DDT Around The World – December 2025

Happy new year! I’m currently in Japan while this is being posted and there’s barely anything to talk about this month, so the article is all nice and easy to write up this time! Konosuke Takeshita’s adventures in the Continental Classic will be posted as a separate article. Yuka Sakazaki’s sole match in December actually happened last month and I didn’t notice (I bet many of you didn’t notice either). Tokyo Joshi Pro had a successful debut in Thailand which again has already been written about and details have emerged about their return to Texas next year. There is an update for Tokio in Mexico as he risked his identity in a mask match for the very first time and lost it all. With a new year coming up in we have Miyu Yamashita’s visit to England next March for what is going to be an eventful week for EVE, a unusual part of the wrestling scene coming to Japan with Chris Brookes along for the ride.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

Eat, laugh, and shop! Miu, Raku, Kamifuku, Kira and Ashida take a leisurely food tour of Kuala Lumpur on their day off.

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Results

ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 26/11/2025 (Aired 04/12/2025)
Fishers Event Center, Fishers, Indiana, USA

1. ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament – Semi Final: Billie Starkz defeated Yuka Sakazaki with a Rope Assisted School Boy (10:43).

I’m confused because it turns out this match was actually already recorded last month but I couldn’t find any reference of it on the show spoilers online back then. That’s on me for not doing a good enough job looking for them and I’m not going back to rewrite last month’s article. Anyway, Sakazaki was knocked out of the ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament by Billie Starkz in a match that was more of a grindfest compared to what we would be used to seeing from both women. It had a real flat finish too with the two striking back and forth until Sakazaki bounced off the ropes and fell into a School Boy where Starkz used the ropes for leverage for the three count. All of Sakazaki’s allowed rope breaks were used up by that point so it was all fair for Starkz to give herself the extra leverage and win off of it. Starkz would go on to lose the final against Deonna Purrazzo at the PPV.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN BANGKOK”, 13/12/2025
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
327 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Yuki Kamifuku defeated Uta Takami with the Famouser (7:57).
2. Suzume & Arisu Endo defeated Yuki Arai & Shino Suzuki when Suzume pinned Suzuki with the Ring A Bell (11:08).
3. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated Alexis Lee with the Diving Senton (9:05).
*V6 for Shoko Nakajima.
4. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami (c) defeated Raku & Pom Harajuku when Yamashita pinned Raku with the Skull Kick (14:27).
*V1 for Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami.
5. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) defeated Matcha with the Spinning Tear Drop (17:47).
*V3 for Miu Watanabe.

A report of the show can be found here.

ARENA PEPE CISNEROS “VOLUMEN 1 – 13 ANIVERSARIO LUCTUOSO DE PEPE CISNEROS”, 28/12/2025
Arena Pepe Cisneros, Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico

1. Máscara Vs Máscara: Ratzinger defeated Tokio with a Crushed Rolling Cradle (?:??).

Our suspicions have been confirmed. The Japanese luchador Tokio who had suddenly appeared in Mexico earlier this year has been unmasked and revealed to be Keigo Nakamura! He wagered his mask against the one belonging to a luchador named Ratzinger just days before the year came to an end. A duel of back and forth cradles led to the finish with Ratzinger blocking a Rolling Prawn Hold and pressing himself down on top of Tokyo to pin him for the three count. Tokio allowed Ratzinger to remove the mask off his head and show his face to the crowd. Is this the end of his days in Mexico or will he continue to wrestle there unmasked for a while longer?

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Upcoming Appearances

EVE “WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY #IWD2026”, 06/03/2026
Big Penny Social, London, England

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

It seemed the folks over at EVE made a little slip up on their website at the start of the month by prematurely announcing that Yamashita will be going there in March. Or was it a slip up after all? Well, yes it was but the bigger news was yet to come.

EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM VIII”, 08/03/2026
Indigo At The O2, London, England

1. Jamie Hayter Vs Miyu Yamashita

Yamashita’s above appearance was booked for EVE’s regular monthly show in London and that just so happens to take place two days before EVE holds “WRESTLE QUEENDOM VIII”, one of their most ambitious events ever. It didn’t take long for her to have plans made for the big show itself because Jamie Hayter from AEW has challenged her to a match!

PPW “HARDCORE FRIDAY THE 13TH”, 13/03/2026
TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi

1. Chris Brookes Vs Gabriel Queen

A Polish hardcore wrestling promotion named PpW Ewenement Wrestling is going to hold a show in Japan for the very first time with some help from Big Japan next March. One of their stars Gabriel Queen threw out a challenge for the show and is getting a match against Chris Brookes!

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW TEXAS STAMPEDE”, 17/03/2026 – 22/03/2026
Austin/Dallas/Houston, Texas, USA

TJPW returns to Texas next March with a bang! They will host a tour across the state containing four shows within a 6 day period. Two days will be spent in Austin for the South By Southwest festival, one day will be in Dallas and another day will be in Houston. That’s the only information we have for now, more will be revealed soon.

DDT Around The World – Special Investigation

Where in the world is Keigo Nakamura? It might be Mexico.

