TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’24”, 06/10/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Wakana Uehara & Haru Kazahiro Vs Toga & Uta Takami
2. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Kakeru Sekiguchi, Kira Summer & Chika Nanase
3. Suzume & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Moka Miyamoto & Kaya Toribami
4. Mizuki & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Andreza Giant Panda & Shino Suzuki
5. Maki Itoh & Rika Tatsumi Vs Yuna Manase & HIMAWARI
6. X Vs Yuki Kamifuku
7. Ryo Mizunami Vs Arisu Endo
8. Miu Watanabe & Miyu Yamashita Vs Meiko Satomura & Shoko Nakajima
The Asian Double Crown match between Yuki Kamifuku and Xia Zhao has been postponed. Zhao is having difficulties with obtaining her visa which is stopping her from travelling back to Japan. Tokyo Joshi Pro are planning to reschedule the double title match once Zhao’s visa problem is cleared up. Kamifuku will now have a non-title match on tomorrow’s show against an opponent who will be revealed on the day.
God it feels like it’s been forever since I wrote so much about AEW in this series of articles. Konosuke Takeshita is getting more screen time with the one and only Kazuchika Okada becoming his new main target. Also Yuka Sakazaki returned to the ring and had several matches surrounding the AEW Women’s World Title. It even ended with an unusual reunion with somebody she used to know from Tokyo Joshi Pro. Sakazaki’s story did not end with her achieving gold and glory. It looks like she’s able to stick around this time though. She might end up taking a back seat in AEW from here on out or maybe she’ll drop down to Ring Of Honor but fingers crossed at least we all get to see her again.
Speaking of TJPW, a good few of the women there spent a lot of time travelling this month. Maki Itoh went back to America to finish off what was left of her disrupted tour. Shoko Nakajima reminded everyone she is quite the tournament wrestler by reaching yet another final. Yuki Kamifuku is continuing to prove why she deserves to be called the Queen Of Asia Champion. Plus in a change of pace we also got Raku & Pom Harajuku going on an adventure together in Thailand. As shown above Kenoh from NOAH was there too but he’s not important.
AEW “COLLISION”, 06/09/2024 NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
1. Continental Contenders Challenge: Konosuke Takeshita Vs The Beast Mortos
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 13/09/2024 Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) Vs Action Andretti (w/Lio Rush & Leila Grey)
MKW “CHAMPIONSHIP SUPERCARD FROM SHANGHAI”, 14/09/2024 Bandai Namco Shanghai Base, Shanghai, China
1. Queen Of Asia Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c) defeated Crystal (w/ Chairman Al)
AEW “COLLISION”, 14/09/2024 Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Serena Deeb
GCW “BAD ONE”, 14/09/2024 Harpos Concert Center, Detroit, Michigan, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Kylie Rae
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 18/09/2024 Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki & Queen Aminata Vs Mariah May & Serena Deeb
2. Kazuchika Okada, Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson Vs Will Ospreay, Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher
AEW “DYNAMITE – GRAND SLAM”, 25/09/2024 Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York City, New York, USA
1. AEW Women’s World Title: Mariah May (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 27/09/2024 MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Angelico
SETUP “CHAOPHRAYA VOYAGE: 12TH ANNIVERSARY OF THAI WRESTLING”, 28/09/2024 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Match: Matcha (c) Vs Raku Vs Pom Harajuku
———————————————————————–
Results
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 04/09/2024 UW Panther Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
1. Dark Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Komander (w/ Alex Abrahantes) (?:??).
Not much to talk about Takeshita’s first match of the month. He beat Komander in a post-Dynamite dark match that followed up on the 4 Way they were both a part of the week prior. The result was pretty much the same here as it was in the 4 Way. Don Callis ordered Takeshita to give Komander another beating after the match but The Beast Mortos ran down to stop him. Takeshita and Mortos then got into a pull apart brawl.
AEW “COLLISION”, 06/09/2024 NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
1. Continental Contenders Challenge: Konosuke Takeshita defeated The Beast Mortos with the Raging Fire (12:00).
So a few days later Takeshita and Mortos faced off with a little something extra on the line. The winner would qualify for a 4 Way Match at “ALL OUT” that also includes Okada putting the AEW Continental Title on the line. Takeshita discovered it would take a lot more than just using his big Elbow Strike to knock the minotaur down and out. Mortos was hard headed enough to keep standing after taking a German Suplex that made him land on the top of his dome. The two of them also fought up to the top rope where Mortos lifted Takeshita up in a Gorilla Press and threw him down from such a high height. Things went to even more of a standstill after a Double Heabutt spot but Takeshita survived the trampling and got in a critical hit by using a Busaiku Knee Strike. After that he used the Raging Fire on Mortos and that won him the match.
F1RST “SATURDAY NIGHT NITRO”, 07/09/2024 Mall Of America, Bloomington, Minnesota, USA
1. Allie Katch & Effy defeated Danhausen & Maki Itoh when Effy pinned Danhausen with a Cradle (?:??).
The famous Mall Of America was the location where Itoh met up with Danhausen again. This time they were teaming up as Very Cute, Very Evil Makihausen and that meant Itoh showed up in face paint! Their match against Bussy started off as a contest to see who was cutest between all four of them. Danhausen & Itoh both poured a jar of teeth down their opponents’ mouths and then kicked their faces. But things went wrong for them when they both tried to curse their opponents. Effy & Allie Katch both ducked the curse, leaving Danhausen & Itoh to curse each other! They started arguing leading to Danhausen giving Itoh a shove. Katch didn’t like what she was seeing and pushed Danhausen away from Itoh, unintentionally tripping him over Effy. Effy then pinned down Danhausen for the three count while Itoh got a comforting hug from Katch.
AEW “ALL OUT 2024”, 07/09/2024 NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
1. AEW Continental Title – 4 Way Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy and Konosuke Takeshita when Okada pinned Cassidy with the Rainmaker (14:59). *V5 for Kazuchika Okada.
Okada is as big of a target that Takeshita could ask for in all of pro wrestling let alone AEW or Japan. But he had two other bodies to contend with because Orange Cassidy and Mark Briscoe were also in the match aiming to win the Continental Title. He needed eyes in the back of his head and that was proven by the finish. Takeshita almost beat Briscoe with the Powerdrive Knee but Cassidy broke the pin. Takeshita then countered the Orange Punch with an Elbow Strike and tried to set up the Raging Fire only for Okada to stop him. Okada then gave Briscoe the Rainmaker, Dropkicked Takeshita from the apron to the floor and after a small scare from Cassidy, he pinned Cassidy with the Rainmaker to remain champion. The cameras made sure to stay on Takeshita while Okada left to celebrate his victory. Things aren’t over between them yet.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 11/09/2024 (Aired 13/09/2024) Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Action Andretti (w/Lio Rush & Leila Grey) with the Raging Fire (11:53).
Things at the PPV didn’t go Takeshita’s way so it was time to bounce back. Action Andretti turned out to be more of a challenge than the match-up suggested on paper. However Andretti missed a Springboard 450 and also jumped right into an Elbow Smash. Takeshita then used the Powerdrive Knee but held up Andretti at a 2 count. That was just so Takeshita could use the Raging Fire to end things on an even more painful looking note.
AEW “COLLISION”, 12/09/2024 (Aired 14/09/2024) Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Serena Deeb with the Magical Girl Splash (10:38).
Guess who returned after being sidelined with an injury for the last five months? Sakazaki was back and her first AEW match in a long time was going to be against Serena Deeb. That was a matchup AEW were building up to anyway before Sakazaki got hurt so it seemed like whatever was planned back then was held aside all this time until Sakazaki was ready again. But first she introduced herself to Mariah May backstage and told her she is coming after the AEW Women’s Title. May didn’t take too kindly to that idea but her violent threats were no sold by Sakazaki. Later in the show Sakazaki went on to not only beat Deeb but also fend off a post-match attack from May. Sakazaki celebrated a good night by holding up the title belt.
MKW “CHAMPIONSHIP SUPERCARD FROM SHANGHAI”, 14/09/2024 Bandai Namco Shanghai Base, Shanghai, China
1. Queen Of Asia Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c) defeated Crystal (w/ Chairman Al) (?:??). *V3 for Yuki Kamifuku.
The reigning Queen Of Asia Champion travelled to China for her latest title defence. Kamifuku headlined a Middle Kingdom Wrestling show in Shanghai, beating Crystal to retain one of the Asian Double Crown belts. She gave a speech to the fans in both Chinese and English after the match.
GCW “BAD ONE”, 14/09/2024 Harpos Concert Center, Detroit, Michigan, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Kylie Rae with the Stunner (9:23).
Maki Itoh’s GCW dates in August got cut short due to injury but she was able to come back this month to get through the second half of her latest tour. Nobody was happier to see her than Kylie Rae because they were meant wrestle each other on one of Itoh’s cancelled dates. It didn’t take long for the fun and games to turn into slaps and strikes though. In fact Rae started losing her cool and started pulling cheap tricks to try and win like using the ropes to leverage a pin. The ref caught her doing it though and stopped his count. Itoh’s hard head gave her the defensive advantage and she was able to beat Rae with the Stunner. Itoh forgave Rae for playing dirty and the two made up after the match.
GCW “THA G-CODE”, 15/09/2024 Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, New York, USA
1. 4 Way Match: Sawyer Wreck defeated Maki Itoh, Brooke Havok and Dark Sheik when Wreck pinned Havok with a Neck Hanging Bomb (7:54).
The next night Itoh found herself in a 4 Way Match with opponents old and new. She’s been in the ring with both Sawyer Wreck and Dark Sheik a bunch of times while Brooke Havok was a new face for her to wrestle. Itoh was taken out by a Tornado Kick from Shiek, Havok dropped Sheik with a Pumphandle Drop and Wreck then pinned Sheik with a Neck Hanging Bomb. Itoh was too far away to break the pin before the three count.
