GANBARE☆PRO “BAD COMMUNICATION 2023” Results

December 27, 2023

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.


DramaticDDT’s Predictions For 2024

December 24, 2023

Merry Christmas! I’m giving this another go despite how bad my predictions for 2023 went. What do I think is in store for DDT, Tokyo Joshi Pro, Ganbare☆Pro, BASARA and maybe even CyberFight as a whole? It’s a tricky challenge this time because whenever I try guessing how 2024 will turn out, all I see is murkiness. There’s a weird contradiction in my thoughts about where wrestling is right now. On the one hand there is a status quo where all the companies around the world are positioned that I do not see changing anytime soon. But then there are changes within the companies themselves, some that are so unexpected that I have no idea what the entire scene will look like this time next year. Like of course WWE will be the top company on the planet but what does it turn into next as it finally moves away from Vince McMahon’s ideas and has the most fan goodwill it has probably ever had? AEW badly fell apart this year but the Continental Classic tournament is providing a nice set of building blocks to rebuild the company with. The problem is will Tony Khan want to use those blocks? It doesn’t help that the loudest podcasters in the room are constantly telling everyone that AEW should be more like WWE in the storyline department. That is my biggest pet peeve with wrestling at the moment, by the way. Whenever I hear people say every wrestling show should be a three ringed circus with something for everybody they’re really just saying “go be like WWE”. It’s the same voices that reject other companies for doing things differently.

And then there is Japan’s wrestling scene still trying to re-establish themselves post-pandemic. It’s mostly alright with some brief moments of greatness but there’s not a lot that has really caught my imagination this year compared to the 2010s. Show attendances week to week isn’t inspiring much hope in me either. It seems like homecoming shows and retirement matches can bring in crowds but outside of that a lot of companies are getting dwindling crowd numbers which has me worried. New Japan and Stardom will be fine as long as they can manage themselves properly. 2023 definitely gave Stardom a lot of lessons about show scheduling and injuries but they seem to be learning from it. All Japan discovering success again should also be a sign that there is still an audience out there in Japan that pro wrestling can appeal to. Now let’s see if this United Japan Pro Wrestling alliance is actually going to mean anything substantial.

Before I give you my predictions for 2024, here is how my 2023’s predictions went. Not very good it turns out.

DDT

✓. Mike Bailey wrestles a match in DDT again.
X. KANON outperforms Daisuke Sasaki.
X. Yuya Koroku becomes the next wrestler from DDT’s new generation (debuted 2020 onwards) to win a championship.
✓. Tetsuya Endo struggles to reclaim the top position in DDT.
X. Dramatic Dream Gate is revived.

The first one was by far the easiest prediction to make. It is basically the free spot on a bingo card. DDT going to America guaranteed that Mike Bailey would be on one of their shows. Although I do think the New Japan appearances he also made this year means he’s fully done with DDT in Japan. KANON is slowly getting pushed but I wouldn’t put his work above Daisuke Sasaki’s in 2023. Hideki Okatani was the breakout in the new generation, not Yuya Koroku like I expected. Tetsuya Endo is definitely struggling and I’ll get back to that point later. No Dramatic Dream Gate revival because DDT worked with All Japan instead of Dragongate.

Tokyo Joshi Pro

X. At least 3 women who originally came from Actwres girl’Z will appear in TJPW and at least 1 of them becomes a regular roster member.
X. An outsider wins the Princess Of Princess Title.
X. Maki Itoh gets to No. 1 on a iTunes or Spotify chart somewhere in the world.
X. A woman from Sakisama’s past comes back to haunt her.
X. Sasha Banks appears at Grand Princess ’23.

Oh so now Actwres girl’Z gets their act together and stops leaking talent left, right and centre! TJPW’s roster growth all came from training their own rookies and bringing in foreign wrestlers. An outsider did become champion but it was Max The Impaler winning the International Princess Title, not the Princess Of Princess Title. No idea how to look up music chart data but if Maki Itoh got No. 1 somewhere we would have heard about it. My Sakisama fantasy booking was inspired by the rumour of CyberFight wanting to sign Maya Yukihi. If Mercedes Moné does end up going back to WWE then the hype surrounding her for an entire year was an absolute waste of time for everyone else involved.

Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling

✓. Some of the wrestlers Shota worked with in America get booked for Ganpro.
X. Keisuke Ishii wins the Spirit Of Ganbare Title.
1/2✓. Ganpro creates a tag team championship and builds it around mixed tag wrestling.
X. Ganbare☆Joshi runs their own show in Korakuen Hall.
X. Kota Ibushi wrestles a match in Ganpro.

Shota’s American excursion got the likes of Dan The Dad and Kody Lane booked in Japan. Keisuke Ishii did get a Spirit Of Ganbare Title but lost that match to Mizuki Watase in one of Ganpro’s best matches of the year. We did get the Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles created and it does allow intergender teams. However it has not been the focal point of the title’s existence yet so I only got it half right. No standalone Ganbare☆Joshi show in Korakuen Hall yet but I think it is only a matter of time before it happens. Who on earth would have guessed Kota Ibushi’s first match back would be in GCW?

Miscellaneous

X. Gake no Fuchi Joshi crosses over with Baka Gaijin + Friends.
X. AEW will host another event in Japan with DDT & TJPW involvement.
X. CyberFight adds another promotion to their portfolio.
X. A brand new puroresu console game gets announced.
✓. BASARA does something new and different.

I’m kind of surprised Miyako Matsumoto hasn’t shown up in Baka Gaijin + Friends yet. It seems like her kind of wrestling but I can’t tell what goes through her mind on most days. AEW seems to have developed less interest in the Japanese scene while they go through something of an identity crisis heading into the fifth year of their existence. No new wrestling brand for CyberFight but there is the United Japan Pro Wrestling brand attaching the big wrestling companies together. No new puroresu game which makes me sad. AEW: Fight Forever is fine and I bet has a good base to create a better sequel. Will that happen though? The last prediction is also the best one for me. BASARA made Banana Senga their champion! That was definitely something new and different.

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So yeah, let’s ignore all that and get on to next year’s predictions. I came up with 20 predictions for 2024 spread across four categories. Five for DDT, five for Tokyo Joshi Pro, five for Ganbare☆Pro and five guesses that apply to anything attached to BASARA and the CyberFight promotions. I’m also listing them in order from easy to hard, likely to unlikely, mild to spicy, etc. I came up with these predictions using booking patterns, reading tea leaves and coming up with ideas that are just as creative as they are plausible.

DDT

Prediction: Naomi Yoshimura returns from injury and gets a singles push.

It’s been over a year since Naomi Yoshimura last wrestled a match. What’s promising though is his regular appearances seconding the other wrestlers in Harimao. There’s also glimpses on his social media of him training in the DDT dojo again. It at least suggests he will be back in the ring sooner or later. When Yoshimura took time off to recover from a herniated disc he said he wanted to reclaim the KO-D Tag Team Titles for Harimao when he returns. I think too much time has past for that to be his only goal. He should instead focus on catching up with Yuki Ueno. My fingers are crossed he is able to come back, stay healthy and win some accomplishments by himself.

Prediction: Kento Miyahara will be at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”.

At no point this year did I expect DDT and All Japan to be doing inter-promotional matches with each other. What a great thing that turned out to be though. Adding a few DDT Vs AJPW matches on shows here and there spiced up the midcard for both companies. It had history to play off of because of Jun Akiyama’s involvement. It is helping Yukio Naya develop into the heavyweight DDT wants him to be thanks to the feud with The Saito Brothers that will likely continue in AJPW. Eruption got to start their new chapter without Saki Akai by winning the All Asia Tag Team Titles and giving Yukio Sakaguchi an achievement he can now share with his father. Eruption also entered the Real World Tag League which gave Hideki Okatani some valuable experience. I want this working relationship to continue in 2024 and I know the best place where it can reach its climax. DDT will likely have a big guest for their Sumo Hall show in July. Bring on over AJPW’s biggest star Kento Miyahara to liven up the place! He would be a great singles match opponent for somebody like Yuki Ueno or Kazusada Higuchi. He’s definitely someone who Ueno should learn from about how to be a showman in the ring.

