Heads up, my home internet hasn’t been working all week and I don’t know how long it will take for the problem to be fixed. I’ve been using my phone as a hotspot to write up reports in the meantime but it’s been a slow and unreliable experience. So there might be more delays posting results and other news over the next few days.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE 4TH “FUTARI WA PRINCESS” MAX HEART TOURNAMENT”, 10/02/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Shino Suzuki Vs Haru Kazashiro
2. Yuki Kamifuku, Nao Kakuta & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Raku, Pom Harajuku & Ram Kaichow
3. Moka Miyamoto Vs Kaya Toribami
4. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI
5. Mizuki Vs Zara Zakher
6. Miyu Yamashita & Toga Vs Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino
7. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs Juria Nagano
8. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Final: Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
Should be an eventful show tomorrow. We have the Max Heart Tournament final and maybe a few announcements for what is in store for Tokyo Joshi Pro this Spring.
BASARA “BASARA 241 ~TAKAGARI 22~”, 10/02/2024 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. Lil’ Kraken Vs Masahiro Takanashi
2. FUMA, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Daichi Kazato Vs Masato Kamino, Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
3. Ryuichi Sekine Vs Takato Nakano
4. Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & SAGAT
5. IRON FIST Tag Team Titles: Ryota Nakatsu & Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs KUBITO & Yasu Urano
The IRON FIST Tag Team Titles are being defended tomorrow.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN OSAKA”, 11/02/2024 Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall
1. MJ Paul Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Osaka Specialty Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Hideki Okatani Vs Kazuki Hirata & Tsutenkakka
3. Special Single Match: Makoto Oishi Vs Yoshitatsu
4. Sanshiro Takagi, Jun Akiyama & Toru Owashi Vs Kazusada Higuchu, Yukio Naya & Rukiya
5. Special Single Match: MAO Vs Akito
6. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs HARASHIMA & Takeshi Masada
7. The 37KAMIINA Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
This is the match order for Sunday’s DDT show.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN NAGOYA”, 12/02/2024 Aichi Nagoya City Higashi Sports Center
1. 3 Way Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Toru Owashi Vs Shunma Katsumata
2. KANON & MJ Paul Vs Yuki Iino & Hideki Okatani
3. Nagoya Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Yoshitatsu & Yukio Naya Vs Lowther, Jack Kennedy & Kazuma Sumi
4. Jun Akiyama & Rukiya Vs HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi
5. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Makoto Oishi
6. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Akito
7. The 37KAMIINA Vs SCHADENFREUDE International!: Yuki Ueno & MAO Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada
There is a DDT show on Monday too.
DDT “PRO WRESTLING WINTER FESTIVAL 2024 IN JOETSU DAY 2 – INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN NIIGATA”, 18/02/2024 Niigata Dúo CEREZO
1. Toru Owashi Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuki Iino & Rukiya
3. Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs HARASHIMA & Akito
4. Kazuki Hirata Vs Toy Kojima
5. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Yoshitatsu Vs Tetsuya Endo & Makoto Oishi
6. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Super Sasadango Machine
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani
The main event is a little preview of the upcoming DDT Extreme Title match in March.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 23/02/2024 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Kazusada Higuchu & Kazuma Sumi
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs MAO & Kazuki Hirata
3. Danshoku Dieno Vs Rukiya
4. Special Single Match: Yoshitatsu Vs Soma Takao
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani
6. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda, Takeshi Masada & Mecha Mummy (c) Vs Maya Yukihi, Ram Kaichow, Rina Yamashita, Sanshiro Takagi & Akito
DDT decided to put Rukiya up to the ultimate test. Put him in the ring on his own against Danshoku Dieno!
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 06/03/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ DDT Vs AJPW: Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Rukiya Vs Ryuki Honda, Yuma Anzai & Ryo Inoue
The DDT Vs AJPW rivalry continues with some upcoming matches being built around DDT’s BURNING against All Japan’s New Period. Rukiya and Ryo Inoue are showing up too.
GANBARE☆JOSHI “GANJO SUPER DARIUS ’24”, 09/03/2024 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. Mixed Tag Match: Riara & Shota Vs Alex Lee & Tyson Maeguchi
For now this is the last regular Ganbare☆Joshi show on the schedule. Both Riara & Shota will be leaving Ganbare☆Pro soon so this may be the only time they will team together. During the week Riara made her debut for WAVE so there is one possible landing spot for her when she moves on from GanPro.
Banny Oikawa will be on the show.
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2024 ~27TH ANNIVERSARY 5 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 17/03/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Tsubasa Suzuki Debut Match: Tsubasa Suzuki Vs X
2. Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Ken Ohka
3. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Yuma Aoyagi
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino (c) Vs Ryuki Honda & Yuma Anzai
5. DDT Extreme Title: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Hideki Okatani
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs X
The last time Shunma Katsumata and Hideki Okatani fought for the Extreme Title, Katsumata won the match but also fractured a bone in his foot. That forced him to vacate the title. Ever since then both he and Okatani dreamed of having a rematch with the same championship on the line. That has now become a reality after Okatani became the No. 1 Contender this week. Katsumata said he will come up with a match stipulation that both of them will approve of.
Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino are the new KO-D Tag Team Champions and want to defend the belts against anyone no matter where they come from. Well here comes Ryuki Honda & Yuma Anzai from AJPW! They had fun wrestling in DDT earlier this week that they want to fight in DDT even more and against stronger opponents. Endo & Iino promised to show them just how much depth DDT has.
Before GanPro goes independent, Ken Ohka must fight his soon to be ex-boss Sanshiro Takagi! Ohka feels the need to face Takagi and defeat him in the first step towards making GanPro grow bigger than DDT. For Takagi this is the biggest test he can give Ohka to see if he will handle his upcoming responsibilities with all of his effort. If Ohka does this half-heartedly then Takagi will destroy him and that could mean DDT will destroy GanPro too!
GANBARE☆PRO “TONIGHT ON THE HILL WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE MOON 2024”, 28/03/2024 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. Ueno Special 6-Man Tag Festival: Yuko Miyamoto, Isami Kodaka & Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Shota, Soma Takao & Shinichiro Tominaga
The final GanPro show under CyberFight’s management is inviting Yuko Miyamoto and Isami Kodaka over for fun. It’s been established that Munetatsu Nakamura adores both Miyamoto & Kodaka so getting a chance to team with Yankee Two Kenju must be a dream come true for him.
The next set of wrestlers announced for the show are all familiar faces from the AEW circuit. Nick Wayne, Bryan Keith and Billie Starkz will all be there.
A press conference was held in Tokyo today announcing Ganbare☆Pro will be leaving CyberFight at the end of March 2024 to become its own independent wrestling company. Attending the conference were members of CyberFight staff and GanPro wrestlers to give more information along with other updates related to the news. CyberFight president Sanshiro Takagi said he had spoken with Ken Ohka about GanPro’s future after the promotion celebrated its 10th anniversary last year. The two came to an agreement that the best way for GanPro to grow bigger is to go independent. Ohka said he has been wrestling under Takagi’s management for 20 years now and he has gotten his big breaks because of him. Over the last 10 years Ohka made many new friends through GanPro and he decided going independent will allow the promotion to reach out to even more people. He feels under debt to Takagi and believes the best way to repay him will be to make GanPro successful enough to surpass DDT. Ohka’s goal for GanPro from the very beginning was to turn pro wrestling into a major sport where pro wrestlers can become more famous than other pro atheletes. That goal has not changed.
GanPro currently has shows scheduled up to up until July. Their final event under CyberFight will be on 28th March. Up until now GanPro were able to book important venues like Korakuen Hall and Ota Ward Gymnasium because of CyberFight’s management and resources. Normally Korakuen Hall does not do business with clients unless they are a registered company. GanPro intends to relaunch itself as its own company when they leave CyberFight and their current representative Michiyoshi Mishima will be positioned as the company’s director. Ohka will also become a company board member in the future. They are on track to be fully registered by early March and will update everyone as soon as details are finalized.
According to Takagi the relationship between DDT and GanPro will not change. It will be similar to the current relationship between DDT and BASARA, which is another independent promotion that originally begun as a DDT sub-brand before spinning off into independence. That should mean wrestlers from one side will be able to have matches on the other side when requested. The two companies may also continue sharing venues to run back to back shows on the same day or weekend. Takagi would like GanPro content to remain on Wrestle Universe but we will have to wait on an announcement in the future for more details. Nothing has been confirmed yet about the future of Ganbare☆Joshi but Ohka is thinking of continuing the brand on a irregular basis. The two Spirit Of Ganbare Championships belonging to GanPro will remain as they are.
The champion Shuichiro Katsumura said he was happy and grateful to work under CyberFight. They handled all of the office work so Katsumura could wrestle every month and perform in venues as large as Super Saitama Arena. By going independent Katsumura understands it will be up to GanPro to handle their own behind the scenes work from now on. He has a lot of anxiety over that but hopes all of the wrestlers can work together to get rid of those worries, enjoy the hardships and create a bright kind of pro wrestling. As the current Spirit Of Ganbare World Champion and also a senior figure on the roster, Katsumura thinks he has to be a leader for the locker room from now on.
Several changes to the roster is coming because of this news. Both Shinichiro Tominaga and Yumehito Imanari have signed on to become fully affiliated with GanPro along with their home promotions starting on 1st Feburary. Tominaga has wrestled on GanPro shows all this time as a representative of the amateur indie group Come On Wrestling Party, or CWP for short. He sent in a message saying Ohka approached him a short while ago asking if he would like to join GanPro. Tominaga felt like he would not belong here but agreed to the offer. He now feels a stronger sense of belonging to GanPro than ever before and he promises to do his best to develop the company. Imanari’s new agreement is to remain in GanPro while also representing the Ibushi Pro Wrestling Institute. He left his video staff role with CyberFight last September but remained as a GanPro wrestler ever since. He has close friendships with both Ohka and Kota Ibushi so feels obligated to take care of both of them.
