The final month of the year now includes a new tradition from AEW. It’s the Continental Classic tournament! Their take on the round robin format that Japan’s wrestling scene has down to a science still has a lot of bugs in it. Mainly there’s none of the pageantry you’d expect from collecting together a dozen great wrestlers for a month long tournament and the lack of matches scheduled in advance takes the fun out of predicting how the booking is going to go. That latter part does mean AEW can keep fans on their toes and throw a few curveballs with doing the more anticipated matches at unexpected times. The shorter, more packed schedule this year helped things out more because these tournaments work when you don’t have to wait many days for the next show to advance further through the group stage.
The hope was for Konosuke Takeshita to take part in the C2 this year after not being selected for the inaugural event. With a G1 Climax victory from earlier this year under his belt it would have been insane to leave him out again. Thankfully he made it into the field and was put into a group with no other members of The Don Callis Family involved. There were still plenty of familiar opponents for him to fight with and as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, losing to anyone right before he goes to defend the belt in the Tokyo Dome would take another hit to how he’s currently being perceived. Well, at least he made it through the block undefeated…
AEW “COLLISION – THANKSGIVING”, 26/11/2025 (Aired 27/11/2025) The Pinnacle, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (3) defeated Roderick Strong (0) with the Raging Fire (13:15).
Takeshita got off to a good start… or did he…? Uh… yes, it turns out he did even though a fake spoiler rattled up a lot of fans in the day between when the match was taped and when it aired on TV. Neither Takeshita nor Roderick Strong were concerned if they broke each other in half. Outside the ring Takeshita gave Strong the Blue Thunder Bomb on top of a guardrail while back in the ring Strong dropped Takeshita from the top rope over the turnbuckles Backbreaker style. With so many bombs being thrown, Strong broke down first and he was finished off with the Powerdrive Knee followed by the Raging Fire. After the match Strong is feeling like he is in a slump because he is entering the tournament as a replacement for Kyle O’Reilly. This result is a wake up call for him to compete in the rest of the C2 for himself instead of anyone else.
AEW “COLLISION”, 06/12/2025 Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA
1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (6) defeated Jon Moxley (3) with the Raging Fire (17:29).
Takeshita has fought Jon Moxley in AEW singles matches three previous times and lost all of them. For his fourth attempt he finally got the better of him for the first time. An apparent leg injury hampered Moxley during the match but he kept on fighting, drilling Takeshita onto the ring apron with the Curb Stomp. He also countered the Blue Thunder Bomb with a Headlock Takeover, transitioning it into an Ankle Lock. That harmed Takeshita’s leg to even the playing field but he dropped a big Blue Thunder Bomb onto the remains of the commentary table (that had flimsily fallen apart when Takeshita grabbed the AEW Continental Title that was placed there). Moxley recovered to hit the Paradigm Shift but Takeshita saved himself with a rope break to stop the pin. Moxely hit him more with some strikes until his own knee gave way, allowing Takeshita to strike with the Powerdrive Knee for a nearfall. Takeshita pulled down his kneepad to hit a raw Powerdrive Knee and was able to pull off the Raging Fire to finally get his first win over Moxley.
AEW “COLLISION – WINTER IS COMING”, 13/12/2025 Utilita Arena Cardiff, Cardiff, Wales, UK
1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (7) Vs Claudio Castagnoli (7) ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
There should be a bit of magic in the air whenever you have a world champion from one company take on a world champion from another. Just last month Claudio Castagnoli went to Mexico and won the CMLL World Heavyweight Title, a championship that’s in an odd position because people who don’t follow lucha libre think it’s a much bigger prize than it actually is. Still, Castagnoli is making sure the belt is nothing to sneeze at while he is holding it and he became the first bump in the road to slow down Takeshita. The two ended up fighting all the way to the time limit, making it the first match in this year’s C2 to end in a draw. The two kept on fighting anyway! Backstage Takeshita said he didn’t care about proving which world champion was better, he instead wanted to show Castagnoli just who is The Alpha! Castagnoli said the last time he wrestled Takeshita was three years ago. He is confident he won’t have to wait that long to fight him again.
1. $1,000,000 (£750,000) Winner Takes All Trios Match: Kenny Omega, Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson defeated Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero when Omega pinned Hechicero with the Indy Taker One-Winged Angel (22:31)
A side story popped up in the middle of the tournament focusing on The Don Callis Family at large. They had to go fight Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks who had all gotten over their problems with each other and revived The Elite. Loads of money was put on the line in a trios match between the two sides but that kind of motivation wasn’t enough to keep Takeshita and Kazuchika Okada on the same page. An opening for Takeshita to go in for the Powerdrive Knee was interrupted by Okada stepping in wanting to do the Rainmaker instead. Hechicero could only watch on in despair as his partners argued with each other. The Elite took advantage to clear house and triple team Hechicero into oblivion. Okada & Takeshita attacked The Elite afterwards and hit their finishers on The Young Bucks. However they still couldn’t help but get into a shoving contest with each other after that.
AEW “DYNAMITE ON 34TH STREET”, 20/12/2025 (Aired 24/12/2025) Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA
1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (10) defeated Orange Cassidy (6) with the Raging Fire (15:26).
The final matches in the Blue League happened in a rush over the Christmas period but Takeshita had nothing to worry about. His win over Orange Cassidy booked his ticket to the semi final round, even with a mini-scare where Cassidy countered the Raging Fire into a Small Package. However it turned out Takeshita was still in control and he powered out of the nearfall to lift his opponent right into the Raging Fire for the win.
AEW “CHRISTMAS COLLISION”, 21/12/2025 (Aired 25/12/2025) Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York, USA
1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (13) defeated Mascara Dorada (6) with the Raging Fire (11:40).
At this point a win for Takeshita was just to cement his position on top of the Blue League while also killing off any chances Mascara Dorada had left of qualifying for the semi-final. Just like with Cassidy, Takeshita’s power had to fight off the speed and agility of his opponent, although Dorada took things to another level with his acrobatics off of the ropes. It looked like Dorada’s closest moment to victory was countering the Last Ride into a Canadian Destroyer but Takeshita popped back up and knocked him away with a Lariat instead. Another big Lariat came when both were standing on the top rope together. From there Takeshita just needed to do the Powerdrive Knee and then the Raging Fire to finish on top of his group.
AEW “WORLDS END”, 27/12/2025 NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
1. Continental Classic – Semi Final: Kazuchika Okada defeated Konosuke Takeshita with a Screwdriver Attack (17:17).
Fate played its hand when the two league standings resulted in Takeshita and Okada meeting each other in the semi final. After so much wait for the match to happen, a screwdriver took it in another direction. Late in the match Okada reached into one of the turnbuckle sleeves and pulled a screwdriver out of it. Then a missed Rainmaker spot knocked the referee out of position so he couldn’t see anything. Okada then struck Takeshita over the head with the screwdriver and got away with it scot free. Don Callis on commentary claimed not to have seen anything and he walked off with the winner.
