TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS II” Preview

October 7, 2021

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS II”, 09/10/2021
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium

1. Raku, Pom Harajuku & Ram Kaichow Vs Haruna Neko, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami
2. 3 Way Match: Rika Tatsumi Vs Hyper Misao Vs Nodoka Tenma
3. Yuki Kamifuku & Asuka Vs Nao Kakuta & Marika Kobashi
4. Riho & Shoko Nakajima Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
5. Special Tag Match: Aja Kong & Moka Miyamoto Vs Miu Watanabe & Yuki Arai
6. International Princess Title: Hikari Noa (c) Vs Yuki Aino
7. Princess Tag Team Titles: Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki
8. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Maki Itoh

Last year “WRESTLE PRINCESS” was put together to be Tokyo Joshi Pro’s biggest show of the year. The only direction to go from here is get bigger. So TJPW is moving from Tokyo Dome City Hall to the Ota Ward Gymnasium for “WRESTLE PRINCESS II”. The three championships are all on the line, some recognizable guests are joining in the fun and everyone on the roster is crammed into the card somewhere. The show is taking place on a very busy Saturday in Japan a with some heavy competition. But if you’re into joshi you have a lot to look forward to this weekend.

1. Raku, Pom Harajuku & Ram Kaichow Vs Haruna Neko, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami

The opener is TJPW’s introduction to Ram Kaichow. The demon girl originally came from Triple Six and long time puroresu fans might recognize her from the “Undertaker Girl” clips that have done the rounds in every 2000s era wrestling message board you can think of. She had her debut match all the way back in 2005 but took a several year absence in the 2010s. It was only in the last few years she reemerged on the scene wrestling for her home promotion and also Ice Ribbon. For her TJPW debut she is teaming with Raku & Pom Harajuku. Raku earned her first ever singles win this year and developed the Hurricane Turn backslide pin, continuing her progression as a wrestler. If she thinks the lullabies and train trivia is working then more power to her. Harajuku always wants to join in the fun when other people are getting up to mischief. Their opponents are led by Haruna Neko who continues to scratch opponents and add the word Neko to her entire moveset. Mahiro Kiryu was absent for over a month to take care of a neck injury but returns in time to be added to the show. Kaya Toribami is the least experienced of the six after only debuting in June. The high flyer has yet to win a match by herself.

2. 3 Way Match: Rika Tatsumi Vs Hyper Misao Vs Nodoka Tenma

The card placement for Rika Tatsumi looks bad given what her 2021 has been like but recent circumstances meant this was probably the only spot available for her. She won the Princess Of Princess Title in January and held the belt as a “Dragon God” for four months. All of a sudden she took time off in September for personal reasons and was only confirmed to return at this show after the card was completed. The planned match was just meant to be Hyper Misao Vs Nodoka Tenma but Tatsumi joins in as a late addition. That’s not to say this is a throwaway match though. Tatsumi and Misao share a lot of history together. Just this year Misao tried to brainwash Tatsumi with technology and Tatsumi eliminated her from the Tokyo Princess Cup in unrelated incidents. Tenma also knows full well what kind of trouble Misao is capable of and may find an advantage in being the third wheel here.

3. Yuki Kamifuku & Asuka Vs Nao Kakuta & Marika Kobashi

A new glamourous duo are joining forces after years of friendship together. Yuki Kamifuku & Asuka will team up as VENYU (VENY + Kamiyu) and it will be the first time they will be in the ring together. They’ve actually been close friends since 2017 when a chance meeting at a restaurant led to them bonding together over their favourite liquor. Kamifuku had asked Asuka to team with her several times since then and only recently did she finally agree to do it. Asuka is a little worried that the TJPW audience won’t support her but Kamifuku is confident she will win them over. Their friendship going public also brings a sense of relief for both of them because they now no longer have to meet each other in private. How far VENYU can advance as a team depends on how their first match goes. It may fall apart at the starting line if it turns out they don’t like being in the ring together. They won’t know until the bell rings.

One thing for sure is Kamifuku has been way more friendly to Asuka than she’s been to Nao Kakuta. They get along now but for the early part of 2021, Kamifuku kept insulting Kakuta for being so plain in looks and behavior. Kakuta lost that feud but at least taught Kamifuku a lesson about showing respect to others. Not sure if that lesson spread to Marika Kobashi because she is getting deeper into Gal/Gyaru culture and won’t stop talking about vibes. But never mind that, Kobashi has learned how to make the Front Neck Lock an effective weapon to win matches. Maybe that’s what the vibes are, all the colours that wash over your eyes when you get choked out.

4. Riho & Shoko Nakajima Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo

Two years after her last appearance in the company, Riho is back in TJPW! And she’s starting again where she left off, teaming with Shoko Nakajima as the Twin Cam Monsters. Both of them are having ups and downs this year. The pandemic inhibited Riho’s career in America for a while but she finally looks to be getting back on track. Nakajima briefly had to rename herself Shin Ultra Shoko after losing to Hyper Misao but did make it to the Tokyo Princess Cup final, continuing her excellent form in the tournament. But enough about them. The story of the match may be more about their opponents.

The last time the Twin Cam Monsters were together was to wrestle Suzume in her debut match. Unfortunately Suzume’s tag partner at the time isn’t in TJPW anymore so that means no more BeeStar for anybody. Instead Suzume will be teaming with Arisu Endo. The link for this team is Endo’s debut match at the start of this year was against Suzume. These two have nowhere near the amount of experience added together that Riho or Nakajima have on their own but they want to fight them as much as they can. TJPW management have told Riho about how much they have improved since their debuts. Nakajima sees the potential of both of them and thinks they can overtake herself and even Riho some day. Who knows what will happen from here on out? Riho has also said she is looking forward to watching the main event while she is here too.

5. Special Tag Match: Aja Kong & Moka Miyamoto Vs Miu Watanabe & Yuki Arai

Let’s not waste any time here. TJPW sees money in Yuki Arai. I mean it’s a big name idol from SKE48 who wants to be a wrestler and has the abilities to do so. She is making progress fairly quickly too. Not saying she’s a supernova in the ring or anything close to it but she’s putting in the effort and in five months is already on track to becoming one of the better trained wrestlers TJPW has. One of her recent advancements is forming an idol tag team with Miu Watanabe. The power member of The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) has been wowing fans online with her variations of the Giant Swing. Both of these two have a massive task ahead of them.

Aja Kong has made a few appearances in TJPW this year already. Some of those times were to replace Arai when she was out sick with the Coronavirus. Kong thinks this booking is a reward for her helping the company out. She has fought in Ota Ward Gymnasium many times before but this will be her first match in the new version of the venue. Her previous appearances this year were all tag matches with Raku. That streak ends here because this time Kong is teaming with Moka Miyamoto. Kong is upset she won’t be able to do the Good Night Express again but she likes discovering new things. That is why she comes back to TJPW. Miyamoto is nervous to be put in this position because of her inexperience but having Kong as a partner is reassuring. Either way she thinks it will be fun to see how the match turns out.

Watanabe’s goal for the match is to put Kong in the Giant Swing. Kong warns that Lioness Asuka and Kyoko Inoue have never done it to her. Watanabe can swing two opponents at the same time but Kong is the size of three people! Kong also wants Arai to know their interactions in the ring won’t be like it was for Tofu Pro Wrestling. That was a TV show, this time it’s pro wrestling! Arai is excited because ever since she was a child when she thought of pro wrestling she thought of Aja Kong.

6. International Princess Title: Hikari Noa (c) Vs Yuki Aino

There is a trend I’ve noticed with a few championships in wrestling lately. Some title reigns have been fueled by the champion dying the belt in their own colours, so to speak. In some cases it is literal, see the TNT Title in AEW where the belt design has changed for every champion as each title reign is different from the one before. In other cases it is the champion using the championship as a symbol for their own personality. The International Princess Title is a fitting example of that in my opinion. Yuki Kamifuku established this story with her title reign, using it to show pride and individuality as a “Divas” style wrestler. The story passed on to Hikari Noa who is using her current title reign as a launching point to wrestle hardcore matches with the ultimate goal of becoming the Queen Of Death Matches! This is an identity the championship sorely needed after the original plan for global themed title defences went by the wayside because of the pandemic. The value of the “Tiffany Blue” belt is worth whatever the champion puts into it.

So what direction could the championship go if Yuki Aino defeats Noa? Aino has been on fire at a time when people did not expect her to be, scoring pinfall wins over major players on the roster Noa included. In fact Aino has beaten Noa in both of their previous singles encounters. For this match the challenger is going to fight with everything from the bottom of her heart. Noa is happy to provide the craziest matches in order to defend the cutest of title belts. She has a bad history of losing tag partners but if she stays strong, the IP Title will never leave her.

7. Princess Tag Team Titles: Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki

In June 2019 a previous version of NEO Biishiki-gun won the Princess Tag Team Titles from The Magical Sugar Rabbits. Since then neither Yuka Sakazaki nor Mizuki have challenged for the belts. During this period Sakisama would show interest in convincing Mizuki to join her unit because she seems to be the only person on the roster Sakisama thinks is somewhat graceful, pretty and beautiful. Mizuki would always turn her down because there is nothing beautiful about NEO Biishiki-gun! The only thing attractive about them is the Princess Tag Titles. MagiRabi now want to win back the belts and in doing so make the world a more peaceful place in the process.

The challengers have had a busy 12 months leading up to this point. Sakazaki defeated Mizuki in the main event of the first “WRESTLE PRINCESS”. Since then Sakazaki had several AEW matches in Japan and America. First she reached the final in the Japan Bracket of the AEW Women’s World Title Eliminator Tournament. Then she spent all of July wrestling in America undefeated, including winning a match on Dynamite. Mizuki’s big focus was attempting a three-peat in the Tokyo Princess Cup but she was eliminated in the semi-final. Getting to wrestle in Ota Ward makes them feel like they are entering a new stage to have fun in TJPW. All they need now is to become champions again.

That’s the hard part. Sakisama and NEO Biishiki-gun are a constant presence surrounding this championship. Mei Saint-Michel is but the third partner to hold these belts with Sakisama. It was recently Saint-Michel’s birthday and she would like nothing more but to successfully defend the titles in Ota Ward Gymnasium for her birthday gift. Sakisama is going to enjoy the match too because she gets to hunt a Cockatiel (Sakazaki) and a Pink Rabbit (Mizuki). Sakazaki has never wrestled Saint-Michel before but she reminds her of someone else. Somebody more pure, with a good personality and also very fast. That gives MagiRabi the idea to use speed in order to catch their opponents off guard and win.

8. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Maki Itoh

It feels like Miyu Yamashita has done it all with the Princess Title. Most title reigns, most title defences, won it in Korakuen Hall, defended it in New York, defended it in Saitama Super Arena. Now she gets to defend it in Ota Ward Gymnasium for TJPW’s biggest show yet. You’d think she would have her fill but she continues aiming to make the company bigger with herself at the helm. On paper this title defence shouldn’t be any different from the previous bouts against the challenger. But something is different this time…

Until this summer Maki Itoh never got the happy ending to her story. There would be flashes of success and brief moments of glory in the ring that would vanish as quickly as they came. Growing support overseas didn’t make up for a lack of support in her home country. No matter how hard she tried it would eventually end in pain.

Then 2021 happened. And holy fucking shit I did not see this coming.

In January Yamashita knocked out Itoh, winning their most recent singles match together. How do you bounce back from that? With the tweet heard around the world. “HELLO MOTHER FUCKERS!” Itoh introduces herself to AEW and the wrestling world was never the same. Yamashita & Itoh then start teaming together as 121000000 (One To Million). In March, Itoh surprises everyone again by travelling to America so she could wrestle for AEW in Florida. She returns to Japan in April ready to win the Princess Title from Rika Tatsumi but fails once again. May comes along and Itoh gets put on the cover of Pro Wrestling Illustrated, which at this point is now just a blip on what has become the craziest year in wrestling since 2001. Then summer comes along and Itoh begins the journey to finally end her fairytale on a happy note.

The 2021 Tokyo Princess Cup was built around three people. Mizuki aiming for the three-peat, Yamashita aiming to finally win the one prize she never could and Itoh aiming to reach and beat both. Yamashita fell to Mizuki in the quarter-final. There waiting for Mizuki in the semi-final was Itoh. The next 48 hours saw Itoh submit her former Itoh Respect Army ally and then submit Shoko Nakajima in the grand final to win the Princess Cup! Now Itoh is running on a 10 single match winning streak. All the pressure and pain Itoh lived through has been worth it. All she has to say now is Ota Ward will see the best version of Maki Itoh.

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Posted by JamieOD

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2021” Preview

August 19, 2021

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2021”, 21/08/2021
Fujitsu Stadium Kawasaki

0. Under Match: Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura Vs Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku
0. Electric Current Explosion 8-Man Tag Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Maki Itoh Vs Kuro-chan, Super Sasadango Machine, Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Hikari Noa
1. Special 10-Man Tag Match – El Unicorn & Ilusion Debut Match: HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura, Yusuke Okada, Raimu Imai & El Unicorn Vs Yuji Okabayashi, TAMURA, Mizuki Watase, Yuki Iino & Ilusion
2. Double Ring Double Singles Match: Toru Owashi Vs Antonio Honda
2. Double Ring Double Singles Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. Special Hardcore Tag Match: Shunma Katsumata & MAO Vs Chris Brookes & Jun Kasai
4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai
5. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki
6. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACKOUT Presents: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

As danger and uncertainty over the pandemic remains around the world, the wrestling industry is determined to chug along and to stick to their plans. This weekend more than any other is proof of that. In America, the next couple of days will no doubt become a landmark period for the modern era with massive shows from two companies along with the long awaited return of a certain hockey fan from Chicago. Japan isn’t taking it easy either as some companies begin to head outdoors for major shows held at sports stadiums. That’s what DDT is up to for “WRESTLE PETER PAN” this year. They will be at Fujitsu Stadium Kawasaki, the former home of FMW’s most legendary battles. The actual venue is different because it went through renovations in the 2000s and also a name change in 2014. Hopefully the spirit of those famous shows still remains when DDT takes their crack at it. Pandemic restrictions are in place so the card is shorter than usual. Plus the risk of last minute cancellations can rear its ugly head. At this point we just have to keep our fingers crossed. There is something extra added to the show. Two wrestling rings will be set up in the stadium. The reason why will be explained in the related matches below.

0. Under Match: Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura Vs Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku

Let’s see how the low tier of DDT’s undercard has been doing lately. Yukio Naya is slotted into the novelty matches. He’s there when DDT needs a heavyweight so he’ll always have a place on the card. His family ties also means he will be a regular for any matches built around product placement. Keigo Nakamura stepped up a level by being part of the new KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Champions in Team Olympian. He has new ring gear too which is usually a sign of a wrestler moving onto the next stage of his career. He is still often the butt of jokes but when he gets the chance to be serious in the ring, he takes it. Hideki Okatani is probably the one out of this lot who advanced the most over the last year. He should have, given who he is learning from in Junretsu. He is still far away from being a polished product but he definitely moved up to No. 3 in his unit in the last few months. Yuya Koroku debuted in DDT back in April and comes from the highly regarded Animal Hamaguchi Gym. His work so far has been promising but he had a slight setback earlier this month that made him miss a few shows. That’s the problem with rookies. They break easily.