Unfortunately Shota, Yoshiko Hasegawa and Riara have all decided to end their contracts with GanPro and become freelancers at the end of March. Shota feels he is at his best as a wrestler right now and is entering a new period of his life where he gets to be a bit selfish. Hasegawa sent in a message saying she is using her last matches in GanPro to reevaluate the current wrestling enviornment before thinking what to do next. It was not an easy decision for her to make but her time in GanPro is irreplaceable for her. Riara describes her decision to leave as a graduation and she is thankful for her friends im GanPro that she’s been able to train and wrestle often in her daily life. She wants to make the most of what precious time she has left in the promotion. Then she will challenge herself even more in the future. Ohka said the people who come to GanPro do so in order to become who they want to be so he sees this as wrestlers graduating from GanPro instead of quitting. It is possible that GanPro will still book them again in the future but Ohka wants to prioritise taking care of those who stay with the company.
The GanPro roster when it goes independent currently looks like this. The fully affiliated wrestlers are Ken Ohka, Shuichiro Katsumura, Yumehito Imanari (along with the Ibushi Institute), Keisuke Ishii, Shinichiro Tominaga (along with CWP), Mizuki Watase, Munetatsu Nakamura, HARUKAZE, Yuna Manase, YuuRI and Shu Sakurai. The wrestlers from outside GanPro who are confirmed to continue making regular appearances with the group are Takuya Wada, Tyson Maeguchi, Moeka Haruhi and Banny Oikawa.
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I woke up to this bombshell of a news story this morning and I still don’t know what to make of it. There is so much to unravel I don’t know where to start. GanPro is doing what BASARA did in 2019 and that’s leaving CyberFight to go strike it out on their own. I don’t think that was a good move back then and I worry this will not be a good move either. This kind of follows the recent trend of pro wrestlers in Japan leaving their home companies on the indies because being a freelancer is more financially viable for them. Look at the current state of the Japanese wrestling scene and ask yourself is there really room out there for another self-sufficient company right now? What I need to find out is if this is really Ohka and friends having big aspirations that made leaving CyberFight a necessity or if business decisions had to be given by other people higher up the pecking order. If this is a sign of things to come then we could be in for another whopper of a news story by the time we get past March.
As a fan, the concern I have comes from the above BASARA comparison. It is not an easy task finding BASARA coverage compared to most of the other indies. I struggle finding things in BASARA to write about outside of the match results. If GanPro loses that stuff because the website reports were all on DDT’s end then that will annoy me greatly. However if GanPro remains on Wrestle Universe then it will not be much of a problem. They have an audience there and I don’t think it would be worth losing them for another streaming service that could have a smaller reach. Whatever the new website is just keep updating it often so I can have an excuse to keep following it. This has been a really fun little promotion to write about from its very beginning and they provide connections to companies that DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro do not.
What will happen to the three people leaving seems to be all over the place. Shota’s reasoning makes the most sense because his profile is the highest it’s been for a while and he can find bookings anywhere. What Hasegawa will get up to is much harder to guess. Taking a step back to look at the big picture before deciding where to go sounds like a good idea but it’s also a vague enough excuse to cover up if she already knows where she is going next. I would like to see her in TJPW more but she is appearing in Ice Ribbon a little more often lately. But YuuRI wrestles there all the time and she is still committed to GanPro so Hasegawa would not need to leave if that was her landing point. Riara at first sounds to me like she’s leaving pro wrestling entirely but she says otherwise so I’d like to be wrong on that. Hook her up with Sumire Natsu and let them team up in the 666’s and P.P.P. Tokyo’s of the world.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024 TOUR IN SHINAGAWA”, 21/01/2024 Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX 242 Fans
1. Kazuki Hirata & Yuni defeated Akito & Ilusion when Hirata pinned Ilusion with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (11:51).
2. Special Single Match: Kazusada Higuchi defeated MJ Paul with the Brain Claw Press (10:16).
3. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino defeated Takeshi Masada & Rukiya when Iino pinned Rukiya with a Lariat (12:09).
4. Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi defeated HARASHIMA, Hideki Okatani & Kazuma Sumi when Oishi submitted Sumi with the Fujiyama Knee Lock (9:50).
5. Special Tag Match: Yukio Naya & Yoshitatsu defeated Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata when Naya pinned Katsumata with The World’s Best Back Drop (11:18).
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated Soma Takao & Shota (c) when KANON submitted Shota with the Cobra Twist 2.0 (14:46). *ROMANCE DAWN fails in V4. DAMNATION T.A becomes the 81st KO-D Tag Team Champions!
7. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) defeated Bryan Keith with a Running Palm Sole (18:27). *V4 for MAO.
Two title matches highlighted today’s finale for the weekend of shows held inside Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX. The headline match was MAO defending the DDT Universal Title against Bryan Keith, the American bounty hunter who already has a win against him that happened in the USA last year. This time Keith went for a bigger plan of attack, throwing MAO into the corner post with an Exploder Suplex from the ring apron. MAO had scouted his opponent’s finisher the Emerald Tiger Driver and was able to avoid taking it. But Keith was also too tough to be pinned with the Avalanche Michinoku Driver II. MAO used his own Tiger Driver among other moves but couldn’t put Keith away. But the constant attacks took their toll and Keith was finally pinned after being hit with a Running Palm Strike.
At first Keith refused to shake MAO’s hand after the match but that was just so he could bow to him instead. MAO responded with his own bow and then they shook hands. When Keith left the ring, Hikaru Machida suddenly appeared and climbed in. MAO remembers him from a KO-D Tag Team Titles match they had together a year ago. Machida remembers it too and has unfinished business with MAO. He wants to fight him one on one with the Universal Title on the line! MAO accepted the challenge but there was no authority figure at the show today to book the match. MAO told Machida it will have to happen sometime in February because he already has a tag match with TAKA Michinoku scheduled for the next Korakuen Hall show. DDT later confirmed the title match will happen at the 25th February Korakuen show.
New KO-D Tag Champions were crowned when DAMNATION T.A defeated ROMANCE DAWN! Of course there was cheating involved throughout. MJ Paul was at ringside to give his team the numbers advantage whenever the referee couldn’t see it. That put the champions on the ropes. Daisuke Sasaki gave Soma Takao the Pedigree and then hit Shota with a Spear. Shota got a second wind but that was cut off by KANON who submitted him with the Cobra Twist 2.0. KANON bragged about DAMNATION T.A getting their revenge with a complete victory over the team that won the belts from himself and Minoru Fujita. Sasaki then called for Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino to come out and challenge them, not noticing that they had already approached the ring behind him while he was talking. Endo pointed out that he & Iino had already declared their intention to challenge for the KO-D Tag Titles after they won their match earlier in the show. They also beat Sasaki & KANON in Osaka two weeks ago and they expect the same result to happen when the titles are on the line. Backstage Sasaki told the reporters he wants the title match to happen on 7th February because it is DDT’s next show after Korakuen. DDT later confirmed the match will happen there.
Is Yukio Naya starting to figure it all out? He & Yoshitatsu defeated Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata and the finish all came down to him. He got rid of Ueno with a Choke Slam and pinned Katsumata with The World’s Best Back Drop. He said on the microphone that when he joined DDT he ended up making irreplaceable friends, meeting seniors he respects and also got to fight Ueno. Naya wants to show his gratitude to all of them by becoming the best and strongest in DDT. He thinks this is why he will beat Ueno for the KO-D Openweight Title fair and square. After listening to his speech, Ueno ignored a handshake and gave him the NeppoWER!! pose instead.
Backstage Yoshitatsu said he noticed a change in Naya from when he wrestles to when he speaks. It reminded him of the time when he was a young lion watching Yoshihiro Takayama from ringside. Takayama was the biggest monster in wrestling back then and Yoshitatsu thinks Naya can become the biggest monster in wrestling today. He sees himself as a link between both and wants to team with Naya more for that reason. Yoshitatsu also said this will not be a teacher-student relationship but a team made up of equals.
The KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions may have figured out the key to defending their titles against Hikaru Sato’s team at the end of the month. It all comes down to Danshoku Dieno’s ass! The lightbulb above Jun Akiyama’s head went off after he used the Exploder Suplex position to push HARASHIMA face first into Dieno’s rear end and then shoved Hideki Okatani’s face into the same target. Makoto Oishi was then clear to put Kazuma Sumi in the Fujiyama Knee Lock for the submission victory. D.O.A also have brand new T-shirts on sale so they are determined more than ever to retain the titles and survive as a unit otherwise DDT will get mad at them.
Both Yuni and Ilusion wanted to film the opening match on their phones while they wrestled because that’s what everybody does in 2024. Akito and Kazuki Hirata didn’t understand at first but got into the groove as the match progressed.
DDT “NEW YEAR FAN APPRECIATION DAY!”, 20/01/2024 Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX 354 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: KANON defeated Yuni with the Cobra Twist (8:07).
2. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Ilusion with an Inside Cradle (10:06).
3. New Year’s Six Major Single Match ~ 30 Count Outside & Sumi Only 2 Count Fall Match: Danshoku Dieno defeated Kazuma Sumi with the Danshoku Driver (8:07).
4. 4 Way Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Yuki Ueno & Kazuki Hirata, Yoshitatsu & Akito and Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino when HARASHIMA pinned Hirata with the Somato (12:38).
5. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: Jun Akiyama defeated Rukiya with the Knee Butt (12:04).
6. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: Yukio Naya defeated Takeshi Masada with The World’s Best Back Drop (12:23).
7. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Hideki Okatani ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00).
8. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Bryan Keith, Soma Takao & Shota defeated MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Makoto Oishi when Keith pinned Oishi with the Emerald Tiger Driver (18:57).
One of the ideas DDT put together for its Fan Appreciation Day show was to have MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Makoto Oishi bring back NωA for one night only! Unfortunately they lost their match but if you ask MAO that means nothing has changed since NωA were last around. What has changed is the first appearance of Bryan Keith in DDT. He scored the pinfall on Oishi, setting his sights on tomorrow’s match with MAO for the DDT Universal Title. MAO is calling the match an unusual battle of opposites. He is Japanese and fights with an American indies style while Keith is American and uses a Japanese Strong Style! Keith said there have been many wrestlers from Texas who made a name for themselves in Japan and he is going to be next when he gets his bounty from MAO!
Another element in the main event was ROMANCE DAWN getting to fight ShunMao. If Shota can get his way he would like to defend the KO-D Tag Team Titles against MAO & Katsumata in the future. Soma Takao told him to first focus on defending the belts against DAMNATION T.A tomorrow. They need to because Daisuke Sasaki & KANON attacked them backstage after the show! During the fight Sasaki told ROMANCE DAWN that Shinagawa is their graveyard and DAMNATION T.A will have a party tomorrow when they win the titles. However the champions stood their ground and fought off their attackers.
Out of all of the Special Single Matches that took place on today’s show Hideki Okatani was the only one one the underdog side that did not lose. He didn’t win either but getting to fight Tetsuya Endo to a 15 minute time limit draw is nothing to sneeze at. In fact the final moments of the match saw Endo miss the Burning Star Press and Okatani hit him from behind with a Lariat to the back of the head. The bell rang right as Okatani crawled over to cover Endo.
Rukiya was given a chance to show his toughness because Jun Akiyama was beating him up outside the ring. Rukiya beat the 20 count and also kicked out of the Exploder Suplex. He was finally beaten when Akiyama pulled down one of his kneepads and hit a raw Knee Butt for the win.
Kazuma Sumi really wanted to win his match so he asked Danshoku Dieno if he could only need a 2 Count pinfall to beat him. Dieno talked with Yukinori Matsui about it and agreed on the condition that he got to add a rule too. Dieno then attacked Sumi before that rule was revealed. They fought out of the ring and up to the balcony behind a curtain. Sumi reappeared holding Dieno’s tights and a bare bottom could be seen sticking out from the curtains. Sumi made it back to the ring by the time Matsui counted to 20. But instead of ending the match, Matsui kept counting. It turned out the other rule was a 30 count was applied for being outside the ring! Dieno snuck back into the ring in his thong revealing that the butt in the balcony was not his. It was Makoto Oishi’s butt! Dieno then put Sumi in the Lip Lock and pinned him with the Danshoku Driver.
Before any of the matches began there was a contract signing for the three upcoming title matches in DDT. First was MAO and Keith talking about the Universal Title bout. Keith said he beat MAO once in America and he will do it again in MAO’s home country. MAO said he will never forget the match they had in America. He had Yoshihiko by his side then but this time he cannot find the doll anywhere so he has to fight Keith on his own. He wants the fans to support him as much as he can because he admits it is possible he can lose the title to Keith.
Next up was Kazuki Hirata and Katsumata for the DDT Extreme Title. Hirata has decided on what rules the match will have. It will be a Toy Kojima Challenge Death Match! When a wrestler gets a 2 Count pin Kojima will have to take on a challenge. If Kojima succeeds then that wrestler wins the match! Katsumata convinced Hirata to let him help choose what challenges Kojima will have to do. Hirata said if he wins this match then it will be fate for him to break the record for most Extreme Title defences.
Last was the KO-D Openweight Title match between Yuki Ueno and Yukio Naya. The challenger Naya said he has a strong desire to win the title and will do so with everything he has. Ueno talked about winning the 2022 D-Ou Grand Prix and then losing his title shot against Kazusada Higuchi. He expects the strongest version of Naya to come fight him and he wants to beat him to show he is the strongest future DDT has. The two shook hands after signing the contract.
DDT “NEW YEAR’S CURRENT BLAST! 2024”, 14/01/2024 Kanagawa Tsurumi Fruit & Vegetable Market 220 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Wind And Clouds! Takagi Castle Match: Kazuki Hirata & Danshoku Dieno defeated Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA & Masahiro Takanashi when Takagi’s team were unable to build the Castle (10:00).
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yusuke Okada defeated Yoshitatsu, Kazusada Higuchi & Akito when Iino pinned Akito with the Spear (10:56).
3. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Shota with the Crossface Lock (8:58).
4. Special Single Match: Soma Takao defeated KANON with the Sorarina (8:24).
5. Special 4 Way Match: Demonio Uno defeated MAO, Mecha Mummy and Mecha Pandita when Uno pinned Pandita after Pandita was run over with a car (14:06).
6. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata defeated Yukio Naya & Rukiya when Katsumata pinned Rukiya with the Totonou Splash (15:32).
7. All Asia Tag Team Titles – Current Blast Bat & Board Tag Death Match: Atsushi Onita & Toy Kojima defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani (c) when Kojima pinned Okatani after a Sandwich Current Blast Bat Full Swing with Onita (11:36). *Eruption fails in V2. DDO becomes the 122nd All Asia Tag Team Champions!
Once again the All Asia Tag Team Titles have been taken by Atsushi Onita. This time around Toy Kojima is his partner in crime, earning the first proper championship of his career. They defeated Eruption in an Exploding Bat & Board Death Match where the items were rigged with three and a half times the amount of explosives than they normally would be. Onita himself took the first explosion when Yukio Sakaguchi hit him with a baseball bat. Kojima grabbed the bat and hit Sakaguchi with an explosion for revenge. Sakaguchi got his own back by Power Bombing Kojima through an exploding board. Onita blinded Hideki Okatani with the Poison Mist. Together with Kojima, they each grabbed an exploding bat and hit Okatani with it at the same time. Kojima then pinned him for the three count.
The team known as Dramatic Dream Onita (or DDO for short) celebrated their prize and left ringside. That left Eruption defeated in the ring. Sakaguchi had said leading up to the match that they were going to fight as if they would disband if they lost. It turns out he was living up to his word and Eruption are splitting up as of today! Okatani said everyone in Eruption helped get him to this point but he cannot rely on Sakaguchi forever. From here on out Okatani is going to tell his own story. The final two members of Eruption then thanked the fans for their support, took off their Eruption shirts and left them behind in the ring.
As for DDO they already have new plans in the works after becoming the All Asia Tag Champions. Onita wants to bring the belts back to All Japan! Kojima will follow him, ready to make an explosion anytime, anywhere. There is also a third member of DDO that should not be forgotten about. Shunma Katsumata is on their side and wants the three of them to challenge for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles! If they win they will then exclusively defend the titles in exploding death matches! DDO is ready to take over DDT!
Yuki Ueno had some harsh words for Yukio Naya after their tag match. He said it cannot be helped whenever Naya loses a match and he just rushes home. Being strong is not enough to take the KO-D Openweight Title from Ueno. If all Naya has is strength then there is no way he will win at Korakuen Hall on 28th January. Naya brushed off the comments and said he is looking forward to the actual title match. He is strong now and able to beat Ueno.
Kazuki Hirata is trying to gain membership into The 37KAMIINA even if it is just temporary. He tried interviewing Ueno & Katsumata after their match and joined in on the NeppoWER!! pose. However that does not mean he’s been fully accepted into the unit yet.
Fresh back from America, MAO had a lot of crazy ideas he wanted to do so DDT stuck him in a match with Mecha Mummy, Mecha Pandita and Demonio Uno. That way when things went out of control no living creature under contract to DDT would be harmed. MAO brought out a bazooka that shot fireworks at Mummy and then drove a van into Pandita. Demonio took advantage and pinned Pandita to win.
The latest batch of matches between ROMANCE DAWN and DAMNATION T.A has resulted in ROMANCE DAWN declaring war on their enemies! Daisuke Sasaki cheated to beat Shota by using a chair and giving him a Low Blow. Sasaki then immediately tried to interfere in the match between Soma Takao and KANON but Shota was right behind him to get back in his way. In the chaos Sasaki hit KANON with a chair by mistake and Takao used the opportunity to get the win. Shota complained about Sasaki’s attitude and said ROMANCE DAWN will still be the top tag team throughout 2024.
The opening match had to be changed in the last minute because Yuni caught the flu and couldn’t be at the show. So instead the other five wrestlers came up with a new match type. Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA & Masahiro Takanashi were given the task of building a castle of chairs inside the ring within a 10 minute time limit. It was up to Hirata & Danshoku Dieno to stop them and knock over the castle whenever they could. If Takagi’s team couldn’t complete the castle after 10 minutes then Hirata & Dieno were the winners.
This week already feels like the craziest January schedule of wrestling shows in years.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’24”, 04/01/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Toga Vs Moka Miyamoto, Juria Nagano & Kaya Toribami
2. Raku, Ram Kaichow & Pom Harajuku Vs HIMAWARI, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo
3. Mizuki Vs Nao Kakuta
4. Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao
5. Riho Vs Shino Suzuki
6. Aja Kong Vs Wakana Uehara
7. Special Single Match: Rina Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
8. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) Vs Yuki Arai
9. Princess Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Masha Slamovich
The participants of tomorrow’s three title matches all gathered together for contract signings and a press conference earlier today. Masha Slamovich bragged about her success in 2023 that included pinning Miyu Yamashita at “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”. She thinks it is time for a new Princess Of Princess Champion to be crowned in 2024. If she becomes champion she intends to defend it around the world and have the longest reign in the title’s history. Yamashita said she visited many states in America last year and wherever she went, Slamovich was always there. After wrestling each other so much in USA, Yamashita wanted to wrestle her in Japan and asked Tetsuya Koda to bring her over to have this title match. She feels the pressure but enjoys it because she wants to take bigger risks so her fourth title reign can stand out.