———————————————————————–
Videos
AEW “COLLISION – THANKSGIVING”, 26/11/2025 (Aired 27/11/2025) The Pinnacle, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (0) Vs Roderick Strong (0)
AEW “COLLISION”, 06/12/2025 Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA
1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Jon Moxley (3) Vs Konosuke Takeshita (3)
AEW “COLLISION – WINTER IS COMING”, 13/12/2025 Utilita Arena Cardiff, Cardiff, Wales, UK
1. Continental Classic – Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (6) Vs Claudio Castagnoli (6)
As always with this article I start off thinking it is going to be a lighter month than the last until it grows and grows. There are always extra bookings on the horizons whenever the boys and girls from DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro go abroad. August was dominated by two stories in my mind. Konosuke Takeshita wrestling The Golden Lovers in Wembley and Maki Itoh being all over GCW even more so than usual. Other things of note include TJPW announcing its return to America while dipping its toe into China, MAO becoming fast friends with El Desperado and Miyu Yamashita finding herself in ChocoPro territory by virtue of being EVE’s champion. Maybe next month’s article will be the one that finally slows down a little bit.
AEW “DYNAMITE 200”, 02/08/2023 Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida, USA
1. Chris Jericho & Konosuke Takeshita Vs Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia
WRESTLING REVOLVER “HEAT EM UP”, 03/08/2023 Calumet Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA
1. Lucha Street Fight: Gringo Loco Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Video starts at 39:54. MDRN NMD/GATOH MOVE “CHOCO NIGHT GRAPS!”, 29/08/2023 The Bread Shed, Grosvenor St., Manchester, England
1. Masahiro Takanashi Vs Kid Lykos
———————————————————————–
Results
AEW “DYNAMITE 200”, 02/08/2023 Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida, USA
1. Chris Jericho & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia when Jericho pinned Garcia after a Bat Attack from Don Callis (12:21).
As I feared, Takeshita’s storyline with Don Callis was pretty much hijacked by Chris Jericho to set up his own angle with Takeshita’s manager. Takeshita & Jericho teamed up under Callis’s recommendation against two people close to Jericho, Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia. Callis knocked out Garcia with a baseball bat behind the ref’s back and Jericho made the choice to pin him for the victory.
WRESTLING REVOLVER “HEAT EM UP”, 03/08/2023 Calumet Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA
1. Lucha Street Fight: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Gringo Loco with the Diving Senton (14:39).
Takeshita showed up in Wrestling REVOLVER as a short notice replacement for Jon Moxley. His appearance made up for Takeshita’s own cancelled booking with the promotion back in June. Here Takeshita faced Gringo Loco in a Lucha Street Fight. By coincidence one of Loco’s big moves is the Himawari Bomb that Sanshiro Takagi also uses. Takeshita kicked out of the move and then countered a top rope version into a Poison Rana. Loco kicked out of the Powerdrive Knee so Takeshita then took a page out of Moxley’s book by giving Loco the Paradigm Shift. From there Takeshita won with the Diving Senton.
DREAMWAVE “SUMMER SPECTACULAR 2023”, 04/08/2023 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Dreamwave Women’s Title Qualifying Scramble: Zayda Steele defeated Brittnie Brooks, Maki Itoh, B3CCA, Kaia McKenna and Shazza McKenzie when Steele pinned McKenzie after the It’s Brittnie Bitch from Brooks (8:08).
Itoh entered Dreamwave’s 6-Woman Scramble in the hopes of qualifying for their new Women’s Championship. It was first fall to a finish but the ring soon emptied when some of the women, Itoh included got thrown out. She didn’t factor into the finish but would soon find out she had another chance.
DREAMWAVE “THOSE SUMMER NIGHTS”, 05/08/2023 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Dreamwave Women’s Title Qualifying Scramble: Brittnie Brooks defeated Maki Itoh, B3CCA, Kaia McKenna, Maggie Lee and Shelly Benson when Brookes pinned Lee with the It’s Brittnie Bitch (8:08).
The second chance didn’t work out any better for her. Another 6-Woman Scramble was held the next night with some of the same women involved. Itoh tried to submit two opponents at once by giving them a Double Half Crab but it left her vulnerable to a Super Kick. She went to recover outside the ring and couldn’t climb back in time to break the pin.
GCW “NO SIGNAL IN THE HILLS”, 11/08/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. 4 Way Match: Steph De Lander defeated Allie Katch, Maki Itoh and Masha Slamovich when De Lander pinned Itoh with the Fireman’s Carry Facebuster (11:53).
Okay maybe multi-person free for alls are not Itoh’s forte. This one was a bit crazy though. Masha Slamovich had Allie Katch beaten when all of a sudden Blake Christian jumped into the ring and attacked her. Itoh took exception and threw punches at Christian, opening herself up to Steph De Lander giving her an F5-like move to win.
PWG “MYSTERY VORTEX”, 13/08/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
Here’s something I never thought I’d write. Maki Itoh did a balcony dive at a PWG show! It’s been rare to see PWG holding shows nowadays but last month they held one of their signature events “MYSTERY VORTEX” where nothing is advertised before hand and fans only know what the matches are when they happen. Itoh was involved in a bizarre mixture of wrestlers in a 6-Person Tag Match. She teamed with Evil Uno & Aramis to beat Masha Slamovich, Peter Avalon & Látigo in a match mixing together AEW, lucha libre and women’s wrestling talent.
Takeshita was also on the show too, beating Rey Horus. I’d call him a PWG regular at this point if they ran shows more often.
KOPW “THE NEW ERA OF CHINESE PRO WRESTLING III”, 19/08/2023 Tianyue Sports City, Nanhai Foshan, Guangdong, China
1. Mizuki defeated Nao Kakuta with the Cutie Special (?:??).
TJPW made their first steps into China when Mizuki and Nao Kakuta were invited to take part in King Of Pro Wrestling. They faced each other in a non-title match and won over the crowd with their back and forth action.
NJPW “LEC PRESENTS ALL STAR JR FESTIVAL USA 2023”, 19/08/2023 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. El Desperado & MAO defeated Nick Wayne & Jordan Oliver when Desperado pinned Oliver with the Pinche Loco (19:14).
The All Star Jr. Festival proved to be such a good idea in Japan that they brought the show over to America. MAO was invited along and got to team with El Desperado. The two of them bonded by playing Dragon Quest V on the flight to America so their team name was DQV. They fought a tag team MAO lost to earlier this year, The East West Express. Both Nick Wayne & Jordan Oliver performed Stereo Springboard Cutters to their opponents but both only got a two count. MAO got rid of Wayne by spiking him onto the canvas with a Spinning Headscissors and Desperado pinned Oliver with the Pinche Loco.
GCW “HOMECOMING – PART 1”, 19/08/2023
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh defeated Matt Cardona & Steph De Lander when Gage & Itoh pinned Cardona & De Lander each with the Kokeshi (11:57).
