UJPW Adds Sasaki And Satomura As Directors

A second United Japan Pro Wrestling update for the year already? They’re spoiling us.

Yesterday representatives from the UJPW met for a general meeting where two new directors were appointed. Takashi Sasaki from Pro Wrestling FREEDOMS and Meiko Satomura from Sendai Girls received unanimous approval to take on the roles after going through rigorous screening. Satomura’s appointment is notable because she has now become UJPW’s first female director since the federation was founded in 2023.

When the meeting was over everyone stayed around for a social gathering that included speeches from Ryo Saito, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Ryota Chikuzen. In the upcoming year UJPW will hold safety seminars for its members and may come up with something to better explain to wrestling fans what kind of activities the federation exists to deal with.

As of 17th February there are now twelve Regular Members and three Supporting Members in UJPW to make up fifteen members in total. They are as follows.

Regular Members: New Japan, All Japan, Big Japan, NOAH, DDT, Dragon Gate, Kyushu Pro, Stardom, Tokyo Joshi Pro, Ganbare☆Pro, FREEDOMS, Sendai Girls

Supporting Members: Dradition, Diana, WAVE

Representative Director: Sanshiro Takagi (CyberFight Vice President)
Executive Director: Naoki Sugabayashi (New Japan Pro Wrestling Chairman)
Executive Director: Ryo Saito (DRAGONGATE Director)
Executive Director: Ryota Chikuzen (Kyushu Pro Wrestling Chairman)
Director: Takeshi Fukuda (All Japan Pro Wrestling President)
Director: Yasuo Okamoto (CyberFight President)
Director: Narihiro Takeda (CyberFight Director)
Director: Eiji Tosaka (Yotsuba Kogei President)
Director: Michiyoshi Mishima (Ganpro Entertainment President)
Director: Takaaki Kidani (Bushiroad President)
Director: Hiroshi Tanahashi (New Japan Pro Wrestling President)
Director: Taro Okada (Stardom President)
Director: Hitoshi Matsumoto (New Japan Pro Wrestling Director)
Director: Yukito Nagaoka (TMI Associates)
Director: Takashi Sasaki (Pro Wrestling FREEDOMS President)
Director: Meiko Satomura (Sendai Girls Pro Wrestling President)
Auditor: Shinya Yamada (New Japan Pro Wrestling Auditor)

Sendai Girls Joins UJPW

It’s been a while since we heard from the United Japan Pro Wrestling federation. Get used to it because the way they do things is now far more focused on behind the scenes logistics rather than inter-promotional dream matches. It means we only publicly hear about UJPW two or three times a year because the directors usually meet once every six months. The last meeting they had was for a safety measures seminar in November to teach the members how to respond to accidents that happen during and after wrestling matches.

Today it was revealed that UJPW held its third annual Board Of Directors meeting on 22nd January where the federation welcomed its newest addition to the fold. Sendai Girls has now joined UJPW as a full fledged member with Meiko Satomura and Chihiro Hashimoto commenting on their goals to strengthen the development of women’s pro wrestling in Japan.

As of 22nd January there are now twelve Regular Members and three Supporting Members in UJPW. They are as follows.

Regular Members: New Japan, All Japan, Big Japan, NOAH, DDT, Dragongate, Kyushu Pro, Stardom, Tokyo Joshi Pro, Ganbare☆Pro, FREEDOMS, Sendai Girls

Supporting Members: Dradition, Diana, WAVE

UJPW Approves Of New Members

Two days ago the second Board Of Directors meeting for United Japan Pro Wrestling took place. Representatives including Sanshiro Takagi, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Ryo Saito got together to review proposals from other pro wrestling companies wishing to join the alliance. After rigorous screening, Pro Wrestling FREEDOMS have been accepted as the newest regular member of UJPW. Not only that but Pro Wrestling Dradition, World Women’s Pro Wrestling Diana and Pro Wrestling WAVE were all unanimously approved to join UJPW in the supporting members tier.

Proposals for the establishment of UJPW’s Human Rights Policy as well as Safety Guidelines were taken care off during the meeting too. There was also a seminar held to teach everyone how to utilize their federation for the development of pro wrestling.

As of this week the members of UJPW are now as follows.

