1. 3 Way Match: Tsukasa Fujimoto Vs HARUKAZE Vs YuuRI
2. Takuya Wada Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
3. Ken Ohka, Shuichiro Katsumura & Choun-Shiryu Vs Keisuke Ishii, Shinichiro Tominaga & Tyson Maeguchi
4. Mizuki Watase & Banny Oikawa Vs Yumehito Imanari & Yappy
This show is happening while I write this but there was a change to the card at the last moment. Yuna Manase caught a fever and isn’t able to wrestle today. Replacing her on short notice is one of Banny Oikawa’s trainers Tsukasa Fujimoto from Ice Ribbon!
DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ SUPER EVE FESTIVAL!”, 02/05/2024 Tokyo Ota Ward Industrial Plaza PiO Large Exhibition Hall
1. Yuya Koroku Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Ura King Of DDT Final: Yoshihiko Vs Gota Ihashi
3. Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao Vs Keigo Nakamura & Ilusion
4. Special Single Match: Shunma Katsumata Vs Yuni
Tomorrow’s opening match is changed from a tag bout to a singles match because Rukiya has a neck injury. He is currently undergoing examination to see if it is serious.
BASARA “BASARA 247 ~AKATSUKA ROKKAMURA 2~”, 05/05/2024 Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall
1. Daichi Kazato Vs Fuminori Abe
2. 3 Way Match: FUMA Vs SAGAT Vs Ryota Nakatsu
3. Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino Vs Lil’ Kraken & Gaia Hox
4. Takumi Tsukamoto & Judomaster Vs Ryuichi Sekine & Chicharito Shoki
5. Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita Vs KUBITO & Yasu Urano
The Union MAX Title scene is a little murky at the moment. Both Daichi Kazato and Isami Kodaka are on course to fighting over the No. 1 Contendership but the match has not been booked yet. It will happen eventually but first BASARA is putting together an extra show this month to capitalise on Golden Week.
UJPW “ALL TOGETHER”, 06/05/2024 Tokyo Nippon Budokan
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Sanshiro Takagi & Naomichi Marufuji Vs EVIL, Ren Narita & Yujiro Takahashi
2. Kenoh Vs Kosei Fujita
3. Starlight Kid & Natsupoi Vs AZM & Miyu Amasaki
4. Tomohiro Ishii & Daisuke Sekimoto Vs Jeff Cobb & Masa Kitamiya
5. El Desperado, HAYATA, Ninja Mack, MAO & Kota Minoura Vs Hiromu Takahashi, Dragon Bane, Alpha Wolf, Tetsuya Endo & YAMATO
6. Taichi & KAI Vs Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes
7. Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji Vs Jake Lee, David Finlay & Gabe Kidd
8. Shota Umino, Kaito Kiyomiya & Yuki Ueno Vs Yuya Uemura, KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Shun Skywalker
A change happened to one of the DDT related matches. SANADA has been taken off the road by New Japan due to an undisclosed injury. KAI will now be teaming with Taichi in the match against Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes.
GANBARE☆PRO “EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE 2024”, 18/05/2024 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Shota Kawakami Debut Match: Ken Ohka Vs Shota Kawakami
2. Kitsune World Title: Sayaka Unagi (c) Vs YuuRI
3. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Shinichiro Tominaga & CWP X
4. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Kouki Iwasaki
The new Spirit Of Ganbare Champion wasted no time in picking his first challenger. Keisuke Ishii thinks Kouki Iwasaki is a suitable opponent to defend the title against first. The two are good friends and are certain to bring the best out of each other for the championship.
Shuichiro Katsumura is down one championship but still holds the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles with Takuya Wada. Now that might be under threat with Shinichiro Tominaga demanding a title shot. The only problem is when Tominaga went looking for a tag partner he found nobody in Ganbare☆Pro wanting to team with him. He is now searching deep into the student pro wrestling scene and promised to find somebody in CWP who will agree to join him in the fight against GROUND ABSOLUTE.
A championship from America is going to be defended in GanPro for the first time because YuuRI wants to break into the international scene. She thinks the quickest way to do that is to win the Kitsune World Title from Sayaka Unagi. The Kitsune promotion is still young but Unagi has brought their title belt everywhere with her ever since she won it, making sure plenty of people see it. She doesn’t think YuuRI will be as dedicated as she is should she win the title off her.
Please welcome GanPro’s first rookie under their new management system, Shota Kawakami! He was born in Ichikawa, Chiba on 21st July, 2001. He is 177cm tall and weighs 80kg. His sports background is in baseball up until middle school and then tennis in high school.
DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 11 ~ YUKINORI MATSUI REFEREE 30TH ANNIVERSARY BOX OFFICE ~ MAKING THE SQUARE WORLD INTERESTING”, 19/05/2024 Osaka City Sumiyoshi Civic Center
1. Future Is Here!: Yuni & Rukiya Vs Kazuma Sumi & Ilusion
2. Staggered Entry Tag Battle Royal “Surprise! Tag Rumble”: Keisuke Ishii & Akito Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Makoto Oishi Vs Soma Takao & Shota Vs KANON & MJ Paul Vs Yuki Iino & Yuki Ishida Vs Toru Owashi & Black Menso-re Vs X & X
3. An Absolutely Outrageous Tag Match Between The Four Heavenly Kings Of The Variety Team: Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
4. ACF & Koyo Daiichi Consultants Co., Ltd. Presents Single Match: Bushimasa Vs Thanomsak Toba
5. THE Non-Stop Action Battle! ~Three High Speed Crows Vs Naniwa Pro Wrestling Three Musketeers~: Naruki Doi, Shunma Katsumata & Keigo Nakamura Vs Yuto Kikuchi, Harutoki & Kohei Kinoshita
6. Battle Between Generations! Legends Vs Next Generation Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Jinsei Shinzaki & Sanshiro Takagi Vs Takeshi Masada, To-y & Yuya Korku
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match – “20 Years Ago THE OSAKA”: Magnitude Kishiwada, HUB & Kengo Takai Vs Tsubasa, Billy Ken Kid & Shoichi Uchida
8. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~Everyone Is Superhuman!~: HARASHIMA, Yuji Hino & Chris Brookes Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Shigehiro Irie & Yukio Naya
9. Special Tag Match Wrestling Masters Vs Let’s Go 40’s ~With The Bolivian Wind~: Dick Togo & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda
10. Triple Main Event – Special Single Match Kuishinbo Kamen & Kikutaro & Yukinori Matsui, Everyone’s 30th Anniversary, Add Them To Get 90th Anniversary(!) Commemorative Match ~Laughing Fukuraimon~: Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Kikutaro
11. Triple Main Event – Special Tag Match ~DDT PRIDE~: Yuki Ueno & Kazusada Higuchi Vs MAO & Tetsuya Endo
12. Triple Main Event – From All Over The World, Arriving In Osaka. Special Singles Match ~THE ALPHA Vs King Of Pro Wrestling~: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Minoru Suzuki
The last couple of matches have been added to a gargantuan lineup. The Tag Rumble match doesn’t even have all of the teams announced yet! There is one mystery team showing up on the day.
Kyohei Wada will be on the show as a special guest referee for some of the matches.
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. FOURTEEN: NONE OF THEM KNEW THEY WERE ROBOTS”, 21/05/2024 Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa
1. Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Mr. BUENO
2. Special Single Match: Masahiro Takanashi Vs Ram Kaichow
3. Special Single Match: Chris Brookes Vs The Invisible Man
4. Special Single Match: Mecha MAO (w/ Mad Dr. Ueki) Vs Takagi Sanshirobo (w/ Mad Dr. Hige)
Turning MAO into a dinosaur isn’t enough to defeat Takagi Sanshirobo so he has to take one step deeper into the madness. With the help of Mad Dr. Ueki it is time for Mecha MAO to return! But Sanshirobo has its own mad doctor by its side. The sinister science on display could end up destroying the entire building if they are not careful!
The rest of the card looks just as wacky. Chris Brookes will fight The Invisible Man in the ultimate test of public performance. Masahiro Takanashi faces Ram Kaichow one on one in what looks like the only normal match of the show. Who is Mr. BUENO? We are going to find out at the same time when Antonio Honda does.
GANBARE☆PRO “DISASTER ARTIST 2024”, 15/07/2024 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. Moeka Haruhi Comeback Match: Moeka Haruhi Vs X
After taking a year away from wrestling in order to donate a kidney to her sister, Moeka Haruhi is getting ready to return this summer!
Another Wrestlemania has come and gone. I would have posted this article sooner but I was in the middle of my own holiday and didn’t want to spend my vacation time keeping track of what MAO was doing or trying to figure out who was in the Clusterfuck and where in the match did they get eliminated. I eventually did find the time to watch as much as I could. It was a good week of work for everyone involved but I come out of it seeing diminished returns for so many groups that aren’t WWE or GCW. I usually love these weeks because there is too much going on and there’s round the clock stories coming out of it. But we’re reaching the point where there’s less fan interest in the indies and more people seem to be happy giving all of their attention towards WWE and AEW so a lot of these shows are kind of becoming wasted energy that could be refocused towards something else. Too many groups are fighting over the same dwindling audience of eyeballs and that just dilutes everything. GCW’s annual themed shows are also starting to look tired now too.
I am wondering how things will turn out next year and how much of it will depend on the time and place. The Wrestlemania related talk coming out of WWE and TKO this week is they still have not announced next year’s location yet and they may consider holding the event later in the calander to avoid clashing with other major sporting events like the NCAA Final Four or the PGA Masters. Up until now wrestling websites and even other media were pretty much convinced that Minnesota was set to be next year’s host. This week’s news now puts that into doubt and continues the years old running joke that Minnesota always gets considered for Wrestlemania but never gets chosen. Hey, if Las Vegas gets it instead and both DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro are going over again then I will be there for sure!
