DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TENMUSU~” Results

August 19, 2018

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TENMUSU~”, 18/08/2018
Nagoya City East Sports Centre No. 2
271 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. T2Hide Goodbye Series: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated KUDO, Alex Ace & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Hirata pinned Shimatani with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (9:42).
2. Soma Takao & Mad Paulie defeated Keisuke Ishii & Yuki Ueno when Takao pinned Ueno with the Gin And Tonic (10:10).
3. Keisuke Okuda defeated Yuki Iino with a Torso Sleeper Hold (6:53).
4. Masahiro Takanashi, Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki defeated Makoto Oishi, Akito & Cherry when Takanashi pinned Oishi with the Hangover!! (9:54).
5. Antonio Vs Pale One For The First Time In 42 Years! Nagoya Specialty Special Single Match: Antonio Honda defeated Konaka = Pale One with the Octopus Hold (10:09).
6. Shigehiro Irie, Jason Kincaid & Ryan Davidson defeated HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kouki Iwasaki when Irie pinned Iwasaki with the Beast Bomber (11:34).
7. King Of DDT 2018 Best 8 Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated Mike Bailey & MAO when Endo pinned MAO with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb (18:10).

With the King Of DDT Quarter Finals around the corner, the remaining wrestlers are making their presence felt. Daisuke Sasaki brought up how Tetsuya Endo won last year’s tournament and will do the same this year. Sasaki even talked down his own chances of winning to put over Endo. DAMNATION’s newest member Nobuhiro Shimatani then got in the ring and enthusiastically took over the end of show speech. He called himself the knob that makes the world spin around DAMNATION and he joined in the group pose by posing in front of the other members. Sasaki gave him a Low Blow to get him out of the way.

Shigehiro Irie gave a violent message to the absent Danshoku Dieno after Match #6. Irie took a beaten Kouki Iwasaki and gave him a Pentagon Jr. style Inverted Armbreaker to injure Iwasaki’s shoulder. Irie then yelled that he will do this to Dieno the next time he’s in the ring with him!

After the match between Antonio Honda and Konaka = Pale One, Honda asked the fans if they knew the connection between him and Konaka. He described it like taking a step in one direction with one leg and then a step in the other direction with the other leg. In between that is the penis! Honda realised the detail in his speech was getting lewd so he ended it by telling everyone that they would not exist today without a penis. He then made everyone chant “1, 2, 3, Penis!”

The Mizuki in Match #4 is not the Mizuki from Tokyo Joshi Pro but a masked joshi from the local Toyota Pro Wrestling league making her DDT debut. I wasn’t able to find much information about her other than this weekend was the 4th anniversary of her debut.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GO AHEAD, HOT GUYS IN NAGOYA!” Results

August 19, 2018

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GO AHEAD, HOT GUYS IN NAGOYA!”, 18/08/2018
Nagoya City East Sports Centre No. 2
310 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Hyper Misao defeated Raku with a Chickenwing Face Lock (8:14).
2. Reika Saiki, Maki Ito & Miu defeated Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Yuki Aino when Ito pinned Aino with the Flying Big Head (13:41).
3. Priscilla Kelly defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Trapped In Sin (5:19).
4. 3 Way Match: Shoko Nakajima defeated Yuna Manase and Hinano when Nakajima pinned Hinano with the Northern Lights Suplex (8:39).
5. Sakisama defeated Hikari with the Academy Award (10:14).
6. Yuu & Nodoka-oneesan defeated Miyu Yamashita & Azusa Takigawa when Yuu submitted Takigawa with the Katahajime (13:06).

Today was Nodoka-oneesan’s final show using her current gimmick. To mark the occasion she invited everybody from the roster along with Sanshiro Takagi and Tetsuya Koda to join her in the ring for one last Ping Pong Pang Exercise.

Priscilla Kelly is back and she is licking her opponents again. She got to win a Tokyo Joshi Pro match with her Trapped In Sin finisher for the first time. The move is a Russian Leg Sweep into a grounded Octopus Hold.


Dieno’s Plan Succeeds, Korakuen Double Header, Imanari Everywhere

August 17, 2018

Still a lot to unpack over the last few days. Danshoku Dieno is the new KO-D Openweight Champion after pulling off a plan that was months in the making. Super Sasadango Machine gave Dieno his Right To Challenge Gauntlet so Dieno could cash it in and win the title from a beaten up Shigehiro Irie after the main event of this week’s “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI” episode. According to Dieno’s interview after the show, he’s been planning this ever since the ending of “JUDGEMENT 2018” back in March! That Irie was the champion when he pulled this off is a little bit of a coincidence. Sure, Irie holds a grudge with Dieno over the current state of DDT and Dieno got in a panic when Irie briefly lost the title in America but Dieno’s motivation in this is purely to get himself into the main event of “JUDGEMENT 2018” in October. He also didn’t break any rules to achieve this. Gauntlet owners are allowed to transfer their prize to another person, which has happened before and his cash in was not at all unusual for that kind of gimmick. To insure that he makes it there with as few road blocks as possible, Dieno will only defend the title against those with a Right To Challenge Gauntlet. That there is only one left active in Japan right now means in theory he only has to make one successful defence and it is smooth sailing from there. If only it was that easy…

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TENMUSU~”, 18/08/2018
Nagoya City East Sports Centre No. 2