Prediction: Sanshiro Takagi fights Hiroshi Tanahashi in a battle of the presidents!

This week New Japan announced Hiroshi Tanahashi has become the new president of the company. Now he has a lot more in common with Sanshiro Takagi. Now Tanahashi has an awkward history with DDT but that was years ago and I’m sure it’s all water under the bridge. But just in case there’s still some bad blood there is always the wrestling ring right there for them to settle their differences. Two presidents of different wrestling companies having a match against each other is the kind of idea Takagi would jump on and I think Tanahashi would be game for it. United Japan Pro Wrestling is going to need something a little bit novel to put on their Budokan Hall card in the summer. Why not this in the midcard?

Prediction: Somebody (or something) from WWE wins the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title.

WWE looking to carve out their place in Japan is a topic that gets brought up a lot online. This year finally saw the company make their move when they signed a broadcasting deal with ABEMA and also got increased presence in Shukan Puroresu magazine. There were also points throughout the year when Shinsuke Nakamura would pop up. He headlined a big show for NOAH as the final opponent for The Great Muta. He also filmed a special message for Saki Akai that was shown to her during her retirement ceremony. If that’s not enough, on the day I am writing this paragraph All Japan are teasing that the mystery challenger for a Triple Crown title match on 3rd January could be coming from NXT. So if WWE in Japan really is happening, we might as well have some fun with it before everything gets ruined again. DDT will be in Philadelphia during Wrestlemania week and that usually means the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title will be going along for the ride. It’s only a matter of time before somebody in the WWE gets to win the championship for even the briefest of moments. Now I’m not expecting Cody Rhodes to win it in front of 50,000 people to finish the story. But somebody involved with the company hanging out at WrestleCon and taking their chance to win a 24/7 title just to amuse themselves? That sounds more likely. This prediction also applies to any item, prop or official piece of merchandise tied to WWE. If a Jey Uso “Yeet” shirt becomes champion then it counts!

Prediction: Tetsuya Endo should go on an overseas excursion.

This is not so much of a prediction but more a piece of advice. After thinking of ways for Tetsuya Endo to get out of the current position he is in, the best idea I can come up with is for him to go wrestle overseas for a while. Whether that is a several month stay in America or going on weekend trips to Europe every couple of months, he badly needs a change of pace in a new surrounding. Get him in there with Gringo Loco in GCW, have Shigehiro Irie show him the (lack of) sights in Oberhausen during a wXw tournament weekend, book him on ROH so he can travel around with the AEW crew, seat him in the front row behind the commentary table at an NXT taping. He should go broaden his horizons because the direction DDT put him in as Kenta Kobashi’s protégé is not working.

Tokyo Joshi Pro

Prediction: Somebody from the 2023 Class scores a pinfall on a TJPW veteran.

We got six rookies in 2023 and they have all been fun to watch as they learn on the job and figure out who they want to be. Wakana Uehara winning the New Generation Tournament shows that TJPW have faith in her becoming an important part of the roster if she sticks with them. HIMAWARI had her character down flat from day one and her match against Uehara in the final is a great example of how to create a dramatic match with limited movesets. Toga is capturing everyone’s hearts one big Elbow Smash at a time (although really you should thank Hikari Noa for selling that move like a champ), Shino Suzuki has the bonus advantage of being in The Up Up Girls and we might end up with a future generational rivalry between Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo as they learn different wrestling styles separate from each other. Talent development for TJPW needs to be coming quick and fast if there is a need to replace the likes of Yuka Sakazaki. Young blood needs to be beating veterans eventually and it is more likely to happen than you think. Remember, TJPW holds a couple of one day tournaments throughout the year with matches that end in 2 Count pinfalls. That’s where you can see Uehara suddenly beat Mahiro Kiryu or Toga only needing to roll up Kaya Toribami for two seconds to get her hand raised. I don’t expect it to be on the level of Arisu Endo pinning Shoko Nakajima out of nowhere but somebody from the 2023 class is going to get a moment in the spotlight her senpai’s expense in 2024.

Prediction: Mizuki Vs Rika Tatsumi finally happens… in the Tokyo Princess Cup.

When Mizuki’s reign as the Princess Champion ended there was one thing that left me completely baffled. Why was there never a title defence against Rika Tatsumi? One of the longest running pieces of character lore in TJPW is Tatsumi’s crush on Mizuki going all the way back to 2018 when Tatsumi wanted to banish the Forbidden Three rules the in-house roster had to follow because nobody was sure if “No Boyfriends” also meant “No Girlfriends”. Fast forward to 2023 and we got a very good 2-Vs-1 Handicap Match between Daydream and Mizuki where Tatsumi battled those feelings in order to beat her crush. Nothing ever came out of it and to be fair it never intended to be more than an emergency replacement match due to Sakazaki getting injured. TJPW also has an odd thing where some of their big singles matches only ever happen in the Tokyo Princess Cup, either as a 1st Round match to eliminate a top contender early or as a random drawing in the final stages of the tournament. So I think if we ever do get Mizuki Vs Tatsumi, it will be at the Princess Cup instead of a big singles title bout.

Prediction: Maki Itoh wins the GCW World Heavyweight Championship.

I think odds are really good for Maki Itoh to win one of GCW’s championships next year given she is one of the bigger attractions for the group nowadays. Her winning the tag team titles with Nick Gage is an obvious direction to go. But I want to go all in for this prediction. GCW has Blake Christian as their long term heel world champion and groundwork has been laid down for a Blake Vs Gage title match down the road. But we’ve been there, done that with Gage as the top babyface champion for GCW. This is a company that doesn’t mind doing wacky novelty booking with their titles. So how about Itoh unexpectedly gets a title match with Blake, maybe Money In The Bank style and she shockingly beats him for the GCW Title? It would be the peak of her run with the company, that’s for sure.

Prediction: Aja Kong takes on a regular role in TJPW.

Just like how Jun Akiyama became a coach in DDT, I’d like to see Aja Kong do something similar in TJPW. She has been a guest for so many shows at this point it’s not like she would be a stranger to everyone there. Whether it is coaching the youngsters, becoming a matchmaker or just keeping a stern eye on Tetsuya Koda so he won’t lose focus Kong would have a wealth of knowledge to offer the company. And maybe then we get a payoff for her rivalry with Max The Impaler.

Prediction: Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh remain with TJPW for the year.

I’m testing fate with this one, aren’t I? Miyu Yamashita has done almost everything there is to do in TJPW and Maki Itoh spends so much time in America she’s currently divorced from what’s going on in her home promotion. And yet I just don’t believe both of them are ready to graduate from TJPW like Yuka Sakazaki did. At least not in the next 12 months. Yamashita and Itoh will definitely have plenty of American bookings for everyone to look forward to in 2024. But leaving TJPW to focus on that entirely? I don’t think so. They will still have TJPW as their home base.

Ganbare☆Pro

Prediction: Ken Ohka Wins The Spirit Of Ganbare Title From Isami Kodaka

The ways that Ken Ohka and Isami Kodaka have been booked in GanPro this year makes this in my opinion the likeliest prediction to come true. Kodaka is cleaving through the roster with title defence after title defence while Ohka, the main guy behind all of GanPro, has been kept away from the title picture for over a year and a half. Ohka is always fighting from the bottom as the underdog so him never winning the Spirit Of Ganbare Title would fit how he books himself. However that’s not how pro wrestling works and there is bound to be a day when he finally gets his hands on his own promotion’s championship.

