DDT Around The World – November 2025

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

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

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

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

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

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

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

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

1. Shayna Baszler Vs Maki Itoh

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

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

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Results

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A report of the show can be found here.

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

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

A report of the show can be found here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Upcoming Appearances

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

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

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

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

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

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

DDT Around The World – October 2025

This month’s article feels like it is the most jam packed one I’ve ever written. Konosuke Takeshita is part of a big angle going on with Kazuchika Okada in AEW that is definitely going to result in a singles match between the two before the end of the year. Too bad the storyline they’re doing is the dreaded “Can They Get Along?” tag team gimmick. The stuff that I find fun is seeing the clumsy balancing act AEW is doing trying to handle Takeshita while he is the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion alongside a strongly protected Okada who is completely divorced from New Japan by now. I just cannot see a Takeshita Vs Okada match take place inside a New Japan ring at this point, whether it’s at the Tokyo Dome or for NJPW’s next attempt at running in the American market. This match is happening in AEW but if the IWGP Title is somehow involved we are all going to be flung headfirst into the salt mines.

There’s no drama to worry about over in Mexico this month. Shoko Nakajima went over there on behalf of Major League Wrestling. There was a slightly awkward moment when an interviewer unaware of the politics between Tokyo Joshi Pro and Stardom put Nakajima on the spot to talk about the other Japanese wrestlers she would be teaming with but it sounds like she handled the situation well. Once that was out of the way, everything Nakajima did over in Mexico looked like fun with five consecutive days of matches to wrestle in across various venues. MLW definitely found a way to get some good sounding news out there by praising their champion’s work during the tour. How often news reports about MLW sound like fluffy press releases will always annoy me (you’re telling Salina de la Renta is taking on an even bigger role behind the scenes yet again?!?) but whatever. I guess I shouldn’t let this stuff bother me.

There was also the return to action for Maki Itoh this month. Now unemployed, she went and had her first match since leaving TJPW. She has a big tour of America coming up this month so I’ll cover that but as for Japan, I’m going to wait and see what she does before I continue writing about her. If she ends up joining another company either full time or as a regular I don’t see much point to pay attention to it from a DDT/TJPW point of view. The same might go for her American bookings if I’m just writing about GCW month after month with no change in the status quo. Kyushu Pro and TAJIRI in particular were really happy with how Itoh’s match went so I can see that place becoming a regular spot for her. It’s funny that Rossy Ogawa went out of his way to tell everyone that Marigold is not interested in bringing her in. I think the reason he did that was to jump ahead of his reputation for poaching wrestlers from other companies. While the Marigold roster has been improving during their second year, suggesting that Itoh isn’t good enough to be in that locker room is nonsense when you see who they’ve already taken in.

Speaking of Marigold, there’s one other thing I want to talk about before diving into the rest of the article. Bryan Alvarez reported on Wrestling Observer Live yesterday that there are tentative plans by WWE to send female NXT wrestlers over to Japan next year much like they’ve been doing with male wrestlers this year. Alvarez doesn’t know which promotion WWE will be working with but guesses it would be Marigold while follow up reports also include NOAH, likely because of the “MONDAY MAGIC” series that usually books joshi matches and is getting expanded in 2026. I actually wouldn’t rule out the idea of TJPW getting to book an NXT wrestler or two out of this if only because of how WWE’s relationship with NOAH is currently going. It’s not like TJPW and AEW are doing much together anyway. Crazier things have happened so I’m just preparing myself for if I ever wake up to news that it’s actually happening.

Oh and TJPW is going back to Texas next Spring but I’ll write about that once more solid info comes out. Tokyo Story USA knows what they’re doing. Same goes for GCW because it looks like DDT and TJPW will be part of The Collective at WrestleMania Week again next year.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

AEW “COLLISION”, 04/10/2025
RP Funding Center, Lakeland, Florida, USA

1. MxM TV Casting Call: Mansoor, Mason Madden & Johnny TV (w/ Taya Valkyrie) Vs Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita, & Josh Alexander (w/ El Clon)

Video starts at 1:39:30 for the match
MLW “SLAUGHTERHOUSE”, 04/10/2025
Thunder Studios Arena, Long Beach, California, USA

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

AEW “DYNAMITE – TITLE TUESDAY”, 07/10/2025
Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA

1. Double Jeopardy Eliminator Match: Bandido & Brody King Vs Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita

A birthday celebration for Don Callis!

AEW “WRESTLEDREAM”, 18/10/2025
Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

1. AEW World Tag Team Titles: Bandido & Brody King (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Kazuchika Okada

KYUSHU PRO “OGORI CITIZEN’S FESTIVAL 2025”, 19/10/2025
Ogori City Lifelong Learning Center, Fukuoka, Japan

1. Jet Wei, One☆Kyushu & Princess Pistachio Vs Maki Itoh, TAJIRI & Charles Crowley

Women’s Pure Title Tournament participants Deonna Purrazzo & Yuka Sakazaki stand off ROH TV 10/23/25

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

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

CMLL “DOMINGO FAMILIAR”, 26/10/2025
Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

1. Kira & Skadi Vs Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima

Video starts at 38:27 for the main event
CHOCOPRO “CHOCOPRO #484”, 27/10/2025
Ichigaya Chocolate Square, Tokyo, Japan

1. Emi Sakura Vs Mizuki

Video starts at 44:29 for the match
CMLL “DIA DE MUERTOS”, 27/10/2025
Arena Puebla, Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, Puebla, Mexico

1. Match Relámpago Internacional de Amazonas: Kira Vs Shoko Nakajima

CMLL “DIA DE MUERTOS”, 28/10/2025
Arena Coliseo, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

1. Persephone & Zeuxis Vs Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima

Okada & Takeshita stare each other down, Don Callis introduces new painting | AEW Dynamite, 10/29/25

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Results

AEW “COLLISION”, 02/10/2025 (Aired 04/10/2025)
RP Funding Center, Lakeland, Florida, USA

1. MxM TV Casting Call: Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita, & Josh Alexander (w/ El Clon) defeated Mansoor, Mason Madden & Johnny TV (w/ Taya Valkyrie) when Fletcher pinned Mansoor with the Sheer Drop Brainbuster (3:05).

Everyone loves doing open challenges lately, huh? The unit known as MxM TV put one together under the guise of a casting call and it was answered by The Don Callis Family. Together the trio of Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher & Josh Alexander Suplexed their opponents around while helping each other when Johnny TV or Mason Madden tried to make a comeback. Fletcher then sealed the deal on Mansoor with a Sheer Drop Brainbuster for the victory. El Clon just hung around at ringside for the vibes it seems like. It’s a bit difficult being an evil doppelganger when the person you’re the opposite of has to go away because of an injury that you didn’t cause.

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

1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated HIMAWARI with the Diving Senton (12:22).
*V4 for Shoko Nakajima.

Gotta give MLW some credit. They’re getting a good amount out of Nakajima’s working relationship with them. Her latest defence of the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title was against HIMAWARI so the match itself was what you would typically get in TJPW anyway. Nakajima retained the title, went on to Mexico to represent MLW and has another title defence coming up in her home promotion again later this month.

ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 07/10/2025 (Aired 23/10/2025)
Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki & Alex Windsor defeated Aleah James & Billie Starkz when Windsor pinned James with the Pumphandle Half Nelson Driver (7:45).

A possible glimpse into the future was shown before the match even began when Yuka Sakazaki’s entrance cut off Deonna Purrazzo’s post-match celebration from the previous bout. The two of them are in opposite sides of the ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament bracket so if they were to face off in that it would be in the final. When that moment passed, Sakazaki went on to team with Alex Windsor to beat Aleah James & Billie Starkz. While Windsor has toured with TJPW in the past, I don’t think she was ever in the same match with Sakazaki until here. Starkz got some licks in on the team while James even pushed them into each other to create an opening. But James & Starkz ended up on different pages and their teamwork broke down when Starkz started yelling at her partner. She then abandoned James when Windsor applied a Sharpshooter and James reached out for help. Sakazaki stood confused on the ring apron but hey, a win’s a win.

AEW “DYNAMITE – TITLE TUESDAY”, 07/10/2025
Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA

1. Double Jeopardy Eliminator Match: Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Bandido & Brody King when Okada pinned Bandido with the Rainmaker (12:04).

Someone was coming out of this match getting a title shot of some sort. Okada & Takeshita fought Brodido in a tag match full of champions. Takeshita did the hard work of dealing with Brody King but had a trickier time fighting Bandido once more. Okada grabbed hold of Bandido from the ring apron but took the full brunt of Takeshita’s Jumping Knee Strike after Bandido broke himself free. Bandido tried to capitalize but his injured shoulder prevented him from giving Takeshita the 21 Plex. Takeshita gave him a Reverse Rana but Okada then blind tagged himself in to finish off Bandido with the Rainmaker. Okada & Takeshita had won the match but they weren’t on good terms with each other in the aftermath.

ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 08/10/2025
Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida, USA

1. Alex Windsor & Yuka Sakazaki defeated Taya Valkyrie & Robyn Renegade (?:??).

This match hasn’t aired yet but it is nice to see Windsor & Sakazaki establishing a tag team together. The only substantial thing that might come out of it though is a challenge for the AEW Women’s World Tag Team Titles once that thing is up and running. Robyn Renegade’s been wrestling without her sister for a while now and just seems to be thrown together with Taya Valkyrie every now and then.

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

1. VIP Women’s Title – 3 Way Match: Vert Vixen defeated Maya World (c) and Kaya Toribami (12:06).
*Maya World fails in V3. Vert Vixen becomes the 3rd VIP Women’s Champion!

The flag has been planted in Texas. Now it’s time for the slow process of TJPW spreading out from there. Kaya Toribami was sent over to VIP Wrestling to continue this mission, taking part in a 3 Way Match with the VIP Women’s Title on the line. The champion Maya World was dethroned but sadly for Toribami the title change was not for her. Instead Vert Vixen won the match to become the new champion.

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

1. Rika Tatsumi defeated HIMAWARI with the Missile Hips (?:??).

HIMAWARI also travelled to China this month with Rika Tatsumi by her side. The two of them had a TJPW offer match at the latest Fight VGM Fight show. Again it was pretty much the kind of singles match they would have back home.

AEW “WRESTLEDREAM”, 18/10/2025
Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

1. AEW World Tag Team Titles: Bandido & Brody King (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Kazuchika Okada when Bandido pinned Okada with the 21 Plex (27:26).
*V5 for Brodido.

By the time Takeshita had his next match in AEW he had won the IWGP Title in New Japan! The news didn’t exactly make Okada feel thrilled and now the two of them had to be on the same page for a rematch against Brodido, this time with the AEW World Tag Team Titles on the line. A similar situation to last time occurred where Okada held onto Bandido from behind with Takeshita standing in front of them. This time Okada tried doing the Rainmaker but Bandido ducked and Takeshita got hit with the big Clothesline instead! Okada found it kind of funny while Don Callis was left speechless on commentary. Okada paid the price in the end because Bandido used the 21 Plex on him to get the big victory.

KYUSHU PRO “OGORI CITIZEN’S FESTIVAL 2025”, 19/10/2025
Ogori City Lifelong Learning Center, Fukuoka, Japan

1. Maki Itoh, TAJIRI & Charles Crowley defeated Jet Wei, One☆Kyushu & Princess Pistachio when Itoh submitted Pistachio with the Itoh Deluxe (17:38).

I’m not going to write about Itoh’s matches in Japan that often anymore but this was her first match back since leaving TJPW (and was booked when she was still with the company) so I might as well include it here. She was at Kyushu Pro to team with TAJIRI and the British carnival wrestler Charles Crowley. Their opponents were Kyushu Pro’s own One☆Kyushu alongside two wrestlers from Taiwan, Jet Wei & Princess Pistachio. The match was built around Itoh as the star although Pistachio got to get some cheers over her at points by trying to out-cute her. Itoh got to submit Pistachio with the Itoh Deluxe while her partners held back the other team with their own submission holds.

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

1. Grand Prix de Amazonas: Persephone, La Catalina, Olympia, Skadi, Reyna Isis, Zeuxis, India Sioux, Lluvia & La Jarochita defeated Kanji, Diamante, Shoko Nakajima, Hazuki, Koguma, Mina Shirakawa, Skye Blue, Julia Hart & Thekla (56:44).
1d. Shoko Nakajima eliminated India Sioux with the Northern Lights Suplex (29:54).
1i. La Catalina eliminated Shoko Nakajima with the One-Winged Angel (41:24).

What a trip this turned out to be. Nakajima went to Mexico as a representative of MLW for CMLL’s annual October series that is marketed around women’s wrestling. Nakajima was there as a member of The World team taking on Team Mexico in the Grand Prix de Amazonas torneo de cibernetico. The MLW connection meant she was able to wrestle in the same match as Hazuki & Koguma in ways that bypass the politics that still exist between Stardom and TJPW. Her status also might have given her the stronger booking because Nakajima was able to score an elimination on India Sioux while the FWC pair were both taken out of the match quite early on. Nakajima was beaten around the middle portion thanks to La Catalina (the “Cata-Cata-Cata-Catalina” chorus of her song is difficult to get out of my head whenever I hear it).

CMLL “SÁBADOS DE LUCHA LIBRE”, 25/10/2025
Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

1. CMLL Vs ROH & MLW: Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima defeated Kira & Candela (11:56).

The rest of Nakajima’s week was spent travelling around CMLL’s main haunts. Diamanté became her partner in crime for most of these shows as the two became an ROH/MLW aligned tag team for the tour. Things got off to a good start with them beating Kira & Candela in Arena Coliseo.

CMLL “DOMINGO FAMILIAR”, 26/10/2025
Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

1. Kira & Skadi defeated Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima when Kira pinned Diamanté after a Power Bomb Assisted Senton and Skadi pinned Nakajima with a Double Arm Backbreaker (?:??).

