Japan Trip, Grand Illumination, Max Bump, Takeshita Dream Match

March 29, 2016

Heads up everyone, I’m about to go on holiday to Japan for the next two weeks. Bad news is I won’t be able to update the blog until maybe the 3rd week of April. The good news is I’ll be going to see Saitama Slam at Kasukabe Hall on the 2nd. I’ll hopefully have a good report written up for that show and my experience of it.

DDT “DNA 15”, 01/04/2016
Kitasenju Theatre 1010

1. Guanchulo Vs Rekka
2. Daichi Kazato Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
3. Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase Vs Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao
4. Rainbow Kawamura Vs Antonio Honda
5. Shunma Katsumata Vs Kouki Iwasaki
6. Kazusada Higuchi Vs Mao Inoue

This is Rekka’s first appearance as a full time member of DNA.

Dai Suzuki has gone under surgury to repair a meniscus in his left knee.

DDT “DRAMATIC GRAND ILLUMINATION!”, 03/04/2016
Shizuoka Izuguranparu Park

1. Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Gota Ihashi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki
2. Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao Vs Akito & Yasu Urano
3. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Shunma Katsumata & Guanchulo
4. Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi Vs Masa Takanashi & Kota Umeda
5. DDT Extreme Title: Super Sasadango Machine (c) Vs Shigehiro Irie
6. DDT Special 4 Vs Happy Motel Falls Count Anywhere 8-Man Tag Team Match: Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs Antonio Honda, Konosuke Takeshita, Tetsuya Endo & Hiroshi Fukuda

Shigehiro Irie got the better of Super Sasadango Machine at their last meeting. What does Sasadango have planned to beat him?

DDT “MAX BUMP 2016”, 24/04/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo
2. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi

Last May Kazusada Higuchi used a Right To Challenge contract to get a title match. His undefeated streak was ended by the champion HARASHIMA. Now almost a year later Higuchi finds himself in a similar position. He wants to get revenge on HARASHIMA for ending his win streak.

The New Gen Combo were granted a rematch for the KO-D Tag Team Titles.

The current Right To Challenge contract holders are Toru Owashi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Danshoku Dino, Antonio Honda and Saki Akai.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS VOL. 3 ~FLOWERS ARE FLOWERS PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE~”, 22/05/2016
Osaka Yodogawa Ward Community Center

1. Twelve New Year’s Eve Dream: Konosuke Takeshita Vs HUB

It’s been a dream for Konosuke Takeshita to wrestle HUB. He’s been a fan of his going well back to his Osaka Pro days as zero.

Other wrestlers expected to compete are Jinsei Shinzaki, Magnitude Kishiwada, Kikutaro, Kuishinbo Kamen, Shuji Ishikawa, Kengo Takai, Shoichi Uchida and Super Sasadango Machine. Dick Togo will also appear.


BASARA “VAJRA 6 ~OWARI NAGOYA WITH THE CASTLE~” Results

March 29, 2016

isami-zeyyari

BASARA “VAJRA 6 ~OWARI NAGOYA WITH THE CASTLE~”, 28/03/2016
Nagoya Chikusa Small Theatre
183 Fans

1. Hi69 defeated Yukihiro Abe with a Modified Crab Hold (9:06).
2. Kazuaki Mihara & Shinya Ishida defeated Hiroshi Fukuda & SAGAT when Ishida pinned SAGAT with the Delta Drive (8:25).
3. FUMA & Yusuke Kubo defeated Daichi Kazato & Tsutomu Oosugi when FUMA pinned Kazato with the HEAVY METAL ANTHEM (13:46).
4. Naoshi Sano defeated Ryu Gouma with a Vertical Drop Brainbuster onto the Statute Book (6:39).
5. Atsushi Maruyama defeated Ryota Nakatsu with a Cradle (8:28).
6. Isami Kodaka & Takumi Tsukamoto defeated Ryuichi Sekine & Koji Iwamoto when Kodaka pinned Iwamoto with the Zeyyari (17:29).

A round robin tournament will take place in May featuring 10 wrestlers all affiliated with BASARA. The tournament format is two blocks of five wrestlers and the winners of each group face each other in the final.

Koji Iwamoto kicked out of the Diving Double Knee Drop but was immediately put down with the Zeyyari.


DDT “TENNOJI WRESTLING ZOO! 2016” Results

March 27, 2016

sasaki-takanashi-titlevstitle

DDT “TENNOJI WRESTLING ZOO! 2016”, 27/03/2016
Osaka Tennoji Ward Community Center
375 Dans – No Vacancy

1. Akito & Yasu Urano defeated Guanchulo & Dai Suzuki when Akito submitted Suzuki with the Scorpion Lock (8:37).
2. Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Takagi pinned Hirata with a Cradle (9:51).
3. Saki Akai & Cherry defeated Antonio Honda & Hiroshi Fukuda with Akai pinned Fukuda with a Diving Body Attack (10:03).
4. Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae defeated Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi when LeRae pinned Oishi with the Ball Plex (11:59).
5. HARASHIMA & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki when HARASHIMA pinned Iwasaki with the Somato (11:45).
6. MAX Lucha Libre Maximo Title & SPW South East Asian Title – Ironman Match: Daisuke Sasaki (MAX c) (2) Vs Masa Takanashi (SPW c) (2) ended in a Draw (30:00).
6a. Daisuke Sasaki (1) defeated Masa Takanashi (0) with the Vietnam Driver II (12:24).
6b. Daisuke Sasaki (2) defeated Masa Takanashi (0) with the Cross Facelock (18:45).
6c. Masa Takanashi (1) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (2) with a Cradle (22:09).
6d. Masa Takanashi (2) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (2) with a Cradle (28:58).
*V9 for Daisuke Sasaki. V2 for Masa Takanashi.
7. Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Kota Umeda when Takeshita pinned Umeda with the German Suplex (14:29).

Daisuke Sasaki came out at the start of the show to announce he was defending the MAX Lucha Libre Maximo Title against Johnny Gargano. He was told that wasn’t happening and Masa Takanashi is his opponent. Takanashi came out and suggested a double title match with his SPW South East Asia Title also on the line. Sasaki accepted but only if they fought in a 60 minute Ironman match. Amon Tsurumi was worried they wouldn’t be able to fit a 60 minute match into the show but agreed to give it a 30 minute time limit after the crowd reacted positively to the stipulation. Sasaki took the first two falls with two of his finishing holds. But Takanashi scored a point when he countered the NOW OR NEVER into a Cradle. Sasaki tried to increase the lead by getting Takanashi counted out. He gave him a Brainbuster on the floor and also a Super Elbow Drop while Takanashi was sitting on a chair. Takanashi somehow found it in him to Cradle Sasaki again and even the score 2-2. The final minute had both wrestlers trying to roll up and cradle each other for a flash 3 count but the time expired with no winner determined. Both Sasaki and Takanashi had to be helped out to the back but they both yelled “Remember this!” to each other as they left.

HARASHIMA and Kazusada Higuchi had a staredown after Match #5. Tomomitsu Matsunaga stepped in between them to remind HARASHIMA he has a Right To Challenge contract.

The World’s Cutest Tag Team want a rematch with Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa. Joey Ryan wants another shot at winning the KO-D Tag Team Titles while Candice LeRae just wants to beat the shit out of Sasaki.

Konosuke Takeshita will face HUB in Yodogawa on 22nd May. The match was put together by Yukinori Matsui when during an after show drinking party last December a drunk Takeshita told Matsui he became a pro wrestler so he could meet zero (HUB’s old gimmick). Matsui was moved by the story and wanted to make it happen.


