BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. 28: BIG BEAT FROM BADSVILLE” Results

February 24, 2026

BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. 28: BIG BEAT FROM BADSVILLE”, 24/02/2026
Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa
??? Fans

1. Special Single Match: Chris Brookes defeated Yuta Oya by Referee Stoppage with the House Piano Death (10:47).
2. Special Single Match: HARASHIMA defeated Kota Sekifuda with the Somato (15:12).
3. Chie Koishikawa, Mr. Bueno & Mr. Malo defeated Dark King Ueki, Princess Ram & Square Kong (w/ Munek) when Malo pinned Ueki after the Mexico Vacation (16:16).
4. Wasabi Cream Puff Death Match: Antonio Honda Vs Miyu Yamashita ended in a Draw after both of them ate a Wasabi Cream Puff (13:22).

Miyu Yamashita was in for a shock when she made her Baka Gaijin + Friends debut. Antonio Honda told her before the main event they they would fight in the dreaded Wasabi Cream Puff Death Match! After every two count fall, the wrestler who was pinned must eat a random cream puff taken from a pan. If it turns out to be a cream puff filled with wasabi (and everyone will be able to tell very easily by the reaction), the wrestler will lose. The environment reminded Yamashita of her early days as a wrestler fighting in small idol concert venues. So when Honda wound himself up for the Bionic Elbow, Yamashita joined in by doing her old Dschinghis Khan dance (the Berryz Kobo version). After a few close calls, the match unexpectedly ended in a draw when Honda and Yamashita tied each other up in a Backslide Pin and both were pinned. They then each ate a cream puff and immediately fled out of the room in despair because it turned out there was wasabi in both of them!

Even though Munek was unable to wrestle due to injury, he still wanted Ueki’s Magic Kingdom to find a princess and hold them hostage. They were easily stopped by the other team. So Dark King Ueki quickly summoned a new ally, an ape named Square Kong! The newcomer went on a rampage until Mr. Bueno slapped him with his glove over and over. Bueno then made his team form a Gundam with Chie Koishikawa so the Magic Kingdom did the same with Princess Ram on top. The Gundam duel went well for Bueno’s team until Munek cast an invisible carrier for them to walk into. At one point during the match Mr. Malo had his poncho pulled over his head. When it was taken off he had is black mask back on and he started fighting his opponents like a rudo. Meanwhile Ueki & Kong ate bananas to power themselves up during the match, including a star banana that Munek gave to Kong that made him strong enough to pull out a barrel and attack the others with it! Bueno & Koishikawa used the barrel against Kong to wipe him out. The match then reached its end when Bueno & Malo did an assisted Codebreaker double team move called the Mexico Vacation onto Ueki.

In some of Kota Sekifuda’s previous Baka Gaijin appearances he would bring along his pet snake to use in his matches. However yesterday he was booked for an All Japan show and they banned him from bringing his snake along, which meant he wasn’t able to bring the snake over to this show either. It resulted in his match with HARASHIMA being a more serious back and forth with both men chopping each other’s chests red. Sekifuda used an Overhead Kick on HARASHIMA but the roll up afterwards ended up with HARASHIMA getting back to his feet and hitting a short range Somato. He then ran across the room to hit a more traditional Somato for the victory.

The big match of the day was put in the opening bout position. Chris Brookes had wanted to wrestle Yuta Oya after hearing the story of him becoming a pro wrestler despite being completely blind. Given the small space of the venue, Oya was capable of fighting Brookes from close range so his lack of sight was not a detriment. He had Chop exchanges with Brookes and got to slam him onto the floor a few times too. Oya also took some Penalty Kicks before catching one so he could Lariat Brookes for a nearfall. Brookes almost beat him with a Piledriver and had to wrap himself around Oya with the Octopus Hold, pulling him down into the House Piano Death until Daisuke Kiso called for the bell and stopped the match. Brookes told everyone that Oya did not give up just like Oya has not given up in life. Oya said he will be going back to wrestle in Nagoya and he will keep training so he can come back to wrestle in Tokyo again.

At the end of the show Brookes had an announcement to make. Today was Sekifuda’s last appearance in Baka Gaijin + Friends! Sekifuda was confused and asked what did Brookes mean by that? Brookes said Sekifuda has lost all of his matches since coming here and isn’t popular judging by how much merch he sells at shows. Brookes also took offence to Sekifuda acting like he is part of the group by pretending he was gifted a Baka Gaijin hoodie when he really just bought one online! Honda assured Sekifuda that as a freelancer he has the ability to respond to this in his own way. Sekifuda decided he will run his own produced show on 19th June in Itabashi! He then asked if he could book Brookes on the show as a way of thanking him for the Baka Gaijin bookings. Brookes doesn’t want to do it alone so he agreed to it if Honda gets booked too. Sekifuda accepted and already knows what match to book. Brookes & Honda will face Hideyoshi Kamitani & Daichi Hashimoto in a battle between FANTÔMES DRAMATIC and Big Japan! Brookes was happy with the idea and decided Sekifuda will be allowed back into Baka Gaijin.

The next Baka Gaijin show will take place on 17th March as a joint show with Evil Uno and Mystery Wrestling.


Busy Saturday, Shin Konosuke Returns, Sasaki Heading Overseas In April

January 30, 2026

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE 6TH “FUTARI WA PRINCESS” MAX HEART TOURNAMENT”, 31/01/2026
Shinjuku FACE

1. Hyper Misao Vs Shino Suzuki
2. HIMAWARI Vs Shion Kanzaki
3. Shoko Nakajima, Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro Vs Yuki Arai, Mifu Ashida & Kira Summer
4. Miu Watanabe, Rika Tatsumi & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Miyu Yamashita, Raku & Ren Konatsu
5. MIRAI & Sara Phoenix Vs Toga & Chika Nanase
6. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Semi-Final: Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
7. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Semi-Final: Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Mizuki & Uta Takami

Before any of the matches begin there will be a contract signing between MIRAI and Toga for their International Princess Title match happening next month.

A foot injury for Kaya Toribami has taken her out of action for the next two weeks. She is expected to return in time for the 14th February show. Raku has been moved up to Match #4 and the teams have been rejigged a little to make the change fit.

GANBARE☆PRO “NEW YEAR’S BLUES 2026”, 31/01/2026
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Sentaro Motoshima Vs Akira Shoji
2. Moeka Haruhi Vs Choun Shiryu
3. Yuna Manase & YuuRI Vs Chanyota & Non Toraga
4. Ken Ohka & Mizuki Watase Vs Fuminori Abe & Shota Kawakami
5. Yumehito Imanari & Keisuke Ishii Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Yuya Susumu
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Masaaki Mochizuki (c) Vs Shinichiro Tominaga

At the start of the show Munetatsu Nakamura will be there to give everyone an update on his injury absence.

BASARA “BASARA 298 ~10TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW~”, 31/01/2026
Shinjuku FACE

1. Isami Kodaka & Takeru Inoue Vs Minoru Fujita & Yasu Urano
2. Daichi Kazato Vs Ayato Yoshida
3. GRACE PROJECT Offer Match: Tomoya Hirata, Captain Grace & Violento Jack Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
4. Ryuichi Sekine, Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino Vs Ryota Nakatsu, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida
5. Iron Fist Tag Team Titles: Takumi Tsukamoto & Daiki Shimomura (c) Vs SAGAT & Lil’ Kraken
6. Union MAX Title: Shuji Ishikawa (c) Vs FUMA

And BASARA caps off a busy Saturday for me.

DDT “NEPPA OVER FLOWERS 5 ~THE ONLY SAUNA IN THE WORLD~”, 14/02/2026
Shinjuku FACE

1. Shinya Aoki Vs Hinata Kasai
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shin KONOSUKE TAKESHITA, MAO & Takeshi Masada Vs Danshoku Dieno, Kazuki Hirata & Koju Takeda
3. Special Single Match: Minoru Suzuki Vs To-y

The 37KAMIINA are sparing no expense for their Valentine’s Day produce show. Shin Konosuke Takeshita returns for a special trios match that will also include Koju Takeda from Triple Six. Takeda will be retiring from pro wrestling soon so this seems to be the only way he can reunite with Danshoku Dieno inside a DDT ring. Also does the existence of Shin Konosuke Takeshita mean there now also exists a Shin Kyle Fletcher?