Regular Members: New Japan, All Japan, Big Japan, NOAH, DDT, Dragongate, Kyushu Pro, Stardom, Tokyo Joshi Pro, Ganbare☆Pro, FREEDOMS

Supporting Members: Dradition, Diana, WAVE

UJPW Becomes Incorporated

Last July members of the United Japan Pro Wrestling association had met to discuss what their next movements should be with the concept. It was decided that UJPW would go from a voluntary organization to an incorporated group. After going quiet for the rest of the year, representatives from all of the member promotions gathered today to announce that UJPW went through with the plan and has now become incorporated as a non-profit organization. With this move UJPW aims to strengthen its governance in Japan’s pro wrestling scene, become more transparent with its management and improve wrestling’s social credibility. They also came up with a slogan: “Pro Wrestling will always be a driving force for the people of Japan.”

The move gives UJPW greater legal options with the example the Japanese press have given being to open up accounts and hold business assets under the corporate name. Sanshiro Takagi has taken on the role as the Representative Director even though the UJPW office will be located inside New Japan’s HQ. Takagi along with the other directors on the board will all serve two year terms. They were all chosen based on the number of voting rights they have in their respective companies. The board of directors will meet twice a year within the fiscal calendar.

Takagi said it is possible for more UJPW events to be held in the future but it is not the goal of the organization and there are no plans to run another event like “ALL TOGETHER” at this time. However there could still be more interactions coming between the promotions. For example, Hiroshi Tanahashi said he would like to appear in the other companies as part of his year long road to retirement.

There are currently ten members of UJPW. They are New Japan, All Japan, NOAH, DDT, Ganbare☆Pro, Big Japan, Dragongate, Stardom, Tokyo Joshi Pro & Kyushu Pro. Seven requirements have been laid out for future members to meet if they would like to join UJPW. They include needing a regular event schedule, being a legally recognized company, having at least one wrestler under a full time contract, having an annual revenue of over 50 million yen, been active for at least two years, have a corporate compliance system and want to improve the wrestling scene even when competing against other members. There will also in the future be a lower tier created place for supporting members to join that involve less demanding requirements. When I posted about these plans last July I mentioned DIANA had representatives at the meeting in an observing capacity. There has been no mention of them being involved since then but I imagine they can end up becoming one such example of a supporting member.

Wrestlers and staff from each of the member promotions were in attendance to give speeches about the news. I’m just going to focus on the companies I usually cover (although I’d like to point out that Takaaki Kidani put his foot in his mouth again). Takagi wants UJPW to also cooperate with as many of the different indies across Japan as possible. Michiyoshi Mishima said GanPro is the smallest member of the group but thinks they can set an example for other promotions of the same size. Chris Brookes spoke about wrestling being something that can unite people. Utami Hayashishita Miyu Yamashita talked about the respect that wrestling fans around the world has for Japan. Haru Kazashiro said she loved wrestling ever since she joined TJPW and wants to see more children drawn to the industry if UJPW can establish the safety and medical standards needed. Ken Ohka believes this attempt at bringing pro wrestling together will take the industry to new heights. Yuna Manase is happy to be able to exchange ideas with wrestlers from other companies that will bring more happiness to the fans.

Oishi Leaving DDT, Takagi Becoming UJPW Spokesman, International Updates

Yesterday DDT and Makoto Oishi held a press conference on short notice to talk about Oishi’s future. He announced that on 3rd October he will be leaving DDT when his contract ends and will be wrestling as a freelancer from that point onwards. He explained that his father-in-law recently passed away so he and his wife Misaki Ohata decided to move their home to Miyagi so Ohata could live closer to her family. During this time Oishi has lived alone in Tokyo while taking trips to see his family once or twice a month. With his children growing up he decided he wants to spend more time raising them in Miyagi. Akito revealed that Oishi has also been working behind the scenes jobs in DDT on a contract basis so it is a big deal for the company that he is leaving. One of Oishi’s jobs was to drive the company bus. It allowed him to get a driver’s license that allows him to work as a taxi driver if he wants to. He joked about possibly becoming the taxi driver for The Saito Brothers.

Oishi will continue to wrestle as a freelancer but he is aware he will be getting less bookings because of his age and location. DDT will still book him for shows they want him on, especially those that take place in Sendai as well as big arena events. Oishi would like to continue teaming with Danshoku Dieno & Jun Akiyama as part of D.O.A. He also wants to wrestle against people like Shunma Katsumata, MAO and Tetsuya Endo before his contract runs out.

Oishi has already contacted Chihiro Hashimoto asking her to let him train at the Sendai Girls dojo. Since Oishi was responsible for training many of the celebrities and entertainers that wrestled in DDT, Sanshiro Takagi suggested he can send them over to Oishi and that dojo in Sendai from now on.

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Over a week ago the members of United Japan Pro Wrestling all had a meeting to discuss the next steps for the alliance between many of Japan’s pro wrestling companies. The decision was made to have UJPW to become incorporated in order to strengthen their communication with the Japanese government as well as improve the guidelines for their wrestlers. When this move is completed Sanshiro Takagi will serve UJPW as their main Spokesman.