DDT “HANAMI WRESTLING” Results

March 27, 2016

akai-sakura

DDT “HANAMI WRESTLING”, 27/03/2016
Hanshin Racecourse Event Plaza
??? Fans

1. HARASHIMA & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao when HARASHIMA pinned Takao with the Somato (8:25).
2. Saki Akai & Makoto Oishi defeated Cherry & Antonio Honda when Akai pinned Cherry with a Diving Body Attack (9:09).

It was Hanshin Sakura Week at the racecourse so DDT held a small show near the track. Saki Akai was the special Sakura Ambassador for the event but a jealous Cherry stole her tiara. To solve the problem a match was held to determine who deserved to be the ambassador. Akai pinned Cherry in a mixed tag match but Cherry protested that she kicked out at 2. Akai reconciled with her and asked for her to team up together in Osaka later that day. Cherry accepted the offer.


DDT “DRAMATIC 2016 MARCH SPECIAL” Results

March 27, 2016

harashima-beats-ohka

DDT “DRAMATIC 2016 MARCH SPECIAL”, 26/03/2016
Shinjuku FACE
600 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Gota Ihashi defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Toru Owashi when Ihashi pinned Takagi with a School Boy (8:05).
2. Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao defeated Super Sasadango Machine & Mizuki Watase when Irie pinned Machine with the Flying Sausage (10:45).
3. Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo defeated Hoshitango & Guanchulo when Takeshita pinned Guanchulo with a Texas Cloverhold (9:39).
4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi, Shunma Katsumata & Kouki Iwasaki (c) defeated Yukio Sakaguchi, Masa Takanashi & Kota Umeda when Katsumata pinned Umeda with the Nebula Storm (14:14).
*V1 for Higuchi-gumi.
5. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Battle Royal: Saki Akai, Danshoku Dino, amd Antonio Honda all won Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contracts (11:25).
5a. Saki Akai eliminated Makoto Oishi by Ring Out (3:50).
*Saki Akai wins a Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.
5b. Danshoku Dino eliminated Keisuke Ishii with a Lip Lock (6:10).
*Danshoku Dino wins a Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.
5c. Hiroshi Fukuda eliminated Yasu Urano by Ring Out (8:24).
5d. Akito eliminated Hiroshi Fukuda by Ring Out (8:24).
5e. Antonio Honda defeated Kazuki Hirata with a Crucifix Pin (11:25).
*Antonio Honda wins a Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki (c) & Shuji Ishikawa defeated Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae when Sasaki pinned LeRae with the Vietnam Driver II (18:11).
*V1 for Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) defeated Ken Ohka with the Somato (16:11).
*V1 for HARASHIMA. Ken Ohka cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.

Ken Ohka made several appearances throughout the show before the main event. Each time he demanded HARASHIMA to come out so they could begin their KO-D Openweight Title match. But whenever HARASHIMA appeared Ohka backtracked and instead claimed he was out to get advice from the other wrestlers in the ring. The match finally happened in the main event as originally scheduled. Ohka hit the Spear Of Flame but only got a two count. He surprised HARASHIMA with a Dragon Suplex but another Spear was avoided and HARASHIMA hit the Somato to win. The champion didn’t expect Ohka to be so driven to win and was impressed by how strong he has gotten. Ohka cried and thanked HARASHIMA before leaving.

Kazusada Higuchi was invited to the ring to set up HARASHIMA’s next title match on 24th April. Higuchi said he’s been disciplining himself ever since HARASHIMA handed him his first loss in Sapporo last year. He said he has youth on his side and that is what will make him win.

Love is over! Daisuke Sasaki had to put his feelings for Candice LeRae aside as the two duked over the KO-D Tag Team Titles along with Shuji Ishikawa and Joey Ryan. At one point the canvas was covered in candy and gave Sasaki the Ball Plex onto them. But it all fell apart for the challengers when Ishikawa gave LeRae the Fire Thunder onto the candy. Sasaki was in tears and told LeRae “I’m sorry, I love you!” before hitting a Super Kick. He then gave her the Vietnam Driver II for the victory. After the match Sasaki thought it was a good time to propose to LeRae one more time but he was turned down as usual. Sasaki wouldn’t take no for an answer and tried to leave the ring with LeRae over his shoulders. The New Gen Combo came to the rescue and then challenged the champions to a rematch. Sasaki instead demanded a match with LeRae and Johnny Gargano! Amon Tsurumi said there was no chance of it happening so the New Gen Combo are now the No. 1 Contenders.

Three more Right To Challenge contracts are now in play. A Battle Royal was held with a contract given to whoever could score an elimination by pinfall or submission. Saki Akai, Danshoku Dino and Antonio Honda won the remaining contracts. Kazuki Hirata once again failed to get one. At least he still has Aja Kong.

Team DNA just barely got out of Shinjuku FACE with the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles still in their grips. Shunma Katsumata caught Kota Umeda with a cradle but the two teams continued fighting after the bell rang. When they were kept apart Katsumata said their win wasn’t a fluke, it instead proved they can’t be stopped. Their goal as champions is to beat all of the senior wrestlers in DDT.

KENSO interfered in the opening match to again ask Sanshiro Takagi if he could join DDT permanently. Gota Ihashi got involved and got in a fight with KENSO. A missed Big Boot hitting Takagi allowed Ihashi to win the match via a roll up. KENSO ignored that and went back to asking about joining DDT. He will not give up because it his his dream to join DDT and wrestle for its amazing fans. Takagi said no. He instead brought out Taiwanese wrestler Rekka and asked him to join DDT and DNA. KENSO said he wanted to join more than Rekka but he was again told no. Takagi revealed he’s been in contact with New Taiwan Pro Wrestling and was impressed with Rekka’s hard work. DDT will hold its first show in Taiwan this November and DDT hopes Rekka will become a star in time for the show. KENSO yet again tried to get Takagi’s attention so a decision was made to have KENSO Vs Rekka in Saitama on 2nd April.

In a preview of their DDT Extreme Title match next week, Shigehiro Irie pinned Super Sasadango Machine. Sasadango didn’t even realise Irie was his next opponent until after the match. But he might have learned a few clues towards what Irie’s weaknesses are.


Ohka Desires Title, Sasaki Desires Candice, Sasadango Desires Not Losing

March 24, 2016

DDT “DRAMATIC 2016 MARCH SPECIAL”, 26/03/2016
Shinjuku FACE

1. Sanshiro Takagi & Toru Owashi Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Gota Ihashi
2. Super Sasadango Machine & Mizuki Watase Vs Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao
3. Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo Vs Hoshitango & Guanchulo
4. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Battle Royal: Danshoku Dino Vs Keisuke Ishii Vs Saki Akai Vs Antonio Honda Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Yasu Urano Vs Akito Vs Hiroshi Fukuda
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi, Shunma Katsumata & Kouki Iwasaki (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Masa Takanashi & Kota Umeda
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki (c) & Shuji Ishikawa Vs Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae
7. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Ken Ohka
*Ken Ohka will cash in in Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.

The first Right To Challenge Contract is already being cashed in. Ken Ohka is wasting no time and wants to fight HARASHIMA for the KO-D Openweight Title this Saturday. Ohka is not giving HARASHIMA any time to recover from Sumo Hall while he himself got through the show without a scratch. He knows HARASHIMA isn’t 100% and probably has an injured knee or foot from his match with Isami Kodaka. He has all the respect in the world for the champion and they have a strong bond after their match with Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yohei Komatsu last year. But his desire to win the KO-D Title again is even stronger.

