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 “NEW YEAR FAN APPRECIATION DAY!”, 20/01/2024 Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX
1. 4 Way Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Kazuki Hirata Vs HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yoshitatsu & Akito Vs Yuki Iino & Yusuke Okada
2. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: KANON Vs Yuni
3. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Ilusion
4. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuma Sumi
5. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs Takeshi Masada
6. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Rukiya
7. New Year’s Six Major Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Hideki Okatani
8. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Makoto Oishi Vs Bryan Keith, Soma Takao & Shota
1. Soma Takao Vs Takuya Wada
2. Hartley Jackson & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Mizuki Watase & Munetatsu Nakamura
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shuichiro Katsumura, Ken Ohka & Yuni Vs Keisuke Ishii, Yumehito Imanari & Ilusion
The GROUNDSLAM gym ran by Shuichiro Katsumura is celebrating being in business for 15 years with their own event filled with exhibition fights and a band performance. Ganbare☆Pro will provide a few wrestling matches for the event on the day.
DDT “NEPPA OVER FLOWERS 3 ~TOTONOI TO YOU~”, 14/02/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Hideki Okatani, Yuni & Ilusion Vs Takeshi Masada, Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya
2. ~Kazuki Hirata’s Sauna Room?~: Kazuki Hirata Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yukio Naya
3. ~Toy Kojima’s Sauna Room~: Toy Kojima Vs Masato Tanaka
4. ~Shunma Katsumata’s Sauna Room~: Shunma Katsumata Vs Kuroshio TOKYO Japan
5. ~Mao Inoue’s Sauna Room~: MAO Vs Chris Brookes
6. ~Yuki Ueno’s Sauna Room~: Yuki Ueno Vs Danshoku Dieno
Every member of The 37KAMIINA has booked their own match for the unit’s next self-produced show. Yuki Ueno is facing Danshoku Dieno in the main event, MAO gets to fight Chris Brookes again, Shunma Katsumata is inviting Kuroshio TOKYO Japan over and Toy Kojima’s return match from injury will be against Masato Tanaka! Even Kazuki Hirata gets a match for himself as he tries to gain membership into the group. Having to fight in a free-for-all against Makoto Oishi, Kazusada Higuchi and Yukio Naya suggests he may not have had a say in what his match would be.
GANBARE☆PRO “GANPRO 2024 DESIRE”, 23/02/2024 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. EVE International Title: Yuu (c) Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
2. Yuna Manase Return Match: Yuna Manase Vs X
3. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Shuichiro Katsumura (c) Vs Takuya Wada
It has not been confirmed yet but Yuna Manase has challenged Sayaka Unagi to a Mixed Tag Match for Manase’s return to the ring. Manase already has already chosen her tag partner and wants to see who Unagi will find. The two women fought each other at the first “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA” in 2022. Unagi won that match and Manase holds no grudge over it. In fact she made it publicly known that Unagi was often one of the first people to get in touch with her for almost every step of the way in her recovery process. Their friendship is why Unagi was always going to be Manase’s opponent for her first match back.
A big title challenge is coming up for Yoshiko Hasegawa. She has teamed with and fought against Yuu over in Ganbare☆Joshi recently and the EVE International Title that Yuu carries around has caught her eye. This will be her first championship match. Hasegawa had wanted it to happen at the next GanJo show on 12th February but Yuu is already booked for Sendai Girls that day. So the match will take place in GanPro a little later on the 23rd instead.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 23/02/2024 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. 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
During the week Maya Yukihi discovered the existence of the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles and wanted to fight for the belts with other members of Rebel X Enemy. The group normally consists of four members but Maika Ozaki is unavailable so Yukihi needed to find two more people to team with herself, Ram Kaichow & Rina Yamashita. Luckily for her the DDT management are stepping in to help out. Sanshiro Takagi & Akito have agreed to join the challenger team and since Kaichow is also sometimes nicknamed “Chairman” the alliance has been named Executive X Enemy. Meanwhile the champion team is subbing in Chris Brookes for Takayuki Ueki. As long as at least three members of the champion team are in the match the title shot can go ahead.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’24”, 31/03/2024 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Miu Watanabe
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 ~MIZUKI’S HOMETOWN IS KOBE!~”, 13/01/2024 Kobe Art Center
