DDT Around The World – April 2024

Even with WrestleMania Week out of the way there is so much to talk about what happened in April. It’s probably going to be a month Yuka Sakazaki will want to forget. She finally returned to TV screens only to possibly find her way back to the injury list. It only happened two weeks ago so there’s been no update to her condition. All she has tweeted since the match happened is a zombie emoji. She was being set up for a match with Serena Deeb in AEW but that seems to have gone to the wayside because Deeb is already moving ahead in the AEW Women’s Title picture. Just have to wait and see if it was just a knock to the knee or something worse.

In more uplifting news, Konosuke Takeshita is showing interest in taking the IWGP World Heavyweight Title from Jon Moxley. This is going to be facinating watching a DDT affiliated wrestler in an AEW storyline built around New Japan’s top championship. Does he have any realistic chance of becoming champion? Not unless Moxley gets legit knocked out during the match again. New Japan have clearly set their own story over Moxley’s IWGP Title reign. Their roster led by “The Reiwa Musketeers” are all showing frustration over their company playing second fiddle to AEW. Whether it is Moxley not taking part in the Japan tours or handing title matches out to undeserving challengers in America, the story New Japan is telling does not have Takeshita fitting in anywhere as an important player and I do not expect AEW to make booking decisions that will interfere with it. Still though, Takeshita versus Moxley has been good before and the addition of the IWGP Title is a novelty that got me more interested in the rematch.

Wrapping up the month is the Tokyo Joshi Pro portion of appearances. Maki Itoh finished up her latest American tour and got to defend the GCW Extreme Title. Not sure when she is due back in GCW other than we certainly won’t be waiting long to find out. Miyu Yamashita returned to a bunch of familiar promotions from last year’s excursion. The big one was a visit to TNA where she main evented their TV taping. Most important of all, Kaya Toribami stepped in for an injured Hyper Misao to help save the world from a kappa invasion. That’s a good bird.

Oh and there was also the crazy happenings that went on when Kazusada Higuchi and Mecha Mummy went to West Coast Pro. Let’s get to that.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

Video starts at 2:58:38
WEST COAST PRO “CHRIS HERO’S PRO WRES MIXTAPE”, 14/04/2024
Don Quixote Event Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Chris Hero Vs Kazusada Higuchi
2. Tornado Tag Team Match: Chris Hero & Bryan Keith Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Mecha Mummy

AEW “COLLISION”, 20/04/2024
Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois, USA

1. Bunkhouse Brawl: Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli Vs Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 20/04/2024
Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Emi Sakura

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Results

WEST COAST PRO “CHRIS HERO’S PRO WRES MIXTAPE”, 14/04/2024
Don Quixote Event Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Chris Hero Vs Kazusada Higuchi ended in a No Contest (12:23).
2. Tornado Tag Team Match: Chris Hero & Bryan Keith defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Mecha Mummy when Keith pinned Mummy with the Emerald Tiger Driver (13:45).

This was not how I thought things were going to go between Higuchi and Chris Hero. I mean the first ten minutes, sure. They hit each other hard and Higuchi no sold hitting the ring post head first. That was all well and good. He even used his own head to block one of Hero’s Elbow Strikes. Unfortunately as they kept fighting in the corner the referee stepped in one too many times and got knocked out with a Lariat. Higuchi kept attacking Hero until Bryan Keith made his entrance and started squaring off with him. Hero & Keith joined forces so Higuchi now found himself needing help. Suddenly Mecha Mummy appeared!

There were plans for a Keith Vs Mummy match to happen on the show but now the fans got a Tornado Tag match between the four fighters instead! Mummy gave Keith an Atomic Drop onto the Mecha Fist but Keith returned fire by giving Mummy a Drop Toe Hold, destroying the fist on impact. Keith then challenged Mummy to a duel but it ended with them giving each other and the referee Low Blows. The ref also got impaled with the Mecha Drill by accident. Hero then fought Mummy all the way up to the balcony where Higuchi followed. Mummy fired the repaired Mecha Fist at Keith from the balcony and raced down to pin him for a nearfall. Hero returned with bottles of water but Higuchi stopped him from pouring it over Mummy. Keith however took a big drink of the bottle and spat it all over Mummy to make it go haywire. He then gave it the Emerald Tiger Driver to win a crazy match.

PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 8”, 14/04/2024
Roseland Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Kylie Rae with the Skull Kick (15:30).

Yamashita’s good run in Prestige continued when she beat Kylie Rae in a hard fought match. Hitting the Return Crash seemed to fire up Yamashita in particular. With that boost she broke out of Rae’s Crippler Crossface and kicked out of a Super Kick at one. She then rolled Rae into a Buzzsaw Kick for a nearfall before putting her down for the count with the Skull Kick.

ROH “ROH ON HONOR CLUB”, 17/04/2024 (Aired 25/04/2024)
Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Leila Grey with the Magical Girl Splash (4:44).

Oh yikes this was bad. There was an awkwardly timed replay segment too right before the finish which only makes me wonder what was cut out because what was left in is the kind of stuff those anti-AEW Twitter accounts would salivate over if people gave a shit about ROH. There was an Elbow Strike exchange that looked like both didn’t want to sell and then Sakazaki tried to do a rope-assisted German Suplex that did not work at all. She was able to beat Leila Grey with the Magical Merry-Go-Round followed by the Magical Girl Splash but that match was one to forget. Or at least it would be if she hadn’t gotten injured in her next match during the month.

UPRISING “UPRISING: WOMEN ATHLETES 2”, 19/04/2024
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated Black Swan with the I.S.D. (9:22).
2. Hyan defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Glam Slam (11:27).

It looks like Hyan is one of the few opponents who seems to have Yamashita’s number whenever Yamashita goes over to America. This was their second singles match and there is a tag match to come later this summer. Hyan has beaten Yamashita both times now but it’s been no easy feat. This time Hyan was overwhelmed by Yamashita’s kicks but found ways to avoid the Attitude Adjustment. The last counter led to Hyan giving Yamashita the Glam Slam to win the match.

Itoh was given an opponent who is just as much of a dramatic attention seeker as she is in the form of Black Swan. They spent part of the match fighting outside where Swan threw Itoh into the barricade and then Itoh Body Slammed Swan onto the floor. After going back and forth in the ring, Itoh dropped Swan with a DDT and then got the win by hitting the I.S.D. off the top rope.

DREAMWAVE “ANNIVERSARY IX”, 20/04/2024
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Megan Bayne defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Tombstone Piledriver (9:52).

The next night Uprising’s main promotion DREAMWAVE put together the surprise matchup of Yamashita against Megan Bayne. She is one of the stronger booked wrestlers on the independents right now and her momentum continued here with a clean win over Yamashita. The result seemed to have put Yamashita in a bad mood afterward because she refused to shake Bayne’s hand after the match and left the ring with a sour look on her face.

AEW “COLLISION”, 20/04/2024
Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois, USA

1. Bunkhouse Brawl: Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli defeated Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita when Danielson submitted Fletcher with the Chain Assisted LaBell Lock (16:03).

Add the Bunkhouse Brawl to the list of violent matches Takeshita is finding himself in over at AEW. He was all dressed up for the occasion too as one should be for a stipulation like this. Chairs and chains were used by everyone and things got even more chaotic with interference from Powerhouse Hobbs and Moxley. The presence of Hobbs tipped things in favour for The Don Callis Family even when Moxley came down to get rid of him. Things then went south when Bryan Danielson countered Takeshita’s top rope Power Bomb with a Hurricanrana onto a chair set up in the middle of the ring. Claudio Castagnoli then covered his arm with the chain and hit Takeshita with a Charging European Uppercut. Danielson won the match by hitting Kyle Fletcher with the Busaiku Knee followed by putting him in the LaBell Lock for the submission.

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 20/04/2024
Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Emi Sakura with a Sliding German Suplex (9:31).

And here’s where Sakazaki’s return hit a big bump on the road. During her match with Emi Sakura, Sakazaki tried to do a cartwheel from the top rope onto the ring apron to avoid an attack. She missed landing on the apron and crashed onto the floor outside, hurting her knee in the process. Sakura bought some time with some improvised heel work ringside while Sakazaki tried to walk it off. They were able to continue the match but Sakazaki was still clearly shaken up and using the Sliding German Suplex for the finish was definitely not the original plan. Credit to her for gutting through it and still being able to do most of her moves but she couldn’t hide the upset look on her face after the match.

GCW “HOW HIGH”, 20/04/2024
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. GCW Extreme Title: Maki Itoh (c) defeated Sandra Moone with the I.S.D. (8:55).
*V1 for Maki Itoh.

GCW is keeping us on our toes when it comes to Itoh defending the GCW Extreme Title. It wasn’t until the show took place when they announced her match with Sandra Moone would have the title on the line. No worries! Itoh beat Moone in her first defence and they left the ring together shoulder to shoulder.

TNA “IMPACT!”, 21/04/2024 (Aired 02/05/2024)
Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Knockouts World Title: Jordynne Grace (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Juggernaught Driver (?:??).
*V7 for Jordynne Grace.

Last year Yamashita got to wrestle in Impact for the first time. Now it’s a year later and Impact has gone back to being called TNA. No matter what name it’s under now, she was back to fight Jordynne Grace. The stakes were then made higher when TNA decided to make the match for the Knockouts World Title. Yamashita tried something a little bit new in the match when she hit the Skull Kick to the back of Grace’s head buzzsaw style but Grace recovered and used the Grace Driver to retain her title.

PRESTIGE/PRIDESTYLE “PRIDE & PRESTIGE”, 26/04/2024
Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Trish Adora (?:??).

Yamashita’s next Prestige match was at an event co-promoted with PrideStyle Inclusive Pro in Las Vegas. She defeated Trish Adora in a match I haven’t seen the VOD of yet.

DAIKAIJU PRO “VOL. 2 – KAPPAS COUNTERATTACK”, 27/04/2024
White Eagle, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

1. Kaya Toribami defeated Ultramantis Black with the Sento Choryu (?:??).

This was originally supposed to be Hyper Misao coming back to America to protect the land from UltraMantis Black and his kappa army. Unfortunately an ankle injury forced a change of plans. Depending on who you ask she either got injured during her match against Steph de Lander at the “GCW VS TJPW” show or she was the victim of an ambush attack put together by the devious UltraMantis. Either way she sent Kaya Toribami to Daikaiju Pro in her place because they still needed a hero to fight for them. During the match Mantis called upon his kappa army for help but Toribami had backup from all of the other babyfaces to even the odds. In the end good prevailed over evil and Toribami successfully hit the Sento Choryu on Mantis to get the victory.

INSPIRE A.D. “THE EVIL WE DO”, 28/04/2024
Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Maya World (?:??).

The last time Yamashita was at Inspire A.D. she took a surprise upset loss to Killa Kate. That wasn’t going to happen again when she fought Maya World in her return to the promotion.

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Upcoming Appearances

GCW “RATHER YOU THAN ME”, 03/05/2024
Egypt Shrine Center, Tampa, Florida, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Joey Janela

She got a taste of GCW earlier this month with the “GCW VS TJPW” show and is coming back for a proper go this time around. Yamashita is getting thrown into the deep end for her proper GCW debut. Joey Janela is chomping at the bit to break her into pieces so he can rub it in the faces of joshi fans afterwards.

VPW “SAIGON SLAM”, 04/05/2024
VAIB Studios, Vietnam

1. VPW Women’s Title: Alexis Lee Vs Yuki Kamifuku

Will Yuki Kamifuku beat Alexis Lee for the VPW Women’s Title so it can go along with her Queen Of Asia Title?

MLW “AZTECA LUCHA”, 11/05/2024
Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title – 4 Way Match: Janai Kai (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Zayda Vs Delmi Exo

Well Yamashita wasn’t able to win the Knockouts Title in TNA but she has another title match to look forward to in May. She returns to MLW where Janai Kai is defending the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title in a 4 Way Match. The other challengers are Zayda Steele and Delmi Exo but Kai’s previous title defences have mostly been against joshi wrestlers and TJPW wrestlers in particular. She’s beaten Yamashita before outside of MLW. Can she do it again when her MLW Title is on the line and she needs to have eyes on the back of her head?

DPW “LIMIT BREAK”, 19/05/2024
Durham Convention Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita & Lady Frost Vs Hyan & VertVixen

It’s back to Deadlock Pro! Yamashita’s first time in the ring with Lady Frost is as a team together and they are both familiar with their opponents. Hyan is now a regular presence in Yamashita’s US tours and Yamashita teamed with VertVixen the last time she was in DPW.

LLL “HIGH STRANGENESS – NIGHT ONE”, 24/05/2024
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Abadon Vs Miyu Yamashita

This isn’t the first time Yamashita will be fighting a zombie. She used to do that all the time when Maho Kurone was still wrestling. Abadon though is a bit more intense when it comes to that sort of stuff.

LLL “HIGH STRANGENESS – NIGHT TWO”, 25/05/2024
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

What else is Lucha Libre & Laughs going to throw at Yamashita?

SETUP “CLASH OF THE TITANS”, 25/05/2024
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Matcha (c) Vs Monomoth Vs Mizuki

How possible is is that Mizuki wins the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title and then brings it along for her Queen Of Asia Title shot that is due anytime soon? Add the VPW Women’s Title then we end up with an Asian Triple Crown of women’s championships.

GCW “TOURNAMENT OF SURVIVAL 9”, 01/06/2024
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Tournament Of Survival 9: Shunma Katsumata Vs X

One of the big death match tournaments of the year is held by GCW over in America. The 9th annual Tournament Of Survival will have Shunma Katsumata as one of the Japanese entrants along with Big Japan wrestlers Hideyoshi Kamitani and Yuki Ishikawa.

REPUBLIC OF LUCHA “ROL7: HIT THE LIGHTS”, 01/06/2024
The Temple, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X

The first two seasons of Lucha Underground was a magical time. Season three was good too but the show suffered from taking a massive break mid-season but that’s a conversation for somewhere else. The warehouse that was used to house The Temple for the show tapings is going to host a wrestling show for the first time in seven years. I don’t expect it to look anything like it did in the old days because a lot of that setup was just a TV set but Takeshita getting to wrestle there is pretty neat nonetheless.

MAW “LIFT BRIDGE BASH 4”, 08/06/2024
Lift Bridge Brewing Company, Stillwater, Minnesota, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Laynie Luck

This is still for now the last date on Yamashita’s schedule before she goes back to Japan.

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

1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs X & X

This year is the 30th anniversary of IWA Japan’s launch. What a weird existence this promotion has had. To celebrate there will be a memorial show held by SETUP taking place in Thailand using the IWA branding. CDK will be there to defend the SETUP Tag Team Titles since those belts are also affiliated with IWA Japan. Will Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi have to defend the belts against a pair of kaiju or will they be fighting more normal looking opponents?

DramaticDDT’s Predictions For 2024

Merry Christmas! I’m giving this another go despite how bad my predictions for 2023 went. What do I think is in store for DDT, Tokyo Joshi Pro, Ganbare☆Pro, BASARA and maybe even CyberFight as a whole? It’s a tricky challenge this time because whenever I try guessing how 2024 will turn out, all I see is murkiness. There’s a weird contradiction in my thoughts about where wrestling is right now. On the one hand there is a status quo where all the companies around the world are positioned that I do not see changing anytime soon. But then there are changes within the companies themselves, some that are so unexpected that I have no idea what the entire scene will look like this time next year. Like of course WWE will be the top company on the planet but what does it turn into next as it finally moves away from Vince McMahon’s ideas and has the most fan goodwill it has probably ever had? AEW badly fell apart this year but the Continental Classic tournament is providing a nice set of building blocks to rebuild the company with. The problem is will Tony Khan want to use those blocks? It doesn’t help that the loudest podcasters in the room are constantly telling everyone that AEW should be more like WWE in the storyline department. That is my biggest pet peeve with wrestling at the moment, by the way. Whenever I hear people say every wrestling show should be a three ringed circus with something for everybody they’re really just saying “go be like WWE”. It’s the same voices that reject other companies for doing things differently.

And then there is Japan’s wrestling scene still trying to re-establish themselves post-pandemic. It’s mostly alright with some brief moments of greatness but there’s not a lot that has really caught my imagination this year compared to the 2010s. Show attendances week to week isn’t inspiring much hope in me either. It seems like homecoming shows and retirement matches can bring in crowds but outside of that a lot of companies are getting dwindling crowd numbers which has me worried. New Japan and Stardom will be fine as long as they can manage themselves properly. 2023 definitely gave Stardom a lot of lessons about show scheduling and injuries but they seem to be learning from it. All Japan discovering success again should also be a sign that there is still an audience out there in Japan that pro wrestling can appeal to. Now let’s see if this United Japan Pro Wrestling alliance is actually going to mean anything substantial.

Before I give you my predictions for 2024, here is how my 2023’s predictions went. Not very good it turns out.

DDT

✓. Mike Bailey wrestles a match in DDT again.
X. KANON outperforms Daisuke Sasaki.
X. Yuya Koroku becomes the next wrestler from DDT’s new generation (debuted 2020 onwards) to win a championship.
✓. Tetsuya Endo struggles to reclaim the top position in DDT.
X. Dramatic Dream Gate is revived.

The first one was by far the easiest prediction to make. It is basically the free spot on a bingo card. DDT going to America guaranteed that Mike Bailey would be on one of their shows. Although I do think the New Japan appearances he also made this year means he’s fully done with DDT in Japan. KANON is slowly getting pushed but I wouldn’t put his work above Daisuke Sasaki’s in 2023. Hideki Okatani was the breakout in the new generation, not Yuya Koroku like I expected. Tetsuya Endo is definitely struggling and I’ll get back to that point later. No Dramatic Dream Gate revival because DDT worked with All Japan instead of Dragongate.

Tokyo Joshi Pro

X. At least 3 women who originally came from Actwres girl’Z will appear in TJPW and at least 1 of them becomes a regular roster member.
X. An outsider wins the Princess Of Princess Title.
X. Maki Itoh gets to No. 1 on a iTunes or Spotify chart somewhere in the world.
X. A woman from Sakisama’s past comes back to haunt her.
X. Sasha Banks appears at Grand Princess ’23.

Oh so now Actwres girl’Z gets their act together and stops leaking talent left, right and centre! TJPW’s roster growth all came from training their own rookies and bringing in foreign wrestlers. An outsider did become champion but it was Max The Impaler winning the International Princess Title, not the Princess Of Princess Title. No idea how to look up music chart data but if Maki Itoh got No. 1 somewhere we would have heard about it. My Sakisama fantasy booking was inspired by the rumour of CyberFight wanting to sign Maya Yukihi. If Mercedes Moné does end up going back to WWE then the hype surrounding her for an entire year was an absolute waste of time for everyone else involved.

Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling

✓. Some of the wrestlers Shota worked with in America get booked for Ganpro.
X. Keisuke Ishii wins the Spirit Of Ganbare Title.
1/2✓. Ganpro creates a tag team championship and builds it around mixed tag wrestling.
X. Ganbare☆Joshi runs their own show in Korakuen Hall.
X. Kota Ibushi wrestles a match in Ganpro.

Shota’s American excursion got the likes of Dan The Dad and Kody Lane booked in Japan. Keisuke Ishii did get a Spirit Of Ganbare Title but lost that match to Mizuki Watase in one of Ganpro’s best matches of the year. We did get the Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles created and it does allow intergender teams. However it has not been the focal point of the title’s existence yet so I only got it half right. No standalone Ganbare☆Joshi show in Korakuen Hall yet but I think it is only a matter of time before it happens. Who on earth would have guessed Kota Ibushi’s first match back would be in GCW?

Miscellaneous

X. Gake no Fuchi Joshi crosses over with Baka Gaijin + Friends.
X. AEW will host another event in Japan with DDT & TJPW involvement.
X. CyberFight adds another promotion to their portfolio.
X. A brand new puroresu console game gets announced.
✓. BASARA does something new and different.

I’m kind of surprised Miyako Matsumoto hasn’t shown up in Baka Gaijin + Friends yet. It seems like her kind of wrestling but I can’t tell what goes through her mind on most days. AEW seems to have developed less interest in the Japanese scene while they go through something of an identity crisis heading into the fifth year of their existence. No new wrestling brand for CyberFight but there is the United Japan Pro Wrestling brand attaching the big wrestling companies together. No new puroresu game which makes me sad. AEW: Fight Forever is fine and I bet has a good base to create a better sequel. Will that happen though? The last prediction is also the best one for me. BASARA made Banana Senga their champion! That was definitely something new and different.

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So yeah, let’s ignore all that and get on to next year’s predictions. I came up with 20 predictions for 2024 spread across four categories. Five for DDT, five for Tokyo Joshi Pro, five for Ganbare☆Pro and five guesses that apply to anything attached to BASARA and the CyberFight promotions. I’m also listing them in order from easy to hard, likely to unlikely, mild to spicy, etc. I came up with these predictions using booking patterns, reading tea leaves and coming up with ideas that are just as creative as they are plausible.

