Endo Loses Survival 3 Way Match In NOAH, Also Gets Betrayed By Sugiura

June 4, 2025

Are they called TEAM 2000X because their main events are booked liked WCW from the year 2000? Oh, I’m on… ahem…

When we last paid attention to Tetsuya Endo in NOAH he had left TEAM 2000X, joined forces with Takashi Sugiura and the two of them both got a GHC Heavyweight Title shot where they would face the champion OZAWA in a 3 Way Elimination Match. In the two weeks leading up to the title bout Endo & Sugiura would face TEAM 2000X in several kinds of tag matches. They were on the winning side for the first half of them but TEAM 2000X won the rest in the second half. OZAWA even added insult to injury by spraying a silver X over Endo’s chest after Endo was the last to be beaten in an 8-Man Elimination Tag Match. By the last prelim match the alliance between Endo and Sugiura was becoming shaky with neither of them being on the exact same page. OZAWA even started to brag that Endo would return to TEAM 2000X when he loses at the Survival 3 Way Match.

NOAH “STAR NAVIGATION 2025”, 03/06/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,233 Fans

7. GHC Heavyweight Title – Survival 3 Way Match: OZAWA (c) defeated Tetsuya Endo and Takashi Sugiura (24:38).
7a. Tetsuya Endo eliminated Takashi Sugiura with a School Boy (15:20).
7b. OZAWA eliminated Tetsuya Endo with the Real Rebel (24:38).
*V6 for OZAWA.

So when it was finally time for the title match to happen OZAWA kept his distance hoping Endo and Sugiura would fight each other and complaining that he was in a 2 Vs 1 disadvantage. The match did eventually become all against each other and that was when OZAWA pushed Sugiura into the ref and called upon the rest of TEAM 2000X to do his evil bidding. Sugiura grabbed a chair to even the odds but then turned around and hit Endo with it! He was then handed over a TEAM 2000X shirt and he put it on to show everyone he was the unit’s new member!

Endo was now the one on his own fighting against two enemies. Somehow he was able to hold his ground, knock OZAWA out of the ring and used a School Boy to eliminate Sugiura from the match. Endo now had OZAWA all by himself and grabbed him by the tongue to set up the Exploder Suplex. OZAWA tried to withstand it but Endo then struck him across the face with a big slap and hit another Exploder for a nearfall. Jun Akiyama’s finisher wasn’t working for him so he pulled something out of Yukio Sakaguchi’s book and did the God’s Right Knee in the corner! OZAWA was down and out but Sugiura pulled the ref out of the ring during the pin count. TEAM 2000X stomped on Endo but he escaped back into the ring and jumped back out with the Sasuke Special to wipe them all out. Seeing his chance Endo went for the Burning Star Press onto OZAWA but he blocked it with his knees. He tried going for a second one but OZAWA followed him up the corner and gave him the one-man Spanish Fly from the top rope. OZAWA next did his own Burning Star Press but Endo kicked out of it. OZAWA kept the pressure up and eventually had Endo beaten when he hit the Real Rebel for the finish.

After the match OZAWA referred to Sugiura as “The Godfather” and he thanked him for joining TEAM 2000X. He revealed they had this planned ever since the Sumo Hall show a month ago. Sugiura even teamed with Akiyama who he hates just to throw everyone off the scent. OZAWA then told Endo the unit never needed a lame person like him who gets knocked to the ground with only one slap. He doesn’t want Endo to act like DDT and NOAH are on the same level ever again! Endo could only curse about TEAM 2000X backstage and said they are disrespecting pro wrestling. He doesn’t understand how NOAH and the GHC committee could think this is all okay.

Comments Off on Endo Loses Survival 3 Way Match In NOAH, Also Gets Betrayed By Sugiura | Outside Of DDT, Results | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by JamieOD

MAO’s BOSJ Adventure

June 3, 2025

It’s been so long since a DDT wrestler last made an appearance in New Japan’s premier tournament for junior heavyweights. The Best Of The Super Jr. was historically the showcase that introduced Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega to the wider wrestling world back when they were with DDT. Daisuke Sasaki also competed in two of the tournaments and his appearance in 2012 was the last time a DDT wrestler was involved… until this year! MAO got the invite to take part in the 2025 edition of BOSJ, no doubt influenced by a certain current IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion who has been molding the division in his vision whenever he can for a while now. When MAO got to wrestle on a NJPW show in April, he gave a tease that fans would see more of him in May. The very next day he was included in the announced field for the BOSJ! His goal was to bring the DDT style into New Japan like a square block fitting into a round hole and hopefully convince some of their fans to give his home promotion a try.

B Block

1. YOH (12)
-. El Desperado (12)
-. MAO (12)
4. Nick Wayne (8)
-. Taiji Ishimori (8)
-. Robbie Eagles (8)
-. SHO (8)
-. Titán (8)
-. Kevin Knight (8)
10. Ryusuke Taguchi (6)


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 10/05/2025
Chiba YohaS Arena (Chiba Park General Gymnasium)
1,000 Fans

2. Kevin Knight, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato defeated MAO, Tiger Mask & Shoma Kato when Wato pinned Kato with the Tsutenkaku German Suplex (7:38).