1. Keisuke Okuda Vs Yuki Iino
2. Keisuke Ishii & Yuki Ueno Vs Soma Takao & Mad Paulie
3. Makoto Oishi, Akito & Cherry Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki
4. Shigehiro Irie, Jason Kincaid & Ryan Davidson Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kouki Iwasaki
5. T2Hide Goodbye Series: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs KUDO, Alex Ace & Nobuhiro Shimatani
6. Antonio Vs Pale One For The First Time In 42 Years! Nagoya Specialty Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Konaka = Pale One
7. King Of DDT 2018 Best 8 Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo Vs Mike Bailey & MAO

The bad news for Dieno coming out of his win is he injured his right shoulder on the show. It isn’t clear if he was hurt by Irie’s Beast Bomber during the title match or if Dieno got hurt by the scheduled match he participated in earlier in the show. Dieno is taking the situation seriously and has taken himself off of this weekend’s shows.

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TONDOYAKI~”, 19/08/2018
Osaka Nishi Kumin Center

1. Keisuke Okuda Vs Yuki Ueno
2. My Study Of Toughness ~ Yuni’s Study Of Freedom: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Yuni Vs Antonio Honda & Masahiro Takanashi
3. DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Akito & Yuki Iino
4. Mike Bailey & MAO Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki
5. Makorin Dangerous Affair Once A Year 2018: KUDO Vs Makoto Oishi
6. RENEGADES Vs DAMNATION!: Shigehiro Irie, Mizuki Watase & Jason Kincaid Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao & Mad Paulie
7. King Of DDT 2018 Best 8 Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Keisuke Ishii

Mizuki Watase sprained his ankle at Maji Manji so he too will be out of action this weekend. Both Dieno and Watase are expected to return in time for the 25th August Korakuen Hall show.

DDT “KING OF DDT 2018 3RD ROUND”, 25/08/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Toru Owashi, Yuki Ueno, Akito & Yuki Iino Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Kouki Iwasaki, Daiki Shimomura & Rekka
2. Danshoku Dieno, Makoto Oishi & Super Sasadango Machine Vs KUDO, Masahiro Takanashi & Gorgeous Matsuno
3. DAMNATION Vs RENEGADES!: Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Mizuki Watase, Jason Kincaid & Ryan Davidson
4. Special Tag Match: Shigehiro Irie & Taiyo Kea Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Antonio Honda
5. King Of DDT 2018 – Quarter Final 1: Mike Bailey Vs MAO
6. King Of DDT 2018 – Quarter Final 2: Tetsuya Endo Vs Kazuki Hirata
7. King Of DDT 2018 – Quarter Final 3: HARASHIMA Vs Yukio Sakaguchi
8. King Of DDT 2018 – Quarter Final 4: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Keisuke Ishii

Some of the recent roster changes have come into effect. Kouki Iwasaki, Daiki Shimomura and Rekka will have their chance to say goodbye to DDT. For Rekka it will be goodbye to Japan. I assume Iwasaki and Shimomura will be back here and there whenever DDT needs a undercard spot to fill.

DDT “BLACK OUT PRESENTS KING OF DDT 2018 FINAL ROUND”, 26/08/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Under Match: Kouki Iwasaki Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
1. King Of DDT 2018 – Semi Final: Winner Of Quarter Final 1 Vs Winner Of Quarter Final 2
2. King Of DDT 2018 – Semi Final: Winner Of Quarter Final 3 Vs Winner Of Quarter Final 4
3. 3 Way Tag Match: Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei Vs Soma Takao & Mad Paulie Vs KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi
4. Special Tag Match: Tatsumi Fujinami & Antonio Honda Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ueno
5. Danshoku Dieno, Makoto Oishi & Super Sasadango Machine Vs Shigehiro Irie, Mizuki Watase & Jason Kincaid
6. King Of DDT 2018 – Final: X Vs X

Dieno better pray he makes it out of Korakuen in one piece if Irie gets his hands on him. But I wouldn’t be giving him enough credit to think he doesn’t have a plan in place to protect himself.

DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #15”, 28/08/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Gota Ihashi
2. Right To Date 2nd Generation Bachelor Rintaro Oyaizu 4 Way Match: Cherry Vs Yuna Manase Vs Maki Ito Vs Yuki Kamifuku
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Danshoku Dieno (c) Vs Meiko Satomura
*Meiko Satomura will cash in her Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.

Meiko Satomura currently has the last remaining Gauntlet in Japan and she intends to get her title match on 28th August. If she wins and becomes the champion her first action will be to grant Irie a title shot. She originally wanted her championship match to be against Irie before Dieno got involved.

Rintaro Oyaizu is the star of Japan’s version of The Bachelor season 2. He appeared on Maji Manji this week and had several women wrestlers pushing each other out of the way to get his attention. The solution is to have a match where the winner gets to date him. It’s kind of odd because three of the participants are banned by their company from dating men but hey, a blind eye can be turned if it gets some mainstream attention I guess.