1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Haru Kazashiro
2. Raku Vs Shino Suzuki
3. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Kaya Toribami & Toga
4. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Mahiro Kiryu & HIMAWARI
5. Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
6. Miyu Yamashita, Mizuki & Nao Kakuta Vs Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Pom Harajuku
An emergency decision was made by Tokyo Joshi Pro to book Ryo Mizunami for this Saturday’s show. There should be more appearances to come for her while she holds the Princess Tag Team Titles with Yuki Aino.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 ~YUKI’S HOMETOWN IS OKAYAMA!~”, 14/01/2024 Okayama Convention Center Event Hall
1. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao Vs Kaya Toribami Vs Shino Suzuki
2. Nao Kakuta Vs Toga
3. Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Arisu Endo & Haru Kazashiro
4. Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Mizuki & HIMAWARI
5. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Suzume & Wakana Uehara
6. Miyu Yamashita & Moka Miyamoto Vs Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino
Sadly Mizunami will not be at the show in Aino’s hometown the next day.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024”, 28/01/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. MAO Birthday Commemorative Match: MAO & TAKA Michinoku Vs X & X
2. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Naruki Doi
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles – DEAD OR ALIVE Contra DEAD OR ALIVE: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) Vs Hikaru Sato, Kazusada Higuchi & Ryo Kawamura
4. DDT Extreme Title: Kazuki Hirata (c) Vs Shunma Katsumata
5. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Yukio Naya
I’m starting to think D.O.A coming up with that name for themselves was a bad idea. The phrase “Dead Or Alive” is so common that there are plenty of wrestlers out there who claim they used it first. After the unit dealt with Bodyguard’s complaints they then found out Hikaru Sato is upset with them because he thinks they stole his catchphrase. Sato sent Kazusada Higuchi to tell them they should defend both the name and the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles against them. Sato & Higuchi will be joined by Ryo Kawamura. The previous times Kawamura has appeared in DDT he’s been using different Sylvester Stallone gimmicks (Rocky Kawamura, Rambo Kawamura, Rocky Kawamura II, etc). He might be coming back just as himself this time.
The birthday match for MAO is a special one because he gets to team with TAKA Michinoku for the first time ever! Michinoku has been a big influence for him over the years and has inspired a lot of his moveset.
GANBARE☆PRO “GANPRO 2024 DESIRE”, 23/02/2024 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Yuna Manase Return Match: Yuna Manase Vs X
2. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Shuichiro Katsumura (c) Vs Takuya Wada
The new king of Ganbare☆Pro has decided to defend the Spirit Of Ganbare Title against his own tag team partner. Over the weekend Shuichiro Katsumura defended both of his championships, including the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles he holds with Takuya Wada. With nobody stepping up to challenge him for either title Katsumura suggested he and Wada fight each other while they wait for new opponents to emerge. The title match will happen in Katsumura’s hometown of Yokohama.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024”, 25/02/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Kaisei Takechi Debut Match: Kaisei Takechi Vs X
Currently all tickets for this show has sold out so DDT will be adding additional seating to go on sale later this week. That’s how much of a hot ticket Kaisei Takechi’s debut match is. Takechi has a black belt in Judo and has been coached by Yuki Ueno in training. For that reason Takechi would like to team with Ueno for his first match. The 25 year old also wants to face opponents who are in the same age range as him because competition within the young generation is going to liven up the wrestling world. He cannot commit to a full match schedule due to his work with THE RAMPAGE but he would like to wrestle more after his debut. He currently weighs 77kg but feels his body as it is now is only built for dancing. So he is bulking up and aims to weigh in at 85kg for the match. Takechi is also trying to figure out what wrestling move he wants to use as his signature. When he dances he often raises his right fist into the air and shouts “THE RAMPAGE” so he wants to come up with something that will follow that.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’24”, 31/03/2024 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Miu Watanabe
The main event for Sumo Hall is a rematch from the Tokyo Princess Cup 2022 Semi Final. Miu Watanabe defeated Miyu Yamashita in what has been their last singles match together until now. Next time will be in the main event of Sumo Hall for the Princess Of Princess Title!