DPW “CAROLINA CLASSIC”, 15/09/2024 Durham Convention Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
1. Battle Of The Best – Round 2: Shoko Nakajima defeated Jada Stone with the Diving Senton (?:??).
The Big Kaiju returned to Deadlock Pro to compete in the next round of the Battle Of The Best tournament. However plans had to change when her scheduled opponent Trish Adora was unable to compete. Jada Stone grabbed the opportunity to fill in for Adora by winning a pre-show match held to determine Nakajima’s new opponent. She put up a good fight but in the end Nakajima booked her place in the final using the Diving Senton to win.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 18/09/2024 Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki & Queen Aminata defeated Mariah May & Serena Deeb by Disqualification when May attacked Sakazaki with the AEW Women’s World Title Belt (7:57).
2. Will Ospreay, Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher defeated Kazuchika Okada, Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson when Fletcher pinned Matt Jackson after the Coriolis (21:05).
Things are getting a little more tense with Takeshita now. He had another chance to face Okada in the ring but had to team with other members of The Don Callis Family. There’s a little “family” rivalry brewing between him and Will Ospreay so some jealous looks during tags were hard to hide from everybody. Okada also had The Young Bucks backing him up to be a pain in everyone’s sides. Ospreay & Kyle Fletcher pulled out the win in the end but the aftermath only showed there are more signs of infighting between Takeshita and Ospreay.
It was now clear that Sakazaki will be facing May for the AEW Women’s Title near the end of the month. A preview tag had Sakazaki dealing with both May and Deeb again. Her tag partner Queen Aminata had also been spending the month so far in a similar position so they became a team with common enemies. Sakazaki had was about to beat Deeb with the Magical Girl Splash again for the second time in a row when May ran into the ring with her title belt and hit Sakazaki behind the head with it. The match ended in a DQ but May continued to attack Sakazaki with the title to get her own back for what happened a week earlier.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 21/09/2024 (Aired 27/09/2024) MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Angelico with the Raging Fire (9:09).
Due to AEW’s taping schedule this match was kept in the bag for a week and didn’t air until near the end of the month. Just like with the Andretti match, Angelico made the grave mistake of going high risk and jumping his way right into an Elbow Smash to the jaw. The Blue Thunder Bomb and then the Raging Fire ended Takeshita’s month with a win.
AEW “DYNAMITE – GRAND SLAM”, 25/09/2024 Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York City, New York, USA
1. AEW Women’s World Title: Mariah May (c) defeated Yuka Sakazaki with the Storm Zero (6:11). *V2 for Mariah May.
Sadly for Sakazaki her long delayed quest to win the AEW Women’s Title ended in failure over at Arthur Ashe Stadium. May beat her clean by blocking the Magical Girl Splash with her knees and then using the Storm Zero for the three count. May wanted to continue attacking Sakazaki after the match but Willow Nightingale ran down to make the save. Then in an interesting reunion Mina Shirakawa made her entrance with the intention of protecting her close friend by evening the odds. However her “incredible live show charisma” was such a distraction that Nightingale dropped her guard allowing May strike her from behind with the title belt. May ran off to celebrate with Shirakawa, Shirakawa was confused by her actions and Sakazaki tried to chase after May before stopping in front of her old workmate.
SETUP “CHAOPHRAYA VOYAGE: 12TH ANNIVERSARY OF THAI WRESTLING”, 28/09/2024 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Match: Matcha (c) defeated Raku and Pom Harajuku when Matcha pinned Raku with the Stunner (?:??). *V3 for Matcha.
Both Raku and Harajuku made their way over to Thailand to be part of a big SETUP show. The event also included Kenoh as one of the headline stars but I’m not here to write about him. Raku got to perform for the crowd at the start of the show and then returned later to fight for a championship. Matcha put her SETUP All Asia Women’s Title on the line against her and Harajuku in a 3 Way Match. Raku took a bried nap in the middle of the ring, forcing Matcha and Harajuku to wrestle each other over her. Raku and Harajuku went on to have some fun at Matcha’s expense until the champion reached her limit and put a stop to it all. Harajuku gave Raku the Pom de Justice but Matcha then threw Harajuku out of the ring. She then gave Raku a Stunner and went for the pin. The ref stopped himself at two thinking there was a kickout (there clearly wasn’t) so Matcha gave Raku another Stunner and this time got the three count. Afterward Matcha and Harajuku got into an argument and began to fight, forcing the ringside officials to pull them apart. You read that right, Pom Harajuku was in a pull apart brawl!
———————————————————————–
Upcoming Appearances
DEXCON “JAM OF THE JOSHIS”, 13/10/2024 Brawl Pit Bulusan, Manila, Philippines
1. Queen Of Asia Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c/c) Vs Chelsea Marie
If Kamifuku can successfully defend the Double Asian Crown against Xiz Zhao in TJPW then she will next bring the Queen Of Asia Title over to the Philippines. “The Pinay Vixen” Chelsea Marie won a match at the last DEXCON show to become Kamifuku’s challenger for this joshi themed event.
DPW “SUPER BATTLE”, 13/10/2024 Grady Cole Center, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
1. Battle Of The Best – Final: Shoko Nakajima Vs Dani Luna
A future shot for the DPW Women’s World Title is within reach for Nakajima. All she has to do is beat Dani Luna in the Battle Of The Best final.
MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 1”, 19/10/2024 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Mike Bailey Vs Konosuke Takeshita
A familiar friend and foe will be Takeshita’s first opponent at Maple Leaf Pro’s opening weekend. It will be the first time he wrestles Mike Bailey in Bailey’s home country of Canada.
MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 2”, 20/10/2024 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Josh Alexander Vs Konosuke Takeshita
The Takeshita Vs Bailey match announcement also cleared up which night the Josh Alexander match would take place. It looks like it will be the main event of the entire weekend.
With Thailand checked off, Pom Harajuku’s next trip will be to Singapore Pro Wrestling for a match against Alexis Lee. She is going to try and avoid being bitten while Lee will try to avoid her shins getting kicked off.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TJPW BRIGHT EYES”, 09/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
I bet we’ll start getting some more announcements soon. TJPW are sending over Miu Watanabe, Suzume, Arisu Endo, Yuki Kamifuku, Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Rika Tatsumi, Mizuki, Maki Itoh, Yuki Aino, Moka Miyamoto and Wakana Uehara. The DEFY side will be using 6-8 local/American wrestlers and the card is expected to have 6 or 7 matches.
DDT/DEFY “DDT IN UTERO”, 09/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
The DDT show later that day is advertising Konosuke Takeshita, Daisuke Sasaki, Dansoku Dieno, MAO, Gringo Loco, Shota, Yuni and Yoshihiko to all appear.
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TRIANGLER DTD”, 10/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
The next day will bring everyone together for one big finale.
GCW “CHAOS IN KENTUCKY”, 14/11/2024 Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Once the DEFY shows are over Yamashita will be sticking around in the US for one of GCW’s big tentpole weekends of the year.
GCW “GATEWAY TO THE DEATH”, 15/11/2024 Pop’s Nightclub, Sauget, Illinois, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
There was a piece of an interview with Yamashita from a Japanese site I saw during the month. She said something like this has been the first year in her career where she hasn’t worried about the pressure of being the company ace or the headline champion for another promotion. It allowed her to learn how to just enjoy wrestling without carrying the weight of a company on her shoulders (the interview was before she won the Princess Tag Team Titles with Itoh so so much for that break). That could explain why she’s drawn to GCW. She gets to do things she wouldn’t normally do in TJPW, like smack someone over the head with a steel chair.
GCW “NICK GAGE INVITATIONAL 9”, 16/11/2024 Level 13 Event Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Yamashita’s not going to enter the Nick Gage Invitational tournament, is she? There’s already another Yamashita taking part in it.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AEX32 SANTIAGO 2025”, 09/02/2025 Mapocho Station Cultural Center, Santiago, Chile
Next February TJPW will be making its first mark in Chile. They are sending over a few wrestlers to have matches at the AEX Santiago anime convention. Yamashita and Itoh are the first names announced. The event graphics hints at least two other people from the roster will join them. Apparently Chiitan is going to be there too so 121000000 can have a reunion with the mascot.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 AUTUMN”, 28/09/2024 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Haru Kazashiro Vs Chika Nanase
2. Kaya Toribami Vs Wakana Uehara
3. Mizuki & Uta Takami Vs Mahiro Kiryu & Toga
4. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Kira Summer
5. Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Aino & Shino Suzuki Vs Suzume, Arisu Endo & Moka Miyamoto
6. Miu Watanabe, Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Max The Impaler, Shoko Nakajima & HIMAWARI
A few people are missing from the show for different reasons. Both Raku and Pom Harajuku are missing the show because they will be wrestling in Thailand for SETUP that same day. Yoshiko Hasegawa won’t be there because of a scheduling conflict. Runa Okubo is out of action with an injury she suffered during her match at “WRESTLE PRINCESS V”.
DDT “DRAMATIC INFINITY 2024 ~ 3 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 29/09/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Special Tag Match: Shinya Aoki & HARASHIMA Vs Jun Akiyama & Keigo Nakamura
2. Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuya Koroku Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Yuki Ishida
3. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Antonio Honda, To-y & Ilusion
4. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Makoto Oishi
5. DDT Extreme Title – IPPON Lighttube Tag Team Death Match: Shunma Katsumata (c) & Kazuma Sumi Vs Akito & Yuni
6. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Iino (c) Vs Yukio Naya
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Kaisei Takeshi Vs Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Masahiro Takanashi
To-y and Yuki Ishida swap places in Match #2 and Match #3 for some reason.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 03/10/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Jun Akiyama, Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi Vs Toru Owashi, Masahiro Takanashi & Ilusion
2. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Keigo Nakamura & To-y
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul (c) Vs Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Makoto Oishi’s Last DDT Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Makoto Oishi & Danshoku Dieno
On the day that Makoto Oishi’s contract ends with DDT he gets to challenge for the KO-D Tag Team Titles with Danshoku Dieno. The two of them have never held the titles together and don’t even know what will happen next if they beat ShunMao. It won’t be the last time we will ever see Oishi in DDT but whenever he does show up again it will be as a freelancer. The match means a lot to MAO & Shunma Katsumata too because Oishi has been a mentor to them for their entire careers.