MAO was placed in the B Block but his first match on the opening show of the tour was a non-tournament 6-Man Tag. He was happy with that because it lets him casually fit in with New Japan. Two of his opponents were in his block so he got to get some ring time against his first opponent Kevin Knight. Meanwhile Tiger Mask took out Ryusuke Taguchi with a Topé Suicida leaving Shoma Kato to deal with Master Wato. Kato had just returned from a leg injury and was ready to wipe the ring rust off but Wato ended up beating him with the Tsutenkaku German Suplex. Backstage Knight said this match was the first time he got to properly introduce himself to MAO. He likes his style but wants to know if MAO can match him in the ring? After getting to share the ring with Wato, MAO mentioned he would have liked to wrestle him, Hiromu Takahashi or Kosei Fujita from the A Block. But he’s looking forward to face Knight first.


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 11/05/2025
Miyagi Iwanuma City General Gymnasium (Big Arena)
1,369 Fans

5. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32 – B Block: MAO (2) defeated Kevin Knight (0) with the Iai Kick (9:34).

24 hours later MAO started his tournament off with a win. The “Michinoku Tornado” as NJPW nicknamed him had the home town advantage because the show was held in Miyagi. He also started forming a square shape with his chest which would become a recurring spot of his for the rest of the tour. After a back and forth match, MAO scored a nearfall with the Michinoku Driver II and then finished Knight off with the Iai Kick to score his first two points. MAO spoke of his goal to win BOSJ so he could then win the IWGP Jr. Title and bring it back to DDT where he was born and raised into the strange wrestler he is today. Why would he do this? So a new good era for DDT would begin!


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 14/05/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,470 Fans – Super No Vacancy

5. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32 – B Block: MAO (4) defeated Taiji Ishimori (0) with the Osaka Rinkai Upper (9:45).

Things kept rolling in the right direction because MAO then defeated Taiji Ishimori, a multiple time Jr. Heavyweight champion in both NJPW, NOAH and also the TNA X Division. Ishimori is also from the Miyagi prefecture which made the match became that little bit more meaningful. MAO had KANON in his corner but he had to stand and watch the two fight out of the ring where MAO did a stage dive onto Ishimori. Back in the ring Ishimori countered the Michinoku Driver II with a Reverse Frankensteiner but his 450 Splash missed when MAO moved out of the way. MAO pushed the ref into Ishimori’s way and then leapt over the ref to give Ishimori a Cutter. He then hit the Iai Kick but Ishimori found the power to stay on his feet. So MAO hit him with the Osaka Rinkai Upper palm strike to make the pin and get the three count. MAO said Ishimori is the first Miyagi wrestler he’s hunted down in the tournament and there are two more he is after. Ishimori has a square shape but MAO is becoming a pretty big square too. He is going to turn BOSJ into Best Of The Square Jr.!


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 15/05/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,365 Fans – No Vacancy

7. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32 – B Block: Titán (4) defeated MAO (4) with the Llave Immortal (9:20).

Any chance of MAO going three for three were put to a halt by Titán, the luchador from CMLL. MAO wanted to fight fire with fire by doing a high risk La Quebrada out of the ring as well as an upside down Llave submission. But Titán started hitting the ropes himself doing a Swan Dive Boy Press and a Topé Suicida. Their match turned into a striking battle with athletic dodges including one where Titán passed through the Hurricane Kick and trapped MAO in his Llave Immortal submission finisher. When he applied it deeper by crossing MAO’s arms over MAO had to give up. Titán paid his respect by describing MAO as one of the strongest opponents he has ever faced. MAO said that submission move is why he never wants to go to Mexico. He’s wrestled in seven different countries but he doesn’t want to make Mexico number eight because the lucha libre over there scares him.


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 17/05/2025
Tokyo National Yoyogi Stadium Gymnsium #2
1,857 Fans

10. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32 – B Block: El Desperado (4) defeated MAO (4) with the Pinche Loco (23:31).

When MAO realised his match with El Desperado was main eventing the show he made a promise to make it a DDT style match. Apparently Desperado felt the same way because he went along with MAO’s idea. The two fought up the aisle to the entrance while a confused Red Shoes Unno started counting them out. When he was about to reach 20, MAO gave Desperado a Cutter onto one of the security barriers. That scared the ref so much he stopped counting to go check on them. Both were physically able to continue and they went back to the ring to keep the match going. The DDT-ness only got stronger when MAO tried to use Unno as a launchpad to do the Stunner and Despy instead pushed Unno in the way to take the move! MAO got the fans to chant “It’s not MAO” while Despy wondered what could they do now without a ref? MAO decided to pull out a load of plastic boxes from beneath the ring and break one over Desperado’s head. Desperado then responded in kind and the two proceeded to do more plastic box spots, ignoring the protests of the replacement ref Marty Asami. When they got the box bumps out of their system they started wrestling to win and went for their signature moves. Desperado used the Reverse Tiger Driver and then did the Pinche Loco but MAO kicked out at two. Desperado used the pair of moves again, this time with a Vertical Drop version of the Reverse Tiger Driver. MAO tried his best to resist a second Pinche Loco but he was pinned clean in the end.

Despy suggested that next time they should do this in MAO’s promotion although he’s worried that vehicles would be involved over there. He doesn’t want to get run over like Sanshiro Takagi often does. MAO talked about this match being his way of thanking Desperado for inviting him to the “DESPE-INVITACIONAL” last year. He never liked the period when different wrestling companies were talking trash about each other. If Evangelion could finally get a happy ending then why should pro wrestling finish with a bad ending? That’s why he thinks the likes of Despy and Hiromu are different. They have the motivation that drives the wrestling world and it’s why MAO came here to help make BOSJ a true festival that spreads Japanese wrestling across the world.


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 18/05/2025
Tokyo Esforta Arena Hachioji
1,231 Fans

5. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32 – B Block: YOH (4) defeated MAO (4) with a Dragon Suplex (8:11).