Daisuke Sasaki nominated The World’s Cutest Tag Team as the No. 1 Contenders for the KO-D Tag Team Titles. He wants revenge on Candice LeRae for turning down his marriage proposal just to get engaged to someone else afterwards. Sasaki admits he’s thinking with his crotch instead of his head. He even wants to fight LeRae’s fiancée Johnny Gargano! Amon Tsurumi is allowing the title match to happen due to Sasaki’s insistence but did point out the former champions Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo also want a title rematch.

Turns out there is one more Right To Challenge Contract up for grabs.

In an odd turn of events Super Sasadango Machine wanted to vacate the DDT Extreme Title and reward it to Antonio Honda. Tsurumi asked why and he said he wanted to give the belt to Honda as a lifetime achievement award. His request was refused so he asked if he could lend the belt to Honda instead. When that was turned down he admitted he didn’t want to defend the title until the 20th Anniversary show in Saitama Super Arena next year. Then he admitted he would rather give the belt to Honda instead of losing it to him.

DDT “TENNOJI WRESTLING ZOO! 2016”, 27/03/2016
Osaka Tennoji Ward Community Center

1. Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi Vs Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae
2. Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Kota Umeda
3. Satoshi New War Broke Out! Special Singles Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Masa Takanashi

Danshoku Dino and Joey Ryan are in the same ring together for the first time since that match at “OSAKA OCTOPUS 2015”.

BASARA “VAJRA 6 ~OWARI NAGOYA WITH THE CASTLE~”, 28/03/2016
Nagoya Chikusa Small Theatre

1. Ryu Gouma Vs Naoshi Sano
2. Hi69 Vs Yukihiro Abe
3. Ryota Nakatsu Vs Atsushi Maruyama
4. Hiroshi Fukuda & SAGAT Vs Kazuaki Mihara & Shinya Ishida
5. FUMA & Yusuke Kubo Vs Daichi Kazato & Tsutomu Oosugi
6. Isami Kodaka & Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Ryuichi Sekine & Koji Iwamoto

Who let Naoshi Sano in here?

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “POKEBERU GA NARANAKUTE 2016”, 29/03/2016
Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. World’s Strongest Phantom Rumble ~Bracken Of The Living Dead~: J-Soul Pandita III IV Vs Dr. Kirico Vs Potato Head Sera Vs Hong Kong International Police Man Vs Hong Kong Domestic Police Man Vs Hong Kong International Women’s Police Man Vs Atsushi Maruyama Vs Choun-Shiryu
2. Special Tag Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Shibata & Mitomi Masayuki
3. Special Dream Match: Yumehito Imanari Vs Viper
4. Ganpuro Vs Tomodachi-gun: Ken Ohka, Shota & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Minoru Fujita, Madoka & Yukihiro Abe

Yumehito Imanari’s original opponent Bambi had to pull out due to poor health. Ganbare☆Wrestling struck a deal with Stardom to bring in Scottish wrestler Viper to replace Bambi. Imanari is thrilled with the decision.

DDT “DNA 15”, 01/04/2016
Kitasenju Theatre 1010

1. Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase Vs Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao
2. Rainbow Kawamura Vs Antonio Honda
3. Shunma Katsumata Vs Kouki Iwasaki
4. Kazusada Higuchi Vs Mao Inoue

Mao Inoue is being thrown into the deep end so soon after his return from injury.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “HOP! STEP! KASUKABE, JUMP!”, 02/04/2016
Saitama Kasukabe Hall

1. Hyper Misao Vs Yuu
2. KANNA & Yuka Sakizaki Vs Azusa Takigawa & Marika Kobashi
3. Nonoko Vs Nodoka-oneesan
4. Ai Shimizu Tokyo Joshi Pro Graduation Match: Ai Shimizu & Shoko Nakajima Vs Miyu Yamashita & Rika Tatsumi
5. Iron Mask Girl Legend ~ Farewell Saki Akamiya: Saki Akamiya Vs Poison Miura (w/ Poison Sawada JULIE)

Ai Shimizu gets to have her graduation match with the TOKYO Princess Of Princess Champion.

BASARA “VAJRA 7 ~TOSHOGONGEN~”, 10/04/2016
Oyama Municipal Cultural Center

1. Hardcore Match: Isami Kodaka & Takumi Tsukamoto Vs FUMA & Yusuke Kubo

This will be BASARA’s first Hardcore Match.

DDT “MAX BUMP 2016”, 24/04/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi

No matter who the KO-D Champion is they will defend the title against Kazusada Higuchi on this show.

LiLiCo will appear on the show looking for revenge on Saki Akai.


DDT “JUDGEMENT 2016 ~DDT 19th ANNIVERSARY~” Results

March 21, 2016

judgement2016

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2016 ~DDT 19th ANNIVERSARY~”, 21/03/2016
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
6,938 Fans – No Vacancy

0. King Of Dark Title: DJ Nira & Dai Suzuki defeated Seiya Morohashi (c) & Hoshitango when Nira pinned Morohashi with the Ravioli (3:31).
*D1 for Seiya Morohashi.
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Battle Royal: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Osaekomi Backslide (8:37).
Order Of Elimination: Poison Miura, Yuu, Hyper Misao, Nodoka-onesan, Ai Shimizu and Rika Tatsumi, Marika Kobashi, Nonoko, Azusa Takigawa, KANNA, Miyu Yamashita.
0. DNA Offer Match – Mao Inoue Comeback: Shunma Katsumata, Guanchulo & Mao Inoue defeated Kouki Iwasaki, Rainbow Kawamura & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Katsumata pinned Shimatani with the Lightning Spiral (6:53).
0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT defeated Takumi Tsukamoto, Daichi Kazato & Ryu Gouma when FUMA pinned Kazato with the HEAVY METAL ANTHEM (5:28).
1. Ryogoku First Appearance! Next KO-D Openweight Title Challenger Decision And Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Battle Royal: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Soma Takao with the Goten (16:53).
1a. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Blue: Ken Ohka (6:26).
1b. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Yellow: Tomomitsu Matsunaga (8:27).
1c. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Red: Toru Owashi (10:43).
1d. Right To Date Aja Kong: Kazuki Hirata (13:19).
Order Of Elimination: Gorgeous Matsuno, Cherry, Ryuichi Sekine, Masa Takanshi, Yoshihiko, Ryota Nakatsu.
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie defeated Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae and Akito & Yasu Urano when Irie pinned Akito with the Beast Bomber (9:57).
3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: LiLiCo (c), Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase defeated Saki Akai, Makoto Oishi & Lady Beard when LiLiCo submitted Oishi with a Manjigatame (9:38).
*V1 for LiLiCo.
4. Special Tag Match: Tatsumi Fujinami & LEONA defeated Antonio Honda & Hiroshi Fukuda when Fujinami submitted Fukuda with the Dragon Sleeper (12:10).
5. DDT Extreme Title – Ultimate Royal Barbed Wire PowerPoint No Power Blast PWF Rules: Super Sasadango Machine defeated Kendo Kashin (c) with a Cross Armbreaker Crush (7:07).
*Kendo Kashin fails in V4. Super Sasadango Machine becomes the 35th DDT Extreme Champion!
6. Kota Ibushi Comeback & Ibushi Wrestling Institute 1st Leg – East & West Toward The Front Over The Entire Surface Falls Count Anywhere Weapon Treasure Hunt Match: Kota Ibushi & Gota Ihashi defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Kasai and KENSO & Michael Nakazawa when Ibushi pinned Nakazawa with the Phoenix Splash (23:12).
7. Dramatic Dream Match: Minoru Suzuki defeated Yukio Sakaguchi by TKO with the Sleeper Hold (16:15).
8. Dramatic Dream Match: Akebono defeated Danshoku Dino with the Danshoku Yokozuna Impact (10:20).
9. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Uchicomi! Presents: Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo (c) when Sasaki submitted Takeshita with La Mistica Cross Facelock (17:22).
*New Generation Combination fails in V2. Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa become the 54th KO-D Tag Team Champions!
10. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: HARASHIMA defeated Isami Kodaka (c) with the Swan Dive Somato (18:15).
*Isami Kodaka fails in V4. HARASHIMA becomes the 56th KO-D Openweight Champion!

