We’re in the middle of the World Cup so I’m very distracted right now. Konosuke Takeshita got into a big AEW gang war, Jun Akiyama took a trip to Germany, Miyu Yamashita won another championship in EVE and Daisuke Sasaki had an unsanctioned Hardcore match over in Thailand. Now as we go deeper into the summer there is not a lot happening on the horizon. Next month’s article might turn out to be a quick one.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 17/06/2026 Smart Financial Centre At Sugar Land, Sugar Land, Texas, USA
1. MJF, Kevin Knight, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher & Andrade El Ídolo Vs Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong, Darby Allin & Konosuke Takeshita
CMLL “FANTASTICA MANIA 2026”, 19/06/2026 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero Vs Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 24/06/2026 Rio Rancho Events Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA
1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Ricochet
AEW/NJPW/CMLL/STARDOM “FORBIDDEN DOOR”, 28/06/2026 SAP Center At San Jose, San Jose, California, USA
1. Steel Cage Match: MJF, Kevin Knight, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher & Andrade El Ídolo Vs Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly, Darby Allin & Konosuke Takeshita
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Results
EVE “EVE 150: HISTORY MAKERS RULE BREAKERS!”, 05/06/2026 Big Penny Social, London, England
1. EVE International Title: Miyu Yamashita defeated Kris Statlander (c) with the Skull Kick (17:30). *Kris Statlander fails in V4. Miyu Yamashita becomes the 12th EVE International Champion!
Yamashita is a champion in EVE again two and a half years after her dominating run as EVE Champion. Now she holds the EVE International Title with a hard fought victory over AEW’s own Kris Statlander. She kicked out of the 450 Splash and rolled through a Chaos Theory to hit Statlander from behind with the Crash Rabbit Heat. Statlander blocked the Skull Kick and did a Package Piledriver for a nearfall leading to a scramble to get the upper hand. Statlander spun around for a Rolling Elbow only to be met with the Skull Kick knocking her down so Yamashita could pin her to win the title.
WXW “DRIVE OF CHAMPIONS 2026”, 06/06/2026 Turbinenhalle 1, Oberhausen, Germany
1. Ahura & Jun Akiyama defeated 1 Called Manders & Thomas Shire when Akiyama pinned Shire with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex (23:03).
The German promotion wXw welcomed Jun Akiyama into their corner of the world to pair him up with one of their top wrestlers to take on a tag team of American cowboys. Ahura took a big beating from Cowboy Way for a lot of the match both inside and out of the ring. But once Akiyama was tagged in he became a house on fire and dished it out to 1 Called Manders as much as he could. Thomas Shire came to his partner’s aid to use the numbers game against Akiyama but Ahura tagged back in after gaining his second wind. Manders turned him inside out with a Lariat but Ahura kicked out much to his opponent’s dismay. Ahura then ducked Mander’s second Lariat, causing Shire to get clobbered by accident. Akiyama ran in to throw Manders away with the Exploder then tagged himself in to give Shire the Wrist-Clutch version of his finisher. He got the three count while Ahura did a spinning Springboard dive out of the ring onto Manders for the finish.
ROH/CMLL “GLOBAL WARS CINCINNATI”, 10/06/2026 (Aired 18/06/2026) The Andrew J Brady Music Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Lee Johnson with the Powerdrive Knee (9:30). *V2 for Konosuke Takeshita.
Takeshita got to fit in a couple of title defences this month including an extra one for the AEW International Title. He put the belt on the line against Lee Johnson in ROH as part of their Global Wars weekend. Johnson put up a decent fight but there was no risk of Takeshita losing here. The Blue Thunder Bomb led to the Powerdrive Knee and that was it. Takeshita had a bigger challenge for this championship coming up later in the month.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 17/06/2026 Smart Financial Centre At Sugar Land, Sugar Land, Texas, USA
1. MJF, Kevin Knight, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher & Andrade El Ídolo defeated Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong, Darby Allin & Konosuke Takeshita when MJF submitted Strong with the Salt Of The Earth (17:21).
The rest of the month had Takeshita getting dragged into a big gang war between The Conglomeration and The Don Callis Family with Mark Briscoe and MJF leading the packs against each other. Not much to talk about when it came to his role in the preview match. His team lost and he was part of the post-match beatdown as well.
CMLL “FANTASTICA MANIA 2026”, 19/06/2026 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero defeated Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero when Takeshita pinned Ultimo with the Raging Fire (12:29).
Takeshita then travelled to Mexico to wrestle in CMLL again but he had to team up with Hechicero. The two aren’t meant to be seeing eye to eye because of Takeshita’s exit from the Callis Family but they tried to put aside their differences in order to beat Los Guerreros. The team started to fall apart near the end when Takeshita or Hechicero would duck attacks from Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero only for their partner to get hit with the move by accident. It reached the point where Takeshita got fed up and knocked Hechicero away so he could beat Ultimo Guerrero and take the win for himself. Hechicero then attacked Takeshita after the match.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 24/06/2026 Rio Rancho Events Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA
1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Ricochet with the Raging Fire (13:47). *V3 for Konosuke Takeshita.
