DDT “JUDGEMENT 2021 ~DDT 24TH ANNIVERSARY~”, 28/03/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Chris Brookes & Toui Kojima Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuki Iino
2. Soma Takao Vs Hideki Okatani
3. Danshoku Dieno, Makoto Oishi & Saki Akai Vs Toru Owashi, Akito & Keigo Nakamura
4. DAMNATION Vs The 37KAMIINA: Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo, Yuji Hino & Mad Paulie Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & MAO
5. DDT 24th Anniversary Special Single Match: HARASHIMA Vs Yukio Sakaguchi
6. KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Titles: Shinya Aoki, Super Sasadango Machine, Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Yukio Naya, Chikara & Nabe Yakan
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi
Sanshiro Takagi has gathered together noble blood of both the pro wrestling and comedy worlds for his bid to win the KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Titles. Each of his three tag partners have wildly successful relatives from one or two generations ago. Yukio Naya comes from a valued family of sumo wrestlers. Chikara is following in the footsteps of his father Mitsuo Momota and his grandfather Rikidozan. Finally, Nabe Yakan’s father is a beloved comedian from the Showa era. Also Yakan earned Takagi’s respect after their soft gun war over the DDT Extreme Title back in January. Takagi has sworn to protect and nurture these people under the banner of Team Thoroughbred. It isn’t skill or talent that gets you success in pro wrestling. It’s nepotism!
DDT is putting together a big match to celebrate its 24th Anniversary. HARASHIMA versus Yukio Sakaguchi is a rematch from their D-Ou Grand Prix bout last December. That match had a lot of mat wrestling and ended with Sakaguchi choking HARASHIMA out.
Daisuke Sasaki’s idea to make Konosuke Takeshita join DAMNATION is approaching a crossroad. Takeshita unexpectedly cooperated with him during yesterday’s 4 Way Tag Match so it looks like Takeshita can leave their past behind and get along with him. However, The 37KAMIINA are now getting going as a full time unit. Why would Takeshita leave the sauna life behind? For now at least they remain opponents on two very different sides.
GANBARE☆PRO “BAD COMMUNICATION 2021”, 07/04/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Ganjo Vs Actwres girl’Z Full-Scale Battle: Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs Miyuki Takase & Ayumi Hayashi
2. THE HALFEE Vs Fujita Wrestling School Full-Scale Battle: Shuichiro Katsumura & Shu Sakurai Vs Minoru Fujita & Yasu Urano
3. GWC 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Asuka, Hagane Shinno & Shinichiro Tominaga (c) Vs X, X & X
4. Ganpro Vs DDT Full Scale Battle: Keisuke Ishii & Shota Vs Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Ueno
5. Daihyo Vs Daihyo ~ Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match: Ken Ohka Vs Takashi Sasaki
Shigehiro Irie will be on the show. Don’t know if he is still associated with #STRONGHEARTS after they signed a deal with GLEAT. He’s still with Purple Haze in All Japan but I don’t expect their business will be getting mixed up with Ganbare☆Pro anytime soon.
DDT “APRIL FOOL 2021”, 11/04/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Yuya Koroku Debut Match: Yuya Koroku Vs X
2. Gorgeous Matsuno Pre-60th Birthday Commemorative Match: Gorgeous Matsuno Vs X
3. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi (c) Vs HARASHIMA & Yuji Okabayashi
DDT’s newest trainee comes straight from the much respected Animal Hamaguchi Dojo. 23 year old Yuya Koroku is from Noda City, Chiba. He is 170cm tall, weighs 82kg and has sports experience in baseball, amateur wrestling and karate.
GANBARE☆PRO “GANBARE☆JOSHI PRO WRESTLING ~BUTTERFLY DANCE 2021~”, 24/04/2021 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
1. Ganjo Jacket Match: Cherry Vs Shuichiro Katsumura
After a long absence, Ganpro is bringing back the Ganbare☆Joshi brand for an entire show dedicated to that division. The last one happened in February 2020. It’s going in some unexpected directions though. Cherry is facing Shuichiro Katsumura in an intergender Jacket Match. The stipulation is going to be an annual event for Ganjo shows. The full rules of that match will be revealed soon.
There will also be an invasion from Gake no Fuchi Joshi because Miyako Matsumoto and Chris Brookes are being booked to appear. Also advertised are Yuna Manase, Moeka Haruhi, Asuka, HARUKAZE and Drew Parker.