Three teams are now ready to fight each other for the vacant Princess Tag Team Titles. As far as Daisy Monkey are concerned the situation has not changed for them. Suzume & Arisu Endo want to win the belts that were held by Tokyo Joshi Pro’s strongest tag teams. Daydream last held the titles in 2020 so Miu Watanabe would like to make her daydreams with Rika Tatsumi come true again. Tatsumi always thought it was strange that Daydream were not the next challengers in the first place. Yuki Aino is happy to get a chance to win the tag titles with Ryo Mizunami. Her tag partner is often called “Everyone’s Aniki” but when they win Aino wants it to change to “My Aniki”! Mizunami said 2024 is the Year Of The Dragon and she was also born in the Year Of The Dragon. So it is fate that she and Aino can leave a mark in TJPW by becoming the new tag champions!
Yuki Arai signed the International Princess Title match contract while waiting for Max The Impaler to show up. She talked about this being her second shot at the title and how she lost the Princess Tag Titles at last year’s Ittenyon show. She wants to start off her year shining and become champion for Saki Akai. Max then finally arrived at the building and marked the contract with their thumb which counts as their signature. Max then pulled out a hair band that Arai recognised. It is the hairband that Max took from her when The Wasteland War Party beat Reiwa AA Cannon for the Princess Tag Titles last year! Arai promised to win the belt and also get her hairband back!
GANBARE☆PRO “2024 GANBARE☆THE FIGHT BEGINS”, 04/01/2024 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
1. YuuRI & Riara Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa & Kaho Matsushita
2. Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE Vs Shigehiro Irie & Banny Oikawa
3. New Year Special 3 Way Match: Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Yuni Vs Ilusion
4. GanPro New Year Special 6-Man Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii, Yumehito Imanari & Mizuki Watase Vs Shota, Soma Takao & Shinichiro Tominaga
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Shuichiro Katsumura (c) Vs Ken Ohka
Munetatsu Nakamura must be feeling like a million bucks after winning the Best Newcomer category at the Japan Indie Grand Prix Awards on New Year’s Eve.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 05/01/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Ilusion
2. Eruption Vs D.O.A!: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi
4. BURNING Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Tetsuya Endo & Yusuke Okada Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
5. DISASTER BOX Final Match: HARASHIMA Vs Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata
5. Jun Akiyama, Yoshitatsu & Yukio Naya Vs Akito, Yuki Iino & Rukiya
6. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno, MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toy Kojima & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda, Takayuki Ueki, Takeshi Masada & Mecha Mummy
The first new addition to DDT this year is Yoshitatsu. He left All Japan a few days ago and chose DDT as his landing spot because the place reminds him of how fun pro wrestling can be. Jun Akiyama is someone in particular he wants to be in the ring with again so they get to team up in Yoshitatsu’s first match under this new arrangement.
Daisuke Sasaki approached Tetsuya Endo after today’s show and suggested they should join forces again. His argument is Endo no longer has any ties to BURNING without Akiyama involved and with that he shouldn’t have anything holding him back either. He left before Endo could respond so what will happen next?
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024 TOUR IN OSAKA DAY 1”, 06/01/2024 Osaka 176BOX
1. Kazusada Higuchi Vs Rukiya
2. Special Single Match: Yoshitatsu Vs Kazuma Sumi
3. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs HARASHIMA & Yuni
4. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Yuki Iino & Toy Kojima
5. Special Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Toru Owashi & Shunma Katsumata
6. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs Takeshi Masada
7. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno & MAO Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yusuke Okada
8. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles – DEAD OR ALIVE Contra DEAD OR ALIVE: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) Vs Bodyguard, Naruki Doi & Tsutenkakka
The next day Yoshitatsu faces Kazuma Sumi.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024 TOUR IN OSAKA DAY 2”, 07/01/2024 Osaka 176BOX
1. Makoto Oishi Vs Yuni
2. Special Single Match: Yoshitatsu Vs Takeshi Masada
3. Jun Akiyama & Toru Owashi Vs Akito & Yuki Iino
4. BURNING Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Tetsuya Endo & Yusuke Okada Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
5. Special Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Rukiya Vs HARASHIMA & Kazuma Sumi
6. Special Single Match: Hideki Okatani Vs Toy Kojima
7. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Danshoku Dieno
8. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Yukio Naya, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi
Then the day after that he takes on Takeshi Masada. The previously announce 3 Way Match Masada was in is now just Makoto Oishi against Yuni.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024 TOUR IN SHINAGAWA”, 21/01/2024 Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX
1. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Soma Takao & Shota (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
2. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Bryan Keith
Sasaki & KANON have become the next challengers for the KO-D Tag Team Titles. Sasaki is trying to rile up ROMANCE DAWN over their connection to the Young Communication generation. Shota is proud to be part of that circle of wrestlers but Sasaki thinks his connection to the group is insignificant. Soma Takao meanwhile wants revenge on DAMNATION T.A for the chairshot they gave him earlier today.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024”, 28/01/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. MAO Birthday Commemorative Match: MAO Vs X
2. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Naruki Doi
3. DDT Extreme Title: Kazuki Hirata (c) Vs Shunma Katsumata
4. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Yukio Naya
The winner of the D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 is Yukio Naya which means he is now lined up for a KO-D Openweight Title shot! Yuki Ueno admits Naya proved he is the strongest wrestler in DDT but the championship belongs to only the most interesting. The battles over different visions for what DDT should be will continue to flare throughout this year.
The previous DDT Extreme Champion is back from injury and wants to win the belt again. Shunma Katsumata has been a a big supporter of Kazuki Hirata’s current title reign and is eager to find out what rules Hirata will come up with.
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2024 ~27TH ANNIVERSARY 5 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 17/03/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Tsubasa Suzuki Debut Match: Tsubasa Suzuki Vs X
2. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Yuma Aoyagi
The biggest match yet in the DDT Vs All Japan rivalry has been announced. Konosuke Takeshita will be representing DDT on its 27th Anniversary against Yuma Aoyagi! The former Triple Crown Champion wants to introduce his own “Dramatic Dream” to Takeshita and sees this match as a path that will lead him down to Yuki Ueno and the KO-D Title!
For the first time DDT has an intern pro wrestler. Tsubasa Suzuki is a student wrestler from Hitotsubashi University World Pro Wrestling Alliance (or HWWA for short). He was born in Shizuoka on 14th August 2002. He is 176cm tall, weighs 80kg and has a background in track and field as well as his student wrestling club. He will work several shows for DDT on an internship. After a certain amount of time DDT will decide if they want to officially hire him.
DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 THE FINAL”, 03/01/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,194 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul defeated Soma Takao, Yuki Iino & Yuni when KANON submitted Takao with the Cobra Twist 2.0 (8:15).
2. Jun Akiyama & Makoto Oishi defeated Yusuke Okada & Kazuma Sumi when Oishi submitted Sumi with the Fujiyama Knee Lock (7:42).
3. Special Tag Match ~ Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani when Kojima pinned Okatani with a Modified Facebuster (9:37).
4. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Antonio Honda when Hirata pinned Honda with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (12:05).
5. Special Tag Match ~ DDT Vs AJPW: Jun Saito & Rei Saito defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Rukiya when Rei pinned Rukiya with the Saito Iginari Smash (11:40).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan defeated Christmas Tree (c) by Pinfall (8:11 pm). *Kuroshio TOKYO Japan becomes the 1,600th champion.
6. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan defeated Danshoku Dieno with the Ikemenrana (12:31). *V1 for Kuroshio TOKYO Japan.
7. The 37KAMIINA Vs SCHADENFREUDE International!: Yuki Ueno & Yuki Iino defeated Masahiro Takanashi & Takeshi Masada when Ueno pinned Masada with the Jul.2 (10:28).
8. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – Final: Yukio Naya defeated Tetsuya Endo with The World’s Best Back Drop (26:59).
At the end of 2022 Yukio Naya made it all the way to the D-Ou Grand Prix final but could not win the tournament. He made it his goal to do one better in the 2023 Grand Prix and right here at the start of 2024 he achieved it! Tetsuya Endo was also determined to win today’s final but he couldn’t defeat Naya even with Exploder Suplexes, Spinning Torture Rack Bombs and Burning Star Presses. The last move in particular was blocked by Naya and served him the opening to take over the match. Endo relied on Rolling Chops to try and get back into it but Naya cut him off with Knee Lifts and a Choke Slam for a nearfall. Naya then overpowered Endo with The World’s Best Back Drop to put him away and win the Grand Prix!
Naya burst into tears after the match when Kenta Kobashi presented him with the trophy and posed with him for a photo. Naya thanked everyone for supporting him from his family to everyone in DDT. This means so much to him because a few years ago nobody ever thought he could compete at this level. He still has one dream that hasn’t come true yet and that is to win the KO-D Openweight Title! He called Yuki Ueno down to the ring and challenged him for the championship so everyone will see who really is the strongest in DDT. Ueno accepted but told him the title should be held by the most interesting guy in DDT. The title match will take place at Korakuen Hall on 28th January.