Takeshita had some time to clear his head and deal with other things before the big PPV match at the end of the month. He put up another AEW International Title defence this time taking on Ricochet in a clash between power and agility. A big spot that happened during the match was when Ricochet jumped off the ring apron Shooting Star Press style only for Takeshita to catch him and then do an Exploder Suplex onto the floor! Ricochet made a comeback in the ring and hit Takeshita with his own Powerdrive Knee, even pulling down his kneepad so he could hit the move raw. The Shooting Star Press couldn’t put Takeshita away so he pulled the referee into Takeshita’s way to cheap shot the champion with a headbutt. However Takeshita still kicked out of the Ricosault afterward and met an incoming Spear Gun with a Lariat that turned Ricochet inside out. He then defeated Ricochet by giving him the Powerdrive Knee followed by the Raging Fire.
SETUP “HELLRAISER”, 27/06/2026 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. Hardcore Unsanctioned Anything Goes Match: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Jonathan Johnson with the Chair-Assisted Diving Elbow from the Ladder (?:??).
Chaos followed Daisuke Sasaki over to Thailand where he fought Jonathan Johnson in a Hardcore Match that was unsanctioned by SETUP. The two brawled all over the venue and that included going up to a balcony where Sasaki Super Kicked Johnson back down to the ground floor onto a group of people below! Chairs and a ladder were then brought into the ring. Johnson had a sudden burst of adrenaline and kept fighting despite being Suplexed by Sasaki from the top of the ladder. However Sasaki still got the upper hand and went right back up the top of the ladder with a chair in hand. From there he jumped right off to land a Super Diving Elbow with the chair onto Johnson. There was no way Johnson was kicking out of that and he didn’t.
AEW/NJPW/CMLL/STARDOM “FORBIDDEN DOOR”, 28/06/2026 SAP Center At San Jose, San Jose, California, USA
1. Steel Cage Match: Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly, Darby Allin & Konosuke Takeshita defeated MJF, Kevin Knight, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher & Andrade El Ídolo when Briscoe pinned Doyle with the Jay Driller (31:45).
A big circle shaped cage surrounded the ring for Takeshita’s last match of the month. He was now in a 12-Man Steel Cage war between Team Briscoe and Team MJF. With all of the violence and explosions going on around him, Takeshita lightened the situation a little bit when he reached into Orange Cassidy’s backpack and only pulled out his middle finger to flip off Kazuchika Okada. He later got some measure of revenge on Kyle Fletcher for last month’s turn by giving him the Blue Thunder Bomb from the ring apron through a table.
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Upcoming Appearances
ACW “HEART OF WAR”, 18/07/2026 Estonian Hall, North Adelaide, Australia
1. Kira Summer Vs X
This July Kira Summer will be travelling back to her home country of Australia and she is planning to wrestle a few matches there too. So far I’ve only been able to see one show she’s been advertised for and it is Adelaide Championship Wrestling in… er… Adelaide.
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Other Appearances
KITSUNE “STAY WITH ME!”, 26/07/2026 Xander Sports Complex, Carson, California, USA
Ok this might be an interesting turn of events to keep in the back of your mind. Apparently Sayuri Namba will be moving back to Japan soon and her final ring announcing gig in North America will be with Kitsune at the end of the month. Now I’m not expecting her to go back to her old ring announcer job with TJPW since Rise Shirai is still there doing fine work in that role. But maybe she might start popping up somewhere familiar every once in a while during the latter half of 2026.
Oh come on, AEW didn’t put Konosuke Takeshita in the Continental Classic?!? Great, just great. So what’s there to write about this month? Well MAO and Yoshihiko had a wild weekend over in France. Takeshita spent the month feuding with Ricochet and defending the AEW International Title in companies outside of AEW. We also see that Takeshita has unfinished business in New Japan which probably explains why he’s not involved in the C2. DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro had a heck of a time in Seattle. Also it is now official they are both Las Vegas bound for next April. Miyu Yamashita in particular got to do and achieve so many things this month that TJPW would not have done for her back home. Pom Harajuku also got to act out of control in Singapore and Thailand away from the usual supervision. She also… won a championship? And didn’t lose it immediately? What? That can’t be right…
The end of the year will be quiet for international bookings but Takeshita has a lot going on at home in the new year. AEW seems to have written him off their TV for December with Don Callis already cutting promos about 2025 being the year of The Don Callis Family. I’ll do a separate write-up for his New Japan match(es) at the Tokyo Dome when they happen but I wanted to include the build up to them here because AEW is connected to it. January will be business as usual for Maki Itoh too with her plan to tour with GCW again. My mind is going to be stuck on Vegas for a lot of early 2025.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/11/2024 Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Adam Cole
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 20/11/2024 Santander Arena, Reading, Pennsylvania, USA
1. All Star 8-Man Tag: Will Ospreay, Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricochet & Mark Davis Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Lance Archer & Brian Cage
SETUP “YEAR END CLIMAX”, 30/11/2024 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – No DQ Match: Matcha (c) Vs Pom Harajuku
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Results
BZW “FRIDAY NIGHT BANGER”, 01/11/2024 Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France