0. Electric Current Explosion 8-Man Tag Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Maki Itoh Vs Kuro-chan, Super Sasadango Machine, Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Hikari Noa

Here is how loaded this weekend is. DDT has to blow up a ring at Kawasaki Stadium during the dark match to get any sort of attention! If you’re doing a major wrestling show inside Kawasaki Stadium then you have to have Atsushi Onita in an Exploding Ring Death Match. Those are the rules. That is why DDT is setting up two rings, one for the regular matches and one for Onita to blow up. As soon as Onita found out about the second ring he got in touch with DDT and demanded his match take place on the pre-show! His reasoning is it takes a lot of time and dedication to set up the explosives so he wants it to be over and done with before the main show even begins. It also sneakily moves the match over to the main ring instead of the side ring because DDT now has time to clean up the mess after the pre-show. That Onita really is a sneaky git. He has promised to use three to five times the amount of gun powder for explosions than these matches usually use.

The match itself has a lot to unpack. Onita’s run in DDT over the last year has seen him feud with a pervy comedian named Kuro-chan. Onita gets the win most of the time but their last match in December ended in a massive upset. Kuro-chan pinned Onita one, two, three! He stole Onita’s jacket, called himself the new “Evil Ways” and left thinking that was the end of it. Demands for a rematch were ignored by Kuro-chan until his manager got wind of it and decided “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2021” would be the perfect time and place for it to happen. The two went to put their teams together. Onita has DDT’s crazy president Sanshiro Takagi, the not yet crazy Vice President Akito and the right amount of crazy Maki Itoh. Kuro-chan has to team with Super Sasadango Machine because they both have the same agent. However his also gets Hikari Noa and FMW alumni Tetsuhiro Kuroda, which improves his team’s chances. Sasadango had to lie about Noa thinking Kuro-chan is cute to convince him to finally accept the match. Noa in particular has been wanting to do death matches for ages. Her goal is to either run over Takagi in a truck, blow him up in an explosion or do both. The stage is set and one last factor has been added to the match. Kuro-chan wants sole ownership of Exploding Ring Death Matches if his team wins! He also wants Onita to retire when he loses but we all know what that is worth so just ignore that bit.

1. Special 10-Man Tag Match – El Unicorn & Ilusion Debut Match: HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura, Yusuke Okada, Raimu Imai & El Unicorn Vs Yuji Okabayashi, TAMURA, Mizuki Watase, Yuki Iino & Ilusion

DDT looks to the future with the introduction to the DDT Teenage Project. They have spent the last year training four teenagers in secret to become pro wrestlers. Two of them are ready to have their official debut match. On one team is the 13 year old, El Unicorn. On the other is Ilusion, 18 years old. The project is meant to be for those aged 15-18 but there is a reason El Unicorn is there. Not to spoil the kid’s identity but he was already under DDT contract before this project began. Both rookies are eager to fight the larger wrestlers like Naomi Yoshimura and Yuji Okabayashi. There’s another teenager in the match too. Raimu Imai from HEAT-UP is 16 years old and still in his first year of wrestling. His claim to fame is his mother Eriko Imai is a former pop singer and current member of Japan’s House Of Councillors. Raimu’s master TAMURA is on the opposite team. He marvels over how quickly the new generation of wrestlers get to make it to the ring. HARASHIMA and Okabayashi were last seen together as Smile Pissari but they are opponents here. Yusuke Okada and Yuki Iino get to collide with stronger opponents. Last but not least there is Mizuki Watase, who recently returned from injury and finds himself restarting his wrestling progression from scratch again.

2. Double Ring Double Singles Match: Toru Owashi Vs Antonio Honda
2. Double Ring Double Singles Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata

Look, spots for this show are sparse this time around and DDT isn’t able to produce two dozen matches in one night. This isn’t an AEW taping. With the card filling up, the groups of wrestlers nicknamed the DDT Variety Team all began to squabbling with one another. This resulted in them all challenging each other to singles matches, no doubt earning two of them coveted main event spot. That wasn’t going to happen. Hisaya Imabayashi told the wrestlers there was room left on the show for only one more match. They can do Toru Owashi Vs Antonio Honda or Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata but not both. Hirata then had a brilliant idea. There will be two rings available so why not do both matches at the same time? Imabayashi loved the idea and put forth DDT’s first ever Double Ring Double Singles Match! Just don’t be surprised if the two matches still interact and get mixed up with each other. Oh and I think Dieno is currently the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion. I lost track of that.

3. Special Hardcore Tag Match: Shunma Katsumata & MAO Vs Chris Brookes & Jun Kasai

The main card gets some of the violence left over from the pre-show. Is there anything you can do to Jun Kasai that would hurt him? He’s been through it all, literally if the thing is made out of glass. He sees the hardcore matches DDT have been doing over the last year and they left him feeling lukewarm. The weapons used and the atmosphere surrounding the matches are a bit too relaxed for his tastes. Relaxed is the accurate word to use given these matches have involved Shunma Katsumata & MAO from The 37KAMIINA (The Sauna KAMIINA). Their obsession with saunas rose to new levels ever since the DDT Sauna Club was formed. They aren’t pushovers though. Katsumata is wrestling death matches in Big Japan more often and MAO always has fucked up ideas for things to do in the ring. They want to show Kasai they can dish him the worst pain he has ever felt and they know just what to use. They found out that Kasai doesn’t like the pain you get from stepping on Lego. It’s his biggest weakness! Kasai refuses to confirm if that’s true or not, explaining that he never feels pain from anything when he wrestles in front of his fans. During all of this, Chris Brookes began feeling like the odd man out. He doesn’t even appear in the advert for the match! All the attention is on the other three and he doesn’t like that. He’ll take his anger out on Katsumata to feel better.

4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai

DAMNATION’s most successful ventures over the last half year have been in the trios division. After Tetsuya Endo was finally knocked off the top of the mountain, he rallied together Soma Takao and new member Yuji Hino to win the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. Endo was then able to defend the belts in his hometown. He has felt invincible ever since and thinks he has the power to banish those he defeated from his hometown. The big challengers coming in are Eruption. They held the titles before and Saki Akai in particular thinks it is time to take them back. The build up has seen Kazusada Higuchi reignite his rivalry with Endo. Yukio Sakaguchi and Takao has come to blows several times too. But the spotlight shines brightest on Akai along with Hino’s reaction to her being in the match. Hino thinks Eruption are fighting with a handicap because a woman is on their team. He also refuses to throw any Chops at Akai because he is convinced they would legit murder her. All this attitude has done is fire Akai up even more to prove her doubters wrong. She’s been wrestling for 8 years now and has shown she is not a one trick pony. It also created an unusual situation where Akai slaps around her partners because they haven’t been as determined as she is to win! Keep in mind this is when Sakaguchi is constantly getting into fights with Takao.

5. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki

DAMNATION’s second most successful venture over the last half year is Daisuke Sasaki stealing the DDT Universal Title belt from Yuki Ueno. I didn’t say winning the championship, I mean literally stealing the belt. That’s not to say Sasaki hasn’t brought it in the ring. He has won several big matches in the King Of DDT tournament by cheating like hell throughout the whole thing. That includes a quick win over Ueno. Another quick win in a later tag match resulted in Ueno giving Sasaki a title shot in order to win back his pride. Big mistake. That is what caused Sasaki to blindside Ueno, steal the title belt and promise to humiliate him even further. The last month has seen Ueno chasing after Sasaki only to see him get away with the belt time and time again. Their last confrontation inside a ring ended with Sasaki beating Ueno bloody. What has been a breakout year for Ueno has since turned sour and could take a turn for the worse if he can’t get his title back.

6. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACKOUT Presents: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Talk about a deal paying off big time. Jun Akiyama to DDT could not have worked out any better if I do say so myself. He is now six months into his KO-D Openweight Title reign with three defences under his belt. He has also taken to the player/coach role in Junretsu rather well (just remember Makoto Oishi is the official leader). The likes of Endo, Higuchi, Dieno and HARASHIMA have all failed to beat him. And then there is Konosuke Takeshita. What a journey this guy has been on. He went through two singles losses to Akiyama in back to back months at the end of 2020. Those results made him self reflect. For the first time he began to question the DDT style he so proudly represented. Things had to change in 2021.

But does it, really? When this year began, Takeshita’s Sauna Club with his friends turned into The 37KAMIINA. What followed has been a year of hot matches and aurora skies. He took a sabbatical to AEW in April, winning over a new audience of fans abroad by being himself and wrestling how he always does. When he returned, success came his way in the tag team division with his sauna buddies. He and Ueno successfully represented DDT against NOAH at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2021”, he and Katsumata won the first Ultimate Tag League and then followed it up by winning the KO-D Tag Team Titles. To cap it all off Takeshita rose even further back to the top by winning the King Of DDT tournament. His redemption is almost complete. All that is left to do is finally beat Akiyama one on one.

Easier said than done, right? There’s also one other thing that makes it that little bit more difficult. Kenta Kobashi will be at the show as a special guest to witness the main event. Everytime Kobashi has played this role for a Jun Akiyama singles match, Akiyama has won. Endo learned that the hard way back in “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021” back in February. Akiyama’s previous two victories over Takeshita have both been by submission as well. It’s all well and good to make it three submissions in a row but Akiyama doesn’t care for that kind of stuff. If he has to win by pinfall then so be it. This is the man who comes from King’s Road. He learned that the Giant Baba style has all the right answers for pro wrestling. That is why he is the champion! Takeshita wants to prove there is no correct answer for pro wrestling that applies to everybody. The DDT style he proudly represents can be just as effective for him as King’s Road is for Akiyama. If this match is the end of his journey, we’ll find out which answer is the right one.

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Posted by JamieOD

Full TJPW Card For 4th January

December 18, 2020

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’21”, 04/01/2021
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Marika Kobashi & Moka Miyamoto Vs Pom Harajuku & Haruna Neko
2. Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao
3. Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel Vs Hikari Noa & Sena Shiori
4. Aja Kong, Mizuki & Raku Vs Miu Watanabe, Nao Kakuta & Mirai Maiumi
5. Arisu Endo Debut Match: Suzume Vs Arisu Endo
6. Miyu Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
7. Princess Tag Team Titles: Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu
8. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi

The main event has a lot going for it. Yuka Sakazaki and Rika Tatsumi have known each other for years, even before they began training to be pro wrestlers. Seven years ago Sakazaki convinced Tatsumi to go train together so she is a special person in Tatsumi’s life. But for this match Tatsumi sees Sakazaki only as the Princess Of Princess Champion. Tatsumi wants to defeat “The Magical Girl who resembles Fudo Myoo” so she can transform from a White Dragon into a Dragon God!

According to the Toyo University Combo, their bond is more stronger than those between sisters. Yuki Kamifuku thinks she and Mahiro Kiryu are more like clones of the Toyo University founder Inoue Enryo’s daughter! The Bakuretsu Sisters don’t just want to make memories out of their Princess Tag Team Titles reign. They want to defend the belts as much as they can because it took them so long to win them.

Two years ago, Maki Itoh failed to beat Miyu Yamashita in the Ittenyon main event. It was a poor performance that at the time left her traumatized. Now she realizes it was not a setback but valuable experience. When she sticks up her middle finger it is a sign of confidence and determination. Itoh’s middle finger cannot be broken! Yamashita thinks this is a Tokyo Joshi Pro match that can appeal to the world. She’s letting Itoh do the talking now. When they get in the ring Yamashita will show her what she’s really got.

Arisu Endo is a 22 years old from Fukushima and is 150cm tall. She became a pro wrestler because she loves wrestling but is nervous to have her debut match. Endo’s favourite wrestler is Reika Saiki and she wants to become as cool as her. Suzume is looking forward to see what kind of wrestler Endo will be so she is happy to be her debut opponent.

Aja Kong is back! Mizuki is honored to team with her. Raku’s wrestling career is currently three years old. She thinks three year olds still need to take naps so she will do so. Miu Watanabe sees this match as a bridge between idols and pro wrestling. Nao Kakuta’s goal for 2021 is to win a championship so a win here will give her momentum. Mirai Maiumi wants to show the kind of brilliance in Korakuen Hall that only she can.

Sena Shiori has been frustrated by losing to NEO Biishiki-gun over and over since the unit returned and turned their attention to her. There’s nothing she can’t do with Hikari Noa which is why she thinks they can win. Noa is surprised she gets to team with Shiori in Korakuen so quickly. She wants to help her win her first match because it will happen on the first anniversary of Shiori’s debut.

In a rematch from last year’s Ittenyon, Shoko Nakajima and Hyper Misao will face off again. Last time the loser had to change their name for a month. Misao beat Misao and renamed her Akemi Daredasore. Misao has changed her name a few times in her career, even her private one because she recently got married but she hasn’t forgotten about that match. Which is why she wants the same stipulation for the rematch and have it become an annual gimmick for the Ittenyon show! Nakajima accepts the challenge because she has very few things to protect. She believes the more things a person needs to protect, the more weaknesses they have.

The opening match is between the two youngest generations in Tokyo Joshi. Marika Kobashi will be celebrating her 5th anniversary of her debut. Moka Miyamoto thinks she is the exact opposite of Kobashi but they can do their best as a tag team of active college students. Haruna Neko isn’t bothered by who is her juniors or seniors in the match. She just wants to win. Pom Harajuku felt she wasn’t able to work hard in 2020 so she wants to get 2021 off on the right track with a victory.

The live broadcast of the show will have separate streams. ABEMA will host the local broadcast with Haruo Murata and Sayoko Mita on commentary. WRESTLE UNIVERSE will provide live English commentary for the first time with Mark Pickering and Stewart Fulton on the headsets.

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DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2020” Preview

November 1, 2020

DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2020”, 03/11/2020
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium

0. Under Match: Keigo Nakamura Vs Hideki Okatani
0. Under Match: Hiroshi Yamato & Hoshitango Vs Mizuki Watase & Yukio Naya
1. MAO Return Battle: MAO Vs Shunma Katsumata
2. Danshoku Dieno Vs Akito
3. 4 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura & Kazuki Hirata Vs Mad Paulie, El Lindaman & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Super Sasadango Machine, Makoto Oishi & Antonio Honda
4. DDT Extreme Title – Yanekabe Presents Weapon Rumble: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi
5. Special Tag Match – HarashiMarafuji Vs CimaSoma: HARASHIMA & Naomichi Marufuji Vs CIMA & Soma Takao
6. DDT UNIVERSAL Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Yuki Ueno
7. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Konosuke Takeshita
8. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACK OUT Presents: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these things. A year ago in fact! Skipped over writing a preview for “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2020” because everything was put together in too short of an amount of time but I can’t complain about a lack of build for this one. As no doubt many of you have seen, most of the pro wrestling industry worldwide has been chugging through the Coronavirus pandemic, good idea or not. For DDT they ran empty arena shows until fans were allowed back in. The block of wrestling companies owned by CyberAgent that DDT is a part of all merged their management together to form CyberFight in order to survive. Some big plans for this show went up in smoke. “ULTIMATE PARTY 2020” was originally meant to be in Sumo Hall, now it is happening in Ota Ward Gymnasium because Ryogoku became unavailable. Also Kenny Omega was supposed to be here but travel restrictions nixed that idea. DDT adapted to the problems, came up with a card they want to reach across the world and show that they aren’t just a storm in a teacup.

