Union February Cards

January 31, 2012

UNION “FORTUNE DEMONS 2012”, 10/02/2012
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Hiroshi Fukuda (w/ Rumi Kazama) Vs Rion Mizuki
2. New Sanshiro Takagi & Big Rude Vs Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Cherry
3. Mio Shirai Vs Sexxxy Eddy
4. Ken Ohka Vs El Generico
5. Shuji Ishikawa & Shigehiro Irie Vs Kengo Ohka & Madoka
6. BJW Tag Team Title: Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto (c) Vs Kazuki Hashimoto & Takumi Tsukamoto

New Sanshiro Takagi seems to be a big admirer of his own muscles, so he and Big Rude should get along just fine.

UNION “UNION PRO WRESTLING IN OSAKA”, 12/02/2012
Osaka Minami Move On Arena

1. Special Battle Royal: HARU Vs Agu Matsunaga Vs Yuki Tanaka Vs Hideki Shiota
2. Cherry Vs Maki Narumiya
3. New Sanshiro Takagi & Big Rude Vs Kengo Ohka & Madoka
4. Ken Ohka & Mio Shirai Vs Black Buffalo & Tigers Mask
5. Shuji Ishikawa & Shigehiro Irie Vs El Generico & Hiroshi Fukuda
6. DDT Extreme Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Sexxxy Eddy

Maki Narumiya is from Ice Ribbon and will almost have a full year of experience under her belt by the time her match with Cherry takes place. Meanwhile I predict Cherry will use the match as an opportunity to claim she is younger than everyone from Ice Ribbon, including the teens.

The Special Battle Royal so far features wrestlers from around the Osaka indie wrestling scene. Union is hoping to discover some fresh talent to add to their shows and this match could create some opportunities for the wrestlers involved.


Dino Vs Honda, Dream Gaijin Trio, Sanshiro’s Cult Of Personality

January 31, 2012

DDT “NON-FIX 2.4”, 04/02/2012
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. KUDO Vs DJ Nira
2. Makoto Oishi & Akito Vs Shota & Rion Mizuki
3. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs Yasu Urano & Keita Yano
4. Sanshiro Takagi & Takao Soma Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Michael Nakazawa
5. Kenny Omega & Masa Takanashi Vs HARASHIMA & Hayato “Jr” Fujita
6. Danshoku Dino Vs Antonio Honda

Danshoku Dino is already preparing for new challenges justs days after becoming the new KO-D Openweight Champion. He already had his first defence lined up for 19/2 in Korakuen Hall as his close friend and rival Antonio Honda called for the first title shot. In a rare booking decision, DDT has set up two non-title matches between Dino and Honda in Shin-Kiba and Nagoya before their Korakuen match takes place. Both matches will have stipulations that will be decided by DDT General Manager Tsurumi Amon at the shows. The matches will feel very special to Dino, Honda and Amon due to their time spent together in the now defunct MUSCLE sub-brand.

Meanwhile, “NON-FIX 2.4” will see Hayato “Jr” Fujita of Michinoku Pro fame make his first ever appearance for DDT. His partner on the night is HARASHIMA, who is looking for a shot at Kenny Omega and his AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Title. However, it could be Fujita who could wriggle his way into title contention if everything goes his way during the match.

DDT “TRULY ULTRA SUPER BAZOOKA!”, 11/02/2012
Nagoya Arsenal Hall

1. Michael Nakazawa Vs DJ Nira
2. Sanshiro Takagi & Takao Soma Vs Kengo Takai & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
3. HARASHIMA & Mr. #6 Vs Masa Takanashi & Shota
4. Kenny Omega, El Generico & Sexxxy Eddy Vs KUDO, Makoto Oishi & Akito
5. Danshoku Dino Vs Antonio Honda
6. KO-D Tag Team Title: Yasu Urano & Yuji Hino (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie

DDT is advertising a “Dream Gaijin Trio” coming together in the form of Kenny Omega, El Generico & Sexxxy Eddy. This matches comes just over one week before Omega and Generico find themselves on opposite sides of a big Tag Team match.

DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2012”, 19/02/2012
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. School System Vs Dissidents: Sanshiro Takagi, Takao Soma, Shiro Koshinaka & Masashi Aoyagi Vs X, X, X & X
2. Special Tag Match: Kenny Omega & KUDO Vs El Generico & HARASHIMA
3. KO-D Tag Team Title: Yasu Urano & Yuji Hino (c) Vs Makoto Oishi & Masao Inoue
4. KO-D Openweight Title: Danshoku Dino (c) Vs Antonio Honda

For those who have followed DDT for years, you would know that Sanshiro Takagi is a huge WWE fan. He loves to emulate his favourite Superstars and many of his ideas over the years have been inspired by what goes on in the WWE ring every Monday and Friday night. So, can you guess the inspiration for his latest scheme? Judging by the photo above, of course you can.

