DDT Around The World – Takeshita’s C2 Adventure

The final month of the year now includes a new tradition from AEW. It’s the Continental Classic tournament! Their take on the round robin format that Japan’s wrestling scene has down to a science still has a lot of bugs in it. Mainly there’s none of the pageantry you’d expect from collecting together a dozen great wrestlers for a month long tournament and the lack of matches scheduled in advance takes the fun out of predicting how the booking is going to go. That latter part does mean AEW can keep fans on their toes and throw a few curveballs with doing the more anticipated matches at unexpected times. The shorter, more packed schedule this year helped things out more because these tournaments work when you don’t have to wait many days for the next show to advance further through the group stage.

The hope was for Konosuke Takeshita to take part in the C2 this year after not being selected for the inaugural event. With a G1 Climax victory from earlier this year under his belt it would have been insane to leave him out again. Thankfully he made it into the field and was put into a group with no other members of The Don Callis Family involved. There were still plenty of familiar opponents for him to fight with and as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, losing to anyone right before he goes to defend the belt in the Tokyo Dome would take another hit to how he’s currently being perceived. Well, at least he made it through the block undefeated…

Blue League

1. Konosuke Takeshita (13)
2. Jon Moxley (9)
3. Claudio Castagnoli (7)
4. Orange Cassidy (6)
-. Mascara Dorada (6)
6. Roderick Strong (3)

AEW “COLLISION – THANKSGIVING”, 26/11/2025 (Aired 27/11/2025)
The Pinnacle, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (3) defeated Roderick Strong (0) with the Raging Fire (13:15).

Takeshita got off to a good start… or did he…? Uh… yes, it turns out he did even though a fake spoiler rattled up a lot of fans in the day between when the match was taped and when it aired on TV. Neither Takeshita nor Roderick Strong were concerned if they broke each other in half. Outside the ring Takeshita gave Strong the Blue Thunder Bomb on top of a guardrail while back in the ring Strong dropped Takeshita from the top rope over the turnbuckles Backbreaker style. With so many bombs being thrown, Strong broke down first and he was finished off with the Powerdrive Knee followed by the Raging Fire. After the match Strong is feeling like he is in a slump because he is entering the tournament as a replacement for Kyle O’Reilly. This result is a wake up call for him to compete in the rest of the C2 for himself instead of anyone else.

AEW “COLLISION”, 06/12/2025
Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA

1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (6) defeated Jon Moxley (3) with the Raging Fire (17:29).

Takeshita has fought Jon Moxley in AEW singles matches three previous times and lost all of them. For his fourth attempt he finally got the better of him for the first time. An apparent leg injury hampered Moxley during the match but he kept on fighting, drilling Takeshita onto the ring apron with the Curb Stomp. He also countered the Blue Thunder Bomb with a Headlock Takeover, transitioning it into an Ankle Lock. That harmed Takeshita’s leg to even the playing field but he dropped a big Blue Thunder Bomb onto the remains of the commentary table (that had flimsily fallen apart when Takeshita grabbed the AEW Continental Title that was placed there). Moxley recovered to hit the Paradigm Shift but Takeshita saved himself with a rope break to stop the pin. Moxely hit him more with some strikes until his own knee gave way, allowing Takeshita to strike with the Powerdrive Knee for a nearfall. Takeshita pulled down his kneepad to hit a raw Powerdrive Knee and was able to pull off the Raging Fire to finally get his first win over Moxley.

AEW “COLLISION – WINTER IS COMING”, 13/12/2025
Utilita Arena Cardiff, Cardiff, Wales, UK

1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (7) Vs Claudio Castagnoli (7) ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).

There should be a bit of magic in the air whenever you have a world champion from one company take on a world champion from another. Just last month Claudio Castagnoli went to Mexico and won the CMLL World Heavyweight Title, a championship that’s in an odd position because people who don’t follow lucha libre think it’s a much bigger prize than it actually is. Still, Castagnoli is making sure the belt is nothing to sneeze at while he is holding it and he became the first bump in the road to slow down Takeshita. The two ended up fighting all the way to the time limit, making it the first match in this year’s C2 to end in a draw. The two kept on fighting anyway! Backstage Takeshita said he didn’t care about proving which world champion was better, he instead wanted to show Castagnoli just who is The Alpha! Castagnoli said the last time he wrestled Takeshita was three years ago. He is confident he won’t have to wait that long to fight him again.

