DDT Around The World – November 2024

Oh come on, AEW didn’t put Konosuke Takeshita in the Continental Classic?!? Great, just great. So what’s there to write about this month? Well MAO and Yoshihiko had a wild weekend over in France. Takeshita spent the month feuding with Ricochet and defending the AEW International Title in companies outside of AEW. We also see that Takeshita has unfinished business in New Japan which probably explains why he’s not involved in the C2. DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro had a heck of a time in Seattle. Also it is now official they are both Las Vegas bound for next April. Miyu Yamashita in particular got to do and achieve so many things this month that TJPW would not have done for her back home. Pom Harajuku also got to act out of control in Singapore and Thailand away from the usual supervision. She also… won a championship? And didn’t lose it immediately? What? That can’t be right…

The end of the year will be quiet for international bookings but Takeshita has a lot going on at home in the new year. AEW seems to have written him off their TV for December with Don Callis already cutting promos about 2025 being the year of The Don Callis Family. I’ll do a separate write-up for his New Japan match(es) at the Tokyo Dome when they happen but I wanted to include the build up to them here because AEW is connected to it. January will be business as usual for Maki Itoh too with her plan to tour with GCW again. My mind is going to be stuck on Vegas for a lot of early 2025.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 06/11/2024
SNHU Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher Vs Ricochet & Powerhouse Hobbs

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/11/2024
Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Adam Cole

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 20/11/2024
Santander Arena, Reading, Pennsylvania, USA

1. All Star 8-Man Tag: Will Ospreay, Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricochet & Mark Davis Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Lance Archer & Brian Cage

SETUP “YEAR END CLIMAX”, 30/11/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – No DQ Match: Matcha (c) Vs Pom Harajuku

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Results

BZW “FRIDAY NIGHT BANGER”, 01/11/2024
Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France

1. MAO defeated KURO by Disqualification when Jack Sans-Nom attacked MAO (?:??).

The first night of MAO’s trip to France turned nasty but it was through no fault of his opponent KURO. They wrestled their match as normal and when MAO was on the top rope getting ready to hit the finishing blow, Jack Sans-Nom ran into the ring and attacked MAO with a wet floor sign for the DQ.

BZW “ALCATRAZ”, 02/11/2024
Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France

1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko defeated Jack Sans-Nom & Paul Robinson (c) when Yoshihiko pinned Sans-Nom with a Rainmaker (?:??).
*Jack Sans-Nom & Paul Robinson fail in V2. MAO & Yoshihiko become the 6th BZW Tag Team Champions!

The next night MAO brought Yoshihiko with him to try and get revenge on San-Nom by winning the BZW Tag Team Titles from him and Paul Robinson. The challengers almost had the match won by pinning Robinson together but Sans-Nom pulled the referee out of the ring during the pin count. However Yoshihiko got its hands on him with MAO’s help and hit a Rainmaker. A three count later and BZW got new unexpected tag team champions!

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 06/11/2024
SNHU Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA

1. Ricochet & Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher when Ricochet pinned Takeshita with the Spear Gun (14:36).

Takeshita found out there was unfinished business between himself and Ricochet stemming from the previous month. A tag team match in AEW put Takeshita with Kyle Fletcher against Ricochet and his returning mystery partner Powerhouse Hobbs. Ricochet was the better man on this night. Takeshita tried to catch a Springboard Hurricanrana and turn it into a Power Bomb but Ricochet countered the counter and pulled off his Hurricanrana after all. He then weakened Takeshita with a Shooting Star Press for another nearfall. It took Ricochet using his new Hidden Blade inspired finisher called the Spear Gun to finally get the win over Takeshita (it’s weird how almost a decade ago I would have told people Will Ospreay tries to wrestle like Ricochet and nowadays it feels completely like the opposite). Fletcher got some revenge after the match by attacking the other team with a chair until his former tag partner Mark Davis ran down causing drama that Takeshita wasn’t involved with so I’m not going to write any more about it.

SPW “CROWNING GLORY”, 08/11/2024
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Alexis Lee defeated Pom Harajuku (?:??).

Harajuku went to Singapore to have a lot of fun with Alexis Lee, or at least have a lot of fun at Lee’s expense. Their match made its way out of the ring but rather than cause a violent brawl, Harajuku instead encouraged Lee to go drink alcohol. They also fought their way up to the balcony to add some danger to the proceedings. I was able to see a brief clip of Lee hitting the Somato from behind to Harajuku but I do not know if that was the finish.

NJPW “FIGHTING SPIRIT UNLEASHED 2024”, 08/11/2024
Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA

1. AEW International Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) defeated TJP with the Avalanche Raging Fire (14:13).
*V2 for KONOSUKE TAKESHITA.

Takeshita had to shake off his loss to Ricochet and get himself focused on his next International Title defence. It happened at New Japan’s latest American show with TJP as the challenger. TJP pulled a lights out trick for his entrance to surprise Takeshita with an ambush from behind. He also had his face and body painted to resemble his Aswang alter ego. At first it looked like he was in his normal form but late in the match he blinded Takeshita with the Poison Mist to try and get the advantage. He used the Hidden Blade and Mamba Splash but Takeshita kicked out of both moves. Takeshita’s power soon took over and he was able to get TJP over to the corner, lifting him up from the top rope to hit an Avalanche Falcon Arrow for the victory. After the match Takeshita told the fans he will next defend the International Title at the Tokyo Dome! He called out for anyone to challenge him and Shingo Takagi answered the call! Takagi will fight him at “WRESTLE KINGDOM”! That wasn’t the end though because Tomohiro Ishii then walked out and signaled to them he wants to fight the winner!

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW BRIGHT EYES”, 09/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
405 Fans

1. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Rika Tatsumi & Amira when Suzume pinned Amira with the Ring A Bell (10:21).
2. Yuki Kamifuku defeated Wakana Uehara with the Famouser (7:19).
3. Rebel Kel defeated Moka Miyamoto with a Falcon Arrow (5:45).
4. Mizuki defeated Liiza Hall with the Diving Foot Stomp (11:07).
5. Yuki Aino & Zara Zakher defeated Miu Watanabe & Shoko Nakajima when Zakher pinned Watanabe with the Control Z (16:43).
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) defeated Vert Vixen & Nicole Matthews when Yamashita pinned Matthews with the Skull Kick (24:05).
*V1 for 121000000.

The report of the show can be found here.

DDT/DEFY “DDT IN UTERO”, 09/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
447 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Gringo Loco defeated Yuni with the Base Bomb (10:32).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Randy Myers defeated Danshoku Dieno with a School Boy (8:26 pm).
*Randy Myers becomes the 1,691st champion.
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Danshoku Dieno defeated Randy Myers (c) with the Gaydo Clutch (8:01).
*Danshoku Dieno becomes the 1,692nd champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yoshihiko defeated Danshoku Dieno (c) by Referee Stoppage with a Sleeper Hold (8:36 pm).
*Yoshihiko becomes the 1,693rd champion.
3. Nick Wayne defeated Jack Cartwheel with the Wayne’s World (11:49).
4. DEFY Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Tag Match: Cody Chhun & Guillermo Rosas (c) defeated Bryan Keith & Shota and Eddie Pearl & Ricky Gibson when Rosas pinned Shota after the Combined Pop-Up Power Bomb (10:19).
*V2 for C4.
5. DEFY Women’s Title: Marina Shafir (c) defeated Danika Della Rouge with the Mother’s Milk (7:35).
*V3 for Marina Shafir.
6. Special Tag Match: Gurv Shira & Harv Shira defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Artemis Spencer when Gruv pinned Spencer after a Combined Diving Elbow Drop (15:54).
7. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Kohei Kinoshita with an Avalanche Falcon Arrow (12:41).
8. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated MAO (c) and Mike Bailey when Yamashita pinned Bailey with the Skull Kick (21:25).
*MAO fails in V1. Miyu Yamashita becomes the 15th DDT Universal Champion!

The report of the show can be found here.

DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TRIANGLER DTD”, 10/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
389 Fans

1. Vert Vixen, Yuki Kamifuku & Moka Miyamoto defeated Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Aino & Arisu Endo when Vixen pinned Endo with a Sit Down Power Bomb (8:38).
2. Bryan Keith defeated Shota with the Diamond Dust (7:59).
3. Maki Itoh & Zara Zakher defeated Amira & Danika Della Rouge when Itoh pinned Rouge with the I.S.D (8:41).
4. Daisuke Sasaki & Kohei Kinoshita Vs Danshoku Dieno & Randy Myers ended in a No Contest (9:32).
5. Miu Watanabe & Suzume defeated Mizuki & Wakana Uehara when Watanabe pinned Uehara with the Tear Drop (10:33).
6. DEFY Women’s Title: Marina Shafir (c) defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Mother’s Milk (14:08).
*V4 for Marina Shafir.
7. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Yuni with the Wagamama (12:14).
8. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: Gringo Loco defeated Miyu Yamashita (c) and Nick Wayne when Loco pinned Yamashita with the Base Bomb (17:08).
*Miyu Yamashita fails in V1. Gringo Loco becomes the 16th DDT Universal Champion.
9. Special Tag Match: Judas Icarus & Travis Williams defeated MAO & Mike Bailey when Icarus pinned Bailey after the Sudden Silence (22:06).

The report of the show can be found here.

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/11/2024
Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Adam Cole with a Dynamite Diamond Ring Assisted Punch (9:38).