So far this year, Takagi has commented on DDT recently becoming stagnant and a little bit boring. He blames Tsurumi Amon for letting this happen while being in charge of looking over the shows. So his solution to this problem is to form a dissident group to cause some chaos and annoy Amon into doing a better job. Takagi already brought Takao Soma into the group and recently revealed that Shiro Koshinaka & Masashi Aoyagi would be coming over to help him out. Tsurumi’s response is to find his own disciplined group of wrestlers to stop Takagi.This will lead to an 8-Man Tag Team mach at Korakuen Hall to see who will win the battle between chaos and good behaviour.


DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2012” Results

January 29, 2012

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2012”, 29/01/2012
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,388 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. Dark Match: DJ Nira & Shota defeated Gorgeous Matsuno & Rion Mizuki when Shota pinned Mizuki with an Inside Cradle (7:41).
1. Sanshiro Takagi & Takao Soma defeated Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Hoshitango when Takagi pinned Matsunaga with the Sit Down Himawari Bomb (6:46).
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Masa Takanashi & Daisuke Sasaki defeated Hikaru Sato & Michael Nakazawa and Shigehiro Irie & Poison JULIE Sawada (7:32).
2a. Shigehiro Irie & Poison JULIE Sawada eliminated Hikaru Sato & Michael Nakazawa when Irie pinned Nakazawa with the Teddy Bear (4:07).
2b. Masa Takanashi & Daisuke Sasaki eliminated Shigehiro Irie & Poison JULIE Sawada when Takanashi pinned Sawada with a Jackknife Hold (7:32).
3. Rock & Roll Death Match: Yasu Urano, A.YAZAWA & Keita Yano defeated Makoto Oishi, Akito & Hiroshi Fukuda (w/ Hikari Minami) when YAZAWA pinned Fukuda with a Super Kick (14:12).
4. Yuji Hino defeated Keisuke Ishii with the Fuckin’ Bomb (10:46).
5. Kenny Omega defeated HARASHIMA with the One-Winged Angel (21:09).
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Danshoku Dino defeated KUDO (c) with the Danshoku Tornado (15:37).
*KUDO fails in V6. Danshoku Dino becomes the 38th KO-D Openweight Champion!

It took him just over 6 years to finally get the sweet, sweet taste triumph again. Danshoku Dino now rules the roost in DDT, winning the KO-D Openweight Title tonight for the second time in his career. He defeated his fellow Homorio Clover Z member KUDO with a brand new finisher called the Danshoku Tornado, a Twisting Moonsault. The match begun with a perverse take on the infamous Antonio Inoki Vs Muhammed Ali fight, with KUDO keeping his back to the mat and kicking Dino in the legs while the challenger kept thrusting his hips towards the champion. While KUDO did score hits with a Swan Dive Missile Kick and the Buzzsaw Kick, Dino incapacitated him with the Lip Lock and Gotch-Style Danshoku Driver. KUDO was able to kick out of that but Dino immediately followed with his new finisher to seal the deal.

After the match Dino took the mic and said it was his dream to main event Budokan Hall. He was interrupted by Antonio Honda, who was still able to attend the show despite “falling ill” during the week. Honda told a story about seeing Dino wrestle in a HWWA indie show ten years ago. He also brought up the memory of the MUSCLE sub-brand, a place both Dino and Honda played a big role in creating. Honda then challenged Dino for a title shot. Tsurumi Amon gave the green light and announced the match will take place when DDT returns to Korakuen Hall on 19th February. Dino finished up by saying that being gay is the strength of his power, he will dye the Budokan with his Danshoku style, his libido will become stronger as we get closer to the 15th Anniversary show and that he has the ghost of MUSCLE looking over him.

Meanwhile KUDO said that tonight was a very frustrating loss to take. However, he will not give up fighting for the KO-D Title and he is also looking forward to new challenges. One of them will be the chance to team with Kenny Omega to take on El Generico & HARASHIMA on 19/2.

HARASHIMA prepared himself well for Kenny Omega by avoiding the Croyt’s Wrath finisher. Unfortunately he forgot about Omega’s new finisher, the One-Winged Angel. Kenny won the match and afterwards said there is no time to rest when you are a champion. After he beats Kaz Hayashi in All Japan next week, Omega wants to defend the AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Title against HARASHIMA in DDT. HARASHIMA complimented Omega for gaining experience in so many different wrestling organisations and that he himself felt the pride of a champion when fighting him.

