News, results & more from Japanese Pro Wrestling & Sumo
In a social media post a few minutes ago, Tokyo Joshi Pro announced 3 new US events for after The Collective-they’re headed to Texas for the first time in July. First there will be a doubleheader on 7/10 & 7/11 at POST in Houston, Texas, then on 7/13 at The OC in Forney, Texas (Dallas area).
More details TBA.
Earlier today DDT announced an emergency press conference would be held with Keigo Nakamura in attendance, and at that presser Nakamura announced he was leaving the promotion for an indefinite overseas training excursion. It’s not known where he’ll go or for how long but his last match before that will be 4/23 vs. Yuki Ueno. Nakamura is coming off a failed attempt to win the KO-D Tag Team Championship this past weekend.
Dragon Gate ran their monthly Tokyo event today, which also was a 20th Anniversary event for BxB Hulk.
Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK. You can also watch the first match FOR FREE on YouTube.
The paid attendance has not yet been announced. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 1376)
Match 1: Dragon Kid, Naruki Doi (Independent/Freelancer), Genki Horiguchi & Don Fujii beat Yasushi Kanda, Toru Owashi, Problem Dragon & Punch Tominaga. Kid pinned Tominaga after Bible.
Match 2: Masaaki Mochizuki, Ryu Fuda & Akihiro Sahara beat Strong Machine J, U-T & Ho Ho Lun. Mochizuki pinned Lun after Twister.
Match 3: Ben-K, Riiita, Mochizuki Junior, Hyo & Luis Mante beat KAI, ISHIN, Jason Lee, Yoshiki Kato & Homare. Ben-K pinned Kato after a spear.
Match 4: Yuki Yoshioka beat Gianni Valetta by DQ.
Match 5: BxB Hulk 20th Anniversary Match: BxB Hulk, Jinsei Shinzaki (Michinoku Pro) & Yoshitomo Shimohigashi beat Susumu Yokosuka, Kzy & Katsuo. Hulk pinned Katsuo after First Flash. Fans were allowed to throw streamers for Hulk for the first time in Dragon Gate since before the pandemic.
Match 6: Open The Brave Gate Champion YAMATO beat Daiki Yanagoichi by ref stoppage (towel) to retain the title. V1 for YAMATO. But…the title is now VACANT. YAMATO vacated the title afterwards. More when I find out additional details but it’s almost certainly because YAMATO is also the current Open The Dream Gate Champion so it’s not really feasible to be a double champion, which is backed up by history in the promotion.
Main Event: Shun Skywalker, Kota Minoura & Dia Inferno beat Dragon Dia, Madoka Kikuta & Ryoya Tanaka. Inferno pinned Dia.
The next event is Saturday at Nagasaki Peace Hall in Nagasaki. There will be no live or on demand broadcast.
UPDATE: Following this event, the first match for DEAD OR ALIVE 2025 on 5/5 has been announced: The (usually) annual Mascara Contra Cabellera Steel Cage Match. This year’s participants are Yuki Yoshioka, Madoka Kikuta, Dragon Dia, Shun Skywalker, Kota Minoura & ISHIN. Participants “survive” by escaping the cage, the last man left in the ring loses the match and also loses his hair, or if it’s Skywalker he loses his mask. The last 2 years Skywalker has “won” with help from Z-Brats and first took Diamante’s mask (he’s now Luis Mante) and last year it was Hyo’s hair, which now has mostly grown back.
Announced for the next Korakuen on 5/9 is Ben-K, Riiita, JACKY KAMEI & Mochizuki Junior vs. Strong Machine J, Kzy, U-T & Flamita in a Hyo Contra Hyo match. Hyo must join the winning faction, meaning either Gold Class or Natural Vibes gets him.