Before we get into this let me say I do not take any credit for finding the information below. This was all found and passed around different Discords a couple of weeks ago, mainly the Voices Of Wrestling one is where I heard about this. To get people up to speed, Keigo Nakamura made the decision earlier this year to go on an overseas excursion. After he wrestled his last match for DDT at the end of April he went off the radar and no one has publicly found out where he went to.

It started with the discovery of a tweet from Dragongate wrestler La Estrella back in May. He spends a lot of his time wrestling in Mexico these days while keeping a loose affiliation to his home promotion. In the tweet he mentioned teaming with a mysterious Japanese luchador named TOKI for the first time. Further investigation from Discord users found the same luchador popping up in the Mexico indies here and there under the name Tokio. Is this the boy we’re after? A couple of Tokio’s matches have made it to Youtube but the evidence isn’t a home run. I’ve also found it pretty much impossible trying to find info online because when I search for “Tokio Lucha Libre” I may as well be searching “Tokyo Wrestling”.

But hey, if you want to judge for yourself here are the videos of his matches that have surfaced so far. There’s not a lot he does to stand out but there are glimpses to be seen here and there.

LLB “THURSDAY NIGHT WRESTLING”, 03/05/2025
Arena Lopez Mateos

2. Argos, Guerrero Jaguar, Mr. Koi, Súper Porro & Tokio Vs Águila Dorada, Ángel King, Ikaris, Rebel & Titanium

ROC “ROC LUCHA LIBRE”, 03/05/2025
Domo del Deportivo Plan Sexenal

1. Hijo del Signo & Star Rose Vs Ikaris & Tokio

IWRG “THURSDAY NIGHT WRESTLING”, 29/05/2025
Arena Naucalpan

1. Shura King, León Rojo Jr. & Falcón Fire Vs La Estrella, Tokio & Búho Jr.

AAME “THURSDAY NIGHT WRESTLING”, 27/07/2025
Arena Lopez Mateos

1. Guepardo, Killer Steel & Sobrino Azteca Vs Clexus, Tokio & Velkator

DDT Around The World – August 2025

This month’s article starts late because most of Konosuke Takeshita’s month was spent in New Japan where he won the G1 Climax tournament. You can read about that here if you missed it. He will now wait for 13th October to fight for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title at Sumo Hall against either Zack Sabre Jr. or Ren Narita. Until then he is back wrestling in AEW where another path has suddenly appeared in front of him. Are we on the way towards a big singles match against Kazuchika Okada?

Also in August Chris Brookes and Takeshi Masada spent a weekend in the Philippines that turned out to be a very special one for Brookes. “Tupe” now has a third country he can call home if he for some reason ever needs to get away from both England and Japan. Meanwhile over in Malaysia, Kira Summer got to dip her toes outside of Tokyo Joshi Pro for the first time. Will she get the travelling bug like Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh did? Yamashita has a European tour coming up soon and Itoh will be along for one small part of it. Speaking of Itoh, I’ll continue writing about her international bookings for the time being but if she ends up signing to another Japanese company or takes up a busy wrestling schedule elsewhere in Japan then I’m sorry to say it will be time to bid her adieu on this website. I only have so much time on my hands.

Oh, there’s one more quick thing to mention. Maybe I’ll write up a separate post about it soon. A few people on different wrestling Discords have done some detective work and may have found out where Keigo Nakamuara is having his excursion. Is he the new masked luchador named Tokio who showed up in the Mexican indies over the summer? Stay tuned.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

AEW “COLLISION”, 23/08/2025
OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland

1. Tomohiro Ishii Vs Konosuke Takeshita

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 27/08/2025
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Bandido, Brody King, Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey Vs Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & Hechicero

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Results

AEW “COLLISION”, 20/08/2025 (Aired 23/08/2025)
OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Tomohiro Ishii with the Raging Fire (10:36).

After taking only a few days of rest, Takeshita travelled all the way over to the UK to be present for a week of “FORBIDDEN DOOR” related events. First stop was Glasgow, Scotland where Takeshita faced off against Tomohiro Ishii. AEW promoted the bout as a rematch from “WRESTLE DYNASTY” back on 5th January. Ishi almost won this time with a Power Bomb but Takeshita got his hand raised in the end by using the Raging Fire.

BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “MNL”, 22/08/2025
The Social House, Makati, Philippines
??? Fans

1. International Dream Match: Crystal & Robin Sane defeated Patricia Ligaia & Dr. Gore (?:??).
2. 3 Way Match: Nigel San Jose defeated Saint John Martin and Danny Zamora when San Jose pinned Martin with a Hot Dog Assisted Knee Strike (?:??).
3. Fabio Makisig defeated El Katipunero (?:??).
4. International Dream Match: Chris Bookes & Takeshi Masada defeated Jake De Leon & Isaiah Valencia when Masada pinned Valencia with the Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (?:??).

I kind of have a report of the show that can be seen here. Credit for the results go out to SEA Wrestling for having them posted on their site.

LLL “IF THE APOCALYPSE COMES, BEEP ME!”, 22/08/2025
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Dulce Tormenta with The Magical Girl Splash (?:??).

