DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2021 THE FINAL!!”, 27/12/2020
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
??? Fans – Withheld
1. Toui Kojima Debut Match: Hideki Okatani defeated Toui Kojima with a Crab Hold (5:59).
2. 3 Way Match: Antonio Honda defeated Toru Owashi and Nobuhiro Shimatani when Honda pinned Shimatani with the Diving Fist Drop (8:15).
3. Hold Your Stomach! Forget The Year Special Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Danshoku Dieno defeated Nayashiro Nayagi & Super Sasadango Machine when Takagi pinned Nayagi with the Stone Cold Stunner (7:40).
4. Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai defeated Makoto Oishi, Mizuki Watase & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Higuchi submitted Watase with the Brain Claw (7:35).
5. Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Yuji Hino (w/ Daisuke Sasaki) defeated HARASHIMA, Chris Brookes, Shinya Aoki & Keigo Nakamura when Hino pinned Nakamura with the Diving Body Press (12:56).
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Shota (c) defeated Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Yuki Ueno when Shota pinned Ueno with the Gannosuke Clutch (12:53).
*V1 for Young Communicaton Generation.
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 – Final: Jun Akiyama defeated Konosuke Takeshita by TKO with a Modified Armlock (23:29).
You can now add a former Champion Carnival winner to the short list of D-Ou Grand Prix champions. Jun Akiyama overcame an injured leg to defeat his foe Konosuke Takeshita in the final. The leg injury came when Takeshita caught a Stomp and gave Akiyama a Dragon Screw. From there Takeshita targeted the leg with attacks against the ring post as well as wrestling holds to that limb. What evened the score was Takeshita going into the match with an injured arm that Akiyama could focus on. German and Exploder Suplexes were exchanged and Akiyama Headbutted his way out of a Cross-Arm German Suplex. Seeing his chance, Akiyama applied a Chickenwing Armlock and rolled Takeshita into the centre of the ring. Takeshita struggled to move and soon became lifeless. That caused Yukinori Matsui to end the match and award Akiyama the tournament!
Akiyama received his trophy and praised the field of wrestlers who competed in the Grand Prix this year. He faced a lot of great DDT wrestlers. In fact he lost to two of them in the tournament. But he is the one standing on top in the end. There are only three singles champions in Japan he recognises today: Tetsuya Naito with the IWGP Heavyweight Title, Go Shiozaki with the GHC Heavyweight Title and Tetsuya Endo with the KO-D Openweight Title. (Akiyama later explained he only recognises those championships because Naito, Shiozaki and Endo all won Tokyo Sports Awards this year. All Japan was shut out of the awards so he unfortunately no longer sees the Triple Crown as a major championship. If AJPW can win over the community and the pro wrestling media in 2021, then he will change his tune.) Akiyama now gets to face Endo in a rematch on 14th February in Culttz Kawasaki, this time for the KO-D Title. Akiyama thanked Sanshiro Takagi for inviting him to coach in DDT back in May. He also thanked the wrestlers, staff and fans for accepting him. Lastly, he thanked the All Japan fans too.
From the get go, the DDT Sauna Club did their “Heat Wave WER!!” pose to the Young Communication Generation. In response, Kazuki Hirata & Shota did the post back to their opponents while Akito looked on embarrassed by the situation. Shunma Katsumata hit the Stuka Splash on Hirata. MAO & Yuki Ueno then both leapt across the ring with Frog Splashes on Shota & Hirata. Ueno tried to hit Shota with the WR but Shota maneuvered his way into the Gannosuke Clutch to steal the win. The two teams were satisfied with their match and Akito now understands the power of the sauna.
Shota then turned his attention to Ueno and challenged him for the DDT UNIVERSAL Title. Shota wants to become a leader of the independent scene in 2021 and he is already on his way with two championshps. That’s not enough, he wants a third title that can let him travel around the world. Ueno accepted and the match will happen on 9th January as the Korakuen Hall main event! Akito then asked if his team can next defend the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles in his hometown of Nagoya when DDT goes there on 23rd February. He wants to defend the belts against DDT’s top wrestlers: Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno! Young Communication want to beat the guys they looked up to when they were young. Then in 2021 they will all become main eventers of the indie world!
DAMNATION are looking unstoppable with the addition of Yuji Hino to their ranks. The heavyweight freelancer crushed Keigo Nakamura with a Diving Body Press to win the 8-Man Tag. He also overpowered HARASHIMA in a Chop Battle. Endo went through a few exchanges with Chris Brookes that ultimately ended with Endo hitting the Sasuke Special onto Brookes and a bunch of other wrestlers outside the ring. Shinya Aoki was the one who posed a big threat when he took down Soma Takao but DAMNATION all ganged up on him. Still, Aoki kicked out after taking a string of diving moves Endo and Takao did off of Mad Paulie’s back. After the match Daisuke Sasaki reintroduced Hino to the DDT fans. He said DAMNATION will mess up DDT’s ring in 2021! Hino told him he would like to go wild and have fun with his new friends. Backstage he also said he would like to win the KO-D Title because he thinks he held it before (he did). Endo doesn’t seem too enthused about that.
2020 ends on a strong note for Eruption. The finish to their match saw Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai run opposite ways on the apron to do Penalty Kicks to Makoto Oishi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga. Akai then dove on top of them while Kazusada Higuchi applied a Lifted Brain Claw to Mizuki Watase for the victory.
Let’s be frank, Yukio Naya doesn’t know how to be Sanshiro Takagi. He needed Super Sasadango Machine to teach him when to do the “FIRE!” pose in time with the entrance music. The real Takagi demanded Danshoku Dieno to go into the Hell Gate position but he declined. Sasadango had to explain that Dieno’s backside was burned after he was sprayed with a CO2 fire extinguisher during this week’s Street Wrestling match. Takagi eventually made Dieno climb the turnbuckle and bend over, no matter how much it hurt him. Sasadango revealed he is now a shareholder of CyberAgent and attacked Takagi with his stock certificate to prove it. Sasadango’s mask slipped up when he took an Atomic Drop and he fell face first into Dieno’s backside. Takagi then stuck his fingers into Dieno’s butt, stuck them up to Naya’s nose and gave him the Stunner for the win.
The 3 Way Match briefly became two on one with Antonio Honda & Nobuhiro Shimatani joining forces to fight Toru Owashi. Gongitusune was turned into a heart shape that attracted Honda and Owashi to each other. Shimatani kept them apart but then found himself moving towards Yukinori Matsui for a possible tender embrace. Owashi & Honda both gave Shimatani a School Boy but no count happened because Matsui had his eye closed waiting to be kissed. Matsui was brought back down to Earth and Honda pinned Shimatani with the Diving Fist Drop.
The debuting Toui Kojima was put to the test against Hideki Okatani. Kojima used a Diving Body Attack from the middle rope and also a Running Double Chop. His big move of the match was a Full Nelson Buster for a 2 count. Okatani hit back with a Vertical Chop and the Northern Lights Suplex. Kojima kicked out but was put in a Crab Hold to make him submit. In his post-match interview Kojima said he wants to be a cool wrestler just by standing, like Randy Orton. He was also nervous about today’s debut. Last night he received a message of encouragement from Satoshi Kojima which only made him even more nervous. Satoshi supports him because he always likes seeing another Kojima in wrestling.
Honda’s 16th Anniversary match will be against Choun-Shiryu on 3rd January. The rest of the card for that Korakuen show will be kept secret until the show starts.
Dramatic DDT 