Months of fights between Maki Death Kill and Deathmatch Royalty led to a climactic battle between them finally happening. Itoh & Nick Gage were finally going to get their hands on Matt Cardona & De Lander with nothing in their way to stop them. Cardona & De Lander made a big entrance out of it, arriving at the venue in the Ecto-1 and wearing Ghostbusters outfits. For you see tonight they were the Deathmatch Busters! The joke blew up in their faces because Maki Death Kill sliced the two of them apart with pizza cutters! Cardona & De Lander tried to Pedigree Gage & Itoh onto thumbtacks but they were both Back Body Dropped onto the pile instead. Gage & Itoh then delivered stereo Kokeshi Headbutts to win the match and possibly put an end to the feud.
IMPACT/NJPW “MULTIVERSE UNITED”, 20/08/2023 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Scramble Match: Chris Sabin defeated Kevin Knight, Frankie Kazarian, BUSHI, YOH, Rich Swann, MAO and El Desperado when Sabin pinned YOH with the Cradle Shock (8:06).
MAO was involved even further with the international Jr. Heavyweight Division action the next night. Impact and New Japan held a co-promoted event and MAO was thrown into an 8-Man Scramble match to open the show. He tried joining forces with Desperado again but the numbers game still proved to be too much for the two of them. Instead Chris Sabin ended up being the last man standing. Well, at least until BUSHI blinded him with Poison Mist after the match.
GCW “HOMECOMING – PART 2”, 20/08/2023 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated B3CCA with the Itoh Deluxe (9:21).
In the first of two singles matches they have coming up together, Itoh beat B3CCA in GCW. Will the result be the same when they have a rematch at MLW next month?
ROW/GCW “GCW VS RENEGADES OF WRESTLING”, 25/08/2023 Roundhouse, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
1. Maki Itoh defeated Charli Evans with the Itoh Deluxe (18:03).
Itoh’s next focus in GCW was their tour of Australia with the Renegades Of Wrestling promotion. On Night 1 Itoh defeated Charli Evans and revealed a new word she learned that Aussies like to call other people. I’m not going to type it out here. It’s difficult enough trying to keep this blog from getting caught in web filters.
ROW/GCW “GCW VS RENEGADES OF WRESTLING”, 26/08/2023
Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
1. ROW Women’s Title: Aysha (c) defeated Maki Itoh with a Double Arm DDT (12:58). *V3 for Aysha.
The second night featured Itoh challenged Aysha for the ROW Women’s Title. Itoh had the champion beat when she made her tap out to the Itoh Deluxe but Aysha’s cronies at ringside kept distracting the referee so it wouldn’t be seen. Itoh let go of the hold to chase them off but turned around into a Double Arm DDT, stealing the win for Aysha.
GATOH MOVE “CHOCOPRO”, 26/08/2023 The Yard Theatre, London, England
Just including this result because Masahiro Takanashi is a DDT guy as well as a ChocoPro regular. I have more to talk about the second show of the double header.
EVE/GATOH MOVE “CHOCOPRO X EVE SUPER SHOW”, 26/08/2023 The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England
1. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Emersyn Jayne with the Crash Rabbit Heat (19:39). *V8 for Miyu Yamashita.
2. Mei Suruga & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Kanji & Kid Lykos when Suruga pinned Kanji with the Maple Model (11:25).
Being the EVE Champion got Miyu Yamashita to appear on a ChocoPro branded show for the first time. She opened up the show with a title defence against Emersyn Jayne. That match was supposed to happen in July but travel problems for the challenger prevented that from happening. It finally went ahead here and the match turned out to be a violent one. Yamashita was slammed onto the front row of chairs outside the ring and Jayne ended up getting busted open. Jayne did kick out of the Skull Kick, being one of the few people to do so. But Yamashita followed it up with the Crash Rabbit Heat to remain the champion.
One of ChocoPro’s victories on the show against EVE happened when Masahiro Takanashi & Mei Suruga defeated Kid Lykos & Kanji. It was one of the rare times men got to wrestle on an EVE show too.
The show also left with a question of what could have been because Marika Kobashi was planned to compete as an EVE representative. She is currently staying in Scotland but her flight to London was cancelled and she was unable to make it to the show. Part of her apology included regret over not being able to see Yamashita again so I wonder if she was meant to wrestle her instead of Jayne?
I was at this show by the way. Although I admit leaving during the main event in order to catch my train back to the hotel so I missed Emi Sakura’s surprise induction into EVE’s Hall Of Fame at the end.
ROW/GCW “GCW VS RENEGADES OF WRESTLING”, 27/08/2023 Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
1. Maki Itoh defeated Allie Katch with the I.S.D. (11:03).
Itoh bounced back from her failure to win a title by taking on GCW’s own Allie Katch on the final night of the Australian tour. It was another clean victory for Itoh. She seems to have Katch’s number every time they face each other.
AEW “ALL IN LONDON”, 27/08/2023 Wembley Stadium, London, England
1. Jay White, Juice Robinson & Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn) defeated The Golden Elite Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi & Adam Page when Takeshita pinned Omega with a School Boy (20:28).
I was at this show too! Getting to see Takeshita live in front of 80,000+ people in Wembley was great especially since my first time seeing him was in front of 330 people somewhere in Saitama back in 2016. That I got to see him mix it up with The Golden Lovers was a bonus. Even the result went Takeshita’s way. He countered Kota Ibushi’s Kamigoye with a sick looking Jumping Knee Strike of his own. Then when Kenny Omega was dealing with Bullet Club Gold, Takeshita rolled him up with a School Boy to steal the win.
MDRN NMD/GATOH MOVE “CHOCO NIGHT GRAPS!”, 29/08/2023 The Bread Shed, Grosvenor St., Manchester, England
1. Masahiro Takanashi defeated Kid Lykos with the Takatonic (?:??).
ChocoPro’s trip to England ended with a collaboration show alongside Modern Nomad Pro Wrestling. Takanashi took on Lykos again, this time in a singles match and at a venue where there was no wrestling ring. It was a mat wrestling show similar to ChocoPro’s own events in Ichigaya.
———————————————————————–
Upcoming Appearances
GCW “SAY YOU WILL”, 01/09/2023 Grand Sports Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
GCW advertised Maki Death Kill as showing up in the show but they won’t be wrestling together. Gage is facing El Hijo del Vikingo while Itoh’s match on the show has not been announced yet.
OTT “WRESTLERAMA”, 02/09/2023 The Warehouse Red Cow, Dublin, Ireland
1. Session Moth Martina & Miyu Yamashita Vs Debbie Keitel & Anita Vaughan
Yamashita is heading over to my neck of the woods in Ireland for OTT. She’s looking forward to it and I bet Itoh told her stories about what Session Moth Martina is like. Debbie Keitel & Anita Vaughan will be there to stop the party though.
MLW “FURY ROAD”, 03/09/2023 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. B3CCA Vs Maki Itoh
Funny stuff that MLW announced this match first then GCW went and did it anyway.
AEW “ALL OUT”, 03/09/2023 United Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. Kenny Omega Vs Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis)
It was announced during the “ALL IN” post-show scrum that Omega and Takeshita will face each other this weekend in Chicago at “ALL OUT”.