UJPW currently represents 11 wrestling promotions across 9 companies. The 11 promotions are New Japan, Stardom, All Japan, Big Japan, DDT, DIANA, Dragongate, Ganbare☆Pro, Kyushu Pro, NOAH and Tokyo Joshi Pro. DIANA and Kyushu Pro are new additions but I do not know when they signed up to join UJPW. Although it should be noted that DIANA’s representatives were only at the meeting “in an observing capacity”, whatever that means.

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EVE/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “EVE X TJPW: JAPAN & UK WRESTLING UNITE!”, 24/08/2024
Conway Hall, London, England

Last but not least there are a few updates on the international shows taking place later this year. Over in England TJPW’s collaboration with EVE has finally found a venue. Their show in London this August will take place at Conway Hall.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “BRIGHT EYES”, 09/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

DDT/DEFY “DDT IN UTERO”, 09/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TRIANGLER DTD”, 10/11/2024
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

Then in November DDT and TJPW will be working with DEFY to hold a weekend’s worth of shows in Seattle, USA. On the first day there will be two DEFY shows, one with TJPW in the afternoon and one with DDT in the evening. Then the next day all three promotions will be working together for a supeshow finale. TJPW will be sending around 10 to 12 wrestlers for the show. DDT has not given a number for how many wrestlers they will be bringing.

DDT At “ALL TOGETHER IN SAPPORO” Results

UJPW “ALL TOGETHER IN SAPPORO”, 15/06/2024
Sapporo Hokkai Kitayell
2,156 Fans

0. Dark Match: Toru Yano & Tomoaki Honma defeated Tomoya & Andreza Giant Panda when Yano pinned Tomoya with a School Boy (6:26).
1. Zack Sabre Jr., Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita defeated Ulka Sasaki, HAYATA & Yu Owada when Sabre submitted Owada with an Arm Bar (8:37).
2. AZM Vs Starlight Kid ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00).
3. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Daisuke Sekimoto & Daichi Hashimoto when Goto pinned Hashimoto after the Lights Out (10:24).
4. Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Oleg Boltin, Ryohei Oiwa & Tetsuya Endo when Cobb pinned Oiwa with the Tour Of The Islands (9:53).
5. SANADA, Taichi & Yuya Uemura defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Naomichi Marufuji & Kento Miyahara when SANADA pinned Tanahashi with an O’Connor Bridge (13:25).
6. Masa Kitamiya defeated Tomohiro Ishii with the Saito Suplex (13:42).
7. Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi, BUSHI & Titan defeated Jack Morris, Anthony Greene, LJ Cleary, Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney when Tsuji pinned Cleary with the Gene Blaster (10:30).
8. Gabe Kidd, David Finley & YO-HEY defeated Kaito Kiyomiya, Kenoh & Alejandro by Referee Stoppage when Kidd knocked out Kiyomiya the Leg Trap Piledriver (12:16).
9. Tetsuya Naito defeated Jake Lee with the Destino (26:32).

Not much to talk about this show in regards to DDT’s involvement with it. The show was also a bigger drawing disappointment than the first one so who knows if UJPW will hold another event like this anytime soon? Tetsuya Endo and Kazusada Higuchi were in the same match representing DDT on both teams. Endo & Ryohei Oiwa were originally meant to team with Shota Umino but Umino pulled out of the show after injuring his back during practice earlier in the day. New Japan replaced him with Oleg Boltin. Higuchi was on the same team as United Empire members Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan. While the DDT wrestlers did get to mix with the NJPW guys, the result came down to Cobb pinning Oiwa. Endo regretted missing the previous “ALL TOGETHER” show because of injury and went into the match hoping to make up for it. He is sorry he still couldn’t win with that kind of extra motivation.

I’ll talk about the dark match too because one team in it should be familiar to the regular readers here. Tomoya & Andreza Giant Panda were the local wrestlers competing in the dark match against New Japan’s Toru Yano & Tomoaki Honma. None of Yano’s usual tactics could work against Andreza so he grabbed some bamboo and gave it to Honma so he could get Andreza’s attention. The distraction worked and Yano gave Andreza a Low Blow. Honma followed up with a Kokeshi Rocket, almost knocking the panda out. Andreza just about answered the 10 count by standing back up at 9. However a mistimed Headbutt hit Tomoya by accident and Yano gave him a Low Blow followed by a School Boy to steal the win.