Prediction: The Ganbare☆Climax returns.

The last time GanPro held a tournament called the Ganbare☆Climax was in 2021 and that was to crown their first SOG Champion. It would be nice to see it come back to determine a No. 1 Contender during the year. GanPro held tournaments for the Young Ganbare Cup and the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles this year but they both felt like one-offs. That clears up the schedule for a single elimination tournament to happen whenever they want.

Prediction: Yuna Manase returns from injury and feuds with YuuRI.

One of the key additions to GanPro this year was the relaunch of the Ganbare☆Joshi division built around YuuRI, Yoshiko Hasegawa and Riara. Sadly Yuna Manase was relegated to a GM role while she recovers from her ACL injury. YuuRI in particular put in the work to become the face of the GanJo division in her absence. So let’s say that Manase is able to wrestle again in 2024. Would she be willing to play second fiddle to YuuRI? Or will history continue to be a circle and Manase now finds herself as the veteran unwilling to let the new generation surpass her? Wouldn’t that be interesting given Manase’s feud with Yuu Yamagata a few years ago was over the same idea? YuuRI still has a lot to prove and the dynamic could make Hasegawa and Riara choose sides until the matter is resolved. Build it up to one big singles match and it could end up being a lot of fun to follow.

Prediction: A mixed gender tag team wins the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Titles.

I admit this is just a repackaged prediction I made last year about the SOG Tag Titles being built around intergender wrestling. There’s only been one title defence so far featuring a mixed gender team and that was when Lethal Weapon (Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE) were the challengers. I like seeing them team together but I fear that match in August was their only chance, at least while Ground Absolute hold the belts/trophies. There are always other people in GanPro for HARUKAZE to team with and also Banny Oikawa is now with GanPro mostly to do mixed tags. I bet it is only a matter of time before it happens.

Prediction: A Stardom wrestler appears on a Ganbare☆Joshi show.

Another factor of GanJo’s return this year was seeing that roster interact with wrestlers from TJPW, Ice Ribbon, Marvelous, Diana and more. YuuRI even brought over Ice Ribbon’s main championship for a title defence on a GanJo show. Now let’s add Stardom to the list through the UJNW connection. Stardom and TJPW will probably stay being icy towards each other but Yuna Manase and YuuRI both got to wrestle on a Stardom show in 2022. I see talk online about how cool it would be if all the joshi companies get together in 2024 for a major arena show to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of “BIG EGG UNIVERSE”. Something like that was kind of done in 2022 to celebrate 60 years of Korakuen Hall and even then that had some bruised egos coming out of it when Shukan Puroresu only put Starlight Kid on the front cover at the expense of everyone else involved who were not associated with Stardom. Also TJPW stayed away from the show too which again, some icy relationships are probably going on there. So let’s keep this prediction on a much smaller level and just say a Stardom wrestler shows up at a GanJo event.

Miscellaneous

Prediction: A DDT wrestler makes a full time jump over to BASARA.

Appearances from Kazusada Higuchi during the last quarter of 2023 helped freshen up BASARA a little bit. They’re not a company I expect much change from going forward but they could do with adding another full timer to their roster. Even though they are independent there is history with a DDT wrestler deciding they are better off jumping over to BASARA (or Union Pro before that) so they can play a bigger role at shows. It could be a veteran who already wrestles in BASARA and no longer seeing themselves being relevant in DDT (*cough*Soma Takao*cough*) or maybe one of the younger, less experienced wrestlers are looking for a change of pace. Ilusion for example seems to get along with that group well. Someone from that age group would turn into a rival for Munetatsu Nakamura too if that were to happen.

Prediction: Konosuke Takeshita wrestles in the main event of an AEW PPV.

It is really annoying to see Konosuke Takeshita being wasted in The Don Callis Family storyline. It is also annoying that the next step of the angle is the group using Freebird rules that will obviously set up Sammy Guevara’s return to TV rather than giving more focus to Takeshita or Powerhouse Hobbs for that matter. So what is it that has me thinking Takeshita can be in a PPV main event next year? Just the numbers game, really. AEW are adding more PPVs to their schedule so that should be more opportunities for new title challengers. Also if this storyline continues without Kenny Omega and just becomes the Family feuding with Chris Jericho there is can be something like a new Anarchy In The Arena happening to close out one of the PPVs.

Prediction: Yuka Sakazaki becomes the first ROH Women’s TV Champion.

Sakazaki is getting ready for the next chapter in her pro wrestling life. Given how AEW presents their women’s division, she is probably going to get more time in ROH instead. She already had her shot at Athena and the regular ROH Women’s Title but the group now has something new to fight for. A brand new ROH Women’s TV Title was recently revealed and Sakazaki would make a great choice to be its first champion.

Prediction: Baka Gaijin + Friends runs a show at Shin-Kiba 1st RING.

When I wrote a preview for the “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2023” main event I compared the Baka Gaijin + Friends shows to DDT’s Beer Garden shows. There’s a warm vibe and fun atmosphere to these matches that take place in such a small venue. I think the series has become popular enough that Chris Brookes can go from 50 fans in ARENA Shimokitazawa to a triple digit attendance in Shin-Kiba 1st RING, the place where DDT hosted Beer Garden for many years. See it like Gatoh Move running ChocoPro in Ichigaya on the regular and then every once in a while they move up to a place where a full scale wrestling ring can be set up. As long as the drinks still flow the crowd will be with them all the way.

Prediction: The 2024 New Year’s Eve Shuffle Tag Tournament lasts past midnight again.

It used to be that the final show of the year in Korakuen Hall goes beyond midnight into the early hours of the new year. It hasn’t been that way for a while because of restrictions coming out of the pandemic. Unfortunately I think a reason why this year’s edition still has an early evening start is because the show is not much of a draw anymore. But I want to be proven wrong so Korakuen fans get to count down the new year in the middle of a semi-final tag team match again.

Prediction: Yuka Sakazaki gets arrested for assaulting Mickey Mouse at Disney World.

She’s your problem now, Tony!


GANBARE☆PRO “ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS ’23” Results

November 23, 2023

GANBARE☆PRO “ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS ’23”, 23/11/2023
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
220 Fans – No Vacancy

1. SAKI & Yoshiko Hasegawa defeated YuuRI & Riara when SAKI submitted Riara with the Sasori-katame (9:28).
2. Yumehito Imanari defeated Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi with a Crab Hold (11:30).
3. Dan The Dad, Tyson Maeguchi & Banny Oikawa defeated Soma Takao, Shinichiro Tominaga & HARUKAZE when Dan pinned Tominaga with the You’re Grounded (12:51).
4. Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi defeated Ken Ohka & Mizuki Watase when Doi pinned Watase with a Lariat (14:31).
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) defeated Keisuke Ishii & Munetatsu Nakamura when Katsumura submitted Nakamura with the Triple Three 3 Lock (14:34).
*V3 for Ground Absolute.
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) defeated Shota with a Cradle Cutback (22:17).
*V4 for Isami Kodaka.

There seems to be no stopping Isami Kodaka’s run through the Ganbare☆Pro roster. His latest challenger for the Spirit Of Ganbare Title today was Shota. The challenger came into this match promising fans he would win the title and become the new protagonist of GanPro. In a match that saw Kodaka kick out of the Gannosuke Clutch and the Frog Splash, Shota was still finding ways to win. Kodaka landed on his back with the Diving Double Knee Drop and turned it into a Bow And Arrow Lock when Shota wriggled his way out of it and laid on top for a pin. However Kodaka rolled Shota over and pinned him down for the three count to retain the title.