0. Under Match: Keigo Nakamura Vs Hideki Okatani

It’s been fun watching these two rookies flourish throughout 2020. Keigo Nakamura has become this lovable little gremlin who can adapt into whatever scenario DDT throws at him. When they need a flexible punching bag, Nakamura is there to take those lumps. I can only imagine what his imagination will be like when he has some more years on him and gets the chance to put something together by himself. It’s not all antics either. He seriously wants to win matches and isn’t happy to see the younger Hideki Okatani quickly overtake him. Okatani has been more straightforward in his first year as a wrestler. He wasted no time standing up to Jun Akiyama for a few DDT TV SHOW bouts. It led to him being the fourth man for Junretsu and getting a bigger spotlight than his “senpai” Nakamura. But these two are still fresh rookies so they get the curtain jerking spot on the pre-show.

0. Under Match: Hiroshi Yamato & Hoshitango Vs Mizuki Watase & Yukio Naya

This is Hoshitango’s first match in DDT this year. As far as I know he’s done nothing but be JR level horny on Twitter during his time away from the ring. If he’s been on other wrestling shows I can’t find them. Hiroshi Yamato made several DDT appearances doing not much of note until recently. He willingly got into the DAMNATION drama and came out of it slightly changed. He hasn’t been singing during his entrances and his eyes have gone black. After years of being stuck in the mud, Mizuki Watase is starting to progress again as part of Junretsu. He needed that kick up the bum and to be honest it isn’t enough if he wants to stop treading water. Yukio Naya is in a similar position of underachieving. He’s been accused of not performing like a man his size should. To be fair he must have a ton of pressure on his shoulders coming from such a well regarded sumo family. His grandfather is a legendary yokozuna and his three younger brothers have all joined sumo stables in the last two years. At least he has his hobbies.

1. MAO Return Battle: MAO Vs Shunma Katsumata

MAO is back from injury and he wants to break Shunma Katsumata. It’s a good sign that the world can go back to normal. A left MCL injury in June has kept MAO out of action so he was reduced to just hanging out at shows when he could. He’s still the same guy he always was. Katsumata however is no longer the sweet little boy we all knew. He was always into deathmatches but he jumped in hard this year. When he’s not wrestling Super Hardcore on Lego in DDT, he is earning his blood soaked stripes in Big Japan also with Lego. It is quickly reaching the point where I wonder if Katsumata is better off in Big Japan than DDT? There isn’t any stipulation added to the match but if MAO and Katsumata wanted to bring weapons in I’m sure nobody will want to stop them.

2. Danshoku Dieno Vs Akito

One of the biggest beneficiaries from the creation of CyberFight is Akito. Ever since he became a Vice President for the company, his success in the ring has soared. The key to his newfound momentum is the Goliath Birdeater, a disgusting looking submission hold that was originally used by Taku Iwasa in Toryumon (“It’s a Spider Thread, It’s a Spider Thread, It’s a Spider Thread, It’s a Spider Threeeeeaaaaad”). It tangles up all of the victim’s limbs just like a spider the move is named after would do. Outside the ring, Akito is taking his new role very seriously and it has made look at things with a more critical eye. He singled out Danshou Dieno in particular, asking him if his work over the summer was up to par. For you see, Akito has always wanted to wrestle Dieno in his prime. He thinks they are both one of a kind in DDT and mixing together can create something special. A match like that should happen in a big venue like Ota Ward Gymnasium. Dieno agrees and wants to prove his best days are not behind him. There’s still a lot of ideas in that creative mind of his. Who could be better than Akito to help bring them to life?

3. 4 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura & Kazuki Hirata Vs Mad Paulie, El Lindaman & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Super Sasadango Machine, Makoto Oishi & Antonio Honda

As things stand now the entire tag team division belongs to Eruption. The trio have been a force to be reckoned with and were highly featured on DDT cards throughout the year. Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi recently won the KO-D Tag Team Titles and with Saki Akai they also hold the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. So far they are living up to their goal of creating their own path in DDT. Higuchi & Sakaguchi have been regular threats to championships. Akai meanwhile completed the Okabariyasu series where she fought the likes of Rina Yamashita, Miranda Gordy, Syuri, Saori Anou and Meiko Satomura. There are no challengers for either tag titles at the moment so Eruption are in a non-title 4 Way with a bunch of DDT regulars. One team is DISASTER BOX with former tag champion Naomi Yoshimura having his final match before taking an extended break to recover from his cervical injuries. Toru Owashi is still in his gatekeeper position while Kazuki Hirata recently reminded Sakaguchi not to take him or the Miracle One Shot Cradle lightly. #DAMNHEARTS are represented by Mad Paulie, El Lindaman & Nobuhiro Shimatani. I bet Lindaman doesn’t want to be reminded of losing the trios titles to Akai after all of that big talk he gave to her beforehand. The last team rounding out the field is Super Sasadango Machine, Makoto Oishi & Antonio Honda. Sasadango has been busy producing the Hiragana Muscle revival that was meant to be the first pro wrestling musical (until Chris Jericho & MJF beat him to the punch). Oishi has been refreshed by becoming the leader of Junretsu. Honda is still Honda and er… let’s leave it at that.

4. DDT Extreme Title – Yanekabe Presents Weapon Rumble: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi

It has been nigh on impossible for wrestlers to take the DDT Extreme Title from Shinya Aoki. The championship that is defended under many different rules has been over Aoki’s shoulder since March and no amount of DDT foolishness has slowed him down. He’s defended the belt in a Blindfold Hidden Bra Death Match held in the centre of an empty Saitama Super Arena. He’s defended it in a Falls Count Anywhere match to celebrate the end of Japan’s lockdown. He even defended the belt against Maku Donaruto. Nothing seems to stop the MMA veteran. Only one man is left to stop him and he has just the plan needed to succeed. It’s Sanshiro Takagi and the Weapon Rumble! There’s one problem though, Aoki hasn’t signed the contract yet and would rather forfeit the title than do that match. Probably serves DDT right for promoting the match before getting Aoki’s signature but they might have figured out the reason why it came to this. Takagi suggests that Aoki has a phobia of signing contracts because it reminds him too much of his marriage and divorce. He had to sign a marriage certificate and he had to sign the divorce papers. Maybe those memories left him mentally scarred. Takagi does not want to become champion by default and is determined to make the match happen one way or another. If this turns out to be a negotiation tactic to drop the Weapon Rumble stipulation then Takagi will agree to it. Anything to ensure that Aoki shows up to Ota Ward to defend his title. I can’t blame Aoki for his paranoia about this. The weapons used in Weapon Rumbles are just as much for psychological pain than they are physical damage. What if his ex-wife shows up as a weapon?!? Probably not, from what I could find it sounds like they had a nasty split. One that is maybe too upsetting to make fun of by reuniting them in the ring.

Geez way to end the comedy match preview on a sad note, me.

5. Special Tag Match – HarashiMarafuji Vs CimaSoma: HARASHIMA & Naomichi Marufuji Vs CIMA & Soma Takao

This match was originally meant to take place at “WRESTLE PETER PAN” back in June. When DDT got to run shows in front of crowds again, HARASHIMA and Soma Takao were told that the match was back on. There was another risk of the match getting cancelled again when CIMA got into a traffic accident, breaking his nose, fracturing his wrist and getting a couple other minor injuries across the body. Thankfully he recovered and made it back to the ring in good shape. He also has been getting a lot of ring time with Takao, both as tag partners and as opponents. Takao used to wrestle using a tribute gimmick called BIMA when he was in a college wrestling club. CIMA wants to help Takao surpass him so he can start from B, skip C and go straight to D. Then he can be renamed DIMA! Plus they get to to this in Soma’s hometown of Ota. That kind of ambition and regular reps might make them a better oiled machine than HARASHIMA and Naomichi Marufuji. The HarashiMarufuji team have worked together a couple times this year but not as much as CimaSoma. In September there was an Elimination Tag Match where Takao eliminated Marufuji early by throwing him out of the ring. Marufuji wants to get revenge for being humiliated like that. Rustiness is the only weak point I can see with HarashiMarufuji. Experience and skill levels combined makes that team nearly unbeatable otherwise.

6. DDT UNIVERSAL Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Yuki Ueno

The newest championship in DDT has been tailor made for Chris Brookes. In February Brookes became the first DDT UNIVERSAL Champion, holding a belt created to boost DDT’s global presence. There was a setback over the Spring where he lost the belt in his first defence and had a hell of a time trying to reclaim it. But reclaim it he did and he’s having a much better go around this time. He got his cockiness back with this reign and it’s been rubbing some of the other wrestlers the wrong way. Like Yuki Ueno for example. After Brookes successfully defended the title against Naomi Yoshimura, he called him weak. Brookes then looked over to Ueno and called him even weaker. Ueno snapped and challenged Brookes for the title so he could shut him up. Brookes accepted and then put Ueno in the Octopus Stretch. Ueno got something back in the mind games department when he used the Praying Mantis Bomb in a match. Things went worse from there with Brookes attacking Ueno again after Nautilus lost the KO-D Tag Titles. Brookes continued to rub Ueno’s face in by presenting him with flowers at a press conference as if he was in mourning of Ueno’s title loss. He has the recent success behind him to back up his cocky attitude. The normally quiet Ueno has to step away from his safety net especially now that Yoshimura is taking time off. By all means the talent is there for Ueno to be a top name for DDT in the future. I always thought Yoshimura would be the stand out of Nautilus but the KO-D Tag Title reign (which has been my highlight of 2020 DDT by the way) was a breakthrough period for Ueno. This match has sleeper hit of the show written all over it.

7. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Usually it’s one company’s loss that becomes another company’s gain. In this case two companies losing out benefitted DDT. Jun Akiyama was supposed to spend some time in Florida back in May working as a temporary coach in the WWE Performance Center. COVID-19 prevented that trip from happening so DDT offered him the same role for their own roster. Akiyama got to spend time in the ring with guys like Mizuki Watase and Hideki Okatani, teaching them valuable lessons in King’s Road wrestling. The idea worked out so well that DDT struck a deal with All Japan to rent Akiyama’s services for the rest of this year (that is the other company losing out, nobody is expecting Akiyama to go back when his rental period ends). From the get go the plan was to put Akiyama and Konosuke Takeshita together as opponents. Akiyama was here to teach King’s Road but Takeshita was more interested in experiencing Akiyama’s personal wrestling style. In return Akiyama gets to experience the high level of DDT presented by Takeshita. Akiyama formed the unit Junretsu (intentionally referencing the pop band with the same name) to fight against Takeshita & ALL OUT. There is no grudge between the two wrestlers but the fights between them have been fierce. The result of this generational confrontation will shift the balance of the pro wrestling world. There’s no holding back here. Win or lose, Akiyama will do his part to nourish one of DDT’s best and help him grow even stronger.

8. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACK OUT Presents: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki

Ambition is what caused this main event to exist. Ambition is what led to a betrayal and then a betrayal of that betrayal. Ambition is what created a fracture in the most powerful faction in DDT. Tetsuya Endo achieved his goal of winning the KO-D Openweight Title from Masato Tanaka back in June. In the midst of the empty arena shows he built up the momentum needed to knock Tanaka off his throne and carry the main event picture onwards. It was Endo’s savviness to form a business alliance between DAMNATION and #STRONGHEARTS, creating #DAMNHEARTS. Then he had an even bigger goal he wanted to accomplish. He let the world know when he won the King Of DDT tournament as the reigning KO-D Champion. Endo wanted to defend the title against Kenny Omega at “ULTIMATE PARTY 2020”! Endo even began using a modified Wrist Clutch One-Winged Angel to prepare for the fateful match. Unfortunately it was unable to happen at Ota Ward so Endo was tasked to find a replacement challenger. He knew who it had to be. There are only two wrestlers left he needs to defeat. One is Omega. The other is his leader Daisuke Sasaki!

At first it looked like the match would happen smoothly. Endo is loyal to Sasaki so there was no bad blood to look out for. Then cracks began to appear when they tagged together. Double team moves would backfire but ultimately would not cause them to lose. Both would take this in somewhat good spirits (if that’s even possible for the mood Sasaki is always in) and instead banter about getting into better shape more than the other can. It all came to a head in September when Sasaki turned on Endo, banished him from DAMNATION and instructed #DAMNHEARTS to join in the beating. Except they didn’t. Instead #DAMNHEARTS took Endo’s side and held a mutiny on Sasaki, kicking him out of the group instead! It turned out that Sasaki and Endo had the same idea of turning on each other and both approached #DAMNHEARTS to join them. Given the choice, #DAMNHEARTS picked to be with Endo. The new leader declared that DAMNATION can now conform, kiss ass and get married! A furious Sasaki declared he was the only member of DAMNATION and the others were banished but he can’t stop them from using the name anyway. His lone attempts to fight his former allies looked hopeless until Hiroshi Yamato came along to help him with mixed results.

As the weeks went by Sasaki fell deep into his drinking and came up with an ultimatum. If he cannot beat Endo at “ULTIMATE PARTY 2020” then he will retire! He will flee Japan in shame and go find a job in another country where he can work three days a week with no early morning shifts. Now it’s difficult to tell how serious Sasaki is with going through with this plan. He has a history of throwing down championships and threatening to quit whenever he loses only to drink his misery away to forget about it. He also has a DAMNATION show celebrating his 15th Anniversary in wrestling happening on 12th November (that the DAMNATION wrestlers have since been banned from) that seems to be going ahead no matter what the result is. What also prevents a Sasaki win from being a sure fire bet is Endo’s supposed match with Omega. Will that still happen if Endo loses the title? You’ve seen what Omega is like now. He probably isn’t going to be interested in making the trip back to DDT when allowed if both Endo and the KO-D Title isn’t involved.

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Posted by JamieOD

Obtaining Tickets For DDT Group Shows

December 24, 2019

(Taken from DDT’s website)

To Pro-Wrestling Fans Travelling from Overseas during the New Year’s Holidays

Welcome to Japan!

The DDT Group and its wrestlers will be waiting for you at many shows during this period:

TJPW (Friday 12.27, Itabashi Green Hall, 18:00)
DDT (Saturday 12.28, Korakuen Hall, 18:30)
DDT/BJW (Tuesday 12.31, Korakuen Hall, 20:00)
DDT (Friday 1.3, Korakuen Hall, 18:30)
TJPW (Saturday 1.4, Korakuen Hall, 11:30)
TJPW (Sunday 1.5, Itabashi Green Hall, 12:00)
DDT (Sunday 1.5, Itabashi Green Hall, 18:00)

You will be able to pre-purchase tickets for all of the above shows from the following websites (Japanese websites only):

・Ticketpay
https://www.ticketpay.jp/

・Ticket Pia
https://t.pia.jp/

・Lawson Ticket
https://l-tike.com/

・e-plus
https://eplus.jp/

Please use your credit card for your purchases, and take note of your reservation number to bring to Japan with you. Use the number to obtain your ticket at the designated convenience store (Seven Eleven, Family Mart, or Lawson) when you arrive in Japan, by the day of each show.