AEW “DYNAMITE – HOLIDAY BASH”, 17/12/2025
Co-op Live, Manchester, England, UK

1. $1,000,000 (£750,000) Winner Takes All Trios Match: Kenny Omega, Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson defeated Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero when Omega pinned Hechicero with the Indy Taker One-Winged Angel (22:31)

A side story popped up in the middle of the tournament focusing on The Don Callis Family at large. They had to go fight Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks who had all gotten over their problems with each other and revived The Elite. Loads of money was put on the line in a trios match between the two sides but that kind of motivation wasn’t enough to keep Takeshita and Kazuchika Okada on the same page. An opening for Takeshita to go in for the Powerdrive Knee was interrupted by Okada stepping in wanting to do the Rainmaker instead. Hechicero could only watch on in despair as his partners argued with each other. The Elite took advantage to clear house and triple team Hechicero into oblivion. Okada & Takeshita attacked The Elite afterwards and hit their finishers on The Young Bucks. However they still couldn’t help but get into a shoving contest with each other after that.

AEW “DYNAMITE ON 34TH STREET”, 20/12/2025 (Aired 24/12/2025)
Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA

1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (10) defeated Orange Cassidy (6) with the Raging Fire (15:26).

The final matches in the Blue League happened in a rush over the Christmas period but Takeshita had nothing to worry about. His win over Orange Cassidy booked his ticket to the semi final round, even with a mini-scare where Cassidy countered the Raging Fire into a Small Package. However it turned out Takeshita was still in control and he powered out of the nearfall to lift his opponent right into the Raging Fire for the win.

AEW “CHRISTMAS COLLISION”, 21/12/2025 (Aired 25/12/2025)
Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA

1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (13) defeated Mascara Dorada (6) with the Raging Fire (11:40).

At this point a win for Takeshita was just to cement his position on top of the Blue League while also killing off any chances Mascara Dorada had left of qualifying for the semi-final. Just like with Cassidy, Takeshita’s power had to fight off the speed and agility of his opponent, although Dorada took things to another level with his acrobatics off of the ropes. It looked like Dorada’s closest moment to victory was countering the Last Ride into a Canadian Destroyer but Takeshita popped back up and knocked him away with a Lariat instead. Another big Lariat came when both were standing on the top rope together. From there Takeshita just needed to do the Powerdrive Knee and then the Raging Fire to finish on top of his group.

AEW “WORLDS END”, 27/12/2025
NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA

1. Continental Classic – Semi Final: Kazuchika Okada defeated Konosuke Takeshita with a Screwdriver Attack (17:17).

Fate played its hand when the two league standings resulted in Takeshita and Okada meeting each other in the semi final. After so much wait for the match to happen, a screwdriver took it in another direction. Late in the match Okada reached into one of the turnbuckle sleeves and pulled a screwdriver out of it. Then a missed Rainmaker spot knocked the referee out of position so he couldn’t see anything. Okada then struck Takeshita over the head with the screwdriver and got away with it scot free. Don Callis on commentary claimed not to have seen anything and he walked off with the winner.

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Videos

AEW “COLLISION – THANKSGIVING”, 26/11/2025 (Aired 27/11/2025)
The Pinnacle, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (0) Vs Roderick Strong (0)

AEW “COLLISION”, 06/12/2025
Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA

1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Jon Moxley (3) Vs Konosuke Takeshita (3)

AEW “COLLISION – WINTER IS COMING”, 13/12/2025
Utilita Arena Cardiff, Cardiff, Wales, UK

1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (6) Vs Claudio Castagnoli (6)

AEW “DYNAMITE – HOLIDAY BASH”, 17/12/2025
Co-op Live, Manchester, England, UK

1. $1,000,000 (£750,000) Winner Takes All Trios Match: Kenny Omega, Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson Vs Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero

AEW “DYNAMITE ON 34TH STREET”, 24/12/2025
Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA

1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Orange Cassidy (6) Vs Konosuke Takeshita (7)

AEW “CHRISTMAS COLLISION”, 25/12/2025
Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA

1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (10) Vs Mascara Dorada (6)

AEW “WORLDS END”, 27/12/2025
NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA

1. Continental Classic – Semi Final: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Kazuchika Okada

DDT Around The World – December 2025

Happy new year! I’m currently in Japan while this is being posted and there’s barely anything to talk about this month, so the article is all nice and easy to write up this time! Konosuke Takeshita’s adventures in the Continental Classic will be posted as a separate article. Yuka Sakazaki’s sole match in December actually happened last month and I didn’t notice (I bet many of you didn’t notice either). Tokyo Joshi Pro had a successful debut in Thailand which again has already been written about and details have emerged about their return to Texas next year. There is an update for Tokio in Mexico as he risked his identity in a mask match for the very first time and lost it all. With a new year coming up in we have Miyu Yamashita’s visit to England next March for what is going to be an eventful week for EVE, a unusual part of the wrestling scene coming to Japan with Chris Brookes along for the ride.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

Eat, laugh, and shop! Miu, Raku, Kamifuku, Kira and Ashida take a leisurely food tour of Kuala Lumpur on their day off.

