This list was revealed back on New Year’s Day but I was busy on holiday. Only got around to doing this now almost three weeks later. Over 340 fans from around the world voted for their favorite Tokyo Joshi Pro matches of 2025. Nearly 140 matches received votes. There was also a correction to some of the scores originally posted in their tweet thread but none of the matches changed places because of it.
TJPW Best Bouts 2025
1. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miu Watanabe 20/09/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
200 pts
2. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe 21/07/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
177 pts
3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao 16/03/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
145 pts
4. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Semi Final: Shoko Nakajima Vs Miu Watanabe 17/08/2025 @ Osaka Edion Arena #2
143 pts
5. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs Suzume 04/01/2025 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
107 pts
6. Princess Of Princess Title – STOMPING Presents: Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi 16/03/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
90 pts
7. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura Vs Yuki Arai 16/03/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
82 pts
8. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Mizuki 04/01/2025 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
80 pts
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Yuki Arai 21/07/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
71 pts
10. Shoko Nakajima Vs Miu Watanabe 13/07/2025 @ The OC, Forney, Texas, USA
70 pts
11. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Miyu Yamashita Vs Arisu Endo 09/08/2025 @ Tokyo Shinagawa The Grand Hall
65 pts
12. 12th Tokyo Princess Cup – Final: Miu Watanabe Vs Arisu Endo 23/08/2025 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
54 pts
13. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara 20/09/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
53 pts
14. Flag Scramble Weapon Death Match: Rika Tatsumi Vs Pom Harajuku 20/09/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
34 pts
15. Special Single Match: Maki Itoh Vs Yuki Arai 23/08/2025 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
33 pts
16. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) defeated Yuki Aino 18/10/2025 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
32 pts
17. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Yoshiko Hasegawa Graduation Commemorative Match ~ 1 Vs 27 Handicap Match: Yoshiko Hasegawa (c) Vs Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao, Suzume, Rika Tatsumi, Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku, Yuki Aino, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Mahiro Kiryu, Moka Miyamoto, Arisu Endo, Yuki Arai, Kaya Torbami, Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI, Toga, Shino Suzuki, Haru Kazashiro, Mifu Ashida, Kira Summer, Chika Nanase, Uta Takami, Ren Konatsu & Ivy Steele 18/07/2025 @ Shinjuku FACE
30 pts
18. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Final: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku 08/02/2025 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
24 pts
18. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Moka Miyamoto 21/08/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
24 pts
20. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Pom Harajuku (c) Vs Raku 16/03/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
23 pts
Honorable Mentions
These eight matches just missed out on making the Top 20.
21. Special Single Match: Yuki Aino Vs Danshoku Dieno 05/08/2025 @ Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall
22. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Kaya Toribami 07/06/2025 @ Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX
22. LEVEL UP TRIAL Best Of 3 – Match II: Shoko Nakajima Vs Uta Takami 18/10/2025 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
22. Next Generation Tournament ’25 – Final: Chika Nanase Vs Uta Takami 26/10/2025 @ Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall
25. Falls Count Anywhere 8-Woman Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh, Yuki Arai & Max The Impaler Vs Mizuki, Aja Kong, Miu Watanabe & Raku 15/02/2025 @ Nozomi 343 Departing From Tokyo Station
26. International Princess Title Match: Arisu Endo Vs Priscilla Kelly 20/09/2025 @ Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
27. International Princess Title Next Challenger Tournament – Semi Final: HIMAWARI & Uta Takami Vs Haru Kazashiro & Chika Nanase 19/04/2025 @ Tokyo Kanda Myojin Hall
27. Miyu Yamashita Vs Yuki Arai 21/12/2025 @ 21/12/2025
SETUP/IWA THAILAND “A NEW DAWN”, 14/11/2025 TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi 270 Fans
2. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Bangkok Death Match: Matcha (c) defeated Ram Kaichow and Pom Harajuku when Matcha pinned Harajuku with the Saito Suplex (9:52). *V3 for Matcha.
4. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami defeated Andruew Tang & Jake De Leon (c) and Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr. when Toribami pinned Kozo with the Sento Choryu (9:23). *RGT fails in V1. Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami become the 15th IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Champions!
5. Double Main Event I – Ace Vs Ace: HARASHIMA defeated Shivam with the Somato (12:17).
Note: The results and attendance number was given to me by SETUP Thailand Pro Wrestling themselves.
After a long time of planning, SETUP was able to land in Tokyo to hold their very first full show in Japan. Through their working relationships with several wrestlers and promotions (they took over the IWA Japan lineage after Tatsukuni Asano passed away last year, hence IWA Thailand now existing) they put together a card inside TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi and were able to draw in quite a big crowd to it. DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro had some presence on the shows and while I normally would have saved this for the next DDT Around The World article at the end of the month, some timely news coming out of the show means it is best for me to post it now.
DDT was represented in the first of two main events on the show. HARASHIMA was called in to face SETUP’s top wrestler Shivam in an Ace Vs Ace showdown. He was able to keep on his toes by relying on the Somato to cut off Shivam’s momentum. He hit the move out of nowhere after taking a Sit Down Power Bomb and then used it a few more times on route to victory.
TJPW were involved in two matches on the day with high risks leading to mixed results. The good news for TJPW fans is Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami are now champions together! The two of them won the IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles in a 3 Way Tag Match. Fighting them were the defending champions Real Global Threat and pestering nuisance that is the Kappa World Order. Given the environment, things got out of control and it ended up costing RGT their belts. Andruew Tang & Jake De Leon were on track to winning the match when a third Kappa at ringside grabbed and pulled them out of the ring. The TJPW team then took down the kWo, using a combo of the Skull Kick from Yamashita followed by the Sento Choryu from Toribami for the surprise title change.
The other 3 Way with a championship on the line didn’t go as well for Pom Harajuku. She was thrown into a Bangkok Death Match against Matcha and Ram Kaichow with the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title on the line. It was a chance for Harajuku to take the belt from Matcha for a second time in their career but this time things went differently. Some of the Bangkok themed moments in the match included the women playing Kra-dòht yan with a rope until Kaichow snipped it in half with scissors, Harajuku wearing muay thai cosplay and everyone hitting each other with metal trays. Harajuku’s muay thai cosplay dragged Thanomsak Toba into the match where he ended up putting a glove on at ringside and knocked out both Matcha and Harajuku with punches. Matcha was able to recover and used the Saito Suplex to pin Harajuku back inside the ring for a successful title defence.
Now that Matcha got revenge on Harajuku and is gathering momentum on her side, she is now looking towards the distant future. TJPW will be coming to Thailand for their own show on 13th December and Matcha will be a part of it. She wants to get a title match on that show but it won’t be her defending her own championship. She is challenging Miu Watanabe for the Princess Of Princess Title in Bangkok next month!
This month’s article feels like it is the most jam packed one I’ve ever written. Konosuke Takeshita is part of a big angle going on with Kazuchika Okada in AEW that is definitely going to result in a singles match between the two before the end of the year. Too bad the storyline they’re doing is the dreaded “Can They Get Along?” tag team gimmick. The stuff that I find fun is seeing the clumsy balancing act AEW is doing trying to handle Takeshita while he is the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion alongside a strongly protected Okada who is completely divorced from New Japan by now. I just cannot see a Takeshita Vs Okada match take place inside a New Japan ring at this point, whether it’s at the Tokyo Dome or for NJPW’s next attempt at running in the American market. This match is happening in AEW but if the IWGP Title is somehow involved we are all going to be flung headfirst into the salt mines.
There’s no drama to worry about over in Mexico this month. Shoko Nakajima went over there on behalf of Major League Wrestling. There was a slightly awkward moment when an interviewer unaware of the politics between Tokyo Joshi Pro and Stardom put Nakajima on the spot to talk about the other Japanese wrestlers she would be teaming with but it sounds like she handled the situation well. Once that was out of the way, everything Nakajima did over in Mexico looked like fun with five consecutive days of matches to wrestle in across various venues. MLW definitely found a way to get some good sounding news out there by praising their champion’s work during the tour. How often news reports about MLW sound like fluffy press releases will always annoy me (you’re telling Salina de la Renta is taking on an even bigger role behind the scenes yet again?!?) but whatever. I guess I shouldn’t let this stuff bother me.
There was also the return to action for Maki Itoh this month. Now unemployed, she went and had her first match since leaving TJPW. She has a big tour of America coming up this month so I’ll cover that but as for Japan, I’m going to wait and see what she does before I continue writing about her. If she ends up joining another company either full time or as a regular I don’t see much point to pay attention to it from a DDT/TJPW point of view. The same might go for her American bookings if I’m just writing about GCW month after month with no change in the status quo. Kyushu Pro and TAJIRI in particular were really happy with how Itoh’s match went so I can see that place becoming a regular spot for her. It’s funny that Rossy Ogawa went out of his way to tell everyone that Marigold is not interested in bringing her in. I think the reason he did that was to jump ahead of his reputation for poaching wrestlers from other companies. While the Marigold roster has been improving during their second year, suggesting that Itoh isn’t good enough to be in that locker room is nonsense when you see who they’ve already taken in.
Speaking of Marigold, there’s one other thing I want to talk about before diving into the rest of the article. Bryan Alvarez reported on Wrestling Observer Live yesterday that there are tentative plans by WWE to send female NXT wrestlers over to Japan next year much like they’ve been doing with male wrestlers this year. Alvarez doesn’t know which promotion WWE will be working with but guesses it would be Marigold while follow up reports also include NOAH, likely because of the “MONDAY MAGIC” series that usually books joshi matches and is getting expanded in 2026. I actually wouldn’t rule out the idea of TJPW getting to book an NXT wrestler or two out of this if only because of how WWE’s relationship with NOAH is currently going. It’s not like TJPW and AEW are doing much together anyway. Crazier things have happened so I’m just preparing myself for if I ever wake up to news that it’s actually happening.
Oh and TJPW is going back to Texas next Spring but I’ll write about that once more solid info comes out. Tokyo Story USA knows what they’re doing. Same goes for GCW because it looks like DDT and TJPW will be part of The Collective at WrestleMania Week again next year.
AEW “COLLISION”, 04/10/2025 RP Funding Center, Lakeland, Florida, USA
1. MxM TV Casting Call: Mansoor, Mason Madden & Johnny TV (w/ Taya Valkyrie) Vs Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita, & Josh Alexander (w/ El Clon)
Video starts at 1:39:30 for the match MLW “SLAUGHTERHOUSE”, 04/10/2025 Thunder Studios Arena, Long Beach, California, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs HIMAWARI
AEW “DYNAMITE – TITLE TUESDAY”, 07/10/2025 Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
1. Double Jeopardy Eliminator Match: Bandido & Brody King Vs Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita
A birthday celebration for Don Callis!
AEW “WRESTLEDREAM”, 18/10/2025 Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
1. AEW World Tag Team Titles: Bandido & Brody King (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Kazuchika Okada
KYUSHU PRO “OGORI CITIZEN’S FESTIVAL 2025”, 19/10/2025 Ogori City Lifelong Learning Center, Fukuoka, Japan
1. Jet Wei, One☆Kyushu & Princess Pistachio Vs Maki Itoh, TAJIRI & Charles Crowley
Women’s Pure Title Tournament participants Deonna Purrazzo & Yuka Sakazaki stand off ROH TV 10/23/25
CMLL “VIERNES ESPECTACULAR”, 24/10/2025 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Grand Prix de Amazonas: Persephone, La Catalina, Olympia, Skadi, Reyna Isis, Zeuxis, India Sioux, Lluvia & La Jarochita Vs Kanji, Diamante, Shoko Nakajima, Hazuki, Koguma, Mina Shirakawa, Skye Blue, Julia Hart & Thekla
CMLL “DOMINGO FAMILIAR”, 26/10/2025 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Kira & Skadi Vs Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima
Video starts at 38:27 for the main event CHOCOPRO “CHOCOPRO #484”, 27/10/2025 Ichigaya Chocolate Square, Tokyo, Japan
1. Emi Sakura Vs Mizuki
Video starts at 44:29 for the match CMLL “DIA DE MUERTOS”, 27/10/2025 Arena Puebla, Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, Puebla, Mexico
1. Match Relámpago Internacional de Amazonas: Kira Vs Shoko Nakajima
CMLL “DIA DE MUERTOS”, 28/10/2025 Arena Coliseo, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
1. Persephone & Zeuxis Vs Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima
Okada & Takeshita stare each other down, Don Callis introduces new painting | AEW Dynamite, 10/29/25
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Results
AEW “COLLISION”, 02/10/2025 (Aired 04/10/2025) RP Funding Center, Lakeland, Florida, USA
1. MxM TV Casting Call: Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita, & Josh Alexander (w/ El Clon) defeated Mansoor, Mason Madden & Johnny TV (w/ Taya Valkyrie) when Fletcher pinned Mansoor with the Sheer Drop Brainbuster (3:05).
Everyone loves doing open challenges lately, huh? The unit known as MxM TV put one together under the guise of a casting call and it was answered by The Don Callis Family. Together the trio of Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher & Josh Alexander Suplexed their opponents around while helping each other when Johnny TV or Mason Madden tried to make a comeback. Fletcher then sealed the deal on Mansoor with a Sheer Drop Brainbuster for the victory. El Clon just hung around at ringside for the vibes it seems like. It’s a bit difficult being an evil doppelganger when the person you’re the opposite of has to go away because of an injury that you didn’t cause.
MLW “SLAUGHTERHOUSE”, 04/10/2025 Thunder Studios Arena, Long Beach, California, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated HIMAWARI with the Diving Senton (12:22). *V4 for Shoko Nakajima.
Gotta give MLW some credit. They’re getting a good amount out of Nakajima’s working relationship with them. Her latest defence of the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title was against HIMAWARI so the match itself was what you would typically get in TJPW anyway. Nakajima retained the title, went on to Mexico to represent MLW and has another title defence coming up in her home promotion again later this month.
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 07/10/2025 (Aired 23/10/2025) Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki & Alex Windsor defeated Aleah James & Billie Starkz when Windsor pinned James with the Pumphandle Half Nelson Driver (7:45).