DDT “DAY DREAM BELIEVER 2021”, 14/03/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 508 Fans – No Vacancy
0. Under Match: Hideki Okatani defeated Toui Kojima with the Northern Lights Suplex (4:19).
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Top Of The Super Book 2021: The Young Bucks Autobiography “Killing The Business”, Danshoku Dieno & Keigo Nakamura defeated Saki Akai Photo Book “Lip Hip Shake” (c), Saki Akai & Antonio Honda when Nakamura pinned “Lip Hip Shake” with the Exquisite (8:33). *Keigo Nakamura becomes the 1,500th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Saki Akai defeated Keigo Nakamura (c) with the Rookie Award (6:20 pm). *Saki Akai becomes the 1,501st champion.
2. 4 Way Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Toru Owashi defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Mad Paulie, Konosuke Takeshita & MAO and Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya when HARASHIMA pinned Iino with the Somato (8:44).
3. Junretsu Vs Eruption!: Jun Akiyama & Makoto Oishi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi ended in a Double Countout (7:44).
4. DDT Extreme Title – Barbed Wire Casket Death Match: Chris Brookes defeated Shunma Katsumata (c) by Casket Burial (14:10). *Shunma Katsumata fails in V2. Chris Brookes becomes the 51st DDT Extreme Champion!
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino defeated Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Shota (c) when Takao pinned Shota with the Running Elbow Butt (13:07). *Young Communication Generation fails in V3. DAMNATION becomes the 43rd KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
6. DDT UNIVERSAL Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Yusuke Okada with the WR (20:01). *V4 for Yuki Ueno.
The young champion Yuki Ueno took another step up the DDT ladder in what turned out to be a big day for his group. The show began with the DDT Sauna Club revealing it has been renamed to The 37KAMIINA (pronounced “Sauna Kamiina”) to establish itself as a proper stable. Then in the main event, Ueno put the DDT UNIVERSAL Title on the line against Yusuke Okada. He went big with a Flying Hurricanara out of the ring then later kicked out of Okada’s newly named Tricolor. A Dropkick turned the match to his favour and Ueno won with the WR for his fourth defence. Ueno told Okada it was fun to wrestle him and he wants them to have more main events together. He also said The 37KAMIINA will work hard towards being a forwards thinking group in 2021.
The rest of the championship matches on the cards all had title changes. DAMNATION took the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles away from the Young Communication Generation. The defending champions tried using speed but hit a road bump when Yuji Hino got involved. Akito & Kazuki Hirata together couldn’t knock him off his feet and it was only with Shota’s help were they able to get him out of the ring. Tetsuya Endo had an exchange of submission counters with Akito until he wiped out everyone on the floor with the Sasuke Special. That left Shota alone with Soma Takao in the ring. They both ran the ropes and Takao got his strike in first with the Running Elbow Butt. That was enough to get him the three count and bring the belts back to DAMNATION! But they’re not too impressed with the title belts themselves. Backstage Daisuke Sasaki called them 100 yen belts. Endo suggested they leave them behind at the Suidobashi Station when they go home tonight. Takao is at least pleased he took the titles from those bottom feeders at Young Communication.
The Barbed Wire Casket Death Match was dangerous but Yukinori Matsui made sure it wasn’t too dangerous. He prohibited Chris Brookes from using a sickle he brought to the ring with him. All of the barbed wire boards, thumbtacks, ladders, construction signs, chairs and toy blocks were okay though. The casket used was covered in blocks and the barbed wire was found to be inside the casket when it was opened up. Shunma Katsumata also hid a few fire poppers in there to catch Brookes by surprise. Katsumata wasn’t the only person who appeared in Super Hardcore form. Konosuke Takeshita & MAO showed up dressed as druids with Joker facepaint to aid Katsumata with a Springboard Tornado DDT. Katsumata placed Brookes leaning over the casket and climbed the top rope. Brookes got out of the way and Katsumata’s Stuka Splash ended with him landing inside the casket. Brookes closed the lid on top and became the new DDT Extreme Champion! He hammered a few nails into the lid to close the casket shut for good measure. He is very much looking forward to defending the Extreme Title in stupid ways because that is the Dramatic Dream Team way!
The pressure is growing between Jun Akiyama and Kazusada Higuchi as we get closer to their KO-D Openweight Title match. Today Higuchi decided to wrestle barefoot and fought with Akiyama outside the ring. He was thrown head first into the ring post and no sold it. Akiyama did get him off his feet with an Exploder onto the floor. Yukio Sakaguchi intercepted Akiyama with an Apron PK but then Makoto Oishi took out Sakaguchi with a low Dropkick. All four men were unable to get back into the ring and the match ended in a Double Countout. Higuchi thinks now the situation is starting to get interesting. Akiyama is getting serious now, which is what Higuchi has been hoping for all along. He thinks they have to fight this way otherwise it wouldn’t be interesting.
