DDT “NEVER MIND 2017”, 24/12/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,017 Fans – No Vacancy
0. Dark Match: Mad Paulie defeated Gota Ihashi with the Reverse Splash (5:08).
1. Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Okuda defeated Soma Takao & Daiki Shimomura when Okuda submitted Shimomura with a Grounded Manjigatame (8:58).
2. T2HiJoshi Vs Tokyo Joshi Pro Fight!: Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki & Yuna Manase defeated Francoise☆Takagi, Margaret★Owashi & Kazuko Hirata when Yamashita pinned Hirata with the Crash Rabbit Heat (9:07).
2a. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Ichiko Hirata defeated Miyu Yamashita (c) with a Stunner (12:36).
*Ichiko Hirata becomes the 1,277th champion.
3. KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai defeated Keisuke Ishii, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Tomoya & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Sakaguchi pinned Shimatani with the Purgatory (5:47).
4. NωA, If You Lose Immediately Withdraw Dissolution Special: Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO defeated Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda when Oishi submitted Honda with a Triangle Choke (10:30).
5. Hasta La Vista, Diego! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Diego, Akito & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Kouki Iwasaki, Mizuki Watase & Rekka when Diego pinned Rekka with the V.H.S (11:59).
5a. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Diego defeated Ichiko Hirata (c) with the V.H.S (1:31 pm).
*Diego becomes the 1,278th champion.
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: HARASHIMA & Naomichi Marufuji (c) defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo when HARASHIMA pinned Sasaki with the Somato (18:47).
*V5 for HarashiMarufuji.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Colt Cabana with the Roll Through German Suplex (22:23).
*V10 for Konosuke Takeshita.
On Christmas Eve Konosuke Takeshita was given a tricky challenger for his final KO-D Openweignt Title defence of 2017. Colt Cabana made a brief visit to DDT back in February but impressed the company enough to be granted a championship match for his return. Cabana played mind games early on by loosening up leaving the ring to play around with a photographer, loosening a turnbuckle pad and calling for the audience to be quiet so he could yell in Takeshita’s face. Takeshita kicked out of the Superman Dive clutch that Cabana used to win his other DDT matches. The finish came when Cabana missed a Moonsault from the top rope. Takeshita grabbed Cabana from behind and pushed him into the loose turnbuckle. Cabana tried to hang on to the turnbuckle but it slipped from his hands. Takeshita then rolled him into the German Suplex to get the three count. After the match the two thanked each other. Cabana said he hopes to win the title next time DDT gives him a shot but he knows that won’t happen until he is in his fifties.
Before the show was over Takeshita asked Producer Danshoku Dino a few questions about the D-King Grand Prix next month. The prize is a KO-D Title shot at “JUDGEMENT 2018” in Sumo Hall on 25th March. Since Takeshita will be the champion for the entire tournament he wants to know what he gets if he wins. Does he nominate his challenger? Dino said yes but the grand prize is not just about a title match. Dino’s vision for the Grand Prix is the winner will be cast in DDT’s leading role for all of 2018. That’s why there are so many wrestlers entering the tournament aiming to take Takeshita down.
HarashiMarufuji survived a close call against DAMNATION to keep the KO-D Tag Team Titles. A Thrust Kick from Naomichi Marufuji caught HARASHIMA by mistake. Daisuke Sasaki capitalised with a Hurricanrana but only got a nearfall out of it. Sasaki went for La Mistica Cross Facelock but HARASHIMA did his best to resist it. The struggle lasted long enough for Marufuji to get back in and this time find his target with another Thrust Kick. He then got rid of Tetsuya Endo with the Shiranui. Sasaki still showed signs of life by kicking out of a High Kick/Thrust Kick combo but HARASHIMA put him down for good with the Somato. Backstage Marufuji told HARASHIMA afterwards he will be at Sumo Hall in March for “JUDGEMENT 2018”. He will cheer for HARASHIMA to win the D-King Grand Prix. Sasaki’s post-match comments were that he never believed in God until now. After the match he just had he feels like he was called up to Heaven. He then snapped out of this realisation and shouted at everyone.
For Diego’s last match in DDT for now, he got to pick up the win. The final moments in the 6-Man Tag bout came down to him and Rekka. Diego got the better of Rekka with the V.H.S. Afterwards the entire roster filled the ring to say goodbye to Diego. Akito asked him not to cry because he wanted him to leave DDT with a smile. He said everyone was suspicious of who Diego was when he came to Japan five years ago but since then he has grown into a fine pro wrestler with plenty of cheering fans. Akito wants Diego to wrestle forever no matter where he goes. Then maybe someday Akito will go to Chile to wrestle him. Diego said after five years in Japan he made loads of friends and he thanks all of them for taking care of him.