UPDATE 2: A tournament to crown a new Open The Brave Gate Champion has been announced. It will be an 8-man single elimination tournament starting this weekend and ending at DEAD OR ALIVE 2025 on 5/5. The matches are as follows:
4/13 (first event): Riiita vs. Ryoya Tanaka
4/13 (second event): Hyo vs. Ryu Fuda
4/19: U-T vs. Yosuke<3Santamaria, JACKY KAMEI vs. Homare
4/26: Semifinals (Riiita/Tanaka vs. U-T/Santamaria, Hyo/Fuda vs. KAMEI/Homare)
5/5: Finals
At today’s post-SAKURA GENESIS presser in Tokyo, New Japan also announced this year’s G1 CLIMAX, their biggest annual tournament of the year. The 35th edition of the annual Heavyweight singles tournament awards an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship shot to the winner, usually at Tokyo Dome but not always the case-Zack Sabre Jr. cashed in his chance early last year, gambling on being able to go home to England for Royal Quest 4 as the champion, which ultimately paid off as he won the title.
The full schedule was announced today, which is as follows:
7/19, 7/20-Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kita Yell, Hokkaido
7/23-Sendai Sun Plaza, Sendai
7/24-Aore Nagaoka, Niigata
7/25, 7/26-Ota City General Gym, Tokyo
7/27-Port Messe Nagoya, Nagoya
7/30-Yamato Arena, Osaka
8/1-Sun Messe Kagawa, Kagawa
8/5-Intex Osaka, Osaka
8/7-Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
8/8-Yolohama Budokan, Yokohama
8/10-G Messe Gunma, Gunma
8/13-Act City Hamamatsu, Shizuoka
8/14-Korakuen Hall
8/16, 8/17-Ariake Arena, Tokyo
Participants TBA at a later date, probably towards the end of or just after BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIOR wraps up in June.
Dragon Gate continued THE GATE OF PASSION 2025 Tour today with a Susumu Yokosuka hometown event.
Today’s event was held at (the appropriately named) Mercure Hotel Yokosuka in Kanagawa. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 321.
Match 1: Strong Machine J. Kzy & U-T beat Don Fujii, Yasushi Kanda & Kenichiro Arai. J pinned Kanda after Machine Suplex.
Match 2: Ben-K & Mochizuki Junior beat Hyo & Ho Ho Lun. Ben-K pinned Lun after a spear.
Match 3: BxB Hulk & Luis Mante beat KAI & ISHIN by DQ. ISHIN DQ’d. Low blow.
Match 4: Shun Skywalker, Kota Minoura, Jason Lee & Homare beat Yuki Yoshioka, Madoka Kikuta, Dragon Dia & Ryoya Tanaka. Skywalker pinned Yoshioka.
Match 5; YAMATO & Dragon Kid beat Masaaki Mochizuki & Daiki Yanagiuchi. YAMATO beat Yanagiuchi with a rear naked choke.
Main Event: Gianni Valetta beat Susumu Yoikosuka.
The next event is tomorrow at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Live streaming on DRAGONGATE NETWORK will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.
Dragon Gate kicked off their April tour, THE GATE OF PASSION 2025, yesterday in Shizuoka.
Yesterday’s event was held at Act City Hamamatsu in Shizuoka, There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 262.
There were last-minute changes to the event due to Kagetora being off. The always-vague poor health.
Match 1: YAMATO, Don Fujii, Genki Horiguchi & Hyo beat Yasushi Kanda, Luis Mante, Ho Ho Lun & Daiki Yanagiuchi. YAMATO pinned Tanagiuchi after Gallaria.
Match 2: KAI & Homare beat Ben-K & JACKY KAMEI. KAI pinned KAMEI after Meteor Impact.
Match 3; Gianni Valetta beat Mochizuki Junior.
Match 4; Kota Minoura & Jason Lee beat Madoka Kikuta & Ryoya Tanaka. Minoura pinned Kikuta.
Match 5: Yuki Yoshioka & Dragon Dia beat Shun Skywalker & ISHIN. Dia pinned ISHIN after DDDDT. (Dragon Gate’s website apparently incorrectly says Dragon Kid instead of Dia)
Main Event: Main Event: Dragon Kid, BxB Hulk & Susumu Yokosuka beat Strong Machine J, Kzy & U-T.