1. MAO defeated KURO by Disqualification when Jack Sans-Nom attacked MAO (?:??).
The first night of MAO’s trip to France turned nasty but it was through no fault of his opponent KURO. They wrestled their match as normal and when MAO was on the top rope getting ready to hit the finishing blow, Jack Sans-Nom ran into the ring and attacked MAO with a wet floor sign for the DQ.
BZW “ALCATRAZ”, 02/11/2024 Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France
1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko defeated Jack Sans-Nom & Paul Robinson (c) when Yoshihiko pinned Sans-Nom with a Rainmaker (?:??). *Jack Sans-Nom & Paul Robinson fail in V2. MAO & Yoshihiko become the 6th BZW Tag Team Champions!
The next night MAO brought Yoshihiko with him to try and get revenge on San-Nom by winning the BZW Tag Team Titles from him and Paul Robinson. The challengers almost had the match won by pinning Robinson together but Sans-Nom pulled the referee out of the ring during the pin count. However Yoshihiko got its hands on him with MAO’s help and hit a Rainmaker. A three count later and BZW got new unexpected tag team champions!
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 06/11/2024 SNHU Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA
1. Ricochet & Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher when Ricochet pinned Takeshita with the Spear Gun (14:36).
Takeshita found out there was unfinished business between himself and Ricochet stemming from the previous month. A tag team match in AEW put Takeshita with Kyle Fletcher against Ricochet and his returning mystery partner Powerhouse Hobbs. Ricochet was the better man on this night. Takeshita tried to catch a Springboard Hurricanrana and turn it into a Power Bomb but Ricochet countered the counter and pulled off his Hurricanrana after all. He then weakened Takeshita with a Shooting Star Press for another nearfall. It took Ricochet using his new Hidden Blade inspired finisher called the Spear Gun to finally get the win over Takeshita (it’s weird how almost a decade ago I would have told people Will Ospreay tries to wrestle like Ricochet and nowadays it feels completely like the opposite). Fletcher got some revenge after the match by attacking the other team with a chair until his former tag partner Mark Davis ran down causing drama that Takeshita wasn’t involved with so I’m not going to write any more about it.
Harajuku went to Singapore to have a lot of fun with Alexis Lee, or at least have a lot of fun at Lee’s expense. Their match made its way out of the ring but rather than cause a violent brawl, Harajuku instead encouraged Lee to go drink alcohol. They also fought their way up to the balcony to add some danger to the proceedings. I was able to see a brief clip of Lee hitting the Somato from behind to Harajuku but I do not know if that was the finish.
NJPW “FIGHTING SPIRIT UNLEASHED 2024”, 08/11/2024 Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
1. AEW International Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) defeated TJP with the Avalanche Raging Fire (14:13). *V2 for KONOSUKE TAKESHITA.
Takeshita had to shake off his loss to Ricochet and get himself focused on his next International Title defence. It happened at New Japan’s latest American show with TJP as the challenger. TJP pulled a lights out trick for his entrance to surprise Takeshita with an ambush from behind. He also had his face and body painted to resemble his Aswang alter ego. At first it looked like he was in his normal form but late in the match he blinded Takeshita with the Poison Mist to try and get the advantage. He used the Hidden Blade and Mamba Splash but Takeshita kicked out of both moves. Takeshita’s power soon took over and he was able to get TJP over to the corner, lifting him up from the top rope to hit an Avalanche Falcon Arrow for the victory. After the match Takeshita told the fans he will next defend the International Title at the Tokyo Dome! He called out for anyone to challenge him and Shingo Takagi answered the call! Takagi will fight him at “WRESTLE KINGDOM”! That wasn’t the end though because Tomohiro Ishii then walked out and signaled to them he wants to fight the winner!
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW BRIGHT EYES”, 09/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA 405 Fans
1. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Rika Tatsumi & Amira when Suzume pinned Amira with the Ring A Bell (10:21).
2. Yuki Kamifuku defeated Wakana Uehara with the Famouser (7:19).
3. Rebel Kel defeated Moka Miyamoto with a Falcon Arrow (5:45).
4. Mizuki defeated Liiza Hall with the Diving Foot Stomp (11:07).
5. Yuki Aino & Zara Zakher defeated Miu Watanabe & Shoko Nakajima when Zakher pinned Watanabe with the Control Z (16:43).
