Dramatic DDT

DDT “NEW YEAR LOTTERY SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2017”, 03/01/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. King Of Dark Title: Kouki Iwasaki, Mizuki Watase, Rekka & Daiki Shimomura defeated Nobuhiro Shimatani (c), Hoshitango, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Dai Suzuki when Iwasaki submitted Shimatani with a Crab Hold (6:55).
*D7 for Nobuhiro Shimatani.
1. 3 Way Tag Match: Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata and Soma Takao, Gorgeous Matsuno & Cherry when Oishi pinned Hirata with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (3:18).
2. Happy New Year’s New Year Special!: Joey Ryan & Laura James defeated Saki Akai & Gota Ihashi when Ryan pinned Ihashi with the Super Kick (7:50).
3. Shigehiro Irie & Yasu Urano defeated Danshoku Dino & Keisuke Ishii when Urano pinned Ishii with a Jackknife Pin (8:10).
4. KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Yoshihiro Takayama, Dick Togo & Guanchulo when KUDO pinned Guanchulo with the Diving Double Knee Drop (9:44).
5. DDT Extreme Title – IPPON Lighttube Death Match: Jun Kasai (c) defeated Akito with the Reverse Tiger Driver onto the Lighttube (10:46).
*V2 for Jun Kasai.
6. New Year! More Than Special Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Candice LeRae with the Vietnam Driver II (10:10).
7. Shuji Ishikawa, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Antonio Honda & Kazusada Higuchi when Endo pinned Honda with the Sky Twister Press (13:41).
8. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) defeated Mike Bailey with the Somato (22:52).
*V2 for HARASHIMA.

Everyone was in a celebratory mood as DDT welcomed everyone to their first show of 2017. The show kicked off with different members of the roster thanking the fans for their support as they reach their goals for this year. But when it was time for the main event all eyes were on HARASHIMA and “Speedball” Mike Bailey. HARASHIMA got a taste of Bailey’s kicks early and decided to target the challenger’s legs from then on. He threw some kicks of his own and while Bailey fired back, it just hurt his leg even further. Bailey recovered to hit a few Moonsault Double Knees and Shooting Star Double Knees. But the vital moment came when HARASHIMA rolled out of the way and immediately hit the Somato. Bailey kicked out of the pin but another Somato afterwards put him away. With another KO-D Openweight Title defence to his name, HARASHIMA thanked Bailey for a very hard match. He was happy to wrestle Bailey after watching his matches on Youtube. Bailey pointed out that HARASHIMA is always smiling. Bailey can’t smile right now but it’s not because he’s sad. What would make him smile is another match with HARASHIMA in the future.

The next KO-D Title match will take place on 29th January and it will be the last title match before the “JUDGEMENT 2017” 20th Anniversary show at Saitama Super Arena on 20th March. Daisuke Sasaki demanded a title shot so he can reclaim the KO-D Title and win Candice LeRae’s affections. HARASHIMA accepted the challenge. Sasaki then said another DAMNATION wrestler wants a KO-D Title shot at “JUDGEMENT 2017”. Shuji Ishikawa stepped forward but Sasaki kicked him away. He was talking about Tetsuya Endo. However Amon Tsurumi called in KUDO, Konosuke Takeshita and Kazusada Higuchi into the ring to stand next to Endo. Tsurumi announced a mini tournament between the four wrestlers with the Saitama Super Arena main event spot up for grabs. Takeshita will fight Higuchi on 7th January and KUDO fights Endo on 8th January. The two winners will then meet in the final on 29th January.

When Antonio Honda found himself fighting against DAMNATION alone he resorted to what he knows best. Telling children’s stories. The distraction allowed Konosuke Takeshita & Kazusada Higuchi time to recover and come to the rescue. However when Honda climbed the ropes to set up the Diving Fist Drop, Tetsuya Endo stopped him with a Handspring Kneel Kick. He then got the win with the Sky Twister Press.

If it wasn’t before, now love really is over for Daisuke Sasaki. He entered the ring where Candice LeRae stood waiting for him but he did not want to wrestle her. Instead he had gifts like candy and a bouquet of flowers. More importantly he had a divorce form with Johnny Gargano’s forged signature on it and also a marriage registration form with his own genuine signature on it. He thought it would be swell if Candice would sign both of them for him. Guanchulo translated the message for Candice to understand. She said if Sasaki beats her in a match then she would think about it. Sasaki excitedly called for the bell so the match would begin! Sasaki fought dirty and didn’t pull any punches on Candice. When the crowd booed he yelled back that she’s not his girlfriend yet. Candice fought back with a Swinging DDT and tried to put Sasaki in the Gargano Escape. Sasaki countered with the Cross Facelock but Candice escaped. Sasaki was ready to give Candice a Super Kick but hesitated. He told Candice he loves her but Candice flipped him a middle finger. Sasaki got angry and went ahead with the Super Kick. He then hit the Vietnam Driver II for the victory.