Andreza Joins All Together, MAO Challenges Shiryu, BURNING Vs TEAM NOAH

DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2024 TOUR IN KYOTO”, 08/06/2024
Kyoto KBS Hall

1. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs Hirakata Nii-san
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Toru Owashi & Ilusion
3. Special Single Match: Chris Brookes Vs Kazuki Hirata
4. MAO Vs Yuya Koroku
5. STI Co., Ltd. Presents Special 6-Man Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Kazuma Sumi
6. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Takeshi Masada & Keigo Nakamura
7. The 37KAMIINA Vs D.O.A!: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi

Look at Sanshiro Takagi wrangling in a last minute sponsor for his match. STI stands for Strategic Totalsystem Integrator and they’re a tech company.

DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2024 TOUR IN MATSUYAMA”, 09/06/2024
Ehime Matsuyama City General Community Center Special Exhibition Hall

1. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs Matsuyama Warrior
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuya Koroku & Ilusion
3. Matsuyama Specialty Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Bonjin Pulp
4. Shunma Katsumata, Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Sanshiro Takagi (w/ Cutie Elly The Ehime), Akito & Tsuruhimeka
5. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Santaro Ishizuchi Vs HARASHIMA & Takeshi Masada
6. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Imabari Taoru Mascaras Vs Chris Brookes & Kazuma Sumi
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & To-y Vs Yuki Iino, Kazusada Higuchi & Keigo Nakamura

No sponsored matches here though. Takagi is slacking.

UJPW “ALL TOGETHER IN SAPPORO”, 15/06/2024
Sapporo Hokkai Kitayell

0. Dark Match: Toru Yano & Tomoaki Honma Vs Tomoya & Andreza Giant Panda
1. Zack Sabre Jr., Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita Vs Ulka Sasaki, HAYATA & Yu Owada
2. AZM Vs Starlight Kid
3. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI Vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Daichi Hashimoto
4. Shota Umino, Ryohei Oiwa & Tetsuya Endo Vs Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan & Kazusada Higuchi
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Naomichi Marufuji & Kento Miyahara Vs SANADA, Taichi & Yuya Uemura
6. Tomohiro Ishii Vs Masa Kitamiya
7. Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi, BUSHI & Titan Vs Jack Morris, Anthony Greene, LJ Cleary, Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney
8. Kaito Kiyomita, Kenoh & Alejandro Vs Gabe Kidd, David Finley & YO-HEY
9. Tetsuya Naito Vs Jake Lee

A bonus match has been added to the next “ALL TOGETHER” show. Andreza Giant Panda gets to be part of the event by teaming with Tomoya as the “local” team taking on Toru Yano & Tomoaki Honma from New Japan.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM BATTLE”, 16/06/2024
TOKYO FM Hall

1. Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Naya & Yuni
2. Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs Toru Owashi & Akito
3. DAMNATION T.A Vs BURNING!: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku
4. Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Kazuki Hirata
5. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Makoto Oishi
6. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Fuminori Abe Vs HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura
7. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Shiryu

MAO used the GLEAT/DDT show to send a message to Kaz Hayashi. He wants to defend the DDT Universal Title against Hayashi’s masked alter ego from his Michinoku Pro days. That’s right he wants to wrestle Shiryu! MAO thinks it will be fitting for Hayashi to take up the gimmick again and fight for a championship with “Universal” in the name for old time’s sake.

BASARA “BASARA 251 ~UTAGE~”, 21/06/2024
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino Vs Lil’ Kraken & Leo Isaka
2. Iron Fist Tag Team Titles: Ryota Nakatsu & Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura

Perhaps the next challengers for the Iron Fist Tag Team Titles will be decided when Aijin Tag takes on the tag team from Tochigi.

DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2024”, 30/06/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Sanshiro Takagi Indefinite Rest Road ~ Special Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Miyu Yamashita Vs Danshoku Dieno & Maki Itoh
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ BURNING Vs TEAM NOAH!: Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku Vs Go Shiozaki, Atsushi Kotoge & Hi69
3. Road To PETER PAN 2024! Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata Vs MAO & To-y

The build up to “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” begins with The 37KAMIINA clashing against each other in tag matches as previews for the big KO-D Openweight Title match. BURNING and TEAM NOAH continue their growing feud too.

It is thanks to Takagi that both Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh entered the world of pro wrestling. They get to play a part in his final bunch of matches for the time being. Danshoku Dieno isn’t being left out of this either.

BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. FIFTEEN: SEHNSUCHT IST SO GRAUSAM”, 02/07/2024
Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa

1. Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Mad Dr. Ueki
2. Special Single Match: Mecha Mummy Vs Mr. Bueno
3. Special Single Match: MAO Vs Sayaka Unagi
4. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura

More Astronauts matches to pay attention to in this side of the puro bubble. They are entering the cramped little space that is ARENA Shimokitazawa for what will certainly be a crazy match against CDK.

Sayaka Unagi also joins in the Baka Gaijin + Friends circle for the first time. Perhaps the hardest working self promoter in the business today gets to fight MAO too which is a pretty high profile matchup nowadays.

The newest regular to Baka Gaijin shows is the masked man Mr. Bueno. He impressed with a victory against Antonio Honda on the last show but how will he handle the mayhem that usually follows after Mecha Mummy? Speaking of Honda he takes on Mummy’s current handler Mad Dr. Ueki.

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”, 21/07/2024
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Masato Tanaka
2. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino (c) Vs Go Shiozaki & Atsushi Kotoge
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs MAO

I’m glad to see we’re actually getting something out of DDT’s appearances on the NOAH Limit Break shows. So far on the shows both Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino have been wanting to fight and beat Go Shiozaki to no avail. Now Shiozaki is coming back over to DDT to help Atsushi Kotoge try and win the KO-D Tag Team Titles. Shiozaki has also been a member in past iterations of BURNING so what does he think of the current day version?

EVE/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “EVE X TJPW”, 24/08/2024
London, England

The four Tokyo Joshi Pro talents travelling over to England for the joint show with EVE are Miyu Yamashita, Raku, Mahiro Kiryu and HIMAWARI. Also taking part on the show is Aja Kong! Since the show is happening in between the final rounds of the Tokyo Princess Cup that means the four names mentioned above will not be taking part in the tournament this year. It’s also been confirmed that Maki Itoh will not be in the tournament either because she will be on her next tour of America during August.

GLEAT Has A Trainspotter, Naya Fighting Against Regionals, A Sober Union MAX Title Match

DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 05/06/2024
Shinjuku FACE

1. Kazusada Higuchi & Yuya Koroku Vs Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura
2. Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata
3. Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku Vs Jun Akiyama, Atsushi Kotoge & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
4. Daisuke Kiso Referee 14th Anniversary Match ~ Special Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs To-y & Yuni
5. CDK 5th Anniversary Match ~ Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul (c) Vs HARASHIMA, Akito & Yasu Urano
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi

Tomorrow will see a version of Sanshiro Takagi free of responsibility gunning after Yuki Ueno in what could be the last time he challenges for the KO-D Openweight Title.

GLEAT/DDT “GLEAT VER. & – GLEAT X DDT PRO WRESTLING”, 06/06/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. 3 Way Tag Match: Shunma Katsumata, Takanori Ito & Issei Onitsuka Vs Densha MICHIo, Keigo Nakamura & Yu Iizuka Vs Danshoku Dieno, Makoto Oishi & Jun Tonsho
2. Minoru Tanaka Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. CIMA & HARASHIMA Vs Soma Watanabe & Soma Takao
4. Tetsuya Izuchi Vs Tetsuya Endo
5. SBK & TAKUMA Vs To-y & Kazuma Sumi
6. Yuki Ueno, El Lindaman & MAO Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Kaz Hayashi & Akito
7. Elimination Tag Match: T-Hawk, Chris Brookes, Takehiro Yamamura, Seiki Yoshioka & Takeshi Masada Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Kaito Ishida, KANON, Hartley Jackson & Kotaro Suzuki
8. Hayato Tamura, Ryuichi Kawakami & KAZMA SAKAMOTO Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya

The opening match was originally supposed to have MICHIKO involved but she decided to step aside so her alter ego Densha MICHIo can take part instead. The gimmick is a trainspotting hobbyist from Akihabara that MICHIKO created for a comedy match back in April.

DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2024 TOUR IN KYOTO”, 08/06/2024
Kyoto KBS Hall

1. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Toru Owashi & Ilusion
2. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Takeshi Masada & Keigo Nakamura
3. MAO Vs Yuya Koroku
4. Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Kazuma Sumi
5. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs Hirakata Nii-san
6. Special Single Match: Chris Brookes Vs Kazuki Hirata
7. The 37KAMIINA Vs D.O.A!: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi

This weekend Yukio Naya is taking on opponents from the regional wrestling scenes. First on Saturday he takes on Hirakata Nii-san from Dotonbori Pro.

DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2024 TOUR IN MATSUYAMA”, 09/06/2024
Ehime Matsuyama City General Community Center Special Exhibition Hall

1. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuya Koroku & Ilusion
2. Shunma Katsumata, Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Sanshiro Takagi (w/ Cutie Elly The Ehime), Akito & Tsuruhimeka
3. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Santaro Ishizuchi Vs HARASHIMA & Takeshi Masada
4. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs Matsuyama Warrior
5. Matsuyama Specialty Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Bonjin Pulp
6. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Imabari Taoru Mascaras Vs Chris Brookes & Kazuma Sumi
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & To-y Vs Yuki Iino, Kazusada Higuchi & Keigo Nakamura

The next day Naya takes on Matsuyama Warrior from Ehime Pro.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’24”, 15/06/2024
Kobe Art Center

1. Yuna Manase Vs Nao Kakuta

Only a few more matches left for Nao Kakuta so she will be getting some significant opponents for her final singles bouts. Yuna Manase returns to Tokyo Joshi Pro to be one of them.

UJPW “ALL TOGETHER IN SAPPORO”, 15/06/2024
Sapporo Hokkai Kitayell

1. Zack Sabre Jr., Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita Vs Ulka Sasaki, HAYATA & Yu Owada
2. AZM Vs Starlight Kid
3. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI Vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Daichi Hashimoto
4. Shota Umino, Ryohei Oiwa & Tetsuya Endo Vs Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan & Kazusada Higuchi
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Naomichi Marufuji & Kento Miyahara Vs SANADA, Taichi & Yuya Uemura
6. Tomohiro Ishii Vs Masa Kitamiya
7. Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi, BUSHI & Titan Vs Jack Morris, Anthony Greene, LJ Cleary, Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney
8. Kaito Kiyomita, Kenoh & Alejandro Vs Gabe Kidd, David Finley & YO-HEY
9. Tetsuya Naito Vs Jake Lee

Only updating this because Kento Miyahara and Taichi have been added to Match #5.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’24”, 16/06/2024
Acros Fukuoka

1. Nao Kakuta Vs HIMAWARI

Kakuta also has a single match with HIMAWARI coming up.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM BATTLE”, 16/06/2024
TOKYO FM Hall

1. Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Naya & Yuni
2. Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs Toru Owashi & Akito
3. DAMNATION T.A Vs BURNING!: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku
4. Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Kazuki Hirata
5. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Makoto Oishi
6. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Fuminori Abe Vs HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura
7. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs X

One of the most watched videos on DDT’s Youtube channel is a match between Danshoku Dieno and Makoto Oishi from five years ago. The two have decided to have a rematch of that fateful battle!

BASARA “BASARA 251 ~UTAGE~”, 21/06/2024
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Iron Fist Tag Team Titles: Ryota Nakatsu & Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura

Just when it looked like Harimao have run out of opponents for their Iron Fist Tag Team Titles reign, along comes Astronauts to challenge them!

BASARA “BASARA 252 ~TAKAGARI 26~”, 15/07/2024
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center

1. Union MAX Title: Minoru Fujita (c) Vs Takumi Tsukamoto

The next Union MAX Title match will be held in Takashimadaira Kumin Center for the first time. The venue has been host to BASARA’s B-shows over the last five years with a more relaxed and (more importantly) sober atmosphere compared to the events held in Shin-Kiba 1st RING. It adds another element to Minoru Fujita’s title reign because he has made it his mission to have emotional matches that can only be found in BASARA. Takumi Tsukamoto shares the same vision for his upcoming title challenge here.

GANBARE☆PRO “DISASTER ARTIST 2024”, 15/07/2024
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center

1. Moeka Haruhi Return Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & YuuRI Vs Yusaku Ito & Moeka Haruhi
2. Fire Festival – A Block: Yumehito Imanari Vs Satsuki Nagao
3. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Hong Kong International Police Man

One of the most unexpected people you can think of will be the next Spirit Of Ganbare Title challenger coming up in July. Hong Kong International Police Man and his co-workers has always shown up at Ganbare☆Pro events whenever a particular wrestler booked for the show goes missing. In fact he has never interacted with Keisuke Ishii before so this is a brand new match-up for both of them.

This year Yumehito Imanari will be entering the annual Fire Festival tournament held by ZERO1. As part of the deal one of his block matches will be taking place in a GanPro show. Satsuki Nagao will be his opponent for that match.

What was already a touching story surrounding Moeka Haruhi’s return match is now even more so because of who she is teaming with. Haruhi recently donated one of her kidneys while years ago Yusaku Ito was the recipient of a kidney transplant.

