DDT “JUDGEMENT 2026 ~29TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION 5 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 22/03/2026 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match – Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: HIMAWARI, Haru Kazashiro & Chika Nanase Vs Toga, Ren Konatsu & Shion Kanzaki
0. Dark Match: Yuni Vs Hinata Kasai
1. Jun Akiyama Vs Rukiya
2. 3 Way Tag Match: MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Makoto Oishi & Masami Inahata Vs Viento Maligno & Kumadori
3. Special Tag Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya Vs Evil Uno & Akito
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles Next Challengers Decision Match: Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA Vs Shinya Aoki & Junta Miyawaki
5. Special Single Match ~ Shunma Katsumata Return Match: MAO Vs Shunma Katsumata
6. Dramatic Dream Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Kazuki Hirata (w/ John Robinson)
7. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – 1 Vs 6 Handicap Match: Hisaya Imabayashi (c) Vs Minoru Suzuki, Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Danshoku Dieno, Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda
8. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato Vs Naomi Yoshimura, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida
9. DDT Extreme Title: To-y (c) Vs Hideki Okatani
10. DDT Universal Title: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Kazuma Sumi
11. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs KANON
Thirteen matches in total will fill up five hours at Korakuen Hall later this month. DDT is celebrating the 29th Anniversary of its creation and hopes are growing high that something big will be in store for their 30th. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves with that one. Almost every one of DDT’s championships will be defended (the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles are being left out in the cold), future challengers for some of the belts will be set up and there is also the debut of Masami Inahata to look forward to.
It’s all going easy for paleyouth. I only took them a few days to win the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles after the unit was created. They also don’t have to wait long for their first defence. Harimao are stepping up to the plate with Kazusada Higuchi standing by to support his buddies.
The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title is currently in quite the predicament. Antonio Honda won the title only to lose it to Hisaya Imabayashi because the DDT GM does not trust Honda enough to beat YOH on 15th April. That match made Imabayashi paranoid that the belt would end up in New Japan’s hands and DDT cannot afford to ever let that happen again. However now he has to defend the title against six opponents and it won’t be in a Battle Royal. It is going to be a Handicap Match instead! The only hope he has is if the opposing team cannot get along and end up falling apart because of it. That could happen if Minoru Suzuki is in a particularly sour mood that day. Sanshiro Takagi does not often inspire a lot of loyalty among his wrestlers either, as a teammate or a boss.
A growing tag team between Shinya Aoki & Junta Miyawaki that is built out of respect and admiration could soon see them get rewarded for their efforts. If they can beat Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA then they will become the No. 1 Contenders for the KO-D Tag Team Titles. Otherwise it will be the FANTÔMES DRAMATIC pair who will get the next shot.
The good news for Evil Uno is this appearance on a DDT show in Korakuen Hall cannot be as humiliating for him as the first one. The bad news is he will likely end up with more bruises because The Apex will be his opponents.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’26”, 29/03/2026 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Uta Takami Vs Shion Kanzaki
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Staggered Entry Battle Royal: Hisaya Imabayashi (c) Vs Sumire Uesaka Vs Rika Tatsumi/Great Wakabayashi-kun Vs Raku Vs Mahiro Kiryu Vs Mifu Ashida Vs Kira Summer Vs Chika Nanase Vs Sakura Hattori Vs Matcha Vs Momo Sato Vs Minimo (w/ Mari Yaguchi)
3. HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki Vs Toga & Ren Konatsu
4. Shoko Nakajima, Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro (w/ Ninja Red, Geki Red & Go-On Red) Vs Aja Kong, Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
5. Mizuki Vs Andreza Giant Panda
6. Miyu Yamashita & Arisu Endo Vs Sareee & Takumi Iroha
7. Special Tag Match: Yuka Sakazaki & KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Hyper Misao & Super Sasadango Machine
8. International Princess Title: MIRAI (c) Vs Suzume
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara (c) Vs Jessie McKay & Cassie Lee
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Yuki Arai
Close-up images of the new Princess Championship belts have been revealed by Tokyo Joshi Pro. They will be on display at Sunday’s TJPW show but will not be given out to the champions until the Sumo Hall show.