While MAO was feeling spiritually good about how his experience has been so far, he was also hitting a slump results wise. YOH, the second Miyagi wrestler he was chasing after, beat MAO make it three losses in a row. To add insult to injury that cheeky git YOH used the Somato en route to winning the match! Oh he hasn’t forgotten about that match he had with Hiroshi Tanahashi against HARASHIMA & Ken Ohka ten years ago. MAO avoided the move the first time and gave YOH a similar taste of medicine by doing the Sling Blade and the High Fly Flow. But YOH kicked out of it and used the Reverse Frankensteiner to successfully set up the Somato the second time. MAO at least kicked out of it but YOH put him away with a Dragon Suplex afterwards. MAO couldn’t believe what YOH did. He likes New Japan and doesn’t want to kick off a promotional war with DDT but that’s still crossing a line. MAO decided that YOH should attend the Toru Yano Vs Super Sasadango Machine match that’s happening on 9th June. MAO will be there and they can settle their differences together. All YOH had to say is he and MAO are not on the same level. I think I heard something like that from someone else before…


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 20/05/2025
G-Messe Gunma
842 Fans

2. YOH, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask & Katsuya Murashima defeated El Desperado, MAO, Shoma Kato & Masatora Yasuda when Murashima submitted Yasuda with a Crab Hold (8:48).

The schedule gave MAO a non-tournament match in the middle of the tour to let him and a few others catch their breath a little bit. Despite his slump in form at this point his block was fairly tight across the board so nobody was out of the running yet. The 8-Man Tag match even ended with the Young Lions instead of any of the BOSJ wrestlers. Katsuya Murashima submitted Masatora Yasuda while MAO and Taguchi were doing lewd spots to each other that involved the back of Taguchi’s tights being pulled down. Taguchi is well aware that MAO has Danshoku Dieno supporting him. However Taguchi is not following the Hirooki Goto Revolution nor is he fighting on behalf of New Japan or even Miyagi. He is going to fight MAO by himself. MAO said he’s not shocked by seeing a little bit of butt. He didn’t expect it but now he has a plan to combat it.


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 22/05/2025
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #2 (Osaka Edion Arena)
967 Fans

5. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32 – B Block: MAO (6) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi (6) with the Iwanuma City Styles Clash (8:33).

Things could only go up from here but oh man did MAO have to go through some things to get there. In his final match of the “Miyagi Derby”, MAO fought Taguchi and the ever slipping back of his wrestling tights. Not only was his crack exposed but Taguchi eventually stuffed MAO’s head into his tights! That turned out to be the wrong move because MAO was somehow able to keep fighting and a roll up battle resulted in him giving Taguchi the Styles Clash with his head still stuck in the tights! Taguchi admitted defeat because a fake pervert like him could never beat a real pervert like MAO. He only plays a pervert so he will go back to his true self for the rest of the tournament. MAO said he was suffocating in there and just when he was about to lose consciousness he got a flashback to all of the times something like this happened to him in DDT. It makes him glad he was raised in a wrestling company where that sort of stuff was a daily occurrence. This match was fate because MAO was a big fan of Apollo 55. He also now has to leave the Miyagi Derby up to the winner of Taiji Ishimori against YOH.


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 24/05/2025
Hyogo Arcrea Himeji
1,136 Fans

4. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32 – B Block: MAO (8) defeated Robbie Eagles (6) with the Ultra Big Tone (9:26).

Can you believe that Taguchi match was exactly what MAO needed to get his mojo back? Next up for him was Robbie Eagles and he came up with his own version of the “Robbie! Robbie! Robbie!” chant. He chanted “MAO! MAO! MAO!” and got the fans to shout “Shikaku!” (“Square!”) in response. Eagles would target MAO’s knee to cut off his momentum but the match would instead make its way up to the top turnbuckle. MAO grabbed Eagles in a Dragon Sleeper and used that to set up his AI created finisher the Ultra Big Tone to get the win. MAO pointed out that he is never going to have the same kind of match no matter who he is fighting. Eagles was in shock because he thought MAO was just some fun and chill square guy and instead he tried to kill him! If MAO ever wants a rematch then Eagles wants it to happen in DDT. He’ll even put the Soul Of PWA Title on the line even though MAO has never once stepped foot in Australia.


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 25/05/2025
Aichi Port Messe Nagoya Exhibition Hall #2
1,404 Fans

5. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32 – B Block: MAO (10) defeated Nick Wayne (8) with the Dick Killer (7:41).

MAO was building up momentum heading into the final stretch and his next opponent was a familiar one. He’s already wrestled with Nick Wayne several times before and wasted no time in continuing their rivalry. MAO tried to rally the fans behind him with “Shikaku” chants but Wayne wasn’t deterred by them. He seemed to have an answer for everything MAO threw at him but he never could has guessed what MAO would do to throw him in a loop. Wayne appeared to hit the Wayne’s World except MAO blocked it with a handstand and cartwheeled out of it! He then went and did his own version of the Wayne’s World, giving Wayne a taste of his own finisher. It only got a two count but MAO quickly applied a Crossface Lock, turning it into the Dick Killer variation to make Wayne tap out. MAO said he’s known Wayne for a long time now and the great thing about being a wrestler is you can enjoy your youth no matter how old you are. With one more match left MAO was still in the running for first place but it was necessary for him to win his last bout.


