DDT “EARLY SUMMER BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 1”, 16/05/2024
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
298 Fans
1. 3 Way Match: Keigo Nakamura defeated Soma Takao and Ilusion when Nakamura pinned Ilusion with a Modified Crucifix Pin (7:49).
2. Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Akiyama defeated Yukio Naya & Kazuma Sumi when Takagi pinned Sumi with the Sit Down Himawari Bomb (7:42).
3. Early Summer Beer Garden Specialty NG Behaviour Penalty Match: Shunma Katsumata, Toru Owashi & Makoto Oishi defeated Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku when Iino was Disqualified for doing 3 NG acts (9:12).
4. Early Summer Beer Garden Specialty Doki Doki! Special Rules Match – 1 Count Fall Rules: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata when Takanashi pinned Hirata with a Cradle (0:39).
4a. Rematch – Falls Count Anywhere 1,000 Count Death Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata when Brookes pinned Hirata (66:03).
5. Smile Squash Vs DAMNATION T.A!: HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Akito defeated Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul when Akito pinned KANON with a Stepover Toe Hold (12:52).
6. Yuki Ishida Return Match ~ The 37KAMIINA Vs Harimao!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & To-y defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida when To-y pinned Ishida with the Kojima Impact (21:00).
Today was the return of Yuki Ishida to the ring after having a lower back injury that took him out for half a year. His team lost and he took the fall in the main event but that did not spoil the big news he announced after the show. Starting on 20th May he will be working for a sumo entertainment company called SUMO Agency and he’ll be relocating to Osaka to be part of a sumo show targeted towards foreign tourists. This new job means he will only be able to wrestle for DDT once or twice a month. He wanted to return to his roots in order to shine brighter and bring whatever momentum he makes back to DDT.
The Smile Squash revival is going to stick around a little while longer. After the trio defeated DAMNATION T.A in a non-title match Akito realized that Smile Squash never held the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles together. He made the challenge for a title shot, HARASHIMA agreed because he never held that championship before and Yasu Urano is joining along so he can get more DDT bookings. During the match itself Smile Squash almost gained a new member. They encouraged KANON to join them because he has a nice smile. He jumped sides until Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul force fed him beer to turn him back to his, er, normal self.
There was a secret special rule applied to Match #4. It took everyone under a minute to discover the rule was 1 Count Pinfalls when Masahiro Takanashi pinned Kazuki Hirata and immediately won the match. Hirata demanded a rematch and this time the winning team would be whichever one scores a combined total of 1,000 counts from pinfalls, countouts and DQ counts! CDK agreed and restarted the match. The total count went up to 34 when both teams fought too far away from the venue to follow so the show continued without them. They reappeared after the main event where the count was somewhere in the late 900s. The main eventers were still in the ring so Danshoku Dieno decided to give Ishida a Lip Lock just because. Ishida remained involved and hit Hirata with the Flame Palm. CDK then piled on top of them to score the 1,000th pin count and win the match.
Match #3 also had a rule built around secret. The referees determined that every wrestler would have one move or action be deemed NG or No Good for the match. If a wrestler performed a No Good action they would be sent off to the penalty area up in the balcony. They would only be allowed back in the match if one of their partners also did a No Good move and had to replace them in the penalty area. But if someone did a No Good move three times their team would be disqualified. The wrestlers were not told what the banned moves were so it was up to them to figure it out as the match went on. Yuki Iino was immediately sent off for shouting “BURNING!”. Shunma Katsumata was sent off for doing the NeppoWER pose. Toru Owashi was sent off for doing a Horizontal Chop. Makoto Oishi was sent off for clapping. Tetsuya Endo was sent off for doing a Swan Dive move. Yuya Koroku was sent off for doing a Brainbuster. In the end Iino was disqualified for saying “BURNING!” three times. He ended up getting confused which caused him to say “BURNING!” and “NeppoWER!” over and over.
Both Sanshiro Takagi and Akito didn’t let their CyberFight demotions ruin their wrestling performances. They both won their matches today. Takagi told the fans he will continue to be in charge of DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro from his new Vice President position. Really the only problem he has to deal with is his Big President merch is now inaccurate and he will need to make a replacement shirt.
Takagi was also challenged to a singles match by Super Sasadango Machine. He was surprised to hear the earlier news about Takagi and felt there is limited time for them to have one more match together before Takagi takes a break from being a wrestler. Takagi’s schedule was full until Sasadango came up with an idea. Their match will be on a one-match show at Shinjuku FACE on 26th June! Fifty unique types of ticket deals for the show will be made available with more to be added if there is demand.
Dramatic DDT 