Ilusion has gotten SCHADENFREUDE International a shot at the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles but he isn’t allowed to be on the challenger team. DAMNATION T.A don’t want to defend the titles against him but have no problem putting the belts on the line against the rest of SCHADENFREUDE.
Out of all the possible DDT Universal Title challengers stepping forward, To-y is one of the more unlikely to beat Yuki Iino. But he is looking for ways to get a title shot. He couldn’t go through with cashing in his Right To Challenge Shield because Iino physically stopped him at every opportunity. Now To-y no longer has the Shield but is taking the chance of facing Iino directly in a tag match. This is all if Iino is still the champion after his defence with Yukio Naya of course.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’24”, 06/10/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Wakana Uehara & Haru Kazahiro Vs Toga & Uta Takami
2. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Kakeru Sekiguchi, Kira Summer & Chika Nanase
3. Suzume & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Moka Miyamoto & Kaya Toribami
4. Mizuki & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Andreza Giant Panda & Shino Suzuki
5. Maki Itoh & Rika Tatsumi Vs Yuna Manase & HIMAWARI
6. Ryo Mizunami Vs Arisu Endo
7. Queen Of Asia Title & VPW Women’s Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c/c) Vs Xia Zhao
8. Miu Watanabe & Miyu Yamashita Vs Meiko Satomura & Shoko Nakajima
When news came out about Meiko Satomura’s plan to retire from pro wrestling next year, Miyu Yamashita immediately went to Tetsuya Koda asking him to bring Satomura back to Tokyo Joshi Pro for one more match. Yamashita never got along with Satomura in their interactions together back in 2017 because Satomura wasn’t impressed with her as a wrestler. So now here we are seven years later and this might be Yamashita’s final chance to measure herself up against the legend. Miu Watanabe and Shoko Nakajima are also getting in on the action to get their one and only match with Satomura.
Xia Zhao has a pinfall victory over Yuki Kamifuku so she next wants to take the Asian Double Crown from her. Yuki Kamifuku is willing to put both the Queen Of Asia Title & VPW Women’s Title because gambling big in this situation works out for her no matter the result. She either rips off the bandage by losing both belts at the same time or looks cool for defending two championships at once.
Both Ryo Mizunami and Arisu Endo are coming off of title losses at “WRESTLE PRINCESS V”. Where they go from here might depend on the result of this match.
The idea of putting Maki Itoh & Rika Tatsumi together as a team sounds unhinged. Yuna Manase can deal with it but HIMAWARI might find herself in trouble should she end up in a 2-on-1 situation.
It will be up to Shino Suzuki to guide Andreza Giant Panda safely down to the ring. Mizuki is going to have so much fun trying to Double Stomp him that Mahiro Kiryu will have to apologise on her behalf!
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2024 TOUR IN ASAKUSA”, 09/10/2024 Tokyo Asakusa Hanayashi Theater
1. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Moka Miyamoto Vs Haru Kazashiro
2. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura Vs Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Yoshihiko Vs Shunma Katsumata, Soma Takao & Kazuki Hirata
4. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & To-y Vs Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku
A few guests are coming in for DDT’s return to Asakusa. Ryota Nakatsu is coming over and wants to be in the ring with HARASHIMA. Also TJPW will be presenting a match between Moka Miyamoto and Haru Kazashiro.
BASARA “BASARA 258 ~SOUEN~”, 11/10/2024 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Union MAX Title: Minoru Fujita (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi
The unexpected next challenger for the Union MAX Title is Masahiro Takanashi! He held the title once before during 2019 and 2020. His final successful defence was even against the current champion Minoru Fujita. That result is something Fujita wants to avenge so he is ready to face Takanashi in a rematch over four years in the making.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS V”, 22/09/2024 Chiba Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall 756 Fans
1. Haru Kazashiro defeated Runa Okubo with the Fisherman Suplex (6:25).
2. Yoshiko Hasegawa, Kaya Toribami & HIMAWARI defeated Kira Summer, Chika Nanase & Uta Takami when Toribami pinned Nanase with the Sento Choryu (10:13).
3. Kakeru Sekiguchi & Mahiro Kiryu defeated Wakana Uehara & Toga when Kiryu pinned Toga with the Spinebuster (9:41).
4. Ram Kaichow defeated Raku ny Pinfall (7:01).
5. Aja Kong, Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku defeated Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Aino & Shino Suzuki when Kong pinned Suzuki with the Back Drop (14:55). *Special Referee: Shiori Aoki.
6. Emi Sakura defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Queen’s Gambit (13:47).
7. Xia Zhao & Mizuki defeated Yuki Kamifuku & VENY when Zhao pinned Kamifuku with the Thunder Strike (12:50).
8. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Finally (15:33) *V5 for Yuki Arai.
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh defeated Suzume & Arisu Endo (c) when Yamashita pinned Endo with the Crash Rabbit Heat (23:22). *Daisy Monkey fails in V3. 121000000 becomes the 17th Princess Tag Team Champions!
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) defeated Ryo Mizunami with the Tear Drop (21:19). *V4 for Miu Watanabe.
The power of Princess Aniki has met her match in Tokyo Joshi Pro! Today saw Miu Watanabe cement her Princess Of Princess Title reign by beating Ryo Mizunami in her fourth defence. It is also the first time Mizunami has been beaten in TJPW. Mizunami made it a fight to remember by throwing Chops and Leg Drops on the champion as well as slamming her into the corner post outside the ring. She even dared Watanabe to try and spin her around in the Giant Swing. It took some effort but Watanabe pulled off the move. She also had the strength to use the Swinging Backbreaker and Batting Hammer strikes. Mizunami was able to drop Watanabe with the HOT LIMIT but took too much damage to go for the pin. She later climbed the top rope but Watanabe followed and took her down with an Avalanche Tear Drop. She then used the normal version of her finisher twice but a stubborn Mizunami refused to stay lying down. Watanabe then lifted her into the Canadian Backbreaker but it turned out to be an Inverted Tear Drop instead. She then hit Mizunami from behind with a Batting Hammer to the back of the head, followed it with the Laserbeam chop and got the three count with one last Tear Drop.
Watanabe was happy to have won the match and defend the title in front of such a warm atmosphere today. She thanked Mizunami for being a tough opponent but the title means too much for her to lose it now. Backstage Mizunami said she Watanabe was stronger today, maybe because she has the pride of a champion. Mizunami believes her own wrestling career is not about how many times she won but how many times she got back up after she lost. She’s going to get back up from today’s defeat because she now has more reasons to fight in TJPW. Watanabe said with four successful defences under her belt she now has a lot more confidence to become a perfect champion who will make TJPW grow even bigger! The Canadian Backbreaker Tear Drop was an idea she thought of a long time ago but she instead focused on perfecting the regular version of the move. When she saw Mizunami keep on getting up it forced her to try out the new version. Since it helped lead her to victory she is thinking about using it more for the rest of her title reign.
121000000 have regained the Princess Tag Team Titles! Sadly it comes at the cost of Daisy Monkey’s reign. Some rusty teamwork from the challengers was taken advantage of by the champions using their speed. Arisu Endo ducked out of a sandwich attack causing Miyu Yamashita to knee Maki Itoh in the head by accident. Suzume gave Yamashita the Ring A Bell, Itoh came back to give Suzume a Stunner and Endo flipped her over with a Waterwheel Drop. Endo avoided the Attitude Adjustment to put Yamashita in the Camel Clutch while Suzume held Itoh down in a Sleeper Hold. Itoh was able to grab Yamashita’s hand giving her the encourgement to stand back up and use the Attitude Adjustment to throw Endo on top of Suzume to break up the two submission holds. 121000000 later used the DDT/German Suplex combo on Endo and Yamashita followed it up with the Skull Kick. Suzume was there to break the pin but she then ate the Headbutt/High Knee sandwich attack. Itoh kept her out of the picture so Yamashita could finish off Endo. There was one last gasp of life left from Endo but Yamashita stopped her with a Buzzsaw Kick and scored the pin with the Crash Rabbit Heat.
Yamashita & Itoh now get to re-do their tag title run that only lasted two weeks the first time around. Itoh admitted she’s never been more scared or sorry for herself than for this match but she got through it and won because Yamashita was by her side. Yamashita is ready to defend the titles right away. She already thinks there is one happening in two weeks time but Itoh told her nothing was decided yet. Itoh also welcomes Daisy Monkey to a rematch with the titles on the line. Suzume is obviously upset to lose the title but she thinks it is not going to be out of reach for her. Endo said Daisy Monkey will make their dream of becoming the strongest come true again.
A championship record was broken today when Yuki Arai defended the International Princess Title for the fifth time. That is now the most successful defences for one reign in the title’s history. Moka Miyamoto switched up her attacks by targeting Arai’s legs and then her arms. Arai used a Big Boot as a vital counter as well as the Scorpion Death Lock. Miyamoto would do her best to keep fighting but ultimately fell to the Full Nelson Buster followed by the Finally. Miyamoto was disappointed she couldn’t live up to everyone’s expectations and she is upset she couldn’t avenge the first time she lost to Arai three years ago. She still wants to grab every opportunity she can to wrestle for championships and be in big matches. She also wants to continue having matches with Arai both as opponents and as tag partners. Arai is happy with how much heart she is putting into her matches. She wants even more title defences so she can become a champion that nobody will ever beat! She also felt at home wrestling in Makuhari Messe because she often performs as an idol here away from TJPW.