Shota accepted the result. His own career feels like it has reached over 100 volumes just like One Piece but he still hasn’t become strong enough to beat Kodaka. It’s a bit unfair but Shota cannot deny that Kodaka is still the protagonist. Kodaka said that is the number one reason why people hate him. Shuichiro Katsumura entered the ring and told Kodaka it doesn’t matter who the protagonist of this story is. He is here to take the SOG Title back to GanPro! He cannot stay quiet any longer after seeing his friends lose to Kodaka one by one. He is the only one left so he wants to face Kodaka in a title match at Korakuen Hall on 27th December. Kodaka accepted, knowing that if he wins that match he is guaranteed to stick around in GanPro next year. After all, the SOG Title is his passport to remain in GanPro whether he is wanted here or not.

Katsumura now has a chance of becoming a double champion by the end of the year. He & Takuya Wada are still the Spirit Of Ganbare Team Team Champions after the defeated Keisuke Ishii & Munetatsu Nakamura. The challengers were fired up, Nakamura in particular. But the youngest wrestler on the GanPro roster was too eager and he accidentally kicked Ishii in the head when he aimed for Katsumura. He then got taken down and pulled apart into submission. Later on Katsumura apologised to Wada for going ahead and challenging Kodaka because that means there will not be a SOG Tag Title match on 27th December. Wada told him not to worry because he already has an idea of what else he can do on the show and it involves a particular challenge from another promotion. More will be explained below.

Ken Ohka had two months to start growing his hair back but he was still looking to get revenge on DoiKuma. He had another brawl against the team this time with Mizuki Watase as his partner. Unfortunately it ended in defeat again with Koji Doi pinning Watase while Kuma Arashi threw Ohka into rows of chairs outside the ring. Ohka still wanted to fight Arashi after the match and challenged him to a singles bout on the 27th December Korakuen show. Arashi wasn’t interested because it would just be another easy win for him. He eventually changed his mind but only if the match is done on his terms. If Arashi wins then he gets title shots for both the SOG Title and SOG Tag Titles. Ohka instantly accepted, only just realising what he agreed to when he calmed down. Doi then promoted an independent show he and Arashi are running together on 4th December. He wants Wrestle Universe to promote it too because it is being financed with DoiKuma’s own money and they don’t want to go bankrupt if it flops.

The mixed tag match was Banny Oikawa’s entry into GanPro that’s been promised to her all year while she wrestled on Ganbare☆Joshi shows. It was also Dan The Dad’s return match in Japan. He communicated with Oikawa & Tyson Maeguchi by taking out a pen and telling them “This is a pen”. It is a common basic phrase Japanese people learn when taking English lessons. The friendly gesture took a life of its own when HARUKAZE stole the pen and soon had everyone fighting over it. When that was done with, Oikawa took out Soma Takao and Dan pinned Shinichiro Tominaga with a Backpack Stunner that is also called “You’re Grounded”.

During the opening speeches it was announced that GanPro has invited GLEAT to take part in an inter-promotional challenge on 27th December at Korakuen. When Yumehito Imanari won his match against Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, he threw his name into the hat because he has already wrestled on several GLEAT shows this year. If there is anyone who is responsible for inspiring the “GxG Collaboration” it is him! He then called out Kaz Hayashi to come to the show because he’ll be waiting for him. Later on, Takuya Wada said he wanted to take part in any GanPro Vs GLEAT match too.

Also during the show Michiyoshi Mishima announced that Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Arisu Endo will take place on 27th December. Hasegawa submitted to Endo at “WRESTLE PRINCESS IV” in October and hasn’t forgot about it. She said GanPro wrestlers always get back up after losing and she wants to show Endo that kind of spirit in her home promotion. She is looking to get a complete victory against Endo when they meet again.


Final Pheromones Match Now 3 Vs 4, All Asia Tag Title Match On Baba’s Lap, SOG Title Challenges

October 3, 2023

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 04/10/2023
Shinjuku FACE

1. Kazuki Hirata & Makoto Oishi Vs Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi
2. Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Hideki Okatani, Yukio Naya & Rukiya
3. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
4. Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs HARASHIMA & Gota Ihashi
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Minoru Fujita & KANON (c) Vs Soma Takao & Shota
6. Pheromones Final ~ 3 Vs 4 Handicap Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari (w/ Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda) Vs Akito, Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima

The final Pheromones match that will headline tomorrow’s show has a slight change to it. Koju Takeda has a calf injury and is not cleared to wrestle. He will still be there though so the main event is now a 3 Vs 4 Handicap Match with Takeda hanging around in the Pheromones corner.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SANJO”, 07/10/2023
Niigata Sanjo City Welfare And Welfare Center

1. Something by Kazuki Hirata, Danshoku Dieno, Super Sadadango Machine, etc.: X Vs X
2. Yusuke Okada Vs Rukiya
3. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi
4. Eruption Vs BURNING!: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuyu Koroku
5. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs MJ Paul
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Akito Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima
7. All Asia Tag Team Titles: Jun Akiyama & Kotaro Suzuki (c) Vs Takao Omori & Yoshitatsu

The reason why the All Asia Tag Team Titles are being defended in Sanjo City is because that’s where Giant Baba was from.

As announced by New Japan earlier today, Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi will be wrestling in a dark match at NJPW’s Sumo Hall show next Monday. The company is trying something new called Frontier Zone, bringing in wrestlers from other promotions or the indy scene to compete against the regular roster. Masada & Sumi will be teaming up with Kengo, Jun Masaoka and Takahiro Katori for a 10-Man Tag Match against a mixture of CHAOS and the NJPW Sekigun. Two days before that happens Masada & Sumi get a warmup match against DAMNATION T.A.

Notice that Danshoku Dieno is no longer nicknamed “Dandy” in the lineup. Is tomorrow actually going to be the end of Pheromones for real? We’re not getting Pheromones T.A or anything like that afterwards?

DDT “AKOS X DDT EKIMAE PRO WRESTLING”, 08/10/2023
Saitama Akos Event Square

1. Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Kazuki Hirata, Danshoku Dieno & Kazuma Sumi
2. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Akito, Yukio Naya, Takeshi Masada & Rukiya
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima Vs HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Antonio Honda

DDT is holding a free outdoor wrestling show near Soka Station in Saitama.

GANBARE☆PRO “ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS ’23”, 23/11/2023
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center

1. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii & Munetatsu Nakamura
2. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Shota

Next up to challenge Isami Kodaka is Shota and there is a little bit more on the line than just the Spirit Of Ganbare Title. Whoever wins this match will be the champion going into GanPro’s return to Korakuen Hall in December. The last time Shota headlined a Korakuen show was to challenge for the DDT Universal Title back in 2021. He promised himself that whenever he is in a Korakuen main event again it will be as the defending champion. This upcoming title shot will be his best chance of achieving his goal. However Kodaka enjoys wrestling in GanPro and fears his bookings will vanish once he loses the title. The only way he will lose the belt will be if Ken Ohka ever reaches his level and surpasses him. And if you’ve seen Ohka lately he is in no position of catching up to Kodaka anytime soon.

The rookie Munetatsu Nakamura is already making big decisions for himself by challenging Ground Absolute for the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles. He is picking Keisuke Ishii as his tag partner for the match based on the recent back and forth results between the two. Nakamura pinned Ishii in a 6-Man Tag match in August only for Ishii to pin him back in a different tag match one month later. Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada welcome the challenge in order to reach their target of 100 title defences.


