BASARA “VAJRA 55 ~FEAST~” Results

January 6, 2018

BASARA “VAJRA 55 ~FEAST~”, 06/01/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
210 Fans

1. Takato Nakano defeated Akiyori Takizawa with a School Boy (9:39).
2. Reversal Pro Wrestling Trial: Tsutomu Oosugi defeated Gouma Ryu and Hercules Senga when Oosugi settled with Senga (2:17).
2a. Replay: Tsutomu Oosugi defeated Gouma Ryu and Hercules Senga when Oosugi pinned Senga with a School Boy (9:48).
3. Ryota Nakatsu & Daichi Kazato defeated Manabu Hara & Daiki Shimomura when Kazato pinned Shimomura with the Explosive Axe Bomber (11:14).
4. Ryuichi Sekine defeated Fuminori Abe with the Let’s Combine (12:28).
5. New Year Elimination 8-Man Tag Match: Trans-Am ★ Ryuichi, FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT defeated Isami Kodaka, Tank Nagai, Takumi Tsukamoto & Yasu Urano (15:39).
5a. Yusuke Kubo eliminated Yasu Urano by Ring Out (18:35).
5b. Tank Nagai eliminated Yusuke Kubo with the Diving Senton (19:47).
5c. FUMA eliminated Tank Nagai by Ring Out (20:45).
5d. Takumi Tsukamoto and Trans-Am ★ Ryuichi eliminated each other by Ring Out (23:28).
5e. SAGAT eliminated Isami Kodaka with the Goregrind (25:39).

The combined forces of IRON PRIEST and the Trans-Am ★ Family was too much for BASARA to handle in the main event. Isami Kodaka brought in Tank Nagai from K-DOJO to help out but even that wasn’t enough to beat the Metal Family. In the end FUMA & SAGAT were the last men standing. FUMA gave Kodaka the Heavy Metal Hammer and SAGAT finished him off with the Goregrind. FUMA told Kodaka that IRON PRIEST and the Trans-Am ★ Family won today because they unite together. He then went on a tangent about the band HELLOWEEN getting back together for a tour and complained that he can’t get a ticket for their Japan gig. So he is using his anger over that as motivation to win the Union MAX Title from Kodaka on 8th January!

The Metal Family wanted to raise a toast to close out the show but all of the beer in the venue was sold out. They had to raise a toast with tea instead.

Fuminori Abe’s first match as a full time BASARA wrestlers was enough of an important occasion for Ryuichi Sekine to wear regular wrestling gear again. That is something he has not done since his Union MAX Title match back in November. Sekine countered the Octopus Hold into the Let’s Combine to get the submission victory. Both he and Abe smiled to each other after the match. Sekine then gave him a playful push.

Ryota Nakatsu and Manabu Hara continued to fight each other after Match #3. They had to be seperated from each other by their tag partners and other wrestlers.

For the court case between Hercules Senga and Tsutomu Oosugi, Senga used a magic marker to draw a hairline on his head and wore suspenders with a bowtie. Best Stretchman V3 argued that Senga was infringing a TV broadcaster’s copyright with his costume. When they finished arguing about that it was time to sort out the reason why they were all there. Senga wants Oosugi to stop teaming with Stretchman and reform Speed Of Sounds. Oosugi needed Gouma Ryu to plead his case. Senga argued that Stretchman and his stretching techniques were too dangerous. His witnesses to prove this were Fuminori Abe and Isami Kodaka. Abe had a dead leg and Kodaka said his right arm s in an even worse state after spending time in the Best Stretch parlour. Stretchman went away and Daichi Kazato took his place. Kazato stretched both Abe and Kodaka and miraculously their injuries went away! Senga protested and it led to a fight breaking out. Oosugi unexpectedly joined Senga’s side to clear the ring. They shook hands until Oosugi rolled Senga into a School Boy to pin him. Senga admitted defeat and will now consider working with the Stretchman team.

It took around nine months to get here but Takato Nakano earned his first singles win today by beating Akiyori Takizawa. Nakano caught Takizawa in mid-air with a Cradle for a nearfall but used the momentum to School Boy him into another pin. That one was enough to get the three count.


DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN SHINJUKU” Results

January 5, 2018

DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN SHINJUKU”, 05/01/2018
Shinjuku FACE
464 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. 4 Way Tag Match: Joey Ryan & Veda Scott defeated Antonio Honda & Soma Takao, KUDO & Toru Owashi and Makoto Oishi & Shunma Katsumata when Ryan pinned Honda with the Super Kick (8:44).
2. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Yukio Sakaguchi (2) defeated Kazusada Higuchi (0) with the Right Knee Of God (7:48).
3. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (2) defeated Masahiro Takanashi (0) with the Tetsuya In The Sky (6:01).
4. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Akito (2) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (0) with the Scorpion Lock (12:03).
5. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Keisuke Ishii (2) defeated HARASHIMA (0) with the High Angle Double Arm DDT (12:45).
6. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Shuji Ishikawa (2) defeated Mike Bailey (0) with the Splash Mountain (15:15).
7. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Jiro Kuroshio (2) defeated Konosuke Takeshita (0) with the Casadora (23:23).