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 27/05/2025
Shizuoka Kira Messe Numazu
668 Fans

2. SHO & Yujiro Takahashi defeated MAO & Shoma Kato when Takahashi pinned Kato with the Pimp Juice (4:18).

But before that happens there was one more non-tournament match to get through. It just happened to feature MAO’s last opponent in Block B, SHO from the House Of Torture. SHO attacked him during the entrance and when Kato tried to rescue him, Yujiro Takahashi came over to fight him off. The four brawled around the room where MAO held SHO in a Piledriver position while standing on a dolly. Kato pushed the dolly around until Takahashi found a second dolly nearby. It led to Kato pushing MAO on one dolly and Takahashi pushing MAO on the other until SHO wanted to leave because he had enough. MAO & Kato ended up putting the House Of Torture on both dollies and crashed them into each other. The match finally began in an official manner when everyone returned to the ring. MAO and SHO soon went back to fighting outside the ring but that left Kato in the ring to be beaten by Takahashi’s Pimp Juice. SHO complained about people from Miyagi and he then complained about Niigata where his match with MAO would take place. MAO however promised to show SHO just what DDT is really like. Oh boy, did he…


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 29/05/2025
Niigata Region Plaza Joetsu
1,027 Fans

7. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32 – B Block: MAO (12) defeated SHO (8) with the Cannonball 450 (11:57).

This time MAO jumped SHO during his entrance. Well, not jumped, more like ran over with the Dramatic Dream bike! Takahashi and Ren Narita helped SHO attack MAO but KANON & Kazuma Sumi ran over to even the odds and take the fight out of the building! Not only did MAO clear House Of Torture with a dive out from the doorway but he climbed into a nearby van and knocked over SHO with it! The match hadn’t started yet so MAO was allowed wheel SHO back to the ring on a dolly and throw him into the ring. SHO somehow kicked out of a pin and had House Of Torture attack the Dramatic Dream bike. He then picked apart MAO’s arm until MAO made his comeback. Takahashi & Narita tried to interfere again but KANON & Sumi were there to keep them at bay. During the chaos the DDT wrestlers got the upper hand with Strange Love Connection even getting to hit SHOT with a Lariat/McEnroe style Total Elimination. Yoshinobu Kanemaru then suddenly appeared, spat Whiskey Mist into KANON’s face and hit MAO with the bottle. MAO kicked out of SHO’s Cross Arm Piledriver so SHO distracted the ref by bringing his NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Title belt into the ring. The ref took the belt off him but didn’t notice SHO was hiding a wrench behind his back. But when SHO went to attack MAO with it, he found out MAO was suddenly armed with Mecha Mummy’s Mecha Fist! MAO knocked the wrench out of his hands, ducked the Whiskey Mist from Kanemaru that blinded SHO instead and then MAO knocked SHO down with a Rocket Punch followed by the Iai Kick. SHO still kicked out of the pin so MAO did the Cannonball 450 from the top rope and that got him the win.

Sadly for MAO the result was not enough to reach the final. He was able to finish Block B on 12 points, enough to tie with YOH and El Desperado for first place. But by losing to both of them earlier in the tournament, the head-to-head tiebreakers were not in his favor and he had no way of reaching the final. MAO looks back on his matches with YOH and Desperado thinking what could have been if they ended differently but he is still happy they turned out to be some exciting matches they created. He gave it his all and he thinks he is the only person to have done so well in BOSJ using the DDT style. He’d like to come back to New Japan and when he does maybe he’ll become a bit more square.


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 32”, 01/06/2025
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
3,044 Fans

3. Shota Umino, El Phantasmo, MAO & Nick Wayne defeated Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, Hartley Jackson & Robbie Eagles when Phantasmo pinned Jackson with the CR II (10:38).

It turns out MAO had one more appearance lined up to close out the tour. For the final night of BOSJ he got to team with Shota Umino, El Phantasmo & Nick Wayne to take on TMDK in an 8-Man Tag Match. Before it began all four of them posed together as squares in front of their opponents. MAO spent most of his time in the match facing off with Ryohei Oiwa but he had some time in there with Zack Sabre Jr. too. MAO & Wayne also co-operated with each other pretty well, much to Eagles’s chagrin. They were smashed aside by Hartley Jackson though but Umino & ELP were there to put the big guy down and win the match. MAO told the others after the match he’d like to return to NJPW in a casual manner like Jackson does. If there is another Jackson or TAKA Michinoku like spot on the roster he’d like to take it. He also got to reminisce with Umino about the time they met each other in England back in 2019. Maybe the four of them can continue to be together as Team Square Hearts somewhere down the line?

1 Comment | Outside Of DDT, Results, Tournaments | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by JamieOD

Takeshita And Sakazaki Announce They Are Married

May 27, 2025

The open secret is finally made public! With Konosuke Takeshita about to turn 30 years old later this week, he posted on his Instagram account today that he is indeed married to Yuka Sakazaki. Following that announcement, Sakazaki posted a similar message on her own Instagram. The two also revealed that they have a pet dog named Kenshiro. To quote DDT’s congratulatory message to the pair: “We hope that your dreams will forever remain dramatic!”

So this has been an open secret for quite a while. Although the fun thing about open secrets is they are still secrets to some people. I’ve been entertained by the general response to the news today because half of it is people saying finally it’s been confirmed and the other half is people saying they never had a clue the two of them were ever together in the first place.

Neither Takeshita nor Sakazaki said in their messages when they got married or how long they have been together for but there’s been some careless evidence left out there about Takeshita’s relationship status over the years. There was one time years ago (I want to say pre-pandemic but I’m not certain) when Konosuke’s mother Keiko Takeshita showed a photograph of Konosuke where he had a wedding ring visible on his finger. It had to be edited out but I can’t remember if it was from video footage for something or a social media post that got deleted.