Xia Zhao wanted to make an impact for her first time wrestling in Japan. The former WWE wrestler did just that by pinning Yuki Kamifuku and spoiling the VENYU reunion. Mizuki used the Whirling Candy to wipe out VENY and Zhao used a Cyclone Kick called the Thunder Strike to get the win on Kamifuku. After the match Zhao made a challenge for both the Queen Of Asia Title and the VPW Women’s Title, henceforth collectively known as the Asian Double Crown. Kamifuku wasn’t happy to find herself in this situation but she accepted the challenge for sometime down the road. Backstage Kamifuku also apologised to VENY for losing and wants to make it up to her by doing something overseas together. She explained she prefers to defend both of her titles together because if she was to lose, she would prefer to lose both belts at the same time. But if she wins she looks twice as cool for defending two titles at once. Zhao said it was a great honor to wrestle in Japan and have her first match here be in TJPW. She is sure the next time she comes back will be for the title match.
In the leadup to the match between Shoko Nakajima and Emi Sakura both women talked about their long history with each other unknown to most wrestling fans. However the kind words and friendly feelings were not on show when Sakura made it to the ring. She rejected Nakajima’s pre-match handshake. She also beat Nakajima’s chest red with Machine Gun Chops. The match went back and forth with nearfalls from Sakura using La Magistral Cradle and the Double Arm Backbreaker while Nakajima used the Northern Lights Suplex and Double Arm DDT. But Sakura took down Nakajima from the top rope and hit the Queen’s Gambit for the victory. Sakura offered to shake Nakajima’s hand after the match but this time Nakajima ignored it. That would lead to Sakura interrupting Nakajima’s post-match interview backstage. She taunted her for crying and accused Nakajima of being happy that she lost instead of being mad because she now has a new challenge to overcome. Sakura also said there is a new rookie in ChocoPro who just debuted and she admires Nakajima. Sakura would love to see Yawata Hiyori face her hero some day but she’s also sure Hiyori is upset that Nakajima lost today. Sakura suggested maybe they can both go cry with Hiyori together!
A match mixing team of monsters with an inexperienced celebrity referee was bound to be chaotic. Aja Kong & Max The Impaler made sure Pom Harajuku would go through the match with them whether she wanted to be there or not. Shiori Aoki (formerly from SKE48) wasn’t concerned about that because she wanted to focus on doing cartwheels while counting pinfalls. She also joined in line when Kong & Max used Harajuku as a jump rope for the other team to hop over. The match also turned into a brawl outside the ring but to give Aoki credit she got everyone back in by using fast counts. Things fell apart when Aoki stopped Kong from using the Steel Can as a weapon. While they were both holding it, Shino Suzuki pushed Kong and made her knock out Aoki with the can! Daisuke Kiso ran in as the substitute ref but he would also get knocked out. The fans chanted Aoki’s name to revive her and she was able to count Kong pinning Suzuki with the Back Drop. Aoki thinks she did a good job and took it seriously. This is supposed to be the last time she will be a wrestling referee but she is open to doing this again if she’s asked to. Yuki Aino thought her team would have won if Harajuku would have stopped running away from them. Kong & Max were also annoyed by that but Harajuku swears she was just wandering around a bit, not hiding. Rika Tatsumi blamed Suzuki over the loss and gave her an Airplane Spin backstage as punishment.
Raku and Ram Kaichow believe there is not enough romance in wrestling so they decided to treat their match against each other like a date. For example the opening lock-up spot instead turned out to be Raku giving Kaichow a hug. The fans then got upset at Yukinori Matsui whenever he tried to order the two to wrestle each other. They then went to a table set up outside the ring with cake and soft drinks for the happy couple to enjoy while Matsui started counting them out. Raku snuck back into the ring early while Kaichow decided to finish the cake in time to make it back by the 19 count. Kaichow finally decided to take the match seriously when Raku tried to pin her with the Oyasumi Express. After a few proper wrestling moves, Raku then sang Kaichow to sleep with a lullaby and decided to take a nap with her in the middle of the ring. Matsui started a 10 count and made it to 9 when Kaichow woke up and got back to her feet. But she was too sleepy to continue and fell on top of a still napping Raku. Matsui decided it looked like a pin and made the three count so Kaichow won the match. Raku was still asleep though so Kaichow gave her a little kiss to wake her up. Backstage Kaichow was still sleepy but was happy that their “wedding night” took place in the ring. But then she started thinking today was all a dream and she decided to go back to sleep.
The last time Kakeru Sekiguchi was in TJPW some people claimed she looks identical to Mahiro Kiryu. So TJPW decided to team the two of them together today. Any argument against the claim wasn’t helped by Wakana Uehara & Toga struggling to figure out who was who. Even worse, Sekiguchi also copied Kiryu’s Apology Knee Drop spot. But there was nothing for Kiryu & Sekiguchi to worry about after that because they went on to win the match. They properly introduced themselves to each other afterwards and told reporters there was always something that got in the way of them meeting each other until today. Sekiguchi told Kiryu that people think even their voices sound alike! The two had fun though and would like to team up again. Uehara described how the match felt like she was surrounded by handsome people. Toga thinks she is more handsome than either Kiryu or Sekiguchi so even though she lost the tag match, at least she won the battle of good looks.
Today was the first time all three members of the 2024 Class got to team together in a 6-Woman Tag Match. Meanwhile the other team all found something in common by wearing fluffy wrestling boots. Uta Takami was able to hit a Missile Dropkick on Kaya Toribami and Kira Summer followed up by using the Samoan Drop. Chika Nanase applied the Inari Torii but Toribami countered it into the Bird Cage while her teammates cleared the ring. Toribami then Arm Dragged Nanase into the centre of the ring so she could go to the ropes and hit the Sento Choryu for the three count. She admitted backstage she didn’t expect the other team to work together so beautifully. HIMAWARI pointed out they must have been fired to team up together for the first time. Yoshiko Hasegawa now knows what the heat is like from the 2024 Class and will have to work hard so she won’t lose to them.
Almost one year after their first singles match against each other it was time for Runa Okubo and Haru Kazashiro to face off for Round 2. This time it was Kazashiro who won the match by pinning Okubo with the Fisherman Suplex. She cried over the result but it wasn’t with tears of joy. She admits she made a lot of mistakes during the match doesn’t believe she gave it her all to deserve the victory. She would like to wrestle Okubo again and work harder so her next win will feel like a proper one.
A special tag match was announced for the next Korakuen Hall show on 6th October. Miu Watanabe & Miyu Yamashita will team up to take on Meiko Satomura & Shoko Nakajima! Satomura is planning to retire from pro wrestling next year but she was due to appear in TJPW one more time to settle some unfinished business with Yamashita. Watanabe is looking forward to it because the first TJPW show she attended after passing her audition for The Up Up Girls was the one where Satomura beat Yamashita in a singles match.
DDT “TETSUYA ENDO LOCAL TRIUMPH! DRAMATIC INFINITY 2024 TOUR IN SHIROISHI”, 14/09/2024 Miyagi Shiroishi White Cube
1. Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Ilusion Vs Yukio Naya, Akito & To-y
2. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Kazuma Sumi
3. Yuki Iino Vs Yuki Ishida
4. Jun Akiyama Vs Yuya Koroku
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Gorgeous Matsuno & Keigo Nakamura Vs HARASHIMA, Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata
6. Shiroishi Specialty Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Makoto Oishi
The main event has more going on for it after yesterday’s show. Makoto Oishi lost to Shinya Aoki while Tetsuya Endo watched from a distance. Oishi hopes learned at least something from it that he can use in this weekend’s KO-D Openweight Title match with Aoki. A few days later Endo and Oishi will face each other for Endo’s homecoming match. It’s a match that already means a lot to both of them and it could mean a little more if Endo goes into it as the new KO-D Champion.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ARISU ENDO LOCAL TRIUMPH 2024”, 14/09/2024 Fukushima Aizuwakamatsu City Tsurugajo Gymnasium
1. 3 Way Match: Pom Harajuku Vs Shino Suzuki Vs Chika Nanase
2. Toga Vs Uta Takami
3. Yuki Aino & Kira Summer Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa & Runa Okubo
4. Moka Miyamoto Vs Wakana Uehara
5. Miu Watanabe & HIMAWARI Vs Mizuki & Haru Kazashiro
6. Aja Kong & Raku Vs Rika Tatsumi & Mahiro Kiryu
7. Arisu Endo & Suzume Vs Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami
We’ll find out this weekend if Arisu Endo will make it to Aizuwakamatsu City as a double champion. Even if she doesn’t it will still be Daisy Monkey in the main event facing Miyu Yamashita in a non-title preview for “WRESTLE PRINCESS V”. Yamashita will be without Maki Itoh because Itoh will be back in America for GCW by that point. Kaya Toribami is going to be Yamashita’s partner instead.
Nice to see Aja Kong and Raku be put together as a team again.
Also missing the show due to overseas obligations are Shoko Nakajima and Yuki Kamifuku. Nakajima will be in America that weekend on a Deadlock Pro show while Kamifuku is busy defending the Queen Of Asia Title in China for Middle Kingdom Wrestling.
DDT “DRAMATIC INFINITY 2024 TOUR IN SAPPORO – DAY 1”, 15/09/2024 Hokkaido Sapporo Sun Plaza
1. Kazuki Hirata Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Yukio Naya Vs Yuya Koroku
3. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Noriyuki Yoshida & Yuki Ishida
4. Jun Akiyama, Tomoya & Danshoku Dieno Vs Chris Brookes, Akito & Ilusion
5. Special Single Match: Takeshi Masada Vs Makoro Oishi
6. Special Tag Match: Shinya Aoki & HARASHIMA Vs MAO & Keigo Nakamura
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul (c) Vs Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y
For some reason DDT is still advertising Match #6 as a 6-Man Tag even though it only has four people written down on the lineup, two versus two. It has to be a typo.