Good news about Gota Ihashi. He looks in better shape every time I’ve seen him this year. Bad news about Ihashi, he has to fight MMA star Shinya Aoki. I’m not even sure if this is part of his trial series.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “KIDS RETURN 2018”, 13/09/2018
Ichigaya Nankai Memorial Clinic

1. Rain With Fists In Ichigaya In Fine Weather! Summer Punching Fever In Ichigaya!!: Yumehito Imanari Vs Tanomusaku Toba
2. From Commando To Tomb Raider! The Soul Was Handed Over! Rain Of Slaughter Falls In Ichigaya In Fine Weather!!! Tomb Raider Haruhi Is Born!!!: Moeka Haruhi Vs Shin Mokujin Ken (Special Referee: Yumehito Imanari)
3. Kouki Iwasaki Belongs To Ganbare 1st Round Special Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shota

Ken Ohka has gone AWOL from Ganbare☆Wrestling which means Yumehito Imanari is taking over the main event and then some. Imanari is going to be all over this show and is already featured in every match announced so far. He’s welcoming Kouki Iwasaki to Ganpro, passing over his heroic attributes to Moeka Haruhi and getting into a kickboxing scrap with Tanomusaku Toba.


DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #14” Results

August 14, 2018

DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #14”, 14/08/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
240 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. NO TV Match: Soma Takao defeated Mizuki Watase with the Sorarina (7:22).
0. NO TV Match: Ryan Davidson & Facade defeated Toru Owashi & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Davidson pinned Shimatani with the Davidson Driver (8:25).
1. Akito & Gota Ihashi defeated Yuki Ueno & Yuki Iino when Akito submitted Iino with a Modified Leg Lock (7:23).
2. Kazusada Higuchi, Kouki Iwasaki & Meiko Satomura defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Makoto Oishi & Cherry when Satomura pinned Oishi with the Scorpio Rising (7:05).
*Meiko Satomura wins Makoto Oishi’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.
3. KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Danshoku Dieno & Antonio Honda when KUDO pinned Honda with the Diving Double Knee Drop (9:07).
4. Road to King Of DDT 2018 3rd Round 4 Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated HARASHIMA & Mike Bailey, Yukio Sakaguchi & MAO and Keisuke Ishii & Kazuki Hirata when Endo pinned Hirata with a Swan Dive 450 Splash (10:20).
5. RENEGADES Vs DAMNATION!: Shigehiro Irie & Jason Kincaid defeated Shuji Ishikawa & Mad Paulie when Irie pinned Paulie with the Beast Bomber (19:20).
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Danshoku Dieno defeated Shigehiro Irie (c) with the Gaydo Clutch (1:37).
*Super Sasadango Machine gives his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract to Danshoku Dieno. Shigehiro Irie fails in V1. Danshoku Dieno cashes in his Right To Challenge Gauntlet. Danshoku Dieno becomes the 65th KO-D Openweight Champion!

Today’s episode sparked plenty of changes in the DDT landscape. There was the planned roster switch-up freshening up some of the units but some added surprises completely changed the course of as we head towards the King Of DDT finale. Things seemed normal during the main event. Shigehiro Irie made his first appearance in DDT since his latest US tour and after the title loss incident in Ohio he had the KO-D Openweight Title with him safe and sound. He and Jason Kincaid were victorious over Shuji Ishikawa & Mad Paulie but it was a close call. Irie kicked out of a Double Choke Slam and the Reverse Splash. It was only when he hit a desperate Beast Bomber to Paulie that he was able to win the match. Ishikawa said he got to have a strong match after spending time away from DDT. He told everyone when he is the Triple Crown Champion he would like to face Irie again.

When DAMNATION left the ring, Meiko Satomura came out with her eyes set on Irie. With the yellow Right To Challenge Gauntlet in her possession, Satomura challenged Irie to a title match on the 28th August episode of “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI”! An exhausted Irie got up and accepted the challenge. But when they were about to shake hands, Danshoku Dieno interrupted them with important news. Producer Dieno will not accept Irie Vs Satomura as the next KO-D Title match because the next title match will happen right now! Dieno then suddenly pulled out the blue Gauntlet belonging to Super Sasadango Machine. A video played on the screen of Sasadango announcing that he is giving his Gauntlet to Dieno as a gift. It now belongs to Dieno and he is cashing it in straight away!

The match began and Dieno immediately gave Irie the Danshoku Driver several times. Irie kicked out of them and fought back. He hit the Beast Bomber but when Irie went for the pin, Dieno caught him in the Gaydo Clutch and pinned him! Danshoku Dieno is the new KO-D Champion! A furious Irie had to be held back by the rest of RENEGADES until they finally got him to leave the ring. He still tossed a chair from the front row at Dieno as he was leaving. Dieno taunted Irie by telling him what he did today was all in the rules. Dieno waited so long and played the good boss all this time so he could pull this off. This plan was why Dieno did not enter King Of DDT this year. He may be the weakest champion of any wrestling company right now but that doesn’t matter. He is going straight to the main event of “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” as the champion! Just one problem. Meiko Satomura is still here with the last Right To Challenge Gauntlet (more about that below) and her intention to challenge the champion on 28th August still stands. She told Dieno she will win the KO-D Title, defend it against Irie and then defend it at the main event of Sumo Hall!