A possible glimpse into the future was shown before the match even began when Yuka Sakazaki’s entrance cut off Deonna Purrazzo’s post-match celebration from the previous bout. The two of them are in opposite sides of the ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament bracket so if they were to face off in that it would be in the final. When that moment passed, Sakazaki went on to team with Alex Windsor to beat Aleah James & Billie Starkz. While Windsor has toured with TJPW in the past, I don’t think she was ever in the same match with Sakazaki until here. Starkz got some licks in on the team while James even pushed them into each other to create an opening. But James & Starkz ended up on different pages and their teamwork broke down when Starkz started yelling at her partner. She then abandoned James when Windsor applied a Sharpshooter and James reached out for help. Sakazaki stood confused on the ring apron but hey, a win’s a win.
AEW “DYNAMITE – TITLE TUESDAY”, 07/10/2025 Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
1. Double Jeopardy Eliminator Match: Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Bandido & Brody King when Okada pinned Bandido with the Rainmaker (12:04).
Someone was coming out of this match getting a title shot of some sort. Okada & Takeshita fought Brodido in a tag match full of champions. Takeshita did the hard work of dealing with Brody King but had a trickier time fighting Bandido once more. Okada grabbed hold of Bandido from the ring apron but took the full brunt of Takeshita’s Jumping Knee Strike after Bandido broke himself free. Bandido tried to capitalize but his injured shoulder prevented him from giving Takeshita the 21 Plex. Takeshita gave him a Reverse Rana but Okada then blind tagged himself in to finish off Bandido with the Rainmaker. Okada & Takeshita had won the match but they weren’t on good terms with each other in the aftermath.
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 08/10/2025 Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
This match hasn’t aired yet but it is nice to see Windsor & Sakazaki establishing a tag team together. The only substantial thing that might come out of it though is a challenge for the AEW Women’s World Tag Team Titles once that thing is up and running. Robyn Renegade’s been wrestling without her sister for a while now and just seems to be thrown together with Taya Valkyrie every now and then.
VIP “SETTING THE BAR 11”, 10/10/2025 The Haltom Theater, Haltom City, Texas, USA
1. VIP Women’s Title – 3 Way Match: Vert Vixen defeated Maya World (c) and Kaya Toribami (12:06). *Maya World fails in V3. Vert Vixen becomes the 3rd VIP Women’s Champion!
The flag has been planted in Texas. Now it’s time for the slow process of TJPW spreading out from there. Kaya Toribami was sent over to VIP Wrestling to continue this mission, taking part in a 3 Way Match with the VIP Women’s Title on the line. The champion Maya World was dethroned but sadly for Toribami the title change was not for her. Instead Vert Vixen won the match to become the new champion.
VGM “FIGHT VGM FIGHT WRESTLING STARS MEET AND GREET & PRO WRESTLING MATCH”, 18/10/2025 Full House, Liangxi, Wuxi, China
1. Rika Tatsumi defeated HIMAWARI with the Missile Hips (?:??).
HIMAWARI also travelled to China this month with Rika Tatsumi by her side. The two of them had a TJPW offer match at the latest Fight VGM Fight show. Again it was pretty much the kind of singles match they would have back home.
AEW “WRESTLEDREAM”, 18/10/2025 Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
1. AEW World Tag Team Titles: Bandido & Brody King (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Kazuchika Okada when Bandido pinned Okada with the 21 Plex (27:26). *V5 for Brodido.
By the time Takeshita had his next match in AEW he had won the IWGP Title in New Japan! The news didn’t exactly make Okada feel thrilled and now the two of them had to be on the same page for a rematch against Brodido, this time with the AEW World Tag Team Titles on the line. A similar situation to last time occurred where Okada held onto Bandido from behind with Takeshita standing in front of them. This time Okada tried doing the Rainmaker but Bandido ducked and Takeshita got hit with the big Clothesline instead! Okada found it kind of funny while Don Callis was left speechless on commentary. Okada paid the price in the end because Bandido used the 21 Plex on him to get the big victory.
KYUSHU PRO “OGORI CITIZEN’S FESTIVAL 2025”, 19/10/2025 Ogori City Lifelong Learning Center, Fukuoka, Japan
1. Maki Itoh, TAJIRI & Charles Crowley defeated Jet Wei, One☆Kyushu & Princess Pistachio when Itoh submitted Pistachio with the Itoh Deluxe (17:38).
I’m not going to write about Itoh’s matches in Japan that often anymore but this was her first match back since leaving TJPW (and was booked when she was still with the company) so I might as well include it here. She was at Kyushu Pro to team with TAJIRI and the British carnival wrestler Charles Crowley. Their opponents were Kyushu Pro’s own One☆Kyushu alongside two wrestlers from Taiwan, Jet Wei & Princess Pistachio. The match was built around Itoh as the star although Pistachio got to get some cheers over her at points by trying to out-cute her. Itoh got to submit Pistachio with the Itoh Deluxe while her partners held back the other team with their own submission holds.
CMLL “VIERNES ESPECTACULAR”, 24/10/2025 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Grand Prix de Amazonas: Persephone, La Catalina, Olympia, Skadi, Reyna Isis, Zeuxis, India Sioux, Lluvia & La Jarochita defeated Kanji, Diamante, Shoko Nakajima, Hazuki, Koguma, Mina Shirakawa, Skye Blue, Julia Hart & Thekla (56:44).
1d. Shoko Nakajima eliminated India Sioux with the Northern Lights Suplex (29:54).
1i. La Catalina eliminated Shoko Nakajima with the One-Winged Angel (41:24).
What a trip this turned out to be. Nakajima went to Mexico as a representative of MLW for CMLL’s annual October series that is marketed around women’s wrestling. Nakajima was there as a member of The World team taking on Team Mexico in the Grand Prix de Amazonas torneo de cibernetico. The MLW connection meant she was able to wrestle in the same match as Hazuki & Koguma in ways that bypass the politics that still exist between Stardom and TJPW. Her status also might have given her the stronger booking because Nakajima was able to score an elimination on India Sioux while the FWC pair were both taken out of the match quite early on. Nakajima was beaten around the middle portion thanks to La Catalina (the “Cata-Cata-Cata-Catalina” chorus of her song is difficult to get out of my head whenever I hear it).
CMLL “SÁBADOS DE LUCHA LIBRE”, 25/10/2025 Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. CMLL Vs ROH & MLW: Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima defeated Kira & Candela (11:56).
The rest of Nakajima’s week was spent travelling around CMLL’s main haunts. Diamanté became her partner in crime for most of these shows as the two became an ROH/MLW aligned tag team for the tour. Things got off to a good start with them beating Kira & Candela in Arena Coliseo.
CMLL “DOMINGO FAMILIAR”, 26/10/2025 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Kira & Skadi defeated Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima when Kira pinned Diamanté after a Power Bomb Assisted Senton and Skadi pinned Nakajima with a Double Arm Backbreaker (?:??).
Diamanté & Nakajima were back in Arena Mexico the next day for a show that used Formula 1 style marketing because the Mexican Grand Prix was being held that weekend. Their tag match against Kira & Skadi was only held for one fall instead of the traditional Best 2 out of 3 rules. It was fun to see Nakajima fight someone much bigger than her. That is until she was broken in half with a Backbreaker for part of the finish.
CHOCOPRO “CHOCOPRO #484”, 27/10/2025 Ichigaya Chocolate Square, Tokyo, Japan
1. Emi Sakura Vs Mizuki ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00).
This year marks 30 years in the business for Emi Sakura. A big show at Shinjuku FACE was planned for her by ChocoPro at the end of the month and Sakura had wanted Mizuki to have been a part of it. Unfortunately the scheduling didn’t work out to get her on for that show so instead Sakura and Mizuki got to have a match together a couple of days earlier in ChocoPro’s home venue of Ichigaya Chocolate Square. It was their first singles match against each other in over two years and I think it is the first to happen in Japan since 2014! The two fought to a 15 minute draw with Sakura using her surroundings to get the upper hand while Mizuki eventually adapted to the unusual environment. In the final seconds Mizuki landed a Diving Cross Body but Sakura rolled her over for a nearfall. She was then in the middle of applying La Magistral Cradle when the time expired and the match ended. Mizuki offered a handshake afterwards but Sakura got the last laugh by slapping it away.
CMLL “DIA DE MUERTOS”, 27/10/2025 Arena Puebla, Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, Puebla, Mexico
1. Match Relámpago Internacional de Amazonas: Kira defeated Shoko Nakajima with the German Suplex (7:40).
The CMLL series turned spooky for the rest of the week because they were all Day Of The Dead themed. Nakajima got into the spirit of things by wrestling her match wearing a skeleton shirt. Would have been nice if Kira wore her Togepi outfit too but she already used it two days earlier. The singles match was the Lightning match of the show, which is the format CMLL uses for midcard singles bouts held within a 10 minute time limit. Thankfully for Nakajima it was early enough in the card where she wasn’t offered up as a sacrifice to the Aztec gods for losing the match. That fate was kept for Hazuki & Koguma one match later.
CMLL “DIA DE MUERTOS”, 28/10/2025 Arena Coliseo, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
1. Persephone & Zeuxis defeated Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima when Persephone pinned Nakajima with a Rope-Assisted Crucifix Pin and Zeuxis pinned Diamanté with a Cradle (?:??).
Nakajima’s tour with CMLL came to an end with a chance for her to fight the Grand Prix de Amazonas winner Persephone before going home. Again the tag match was held to one fall only and things went south for the visitors. Diamanté had her pin on Zeuxis countered around into her getting pinned instead. Meanwhile Nakajima got to hit the Diving Senton onto Persephone but was then rolled back into a Crucifix Pin. Persephone also clasped onto the bottom rope with her own feet to get added leverage for the three count.
1. Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Max Caster & Anthony Bowens (?:??).
Tensions are only getting worse between Okada and Takeshita. With pro wrestling being what it is, the only answer is to keep them teaming together until things boil over! In fact, AEW thought it was a wise idea to stick them against The Acclaimed, another tag team that cannot get along with each other. If you play the odds that way then surely one side will resolve their problems, right? It’s the kind of logic that might get Fulham some points over Liverpool this season.
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Upcoming Appearances
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, ??/11/2025 ???, USA
1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Round 1: Serena Deeb Vs Yuka Sakazaki
This tournament is really going at a snail’s pace, huh? I heard someone say the matches are purposely being kept back for PPV so I dunno, maybe we’re finally going to see this happen at “FINAL BATTLE” in another month’s time. Serena Deeb didn’t fall into an inter-dimensional vortex somewhere, right?
GCW “YOU WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND”, 07/11/2025 The Webster, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Kerry Morton
If we remember what happened at the Clusterfuck this year, Kerry Morton made it known he is not a fan of idol music when he interrupted The Up Up Girls. He went on a rather foul mouthed rant about them too. He should probably be careful if he pulls that same stunt on Itoh. She can swear with the best of ’em.
GCW “MASSACRE IN MAINE”, 08/11/2025 Yarmouth Amvets, Yarmouth, Maine USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs KJ Orso
Itoh’s already throwing insults at the former Fuego del Sol, telling KJ Orso he should have kept his mask on.
GCW “GREEN MOUNTAINS AND ME”, 09/11/2025 Barre Elks Lodge, Barre, Vermont, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
No match for Itoh has been announced yet but she will be there in Vermont.
SETUP/IWA THAILAND “A NEW DAWN”, 14/11/2025 TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Bangkok Death Match: Matcha (c) Vs Ram Kaichow Vs Pom Harajuku
2. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Andruew Tang & Jake De Leon (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami Vs Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr.
3. Double Main Event I – Ace Vs Ace: Shivam Vs HARASHIMA
Let’s see how much of a payoff there is for SETUP’s working relationship with DDT and TJPW when they touch down in Japan.
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “LOVE & PEACE”, 15/11/2025 JioSpace, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
1. MYPW Sponsored Match: Wonder Boy & Miles Karu Vs Fienic Rose & ‘Love Warrior’ Syawal
2. Marika Kobashi & Kira Summer Vs Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami
3. Sanshiro Takagi, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Emman Azman Vs Chris Brookes, Shota & Jack Alexander
4. Miu Watanabe, Yuki Arai & Raku Vs Yuki Kamifuku, Mifu Ashida & Poppy Shay
The combined DDT and TJPW show in Malaysia will also be featuring performances by the KLP48 idol group. One of their members Suzuha Yamane has spent time rehearsing with The Up Up Girls because she has never performed while standing inside a wrestling ring before.
HOG “SUPERCLASH”, 15/11/2025 Suffolk Credit Union Arena, Brentwood, New York, USA
1. Shayna Baszler Vs Maki Itoh
As brave of a fighter that Itoh has become in recent years, there are still some opponents who can scare her. Shayna Baszler is one who Itoh admits will have to bend some rules just to have a chance at beating her. She has probably accepted her fate over what will happen in House Of Glory and at least asked Baszler not to destroy her face.
… but her second match with wXw is completely different. I remember seeing Ahura for the first time back in 2019 when he had a breakout weekend as part of The Pretty Bastards when they won the World Tag Team Festival that took place right as the pandemic lockdowns began. He’s become something of a top guy for wXw since then, particularly this year when he reached the final of 16 Carat Gold and then just recently winning the first König der Catcher tournament. He’s a good opponent for Yamashita to fight.
GCW “DREAM ON”, 22/11/2025 American Dream, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Zayda Steel
A lot is going on for Zayda Steel lately, including an appearance on the EVOLVE brand that WWE decided to revive because they don’t have enough development systems in place apparently (I know, I know, it’s to take up more TV deals while also shutting out the competition). Itoh will keep her busy in New Jersey.