DDT “DRAMATIC INFINITY 2024 TOUR IN SAPPORO – DAY 2”, 16/09/2024 Hokkaido Sapporo Sun Plaza
1. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuki Ishida & Ilusion
2. Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Makoto Oishi Vs Tomoya, Akito & Kazuki Hirata
3. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Noriyuki Yoshida Vs Yuki Ueno & Keigo Nakamura
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Naya & Kazuma Sumi
5. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Yuya Koroku
6. Special Single Match: Chris Brookes Vs Danshoku Dieno
One of Noriyuki Yoshida’s matches for DDT’s weekend in Sapporo has him teaming with Jun Akiyama again. It’s pretty much an annual tradition at this point given the old NOAH connection between the two.
Some of the undercard matches have been changed around. The trio of Tomoya, Akito & Kazuki Hirata are no longer facing DAMNATION T.A. Their new opponents are Endo, Yuki Iino & Oishi. The DAMNATION T.A change is because MJ Paul is no longer on the card. He was pulled from yesterday’s meet and greet after suffering food poisoning. Apparently he’s been eating too much raw meat from the wild animals he hunts down.
The end of the summer turned out to not go as planned for a few people. Maki Itoh suffered a hand injury that cut short her latest GCW tour. Yuna Manase had some travel problems get in the way of her first time visit to America but at least her story ended happily for her. She ended up winning a championship over there! Things went smoother for Tokyo Joshi Pro as their co-promoted show with EVE in England was a big success. The EVE promoters have their own stories to tell about searching for venues, dealing with the ticket operators and having last minute changes with their production team but once the show began it could not have gone any better in the venue s far as I could tell. Miyu Yamashita also had time to wrestle in a few other places before she heads back to Japan.
The end of the month also had Konosuke Takeshita return to AEW. After his performance in the G1 Climax reminded everyone of his talents (not that we should need any reminding), there is understandably a lack of enthusiasm online to see him go back to AEW where his main role is to stand behind Don Callis’ shoulder week after week. That his first match back happened on Rampage doesn’t do much to quell those worries. With that said though it was a cracking match anyway. If the second Continental Classic happens this year we’re probably still over a month or to away from it.
Heading into September we’re going to see Itoh go back to America. It does not sound like she’s at 100% but she isn’t going to say no to making some more money over there if she’s in any way able to. Some TJPW wrestlers will be spreading their wings around Asia with championships there for the taking. There is a new company opening up in Canada that Takeshita and Yamashita will appear in. Wrestling fans in general might do well to pay attention to that place in regards to whether or not it will effect TNA in the long run given who has been associated with it so far. But if you don’t care about that and want to keep talk to just DDT and TJPW, there is the road to Seattle coming up. We’ll be there before you know it!
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 28/08/2024 (Aired 30/08/2024) State Farm Arena, Champaign, Illinois, USA
1. 4 Way Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs The Beast Mortos Vs Komander Vs Lio Rush
———————————————————————–
Results
GCW “NOW AND FOREVER”, 02/08/2024 TempleLive Cleveland Masonic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
1. GCW Extreme Title: Maki Itoh (c) defeated John Wayne Murdoch with a School Boy (5:51). *V2 for Maki Itoh.
Itoh’s first GCW appearance of her tour was against one of the promotion’s death match specialists John Wayne Murdoch. It was also made into a GCW Extreme Title defence. Murdoch got under Itoh’s skin early when he grabbed a “Respect Maki Itoh Or Die” sign and stomped on it in the ring. He then tried to win her over by allowing Itoh to sing for the fans but that was only so he could attack her from behind. Murdhoch brought in a steel chair and tried to Suplex Itoh onto it. Itoh avoided the move and gave Murdoch a Stunner, making him land back and head first into the chair. She then rolled him up with a School Boy to win the match and retain the Extreme Title.
GCW “CAN I TRUST YOU?”, 04/08/2024 House Of Independents, Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA
1. GCW Extreme Title: Maki Itoh (c) defeated Allie Katch with a Mouse Trap (8:32). *V3 for Maki Itoh.
Later in the weekend Itoh had another Extreme Title defence, this time against Allie Katch. The two get along and have teamed together in the past so their match was all trying to outdo each other. Itoh tried to trick Katch with crocodile tears so Katch decided to lie down and let Itoh do a Kokeshi Headbutt. Except Katch got back up and cut her off to take control of the match. Itoh fired up when her head hit the turnbuckle and she hit a Draping DDT onto the ring apron. The fight came down to duelling strikes and then Itoh trying several different pinning combinations. She finally got the three count on Katch by giving her the Mouse Trap cradle.
SPW “HARDCORE ISLAND 2: A FINE CITY”, 16/08/2024 Foo Chow Building, Singapore
1. 3 Way Match: Alexis Lee defeated Miyu Yamashita and Kaya Toribami when Lee pinned Toribami after the Skull Kick from Yamashita (?:??).
Over in Singapore both Yamashita and Kaya Toribami were flying the flag for TJPW in a 3 Way Match against Alexis Lee. It was every woman for herself and Lee took advantage of that. Yamashita knocked down Toribami with the Skull Kick only for Lee to steal the pin.
KITSUNE “YABAI!”, 18/08/2024 1110 Bates Ave, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Kitsune World Title: Yuna Manase defeated Megan Bayne and J-Rod when Manase pinned J-Rod with a Lariat (10:11). *Yuna Manase becomes the 2nd Kitsune World Champion!
It was a long journey for Manase to get to America (more details at the end of the report) but she finally got there and ended up winning a championship! Due to circumstances with her visa, Sayaka Unagi couldn’t make the show and had to vacate the Kitsune World Title. It was now up for grabs in the 3 Way Match that Manase was booked in against J-Rod and Megan Bayne. At one point Manase and Bayne worked together and gave J-Rod the Doomsday Device. Bayne was then taken out of play by J-Rod’s Spear. J-Rod went for the same move on Manase but missed and hit the corner. Manase knocked her down with the Lariat and got the three count to win the title! She celebrated by getting the fans to shout “We are Ganbare!” along with her.
EVE/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “EVE X TJPW: JAPAN & UK WRESTLING UNITE!”, 24/08/2024 Conway Hall, London, England ??? Fans – Unannounced
0. Triple Threat Match: Skye Smitson defeated Anita Vaughan and Kasey when Smitson pinned Vaughan with the Smitson Effect (7:49)
1. Mahiro Kiryu defeated HIMAWARI with the Spinebuster (11:15).
2. Alex Windsor defeated Lena Kross with a Sharpshooter (11:46).
3. Raku defeated Session Moth Martina with the Hurricane Turn (6:18).
4. Zizi & Safire Reed Vs Aja Kong & Max The Impaler defeated Zizi & Safire Reed when Kong pinned Reed with the 2nd Rope Diving Elbow Drop (11:06).
5. EVE Title: Nina Samuels (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Starstruck (19:39). *V5 for Nina Samuels.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 28/08/2024 (Aired 30/08/2024) State Farm Arena, Champaign, Illinois, USA
1. 4 Way Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated The Beast Mortos, Komander (w/ Alex Abrahantes) and Lio Rush when Takeshita pinned Komander with the Raging Fire (13:53).
Takeshita’s first appearance in AEW since returning from the G1 was for a wild 4 Way Match against The Beast Mortos, Komander and Lio Rush. He was back to using his actual AEW theme and Callis kept himself to the commentary table. The match was wild as you had the power and speed of Takeshita and Mortos along with the speed and agility of Komander and Rush all mixing up together. Mortos soon wiped out Rush with a Spear and broke Komander over his knee. Takeshita then hit Mortos with the Powerdrive Knee to get rid of him. Komander tried to roll up Takeshita but got a nearfall. Takeshita spun him into the Blue Thunder Bomb and used the Raging Fire to get the win.
MLW “SUMMER OF THE BEASTS”, 29/08/2024 Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA
1. Delmi Exo defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Delmi Driver (6:15).
In an MLW rematch from last December, Delmi Exo got her win back from Yamashita. By winning the match Exo declared herself the No. 1 contender for the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title.
GCW “LIVE FAST DIE YOUNG”, 31/08/2024 Thalia Hall, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. Megan Bayne defeated Miyu Yamashita by Disqualification when Broski Jimmy attacked Bayne with a Chair (15:38).
The rematch between Yamashita and Bayne from DREAMWAVE earlier this year took place in GCW but was ruined by outside interference. Bayne gave Yamashita a Choke Slam and was about to use the Tombstone Piledriver when Broski Jimmy ran into the ring with a chair and hit Bayne with it. Yamashita stopped the attack and gave Jimmy the Skull Kick. Bayne got her hands on him too with a Choke Slam and Yamashita followed up by hitting Jimmy over the head with the chair! Bayne then finished him off with the Tombstone. After that was done the two women had a stare down before deciding to shake each other’s hands.
———————————————————————–
Upcoming Appearances
F1RST “SATURDAY NIGHT NITRO”, 07/09/2024 Mall Of America, Bloomington, Minnesota, USA
1. Allie Katch & Effy Vs Danhausen & Maki Itoh
The second half of Itoh’s American tour is going ahead despite her injury. One of her next matches will be to team with Danhausen to take on Bussy. That does not sound like the most physically demanding of matchups so even if her hand is not at 100% she’ll be find going out there. The F1RST show is also noteworthy because it is their annual visit to the Mall Of America were the first episode of WCW Nitro was famously taped. This is the third year in a row F1RST are running a show there.
MKW “CHAMPIONSHIP SUPERCARD FROM SHANGHAI”, 14/09/2024 Bandai Namco Shanghai Base, Shanghai, China
1. Queen Of Asia Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c) Vs Crystal
The next Queen Of Asia Title defence is taking place in China next month. Crystal believes Yuki Kamifuku is not ready to take on an opponent with her kind of wrath, tenacity and power.