The DNA Draft and resulting roster reshuffle took place at the start of the episode. It was already decided that Daiki Shimomura would join BASARA and Kouki Iwasaki would join Ganbare☆Wrestling. Rekka also announced he will be leaving Japan for a while so he will not be transferring to another brand. The remaining DNA wrestlers were given the chance to nominate the group or unit they wished to join and it would be up to those groups to accept them or not. Some of the obvious moves were made first. Mizuki Watase chose RENEGADES (side note: Ryan Davidson has also joined the unit) and Shunma Katsumata picked ALL OUT. No surprises there. MAO wants to continue teaming with Mike Bailey so he picked the default DDT Sekigun group. Yuki Ueno also picked DDT. Naomi Yoshimura didn’t pick anybody. Instead he will go wherever he wants, whenever he wants. Konosuke Takeshita of all people asked him to join ALL OUT instead. Yoshimura declined because he has no motivation to fight with them. He’d rather fight against them. Yuki Iino asked if he could join ALL OUT. Akito wasn’t convinced so he would use their match later as an audition. Kota Umeda chose to stick with DDT. He will be on the same side as his old unit Shuten-dōji and he wants to set a fire under his former older brothers. Nobuhiro Shimatani declared himself the leader of DAMNATION but Daisuke Sasaki said the unit doesn’t need him. Shimatani then nominated Tokyo Joshi Pro but their producer Tetsuya Koda outright refused him. Shimatani went back to DAMNATION and promised to find a beautiful blonde woman for Sasaki, cook delicious meat for Mad Paulie, handcraft a new ring costume for Soma Takao, give Tetsuya Endo a better haircut than the one he currently has and teach new songs to Shuji Ishikawa. Sasaki finally gave in and inducted Shimatani into DAMNATION, but only as a temporary manager. Good enough!

In the middle of the draft, T2Hide announced they are splitting up. Kazuki Hirata is doing well without them although he protested the decision. HARASHIMA approached Toru Owashi and asked him to reform Disaster BOX, their old unit from the 2000s. Owashi liked the idea but they needed a third member to make them a unit. They nominated Yuki Ueno. He has no idea what Disaster BOX is or how important they are in DDT’s history but ok, he’ll join them instead of the default DDT side.

Now all of that craziness has been touched upon, let’s get into the rest of the show. The eight remaining King Of DDT participants met in an 4-Way Tag Match. Some of the pairings were unusual and led to a mix up. MAO & Mike Bailey were on two different teams but in the heat of the action they worked together to wipe out a few of the other wrestlers with a Double Moonsault to the outside. Kazuki Hirata tried to continue his miracle run by going straight at Tetsuya Endo with Cradles but in the end he was pinned by Endo with a Swan Dive 450 Splash. Despite winning the match, Endo says he does not feel any momentum from today’s result. That stuff means nothing when you’re only in the Quarter Finals.

Judging from his earlier performance on the episode you wouldn’t have thought Dieno would end up as champion by the end of it. He got into his usual shenanigans with Antonio Honda against KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi. Honda’s double Gongistune backfired when KUDO & Takanashi grabbed both of his hands and made Honda poke himself in both eyes. They then finised him off with the Takatonic followed by the Diving Double Knee Drop.

It turns out the Right To Challenge Gauntlet rules do apply overseas. Meiko Satomura apologised to the fans for losing the red Gauntlet during her recent visit to America for the Mae Young Classic. I’d go into more detail about the possible consequences for that but it veers into spoiler territory and I’m not in the mood to get into arguments about that right now. To make up for it Satomura made it her goal today to win another Gauntlet so she can challenge for the KO-D Title. Good thing she was in a match against the holder of the yellow Gauntlet Makoto Oishi. Satomura pinned Oishi with the Scorpio Rising and now holds the last remaining Right To Challenge Gauntlet in Japan. Before this match Sanshiro Takagi said if his team won then he would set up the Meiko Young Classic, a tournament for all women wrestlers over the age of 40. Meiko Satomura is 38.

Iino impressed ALL OUT enough in his match to be accepted into their unit. He hit Akito with the Spear but Akito grabbed onto Iino’s leg and pulled him down into a Leg Lock to make him submit.

There was an extra special guest appearing on the show this week. Rintaro Oyaizu from Season 2 of The Bachelor Japan greeted everyone and very quickly attracted attention from several wrestlers. Cherry, Yuna Manase, Yuki Kamifuku and Maki Itoh all entered the ring wanting to woo Oyaizu. They all agreed to fight each other in a 4 Way Match on 28th August with the winner getting a date with The Bachelor.


Azusa Takigawa To Graduate, Sakisama Leaving For Paris

August 14, 2018

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “BRAND NEW WRESTLING 2 ~NOW IT’S TIME TO ATTACK~”, 25/08/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Hikari & Raku Vs Miu & Hinano
2. Nodoka’s New Ring Name, New Costume, New Theme Song: Nodoka-oneesan & Yuki Aino Vs Yuna Manase & Yuki Kamifuku
3. Hyper Misao Vs Priscilla Kelly
4. Azusa Takigawa Vs Saki Akai
5. Special Single Match: Shoko Nakajima Vs Riho
6. TOKYO Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Reika Saiki & Maki Itoh
7. TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Yuu