The easiest option is to purchase tickets through the DDT Official Website using your credit card. Please take a look at the guidance video for details on how to reserve and obtain tickets:

Walk-up tickets will be made available on the day of each show, but only if they are not sold out. Walk-up tickets can only be purchased in cash (Japanese yen only).

We look forward to seeing you at our shows!

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Posted by JamieOD

DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2019!” Preview

November 1, 2019

DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2019! DDT GROUP BIG GATHERING!”, 03/11/2019
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

0. Under Match: Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Mizuki Watase & Keigo Nakamura Vs Daichi Kazato, Masato Kamino & Shuhei Washida
0. Under Match – Tokyo Joshi Pro 8-Woman Tag Match: Hikari Noa, YUMI, Mahiro Kiryu & Suzume Vs Raku, Pom Harajuku, Haruna Neko & Mirai Maiumi
0. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Shota (c) Vs Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs HARUKAZE Vs SAGAT Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Mina Shirakawa Vs Pokotan Vs Yoshihiko
1. 100 Plastic Cases Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Isami Kodaka
2. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Danshoku Dieno, Asuka, Yuki Iino, Mizuki & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Super Sasadango Machine, Yuna Manase, Jiro Kuroshio, Hiroshi Yamato & Makoto Oishi
3. Gauntlet Tag Match: Yukio Naya & Cody Hall Vs Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Maki Itoh & Chris Brookes Vs Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino
4. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Fuminori Abe
5. UWA World 6-Man Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Takumi Tsukamoto, Yasu Urano & Takato Nakano (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Ken Ohka, Yumehito Imanari & Miss Mongol
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Sakisama & Misao (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 4 Way Hardcore Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) Vs Akito & Shunma Katsumata Vs FUMA & Yusuke Kubo Vs Minoru Fujita & Daiki Shimomura
8. Union MAX Title: Ryuichi Sekine (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki
10. Souken Holdings Presents Dramatic Dream Match: Kenny Omega & Riho Vs Antonio Honda & Miyu Yamashita
11. BLACK OUT Presents KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Extreme Title: Konosuke Takeshita (K/c) Vs HARASHIMA (E/c)

100 plastic cases, 81 wrestlers, 53 men, 26 women, 14 matches, 9 championships, 4 promotions (maybe make it 5), 2 non-human wrestlers and 1 Ultimate Party to hold it all inside Sumo Hall! Welcome to one of the largest shows DDT has ever put together. There are so many people booked that they could hold it in an empty arena and still outdraw ROH. Thanks to a lot of help from BASARA, Tokyo Joshi Pro and Ganbare☆Wrestling this show will have tons and tons of variety. It will probably last an eternity too so you should get comfortable.

The big family reunion is a little bittersweet. On the bright side we get a big star return. But BASARA will become a completely independent company from DDT at the end of the year and they have already begun the transition process. The BASARA wrestlers all have the same goal in mind for this show. Win and steal as many championships as they can from DDT before they leave! Tokyo Joshi and Ganpro have their own spots on the card where they will aim to steal the show.

0. Under Match: Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Mizuki Watase & Keigo Nakamura Vs Daichi Kazato, Masato Kamino & Shuhei Washida

It’s always fun to see a trainee come in and grow from show to show. The abandoned DNA brand was great for that. The first newcomer to appear in DDT since DNA’s disappearance is Keigo Nakamura. For months before his debut Nakamura was made visible on shows by being dragged into the wacky antics DDT is known for. From the swimming pool to the campsite Nakamura always had a side role to play so he became a familiar face when he finally began wrestling in matches. For his first bout in Sumo Hall he is tagging with Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Mizuki Watase to form a DDT team against a combined BASARA & Ganpro team. Daichi Kazato leads that side with the young bloods Masato Kamino & Shuhei Washida. Kazato may still be carrying the spirit of Best Stretchman V3 inside him.

0. Under Match – Tokyo Joshi Pro 8-Woman Tag Match: Hikari Noa, YUMI, Mahiro Kiryu & Suzume Vs Raku, Pom Harajuku, Haruna Neko & Mirai Maiumi

The new generation of Tokyo Joshi is in full effect here. The most experienced women are Hikari Noa and Raku and they only debuted back in January 2018! Then you get the HiSPC class of YUMI, Mahiro Kiryu, Pom Harajuku and Haruna Neko who all debuted over the last twelve months or so (poor Himawari Unagi is left out because of injury). Mirai Maiumi and Suzume are bringing up the rear as the newest girls on the roster.

0. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Shota (c) Vs Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs HARUKAZE Vs SAGAT Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Mina Shirakawa Vs Pokotan Vs Yoshihiko

The promise of an Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title defence has been fulfilled. The belt made its way across the world to Mexico and the United States thanks to Puma King. Luckily for DDT, Kikutaro now lives in America and was able to bring the title back to Japan. Unfortunately Kikutaro already has a booking that conflicts with the date of “ULTIMATE PARTY 2019!” He can only make it to Sumo Hall in time if his match is placed in the semi-main event! Thankfully Hisaya Imabayashi came up with a solution. He knocked out Kikutaro and told Shota to pin him and become the new Iron Man champion. Problem solved. Now Shota has to defend the title in a Battle Royal and Kikutaro isn’t getting booked at all. Everyone who matters wins!

Let’s look at the rest of the field that Shota has to deal with. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata have been doing the usual stuff in DISASTER BOX. Gorgeous Matsuno’s wrestling career gained a new lease of life when he won the O-40 Championship, a belt exclusively fought for between wrestlers over the age of 40. HARUKAZE has been a staple of Ganpro’s joshi division. SAGAT is the violent yet at times plucky BASARA brawler. Yuki Kamifuku has found her groove in the wrestling ring and is now capable of racking up wins on a consistent basis. Her Pink Ready team with Mina Shirakawa is a big reason for that and Shirakawa herself won a championship in a wresting group ran by Best Body Japan. She also discovered a talent for rap. Then we are left with the mascots of DDT. Pokotan does its best to spread cheer until the head comes off and it violently malfunctions. And never underestimate Yoshihiko.

1. 100 Plastic Cases Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Isami Kodaka

Big Boss against BASARA Boss! The very first match announced for this show pits Sanshiro Takagi against Isami Kodaka in a rare singles bout between the two. This was placed in the proper opening spot because Takagi believes the curtain jerker is the second most important match after the main event. Kodaka wanted a crazy match to mark his goodbye from DDT so they decided on placing 100 plastic cases around ringside. Takagi has grown really fond of using them as weapons lately and they make satisfying noises when they break (take note American indies once the inevitable door shortage happens).

2. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Danshoku Dieno, Asuka, Yuki Iino, Mizuki & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Super Sasadango Machine, Yuna Manase, Jiro Kuroshio, Hiroshi Yamato & Makoto Oishi

Bloody Hell they brought back the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles. Why? Back in 2017 the first champions were crowned right here in Sumo Hall. DDT immediately discovered how difficult it was to book all members of the champion team on a regular basis so the belts quietly disappeared after the first defence. Two years later DDT stripped the champions of the belts under what I will now call the 770 Day Rule. So now we need new champions. I don’t know why but let’s go along with it. Two of the former champs Danshoku Dieno and Super Sasadango Machine were given the task of drafting separate teams to fight for the vacant titles. Dieno chose the fearless Asuka, the rugby fueled Yuki Iino, the Sugar Rabbit Mizuki and the weirdest advertisement for yoga Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi. Sasadango’s choices are the face (and body) of the Pocchari Joshi spin-off Yuna Manase, the soon to be co-opted by the Yanks Jiro Kuroshio, the always first at karaoke Hiroshi Yamato and the left until last Makoto Oishi. With the talent on offer the belts have a second chance at life no matter which team wins. Or maybe it will fall into obscurity until the 770 Day Rule kicks in again.

3. Gauntlet Tag Match: Yukio Naya & Cody Hall Vs Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Maki Itoh & Chris Brookes Vs Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino

When DDT is in Sumo Hall you can always expect a Tag Team Gauntlet match in the undercard. Some newly established teams have filled out the ranks along with a couple of power duos. Yukio Naya & Cody Hall have spent several weeks feuding with each other. When Naya defeated Hall in a singles match the two put their differences behind them and formed a team together. Their thought process is nobody can stop their heavyweight size and power when it gets combined together. Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura begun teaming together when Yoshimura joined DISASTER BOX but took a step to the next level when they named their team Nautilus in September. Yukio Sakaguchi & Ryota Nakatsu are the two premier strikers in DDT and BASARA joining forces. Ganpro are represented by Shuichiro Katsumura & Kouki Iwasaki. The big wild card is the NEO Itoh Respect Army of Maki Itoh & Chris Brookes. Itoh is at a career high as the reigning International Princess Champion and Brookes is back in DDT for a run in both the tag team division and the upcoming D-ou Grand Prix. Last but certainly not least is the Tokyo Joshi team. Year after year DDT has told fans that The Steiner Brothers are not booked for their major shows. Well The Bakuretsu Sisters are sick of it! The Steiners won’t bother showing up so Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino have taken their place!

4. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Fuminori Abe

I feel bad for Shuichiro Katsumura. When he held the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title it was he who established the goal of defending it in Sumo Hall. He held onto the belt one match after another until Keisuke Ishii killed his dream just over a month before the show. So instead it is Ishii in the champion’s spot for Ganpro’s featured match on the card. When Ishii declared his intentions to make Ganpro more appealing than the other brands, Fuminori Abe answered his challenge. He also revealed a sinister plan the entire BASARA roster has put together for this show. Since BASARA is becoming independent, they want to win as many championships as they can from the DDT family and claim them as their own once they have completed the split! The Independent Jr. Title has called Ganpro its home for the last two years. Will it make the jump over to BASARA?

5. UWA World 6-Man Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Takumi Tsukamoto, Yasu Urano & Takato Nakano (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Ken Ohka, Yumehito Imanari & Miss Mongol

The UWA World 6-Man Tag Team Titles have been in DDT before. Around 9 years ago in fact. I even have an incomplete title history page written up back when it was abandoned. WRESTLE-1 revived the belts in 2015 only to give up on them in 2018. Then Big Japan brought them back and they quickly jumped over to BASARA. So now we have a mishmash of teams fighting for the titles. Takumi Tsukamoto, Yasu Urano & Takato Nakano are the current champions going for their second defence. DAMANTION are one of the two challenger teams. Tetsuya Endo has noticeably fallen down the pecking order ever since his failure to claim the headline spot on this show. He at least has Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani keeping him company. The third team is the alliance of Ken Ohka’s Ganpro and the pervy Pocchari Joshi sub-brand ran by Yumehito Imanari. Former FMW women’s wrestler Miss Mongol has been teaming regularly with those two throughout the year.

6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Sakisama & Misao (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe

Friendship. Betrayal. Strength. Beauty. Championships. Roses. This match has it all. One of the biggest stories to watch in Tokyo Joshi this year was the transformation of Hyper Misao from a superhero to the Royal Guardswoman for Sakisama. Sick of failure and feeling weak, Misao gave up the mask so she could learn to become strong under Sakisama. Say what you want about her mysterious methods, Sakisama has gotten results from every woman who joined her side. Since Misao’s transformation in March, her personality completely changed along with her win-loss record. The NEO Biishiki-gun team have been nigh on unbeatable and have held the Princess Tag Team Titles for almost 5 months. Along the way they picked on those they feel are below them. Sure that’s everybody but the two most who have received the brunt of it are Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe. In fact this whole storyline began when Misao betrayed Tatsumi during a failed attempt to rescue Watanabe from Sakisama’s attacks. It all comes full circle with Tatsumi & Watanabe joining forces. Tatsumi believes that deep, deep down Hyper Misao is still alive and the evil version of Misao is only a cover. Misao has resisted all attempts to bring back the hero but maybe losing the tag titles could make her snap out of it.

7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 4 Way Hardcore Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) Vs Akito & Shunma Katsumata Vs FUMA & Yusuke Kubo Vs Minoru Fujita & Daiki Shimomura

Four teams charging into a chaotic Hardcore Match for the KO-D Tag Team Titles. The DAMNATION duo of Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao are currently having the most successful KO-D Tag Title run in years. They are one win away from tying the record for the second most title defences. They most recently defended the belts against ALL OUT so they already have a win over Akito. The difference here is this time Akito is teaming with Shunma Katsumata and he is the closest thing to a hardcore wrestler in the group. BASARA provides the two other teams. The IRON PRIEST team of FUMA & Yusuke Kubo are possibly the biggest threat to the champs. They regularly wrestle the hardcore style and also hold the brand new IRON FIST TAG Titles. A double crown tag championship is in their sights. Minoru Fujita & Daiki Shimomura are also into hardcore wrestling and want to win the belts for Sento Minzoku. The winners won’t have much time to recover. The next KO-D Tag Title defence will be in a week when the champions take on The Calamari Drunken Kings.

8. Union MAX Title: Ryuichi Sekine (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi

On paper this looks like a match between BASARA and DDT but it is anything but. Ryuichi Sekine has been confidently holding his own as the Union MAX Champion ever since he won it back in May. He has earned the respect of the BASARA roster so who could he defend the belt against next? Out comes Masahiro Takanashi. The DDT wrestler said he wanted to take a different direction when he turned down the offer to compete in the D-Ou Grand Prix again. It turns out he wants to fight a strong champion in a match where both men are wrestling for themselves, not their companies. Takanashi will be on his own and Sekine won’t have the other members of Sento Minzoku getting involved. Only the strongest will leave Sumo Hall with the MAX Title.

9. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki

Two of the most important figures in Tokyo Joshi’s existence face off for the big prize. The third one is a bit busy but we’ll get to her later. When Shoko Nakajima won the (TOKYO) Princess Of Princess Title in May, it begun the reign of the BIG KAIJU! With the belt getting redesigned, every defence has felt to her like she won the title again for the first time. Thunder Rosa compacting her spine on the ring apron couldn’t stop her, Mizuki’s Double Stomps coulddn’t stop her and Misao’s newfound strength couldn’t stop her. It might take a miracle to beat her. Or a comedian. How about a Miraclian? Well we’ll find out because Nakajima chose Yuka Sakazaki to be her opponent at Sumo Hall!

Sakazaki has gone through some highs and lows during the summer. She lost the Princess Tag Titles but charmed a brand new audience overseas with her appearances in All Elite Wrestling. Her and Nakajima have been testing just how much they have both leveled up in tag matches over the last month. Evenly matched, the champion and the challenger are ready to show everybody the best of Tokyo Joshi!

10. Souken Holdings Presents Dramatic Dream Match: Kenny Omega & Riho Vs Antonio Honda & Miyu Yamashita

And now we get to the big draw of the show. It’s the DDT return of Riho!

