DDT Around The World – November 2022

December 1, 2022

Boy oh boy November turned out to be an eventful month for DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro going international. Between DDT’s dealings with AEW and TJPW leaving their mark on Pro Wrestling EVE there is a lot to keep track of. Konosuke Takeshita signed his deal with AEW, Jun Akiyama made “The Last of a Dying Breed’s” dream come true, Maki Itoh is now gang affiliated and Miyu Yamashita for the second time in her career holds another country’s championship. And let’s not forget about Shota’s travels across America while CDK was out doing their thing in Singapore. Although there are signs that Shota’s excursion may be approaching its end soon he is keeping himself busy on the road and taking the time to stop and smell the roses.

I hope these posts are coming in handy and not just for following what the Japanese wrestlers are up to abroad. If you haven’t noticed yet, some of the names you see in the previous posts have been getting bookings in Japan recently. So you never know who here will show up in DDT, TJPW or Ganbare☆Pro in 2023. I have a feeling it’s only going to get crazier from there. Like maybe WWE brings back the Mae Young Classic and Mahiro Kiryu enters it. Hey, it could happen.

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Videos


Video starts at 0:00 for the match
MPW “NIGHT FALL”, 04/11/2022
Nordhoff PL, Chatsworth, California, USA

1. Dustin Daniels Vs Shota


Video starts at 21:28 for the match
LEVEL UP “BLINDING LIGHTS”, 05/11/2022
Attitude Brewing Company, San Diego, California, USA

1. Triple Threat Match: Hunter Freeman Vs Fabrizio Vs Shota


Video starts at 1:12:39 for an angle. Go to 1:50:07 for the match
NEW TEXAS PRO “TEXAS CONTENDERS SERIES 8”, 17/11/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Shota Vs Rudy Garza (w/ Dan Miller)


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 18/11/2022
Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA

1. Eddie Kingston & Ortiz Vs Jun Akiyama & Konosuke Takeshita


Video starts at 40:15 for the match
JCW “SERIES OF SURVIVALS”, 19/11/2022
Boonton Elks Lodge, Boonton, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Janai Kai


Video starts at 35:38 for the match
AEW “FULL GEAR ZERO HOUR”, 19/11/2022
Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA

1. Eddie Kingston (w/ Ortiz) Vs Jun Akiyama


WRESTLERAVE “IN YOUR WAREHOUSE”, 19/11/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. WrestleRave Title: Aaron Mercer (c) Vs Shota


Video starts at 2:02:35 for the match
SPW “ASTRONOMICAL ANNIVERSARY – DAY 1”, 24/11/2022
Foochow Building, Singapore

1. SPW Tag Team Titles: Da Butcherman & Dr. Gore (c) Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi


Video starts at 1:40 for Match #1. Go to 1:59:10 for Match #2
SPW “ASTRONOMICAL ANNIVERSARY – DAY 2”, 25/11/2022
Foochow Building, Singapore

1. Chris Brookes Vs Ho Ho Lun
2. SPW Southeast Asia Title – 4 Way Match: Aiden Rex (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi Vs Andruew Tang Vs Tajiri


Video starts at 8:49 for Match #1. Go to 16:47 for Match #2
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 28/11/2022
Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Maki Itoh & Emi Sakura Vs Nyla Rose & Marina Shafir (w/ Vickie Guerrero)
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Ari Daivari

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Results


MPW “NIGHT FALL”, 04/11/2022
Nordhoff PL, Chatsworth, California, USA

1. Dustin Daniels defeated Shota with the Torture Rack Slam (?:??).

I’m starting to think Shota is too trusting of a human being. Take his match against Dustin Daniels at Millennium Pro Wrestling for example. Everything was going nice and well until Shota fought off Daniels from the ring apron. Daniels stumbled back into the referee and used the sudden lack of authority to kick the middle rope into Shota’s groin while Shota was stepping back into the ring. The Low Blow made Shota into dead weight but Daniels was eventually able to lift him up into a Torture Rack and then slam him down to get the win.


LEVEL UP “BLINDING LIGHTS”, 05/11/2022
Attitude Brewing Company, San Diego, California, USA

1. Triple Threat Match: Fabrizio defeated Hunter Freeman and Shota when Fabrizio with the I Am Prettier (?:??).

This match became a full circle moment for some of the people involved. Hunter Freeman originally trained to be a pro wrestler in Okinawa 17 years ago and Shota was involved in training him. That is not the only student and mentor relationship in the match because Freeman is the trainer of Fabrizio. The Triple Threat ended in an upset when Fabrizio pushed Freeman into Shota and then gave his trainer the Unprettier to win.


ROW “FALL FURY”, 12/11/2022
Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA

1. Shota Suzuki defeated Emilio Tovar (?:??).
2. Shota Suzuki defeated Jonathan Vega (?:??).

Shota returned to Reality Of Wrestling to settle the score with La Familia after they cost him a match the last time he was in the company. Shota had quite the challenge given to him on the day. He had two take part in two matches against La Familia. Against the odds, Shota ended up winning both matches against Emilio Tovar and Jonathan Vega. He won one of the matches with the Frog Splash, which meant a lot to him because a few days before the show he visited El Paso the home of Eddie Guerrero.


EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM V – SHOW 1”, 13/11/2022
229 The Venue, London, England

1. EVE Tag Team Titles: Rhia O’Reilly & Skye Smitson (c) defeated Hyper Misao & Session Moth Martina when Smitson pinned Misao (10:16).
*V5 for The Uprising.
2. EVE Title No. 1 Contender Match: Miyu Yamashiya defeated Millie McKenzie with the Skull Kick (12:34).

Over to England where TJPW talent was invited over to Pro Wrestling EVE. The British women’s promotion held their fifth annual “WRESTLE QUEENDOM” supershow, split into two events over the course of the day. On the afternoon show Yamashita faced Millie McKenzie in a rematch from their first meeting the month before in Spain. Yamashita had learned from her mistakes in the first match and found a way to counter McKenzie’s Regal Plex. The counter allowed Yamashita to take control from her opponent and create an opening for a High Kick followed by the Skull Kick. The win meant Yamashita was now the No. 1 Contender for the EVE Title and her title shot was happening later that day on the evening show.

Hyper Misao became fast friends with Session Moth Martina from Ireland (home of the Spice Bag) and together they fought against The Uprising for the EVE Tag Team Titles. They came close to winning until Nightshade interfered on behalf of her allies and helped The Uprising retain their titles. Misao wanted revenge on Nightshade for costing her team their chance to win a championship and challenged her to a fight on the evening show.


EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM V – SHOW 2”, 13/11/2022
229 The Venue, London, England

1. Hyper Misao defeated Nightshade with the Hypami Returns onto a pile of Chairs (12:16).
2. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita defeated Alex Windsor (c) with the Crash Rabbit Heat (15:08).
*Alex Windsor fails in V1. Miyu Yamashita becomes the 20th EVE Champion!

Later that evening the second show took place and became a highlight for both of TJPW’s women. In the afternoon Alex Windsor won the EVE Title and now had to defend it against Yamashita. Both had already wrestled in hard fought matches so nobody had the advantage going into the match. Yamashita took Windsor’s big moves and made her crumble to the Skull Kick. The Crash Rabbit Heat found its target and Yamashita became the new EVE Champion! McKenzie met her in the ring after the match challenging her for the title. Her reasoning is they are now 1-1 against each other and their rivalry is one that now spans the entire world. Yamashita agreed and invited her back to TJPW to do the match there. Good thing McKenzie already had Japan in her upcoming travel plans, eh? Yamashita Vs McKenzie has since taken place in TJPW with Yamashita successfully defending the belt and going 2-1 against her English rival.

Misao got her justice by beating Nightshade in a crazy match. I don’t think the match was No DQ but it ended up having weapons and brawling involved anyway. Misao brought out her Hyper Cycle and crashed it into a tower of chairs on the stage. She tried the tactic again and successfully crashed into Nightshade at ringside. The finish came when Misao dropped Nightshade with the Hypami Returns onto a pile of chairs in the middle of the ring.


NEW TEXAS PRO “TEXAS CONTENDERS SERIES 8”, 17/11/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Rudy Garza (w/ Dan Miller) defeated Shota with a Dragon Sleeper Driver (?:??).

Shota had a headline spot for his return to New Texas Pro. In his second appearance of the “TEXAS CONTENDERS SERIES” Shota fought Rudy Garza. Outside interference again reared its ugly head thanks to Garza’s manager Dan Miller. Shota held Garza in a Crossface Lock when Miller grabbed his wrestler’s leg and placed it on the bottom rope to break the hold. Shota got a little measure of revenge when he landed a Topé Suicida on Miller and sent him crashing through a row of ringside seats. However Miller recovered and distracted the ref so Garza could poke Shota in the eye and take his leg out with a Chop Block before hitting his finisher for the three count.


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 18/11/2022
Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA

1. Jun Akiyama & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Eddie Kingston & Ortiz when Akiyama pinned Ortiz with the Exploder Suplex (12:17).

For a long time now Eddie Kingston has spoken highly of Jun Akiyama and named him as a dream opponent. Well working for a place like AEW can spring plenty of surprises. Not only was Takeshita having his first match back from a month long break, he was bringing Akiyama along with him! They fought Kingston along with his buddy Ortiz on the Friday leading into a PPV weekend. Kingston wasn’t able to get much time in the ring with his hero and that very well could have been one of the reasons why the DDT team won the match. There was clearly unfinished business after the match was over and a singles bout between Akiyama and Kingston was quickly put together. The match was also the debut of Takeshita’s new AEW theme song “Face-Off”.