The latest event was earlier today at Mercure Hotel Yokosuka in Kanagaaw. Results will be posted when available. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.
The next event is tomorrow at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo with a BxB Hulk 20th Anniversary match and Open The Brave Gate Championship match. Live streaming on DRAGONGATE NETWORK will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.
Tokyo Joshi Pro continued the spring house show tour today in Fukuoka.
Today’s event was held at Acros Fukuoka in Fukuoka and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE Wednesday. There was no live broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 335.
Match 1: Moka Miyamoto beat Mifu Ashida by submission.
Match 2: Mahiro Kiryu & Neko Haruna beat Yoshiko Hasegawa & Chika Nanase. Kiryu pinned Nanase after a spinebuster.
Match 3: Raku beat Shino Suzuki & Kaya Toribami in a 3-way by pinning Suzuki.
Match 4: Rika Tatsumi & Toga beat Kira Summer & Ivy Steele. Tatsumi pinned Summer after Twist Of Fate.
Match 5: Suzume & Arisu Endo beat Miu Watanabe & Uta Takami. Suzume pinned Takami after Ring A Bell.
Match 6: Mizuki & Aja Kong (OZ Academy) beat Hyper Misao & Pom Harajuku. Kong pinned Harajuku after a backdrop.
Main Event: Maki Itoh, Wakana Uehara & Yuki Kamifuku beat Miyu Yamashita, Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro. Itoh beat Kazashiro with Itoh Deluxe.
The next event is Friday at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin at 3 AM PT/6 AM ET.
In other news, it was announced that Jada Stone will return to Japan for the 5/31, 6/1 and 6/7 events. If she wins the International Princess Championship in the US on 4/18, a title defense is possible.
Speaking of which, the next challenger after 4/18 will be determined by a one-day tournament on 4/19 at Kanda Myojin Hall in Tokyo, an event featuring wrestlers not going to the US that week. It will be an 8-woman tournament with only wrestlers who debuted in 2023 or 2024, starting with an 8-woman tag match with teams determined on the day by drawing. The winners will advance to a tag match with random pairings. The two winners left after those two matches face off in a single match with the winner getting the title shot. Participants: HIMAWARI, Kira Summer, Toga, Chika Nanase, Haru Kazashiro, Uta Takami, Mifu Ashida, Ivy Steele. On paper it seems set up for Toga to win but I also like Steele’s odds or maybe even HIMAWARI. Title match date TBA and will depend on what happens on 4/18.
And in case you missed it, in the US last night Shoko Nakajima became THE NEW MLW Women’s World Featherweight Champion at MLW Battle Riot 2025. The entire event can be watched on demand FOR FREE on YouTube.
Stardom headed to Aichi today for a hometown event for Tam Nakano and a farewell to Mina Shirakawa before she heads to the US to continue her career, expected to be in All Elite Wrestling.
Today’s event was held at Tosho Arena Anjo in Aichi and can be watched on demand on Stardom World. You can also watch the first 2 matches FOR FREE on YouTube.
The announced paid attendance was 1008.
Match 1: Syuri, Hina & Lady C beat Suzu Suzuki, Akira Kurogame & Yuria Hime. Hina pinned Kurogame after a transformed jackhammer.
Match 2: Fukigen beat Mei Seira & Anne Kanaya in a 3-way by pinning Kanaya.
Match 3: Hanan, Hazuki, Koguma & Momo Kohgo beat Natsuko Tora, Ruaka, Rina & Azusa Inaba. Hanan pinned Inaba with a blockbuster hold.
Match 4: Mayu Iwatani & Saya Iida beat Tomoka Inaba & Ranna Yagami. Iwatani pinned Yagami after a lariat.
Match 5: The result for Mina Shirakawa vs. Maika, HANAKO, Waka Tsukiyama & Rian in a handicap match was not posted. Presumably Shirakawa lost.