Diamanté & Nakajima were back in Arena Mexico the next day for a show that used Formula 1 style marketing because the Mexican Grand Prix was being held that weekend. Their tag match against Kira & Skadi was only held for one fall instead of the traditional Best 2 out of 3 rules. It was fun to see Nakajima fight someone much bigger than her. That is until she was broken in half with a Backbreaker for part of the finish.

CHOCOPRO “CHOCOPRO #484”, 27/10/2025
Ichigaya Chocolate Square, Tokyo, Japan

1. Emi Sakura Vs Mizuki ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00).

This year marks 30 years in the business for Emi Sakura. A big show at Shinjuku FACE was planned for her by ChocoPro at the end of the month and Sakura had wanted Mizuki to have been a part of it. Unfortunately the scheduling didn’t work out to get her on for that show so instead Sakura and Mizuki got to have a match together a couple of days earlier in ChocoPro’s home venue of Ichigaya Chocolate Square. It was their first singles match against each other in over two years and I think it is the first to happen in Japan since 2014! The two fought to a 15 minute draw with Sakura using her surroundings to get the upper hand while Mizuki eventually adapted to the unusual environment. In the final seconds Mizuki landed a Diving Cross Body but Sakura rolled her over for a nearfall. She was then in the middle of applying La Magistral Cradle when the time expired and the match ended. Mizuki offered a handshake afterwards but Sakura got the last laugh by slapping it away.

CMLL “DIA DE MUERTOS”, 27/10/2025
Arena Puebla, Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, Puebla, Mexico

1. Match Relámpago Internacional de Amazonas: Kira defeated Shoko Nakajima with the German Suplex (7:40).

The CMLL series turned spooky for the rest of the week because they were all Day Of The Dead themed. Nakajima got into the spirit of things by wrestling her match wearing a skeleton shirt. Would have been nice if Kira wore her Togepi outfit too but she already used it two days earlier. The singles match was the Lightning match of the show, which is the format CMLL uses for midcard singles bouts held within a 10 minute time limit. Thankfully for Nakajima it was early enough in the card where she wasn’t offered up as a sacrifice to the Aztec gods for losing the match. That fate was kept for Hazuki & Koguma one match later.

CMLL “DIA DE MUERTOS”, 28/10/2025
Arena Coliseo, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

1. Persephone & Zeuxis defeated Diamanté & Shoko Nakajima when Persephone pinned Nakajima with a Rope-Assisted Crucifix Pin and Zeuxis pinned Diamanté with a Cradle (?:??).

Nakajima’s tour with CMLL came to an end with a chance for her to fight the Grand Prix de Amazonas winner Persephone before going home. Again the tag match was held to one fall only and things went south for the visitors. Diamanté had her pin on Zeuxis countered around into her getting pinned instead. Meanwhile Nakajima got to hit the Diving Senton onto Persephone but was then rolled back into a Crucifix Pin. Persephone also clasped onto the bottom rope with her own feet to get added leverage for the three count.

AEW “COLLISION – FRIGHT NIGHT”, 29/10/2025 (Aired 01/11/2025)
Bert Ogden Arena, Edinburg, Texas, USA

1. Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Max Caster & Anthony Bowens (?:??).

Tensions are only getting worse between Okada and Takeshita. With pro wrestling being what it is, the only answer is to keep them teaming together until things boil over! In fact, AEW thought it was a wise idea to stick them against The Acclaimed, another tag team that cannot get along with each other. If you play the odds that way then surely one side will resolve their problems, right? It’s the kind of logic that might get Fulham some points over Liverpool this season.

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Upcoming Appearances

ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, ??/11/2025
???, USA

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

This tournament is really going at a snail’s pace, huh? I heard someone say the matches are purposely being kept back for PPV so I dunno, maybe we’re finally going to see this happen at “FINAL BATTLE” in another month’s time. Serena Deeb didn’t fall into an inter-dimensional vortex somewhere, right?

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

1. Maki Itoh Vs Kerry Morton

If we remember what happened at the Clusterfuck this year, Kerry Morton made it known he is not a fan of idol music when he interrupted The Up Up Girls. He went on a rather foul mouthed rant about them too. He should probably be careful if he pulls that same stunt on Itoh. She can swear with the best of ’em.

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

1. Maki Itoh Vs KJ Orso

Itoh’s already throwing insults at the former Fuego del Sol, telling KJ Orso he should have kept his mask on.

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

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

No match for Itoh has been announced yet but she will be there in Vermont.

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

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

Let’s see how much of a payoff there is for SETUP’s working relationship with DDT and TJPW when they touch down in Japan.

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

1. MYPW Sponsored Match: Wonder Boy & Miles Karu Vs Fienic Rose & ‘Love Warrior’ Syawal
2. Marika Kobashi & Kira Summer Vs Shino Suzuki & Uta Takami
3. Sanshiro Takagi, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Emman Azman Vs Chris Brookes, Shota & Jack Alexander
4. Miu Watanabe, Yuki Arai & Raku Vs Yuki Kamifuku, Mifu Ashida & Poppy Shay

The combined DDT and TJPW show in Malaysia will also be featuring performances by the KLP48 idol group. One of their members Suzuha Yamane has spent time rehearsing with The Up Up Girls because she has never performed while standing inside a wrestling ring before.

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

1. Shayna Baszler Vs Maki Itoh

As brave of a fighter that Itoh has become in recent years, there are still some opponents who can scare her. Shayna Baszler is one who Itoh admits will have to bend some rules just to have a chance at beating her. She has probably accepted her fate over what will happen in House Of Glory and at least asked Baszler not to destroy her face.

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

1. Dani Luna Vs Miyu Yamashita

Yamashita’s big fortnight in Europe kicks off in Germany for wXw. Her match with Dani Luna was already announced last month…

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

1. Ahura Vs Miyu Yamashita

… but her second match with wXw is completely different. I remember seeing Ahura for the first time back in 2019 when he had a breakout weekend as part of The Pretty Bastards when they won the World Tag Team Festival that took place right as the pandemic lockdowns began. He’s become something of a top guy for wXw since then, particularly this year when he reached the final of 16 Carat Gold and then just recently winning the first König der Catcher tournament. He’s a good opponent for Yamashita to fight.

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

1. Maki Itoh Vs Zayda Steel

A lot is going on for Zayda Steel lately, including an appearance on the EVOLVE brand that WWE decided to revive because they don’t have enough development systems in place apparently (I know, I know, it’s to take up more TV deals while also shutting out the competition). Itoh will keep her busy in New Jersey.

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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Kanji

Now the result of this match is going to be interesting. The Undisputed British Women’s Title that belongs to Revolution Pro is currently among the dozen championship belts in Mercedes Moné’s collection. It’s a cool storyline, I think it’s great that Moné is doing this but I’m also relieved that TJPW hasn’t been involved with it because I’d rather not have an absentee championship in the promotion right now especially after what went on with the International Princess Title. Anyway, RevPro have been clearly signaling that Kanji is going to eventually challenge Moné and maybe even be the one to take the title away from her for this promotion’s big payoff to the storyline. Kanji facing Yamashita is a good way to build up some credibility on her road to becoming No. 1 Contender. But there’s a wild card that can be played here. Moné doesn’t keep it a secret how much she likes training with Yamashita and the TJPW crew whenever she gets the chance to. She’s even said in a Q&A that she would have liked to wrestle in TJPW but there’s just never been a time when the two sides could work something out. So what if instead Moné finally gets to wrestle Yamashita outside of Japan, like in England where Yamashita already has some cachet over there because of her history with EVE? You can say I’m coping all you want, what I just did now was put in the effort explaining why this match is appealing.

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

1. Queen Aminata Vs Maki Itoh

The original plan for Itoh on this JCW show was to team up with Matt Tremont & Bam Sullivan for a 6-Person Tag Match. Plans changed for the better because now she’s getting a singles match against Queen Aminata instead! We’re going to get headbutts that will shake the building to its core.

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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Still not match revealed for Yamashita in France yet but Queens Pro Wrestling did advertise a meet and greet with her and Cara Noir together. Seeing that graphic without the context made me do a double take because that would be a unique match-up.

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

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

I’ve seen JJ Gale wrestle a couple of times in RevPro. He’s decent, definitely a big guy for Yamashita to try and knock down. He also has a tour of Japan coming up with ZERO1 at the end of the year. I thought SAJ would have Itoh’s match decided by now too. Still feels kind of odd she’s only doing this one booking for a European trip unless it’s just for some extra holiday money.

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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

So the current PROGRESS Women’s World Champion is Rayne Leverkusen, a name that might sound familiar if you remember she did a tour with DDT a few years back. However Session Moth Martina is challenging her for the title in November and I know she still wants to have a match with Yamashita after the previous time in EVE was cancelled. That’s two ideas for possible opponents Yamashita can get on this show.

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

I don’t think there’s been any new updates on TJPW’s Thailand show this month. The current lineup is Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku, Arisu Endo, Shoko Nakajima, Miyu Yamashita, Raku, Pom Harajuku, Suzume, Yuki Arai, Kaya Toribami, Shino Suzuki, Uta Takami, Matcha and Alexis Lee.

DDT Around The World – September 2025

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

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

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

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

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

1. Mark Briscoe Vs Konosuke Takeshita

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Results

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Upcoming Appearances

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. Rika Tatsumi Vs HIMAWARI

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

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

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

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

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

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

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

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

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

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

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

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

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

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

1. Dani Luna Vs Miyu Yamashita

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

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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

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

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

1. Maki Itoh Vs Zayda Steel

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

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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Nothing new announced for Yamashita’s match in France.

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

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

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

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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

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

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

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

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

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Other Appearances

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

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

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

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

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?

DDT Around The World – March 2025

Buckle up, folks. There is a lot to talk about this month, next month and probably even going into the summer. Konosuke Takeshita is no longer the AEW International Champion. That was to be expected but I am pleasantly surprised he has remained on AEW TV since then and is still winning matches for The Don Callis Family. He remains being protected in the booking so it looks like AEW has something in mind for him down the line even if it’s just building him up to put someone else over. Also in news that is kind of AEW related Yuka Sakazaki is now on the lookout for more wrestling bookings. Sumie Sakai is helping her out on that end but it sounds like Sakazaki will still need AEW’s permission to go ahead with whatever offers come her way.

Next let’s talk about Maki Itoh and Miyu Yamashita. Once the Las Vegas shows are done Itoh will be staying in America until 11th May while Yamashita won’t be coming back to Japan until 21st July for “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’25”. I was taken aback by the negative response to the news that both of them will be taking another extended hiatus from Tokyo Joshi Pro to wrestle overseas again. I get the frustration in a way. People think both of them are looking for contracts from WWE or AEW. Itoh has brought up stuff like that in past English interviews but I’m not entirely sure Yamashita has the same goal in mind. There was a public talk event sometime ago where Yamashita revealed she spent a lot of money to go follow one of her favorite K-Pop bands on a US tour and she seems to enjoy when she’s not being relied upon by TJPW to be a company ace. Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think the two of them keep taking these options in the search for deals that may never come their way. Of course I may also just be blind to what could possibly be some tryout matches coming up next month.

That brings us up to next month’s chaos that is Wrestlemania Week. I can’t wait for this! Too many wrestling shows going on non-stop in Las Vegas for a solid week. Now that’s my kind of holiday! DDT and TJPW don’t have full cards out for their shows yet and I have the feeling one or two more promotions will be booking the likes of MAO and Itoh before we get there. So many shows are going on during the week that I can’t help but wonder if it will just take one badly made political decision somewhere to throw half the shows into chaos.

And if that’s not enough it turns out there will be even more wrestling shows going on through the year after Wrestlemania is finished. Yeah that took me by surprise too. Anyway next month expect me to write up three separate Around The World articles. One for everything that happens before WM Week, one for the week itself and one for the rest of April after that. If the next month doesn’t burn me out something fierce than nothing will.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

SPW “UNCHAINED”, 07/03/2025
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Yuki Kamifuku & The Statement Vs Alexis Lee & Da Butcherman

RCW “MARCH MADNESS”, 08/03/2024
Casinet de Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Amale

Kenny Omega looks at history with AEW International Champ Konosuke Takeshita! | 3/8/25 AEW Collision

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 12/03/2025
Save Mart Center At Fresno State, Fresno, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Max Caster

AEW “COLLISION – SLAM DUNK SATURDAY”, 22/03/2025
Liberty First Credit Union Arena, Omaha, Nebraska, USA

1. Mark Briscoe, Powerhouse Hobbs & Rocky Romero Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Brian Cage & Lance Archer

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 26/03/2025
Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

1. Mark Briscoe Vs Konosuke Takeshita

ACE vs ALPHA: The story of Konosuke Takeshita vs Hiroshi Tanahashi

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Results

SPW “UNCHAINED”, 07/03/2025
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Yuki Kamifuku & The Statement defeated Alexis Lee & Da Butcherman when Statement pinned Butcherman with an Uppercut (?:??).

The latest chapter in the Southeast Asian rivalry between Yuki Kamifuku and Alexis Lee was a little different this time around. Recently in Singapore Pro Wrestling Lee was stabbed in the back by Andruew Tang, or as he prefers to be called now, The Statement. Lee wanted payback and joined forces with one of Statement’s rivals Da Butcherman to get it. Statement called in Kamifuku to back him up so they can become the royal pair who will rule over SPW together with iron fists. An intense tag match resulted in the referee getting knocked out and Statement being saved by a tag team called The Midnight Bastards. The team attacked Butcherman with chairs and held him in place for Statement to knock him out with an Uppercut. Statement & Kamifuku both stood tall over their rivals holding their championships before leaving. Lee swore revenge and promised to take back the Queen Of Asia Title from Kamifuku!

EVE “WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY”, 07/03/2024
The Big Penny Social, London, England

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Lucia Lee with the Skull Kick (12:48).