Yuji Hino defeated Keisuke Ishii in a preview of their KO-D Tag Team Title match in Nagoya next month. His pure power was too much for Ishii to take. Afterward Hino just said that 2012 will be an “interesting year”. While Shigehiro Irie checked on him, Ishii said he felt shame for losing to someone from KAIENTAI-DOJO. Irie stood by his friend and said he would never wrestle for K-DOJO.

Despite losing to Crying Wolf in the Rock & Roll Death Match, Makoto Oishi challenged Yasu Urano to put the KO-D Tag Team Title on the line against him and a partner of his choosing on 19/2. Urano accepted and Makoto introduced his partner, Masao Inoue! Makoto nicknamed Inoue the “Silly Little Green Giant” and begun a short interview with him, idol group style. Inoue didn’t have much to say in the interveiw so Makoto kept finishing his sentences for him.

Daisuke Sasaki will be taking an extended break from DDT. He will be travelling over to Mexico and will wrestle there for a while. He has not decided how long the excurison will be.

Sanshiro Takagi said he wanted to add more wrestlers to his “Anti-League Players Association” in the next couple of weeks. It looks like this storyline will slowly brew all the way up to the 15th Anniversary show. Both Takagi & Takao Soma had their bodies covered in the same tattoos CM Punk has.


A.YAZAWA To The Rescue, Omega Vs Generico (Sort Of), Pink Kneel Kick

January 27, 2012

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2012”, 29/01/2012
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Gorgeous Matsuno & Rion Mizuki Vs DJ Nira & Shota
1. Sanshiro Takagi & Takao Soma Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Hoshitango
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Masa Takanashi & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Hikaru Sato & Michael Nakazawa Vs Shigehiro Irie & Poison JULIE Sawada
3. Yasu Urano, A.YAZAWA & Keita Yano Vs Makoto Oishi, Akito & Hiroshi Fukuda (w/ Hikari Minami)
4. Keisuke Ishii Vs Yuji Hino
5. Kenny Omega Vs HARASHIMA
6. KO-D Openweight Title: KUDO (c) Vs Danshoku Dino

Antonio Honda has been suddenly struck with a chronic illness and had to be taken off this weekend’s show. Luckily, A.YAZAWA will be coming in to take his place. YAZAWA will bring his experience in Rock & Roll Death Matches to aid Crying Wolf with their match against Homoiro Clover Z.

DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2012”, 19/02/2012
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special Tag Match: Kenny Omega & X Vs El Generico & X

Kenny Omega and El Generico finally cross paths in Japan but it will be in a Tag Team match.

DDT “PINK KNEEL KICK VOL.1”, 03/03/2012
Tokorozawa Civic Gymnasium

1. Sanshiro Takagi Vs Yasu Urano
2. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs HARASHIMA & KUDO

Keisuke Ishii begins the first in a series of self-produced wrestling shows after his debut attempt from last year turned out to be a success.


Night, Night. Don’t Let The Dino Bite

January 23, 2012

NJPW/CMLL “NJPW PRESENTS CMLL FANTASTICA MANIA 2012”, 21/01/12
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,950 Fans – Super No Vacancy

TAKA Michinoku & Taichi defeated Danshoku Dino & Maximo when Taichi pinned Taichi with a Horizontal Cradle (8:04).

One year after teaming together, Danshoku Dino returned to New Japan to team up with the pink mohawked Luchador Maximo once again for the New Japan & CMLL co-production of “FANTASTICA MANIA”. Before their match with TAKA Michinoku & Taichi even began, Dino tried to kiss Milano Collection AT at the commentator’s table. Milano avoided Dino by dragging another commentator in his place for the kiss. Even though Dino and Maximo got along fabulously and recieved chants of “Maxi-Dino” from the fans, their efforts could not defeat TAKA & Taichi. Dino & Maximo let bygones be bygones and both kissed the referee at the same time after the match. Dino then chased Taichi into the locker room.