As for Endo, he thought 2024 was going to start out well for him because he was on the winning team of the Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament on New Year’s Eve. But after losing to Naya today he now feels like he fell to the bottom of DDT and has to climb out of Hell. Then suddenly backstage Daisuke Sasaki approached Endo after his post-match interview with the media. Sasaki explained the reason why Endo lost today is because he did not have Jun Akiyama next to him. But that also means there is nothing tying down Endo anymore either. Sasaki suggested that Endo does not need BURNING anymore and they should go change the world together. But before Endo could respond, Sasaki told him to relax and think about what he just said because they will see each other again soon.
Ueno was meant to team with MAO in the semi-main event but MAO had fever symptoms and was pulled from the show. Parts of the card were changed around and Ueno got to team with Yuki Iino instead. Masahiro Takanashi & Takeshi Masada jumped them early but Ueno & Iino quickly rallied together. Things went pair shaped when Iino’s Lariat missed Masada and hit Ueno by mistake. Masada tried to capitalise but Ueno held on until he could counter attack and pin Masada with the Jul.2. The result left SCHADENFREUDE International feeling disappointed because Chris Brookes was in attendance for the first time since getting his surgery. Brookes suggested they disband right away but everyone else convinced him not to. Instead they figured out Masada can get revenge on Ueno beating him today by pinning him for the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles in two days time!
After Danshoku Dieno made his entrance to the ring for his match, footage was shown of Kuroshio TOKYO Japan and Seigo Tachibana hanging out backstage. They opened a nearby locker and out fell the Christmas Tree that won the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title on Christmas Eve! Tachibana decided to pin the tree but Kuroshio stopped him and stole the pin to become the champion instead. Kuroshio then forced Tachibana to get into the ring with Dieno while he completed his long and elaborate entrance. Dieno kept Tachibana in the Lip Lock while Kuroshio pranced around the audience until his theme song looped back to the beginning. He finally attacked Dieno to start the match and they brawled through the crowd with the back of their tights all pulled down. The fight went up to the commentary table where Kenta Kobashi was seated. Dieno tried to stumble over for a kiss but Kobashi sent him away with a Chop. The match returned to the ring where Tachibana tried to get involved again. He ended up getting a water bottle shoved up his rear by Dieno that Kuroshio then had to pull out. Makoto Oishi forcibly filled Dieno’s mouth with wasabi but the Lip Lock missed Kuroshio and landed on Tachibana instead. Kuroshio then rubbed the wasabi onto his crotch and pinned Dieno with a Hurricanrana to retain the Iron Man Title. Backstage he admitted he doesn’t even know what this championship is. He likes it but wants to win a proper title as well as compete in DDT more often in 2024.
If DDT thought they were now safe from The Saito Brothers bringing them doom then they are sorely mistaken. Rei Saito had one more appearance left for them and this time he brought along his brother Jun Saito. The two of them fought Kazuasada Higuchi & Rukiya. Higuchi did a good job handling them in the ring but it was a more difficult challenge for Rukiya. In the end they just couldn’t handle so much doom. Jun used a Lariat to take out Higuchi and then The Saito Brothers together threw down Rukiya with a Double Choke Slam for the win. Rei said next time he is going to beat up Rukiya even more! Jun however showed interest in seeing Higuchi show up in All Japan some day. Apparently Higuchi and The Saito Brothers already have a history together going back to their sumo days over a decade ago.
For the final time the three main members of DISASTER BOX all teamed together and they finished the occasion with a win. Toru Owashi brought along the lucha to fight Akito while HARASHIMA suddenly had bad flashbacks when Sanshiro Takagi started using Hiroshi Tanahashi’s moves on him to celebrate the New Japan wrestler’s promotion to company president. Antonio Honda relied on Gongitsune like he always does but Kazuki Hirata’s eyes were protected by his Hirata GO! glasses. The deflected attack allowed Hirata to pin Honda with the Miracle One Shot Cradle.
After the match HARASHIMA told the others DISASTER BOX is going away but it will always feel like the unit is still around whenever they are together. They all left the ring together when Shunma Katsumata suddenly ran out and dragged Hirata back into the ring. Without taking any breaths Katsumata challenged Hirata for the DDT Extreme Title. He was the previous champion who had to vacate the title due to injury but admitted Hirata has become the kind of Extreme Champion he always wanted to be. They agreed to have the title match on 28th January.
Katsumata’s challenge came shorty after his return match from injury. He teamed with Toy Kojima to take on Eruption. He made sure to start off the match against Hideki Okatani and even thanked him for waiting all this time for him to return. But it was Kojima who stole the spotlight by using a new Spinning Flapjack move to pin Okatani for the 3 count. After a brief staredown with Yukio Sakaguchi, Kojima told Eruption this will be the same when they fight in the exploding death match on 14th January! Katsumata said now that he’s back, The 37KAMIINA will make DDT more hotter than ever!
Jun Akiyama & Makoto Oishi gave Kazuma Sumi a tough night in the ring. Yusuke Okada was there to help out until he missed a Diving Headbutt aimed for Akiyama. Sumi found his second wind and used Oishi as a footstep to Dropkick Akiyama off the ring apron. However Oishi dodged the Mickey Boomerang and planed Sumi with the Miracle Ecstasy. That would have been the end but Akiyama pushed Oishi away during the pin and gave Sumi an Exploder Suplex as payback for the Dropkick. Oishi then made Sumi tap out to the Fujiyama Knee Lock.
DAMNATION T.A now find themselves in the midst of a KO-D Tag Team Titles shot after they won the opening match. Sasaki took out Yuni with a Spear and then tricked the referee into distracting Shota because he was holding a chair. While that was going on Sasaki hit Soma Takao with another chair and KANON applied the Cobra Twist 2.0 for the submission win. Afterwards KANON wished ROMANCE DAWN to have a miserable new year and declared himself and Sasaki as their next challengers. The two sides agreed to have the match on 21st January. Sasaki insulted Shota for claiming he is a part of the Young Communication generation. According to Sasaki, Shota was only a supporting role and that name should only be used for the likes of Shigehiro Irie and Keisuke Ishii!
The first DDT show of the year means a lot of big announcements to get through along with other major news stories. First, the DDT Vs All Japan rivalry will continue throughout 2024. Ryuki Honda and Yuma Anzai will be at the 7th February DDT show in Shinjuku. Then on 17th March at DDT’s 27th Anniversary show Konosuke Takeshita will face Yuma Aoyagi one on one! Aoyagi was in attendance to greet the fans after the announcement. He hoped Takeshita would be here too but he has to wait until 17th March to show Takeshita his own Dramatic Dream. Later backstage Aoyagi told reporters he would also like to face Yuki Ueno for the KO-D Title too!
Kaisei Takechi sent in a video to promote his pro wrestling debut on 25th February. The celebrity who is part of THE RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE told fans he worked with DDT wrestlers during the filming of Fukumen D and felt indebted to them. He is very happy to repay them by doing this match. This is just his first step into the pro wrestling world and he is honored to do it on such a wonderful stage.
Student pro wrestler Tsubasa Suzuki has applied to DDT as an intern wrestler. He will debut on the 27th Anniversary show on 17th March. Suzuki comes from Hitotsubashi University World Pro Wrestling Alliance and previously appeared on DDT shows a year ago under the ring name “Mother’s Child” Mazakon Kid. The point of an internship is so students can get work experience before starting their careers so he will wrestle on DDT shows for a certain amount of time. At the end DDT will talk with Suzuki and decide if he can join the company. Suzuki told the fans he is the world’s first intern wrestler and promises to do his best to become a beloved member of DDT. He likes high flying wrestling and has a lot of respect for Kota Ibushi and Naomichi Marufuji (bad timing to bring those two names up) so he thinks it will be great if he could become like them (hopefully not in their present forms).
Miu Watanabe appeared in the ring to promote tomorrow’s annual Ittenyon show for Tokyo Joshi Pro. She will be part of the 3 Way Tag Match to determine the new Princess Tag Team Champions.
During the show’s opening ceremony Yoshitatsu appeared and announced he will become a regular part of DDT shows starting on 5th January. The wrestler had just left All Japan over the new year. He said when he fought in DDT a couple of times in 2023 it reminded him of the fun side of pro wrestling that he had forgotten. One match he had with Jun Akiyama in particular stood out for him and he would like to have more tough battles against him. Also DDT working with Chris Jericho and Matt Cardona who he both knew from WWE made it an appealing place for him to look for an opportunity.
Chris Brookes told the fans he would like to come back from his surgery as soon as possible. He feels fine physically but does not know when he can return to wrestling again yet.
The last piece of news came after the show had ended. Sanshiro Takagi announced to reporters he will be taking an indefinite break as a pro wrestler after DDT’s Sumo Hall show on 21st July. He is doing this for several reasons from taking care of his health to concentrating more on managing Cyberfight. He also said he will soon need to begin the process of finding his successor because he believes current management across Japan’s pro wrestling industry is aging out. This is not intended to be him retiring from the ring because he will start wrestling again when his health improves. However he does not know when that will happen which is why he saved this announcement for the media after the show. He may go into more details later this week.
Happy new year! December featured plenty of CyberFight related appearances in North America. Tokyo Joshi Pro held its second show in USA. They also had two seperate championship matches happening within minutes from each other in two different countries. Konosuke Takeshita remains stuck in AEW limbo, Maki Itoh wrapped up the latest leg of her US bookings, Shota paid a visit to California and MAO partied hard as the end of 2023 counted down to midnight.
So what is there new to expect in 2024 when it comes to international stuff for DDT and its family? I think the focus will be what Yuka Sakazaki will get up to. I will continue following her career using these articles. If she sticks within AEW/ROH then it won’t be much work to see what she gets up to every month. But I want to see her spread out to some of the indies. At least go to Deadlock Pro every now and then. She owes them a match anyway.