Plans in EVE changed for Yamashita when her original opponent Session Moth Martina pulled out of the show due to illness. Instead Yamashita was given Lucia Lee as her new opponent. For Lee it was a chance on short notice to step up against Yamashita and prove she can go toe to toe against her. Despite the good effort, Yamashita knocked her over with the Skull Kick anyway.

RCW “MARCH MADNESS”, 08/03/2024
Casinet de Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Amale with the Skull Kick (15:16).

The next day Yamashita was in Spain to wrestle on an RCW show for the first time since October 2022. Her opponent was “The French Hope” Amale, formerly from NXT UK. She sent Yamashita crashing through the front row of chairs with a Topé Suicida and the two soon found themselves brawling around ringside. Back in the ring Amale kicked out of an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment and almost scored the win with a Small Package. But when Yamashita kicked out she quickly had her opponent in her sights and hit the Skull Kick for the victory.

WXW “16 CARAT GOLD – NIGHT 3”, 09/03/2025
Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Anita Vaughan with the Crash Rabbit Heat (13:32).

Yamashita’s busy European weekend ended in Germany where she showed up during wXw’s final day of the annual 16 Carat Gold tournament. She didn’t take part in the 16 Carat tournament itself, instead she fought Anita Vaughan who was already eliminated from the competition by that point. Yamashita made it three wins for three but she needed to use the Crash Rabbit Heat this time to end the weekend with a clean sweep.

AEW “REVOLUTION”, 09/03/2025
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. AEW International Title: Kenny Omega defeated Konosuke Takeshita (c) with a Cradle (28:30).
*Konosuke Takeshita fails in V9. Kenny Omega becomes the 11th AEW International Champion!

That’s the end of Takeshita’s first championship reign in AEW. With thoughts of Hajime no Ippo on their mind and also their gear, Takeshita and Kenny Omega went hell for leather in their rematch from September 2023. Omega’s ribs were violently targeted due to his recent bout with diverticulitis and Takeshita got a little help from Don Callis here and there too. But Omega overcame the odds and kept kicked out of the Powerdrive Knee. Takeshita avoided the One-Winged Angel yet when he went for the Raging Fire, Omega countered it into an Inside Cradle. Only getting a nearfall, Omega then switched to more types of cradle pins until he kept Takeshita’s shoulders down long enough for the three count.

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 12/03/2025
Save Mart Center At Fresno State, Fresno, California, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Max Caster with the Raging Fire (1:30).

Takeshita wasted no time in getting back to work after his title loss. Max Caster held the latest in his open challenges and tried to talk Takeshita out of it when he walked down to the ring with a purpose. Caster asked if Takeshita was actually here to invite him into The Don Callis Family? When he suggested he could use that position to beat Omega, Takeshita attacked him and quickly won with the Raging Fire.

BZW “WAR AT THE CAPITAL”, 16/03/2025
Claridge, Brussels, Belgium

1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) defeated Kid Lykos & Kid Lykos II when Yoshihiko submitted Lykos & Lykos II with a Double Half Crab Hold (?:??).
*V3 for MAO & Yoshihiko.

I missed when this was announced last month. MAO & Yoshihiko travelled back to Banger Zone Wrestling this month, this time to defend the BZW Tag Team Titles in Belgium. The challengers were the two troublemakers from Lykos Gym in England: Kid Lykos & Kid Lykos II. They weren’t prepared for Yoshihiko to do a balcony dive onto them nor did they expect the dark spirit that sometimes follows Yoshihiko around to show up and Moonsault onto them either. Lykos II made the big mistake of yelling insults towards Yoshihiko. When he tried to Headbutt it only he felt the impact. Yoshihiko was then able to trap both members of Lykos Gym in a Double Half Crab Hold and made both of them tap out at the same time!

AEW “COLLISION – SLAM DUNK SATURDAY”, 19/03/2025 (Aired 22/03/2025)
Liberty First Credit Union Arena, Omaha, Nebraska, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Brian Cage & Lance Archer defeated Mark Briscoe, Powerhouse Hobbs & Rocky Romero when Takeshita pinned Romero with the Raging Fire (11:22).

Takeshita continued to rebuild his momentum by teaming with more members of The Don Callis Family. He, Brian Cage & Lance Archer all worked over Rocky Romero until Mark Briscoe got the hot tag. Briscoe had the numbers game against him but he held his own until it was time for Powerhouse Hobbs to get the big tag. But The Don Callis Family withstood the comeback. Cage & Archer took out Romero with a Choke Slam/Power Bomb combo and held his partners at bay so Takeshita could pin Romero with the Raging Fire.

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 26/03/2025
Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Mark Briscoe with the Raging Fire (11:39).

There was unfinished business between Takeshita and Briscoe from Collision so they met in a singles match the following week on Dynamite. The episode was sponsored by The Minecraft Movie so the venue they were in ended up kind of looking like a Create-An-Arena you would download from the WWE 2K games. Briscoe took a high risk by running across the barricade outside the ring to jump onto Takeshita with a Diving Elbow Drop. Takeshita hit Briscoe with the Powerdrive Knee back in the ring but it got him a nearfall. Briscoe pulled out the Jay Driller that had Takeshita beat but a rope break stopped him from getting pinned for the three count. Takeshita stunned Briscoe with a Rolling Elbow before using the Raging Fire to win by the skin of his teeth.

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Upcoming Appearances

MLW “BATTLE RIOT VII”, 05/04/2025
Thunder Studios Arena, Long Beach, California, USA

1. HIMAWARI Vs Janai Kai
2. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Delmi Exo (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima

There was a report from Fightful’s Patreon account during the month saying MLW has “big plans” in mind for Shoko Nakajima and HIMAWARI and the promotion hopes to get TJPW more involved with their women’s division. I’m a bit skeptical towards what that could be because the way wrestling media reports on MLW often comes across as Court Bauer trying to get his material over and everybody just taking him for his word. Big plans could mean anything from Nakajima beating Delmi Exo for the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title or Janai Kai literally murdering HIMAWARI on behalf of CONTRA Unit and right afterward MLW announces a working relationship with Stardom (go see how CIMA was written out of the company right before MLW aired a Dragongate trailer). Or the big plans might just be TJPW talent being used to put over the regulars MLW wants to push. Which at this moment in time is Exo, Kai and maybe Tara Zep. But hey, who knows. It looks like MLW’s working relationship with CMLL is legit. I’ll be happy to be proven wrong.

NJPW “WINDY CITY RIOT”, 11/04/2025
Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Hiroshi Tanahashi Last Match In The USA Final Road ~Kinship~: Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA

I recommend watching the Ace Vs Alpha video New Japan put on their Youtube channel (I included it in the video section above) because it shows Takeshita and Hiroshi Tanahashi talking about their previous match together as well as why Takeshita holds a grudge over how Tanahashi treated DDT in the past. It’s not the complete story of what happened back then because that is more HARASHIMA’s story to tell but it is suffice to build up their match happening next month.

PANDEMONIUM PRO “THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS”, 17/04/2025
Fremont Country Club, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Masha Slamovich Vs MAO
2. Maya World Vs Miu Watanabe

Now we hit the busiest wrestling week of the year. Damn it really is a week long this time around with WWE going full throttle with their own schedule in Las Vegas from Tuesday to Tuesday. But enough about them, among the early shows kicking off the week is Pandemonium Pro where Miu Watanabe has a match against Maya World and now MAO will be there too for what is sure to be a crazy battle against Masha Slamovich! The two of them have packed schedules of their own so they better pace themselves.

WRESTLECON “MARK HITCHCOCK MEMORIAL SUPERSHOW”, 17/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Mickie James Vs Maki Itoh

It’s a match for the ages between two fierce opponents. One is a wrestling idol with grand ambitions of becoming a popstar who has in the past been unceremoniously fired in a humiliating fashion. The other is Maki Itoh. I know people who still have nightmares from the Revolution Pro show in London two years ago where a group of fans spent literally the entire match chanting “Hardcore Country” non-stop for Mickie James. I hope for my sake those same fans won’t be at this show.

WEST COAST PRO “VEGAS VACATION”, 17/04/2025
Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. MAO Vs Jiah Jewell

MAO’s second show on the Thursday is against Jiah Jewell at West Coast Pro. Because when you think of local rivalries, you think of Miyagi Vs Louisiana.

GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XIII”, 17/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Charlie Dempsey Vs Shinya Aoki
2. Nattie Neidhart Vs Miyu Yamashita

Whenever Yamashita travels to America, Natalya invites her over to her private training facility in Florida to help teach her what she knows. They’ve apparantly become close friends over time but when Josh Barnett started putting the card together for Bloodsport, Natalya (under her non-WWE moniker Nattie Neidhart) publicly asked for Yamashita to be her opponent. Yamashita jumped at the idea and Barnett was happy to make it happen. This will be the second time Yamashita faces a WWE wrestler at Bloodsport, she lost to Shayna Baszler last July. Here she has the martial arts background advantage and Neidhart’s previous attempt at doing this kind of match with NXT Underground ended in a loss. Usually comparing the legitimate fighting pedigree of two fighters would tip off who wins these things but a main roster WWE wrestler losing on a non-WWE show would be an unusual turn of events. Eh, I’ll still bet a dollar on it.

Shinya Aoki’s announced opponent for the show is NXT wrestler Charlie Dempsey. I’d joke about Bloodsport turning into a WWE psy-op but to be fair Dempsey is a regular competitor on these shows and this will be his fourth fight in the series. Plus I don’t want to just write that he is William Regal’s son. From what I’ve seen he fits into this style of wrestling pretty well. Aoki should have fun tangling with him.

BZW “VIVA LAS VEGAS”, 17/04/2025
Swan Dive, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. BZW Tag Team Titles: MAO & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Cole Radrick & Alec Price

MAO ends his busy day with BZW hosting his third match. At least I think it’s his third show. It’s possible he’ll have a fourth somewhere but I haven’t seen anything yet. The match here is going to be changed too because of injury. MAO & Yoshihiko are supposed to defend the BZW Tag Titles against The Gahbage Daddies but unfortunately word came out a few days ago that Cole Radrick is out of action with a torn MCL and meniscus. No word yet on if Alec Price will still be in the match with a replacement tag partner or if a new team will get the title shot instead.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “QUERI PRESENTS TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Special Single Match: Masha Slamovich Vs Miu Watanabe
2. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Jada Stone
3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

Only a few weeks to go but the major matches have all been set up. Mizuki Vs Yamashita is the biggest match TJPW can do for the Princess Of Princess Title but it’s been done already in Japan so I can see why it would look fresher in America. Kyoraku Kyomei have their first defence of the Princess Tag Team Titles against Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara’s new tag team OberEats. There is a rematch of the International Princess Title when Suzume clashes with Jada Stone again, this time with Stone having the home field advantage. Plus Watanabe continues getting big opponents away from the title scene when she gets in the ring with Slamovich.

DDT “DDT GOES LAS VEGAS!”, 18/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Santana Jackson
2. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Timothy Thatcher
3. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs MAO
4. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs Yoshihiko

The lineup so far is a little more creative than what we got last year and I prefer it this way. Minoru Suzuki Vs Yoshihiko sounds like something GCW would book for “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK” but DDT needs something like that to stand out for themselves.

WRESTLECORE “FEAR & WRESTLECORE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025
Swan Dive, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

Another outside booking for Itoh during Mania Week. No opponent has been confirmed by WrestleCore yet but El Phantasmo is trying to convince Itoh to team up with him so they can be The Cutest Tag Team Ever. He just so happens to be on this show too.

GRAPHOUSE “FOR VEGAS, BY VEGAS”, 18/04/2025
Fergusons Downtown, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Lazarus Vs MAO

I think this is MAO’s last non-DDT related booking of the week. Unless…

DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GCW “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita & Masha Slamovich Vs Shinya Aoki & Miyu Yamashita

As far as DDT and TJPW are concerned this will be the finale of their weekend. One match announced so far and it’s pretty cool looking. Takeshita & Slamovich teaming up against Aoki & Yamashita. It would be a shame if the show runs long and people start leaving during this match to head over to Wrestlemania.

GCW “CLUSTERF*CK FOREVER”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Clusterfuck Match: X Vs X

I’m adding this to the lineup because odds are good someone DDT or TJPW related ends up in the annual Clusterfuck. Yoshihiko was part of it last year and made it to the final three. In fact there’s already an ex-TJPW wrestler announced to be entering the match. Sayaka Unagi is taking part and I can only imagine what kind of eye opening crazy thing she would do in Las Vegas.

HOG “ISOLATION”, 25/04/2025
NYC Arena, New York City, New York, USA

1. HOG Heavyweight Title: Mike Santana (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Hey good on Mike Santana for taking a gamble on himself. The stuff he’s been doing on TNA and House Of Glory has been nothing to sneeze at so far. He now has a month to prepare for Takeshita because the two of them are set to fight with the HOG Heavyweight Title on the line.

BLACK LABEL PRO “BLP AT SCX III”, 25/04/2025
The Wyndham, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Leyla Hirsch
2. Danhausen & Maki Itoh Vs Davey Bang & August Matthews

Yamashita’s opponent Leyla Hirsch is fresh out of AEW and wants to show everyone how good she is in the ring.

CMLL/LADYS RING “LUCHA FIESTA ESPECIAL”, 27/04/2025
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Octagon & El Hijo del Octagon Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Pantera Jr.

Daisuke Sasaki will be missing the DDT show happening in Sapporo on the same day for this match.

GCW “CRAZY SCARY SPOOKY HILARIOUS”, 03/05/2025
Ukrainian Culture Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Miyu Yamashita

The 121000000 split up match is happening but not in TJPW. It’s in GCW! In the nine previous times they’ve done this match, Yamashita has won eight of them and the odd result out was a time limit draw. Itoh has never beaten Yamashita in a singles match but this 10th attempt might be her best chance yet because she’ll have the GCW fans behind her. She’ll need a good result because the next day she has a match that will be just as important.