JCW “SERIES OF SURVIVALS”, 19/11/2022
Boonton Elks Lodge, Boonton, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated Janai Kai with the I.S.D (8:41).

On the week of Thanksgiving America had Maki Itoh to be thankful for when she paid a visit to the country to wrestle on a few shows. JCW was her first stop. She beat Janai Kai thanks to her hard head deflecting one of Kai’s normally dangerous kicks. The match was a little bit more newsworthy by the end when JCW’s commentary team let slip that Kai will be going to wrestle in Japan this January, most likely for TJPW.


AEW “FULL GEAR ZERO HOUR”, 19/11/2022
Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA

1. Eddie Kingston (w/ Ortiz) defeated Jun Akiyama with the Uraken (10:32).

The pre-show for “FULL GEAR” was where the much anticipated Kingston Vs Akiyama singles match took place. Akiyama had a new theme song put together by Osamu Suzuki called “FINAL EXPLODER”. Kingston not only got to fight his hero one on one but he beat him too! The match built to an exchange of Exploder Suplexes. Akiyama wanted to use the Wrist-Clutch variation but Kingston countered it with a DDT. Akiyama kicked out of the Uraken but Kingston kicked out of a Running Knee Strike too. Akiyama then tried to set up the Sternness Dust α but it was countered into the Northern Lights Bomb. Kingston then hit another Uraken to score the pin. The two showed a lot of respect to each other after the match.


WRESTLERAVE “IN YOUR WAREHOUSE”, 19/11/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. WrestleRave Title: Aaron Mercer (c) defeated Shota with the Cradle Piledriver (?:??).
*V5 for Aaron Mercer.

Shota has said in a tweet that this match against Aaron Mercer is one of the most memorable not just from his excursion but his entire career. Mercer also tweeted that the match may well become one of his favorites ever too. In fact the match is getting rave reviews by just about everyone who saw it in person and tweeted about it. The Houston Premier Arena is becoming home to many good memories for Shota as time goes by.


GCW “AURA”, 20/11/2022
Fete Music Hall, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

1. Masha Slamovich defeated Maki Itoh with the Half Package Piledriver (11:56).

GCW was next on Itoh’s schedule and she went there wanting to become the centre of attention. How do you do that in GCW? You step in the ring with Nick Gage, look him right in the eyes and tell him “Where is my fucking gang at?!?” Itoh becoming MDK Gang affiliated wasn’t enough for her to beat Masha Slamovich though. She drilled Slamovich with a Top Rope DDT but a rope break stopped her from getting the three count. Instead Slamovich stunned her with a Spin Kick to the head and won with a Half Package Piledriver.


AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 23/11/2022 (Aired 28/11/2022)
Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Nyla Rose & Marina Shafir (w/ Vickie Guerrero) defeated Maki Itoh & Emi Sakura when Rose pinned Sakura with the Beast Bomb (4:17).
2. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Ari Daivari with the Rollover German Suplex (4:45).

Takeshita’s first AEW match under his new deal was against Ari Daivari of the Trustbusters stable. Takeshita won with the German Suplex but the story coming out of the match was Don Callis walking out to ringside to watch it. The man is most known in AEW to be Kenny Omega’s manager. Could he be interested in offering his services to Takeshita?

Meanwhile Itoh made her return to AEW by teaming with Emi Sakura to take on Nyla Rose & Marina Shafir. Itoh found out the hard way that getting into a strike exchange with Shafir outside the ring is a bad idea. She was taken out by that while Rose pinned Sakura with the Beast Bomb.


SPW “ASTRONOMICAL ANNIVERSARY – DAY 1”, 24/11/2022
Foochow Building, Singapore

1. SPW Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Da Butcherman & Dr. Gore when Brookes pinned Gore after the Super Kick & Praying Mantis Bomb (21:03).
*CDK become the 10th SPW Tag Team Champions!

Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi collected some gold on their trip to Singapore Pro Wrestling. They beat The Horrors of Da Butcherman & Dr. Gore to win the vacant SPW Tag Team Titles in the main event of the first part of the company’s anniversary shows.


SPW “ASTRONOMICAL ANNIVERSARY – DAY 2”, 25/11/2022
Foochow Building, Singapore

1. Chris Brookes defeated Ho Ho Lun (10:33).
2. SPW Southeast Asia Title – 4 Way Match: Aiden Rex (c) defeated Masahiro Takanashi, Andruew Tang and Tajiri (12:11).
*V4 for Aiden Rex.

On Day 2 Takanashi had an opportunity to win another championship when he took part in a 4 Way Match with Tajiri and Andruew Tang also among the challengers. Aiden Rex came out on top and remained the SPW Southeast Asia Champion.

Brookes sent out an open challenge for his match and it was answered by Ho Ho Lun!


LLL “POD SIX WAS JERKS!”, 25/11/2022
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Austin Reddick defeated Shota (?:??).

Denver was the next stop for Shota where he found himself wrestling in a new environment. The Lucha Libre & Laughs show was held inside a theatre and the ring was located right on the stage. Shota and Austin Reddick had their match while comedians cracked jokes on the live commentary.


AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 30/11/2022 (Aired 06/12/2022)
Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Aaron Solo with a Wheelbarrow German Suplex (3:15).

Callis was again at ringside to watch Takeshita in action. This time Takeshita beat Aaron Solo from The Factory.


ROW “SHOWCASE”, 30/11/2022
Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA

1. Shota Vs Bryan Keith

Shota’s last match of the month was at an untelevised ROW show against one of Booker T’s brightest proteges Bryan Keith.

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Upcoming Appearances


PWL “PRO WRESTLING LEGACY”, 02/12/2022
Toma Gallery, El Paso, Texas, USA

1. Cosmo Orion Vs Shota

As mentioned earlier, Shota got to visit El Paso already during his excursion but it isn’t until December when he will get to wrestle there. His El Paso debut for Pro Wrestling Legacy will be for a match against Cosmo Orion.


GRAPPLE MAX “GOLD STANDARD”, 03/12/2022
GymKraft, Tampines Street, Singapore

1. Hotshot Wilson Vs Masahiro Takanashi

Takanashi last faced his opponent Hotshot Wilson three years ago when Hotshot was just a rookie. He has grown up while Takanashi was away so what kind of trouble can he cause him the next time they meet?


PWF “PREMIER RUMBLE”, 03/12/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Caine Carter Vs Shota

Perhaps Shota’s final visit to Premier Wrestling Federation sees him against Caine Carter. The show also has a Royal Rumble match taking place. Shota is not advertised to compete in it yet but if there’s a spot open, he’ll be sure to take it.


NEW TEXAS PRO “TEXAS CONTENDERS SERIES 9”, 08/12/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Mysterious Q Vs Shota

Shota’s match against Mysterious Q is being advertised as his final match in Houston.


APAC “RISE”, 10/12/2022
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1. APAC Women’s Title Tournament – Round 1: Steph De Lander Vs Maki Itoh
2. APAC Women’s Title Tournament – Round 1: Nor “Phoenix” Diana Vs Yuki Kamifuku

The playoff matches for the APAC Women’s Title Tournament have been made. Itoh and Yuki Kamifuku are on separate sides of the bracket. Itoh meets Steph De Lander in Round 1 while Kamifuku has to get past Nor Diana.


DFW ALL PRO “SEASONS BEATINGS”, 10/12/2022
Trinity Leadership Public School, Cedar Hills, Texas, USA

1. Shota Vs X

Shota has a few more things to do in Texas like this DFW All Pro show.


DPW “1ST ANNIVERSARY”, 10/12/2022
Winston-Salem Fairgrounds, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Colby Corino

“Let’s fucking go!” Deadlock Pro Wrestling is bringing Takeshita back for their 1st Anniversary show. They wanted him in a crazy match so here comes Colby Corino as his opponent!


APAC “RISE”, 11/12/2022
Malaysia

1. APAC Women’s Title Tournament – Final: X Vs X

Can Itoh and Kamifuku both make it to the final?

GCW “TIL INFINITY 2022”, 31/12/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

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

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Itoh is spending the last night of 2022 and the first day of 2023 in New Jersey for GCW.


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

1. EVE Title?: Miyu Yamashita (c?) Vs Rhio (?)

The EVE Title scene suddenly got a bit crowded due to Yamashita winning the belt. After her successful defence against McKenzie in TJPW, EVE announced that Yamashita will return to London on 7th January as part of their 100th show celebration. “The Unbreakable” Rhio already made it clear that she wants the next title shot sooner rather than later. At the time of writing she will be going to Japan in a few weeks time and is getting the title match against Yamashita in Shizuoka on 10th December. Here’s an interesting wrinkle added to the situation. EVE announced that if Rhio becomes the champion there, Yamashita will get a rematch back in London.


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

1. Shunma Katsumata Vs Sonico
2. Kevin Blackwood Vs MAO
3. Miyu Yamashita Vs Athena

Shunma Katsumata & MAO make their debuts for Prestige Wrestling next year. MAO takes on Kevin Blackwood and Katsumata has a match against Sonico.


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

Right now there is a story developing in DDT where Takeshi Masada wants to wrestle on the shows in Hollywood. He has to beat Sanshiro Takagi in an upcoming match to convince the boss he is already ready to wrestle overseas.


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

Any chance we can do Gage Vs Itoh here?