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2012”, 29/01/2012
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Gorgeous Matsuno & Rion Mizuki Vs DJ Nira & Shota
1. Sanshiro Takagi & Takao Soma Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Hoshitango
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Masa Takanashi & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Hikaru Sato & Michael Nakazawa Vs Shigehiro Irie & Poison JULIE Sawada
3. Yasu Urano, Antonio Honda & Keita Yano Vs Makoto Oishi, Akito & Hiroshi Fukuda (w/ Hikari Minami)
4. Keisuke Ishii Vs Yuji Hino
5. Kenny Omega Vs HARASHIMA
6. KO-D Openweight Title: KUDO (c) Vs Danshoku Dino

Danshoku Dino last held the KO-D Openweight Title in 2005. It was his only KO-D Title reign and since then he has had around six shots at the belt. KUDO will break the record for most KO-D Title defences if he defeats Dino.

DDT “TRULY ULTRA SUPER BAZOOKA!”, 11/02/2012
Nagoya Arsenal Hall

1. KO-D Tag Team Title: Yasu Urano & Yuji Hino (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie

The former champs get their rematch with Crying Wolf. Unsurprisingly, no one has been able to match the strength of Yuji Hino so far. Will Keisuke Ishii have discovered a fatal flaw to exploit after his Korakuen Hall match with Hino?

UNION “UNION PRO WRESTLING IN OSAKA”, 12/02/2012
Osaka Minami Move On Arena

1. Ken Ohka & Mio Shirai Vs Black Buffalo & Tigers Mask
2. Shuji Ishikawa & Shigehiro Irie Vs El Generico & Hiroshi Fukuda
3. DDT Extreme Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Sexxxy Eddy

Mio Shirai & Ken Ohka sent out a challenge to face any team for this show. Black Buffalo & Tigers Mask from Osaka Pro answered the call.


DDT “IN CHIBA 2012” Results

January 22, 2012

DDT “IN CHIBA 2012”, 22/01/2012
Chiba Port Arena
208 Fans

1. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie defeated Hikaru Sato & Michael Nakazawa when Ishii pinned Nakazawa with the Kneel Kick (8:25).
2. Antonio Honda & Keita Yano defeated HARASHIMA & Ryuichi Sekine when Honda submitted Sekine with the Octopus Hold (11:54).
3. Sanshiro Takagi defeated Takao Soma with the Sitdown Himawari Bomb (11:05).
4. Danshoku Dino, KUDO & Makoto Oishi defeated Kenny Omega, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Shota when Dino pinned Shota with the Gotch-Style Danshoku Driver (12:00).
5. Lottery Bonus Match! Angel Vs Devil Showdown!: Jaki Numawzawa defeated DJ Nira with the Piledriver (12:52).
6. KO-D Tag Team Title: Yasu Urano & Yuji Hino (c) defeated Masa Takanashi & Daisuke Sasaki when Hino pinned Takanashi with the Fuckin’ Bomb (21:29).
*V1 for Crying Wolf.

Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie will get a KO-D Tag Team Title rematch with Yasu Urano & Yuji Hino on 11th February in Nagoya. The champions after that event will then face a Homoiro Clover Z team at the 19/2 Korakuen Hall show.


DKP: 2011 ProWres Paradise Annual

January 19, 2012

I have a big treat in store for everyone today courtesy of the kind folks from the Dr. Keith Presents radio show over at F4WOnline. Dean Knickerbocker and Alan Counihan have created a pro wrestling annual that looks back on the Japanese, American and European scenes throughout 2011. The 99-page annual is filled with analysis of many of the major Japanese promotions and American indy feds, articles on some of the most notable breakthrough names over the last 12 months and also some fun puzzles to enjoy. Plus there are roundtable discussions on the most memorable moments in both America and Japan, the latter featuring yours truly. For those of you who grew up with the Beano, Dandy and Shoot Annuals, this is just the downloadable book for you.

The PDF file can be downloaded here.

23/01/12 Edit: Link updated yet again.


Union Vs Big Japan, Kazuki Hirata Injured

January 18, 2012

DDT “IN CHIBA 2012”, 22/01/2012
Chiba Port Arena

1. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs Hikaru Sato & Michael Nakazawa
2. HARASHIMA & Ryuichi Sekine Vs Antonio Honda & Keita Yano
3. Sanshiro Takagi Vs Takao Soma
4. Lottery Bonus Match! Angel Vs Devil Showdown!: DJ Nira Vs Jaki Numawzawa
5. Danshoku Dino, KUDO & Makoto Oishi Vs Kenny Omega, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Shota
6. KO-D Tag Team Title: Yasu Urano & Yuji Hino (c) Vs Masa Takanashi & Daisuke Sasaki

Add another name to the injured list. Kazuki Hirata has suffered damage to his ACL and will miss the Chiba Port Arena show and it is not known how long he will be out of action for. Shota will replace him in the semi-main event.