Takeshita’s next AEW appearance was to act as a road block for Adam Cole. There was a storyline going on this month where Cole had to win three matches in order to get a PPV match against MJF. He was two wins in going into this night and needed to beat Takeshita to reach his goal. Cole countered the Takeshita Line with a well placed Super Kick and followed up with the Panama Sunrise. But when he went for the Boom knee strike, Takeshita rolled out of the ring to make some distance between them. He then reached under the ring and pulled out the Dynamite Diamond Ring, which belongs to MJF but was recently handed over to Don Callis. Takeshita placed the ring on his finger and punched Cole in the face without the referee seeing the ring, knocking Cole out for the pin. Roderick Strong ran down to get revenge but Takeshita gave him a Low Blow. Then Kyle O’Reilly entered the ring to chase Takeshita away. But once Takeshita was at the entrance and his guard was down, Ricochet appeared and he knocked him over with a Pump Kick.

GCW “CHAOS IN KENTUCKY”, 14/11/2024
Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Brooke Havok with the Skull Kick (17:13).

The TJPW shows at Seattle were done but Yamashita stayed behind in America for a weekend of GCW action. On the first show she put Brooke Havok through the meat grinder with kicks and stomps. Havok had some moments of hope and did well to last as long as she did. The Skull Kick put an end to any hope of an upset win though.

GCW “GATEWAY TO THE DEATH”, 15/11/2024
Pop’s Nightclub, Sauget, Illinois, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Mike Bailey with the Crash Rabbit Heat (17:14).

A much tougher challenge awaited Yamashita on the second GCW show. A few days after she pinned Mike Bailey to win the DDT Universal Title, the two met again one on one with nobody else going to get in their way. Bailey hit a Shooting Star Press for a nearfall. Bailey tried to follow up with the Corkscrew Kick into the corner but Yamashita countered it with the Skull Kick. She was too slow to make the pin though so Bailey was able to kick out of it. Bailey took back control but made a fatal mistake when he missed the Ultima Weapon. Yamashita hit him with a Knee Strike from behind after that and scored the pinfall after finding her target once more with the Crash Rabbit Heat. The two traded a fist bump through the ropes after the match.

GCW “NICK GAGE INVITATIONAL 9”, 16/11/2024
Level 13 Event Center, Orlando, Florida, USA

1. Hardcore Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Broski Jimmy with the Skull Kick (7:44).

The final night of Yamashita’s GCW tour was completely unlike the other two. Yamashita has crossed paths with Broski Jimmy in a few of her other GCW appearances this year. She knocked him out in a match on GCW’s tour of Japan. Then a few shows later in America he interfered in one of her matches so she hit him over the head with a chair. Since this show was being held in the middle of a deathmatch tournament, Yamashita and Jimmy’s grudge match promised to used Hardcore rules. The end result was the closest thing to a death match Yamashita has ever done! She may as well have called herself Rina Yamashita for the night. Chairs, doors, trash cans and even glass were used as weapons. Jimmy even gave Yamashita the Package Piledriver on top of a row of chairs but Yamashita kicked out at one! Yamashita got revenge by giving Jimmy the Attitude Adjustment through a panel of glass in the corner of the ring. She then smashed some lighttubes over Jimmy’s head before breaking the remains of one over her own. All that was left for her to do was hit the Skull Kick for the win.

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 20/11/2024
Santander Arena, Reading, Pennsylvania, USA

1. All Star 8-Man Tag: Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Lance Archer & Brian Cage defeated Will Ospreay, Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricochet & Mark Davis when Takeshita pinned Davis with the Wagamama (14:33).

The current version of The Don Callis Family were brought together for a match against Ospreay, Hobbs, Ricochet & Davis in a preview for the PPV. Hobbs was taken out of action midway through the match after his knee was attacked with the ring steps but he eventually returned to the match like a house on fire. Things went crazy with everyone hitting their big moves one after another. The end came when Ospreay went for the Hidden Blade and Fletcher pulled Davis into harm’s way. Davis took the full blow and he took another one when Takeshita pulled down his knee pad and hit the Wagamama knee strike for the win.

AEW “FULL GEAR”, 23/11/2024
Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA

1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) (w/ Don Callis) defeated Ricochet with the Avalanche Raging Fire (19:12).
*V3 for Konosuke Takeshita.

After this it’s safe to say Takeshita doesn’t have to worry about Ricochet anymore. Ricochet threw pretty much everything he could do at this stage at him and couldn’t win. Takeshita dodged the Spear Gun this time but couldn’t hit the Wagamama. Ricochet landed a version of the Benadryller instead but Takeshita kicked out of the pin. Then when Ricochet climbed the top rope, Takeshita got up and tripped him by the legs. He hit him with a Knee Strike, climbed up to him and dropped him to the canvas with the Avalanche Falcon Arrow, pinning him clean for a successful title defence.

SETUP “YEAR END CLIMAX”, 30/11/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – No DQ Match: Pom Harajuku defeated Matcha (c) with two Pom de Justices onto a Chair (?:??).
*Matcha fails in V4. Pom Harajuku becomes the 2nd SETUP All Asia Women’s Champion!

This does not feel real. So let me get this straight. Pom Harajuku went to Thailand, fought in a No DQ Match against Matcha because they hold a grudge from the previous time Harajuku was there and Harajuku won the championship by driving Matcha’s face into a chair with the Pom de Justice. Twice. Unbelievable! This is Harajuku’s first championship win in her career. TJPW is now collecting women’s title belts from around Southeast Asia with the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title now being added to the pile. What a crazy turn of events.

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Upcoming Appearances

NJPW “STRONG STYLE EVOLVED”, 15/12/2024
Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, California, USA

1. Special Tag Team Grudge Match: Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Jack Perry

So is this path why we didn’t get Takeshita in the Continental Classic this year? Looks like it. The only stuff announced for him for the next few weeks are for New Japan events including the next one happening in America. There is still some AEW involvement though because Jack Perry is teaming with Takeshita here. Also Takeshita gets back in the ring with Yota Tsuji for the first time since the G1 Climax playoff stage. Shingo will be his main target but getting a little bit of revenge on Tsuji will please him too.

NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM 19 IN TOKYO DOME”, 04/01/2025
Tokyo Dome, Japan

1. NEVER Openweight Title: Shingo Takagi (c) Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA

Well if I’m writing about stuff happening around the world I guess I can include stuff happening in Japan outside of the DDT bubble. As mentioned earlier, Takeshita wants to defend the International Title at the Tokyo Dome and Takagi answered his challenge. Takagi is also the NEVER Openweight Champion so we are on course for a title versus title match on 4th January! There is the risk that Takeshita could lose his championship before this match happens but Takagi’s NEVER Title is guaranteed to be on the line.

“WRESTLE DYNASTY”, 05/01/2025
Tokyo Dome, Japan

1. NEVER Openweight Title: Shingo Takagi or KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) Vs Tomohiro Ishii

The winner of the Wrestle Kingdom match will face Ishii the next day at the other big Tokyo Dome show. This event is bringing New Japan, AEW, CMLL, Ring Of Honor and Stardom all together but DDT could secretly sneak in there thanks to Takeshita. If the International Title is indeed involved on 4th January then it will be on the line here too.

GCW “THE PEOPLE VS GCW”, 19/01/2025
Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

January sees Itoh working with GCW again for a few important shows. GCW are returning to the scene of the crime, the Hammerstein Ballroom in an attempt to redeem themselves for blowing their big shot at the infamous venue three years earlier. At the time of writing their chances of achieving that redemption are not looking good. Maybe Itoh can do her part to help things out even just a little bit.

GCW “LIVE IN LONDON”, 26/01/2025
Electric Ballroom, London, England

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Then a week later Itoh will be wrestling for GCW in London at the Electric Ballroom. That venue has been the home of PROGRESS for most of its existence and they’re helping GCW put this show together.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AEX32 SANTIAGO 2025”, 09/02/2025
Mapocho Station Cultural Center, Santiago, Chile

No updates yet on who will be joining Yamashita and Itoh at the anime convention or if anyone in Chile wants to challenge them.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

And we’re off! Next year’s WrestleMania Week in Las Vegas is now confirmed to have DDT and TJPW coming over. Both promotions will be holding shows on the same day at The Collective. TJPW is up first with an 11am start on the Friday morning. They are promising it will be TJPW’s biggest show in America to date!

DDT “DDT GOES LAS VEGAS!”, 18/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Then at 3pm that afternoon DDT will have their show. Friday is going to be a warzone of wrestling shows clashing with each other. DDT & TJPW are among the first companies to get their announcements out there. I’ll be there for both but now I have to worry about what’s going to be happening at the same time!

DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GCW “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Now here’s something a little bit interesting. DDT and TJPW have just held a triple partner show with DEFY so it makes sense to do one with GCW as well. But this show is happening on Saturday, the same day as Night 1 of “WRESTLEMANIA”. So right now there is no start time announced for the event. Remember, this is happening on the West Coast where WrestleMania will be opening its doors in the afternoon. Is this show going to take place in the morning before everyone rushes over to the stadium? Or will they take a risk and hold this show at night, slap bang in the middle between the two WM shows?

DDT Around The World – August 2024

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!

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

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

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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.

The report for this show can be found here.

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.

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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.

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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

1. Maki Itoh Vs Devin Carter

Itoh’s getting replaced by Effy on this show.

DDT And TJPW Results From The GCW Japan Tour

The GCW tour of Japan continued after their joint show with DDT. They ran two more shows this week both taking place in Shinjuku FACE. The shows also had presence from DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro. The fact that DDT were promoting the cards and posted the results on their website pretty much tells us they had a hand behind the scenes too. I’m just going to focus on the matches relating to both DDT and TJPW in this post.