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) defeated Vert Vixen & Nicole Matthews when Yamashita pinned Matthews with the Skull Kick (24:05). *V1 for 121000000.
DDT/DEFY “DDT IN UTERO”, 09/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA 447 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Gringo Loco defeated Yuni with the Base Bomb (10:32).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Randy Myers defeated Danshoku Dieno with a School Boy (8:26 pm). *Randy Myers becomes the 1,691st champion.
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Danshoku Dieno defeated Randy Myers (c) with the Gaydo Clutch (8:01). *Danshoku Dieno becomes the 1,692nd champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yoshihiko defeated Danshoku Dieno (c) by Referee Stoppage with a Sleeper Hold (8:36 pm). *Yoshihiko becomes the 1,693rd champion.
3. Nick Wayne defeated Jack Cartwheel with the Wayne’s World (11:49).
4. DEFY Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Tag Match: Cody Chhun & Guillermo Rosas (c) defeated Bryan Keith & Shota and Eddie Pearl & Ricky Gibson when Rosas pinned Shota after the Combined Pop-Up Power Bomb (10:19). *V2 for C4.
5. DEFY Women’s Title: Marina Shafir (c) defeated Danika Della Rouge with the Mother’s Milk (7:35). *V3 for Marina Shafir.
6. Special Tag Match: Gurv Shira & Harv Shira defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Artemis Spencer when Gruv pinned Spencer after a Combined Diving Elbow Drop (15:54).
7. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Kohei Kinoshita with an Avalanche Falcon Arrow (12:41).
8. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated MAO (c) and Mike Bailey when Yamashita pinned Bailey with the Skull Kick (21:25). *MAO fails in V1. Miyu Yamashita becomes the 15th DDT Universal Champion!
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TRIANGLER DTD”, 10/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA 389 Fans
1. Vert Vixen, Yuki Kamifuku & Moka Miyamoto defeated Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Aino & Arisu Endo when Vixen pinned Endo with a Sit Down Power Bomb (8:38).
2. Bryan Keith defeated Shota with the Diamond Dust (7:59).
3. Maki Itoh & Zara Zakher defeated Amira & Danika Della Rouge when Itoh pinned Rouge with the I.S.D (8:41).
4. Daisuke Sasaki & Kohei Kinoshita Vs Danshoku Dieno & Randy Myers ended in a No Contest (9:32).
5. Miu Watanabe & Suzume defeated Mizuki & Wakana Uehara when Watanabe pinned Uehara with the Tear Drop (10:33).
6. DEFY Women’s Title: Marina Shafir (c) defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Mother’s Milk (14:08). *V4 for Marina Shafir.
7. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Yuni with the Wagamama (12:14).
8. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: Gringo Loco defeated Miyu Yamashita (c) and Nick Wayne when Loco pinned Yamashita with the Base Bomb (17:08). *Miyu Yamashita fails in V1. Gringo Loco becomes the 16th DDT Universal Champion.
9. Special Tag Match: Judas Icarus & Travis Williams defeated MAO & Mike Bailey when Icarus pinned Bailey after the Sudden Silence (22:06).
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/11/2024 Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Adam Cole with a Dynamite Diamond Ring Assisted Punch (9:38).
Takeshita’s next AEW appearance was to act as a road block for Adam Cole. There was a storyline going on this month where Cole had to win three matches in order to get a PPV match against MJF. He was two wins in going into this night and needed to beat Takeshita to reach his goal. Cole countered the Takeshita Line with a well placed Super Kick and followed up with the Panama Sunrise. But when he went for the Boom knee strike, Takeshita rolled out of the ring to make some distance between them. He then reached under the ring and pulled out the Dynamite Diamond Ring, which belongs to MJF but was recently handed over to Don Callis. Takeshita placed the ring on his finger and punched Cole in the face without the referee seeing the ring, knocking Cole out for the pin. Roderick Strong ran down to get revenge but Takeshita gave him a Low Blow. Then Kyle O’Reilly entered the ring to chase Takeshita away. But once Takeshita was at the entrance and his guard was down, Ricochet appeared and he knocked him over with a Pump Kick.
GCW “CHAOS IN KENTUCKY”, 14/11/2024 Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Brooke Havok with the Skull Kick (17:13).
The TJPW shows at Seattle were done but Yamashita stayed behind in America for a weekend of GCW action. On the first show she put Brooke Havok through the meat grinder with kicks and stomps. Havok had some moments of hope and did well to last as long as she did. The Skull Kick put an end to any hope of an upset win though.
GCW “GATEWAY TO THE DEATH”, 15/11/2024 Pop’s Nightclub, Sauget, Illinois, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Mike Bailey with the Crash Rabbit Heat (17:14).