GCW “WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU”, 04/05/2025
Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. GCW World Title: Effy (c) Vs Maki Itoh

Itoh was originally supposed to get a GCW World Title match against Mance Warner during GCW’s Japan tour last August but a hand injury prevented it from happening. Now nine months later she finally gets her title shot but the champion now is someone completely different. Effy’s first reign as GCW Champ has seen him defend the belt against the weird and the wonderful. Can Itoh beat him to reach her ultimate form as the Queen of the Outlaws?

NJPW “RESURGENCE”, 09/05/2025
Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA

1. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs X

Just have to wait and see what Takeshita does next after the Tanahashi match.

GCW “BIG TIME”, 17/05/2025
RJ Meyer Arena, Joppa, Maryland, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Tony Deppen

Can Yamashita get a better match out of Tony Deppen than YAMATO could?

GCW “RUN FOR IT”, 18/05/2025
Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, New York, USA

1. Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita

According to GCW this will be the first time ever Yamashita wrestles Billie Starkz. As long as you ignore the EVE match… and the St. Louis Anarchy match… and the SPARK match.

MKW “BATTLE OF THE DECADE”, 24/05/2025
Dongxin Plaza, Beijing, China

1. Yuki Kamifuku & Chen Wenbin Vs Alexis Lee & Big Sam

The Kamifuku Vs Lee rivalry now moves over to China for Middle Kingdom Wrestling’s 10th Anniversary show. Chinese wrestler Chen Wenbin and England’s Big Sam get mixed up in the action too.

SAJ “HUNTER’S NET”, 24/05/2025
Magnete, Milan, Italy

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Italy will soon become the latest country Yamashita has wrestling in. Squash A Jobber Wrestling is the name of the promotion bringing her in which might be the least Italian name I’ve ever heard for a wrestling company.

KITSUNE “GOING BACK TO SAN DIEGO”, 07/06/2025
Primal Compound, San Diego, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Vipress & Hudson Envy Vs Nagisa Nozaki & Yuna Manase

We’re reaching into the summer for the end of this month’s article. Kitsune have a doubleshot going on with both Yuna Manase and Miyu Yamashita scheduled to be there. Manase is teaming with Nagisa Nozaki in Night 1 to take on Vipress & Hudson Envy. Yamashita’s match has not been announced yet.

KITSUNE “8888”, 08/06/2025
South Gate, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Yuna Manase Vs X

Manase is still currently the Kitsune World Champion so it would make sense for her to have a title defence on the second show of the doubleshot.

DDT Around The World – February 2025

Are you sure that everybody wans Mina Shirakawa? Because this month it sure looked like everybody wanted Konosuke Takeshita! He had a big month in AEW, he has big matches coming up in New Japan soon, he wrestled a bunch of times on a cruise and right when it looked like he would have a break, CMLL came calling out for him. If you’re the type who keeps track of any Wrestler Of The Year contenders, Takeshita’s work in February should put him up near the top as an early frontrunner.

He’ll have more to do over the coming months but March will see the Tokyo Joshi Pro side of things take more of the spotlight. Miyu Yamashita has a packed weekend in Europe coming up and Yuki Kamifuku will continue to gift with Southeast Asia her presence. Then in April it’s the big one. Wrestlemania Week! I’ll need to find the time to write a big piece about what DDT and TJPW will be doing during that period.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 05/02/2025
Gateway Center Arena, College Park, Georgia, USA

1. International All-Star Tag Match: Brody King & Buddy Matthews Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher

AEW “GRAND SLAM AUSTRALIA”, 15/02/2025
Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia

1. Will Ospreay & Kenny Omega Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 26/02/2025
Frontwave Arena, Oceanside, California, USA

1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Orange Cassidy

CMLL “VIERNES ESPECTACULAR”, 28/02/2025
Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

1. NEVER Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Ángel de Oro

“Quiero enfrentar a Blue Panther/Ángel de Oro fue un gran rival”

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Results

JERICHO CRUISE “CHRIS JERICHO’S ROCK ‘N’ WRESTLING RAGER – SIX ON THE BEACH – NIGHT 2”, 01/02/2025
Norwegian Pearl Cruise Ship

1. Will Ospreay & Komander defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Lance Archer (?:??).

I don’t have much to write about for Takeshita’s remaining matches that happened during the Jericho Cruise. But hey some of these sound really good on paper, right? At least this match here gave attendees a taste of what Will Ospreay and Takeshita’s tag match in Australia happening later in the month would be like. Lance Archer probably bounced Komander around like a basketball too.

JERICHO CRUISE “CHRIS JERICHO’S ROCK ‘N’ WRESTLING RAGER – SIX ON THE BEACH – NIGHT 3”, 02/02/2025
Norwegian Pearl Cruise Ship

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Brian Cage & Lance Archer defeated Daniel Garcia, Mark Briscoe & Jay Lethal (?:??).

Like this one for example. It would be great if footage of this shows up somewhere. Takeshita, Archer & Brian Cage all teaming up together against Daniel Garcia, Mark Briscoe & Jay Lethal is the kind of match on paper that would have carried Night 3 of a packed indies weekend we used to get a decade ago.

JERICHO CRUISE “CHRIS JERICHO’S ROCK ‘N’ WRESTLING RAGER – SIX ON THE BEACH – NIGHT 4”, 03/02/2025
Norwegian Pearl Cruise Ship

1. Konosuke Takeshita, Brian Cage & Lance Archer defeated Bandido, Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd (?:??).

The last day of the Jericho Cruise had The Don Callis Family still together against the weird mix of Bandido & The Outrunners. I don’t know how much Takeshita would be into the retro 80s American vibe that The Outrunners bring with them. That’s more up Antonio Honda’s alley.

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 05/02/2025
Gateway Center Arena, College Park, Georgia, USA

1. International All-Star Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher defeated Brody King & Buddy Matthews when Fletcher pinned King after an Assisted Brainbuster (14:15).

There was one last warmup match for Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher before they headed off to Australia. Here they took on the newly renamed Hounds Of Hell. They are the former House Of Black now without Malakai Black involved because he finally made his exit from the company. The challenge in this match was how much it took to put away the immovable force that is Brody King. Takeshita & Fletcher were able to get rid of Buddy Matthews no problem but when it came to King they had to throw everything at him but he wouldn’t stay down. Takeshita had to assist Fletcher with a Vertical Drop Brainbuster to keep the big guy down for the pinfall.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AEX32 SANTIAGO 2025”, 09/02/2025
Estación Mapocho Cultural Center, Santiago, Chile
??? Fans

1. Casey defeated Moka Miyamoto with a Loaded Backpack Attack (7:43).
2. Aja Kong defeated Roma with the Uraken (8:55).
3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) defeated Sara Phoenix & Pandora when Yamashita pinned Phoenix with the Skull Kick (18:19).
*V4 for 121000000.

A report for the show can be found here.

AEW “GRAND SLAM AUSTRALIA”, 15/02/2025
Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia

1. Will Ospreay & Kenny Omega defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher when Omega pinned Takeshita after the Hidden Blade/One-Winged Angel Combination (21:20).

Talk about a match that delivered! The big tag match in Australia went ahead and ended with something we haven’t seen in a while: Takeshita taking a pinfall loss. It took a combination of the Hidden Blade and One-Winged Angel being mashed together like a Doomsday Device for it to happen which should wind up becoming one of the most memorable match finishes of the year. The aftermath confirmed there is more to come. Ospreay and Fletcher have their own feud moving ahead while Kenny Omega announced his intentions to go after Takeshita’s AEW International Title.

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 26/02/2025
Frontwave Arena, Oceanside, California, USA

1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Orange Cassidy with the Raging Fire (12:30).
*V8 for Konosuke Takeshita.

But first AEW had to go the long route to set up the match. Before Takeshita goes to a big title match with Omega he first had to beat Orange Cassidy in a with the belt on the line. Takeshita took a table bump when Cassidy dropped him on top of the announce desk with the Beach Break. He was still in danger after getting hit with the Orange Punch and also a Flying DDT outside the ring. But Cassidy made the big mistake of climbing the top turnbuckle. And whenever Takeshita’s opponent jumps off the top turnbuckle there is an Elbow Strike waiting right for them upon landing. There were still some very close calls to come but Takeshita caught the Orange Punch and countered it into the Raging Fire for the win. Don Callis then rubbed salt on the wound by putting Cassidy’s sunglasses onto Takeshita after the match.

CMLL “VIERNES ESPECTACULAR”, 28/02/2025
Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

1. NEVER Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Ángel de Oro with the Raging Fire (?:??).
*V4 for Konosuke Takeshita.

The month ended with Takeshita’s first time in the hallowed grounds of lucha libre known as Arena Mexico. CMLL made it a big deal that he was coming over to wrestle on their famed Friday night show on short notice and offered up Ángel de Oro as a challenger for the NEVER Openweight Title. So this was put together more through CMLL’s relationship with NJPW rather than AEW. Or maybe it’s both at this point because Rocky Romero is the connection point and his backstage connections run pretty deep nowadays. The match itself unintentionally ended up becoming bloody after de Oro suffered a hand injury of some sort. With only one fall needed to win rather than the traditional two, Takeshita came out on top after the two went back and forth with big moves until the Raging Fire brought things to an end.

Backstage Takeshita was asked by reporters who else in CMLL he would like to wrestle? He told a story about the first wrestling show he ever attended when he was a child. It was an Osaka Pro show and the merchandise he bought at the show was a Blue Panther mask. That is his first ever wrestling memory in general so perhaps one day he will cross paths with Blue Panther or a member of his family in the ring.

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Upcoming Appearances

SPW “UNCHAINED”, 07/03/2025
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Yuki Kamifuku & The Statement Vs Alexis Lee & Da Butcherman

An alliance seems to have formed between Yuki Kamifuku and The Statement over in Singapore Pro Wrestling. Maybe the two champions believe it is in their best interests to be on the same side when some familiar rivals are marching forth towards them again. The Statment and Da Butcherman have fought each other plenty of times before. So too have Kamifuku and Alexis Lee. So now the next step is to throw them all in the ring at the same time.

EVE “WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY”, 07/03/2024
The Big Penny Social, London, England

1. Session Moth Martina Vs Miyu Yamashita

A busy weekend in Europe sees Miyu Yamashita wrestling in three countries. First up she is heading back to EVE in England where she will present herself as a big challenge for Session Moth Martina to overcome.

RCW “MARCH MADNESS”, 08/03/2024
Casinet de Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Amale

Then on the Saturday Yamashita returns to Spain for her first appearance in RCW since October 2022. Her opponent will be French wrestler and former NXT UK performer Amale.

WXW “16 CARAT GOLD – NIGHT 3”, 09/03/2025
Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Yamashita finishes off the weekend with an appearance at wXw on the last day of the 16 Carat Gold tournament. Unless wXw announces her match beforehand it is a complete roll of the dice who she gets to face at the show.

AEW “REVOLUTION”, 09/03/2025
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Kenny Omega

It took 18 months to get here but we’re finally back on track to having another Takeshita Vs Omega match. I’m not going to sugar coat it. I think the title reign ends here and Takeshita’s priorities are about to switch over to New Japan for the spring and summer months.

MLW “BATTLE RIOT VII”, 05/04/2025
The Commerce, California, USA

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

I think we know what to expect here. MLW brings in a Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestler, in this case Shoko Nakajima, and they lose to their women’s champion, in this case Delmi Exo. Although that was done a lot when Janai Kai was the champ so who knows? Maybe Nakajima takes the title from Exo and ends her second reign before it can properly take off.

NJPW “WINDY CITY RIOT”, 11/04/2025
Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Hiroshi Tanahashi Last Match In The USA Final Road ~Kinship~: Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA

I know Hiroshi Tanahashi is getting an IWGP World Heavyweight Title shot at New Japan’s anniversary show in March. And NJPW have announced there will be IWGP Title matches taking place in their next two shows in America. Hmmm…. Alright, alright, that’s just wishful thinking on my part. Although I can see the NEVER Title being on the line when Tanahashi and Takeshita clash in Chicago.

PANDEMONIUM PRO “THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS”, 17/04/2025
Fremont Country Club, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Maya World Vs Miu Watanabe

At the moment it doesn’t seem like there will be any other DDT or TJPW talent appearing on the show. So it’s just going to be Miu Watanabe having a match here by the looks of it.

WEST COAST PRO “VEGAS VACATION”, 17/04/2025
Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. MAO Vs Jiah Jewell

Later in the afternoon MAO will be at the West Coast Pro show and the promotion are promising the opponent is just as crazy as he is! Jiah Jewell has made it his goal to “Gator Roll The World” and that sounds like the fucked up wrestling MAO likes to fight for.

GCW “JOSH BARNETT’S BLOODSPORT XIII”, 17/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Shinya Aoki Vs X

No surprise to see Shinya Aoki getting added to the show. The funny thing is the match he’s having on the DDT show would have made much more sense to happen on the Bloodsport show!

Yamashita also returns to Bloodsport for a second go around.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “QUERI PRESENTS TJPW LIVE IN LAS VEGAS”, 18/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs X
2. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) Vs X & X
3. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs X

The card will begin to take shape right after “GRAND PRINCESS ’25” is over and done with. What we do know for now is there will be championship matches for the Princess Of Princess Title, the Princess Tag Team Titles and the International Princess Title.

DDT “DDT GOES LAS VEGAS!”, 18/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1. Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Santana Jackson
2. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Timothy Thatcher

Like I said above, doesn’t Shinya Aoki Vs Timothy Thatcher sound more like a Bloodsport match than a DDT match? Now Antonio Honda Vs Santana Jackson, that’s a match you’re absolutely not going to see anywhere else.

DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/GCW “DDT VS TJPW VS GCW”, 19/04/2025
Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

I really don’t know what the vibe and turnout for this show will be when it happens right slap bang in between the big NXT show and the first night of WrestleMania.