One month into FANTÔMES DRAMATIC and Hinata Kasai is disappointed he hasn’t been able to team with the other members so far since joining. He might have to wait even longer because one of his upcoming matches is a singles bout with Shinya Aoki.

BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. 28: BIG BEAT FROM BADSVILLE”, 24/02/2026
Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa

1. Special Single Match: Kota Sekifuda Vs HARASHIMA
2. Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Miyu Yamashita
3. Special Single Match: Chris Brookes Vs Yuta Oya

Looks like Kota Sekifuda is fully accepted into the Baka Gaijin & Friends space. He and HARASHIMA had some interactions during the Baka Battle Royal in December, the memorable one being HARASHIMA using Sekifuda’s snake to put him in a literal Cobra Twist.

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2026 ~29TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION 5 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 22/03/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Dramatic Dream Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Kazuki Hirata
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs KANON

After having a not so glamorous debut last September, Evil Uno returns to DDT for the 29th Anniversary show hoping to get better circumstances for his match this time.

Daisuke Sasaki will be wrestling overseas during the month of April. At the moment this show is the latest DDT even happening in March so his last match in Japan for the period might be here.


DDT “DRAMATIC INFINITY 2025 ~3 HOUR SPECIAL~” Results

September 28, 2025

DDT “DRAMATIC INFINITY 2025 ~3 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 28/09/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
??? Fans – Unannounced

0. Dark Match: Soma Takao & Rukiya defeated Daichi Sato & Hinata Kasai when Rukiya pinned Kasai with the Proto Bomb (4:47).
1. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki defeated Yuya Koroku with a Triangle Lancer Counter (8:04).
2. Survival 3 Way Tag Match: Akito & Kazuma Sumi defeated Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya and MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) (8:32).
2a. MAO & KANON eliminated Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya when MAO pinned Naya with a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch (6:55).
*MAO wins Yukio Naya’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
2b. Akito & Kazuma Sumi eliminated MAO & KANON when Sumi pinned MAO with the School Boy (8:32).
*Kazuma Sumi wins MAO’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
3. Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida defeated Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Diego when Ishida pinned Honda with the Flame Palm (11:20).
4. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA defeated Evil Uno & Danshoku Dieno when HARASHIMA pinned Dieno with a Jackknife Pin (0:08).
4a. Rematch: Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA defeated Evil Uno & Danshoku Dieno when HARASHIMA pinned Dieno with the Somato (5:43).
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno, To-y & Kaisei Takechi defeated Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion when Takechi pinned Ilusion with a Swan Dive Forearm (18:47).
*Yuki Ueno, To-y & Kaisei Takechi become the 59th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
6. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) defeated Takeshi Masada with the Sleeper Hold (13:06).
*V5 for Minoru Suzuki.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazuki Hirata (c) defeated Yoshihiko with an Avalanche Rolling Power Bomb (15:42).
*V2 for Kazuki Hirata.
-. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno defeated Kazuki Hirata (c) with the WR (6:47).
*Kazuki Hirata fails in V3. Yuki Ueno cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover. Yuki Ueno becomes the 88th KO-D Openweight Champion!
-. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Kazuma Sumi with the WR (12:02).
*V1 for Yuki Ueno. Kazuma Sumi cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.

From this point on no matter what happens with DDT, we will always have the September of Kazuki Hirata. He had it all going for him today. He was headlining a packed Korakuen Hall show in a KO-D Openweight Title defence against his most unique rival Yoshihiko. The battle doll used multiple German Suplexes to throw the champion around and also strategically targeted his arm with submissions. But Hirata held on and started using Power Bombs to beat Yoshihiko to a pulp, putting an end to the match with a Somersault Power Bomb from the top rope as some over the top tribute to the Kobe World Liner spot. Things could not have been going better for our good pal Hirata. Yoshihiko even applauded his victory and brought a gift to congratulate Hirata on his victory.

Hirata was handed over a cardboard box and inside it was a special bag made out of Haribo packaging. Hirata grabbed a bag inside a pulled it out, slowly revealing the Blue Right To Challenge Arm Cover was attached to it. As Hirata started to realize what was happening, behind him the black shadow that normally accompanies Yoshihiko placed the doll out of the ring and unmasked himself to reveal it was Yuki Ueno and this was him cashing in his title shot! Ueno grabbed Hirata in a Sleeper Hold and then confirmed he was getting his title match right now. Hirata did his best to survive and was able to kick out of Ueno’s moves. He also pulled out the Miracle One Shot Cradle but this time Ueno kicked out of it. Hirata tried using the move again and again but each repeated use became less effective until he reached the point of exhaustion. Ueno held up Hirata in something of a hug before using the WR to pin him and win back the KO-D Title.

And yet it didn’t end there. While Ueno and Hirata were patching things over, Kazuma Sumi suddenly ran down to the ring and launched a Missile Dropkick towards Ueno. He was armed with the last remaining Right To Challenge sleeve and was cashing it in so everyone in attendance was getting a second bonus KO-D Title match! Sumi came close to winning with a Canadian Destroyer followed by the School Boy. He also used an Imploding 450 Splash but Ueno kicked out of that too. Ueno halted Sumi’s drive with Dropkicks to the face along with the Himawari Bomb. It took the WR for him to put Sumi away and already score his first title defence right after he just won the belt. Ueno said this match made him feel just as happy as any of the other opponents he has defended the KO-D Title against in the past. Sumi explained it’s been three years since he debuted and he always wants to immediately take any opportunity that presents itself. So today his body felt like it moved on its own and he poured everything he had into this chance to become the champion.

So that’s it for this year’s Right To Challenge series. All four arm sleeves have been used and in the end Ueno is the last man standing with the KO-D Title. However a new challenger did make himself known. Minoru Suzuki entered the ring carrying the DDT Universal Title. He doesn’t have any automatic title shots but he still wants to take the KO-D Title for himself! Ueno told him this must be a coincidence going on because he also wants to take back the Universal Title from Suzuki! The two talked about having a match straight away until Hisaya Imabayashi interrupted them. The GM told them the show was running out of time but if they really want to do this match then it should be a double title bout at Sumo Hall on 3rd November! Suzuki gave a warning that he is close to completely dominating DDT. Ueno spoke about his mistake of inviting Suzuki to DDT in the first place and ever since then one of his goals has been to avenge that loss. He’ll make sure Suzuki won’t dominate DDT and will be driven out empty handed.

Suzuki’s path of domination through DDT happened in the semi-main event (which at this point was now three matches ago) when he put Takeshi Masada through misery. Suzuki brushed off the challenger’s early attacks and knocked him dizzy with a steel post attack outside the ring. He also attacked Masada with chairs and even a wrench before Masada made a comeback which included using moves from the other members of SCHADENFREUDE International. However Suzuki grabbed him in a Sleeper Hold to drain the energy out of his opponent until Masada gave up. Suzuki added insult to injury after the match by telling Masada he better put his life on the line if he’s ever going to pick a fight with him. A beaten Masada tried to get back at Suzuki but got another Elbow Strike for his troubles before being taken away. Suzuki explained backstage that he cannot be beaten with just brute force alone. You need to put your soul on the line from the moment you step into the ring, just like he does. Meanwhile Masada said he isn’t giving up and will definitely have another go at Suzuki.