Sasaki calmed down after the match and happily asked Candice to sign his forms. They can be the John Lennon and Yoko Ono of the wrestling world! The crowd urged her on with “Yes!” chants. But Candice threw away the forms and had something to say instead. First, Sasaki’s not her type. Second, she heard Sasaki is also in love with Laura James. Sasaki claimed he was a different person from a year ago. He has since become the ace of DDT and created DAMNATION, the most popular unit in pro wrestling! Why doesn’t Candice like him? As Sasaki broke into tears Candice was blunt with him. Sasaki has no championship but Candice’s husband Johnny is a WWE champion! Sasaki panicked. Belt? Belt! He can get a belt! Sasaki went in for a kiss but Candice gave him the Ball Plex and left. Obviously the wrestling press had some questions for Candice after the match and she answered them. Would she have ever signed the forms? No, she was only joking. Also she can’t write in Japanese. What is Sasaki missing that Gargano has? Gargano is not a bully like Sasaki. Candice doesn’t like how Sasaki kicks around Shuji Ishikawa all the time.

A single lighttube was attached to the ropes for the DDT Extreme Title match. Jun Kasai and Akito fought around the lighttube trying break it over their opponent. Kasai found a fake lighttube under the ring and swapped it with the real one when Akito and the referee weren’t looking. Akito later hit him with the fake lighttube but it never broke. He found the real one and placed it across two steel chairs. Kasai Headbutted Akito and gave him the Reverse Tiger Driver through the lighttube to win the match. Akito was saddened to lose his Tavern Wrestling specialty match for the first time. He also feels that time is running out for him because he will turn 30 this year. While Akito loves the DDT Extreme Title he now wants to win any championship in DDT. At the end of the show Kasai was confronted by DAMNATION. Mad Paulie just had one thing to say to him. “Happy New Year!” He also wants a title shot. Kasai accepted the challenge and the match will take place in Osaka on 4th February. The champion promises to cook up a dramatic, extreme, crazy match in his kitchen for them to fight in.

Shuten-dōji are currently feeling unbeatable. They vanquished DAMNATION in December and started 2017 beating Yoshihiro Takayama, Dick Togo & Guanchulo. They’re not intimidated by their next challengers NωA. Them beating Gorgeous Matsuno & Cherry today doesn’t impress them. KUDO says he doesn’t recognise them as idols. In the 20 years of DDT the only idol he can see here is Masahiro Takanashi!

After failing to win the KO-D Title on Christmas Day, Shigehiro Irie is preparing another excursion to America later this month. If Danshoku Dino misses him he didn’t show it. Irie was the only person in the ring Dino did not want to kiss during their tag match. At one point Irie just stood there waiting for the inevitable Lip Lock but left him hanging and tagged out instead. Eventually Irie grabbed Dino by the arm and he gave him the Lip Lock instead! Yasu Urano wound up winning the match by countering Keisuke Ishii’s Double Arm DDT into a Jackknife Pin. After the match Urano picked up the AJPW Jr. Title and stared at it before placing it on Ishii’s shoulder. Backstage Urano said he doesn’t feel like he can challenge for the title whenever he wants but maybe he can in half a month’s time.

Gota Ihashi felt jealous of Joey Ryan & Laura James when he saw them kissing before their match. He tried to get a kiss from Saki Akai but was rejected. Ryan & Laura oiled themselves up and hit the Couple Combination to Ihashi in the corner. Ihashi got his hands on the lotion and wanted to do the same move with Akai on James but Ryan cut them off. Ihashi gave Ryan a Manhattan Drop but all it did was hurt his knee. Ryan then Super Kicked him for the win while James stretched Akai’s arm with her crotch in a move much like her husband’s.

The show kicked off with a musical 3 Way Tag Match. NωA came out singing “Going My Way!!! ~You Are Not Alone~”. Kazuki Hirata came out dancing on his own. Gorgeous Matsuno & Cherry performed a duet of the song “Drunk Hearts”. The match itself didn’t last long, Makoto Oishi pinned Hirata in just over three minutes. They think it is a good sign for their KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match in Saitama later this week.

Dark days continue for Nobuhiro Shimatani. He tried as hard as he could to pin Kouki Iwasaki in the prelim match but a low Knee Strike reversed his fortunes and Iwasaki submitted him with a Crab Hold.

Ever since Hyota Echizenya won the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title in Osaka, the pressure of defending the title has been getting to the comedian. He no longer wants to be the champion but he also thinks the next champion needs to be strong enough to handle responsibility of defending the title 24/7. So he has been searching the streets in search of somebody deserving to beat him for the championship. But every time he found someone he thought was suitable he found out they did not know pro wrestling and could not fight out of his Cobra Twist.

Retired MMA fighter Shungo Oyama will have his debut pro wrestling match at “JUDGEMENT 2017”. Oyama says he is a big fan of pro wrestling and has followed DDT for a long time but respected the sport too much to ever compete in it. However he would regret never doing it so he decided now was the time to experience the amazing splendour of pro wrestling. Also it will make him happy to stand inside Saitama Super Arena again like he did for Pride FC and HERO’S.

A special 6-Man Tag Team Match was announced for “JUDGEMENT 2017”. The match is sponsored by Koei Tecmo makers of Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, Romance Of The Three Kingdoms and Nobunaga’s Ambition video games. In collaboration with the phone game “Nobunaga’s Ambition ~Our Warring States~” the match will be Sanshiro Takagi, Keiji Muto & Isami Kodaka Vs Daisuke Sekimoto, Jun Akiyama & Kota Ibushi! In addition to this each wrestler will represent a historical figure from the video game. Takagi is Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Muto is Shingen Takeda, Kodaka is Yukimura Sanada, Sekimoto is Katsuie Shibata, Akiyama is Kenshin Uesugi and Ibushi is Nobunaga Oda.