BLACK LABEL PRO “BLP AT SCX III”, 25/04/2025
The Wyndham, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Danhausen & Maki Itoh Vs Davey Bang & August Matthews

Very cute, very evil and back teaming up again. Danhausen & Maki Itoh reunite as Makihausen for a tag match against Bang And Matthews over at Black Label Pro.

CMLL/LADYS RING “LUCHA FIESTA ESPECIAL”, 27/04/2025
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Octagon & El Hijo del Octagon Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Pantera Jr.

So this is happening in Japan but since it is a one off lucha libre show that is disconnected from everything else going on I decided to include it in this series. This is the Sumo Hall show that made headlines for announcing the debut of a new Hayabusa. One of the lucha matches originally booked for the show was a 3 Way Match between Octagon, El Hijo del Octagon and Pantera Jr. However Daisuke Sasaki crashed one of the press conferences demanding to be part of the show because of his lucha skills. The promoters decided to let him in so he gets to team with Pantera Jr. against the two (kayfabe?) generations of Octagon.

NJPW “RESURGENCE”, 09/05/2025
Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, USA

1. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs X

Probably another New Japan title defence for Takeshita when he goes to California in May. Hopefully it’s with the IWGP Ti-okay, okay, I’ll give it a break.

DDT Around The World – September 2023

September was looking to be more of a quiet month for looking at the overseas adventures of the DDT extended family until the last week showed up like an avalanche. You can always get a lot of news to cover during tournament weekends. It’s a shame that the current state of the independent scene means those tentpole super weekend events don’t get as much coverage like they used to. Can’t blame them when WWE and AEW dominates everybody’s attention. It’s only going to get tougher when those two companies increase their schedules and reach out even further. This week’s news of WWE getting an ABEMA deal and having NOAH promote it on social media does not thrill me. I’ve seen how this story goes before. Even if some kind of big crossover does happen with WWE it is never worth it for the other company in the long run. And any pundit who says a project like NXT Japan will work as a gateway for getting WWE fans into Japanese wrestling is only fooling themselves. The appetite that audience has for non-WWE wrestling is just not there anymore.

Heading into October we have Konosuke Takeshita deep into a feud with The Golden Lovers. The lack of actual wrestling from Takeshita last month annoyed me. I get holding some wrestlers back for PPV but his standard of ring work has been missing from AEW TV recently. His storyline is also pulling in other wrestlers who are never hurting for screentime which makes me worry he is getting pushed to the side. Maki Itoh has finished up her latest North American tour, Shoko Nakajima had a quick trip to the USA and Miyu Yamashita was in the middle of wrestling in UK and Ireland when the month began. The big chunk of news that completely passed me by until it happened was Mizuki Watase going over to wXw in Germany with Shigehiro Irie. Oh and Tokyo Joshi Pro squeezed in a visit to China right at the deadline.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/09/2023
Heritage Bank Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

The Invisible Hand, Don Callis, debuts his new masterpiece and next target!

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 22/09/2023
Heritage Bank Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

After his shocking turn on Chris Jericho, Guevara explains his actions!

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 27/09/2023
1st Bank Center, Broomfield, Colorado, USA

Don Callis, Takeshita & Guevara admire their work before WrestleDream!

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Results

OTT “WRESTLERAMA”, 02/09/2023
The Warehouse Red Cow, Dublin, Ireland

1. Session Moth Martina & Miyu Yamashita defeated Debbie Keitel & Emersyn Jayne (w/ Anita Vaughan) (9:36).

A few years ago the idea of Yamashita wrestling in OTT would have had me overjoyed but nowadays I don’t want to give the company much of my attention because of how people attached to them handled and disregarded Speaking Out. Her Irish wrestling debut had a slight change in plan thanks to the other team. Debbie Keitel was advertised to team with Anita Vaughan but she instead surprised everyone by bringing along Emersyn Jayne to be her partner instead.

MLW “FURY ROAD”, 03/09/2023
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title No. 1 Contendership: B3CCA defeated Maki Itoh with the World Tour (7:42).

A singer showdown took place when Itoh made her first appearance in MLW. Itoh and B3CCA both love to be the centre of attention and literally fought over the microphone during their match. Itoh won that exchange and told B3CCA to “kiss my ass, bitch!” She also found a Singapore cane to beat up B3CCA with outside the ring. But Itoh made the grave mistake of missing the Flying Big Head, allowing B3CCA to give her a Death Valley Driver to the corner and then pin her with the World Tour 450 Splash.

AEW “ALL OUT”, 03/09/2023
United Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated Kenny Omega with the Powerdrive Knee (22:30).

A few days after Takeshita pinned Kenny Omega in England, he did it again back in America this time in a singles match. The match carried history over from Omega’s time in DDT, wearing new green and yellows tights based on what he wore in the early 2010s. Don Callis got involved though and brought the dreaded screwdriver into the match for Takeshita to use. However this time the referee stopped it from being used. It turned out Takeshita wouldn’t have needed it because he went on to beat Omega anyway, pulling down his kneepad to hit a raw Powerdrive Knee for the victory. The match even got ***** from Dave Meltzer! Okay, that doesn’t mean as much as it used to but it’s still a good accomplishment to have. Also let’s face it, when the wrestlers who complain about star ratings actually do get ***** from Meltzer they all of a sudden do a 180 and become grateful for it.

MYSTERY WRESTLING “MYSTERY WRESTLING 3”, 08/09/2023
Centre Aydelu, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada

1. Emi Sakura defeated Maki Itoh with La Magistral Cradle (?:??).

This year over in Canada Evil Uno has been running a Mystery Wrestling show on his Twitch channel every couple of months. The surprise headline match for the most recent event was a first time singles bout between Itoh and Emi Sakura. Itoh played a trick to escape from Sakura’s attacks by beginning to cry and then walking out of the match back to the locker room. She then reappeared from the opposite side of the room to attack a confused Sakura from behind. Sakura’s not someone you can beat with just one trick though. She ended up rolling Itoh into La Magistral Cradle to win the match.

GCW “CRUSHED UP”, 10/09/2023
Roulette Intermedium, New York City, New York, USA

1. Maki Itoh defeated Killer Kelly with a Tornado DDT (10:43).

Itoh’s current run with GCW ended here with a match against Killer Kelly. She’ll be back again later this year but what will be in store for her next? Her feud with Matt Cardona & Steph De Lander can be never ending but there has to be other stuff she wants to do in GCW next. Maybe she already found a new arch nemesis as you will see at the bottom of this post.

WXW “INNER CIRCLE”, 21/09/2023
wXw Wrestling Academy, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

1. Mizuki Watase defeated Danny Fray with a Diving Foot Stomp (7:23).
2. Shigehiro Irie defeated 1 Called Manders with a Roaring Elbow (8:57).

This was already announced earlier in the summer and I completely missed it. Irie & Watase reunited as RENEGADES to enter the annual World Tag Team Festival in Germany! But first the wrestlers took part in separate warmup matches the night before the tournament began. Watase’s first match ever in Germany was a win against Danny Fray. Irie also won his match by beating 1 Called Manders in a hoss fight.

WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2023 – NIGHT 1”, 22/09/2023
Turbinenhalle 2, Oberhausen, Germany

1. World Tag Team Festival 2023 – Round 1: Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase defeated Aigle Blanc & Senza Volto when Irie pinned Blanc with the Beast Bomber (16:41).

Irie won wXw’s other premium tournament the 16 Carat Gold back in March so he had his heart set on winning WTTF with Watase. They eliminated The Frenchadors in the opening round. Aigle Blanc & Senza Volto are former wXw World Tag Team Champions so RENEGADES could not have gotten off to a better start.

GCW “LONG. LIVE. GCW”, 22/09/2023
Turbinenhalle 2, Oberhausen, Germany

1. Shigehiro Irie defeated Arez with the Beast Bomber (9:20).

The WTTF weekend also featured shows promoted by GCW as part of their September European tour. Only Irie was on the first of two GCW shows that weekend where he beat the luchador Arez. Normally I wouldn’t include entries for Irie by himself but since he was RENEGADES affiliated for the weekend, I’m adding it here.

FREELANCE “ONCE UPON A TIME IN FREELANCE”, 22/09/2023
Avondale Music Hall, Chicago, Illinois, USA

1. Shoko Nakajima defeated Shazza McKenzie with the Diving Senton (12:19).

Nakajima did a quick trip to the United States near the end of the month. Her first stop was at Freelance where she got over big with the crowd during her win against Shazza McKenzie. Nakajima’s quickness and ability to hit the 619 from any height near the ropes were the key to victory here.

WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2023 – NIGHT 2”, 23/09/2023
Turbinenhalle 2, Oberhausen, Germany

1. World Tag Team Festival 2023 – Round 2: Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase defeated Takuya Nomura & Fuminori Abe when Irie pinned Abe with a Roaring Elbow (16:14).

RENEGADES weren’t the only Japanese team taking part in WTTF weekend. Takuya Nomura & Fuminori Abe from Astronauts were there too! The two team crossed paths in Night 2 where the winners would advance to Sunday’s final.

GCW “GCW VS THE WORLD”, 23/09/2023
Turbinenhalle 2, Oberhausen, Germany

1. Scramble Match: Gringo Loco defeated Mizuki Watase, The Rotation, Arez, Jimmy Lloyd and Aigle Blanc when Loco pinned Blanc with the Base Bomb (11:46).
2. Joey Janela defeated Shigehiro Irie with the Diving Foot Stomp (17:19).

Irie was in GCW again for their other show in Germany, losing to Joey Janela in the main event. Watase also showed up by taking part in one of GCW’s staples, the Scramble Match. Watase hit a big dive and also the Coast To Coast Dropkick but otherwise got lost in the action and did not factor into the finish.

WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2023 – NIGHT 3”, 24/09/2023
Turbinenhalle 2, Oberhausen, Germany

1. wXw World Tag Team Titles – World Tag Team Festival 2023 Final 3 Way Match: Hektor Invictus & Dennis Dullnig defeated Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman (c) and Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase (23:13).
*Amboss fails in V1. Hektor Invictus & Dennis Dullnig become the 64th wXw World Tag Team Champions!

RENEGADES made it all the way to the final. Had Irie & Watase won the match and the tournament they would have become the new wXw Tag Champions. Sadly for them they couldn’t pull it off. Instead Hektor Invictus & Dennis Dullnig were the winners, taking the titles away from the defending champions Amboss.

PRESTIGE “THE RESPECT ISSUE”, 24/09/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Trish Adora defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Lariat Tubman (9:51).

Nakajima’s other US booking this month was with Prestige at the Globe Theatre, the same location TJPW will return to this December. Trish Adora was a tougher opponent for her and kicked out of the Northern Lights Suplex. Just when Nakajima thought he had another shot, she was caught off guard and pinned with the Lariat Tubman.

JFC “JINGWU TAN JFC EXOTIC FIGHTING EXHIBITION 2”, 30/09/2023
Rucker Park, Chaoyang, Shanghai, China

1. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Maki Itoh defeated Yuki Aino with the Itoh Deluxe (?:??).
2. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Mizuki defeated Nao Kakuta with the Cutie Special (?:??).

TJPW sent four of their wrestlers over to China for a martial arts expo taking place in Shanghai. They would be presenting two women’s pro wrestling matches to go along with a bunch of other martial art bouts provided by other groups. It is not the first time joshi wrestling has been part of the event. The same organizers had Sareee and Nanae Takahashi wrestle for them during the first expo in the summer. After a lot of searching through Chinese social media I was able to find a clip of Mizuki beating Nao Kakuta and Itoh locking in the Itoh Deluxe on Yuki Aino.

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Upcoming Appearances

AEW “WRESTLEDREAM”, 01/10/2023
Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington, USA

1. Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi Vs Sammy Guevara, Will Ospreay & Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis)

Takeshita has spent the rest of the month either standing to the side Don Callis or wrestling back in Japan for DDT. Oh and he also invaded Kota Ibushi’s gym, attacking him with a kettlebell (and also getting Yumehito Imanari caught in the crossfire) because Callis understands how much Ibushi means to Omega. The big payoff it is leading to will happen later today when The Golden Lovers & Chris Jericho join forces to get revenge on The Don Callis Family. Takeshita is part of that family teaming with Sammy Guevara (newest member) and Will Ospreay (not a member). It is annoying to see what looked like a big push for Takeshita turn into him getting pushed aside so Jericho, Guevara and Ospreay can all squeeze into the spotlight instead.

WARRIOR “WARRIOR WRESTLING 31”, 06/10/2023
Bendix Arena, South Bend, Indiana, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Storm Grayson (w/ Frank The Clown)

One of the few American indies Takeshita wrestles for when he’s not busy with AEW is Warrior Wrestling. The next time he shows up there he takes on one of Frank The Clown’s clients, Storm Grayson.

SPARK “RISING HEAT WEST”, 11/10/2023
LA Dojo, Carson, California, USA

1. Spark Joshi World Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Billie Starkz

A familiar opponent challenges Yamashita for the Spark Joshi Title. She has a 1-1 singles record against Billi Starkz so this championship bout can also end up becoming a rubber match between the two.

SPARK “RISING HEAT EAST”, 14/10/2023
Engelwood Neighborhood Center, Orlando, Florida, USA

1. Miu Watanabe Vs KiLynn King
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs Jessie

A few days later Yamashita takes on Jessie, the former Jessi Kamea from NXT. That’s an interesting matchup because since leaving WWE, Jessie wound up doing a tour in Stardom. So we have a TJPW Vs Stardom match on a Spark show.

But Yamashita won’t be the only Tokyo Joshi there. Miu Watanabe is along for the ride too! She is getting to fight KiLynn King from Impact in what is sure to be a hoss fight. Or a hossette fight? Whatever, two strong women are going to fight each other. What more do you want?

LLL “THE HANDS OF FATE”, 20/10/2023
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Lilith Grimm Vs Miyu Yamashita

Are there Lucha Libra & Laughs to be found when Yamashita pays another visit to Denver? Her opponent Lilith Grimm is nicknamed “The War Hammer” and does an entrance where she sets off sparks with a grinder.

