On the heels of their annual PWI 500 issue, I just became aware that Pro Wrestling Illustrated just published their latest issue featuring an expanded women-only ranking, this year growing the list to 250. The digital version is out now, for those waiting for the print edition in 3-4 weeks and/or who want to avoid SPOILERS, stop reading now. Otherwise, click below to see the top 10 and notable Japan wrestler rankings.
Continue reading “News: 2024 PWI Women’s 250 Notes (SPOILERS!)”Tag: ganpro
Injury Report: Back Out So Soon…
It’s only been a couple weeks since Moeka Haruhi returned form a long absence yo be a living kidney donor, and unfortunately Ganbare Pro has announced she has been forced out of action again already. Coronavirus. Out indefinitely. No word on how long she will be out.
News: Freelancer Joins Ganbare Pro
At their event yesterday in Tokyo (results to be posted when available), Ganbare Pro announced that Moeka Haruhi, who has been a regular in the promotion since July 2018 as a freelancer, has joined the promotion effective immediately. She had also been working in a front office and support capacity since the promotion left CyberFight Corporation (owner of DDT, Tokyo Joshi Pro, Pro Wrestling NOAH and WRESTLE UNIVERSE) in April. Yesterday marked Haruhi’s return to action after being out since last year to be a living kidney donor to help save her sister’s life and to recover from the operation.
Ganbare Pro 4/27/24 Results
Ganbare Pro ran their first event as an independent promotion Saturday, having separated from CyberFight Corporation and DDT.
Saturday’s event was held at Kitazawa Town Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.
The announced paid attendance was 294, a legit sellout.
There were last-minute changes to the event due to Munetatsu Nakamura being off the card. Illness.
Match 1: Mizuki Watase & Rekka beat Tyson Maeguchi & Tsuyoshi Okada. Watase pinned Okada after Venetian.
Match 2: Shinichiro Tominaga beat Takuya Wada.
Match 3: PSYCHO, Yuna Manase & YuuRI beat Minoru Fujita, Sayaka Unagi & HARUKAZE. YuuRI pinned HARUKAZE after a swanton bomb.
Intermission. During this were several announcements, the biggest one being that Moeka Haruhi will return on 7/15. She has been out about a year due to being a living kidney donor for her sister. Shodai Kawakami, a trainee, will have his Debut Match on 5/18 at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring. On 7/27, a male wrestlers-only event and a joint women’s event with 666 will be held. The 7/27 event will be at Oji Basement MON*STAR in Tokyo.
Match 4: Yumehiro Imanari & Tatsuhito Takaiwa beat Ken Ohka & Fuminori Abe. Imanari pinned Ohka after a lariat.
Main Event: Keisuke Ishii beat Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Champions Shuichiro Katsumura to win the title. Ishii becomes the 7th Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Champion. Next up: Koki Iwasaki. That match will happen on 5/18.
The next event is 5/18 at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring. It’s not yet known if there will be a live broadcast but if not, it will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date.
News: First Independent Ganbare Card Announced
In a Twitter post with a link to the press conference video on YouTube, Moeka Haruhi helped reveal the card for the first Ganbare Pro event as an independent promotion, which will be on 4/27 at Kitazawa Town Hall in Tokyo. The full lineup:
Takuya Wada vs. Shinichiro Tominaga
Tyson Maeguchi & Tsuyoshi Okada vs. Mizuki Watase & Munetatsu Nakamura
Rekka, Yuna Manase & YuuRI vs. Minoru Fujita, Sayaka Unagi & HARUKAZE
Ken Ohka & Funinori Abe vs. Yumehito Imanari & Tatsuhito Takaiwa
Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Champion Shuichiro Katsumura vs. Keisuke Ishii for the title
As far as broadcasting goes, this and future events will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date.
Ganbare Pro 3/28/24 Results
Ganbare Pro ran their final event under the CyberFight banner today as they will leave and become independent this weekend, although they will remain under the WRESTLE UNIVERSE banner for broadcasts of events on demand.
Today’s event was held at Ueno Park Outdoor Stage in Tokyo and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date. There was no live broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 205.
Match 1: Yuna Manase & Bunny Oikawa beat Yoshiko Hasegawa & Riara. Manase pinned Riara after Suzuki Dynamic. Hasegawa & Riara are now leaving the promotion.
Match 2: What was supposed to be Zhao Yunzilong (?) & YuuRI vs. Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE was changed last-second due to Yunzilong & YuuRI being absent. Unknown for Yunzilong, personal reasons for YuuRI. Which led to…
Match 2: Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE beat Hong Kong International Policeman & Policewoman. Jackson pinned Policeman after Death Valley Bomb.