Former stablemates Takeshita and Yuki Iino now have to be opponents for the 4 Way Tag. It’s a chance for new directions and Takeshita proved that by deciding to cooperate with Sasaki when it was offered to him! Iino went wild with Spears, using it to take out Toru Owashi, MAO and then a double one to Sasaki & Mad Paulie. Takeshita made Iino spear Yukio Naya by accident then dropped him with the Last Ride. However HARASHIMA then hit Takeshita with a High Kick and ran away with the win by pinning Iino with the Somato.
In a match that would be a main event in any library around the world, The Young Bucks autobiography “Killing The Business” got its chance to reclaim the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title from Saki Akai’s photo book “Lip Hip Shake”. But first DDT had to get “Lip Hip Shake” away from Gota Ihashi’s possession. He refused to let it go backstage so Antonio Honda had to knock him out. The match began with the two books squaring off much like Go Shiozaki and Kazuyuki Fujita did. The match was interrupted when Ihashi ran out armed with a plastic spoon. He stabbed Danshoku Dieno with it, then stabbed “Killing The Business” to protect his photo book. Nothing will come between Ihashi and Akai’s photo book, not even the real Akai herself! He knocked her down and climbed the ropes for a Moonsault but Akai rolled out of the way and Ihashi went splat. Dieno gave Akai the Danshoku Driver but was then attack by the photo book! Dieno was almost pinned until Keigo Nakamura broke it up. He placed “Lip Hip Shake” on the canvas and did the Exquisite Springboard Moonsault onto it. Nobody was there to stop the pin and Nakamura became the new Iron Man Champion!
Nakamura wanted to celebrate winning his first ever championship but he got distracted by “Lip Hip Shake”. He gave it a read in the ring and suddenly found himself experiencing an embarrassing moment in public. Akai took advantage and hit the Rookie Award to pin Nakamura and become the new Iron Man Champion. She ran off with the belt, her photo book and Ihashi chasing after her. Backstage Honda said it felt like he was teaming with two Saki Akai’s out there. He also found out the price for other copies of the photo book have risen on Mercari ever since it showed up in DDT.
In the pre-show match, Hideki Okatani defeated Toui Kojima. The had a meeting of chops and elbow strikes that ended with Okatani using a Running Neckbreaker. He then got the win with the Northern Lights Suplex.
Sanshiro Takagi came out after the death match to reveal his team for the KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Titles match on 28th March. His first partner is Yukio Naya, who was busy cleaning up the ring when he found out. Takagi explained that the most important thing in pro wrestling is not physical or technical ability. The most important thing is bloodlines! So Takagi’s team is made up of wrestlers who come from successful families. Naya is one because of his yokozuna grandfather. The second partner is Chikara, the grandson of Rikidozan! Last but not least, filling out the team is comedian Nabe Yakan, whose father was also a successful comedian from the Showa era. Takagi promised to protect these noble bloodlines as they unite to win the 8-Man Tag Titles. Together this team is called Team Thoroughbred!
23 year old trainee Yuya Koroku was introduced to the audience at the start of the show. He will have his debut match on 11th April. He promised to spend the next month working hard preparing for his debut.
Ten years ago the Great East Japan Earthquake happened. When DDT ran their Korakuen Hall show that month, they decided not to record an intro video for the show to preserve energy. Instead the show intro took place live in the ring with all of the wrestlers entering and posing when their match was announced. For the 10th anniversary, DDT did the same thing for today’s show.
DDT “DAY DREAM BELIEVER 2021”, 14/03/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Under Match: Hideki Okatani Vs Toui Kojima
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Top Of The Super Book 2021: Saki Akai Photo Book “Lip Hip Shake” (c), Saki Akai & Antonio Honda Vs The Young Bucks Autobiography “Killing The Business”, Danshoku Dieno & Keigo Nakamura
2. 4 Way Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Toru Owashi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Mad Paulie Vs Konosuke Takeshita & MAO Vs Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya
3. Junretsu Vs Eruption!: Jun Akiyama & Makoto Oishi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi
4. DDT Extreme Title – Barbed Wire Casket Death Match: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Chris Brookes
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Shota (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino
6. DDT UNIVERSAL Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Yusuke Okada
Four title matches to look forward to tomorrow. Not only that but we’ll find out about another title match happening down the line too. Sanshiro Takagi’s new obsession is to win the KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Titles at DDT’s 24th Anniversary show at the end of the month. He will reveal his team during tomorrow’s show.