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Cancelled Appearances


MAGNUM “BATTLE ROYALE CUP”, 26/11/2022
Stocks n Bonds, Omaha, Nebraska, USA

1. Battle Royale Cup – Round 1: Shota Vs Kit Sackett

Shota was meant to be part of a one night tournament in Magnum Wrestling, taking one of their champions Kit Sackett in the first round. Unfortunately the show was cancelled on a few days notice and the promotion is ceasing operations due to the owner going through health issues. This would have been Shota’s first time wrestling in Omeha, Nebraska.


DDT Around The World – October 2022

November 1, 2022

October was a lighter month for DDT related matches from around the world but there is the news of DDT returning to America next year making up for it. The month has mostly been Shota continuing his excursion of the most obscure American indies I ever heard of while Joey Janela’s been defending the DDT Extreme Title and ended up getting himself his own Triple Crown of independent hardcore championships. Konosuke Takeshita is back in America but kept out of the public eye all month. Whether it’s to acclimate to his new home or just taking a well earned rest remains to be seen. Until his reemerges the monthly column will continue to focus on Shota and the Tokyo Joshi Pro talent working abroad. Oh, and Miyu Yamashita made a new friend.

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Videos


Video starts at 22:33 for the match
PWF “LIVEWIRE 19”, 01/10/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Shota Suzuki Vs Dante Leon


Video starts at 23:52 for the match
JCW “JCW VS THE WORLD”, 09/10/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Shota Vs Steve Scott


RCW “WORLD CUP 3”, 22/10/2022
Casinet d’Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

1. World Cup 3 – Round 1: Sara Leon Vs Maya Yukihi


RCW “WORLD CUP 3”, 22/10/2022
Casinet d’Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

2. RCW World Women’s Title – World Cup 3 – Final – 3 Way Match: Aurora Vs Maya Yukihi Vs Nightshade


RCW “WORLD CUP 3”, 22/10/2022
Casinet d’Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

3. Miyu Yamashita Vs Millie McKenzie


MPX “FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS”, 22/10/2022
MPX Event Center, Bedford, Texas, USA

1. Shota Suzuki Vs Phil Shark


NEW TEXAS PRO “TEXAS CONTENDERS SERIES 7”, 27/10/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Clay Roberts Vs Shota Suzuki

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Results


WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 01/10/2022
Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (3) defeated Axel Tischer & Eric Young (0) when Takanashi & Brookes pinned Tischer with the Hair Of The Dog (12:12).
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman (3) defeated Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie (0) when Dreissker pinned Abe with the Dreissker Bomb (15:57).

The first day of the month was a busy one. It began in Germany where wXw hosted the opening day of the World Tag Team Festival. Our boys CDK started off the group stage hot by beating SAnitY with their tricky tag team stylings. Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie found themselves with opposite fortunes, losing to Amboss in the semi-main event.


PWF “LIVEWIRE 19”, 01/10/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Shota Suzuki defeated Dante Leon with a Crucifix Pin (?:??).

Shota gets his first win in America! It came real close though. Dante Leon had him beaten with a Swanton Bomb onto Shota’s back while Shota was bent over. But a lackadaisical cover allowed Shota to slip Leon into a Crucifix Pin for the surprise three count. There was good sportsmanship shown with a handshake afterwards.


WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 02/10/2022
Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie (3) defeated Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku (3) when Abe submitted Ku with the Manjigatame (15:07).
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Senza Volto & Aigle Blanc (3) defeated Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (3) when Blanc pinned Takanashi with the Tombstone Piledriver (17:58).

Day 2 of the WTTF saw Abe & Irie more than make up for their defeat the previous day. They went to war against Violence Is Forever. Poor Kevin Ku was busted open from a massive Headbutt given to him by Abe. Irie then smashed the guy with the Beast Bomber and Abe twisted him into submission with the Manjigatame. CDK suffered a setback by losing to The Frenchadors. A Moonsault out of the ring from Senza Volto wiped out Chris Brookes. That meant nobody was there to save Masahiro Takanashi from being pinned by Aigle Blanc’s Tombstone.


WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 03/10/2022
Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Prince Ahura & Maggot (4) Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (4) ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie (6) defeated Nikita Charisma & Michael Schenkenberg (3) when Abe submitted Charisma with the Manjigatame (10:38).

The last night ended bittersweet for both teams. CDK went to a time limit draw with The Pretty Bastards while Abe & Irie beat the team known as Rot Und Flott. While those are not bad results, neither was enough for our teams to qualify for the final and fight for the wXw World Tag Team Titles.


GCW “FIGHT CLUB 2022 – NIGHT 1”, 08/10/2022
Garden Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Effy defeated Shota with the Sack Ryder (4:34).

Shota made his big debut under the bright lights of GCW during one of their biggest nights of the year. It should have been taking place at The Showboat in Atlantic City but a double booking snafu led to the show being held outdoors on the boardwalk nearby instead. Shota’s time in the ring with Effy was short and sweet with Effy getting his hand raised in victory at the end.


JCW “JCW VS THE WORLD”, 09/10/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Steve Scott defeated Shota with a Rope Assisted Fire Thunder Driver (7:23).

The next afternoon the GCW show was held inside the proper venue along with their spinoff promotion JCW. Unfortunately for him his opponent Steve Scott seemed to have an answer for everything that was thrown at him. He even took selfies while putting Shota in holds. Scott threw away Shota’s Tornado DDT then lifted him up into a Fireman’s Carry. From there Scott draped Shota’s legs over the top rope and dropped him with the Fire Thunder Driver for the win.


GCW “FIGHT CLUB 2022 – NIGHT 2”, 09/10/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. GCW Extreme Title & DDT Extreme Title: Joey Janela (DDT/c) defeated Cole Radrick (GCW/c) with a Cradle (15:42).
*V4 for Joey Janela. Cole Radrick fails in V8. Joey Janela becomes the 9th GCW Extreme Champion!

The working relationship between DDT and GCW has been growing throughout the month, hidden in plain sight while people in GCW have been constantly trolling wrestling news sites over rumours of GCW having connections to WWE. Janela is a focal point of both but let’s focus on the DDT stuff. He beat Cole Radrick in his 4th DDT Extreme Title defence and also won the GCW Extreme Title in the process. It was a wild match with chairs and doors getting broken everywhere. Radrick gave Janela a Superplex but Janela cradled him up on impact to get the three count out of nowhere.


VANGUARDIA/GCW “DEATHMATCH ELITE POR SIEMPRE PT. 2”, 14/10/2022
Deportivo 11 de Julio, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico

1. Vanguardia Extraordinario Title & DDT Extreme Title – 4 Way Match: Joey Janela (DDT/c) defeated Jimmy (V/c), Adrenalina and Calibus when Janela pinned Adrenalina with a Diving Foot Stomp through a Barb Wire Board (15:00).
*V5 for Joey Janela? Joey Janela becomes the 2nd Vanguardia Extraordinario Champion!

At the time of writing DDT has not yet acknowledged if this was an official Extreme Title defence. GCW went over to Mexico for a co-promoted show with Lucha Libre Vanguardia. During the show Janela put the Extreme Title on the line in a 4 Way Match with the Vanguardia Extraordinario Title also on the line. A barb wire board was the main weapon used in the match and Janela Double Stomped it on top of Adrenalina to win the match, taking the belt from the champion Jimmy without every beating him directly.


MSW “20 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE”, 15/10/2022
Fairgrounds Indoor Building, Harrison, Arkansas, USA

1. Shota Vs Phil Shark

You never know who these wrestlers will bump into or what stories they can discover while working overseas. Take Phil Shark for example. This American wrestler is only 22 years old and he hasn’t been wrestling for long. However he spent time training in Japan for 2AW and was briefly a ringside attendant at their shows. Shota seems to like the guy after fighting him at a Mid-States Wrestling show and hopes some of the wrestling promotions in Japan will take notice of him.


RCW “WORLD CUP 3”, 22/10/2022
Casinet d’Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

1. World Cup 3 – Round 1: Maya Yukihi defeated Sara Leon with a Jumping Knee (?:??).
2. RCW World Women’s Title – World Cup 3 – Final – 3 Way Match: Nightshade defeated Aurora and Maya Yukihi when Nightshade pinned Yukihi with the Neck Hanging Bomb (?:??).
*Nightshade becomes the 1st RCW World Women’s Champion!
3. Millie McKenzie defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Regal Plex (?:??).

I think this show was overshadowed by the story of Yamashita hanging out with Sasha Banks while they were both in Spain. Anyway, Yamashita had her first match against Millie McKenzie but came out on the losing end of it. Meanwhile Maya Yukihi was part of a tournament to crown RCW’s new women’s champion. She made it to the final but was pinned by Nightshade. So close yet so far.


MPX “FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS”, 22/10/2022
MPX Event Center, Bedford, Texas, USA

1. Phil Shark defeated Shota Suzuki with the Deadliest Catch (9:38).

Shota’s appearance for Metroplex Wrestling had him act as a heel which was unlike his previous matches on his excursion. It gave Shark the spotlight to be the hero and he beat Shota with a Twisting Death Valley Driver.


NEW TEXAS PRO “TEXAS CONTENDERS SERIES 7”, 27/10/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Clay Roberts defeated Shota with a Small Package (?:??).

Still in Texas, Shota had a match with Clay Roberts in New Texas Pro that had both on their social media afterwards full of happiness over their performances. It’s also been receiving praise from others who saw it. Unfortunately Roberts made sure to spoil the ending by giving Shota a Low Blow while the ref’s back was turned.