———————————————————————–
Videos
AEW “COLLISION”, 06/04/2024 DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Trish Adora
———————————————————————–
Results
AEW “COLLISION”, 03/04/2024 (Aired 06/04/2024) DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Trish Adora with The Magical Girl Splash (8:24).
Oh hey, Yuka Sakazaki finally made it back to America! That was a weird few months of her going missing. Don’t have to worry about that anymore, I guess? Sakazaki’s first AEW match since leaving TJPW was also her first appearance on the Collision TV show. She defeated Trish Adora and the result attracted the attention of Serena Deeb. Since then Deeb put out a challenge to face Sakazaki in a match. It has not been answered yet as of the time of this article being posted.
CIRCLE 6 “NEW FEAR CITY”, 03/04/2024 The Fire, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Chris Brookes & MAO Vs Casanova Valentine & Nate Webb
The first taste of DDT to be found in Philadelphia this week was over at Circle 6. Both MAO and Chris Brookes had barely just arrived in America on separate flights before they found themselves ready to fight a crazy no ring brawl together against Casanova Valentine & Nate Webb. I couldn’t find the result to the match but what I did find out was all four wrestlers sang “Wonderwall” and “Teenage Dirtbag” together for everyone in the audience afterwards.
1. Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos defeated MAO & Mike Bailey when Lykos pinned Bailey after a Blockbuster/Gory Special Combo (16:12).
2. Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title – BMF Battle Royal: Schaff (c) defeated Galeno Del Mal by Ring Out (14:57). Order Of Elimination: Gene Munny, LJ Cleary, Mr. Charles Crowly, Shota, Ricky Knight Jr., Luke Jacobs and Galeno Del Mal. *V? for Schaff.
The first appearance Shota made as a new freelancer was for DEFY, entering a Battle Royal for the Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title. Sadly for him he was eliminated by the champion himself Schaff. Shota tried to give him a Tornado DDT but Schaff’s was too big and strong to be pulled off his feet. Instead Schaff lifted Shota up in a Gorilla Press and threw him out of the ring.
What was perhaps the longest 24 hours of MAO’s life begun here. DEFY was where he had the first of four matches he would have in one day. It started off with MAO and Mike Bailey reuniting as The Moonlight Express for a special tag match against another reunited team in CCK. They did their best but Bailey eventually fell to the barrage of signature moves from Brookes & Kid Lykos, ending with a sick tag move to finish him off.
SHP/LOL “EUPHORIA”, 04/04/2024 Attic Brewing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. MAO defeated Matt Makowski with a German Suplex (10:04).
MAO’s second match of the day was held in a ring under a tent over at the Sean Henderson Presents show. His match against Matt Makowski was non-title but the confused commentary team on stream convinced themselves that the DDT Universal Title was on the line. MAO and Makowski brought the match out of the tent so they could briefly fight on the grass. But it returned to the ring where MAO rolled out of Makowski’s Sleeper Hold and used a German Suplex to pin him for the victory.
DDT “DDT GOES PHILADELPHIA!”, 04/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA 750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos defeated Bryan Keith & Shota when Lykos pinned Shota with the Brainbuster (8:28).
2. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo defeated Andrew “The Giant” Everett with the Burning Star Press (11:33).
3. Chiitan☆ defeated Dan The Dad with a Superplex through a Board (5:27).
4. Special Single Match: Yoshihiko defeated Kazuki Hirata with the Reincarnation (5:30).
5. DDT Universal Title – No Rules Match: MAO (c) Vs Billie Starkz ended in a Draw after a Double Pinfall (10:55).
5a. Rock Paper Scissors: MAO (c) defeated Billie Starkz when Scissors beat Paper. *V7 for MAO.
6. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated Nick Wayne & Takeshi Masada when KANON pinned Masada after the Freedom Call (7:11).
7. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Walls Of Takeshita (9:41).
8. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno defeated Mike Bailey with the WR (18:52).
GCW/JCW “GCW/JCW VS THE WORLD”, 04/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. GCW/JCW Vs The World 14-Man Tag Match: Mike Bailey, Tony Deppen, Calvin Tankman, Marcus Mathers, Charlie Tiger, Terry Yaki & Mr. Danger defeated LJ Cleary, Ricky Knight Jr., Yusaku Ito, Lou Nixon, Ho Ho Lun, Shota & Mizuki Watase when Bailey pinned Watase with the Ultima Weapon (9:54).
2. 4 Way Tag Match: MAO & Yoshihiko defeated Ciclope & Miedo Extremo Vs Robert Dreissker & Norman Harras Vs Man Like DeReiss & Leon Slater when Yoshihiko pinned Harras with the Reincarnation (22:36).
The fourth and final match MAO had on this day was another crazy affair. He joined forces with Yoshihiko to take on three other teams from around the world. Maybe it was random, maybe it was luck or maybe this kind of environment best serves their skills because they were able to stand tall against Los Macizos, the wXw team and Boisterous Behaviour to end the night and finally give MAO some rest.
Before the main event there was a 14-Man Tag Match pitting GCW & JCW against the rest of the world. Shota was part of The World team along with an unexpected appearance by Mizuki Watase! It turns out he made the trip over to Philly too. He said wrestling was not the priority of his visit though. He better have had a good reason because his travelling plans were plagued with delays and other problems according to his tweets during the week. It caused him to miss some wrestling bookings back in Japan too. If all of that wasn’t bad enough, he took the fall by taking a bunch of moves from the opposing team, ending with Bailey’s Ultima Weapon.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN PHILLY”, 05/04/2024 Penn’s Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA 750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Yuki Aino & Zara Zakher when Suzume pinned Zakher with the Twinkle Twinkle (11:01).
2. Billie Starkz defeated Hyper Misao with the Swanton Bomb (5:57).
3. Yuki Kamifuku & Viva Van defeated Raku & Trish Adora when Kamifuku pinned Raku with the Famouser (8:53).
4. Mizuki & Vert Vixen defeated Aja Kong & Pom Harajuku when Mizuki pinned Harajuku with the Cutie Special (10:31).
5. Shoko Nakajima defeated Rhio with the Senton Bomb (13:24).
6. Special Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh defeated Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe when Yamashita pinned Tatsumi with the Skull Kick (19:04).
GCW “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK 8”, 05/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh (w/ Dewey Donovan) defeated Danhausen & Ram Kaichow when Itoh pinned Kaichow and Gage pinned Danhausen with the MDKokeshi (12:56).
The weirdest of first time matchups took place at GCW’s Spring Break show. Maki Death Kill had to fight the facepainted combination of Danhausen & Ram Kaichow. Danhausen quickly cast a curse on Maki Itoh but she fired one back with her middle fingers. Kaichow then brought in a voodoo doll and twisted it to make Itoh’s body contort in a painful manner. Itoh grabbed the doll off Kaichow and attacked her with it to break the spell. Things went south for Maki Death Kill when Kaichow blinded Nick Gage with ectoplasm dust and Dropkicked him through a board in the ring corner. Danhausen then grabbed Gage’s pizza cutter and sliced open Itoh’s forehead with it! Kaichow did the same while Danhausen poured a jar of teeth into Itoh’s mouth. Gage returned out of nowhere to tackle Danhausen through a board. Maki Death Kill then gave their opponents DDTs and hit the MDKokeshi on them together for the victory.
GCW/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GCW VS TJPW”, 06/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA 672 Fans – No Vacancy
1. 3 Way Match: Suzume defeated SAKI and Pom Harajuku when Suzume pinned Harajuku with the Ring A Bell (7:54).
2. Session Moth Martina defeated Raku with the Codebreaker (5:56).
3. Arisu Endo defeated Shazza McKenzie with the Ju no Okite (7:29).
4. Steph De Lander defeated Hyper Misao with the Steph Five onto a bulk of Lipstick Cases (8:10).
5. Dark Sheik defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Diving Leg Drop (7:43).
6. Mizuki defeated Allie Katch with the Cutie Special (7:35).
7. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe defeated Billie Starkz & Janai Kai when Watanabe pinned Kai after the Daydream Eternity (13:27).
8. Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Rina Yamashita, Masha Slamovich & Maki Itoh defeated Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino when Itoh submitted Aino with the Itoh Deluxe (21:01).
1. Clusterfuck Match: Microman defeated Nick Gage by Ring Out (117:52). Order Of Elimination: Jimmy Lloyd, Shota, Bam Sullivan, Lindsay Snow, Rob Shit, Loc, DeVito, Shane Douglas, Justin Credible, Jason Knight, Jeffrey John, Charlie Tiger, Facade, Tony Deppen, Tommy Dreamer, Trevor Outlaw, Frank The Clown, Mike Bailey, Masha Slamovich, Pollo Del Mar, Colin Delaney, Cheech, Midas Black, Jay Lyon, Rob Killjoy, White Mike, Davey Bang, August Matthews, Terry Yaki, Bobby Flaco, Mr. Danger, Aerial Van Go, Tara Zep, Philly Mike, Nate Webb, Emil Jay, Green Phantom, Sexxxy Eddy, Cheeseburger, CPA, Alex Zayne, Marcus Mathers, Dark Sheik, Edith Surreal, Jamie Senegal, Mercedes Martinez, Kaplan, Brandon Kirk, 1 Called Manders, Sawyer Wreck, Kasey Catal, Tank, Monomoth, Sam Stackhouse, Beastman, Viva Van, Grim Reefer, Fuego Del Sol, Cole Radrick, Alec Price, Big Vin, Lance Scaper, Kurt Bale, Man Like DeReiss, American Giant, Silver Potato, Dr. Cube, Double Unicorn Dark, Benny Saint-Hubert, Chiitan☆, Aja Kong, Gringo Loco, Johnny Kashmere, Jordan Oliver, Rina Yamashita, Parrow, Yoshihiko and Nick Gage.