SETUP “SETUP EP.16”, 28/10/2023
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. Gatoh Move One And Only Title & SETUP Thailand Openweight Title: Paksa (G/c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi (S/c)
2. Dramatic Dream Match: Chris Brookes Vs Monomoth

Whenever CDK goes over to Thailand and shows up in SETUP they tend to take over the place. One of the local faces Monomoth tries his best to defend his home but Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi find ways to get the better of him. Monomoth now gets to fight Brookes in a big singles match the next time Brookes heads over.

Meanwhile Takanashi has been ruling the roost in SETUP as the SETUP Openweight Champion. He can increase his domination when he has a double title match against Paksa. Takanashi puts his SETUP Title on the line while Paksa is defending a Gatoh Move branded championship called the One And Only Title.

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

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that nobody in The Lucha Brothers gets injured, company politics do not keep Takeshita and Shun Skywalker away from each other and Vampiro does not show up with La Rebelion.

DAIKAIJU PRO “VOL. 1 – THE KAPPAS WALK AMONG US”, 04/11/2023
White Eagle, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

1. Shoko Nakajima Vs X

Something new and monstrous is coming out of Massachusetts. Daikaiju Pro is holding their debut show and seems to have deep ties with SETUP and also the UMA Corps. The new promotion is promising a mixture of talent coming in to mix around with monsters and other strange creatures. A show like these requires a Big Kaiju so Nakajima will be there.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO/PRESTIGE “COMBAT PRINCESS USA”, 14/12/2023
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

Miu Watanabe has been added to the lineup.

PANDEMONIUM PRO “HOLIDAY IN LA”, 17/12/2023
Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Mike Bailey Vs Miyu Yamashita

Yeah this do quite nicely. Pandemonium Pro is doing Yamashita against Mike Bailey in a first time ever matchup.

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Other Appearances

GCW “SAY YOU WILL”, 01/09/2023
Grand Sports Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA

Itoh did not wrestle on the first GCW show of the month. Instead she showed up to attack Frank The Clown with a pizza cutter much to everyone’s delight.

DDT Around The World – October 2022

October was a lighter month for DDT related matches from around the world but there is the news of DDT returning to America next year making up for it. The month has mostly been Shota continuing his excursion of the most obscure American indies I ever heard of while Joey Janela’s been defending the DDT Extreme Title and ended up getting himself his own Triple Crown of independent hardcore championships. Konosuke Takeshita is back in America but kept out of the public eye all month. Whether it’s to acclimate to his new home or just taking a well earned rest remains to be seen. Until his reemerges the monthly column will continue to focus on Shota and the Tokyo Joshi Pro talent working abroad. Oh, and Miyu Yamashita made a new friend.

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Videos

Video starts at 22:33 for the match
PWF “LIVEWIRE 19”, 01/10/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Shota Suzuki Vs Dante Leon

Video starts at 23:52 for the match
JCW “JCW VS THE WORLD”, 09/10/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Shota Vs Steve Scott

RCW “WORLD CUP 3”, 22/10/2022
Casinet d’Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

1. World Cup 3 – Round 1: Sara Leon Vs Maya Yukihi

RCW “WORLD CUP 3”, 22/10/2022
Casinet d’Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

2. RCW World Women’s Title – World Cup 3 – Final – 3 Way Match: Aurora Vs Maya Yukihi Vs Nightshade

RCW “WORLD CUP 3”, 22/10/2022
Casinet d’Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

3. Miyu Yamashita Vs Millie McKenzie

MPX “FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS”, 22/10/2022
MPX Event Center, Bedford, Texas, USA

1. Shota Suzuki Vs Phil Shark

NEW TEXAS PRO “TEXAS CONTENDERS SERIES 7”, 27/10/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Clay Roberts Vs Shota Suzuki

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Results

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

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (3) defeated Axel Tischer & Eric Young (0) when Takanashi & Brookes pinned Tischer with the Hair Of The Dog (12:12).
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman (3) defeated Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie (0) when Dreissker pinned Abe with the Dreissker Bomb (15:57).

The first day of the month was a busy one. It began in Germany where wXw hosted the opening day of the World Tag Team Festival. Our boys CDK started off the group stage hot by beating SAnitY with their tricky tag team stylings. Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie found themselves with opposite fortunes, losing to Amboss in the semi-main event.

PWF “LIVEWIRE 19”, 01/10/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Shota Suzuki defeated Dante Leon with a Crucifix Pin (?:??).

Shota gets his first win in America! It came real close though. Dante Leon had him beaten with a Swanton Bomb onto Shota’s back while Shota was bent over. But a lackadaisical cover allowed Shota to slip Leon into a Crucifix Pin for the surprise three count. There was good sportsmanship shown with a handshake afterwards.

WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 02/10/2022
Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie (3) defeated Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku (3) when Abe submitted Ku with the Manjigatame (15:07).
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Senza Volto & Aigle Blanc (3) defeated Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (3) when Blanc pinned Takanashi with the Tombstone Piledriver (17:58).

Day 2 of the WTTF saw Abe & Irie more than make up for their defeat the previous day. They went to war against Violence Is Forever. Poor Kevin Ku was busted open from a massive Headbutt given to him by Abe. Irie then smashed the guy with the Beast Bomber and Abe twisted him into submission with the Manjigatame. CDK suffered a setback by losing to The Frenchadors. A Moonsault out of the ring from Senza Volto wiped out Chris Brookes. That meant nobody was there to save Masahiro Takanashi from being pinned by Aigle Blanc’s Tombstone.

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

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Prince Ahura & Maggot (4) Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (4) ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie (6) defeated Nikita Charisma & Michael Schenkenberg (3) when Abe submitted Charisma with the Manjigatame (10:38).

The last night ended bittersweet for both teams. CDK went to a time limit draw with The Pretty Bastards while Abe & Irie beat the team known as Rot Und Flott. While those are not bad results, neither was enough for our teams to qualify for the final and fight for the wXw World Tag Team Titles.

GCW “FIGHT CLUB 2022 – NIGHT 1”, 08/10/2022
Garden Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Effy defeated Shota with the Sack Ryder (4:34).

Shota made his big debut under the bright lights of GCW during one of their biggest nights of the year. It should have been taking place at The Showboat in Atlantic City but a double booking snafu led to the show being held outdoors on the boardwalk nearby instead. Shota’s time in the ring with Effy was short and sweet with Effy getting his hand raised in victory at the end.

JCW “JCW VS THE WORLD”, 09/10/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Steve Scott defeated Shota with a Rope Assisted Fire Thunder Driver (7:23).

The next afternoon the GCW show was held inside the proper venue along with their spinoff promotion JCW. Unfortunately for him his opponent Steve Scott seemed to have an answer for everything that was thrown at him. He even took selfies while putting Shota in holds. Scott threw away Shota’s Tornado DDT then lifted him up into a Fireman’s Carry. From there Scott draped Shota’s legs over the top rope and dropped him with the Fire Thunder Driver for the win.

GCW “FIGHT CLUB 2022 – NIGHT 2”, 09/10/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. GCW Extreme Title & DDT Extreme Title: Joey Janela (DDT/c) defeated Cole Radrick (GCW/c) with a Cradle (15:42).
*V4 for Joey Janela. Cole Radrick fails in V8. Joey Janela becomes the 9th GCW Extreme Champion!

The working relationship between DDT and GCW has been growing throughout the month, hidden in plain sight while people in GCW have been constantly trolling wrestling news sites over rumours of GCW having connections to WWE. Janela is a focal point of both but let’s focus on the DDT stuff. He beat Cole Radrick in his 4th DDT Extreme Title defence and also won the GCW Extreme Title in the process. It was a wild match with chairs and doors getting broken everywhere. Radrick gave Janela a Superplex but Janela cradled him up on impact to get the three count out of nowhere.

VANGUARDIA/GCW “DEATHMATCH ELITE POR SIEMPRE PT. 2”, 14/10/2022
Deportivo 11 de Julio, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico

1. Vanguardia Extraordinario Title & DDT Extreme Title – 4 Way Match: Joey Janela (DDT/c) defeated Jimmy (V/c), Adrenalina and Calibus when Janela pinned Adrenalina with a Diving Foot Stomp through a Barb Wire Board (15:00).
*V5 for Joey Janela? Joey Janela becomes the 2nd Vanguardia Extraordinario Champion!

At the time of writing DDT has not yet acknowledged if this was an official Extreme Title defence. GCW went over to Mexico for a co-promoted show with Lucha Libre Vanguardia. During the show Janela put the Extreme Title on the line in a 4 Way Match with the Vanguardia Extraordinario Title also on the line. A barb wire board was the main weapon used in the match and Janela Double Stomped it on top of Adrenalina to win the match, taking the belt from the champion Jimmy without every beating him directly.

MSW “20 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE”, 15/10/2022
Fairgrounds Indoor Building, Harrison, Arkansas, USA

1. Shota Vs Phil Shark

You never know who these wrestlers will bump into or what stories they can discover while working overseas. Take Phil Shark for example. This American wrestler is only 22 years old and he hasn’t been wrestling for long. However he spent time training in Japan for 2AW and was briefly a ringside attendant at their shows. Shota seems to like the guy after fighting him at a Mid-States Wrestling show and hopes some of the wrestling promotions in Japan will take notice of him.

RCW “WORLD CUP 3”, 22/10/2022
Casinet d’Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

1. World Cup 3 – Round 1: Maya Yukihi defeated Sara Leon with a Jumping Knee (?:??).
2. RCW World Women’s Title – World Cup 3 – Final – 3 Way Match: Nightshade defeated Aurora and Maya Yukihi when Nightshade pinned Yukihi with the Neck Hanging Bomb (?:??).
*Nightshade becomes the 1st RCW World Women’s Champion!
3. Millie McKenzie defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Regal Plex (?:??).

I think this show was overshadowed by the story of Yamashita hanging out with Sasha Banks while they were both in Spain. Anyway, Yamashita had her first match against Millie McKenzie but came out on the losing end of it. Meanwhile Maya Yukihi was part of a tournament to crown RCW’s new women’s champion. She made it to the final but was pinned by Nightshade. So close yet so far.

MPX “FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS”, 22/10/2022
MPX Event Center, Bedford, Texas, USA

1. Phil Shark defeated Shota Suzuki with the Deadliest Catch (9:38).

Shota’s appearance for Metroplex Wrestling had him act as a heel which was unlike his previous matches on his excursion. It gave Shark the spotlight to be the hero and he beat Shota with a Twisting Death Valley Driver.

NEW TEXAS PRO “TEXAS CONTENDERS SERIES 7”, 27/10/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Clay Roberts defeated Shota with a Small Package (?:??).

Still in Texas, Shota had a match with Clay Roberts in New Texas Pro that had both on their social media afterwards full of happiness over their performances. It’s also been receiving praise from others who saw it. Unfortunately Roberts made sure to spoil the ending by giving Shota a Low Blow while the ref’s back was turned.

GLORY PRO “THE RELENTLESS”, 30/10/2022
South Broadway Athletic Club, St. Louis, USA

1. STL Vs The World Showcase: Benjamin Trust, ATM & Moses defeated Shota, GPA & Crash Jaxon when Moses submitted GPA with a Crab Hold (?:??).

Shota’s month ended with a trip to St. Louis for Glory Pro. He was part of a worldwide trio taking on three wrestlers representing St. Louis. He came out on the losing side.

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Upcoming Appearances

MPW “NIGHT FALL”, 04/11/2022
Nordhoff PL, Chatsworth, California, USA

1. Dustin Daniels Vs Shota

Shota is pleased with his excursion so far. He’s been getting plenty of bookings to keep him active and is building up more friendships and connections around the wrestling scene. Next up for him in November is a return to Millennium Pro Wrestling for a match against Dustin Daniels.

LEVEL UP “BLINDING LIGHTS”, 05/11/2022
Attitude Brewing Company, San Diego, California, USA

1. Triple Threat Match: Hunter Freeman Vs Fabrizio Vs Shota

A Triple Threat match awaits Shota when he goes to San Diego for the Level Up Pro Wrestling School. One of his opponents is Fabrizio who trained at the school. The other is “The Backwoods Brawler” Hunter Freeman. That guy has been getting attention in GCW with his death match efforts this year.

ROW “FALL FURY”, 12/11/2022
Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA

1. Shota Vs X

Shota will be part of the next Reality Of Wrestling TV taping.

EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM V – SHOW 1”, 13/11/2022
229 The Venue, London, England

1. EVE Tag Team Titles: Rhia O’Reilly & Skye Smitson (c) Vs Hyper Misao & Session Moth
2. EVE Title No. 1 Contender Match: Millie McKenzie Vs Miyu Yamashita

Uh oh. Hyper Misao’s match at EVE is a big one because she gets to challenge for the EVE Tag Team Titles. It’s a chance for a TJPW wrestler to do one better than The Uprising and take the other promotion’s tag titles. However an even bigger wild card is thrown in the mix with Session Moth Martina as Misao’s tag partner!

EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM V – SHOW 2”, 13/11/2022
229 The Venue, London, England

1. Hyper Misao Vs X
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs X

Whatever matches Yamashita and Misao will do on the second show most likely depends on what the results of the first show are. If both of them lose on the first show then don’t be surprised if they are put in the same match on the second show, maybe even against each other.

JCW “SERIES OF SURVIVALS”, 19/11/2022
Boonton Elks Lodge, Boonton, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Janai Kai

Back to the GCW circle where Maki Itoh returns. She’s popping up at JCW too for a first time match against Janai Kai.

WRESTLERAVE “IN YOUR WAREHOUSE”, 19/11/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. WrestleRave Title: Aaron Mercer (c) Vs Shota

Can Shota win his first American wrestling championship?

GCW “AURA”, 20/11/2022
Fete Music Hall, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs Masha Slamovich

It’s been a breakout year for Masha Slamovich. Breaking through Itoh’s hard head might be her toughest test yet.

