This week DDT and AbemaTV announced a new live weekly show called “DDT LIVE! Maji Manji” (DDT LIVE！ マジ卍) beginning on 10th April. The two hour broadcast will take place every Tuesday (except for weeks when DDT run Korakuen Hall) in Shin-Kiba 1st RING. Six shows are scheduled for April and May so far. The goal of the show is to attract a younger audience by airing live pro wrestling during the prime time schedule, something that hasn’t happened in Japan on traditional television outlets for many years. Konosuke Takeshita said that his generation never got to experience the chance to watch TV wrestling at “Golden Time”.
For the first few weeks the show will feature an 8-Man tournament to create the next generation pro wrestling star. DDT is looking for wrestlers from outside the company to compete in the tournament. The 1st Round and Semi Final matches will have 5 minute time limits and the final has a 10 minute time limit. For the matches that end in time limit draws, the winner will be determined by a judging system used by the AbemaTV viewers. Danshoku Dino said the plan will be to spin off stories from the tournament for later episodes. Sanshiro Takagi wants to tell the world about the charm of DDT as well as search for the next generation of ambitious pro wrestlers which is why DDT LIVE and the tournament are running parallel to each other.
Other ideas for the show are being thrown around. For example, HARASHIMA suggested getting comedians to train at the dojo and filming them in a reality TV format. Takeshita and Dino also thought about doing Mail Order Wrestling. I don’t know if they mean stuff gets sent to them to use in matches or they sell stuff used in matches but it’s an idea they like anyway.
Dramatic DDT 