Author: Sonal Lad

When it comes to the biggest names in Joshi wrestling, there seems to be an endless number of wrestlers you could mention. However, one person who doesn’t get the respect and admiration she deserves is Saki Akai. As the only permanent female wrestler on the DDT Pro Wrestling roster, Saki Akai is genuinely an underrated talent. Saki Akai – Wrestling Beginnings Saki Akai’s father is professional boxer Hidekazu Akai, and it seems almost inevitable that Saki Akai would follow in his footsteps somehow. In 2011, Akai made her professional wrestling debut at the Japanese Joshi promotion Ice Ribbon, established by…

For many fans of Joshi wrestling, the top company that everyone speaks about is Stardom and Miyu Yamashita. They are known for their intense, Strong Style of wrestling. Yet, one Joshi company that is sometimes overlooked is none other than Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling (TJPW). While Stardom might be compared to the likes of New Japan and NOAH, TJPW is more similar to its brother company DDT (Dramatic Dream Team) Pro Wrestling. They are companies of comedy and light-hearted wrestling with amazingly technical and spectacular bouts. One wrestler that has always been at the heart of the company and, for…

When an injury forced Will Ospreay to relinquish the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, fans were curious about who New Japan Pro Wrestling would pick to compete for the title. Fans were more than happy when the company announced that Kazuchika Okada would still get his title match and that he would face Shingo Takagi. Shingo Takagi captures the IWGP World Title. ________________ Going into the match, both men had a win over each other, and this was going to be a rubber match with much higher stakes. The warm-up matches had fans on the edge of their seats as two…

When the card for Sakura Genesis was first announced, one of the card’s stand-out parts was in the match between members of Los Ingobernables de Japon and The Empire. While the LIJ team was going to be represented by Naito, SANADA, and Shingo, their opponent’s choice was less clear. Alongside Jeff Cobb and Great O-Khan was the letter ‘X.’ As a New Japan fan, that single letter stands for a new faction member. https://twitter.com/njpwglobal/status/1378630584214298635 After the announcement, rumors were flying on who this new member could be. Names ranged from those outside New Japan to the likes of Shota Umino…

When Will Ospreay won the New Japan Cup 2021, he cemented his right to challenge Kota Ibushi for the new IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. With the stage set for Sakura Genesis 2021, fans expected a lot from two of the best and most diverse athletes in New Japan. Please see below as Will Ospreay wins the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. ___________________ The lead-up to the match was hot ever since the final of the NJ Cup last month. Ospreay made it clear that nothing was more important to him than winning the belt, and both men used the preview shows…

Ever since Kota Ibushi announced that he wanted to unify the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles and fans waited for the new belt to be revealed. On their March 30 Road to Sakura Genesis show, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) reveals their new IWGP World Heavyweight title. https://twitter.com/njpwworld/status/1376837630181081092 Although people have had mixed reviews, the title has a lot of thought behind it! The company explained that they want the design to reflect the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships’ history. The New Japan website explains that the four generations of the IWGP Heavyweight titles are represented. The upper part of…

After speculations over his status with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), Jay White returned to the ring during a Road to New Beginning show. _______________ Going into Wrestle Kingdom, Jay White had all of the momentum going into the Double Gold Dash. Unlike Naito and Ibushi, White had the 4th off and went into his title match with Ibushi on the 5th fresh. However, after a grueling MOTY candidate, Ibushi managed to beat White to retain the belts he had defeated Naito for the night before. As a result of this loss, White went backstage and cut an extremely emotional…

The NEVER Openweight Championship is a title with a rocky history. It was first created for the newest talent in New Japan Pro Wrestling and to blur the weight divisions. However, over the past few years, the belt has been like a hot potato passing from heavyweight wrestler to heavyweight wrestler without any consistency. Hiroshi Tanahashi wins the NEVER Openweight Championship. ________________ That all seemed to change when Shingo Takagi first won the belt. He was adamant to be a fighting champion and take all challengers regardless of the place on the card and weight. The Dragon was giving the…

A new IWGP double champion was crowned earlier today. After a long battle for the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental belts, Kota Ibushi beat Tetsuya Naito on the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 15 for the titles. After winning the G1 again this year, Kota Ibushi earned an opportunity to main event the Tokyo Dome for those titles. But, after being beaten by Jay White and losing this right at Power Struggle, this seemed to be the end of the Golden Star’s dream. Luckily, the history he had with champion Tetsuya Naito presented a new chance. He found himself back with…

After a long DDT D-Oh Grand Prix tournament, Dramatic Dream Team Wrestling are now heading towards the last show before the final on the 27th December. With 11 participants across two blocks, there have been some wars. However, this will be the most important show despite the current point standings. Those at the top of the blocks will need this win to get to the finals. Those out of the tournament will want to end on a high with preferably more wins than losses in total. Here is a look at the D-Oh Grand Prix matches for the 12th December…