Then two years ago there was a podcast dedicated to another puroresu company that had a conversation over the growing trend of Japanese wrestlers moving their careers to America. The guest listed a bunch of wrestlers during the conversation who had left Japan and mentioned “Takeshita and his wife” among them. I’m omitting the podcast and guest’s names simply to spare them from getting further grief over the subject. They were stunned at the time because to them it was just a throwaway comment but they ended up getting so many inquiries about it afterwards, far more than for any of the actual content on their episode.

But the loudest hints came from the couple’s co-workers in AEW. If there is any lesson to learn about this story it’s this. Should you ever want to know the family status of a Japanese wrestler just wait for a foreign wrestler to tweet about how great they are behind the scenes. When Takeshita tweeted about moving to America in 2022, Dax Harwood let it slip in his response that Takeshita had a wife. Also Sammy Guevara & Tay Melo weren’t shy about sharing photos online of their baby meeting Takeshita & Sakazaki together a while ago. It’s kind of like how we all found out Asuka is a mother because other women in WWE always bring it up whenever they get the chance to talk about her in interviews.

But anyway, congratulations to the happy couple. They certainly made this the most romantic Dragon Quest Day ever.

Comments Off on Takeshita And Sakazaki Announce They Are Married | News, Outside Of DDT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by JamieOD

Endo Leaves TEAM 2000X, Now Aiming To Reach The Top Of NOAH

May 18, 2025

It’s been a over a month since we last paid attention to Tetsuya Endo’s story in NOAH so what’s going on with him now? Well we rejoin Endo right after he decided to leave TEAM 2000X! When we last left him he was in a dramatic situation that led to Takashi Sugiura bringing in Jun Akiyama to try and set him straight. Endo refused to learn his lesson about being who he really is so a tag match was set up to settle their problems.

NOAH “LINE YAHOO! PRESENTS PRO WRESTLING NOAH 25TH ANNIVERSARY MEMORIAL VOYAGE 2025 IN RYOGOKU”, 03/05/2025
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
4,521 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

7. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Takashi Sugiura defeated Tetsuya Endo & Owadasan when Akiyama pinned Endo with the Starness Dust α (16:49).

This match was Akiyama’s first appearance on a normal NOAH show in over four years. He has wrestled on their Limit Break spin-off events and also the two “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL” shows but not the regular NOAH brand in that time. Owadasan had faced Akiyama before on those Limit Break shows back when he was known as Yu Owada. During the match Endo & Owadasan cheated by targeting Sugiura’s groin but once Akiyama got into the match like a house on fire, Endo wanted to fight him clean. He even refused to hit Akiyama with the weapon Yoshitatsu handed over to him. The two exchanged Exploder Suplexes on each other until Akiyama hit Endo with a Knee Lift to the face. That got a two count so Akiyama pulled out the Starness Dust α to put him away. He patted Endo on the chest after the match and told him something before leaving. Whatever it is he said, it made Endo start to question everything he’s been doing in NOAH lately.

NOAH “STAR NAVIGATION 2025”, 18/05/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,562 Fans

3. Naomichi Marufuji, Takashi Sugiura & Masa Kitamiya defeated Tetsuya Endo, Daga & Owadasan when Sugiura pinned Owadasan with the Olympic Qualifier Slam (10:29).

Endo continued wrestling tag matches for TEAM 2000X trying to forget what happened. He had unfinished business with Sugiura and started complaining that NOAH were booking himself, an outsider, on more shows than they were booking Sugiura who belongs to the promotion. Endo again went for Low Blows on Sugiura while Owadasan did taunts saying Sugiura should be trying to rehabilitate him instead of Endo. Yoshitatsu interfered again to attack Naomichi Marufuji & Masa Kitamiya but once again when he offered a weapon to Endo it was refused. Then Endo went one step further by giving Tatsu the Exploder Suplex! He then stood aside to let Sugiura beat Owadasan to end the match.

Sugiura smiled afterwards and told Endo they should work together and aim for the top of NOAH by chasing after the GHC Heavyweight Title. Endo admitted he doesn’t like the way TEAM 2000X is being run so he is leaving the unit! The two shook hands to cement their new alliance. But there was more to come from this turn of events.

NOAH “STAR NAVIGATION 2025”, 03/06/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. GHC Heavyweight Title – Survival 3 Way Match: OZAWA (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo Vs Takashi Sugiura

After OZAWA retained his GHC Title in the main event Endo got into the ring now wearing a NOAH shirt. He didn’t come to NOAH to get worthless victories with TEAM 2000X, he came here to fight OZAWA and take the GHC Title from him! OZAWA asked what is wrong with Endo because they were like twins. Now it turns out Endo is a traitor instead! OZAWA blamed Sugiura for this and demanded he get into the ring too. Why? Because OZAWA wants to fight both of them at once! He decided his next GHC Title defence will be a Survival 3 Way Match against Endo and Sugiura where the last man standing will be the champion. Endo accepted the challenge and told OZAWA they were never twins. He then put his hand on Sugiura’s shoulder and said they’re all triplets! OZAWA didn’t understand and asked if Endo took a hard slap to the head?

Backstage Endo said he’s been in NOAH for five months now and it’s best for him to act quickly. He did have a goal to get revenge on NOAH but as he felt more of a disconnect with TEAM 2000X, he felt more excitement from fighting the NOAH wrestlers. So now he has an opportunity to turn the tide and prove to fans that DDT is not inferior to NOAH. He could strategically use his alliance with Sugiura to eliminate OZAWA first but he feels that is more like a Handicap Match and it goes against his mindset.