SPW “ASTRONOMICAL ANNIVERSARY – DAY 1”, 24/11/2022
Foochow Building, Singapore

1. SPW Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Da Butcherman & Dr. Gore

CDK have some dates in Singapore coming up. Two of them is for Singapore Pro Wrestling as they are holding a two day event to celebrate their 9 year anniversary. They have a SPW Tag Team Championship match against The Horrors. I cannot tell if these are existing tag championships, new ones or if the belts are vacant.

SPW “ASTRONOMICAL ANNIVERSARY – DAY 2”, 25/11/2022
Foochow Building, Singapore

1. Chris Brookes Vs X
2. SPW Southeast Asia Title – 4 Way Match: Aiden Rex (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi Vs Andruew Tang Vs Tajiri

Takanashi is in the main event 4 Way Match for the SPW Southeast Asia Title on Day 2. The champion right now is Aiden Rex but he is also defending the title on Day 1. The other challengers involved are former multi-time champion Andruew Tang and Tajiri.

Brookes is looking for an opponent and put out an open challenge for Day 2.

LLL “POD SIX WAS JERKS!”, 25/11/2022
The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA

1. Shota Vs Austin Reddick

So there’s an Oriental Theater in Denver hosting a Lucha Libre & Laughs wrestling event? Quite the mixture there. Shota takes on Austin Reddick over there and the show also has Max The Impaler on it.

GRAPPLE MAX “GOLD STANDARD”, 03/12/2022
GymKraft, Tampines Street, Singapore

1. Masahiro Takanashi Vs X

Takanashi will also be at Grapple MAX’s 6th anniversary show.

APAC “RISE”, 10/12/2022
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1. APAC Women’s Title Tournament – Round 1: Maki Itoh Vs X
2. APAC Women’s Title Tournament – Round 1: Yuki Kamifuku Vs X

Malaysia in December sounds nice. Itoh and Yuki Kamifuku will be heading over there to compete in a tournament held by APAC Wrestling. It will be a four woman tournament also featuring former NXT wrestler Steph De Lander and Nor “Phoenix” Diana. This will be Kamifuku’s first time wrestling outside of Japan.

APAC “RISE”, 11/12/2022
Malaysia

1. APAC Women’s Title Tournament – Final: X Vs X

The winner of the tournament will be crowned the first APAC Women’s Champion!

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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Athena

Now here’s a heavy hitting match! Prestige is hosting Yamashita against Athena! Yamashita is undefeated in Prestige and will look to continue her winning streak over there. January of next year looks so far away.

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

The biggest news of all in October is DDT heading back to America! They are coming to Los Angeles during WrestleMania weekend as part of The Collective. That is GCW’s collaborative series of events with other indies. It is DDT’s first show in America since their New York show in 2019.

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

If that’s not enough, there’s a show the next day pitting DDT wrestlers against GCW wrestlers. While GCW does have a regular core roster they could have anybody showing up repping their colours on the day.

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Cancelled Appearances

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

1. King Of Indies 2022: Konosuke Takeshita Vs X

Well so much for that. Takeshita has been pulled from the big King Of Indies tournament. It’s taking place the same day as AEW’s big PPV “FULL GEAR”. Hopefully there is something being planned for him there because I was really looking forward to seeing how he would have fared in this tournament.

DDT Around The World – September 2022

The international adventures of the extended DDT family is a little bit different this month compared to our previous reports. Konosuke Takeshita was back in Japan all last month, Shota completed the first month of his US excursion, the DDT Extreme Title went over there too in Joey Janela’s luggage and there were no AEW bookings in America for the usual crew. Instead Europe was a bigger focus by the end of the month with CDK and others heading over to England. Things will ramp back up in October with Takeshita heading back to the US for almost the rest of this year while Shota continues to get bookings in the underrated Texas territory of the independents along with other places. By the time November comes along it will probably take me a solid week to get these posts ready.

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Videos

Video starts at 18:59 for the match
MPW “ENDANGERED”, 02/09/2022
Nordhoff PL, Chatsworth, California, USA

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

Video starts at 47:25 for the match
PWF “ENDANGERED”, 03/09/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. JJ Blake Vs Shota Suzuki

Video starts at 39:18 for the match
JCW “UNCENSORED”, 10/09/2022
Boonton Elks Lodge, Boonton, New Jersey, USA

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

Video starts at 6:11 for the match
ROW “TEXAS GOLD RUSH”, 10/09/2022
Booker T World Gym Arena, Texas City, Texas, USA

1. Shota Vs Ayden Cristiano

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

1. Maki Itoh Vs Gisele Shaw

Video starts at 1:54:00 for the match
FRONTLINE PRO “A NIGHT FOR TYLER V”, 24/09/2022
Bakerville Bar And Grill, Marshfield, Wisconsin, USA

1. Shota Vs Ragnar The Ruthless

Video starts at 0:21 for Match #1. Go to 1:32:55 for Match #2
MDRN NMD “I SPELL F-L-Y”, 29/09/2022
The Bread Shed, Grosvenor St., Manchester, England

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

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Results

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

1. Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade defeated Rayne Leverkusen & Harley Hudson when O’Reilly pinned Leverkusen after a Double Elevated DDT (9:40).
2. International Princess Title: Alex Windsor (c) defeated Hikari Noa with the GTF (14:41).
*V1 for Alex Windsor.

The month started off with Hikari Noa travelling to Camden Town in London, England. She was there for an EVE show and wanted to take the International Princess Title back to Japan. That did not work out. Instead Alex Windsor was too high a wall for her to climb over and Noa had to leave England empty handed. Windsor will be back in Tokyo Joshi Pro for “WRESTLE PRINCESS III” next month.

The Uprising won their match to get a trip to Japan for TJPW. Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade promised they are coming to Japan to crush whoever is thrown their way. TJPW took their words as them challenging Reiwa AA Cannon for the Princess Tag Team Titles at “WRESTLE PRINCESS III”.

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

1. Triple Threat Match: J2 Mattioli defeated Darwin Finch and Shota when Mattioli pinned Shota with an Elbow Strike (?:??).

The American excursion for Shota kicked off in California for Millenium Pro Wrestling and he was so close to starting his stay with a win. Shota had Darwin Finch pinned with the Frog Splash when J2 Mattioli struck him in the back of the head with an Elbow Smash. That was a knockout blow and it was Shota who ended up having his shoulders pinned for the three count.

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

1. JJ Blake defeated Shota Suzuki with the Hollywood & Vine (?:??).

The next day Shota travelled over to Houston, Texas where he will be spending a lot of time during his excursion. It was another loss for Shota as his Premier Wrestling Federation with JJ Blake ended with him getting pinned with a Rock Bottom. It was under fairer circumstances because the finish was set up by Blake catching Shota’s Diving Cross Body and rolling him into position for his finisher.

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

1. DDT Extreme Title & 6 Pack Of PBR – 2 Ring Ladder Scramble Match: Joey Janela (c) defeated Mike Bailey, Tony Deppen, Cole Radrick, Drago Kid, Gringo Loco, Dante Leon and Shane Mercer when Janela pinned Deppen with a Diving Elbow from the Ladder (18:26).
*V1 for Joey Janela.

Joey Janela has the DDT Extreme Title with him in America and he got DDT to endorse a few title defences while he is over there. The first one was a complete gamble because he put the title on the line in GCW against seven other wrestlers in a two ring ladder match. The one advantage with this is everybody destroys each other by the end so there comes a point where nobody can stop you. Janela found that moment and remained champion among all the chaos.

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

1. DDT Extreme Title – Bodyslam Challenge Match: Joey Janela (c) defeated Beastman with the Body Slam through a Door (13:17).
*V2 for Joey Janela.

The following week was a lot more calmer atmosphere for Janela but still a very painful experience. He had to figure out how to Body Slam a big opponent like Beastman in JCW. Janela found his opening when the two found themselves standing on the turnbuckles. Janela struck Beastman with a large bone that Beastman brought with him to the ring. Janela then used the leverage of the turnbuckles to Body Slam his opponent through a door placed over some chairs in the middle of the ring to be declared the winner.

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

1. Ayden Cristiano defeated Shota with a Modified Stretch (?:??).

The numbers game went against Shota for his return to ROW. Members of La Familia interfered in the match and aided Ayden Cristiano in beating Shota by submission.

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

1. Maki Itoh defeated Gisele Shaw with the I.S.D (13:23).

Canada got the full Maki Itoh experience with her first visit to the country. She got a big win over there too by beating Impact’s own Gisele Shaw.

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

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Trish Adora with the Skull Kick (14:04).
2. Sandra Moone defeated Maki Itoh with the Moone’s Landing (10:26).

The next day Itoh met up with Miyu Yamashita in America for their latest Prestige appearances. Itoh was given a big spot with a semi-main event match against Sandra Moone. After a heavy back and forth fight, Moone used a Gutwrench Driver to spike Itoh onto the canvas and grab the win.

Earlier in the show Yamashita fought Trish Adora in a highly anticipated match up that’s been receiving high praise from those who have seen it. Seek it out when you can.

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

1. JP Harlow defeated Shota with the Freedom Bomb (?:??).

Shota still hasn’t gotten a win yet during his American stay. Some of it could be down to bad luck but here in Mission Pro it was because JP Harlow cheated to win.

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

1. Ragnar The Ruthless defeated Shota with the TKO (?:??).

I couldn’t find the result for this match. I’ll update the post if I ever do.

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

1. Shigehiro Irie defeated Gene Munny with the Beast Bomber (6:18).
2. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Kid Lykos & Kid Lykos II (19:15).

Home sweet home for Chris Brookes. His last match in England was over two and a half years ago. So much has happened since then. His CCK teammate Kid Lykos went and got another tag partner, turning Joe Nelson into Kid Lykos II. So PROGRESS went and booked CDK against Lykos Gym for Brookes’ big return to the promotion. Masahiro Takanashi ended up seeing a whole lot of his buddy’s past this week.

Meanwhile Shigehiro Irie is sticking around the same general area as CDK during his stay in Europe. He’s taking pretty much the same bookings as them while they are over in this part of the world. His return to PROGRESS ended with a win over Gene Munny, although I heard the allegedly prestigious Gene Munny Championship was not on the line.

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

1. Masahiro Takanashi defeated Luke Jacobs (10:11).
2. PROGRESS Atlas Title: Big Damo (c) defeated Shigehiro Irie (8:18).
*V1 for Big Damo.
3. No DQ Match: Kid Lykos defeated Chris Brookes (17:44).

Two days later saw PROGRESS host what is being described by their fans as one of the most memorable matches in the promotion’s recent history. Brookes and Lykos faced off in a singles match that became a violent No DQ bout. Lykos ended up fighting the end to the match with his mask ripped apart and barely hanging off him but he didn’t care about fighting with his face fully exposed. It was an emotional scene when Lykos ended up winning and whatever bad blood that developed between the two was all swept away once the match was over.

Irie got a chance to win the PROGRESS Atlas Title, the promotion’s championship that is fought exclusively in the heavyweight division. He took on the new champion from Northern Ireland, Big Damo who just won the belt a few days earlier.

Takanashi had something to do too. He beat the previous Atlas Champion Luke Jacobs early in the card.

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

1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated LK Mezinger & Splits McPins when Brookes pinned Mezinger after the Praying Mantis Bomb & Super Kick Combo (?:??).
2. Dan Moloney defeated Shigehiro Irie (?:??).

All of the drama and seriousness of the PROGRESS matches called for a needed change of pace for our crew. Modern Nomad Pro Wrestling was just the tonic they were looking for. CDK split apart Bowl-A-Rama but Irie suffered an upset loss against Dan Moloney.

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

1. Fuminori Abe defeated Masha Slamovich with the Manjigatame (10:22).
2. Shigehiro Irie defeated Peter Tihanyi with the Beast Bomber (11:57).

This result is coming in hot, right before I finished the complete article and had it ready to post. Shigehiro Irie’s weekend in Germany began with a win against Peter Tihanyi.

According to reports on Twitter, there was a spot in the Masha Slamovich Vs Fuminori Abe match where Abe punched a wall. He has at least three more matches this weekend!

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Upcoming Appearances

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

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie Vs Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Axel Tischer & Eric Young Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi

The World Tag Team Festival lineup is completed and CDK have three teams all completely different from each other to go against. The opening day sees them against a SAnitY reunion! Eric Young is heading over to Germany to team with Axel Tischer, formerly known in WWE as Alexander Wolfe. Meanwhile Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie takes on longtime wXw wrestlers “Avalanche” Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman, together known as Amboss. Irie has fought both of them in the past while Abe has been in the ring with just Dreissker.

PWF “LIVEWIRE”, 01/10/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. Shota Suzuki Vs Dante Leon

Houston, Texas is Shota’s home away from home during his American stay. It’s a bit of a CyberFight crossover here because Dante Leon wrestled in NOAH recently.

WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 02/10/2022
Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Senza Volto & Aigle Blanc
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku Vs Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie

Day 2 in wXw sees Abe & Irie meeting Violence Is Forever for the first time. Expect all four wrestlers to beat the hell out of each other in that one. Brookes & Takanashi will have a very different change of pace when they face The Frenchadors. The two masked wrestlers Senza Volto & Aigle Blanc could not be any more different from SAnitY.

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

1. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group B: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie Vs Nikita Charisma & Michael Schenkenberg
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Group A: Prince Ahura & Maggot Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi

The final block matches has both teams taking on wXw regulars. CDK’s opponents Pretty Bastards are the previous winners of the WTTF held back in 2019. Prince Ahura & Maggot are accomplished singles wrestlers in their own right too with Maggot currently holding the wXw Shotgun Title. Abe & Irie’s final group match is against Rot Und Flott, the reigning wXw World Tag Team Champions. As the current title holders that makes Nikita Charisma & Michael Schenkenberg early favorites to win the tournament.

