United Japan Pro Wrestling Is Announced

December 15, 2023

UJPW “UNITED JAPAN PRO WRESTLING”, 06/05/2024
Tokyo Nippon Budokan

I’m going to copy and paste the write up on New Japan’s official English site to explain what’s going on with this new thing called United Japan Pro Wrestling.

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December 15, Tokyo Japan

New Japan Pro-Wrestling today announces that it is one of nine organizations that will constitute United Japan Pro-Wrestling, a new industry group representing professional wrestling in Japan.

Without an industry wide group for professional wrestling in Japan, the unprecedented crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic made it all the more clear that there was a need to consolidate and express accurate information and best operating practices between promotions, as well as to communicate effectively with national and municipal governments. In a bid to better anticipate and adapt to societal changes in the future, nine Japanese promotions at the forefront of pro-wrestling in the country will be be part of a collective industry group (henceforth ‘the Group’).

The members of the Group will maintain their individual business identities and competition in the marketplace, but the Group will provide a space to discuss issues that concern the industry at large, and to exchange information with an interest in maintaining its growth. The formation of the Group will be marked by an event on May 6 2024 in Nippon Budokan under the banner of United Japan Pro-Wrestling.

Mission statement

To further the presence of pro-wrestling and its cultural merit in Japanese society at large, allow professional wrestling to contribute further to cultural and sporting sectors, and work toward continued health and prosperity of the industry.

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic made it apparent that there was a lack of communication and unified approach to event guidelines, and no common point of contact between the industry and national and municipal governments. There was also a desire to discuss issues surrounding wrestler health and safety (including in their online presence), to create a pipeline to other sporting organizations and to further the image of professional wrestling through issues of corporate social responsibility. There was a shared desire between members of the Group to continue existing competition within the marketplace while also sharing relevant information and know-how on these and other socio-economic issues.

Core tenets

Unity and integrity. The Group will be the representative spokesgroup for all of professional wrestling in Japan.
Representation. The Group will be the public facing symbol for the collective whole of professional wrestling in Japan.
Continuity. The Group will have a continuous presence and activity in the future.

As a result, the existence of the Group will be made known worldwide, and its members will be actively engaged in actions of merit.

Activities

Governmental communication and requests
Strengthening connections to other industries and sectors
Sharing resources and practices

Including those related to wrestler health and safety, such as the provision of financial support for wrestlers while injured, and to offer compliance training. Group members will also consolidate event data for historical archive purposes.

Monetization

Any proceeds from the monetized use of iconography shall be split among the Group members. Joint events and festivals will be held.

Group members

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (New Japan Pro-Wrestling Co. Ltd.)
All Japan Pro-Wrestling (All Japan Pro-Wrestling Co. Ltd.)
Pro-Wrestling NOAH (Cyber Fight Co. Ltd.)
DDT Pro-Wrestling (Cyber Fight Co. Ltd.)
Ganbare ☆ Pro-Wrestling (Cyber Fight Co. Ltd.)
Big Japan Pro-Wrestling (Yotsuba Industries Ltd.)
DRAGONGATE (DRAGONGATE Co. Ltd.)
STARDOM (BushiRoad Fight Co. Ltd.)
Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling (Cyber Fight Co. Ltd.)

Further Group members will be considered in future.

Founding chair: Seiji Sakaguchi
Executive office: New Japan Pro-Wrestling Co. Ltd.
Executive chief: Naoki Sugabayashi (Chairman: New Japan Pro-Wrestling Co. Ltd.)

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So we’re giving this another go then. My immediate reaction to the news was memories of the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance from the mid 2000s. The GPWA was a similar concept to this, getting many of the wrestling promotions in Japan to co-operate with each other under one banner. It faded away pretty quickly. The only legacy it left behind was the 2007 Differ Cup tournament (and that isn’t even the 2005 one that was hyped by tape traders from that era). It also stayed around as a piece of trivia in wiki pages for each of the companies involved for years afterwards. So from the jump I’m feeling cynical over UJPW’s chances of establishing itself as an important benchmark for Japanese wrestling.

However the entire wrestling landscape is very different now than it was back then. The scene in Japan is not back to pre-pandemic levels of business and it’s only when times are toughest you will get companies willing to work together in order to spark up some kind of momentum again. I see some instant reaction online that this might be another attempt to close up Japan to WWE but I’m struggling to think that’s the main priority here. WWE’s global expansion plans do seem to be revving up again and their recent ABEMA deal has gotten them more coverage in Japan recently. And of course there’s suddenly more and more rumours about WWE trying to snap up Japan’s biggest names at the nearest opportunity. Yet as I see all this on the horizon I still don’t think it is an immediate threat. What’s happening here with UJPW seems to be the Japanese companies all trying to get their plans in order in regards to challenges much closer to home. It’s more like something to represent the majority of the industry when communicating with government bodies.

But hey, let’s give this thing a shot because at the very least what we’re getting out of it is nine promotions working together for a big show at Budokan Hall next May. Company alliances over the last year have been interesting to follow. New Japan and NOAH have been working together, All Japan and DDT have bee working together. Dragongate mostly keeps to themselves while Big Japan and Ganbare☆Pro are usually full of freelancers and wrestlers from other indies showing up at all times. The most surprising dynamic is Stardom and Tokyo Joshi Pro finally interacting with each other. Getting the isolated promotions like Dragongate and TJPW involved in this is significant. TJPW were not involved at all in the big Joshi show celebrating 60 years of Korkauen Hall that was held in 2022. What on earth kind of matchup are they going to put together if inter-promotional bouts are planned for the show?


TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA” Results

December 15, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023
The Vermont Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
400 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku defeated Rika Tatsumi & Amira when Harajuku pinned Amira after the Wasteland War Justice with Max (10:20).
2. Trish Adora defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Lariat (8:42).
3. Mizuki defeated Sandra Moone with the Cutie Special (10:21).
4. Miu Watanabe defeated Hyan with the Tear Drop (8:33).
5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta (c) defeated Janai Kai & Shazza McKenzie when Noa pinned McKenzie with the Blizzard Suplex (9:42).
*V3 for Free WiFi.
6. Taya Valkyrie defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Road To Valhalla (10:47).
7. Special Tag Match: Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly defeated Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh when Slamovich pinned Yamashita with the White Knight Driver (18:00).

The second Tokyo Joshi Pro event to be held in America this year was a co-promoted effort along with the west coast company Prestige Wrestling. The main event was a preview for 4th January with Miyu Yamashita and Masha Slamovich in the ring together. In the match 121000000 was working well as a team against MK Ultra. Yamashita & Maki Itoh got rid of Killer Kelly with a Jumping DDT followed by a German Suplex. But Masha Slamovich ducked Yamashita’s Skull Kick and landed a Backspin Kick of her own. She then scored the pin on Yamashita by giving her the White Knight Driver.

MK Ultra soaked in the victory as they welcomed the audience into their world. Slamovich warned Yamashita she will use the same move to beat her for the Princess Of Princess Title on 4th January. Yamashita got on the microphone and told Slamovich she is going to kick her ass in Tokyo! Before things could get heated up even further, Itoh grabbed everyone’s attention and called down everyone to the ring for a group photo to close out the show. Backstage Yamashita admitted the match exposed her weakness which is her overconfidence. She’s wrestled against Slamovich that she now knows how to avoid the Skull Kick. Itoh pointed out that Slamovich is wrestling in a death match for GCW at the end of the year so there is a chance she could be weak going into the title bout.