REVPRO “LIVE IN COVENTRY”, 23/11/2025 HMV Empire, Coventry, England
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Kanji
Now the result of this match is going to be interesting. The Undisputed British Women’s Title that belongs to Revolution Pro is currently among the dozen championship belts in Mercedes Moné’s collection. It’s a cool storyline, I think it’s great that Moné is doing this but I’m also relieved that TJPW hasn’t been involved with it because I’d rather not have an absentee championship in the promotion right now especially after what went on with the International Princess Title. Anyway, RevPro have been clearly signaling that Kanji is going to eventually challenge Moné and maybe even be the one to take the title away from her for this promotion’s big payoff to the storyline. Kanji facing Yamashita is a good way to build up some credibility on her road to becoming No. 1 Contender. But there’s a wild card that can be played here. Moné doesn’t keep it a secret how much she likes training with Yamashita and the TJPW crew whenever she gets the chance to. She’s even said in a Q&A that she would have liked to wrestle in TJPW but there’s just never been a time when the two sides could work something out. So what if instead Moné finally gets to wrestle Yamashita outside of Japan, like in England where Yamashita already has some cachet over there because of her history with EVE? You can say I’m coping all you want, what I just did now was put in the effort explaining why this match is appealing.
JCW “HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS”, 23/11/2025 The Mecca, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Queen Aminata Vs Maki Itoh
The original plan for Itoh on this JCW show was to team up with Matt Tremont & Bam Sullivan for a 6-Person Tag Match. Plans changed for the better because now she’s getting a singles match against Queen Aminata instead! We’re going to get headbutts that will shake the building to its core.
WPE/QPW “EPISODE 2”, 28/11/2025 Salle Albert Marquet, La Frette-sur-Seine, France
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Still not match revealed for Yamashita in France yet but Queens Pro Wrestling did advertise a meet and greet with her and Cara Noir together. Seeing that graphic without the context made me do a double take because that would be a unique match-up.
SAJ “FINAL BOUT 4”, 29/11/2025 Magnete, Via Adriando, Milan, Italy
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs JJ Gale
I’ve seen JJ Gale wrestle a couple of times in RevPro. He’s decent, definitely a big guy for Yamashita to try and knock down. He also has a tour of Japan coming up with ZERO1 at the end of the year. I thought SAJ would have Itoh’s match decided by now too. Still feels kind of odd she’s only doing this one booking for a European trip unless it’s just for some extra holiday money.
PROGRESS “VENDETTA 3”, 30/11/2025 Electric Ballroom, Camden, London, England
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
So the current PROGRESS Women’s World Champion is Rayne Leverkusen, a name that might sound familiar if you remember she did a tour with DDT a few years back. However Session Moth Martina is challenging her for the title in November and I know she still wants to have a match with Yamashita after the previous time in EVE was cancelled. That’s two ideas for possible opponents Yamashita can get on this show.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN BANGKOK”, 13/12/2025 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
I don’t think there’s been any new updates on TJPW’s Thailand show this month. The current lineup is Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Arisu Endo, Shoko Nakajima, Miyu Yamashita, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Suzume, Yuki Arai, Kaya Toribami, Shino Suzuki, Uta Takami, Matcha and Alexis Lee.
The post-summer rest is over and done with. There are two separate stories that Konosuke Takeshita is now travelling through. One in New Japan might see him become the next IWGP World Heavyweight Champion with a reign that can bring him right into the Tokyo Dome. The other is a path leading him towards Kazuchika Okada in AEW that could end with him holding the AEW Unified Title when all is said and done. At least that’s how little old optimistic me is seeing things at the moment. He spent September getting built up for a title shot with Okada and came out of it empty handed.
While that was going on, Tokyo Joshi Pro were making moves towards complete global saturation! They’ve already taken over the women’s division in MLW and have more talent coming over to America in the next couple of weeks. Then after that they move on to take over Malaysia and Thailand with some first time shows taking place in those countries later in the year.
We’re also not done with Maki Itoh yet. She broke her silence after leaving TJPW last month by declaring herself the most cutest unemployed wrestler in the world. She has another tour of America coming up so the next step is to see if she will do anything new with GCW now that she can dedicate herself more over there or if she is just going to continue playing the hits.
AEW “COLLISION”, 06/09/2025 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Mark Briscoe Vs Konosuke Takeshita
AEW “COLLISION”, 13/09/2025 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. AEW Unified Title Eliminator Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Anthony Bowens
Video starts at 31:10 for the match MLW “FIGHTLAND”, 13/09/2025 NYTEX Sports Centre, Dallas, Texas, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 24/09/2025 Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Mark Briscoe, Hologram & Orange Cassidy Vs Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero
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Results
AEW “COLLISION”, 06/09/2025 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Mark Briscoe with the Raging Fire (17:54).
First up this month was Takeshita taking on Mark Briscoe in the venue most remembered for being the ECW Arena. What came off as a no nonsense singles match ended up being spoiled when MJF unexpectedly ran in to push Briscoe off of the top rope. The appearance was unexpected because MJF was supposedly on his honeymoon at the time. Takeshita appeared not to mind because it gave him the opening to hit Briscoe with the Powerdrive Knee and then pin him with the Raging Fire. However after the match he gave MJF a shove because he actually was annoyed over his interference. Don Callis stepped in before things could heat up and got Takeshita out of the ring before another fight broke out between Briscoe and MJF.
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 11/09/2025 (Aired 18/09/2025) 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Pure Rules Match: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Janai Kai with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (4:42).
We got a Yuka Sakazaki match this month but not the one I thought it was going to be. Her appearance in the ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament hasn’t taken place yet. Instead she fought Janai Kai in a warm up match using Pure Rules so she can get the hang of them. Although outside of two rope breaks there was nothing different to a normal match. Also Sakazaki walked out to what sounded like a new remix of her entrance song.
AEW “COLLISION”, 11/09/2025 (Aired 13/09/2025) 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. AEW Unified Title Eliminator Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Anthony Bowens with the Raging Fire (9:14).
Next up for Takeshita was his participation in a quick tournament that was put together for the AEW Unified Title match at the next AEW PPV. He fought Anthony Bowens with the winner advancing to a 3 Way title match at “ALL OUT”. Bowens badly needed a result to get himself out of a funk he is currently going through. He at a Reverse Hurricanrana from Takeshita and popped back up to give him a Leaping Famouser from behind. But he ultimately fell to the triple combo of Blue Thunder Bomb, Powerdrive Knee and Raging Fire. Takeshita would then reappear later in the episode to point at Okada and send the message that he is after his stablemate’s championship!
MLW “FIGHTLAND”, 13/09/2025 NYTEX Sports Centre, Dallas, Texas, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Locomotion Northern Lights Suplex (9:46). *V3 for Shoko Nakajima.
The working relationship between TJPW and MLW continues to look strong as the joshi side seems to be increasingly filling out the entire women’s division in MLW. It led to a little bit of an ambitious booking to help advance the Kyoraku Kyomei Vs Ober Eats storyline in TJPW. While Shoko Nakajima and Yuki Kamifuku were busy fighting each other over the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title in America, their partners Hyper Misao and Wakana Uehara were meant to have a singles match together back in Japan on the same day. Sadly an accidental injury to Uehara caused by Misao cancelled plans for the latter from happening. Back in MLW, Kamifuku couldn’t put Nakajima away with her usual signature moves so she went up to the second rope to do the Diving Famouser. Nakajima dodged it and pulled out two successive Northern Lights Suplexes to get the win and retain her championship.
AEW “ALL OUT TORONTO”, 20/09/2025 Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
1. AEW Unified Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita and Mascara Dorada when Okada pinned Dorada with the Rainmaker (20:55). *V3 for Kazuchika Okada.
Hey this was a treat! Okada and Takeshita trying to wrestle each other but you throw the new Mascara Dorada from CMLL in there as a wild card to constantly get in the way and you got yourself a heck of a match there. If anything Dorada had something of a breakout performance that stole the spotlight away from the other two. Okada ended up getting away with it in the free for all. Takeshita gave Dorada the Raging Fire but then got hit by Okada’s trademark Dropkick. That sent Takeshita tumbling out of the ring leaving Okada to pick up the pieces and used the Rainmaker on Dorada for the victory.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 24/09/2025 Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Mark Briscoe, Hologram & Orange Cassidy defeated Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero when Hologram pinned Hechicero with the Portal Bomb (10:36).
More cracks were surfacing within The Don Callis Family thanks to the uneasy alliance between Okada and Takeshita. Callis tried to blow it over by revealing his latest work of art to everyone but that was hijacked by the return of Orange Cassidy! Some teamwork from Cassidy & Hologram on Hechicero led to their team getting the win while we end our time this month wondering what is next for this story going on between Okada and Takeshita.
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 24/09/2025 (Aired 02/10/2025) Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Pure Rules Match: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Zoey Lynn with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (4:23).
This one slipped past me. Sakazaki got in another Pure Rules match at the end of the month, this time beating Zoey Lynn. Sakazaki had her back worked over and it still looks like like Pure Rules style doesn’t make a difference in how her matches are laid out. But Sakazaki Super Kicked Lynn’s head off and pinned her with the Magical Merry-Go-Round.
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Upcoming Appearances
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, ??/10/2025 ???, USA
1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Round 1: Serena Deeb Vs Yuka Sakazaki
We had to wait a month for this match to happen? What’s the freaking holdup? Now that I notice it, Sakazaki wrestled this month but Serena Deeb didn’t.
MLW “SLAUGHTERHOUSE”, 04/10/2025 Thunder Studios Arena, Long Beach, California, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs HIMAWARI
TJPW’s takeover of the MLW women’s division moves even further with Nakajima’s next defence. HIMAWARI is coming back for another MLW appearance and is immediately given a title shot. I think the endgame for Nakajima is to face Shotzi Blackheart but MLW are in no rush to get there.
VIP “SETTING THE BAR 11”, 10/10/2025 The Haltom Theater, Haltom City, Texas, USA
1. VIP Women’s Title – 3 Way Match: Maya World (c) Vs Vert Vixen Vs Kaya Toribami
The Texas tour has left a big mark in TJPW’s future plans for America. They see it as a good hub to hunker down in for a potential overseas expansion. They even see the benefit of creating Texas Joshi Pro Wrestling just because they could still call it TJPW. But this is looking way out into the future so for now they’re just going to plant a seed here and there to test things out. First up is Kaya Toribami heading over to compete on a VIP Wrestling show. She gets to be part of a 3 Way Match with Maya World and Vert Vixen with the VIP Women’s Title on the line.
VGM “FIGHT VGM FIGHT WRESTLING STARS MEET AND GREET & PRO WRESTLING MATCH”, 18/10/2025 Full House, Liangxi, Wuxi, China
1. Rika Tatsumi Vs HIMAWARI
China gets another taste of TJPW when Rika Tatsumi and HIMAWARI face off at the Fight VGM Fight show.
CMLL “VIERNES ESPECTACULAR”, 24/10/2025 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
1. Grand Prix de Amazonas: Persephone, La Catalina, Olympia, Skadi, Reyna Isis, Zeuxis, India Sioux, Lluvia & La Jarochita Vs Kanji, Diamante, Shoko Nakajima, Hazuki, Koguma, Mina Shirakawa, Skye Blue, Julia Hart & Thekla
Back in 2019 Nakajima got to go on a tour of Mexico with CMLL with stops at Arena Mexico, Arena Coliseo and Arena Puebla. There was even a rare DVD of her lucha matches that TJPW and LADY’S RING put out that is in my collection somewhere. Now six years later she gets to go again but as a representative of MLW rather than TJPW. CMLL are holding the fifth annual Grand Prix de Amazonas torneo cibernetico for their women’s division that pits Mexico against the world. The international team has plenty of Japanese talent on it this year. Nakajima will be joined by Mina Shirakawa plus the FWC pair of Hazuki & Koguma. It would be goofy if politics between Stardom and TJPW somehow came into play here. In reality I think it’s just a coincidence that Nakajima is labelled an MLW wrestler instead of a TJPW one because she has been MLW’s long term champion for this year.
GCW “YOU WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND”, 07/11/2025 The Webster, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
The Cutest Unemployed Tour begins! Itoh’s first new booking announcements since leaving TJPW are all gathered around GCW in the month of November.
GCW “MASSACRE IN MAINE”, 08/11/2025 Yarmouth Amvets, Yarmouth, Maine USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
She’s going to Connecticut and Maine and Vermont to put them all on the map!
GCW “GREEN MOUNTAINS AND ME”, 09/11/2025 Barre Elks Lodge, Barre, Vermont, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Got confused for a moment and thought this was the Elks Lodge in New York that ECW used to book.
SETUP/IWA THAILAND “A NEW DAWN”, 14/11/2025 TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Bangkok Death Match: Matcha (c) Vs Ram Kaichow Vs Pom Harajuku
2. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Andruew Tang & Jake De Leon (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami Vs Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr.
3. Double Main Event I – Ace Vs Ace: Shivam Vs HARASHIMA
Big plans are going ahead for SETUP’s first ever show in Japan. They have a double main event planned and HARASHIMA’s in one of them. He is facing Shivam, the leader of Real Global Threat who feels he has ran through all of his competition in Southeast Asia. So now he wants to face the best that Japan has to offer, which is where HARASHIMA steps in.
RGT currently hold the IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles and will defend them against two very different tag teams. The monster team of Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr. are returning to their IWA Japan roots while TJPW is sending Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami over to claim some gold as part of their upcoming visit to Thailand.
TJPW is also betting on Pom Harajuku to win back the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title. She’s beaten Matcha for that belt before in a No DQ Match, a result that Matcha would love to correct. Matcha also got her title back from beating Raku which made Raku’s “husband” Ram Kaichow feeling pretty mad when she found out about it. SETUP decided to let these three collide and to make things even more dangerous it is going to be a Bangkok Death Match!
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “LOVE & PEACE”, 15/11/2025 JioSpace, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Both DDT and TJPW are putting together a show in Malaysia alongside the local idol group KLP48. So far the DDT talent announced are Sanshiro Takagi, Chris Brookes and Shinichiro Kawamatsu. Also Shota is there as a freelancer. The TJPW side are sending over Miu Watanabe, Raku, Shino Suzuki and Yuki Kamifuku.
HOG “SUPERCLASH”, 15/11/2025 Suffolk Credit Union Arena, Brentwood, New York, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
GCW isn’t the only place you’ll see Itoh in November. She makes her House Of Glory debut as well.