DDT

Prediction: Naomi Yoshimura returns from injury and gets a singles push.

It’s been over a year since Naomi Yoshimura last wrestled a match. What’s promising though is his regular appearances seconding the other wrestlers in Harimao. There’s also glimpses on his social media of him training in the DDT dojo again. It at least suggests he will be back in the ring sooner or later. When Yoshimura took time off to recover from a herniated disc he said he wanted to reclaim the KO-D Tag Team Titles for Harimao when he returns. I think too much time has past for that to be his only goal. He should instead focus on catching up with Yuki Ueno. My fingers are crossed he is able to come back, stay healthy and win some accomplishments by himself.

Prediction: Kento Miyahara will be at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”.

At no point this year did I expect DDT and All Japan to be doing inter-promotional matches with each other. What a great thing that turned out to be though. Adding a few DDT Vs AJPW matches on shows here and there spiced up the midcard for both companies. It had history to play off of because of Jun Akiyama’s involvement. It is helping Yukio Naya develop into the heavyweight DDT wants him to be thanks to the feud with The Saito Brothers that will likely continue in AJPW. Eruption got to start their new chapter without Saki Akai by winning the All Asia Tag Team Titles and giving Yukio Sakaguchi an achievement he can now share with his father. Eruption also entered the Real World Tag League which gave Hideki Okatani some valuable experience. I want this working relationship to continue in 2024 and I know the best place where it can reach its climax. DDT will likely have a big guest for their Sumo Hall show in July. Bring on over AJPW’s biggest star Kento Miyahara to liven up the place! He would be a great singles match opponent for somebody like Yuki Ueno or Kazusada Higuchi. He’s definitely someone who Ueno should learn from about how to be a showman in the ring.

Prediction: Sanshiro Takagi fights Hiroshi Tanahashi in a battle of the presidents!

This week New Japan announced Hiroshi Tanahashi has become the new president of the company. Now he has a lot more in common with Sanshiro Takagi. Now Tanahashi has an awkward history with DDT but that was years ago and I’m sure it’s all water under the bridge. But just in case there’s still some bad blood there is always the wrestling ring right there for them to settle their differences. Two presidents of different wrestling companies having a match against each other is the kind of idea Takagi would jump on and I think Tanahashi would be game for it. United Japan Pro Wrestling is going to need something a little bit novel to put on their Budokan Hall card in the summer. Why not this in the midcard?

Prediction: Somebody (or something) from WWE wins the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title.

WWE looking to carve out their place in Japan is a topic that gets brought up a lot online. This year finally saw the company make their move when they signed a broadcasting deal with ABEMA and also got increased presence in Shukan Puroresu magazine. There were also points throughout the year when Shinsuke Nakamura would pop up. He headlined a big show for NOAH as the final opponent for The Great Muta. He also filmed a special message for Saki Akai that was shown to her during her retirement ceremony. If that’s not enough, on the day I am writing this paragraph All Japan are teasing that the mystery challenger for a Triple Crown title match on 3rd January could be coming from NXT. So if WWE in Japan really is happening, we might as well have some fun with it before everything gets ruined again. DDT will be in Philadelphia during Wrestlemania week and that usually means the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title will be going along for the ride. It’s only a matter of time before somebody in the WWE gets to win the championship for even the briefest of moments. Now I’m not expecting Cody Rhodes to win it in front of 50,000 people to finish the story. But somebody involved with the company hanging out at WrestleCon and taking their chance to win a 24/7 title just to amuse themselves? That sounds more likely. This prediction also applies to any item, prop or official piece of merchandise tied to WWE. If a Jey Uso “Yeet” shirt becomes champion then it counts!

Prediction: Tetsuya Endo should go on an overseas excursion.

This is not so much of a prediction but more a piece of advice. After thinking of ways for Tetsuya Endo to get out of the current position he is in, the best idea I can come up with is for him to go wrestle overseas for a while. Whether that is a several month stay in America or going on weekend trips to Europe every couple of months, he badly needs a change of pace in a new surrounding. Get him in there with Gringo Loco in GCW, have Shigehiro Irie show him the (lack of) sights in Oberhausen during a wXw tournament weekend, book him on ROH so he can travel around with the AEW crew, seat him in the front row behind the commentary table at an NXT taping. He should go broaden his horizons because the direction DDT put him in as Kenta Kobashi’s protégé is not working.

Tokyo Joshi Pro

Prediction: Somebody from the 2023 Class scores a pinfall on a TJPW veteran.

We got six rookies in 2023 and they have all been fun to watch as they learn on the job and figure out who they want to be. Wakana Uehara winning the New Generation Tournament shows that TJPW have faith in her becoming an important part of the roster if she sticks with them. HIMAWARI had her character down flat from day one and her match against Uehara in the final is a great example of how to create a dramatic match with limited movesets. Toga is capturing everyone’s hearts one big Elbow Smash at a time (although really you should thank Hikari Noa for selling that move like a champ), Shino Suzuki has the bonus advantage of being in The Up Up Girls and we might end up with a future generational rivalry between Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo as they learn different wrestling styles separate from each other. Talent development for TJPW needs to be coming quick and fast if there is a need to replace the likes of Yuka Sakazaki. Young blood needs to be beating veterans eventually and it is more likely to happen than you think. Remember, TJPW holds a couple of one day tournaments throughout the year with matches that end in 2 Count pinfalls. That’s where you can see Uehara suddenly beat Mahiro Kiryu or Toga only needing to roll up Kaya Toribami for two seconds to get her hand raised. I don’t expect it to be on the level of Arisu Endo pinning Shoko Nakajima out of nowhere but somebody from the 2023 class is going to get a moment in the spotlight her senpai’s expense in 2024.

Prediction: Mizuki Vs Rika Tatsumi finally happens… in the Tokyo Princess Cup.

When Mizuki’s reign as the Princess Champion ended there was one thing that left me completely baffled. Why was there never a title defence against Rika Tatsumi? One of the longest running pieces of character lore in TJPW is Tatsumi’s crush on Mizuki going all the way back to 2018 when Tatsumi wanted to banish the Forbidden Three rules the in-house roster had to follow because nobody was sure if “No Boyfriends” also meant “No Girlfriends”. Fast forward to 2023 and we got a very good 2-Vs-1 Handicap Match between Daydream and Mizuki where Tatsumi battled those feelings in order to beat her crush. Nothing ever came out of it and to be fair it never intended to be more than an emergency replacement match due to Sakazaki getting injured. TJPW also has an odd thing where some of their big singles matches only ever happen in the Tokyo Princess Cup, either as a 1st Round match to eliminate a top contender early or as a random drawing in the final stages of the tournament. So I think if we ever do get Mizuki Vs Tatsumi, it will be at the Princess Cup instead of a big singles title bout.

Prediction: Maki Itoh wins the GCW World Heavyweight Championship.

I think odds are really good for Maki Itoh to win one of GCW’s championships next year given she is one of the bigger attractions for the group nowadays. Her winning the tag team titles with Nick Gage is an obvious direction to go. But I want to go all in for this prediction. GCW has Blake Christian as their long term heel world champion and groundwork has been laid down for a Blake Vs Gage title match down the road. But we’ve been there, done that with Gage as the top babyface champion for GCW. This is a company that doesn’t mind doing wacky novelty booking with their titles. So how about Itoh unexpectedly gets a title match with Blake, maybe Money In The Bank style and she shockingly beats him for the GCW Title? It would be the peak of her run with the company, that’s for sure.

Prediction: Aja Kong takes on a regular role in TJPW.

Just like how Jun Akiyama became a coach in DDT, I’d like to see Aja Kong do something similar in TJPW. She has been a guest for so many shows at this point it’s not like she would be a stranger to everyone there. Whether it is coaching the youngsters, becoming a matchmaker or just keeping a stern eye on Tetsuya Koda so he won’t lose focus Kong would have a wealth of knowledge to offer the company. And maybe then we get a payoff for her rivalry with Max The Impaler.

Prediction: Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh remain with TJPW for the year.

I’m testing fate with this one, aren’t I? Miyu Yamashita has done almost everything there is to do in TJPW and Maki Itoh spends so much time in America she’s currently divorced from what’s going on in her home promotion. And yet I just don’t believe both of them are ready to graduate from TJPW like Yuka Sakazaki did. At least not in the next 12 months. Yamashita and Itoh will definitely have plenty of American bookings for everyone to look forward to in 2024. But leaving TJPW to focus on that entirely? I don’t think so. They will still have TJPW as their home base.

Ganbare☆Pro

Prediction: Ken Ohka Wins The Spirit Of Ganbare Title From Isami Kodaka

The ways that Ken Ohka and Isami Kodaka have been booked in GanPro this year makes this in my opinion the likeliest prediction to come true. Kodaka is cleaving through the roster with title defence after title defence while Ohka, the main guy behind all of GanPro, has been kept away from the title picture for over a year and a half. Ohka is always fighting from the bottom as the underdog so him never winning the Spirit Of Ganbare Title would fit how he books himself. However that’s not how pro wrestling works and there is bound to be a day when he finally gets his hands on his own promotion’s championship.

Prediction: The Ganbare☆Climax returns.

The last time GanPro held a tournament called the Ganbare☆Climax was in 2021 and that was to crown their first SOG Champion. It would be nice to see it come back to determine a No. 1 Contender during the year. GanPro held tournaments for the Young Ganbare Cup and the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles this year but they both felt like one-offs. That clears up the schedule for a single elimination tournament to happen whenever they want.

Prediction: Yuna Manase returns from injury and feuds with YuuRI.

One of the key additions to GanPro this year was the relaunch of the Ganbare☆Joshi division built around YuuRI, Yoshiko Hasegawa and Riara. Sadly Yuna Manase was relegated to a GM role while she recovers from her ACL injury. YuuRI in particular put in the work to become the face of the GanJo division in her absence. So let’s say that Manase is able to wrestle again in 2024. Would she be willing to play second fiddle to YuuRI? Or will history continue to be a circle and Manase now finds herself as the veteran unwilling to let the new generation surpass her? Wouldn’t that be interesting given Manase’s feud with Yuu Yamagata a few years ago was over the same idea? YuuRI still has a lot to prove and the dynamic could make Hasegawa and Riara choose sides until the matter is resolved. Build it up to one big singles match and it could end up being a lot of fun to follow.

Prediction: A mixed gender tag team wins the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Titles.

I admit this is just a repackaged prediction I made last year about the SOG Tag Titles being built around intergender wrestling. There’s only been one title defence so far featuring a mixed gender team and that was when Lethal Weapon (Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE) were the challengers. I like seeing them team together but I fear that match in August was their only chance, at least while Ground Absolute hold the belts/trophies. There are always other people in GanPro for HARUKAZE to team with and also Banny Oikawa is now with GanPro mostly to do mixed tags. I bet it is only a matter of time before it happens.

Prediction: A Stardom wrestler appears on a Ganbare☆Joshi show.

Another factor of GanJo’s return this year was seeing that roster interact with wrestlers from TJPW, Ice Ribbon, Marvelous, Diana and more. YuuRI even brought over Ice Ribbon’s main championship for a title defence on a GanJo show. Now let’s add Stardom to the list through the UJNW connection. Stardom and TJPW will probably stay being icy towards each other but Yuna Manase and YuuRI both got to wrestle on a Stardom show in 2022. I see talk online about how cool it would be if all the joshi companies get together in 2024 for a major arena show to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of “BIG EGG UNIVERSE”. Something like that was kind of done in 2022 to celebrate 60 years of Korakuen Hall and even then that had some bruised egos coming out of it when Shukan Puroresu only put Starlight Kid on the front cover at the expense of everyone else involved who were not associated with Stardom. Also TJPW stayed away from the show too which again, some icy relationships are probably going on there. So let’s keep this prediction on a much smaller level and just say a Stardom wrestler shows up at a GanJo event.

Miscellaneous

Prediction: A DDT wrestler makes a full time jump over to BASARA.

Appearances from Kazusada Higuchi during the last quarter of 2023 helped freshen up BASARA a little bit. They’re not a company I expect much change from going forward but they could do with adding another full timer to their roster. Even though they are independent there is history with a DDT wrestler deciding they are better off jumping over to BASARA (or Union Pro before that) so they can play a bigger role at shows. It could be a veteran who already wrestles in BASARA and no longer seeing themselves being relevant in DDT (*cough*Soma Takao*cough*) or maybe one of the younger, less experienced wrestlers are looking for a change of pace. Ilusion for example seems to get along with that group well. Someone from that age group would turn into a rival for Munetatsu Nakamura too if that were to happen.

Prediction: Konosuke Takeshita wrestles in the main event of an AEW PPV.

It is really annoying to see Konosuke Takeshita being wasted in The Don Callis Family storyline. It is also annoying that the next step of the angle is the group using Freebird rules that will obviously set up Sammy Guevara’s return to TV rather than giving more focus to Takeshita or Powerhouse Hobbs for that matter. So what is it that has me thinking Takeshita can be in a PPV main event next year? Just the numbers game, really. AEW are adding more PPVs to their schedule so that should be more opportunities for new title challengers. Also if this storyline continues without Kenny Omega and just becomes the Family feuding with Chris Jericho there is can be something like a new Anarchy In The Arena happening to close out one of the PPVs.

Prediction: Yuka Sakazaki becomes the first ROH Women’s TV Champion.

Sakazaki is getting ready for the next chapter in her pro wrestling life. Given how AEW presents their women’s division, she is probably going to get more time in ROH instead. She already had her shot at Athena and the regular ROH Women’s Title but the group now has something new to fight for. A brand new ROH Women’s TV Title was recently revealed and Sakazaki would make a great choice to be its first champion.

Prediction: Baka Gaijin + Friends runs a show at Shin-Kiba 1st RING.

When I wrote a preview for the “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2023” main event I compared the Baka Gaijin + Friends shows to DDT’s Beer Garden shows. There’s a warm vibe and fun atmosphere to these matches that take place in such a small venue. I think the series has become popular enough that Chris Brookes can go from 50 fans in ARENA Shimokitazawa to a triple digit attendance in Shin-Kiba 1st RING, the place where DDT hosted Beer Garden for many years. See it like Gatoh Move running ChocoPro in Ichigaya on the regular and then every once in a while they move up to a place where a full scale wrestling ring can be set up. As long as the drinks still flow the crowd will be with them all the way.

Prediction: The 2024 New Year’s Eve Shuffle Tag Tournament lasts past midnight again.

It used to be that the final show of the year in Korakuen Hall goes beyond midnight into the early hours of the new year. It hasn’t been that way for a while because of restrictions coming out of the pandemic. Unfortunately I think a reason why this year’s edition still has an early evening start is because the show is not much of a draw anymore. But I want to be proven wrong so Korakuen fans get to count down the new year in the middle of a semi-final tag team match again.

Prediction: Yuka Sakazaki gets arrested for assaulting Mickey Mouse at Disney World.

She’s your problem now, Tony!

DDT Around The World – June 2023

One year into writing these articles and I knew it was going to be a good idea to keep track of everything. A busy idea every time the end of the month comes but a good one nonetheless. Summer is still going on but the focus on international travels is swapping some of the cast we’re following. Miyu Yamashita ended her Kick Rampage Tour with a long list of matches and companies worked for under her belt. Maki Itoh is also back in Japan gearing up for possibly the biggest match of her career before she goes touring again. The mystery of why Yuka Sakazaki went to America and not wrestle at all has been cleared up. Well, sort of. There’s a few things out there I’m asking around to clarify knowing full well I won’t be getting any answers. We even got a little bit of Mizuki in there too. Now MAO gets to be a featured part of this series going into the rest of the summer. He’s the latest wrestler to get the travel bug and take in some bookings around America.

Oh, one more thing. I put together two Youtube playlists related to this series. The first is following Takeshita’s AEW run using all of the highlight videos AEW posts on their channels. I avoided adding the episodes of Dark because of the episode lengths. One thing I noticed looking back on everything it’s cool to see how many of Takeshita’s opponents on Dynamite and Rampage early in his run have all circled together as part of feud between The Elite and the Blackpool Combat Club. Intentional or not, Takeshita’s year with the company ended up being something that connected a lot of pieces together.

The other playlist is a collection of Yamashita’s matches from her Rampage Kick Tour. All of the videos I included were posted by either the promotions themselves or the wrestlers she faced against. I avoided fancams and highlight videos unless they were official or endorsed. If there’s anything I missed then send the Youtube links my way. If there’s interest in more I’ll see if I can put a playlist together for Itoh or maybe the DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro rosters in general.

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

Miyu Yamashita Kick Rampage Tour 2023 Playlist

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Videos

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 07/06/2023
Broadmoor World Arena, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) Vs Damon Ace

ST. LOUIS ANARCHY “GIANT’S WOKE EYES OPEN”, 09/06/2023
The House of Anarchy, Alton, Illinois, USA

1. Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita

Video starts at 3:21.
ENJOY “SOMETHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT”, 17/06/2023
Mr. Smalls Theatre, Millvale, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Ray Lyn

WARRIOR “WARRIOR WRESTLING 30 – FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS”, 30/06/2023
Marian Catholic High School, Chicago Heights, Illinois, USA

1. Warhorse Vs Konosuke Takeshita

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Results

LLL “BEST WISHES WARMEST REGARDS”, 02/06/2023
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. LLL Women’s Title – 3 Way Match: Heidi Howitzer (c) defeated Masha Slamovich and Miyu Yamashita when Howitzer pinned Yamashita with the Stunner (15:04).
*V? for Heidi Howitzer.

Earlier this year Yamashita was able to win the Princess Tag Team Titles from The Wasteland War Party in TJPW. Now it was time for her to enter one of Heidi Howitzer’s haunts Lucha Libre & Laughs to try and win another championship from her. Another of Yamashita’s regular opponents Masha Slamovich was also there to make it a 3 Way Match. Yamashita rocked Slamovich with the Skull Kick but just when she thought the match was won, Howitzer came in and gave her a Stunner for the three count and a successful title defence.

BLACK LABEL PRO “FANCY WRESTLING 2”, 03/06/2023
RDS Gym, Crown Point, Indiana, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Rachel Armstrong with the Skull Kick (11:13).

The gap of experience between Yamashita and Rachel Armstrong put Yamashita firmly in the bullying veteran role for the match. She goaded her opponent into a strike exchange that she shrugged off. Armstrong caught Yamashita off guard by criss-crossing the ropes and landing a Running Elbow Smash that knocked Yamashita out of the ring to set up a dive. But back in the ring Yamashita pushed Armstrong away from doing a Shiranui and lifted her high into the air for the Attitude Adjustment. Once she hit the Skull Kick Yamashita applied a dominant pin on top of Armstrong to win the match.

GCW “CAGE OF SURVIVAL 2”, 04/06/2023
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated Janai Kai with the I.S.D. (5:43).

Itoh kicked off GCW’s second annual “CAGE OF SURVIVAL” event by beating Janai Kai but her celebration was cut off by Matt Cardona & Steph De Lander. The two of them were coming out for a tag match against Brandon Kirk & Casey Kirk but first took the time demanding Itoh to keep her nose out of their business. Itoh swore at them and told Cardona to “suck my dick!” Cardona & De Lander went on to beat the Kirks and continued to attack them after the match. Itoh then returned to the ring this time with Nick Gage alongside her. Together Maki Death Kill and The Kirks fought back and Itoh got to smash a bundle of lighttubes over Cardona’s head! If that wasn’t enough she also smeared some of Cardona’s blood she found on the mat over her face afterwards!

INSPIRE A.D. “KIDS OF THE BLACKHOLE”, 04/06/2023
Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA

1. Killa Kate defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Cradle (?:??).

This is possibly the biggest upset defeat Yamashita suffered in her entire excursion. Killa Kate is nicknamed “The Submission Musician” and lived up to it by going for different holds targeting Yamashita’s arm. Yamashita put all of her focus into fighting off the submissions that Kate ended up switching a Cross Armbreaker into a Rolling Cradle to score the pin from out of nowhere.

ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 07/06/2023 (Aired ??/06/2023)
Broadmoor World Arena, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

1. Willow Nightingale & Maki Itoh defeated Emi Sakura & Megan Bayne (?:??).

I’m seeing conflicting reports on whether or not this match was taped for ROH. On the night everyone at the show who tweeted about it said it was taped and images show the ROH set up in the arena. However AEW’s Japanese Twitter account made it sound like it was just a dark match only for those in attendance to see. That’s a shame if it doesn’t get shown because Itoh and Willow Nightingale together sounds like a fun pairing, Emi Sakura’s work is consistently enjoyable and Megan Bayne was building up a hot streak on the indies before getting injured last year.