Match 3: Yuko Miyamoto, Isami Kodaka & Munetatsu Nakamura beat Shota, Takao Soma & Shinichiro Tominaga. Nakamura pinned Shota with a German suplex hold.
Main Event: In an elimination tag match, Shuichiro Katsumura, Ken Ohka, Takuya Wada & Mizuki Watase beat Keisuke Ishii, Yumehito Imanari, Tyson Maeguchi & Takaaki Iwasaki. Katsumura & Ohka were the winners, last eliminating Imanari which left Ishii alone, and thus Ishii could not continue due to it being a tag match.
The first event for the “new” Ganbare as an independent promotion will be on 4/27 at Kitazawa Town Hall in Tokyo. It will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date. Other upcoming events set are 5/18 at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring, 6/2 and 7/15 both at Takashimadaira Community Center.
Ganbare Pro 3/20/24 Results
Ganbare Pro ran their penultimate event under the CyberFight Corp. umbrella, as they will separate from their former owner and become independent at the end of the month. They will remain under the WRESTLE UNIVERSE umbrella for on demand broadcasts.
Today’s event was held at Takashimadaira Community Center in Tokyo and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date. There was no live broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 140.
Match 1: Yoshiko Hasegawa bear Riara by submission.
Match 2: Yuna Manase & HARUKAZE beat YuuRI & Bunny Oikawa. Manase pinned YuuRI after a lariat.
Match 3: Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi beat Keosuke Ishii & Shinichiro Yominaga. Oishi pinned Tominaga after Cactus Flower.
Match 4: Yumehito Imanari, Tyson Maeguchi & Hartley Jackson beat Ken Ohka, Mizuki Watase & Munetatsu Nakamura. Imanari pinned Nakamura after Sakuragaoka Cutter.
Main Event: Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Champions Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada beat Shota & Takao Soma to retain the titles. Katusmura beat Shota with Triple 3 Lock. V5 for the champs.
The next event is 3/28 at Ueno Park Outdoor Stage in Tokyo. There will be no live broadcast.
Injury Report: Makoto Oishi was onjured during his match. Neck. Out indefinitely and off DDT’s event tomorrow as a precaution. He was to have teamed with Yosjitatsu to face Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino. Tomomitsu Matsunaga is the replacement.
Ahead of its separation from Cyberfight, the promotion has also created a new website, whoch can be accessed at http://ganpro.net
Ganbare Pro 2/23/24 Results
Ganbare Pro has their monthly event coming up today, which is a major event with 3 big matches. The highlight of the non-title matches is the return of Yuna Manase, who has been out since early last year due to injury. She stepped down as the GM of Ganbare Women ahead of her in-ring return. The 2 title matches start with a Pro Wrestling EVE (England) title match as EVE International Champion Yuu defends against Yoshiko Hasegawa, then in the main event Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Champion Shuichiro Katsumura defends against Takuya Wada.
Today’s event will be held at Yokohama Raidant Hall in Yokohama and can be watched LIVE on WRESTLE UNIVERSE. There will likely be no commentary. There will be an intermission after the 4th match. That will extend the 6-match event by about 15-20 minutes so the running time will probably be a little over 2 1/2 hours. Also, this event will be happening at the same time as a Pro Wrestling NOAH event that is live on WRESTLE UNIVERSE so there may be delays in the posting of results.
Today’s lineup:
Shota vs. Munetatsu Nakamura
YuuRI & Riara vs. HARUKAZE & Bunny OIkawa
Ken Ohka, Mizuki Watase & Tyson Maeguchi vs. Keisuke Ishii, Takao Soma & Shinichiro Tominaga
Pro Wrestling EVE International Champion Yuu vs. Yoshiko Hasegawa for the title
Intermission
Yuna Manase & Yumehito Imanari vs. Sayaka Unagi & Minoru Fujita
Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Champion Shuichiro Katsumura vs. Takuya Wada for the title
Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.
Updates below will begin at 7 PM PT/10 PM ET.
6:45 PM PT UPDATE: The live stream has begun. We should be going to the venue in about 15 minutes.
6:53 PM PT UPDATE: Live updates begin now…
We are LIVE from Yokohama Radiant Hall in Yokohama, Japan. There is no commentary.
The paid attendance will be announced after the event. It is a legit advance sellout which was announced yesterday so if it’s full capacity it will be, give or take a couple, roughly 350. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance, a legit advance sellout, was 329)
The matches should begin in a few minutes.
The matches begin at 7:04 PM PT. Hard camera view only.