JCW “JCW VS THE WORLD”, 09/10/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Shota Vs Steve Scott

Shota makes his JCW debut. His opponent “2Hot” Steve Scott is a JCW regular with some GCW appearances scattered around here and there.

RCW “WORLD CUP 3”, 22/10/2022
Casinet d’Hostafrancs, Barcelona, Spain

1. World Cup 3: Maya Yukihi Vs X
2. Miyu Yamashita Vs Millie McKenzie

Over in Spain, RCW are holding a women’s wrestling tournament filled with talent around the world. Maya Yukihi is an entrant representing Japan. Nightshade is taking part as the UK entry. Miyu Yamashita will also be on the show but she is scheduled for a non-tournament match. Now, right before I was about to post this article, I saw RCW’s tweet about Millie McKenzie being on the show as Yamashita’s opponent. If it’s a one-on-one match the timing of that is convenient because…

EVE “WRESTLE QUEENDOM V – SHOW 1”, 13/11/2022
229 The Venue, London, England

1. Hyper Misao Vs X
2. EVE Title No. 1 Contender Match: Millie McKenzie Vs Miyu Yamashita

The return of Millie McKenzie without restrictions to the British wrestling scene after NXT UK’s closure wasted no time in becoming newsworthy. She made an unexpected appearance at the “THURSDAY NIGHT RIOT” show and after her match was finished, it was announced she will take on Miyu Yamashita in November! It was then later revealed the match will determine the No. 1 Contender for the EVE Title. EVE are splitting “WRESTLE QUEENDOM V” into two shows, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. The Millie Vs Miyu match will be on the afternoon show. Hyper Misao’s match has not been announced yet so she could be on either shows, if not both.

WRESTLERAVE “IN YOUR WAREHOUSE”, 19/11/2022
Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas, USA

1. WrestleRave Title: Aaron Mercer (c) Vs Shota

WrestleRave is a young promotion that’s been running out of the Houston Premier Arena for just over a year. Shota has a chance to become the promotion’s second ever champion if he can beat Aaron Mercer.

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

1. King Of Indies 2022: Konosuke Takeshita Vs X

Konosuke Takeshita made have to run through a growing killer lineup if he wants to win the King Of Indies tournament. Katsuhiko Nakajima is the latest Japanese name entering the tournament while luchador Viento won a qualifying match to earn a spot. I’m hearing there’s been a recent groundswell in support for Titus Alexander to win too.

DDT Around The World – July 2022

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

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Videos

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

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Alex Windsor

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

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

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

1. Eddie Kingston Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Video starts at 2:46:15 for the match
JCW “THE GREAT AMERICAN BIRTHDAY BASH”, 10/07/2022
Phil Sheridan Building, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Cole Radrick

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/07/2022
Enmarket Arena, Savannah, Georgia, USA

1. Interim AEW World Title Eliminator Match: Jon Moxley Vs Konosuke Takeshita

PRESTIGE “NONSTOP FEELING”, 22/07/2022
Hawthorne Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Kevin Blackwood

GARDEN STATE PRO “WELCOME TO EDEN”, 23/07/2022
The Heart Ballroom, Newark, USA

1. 3 Way Match: Billie Starkz Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Janai Kai

2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Josh Alexander

Video starts at 47:53 for the match
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 25/07/2022
Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs JD Drake

AEW “DYNAMITE ~ FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN”, 27/07/2022
DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

1. AEW Women’s World Title: Thunder Rosa (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

Video starts at 54:10 for Match #1. Go to 1:45:55 for Match #2
SETUP “SETUP EP.8”, 30/07/2022
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. Hoshitango Vs Bital Hasdin
2. Asia Dream Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Terry Diesel & Monomoth

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Results

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

1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Alex Windsor with the Skull Kick (15:28).

We start off in Spain where Yamashita travelled over to wrestle for RCW. She was the big draw of the show with the event’s name being a combination of her and the album “Motomami” by Rosalía. She took on Alex Windsor a week before Windsor went on to win the International Princess Title over in Japan.

PWG “NINETEEN”, 03/07/2022
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA

1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Masha Slamovich (9:22).
2. PWG World Title: Daniel Garcia (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita (23:19).
*V1 for Daniel Garcia.

July turned out to be a rocky patch for Takeshita in the win-loss department. He got to fight for the PWG World Title against Daniel Garcia but couldn’t win the belt from him. Yuka Sakazaki had a better night, winning the first women’s match held in PWG in over a decade against Masha Slamovich. She left quite the impression on everyone for sure.

AEW “RAMPAGE”, 06/07/2022 (Aired 08/07/2022)
Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York, USA

1. Eddie Kingston defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Spinning Backfist (11:56).

Eddie Kingston made it no secret his dream is to wrestle Jun Akiyama some day. Akiyama passed down the Jumping Knee Strike to Takeshita so this match brought Kingston one little step forward toward that goal. The two smashed each other to bits and both were practically done by the time the match was over. It could have ended in a double knockout had Kingston not fallen on top of Takeshita to get the pin.

JCW “THE GREAT AMERICAN BIRTHDAY BASH”, 10/07/2022
Phil Sheridan Building, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Cole Radrick with the Zahi (15:19).

Takeshita and Cole Radrick finally wrestling each other is like when two pen pals meet in person for the first time. To think it all started when Takeshita used Radrick’s move the Lil Sebastian’s Curse 3 years ago.

AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/07/2022
Enmarket Arena, Savannah, Georgia, USA

1. Interim AEW World Title Eliminator Match: Jon Moxley defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Bulldog Choke (13:13).

Takeshita’s biggest match in America so far took place in AEW when he took on one of their biggest stars Jon Moxley! It was a non-title match but a win would have catapulted Takeshita into an automatic shot for the Interim AEW World Title. Unfortunately despite another heavily praised performance, Takeshita ended up submitting to the Bully Choke. It was at this point when Takeshita realised he has not won an AEW match on Dynamite or Rampage yet. He made it his next goal to get “one big win” on TV.

DEFY “THE WORLD IS YOURS NIGHT 1”, 16/07/2022
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Davey Richards (12:33).

Next stop was Seattle for a DEFY doubleshot. In the main event of Night 1 Takeshita beat the veteran journeyman of the indies Davey Richards.

DEFY “THE WORLD IS YOURS NIGHT 2”, 17/07/2022
Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Schaff (10:34).

Then on the second night Takeshita beat Schaff. I’m really low on details about what happened on the DEFY shows at the moment so let’s move on.

AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 20/07/2022 (Aired 25/07/2022)
Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated JD Drake with the Jumping Knee Strike (3:40).

Takeshita has no problem picking up wins on AEW’s Youtube shows. He beat JD Drake in the main event of an episode of Dark Elevation.

TERMINUS “TERMINUS 3”, 21/07/2022
Oasis Event Center, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

1. Jonathan Gresham defeated Konosuke Takeshita by Referee Stoppage with the Modified Octopus Hold (14:55).

Takeshita paid a visit to TERMINUS, the promotion that Jonathan Gresham had been championing while Ring Of Honor was in limbo. The match almost lasted the full 15 minute time limit but the last minute and a half consisted of Gresham locking Takeshita in an Octopus Hold and then finding more ways to torture him. The referee finally called for the bell in the last few seconds, giving Gresham the win. But Takeshita never gave up and even threw an Elbow Strike while in a dazed state right after Gresham let him go. This would not be the last time they were in the ring together this month.

PRESTIGE “NONSTOP FEELING”, 22/07/2022
Hawthorne Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Kevin Blackwood with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (16:55).

Here is where Takeshita started to develop something different. Kevin Blackwood is a pretty tough dude and showed his guts by taking everything Takeshita could throw at him and still kick out of his pins. Takeshita ended up using Radrick’s move the Lil Sebastian’s Curse to finally get the win. Fans want Takeshita to name his version of the move Cinnabomb but he likes the name that Radrick originally gave it.

GARDEN STATE PRO “WELCOME TO EDEN”, 23/07/2022
The Heart Ballroom, Newark, USA

1. 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Billie Starkz and Janai Kai when Yamashita pinned Starkz with the Skull Kick (6:53).
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Josh Alexander ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).

Takeshita did end up getting into a time limit draw against Josh Alexander. It was a non-title match but he left holding his head up high over going the distance against the Impact World Champion. Yamashita was thrown into a hectic 3 Way Match against Billie Starkz and Janai Kai. Those young wrestlers have become two of the more familiar names in women’s wrestling on the American indies. The chaos worked out in Yamashita’s favour when Starkz unintentionally knocked Kai out of the ring, leaving her open for the deadly Skull Kick.

AEW “DYNAMITE ~ FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN”, 27/07/2022
DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

1. AEW Women’s World Title: Thunder Rosa (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Fire Thunder Driver (10:02).
*V5 for Thunder Rosa.

The big reason for Yamashita’s return to America was for this. A shot at the AEW Women’s World Title she earned from beating Thunder Rosa in Tokyo Joshi Pro earlier in the month. The late part of the rematch almost became a mirror of the TJPW bout with the Attitude Adjustment being countered into a Cradle only to get reversed into another one. This time however Rosa kicked out and caught Yamashita with her own High Kick. Rosa then hit her version of the Fire Thunder Driver to avenge the loss and successfully defend the title. Unfortunately it wasn’t a great match. They weren’t on the same page in the first half and although they got back in track with Yamashita’s German Suplex spot, the rest of the match was pretty much a repeat of what they did in TJPW.

BLACK LABEL PRO “THE GANG CROSSES THE LINE”, 29/07/2022
Nashville Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Nick Wayne with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (12:40).

Takeshita ended his month over at the Starrcast convention for two matches. The first took place in Black Label Pro against the highly regarded youngster Nick Wayne. Even though Takeshita won, he was so impressed by Wayne that he passed down his nickname of “The Future” to him!

SETUP “SETUP EP.8”, 30/07/2022
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. Hoshitango defeated Bital Hasdin with the Midnight Buenos Aires (8:34).
2. Asia Dream Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) defeated Terry Diesel & Monomoth when Brookes pinned Monomoth after the Super Kick & Praying Mantis Bomb (23:40).
*V4 for CDK.

Time to go a completely different direction over to Thailand where CDK went off on an adventure. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi were part of a Gatoh Move related group of wrestlers taking part in a SETUP show. CDK successfully defended the Asia Dream Tag Team Titles against two of SETUP’s best in Terry Diesel & Monomoth. Also taking part was Hoshitango. He gave the local super rookie Bital Hasdin his first loss in pro wrestling. There was even a DJ Nira sighting at some point during the show.

JCP “RIC FLAIR’S LAST MATCH”, 31/07/2022
Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

1. PROGRESS World Title #1 Contender – 4 Way Match: Jonathan Gresham defeated Alan Angels, Nick Wayne and Konosuke Takeshita when Gresham pinned Angels with an O’Connor Roll (5:40).

Takeshita was added to the undercard of Ric Flair’s dedicated attempt at turning the final scene of “The Wrestler” into reality. He took part in a 4 Way with previous opponents Gresham and Wayne along with former AEW wrestler Alan Angels.

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Upcoming Appearances

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

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

He couldn’t win the PWG Title so let’s go after the ROH World Title! Takeshita takes on Claudio Castagnoli himself in an absolute whopper of a match on paper. As mentioned above, Takeshita wants his first AEW win on TV to be a big one and this would fit the bill.

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

1. Interstate Title: Mitch Ryder (c) Vs Shota

Here’s an unexpected addition. Shota is gearing up for an American excursion in a few month’s time but this month he is heading over to Australia for a one-off appearance in Wide Bay Pro. He is going to challenge one of their champions Mitch Ryder (not the American one who died two years ago).

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

1. Mizuki Vs Emi Sakura
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Andrew Everett

Back over to the maniac matchmaking of Deadlock Pro. On one of their recent shows Andrew Everett called out Takeshita for a match! If that isn’t enough to tickle your fancy, DPW somehow put together the rare matchup of Mizuki against Emi Sakura! It will be Mizuki’s first ever appearance in America and also Sakura’s first US booking outside of AEW ever since she worked with the company.

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

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Robbie X

Robbie X is a journeyman of the British wrestling scene who seems to be finally breaking through and climbing up the ladder. He is Takeshita’s first opponent when he travels over to England.

GCW “HOMECOMING PART 1”, 13/08/2022
The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

1. Maki Itoh Vs X

That Itoh’s first GCW match hasn’t been announced yet makes me think she’ll be added to a Scramble 6 Way. She’ll have a busy day nonetheless.

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

1. Maki Itoh Vs Billie Starkz

GCW’s sister promotion JCW will be running a show in the same venue afterwards. Itoh is taking part by having a match against Starkz. She got along well with Yamashita. If Itoh takes a liking to her too then maybe a tour of Japan is in Starkz’s future. It will do her a world of good if she ever wants to develop as a pro wrestler.

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

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Dean Allmark

Dean Allmark is another longtime British wrestler going beyond the indie scene. He’s been through the infamous schedule of wrestling at summer camps across the country.

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

1. Maki Itoh Vs Dark Sheik

Now here is someone with an attitude that Itoh will appreciate. “Fuck The Fans” is a motto that Dark Sheik lives by even though she is pretty cool towards her fanbase. Hoodslam is her home but she’s gotten comfy wrestling in GCW lately too.

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

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

Yamashita & Itoh are heading back over to Prestige in September. Itoh has an opponent announced in the form of Sandra Moone. Yamashita is still waiting to hear who she will be against. Taya Valkyrie and Trish Adora are both advertised for the show. Either of them facing Yamashita would be an attention grabber. Just saying.

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

1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X

There’s some extra slightly DDT related news for this show. Shigehiro Irie is being booked for it.

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

1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X

CDK have another PROGRESS show to go to. The naming of it seems to match Brookes’ interests too.

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

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

A couple more teams have been added to the World Tag Team Festival but nothing related to what I’m doing here. Probably going to stay that way until the tournament takes place.