More sad news coming out of Tokyo Joshi Pro in the lead-up to their next Korakuen Hall show. Azusa Takigawa has announced she will graduate from Tokyo Joshi later this year with her final match taking place on 27th October. This had been planned for around a year with Takigawa consulting with management over the decision. Talks went away when Takigawa was brainwashed by NEO Biishiki-gun and transformed into Azusa Christie. But with her persona back to normal and her memories returned, she is sticking with her plan to graduate this year. For her final appearance in Korakuen Hall, Takigawa wanted to fight Saki Akai. When Takigawa visited Tetsuya Koda in late 2014 to join Tokyo Joshi it happened around the same time when Akai won the Best Rookie category in the Tokyo Sports Awards. Takigawa was worried about entering wrestling when she was given the article about Akai winning the award. What Takigawa saw was a beautiful person working so hard on pro wrestling and she admired Akai ever since. Akai has spent all this time working for DDT instead of Tokyo Joshi so Takigawa never got the chance to wrestle her until now. Since Akai has a modelling contract with Oscar Promotion, Takigawa hopes that if she wins the match she can use Akai’s connection to get signed to the agency as a caster or reporter. She’s been working hard for the last three years so she believes she has the power to make her dream come true! While Akai has been absent from Tokyo Joshi for a long time, she’s still been paying attention to the brand and has watched Takigawa grow. She thinks Takigawa is showing great courage to graduate at this time.

That isn’t the only absence in the roster coming up. Sakisama next gave everyone the news that she will be returning to Paris after the 18th August show and will no longer be wrestling for Tokyo Joshi, for a while at least. Sakisama was already planning to leave with the rest of NEO Biishiki-gun earlier this month but she decided to stay behind for a little bit for a personal reason. She has an eye out for her upcoming opponent Hikari. She called her the “Blue Fruit” of the Up Up Girls and she wants to squeeze all the juice out of her before she leaves for Paris. Sakisama said it was inspiring to see Azusa Christie wrestle against her at the Beer Garden show. Before Christie was too dependent on her like a child but Sakisama got to see her change as they fought each other. Plus it was even a little fun, Sakisama admits.

The two teams in the TOKYO Princess Tag Team Titles match have signed the contract to make it official. Mizuki said she has twice tried to win the belts with Maki Itoh for Maki Itoh. This time she has the chance to win it for herself so she doesn’t want to miss that opportunity. Yuka Sakazaki wants revenge on Reika Saiki for losing the TOKYO Princess Title to her last year. Saiki has come around on the idea of teaming with Itoh for the match. She thinks having Itoh as her partner raises her chances of regaining the titles she never lost. Itoh describes her feelings about Mizuki joining another team being like finding out a boyfriend has found another woman. However she can use this disappointment as motivation to win the championships. Even if she fails it will be valuable experience.


DDT Plans For The Rest Of August

August 13, 2018

DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #14”, 14/08/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

0. NO TV Match: Soma Takao Vs Mizuki Watase
0. NO TV Match: Toru Owashi & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Ryan Davidson & Facade
1. Akito & Gota Ihashi Vs Yuki Ueno & Yuki Iino
2. Kazusada Higuchi, Kouki Iwasaki & Meiko Satomura Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Makoto Oishi & Cherry
3. KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Danshoku Dieno & Antonio Honda
4. Road to King Of DDT 2018 3rd Round 4 Way Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Mike Bailey Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & MAO Vs Keisuke Ishii & Kazuki Hirata
5. RENEGADES Vs DAMNATION!: Shigehiro Irie & Jason Kincaid Vs Shuji Ishikawa & Mad Paulie

Shigehiro Irie returns to DDT after a let’s say, minor setback during his latest tour of America. He has the KO-D Openweight Title back but I don’t think everyone will be happy enough to forget about what happened.

Shunma Katsumata was supposed to be on the show teaming with Akito but he is out of action with an orbital fracture. Katsumata is expected to miss one or two months before he is cleared to return. Gota Ihashi takes his place in the tag match.

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TENMUSU~”, 18/08/2018
Nagoya City East Sports Centre No. 2

1. Keisuke Okuda Vs Yuki Iino
2. Danshoku Dieno, Makoto Oishi & Cherry Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Akito & Mizuki
3. KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Keisuke Ishii & Yuki Ueno
4. Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani
5. Antonio Vs Pale One For The First Time In 42 Years! Nagoya Specialty Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Konaka = Pale One
6. Shigehiro Irie, Mizuki Watase & Jason Kincaid Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kouki Iwasaki
7. King Of DDT 2018 Best 8 Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo Vs Mike Bailey & MAO

With the King Of DDT Quarter Finals near DDT is putting the final eight in a variety of tag matches to build up anticipation for the big finale. First up are the two tag team pairings left in the tournament.

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TONDOYAKI~”, 19/08/2018
Osaka Nishi Kumin Center

1. Keisuke Okuda Vs Yuki Ueno
2. Akito Vs Kouki Iwasaki
3. My Study Of Toughness ~ Yuni’s Study Of Freedom: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Yuni Vs Antonio Honda & Masahiro Takanashi
4. The Heartfelt Woman’s Compassion Is The Greatest Humiliation For A Man! Osaka Specialty Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Makoto Oishi
5. 3 Way Tag Match: Mike Bailey & MAO Vs Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs KUDO & Kazusada Higuchi
6. RENEGADES Vs DAMNATION!: Shigehiro Irie, Mizuki Watase & Jason Kincaid Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao & Mad Paulie
7. King Of DDT 2018 Best 8 Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Keisuke Ishii

The second part mixes up the four singles participants.