In an unfortunate turn of events, TNA have told Tokyo Joshi Pro that Lei Ying Lee is unable to take part at their Sumo Hall show and her scheduled trip to Japan has been cancelled. Despite having the booking placed well in advance, TJPW were unable to convince TNA to change their decision. Instead, TNA provided TJPW with a statement that claims neither TJPW nor Lee are to blame over the situation. As best as I can tell, TNA have their “SACRIFICE” special as well as a TV taping happening in New Orleans during the same weekend as “GRAND PRINCESS ’26”. So if Lee is needed for the TV taping on the Saturday then she definitely can’t make it to Tokyo in time for TJPW on the Sunday. The time difference probably makes it too difficult for her to start travelling on the Friday night too. Plus there’s also the general travel risks from going in and out of America that’s currently happening right now that could be playing a part in this situation.
TJPW were quick to announce Lee’s replacement after they put that news out. They put out an offer to Marvelous to secure the TJPW debut of Takumi Iroha! She will be teaming up with Sareee which means their tag team Spark Rush is coming to TJPW! Miyu Yamashita was already excited to fight Sareee again but now she is salivating over the chance to fight Iroha too. Arisu Endo doesn’t want to be left out of the action and says she will shine the brightest out of anyone in the match!
The recent Iron Man Title changes have an effect on this card too. Rika Tatsumi is no longer the champion but she is still in the match. The deal with this Battle Royal is whoever holds the Iron Man Title must take part in the match, which means the DDT GM Hisaya Imabayashi could potentially defend the belt in Sumo Hall on a TJPW show! He never gets to beat Tetsuya Koda in the ring but a moral victory like this would be huge in their professional rivalry.
Another thing with the Battle Royal is TJPW have asked fans not to throw streamers for the entrances due to the nature of the match. However Minimo-chan has made requests for streamers from the fans to celebrate the mascot’s debut wrestling match. After a couple of discussions, TJPW decided that Minimo-chan will enter the match first and will be the only participant allowed to get streamers during the entrance.
Oh, and I almost forgot. Remember how Koda was told to go find a big star for the show but couldn’t do it? Well luck sort of fell on his lap. He accompanied Shion Kanzaki for her day of street performances in Shinjuku to promote the show. All of a sudden Koda was ambushed by the Sumire Uesaka, a voice actress and singer who once performed a solo concert at Sumo Hall ten years ago! She was armed with a saber and assaulted Koda with it in a way that reminded Tokyo Sports of Tiger Jeet Singh attacking Antonio Inoki in the same city back in 1973! Uehara appeared to be in a rage because she once held the Iron Man Title for a brief time last year and wants to be part of the Battle Royal to win it back! After Kanzaki stopped the incident and Uehara calmed down, she explained to Tokyo Sports that she was meant to grab her umbrella as she was leaving her home but grabbed the mysterious saber instead. She felt a sudden urge of fighting spirit overcome her but does not remember anything that happened after that.
Even with WrestleMania Week out of the way there is so much to talk about what happened in April. It’s probably going to be a month Yuka Sakazaki will want to forget. She finally returned to TV screens only to possibly find her way back to the injury list. It only happened two weeks ago so there’s been no update to her condition. All she has tweeted since the match happened is a zombie emoji. She was being set up for a match with Serena Deeb in AEW but that seems to have gone to the wayside because Deeb is already moving ahead in the AEW Women’s Title picture. Just have to wait and see if it was just a knock to the knee or something worse.
In more uplifting news, Konosuke Takeshita is showing interest in taking the IWGP World Heavyweight Title from Jon Moxley. This is going to be facinating watching a DDT affiliated wrestler in an AEW storyline built around New Japan’s top championship. Does he have any realistic chance of becoming champion? Not unless Moxley gets legit knocked out during the match again. New Japan have clearly set their own story over Moxley’s IWGP Title reign. Their roster led by “The Reiwa Musketeers” are all showing frustration over their company playing second fiddle to AEW. Whether it is Moxley not taking part in the Japan tours or handing title matches out to undeserving challengers in America, the story New Japan is telling does not have Takeshita fitting in anywhere as an important player and I do not expect AEW to make booking decisions that will interfere with it. Still though, Takeshita versus Moxley has been good before and the addition of the IWGP Title is a novelty that got me more interested in the rematch.