judgement2016-2

A lot happened at DDT’s 19th Anniversary show. I mean a lot. Three title changes, a mental Falls Count Anywhere match, bare asses, new challengers determined and a few announcements for DDT’s future too. DDT also had an entire seating setup of Sumo Hall available to them instead of having one side blocked off for the entrance stage like in previous years.

judgement2016-kodmain

In the main event HARASHIMA took the KO-D Openweight Title from Isami Kodaka to become an 8-time KO-D Champion. No amount of Isamuashi Zan kicks and Zeyyari knee strikes could keep the challenger down. Once again the Somato was the difference maker. During an intense back and forth HARASHIMA hit a short range Somato and followed up with a Swan Dive version to put Kodaka away. HARASHIMA said that little difference between him and Kodaka was needed to win and he will keep on winning. He said the scenery around him in Sumo Hall was amazing and when DDT returns in the summer he’ll be ready for whoever is thrown in front of him.

When HARASHIMA’s victory speech was over a message was shown on the video screen. On 20th March, 2017 DDT will hold its 20th Anniversary show in Saitama Super Arena! Previously DDT ran the Community Hub area of the building but this time the show takes place inside the main hall! Sanshiro Takagi said he wants to chase the dream with everyone and the show ended with the ring showered in cherry blossoms raining from the sky.

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The KO-D Tag Team Titles changed hands when Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa dethroned the New Generation Combination. The former champions went down fighting though. Ishikawa took out Tetsuya Endo with the Fire Thunder but Konosuke Takeshita never tapped out to Sasaki’s La Mistica Cross Facelock. Instead the referee had to call for the bell when Takeshita went motionless. After the match Sasaki said if the New Gen Combo can hear him then they should know the future is now in his and Ishikawa’s hands. In the post-match interview the former champions said they will go back to the drawing board but they also don’t know what their next step will be. Sasaki was quick to nominated The World’s Cutest Tag Team as the No. 1 Contenders. He still wants revenge on Candice LeRae for rejecting his marriage proposal earlier this year.

judgement2016-akebono-dino

We finally got to see what Danshoku Dino wanted to do with the collection of asses he gathered for Akebono. Dino had the turnbuckle pads removed from all corner posts and in their place was the bare asses of the DDT roster! Four corners and three asses per corner meant twelve asses surrounding the ring. However Akebono had his own trick up his sleeve. He put Dino in a Lip Lock then put on a pair of Danshoku tights. He used the power of Danshoku to deliver the Danshoku Yokozuna Impact to Dino and that was the end of that.

judgement2016-suzuki-sakaguchi

Minoru Suzuki didn’t care where he was or what company he is fighting in. It could be DDT or NOAH or some joshi promotion, as long as there was a squared circle to stand in Suzuki was ready for his match. It didn’t matter that his opponent Yukio Sakaguchi is a former KO-D Champion and somebody he never faced before. He was ready regardless. Sakaguchi had the rest of Shuten-dōji in his corner and tried to go hold for hold. His attempts to hit the Right Knee Of God were foiled but he was able to lock on the Modified Cobra Clutch. The big turning point came when Suzuki hit Sakaguchi with a Dropkick. By this point Sakaguchi barely had enough energy to fight off the Sleeper Hold and Gotch-Style Piledriver. But Suzuki was quick to catch him in another Sleeper Hold and choke him out to earn the victory. Suzuki showed good sportsmanship after the match and hugged Sakaguchi. Despite the loss Sakaguchi thinks he has grown stronger because of that match.

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Before Kota Ibushi’s comeback match began a teaser trailer played for DDT’s next movie called Dai Kaiju Mono, directed by Minoru Kawasaki. He is behind such films as Calamari Wrestler, Executive Koala, Kabuto-O Beetle, Everyone But Japan Sinks and Crab Goalkeeper. The Treasure Hunt Match began with Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Kasai carrying a locker and barbed wire board to the ring before everybody walked out of Sumo Hall to the outdoor starting area. When the bell rang there was chaos. Takagi and KENSO went straight for each other, Kasai threw Ibushi into the crowd of people watching them, everybody went over to cardboard cutouts of sumo wrestlers so they could takes pictures then Ibushi kicked Michael Nakazawa down a flight of stairs. Nakazawa was then dragged indoors to a restroom and Ibushi gave him a Piledriver into a toilet! Back in the arena everyone fought throughout the crowd and a giant hammer was brought out. KENSO and Takagi fought in the lobby and eventually found their way down to ringside. They both got on bicycles and cycled around the ring until they crashed into each other. Meanwhile Ibushi did a Moonsault from an entrance onto Nakazawa and Gota Ihashi below. Kasai brought Ibushi over to a table and climbed the top rope. He put Ibushi through the table with the Pearl Harbour Splash but he only got a two count. Back in the ring Takagi got the better of KENSO and wanted to throw him into the locker. He opened the longer and inside was former DDT wrestler Tanomusaku Toba! The kickboxer popped out and attacked whoever got in his way. Ihashi entered the ring with boxing gloves and got immediately knocked out. Ibushi entered with gloves and faired much better. Ihashi was somehow knocked out again during this by Toba and then Ibushi. In fact Ibushi lost track of what was happening and decided to beat up his partner until Toba regained his attention. Toba knocked out Ibushi and decided to leave. KENSO hit a Diving Elbow on Ibushi but his pin was interrupted by Takagi spraying him with a fire extinguisher. Nakazawa tried to clear the ring but was stopped by Kasai and a piece of the broken table. Nakazawa was then thrown into the barbed wire board. Kasai climbed the locker and hit the Pearl Harbour Splash on KENSO but Ibushi stopped the pin. With encouragement from Ibushi, Ihashi hit a Running Body Press onto both Takagi & Kasai outside the ring. Ibushi prevented Nakazawa from doing the Ultimate Venom Arm and knocked him out with a straight right hand punch. Ibushi paid tribute to Hayabusa by doing his pose before climbing the turnbuckles and then hit the match winning Phoenix Splash.

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After the match Takagi and Ibushi shared an emotional moment in the ring. Takagi congratulated Ibushi for his return, called him crazy and said he can now do whatever he wants to do. He hopes the Ibushi Wrestling Institute will discover new and interesting ways to do pro wrestling. Ibushi thanked him and said he would like to come back to DDT in the future. He did some backflips for the fans and then left. But KENSO was still there and he wanted to talk to Takagi. He said he came to DDT to chase after Takagi but then discovered DDT is the best and their fans are the best. So he wants to join DDT! Takagi instantly refused and demanded his music to cut off KENSO’s mic. KENSO asked again and Takagi instantly refused again. KENSO asked one more time and this time Kasai stepped in to offer his opinion. Kasai thinks a psychopath like KENSO joining DDT wouldn’t be a bad idea. Takagi thought about it but said no and left the ring to his music while KENSO fainted.