Comments Off on Endo Leaves TEAM 2000X, Now Aiming To Reach The Top Of NOAH | Outside Of DDT, Results | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by JamieOD

So What Has Tetsuya Endo Been Up To?

April 14, 2025

It’s been a while since we looked over at NOAH to see what Tetsuya Endo was doing. Last time I wrote about him he was losing the GHC National Title to back to Manabu Soya. Since then OZAWA won the belt to become a double champion thanks to a lot of TEAM 2000X shenanigans that Endo was included in. More shenanigans followed when he decided to immediately vacate the title because he already has the GHC Heavyweight Title. NOAH put together a mini tournament to crown the next champion and Endo took part in it.

NOAH “STAR NAVIGATION PREMIUM 2025”, 22/03/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,550 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

3. GHC National Title Tournament – Round 1: Tetsuya Endo defeated Takashi Sugiura with a School Boy (5:59).

Endo made a mockery of Takashi Sugiura in the 1st Round by cheating with some help from Yoshi Tatsu at ringside. He found a moment to knock the ref aside and give Sugiura a Low Blow. Then he pinned him with a School Boy and added some insult to injury by doing MIKAMI’s pose along with the count. Endo said Sugiura is one of the few wrestlers in NOAH he respects. Beating him means he has beaten half of NOAH and next he will crush the other half. Sugiura complained and asked if Endo really came over from DDT to wrestle this way in NOAH?

NOAH “SUNNY VOYAGE 2025”, 11/04/2025
Niigata City Gymnasium
1,092 Fans

8. GHC National Title Tournament – Final: Galeno defeated Tetsuya Endo with the Galeno Special (23:46).
*Galeno becomes the 17th GHC National Champion!

Endo was now one step away from reclaiming the National Title for himself. Now he had to go through the really big wall that is Galeno. The latest luchador from the famed Wagner family to ply his trade on the NOAH canvas. TEAM 2000X interfered at the start of the match and Endo relied on using a Low Blow again. But Galeno fought back against the odds and ultimately got the win with the Galeno Special to become the new champion! Endo tried to get a last word in by saying just because Galeno won the title doesn’t mean he is on the same level as his brother El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. However Endo admitted he was beaten and acknowledges that Galeno has gone from a third rate wrestler to a first and a half rate wrestler.

NOAH “STAR NAVIGATION 2025”, 14/04/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,550 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

8. No DQ Tag Match: KENTA & Kenoh defeated OZAWA & Tetsuya Endo when KENTA pinned OZAWA with the Go 2 Sleep (25:33).

With Endo now outside of any title picture currently going on, he moved back to TEAM 2000X stuff. He teamed up with OZAWA to take on KENTA & Kenoh in a wild No DQ Match to build up OZAWA’s GHC Title defence against KENTA coming up next month. There were fights in the aisle, attacks with bamboo canes plus weapons like ladders and tables being used. At one point there were a pile of chairs in the ring where every wrestler crashed into when they missed a top rope move. Yoshi Tatsu interfered only for Ulka Sasaki to come out and stop him. KENTA knocked OZAWA off a Giga Ladder through some tables below and pinned him with the Go 2 Sleep afterward.

Backstage Endo was cutting a promo to reporters when Takashi Sugiura approached him. He wanted to know how much longer Endo was going to behave like this and asked if this is what he wants to do in NOAH? Endo won’t answer him so he brought along someone that Endo will listen to. Jun Akiyama! He asked Endo the same questions and Sugiura and told him to remember who he really is. Sugiura suggested he and Akiyama should team up against Endo to help guide him back on the right path. Endo eventually agreed to the challenge because anyone who stands in front of him is his enemy!

Comments Off on So What Has Tetsuya Endo Been Up To? | Outside Of DDT, Results | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by JamieOD

Takeshita Breaks NEVER Title Defence Record, MAO Enters BOSJ 32

April 5, 2025

NJPW “GAROU DENSETSU: CITY OF THE WOLVES PRESENTS SAKURA GENESIS 2025”, 05/04/2025
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
6,640 Fans

5. NEVER Openweight Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) defeated Ryohei Oiwa with the Raging Fire (12:54).
*V5 for KONOSUKE TAKESHITA.

Two DDT related stories came from today’s New Japan show at Sumo Hall. First, Konosuke Takeshita set the record for the most successful NEVER Openweight Title defences in a single reign after he beat Ryohei Oiwa. The TMDK wrestler went after Takeshita’s left arm and made him fight to get it back. The damage done stayed with him when he did big moves like an Avalanche Brainbuster. Oiwa got a nearfall with a Doctor Bomb while Takeshita relied on throwing Lariats and Elbow Strikes with his right arm to wear him down. Takeshita was able to win in the end by using the Raging Fire and he held the NEVER Title above Oiwa after the match.

For the backstage comments Oiwa said he is not happy that the current NEVER Champion is somebody who does not wrestle on New Japan’s regional tours and only shows up for the big events like today. He is going to reflect on today’s match and figure out how to climb back up from the bottom. Takeshita said he likes Oiwa’s wrestling style but he decided he will become the best in the world by using his own. Now Takeshita’s focus is on Hiroshi Tanahashi for their match in America next week. He will put their long story to an end and questions if Tanahashi still has any shine left. If he does then Takeshita will erase it!

The other DDT related story is the announcement of MAO entering this year’s Best Of The Super Jr. tournament! The 32nd edition of the famous junior heavyweight tournament revealed its field of 20 competitors today and MAO was among them. He had already teased this after wrestling on yesterday’s New Japan show when he told fans they will see him again in May. The tournament schedule starts on 10th May and lasts until 1st June.