Video starts at 11:02. MPW “THE LONG NIGHT”, 08/12/2023
MPW Academy, Chatsworth, California, USA
1. Miggy Rose & Michael Hopkins Vs Shota & J2 Mattioli
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 08/12/2023 Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
1. Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal Vs Powerhouse Hobbs & Konosuke Takeshita
DREAMWAVE “GOOD AS GOLD”, 09/12/2023 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita & Emi Sakura Vs Zayda Steel & Maggie Lee
SKYFIRE PRO “NAVIDAD NIGHTMARE”, 10/12/2023 Bay City Brewing Co., San Diego, California, USA
1. Rebel Storm Vs Shota
TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023 The Vermont Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA 400 Fans – Super No Vacancy
7. Special Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly
Video starts at 16:20. MPW “NAUGHTY OR NICE 2023”, 15/12/2023 MPW Academy, Chatsworth, California, USA
1. Shota Vs Jr Mattioli
PANDEMONIUM PRO “HOLIDAY IN LA”, 17/12/2023 Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Mike Bailey Vs Miyu Yamashita
CIRCLE 6 “BARROOM BLITZ”, 31/12/2023 Knucklehead Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Nate Webb
———————————————————————–
Results
BLACK LABEL PRO “SLAMILTON”, 02/12/2023 Berwyn Eagles Club, Berwyn, Illinois, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Rachel Armstrong with the Itoh Deluxe (11:22).
Let’s begin with a show that has become an annual event for Black Label Pro. Six months ago Rachel Armstrong had a match here against Miyu Yamashita so now it was Itoh’s turn to see what the fuss is all about. A naïve Armstrong fell for Itoh’s crocodile tears act but took control using her speed and agility. A Northern Lights Suplex in particular came very close to getting her the win. But Itoh had control for most of the match, trapping Armstrong in the Itoh Special and then building her way up to the Itoh Deluxe to make her tap out.
GCW “WHAT IS YOUR CHOICE?”, 03/12/2023 Roulette Intermedium, Brooklyn, New York, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Mike Bailey with a Cradle (16:14).
Is this the upset of the year? Mike Bailey learned the hard way not to kick Itoh in the head because it is as hard as iron! When the shock of that wore out, Bailey took her seriously, even pulling out the Flamingo Driver that Itoh kicked out of. His frustration led to his undoing because when he grabbed Itoh’s legs to do a Boston Crab, Itoh twisted over and cradled Bailey for the flash pin! Itoh had to console Bailey after the match because he burst into tears over the result.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 06/12/2023 (Aired 08/12/2023) Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
1. Powerhouse Hobbs & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal when Hobbs pinned Daniels with The World’s Most Dangerous Slam (8:38).
What was looking to be Takeshita’s only match of the month was teaming up with Powerhouse Hobbs to beat Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal after the latter tried standing up to The Don Callis Family. During the month Don Callis announced that his unit will now be using “Family Rules” for their tag team matches against Chris Jericho & Kenny Omega going forward, which is just their name for Freebird Rules. The storyline they’re doing is falling apart though because Omega is now out of action indefinitely with diverticulitis.
MYSTERY WRESTLING “MYSTERY WRESTLING 5”, 07/12/2023 Centre Aydelu, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
1. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) defeated Jody Threat (?:??). *V3 for Max The Impaler.
There was a surprise International Princess Title match for the fans at this month’s Mystery Wrestling show. Evil Uno runs these events every couple of months, airs them live on his Twitch channel and keeps the VOD on his Patreon. Max The Impaler was brought in for a match against Jody Threat and agreed to put the championship on the line. TJPW gave their authorization and recognizes the result as an official title defence.
MLW “ONE-SHOT”, 07/12/2023 Melrose Ballroom, Queens, New York, USA
1. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Delmi Exo with the Skull Kick (9:13). *V2 for Miyu Yamashita.
2. MLW World Featherweight Title: Janai Kai (c) (w/ Salina de la Renta & Jesus Rodriguez) defeated Maki Itoh with the Modified Dragon Sleeper (7:27). *V2 for Janai Kai.
Both Itoh and Yamashita were at MLW’s final show of the year, each in a championship match. Itoh was given a big title match against Janai Kai for the MLW World Featherweight Title. She had an unfair disadvantage though because Kai had both Salina de la Renta and Jesus Rodriguez (the former Ricardo Rodriguez from WWE) in her corner to interfere when needed. There was also an unexpected run-in from the masked wrestler Ichiban that distracted Itoh long enough for her to miss a Diving Headbutt. If that wasn’t bad enough, Matt Striker on commentary completely did not understand Itoh’s gimmick. Maybe he had good intentions by trying to put Itoh over as a fighter to be taken seriously but he’s been so bad as a colour commentator for so long he should not get the benefit of the doubt.
Yamashita was at the show to defend the Princess Of Princess Title against Delmi Exo. Her opponent is a former MLW Featherweight Champion and brought her best fight to the match. Yamashita kicked out of the Ocean Cyclone Suplex and got Exo up to the top rope for an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment. Yamashita kept the pressure up and Exo was helpless by the time she was beaten with the Skull Kick. The result helps establish Yamashita’s current title reign being about taking on opponents from around the world. Her next challenger will be back in TJPW on 4th January against Masha Slamovich.
DREAMWAVE “UPRISING”, 08/12/2023 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Shazza McKenzie with the Skull Kick (10:59).
Over to DREAMWAVE where Yamashita appeared on a weekend of shows for them. The first one was an all women’s event where Yamashita beat Shazza McKenzie in a rematch from their ROH bout from earlier this year. DREAMWAVE later announced they will be spinning off a new all women’s wrestling promotion called Uprising: Women’s Athletes so don’t be surprised to see Yamashita show up there in 2024.
MPW “THE LONG NIGHT”, 08/12/2023 MPW Academy, Chatsworth, California, USA
1. Miggy Rose & Michael Hopkins defeated Shota & J2 Mattioli when Rose & Hopkins pinned Mattioli with a Sunset Flip & Body Press (?:??).
Shota spent the month of December travelling over to America again for a short tour. Just like last year, Shota found went to the obscure end of the US indies including Millennium Pro Wrestling who welcomed him back with open arms. Shota teamed with one of his opponents from the last excursion, J2 Mattioli to take on a team called 24K. Sadly the team lost when Miggy Rose & Michael Hopkins used a double team Sunset Flip to pin Mattioli. Afterwards Mattioli apologised to Shota for losing and then challenged him to a singles match for the following week. Shota accepted and shook his hand.
DREAMWAVE “GOOD AS GOLD”, 09/12/2023 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita & Emi Sakura defeated Zayda Steel & Maggie Lee when Sakura pinned Steel with the Double Arm Backbreaker (8:02).
There was a small change to the match when one of the original opponents Zamaya was bumped up to the semi-main event for the DREAMWAVE Women’s Title. So Yamashita & Emi Sakura instead found themselves teaming up against Zayda Steel and Zamaya’s replacement Maggie Lee. A lot of the match was Steel & Lee working on Yamashita so Sakura can get the hot tag. Still it’s not everyday you get to see Sakura & Yamashita teaming together. They won when Sakura gave Steel the Double Arm Backbreaker and Yamashita gave Lee the Attitude Adjustment, leading to a double pin.
EWF “PRO WRESTLING LUCHA LIBRE”, 09/12/2023 VFW Post 8737, San Bernardino, California, USA
1. EWF Vs The World: Kid Noah defeated Shota (?:??).
An outdoor show held in December doesn’t sound that pleasant even if it’s in California. Shota wrestled twice outdoors during the tour. The first one was at Empire Wrestling Federation where he lost to Kid Noah.
GCW “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM 2”, 09/12/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Johnny Game Changer & Taya Valkyrie defeated Nick Gage & Maki Itoh (17:42).
Itoh’s last GCW appearance of the year had Maki Death Kill back together to take on the husband and wife team of Johnny Game Changer & Taya Valkyrie. The match went from a normal two vs two tag into a brawl with chairs and doors being used as weapons. Valkyrie put Nick Gage through one of the doors and then tried giving Itoh the Road To Valhalla. Itoh countered it into a Roll Up but Valkyrie then blocked the counter and grabbed onto Itoh’s tights to pin her for the three count. Itoh demanded a singles match against Valkyrie afterwards.
SKYFIRE PRO “NAVIDAD NIGHTMARE”, 10/12/2023 Bay City Brewing Co., San Diego, California, USA
1. Rebel Storm defeated Shota with the Thunderstruck (?:??).
Shota’s second outdoor match of the month was for Skyfire Pro Lucha Libre. He tried his best to outwrestle his opponent but Rebel Storm stopped him in his tracks with a Headbutt followed by the Twist Of Fate that he calls Thunderstruck.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023 The Vermont Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA 400 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku defeated Rika Tatsumi & Amira when Harajuku pinned Amira after the Wasteland War Justice with Max (10:20).
2. Trish Adora defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Lariat (8:42).
3. Mizuki defeated Sandra Moone with the Cutie Special (10:21).
4. Miu Watanabe defeated Hyan with the Tear Drop (8:33).
5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta (c) defeated Janai Kai & Shazza McKenzie when Noa pinned McKenzie with the Blizzard Suplex (9:42). *V3 for Free WiFi.
6. Taya Valkyrie defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Road To Valhalla (10:47).
7. Special Tag Match: Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly defeated Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh when Slamovich pinned Yamashita with the White Knight Driver (18:00).