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The Ultimate Royal Barbed Wire PowerPoint No Power Blast PWF Rules match began with Super Sasadango Machine doing a PowerPoint presentation on a laptop that was surrounded in barbed wire and rigged to explode in 5 minutes. Thankfully there was no explosion because Sasadango got to explain the rules of the match within the time limit. He was joined by four men wearing Machine masks and he called them the Sasadango Machine Army. During the match a wrestler can pull out one of three Ultimate Royal cards. Doing so would activate Ultimate Royale Mode and the Machine Army will attack their opponent to the music of Chocoball Mukai’s entrance theme. Oh and the cards have a drawing of The Ultimate Warrior on them. Sasadango pulled out a card while Kendo Kashin had him in an Indian Deathlock. Kashin stole the second card and used it to turn the Army against Sasadango. This time they and also Yukinori Matsui wore Kashin masks. Kashin tried to lock in the Cross Armbreaker when Sasadango pulled out the final card. Matsui switched the Kashin mask with a Machine mask and fast counted the pin to make Sasadango the new DDT Extreme Champion!

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There was really nothing that Antonio Honda & Hiroshi Fukuda could do to beat Tatsumi Fujinami & LEONA. Even Fukuda singing “Macho Dragon” to distract Fujinami so Honda could sneak attack him didn’t do much in the long run. Fujinami said wrestling in Sumo Hall again for the first time in years made him feel nostalgic. LEONA admitted to being nervous by teaming with his father in such an important building. LEONA was asked in an interview if he would like to wrestle in DDT again in the future and he answered “By all means, please.” Fujinami thinks it will be good experience for him to do it.

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LiLiCo now stands triumphant over the Kawaii Connection. She escaped from Makoto Oishi’s Miracle Ecstasy and locked on a Manjigatame after Kota Umeda softened Oishi up with a Back Spin Kick. LiLiCo bragged about her success and credited it to being beautiful and eating good meat because she will forever be a carnivore. Saki Akai snuck up and gave her a School Boy to try and win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title but LiLiCo kicked out. Umeda & Mizuki Watase then blocked off Akai from any further attacks. LiLiCo demanded revenge and said she will keep her schedule open for the 24th April Korakuen Hall show.

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Team Drift came out on top in the 3 Way Tag match. Joey Ryan’s penis got to do the voodoo that you do so well and Candice Lerae delivered a double Ball Plex as part of a Tower Of Doom spot but she was then taken out with a Black Hole Slam from Shigehiro Irie. Akito tried his best to stop Irie but the Beast Bomber put an end to him and the match. The World’s Cutest Tag Team were still happy to wrestle in Sumo Hall and noted that although they didn’t win, they didn’t take the fall either. Keisuke Ishii felt confident about the win and revealed his goal is to now main event Sumo Hall. Irie is also disappointed that he went from headlining Sumo Hall a few years ago to wrestling in an undercard tag bout although he is happy he won with his friend Ishii.

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The show began with the first Right To Challenge Rumble to take place inside Sumo Hall. Kazuki Hirata entered at No. 1 hoping to grab a contract before anyone else could but someone was always there do stop him. Ken Ohka easily grabbed the first contract when he headbutted Hirata off of the ladder. Tomomitsu Matsunaga grabbed the second when he spat Lotion Mist at Hirata and he fell. Hirata was able to pull down the third contract when Soma Takao Dropkicked him off the ladder but the contract slipped out of his hands and Toru Owashi picked it up to win possession. One more was left and Hirata fought his heart out to claim it, escaping Kazusada Higuchi’s Canadian Backbreaker to step up the ladder and grab his prize. The Rumble part of the match continued and Higuchi outlasted both Takao and Ryota Nakatsu to win. Higuchi now has a KO-D Title shot on 24th April in Korakuen Hall. The contract holders returned to reveal their prize. Ohka, Matsunaga and Owashi all got Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contracts as expected. Hirata however got something different. His prize is a date with Aja Kong! She came out wearing HIRATA GO! glasses and she told Hirata they will go out dancing together. Hirata ran away and Kong chased after him. When that was done Ohka announced he will not wait long to cash in his contract. He wants his title match to take place on 26th March in Shinjuku FACE! Matsunaga and Owashi declined to say when they will cash in their contracts.

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Sumo Hall got a taste of heavy metal when FUMA’s team won the BASARA match. Although SAGAT is not a part of Kotetsu Gundan he fit in pretty well with his aggressive wrestling style. His GOREGRIND followed by Yusuke Kubo’s Goro Suplex left Daichi Kazato as an easy picking for FUMA’s HEAVY METAL ANTHEM Diving Elbow finisher.

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Mao Inoue’s return to action in the DNA match ended with him on the winning team. He wiped out Kouki Iwasaki and Rainbow Kawamura with the Alien Plancha allowing Guanchulo to set up Nobuhiro Shimatani for Shunma Katsumata’s Lightning Spiral.

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Poison Sawada JULIE appeared in the Tokyo Joshi Pro Battle Royal with his protege Poison Miura. He tried to eliminate everyone with his snake magic but Hyper Misao stopped him and eliminated Miura. When the match came down to three girls the Fighting Comedians double-teamed Miyu Yamashita to eliminate the TOKYO Princess Of Princess Champion. Yuka Sakazaki then pinned her teammate with a Leg Clutch Backslide to score the biggest win of her career.

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DJ Nira won a match in Sumo Hall. This is the first sign of the apocalypse. Seiya Morohashi was pretty lackadaisical with a pin attempt and Nira capitalized by shifting his dead weight on Morohashi’s shoulders.

DDT announced plans of an overseas expansion for later this year. They will hold a show in Taipai, Taiwan this November at the ATT SHOW BOX. The show is being sponsored by Nitori, a brand of furniture stores.

After the dark matches were over Amon Tsurumi and Mita Sayoko announced the winners of this year’s Dramatic Awards.

MVP: HARASHIMA
Best Bout: HARASHIMA & Ken Ohka Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yohei Komatsu (DDT “#OHKAEMPIRE BOX OFFICE ~MUSCLE MATES 2015~”, 17/11/2015)
Best Tag: Danshoku Dino & Super Sasadango Machine
Best Microphone: Minoru Fujita (GANBARE☆WRESTLING “WOW WAR TONIGHT 2015”, 16/05/2015)
Worst Bout: All Japan Hand Sumo Championship Final: Kazunori Huzioka Vs Ryota Yamazato (DDT “#OHKAEMPIRE BOX OFFICE ~MUSCLE MATES 2015~”, 17/11/2015)
Best Sexy: Shigeru Matsuzaki singing “Obsession” (DDT “SAITAMA SUPER DDT 2015”, 15/02/2015)
Best Shot: Ayano Fujiwara for Sanshiro Takagi 20th Anniversary Falls Count Anywhere Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Kasai Vs Kota Ibushi & Suguru Miyatake (DDT “JUDGEMENT 2015”, 29/03/2015)
Best SNS: Sanshiro Takagi
Best Hype Video: HARASHIMA Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2015 ~FROM DDT WITH LOVE~”, 23/08/2015)
Best Tonpachi: Kota Ibushi
Best Joshi: Saki Akai
Best Performance: Kazuki Hirata


DDT “JUDGEMENT 2016 ~DDT 19th ANNIVERSARY~” Preview

March 19, 2016

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DDT “JUDGEMENT 2016 ~DDT 19th ANNIVERSARY~”, 21/03/2016
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