GCW “BAD ONE”, 14/09/2024 Harpos Concert Center, Detroit, Michigan, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Kylie Rae
Even after Itoh pulled out of her August dates, GCW continued to promote her September appearances so they already knew how long her recovery would take. Her match with Kyle Rae that was meant to happen on 31st August will now take place on 14th September.
GCW “THA G-CODE”, 15/09/2024 Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, New York, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
This will be the weekend before “WRESTLE PRINCESS V” back in Japan so she will at least get some ring rust off her before heading back to TJPW.
DPW “CAROLINA CLASSIC”, 15/09/2024 Durham Convention Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
1. Battle Of The Best – Round 2: Shoko Nakajima Vs Trish Adora
Another visit to Deadlock Pro for Shoko Nakajima as she continues the inaugural Battle Of The Best tournament. She faces Trish Adora in Round 2 and the winner advances to the final scheduled for 13th October.
SETUP “CHAOPHRAYA VOYAGE: 12TH ANNIVERSARY OF THAI WRESTLING”, 28/09/2024 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Match: Matcha (c) Vs Raku Vs Pom Harajuku
Fresh back from visiting England, Raku is going to travel again this time to Thailand and with Pom Harajuku following her. The travel buddies will be opponents though as they both take on Matcha for the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title in a 3 Way free for all.
MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 1”, 19/10/2024 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Josh Alexander Vs Konosuke Takeshita?
Some interesting news coming out of the Canadian scene. Scott D’Amore was fired as president of TNA back in February and in the meantime went about establishing a new venture called Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling. Takeshita will be there for the debut weekend of shows. The first match announced for the weekend is Takeshita against Josh Alexander in a rematch of their 20 minute draw from Garden State Pro Wrestling back in July 2022. Maple Leaf Pro haven’t made clear yet if the match is happening on Night 1 or Night 2.
MAPLE LEAF PRO “FORGED IN EXCELLENCE – NIGHT 2”, 20/10/2024 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Josh Alexander Vs Konosuke Takeshita?
Yamashita will also be booked for both shows that weekend.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “BRIGHT EYES”, 09/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
The twelve wrestlers from TJPW making the trip are Miu Watanabe, Suzume, Arisu Endo, Yuki Kamifuku, Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Rika Tatsumi, Mizuki, Maki Itoh, Yuki Aino, Moka Miyamoto and Wakana Uehara. There will be around 6-8 local or American wrestlers also on the card for a total of 6 or 7 matches.
DDT/DEFY “DDT IN UTERO”, 09/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
Takeshita is the first DDT wrestler announced to be on the show.
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TRIANGLER DTD”, 10/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
Both Takeshita and the dozen TJPW wrestlers will also be at the weekend finale.
———————————————————————–
Cancelled Appearances
KITSUNE “LOVE MY SHOW!”, 17/08/2024 Brick X Brick, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Aspyn Rose & Yuna Manase Vs Aria Perkins & Delmi Exo
As mentioned above Manase had a hell of an ordeal to go through just to make it to America. Travel from Japan was heavily effected by an incoming typhoon that week and her flight was delayed by many hours. So her first match for Kitsune the day before her title match had to be changed into something without her. Then when she finally made it to America it still took a few more hours to get through immigration customs.
GCW “NO SIGNAL IN THE HILLS PT. 4”, 17/08/2024 Ukrainian Culture Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh Vs Mance Warner & Broski Jimmy
Itoh’s injury cancelled not one but two matches against Mance Warner this month. She would have faced him for the GCW World Title in Japan and then a tag match in America a few days later.
GCW “SAVE ME”, 18/08/2024 Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
No appearance at Salt Lake City for Itoh either.
GCW “HOMECOMING – NIGHT 1”, 24/08/2024 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Kerry Morton
I think Kerry Morton lost his booking because he didn’t wrestle on the show from what I could find.
GCW “HOMECOMING – NIGHT 2”, 25/08/2024 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Itoh probably missed out on a few extra Extreme Title defences because of her injury. She is still the champion as far as I’m aware.
GCW “LIVE FAST DIE YOUNG”, 31/08/2024 Thalia Hall, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Kylie Rae
Kylie Rae ended up facing Brooke Havok instead.
INSPIRE A.D. “MAY THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN”, 01/09/2024 Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA
DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2024 IN SHINJUKU – DAY 2”, 30/08/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Toru Owashi & Yuki Ishida Vs Yuni & Keigo Nakamura
2. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Toru Owashi, Keigo Nakamura & Yuya Koroku
3. Rock ‘N’ Roll 4 Way Death Match: Akito Vs Antonio Honda Vs To-y Vs Kazuma Sumi
4. The Long Awaited New Series By Hisaya Imabayashi! Kaidan Shin Numabukuro Deathmatch 2: Shunma Katsumata Vs Jun Akiyama Vs Danshoku Dieno Vs Makoto Oishi
5. Special Single Match: Chris Brookes Vs Ilusion
6. Beer Garden Specialty Customer Lottery 8-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO, HARASHIMA, Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino, Kazuki Hirata, Yukio Naya, Takeshi Masada
Over the weekend Ilusion made more attempts at asking Chris Brookes if he could join SCHADENFREUDE International only to be turned down again. Brookes instead offered Ilusion a singles match between them. See it as Ilusion’s last chance to convince Brookes that he deserves to be part of the unit.
DDT “MEET & GREET & FIGHT SEPTEMBER”, 04/09/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. To-y & Kazuma Sumi Vs Keigo Nakamura & Yuya Koroku
2. 3 Way Match: Takeshi Masada Vs Yuni Vs Ilusion
3. Special Single Match: Yuki Iino Vs Kazuki Hirata
4. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Makoto Oishi
The new KO-D Openweight Champion is Shinya Aoki so he is going to appear in DDT a little more often in the near future. He has been added to Makoto Oishi’s final run of matches in the company.
DDT “TAKESHI MASADA LOCAL TRIUMPH! DRAMATIC INFINITY 2024 TOUR IN OSAKA”, 07/09/2024 Osaka Sun Square Sports Center Sakai
1. Danshoku Dieno, Kazuki Hirata & Kazuma Sumi Vs Toru Owashi, Keigo Nakamura & Ilusion
2. HARASHIMA & Akito Vs Yukio Naya & Yuki Ishida
3. DAMNATION T.A Vs BURNING!: Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku
4. Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Fuminori Abe & Antonio Honda
5. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Makoto Oishi
6. Special Single Match: KANON Vs Yuki Iino
7. Osaka Specialty Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Yuki Ueno & To-y
Another show in Osaka means Takeshi Masada gets to headline it again as the hometown boy. But Yuki Ueno and Yuni are Osaka hometown boys too!
A singles match between KANON and Yuki Iino has the added element of KANON’s Right To Challenge Shield being up for grabs if it hasn’t been used yet. You can afford to take tag losses here and there when you don’t take the fall but when it’s time for singles matches, holders like KANON will need to be more careful.
One of Oishi’s final singles matches in DDT will be against Jun Akiyama! The two of them have gotten along as part of D.O.A and the unit isn’t planning on going away anytime soon.
A preview for the next DDT Universal Title defence is happening the day before the match takes place. MAO and Fuminori Abe will get to test each other out in a tag bout around 24 hours before they fight over the title.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALWAYS BE A CHALLENGER ’24”, 08/09/2024 Nagoya International Conference Center Event Hall
1. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs Arisu Endo
In more hometown talk Arisu Endo made it her goal to become a double champion before Tokyo Joshi Pro returns to Aizuwakamatsu. She decided to challenge Yuki Arai for the International Princess Title as part of her plan. Endo was part of Arai’s debut match three years ago and the two have become good friends ever since. Even though Arai is from Kyoto, she considers Nagoya as her second home because of SKE48’s connections to the area so she will need to utilise her own home field advantage in order to stop Endo from powering up Aizuwakamatsu!
DDT “FRIENDSHIP, EFFORT, VICTORY IN NAGOYA 2024”, 08/09/2024 Nagoya International Conference Center Event Hall
1. Takeshi Masada & Yuki Ishida Vs Keigo Nakamura & Ilusion
2. Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
3. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Yuki Iino, Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi
4. Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Akito
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kota Ibushi, Shuji Ishikawa & Danshoku Dieno Vs HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Michael Nakazawa
6. Special Single Match: Ryuichi “Fire” Kawakami Vs Yukio Naya
7. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Fuminori Abe
8. KO-D Openweight Title: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo
There is now a sudden shift in direction for the KO-D Title scene coming out of the weekend. Aoki is now the champion and has visions of revitalizing the championship’s value by targeting Katsuhiko Nakajima! In the leadup to Aoki’s title win he said he would like to unify the KO-D Title with the UWF World Title that is currently being used in GLEAT. Nakajima just so happens to be the champion and him knocking out Tetsuya Endo in 2022 is a subject that Aoki brought on Sunday. He does not understand why nobody from DDT ever wanted to get revenge on Nakajima for the damage he did to the company’s reputation. Endo has his reasons for being the first person to challenge Aoki. Nakajima was not meant to be top of that list but since Aoki brought it up, Endo believes it should be him who gets that revenge as champion and not Aoki.
A lot of potential challengers for the KO-D Title are waiting nearby and it’s not just the people who hold the Right To Challenge Shields. The feud between Yukio Naya and Ryuichi Kawakami could launch the winner into a future title shot. Kawakami thinks it will be easy to get one after he destroys Naya once and for all. The sneak attacks and cheating were already getting Naya mad but the thought of Kawakami taking the KO-D Title so lightly has only fired him up even more.
DDT “NO SPOILERS X BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING IN UENO”, 10/09/2024 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. Special Single Match: Takeshi Masada Vs Yoshihiko
2. Special 4 Way Match: Someone Who Looks Like MAO Vs Someone Who Looks Like Chris Brookes Vs Someone Who Looks Like HARASHIMA Vs Someone Who Looks Like Keigo Nakamura
DDT are holding another event where attendees are encouraged not to post anything about what happened at the show on social media until after midnight. It is doubling up as a Beer Garden show too so you know a bunch of crazy things will happen. The 4 Way Match for example sounds like it will feature wrestlers pretending to be MAO, Brookes, HARASHIMA and Keigo Nakamura fighting each other. Masada has to fight Yoshihiko by himself too.