One of the biggest signs that the week has reached the end and it’s time to start going home is whenever GCW holds the Clusterfuck match. The free for all Battle Royal features the most random lineups you will ever see on a wrestling show. Sadly almost the entire DDT and TJPW roster had begun their travels back to Japan by this point but there were still a few entries to keep an eye out for. Shota was the 3rd entrant in the match and got to fight Shane Douglas for a few seconds until he was eliminated by Douglas’ patented Belly To Belly Suplex. Chiitan was one of the biggest surprises, entering the ring while it was filled with other wacky looking fighters in massive costumes. Then right afterwards Aja Kong joined in and destroyed all of those competitors, Chiitan included. The last three wrestlers left in the ring by the end was Gage, Yoshihiko and Microman. Gage attacked Yoshihiko with the pizza cutter before eliminating the doll but at the end, it was Microman who was left standing tall.
It’s time! The floodgates are open and there is loads of international wrestling to talk about in regards to our buddies in DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro. March was the busiest month Konosuke Takeshita had in ages with some big matches that can be added to his Best Of collection. Maki Itoh made up for lost time in GCW and hit it big by winning one of their championships. CDK went to wrestle in the Phillipines for the first time together. Daisuke Sasaki fitted in a late weekend trip to Mexico before he moves on to the DDT USA show. If that’s not enough, the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title even saw some action in America.
So next up comes the avalanche of wrestling that is Wrestlemania week. Both DDT and TJPW have shows going on in Philadelphia in the upcoming days. Full intro guides for their shows will be posted on this site tomorrow. A few wrestlers will be popping up here and there throughout the week. When that’s done there is even more stuff to follow. Kazusada Higuchi has a US booking coming up. Miyu Yamashita, now without a championship, will begin a two month tour of America. Itoh will always have trips with GCW to look forward to. Plus other joshi like Mizuki, Yuki Kamifuku and Hyper Misao have their own plans lined up as we head towards the summertime.
1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) Vs Rocky Romero
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 27/03/2024 Centre Videotron, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) Vs Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana)
Video starts at 1:24:45 MÁS LUCHA “NACCÍ PERRO, NACÍ PARA SER ELEGIDO”, 31/03/2024 Arena Azteca Budokan, Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico
1. Cirujano Jr. Vs Panic Clown Vs Halloween Jr. Vs Kundra Vs El Fiscal Vs Daisuke Sasaki
———————————————————————–
Results
GCW “PROJECT GCW”, 01/03/2024 Pop’s NightClub, Sauget, Illinois, USA
1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh defeated Ciclope & Miedo Extremo when Gage pinned Ciclope with a Top Rope Piledriver through a Door (9:55).
Maki Death Kill wasted no time at the start of the month. They fought Los Macizos in a chaotic match. Miedo Extremo gave Itoh a slap across the face early that made her start crying but it was only a trap so Itoh could hit him back. Ciclope also riled up Itoh by mimicking her poses. Los Macizos thought they were one step ahead by using forks to counter MDK’s pizza cutters but Nick Gage & Itoh were able to cut them up anyway. Gage was later able to give Ciclope a Piledriver off the top rope through a door for the win.
GCW “KEEP IN TOUCH”, 02/03/2024 Marriott East, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh defeated John Wayne Murdoch & Reed Bentley when Itoh pinned Bentley with the I.S.D. (14:07).
MDK then moved on to fight The Rejects on the next show. Again Itoh faked crying to get the jump on her opponent. This time it was John Wayne Murdoch who fell for it. Itoh ended up arming herself with a stapler and used it to great effect on both Murdoch and Reed Bentley. Murdoch got some revenge by hitting Itoh with a trash can over and over. Gage got rid of Bentley by using the Chokebreaker and then he tackled Murdoch through a table. That set up Itoh to hit Murdoch with the I.S.D. to win the match.
AEW “REVOLUTION”, 03/03/2024 Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
1. Will Ospreay defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Hidden Blade (21:57).
Did The Don Callis Family implode? Not really. Callis is feeling so good about his group wiping out all of their targets that he decided it was time for his two best wrestlers to fight each other on PPV just to rub it in. It was also going to be Will Ospreay’s first AEW match under his full time deal with the company. What followed was a classic match between him and Takeshita, surely one of the best of the year. Even though Takeshita lost he wasn’t out of the title chase yet. Ospreay has other plans on his mind for now and the performance gave Takeshita another path towards fighting for the No. 1 Contendership.
GCW “ASHES TO ASHES”, 09/03/2024 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. GCW Extreme Title – Scramble Match: Maki Itoh defeated Joey Janela (c), Jack Cartwheel, Alex Zayne, Marcus Mathers and Broski Jimmy when Itoh pinned Mathers with a Spinning DDT (7:32). *Joey Janela fails in V7. Maki Itoh becomes the 10th GCW Extreme Champion!
Itoh’s next GCW appearance was revealed to be in a 6 Way Scramble match with Joey Janela putting his GCW Extreme Title on the line. The finishing stretch saw Marcus Mathers crushing Janela with a 450 Splash only for Itoh to run in and drop him with a Spinning DDT to get the pin out of nowhere and become the new champion!
GCW “SO MUCH FUN”, 10/03/2024 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Nick Gage, Matt Tremont & Maki Itoh Vs Effy, Allie Katch & Dark Sheik ended in a No Contest when Mance Warner interfered (17:08).
The day after Itoh won her championship she teamed up with Gage & Matt Tremont to form Maki Death Kill Club. Their match against Thrussy ended up getting thrown out when Mance Warner interfered and attacked members of both teams. He is currently in a bloody feud with Effy so that storyline took precedence and Itoh had no involvement with the finish.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 13/03/2024 (Aired 15/03/2024) TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Komander (w/ Alex Abrahantes) with the Modified Falcon Arrow (9:39).
The next two weeks had Takeshita wrestling on Rampage to build up his win-loss record. First he defeated Komander, using a Spinning Falcon Arrow to win the match. It also looked like he shook the fallen luchador’s hand after the match. Was it a show of good sportsmanship at a time when Takeshita shies away from that sort of thing under his manager’s watch?
1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Rocky Romero with the Modified Falcon Arrow (8:54).
The next week Takeshita defeated Rocky Romero, again using the Spinning Falcon Arrow. It’s a bit funny that Takeshita finally got to wrestle a few people connected to New Japan this month. Romero was with the company in 2016 perhaps he has some info on what actually happened between NJPW and DDT back then? Ha ha ha…
DEXCON “WRESTLE STORM”, 24/03/2024 Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines
1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Jake De Leon & Ravena when Takanashi pinned Ravena after the Thrust Kick & Praying Mantis Bomb Combo (?:??). *V1 for CDK.
A new month means a new place in Asia for Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi to wrestle in. They went over to the Philippines for a wrestling promotion called Dexcon. CDK put the SETUP World Tag Team Titles against the team known as Oro Plata Mata. CDK scored the win and successful defence so they were free to celebrate with some drinks after the show.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 27/03/2024 Centre Videotron, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
1. Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana) defeated Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) with the Big Pressure (19:39).
No. 1 Contendership for the AEW World Title was up for grabs when Takeshita fought the highly fancied Swerve Strickland. It was another great match between two fantastic wrestlers. Takeshita almost had an answer for all of Swerve’s attacks. He even kicked out of the Swerve Stomp. However Strickland landed another Double Stomp when Takeshita tried to pop him up into the air. At a time when Takeshita adopted several of Naruki Doi’s moves to use in America, how ironic is it that he lost to Strickland’s version of the Muscular Bomb?
HAKUNA MATATA LUCHAS “HOMENAJE A REY BALSAS”, 30/03/2024 Unidad Habitacional de Fovissste, Puebla, Mexico
1. Karma I & Karma II (2) defeated Kurama & Daisuke Sasaki (1).
Just a few days before DDT reaches America, Daisuke Sasaki decided to travel a week early. He went to Mexico and got himself a couple of lucha libre bookings. I thought it would be impossible to find his first match at Hakuna Matata Luchas but it turns out I should have had no worries because a video of it appeared on Facebook. Sasaki an his tag partner Kurama beat Karma I & Karma II in the first fall with a Diving Body Press and Diving Elbow Drop. Then Karma II (I checked to make sure Karma I wore the golden boots and Karma II wore the silver) used a Llave Crucifix Hold to pin Sasaki for the second fall. The final fall went to the tecnicos when I vaulted II into Kurama & Sasaki like a cannonball into the corner. That resulted in Karma I & II pinning both of them for the victory.
MÁS LUCHA “NACCÍ PERRO, NACÍ PARA SER ELEGIDO”, 31/03/2024 Arena Azteca Budokan, Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico
1. Perros del Mal Light Heavyweight Title: Panic Clown defeated Cirujano Jr. , Halloween Jr., Kundra, El Fiscal and Daisuke Sasaki when Clown submitted Sasaki with a Modified Cross Hammerlock (?:??). *Panic Clown becomes the new Perros del Mal Light Heavyweight Champion!
Sasaki also took part in a show hosted by Más Lucha. He was put into a 6 Way match with the vacant Perros del Mal Light Heavyweight. The Luchawiki has 2016 as the last time the title was active but I’m not sure even The Cubs Fan himself believes if that is accurate. In a wild match with plenty of dives and some violence involving chairs, Sasaki ended up on the losing end. He did a Diving Cross Body onto Panic Clown but Clown rolled over on top of him and put Sasaki in a Cross Hammerlock kind of submission hold to make him tap out.
