so please continue calling her cute.

The speed of Suzume clashed with the brawn of Ryo Mizunami in a first time match. Suzume did some dives early but was drawn into Elbow Smash battles of which Mizunami came out on top of. Suzume switched to some clever matwork but was worn down with more Elbow Smashes. When she was on her last legs, Mizunami encouraged her to stand back up under her own strength so she could be finished off with the Lariat. This was Mizunami’s second match in TJPW and she is becoming fascinated by the place. She sees the future potential in everyone here which encourages herself to keep being stronger. Suzume wants to fight her again so she can also become strong and not lose so easily.

The Actwres girl’Z alumni were victorious against the TJPW home team. Toyo Mates organised some teamwork with Haruna Neko but Yuna Manase broke it apart with a Lariat to Mahiro Kiryu. She was then hit by Yuki Kamifuku’s Big Boot and Kamifuku was wiped out from Yoshiko Hasegawa’s Flying Cross Body. Neko got rid of her with the Nekodebraker and tried to wrap things up against Nao Kakuta. But Kakuta got the upper hand and pinned Neko after a Cross-Arm DDT followed by the Shiden Kai. Backstage Kakuta said it’s been two years since she announced her participation with TJPW in TDC Hall. Two years later and she got to be with both Manase and Hasegawa again. She wrestled in a new costume today but will be evolving herself to become better. The match was Hasegawa’s first victory since returning to wrestling so it is a big deal for her. Manase said she will do her best so that the day will come when they get to fight together again.

Seven months after her debut, Juria Nagano scores her first win. She teamed with Moka Miyamoto in the opener against Arisu Endo & Kaya Toribami in a new generation clash. Miyamoto used a Rotating Brainbuster on Endo, giving Nagano the opening to hit a Whirlwind Kick on Toribami for the win. It was a move Nagano was secretly working on but it has a bad hit rate so she waited until she had the chance to finally use it. Nagano’s next goal is to win a singles match. She hasn’t won one yet and feels the need to prove she can win without the help of her seniors.

The Up Up Girls performed at the beginning of the show like they usually do. This time however the newest member Shino performed one of the songs with the rest of the group. She is still getting ready for her eventual pro wrestling debut.

There are two new trainees, both from middle school. Haru is 14 years old and a 3rd year junior high school student from Tokyo. Momo is from Saitama, also 14 years old and is in her 2nd year of junior high. Both said they will do their best to make it to their debut matches.

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Posted by JamieOD

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