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With temperatures rising and the pandemic cooling, summer in Japan has been hot as of late – from the heart of Tokyo, to the outskirts of Hokkaido.

Of course, STARDOM is the hottest promotion under the sun, and we explored the story of the promotion’s emotional first cage match featuring Tam Nakano and Natsupoi.

And yet nothing reaches the fever pitch reached at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, where we captured the rapturous feeling inside the building along with exclusive event photos. The main event between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jon Moxley was electric, earning a full statistical rundown in our Monthly Match Analysis. 

Back in Japan, KUSHIDA returned to action, and so too has writer at large Carlos Toro, who examines his importance to the Jr. Heavyweight division and what went wrong in NXT.

Of course, World of Stardom Champion Syuri is our main attraction in this issue. She talks at length about her career to date, and her vision for Joshi wrestling in Japan and abroad.

It wouldn’t be Monthly Puroresu without a history lesson, so Fumi Saito returns with a retrospective on Bull Nakano while sharing his memories of ‘90s AJW.

Plus: DDT has caught our attention lately, specifically their new king, Kazusada Higuchi. Read about why his crowning means a new era for the promotion. DDT has also gifted us wrestling’s greatest export, Konosuke Takeshita.

The NOAH GHC Heavyweight Champ Kenoh is full of surprises. You’ll have to peek inside to see a Kenoh special straight from Japan!

In the words of Mayu Iwatani, Check it out!