This one flew under my radar but Yuka Sakazaki had a match on the indies this month! She appeared at Lucha Libre & Laughs where she beat Dulce Tormenta.

DXCN “PEKSMAN”, 24/08/2025
Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines

1. Kiss Of Death Match: Takeshi Masada defeated Jake De Leon with the Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (?:??).
2. International Dream Match: Chris Brookes defeated Robin Sane with the Praying Mantis Bomb (?:??).

The role Brookes is playing in developing the Pinoy wrestling scene was recognized at the end of the weekend. During the shows the fans gave him the nickname Tupe. The Dexcon show was on the same day as his birthday so after Brookes beat Robin Sane in the main event, everyone came out from the back to throw him a party. He also received a certificate signed by several of the local wrestlers to unofficially declare Christopher “Tupe” Brookes as a Filipino citizen.

The rule for the Kiss Of Death match was that the wrestlers needed to kiss their opponent before delivering their winning move. Masada went full “Baby Girl” mode for the match and even used lip balm to set up his kiss to Jake De Leon.

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 27/08/2025
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. All Star 8-Man Tag: Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & Hechicero defeated Bandido, Brody King, Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey when Alexander pinned Bailey with a Forward Rolling Clutch (11:20).

Takeshita didn’t have a match at “FORBIDDEN DOOR” but he did appear during the show. But when Wardlow was revealed to be the newest member of The Don Callis Family, the entire unit gathered together with Takeshita being the last person to show up. He didn’t seem to be enthusiastic over this turn of events but seemed to accept Wardlow into the group. Then a few days later Takeshita was part of the Family’s team for an 8-Man Tag against Brodido & JetSpeed. Here is when cracks within the family began to surface as Takeshita and Okada both got tagged in at the same time and got in each other’s faces over it. They got in each other’s way again later in the match so it’s pretty clear what direction we’re going.

APAC “SLAMFEST 2025”, 30/08/2025
Stadium Juara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1. APAC Women’s Title No. 1 Contender Fatal 4 Way: Tarlee defeated Crystal, Kira Summer and Mio Shirai when Tarlee pinned Summer (?:??).

A big weekend for pro wrestling in Malaysia took place just over the weekend when APAC Wrestling held a show featuring wrestlers from around the world including talent who are under WWE ID deals and hold championships under that project. Not only that but Kira Summer got to take part in a wrestling show outside of Japan for the first time since joining TJPW. She was in a 4 Way Match against fellow Australian wrestler Tarlee, now firmly back from retirement Mio Shirai and Crystal the former APAC Women’s Champion. No. 1 Contendership for that title was on the line and Tarlee got it after pinning Summer to win the match.

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Upcoming Appearances

ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, ??/09/2025
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

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

I don’t know which is more surprising, that we’re getting another Yuka Sakazaki match in ROH so soon or that the long planned tournament to crown a ROH Women’s Pure Champion is finally going ahead. She’s entering an eight woman tournament under pure wrestling rules (limited rope breaks, closed fist punches are fouls, etc.) and Serena Deeb is her first round opponent. Since Deeb in storyline is one of the wrestlers most attached to the idea of having a Women’s Pure Title, I don’t like Sakazaki’s odds of making it to the next round.

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

1. Yuki Kamifuku Vs X
2. Shoko Nakajima Vs X

It was already known that Shoko Nakajima would be travelling back to Texas next month for an MLW taping but one of their latest advert banners show that Yuki Kamifuku will be part of the event too. The last time Kamifuku was in MLW she and Shotzi Blackheart shared an idea of wrestling each other sometime. Blackheart already has a match booked for the live stream portion of show but that doesn’t mean she can’t have another taped for TV down the line. Or what if Kamifuku gets to challenge Nakajima for the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title?

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

1. HIMAWARI Vs X
2. Rika Tatsumi Vs X

The China trip for Rika Tatsumi and HIMAWARI seems so far away.

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

1. Pom Harajuku Vs X
2. Kaya Toribami Vs X
3. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
4. HARASHIMA Vs X

Recently it’s been wrestling from Japan that makes its way over to to Thailand but now the opposite is happening. SETUP (and its spin-off IWA Thailand) will be heading to Tokyo to hold its first ever show in Japan and wrestlers from several Japanese promotions have been invited to take part. DDT will be sending HARASHIMA to the event while TJPW is being represented by Miyu Yamashita, Kaya Toribami and Pom Harajuku.

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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Yamashita begins a European winter vacation over in Germany for wXw.

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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

She’ll be part of two shows for wXw on the tour that celebrates the company’s 25th anniversary.

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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

A few days later Yamashita then goes to France to wrestle on a show co-promoted by two brands. Wrestling Pro Essone and women’s promotion Queens Pro Wrestling held their first show together back in March and for their second event they get to have Yamashita’s first match ever in France!

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

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

Yamashita then returns to Italy for SAJ Wrestling the next day but she won’t be alone. Itoh is there too for a booking that was already announced before she left TJPW. SAJ also said this will be Itoh’s only appearance in Europe but they didn’t say for what period of time. Is it her only European appearance for the month? The rest of the year? Is there a reason why she’s travelling to Italy for only one show, like she has anywhere else to be?