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 07/06/2023
Broadmoor World Arena, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Damon Ace with the PowerDrive Knee (1:29).

Over in AEW we get to see Konosuke Takeshita with a new attitude under the guidance of Don Callis. He gave Damon Ace a quick beating while video footage of Callis betraying Kenny Omega looped over and over on the arena screens.

ST. LOUIS ANARCHY “GIANT’S WOKE EYES OPEN”, 09/06/2023
The House of Anarchy, Alton, Illinois, USA

1. Billie Starkz defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Victory Roll Reversal (14:04).

By this point Yamashita and Billie Starkz have faced each other several times already. But this meeting in St. Louis Anarchy was one that Starkz has been looking forward to for a while. Her persistence paid off because she finally scored her first singles win over Yamashita! The finish came when she tried to use the Sugoi Driver but Yamashita countered it into a Victory Roll. Starkz reversed the hold and rolled herself back on top of Yamashita to get the three count.

SPARK “IGNITE EAST”, 11/06/2023
The Heart Ballroom, Newark, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated Brittany Blake with the Itoh Deluxe (9:17).
2. Spark Joshi World Title: Miyu Yamashita defeated Rachael Ellering with the Crash Rabbit Heat (16:20).
*Miyu Yamashita becomes the 1st Spark Joshi World Champion!

The debut show for Spark Joshi Puroresu was a good one for Yamashita and Itoh. In the main event Yamashita defeated Rachael Ellering to become the first Spark Joshi World Champion. However Yamashita may need to watch her back for future shows because Starkz threw her name into the hat for a future title shot. She also formed an alliance with Ellering called Xtinguish. On the undercard Itoh beat Brittany Blake.

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 14/06/2023
Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C., USA

0. Dark Match: Riho, Maki Itoh & Abadon defeated Nyla Rose, Marina Shafir & Emi Sakura (?:??).

You know, this would have been a nice match to put on video somewhere. Riho, Itoh & Abadon is a King Of Trios kind of team if I ever saw one. So are Nyla Rose, Marina Shafir & Emi Sakura as a potential Team AEW Dark. Damn it, I miss King Of Trios. Can Tony Khan go do a little bit of grave robbing and grab what’s left of Chikara? Or is that going to unleash a new kind of curse on the world that nobody wants?

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 14/06/2023 (Aired 16/06/2023)
Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C., USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Bandido with the PowerDrive Knee (15:11).

Now this is the good stuff! Big Lariats from Takeshita, big Hurricanranas from Bandido, big bombs everywhere else. Takeshita eventually came out on top against Bandido by hitting the Jumping Knee, an Elbow Strike to the back of the head and then the PowerDrive Knee.

SPARK “IGNITE WEST”, 16/06/2023
East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Cultural Center, West Covina, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated Zeda Zhang with the I.S.D. (9:55).
2. Spark Joshi World Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Delilah Doom with the Skull Kick (19:06).
*V1 for Miyu Yamashita.

The second Spark show was full of victories again for Yamashita and Itoh. Yamashita earned her first Spark Joshi Title defence by beating Delilah Doom while Itoh was victorious against Zeda Zhang. After the match Sumie Sakai entered the ring, helped Zhang to her feet and held up the Xtinguish banner with her. Itoh told both of them to “Fuck off.”

ENJOY “SOMETHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT”, 17/06/2023
Mr. Smalls Theatre, Millvale, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Ray Lyn with the Skull Kick (18:06).

The final weekend of Yamashita’s tour took her to Enjoy Wrestling where she beat Ray Lyn.

GCW “THANK ME LATER”, 17/06/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Rina Yamashita defeated Maki Itoh with the Splash Mountain onto a Chair (17:37).

Well the death match stuff was going to catch up with Itoh sooner or later. When she faced Rina Yamashita in GCW she had to fight someone armed with chairs and even a loose door. Itoh had her trusty pizza cutter though and was able to slice her opponent’s head open. However Yamashita put Itoh through the door with an Air Raid Crash, attacked her over and over with the chairs and pinned her with the Splash Mountain onto a chair.

DPW “TAG FESTIVAL 2023”, 18/06/2023
Durham Armory, Durham, North Carolina, USA

1. Emi Sakura & Mizuki (w/ Yuka Sakazaki) defeated Miyu Yamashita & VertVixen when Sakura pinned VertVixen with La Magistral Cradle (11:37).

Deadlock Pro held the final match of Yamashita’s tour along with Itoh’s last match before she went back to Japan too. A lot of changes happened in the leadup. First the match was supposed to by Yamashita & Hyan against The Magical Sugar Rabbits but Hyan had to pull out because of a schedule conflict. VertVixen was brought in to be Yamashita’s new partner. Then Sakazaki got her injury diagnosis and was unable to do the match. DPW decided Mizuki would now team with Emi Sakura, who just so happens to be the DPW Women’s Champion. Sakazaki was still able to attend the show and be at ringside to support Mizuki. Together the three of them became The MagiRabi Queens. Sakazaki even got involved a few times pulling some antics at ringside. Stuff like moving around the ringside railings for wrestlers to get thrown into. She even got in the way and almost had her head kicked off when Yamashita tried to do a running Penalty Kick on the apron. Yamashita stopped herself at the last second while Sakazaki froze in fear, possibly having her life flash before her eyes.

AEW/NJPW “FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023”, 25/06/2023
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

1. Hangman Page, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, Eddie Kingston & Tomohiro Ishii defeated Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Konosuke Takeshita & Shota Umino when Ishii pinned Yuta with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (21:29).

Hey this just about counts as DDT being part of the Forbidden Door. Takeshita through his new manager formed an alliance with the Blackpool Combat Club in the leadup to the big show. Together they all challenged The Elite along with Eddie Kingston and his choice of partner Tomohiro Ishii. Takeshita put up a big performance on the night highlighted with the incredibly rare sight of him knocking out Ishii with an Elbow Strike! Ishii recovered and went on to score the pinfall for his team but the story is ready to move on to its next chapter.

WARRIOR “WARRIOR WRESTLING 30 – FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS”, 30/06/2023
Marian Catholic High School, Chicago Heights, Illinois, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Warhorse with the PowerDrive Knee (18:06).

Takeshita’s return to Warrior Wrestling was a reminder that no matter what happens to him, there will always be that DDT DNA inside of him. Warhorse went into the match with the intentions of not just beating Takeshita but sending him to the injured list. With an entire football field at their disposal they fought everywhere they could reach. They brawled along the track where Takeshita jumped hurdles on the way to kicking Warhorse with a Big Boot. Warhorse turned the tables near the field goal by inviting Takeshita to kick a football and then doing the old Charlie Brown trick to make him fall over. Warhorse then Body Slammed a few nearby people onto Takeshita for good measure! Takeshita fought back by doing a Brainbuster on the field, leaving both feeling hurt enough to take the match back into the ring. A war of attrition took place from there ending with Takeshita pinning Warhorse with the PowerDrive Knee.

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Upcoming Appearances

EVE “NMITB”, 02/07/2023
The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England

1. Eve Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Emersyn Jayne

Yamashita’s tour is over but she isn’t finished with travelling by a long shot. Last month Emersyn Jayne defeated Rhio to become the No. 1 Contender for the EVE Title. She is arguably the most accomplished wrestler yet to challenge face Yamashita for the championship.

WEST COAST PRO “CRUEL SUMMER 2023”, 08/07/2023
United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, USA

1. Bryan Keith Vs MAO

MAO has his own US trip for the summer planned. First up he meets Bryan Keith in the ring for the first time over in West Coast Pro.

IWTV “MARCUS MATHERS ALL I WANT 2”, 13/07/2023
H20 Wrestling Center, Williamstown, New Jersey, USA

1. Yoshihiko Vs X
2. MAO Vs Brandon Kirk

Then MAO heads over to New Jersey to be part of a show being put together by Marcus Mathers. MAO’s opponent will be against death match wrestler Brandon Kirk. He won’t be going there alone though. Yoshihiko will be at the show too but it currently does not have a match announced.

GCW “NOW AND FOREVER”, 14/07/2023
Melrose Ballroom, Queens, New York, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X
2. Mike Bailey Vs Yoshihiko
3. GCW World Title: Blake Christian (c) Vs MAO

Some big matches await our crew in GCW the next day. MAO gets a shot at the GCW World Title facing the increasingly unpopular Blake Christian. Yoshihiko faces a great test of its abilities against Mike Bailey in a first time ever singles match. They’ve been opponents in a trios match once before but other than that Bailey didn’t interact with Yoshihiko that much while he was in DDT.

IWS “SCARRED 4 LIFE”, 15/07/2023
L’Olympia, Montreal, Québec, Canada

1. Vanessa Kraven Vs Maki Itoh

Vanessa Kraven is a long time veteran wrestler who recently returned to the scene after stepping away for a few years. She’s the size of a giant next to Itoh.

CIRCLE 6 “BARROOM BLITZ”, 15/07/2023
Knucklehead Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. MAO Vs Bobby Beverly

A new place for MAO to experience. If you thought GCW is home to a few misfit toys with nowhere else to go then oh boy you haven’t seen Circle 6 yet! The first show is a no ring show taking place inside a bar in Santa Monica where MAO will fight Bobby Beverly, no holds barred.

CIRCLE 6 “LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE”, 16/07/2023
1720 Warehouse, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. AJ Gray Vs MAO

Then the next day MAO takes on AJ Gray. Yeah let’s move on.

SMASH “CAN-US CLASSIC 2023”, 22/07/2023
Western Fair District, London, Ontario, Canada

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

No update yet on who Itoh faces when she goes to Smash Wrestling.

PRESTIGE “ALL RISE”, 23/07/2023
House Of Independents, Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Trish Adora

It will be around 10 months since the last time Itoh was on a Prestige show. When she returns Trish Adora will be there to fight her.

DEFY “SPIRIT WC”, 28/07/2023
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Itoh heads over to DEFY for the launch of their new women’s wrestling brand called Spirit WC.

DREAMWAVE “SUMMER SPECTACULAR NIGHT 1”, 04/08/2023
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

DREAMWAVE “SUMMER SPECTACULAR NIGHT 2”, 05/08/2023
Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Itoh has two nights at DREAMWAVE coming up in August. Something interesting to note is Mickie James is being advertised to appear at the second show. They’d probably get along if they met, right? Maybe get Itoh to sing “Hardcore Country” and James to sing “Brooklyn The Hole”?

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

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Itoh’s been with GCW for so long at this point she should get her own vanity show for the next Wrestlemania weekend.

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

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

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

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

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

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Itoh’s heading over to Australia for the first time as part of GCW’s tour with Renegades Of Wrestling. Australians, do her a favor and teach her only the most foulest of the local swear words while she’s over there.

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Cancelled Appearances

WRESTLING REVOLVER “RING OF DESTINY”, 17/06/2023
Calumet Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA

1. JT Dunn (w/ Allie Katch) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Takeshita wasn’t able to make the Wrestling REVOLVER show due to travel issues. JT Dunn instead threw out an open challenge and wrestled Sami Callihan to continue their feud in the company.

DDT Around The World – April 2023

It’s full steam ahead on several different fronts for this month’s article. Konosuke Takeshita is now part of a blood feud between two of AEW’s main stables, a few familiar faces had a cup of coffee with the company during their American stay, Miyu Yamashita is all over the US indies adjusting to no longer being a big fish in a small pond, Maki Itoh’s love affair with GCW continues and Daisuke Sasaki did a tour of Mexico before returning to Japan. The rest of the summer looks to be entirely focused on Takeshita, Yamashita and Itoh’s travels. But when has that ever stopped a surprise booking or two popping up somewhere else, eh?

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Videos

LLL “MONSTER ISLAND”, 07/04/2023
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. LLL Women’s Title: Heidi Howitzer (c) Vs Maki Itoh

DEFY “THE REALEST”, 08/04/2023
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

1. DEFY Women’s Title: VertVixen (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

IWRG “COPA HIGH POWER”, 09/04/2023
Arena Naucalpan, Naucalpan de Juarez, Estado de Mexico, Mexico

1. Mexico Vs Los Internacionales: El Hijo del Canis Lupis, Hell Boy, Aster Boy, Jhon Tito, Tonalli & Maniacop 360 Vs Hip Hop Man, Karaoui, Gianni Valetta, Shocko, Daisuke Sasaki & Kodai Nozaki

Video starts at 00:00 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 10/04/2023
UBS Arena, Elmont, New York, USA

1. Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Kip Sabian, The Butcher & The Blade (w/ Penelope Ford)

BATTLE CLUB PRO “BATTLE CLUB ICONS VOLUME 3”, 12/04/2023
Ellery Street, Brooklyn, New York, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai

Video starts at 1:10:23 for the match
OUTLAW WRESTLING “COLOSSAL TUSSLE”, 13/04/2023
Queens Brewery, Ridgewood, New York, USA

1. Daisuke Sasaki Vs Mike Bailey

NORTHEAST WRESTLING “SPRING SLAM 2023”, 15/04/2023
MJN Convention Center , Poughkeepsie, New York, USA

1. Wrestlefest Rematch: Konosuke Takeshita defeated JT Dunn with the Rollover German Suplex (17:19).

LUCHA MEMES, 15/04/2023
Arena Solis, Cuautlacingo, Puebla, Mexico

1. Raider Boy, Tormento & Fantasmin Vs Osiris, Garrobo Punk & Daisuke Sasaki

CCW “DEAD-ZONE”, 15/04/2023
Houston Volunteer Fire Department, Houston, Delaware, USA

1. CCW Title & CCW Title Match Network Title – 4 Corner Survival Match: KiLynn King (c) Vs Killer Kelly Vs Steph De Lander Vs Miyu Yamashita

Video starts at 00:0 for Match #1. Go to 16:01 for Match #2.
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 17/04/2023
UBS Arena, Elmont, New York, USA

1. Ashley D’Amboise Vs Maki Itoh
2. Emi Sakura Vs Mizuki

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 19/04/2023
Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Konosuke Takeshita comes to the aid of The Elite.

UWE “DAWN OF A NEW ERA”, 22/04/2023
Dauphin County Tech School, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Dani Mo Vs Miyu Yamashita

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 26/04/2023
FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, Florida, USA

1. The Butcher & The Blade (w/ Kip Sabian & Penelope Ford) Vs Kenny Omega & Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis)

REPUBLIC OF LUCHA “ROL IV”, 30/04/2023
Republic Of Lucha, South Pasadena, California, USA

1. Arez Vs Konosuke Takeshita

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Results

AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 05/04/2023 (Aired 10/04/2023 & 17/04/2023)
UBS Arena, Elmont, New York, USA

1. Kip Sabian, The Butcher & The Blade (w/ Penelope Ford) defeated Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata when Butcher pinned Katsumata after the (7:01).
2. Maki Itoh defeated Ashley D’Amboise with the Itoh Deluxe (3:11).
3. Emi Sakura defeated Mizuki with a Cradle Cutback (3:26).

With WrestleMania week done and dusted, the DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro crew were all heading back to America. But not all of them. Mizuki made her AEW debut by facing one of her mentors Emi Sakura. She got to hit the Whirling Candy but ended up losing after a back and forth of cradles led to Sakura taking the three count.

Itoh made her AEW return on the same taping by beating Ashley D’Amboise one on one. The match was built around Itoh’s attempts to hit the Kokeshi Headbutt. She kept missing the move until she ended up successfully hitting it by accident. D’Amboise Dropkicked Itoh, Itoh bounced off the ropes and landed head first onto D’Amboise’s ribs. It then took Itoh all of her might to turn her opponent over into the Itoh Deluxe but once she got it locked in, victory was hers.

Fans discovered on Takeshita’s Twitter that the other members of The 37KAMIINA on the USA trip were hanging out with him in New York. Then there was the surprise when Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata all showed up in AEW later that night to wrestle on Dark Elevation. The three of them took on Kip Sabian along with The Butcher & The Blade in a losing effort but they all looked good in the process.

ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 05/04/2023 (Aired 06/04/2023)
UBS Arena, Elmont, New York, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Tony Nese with the Rollover German Suplex (w/ Mark Sterling, Josh Woods & Ari Daivari) (10:25).
2. ROH Women’s World Title: Athena (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita by Referee Stoppage with a Crossface Lock (13:33).
*V8 for Athena.

Yamashita returned to ROH for her second crack at Athena and the ROH Women’s Title. They previously fought over that belt in Prestige back in January. The rematch was more heated with the two fighting up towards the stage late in the match where Yamashita threw the champion over with the Attitude Adjustment. However Athena got her own back by pushing Yamashita off the ramp to the floor and following up with a dive. The damage took its toll because back in the ring Athena put on a Crossface Lock and kept it held until Yamashita lost consciousness. Athena mockingly shook her hand while she was still passed out afterwards.

A problem Takeshita has found himself in the AEW landscape is having to fight off more than just his opponent in the ring. Some of his losses have come from interference and the same almost happened against Tony Nese. There was a moment where Mark Sterling grabbed Takeshita’s foot and it eventually set up Nese hitting his Pumphandle Fire Thunder Driver for a nearfall. But Takeshita recovered and used a Chaos Theory to get the win despite the numbers game being against him.

WRESTLING REVOLVER “REVOLVER THURSDAY”, 06/04/2023
Calumet Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Allie Katch with the Skull Kick (10:13).

Yamashita bounced back a bit from her ROH loss the next day by beating Allie Katch in Wrestling REVOLVER. Katch was climbing the top rope when Yamashita stopped her with a High Kick to the rear followed by a German Suplex. Katch used a Small Package for one last chance but Yamashita kicked out and knocked her silly with the Skull Kick. Katch attacked Yamashita after the match but Jessica Havoc came to the rescue and sent Katch fleeing.

LLL “MONSTER ISLAND”, 07/04/2023
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. LLL Women’s Title: Heidi Howitzer (c) defeated Maki Itoh with the Stunner (?:??).
*V1 for Heidi Howitzer.

Itoh and Heidi Howitzer were in the ring together for the first time since “GRAND PRINCESS ’23” in the main event of the latest Lucha Libre & Laughs show. Howitzer was not going to lose another title to Itoh and this time got revenge for the result back in Japan.

WEST COAST PRO “HOME OF THE KILLERS”, 07/04/2023
The State Room, South San Francisco, California, USA

1. West Coast Pro Women’s Title: Masha Slamovich (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the White Knight Driver (17:27).
*V1 for Masha Slamovich.

There’s been a few regular opponents showing up for Yamashita and Masha Slamovich is one of them. This time Slamovich was putting her newly won West Coast Pro Women’s Title on the line. Yamashita showed a more violent side by laying in knee strikes to Slamovich’s head while holding her in the Attitude Adjustment. But Slamovich escaped the move, hit a Shining Wizard and got the win with a Package Piledriver. It’s her first time beating Yamashita.

HOODSLAM “FALLEN IDOLS”, 08/04/2023
Continental Club, Oakland, California, USA

1. Vipress defeated Maki Itoh with a School Boy (8:00).

Itoh ended up having to fight off two opponents for her appearance in Hoodslam. When she had Vipress all but beaten, Dark Sheik ran down to interfere. Itoh cut her off at the ropes with a DDT but Vipress rolled her up with a School Boy afterwards to steal the win.

DEFY “THE REALEST”, 08/04/2023
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

1. DEFY Women’s Title: VertVixen (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Game Over (18:25).
*V3 for VertVixen.

A week before VertVixen headed over to TJPW for her first tour of Japan, she faced off with Yamashita with the DEFY Women’s Title on the line. VertVixen came out on top in a match that got a great response from the fans in attendance.

IWRG “COPA HIGH POWER”, 09/04/2023
Arena Naucalpan, Naucalpan de Juarez, Estado de Mexico, Mexico

1. Mexico Vs Los Internacionales: Hip Hop Man, Karaoui, Gianni Valetta, Shocko, Daisuke Sasaki & Kodai Nozaki defeated El Hijo del Canis Lupis, Hell Boy, Aster Boy, Jhon Tito, Tonalli & Maniacop 360 (?:??).

Daisuke Sasaki went his own direction to spend some extra time abroad. First he went to hang out with Sam Adonis and Hernandez. Apparently they all teamed together for at least one match somewhere but I couldn’t find out where. Then he travelled to Mexico to compete on several lucha libre shows. The first one I could find was a Mexico Vs The World themed Torneo de Cibernetico over in IWRG. Sasaki was not the only Japanese wrestler on his team because Kodai Nozaki was there too. Both of them ended up getting eliminated from the match (Sasaki was Power Bombed onto one of his other partners and then pinned) but their team ended up beating Mexico anyway thanks to some shenanigans at the end that didn’t involve either of them.

ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 12/04/2023 (Aired 20/04/2023)
UWM Panther Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Lee Moriarty (12:42).