DDT “WRESTLING OKEHAZAMA 2021”, 19/03/2021 Nagoya Naka Sports Center
1. Danshoku Dieno, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Akito, Saki Akai & Yukio Naya
2. Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo Vs Antonio Honda & Yuki Iino
3. Yusuke Okada Vs Toui Kojima
4. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Hideki Okatani
5. DDT Sauna Club Vs DAMNATION!: Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & MAO Vs Soma Takao, Yuji Hino & Mad Paulie
6. Nagoya Specialty Doerya 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & HARASHIMA Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Chris Brookes & Keigo Nakamura
ALL OUT is all gone so it’s time for some members to go their separate ways. Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata are still connected together by the DDT Sauna Club. Also Akito has the Young Communication Generation to keep him company. It’s Yuki Iino who is going out on his own for now. His destination is to beat Yuji Hino but what direction will he take to get there?
DDT “WRESTLE SHIOKOBU! 2021”, 20/03/2021 Osaka City Suminoe Maikon Hall
1. Akito & Yukio Naya Vs Yuki Iino Vs Hideki Okatani
2. Danshoku Dieno, Shunma Katsumata & MAO Vs Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Saki Akai
3. Keigo Nakamura Trial Single Match: Keigo Nakamura Vs Maku Donaruto
4. DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION!: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Soma Takao
5. DDT Sauna Club Vs DAMNATION!: Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Ueno Vs Yuji Hino & Mad Paulie
6. Maikon no Kohara Presents I Love It! Osaka Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Yusuke Okada Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Toui Kojima
The main event is sponsored by the Osaka food retailer Maikon no Kohara. The company owns the naming rights for the venue too so that is why it’s called Maikon Hall. The winning team in the main event will receive a prize from the sponsors.
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2021 ~DDT 24TH ANNIVERSARY~”, 28/03/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Titles: Shinya Aoki, Super Sasadango Machine, Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi, X, X & X
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi
Takagi’s team gets their title match here. This will be the first defence for the current champions led by Shinya Aoki. They just need to win this one match to tie the championship record for most title defences. Even so, the belts still have more history than the proposed IWGP World Heavyweight Title.
BASARA “HAMAMATSU SLUDGE BASARA~”, 04/04/2021 Shizuoka Kamikoen General Center
For the first time since 2016, Michio Kageyama will be on a BASARA show. His only previous appearance was all the way back to BASARA’s Chapter 15 show.
Time for Atsushi Onita to remind everybody how it’s done. Bakuha Koshien holds its first show of 2021 and Onita promises to brighten up Japan with exploding barbed wire! Don’t worry, AEW isn’t handling the explosives for this one.
DDT “ALL OUT DISSOLUTION BOX OFFICE – ALL OUT FINAL FIGHT”, 12/03/2021 Shin-Kiba 1st RING 96 Fans
1. Yuji Hino defeated Yuki Iino with a Diving Body Press (7:05).
2. No Tag Rules: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Shunma Katsumata defeated Yuki Ueno, Chris Brookes & Shota when Akito submitted Shota with the Goliath Birdeater (14:42).
3. Smile Squash Vs Happy Motel!: HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Soma Takao Vs Antonio Honda, Tetsuya Endo & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi ended in a No Contest (1:54).
3a. 3 Way Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano Vs Tetsuya Endo & Soma Takao Vs Antonio Honda & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi ended in a No Contest (2:17).
3b. Rematch: HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda defeated Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi when Honda pinned Hiroshi with the Diving Fist Drop (5:52).
4. ALL OUT FINAL FIGHT: Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Iino defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Akito when Katsumata pinned Akito with the ¡Hasta la vista! (28:52).
Today was the final day of ALL OUT, the unit that has been around in DDT for four years. All of its members have taken different directions for their careers and agreed the time has come for most of them to go their separate ways. Just as the unit name suggests, ALL OUT gave it their all and kept burning until the end. That was shown in the main event when the four full time members faced off in a tag match lasting half an hour. Before the match began everyone was treated to video messages from the international members of ALL OUT. Diego, Space Monkey and Royce Chambers all sent their thanks to the group for taking care of them when they were in Japan.