BASARA/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GAISEN SAKURA PRO WRESTLING”, 14/04/2024 Okayama Shinjo Village Outdoor Ring
A free outdoor pro wrestling show is being put together by Ryuichi Sekine and Nodoka Tenma in a little village found on the northwest side of Okayama. The couple run a farm together in Shinjo Village and want people to get to know the area better. So they have come up with Gaisen Sakura Pro Wrestling an event built around agriculture, food and wrestling. The wrestling portion of the event will be split into two parts. One part will be a men’s wrestling show featuring talent from BASARA. The other part with be a women’s show with TJPW involved. If the event is a success then the plan will be to make it an annual tradition held every April when the cherry blossoms are in bloom.
1. Keisuke Ishii & Shota defeated Yuni & Ilusion when Ishii pinned Ilusion with the Double Arm Driver (9:39).
2. Legendary Hostess Vs The Toughest Girl In Osaka: Momoka Hanazono defeated Riara with an Inside Cradle (6:43).
3. Banny Oikawa & YuuRI defeated HARUKAZE & Yoshiko Hasegawa when YuuRI pinned Hasegawa with a Rotating Leg Hold (10:43).
4. Special Single Match: Tsuyoshi Okada defeated Shinichiro Tominaga with an Ankle Lock (9:08).
5. Yumehito Imanari & Tyson Maeguchi defeated Soma Takao & Mizuki Watase when Maeguchi pinned Watase with the I’ll Be Happy To Help You (18:14).
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) defeated HARASHIMA & Ken Ohka when Wada submitted Ohka with the Twister (20:15). *V4 for GROUND ABSOLUTE.
For the second time this week Shuichiro Katsumura has successfully defended a championship against Ken Ohka. This time it was the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles on the line with GROUND ABSOLUTE facing Ohka & HARASHIMA. Ohka was able to hit the Shin Flame Spear but was too beaten up at that point to make the pin in time. Takuya Wada took advantage by giving Ohka a Dragon Suplex and then tangling him into a Twister submission for the victory. Afterwards Katsumura asked if there were any more challengers for him and Wada? If there is not then perhaps GROUND ABSOLUTE will fight each other for the Spirit Of Ganbare World Title!
Ohka admitted he and HARASHIMA probably should not have challenged for the SOG Tag Titles because they haven’t won a tag match together since 2015. However HARASHIMA said the match came into existence because of Ohka’s passion. He has a special place in his heart for Ohka so he hopes one day they will win a tag team championship together.
GANBARE☆PRO “2024 GANBARE☆THE FIGHT BEGINS”, 04/01/2024 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall 157 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Yoshiko Hasegawa & Kaho Matsushita defeated YuuRI & Riara wheb Hasegawa submitted Riara with a Muffler Hold (8:26).
2. Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE defeated Shigehiro Irie & Banny Oikawa when HARUKAZE pinned Oikawa with the Flame Spear (13:28).
3. New Year Special 3 Way Match: Yuni defeated Munetatsu Nakamura and Ilusion when Yuni pinned Nakamura with the Phoenix Splash (12:48).
4. GanPro New Year Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shota, Soma Takao & Shinichiro Tominaga defeated Keisuke Ishii, Yumehito Imanari & Mizuki Watase when Tominaga pinned Ishii with the Moonsault Press (12:18).
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Shuichiro Katsumura (c) defeated Ken Ohka with the Triple Three 3 Lock (19:37). *V1 for Shuichiro Katsumura.
In the first of two title matches this week between Shuichiro Katsumura and Ken Ohka, Katsumura has not lost any gold yet. He successfully defended the Spirit Of Ganbare Title against Ohka by using the Ninja Choke as a counter to the Vertical Drop Brainbuster. Ohka was able to hit the Brainbuster but it was not enough to break the Ninja Choke. Katsumura held onto the move and switched over to the Triple Three 3 Lock to make Ohka submit. After the match Katsumura made a comment about the fans coming to watch wrestling here instead of at the Tokyo Dome today. He encouraged the fans to keep smiling and make other people happy. Ohka admitted he feels embarrassed because he thought he was going to win today and go on to surpass Shohei Ohtani. How can he do that now that he lost? But if Katsumura told him to laugh and keep smiling he will do so. Especially since he is fighting him in another championship match this weekend, this time for the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Titles.
A 3 Way Match for young wrestlers was a reunion for Yuni, Ilusion and Munetatsu Nakamura as the DDTeeeen!! generation. The match almost ended with Nakamura pinning Yuni with a German Suplex but Ilusion broke it up with a Swanton Bomb. Nakamura then gave Ilusion a German Suplex but Yuni took him down and pinned him with the Phoenix Splash. Yuni said even though he is younger and smaller than the other two, he is still more experienced than both of them.
DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 THE FINAL”, 03/01/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Soma Takao, Yuki Iino & Yuni
2. Jun Akiyama & Makoto Oishi Vs Yusuke Okada & Kazuma Sumi
3. Special Tag Match ~ Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima
4. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Antonio Honda
5. Special Tag Match ~ DDT Vs AJPW: Kazusada Higuchi & Rukiya Vs Jun Saito & Rei Saito
6. New Year’s Gift Special Single Match: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan Vs Danshoku Dieno
7. The 37KAMIINA Vs SCHADENFREUDE International!: Yuki Ueno & MAO Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda
8. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – Final: Tetsuya Endo Vs Yukio Naya
This is the decided match order for DDT’s first show of 2024.
In good news Chris Brookes has been discharged from hospital after getting a tumor removed from his abdomen. No decision has been made yet on when he can return because he is recuperating in his own pace.
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
The big title win coming out of “BAD COMMUNICATION 2023” has caused some changes to Ganbare☆Pro’s first two shows of the new year. Shuichiro Katsumura now holds both Spirit Of Ganbare Titles and is being challenged twice by Ken Ohka. Matches already made with them involved have been moved around to accommodate the upcoming title matches. The first challenge is just for the SOG Title in Tokyo.
1. Legendary Hostess Vs The Toughest Girl In Osaka: Riara Vs Momoka Hanazono
2. Banny Oikawa & YuuRI Vs HARUKAZE & Yoshiko Hasegawa
3. Yumehito Imanari & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Soma Takao & Mizuki Watase
4. Keisuke Ishii & Shota Vs Ilusion & Munetatsu Nakamura
5. Special Single Match: Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Tsuyoshi Okada
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) VsHARASHIMA & Ken Ohka
The second challenge happens a few days later when Ohka teams up with HARASHIMA to fight Ground Absolute for the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles.
GANBARE☆JOSHI “GANJO WINNING SHOT ’24”, 16/01/2024 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. SAKI Vs Banny Oikawa
2. Sumire Natsu & YuuRI Vs Yuu & Yoshiko Hasegawa
Fresh off of getting her first win in Ganbare☆Joshi yesterday, Yoshiko Hasegawa gets to continue her momentum by teaming up with Yuu for a match against Sumire Natsu & YuuRI.
Banny Oikawa has long looked up to SAKI so getting to wrestle her one on one will be something special for her.
GANBARE☆PRO “GANPRO 2024 DESIRE”, 23/02/2024 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Yuna Manase Return Match: Yuna Manase Vs X
After over a year of being away with injury, Yuna Manase is expecting to return to action on 23rd February. She has been out of action since last February in order to deal with a ruptured ACL and damaged meniscus in her left leg that she has had for years prior. Over that time Manase wasn’t able to wrestle for the rebooted GanJo division but was kept around in a GM role for the brand’s own shows. She has already decided on who she wants to face in her first match back but it has not been announced yet.
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.
1. Takumi Tsukamoto & SAGAT defeated Yasu Urano & Masahiro Takanashi when SAGAT pinned Urano with the Goregrind (12:44).
2. 3 Way Match: A.YAZAWA defeated Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi and Gouma Ryu when YAZAWA pinned Hiroshi with a Backslide Pin (9:36).
3. FUMA, KUBITO & Daichi Kazato defeated Lil’ Kraken, Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga when FUMA pinned Kraken with the Heavy Metal Anthem (10:56).
4. Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita defeated Shuichiro Katsumura & Munetatsu Nakamura when Fujita pinned Nakamura with the Modified Samson Clutch (15:19).
5. Ryota Nakatsu & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino when Nakatsu pinned Nakano with the V Slider (17:27).
The last BASARA show of the year ended with Harimao holding a toast inside the ring. The main event was non-title but Ryota Nakatsu & Kazusada Higuchi are open to giving Aijin Tag a shot at the IRON FIST Tag Team Titles as long as Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino do their best. Harimao are just glad they get to end 2023 in BASARA on a happy note.
Isami Kodaka held the Spirit Of Ganbare Title belt above Shuichiro Katsumura to taunt him after their tag match. Minoru Fujita said the win was an overwhelming victory against Ganbare☆Pro and he looks forward to seeing Kodaka defend the title over there on 27th December. Fujita then decided to challenge FUMA for the Union MAX Title! He thinks everything fell apart for Sento Minzoku this year so in 2024 he will revitalize the group by beating FUMA for the championship. However FUMA said he does not have a good enough recent track record to deserve a shot. Fujita talked about FUMA recently getting married and having a fulfilling personal life while he has nothing but just pro wrestling to rely on. FUMA understood what he meant and accepted the challenge for 7th January.
The 3 Way Match was supposed to be A.YAZAWA’s specialty, the Rock ‘N’ Roll Death Match. It is where everyone has to dance whenever rock music plays over the speakers. However the sound system malfunctioned during the match and started playing drinking songs instead, causing the wrestlers to drink alcohol instead of dance.
BASARA “BASARA 238 ~UTAGE~”, 19/12/2023 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Takumi Tsukamoto & SAGAT Vs Yasu Urano & Masahiro Takanashi
2. 3 Way Match: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Gouma Ryu Vs A.YAZAWA
3. FUMA, KUBITO & Daichi Kazato Vs Lil’ Kraken, Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
4. Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Munetatsu Nakamura
5. Ryota Nakatsu & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
Harimao Vs Aijin Tag headlines the last BASARA show of the year.
DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 IN KORAKUEN HALL”, 24/12/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal ~ Toru Owashi Return Match: The Great Koji (c) Vs Toru Owashi Vs Sanshiro Takagi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Akito Vs Yusuke Okada Vs Yuki Ishida Va Kazuma Sumi Vs Rukiya Vs Open Recruitment X
2. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs KANON & MJ Paul
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada
4. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Yuki Ueno (5) Vs Yuki Iino (2)
5. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (4) Vs Kazusada Higuchi (6)
6. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki (5) Vs HARASHIMA (2)
7. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Chris Brookes (2) Vs Rei Saito (6)
8. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: MAO (6) Vs Yukio Naya (6)
Christmas Eve is the last day of the D-Oh Grand Prix group stage and it is still all to play for in both blocks. The A Block will go to either Yuki Ueno, Tetsuya Endo, Kazusada Higuchi or Daisuke Sasaki depending on how all the results will go. B Block is a 3 way tie between Rei Saito, MAO and Yukio Naya. I’ll go work out their paths to the final in a separate post later this week.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SE-NO, MERRY CHRISTMAS! 2023”, 24/12/2023 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall
1. Mahiro Kiryu Vs Haru Kazashiro
2. Mizuki, HIMAWARI & Runa Okubo Vs Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino & Pom Harajuku
3. Maki Itoh & Yuki Kamifuku Vs Wakana Uehara & Shino Suzuki
4. Hikari Noa & Toga Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
5. Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Yuki Arai & Kaya Toribami Vs Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe, Raku & Moka Miyamoto
Christmas Eve is also the day of Tokyo Joshi Pro’s last show of 2023. It’s only five matches but the main event is an 8-Woman Tag.
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
Earlier today Shuichiro Katsumura went to the Reversal Gym in Yokohama for a special training session with MMA fighters Seiichiro Ito and Hideo Tokoro. After some sparring Katsumura talked over tactics with them for his Spirit Of Ganbare Title match against Isami Kodaka. They agreed he needed more than just the Ninja Choke to win so Katsumura was taught how to use a series of transtioning submission holds to the arm. The transitions went from Arm Lock to Clothespin to Side Triangle Choke to Cross Armbreaker. Tokoro gave him encouragement for the title match. He also showed support for Ito who will be competing for the Interim King Of Pancrase Flyweight Title on 24th December.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’24”, 04/01/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Aja Kong Vs Wakana Uehara
2. Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao
3. Rina Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
4. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) Vs Yuki Arai
5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta (c) Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
6. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Masha Slamovich
Another title match added to TJPW’s Ittenyon show. Free WiFi are defending the Princess Tag Team Titles against Daisy Monkey. All of the previous challengers for Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta were makeshift teams but Suzume & Arisu Endo have been an established pair for a good while now. Daisy Monkey has had one previous shot at the belts back in April 2022 when they lost to The Magical Sugar Rabbits. Both Suzume & Endo associate the championship with MagiRabi the most because they were TJPW’s strongest ever team. Now that Yuka Sakazaki is gone from TJPW it makes Daisy Monkey want to win the titles even more to carry on that legacy.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 