Takeshita took his ROH record this year to 4-0 after beating Lee Moriarty with the Zahi. He also got a slightly bloody lip out of it. Moriarty worked over Takeshita’s arm which saved him from getting pinned with the German Suplex. But Takeshita thought through to hold on and turn Moriarty into a Ripcord Forearm. From there he then hit the Zahi and that was it.

BATTLE CLUB PRO “BATTLE CLUB ICONS VOLUME 3”, 12/04/2023
Ellery Street, Brooklyn, New York, USA

1. Janai Kai defeated Miyu Yamashita with a School Boy (9:41).

Something a little different for Yamashita’s visit to Brooklyn was getting to wrestle outdoors at night. Her Battle Club Pro match against Janai Kai ended in defeat when Kai ducked the Skull Kick and used a School Boy to escape with the win.

OUTLAW WRESTLING “COLOSSAL TUSSLE”, 13/04/2023
Queens Brewery, Ridgewood, New York, USA

1. Daisuke Sasaki defeated Mike Bailey with La Mistica Crossface Lock (?:??).

Sasaki popped back over to America to fight an old foe in the form of Mike Bailey for Outlaw Wrestling. Sasaki’s dirty tactics won out in the end. He caught Speedball with a Low Blow and then applied La Mistica Crossface Lock to make him tap out.

LUCHANDO LIBRE, 14/04/2023
Coliseo Tulancingo, Tulancingo, Hidalgo, Mexico

1. Aero Boy & Dariux Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Josh Rios

Then Sasaki went right back to Mexico for more lucha bookings. I couldn’t find a result for this match anywhere but I did find this picture of the match on their Facebook page.

NORTHEAST WRESTLING “SPRING SLAM 2023”, 15/04/2023
MJN Convention Center , Poughkeepsie, New York, USA

1. Wrestlefest Rematch: Konosuke Takeshita defeated JT Dunn with the Rollover German Suplex (17:19).

JT Dunn had been wanting a rematch with Takeshita after their last bout in Northeast Wrestling. He got his wish but the result was the same as last time.

CCW “DEAD-ZONE”, 15/04/2023
Houston Volunteer Fire Department, Houston, Delaware, USA

1. CCW Title & CCW Network Title – 4 Corner Survival Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated KiLynn King (c), Killer Kelly and Steph De Lander when Yamashita pinned King with the Skull Kick (11:05).
*KiLynn King fails in V9 for the CCW Title and V2 for the CCW Network Title. Miyu Yamashita becomes the 2nd CCW Champion and the 4th CCW Network Champion!
2. CCW Title & CCW Network Title: Christina Marie defeated Miyu Yamashita (c) with a Brass Knuckles Attack (1:17).
*Miyu Yamashita fails in V1 for the CCW Title and V1 for the CCW Network Title. Christina Marie becomes the 3rd CCW Champion and the 5th CCW Network Champion!

After several failed attempts to win a championship so far in her tour there was a brief moment when Yamashita added two more belts to her collection, the first title wins of her excursion. She made her debut for Capital Championship Wrestling winning both the CCW Title and the CCW Network Title from KiLynn King in a 4 Corner Survival Match. Yamashita even pinned King to win the match, cutting off any possible dispute over whether the title change was deserved. However afterwards Christina Marie confronted Yamashita in the ring and explained to her she is allowed to get a title match whenever she wanted because of a Battle Royal she won a few months ago. She was getting that title match right now and when the referee did the pre-match check on Yamashita, Marie put on brass knuckles and knocked Yamashita out with a punch to the head. The ref didn’t see the foreign object and counted the pin, bringing Yamashita’s CCW Title reign to an instant end before it ever really begun.

LUCHA MEMES, 15/04/2023
Arena Solis, Cuautlacingo, Puebla, Mexico

1. Raider Boy, Tormento & Fantasmin defeated Osiris, Garrobo Punk & Daisuke Sasaki with a Triple Pin (?:??)

Sasaki also made a trip over to Lucha Memes to team with Osiris & Garrobo Punk to take on the trio known as Los Insoportables. It ended badly for Sasaki’s team. All three of his team were pinned at the same time with Sasaki being defeated with a One-Man Spanish Fly.

DPW “DPW LIVE 2”, 16/04/2023
Phil Sheridan Building, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Nicole Matthews with the Skull Kick (13:24).

The last time Yamashita fought Nicole Matthews she lost to her in Canada. The rematch in America for Deadlock Pro went differently and now they is a 1-1 record between them.

RIW “FIGHT UNTIL WE DIED”, 16/04/2023
Gimnasio Coliseo Arena, Toluca, Mexico

1. Fight For The Revolution: Daisuke Sasaki, Impulso & Belial defeated Sol, X Devil Jr. & Astro de Plata Jr. (?:??).

Sasaki’s last appearance in Mexico before going home (that I could find ) was with Revolution Indy Wrestling in Toluca. Couldn’t find out much other than his team won the match.

UWE “DAWN OF A NEW ERA”, 22/04/2023
Dauphin County Tech School, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Dani Mo with the Skull Kick (?:??).

Yamashita had said on Twitter she was really looking forward to this match with Dani Mo. The feeling was mutual and Mo tweeted afterwards how honored she was to fight her.

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 26/04/2023
FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, Florida, USA

1. Kenny Omega & Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated The Butcher & The Blade (w/ Kip Sabian & Penelope Ford) when Takeshita pinned Butcher with the Powerdrive Knee (8:45).

A lot of progress was made with Takeshita’s storyline with Don Callis this month. It’s now sent him straight into the centre of an increasingly violent feud between The Elite and The Blackpool Combat Club. Attacks from the BCC led to Callis finding Takeshita backstage and convincing him to come save The Elite from further harm. Takeshita did so, stopping Bryan Danielson from attacking Kenny Omega with a screwdriver. It was a tense moment between the two given the respect they previously had for each other as opponents in AEW. After the show ended and things calmed down a little, Takeshita was welcomed into The Elite by The Young Bucks. Omega however was a little flustered over the decision, stopping himself from saying there was someone else he always had in mind to bring into the unit…

The following week Takeshita teamed with Omega for the first time since his AEW debut two years ago. They beat The Butcher & The Blade and we found out that Takeshita’s Zahi finisher has been renamed the Powerdrive Knee. However another BCC ambush took place after the match. This time The Elite were able to rally themselves and put them in a position for Omega to attack Jon Moxley with a screwdriver. Danielson convinced Takeshita to stop Omega but that just led to The BCC to come back and wipe out The Elite. Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli both raised Takeshita’s arm, signalling their intentions to add him to The BCC. Takeshita refused so Wheeler Yuta gave him a Low Blow and Moxley spiked him in the head with the screwdriver. Takeshita was left busted open with Omega tending to him as the show went off the air.

PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 5”, 29/04/2023
Roseland Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. Triple Threat Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Liiza Hall and Trish Adora when Yamashita pinned Hall with the Crash Rabbit Heat (?:??).

Yamashita’s original opponent for this show Queen Aminata had to pull out of the match “due to reasons beyond anyone’s control” according to Prestige. Yamashita instead took part in a a Triple Threat against Liiza Hall and Trish Adora. The latter brought power to the match, finding ways to lift and slam both Yamashita and Hall at the same time. She got taken out of the picture though and Hall tried to finish off Yamashita with a Piledriver. Yamashita countered the move and threw Hall off her, setting up the Crash Rabbit Heat. However there was a disputed finish because Hall kicked out right as the ref counted three.

REPUBLIC OF LUCHA “ROL IV”, 30/04/2023
Republic Of Lucha, South Pasadena, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Kidd Bandit with the Skull Kick (?:??).
2. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Arez with the Powerdrive Knee (?:??).

Daga did not heal from his injury in time so Takeshita took on Arez instead. Arez went the flight route with some dives but that stopped when Takeshita caught him on a Topé and dropped him onto the floor with a Brainbuster. But Arez is a smart little fecker and he found unusual ways to tie up Takeshita limb by limb. However he made the mistake of getting into strike exchanges and that’s a battle he just could not win. A Wheelbarrow Suplex was used to set up the Powerdrive Knee and that was the end for him.

Kidd Bandit went to Reddit asking for advice about how to beat Yamashita. Here is some of the advice they got. Duck, don’t get kicked and use unorthodox tactics. None of that worked.

———————————————————————–

Upcoming Appearances

EVE “LUCKY 13 – NIGHT 1”, 05/05/2023
The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England

1. EVE Title – Iron Woman Match: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Millie McKenzie

Could this be the countdown towards Yamashita losing the EVE Title?

EVE “LUCKY 13 – NIGHT 2”, 06/05/2023
The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England

1. Special Challenge Match: Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita

There is a chance that Yamashita and Billie Starkz could end up fighting each other for the EVE Title somewhere down the line if Yamashita retains against Millie McKenzie and Starkz wins a tournament that EVE is putting together. However the promotion doesn’t want to miss their chance to do this match in England while both are available.

NEW TEXAS PRO “SUPER TEXAS CONTENDERS SERIES 1”, 11/05/2023
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. New Texas Pro Women’s Title: Hyan (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

Remember this place from Shota’s excursion? Now Yamashita gets to experience the Houston Premier Arena for a big New Texas Pro show. She takes on Hyan with the New Texas Pro Women’s Title on the line.

MAW “VENDETTA”, 13/05/2023
2nd St. Depot, Hastings, Minnesota, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Sierra

Nothing new to add here.

HOG “BEWARE THE FURY”, 19/05/2023
Amazura, Queens, New York, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Add House Of Glory to the growing list of promotions Yamashita is wrestling in this summer.

AIW “GAUNTLET FOR THE GOLD 16”, 20/05/2023
Force Sports, Eastlake, Ohio, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Still waiting to see what will happen in AIW.

GCW “THE WAY I AM”, 20/05/2023
Harpo’s Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Shazza McKenzie

Itoh returns to America for a few more GCW appearances. Her first match back is against Shazza McKenzie and once that’s done she has a storyline to sink her teeth into.

GCW “I CAN’T SAVE YOU”, 21/05/2023
Valley Dale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Steph De Lander

Itoh and Steph De Lander just keep bumping into each other whenever Itoh goes travelling. Their next meeting in GCW however ties into the Nick Gage and Matt Cardona feud. De Lander has become Cardona’s right hand woman on the indies ever since his wife Chelsea Green signed with WWE (Cardona compares it to losing his Miss Elizabeth and then gaining his own Sensational Sherri). The two tried to ruin the one night only tag match for Maki Death Kill and Cardona is still avoiding Gage’s demands for another death match. So while that problem is still bubbling on the surface, Itoh and De Lander will get to continue their little rivalry in the meantime.

GLORY PRO “GO FOR BROKE”, 21/05/2023
South Broadway Athletic Club, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

1. Tootie Lynn Vs Miyu Yamashita

Another new opponent for Yamashita. Tootie Lynn welcomes her to Glory Pro. I’m sensing some of Yamashita’s bookings in May is all thanks to the groundwork Shota laid out with his excursion last year.

GCW “LIFESTYLE”, 26/05/2023
Silver Nugget Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Here’s a tip for those getting an Uber away from the Silver Nugget Casino after the show based on my experience there last year. Try and get over to the cinema across the road. It is so much easier for the driver to pick you up there while avoiding the rest of the crowd all calling their own rides home at the same time.

LLL “BEST WISHES WARMEST REGARDS”, 02/06/2023
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. 3 Way Match: Masha Slamovich Vs Heidi Howitzer Vs Miyu Yamashita

After Howitzer dealt with Itoh, she is now onto even bigger challenges in Lucha Libre & Laughs. Now she has to fight both Masha Slamovich and Miyu Yamashita at the same time! It’s another chance for Yamashita to clash with Slamovich too.

BLACK LABEL PRO “FANCY WRESTLING 2”, 03/06/2023
RDS Gym, Crown Point, Indiana, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

It’s a safe bet Yamashita will get a bigger pop for her Black Label Pro debut than Sean Ross Sapp did.

ST. LOUIS ANARCHY “GIANT’S WOKE EYES OPEN”, 09/06/2023
The House of Anarchy, Alton, Illinois, USA

1. Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita

They’ll have faced each other before already but this is still a match Starkz has been demanding to happen in St. Louis Anarchy.

SPARK “IGNITE EAST”, 11/06/2023
The Heart Ballroom, Newark, New Jersey, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

SPARK “IGNITE WEST”, 16/06/2023
East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Cultural Center, West Covina, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

A new women’s wrestling promotion is opening up in America called SPARK Joshi Puroresu. Obviously with a name like that their goal is to become a Japanese style wrestling promotion. Yamashita is the third name attached to the indie with Ram Kaichow and SAKI being the first two announcements. However Yamashita is being advertised for both of SPARK’s first two shows while the other two are only doing one each at the moment. I’m a little bit skeptical over how much legs an idea like this has especially when SPARK is trying to run both the east and west coast of USA.

ENJOY “???”, 17/06/2023
Mr. Smalls Theatre, Millvale, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Ray Lyn Vs Miyu Yamashita

Still looks like this will be the last match of Yamashita’s excursion.

WRESTLING REVOLVER “RING OF DESTINY”, 17/06/2023
Calumet Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X

Takeshita makes his Wrestling REVOLVER debut. Interesting thing to note is this is the same date as the rumored debut event for AEW’s new weekly TV show Collision. With rumours of a soft roster split taking place in AEW to accompany the return of CM Punk, it will be of no surprise to find out Takeshita is in The Elite’s half of the company. God what a mess that entire thing is.

GCW “THANK ME LATER”, 17/06/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Meanwhile Itoh will be on the other side of the country for GCW. Imagine if she goes back to AEW and ends up in the middle of that civil war?

DDT Around The World – WrestleMania Week 2023

So WrestleMania Week is not over yet by a long shot. The actual shows behind the namesake haven’t even taken place by the time I am posting this. But all of the DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro related wrestling shows are now finished by this point. The wrestlers will be spending the rest of the weekend as convention guests and as tourists enjoying the sights and sounds of Los Angeles.

The vacation hasn’t been entirely relaxing though. The hotel all of the DDT wrestlers were staying at had to be evacuated in the early hours of Friday morning because of a burst pipe flooding the building. It caused all of the DDT wrestlers to lose a lot of sleep before the GCW show. Funny thing is when Sanshiro Takagi explained what happened on Twitter a lot of Japanese fans didn’t believe him. It was already 1st April in Japan because of the time difference so some fans thought Takagi was pulling an April Fool’s Joke!

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Videos

Video starts at 53:28 for the match
AEW “DARK”, 28/03/2023
Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Cole Karter

IMPACT “IMPACT WRESTLING”, 30/03/2023
St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Killer Kelly

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 31/03/2023
Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

1. Sammy Guevara (w/ Tay Melo) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Video starts at 21:10 for the match
ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2023: ZERO HOUR”, 31/03/2023
Galen Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

0. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Willie Mack

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Results

ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 29/03/2023 (Aired 30/03/2023)
Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Shazza McKenzie with the Skull Kick (4:45).

First Impact, now ROH. Is Yamashita keeps going at this rate she might show up at an MLW taping if she’s not careful. She kicked Shazza McKenzie’s head off to win her ROH debut.

PANDEMONIUM PRO “BEST DAMN THING”, 29/03/2023
Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Steph De Lander & Heather Monroe defeated Maki Itoh & Kidd Bandit (?:??).

What on earth happened here? The night started off well for Maki Itoh with her getting backup dancers for her entrance. But her tag partner Kidd Bandit ended up betraying her, costing them the match against Steph De Lander & Heather Monroe. Bandit’s only explanation to Itoh after the match was “There can be only one” and then they walked out on her. Itoh’s response to that was yelling “I hate everyone!”

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 29/03/2023 (Aired 31/03/2023)
Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

1. Sammy Guevara (w/ Tay Melo) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the GTH (9:43).

Konosuke Takeshita’s week began with a match against one of AEW’s chosen pillars at Rampage. Victory was in his grasp until Tay Melo grabbed his leg in the corner for a distraction. That allowed Sammy Guevara to strike Takeshita from behind with a Jumping Knee and then hit the GTH to steal the win.

Yoshihiko took a detour to St. Louis on the way to LA so it could attend the AEW show. It was granted a visitor’s pass and got to enjoy catering while watching the matches. It also hung out with some of the staff like Bryce Remsburg. Since Yoshihiko brought along the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title it made sense to stay near a ref the whole time.

WRESTLECON “THE MARK HITCHCOCK MEMORIAL SUPERSHOW”, 30/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. TJPW 10-Woman Tag Showcase: Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao, Yuki Kamifuku & Yuki Aino defeated Rika Tatsumi, Nao Kakuta, Miu Watanabe, Hikari Noa & Raku when Mizuki pinned Raku with the Diving Foot Stomp (14:21).

While Yamashita and Itoh were busy around the indies, the rest of the TJPW roster went to visit WrestleCon. 10 of them got together to put on a 10-Woman Tag match for the fans. Mizuki led a team consisting of Kyoraku Kyomei, Yuki Kamifuku & Yuki Aino to beat Rika Tatsumi, Nao Kakuta & The Up Up Girls.

DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata defeated Chris Brookes & Yoshihiko (c) when MAO pinned Yoshihiko after the Oretachi no Mad Max (17:29).
*MAO becomes the 1,567th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Chris Brookes defeated MAO (c) with the Praying Mantis Bomb (8:24 pm).
*Chris Brookes becomes the 1,568th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yoshihiko defeated Chris Brookes (c) with 3 Canadian Destroyers in a row (8:25 pm).
*Yoshihiko becomes the 1,569th champion.
2. Pheromones Vs Takagi Army All Out Battle In HOLLYWOOD: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Michael Nakazawa ended in a No Contest (11:08).
3. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada defeated Andrew “The Giant” Everett & Nick Wayne when Higuchi pinned Everett with the Brain Claw Slam (11:33).
4. Saki Akai defeated Vert Vixen with the Quetzalcoatl (6:09)
5. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo defeated Joey Janela with the Burning Star Press (15:28).
6. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Eddie Kingston defeated Daisuke Sasaki & KANON when Akiyama pinned KANON with the Exploder Suplex (10:35).
7. Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Yuki Ueno with the Zahi (15:16).

A report of the show can be found here.

IMPACT/NJPW “MULTIVERSE UNITED”, 30/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. 4 Way Match: Deonna Purrazzo defeated Masha Slamovich, Gisele Shaw and Miyu Yamashita when Purrazzo pinned Shaw with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (9:20).

Yamashita got off to a good start in Impact last week when she beat Killer Kelly in her debut. Her next challenge saw her get caught in the race for the future of the Knockouts World Title. If she had won the 4 Way match she would have qualified for a title match at Impact’s next PPV in April. Instead she was left out of the result because Deonna Purrazzo pinned Gisele Shaw to win that opportunity.

WPW “RUSSELL CROWE WRESTLING: RUSSEL MANIA III”, 30/03/2023
Burbank Moose Lodge, Burbank, California, USA

1. Mizuki Watase defeated Gregory Sharpe and Eli Everfly (?:??).

I can’t find much info about this match other than Mizuki Watase won using a new move. This is all according to Watase himself. He also had the Spirit Of Ganbare Title with him. Doesn’t sound like it was defended though.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES”, 31/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
665 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta defeated Suzume & Arisu Endo when Noa pinned Endo after the 5G (11:38).
2. Janai Kai defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Tornado Kick (4:57).
3. Hyper Misao & Trish Adora defeated Yuki Aino & Raku when Misao pinned Raku with the I Am A Hero (9:03).
4. Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer defeated Shoko Nakajima & Miu Watanabe when Max pinned Nakajima after the Master Blaster (11:56).
5. International Princess Title: Rika Tatsumi (c) defeated Billie Starkz with the Missile Hip (8:56).
*V1 for Rika Tatsumi.
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki defeated Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) when Mizuki pinned Itoh with the Diving Foot Stomp (15:51).
*121000000 fails in V1. The Magical Sugar Rabbits becomes the 13th Princess Tag Team Champions!

A report of the show can be found here.

DDT/GCW “GCW VS DDT”, 31/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
551 Fans

1. Gringo Loco, Marcus Mathers, Dyln McKay & Jack Cartwheel defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & Takeshi Masada when Cartwheel pinned Masada with the Jack Arrow (10:42).
2. Dark Sheik defeated Saki Akai with a Wrist-Clutch Inside Cradle (7:20).
3. Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne defeated MAO & Mike Bailey when Oliver pinned Bailey after the Combined Springboard Cutter (16:18).
4. Kazusada Higuchi defeated Starboy Charlie with the Brain Claw Slam (11:40).
5. Yuki Ueno defeated Joey Janela with the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher (10:21).
6. Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama defeated Homicide & Tony Deppen when Endo pinned Deppen with the Burning Star Press (12:18).
7. Matthew Justice, Mance Warner & 1 Called Manders defeated Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata & Mizuki Watase when Warner pinned Katsumata with a DDT (15:19).
8. Effy & Allie Katch Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno ended in a No Contest (13:37).
9. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Cole Radrick defeated Yoshihiko (c) with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse onto a Chair (14:49).
*Cole Radrick becomes the 1,570th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yoshihiko defeated Cole Radrick with a Cradle (5:47 pm).
*Yoshihiko becomes the 1,571st champion.