GCW “THE SKY IS THE LIMIT”, 13/08/2024
Shinjuku FACE
326 Fans

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Broski Jimmy by TKO with the Skull Kick (7:17).
2. GCW Extreme Title: Maki Itoh (c) defeated The Great Sasuke with a Cast Strike (11:49).
*V3 for Maki Itoh.
3. Joey Janella defeated Marcus Mathers with the Package Piledriver (19:37).
4. Effy, Allie Katch & Dark Sheik defeated Aja Kong, Masashi Takeda & MAO when Sheik pinned Kong with the Diving Leg Drop (10:17).
5. Danhausen defeated Kikutaro with a Roll Up (10:43).
6. Rina Yamashita & Masha Slamovich defeated Gringo Loco & Violento Jack when Yamashita pinned Jack after the Super Power Bomb (18:39).
7. GCW World Title: Mance Warner (c) defeated 1 Called Manders with the Impaler DDT (22:47).
*V9 for Mance Warner.

MAO was part of a wild trio put together to take on Thrussy. He teamed with both Masashi Takeda and Aja Kong! Thrussy needed some artillery to even the odds so Allie Katch brought out a water pistol. MAO countered that by finding two bananas and using them to point at everyone like they were guns. That plan backfired when Effy grabbed MAO and forced him to point the bananas on himself. Thrussy were able to gang up on Kong and Dark Sheik hit the Diving Leg Drop on her for the victory. It still took all three members of Thrussy to pile on top of Kong to get the pinfall.

Maki Itoh went into her match against The Great Sasuke with a hand injury, adding more danger since it was also a GCW Extreme Title defence. Sasuke wanted it to be a fair fight so he tried using his spiritual abilities to heal Itoh’s injury. He then targeted her injured hand anyway. Itoh got revenge by attacking Sasuke with a pizza cutter and then striking him with her cast after a ref bump. It dazed Sasuke long enough for the referee to recover and count Itoh’s pin on him.

It is well known by now just how deadly Miyu Yamashita’s Skull Kick is. Today she won her match by Referee Stoppage because the move knocked out Broski Jimmy!

GCW “YOU ONLY DIE ONCE”, 14/08/2024
Shinjuku FACE
375 Fans

1. JCW Title: Masha Slamovich (c) defeated Marcus Mathers with the Half Package Piledriver (15:20).
*V8 for Masha Slamovich.
2. Allie Katch & Dark Sheik defeated Shoko Nakajima & Kaya Toribami when Sheik pinned Toribami with the Welcome to Die (10:14).
3. Tetsuya Endo defeated Gringo Loco with a Tornado Clutch (14:53).
4. GCW Ultraviolent Title: Rina Yamashita (c) defeated 1 Called Manders with the Splash Mountain onto the Chair (13:23).
*V19 for Rina Yamashita.
5. 6-Way Match: Andreza Giant Panda defeated Joey Janela, Broski Jimmy, Kikutaro, Danhausen and Effy when Andreza pinned Janela & Jimmy with the Andreza Press (9:29).
6. GCW World Title: Mance Warner (c) defeated Takayuki Ueki with the Avalanche Impaler DDT onto the Chair (21:03).
*V10 for Mance Warner.

The third and final show of the tour had a few changes to the lineup because of injuries. The big one was Itoh being unable to finish the tour. Her hand injury involves a broken bone so she couldn’t compete in the GCW World Title Match with Mance Warner. Her spot was taken by Takayuki Ueki but Itoh still made an appearance during the match to attack both wrestlers with her pizza cutter.

MAO was thrown into a 6 Way Scramble with a colorful collection of characters. Broski Jimmy recovered from his knockout from the night before, Joey Janela and Effy both wanted to party, Danhausen and Kikutaro had unfinished business but the one who dominated the match more than anyone else was Andreza Giant Panda! Andreza crushed the opposition and pinned both Janela and Jimmy to become the winner.

Zayne was among the injuries that changed the card around. DDT sent in Tetsuya Endo to be his replacement. His match on the show was against Gringo Loco and it turned into a game of one-upmanship. Variations of the One Man Spanish Fly in particular became the point of contention between them. Endo used the Tetsuya In The Sky while Gringo pulled out a Backwards Spanish Fly from the top rope. Soon the aerial attacks were being blocked so Endo pulled out a Tornado Clutch to grab the win in a close contest.

TJPW were also represented on the show by the team of Shoko Nakajima & Kaya Toribami. The two of them fought against The Mothership of Katch & Sheik. The speed and agility of the TJPW duo wasn’t enough to beat the GCW team. Instead Sheik pinned Toribami with the Welcome To Die.

DDT/GCW “NEVER ENDING NOISY SUMMER” Results

DDT/GCW “NEVER ENDING NOISY SUMMER”, 12/08/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
999 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Maki Itoh, Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Marcus Mathers defeated Yuki Ueno, Masha Slamovich, Yuni & Ilusion when Itoh pinned Ilusion after the 450 Splash from Mathers (15:02).
2. DDT Variety Team Vs The Mothership: Allie Katch & Dark Sheik defeated Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda when Sheik pinned Hirata with the Diving Leg Drop (10:30).
3. DDT Vs GCW Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated Rina Yamashita & Broski Jimmy when Sasaki pinned Jimmy after the Freedom Call (12:36).
4. DDT Vs GCW Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino defeated Gringo Loco & 1 Called Manders when Endo pinned Loco with the Burning Star Press (14:47).
5. DDT Vs GCW Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Effy ended in a No Contest (9:48).
6. GCW World Title – 3 Way Hardcore Match: Mance Warner (c) defeated Shunma Katsumata and Joey Janela when Warner pinned Katsumata with the Impaler DDT (18:26).
*V8 for Mance Warner.
7. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) defeated Alex Zayne by Referee Stoppage (8:17).
*V10 for MAO.

As part of this year’s tour of Japan, GCW teamed up with DDT to put everything together. This includes the opening night where both promotions held a joint show at Korakuen Hall mixing their two rosters together. The main event would have been MAO’s crowning moment of his DDT Universal Title reign because he reached his 10th successful defence. Unfortunately no one was happy with how it went. Alex Zayne injured his ankle during a spot outside the ring where he did a backflip off of the stage and landed on his feet. The landing seemed to have jacked in his ankle and despite making the effort to get back into the ring, Yukinori Matsui made the call to end the match and reward MAO the victory by TKO. In an update since the show ended, Zayne got an X-ray and the results showed no serious damage was done. MAO promised to give him a rematch. He is under the impression that DDT and GCW will do a show like this again next year.

Shunma Katsumata was inserted into the big fed over the GCW World Title. The champion Mance Warner and top contender Joey Janela are in the middle of several fights over the belt and the latest battle was a 3 Way Hardcore Match with Katsumata as the third wheel. Tables, ladders, chairs and toy blocks were all used in the match. Warner also used handcuffs on Katsumata before attacking him with a stapler, a wrench and a screwdriver to bust him open. Katsumata was still able to fight while handcuffed and eventually the key was found to free him. He put Janela through the table with the Totonou Splash but Warner stole the win by giving Katsumata the Impaler DDT right afterwards. Janela promised to one day beat Warner for the GCW Title and also beat Katsumata so he can be the DDT Extreme Champion again. Katsumata wants to wrestle at GCW shows in America more often and defend the Extreme Title over there. He thinks it wouldn’t be any fun if these matches only happened in Japan.

People were warned in advance about the Danshoku Dieno Vs Effy match and those expectations were met. Before the match even began the audience were told to raise their hands if they wanted to be kissed by Dieno. GCW’s ring announcer Emil Jay was among the volunteers. Effy offered Dieno a bracelet when the match began but Dieno was too shy to take it. The actual wrestling quickly turned intimate causing Hisaya Imabayashi to enter the ring and demand them to take the match seriously. The two wrestlers obliged but it didn’t take long for the mood to get sensual again. A missed Lip Lock from Dieno knocked out Matsui so Daisuke Kiso became the replacement ref. He was then taken out of action by a Lip Lock from Effy. GCW sent out their referee Dan Perch to sort things out but Dieno & Effy joined forces to give him a Doomsday Lip Lock! One of GCW’s other referees on site Scarlette Donovan then ran in hoping to be part of the fun but neither Dieno nor Effy were interested. They gave her a Double Brainbuster instead. Referee vengeance finally happened when Adam Gault avoided the attack and gave Effy a Stunner followed by a Standing Moonsault. Dieno caught him in the Lip Lock though and formed the Hell Gate with Makoto Oishi. Imabayashi had enough because they are on a live broadcast but Effy threw him into the Hell Gate. By this point Matsui had no choice but to call off the match. Dieno and Effy celebrated together anyway. They also asked DDT to turn the 4 Way Match they are both in on 15th August into a tag match so they can be partners in more ways than one.

BURNING bounced back from losing the KO-D Tag Team Titles over the weekend by winning their DDT Vs GCW match. Gringo Loco & 1 Called Manders shared a similar tag team dynamic of agility and strength working together. Loco gave Tetsuya Endo a One Man Spanish Fly from the top rope. Manders followed up with a Moonsault but Endo rolled out of the way. Yuki Iino took down Manders with a Spear, leaving Endo to give Loco the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb and then the Burning Star Press for the win.

DDT also beat GCW when DAMNATION T.A were victorious against the unusual pairing of Rina Yamashita & Broski Jimmy. There was some help from MJ Paul along the way but KANON found himself in danger when the other team attacked him with chairs. Daisuke Sasaki got some momentum back by putting Lloyd in La Mistica Crossface Lock but Yamashita broke the hold. KANON returned and with Sasaki left Lloyd beaten with the Freedom Call. KANON is relieved because he didn’t want to lose his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Shield or risk having it go overseas. Sasaki just hated everything about today. His post-match comments? “Fuck Jimmy! Fuck Yamashita! Fuck GCW! Fuck DDT! Fuck off everything!”