The match itself went full force. Yuki Iino put Konosuke Takeshita through a table with the Spear. Takeshita fired back with the Last Ride for a nearfall but his attempt at bringing back the Fable was blocked with a mid-air Spear. Shunma Katsumata and Akito then went on a sprint until all four wrestlers got into Elbow Strike exchanges. Iino got Takeshita out of the ring while Katsumata peppered Akito with Super Kicks. Katsumata then wrapped the ALL OUT flag around his waist and did the Stuka Splash for a nearfall. For the ending, Katsumata yelled out Diego’s name and did Diego’s finisher the VHS onto the flag. He then pinned Akito with the ¡Hasta la vista! to win.
Takeshita got on the mic after the match. He said ALL OUT began with just him and Akito, then Diego joined. It wasn’t a unit put together to make friends but for each member to improve each other. The proof today is in how strong Katsumata & Iino have become. Takeshita admitted he was against Katsumata joining the group because he wasn’t very good at the time but now he is like a different person! Takeshita was also the person who told Iino to start using the Haka Elbow so he has to take the responsibility for that one. Akito repeated that he and Takeshita pushed each other upwards. He hopes Katsumata & Iino will go crazy in more ways from now on so they can all say this break up was not a mistake. Iino talked about being in ALL OUT ever since his debut. He has been part of the unit for pretty much his entire career so he has nothing but gratitude towards the other members. He thanked them for keeping ALL OUT alive for him when he was sidelined with a back injury. Katsumata said similar for the times he was out of action with his orbital bone injuries. ALL OUT has ended but their goals will be the same. Katsumata wants all four of them to make a new history and he won’t lose to any of them from now on either!
The planned 3 Way Tag Match was changed into a special 6-Man Tag Team match by Hisaya Imabayashi. According to the GM, Tetsuya Endo & Soma Takao strongly requested the match to be turned into a Smile Squash Vs Happy Motels double reunion. It all turned out to be a ruse when Endo & Takao attacked everyone including the referee, causing the match to end in a No Contest. HARASHIMA demanded the original 3 Way Tag Match take place instead but that also got thrown out when Daisuke Kiso got knocked down again, this time by Antonio Honda & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi when their team fell apart. HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano tended to Honda while Hiroshi sided with Endo & Takao in an alliance he named YOGANATION. An impromptu 6-Man Tag then happened but Endo & Takao turned on Hiroshi. They left him for dead with a Double Super Kick and Honda did the Diving Fist Drop on Hiroshi for the three count.
Takeshita & Akito were able to get a win earlier in the show. Their last trios match with Katsumata was a victory against wrestlers they have associations with: Takeshita with Yuki Ueno, Katsumata with Chris Brookes and Akito with Shota. The match had no tags needed to keep things fast and frantic. Brookes was dispatched with a Super Kick/Zahi combo, Takeshita countered Ueno’s WR into the Surprise Rose and Akito made Shota submit to the Goliath Birdeater.
Iino opened the show with another chance to try and beat the unbeatable Yuji Hino. He showed no intimidation towards his rival, performing the Haka on the ramp when Hino walked out for his entrance. Iino put too much focus into using the Spear. When he hit it, Hino kicked out. Then by that point Hino had the move scouted and used Short Range Lariats to stop further attempts of the move. Iino was down and defeated when Hino hit a Diving Body Press.
DDT “DAY DREAM BELIEVER 2021”, 14/03/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Under Match: Hideki Okatani Vs Toui Kojima
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Top Of The Super Book 2021: Saki Akai Photo Book “Lip Hip Shake” (c), Saki Akai & Antonio Honda Vs The Young Bucks Autobiography “Killing The Business”, Danshoku Dieno & Keigo Nakamura
2. 4 Way Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Toru Owashi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Mad Paulie Vs Konosuke Takeshita & MAO Vs Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya
3. Junretsu Vs Eruption!: Jun Akiyama & Makoto Oishi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi
4. DDT Extreme Title – Barbed Wire Casket Death Match: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Chris Brookes
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Shota (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino
6. DDT UNIVERSAL Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Yusuke Okada
A press conference was held in Shibuya’s Abema Towers today to promote two of the title matches taking place this Sunday. For the DDT UNIVERSAL Title match, Yusuke Okada is going into it thinking it is now or never. He is a freelancer and knows the day may come when DDT won’t book him again. This match is his turning point and he will risk his life to become champion. Yuki Ueno is feeling the pressure to be in the main event of a show containing four title matches. It’s a big main event for both because they both have less than five years of experience in the ring.