A report of the show can be found here.

ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2023”, 31/03/2023
Galen Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

0. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Willie Mack with the Zahi (9:36).
1. ROH Women’s World Title: Athena (c) defeated Yuka Sakazaki with the O-Face (11:38).
*V7 for Athena.

Before she headed over to the ROH PPV, Yuka Sakazaki regained the Princess Tag Team Titles at the TJPW show. Her hopes of ending the night as a double champion by also winning the ROH Women’s World Title did not come to fruition. Athena kicked out of the Magical Girl Splash and the Magical Merry-Go-Round. She then relied on her mean streak to push the referee into Sakazaki’s way when she climbed the ropes for another Splash. The distraction gave Athena time to climb up the turnbuckles beside Sakazaki and then catch her in the O-Face to retain her title. It was announced later in the night that Athena’s next defence will be against Miyu Yamashita on next week’s ROH show.

Takeshita showed up on Zero Hour for a bonus pre-show match against Willie Mack. Not to take anything away from it but news was broken by Fightful during the day that Takeshita had a different match planned for the PPV itself. His opponent? It was going to be Will Ospreay… Yep. We could have gotten Takeshita Vs Ospreay if it wasn’t for the latter’s injury… God damn it. Well at least now that is out in the open it could still happen down the road somewhere.

PRESTIGE “NERVOUS BREAKDOWN”, 31/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Taya Valkyrie defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Road To Valhalla (7:34).

It’s rare to see a day where Yamashita loses twice in a row but there’s going to be times in this tour where we all have to remember she isn’t the big fish in a small pond over here. Taya Valkyrie is on a hot run too that might be approaching its peak with her AEW appearances so the result shouldn’t be that much of a surprise.

GCW “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK 7”, 31/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh Vs Effy & Allie Katch when Itoh pinned Effy with the I.S.D (16:07).

The one and only time Maki Death Kill were teaming up was as chaotic as it sounds. Itoh & Nick Gage each had a pizza cutter and used them against Bussy, leaving Effy & Allie Katch both bleeding. Steel chairs were also brought into the match and Gage threw one in Effy’s face. Itoh then pinned Effy with the Flying DDT while Gage also pinned Katch with a One-Winged Angel. Their celebration was short lived when Matt Cardona and Steph De Lander ambushed them with chairs after the match. They did that because they had no match booked on the show. The segment then morphed into De Lander getting an impromptu GCW World Title match against Masha Slamovich.

Yoshihiko made an unexpected appearance during the show accompanied by a masked handler and even cut a promo. Or at least it nodded when asked if it wants to stick around in GCW. Suddenly Charles Mason and his bodyguard Parrow attacked Yoshihiko because Mason is sick of this kind of nonsense going on. Mason even pulled out a knife and threatened to slash Yoshihiko’s throat open! The handler came to Yoshihiko’s rescue but was overwhelmed and unmasked to reveal he was Jimmy Lloyd. Mason held LLoyd down so Parrow could finish the job until Yoshihiko fought back and slammed Parrow with a German Suplex! Mason had to flee the ring out of fear.

GCW “EMO FIGHT”, 31/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & Mike Bailey defeated Miedo Extremo & Ciclope and Dyln McKay & Marcus Mathers when MAO & Bailey pinned McKay with the Michinoku Tornado Driver (13:47).

Moonlight Express must have been feeling depressed over losing the match after all because they showed up for the main event of GCW’s emo themed show. They fought Los Macizos (where the hell were they earlier?) and Wasted Youth in the early hours of the morning. There was also a bit of a sing song during the match. It might have been done to see if Los Macizos really were emo.

DDT Around The World – March 2023

Welcome to the calm before the storm. I put together this month’s article earlier than usual because there are going to be separate posts covering all of the WrestleMania shows DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro are involved with next week. It’s going to be nuts, maybe not on the level of the New York shows from four years ago but still plenty to look forward to. So much will have to be talked about once the dust settles. I will be writing up preview guides for both “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD” and “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES” so look forward to them whenever they are finished.

While Konosuke Takeshita and Yuka Sakazaki are getting the higher profile appearances lately thanks to AEW/ROH, the amount of bookings Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh are getting in America means the focus will be more on them for the next couple of months. Yamashita in particular is going to have a crazy looking 2023 Career tab on her Cagematch profile by the time she’s done. Plus we get to add some new names to this series. Mizuki Watase is heading over to America too and Daisuke Sasaki found an excuse to go wrestling in Mexico.

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Videos

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 01/03/2023
Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, USA

1. Face Of The Revolution Match Ladder Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Ortiz Vs Komander Vs Action Andretti Vs Sammy Guevara Vs Powerhouse Hobbs Vs Eddie Kingston Vs AR Fox

AEW “DARK”, 07/03/2023
Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Jack Cartwheel

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 10/03/2023
Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Preston Vance (w/ José The Assistant)

NORTHEAST WRESTLING “WRESTLEFEST XXVII”, 11/03/2023
Crosby High School, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs JT Dunn

Video starts at 2:36:23 for the match
SETUP “SETUP EP.12”, 18/03/2023
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP Thailand Openweight Title: Monomoth (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi

NEW “NEW 12”, 24/03/2023
Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada

1. NEW Women’s Title: Nicole Matthews (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

2. Maki Itoh Vs Cat Power

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Results

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 01/03/2023
Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, USA

1. Face Of The Revolution Match Ladder Match: Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Ortiz, Komander, Action Andretti, Sammy Guevara, Eddie Kingston and AR Fox when Hobbs grabbed the Brass Ring (13:46).

So close and yet so far. Takeshita almost won the Ladder match after giving Komander a crazy looking Blue Thunder Bomb from a bridged ladder onto the ring canvas. He also fought off interference from Daniel Garcia who was there to help out Sammy Guevara. But as he climbed up the ladder and reached out to grab the literal brass ring, here came Powerhouse Hobbs charging into the ladder to knock Takeshita out of the ring. Hobbs then went on to grab the giant ring and win.

A few days later on Rampage, Takeshita spoke about his recent lack of success in AEW and considered it was time for him to go back to Japan. Don Callis stepped in and continued his push to become Takeshita’s manager. The argument he made is if Takeshita left all of the behind the scenes logistics to him, then Takeshita could put his entire focus just on wrestling in the ring and finally get the results his talent deserves. Ever since then Callis has continued trying to convince Takeshita to take on his services.

AEW “DARK”, 03/03/2023 (Aired 07/03/2023)
Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Jack Cartwheel with the Zahi (3:56).

An impressive performance from Jack Cartwheel made this match one to watch if you’re unfamiliar with him.

GCW “HOLY SMOKES”, 04/03/2023
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. GCW Extreme Title: Joey Janela (c) defeated VENY with an Avalanche Brainbuster (16:33).
*V2 for Joey Janela.
2. Maki Itoh defeated LuFisto with the I.S.D (10:44).

Itoh’s further run into GCW continued with her beating LuFisto, an inductee of The Indie Wrestling Hall Of Fame that the promotion is associated with. LuFisto wanted to give Itoh a Superplex but a bite to the face stopped her. Itoh gave her a Top Rope DDT and then got back up the ropes to do the I.S.D for the win. Itoh got to celebrate with Nick Gage after the match.

Joey Janela and VENY ended up going buck wild fighting around ringside for a lot of their match. Janela threw VENY into rows of seats, sending a lot of the GCW fans fleeing. VENY fought back with a Moonsault to the floor. Janela VENY in midair when she tried another Moonsault inside the ring and he countered it into a Tombstone. VENY went back to the Moonsault again and landed one onto Janela while he was laying on top of a door. That wasnt enough for Janela or the door so he smashed it to pieces and the two attacked each other with the remains. More big bomb moves were dropped and it took an Avalance Brainbuster for Janela to finally get the three count.

ENJOY “RITES OF SPRING”, 04/03/2023
Mr. Smalls Theatre, Millvale, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer (c) defeated Trish Adora & Jordan Blade (?:??).
*V3 for The Wasteland War Party.

The Wasteland War Party scored their third and what turned out to be their last successful defence of the Princess Tag Team Titles by beating Trish Adora & Jordan Blade at an Enjoy Wrestling show.

GCW “RANSOM”, 05/03/2023
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh, Rina Yamashita & VENY defeated Sawyer Wreck, Billie Starkz & Janai Kai when Yamashita pinned Kai with the Splash Mountain (18:56).

Itoh & VENY got to have some fun with Rina Yamashita by faking out their opponents on a triple dive. Sawyer Wreck, Billie Starkz & Janai Kai all flinched and were left bracing for impact outside while Itoh and her team danced inside the ring. Yamashita went on to pin Kai with the Splash Mountain.

EVE “WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY”, 08/03/2023
229 The Venue, London, England

1. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Lizzy Evo with the Skull Kick (14:42).
*V3 for Miyu Yamashita.

A fully determined Lizzy Evo was ready to become the new EVE Champion on this night. But her hot streak came to an end thanks to the Skull Kick.

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 08/03/2023 (Aired 10/03/2023)
Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Preston Vance (w/ José The Assistant) with La Espalda (7:52).

Takeshita took out a trick from the Osaka Pro book to beat Preston Vance. La Espalda is the tricky looking Twisting Backslide Pin that Billy Ken Kid likes to use a lot.

EVE “RIOT! AT THE YARD THEATRE”, 09/03/2023
The Yard Theatre, London, England

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Miyuki Takase with the Skull Kick (14:46).

Apparently this will be the last time Yamashita and Miyuki Takase will face each other one on one. If that’s true then Yamashita ends the series with a 2-0 winning record.

NORTHEAST WRESTLING “WRESTLEFEST XXVII”, 11/03/2023
Crosby High School, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated JT Dunn with the Zahi (12:18).

A Rolling Elbow was used by JT Dunn to counter the Jumping Knee and the match also built up to how the Tombstone Piledriver was used. Takeshita kicked out of the move the first and and reversed a second attempt into a Reverse Implant. Takeshita held onto Dunn after that and threw him over with a Wheelbarrow German Suplex. Dunn was left in a heap after that so Takeshita got to finish him off with the Zahi.

SETUP “SETUP EP.12”, 18/03/2023
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP Thailand Openweight Title: Masahiro Takanashi defeated Monomoth (c) with the Takatonic (?:??).
*Monomoth fails in V?. Masahiro Takanashi becomes the ??th SETUP Thailand Openweight Champion!

Masahiro Takanashi adds another Asian championship to his collection after he took the SETUP Thailand Openweight Title from Monomoth. Takanashi didn’t do it clean either because Baliyan Akki was there to interfere on his behalf. Monomoth did what he could to fight against the 2-on-1 disadvantage, including diving onto both of them outside the ring. He had Takanashi beaten with a Northern Lights Suplex but Akki pulled the referee out of the ring to stop the pin count. Members of the SETUP roster had enough of the cheating and came to Monomoth’s aid. However Takanashi kicked out of a Tornado DDT and threw the ref towards Monomoth while the champion was standing on the top rope. Monomoth jumped over the ref but landed into a Thrust Kick, causing him to get pinned with the Takatonic.

AEW “DARK”, 24/03/2023 (Aired ??/??/2023)
Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, USA

1. Michael Nakazawa defeated Baliyan Akki (?:??).

I don’t usually include Michael Nakazawa’s matches in AEW for these articles because he is a full time employee for them. But I bet somebody reading this will get a kick out of hearing he fought and beat Akki on Dark.

NEW “NEW 12”, 24/03/2023
Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada

1. NEW Women’s Title: Nicole Matthews (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita by Referee Stoppage with a Dragon Sleeper (?:??).
*V5 for Nicole Matthews.
2. Maki Itoh defeated Cat Power with the I.S.D (?:??).

Mixed fortunes for 121000000 on the first night of their North American trip. Itoh was able to beat Cat Power but Yamashita got choked out by Nicole Matthews with a Dragon Sleeper. It’s a reminder that this three month expedition is not going to be a cake walk for Yamashita.

IMPACT “SACRIFICE FALLOUT”, 25/03/2023 (Aired 30/03/2023)
St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Killer Kelly with the Skull Kick (10:14).

I didn’t expect Yamashita to show up in Impact. There’s more to talk about it below but her first match with the promotion was a win against Killer Kelly. I think it was taped for TV too.

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Upcoming Appearances – WrestleMania Week

PANDEMONIUM PRO “BEST DAMN THING”, 29/03/2023
Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh & Kidd Bandit Vs Steph De Lander & Heather Monroe

Taya Valkyrie had to pull out of the show due to a change in schedule. That this show is taking place on a Wednesday and Valkyrie recently signed a deal with AEW, it’s easy to figure out what her priority is. Replacing her is Steph De Lander who has really stepped up and increased her presence around the indies recently.

WRESTLECON “THE MARK HITCHCOCK MEMORIAL SUPERSHOW”, 30/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. TJPW 10-Woman Tag Showcase: X, X, X, X & X Vs X, X, X, X & X

The lineup for the TJPW 10-Woman Tag is being kept secret until the show, Mystery Vortex style. Are all ten going to be from the regular TJPW roster or will a few guests be included?

DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Saki Akai Vs Vert Vixen
2. Pheromones Vs Takagi Army All Out Battle In HOLLYWOOD: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Michael Nakazawa
3. Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Chris Brookes & Yoshihiko
4. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada Vs Andrew “The Giant” Everett & Nick Wayne
5. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Joey Janela
6. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Eddie Kingston Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
7. Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Yuki Ueno

Some of the guests being booked for the show now make more sense given recent announcements. Both Nick Wayne and Vert Vixen are heading to Japan for DDT and TJPW respectively in the next couple of months.

IMPACT/NJPW “MULTIVERSE UNITED”, 30/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Masha Slamovich Vs Deonna Purrazzo Vs Gisele Shaw Vs Miyu Yamashita

So not only is Yamashita wrestling for Impact but she is also technically getting a New Japan appearance out of it too, which is completely bizarre seeing a TJPW wrestler under that banner instead of somebody from Stardom. Originally this 4 Way Match was supposed to include Mickie James and her Knockouts Title was going to be on the line. But just a few days ago Impact announced that James is unable to wrestle because of a rib injury. So now the 4 Way Match has Masha Slamovich added to it and whoever wins will get to face Jordynne Grace in Toronto next month with the Knockouts Title on the line. If James is cleared to wrestle she will also be in that match as the defending champion, otherwise she will have to vacate it before the match begins.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES”, 31/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Janai Kai
2. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
3. Hyper Misao & Trish Adora Vs Yuki Aino & Raku
4. Shoko Nakajima & Miu Watanabe Vs Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer
5. International Princess Title: Rika Tatsumi (c) Vs Billie Starkz
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki

Two of the matches are now title matches thanks to the results that happened at “GRAND PRINCESS ’23” earlier this month. The main event has the Princess Tag Titles on the line when the new champions 121000000 face The Magical Sugar Rabbits. There is also now an International Princess Title match between Rika Tatsumi (embracing a new “AmeRika” personality) and Billie Starkz.

DDT/GCW “GCW VS DDT”, 31/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Ciclope, Miedo Extremo, Gringo Loco & Alec Price Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & Takeshi Masada
2. Matthew Justice, Mance Warner & 1 Called Manders Vs Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata & Mizuki Watase
3. Effy & Allie Katch Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno
4. Dark Sheik Vs Saki Akai
5. Cole Radrick Vs Yoshihiko
6. Homicide & Tony Deppen Vs Jun Akiyama & Tetsuya Endo
7. Blake Christian Vs Kazusada Higuchi
8. Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne Vs MAO & Mike Bailey
9. Joey Janela Vs Yuki Ueno

Nine matches on the card now. The latest addition is an 8-Man Tag Match mixing together a lot of people. DDT is relying on DAMNATION T.A to play ball with Sanshiro Takagi & Takeshi Masada. GCW are going the lucha route by letting Gringo Loco put together a squad. He chose Alec Price and Los Macizos. Prince is an up and coming name on the indies while Ciclope & Miedo Extremo are former GCW Tag Team Champions.

No idea what the match order is going to be for the GCW Vs DDT show. This might be the last of DDT’s involvement in shows for the week. Unless Takeshita shows up in ROH or Pheromones crash “Effy’s Big Gay Brunch” on Saturday.

ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2023”, 31/03/2023
Galen Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. ROH Women’s World Title: Athena (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki

After weeks and weeks of tension building up between Athena and Yuka Sakazaki, things finally blew up and Athena sent Sakazaki back to Japan with an injury. However when Athena found out Sakazaki was able to continue wrestling no problem, it only made her even madder. The grudge is going to get settled in LA with Sakazaki getting a shot at the ROH Women’s World Title.

PRESTIGE “NERVOUS BREAKDOWN”, 31/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Taya Valkyrie Vs Miyu Yamashita

Valkyrie will be in LA on the Friday evening for her Prestige match against Yamashita.

GCW “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK 7”, 31/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh Vs X & X

Well Nick Gage is no longer the GCW World Champion so my idea of him against Itoh has gone up in smoke. However they are going ahead with the next best idea and that is Maki Death Kill teaming up for one night only!

WPW “RUSSELL CROWE WRESTLING: RUSSEL MANIA III”, 31/03/2023
Burbank Moose Lodge, Burbank, California, USA

1. Mizuki Watase Vs Gregory Sharpe Vs Eli Everfly

Well Mizuki Watase did say he was going on an American excursion so he had to be somewhere other than a DDT show. He’s ended up going somewhere even weirder. Wrestling Pro Wrestling is a comedy promotion and is home to Cerealman, a pro wrestler with a box of cereal for a head. Would it surprise you to find out a lot of Hoodslam guys also work here? Let’s see how Watase can handle himself when he’s in the ring with Gregory Sharpe and Eli Everfly.

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Upcoming Appearances – Everywhere Else After WrestleMania

WRESTLING REVOLVER “REVOLVER THURSDAY”, 06/04/2023
Calumet Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Allie Katch

Looks like there’s going to be a week off for Yamashita to get over the WrestleMania hangover. After that it’s time to hit the road with her first stop being a match with Allie Katch at Wrestling REVOLVER.

LLL “MONSTER ISLAND”, 07/04/2023
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Heidi Howitzer Vs Maki Itoh

One of the former Princess Tag Champions has a chance at revenge. Heidi Howitzer was already looking forward to kicking Itoh’s ass. Now there’s going to be some more hatred behind it after Itoh pinned Howitzer to cause the title change.

WEST COAST PRO “HOME OF THE KILLERS”, 07/04/2023
The State Room, South San Francisco, California, USA

1. West Coast Pro Women’s Title: Masha Slamovich (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

The last West Coast Pro show crowned their first Women’s Champion. Masha Slamovich defeated Sandra Moone to win the title and now gets Yamashita for her first defence.

HOODSLAM “FALLEN IDOLS”, 08/04/2023
Continental Club, Oakland, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Vipress

Itoh has fought Dark Sheik a bunch of times already so when she arrives in Hoodslam it will be Sheik’s current tag team partner Vipress waiting for her. Earlier this month Sheik & Vipress won the Intergalactic Tag Team Titles together.

DEFY “THE REALEST”, 08/04/2023
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

1. DEFY Women’s Title: Vert Vixen Vs Miyu Yamashita

Before Vixen travels to Japan for TJPW, she defends the DEFY Women’s Title against Yamashita. Heck of a warm up match to get ready for that tour.

CCW “DEAD-ZONE”, 15/04/2023
Houston Volunteer Fire Department, Houston, Delaware, USA

1. CCW Title & CCW Title Match Network Title – 4 Corner Survival Match: Kilynn King (c) Vs Killer Kelly Vs Steph De Lander Vs Miyu Yamashita

What was first advertised as a 3 Way Match is now a 4 Corner Survival with Steph De Lander added to the mix. Which makes me wonder did certain people signing contracts recently lead to a situation where nobody in the 3 Way politically can take the fall and a fourth person had to be used as a solution? Kilynn King is now signed to Impact and Killer Kelly is under contract to them too. Maybe I’m overthinking it.

LUCHA MEMES “???”, 15/04/2023
Arena Solis, Cuautlacingo, Puebla, Mexico

1. Raider Boy, Tormento & Fantasmin Vs Osiris, Garrobo Punk & Daisuke Sasaki

Alright we’re getting to talk about Mexico again. About time. Daisuke Sasaki will be making his Lucha Memes debut in April. The promotion is fond of bringing in independent talent from America. As far as I could find I think Ultimo Dragon and Satoshi Kojima are the only other Japanese wrestlers to have previously worked there. Lucha Memes is also running Arena Solis in Puebla for the first time.