———————————————————————–
Iron Man Title In USA
WEST COAST PRO “MARVELOUS COAST”, 23/03/2024 United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, USA
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Sayaka Unagi (c) defeated Hyan with the Dai Fuhen Mono Ki (9:55).
1a. Sparky Ballard defeated Sayaka Unagi (c) with a School Boy. *Sparky Ballard becomes the 1,616th champion.
1b. Ref Gil defeated Sparky Ballard (c) with a School Boy. *Ref Gil becomes the 1,617th champion.
1c. Hyan defeated Ref Gil (c) with the Spear. *Hyan becomes the 1,618th champion.
1d. Sayaka Unagi defeated Hyan (c) with the Dai Fuhen Mono Ki (9:55). *Sayaka Unagi becomes the 1,619th champion.
For the first time this year the Iron Man Title made its way over to America. It is one of the many championships currently being held by Sayaka Unagi and West Coast Pro decided Hyan would be a good challenger for her. Unagi struggled to beat Hyan and the growing frustration caused her to shove the referee Sparky Ballard after a disputed nearfall. In the heat of the moment Ballard decided to take things in his own hands so when Unagi turned her back on him he gave her a School Boy and counted to three. He was now the new Iron Man Champion! Then things went nutty when another official affectionately known as Ref Gil got into the ring with a third referee and he pinned Ballard with a School Boy to take the title off of him! Gil’s reign did not last long because Hyan gave him the Spear and pinned him to win the title. Her match with Unagi continued from there and Unagi won to ensure the championship went back to her. She continued to wrestle in America that week and did not lose any matches so there were no further title changes in America. At least none that DDT knows of. She lost a match to Janai Kai in MLW a few days ago but that company gets away with a lot of stuff because nobody likes paying attention to them. That forced Unagi and DDT to come up with a story that she lost the Iron Man Title to a “Strange Foreigner” before the match happened. She then allegedly found the “Strange Foreigner” some time after the match to win it back.
———————————————————————–
Upcoming Appearances
CIRCLE 6 “NEW FEAR CITY”, 03/04/2024 The Fire, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Chris Brookes Vs X
2. MAO Vs X
Let’s get started with Wrestlemania Week! Out of all the DDT wrestlers heading to Philadelphia it will be MAO who has the lion’s share of bookings. On the Wednesday night he and Chris Brookes are both going to a No Ring show held at a nightclub by Circle 6. It’s a dangerous way to begin one of the most schedule intense weeks of the wrestling calander.
Thursday is even nuttier. MAO has four bookings in one day! It begins with a DEFY show where MAO and Mike Bailey reunite as Moonlight Express to face another team getting back together. Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos get to wrestle together as CDK for the first time in a long while. A lot of things have changed since. Lykos now wrestles unmasked and he is currently the Progress World Champion.
SHP/LOL “EUPHORIA”, 04/04/2024 Attic Brewing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Matt Makowski Vs MAO
When the DEFY match is done with MAO then goes over to another venue where he will wrestle Matt Makowski. On paper that sounds like a straight forward match but some really wacky things have happened at Sean Henderson Presents shows in the past. Don’t let your guard down.
1. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Nick Wayne & Takeshi Masada
2. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos Vs Bryan Keith & Shota
3. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Yoshihiko
4. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Andrew “The Giant” Everett
5. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Shunma Katsumata
6. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Mike Bailey
7. DDT Universal Title – No Rules Match: MAO (c) Vs Billie Starkz
As soon as the preview for this show is posted you can find it by clicking here.
GCW/JCW “GCW/JCW VS THE WORLD”, 04/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Shota Vs X
2. 4 Way Tag Match: Ciclope & Miedo Extremo Vs Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman Vs Man Like DeReiss & Leon Slater Vs MAO & Yoshihiko
The final show of the day if you go by the starting time being in the very last minute (yeah right like it won’t be delayed). GCW and its sister promotion JCW have invited the world to take them on. MAO & Yoshihiko will be joining forces to enter a 4 Way Tag Match against GCW’s top team from Mexico Los Macizos, the wXw duo from Germany Amboss and Britain’s own Boisterous Behaviour from NORTH Wrestling.
Also on the show is Shota taking his first independent booking since going freelance from Ganbare☆Pro. His match has not been announced yet. Since this is a GCW show it will probably be a Scramble Match since there are a bunch of other wrestlers also advertised with no match yet.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN PHILLY”, 05/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Hyper Misao Vs Billie Starkz
2. Shoko Nakajima Vs Rhio
3. Yuki Aino & Raku Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Viva Van
4. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Nao Kakuta & Zara Zakher
5. Mizuki & Vert Vixen Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
6. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
As soon as the preview for this show is posted you can find it by clicking here.
GCW “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK 8”, 05/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh Vs Danhausen & Ram Kaichow
While Itoh went back to Japan to wrestle for TJPW again, Gage went and teamed with Danhausen to challenge for the GCW Tag Team Titles. They lost and Danhausen blamed the result on Gage. That caused Gage to come up with a challenge. He and Itoh will fight Danhausen and a partner of his choice at some point during The Collective. All signs pointed towards the annual Spring Break show as the destination for the match. Then Joey Janela broke the news that Danhausen chose Ram Kaichow to be his teammate! Itoh and Kaichow have never crossed paths in the ring before because Kaichow’s TJPW appearances are often contained within the Rakuverse.
GCW/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GCW VS TJPW”, 06/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Suzume Vs Pom Harajuku
2. Session Moth Martina Vs Raku
3. Dark Sheik Vs Yuki Kamifuku
4. Steph De Lander Vs Hyper Misao
5. Shazza McKenzie Vs Arisu Endo
6. Sawyer Wreck & Allie Katch Vs Mizuki & Nao Kakuta
7. Billie Starkz & Janai Kai Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
8. Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Rina Yamashita, Masha Slamovich & Maki Itoh Vs Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino
As soon as the preview for this show is posted you can find it by clicking here. Expect a partial change to one of the matches because Sawyer Wreck broke her hand last weekend and won’t be able to wrestle.
I’m including this because there are apparently going to be 88 contestants entering this year’s annual Clusterfuck Match. Surely that means the odds are good for some DDT or TJPW entries showing up in it. Or maybe Itoh will have an Extreme Title defence? Either way this will probably be it for their involvement at WrestleMania Week.
WEST COAST PRO “CHRIS HERO’S PRO WRES MIXTAPE”, 14/04/2024 Don Quixote Event Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Kazusada Higuchi Vs X
West Coast Pro cards have been put together by Chris Hero for a while now but I wouldn’t call any of them vanity shows. I can with this one because it has his name on it right there.
PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 8”, 14/04/2024 Roseland Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. Kylie Rae Vs Miyu Yamashita
After Mania Week is done and everyone in TJPW head back home to Japan, Yamashita will be staying behind. Her latest tour of America will last until June. The first match announced for her stay is a first time match against Kylie Rae. For Rae it will be a big match for her since she only just recently returned to pro wrestling.
UPRISING “UPRISING: WOMEN ATHLETES 2”, 19/04/2024 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Hyan
Can Yamashita get her win back from Hyan?
DREAMWAVE “ANNIVERSARY IX”, 20/04/2024 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Yamashita will be at DREAMWAVE the next night. Her opponent will be somebody out of the Uprising lineup to be determined after that show takes place.
GCW “HOW HIGH”, 20/04/2024 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Itoh will be bouncing back and forth between Japan and America again as Spring heads into Summer.
PRESTIGE/PRIDE STYLE “PRIDE & PRESTIGE”, 26/04/2024 Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
The announcements for Yamashita’s matches in America are coming thick and fast.
DAIKAIJU PRO “VOL. 2 – KAPPAS COUNTERATTACK”, 27/04/2024 White Eagle, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
1. Hyper Misao Vs Ultramantis Black
The first Daikaiju Pro event featured Shoko Nakajima so it only makes sense for the second show to feature her Kyoraku Kyomei tag partner Hyper Misao! She was teased as being “Project M” being brought in to deal with the calamity that is seemingly going on over there. Her impending arrival has caused the great and devious Ultramantis Black to step forward and dare to meet her face to face on the battlefield!
Yuki Kamifuku will be heading over to Vietnam Pro Wrestling in a bid to become the company’s first Women’s Champion. Her opponent is somebody she’s become familiar with. She and Alexis Lee have fought each other for the Queen Of Asia Title a couple of times and in their last match Kamifuku beat Lee to become the champion. Will she do the same here or can Lee take this new title as revenge for losing the other one?
SETUP “CLASH OF THE TITANS”, 25/05/2024 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Matcha (c) Vs Monomoth Vs Mizuki
Over in Thailand Mizuki has a chance to win a championship over there. She is part of a 3 Way Match with the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title on the line. Matcha is the defending champion and Monomoth is the other challenger.
Yamashita’s first match back in Japan will be on 15th June. So at the moment her match against Laynie Luck at Midwest All-Star Wrestling looks like it will be her last booking for the tour.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 23/02/2024 Yokohama Radiant Hall 281 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated MAO & Kazuki Hirata when KANON submitted Hirata with the Cobra Twist (9:13).
2. Danshoku Dieno defeated Rukiya with the Oyashirazu (5:54).
3. Special Single Match: Yoshitatsu defeated Soma Takao with the This Is My WWE (9:51).
4. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino defeated Kazusada Higuchu & Makoto Oishi when Iino pinned Oishi with the Spear (13:05).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y defeated HARASHIMA, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani when Katsumata pinned Okatani with a Foot Stomp (17:06).
6. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda, Takeshi Masada & Mecha Mummy (c) defeated Maya Yukihi, Ram Kaichow, Rina Yamashita, Sanshiro Takagi & Akito when Honda pinned Akito with a Japanese Leg Lock Clutch (23:45). *V1 for SCHADENFREUDE International & Mecha Mummy.