GLORY PRO “THE RELENTLESS”, 30/10/2022
South Broadway Athletic Club, St. Louis, USA

1. STL Vs The World Showcase: Benjamin Trust, ATM & Moses defeated Shota, GPA & Crash Jaxon when Moses submitted GPA with a Crab Hold (?:??).

Shota’s month ended with a trip to St. Louis for Glory Pro. He was part of a worldwide trio taking on three wrestlers representing St. Louis. He came out on the losing side.

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Upcoming Appearances


MPW “NIGHT FALL”, 04/11/2022
Nordhoff PL, Chatsworth, California, USA

1. Dustin Daniels Vs Shota

Shota is pleased with his excursion so far. He’s been getting plenty of bookings to keep him active and is building up more friendships and connections around the wrestling scene. Next up for him in November is a return to Millennium Pro Wrestling for a match against Dustin Daniels.


LEVEL UP “BLINDING LIGHTS”, 05/11/2022
Attitude Brewing Company, San Diego, California, USA

1. Triple Threat Match: Hunter Freeman Vs Fabrizio Vs Shota

A Triple Threat match awaits Shota when he goes to San Diego for the Level Up Pro Wrestling School. One of his opponents is Fabrizio who trained at the school. The other is “The Backwoods Brawler” Hunter Freeman. That guy has been getting attention in GCW with his death match efforts this year.


ROW “FALL FURY”, 12/11/2022
Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA

1. Shota Vs X

Shota will be part of the next Reality Of Wrestling TV taping.


EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM V – SHOW 1”, 13/11/2022
229 The Venue, London, England

1. EVE Tag Team Titles: Rhia O’Reilly & Skye Smitson (c) Vs Hyper Misao & Session Moth
2. EVE Title No. 1 Contender Match: Millie McKenzie Vs Miyu Yamashita

Uh oh. Hyper Misao’s match at EVE is a big one because she gets to challenge for the EVE Tag Team Titles. It’s a chance for a TJPW wrestler to do one better than The Uprising and take the other promotion’s tag titles. However an even bigger wild card is thrown in the mix with Session Moth Martina as Misao’s tag partner!


EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM V – SHOW 2”, 13/11/2022
229 The Venue, London, England

1. Hyper Misao Vs X
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Whatever matches Yamashita and Misao will do on the second show most likely depends on what the results of the first show are. If both of them lose on the first show then don’t be surprised if they are put in the same match on the second show, maybe even against each other.


JCW “SERIES OF SURVIVALS”, 19/11/2022
Boonton Elks Lodge, Boonton, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Janai Kai

Back to the GCW circle where Maki Itoh returns. She’s popping up at JCW too for a first time match against Janai Kai.


WRESTLERAVE “IN YOUR WAREHOUSE”, 19/11/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. WrestleRave Title: Aaron Mercer (c) Vs Shota

Can Shota win his first American wrestling championship?


GCW “AURA”, 20/11/2022
Fete Music Hall, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Masha Slamovich

It’s been a breakout year for Masha Slamovich. Breaking through Itoh’s hard head might be her toughest test yet.


SPW “ASTRONOMICAL ANNIVERSARY – DAY 1”, 24/11/2022
Foochow Building, Singapore

1. SPW Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Da Butcherman & Dr. Gore

CDK have some dates in Singapore coming up. Two of them is for Singapore Pro Wrestling as they are holding a two day event to celebrate their 9 year anniversary. They have a SPW Tag Team Championship match against The Horrors. I cannot tell if these are existing tag championships, new ones or if the belts are vacant.


SPW “ASTRONOMICAL ANNIVERSARY – DAY 2”, 25/11/2022
Foochow Building, Singapore

1. Chris Brookes Vs X
2. SPW Southeast Asia Title – 4 Way Match: Aiden Rex (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi Vs Andruew Tang Vs Tajiri

Takanashi is in the main event 4 Way Match for the SPW Southeast Asia Title on Day 2. The champion right now is Aiden Rex but he is also defending the title on Day 1. The other challengers involved are former multi-time champion Andruew Tang and Tajiri.

Brookes is looking for an opponent and put out an open challenge for Day 2.


LLL “POD SIX WAS JERKS!”, 25/11/2022
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Shota Vs Austin Reddick

So there’s an Oriental Theater in Denver hosting a Lucha Libre & Laughs wrestling event? Quite the mixture there. Shota takes on Austin Reddick over there and the show also has Max The Impaler on it.


GRAPPLE MAX “GOLD STANDARD”, 03/12/2022
GymKraft, Tampines Street, Singapore

1. Masahiro Takanashi Vs X

Takanashi will also be at Grapple MAX’s 6th anniversary show.


APAC “RISE”, 10/12/2022
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1. APAC Women’s Title Tournament – Round 1: Maki Itoh Vs X
2. APAC Women’s Title Tournament – Round 1: Yuki Kamifuku Vs X

Malaysia in December sounds nice. Itoh and Yuki Kamifuku will be heading over there to compete in a tournament held by APAC Wrestling. It will be a four woman tournament also featuring former NXT wrestler Steph De Lander and Nor “Phoenix” Diana. This will be Kamifuku’s first time wrestling outside of Japan.

APAC “RISE”, 11/12/2022
Malaysia

1. APAC Women’s Title Tournament – Final: X Vs X

The winner of the tournament will be crowned the first APAC Women’s Champion!


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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Athena

Now here’s a heavy hitting match! Prestige is hosting Yamashita against Athena! Yamashita is undefeated in Prestige and will look to continue her winning streak over there. January of next year looks so far away.


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

The biggest news of all in October is DDT heading back to America! They are coming to Los Angeles during WrestleMania weekend as part of The Collective. That is GCW’s collaborative series of events with other indies. It is DDT’s first show in America since their New York show in 2019.


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

If that’s not enough, there’s a show the next day pitting DDT wrestlers against GCW wrestlers. While GCW does have a regular core roster they could have anybody showing up repping their colours on the day.

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Cancelled Appearances


PW REVOLUTION/WEST COAST PRO “KING OF INDIES 2022”, 19/11/2022
United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, USA

1. King Of Indies 2022: Konosuke Takeshita Vs X

Well so much for that. Takeshita has been pulled from the big King Of Indies tournament. It’s taking place the same day as AEW’s big PPV “FULL GEAR”. Hopefully there is something being planned for him there because I was really looking forward to seeing how he would have fared in this tournament.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “YUME PRO WRESTLING -DREAM ON THE RING-” Results

October 14, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “YUME PRO WRESTLING -DREAM ON THE RING-”, 14/10/2022
Shinjuku FACE
307 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Nao Kakuta defeated Kaya Toribami with the Shiden Kai (6:10).
2. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao defeated Raku and Mahiro Kiryu when Misao pinned Kiryu with La Magsitral Cradle (6:56).
3. Yume Pro Wrestling Last Mission: Rika Tatsumi defeated Risako with the Dragon Sleeper (7:08).
4. Yume Pro Wrestling Last Mission: Miyu Yamashita defeated Himari Manaka with a Right High Kick (5:23).
5. Yume Pro Wrestling Last Mission: Shoko Nakajima defeated Wakana Uehara with a Haneorigatame (6:58).
6. Max The Impaler & Yuki Kamifuku defeated Mizuki & Pom Harajuku when Kamifuku pinned Harajuku with the Famouser (9:26).
7. Yuki Aino & Moka Miyamoto defeated Miu Watanabe & Suzume when Moyamoto pinned Suzume with the Korokan (15:11).
8. Yuka Sakazaki, Maki Itoh & Haruna Neko defeated Rhia O’Reilly, Hikari Noa & Arisu Endo when Sakazaki pinned Endo with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (14:15).

Today’s show was built around the Yume Pro Wrestling -dream on the ring- show Tokyo Joshi Pro put together to train women from the entertainment industry (idols, actresses, models, etc.) into pro wrestlers. Three idols have been training since May to have their first matches today. Each have a dream they want to make true by winning the competition but there can be only one in the ring. Missions took place throughout the series with points awarded to those who succeeded. Today was where the final mission was being held.

Each contestant would wrestle an Exhibition match against one of TJPW’s best. First up was Risako (currently on 13 points) taking on Rika Tatsumi. Risako did Body Slams, Shoulder Blocks and a Crab Hold. But Tatsumi dragged her down with a Sleeper Hold and switched to the Dragon Sleeper for the submission victory.

Himari Manaka (also on 13 points) was next with the tough task of fighting Miyu Yamashita. The skill mismatch was on show here with Yamashita constantly wearing down Manaka with strikes and demanding her to fight back. Manaka finally found an opening and struck with a Big Boot to the face. Her comeback was short lived though and Yamashita pinned her with a Right High Kick.

The third and final match saw Wakana Uehara (leading with 20 points) facing Shoko Nakajima. This match was kept on the ground at first until the two fired Dropkicks and Body Slams to each other back and forth. Nakajima ended up trapping Uehara in a Butterfly Lock, making the idol submit in the end.

The three contestants commented on their matches backstage. Risako didn’t know anything about wrestling but wanted to jump into something brand new and unknown to her. She did her best and is glad with her time spent in Yume Pro Wrestling. Manaka said her match was the culmination of the last six months of training. She called Yamashita a strong and frustrating opponent to fight. Uehara said she had a lot of regrets while training but has now regrets now she has wrestled a match. She is disappointed she lost but is sure she gave it everything she has. The final score will be determined by several factors. The voting was open towards fans, wrestlers, staff and also Aja Kong who was part of the competition as a special guest trainer and judge. The final results will be announced on the next episode of Yume Pro Wrestling airing on TJPW’s Youtube channel on 28th October.