BASARA “BASARA 76 ~FEAST~”, 20/08/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. FUMA & SAGAT Vs Takato Nakano & Daiki Shimomura
2. Best Stretchman V3, Best Stretchman Amazon & Third Best Stretchman? Vs Takumi Tsukamoto, Gouma Ryu & Yasu Urano
3. Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Yusuke Kubo
4. Official Tag No. 1 Decision Battle: Fuminori Abe Vs Ikuto Hidaka
5. Naoki Tanizaki & Manabu Hara Vs Ryota Nakatsu & Ryuichi Sekine

Daiki Shimomura is the newest full time member of BASARA.

Banana Senga is meant to transform into a Best Stretchman at some point so I guess he is the third man here.

DDT “KING OF DDT 2018 3RD ROUND”, 25/08/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. King Of DDT 2018 – Quarter Final: Mike Bailey Vs MAO
2. King Of DDT 2018 – Quarter Final: Tetsuya Endo Vs Kazusada Higuchi
3. King Of DDT 2018 – Quarter Final: HARASHIMA Vs Yukio Sakaguchi
4. King Of DDT 2018 – Quarter Final: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Keisuke Ishii
5. Special Tag Match: Shigehiro Irie & Taiyo Kea Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Antonio Honda

Say what you want about the Irie situation but DDT isn’t punishing him for it. He gets to team up with Taiyo Kea for the first of two Korakuen Hall shows later this month.

DDT “BLACK OUT PRESENTS KING OF DDT 2018 FINAL ROUND”, 26/08/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. King Of DDT 2018 – Semi Final: Winner Of Quarter Final 1 Vs Winner Of Quarter Final 2
2. King Of DDT 2018 – Semi Final: Winner Of Quarter Final 3 Vs Winner Of Quarter Final 4
3. Special Tag Match: Tatsumi Fujinami & Antonio Honda Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ueno
4. King Of DDT 2018 – Final: X Vs X

Meanwhile on Night 2, Antonio Honda gets to team with Tatsumi Fujinami. Will we get a Gongitsune Dragon Screw for the occasion?

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “CAN YOU CELEBRATE? 2018”, 29/09/2018
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Shuichiro Katsumura Vs Kouki Iwasaki

Kouki Iwasaki has decided to join Ganbare☆Wrestling and he already has a list of things to do. First up is to get his match with Shuichiro Katsumura. They were originally supposed to face off on New Year’s Eve when Ganpro was in Saitama Super Arena but Iwasaki pulled out with the flu.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GO AHEAD, HOT GUYS IN ITABASHI!” Results

August 12, 2018

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GO AHEAD, HOT GUYS IN ITABASHI!”, 12/08/2018
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
219 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Mizuki defeated Miu with a Facelock (6:58).
2. Hyper Misao defeated Hinano with the Hypami Returns (6:51).
3. Nodoka-oneesan & Yuki Aino defeated Shoko Nakajima & Raku when Nodoka pinned Raku with the Backflip (10:47).
4. Sakisama defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Versailles Foot Choke (0:30).
4a. Rematch: Sakisama defeated Yuki Kamifuku with a Half Crab Hold (5:29).
5. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Azusa Takigawa with the Osaekomi Backslide (9:02).
6. Yuu & Yuna Manase defeated Miyu Yamashita & Hikari when Yuu submitted Hikari with the Katahajime (13:08).

Yuu was ruthless in the main event! She targeted Miyu Yamashita with the Katahajime even though Yamashita was not the legal wrestler at that point in the match. That was all part of Yuu’s plan because that meant she didn’t have to let go when Yamashita grabbed onto the ropes! When Yuu was finished with Yamashita, she then put Hikari in the Katahajime to make her submit. Yuu then told Yamashita she is looking forward to their TOKYO Princess Title match on 25th August. Yuna Manase doesn’t have a match made for the show yet but she is looking forward to finding out what it will be.

Azusa Takigawa is feeling like herself again and said she felt like she’s been in a deep sleep for the last nine months. She struggled a little bit with dizziness as she wrestled Yuka Sakazaki but eventually got back into the swing of things. Although she is no longer Azusa Christie, Takigawa still attempted the Christie Agape finisher but it was countered into the Osaekomi Backslide to win the match for Sakazaki.

Sakisama was able to beat Yuki Kamifuku so quickly because Kamifuku had the nerve to grab a piece of Sakisama’s costume when the match started. Kamifuku pleaded for a rematch or else she would be fired for her poor performance. She did a little better in the restart but Sakisama made her give up again to make it two wins in a row.

Since today was the last time Nodoka-oneesan would be using her gimmick in the Kanto region she wanted Sanshiro Takagi and Tetsuya Koda to join in the Ping Pong Pang Exercise. Koda agreed to do it when Nodoka said it would impress his favourite idol Marika Makino.

Hyper Misao bought five copies of Young Jump magazine so she could vote for Hinano in an idol contest the magazine is doing. Hinano later drank water and imitated a Drunken Fist fighting style.