The business alliance of DDT’s management and RebelxEnemy was not powerful enough to dethrone SCHADENFREUDE International. With the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles on the line, the champions retained thanks to Antonio Honda in the end. It came down to Honda after Sanshiro Takagi got rid of Takeshi Masada with the Sling Blade and Stunner. Also Mecha Mummy’s drill failed against the toughness of Rina Yamashita. The bright spot for SCHADENFREUDE came when Chris Brookes Military Pressed Ram Kaichow out of the ring onto everyone on the floor below. Honda had to fight with Akito and came out the better of a back and forth exchange by pinning Akito with a Japanese Leg Lock Clutch. Honda thanked his team and told them they are all good men (or mecha in Mecha Mummy’s case). He admits he keeps losing and the thing he is losing most lately is the flow of time. He is 46 and that scares him. But he is able to win today’s match because of his friends. He doesn’t just mean SCHADENFREUDE International but also everyone who came to see the show today, especially those who bought merchandise! Backstage they all celebrated with drinks and splashed bottles of water over Honda. Some of it splashed onto Mummy though and it short circuited.
Meanwhile the RebelxEnemy wrestlers were mad at Takagi & Akito for losing the match. Maya Yukihi really wanted to win the titles and is so upset about losing it makes her want to cry. Kaichow put all of the blame on those two and even fired them! She doesn’t know what she is firing them from but they’re fired. Takagi pleaded with Kaichow to change her mind and offered her a new business partnership. Kaichow considered it depending on how much they will be paid for it. Takagi told her to discuss that with Akito and left him alone to deal with the negotiations. Akito didn’t know what to do so he told RebelxEnemy he will call them and then ran off. Kaichow told the others it’s no wonder why DDT only consists of men nowadays.
Two of the upcoming title matches were showcased in the semi-main event. It showed The 37KAMIINA are in good shape going against their challengers. HARASHIMA landed the Somato on Yuki Ueno but Ueno kicked out of the pin and fired back with a one legged Dropkick. Shunma Katsumata won the match in the end by catching Hideki Okatani with a standing Double Stomp to get the pinfall. Katsumata bragged about how well he’s been doing since returning from injury and he will keep the momentum going until he defends the DDT Extreme Title against Okatani. He wants Okatani to know that he can still wrestle without the need for weapons or death matches. HARASHIMA believes he is in great shape too even if the match result doesn’t reflect it.
Danshoku Dieno had a toothache going into his match against Rukiya and it bothered him throughout. Rukiya took advantage by using Headlocks and Elbow Strikes aimed at Dieno’s jaw. However Dieno countered one of the Headlocks into a Modified Armbar and Rukiya gave up. Dieno held onto the move after the match because the toothache was getting to him. Makoto Oishi had to get into the ring and get him to stop.
The new unit led by Kazuki Hirata now has a name. He is calling the group Zuncha♪Muscle Survivor! It combines a little bit of everything from the three members. Hirata is the Zuncha (rhythm of the beat), Naruki Doi is the Muscle and Shinya Aoki is the Survivor. He believes as long as the focus is on the two strong members Doi & Aoki, they won’t lose.
GANBARE☆JOSHI “GANJO EMERALD DRAGON ’24”, 12/02/2024 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center 112 Fans
1. Special Single Match: Kizuna Tanaka defeated Riara with the California Roll (6:30).
2. Ram Kaichow & Sumire Natsu defeated Kaho Kobayashi & Banny Oikawa when Natsu pinned Oikawa with the Yoran (10:30).
3. Alex Lee & Yoshiko Hasegawa defeated Yappy & JC Storm when Hasegawa pinned Yappy with the Diving Double Knee Attack (13:06).
4. Special Single Match: Mio Momono defeated YuuRI with the German Suplex (16:02).
Mio Momono has wrestled on a Ganbare☆Pro show before but today was her first appearance on a Ganbare☆Joshi branded event. The current OZ Academy Openweight Champion faced GanJo’s own YuuRI in the main event but the title was not on the line. YuuRI missed the Swanton Bomb so tried scrambling for a Cradle pin. However Momono took control of the match and beat YuuRI down until she couldn’t kick out of the German Suplex. Momono introduced herself to the audience after the match. She said all of the women work hard on GanJo shows so in a way that makes her a part of GanJo too. She gave credit to YuuRI for her efforts and loves to fight her type of “dirty pro wrestling”. But Momono also said due to the difference in speed and stamina, YuuRI will never be able to beat her in this life. YuuRI said she admires Momono and will never stop admiring her. She is also confident that one day she will surpass her!
Yoppy pins Yappy! It is another win for Yoshiko Hasegawa as she gets ready to challenge Yuu for the EVE International Title on 23rd February. JC Storm went to Super Kick Hasegawa but she dodged it and Yappy took the kick instead. Alex Lee then attacked Yappy with a Super Kick and Missile Dropkick. That set Hasegawa to land the Diving Double Knee Attack on Yappy for the three count. Hasegawa said it was a big deal for her to win the match because it was full of wrestlers from around the world involved. She wants to compete and make contact with more foreign wrestlers. She thinks she can definitely win the International Title with this amount of momentum behind her.
There was a triple Low Blow spot that happened during Match #2. Sumire Natsu gave Kaho Kobayashi a Manhattan Drop and Kobayashi returned with an Elbow that hit Natsu below the belt. Then when Kobayashi went to do a Low Dropkick, Natsu pulled Daisuke Kiso in the way and his groin took the blow. Ram Kaichow held Kobayashi back while Natsu beat Banny Oikawa with the Shining Wizard followed by the Yoran.
In a match where both competitors were fighting for their first ever singles win, the visitor Kizuna Tanaka defeated Riara. Tanaka was able to withstand Riara’s Ankle Lock and hit back with an Elbow Strike and then roll her up with a California Roll to win a match for the first time. However Tanaka is not satisfied with the result and thinks she could have done even more. The match made her realize she needs to improve. Riara is keeping count of her own results and thinks she has lost over 30 matches in a row now. She wants to get better at wrestling and have a rematch with Kizuna in a few years time when she has grown as a wrestler.
Yuna Manase resigned from her role as the Ganbare☆Manager for GanJo. Her next appearance for the sub-brand will be as a wrestler on the 3rd March show. That is the last GanJo event being held under CyberFight before GanPro goes independent after March. Manase still supports the women who are leaving GanPro soon and will continue to do so. She encouraged the fans to do the same for them as well as those who are staying because everyone who has been in GanJo will always be a part of GanJo.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE 4TH “FUTARI WA PRINCESS” MAX HEART TOURNAMENT”, 10/02/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 674 Fans
1. Haru Kazashiro defeated Shino Suzuki with a Rotating Leg Fold (7:31).
2. Yuki Kamifuku, Nao Kakuta & Mahiro Kiryu defeated Raku, Pom Harajuku & Ram Kaichow when Kamifuku pinned Harajuku with the Famouser (11:46).
3. Kaya Toribami defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Sento Choryu (7:31).
4. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI when Misao submitted HIMAWARI with the Chickenwing Face Lock (11:34).
5. Mizuki defeated Zara Zakher with the Cutie Special (8:40).
6. Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino defeated Miyu Yamashita & Toga when Aino submitted Toga with the Full Nelson Of Love And Fire (12:35).
7. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) defeated Juria Nagano with the Finally (11:41). *V1 for Yuki Arai.
8. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Final: Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe when Suzume pinned Tatsumi with the Ring A Bell (19:37).
All the hard work and struggles along the way has paid off for Daisy Monkey because they are the winners of this year’s Max Heart Tournament! It only took them having to beat Daydream for the first time ever to do it. It took them all they had to win. Arisu Endo used her new Argentine Neckbreaker Drop on Miu Watanabe but was then hit with Rika Tatsumi’s Hip Attack. Suzume tried to stop Tatsumi’s momentum but for a while it looked like it wouldn’t happen. But then she dodged the Hip Attack and suddenly hit the Ring A Bell on Tatsumi for the victory!
After Daisy Monkey received their trophies, they called out Yukiniki and challenged them for the Princess Tag Team Titles. The champions were happy to oblige and Yuki Aino told them the match should happen in Sumo Hall! The title match will go ahead at “GRAND PRINCESS ’24” on 31st March. Ryo Mizunami told Daisy Monkey she will be waiting for them there. Endo said she may have lost to Yukiniki the last time she and Suzume fought for the Tag Titles but they definitely won’t lose this time! Suzume said it was everyone’s support that took them this far.
Meanwhile Daydream tried to come to terms with losing the match backstage. Tatsumi called the result a nightmare and apologized for taking the fall. Watanabe is already competing for the Princess Of Princess Title at “GRAND PRINCESS ’24” but revealed she was prepared to do two title matches on the same day if Daydream won this tournament so Tatsumi could win a championship too. Tatsumi asked if she could have the Princess Title shot instead but Watanabe declined to give it to her. Tatsumi begged and then choked Watanabe until she calmed down and left the room. Watanabe felt the need to ask the reporters why does nobody ever try to stop Tatsumi from strangling people?
That’s the first successful International Princess Title for Yuki Arai out of the way. This was Juria Nagano’s only chance at fighting for the championship since she will be graduating from Tokyo Joshi Pro in April. She blocked the Finally and used her Karate offence to set up her finisher. She also used a Shihonage throw that Moka Miyamoto taught her. But Arai cut her off from using the Senpukyaku by hitting her with a Big Boot. Arai then hit the Full Nelson Buster followed by the Finally to win. Arai thanked Nagano for the challenge afterwards. She said it was a match that made her feel really strong.