DPW “DPW LIVE 2”, 16/04/2023
Phil Sheridan Building, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Is Yamashita still owed a title match in Deadlock Pro or did I misunderstand the stipulation of her previous match there? Also did you hear that news today about DPW going to Japan to do joint shows with Gatoh Move soon?

RIW “FIGHT UNTIL WE DIED”, 16/04/2023
Gimnasio Coliseo Arena, Toluca, Mexico

1. Daisuke Sasaki Vs X

The next day in Mexico, Sasaki is heading over to Revolution Indy Wrestling.

UWE “DAWN OF A NEW ERA”, 22/04/2023
Dauphin County Tech School, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Dani Mo Vs Miyu Yamashita

I was able to find more social media pages for Ultimate Wrestling Empire so it is indeed an actual show taking place.

PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 5”, 29/04/2023
Roseland Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Queen Aminata

Will Yamashita still be undefeated in Prestige by the time her match with Queen Aminata takes place?

REPUBLIC OF LUCHA “ROL IV”, 30/04/2023
Republic Of Lucha, South Pasadena, California, USA

1. Kidd Bandit Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. Daga Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Not sure if Takeshita’s match with Daga will still happen. Daga suffered a left knee injury at a show co-promoted by NWA and AAA at the start of the month. According to Konnan the injury is a fractured fibula and a torn miniscus that will take him out of action for two months. If that’s true then the timing could make this turn out to be Daga’s return match if his recovery goes better than anticipated.

EVE “LUCKY 13”, 05/05/2023
The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England

1. EVE Title – Iron Woman Match: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Millie McKenzie

Yamashita’s international series with Millie McKenzie continues with McKenzie putting up a big challenge in the hopes of finally winning the EVE Title. Given the back and forth results the two wrestlers produce against each other, they will now face off in an Iron Woman match. Whoever scores the most falls within the 30 minute time limit will be the champion at the end.

MAW “VENDETTA”, 13/05/2023
2nd St. Depot, Hastings, Minnesota, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Sierra

Can’t find confirmation but it would make sense if this is a MAW Women’s Title match with Sierra putting the belt on the line.

AIW “GAUNTLET FOR THE GOLD 16”, 20/05/2023
Force Sports, Eastlake, Ohio, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Just have to wait and see what her match is going to be.

GCW “THE WAY I AM”, 20/05/2023
Harpo’s Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Itoh’s next appearance for GCW after Mania week will be in Detroit.

GCW “I CAN’T SAVE YOU”, 21/05/2023
Valley Dale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Itoh will be in Ohio too.

ST. LOUIS ANARCHY “GIANTS WOKE, EYES OPEN”, 09/06/2023
The House of Anarchy, Alton, Illinois, USA

1. Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita

Yamashita was bound to get a match with Starkz somewhere during the tour. This also isn’t the last show on Yamashita’s schedule anymore.

ENJOY “???”, 17/06/2023
Mr. Smalls Theatre, Millvale, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Ray Lyn Vs Miyu Yamashita

The final booking of Yamashita’s tour seems to be her match with Rey Lyn at Enjoy Wrestling. Her first match back in Japan won’t be until 25th June so she can squeeze in at least one more match if she wanted to.

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Corrections

NORTHEAST WRESTLING “MARCH MAYHEM”, 18/03/2023
NEW Arena, Bethany, Connecticut, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X

From what I could find online Takeshita was only on the show for a meet and greet, not to wrestle a match.

DDT Around The World – February 2023

A month ago I was thinking this article was going to become so much easier to handle. Shota was finished with his excursion to some of the most obscure independents in America and February was mostly built around Konosuke Takeshita and Yuka Sakazaki doing stuff related to AEW and ROH. It should be a piece of cake from here on out. Then the Wrestlemania Week bookings started pouring in. And if that wasn’t enough, Miyu Yamashita announced her three month stay in America with the goal to get as many bookings across the country as humanly possible. The response to that idea has been great so far and she is certainly going to create some new fans this year. So yeah, keeping track of these things will only keep me busier as the year goes on. Now let’s get some more championships added to the trophy case while they’re at it.

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Videos

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 01/02/2023
Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Brian Cage (w/ Prince Nana)

Video starts at 14:48 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 06/02/2023
Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Billie Starkz

Video starts at 45:10 for the match
AEW “DARK”, 07/02/2023
Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs EJ Nduka

AEW “DYNAMITE – CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT NIGHT”, 08/02/2023
El Paso County Coliseum in El Paso, Texas, USA

1. AEW World Title Eliminator Match: MJF Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Video starts at 31:22 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 13/02/2023
El Paso County Coliseum in El Paso, Texas, USA

1. VertVixen Vs Yuka Sakazaki

Video starts at 1:18:47 for the match
AEW “DARK”, (14/02/2023)
Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Bronson

Video starts at 33:18 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 27/02/2023
Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Lee Johnson

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Results

AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 01/02/2023 (Aired 06/02/2023)
Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Billie Starkz with the Magical Girl Splash (5:39).

Whether the company is aware of it or not, AEW hosted a rematch of last November’s Princess Of Princess Title bout between Yuka Sakazaki and Billie Starkz. This match was a shorter affair with Starkz relying on using Swanton Bombs only to get dropped with the Tea Time and then pinned with the Magical Girl Splash.

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 01/02/2023
Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Brian Cage (w/ Prince Nana) with the Zahi (10:06).

A match against a heavy hitter like Brian Cage was just what Takeshita needed to finally get a win on Dynamite. The two just threw big bomb moves at each other until Takeshita was the last man standing. It was pretty cool. Once that was done, Takeshita reappeared later in the night stopping MJF from interfering in a Bryan Danielson match. The two brawled to the back and once they were broken apart, a match between them was booked for the next week.

AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 08/02/2023 (Aired 13/02/2023)
El Paso County Coliseum in El Paso, Texas, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Vertvixen with the Magical Girl Splash (4:15).

Sakazaki’s last match for this month was a win against Vertvixen but it was the aftermath that was more important. Athena attacked Sakazaki from behind, striking her with the ROH Women’s Title belt. Athena then made things worse by injuring Sakazaki’s leg with the steel steps outside the ring. Sakazaki tried to step up to her but was given a boot to the head as one last insult to injury. It remains to be seen when Sakazaki will be back to look for revenge, although a title match between the two on the ROH PPV at the end of March would be a good bet.

AEW “DYNAMITE – CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT NIGHT”, 08/02/2023
El Paso County Coliseum in El Paso, Texas, USA

1. AEW World Title Eliminator Match: MJF defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Salt Of The Earth (13:19).

Takeshita’s recent interactions with MJF led to a Title Eliminator match between the two. If Takeshita had won the match he would have been granted a AEW World Title shot in the future. Unfortunately MJF worked over his arm, using the Salt Of The Earth to such good effect that Takeshita had to tap out and concede defeat. MJF then caused more harm after the match by putting on his Dynamited Diamond Ring and punching Takeshita in the face, busting him open. Bryan Danielson ran down to chase MJF off. Takeshita returned the favour later in the night by coming to Danielson’s aid when he was attacked by Preston Vance and José The Assistant.

AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 23/02/2023 (Aired 27/02/2023)
Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Lee Johnson with the Zahi (6:43).

So Takeshita finds himself knocked down the ladder and back to wrestling on the Youtube shows for the time being. Beating Lee Johnson gets him off to a good start.

ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 25/02/2023 (Aired 02/03/2023)
Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Josh Woods with a Wheelbarrow German Suplex (10:20).

It’s not the Ring Of Honor we all knew and loved but at least you can add to logo to Takeshita’s Cagematch profile now. He beat a former ROH Pure Champion in Josh Woods so that would be a fresh direction to take if he becomes a regular at ROH tapings.

DPW “YOU ALREADY KNOW”, 25/02/2023
NC State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer (c) defeated Raychell Rose & Jada Stone when Max pinned Stone after the Master Blaster (10:30).
*V1 for The Wasteland War Party.

The Princess Tag Team Titles have now been defended on American soil. Tokyo Joshi Pro are recognizing all of The Wasteland War Party’s title defences across the US indies before they return to Japan for “GRAND PRINCESS ’23”. The first defence was against Raychell Rose & Jada Stone in DPW. Stone was a replacement for Hyan.

AEW “DARK”, (26/02/2023) (Aired 28/03/2023)
Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Cole Karter (w/ Lee Johnson) with the Zahi (9:23).

Cole Karter was in Lee Johnson’s corner when Takeshita beat him on Elevation a few days earlier. If he wanted to get revenge on Takeshita he probably got a knee to the face instead.

GLORY PRO “ANNIVERSARY 6”, 26/02/2023
South Broadway Athletic Club, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer (c) defeated Jody Threat & Blair Onyx when Howitzer pinned Threat after the Master Blaster (?:??).
*V2 for The Wasteland War Party.

Defence number two for The Wasteland War Party was against Jody Threat & Blair Onyx. Threat got a hot tag and went wild on Heidi Howitzer. That came to a sudden halt when Max The Impaler hit her with a Spear. Max tried pinning Threat but was told they were not the legal wrestler. So Max & Howitzer linked up to do the Master Blaster and that was it for Threat.

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Upcoming Appearances

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 01/03/2023
Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, USA

1. Face Of The Revolution Match Ladder Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Ortiz Vs Komander Vs Action Andretti Vs Sammy Guevara Vs Powerhouse Hobbs Vs Eddie Kingston Vs AR Fox

Holy Mary, Mother Of God this is going to be nuts. Takeshita has a chance to win a TNT Title shot. All he has to do is win a Ladder Match against a crazy lineup of opponents. Just imagining what Komander is going to do on his own in a Ladder match is wild. Is Sammy Guevara willing to destroy himself with a massive ladder bump again? Does Action Andretti or AR Fox want to do the same? Eddie Kingston is already mad he is in the match but he’s always mad. For example, he’s mad at Ortiz right now. Powerhouse Hobbs would be a great future opponent for Takeshita too.

GCW “HOLY SMOKES”, 04/03/2023
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X
2. Joey Janela Vs VENY

Heading into this weekend GCW have not announced what Maki Itoh’s match is going to be at their show yet. They are only advertising she will be in attendance. Will she use this appearance to take her new MDK attitude up another level? I still think her interactions with Nick Gage has to be leading somewhere. It’s gotten too over for it to be nothing more than a cute post-match segment to pop the crowd.

ENJOY “RITES OF SPRING”, 04/03/2023
Mr. Smalls Theatre, Millvale, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer (c) Vs Trish Adora & Jordan Blade

The Wasteland War Party are aiming to make it three successful title defences in a row before they return to TJPW. Trish Adora is forming a regular association with TJPW so winning the Princess Tag Titles would bring her over more often and get Jordan Blade one foot in the door too.

GCW “RANSOM”, 05/03/2023
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh, Rina Yamashita & VENY Vs Sawyer Wreck, Billie Starkz & Janai Kai

Sawyer Wreck is now the only person in this match who has not wrestled on a TJPW show yet. They should bring back Rina Yamashita now that I think of it.

EVE “WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY”, 08/03/2023
229 The Venue, London, England

1. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Lizzy Evo

Before Yamashita begins her American expedition she is heading back to England to do the EVE Title defence against Lizzy Evo that was meant to happen back in January.

EVE “THURSDAY NIGHT RIOT”, 09/03/2023
The Yard Theatre, London, England

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Miyuki Takase

The next night Yamashita faces Miyuki Takase in a rematch of their DPW bout from last year. EVE have said this will be the last time both wrestlers will fight each other. If Takase beats Yamashita there will be no rubber match and if Yamashita wins she will be 2-0 against Takase forever!

NORTHEAST WRESTLING “WRESTLEFEST XXVII”, 11/03/2023
Crosby High School, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs JT Dunn

Takeshita will be making two appearances for Northeast Wrestling in March. His first show will have him taking on JT Dunn.

SETUP “SETUP EP.12”, 18/03/2023
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP Thailand Openweight Title: Monomoth (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi

The match will be the main event of the show.

NORTHEAST WRESTLING “MARCH MAYHEM”, 18/03/2023
NEW Arena, Bethany, Connecticut, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X

No opponent yet for Takeshita’s second NEW show.

NEW “NEW 12”, 24/03/2023
Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada

1. Maki Itoh Vs Cat Power
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs Nicole Matthews

Joining Yamashita and Itoh on the show is Minoru Suzuki! But enough about him. Yamashita will be facing Nicole Matthews but it hasn’t been mentioned yet if Matthews will put the NEW Women’s Title on the line. Meanwhile Itoh’s match is against another Canadian wrestler, Cat Power.

PANDEMONIUM PRO “BEST DAMN THING”, 29/03/2023
Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh & Kidd Bandit Vs Taya Valkyrie & Heather Monroe

Prepare yourselves, everyone. We are now at Wrestlemania Week. First up is Itoh’s appearance at Pandemonium Pro where she will team with Kidd Bandit against Taya Valkyrie & Heather Monroe.

WRESTLECON “THE MARK HITCHCOCK MEMORIAL SUPERSHOW”, 30/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. TJPW 10-Woman Tag Showcase: X, X, X, X & X Vs X, X, X, X & X

One of the big indie shows of Mania Week is the Wrestlecon Supershow dedicated to the late Mark Hitchcock. Every year the show is highlighted with a 10-Man Tag and this year’s edition will be presented by TJPW! Will all 10 wrestlers in the match be TJPW exclusive or will one of the Americans connected to the promotion get to join in on the fun? There may be other surprises elsewhere on the card too because you never know who shows up.

DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Saki Akai Vs VertVixen
2. Pheromones Vs Takagi Army All Out Battle In HOLLYWOOD: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Michael Nakazawa
3. Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Chris Brookes & Yoshihiko
4. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Joey Janela
5. Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Yuki Ueno
6. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Eddie Kingston Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON

This is not the full card yet. Kazusada Higuchi and Takeshi Masada still need to be put in a match. Them against each other is a no brainer unless there is some tag team out there they can join forces against. But I’d just go with Higuchi versus Masada.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES”, 31/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh

The main event of TJPW’s first USA show is The Magical Sugar Rabbits versus 121000000! They will also be sending over Shoko Nakajima, Miu Watanabe, Rika Tatsumi, Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino, Yuki Kamifuku, Hikari Noa, Raku, Nao Kakuta, Suzume and Arisu Endo to take part on the show. The international talent taking part are The Wasteland War Party, Billie Starkz, Trish Adora and Janai Kai.

DDT/GCW “GCW VS DDT”, 31/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Dark Sheik Vs Saki Akai
2. EFFY & Allie Katch Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno
3. Blake Christian Vs Kazusada Higuchi
4. Cole Radrick Vs Yoshihiko
5. Homicide & Tony Deppen Vs Jun Akiyama & Tetsuya Endo
6. Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne Vs MAO & Mike Bailey

Yeah… Um… I wouldn’t choose this over the other DDT or TJPW shows in all honesty. But there are some positives to be found. Homicide & Tony Deppen Vs Jun Akiyama & Tetsuya Endo is a Fire Pro match brought to life. Cole Radrick has gone deep into deathmatches over the last few years so him against Yoshihiko could turn out to be way more violent than it looks on paper. If this show is live on FITE then I’m pretty sure Bussy Vs Pheromones is going to get everyone kicked off the service.

PRESTIGE “NERVOUS BREAKDOWN”, 31/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Taya Valkyrie Vs Miyu Yamashita

Aja Kong and Shigehiro Irie are also wrestling on the show. Ultimo Dragon too. That’s neat.

GCW “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK 7”, 31/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

I’ll keep saying it. Itoh versus Gage for the GCW World Title is the match to do.

WRESTLING REVOLVER “REVOLVER THURSDAY”, 06/04/2023
Calumet Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Allie Katch

Yamashita is sticking around in the States until June and is probably going to fight every female wrestler of note in the country before she is done. Allie Katch is going to be one of her tougher opponents especially in a promotion as rowdy as Wrestling REVOLVER.

LLL “MONSTER ISLAND”, 07/04/2023
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Heidi Howitzer Vs Maki Itoh

The WPP Vs 121000000 feud extends past the Princess Tag Titles match. Howitzer and Itoh will face each other one on one.

WEST COAST PRO “HOME OF THE KILLERS”, 07/04/2023
The State Room, South San Francisco, California, USA

1. West Coast Pro Women’s Title: X (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

The West Coast Pro Women’s Champion will either be Masha Slamovich or Sandra Moone. They will have a match to become the first champion on 4th March and Yamashita will be the first challenger one month later.

HOODSLAM “FALLEN IDOLS”, 08/04/2023
Continental Club, Oakland, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Hoodslam’s motto is “Fuck The Fans”. I think Itoh will fit in over there just fine.

CCW “DEAD-ZONE”, 15/04/2023
Houston Volunteer Fire Department, Houston, Delaware, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Capital Championship Wrestling is a women’s promotion based out of Houston.

UWE “DAWN OF A NEW ERA”, 22/04/2023
PA Farm Show Complex, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Dani Mo Vs Miyu Yamashita

This place I have no idea about. Ultimate Wrestling Empire seems to be a new promotion and their tweet promoting this match is the only thing I can find about them. Yamashita sounds very excited to be wrestling Dani Mo.

PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 5”, 29/04/2023
Roseland Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Queen Aminata

Prestige continues to be treated like Yamashita’s home away from home. Her return to Portland will have Queen Aminata waiting for her.

REPUBLIC OF LUCHA “ROL IV”, 30/04/2023
Republic Of Lucha, South Pasadena, California, USA

1. Kidd Bandit Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. Daga Vs Konosuke Takeshita

The shop owned by The Lucha Brothers likes to run their own wrestling shows every now and then. Their next one has Takeshita meeting Daga for the first time. We already know Bandit is a big Itoh fan. Are they a big admirer of Yamashita too or will they want to beat her as a favour to Itoh?

MAW “VENDETTA”, 13/05/2023
2nd St. Depot, Hastings, Minnesota, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Sierra

Remember that outdoor show where Takeshita fought JDX last year? Been a while since we heard from the folks over at Midwest All-Star Wrestling. Yamashita is heading over to their place for a match against Sierra.

AIW “GAUNTLET FOR THE GOLD 16”, 20/05/2023
Force Sports, Eastlake, Ohio, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Yamashita’s debut for AIW has my attention more than the other bookings because I want to hear what the people in the company will say about her on The Card Is Going To Change podcast.

ST. LOUIS ANARCHY “GIANTS WOKE, EYES OPEN”, 09/06/2023
The House of Anarchy, Alton, Illinois, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

At the time of writing St. Louis Anarchy is the booking closest to the end of Yamashita’s expedition. Her first match back in Japan won’t be until 25th June so she can still add a few late dates before she heads home. I’d be shocked if there were no AEW bookings during the three months she’s in America.

DDT Around The World – January 2023

The first month of 2023 felt like DDT’s international plans have jumped up a gear. Konosuke Takeshita now finds himself orbiting the current AEW World Title storyline and Yuka Sakazaki has her sights set on a Ring Of Honor championship, making a new enemy (maybe her first?) in the process. Maki Itoh is getting further entrenched into GCW while Miyu Yamashita is also out there growing her stock across America. Things are going to ramp up even further in the coming months as we approach WrestleMania weekend.

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Videos

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 11/01/2023
KIA Forum, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Bryan Danielson Vs Konosuke Takeshita

PRESTIGE “VENDETTA”, 21/01/2023
The Glass House, Pomona, California, USA

1. Kevin Blackwood Vs MAO

Video starts at 2:20:10 for the match
ROH “JAY BRISCOE TRIBUTE AND CELEBRATION OF LIFE”, 25/01/2023
Save Mart Center, Fresno, California, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Sandra Moone

Video starts at 2:03:40 for the match
SETUP “SETUP EP.11”, 28/01/2023
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. International Single Match: Matcha Vs Yuki Kamifuku

Video starts at 22:05 for the match. Go to 39:55 for The Dark Order segment.
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 30/01/2023
Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky, USA

1. Athena & Diamante Vs Yuka Sakazaki & Skye Blue (w/ Madison Rayne)

Video starts at 31:48 for Match #1. Go to 41:03 for Match #2.
AEW “DARK”, 31/01/2023
Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Avery Breaux
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Angelico

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Results

GCW “56 NIGHTS”, 01/01/2023
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. 4 Way Match: Maki Itoh defeated Dark Sheik, Billie Starkz and Sawyer Wreck when Itoh pinned Sheik with the I.S.D (8:01).

I think Itoh is fitting in with GCW a little too well. During her last trip their she became firmly established as a member of Nick Gage’s gang, adopting the pizza cutter as her new weapon of choice and even entering to Gage’s theme music “For Whom The Bell Tolls” by Metallica! It’s been working out for her because she was the last woman standing in a 4 Way against Dark Sheik, Billie Starkz and Sawyer Wreck! She even got a piggy back ride from Gage back to the locker room after the match. Being MDK all day has its benefits.