Wrapping up the month is the Tokyo Joshi Pro portion of appearances. Maki Itoh finished up her latest American tour and got to defend the GCW Extreme Title. Not sure when she is due back in GCW other than we certainly won’t be waiting long to find out. Miyu Yamashita returned to a bunch of familiar promotions from last year’s excursion. The big one was a visit to TNA where she main evented their TV taping. Most important of all, Kaya Toribami stepped in for an injured Hyper Misao to help save the world from a kappa invasion. That’s a good bird.
Oh and there was also the crazy happenings that went on when Kazusada Higuchi and Mecha Mummy went to West Coast Pro. Let’s get to that.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 20/04/2024 Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Emi Sakura
PRESTIGE/PRIDESTYLE “PRIDE & PRESTIGE”, 26/04/2024 Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Trish Adora
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Results
WEST COAST PRO “CHRIS HERO’S PRO WRES MIXTAPE”, 14/04/2024 Don Quixote Event Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Chris Hero Vs Kazusada Higuchi ended in a No Contest (12:23).
2. Tornado Tag Team Match: Chris Hero & Bryan Keith defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Mecha Mummy when Keith pinned Mummy with the Emerald Tiger Driver (13:45).
This was not how I thought things were going to go between Higuchi and Chris Hero. I mean the first ten minutes, sure. They hit each other hard and Higuchi no sold hitting the ring post head first. That was all well and good. He even used his own head to block one of Hero’s Elbow Strikes. Unfortunately as they kept fighting in the corner the referee stepped in one too many times and got knocked out with a Lariat. Higuchi kept attacking Hero until Bryan Keith made his entrance and started squaring off with him. Hero & Keith joined forces so Higuchi now found himself needing help. Suddenly Mecha Mummy appeared!
There were plans for a Keith Vs Mummy match to happen on the show but now the fans got a Tornado Tag match between the four fighters instead! Mummy gave Keith an Atomic Drop onto the Mecha Fist but Keith returned fire by giving Mummy a Drop Toe Hold, destroying the fist on impact. Keith then challenged Mummy to a duel but it ended with them giving each other and the referee Low Blows. The ref also got impaled with the Mecha Drill by accident. Hero then fought Mummy all the way up to the balcony where Higuchi followed. Mummy fired the repaired Mecha Fist at Keith from the balcony and raced down to pin him for a nearfall. Hero returned with bottles of water but Higuchi stopped him from pouring it over Mummy. Keith however took a big drink of the bottle and spat it all over Mummy to make it go haywire. He then gave it the Emerald Tiger Driver to win a crazy match.
PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 8”, 14/04/2024 Roseland Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Kylie Rae with the Skull Kick (15:30).
Yamashita’s good run in Prestige continued when she beat Kylie Rae in a hard fought match. Hitting the Return Crash seemed to fire up Yamashita in particular. With that boost she broke out of Rae’s Crippler Crossface and kicked out of a Super Kick at one. She then rolled Rae into a Buzzsaw Kick for a nearfall before putting her down for the count with the Skull Kick.
ROH “ROH ON HONOR CLUB”, 17/04/2024 (Aired 25/04/2024) Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Leila Grey with the Magical Girl Splash (4:44).
Oh yikes this was bad. There was an awkwardly timed replay segment too right before the finish which only makes me wonder what was cut out because what was left in is the kind of stuff those anti-AEW Twitter accounts would salivate over if people gave a shit about ROH. There was an Elbow Strike exchange that looked like both didn’t want to sell and then Sakazaki tried to do a rope-assisted German Suplex that did not work at all. She was able to beat Leila Grey with the Magical Merry-Go-Round followed by the Magical Girl Splash but that match was one to forget. Or at least it would be if she hadn’t gotten injured in her next match during the month.
UPRISING “UPRISING: WOMEN ATHLETES 2”, 19/04/2024 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Black Swan with the I.S.D. (9:22).
2. Hyan defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Glam Slam (11:27).
It looks like Hyan is one of the few opponents who seems to have Yamashita’s number whenever Yamashita goes over to America. This was their second singles match and there is a tag match to come later this summer. Hyan has beaten Yamashita both times now but it’s been no easy feat. This time Hyan was overwhelmed by Yamashita’s kicks but found ways to avoid the Attitude Adjustment. The last counter led to Hyan giving Yamashita the Glam Slam to win the match.
Itoh was given an opponent who is just as much of a dramatic attention seeker as she is in the form of Black Swan. They spent part of the match fighting outside where Swan threw Itoh into the barricade and then Itoh Body Slammed Swan onto the floor. After going back and forth in the ring, Itoh dropped Swan with a DDT and then got the win by hitting the I.S.D. off the top rope.