Match 1: Shota vs. Munetatsu Nakamura. 30 minute time limit
Result: Shota beat Munetatsu Nakamura
Match 2: YuuRI & Riara vs. HARUKAZE & Bunny OIkawa. 30 minute time limit
Result: HARUKAZE & Bunny Oikawa beat YuuRI & Riara. Oikawa pinned Riara.
Match 3: Ken Ohka, Mizuki Watase & Tyson Maeguchi vs. Keisuke Ishii, Takao Soma & Shinichiro Tominaga. 30 minute time limit
Result: Ken Ohka, Mizuki Watase & Tyson Maeguchi beat Keisuke Ishii, Takao Soma & Shinichiro Tominaga. Ohka pinned Tominaga after New Flame Spear.
Match 4: Pro Wrestling EVE International Champion Yuu vs. Yoshiko Hasegawa for the title. 30 minute time limit
Result: Pro Wrestling EVE International Champion Yuu beat Yoshiko Hasegawa to retain the title. V11 for Yuu.
Intermission. The event should resume in 15-20 minutes (as of 8:03 PM PT).
The matches resume at 8:18 PM PT.
Match 5: Yuna Manase Return Match: Yuna Manase & Yumehito Imanari vs. Sayaka Unagi (Independent/Freelancer) & Minoru Fujita (Indpeendent/Freelancer). 30 minute time limit
Result: Sayaka Unagi & Minoru Fujita beat Yuna Manase & Yumehito Imanari. Fujita pinned Manase with a Japanese leg roll clutch hold.
Main Event: Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Champion Shuichiro Katsumura vs. Takuya Wada for the title. 1 Hour time limit
Result: Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Champion Shuichiro Katsumura beat Takuya Wada by submission to retain the title. V2 for Katsumura. Next up: TBA but on 3/20 Takao Soma & Shota will challenge for the Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Championship.
The next event is a Ganbare Women event on 3/9 followed by the next Ganbare event on 3/20, both at Takashimadaira Community Center in Tokyo. This may be the last Ganbare Women event in the current format due to several wrestlers leaving the promotion next month and Ganbare also separating from ownership of DDT & CyberFIght Corporation to become an independent promotion. However, the promotion’s events will continue to be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE. For the next 2 events, broadcast plans TBA.
Ganbare Pro 2/12/24 Results
Ganbare Pro is running a Ganbare Women event today, one of the last ones before the promotion splits from DDT and leaves its future uncertain with a couple members leaving the promotion.
Today’s event was held at Takashimadaira Community Center in Tokyo and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date (probably Wednesday or Thursday). There was no live broadcast. (UPDATE: On demand will be available Thursday)
The announced paid attendance was 112.
During opening announcements, Yuna Manase announced she was stepping down as General Manager of Ganbare Women and would return as a wrestler on the 3/9 event.
Match 1; Kizuna Tanaka beat Riara.
Match 2: Ram Kaichow (666) & Sumire Natsu (Independent/Freelancer) beat Kaho Kobayashi & Bunny Oikawa. Natsu pinned Oikawa after Youran.
Match 3: Alex Lee & Yoshiko Hasegawa beat Yappy (Ice Ribbon) & JC Storm. Hasegawa oubbed Yappy after a diving double knee attack.
Main Event: Mio Momomo beat YuuRI.
The next Women event is 3/9. Broadcast plans TBA.
BREAKING: 3 Ganbare Pro Wresters Leaving, Promotion Separating From Owner
In a breaking news post on parent DDT’s website, Ganbare Pro has announced that Shota, Yoshiko Hasegawa & Riara will be leaving the promotion at the end of March. All will remain active as freelancers. Their final Ganbare matches will be on 3/28. Shota is the most experiences of the trio at 5 years while Hasegawa has a couple years and Riara is a rookie, the ladies have been featured in Ganbare Joshi.
More as it becomes available.
UPDATE: Just after this was posted, I learned the promotion also announced that after 3/28, it will separate from CyberFight Corporation and operate as an independent promotion. That likely means no more WRESTLE UNIVERSE connections for ticket presales or event broadcasts. Ken Ohka will oversee the operations of the promotion. Also, effective tomorrow (2/1) Shinichiro Tominaga will join the promotion as a member and be part of 2 promotions, along with Yumehuto Imanari who has affiliated himself with Ibushi Pro Wresting since leaving DDT.
The promotion’s first independent events will be 4/27 at Kitazawa Town Hall in Tokyo, 5/18 at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring, 6/2 and 7/15 at Takashimadaira Community Center. Notably gone it seems if their annual Golden Week event in early May at Korakuen Hall, which had been their biggest event of the year.