The rise of “The Rampage” continues although he picked up some more noticeable bumps and bruises along the way. Today Kaisei Takechi has won his first pro wrestling championship! He teamed with Ueno & To-y from The 37KAMIINA to fight DAMNATION T.A over the vacant KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. The belts were vacated by DAMNATION T.A when Daisuke Sasaki got injured but Sasaki was at ringside for the match looking over his team. Hideki Okatani is really trying to establish himself as Takechi’s main enemy by attacking him with the bamboo stick while Sasaki hit Takechi’s leg with a chair next to the corner post. Sasaki also saw fit to attack Takechi in the ring with a chair but things went wrong for the heels when Ilusion missed the Swanton Bomb and was then hit with Okatani’s bamboo stick by accident. Takechi took control while his partners held Okatani & MJ Paul back. Then with one Swan Dive Forearm strike, Takechi pinned Ilusion to become a champion! He called the match the toughest fight he ever had and he’ll bring his title belt back to the LDH HQ so his boss can touch it. His next match in DDT will be at Korakuen on 19th October and DDT are hinting it will be the champion team’s first title defence. Ueno also mentioned to To-y & Takechi that there’s a fun idea he wants to do with them and the titles but he’ll talk to them later about it.

Evil Uno’s DDT debut came and went before he could even get into the ring. As he was making his entrance, his tag partner Danshoku Dieno decided to attack HARASHIMA straight away only to get rolled up in a Jackknife and get pinned. Imabayashi was furious because it’s bad enough when Hirata matches end like this but now it’s spreading to the rest of the locker room! This was an AEW star making his first appearance in DDT so he isn’t going to let anyone ruin it! Imabayashi apologized to Uno and allowed him to complete his entrance before the rematch began. HARASHIMA almost pinned Dieno again but Uno was there to break it up this time. Dieno was later put in the Hell Gate position with his rear end exposed but when Uno was thrown face first into it, his mask protected him from the exposure. So Jun Akiyama grabbed him by the mask, pulled it up past Uno’s mouth and shoved him back into Dieno’s hell gate. This time Uno was in danger and he fled the ring while HARASHIMA pinned Dieno with the Somato. Uno was in disbelief backstage. He came to DDT wanting to fight HARASHIMA & Akiyama but all he got out of it was the taste of rotten cheese stuck in his mouth!

A visiting Diego joined SCHADENFREUDE International’s side for today so there could be three of them to take on Harimao in a 6-Man Tag Match. It was also a warm up for Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida to get ready for their KO-D Tag Team Titles shot on 19th October. Antonio Honda used Gongitsune to stun the Harimao team and then got his own partners to join in the Bionic Elbow. But all of Harimao dodged the move and made the other team flinch with hand claps. Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura hit Honda with a Cross Bomber but Ishida failed to follow up by missing the Dosukoi Splash. Chris Brookes & Diego dealt damage to Ishida and left things up to Honda. But Ishida blocked Honda’s Diving Fist Drop and eventually pinned him with the Flame Palm. Ishida said he isn’t going to let this momentum stop. He is definitely going to win the tag titles with Higuchi!

The Survival 3 Way Match ended up playing a part in how the show ended the way it did. The rules allowed one wrestler from each team to be in the ring at all times and there were No Tag rules applied too for partners to swap in and out. The Apex were the first team eliminated despite being the KO-D Tag Champions. Strange Love Connection took out Yuki Iino with the Lariat-McEnroe combination but Yukio Naya gave KANON the Choke Slam. Sumi rolled up Naya with a School Boy only for KANON to push him away. MAO then pounced in and got Naya in his own roll up to get the three count! Since Naya was a Right To Challenge holder at the time that meant MAO had now won it off him. But the match was still continuing with SLC having to fight Akito & Sumi. MAO tried to vault over the referee to give Sumi a Cutter but Sumi instead turned it into a School Boy slam to pin him out of nowhere and win the Arm Cover!

The decision to have Yuya Koroku face Shinya Aoki one on one made more sense when it was announced the two of them would be teaming up at “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” to take on a NOAH team led by Tetsuya Endo. This single match was Koroku and Aoki going tit for tat against each other with the two impressing each other along the way. Koroku countered the European Clutch into a German Suplex and then went for the Triangle Lancer. But Aoki used his grappling knowledge to cradle his way out of the hold and pin Koroku for the victory.

In the dark match Rukiya took his first step of progress since coming back from injury by picking up the win for his team. Soma Takao wanted to teach Hinata Kasai how to get the crowd excited for the first match of the show but got more than he bargained for when Daichi Sato stepped in to face him. Rukiya was able to beat Kasai for the win but it took him using the Proto Bomb twice to get the pinfall after Kasai kicked out of it the first time.


Ram Added To Battle Royal, Hirata Chooses His Eternal Rival, Okatani’s Hardcore Birthday Present

September 16, 2025

DDT “KIRANAH BBQ ROJO PRO WRESTLING 2025 ~ MEAT! BEER! HARVEST FESTIVAL!~”, 17/09/2025
Tokyo Kiranah Garden Toyosu

1. Falls Count Anywhere 6 Way Tag Match: Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata Vs Yukio Naya & Yuya Koroku Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Yuki Ueno & Kazuma Sumi Vs Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu

There will be a contract signing for the next KO-D Openweight Title match taking place during the day. Also the two remaining Right To Challenge Arm Cover holders Yukio Naya and Yuki Ueno are in the match alongside Kazuki Hirata so the champion better watch out!

BASARA “BASARA 288 ~UTAGE~”, 17/09/2025
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Takeru Inoue Vs Tomoki Hatano
2. Takato Nakano Vs Gouma Ryu
3. Ryota Nakatsu, Daichi Kazato & Guts Ishijima Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, Masato Kamino & Tsutomu Oosugi
4. 3 Way Tag Match: Isami Kodaka & Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Ryuichi Sekine & FUMA Vs Daiki Shimomura & Lil’ Kraken
5. Iron Fist Tag Team Titles: Kengo Mashimo & Ayumu Honda (c) Vs SAGAT & Minoru Fujita

This is the match order for tomorrow’s BASARA show.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS VI”, 20/09/2025
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium

1. Suzume & Ren Konatsu Vs Mei Suruga & Uta Takami
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Staggered Entry Battle Royal: Pokotan (c) Vs Raku Vs Pom Harajuku V Mahiro Kiryu Vs Shino Suzuki Vs Mifu Ashida Vs Kira Summer Vs Chika Nanase Vs Ram Kaichow
3. Aja Kong Vs HIMAWARI
4. Rika Tatsumi Vs Priscilla Kelly
5. Hiroyo Matsumoto & Yuki Arai Vs Haru Kazashiro & Toga
6. Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami Vs Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino
7. International Princess Title Match: Arisu Endo Vs Jada Stone
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miu Watanabe

There was an expectation from Tokyo Joshi Pro that someone will want to be added to the Battle Royal and their suspicion was proved correct. Ram Kaichow is entering the match and TJPW is also anticipating she will together a plan to win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title before the match even begins, just like the last time she was here.

DDT “DRAMATIC INFINITY 2025 ~3 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 28/09/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Soma Takao & Rukiya Vs Daichi Sato & Hinata Kasai
1. Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida Vs Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Diego
2. Survival 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Akito & Kazuma Sumi
3. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Yuya Koroku
4. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA Vs Evil Uno & Danshoku Dieno
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Yuki Ueno, To-y & Kaisei Takechi
6. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs Takeshi Masada
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazuki Hirata (c) Vs Yoshihiko

After the events of Monday, Hirata decided to nominate his “eternal rival” Yoshihiko as his mandatory KO-D Title challenger for the end of the month. Also added to the card is the DDT debut of Evil Uno from AEW. Is Danshoku Dieno a good fit for The Dark Order? Is Uno prepared for how hard Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA are going to hit him?

DDT “CHARISMANIAxMANIAxMANIA”, 02/10/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Hardcore Match: Jun Kasai Vs Hideki Okatani
2. TOGO FAMILY Vs DDT: Dick Togo, Yasu Urano, KUBITO & Diego Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ueno, HARASHIMA & Akito
3. Daisuke Sasaki 20th Anniversary Match: Daisuke Sasaki & El Desperado Vs Shuji Ishikawa & Antonio Honda

Even though Hideki Okatani’s birthday isn’t until November, Daisuke Sasaki got him an early present anyway. He’s going to fight Jun Kasai in a Hardcore Match!