Comments Off on Takeshita Breaks NEVER Title Defence Record, MAO Enters BOSJ 32 | Outside Of DDT, Results | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by JamieOD

Endo Loses National Title In NOAH, Takeshita Defends NEVER Title In NJPW

February 12, 2025

Yesterday two of DDT’s biggest exports were both involved in title matches for different companies. Let’s see how they got on.


NOAH “STAR NAVIGATION PREMIUM ~NOAH JR. TAG LEAGUE 2025~”, 11/02/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,560 Fans – Super No Vacancy

5. GHC National Title: Manabu Soya defeated Tetsuya Endo (c) with the Dando (12:20).
*Tetsuya Endo fails in V1. Manabu Soya becomes the 15th GHC National Champion!

Well that puts a dampener of Tetsuya Endo’s heel turn. Not long after he won the GHC National Title and joined TEAM 2000X he loses it back to Manabu Soya in the rematch. In the preview matches coming up to this bout, Endo taunted Soya by telling him the result would be the same and his family would get so fed up by Soya’s failure they would abandon him! However Soya was determined to reclaim his championship even if he had to overcome a damaged elbow to do so. He also got help from the RATEL’S unit to fend off interference from TEAM 2000X. With the fight now evened out, Soya went on to beat Endo and win back the National Title.

Endo blamed the loss on the referee’s pin count but will not dwell on it for long. He is already missing the sweet voice of a NOAH championship and does not intend to return to DDT empty handed. He has long stay in NOAH ahead of him and when the time comes for him to go back home, he will bring a souvenir for DDT back with him.


NJPW “THE NEW BEGINNING IN OSAKA”, 11/02/2025
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium (Osaka Edion Arena)
5,502 Fans – Super No Vacancy

6. NEVER Openweight Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c) defeated Oleg Boltin with the Raging Fire (11:33).
*V3 for KONOSUKE TAKESHITA.

Fortunes fared better for Konosuke Takeshita over in New Japan. He put the NEVER Openweight Title on the line against Oleg Boltin in a rematch from last year’s G1 Climax. This time Takeshita was able to survive the Kamikaze Drop and use a Front Neck Lock to sap the life out of his opponent. Boltin was unable to kick out of the Raging Fire after that. Backstage Takeshita said he was thankful to Boltin ever since the G1 match because losing to him only made Takeshita stronger. He looks forward to a third and final showdown to happen some day.

Takeshita quickly found out who is next to face him for the title. Ryohei Oiwa approached him after the match. He said it would be interesting to see Takeshita’s worldwide wrestling style line up against Oiwa’s Japanese only style (Oiwa famously never went on the traditional overseas excursion every young lion goes through). Takeshita warned him that a world class wrestler like himself is very strong.

Comments Off on Endo Loses National Title In NOAH, Takeshita Defends NEVER Title In NJPW | Outside Of DDT, Results | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by JamieOD

Endo Wins A Championship In NOAH, Also Joins TEAM 2000X

January 11, 2025

NOAH “STAR NAVIGATION PREMIUM 2025”, 11/01/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,535 Fans – Super No Vacancy

8. GHC National Title: Tetsuya Endo defeated Manabu Soya (c) with the Burning Star Press (19:30).
*Manabu Soya fails in V6. Tetsuya Endo becomes the 14th GHC National Champion!

Well so much for entering NOAH to learn more about his BURNING roots. Tetsuya Endo instead showed that you can take him out of DAMNATION but you cannot take DAMNATION out of him! During his GHC National Title main event against the champion Manabu Soya, Endo paused on the top rope when he saw all of TEAM 2000X approach ringside. Endo went back to Soya but missed the Burning Star Press. However when Soya was on the verge of winning the match, Yoshitatsu pulled the referee out of the ring. Soya fought off several members of TEAM 2000X and Endo grabbed a nightstick from Yoshitatsu’s hands. However he then turned around and hit Soya with it! Endo then gave Soya the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb and pinned him with the Burning Star Press to become the new National Champion!

Endo told the fans he is a member of TEAM 2000X and he was never interested in the origins of BURNING. The only reason he came to NOAH is to destroy it, even if it means putting his life on the line! He explained more backstage that this was his goal from the beginning when he jumped from DDT to NOAH. It was NOAH’s style of wrestling that ruined his life so in 2025 he has come to destroy NOAH. Winning the National Title was his first step and an easy one at that. Elsewhere Jun Akiyama on Twitter said he does not care what decision Endo makes. As long as he thinks and acts for himself Akiyama will support him. He is going to tell Kenta Kobashi about it though.

Comments Off on Endo Wins A Championship In NOAH, Also Joins TEAM 2000X | Outside Of DDT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by JamieOD

Takeshita’s Tokyo Dome Adventure

January 6, 2025

What a newsworthy weekend Konosuke Takeshita has had! He went into the Tokyo Dome for New Japan’s biggest show of the year ready to defend his AEW International Title. He came out of it still with the belt, gaining another championship and making a pretty important announcement about where his future belongs to.


NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM 19 IN TOKYO DOME”, 04/01/2025
Tokyo Dome, Japan
24,107 Fans

1. NEVER Openweight Title & AEW International Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (I/c) defeated Shingo Takagi (N/c) with the Raging Fire (11:42).
*V5 for KONOSUKE TAKESHITA. Shingo Takagi fails in V2. Becomes the 47th/11th Champion!