Together Allie Katch & Dark Sheik are known as The Mothership and they have experienced a lot that makes pro wrestling weird and wonderful. Even so they hadn’t met a team quite like Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata. Honda got their attention by telling his Gongitsune joke in English. Gon wants to enter the Olympics and play table tennis but when he found a place to train he found out it was “Table Penis” instead! Hirata tried to power up with the Hirata GO! glasses but The Mothership stopped him and put the glasses on themselves. All four wrestlers danced and continued fighting to the music. It ended with Sheik pinning Hirata with the Diving Leg Drop.

Normally when Maki Itoh wrestles in Japan it is for Tokyo Joshi Pro but today she was here as a GCW wrestler and leader of the NEO Itoh Respect Army. She got upset when Yuki Ueno tried to act cuter than her. It caused a chain reaction where the rest of Itoh’s team and even referee Gault sulked with her until Ueno tagged out. Yuni tagged in and tried to cheer them all up but it was all a trap so they could take control of the match. Ueno got back in and did well against both Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada but he found a tough challenge in Marcus Mathers. Itoh also spent a lot of the match fighting with Masha Slamovich. Yuni, Slamovich & Ilusion all hit dives to the outside. Itoh considered joining in but had cold feet so Brookes gave her a Military Press out of the ring onto everyone outside. Poor Ilusion then got ganged up on. He was given the Triangle Enzui from Masada, the Praying Mantis Bomb from Brookes, the I.S.D from Itoh and then the 450 Splash from Mathers. Itoh took the spoils by pinning Ilusion after all of that.

DDT Around The World – July 2024

Summer is here and everyone has either gone travelling or are getting their all their plans in order. Funny thing is the people usually being covered for their overseas matches spent most of July wrestling back in Japan. Konosuke Takeshita had a few AEW matches over and done with before he got ready for the G1 Climax. Then Maki Itoh was wrestling in Tokyo Joshi Pro finishing off her latest dates with them before she goes on another GCW tour. So most of the results below are filled up by Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima and CDK related matches.

It’s the rest of the summer that’s going to get busy. A lot of Itoh matches in GCW with Yamashita popping up here and there along the way. Also some TJPW appearances in Southeast Asia and the USA debut of Yuna Manase are all coming up soon. Then there is the matter of DDT and TJPW holding shows abroad with local promotions in places like London and Seattle. Grab some water and stay hydrated because it’s going to be a busy summer of wrestling everywhere.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 05/07/2024
Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher Vs Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen

AEW “COLLISION”, 13/07/2024
Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Tommy Billington

Video starts at 2:27:50 for Match #1. Go to 2:52:58 for Match #2.
IWA JAPAN “HARDCORE FOREVER”, 27/07/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Hardcore Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Mister Suchart & Anont Alonzo Vs Ultramantis Black & Dr. Gore Black (w/ Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr.)
2. IWA Japan SETUP World Title: Ultramantis Black (c) (w/ Dr. Gore Black, Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr.) Vs Chris Brookes (w/ Masahiro Takanashi)

GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XI”, 28/07/2024
Roulette Intermedium, New York City, New York, USA

1. Shayna Baszler Vs Miyu Yamashita

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Results

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 03/07/2024 (Aired 05/07/2024)
Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher defeated Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen when Fletcher pinned Quen with the Kneeling Piledriver (10:10).

Takeshita had bigger stuff to prepare for this month but still got some ring time in AEW before heading back to Japan. He and Kyle Fletcher fought against Private Party, surviving a close call against them. Isiah Kassidy joked around to promote Shark Week and then landed the Swanton Bomb on Fletcher. Marq Quen’s 450 Splash afterwards though was blocked by Fletcher’s knees and Takeshita came in to German Suplex him away. Private Party fought back with a Top Rope Frankensteiner into the Cutter to Takeshita followed by the Silly String to Fletcher. Takeshita kicked out of Quen’s 450 Splash, took out both members with Lariats and then gave Kassidy the Blue Thunder Bomb. Fletcher then got to finish off Kassidy with the Kneeling Piledriver.

DPW “DPW LIVE 7”, 06/07/2024
NC State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

1. Battle Of The Best – Round 1: Shoko Nakajima defeated Masha Slamovich with the Diving Senton (16:16).

Shoko Nakajima touched down on DPW and left North Carolina with a big victory against Masha Slamovich despite taking some heavy hits from her. Slamovich used a Sit Down Power Bomb and also countered the Unmanned Local Train Hold into a Running Air Raid Crash that landed right into a bottom turnbuckle. But Nakajima used the top ropes against Slamovich in order to use a Power Bomb of her own. Slamovich tried using the Power Bomb again but Nakajima slipped down and pulled her into the Double Arm DDT. After that it took a Diving Senton to finish her off and make Nakajima advance to the next round of Battle Of The Best.

AEW “COLLISION”, 10/07/2024 (Aired 13/07/2024)
Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Tommy Billington with the Powerdrive Knee (13:29).

Takeshita’s last AEW appearance for the month was a noteworthy one because his opponent was Tommy Billington, the nephew of the late Dynamite Kid! The new generation Dynamite Kid gave Takeshita a good challenge but fell to the Powerdrive Knee. Don Callis then attempted to recruit Billington to The Don Callis Family by bringing up his family’s heritage. But that was just a trap for Takeshita and the rest of The Family to attack Billington from behind until FTR ran down to save him.

NORTH WRESTLING “THUNDER STRUCK 2”, 13/07/2024
Walker Dome, Newcastle, England

1. Lizzy Evo defeated Miyu Yamashita with an Inside Cradle (13:45).

This was a case of defeat being snatched from the jaws of victory here. Yamashita seemed to have a lot of the match under control until Lizzy Evo saw an opening to hit her with a Knee Strike to the face and then roll her into a Small Package for the three count out of nowhere. For Evo the result is payback for Yamashita beating her in EVE last year.

IWA JAPAN “HARDCORE FOREVER”, 27/07/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Hardcore Match: Mister Suchart & Anont Alonzo defeated Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) and Ultramantis Black & Dr. Gore Black (w/ Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr.) when Alonzo pinned Gore after a Choke Slam/Power Bomb Combo through the Table (?:??).
*CDK fails in V2. THE GOOD DEAL becomes the 2nd IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Champions!
2. IWA Japan SETUP World Title: Ultramantis Black (c) (w/ Dr. Gore Black, Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr.) defeated Chris Brookes (w/ Masahiro Takanashi) with a School Boy (?:??).
*V1 for Ultramantis Black.

Whenever CDK goes over to Thailand for SETUP Pro Wrestling that’s enough trouble to handle by itself. This however was not just a SETUP show. It was an event using the IWA Japan banner to celebrate 30 years of the promotion’s existance. CDK came over to defend the IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles in a Hardcore 3 Way Match. They had to fight the previous champions THE GOOD DEAL as well as the UMA Corps pairing of Ultramantis Black and Dr. Gore Black. Things went crazy as everybody fought outside the ring. Mister Suchart even got on a motor scooter and crashed it into everyone at ringside! A stapler gun was brought into the ring for Brookes and Ultramantis to staple each other with. Ultramantis then took advantage of miscommunication between CDK to put Brookes through a mini ironing board with a Back Drop. Masahiro Takanashi was also taken out by Dr. Gore attacking him with a toilet seat. From that point on CDK were too hurt to do anything and THE GOOD DEAL put Gore through a table. Anont Alonzo pinned him afterwards to win the belts.

It did not end there though. Earlier in the show the brand new IWA Japan SETUP World Title was introduced to the world. However Ultramantis and the UMA Corps launched an attack to steal the belt. Brookes was so mad to lose the tag titles in the main event without being pinned that he challenged Ultramantis for a World Title match straight away! Ultramantis refused but then attacked Brookes with the belt, causing the impromptu match to begin. Brookes fought back from the disadvantage and Takanashi was still there to cut off interference from the UMA Corps. But Dr. Gore threw a chair into Brookes’ face at ringside allowing Ultramantis to roll him up and escape with his first successful title defence. The UMA Corps continued to attack CDK until THE GOOD DEAL returned to save the day.

GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XI”, 28/07/2024
Roulette Intermedium, New York City, New York, USA

1. Shayna Baszler defeated Miyu Yamashita by TKO (8:37).

If there is any big story to talk about in this month’s article it is this one. Yamashita taking part in GCW’s Bloodsport event is notable in itself. She gave shoot boxing a go pretty early into her pro wrestling career and has the kind of martial arts cred that would get you booked for a show like this. The big news though was who they chose to be her opponent. In the main event she took on Shayna Baszler from WWE! It’s the latest move from WWE to open themselves up and show they are willing to work with other wrestling companies. It’s been noted online that the Bloodsport show featured talent from WWE/NXT, TNA, AEW/ROH, NJPW’s American arm, MLW and TJPW. Baszler ended up beating Yamashita by catching her Skull Kick, turning it into a Tombstone and then beginning to ground and pound her until the referee stepped in to stop the fight.

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Upcoming Appearances

GCW “NOW AND FOREVER”, 02/08/2024
TempleLive Cleveland Masonic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs John Wayne Murdoch

August is going to be a GCW month for Maki Itoh both in America and Japan. Her next tour begins with an unexpected opponent. She’s taking on one of their most violent wrestlers John Wayne Murdoch. He won the Tournament Of Survival back in June but his win-loss record in the company since then hasn’t been great.

GCW “CAN I TRUST YOU?”, 04/08/2024
House Of Independents, Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Itoh does not have a match announced for the show yet. This date was on her list of advertised bookings last month. The full card seems to have been shown since then and Blake Christian just so happens to have a “Pick Your Poison” style mystery opponent to be announced that day… I don’t see where else she will fit if she is still going to be there.

GCW “THE SKY IS THE LIMIT”, 13/08/2024
Shinjuku FACE, Tokyo, Japan

1. Broski Jimmy Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. The Great Sasuke Vs Maki Itoh

Itoh is also representing GCW for their Japan tour that is going on with some help from DDT. In a matchup that only sounds more mind bending the more I think of it, Itoh is going to fight The Great Sasuke! Yamashita will be on one of the shows too facing Broski Jimmy. That’s another match that I would never expect but more for head scratchy reasons.