If you had a bad time watching the iPPV feed of the show then Hikari Noa takes the blame for that. The fans in attendance though were happy with the Free WiFi they got. Noa & Nao Kakuta are feeling invincible after their third successful defence of the Princess Tag Team Titles. Noa avoided a Double Brainbuster from Janai Kai & Shazza McKenzie, leaving them open for Kakuta to give them a Double Facebuster. Free WiFi then hit McKenzie with Sandwich Thrust Kicks and she was then pinned with the Blizzard Suplex. Noa said she would have definintely lost if she was alone at the end but she held on thanks to Kakuta and the support of the fans. Kakuta said Free WiFi are feeling invincible because they will enter 2024 as champions. Kai takes part of the blame for losing because the match was a team effort. She said this won’t be the last time you’ll see Demon Hearts in TJPW.


Can KANON Steal The Block? GanPro Ready For The New Year, 5th Annual Shoko Vs Misao Match

December 14, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023
The Vermont Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Rika Tatsumi & Amira Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
2. Moka Miyamoto Vs Trish Adora
3. Mizuki Vs Sandra Moone
4. Shoko Nakajima Vs Taya Valkyrie
5. Miu Watanabe Vs Hyan
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta (c) Vs Janai Kai & Shazza McKenzie
7. Special Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly

There were a few speed bumps along the way but tonight is the night Tokyo Joshi Pro is back in America thanks to Prestige!

GANBARE☆JOSHI “GANJO BINARY LAND ’23”, 15/12/2023
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall

1. GanJo Vs Evo Joshi: Riara Vs ZONES
2. GanJo Vs Evo Joshi: YuuRI Vs Chi Chi
3. Ram Kaichow & Alex Lee Vs Sumire Natsu & Marika Kobashi
4. Tae Honma & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Yuu & Banny Oikawa

Yoshiko Hasegawa gets to main event the final Ganbare☆Joshi show of 2023.

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 IN FUKUOKA”, 16/12/2023
Fukuoka Nishitetsu Hall

0. Dark Match – Kyushu Sangyo University Pro Wrestling Research Department Offer Match: Ionazun Shirai & Tiger Nishiya Mask Vs Great Tamu & Occult Daimao
1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Toy Kojima & Van Vert Jack Vs Azul Dragon, Akito & Kazuma Sumi
2. Yukio Sakaguchi & Soma Takao Vs Yukio Naya & Yusuke Okada
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi Vs Hideki Okatani, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada
4. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Yuki Ueno (2) Vs HARASHIMA (2)
5. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (4) Vs Daisuke Sasaki (1)
6. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Kazusada Higuchi (4) Vs Yuki Iino (3)
7. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Chris Brookes (2) Vs Kazuki Hirata (0)
8. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: KANON (4) Vs Rei Saito (4)

It’s still a close race in the A Block but if KANON pulls off a second upset in a row he will suddenly find himself on top of the B Block! Rei Saito needs to win this or he will not be able to qualify for the final.

Kazuki Hirata’s last block match is against Chris Brookes. Lost this and Hirata ends the tournament with the wooden spoon award. A win though will save him some face, even if it’s just by a little bit.

BASARA “BASARA 238 ~UTAGE~”, 19/12/2023
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Takumi Tsukamoto & SAGAT Vs Yasu Urano & Masahiro Takanashi
2. 3 Way Match: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Gouma Ryu Vs A.YAZAWA
3. Ryota Nakatsu & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
4. FUMA, KUBITO & Daichi Kazato Vs Lil’ Kraken, Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
5. Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Munetatsu Nakamura

This is the last BASARA show of the year. The main event sees Sento Minzoku’s top two facing the visitors from Ganbare☆Pro. Just over a week later Isami Kodaka and Shuichiro Katsumura will fight at the main event of GanPro’s end of year Korakuen Hall show.

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 IN KORAKUEN HALL”, 24/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal ~ Toru Owashi Return Match: The Great Koji (c) Vs Toru Owashi Vs Sanshiro Takagi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Akito Vs Yusuke Okada Vs Yuki Ishida Va Kazuma Sumi Vs Rukiya Vs Open Recruitment X
2. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs KANON & MJ Paul
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada
4. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Yuki Ueno Vs Yuki Iino
5. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Kazusada Higuchi
6. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs HARASHIMA
7. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Chris Brookes Vs Rei Saito
8. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: MAO Vs Yukio Naya

Toru Owashi admits he is more worried about the mental stress of being in the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title Battle Royal for his return match rather than the physical stress. He knows his best skill is managing traffic during chaotic matches but the appearance of this new guy called The Great Koji has him a little concerned the pressure will be too much to handle. Owashi thinks he can beat Koji to win the Iron Man Title but to be honest, he doesn’t really want it.

GANBARE☆PRO “BAD COMMUNICATION 2023”, 27/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Yuko Miyamoto Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
2. Sumire Natsu, YuuRI & Riara Vs HARUKAZE, Makoto & Banny Oikawa
3. Special Single Match: Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Arisu Endo
4. Special Single Match: Ken Ohka Vs Kuma Arashi
5. GanPro Vs GLEAT All Out Battle ~ GanPro’s Famous Elimination 10-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Takuya Wada, Mizuki Watase, Shinichiro Tominaga & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Kaz Hayashi, Minoru Tanaka, Takanori Ito, Check Shimatani & Jun Tonsho
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Shota & Soma Takao (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Shuichiro Katsumura

During the week Ken Ohka & Keisuke Ishii travelled to the All Japan dojo in Yokohama so they could train for a few hours with Shuji Ishikawa. The three of them have ties going back to Union Pro. Ishii invaded the promotion and kicked Ohka out of Union by winning a Loser Leaves Town match. Ohka went on to form GanPro and started a war with Union and Ishikawa. A lot of time has passed since then and Ohka is proud to see how far all three of them have advanced since then. The training session included Ishikawa coming up with ideas to improve Ohka’s finisher the Fire Spear. The move has been countered a lot by Ohka’s current enemy Kuma Arashi in their recent matches. Ishikawa and Ishii instructed Ohka new ways to use the Spear so there will be less opportunities for it to be countered. By the end of the session Ohka can now hit the Spear with more accuracy, less momentum and also from a shorter range.

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 THE FINAL”, 03/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. New Year’s GiFt Special Single Match: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan Vs Danshoku Dieno
2. Special Tag Match ~ Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima
3. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – Final: Winner Of A Block Vs Winner Of B Block

Shunma Katsumata revealed the reason why he wanted Eruption to be his opponents for his return match. 2024 is going to be Katsumata’s 10th year in wrestling and Yukio Sakaguchi was one of his opponents in his debut match. So Katsumata wants to kick off his tenth year by fighting his very first pro opponent again. He is impressed by how well Hideki Okatani performed in the Real World Tag League. And finally Katsumata appreciates all the hard work Toy Kojima did to protect The 37KAMIINA while he was recovering at home. Katsumata also has his eyes on winning back the DDT Extreme Title and KO-D Tag Team Titles in 2024.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’24”, 04/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Aja Kong Vs Wakana Uehara
2. Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao
3. Rina Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
4. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) Vs Yuki Arai
5. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Masha Slamovich

The Ittenyon tradition continues with the fifth annual Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao singles match! Nothing extra has been announced yet but there is always a wacky stipulation attached to these matches. The first two matches also had the winner change the loser’s name for a month but they stopped doing that for the third and fourth matches in order to keep the harmony within Kyoraku Kyomei for the upcoming Max Heart Tournament. Giving one of them an identity crisis right before the big tag team tournament is not a good idea.