GANBARE☆PRO “GIRI GIRI CHOP! 2023” Results

October 1, 2023

GANBARE☆PRO “GIRI GIRI CHOP! 2023”, 01/10/2023
Shinjuku FACE
269 Fans – No Vacancy

1. SAKI defeated Riara with a Cradle Crush (9:36).
2. GanPro’s Famous Mixed 6-Man Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii, Munetatsu Nakamura & HARUKAZE defeated Soma Takao, Shinichiro Tominaga & Kaho Kobayashi when Nakamura pinned Tominaga with the Mune-chan Clutch (8:38).
3. GanJo x TJPW Special Tag Match: Yuki Kamifuku & YuuRI defeated Suzume & Yoshiko Hasegawa when YuuRI pinned Hasegawa with the Swanton Bomb (13:17).
4. Loser Haircut Tag Match ~ No Tag Rules: Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi defeated Ken Ohka & Shota when Arashi pinned Ohka with the Diving Senton (17:48).
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) defeated Hikaru Sato & Tyson Maeguchi when Wada submitted Maeguchi with the Omoplawada Special (16:28).
*V2 for Ground Absolute.
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) defeated Yumehito Imanari with a Unare Lariat Hold (16:25).
*V3 for Isami Kodaka.

It was an eventful show for Ganbare☆Pro today when they were in Shinjuku FACE for the first time in over two years. It was also the first day of Yumehito Imanari being a freelance pro wrestler. He is no longer a CyberFight employee but will remain as a regular wrestler with GanPro. To mark this fresh start of “Season 2”, Imanari wanted to win the Spirit Of Ganbare Title from Isami Kodaka. But despite his best efforts, Kodaka ended up pinning him with a Jumbo no Katchigatame style Sliding Lariat.

Kodaka thanked Imanari for the match but was quickly met with Shota in the ring. He thinks he is next in line to challenge Kodaka for the SOG Title and suggested the match can take place on 23rd November. Kodaka accepted the challenge because BASARA and GanPro are both running shows at Takashimadaira Kumin Center that same day. He promised to beat Shota with a Headlock and not to lose until Ken Ohka can catch up to him. Shota brought up the time he headlined a Korakuen Hall show at the beginning of 2021. He remembers saying backstage that the next time he is in a Korakuen main event it will be when he is the top champion of a promotion. He can make this dream come true if he wins the SOG Title from Kodaka because GanPro is running a Korakuen show at the end of December! Shota promised it will be him submitting Kodaka with the Headlock, not the other way around.

There can be no denying now that Ground Absolute are the rightful Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Champions. They defeated Hentai Punch Drunkers, denying Hikaru Sato & Tyson Maeguchi the chance of ever holding the physical title belts that did not exist when they were the first tag champs. Instead Sato & Maeguchi had to carry around the trophies they won in the tournament to crown the first champions. To add insult to injury, Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada took the trophies for themselves after they won the match! Katsumura & Wada were then challenged by Munetatsu Nakamura. The rookie wants to become a champion and he is going to make Keisuke Ishii his tag partner for the title shot. Everyone agreed to it but Kasumura took offence to Nakamura calling him old. Ground Absolute also said they want more teams to line up and challenge them because their goal is to get 100 title defences.

High stakes were on the line in the grudge match between Ohka & Shota against DoiKuma. The invadors convinced the GanPro side to do a Hair Vs Hair match where the loser who took the fall had to get his hair cut off. During the week the teams agreed to have No Tag Rules applied but right before the match began Koji Doi demanded a No DQ rule be applied as well. That was accepted and much of the match became a brawl around the room. Unfortunately for Ohka, he fell to Kuma Arashi’s Diving Senton and had to take the punishment. Ohka grabbed the clippers from Arashi and decided to start cutting his hair by himself. Arashi then continued it by using an electric shaver to cut out a big bald spot on Ohka’s head. He joked that when Ohka is completely shaven bald, Ohka should become his new disciple. Ohka said this is not the end. No matter how painful or said this is, he made it this far and will get back up from this. He asked the fans to keep supporting him so he can get his revenge on Arashi! Later in the day Ohka had the rest of his head completely shaven.

Last time around YuuRI did not impress Yuki Kamifuku that much when they teamed together. This time around YuuRI left a much better impression with her tag partner. Together they defeated Suzume & Yoshiko Hasegawa with YuuRI getting the pinfall on Hasegawa. On the other team, Suzume gave her approval to Hasegawa and said she thinks of her as a part of Tokyo Joshi Pro.

Nakamura came up with a new cradling pin move and successfully used it to win his match. The move is currently called the Mune-chan Clutch and it looks like a grounded rolling version of the One-Winged Angel.


Brookes Off This Weekend, SOG Title Signings, Full Wrestle Princess IV Card, Ultimate Party Updates

September 26, 2023

DDT “SAKI AKAI 10TH ANNIVERSARY & FINAL COUNT DOWN IN KYOTO!!”, 30/09/2023
Kyoto KBS Hall

1. Kazusada Higuchi & Rukiya Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
2. Sanshiro Takagi & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Makoto Oishi & Yukio Naya
3. Pheromones Final Countdown In Kyoto: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toy Kojima & Kazuma Sumi
4. Special Single Match: KANON Vs Takeshi Masada
5. Kazuki Hirata & Akito Vs Yuki Ueno & MAO
6. BURNING Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani (c) Vs HARASHIMA, Masahiro Takanashi & Mei Suruga

There is a change to this weekend with Chris Brookes. He is getting his right shoulder examined for injury this week and is unable to wrestle on either shows. DDT will update everyone on when Brookes can return as soon as they get his results. HARASHIMA will take his place in the main event for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. The earlier match HARASHIMA was booked for will now have Akito in it instead.

GANBARE☆PRO “GIRI GIRI CHOP! 2023”, 01/10/2023
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Riara Vs SAKI
2. GanPro’s Famous Mixed 6-Man Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii, Munetatsu Nakamura & HARUKAZE Vs Soma Takao, Shinichiro Tominaga & Kaho Kobayashi
3. GanJo x TJPW Special Tag Match: Yuki Kamifuku & YuuRI Vs Suzume & Yoshiko Hasegawa
4. Loser Haircut Tag Match: Ken Ohka & Shota Vs Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Hikaru Sato & Tyson Maeguchi
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Yumehito Imanari

The contracts for the two title matches were signed earlier today. Yumehito Imanari spoke of the pride he felt seeing Shinichiro Tominaga try to beat Isami Kodaka for the Spirit Of Ganbare Title. Tominaga failed but his efforts inspired Imanari to be the next challenger to step in front in Kodaka. Even though Kodaka originally planned for this title reign to be like an invasion he has felt the warmth, fun and brightness of Ganbare☆Pro over time. So when he beat Tominaga it brought him back to reality when he noticed the fans were disappointed with the result. He wants to remain champion in order to keep getting guaranteed bookings from GanPro. His previous memories of Imanari are only from back when Imanari was on the DDT video team. He is confident he will beat him because he cannot envision what kind of pro wrestler Imanari can be.

Hentai Punch Drunkers said they want to win back the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles because they never got to hold onto the physical belts while they were champions. Hikaru Sato said that means you cannot say he and Tyson Maeguchi ever “lost the belts”. It is a loose end that needs to be tied up. In fact, Maeguchi is acting like this is his first ever championship match and believes the title he is fighting for has a lot of history behind it (no and no). Takuya Wada complained that GanPro was too leniant over the decision to book this rematch because Maeguchi hasn’t done anything recently to deserve another chance. Shuichiro Katsumura wants to win in order to prevent the first champion team from ever establishing a connection with the physical title belts. Wada and Maeguchi then almost got into a fight during the group photo and had to be kept apart.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN OSAKA”, 01/10/2023
Osaka City Minato Ward Citizens Center

1. Pheromones Final Countdown In Osaka: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Makoto Oishi
2. Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Hideki Okatani & Rukiya
3. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Akito, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
4. Osaka Specialty 3 Way Match: “brother” YASSHI Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Kazuma Sumi
5. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs Takeshi Masada
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Masahiro Takanashi & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima

Akito also gets moved out of the “brother” YASSHI tag match to take part in a 6-Man Tag against DAMNATION T.A.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 04/10/2023
Shinjuku FACE

1. Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs HARASHIMA & Gota Ihashi
2. Pheromones Final ~ Special 8-Man Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima
3. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Minoru Fujita & KANON (c) Vs Soma Takao & Shota

All four members of Pheromones will be together for what is supposed to be the group’s final match. Akito has The 37KAMIINA backing him up just in case there’s any funny business going on.