A much tougher challenge awaited Yamashita on the second GCW show. A few days after she pinned Mike Bailey to win the DDT Universal Title, the two met again one on one with nobody else going to get in their way. Bailey hit a Shooting Star Press for a nearfall. Bailey tried to follow up with the Corkscrew Kick into the corner but Yamashita countered it with the Skull Kick. She was too slow to make the pin though so Bailey was able to kick out of it. Bailey took back control but made a fatal mistake when he missed the Ultima Weapon. Yamashita hit him with a Knee Strike from behind after that and scored the pinfall after finding her target once more with the Crash Rabbit Heat. The two traded a fist bump through the ropes after the match.
GCW “NICK GAGE INVITATIONAL 9”, 16/11/2024 Level 13 Event Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
1. Hardcore Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Broski Jimmy with the Skull Kick (7:44).
The final night of Yamashita’s GCW tour was completely unlike the other two. Yamashita has crossed paths with Broski Jimmy in a few of her other GCW appearances this year. She knocked him out in a match on GCW’s tour of Japan. Then a few shows later in America he interfered in one of her matches so she hit him over the head with a chair. Since this show was being held in the middle of a deathmatch tournament, Yamashita and Jimmy’s grudge match promised to used Hardcore rules. The end result was the closest thing to a death match Yamashita has ever done! She may as well have called herself Rina Yamashita for the night. Chairs, doors, trash cans and even glass were used as weapons. Jimmy even gave Yamashita the Package Piledriver on top of a row of chairs but Yamashita kicked out at one! Yamashita got revenge by giving Jimmy the Attitude Adjustment through a panel of glass in the corner of the ring. She then smashed some lighttubes over Jimmy’s head before breaking the remains of one over her own. All that was left for her to do was hit the Skull Kick for the win.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 20/11/2024 Santander Arena, Reading, Pennsylvania, USA
1. All Star 8-Man Tag: Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Lance Archer & Brian Cage defeated Will Ospreay, Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricochet & Mark Davis when Takeshita pinned Davis with the Wagamama (14:33).
The current version of The Don Callis Family were brought together for a match against Ospreay, Hobbs, Ricochet & Davis in a preview for the PPV. Hobbs was taken out of action midway through the match after his knee was attacked with the ring steps but he eventually returned to the match like a house on fire. Things went crazy with everyone hitting their big moves one after another. The end came when Ospreay went for the Hidden Blade and Fletcher pulled Davis into harm’s way. Davis took the full blow and he took another one when Takeshita pulled down his knee pad and hit the Wagamama knee strike for the win.
AEW “FULL GEAR”, 23/11/2024 Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA
1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) (w/ Don Callis) defeated Ricochet with the Avalanche Raging Fire (19:12). *V3 for Konosuke Takeshita.
After this it’s safe to say Takeshita doesn’t have to worry about Ricochet anymore. Ricochet threw pretty much everything he could do at this stage at him and couldn’t win. Takeshita dodged the Spear Gun this time but couldn’t hit the Wagamama. Ricochet landed a version of the Benadryller instead but Takeshita kicked out of the pin. Then when Ricochet climbed the top rope, Takeshita got up and tripped him by the legs. He hit him with a Knee Strike, climbed up to him and dropped him to the canvas with the Avalanche Falcon Arrow, pinning him clean for a successful title defence.
SETUP “YEAR END CLIMAX”, 30/11/2024 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – No DQ Match: Pom Harajuku defeated Matcha (c) with two Pom de Justices onto a Chair (?:??). *Matcha fails in V4. Pom Harajuku becomes the 2nd SETUP All Asia Women’s Champion!
This does not feel real. So let me get this straight. Pom Harajuku went to Thailand, fought in a No DQ Match against Matcha because they hold a grudge from the previous time Harajuku was there and Harajuku won the championship by driving Matcha’s face into a chair with the Pom de Justice. Twice. Unbelievable! This is Harajuku’s first championship win in her career. TJPW is now collecting women’s title belts from around Southeast Asia with the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title now being added to the pile. What a crazy turn of events.
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Upcoming Appearances
NJPW “STRONG STYLE EVOLVED”, 15/12/2024 Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, California, USA
1. Special Tag Team Grudge Match: Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Jack Perry
So is this path why we didn’t get Takeshita in the Continental Classic this year? Looks like it. The only stuff announced for him for the next few weeks are for New Japan events including the next one happening in America. There is still some AEW involvement though because Jack Perry is teaming with Takeshita here. Also Takeshita gets back in the ring with Yota Tsuji for the first time since the G1 Climax playoff stage. Shingo will be his main target but getting a little bit of revenge on Tsuji will please him too.
NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM 19 IN TOKYO DOME”, 04/01/2025 Tokyo Dome, Japan
1. NEVER Openweight Title: Shingo Takagi (c) Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA
Well if I’m writing about stuff happening around the world I guess I can include stuff happening in Japan outside of the DDT bubble. As mentioned earlier, Takeshita wants to defend the International Title at the Tokyo Dome and Takagi answered his challenge. Takagi is also the NEVER Openweight Champion so we are on course for a title versus title match on 4th January! There is the risk that Takeshita could lose his championship before this match happens but Takagi’s NEVER Title is guaranteed to be on the line.
“WRESTLE DYNASTY”, 05/01/2025 Tokyo Dome, Japan
1. NEVER Openweight Title: Shingo Takagi or KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) Vs Tomohiro Ishii
The winner of the Wrestle Kingdom match will face Ishii the next day at the other big Tokyo Dome show. This event is bringing New Japan, AEW, CMLL, Ring Of Honor and Stardom all together but DDT could secretly sneak in there thanks to Takeshita. If the International Title is indeed involved on 4th January then it will be on the line here too.
GCW “THE PEOPLE VS GCW”, 19/01/2025 Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
January sees Itoh working with GCW again for a few important shows. GCW are returning to the scene of the crime, the Hammerstein Ballroom in an attempt to redeem themselves for blowing their big shot at the infamous venue three years earlier. At the time of writing their chances of achieving that redemption are not looking good. Maybe Itoh can do her part to help things out even just a little bit.
GCW “LIVE IN LONDON”, 26/01/2025 Electric Ballroom, London, England
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Then a week later Itoh will be wrestling for GCW in London at the Electric Ballroom. That venue has been the home of PROGRESS for most of its existence and they’re helping GCW put this show together.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AEX32 SANTIAGO 2025”, 09/02/2025 Mapocho Station Cultural Center, Santiago, Chile
No updates yet on who will be joining Yamashita and Itoh at the anime convention or if anyone in Chile wants to challenge them.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
And we’re off! Next year’s WrestleMania Week in Las Vegas is now confirmed to have DDT and TJPW coming over. Both promotions will be holding shows on the same day at The Collective. TJPW is up first with an 11am start on the Friday morning. They are promising it will be TJPW’s biggest show in America to date!
DDT “DDT GOES LAS VEGAS!”, 18/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Then at 3pm that afternoon DDT will have their show. Friday is going to be a warzone of wrestling shows clashing with each other. DDT & TJPW are among the first companies to get their announcements out there. I’ll be there for both but now I have to worry about what’s going to be happening at the same time!
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GCW “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW”, 19/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Now here’s something a little bit interesting. DDT and TJPW have just held a triple partner show with DEFY so it makes sense to do one with GCW as well. But this show is happening on Saturday, the same day as Night 1 of “WRESTLEMANIA”. So right now there is no start time announced for the event. Remember, this is happening on the West Coast where WrestleMania will be opening its doors in the afternoon. Is this show going to take place in the morning before everyone rushes over to the stadium? Or will they take a risk and hold this show at night, slap bang in the middle between the two WM shows?
Pop the champagne bottles because this month Konosuke Takeshita won his first AEW championship! The first of many I hope. After he finally achieved his crowning glory he… didn’t wrestle again in AEW for the rest of the month. Typical, eh? But he did wrestle elsewhere, up north in fact. And those were some pretty good matches too. His performances this month was enough to have Dave Meltzer call him one of the best wrestlers in the world. Other than that it was kind of a quiet month for everyone else I cover for this article. Yuka Sakazaki had a match in ROH then fantasized about murdering RJ City for Halloween, Shoko Nakajima was in DPW for a tournament final, Yuki Kamifuku continues being the Queen of Asia and Miyu Yamashita went to Canada.
Things are going to pick up in November though. DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro are having their shows with DEFY in Seattle, MAO and Yoshihiko are going on another European adventure together, Takeshita has stuff lined up with New Japan for the promotion’s next couple of USA shows, Yamashita will be paying GCW another visit and Pom Harajuku is going to be let loose in Southeast Asia. If that’s not enough we even have a peak at what to look forward to in 2025.
After turning on Ospreay, the Don Callis Family hold a press conference! | 10/16/24, AEW Dynamite
MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 1”, 19/10/2024 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Gisele Shaw Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. Mike Bailey Vs Konosuke Takeshita
MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 2”, 20/10/2024 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Laynie Luck & Harley Cameron Vs Miyu Yamashita & Kylie Rae
2. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Josh Alexander
Yuka Has Fun! | Hey! (EW) 10/27/24
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Results
ROH “ROH ON HONOR CLUB”, 08/10/2024 (Aired 17/10/2024) Spokane Arena, Spokane, Washington, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Viva Van with the Magical Girl Splash (5:44).