Kakeru Making TJPW Debut, Peter Pan Announcements Incoming, 2AW In GanPro

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 SPRING”, 25/05/2024
Kanagawa Fujisawa City Shonandai Cultural Center

1. Nao Kakuta Vs Haru Kazashiro
2. Kakeru Sekiguchi & Uta Takami Vs Toga & Runa Okubo
3. Suzume, Arisu Endo & Chika Nanase Vs Raku, Pom Harajuku & Kira Summer
4. Shoko Nakajima & HIMAWARI Vs Alexis Lee & Kaya Toribami
5. Miu Watanabe & Shino Suzuki Vs Maki Itoh & Wakana Uehara
6. Aja Kong & Yuki Kamifuku Vs Rika Tatsumi & Moka Miyamoto

A lower back injury has taken Mahiro Kiryu off of tomorrow’s show. Taking her place is Kakeru Sekiguchi making her Tokyo Joshi Pro debut. The freelancer was mentioned during the week as part of the lineup for Nao Kakuta’s big “CROSS” even taking place in July.

DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ FINAL!!”, 26/05/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Yuni & Keigo Nakamura Vs Ilusion & Kazuma Sumi
1. KANON & MJ Paul Vs HARASHIMA & Akito
2. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Semi Final: MAO Vs Kazusada Higuchi
3. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Semi Final – No DQ Match: Chris Brookes Vs Daisuke Sasaki
4. 3 Way Tag Match: Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi Vs Yukio Naya & Takeshi Masada
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku Vs Poison Sawada JULIE, Shuji Ishikawa & Masahiro Takanashi
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
7. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Final: X Vs X

There will be two announcements about “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” taking place at the show. At least one of them will be revealed after all of the matches have taken place.

GANBARE☆PRO “WILD GAMBLE 2024”, 02/06/2024
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center

1. Hartley Jackson Vs Shota Kawakami
2. HARUKAZE & YuuRI Vs Banny Oikawa & Ayame Sasamura
3. Keisuka Ishii & Tsuyoshi Okada Vs Yumehito Imanari & Tatsuya Hanami
4. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title Next Challenger Time Staggered Battle Royal: Ken Ohka Vs Yuna Manase Vs Choun-Shiryu Vs Gabai Ji-chan Vs Baliyan Akki Vs Daisuke®️
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase

Tatsuya Hanami and Ayame Sasamura are both coming over from 2AW to fill up the undercard.

UJPW “ALL TOGETHER IN SAPPORO”, 15/06/2024
Sapporo Hokkai Kitayell

1. Zack Sabre Jr., Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita Vs Ulka Sasaki, HAYATA & Yu Owada
2. AZM Vs Starlight Kid
3. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI Vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Daichi Hashimoto
4. Shota Umino, Ryohei Oiwa & Tetsuya Endo Vs Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan & Kazusada Higuchi
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Naomichi Marufuji Vs SANADA & Yuya Uemura
6. Tomohiro Ishii Vs Masa Kitamiya
7. Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi, BUSHI & Titan Vs Jack Morris, Anthony Greene, LJ Cleary, Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney
8. Kaito Kiyomita, Kenoh & Alejandro Vs Gabe Kidd, David Finley & YO-HEY
9. Tetsuya Naito Vs Jake Lee

Hey, remember when UJPW said they were holding a second show to include all of the companies that were left out of the first one? Well that’s not happening here! No All Japan, TJPW or GanPro wrestlers here. Also DragonGate is missing this time around too. What we have is a mostly New Japan and NOAH show with a sprinkling of DDT and Big Japan talent as well as Stardom in the token joshi spot. The one thing in defence of no TJPW talent, and it’s a big one to be fair, is because TJPW have a show in Kobe on the same day and are going to Fukuoka the day after. That’s a far, far distance away from Sapporo. It’s a bit similar for GanPro having a show in Saitama that weekend too. It’s still disappointing to see though. This month’s “ALL TOGETHER” show in Budokan Hall bombed at the box office so I’m wondering if plans are changing and these events are going to get shelved. UJPW will be sticking around for behind the scenes logistical stuff but as a series of massive co-promoted supershows it already looks like it is not going to work out.

DDT “SPA & POOL AQUA YUKARI – SAUNA ROJO PRO WRESTLING”, 21/06/2024
Chiba Aqua Yukari

1. DDT Extreme Title – Falls Count Anywhere Survival 5 Way Match: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Yukio Naya Vs To-y Vs Ilusion Vs Kazuma Sumi

Earlier today Kazuma Sumi crashed a bar event Shunma Katsumata was hosting so he could challenge him for the DDT Extreme Title. Katsumata decided Sumi can get it by being a part of the Sauna Pro Wrestling match.