Yuka Sakazaki gave Arisu Endo some words of encouragement after the main event. She told her everyone in TJPW is changing more and more. Sakazaki told Endo to go for it too. Endo is taking the advice to heart because her homecoming show in Fukushima is coming up on 21st October. Rhia O’Reilly also got to tell everyone how much fun she had on this tour, particularly with Haruna Neko because she likes cats. She definitely wants to come back some day and win next time. The likes of Hikari Noa and Maki Itoh want to fight her again.

An upset took place in the semi-main event tag match when Moka Miyamoto pinned Suzume with a Suplex Neckbreaker move called the Korokan. She named it that because the Korokan residence is where you go towards after you pass the Rashomon gate. With this new move proving to be successful, Miyamoto challenged Miu Watanabe for the International Princess Title. Watanabe never expected Miyamoto to be her first challenger but is happy it is her because they always train hard together.

Once again Pom Harajuku was entrusted with making sure Max The Impaler does not wreck the place while fighting. She learned during the match that her loud screams causes Max to hold their ears in pain so Harajuku has at least something to defend herself with. It didn’t matter though because after the tag match, Max grabbed Harajuku and knocked her out with a Lariat. At least Yuki Kamifuku and Mizuki did the polite thing and carried Harajuku back to the locker room. Mizuki thinks Harajuku is doing a good job at keeping Max distracted so she should keep doing it. That is the last thing Harajuku wants to hear right now!

Willow Nightingale will finally make her Tokyo Joshi Pro debut on 29th October and will also be on the 6th November show. She was originally meant to do a tour in July but it was postponed until now because of visa problems.


Higuchi’s Injured Hand, Dream On The Ring Last Mission

October 11, 2022

DDT “GET ALIVE 2022”, 12/10/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. 4 Way Tag Match: Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani
2. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match!: Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match! Yuki Ishida 1st Anniversary Match ~ Playfulness Series Act 4: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Yuki Ishida
4. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match!: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Takeshi Masada
5. Makoto Oishi 20th Anniversary Match ~ Men’s Club Vs The 37KAMIINA: Makoto Oishi, MEN’S Teioh & Shiori Asahi Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata
6. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match!: Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Toi Kojima
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuji Hino Vs HARASHIMA, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON

Kazusada Higuchi is going into tomorrow’s show with his injured hand in an even worse state thanks to Daisuke Sasaki hitting it with a chair in the hallway after yesterday’s show. Defending the KO-D Tag Team Titles with Naomi Yoshimura against Sasaki & KANON isn’t all Higuchi has to worry about. Shinya Aoki has promised to show up with the Right To Challenge NFT as well.

There will be an announcement of a tag team making their way to DDT for the first time for the 29th December show. Who the team is will be revealed tomorrow.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “YUME PRO WRESTLING -DREAM ON THE RING-”, 14/10/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. Last Mission: Risako Vs Rika Tatsumi
2. Last Mission: Himari Manaka Vs Miyu Yamashita
3. Last Mission: Wakana Uehara Vs Shoko Nakajima
4. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao Vs Raku Vs Mahiro Kiryu
5. Mizuki & Pom Harajuku Vs Max The Impaler & Yuki Kamifuky
6. Miu Watanabe & Suzume Vs Yuki Aino & Moka Miyamoto
7. Yuka Sakazaki, Maki Itoh & Haruna Neko Vs Rhia O’Reilly, Hikari Noa & Arisu Endo

The time has come to decide who will be the winner of Yume Pro Wrestling -dream on the ring-. When all three exhibition matches are completed an audience vote will determine which one out of Risako, Wakana Uehara and Himari Manaka will go on to make her professional wrestling debut. The three idols already have ring gear made for the show and one of them even created their own entrance music. Uehara made a song called “Keep my heart burning” to be used as her theme.

Rhia O’Reilly isn’t done with Tokyo Joshi Pro yet. She is put into the mix with some of TJPW’s top players before she goes home.

What has Pom Harajuku done to keep getting put in the ring with Max The Impaler? It won’t help that Max is possibly angry over having to team with Yuki Kamifuku instead of Yuki Aino. That’s not the Yuki they like!

BASARA “BASARA 202 ~TAKAGARI 13~”, 22/10/2022
Takashimadaira Ward Community Center

1. Chouten ~Itadaki~ – Round 2 A Block: FUMA Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
2. Chouten ~Itadaki~ – Round 2 A Block: Tsutomu Oosugi Vs Fuminori Abe
3. Chouten ~Itadaki~ – Round 2 B Block: Masato Kamino Vs Takato Nakano
4. Chouten ~Itadaki~ – Round 2 B Block: Isami Kodaka Vs Yasu Urano

Onto the next round for the Chouten ~Itadaki~ tournament. The rest of the matches in this competition will be held under normal rules.


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.


Commentary At Wrestle Princess III, Iwasaki Leaving Ganpro, New Trainee Riara

October 3, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS III”, 09/10/2022
Tokyo Dome City Hall

1. Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano Vs Arisu Endo & Kaya Toribami
2. Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Haruna Neko Vs Nao Kakuta, Yuna Manase & Yoshiko Hasegawa
3. Suzume Vs Ryo Mizunami
4. Mizuki Vs Hyper Misao
5. Aja Kong, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Aino & Max The Impaler
6. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Riho & Hikari Noa
7. International Princess Title: Alex Windsor (c) Vs Miu Watanabe
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki

Reika Saiki will be a guest commentator on the show. It will be her first appearance on a Tokyo Joshi Pro show since her retirement match in May. Chris Brookes & Baliyan Akki will be doing English commentary for the show.

TJPW “YUME PRO WRESTLING -DREAM ON THE RING-”, 14/10/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. Exhibition Match: Wakana Uehara, Himari Manaka & Risako Vs X, X & X

Rhia O’Reilly and Max The Impaler will both be on the show.

GANBARE☆PRO “DIRTY HERO 2022”, 03/11/2022
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Hartley Jackson (c) Vs Shuichiro Katsumura

It’s been proven that strength and passion on their own is not enough to beat Hartley Jackson. So now it is up to Shuichiro Katsumura to prove that a mixture of skill, speed, stamina and strategy can get the job done. The spotlight is on him as much as it can be because the match is taking place in his hometown. If he wins the Spirit Of Ganbare Title he has already said he wants to give Ken Ohka the first title shot. Katsumura considers Jackson to be a good friend so he offered to take him out for a meal after their match. Jackson loves the idea but is worried Katsumura will have a broken jaw and won’t be able to walk after he beats him. It would be rude if he has to spend the entire meal lying on the floor looking up at Jackson eating and drinking everything.

GANBARE☆PRO “GIRI GIRI CHOP! 2022”, 27/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Kouki Iwasaki Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Last Match: Keisuke Ishii Vs Kouki Iwasaki

Today it’s been announced that Kouki Iwasaki will terminate his contract with Ganbare☆Pro at the end of this year. He is leaving the promotion and will continue wrestling as a freelancer. It is a decision he was thinking about for over a year because he is at his most fulfilled both physically and mentally. He and his wife are also expecting their first child during the new year so he thinks now is the time to move on to fighting new opponents from the outside world. He does not have any specific places where he wants to work other than he wants to be in places where he can grow and step up. His final match as a member of Ganpro is against his friend Keisuke Ishii on 27th December.

Ganpro publicly introduced their current trainee, who comes from the cabaret world. Riara is said to be a “legendary cabaret club girl” from the No. 1 club in Kabukicho. Born in Kurihara City, Miyagi she discovered pro wrestling in 4th grade and once sent in a resume to LLPW. She began working at hostess clubs in Sendai at the age of 19 and moved to Tokyo after the 2011 earthquake. In Kabukicho she achieved many accomplishments within her field and became very popular. However she had always wanted to follow her dream to be a pro wrestler and met with Sanshiro Takagi through a mutual acquaintance. After their meeting, Riara graduated from the cabaret world and in June became a Ganpro trainee. Takagi said Riara has already shown the motivation and passion needed to reach to the top. She still has a way to go before she has a wrestling match but will be able to start doing ringside duties at Ganpro shows soon. Riara grew up as a fan of Atsushi Onita, nWo Japan and Hiroyoshi Tenzan. She would like to be in an Exploding Death Match with Onita. Takagi said he can recommend her to Onita if she debuts and shows she can do well in the ring.


Final Muscle Performances, IP Title No. 1 Contender, Cara Noir’s 1st DDT Match, DAMNATION T.A Goes Tag Title Hunting

September 6, 2022

MUSCLE “HIRAGANA MUSCLE 7 ~IT’S STILL SUMMER ON THE KOSHU KAIDO~”, 07/09/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

This week is the final set of performances for Hiragana Muscle before the brand finishes its current run. They are doing three shows in four days, all will be virtually identical and I bet they will feature some sort of goodbye scene for Hisaya Imabayashi/Amon Tsuurmi. The MUSCLE concept will return one day but right now it won’t be until the year 2030. Muscle Sakai will probably come up with an idea for something before then.

Super Sasadango Machine will be doing a PowerPoint presentation ten minutes before the show begins.

DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2022 TOUR IS ASAKUSA”, 13/09/2022
Tokyo Asakusa Hanayashi Theater

0. Dark Match ~ Nariagari Offer Match: Tawaramachi Kid Jr. & Super Nikuyaki Machine Vs Sumo Ninja Kyu & Tadaki Toronomi
1. 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Akito Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazuki Hirata
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuji Hino & Yuya Koroku
3. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Yukio Naya
4. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos Vs Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada
5. Asakusa Specialty Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Makoto Oishi & Yoshihiko
6. Harimao Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Yuki Ueno & Toi Kojima

The show has sold out.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW AUTUMN TOUR ’22”, 16/09/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. International Princess Title Next Challenger Match: Miu Watanabe Vs Suzume

The No 1. Contendership for the International Princess Title is on the line here. Either Miu Watanabe or Suzume will be next in line to challenge Alex Windsor for the title.

Both Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh will not be at the show because they will be working indies in North America that weekend.

DDT “STERNNESS 30TH ANNIVERSARY ~JUN AKIYAMA 30TH ANNIVERSARY~”, 18/09/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Yusuke Okada Vs Yuya Koroku
2. HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani & Soma Takao & Yukio Naya
3. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata
4. Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toi Kojima Vs Cara Noir, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi
6. Naomi Yoshimura Vs Takeshi Masada
7. Jun Akiyama Debut 30th Anniversary Match – Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo & Yoshinobu Kanemaru Vs Yuji Nagata, Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata

Cara Noir touches down in DDT teaming with CDK for his first match with the company.

All four members of Pheromones are teaming together for the first time.

I don’t know what Match #2 is supposed to be because it was written that way on the DDT website. I guess it’s a 5 Way all against each other?

DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2022”, 25/09/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special Tag Match: Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Akito & Yukio Naya
2. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Takeshi Masada Vs Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Soma Takao
3. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & KANON (w/ MJ Paul) Vs Naomi Yoshimura, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi
4. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Cara Noir
5. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

The rookie Takeshi Masada gets to team with BURNING to take on four of DDT’s most established wrestlers.

DDT/ONLY WE “GET ALIVE 2022 TOUR IN CHIBA”, 08/10/2022
Chiba TKP Garden City

1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON (c) Vs Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi

DAMNATION T.A could end up having both sets of tag team titles during October. They currently hold the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles and have to defend them against Ω, the faction that originally came from K-DOJO. When Yuji Hino found out about DAMNATION T.A’s formation he was upset to be left out of it. So he and Makoto Oishi started teaming up again. Now they are bringing back Shiori Asahi and the three of them want to take the belts from Hino’s former friends. They have the homefield advantage too because Chiba was K-DOJO territory. Something Hino might need to be worried about is PERON GRANDES are also booked for the show. That unit is involved in a never ending feud with Hino’s ONLY WE group, who will also be on the show. PERON GRANDES and DAMNATION T.A have gotten along in the past so they can possibly interfere on behalf of the champions.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS III”, 09/10/2022
Tokyo Dome City Hall

1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade
2. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki

Next up on Yuki Arai’s checklist is her first match against foreign opponents. The Uprising won a match in EVE to earn an invitation to wrestle in Japan with Tokyo Joshi Pro. Their threat to destroy all challengers was translated into a demand to face Reiwa AA Cannon for the Princess Tag Team Titles. Both Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade have wrestled in Japan before. O’Reilly was last there in 2018 for Sendai Girls while Nightshade previously wrestled for TJPW in 2019.

DDT “GET ALIVE 2022”, 12/10/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Yuki Ishida 1st Anniversary Match ~ Playfulness Series Act 4: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Yuki Ishida
2. Makoto Oishi 20th Anniversary Match ~ Men’s Club Vs The 37KAMIINA: Makoto Oishi, MEN’S Teoih & Shiori Asahi Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata
3. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON

Daisuke Sasaki & KANON can win a second set of tag titles if they beat Harimao for the KO-D Tag Team Titles.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ~NAGOYA PERFORMANCE~” Results

September 4, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ~NAGOYA PERFORMANCE~”, 04/09/2022
Aichi Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall
640 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Maki Itoh defeated Arisu Endo with the Itoh Punish (9:32).
2. 3 Way Match: Yuki Aino defeated Nao Kakuta and Haruna Neko when Aino pinned Neko with the Venus DDT (6:52).
3. Hikari Noa defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Blizzard Suplex (6:47).
4. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Miyu Yamashita & Raku when Nakajima pinned Raku with the Northern Lights Suplex (9:11).
5. Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Suzume defeated Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Pom Harajuku when Watanabe pinned Harajuku with the Tear Drop (12:48).
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) defeated Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu when Arai pinned Kiryu with the Finally (16:04).
*V1 for Reiwa AA Cannon.

Nagoya is home to Yuki Arai’s idol group SKE48 so today’s visit to the area was all built around them. In the main event members of the group got to see Arai successfully defend the Princess Tag Team Titles with Saki Akai. They met the challenge of Toyo Mates head on, clashing the Big Boots from Yuki Kamifuku with their own. Toyo Mates’s new finishing move the Enryo was blocked, allowing the champions to hit Double Rookie Awards to Kamifuku. The match came down to Arai fighting with Mahiro Kiryu one on one with the champ getting the better of her. Arai pinned Kiryu with the Finally kick to mark her first defence of the titles.

Akai congratulated her tag partner after the match. Arai has taken direct falls in recent matches and felt like she was dragging Akai down. However today it was she who won the match for the team. Akai told her there are so many fans on her side that she will never be fighting on her own. Arai admitted backstage she was really scared of losing the belts in her first defence. Somehow she overcame her fear and has come out of today’s match feeling stronger. Akai calls her a reliable partner who should keep this confidence from now on. Their next title defence is expected to be against the British tag team The Uprising. They now have to wait for Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade to come to Japan for that match to happen.

Members of SKE48 including Arai performed a mini concert of four songs in the middle of the show. The audience was allowed to cheer so it was the first time in two and a half years they got to sing in front of a vocal crowd (Miu Watanabe was among them). After they finished, the girls invited Maki Itoh into the ring and asked her to appear at their 14th Anniversary concert on 25th September. Itoh refused until the fans encouraged her to accept the offer.


Iron Man And O-40 Titles Vacated, Cheering In Nagoya, KUBITO In Hospital

September 2, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW AUTUMN TOUR ’22”, 03/09/2022
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall

1. Hyper Misao Vs Nao Kakuta
2. Yuki Aino Vs Moka Miyamoto
3. Rika Tasumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Suzume & Haruna Neko
4. Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh & Raku Vs Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Pom Harajuku
5. Shoko Nakajima & Arisu Endo Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu

Hikari Noa will be coming back to Japan empty handed. She lost to Alex Windsor on last night’s EVE show preventing her from becoming a two time International Princess Champion. Windsor has some unfinished business going on in EVE so it will be a while before she can be seen in Tokyo Joshi Pro. However TJPW are continuing their relationship with EVE by sending over Miyu Yamashita and Hyper Misao to their annual “WRESTLE QUEENDOM” show in November. Yamashita’s match for that day is against Millie McKenzie. In return EVE is sending Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade, aka The Uprising to Japan sometime in the future. The two of them are expecting to get a Princess Tag Team Titles match once they come over.

GANBARE☆PRO “PUNCH DRUNK LOVE 2022”, 03/09/2022
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall

1. GanPro Vs MAKAI: Keisuke Ishii Vs Yuki Kanzaki
2. GanJo Special Tag Match: Yuna Manase & YuuRI Vs Moeka Haruhi & Yoshiko Hasegawa
3. Hardcore Mixed Tag Match: Shigehiro Irie & Akane Fujita Vs Mizuki Watase & HARUKAZE
4. GanPro Special 6-Man Tag Match: Ken Ohka, Shuichiro Katsumura & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Soma Takao, Shinichiro Tominaga & Jun Masaoka
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Yumehito Imanari (c) Vs Hartley Jackson

Narimasu has a packed day of wrestling ahead. Ganbare☆Pro is giving them a Spirit Of Ganbare Title match, a Hardcore Mixed Tag Match and also the first Ganpro appearances of Jun Masaoka and Yuki Kanzaki.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ~NAGOYA PERFORMANCE~”, 04/09/2022
Aichi Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall

1. 3 Way Match: Yuki Aino Vs Nao Kakuta Vs Haruna Neko
2. Hikari Noa Vs Moka Miyamoto
3. Maki Itoh Vs Arisu Endo
4. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Miyu Yamashita & Raku
5. Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Pom Harajuku Vs Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Suzume
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu

Cheering will be allowed at the show.

DDT “DRAMATIC EXPLOSION 2022”, 04/09/2022
Aichi Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall

1. Yusuke Okada Vs Takeshi Masada
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata
3. Akito & Shinya Ishida Vs MAO & Yuki Ishida
4. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku Vs Yuji Hino, Yuki Ueno & Makoto Oishi
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani
6. Scramble Bunkhouse Current Blast 6-Man Tag Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Shinya Aoki & Yukio Naya Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima
7. Special Single Match: Chris Brookes Vs Asuka
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura (c) Vs HARASHIMA & Toru Owashi

The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title and the O-40 Title have both suddenly been vacated?!? Toru Owashi wants to prove he is taking the KO-D Tag Team Titles match seriously so he is discarding the two championships he’s been carrying around for months. Even though he’s been the O-40 Champion for almost two years, he still considers it Gorgeous Matsuno’s pride and joy. Matsuno still reminds him on the regular to keep the belt polished. Meanwhile many of Owashi’s friends have held the Iron Man Title over the years. He is willing to throw all of that away in order to become the new KO-D Tag Champion with HARASHIMA. His request was accepted by Hisaya Imabayashi (who just turned 50 yesterday) and Harimao paid respect to Owashi for his decision.