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW INSPIRATION”, 19/11/2025
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Kaya Toribami Vs Toga
2. Rika Tatsumi Vs Gabai Ji-chan
3. Mizuki & Yuki Aino Vs Raku & HIMAWARI
4. Shoko Nakajima & Miyu Yamashita Vs Yuu & Yuki Kamifuku

We’re going to see Rika Tatsumi strangle an elderly man to death, aren’t we? Be nice around Gabai Ji-chan, Rika. He’s frail.


DDT Around The World – May 2025

June 1, 2025

Can’t say this month has been a quiet one. Konosuke Takeshita had a lot of TV time with AEW and we even got the lovely announcement that he’s married to Yuka Sakazaki. All of Takeshita’s work this month revolves around The Don Callis Family, yes even the American New Japan appearance. The group in its current form is nailing it at the moment with good tag matches week to week and the presence of Don Callis himself is not as overwhelming as it was before. I bet over the coming months Takeshita’s schedule will gradually switch from AEW over to New Japan as we walk through the Forbidden Door and approach the G1 season.

May saw Maki Itoh finish up her remaining dates in America before she travelled back home to rejoin Tokyo Joshi Pro. She has another tour lined up during the Tokyo Princess Cup so the Americans won’t be missing her for long. Miyu Yamashita is entering the second half of her excursion and her schedule is definitely keeping her busy. She’s bouncing back and forth from America to Canada and even found time to visit Italy. Her matches in the Upcoming Appearances section below are not all of the bookings she has left. She included a few unlabeled dates in her schedule on Twitter and it’s pretty easy to find online that they are for GCW’s sister promotion JCW. However JCW themselves haven’t announced her for anything yet so I left them off this post. As you’ll see at the very end, there is always a possible booking cancellation that could happen at any time.

TJPW’s grip on the Southeast Asian scene took something of a hit because Yuki Kamifuku and Raku both lost all of the SEA championships this month. It’s likely not the end of TJPW working with companies from Thailand and Singapore but for now the focus looks to be moving towards the new relationship with Major League Wrestling in America. MLW is currently going through a roster shuffle too with a good amount of contracts not being renewed and some new talent coming in to fill those emptying spots. TJPW may just be used as a temporary solution to fill in the gap but they’ll benefit from it for as long as it lasts.

The thing to watch for in the next month or two is how often Sakazaki will get to wrestle, whether it’s on the indies or if she can get booked in AEW/ROH again. I hear rumours every now and then that there’s an injury clearance issue going on with her. But it wouldn’t make sense if AEW uses that as a reason to keep her on the shelf only to let her go wrestle somewhere else. They haven’t like it in the past when their wrestlers got injured on another promotion’s show.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “COLLISION”, 08/05/2025
Masonic Temple Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, USA

1. Evil Uno & Alex Reynolds Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander (w/ Don Callis)


HOG “WAGING WAR”, 09/05/2025
Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. HOG Women’s Title: Indi Hartwell Vs Miyu Yamashita


AEW “DYNAMITE – BEACH BREAK”, 14/05/2025
NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA

1. Will Ospreay & Hangman Page Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander


AEW “COLLISION”, 22/05/2025
Rio Rancho Events Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero (w/ Lance Archer) Vs Bandido, Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd


AEW “COLLISION”, 31/05/2025
El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero Vs Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Tomohiro Ishii

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Results


TOP TALENT “LIVE AT MIDWAY MUSIC HALL”, 02/05/2025
Midway Music Hall, Edmonton, Canada

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Ava Lawless (?:??).

We start off over in Canada where Yamashita headlined a Top Talent Wrestling show against Ava Lawless. The Canadian knew it was going to be a big test for her and she embraced it but Yamashita came out on top.


HOODSLAM “PHANTASMAGORIA”, 02/05/2025
Continental Club, Oakland, California, USA

1. GLAMpionship: MacDaddy MYLO (c) (w/KEiTA) defeated Maki Itoh with a School Boy (?:??).
*V6 for MacDaddy MYLO.

On the same night one country away, Itoh was main eventing a show of her own with her return to Hoodslam. She was getting a shot at the GLAMpionship, a title that was originally created for the promotion’s sub-brand GLAM but made its way over to the regular shows. MacDaddy MYLO attacked her before she could finish her entrance but made the mistake of slamming her head into the turnbuckles which had no effect. Itoh’s momentum was cut off when MYLO pulled the ref into her way and then jumped in to do a Cutter. Itoh made another comeback only for KEiTA to interfere on the champion’s behalf. Itoh fought them both off and put MYLO in the Itoh Deluxe but KEiTA distracted the ref so she wouldn’t see MYLO tap out. Itoh got rid of KEiTA again but MYLO rolled her up in a School Boy to steal the win.


GCW “CRAZY SCARY SPOOKY HILARIOUS”, 03/05/2025
Ukrainian Culture Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Maki Itoh with the Skull Kick (13:23).

The day after that Yamashita and Itoh’s paths crossed over in GCW. The two of them were heading into a big weekend where they both had title matches to prepare for. But before any of that could happen the two would meet in the ring against each other! Did anyone on GCW commentary know about their history together as 121000000 beyond just them being tag champions a few times? Fucking of course not! At least the fans were super into it. The was the first time Yamashita would face Itoh in a place where Itoh has the home field advantage and while she didn’t go into MDK mode, she was able to put up her biggest fight against Yamashita yet. Even Yamashita seemed to be aware of it because when he knocked down Itoh with the Skull Kick, she ordered the ref to check her for a knockout. The ref dropped Itoh’s arm three times but on the third Itoh kept her hand up and raised a middle finger to the air! She got a second wind and almost scored the victory she waited so long for by countering the Attitude Adjustment into a Small Package. But Yamashita kicked out and nailed another Skull Kick to increase her singles match record with Itoh to 10-0. There was no hard feelings over the result and 121000000 shook hands afterwards.


GCW “WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU”, 04/05/2025
Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. JCW World Title: Masha Slamovich (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the White Knight Driver (10:13).
*V36 for Masha Slamovich.
2. GCW World Title: Effy (c) defeated Maki Itoh with a Spinning Tombstone Piledriver (12:08).
*V16 for Effy.

Well if plan of having iron sharpen iron was to result in championship wins it didn’t work out here. Itoh finished up her latest excursion by getting a shot at the GCW World Title held by Effy before she went home. Effy lightened the mood by singing “Mandy” on the microphone but changed the lyrics to be about Maki. She didn’t like it and told him to stop but that made Effy start to cry. It was all a trap to for Effy to get the one up on Itoh but she quickly escaped and turned the tables. She did a Diving Cross Body from the top rope to Effy outside the ring. Effy brought in chairs and ended up getting Choke Slammed onto one by Itoh! She also kicked out of a Spear at one and sliced Effy’s forehead open with her pizza cutter. Despite all that Effy countered the I.S.D by catching her in mid-air. He then spun it around into a Tombstone Piledriver to get the win.

Also on the show Yamashita challenged Masha Slamovich for the JCW Title in a continuation of their international rivalry. It was an even matchup but just like in Las Vegas last month, Slamovich got Yamashita in the White Knight Driver for the three count. Yamashita slapped away the champion’s hand after the match but immediately offered a handshake of her own, which Slamovich accepted.


AEW “COLLISION”, 08/05/2025
Masonic Temple Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander (w/ Don Callis) defeated Evil Uno & Alex Reynolds when Alexander pinned Reynolds with the C4 Spike (2:30).

Even though Takeshita was already eliminated from the Owen Hart Cup last month, this month he was still in orbit of the tournament. His new tag team with Josh Alexander in The Don Callis Family were set up for a match against the two wrestlers who reached the final. So for a warm up match they went and destroyed two members of The Dark Order in quick fashion on Collision. Alexander picked up Evil Uno and with Takeshita did a Doomsday Jumping Knee to the masked man. Then they smashed Alex Reynolds with a Double Elbow Strike to the head before Alexander pinned him with the C4 Spike.