GCW “CRUSHED UP”, 10/09/2023 Roulette Intermedium, New York City, New York, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Killer Kelly
Itoh’s last match of her current tour is a one on one meeting against Killer Kelly.
PRESTIGE “THE RESPECT ISSUE”, 24/09/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Trish Adora Vs Shoko Nakajima
When Itoh is back in Japan, Shoko Nakajima tags out to be the next one going over to America. It’s all to build up TJPW’s big plan with Prestige as you will see at the bottom of this post.
REPUBLIC OF LUCHA “ROL VI VI VI: LA NOCHE DE WALPURGIS”, 30/10/2023 Republic Of Lucha, South Pasadena, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Penta el Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix Vs Shun Skywalker, Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf
Now isn’t this quite interesting? Takeshita from DDT and Shun Skywalker from Dragongate being pitted against each other. We also have the Lucha Brothers and La Rebelion involved in the match too.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
TJPW with the help of Prestige is coming back to Los Angeles this December! Announced for the show so far are Itoh, Yamashita, Rika Tatsumi, Mizuki, Taya Valkyrie, Masha Slamovich, Killer Kelly and Sandra Moone.
America had to deal with the adventures of MAO & Yoshihiko for most of July. The two of them were inseperable and causing chaos on every wrestling show they were booked for. Meanwhile Konosuke Takeshita is fitting into his heel role nicely, bringing the act over from AEW to DDT and creating consequences in both companies. Since next month is AEW’s big week of doing Wembley in London and the United Center in Chicago one after the other you would think Takeshita will get an important match somewhere on either card.
With those topics out of the way that leaves us with Maki Itoh. The experience gained from touring America is doing wonders for her career but she didn’t win the Princess Of Princess Title back in Tokyo Joshi Pro like she hoped. Her storyline in GCW is coming to a head in August and she has her sights set on many more tours in the future. It can make you wonder if she will reach a stage where she might choose to say goodbye to TJPW some day. Her interviews on the subject have been contradictory depending on who she talks to. She would love to get a full time deal from a big American company but she also likes being signed to TJPW because they let her work this kind of international schedule. It’s nothing to fret over right now but the thought has crossed my mind when it became clear her future plans do not include the Princess Title.
CIRCLE 6 “LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE”, 16/07/2023 1720 Warehouse, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. AJ Gray Vs MAO
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 19/07/2023 TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
1. Blood & Guts: Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, Nick Jackson, Matt Jackson & Kota Ibushi Vs Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Konosuke Takeshita & PAC
Video starts at 1:01:38 for the match. Go to 01:41:04 for Itoh’s birthday celebration. SMASH “CAN-US CLASSIC 2023”, 22/07/2023 Western Fair District, London, Ontario, Canada
1. Jody Threat Vs Maki Itoh
———————————————————————–
Results
EVE “NMITB”, 02/07/2023 The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England
1. Eve Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Rhio with the Crash Rabbit Heat (21:21). *V6 for Miyu Yamashita.
Miyu Yamashita was scheduled to defend the EVE Title against Emersyn Jayne but the challenger couldn’t make the show due to travel problems. Yamashita instead had to put the belt on the line against “The Unbreakable” Rhio with both wrestlers having no time to prepare for each other. Rhio’s power was brought into the fore with her getting nearfalls from a Pumphandle Bomb and Death Valley Driver onto her knee. But Yamashita escaped from a Package Piledriver attempt and caught Rhio with the Skull Kick. Rhio fell next to the ropes so she used a rope break to avoid being pinned. Yamashita then wore her down with kicks until she could pin Rhio with the Crash Rabbit Heat.
WEST COAST PRO “CRUEL SUMMER 2023”, 08/07/2023 United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, USA
1. Bryan Keith defeated MAO with the Emerald Tiger Driver (15:55).
MAO’s trip to America began at West Coast Pro where Bryan Keith was waiting for him. Keith had warned MAO not to expect any moonlight on this ocassion while MAO thought he would be fine because he is a “fucked up wrestler with an empty head.” That was proven when Yoshihiko interfered to help him! Keith survived the surprise attack and fired himself up and threw Yoshihiko out of the ring with a Razor’s Edge to even the odds. After a back and forth, Keith pinned MAO with the Emerald Tiger Driver for the win.
JCW “BIG ASS EXTREME BIRTHDAY BASH”, 09/07/2023 Ridgefield Park Knights of Columbus, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA
1. MAO defeated Mike Bailey with the Avalanche Michinoku Driver (14:47).
2. Bunkhouse Stampede: Manders defeated Charles Mason by Ring Out (22:13). Order Of Elimination: Jay Sawyer, Steve Off, Steve Scott, Grim Reefer, Brogan Finlay, Marcus Mathers, Kaia McKenna, Charlie Tiger, Eddy Herrera, Bam Sullivan, CPA, Ciclope, Miedo Extremo, Yoshihiko, Yoya, John Wayne Murdoch, Parrow and Charles Mason.
Wherever MAO went in America, Yoshihiko followed him the entire way. It led to an awkward reunion with Mike Bailey in JCW. MAO and Speedball faced off in a battle between The Moonlight Express but things went sideways when MAO accidentally knocked out the referee with a Helluva Kick. Yoshihiko grabbed itself a ref shirt and went in as the replacement! However its officiating didn’t meet Bailey’s expectations so Yoshihiko was thrown out of the ring Razor’s Edge style deep into the crowd. The distraction might have led to Bailey’s undoing because MAO went on to beat him with a top rope Michinoku Driver with the original ref making the count.
Yoshihiko would reappear in a Bunkhouse Stampede match booked later in the show. It was a complete free for all where Yoshihiko appeared for a confrontation with Charles Mason and his backup muscle Parrow. The three of them have previous bad blood in the GCW/JCW system because Mason hates being embarrassed by the doll. Parrow tried to throw Yoshihiko out but Yoshihiko grabbed onto him and applied a Sleeper Hold. Mason lost his mind and hit Yoshihiko/Parrow with chairshot after chairshot before finally throwing the doll out of the ring to eliminate it.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 12/07/2023 (Aired 14/07/2023) SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Mentallo with a Diving Senton (4:07).
Don Callis went the personal route to help Takeshita prepare for Blood & Guts. The show took place in Canada so Callis got AEW to book Kenny Omega’s longtime friend and training partner Mentallo as Takeshita’s opponent. The masked wrestler put up a good effort but Takeshita was victorious in the end, using a Diving Senton to add a new high flying move to his arsenal.
IWTV “MARCUS MATHERS ALL I WANT 2”, 13/07/2023 H20 Wrestling Center, Williamstown, New Jersey, USA
1. Yoshihiko defeated Jimmy Lloyd with the Yoshihiko Destroyer (9:56).
2. MAO defeated Brandon Kirk with the Phoenix Splash through the Plastic Cases (16:14).
The bottom ring rope snapped off during the first five minutes of the opening match and couldn’t be repaired. That should tell you the kind of night waiting ahead for MAO and Yoshihiko. But that’s the kind of fucked up wrestling MAO wants so he didn’t lose a step fighting against Brandon Kirk. A lot of chairs and plastic boxes were thrown into the mix for the two to beat each other up with.