Arai’s next opponent then made herself known. Yuki Kamifuku entered the ring and praised Arai for working really hard in both TJPW and the idol industry. That balancing act includes a lot of travelling back and forth between Nagoya and Tokyo. Kamifuku also said she likes finding ways to make TJPW more exciting. One way to do that is by having two women who value their looks fight each other for a championship. In other words, Kamifuku wants a title shot and wants it at Sumo Hall! Arai can draw in her fans from Nagoya while Kamifuku can bring over her fans in Fujisawa City. It is also a chance for Kamifuku to become a Double Crown Champion since she currently holds the Queen Of Asia Title.
Before Yukiniki could go watch the Max Heart final, they had a non-title match to deal with. Miyu Yamashita & Toga were eliminated in the 1st Round but wanted to keep teaming and a chance to fight the Princess Tag Champions together is just what they wanted. The match was also the first time Yamashita and Mizunami were in the ring together. However the result came down to Aino in her new costume submitting Toga with the Full Nelson Of Love And Fire.
The TJPW debut of American wrestler Zara Zakher put her against one of the best around. Mizuki found out right away just how powerful Zakher can be despite her small size. She used a Screw Bomb move called the Control Z as well as a Lariat for nearfalls. But Mizuki took those shots and fired back, hitting Diving Foot Stomps until she got the three count with the Cutie Special. Mizuki admitted the win is a huge relief for her because she never expected Zakher to be so powerful with only just a year of pro wrestling experience. Zakher thanked TJPW for inviting her over and she is sure she will see them again soon.
Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao were given a tag match against Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI, two wrestlers who debuted on the same day back at last year’s Ittenyon show. While that’s nice and all, Kyoraku Kyomei used the match as a chance to stretch their opponents apart. The less experience pair had a moment where things went their way but it turned around badly for them and HIMAWARI had to submit to Misao.
In perhaps a little bit of an upset Kaya Toribami defeated Moka Miyamoto, busting out a new and improved finisher to win. Previously she’s been using a Twisting Senton from the middle rope. Today she did a Half-Twisted Lionsault to pin Miyamoto for the 3 count. The move is called the Sento Choryu.
Valentine’s Day is coming up so it was time for Raku & Ram Kaichow to go on a date. Pom Harajuku was there too as the third wheel. Their opponents though were here to take the match seriously. Nao Kakuta avoided Kaichow’s Rainmaker, Kamifuku was too tall to get Eye Poked and Mahiro Kiryu apologized the way only she knows how. The match ended with Kamifuku pinning Harajuku with the Famouser. At least Kaichow still had a box of chocolates to eat afterwards.
The opening match was put together to guarantee that either Shino Suzuki or Haru Kazashiro would earn their first ever singles win. Suzuki relied too much on using a Sleeper Hold. Kazashiro eventually figured out a way to escape it and pin Suzuki with a Rotating Leg Fold. The two hugged after the match but their emotions afterwards were far apart. Kazashiro is sure that Runa Okubo was at home watching the match. Her next goal is to beat her for the first time! Suzuki was betting she would win today and now feels embarrassed to ever think that. She wonders if she’s been naive about everything up until now. She doesn’t want to lose whether it is against her classmates or her seniors.
Last year’s Hyper Misao produced show “HYPE!” is getting a sequel! “HYPE! 2” will take place in Kitazawa Town Hall on 19th April.
Two of TJPW’s current trainees are going to make their debuts soon. Kirra from Australia and Uta from The Up Up Girls will have their first matches in Shinjuku FACE on 3rd March.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN NAGANO”, 04/02/2024 Nagano Act Hall
1. Hideki Okatani Vs Rukiya
2. Sanshiro Takagi, Yoshitatsu & Yukio Naya Vs Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi
3. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuki Iino & Akito
4. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata Vs HARASHIMA & Soma Takao
5. Special Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata & Kazusada Higuchi
6. Nagano Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Toru Owashi & Akihiro Vs Danshoku Dieno, Makoto Oishi & Tetsuya Endo
Yoshihiko has gotten itself into trouble after getting double booked this weekend. It will be travelling to Europe with MAO to wrestle in France and England. However DDT had also booked Yoshihiko for their show in Nagano this Sunday. It’s too late to change plans so DDT is pulling their other battle doll Akihiro out of storage to take Yoshihiko’s place. The company has strictly warned Yoshihiko not to double book itself like that again. However MAO is defending his friend because their European dates were booked well in advance and MAO has been promoting them online since December so DDT had plenty of time to avoid this scenario.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 07/02/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Kazuki Hirata & Danshoku Dieno Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi
2. Jun Akiyama, Yoshitatsu & Soma Takao Vs Toru Owashi, Akito & Kazuma Sumi
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Naya & Makoto Oishi
4. Special Tag Match ~ DDT Vs AJPW: Takeshi Masada & Rukiya Vs Ryuki Honda & Yuma Anzai
5. DDT Extreme Title Next Challenger Match: Hideki Okatani Vs MJ Paul
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino
7. Yukio Sakaguchi Retirement Match: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs HARASHIMA
The DDT Extreme Title picture has a new direction after Shunma Katsumata regained the championship over the weekend and two potential challengers approached him. Hideki Okatani wants to rekindle his rivalry with Katsumata over the title from last year. However MJ Paul has also stepped forward wanting a title shot, even going through the effort to write a letter to declare his challenge. A fight broke out between everyone over the situation so a decision was made to have Okatani and Paul fight each other in a No. 1 Contender’s Match.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE 4TH “FUTARI WA PRINCESS” MAX HEART TOURNAMENT”, 10/02/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Shino Suzuki Vs Haru Kazashiro
2. Yuki Kamifuku, Nao Kakuta & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Raku, Pom Harajuku & Ram Kaichow
3. Moka Miyamoto Vs Kaya Toribami
4. Mizuki Vs Zara Zakher
5. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI
6. Miyu Yamashita & Toga Vs Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino
7. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs Juria Nagano
8. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Final: Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
The Max Heart Tournament could get its first two-time winner if Daydream beats Daisy Monkey in the final. The tournament winners usually move on to challenge for the Princess Tag Team Titles and Rika Tatsumi previously made a suggestion that Miu Watanabe can do two title matches at “GRAND PRINCESS ’24”. Watanabe would go along with the idea even if she isn’t super enthusiastic about it. Suzume & Arisu Endo keep finding ways to get shots at the top teams, Daydream included, but it always ends in failure for them. Will this turn out differently?
Juria Nagano is making sure to do as much as she can in the ring before her graduation in April. Her big goal is to win a championship or tournament. She couldn’t do it in the Max Heart Tournament so now she wants to challenge Yuki Arai for the International Princess Title. Nagano sees Arai as a wrestling senpai to surpass rather than some big celebrity.
The next foreign wrestler to enter Tokyo Joshi Pro is Zara Zakher from the California wrestling scene. She is 22 years old and only been wrestling for a year but her talent and potential as a breakout prospect leads her over to TJPW. Mizuki has been selected to be her opponent for her Korakuen Hall debut.
The opening match is going to give either Shino Suzuki or Haru Kazashiro their first singles win.
Ryo Mizunami and Ram Kaichow are both paying a visit here again.
BASARA “BASARA 241 ~TAKAGARI 22~”, 10/02/2024 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. Lil’ Kraken Vs Masahiro Takanashi
2. Ryuichi Sekine Vs Takato Nakano
3. Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & SAGAT
4. FUMA, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Daichi Kazato Vs Masato Kamino, Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
5. IRON FIST Tag Team Titles: Ryota Nakatsu & Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs KUBITO & Yasu Urano
Masahiro Takanashi is going over to BASARA for a match against Lil’ Kraken.
GANBARE☆JOSHI “GANJO EMERALD DRAGON ’24”, 12/02/2024 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. Special Single Match: Riara Vs Kizuna Tanaka
2. Ram Kaichow & Sumire Natsu Vs Kaho Kobayashi & Banny Oikawa
3. Alex Lee & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Yappy & JC Storm
4. Special Single Match: YuuRI Vs Mio Momono
Last year at “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA II” there was a joshi tag match with YuuRI and Mio Momono on opposite teams. Now they get to fight each other in Ganbare☆Joshi one on one!
An international tag match gathers together Alex Lee from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Yoshiko Hasegawa from Japan, Yappy from the Philippines and JC Storm from America. Storm is currently in Japan to wrestle for Ice Ribbon.
DDT “NEPPA OVER FLOWERS 3 ~TOTONOI TO YOU~”, 14/02/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Hideki Okatani, Yuni & Ilusion Vs Takeshi Masada, Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya
2. ~Kazuki Hirata’s Sauna Room?~: Kazuki Hirata Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yukio Naya
3. ~Toy Kojima’s Sauna Room~: Toy Kojima Vs Masato Tanaka
4. ~Shunma Katsumata’s Sauna Room~: Shunma Katsumata Vs Kuroshio TOKYO Japan
5. ~Mao Inoue’s Sauna Room~: MAO Vs Chris Brookes
6. KO-D Openweight Title ~Yuki Ueno’s Sauna Room~: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Danshoku Dieno
A request was made by Yuki Ueno to defend the KO-D Openweight Title against Danshoku Dieno. He wanted his next challenger to be the most interesting person in DDT since the championship is more than just about who is the strongest. There is already a singles match between them booked for The 37KAMIINA’s produce show in Shinjuku FACE. To make his point even clearer, Ueno convinced DDT to turn that match into a KO-D Title bout because it does not matter to him where it takes place. This will be the first KO-D Title match held in front of an audience in around 8 years. Dieno warns Ueno that there’s a reason why the company never wants him to win that championship even if he symbolises the spirit of DDT more than anyone else. The entire direction of the KO-D Title will change if Dieno gets his hands on it!