Cheering will be allowed at this show too. You probably wouldn’t hear it over the explosions anyway.

BASARA “BASARA 199 ~GLITTER~”, 06/09/2022
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. SAGAT VS Lil’ Kraken
2. Jacket 3 Way Match: Ryota Nakatsu Vs Fuminori Abe Vs Gouma
3. Takumi Tsukamoto, Yasu Urano & Minoru Fujita Vs FUMA, Daichi Kazato & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
4. IRON FIST Tag Titles: Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga (c) Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
5. Union MAX Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Daiki Shimomura

KUBITO is off the show after he had a sudden bout of pancreatitis. He felt something wrong with his stomach a few nights ago and went to a clinic where he was kept overnight for treatment. He said his symptoms are mild and his hospital stay is more so he can rest and recuperate. Daichi Kazato replaces him in Match #3.

DDT “JAPAN BAKERY MARKETING PRESENTS KONOSUKE TAKESHITA 10TH ANNIVERSARY ~NISHINARI BAY BLUES~”, 10/09/2022
Osaka Nishinari Kumin Center

1. MJ Paul & KANON Vs Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Staggered Entry Battle Royal: Toru Owashi Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino Vs Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Yusuke Okada Vs Yuya Koroku Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Akito Vs Soma Takao Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Saki Akai Vs Yuki Ishida Vs Ilusion Vs El Unicorn
3. Yasu Urano, Antonio Honda & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Super Sasadango Machine & X
4. The 37KAMIINA Vs Brahmin Brothers: MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima Vs Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei & Brahman Sanshiro
5. Tokyo Joshi Pro 3 Way Tag Offer Match: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Miu Watanabe & Arisu Endo
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yukio Naya Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuji Hino
7. Nobuyuki Onizawa’s Ochakan Radio Presents Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki
8. Japan Bakery Marketing Co., Ltd. Presents Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Daisuke Sasaki
9. Special Tag Match ~ Sakuya Konohana Tag Vs CCK!: Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Ueno Vs Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos

The next Iron Man Champion will be determined in the Battle Royal on this show. Oddly enough Owashi is still in the match so he could wind up exactly in the same spot he was in before by the end of next week.

DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2022 TOUR IS ASAKUSA”, 13/09/2022
Tokyo Asakusa Hanayashi Theater

0. Dark Match ~ Nariagari Offer Match: Tawaramachi Kid Jr. & Super Nikuyaki Machine Vs Sumo Ninja Kyu & Tadaki Toronomi
1. 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Akito Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazuki Hirata
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuji Hino & Yuya Koroku
3. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Yukio Naya
4. Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos Vs Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada
5. Asakusa Specialty Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Makoto Oishi & Yoshihiko
6. Harimao Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Yuki Ueno & Toi Kojima

CCK get to test the mettle of Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada together.


DDT Around The World – August 2022

September 1, 2022

The summer is over and I thought this article would be winding down and become easier to write about for a few months. After all, Konosuke Takeshita is back in Japan for a while so his AEW journey is on a little break. Instead Shota decides to go live in America and get bookings for some of the most obscure indie companies I have ever heard of. I mean some are so out of the way if you bring them up to the people who run IWTV their response would probably be “Who?” But once September and October are done and dusted Takeshita will be heading back to the US with bigger goals in mind. I think it’s too early right now to talk about whether or not he’s going to be one foot out the door with DDT for good. It’s definitely something I’ll have to write about some day, just not today.

So this series might look a little different in the coming months. Joey Janela is carrying the DDT Extreme Title around the world and has a number of defences already lined up. I’ll be keeping track of them here for as long as it goes on. The same will go for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title if that ever leaves Japan again. So yeah if you’re expecting next month’s post to be about more of Takeshita’s adventures, you’re probably going to get a face full of Shota and Janela instead. However I have a expectation you’ll still see Yuka Sakazaki, Maki Itoh and Miyu Yamashita popping up in AEW every now and then to go along with their North American indie bookings. Did you see that Sakazaki is going to be in the AEW video game? Take that FTR!

———————————————————————–

Videos


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 05/08/2022
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Ryan Nemeth


Video starts at 58:37 for the match
WIDE BAY PRO “RAMPAGE”, 06/08/2022
Maryborough State High School, Sussex Street, Maryborough, Australia

1. Interstate Title: Mitch Ryder (c) (w/ Todd Eastman) Vs Shota Suzuki


AEW “BATTLE OF THE BELTS III”, 06/08/2022
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

1. ROH World Title: Claudio Castagnoli (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita


MAW “SUMMER HEAT”, 07/08/2022
Fat Pants Brewing Company, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs JDX


Video starts at 43:23 for the match
JCW “AFTER HOURS 2”, 13/08/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Billie Starkz


Video starts at 15:08 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 15/08/2022
Target Cente, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Cezar Bononi


Video starts at 36:45 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 22/08/2022
Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, West Virginia, USA

1. Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue Vs Emi Sakura & Maki Itoh

———————————————————————–

Results


AEW “BATTLE OF THE BELTS III”, 05/08/2022 (Aired 06/08/2022)
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

1. ROH World Title: Claudio Castagnoli (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Ricola Bomb (19:59).
*V1 for Claudio Castagnoli.

Takeshita is now 0 for 2 in World Championship matches during his excursion. He couldn’t win the PWG World Title in July and last month couldn’t beat Claudio Castagnoli for the ROH World Title. It’s another tale of so close but so far for him. He’s putting up the great performances but just not getting those wins when it matters.


AEW “RAMPAGE”, 05/08/2022
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Ryan Nemeth with the Zahi (1:41).

One good thing to happen on the taping was Takeshita’s first win on national TV. Funny thing is this was taped after the ROH Title match but aired on TV the day before. Takeshita wanted to get that one big win on TV before he went back to Japan. Ryan Nemeth isn’t that big win to be honest but hey, it’s a start.


WIDE BAY PRO “RAMPAGE”, 06/08/2022
Maryborough State High School, Sussex Street, Maryborough, Australia

1. Interstate Title: Mitch Ryder (c) (w/ Todd Eastman) defeated Shota Suzuki with the Rope Assisted Piledriver (?:??).
*V? for Mitch Ryder.

You’ll notice that Shota will be using the name Shota Suzuki in some places. It’s to avoid people confusing him with Shota Umino. I can tell you myself whenever I tweet about Shota’s excursion I get a few responses from people thinking I’m talking about the Shota from New Japan. Anyway he had the pleasure of being Wide Bay Pro’s first international guest wrestler on their shows. He was hoping to win the Interstate Title from Mitch Ryder and use the belt as his ticket to wrestle in Australia more. Unfortunately Ryder’s manager Todd Eastman got involved and his distraction led to Shota losing to a see-saw Piledriver over the middle rope.


DPW “BELIEVE THE HYPE”, 06/08/2022
Gov. James E. Holshouser Building, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

1. Emi Sakura defeated Mizuki with the Queen’s Gambit (11:02).
2. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Andrew Everett with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (18:41).

Mixed results on the Deadlock Pro show. The main event had Takeshita beat Andrew Everett in an absolute scorcher of a match. Mizuki’s first match in America ended in a loss to Emi Sakura. The teacher versus student dynamic was on full display. Sakura even got one more dirty reminder after the match by offering a handshake just to attack Mizuki even more. However the fans responded greatly to Mizuki and were happy to hear her shout “I will be back!”


MAW “SUMMER HEAT”, 07/08/2022
Fat Pants Brewing Company, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated JDX with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (17:38).

I heard about this match happening from a few Discords but couldn’t find info on it until after it took place. Midwest All-Star Wrestling is a regular promotion for JDX (Justin D. Xavier, the D stands for Disgusting). He thought Takeshita was going to look past him because his focus was on the ROH Title match. Instead Takeshita put him through a hard fought match and had his hand raised in the end.


AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 10/08/2022 (Aired 15/08/2022)
Target Cente, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Cezar Bononi with the Zahi (2:37).

With this win over Cezar Bononi, Takeshita has one more opponent he needs to beat for a clean sweep over The Wingmen. Where you at, Peter Avalon?


PROGRESS “CHAPTER 137: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COPPERHEAD”, 13/08/2022
O2 Academy, Sheffield, England

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Leon Slater with the Zahi (12:17).

Over to England now where Takeshita made his PROGRESS debut. His 17 year old opponent Leon Slater was a replacement for an injured Robbie X. Slater put up a heck of a fight but his big mistake was to try and set up a One Man Spanish Fly off the top rope. Takeshita instead used the stalled time to knock Slater off the turnbuckle with a Lariat and then pin him with the Zahi.


JCW “AFTER HOURS 2”, 13/08/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Billie Starkz defeated Maki Itoh with the Assault Driver (11:13).

Those cheeky gits at GCW advertised Maki Itoh for both nights of their Homecoming weekend but her match on the first night was with JCW instead. I think she did fan meet and greets during the GCW show so they can probably get away with avoiding accusations of false advertising. Anyway her match against Billie Starkz happened very late at night. She had a busy schedule for the following day.


PROGRESS “CHAPTER 138: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COTTONMOUTH”, 14/08/2022
Boiler Shop, Newcastle, England

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Dean Allmark with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (10:05).