Match 6: AZM & Miyu Amasaki beat Saya Kamitani & Konami. AZM pinned Kamitani.
Main Event: Tam Nakano (Indpeendent/Freelancer), Saori Anou & Sayaka Unagi (Independent/Freelancer) beat Yuna Mizumori, Aya Sakura & Sayaka Kurara. Nakano pinned Mizumori after Violet Screwdriver.
The next event is Thursday at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2 in Osaka. Live streaming on Stardom World will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.
Pro Wrestling NOAH continued the SUNNY VOYAGE 2025 Tour today in Osaka.
Today’s event was held at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2 in Osaka and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.
The announced paid attendance was 722.
Match 1: Shuji Kondo beat Daiki Odashima by submission.
Match 2: Moahmmed Yone, Atsushi Kotoge & Hajime Ohara beat Takashi Sugiura, Shuhei Taniguchi & Black Menso-re. Kotoge pinned Menso-re after a bat drop.
Match 3: AMAKUSA & Junta Miyawaki beat Harutoki & Alejandro. Miyawaki pinned Alejandro.
Match 4: Manabu Soya, Saxon Hucley, HAYATA & YO-HEY beat Naomichi Marufuji, Takashi Sugiura, Knull & Bryce Hansen. YO-HEY pinned Hansen after a dropkick.
Match 5: Tadasuke beat Yuto Kikuchi.
Match 6: KENTA, Kenoh & Ulka Sasaki beat OZAWA, Tetsuya Endo & Owadasan. Sasaki beat Owadasan with a modified body slamming sleeper hold.
Match 7: GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion Eita beat Kai Fujimura to retain the title. V3 for Eita. Next up: The winner of HAYATA vs. YO-HEY. That match will happen on 4/14 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and the title match will happen on 5/3 at Ryogoku Kokugikan.
Main Event: Jack Morris & Daga beat Kaito Kiyomiya & Galeno to win the vacant GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Morris & Daga become the 69th GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. Morris pinned Kiyomiya. Wasn’t a recognized change before when Omos gave his half to Daga before leaving NOAH. Now it is. Next up: Kenoh & Sasaki. That match will happen on 5/3.
The next event is Friday at Niigata City Gym in Niigata. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.
DDT runs their monthly signature Tokyo event today, “CHANGE AGE 2025-Your Lie In April”, headlined by a KO-D Openweight Championship match. For winning the D GENERATIONS CUP earlier this year, Yuya Koroku earned a title shot and he gets it today against Chris Brookes, which he earned by spoiling Brookes factionmate Takeshi Masada’s repeat Cup bid. Having been so far mostly outdone in his young career by Masada and rival To-y, Koroku will look to leapfrog them both and to the top of DDT. Also on the card is a KO-D Tag Team Championship match as Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura try to stop Shinya Aoki & Keigo Nakamura from bringing the belts back into DDT’s control. The event also features the return of Naomi Yoshimura after over 2 1/2 years out due to major injuries, the return of Hideki Okatani from major injury as a heel and part of Damnation T.A. and an appearance by O-MENZ Kumadori.
Today’s event will be held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched LIVE on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in Japanese. Voice actor Kentaro Kumagai will be today’s special guest on commentary. There will also be a pre-show match 20 minutes before the event starts-with that factored in this should be a slightly longer Korakuen event than usual so I’m anticipating the running time being just short of 3 hours.
Today’s lineup:
Pre-show: Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda vs. MJ Paul & Illusion
Main show:
Naomi Yoshimura Return Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida vs. Yukio Naya, Takeshi Masada, To-y & JJ Furno
MAO, Kazuki Hirata & O-MENZ Kumadori vs. Shunma Katsumata, Yuni & Kazuma Sumi
Jun Akiyama vs. Daichi Sato
Hideki Okatani Return Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani vs. KANON in a handicap match
Minoru Suzuki & Yuki Ueno vs. HARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno
KO-D Tag Team Champions Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura vs. Shinya Aoki & Keigo Nakamura for the titles
KO-D Openweight Champion Chris Brookes vs. Yuya Koroku for the title
Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.
Updates below will begin at 7 PM PT/10 PM ET. The pre-show match is scheduled to begin at 7:10 PT/10:10 PM ET and the main show begins at 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET.
7 PM PT UPDATE: The live stream has begun. We should be going to the venue in 10 minutes.
7:10 PM PT UPDATE: Live updates begin now.
We are LIVE from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Your hosts are Satoshi Dairaku, Kagehiro Osano & Kentaro Kumagai.
The paid attendance will not be announced as they no longer do that.
Pre-show match: Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda vs. MJ Paul & Illusion. 15 minute time limit
Result: MJ Paul & Illusion beat Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda. Illusion pinned Honda.
Updates will resume when the main show matches begin.
The matches begin at 7:36 PM PT/10:36 PM ET.
Match 1: Naomi Yoshimura Return Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida vs. Yukio Naya, Takeshi Masada, To-y & JJ Furno. 30 minute time limit
Result: Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida beat Yuko Naya, Takeshi Masada, To-y & JJ Furno. Higuchi pinned FUrno after a chokeslam.
Quick break for the GM Imabayashi opening announcements.
Match 2: MAO, Kazuki Hirata & O-MENZ Kumadori vs. Shunma Katsumata, Yuni & Kazuma Sumi. 30 minute time limit
Result: Shunma Katsumata, Yuni & Kazuma Sumi beat MAO, Kazuki Hirata & O-MENZ Kumadori. Katsumata pinned Hirata. Comedy match with lots of music & dancing. Afterwards, the second NwA Jr. single release was announced for 5/6. As they finished the promo though, Snashiro Takagi came out. He announces an event of some sorts for 12/23 (long way off) at Loft Shibuya.
Match 3: Jun Akiyama vs. Daichi Sato. 30 minute time limit
Result: Jun AKiyama beat Daichi Sato
Your new host is Haruo Murata.
Match 4: Hideki Okatani Return Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani vs. KANON in a handicap match. 30 minute time limit
Result: Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani beat KANON. Okatani pinned KANON. Afterwards, Damnataion T.A. beat down KANON and also Kazuma Sumi who tried to break it up until a masked man made the save, who then revealed himself to be MAO.
Match 5: Minoru Suzuki & Yuki Ueno vs. HARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno. 30 minute time limit
Result: Double Countout. Suzuki & Dieno counted out. Afterwards, a promo between them led to Suzuki vs. Dieno being made for the May Korakuen event. As Suzuki left, Yoshihiko appeared from the upper level of the venue. Suzuki just brushed it off.
Match 6: KO-D Tag Team Champions Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura vs. Shinya Aoki & Keigo Nakamura for the titles. 1 Hour time limit
Result: KO-D Tag Team Champions Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura beat Shinya Aoki & Keigo Nakamura to retain the titles. Abe pinned Nakamura. V1 for the champs.
Main Event: KO-D Openweight Champion Chris Brookes vs. Yuya Koroku for the title. 1 Hour time limit
Result: KO-D Openweight Champion Chris Brookes beat Yuya Koroku to retain the title. V4 for Brookes. Next up: Sounds like it will be the KING OF DDT Tournament winner meaning it’s going to be at least a couple months.
The KING OF DDT schedule is announced in a video with commentary talking over it:
Round 1 on 5/6: Antonio Honda vs. Yuki Ueno, Daisuke Sasaki vs. Akito, KANON vs. Shunma Katsumata, Yukio Naya vs. Daichi Sato, Hideki Okatani vs. To-y, Chris Brookes vs. HARASHIMA, Takeshi Masada vs. Yuya Koroku, Shinya Aoki vs. Kazusada Higuchi
Round 2 on 5/10 at Shinjuku Face.
Finals on 5/25 at Korakuen. So unless Brookes wins, the next challenger should get the title shot in June or July.
The next event is Tuesday at Ueno Park Outdoor Stage. There will be no live broadcast.