Sakazaki’s move over to ROH this month involved a tricky challenge against Viva Van. She was kept on her toes by Van bridging out of a pin and making Sakazaki flinch with a fakeout attack from the ropes. Sakazaki got her own back by also bridging out of a pin and doing her own Sliding Lariat, no fake out needed. She went on to win by using the Magical Merry-Go-Round as well as the Magical Girl Splash.
AEW “WRESTLEDREAM”, 12/10/2024 Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Washington, USA
1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Will Ospreay (c) and Ricochet when Takeshita pinned Ospreay with the Powerdrive Knee (20:42). *V3 for Will Ospreay fails in V3. Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 10th AEW International Champion!
What a wonderful sight this was. Takeshita was part of a great match with Will Ospreay and Ricochet where everyone went balls to the wall. Takeshita took Ricochet out of the match by putting him through a table at ringside with the Reverse Implant. He also kicked out of Ospreay’s Hidden Blade but looked to be finished when Ospreay hit him with another one. That was when Don Callis pulled the referee out of the ring mid-count. Ospreay got his hands on Callis but just when he was about to give him the Tiger Driver ’91, Kyle Fletcher ran in and hit him over the head with a screwdriver. Takeshita then hit Ospreay with the Powerdrive Knee to win the AEW International Title. Even with the dirty finish the match got a *****1/2 rating from Meltzer.
DEXCON “JAM OF THE JOSHIS”, 13/10/2024 Brawl Pit Bulusan, Manila, Philippines
1. Queen Of Asia Title & VPW Women’s Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c/c) defeated Chelsea Marie with the Diving Famouser (?:??). *V4 for the Queen Of Asia Title. V2 for the VPW Women’s Title.
The Philippines is where Yuki Kamifuku had her next defence of the Asian Double Crown. She had a close match against Chelsea Marie in what was just as much a battle of beauty as it was wits and skill. Marie almost won by putting Kamifuku in the Code Of Silence submission hold but the champ’s leg was long enough to reach over for a rope break. Marie climbed the ropes but was left vulnerable after Kamifuku reached out and poked her in the eye. Kamifuku Dropkicked her opponent off the turnbuckles then climbed up the same corner to hit the Diving Famouser and win the match.
DPW “SUPER BATTLE”, 13/10/2024 Grady Cole Center, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
1. Battle Of The Best – Final: Dani Luna defeated Shoko Nakajima with a Fireman’s Carry Bomb (13:17).
The winner of the Battle Of The Best tournament would be given a shot at the DPW Women’s World Title so Nakajima was on the cusp of getting that title shot. It wasn’t meant to be unfortunately. Dani Luna kicked out of the Northern Lights Suplex and prevented Nakajima from doing the Diving Senton by kicking her off the top rope. Nakajima didn’t expect Luna to then grab her on the apron from the ropes and throw her back into the ring with a Slingshot German Suplex. It was stunning enough for Luna to pin Nakajima with a Fireman’s Carry Bomb to win the tournament.
MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 1”, 19/10/2024 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Gisele Shaw defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Denoument (12:36).
2. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Mike Bailey with the Raging Fire (24:39).
The debut weekend of Maple Leaf Pro had both Takeshita and Yamashita taking part in featured matches. The main event of Night 1 was Takeshita and Mike Bailey showing North America what they were missing when Speedball spent most of his time in Japan for DDT. It was already a cross-promotional match between AEW and TNA that became an even bigger deal because it was also the AEW International Champion against the X Division Champion! Bailey kicked out of the Powerdrive Knee but was put away with the Raging Fire. It was another match of Takeshita’s that Meltzer gave the ***** to this month.
History will look back on Miyu Yamashita Vs Gisele Shaw as the buffer match that was placed in between one of the best matches of the year and one of the worst. I admit that’s an unfair way to look at things so seek this out because it was a pretty good match. Had Yamashita won she would have been added to the ROH Women’s World Title match on Night 2. But Shaw wasn’t going to let her get in the way and won this match with her own Running Knee Strike.
MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 2”, 20/10/2024 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Miyu Yamashita & Kylie Rae defeated Laynie Luck & Harley Cameron when Yamashita pinned Luck with the Skull Kick (9:26).
2. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Josh Alexander with the Raging Fire (29:31). *V1 for Konosuke Takeshita.
The last time Takeshita fought Josh Alexander one on one it ended in a time limit draw. For the rematch he was putting the AEW International Title on the line. Just like the night before, Takeshita almost won with the Powerdrive Knee and had to use the Raging Fire to put away his opponent. But after the match he and Don Callis decided to continue the attack on Alexander until Ricochet made a surprise appearance to fight Takeshita. The two of them would butt heads again in AEW later in the month so this looks to be Takeshita’s AEW program for November.
On Night 1 Kylie Rae was attacked by Laynie Luck & Harley Cameron so Yamashita’s role here was to even the odds for a tag match. While Rae took care of Cameron outside the ring, Yamashita pinned Luck with the Skull Kick inside the ring.