DDT “DRAMATIC INFINITY 2024 TOUR IN SAPPORO – DAY 1”, 15/09/2024 Hokkaido Sapporo Sun Plaza
1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul (c) Vs Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y
The 37KAMIINA were quick to tell fans that they are not going to let Ueno losing the KO-D Title stop their momentum. The unit threw out challenges for two championship matches next month. Shunma Katsumata is part of both as he might become a triple champion when all is said and done. First Ueno, Katsumata & To-y challenge DAMNATION T.A for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles.
DDT “DRAMATIC INFINITY 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 20/09/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada (c) Vs MAO & Shunma Katsumata
Later in the week ShunMao face Brookes & Masada for the KO-D Tag Team Titles. Both MAO & Katsumata believe the tag titles have not seen the best of days ever since they had to vacate them last year. They think they were in the middle of having the best title reign ever until it had to be cut short when Katsumata broke his ankle. ShunMao now want to be the champions again so they can start a new era for the belts. They also seem to have an axe to grind over Kota Ibushi being welcomed back into DDT by the older sections of the fanbase while they’ve been working so hard to attract an audience.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS V”, 22/09/2024 Chiba Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall
1. Xia Zhao & Mizuki Vs Yuki Kamifuku & VENY
2. Aja Kong, Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku Vs X, X & X
3. Emi Sakura Vs Shoko Nakajima
4. Princess Tag Team Titles: Suzume & Arisu Endo (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh
5. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Ryo Mizunami
Princess Aniki is now aiming for TJPW’s top championship! After winning the Tokyo Princess Cup on Sunday, Ryo Mizunami didn’t waste any time in challenging Miu Watanabe for the Princess Of Princess Title. Mizunami became the first outsider to win a TJPW tournament, now she can become the first to win the Princess Title too!
A big match for Shoko Nakajima on the show pits her against Emi Sakura. It will be the first time the two will face each other in the ring but Nakajima has learned a lot from Sakura going all the way back to the early years of her wrestling career.
The happy go lucky tag team of Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku now adds a new friend to make them even happier. Which three poor souls are getting chosen to fight those two and Aja Kong? They might be in luck because SKE48’s Shiori Aoki returns to officiate another match. She might care more about doing carthweels than protecting the team from the monsters though.
Former WWE wrestler Xia Zhao is coming to TJPW so she can wrestle in Japan for the first time ever. Previously known as Xia Li, Zhao has only just begun taking wrestling bookings again after getting released from WWE back in April. Her match with Mizuki here will also reunite Yuki Kamifuku & VENY as a team. VENYU hadn’t teamed together since last summer.
DDT “DRAMATIC INFINITY 2024 ~ 3 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 29/09/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Kaisei Takeshi Vs Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Masahiro Takanashi
The return of Kaisei Takeshi to DDT is such a big deal the show is going to air live on ABEMA for free.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 25/08/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 604 Fans
1. Runa Okubo defeated Chika Nanase with the Jelly Poison (4:41).
2. Pom Harajuku defeated Shino Suzuki with the Pom de Justice (4:28).
3. Mizuki & Haru Kazashiro defeated Mei Suruga & Uta Takami when Mizuki pinned Takami with the Cutie Special (8:49).
4. Shoko Nakajima defeated Yoshiko Hasegawa with the Northern Lights Suplex (10:30).
5. Zara Zakher & Moka Miyamoto defeated Rika Tatsumi & Kaya Toribami when Zakher pinned Toribami with the Control Z (12:28).
6. Miu Watanabe, Yuki Arai, Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara, Toga & Kira Summer when Endo pinned Uehara with the Ju no Okite (16:26).
7. Tokyo Princess Cup – Final: Ryo Mizunami defeated Yuki Aino with the HOT LIMIT (13:47).
One of the busiest weekends of the year for Tokyo Joshi Pro wrapped up today with the finale of this year’s Tokyo Princess Cup tournament. While a small portion of the roster were off in England to run a show over in London, the majority of the crew remained in Tokyo for an eventful show at Korakuen Hall. The final was a fated meeting between the two wrestlers that make up Yukiniki. Back in January Yuki Aino and Ryo Mizunami won the Princess Tag Team Titles together and now here we are at the end of the summer where they had to fight each other for the Princess Cup. Aino tried to match Mizunami’s power by going for Shoulder Attacks, Side Suplexes, Venus DDT and the Full Nelson Of Love And Flame. But Mizunami relied on the Uranage to stay ahead and pinned Aino with the HOT LIMIT to win the tournament.
Mizunami told Aino after the match not to keep her head down for losing. She knows Aino always wanted a singles match against her and it finally happened today. The frustrated look on Aino’s face is a sign that she is getting stronger and it won’t end here with them. Aino said she will fight Mizunami again and she asked her for another match some day. Mizunami said she has high expectations for Aino from here on out. Aino then bowed to every side of Korakuen and left the ring. Backstage she talked to reporters about the fans supporting her and she’ll keep fighting so she can face Mizunami again.
Back in the ring Mizunami declared that Princess Aniki has been born! She called Miu Watanabe down to the ring and challenged her for the Princess Of Princess Title. Watanabe never thought the day would come and accepted the match. It will happen at “WRESTLE PRINCESS V” on 22nd September. She said she cannot give up a championship this important to TJPW. Mizunami closed out the show by telling the fans about how she was close to retirement five years ago. Then she got an offer to wrestle for AEW and that connection helped lead her over to TJPW where she won the Tag Titles with Aino. She’s now been wrestling for 17 years and it just goes to show you never know what will happen in life! She will treasure all of the chants for Aniki and can’t wait to see everyone at “WRESTLE PRINCESS V”.
All four current TJPW Champions teamed together for an 8-Woman Tag Match. The Princess Champion Watanabe was joined by Yuki Arai with the International Princess Title and also the Princess Tag Champions Daisy Monkey. Their opponents were the ragtag collection of Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara, Toga & Kira Summer. The finish came with Suzume diving onto everyone outside the ring leaving Arisu Endo to pin Uehara with the Ju no Okite.
The four champions celebrated their victory but as they all left the ring, Endo asked Arai to stay behind with her. Endo admits she is starting to feel greedy and wants to hold another championship before TJPW returns to her hometown of Aizuwakamatsu on 14th September. So she is challenging Arai for the International Title in Nagoya on the 8th! Arai is happy to accept the challenge because Endo was one of her opponents in her debut match three years ago and they have become good friends outside of the ring. Nagoya is also like a second home for Arai so she is determined not to lose her title there.
Zara Zakher’s final appearance for this tour with TJPW ends with her arms raised in victory. Rika Tatsumi tried to lull her into a false sense of security by calling her a friend in English but it was just to set up a sneak attack. Zakher fought back and along with Moka Miyamoto went on to beat Tatsumi & Kaya Toribami. Zakher even scored the pin on Toribami with the Control Z. She said she is grateful for TJPW letting her stay with them for so long and treating her as part of the team. She is already going to miss them and hopes to come back to Japan again.
One of the newsworthy announcements at the start of the show involves Yoshiko Hasegawa. The former member of Ganbare☆Pro went freelance earlier this year but revealed that from September onwards she will regularly wrestle on TJPW shows! So this match with Shoko Nakajima was kind of an early welcome into the TJPW family for her. Nakajima was able to win with the Northern Lights Suplex and thinks TJPW shows will heat up even more now that Hasegawa will be on the cards. Hasegawa calls Nakajima one of the best wrestlers in TJPW and she experienced first hand just how thick the walls are. There are a lot of people in TJPW she wants to fight and her goal is to win one of the championships here.
The Super Cute Sisters have been realised but they are not going to use that name after all! Mei Suruga & Uta Takami tried out being a tag team today after hitting it off so well as opponents last month. The two acted like brats for Mizuki & Haru Kazashiro to figure out how to handle. Mizuki ended up using high risk moves to great effect. Kazashiro even got ahead of Suruga by giving her the Fisherman Suplex. Mizuki then overwhelmed Takami with Elbow Strikes before pinning her with the Cutie Special. Kazashiro said the other team were a hundred times more crazy than she expected. Takami apologised to Suruga for losing but Suruga told her there was nothing to be upset about. She also knows Takami came up with a tag team name for them. Together they are… Apple Ice Cream? However Takami had second thoughts after saying it out loud so she will come up with a different name the next time they team up.
There was one thing Pom Harajuku wasn’t able to do this summer and that was attend an idol concert as a fan. She asked Shino Suzuki to perform one of her songs so she could cheer her on with penlights. However it was all a trap so Harajuku could ambush her and take control of the match. Later Harajuku told everyone there was something she wanted to shout out but Suzuki covered her mouth. Harajuku kicked her in the shin and hit the Pom de Justice to get the three count.
Beware of the Jelly Poison because that is the name of Runa Okubo’s new submission finisher! She used the Arm Clutch Half Crab Hold to make Chika Nanase give up in the opening match.
A few more matches were announced for “WRESTLE PRINCESS V”. Mizuki will team with Xia Zhao (the former Xia Li from WWE) to take on VENY & Yuki Kamifuku. It will be the first time VENYU have teamed together in a while. Shoko Nakajima will face Emi Sakura one on one. Sakura is somebody Nakajima says has been close with her ever since her debut. Back when TJPW hardly ran any shows Nakajima would go to Ichigaya to see Sakura. Aja Kong, Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku will team up for a 6-Woman Tag Match with Shiori Aoki from SKE48 as the special referee.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 10/08/2024 Osaka Edion Arena #2 370 Fans
1. Moka Miyamoto & Kaya Toribami defeated Arisu Endo & Chika Nanase when Miyamoto submitted Nanase with the Rashomon (7:40).