0. King Of Dark Title: Seiya Morohashi (c) & Hoshitango Vs DJ Nira & Dai Suzuki
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Battle Royal: Miyu Yamashita Vs Shoko Nakajima Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Nonoko Vs Rika Tatsumi Vs Hyper Misao Vs Azusa Takigawa Vs Yuu Vs Nodoka-onesan Vs Marika Kobashi Vs Ai Shimizu Vs Poison Miura Vs KANNA
0. DNA Offer Match – Mao Inoue Comeback: Shunma Katsumata, Guanchulo & Mao Inoue Vs Kouki Iwasaki, Rainbow Kawamura & Nobuhiro Shimatani
0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Takumi Tsukamoto, Daichi Kazato & Ryu Gouma Vs FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT
1. Ryogoku First Appearance! Next KO-D Openweight Title Challenger Decision And Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Battle Royal: Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Masa Takanshi Vs Soma Takao Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Kazusada Higuchi Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Cherry Vs Ryuichi Sekine Vs Ryota Nakatsu Vs Yoshihiko Vs Ken Ohka
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs Akito & Yasu Urano
3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: Saki Akai, Makoto Oishi & Lady Beard Vs LiLiCo (c), Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase
4. Special Tag Match: Antonio Honda & Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Tatsumi Fujinami & LEONA
5. DDT Extreme Title – Ultimate Royal Barbed Wire PowerPoint No Power Blast PWF Rules: Kendo Kashin (c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine
6. Kota Ibushi Comeback & Ibushi Wrestling Institute 1st Leg – East & West Toward The Front Over The Entire Surface Falls Count Anywhere Weapon Treasure Hunt Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Kasai Vs KENSO & Michael Nakazawa Vs Kota Ibushi & Gota Ihashi
7. Dramatic Dream Match: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Minoru Suzuki
8. Dramatic Dream Match: Danshoku Dino Vs Akebono
9. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Uchicomi! Presents: Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa
10. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs HARASHIMA

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DDT celebrates the 19th year of its existence with the first of two visits to Sumo Hall in 2016. After drawing a disappointing number back in August, they have packed this card with everything they have in their arsenal. Spin offs BASARA, DNA and Tokyo Joshi Pro all have spots on the pre-show so there is a sense of DDT getting everybody they can on their rosters onto the show in a WrestleMania kind of manner. Things to look forward to this year are the aces of DDT and BASARA facing off, one man and his dog chasing after tag team gold, sumo being challenged by the power of asses, two grumpy fighters being grumpy to each other, the return of a Golden Star to shine over the least wanted feud in wrestling, the presence of a Dragon and his son and the most extreme PowerPoint presentation known to mankind.

0. King Of Dark Title: Seiya Morohashi (c) & Hoshitango Vs DJ Nira & Dai Suzuki

Seiya Morohashi has the unwanted honour of defending the King Of Dark Title at one of DDT’s biggest shows of the year. The belt has been in existence for over a year now and has been a nightmare for everyone who held it. Morohashi needs to pin either DJ Nira or Dai Suzuki to transfer the belt to them and escape from dark match hell.

0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Battle Royal: Miyu Yamashita Vs Shoko Nakajima Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Nonoko Vs Rika Tatsumi Vs Hyper Misao Vs Azusa Takigawa Vs Yuu Vs Nodoka-onesan Vs Marika Kobashi Vs Ai Shimizu Vs Poison Miura Vs KANNA

The girls from Tokyo Joshi Pro take the stage with a Battle Royal. Miyu Yamashita is currently leading the brand as the first and only TOKYO Princess Of Princess Champion. She doesn’t have a No. 1 Contender at the moment so the winner here might grab that spot.

0. DNA Offer Match – Mao Inoue Comeback: Shunma Katsumata, Guanchulo & Mao Inoue Vs Kouki Iwasaki, Rainbow Kawamura & Nobuhiro Shimatani

The rookie brand DDT New Attitude has been a highlight for DDT throughout the year. The shows are uploaded to DDT’s official Youtube channel and are a great showcase for the younger and newer talent. In fact two thirds of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions are captaining the two teams in this match. Shunma Katsumata is teaming with his Chilean amigo Guanchulo and the returning Mao Inoue. Inoue debuted at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2015” and is one of the more flashier wrestlers in DNA. But a jaw injury at “OSAKA OCTOPUS 2015” in November put him on the shelf. On the other side, one-third champ Kouki Iwasaki has the now more colourful Rainbow Kawamura and recently debuting Nobuhiro Shimatani to partner with.

0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Takumi Tsukamoto, Daichi Kazato & Ryu Gouma Vs FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT

It’s been go, go, go for Pro Wrestling BASARA since its first show earlier this year. As a replacement for Union, BASARA put together a much busier schedule than its predecessor and the shows held so far have been a success. One of the main storylines going on right now is FUMA’s obsession for heavy metal music resulting in the creation of Kotetsu Gundan. FUMA wants to spread around his love of heavy metal and convinced the now masked Yusuke Kubo and a slightly confused Madoka to join his cause. FUMA won’t shut up and it’s starting to annoy the rest of BASARA. Takumi Tsukamoto has a massive hammer to smash FUMA’s mouth shut, Daichi Kazato has a megaphone to drown out the noise and Ryu Gouma has his lawbook so surely he can find something to declare FUMA’s antics as noise pollution.

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1. Ryogoku First Appearance! Next KO-D Openweight Title Challenger Decision And Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Battle Royal: Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Masa Takanshi Vs Soma Takao Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Kazusada Higuchi Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Cherry Vs Ryuichi Sekine Vs Ryota Nakatsu Vs Yoshihiko Vs Ken Ohka

The show starts off proper with the annual Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere match appearing in Sumo Hall for the first time. It is a combination of a Money In The Bank Ladder Match and the Royal Rumble. The winner of the Rumble itself gets a guaranteed KO-D Openweight Title shot at Korakuen Hall on 24th April. However the competitors can instead try and claim one of several contracts held high above the ring. Those who grab a contract then leave the match with a prize. This year the prize is a MITB style title shot for any show from 26th March to 28th August, the date of the next Sumo Hall event. But this being DDT things are not always that simple. Rules can change but based on previous years the contract holder is forced to defend the contract in every single match they appear in until the contract is cashed in. This way the contract holder cannot just rest on their laurels and accept defeat after defeat knowing that they can claim an easy title shot whenever they want (see WWE booking). Plus it’s a bit unfair for the champion to have up to 4 or 5 people waiting to ambush him at any time so this concept keeps the roster scrambling amongst themselves for a few months.

After a string of wins including a Battle Royal victory, Kazuki Hirata offered to take the No. 1 entry spot in the match. He originally demanded to enter last but was convinced all of the contracts would be gone by the time he enters. So he’s entering first to grab a contract as soon as possible. He also has new heart shaped HIRATA GO! glasses on sale at the event. The rest of DDT’s misfits fill up the field. Masa Takanashi is aiming to win a title shot so he can become a double champion, one in Japan and one in Singapore. Toru Owashi is currently battling a flu but he also wants to snap every pair of HIRATA GO! glasses he sees. He also wants to flush Hirata down a toilet in the sumo locker room. Kazusada Higuchi held one of the contracts last year during his impressive rookie unbeaten streak. This time he wants to get a successful cash in. Tomomitsu Matsunaga and Cherry both want to finally achieve their goal of becoming KO-D Champion. Cherry wants to defend the title 41 times, one for every year she’s been alive. She believes this will end with her becoming reborn into an even more beautiful woman. Ryota Nakatsu is ready to get into a baseball dugout brawl if he has to. Ryuichi Sekine calls himself the best orthodox wrestler in BASARA and him getting a title shot will guarantee the belt either stays or comes back to his home company. Ken Ohka who briefly became KO-D Champion last year thanks to the Right To Challenge concept, sees himself as the outsider of the match due to being a representative of Ganbare☆Wrestling. At the press conference he challenged everybody to fight him one on one. Higuchi then gave him a Headbutt and he backed off, instead complimenting everybody for being so enthusiastic for the match. The other wild card is Yoshihiko. It probably just wants to watch the world burn.