Ryo Mizunami will be on the show.

GANBARE☆PRO “2024 GANBARE☆THE FIGHT BEGINS”, 04/01/2024
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. YuuRI & Riara Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa & Kaho Matsushita
2. Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE Vs Shigehiro Irie & Banny Oikawa
3. New Year Special 3 Way Match: Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Yuni Vs Ilusion
4. GanPro New Year Special Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Yumehito Imanari Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Soma Takao
5. GanPro New Year Special Tag Match: Ken Ohka & Mizuki Watase Vs Shota & Shinichiro Tominaga

The first GanPro show of 2024 features a new generation 3 Way Match reuniting several members of DDTeeeen!! It’s time for Munetatsu Nakamura, Yuni and Ilusion to all show each other how much they have learned since they were last in the ring with each other.

Also on the show is the return of Lethal Weapon! The duo of Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE have arguably been the top mixed tag team in GanPro. That makes them the perfect opponents for Banny Oikawa who is continuing down her path of intergender tag wrestling. She teams with Shigehiro Irie.

Kaho Matsushita is from Ice Ribbon. That company just announced a restructure with new investments attached to them so it might be an interesting story to see what they can do in 2024.

GANBARE☆PRO “GANPRO 2024 ROSIER”, 06/01/2024
Osaka 176BOX

1. Legendary Hostess Vs The Toughest Girl In Osaka: Riara Vs Momoka Hanazono
2. Banny Oikawa & YuuRI Vs HARUKAZE & Yoshiko Hasegawa
3. Yumehito Imanari & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Soma Takao & Mizuki Watase
4. Keisuke Ishii & Shota Vs Ilusion & Munetatsu Nakamura
5. GanPro New Year Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Ken Ohka & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Shuichiro Katsumura, Takuya Wada & Tsuyoshi Okada

HARASHIMA joins in with GanPro’s new year celebrations.

Warning, everybody involved in Match #3 all like to drink a lot of alcohol.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW AQUARIUM PRO WRESTLING IN YOKOHAMA HAKKEIJIMA SEA PARADISE” Results

December 10, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW AQUARIUM PRO WRESTLING IN YOKOHAMA HAKKEIJIMA SEA PARADISE”, 10/12/2023
Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise
0 Fans

1. LABO 1 ~ LABO 4: Miu Watanabe & Arisu Endo defeated Shoko Nakajima & HIMAWARI when Watanabe submitte HIMAWARI with the Canadian Backbreaker (7:09).
*Team Sakazaki 0 – 1 Team Arai.
2. LABO 4 ~ LABO 6: Rika Tatsumi & Suzume defeated Yuki Arai & Raku when Tatsumi pinned Raku with a Front Neck Lock Cutback (9:50).
*Team Sakazaki 1 – 1 Team Arai.
3. LABO 6 ~ LABO 10: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Nao Kakuta & Hyper Misao ended in a No Contest when both teams attacked the referee (8:51).
*Team Sakazaki 1 – 1 Team Arai.
4. Special Match – Aqua Stadium: Yuka Sakazaki, Shoko Nakajima, Rika Tatsumi, Mizuki, Suzume & HIMAWARI defeated Yuki Arai, Nao Kakuta, Hyper Misao, Miu Watanabe, Raku & Arisu Endo when Sakazaki pinned Endo with a Rolling Elbow Butt (11:53).
*Team Sakazaki 2 – 1 Team Arai.

Team Sakazaki: Yuka Sakazaki, Shoko Nakajima, Rika Tatsumi, Mizuki, Suzume & HIMAWARI

Team Arai: Yuki Arai, Nao Kakuta, Hyper Misao, Miu Watanabe, Raku & Arisu Endo

The latest Tokyo Joshi Pro PPV was recorded sometime before Yuka Sakazaki’s graduation and took place at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise in Yokohama. Everyone arrived a the aquarium looking forward to a fun day that started out with a BBQ meal. Sayuri Namba then announced to everyone there were six stuffed toys of marine animals available for them to take. However there were twelve women in the group. It was suggested they play games of Rock-Paper-Scissors to determine who should get the prizes. Rika Tatsumi had a better idea. They are all pro wrestlers so they should split into two teams and fight for the toys!

The group split into two sides, one captained by Sakazaki and the other led by Yuki Arai. They agreed to do three tag team matches held in different areas of the aquarium and whichever side got the most wins would get the stuffed toys.

First up was Shoko Nakajima & HIMAWARI against Miu Watanabe & Arisu Endo. They had their match in front of a statue of a beluga whale on one side and a massive fish tank on the other. There was also a long railing along the fish tank that gave Nakajima and Endo the same idea. They both decided to do a ropewalk across the railing from opposite sides, meeting each other in the middle. Back on the ground Watanabe used the large empty space in the middle of the room to give HIMAWARI a Giant Swing. She then made her give up to the Canadian Backbreaker while Endo held Nakajima in the Camel Clutch.

Everyone move over to the next section for the second match. Here it was Rika Tatsumi & Suzume taking on team captain Arai & Raku. However Raku’s Oyasumi Express invited everyone else on Team Arai to join in on the fun and pile onto the opponents. Arai & Raku both applied Headlocks but seemed to get distracted by the sights of aqua life surrounding them. Tatsumi took advantage and put Raku in a Figure 4 Leg Lock. Arai broke it up by Body Slamming Suzume on top of her. Raku tried to finish things off by putting Tatsumi in the Front Neck Lock but Tatsumi pressed down Raku’s shoulders on the floor and pinned her for a three count.

With the scores at 1-1 it came down to the third match to decide who gets the prize. For this match the teams were allowed to bring their own items to use as weapons. Nao Kakuta & Hyper Misao showed up to the match wearing crab and shark outfits. It was Misao’s idea because she then asked is anyone allowed to attack sea creatures here? Sakazaki immediately said she can and attacked Misao to start the match. Misao fought back by biting Sakazaki’s arm. Sakazaki would then grab Kakuta and bite her arm. The Magical Sugar Rabbits then chased after their opponents around the aquarium. Tetsuya Koda ended up getting caught in the chaos by accidentally getting sprayed in the face by Misao and then accidentally hit over the head with a mallet by Mizuki. After getting attacked by both teams, Koda called off the match declaring no winner.

The final score stayed at 1-1 a tiebreaker was needed. Everyone met up at the Aqua Stadium where there is a beluga whale tank in the center. A 6-Vs-6 battle was the finale with all the toys on the line. Everyone brawled on the stage with some of them trying to push each other into the water. The fighting went down next to the water tank where a Headscissors Chain formed on the floor while a lone penguin waddled past everybody. Then there was interference from the two beluga whales inside the tank with the two spraying loads of water onto everyone outside the tank. The whales stuck around, causing everyone to pause their fight so they could pet them on their heads. With that done the fighting restarted and spread everywhere from Watanabe swinging Mizuki’s mallet up in the stands to Raku using her pillow to send HIMAWARI to sleep. The end came down to Sakazaki escaping from Endo’s Camel Clutch and pinning her with the Rolling Elbow for the big victory.