During the goodbyes the new Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion, Kazuko Hirata approached Diego to get a handshake. Diego instead gave Hirata the V.H.S and pinned him. Diego is now going back to Chile with the Iron Man Title!
Makoto Oishi started celebrating Christmas early by drinking champagne before the NωA’s vital match against Danshoku Dino and his cronies. It didn’t matter to Oishi that the bottle had a skull and bones warning on it. That is until a video of Dino looking for the bottle played on the screen. It turns out the drink was actually a laxative! Whoever drinks it gets cramps for 10 minutes then their stomach explodes. Dino and his team’s entrance took 2 minutes to complete so by the time the match began Oishi had 8 minutes to wrestle and then find a toilet. It didn’t help that Dino’s team all wasted time and targeted Oishi’s stomach throughout the match. Oh and Super Sasadango Machine was dressed as Santa Claus the whole time. When Oishi finally tagged out he fled ringside in search of the nearest restroom. He heroically returned with toilet roll and directed the rest of NωA to fight back. Unfortunately a Double Dropkick from Shunma Katsumata & MAO missed Antonio Honda and hit Oishi in the stomach instead. Time slowed down, the room went dark and “Ave Maria” played over the speakers. The worst had happened. Oishi waved to the audience and tried to leave but no one would let him. However this turned out to be an advantage because the bad smell coming from Oishi repulsed everyone into unconsciousness. Oishi then put Honda in a Triangle Choke (this is still happening in slow motion) to make him tap out from the smell. Dino wouldn’t accept the result and challenged NωA to another high stakes match on 3rd January. If NωA loses then their idol group must stay together. This time Dino has found two high class warriors who hate idols to team with him. It’s the Brahman Brothers!
Shuten-dōji all wore Santa outfits for their match. Tomomitsu Matsunaga didn’t like Saki Akai’s outfit and said she didn’t look cute at all in it.
T2HiJoshi, the “female relatives” of T2Hide were brought in to challenge Tokyo Joshi Pro mainly so they could beat Miyu Yamashita and take the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. Yuka Sakazaki embarrassed Margaret★Owashi by pulling down her dress. Yuna Manase grabbed Francoise☆Takagi by the hair for a Snapmare but accidentally pulled the wig off. Kazuko Hirata made everyone wear Hirata GO! glasses for a dance but was pinned by Yamashita. After the match Hirata admitted Yamashita was superior and asked for a handshake. It was a ruse and Hirata gave Yamashita a Stunner to win the Iron Man Title. He later lost it to Diego.
At intermission both teams held separate meet and greet for fans next to each other. According to DDT both of them were sold out.
When Keisuke Okuda was done stretching Daiki Shimomura with the Manjigatame to win the opening match, he swiftly kicked him on the ground afterwards and gave him the middle finger. Shigehiro Irie ignored Okuda’s behaviour and bowed to the audience. This is because Irie will be taking another overseas excursion in January and will be gone from DDT for a while.
Gota Ihashi thought he had the size to stand up to Mad Paulie. He didn’t. Paulie hammered him with blows and pinned him with the Reverse Splash.
Earlier in the year, Saki Akai won a match that gave her the power to be DDT General Manager for one day. Since then nothing had come from it but today Akai finally announced her plan. She is using the power to run a self-produce show in Shinjuku FACE on 14th March. Hisaya Imabayashi handed over his old Amon Tsumuri afro which in this situation is the symbol of the old GM role in DDT. Akai begrudgingly wore it to pose for photos then threw it away.
At the end of the show a bunch of wrestlers commented on the year they had in DDT. HARASHIMA only won one championship this year. However he starts 2018 with the KO-D Tag Titles so he is already on track to make his 2018 better than his 2017. Marufuji said his time in DDT was normal and good. He is disappointed that HarashiMarufuji did not win the Tokyo Sports Best Tag Team Award. Winning that award will be his DDT goal in 2018. Cabana wanted to say something but his microphone was cut off. KUDO wants to welcome the new year with a successful KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles defence. Nobuhiro Shimatani interrupted Sanshiro Takagi to say he will win every tournament and championship next year. Kazuki Hirata kicked Shimatani away and called him annoying. Hirata said he wants 2018 to be the year of Hirata. He was then stomped on by everybody else. Takagi finally got to speak and reflected on DDT’s shows in Saitama Super Arena and Sumo Hall. He then brought up their sale to CyberAgent. But there were no major changes in December. He promised DDT will walk with the fans all over the next year. Takeshita gave the final word. DDT won’t change even under new ownership. They will continue to entertain the fans as much as possible and he will be the champion as they do so.
Dramatic DDT 