DREAMWAVE “ANNIVERSARY IX”, 20/04/2024 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Megan Bayne defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Tombstone Piledriver (9:52).
The next night Uprising’s main promotion DREAMWAVE put together the surprise matchup of Yamashita against Megan Bayne. She is one of the stronger booked wrestlers on the independents right now and her momentum continued here with a clean win over Yamashita. The result seemed to have put Yamashita in a bad mood afterward because she refused to shake Bayne’s hand after the match and left the ring with a sour look on her face.
AEW “COLLISION”, 20/04/2024 Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois, USA
1. Bunkhouse Brawl: Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli defeated Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita when Danielson submitted Fletcher with the Chain Assisted LaBell Lock (16:03).
Add the Bunkhouse Brawl to the list of violent matches Takeshita is finding himself in over at AEW. He was all dressed up for the occasion too as one should be for a stipulation like this. Chairs and chains were used by everyone and things got even more chaotic with interference from Powerhouse Hobbs and Moxley. The presence of Hobbs tipped things in favour for The Don Callis Family even when Moxley came down to get rid of him. Things then went south when Bryan Danielson countered Takeshita’s top rope Power Bomb with a Hurricanrana onto a chair set up in the middle of the ring. Claudio Castagnoli then covered his arm with the chain and hit Takeshita with a Charging European Uppercut. Danielson won the match by hitting Kyle Fletcher with the Busaiku Knee followed by putting him in the LaBell Lock for the submission.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 20/04/2024 Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Emi Sakura with a Sliding German Suplex (9:31).
And here’s where Sakazaki’s return hit a big bump on the road. During her match with Emi Sakura, Sakazaki tried to do a cartwheel from the top rope onto the ring apron to avoid an attack. She missed landing on the apron and crashed onto the floor outside, hurting her knee in the process. Sakura bought some time with some improvised heel work ringside while Sakazaki tried to walk it off. They were able to continue the match but Sakazaki was still clearly shaken up and using the Sliding German Suplex for the finish was definitely not the original plan. Credit to her for gutting through it and still being able to do most of her moves but she couldn’t hide the upset look on her face after the match.
GCW “HOW HIGH”, 20/04/2024 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. GCW Extreme Title: Maki Itoh (c) defeated Sandra Moone with the I.S.D. (8:55). *V1 for Maki Itoh.
GCW is keeping us on our toes when it comes to Itoh defending the GCW Extreme Title. It wasn’t until the show took place when they announced her match with Sandra Moone would have the title on the line. No worries! Itoh beat Moone in her first defence and they left the ring together shoulder to shoulder.
TNA “IMPACT!”, 21/04/2024 (Aired 02/05/2024) Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Knockouts World Title: Jordynne Grace (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Juggernaught Driver (?:??). *V7 for Jordynne Grace.
Last year Yamashita got to wrestle in Impact for the first time. Now it’s a year later and Impact has gone back to being called TNA. No matter what name it’s under now, she was back to fight Jordynne Grace. The stakes were then made higher when TNA decided to make the match for the Knockouts World Title. Yamashita tried something a little bit new in the match when she hit the Skull Kick to the back of Grace’s head buzzsaw style but Grace recovered and used the Grace Driver to retain her title.
PRESTIGE/PRIDESTYLE “PRIDE & PRESTIGE”, 26/04/2024 Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Trish Adora with the Skull Kick (10:33).
Yamashita’s next Prestige match was at an event co-promoted with PrideStyle Inclusive Pro in Las Vegas. She defeated Trish Adora in a match I haven’t seen the VOD of yet.
DAIKAIJU PRO “VOL. 2 – KAPPAS COUNTERATTACK”, 27/04/2024 White Eagle, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
1. Kaya Toribami defeated Ultramantis Black with the Sento Choryu (?:??).
This was originally supposed to be Hyper Misao coming back to America to protect the land from UltraMantis Black and his kappa army. Unfortunately an ankle injury forced a change of plans. Depending on who you ask she either got injured during her match against Steph de Lander at the “GCW VS TJPW” show or she was the victim of an ambush attack put together by the devious UltraMantis. Either way she sent Kaya Toribami to Daikaiju Pro in her place because they still needed a hero to fight for them. During the match Mantis called upon his kappa army for help but Toribami had backup from all of the other babyfaces to even the odds. In the end good prevailed over evil and Toribami successfully hit the Sento Choryu on Mantis to get the victory.