Yoshihiko was tasked with fighting Jimmy Lloyd and both were prepared to tear the place apart. Yoshihiko did a balcony dive and landed Headbutt first onto Lloyd to break him through a wooden panel. Lloyd tried using a Steiner Screwdriver, Package Piledriver and Sleeper Suplex onto chairs but couldn’t get the three count. He went desperate by taking Yoshihiko to the top rope with chairs laid out below. Yoshihiko flipped him off with a Canadian Destroyer onto the chairs and then followed up with a second Destroyer for the finish.
GCW “NOW AND FOREVER”, 14/07/2023 Melrose Ballroom, Queens, New York, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Billie Starkz with the Itoh Deluxe (15:16).
2. Mike Bailey defeated Yoshihiko with the Stormbreaker (23:28).
3. GCW World Title: Blake Christian (c) defeated MAO with a Step Up Curb Stomp (14:21) *V6 for Blake Christian.
MAO had a big chance to grab some gold in his trip to GCW proper. He took on Blake Christian for the GCW World Title but things just didn’t work out for him on this night. Christian gave him a Low Blow, a Death Valley Driver and then finished him off with a Curb Stomp for a successful title defence.
There was something familiar about Bailey Vs Yoshihiko but I just can’t quite put my finger as to what it was. In a completely original match Bailey was accompanied by MAO Callis and his bodyguards. MAO was quickly ejected backstage but later returned to hand Bailey a screwdriver to attack Yoshihiko with. He then used the One-Winged Angel but Yoshihiko kicked out at one. Bailey lost his temper so he gave Yoshihiko the Tiger Driver ’91 (maybe that should be written without the apostraphe because he slammed the doll’s head into the mat around 91 times), the Hidden Blade and the Stormbreaker to win the match. It was unlike anything anyone had seen within the space of a three week period.
In a rematch from last August, Itoh defeated Billie Starkz not just in a wrestling match but in a pose-off to see who is cuter that happened midway through. After the match Itoh celebrated with Nick Gage and they then threw out a challenge to Matt Cardona & Steph De Lander. A video message from the two played over the screen in response but it turned out to be a trap! Cardona & De Lander ran into the ring through the crowd and ambushed Maki Death Kill. When they were done with the attack they accepted the challenge for a tag match.
1. Maki Itoh defeated Vanessa Kraven with the I.S.D. (14:49).
I don’t often talk much about match quality in these articles but you’re best to avoid watching this one. It wasn’t good.
CIRCLE 6 “BARROOM BLITZ”, 15/07/2023 Knucklehead Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. MAO Vs Bobby Beverly
I couldn’t find the result for this match on a show that had no wrestling ring. What I could find was footage of MAO giving Bobby Beverly a really nasty looking Package Piledriver onto a chair with Beverly’s head clipping off of the headrest. There was also footage of MAO singing with a band so win or lose he looked like he was having a great time.
CIRCLE 6 “LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE”, 16/07/2023 1720 Warehouse, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. AJ Gray defeated MAO with a Lariat (?:??).
Yoshihiko again interfered in one of MAO’s matches to aid him, this time against AJ Gray. While Yoshihiko did not get hurled across the room into the audience, Grey overcame the 2-on-1 disadvantage to win.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 19/07/2023 TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
1. Blood & Guts: Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, Nick Jackson, Matt Jackson & Kota Ibushi defeated Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Konosuke Takeshita & PAC when Moxley gave up (23:01).
Oh what drama that has been brewing in The Elite Vs Blackpool Combat Club feud in its final month. Takeshita travelled over to Mexico to assault Omega then helped BCC launch another attack on him back in America. That was when The Elite revealed their ace in the hole for Blood & Guts. The return of Kota Ibushi! In a match that was violent as promised, the BCC team fell apart when PAC took an accidental blow from Claudio Castagnoli. PAC has no loyalty to the group so he broke out of the cage and left. When The Elite got their second wind, Callis told Takeshita to leave the cage too! Takeshita did so and The Elite went on to beat BCC to end their feud.
1. Maki Itoh defeated Jody Threat with the I.S.D. (?:??).
Itoh was having a good night in Smash to begin with when she defeated Jody Threat. Then at the end of the show she was given a surprise birthday party in the ring because everyone found out it was her birthday that day! How sweet of them.
PRESTIGE “ALL RISE”, 23/07/2023 House Of Independents, Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Trish Adora defeated Maki Itoh with the Lariat Tubman (13:43).
Itoh’s return to Prestige was for a semi-main event match against Trish Adora. Oddly enough this was the first time they’ve faced each other even though Adora has become a regular opponent for TJPW wrestlers. Itoh lost on this day by running straight into Adora’s Lariat. Itoh declined to shake her hand afterwards.
DEFY “SPIRIT WC”, 28/07/2023 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. DEFY Women’s Title: Vert Vixen (c) defeated Maki Itoh with the Game Over (?:??). *V7 for Vert Vixen.
The main event of DEFY’s women only show was where Itoh had her latest chance to win an American championship. Vert Vixen defeated her, making it three successful DEFY Women’s Title defences against TJPW talent.
———————————————————————–
Upcoming Appearances
AEW “DYNAMITE 200”, 02/08/2023 Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida, USA
1. Chris Jericho & Konosuke Takeshita Vs Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia
It was only a matter of time until Chris Jericho would latch onto the new hot act and change the story into one about himself. He got the screen time with Callis while Takeshita was back in Japan wrestling for DDT. When Takeshita returns to America he will team with Jericho to take on Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia in the latest chapter of the Jericho Appreciation Society story. It’s going to suck if the latest direction for “ALL IN” and “ALL OUT” only pushes Takeshita into the background. Maybe there is hope for him getting an important match if Omega is not going to face Will Ospreay for a third time or if Ibushi is not being a tease about showing up at Wembley.
WRESTLING REVOLVER “HEAT EM UP”, 03/08/2023 Calumet Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA
1. Gringo Loco Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Coming in hot right as I am finishing up this article is news that Takeshita will be at this Thursday’s Wrestling REVOLVER show as a last minute replacement for Jon Moxley. According to Moxley he gave REVOLVER his approval for them to book Takeshita. The original plan was for Moxley to take on Gringo Loco in a Lucha Street Fight. Instead Loco will face Takeshita but the Street Fight stipulation seems to be dropped.
DREAMWAVE “SUMMER SPECTACULAR NIGHT 1”, 04/08/2023 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. 6-Person Scramble: Brittnie Brooks Vs Maki Itoh Vs Zayda Steele Vs B3CCA Vs Kaia McKenna Vs Shazza McKenzie
The winner of the scramble match in DREAMWAVE earns a spot in a match on 14th October that will crown the promotion’s first Women’s Champion.
DREAMWAVE “SUMMER SPECTACULAR NIGHT 2”, 05/08/2023 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Most likely the results on the first show will determine what Itoh is doing on the second. DREAMWAVE says there will be a second Scramble match on this second show where the winner also qualifies for October’s championship match. So if Itoh does not win the first time then maybe she can get a second chance if she demands it.