I haven’t paid much attention to wXw lately so your guess is as good as mine in regards to who Yamashita can wrestle over there.
GCW “DREAM ON”, 22/11/2025 American Dream, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Zayda Steel
What looks to be Itoh’s last GCW appearance for the month has her going toe to toe against Zayda Steel.
WPE/QPW “EPISODE 2”, 28/11/2025 Salle Albert Marquet, La Frette-sur-Seine, France
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Nothing new announced for Yamashita’s match in France.
SAJ “FINAL BOUT 4”, 29/11/2025 Magnete, Via Adriando, Milan, Italy
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Maki Itoh Vs X
Could a brief 121000000 reunion be on the cards or are Yamashita and Itoh staying separated from each other?
PROGRESS “VENDETTA 3”, 30/11/2025 Electric Ballroom, Camden, London, England
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
A new place in England for Yamashita to wrestle in. She makes her Progress debut at the end of November.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN BANGKOK”, 13/12/2025 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
It’s been long enough, after so many guest appearances over the last few years, now is the time for TJPW to bring the whole thing over to Thailand! They’re working with SETUP to bring a dozen wrestlers over to work alongside several women’s wrestlers from across the Southeast Asian scene.
The twelve TJPW members going over are Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Arisu Endo, Shoko Nakajima, Miyu Yamashita, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Suzume, Yuki Arai, Kaya Toribami, Shino Suzuki and Uta Takami. Also part of the show will be Alexis Lee and Matcha from the SEA side.
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Other Appearances
ASW “MUCHA LUCHA”, 06/09/2025 Stephen’s Cocktail Corner Bar, Langley, British Columbia, Canada
ASW “THE COBRA STRIKES BACK”, 13/09/2025 Evergreen Hall, Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada
ASW “SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT”, 20/09/2025 Maritime Labour Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
So it looks like Sayuri Namba has found a place to do some ring announcing while she is living in Canada. She worked at least three shows for All Star Wrestling in British Columbia from what I could find online.
Can’t say this month has been a quiet one. Konosuke Takeshita had a lot of TV time with AEW and we even got the lovely announcement that he’s married to Yuka Sakazaki. All of Takeshita’s work this month revolves around The Don Callis Family, yes even the American New Japan appearance. The group in its current form is nailing it at the moment with good tag matches week to week and the presence of Don Callis himself is not as overwhelming as it was before. I bet over the coming months Takeshita’s schedule will gradually switch from AEW over to New Japan as we walk through the Forbidden Door and approach the G1 season.
May saw Maki Itoh finish up her remaining dates in America before she travelled back home to rejoin Tokyo Joshi Pro. She has another tour lined up during the Tokyo Princess Cup so the Americans won’t be missing her for long. Miyu Yamashita is entering the second half of her excursion and her schedule is definitely keeping her busy. She’s bouncing back and forth from America to Canada and even found time to visit Italy. Her matches in the Upcoming Appearances section below are not all of the bookings she has left. She included a few unlabeled dates in her schedule on Twitter and it’s pretty easy to find online that they are for GCW’s sister promotion JCW. However JCW themselves haven’t announced her for anything yet so I left them off this post. As you’ll see at the very end, there is always a possible booking cancellation that could happen at any time.
TJPW’s grip on the Southeast Asian scene took something of a hit because Yuki Kamifuku and Raku both lost all of the SEA championships this month. It’s likely not the end of TJPW working with companies from Thailand and Singapore but for now the focus looks to be moving towards the new relationship with Major League Wrestling in America. MLW is currently going through a roster shuffle too with a good amount of contracts not being renewed and some new talent coming in to fill those emptying spots. TJPW may just be used as a temporary solution to fill in the gap but they’ll benefit from it for as long as it lasts.
The thing to watch for in the next month or two is how often Sakazaki will get to wrestle, whether it’s on the indies or if she can get booked in AEW/ROH again. I hear rumours every now and then that there’s an injury clearance issue going on with her. But it wouldn’t make sense if AEW uses that as a reason to keep her on the shelf only to let her go wrestle somewhere else. They haven’t like it in the past when their wrestlers got injured on another promotion’s show.
TOP TALENT “LIVE AT MIDWAY MUSIC HALL”, 02/05/2025 Midway Music Hall, Edmonton, Canada
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Ava Lawless (?:??).
We start off over in Canada where Yamashita headlined a Top Talent Wrestling show against Ava Lawless. The Canadian knew it was going to be a big test for her and she embraced it but Yamashita came out on top.
HOODSLAM “PHANTASMAGORIA”, 02/05/2025 Continental Club, Oakland, California, USA
1. GLAMpionship: MacDaddy MYLO (c) (w/KEiTA) defeated Maki Itoh with a School Boy (?:??). *V6 for MacDaddy MYLO.
On the same night one country away, Itoh was main eventing a show of her own with her return to Hoodslam. She was getting a shot at the GLAMpionship, a title that was originally created for the promotion’s sub-brand GLAM but made its way over to the regular shows. MacDaddy MYLO attacked her before she could finish her entrance but made the mistake of slamming her head into the turnbuckles which had no effect. Itoh’s momentum was cut off when MYLO pulled the ref into her way and then jumped in to do a Cutter. Itoh made another comeback only for KEiTA to interfere on the champion’s behalf. Itoh fought them both off and put MYLO in the Itoh Deluxe but KEiTA distracted the ref so she wouldn’t see MYLO tap out. Itoh got rid of KEiTA again but MYLO rolled her up in a School Boy to steal the win.
GCW “CRAZY SCARY SPOOKY HILARIOUS”, 03/05/2025 Ukrainian Culture Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Maki Itoh with the Skull Kick (13:23).
The day after that Yamashita and Itoh’s paths crossed over in GCW. The two of them were heading into a big weekend where they both had title matches to prepare for. But before any of that could happen the two would meet in the ring against each other! Did anyone on GCW commentary know about their history together as 121000000 beyond just them being tag champions a few times? Fucking of course not! At least the fans were super into it. The was the first time Yamashita would face Itoh in a place where Itoh has the home field advantage and while she didn’t go into MDK mode, she was able to put up her biggest fight against Yamashita yet. Even Yamashita seemed to be aware of it because when he knocked down Itoh with the Skull Kick, she ordered the ref to check her for a knockout. The ref dropped Itoh’s arm three times but on the third Itoh kept her hand up and raised a middle finger to the air! She got a second wind and almost scored the victory she waited so long for by countering the Attitude Adjustment into a Small Package. But Yamashita kicked out and nailed another Skull Kick to increase her singles match record with Itoh to 10-0. There was no hard feelings over the result and 121000000 shook hands afterwards.
GCW “WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU”, 04/05/2025 Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. JCW World Title: Masha Slamovich (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the White Knight Driver (10:13). *V36 for Masha Slamovich.
2. GCW World Title: Effy (c) defeated Maki Itoh with a Spinning Tombstone Piledriver (12:08). *V16 for Effy.
Well if plan of having iron sharpen iron was to result in championship wins it didn’t work out here. Itoh finished up her latest excursion by getting a shot at the GCW World Title held by Effy before she went home. Effy lightened the mood by singing “Mandy” on the microphone but changed the lyrics to be about Maki. She didn’t like it and told him to stop but that made Effy start to cry. It was all a trap to for Effy to get the one up on Itoh but she quickly escaped and turned the tables. She did a Diving Cross Body from the top rope to Effy outside the ring. Effy brought in chairs and ended up getting Choke Slammed onto one by Itoh! She also kicked out of a Spear at one and sliced Effy’s forehead open with her pizza cutter. Despite all that Effy countered the I.S.D by catching her in mid-air. He then spun it around into a Tombstone Piledriver to get the win.
Also on the show Yamashita challenged Masha Slamovich for the JCW Title in a continuation of their international rivalry. It was an even matchup but just like in Las Vegas last month, Slamovich got Yamashita in the White Knight Driver for the three count. Yamashita slapped away the champion’s hand after the match but immediately offered a handshake of her own, which Slamovich accepted.
AEW “COLLISION”, 08/05/2025 Masonic Temple Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander (w/ Don Callis) defeated Evil Uno & Alex Reynolds when Alexander pinned Reynolds with the C4 Spike (2:30).
Even though Takeshita was already eliminated from the Owen Hart Cup last month, this month he was still in orbit of the tournament. His new tag team with Josh Alexander in The Don Callis Family were set up for a match against the two wrestlers who reached the final. So for a warm up match they went and destroyed two members of The Dark Order in quick fashion on Collision. Alexander picked up Evil Uno and with Takeshita did a Doomsday Jumping Knee to the masked man. Then they smashed Alex Reynolds with a Double Elbow Strike to the head before Alexander pinned him with the C4 Spike.
HOG “WAGING WAR”, 09/05/2025 Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. HOG Women’s Title: Indi Hartwell defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Full Nelson Facebuster (12:13). *Indi Hartwell becomes the 8th HOG Women’s Champion!
The stakes were raised for Yamashita’s return to House Of Glory. Right before her match with Indi Hartwell began the HOG commissioner Jason Solomon walked out and announced that the HOG Women’s Title held by Megan Bayne had been vacated. He then announced that this match would determine the new champ! Yamashita had the end of the match under control until Hartwell ducked the Skull Kick and planted her with a Full Nelson Facebuster to win the match out of nowhere and become champion.
NJPW “RESURGENCE”, 09/05/2025 Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA
1. NEVER Openweight Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) (w/ Rocky Romero) defeated El Phantasmo with the Raging Fire (17:48). *V6 for KONOSUKE TAKESHITA.
Rocky Romero’s involvement with Takeshita in the NJPW USA shows have become a little more clearer now that Romero is part of The Don Callis Family. He accompanied Takeshita for his NEVER Openweight Title defence against El Phantasmo. It couldn’t reach the heights of last year’s G1 match but ELP still did a massive Thunderkiss ’86 dive to Takeshita into the front row, landed a Cutthroat Driver for a nearfall and also gave Takeshita a Piledriver on the ring apron. ELP had the win in his grasp when Romero pulled the referee out of the ring during a pinfall. ELP got some measure of revenge on Romero by Power Bombing him through a table but that gave Takeshita time to recover and pin ELP with the Raging Fire. There is growing respect between the two because they shook hands after the match.
MAPLE LEAF PRO “NORTHERN RISING”, 10/05/2025 Mattamy Athletic Centre, Toronto, Canada
1. Serena Deeb defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Detox (12:55).
Yamashita travelled back up to Canada for another appearance in Maple Leaf Pro. There she faced Serena Deeb who was making her third appearance in a row for the promotion. Yamashita hit the Skull Kick but Deeb made sure to topple out of the ring to avoid getting pinned. When she was put back in the ring, Deeb pushed Yamashita into the ref and then hit her from behind with a Chop Block. She then pinned her with the Detox, which is Deeb’s arm trapped Styles Clash kind of finisher.
MLW “AZTECA LUCHA”, 10/05/2025 Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated Delmi Exo (?:??). *V1 for Shoko Nakajima.
Right, here’s the funny thing about MLW. Their shows nowadays are one half live iPPV and the other half TV tapings for the upcoming month. That’s not unusual for wrestling but barely anyone who goes to MLW shows cares about spoiling the tapings part. Shoko Nakajima’s appearance on the live PPV was just to be seen sitting in the front row to hype up her next MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title defence. That match is a rematch with Delmi Exo that will air on MLW’s TV show in June. I couldn’t find any result or talk of the rematch online anywhere and the only reason we know Nakajima is still the champion is because she brought the belt back to Japan with her. Once the match airs I’ll come back and write this with any necessary corrections included. Like I don’t know, maybe they went to a 60 minute draw. I can’t prove they did but you can’t prove they didn’t either.
AEW “DYNAMITE – BEACH BREAK”, 14/05/2025 NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
1. Will Ospreay & Hangman Page defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander (w/ Don Callis) when Page pinned Alexander after the Buckshot Hidden Blade (18:34).
The two Owen Hart Cup finalists Will Ospreay & Hangman Page had to team up before their big PPV match. They needed to be on the same page because Takeshita & Alexander were coming after them like a well oiled machine. There was some communication between them to set things up but it still led to moments where Page almost hit Ospreay with the Buckshot Lariat and Ospreay almost hit Page with the Hidden Blade. But something eventually clicked between the two and they combined their finishers Kinnikuman style on Alexander to get the victory.
GCW “BIG TIME”, 17/05/2025 RJ Meyer Arena, Joppa, Maryland, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Marcus Mathers with the Crash Rabbit Heat (21:02).
Plans changed for Yamashita’s next match in GCW. She was supposed to face Tony Deppen but instead her opponent was Marcus Mathers. The match featured quite a bit of mat work with Mathers looking for spots to take Yamashita into an Ankle Lock. Yamashita also found herself getting thrown around more often than she would back in TJPW. Mathers press dropped her onto the ring apron and tried to do a Power Bomb but it was countered into a Sunset Flip. When Mathers went more high risk he paid for it by springboarding into a glancing Skull Kick for a nearfall. By that point Yamashita knew she had Mathers where she wanted him and wore him down with kicks before pinning him with the Crash Rabbit Heat.
GCW “RUN FOR IT”, 18/05/2025 Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, New York, USA
1. Billie Starkz defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Victory Roll Reversal (10:34).
Yamashita’s final GCW appearance for the month (probably because it was also the last GCW show of the month) was also the fourth singles meeting with Billie Starkz. It turns out Starkz has become a very slippery opponent for Yamashita to beat nowadays because this match was her third defeat in a row to her. Yamashita got a nearfall with an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment and continued the pressure after that but Starkz ended up reversing a Victory Roll to get the three count out of nowhere.
AEW “COLLISION”, 21/05/2025 (Aired 22/05/2025) Rio Rancho Events Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero (w/ Lance Archer) defeated Bandido, Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd when Takeshita pinned Floyd with the Bastard Driver (9:35).
More shuffling going around within The Don Callis Family yet things look so similar. Trent Beretta is back from injury and has reunited with Rocky Romero. Their Roppongi Vice team in New Japan is now conveniently renamed RPG Vice in AEW. They and Takeshita were put together for a trios match against the wild combination of Bandido and The Outrunners. During the madness Takeshita used a well timed Jumping Knee Strike to make Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd clash into each other. Then at ringside Lance Archer wiped out Bandido so the rest of The Family had the coast clear to finish things off.
MKW “BATTLE OF THE DECADE”, 24/05/2025 Dongxin Plaza, Beijing, China
1. Yuki Kamifuku & Chen Wenbin defeated Alexis Lee & Big Sam when Kamifuku pinned Lee with the Diving Famouser (?:??).
Now let’s head over to Asia to see what some of the other TJPW wrestlers have been up to. Middle Kingdom Wrestling in China brought in Yuki Kamifuku for a mixed tag match with Alexis Lee on the other team, making it a preview for their big title match happening in Singapore one week later. Kamifuku was teaming up with Chinese wrestler Chen Wenbin while Lee had a big British brute named Big Sam as her tag partner. Sam was too strong to a fault because he ended up missing Wenbin and Clotheslining Lee off the ring apron by mistake. Kamifuku by herself couldn’t hurt Big Sam but Wenbin was there to help her out when needed. Things also went wrong for Sam when his manager messed up a pin break and stomped on him, allowing the other team to charge in and Double Big Boot Sam out of the ring. Lee tried to get her hands on Kamifuku afterwards but Kamifuku got the better of her, winning the match with the Diving Famouser.
SAJ “HUNTER’S NET”, 24/05/2025 Via Dante 72, Sporting Cesate, Milan, Italy
1. 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Irene and Session Moth Martina (?:??).
Yamashita can now scratch Italy off her growing list of countries she’s wrestled in. SAJ Wrestling brought her in for a 3 Way Match against Italy’s own Irene and the Irish wrestler Session Moth Martina. The latter was really looking forward to this because she was meant to face Yamashita at EVE earlier in the year but she had to cancel it due to illness. Yamashita also tweeted that her first time in Italy was an incredible experience.
AEW “DOUBLE OR NOTHING”, 25/05/2025 Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, Arizona, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher & Josh Alexander defeated Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly when Fletcher pinned O’Reilly with (12:48).
Takeshita and co. were put in the unenviable position of following the annual Anarchy In The Arena match. They all did alright given the circumstances. Takeshita has crossed paths with Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly before but not when all three have been together as Paragon. In fact the previous times Takeshita has been in the ring with Strong was as tag partners. The Don Callis Family ended up isolating O’Reilly and left it to Kyle Fletcher to finish him off. The Family continued the attack after the match until an unlikely trio of wrestlers came to the rescue. Hiroshi Tanahashi made a suprise appearance leading Tomohiro Ishii & Brody King to the ring to chase off The Family. It’s all to set up the next “FORBIDDEN DOOR” that will be held in England this year. It’s since been confirmed that the show will feature Tanahashi’s final wrestling match in the UK before he retires. Could Takeshita become a part of it just like he was for Tanahashi’s last USA match?
AEW “COLLISION”, 28/05/2025 (Aired 31/05/2025) El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero defeated Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Tomohiro Ishii when Takeshita pinned Ishii with the Raging Fire (10:18).
Chaos broke out from the get go when The Don Callis Family attacked their opponents from behind only for Paragon & Ishii to bring the fight to them outside the ring. Don Callis also briefly got away from the commentary table to deliver a cheap shot. Takeshita and Ishii threw bombs at each other until Takeshita pushed Ishii into the ref. That allowed Romero to Low Blow Ishii from behind so Takeshita could pin him with the Raging Fire.
1. Queen Of Asia Title: Alexis Lee defeated Yuki Kamifuku (c) (?:??). *Yuki Kamifuku fails in V7. Alexis Lee becomes the 6th Queen Of Asia Champion!
The Queen Of Asia has been defeated. Long live the new Queen Of Asian Champion! Lee wanted one more shot at Kamifuku’s title in SPW and was willing to put up the biggest gamble of her life to do it. She promised to put her career on the line and retire from wrestling if she couldn’t take the title from Kamifuku! The bet paid off because Lee was able to get the win and become a two time Queen Of Asia Champion. Thing along with Kamifuku losing the VPW Women’s Title in TJPW earlier in the month brings her Southeast Asian dominance to an end, maybe just for the time being.
SETUP “THE FALLEN KINGDOM”, 31/05/2025 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Matcha defeated Raku (c) with the Stunner (?:??). *Raku fails in V2. Matcha becomes the 4th SETUP All Asia Women’s Champion!
The good folks at SETUP have kept me up to date on Raku’s return to Thailand this month which I appreciate greatly. Matcha wanted a chance to win back the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title she lost to TJPW and would get it with Raku coming over to defend it. But Raku had a devious plan put in place to give her the advantage. When Matcha was in Japan for a TJPW tour, Raku purposely sang “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” to her her backstage to send her to sleep. Raku then sent a recording of the song over to the SETUP dojo, making everyone over there who played it fall asleep on the spot. SETUP staff also told me that Raku played the same prank on a delivery driver on Matcha’s birthday so her birthday cake would never arrive! So Matcha tried to fight fire with fire by bringing along a certain kind of pillow and mat used in Thailand for Raku to lie on. Raku almost fell asleep but had the awareness to roll up Matcha when she tried to pin her. The two proceeded to wrestle the match using the mat as a weapon on each other, mostly by one bundling up the other in the mat to try and immobilize them. When it came down to the final moments of the match, Matcha countered Raku’s Doctor Yellow into the Last Rights. After that she hit the Stunner to win and regain her championship! Raku was upset to lose the title but Matcha made it up to her after the match by giving her the pillow to bring home as a keepsake. Raku may have also got to sing Zack Sabre Jr. to sleep at the merch table as the main photo at the top of the article suggests.
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Upcoming Appearances
NEW TEXAS PRO “BAT CITY”, 01/06/2025 Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA
1. Charity King & AQA Vs VertVixen & Yuka Sakazaki
There was only one previous time when VertVixen & Yuka Sakazaki were in the ring together and it was for an AEW Dark match. They meet again for Sakazaki’s return to the American indies, this time teaming together over at New Texas Pro. Someone in this match who is also getting attention is AQA. She was seen as an exciting prospect on the indies a few years ago and even signed a deal with AEW (she got the graphic and everything) but unexpectedly quit the business only a few months later. All of a sudden New Texas Pro announced her return and this is going to be her first match back in three years. Charity King will be there to lend her a helping hand for the comeback.
KITSUNE “GOING BACK TO SAN DIEGO”, 07/06/2025 Primal Compound, San Diego, California, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Zara Zakher
2. Vipress & Hudson Envy Vs Nagisa Nozaki & Yuna Manase
Not long to go now until Yuna Manase returns for the next weekend of Kitsune shows. Yamashita will be there too.
KITSUNE “8888”, 08/06/2025 South Gate, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Kitsune World Title: Yuna Manase (c) Vs Tae Honma
Manase has a Kitsune World Title defence against Tae Honma lined up while Yamashita won’t know who she faces until the day of the show.
LLL “BUY THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE – NIGHT 1”, 13/06/2025 The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Yamashita’s first opponent for her weekend at Lucha Libre & Laughs has not been announced yet.
LLL “BUY THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE – NIGHT 2”, 14/06/2025 The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA
1. Dark Sheik Vs Miyu Yamashita
But her opponent on the second night is already known. It’s Dark Sheik!
GCW “BANGIN’ IN LITTLE ROCK”, 20/06/2025 The Hall, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
It won’t be until them middle of the month when Yamashita jumps back into GCW. There will be a couple of both new and familiar faces showing up by then, giving Yamashita a few potentially fresh opponents.
GCW “TAKE A PICTURE”, 22/06/2025 The Truman, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
1. GCW Tag Team Titles: Jordan Oliver & Alec Price (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Billie Starkz
If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em! Yamashita and Starkz are teaming up for a crack at the GCW Tag Team Titles currently held by Jordan Oliver & Alec Price. This could be Yamashita’s last chance on this tour to win some gold.
MLW “SUMMER OF THE BEASTS”, 26/06/2025 Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA
1. Wakana Uehara Vs Yuki Kamifuku
The relationship between TJPW and Major League Wrestling will continue with more TJPW wrestlers crossing over to the world that never stops! While Nakajima is defending MLW’s Women’s Title in Japan, TJPW will be sending over Yuki Kamifuku and Wakana Uehara to compete against each other in the MLW ring. Cesar Duran says this is part of a new era for MLW’s women’s division being helmed by Salina de la Renta.
REAPER “REAPER RISING – A KING’S CORONATION”, 27/06/2025 The Pit, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai
This is one of those times when the wrestling promotion in question is so far out of my reach I half consider if it’s someone’s eFed because the info is so sparse. However I can confirm Reaper Wrestling is a real company in Canada. Yamashita will get to face Janai Kai again and she sent a video warning Kai that nothing has changed since the last time they fought each other.
METALMANIA “2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY”, 28/06/2025 Stage 722, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
And the award for the most unlikely place to book Yamashita during her excursion goes to METALMANIA! It’s where you go in Portland to see lucha mix with death metal music. Never would have thought Yamashita to be a headbanger.
SPARK “IGNITE TEXAS”, 29/06/2025 Baytown Community Center, Houston, Texas, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Yuka Sakazaki Vs X
When was the last time Yamashita and Sakazaki were on the same show together? It wasn’t when Sakazaki graduated from TJPW a year and a half ago, was it? As you can see in the pic above, there’s also some Stardom talent appearing on the show. If SPARK has the pull to put together the tag match I’m thinking of then good job to them.
BZW “LES JEUX SONT FAITS”, 05/07/2025 Casino Barrière de Lille, Lille, France
1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Danny Black & Joe Lando
It’s back to France for a quick summer break. Or maybe not because MAO & Yoshihiko have some business to attend to for their return to Banger Zone Wrestling. British wrestlers Danny Black & Joe Lando have challenged them for the BZW Tag Team Titles. The pair from the CPF (Close Personal Friends) stable held the titles before and are getting this match at the same venue where they lost them.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 1”, 10/07/2025 POST, Houston, Texas, USA
The current lineup “confirmed” for the Texas tour is Maki Itoh, Miyu Yamashita, Miu Watanabe, Suzume, Yuki Arai, Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima, Pom Harajuku, Moka Miyamoto, Arisu Endo, Raku, Shino Suzuki and Yuki Kamifuku.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 2”, 11/07/2025 POST, Houston, Texas, USA
The only one not “confirmed” yet but still included in the promotional material is Hyper Misao. That might depend on if she recovers from her elbow injury in time.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN DALLAS”, 13/07/2025 The OC, Forney, Texas, USA
The only other thing known about the show lineups right now is each night will have different matches.
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Cancelled Appearances
MPX “METROPLEX WRESTLING”, 31/05/2025 Harwood Road, Bedford, Texas, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Maya World
A cancelled flight prevented Yamashita from travelling to Texas for her first appearance at Metroplex Wrestling. She was meant to fight Maya World at the show and called in a favour to Athena to be her replacement.
PRESTIGE “UNIT3D”, 01/06/2025 Vermont Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Not much to say about this other than I’m including it just for the sake of record. When Yamashita first posted her list of USA bookings she included one for Prestige on 1st June. She later had an update saying the booking was cancelled and she was available for other dates on the weekend. Nothing was said on Prestige’s end but that’s also because they hadn’t at any point promoted she would appear on the show.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GOLDEN WEEK FAN APPRECIATION DAY 「WEST」”, 05/05/2025 Osaka Edion Arena #2 412 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Wakana Uehara defeated Chika Nanase with the Banana Pillow (6:39).
2. Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Toga defeated Moka Miyamoto, Kira Summer & Ivy Steele when Kiryu pinned Summer with the Spinebuster (10:28).
3. Yoshiko Hasegawa & Kaya Toribami defeated Ryo Mizunami & Mifu Ashida when Hasegawa submitted Ashida with the Muffler Hold (13:02).
4. TJPW RUSH! Osaka Special Team Competition 5 Vs 5 Knockout Match: Mizuki, Rika Tatsumi, Pom Harajuku, Haru Kazashiro & Shino Suzuki defeated Suzume, Miu Watanabe, Arisu Endo, HIMAWARI & Uta Takami.
4a. 2 Count Fall Match: Rika Tatsumi defeated Uta Takami with the Dragon Backbreaker (4:18).
4b. 2 Count Fall Match: Rika Tatsumi Vs Suzume ended in a Time Limit Draw (5:00).
4ba. Overtime 1 Count Fall: Rika Tatsumi defeated Suzume with a Roll Up Counter (1:06).
4c. 2 Count Fall Match: Arisu Endo defeated Rika Tatsumi with the Waterwheel Drop (3:24).
4d. 2 Count Fall Match: Pom Harajuku defeated Arisu Endo with a Reverse Cradle (2:06).
4e. 2 Count Fall Match: HIMAWARI defeated Pom Harajuku with a School Boy (1:11).
4f. 2 Count Fall Match: Haru Kazashiro Vs HIMAWARI ended in a Time Limit Draw (5:00).
4fa. Overtime 1 Count Fall: Haru Kazashiro defeated HIMAWARI with a Roll Up (0:48).
4g. 2 Count Fall Match: Miu Watanabe defeated Haru Kazashiro with a Power Slam (2:41).
4h. 2 Count Fall Match: Miu Watanabe defeated Shino Suzuki with the Kaikaishiki Giant Swing (3:32).
4i. 2 Count Fall Match: Mizuki Vs Miu Watanabe ended in a Time Limit Draw (5:00).
4ia. Overtime 1 Count Fall: Mizuki defeated Miu Watanabe with the Whirling Candy (3:43).
5. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Raku (c) defeated Nor ‘Phoenix’ Diana with the Doctor Yellow (8:17). *V1 for Raku.
6. 3 Way Match: Yuki Kamifuku defeated Yuki Aino and Yuki Arai when Kamifuku pinned Aino with the Reverse Famouser (6:46).
7. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) defeated Matcha & Alexis Lee when Nakajima pinned Lee with the Diving Senton (14:17). *V2 for Kyoraku Kyomei.
Golden Week ends with Tokyo Joshi Pro resisting the SEA Storm. Kyoraku Kyomei were excited to have challengers from outside of Japan coming to fight them for the Princess Tag Team Titles. They didn’t expect Matcha & Alexis Lee to know their tricks because they jumped the champs before the champs could get the jump on them. After a quick brawl around the ring the challengers focused on Shoko Nakajima. Lee kept finding spots to bite her while Matcha German Suplexed Hyper Misao away. The two were close to victory after they gave Nakajima a Double Superplex but Misao came to the rescue hitting her signature moves to the two of them. Matcha was then taken out by Nakajima’s Topé Suicida while Misao gave Lee the Hypermi Returns. With the coast clear, Nakajima finished Lee off with the Diving Senton for a successful title defence.
Nakajima said she wants to fight them again and again because she wants to bring the tag titles to Thailand and Singapore along with the rest of the world. Misao repeated their team’s goal as champions is to experience different wrestling styles from different countries to improve themselves even more. It might be early to set up another title defence but if there is any team around the world who think they can beat Kyoraku Kyomei then Misao wants them to come over and challenge them. Matcha said every blow she took from the champions was tough but she is grateful they fought her with all of their might. Lee said the match is a big step for pro wrestling in Singapore. From now on she wants to make history and next time she and Matcha get a shot at the titles they will bring them back to their home countries.
A special 3 Way match was put together for Yuki Arai because she has never taken part in such a match before. Her two opponents were the other two Yuki’s on the TJPW roster! So when the match began everyone got “Yuki” chants, even the referee Yukinori Matsui. Arai turned down offers from both Yuki Kamifuku and Yuki Aino to team up so the two of them attacked Arai together instead. The match eventually went back to being every Yuki for herself. Aino got the better of Arai with the Bulldog Headlock but when she was getting ready to do the Venus DDT, Kamifuku jumped in and gave Aino the Reverse Famouser to steal the win. The three of them embraced after the match and all left together as Yuki Yuki Yuki. Backstage Yuki said Yuki will win next time. Yuki thought Yuki did good while Yuki thought Yuki did really good. They also all agreed that they like Yuki more than mint chocolate.
Raku still has the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title to sleep tight with tonight after she defeated Nor ‘Phoenix’ Diana in her first defence. The match began with Raku handing Diana an eye mask to help her sleep but it was just a trick to roll her up for a nearfall. Diana took control with fast paced moves including a Topé Suicida outside the ring. She then used a Shoulder Lock submission in an attempt to wear Raku down but it didn’t work. Raku fought back with Dropkicks and Poppo Chops until she got the Doctor Yellow on her opponent to get the victory. Raku said it was great to fight Diana and fell something in common with her so she has a new dream to wrestle Diana in Malaysia next time and defend her title around Asia. Diana said this will not be the last time she will be in TJPW. The Phoenix will rise again!
Takoyaki defeats Kushikatsu in the TJPW RUSH! Match! With only a 5 minute time limit in every match and 2 Count Pins needed to win everyone had to be quick to win but careful not to drop a fall. Rika Tatsumi got things off to a good start for Team Kushikatsu when she countered Uta Takami’s Koala Clutch into a Dragon Backbreaker for the first elimination. Suzume came out next and fought Tatsumi to a time limit draw which meant 1 Count Pinfalls were now in effect for overtime. Suzume tried to cradle Tatsumi but it was countered for the one count giving Tatsumi her second elimination. Arisu Endo was the one to take out Tatsumi who was too tired to make it three for three. She tricked Endo into giving her a one minute break to catch her breath only to ambush her with a Hip Attack. Endo got mad at being tricked and fought back, ultimately pinning Tatsumi with the Waterwheel Drop. Pom Harajuku wanted to sing with Endo because today is Children’s Day and they are all children. Again it was a trick to make Endo drop her guard. Endo fought back with a Neckbreaker but Harajuku reversed the pin to get the 2 Count on Endo. Next up, Harajuku and HIMAWARI fought each other using toy flags and HIMAWARI’s hair. HIMAWARI blew the flag away, dodged the Pom de Justice and pinned Harajuku with a Roll Up. She took things more seriously once Haru Kazashiro showed up. They went back and forth until the 5 minutes ran out. In overtime Kazashiro escaped from the Crab Hold and Cradled HIMAWARI for the One Count needed to eliminate her. At this point Miu Watanabe was the last one left on Team Kushikatsu and she had three opponents to beat in order to win. She eliminated Kazashiro with a Power Slam and kept Giant Swinging Shino Suzuki around and around until Suzuki gave up. That brought the match down to a final battle between Mizuki and Watanabe. Mizuki was also given a spin around in the Giant Swing but she fought back and held on until they reached the time limit. With a One Count Pinfall now needed to win the two were hesitant to make any mistakes. Mizuki ended up getting the better of Watanabe and hit the Whirling Candy out of nowhere to get the win. Team Takoyaki were rewarded with a grand prize of various Osaka desserts.
A brand new referee name Fumirin will make her debut on 11th May. She said that being a pro wrestling referee has been her dream since she was a child. She also has a background in Rakugo storytelling.
The next time TJPW will be in Osaka is on 17th August for the semi finals of the Tokyo Princess Cup.
Apparently tomorrow is when the official DDT website gets a makeover while Tokyo Joshi Pro will finally get an official website of their own again. For my own sake I hope it’s not going to make getting info more difficult.
1. Takato Nakano Vs Shota Kofuji
2. Isami Kodaka Vs Kosuke Sato
3. Daiki Shimomura Vs Keisuke Ishii
4. Masato Kamino Vs Yuko Miyamoto
5. Ryuichi Sekine, FUMA & Ryota Nakatsu V Takumi Tsukamoto, SAGAT & Yasu Urano
The match order for tomorrow’s BASARA show is swapped around a little bit.
DDT “O-HANAMI PRO WRESTLING 2025 – DAY 1”, 26/03/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Kazusada Higuchi & JJ Furno
2. 3 Way Match: Shishamo Power Vs Takeshi Masada Vs Yuni
3. Falls Count Anywhere Blindfold Scramble Bunkhouse Match: Chris Brookes Vs Danshoku Dieno Vs HARASHIMA Vs Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata
4. Hanami KING OF DRUNK Preliminary Rumble: Yuki Ueno Vs MAO Vs Shunma Katsumata Vs Daisuke Sasaki Vs Soma Takao Vs Yukio Naya Vs Kazuma Sumi Vs Yuki Ishida
5. Special Tag Match: Takuya Nomura & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku
6. Special Single Match: Fuminori Abe Vs Keigo Nakamura
To-y hasn’t recovered from his injury yet so he will be missing this week’s shows. The show on 26th March now has one less match on it after a bunch of wrestlers were moved around for To-y’s absence.
DDT “O-HANAMI PRO WRESTLING 2025 – DAY 2”, 27/03/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. 3 Way Tag Match: Makoto Oishi & Akito Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs MJ Paul & Ilusion
2. Maximum Allowance Of 5,000 Yen For Bringing The Weapons Death Match: Takeshi Masada & Keigo Nakamura Vs Yuni & Munetatsu Nakamura
3. Special Single Match: Yuya Koroku Vs JJ Furno
4. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
5. Hanami KING OF DRUNK Hangover 6-Man Tag Match For Losers Of The Preliminary Rumble: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
6. Hanami KING OF DRUNK Final: X Vs X
Not as many changes to Night 2 but a chunk of that lineup depends on how the KING OF DRUNK stuff turns out anyway. Makoto Oishi is now on the show though.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “YUKI ARAI’S LAST TWO-SWORD STYLE ~ GO FOR THE VICTORY!!”, 29/03/2025 Aichi Chunichi Hall (Nagoya City)
1. Suzume, Mahiro Kiryu & Haruna Neko Vs Yuki Aino, Kaya Toribami & Ivy Steele
2. 3 Way Match: Pom Harajuku Vs Arisu Endo Vs Chika Nanase
3. Maki Itoh Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
4. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Kira Summer
5. Yuki Arai, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami Vs Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI, Haru Kazashiro, Toha & Mifu Ashida
6. Mizuki & Rika Tatsumi Vs Miyu Yamashita & Moka Miyamoto
At first it seems weird that Yuki Arai’s match isn’t the main event of this show but then I remember she has a concert to prepare for that’s happening at the end. Also there’s a Princess Of Princess Title match that needs to be built up. Priorities, people!
DDT “OWARI WARS 2025”, 29/03/2025 Aichi Chunichi Hall & Conference
1. 3 Way Match: Yukio Naya Vs JJ Furno Vs Yuki Ishida
2. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Toru Owashi, Yasu Urano & Yuni
3. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Antonio Honda
4. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kazuma Sumi Vs Yuya Koroku & Kazusada Higuchi
5. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Akito Vs Shinya Aoki & Keigo Nakamura
6. MAO’s Last The 37KAMIINA Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs HARASHIMA, Danshoku Dieno, Kazuki Hirata & Takeshi Masada
DDT have put together a ragtag team for MAO’s last match as a member of The 37KAMIINA. It starts out looking like an all-star squad with HARASHIMA and Danshoku Dieno then we get wacky with Kazuki Hirata and end with a youthful wild card in Takeshi Masada.
DDT “DDT MEET & GREET & FIGHT APRIL”, 03/04/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya Vs Kazuma Sumi & Yuki Ishida
2. Ilusion Vs Yuni
3. Special Tag Match: Yuya Koroku & Keigo Nakamura Vs To-y & Takeshi Masada
The young wrestlers take most of the stage for April’s “MEET & GREET & FIGHT” show including a return to the generational rivalry between Yuni and Ilusion.
DDT “CHANGE AGE 2025 ~YOUR LIE IN APRIL~”, 06/04/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda Vs MJ Paul & Ilusion
1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Kazuki Hirata & Kumadori Vs Shunma Katsumata, Yuni & Kazuma Sumi
2. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Daichi Sato
3. Naomi Yoshimura’s Return Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida Vs Yukio Naya, To-y, Takeshi Masada & JJ Furno
4. 2 Vs 1 Special Handicap Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani Vs KANON
5. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Yuki Ueno Vs HARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura (c) Vs Shinya Aoki & Keigo Nakamura
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Yuya Koroku
This looks a little bit awkward. Minoru Suzuki clearly enjoys being in the ring with Yuki Ueno but he did just take the DDT Universal Title away from him. How is Ueno going to act next to him when they team up together? The match is a chance for either HARASHIMA or Danshoku Dieno to nab themselves a future Universal Title shot if things go their way too.
GANBARE☆PRO “MAD MAX 2025 ~ GANBARE☆PRO WRESTLING 12TH ANNIVERSARY BOX OFFICE”, 11/04/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Mixed 6-Man Tag Match: Hartley Jackson, Daisuke®️ & HARUKAZE Vs Yasu Urano, PSYCHO & Banny Oikawa
2. Hikaru Sato & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Toru Sugiura & Munetatsu Nakamura
3. Mizuki Watase’s Return Match: Mizuki Watase, Shigehiro Irie, Choun-Shiryu & Rekka Vs Kouki Iwasaki, Takuya Wada, Fuminori Abe & Shota Kawakami
4. Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Yuna Manase, Koguma & Hazuki Vs Moeka Haruhi, YuuRI & Ami Manase
5. Special Single Match: Ken Ohka Vs Masaaki Mochizuki
6. Special Tag Team Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & Keisuke Ishii Vs Yuji Nagata & Tatsuhito Takaiwa
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Yumehito Imanari (c) Vs Shinichiro Tominaga
Here’s the full line up for Ganbare☆Pro’s return to Korakuen Hall. After weeks of searching Ken Ohka found his star opponent. It’s Masaaki Mochizuki from Dragongate! We also have Mizuki Watase returning in an 8-Man Tag (looks to me like he isn’t 100% ready yet) and a reunion of the Hentai Punch Drunkers. Meanwhile Munetatsu Nakamura picked up a friend from his recent FREEDOMS appearance, bringing Toru Sugiura over to team with him.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “QUERI PRESENTS TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025 Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Special Single Match: Masha Slamovich Vs Miu Watanabe
2. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Jada Stone
3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
The three title matches for Las Vegas are now confirmed. Mizuki has taken the risk of choosing Miyu Yamashita for her next Princess Title defence in the hopes she can finally beat her one on one. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara have formed the team Ober Eats to challenge Kyoraku Kyomei for the Princess Tag Team Titles. Last but not least there is the rematch of Suzume versus Jada Stone with the International Princess Title again on the line.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GOLDEN WEEK FAN APPRECIATION DAY 「WEST」”, 05/05/2025 Osaka Edion Arena #2
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Raku (c) Vs Nor ‘Phoenix’ Diana
TJPW’s Golden Week shows will feature the Japanese debut of Malaysian wrestler Nor ‘Phoenix’ Diana. As part of her tour she will face Raku for the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title. Diana currently holds the APAC Women’s Title in Malaysia and is the latest name from the Southeast Asian wrestling scene to work with TJPW.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2025 IN YOKOHAMA”, 22/03/2025 Yokohama Radiant Hall 258 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Mahiro Kiryu defeated Ivy Steele with the Spinebuster (6:46).
2. 3 Way Match: Rika Tatsumi defeated Haruna Neko and HIMAWARI when Tatsumi pinned Neko and HIMAWARI with a Double Roll Up (6:27).
3. Raku & Pom Harajuku defeated Yoshiko Hasegawa & Chika Nanase when Raku pinned Nanase with the Doctor Yellow (7:19).
4. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara defeated Haru Kazashiro & Toga when Uehara submitted Toga with the Banana Pillow (10:03).
5. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Maki Itoh & Mifu Ashida when Suzume pinned Ashida with the Ring A Bell (9:45).
6. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Miu Watanabe & Uta Takami when Nakajima pinned Takami with the Northern Lights Suplex (12:25).
7. Mizuki, Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami defeated Yuki Aino, Moka Miyamoto & Shino Suzuki when Yamashita pinned Suzuki with the Skull Kick (12:59).
The road to Las Vegas now has a clear direction at least when it comes to the championship matches. Today’s show had plenty of challenges and announcements thrown out regarding the titles you will currently find in Tokyo Joshi Pro. After the main event Mizuki noticed Miyu Yamashita was like a rowdy monster in the ring today. She said she has never beaten Yamashita in a singles title match and really hates losing to her. She wants to become stronger so she nominates Yamashita to be her next challenger for the Princess Of Princess Title! Yamashita was surprised over how sudden this is and she would love it if they have the title match in America. Mizuki then asked Kaya Toribami who she will root for? Toribami hesitated and picked Mizuki because she is kind and Yamashita is scary.
The Princess Tag Team Titles match for Vegas is also set although it took a bit of effort to get there. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara approached Kyoraku Kyomei to challenge them for the belts. Kamifuku has started to work really hard lately because Uehara’s parents recently gave her a gift in return for taking care of their daughter. However Shoko Nakajima thought the two of them were taking the concept of a title challenge for granted. Hyper Misao also doesn’t sense they vibe together as a proper tag team because they don’t even have a name yet (I guess Ayase Town Hills New Hills didn’t catch on). Kamifuku wanted to give up but Uehara kept trying to think up of a name. It wasn’t until later in the show backstage when Kamifuku & Uehara approached Kyoraku Kyomei again. They threw out another challenge because this time they have a tag team name. Together they are called OberEats! Nakajima thinks the name sounds familiar but she and Misao were convinced enough to give them the title shot for Vegas.
It was announced that Suzume will defend the International Princess Title against Jada Stone again. The rematch of last month’s title bout will happen in Las Vegas on 18th April. Suzume knows it won’t be easy to beat Stone again. Also things are still good between Daisy Monkey after their recent title match. Suzume & Arisu Endo had fun teaming up again today and remembered being next to each other is the best.
The bond between Raku and Pom Harajuku has also become stronger after their title match. They spent just as much time playing games with Raku’s pillow than they did wrestle their opponents. It was also revealed that Raku’s first defence of the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title will happen in May. Malaysian wrestler Nor ‘Phoenix’ Diana is coming to TJPW on 3rd May and will face Raku in a title match on 5th May. Raku predicts Diana will be sleep deprived from the flight to Japan so she will listen to some Malaysian lullabies as part of her strategy to beat her.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’25”, 16/03/2025 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium 1,212 Fans
1. Yoshiko Hasegawa & Mifu Ashida defeated HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki when Hasegawa pinned Suzuki with the Diving Double Knee Attack (9:42).
2. Kakeru Sekiguchi, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Ivy Steele defeated Kaya Toribami, Kira Summer, Chika Nanase & Uta Takami when Kiryu pinned Nanase with the Spinebuster (10:22).
3. Max The Impaler defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Lariat (5:00).
4. Aja Kong, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara defeated Yuki Aino, Haru Kazashiro & Toga when Uehara submitted Kazashiro with the Banana Pillow (11:22).
5. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Raku defeated Pom Harajuku (c) with the Doctor Yellow (8:04). *Pom Harajuku fails in V2. Raku becomes the 3rd SETUP All Asia Women’s Champion!
6. Special Single Match: Willow Nightingale defeated Miu Watanabe with the Babe With The Power Bomb (10:15).
7. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura defeated Yuki Arai with the Death Valley Bomb (11:49).
8. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) defeated Arisu Endo with the Spring Ring A Bell (14:28). *V2 for Suzume.
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao defeated Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) when Misao pinned Yamashita with the Hypami Returns (21:29). *121000000 fails in V5. Kyoraku Kyomei become the 18th Princess Tag Team Champions!
10. Princess Of Princess Title – STOMPING Presents: Mizuki (c) defeated Rika Tatsumi with the Modified Face Lock (21:14). *V1 for Mizuki.
Ok so maybe love isn’t always the answer. After many years in the making, Rika Tatsumi finally got to wrestle the love of her life Mizuki and was willing to risk it all to win the Princess Of Princess Title. Her gameplan was to target Mizuki’s legs and pick them apart with Dragon Screws, Kneebusters and the Figure 4 Leg Lock. But Mizuki’s resiliance meant she was able to withstand the pain and still use the Diving Foot Stomp to great effect. Tatsumi had another plan and that was to use the Hip Attack to counter the Whirling Candy. She used the Dragon Sleeper to continue wearing her opponent down but when she climbed the top rope, Mizuki followed her and delivered an Avalanche Cutie Special. She used more Foot Stomps to fight off the Dragon Sleeper and soon applied the Face Lock. Tatsumi tried rolling out of it but reached her breaking point when Mizuki modified the hold into a Crossface variant for the submission victory.
Mizuki told the fans to give her a moment after the match so she could talk to Tatsumi. She’s not as nice as Tatsumi thinks she is but she is still glad to know Tatsumi always liked her. Today they got to know each other better which means Mizuki now loves Tatsumi even more. They hugged and Mizuki thanked the fans for spending this special day with Tokyo Joshi Pro. Backstage Mizuki said she had complicated feelings about the match that she didn’t really understand. She was worried Tatsumi would dislike her if she revealed everything about herself. But she still gave it her all because the championship is so important. She doesn’t know if they’ve become close enough to start teaming together or if she is better off keeping a comfortable distance away from Tatsumi again. Tatsumi admitted she thought her love for Mizuki was always one-sided but today there was a moment when their feelings connected. That’s enough to make her happy and have her looking forward to the future. She would love to team up with Mizuki a lot if it is possible.
Success was on the minds of Kyoraku Kyomei when they came face to face against 121000000. They brought their Max Heart Tournament trophies down to the ring with them and encouraged each other to keep shouting in order to win. That was the cue for Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao to launch an ambush but Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh were ready for them and easily fought back. The match went outside where Misao crashed the Hyper Mobile into Yamashita (who then bumped into Mahiro Kiryu). Itoh then knocked Misao off her bike with her microphone. She later gave Nakajima a Death Valley Driver and but Nakajima fired back with a Top Rope Frankensteiner. The focus switched to Yamashita against Misao where a High Kick from Yamashita knocked Misao’s mask off her face! Misao continued to fight with her face fully exposed but still needed Nakajima’s help until Itoh came to Yamashita’s aid. Nakajima was taken out with the Headbutt/High Knee combo. Misao took more strikes but suddenly countered Yamashita’s Attitude Adjustment into the Vanitas! She wore down Yamashita with the Crossface Chickenwing with a 619 from Nakajima added for more damage. Itoh tried to make the save but Nakajima cut her off from the ring apron with the Diving Senton. With the coast clear, Misao gave Yamashita the Hypami Returns and scored the three count!
Backstage Kyoraku Kyomei said they must be dreaming because they finally beat 121000000 to become the new Princess Tag Team Champions! Both Nakajima and Misao have held the title before but they were at very different point of their careers. Nakajima remembers becoming the first champion with Yuka Sakazaki and thinks they lost the belts before they could become the ideal tag team. Today was the ideal match she had in mind so she’s really happy to finally reach it. Misao felt like she was always chasing after Nakajima and 121000000 for all of the hard work they do to grow TJPW. She felt that way even more when she got injured last year. These are two of the oldest teams in TJPW so today felt like Kyoraku Kyomei’s last chance to fight 121000000 for a big prize. The rematch hurt more than the first match two years ago but it was also more fun for them. They now want to defend the titles in unconventional ways.
As for 121000000 it could be time to call it a day. It was Yamashita’s idea for the team to split up if they couldn’t reach ten successful title defences and they didn’t even make it to five. But she does not want to go ahead with it and will continue the team if Itoh wants her to. Itoh cannot imagine teaming with anyone other than Yamashita… but maybe now is the right time for them to separate for a while so they can become stronger. When the timing is right 121000000 will get back together as a much stronger tag team. Yamashita promised she will do her best to get them to reunite some day.
The battle of Daisy Monkey is now scored at Suzume 4 – 0 Arisu Endo. There was a Camel Clutch spot that put the International Princess Champion in danger. Endo was able to spin Suzume into the centre of the ring with the move but Suzume was still able to fight her way towards getting a rope break. Suzume was then able to counter the Mt. Bandai into a Flying Facecrusher and also the Ju no Okite into a small form Ring A Bell for a nearfall. Endo blocked another Ring A Bell and tried to set up the Ju no Okite again but Suzume slipped out and landed an Oscutter style version of her finisher. That version is called the Spring Ring A Bell and it got Suzume the win! Endo said their bond has deepened even more and she still wants the title because somebody she loves has it! Suzume said Daisy Monkey’s dream has come true. She knows many fans want to see Endo win a singles title and so does she. But she doesn’t want to lose her IP Title and showed her determination with that match. She wants to hold onto the belt forever to prove that it suits her best more than anyone else in the world. Next she wants to go defend it in America before taking it across the world.
The next step for Yuki Arai’s wrestling career was to take on Meiko Satomura all by herself. Arai was able to hit the Rookie Award, the Full Nelson Buster and also apply the Scorpion Death Lock. But she couldn’t take it all the way by hitting the Finally. Satomura had that finisher scouted and blocked every attempt. When she was on the offensive she used moves like the Cartwheel Knee Drop, an STF and the Death Valley Bomb on her way to victory. Satomura gave Arai a hug after the match and later talked about being surprised at how good of a fighter Arai is. She has the right mix of technique, feeling and star quality that other wrestlers do not have. Satomura is glad to have fought Arai just before her own retirement and believes she can carry the future of joshi wrestling on her shoulders. Arai said she felt frustrated because this will be her only match with Satomura. She’ll keep what she learned today in her heart to do her best as a pro wrestler. Her goal now is to become strong enough to make everyone believe she can beat Satomura!
Power was finally matched up against power when Miu Watanabe fought against Willow Nightingale. Head Locks turned to Shoulder Tackles which then turned to Power Slams. Watanabe pulled off the Giant Swing and hit some Batting Hammer strikes before putting Nightingale in the Reverse Paradox. Nightingale fought back using an Oklahoma Stampede as well as a top rope Brainbuster. She avoided the Tear Drop and ran the ropes to crash into Watanabe with the Pounce before using the Babe With The Power Bomb to get the win. Backstage Nightingale talked about how she used Wrestle Universe to watch Watanabe grow but it’s still completely different to actually being in the ring with her. She gets why the two of them get compared to each other and the match reminded her why pro wrestling is amazing. Watanabe is disappointed that she lost but she hopes to follow Nightingale back to America. She’ll even go stay at her house if she’s allowed.
The pressure of being in a major championship match can be draining so Raku decided to bring out a futon so she could take a nap in the ring during her entrance. It also has the bonus feature of being used like a cape for when Raku did a diving Loy Thesz Press onto Pom Harajuku. Raku’s constant nap attacks made Harajuku drowsy so she boosted herself with a bottle of Red Bull and grew wings out of her back! Harajuku was fired up until Raku caught her in the Front Neck Lock to squeeze the energy out of her. Harajuku did hit the Pom de Justice in response but couldn’t follow up with the cover right away. Raku was able to get her senses back and won with the Doctor Yellow to become the new SETUP All Asia Women’s Champion! She said she was able to have the most heart-to-heart match with Harajuku and wants to continue walking with her down the same path. Also now that she has a championship she wants to defend it in many places. Harajuku said she was sad to lose the title but became happy for Raku when she was given the belt. She also has wings now so the championship did change Harajuku into becoming a stronger fighter.
A new costume for Wakana Uehara was just the start of her day. She went on to win a 6-Woman Tag Match that also had Aja Kong & Yuki Kamifuku as her partners. Kong was so strong that Haru Kazashiro & Toga needed to work together to get her off her feet by doing a Rock Bottom/Missile Dropkick combo. Yuki Aino softened up Uehara and left it to Kazashiro to finish the job. But Uehara blocked the Fisherman Suplex and caught her opponent in the Banana Pillow to make her submit. Uehara thanked her two partners for teaming with her. Kamifuku pointed out they all wore glitter to connect as a team together. She also asked Kong if she will be available for her homecoming show on 11th May. There is also a cool bar that recently opened up there that she wants to take Kong to. Kong asked if she could challenge Kamifuku for the Queen Of Asia Title but Kamifuku tried to put her off the idea by making it sound like she’ll have to jump through a lot of hoops with her agency to make that happen. Meanwhile Aino gave an encouraging speech to Kazashiro & Toga. They shouldn’t think they are no good anymore just because they lost today. They are only just two years into their career so they should be thinking “I lost today but I will definitely win next time!”
Max The Impaler was too much of an immovable object for Moka Miyamoto to handle. She was able to knock Max down with the Zero Fighter Kick but when she applied the Rashomon, Max powered out of the move and shook her off. There was a Senton for a nearfall and then a Lariat that put Miyamoto down for the count. Max took Miyamoto’s ribbon after the match to take home as their newest trophy. They are matching it with the hair accessory they previously took from HIMAWARI. Miyamoto said she couldn’t find any weaknesses in Max so she will come up with more countermeasures so she can win the next time they fight.
Remember, Mahiro Kiryu is in the blue gear with the one leg exposed while Kakeru Sekiguchi is in the blue gear with the other leg exposed. Got it? Despite that useful piece of information, Uta Takami couldn’t tell them apart. That gave Haruna Neko the chance to attack while Takami was confused. Ivy Steele and Kira Summer were briefly pitted against each other. Kaya Toribami got to lead her team on the offensive and Chika Nanase wanted to score the win. But Neko stopped Nanase with a Neckbreaker Drop, setting Kiryu up to use the Spinebuster for the win. Toribami apologised to Nanase for not helping her enough. But when Takami apologised for mixing up Kiryu & Sekiguchi, Toribami told her she didn’t have to.
The first match of the day saw the “transfer student tag team” of Yoshiko Hasegawa & Mifu Ashida beat HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki. Hasegawa and Suzuki fought back and forth trying to apply the Muffler Hold and the Sleeper Hold respectively. HIMAWARI tried to break it off so Ashida took her out of the ring. That allowed Hasegawa to pin Suzuki with the Diving Double Knee Attack. HIMAWARI said she looked forward to fighting Ashida today because she is a type of wrestlers that didn’t previously exist in TJPW. Ashida called the result a new starting point so she and Hasegawa can get into the habit of winning more often.
Sayuri Namba announced TJPW will be part of a marketing campaign for a collaboration between the sports brand FILA and a Korean women’s clothing brand called OJOS. Mizuki and Maki Itoh have already taken part in photoshoots to be used in upcoming marketing material.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’25”, 16/03/2025 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Yoshiko Hasegawa & Mifu Ashida Vs HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki
2. Kakeru Sekiguchi, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Ivy Steele Vs Kaya Toribami, Kira Summer, Chika Nanase & Uta Takami
3. Max The Impaler Vs Moka Miyamoto
4. Aja Kong, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Yuki Aino, Haru Kazashiro & Toga
5. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Pom Harajuku (c) Vs Raku
6. Special Single Match: Willow Nightingale Vs Miu Watanabe
7. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura Vs Yuki Arai
8. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Arisu Endo
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi
Spring has arrived and with that comes the first big arena show for Tokyo Joshi Pro in 2025. This year TJPW has booked the refurbished Ota Ward Gymnasium as their residency for their three biggest shows in Japan this year: “GRAND PRINCESS ’25” this weekend, “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25” in July and “WRESTLE PRINCESS VI” in September. Let’s stick to the short term because not only is this Sunday’s show pretty important by itself, according to TJPW’s English tweets it will play a big part into deciding the championship matches for their trip to Las Vegas next month. All three TJPW championships are on the line here along with a fourth title from the outside. There’s also a few guests here and there to liven up the undercard as it all builds up to a main event that will be more “Wrestle And Romance” than anything Genichiro Tenryu ever came up with.
The show starts off with the two latest additions to the TJPW roster teaming together. Yoshiko Hasegawa became a regular part of the company last September, sort of filling in the spot on the card left by Nao Kakuta (but not nearly getting as many wins). Her partner here only just joined TJPW at the start of the year catching eyes with her cheerleading entrances. Mifu Ashida hasn’t looked bad in her matches so far but her goal of reaching the top of the company within a year is not going to happen. She’s already been humbled for that so the next step is to see how she will adapt from that.
At the end of last year both HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki had found themselves being overtaken by other wrestlers in their class and needing to catch up. They were both eliminated in the 1st Round of the 2024 Next Generation Tournament. This year they’ve been helping each other turn their fortunes around and it led them to the semi-finals of the Max Heart Tournament. They seem to have a good thing going on and a win here will help their momentum. Getting themselves a team name wouldn’t hurt either.
2. Kakeru Sekiguchi, Mahiro Kiryu, Haruna Neko & Ivy Steele Vs Kaya Toribami, Kira Summer, Chika Nanase & Uta Takami
What can I write about this match when there is not a lot to write about? Has Kakeru Sekiguchi made enough appearances by now for the TJPW roster to tell her apart from Mahiro Kiryu? Surely Haruna Neko will be able to see the difference given that she’s been teaming with Kiryu a lot lately. Ivy Steele has been fitting in and getting matches with a variety of wrestlers up and down the card. Kaya Toribami has usually been on the winning side of the multi-woman tag matches on this level lately. Kira Summer has been the opposite. Chika Nanase exists and Uta Takami added an actually pretty sick looking Cobra Clutch move that she has named the Koala Clutch. So yeah, the result here is going to be a coin flip of a match.
3. Max The Impaler Vs Moka Miyamoto
Well it’s been nice knowing Moka Miyamoto. Her two highlights of 2025 so far are teaming with Yuka Sakazaki on 4th January and getting to wrestle in Chile. The third will be the moment when she attempts the Zero Fighter Kick and bounces off of Max The Impaler like a tennis ball hitting a wall. Most of Max’s appearances in TJPW so far this year was in the Max Heart Tournament where Pompaler made it all the way to the finals before losing. Since then Max has been away from their usual partner rampaging through the company like only they can. Where Max goes from here will be up to them unless the karate skills of Miyamoto can cut The Impaler down to size.
4. Aja Kong, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Yuki Aino, Haru Kazashiro & Toga
Can I get away with calling Aja Kong everyone’s favorite aunt in TJPW because that’s what it feels like whenever she shows up. There are still wrestlers here who want to step up to her and end up getting quite shaken after taking a Back Drop, Diving Elbow Drop or Uraken. But there are also plenty of on the roster who have become reliable partners for her. Yuki Kamifuku is a prime example. She continues to rule over Southeast Asia with the Double Asian Crown in her possession. Every time she gets in the ring she’s the most confident she’s ever been. Wakana Uehara seems to have earned Kong’s respect too going back to their singles match from January 2024.
If the opposing team have anything to their name it’s a lot of guts. Yuki Aino is back to floating aimlessly around the card but when you give her an opportunity to be stubborn in the ring she’ll take it. Haru Kazashiro has improved dramatically over the past year and earned her victory at the Next Generation Tournament. She still has a long way to go but I’m not going to argue anyone calling her the top prospect from TJPW’s new generation. Toga is not that far behind her and there is a good chase to be had with them as both tag team partners and opponents. But they should worry about dealing with Auntie Kong first.
5. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Pom Harajuku (c) Vs Raku
Hands up if you ever thought we’d see the day when Raku and Pom Harajuku are booked in a genuine championship match against each other and not one for a comedy belt. Put it down, I know you’re lying. Alright, alright I take that back. This pair genuinely do have it in them to get an audience emotionally invested in a match like this. Harajuku became one of the most unlikeliest champions in TJPW history when she travelled to Thailand last November and won the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title from Matcha in a No DQ Match! With that success came the champion’s boost that saw Harajuku winning more matches in TJPW and even go on a Max Heart Tournament run that took her all the way to the final. It’s been a wonderful story to follow but it led our champion into a match she didn’t want to happen.
It took Harajuku more than one time to beat Matcha for the SETUP Women’s Title. There was a previous attempt in September 2024 when Harajuku and Matcha fought in a 3 Way Match for the title with Raku as the third person. Matcha pinned Raku to win the match and retain the title that night and the result has stayed in Raku’s thoughts ever since. So when Harajuku brought the championship to Japan and was able to keep hold of it for a few months (not just figuratively because she literally dropped the belt that one time), Raku made the challenge for a title shot. Harajuku refused until Raku explained it’s because she loves her. Let me tell you if I had a nickel for every title match on this show that is built around love, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happening twice.
6. Special Single Match: Willow Nightingale Vs Miu Watanabe
It was this month last year when Miu Watanabe climbed to the top of the TJPW mountain at the 2024 edition of this show. Her run on top lasted for the rest of the year and while it is over for now, she still has some tasty looking matches on the horizon. Like this one for example. TJPW originally wanted to do a Watanabe versus Willow Nightingale match back in the summer of 2022 but visa problems on Nightingale’s end prevented her from travelling to Japan. She eventually got to go on a Japan tour with TJPW later in the year and be in the ring with Watanabe but that singles match still never occured. So what a delight it was last month to see a video from Nightingale announcing she is coming back to finally make the match happen! Smiles are guaranteed and so too will there be power spots galore.
7. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura Vs Yuki Arai
You know, it’s funny. Imagine a world where TJPW somehow exists exactly as it does now but without Miyu Yamashita ever existing. In that alternate universe we probably get Meiko Satomura looking like a ray of sunshine every time she appears because she seems to see the positives in every other wrestler in the company except for Yamashita. Satomura is just be over a month away from her pro wrestling retirement so unless we get an unexpected announcement it looks like Yuki Arai gets the honour of being her last ever opponent ever in a TJPW ring.
The match is the latest in the long line of signs that Arai has TJPW’s full backing behind her. She is also approaching the end of a career soon because she will be graduating from SKE48 at the end of March to put her full effort into pro wrestling. Just being in the ring with Satomura as part of the joshi legend’s retirement road is a vote of confidence in her favour. If she’s giving up her singing career to become the new leader of TJPW she knows she will have to shine bright against the yokozuna of joshi. Maybe she’ll level up so much that she can evolve her Finally finishing move and change it from the Heel Drop into the Scorpio Rising!
8. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Arisu Endo
The fated Daisy Monkey showdown! It’s a dream match Suzume wanted to make a reality from the moment she won the International Princess Title on 4th January. But first she had to get past Jada Stone for her February title defence. Good thing that Arisu Endo thought the same way and approached Suzume right after that match asking to be the next challenger. Suzume has the experience advantage, having beaten Endo in their three previous singles matches against each other. In fact one of those matches opened up “GRAND PRINCESS ’23” two years ago. Back then Suzume was concerned that Endo had caught up with and even surpassed her. Things are a bit different this time around.
While the two are the best of friends, Endo admits this match will be more like a sibling rivalry kicking off. Suzume is like a big sister and Endo wants the IP Title even more because her “big sister” currently has it!
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
When 121000000 won the Princess Tag Team Titles for a second time they quickly agreed on their next goal as champions. If Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh cannot reach 10 successful title defences in a row then their accomplished tag team will split up. We’re now approaching the halfway point of the target. They have retained the belts four times already with successful defences in America and Chile along the way. They also have more overseas bookings coming on the horizon so there is plenty of opportunities ahead for them to reach that goal before we know it. There’s a big wall now standing in their way though. It’s a pair of wrestlers with chips on their shoulders for multiple reasons and 121000000 are partially responsible for it.
Kyoraku Kyomei have been together as a tag team for five years and spent most of that time as the bridesmaids of the tag division. It was a team put together when Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao wanted to cheer people up during the pandemic. When the pairing clicked better than expected, they started aiming for success only to fall short on every occasion. The failure that hurt them the most was in the 2023 Max Heart Tournament final when they lost to, you guessed it, 121000000. That loss in particular has stuck with Nakajima & Misao like a thorn in their hearts filling them with bitterness and resentment. So after they finally won the Max Heart Tournament this year (as the only remaining team to compete in all 5 tournaments), they could not be more fired up to get their rematch with Yamashita & Itoh. The champions welcome the challenge. They don’t even mind being compared to overpowered tournament level Pokémon (Yamashita only understood the reference once she saw that Ogerpon does kind of resemble her). Itoh in particular feeds off of that kind of loathing and jealousy towards other people.
If Kyoraku Kyomei can win the match and finally win the championship together, it could result in a massive change in direction for the Princess Tag Titles. Misao has put forward the idea of taking on brand new challengers in future title defences. She wants to fight teams that Kyoraku Kyomei have never faced before even if it means the challengers end up being pairs of wrestlers who don’t normally team with each other. Potential title matches might even get special rules attached to them because Misao has a habit of doing that for her normal matches. She promised management she won’t do that unless the situation calls for it but knowing her that may as well be every situation! Nakajima will be game for it either way.
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi
It has taken over seven years for this match to finally happen. I’d argue it is even the most protected match in TJPW history given what it means to the two people involved and their feelings towards each other. Let’s start on the surface. The Princess Of Princess Title is on the line. Mizuki is on her second reign as champion after proving that princess beat monsters and this is the first defence lined up for her. She has been the defending champion in Ota Ward before and came out on top so this is not an unusual experience for her. The challenger Rika Tatsumi is a former champion too but her sole Princess Title reign from 2021 was hobbled thanks to circumstances beyond her control. Her title matches were held in front of reduced Korakuen Hall crowds because of the pandemic and the reign met it’s inevitable end at the hands of Yamashita earlier than expected (and inside an empty venue to boot). At least Tatsumi was able to use those three months as champion to develop her personality more and get a little drunk with power like an immortal dragon should. I wouldn’t call it a wasted title run even if it doesn’t stand among the most memorable.
So what makes this matchup so important? Why did it take almost eight years for Mizuki and Tatsumi to have a singles match against each other? There’s more to this main event than just having a championship on the line. It is all about love. Back in 2018 TJPW still enforced the “Forbidden Three” rules to its in-house roster: no alcohol, no smoking and no boyfriends. Mizuki was approaching the end of her first year working with TJPW as a freelancer and in that time was already leaving strong impressions with different members of the roster. For Tatsumi those impressions were aiming straight for her heart. Spurred on by these developing feelings, Tatsumi confronted Sanshiro Takagi on a DDT edition of the ABEMA talk show “The NIGHT” and poked a pretty big hole in one of the Forbidden Three rules. She publicly admitted to having a crush on Mizuki but didn’t know if that is breaking the rule. Does no boyfriends allowed also mean no girlfriends are allowed too? Tatsumi received a lot of support from fans for calling out the outdated rules and from that point forward her crush on Mizuki became one of her biggest character quirks.
Mizuki’s opinion on the matter was usually kept to herself. It wasn’t long after this when Mizuki formed The Magical Sugar Rabbits with Yuka Sakazaki and became wrestling soulmates with her instead. Every once in a while Tatsumi would show her appreciation for Mizuki whether it was by wanting them to work together despite being on opposite teams or by winning a prize and handing it straight over to her as a gift. It was only in the recent buildup to this match that Mizuki revealed she still has posession of the first love letter Tatsumi ever gave her. It shows that she at least understands and appreciates Tatsumi’s feelings towards her. The reason she kept her distance from Tatsumi for all of these years was over concern that Tatsumi would start to dislike her if they ever did become close.
So now we go back to the Princess Title, the one object that can potentially turn this love story into a tragedy. Tatsumi still regrets how short lived her first title reign went. She has worked hard and achieved other accomplishments since then but feels the rewards were never enough for the challenges she had to get through. She thinks she will have to become ruthless like a dragon to become the Princess Champion again even if that means Mizuki will end up hating her. Mizuki is also willing to risk losing this special bond with Tatsumi if it means she will defend the Princess Title she worked so hard to reclaim. She is certain the two of them will shine in the ring together. But a story like this usually ends up with somebody getting their heart broken.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 