Kazuki Hirata gets to keep his spot on the show despite turning down The 37KAMIINA’s offer to join their unit. He now has his mind set on creating his own stable and he is searching for potential members.
DDT “PRO WRESTLING WINTER FESTIVAL 2024 IN JOETSU DAY 2 – INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN NIIGATA”, 18/02/2024 Niigata Dúo CEREZO
1. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuki Iino & Rukiya
2. Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs HARASHIMA & Akito
3. Kazuki Hirata Vs Toy Kojima
4. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Yoshitatsu Vs Tetsuya Endo & Makoto Oishi
5. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Super Sasadango Machine
Does Toy Kojima take it personally that Hirata turned him down along with the rest of the sauna boys? Does Hirata take it personally that Kojima is the reason he is no longer the Extreme Champion? If there are any sore feelings between them coming out of the weekend, it’s best to settle them as soon as possible.
GANBARE☆PRO “GANPRO 2024 DESIRE”, 23/02/2024 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. YuuRI & Riara Vs HARUKAZE & Banny Oikawa
2. Ken Ohka, Mizuki Watase & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Keisuke Ishii, Soma Takao & Shinichiro Tominaga
3. Shota Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
4. Yuna Manase Return Match: Yuna Manase & Yumehito Imanari Vs Sayaka Unagi & Minoru Fujita
5. EVE International Title: Yuu (c) Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Shuichiro Katsumura (c) Vs Takuya Wada
The rest of the Ganbare☆Pro and GanJo roster fills up the Yokohama card.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 23/02/2024 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Kazusada Higuchu & Kazuma Sumi
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs MAO & Kazuki Hirata
3. Special Single Match: Yoshitatsu Vs Soma Takao
4. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda, Takeshi Masada & Mecha Mummy (c) Vs Maya Yukihi, Ram Kaichow, Rina Yamashita, Sanshiro Takagi & Akito
If there is anyone out there who ever thought Yoshitatsu and Soma Takao should have a match together then mark 23rd February down on your calendar right now.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024”, 25/02/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Kaisei Takechi Debut Match ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Kaisei Takechi Vs Tetsuya Endo, Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada.
2. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Hikaru Machida
The 37KAMIINA are on Kaisei Takechi’s side for his debut. He will team with Ueno & Katsumata for his big first match. Facing them is a trio mixing three wrestlers together. Tetsuya Endo, Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada will put the newcomer through his paces.
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2024 ~27TH ANNIVERSARY 5 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 17/03/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Tsubasa Suzuki Debut Match: Tsubasa Suzuki Vs X
2. DDT Extreme Title: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Winner Of 7/2 Next Challenger Match
3. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Yuma Aoyagi
4. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs X
The very next KO-D Title match was supposed to be at DDT’s 27th Anniversary show until Ueno made his request to fight Dieno. The winner of that headlines Korakuen the next month.
The winner of Okatani Vs Paul faces Katsumata for the Extreme Title here too.
We have talent announcements for Wrestlemania Week. Announced so far for DDT’s USA show are Yuki Ueno, MAO, Kazuki Hirata, Konosuke Takeshita, Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki, Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata, KANON, Takeshi Masada and Yoshihiko.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN PHILLY”, 05/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
TJPW are sending over 14 women to Philadelphia for Wrestlemania Week. They are Miyu Yamashita, Yuki Aino, Shoko Nakajima, Rika Tatsumi, Mizuki, Maki Itoh, Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Hyper Misao, Nao Kakuta, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Suzume and Arisu Endo. All 14 of them will be at “GCW VS TJPW” the next day too.
DDT “NEW YEAR FAN APPRECIATION DAY!”, 20/01/2024 Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX
1. 4 Way Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Kazuki Hirata Vs HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yoshitatsu & Akito Vs Yuki Iino & Yusuke Okada
2. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: KANON Vs Yuni
3. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Ilusion
4. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuma Sumi
5. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs Takeshi Masada
6. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Rukiya
7. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Hideki Okatani
8. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Makoto Oishi Vs Bryan Keith, Soma Takao & Shota
1. Soma Takao Vs Takuya Wada
2. Hartley Jackson & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Mizuki Watase & Munetatsu Nakamura
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shuichiro Katsumura, Ken Ohka & Yuni Vs Keisuke Ishii, Yumehito Imanari & Ilusion
The GROUNDSLAM gym ran by Shuichiro Katsumura is celebrating being in business for 15 years with their own event filled with exhibition fights and a band performance. Ganbare☆Pro will provide a few wrestling matches for the event on the day.
DDT “NEPPA OVER FLOWERS 3 ~TOTONOI TO YOU~”, 14/02/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Hideki Okatani, Yuni & Ilusion Vs Takeshi Masada, Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya
2. ~Kazuki Hirata’s Sauna Room?~: Kazuki Hirata Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yukio Naya
3. ~Toy Kojima’s Sauna Room~: Toy Kojima Vs Masato Tanaka
4. ~Shunma Katsumata’s Sauna Room~: Shunma Katsumata Vs Kuroshio TOKYO Japan
5. ~Mao Inoue’s Sauna Room~: MAO Vs Chris Brookes
6. ~Yuki Ueno’s Sauna Room~: Yuki Ueno Vs Danshoku Dieno
Every member of The 37KAMIINA has booked their own match for the unit’s next self-produced show. Yuki Ueno is facing Danshoku Dieno in the main event, MAO gets to fight Chris Brookes again, Shunma Katsumata is inviting Kuroshio TOKYO Japan over and Toy Kojima’s return match from injury will be against Masato Tanaka! Even Kazuki Hirata gets a match for himself as he tries to gain membership into the group. Having to fight in a free-for-all against Makoto Oishi, Kazusada Higuchi and Yukio Naya suggests he may not have had a say in what his match would be.
GANBARE☆PRO “GANPRO 2024 DESIRE”, 23/02/2024 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. EVE International Title: Yuu (c) Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
2. Yuna Manase Return Match: Yuna Manase Vs X
3. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Shuichiro Katsumura (c) Vs Takuya Wada
It has not been confirmed yet but Yuna Manase has challenged Sayaka Unagi to a Mixed Tag Match for Manase’s return to the ring. Manase already has already chosen her tag partner and wants to see who Unagi will find. The two women fought each other at the first “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA” in 2022. Unagi won that match and Manase holds no grudge over it. In fact she made it publicly known that Unagi was often one of the first people to get in touch with her for almost every step of the way in her recovery process. Their friendship is why Unagi was always going to be Manase’s opponent for her first match back.
A big title challenge is coming up for Yoshiko Hasegawa. She has teamed with and fought against Yuu over in Ganbare☆Joshi recently and the EVE International Title that Yuu carries around has caught her eye. This will be her first championship match. Hasegawa had wanted it to happen at the next GanJo show on 12th February but Yuu is already booked for Sendai Girls that day. So the match will take place in GanPro a little later on the 23rd instead.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 23/02/2024 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda, Takeshi Masada & Mecha Mummy (c) Vs Maya Yukihi, Ram Kaichow, Rina Yamashita, Sanshiro Takagi & Akito
During the week Maya Yukihi discovered the existence of the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles and wanted to fight for the belts with other members of Rebel X Enemy. The group normally consists of four members but Maika Ozaki is unavailable so Yukihi needed to find two more people to team with herself, Ram Kaichow & Rina Yamashita. Luckily for her the DDT management are stepping in to help out. Sanshiro Takagi & Akito have agreed to join the challenger team and since Kaichow is also sometimes nicknamed “Chairman” the alliance has been named Executive X Enemy. Meanwhile the champion team is subbing in Chris Brookes for Takayuki Ueki. As long as at least three members of the champion team are in the match the title shot can go ahead.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’24”, 31/03/2024 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Miu Watanabe
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’24”, 04/01/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,235 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Toga defeated Moka Miyamoto, Juria Nagano & Kaya Toribami when Kamifuku pinned Toribami with the Famouser (9:34).
2. Raku, Ram Kaichow & Pom Harajuku defeated HIMAWARI, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo when Raku pinned Kazashiro with the Doctor Yellow (6:43).
3. Mizuki defeated Nao Kakuta with the Cutie Special (8:48).
4. New Year! Make Your Dreams Come True! Daruma Match: Shoko Nakajima defeated Hyper Misao when Nakajima painted the eye on the Daruma Doll (14:07).
5. Riho defeated Shino Suzuki with the Sakura Hold (5:33).
6. Aja Kong defeated Wakana Uehara with the Back Drop (6:57).
7. Special Single Match: Rina Yamashita defeated Maki Itoh with the Splash Mountain (16:43).
8. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai defeated Max The Impaler (c) with the Finally (10:19). *Max The Impaler fails in V4. Yuki Arai becomes the 12th International Princess Champion!
9. Princess Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino defeated Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe and Suzume & Arisu Endo when Aino pinned Endo with the UBV (13:19). *Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino become the 15th Princess Tag Team Champions!
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Masha Slamovich with the Crash Rabbit Heat (17:20). *V3 for Miyu Yamashita.
The Miyu Yamashita Vs Masha Slamovich rivalry from America made its way over to Japan for this year’s Tokyo Joshi Pro Ittenyon show. It is both a matchup Yamashita wanted to show her home fans and also a risky challenger to defend the Princess Of Princess Title against. That risk was on full show when Slamovich gave her a Doctor Bomb on the ring apron, hit a dive out of the ring and also Double Stomped Yamashita in the corner. Slamovich even gave the champion a taste of her own medicine by hitting her own Skull Kick! But Yamashita avoided taking the White Knight Driver whenever her opponent tried to set it up. The Avalanche Attitude Adjustment gave Yamashita some breathing room and soon she wore down Slamovich with strikes until she finished her off with the Crash Rabbit Heat.