GCW “NO SIGNAL IN THE HILLS”, 11/08/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. 4 Way Match: Allie Katch Vs Steph De Lander Vs Maki Itoh Vs Masha Slamovich
The four leading women in GCW right now are all set to collide in a 4 Way Match. Itoh has her grudge with De Lander but the likes of Allie Katch and Masha Slamovich could get in her way.
KOPW “THE NEW ERA OF CHINESE PRO WRESTLING III”, 19/08/2023 Tianyue Sports City, Nanhai Foshan, Guangdong, China
1. Mizuki Vs Nao Kakuta
TJPW is sending Mizuki and Nao Kakuta over to China to hold an offer match at the latest King Of Pro Wrestling show. The Chinese promotion has booked joshi before such as Riho, Makoto, Emi Sakura and Mei Suruga.
NJPW “LEC PRESENTS ALL STAR JR FESTIVAL USA 2023”, 19/08/2023 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. El Desperado & MAO Vs Nick Wayne & Jordan Oliver
The first “ALL STAR JR FESTIVAL” in Tokyo earlier this year was such a major success New Japan and the sponsor LEC decided to bring the concept over to America. MAO gets invited back as a result and gets to take on The East West Express again. This time however he is teaming with El Desperado, making it the first time those two will be in the same match together.
GCW “HOMECOMING – PART 1”, 19/08/2023 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Matt Cardona & Steph De Lander Vs Nick Gage & Maki Itoh
The big grudge match GCW has been building up since March finally takes place near the end of the summer. Maki Death Kill have been trading blows back and forth with Cardona & De Lander ever since. Is one match enough to settle the score?
GCW “HOMECOMING – PART 2”, 20/08/2023 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs B3CCA
If that is the end of the feud then what will be next for Itoh in GCW?
ROW/GCW “GCW VS RENEGADES OF WRESTLING”, 25/08/2023 Roundhouse, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
1. Charli Evans Vs Maki Itoh
The answer of course is go to Australia! GCW is touring over there with a local group called Renegades Of Wrestling. First up Itoh takes on Charli Evans.
ROW/GCW “GCW VS RENEGADES OF WRESTLING”, 26/08/2023 Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
1. ROW Women’s Title: Aysha (c) Vs Maki Itoh
The second Australian show gives Itoh a shot at the ROW Women’s Title held by Aysha. The promotion has only been around for a year so the championships don’t have much history behind them. I think Aysha is more of a regular with Deathmatch Downunder.
EVE/CHOCOPRO “CHOCOPRO X EVE SUPER SHOW”, 26/08/2023 The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England
1. Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
Well, well, well, isn’t this a surprise? ChocoPro are heading over to London the same weekend as All In to hold shows with EVE. It makes sense for Masahiro Takanashi to be one of the guests because he is linked to Gatoh Move. But Yamashita appearing on the show is something I didn’t expect even though she is EVE’s main champion. There is also a solo ChocoPro event happening that day but this is the show where you will get to see Yamashita. Do you think AEW is interested in booking her again, for the next day? I hope so but the answer is probably no. Come on, she’ll become the only person to wrestle in the Tokyo Dome and Wembley the same year if they book her!
ROW/GCW “GCW VS RENEGADES OF WRESTLING”, 27/08/2023 Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
1. Allie Katch Vs Maki Itoh
Itoh ends the Australia tour with a match against Allie Katch. Itoh already has a singles win over her in GCW. In fact that was the match where she discovered how useful a pizza cutter is against opponents.
GCW “SAY YOU WILL”, 01/09/2023 Grand Sports Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois New Jersey, USA
1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh Vs X & X
Another tag match for Maki Death Kill? This could go anywhere from fighting The East West Express to taking on Los Macizos or anywhere in between!
MLW “FURY ROAD”, 03/09/2023 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. B3CCA Vs Maki Itoh
Now Major League Wrestling has to deal with Maki Itoh. MLW has a habit of chasing after trends but not really getting much out of them. The company also has a knack of putting out whatever news stories they want and wresting sites will report it without question. Court Bauer just has the clout to say anything and always be taken at face value I guess. The curse of that though is the attention never really pays off with anything substantial. When MLW is at its best their storylines can be really creative and different to what the other promotions are doing. But if they don’t have a plan for you you’re just there to put over people they do have plans for. Even worse is how they sometimes write people out of storylines. Itoh can kayfabe be carried out of her last show inside a body bag if they want to. Or since her opponent B3CCA has a pop singer gimmick on the show they can do a vocal injury if they want to get sinister. But that’s just me fantasy booking based on what they’ve done before.
PRESTIGE “THE RESPECT ISSUE”, 24/09/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Trish Adora Vs Shoko Nakajima
Good to see Shoko Nakajima getting international bookings again. Prestige seems to handle that sort of stuff Stateside thanks to their working relationship with TJPW. They’re trying to get her a couple other bookings while she’s over there. A match with Trish Adora is the first one on the cards for her.
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.
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
———————————————————————–
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
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
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 & Vert Vixen when Sakura pinned Vixen 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. Vert Vixen 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.
———————————————————————–
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.
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.
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.
———————————————————————–
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.
The shit has hit the fan now boys and girls because Konosuke Takeshita has turned heel! What looked like a quiet month of recovery for the guy after getting injured by the Blackpool Combat Club in AEW instead ending with a bang with him betraying The Elite and solidifying his alliance with Don Callis. The angle has sent AEW fantasy booking into overdrive with fans now hoping this will lead into Kota Ibushi making his long awaited entry into the company to join the storyline. Kenny Omega is fanning the flames somewhat by telling the audience after Sunday’s PPV that he has friends from outside AEW he’s thinking about bringing in to even the numbers. Whatever happens next, it should become a big step forward for Takeshita’s AEW career.
Meanwhile May was the second full month for Miyu Yamashita in America. She has named her excursion the Kick Rampage Tour and continues to experience wins and losses across the country. She even started the month with a very busy weekend in England. Title matches in particular have been the big challenges she’s had difficulty with this month. While she’s been busy with that, Maki Itoh begun her own training excursion in America to prepare for her big Princess Of Princess Title match in July. So far her appearances have all been for GCW and she’s been thick in the action over there. Both Yamashita and Itoh will be staying in America for most of June along with Yuka Sakazaki.
Sakazaki’s story for this article is a little odd. She is currently in America travelling with AEW but has not wrestled any matches yet, as of the time I write this. That’s what happens when you get rid of Dark and Elevation but I digress. She is going to be wrestling in June but her visit seems to be more about preparations for life in America after she graduates from Tokyo Joshi Pro at the end of the year. Also I want to remind everyone she is a playable character in AEW: Fight Forever coming out at the end of June. She’s even in a photo for one of the game achievements. By the time June ends Yamashita, Itoh and Sakazaki will all be back in Japan for TJPW again but that won’t be the end of their international bookings this year by a long shot.