HOG “WAGING WAR”, 09/05/2025
Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. HOG Women’s Title: Indi Hartwell defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Full Nelson Facebuster (12:13).
*Indi Hartwell becomes the 8th HOG Women’s Champion!

The stakes were raised for Yamashita’s return to House Of Glory. Right before her match with Indi Hartwell began the HOG commissioner Jason Solomon walked out and announced that the HOG Women’s Title held by Megan Bayne had been vacated. He then announced that this match would determine the new champ! Yamashita had the end of the match under control until Hartwell ducked the Skull Kick and planted her with a Full Nelson Facebuster to win the match out of nowhere and become champion.


NJPW “RESURGENCE”, 09/05/2025
Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA

1. NEVER Openweight Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) (w/ Rocky Romero) defeated El Phantasmo with the Raging Fire (17:48).
*V6 for KONOSUKE TAKESHITA.

Rocky Romero’s involvement with Takeshita in the NJPW USA shows have become a little more clearer now that Romero is part of The Don Callis Family. He accompanied Takeshita for his NEVER Openweight Title defence against El Phantasmo. It couldn’t reach the heights of last year’s G1 match but ELP still did a massive Thunderkiss ’86 dive to Takeshita into the front row, landed a Cutthroat Driver for a nearfall and also gave Takeshita a Piledriver on the ring apron. ELP had the win in his grasp when Romero pulled the referee out of the ring during a pinfall. ELP got some measure of revenge on Romero by Power Bombing him through a table but that gave Takeshita time to recover and pin ELP with the Raging Fire. There is growing respect between the two because they shook hands after the match.


MAPLE LEAF PRO “NORTHERN RISING”, 10/05/2025
Mattamy Athletic Centre, Toronto, Canada

1. Serena Deeb defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Detox (12:55).

Yamashita travelled back up to Canada for another appearance in Maple Leaf Pro. There she faced Serena Deeb who was making her third appearance in a row for the promotion. Yamashita hit the Skull Kick but Deeb made sure to topple out of the ring to avoid getting pinned. When she was put back in the ring, Deeb pushed Yamashita into the ref and then hit her from behind with a Chop Block. She then pinned her with the Detox, which is Deeb’s arm trapped Styles Clash kind of finisher.


MLW “AZTECA LUCHA”, 10/05/2025
Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated Delmi Exo (?:??).
*V1 for Shoko Nakajima.

Right, here’s the funny thing about MLW. Their shows nowadays are one half live iPPV and the other half TV tapings for the upcoming month. That’s not unusual for wrestling but barely anyone who goes to MLW shows cares about spoiling the tapings part. Shoko Nakajima’s appearance on the live PPV was just to be seen sitting in the front row to hype up her next MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title defence. That match is a rematch with Delmi Exo that will air on MLW’s TV show in June. I couldn’t find any result or talk of the rematch online anywhere and the only reason we know Nakajima is still the champion is because she brought the belt back to Japan with her. Once the match airs I’ll come back and write this with any necessary corrections included. Like I don’t know, maybe they went to a 60 minute draw. I can’t prove they did but you can’t prove they didn’t either.


AEW “DYNAMITE – BEACH BREAK”, 14/05/2025
NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA

1. Will Ospreay & Hangman Page defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander (w/ Don Callis) when Page pinned Alexander after the Buckshot Hidden Blade (18:34).

The two Owen Hart Cup finalists Will Ospreay & Hangman Page had to team up before their big PPV match. They needed to be on the same page because Takeshita & Alexander were coming after them like a well oiled machine. There was some communication between them to set things up but it still led to moments where Page almost hit Ospreay with the Buckshot Lariat and Ospreay almost hit Page with the Hidden Blade. But something eventually clicked between the two and they combined their finishers Kinnikuman style on Alexander to get the victory.


GCW “BIG TIME”, 17/05/2025
RJ Meyer Arena, Joppa, Maryland, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Marcus Mathers with the Crash Rabbit Heat (21:02).

Plans changed for Yamashita’s next match in GCW. She was supposed to face Tony Deppen but instead her opponent was Marcus Mathers. The match featured quite a bit of mat work with Mathers looking for spots to take Yamashita into an Ankle Lock. Yamashita also found herself getting thrown around more often than she would back in TJPW. Mathers press dropped her onto the ring apron and tried to do a Power Bomb but it was countered into a Sunset Flip. When Mathers went more high risk he paid for it by springboarding into a glancing Skull Kick for a nearfall. By that point Yamashita knew she had Mathers where she wanted him and wore him down with kicks before pinning him with the Crash Rabbit Heat.


GCW “RUN FOR IT”, 18/05/2025
Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, New York, USA

1. Billie Starkz defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Victory Roll Reversal (10:34).

Yamashita’s final GCW appearance for the month (probably because it was also the last GCW show of the month) was also the fourth singles meeting with Billie Starkz. It turns out Starkz has become a very slippery opponent for Yamashita to beat nowadays because this match was her third defeat in a row to her. Yamashita got a nearfall with an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment and continued the pressure after that but Starkz ended up reversing a Victory Roll to get the three count out of nowhere.


AEW “COLLISION”, 21/05/2025 (Aired 22/05/2025)
Rio Rancho Events Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero (w/ Lance Archer) defeated Bandido, Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd when Takeshita pinned Floyd with the Bastard Driver (9:35).

More shuffling going around within The Don Callis Family yet things look so similar. Trent Beretta is back from injury and has reunited with Rocky Romero. Their Roppongi Vice team in New Japan is now conveniently renamed RPG Vice in AEW. They and Takeshita were put together for a trios match against the wild combination of Bandido and The Outrunners. During the madness Takeshita used a well timed Jumping Knee Strike to make Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd clash into each other. Then at ringside Lance Archer wiped out Bandido so the rest of The Family had the coast clear to finish things off.


MKW “BATTLE OF THE DECADE”, 24/05/2025
Dongxin Plaza, Beijing, China

1. Yuki Kamifuku & Chen Wenbin defeated Alexis Lee & Big Sam when Kamifuku pinned Lee with the Diving Famouser (?:??).

Now let’s head over to Asia to see what some of the other TJPW wrestlers have been up to. Middle Kingdom Wrestling in China brought in Yuki Kamifuku for a mixed tag match with Alexis Lee on the other team, making it a preview for their big title match happening in Singapore one week later. Kamifuku was teaming up with Chinese wrestler Chen Wenbin while Lee had a big British brute named Big Sam as her tag partner. Sam was too strong to a fault because he ended up missing Wenbin and Clotheslining Lee off the ring apron by mistake. Kamifuku by herself couldn’t hurt Big Sam but Wenbin was there to help her out when needed. Things also went wrong for Sam when his manager messed up a pin break and stomped on him, allowing the other team to charge in and Double Big Boot Sam out of the ring. Lee tried to get her hands on Kamifuku afterwards but Kamifuku got the better of her, winning the match with the Diving Famouser.


SAJ “HUNTER’S NET”, 24/05/2025
Via Dante 72, Sporting Cesate, Milan, Italy

1. 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Irene and Session Moth Martina (?:??).

Yamashita can now scratch Italy off her growing list of countries she’s wrestled in. SAJ Wrestling brought her in for a 3 Way Match against Italy’s own Irene and the Irish wrestler Session Moth Martina. The latter was really looking forward to this because she was meant to face Yamashita at EVE earlier in the year but she had to cancel it due to illness. Yamashita also tweeted that her first time in Italy was an incredible experience.


AEW “DOUBLE OR NOTHING”, 25/05/2025
Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, Arizona, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher & Josh Alexander defeated Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly when Fletcher pinned O’Reilly with (12:48).