GANBARE☆WRESTLING “GANBARE☆CLIMAX 2018 FINAL ROUND” Results

August 12, 2018

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “GANBARE☆CLIMAX 2018 FINAL ROUND”, 12/08/2018
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
196 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Ganbare☆Climax 2018 – Semi-Final: Yumehito Imanari defeated Shota with the Chubby Knee (15:00).
2. Ganbare☆Climax 2018 – Semi-Final: Shinichiro Tominaga defeated Survival Tobita with a Moonsault (3:24).
3. Over The Top Rope Only 6-Man Tag Team Elimination Match: Hagane, Yuu Yamagata & Takeshi Okada defeated Ayumu Honda, Moeka Haruhi & Ryan Davidson (11:02).
3a. Moeka Haruhi eliminated Hagane by Ring Out (1:43).
3b. Takeshi Okada eliminated Ayumu Honda by Ring Out (6:02).
3c. Takeshi Okada and Moeka Haruhi eliminated each other by Double Ring Out (8:10).
3d. Yuu Yamagata eliminated Ryan Davidson by Ring Out (11:02).
4. Mitsuo Momota & Chikara defeated Ken Ohka & Shuichiro Katsumura when Momota pinned Ohka with the Backdrop (12:06).
5. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) defeated HARUKAZE with a Knee Drop (12:32).
*V4 for Keisuke Ishii.
6. Ganbare☆Climax 2018 – Final: Yumehito Imanari defeated Shinichiro Tominaga with the Chubby Knee (19:08).

Change is afoot in Ganbare☆Wrestling. The Imanari Revolution has succeeded in its goal in making Yumehito Imanari a main eventer but there were plenty of other stories on this show that mark a new landscape for the brand. Imanari’s hard fought victories over Shota and Shinichiro Tominaga resulted in him winning the second ever Ganbare☆Climax. To celebrate his achievement, Imanari said Ganpro will return to the location of its very first show, the Nanhai Ichigaya Memorial Clinic on 13th September.

Imanari’s victory speech was interrupted by an unexpected figure. Kouki Iwasaki entered the ring. He said there is a lot he wants to do in Ganpro like the match with Shuichiro Katsumura he was supposed to have on New Year’s Eve. Imanari thanked Iwasaki for coming and is happy to have him on board with Ganpro. Imanari then invited Sanshiro Takagi to enter the ring for a favour. He told him he wants Ganpro to run Korakuen Hall again and he found out that DDT has the venue booked for 16th December. Takagi wanted to know who leaked him that information but Imanari said Takagi left the schedule visible on his desk at DDT HQ. Imanari invited everyone to tweet non-stop at Takagi to give over the date but he immediately gave it up.

You may have noticed something isn’t right about what was written so far. How come Imanari gets to make the decisions now instead of Ganpro’s founder Ken Ohka? Well that’s because Ohka has walked out! He was beaten again today this time by Mitsuo Momota in a tag match. Afterwards Ohka grabbed his suitcase and left the building yelling “I don’t know” and “I am in trouble” at nearby reporters.

HARUKAZE put up a good effort against Keisuke Ishii by targeting his arm with Cross Armbreakers. But she fell to a Lariat and a Middle Kick both to the back of the head followed by a Knee Drop.

It looks like Survival Tobita isn’t up to scratch when he wrestles a regular match. He quickly ran out of steam and was easily put away by Tominaga in the Ganbare☆Climax semi-final.


BASARA “BASARA 75 ~AKATSUKA ROKU-KASON~” Results

August 11, 2018

BASARA “BASARA 75 ~AKATSUKA ROKU-KASON~”, 11/08/2018
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall
169 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Benmaru Tournament 0 – Round 1: Daiki Shimomura defeated Akiyori Takizawa with the Swanton Bomb (8:23).
2. Benmaru Tournament 0 – Round 1: Jun Masaoka defeated Takato Nakano with a Thrust Kick (8:10).
3. Takumi Tsukamoto, Daichi Kazato & Yasu Urano defeated FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & Gouma Ryu when Tsukamoto pinned Ryu with a Crab Hold (14:29).
4. Special Single Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Daisuke Sekimoto ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
5. Sakigake! Iron Family Vs Bloody Brothers!: Masaya Takahashi, Toshiyuki Sakuda & Takayuki Ueki defeated Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, Trans-Am ★ Ryuji & SAGAT when Takahashi pinned SAGAT with the Jackhammer (15:14).
6. Cavalry Vs Astronauts!: Ryota Nakatsu & Ryuichi Sekine defeated Takuya Nomura & Fuminori Abe when Sekine submitted Abe with the Let’s Combine (17:16).

Cavalry were able to win the main event by having Ryuichi Sekine hold Fuminori Abe in place with a Full Nelson so Ryota Nakatsu could hit him with a High Kick to the head. Abe tried to recover and put Sekine in a Triangle Choke but it was countered into the Let’s Combine for the submission finish. Both of Cavalry admitted they felt jealous of Takuya Nomura after wrestling him, Nakatsu because of his skill and Sekine because he is handsome.

The Bloody Brothers weren’t sure what to make of Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Trans-Am ★ Ryuji. They asked each other “What are these people?” when they saw Hiroshi & Ryuji perform yoga in the ring. They were freaked out even more when Hiroshi woke up from his peaceful state during a Sleeper Hold spot and pulled scary faces at everyone.

Twenty minutes wasn’t enough to determine a winner between Isami Kodaka and Daisuke Sekimoto. The two shook hands after their match and teased having a rematch down the line.