MPW “NAUGHTY OR NICE 2023”, 15/12/2023 MPW Academy, Chatsworth, California, USA
1. J2 Mattioli defeated Shota with the Playmaker Lariat (?:??).
The match between Shota and Mattioli was a mostly friendly back and forth match between the two. Mattioli ended up using his Playmaker Lariat to win, capping off a year he was really happy with.
PANDEMONIUM PRO “HOLIDAY IN LA”, 17/12/2023 Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Keita defeated Shota (?:??).
2. Miyu Yamashita defeated Mike Bailey with the Skull Kick (?:??).
Okay so this month we found out that Bailey’s weakness is Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers. He lost to Itoh in GCW and here in Pandemonium Pro he lost clean to Yamashita! There were no tears in this one, instead these two tried to kick the tar out of each other!
Shota completed his USA tour by making Pandemonium Pro his final stop. Originally he was going to face Vinnie Massaro but that guy is busy living it up on a NOAH tour right now. So Shota was given the newcomer Keita as a replacement opponent. Keita made the most of this opportunity and beat the more experienced Shota.
AEW “WORLDS END”, 30/12/2023 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York, USA
1. Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Sting & Darby Allin defeated Ricky Starks, Big Bill, Powerhouse Hobbs & Konosuke Takeshita when Guevara pinned Starks with a Shooting Star Press (15:42).
What a mess this storyline has turned out to be. Omega falling ill meant that he and Jericho couldn’t go ahead with challenging Ricky Starks & Big Bill for the AEW World Tag Team Titles so they had to throw in The Don Callis Family, Sting, Darby Allin and the return of Sammy Guevara to make it an 8-Man Tag Match. Takeshita was not part of the lineup when the match was made but then a day later AEW swapped him into the match and took Kyle Fletcher out. Then on the day of the show allegations of Jericho’s past behavior resurfaced online from Nick Hausman as part of Jericho’s online spat with a lawyer with a that could not have been handled any more uglier than it did. Almost everybody except the alleged victim is coming out of it as a bunch of massive scumbags. So come to the part of the show when the match happened and there was an uncomfortable atmosphere that could be felt through the screen as the match went on. I wish I could instead focus on Takeshita getting to wrestle Sting and throw Allin around like he’s Yoshihiko but everyone watching was in a bad mood over what emerged throughout the day.
CIRCLE 6 “KING OF THE DEATHMATCHES”, 30/12/2023 Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. King Of The Deathmatches – Round 1 – Ultraviolent Baptism: Bobby Beverly defeated MAO with the Fisherman DDT (?:??).
How about taking part in a deathmatch tournament to bring out the end of the year? MAO entered the King Of The Deathmatches that was being held by Circle 6 and faced Bobby Beverly in the 1st Round. MAO brought along chairs and plastic boxes but soon smashed lighttubes over his opponent. He also put Beverly through a bunch of chairs with a Double Arm Piledriver and used high flying moves but couldn’t get the win. A triple Low Blow spot that also included the referee brought the match back to an even fight. Wooden skewers were stabbed into each other’s heads and Beverly smashed MAO with lighttubes before pinning him with the Fisherman DDT.
CIRCLE 6 “BARROOM BLITZ”, 31/12/2023 Knucklehead Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) defeated Nate Webb with the Diving Radio Silence from the Bar Counter (?:??). *V3 for MAO.
MAO stuck around in Circle 6 on New Year’s Eve so he could defend the DDT Universal Title against Spyder Nate Webb. The match went outside to Santa Monica Blvd so they could fight on the street as traffic drove by.
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Upcoming Appearances
MLW “KINGS OF COLOSSEUM”, 06/01/2024 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Nao Kakuta
2. MLW World Featherweight Title: Janai Kai (c) Vs Hyper Misao
TJPW’s working relationship with MLW continues into the new year. Hyper Misao has been selected to be Kai’s next challenger for the MLW Featherweight Title.
Also happening on the show is a TJPW offer match between Moka Miyamoto and Nao Kakuta. Miyamoto is only just now starting to wrestle abroad while Kakuta has already done it a few times in 2023. The two matches here are a little glimpse of what TJPW in Philadelphia will look like next April.
GCW “NO COMPADRE”, 12/01/2024 Thalia Hall, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. Maki Itoh, Effy & Allie Katch Vs Matt Cardona, Steph de Lander & Broski Jimmy
Itoh and Bussy all share grudges with Matt Cardona & Steph de Lander so it was inevitable that Maki Death Bussy would join forces to take on Deathmatch Royalty. The latest development in the story is Cardona forced Jimmy Lloyd to become his new disciple in GCW, turning Lloyd into Broski Jimmy.
GCW “56 BIRDZ”, 13/01/2024 Valley Dale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Tony Deppen
The day after that Itoh will take on Tony Deppen in a first time match. GCW at times have promoted Deppen as their gatekeeper. A win for Itoh here could be a sign of things to come for her in GCW.
F1RST “WRESTLEPALOOZA – NIGHT 2”, 14/01/2024 First Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
No match announced yet for Itoh’s appearance at F1RST.
SPW “CHAMPIONS NEVER YIELD 2”, 19/01/2024 Foo Chow Building, Singapore
1. Mizuki Vs Alexis Lee
2. SPW Southeast Asia Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Da Butcherman & Dr. Gore
In November 2022 CDK defeated The Horrors to win the SPW Southeast Asia Tag Team Titles. Now after more than a year later comes the rematch. Dr. Gore got to wrestle in Japan for a little while and gain some experience while Da Butcherman kept himself busy in Singapore. There is a chance the match might not go ahead because Chris Brookes had surgery this month to remove a tumor from his abdomen. At the time of writing there is no decision made yet on when he can start wrestling again. But even if he can’t make the trip, Masahiro Takanashi still will.
SPW’s own Alexis Lee continues to be the opponent of choice for joshi coming into Singapore. She lost the Queen Of Asia Title to Yuki Kamifuku last month but is looking to bounce right back with a win against Mizuki.
SETUP “BANGKOK SHOWDOWN”, 20/01/2024 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Kevin Weng & Pondhub Vs Anont Alonzo & Mister Suchart
If CDK can go ahead with travelling together in January then they have a tough challenge waiting for them in Thailand. SETUP is making them defend the IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles in a 3 Way Match against St. John Innocent College and THE GOOD DEAL. CDK won the titles from THE GOOD DEAL in an impromptu match bck in October. But even though the former champions are getting a rematch, they have to share it with St. John Innocent College. That kind of multi-man chaos is an environment that CDK benefits from.
GCW “LOOK AT ME”, 26/01/2024 Egypt Shrine Center, Tampa, Florida, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
What will await Itoh in Florida next month?
BZW “X”, 03/02/2024 Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France
1. Yoshihiko Vs X
2. MAO Vs X
MAO is coming to France and he’s brining Yoshihiko with him! Also Minoru Suzuki and KUSHIDA are booked for the show too. Banger Zone Wrestling won’t know what hit them.
TNT EXTREME “MERSEYSIDE MASSACRE”, 04/02/2024 Hanger34, Liverpool, England
1. Yoshihiko Vs X
Yoshihiko heads over to Liverpool the next day for TNT Extreme. Surely not by itself though.
GANBARE☆PRO “BAD COMMUNICATION 2023”, 27/12/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 603 Fans
1. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Shota & Soma Takao (c) defeated Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie when Shota pinned Ishii with the Gannosuke Clutch (10:00). *V3 for ROMANCE DAWN.
2. Makoto, HARUKAZE & Banny Oikawa defeated Sumire Natsu, YuuRI & Riara when HARUKAZE pinned Riara with the Flame Spear (11:59).
3. Special Single Match: Yoshiko Hasegawa defeated Arisu Endo with the Diving Double Knee Attack (6:50).
4. Yuko Miyamoto defeated Munetatsu Nakamura with the Moonsault Press (10:02).
5. GanPro Vs GLEAT All Out Battle ~ GanPro’s Famous Elimination 10-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Takuya Wada, Mizuki Watase, Shinichiro Tominaga & Tyson Maeguchi defeated Kaz Hayashi, Minoru Tanaka, Takanori Ito, Check Shimatani & Jun Tonsho (20:13).
5a. Kaz Hayashi eliminated Shinichiro Tominaga with the Final Cut (5:17).
5b. Mizuki Watase eliminated Jun Tonsho with the Venetian (10:00).
5c. Takanori Ito eliminated Tyson Maeguchi by Over The Top Rope (11:55).
5d. Yumehito Imanari & Mizuki Watase eliminated Takanori Ito by Over The Top Rope (12:09).
5e. Minoru Tanaka eliminated Mizuki Watase with HEAT Clutch (15:37).
5f. Minoru Tanaka and Takuya Wada eliminated each other by Double Over The Top Rope (17:25).
5g. Yumehito Imanari eliminated Check Shimatani with the Lou Thesz Press (19:36).
5h. Yumehito Imanari eliminated Kaz Hayashi with the Lariat (20:13).
6. Special Single Match: Ken Ohka defeated Kuma Arashi with the Shin Flame Spear (14:03).
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Shuichiro Katsumura defeated Isami Kodaka (c) with a Moonsault Press (19:47). *Isami Kodaka fails in V5. Shuichiro Katsumura becomes the 6th Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Champion!
The year closes on Ganbare☆Pro with a brand new Spirit Of Ganbare Champion! After clearing through most of the GanPro roster in his reign, Isami Kodaka finally fell and made Shuichiro Katsumura the promotion’s new hero. Katsumura went into the match knowing he would have to do something new to beat Kodaka. When different submission holds to the arm couldn’t get the job done, Katsumura climbed the top turnbuckle and did a Moonsault onto Kodaka to beat him! According to the new champion, he used his own form of pro wrestling to defeat Kodaka’s pro wrestling.