Takeshita and co. were put in the unenviable position of following the annual Anarchy In The Arena match. They all did alright given the circumstances. Takeshita has crossed paths with Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly before but not when all three have been together as Paragon. In fact the previous times Takeshita has been in the ring with Strong was as tag partners. The Don Callis Family ended up isolating O’Reilly and left it to Kyle Fletcher to finish him off. The Family continued the attack after the match until an unlikely trio of wrestlers came to the rescue. Hiroshi Tanahashi made a suprise appearance leading Tomohiro Ishii & Brody King to the ring to chase off The Family. It’s all to set up the next “FORBIDDEN DOOR” that will be held in England this year. It’s since been confirmed that the show will feature Tanahashi’s final wrestling match in the UK before he retires. Could Takeshita become a part of it just like he was for Tanahashi’s last USA match?


AEW “COLLISION”, 28/05/2025 (Aired 31/05/2025)
El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero defeated Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Tomohiro Ishii when Takeshita pinned Ishii with the Raging Fire (10:18).

Chaos broke out from the get go when The Don Callis Family attacked their opponents from behind only for Paragon & Ishii to bring the fight to them outside the ring. Don Callis also briefly got away from the commentary table to deliver a cheap shot. Takeshita and Ishii threw bombs at each other until Takeshita pushed Ishii into the ref. That allowed Romero to Low Blow Ishii from behind so Takeshita could pin him with the Raging Fire.


SPW “MAYHEM”, 30/05/2025
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Queen Of Asia Title: Alexis Lee defeated Yuki Kamifuku (c) (?:??).
*Yuki Kamifuku fails in V7. Alexis Lee becomes the 6th Queen Of Asia Champion!

The Queen Of Asia has been defeated. Long live the new Queen Of Asian Champion! Lee wanted one more shot at Kamifuku’s title in SPW and was willing to put up the biggest gamble of her life to do it. She promised to put her career on the line and retire from wrestling if she couldn’t take the title from Kamifuku! The bet paid off because Lee was able to get the win and become a two time Queen Of Asia Champion. Thing along with Kamifuku losing the VPW Women’s Title in TJPW earlier in the month brings her Southeast Asian dominance to an end, maybe just for the time being.


SETUP “THE FALLEN KINGDOM”, 31/05/2025
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Matcha defeated Raku (c) with the Stunner (?:??).
*Raku fails in V2. Matcha becomes the 4th SETUP All Asia Women’s Champion!

The good folks at SETUP have kept me up to date on Raku’s return to Thailand this month which I appreciate greatly. Matcha wanted a chance to win back the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title she lost to TJPW and would get it with Raku coming over to defend it. But Raku had a devious plan put in place to give her the advantage. When Matcha was in Japan for a TJPW tour, Raku purposely sang “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” to her her backstage to send her to sleep. Raku then sent a recording of the song over to the SETUP dojo, making everyone over there who played it fall asleep on the spot. SETUP staff also told me that Raku played the same prank on a delivery driver on Matcha’s birthday so her birthday cake would never arrive! So Matcha tried to fight fire with fire by bringing along a certain kind of pillow and mat used in Thailand for Raku to lie on. Raku almost fell asleep but had the awareness to roll up Matcha when she tried to pin her. The two proceeded to wrestle the match using the mat as a weapon on each other, mostly by one bundling up the other in the mat to try and immobilize them. When it came down to the final moments of the match, Matcha countered Raku’s Doctor Yellow into the Last Rights. After that she hit the Stunner to win and regain her championship! Raku was upset to lose the title but Matcha made it up to her after the match by giving her the pillow to bring home as a keepsake. Raku may have also got to sing Zack Sabre Jr. to sleep at the merch table as the main photo at the top of the article suggests.

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Upcoming Appearances


NEW TEXAS PRO “BAT CITY”, 01/06/2025
Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA

1. Charity King & AQA Vs VertVixen & Yuka Sakazaki

There was only one previous time when VertVixen & Yuka Sakazaki were in the ring together and it was for an AEW Dark match. They meet again for Sakazaki’s return to the American indies, this time teaming together over at New Texas Pro. Someone in this match who is also getting attention is AQA. She was seen as an exciting prospect on the indies a few years ago and even signed a deal with AEW (she got the graphic and everything) but unexpectedly quit the business only a few months later. All of a sudden New Texas Pro announced her return and this is going to be her first match back in three years. Charity King will be there to lend her a helping hand for the comeback.


KITSUNE “GOING BACK TO SAN DIEGO”, 07/06/2025
Primal Compound, San Diego, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Zara Zakher
2. Vipress & Hudson Envy Vs Nagisa Nozaki & Yuna Manase

Not long to go now until Yuna Manase returns for the next weekend of Kitsune shows. Yamashita will be there too.


KITSUNE “8888”, 08/06/2025
South Gate, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Kitsune World Title: Yuna Manase (c) Vs Tae Honma

Manase has a Kitsune World Title defence against Tae Honma lined up while Yamashita won’t know who she faces until the day of the show.


LLL “BUY THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE – NIGHT 1”, 13/06/2025
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Yamashita’s first opponent for her weekend at Lucha Libre & Laughs has not been announced yet.


LLL “BUY THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE – NIGHT 2”, 14/06/2025
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Dark Sheik Vs Miyu Yamashita

But her opponent on the second night is already known. It’s Dark Sheik!


GCW “BANGIN’ IN LITTLE ROCK”, 20/06/2025
The Hall, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

It won’t be until them middle of the month when Yamashita jumps back into GCW. There will be a couple of both new and familiar faces showing up by then, giving Yamashita a few potentially fresh opponents.


GCW “TAKE A PICTURE”, 22/06/2025
The Truman, Kansas City, Missouri, USA

1. GCW Tag Team Titles: Jordan Oliver & Alec Price (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Billie Starkz

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em! Yamashita and Starkz are teaming up for a crack at the GCW Tag Team Titles currently held by Jordan Oliver & Alec Price. This could be Yamashita’s last chance on this tour to win some gold.


MLW “SUMMER OF THE BEASTS”, 26/06/2025
Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA

1. Wakana Uehara Vs Yuki Kamifuku

The relationship between TJPW and Major League Wrestling will continue with more TJPW wrestlers crossing over to the world that never stops! While Nakajima is defending MLW’s Women’s Title in Japan, TJPW will be sending over Yuki Kamifuku and Wakana Uehara to compete against each other in the MLW ring. Cesar Duran says this is part of a new era for MLW’s women’s division being helmed by Salina de la Renta.


REAPER “REAPER RISING – A KING’S CORONATION”, 27/06/2025
The Pit, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai

This is one of those times when the wrestling promotion in question is so far out of my reach I half consider if it’s someone’s eFed because the info is so sparse. However I can confirm Reaper Wrestling is a real company in Canada. Yamashita will get to face Janai Kai again and she sent a video warning Kai that nothing has changed since the last time they fought each other.


METALMANIA “2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY”, 28/06/2025
Stage 722, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

And the award for the most unlikely place to book Yamashita during her excursion goes to METALMANIA! It’s where you go in Portland to see lucha mix with death metal music. Never would have thought Yamashita to be a headbanger.


SPARK “IGNITE TEXAS”, 29/06/2025
Baytown Community Center, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Yuka Sakazaki Vs X

When was the last time Yamashita and Sakazaki were on the same show together? It wasn’t when Sakazaki graduated from TJPW a year and a half ago, was it? As you can see in the pic above, there’s also some Stardom talent appearing on the show. If SPARK has the pull to put together the tag match I’m thinking of then good job to them.


BZW “LES JEUX SONT FAITS”, 05/07/2025
Casino Barrière de Lille, Lille, France

1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Danny Black & Joe Lando

It’s back to France for a quick summer break. Or maybe not because MAO & Yoshihiko have some business to attend to for their return to Banger Zone Wrestling. British wrestlers Danny Black & Joe Lando have challenged them for the BZW Tag Team Titles. The pair from the CPF (Close Personal Friends) stable held the titles before and are getting this match at the same venue where they lost them.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 1”, 10/07/2025
POST, Houston, Texas, USA

The current lineup “confirmed” for the Texas tour is Maki Itoh, Miyu Yamashita, Miu Watanabe, Suzume, Yuki Arai, Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima, Pom Harajuku, Moka Miyamoto, Arisu Endo, Raku, Shino Suzuki and Yuki Kamifuku.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN HOUSTON – NIGHT 2”, 11/07/2025
POST, Houston, Texas, USA

The only one not “confirmed” yet but still included in the promotional material is Hyper Misao. That might depend on if she recovers from her elbow injury in time.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN DALLAS”, 13/07/2025
The OC, Forney, Texas, USA

The only other thing known about the show lineups right now is each night will have different matches.

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Cancelled Appearances


MPX “METROPLEX WRESTLING”, 31/05/2025
Harwood Road, Bedford, Texas, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Maya World

A cancelled flight prevented Yamashita from travelling to Texas for her first appearance at Metroplex Wrestling. She was meant to fight Maya World at the show and called in a favour to Athena to be her replacement.


PRESTIGE “UNIT3D”, 01/06/2025
Vermont Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Not much to say about this other than I’m including it just for the sake of record. When Yamashita first posted her list of USA bookings she included one for Prestige on 1st June. She later had an update saying the booking was cancelled and she was available for other dates on the weekend. Nothing was said on Prestige’s end but that’s also because they hadn’t at any point promoted she would appear on the show.


DDT Around The World – August 2023

September 1, 2023

As always with this article I start off thinking it is going to be a lighter month than the last until it grows and grows. There are always extra bookings on the horizons whenever the boys and girls from DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro go abroad. August was dominated by two stories in my mind. Konosuke Takeshita wrestling The Golden Lovers in Wembley and Maki Itoh being all over GCW even more so than usual. Other things of note include TJPW announcing its return to America while dipping its toe into China, MAO becoming fast friends with El Desperado and Miyu Yamashita finding herself in ChocoPro territory by virtue of being EVE’s champion. Maybe next month’s article will be the one that finally slows down a little bit.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “DYNAMITE 200”, 02/08/2023
Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida, USA

1. Chris Jericho & Konosuke Takeshita Vs Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia


WRESTLING REVOLVER “HEAT EM UP”, 03/08/2023
Calumet Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA

1. Lucha Street Fight: Gringo Loco Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Video starts at 39:54.
MDRN NMD/GATOH MOVE “CHOCO NIGHT GRAPS!”, 29/08/2023
The Bread Shed, Grosvenor St., Manchester, England

1. Masahiro Takanashi Vs Kid Lykos

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Results


AEW “DYNAMITE 200”, 02/08/2023
Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida, USA

1. Chris Jericho & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia when Jericho pinned Garcia after a Bat Attack from Don Callis (12:21).

As I feared, Takeshita’s storyline with Don Callis was pretty much hijacked by Chris Jericho to set up his own angle with Takeshita’s manager. Takeshita & Jericho teamed up under Callis’s recommendation against two people close to Jericho, Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia. Callis knocked out Garcia with a baseball bat behind the ref’s back and Jericho made the choice to pin him for the victory.


WRESTLING REVOLVER “HEAT EM UP”, 03/08/2023
Calumet Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA

1. Lucha Street Fight: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Gringo Loco with the Diving Senton (14:39).

Takeshita showed up in Wrestling REVOLVER as a short notice replacement for Jon Moxley. His appearance made up for Takeshita’s own cancelled booking with the promotion back in June. Here Takeshita faced Gringo Loco in a Lucha Street Fight. By coincidence one of Loco’s big moves is the Himawari Bomb that Sanshiro Takagi also uses. Takeshita kicked out of the move and then countered a top rope version into a Poison Rana. Loco kicked out of the Powerdrive Knee so Takeshita then took a page out of Moxley’s book by giving Loco the Paradigm Shift. From there Takeshita won with the Diving Senton.


DREAMWAVE “SUMMER SPECTACULAR 2023”, 04/08/2023
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Dreamwave Women’s Title Qualifying Scramble: Zayda Steele defeated Brittnie Brooks, Maki Itoh, B3CCA, Kaia McKenna and Shazza McKenzie when Steele pinned McKenzie after the It’s Brittnie Bitch from Brooks (8:08).

Itoh entered Dreamwave’s 6-Woman Scramble in the hopes of qualifying for their new Women’s Championship. It was first fall to a finish but the ring soon emptied when some of the women, Itoh included got thrown out. She didn’t factor into the finish but would soon find out she had another chance.


DREAMWAVE “THOSE SUMMER NIGHTS”, 05/08/2023
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Dreamwave Women’s Title Qualifying Scramble: Brittnie Brooks defeated Maki Itoh, B3CCA, Kaia McKenna, Maggie Lee and Shelly Benson when Brookes pinned Lee with the It’s Brittnie Bitch (8:08).

The second chance didn’t work out any better for her. Another 6-Woman Scramble was held the next night with some of the same women involved. Itoh tried to submit two opponents at once by giving them a Double Half Crab but it left her vulnerable to a Super Kick. She went to recover outside the ring and couldn’t climb back in time to break the pin.


GCW “NO SIGNAL IN THE HILLS”, 11/08/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. 4 Way Match: Steph De Lander defeated Allie Katch, Maki Itoh and Masha Slamovich when De Lander pinned Itoh with the Fireman’s Carry Facebuster (11:53).

Okay maybe multi-person free for alls are not Itoh’s forte. This one was a bit crazy though. Masha Slamovich had Allie Katch beaten when all of a sudden Blake Christian jumped into the ring and attacked her. Itoh took exception and threw punches at Christian, opening herself up to Steph De Lander giving her an F5-like move to win.


PWG “MYSTERY VORTEX”, 13/08/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Rey Horus (?:??).
2. Evil Uno, Maki Itoh & Aramis defeated Masha Slamovich, Peter Avalon & Látigo (?:??).

Here’s something I never thought I’d write. Maki Itoh did a balcony dive at a PWG show! It’s been rare to see PWG holding shows nowadays but last month they held one of their signature events “MYSTERY VORTEX” where nothing is advertised before hand and fans only know what the matches are when they happen. Itoh was involved in a bizarre mixture of wrestlers in a 6-Person Tag Match. She teamed with Evil Uno & Aramis to beat Masha Slamovich, Peter Avalon & Látigo in a match mixing together AEW, lucha libre and women’s wrestling talent.

Takeshita was also on the show too, beating Rey Horus. I’d call him a PWG regular at this point if they ran shows more often.


KOPW “THE NEW ERA OF CHINESE PRO WRESTLING III”, 19/08/2023
Tianyue Sports City, Nanhai Foshan, Guangdong, China

1. Mizuki defeated Nao Kakuta with the Cutie Special (?:??).

TJPW made their first steps into China when Mizuki and Nao Kakuta were invited to take part in King Of Pro Wrestling. They faced each other in a non-title match and won over the crowd with their back and forth action.


NJPW “LEC PRESENTS ALL STAR JR FESTIVAL USA 2023”, 19/08/2023
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. El Desperado & MAO defeated Nick Wayne & Jordan Oliver when Desperado pinned Oliver with the Pinche Loco (19:14).

The All Star Jr. Festival proved to be such a good idea in Japan that they brought the show over to America. MAO was invited along and got to team with El Desperado. The two of them bonded by playing Dragon Quest V on the flight to America so their team name was DQV. They fought a tag team MAO lost to earlier this year, The East West Express. Both Nick Wayne & Jordan Oliver performed Stereo Springboard Cutters to their opponents but both only got a two count. MAO got rid of Wayne by spiking him onto the canvas with a Spinning Headscissors and Desperado pinned Oliver with the Pinche Loco.


GCW “HOMECOMING – PART 1”, 19/08/2023
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh defeated Matt Cardona & Steph De Lander when Gage & Itoh pinned Cardona & De Lander each with the Kokeshi (11:57).

Months of fights between Maki Death Kill and Deathmatch Royalty led to a climactic battle between them finally happening. Itoh & Nick Gage were finally going to get their hands on Matt Cardona & De Lander with nothing in their way to stop them. Cardona & De Lander made a big entrance out of it, arriving at the venue in the Ecto-1 and wearing Ghostbusters outfits. For you see tonight they were the Deathmatch Busters! The joke blew up in their faces because Maki Death Kill sliced the two of them apart with pizza cutters! Cardona & De Lander tried to Pedigree Gage & Itoh onto thumbtacks but they were both Back Body Dropped onto the pile instead. Gage & Itoh then delivered stereo Kokeshi Headbutts to win the match and possibly put an end to the feud.


IMPACT/NJPW “MULTIVERSE UNITED”, 20/08/2023
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Scramble Match: Chris Sabin defeated Kevin Knight, Frankie Kazarian, BUSHI, YOH, Rich Swann, MAO and El Desperado when Sabin pinned YOH with the Cradle Shock (8:06).

MAO was involved even further with the international Jr. Heavyweight Division action the next night. Impact and New Japan held a co-promoted event and MAO was thrown into an 8-Man Scramble match to open the show. He tried joining forces with Desperado again but the numbers game still proved to be too much for the two of them. Instead Chris Sabin ended up being the last man standing. Well, at least until BUSHI blinded him with Poison Mist after the match.


GCW “HOMECOMING – PART 2”, 20/08/2023
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated B3CCA with the Itoh Deluxe (9:21).

In the first of two singles matches they have coming up together, Itoh beat B3CCA in GCW. Will the result be the same when they have a rematch at MLW next month?


ROW/GCW “GCW VS RENEGADES OF WRESTLING”, 25/08/2023
Roundhouse, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

1. Maki Itoh defeated Charli Evans with the Itoh Deluxe (18:03).

Itoh’s next focus in GCW was their tour of Australia with the Renegades Of Wrestling promotion. On Night 1 Itoh defeated Charli Evans and revealed a new word she learned that Aussies like to call other people. I’m not going to type it out here. It’s difficult enough trying to keep this blog from getting caught in web filters.


ROW/GCW “GCW VS RENEGADES OF WRESTLING”, 26/08/2023
Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

1. ROW Women’s Title: Aysha (c) defeated Maki Itoh with a Double Arm DDT (12:58).
*V3 for Aysha.

The second night featured Itoh challenged Aysha for the ROW Women’s Title. Itoh had the champion beat when she made her tap out to the Itoh Deluxe but Aysha’s cronies at ringside kept distracting the referee so it wouldn’t be seen. Itoh let go of the hold to chase them off but turned around into a Double Arm DDT, stealing the win for Aysha.


GATOH MOVE “CHOCOPRO”, 26/08/2023
The Yard Theatre, London, England

1. Emi Sakura & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Emersyn Jayne & Debbie Keitel (12:53).

Just including this result because Masahiro Takanashi is a DDT guy as well as a ChocoPro regular. I have more to talk about the second show of the double header.


EVE/GATOH MOVE “CHOCOPRO X EVE SUPER SHOW”, 26/08/2023
The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England

1. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Emersyn Jayne with the Crash Rabbit Heat (19:39).
*V8 for Miyu Yamashita.
2. Mei Suruga & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Kanji & Kid Lykos when Suruga pinned Kanji with the Maple Model (11:25).

Being the EVE Champion got Miyu Yamashita to appear on a ChocoPro branded show for the first time. She opened up the show with a title defence against Emersyn Jayne. That match was supposed to happen in July but travel problems for the challenger prevented that from happening. It finally went ahead here and the match turned out to be a violent one. Yamashita was slammed onto the front row of chairs outside the ring and Jayne ended up getting busted open. Jayne did kick out of the Skull Kick, being one of the few people to do so. But Yamashita followed it up with the Crash Rabbit Heat to remain the champion.

One of ChocoPro’s victories on the show against EVE happened when Masahiro Takanashi & Mei Suruga defeated Kid Lykos & Kanji. It was one of the rare times men got to wrestle on an EVE show too.

The show also left with a question of what could have been because Marika Kobashi was planned to compete as an EVE representative. She is currently staying in Scotland but her flight to London was cancelled and she was unable to make it to the show. Part of her apology included regret over not being able to see Yamashita again so I wonder if she was meant to wrestle her instead of Jayne?

I was at this show by the way. Although I admit leaving during the main event in order to catch my train back to the hotel so I missed Emi Sakura’s surprise induction into EVE’s Hall Of Fame at the end.


ROW/GCW “GCW VS RENEGADES OF WRESTLING”, 27/08/2023
Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

1. Maki Itoh defeated Allie Katch with the I.S.D. (11:03).

Itoh bounced back from her failure to win a title by taking on GCW’s own Allie Katch on the final night of the Australian tour. It was another clean victory for Itoh. She seems to have Katch’s number every time they face each other.


AEW “ALL IN LONDON”, 27/08/2023
Wembley Stadium, London, England

1. Jay White, Juice Robinson & Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn) defeated The Golden Elite Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi & Adam Page when Takeshita pinned Omega with a School Boy (20:28).

I was at this show too! Getting to see Takeshita live in front of 80,000+ people in Wembley was great especially since my first time seeing him was in front of 330 people somewhere in Saitama back in 2016. That I got to see him mix it up with The Golden Lovers was a bonus. Even the result went Takeshita’s way. He countered Kota Ibushi’s Kamigoye with a sick looking Jumping Knee Strike of his own. Then when Kenny Omega was dealing with Bullet Club Gold, Takeshita rolled him up with a School Boy to steal the win.


MDRN NMD/GATOH MOVE “CHOCO NIGHT GRAPS!”, 29/08/2023
The Bread Shed, Grosvenor St., Manchester, England

1. Masahiro Takanashi defeated Kid Lykos with the Takatonic (?:??).

ChocoPro’s trip to England ended with a collaboration show alongside Modern Nomad Pro Wrestling. Takanashi took on Lykos again, this time in a singles match and at a venue where there was no wrestling ring. It was a mat wrestling show similar to ChocoPro’s own events in Ichigaya.

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Upcoming Appearances


GCW “SAY YOU WILL”, 01/09/2023
Grand Sports Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

GCW advertised Maki Death Kill as showing up in the show but they won’t be wrestling together. Gage is facing El Hijo del Vikingo while Itoh’s match on the show has not been announced yet.


OTT “WRESTLERAMA”, 02/09/2023
The Warehouse Red Cow, Dublin, Ireland

1. Session Moth Martina & Miyu Yamashita Vs Debbie Keitel & Anita Vaughan

Yamashita is heading over to my neck of the woods in Ireland for OTT. She’s looking forward to it and I bet Itoh told her stories about what Session Moth Martina is like. Debbie Keitel & Anita Vaughan will be there to stop the party though.


MLW “FURY ROAD”, 03/09/2023
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. B3CCA Vs Maki Itoh

Funny stuff that MLW announced this match first then GCW went and did it anyway.


AEW “ALL OUT”, 03/09/2023
United Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Kenny Omega Vs Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis)

It was announced during the “ALL IN” post-show scrum that Omega and Takeshita will face each other this weekend in Chicago at “ALL OUT”.


GCW “CRUSHED UP”, 10/09/2023
Roulette Intermedium, New York City, New York, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Killer Kelly

Itoh’s last match of her current tour is a one on one meeting against Killer Kelly.


PRESTIGE “THE RESPECT ISSUE”, 24/09/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Trish Adora Vs Shoko Nakajima

When Itoh is back in Japan, Shoko Nakajima tags out to be the next one going over to America. It’s all to build up TJPW’s big plan with Prestige as you will see at the bottom of this post.


REPUBLIC OF LUCHA “ROL VI VI VI: LA NOCHE DE WALPURGIS”, 30/10/2023
Republic Of Lucha, South Pasadena, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Penta el Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix Vs Shun Skywalker, Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf

Now isn’t this quite interesting? Takeshita from DDT and Shun Skywalker from Dragongate being pitted against each other. We also have the Lucha Brothers and La Rebelion involved in the match too.


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

TJPW with the help of Prestige is coming back to Los Angeles this December! Announced for the show so far are Itoh, Yamashita, Rika Tatsumi, Mizuki, Taya Valkyrie, Masha Slamovich, Killer Kelly and Sandra Moone.