GCW “YOU ONLY DIE ONCE”, 14/08/2024
Shinjuku FACE, Tokyo, Japan

1. Allie Katch & Dark Sheik Vs Kaya Toribami & Shoko Nakajima
2. GCW World Title: Mance Warner (c) Vs Maki Itoh

I made a prediction for this year that Itoh is going to win the GCW World Title. If it ever comes true then this will be the show to do it! It won’t though because GCW are all in on Mance Warner as their top champion while Itoh already holds the GCW Extreme Title but just imagine if they did.

Also added is a GCW Vs TJPW tag match. The visitors (or are they the home team because it’s GCW?) Allie Katch & Dark Sheik take on Kaya Toribami & Shoko Nakajima. I’ll probably make a separate post for the GCW Japan results since those matches are happening in Japan and DDT is involved with promoting the whole tour.

SPW “HARDCORE ISLAND 2: A FINE CITY”, 16/08/2024
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. 3 Way Match: Alexis Lee Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Kaya Toribami

Now that Alexis Lee got to wrestle in Japan and fully integrate herself into TJPW it’s time to send more people back over to Singapore Pro Wrestling. This time Lee will be in a 3 Way Match against two TJPW wrestlers. Yamashita and Toribami are on board to go face her in her home country.

KITSUNE “LOVE MY SHOW!”, 17/08/2024
Brick X Brick, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Yuna Manase Vs X

I was wondering how long it was going to take until I get to write about more of the American “Joshi” promotions that are currently around. Kitsune emerged around the same time period as SPARK Joshi and Sukeban. This one though has actually been able to run a show in Japan thanks to a lot of help from Marvelous. Their next shows in California is where Yuna Manase will be making her American wrestling debut.

GCW “NO SIGNAL IN THE HILLS PT. 4”, 17/08/2024
Ukrainian Culture Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Itoh will be following GCW back to America after the Japan tour ends.

GCW “SAVE ME”, 18/08/2024
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

More Itoh in GCW here.

KITSUNE “YABAI!”, 18/08/2024
1110 Bates Ave, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Kitsune World Title: Yuna Manase Vs Megan Bayne Vs J-Rod

The original plan was for Manase to be in a 3 Way Match with Sayaka Unagi and J-Rod for the Kitsune World Title. However Unagi is unable to get her visa approved in time and won’t be able to travel to America anytime soon. Since she was the champion, Kitsune made the decision to vacate the belt. It will now go to the winner of a new 3 Way Match between Manase, J-Rod and Megan Bayne.

EVE/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “EVE X TJPW: JAPAN & UK WRESTLING UNITE!”, 24/08/2024
Conway Hall, London, England

Finally we got a venue for the show. Yamashita, Raku, Mahiro Kiryu and HIMAWARI along with Aja Kong are the Japanese talent coming over to TJPW’s joint show with EVE. The EVE wrestlers being promoted for the show so far include Alex Windsor, Nina Samuels, Lena Cross and Session Moth Martina.

GCW “HOMECOMING – NIGHT 1”, 24/08/2024
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Kerry Morton

The match is in GCW but Itoh gets a little taste of NWA with Kerry Morton as her opponent here. Kerry is the son of Ricky Morton and has been spending a lot of time in NWA as part of The Southern Six. He was even on the winning team at The Crockett Cup a few months ago.

GCW “HOMECOMING – NIGHT 2”, 25/08/2024
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

None of her GCW matches next month have been announced as Extreme Title defences yet.

MLW “SUMMER OF THE BEASTS”, 29/08/2024
Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA

1. Delmi Exo Vs Miyu Yamashita

MLW wrote a really long passage about this match on their Twitter page but we don’t need to go through all that. Yamashita beat Delmi Exo last December, next month is time for the rematch. The difference here is Exo now has the support of MLW’s main authority figure Cesar Duran by her side.

GCW “LIVE FAST DIE YOUNG”, 31/08/2024
Thalia Hall, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Megan Bayne
2. Maki Itoh Vs Kylie Rae

Prepare for cute smiles everywhere when Itoh is in the ring with Kylie Rae. Things might get ugly though if Itoh ends up feeling threatened by Rae’s cheerfulness. Yamashita getting another match with Megan Bayne is something she might not want to smile about either. They wrestled each other at a DREAMWAVE show back in April. Bayne won clean and Yamashita was in a pretty bad mood about it afterwards, rejecting her post-match handshake.

INSPIRE A.D. “MAY THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN”, 01/09/2024
Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Devin Carter

One of the non-GCW bookings Itoh is taking after the summer is over at Inspire A.D. in Texas. “The Fashionista” Devin Carter is her opponent. They have only been wrestling for a couple of years, mostly around the Texas scene.

MKW “CHAMPIONSHIP SUPERCARD FROM SHANGHAI”, 14/09/2024
Bandai Namco Shanghai Base, Shanghai, China

1. Queen Of Asia Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c) Vs Crystal

Still another while until Yuki Kamifuku defends the Queen Of Asia Title against Crystal. Kamifuku has been stepping her game up over the last twelve months and it’s really been paying off for her lately.

GCW “BAD ONE”, 14/09/2024
Harpos Concert Center, Detroit, Michigan, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

This will be the last weekend of Itoh’s current tour.

GCW “THA G-CODE”, 15/09/2024
Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, New York, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

And Itoh’s last American booking as of now is here.

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

TJPW sent a video message to SETUP announcing the next opponents for Matcha and the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title she currently holds. Both Raku and Pom Harajuku are coming to Thailand to wrestle there for the first time!

TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “BRIGHT EYES”, 09/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

A big weekend is going down in Seattle during November. TJPW is teaming up with DEFY for a show. Expect around 10-12 TJPW talent to be coming over. That was already announced a while ago…

DDT/DEFY “DDT IN UTERO”, 09/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

What turned out to be new news about the event is DEFY will be bringing over DDT for an evening show too! DDT has not said yet how many people they are going to bring over.

DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TRIANGLER DTD”, 10/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

The weekend ends with DDT, TJPW and DEFY all joining forces for a triple promotion show.

Right To Challenge Matches, Full DDT Vs GCW Card, Naya Is Turning 30, Takao’s 15th Anniversary

DDT “MEET & GREET & FIGHT”, 02/08/2024
Shinjuku FACE

1. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 3 Way Match: Yuni Vs Ilusion Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Single Match: KANON Vs Yukio Naya
3. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Match Staggered Entry Battle Royal: Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuki Iino Vs Daisuke Sasaki Vs MJ Paul Vs Chris Brookes Vs Masahiro Takanashi Vs Antonio Honda Vs Takeshi Masada Vs HARASHIMA Vs Toru Owashi Vs Danshoku Dieno Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs To-y Vs Keigo Nakamura Vs Yuya Koroku

The DDT version of Money In The Bank is back and ready to leave a trail of chaos in its wake this summer. This year there will be five Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere prizes up for grabs across three matches. Three contracts will go to the last three survivors of a Battle Royal featuring all of DDT’s mainstays. One will go to the winner of KANON Vs Yukio Naya. The final one will go to the winner of the 3 Way Match between Yuni, Ilusion and Kazuma Sumi. So by the time the five holders are determined it will be a group of wrestlers spreading all over the main event, midcard and rookie scenes.

There are also some slight changes to the rules for the prize this year. The contracts will become active from 10th August to 23rd November. They can be cashed in on any DDT related show held during that period for either a KO-D Openweight Title shot, a DDT Universal Title shot or a DDT Extreme Title shot. If a contract holder directly loses a match on a DDT show then the contract is given to whoever beats them. That is not a new rule but limiting it happening to just DDT related events is a new change.

DDT/GCW “NEVER ENDING NOISY SUMMER”, 12/08/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Masha Slamovich, Yuni & Ilusion Vs Maki Itoh, Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Marcus Mathers
2. DDT Variety Team Vs The Mothership: Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda Vs Allie Katch & Dark Sheik
3. DDT Vs GCW Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Rina Yamashita & Broski Jimmy
4. DDT Vs GCW Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Gringo Loco & 1 Called Manders
5. DDT Vs GCW Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Effy
6. GCW World Title – 3 Way Hardcore Match: Mance Warner (c) Vs Shunma Katsumata Vs Joey Janela
7. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Alex Zayne

The full DDT Vs GCW card is here. Some of the new tag matches added includes BURNING facing Gringo Loco & 1 Called Manders as well as DAMNATION T.A having to deal with the odd couple team of Rina Yamashita & Broski Jimmy. Are Allie Katch & Dark Sheik prepared for the silliness of Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda? That’s not all, Masha Slamovich and Marcus Mathers find themselves dropped deep into the DDT roster for an 8-Man Tag Match. There will be more DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro involvement later on in GCW’s tour of Japan but I’ll write about it in tomorrow’s DDT Around The World article.

DDT “MEMORIES OF SUMMER VACATION 2024 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 17/08/2024
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Michael Nakazawa
2. Yukio Naya’s Birthday Celebration Match ~ Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs Yuki Iino

On the day Yukio Naya turns 30 years old he will celebrate it by fighting Yuki Iino in a big heavyweight match.

DDT “MEMORIES OF SUMMER VACATION 2024”, 25/08/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Soma Takao 15th Anniversary ~ Special Single Match: Soma Takao Vs Keisuke Ishii
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Shinya Aoki

A fitting opponent for Soma Takao. When he debuted in DDT 15 years ago one of his teammates was Keisuke Ishii. The two then went on to grow up in wrestling together with the rest of the Young Communication generation and then joined forces with Shigehiro Irie to create Team Drift. This match as added importance because Ishii is the current Spirit Of Ganbare World Champion.