2. 3 Way Match: Pom Harajuku defeated Mahiro Kiryu and Runa Okubo when Harajuku pinned Okubo with a Roll Up (6:08).
3. Miu Watanabe, Raku, Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami defeated Shoko Nakajima, Wakana Uehara, Haru Kazashiro & Kira Summer when Raku pinned Kazashiro with the Doctor Yellow (12:58).
4. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh defeated Masha Slamovich & Toga when Itoh submitted Toga with the Itoh Deluxe (11:35).
5. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Zara Zakher defeated Mizuki with the Control Z (9:46).
6. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Yuki Aino defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the UBV (9:07).
7. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Yuki Arai defeated Suzume with the Finally (11:10).
8. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Ryo Mizunami defeated Rika Tatsumi with the HOT LIMIT (12:33).
Bet this wasn’t the final four you had in mind when you first looked at the Tokyo Princess Cup brackets. Only one person from last year’s semi finals has made it back to the same point and two of the three new faces joining her are outsiders. Ryo Mizunami is the most experienced of them all though, by a wide margin. Rika Tatsumi tried hiding out in the audience so she could lure Mizunami into an ambush. The plan did not cause much damage though. Tatsumi then tried to tough it out and dared Mizunami to Chop her. That ended the way you’d think it would so Tatsumi had to choke her opponent and fight back with Hip Attacks. Mizunami fought her way out of the Dragon Sleeper though, using her power to give Tatsumi the HOT LIMIT for the pinfall.
Mizunami said she never expected Tatsumi to be so scary in the ring and she praised her for her tenacity. Just like the fans, Mizunami is getting addicted to Tokyo Joshi Pro one step at a time. Tatsumi was frustrated with the loss because Mizunami was even more powerful than she thought. There is a power and energy to her that is almost invisible and it really shook Tatsumi’s soul today. Her summer is over but that just means autumn and winter are coming up. She is going to have a think about what new goals she wants to make.
Yuki Arai has made it back to the semi final for the second year in a row. The International Princess Champion got here by beating Suzume, one half of the Princess Tag Team Champions. She blocked the Ring A Bell and countered it into a Full Nelson Buster. Suzume dodged the Finally to roll her up for a nearfall. But Arai got her momentum back and hit the Finally to pin her opponent. Arai asked for a handshake after the match and Suzume hugged her instead. The two have fought each other a lot but mainly in tag matches so Arai is happy to win today. She will do her best to make it to the final. Suzume may have lost but she assures everyone she hasn’t burned out yet. After all, hornets are at their most aggressive from summer to autumn.
Do you know who is burning bright? Yuki Aino! She eliminated last year’s finalist Yuki Kamifuku to book her place in the final four. The Shoulder Blocks were scouted in advance but so too was the Famouser. Kamifuku kept going for the move but ended up getting caught in the Venus DDT. Aino then finished her off with the UBV. She couldn’t be happier or more excited to beat Kamifuku and reach the Princess Cup semi final for the first time ever. She knows it is going to be tough but she wants to make it to the final so she can headline Korakuen Hall! Kamifuku admitted she may have let her guard down because up until recently Aino was more concerned about having fun. But she’s gotten to know herself better. It turns out Kamifuku actually wants to win tournaments even though she hates competing in them.
Perhaps the Cinderella of the tournament isn’t Aino but in fact Zara Zakher? After taking out Miu Watanabe in Round 2 she has now eliminated Mizuki from the tournament in the Quarter Final! Even after Mizuki did her big dive out of the ring, used an Avalanche Cutie Special and also held onto the Face Lock for as long as she could it just wasn’t in the cards for her today. Zakher knocked her down with Lariats and pinned her with the Control Z. Mizuki took the loss in good grace though and gave Zakher a hug afterwards. With that, we have our final four.
After the show was over the four semi-finalists went through the draw to determine who will face who in the next round. We’re getting Yuki Arai Vs Ryo Mizunami and Yuki Aino Vs Zara Zakher on 23rd August. Mizunami thinks Arai is a gutsy fighter and it will make Mizunami’s summer to beat her. Arai has fought Mizunami before and was overwhelmed by her. She is going to go at her own pace and used everything she has learned up until now so she can become number one. Zakher wants to show everyone just how powerful she can get. Aino remembers teaming with her in America back in April. She is also studying her wins against Watanabe and Mizuki to learn how to beat her. She isn’t going to get eaten by this dark horse. Aino is going her eat her instead!
Masha Slamovich returned to TJPW to get back in the ring with both Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh. She had Toga teaming with her for it too. The teamwork of 121000000 was too much though. They caught Slamovich & Toga in the High Knee/Headbutt Sandwich and Itoh then made Toga submit to the Itoh Deluxe. After the match backstage Yamashita wanted to talk about her experiences with wrestling Slamovich but Itoh interrupted her to announce 121000000 want to become Princess Tag Champions again! They have spent time away from each other even when they are both in America. Yet whenever they have teamed up this year they win their tag matches. They even beat Daydream in America during Wrestlemania Week. Itoh would have wanted to get a title shot right after that happened but she thinks now is the perfect time for 121000000 to challenge Daisy Monkey for the belts.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 03/08/2024 Shinjuku FACE 297 Fans
1. Suzume, Arisu Endo & Uta Takami defeated Shino Suzuki, Runa Okubo & Chika Nanase when Suzume pinned Nanase with the Ring A Bell (8:41).
2. Miyu Yamashita, Mahiro Kiryu, Moka Miyamoto & Kaya Toribami defeated Mizuki, Raku, HIMAWARI & Kira Summer when Yamashita pinned HIMAWARI with the Attitude Adjustment (10:35).
3. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Rika Tatsumi defeated Toga with the Dragon Sleeper (7:58).
4. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Yuki Kamifuku defeated Pom Harajuku with the Famouser (6:58).
5. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Ryo Mizunami defeated Haru Kazashiro with the Ichijiku (7:10).
6. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Yuki Arai defeated Wakana Uehara with the Sasori-Katame (9:23).
7. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Zara Zakher defeated Miu Watanabe with the Control Z (12:45).
8. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Yuki Aino defeated Shoko Nakajima with a Shoulder Block (16:54).
Round 2 of the Tokyo Princess Cup is now complete. It could be that this year’s Cinderella run for the tournament will happen to Yuki Aino. She defeated Shoko Nakajima in the main event, the first time that has happened in Aino’s career. She blocked Nakajima from turning the Northern Lights Suplex into the Locomotive version. Nakajima however kicked out of the Venus DDT at one. She hit Aino with the Rider Kick but Aino responded with a Shoulder Block that wiped out her opponent and got her the victory. She is happy to win but it is only one victory so she wants to fight Nakajima even more. The rest of the Princess Cup is only going to get tougher from here but Aino promises to burn, burn, burn this summer!
The semi-main event is even more newsworthy. Zara Zakher, the first foreign outsider to compete in the Princess Cup has eliminated the Princess Of Princess Champion from the tournament! In a match that pitted power against power, Kazher scored the upset by beating Miu Watanabe with her Control Z finisher. She feels great after finally winning a match in Tokyo Joshi Pro, especially since she beat the champion. She moves on to face Mizuki in the Quarter Final. Zakher lost to her once before. She thinks the result will be different next time. Watanabe thinks she lose because of her own momentum and she praised Zakher for having overwhelming potential. She wants to turn this loss into a win someday to prove she is stronger than her.
It’s looking good that Yuki Arai will reach her goal of matching last year’s Princess Cup run where she reached the Semi Finals. Wakana Uehara gave her some trouble with a Brainbuster and the Banana Pillow. But Arai fought back with the Rookie Award and then the Scorpion Deathlock for the win. Arai said Uehara is ambitious and quickly growing in the ring. Beating her has given Arai confidence. She will be facing Suzume in the Quarter Final and is eager to beat her one on one after losing to her in the Princess Tag Team Titles match recently. Uehara said she had a plan ready to win but Arai was just so much stronger than she imagined.
Haru Kazashiro tried to get the jump on Ryo Mizunami early but her attack was easily dealt with. She got some more offence in with Cross Body Attacks and even attempted a Fisherman Suplex. Mizunami took over though and made Kazashiro submit to the Ichijiku Shoulder Lock. She was already looking forward to taking part in the Princess Cup but now her pespective has changed a little. It only takes one loss to get knocked out and getting jumped by Kazashiro flipped a switch. She is now fully determined to win the tournament! Kazashiro was upset after the match. She knew it was unlikely she would win but she wasn’t even a millimeter close to beating Mizunami.
The delayed match between Pom Harajuku and Yuki Kamifuku went ahead today. Harajuku kept kicking Kamifuku in the shin and Kamifuku kept poking Harajuku in the eyes. Harajuku went for a big move and charged in with the P Attack but Kamifuku cut her off with a Horizontal Chop. She then pinned her with the Famouser. Kamifuku explained she was too sick to wrestle last week but if the match went ahead it would have been on the same day as the big RIZIN show. She wants to be a winner this summer just like Ren Hiramoto. She will be facing Aino in the Quarter Final.
Toga came close to beating Rika Tatsumi but it just wasn’t to be. She landed the Rock Bottom but Tatsumi kicked out at two. Toga held on though, threw some Elbow Strikes and tried to use the move again. But Tatsumi countered it into the Dragon Sleeper and made Toga give up. Tatsumi thought the win would be a given and she is relieved with the result. She thinks Toga is a very honest person and should keep her spirits up. Tatsumi will be facing Mizunami next in the Quarter Final and she feels very lucky to be her opponent. Toga said she wanted to give it her all but knew she had to push past her limits to have a chance at winning.
It was announced that Max The Impaler’s next appearance for TJPW in Japan will be on 22nd September for “WRESTLE PRINCESS V”.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 