———————————————————————–
Videos
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
HOG “BEWARE THE FURY”, 19/05/2023 Amazura, Queens, New York, USA
1. HOG Women’s Title: The Ultra Violette (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
GCW “I CAN’T SAVE YOU”, 21/05/2023 Valley Dale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio, USA
1. Steph De Lander Vs Maki Itoh
GLORY PRO “GO FOR BROKE”, 21/05/2023 South Broadway Athletic Club, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
1. Tootie Lynn Vs Miyu Yamashita
TITLE MATCH “LADIES NIGHT OUT: TRIPLE SHOT 2”, 26/05/2023 AML Wrestling Training Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
1. Ladies Night Out Title – 3 Way Match: Janai Kai (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Angélica Risk
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 31/05/2023 Viejas Arena, San Diego, California, USA
Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita Get Booed Out Of San Diego
———————————————————————–
Results
EVE “LUCKY 13 – NIGHT 1”, 05/05/2023 The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England
1. EVE Title – Iron Woman Match: Miyu Yamashita (c) (4) defeated Millie McKenzie (3) (30:00).
1a. Millie McKenzie (1) defeated Miyu Yamashita (0) with a German Suplex (5:05).
1b. Miyu Yamashita (1) defeated Millie McKenzie (1) with the Skull Kick (11:14).
1c. Millie McKenzie (2) defeated Miyu Yamashita (1) with an Inside Cradle (23:13).
1d. Miyu Yamashita (2) defeated Millie McKenzie (2) with a High Kick (23:20).
1e. Miyu Yamashita (3) defeated Millie McKenzie (2) with the Attitude Adjustment (24:34).
1f. Millie McKenzie (3) defeated Miyu Yamashita (3) with the Spear (26:20).
1g. Miyu Yamashita (4) defeated Millie McKenzie (3) with the Skull Kick (28:05). *V4 for Miyu Yamashita.
It’s the rivalry that went worldwide. Yamashita and Millie McKenzie have fought each other in Spain, England and Japan with a close win-loss record between them if you include their tag match in TJPW. McKenzie failed to win the EVE Title from Yamashita once before but she got a second chance on home soil. This time it was going to be a grueling 30 minute Iron Woman Match so there could be no question over who deserved to be champion. The battle left McKenzie as a bloody mess but she got the first pinfall early and was able to catch up when Yamashita took the lead. But the Skull Kick was the difference maker, giving Yamashita the winning fall and the two were left exhausted by the time the match reached its end.
EVE “LUCKY 13 – NIGHT 2”, 06/05/2023 The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England
1. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Billie Starkz with the Skull Kick (12:00). *V5 for Miyu Yamashita.
With hardly even a good day’s rest, Yamashita defended the EVE Title again the next day against Billie Starkz. She and Starkz are going to have matches together in America soon enough but EVE also wanted to host one because they didn’t know if they would ever get another chance. That Yamashita was still the champion gave them the perfect opportunity to make it a title match too. The result here shows that even when Yamashita’s American excursion ends, she still has a second home with EVE in England. They haven’t seen the last of her at all.
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) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Beauty Sleep (15:05). *V4 for Hyan.
A big main event spot was given to Yamashita and Hyan over at New Texas Pro. Hyan successfully defended her Women’s Title in a back and forth match, withstanding a High Kick to give Yamashita her version of the Glam Slam for the victory.
MAW “VENDETTA”, 13/05/2023 2nd St. Depot, Hastings, Minnesota, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Sierra (?:??).
Even though Sierra holds Midwest All-Star Wrestling’s women’s title, her match with Yamashita turned out to be a non-title bout. It was in the main event however and Yamashita won it. Would have been nice if she added another belt to her collection during this tour. Two is not enough!
HOG “BEWARE THE FURY”, 19/05/2023 Amazura, Queens, New York, USA
1. HOG Women’s Title: The Ultra Violette (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita after a Chairshot (10:46). *V5 for Violette.
Yamashita has dealt with interference from a heel unit before but I don’t remember anyone from NEO Biishiki-gun ever smashing a chair over her head. That is what happened here when The Ultra Violette got help from The Bookers to defend the HOG Women’s Title. Yamashita did her best to fend off the cheaters, kicking The Bookers off of the ring apron and landing the Skull Kick on Violette. But the referee was pulled out of the ring during the pinfall, Yamashita got knocked out with a chairshot and Violette’s limp arm was placed over her to get the three count.
AIW “GAUNTLET FOR THE GOLD 16”, 20/05/2023 Force Sports, Eastlake, Ohio, USA
1. Joseline Navarro defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Low Cross Body (?:??).
A result like this sounds like a massive upset but looking at Joseline Navarro’s run of results in AIW, she has a pretty strong win-loss record for the company. Still, Yamashita looked to have underestimated her. She didn’t realise Navarro shook off a High Kick to the head and was German Suplexed over to the corner of the ring. Yamashita got some momentum back but missed the Skull Kick and was German Suplexed again, this time head first into the bottom turnbuckle. Navarro followed up with a Basement Cross Body into the corner and that kept Yamashita down for the three count.
GCW “THE WAY I AM”, 20/05/2023 Harpo’s Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, USA
1. GCW World Title – 5 Way Match: Masha Slamovich (c) defeated LuFisto, Shazza McKenzie, Maki Itoh and Allysin Kay when Slamovich submitted McKenzie with (12:25). *V6 for Masha Slamovich.
This was originally going to be just Itoh against Shazza McKenzie in a singles match but in the week leading up to the show GCW thankfully changed plans. It was changed to a 6 Way Match featuring Masha Slamovich defending the GCW World Title against 5 other women, Itoh included. Then it turned out to be a 5 Way Match when Allie Katch was unable to make it to the show. Unlike Yamashita, Itoh can take a chair to the head and proved it by grabbing a chair and repeatedly headbutting it. Sadly she wasn’t able to become champion in the end.
GCW “I CAN’T SAVE YOU”, 21/05/2023 Valley Dale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio, USA
1. Steph De Lander (w/ Matt Cardona) defeated Maki Itoh (w/ Nick Gage) with a Sit Out F5 (8:58).
The next night Itoh went face to face with a woman who is fast becoming her international nemesis, Steph De Lander. Both Nick Gage and Matt Cardona were there for their entrances but it was Cardona who ended up interfering when he stopped Itoh from using her pizza cutter. The distraction led to De Lander getting a cheap win.
GLORY PRO “GO FOR BROKE”, 21/05/2023 South Broadway Athletic Club, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Tootie Lynn with the Skull Kick (12:26).
After a poor run of results Yamashita got things back on track by beating Tootie Lynn in the main event of a Glory Pro show. She even acted a little cheeky after the match, pulling back on a handshake only to give Lynn a hug afterwards. I think she liked wrestling her.
1. Triple Threat Match: Masahiro Takanashi defeated Big T and John Day (?:??).
2. SPW Queen Of Asia Title: Alexis Lee (c) defeated Saki Akai (?:??).
*V? for Alexis Lee.
3. SPW Southeast Asia Title: Aiden Rex (c) defeated Yukio Sakaguchi (?:??).
*V? for Aiden Rex.