INSPIRE A.D. “THE EVIL WE DO”, 28/04/2024 Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Maya World (?:??).
The last time Yamashita was at Inspire A.D. she took a surprise upset loss to Killa Kate. That wasn’t going to happen again when she fought Maya World in her return to the promotion.
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Upcoming Appearances
GCW “RATHER YOU THAN ME”, 03/05/2024 Egypt Shrine Center, Tampa, Florida, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Joey Janela
She got a taste of GCW earlier this month with the “GCW VS TJPW” show and is coming back for a proper go this time around. Yamashita is getting thrown into the deep end for her proper GCW debut. Joey Janela is chomping at the bit to break her into pieces so he can rub it in the faces of joshi fans afterwards.
Will Yuki Kamifuku beat Alexis Lee for the VPW Women’s Title so it can go along with her Queen Of Asia Title?
MLW “AZTECA LUCHA”, 11/05/2024 Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title – 4 Way Match: Janai Kai (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Zayda Vs Delmi Exo
Well Yamashita wasn’t able to win the Knockouts Title in TNA but she has another title match to look forward to in May. She returns to MLW where Janai Kai is defending the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title in a 4 Way Match. The other challengers are Zayda Steele and Delmi Exo but Kai’s previous title defences have mostly been against joshi wrestlers and TJPW wrestlers in particular. She’s beaten Yamashita before outside of MLW. Can she do it again when her MLW Title is on the line and she needs to have eyes on the back of her head?
DPW “LIMIT BREAK”, 19/05/2024 Durham Convention Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita & Lady Frost Vs Hyan & Vert Vixen
It’s back to Deadlock Pro! Yamashita’s first time in the ring with Lady Frost is as a team together and they are both familiar with their opponents. Hyan is now a regular presence in Yamashita’s US tours and Yamashita teamed with Vert Vixen the last time she was in DPW.
LLL “HIGH STRANGENESS – NIGHT ONE”, 24/05/2024 The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA
1. Abadon Vs Miyu Yamashita
This isn’t the first time Yamashita will be fighting a zombie. She used to do that all the time when Maho Kurone was still wrestling. Abadon though is a bit more intense when it comes to that sort of stuff.
LLL “HIGH STRANGENESS – NIGHT TWO”, 25/05/2024 The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
What else is Lucha Libre & Laughs going to throw at Yamashita?
SETUP “CLASH OF THE TITANS”, 25/05/2024 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Matcha (c) Vs Monomoth Vs Mizuki
How possible is is that Mizuki wins the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title and then brings it along for her Queen Of Asia Title shot that is due anytime soon? Add the VPW Women’s Title then we end up with an Asian Triple Crown of women’s championships.
GCW “TOURNAMENT OF SURVIVAL 9”, 01/06/2024 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Tournament Of Survival 9: Shunma Katsumata Vs X
One of the big death match tournaments of the year is held by GCW over in America. The 9th annual Tournament Of Survival will have Shunma Katsumata as one of the Japanese entrants along with Big Japan wrestlers Hideyoshi Kamitani and Yuki Ishikawa.
REPUBLIC OF LUCHA “ROL7: HIT THE LIGHTS”, 01/06/2024 The Temple, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X
The first two seasons of Lucha Underground was a magical time. Season three was good too but the show suffered from taking a massive break mid-season but that’s a conversation for somewhere else. The warehouse that was used to house The Temple for the show tapings is going to host a wrestling show for the first time in seven years. I don’t expect it to look anything like it did in the old days because a lot of that setup was just a TV set but Takeshita getting to wrestle there is pretty neat nonetheless.
This is still for now the last date on Yamashita’s schedule before she goes back to Japan.
IWA JAPAN “HARDCORE FOREVER”, 27/07/2024 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs X & X
This year is the 30th anniversary of IWA Japan’s launch. What a weird existence this promotion has had. To celebrate there will be a memorial show held by SETUP taking place in Thailand using the IWA branding. CDK will be there to defend the SETUP Tag Team Titles since those belts are also affiliated with IWA Japan. Will Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi have to defend the belts against a pair of kaiju or will they be fighting more normal looking opponents?
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 