The feud between Shunma Katsumata and Chris Brookes has come to this. The grudge between them has gotten so bad they will now have a Barbed Wire Casket Death Match to end it once and for all! The winner of the match is whoever puts their opponent into the barbed wire casket and then closes the lid on top. Most weapons will be allowed, except for those the referee thinks are too dangerous. Brookes has some death match experience from his time wrestling in the UK so he thinks the stipulation works in his favour.
Brookes was present for the announcement and said Katsumata was too scared to show up. If he was Katsumata he wouldn’t run away but accept the embarrassment of losing the DDT Exteme Title in four days time. Brookes has won all of his previous singles matches against Katsumata in DDT. Brookes even won one of those matches on his own event the same day Katsumata became the Extreme Champion. He is motivated to win the Extreme Title because his tag partner Masahiro Takanashi is a former champion. Also this is Katsumata’s first singles title so Brookes would love nothing more than to take that from him. Brookes promises to make Katsumata feel the same way he did when Katsumata got his Twitter account banned.
A big surprise came for Brookes at the end when Super Hardcore Katsumata showed up! He attacked Brookes with party poppers, gave him a Low Blow and set off another party popper inside Brookes’ mouth. Katsumata then posed with the title belt with one foot pressing down on Brookes.
For the first time in 16 years DDT is hosting a tag team round robin tournament. The Ultimate Tag League 2021 will feature five teams competing across five shows in the month of May. The team with the most points at the end will be the winners but if there is a tie a final match will take place between them to break the deadlock. Wins are worth 2 points, draws are worth 1 and losses are worth 0. Each match has a 30 minute time limit. Teams will be announced soon. One of the shows on the schedule will be an empty arena show held on a date to be determined.
DDT “ULTIMATE TAG LEAGUE 2021 IN KORAKUEN HALL!!”, 09/05/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
DDT “ULTIMATE TAG LEAGUE 2021 IN SENDAI!!”, 15/05/2021 Miyagi Sendai PIT
DDT “ULTIMATE TAG LEAGUE 2021 IN KOBE!!”, 23/05/2021 Kobe Art Center
DDT “ULTIMATE TAG LEAGUE 2021 IN ???!!”, ??/05/2021 ???
DDT “ULTIMATE TAG LEAGUE 2021 THE FINAL!!”, 27/05/2021 Shinjuku FACE
MUSCLE “HIRAGANA MUSCLE 4 TOKYO PERFORMANCE ~THE OTHER SIDE OF SPECIAL MOVES~ HIRAGANA MUSCLE FESTIVAL 2021”, 09/03/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 588 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Opening Act – Mixed Systema Martial Arts Rules Showdown: Shinya Aoki defeated Minamikawa when Minamikawa said “Ouch!” (R1 3:44).
2. 2nd Act – Manzai Showdown: Yuki Rock & Hisaya Imabayashi Vs Mizuki Watase & Yukio Naya ended in a draw.
3. 3rd Act – Freestyle Mike Performance Showdown: Kazusada Kokuyo (Kazusada Higuchu), Herman Miller Mao (MAO), Shota Okamura (Shota), Itoki Oyoshi (Choun-Shiryu) & Velbon Imanari (Yumehito Imanari) (3) defeated Naguttaro Omoikiri (Konosuke Takeshita), Dokufuki Wagner Jr. (Yuki Ueno), Kota Metsubusi (Akito), Tsubushigaoka Kinteki (Shunma Katsumata) & Rantonio Rodorigo Nogueira (Kazuki Hirata) (2).
3a. Tsubushigaoka Kinteki defeated Herman Miller Mao by Audience Judgement.
3b. Itoki Oyoshi defeated Rantonio Rodorigo Nogueira by Audience Judgement.
3c. Dokufuki Wagner Jr. defeated Velbon Imanari by Audience Judgement.
3d. Kazusada Kokuyo defeated Kota Metsubusi by Audience Judgement.
3e. Shota Okamura defeated Naguttaro Omoikiri by Audience Judgement.
4. Main Act – Wrestling Showdown: Hondusty Rhodes (Antonio Honda) & Ramridusty Rhodes (RAM RIDER) defeated DJ Nira & Naguttaro Omoikiri (Konosuke Takeshita) when Hondusty pinned Nira with the Bionic Elbow (19:05).