Katsumura didn’t want to shake Kodaka’s hand after the match because he’s not going to do that pretend friendship stuff from the Shonen Jump comics Kodaka likes. By taking the SOG Title away from him he also takes away the BASARA wrestler’s “passport” to enter GanPro. The result also means Katsumura is a double champion in GanPro and that should give him some power to make decisions. So as long as he is champion, Kodaka’s passport will be automatically renewed. However Kodaka refused the gesture and dared Katsumura to raise the SOG Title even higher than he did because Kodaka’s Shonen Jump story is not done yet!
When Kodaka left, Katsumura called down the GanPro roster to the ring so they could all finish the show together. Ken Ohka was given the microphone and he praised everyone in GanPro for working so hard. He then challenged Katsumura for the SOG Title because he wanted to strike while the iron is hot! Katsumura agreed to do a title match against Ohka at Itabashi on 4th January. However Ohka then also challenged him for the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles in Osaka on 6th January with HARASHIMA as his partner! Katsumura accepted on behalf of Ground Absolute so GanPro’s 2024 will start off with two title matches in a three day period!
The reason why Ohka wants these title shots as soon as possible is because he is on a wave of momentum after finally beating Kuma Arashi in a grudge match. Arashi had Koji Doi helping with interference at ringside until Shota pulled him away. With no more trouble in his way, Ohka hit Arashi with the Flame Spear followed by the new and improved Shin Flame Spear to get the three count.
Despite the bad blood between them, Ohka thanked Arashi because every awful thing he did to him over the last six months helped Ohka grow as a 46 year old pro wrestler. Arashi didn’t want to speak but Doi stopped him from leaving. DoiKuma fully accepts defeat today but they enjoyed the atmosphere of GanPro fans booing them and cheering for Ohka. This may be the last time DoiKuma are in a GanPro ring so they asked if they could dance to “Bad Communication” with Ohka one last time? Ohka said of course they could! He also told them that everyone who is exposed to GanPro even once will always become a GanPro fan. The three of them then celebrated while “Bad Communication” played.
The good times for GanPro could be found even further down the card because the home team were victorious against GLEAT in the 10-Man Elimination Match! GLEAT dealt the first blow when Kaz Hayashi pinned Shinichiro Tominaga but Mizuki Watase evened the score by taking out Jun Tonsho. GLEAT went ahead again thanks to Takanori Ito getting Tyson Maeguchi over the top rope and then kicking him to the floor for an elimination. Seeing Ito as the big threat, both Watase & Yumehito Imanari worked together to get him out of the ring. Minoru Tanaka used his old finisher from his HEAT days to pin Watase. Takuya Wada wanted to make Tanaka submit but their struggle send both of them over the ropes to the apron. Check Shimatani then decided to sacrifice Tanaka to eliminate Wada and Dropkicked the both of them to the floor. That left Imanari in a 2-on-1 disadvantage but he pulled off the upset by pinning both Shimatani and then Hayashi to win the match for GanPro! Imanari later said GanPro and GLEAT should do a GxG collaboration again somewhere. That might happen because Hayashi does not want his interactions with Imanari to end like this! Things between Watase and Shimatani were a bit friendlier given their past together in DDT.
Munetatsu Nakamura looks up to Yuko Miyamoto a lot so he decided to wear a purple yankee costume for his match against him. Nakamura hit some big dives and used the Michinoku Driver II for a nearfall. Miyamoto turned the tables by blocking a German Suplex and then throwing his opponent head first over him to the canvas. Miyamoto won the match with the Moonsault Press but was left impressed by Nakamura. He said looking at Nakamura is like looking at a young Isami Kodaka. He wants to see more of him and what he can grow into. Nakamura said if he had beaten Miyamoto at Korakuen Hall on the 1st anniversary of his debut it would have created a great memory for him. Instead he has some regrets over losing. But he wants to continue fighting Miyamoto and even team up with him so he can get stronger.
After so many tries and close calls, Yoshiko Hasegawa has finally won a match by herself! She took on the visiting Arisu Endo from Tokyo Joshi Pro and they had a back and forth match. The difference maker was Hasegawa using a Diving Double Knee Attack from the turnbuckles to pin Endo for the 3 count. Hasegawa said it took her one year and 4 months to finally win a match but she now has a 1-1 record against Endo so they still need to figure out who is stronger. She eventually wants to fight for a championship someday so this result finally puts her on the starting line. The move she used was her first time using it so she hasn’t come up with a name for it yet.
There was more Ganbare☆Joshi action before that with a 6-Woman Tag Match. Makoto led HARUKAZE & Banny Oikawa to victory against the hedonistic team of Sumire Natsu, YuuRI & Riara. HARUKAZE scored the pin on Riara with the Flame Spear.
For the second time this year ROMANCE DAWN defended the KO-D Tag Team Titles in the opening match of a show. Here in GanPro the champions took on Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie in a match that connected Team Drift and the Young Communication generation together. Ishii aimed big by giving Shota the Double Arm Driver from the top rope but Soma Takao came to his partner’s rescue. Shota was then able to trap Ishii in the Gannosuke Clutch to win the match. Takao said it meant a lot for him and Shota to defend the titles against friends and former champions Ishii & Irie. Shota thinks all four of them are still rivals for each other to chase after. Irie said he does not know how many more chances he will get to team with Ishii so he appreciates the times when he does. He will always want to team with him one more time.
Yuna Manase announced she will have her first match back from injury on 23rd February! She told the fans about the frustrations she felt throughout the past year by being on the sidelines but those frustrations will soon disappear. She will be spending the next two months getting ready for her return. She already came up with ideas for a new costume and has decided on who she wants her opponent to be. That will be revealed on GanPro’s social media accounts soon.
Moeka Haruhi made an appearance during the opening announcements to greet the fans and joke around with ring announced Michiko Nonaka.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING 10TH ANNIVERSARY PERFORMANCE ~YUKA SAKAZAKI GRADUATION SPECIAL~”, 06/12/2023 Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall
1. Wakana Uehara, Shino Suzuki & Runa Okubo Vs HIMAWARI, Toga & Haru Kazashiro
2. Miu Watanabe, Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami
3. Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta, Mizuki & Moka Miyamoto Vs Hyper Misao. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku
4. Yuka Sakazaki & Rika Tatsumi Vs Antonio Honda & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
5. Yuka Sakazaki Graduation Special 3 Way Match: Yuka Sakazaki Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Shoko Nakajima
Tomorrow is the final day of Yuka Sakazaki as a Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestler and it is in the same venue where she had her debut match a decade ago.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Rika Tatsumi & Amira Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
2. Moka Miyamoto Vs Trish Adora
3. Mizuki Vs Sandra Moone
4. Shoko Nakajima Vs Taya Valkyrie
5. Miu Watanabe Vs Hyan
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta (c) Vs Janai Kai & Shazza McKenzie
7. Special Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly
The Princess Tag Team Champions want to defend the belts in America! Free WiFi made the request after their recent title defence last week and it’s been accepted. They were originally scheduled to face Janai Kai & Johnnie Robbie in Los Angeles but Robbie pulled out with an injury. Shazza McKenzie will now take her place and could become a TJPW champion in her first appearance with them.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~KASUKABE PERFORMANCE~”, 17/12/2023 Saitama Kasukabe Fureai Cube
1. 3 Way Match: X Vs X Vs X
2. X Vs X
3. X Vs X
4. X Vs X
5. X Vs X
6. X Vs X
7. X Vs X
8. X Vs X
9. X Vs X
10. X Vs X
Participants: Hikari Noa, Shoko Nakajima, Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku, Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Mahiro Kiryu, Suzume, Moka Miyamoto, Arisu Endo, Kaya Toribami, Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI, Shino Suzuki, Toga, Haru Kazashiro, Runa Okubo and Juria Nagano
A schedule conflict means Nao Kakuta will not be part of this show after all. So instead of 11 matches the show will have 10 with one being a 3 Way Match. It could be anywhere on the card. I’m just placing it as Match #1 for convenience sake.
GANBARE☆PRO “BAD COMMUNICATION 2023”, 27/12/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Yuko Miyamoto Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
2. Sumire Natsu, YuuRI & Riara Vs HARUKAZE, Makoto & Banny Oikawa
3. Special Single Match: Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Arisu Endo
4. Special Single Match: Ken Ohka Vs Kuma Arashi
5. GanPro Vs GLEAT All Out Battle ~ GanPro’s Famous Elimination 10-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Takuya Wada, Mizuki Watase, Shinichiro Tominaga & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Kaz Hayashi, Minoru Tanaka, Takanori Ito, Check Shimatani & Jun Tonsho
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Shota & Soma Takao (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Shuichiro Katsumura
The KO-D Tag Team Champions also took control of where they wanted to defend their belts next. ROMANCE DAWN have used their title reign to have matches against other wrestlers from the Young Communication generation of the indies. It continues in Ganbare☆Pro because their match here against Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie now has the belts on the line! Ishii & Irie once held the titles together back in the winter of 2011.
Over the last few days videos were being sent in thick and fast to both GanPro and GLEAT from wrestlers volunteering to take part in the inter-promotional 10-Man Tag. Some were doing it out of pride for their home company while others were either calling out rivals from the other side or accepting challenges from them. Yumehito Imanari’s team includes Takuya Wada, Mizuki Watase, Shinichiro Tominaga & Tyson Maeguchi all ready to fight for GanPro’s burning spirit. The GLEAT visitors consists of Kaz Hayashi, Minoru Tanaka, Takanori Ito, former DDT wrestler Check Shimatani & Jun Tonsho. The match itself is Elimination rules where you are taken out of the match by either pinfall, submission or being thrown over the top rope and out of the ring.
Posted by JamieOD 