A Block

1. Jiro Kuroshio (2)
-. Keisuke Ishii (2)
-. Tetsuya Endo (2)
4. Joey Ryan (0)
-. Konosuke Takeshita (0)
-. HARASHIMA (0)
-. Masahiro Takanashi (0)

B Block

1. Shuji Ishikawa (2)
-. Akito (2)
-. Yukio Sakaguchi (2)
4. Soma Takao (0)
-. Mike Bailey (0)
-. Daisuke Sasaki (0)
-. Kazusada Higuchi (0)

Day one of the D-King Grand Prix kicked off with some big upsets in the opening round of matches. Jiro Kuroshio defeated Konosuke Takeshita in the main event. He took all that Takeshita could throw at him then countered the German Suplex into the Casadora for the surprise three count. A cheerful Kuroshio told Takeshita after the match he would see him again. Takeshita’s response was to raise his KO-D Openweight Title and give Kuroshio the middle finger.

Mike Bailey has only been in Japan for 5 days during his current stay and there’s already two times when he thought he was going to die in the ring. The first was from HARASHIMA’s Somato on the 3rd and the second was from Shuji Ishikawa kicking his head in today. Ishikawa used the Knee Lift to great effect in their match. He thinks that next to Yoshihiro Takayama, he is the best at using the move.

The second big upset on the show was Keisuke Ishii beating HARASHIMA! Ishii’s use of statistics in his preparations paid off when he knew HARASHIMA was setting him up for the Somato after a Buzzsaw Kick. Ishii got up and cut HARASHIMA off with the Kneel Kick. The struggle over to pin him took long enough for HARASHIMA to kick out but Ishii then gave him the Double Arm DDT for the finish. Ishii said that it took him 10 years to finally beat HARASHIMA because Ishii joined DDT in 2007. He will now use today’s result times of his match, Takeshita’s match and Tetsuya Endo’s match to prpare for his upcoming bouts against them.

The history between Akito and Daisuke Sasaki wasn’t forgotten when they squared off. Akito quickly grabbed Sasaki by the hair when the bell rang while Sasaki tried to apply the Cross Facelock as fast as he could. Poor Daisuke Kiso was stuck in the crossfire and was knocked down by a chairshot. Akito’s chance to win seemed to have disappeared when there was no ref to see Sasaki submitting to an Anklelock. Yukinori Matsui finally came down to replace Kiso and he saw Akito countering the Cross Facelock into an Arm Clutch Scorpion Lock. Sasaki had no choice but to tap out with his free hand. Akito said he will use the Grand Prix to get rid of all of the depression he accumulated over the last year. Backstage Sasaki had a mood swing and wanted to abstain from the rest of the tournament. He also threatened to cut off his own hair but he was talked out of it.

Masahiro Takanashi played dirty to try and beat Tetsuya Endo. He used the referee as a shield then kicked Endo below the belt during the confusion. Endo was still in the match though and he avoided the Takatonic to get the ref involved again. When that was sorted out, Endo hit the Tetsuya In The Sky to put Takanashi away. Takanashi was so flustered by the result he asked KUDO backstage to calculate his current standing. 1 loss, zero points. Takanashi thinks he’ll need to win his 6 remaining matches to succeed.

Yukio Sakaguchi wore down Kazusada Higuchi with the Cobra Clutch, only letting go when Higuchi tried to press him into the turnbuckles. Before Higuchi could get his breath back, Sakaguchi hit the Right Knee Of God to knock him down for the pin. It doesn’t matter how busy his match schedule is, Sakaguchi said he can win his block with his eyes closed.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’18” Results

January 4, 2018

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’18”, 04/01/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,201 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) Debut Fight Tag Match: Hinano & Miu defeated Raku & Hikari when Miu submitted Hikari with a Canadian Backbreaker (8:55).
2. Yuu, Nodoka-oneesan & Marika Kobashi defeated Rika Tatsumi, Hyper Misao & Yuki Kamifuku when Yuu submitted Misao with the Ittenyon (11:05).
3. Veda Scott defeated Maho Kurone with a Back Drop (6:55).
4. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dino defeated Maki Itoh with the Screw Danshoku Driver (12:34).
5. NEO Biishiki-gun Vs Super Milk Combination!: Saki-sama & Azusa Christie defeated Nonoko & Yuna Manase (w/ Haruka Nishimoto) when Saki-sama pinned Nonoko with the Two Step Face Kick (12:20).
6. TOKYO Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima (c) defeated Mizuki & Riho when Sakazaki pinned Mizuki with the Magical Girl Splash (17:46).
*V2 for Miraclians (17:46).
7. TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita defeated Reika Saiki (c) with the Crash Rabbit Heat (14:58).
*Reika Saiki fails in V3. Miyu Yamashita becomes the 5th TOKYO Princess Of Princess Champion!