This one slipped past me when it was announced last month. Eruption members Yukio Sakaguchi and Saki Akai went over to Singapore Pro Wrestling to challenge some of their champions. Both of them failed to win the belts with Sakaguchi losing to Aiden Rex and Saki Akai losing to Alexis Lee. The only DDT related win on the show was Masahiro Takanashi getting his hand raised after the 3 Way Match.
TITLE MATCH “LADIES NIGHT OUT: TRIPLE SHOT 2”, 26/05/2023 AML Wrestling Training Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
1. Ladies Night Out Title – 3 Way Match: Angélica Risk defeated Janai Kai (c) and Miyu Yamashita when Risk pinned Yamashita after the Tornado Kick from Kai (?:??). *Janai Kai fails in V4. Angélica Risk becomes the 3rd Ladies Night Out Champion!
Janai Kai has become a favourite opponent for Yamashita during her tour and this time she had a chance to win a championship from her. But things got weird. Title Match were running three shows that day and promoted two matches for Yamashita. One against Kai and one against Angélica Risk. Then on the night it turned out to be just one match between all three wrestlers and it was the main event of the final show. Kai actually had Yamashita beat by hitting her with the Tornado Kick. But Risk got Kai out of the way and stole the pin to become the new champion.
GCW “LIFESTYLE”, 26/05/2023 Silver Nugget Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Sandra Moone with the I.S.D. (9:18).
Itoh’s GCW adventure bounced back from last week’s losses by beating Sandra Moone in Las Vegas. She had no time to celebrate though because Cardona & De Lander attacked her immediately after the match. Gage ran down to the rescue, leading everyone to anticipate Maki Death Kill to team up again so they can cut their enemies apart!
———————————————————————–
Upcoming Appearances
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
Two opponents Yamashita has gotten to know in the ring pretty well this year. Her versus Masha Slamovich should happen more often. Heidi Howitzer is showing how busy she is while she’s away from Max The Impaler.
BLACK LABEL PRO “FANCY WRESTLING 2”, 03/06/2023 RDS Gym, Crown Point, Indiana, USA
1. Rachel Armstrong Vs Miyu Yamashita
From what I could find about Rachel Armstrong, she has a deadly looking 450 Splash.
GCW “CAGE OF SURVIVAL 2”, 04/06/2023 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
Itoh’s not going to fight in a Cage Match, is she?
INSPIRE A.D. “KIDS OF THE BLACKHOLE”, 04/06/2023 Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Killa Kate
Yamashita says farewell to Texas by fighting “The Submission Musician” Killa Kate. The people at Inspire A.D. have such big expectations for this match they made their own instruction video teaching fans how to throw streamers into the ring.
ST. LOUIS ANARCHY “GIANT’S WOKE EYES OPEN”, 09/06/2023 The House of Anarchy, Alton, Illinois, USA
1. Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita
This is the US match between Yamashita and Starkz that I was talking about earlier.
SPARK “IGNITE EAST”, 11/06/2023 The Heart Ballroom, Newark, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Brittany Blake
2. Spark Joshi World Title: Miyu Yamashita Vs Rachael Ellering
Yamashita is one of the two wrestlers chosen to fight for the new Spark Joshi World Title with Rachael Ellering being the other. If you ever wanted to know how those zombie championships that bounce around the Japanese indies get created, maybe give this thing a follow. Am I being too harsh with that assumption? Yep!
Itoh joins Yamashita for the first two Spark shows. She takes on Brittany Blake on the debut event.
SPARK “IGNITE WEST”, 16/06/2023 East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Cultural Center, West Covina, California, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs Delilah Doom
Delilah Doom is a well travelled veteran of the independents, wrestling for a similar length of time Yamashita has.
ENJOY “SOMETHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT”, 17/06/2023 Mr. Smalls Theatre, Millvale, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Ray Lyn
It appears that the Kick Rampage Tour will indeed end here. Yamashita’s first match back in TJPW will be on 24th June so unless something gets booked in the last week this will be it.
WRESTLING REVOLVER “RING OF DESTINY”, 17/06/2023 Calumet Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA
1. JT Dunn (w/ Allie Katch) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
JT Dunn has had a few chances now at trying to beat Takeshita but has yet to find success. Things in Wrestling REVOLVER have been going way lately though. He and Allie Katch got engaged at the last REVOLVER show and they have been causing chaos over there as part of The Unit. Is Katch the difference maker Dunn needed all along? Will this match even make sense by the time it happens? It could become heel versus heel depending on how Takeshita will start acting in AEW after his recent actions.
GCW “THANK ME LATER”, 17/06/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Rina Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
If there is a joshi wrestler who has taken GCW even more by storm than Itoh, it is Rina Yamashita. She is the longest reigning GCW Ultraviolent Champion and also has the most defences in a single reign. Who will the GCW audience get behind more or will there be an audible split in support?
DPW “TAG FESTIVAL 2023”, 18/06/2023 Durham Armory, Durham, North Carolina, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs X & X
Of course Deadlock Pro is the first place in America to book The Magical Sugar Rabbits outside of TJPW!
EVE “NMITB”, 02/07/2023 The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England
1. Eve Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Rhio or Emersyn Jayne
Last week EVE held a taping that had a No. 1 Contender’s match to determine Yamashita’s next challenger for her title. Videos of the show won’t be uploaded to their paid Youtube channel until June and the promoters asked their audience not to put any spoilers out anywhere. Those fans obliged and no results from the show can be found online. So right now I don’t know if it is Rhio or Emersyn Jane who is getting the title shot. Or even both if their match ended in a draw.
WEST COAST PRO “CRUEL SUMMER 2023”, 08/07/2023 United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, USA
1. Bryan Keith Vs MAO
There’s still going to be international wrestling for me to talk about after the women go back to TJPW. MAO will be going to America in July and West Coast Pro are giving him a doozy of an opponent. Bryan Keith might have the tools needed to deal with MAO’s crazy energy.
IWTV “MARCUS MATHERS ALL I WANT 2”, 13/07/2023 H20 Wrestling Center, Williamstown, New Jersey, USA
1. Yoshihiko Vs X
2. MAO Vs X
Both MAO and Yoshihiko have been invited over to a show produced by Marcus Mathers for IWTV.
GCW “NOW AND FOREVER”, 14/07/2023 Melrose Ballroom, Queens, New York, USA
1. Yoshihiko Vs X
2. Maki Itoh Vs X
Itoh’s going to be doing more GCW appearances that TJPW appearances the way things are going. Yoshihiko also returns.
Itoh’s relationship with death match wrestling is no longer just confined to GCW. She’ll be going over to Canada to make her International Wrestling Syndicate debut in July!
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?
———————————————————————–
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: Vert Vixen (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).
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
———————————————————————–
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: Vert Vixen (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Game Over (18:25). *V3 for Vert Vixen.
A week before Vert Vixen headed over to TJPW for her first tour of Japan, she faced off with Yamashita with the DEFY Women’s Title on the line. Vixen 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.
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.
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?
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 