BASARA “BASARA 231 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 27~”, 07/10/2023
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR

1. ~Song Corner~: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Antonio Honda Vs Takumi Tsukamoto Vs X
2. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Trans-Am ★ Ryota Vs Trans-Am ★ Takato & Trans-Am ★ Ika
3. 3 Way Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Ryuichi Sekine Vs Daiki Shimomura
4. Fuminori Abe Vs A.YAZAWA
5. Hardcore Tag Match: Takumi Tsukamoto & Akane Fujita Vs SAGAT & Jun Masaoka

The first show in BASARA’s October tripleshot is being produced by the promotion’s bar in Shinjuku called Pro Wrestling Clutch. One of the guests on the show is Akane Fujita from Prominence.

BASARA “BASARA 232 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 28~”, 07/10/2023
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR

1. Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Ryuichi Sekine
2. 3 Way Match: SAGAT Vs Ryota Nakatsu Vs Daiki Shimomura
3. FUMA, KUBITO & Lil’ Kraken Vs Takato Nakano, Masato Kamino & Fuminori Abe
4. IRON FIST TAG TOURNAMENT – Round 1B: Isami Kodaka & Gouma Ryu Vs Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda
5. IRON FIST TAG TOURNAMENT – Round 1A: Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Daichi Kazato

The tripleshot also features the first round of this year’s IRON FIST TAG TOURNAMENT.

BASARA “BASARA 233 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 29~”, 07/10/2023
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR

1. Isami Kodaka Vs Lil’ Kraken
2. Ryuichi Sekine, Fuminori Abe & Banana Senga Vs Ryota Nakatsu, Daichi Kazato Vs Yasu Urano
3. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Tsutomu Oosugi
4. IRON FIST TAG TOURNAMENT – Round 1D: Takumi Tsukamoto & SAGAT Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
5. IRON FIST TAG TOURNAMENT – Round 1C: Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita Vs FUMA & KUBITO

The current Union MAX Champion and IRON FIST Tag Team Champions are facing off in the opening round. IRON PRIEST are former champions too.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS IV”, 09/10/2023
Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe

1. Haru Kazashiro Vs Runa Okubo
2. Arisu Endo, Kaya Toribami & HIMAWARI Vs HARUKAZE, Yoshiko Hasegawa & Riara
3. Moka Miyamoto Vs Juria Nagano
4. Aja Kong, Raku & Shino Suzuki Vs Hyper Misao, Wakane Uehara & Toga
5. Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino Vs Miu Watanabe & Yuki Arai
6. Sakisama, Mei Saint-Michel, Martha & Yukio Saint Laurent Vs Shoko Nakajima, Suzume, Pom Harajuku & Antonio Honda
7. Special Single Match: Nyla Rose Vs Maki Itoh
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta
9. International Princess Title & NWA World Women’s Television Title: Rika Tatsumi (I/c) Vs Max The Impaler (N/c)
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

This is the complete card for “WRESTLE PRINCESS IV”. We have the next appearance for NEO Biishiki-gun against a force assembled by Shoko Nakajima. The pairing of Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino are back again. Aja Kong gets to reunite with Raku after Raku missed their last scheduled match together due to illness. Moka Miyamoto and Juria Nagano get pitted together for a karate fight. Tokyo Joshi Pro gets to do another inter-promotional match with Ganbare☆Joshi and this time Riara gets to be part of the TJPW experience. Last but not least the two youngest rookies on the roster Haru Kazashiro and Runa Okubo face each other in the opener.

DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2023”, 12/11/2023
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Saki Akai Retirement Match: Saki Akai Vs X
2. Special Single Match: Hiromu Takahashi Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. Dramatic Dream Match: Chris Jericho Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA
4. DDT Universal Title: Matt Cardona (c) (w/ Steph De Lander) Vs MAO
5. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Yuki Ueno

I’m betting that Brookes’ shoulder injury is not bad enough to take him out of “ULTIMATE PARTY 2023” where he is advertised to defend the KO-D Openweight Title against Yuki Ueno. I’m daring fate here.

Despite losing his big match over the weekend, MAO was still encouraged to go his own direction and make a decision that will be best for himself. That quickly sent him down the road to challenging Matt Cardona for the DDT Universal Title. Of course Steph De Lander will be there too by the champion’s side. Maki Itoh had the right idea to try and incapacitate her in order to beat Cardona. Give MAO that battleplan and he will come up with an even crazier way to get that done.

So yeah, Chris Jericho is going to be on the show fighting Konosuke Takeshita. I didn’t expect that. The AEW feud surrounding Don Callis is going to have a chapter over in DDT where Takeshita is establishing himself back into a face for the home fans. I’m among the critics of Jericho who accuse him of constantly positioning himself into AEW angles that take the spotlight away from people who are getting over. But I’ll give it to him here, it’s paying off with a big match for DDT in Sumo Hall.


Itoh’s Return From USA, Two Sisters Visit GanJo, Next Baka Gaijin Card, SOG Tag Title Rematch

September 6, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~RIKA TATSUMI LOCAL TRIUMPH~”, 16/09/2023
Nagano Kissei Bunka Hall Middle Hall

1. Mahiro Kiryu Vs Toga
2. 3 Way Match: Pom Harajuku Vs Haruna Neko Vs Shino Suzuki
3. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Kaya Toribami & Haru Kazashiro
4. Maki Itoh vs HIMAWARI
5. Mizuki & Hikari Noa Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
6. Aja Kong, Yuki Aino & Raku Vs Shoko Nakajima, Nao Kakuta & Moka Miyamoto
7. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Miyu Yamashita & Hyper Misao

The return of Maki Itoh to Tokyo Joshi Pro from her latest American adventure sees her take on HIMAWARI first and foremost. Aja Kong is also back to say hello to everyone by bashing a steel can over their heads.

GANBARE☆JOSHI “GANJO MINEL VATON SAGA ’23”, 17/09/2023
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall

1. Ice Ribbon Offer Match: Ibuki Hoshi Vs Arisa Shinose
2. Alex Lee Vs Echika Miyabi
3. Sumire Natsu & Riara Vs Miyako Matsumoto & Kaho Kobayashi
4. Miyuki Takase & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Tomoka Inaba & Azusa Inaba
5. YuuRI Vs Haruka Umesaki

The next Ganbare☆Joshi features a tag team of sisters for the first time. Tomoka Inaba & Azusa Inaba from JTO are sisters and they get to team together on a GanJo event before Yuna Manase & Ami Manase can.

There were a few times around five years ago when Kaho Kobayashi wrestled on Ganbare☆Pro shows. This will be her first time in GanJo.

Ibuki Hoshi shows up in GanJo for the first time since winning the ICEx∞ Title from YuuRI. Hopefully there’s no hard feelings between them.

BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. EIGHT: THE DIRECTOR’S CUT”, 20/09/2023
Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa

1. Special Single Match: Yoshihiko Vs Antonio Honda
2. Special Single Match: Mecha Mummy (w/ Mad Dr. Ueki) Vs HARASHIMA
3. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs MAO & Chie Koishikawa

The high energy tag team of MAO & Chie Koishikawa faces their biggest challenge yet. What ideas can they think of against CDK?

Mad Dr. Ueki is busy reprogramming Mecha Mummy to take on the mighty force that is HARASHIMA. No amount of feeding VHS tapes to Mummy will make up for all of the training HARASHIMA does to keep himself in top condition.