The Hiragana Muscle brand is growing with today’s show being the first of two performances being held this month. There’s a problem though. Yuki Rock and South River Minamikawa want to know why is Muscle not included in the big “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2021” event taking place on 6th June? Joining in with the complaint is RAM RIDER, the musician who has been producing the songs used in Muscle’s musical acts. He believes the 2.9 Dimensional Pro Wrestling concept is still lacking in the music department because the wrestlers can’t sing, they can only lip sync. That problem was suddenly put on hold when the crew received a phone call. RAM’s father has fallen ill and is in critical condition. What follows is the “Story Of RAM’s House”.
Rock, Minamikawa & Amon Tsurumi were entered the ring to introduce the show. Tsurumi talked about becoming the DDT General Manager again, Rock mentioned losing his access to New Japan and being blacklisted by the company after he started appearing on Muscle shows. He demanded to be made the Muscle GM then challenged another comedian Kuniko Yamada to fight over who gets to be the NOAH GM. Tsurumi changed topics back to RAM RIDER’s situation. He explained RAM is from a family of pro wrestlers such as his father Hondusty Rhodes. But now that Hondusty is undergoing medical treatment, it is up to RAM to enter the pro wrestling business! Super Sasadango Machine agreed to handle RAM’s musical role in the meantime. Time to start the show.
The Finisher Boys were working out when they received an invitation to perform at the Hiragana Festival. That sounds exciting except for one thing. No lip syncing is allowed! Shota entered the ring along with Choun-Shiryu & Yumehito Imanari representing The Steel Chair Boys. He asked The Finisher Boys why they haven’t replied to the invitation yet? A fight broke out with The Finisher Boys coming out on top but they were left in a tired state. How can they sing live with such low stamina? DJ Nira entered the scene and suggested they all turn heel to become stronger performers. The Finisher Boys then danced.
The Folding Chair Boys returned to their base to lick their wounds and wonder if The Finisher Boys are turning heel. Kazusada Higuchi & MAO appeared on the western balcony declaring their intentions to destroy The Finisher Boys. In order to do that they will have to walk down the “Main Road” of pro wrestling. They are going to pay a visit to a house belonging to the parents of a certain musician. Rumour is the musician is trying to become a pro wrestler himself. They can train him! The Folding Chair Boys then danced.
Over at the Hondusty Dojo, RAM RIDER is learning Bionic Elbows from his family. He hears about the Hiragana Festival and finds out he can earn 100,000 yen to perform there. There is no pro wrestling involved, just singing and dancing. He shows up in disguise and performs as DJ One More Taima.
However his collaboration with The Folding Chair Boys is interrupted when DJ Nira attacks Taima. The Finisher Boys also run in and attack The Folding Chair Boys in heel like fashion! They complete their heel turn by changing their names to The Foul (Gimmick) Boys! Taima tried to fight them off with the Bionic Elbow but gets ganged up on. Hondusty entered the ring pleading with the Gimmick Boys to stop but they Power Bomb him instead.
Tsurumi threatened not to pay RAM RIDER because his performance had no singing. However RAM recorded the illegal threat on his phone and threatened to sent it to the media. This sent Tsurumi, Rock & Minamikawa into a panic. If this goes public then all of the future Muscle plans will get cancelled! They might all lose their jobs and will have to go work in Sasadango’s factory. Sasadango then put together a PowerPoint presentation to explain what went wrong and how it can be fixed.
Sasadango decided Minamikawa would have a Mixed Systema Martial Arts match against the strongest opponent he could find. It’s Shinya Aoki! The rules allowed three breaks per round so the fighters could take a breather. Also the first person to react in pain loses. Aoki only needed one round to submit Minamikawa, placing him in a Front Neck Lock and making him shout out “Ouch!”
With that over with, Sasadango showed his plans for Rock & Tsurumi. They were going to have a manzai comedy challenge against Mizuki Watase & Yukio Naya. Rock & Tsurumi’s duo name was The Harigane Sisters and they joked about Tsurumi’s family. Watase & Naya were called Taiho Tiger and they made fun of Real Japan. When they were done an epilogue flashed on the screen about the fictional comedy career of Hisaya Imabayashi after he left DDT. He performed on stage 30,000 times and passed away at the age of 80. Meanwhile Taiho Tiger qualified for the next round of this year’s M-1 Grand Prix.
Two more acts to go and it’s going to stay strange. The Gimmick Boys and The Folding Chair Boys were now going to have a rap battle! Five rounds took place as everyone rapped to puro theme remixes that Taima put together. The audience voted for each winner and The Folding Chair Boys ended up taking the challenge 3 rounds to 2.