Ryuichi “Fire” Kawakami will be on the show.

KANON’s 5th Anniversary Match, DAMNATION T.A Get 6-Man Tag Title Rematch, More GCW Guests

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’24”, 23/06/2024
Shizuoka Act City Hamamatsu

1. 3 Way Match: Mizuki Vs Mahiro Kiryu Vs Runa Okubo
2. Yuki Aino Vs Chika Nanase
3. Shoko Nakajima & Kira Summer Vs Haru Kazashiro & Uta Takami
4. Maki Itoh & Yuki Kamifuku Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku
5. Suzume, Arisu Endo & Kaya Toribami Vs Miyu Yamashita, Moka Miyamoto & Toga
6. Nao Kakuta Vs Shino Suzuki
7. Miu Watanabe & Wakana Uehara Vs Rika Tatsumi & HIMAWARI

It will be the first time in over a year when Tokyo Joshi Pro comes to Act City Hamamatsu.

DDT “ROAD TO PETER PAN 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 10/07/2024
Shinjuku FACE

1. KANON 5th Anniversary Match ~ Special Single Match: TAKA Michinoku Vs KANON

It should be no surprise to see that TAKA Michinoku is part of KANON’s 5th Anniversary match. Although it being just a singles match between the two is a bit unexpected. I would have thought there would be a tag of some sort involving them along with other wrestlers connected to KANON.

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”, 21/07/2024
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Masato Tanaka
2. Dramatic Dream Match: El Desperado Vs Chris Brookes
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: HARASHIMA, Akito & Yasu Urano (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino (c) Vs Go Shiozaki & Atsushi Kotoge
5. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs MAO

Yesterday DAMNATION T.A attacked members of Smile Squash as well as the DDT GM Hisaya Imabayashi backstage during the show. Daisuke Sasaki took it far enough to grab a clothes hanger and hook the inside of Imabayashi’s mouth with it! He did it while demanding DAMNATION T.A be given a KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles rematch. Akito gave in and accepted the challenge but only because DAMNATION T.A are the former champions. He believes they have the right for a championship rematch. Akito also decided the match should take place at Sumo Hall so Smile Squash can get their revenge on the big stage.

DDT/GCW “NEVER ENDING NOISY SUMMER”, 12/08/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

More guest wrestlers from the GCW side will be at the show. Gringo Loco and Broski Jimmy are among them along with 2 Cold Scorpio! DDT are also marketing GCW’s other shows for their Japan tour but I won’t be writing much about them here unless there is a lot of DDT involvement in their lineups.

DDT Around The World – January 2024

Don’t worry everyone, Konosuke Takeshita got to wrestle a bit last month! His time spent in AEW during January was matches involving Darby Allin but by the time the month ended, he is back to targeting Chris Jericho for an upcoming rematch of their “ULTIMATE PARTY 2023” bout. Tokyo Joshi Pro had some more involvement with Major League Wrestling. Another noteworthy thing is Yukio Sakaguchi on the verge of retirement having his last wrestling match in Taiwan. We also got updates on DDT and TJPW for their shows during Wrestlemania Week coming up in April.

Other schedules went pear-shaped last month due to injuries and illnesses. Maki Itoh had to cancel her American dates in order to take time off for recovery reasons. The good news is she will be back wrestling again near the end of February and will return to the American indies in March. Chris Brookes getting surgery to remove a tumor from his abdomen prevented him from travelling around Southeast Asia with Masahiro Takanashi. It’s a more quiet month than usual because of Itoh and Brookes being absent. Only going to make things busier when they get back to normal.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 03/01/2024
Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA

1. Darby Allin Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Video starts at 44:10
MLW “RELOAD”, 06/01/2024
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Nao Kakuta Vs Moka Miyamoto

AEW “DYNAMITE – HOMECOMING”, 10/01/2024
Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA

1. Tornado Tag Match: Darby Allin & Sting Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Powerhouse Hobbs (w/ Don Callis)

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 26/01/2024
Enmarket Arena, Savannah, Georgia, USA

1. Christopher Daniels Vs Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis)

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Results

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 03/01/2024
Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Darby Allin with the Powerdrive Knee (12:50).

Takeshita throwing Allin around the ring was so much fun he got to do it even more this month. Allin got his licks in too with a top rope Stunner and a few dives. But Takeshita blocked the Coffin Drop with his knees, fought off a dead leg to German Suplex Allin across the ring. He then turned him inside out with a Lariat, kicked his face off with a Helluva Kick and then German Suplex him off the top rope. Takeshita finished him off with the Powerdrive Knee. More of this please!

MLW “KINGS OF COLOSSEUM”, 06/01/2024
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Nao Kakuta defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Shiden Kai (6:23).
2. MLW World Featherweight Title: Janai Kai (c) (w/ Salina de la Renta & Jesus Rodriguez) defeated Hyper Misao with the Demon Clutch (7:15).
*V3 for Janai Kai.

Several TJPW wrestlers went to New York to compete at MLW’s latest supershow. Hyper Misao got a shot at the MLW World Featherweight Title, becoming the second TJPW wrestler in a row to challenge Janai Kai for the belt. She brought along the Combat Bike and cycled around the outside of the ring to hit Kai with a Lariat. Salina de la Renta stood on the apron to distract Misao but got sprayed in the face for her troubles. The distraction still worked though because Misao turned around into the Tornado Kick from Kai and she then gave up to the Demon Clutch Dragon Sleeper.

TJPW also provided an exhibition match between Nao Kakuta and Moka Miyamoto. Kakuta won the match but afterwards Miyamoto was approached in the ring by Love Doug. He wanted to ask her out for dinner and she said yes.

AEW “DYNAMITE – HOMECOMING”, 10/01/2024
Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA

1. Tornado Tag Match: Darby Allin & Sting (w/ Ric Flair) defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Powerhouse Hobbs (w/ Don Callis) when Sting pinned Hobbs with the Scorpion Death Drop through a Table (9:53).

And we did get more of this! Takeshita’s AEW debut took place in Daily’s Place during the pandemic so it meant a lot to him to be in a Dynamite main event there. It was a wild Tornado Tag match that also dragged Don Callis and Ric Flair into the ring. The fighting went over to the entrance where Allin hit a Coffin Drop from a bleacher onto Takeshita, taking the two of them out of action. Powerhouse Hobbs carried Sting over to a stage with the intention of putting him through a table. But Sting reversed it and gave Hobbs the Scorpion Death Drop off the stage through the table instead.

SPW “CHAMPIONS NEVER YIELD 2”, 19/01/2024
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Queen Of Asia No. 1 Contender Match: Mizuki defeated Alexis Lee (?:??).
2. SPW Southeast Asia Tag Team Titles: Da Butcherman & Dr. Gore defeated HARASHIMA & Masahiro Takanashi (c) (?:??).
*The Horrors become the 11th SPW Southeast Asia Tag Team Champions!

CDK’s plans for the month were changed because of Brookes’ health issues. Takanashi had to find some replacement tag partners for his matches in Singapore and Thailand. Over in Singapore Pro Wrestling Takanashi still had to defend the SPW Southeast Asia Tag Team Titles without Brookes. The good news was HARASHIMA agreed to join him as a substitute so the match against The Horrors could go ahead. The makeshift team couldn’t pull it off though. CDK’s long reign with the titles were ended by Da Butcherman & Dr. Gore.

Also on the show was a No. 1 Contenders match for the Queen Of Asia Title. The championship currently belongs to Yuki Kamifuku and is being kept with her in TJPW. The former champion Alexis Lee needed to beat Mizuki in order to get a rematch. However Mizuki was too much for her to handle and it will instead be Mizuki who is getting the next shot. It’s possible that match will happen at a TJPW show in Japan rather than in Singapore for SPW but we’ll have to wait and see what gets announced.

NTW “THE GOD’S RIGHT KNEE RETURNS”, 20/01/2024
Xingren Road, Zhongli District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan

1. Special Single Match: THE JOKER defeated Yukio Sakaguchi (8:00).

During Sakaguchi’s announcement about his retirement plans he mentioned one of his remaining matches was taking place in Taiwan. It was for New Taiwan Entertainment Wrestling and was put together when Sakaguchi was challenged by THE JOKER in December. THE JOKER is someone who Sakaguchi fought years previously and he holds Sakaguchi is high esteem. The match meant even more for him because Sakaguchi gave him his ring robe as a gift afterwards.

SETUP “BANGKOK SHOWDOWN”, 20/01/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. 3 Way Tag Match: Kevin Weng & Pondhub defeated Masahiro Takanashi & Rubber Man and Anont Alonzo & Mister Suchart (?:??).

Takanashi needed to find another partner over in Thailand for the SETUP show. Oddly enough Sanshiro Takagi was in the area visiting for business reasons but he wasn’t available to take part. Instead Takanashi had to team up with Rubber Man, one of the many monsters that comes from the UMA Corps.

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 24/01/2024 (Aired 26/01/2024)
Enmarket Arena, Savannah, Georgia, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Christopher Daniels with the Powerdrive Knee (3:06).

A little rest to recover from the Tornado Tag match put Takeshita back on track. His next match was a win against Christopher Daniels, an opponent he previously faced on a AEW branded ring in Japan. He countered the Angel’s Wings into the Implant and then turned that into a German Suplex. All that was left to do was hit the Powerdrive Knee for the victory.

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Upcoming Appearances

BZW “X”, 03/02/2024
Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France

1. MBM & Ultima Sombra Vs MAO & Yoshihiko

Travel buddies MAO and Yoshihiko begin their European weekend with Banger Zone Wrestling in France. Their opponents are Rivality, the team of MBM & Ultima Sombra.