On the Saturday Takeshita went into a double title match putting his AEW title on the line against Shingo Takagi and his NEVER Openweight Title. The winner would not only have two championships but would also face Tomohiro Ishii in the Dome the next day. So Ishii made it a priority to sit at ringside to watch this match up close. Takeshita tried to weaken the arm Takagi prefers to use the Pumping Bomber with but he never expected Takagi to pull out a Reverse Frankensteiner. However Takeshita was too tough to put down and he won by using the Raging Fire. He held both belts up high while staring down Ishii after the match.

Backstage Takeshita said he always thought Takagi was strong but he was able to beat him on the biggest stage. When he fights Ishii he will show him the pride of AEW as well as give him the fight of a NEVER Champion. He will attack Ishii with 120% of his strength! Takagi said he couldn’t remember what happened in the match other than he lost to Takeshita in under 15 minutes. Ishii meanwhile dared Takeshita to throw all of his strikes at him tomorrow.


NJPW/AEW/CMLL/STARDOM/ROH “WRESTLE DYNASTY”, 05/01/2025
Tokyo Dome, Japan
16,300 Fans

1. NEVER Openweight Title & AEW International Title: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (c/c) defeated Tomohiro Ishii with the Raging Fire (13:30).
*V1 for NEVER Openweight Title. V6 for AEW International Title.

The next day Takeshita defended both of his championships against Ishii at the Dome. Ishii provoked Takeshita into hitting him with Elbow Strikes then fought back by throwing Chops towards the throat. Then the two started hitting big bombs on each other resulting in a double down. Ishii switched to throwing Headbutts while Takeshita fought back by using Brainbusters and a Reverse Frankensteiner. He was able to hit the Raging Fire and that was enough to put Ishii away for a successful double title defence.

After the match backstage Takeshita had good news to tell the wrestling media. Right now he is currently affiliated with DDT and AEW. Well now he made a deal with New Japan to work for all three companies at the same time! His goal is to unify the pro wrestling world and he will do that by walking a path nobody else has taken before. He then said his upcoming plans are to defend the International Title in AEW again while defending the NEVER Title at New Japan’s USA shows. He singled out KUSHIDA as somebody he would like to defend the NEVER Title against because he is another wrestler who is well-travelled. However when he finished his interview Oleg Boltin walked in and gave him a stare down.


According to Takaaki Kidani through quotes taken from a Tokyo Sports article, Takeshita might have signed a one year contract with New Japan while continuing his current deals with DDT and AEW. Kidani said AEW’s light match schedule makes it possible for Takeshita to wrestle in New Japan more often so if he wants to become a mainstay for the company it can happen. Dave Meltzer on today’s Wrestling Observer Radio explained that AEW is still his priority whenever they want to use him. He also expects AEW and NJPW will keep in touch with each other to avoid any scheduling conflicts. I see DDT as the third wheel in this deal but Takeshita’s appearances for the company have dwindled down to single digits per year so it shouldn’t be too hard to get him for the important shows.

Comments Off on Takeshita’s Tokyo Dome Adventure | Outside Of DDT, Results | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by JamieOD

Tetsuya Endo Is Spending 2025 In NOAH

January 2, 2025

NOAH “NEW YEAR REBOOT 2025”, 02/01/2025
Shinjuku FACE
480 Fans

3. Tetsuya Endo defeated Atsushi Kotoge with the Burning Star Press (14:16).

There was another Tetsuya Endo appearance in NOAH today and we all learned he is going to make many more this year. After the confrontation he had with Atsushi Kotoge in Budokan Hall yesterday, NOAH booked them in a singles match today. Endo used the Exploder Suplex and then the Torture Rack Bomb on Kotoge before finishing him off with the Burning Star Press. After the match Endo greeted the NOAH fans and explained to them the BURNING unit in DDT that connects him to Jun Akiyama and Kenta Kobashi. In order to get further in touch with the origins of BURNING, Endo has decided he will spend 2025 wrestling in NOAH!

His ultimate goal is to win the GHC Heavyweight Title but he will have his eye on winning all of the championships available to him in NOAH. He later proved this by coming out to challenge Manabu Soya for the GHC National Championship after Soya won his latest title defence. Soya scalded Endo for approaching him because Soya normally decides by himself who he wants his next challenger to be. He also does not know what BURNING means because “Passion” is more his thing. Endo later defended himself because in DDT it’s normal for wrestlers to confront champions and challenge them. You can’t get to the top by being a good boy so if Endo has to break the rules to get what he wants in NOAH then he’ll do it.

DDT later announced that Endo will be wrestling on the 3rd and 5th January shows. After that he will be taking an indefinite leave from the promotion in order to take on a regular schedule with NOAH. The way DDT talks about it sounds like it’s an idea Endo wanted to do. So I don’t know if we have a trade coming up and tomorrow somebody from NOAH will jump over to DDT.

———————————————————————–

It’s about time a move like this is happening yet I’m still surprised they’re finally going through with it. Endo has pretty much done it all in DDT across his almost 13 year career and DDT should be doing talent exchanges with NOAH through their CyberFight connection more often to freshen up both rosters. Endo already has a good link to fit him in with NOAH from the get go because of his association with Akiyama and Kobashi in recent years. Given his workout habits he will likely bounce back and forth between heavyweight and Jr. heavyweight throughout the year. While I would be thrilled to see him win a championship over there I’m not expecting him to beat Soya for the National Title. At least not the first time around. So is this it for Endo and DDT? It’s possible the indefinite absence can turn into a permanent transfer in a year or so. I’ll keep an eye on how he does over there and post about any big matches or achievements that comes his way.

Comments Off on Tetsuya Endo Is Spending 2025 In NOAH | News, Outside Of DDT | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by JamieOD

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »