DDT Around The World – Takeshita’s C2 Adventure

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

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

Blue League

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

———————————————————————–

Videos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DDT Around The World – November 2025

Normally I put together a hastily written intro for these articles but this month I’m starting with some housekeeping. You may notice that not everything that happened in November related to this series has been included in this post. That is because I will be writing up a separate post about Konosuke Takeshita’s matches in this year’s Continental Classic tournament over in AEW. I really enjoy writing about a DDT wrestler’s journey through a round robin tournament and felt it will be better to chart Takeshita’s C2 run that way instead of mixing it in with everyone else. So at some point at the end of the year you can expect to read about “Konosuke Takeshita’s C2 Adventure”!

Next it’s back to the regular programming. Maki Itoh went to wrestle in America again, Tokyo Joshi Pro made more moves with the Southeast Asian scene, Miyu Yamashita trekked off to Europe and Yuka Sakazaki popped up in Ring Of Honor. With all of that now out of the way it will be a much more quiet end to 2025 than I expected with not much on the horizon for now. There may come a time when I get to pause this series if there are no other bookings to follow outside of Takeshita with AEW, Itoh with GCW and the annual WrestleMania Week of shows. I’ll see if that bridge is worth crossing if I ever get to it.

———————————————————————–

Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

AEW “SATURDAY TAILGATE BRAWL – FULL GEAR”, 22/11/2025
Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA

1. CMLL World Trios Titles: Mistico, Mascara Dorada & Neon (c) Vs Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero

Match #2 starts at 12:18. Match #4 starts at 41:58. Match #5 starts at 58:52.
SETUP/IWA THAILAND “A NEW DAWN”, 14/11/2025
TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi
270 Fans

2. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Bangkok Death Match: Matcha (c) Vs Ram Kaichow Vs Pom Harajuku
4. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Andruew Tang & Jake De Leon (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami Vs Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr.
5. Double Main Event I – Ace Vs Ace: Shivam Vs HARASHIMA

HOG “SUPERCLASH”, 15/11/2025
Suffolk Credit Union Arena, Brentwood, New York, USA

1. Shayna Baszler Vs Maki Itoh

Video starts at 1:48:12.
JCW “HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS”, 23/11/2025
The Mecca, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA

1. Beastman Body Slam Challenge: Beastman Vs Juni Underwood, Jeffrey John, Emil Jay, Ryan O’Neill, Jimmy Lloyd, Gabby Forza & Maki Itoh

———————————————————————–

Results

GCW “YOU WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND”, 07/11/2025
The Webster, Hartford, Connecticut, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated Kerry Morton with a School Boy (10:11).

The start of Itoh’s GCW tour could have ended very badly for her if it wasn’t for some help from an unlikely ally. Kerry Morton controlled most of the match and acted obnoxious to Itoh throughout it. He even took Itoh’s pizza cutter and threatened to use it against her when Kerry’s father Ricky Morton approached the ring telling him to stop. Kerry pushed his dad away from the ring apron but Ricky pushed him back, right into a School Boy from Itoh that got her the three count.

GCW “MASSACRE IN MAINE”, 08/11/2025
Yarmouth Amvets, Yarmouth, Maine USA

1. KJ Orso defeated Maki Itoh with the Step Up Double Stomp (9:46).

Itoh showed her perseverance in a match with KJ Orso that she almost could have won. Orso resorted to cheap tricks like using the rope to leverage his pin but he was caught by the ref. Itoh took her shot and tried to put Orso in the Itoh Special but he got out of it by raking Itoh’s eyes and then followed it up by hitting the Step Up Double Stomp for the win. Orso wanted to hurt Itoh even worse with a chair attack after the match but Joey Janela came to the rescue and chased Orso off.

GCW “GREEN MOUNTAINS AND ME”, 09/11/2025
Barre Elks Lodge, Barre, Vermont, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated Selena Hekate with the Itoh Deluxe (6:03).

This GCW show was being held in Vermont where the local promotion Green Mountain Wrestling got involved with the card. Selena Hekate was Itoh’s opponent, wanting to represent the territory against The Cutest In The World. She ended up getting a Headbutt and DDT for her troubles before Itoh tapped her out with the Itoh Deluxe.

SETUP/IWA THAILAND “A NEW DAWN”, 14/11/2025
TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi
270 Fans

2. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Bangkok Death Match: Matcha (c) defeated Ram Kaichow and Pom Harajuku when Matcha pinned Harajuku with the Saito Suplex (9:52).
*V3 for Matcha.
4. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami defeated Andruew Tang & Jake De Leon (c) and Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr. when Toribami pinned Kozo with the Sento Choryu (9:23).
*RGT fails in V1. Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami become the 15th IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Champions!
5. Double Main Event I – Ace Vs Ace: HARASHIMA defeated Shivam with the Somato (12:17).

A report of the show can be found here.

DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GOOD LIFE PRESENTS LOVE & PEACE”, 15/11/2025
JioSpace, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. MYPW Sponsored Match: Fienic Rose & ‘Love Warrior’ Syawal defeated Wonder Boy & Miles Karu when Rose pinned Boy with the Atomic Love Bomb (11:35).
2. Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami defeated Marika Kobashi & Kira Summer when Suzuki pinned Summer with a Belly-To-Belly Suplex (9:45).
3. Sanshiro Takagi, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Emman Azman defeated Chris Brookes, Shota & Jack Alexander when Kawamatsu pinned Shota with the Axe Bomber (15:19).
4. Miu Watanabe, Yuki Arai & Raku defeated Yuki Kamifuku, Mifu Ashida & Poppy Shay when Watanabe pinned Ashida with the Tear Drop (11:37).

A report of the show can be found here.

HOG “SUPERCLASH”, 15/11/2025
Suffolk Credit Union Arena, Brentwood, New York, USA

1. Shayna Baszler defeated Maki Itoh by Referee Stoppage with the Kirifuda Clutch (11:17).

She got choked out but at least Itoh didn’t get her face wrecked by Shayna Baszler. She didn’t take Itoh seriously at first until Itoh got a few slaps to the face on target. Baszler hit her back but dropped her guard for the crocodile tears routine. Once she got back in control, Baszler wrenched Itoh’s arm over and over but then she made the mistake of throwing Itoh head first into the turnbuckle. That fired Itoh up for a comeback, leading to a scramble on the mat as Itoh got Baszler in a Rear Naked Choke instead of the other way around. A falling Head Kick from Baszler backfired as Itoh stumbled into the ropes and from the rebound hit a Kokeshi Headbutt for a nearfall. Itoh then scored big with a Tornado DDT and the Stunner but still couldn’t put Baszler away. Instead grabbed Itoh into a Rear Naked Choke and turned it into the Kirifuda Clutch to squeeze the life out of her until the ref called for the match.

ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB – BLACK FRIDAY”, 19/11/2025 (Aired 28/11/2025)
Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Round 1: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Serena Deeb with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (10:31).

After all that wait, was it worth it in the end? Eh, maybe. The ROH Pure Wrestling ruleset is still something Sakazaki isn’t purposely taking into consideration for her tournament matches but if there was any opponent to make it a factor, it was Serena Deeb. Except she ended up getting foiled by the very rules she was supposed to excel in. Deeb was the one who used up all of her rope breaks in the match and then she made the big mistake of trying to push Sakazaki around with some disrespectful slaps to the head like she wasn’t worth her time. That made Sakazaki go into mini-terminator mode and hit her back with some big Elbow Strikes. Deeb almost turned things around by blocking the Magical Girl Splash but Sakazaki dropped her with the Magical Merry-Go-Round and got the three count. Deeb actually got her foot on the rope but since she ran out of rope breaks, it couldn’t stop her from getting pinned.

WXW “25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR – DAY 1”, 21/11/2025
Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany

1. Dani Luna defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Luna Landing (16:51).

You don’t usually get to see Yamashita get involved with some deep crowd brawling past the first couple of rows but when an environment like wXw gives you a chance to shake things up, you should take it. Dani Luna got to hit her back just as hard though while the German fans filled the room with their football chants. She even had the Return Crash scouted, turning the move into a bouncing Blue Thunder Bomb off the ropes for a nearfall. Yamashita missed the Skull Kick but held onto Luna with a Sleeper Hold to wear her down. However despite getting a Buzzsaw Kick in, Yamashita was lifted back up onto her opponent’s shoulders and was given the Luna Landing (Fireman’s Sitout Bomb) to give Lina a very impressive victory.

WXW “25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR – DAY 2”, 22/11/2025
Gruenspan, Hamburg, Germany

1. Ahura defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Salamandra (17:17).

Ahura took Yamashita lightly at first, placing her on the top turnbuckle and giving her some words. But Yamashita pushed him back, paint brushed his head and then kicked it to show she should be taken seriously. She continued to kick the hell out of him while Ahura tried to take breaks to stop himself from losing control of the match. Soon Ahura was bleeding from the mouth but he soon took advantage a gave Yamashita a big Power Bomb. She recovered and fought back to set up the Skull Kick but Ahura dodged it to roll out of the ring again. Ahura then dug his thumb into Yamashita’s eye from the ring apron but Yamashita made another comeback to give him the Attitude Adjustment from the second rope. She went for the Crash Rabbit Heat only for Ahura to catch her and Power Bomb her into the ropes so she would bounce right into a big Lariat. He was then able to win by using the Salamandra, which I can best describe as a Fireman’s Carry that twists into a Spinning Emerald Flowsion. Yamashita slapped away Ahura’s offer for a handshake after the match but it was only so she could offer him the handshake instead.

GCW “DREAM ON”, 22/11/2025
American Dream, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated Jeffrey John with the I.S.D (5:40).

Unfortunately Itoh’s last GCW match of the month had to be changed. Her original opponent Zayda Steel was unable to make the show so Itoh instead took on “The Babushka Baron” Jeffrey John. He’s called that because he wears a babushka during his matches you see. He gave Itoh a Death Valley Driver but she kicked out of it. He then tried to Superplex her off the top rope but Itoh Headbutted him back down and gave him the I.S.D off the turnbuckles to win the match.

AEW “SATURDAY TAILGATE BRAWL – FULL GEAR”, 22/11/2025
Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA

1. CMLL World Trios Titles: Mistico, Mascara Dorada & Neon (c) defeated Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero when Mistico submitted Hechicero with La Mistica (13:44).
*V3 for El Sky Team.

Well this was a mess. Takeshita returned to AEW after finishing up his DDT dates and walked right into a championship match with other members of The Don Callis Family. They were challenging El Sky Team, the reigning CMLL World Trios Titles but were a man down when Kazuchika Okada didn’t show up due to alleged travel issues according to Don Callis. Things turned out better for the challengers when Hechicero attacked Mistico and seemed to have injured his shoulder before the match even began, sending one third of the champions out of the match to get medical attention. Then when Mascara Dorada & Neon were making a comeback, Okada finally arrived in the parking lot and walked out of his sportscar in full gear (…ohhhhh, I get it!) right down to ringside to enter the match. He kept unapologetically getting in Takeshita’s way and purposely gave him the Rainmaker while Mistico made a triumphant return to action. El Sky Team were now a united force while The Don Callis Family were all on opposite pages, allowing Mistico to win by making Hechicero tap out to La Mistica.

REVPRO “LIVE IN COVENTRY”, 23/11/2025
HMV Empire, Coventry, England

1. Kanji defeated Miyu Yamashita (?:??).

Yamashita’s next country to visit was a return to England where she made her Revolution Pro debut. It ended in defeat to Kanji, continuing her growing losing streak on this tour. It’s not a result to be ashamed of though, Kanji is one of the bright prospects in the current United Kingdom scene and RevPro seem to have a solid direction in mind for her heading into 2026.

JCW “HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS”, 23/11/2025
The Mecca, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA

1. Beastman Body Slam Challenge: Maki Itoh defeated Beastman with the Body Slam.

Another of Itoh’s big matches planned for the month didn’t go ahead. Queen Aminata was out of action with an injury so Itoh decided to enter Beastman’s Body Slam Challenge instead. After a list of different wrestlers all tried and failed to Body Slam the giant opponent, Itoh looked like she was not going to fare any better. She tried doing a Diving Cross Body to weaken Beastman but was caught in midair and slammed onto the mat. Beastman then climbed the ropes attempting to jump onto Itoh when Thomas Shire ran into the ring to make the save. He knocked Beastman down with a Lariat, giving Itoh the opening to successfully Body Slam her opponent like she was Ahmed Johnson slamming Yokozuna in 1995. Her celebration was immediately cut short when Mad Dog Connelly ran into the ring and Clotheslined her, leading Connolly and Shire to start brawling as their match was next.

WPE/QPW “EPISODE 2”, 28/11/2025
Salle Albert Marquet, La Frette-sur-Seine, France

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Lauriana (?:??).

From one princess to another. Yamashita’s visit to France had her go face to face with “Princess” Lauriana. I couldn’t find much information on how the match went other than Yamashita won.

SAJ “FINAL BOUT 4”, 29/11/2025
Magnete, Via Adriando, Milan, Italy

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Luke Jacobs with the Skull Kick (?:??).
2. Maki Itoh defeated Flamingo with the Itoh Deluxe (?:??).

Did 121000000 become two ships passing by during one night in Milan? The SAJ Wrestling show had both Itoh and Yamashita on the card, making it the first show to have both of them on since Itoh left TJPW. If they had interactions it wasn’t in the ring because Itoh was busy beating up a wrestler named Flamingo.

Yamashita on the other hand had a big change in plans. Her original opponent JJ Gale was not on the show due to reasons I could not make out from the translation but she was given another British brute of a wrestler to take on instead, Luke Jacobs. She even got to beat him clean! It’s a bit of a funny result because she got to beat the previous PROGRESS World Champion one day before she actually made her PROGRESS debut.

PROGRESS “VENDETTA 3”, 30/11/2025
Electric Ballroom, Camden, London, England

1. Alexxis Falcon defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Off With Her Head (?:??).

Yamashita’s European vacation ended London for her debut in PROGRESS. Things were going mostly well for her against Alexxis Falcon until she took her opponent’s finisher, a Shellshock style Swinging DDT that was given to Yamashita while she was draped on the ropes. She kicked out of it the first time but Falcon was able to pull of the move again, this time getting the win with it.

———————————————————————–

Upcoming Appearances

ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 03/12/2025
Fishers Event Center, Fishers, Indiana, USA

1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Semi Final: Billie Starkz Vs Yuka Sakazaki

OK so we’re sprinting into the home stretch for this tournament. Sakazaki meets Billie Starkz in the ring once again with a spot in the grand final on the line. Should Sakazaki win she will be facing either Deonna Purrazzo or Queen Aminata a couple of days later at the ROH PPV. There the ROH Women’s Pure Champion will finally be crowned.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN BANGKOK”, 13/12/2025
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Uta Takami
2. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Yuki Arai & Shino Suzuki
3. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami (c) Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku
4. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Alexis Lee
5. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Matcha

Wait, is this the last upcoming thing I have on the list outside of Takeshita’s C2 schedule? Oh my God I might get to take it easy next month! The girls in TJPW won’t be taking it easy though. Three title matches are on the cards for their Thailand debut along with a few other matches to look forward to.

DDT Around The World – September 2025

The post-summer rest is over and done with. There are two separate stories that Konosuke Takeshita is now travelling through. One in New Japan might see him become the next IWGP World Heavyweight Champion with a reign that can bring him right into the Tokyo Dome. The other is a path leading him towards Kazuchika Okada in AEW that could end with him holding the AEW Unified Title when all is said and done. At least that’s how little old optimistic me is seeing things at the moment. He spent September getting built up for a title shot with Okada and came out of it empty handed.

While that was going on, Tokyo Joshi Pro were making moves towards complete global saturation! They’ve already taken over the women’s division in MLW and have more talent coming over to America in the next couple of weeks. Then after that they move on to take over Malaysia and Thailand with some first time shows taking place in those countries later in the year.

We’re also not done with Maki Itoh yet. She broke her silence after leaving TJPW last month by declaring herself the most cutest unemployed wrestler in the world. She has another tour of America coming up so the next step is to see if she will do anything new with GCW now that she can dedicate herself more over there or if she is just going to continue playing the hits.

———————————————————————–

Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

AEW “COLLISION”, 06/09/2025
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Mark Briscoe Vs Konosuke Takeshita

AEW “COLLISION”, 13/09/2025
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. AEW Unified Title Eliminator Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Anthony Bowens

Video starts at 31:10 for the match
MLW “FIGHTLAND”, 13/09/2025
NYTEX Sports Centre, Dallas, Texas, USA

1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 24/09/2025
Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Mark Briscoe, Hologram & Orange Cassidy Vs Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero

———————————————————————–

Results

AEW “COLLISION”, 06/09/2025
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Mark Briscoe with the Raging Fire (17:54).

First up this month was Takeshita taking on Mark Briscoe in the venue most remembered for being the ECW Arena. What came off as a no nonsense singles match ended up being spoiled when MJF unexpectedly ran in to push Briscoe off of the top rope. The appearance was unexpected because MJF was supposedly on his honeymoon at the time. Takeshita appeared not to mind because it gave him the opening to hit Briscoe with the Powerdrive Knee and then pin him with the Raging Fire. However after the match he gave MJF a shove because he actually was annoyed over his interference. Don Callis stepped in before things could heat up and got Takeshita out of the ring before another fight broke out between Briscoe and MJF.

ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 11/09/2025 (Aired 18/09/2025)
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Pure Rules Match: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Janai Kai with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (4:42).

We got a Yuka Sakazaki match this month but not the one I thought it was going to be. Her appearance in the ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament hasn’t taken place yet. Instead she fought Janai Kai in a warm up match using Pure Rules so she can get the hang of them. Although outside of two rope breaks there was nothing different to a normal match. Also Sakazaki walked out to what sounded like a new remix of her entrance song.

AEW “COLLISION”, 11/09/2025 (Aired 13/09/2025)
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. AEW Unified Title Eliminator Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Anthony Bowens with the Raging Fire (9:14).

Next up for Takeshita was his participation in a quick tournament that was put together for the AEW Unified Title match at the next AEW PPV. He fought Anthony Bowens with the winner advancing to a 3 Way title match at “ALL OUT”. Bowens badly needed a result to get himself out of a funk he is currently going through. He at a Reverse Hurricanrana from Takeshita and popped back up to give him a Leaping Famouser from behind. But he ultimately fell to the triple combo of Blue Thunder Bomb, Powerdrive Knee and Raging Fire. Takeshita would then reappear later in the episode to point at Okada and send the message that he is after his stablemate’s championship!

MLW “FIGHTLAND”, 13/09/2025
NYTEX Sports Centre, Dallas, Texas, USA

1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Locomotion Northern Lights Suplex (9:46).
*V3 for Shoko Nakajima.

The working relationship between TJPW and MLW continues to look strong as the joshi side seems to be increasingly filling out the entire women’s division in MLW. It led to a little bit of an ambitious booking to help advance the Kyoraku Kyomei Vs Ober Eats storyline in TJPW. While Shoko Nakajima and Yuki Kamifuku were busy fighting each other over the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title in America, their partners Hyper Misao and Wakana Uehara were meant to have a singles match together back in Japan on the same day. Sadly an accidental injury to Uehara caused by Misao cancelled plans for the latter from happening. Back in MLW, Kamifuku couldn’t put Nakajima away with her usual signature moves so she went up to the second rope to do the Diving Famouser. Nakajima dodged it and pulled out two successive Northern Lights Suplexes to get the win and retain her championship.

AEW “ALL OUT TORONTO”, 20/09/2025
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

1. AEW Unified Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita and Mascara Dorada when Okada pinned Dorada with the Rainmaker (20:55).
*V3 for Kazuchika Okada.

Hey this was a treat! Okada and Takeshita trying to wrestle each other but you throw the new Mascara Dorada from CMLL in there as a wild card to constantly get in the way and you got yourself a heck of a match there. If anything Dorada had something of a breakout performance that stole the spotlight away from the other two. Okada ended up getting away with it in the free for all. Takeshita gave Dorada the Raging Fire but then got hit by Okada’s trademark Dropkick. That sent Takeshita tumbling out of the ring leaving Okada to pick up the pieces and used the Rainmaker on Dorada for the victory.

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 24/09/2025
Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Mark Briscoe, Hologram & Orange Cassidy defeated Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero when Hologram pinned Hechicero with the Portal Bomb (10:36).

More cracks were surfacing within The Don Callis Family thanks to the uneasy alliance between Okada and Takeshita. Callis tried to blow it over by revealing his latest work of art to everyone but that was hijacked by the return of Orange Cassidy! Some teamwork from Cassidy & Hologram on Hechicero led to their team getting the win while we end our time this month wondering what is next for this story going on between Okada and Takeshita.

ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 24/09/2025 (Aired 02/10/2025)
Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Pure Rules Match: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Zoey Lynn with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (4:23).

This one slipped past me. Sakazaki got in another Pure Rules match at the end of the month, this time beating Zoey Lynn. Sakazaki had her back worked over and it still looks like like Pure Rules style doesn’t make a difference in how her matches are laid out. But Sakazaki Super Kicked Lynn’s head off and pinned her with the Magical Merry-Go-Round.

———————————————————————–

Upcoming Appearances

ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, ??/10/2025
???, USA

1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Round 1: Serena Deeb Vs Yuka Sakazaki

We had to wait a month for this match to happen? What’s the freaking holdup? Now that I notice it, Sakazaki wrestled this month but Serena Deeb didn’t.

MLW “SLAUGHTERHOUSE”, 04/10/2025
Thunder Studios Arena, Long Beach, California, USA

1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs HIMAWARI

TJPW’s takeover of the MLW women’s division moves even further with Nakajima’s next defence. HIMAWARI is coming back for another MLW appearance and is immediately given a title shot. I think the endgame for Nakajima is to face Shotzi Blackheart but MLW are in no rush to get there.

VIP “SETTING THE BAR 11”, 10/10/2025
The Haltom Theater, Haltom City, Texas, USA

1. VIP Women’s Title – 3 Way Match: Maya World (c) Vs Vert Vixen Vs Kaya Toribami

The Texas tour has left a big mark in TJPW’s future plans for America. They see it as a good hub to hunker down in for a potential overseas expansion. They even see the benefit of creating Texas Joshi Pro Wrestling just because they could still call it TJPW. But this is looking way out into the future so for now they’re just going to plant a seed here and there to test things out. First up is Kaya Toribami heading over to compete on a VIP Wrestling show. She gets to be part of a 3 Way Match with Maya World and Vert Vixen with the VIP Women’s Title on the line.

VGM “FIGHT VGM FIGHT WRESTLING STARS MEET AND GREET & PRO WRESTLING MATCH”, 18/10/2025
Full House, Liangxi, Wuxi, China

1. Rika Tatsumi Vs HIMAWARI

China gets another taste of TJPW when Rika Tatsumi and HIMAWARI face off at the Fight VGM Fight show.

CMLL “VIERNES ESPECTACULAR”, 24/10/2025
Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

1. Grand Prix de Amazonas: Persephone, La Catalina, Olympia, Skadi, Reyna Isis, Zeuxis, India Sioux, Lluvia & La Jarochita Vs Kanji, Diamante, Shoko Nakajima, Hazuki, Koguma, Mina Shirakawa, Skye Blue, Julia Hart & Thekla

Back in 2019 Nakajima got to go on a tour of Mexico with CMLL with stops at Arena Mexico, Arena Coliseo and Arena Puebla. There was even a rare DVD of her lucha matches that TJPW and LADY’S RING put out that is in my collection somewhere. Now six years later she gets to go again but as a representative of MLW rather than TJPW. CMLL are holding the fifth annual Grand Prix de Amazonas torneo cibernetico for their women’s division that pits Mexico against the world. The international team has plenty of Japanese talent on it this year. Nakajima will be joined by Mina Shirakawa plus the FWC pair of Hazuki & Koguma. It would be goofy if politics between Stardom and TJPW somehow came into play here. In reality I think it’s just a coincidence that Nakajima is labelled an MLW wrestler instead of a TJPW one because she has been MLW’s long term champion for this year.

GCW “YOU WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND”, 07/11/2025
The Webster, Hartford, Connecticut, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

The Cutest Unemployed Tour begins! Itoh’s first new booking announcements since leaving TJPW are all gathered around GCW in the month of November.

GCW “MASSACRE IN MAINE”, 08/11/2025
Yarmouth Amvets, Yarmouth, Maine USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

She’s going to Connecticut and Maine and Vermont to put them all on the map!

GCW “GREEN MOUNTAINS AND ME”, 09/11/2025
Barre Elks Lodge, Barre, Vermont, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Got confused for a moment and thought this was the Elks Lodge in New York that ECW used to book.