Takeshita’s second day in PROGRESS gave him a far more experienced opponent to deal with in the form of Dean Allmark. He had some tricks up his sleeve like a Headstand Backslide Pin but Takeshita rolled out of it to hit the Zahi for a nearfall. He then hit the Lil Sebastian’s Curse to win. I need to find out if he minds everybody still wanting to call that move the Cinnabomb.


GCW “HOMECOMING PART 2”, 14/08/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated Dark Sheik with the Flying DDT (10:54).

If there is one thing you need to know about this match it’s this. They did the Top Rope DDT spot from the Dean Malenko Vs Scotty 2 Hotty match that happened at Backlash 2000. It is also where Itoh started using the I.D.S as her new finisher. That wasn’t the end of Itoh’s night. She appeared during the main event segment where Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green renewed their wedding vows. Itoh sang “L.O.V.E.” by Frank Sinatra for the happy couple before Nick Gage came out and crashed the ceremony with a pizza cutter.


AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 17/08/2022 (Aired 22/08/2022)
Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, West Virginia, USA

1. Emi Sakura & Maki Itoh defeated Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue when Sakura pinned Blue with the Queen’s Gambit (7:15).

Itoh’s latest stay in America ended with another visit to AEW. She teamed with Emi Sakura to beat Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue. Itoh claims Emi Sakura is the newest member of the Itoh Respect Army but Sakura denies this. At least her singing impressed Matt Menard on commentary.

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Upcoming Appearances


EVE “THURSDAY NIGHT RIOT”, 01/09/2022
229 The Venue, London, England

1. Rayne Leverkusen & Harley Hudson Vs Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade
2. International Princess Title: Alex Windsor (c) Vs Hikari Noa

Later tonight Hikari Noa will challenge Alex Windsor for the International Princess Title in EVE. Noa arrived in London safe and sound during the week and EVE’s Twitter account shows her enjoying the vibrant sights of Camden. This may be TJPW’s only chance to bring the IP Title back home any time soon though. Windsor tweeted her frustrations over how difficult it’s been to get even an appointment with the Japanese embassy so she can travel back to Japan.

The tag match I included here has implications to pay attention to. The winners will get to wrestle for TJPW in Japan sometime in the future. Nightshade has been in TJPW back in 2019. In EVE she sides with Rhia O’Reilly as part of The Uprising stable. O’Reilly is also an accomplished wrestler across the British women’s scene. Their opponents Rayne Leverkusen & Harley Hudson I don’t know much about. Hudson’s biggest profile appearances seem to be with ICW in Scotland and TNT Extreme in Liverpool. Leverkusen I can’t find much info about other than a few recent EVE matches and Youtube videos of other matches across assorted indies.


MPW “ENDANGERED”, 02/09/2022
Nordhoff PL, Chatsworth, California, USA

1. Triple Threat Match: Darwin Finch Vs J2 Vs Shota

Shota’s new American life begins with Millenium Pro Wrestling in California. The promotion has been in existence since 2001. If Shota can beat Darwin Finch and J2 in a Triple Threat match then he will qualifiy for a Scramble match on 9th September that MPW is putting together to celebrate their anniversary.


PWF “ENDANGERED”, 03/09/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. JJ Blake Vs Shota Suzuki

The next day Shota travels over to Texas for Premier Wrestling Federation. His opponent here JJ Blake recently accomplished the Triple Crown feat in New Texas Pro Wrestling. That has Shota excited to know he is getting a strong opponent for sure.


GCW “THE ART OF WAR”, 03/09/2022
Grand Sports Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA

1. DDT Extreme Title & 6 Pack Of PBR – 2 Ring Ladder Scramble Match: Joey Janela (c) Vs Mike Bailey Vs Tony Deppen Vs Cole Radrick Vs Drago Kid Vs Gringo Loco Vs Dante Leon Vs Shane Mercer

Yeah this is nuts. Janela’s first Extreme Title defence in America will be in one of GCW’s craziest match stipulations. GCW loves Scramble matches. They are also doing their own Wargames match this weekend so will have two rings set up beside each other. Add in ladders along with a Pabst Blue Ribbon sponsorship and you got yourselves a 2 Ring Ladder Scramble Match! That’s not all, Janela is putting himself up against an entire deck full of wild cards. Mike Bailey needs no introduction, Tony Deppen can be unpredictable at times, Cole Radrick is becoming more of a deathmatch wrestler as the months go by, Drago Kid blew everyone’s minds in his previous GCW appearances, Gringo Loco has built up the reputation of being one of the best bases currently on the indies, Dante Leon is the kind of guy who benefits from that and Shane Mercer is an absolute powerhouse who leaves destruction in his wake.


JCW “UNCENSORED”, 10/09/2022
Boonton Elks Lodge, Boonton, New Jersey, USA

1. DDT Extreme Title – Bodyslam Challenge: Joey Janela (c) Vs Beastman

If Janela can somehow crawl out of the chaos mentioned above, he will put the title on the line next against Beastman on a JCW show. The stipulation here is a lot more basic. First wrestler to Body Slam their opponent wins. Beastman has the size advantage in this one.


ROW “TEXAS GOLD RUSH”, 10/09/2022
Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA

1. Shota Vs Ayden Cristiano

Shota’s heading back over to Reality Of Wrestling. This time around his opponent is “The Madman From Madrid” Ayden Cristiano.


NEW “YEAR ONE ANNIVERSARY”, 16/09/2022
Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada

1. Maki Itoh Vs Gisele Shaw

Canada prepare yourselves for Maki Itoh. She will wrestle for the first time on Canadian soil for Nation Extreme Wrestling. Her opponent is Gisele Shaw who is coming in as a replacement for Chelsea Green due to scheduling conflicts with the latter. Shaw wrestle twice for TJPW in 2019 including the match to crown the first ever IP Champion. This will be her first in-ring meeting with Itoh.


PRESTIGE “PERSEVERANCE”, 17/09/2022
The Glass House, Pomona, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Sandra Moone
2. Trish Adora Vs Miyu Yamashita

I said it last month that Miyu Yamashita against somebody like Trish Adora would be an attention grabber. There you go.


MISSION PRO “Welcome To The Jungle”, 17/09/2022
Salvation Army Mission Corps, San Antonio, Texas, USA

1. Shota Vs JP Harlow

Mission Pro is Thunder Rosa’s promotion, right? Shota’s just ticking off all of the Texas companies from the get go. If he wasn’t going to bump into JP Harlow at ROW it was only a matter of time he would find him here I guess.


FRONTLINE PRO “A NIGHT FOR TYLER V”, 24/09/2022
Bakerville Bar And Grill, Marshfield, Wisconsin, USA

1. Shota Vs Ragnar The Ruthless

One week later Shota heads to Wisconsin for Frontline Pro. For fuck sake lads I have to trawl through Facebook to find out what this is and where Ragnar The Ruthless comes from.


PROGRESS “CHAPTER 142: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN SNAKE”, 25/09/2022
O2 Academy, Birmingham, England

1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
2. Shigehiro Irie Vs X

Shigehiro Irie will be at Progress the same weekend CDK are there.


PROGRESS “RETURN OF THE FLY”, 27/09/2022
The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England

1. Shigehiro Irie Vs X
2. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X

Let’s include Irie here too.


MDRN NMD “I SPELL F-L-Y”, 29/09/2022
The Bread Shed, Grosvenor St. , Manchester, England

1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs LK Mezinger & Splits McPins
2. Shigehiro Irie Vs Dan Moloney

Before the entire UK scene fell apart there was a little series of shows called Tuesday Night Graps put together by a group of wrestlers including Chris Brookes. After the pandemic the shows came back under a new group called Modern Nomad Pro Wrestling and this time there’s no need to run shows every Tuesday. Is Masahiro Takanashi into bowling because CDK takes on Bowl-A-Rama in tag team action. Irie gets to take on Dan Moloney in a superfight.


WXW “INNER CIRCLE”, 30/09/2022
wXw Wrestling Academy, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

1. Masha Slamovich Vs Fuminori Abe

The day before the World Tag Team Festival tournament begins, wXw will be holding a smaller scale show inside their wrestling school. They are always a good appetizer to start their big international weekends with some unique matches put together. Like this one here, Fuminori Abe being thrown into the ring against Masha Slamovich!


WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 01/10/2022 – 03/10/2022
Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie Vs X
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X

We just have to wait and see how both CDK and Abe & Irie will do in the tournament.


EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM V”, 13/11/2022
229 The Venue, London, England

1. Hyper Misao Vs X

Yeah so this was announced back in July and I completely forgot about it until now. Whoops. Hyper Misao’s going to England!


PW REVOLUTION/WEST COAST PRO “KING OF INDIES 2022”, 19/11/2022
United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, USA

1. King Of Indies 2022: Konosuke Takeshita Vs X

There is a tournament in the American independents that holds almost a mythical reputation even if it does not attract the attention of wrestling fans the same way Battle Of Los Angeles, Tournament Of Death or King Of Trios all used to. The King Of Indies tournament originated in the early 2000s with All Pro Wrestling as the hosts. The 2001 edition is well known as being an inspiration towards the creation of Ring Of Honor. The tournament was revived in 2018 with Pro Wrestling Revolution taking the reigns and this year Takeshita gets to add his name to the tournament’s history book. He won’t be the only Japanese participant because Naomichi Marufuji from NOAH will be there along with SB Kento and La Estrella from DRAGONGATE.