(featuring Kenny Omega)

It’s been five years since Omega said his goodbyes and left DDT for greener pastures. A new generation grew up in DDT while he worked his magic in New Japan and turned the wrestling world upside down. Now representing AEW, the doors opened for a return to his original Japanese home. A match at Sumo Hall was certain but Omega had requests for the other participants. He wanted Riho to be his tag team partner. Riho was the first person Omega ever established a tag team with in Japan (before “Him”). The opposition picked were Antonio Honda because Omega thinks of him as one of his biggest rivals and Miyu Yamashita because he wants to see for himself how talented she is. I’m not saying AEW is in her future but I find it hard to believe she will be left out after Nakajima and Sakazaki wrestled there. Both teams have had practice matches away from each other. Omega & Riho reconnected fine but Honda & Yamashita took a few tries. Yamashita couldn’t understand Honda’s Gongitsune trick and kept believing his fake injuries. Eventually they found their groove but will it be enough to beat the AEW side?

11. BLACK OUT Presents KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Extreme Title: Konosuke Takeshita (K/c) Vs HARASHIMA (E/c)

And after all of that we reach the main event. The current ace of DDT against the previous ace with two championships on the line. Konosuke Takeshita had a rollercoaster run with the KO-D Openweight Title this year. He won it at Sumo Hall in February, lost it in New York two months later then regained it at Ota Ward Gymnasium in July. Since then he has had successful defences against Chris Brookes and Shinya Aoki to show that his style is the one that best represents DDT. The only way he can prove this further is to win the DDT Extreme Title.

HARASHIMA came into play when he, Tetsuya Endo and Jiro Kuroshio got into a 3 Way feud over that championship in the autumn. HARASHIMA pinned both of his opponents in a Survival 3 Way Match to win the title and cement his spot in the Sumo Hall main event. He still feels the sting of Takeshita beating him for the KO-D Title in Saitama Super Arena two years ago. Even worse is he still feels the sting in his back that Takeshita’s been giving him all month long. The Walls Of Takeshita has been used plenty of times to weaken and defeat HARASHIMA. He has lost matches both by having DISASTER BOX throw in the towel as well as outright tapping out to the hold. Takeshita meanwhile feels like he is in perfect condition going into the match. But despite his opponent being hurt, Takeshita knows that HARASHIMA is at his best after he has been defeated. Training doesn’t make him stronger, in fact it is losing. Whoever the strongest really is they will be leaving Sumo Hall a double champion!

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Posted by JamieOD

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019” Preview

July 13, 2019

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019”, 15/07/2019
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium

0. Hotel Saint Inn Kurashiki Presents Exhibition Match: Kota Umeda Vs Keigo Nakamura
0. Nihon Partner Kaikei Services Presents Tokyo Joshi Pro Under Match: Rika Tatsumi, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Natsumi Maki, Yuna Manase & Himawari Unagi
1. Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Iino & Mizuki Watase Vs Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. DNA First Life Alumni Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Kota Umeda & Kouki Iwasaki
3. Super Joshi Pro Wars 2019: Saki Akai Vs Yoshiko
4. DDT Extreme Title – IPPON Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match: Akito (c) Vs Asuka
5. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Toru Owashi (c) Vs Kurochan Vs Shiro Koshinaka Vs Furitsuke Kamen Vs Joey Ryan Vs Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Mad Paulie Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Hiroshi Yamato Vs Pokotan Vs Yuki Kamifuku
6. Human Windmill 2nd Generation Vs Taiho 3rd Generation: Hideki Suzuki Vs Yukio Naya
7. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs MAO & Mike Bailey
8. O-40 Title – Weapon Rumble: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Super Sasadango Machine
9. Dramatic Dream Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Danshoku Dieno
10. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Souken Holdings Presents: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) Vs HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano
11. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACK OUT Presents: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

For the first time DDT’s annual supershow is being held inside Ota Ward Gymnasium for an ambitious experiment. This year’s “WRESTLE PETER PAN” will be a free show with tickets being given out through DDT’s website. At the time of writing two of the three sections advertised are sold out, the Arena seats and the A Stand seats. The B Stand seats are still available and whatever is left on the day of the show will be given out one way or another so expect a packed venue. Just ignore that there is a 350 yen processing fee, because of course there’s a processing fee. The goal of this event is to spread the name of DDT and the best way to do that is hold a free show inside a big building to attract fans new and old. DDT’s connections with CyberAgent and AbemaTV helped make this happen.

This show also kickstarts DDT’s goal for 2020, to approach the level of New Japan without sacrificing what makes DDT, well, DDT. During an interview with Yahoo Japan/Weekly Playboy, it was mentioned that DDT’s last peak happened five years ago. Seeds have been planted since then with the new generation of DDT wrestlers. If it takes five years for a new boom period to begin then DDT believes now is the time to strike! If it doesn’t work, then no matter. The show must go on and DDT will do what they can to avoid being repetitive.

So what is happening on the card? There is the return of this generation’s biggest feud over the top championship, a heel aims to destroy his babyface past, an MMA superstar faces the heart of DDT, a new championship for senior wrestlers is created, the next No. 1 Contender is being kept busy, the grandson of a famous sumo wrestler takes on one of the most skillful wrestlers around, a wacky Battle Royal will happen, only one lighttube will get smashed, a joshi rivalry is reignited and a class reunion leads to a farewell.

0. Hotel Saint Inn Kurashiki Presents Exhibition Match: Kota Umeda Vs Keigo Nakamura

Kota Umeda is pulling double duty. His match on the main card is more important but DDT wants to give their newest trainee Keigo Nakamura some ring time so Umeda gets to wrestle twice. Also DDT has sponsored pre-show matches that need to be filled. Nakamura has had two previous exhibition matches and played minor roles in a few street wrestling matches this year so he is quickly getting the DDT experience.

0. Nihon Partner Kaikei Services Presents Tokyo Joshi Pro Under Match: Rika Tatsumi, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Natsumi Maki, Yuna Manase & Himawari Unagi

The Tokyo Joshi Pro midcard get the Ota Ward spotlight this time around. Seems fair since the main eventers have now reached the level where they are getting bookings in America and Europe. While they are out flying the flag abroad, they are plenty of others around to represent TJPW at DDT’s biggest show. Rika Tatsumi is still finding her footing since coming back from an arm injury back in February. Her efforts to get into the title scene had been disrupted by drama over her former friend Hyper Misao joining the dark side. She also has her hands full wrestling the HiSPC class girls that came after her. The Bakuretsu Sisters may be going into Ota Ward as the new Tokyo Princess Tag Team Champions if things work out for them. Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino have a title shot two days before “WRESTLE PETER PAN”. Natsumi Maki’s time in Tokyo Joshi has been free of the controversy that followed her when she debuted for the company in January. She formed the Pandemic Boo-Boo tag team with Hikari Noa and rarely takes the fall in losses. Yuna Manase is fresh out of reaching the Tokyo Princess Cup final. Her performance in that tournament seems to have breathed new life into her career so now the world is her oyster. Himawari Unagi won a fan vote to get into the Princess Cup and has gathered a following online over her love of bubble tea. She also teams with Manase a fair bit whenever she isn’t put with the rest of her classmates.

1. Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Iino & Mizuki Watase Vs Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Nobuhiro Shimatani

The redundant DNA brand has its fingerprints all over the first two matches on the main card. Shunma Katsumata returned from his cheek bone fracture and with Yuki Iino got deep into the feud between ALL OUT and the Sendai Girls. Both of them are heading into this match as two thirds of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions. Joining them is Mizuki Watase who is still struggling to find a higher place on cards without Shigehiro Irie being there to prop him up. There is talent in Watase but a lot is still missing for him to step up. I don’t know if a move to BASARA or Ganbare☆Wrestling is needed to solve this problem but he looks like a man without a country right now. The other team is an unholy mix of DISASTER BOX and DAMNATION. The pair of Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura have to team with Nobuhiro Shimatani after they failed to become tag champions. Other than that things have been working out swimmingly for the two ever since Yoshimura joined DISASTER BOX. Shimatani has the most important job out of all the DAMNATION wrestlers on this show and that is to carry around the DAMNATION signboard.

2. DNA First Life Alumni Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Kota Umeda & Kouki Iwasaki

The other DNA match involves multiple brands and is the last time Kota Umeda will wrestle in a big venue before he leaves the profession. Umeda is quitting DDT on 21st July to work for his family’s business in Kumamoto. Family has always been important to Umeda and he was going to go as far as retire from pro wrestling for them despite only being 24 years old. However DDT convinced him just to quit the company so if he ever wants to come back, he won’t be breaking any retirement vows. Umeda’s partner for his second last match is Kouki Iwasaki. He hasn’t looked back since joining Ganpro and spreading out to other promotions. Their opponents are probably the two top graduates from DNA. Kazusada Higuchi has now firmly found his balance between heavyweight wrestling and wacky comedy behavior. Ryota Nakatsu is coming off of a strong Union MAX Title run in BASARA. He won’t have his Sparky stablemates with him but he never really needed to rely on them either.

3. Super Joshi Pro Wars 2019: Saki Akai Vs Yoshiko

Throughout Saki Akai’s wrestling career there has been one figure who she thinks has played an important role as a rival. That’s Yoshiko. She was one of Akai’s debut opponents and Akai was her first challenger when she was the World Of Stardom Champion. In another world the two could have been childhood friends like Sakisama and Yoshiko-sama are. But whenever Akai gets the opportunity to make her own match, Yoshiko’s name usually pops up as an opponent. This is what’s happening here. Akai wanted a singles joshi match on DDT’s biggest show of the year and decided now is the chance for her to surpass Yoshiko. Maybe it’s possible because the match is happening a few days after Yoshiko was in a big Beyond The Sea Tag Team Titles defence in SEAdLINNNG. Her entire focus was on that match and she admits she didn’t have much time to think about Akai. But what she can promise is she will show everyone in Ota Ward how harsh and pitiful Akai really is. Akai on the other hand has had time to plan and think about this match. She will use her feelings as a pro wrestler to power her way to victory!

4. DDT Extreme Title – IPPON Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match: Akito (c) Vs Asuka

Akito is the DDT Extreme Champion but he is also fighting to answer a simple question that’s been bothering him lately. Is he boring? He has the skills for sure but his challenger Asuka thinks he is dull as dirt (it could be worse, he could be as boring as the current WWE or ROH main event scenes). Asuka thinks the Extreme Title would be a much better fit for her than Akito. She wanted a death match with hundreds of lighttubes involved to prove it but Akito turned it around by making her fight in an IPPON Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match instead. There is only one lighttube and whoever breaks it is the loser. Akito explains that the fear of only breaking one lighttube rather than smashing through hundreds of them is what makes this match type more thrilling. Plus with no pinfalls needed to win, Akito can feel more relaxed in the ring and not worry about getting rolled up. See, he put a lot of thought into this. Would a boring man act that way? Asuka is at a disadvantage because she is struggling to understand the point of the match even after watching videos of the previous times the rule was used.

5. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Toru Owashi (c) Vs Kurochan Vs Shiro Koshinaka Vs Furitsuke Kamen Vs Joey Ryan Vs Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Mad Paulie Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Hiroshi Yamato Vs Pokotan Vs Yuki Kamifuku

The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title has had a little bit of a quiet 2019 so far. Don’t get me wrong there was some eventful title changes that happened. The belt swapped hands a bunch of times in New York, the Governor Of Ehime became champion and a chair held the title. But other than that it’s been the usual stories about the championship. Maybe there’s not much to do because it’s been overshadowed by the new WWE 24/7 Title. But like I said at the start, the show must go on. Toru Owashi is the champion as this is being written and DDT is selling a rubber mask of his face at the show. Kurochan is the comedian from the Muscle show at Sumo Hall back in February. Shiro Koshinaka celebrated his 40th anniversary in wrestling at the start of the year. Other than an office pro wrestling cameo this is his first proper match in DDT since November 2017. Furitsuke Kamen is the pro wrestling alter ego of celebrity choreographer Lucky Ikeda. He showed up in DDT for a dance match back in March. Joey Ryan is back in DDT and is in a new stage of his career where he has no contracts to worry about. His matches still gives Jim Cornette material for his podcast. Yukio Sakaguchi went through a roaring rampage of revenge against DAMNATION in the early summer but wound up empty handed. Makoto Oishi had a little time in the spotlight in April when he was chosen for a title match. He was supposed to be an easy defence but proved to be anything but. Antonio Honda won the Extreme Title in a Panty☆Hunt Tiger Cub Rope Death Match but lost the belt to Akito in his first defence. Kazuki Hirata continues to dance and feud with an 11 year old. Mad Paulie has been trusted by the rest of DAMNATION to win the Iron Man Title so the unit will sweep all of their title matches on the show. Tomomitsu Matsunaga’s highlight of the year has been… I don’t know, losing to Bull James or something? Gorgeous Matsuno has taken a step back from his gatekeeping duties and only appeared in DDT for special occasions. Hiroshi Yamato has begun to proudly talk about the amount of different promotions he wrestles in. If you don’t see him wrestling, you’ll see him singing or shilling his erotic fiction instead. The DDT mascot Pokotan hasn’t been perfect since its debut. It often loses its head during matches which makes it violently malfunction. Last but not least there is Yuki Kamifuku. She was added to the match when Kurochan asked for a woman to be included. Kamifuku agreed to take part but got cold feet when she figured out Kurochan only wanted a woman included so he could act the pervert. He wants to hit three birds with one stone: win the Iron Man Title, kiss Kamifuku and then go get married together.

6. Human Windmill 2nd Generation Vs Taiho 3rd Generation: Hideki Suzuki Vs Yukio Naya

Yukio Naya made his DDT debut at “JUDGEMENT 2019” in Sumo Hall. He liked the experience so much that he signed with the company three months later! The grandson of sumo yokozuna Taiho Koki didn’t waste any time picking his targets. He wants to be the best heavyweight in DDT so he immediately set his sights on the big boys like Higuchi and Mad Paulie. A lack of experience lets him down but Naya has been picking up wins against smaller competition. His next big match is against Hideki Suzuki, a frustratingly talented veteran. He hasn’t watched any of Naya’s matches, only saw pictures of his bout with Higuchi and has no special thoughts about his opponent. He does have some criticism though. Naya has said in interviews that he does not expect to beat Suzuki but wants to do his best to at least make the match enjoyable. Suzuki thinks if Naya is not wrestling to win then he shouldn’t be wrestling at all. Otherwise this match is just a waste of time. If Suzuki has to teach him that lesson in the ring then so be it.

7. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs MAO & Mike Bailey

At first this match seemed a little throwaway and was positioned further down the card. But when Chris Brookes instantly became DDT’s new favourite adopted son things changed. The English wrestler has only been in DDT for a month but he has taken the company by storm in ways I have not seen since El Generico’s run in the company seven years ago. He took to the street wrestling matches like a duck to water (partly because one of those matches was in a pool )and in his spare time lived a dream puroresu holiday that would leave even the most hardcore wrestling fan green with envy (shhh, don’t tell Will Ospreay that). The crowning achievement of this tour may not have happened yet. On 21st July Brookes will be challenging for the company’s main championship so he will definitely keep a close eye on the main event. Masahiro Takanashi’s profile has dropped a little bit ever since Shuten-dōji split up in April but he hasn’t been keeping quiet. There’s been times this year when Takanashi brought in his friends Shota, Yumehito Imanari and Baliyan Akki to disguise themselves as him and distract opponents. It’s been a winning tactic for the most part but not used as often as its success rate would suggest. Brookes & Takanashi have tagged together only once so far but they already have a team name: Calamari Drunken Kings! Facing them is The Moonlight Express, one of DDT’s top tag teams in recent years. MAO & Mike Bailey were at their strongest in the springtime when they held the KO-D Tag Team Titles and STRONGEST-K TAG Titles at the same time. MAO continues to do fucked up wrestling for a fucked up world, which crosses the big boss sometimes. Speedball has been the nice boy he always is but he’s starting to get lost in the crowd with no clear direction for now. Maybe his shot at putting together a Beer Garden show with MAO next month can spark some inspiration.

8. O-40 Title – Weapon Rumble: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Super Sasadango Machine

Things were looking rough for Sanshiro Takagi on the road to “WRESTLE PETER PAN”. His failure to convert a Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet into a championship victory left him absent from the card and frozen out of the show. So imagine how random his luck is when of all things a tweet from TAJIRI not only leads to Takagi getting a match but a rather significant one too. When TAJIRI tweeted about how pro wrestling as an art is split into different tiers with comedy wrestling being in Tier 3, Super Sasadango Machine took offence to that opinion. Particularly, he took offence on behalf of Takagi thinking the tweet was directly aimed at the Big Boss. Takagi doesn’t believe for a second that TAJIRI was talking about him but if Sasadango is demanding to wrestle Takagi in a Weapon Rumble to prove TAJIRI wrong then he may as well go along with it.

It doesn’t end there. Sasadango also asked for a new championship to be on the line for the match. He noticed that there are now many pro wrestlers competing into their forties and that can be inspiring for the DDT fanbase in the same age group. So he has created the O-40 Title (O-40 meaning “Over Forty” of course) with the hopes it will be defended across the wrestling industry. Takagi accepted the proposal and thinks it is a nice parallel to the main event being between two wrestlers in their twenties. Both men have their weapons prepared to be at their most devastating, both physically and mentally. But what of TAJIRI? Will he be there? Sasadango had been expecting to get an apology from him but has heard nothing since the match was announced. He knows TAJIRI is touring Europe at the moment so maybe he got lost somewhere in Malta.

9. Dramatic Dream Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Danshoku Dieno

What can Danshoku Dieno do to prepare for Shinya Aoki? Putting himself through a gauntlet of different martial arts gave him some experience of what to expect. Although when some of the representation included swimming and kabbadi then maybe the results are a little suspect. It doesn’t help that Dieno isn’t entirely sure what kind of match he is having with Aoki. It can’t be MMA because everyone knows he’ll get slaughtered. Maybe there’s a chance if it is just a regular pro wrestling match but who the hell would expect DDT to go that direction? Dieno’s tactic should be to bring out the most ridiculous shenanigans he can think of. Aoki can only go along so much with it before he starts losing his mind. But it would be unfair to assume Aoki’s tolerance for wackiness is limited. He had no problem disguising himself as Pokotan to sneak attack Dieno a few weeks ago. Who knows what silly ideas of his own will be brought to life here.

10. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Souken Holdings Presents: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) Vs HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano

What was once happy memories for Soma Takao are now nothing more than horrible nightmares. There was a time when he was in a unit called Smile Squash with HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano. The group fell apart when Urano left DDT to go freelance and Takao stabbed HARASHIMA in the back to join DAMNATION. But if you take Takao’s word for it, his time in Smile Squash was terrible to the point where even saying the unit name out loud makes him cry. It was Takao’s dream to have a championship match in his hometown but Smile Squash just had to come back and ruin the moment for him. But luckily for Takao he has Daisuke Sasaki looking out for him with a solution. When they successfully defend the KO-D Tag Team Champions, Sasaki & Takao will become the newborn Smile Squash! Of course, DAMNATION’s comments should be taken with a lot of salt. HARASHIMA & Urano are the same good nurtured wrestlers they always are. Urano is extremely happy to compete for a DDT championship again which is something he did not expect when he left the company two years ago. Sasaki made fun of Urano at the contract signing for looking like he hadn’t changed a bit since he left. Urano thinks he doesn’t need to change because he’s always been himself. If he does change anything, it will be him winning the tag titles with HARASHIMA!

11. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACK OUT Presents: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Two years ago this match main evented Sumo Hall with Konosuke Takeshita defending the KO-D Openweight Title against Tetsuya Endo. This time around the positions are reversed and what a road it took to get here. When DDT went to New York in April, Takeshita lost the KO-D Title to Daisuke Sasaki. That by itself would be one of the biggest DDT stories of the year but another title change happened minutes later when Endo fell to temptation and cashed in his Right To Challenge Gauntlet to become the champion at his leader’s expense. Endo came back to Japan as a newly reborn New Yorker and has defended the title four times. His reign has brought stability to the championship after a crazy eight months of title changes. Meanwhile Takeshita earned his spot by winning the King Of DDT tournament and closing out an inter-promotional feud with the Sendai Girls.

This isn’t a rivalry because according to Takeshita rivals are meant to motivate each other to do their best against each other. What he has with Endo is more of a grudge or in Endo’s case outright hatred. The two have not been in each other’s good books ever since Endo joined DAMNATION back in the summer of 2016. In their singles matches Takeshita has usually gotten the better of Endo but they have only had two singles bouts since “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2017” and Takeshita won neither of them. Endo has also gotten over on Takeshita with some mind games during the build up. An ankle injury prevented Endo from competing in a 3 Way with Takeshita and Endo at the last Korakuen Hall show. But when the match was over Endo attacked Takeshita and showed his injury wasn’t as bad as it seemed. He’s also gotten into the habit of throwing Takeshita out of the ring from a Torture Rack to the floor. Whoever wins they won’t have much time to recover. In a week’s time the KO-D Champion will be defending against Chris Brookes and he doesn’t care who he faces. Whatever happens after that is anyone’s guess!

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Posted by JamieOD

Guide To DDT In New York

April 1, 2019

DDT “DDT IS COMING TO AMERICA”, 04/04/2019
La Boom, Queens, New York

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
2. Danshoku Dieno & Antonio Honda Vs Joey Ryan & Royce Isaacs
3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Saki Akai (c) Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Yoshihiko Vs Kikutaro Vs Colt Cabana Vs Mizuki Watase Vs X
4. Soma Takao & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi
5. 3 Way Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Akito & Ethan Page Vs Shigehiro Irie & Jason Kincaid
6. Weapon Rumble In U.S.A.: MAO Vs Sanshiro Takagi
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Daisuke Sasaki

So you got a ticket for DDT’s first show in America but you’d like some guidance over what to expect. Maybe you’ve only seen the gifs or read about the crazy angles online or by some chance this just happens to be the wrestling show you get to see while in New York and you’re going in blind. Well step on board and welcome to the Dramatic Dream Team! There are many shows at Wrestlemania week this year that is following the trend of wacky, over the top action (thanks Spring Break) but even so, what DDT is offering to everyone at La Boom in Brooklyn will be unlike anything else going on.

When the New York show was announced DDT promised they will be doing an authentic show just like the ones they do in Japan. I can confidently say they are staying true to their word. Even the non-Japanese wrestlers they are using have regularly toured with DDT in Japan in recent years. This is the type of line-up they would put together for their regular monthly shows in Korakuen Hall which is their regular spot for advancing stories, putting together angles and announcing their important events. The card also resembles a “Best Of” theme for the past year of DDT. So for newcomers and fairweather fans you get to see DDT at its most, well, DDT while the hardcore fans will get some rather big rematches to look forward to.

Where Can I Watch It Online?

There are two streaming sites offering the show on iPPV. Both are airing it live and will add it to their Video On Demand services within 24 hours after the show is over. The show will not air live on DDT Universe. The plan is to add the show to the archives later in April but nothing has been confirmed yet.

It is available on FITE for $14.99. FITE is also offering a More Than Mania event bundle with this show included for $69.99.

It is also available on WWN Live for $19.99.

The matches are listed in order as found on DDT’s official website. However that is not a guarantee it will be the official match order on the night.

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh

This is a rematch of Tokyo Joshi Pro’s Korakuen main event from 4th January. Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh are usually friendly to each other but that goes out the window when they face each other in the ring. This is being advertised as a non-title match.

Miyu Yamashita: The ace of Tokyo Joshi since Day 1. The “Pink Striker” has a karate background and is the girl most associated with the TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title. She is the current champion with the most defences under her belt. At one point she was notoriously bad at speaking English but she’s been studying and has apparently improved. Yamashita previously wrestled in America at the 2018 Chikara King Of Trios tournament where she made it to the final as part of the Tokyo Joshi Freedom Fighters.
Moves To Watch Out For: Crash Rabbit Heat (Penalty Kick style Knee Strike), Attitude Adjustment, Modified Cobra Clutch, Brazilian Kick

Maki Itoh: A former singer from the pop group LinQ who turned to pro wrestling when her idol career fell apart. Has a big ego over her cute appearance yet isn’t shy with her opinions of others. When she’s about to punch her opponent in the corner she yells out “Who is the cutest in the world?” and the audience respond with “Ito-chan!” Loves to give the middle fingers to her opponents. Despite her bad attitude during matches, Itoh garnered a big fanbase for her un-idol like behaviour which includes being open about her mental health on social media.
Moves To Watch Out For: Itoh Special (Texas Cloverleaf that was NOT stolen from Hiroshi Tanahashi), Jumping DDT, Flying Big Head (Diving Headbutt), The World’s Most Cutest Knuckle Punch

2. Danshoku Dieno & Antonio Honda Vs Joey Ryan & Royce Isaacs

Here is the match that can cause the most controversy since it is guaranteed to be filled with very lewd comedy. Joey Ryan is the famous dick wrestler, Danshoku Dieno is the gay wrestling gimmick who was the other half of the viral video that shot Ryan into fame, Royce Isaacs has an ass that can break bones yet create miracles and Antonio Honda has a filthy sense of humour whenever he gets to speak English.

Danshoku Dieno: Dieno is DDT’s most infamous gimmick, starting out as a hyper aggressive gay wrestler who wanted to grope his opponents while fighting them. Maybe it’s refuge in audacity or maybe it’s the grandfather clause from lasting this long but over the years Dieno developed his character and turned it into one of DDT’s most beloved creations. The big question is will Dieno be able to act like himself in New York? He has wrestled in America before and was able to hold himself back a bit when he was in family friendly promotions like Chikara. I reckon at this point the people in the crowd know what they’re getting into and Dieno will be Dieno.
Moves To Watch Out For: Danshoku Driver (Piledriver with the victim’s head stuffed into Dieno’s tights), Lip Lock (a paralysing kiss) Danshoku Nightmare (Dieno pulls down his tights and teabags his opponent)

Antonio Honda: The man of many international backgrounds. He’s been Cuban, he’s been Hawaiian, he’s been Italian, at times he probably wouldn’t feel out of place inside Memphis. But nowadays Honda is the man who loves go talk about a children’s story called Gon, The Little Fox (or Gongitsune depending on the translation). Sometimes accident prone, Honda tells himself the story of Gon to cheer himself up when he gets hurt. This is all so his opponent drops their guard and Honda can poke them in the eyes with “Gon” (imagine the Too Sweet handsign).
Moves To Watch Out For: Diving Fist Drop, Octopus Hold, Bionic Elbow, Gongitsune Eye Pokes

Joey Ryan: Famous dick wrestler Joey Ryan has a busy week ahead of him. He has his own Penis Party happening the day after DDT but he shouldn’t look past this match. If it was up to him he would be called the craziest gaijin in DDT but that is a contested claim. Maybe he can earn that accomplishment and prove all his doubters wrong.
Moves To Watch Out For: YouPorn Plex (Ryan’s penis flips the opponent onto their back), Lollipop Assisted Super Kick

Royce Isaacs: Behold the man with the Miracle Ass! When Isaacs toured with DDT he discovered with Dieno’s help that the strength of his backside was powerful enough to break limbs and pop open even the most jammed of jars. It’s been two years since Isaacs wrestled in a DDT show but he still represented the promotion when he guided Naomi Yoshimura and Rekka around the US indies during their overseas excursions.
Moves To Watch Out For: The Zenith (German Suplex lift into a Uranage), Hush Money (Dragon Suplex lift into a German Suplex)

3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Saki Akai (c) Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Yoshihiko Vs Kikutaro Vs Colt Cabana Vs Mizuki Watase Vs X

The WWF Hardcore Championship taken to it’s most logical extreme. The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title is always being defended 24/7. If there is a referee or anything resembling a referee nearby then they must officiate what is happening to the champion. Due to the ref’s discretion, pretty much everything is eligible to win the belt. Every wrestler, every person, every living creature, every inanimate object, every concept of existence the human mind can think of, you get the drill.

The current champion going into the show is Saki Akai, a supermodel who became a wrestler thanks to DDT. The physical belt has seen better days so Akai has been fixing it by filling the empty studs with pretty stars and bonbons. Makoto Oishi is a 17 year veteran and usually the butt of the joke during comedy spots. Kazuki Hirata loves to imitate an old gimmick from Dragon Gate called Magnum TOKYO. He wears a special pair of Hirata Go! glasses that forces the room to play the “TOKYO GO!” song for him to dance to. Yoshihiko is the wrestling sex doll. Kikutaro and Colt Cabana are both masters of comedy wrestling. Mizuki Watase wasn’t originally meant to be on this show but he spent his own money to fly over so he could meet up with his buddy Shigehiro Irie.

And then there is the mysterious X. DDT often adds the X label for an unadvertised wrestler to appear in these kinds of Battle Royals. It doesn’t always mean just one extra wrestler, there might be more. I think a few of the wrestlers around for the other shows in La Boom this week could make their appearance in this match even if they have no prior history with DDT. But there are some guesses going around online and it’s fun to talk about them so let’s mention it. Kenny Omega is the popular wish of course. Nobody would be happier to see him show up than me but I doubt it’s happening. Jiro “Ikemen” Kuroshio would be a welcome appearance especially since his entrance is perfect comedy for a Rumble match. My prediction however is someone I haven’t seen mentioned elsewhere. I think X will be Chunsuke Nakamura, the Shinsuke Nakamura impersonator! He usually travels to America to see his muse at Wrestlemania and he often works with DDT whenever they want to cash in on Shinsuke’s popularity.

You can never predict what the Iron Man Title can get up to. If it gets unleashed on New York during a wrestling week as busy as this then there will be untold mayhem all over the place!

4. Soma Takao & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi

A tag team match between members of DAMNATION against Shuten-dōji. The DAMNATION side features the No. 2 & No. 3 regular members of the unit Soma Takao & Tetsuya Endo. Shuten-dōji will be splitting up later in April so this will be one of Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi’s last matches together as a team.

Soma Takao: A homegrown wrestler who DDT had big hopes for but never reached that potential. Instead he fell in with the rough crowd in DAMNATION. Prefers not to speak much. Usually low blows his opponents en route to victory. He is currently one half of the KO-D Tag Team Champions with Daisuke Sasaki.
Moves To Watch Out For: Gin And Tonic (Axe Guillotine Driver), Official Endless Waltz (countless number of cradled and crucifix pins), Sorarina (Wrist Clutch Inside Cradle), Diving Foot Stomp

Tetsuya Endo: A high flying prodigy and generational rival to Konosuke Takeshita. Endo is in a similar boat to Takao in that he hasn’t quite reached the level of success to match his abilities. Tries to tell everyone he is a rotten person but deep down he is very tidy and carefully follows a diet that gives him one of the best physiques in the company.
Moves To Watch Out For: Shooting Star Press, Spinning Torture Rack Bomb, Tetsuya In The Sky (Spanish Fly), Tetsuya In The Sky With Diamonds (Top Rope Spanish Fly)

Yukio Sakaguchi: A former MMA fighter and son of retired wrestler Seiji Sakaguchi. He switched to pro wrestling in 2012 and has been with DDT for seven years now. Usually a serious figure, he would fight to the death if the situation ever calls for it!
Moves To Watch Out For: God’s Right Knee (Charging right knee strike into the turnbuckle), Purgatory (Double High Kick) Penalty Kick, Cobra Clutch

Masahiro Takanashi: If Shuten-dōji is a family then Takanashi is the little brother who knows the best ways to sneak cans of beer into the home without anyone noticing. Due to his small size, Takanashi has to rely on his smarts and ring presence which can make him a crafty wrestler when he wants to be. Underestimate him at your peril.
Moves To Watch Out For: Takatonic (Yoshitonic), Bacchus (Modified Gannosuke Clutch), Lightning Leg Lariat, Laphroaig (Modified Leg Roll Clutch)

5. 3 Way Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Akito & Ethan Page Vs Shigehiro Irie & Jason Kincaid

A 3 Way tag sprint mixing together a bunch of wrestlers. HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi have been rivals over the KO-D Openweight Title in the past but team together here. Ethan Page had no strong alliance with any unit during his tours in Japan last year but he is being put with Akito from ALL OUT. The only unit being properly represented here is RENEGADES and they don’t really exist in DDT anymore!

HARASHIMA: The backbone of DDT for the last 13 years if not longer. There are others to come from the company who have reach bigger heights in bigger places but HARASHIMA will always be there for DDT. Usually a straightforward wrestler but always up to get involved in the wackier stuff if he has to, HARASHIMA is a jack of all trades. Being the current DDT Extreme Champion should tell you that. If he wins a match, 999 times out of 1000 it is with the Somato.
Moves To Watch Out For: Somato (Double knee strike to a seated opponent), Double Knee Gutbuster, Reverse Frankensteiner, Falcon Arrow

Kazusada Higuchi: A former sumo who was an unbeaten powerhouse in his rookie years. Has since mellowed out and fits in with the sillier side of the roster despite still being difficult to beat. Maybe he can feel a little out of place in that position but hey, you’d rather be with him than against him. I assure you of that.
Moves To Watch Out For: Goten (Canadian Backbreaker into a Choke Slam), Doctor Bomb, Canadian Backbreaker, Oklahoma Stampede

Akito: The “Submission Freak” has an amateur wrestling background and is one of the original members of ALL OUT. Likes to take submission moves and add “perfect” modifications to them.
Moves To Watch Out For: Scorpion Deathlock, Kinniku Big Move (Muscle Buster lift into a Power Bomb), Hanamasa (Lifting Reverse DDT), Perfect Figure Four Leg Lock (Figure Four Leg Lock with Akito grabbing onto both of his opponent’s arms)

Ethan Page: “All Ego” toured with DDT twice in 2018 and is always working a busy schedule around the North American scene. Like with Joey Ryan, Page’s week in New York is filled to the brim with many matches in different places.
Moves To Watch Out For: Spinning Dwayne (Spinning Rock Bottom), Head Shot (Slingshot RKO)

Shigehiro Irie: Returning to DDT for the first time since October 2018. Irie has spent a lot of his time since then wrestling freelance in America and Europe. He will be heading back to Japan soon and will be wrestling on a DDT show there so this isn’t the last we will see of him.
Moves To Watch Out For: Beast Bomber (Lariat), Tazzmission, Final Impact (Arm Trapped Piledriver), Cannonball into corner

Jason Kincaid: Brought into DDT as a “Gift” from Irie, Kincaid has made the company his home away from home. When Irie left DDT and the RENEGADES unit they were a part of split up, Watase stuck around and became friends with Antonio Honda. Now that Irie is back, so is RENEGADES even if it’s just for a day.
Moves To Watch Out For: Philosopher’s Stomp (Diving Double Stomp from the ring post)

6. Weapon Rumble In U.S.A.: MAO Vs Sanshiro Takagi

A rematch of a very crazy DDT stipulation (yes I know Hustle did it before them, shush) from last October’s visit to Sumo Hall. The Weapon Rumble is a Royal Rumble but for weapons! Every time the buzzer goes off a new “weapon” is introduced to the match for the wrestlers to fight over. Just like with the Iron Man Title, anything can constitute as a weapon. Expect a lot of wacky items, unusual mind games and even a cameo or two.

MAO: “Fucked up wrestling for a fucked up world!” That is the motto MAO lives by. The high flyer has taken the mantle as DDT’s new leader of the Falls Count Anywhere match. He established this by beating Takagi in last October’s Weapon Rumble. He won the match but still holds a grudge with Takagi because one of Takagi’s weapons was telling everyone MAO’s phone number. Part of The Moonlight Express tag team, sadly his partner “Speedball” Mike Bailey will not be on the show for visa reasons.
Moves To Watch Out For: Cannonball 450 (450 Splash), Michinoku Driver (I & II), Screw High Kick, Spaceman Plancha

Sanshiro Takagi: The big boss of DDT. I don’t mean he’s the final challenge, I mean he is the company president! That’s right, Sanshiro Takagi is the one ultimately responsible for all this nonsense. He always enters to a remix of “FIRE” by Scooter and encourages the fans to chant along until the song goes “1…2…3. FIRE!” Has a habit of either copying famous wrestlers or dressing up as a Gundam for important matches. Also likes to decided he will retire after every major achievement only to immediately tell everyone he was lying.
Moves To Watch Out For: Sitdown Sunflower/Himawari Bomb (Electric Chair spun into a Sitdown Power Bomb), Stone Cold Stunner, Spicolli Driver (Power Slam lift into a Death Valler Driver)

7. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Daisuke Sasaki

The biggest rematch of them all on the show. This was the main event of DDT’s 22nd Anniversary show in Sumo Hall from February. However this time the roles are reversed. Takeshita is the KO-D Champion and Sasaki is going in as the challenger. The match was originally announced as a non-title bout but last weekend Sasaki demanded the belt be put on the line in New York.

Konosuke Takeshita: The current top dog in DDT, Takeshita is only 23 years old but he has been wrestling for DDT since 2012. The leader of ALL OUT has faced some of the biggest names in Japan when he was a rookie supernova and nowadays he still wants to face the best wrestlers outside of DDT. Some of his influences have rubbed off on him as he built his moveset. He uses Kenny Omega’s knee strikes, added the Chicago Skyline from Colt Cabana and most dangerously of all, on rare occasions he busts out the El Generico Brainbustaaaaahhhhh!!!!! It’s only just recently that Takeshita has opened his horizons and wrestled outside of Japan. He is one to follow during Mania week.
Moves To Watch Out For: German Suplex (includes Deadlift and Cross-Arm variations), Surprise Rose (Wrist Clutch Fisherman Suplex) Fable (Springboard Swanton Bomb onto a seated opponent), V Trigger Knee Strikes

Daisuke Sasaki: The leader of DAMNATION and simply known to his lackeys as “Charisma”. Sasaki is as talented as he is always depressed. He was the previous KO-D Champion until Takeshita won it off him at Sumo Hall in February. Was so down in the dumps over the loss that he considered throwing his entire career away until he won the KO-D Tag Titles with Takao. He better hope Takeshita doesn’t give him the Brainbustaaaaahhhhh!!!!! again because last time they missed the turnbuckle! Also don’t let him know he’ll be staying in the same state as Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae during the week. Sasaki fell in love with LeRae when they teamed together for a tour then his life fell apart when he found out she married Gargano. So if the TakeOver: New York main event gets ruined by a Japanese man dressed in dirty clothes, it will probably be Sasaki.
Moves To Watch Out For: Cross Facelock (includes La Mistica and Gargano Escape variations), Sasaki Hurricanrana, Now Or Never (Power Slam lift twisted into a Reverse DDT), Vietnam Driver II (Reverse Michinoku Driver), Diving Elbow Drop onto a chair

Anything else we should know?

Oh, yes! I almost forgot. Currently in DDT there is something called the Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet. It is DDT’s version of the Money In The Bank Contract. However there are three of them in existence and they are defended in every match the gauntlet holders are in until they get cashed in for an instant KO-D Title match. Two of the Gauntlet holders are Tetsuya Endo and Yoshihiko, who are both on this show. Will the gauntlet rules be in effect while they are in America? Well if it’s meant to be an authentic DDT event then it should. Maybe we’ll get a surprise title match after the main event!

Is that everything?

No! DDT will be present at several other shows being held in La Boom throughout Mania week. They are tied in with the WWN Live More Than Mania series so if you want to see more of DDT you will find them there. Here is the rundown of DDT related talent appearing on other shows.

EVOLVE “EVOLVE 125”, 04/04/2019
La Boom, Queens, New York

1. Special Attraction Match: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Curt Stallion
2. EVOLVE Tag Team Titles: Eddie Kingston & Joe Gacy (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita & MAO

There are two shows taking place in La Boom before DDT takes the stage. First up is EVOLVE at noon. Takeshita & MAO are teaming together to go after the EVOLVE Tag Team Championship. The current champions are Eddie Kingston & Joe Gacy, two members of a unit in called The Unwanted. Higuchi has some things lined up for later in the week so for now he gets a warm up match against Curt Stallion.

WXW “AMERIKA IST WUNDERBAR”, 04/04/2019
La Boom, Queens, New York

1. Yuu Vs LuFisto
2. wXw Unified World Title: Bobby Gunns (c) Vs Shigehiro Irie

Next up, Germany’s wXw will run a show in the afternoon. Irie and Yuu are both freelancers now but I want to include their matches here since it felt so good to see and hear what they’ve been up to in Europe the last few months. Irie gets a shot at the wXw Unified World Title when he faces Bobby Gunns, aka the reason why chants are now done to the tune of “Robot Rock” at some European wrestling shows. Meanwhile Yuu faces indy wrestling legend LuFisto.

WWN LIVE “WWN SUPERSHOW 2019 – MERCURY RISING”, 05/04/2019
La Boom, Queens, New York

1. SHINE Title: Allysin Kay (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. WWN Title: JD Drake (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi
3. The Six Man Tag Team Tradition Continues: AR Fox, Leon Ruff & Adrian Alanis (w/ Ayla) Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Soma Takao

The entire WWN Live lineup of promotions get together for the annual Mercury Rising supershow. The event likes to hype up their 6-Man Tag Matches and one of them features DAMNATION against The Skulk. Higuchi gets his big match of the week by facing JD Drake for the WWN Championship. Finally Yamashita has challenged Allysin Kay to a match for the SHINE Title.

BLACK LABEL PRO “ADVENTURES IN WRESTLING”, 05/04/2019
White Eagle Hall, New Jersey

1. Jonathan Gresham Vs Shigehiro Irie

The Beast gets to tangle with The Octopus over in Black Label Pro.

WWN LIVE “MORETHANMANIA.COM 2019 WRAP UP PARTY”, 06/04/2019
The Bell House, Brooklyn, New York

1. Falls Count Anywhere Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Sanshiro Takagi Vs Dr. Cube’s Posse

DDT’s week ends in the most wackiest way possible. They get to work with Kaiju Big Battel! At this show, DDT stands for Double Danger Tandems. Takeshita & Takagi are going in together to find the most danger. They are supposedly going to face two kaiju from Dr. Cube’s Posse.

And then that’s it. Unless there are any unadvertised or last minute appearances on other shows, that’s the complete DDT schedule for their trip to New York. Any last questions?

Will the Steiner Brothers be at the DDT show?

No.

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Posted by JamieOD

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2019 ~DDT RAISING AN ARMY 22ND ANNIVERSARY~” Preview

February 15, 2019

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2019 ~DDT RAISING AN ARMY 22ND ANNIVERSARY~”, 17/02/2019
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Natsumi Maki, Hikari Noa & Miu Watanabe
1. Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Space Monkey Vs Antonio Honda, Jason Kincaid & Naomi Yoshimura
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Asuka (c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Keisuke Okuda Vs Saki Akai Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Hoshitango Vs Gota Ihashi Vs Yuni Vs Yasu Urano Vs El Lindaman Vs Scorpio X2 Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Mina Shirakawa Vs Chinsuke Nakamura Vs Maku Donaruto
3. Taiho Koki’s Grandson Yukio Naya Ryogoku Kokugikan First Participation!: Go Shiozaki, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino
4. Special Single Match: Akito Vs T-Hawk
5. Danshoku Dieno Produce Yuru-chara “Pokotan” Debut Match: Danshoku Dieno, Pokotan & KUDO Vs Keisuke Ishii, Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase
6. Special Hardcore 6-Person Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito Vs Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka
8. DDT Extreme Title – Souken Holdings Presents – Each Other’s Pride Rules: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs HARASHIMA
9. Dramatic Dream Match: Naomichi Marufuji Vs Tetsuya Endo
10. KO-D Openweight Title – RAGE Presents: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

The first pre-show match will begin at around 12:10pm JST/3:10am GMT. The main show begins at 1:00pm JST/4:00am GMT. For America that means the show begins at 11:00pm EST/8:00pm PST on Saturday.

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Hey there. Back again to see what DDT is up to at Sumo Hall this time? Cool. The time between Ryogoku visits has been short for this one. Usually DDT books the venue every six or seven months. “JUDGEMENT 2019” is taking place only four months after “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” so it kind of feels like this weekend has snuck up on me. As I’ve written in a previous blog post I see this period of the entire wrestling scene as the final chapter of this current era. You can thank Kenny and his buddies for some of the reasons why. The landscape is changing, DDT is establishing new relationships around the world and there’s bound to be more surprising twists to come in the future.

But let’s not worry any further about that stuff. Ryogoku is set for a double header weekend from the DDT family. On Saturday the Muscle brand is back from the dead. What it has come back to do exactly I have no idea. Then on Sunday DDT is bringing together a packed card of matches that only they can provide.

0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino

One of the big movements happening in BASARA lately is several wrestlers banding together to form the Sento Minzoku unit. Formed by Isami Kodaka and taking inspiration from Dragon Ball Z, each member has grown a monkey’s tail to represent their power. Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura are the two guys from BASARA’s main roster to join Kodaka and Minoru Fujita in the group. Facing them are the two freshest faces on the BASARA roster Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino. Nakano has mostly been improving his skills while staying out of trouble. Kamino joined BASARA in December after DNA closed down. Injuries kept him out of action for almost the entirety of DNA’s run so his jump to BASARA so his career has more or less started all over again.

0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Natsumi Maki, Hikari Noa & Miu Watanabe

Some new girls from Tokyo Joshi Pro get to wrestle in Sumo Hall for the first time. Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma and Natsumi Maki have wrestled there before. Manase and Tenma were there for a Battle Royal during “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2017”. Maki wrestled there for All Japan’s 45th Anniversary show only one week later. Yuki Aino, Hikari Noa and Miu Watanabe however are all wrestling their first Ryogoku match.

Manase has quietly been one of the more protected wrestlers in Tokyo Joshi, regularly winning her matches with the Neck Screw Hold. Nodoka Tenma is weeks away from challenging for the TOKYO Princess Title and has a recent pinfall win over the champion Miyu Yamashita. Aino is there supporting her sister as always. Over on the other side Noa and Watanabe have shown the most progression out of the Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) unit. Their recent name and costume changes have allowed them to express their personalities more. Watanabe has added a Laser Beam baseball swing into her chops while Noa has become more enthusiastic in the ring. She took the most out of the opportunity to train with Shinjiro Otani when the Up Up Girls visited the ZERO1 dojo in December. Noa also happens to be wrestling the day before her 21st birthday. Last but certainly not least there is Maki. Her arrival in Tokyo Joshi was surrounded in controversy thanks to a burned bridge with Yumiko Hotta and Actwres girl’Z. But once she started wrestling it became clear that she has moved on. Maki has yet to be pinned or submitted in Tokyo Joshi and she currently finds herself in a feud with Maki Ito over who is cuter. The match hasn’t happened yet but if Hotta is still pissed off with Maki she might spoil the result of that too.

1. Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Space Monkey Vs Antonio Honda, Jason Kincaid & Naomi Yoshimura

A right orbital and cheek bone fracture has kept Shunma Katsumata out of action for almost three months. When he went under surgery in December his goal was to come back in February and here he is. While he was gone ALL OUT went out of this world to find a new member. They found one with Space Monkey who has been winning everyone in DDT over with his antics, bananas and all. Yuki Ueno has been stepping his game up as a member of DISASTER BOX. He’s also been scouting one of his opponents here in the hopes of forming a new tag team. Antonio Honda & Jason Kincaid are already teaming together as Gon Gift so that leaves Naomi Yoshimura. When he unexpectedly returned to DDT in December he was aiming straight for the top and gunning after the championship. In a scary moment right near the end of 2018, Yoshimura took a Pedigree wrong and was left needing medical attention inside the ring. He ended up getting a cervical sprain and made a full recovery, returning to the ring two months later. With his chance at the main event now far away from his reach he is beginning the climb all over again. Maybe Ueno’s idea for them to team up will get him back on track. Or how about Power Bombing him instead? Yoshimura usually likes to do that given their history together.

2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Asuka (c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Keisuke Okuda Vs Saki Akai Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Hoshitango Vs Gota Ihashi Vs Yuni Vs Yasu Urano Vs El Lindaman Vs Scorpio X2 Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Mina Shirakawa Vs Chinsuke Nakamura Vs Maku Donaruto

DDT has spent the last few months searching for fresh blood and obscure talent from across Japan to diversify their roster. Heading the pack is Asuka. No not the one who hasn’t been booked on TV since the Royal Rumble despite being a champion and tapping out the current big star of the company. I mean the one that’s been blazing through the puroresu scene over the last twelve months as “Japan’s First Genderless Wrestler”. When Asuka left WAVE to go freelance, DDT jumped at the chance to bring her back and promote her as a next generation star. Since then Asuka has won the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title and became so attached to it she now calls it her boyfriend. So far the relationship has worked out better than the last one she had in DDT, even though it’s made her a target for jealous eyes down in Roppongi.

(Sidenote: Most English speaking fans write down ASUKA in all caps to differentiate her from the other Asuka. Out of preference I only do this when the wrestler also spells their name in all caps. Asuka’s name in Japanese is written as 朱崇花 so that’s why I prefer writing it in the lower case).

There is a full field of different faces out to take the title from Asuka. Saki Akai has a new finishing move inspired from her current role in the Fate/Grand Order stage play. The move is called Quetzalcoatl and it is a Twisting Crucifix Bomb similar to Kaji Tomato’s Red Eye finisher. Keisuke Okuda has been settling into DDT by fighting at an outdoor sauna and hate-teaming with Makoto Oishi. Who knows what Super Sasadango Machine will be up to the day after his latest Muscle show takes place. OWE is represented by both El Lindaman and Scorpio X2. Tokyo Joshi are sending in Yuka Sakazaki and Mina Shirakawa. Sakazaki in particular will have a lot of eyes on her after it was announced she will be appearing at All Elite Wrestling soon. Chinsuke Nakamura will no doubt be all up to date on whatever his inspiration is currently doing. And then there’s the rest of the usual low card DDT roster. That’s it. Nobody else. I’m not missing anybody…

… Sigh… Okay there’s one more. You know who I’m talking about. Behold the Twitch chat come to life, the one creation that makes Arby “The Meathead” McDonald look pure and wholesome, he’s ruined seven Valentine’s Days but saved two, it’s Maku Donaruto! This walking cease and desist waiting to happen was found in UDON Pro Wrestling and made an impression on DDT management. However his lewd wrestling style and obscene personality is making DDT a little unsure how often they want to continue booking him after Sumo Hall. A lot? A little? A seven match series with Kazuki Hirata? Here’s his biggest chance to leave an impression on everyone.

3. Taiho Koki’s Grandson Yukio Naya Ryogoku Kokugikan First Participation!: Go Shiozaki, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino

Let’s move on to some history, some legacy that is attached to Sumo Hall. Yukio Naya is only around a year into his wrestling career. He is getting attention because his late grandfather was a legendary sumo wrestler named Taiho Koki. Naya’s grandfather was one of the youngest wrestlers to become a yokozuna and he also earned many accomplishments throughout his distinguished career. Naya has said he is proud to wrestle in the same building where his grandfather achieved much of his success. Teaming with him is DDT’s sumo turned pro Kazusada Higuchi as well as D-Ou Grand Prix finalist Go Shiozaki. Facing them are a trio of big beefy boys! Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi and Yuki Iino are the opposition in a match that I bet will have many, many chops. And probably a Haka dance from Iino too.

4. Special Single Match: Akito Vs T-Hawk

The #STRONGHEARTS love to cause some commotion wherever they go but what do they do when somebody successfully stands up to them? During their feud with ALL OUT, they were able to get pinfall wins over every member except one. The one guy they haven’t been able to beat is Akito. In order to right this wrong T-Hawk is set to face Akito one on one. As the current WRESTLE-1 Champion, T-Hawk feels on top of the world. It would be nice to see Akito pull him down. Akito is confident wrestling on his own and is convinced that T-Hawk hasn’t watched any of his singles matches. Akito has a reason of his own to win other than keeping #STRONGHEARTS at bay again. He is looking into the idea of wrestling in other companies on behalf of DDT. A win over the WRESTLE-1 Champion can open some doors for him.

5. Danshoku Dieno Produce Yuru-chara “Pokotan” Debut Match: Danshoku Dieno, Pokotan & KUDO Vs Keisuke Ishii, Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase

You know what’s big these days? Mascots. Put somebody in a big wacky costume, make them do stupid shit, put it online and watch those social media numbers shoot up. Most likely inspired by the popularity of such characters like Chiitan, Nyango Star and you can also include Andreza Giant Panda in that list, Danshoku Dieno now wants a piece of the pie. So he has created his own mascot and went through several names before picking something suitable for everyone. Or at least I assume it’s suitable. It’s probably not but whatever. Anyway the mascot is called Pokotan and it looks like a seal. Dieno himself was planning to be under the costume during the build up to the show. Unfortunately the costume has not been finished as of a week ago. Dieno only has the head ready and he is very upset over it. Will Pokotan be complete in time for his grand reveal?

6. Special Hardcore 6-Person Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito Vs Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha
Around 14 years ago Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito teamed up for a 1,000m Barbed Wire And 100 Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match in Differ Ariake. They’re back together again to fight DAMNATION! Nagayo’s involvement in the show was already announced when the story of her saving a woman from an assault made the news in November so yay good publicity! What’s even more interesting is Nagayo’s protege Takumi Iroha is against her on the DAMNATION side. Since she is the Ikemen Joshi she might be there to take up the handsome looking role in the trio. Then again Mad Paulie is still on the team so that’s probably not the reason. Iroha is thrilled to face her mentor but is a little nervous that it’s in a Hardcore Match.

On a more serious note, Soma Takao is going into this match holding a grudge. For weeks leading into the show, Takagi has been poking Takao and questioning the current state of his career. Years ago Takao had the potential to become one of DDT’s best and yet he has never really attempted to take the torch. Maybe he’s gotten too comfortable being the mid-level guy in DAMNATION. Takagi wants to light a fire under Takao and see if he has any real ambition. Takao acts like he is angry at the world and everything around it. Now is his time to prove it.

7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka

#STRONGHEARTS have a reason for sticking around in DDT despite losing their feud to ALL OUT. After they lost the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles, CIMA and his crew admitted defeat and wanted to head home to the OWE headquarters in Shanghai. OWE told them not to come back until they get revenge on DDT. The best way to do that is to win one of the DDT championships again. This time CIMA is setting his sights on the KO-D Tag Team Titles and he is bringing along one of his newer partners Seiki Yoshioka to get them.

They aren’t the only ones who want the belts. Shuten-dōji challenged for the belts before #STRONGHEARTS did. The solution was to give both of them a shot in a 3 Way Match. Yukio Sakaguchi doesn’t care as long as he fights somebody strong (and El Lindaman provoking him with spitting and insults only resulted in Sakaguchi kicking him half to death). Masahiro Takanashi is interested though since he’s been able to cross paths with CIMA again. The two are linked through the Toryumon system but split off into two completely different paths. Takanashi wants to show CIMA that his unpolished way of wrestling is just as effective as CIMA’s state of the art abilities.

The scenario leaves the champions looking like a third wheel. But maybe that gives The Moonlight Express the advantage. MAO & Mike Bailey are currently ruling the tag team divisions in DDT and K-DOJO, holding both the KO-D Tag Titles and STRONGEST-K TAG Titles. MAO is as comfortable as ever in chaotic situations and Bailey always looks happy to go along for the ride, the crazier the better. MAO also feels the need to beat Shuten-dōji because they have beaten him so many times back when he was a part of NωA. He wants to move on from that part of his life but can’t if Shuten-dōji beats him again. The 3 Way stipulation being used is only one fall so a title change can happen without the Express being directly involved.

8. DDT Extreme Title – Souken Holdings Presents – Each Other’s Pride Rules: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs HARASHIMA

The rematch for the DDT Extreme Title sees HARASHIMA trying to win the belt back from Shinya Aoki. During his brief time in DDT, Aoki has defended the title in a Boxing Glove match and also got challenged into a fight at an outdoor sauna. This is what bad financial decisions can do to some people. But at least Aoki still has his pride. HARASHIMA has pride too so the two of them agreed to let their prides bring the best out of both of them. So that’s it. Nothing complicated, just a battle to see who is the best. Unless DDT decides to pipe in the Pride FC music during the match as a joke there isn’t much else that needs explaining. Well there is that one thing where HARASHIMA isn’t entirely sure what the exact ruleset for the match is. Aoki just keeps talking about pride and he hasn’t been the best at understanding the general pro wrestling rules. Is there even a three count?

9. Dramatic Dream Match: Naomichi Marufuji Vs Tetsuya Endo

Here we go! DDT usually has a dream match saved for Sumo Hall and they picked a good one this time round. Naomichi Marufuji returns to DDT and Tetsuya Endo is there waiting for him. You’d think Endo would see this as an opportunity to make a huge statement to the wrestling world but he’s a little distracted by his diet. No matter where he is or what he is doing Endo has been eating his handmade meals and drinking his protein shakes on a very strict timetable. This has interrupted several press conferences that were meant to promote this match. Marufuji doesn’t mind. There’s no bad blood between the two and Marufuji is looking forward to discovering Endo’s current potential. The match is also happening so soon after Marufuji’s return from injury so he gets to figure out what his own condition is like. We should get a nice, clean and competitive match out of this right. I mean it’s Marufuji in a DDT dream match. Nothing has ever gone wrong in a situation like that before. Right, Kenny?

10. KO-D Openweight Title – RAGE Presents: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

After vanquishing Dieno at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” in October, Daisuke Sasaki is headlining Sumo Hall for the second time in a row. This time he is going in as the KO-D Openweight Champion rather than the challenger. That role goes to Konosuke Takeshita for winning the 2019 D-Ou Grand Prix. In the build up to the match something strange happened. Sasaki started acting friendly, wrestled clean and prohibited the other DAMNATION wrestlers from cheating. He even shook his opponent’s hand after matches. Takeshita wasn’t convinced by this new attitude at first but Sasaki behaved for long enough that Takeshita eventually bought into it. Of course it was at this point when Sasaki could not resist temptation any longer and went back to his usual dirty tactics.

That’s not all. While they wrestled their matches, some of the other DAMNATION members went to the restaurant owned by Takeshita’s mother Keiko. She was happy to serve them until they dined and dashed! That right there was the boiling point that turns Sasaki Vs Takeshita into a blood feud. Over the last few days Sasaki and Takeshita have gotten into fights wherever they find each other. Sasaki attacked Takeshita outside Sumo Hall during an interview and with a Hurricanrana threw Takeshita down a stairway. Takeshita got revenge on another night when he attacked Sasaki at a bar and gave him a Brainbuster onto a sofa. Things escalated even further when Sasaki vandalised Takeshita’s car with anime decals and then gave Takeshita a Pedigree onto the car roof! The match hasn’t even happened yet and both men are already trying to end each other’s careers before they even get to Sunday! Sasaki has said that he will not allow Takeshita win the KO-D title, otherwise DDT will be sent to the dark ages.

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MUSCLE “MUSCLE MANIA 2019 IN RYOGOKU ~ OUR SECOND CAREER” Preview

February 15, 2019

MUSCLE “MUSCLE MANIA 2019 IN RYOGOKU ~ OUR SECOND CAREER”, 16/02/2019
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Pedro Takaishi Retirement Match: Pedro Takaishi Vs X

Wrestlers advertised to appear include Muscle Sakai, Danshoku Dieno, Antonio Honda, Pedro Takaishi, Choun-Shiryu, Yasu Urano, Makoto Oishi, Ken Ohka, Norikazu Fujioka, Amon Tsurumi and Andreza Giant Panda. Over on Twitter Akito has talked about wanting to be on the show. Sasadango publicly said he is welcome to come over as long as he keeps it a secret so he does not spoil the surprise…

Other guests include comedian Ryota Yamasato, actor Kurochan, pop band Junretsu and rapper Utamaru.

Here’s my preview: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Heck if I know what’s going to happen! Muscle shows in the past have been held under many sorts of formats. It might be a wrestling card, it might be a talk show, it might be a talent contest, it might be a school exam, it might be a tag team tournament gone horribly off the rails, it might be the first NXT Japan TakeOver in disguise, it might be anything. What I can say for sure is it will be ridiculous. Also don’t be surprised if a big name or two makes a cameo appearance somewhere. In the past such famous wrestlers as Masahiro Chono, Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, Atsushi Onita, Shinjiro Otani, The Great Sasuke and a lot of the Big Japan roster among others have joined in the fun in one way or another.

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