The competition was finally over with Team Sakazaki becoming the winners. It was also the last time Yuka Sakazaki done a Rojo Pro Wrestling match as part of TJPW. She and the rest of her team being rewarded with the stuffed toys. The PPV then ended with the entire group getting together for a posed photograph with the beluga whales in the background.


TJPW Title Defences In North America, Something By DISASTER BOX, An Unpaid Debt Between MAO & Keith

December 8, 2023

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 IN OSAKA”, 09/12/2023
Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall

1. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Yuki Iino & Rukiya
2. Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi Vs Akito & Kazuma Sumi
3. Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada Vs MAO, Toy Kojima & Ilusion
4. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Kazuki Hirata (0) Vs Rei Saito (2)
5. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Yukio Naya (6) Vs KANON (2)
6. All Asia Tag Team Titles: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani (c) Vs Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada
7. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Kazusada Higuchi (2) Vs HARASHIMA (2)
8. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Yuki Ueno (3) Vs Tetsuya Endo (2)

The D-Oh Grand Prix continues tomorrow. A Block still has everyone in the race so it’s only fair to have Yuki Ueno Vs Tetsuya Endo and Kazusada Higuchi Vs HARASHIMA be the top two matches of the show. But over in B Block Yukio Naya is one more step towards cleaning up the entire group if he beats KANON. The Kazuki Hirata Vs Rei Saito match is pretty much just for pride at this point. Not that Hirata has that much pride to begin with but you know what I mean.

Eruption are also back from the Real World Tag League looking to shake off their middle of the table finish. They might have a long line of challengers forming up in front of them so they need to retain the All Asia Tag Team Titles against BURNING if they have any intention of dealing with that.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’24”, 04/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Aja Kong Vs Wakana Uehara
2. Rina Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
3. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) Vs Yuki Arai
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Masha Slamovich

Last night in the space of about half an hour there were two Tokyo Joshi Pro title matches taking place in North America. Over in Quebec, Canada Max The Impaler had a surprise International Princess Title defence at the Mystery Wrestling show put together by Evil Uno. Max defeated Jody Threat in the semi-main event. Word of the match reached back to TJPW and they officially recognize it as Max’s third successful title defence. That now means if Max beats Yuki Arai on 4th January they will tie the current record for most IP Title defences in a single reign at four wins.

Then as soon as that match had finished Miyu Yamashita was entering the ring in New York, USA to defend the Princess Of Princess Title against Delmi Exo at an MLW show. She won that match to earn her second defence in this latest title run. Maki Itoh was also on the show but she lost to Janai Kai in a match for the MLW World Featherweight Title. I’ll write more about the matches on the next DDT Around The World article at the start of next month.

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 05/01/2024
Shinjuku FACE

1. Something by HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, etc.: X Vs X
2. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno, MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toy Kojima & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda, Takeshi Masada & Mecha Mummy

The three main members of DISASTER BOX are all putting their heads together to book something for DDT’s first visit to Shinjuku FACE in 2024. Whatever it is the three of them will be involved along with others.

GANBARE☆PRO “GANPRO 2024 ROSIER”, 06/01/2024
Osaka 176BOX

1. Legendary Hostess Vs The Toughest Girl In Osaka: Riara Vs Momoka Hanazono

When Ganbare☆Pro heads to Osaka in the new year Riara takes on Momoka Hanazono. This joshi wrestler’s nickname may not match with all of the flowers and bubbles she surrounds herself with but it is still accurate. Hanazono has a background in rugby before becoming a pro wrestler.

HARASHIMA, Soma Takao, Ilusion, Tyson Maeguchi and Banny Oikawa will all be on the show.

DDT “NEW YEAR FAN APPRECIATION DAY!”, 20/01/2024
Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX

1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima Vs Bryan Keith, Soma Takao & Shota

Three days of DDT appearances await for Bryan Keith in the new year. He makes his Japanese wrestling debut here by teaming with ROMANCE DAWN against The 37KAMIINA. Keith was an opponent for Shota during Shota’s US excursion last year.

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024 TOUR IN SHINAGAWA”, 21/01/2024
Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX

1. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Bryan Keith

The next day Keith gets the match MAO has been demanding. The DDT Universal Title is on the line for this rematch from West Coast Pro during the summer. Keith won the first battle and MAO wants revenge! What happens to a bounty hunter when it’s time for them to repay a debt?

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024”, 28/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Naruki Doi

Keith’s third and last appearance on this tour will be at Korakuen Hall near the end of the month.


TJPW Lottery Line Up, New Year’s Eve 1st Round Matches, Ittenyon Updates, Bryan Keith Heading To DDT

December 7, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023
The Vermont Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Rika Tatsumi & Amira Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
2. Moka Miyamoto Vs Trish Adora
3. Mizuki Vs Sandra Moone
4. Shoko Nakajima Vs Taya Valkyrie
5. Miu Watanabe Vs Hyan
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta (c) Vs Janai Kai & Shazza McKenzie
7. Special Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly

Ok so now The Globe Theater actually is closed down. For real this time. Prestige announced the event is now taking place at The Vermont Hollywood. The show will airing as a PPV on Wrestle Universe with English commentary from Jordan Castle and Veda Scott.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~KASUKABE PERFORMANCE~”, 17/12/2023
Saitama Kasukabe Fureai Cube

1. 3 Way Match: Yuki Kamifuku Vs Shino Suzuki Vs Runa Okubo
2. Arisu Endo Vs Haru Kazashiro
3. Hyper Misao Vs Kaya Toribami
4. Mahiro Kiryu Vs Wakana Uehara
5. Suzume Vs HIMAWARI
6. Shoko Nakajima Vs Toga
7. Raku Vs Juria Nagano
8. Yuki Aino Vs Pom Harajuku
9. Miu Watanabe Vs Moka Miyamoto
10. Maki Itoh Vs Hikari Noa

The fan lottery was held yesterday to determine the matchups. Maki Itoh Vs Hikari Noa main events the show but the other match to take note of is Yuki Aino Vs Pom Harajuku. The two of them have spent the last year closely linked together along with Raku so that friendship needs to be pushed aside for up to seven minutes.

“NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO WRESTLING 2023 ~TOSHIWASURE! SHUFFLE 6-MAN TAG TOURNAMENT~”, 31/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1A: HARASHIMA, Kota Sekifuda & Yuji Hino Vs Takeshi Masada, Yuya Aoki & Koji Iwamoto
2. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1B: Kazusada Higuchi, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kohei Kinoshita Vs Chris Brookes, Kazumasa Yoshida & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
3. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1C: Yukio Naya, Hideyoshi Kamitani & Minoru Suzuki Vs Danshoku Dieno, Daichi Hashimoto & Ikuto Hidaka
4. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1D: Hideki Okatani, Yuki Ishikawa & Brahman Shu (w/ Brahman Kei) Vs Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sekimoto & Fuminori Abe
5. So Daimonji, Ender Kara, Leyton Buzzard & Tempesta Vs Kazumi Kikuta, Kazuki Hashimoto, Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya
6. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Winners Of Match 1A Vs Winners Of Match 1B
7. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Winners Of Match 1C Vs Winners Of Match 1D
8. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda Vs Takuya Nomura, Abdullah Kobayashi & Kankuro Hoshino
9. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Final: X, X & X Vs X, X & X

Bati Bati F’N In The Sky: Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sekimoto & Fuminori Abe
Big Bombers Kai: Yukio Naya, Hideyoshi Kamitani & Minoru Suzuki
Team Katagi Returns: Kazusada Higuchi, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kohei Kinoshita
Anal Destruction Hidaka: Danshoku Dieno, Daichi Hashimoto & Ikuto Hidaka
The Kind People: Chris Brookes, Kazumasa Yoshida & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
Lonely Hot College Students: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Aoki & Koji Iwamoto
Smile Lizard King Kong: HARASHIMA, Kota Sekifuda & Yuji Hino
Go For It! The Three Inokori Brothers: Hideki Okatani, Yuki Ishikawa & Brahman Shu (w/ Brahman Kei)

The Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament is out. Round 1 has Smile Lizard King Kong versus Lonely Hot College Students first, Team Katagi Returns versus The Kind People second, Big Bombers Kai versus Anal Destruction Hidaka third and Go For It! The Three Inokori Brothers versus Bati Bati F’N In The Sky last.

There are two non-tournament matches. The big one is the DDT team of Yuki Ueno, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda against the Big Japan trio of Takuya Nomura, Abdullah Kobayashi & Kankuro Hoshino. The other match has DDT and Big Japan joining forces to fight the international unit PROJECT: HAVOC. That group has been a thorn in Big Japan’s side for a couple of months now.

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 THE FINAL”, 03/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. New Year’s GiFt Special Single Match: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan Vs Danshoku Dieno
2. Special Tag Match ~ Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima
3. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – Final: Winner Of A Block Vs Winner Of B Block

DDT’s gift for their fans to open up 2024 is a match between Kuroshio TOKYO Japan and Danshoku Dieno… Did they keep the receipt?

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’24”, 04/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Aja Kong Vs Wakana Uehara
2. Rina Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
3. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) Vs Yuki Arai
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Masha Slamovich

The two new matches announced for the Tokyo Joshi Pro Ittenyon show can all be traced back to this year’s Ittenyon show. Max The Impaler will defend the International Princess Title against Yuki Arai. This past January Max took the Princess Tag Team Titles from Arai. But now one year later the roles will be reversed and Arai has a chance to beat Max to take away their championship.

On the first anniversary of her pro debut, Wakana Uehara gets to fight Aja Kong! This is the Uehara’s reward for winning the Next Generation Tournament. The two have a little bit of history going back to before Uehara’s debut. When she was on the Youtube series Yume Pro Wrestling -dream on the ring- there was an episode with Kong as the special guest trainer. Then at “WRESTLE PRINCESS IV” in October Kong beat Uehara in a 6-Woman Tag match. Uehara is still excited for the match though and wants to show Kong how much she has grown as a wrestler.

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024”, 28/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Naruki Doi

DDT announced the first two dates for Konosuke Takeshita’s return in 2024. The first is a big singles match against Naruki Doi on DDT’s second Korakuen Hall show of the year. The second date is for “JUDGEMENT 2024” at Korakuen on 17th March.

Bryan Keith is coming to DDT in January! “The Bounty Hunter” will be at shows on 20th, 21st and 28th January. The announcement of his appearance immediately got MAO’s attention. They fought each other at West Coast Pro in America back in July with Keith coming out as the winner. MAO wants to avenge that loss and might use the DDT Universal Title as the reward to convince Keith into taking a rematch.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “~YUKA SAKAZAKI GRADUATION SPECIAL~” Results

December 6, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING 10TH ANNIVERSARY PERFORMANCE ~YUKA SAKAZAKI GRADUATION SPECIAL~”, 06/12/2023
Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall
294 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Japanese I Quit Match: Yuka Sakazaki & Rika Tatsumi defeated Antonio Honda & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi when Sakazaki made Honda say “I Give Up” (9:23).
2. Wakana Uehara, Shino Suzuki & Runa Okubo defeated HIMAWARI, Toga & Haru Kazashiro when Uehara submitted Kazashiro with the Sleeper Hold (9:57).
3. Miu Watanabe, Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami when Watanabe pinned Toribami with the Tear Drop (10:37).
4. Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta, Mizuki & Moka Miyamoto defeated Hyper Misao. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku when Mizuki pinned Harajuku with the Cutie Special (11:15).
5. Yuka Sakazaki Graduation Special 3 Way Match: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Miyu Yamashita and Shoko Nakajima when Sakazaki pinned Nakajima with an Elbow Butt (17:45).
6. Special Match: Yuka Sakazaki Vs Mizuki ended in a Time Limit Draw (3:00).

Today Yuka Sakazaki said goodbye to Tokyo Joshi Pro, ending her decade long attachment to the promotion that grew up with her. Her debut match was held inside Kitazawa Town Hall so it was only fitting that her graduation from TJPW took place there as well. She had a busy day that began with a unique tag team match. Rika Tatsumi teamed up with Sakazaki against male wrestlers Antonio Honda and Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi. All four have history together as part of a music group called DPG (Dramatic Perfect Group) that opened up the doors for both Sakazaki and Tatsumi to join TJPW and become pro wrestlers.

Honda got on the microphone before the match began and introduced everyone to the final showdown of DPG. It was going to be a Japanese I Quit Match where the match would only end when a wrestler gives up while speaking Japanese. Honda kept teasing he would give up when he was put in a hold only to change the subject and say something else. Hiroshi did the same but swerved into singing. Sakazaki ended up putting Honda in a Heel Hold while Tatsumi applied the Figure 4 Leg Lock to Hiroshi. Honda kept yelling at Hiroshi over and over not to give up. Honda himself then gave up. After the match Sakazaki said it is thanks to Honda and Hiroshi that she and Tatsumi were able to become who they are today. Tatsumi said she is glad she became a pro wrestler. Honda and Hiroshi agreed because pro wrestling is the best!

Sakazaki’s second match of the show was her graduation match in the main event. It was a 3 Way Match between the three longest serving members of TJPW: Sakazaki, Miyu Yamashita and Shoko Nakajima. It could be the last time Sakazaki fought both Yamashita and Nakajima so there was plenty of time shared in the ring against each of them. Yamashita rolled out of the way from the Magical Girl Chicken Dude but immediately became the target of Nakajima’s Diving Senton. Yamashita was a non-factor from that point on. Sakazaki and Nakajima fought their hearts out against each other until they were spent. The match ended with a hug between the two, Sakazaki saying “Thank you” and then knocking out Nakajima with an Elbow Strike. She hugged her again while pinning her for the three count.

After the match Sakazaki said when she was putting her final TJPW match together her first thought was to do a singles bout with Nakajima. But she wanted Yamashita to be part of it too so it became a 3 Way instead. Nakajima said she never wanted to lose to Sakazaki which is why she worked so hard. Sakazaki is leaving but Nakajima still lost to her today so now she gets to keep that motivation to always become a better wrestler. She also warned Sakazaki not to catch a cold in America. Yamashita described Sakazaki like an older sister or mother figure to her. She would always get mad when Yamashita does badly but she was also always there when Yamashita got sad or depressed. They always feel linked together so even if Yamashita leaves her alone from now on she still feels like she can help her. If things ever get tough for Sakazaki, Yamashita can always fly over to support her.

Sakazaki then invited one more special person to join her in the ring. Mizuki has been holding in her emotions for as long as she could but still is not happy to see Sakazaki leave TJPW. She wants the two of them to continue teaming together and being in the same ring. Sakazaki said the schedule meant they couldn’t have one more match against each other but they could do it today even if it was just for one minute. Tetsuya Koda then announced over the speakers they have enough time for a three minute match!

The two shook hands and did everything they could against each other within three minutes. Mizuki hit the Diving Foot Stomp while Sakazaki gave her the Magical Merry-Go-Round off of the top rope. They spent the final seconds of their short match hitting each other with Elbow Strikes until Mizuki landed the Whirling Candy and went for the pin. She was at a 2 count when the bell rang, ending the match in a draw. Yamashita, Nakajima and Tatsumi all got in the ring to join the hug Sakazaki and Mizuki were giving each other.

The graduation ceremony began and Sakazaki received gifts from the entire TJPW roster. Everyone then gathered together for a final group photo with her. Sakazaki told them today made her realize how lucky she is to come from TJPW. She hopes everyone will continue to support her and in return wants everyone to continue supporting TJPW for many years to come. She shook hands and hugged every member of the roster one by one as they left the ring until she was the last one left. Also after the show Sakazaki stood at the exit and high fived everyone in the audience as they left the venue.

Backstage Sakazaki had a few more comments when interviewed by the wrestling media. She wanted to thank Sanshiro Takagi for accepting her into TJPW. As already mentioned, she was originally just going to do a match with Nakajima but wanted to include Yamashita. She also couldn’t leave Mizuki out of her final match no matter how short it was. She is proud of everyone in TJPW and thinks each woman is a treasue who should continue to live their lives believing in themselves. The only regret she had during the road to graduation was never getting to defend the Princess Tag Team Titles against Mickey Mouse at DisneyLand. But as long as she is a wrestler that dream may still someday come true.

Two new matches were revealed for the Ittenyon show at Korakuen Hall on 4th January. Max The Impaler’s opponent for the International Princess Title match was revealed to be Yuki Arai! This match is happening exactly one year after Max pinned Arai to win the Princess Tag Titles from her. Now one year later and Arai has the chance to get revenge by taking the IP Title away from Max.

The other match is Wakana Uehara’s reward for winning the Next Generation Tournament. She is going one on one against Aja Kong! It sounds like a daunting task but since the match is happening on the anniversary of Uehara’s debut, she wants to show everything she’s learned over the last year to Kong in the ring. The two already have a history together because Kong was a guest trainer on the Yume Pro Wrestling series that set up Uehara’s entry into wrestling and TJPW.


Yuka About To Say Goodbye, Princess Tag Title Match In LA, GanPro Vs GLEAT Teams

December 5, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING 10TH ANNIVERSARY PERFORMANCE ~YUKA SAKAZAKI GRADUATION SPECIAL~”, 06/12/2023
Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall

1. Wakana Uehara, Shino Suzuki & Runa Okubo Vs HIMAWARI, Toga & Haru Kazashiro
2. Miu Watanabe, Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami
3. Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta, Mizuki & Moka Miyamoto Vs Hyper Misao. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku
4. Yuka Sakazaki & Rika Tatsumi Vs Antonio Honda & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
5. Yuka Sakazaki Graduation Special 3 Way Match: Yuka Sakazaki Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Shoko Nakajima

Tomorrow is the final day of Yuka Sakazaki as a Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestler and it is in the same venue where she had her debut match a decade ago.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Rika Tatsumi & Amira Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
2. Moka Miyamoto Vs Trish Adora
3. Mizuki Vs Sandra Moone
4. Shoko Nakajima Vs Taya Valkyrie
5. Miu Watanabe Vs Hyan
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta (c) Vs Janai Kai & Shazza McKenzie
7. Special Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly

The Princess Tag Team Champions want to defend the belts in America! Free WiFi made the request after their recent title defence last week and it’s been accepted. They were originally scheduled to face Janai Kai & Johnnie Robbie in Los Angeles but Robbie pulled out with an injury. Shazza McKenzie will now take her place and could become a TJPW champion in her first appearance with them.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~KASUKABE PERFORMANCE~”, 17/12/2023
Saitama Kasukabe Fureai Cube

1. 3 Way Match: X Vs X Vs X
2. X Vs X
3. X Vs X
4. X Vs X
5. X Vs X
6. X Vs X
7. X Vs X
8. X Vs X
9. X Vs X
10. X Vs X

Participants: Hikari Noa, Shoko Nakajima, Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku, Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Mahiro Kiryu, Suzume, Moka Miyamoto, Arisu Endo, Kaya Toribami, Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI, Shino Suzuki, Toga, Haru Kazashiro, Runa Okubo and Juria Nagano

A schedule conflict means Nao Kakuta will not be part of this show after all. So instead of 11 matches the show will have 10 with one being a 3 Way Match. It could be anywhere on the card. I’m just placing it as Match #1 for convenience sake.

GANBARE☆PRO “BAD COMMUNICATION 2023”, 27/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Yuko Miyamoto Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
2. Sumire Natsu, YuuRI & Riara Vs HARUKAZE, Makoto & Banny Oikawa
3. Special Single Match: Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Arisu Endo
4. Special Single Match: Ken Ohka Vs Kuma Arashi
5. GanPro Vs GLEAT All Out Battle ~ GanPro’s Famous Elimination 10-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Takuya Wada, Mizuki Watase, Shinichiro Tominaga & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Kaz Hayashi, Minoru Tanaka, Takanori Ito, Check Shimatani & Jun Tonsho
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Shota & Soma Takao (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Shuichiro Katsumura

The KO-D Tag Team Champions also took control of where they wanted to defend their belts next. ROMANCE DAWN have used their title reign to have matches against other wrestlers from the Young Communication generation of the indies. It continues in Ganbare☆Pro because their match here against Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie now has the belts on the line! Ishii & Irie once held the titles together back in the winter of 2011.

Over the last few days videos were being sent in thick and fast to both GanPro and GLEAT from wrestlers volunteering to take part in the inter-promotional 10-Man Tag. Some were doing it out of pride for their home company while others were either calling out rivals from the other side or accepting challenges from them. Yumehito Imanari’s team includes Takuya Wada, Mizuki Watase, Shinichiro Tominaga & Tyson Maeguchi all ready to fight for GanPro’s burning spirit. The GLEAT visitors consists of Kaz Hayashi, Minoru Tanaka, Takanori Ito, former DDT wrestler Check Shimatani & Jun Tonsho. The match itself is Elimination rules where you are taken out of the match by either pinfall, submission or being thrown over the top rope and out of the ring.


D-Oh Halfway Point, Some Unique TJPW Shows, GanJo Vs Evo Joshi, 10-Man Titles Return

December 4, 2023

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 IN OSAKA”, 09/12/2023
Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall

1. Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada Vs MAO, Toy Kojima & Ilusion
2. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Yuki Iino & Rukiya
3. Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi Vs Akito & Kazuma Sumi
4. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Yuki Ueno (3) Vs Tetsuya Endo (2)
5. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Kazusada Higuchi (2) Vs HARASHIMA (2)
6. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Yukio Naya (6) Vs KANON (2)
7. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Kazuki Hirata (0) Vs Rei Saito (2)
8. All Asia Tag Team Titles: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani (c) Vs Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada

We’re around the halfway point of the D-Oh Grand Prix. It’s too early to predict how the A Block is going to go. The B Block is a different manner. If Yukio Naya beats KANON then only MAO can potentially compete with him for the spot in the final. Rei Saito can also catch up on points but Naya already has the tiebreaker advantage over him. It’s a must win for KANON to remain in the race. Chris Brookes is teetering on the edge while Kazuki Hirata is the first wrestler who is already mathematically out of the tournament.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW AQUARIUM PRO WRESTLING IN YOKOHAMA HAKKEIJIMA SEA PARADISE”, 10/12/2023
Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise

1. X Vs X

Before the year ends Tokyo Joshi Pro has a surprise gift for everybody. They recently recorded a Street Wrestling match held inside the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama. Twelve TJPW wrestlers were split into two teams for the competition and the winners received “luxery prizes”. The participants were Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki, Rika Tatsumi, Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao, Nao Kakuta, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Suzume, Arisu Endo, Yuki Arai and HIMAWARI. The video is being shown on Wrestle Universe as a PPV.

GANBARE☆JOSHI “GANJO BINARY LAND ’23”, 15/12/2023
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall

1. Ram Kaichow & Alex Lee Vs Sumire Natsu & Marika Kobashi
2. Tae Honma & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Yuu & Banny Oikawa
3. GanJo Vs Evo Joshi: Riara Vs ZONES
4. GanJo Vs Evo Joshi: YuuRI Vs Chi Chi

A new challenge is coming to Ganbare☆Joshi. This year saw the launch of a new women’s wrestling group called Evolution. Three women debuted as pro wrestlers with Suwama from All Japan helping oversee the project. One of the three recently retired due to injury but the other two have kept at it and will soon visit GanJo. Chi Chi gets the bigger challenge by being put in the main event against YuuRI. The other match has the eye-catching ZONES taking on Riara.

Yuu returns to GanJo for the first time since 2020.

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 IN FUKUOKA”, 16/12/2023
Fukuoka Nishitetsu Hall

0. Dark Match – Kyushu Sangyo University Pro Wrestling Research Department Offer Match: Ionazun Shirai & Tiger Nishiya Mask Vs Great Tamu & Occult Daimao
1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Toy Kojima & Van Vert Jack Vs Azul Dragon, Akito & Kazuma Sumi
2. Yukio Sakaguchi & Soma Takao Vs Yukio Naya & Yusuke Okada
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi Vs Hideki Okatani, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada
4. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Yuki Ueno Vs HARASHIMA
5. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Daisuke Sasaki
6. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yuki Iino
7. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: Chris Brookes Vs Kazuki Hirata
8. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: KANON Vs Rei Saito

A small change with Yuya Koroku being out injured. Since he can’t take part in a 6-Man Tag Match, Rukiya also gets removed to keep the teams even.

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 IN KUMAMOTO”, 17/12/2023
Kumamoto Sakurajuji Hall Yatsushiro Multipurpose Hall

1. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi
2. Danshoku Dieno, Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Chris Brookes, Akito & Takeshi Masada
3. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Naya & Rukiya
4. The 37KAMIINA Vs Harimao!: Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida
5. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yuki Iino
6. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – B Block: MAO Vs KANON

The first three matches on this show have been changed around too because of Koroku’s injury.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~KASUKABE PERFORMANCE~”, 17/12/2023
Saitama Kasukabe Fureai Cube

1. X Vs X
2. X Vs X
3. X Vs X
4. X Vs X
5. X Vs X
6. X Vs X
7. X Vs X
8. X Vs X
9. X Vs X
10. X Vs X
11. X Vs X

A special format is being used for TJPW’s final visit to Saitama this year. A fan lottery on 6th December will choose the entire card for this event. Every match will be a singles match with just a seven minute time limit. The 22 participants are Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta, Shoko Nakajima, Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku, Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Mahiro Kiryu, Suzume, Moka Miyamoto, Arisu Endo, Kaya Toribami, Wakana Uehara, HIMAWARI, Shino Suzuki, Toga, Haru Kazashiro, Runa Okubo and Juria Nagano.

GANBARE☆PRO “BAD COMMUNICATION 2023”, 27/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Sumire Natsu, YuuRI & Riara Vs HARUKAZE, Makoto & Banny Oikawa
2. Yuko Miyamoto Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
3. GanPro Vs GLEAT All Out Battle: Yumehito Imanari, Shinichiro Tominaga, X, X & X Vs Kaz Hayashi, X, X, X & X
4. Special Tag Match: Shota & Soma Takao Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie
5. Special Single Match: Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Arisu Endo
6. Special Single Match: Ken Ohka Vs Kuma Arashi
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Shuichiro Katsumura

Slowly but surely wrestlers are signing up for the Ganbare☆Pro Vs GLEAT match. Kaz Hayashi has answered Yumehito Imanari’s request for him to be involved in the match. Imanari has also added Shinichiro Tominaga to the GanPro team.

Munetatsu Nakamura is a fan of Yuko Miyamoto so GanPro is getting them together for a match.

Both YuuRI & Riara have been developing a sister-like relationship with Sumire Natsu in GanJo throughout this year. Let’s see how the three can work together as a “family” against HARUKAZE, Makoto & Banny Oikawa.

DDT “D-OH GRAND PRIX 2023 THE FINAL”, 03/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special Tag Match ~ Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima
2. D-Oh Grand Prix 2023 – Final: Winner Of A Block Vs Winner Of B Block

Jun Saito has been added to the show. So if Rei Saito doesn’t make it to the final expect The Saito Brothers to team up for a match instead.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’24”, 04/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Rina Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
2. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Masha Slamovich

A rematch from GCW is happening at the Ittenyon show. Rina Yamashita beat Maki Itoh in America back in June. Will Itoh’s pizza cutter make its first appearance in TJPW?

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 05/01/2024
Shinjuku FACE

1. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno, MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toy Kojima & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda, Takeshi Masada & Mecha Mummy

Over the weekend SCHADENFREUDE International made it known they want to fight for the dormant KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles. They even have Mecha Mummy with them to be the fifth member of their team. The titles still belong to The 37KAMIINA & Shinya Aoki despite not being defended since June 2022. The match is booked for 5th January but DDT found out Aoki is currently unavailable because he is busy training for an MMA fight against Sage Northcutt. Luckily the championship has a rule where the champion team can temporarily replace up to two members and still be eligible to defend the titles. For this match Aoki is being replaced by Yoshihiko! For statistical purposes, should the champions win it counts as a successful defence for Aoki not Yoshihiko.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “10TH ANNIVERSARY PERFORMANCE ~WE ARE TJPW~” Results

December 1, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO WRESTLING 10TH ANNIVERSARY PERFORMANCE ~WE ARE TJPW~”, 01/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
714 Fans

1. Kaya Toribami, Toga & Runa Okubo defeated Juria Nagano, Shino Suzuki & Haru Kazashiro when Toga pinned Kazashiro with the Rock Bottom (9:12).
2. Random Official Weapon Rules: Yuki Aino & Raku defeated Hyper Misao & Mahiro Kiryu when Aino pinned Kiryu with the Venus DDT (10:58).
3. Next Generation Tournament ’23 – Final: Wakana Uehara defeated HIMAWARI with the Modified Sleeper Hold (12:08).
4. Queen Of Asia Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c) defeated Viva Van with the Famouser (10:43).
*V1 for Yuki Kamifuku.
5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta (c) Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku when Kakuta pinned Harajuku with the Shiden Kai (12:13).
*V2 for Free Wi-Fi.
6. 10th Anniversary Special 10-Woman Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Yuka Sakazaki, Rika Tatsumi & Mizuki (2) defeated Miu Watanabe, Yuki Arai, Suzume, Moka Miyamoto & Arisu Endo (1).
6a. Arisu Endo (1) pinned Shoko Nakajima (0) with a School Boy (7:20).
6b. Yuka Sakazaki (1) pinned Moka Miyamoto (1) with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (13:16).
6c. Miyu Yamashita (2) pinned Miu Watanabe (1) with the Skull Kick (10:07).

On this day ten years ago Tokyo Joshi Pro held their “Flag Raising” launch show at Kitazawa Town Hall. Today the promotion was in Korakuen Hall to celebrate the 10th anniversary of that event. The headline bout was a celebration of TJPW’s current leaders and the next class that’s been chasing after them. It was a Best 2-Out-Of-3 Falls 10-Woman Tag Match with the Senior class (who all held the Princess Of Princess Title at some point) on one side against the Junior class on the other. Each participant got a moment in the spotlight by getting to do their ring entrances by themselves.

The first fall was an upset with the junior team getting one over on the seniors. Rika Tatsumi got jealous of seeing Mizuki doing teamwork with Yuka Sakazaki instead of herself. She purposely got in the way of their moves so Mizuki could do double team stuff with her instead. Shoko Nakajima took centre stage and targeted Arisu Endo but missed a 619 and was shockingly pinned by Endo with a School Boy! The crowd reacted loudly to the unexpected result while the rest of the Juniors piled on Endo to congratulate her.

The second fall had Daisy Monkey fight tooth and nail against The Magical Sugar Rabbits while Tatsumi fought Miu Watanabe in a Daydream showdown. It came down to Moka Miyamoto doing her best against Sakazaki. She gave her the Korokan but missed a Falling Chop onto the canvas. Sakazaki took advantage and pinned Miyamoto with the Magical Merry-Go-Round to even the score.

The third and final fall had both teams go all out. Yuki Arai tried to finish off Nakajima with the Rookie Award but Sakazaki cut her off and together The Miraclians gave her a Double 619. The fall was decided in the battle between Miyu Yamashita and Miu Watanabe. Yamashita was about to finish her off when Suzume rained down with the Mikazuki Meteor Shower. Nakajima got rid of her with a Topé Suicida and MagiRabi did more damage to the Juniors by doing the Toy Story 4 dives onto everyone. Watanabe kept fighting and hit Yamashita with one Double Sledgehammer Strike after another. But one too many sent Yamashita into the ropes and she rebounded with the Skull Kick to knock Watanabe down and out for the winning pinfall.

The winning team celebrated after the match. Nakajima said this might be the last time all five of them will be together but it was the best. Tatsumi told her not to say it’s the end. She’s happy she got to team up against some truly amazing people to celebrate TJPW’s 10th Anniversary. Mizuki said she is glad to have met everyone and thanked Sakazaki most of all for being here. Yamashita then invited the entire roster into the ring to join them. She said everyone who came here today loves TJPW and in its 11th year there will be more debuts and more excitement for the fans. Sakazaki then thanked the fans for supporting TJPW and the entire group closed out the show together.

Free WiFi had to defend the Princess Tag Team Titles against an unstoppable monster. And also Max The Impaler. A game of chase broke out early in the match with Pom Harajuku trying to outrun the champions. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta caught up and cut her off from both sides before taking her back down to the ring. Max evened the odds by throwing Harajuku onto Free WiFi. Harajuku then returned the favour by doing a Spinning Headscissors on her own partner to send Max slamming into Kakuta with a Cannonball onto the turnbuckle. But Pompaler missed the Wasteland War Justice, opening up a counter attack by the champs. It ended with Kakuta pinning Harajuku with the Shiden Kai for a successful title defence. Both members of Free WiFi praised each other for getting themselves through the match against such a scary opponent. They meant Max that time, not Pom. Next they want to promote themselves in America and would like to do a title defence over there if they can.

The reign of the new Queen Of Asia Champion is off to a good start. Yuki Kamifuku put the title on the line against Viva Van after taking a liking to her when they recently teamed together. While the two get along over how good looking they are, the focus soon turned to fighting as both had their eyes on the championship. Kamifuku pulled off a Superplex and applied the Manjigatame but Van powered out of it and slammed her into the turnbuckle. Kamifuku recovered though and landed the Famouser to remain champion. Van was impressed and said she couldn’t have asked for a better match to have for her first time in Korakuen Hall. Kamifuku said if there is ever an Asian 6-Woman Tag Team Title she would like to join forces with Van and one other person Charlie’s Angels style to fight for it. As for the Queen Of Asia Title, she wants to defend it in places like Thailand and the Phillipines.

The winner of the Next Generation Tournament is Wakana Uehara! She defeated HIMAWARI in dramatic fashion to win the rookie playoff. The match was built around HIMAWARI’s used of the Half Crab against Uehara’s Sleeper Hold. There were times when both women had to fight long and hard to reach for rope breaks. Uehara won out in the end when she grabbed the arm HIMAWARI reached out with and pulled it back to apply more pressure to the Sleeper Hold. It was too tight for HIMAWARI to escape from and she had to tap out. Uehara said the winner’s medal she received is now her precious treasure because this was her first tournament. She next wants to have a singles match with Shoko Nakajima because she admires her the most. HIMAWARI was upset over losing, feeling she didn’t try hard enough. She promised to do her best and avenge this loss.

TJPW decided to do their own version of a Scramble Bunkhouse Death Match. Hyper Misao, Mahiro Kiryu, Yuki Aino and Raku all had to stand in opposite ends of the venue and after a countdown they ran down to the ring. Inside the ring were four mystery boxes, each one containing an item related to one of the wrestlers. Whichever item the wrestler got, they were allowed to use it as a weapon. However they were barred from using the other weapons even though they were items that originally belonged to them. Kiryu pulled out a pillow, Misao pulled out a plastic fan with Raku’s face on it, Aino pulled out Misao’s spray can and Raku had a paper bag with a box of yokan inside. The end result was chaos after Yukinori Matsui got blinded with the spray. He then landed on the pillow and fell asleep. Raku fed Matsui the yokan to wake him up and he was all fired up to do his job! Aino won the match for her team by pinning Kiryu with the Venus DDT.

Kaya Toribami and Juria Nagano led teams of the rest of the 2023 class in the opening bout. Toga & Runa Okubo both brought power to the match with Elbow Strikes and Shoulder Blocks respectively. Shino Suzuki tried to break things up but was taken out for her troubles. Haru Kazashiro went to the well once too often with her Low Altitude Cross Body and took Toga’s big Elbow Strike to the head. Toga then dropped her with the Rock Bottom for the win.

There were newsworthy announcements spread across the show. One was the announcement that Maki Itoh will face Rina Yamashita at the Ittenyon Korakuen show on 4th January. They have fought each other before in America for GCW and this will be the first time the match takes place in Japan.

The next TJPW PPV broadcasting on Wrestle Universe will be released on 10th December. It is the first ever Aquarium Pro Wrestling match! The event was taped at Hakkeijima Sea Paradise in Yokohama.

TJPW will be joining DDT at The Collective in Philadelphia next year for Wrestlemania Week! “TJPW LIVE IN PHILLY” takes place at Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium on 5th April, 2024.