PWG “BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES 2023 – FIRST STAGE”, 07/01/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Battle Of Los Angeles 2023 – Round 1: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Michael Oku with the Zahi (17:17).

Takeshita’s hectic month began with the Battle Of Los Angeles tournament in PWG. It is one of the most high profile events on the American indies even though it takes about 6 months for official videos of the event to actually surface. Takeshita only had one match on the first night but it was an intense fight against Michael Oku, who is an English wrestler you should be paying attention to. Countering the Blue Thunder Bomb with a Reverse Hurricanrana is no easy feat.

PWG “BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES 2023 – FINAL STAGE”, 08/01/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Battle Of Los Angeles 2023 – Round 2: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Titus Alexander with the Jumping Knee (9:38).
2. Battle Of Los Angeles 2023 – Semi Final: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Komander with a Backslide Pin (5:43).
3. Battle Of Los Angeles 2023 – Final: Mike Bailey defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Flamingo Driver (27:22).

Night two was an even busier night for Takeshita. He went through three rounds to reach the BOLA final, beating the west coast’s own Titus Alexander and luchador Komander. The only man who had an even busier night in the ring was Takeshita’s opponent in the final. It was his good old friend Mike Bailey! Speedball fought four matches in one night due to a busy weekend schedule and won them all. That’s right, Bailey beat Takeshita in the final and he used the Flamingo Driver to do it. It was the very move Bailey first created to beat Takeshita in 2018.

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 11/01/2023
KIA Forum, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Bryan Danielson defeated Konosuke Takeshita by Referee Stoppage with the Regal Stretch (14:47).

No rest for the wicked because a few days later Takeshita stepped up to face the one and only Bryan Danielson in AEW! There was more than just a wrestling match to pay attention to because MJF entered the ring after Takeshita to run down everybody on the microphone, Takeshita included. Takeshita responded to the AEW World Champion first in Japanese and then told MJF in English to kiss his ass. Once that was out of the way Takeshita and Danielson put on one hell of a match that ended with Takeshita passing out to the Regal Stretch. Danielson had nothing but the highest of praise for Takeshita afterwards.

ROH “JAY BRISCOE TRIBUTE AND CELEBRATION OF LIFE”, 18/01/2023 (Aired 25/01/2023)
Save Mart Center, Fresno, California, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Sandra Moone with the Magical Magical Girl Splash (3:02)

The January tour for Sakazaki began with what you could say is her debut for Ring Of Honor. It was under sad circumstances because the taping was held in tribute for the late Jay Briscoe, who tragically lost his life in a car crash the previous day. Sakazaki beat Sandra Moone in one of the matches taped for the show and showed good sportsmanship to her opponent afterwards. Oh and there was that one guy in the crowd who was having the time of his life dancing to Sakazaki’s theme song after the match.

WARRIOR “WARRIOR WRESTLING 27”, 21/01/2023
Bendix Arena, South Bend, Indiana, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Zachary Wentz with the Zahi (14:21).

Takeshita was back to winning ways on the indies. His first visit to Warrior Wrestling put him in the ring with Zachary Wentz of The Rascalz. It was a back and forth match that ended with Takeshita hitting the Jumping Knee followed by the Zahi for the three count.

PRESTIGE “VENDETTA”, 21/01/2023
The Glass House, Pomona, California, USA

1. Anything Goes Match: Sonico defeated Shunma Katsumata with the BMF through the Lego covered door (16:53).
2. MAO defeated Kevin Blackwood with a Screw High Kick (13:21).
3. ROH Women’s Title: Athena (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Title Belt Attack (20:59).
*V4 for Athena.

Yamashita’s plan to become a triple crown champion had already fallen apart by the time she travelled to California for her latest Prestige appearance. Now thanks to Athena’s cheating she is also no longer undefeated in the promotion. Athena tricked the referee into thinking Yamashita had hit her with the ROH Women’s Title belt. Then when the ref’s back was turned, Athena grabbed the belt and whacked it over Yamashita’s head for the three count!

MAO had the breakout performance of the show with his win against Kevin Blackwood. The one moment in particular that went viral was MAO giving Blackwood a Springboard Hurricanrana off the corner and then following up with a Swan Dive Phoenix Splash, aka the Marines Tornado Splash!

Shunma Katsumata also had a crazy match with Sonico. It had to be because he was asking fans to bring Lego and other items to the show so they could use them as weapons! The chaotic match ended with Sonico spitting Poison Mist in Katsumata’s eyes and then crashing him through a lego covered door from the top rope. The two showed respect to each other after the match.

AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 25/01/2023 (Aired 30/01/2023)
Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki & Skye Blue (w/ Madison Rayne) defeated Athena & Diamante when Sakazaki pinned Diamante with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (7:11).

Sakazaki’s return to AEW actually began earlier in the month when she started a program with Athena. For weeks Athena has been winning matches and beating up her opponents afterwards. Sakazaki ran down to put a stop to it, sending Athena out of the ring. Sakazaki noticed the ROH Women’s Title belt and showed an interest in taking it. The following week the two women met up backstage and got into a fight, causing them to be pulled apart. That all led to the match on this show. Sakazaki teamed with her usual AEW tag partner Skye Blue while Athena struck a deal with Diamante to tag with her. Sakazaki scored the win after sending Athena out of the ring with a Hurricanrana and then pinning Diamante with the Magical Merry-Go-Round.

That wasn’t the end of Sakazaki’s night though. She was approached by The Dark Order later backstage with an offer to join their group. She kept telling them “Hai!” but they misunderstood and thought she was just saying hello. They left her alone, convinced they were being rejected. She made the Dark Order pose with her hand anyway. So maybe she’s in (or maybe she’s not, brother)?

SPW “CHAMPIONS NEVER YIELD”, 27/01/2023
Foochow Building, Singapore

1. Queen Of Asia Title: Alexis Lee (c) defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Shotgun Double Knees (?:??).
*V1 for Alexis Lee.

In travels much closer to home Yuki Kamifuku took a mini-tour of southeast Asia after her team was eliminated from the Max Heart Tournament. Her first stop was in Singapore Pro Wrestling where she challenged Alexis Lee for the Queen Of Asia Title. Lee successfully defended her title by pinning Kamifuku with the Shotgun Double Knees.

SETUP “SETUP EP.11”, 28/01/2023
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. International Single Match: Yuki Kamifuku defeated Matcha with the Famouser (9:43).

The next day Kamifuku was in Thailand to take on Matcha at a SETUP show. Things got better for her here… sort of. Kamifuku pinned Matcha with the Famouser but for some reason the bell never rang and the two of them decided to continue wrestling. Kamifuku had climbed up to the second rope ready to do a flying Famouser when the bell finally rang and the referee tried to explain to a confused audience that the match had ended with Kamifuku as the winner.

AEW “DARK”, 28/01/2023 (Aired 31/01/2023, 07/02/2023 & 13/02/2023)
Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Avery Breaux with the Magical Girl Splash (4:15)
2. Konosuke Takeshita defeated EJ Nduka with the Zahi (4:15).
3. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Bronson with the Zahi (6:37).

The month for Takeshita and Sakazaki ends with an AEW Dark taping in Universal Studios. Sakazaki’s match with Avery Breaux has already been shown on the most recent episode as I type this. Takeshita’s matches with EJ Nduka and Bronson will be show in February. The EJ Nduka match got some attention online because it is Nduka’s first appearance in the ring since leaving MLW a few weeks earlier.

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Upcoming Appearances

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 01/02/2023
Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Brian Cage (w/ Prince Nana)

So now Takeshita has found himself playing a part in the MJF Vs Danielson feud. In the weeks since his Danielson match, Takeshita has called MJF an asshole in interviews and saved Danielson in the ring from an attack from MJF and Brian Cage. The next part of the story happens tonight when Takeshita faces Cage one on one.

DPW “YOU ALREADY KNOW”, 25/02/2023
NC State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer (c) Vs Raychell Rose & Hyan

The Princess Tag Team Titles are heading over to America thanks to The Wasteland War Party. The new champions have set Deadlock Pro Wrestling as their next target and agreed to defend the titles against Raychell Rose & Hyan. It will be the first time the Princess Tag Titles will be defended outside of Japan. Rose is an established part of DPW’s roster, being the young company’s first women’s champion. Hyan is a talent from the Texas scene who is well travelled around the US indies.

GCW “HOLY SMOKES”, 04/03/2023
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X
2. Joey Janela Vs VENY

Itoh will have a lot to do with GCW in March and she won’t be alone for any of it. Asuka/VENY will be travelling over to Atlantic City alongside her. They’ll be wrestling together on the second show but first, VENY is getting a GCW welcoming party from Joey Janela.

GCW “RANSOM”, 05/03/2023
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh, Rina Yamashita & VENY Vs Sawyer Wreck, Billie Starkz & Janai Kai

Itoh is familiar with all three of her opponents Wreck, Starkz & Janai Kai at this point. Rina Yamashita is joining in the fun and will surely make the match turn out way more violent than anticipated.

EVE “WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY”, 08/03/2023
229 The Venue, London, England

1. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Lizzy Evo

Yamashita’s scheduled EVE Title defence against Lizzy Evo was delayed due to the concussion Yamashita suffered in Tokyo Joshi Pro a few days earlier. She was unable to travel abroad safely because of it. The match will now take place at EVE’s next event in March.

SETUP “SETUP EP.12”, 18/03/2023
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. SETUP Thailand Openweight Title: Monomoth (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi

Masahiro Takanashi is getting a title match when he returns to Thailand in March. Monomoth is the current SETUP Openweight Champion and is now counting down the days for his defence against Takanashi to happen.

NEW “NEW 12”, 24/03/2023
Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada

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

YYamashita makes her Canadian debut with Nation Extreme Wrestling. Itoh joins her and cannot wait to eat poutine again.

PANDEMONIUM PRO “NEW 12”, 29/03/2023
Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh & Kidd Bandit Vs Taya Valkyrie & Heather Monroe

Damn it this was announced while I was in the middle of finishing this post. Itoh makes her debut for Pandemonium Pro Wrestling teaming with Kidd Bandit. Together they take on Taya Valkyrie & Heather Monroe! Bandit once cosplayed as Itoh and got her approval so will they be showing up in matching costumes on the night?

DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

DDT are sending 16 wrestlers over to Los Angeles for the company’s big return to America. They are Kazusada Higuchi, Jun Akiyama, MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Sanshiro Takagi, Konosuke Takeshita, Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Ueno, Chris Brookes, Saki Akai, KANON, Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Michael Nakazawa, Yoshihiko and the winner of the D GENERATIONS CUP. This will be Takeshita’s only DDT match during the week.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES”, 31/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

The report from The Wrestling Observer last November was true. TJPW is travelling along with DDT to America this March! Here’s the interesting wrinkle. The TJPW show is being held under the Wrestlecon umbrella ran by Highspots while DDT is with GCW and The Collective. Now that’s playing both sides! Somewhere between 12 and 15 members of the TJPW roster will be part of the show along with some international guest wrestlers.

DDT/GCW “GCW VS DDT”, 31/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne Vs MAO & Mike Bailey

The first GCW Vs DDT match announced is sure to be a barn burner. MAO & Mike Bailey are back together as The Moonlight Express for the first time in three years. Their opponents are two of GCW’s most talked about prospects. Together Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne are The East West Express.

Other DDT wrestlers so far confirmed to appear are Higuchi, Akiyama and Yoshihiko. As already mentioned, Takeshita will not be part of the GCW Vs DDT show. ROH have their PPV happening around the same time so maybe he shows up there?

PRESTIGE “NERVOUS BREAKDOWN”, 31/03/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Taya Valkyrie Vs Miyu Yamashita

Another match that got announced right after I finished this post. You’re killing me here lads. Yamashita faces Valkyrie for the first time ever.

GCW “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK 7”, 31/03/2023
Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Here me out. The payoff to the Itoh and Gage interactions has to be the two of them in the same match together, right? They’re both MDK so Itoh & Gage teaming together makes sense. But “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK” has the reputation of being one of the craziest booked shows to happen anywhere every year. Gage is the GCW World Champion so why not have him defend it against Itoh on this show! Or how about Itoh versus Kota Ibushi now that he’s been announced for the show?

LLL “MONSTER ISLAND”, 07/04/2023
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Heidi Howitzer Vs Maki Itoh

Heidi Howitzer got the chance to pick any opponent she wanted for the next Lucha Libre & Laughs show in April. She wants to fight Itoh and made her challenge in words Itoh can understand: “Hey Maki, fuck you!”

WEST COAST PRO “HOME OF THE KILLERS”, 07/04/2023
The State Room, South San Francisco, California, USA

1. West Coast Pro Women’s Title: X (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

Another promotion debut for Yamashita is happening while she is in America this Spring. West Coast Pro will be crowning their first Women’s Champion in March. Whoever it is, her first defence will be against Yamashita in April.

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Cancelled Appearances

EVE “EVE 100”, 07/01/2023
229 The Venue, London, England

1. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Lizzy Evo

As mentioned above, the title match was pushed back to March because of Yamashita’s concussion preventing her from travelling overseas.

DDT Around The World – August 2022

The summer is over and I thought this article would be winding down and become easier to write about for a few months. After all, Konosuke Takeshita is back in Japan for a while so his AEW journey is on a little break. Instead Shota decides to go live in America and get bookings for some of the most obscure indie companies I have ever heard of. I mean some are so out of the way if you bring them up to the people who run IWTV their response would probably be “Who?” But once September and October are done and dusted Takeshita will be heading back to the US with bigger goals in mind. I think it’s too early right now to talk about whether or not he’s going to be one foot out the door with DDT for good. It’s definitely something I’ll have to write about some day, just not today.

So this series might look a little different in the coming months. Joey Janela is carrying the DDT Extreme Title around the world and has a number of defences already lined up. I’ll be keeping track of them here for as long as it goes on. The same will go for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title if that ever leaves Japan again. So yeah if you’re expecting next month’s post to be about more of Takeshita’s adventures, you’re probably going to get a face full of Shota and Janela instead. However I have a expectation you’ll still see Yuka Sakazaki, Maki Itoh and Miyu Yamashita popping up in AEW every now and then to go along with their North American indie bookings. Did you see that Sakazaki is going to be in the AEW video game? Take that FTR!

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Videos

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 05/08/2022
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Ryan Nemeth

Video starts at 58:37 for the match
WIDE BAY PRO “RAMPAGE”, 06/08/2022
Maryborough State High School, Sussex Street, Maryborough, Australia

1. Interstate Title: Mitch Ryder (c) (w/ Todd Eastman) Vs Shota Suzuki

AEW “BATTLE OF THE BELTS III”, 06/08/2022
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

1. ROH World Title: Claudio Castagnoli (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

MAW “SUMMER HEAT”, 07/08/2022
Fat Pants Brewing Company, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs JDX

Video starts at 43:23 for the match
JCW “AFTER HOURS 2”, 13/08/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Billie Starkz

Video starts at 15:08 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 15/08/2022
Target Cente, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Cezar Bononi

Video starts at 36:45 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 22/08/2022
Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, West Virginia, USA

1. Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue Vs Emi Sakura & Maki Itoh

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Results

AEW “BATTLE OF THE BELTS III”, 05/08/2022 (Aired 06/08/2022)
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

1. ROH World Title: Claudio Castagnoli (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Ricola Bomb (19:59).
*V1 for Claudio Castagnoli.

Takeshita is now 0 for 2 in World Championship matches during his excursion. He couldn’t win the PWG World Title in July and last month couldn’t beat Claudio Castagnoli for the ROH World Title. It’s another tale of so close but so far for him. He’s putting up the great performances but just not getting those wins when it matters.

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 05/08/2022
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Ryan Nemeth with the Zahi (1:41).

One good thing to happen on the taping was Takeshita’s first win on national TV. Funny thing is this was taped after the ROH Title match but aired on TV the day before. Takeshita wanted to get that one big win on TV before he went back to Japan. Ryan Nemeth isn’t that big win to be honest but hey, it’s a start.

WIDE BAY PRO “RAMPAGE”, 06/08/2022
Maryborough State High School, Sussex Street, Maryborough, Australia

1. Interstate Title: Mitch Ryder (c) (w/ Todd Eastman) defeated Shota Suzuki with the Rope Assisted Piledriver (?:??).
*V? for Mitch Ryder.

You’ll notice that Shota will be using the name Shota Suzuki in some places. It’s to avoid people confusing him with Shota Umino. I can tell you myself whenever I tweet about Shota’s excursion I get a few responses from people thinking I’m talking about the Shota from New Japan. Anyway he had the pleasure of being Wide Bay Pro’s first international guest wrestler on their shows. He was hoping to win the Interstate Title from Mitch Ryder and use the belt as his ticket to wrestle in Australia more. Unfortunately Ryder’s manager Todd Eastman got involved and his distraction led to Shota losing to a see-saw Piledriver over the middle rope.

DPW “BELIEVE THE HYPE”, 06/08/2022
Gov. James E. Holshouser Building, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

1. Emi Sakura defeated Mizuki with the Queen’s Gambit (11:02).
2. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Andrew Everett with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (18:41).

Mixed results on the Deadlock Pro show. The main event had Takeshita beat Andrew Everett in an absolute scorcher of a match. Mizuki’s first match in America ended in a loss to Emi Sakura. The teacher versus student dynamic was on full display. Sakura even got one more dirty reminder after the match by offering a handshake just to attack Mizuki even more. However the fans responded greatly to Mizuki and were happy to hear her shout “I will be back!”

MAW “SUMMER HEAT”, 07/08/2022
Fat Pants Brewing Company, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated JDX with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (17:38).

I heard about this match happening from a few Discords but couldn’t find info on it until after it took place. Midwest All-Star Wrestling is a regular promotion for JDX (Justin D. Xavier, the D stands for Disgusting). He thought Takeshita was going to look past him because his focus was on the ROH Title match. Instead Takeshita put him through a hard fought match and had his hand raised in the end.

AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 10/08/2022 (Aired 15/08/2022)
Target Cente, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Cezar Bononi with the Zahi (2:37).

With this win over Cezar Bononi, Takeshita has one more opponent he needs to beat for a clean sweep over The Wingmen. Where you at, Peter Avalon?

PROGRESS “CHAPTER 137: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COPPERHEAD”, 13/08/2022
O2 Academy, Sheffield, England

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Leon Slater with the Zahi (12:17).

Over to England now where Takeshita made his PROGRESS debut. His 17 year old opponent Leon Slater was a replacement for an injured Robbie X. Slater put up a heck of a fight but his big mistake was to try and set up a One Man Spanish Fly off the top rope. Takeshita instead used the stalled time to knock Slater off the turnbuckle with a Lariat and then pin him with the Zahi.

JCW “AFTER HOURS 2”, 13/08/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Billie Starkz defeated Maki Itoh with the Assault Driver (11:13).

Those cheeky gits at GCW advertised Maki Itoh for both nights of their Homecoming weekend but her match on the first night was with JCW instead. I think she did fan meet and greets during the GCW show so they can probably get away with avoiding accusations of false advertising. Anyway her match against Billie Starkz happened very late at night. She had a busy schedule for the following day.

PROGRESS “CHAPTER 138: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COTTONMOUTH”, 14/08/2022
Boiler Shop, Newcastle, England

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Dean Allmark with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (10:05).

Takeshita’s second day in PROGRESS gave him a far more experienced opponent to deal with in the form of Dean Allmark. He had some tricks up his sleeve like a Headstand Backslide Pin but Takeshita rolled out of it to hit the Zahi for a nearfall. He then hit the Lil Sebastian’s Curse to win. I need to find out if he minds everybody still wanting to call that move the Cinnabomb.

GCW “HOMECOMING PART 2”, 14/08/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated Dark Sheik with the Flying DDT (10:54).

If there is one thing you need to know about this match it’s this. They did the Top Rope DDT spot from the Dean Malenko Vs Scotty 2 Hotty match that happened at Backlash 2000. It is also where Itoh started using the I.D.S as her new finisher. That wasn’t the end of Itoh’s night. She appeared during the main event segment where Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green renewed their wedding vows. Itoh sang “L.O.V.E.” by Frank Sinatra for the happy couple before Nick Gage came out and crashed the ceremony with a pizza cutter.

AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 17/08/2022 (Aired 22/08/2022)
Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, West Virginia, USA

1. Emi Sakura & Maki Itoh defeated Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue when Sakura pinned Blue with the Queen’s Gambit (7:15).

Itoh’s latest stay in America ended with another visit to AEW. She teamed with Emi Sakura to beat Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue. Itoh claims Emi Sakura is the newest member of the Itoh Respect Army but Sakura denies this. At least her singing impressed Matt Menard on commentary.