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Results

ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 26/11/2025 (Aired 04/12/2025)
Fishers Event Center, Fishers, Indiana, USA

1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Semi Final: Billie Starkz defeated Yuka Sakazaki with a Rope Assisted School Boy (10:43).

I’m confused because it turns out this match was actually already recorded last month but I couldn’t find any reference of it on the show spoilers online back then. That’s on me for not doing a good enough job looking for them and I’m not going back to rewrite last month’s article. Anyway, Sakazaki was knocked out of the ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament by Billie Starkz in a match that was more of a grindfest compared to what we would be used to seeing from both women. It had a real flat finish too with the two striking back and forth until Sakazaki bounced off the ropes and fell into a School Boy where Starkz used the ropes for leverage for the three count. All of Sakazaki’s allowed rope breaks were used up by that point so it was all fair for Starkz to give herself the extra leverage and win off of it. Starkz would go on to lose the final against Deonna Purrazzo at the PPV.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN BANGKOK”, 13/12/2025
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
327 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Yuki Kamifuku defeated Uta Takami with the Famouser (7:57).
2. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Yuki Arai & Shino Suzuki when Suzume pinned Suzuki with the Ring A Bell (11:08).
3. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated Alexis Lee with the Diving Senton (9:05).
*V6 for Shoko Nakajima.
4. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami (c) defeated Raku & Pom Harajuku when Yamashita pinned Raku with the Skull Kick (14:27).
*V1 for Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami.
5. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) defeated Matcha with the Spinning Tear Drop (17:47).
*V3 for Miu Watanabe.

A report of the show can be found here.

ARENA PEPE CISNEROS “VOLUMEN 1 – 13 ANIVERSARIO LUCTUOSO DE PEPE CISNEROS”, 28/12/2025
Arena Pepe Cisneros, Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico

1. Máscara Vs Máscara: Ratzinger defeated Tokio with a Crushed Rolling Cradle (?:??).

Our suspicions have been confirmed. The Japanese luchador Tokio who had suddenly appeared in Mexico earlier this year has been unmasked and revealed to be Keigo Nakamura! He wagered his mask against the one belonging to a luchador named Ratzinger just days before the year came to an end. A duel of back and forth cradles led to the finish with Ratzinger blocking a Rolling Prawn Hold and pressing himself down on top of Tokyo to pin him for the three count. Tokio allowed Ratzinger to remove the mask off his head and show his face to the crowd. Is this the end of his days in Mexico or will he continue to wrestle there unmasked for a while longer?

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Upcoming Appearances

EVE “WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY #IWD2026”, 06/03/2026
Big Penny Social, London, England

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

It seemed the folks over at EVE made a little slip up on their website at the start of the month by prematurely announcing that Yamashita will be going there in March. Or was it a slip up after all? Well, yes it was but the bigger news was yet to come.

EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM VIII”, 08/03/2026
Indigo At The O2, London, England

1. Jamie Hayter Vs Miyu Yamashita

Yamashita’s above appearance was booked for EVE’s regular monthly show in London and that just so happens to take place two days before EVE holds “WRESTLE QUEENDOM VIII”, one of their most ambitious events ever. It didn’t take long for her to have plans made for the big show itself because Jamie Hayter from AEW has challenged her to a match!

PPW “HARDCORE FRIDAY THE 13TH”, 13/03/2026
TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi

1. Chris Brookes Vs Gabriel Queen

A Polish hardcore wrestling promotion named PpW Ewenement Wrestling is going to hold a show in Japan for the very first time with some help from Big Japan next March. One of their stars Gabriel Queen threw out a challenge for the show and is getting a match against Chris Brookes!

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW TEXAS STAMPEDE”, 17/03/2026 – 22/03/2026
Austin/Dallas/Houston, Texas, USA

TJPW returns to Texas next March with a bang! They will host a tour across the state containing four shows within a 6 day period. Two days will be spent in Austin for the South By Southwest festival, one day will be in Dallas and another day will be in Houston. That’s the only information we have for now, more will be revealed soon.