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2. 3 Way Tag Match: Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs Akito & Yasu Urano

It’s safe to say DDT has fallen in love with The World’s Cutest Tag Team. Last year’s video of Joey Ryan overpowering Danshoku Dino with his dick made him famous and the DDT roster fell head over heels for Candice LeRae, one of them even going so far to propose to her almost immediately. For their return to Japan they have two mainstay tag teams thrown in their way. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie are former KO-D Tag Team and All Asia Tag Team Champions. Yasu Urano & Akito are busy working their strategy for the match. They understand that communication is key to winning and both of their opposing teams have strong bonds. However the one thing Ryan & LeRae have over Ishii & Irie is the language barrier. Ishii & Irie are terrible at English! Urano & Akito however understand English and can work out what Ryan & LeRae will be saying to each other. They don’t speak it themselves but they still understand it. Ishii tried to prove them wrong at the press conference by having Irie translate his message to both teams in English.

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3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: Saki Akai, Makoto Oishi & Lady Beard Vs LiLiCo (c), Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase

The Kawaii Connection reunite to deliver their cuteness to the entire world. Cute model Saki Akai, cute wrestler Makoto Oishi and cute crossdresser Lady Beard are ready to get revenge on LiLiCo for what she did to Akai. Back in December Akai finally achieved her goal and won the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title for the second time in her career. But a few weeks later LiLiCo made a surprise return to choke out Akai with a steel chain and win the title. Now they will finally meet in the ring properly but LiLiCo has some back up. She recruited DNA wrestlers Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase. mostly based on their looks, to protect her and her championship. They’ve been living a lavish lifestyle in the run up to the show. LiLiCo’s been bragging about eating delicious meat with her handsome men. Umeda thinks the full stomach he has from the meat puts him in peak physical condition. Meanwhile a war of words has erupted between Akai and Watase over each other’s appearances. It’s gotten so bad that the two had to be pulled apart from each other during the press conference.

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4. Special Tag Match: Antonio Honda & Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Tatsumi Fujinami & LEONA

The latest puroresu legend to step into DDT’s ring is WWE Hall Of Famer Tatsumi Fujinami! He’s been looking for a new challenge for himself and his son LEONA to overcome so DDT gave them a call and here they are. Antonio Honda spent the last few months chasing after the DDT Extreme Title and trying to get Kendo Kashin to notice him. The experience left him in a bad state of mind so when he heard he will be teaming with Hiroshi Fukuda it cheered him up. He said he always had fun when he’s in the ring with Fukuda. That it’s against Fujinami & LEONA is icing on the cake for both. Fukuda claims he recently received a WWE tryout and he wonders if Fujinami gets a Legends discount for the WWE Network because he’s in their Hall Of Fame.

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5. DDT Extreme Title – Ultimate Royal Barbed Wire PowerPoint No Power Blast PWF Rules: Kendo Kashin (c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine

And now we go to whatever the hell this is. Kendo Kashin’s DDT Extreme Title run has been complicated in ways that should not be so. He created rulesets for his title defences that turn out to be exactly like normal match stipulations. Instead of a normal match it is an Amateur rules bout with 3 count pins, submissions allowed and 20 count ring outs. Instead of a tag team match it is a single match but both wrestlers have partners they can swap places with. Instead of a Triple Threat it is a singles match but with three wrestlers involved. And so on and so forth. Add in Super Sasadango Machine who is a master of bizarre match stipulations and you have a recipe for a beautiful disaster.

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So what exactly is an Ultimate Royal Barbed Wire PowerPoint No Power Blast PWF Rules match? Does it have anything to do with that stupid 4 Way MMA Gauntlet match New Japan did for its 2005 Tokyo Dome show? Actually yes it does but there’s only two wrestlers involved this time. Also Kashin has never seen the match so he’s not entirely sure what the rules for that are. Does it have anything to do with the Barbed Wire Explosion matches FMW was famous for? Again yes it does but explosions of that size are banned in Sumo Hall so they won’t be included. Instead barbed wire will be wrapped around the laptop Sasadango uses for his PowerPoint presentations and it will be rigged to explode after 5 minutes.

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6. Kota Ibushi Comeback & Ibushi Wrestling Institute 1st Leg – East & West Toward The Front Over The Entire Surface Falls Count Anywhere Weapon Treasure Hunt Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Kasai Vs KENSO & Michael Nakazawa Vs Kota Ibushi & Gota Ihashi

There are two stories surrounding this match. First is the feud that no one wanted resurfaced last year and has lingered in DDT ever since. Sanshiro Takagi and KENSO had a feud in 2006 that ended with a No Rope Exploding Barbed Wire Match on a show where everything just fell apart. How bad was it? There were power outages during the match caused by the barbed wire ruining the explosions. KENSO showed up in DDT last year wanting to rekindle the feud. It was the most alive he ever felt and he wanted to experience it again. It turned smarky on social media with Takagi tweeting about KENSO’s failures in wrestling including losing to an actor when he wrestled in HUSTLE. KENSO’s response was usually just linking a picture of Takagi’s election poster, an embarrassing part of his past. A dark match 60 minute Ironman Match couldn’t decide a winner of the feud so it’s off to Sumo Hall for another final battle. Jun Kasai is coming to bring back his Crazy & President tag team with Takagi. KENSO has to rely on Michael Nakazawa who is returning from Singapore just to do this match. The stage is set for an out of control Falls Count Anywhere Match that will spread all over Sumo Hall. What could possibly take the spotlight from that?

Oh hey there, Kota Ibushi. How’s it going?

So get this. Last October Ibushi starts dropping out of shows including him missing a KO-D Title Match. Turns out he was diagnosed with a herniated cervical disc. So that’s him gone for God knows how long. Months pass and he’s all quiet until all of a sudden videos appear on Twitter of Ibushi working out and taking bumps with a training dummy. The herniated disc wasn’t as bad as expected and he was getting close to a full recovery. DDT and New Japan fans get excited for what will surely be his inevitable glorious comeback for both companies. Then in February he drops a bombshell. Ibushi decided to quit both DDT and New Japan. The double schedule took its toll on his body and he also felt he wouldn’t be able to do the kind of pro wrestling he wants to do while tied down to both companies. So he “graduates” from DDT and New Japan and then creates the Ibushi Wrestling Institute. What that is we still don’t know. What we do know is Ibushi’s first match back will be in this clusterfuck. He gets to wrestle Takagi and Nakazawa again, two men he has the deepest respect for and he gets to do a Falls Count Anywhere Match in Sumo Hall, which he has never done before.

What he does after the next few weeks is anyone’s guess. Maybe the WWE fans get their wish and he enters the Global Cruiserweight Series. Maybe NJPW fans can still get their wish of Ibushi Vs Kenny Omega at the Tokyo Dome next year. Or maybe he’s just going to do what he thinks is fun even if it means hardcore fans tearing out their hair because his big goal is to fight in Kaiju Big Battel. I mean fair play to EVOLVE and all but it has to be a bit embarrassing when everyone hears that the main reason a big star took your booking is because he wants to fight a devil monkey, a dust bunny, a murderous can of soup and a giant waffle in the same town that weekend.