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Upcoming Appearances

EVE “THURSDAY NIGHT RIOT”, 01/09/2022
229 The Venue, London, England

1. Rayne Leverkusen & Harley Hudson Vs Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade
2. International Princess Title: Alex Windsor (c) Vs Hikari Noa

Later tonight Hikari Noa will challenge Alex Windsor for the International Princess Title in EVE. Noa arrived in London safe and sound during the week and EVE’s Twitter account shows her enjoying the vibrant sights of Camden. This may be TJPW’s only chance to bring the IP Title back home any time soon though. Windsor tweeted her frustrations over how difficult it’s been to get even an appointment with the Japanese embassy so she can travel back to Japan.

The tag match I included here has implications to pay attention to. The winners will get to wrestle for TJPW in Japan sometime in the future. Nightshade has been in TJPW back in 2019. In EVE she sides with Rhia O’Reilly as part of The Uprising stable. O’Reilly is also an accomplished wrestler across the British women’s scene. Their opponents Rayne Leverkusen & Harley Hudson I don’t know much about. Hudson’s biggest profile appearances seem to be with ICW in Scotland and TNT Extreme in Liverpool. Leverkusen I can’t find much info about other than a few recent EVE matches and Youtube videos of other matches across assorted indies.

MPW “ENDANGERED”, 02/09/2022
Nordhoff PL, Chatsworth, California, USA

1. Triple Threat Match: Darwin Finch Vs J2 Vs Shota

Shota’s new American life begins with Millenium Pro Wrestling in California. The promotion has been in existence since 2001. If Shota can beat Darwin Finch and J2 in a Triple Threat match then he will qualifiy for a Scramble match on 9th September that MPW is putting together to celebrate their anniversary.

PWF “ENDANGERED”, 03/09/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. JJ Blake Vs Shota Suzuki

The next day Shota travels over to Texas for Premier Wrestling Federation. His opponent here JJ Blake recently accomplished the Triple Crown feat in New Texas Pro Wrestling. That has Shota excited to know he is getting a strong opponent for sure.

GCW “THE ART OF WAR”, 03/09/2022
Grand Sports Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA

1. DDT Extreme Title & 6 Pack Of PBR – 2 Ring Ladder Scramble Match: Joey Janela (c) Vs Mike Bailey Vs Tony Deppen Vs Cole Radrick Vs Drago Kid Vs Gringo Loco Vs Dante Leon Vs Shane Mercer

Yeah this is nuts. Janela’s first Extreme Title defence in America will be in one of GCW’s craziest match stipulations. GCW loves Scramble matches. They are also doing their own Wargames match this weekend so will have two rings set up beside each other. Add in ladders along with a Pabst Blue Ribbon sponsorship and you got yourselves a 2 Ring Ladder Scramble Match! That’s not all, Janela is putting himself up against an entire deck full of wild cards. Mike Bailey needs no introduction, Tony Deppen can be unpredictable at times, Cole Radrick is becoming more of a deathmatch wrestler as the months go by, Drago Kid blew everyone’s minds in his previous GCW appearances, Gringo Loco has built up the reputation of being one of the best bases currently on the indies, Dante Leon is the kind of guy who benefits from that and Shane Mercer is an absolute powerhouse who leaves destruction in his wake.

JCW “UNCENSORED”, 10/09/2022
Boonton Elks Lodge, Boonton, New Jersey, USA

1. DDT Extreme Title – Bodyslam Challenge: Joey Janela (c) Vs Beastman

If Janela can somehow crawl out of the chaos mentioned above, he will put the title on the line next against Beastman on a JCW show. The stipulation here is a lot more basic. First wrestler to Body Slam their opponent wins. Beastman has the size advantage in this one.

ROW “TEXAS GOLD RUSH”, 10/09/2022
Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA

1. Shota Vs Ayden Cristiano

Shota’s heading back over to Reality Of Wrestling. This time around his opponent is “The Madman From Madrid” Ayden Cristiano.

NEW “YEAR ONE ANNIVERSARY”, 16/09/2022
Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada

1. Maki Itoh Vs Gisele Shaw

Canada prepare yourselves for Maki Itoh. She will wrestle for the first time on Canadian soil for Nation Extreme Wrestling. Her opponent is Gisele Shaw who is coming in as a replacement for Chelsea Green due to scheduling conflicts with the latter. Shaw wrestle twice for TJPW in 2019 including the match to crown the first ever IP Champion. This will be her first in-ring meeting with Itoh.

PRESTIGE “PERSEVERANCE”, 17/09/2022
The Glass House, Pomona, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Sandra Moone
2. Trish Adora Vs Miyu Yamashita

I said it last month that Miyu Yamashita against somebody like Trish Adora would be an attention grabber. There you go.

MISSION PRO “Welcome To The Jungle”, 17/09/2022
Salvation Army Mission Corps, San Antonio, Texas, USA

1. Shota Vs JP Harlow

Mission Pro is Thunder Rosa’s promotion, right? Shota’s just ticking off all of the Texas companies from the get go. If he wasn’t going to bump into JP Harlow at ROW it was only a matter of time he would find him here I guess.

FRONTLINE PRO “A NIGHT FOR TYLER V”, 24/09/2022
Bakerville Bar And Grill, Marshfield, Wisconsin, USA

1. Shota Vs Ragnar The Ruthless

One week later Shota heads to Wisconsin for Frontline Pro. For fuck sake lads I have to trawl through Facebook to find out what this is and where Ragnar The Ruthless comes from.

PROGRESS “CHAPTER 142: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN SNAKE”, 25/09/2022
O2 Academy, Birmingham, England

1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
2. Shigehiro Irie Vs X

Shigehiro Irie will be at Progress the same weekend CDK are there.

PROGRESS “RETURN OF THE FLY”, 27/09/2022
The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England

1. Shigehiro Irie Vs X
2. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X

Let’s include Irie here too.

MDRN NMD “I SPELL F-L-Y”, 29/09/2022
The Bread Shed, Grosvenor St. , Manchester, England

1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs LK Mezinger & Splits McPins
2. Shigehiro Irie Vs Dan Moloney

Before the entire UK scene fell apart there was a little series of shows called Tuesday Night Graps put together by a group of wrestlers including Chris Brookes. After the pandemic the shows came back under a new group called Modern Nomad Pro Wrestling and this time there’s no need to run shows every Tuesday. Is Masahiro Takanashi into bowling because CDK takes on Bowl-A-Rama in tag team action. Irie gets to take on Dan Moloney in a superfight.

WXW “INNER CIRCLE”, 30/09/2022
wXw Wrestling Academy, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

1. Masha Slamovich Vs Fuminori Abe

The day before the World Tag Team Festival tournament begins, wXw will be holding a smaller scale show inside their wrestling school. They are always a good appetizer to start their big international weekends with some unique matches put together. Like this one here, Fuminori Abe being thrown into the ring against Masha Slamovich!

WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 01/10/2022 – 03/10/2022
Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie Vs X
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X

We just have to wait and see how both CDK and Abe & Irie will do in the tournament.

EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM V”, 13/11/2022
229 The Venue, London, England

1. Hyper Misao Vs X

Yeah so this was announced back in July and I completely forgot about it until now. Whoops. Hyper Misao’s going to England!

PW REVOLUTION/WEST COAST PRO “KING OF INDIES 2022”, 19/11/2022
United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, USA

1. King Of Indies 2022: Konosuke Takeshita Vs X

There is a tournament in the American independents that holds almost a mythical reputation even if it does not attract the attention of wrestling fans the same way Battle Of Los Angeles, Tournament Of Death or King Of Trios all used to. The King Of Indies tournament originated in the early 2000s with All Pro Wrestling as the hosts. The 2001 edition is well known as being an inspiration towards the creation of Ring Of Honor. The tournament was revived in 2018 with Pro Wrestling Revolution taking the reigns and this year Takeshita gets to add his name to the tournament’s history book. He won’t be the only Japanese participant because Naomichi Marufuji from NOAH will be there along with SB Kento and La Estrella from DRAGONGATE.

DDT Around The World – July 2022

The summer is winding down and it’s been a whirlwind of international appearances for Konosuke Takeshita and Miyu Yamashita in particular. Things might calm down a little going into the Autumn when Takeshita returns home to Japan for DDT. His plan is to go back for just under two months before continuing his excursion. He is definitely falling in love with America and wants to make the country his second home. But as you will see in the upcoming appearances section below there is a whole wide world out there to explore.

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Videos

RCW “MIYUMAMI”, 02/07/2022
Casinet d’Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Alex Windsor

Video starts at 20:34 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 04/07/2022
Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan, USA

1. Hikaru Shida & Yuka Sakazaki Vs Heather Reckless & Laynie Luck

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 08/07/2022
Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York, USA

1. Eddie Kingston Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Video starts at 2:46:15 for the match
JCW “THE GREAT AMERICAN BIRTHDAY BASH”, 10/07/2022
Phil Sheridan Building, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Cole Radrick

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/07/2022
Enmarket Arena, Savannah, Georgia, USA

1. Interim AEW World Title Eliminator Match: Jon Moxley Vs Konosuke Takeshita

GARDEN STATE PRO “WELCOME TO EDEN”, 23/07/2022
The Heart Ballroom, Newark, USA

1. 3 Way Match: Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai

2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Josh Alexander

Video starts at 47:53 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 25/07/2022
Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs JD Drake

AEW “DYNAMITE ~ FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN”, 27/07/2022
DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

1. AEW Women’s World Title: Thunder Rosa (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

Video starts at 54:10 for Match #1. Go to 1:45:55 for Match #2
SETUP “SETUP EP.8”, 30/07/2022
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. Hoshitango Vs Bital Hasdin
2. Asia Dream Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Terry Diesel & Monomoth

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Results

RCW “MIYUMAMI”, 02/07/2022
Casinet d’Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Alex Windsor with the Skull Kick (15:28).

We start off in Spain where Yamashita travelled over to wrestle for RCW. She was the big draw of the show with the event’s name being a combination of her and the album “Motomami” by Rosalía. She took on Alex Windsor a week before Windsor went on to win the International Princess Title over in Japan.

PWG “NINETEEN”, 03/07/2022
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Masha Slamovich (9:22).
2. PWG World Title: Daniel Garcia (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita (23:19).
*V1 for Daniel Garcia.

July turned out to be a rocky patch for Takeshita in the win-loss department. He got to fight for the PWG World Title against Daniel Garcia but couldn’t win the belt from him. Yuka Sakazaki had a better night, winning the first women’s match held in PWG in over a decade against Masha Slamovich. She left quite the impression on everyone for sure.

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 06/07/2022 (Aired 08/07/2022)
Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York, USA

1. Eddie Kingston defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Spinning Backfist (11:56).

Eddie Kingston made it no secret his dream is to wrestle Jun Akiyama some day. Akiyama passed down the Jumping Knee Strike to Takeshita so this match brought Kingston one little step forward toward that goal. The two smashed each other to bits and both were practically done by the time the match was over. It could have ended in a double knockout had Kingston not fallen on top of Takeshita to get the pin.

JCW “THE GREAT AMERICAN BIRTHDAY BASH”, 10/07/2022
Phil Sheridan Building, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Cole Radrick with the Zahi (15:19).

Takeshita and Cole Radrick finally wrestling each other is like when two pen pals meet in person for the first time. To think it all started when Takeshita used Radrick’s move the Lil Sebastian’s Curse 3 years ago.

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/07/2022
Enmarket Arena, Savannah, Georgia, USA

1. Interim AEW World Title Eliminator Match: Jon Moxley defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Bulldog Choke (13:13).

Takeshita’s biggest match in America so far took place in AEW when he took on one of their biggest stars Jon Moxley! It was a non-title match but a win would have catapulted Takeshita into an automatic shot for the Interim AEW World Title. Unfortunately despite another heavily praised performance, Takeshita ended up submitting to the Bully Choke. It was at this point when Takeshita realised he has not won an AEW match on Dynamite or Rampage yet. He made it his next goal to get “one big win” on TV.

DEFY “THE WORLD IS YOURS NIGHT 1”, 16/07/2022
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Davey Richards (12:33).

Next stop was Seattle for a DEFY doubleshot. In the main event of Night 1 Takeshita beat the veteran journeyman of the indies Davey Richards.

DEFY “THE WORLD IS YOURS NIGHT 2”, 17/07/2022
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Schaff (10:34).

Then on the second night Takeshita beat Schaff. I’m really low on details about what happened on the DEFY shows at the moment so let’s move on.

AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 20/07/2022 (Aired 25/07/2022)
Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated JD Drake with the Jumping Knee Strike (3:40).

Takeshita has no problem picking up wins on AEW’s Youtube shows. He beat JD Drake in the main event of an episode of Dark Elevation.

TERMINUS “TERMINUS 3”, 21/07/2022
Oasis Event Center, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

1. Jonathan Gresham defeated Konosuke Takeshita by Referee Stoppage with the Modified Octopus Hold (14:55).

Takeshita paid a visit to TERMINUS, the promotion that Jonathan Gresham had been championing while Ring Of Honor was in limbo. The match almost lasted the full 15 minute time limit but the last minute and a half consisted of Gresham locking Takeshita in an Octopus Hold and then finding more ways to torture him. The referee finally called for the bell in the last few seconds, giving Gresham the win. But Takeshita never gave up and even threw an Elbow Strike while in a dazed state right after Gresham let him go. This would not be the last time they were in the ring together this month.

PRESTIGE “NONSTOP FEELING”, 22/07/2022
Hawthorne Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Kevin Blackwood with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (16:55).

Here is where Takeshita started to develop something different. Kevin Blackwood is a pretty tough dude and showed his guts by taking everything Takeshita could throw at him and still kick out of his pins. Takeshita ended up using Radrick’s move the Lil Sebastian’s Curse to finally get the win. Fans want Takeshita to name his version of the move Cinnabomb but he likes the name that Radrick originally gave it.

GARDEN STATE PRO “WELCOME TO EDEN”, 23/07/2022
The Heart Ballroom, Newark, USA

1. 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Billie Starkz and Janai Kai when Yamashita pinned Starkz with the Skull Kick (6:53).
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Josh Alexander ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).

Takeshita did end up getting into a time limit draw against Josh Alexander. It was a non-title match but he left holding his head up high over going the distance against the Impact World Champion. Yamashita was thrown into a hectic 3 Way Match against Billie Starkz and Janai Kai. Those young wrestlers have become two of the more familiar names in women’s wrestling on the American indies. The chaos worked out in Yamashita’s favour when Starkz unintentionally knocked Kai out of the ring, leaving her open for the deadly Skull Kick.

AEW “DYNAMITE ~ FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN”, 27/07/2022
DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

1. AEW Women’s World Title: Thunder Rosa (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Fire Thunder Driver (10:02).
*V5 for Thunder Rosa.

The big reason for Yamashita’s return to America was for this. A shot at the AEW Women’s World Title she earned from beating Thunder Rosa in Tokyo Joshi Pro earlier in the month. The late part of the rematch almost became a mirror of the TJPW bout with the Attitude Adjustment being countered into a Cradle only to get reversed into another one. This time however Rosa kicked out and caught Yamashita with her own High Kick. Rosa then hit her version of the Fire Thunder Driver to avenge the loss and successfully defend the title. Unfortunately it wasn’t a great match. They weren’t on the same page in the first half and although they got back in track with Yamashita’s German Suplex spot, the rest of the match was pretty much a repeat of what they did in TJPW.

BLACK LABEL PRO “THE GANG CROSSES THE LINE”, 29/07/2022
Nashville Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Nick Wayne with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (12:40).

Takeshita ended his month over at the Starrcast convention for two matches. The first took place in Black Label Pro against the highly regarded youngster Nick Wayne. Even though Takeshita won, he was so impressed by Wayne that he passed down his nickname of “The Future” to him!

SETUP “SETUP EP.8”, 30/07/2022
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. Hoshitango defeated Bital Hasdin with the Midnight Buenos Aires (8:34).
2. Asia Dream Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) defeated Terry Diesel & Monomoth when Brookes pinned Monomoth after the Super Kick & Praying Mantis Bomb (23:40).
*V4 for CDK.

Time to go a completely different direction over to Thailand where CDK went off on an adventure. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi were part of a Gatoh Move related group of wrestlers taking part in a SETUP show. CDK successfully defended the Asia Dream Tag Team Titles against two of SETUP’s best in Terry Diesel & Monomoth. Also taking part was Hoshitango. He gave the local super rookie Bital Hasdin his first loss in pro wrestling. There was even a DJ Nira sighting at some point during the show.

JCP “RIC FLAIR’S LAST MATCH”, 31/07/2022
Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

1. PROGRESS World Title #1 Contender – 4 Way Match: Jonathan Gresham defeated Alan Angels, Nick Wayne and Konosuke Takeshita when Gresham pinned Angels with an O’Connor Roll (5:40).

Takeshita was added to the undercard of Ric Flair’s dedicated attempt at turning the final scene of “The Wrestler” into reality. He took part in a 4 Way with previous opponents Gresham and Wayne along with former AEW wrestler Alan Angels.

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Upcoming Appearances

AEW “BATTLE OF THE BELTS III”, 05/08/2022 (Airing 06/08/2022)
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

1. ROH World Title: Claudio Castagnoli (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

He couldn’t win the PWG Title so let’s go after the ROH World Title! Takeshita takes on Claudio Castagnoli himself in an absolute whopper of a match on paper. As mentioned above, Takeshita wants his first AEW win on TV to be a big one and this would fit the bill.

WIDE BAY PRO “RAMPAGE”, 06/08/2022
Maryborough State High School, Sussex Street, Maryborough, Australia

1. Interstate Title: Mitch Ryder (c) Vs Shota

Here’s an unexpected addition. Shota is gearing up for an American excursion in a few month’s time but this month he is heading over to Australia for a one-off appearance in Wide Bay Pro. He is going to challenge one of their champions Mitch Ryder (not the American one who died two years ago).

DPW “BELIEVE THE HYPE”, 06/08/2022
Gov. James E. Holshouser Building, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

1. Mizuki Vs Emi Sakura
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Andrew Everett

Back over to the maniac matchmaking of Deadlock Pro. On one of their recent shows Andrew Everett called out Takeshita for a match! If that isn’t enough to tickle your fancy, DPW somehow put together the rare matchup of Mizuki against Emi Sakura! It will be Mizuki’s first ever appearance in America and also Sakura’s first US booking outside of AEW ever since she worked with the company.

PROGRESS “CHAPTER 137: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COPPERHEAD”, 13/08/2022
O2 Academy, Sheffield, England

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Robbie X

Robbie X is a journeyman of the British wrestling scene who seems to be finally breaking through and climbing up the ladder. He is Takeshita’s first opponent when he travels over to England.

GCW “HOMECOMING PART 1”, 13/08/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

That Itoh’s first GCW match hasn’t been announced yet makes me think she’ll be added to a Scramble 6 Way. She’ll have a busy day nonetheless.

JCW “AFTER HOURS 2”, 13/08/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Billie Starkz

GCW’s sister promotion JCW will be running a show in the same venue afterwards. Itoh is taking part by having a match against Starkz. She got along well with Yamashita. If Itoh takes a liking to her too then maybe a tour of Japan is in Starkz’s future. It will do her a world of good if she ever wants to develop as a pro wrestler.

PROGRESS “CHAPTER 138: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COTTONMOUTH”, 14/08/2022
Boiler Shop, Newcastle, England

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Dean Allmark

Dean Allmark is another longtime British wrestler going beyond the indie scene. He’s been through the infamous schedule of wrestling at summer camps across the country.

GCW “HOMECOMING PART 2”, 14/08/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Dark Sheik

Now here is someone with an attitude that Itoh will appreciate. “Fuck The Fans” is a motto that Dark Sheik lives by even though she is pretty cool towards her fanbase. Hoodslam is her home but she’s gotten comfy wrestling in GCW lately too.

PRESTIGE “PERSEVERANCE”, 17/09/2022
The Glass House, Pomona, USA

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

Yamashita & Itoh are heading back over to Prestige in September. Itoh has an opponent announced in the form of Sandra Moone. Yamashita is still waiting to hear who she will be against. Taya Valkyrie and Trish Adora are both advertised for the show. Either of them facing Yamashita would be an attention grabber. Just saying.

PROGRESS “CHAPTER 142: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN SNAKE”, 25/09/2022
O2 Academy, Birmingham, England

1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X

There’s some extra slightly DDT related news for this show. Shigehiro Irie is being booked for it.

PROGRESS “RETURN OF THE FLY”, 27/09/2022
The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England

1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X

CDK have another PROGRESS show to go to. The naming of it seems to match Brookes’ interests too.

WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 01/10/2022 – 03/10/2022
Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie Vs X
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X

A couple more teams have been added to the World Tag Team Festival but nothing related to what I’m doing here. Probably going to stay that way until the tournament takes place.