DDT At “ALL TOGETHER” Results

UJPW “ALL TOGETHER”, 06/05/2024
Tokyo Nippon Budokan
4,583 Fans

1. EVIL, Ren Narita & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Sanshiro Takagi & Naomichi Marufuji when EVIL pinned Tanahashi with the EVIL (8:50).
2. Kenoh defeated Kosei Fujita with the PFS (9:44).
3. Starlight Kid & Natsupoi defeated AZM & Miyu Amasaki when Ken pinned Amasaki with the Star Suplex (9:50).
4. Tomohiro Ishii & Daisuke Sekimoto defeated Jeff Cobb & Masa Kitamiya when Ishii pinned Cobb with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (13:15).
5. El Desperado, HAYATA, Ninja Mack, MAO & Kota Minoura defeated Hiromu Takahashi, Dragon Bane, Alpha Wolf, Shunma Katsumata & YAMATO when Minoura pinned YAMATO after an accidental Hiromu-chan Bomber from Takahashi (13:21).
6. Taichi & KAI defeated Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes when Taichi pinned Brookes with the Taichi-Style Gedo Clutch (14:59).
7. Jake Lee, David Finlay & Gabe Kidd defeated Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji when Lee pinned Naito with the FBS (17:46).
8. Shota Umino, Kaito Kiyomiya & Yuki Ueno defeated Yuya Uemura, KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Shun Skywalker when Kaito Kiyomiya pinned Uemura with the Modified Shining Wizard (23:18).

Let’s have a little look at what DDT got up to at the “ALL TOGETHER” show that took place earlier today. Yuki Ueno and Konosuke Takeshita were part of the main event on opposite teams. They had moments in the match to fight each other as well as everyone else. Ueno along with Shota Umino & Kaito Kiyomiya delivered a Triple Missile Dropkick to Yuya Uemura. Ueno then hit a Moonsault to Takeshita & Shun Skywalker outside the ring, leaving Kiyomiya to finish off Uemura with the Shining Wizard. Ueno and Takeshita left separate comments to reporters after the match. Ueno said every company involved in United Japan Pro Wrestling have joined forces to make pro wrestling more exciting because wrestling gives strength to everyone. He got to wrestle inside Budokan Hall today as a champion and he wants to continue making wrestling fun for everyone with DDT. Takeshita however had more demanding things to say about the main event. He wants his generation to create a new era and that will not happen when everyone behaves like friends. If everyone wants to be the best like he does then they should step up and do singles matches with himself and each other. If any of the other five in the main event have the courage to do that then they should step forward.

Zack Sabre Jr. and Chris Brookes got to team up together again. They are now getting SCHADEN TEKKERS across as their team name but they failed to wear matching gear. They enjoyed getting to wrestle against Taichi but maybe didn’t feel the same about KAI. That all came to a head when KAI brought a chair into the ring and Taichi stopped him from attacking Sabre and instead hit KAI with it. He went back to wrestling Brookes and pinned him with the Gedo Clutch. KAI attacked Taichi after the match but SCHADEN TEKKERS came to the rescue.

The Junior Heavyweight divisions of several promotions all banded together for a 10-Man Tag Match. MAO and Shunma Katsumata were there on behalf of DDT. Katsumata was a last minute replacement for Tetsuya Endo because Endo got hurt during yesterday’s DDT show and needed more time to recover. MAO started the match with Hiromu Takahashi and got help from El Desperado when YAMATO came to aid Takahashi. Ninja Mack kept wanting to do the Sasuke Special but kept getting cut off by Katsumata and the rest of his team. He got to hit his dive and so did Dragon Bane and Alpha Wolf. Takahashi’s teamwork with YAMATO self-destructed when he accidentally hit YAMATO with a Clothesline. Kota Minoura then Cradled YAMATO for the three count. MAO told Desperado after the match that Brookes should invite him to Baka Gaijin + Friends some day. MAO will even deliver the invitation to New Japan. Desperado told him he doesn’t think the idea will be possible. Katsumata blamed the loss on his team not having enough NeppoWER!!

The super team of super presidents failed to beat House Of Torture in the opening match of the show. Not even Sanshiro Takagi crashing the Dramatic Dream bike into everyone outside the ring was enough to win the battle. Dick Togo interfered in the match until Takagi gave him the Stunner and Naomichi Marufuji Thrust Kicked him. They even used the same moves to set EVIL up for Hiroshi Tanahashi’s Sling Blade. However the numbers game tipped in House Of Torture’s favour when more of their members showed up for interferene. Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Togo overwhelmed the presidents and EVIL beat Tanahashi to ruin everyone’s day. Backstage Takagi was confused to see Togo out there because he thought he retired years ago.