TNT EXTREME “MERSEYSIDE MASSACRE”, 04/02/2024
Hanger34, Liverpool, England

1. Fatal 4 Way: Jordan Oliver Vs Leon Slater Vs Yoshihiko Vs MAO

One day later the pair travel to England for TNT Extreme. Even though this booking has been known since December, Yoshihiko still got in trouble with DDT when they booked the doll for their Nagoya show on the same day only to find out it already has this tour organized. DDT warned Yoshihiko not to let this happen again.

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 07/02/2024
Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

1. Chris Jericho Vs Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis)

The time has come for the rematch! Chris Jericho defeated Takeshita in DDT last November and Takeshita’s been biding his time to even the score. Go get that win back!

DDT “DDT GOES PHILADELPHIA!”, 04/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Announced so far for DDT’s USA show are Yuki Ueno, MAO, Kazuki Hirata, Konosuke Takeshita, Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki, Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata, KANON, Takeshi Masada and Yoshihiko.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN PHILLY”, 05/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

TJPW are sending over 14 women to Philadelphia for Wrestlemania week. They are Miyu Yamashita, Yuki Aino, Shoko Nakajima, Rika Tatsumi, Mizuki, Maki Itoh, Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Hyper Misao, Nao Kakuta, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Suzume and Arisu Endo.

GCW/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GCW VS TJPW”, 06/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

When GCW put out a blurred image teasing the complete schedule for The Collective I joked the blurred part looked like it said “GCW VS TJPW”. Turns out that’s what it actually is! All 14 TJPW wrestlers above will be part of the crossover show pitting their side against GCW’s female contingent.

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Cancelled Appearances

GCW “NO COMPADRE”, 12/01/2024
Thalia Hall, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Maki Itoh, Effy & Allie Katch Vs Matt Cardona, Steph de Lander & Broski Jimmy

Itoh taking time off for recuperation led to a few cancelled appearances this month. She wasn’t able to team up with Bussy against Deathmatch Royalty for example.

GCW “56 BIRDZ”, 13/01/2024
Valley Dale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Tony Deppen

The world will have to wait another day to see what Itoh wrestling Tony Deppen would be like.

F1RST “WRESTLEPALOOZA – NIGHT 2”, 14/01/2024
First Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Itoh hopes she will get to be at a F1RST show somewhere in the future.

GCW “LOOK AT ME”, 26/01/2024
Egypt Shrine Center, Tampa, Florida, USA

1. 4 Way Match: Allie Katch Vs Maki Itoh Vs Dark Sheik Vs Lindsay Snow

Itoh was replaced by Masha Slamovich on the show and Slamovich ended up winning the match.

DDT Around The World – December 2023

Happy new year! December featured plenty of CyberFight related appearances in North America. Tokyo Joshi Pro held its second show in USA. They also had two seperate championship matches happening within minutes from each other in two different countries. Konosuke Takeshita remains stuck in AEW limbo, Maki Itoh wrapped up the latest leg of her US bookings, Shota paid a visit to California and MAO partied hard as the end of 2023 counted down to midnight.

So what is there new to expect in 2024 when it comes to international stuff for DDT and its family? I think the focus will be what Yuka Sakazaki will get up to. I will continue following her career using these articles. If she sticks within AEW/ROH then it won’t be much work to see what she gets up to every month. But I want to see her spread out to some of the indies. At least go to Deadlock Pro every now and then. She owes them a match anyway.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

Video starts at 11:02.
MPW “THE LONG NIGHT”, 08/12/2023
MPW Academy, Chatsworth, California, USA

1. Miggy Rose & Michael Hopkins Vs Shota & J2 Mattioli

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 08/12/2023
Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

1. Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal Vs Powerhouse Hobbs & Konosuke Takeshita

DREAMWAVE “GOOD AS GOLD”, 09/12/2023
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita & Emi Sakura Vs Zayda Steel & Maggie Lee

SKYFIRE PRO “NAVIDAD NIGHTMARE”, 10/12/2023
Bay City Brewing Co., San Diego, California, USA

1. Rebel Storm Vs Shota

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

7. Special Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly

Video starts at 16:20.
MPW “NAUGHTY OR NICE 2023”, 15/12/2023
MPW Academy, Chatsworth, California, USA

1. Shota Vs Jr Mattioli

PANDEMONIUM PRO “HOLIDAY IN LA”, 17/12/2023
Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Mike Bailey Vs Miyu Yamashita

CIRCLE 6 “BARROOM BLITZ”, 31/12/2023
Knucklehead Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Nate Webb

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Results

BLACK LABEL PRO “SLAMILTON”, 02/12/2023
Berwyn Eagles Club, Berwyn, Illinois, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated Rachel Armstrong with the Itoh Deluxe (11:22).

Let’s begin with a show that has become an annual event for Black Label Pro. Six months ago Rachel Armstrong had a match here against Miyu Yamashita so now it was Itoh’s turn to see what the fuss is all about. A naïve Armstrong fell for Itoh’s crocodile tears act but took control using her speed and agility. A Northern Lights Suplex in particular came very close to getting her the win. But Itoh had control for most of the match, trapping Armstrong in the Itoh Special and then building her way up to the Itoh Deluxe to make her tap out.

GCW “WHAT IS YOUR CHOICE?”, 03/12/2023
Roulette Intermedium, Brooklyn, New York, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated Mike Bailey with a Cradle (16:14).

Is this the upset of the year? Mike Bailey learned the hard way not to kick Itoh in the head because it is as hard as iron! When the shock of that wore out, Bailey took her seriously, even pulling out the Flamingo Driver that Itoh kicked out of. His frustration led to his undoing because when he grabbed Itoh’s legs to do a Boston Crab, Itoh twisted over and cradled Bailey for the flash pin! Itoh had to console Bailey after the match because he burst into tears over the result.

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 06/12/2023 (Aired 08/12/2023)
Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

1. Powerhouse Hobbs & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal when Hobbs pinned Daniels with The World’s Most Dangerous Slam (8:38).

What was looking to be Takeshita’s only match of the month was teaming up with Powerhouse Hobbs to beat Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal after the latter tried standing up to The Don Callis Family. During the month Don Callis announced that his unit will now be using “Family Rules” for their tag team matches against Chris Jericho & Kenny Omega going forward, which is just their name for Freebird Rules. The storyline they’re doing is falling apart though because Omega is now out of action indefinitely with diverticulitis.

MYSTERY WRESTLING “MYSTERY WRESTLING 5”, 07/12/2023
Centre Aydelu, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada

1. International Princess Title: Max The Impaler (c) defeated Jody Threat (?:??).
*V3 for Max The Impaler.

There was a surprise International Princess Title match for the fans at this month’s Mystery Wrestling show. Evil Uno runs these events every couple of months, airs them live on his Twitch channel and keeps the VOD on his Patreon. Max The Impaler was brought in for a match against Jody Threat and agreed to put the championship on the line. TJPW gave their authorization and recognizes the result as an official title defence.

MLW “ONE-SHOT”, 07/12/2023
Melrose Ballroom, Queens, New York, USA

1. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Delmi Exo with the Skull Kick (9:13).
*V2 for Miyu Yamashita.
2. MLW World Featherweight Title: Janai Kai (c) (w/ Salina de la Renta & Jesus Rodriguez) defeated Maki Itoh with the Modified Dragon Sleeper (7:27).
*V2 for Janai Kai.

Both Itoh and Yamashita were at MLW’s final show of the year, each in a championship match. Itoh was given a big title match against Janai Kai for the MLW World Featherweight Title. She had an unfair disadvantage though because Kai had both Salina de la Renta and Jesus Rodriguez (the former Ricardo Rodriguez from WWE) in her corner to interfere when needed. There was also an unexpected run-in from the masked wrestler Ichiban that distracted Itoh long enough for her to miss a Diving Headbutt. If that wasn’t bad enough, Matt Striker on commentary completely did not understand Itoh’s gimmick. Maybe he had good intentions by trying to put Itoh over as a fighter to be taken seriously but he’s been so bad as a colour commentator for so long he should not get the benefit of the doubt.

Yamashita was at the show to defend the Princess Of Princess Title against Delmi Exo. Her opponent is a former MLW Featherweight Champion and brought her best fight to the match. Yamashita kicked out of the Ocean Cyclone Suplex and got Exo up to the top rope for an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment. Yamashita kept the pressure up and Exo was helpless by the time she was beaten with the Skull Kick. The result helps establish Yamashita’s current title reign being about taking on opponents from around the world. Her next challenger will be back in TJPW on 4th January against Masha Slamovich.

DREAMWAVE “UPRISING”, 08/12/2023
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Shazza McKenzie with the Skull Kick (10:59).

Over to DREAMWAVE where Yamashita appeared on a weekend of shows for them. The first one was an all women’s event where Yamashita beat Shazza McKenzie in a rematch from their ROH bout from earlier this year. DREAMWAVE later announced they will be spinning off a new all women’s wrestling promotion called Uprising: Women’s Athletes so don’t be surprised to see Yamashita show up there in 2024.

MPW “THE LONG NIGHT”, 08/12/2023
MPW Academy, Chatsworth, California, USA

1. Miggy Rose & Michael Hopkins defeated Shota & J2 Mattioli when Rose & Hopkins pinned Mattioli with a Sunset Flip & Body Press (?:??).

Shota spent the month of December travelling over to America again for a short tour. Just like last year, Shota found went to the obscure end of the US indies including Millennium Pro Wrestling who welcomed him back with open arms. Shota teamed with one of his opponents from the last excursion, J2 Mattioli to take on a team called 24K. Sadly the team lost when Miggy Rose & Michael Hopkins used a double team Sunset Flip to pin Mattioli. Afterwards Mattioli apologised to Shota for losing and then challenged him to a singles match for the following week. Shota accepted and shook his hand.