UNION “FORTUNE DEMONS 2012”, 10/02/2012
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Mio Shirai Vs Sexxxy Eddy
2. Ken Ohka Vs El Generico
3. Shuji Ishikawa & Shigehiro Irie Vs Kengo Ohka & Madoka
4. BJW Tag Team Title: Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto (c) Vs Kazuki Hashimoto & Takumi Tsukamoto

The main event for the Union 10/2 show in Shin-Kiba will be something for fans of Big Japan Wrestling to look forward to. Isami Kodaka has invited his tag team partner Yuko Miyamoto over to Union to defend their BJW Tag Team Championship against Kazuki Hashimoto & Takumi Tsukamoto. Isami is currently a double champion. He recently won the DDT Extreme Title and has held the BJW Tag Title with Miyamoto since May 2011.

The Union and Big Japan crossover does not stop there. Union announced that they will be hosting a joint show with Big Japan at Shinjuku FACE on 29th March. At the press conference where the news was announced, Ken Ohka said the Union Vs Big Japan rivalry will be a lot like the New Japan Pro Wrestling Vs UWF International feud from 1995. Meanwhile, Yuko Miyamoto said he wanted to have a DDT Extreme Title match with his friend Isami sometime in the future. There was also a mention of Cherry taking on a female Death Match Champion named Toka Kobayashi. Hmmm, that name sounds familiar…

The show will also have the debut match of New Sanshiro Takagi. The original Sanshiro Takagi has seen his workload for both DDT and Union in 2012 become too much to handle, so he has brought along Keizo Matsuda of IWA Japan to literally take his place in Union for the time being. This is not the first time Matsuda has portrayed a duplicate. He was formerly Fake HG in HUSTLE.

UNION “UNION PRO WRESTLING IN OSAKA”, 12/02/2012
Osaka Minami Move On Arena

1. Ken Ohka & Mio Shirai Vs X & X
2. Shuji Ishikawa & Shigehiro Irie Vs El Generico & Hiroshi Fukuda
3. DDT Extreme Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Sexxxy Eddy

Union will hold its next show two days later and will feature Isami Kodaka defending the DDT Extreme Championship in the main event. His opponent is Canada’s answer for Glenn Quagmire, Sexxxy Eddy in a rematch from their Sexy Diva bout from August 2011.


DDT “DDT MUSIC!” Results

January 14, 2012

DDT “DDT MUSIC!”, 14/01/2012
Osaka Yodogawa Ward Center
369 Fans

1. Akito defeated Kazuki Hirata with a Ankle Lock Crab Hold (6:02).
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Antonio Honda & Keita Yano defeated Michael Nakazawa & Shoichi Uchida and Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Takao Soma when Honda pinned Nakazawa with the Diving Fist Drop (8:53).
3. Big New Year’s Match: Sanshiro Takagi defeated DJ Nira with the Sitdown Himawari Bomb (10:13).
4. Big New Year’s Match: Yasu Urano defeated Masa Takanashi with a Small Package (12:42).
5. Big New Year’s Match: Yuji Hino defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the Fuckin’ Bomb (11:33).
6. Big New Year’s Match: Kenny Omega defeated Shigehiro Irie with the One Winged Angel (16:33).
7. KUDO, Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi defeated HARASHIMA, Hikaru Sato & Keisuke Ishii when Dino pinned Ishii with a Moonsault (16:18).

Danshoku Dino did a Diving Double Knee Drop of his own before KUDO hit his version in the lead up to their victory in the main event.

At one point during the Kenny Omega Vs Shigehiro Irie match, Omega climbed the top turnbuckle, shouted out “Tanahashi!” and did a High Fly Flow onto Irie.

Early reports are giving high praise to the Yasu Urano Vs Masa Takanashi match. Even though both Urano and Yuji Hino won their matches, Masa stole Urano’s KO-D Tag Team Title belt.


Iron Man Title In Osaka Update

January 12, 2012

The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title has changed hands a couple of more times over in Osaka Pro since last week. Apple Miyuki lost the belt to Kushinbo Kamen on 7th January despite just beating him in a singles match. Kamen used the 24/7 rule to his advantage and immediately cradled her for the pin. The next day Black Buffalo submitted Kamen to become champion during a 3 Way Match with Billyken Kid also involved. He then scored a rare title defence against Ebessan the day afterwards. However, his title reign ended today when Apple Miyuki’s ghastly alter ego Miyuki Matsuyama won the title. Miyuki is currently the 886th champion. DDT returns to Osaka in two days but so far there is no word in anyone making the trip over to the Minami Move On Arena to bring the title back to its home promotion.