Even though Gouma Ryu was the obvious weak link on his team, he still did his best and joined in with the IRON PRIEST spots when he could. He lost the match for his team but FUMA enthusiastically recognised the hard work he put in today. FUMA called it the birth of a new Heavy Metal Warrior. Yusuke Kubo didn’t see things the same way and said today’s result was disappointing. FUMA ignored Kubo and called Ryu a saviour. He then revealed that “FUMA FEST” will return for its second show on 8th December with Gouma Ryu’s law firm as the sponsor! He doesn’t even need permission because he already added the firm’s sponsor logo on the show poster.

Daiki Shimomura announced that with DNA taking a break he will now be wrestling for BASARA! He wrestled in a brand new black costume with some green and orange added to it to mark the new step in his career.


GANBARE☆WRESTLING “GANBARE☆CLIMAX 2018 1ST ROUND” Results

August 11, 2018

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “GANBARE☆CLIMAX 2018 1ST ROUND”, 11/08/2018
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall
158 Fans

1. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) defeated Ayumu Honda with the High Angle Double Arm DDT (12:43).
*V3 for Keisuke Ishii.
2. Ganbare☆Climax 2018 – Round 1: Shota defeated Mitsuo Momota with a School Boy (7:23).
3. Ganbare☆Climax 2018 – Round 1: Shinichiro Tominaga defeated Yuu Yamagata with an Inside Cradle (6:03).
4. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title Next Challenger Battle Royal: HARUKAZE defeated Hagane by Ring Out (11:23).
Order Of Elimination: Ryan Davidson, Moeka Haruhi, Chikara, Shuichiro Katsumura, Takeshi Okada and Hagane.
5. Ganbare☆Climax 2018 – Round 1 – No DQ & No Ropes Match: Survival Tobita defeated Ken Ohka with the Piledriver onto a Chair (13:10).
6. Ganbare☆Climax 2018 – Round 1 – No DQ & No Ropes Match: Yumehito Imanari defeated Shin Mokujin Ken by Knockout with a Diving Elbow from the balcony (8:10).

The 2018 Ganbare☆Climax kicked off in violent fashion with the top two matches of the 1st Round. It was agreed that the main event and semi-main event would take place under Saitama Wrestling rules which meant no DQs, no countouts and no ropes attached to the ring. Yumehito Imanari knew that he had to go the extra mile to beat the stiff wooden monster known as Shin Mokujin Ken so he dressed Commando style for the match. He hid underneath a box so he could ambush Ken during its entrance but Ken was ready for him. Next, Imanari took out a machine gun and fired at Ken but the creature was not effected by the bullets. They brawled outside over to the balcony and Imanari knocked Ken into the wall with the Chubby Knee strike. Ken fell on top of a pile of boxes and couldn’t get up. Imanari then finished it off by finding his way up to the balcony and jumping off to hit a Diving Elbow Drop! Imanari was able to get up but Ken couldn’t answer the referee so Imanari was declared the winner by Knockout! When the match was over Imanari said for the last month he hated Ken. But today he felt a fresh sensation when they fought each other. Imanari now realises Ken isn’t a monster, he’s more like a forest fairy! Imanari broke down into tears and apologised for shooting Ken with a machine gun. He admits that was unnecessary. The world needs to be more peaceful and to do that Imanari will wrestle his enemies instead of shooting guns at them. Ken accepted his apology and the two gave each other a fist bump.

The other No Ropes, No DQ Match did not have as happy of an ending. Last year’s Ganbare☆Climax winner Ken Ohka was eliminated by Survival Tobita! Ohka was busted open early during an outside brawl and Tobita made it worse with more weapon attacks including a sawblade and a plunger. Ohka fought back with his own weapons which were all ordinary items found inside a suitcase. He got a nearfall with the Fire Spear outside the ring. The match went back into the ring and Ohka tried to finish off Tobita with a Piledriver. But Tobita countered it with a Back Body Drop onto chairs and the suitcase. Tobita hit a Piledriver of his own onto the chairs and that got him the win. Both men were on the mat by the end but Tobita still had enough in him to speak. He questioned if Ohka did his best today. Tobita gives his best because he knows as a 50 year old man that it will all be taken away from him someday. If Ohka is just going to tread water he may as well go smoke cigarettes instead of wrestle. Tobita told Ohka to ask himself again what is Ganbare☆Wrestling? Ohka still has more to do to answer that.

In the remaining 1st Round matches Shota beat a grumpy Mitsuo Momota by holding onto his tights during a School Boy. Shinichiro Tominaga eliminated Yuu Yamagata from the tournament by kissing her for a distraction then rolling her up with a Small Package for the three count. The semi-finals tomorrow will be Shota Vs Imanari and Tobita Vs Tominaga.

Besides the Ganbare☆Climax opening round, the rest of the show was all about the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title. The day kicked off with Keisuke Ishii successfully defending the belt against Ayumu Honda. Later in the show HARUKAZE won a Battle Royal to get the next title shot tomorrow. The match included a last minute entry from Texas wrestler Ryan Davidson. He looked to be a threat early so the rest of the field all joined forces to eliminate him. Ishii congratulated HARUKAZE for winning the match and told her it was great to see a woman getting a title match. He then called for his next challenger to come into the ring. HARUKAZE told Ishii that she is the next challenger. Ishii was a little annoyed by the idea but he agreed to the match. He won’t lose to a chick show! HARUKAZE got fired up and told Ishii she will beat him to become the new champion tomorrow!