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7. Dramatic Dream Match: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Minoru Suzuki

The last time Yukio Sakaguchi was in Sumo Hall for DDT he won the KO-D Championship. The last time Minoru Suzuki was in Sumo Hall for DDT he was part of some nonsense with Takagi, Kasai and Nakazawa. Both are grumpy hybrid wrestlers so it’s only natural for a showdown between the two. Sakaguchi isn’t in the mood to talk about the match. Suzuki cares a little more but he’s rather enjoying teasing Sakaguchi over his public reputation for being a bad guy. Expect this match to get physical.

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8. Dramatic Dream Match: Danshoku Dino Vs Akebono

Danshoku Dino is an ass man. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. What could be a surprise is Dino might not be able to handle the next ass he’s in the ring with. Akebono was last in DDT for “SAITAMA SUPER DDT” at the Saitama Super Arena. Since then he’s won some titles, created his own wrestling company Odo and got punched in the back of the head by Bop Sapp. You know, the usual stuff Akebono likes to do. For this match Dino has been trying to hunt down the asses of various wrestlers as some sort of power up but the plan hasn’t been a success. He’ll need to pull out every trick he can think of to win but it’s possible. Dino once defeated Bob Sapp. He can do the same to Akebono!

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9. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Uchicomi! Presents: Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa

The New Generation Combination are currently DDT’s top tag team. Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo are the leading examples that DDT’s future is in good hands. But for the last month they’ve had a duo barking up their tree and snapping at their heels. Daisuke Sasaki is a crafty veteran who has had success in the past. However his luck changed when he fell in love with Candice LeRae. After teaming with her he bent down on one knee and proposed. She turned him down and he had a mental breakdown when he found out she got engaged to someone else immediately afterwards. Unable to handle rejection Sasaki started bringing a dog leash with him. When he demanded a tag team title shot without having any tag partners he went out and got a dog named Adrien. The “dog” then showed up and attacked the New Gen Combo. He unmasked and was revealed to be Shuji Ishikawa! Sasaki now has a partner and together they want the tag titles. Takeshita & Endo believe they are the future of pro wrestling and they’re not going to drop the titles to a dumped man and his pet dog.

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10. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs HARASHIMA

The KO-D Openweight Championship has been around Isami Kodaka’s waist since November. Things have been great for him. His new promotion BASARA is doing well, he’s a tag team champion in All Japan and he’s been unbeatable in DDT. If there is anyone who has the best shot at winning the title from him it’s good old Mr. Reliable himself, HARASHIMA. For the 5th time in his career HARASHIMA is in the headline match for DDT at Sumo Hall. The last time was in 2014 in a 3 Way Match with Kodaka and Kenny Omega. HARASHIMA got the pin on Kodaka to keep the title. This time he’s going in as challenger and he aims to leave with the belt. Kodaka equates this match to the rivalry between Kenshiro and Raoh in Fist Of The North Star. Isami is Kenshiro, HARASHIMA is Raoh. Isami is desperate to win and he’ll even use the Muso Tensei if he has to!


Asian Champ Showdown, Akamiya Final Match, Water Park Fun Time

March 18, 2016

DDT “TENNOJI WRESTLING ZOO! 2016”, 27/03/2016
Osaka Tennoji Ward Community Center

1. Satoshi New War Broke Out! Special Singles Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Masa Takanashi

In a special circumstance the Champion of Chile takes on the Champion of Singapore.

BASARA “VAJRA 6 ~OWARI NAGOYA WITH THE CASTLE~”, 28/03/2016
Nagoya Chikusa Small Theatre

1. Hi69 Vs Yukihiro Abe
2. Ryota Nakatsu Vs Atsushi Maruyama
3. Hiroshi Fukuda & SAGAT Vs Kazuaki Mihara & Shinya Ishida
4. FUMA & Yusuke Kubo Vs Daichi Kazato & Tsutomu Oosugi
5. Isami Kodaka & Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Ryuichi Sekine & Koji Iwamoto

Yukihiro Abe shows up in BASARA for the first time.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “HOP! STEP! KASUKABE, JUMP!”, 02/04/2016
Saitama Kasukabe Hall

1. Ai Shimizu Tokyo Joshi Pro Graduation Match: Ai Shimizu Vs X
2. Iron Mask Girl Legend ~ Farewell Saki Akamiya: Saki Akamiya Vs Poison Miura (w/ Poison Sawada JULIE)

It seems Saki Akamiya does not have much time left in Tokyo Joshi Pro. Her war with Snake Joshi is close to ending in victory for her. But her reasons for leaving haven’t been made public yet. Has she left Tokyo Joshi safe from evil? Will Hyper Misao be capable of protecting the company without her partner?

DDT “DRAMATIC GRAND ILLUMINATION!”, 03/04/2016
Shizuoka Izuguranparu Park

1. Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Gota Ihashi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki
2. Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao Vs Akito & Yasu Urano
3. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Shunma Katsumata & Guanchulo
4. Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi Vs Masa Takanashi & Kota Umeda
5. Super Sasadango Machine Vs Shigehiro Irie
6. DDT Special 4 Vs Happy Motel Falls Count Anywhere 8-Man Tag Team Match: Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs Antonio Honda, Konosuke Takeshita, Tetsuya Endo & Hiroshi Fukuda

DDT is booking an entire show inside a water park after holding a smaller event there a year ago. Like last time they will be more than happy to try out the attractions during their matches.


BASARA “VAJRA 5 ~EARTH SHATTERING~” Results

March 13, 2016

isami-manjigatame

BASARA “VAJRA 5 ~EARTH SHATTERING~”, 13/03/2016
Kitazawa Town Hall
280 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Kenji Takeshima & Tatsuhiko Yoshino defeated SAGAT & CHANGO when Takeshima pinned SAGAT with the Techno Break (11:46).
2. Kikutaro defeated Ryu Gouma with a Russian Leg Sweep onto the Statute Book (9:43).
3. Tsutomu Oosugi defeated Daichi Kazato with the Tsuki No Ishii (8:15).
4. FUMA, Madoka & Yusuke Kubo defeated Ryuchi Sekine, Ryota Nakatsu & Koji Iwamoto when FUMA pinned Nakatsu with the HEAVY METAL ANTHEM (18:03).
5. Takumi Tsukamoto defeated Hi69 with the Lightning Speed (12:19).
6. Isami Kodaka defeated Hiroshi Fukuda with a Manjigatame (13:27).

In the main event Isami Kodaka countered Hiroshi Fukuda’s Perfect Plex into a Manjigatame for the submission victory. Fukuda was left slumped in the corner after the match so Kodaka went over to find out what was wrong. Fukuda said he wanted medicine for gout. Kodaka told Fukuda he will help him fight the incurable disease! The conversation continued and they figured out if 3 out of every 10 people have gout then that means 30% of the BASARA roster has gout! Kodaka shook Fukuda’s hand as a promise to cure gout and that they will also have a rematch someday.

Kodaka called out FUMA at the end of the show and he came out with the rest of Kotetsu Gundan beside him. Kodaka calledd FUMA’s new look laughable and he declared war on the unit. He said BASARA had banned hardcore wrestling until now. Starting in April BASARA will have its first Hardcore Match and it will involve Kotetsu Gundan. FUMA said he felt like he just stepped in a land mine. When Kodaka said hardcore FUMA thought he meant hardcore punk rock. He’s not punk, he’s heavy metal! FUMA said he’ll look forward to the hardcore match and he’ll keep on rocking by slamming thorns and chains into Kodaka’s soft heart!

Hi69 was graceful in defeat. He praised Takumi Tsukamoto for beating him.