DREAMWAVE “GOOD AS GOLD”, 09/12/2023
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita & Emi Sakura defeated Zayda Steel & Maggie Lee when Sakura pinned Steel with the Double Arm Backbreaker (8:02).

There was a small change to the match when one of the original opponents Zamaya was bumped up to the semi-main event for the DREAMWAVE Women’s Title. So Yamashita & Emi Sakura instead found themselves teaming up against Zayda Steel and Zamaya’s replacement Maggie Lee. A lot of the match was Steel & Lee working on Yamashita so Sakura can get the hot tag. Still it’s not everyday you get to see Sakura & Yamashita teaming together. They won when Sakura gave Steel the Double Arm Backbreaker and Yamashita gave Lee the Attitude Adjustment, leading to a double pin.

EWF “PRO WRESTLING LUCHA LIBRE”, 09/12/2023
VFW Post 8737, San Bernardino, California, USA

1. EWF Vs The World: Kid Noah defeated Shota (?:??).

An outdoor show held in December doesn’t sound that pleasant even if it’s in California. Shota wrestled twice outdoors during the tour. The first one was at Empire Wrestling Federation where he lost to Kid Noah.

GCW “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM 2”, 09/12/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Johnny Game Changer & Taya Valkyrie defeated Nick Gage & Maki Itoh (17:42).

Itoh’s last GCW appearance of the year had Maki Death Kill back together to take on the husband and wife team of Johnny Game Changer & Taya Valkyrie. The match went from a normal two vs two tag into a brawl with chairs and doors being used as weapons. Valkyrie put Nick Gage through one of the doors and then tried giving Itoh the Road To Valhalla. Itoh countered it into a Roll Up but Valkyrie then blocked the counter and grabbed onto Itoh’s tights to pin her for the three count. Itoh demanded a singles match against Valkyrie afterwards.

SKYFIRE PRO “NAVIDAD NIGHTMARE”, 10/12/2023
Bay City Brewing Co., San Diego, California, USA

1. Rebel Storm defeated Shota with the Thunderstruck (?:??).

Shota’s second outdoor match of the month was for Skyfire Pro Lucha Libre. He tried his best to outwrestle his opponent but Rebel Storm stopped him in his tracks with a Headbutt followed by the Twist Of Fate that he calls Thunderstruck.

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

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

The show report can be found here.

MPW “NAUGHTY OR NICE 2023”, 15/12/2023
MPW Academy, Chatsworth, California, USA

1. J2 Mattioli defeated Shota with the Playmaker Lariat (?:??).

The match between Shota and Mattioli was a mostly friendly back and forth match between the two. Mattioli ended up using his Playmaker Lariat to win, capping off a year he was really happy with.

PANDEMONIUM PRO “HOLIDAY IN LA”, 17/12/2023
Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Keita defeated Shota (?:??).
2. Miyu Yamashita defeated Mike Bailey with the Skull Kick (?:??).

Okay so this month we found out that Bailey’s weakness is Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers. He lost to Itoh in GCW and here in Pandemonium Pro he lost clean to Yamashita! There were no tears in this one, instead these two tried to kick the tar out of each other!

Shota completed his USA tour by making Pandemonium Pro his final stop. Originally he was going to face Vinnie Massaro but that guy is busy living it up on a NOAH tour right now. So Shota was given the newcomer Keita as a replacement opponent. Keita made the most of this opportunity and beat the more experienced Shota.

AEW “WORLDS END”, 30/12/2023
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York, USA

1. Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Sting & Darby Allin defeated Ricky Starks, Big Bill, Powerhouse Hobbs & Konosuke Takeshita when Guevara pinned Starks with a Shooting Star Press (15:42).

What a mess this storyline has turned out to be. Omega falling ill meant that he and Jericho couldn’t go ahead with challenging Ricky Starks & Big Bill for the AEW World Tag Team Titles so they had to throw in The Don Callis Family, Sting, Darby Allin and the return of Sammy Guevara to make it an 8-Man Tag Match. Takeshita was not part of the lineup when the match was made but then a day later AEW swapped him into the match and took Kyle Fletcher out. Then on the day of the show allegations of Jericho’s past behavior resurfaced online from Nick Hausman as part of Jericho’s online spat with a lawyer with a that could not have been handled any more uglier than it did. Almost everybody except the alleged victim is coming out of it as a bunch of massive scumbags. So come to the part of the show when the match happened and there was an uncomfortable atmosphere that could be felt through the screen as the match went on. I wish I could instead focus on Takeshita getting to wrestle Sting and throw Allin around like he’s Yoshihiko but everyone watching was in a bad mood over what emerged throughout the day.

CIRCLE 6 “KING OF THE DEATHMATCHES”, 30/12/2023
Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. King Of The Deathmatches – Round 1 – Ultraviolent Baptism: Bobby Beverly defeated MAO with the Fisherman DDT (?:??).

How about taking part in a deathmatch tournament to bring out the end of the year? MAO entered the King Of The Deathmatches that was being held by Circle 6 and faced Bobby Beverly in the 1st Round. MAO brought along chairs and plastic boxes but soon smashed lighttubes over his opponent. He also put Beverly through a bunch of chairs with a Double Arm Piledriver and used high flying moves but couldn’t get the win. A triple Low Blow spot that also included the referee brought the match back to an even fight. Wooden skewers were stabbed into each other’s heads and Beverly smashed MAO with lighttubes before pinning him with the Fisherman DDT.

CIRCLE 6 “BARROOM BLITZ”, 31/12/2023
Knucklehead Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) defeated Nate Webb with the Diving Radio Silence from the Bar Counter (?:??).
*V3 for MAO.

MAO stuck around in Circle 6 on New Year’s Eve so he could defend the DDT Universal Title against Spyder Nate Webb. The match went outside to Santa Monica Blvd so they could fight on the street as traffic drove by.

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Upcoming Appearances

MLW “KINGS OF COLOSSEUM”, 06/01/2024
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Nao Kakuta
2. MLW World Featherweight Title: Janai Kai (c) Vs Hyper Misao

TJPW’s working relationship with MLW continues into the new year. Hyper Misao has been selected to be Kai’s next challenger for the MLW Featherweight Title.

Also happening on the show is a TJPW offer match between Moka Miyamoto and Nao Kakuta. Miyamoto is only just now starting to wrestle abroad while Kakuta has already done it a few times in 2023. The two matches here are a little glimpse of what TJPW in Philadelphia will look like next April.

GCW “NO COMPADRE”, 12/01/2024
Thalia Hall, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Maki Itoh, Effy & Allie Katch Vs Matt Cardona, Steph de Lander & Broski Jimmy

Itoh and Bussy all share grudges with Matt Cardona & Steph de Lander so it was inevitable that Maki Death Bussy would join forces to take on Deathmatch Royalty. The latest development in the story is Cardona forced Jimmy Lloyd to become his new disciple in GCW, turning Lloyd into Broski Jimmy.

GCW “56 BIRDZ”, 13/01/2024
Valley Dale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Tony Deppen

The day after that Itoh will take on Tony Deppen in a first time match. GCW at times have promoted Deppen as their gatekeeper. A win for Itoh here could be a sign of things to come for her in GCW.

F1RST “WRESTLEPALOOZA – NIGHT 2”, 14/01/2024
First Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

No match announced yet for Itoh’s appearance at F1RST.

SPW “CHAMPIONS NEVER YIELD 2”, 19/01/2024
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Mizuki Vs Alexis Lee
2. SPW Southeast Asia Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Da Butcherman & Dr. Gore

In November 2022 CDK defeated The Horrors to win the SPW Southeast Asia Tag Team Titles. Now after more than a year later comes the rematch. Dr. Gore got to wrestle in Japan for a little while and gain some experience while Da Butcherman kept himself busy in Singapore. There is a chance the match might not go ahead because Chris Brookes had surgery this month to remove a tumor from his abdomen. At the time of writing there is no decision made yet on when he can start wrestling again. But even if he can’t make the trip, Masahiro Takanashi still will.

SPW’s own Alexis Lee continues to be the opponent of choice for joshi coming into Singapore. She lost the Queen Of Asia Title to Yuki Kamifuku last month but is looking to bounce right back with a win against Mizuki.

SETUP “BANGKOK SHOWDOWN”, 20/01/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Kevin Weng & Pondhub Vs Anont Alonzo & Mister Suchart

If CDK can go ahead with travelling together in January then they have a tough challenge waiting for them in Thailand. SETUP is making them defend the IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles in a 3 Way Match against St. John Innocent College and THE GOOD DEAL. CDK won the titles from THE GOOD DEAL in an impromptu match bck in October. But even though the former champions are getting a rematch, they have to share it with St. John Innocent College. That kind of multi-man chaos is an environment that CDK benefits from.

GCW “LOOK AT ME”, 26/01/2024
Egypt Shrine Center, Tampa, Florida, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

What will await Itoh in Florida next month?

BZW “X”, 03/02/2024
Salle Jacques Brel, Faches-Thumesnil, France

1. Yoshihiko Vs X
2. MAO Vs X

MAO is coming to France and he’s brining Yoshihiko with him! Also Minoru Suzuki and KUSHIDA are booked for the show too. Banger Zone Wrestling won’t know what hit them.

TNT EXTREME “MERSEYSIDE MASSACRE”, 04/02/2024
Hanger34, Liverpool, England

1. Yoshihiko Vs X

Yoshihiko heads over to Liverpool the next day for TNT Extreme. Surely not by itself though.

DDT “DDT GOES PHILADELPHIA!”, 04/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

DDT won’t be the only CyberFight presence in Philly that week…

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN PHILLY”, 05/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

… because TJPW is going there too! They will also be part of The Collective which is interesting to note because last time TJPW were with WrestleCon.