1. Yasu Urano defeated Munetatsu Nakamura with the Cross-Arm Thunder Fire Power Bomb (12:22).
2. Rina Amikura defeated YuuRI with the Double Armin Buster (11:33).
3. Secret Captain’s Fall Elimination 6-Man Tag Match: Mizuki Watase (C), Yumehito Imanari & HARUKAZE defeated Ken Ohka, Shinichiro Tominaga (C) & Moeka Haruhi (14:54).
3a. HARUKAZE eliminated Ken Ohka by Ring Out (7:17).
3b. Shinichiro Tominaga (C) eliminated HARUKAZE by Ring Out (8:20).
3c. Moeka Haruhi eliminated Yumehito Imanari by Ring Out (10:18).
3d. Mizuki Watase (C) eliminated Moeka Haruhi by Ring Out (11:32).
3e. Shinichiro Tominaga (C) eliminated Mizuki Watase (C) by TKO with the Watase-Style Front Neck Lock (14:54).
4. Special Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao defeated Shuichiro Katsumura & Shota when Takao pinned Shota with the Official Endless Waltz (16:08).
Soma Takao got one over on Shota in the latest match of their rivalry by catching him in the Official Endless Waltz for the three count. After the match ended Shota said he wanted to show his growth as a pro wrestler when he came back from America. That’s why he constantly wrestled against Takao instead of reforming ROMANCE DAWN with him. However the recent announcement of the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles being established made Shota rethink his plans. He wants to win those belts with Takao! ROMANCE DAWN are going to be back together. But before they do Shota and Takao agreed to have a singles match against each other to settle their rivalry once and for all.
Mizuki Watase got some revenge on Shinichiro Tominaga for what happened earlier today. On the first show Tominaga made Watase submit in the main event. Here on the second show Watase got Tominaga to pass out to a Wrist-Clutch Front Neck Lock! Afterwards Watase brought up the Spirit Of Ganbare Title match happening in two days time. He said nobody comes to Ganbare☆Pro shows wanting to see the wrestlers think about tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Any wrestler with that mindset does not deserve the title. Watase’s arm was already hurt but now so is Tominaga’s. Will Tominaga be willing to risk his arm to become the champion?
When the second show began, Shuichiro Katsumura said he was feeling tired but realised that there were fans in the audience who paid to see all three Ganpro shows today. According to him the ticket sales mean those fans are supporting the Japanese economy!
GANBARE☆PRO “GRINDHOUSE 2023”, 23/02/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. Ken Ohka Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
2. GanPro Specialty Mixed Tag Match: Shota & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Soma Takao & YuuRI
3. Punch Drunker Vs Battle Socrates: Tyson Maeguchi Vs Yasu Urano
4. Elimination 6-Man Tag Match: Mizuki Watase, Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada Vs Keisuke Ishii, Yumehito Imanari & Shinichiro Tominaga
A busy day coming up tomorrow with 4 shows going on overall. Ganbare☆Pro will be getting the lion’s share of attention because they are holding three of those shows. Mizuki Watase and Shinichiro Tominaga get to test each other out in the Elimination 6-Man Tag main event.
GANBARE☆PRO “MOONRISE KINGDOM 2023”, 23/02/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Yasu Urano
2. YuuRI Vs Rina Amikura
3. Secret Captain’s Fall Elimination 6-Man Tag Match: Mizuki Watase, Yumehito Imanari & HARUKAZE Vs Ken Ohka, Shinichiro Tominaga & Moeka Haruhi
4. Special Tag Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & Shota Vs Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao
Watase and Tominaga are also on opposite sides of the Secret Captain’s Fall match on the second show. However that show is headlined with the continuing ROMANCE DAWN rivalry between Shota and Soma Takao.
DDT “ROJO PRO WRESTLING IN BURLESQUE TOKYO ~KO-D TAG TEAM BATTLE ON THE STREET! SHUNMAO VS BONNO DAI SHACHO!~”, 23/02/2023 Burlesque Tokyo
1. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Falls Count Anywhere Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Fuminori Abe
The burlesque dancers who will perform during the match are named Mii-san, DC Sora-san, Sawa-san, Mary-san and Mina-san.
GANBARE☆PRO “GANBARE☆PRO WRESTLING PLAYERS ASSOCIATION PERFORMANCE”, 23/02/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. GanPro Specialty Mixed Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari & HARUKAZE Vs Kentaro Hachisu & Moeka Haruhi
2. 3 Way Match: YuuRI Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Hong Kong International Policeman
3. The Return Of LariPro 2023: Keisuke Ishii & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Ken Ohka & Shota
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Mizuki Watase, Takuya Wada & Yuki Kanzaki Vs Shinichiro Tominaga, Tyson Maeguchi & Munetatsu Nakamura
Kentaro Hachisu & Moeka Haruhi have been given the unfortunate team name of Chest Hair Weather Tag.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2023”, 26/02/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. MJ Paul & KANON Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda
0. 4 Way Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Gota Ihashi Vs Saki Akai & Kazuki Hirata Vs Losers Of 23/2 KO-D Tag Team Titles Match
1. D GENERATIONS CUP 6-Man Tag Match: Hideki Okatani, Yuki Ishida & Ilusion Vs Keigo Nakamura, Toi Kojima & Kazuma Sumi
2. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Shishamo Power Vs Jun Akiyama & Unagi Mask
3. International Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuji Hino, Naruki Doi & Makoto Oishi Vs Kip Sabian (w/ Penelope Ford), Chris Brookes & Hagane Shinno
4. D GENERATIONS CUP – Final: Yuya Koroku Vs Takeshi Masada
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada (c) Vs Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Hikaru Machida
7. KO-D Openweight Title Next Challenger Decision Match: HARASHIMA Vs Yukio Naya
Two of the matches have been pushed down into the pre-show.
DDT “DDT YOKOHAMA UNLIMITED VOL. 2”, 04/03/2023 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Penelope Ford (c) Vs X
2. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs Tetsuya Endo & Kotaro Suzuki
3. Special Single Match: MAO Vs Ryota Nakatsu
4. Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs 26/2 Main Event Winner & D GENERATIONS CUP Winner
The addition of Ryota Nakatsu to Harimao has fuelled some DNA nostalgia among the DDT roster. MAO was one of Nakatsu’s regular opponents on that brand so it’s time to see them fight each other for the first time in a long time.
An all BURNING tag match is being put together to build up Jun Akiyama’s upcoming DDT Extreme Title defence against Kotaro Suzuki.
Whoever is the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion on 4th March is supposed to defend the title in a Battle Royal that day. Penelope Ford is currently the champion but she’ll be going back to AEW with Kip Sabian after the 26th February Korakuen Hall show. If she is unable to return to DDT in time then the Battle Royal will go ahead with nothing on the line. DDT will then be left to figure out how they can get their belt back fair and square.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’23”, 18/03/2023 Ariake Coliseum
1. Haru Debut Match: Haru Vs X
2. Momo Debut Match: Momo Vs X
3. Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Billie Starkz
4. Special Single Match: Aja Kong Vs Yuki Arai
5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Princess Tag Team Titles: Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh
6. International Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi
7. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Mizuki
A press conference was held today to promote two of the big matches for the show. Both Yuka Sakazaki and Mizuki admitted to have mixed feelings over having to fight each other for the Princess Of Princess Title. Mizuki has a lot of respect for her friend but has now found herself wanting to be the one who carries Tokyo Joshi Pro on her back by winning the Princess Title. Sakazaki does not want to wrestle Mizuki but given how much they mean to each other she understands she has no choice but to do it. She noticed their bond has changed over time since their match at “WRESTLE PRINCESS” two and a half years ago. Out of the ring everything between them is normal when they are together but recently inside the ring their emotions have become more complicated during their preview tag matches. With that being said, both of them say The Magical Sugar Rabbits are staying together no matter who wins. In fact, they believe they will become an even more exciting tag team after they are done fighting each other.
The other match talked about was Yuki Arai’s uphill battle against Aja Kong. Arai has spent a lot of time thinking since last week’s tag match. She’s been trying to do what she can but still feels like she cannot reach her goal yet. There is still a month left for her to prepare so she wants to have a match that will leave an impact both on herself and also Kong too. Kong said she is not concerned about thinking what it is like as a “monster” to fight an idol. If you stand in front of Kong in the ring then you are a pro wrestler in her eyes and she is not taking Arai lightly. She knows Arai is thinking of ways to counter her most famous moves so Kong too is thinking about how to counter Arai’s moveset. It will be wrestler against wrestler at Ariake Coliseum so Kong wants to win!
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2023 ~LONGEST 5 HOUR SPECIAL IN KORAKUEN HISTORY~”, 21/03/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. International Special Single Match: Samuray Del Sol Vs Yuki Ueno
2. DDT 26th Anniversary Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Konosuke Takeshita
3. DDT Extreme Title – Regular Pro Wrestling Rules: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Kotaro Suzuki
4. DDT Universal Title: Naruki Doi (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo
5. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuji Hino (c) Vs Winner Of 26/02 Match
The challenge has been accepted and the match can go ahead. Naruki Doi nominated Tetsuya Endo to face him for the DDT Universal Title and the match will happen on the 26th Anniversary show.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES”, 31/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE 3RD “FUTARI WA PRINCESS” MAX HEART TOURNAMENT”, 11/02/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Wakana Uehara Vs HIMAWARI
2. Yuki Kamifuku, Nao Kakuta & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Raku, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami
3. Moka Miyamoto Vs Arisu Endo
4. Yuki Arai Vs Pom Harajuku
5. Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino Vs Hikari Noa & Janai Kai
6. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Miu Watanabe & Suzume
7. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Final: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
Yuka Sakazaki is back in Japan after her latest AEW tour and Janai Kai is in the country as well. Julia Nagano will also be at the show despite being unable to wrestle because of her finger injury.
There will be three announcements happening before the show begins. We know there are still a few trainees that have not debuted yet (Shino, Haru, Momo and Toga). Also The Up Up Girls social media has been teasing new music involving the Pro Wrestling arm of the unit.
DDT “DDT YOKOHAMA UNLIMITED VOL. 1”, 11/02/2023 Yokohama Radiant Hall
0. Dark Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda
1. D GENERATIONS CUP – A Block: Yuya Koroku (2) Vs Ilusion (0)
2. D GENERATIONS CUP – B Block: Keigo Nakamura (2) Vs Toi Kojima (0)
3. D GENERATIONS CUP – B Block: Yuki Ishida (0) Vs Takeshi Masada (0)
4. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Noriyuki Yoshida Vs Chris Brookes, Akito, Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Yuki Ueno & Kazuki Hirata Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Okatani & Hikaru Machida
6. Special Single Match: Shunma Katsumata Vs Sanshiro Takagi
7. Harimao Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs MJ Paul & KANON
8. Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya
Noriyuki Yoshida usually only appears in DDT shows whenever they are in Sapporo. Getting the opportunity to team with BURNING is enough to make him travel to Yokohama.
GANBARE☆PRO “ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD 2023”, 25/02/2023 Takashimadaira Ward Community Center
1. Shota Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
2. Yumehito Imanari & Kabuto Mitomi Vs Soma Takao & Yuki Kanzaki
3. GanJo Special Tag Match: Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs YuuRI & Yoshiko Hasegawa
4. Special Tag Match: Ken Ohka & Keisuke Ishii Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Hartley Jackson
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Mizuki Watase (c) Vs Shinichiro Tominaga
Match #4 sounds like a nice, friendly kickabout on a Saturday night.
Does the name Kabuto Mitomi sound familiar? He used to appear regularly in Ganbare☆Pro and other places as Masayuki Mitomi. In 2019 he formed P.P.P Tokyo and changed his ring name to Kabuto Mitomi two years ago. His appearance here with Yumehito Imanari continues the growing relationship between GanPro and P.P.P.
The “Young Ganbare” wrestler takes on a member of the “Monthly Young Communication” generation when Munetatsu Nakamura faces Shota.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2023”, 26/02/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. D GENERATIONS CUP 6-Man Tag Match: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
2. D GENERATIONS CUP – Final: Winner Of A Block Vs Winner Of B Block
3. International Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuji Hino, Naruki Doi & Makoto Oishi Vs Kip Sabian (w/ Penelope Ford), Chris Brookes & Hagane Shinno
4. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Shishamo Power Vs Jun Akiyama & Unagi Mask
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs X & X
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada (c) Vs Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine
7. KO-D Openweight Title Next Challenger Decision Match: HARASHIMA Vs Yukio Naya
DDT is being sponsored by the Yamada Suisan seafood company again which means the return of the masked wrestlers Shishamo Power and Unagi Mask. The two of them were on the same team last time but now will be opponents the next time they step into the ring together. DDT will be doing a wrestling show with Yamada Suisan in April so don’t be surprised if some meat eating tough guys appear and provoke our seafood loving grapplers.
The international trio of Kip Sabian, Chris Brookes & Hagane Shinno have another trios match together but this time they have the two big singles champions opposing them along with Makoto Oishi!
Everybody in the D GENERATIONS CUP who do not qualify for the final will take part in a 6-Man Tag Match.
GANBARE☆PRO “SHOOTING IN THE COLD RAIN, A GUN FOR PROMISE 2023”, 05/03/2023 Takashimadaira Ward Community Center
1. Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Takuya Wada
2. GanJo Special Single Match: YuuRI Vs Miyuki Takase
3. GanJo Special Tag Match: HARUKAZE & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Moeka Haruhi & Asahi
More preparation going into the Ganbare☆Joshi restart in April. Asahi and Miyuki Takase are here to take on the home team joshi. Also, what does Moeka Haruhi make of all of this? She remains freelance and can sit on the fence while YuuRI and Yoshiko Hasegawa try to figure out how to relaunch a division.
1. Jado Alert Issued! Current Blast Jado Missile 6-Man Tag Team Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima Vs HARASHIMA, Soma Takao & Kazuki Hirata
Warning! Warning! Jado alert! I’d be saying that if it referred to the pro wrestler but in this case Jado stands for “Japan-Danger-Onita”. It is an emergency system that will be installed into the wrestling ring for this exploding death match. When the system’s button is pressed, a countdown will begin warning the residents of Tsurumi that a missile is about to be launched into the ring! When the missile hits its target there will be a massive explosion.
DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Chris Brookes & Yoshihiko
2. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Joey Janela
3. Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Yuki Ueno
Two new matches added to the card. First is ShunMao taking on the odd pairing of Chris Brookes & Yoshihiko. After that is a rematch from the D-Ou Grand Prix now set for Los Angeles. Joey Janela beat Tetsuya Endo in an upset last November.
DDT/GCW “GCW VS DDT”, 31/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Dark Sheik Vs Saki Akai
2. Blake Christian Vs Kazusada Higuchi
3. Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne Vs MAO & Mike Bailey
Freshly announced while I was typing this up is the next GCW Vs DDT match. Kazusada Higuchi takes on a man currently without any friends on the GCW side. Blake Christian has been undefeated in GCW singles matches so far this year. Beating Higuchi will be a big accomplishment to add to his momentum.
DDT “MEGA MAX BUMP 2023 IN YOKOHAMA”, 03/05/2023 Yokohama Budokan
1. DDT Universal Title: Naruki Doi (c) Vs X
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuji Hino (c) Vs X
There will be both a KO-D Openweight Title match and a DDT Universal Title match at the big Yokohama Budokan show.
The last Ganbare☆Pro show of the day was headlined with a Survival 8-Man Tag Match. Shota got a little measure of revenge for Soma Takao beating him on today’s first show by eliminating him in this match. Mizuki Watase rallied his team into the lead and Ken Ohka played his part by getting the biggest road block Hartley Jackson out of the way. But it was Shinichiro Tominaga who came out on top by pinning Ohka with the Moonsault Press for the final result. After the match Tominaga said he is still feeling in a new year’s mood and feels boosted for that reason. He challenged Watase to a Spirit Of Ganbare Title match. Watase accepted but explained he already agreed to defend the title against Towa Iwasaki at a BURST show on 19th February. Michiyoshi Mishima decided that a singles match between Watase and Tominaga will take place in GanPro on the 25th. If Watase is still the champion then it will be a title match.
The current situation between Shota and Soma Takao was talked about by both of them in separate post-match interviews. With the Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles coming soon Shota would like ROMANCE DAWN to fight for the new prizes. However he also wants to show everyone what he learned in America by himself. He gets to do that by fighting against Takao and he wants to continue doing that. Takao also wants ROMANCE DAWN to win the tag titles and understands the team is not breaking up. But he needs Shota to calm his feelings and settle down otherwise something bad will eventually happen whenever they team up again.
Nobody in the Young Ganbare Cup was able to win all three of their matches so a final took place between the top two ranked wrestlers Kentaro Hachisu and Yumehito Imanari. Earlier in the day Hachisu had beaten Imanari so when the match began Imanari immediately went for the kill by doing a Tiger Driver for a nearfall. Hachisu fought his way back into a stronger position until Imanari used his own Lou Thesz Press and applied a Cross Armbreaker to make Hachisu submit. Imanari began to cry when he was given the trophy and 30,000 yen cash prize for winning the Young Ganbare Cup. He told everyone when he became a pro wrestler he didn’t have time to be young and his twenties are filled with regretful memories. He praised the other three wrestlers in the tournament and thanked them all for taking part. He never had anyone to eat chanko with so he invited them all to the Snake Pit Japan dojo so they can together all enjoy chanko made with the sauce directly passed down from New Japan!
Hachisu had a chance of winning the tournament outright in his last league match. If he had beaten Munetatsu Nakamura it would have been three wins out of three and he would automatically become the Young Ganbare Cup champion. Nakamura was determined not to let it happen. He was already motivated not to lose and before the match Imanari gave him some words of encouragement. The two ended up fighting outside the ring. They were right next to the ring apron so the referee couldn’t see Imanari crouched on the floor wrapping the two wrestlers’ legs together with tape. It caused both Hachisu and Nakamura to be counted out and led to the Imanari Vs Hachisu rematch happening later in the show to determine who won the tournament. Nakamura was upset to have the match end like that and wants to have a singles bout against Imanari sometime in the near future to make up for it.
Imanari’s last gasp path to the final started with him beating Yuki Kanzaki in the opener. Kanzaki started off well but couldn’t lock in the Camel Clutch that won him his earlier match in the day. Imanari blocked a Frog Splash with his knees and got a nearfall with a Lariat. Imanari then applied a Sasori-Gatame to make Kanzaki give up. Kanzaki was disappointed in the result but promised not to give up pro wrestling. He is still aiming to reach the top.
1. 3-Man Grappling Match: Shuichiro Katsumura (2) defeated Munetatsu Nakamura, HARUKAZE & HARASHIMA (0).
1a. Shuichiro Katsumura defeated Munetatsu Nakamura with an Arm And Knee Cross Hold (3:23).
1b. Shuichiro Katsumura defeated HARUKAZE with a Cross Heel Hold (2:48).
1c. Shuichiro Katsumura Vs HARASHIMA ended in a Time Limit Draw (5:00).
2. GanPro Specialty! Mixed 6-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Shinichiro Tominaga & Moeka Haruhi defeated Ken Ohka, Maori Kawashima & YuuRI when Haruhi submitted YuuRI with the 79.5MHz (10:09).
3. Special Single Match ~Baptism Of GanPro~: Takuya Wada defeated Hong Kong International Policeman with a Sleeper Hold (0:26).
3a. Rematch: Takuya Wada defeated Hong Kong International Policeman with a Crossface Lock (7:09).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Mizuki Watase & Keisuke Ishii defeated Shuichiro Katsumura, Tsuyoshi Okada & Tyson Maeguchi when HARASHIMA pinned Okada with the Somato (16:08).
The second show of today’s Ganbare☆Pro tripleshot was all put together by Shuichiro Katsumura. It was a tiring event for him because he ended up wrestling in four matches of some sort. In the main event he did what he could with the energy he had left. He did well enough to put HARASHIMA in the Ninja Choke but that got broken up. Tsuyoshi Okada tagged in but found himself on the receiving end of the entire opposition’s attacks. It ended with HARASHIMA pinning Okada with the Somato. Katsumura said there are still eleven months left in the year so his goal is to have singles matches against HARASHIMA, Mizuki Watase & Keisuke Ishii by the end this year! He also said backstage he wants to produce three more GanPro shows this year so the stage is set for his goal to be completed.
The GanPro debut of former Pancrase fighter Takuya Wada was an odd one. His opponent was revealed to be Hong Kong International Policeman (Choun-Shiryu). Wada did not know who he was. When Policeman began introducing himself to everyone, Wada quickly put him in a Sleeper Hold and won the match in under 30 seconds. The match restarted and this time Policeman bribed the referee with 20,000 yen to tilt the match in his favour. America International Policeman (Shota) then walked to the ring with Wada’s phone and threatened to destroy it. Wada pleaded at him to stop and agreed to let Hong Kong Policeman bind his hands together with a wire. However Wada waited for an opening and attacked both his opponent and the referee despite having his hands tied together. He found a way to put Hong Kong Policeman in a Crossface and Policeman gave up. Wada thought his first GanPro experience was amazing and he’d be happy to come back here again.
The first match of the event was a series of grappling bouts between Katsumura and three opponents. Everyone involved took part wearing their own grappling gear of some sort. Katsumura was able to submit both Munetatsu Nakamura and HARUKAZE in his first two matches. The third was against an unannounced opponent and it was revealed to be HARASHIMA! Their match went to a five minute draw with both of them fighting over Heel Hooks in the final moments.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2023”, 29/01/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match – Bonno Dai Shacho Presents No Fee Rumble: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Fuminori Abe Vs ASHUKA Vs Ariji Akinori Vs Shosaku Inoue Vs Kaijin Mukuro 696 Vs Kim Yocchan Vs Crusher Inoba Vs Great-CO-Khan Vs Great-GO-Khan Vs Gundan Hitori Vs Shinya Vs Tsutenkakuka Vs Dick Zlater Vs Tezuka awesome Ichiro Vs Dopyu♡McIntyre Vs Tadaki Toronomi Vs “Great Mother” Mazakon Kid Vs Big Bear Vs Fuck Takeda Vs Thick And Hard Kankuro Hoshino Vs BRA-VO Vs Hen China Vs Macho Gallows Vs Mori Haruomi Vs X
0. Dark Match – 4 Way Tag Match: Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs MJ Paul & KANON Vs Antonio Honda & Akito Vs Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida
1. D GENERATIONS CUP – A Block: Hideki Okatani Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. D GENERATIONS CUP – B Block: Keigo Nakamura Vs Takeshi Masada
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Toi Kojima Vs Thanomsak Toba, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hikaru Machida
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Naruki Doi, Jun Akiyama & Soma Takao Vs HARASHIMA, Chris Brookes & Yukio Naya
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada (c) Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Yuji Hino
The D GENERATIONS CUP begins on Sunday. All eight participants took part in a press conference during the week to give their views on the tournament. Hideki Okatani is confident he will win because he has the most in-ring experience out of everyone involved. Yuya Koroku thinks he has grown both physically and skillfully over the last year. He’s been waiting for a tournament like this to happen so he can show off his growth. Kazuma Sumi says with only three months of pro experience he has nothing to lose. Ilusion wants to leave an impression on fans who only know him from DDTeeeen!! and see what he can do beyond that brand. Keigo Nakamura has spent his preparation drinking raw eggs, eating bugs and breaking roof tiles all for his Twitter account. He also tried drinking an entire bottle of cola without burping but failed. Toi Kojima wants to level up and grab the opportunity to go to Hollywood. Yuki Ishida promised to do his best to take everybody down. Takeshi Masada thinks he let everyone down after he failed to beat Sanshiro Takagi and couldn’t earn his place on the USA shows. He is not concerned with the tournament’s goal of finding the strongest young wrestler in DDT. He is only focused on making it to Hollywood.
My hands feel so grimy writing out all of the names entering the No Fee Rumble. Some might sound familiar if you remember DDT’s past ventures with the wrestling club scene. Some are as recent as the time Sanshiro Takagi defended the DDT Extreme Title against a bunch of amateurs in a field. Others were around for the “ALL DOIN” experiment from 2018. Then there are names like Gundan Hitori who I remember seeing in DDT all the way back in 2010! Then there are the parody names on the list. ASHUKA is an Asuka tribute, there’s one person named after Drew McIntyre and another named after Dick Slater. If that’s not enough there are somehow also two wrestlers named after Great-O-Khan entering the match and I think only one of them is meant to be a parody!
GANBARE☆PRO “GRINDHOUSE 2023”, 23/02/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. Ken Ohka Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
Time for Munetatsu Nakamura to take on the head honcho Ken Ohka for the first time.
GANBARE☆PRO “MOONRISE KINGDOM 2023”, 23/02/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. Special Tag Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & Shota Vs Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao
Shota and Soma Takao are on opposite sides of a tag match once more, continuing the growing rivalry between the two former ROMANCE DAWN partners.
GANBARE☆PRO “GANBARE☆PRO WRESTLING PLAYERS ASSOCIATION PERFORMANCE”, 23/02/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. The Return Of LariPro 2023: Keisuke Ishii Vs X
We’ve had Lariat Pro, Knee Pro, there was a Chop Pro in there somewhere. Keisuke Ishii is determined to make the latest rendition of his Lariat Pro match the best one yet!
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2023”, 26/02/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. D GENERATIONS CUP – Final: Winner Of A Block Vs Winner Of B Block
2. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada (c) Vs X, X & X
3. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs X & X
Appearing on the show will be Naruki Doi, Shinya Aoki, Kotaro Suzuki, Fuminori Abe and Hikaru Machida.
DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
16 wrestlers representing DDT will be in Los Angeles for the company’s big return to America. They are Kazusada Higuchi, Jun Akiyama, MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Sanshiro Takagi, Konosuke Takeshita, Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Ueno, Chris Brookes, Saki Akai, KANON, Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Michael Nakazawa, Yoshihiko and the winner of the D GENERATIONS CUP.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES”, 31/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
No talent announcements yet for the Tokyo Joshi Pro show but expect it to be a similar number to DDT.
DDT/GCW “GCW VS DDT”, 31/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
Takeshita will not be on this show. ROH appearance maybe?
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE 3RD “FUTARI WA PRINCESS” MAX HEART TOURNAMENT”, 19/01/2023 Shinjuku FACE
1. Hikari Noa Vs Wakana Uehara
2. Mizuki & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Nao Kakuta & HIMAWARI
3. Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh & Yuki Kamifuku Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku
4. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Round 2D: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami
5. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Round 2A: Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
6. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Round 2C: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
Round 2 of the Max Heart Tournament has already begun but the majority of the matches will take place here. Kyoraku Kyomei takes on Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami, Karate Tag faces Daisy Monkey and Reiwa AA Cannon meets Daydream in the main event.
Wakana Uehara gets another big singles match this time against Hikari Noa. Uehara will have new ring gear.
BASARA “BASARA 208 ~HATAAGE ANNIVERSARY~”, 21/01/2023 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
1. Daichi Kazato & Lil’ Kraken Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
2. Takumi Tsukamoto, Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino Vs FUMA, KUBITO & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
3. SAGAT 10th Anniversary Match: SAGAT Vs Hideyoshi Kamitani
4. Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura Vs Ryota Nakatasu & Fuminori Abe
5. Union MAX Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Yasu Urano
To celebrate his 10th anniversary in wrestling, SAGAT takes on Hideyoshi Kamitani from Big Japan. They’ve only been in the same match together once for an Elimination Tag held on a BJW show last July. SAGAT enjoyed the experience of fighting Kamitani so much he’s been wanting a singles match against him ever since. BASARA was able to put it together for his special occasion.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2023 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 21/01/2023 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. KANON & MJ Paul Vs Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi
2. Yuki Ueno, Toi Kojima & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Makoto Oishi
3. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Soma Takao, Keigo Nakamura & Takeshi Masada
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & Chris Brookes Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani
5. Yokohama Two Major Singles Match I: Yusuke Okada Vs Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno
6. Yokohama Two Major Singles Match II: Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino
7. DDT Extreme Title – Monoboke Death Match: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Antonio Honda
The goal of the Monoboke Death Match is for Antonio Honda to make Jun Akiyama laugh. Every time Honda kicks out of a pin or uses a rope break to escape a submission, he gets to make a joke. If he can get Akiyama to laugh three times he will win the match. Akiyama on the other hand needs to beat Honda by pinfall or submission three times in order to successfully defend the DDT Extreme Title.
If Daisuke Sasaki ends his self-imposed exile and shows up he will be booked for a match. The undercard will be changed around as a result.
MAO & Shunma Katsumata will not be at the show because they will be wrestling in California for Prestige that same day.
GANBARE☆PRO “TRANSPORTER 2023”, 28/01/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. Young Ganbare Cup: Yumehito Imanari (2) Vs Kentaro Hachisu (2)
2. Young Ganbare Cup: Yuki Kanzaki (0) Vs Munetatsu Nakamura (0)
3. Yuna Manase Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
4. GanPro Specialty! Mixed 6-Man Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii, Shota & YuuRI Vs Soma Takao, Shinichiro Tominaga & HARUKAZE
5. Mizuki Watase & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Ken Ohka & Thanomsak Toba
Soma Takao is feeling a little lost in DDT lately but in Ganbare☆Pro he has Shota on his mind. The former ROMANCE DAWN partners are on opposite sides for another tag match.
GANBARE☆PRO “SHUICHIRO KATSUMURA PRODUCE”, 28/01/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. GanPro Specialty! Mixed 6-Man Tag Match: Ken Ohka, Maori Kawashima & YuuRI Vs Yumehito Imanari, Shinichiro Tominaga & Moeka Haruhi
2. Special Single Match ~Baptism Of GanPro~: Takuya Wada Vs X
3. 3-Man Grappling Match: Shuichiro Katsumura Vs Munetatsu Nakamura, HARUKAZE & X
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shuichiro Katsumura, Tsuyoshi Okada & Tyson Maeguchi Vs HARASHIMA, Mizuki Watase & Keisuke Ishii
Former Pancrase fighter Takuya Wada makes his Ganpro debut on a show that is being booked by a former Shooto fighter. Speaking of Shuichiro Katsumura, he is bringing in one of his pro wrestling buddies Maori Kawashima for a match too.
GANBARE☆PRO “GANBARE☆PRO WRESTLING PLAYERS ASSOCIATION PERFORMANCE”, 28/01/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. Young Ganbare Cup: Yumehito Imanari (2) Vs Yuki Kanzaki (0)
2. Young Ganbare Cup: Kentaro Hachisu (2) Vs Munetatsu Nakamura (0)
3. Yuna Manase & YuuRI Vs Moeka Haruhi & Itsuki Aoki
4. Oji Specialty GanPro Style Survival 8-Man Tag Match: Mizuki Watase, Ken Ohka, Shuichiro Katsumura & Soma Takao Vs Keisuke Ishii, Shota, Shinichiro Tominaga & Hartley Jackson
Itsuki Aoki is coming over for a Ganbare☆Joshi tag match.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2023”, 29/01/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. D GENERATIONS CUP – A Block: Hideki Okatani Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. D GENERATIONS CUP – B Block: Keigo Nakamura Vs Takeshi Masada
3. No Fee Rumble: Sanshiro Takagi & Fuminori Abe Vs X & X
4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada (c) Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Yuji Hino
Bonno Dai Shacho are taking a page out of their predecessor’s playbook. They want to break barriers and fight against opponents from all over the Japanese wrestling scene from the indies right down to the most obscure corners of the industry. In order to do that Sanshiro Takagi & Fuminori Abe are looking for teams to enter the No Fee Rumble. It will not cost teams anything to apply for entry. However they will not get paid for taking part either unless they happen to win.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE 3RD “FUTARI WA PRINCESS” MAX HEART TOURNAMENT”, 29/01/2023 Saitama Kasukabe Fureai Cube
1. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Semi-Final: Winners Of Match 2A Vs Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh
2. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Semi-Final: Winners Of Match 2C Vs Winners Of Match 2D
The winners of Karate Tag versus Daisy Monkey will face 121000000 in the semi-final.
DDT “FRIENDSHIP, EFFORT, VICTORY IN NAGOYA 2023”, 18/02/2023 Aichi Nagoya International Conference Center Event Hall
1. D GENERATIONS CUP – A Block: Hideki Okatani Vs Yuya Koroku
2. D GENERATIONS CUP – B Block: Toi Kojima Vs Takeshi Masada
3. DDT Extreme Title: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs X
4. DDT Universal Title: Naruki Doi (c) Vs KANON
Sasaki has gone missing because Naruki Doi won the DDT Universal Title from Yuki Ueno instead of him. KANON stepped forward as the first challenger expecting his leader to be the new champion. He committed to challenge Doi anyway because he now thinks winning the title from him will cheer Sasaki up and bring him out of hiding.
Kotaro Suzuki, Kip Sabian, Penelope Ford and Shinya Ishida will all be on the show.
DDT “HATSUYUME 2023”, 03/01/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi Vs Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Antonio Honda
3. New Year Special 8-Man Tag Match: Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya Vs Shinshun Pokotan, Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Kazuma Sumi
4. Alice Tour Presents Special 10-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, HARASHIMA, RSP, Soma Takao & Yuki Ishida Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Kotaro Suzuki, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
5. Alice Tour Presents Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Cara Noir Vs MJ Paul & KANON
6. Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Takeshi Masada
7. DDT Universal Title Next Challenger Decision Battle: Naruki Doi Vs Daisuke Sasaki
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs MAO & Shunma Katsumata
Sanshiro Takagi has a mystery tag team partner lined up for his birthday match on 13th January. He will reveal who it is on this show.
Cheers are allowed for the show.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’23”, 04/01/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. HIMAWARI Debut Match: Yuki Aino Vs HIMAWARI
2. Wakana Uehara Debut Match: Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano Vs Arisu Endo & Wakana Uehara
3. Nao Kakuta, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami Vs Raku, Pom Harajuku & Haruna Neko
4. New Year Special Match: Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao
5. Princess Of Princess Title Next Challenger Decision Battle Royal: Rika Tatsumi Vs Mizuki Vs Maki Itoh Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Hikari Noa Vs Suzume
6. International Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Trish Adora
7. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer
8. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
The 10th official year of Tokyo Joshi Pro begins in two days time!
GANBARE☆PRO “ADRENALINE 2023”, 05/01/2023 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
1. Riko Kawahata Vs YuuRI
2. Yuna Manase & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE
3. New Year Special 8-Man Elimination Tag Match: Ken Ohka, Shigehiro Irie, Shota & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Shuichiro Katsumura, Keisuke Ishii, Shota & Hartley Jackson
4. Young Ganbare Cup: Yuki Kanzaki Vs Kentaro Hachisu
5. Young Ganbare Cup: Yumehito Imanari Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Mizuki Watase (c) Vs Tyson Maeguchi
Now that Shota is back in Japan his focus for now is on singles wrestling. This means there is not going to be a ROMANCE DAWN reunion with Soma Takao happening anytime soon. To prove it, they are on opposite teams for the Elimination Tag Match happening here.
The Ganbare☆Joshi division is rebooting this year. Details for what it entails are still to come but for now the women will continue doing their best. Like YuuRI here taking on the visiting Riko Kawahata. YuuRI is also going over to Ice Ribbon tomorrow as a last minute replacement for a few Actwres girl’Z wrestlers who pulled out all of a sudden. Don’t know what’s going on there.
DDT “NEW YEAR’S CURRENT EXPLOSION!”, 07/01/2023 Kanagawa Tsurumi Fruit & Vegetable Market
1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Hideki Okatani & Kazuma Sumi
2. Yukio Naya Vs Takeshi Masada
3. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno & MAO Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku
4. Harimao Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Saori Anou & Yusuke Okada Vs Kazuki Hirata, Saki Akai & Gota Ihashi
6. Chain Death Match: Chris Brookes Vs Demonio Uno
7. “Current Blast” Trademark Rights & Position Battle ~ Legend Resurrected! New Year Aerial Time Bomb & Current Blast Bat Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Soma Takao
The Chris Brookes Vs Demonio Uno bout is now a Chain Death Match.
The show will begin with Atsushi Onita and Shunma Katsumata hosting a explosion themed opening ceremony to bring in the new year.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2023 TOUR IN SHINJUKU ~FIRE!~”, 13/01/2023 Shinjuku FACE
1. Keigo Nakamura Comeback Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs HARASHIMA, Hideki Okatani & Keigo Nakamura
2. Shunma Katsumata Pheromones One Day Experience Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Shunma Katsumata Vs Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Yuya Koroku
3. Special Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & X Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada
4. Special Single Match: Kotaro Suzuki Vs Soma Takao
5. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Winner Of 3/1 Decision Match
It’s going to be an Endless Waltz battle between Kotaro Suzuki and Soma Takao. Suzuki is the person who came up with the name Endless Waltz for the constant Las Magistral Cradles he likes to do. He got the name from a Gundam movie.
The show is happening on Takagi’s birthday. He will have already announced who his tag partner is going to be by the time the show takes place.
The supposed one day Katsumata has to join Pheromones is taking place on this day. Pheromones claim he is their “pet” for one month though.
Keigo Nakamura’s return match is throwing him right in there against BURNING.
Naruki Doi will be on the show.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2023 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 21/01/2023 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Yokohama Two Major Singles Match I: Yusuke Okada Vs Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno
2. Yokohama Two Major Singles Match II: Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino
3. DDT Extreme Title: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Antonio Honda
By accident Antonio Honda has found himself challenging Jun Akiyama for the DDT Extreme Title. He was simply trying to get Super Sasadango Machine out of the ring when he stumbled into Akiyama while the champion was waiting for a new challenger to appear.
BURNING and Pheromones have a couple of singles matches happening leading up to their big battle at the end of the month. No way Yuki Iino and Danshoku Dieno will be on their own for these matches.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2023”, 29/01/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada (c) Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda
2. KO-D Tag Team Titles: X & X (c) Vs X & X
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Yuji Hino
In a rematch from the D-Ou Grand Prix draw that happened in November, Kazusada Higuchi and Yuji Hino are facing off again this time with the KO-D Openweight Title on the line. The previous match had a total of 182 chops thrown between the two and still ended without a winner. Admittedly, Hino demanded the match more because he wants to fight Higuchi again rather than because of a desire to win the KO-D Title for a second time.
BURNING defends their newly won KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles against Pheromones. Kotaro Suzuki was told when you come to DDT, a confrontation against Pheromones is inevitable. Tetsuya Endo & Yusuke Okada are already trying to get into their opponent’s heads by telling them what they do is not sexy at all. Koju Takeda will be the wild card because he is the third man on the Pheromones side instead of Yumehito Imanari.
Shinya Aoki, Naruki Doi and Hikaru Machida will all be on the show.
DDT “HAMAMATSU TRAIN PRO WRESTLING”, 19/02/2023 Shizuoka Tenryu Hamanako Railway
1. Hiroshi Yamato Vs X
DDT will be wrestling on a moving train again! A train filled with 47 passengers will depart from Mikkabi Station and travel along the Tenryu Hamanako Railway while wrestlers fight each other inside it. Hiroshi Yamato is the first wrestler to put his name into the hat.
It’s all over for Shota’s American adventure. He’s now back in Japan wrestling for Ganbare☆Pro with a fresh pep in his step. For me it’s going to make writing these articles a lot more easier now I’m no longer searching for some of the most obscure wrestling shows on the US indies. Although looking at where the winds are blowing, I’ll have to start learning Asian geography next year.
January has a few eventful things lined up. Getting out worldwide is a priority for DDT this Spring. The yen is weak so any chance to make a lot of American dollars at wrestling shows will be taken. A few DDT wrestlers are going over Stateside. Yuka Sakazaki will be going back too but whether or not it is just for a few AEW matches in unknown right now. Miyu Yamashita has a chance to add more international gold to her collection, Maki Itoh is starting to treat America as a second home and Yuki Kamifuku is beginning to spread her wings more.
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Videos
Video starts at 45:25 for the match PWL “PRO WRESTLING LEGACY”, 02/12/2022 Toma Gallery, El Paso, Texas, USA
1. Cosmo Orion Vs Shota
GRAPPLE MAX “GOLD STANDARD”, 03/12/2022 GymKraft, Tampines Street, Singapore
1. Hotshot Wilson Vs Masahiro Takanashi
Video starts at 47:16 for Match #1. Go to 1:39:01 for the Premier Rumble and 1:57:20 for Shota’s entrance PWF “PREMIER RUMBLE”, 03/12/2022 Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA
1. Caine Carter Vs Shota
2. Premier Rumble: Shota enters at #9
Video starts at 55:39 for the match AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 06/12/2022 Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Aaron Solo
Video starts at 1:12:40 for Match #1. Go to 1:50:06 for Match #2 NEW TEXAS PRO “TEXAS CONTENDERS SERIES 9”, 08/12/2022 Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA
1. Shota Vs Shawn Hendrix
2. Mysterious Q Vs Shota
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 09/12/2022 H-E-B Center, Cedar Park, Texas, USA
1. Jon Moxley Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Video starts at 8:35 for the match GLORY PRO “DECEMBER 2 RIZZMEMBER”, 18/12/2022 South Broadway Athletic Club, St. Louis, USA
1. Shota Vs Ethan Price
Video starts at 10:27 for the match AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 19/12/2022 Curtis Cullwell Center, Garland, Texas, USA
1. Ethan Page, Matt Hardy, Isiah Kassidy, Dante Martin, Darius Martin & Konosuke Takeshita Vs Sonny Kiss, Slim J, Jeeves Kay, Peter Avalon, Cezar Bononi & Ryan Nemeth
Video starts at 10:08 for the match AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 26/12/2022 Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Frankie Kazarian
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Results
PWL “PRO WRESTLING LEGACY”, 02/12/2022 Toma Gallery, El Paso, Texas, USA
1. Shota defeated Cosmo Orion with the Frog Splash (?:??).
Shota had already visited El Paso on his travels but didn’t get to wrestle there until the final weeks of his excursion. It was an emotional match for him. Not only did he win but he did so using his hero Eddie Guerrero’s finisher in Eddie’s hometown. He also gave a speech thanking Eddie after the match for making his dream come true.
GRAPPLE MAX “GOLD STANDARD”, 03/12/2022 GymKraft, Tampines Street, Singapore
1. Masahiro Takanashi defeated Hotshot Wilson with a Cradle (12:27).
The master of roll-ups was at risk of losing to such a move. Hotshot Wilson kept trying to find ways to pin Masahiro Takanashi’s shoulders to the mat, turning to a reliance on using La Magistral Cradle. Takanashi found a way to counter the move, roll on top of Wilson and keep him pinned down to take the victory.
PWF “PREMIER RUMBLE”, 03/12/2022 Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA
1. Shota defeated Caine Carter with the Frog Splash (?:??).
2. Premier Rumble: Chris Carter defeated AWOL and Shota by Ring Out (?:??).
The fruits of Shota’s labour was on show with his performance at his last Premier Wrestling Federation event. First he defeated Caine Carter then he entered the 30-Man Premier Rumble at #9. He lasted until the final three and finished in 3rd place (no way am I writing out all 30 entrants for the result).
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 07/12/2022 (Aired 09/12/2022) H-E-B Center, Cedar Park, Texas, USA
1. Jon Moxley defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Bully Choke (14:30).
Takeshita’s second crack at Jon Moxley ended much like the first. A well fought match that ended in defeat thanks to the Bully Choke. The one difference this time around is Takeshita did not submit, instead he passed out to the hold.
NEW TEXAS PRO “TEXAS CONTENDERS SERIES 9”, 08/12/2022 Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA
1. Shota defeated Shawn Hendrix with a Backstabber (?:??).
2. Shota defeated Mysterious Q with the Gannosuke Clutch (?:??).
Shota’s final appearance in the Houston Premier Arena was probably his most eventful. First he was unexpectedly called out by Shawn Hendrix for eliminating him at the Premier Rumble. Shota wasn’t aware of who Hendrix was because Hendrix wears a mask in PWF but wrestles unmasked in New Texas Pro, so he didn’t recognise him. An impromptu match began and Shota won it in seconds, ending the disupute before it ever really got started.
Perhaps the second match was Shota’s biggest win of his entire stay. Mysterious Q is one of the big boys of the Texas scene and he took Shota for a beating. Shota was able to kick out of everything Q could do to him but he hadn’t a hope of winning. That was until Q was distracted by the entrance music of Rudy Garza. Nothing came of it so Q turned his attention back to Shota. His finisher was then countered into the Gannosuke Clutch giving Shota the upset win! Q figured out that Shota was not on Garza’s side (Garza cheated to beat Shota a month earlier) and congratulated Shota on the win.
APAC “RISE – DAY 1”, 10/12/2022 Spacerubix, Puchong, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1. APAC Women’s Title Tournament – Round 1: Steph De Lander defeated Maki Itoh (?:??).
2. APAC Women’s Title Tournament – Round 1: Nor “Phoenix” Diana defeated Yuki Kamifuku (?:??).
Both Maki Itoh and Yuki Kamifuku lost their 1st Round matches in the APAC Women’s Title Tournament. I can’t find much info on what happened other than that.
DFW ALL PRO “SEASONS BEATINGS”, 10/12/2022 Haltom Theater, Haltom City, Texas, USA
1. Triple Threat Match: Shota Vs Rook Tyler Vs Eddie Martinez
Shota’s penultimate match of his excursion took place in DFW All Pro against some of the promotion’s alumni Rook Tyler and Eddie Martinez.
DPW “1ST ANNIVERSARY”, 10/12/2022 Winston-Salem Fairgrounds, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Colby Corino with the Zahi (14:22).
Now we’re cooking! Takeshita came back to Deadlock Pro and had a fight on his hands against Colby Corino. It was a match that got “That shit fucked!” chants after it ended. It was one of Corino’s last matches before news came out that he is WWE bound.
APAC “RISE – DAY 2”, 11/12/2022 Spacerubix, Puchong, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1. Maki Itoh Vs Yuki Kamifuku
I was able to find out Itoh and Kamifuku had a match against each other on the second day of APAC’s weekend. Other than that I don’t know the result. Nor “Phoenix” Diana beat Steph De Lander in the final to win the championship.
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 14/12/2022 (Aired 19/12/2022) Curtis Cullwell Center, Garland, Texas, USA
1. Ethan Page, Matt Hardy, Isiah Kassidy, Dante Martin, Darius Martin & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Sonny Kiss, Slim J, Jeeves Kay, Peter Avalon, Cezar Bononi & Ryan Nemeth when Page pinned Avalon with the Twist Of Fate (7:45).
So Takeshita, The Firm, Top Flight, The Trustbusters and The Wingmen all walk into a bar. Stop me if you heard this one before.
AEW “DARK”, 17/12/2022 (Aired 31/01/2022) Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Angelico with the Zahi (7:39).
This match hasn’t aired yet. Did Angelico get any help from the other members of the Spanish Announce Project? Did the SAT crash the match in an angry shoot? Would Angelico even want Luther & Serpentico to help him in this case?
GLORY PRO “DECEMBER 2 RIZZMEMBER”, 18/12/2022 South Broadway Athletic Club, St. Louis, USA
1. Ethan Price defeated Shota with the Package DDT (?:??).
And he we are at Shota’s final match in America. He couldn’t end it with a win unfortunately. Ethan Price rolled out of a Sunset Flip, hooked Shota in the Fisherman Suplex position and dropped him with a Package DDT to win the match.
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 21/12/2022 (Aired 26/12/2022) Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Frankie Kazarian with the German Suplex (5:01).
Takeshita’s biggest win in AEW so far happens here. Beating Frankie Kazarian is a small step up the ladder.
GCW “TIL INFINITY 2022”, 31/12/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Allie Katch with the I.S.D (11:36).
Hikari Noa is going to be so jealous when she finds out that Itoh got to do death match spots before her. Just like last month Itoh confronted Nick Gage in the middle of the ring to ask him “Where’s my fucking gang at?!?” Then during her match against Allie Katch, Itoh grabbed a pizza slicer and sliced it across Katch’s forehead! If that wasn’t enough, Itoh blased a lighttube over Katch’s head before pinning her with the I.S.D flying DDT.
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Upcoming Appearances
GCW “56 NIGHTS”, 01/01/2023 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. 4 Way Match: Dark Sheik Vs Maki Itoh Vs Billie Starkz Vs Sawyer Wreck
The match will be happening hours after I posted this. Too bad, I’m leaving the result out until next month. Itoh has been in the ring with Dark Sheik and Billie Starkz before. Sawyer Wreck though is a new one and she’s just as bloodthirsty as Itoh if not more.
EVE “EVE 100”, 07/01/2023 229 The Venue, London, England
1. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Lizzy Evo
Yamashita’s new year goal is to become an international Triple Crown holder. If she can win the Princess Of Princess Title from Sakazaki in Tokyo on 4th January then the next step is to defend the EVE Title against Lizzy Evo in London. EVE picked Evo as the next contender because she has beaten multiple former EVE champions including the woman Yamashita dethroned, Alex Windsor.
PWG “BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES 2023”, 07/01/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Battle Of Los Angeles 2023 – Round 1: Michael Oku Vs Konosuke Takeshita
One to scratch off the bucket list. The Battle Of Los Angeles is the premier pro wrestling tournament on the American indies. Simply being included in one is often considered to be a career highlight. Takeshita’s appearance in the 2023 edition was expected and there is excitement brewing over his 1st Round opponent Michael Oku. It will be months before the show will be watched by people who didn’t attend so we all need an ungodly amount of patience to see how he fares. Also fingers cross Sakazaki makes a surprise appearance for a non-tournament match.
WARRIOR “WARRIOR WRESTLING 27”, 21/01/2023 Bendix Arena, South Bend, Indiana, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Zachary Wentz
Takeshita’s debut for Warrior Wrestling has him facing Zachary Wentz of The Rascalz. Strength versus agility will be happening here for sure.
PRESTIGE “VENDETTA”, 21/01/2023 The Glass House, Pomona, California, USA
1. Anything Goes: Shunma Katsumata Vs Sonico
2. Kevin Blackwood Vs MAO
3. ROH Women’s Title: Athena (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
The third and final part of Yamashita’s plan is to take the ROH Women’s Title from Athena in California. Prestige was able to get permission from ROH/AEW/Tony Khan to make the already announced match for the championship.
SPW “CHAMPIONS NEVER YIELD”, 27/01/2023 Foochow Building, Singapore
1. Queen Of Asia Title: Alexis Lee (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku
The Queen Of Asia Title that Alexis Lee currently holds previously belonged to Riho for four years. Lee won it in a 3 Way Match last month and her first defence is against Kamifuku.
SETUP “SETUP EP.11”, 30/01/2023 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. International Single Match: Matcha Vs TJPW X
The next day a wrestler from TJPW will be at a SETUP show to face Matcha, Thailand’s first female pro wrestler. She is also known online as the fan artist Tapla. Who TJPW is sending over will be decided on short notice because the show is happening during the Max Heart Tournament. They won’t be able to send someone over if they are still in the tournament. Is Kamifuku’s Singapore booking just a coincidence?
DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
Latest update with this show is the winner of the D GENERATIONS CUP will be booked for it. So Takeshi Masada still has a chance!
DDT/GCW “GCW VS DDT”, 31/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
GANBARE☆PRO “GIRI GIRI CHOP! 2022”, 27/12/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 422 Fans
1. Munetatsu Nakamura Debut Match: Shinichiro Tominaga defeated Munetatsu Nakamura with a Crab Hold (8:33).
2. GanJo x TJPW Special Tag Match: Yuki Kamifuku & YuuRI defeated Suzume & Yoshiko Hasegawa when Kamifuku pinned Hasegawa with the Famouser (11:15).
3. GanPro Vs Pheromones: Ken Ohka & Yumehito Imanari Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno ended in a No Contest (12:14).
4. GanJo Vs Ice Ribbon: Yuna Manase, Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE defeated Nao Ishikawa, Yuki Mashiro & Kaho Matsushita when Manase pinned Ishikawa with the Short-Range Lariat (13:45).
5. Shota Triumphant Return Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & Shota defeated Soma Takao & Shigehiro Irie when Shota pinned Takao with the Frog Splash (13:02).
6. Kouki Iwasaki Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Last Match: Keisuke Ishii defeated Kouki Iwasaki with the Kneel Kick (11:12).
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Mizuki Watase defeated Hartley Jackson (c) with an Elbow Butt (17:20). *Hartley Jackson fails in V3. Mizuki Watase becomes the 4th Spirit Of Ganbare Champion!
There is a new Spirit Of Ganbare Champion and it is Mizuki Watase! The shock result caps off a rollercoaster year for Watase. He had left DDT for Ganbare☆Pro last December and now 12 months later has become their champion, dethroning the seemingly unstoppable Hartley Jackson. The match was hot from the get go with Watase jumping Jackson in the ring and hitting a Topé outside. Jackson fought back using apron moves and Lariats. Watase fired himself up by using Shinjiro Otani style Facewashes in the corner before hitting a Missile Dropkick to the outside of the ring. Jackson’s size advantage came into play when Watase couldn’t use any lifting style moves and things looked to be over when he hit the Jumping Piledriver. However not only did Watase kick out at two but he gathered the strength to give Jackson a Brainbuster. Watase then rained down Elbow Butt after Elbow Butt to the champion. Jackson hit a second Piledriver only for Watase to shake it off and hit even more Elbow Butts, going for the pin after every strike until he finally got the three count.
Jackson handed the title over to Watase after the match and embraced him. In return Watase told him that he is now part of the Ganpro family. Jackson said Watase is now number one. He also said he has a dream he wants to achieve. His days here at Ganpro was fun but now its time to say goodbye. Jackson left the ring only for other Ganpro wrestlers to surround him and get him back into the ring. Jackson then said he was only kidding and he is part of the Ganbare Family forever! Watase told the fans he hopes everyone in Ganpro gave them even a little bit of energy, courage, hopes and dreams today. He thinks people who chase their dreams are wonderful and should never give them up. He got everyone in Korakuen Hall to stand up and together they all said “We are Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling!” to close out the show. He also got a congratulations from Shigehiro Irie while they were leaving ringside. Backstage Watase threw out a few names for potential title defences. He lost to Tyson Maeguchi and Ken Ohka in singles matches earlier this year. He even said he could defend it against a foreigner or a director from some research institute for all he cares.
One person who definitely is saying their goodbyes to Ganpro today is Kouki Iwasaki. His final match as a contracted member of their roster was a defeat to Keisuke Ishii, losing to the Kneel Kick. After the match Iwasaki told everyone that Ganpro isn’t just about crying and screaming. He is going out into the wrestling world to make himself even bigger and he thinks Ganpro will also grow without him. Maybe someday he will return to Ganpro too! He also told Ishii not to be satisfied with his current position in the company. He should be aiming for the Spirit Of Ganbare Title! Backstage Ishii said he was able to win today because of his willpower. His confidence is growing and he wants the Ganpro fans to have higher expectations for him next year.
Shota returned from America and landed with a statement win over his tag team partner. He pinned Soma Takao with the Frog Splash and said afterwards he wants to focus on being a singles wrestler for the time being. It will be a little while before the dawn of adventure comes again for ROMANCE DAWN. Shota is proud of what he achieved over the last four months in America and he is looking forward to everyone’s reactions to his return. He admits to hitting the wall while he was in America and decided he needs to raise his value back in Japan. So now his goal is to wrap a championship around his waist. Shuichiro Katsumura said he had two big matches in Ganpro this year. Lately he’s been feeling frustrated but seeing Shota again made him feel better and look forward to next year. Takao was disappointed with the loss because according to him it’s the first time he lost to Shota since he was 18 years old. He won’t lose to him in a singles match though. However those thoughts will go away and he hopes the ROMANCE DAWN tag team will resume eventually.
The Ganbare☆Joshi division had a good day at Ice Ribbon’s expense (possibly in more ways than one given the news below). In a 6-Woman Tag Match Yuna Manase scored the pinfall for her team after nailing Nao Ishikawa with a Lariat. Moeka Haruhi thought the Ice Ribbon team were the perfect opponents for her today. For example she was able to learn from Yuki Mashiro in the ring even though Mashiro will be retiring from pro wrestling in a few days time. HARUKAZE was happy to win her last Ganpro match of the year and thinks it gives her momentum for 2023. Manase has spent time in Ice Ribbon this year and thinks everybody over their are very Ganpro at heart. Kaho Matsushita said she wants to fight against the three GanJo wrestlers again and would like to see them come over to Ice Ribbon.
The Ganpro Vs Pheromones match went in a very weird direction. Early in the show a video played showing Yumehito Imanari being attacked backstage. The assailant was then revealed to be… Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari? More confusion was shown when Ken Ohka walked to the ring on his own and Imanari appeared entered with the Pheromones team. Ohka preceeded to fight with a 3-on-1 disadvantage, taking the worst that Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno could throw at them while Imanari cut off any hope Ohka had of turning things around. Ohka finally found a way to snap Imanari back to normal and bring the fight back to even numbers. However the ensuing melee ended up with Shuichi Nishinaga getting caught in the crossfire so many times that the match had to be called off without a winner. Ohka and Iino kept on fighting for a little bit after the bell. When things calmed down, a video was shown of Imanari meeting with his “Fantastic” backstage. They both suggested they should have a singles match together someday (Imanari also described “Fantastic” as somebody “pretending to be Yoshiaki Fujiwara“).
The other women’s match on the show mixed wrestlers from Ganjo with Tokyo Joshi Pro into two teams. YuuRI teamed with Yuki Kamifuku while Yoshiko Hasegawa was partnered with Suzume. While in the build up Kamifuku looked to be annoyed to be paired with YuuRI, in the ring they gelled together as a team just as much as their opponents did. Kamifuku picked up the win by pinning Hasegawa with the Famouser. YuuRI is happy with the result but wanted to win the match by herself to impress Kamifuku and make her unrequitedl love for her come true. Kamifuku admits YuuRI has a cute face, the only thing is she has no real class. That’s why YuuRI wasn’t the one who won the match today. The explanation left YuuRI feeling confused. Kamifuku will think about teaming with her again but only if YuuRI can stop Ken Ohka from posting his creepy morning selfies.
The debut of Munetatsu Nakamura kicked off the show. He was put in the ring against Shinichiro Tominaga and impressed the fans by using a Locomotive Front Chancery Suplex for a nearfall. However Tominaga caught one of his Dropkicks and turned it into a Crab Hold, forcing the rookie to submit. Nakamura has a background in both amateur wrestling and judo. He says he wants to be a pro wrestler who makes the best out of both of those fighting styles. Tominaga liked what he sees and is trying to process why he was chosen to be Nakamura’s first opponent. That role can be a huge gift for a debuting pro wrestler. Tominaga’s first opponent was El Generico for example and that opportunity is something he could never repay even if it takes him the rest of his life. He admits he is nowhere near the global superstar that guy is now but Tominaga hopes Nakamura will grow so both of them can someday carry Ganpro on their backs.
There were some big news announcements at the beginning of the show. The first was the introduction of Michiyoshi Mishima, the newest adviser for Ganpro. Mishima was previously a staff member for Ice Ribbon and had a hand in helping DDT book Budokan Hall back in 2012. He has been a fan of Ganpro going back to the first year of the promotion’s existence, before they were even running full fledged shows. He has a deep knowledge of joshi wrestling so his first call to action involves rebooting Ganbare☆Joshi. He announced that next year Ganjo will hold a show by themselves with no male wrestlers involved in any of the matches.
The next announcement was a new tournament beginning on 5th January called the Young Ganbare Cup. It will be a league format built around encouraging the growth of younger wrestlers. Imanari asked to be one of the first entrants. Ohka was reluctant to agree but Mishima accepted his request. Nakamura will also be taking part with more participants to be revealed soon.
Last but not least, “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA II” will take place in Ota Ward Gymnasium on 9th July! It will be he second year in a row Ganpro will be running in the venue.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 