The two shook hands after the match and Slamovich indicated she still wants to fight Yamashita again another time. Yamashita told the fans about the previous times she won and lost against her, then said those matches are always a lot of fun. Yamashita said TJPW will continue to do their best at any time under any circumstances and they look forward to everyone’s support in 2024. She did not nominate her next challenger for the Princess Title. Instead she wants to wait for somebody to challenge her. There will a Battle Royal in two days time to determine the No. 1 Contender “GRAND PRINCESS ’24” in March. It is possible she may defend the title overseas before then but she expects the Sumo Hall challenger will be a difficult opponent no matter who it is.
The vacant Princess Tag Team Titles were up for grabs in a 3 Way Tag Match. Original challengers Daisy Monkey now had to face both Daydream as well as Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino. Mizunami has played a clutch substitute role for TJPW over the last year and today good karma came her way. She saved Aino from the double team moves from both sets of opponents and Aino paid her back by pinning Arisu Endo to win the Tag Titles! Mizunami admits they are not as good a team as Daydream or Daisy Monkey but now that they are champions they can build a lot of things together from here. Aino is so happy to win the titles again it made her cry. They now need a team name. Mizunami suggested they be called Yukiniki. Meanwhile Suzume & Endo find themselves starting from zero yet again. They won’t give up on their dream to become TJPW’s strongest tag team. As for Daydream, Rika Tatsumi told Miu Watanabe to treat today’s match as a trial for the upcoming Max Heart Tournament. They intend to win it for a second time.
On this day one year ago Max The Impaler pinned Yuki Arai in the middle of the ring to take the Princess Tag Titles away from her. They also stole Arai’s hair clip. Today Arai got her revenge by beating Max to become the new International Princess Champion! Oh, and she got her hairclip back too. It took a lot of effort to get there though. Max threw Arai around Korakuen Hall, sending her into the front row and also Body Slamming her on the floor in front of another member of SKE48. Arai reached her limit trying to fight back but when Max caught the Flying Cross Body, Arai flipped her over with an Inside Cradle, got back up and suddenly knocked Max out with the Finally! Arai then pinned Max to win the title. When Max recovered their senses, they returned to the ring and handed Arai’s hairclip back to her. Arai admitted she wanted to run away from Max so many times and she’s glad she didn’t. She thinks 2024 is going to be her best year yet and she wants to become strong enough that fans will think of her as TJPW’s top champion.
Another match from America was put on display in Japan for the first time. Over the last two years both Maki Itoh and Rina Yamashita have become integral parts of GCW. They even wrestled each other there and the rematch was taking place here. The match was supposed to be held under normal rules and Yukinori Matsui refused to let Itoh use her pizza cutter. An inadvertent low blow to the ref gave Itoh the chance to slice open Yamashita’s head with the cutter. That only fired up Yamashita though and she brought in chairs to turn the match hardcore. While Itoh’s iron head resisted the chair attacks, Yamashita was able to beat her by using a Diving Body Press, Thrust Kick and then the Splash Mountain. The two flashed MDK gang signs to each other after the match. Backstage Yamashita joked that she didn’t expect to be covered in her own blood inside a TJPW ring. She wants to continue fighting Itoh until Itoh is covered in her own blood! Itoh responded that she is always ready to get covered in blood. She didn’t make it clear if she meant her own though. She also said she wants to do her best to balance her time between America and Japan this year because she didn’t get to do much in TJPW during 2023.
An eager Wakana Uehara used a Space Rolling Elbow to surprise Aja Kong before the bell rang. Kong let Uehara continue the attack until she tried to give her a Brainbuster. Not a smart move. However she got Kong onto the canvas by using a Sunset Flip to lure Kong into doing a Hip Drop and avoided that by rolling out of the way. Uehara then kept trying to use the Sleeper Hold but Kong kept getting out of it. A Sunset Flip into a Bridging pin gave Uehara a nearfall and then she went back to the Sleeper Hold. This time Kong squashed Uehara to break the hold and then hit a Lariat. Uehara kicked out to get the fans cheering for her but Kong then pinned her with the Back Drop. She lifted her finger up to Uehara’s face telling her she wants one more match and she then shoved her to the mat. Backstage Kong said Uehara’s use of the Sleeper Hold shows she is starting to be confident in herself. Today Kong has gained one more rival. Uehara said Kong is a wall too high for her to climb right now but she will definitely beat her someday.
Fresh off of an AEW PPV appearance, Riho showed up in TJPW for a match against Shino Suzuki. After using a Sleeper Hold, Suzuki ran into a Jumping Knee Strike. Riho then gave her the 619 followed by the Sakura Hold to make Suzuki give up. She noted that Suzuki does not have a lot of skill but made up for it with a lot of passion and that made her a fun opponent to fight against. Riho will now be going back to America to grow up even more before returning to Japan again. Suzuki said she is grateful to get the match and she now realizes who she is at this point of time. Riho has a similar physique as her but was overwhelmingly stronger. So now Suzuki will stop convincing herself she is weak just because of her size.
This year’s Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao match had a winner and a loser this time. A Daruma Doll was left hanging above the ring and the first person to climb the ladder and paint an eye on the doll would become the winner and get to make a wish for 2024. Misao arrived riding on her new and improved Hypami Dramatic Dream bike but she crashed it into Mahiro Kiryu. Nakajima and Misao then fought in the Korakuen lobby where Misao crashed the bike again, this time into a castle made of chairs and kaiju toys. She then crashed the bike a third time when she cycled down the aisle of chairs into both Nakajima and Kiryu. Nakajima fought back using a box of kaiju toys before wiping out Misao with a Topé Suicida. She then climbed the ladder and painted an eye on the Daruma to win. Nakajima is going to be greedy this year because she both wishes to win the Princess Tag Titles with Misao and also win the Battle Royal on 6th January to get the Princess Title shot in Sumo Hall!
Having to vacate the Princess Tag Titles on New Year’s Eve left Nao Kakuta needing to take her frustrations out on somebody so good thing Mizuki was there to meet those needs and return in kind! Mizuki ended up winning a tough fight with some Diving Foot Stomps followed by the Cutie Special. Kakuta is taking the loss in her stride because she had a lot of fun out there and felt the warmth of the fans’ support. Her goal in 2024 is to enjoy pro wrestling. She also wants to surpass Mizuki but that might take a bit longer than a year to accomplish. Mizuki described their relationship as rivals but still friends. She also thinks they might share a bond because they both had to give up the Princess Tag Titles because their partners were unable to wrestle for one reason or another.
TJPW fans got to see Raku & Ram Kaichow being a happy couple again. They joined hands together and gave a Double Diving Chop to Haru Kazashiro. The other rookie Runa Okubo got a new year’s gift from Pom Harajuku but it turned out to be getting kicked in the feet. Kaichow took out HIMAWARI with a Diving Cross Body and Raku pinned Kazashiro with the Doctor Yellow. Kaichow gave her a kiss on the cheek afterward to celebrate.
Toyo Mates & Toga were victorious in the opening bout against Shinken Kusho & Kaya Toribami. Kiryu used Moka Miyamoto as her human mat for the Apology Knee Drop. Miyamoto got her own back when she & Juria Nagano kicked Kiryu away. Toga then got rid of Nagano with the Elbow Strike. The match came down to Yuki Kamifuku against Toribami and Kamifuku pinned her with the Famouser.
At the start of the show The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) debuted a new song called “Barobaro ~It’s A Battle!~”. Uta took Hikari Noa’s place in the performance.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’24”, 04/01/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Toga Vs Moka Miyamoto, Juria Nagano & Kaya Toribami
2. Raku, Ram Kaichow & Pom Harajuku Vs HIMAWARI, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo
3. Mizuki Vs Nao Kakuta
4. Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao
5. Riho Vs Shino Suzuki
6. Aja Kong Vs Wakana Uehara
7. Special Single Match: Rina Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
8. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) Vs Yuki Arai
9. Princess Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Masha Slamovich
An emergency press conference was held by Tokyo Joshi Pro today attended by Tetsuya Koda and Nao Kakuta. Koda announced that Hikari Noa is currently in poor health and will not be able to wrestle on the first week of TJPW shows in 2024. It is currently unknown when Noa will return to the ring. Because of this situation Free WiFi have today relinquished the Princess Tag Team Titles. Kakuta is disappointed to vacate the titles but accepts the decision and is ready to work hard with a new mindset in 2024. She doesn’t know when Noa will be back but when she returns the two of them will think about the future of Free WiFi together.
The 4th January show has been rebooked over the news. The vacant Princess Tag Titles will now be on the line in a 3 Way Match. Daisy Monkey are still involved because they are the No. 1 Contenders. Daydream have been added to the match as well as the team of Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino. It looks like Kakuta is moving away from tag wrestling to focus on the singles division because her new match is against Mizuki. The two rookies Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo are now teaming together along with HIMAWARI while Raku & Pom Harajuku get to welcome Ram Kaichow back into the fold.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW INSPIRATION”, 06/01/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Pom Harajuku Vs Kuishinbo Kamen
2. Miyu Yamashita & Yuki Aino Vs HIMAWARI & Toga
3. Battle Royal To Win The Right To Challenge The Princess Of Princess Champion: Mizuki Vs Rika Tatsumi Vs Shoko Nakajima Vs Maki Itoh Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Miu Watanabe
4. Special Single Match: Masha Slamovich Vs Max The Impaler
The death match a few days later between Noa and Masha Slamovich has been cancelled. Slamovich will now face Max The Impaler in a regular wrestling bout to headline the show. Miyu Yamashita takes Max’s original spot in Match #2.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 