Sasadango began the final act by announcing Muscle will be back in Korakuen Hall on 1st September. It was time for RAM RIDER to finally wrestle a match. He dropped the One More Taima gimmick and renamed himself Ramridusty Rhodes so he could fight alongside his father Hondusty. Together they took on the heel team of DJ Nira & Konosuke Takeshita. A ref bump caused a massive brawl to happen at ringside. That was the cue for Tetsuya Endo to make his advertised run in and dive onto everyone outside the ring. Takeshita grabbed a chair but Hondusty talked him out of using it. The dramatic finish then happened with Hondusty pinning Nira with the Bionic Elbow while RAM RIDER played music on his keyboard.
With the show coming to a close, RAM RIDER wanted to return to normal and go back to being a music producer. Takeshita apologised for turning heel and promised never to do it again. Also he needs to be a babyface for Muscle’s Osaka performance next week. Sasadango said he wants to continue making these kind of fun shows.
AEW “REVOLUTION – THE BUY IN”, 07/03/2021 Jacksonville Daily’s Place
Thunder Rosa & Riho Vs Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. & Maki Itoh (w/ Reba)
Maki Itoh is now in America wrestling in AEW! This is the “scheduling conflict” that took Itoh out of yesterday’s Tokyo Joshi Pro PPV. It caught me by surprise. It shouldn’t have because the hints were there all along but it did. The schedule clash, Itoh telling Miyu Yamashita she was going away for a while, her tweets back and forth with Britt Baker and then her Twitter going quiet for pretty much an entire day. I didn’t put two and two together because I thought there was some sort of quarantine she would have had to take which would make the whole scenario impossible. Turns out all you need to enter Florida is a negative Covid-19 test from the last 72 hours and you’re good to go. Even then it would have been difficult to get from Tokyo on Saturday to Florida on Sunday which is why her appearance was kept as a surprise. The slightest delay in travel would have resulted in her missing the show. But hey, she’s in AEW for now and is already making friends… and reuniting with foes from her past like Thunder Rosa and Riho. Good luck, America. She can be a handful.
DDT “DAY DREAM BELIEVER 2021”, 14/03/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Under Match: Hideki Okatani Vs Toui Kojima
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Top Of The Super Book 2021: Saki Akai Photo Book “Lip Hip Shake” (c), Saki Akai & Antonio Honda Vs The Young Bucks Autobiography “Killing The Business”, Danshoku Dieno & Keigo Nakamura
2. 4 Way Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Toru Owashi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Mad Paulie Vs Konosuke Takeshita & MAO Vs Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya
3. Junretsu Vs Eruption!: Jun Akiyama & Makoto Oishi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi
4. DDT Extreme Title: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Chris Brookes
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Shota (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino
6. DDT UNIVERSAL Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Yusuke Okada
The DDT UNIVERSAL Title match main events the show. Yusuke Okada celebrates his 28th birthday today and joked on Twitter he has the face of a 48 year old.
BASARA “BASARA 152 ~GLITTER~”, 23/03/2021 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Ryota Nakatsu, SAGAT & Akiyori Takizawa Vs Takato Nakano, Masato Kamino & Yasu Urano
2. Jacket Tag Match: Fuminori Abe & Gouma Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
3. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs The ★ Trans-Am
4. IRON FIST Tag Titles: Isami Kodaka & Daiki Shimomura (c) Vs FUMA & Yusuke Kubo
5. Union MAX Title: Takumi Tsukamoto (c) Vs Daichi Kazato
It’s a Trans-Am ★ Reunion. The wrestler previously known as Trans-Am ★ Ryuji lost his name in January after he had a “Dragon Contra Dragon” match against Gouma Ryu. That match ended in a draw so both men lost the “Ryu” related part of their names. As a result of this, Trans-Am ★ Ryuji is now simply being called The ★ Trans-Am.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “STILL INCOMPLETE”, 17/04/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino (c) Vs Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel
The winners of the first “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament is NEO Biishiki-gun. The last thing Sakisama wants is more trophies so she is letting Mei Saint-Michel keep both of them in her room. Instead, Sakisama wants to get something better looking like the Princess Tag Team Titles! It is up to The Bakuretsu Sisters to stop them. Neither Nodoka Tenma or Yuki Aino have ever beaten the previous iterations of NEO Biishiki-gun in title matches though. Like for a lot of the roster, Sakisama is a difficult road block to get past.