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Upcoming Appearances
BZW “FRIDAY NIGHT BANGER”, 01/11/2024 Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France
1. MAO Vs KURO
Once the calendar flips over to November MAO will be travelling around the world once more with the DDT Universal Title back in his possession. First destination is in France for a weekend of Banger Zone Wrestling events. KURO will be his opponent on Night 1.
BZW “ALCATRAZ”, 02/11/2024 Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France
1. BZW Tag Team Titles: Jack Sans-Nom & Paul Robinson (c) Vs MAO & Yoshihiko
On Night 2, MAO will be joined by Yoshihiko to cause more international trouble. One of MAO’s goals for his overseas tour this time is to win a foreign company’s championship so the two of them will face Jack Sans-Nom & Paul Robinson for the BZW Tag Team Titles.
Pom Harajuku is travelling to Singapore by herself without supervision! Is she going to be a sitting duck for Alexis Lee to tear apart limb from limb?
NJPW “FIGHTING SPIRIT UNLEASHED 2024”, 08/11/2024 Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
1. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs X
What is going to be in store for Takeshita when he goes back to New Japan next month for their next American show? Maybe Ricochet will show up looking for a fight again.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TJPW BRIGHT EYES”, 09/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. Rika Tatsumi & Amira Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
2. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Wakana Uehara
3. Moka Miyamoto Vs Rebel Kel
4. Mizuki Vs Liiza Hall
5. Miu Watanabe & Shoko Nakajima Vs Yuki Aino & Zara Zakher
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Vert Vixen & Nicole Matthews
All shows from the DDT/TJPW/DEFY weekend will be airing on Triller via the TrillerTV+ subscription.
DDT/DEFY “DDT IN UTERO”, 09/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. 3 Way Tag Match: Cody Chhun & Guillermo Rosas Vs Bryan Keith & Shota Vs Eddie Pearl & Ricky Gibson
2. Danshoku Dieno Vs Randy Myers
3. Gringo Loco Vs Yuni
4. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Artemis Spencer Vs Gurv Shira & Harv Shira
5. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Kohei Kinoshita
6. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: MAO (c) Vs Mike Bailey Vs Miyu Yamashita
More news for this show has been announced while I’ve been writing this with more still to come. Marina Shafir and Nick Wayne will both be there to wrestle.
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TRIANGLER DTD”, 10/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. Special Single Match: Gringo Loco Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. Special Tag Match: MAO & Mike Bailey Vs Judas Icarus & Travis Williams
3. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Yuni
I think some of the remaining card will not be decided until the other shows have taken place first.
GCW “CHAOS IN KENTUCKY”, 14/11/2024 Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Brooke Havok
Three GCW matches for Yamashita coming up in November. She faces Brooke Havok in a first time ever meeting between the two.
GCW “GATEWAY TO THE DEATH”, 15/11/2024 Pop’s Nightclub, Sauget, Illinois, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Mike Bailey
If this match is anything like their Pandemonium Pro bout from last December then the GCW fans will be in for a treat. Just make sure to use a better camera angle for the finish this time…
GCW “NICK GAGE INVITATIONAL 9”, 16/11/2024 Level 13 Event Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Is GCW going to keep that tournament name even though they’re currently on the outs with Nick Gage? Does that mean Maki Itoh has to drop the Maki Death Kill stuff the next time she goes back there or can she take over the gimmick like Kazuki Hirata did with Magnum TOKYO?
SETUP “YEAR END CLIMAX”, 30/11/2024 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – No DQ Match: Matcha (c) Vs Pom Harajuku
When Harajuku was in a 3 Way Match against Matcha and Raku a month earlier, Matcha was the winner but she pinned Raku and Harajuku was left as the odd one out. Matcha and Harajuku then got into a fight and had to be kept apart. This unexpected grudge is coming to a head in November because SETUP is booking the two of them in a No DQ Match with the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title on the line!
NJPW “STRONG STYLE EVOLVED”, 15/12/2024 Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, California, USA
1. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs X
Takeshita will also be at NJPW USA’s December show. With two dates here for the rest of 2024 one of them would surely be a good place to defend the AEW International Title.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AEX32 SANTIAGO 2025”, 08-09/02/2025 Mapocho Station Cultural Center, Santiago, Chile
Both Yamashita and Itoh have filmed videos promoting their matches at the AEX convention. It sounds like there might be matches featuring local wrestlers as well as whoever else TJPW sends over. At least Yamashita and Itoh said they would like to fight whoever Chile can throw at them.
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE COLLECTIVE 2025”, 17-19/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
The actual shows haven’t been officially announced yet but The Collective tagged DDT and TJPW in their tweet announcing next year’s edition of Wrestlemania Week in Las Vegas. I’ll be there for sure!
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 