After getting thrown out of a window by Chris Brookes on the last show, Yoshihiko gets a less violent opponent on this show. Although I do remember that time Antonio Honda burst Yoshihiko’s head open with a basic Knee Drop.

GANBARE☆PRO “GIRI GIRI CHOP! 2023”, 01/10/2023
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Loser Haircut Tag Match: Ken Ohka & Shota Vs Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi
2. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Hikaru Sato & Tyson Maeguchi
3. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Yumehito Imanari

Former champions Hentai Punch Drunkers get a rematch with Ground Absolute for the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles. If Punch Drunkers ever become the champions again they will get to hold the physical title belts that never existed during their first reign.


Video – GANBARE☆PRO “UNDER THE SILVER LAKE 2023”

August 7, 2023

GANBARE☆PRO “UNDER THE SILVER LAKE 2023”, 06/08/2023
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
131 Fans

1. Keisuke Ishii Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
2. GanJo Vs JTO!: Yoshiko Hasegawa & Riara Vs Misa Kagura & HisokA
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Mizuki Watase & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Shota, Soma Takao & Shinichiro Tominaga
4. Special Single Match: Ken Ohka Vs Koji Doi
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs YuuRI


GANBARE☆PRO “UNDER THE SILVER LAKE 2023” Results

August 6, 2023

GANBARE☆PRO “UNDER THE SILVER LAKE 2023”, 06/08/2023
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
131 Fans

1. Keisuke Ishii defeated Munetatsu Nakamura with the Neck And Arm Lock (8:29).
2. GanJo Vs JTO!: Misa Kagura & HisokA defeated Yoshiko Hasegawa & Riara when Kagura pinned Riara with a Lariat (13:20).
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shota, Soma Takao & Shinichiro Tominaga defeated Yumehito Imanari, Mizuki Watase & Tyson Maeguchi when Tominaga pinned Watase with the JK (14:43).
4. Special Single Match: Koji Doi defeated Ken Ohka with the Lariat (11:00).
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) defeated Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE when Katsumura submitted HARUKAZE with the Triple Three 3 Lock (16:05).
*V1 for Ground Absolute.
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) defeated YuuRI with the 1244 (18:32).
*V1 for Isami Kodaka.

YuuRI’s ambitious attempt to become a Double Crown champion failed when she was unable to beat Isami Kodaka for the Spirit Of Ganbare Title. She put up a great effort though by kicking out of the Diving Double Knee Drop and also getting back up to fight when the referee tried to count her out. Kodaka had to pull out his rarely used 1244 submission hold to make her give up. Before the show began, YuuRI described Kodaka like a superhero and said she would become Ganbare☆Pro’s superhero if she beat him. Kodaka brought it up again after the match and encouraged YuuRI to become Ice Ribbon’s superhero because she will stay as a supporting character in GanPro for as long as he is GanPro’s champion.

Kodaka’s comments caused most of the GanPro roster to approach the ring and climb onto the apron. He told all of them that supporting characters are not allowed in the ring while the superhero is giving his show closing speech. He also noticed Ken Ohka was not among the wrestlers confronting him. Everyone stepped down to the floor with Shinichiro Tominaga being the last one to do so after he took a moment to stare at Kodaka.

Earlier in the day Ground Absolute were presented with the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Title belts. The championships were not completed in time so trophies were used to represent the prize until today. Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada went on to defend their new belts by beating the unique team of Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE, also known together as Lethal Weapon. HARUKAZE submitted to Katsumura but was praised by the champions for showing guts. Ground Absolute now want to fight any opponents, wrestler or fighter, from any company that will help raise the value of the tag titles. HARUKAZE was upset to lose but asked Jackson if they can continue teaming together. He said of course they will because HARUKAZE is the only wrestler he wants to team with in GanPro.

Ohka’s absence from the main event angle can be explained from his utter defeat to Koji Doi earlier in the show. Doi used an Eye Poke and Low Blow behind the ref’s back to set up his inevitable path to victory. With this result Doi said it should be the end of this story. But he wants to continue making Ohka’s life a misery until Ohka cannot sleep anymore.

Tominaga pinning Mizuki Watase in the 6-Man Tag is a big statement towards him possibly becoming the next challenger for the SOG Title.


DAMNATION Vs 37KAMIINA Getting More Volatile, Akai’s Anniversary Plans Grow, Onita Gets His Match With Akiyama

August 2, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~SHOKO NAKAJIMA LOCAL TRIUMPH~”, 05/08/2023
Niigata Dúo CEREZO

1. Special Single Match: Aja Kong Vs Super Sasadango Machine
2. Suzume Vs Runa Okubo
3. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao Vs Haruna Neko Vs HIMAWARI
4. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta Vs Mahiro Kiryu & Toga
5. Mizuki, Shino Suzuki & Haru Kazashiro Vs Yuki Arai, Raku & Pom Harajuku
6. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Moka Miyamoto & Kaya Toribami
7. Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino Vs Miyu Yamashita & Arisu Endo

Both Yuki Kamifuku and Wakana Uehara will not be on the show due to other priorities that day. Kamifuku is attending an event in Fujisawa City while Uehara is performing on a stage show.

GANBARE☆PRO “UNDER THE SILVER LAKE 2023”, 06/08/2023
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center

1. Keisuke Ishii Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
2. GanJo Vs JTO!: Yoshiko Hasegawa & Riara Vs Misa Kagura & HisokA
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Mizuki Watase & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Shota, Soma Takao & Shinichiro Tominaga
4. Special Single Match: Ken Ohka Vs Koji Doi
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs YuuRI

The long delayed Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Title belts have finally been completed and are being sent over to Ganbare☆Pro in time for this weekend’s show. The belts will be presented to Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada on the day as part of a contract signing ceremony with Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE for their title match later in the show.

DDT “MEMORIES OF SUMMER VACATION 2023 TOUR IN YAMAGATA”, 06/08/2023
Yamagata Big Wing

1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Makoto Oishi
2. Kazuki Hirata & Kazuma Sumi Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani
3. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuji Hino & Rukiya
4. Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima Vs HARASHIMA, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
5. Yamagata Specialty Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs Yukio Naya & Keisuke Goto
6. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Shigehiro Irie & Jun Akiyama

Good luck to Kazuki Hirata having to fight Yukio Sakaguchi more so than usual this month because they have a DDT Extreme Title match coming up.

GANBARE☆JOSHI “GANJO BATTLE GAREGGA ’23”, 11/08/2023
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Ice Ribbon Offer Match: Ibuki Hoshi & Kaho Matsushita Vs Yappy & Tsukina Umino
2. Miyako Matsumoto Vs Banny Oikawa
3. Sumire Natsu & Riara Vs Maya Yukihi & Alex Lee
4. Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Sayaka Unagi
5. ICEx∞ Title: YuuRI (c) Vs Ami Manase

I was wondering why Yoshiko Hasegawa was missing from the lineup. Turns out there was one more match left to announce and it’s her against Sayaka Unagi!

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 12/08/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Suzume Vs Juria Nagano
2. Wakana Uehara, Toga & Runa Okubo Vs HIMAWARI, Shino Suzuki & Haru Kazashiro
3. Hyper Misao, Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta & Kaya Toribami Vs Yuki Aino, Raku, Pom Harajuku & Haruna Neko
4. Shoko Nakajima & Miu Watanabe Vs Moka Miyamoto & Arisu Endo
5. Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel Vs Mizuki & Mahiro Kiryu
6. Tokyo Princess Cup – Semi Final: Rika Tatsumi Vs Yuki Kamifuku
7. Tokyo Princess Cup – Semi Final: Miyu Yamashita Vs Yuki Arai

The summer is nearing its end and so too is this year’s Tokyo Princess Cup. Four women are left standing and two of those will be next to fall. Miyu Yamashita is trying to win the tournament for the first time after a decade of trying, Yuki Arai is benefitting from adding Saki Akai’s Rookie Award finisher to her moveset, Rika Tatsumi is in the middle of one hell of a run and Yuki Kamifuku is showing everyone just how successful she can be when she puts her mind to it.

Mizuki & Mahiro Kiryu are the two women teaming together to fight NEO Biishiki-gun.

Match #4 is made up of the four women who were knocked out in the Quarter Finals.

The 6-Woman Tag Match in Match #2 is entirely made up of the 2023 class.

DDT “SAKI AKAI 10TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR IN KORAKUEN!!”, 13/08/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Yuya Koroku Vs Rukiya
1. Jun Akiyama, Yukio Naya & Yusuke Okada Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Sanshiro Takagi (c) Vs HARASHIMA Vs Naruki Doi Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino Vs Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Antonio Honda Vs Akito Vs Kazuma Sumi
3. Special Single Match: Hideki Okatani Vs KANON
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Sakura Hirota Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul (c) Vs Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi
6. DDT Extreme Title: Kazuki Hirata (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi
7. Saki Akai Debut 10th Anniversary Match Vol. 2 ~ Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Saki Akai, Maya Yukihi & Asuka Vs Takumi Iroha, Rina Yamashita & Shoko Nakajima

Akai’s next 10th Anniversary match will feature her teaming with Maya Yukihi & Asuka. They were two of her recent big opponents here in DDT. Their opponents all debuted in 2013, the same year as Akai. Takumi Iroha & Rina Yamashita were already announced and this past weekend Shoko Nakajima was revealed to be the third woman on the team.

Hirata found a way to beat HARASHIMA. He’s also beaten Sakaguchi once before but as Extreme Champion he will come up with any stipulation that will tip the scales in his favour. Otherwise Sakaguchi is going to kill him and take his title!

Makoto Oishi has convinced Yuji Hino to go after the KO-D Tag Team Titles with him. Maybe Hino would be better off teaming with Yukio Naya for the match but Oishi being such a caring father for his children convinced Hino to stick with him.

DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN – DAY 1”, 16/08/2023
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. The Scariest Event In History! Ghost Story New Numabukuro Death Match: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Saki Akai Vs Yuni Vs Hideki Okatani Vs Kazuma Sumi (Ghost Story Reading Artist: Hisaya Imabayashi)
2. Blindfold Hidden Breast 4 Way Death Match: HARASHIMA Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino
3. YOROKOBI BREWERY Infomercial Match: Yuji Hino, Yukio Sakaguchi & Soma Takao Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio naya & Yuki Ishida
4. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Shigehiro Irie & Jun Akiyama

The Fighting Beer Garden shows now has a craft beer sponsor.

DDT “SOMA TAKAO LOCAL TRIUPMH! MEMORIES OF SUMMER VACATION 2023 TOUR IN OTA-KU”, 19/08/2023
Tokyo Ota Ward Industrial Plaza PiO Small Exhibition Hall

1. Special Tag Match: Soma Takao & Shota Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazuki Hirata
2. Jun Akiyama, Saki Akai & Antonio Honda Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & Rukiya
3. DAMNATION T.A Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima

The recent actions of Konosuke Takeshita has fired up the rivalry between DAMNATION T.A and The 37KAMIINA. The one here is a rematch from the end of June when Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul beat Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima to win the vacant tag titles.

DDT “OSAKA BAY BLUES SPECIAL 2023”, 20/08/2023
Osaka Edion Arena #2

1. Osaka Specialty Special Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Tsutenkakka Vs Akito & Kazuma Sumi
2. BURNING Vs Harimao!: Jun Akiyama & Kotaro Suzuki Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida
3. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Shigehiro Irie & HARASHIMA
4. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yuki Ueno
5. Current Blast Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Yoshitatsu & Toy Kojima Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Okatani & Soma Takao

Sasaki has a few singles matches against different members of The 37KAMIINA this month. Yuki Ueno keeps being told by Takeshita to follow his lead and Sasaki has become a big supporter of that idea.

DDT “MEMORIES OF SUMMER VACATION 2023”, 27/08/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Saki Akai Debut 10th Anniversary Match Vol. 3 ~ Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Saki Akai
2. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs MAO
3. HARASHIMA Debut 22nd Anniversary Match: HARASHIMA Vs X

Sasaki also has to face MAO. He might start regretting taking Takeshita’s side in the matter just because of how much extra ring work it’s giving him.

Akai asked Danshoku Dieno for a singles match to call back memories of the Extreme Title bout from 2016. Their match back then featured a stipulation that nobody was allowed to cry or else they would lose. It was a match that Akai learned a lot and still thinks about after all this time. Dieno understands how much it means to her and will not be using his “Dandy” persona for that reason.

DDT “ROJO PRO WRESTLING IN IZUKOGEN GRANILLUMI”, 02/09/2023
Shizuoka Izu Granpal Park

1. Falls Count Anywhere 4 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Saki Akai Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima (w/ Shunma Katsumata) Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Shinya Aoki & Takeshi Masada Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & X

A lot of people are gathering together to wrestle among the bright lights of Izu Granpal Park. Not only is Shinya Aoki showing up but Pheromones will be joined by a mystery wrestler.

DDT “DDT BIG BANG 2023”, 09/09/2023
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium

1. Pheromones Vs Subjugation Final Match! Special Single Match ~ Dissolution Contra Vice President: Yuki “Sexy” Iino (w/ Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno) Vs Akito
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Yuko Miyamoto, Isami Kodaka & Ram Kaichow
3. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yuki Ueno & MAO
4. Current Blast Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Yoshi Tatsu & Toy Kojima Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada
5. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Shigehiro Irie

Sick of his demands being ignored, Atsushi Onita took it upon himself last week to crash a training session at the DDT dojo and confront Jun Akiyama. Apparently Onita got in touch with Kojima and demanded to find out when Akiyama was in the building. Kojima told him but didn’t actually expect he would show up. Onita told Akiyama the names of many famous wrestlers who fought him in Explosion Death Matches then asked why is he the only person who refuses to take part? Onita also reminded Sanshiro Takagi he was promised this match would happen. Akiyama accepted the challenge and both sides decided their teams. Onita will team with Yoshi Tatsu & Toy Kojima while Akiyama & Takagi will add Yusuke Okada to their team.

Is the team of Ueno & MAO enough to beat Takeshita & Sasaki? We’re heading into dangerous territory here as tensions raise higher and higher.

If Eruption are still the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions coming out of their All Japan appearance at the end of this month then their match against Yuko Miyamoto, Isami Kodaka & Ram Kaichow will be a title match.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~NAGOYA PERFORMANCE~”, 18/09/2023
Nagoya International Conference Center Event Hall

1. Saki Akai & Yuki Arai Vs X & X

This will be the final time Reiwa AA Cannon will team together, just two months before Akai retires.

DDT “DRAMATIC EXPLOSION 2023”, 18/09/2023
Nagoya International Conference Center Event Hall

1. Current Blast Death Match: Atsushi Onita Vs X

Minoru Suzuki will be on the show. This is happening the same day as the Bullet Train match with Takagi by the way. How else were they making it to Nagoya?

“MASAHIRO TAKANASHI 20TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW”, 19/09/2023
Shinjuku FACE

1. Special Exhibition: Masahiro Takanashi Vs KUDO
2. Yukio Sakaguchi, Isami Kodaka & Ken Ohka Vs MAO, Daiki Shimomura & Munetatsu Nakamura
3. Special Single Match: Mei Suruga Vs Minoru Suzuki
4. Chris Brookes Vs Masahiro Takanashi

No way was KUDO going to miss Masahiro Takanashi’s big show. He isn’t in ring shape to do a full wrestling match so Takanashi decided KUDO will face him in a 5 minute exhibition instead.

Saki Akai will also be on the show.