SETUP/IWA THAILAND “A NEW DAWN”, 14/11/2025
TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi

1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title – 3 Way Bangkok Death Match: Matcha (c) Vs Ram Kaichow Vs Pom Harajuku
2. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Andruew Tang & Jake De Leon (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami Vs Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr.
3. Double Main Event I – Ace Vs Ace: Shivam Vs HARASHIMA

Big plans are going ahead for SETUP’s first ever show in Japan. They have a double main event planned and HARASHIMA’s in one of them. He is facing Shivam, the leader of Real Global Threat who feels he has ran through all of his competition in Southeast Asia. So now he wants to face the best that Japan has to offer, which is where HARASHIMA steps in.

RGT currently hold the IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles and will defend them against two very different tag teams. The monster team of Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr. are returning to their IWA Japan roots while TJPW is sending Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami over to claim some gold as part of their upcoming visit to Thailand.

TJPW is also betting on Pom Harajuku to win back the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title. She’s beaten Matcha for that belt before in a No DQ Match, a result that Matcha would love to correct. Matcha also got her title back from beating Raku which made Raku’s “husband” Ram Kaichow feeling pretty mad when she found out about it. SETUP decided to let these three collide and to make things even more dangerous it is going to be a Bangkok Death Match!

DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “LOVE & PEACE”, 15/11/2025
JioSpace, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Both DDT and TJPW are putting together a show in Malaysia alongside the local idol group KLP48. So far the DDT talent announced are Sanshiro Takagi, Chris Brookes and Shinichiro Kawamatsu. Also Shota is there as a freelancer. The TJPW side are sending over Miu Watanabe, Raku, Shino Suzuki and Yuki Kamifuku.

HOG “SUPERCLASH”, 15/11/2025
Suffolk Credit Union Arena, Brentwood, New York, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

GCW isn’t the only place you’ll see Itoh in November. She makes her House Of Glory debut as well.

WXW “25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR”, 21/11/2025
Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany

1. Dani Luna Vs Miyu Yamashita

Looks like Germany is definitely the first stop for Yamashita’s European tour.

WXW “25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR”, 22/11/2025
Gruenspan, Hamburg, Germany

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

I haven’t paid much attention to wXw lately so your guess is as good as mine in regards to who Yamashita can wrestle over there.

GCW “DREAM ON”, 22/11/2025
American Dream, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Zayda Steel

What looks to be Itoh’s last GCW appearance for the month has her going toe to toe against Zayda Steel.

WPE/QPW “EPISODE 2”, 28/11/2025
Salle Albert Marquet, La Frette-sur-Seine, France

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Nothing new announced for Yamashita’s match in France.

SAJ “FINAL BOUT 4”, 29/11/2025
Magnete, Via Adriando, Milan, Italy

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Maki Itoh Vs X

Could a brief 121000000 reunion be on the cards or are Yamashita and Itoh staying separated from each other?

PROGRESS “VENDETTA 3”, 30/11/2025
Electric Ballroom, Camden, London, England

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

A new place in England for Yamashita to wrestle in. She makes her Progress debut at the end of November.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN BANGKOK”, 13/12/2025
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

It’s been long enough, after so many guest appearances over the last few years, now is the time for TJPW to bring the whole thing over to Thailand! They’re working with SETUP to bring a dozen wrestlers over to work alongside several women’s wrestlers from across the Southeast Asian scene.

The twelve TJPW members going over are Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Arisu Endo, Shoko Nakajima, Miyu Yamashita, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Suzume, Yuki Arai, Kaya Toribami, Shino Suzuki and Uta Takami. Also part of the show will be Alexis Lee and Matcha from the SEA side.

———————————————————————–

Other Appearances

ASW “MUCHA LUCHA”, 06/09/2025
Stephen’s Cocktail Corner Bar, Langley, British Columbia, Canada

ASW “THE COBRA STRIKES BACK”, 13/09/2025
Evergreen Hall, Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada

ASW “SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT”, 20/09/2025
Maritime Labour Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

So it looks like Sayuri Namba has found a place to do some ring announcing while she is living in Canada. She worked at least three shows for All Star Wrestling in British Columbia from what I could find online.