 

Two years ago Miyu Yamashita became the first TOKYO Princess Champion in Korakuen Hall. Today she repeated history by winning the championship for the second time in the same building. She had a back and forth battle with the champion Reika Saiki. Yamashita missed the Crash Rabbit Heat and was in trouble after Saiki hit her with the Shining Wizard. But Yamashita avoided the Jackhammer and stunned Saiki with High Kicks, a Running Knee Strike and a Buzzsaw Kick. Finally Yamashita hit the Crash Rabbit Heat and that was enough to crown her as the new champion. Yamashita praised Saiki afterwards and talked about how she won the title in Korakuen last August. They also teamed together as the Muscle Strikers in a tag tournament. As long as Saiki continues to climb into the ring Yamashita will consider her a tag partner, a friend and her strongest rival.

But Yamashita isn’t finished yet. She won back the Princess Title but doesn’t consider herself a proper champion until she successfully defends it. Veda Scott suddenly entered the ring to demand a title shot but Yamashita doesn’t understand English. Yuki Kamifuku translated Scott’s comments for her. Scott apologised to Yamashita for only being the champion for three days because Scott wants a title match on 7th January in Osaka! Yamashita accepted the challenge because she will take any opportunity to raise the stock of Tokyo Joshi Pro anytime, anywhere!

The Miraclians overcame a tough challenge from Mizuki & Riho to stay as the Tokyo Princess Tag Team Champions. Both Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima hit stereo 619s to the challengers leading to the Magical Girl Splash finish. The champions spoke of how much fun they just had and the win means they now “conquered” Thailand. After they asked if there were any other teams ready to challenge them, NEO Biishiki-gun appeared. The Apricots assumed there was about to be a challenge thrown out but Saki-sama said that wasn’t the case. Saki is not going to lower herself to challenge a team that is below her. Even if the Apricots are the champions Saki still thinks she would degrade herself if she challenged them. Instead she was here to inform them that she will wait for them to challenge her & Azusa Christie instead. No problem. The champions just conquered Thailand. It seems that next on their list is France!

The Super Milk Combination couldn’t beat NEO Biishiki-gun even with the presence of Haruka Nishimoto in their corner to motivate them. Nonoko burst into tears after the match and Nishimoto tried to console her. She said Nonoko shouldn’t cry because she has the strongest breasts! Nonoko cheered up and said she would do her best.

Maki Itoh had a lot on her mind going into today’s show. Her new CD was released and according to her it already sells spectacularly. However she complained to Tetsuya Koda because there were no promotional videos made to market it. Koda complained that they don’t have the marketing budget to make one. He calmed Itoh down and told her to focus on selling 200 copies first, then she had to go out and fight Danshoku Dino. Itoh took a beating from Dino but she had a secret weapon that Dino didn’t expect. The Lip Lock! The move made Dino faint but he had enough energy to kick out at two. Another Lip Lock followed by a Missile Dropkick brought Itoh close to winning again but Dino recovered and gave Itoh two Brainbusters. Itoh kicked out of the pin afterwards but was beaten with the Screw Danshoku Driver afterwards. Dino encouraged Itoh to stand up under her own strength after the match. Itoh said it hurt to move but the match she just lost is in the past. The Itoh that lost in the past is not the same Itoh that is here in the moment right now. She yelled that she will not give up and rallied the fans to cheer for her. She then sang/shouted the lyrics to “Ultra Soul” as she left the ring.

Veda Scott offered to give vegetables to Maho Kurone before their match because she is a vegetarian. Kurone quickly slapped the vegetables out of Scott’s hand and chased her around ringside. Scott later avoided the Ouroboros and pinned Kurone with a Back Drop.

Hyper Misao called the other team in the opener a “a group of outrageous villains”. She called her own team “three people with true bonds seeking love.” That seemed questionable when Misao, Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Kamifuku all picked on Nodoka-oneesan during the match. Yuu & Marika Kobashi came to the rescue and Yuu submitted Misao to win.

The Up Up Girls debut match opened the show. Hinano did Elbow Strikes, Raku did Brain Chops and Hikari did Dropkicks. Miu was the strongest of the four and used moves like a Bearhug and a Canadian Backbreaker to win the match for her and Hinano. Miu said in the post-match interview ther her goal is to win a championship. Hinano said if the Up Up Girls idol group can perform in Budokan Hall then so can the Up Up Girls wrestling group! Raku hopes she will make up for the loss at her next match in Osaka. Hikari knows that pro wrestling is a tough world and next time she wants to win. The idol group was in attendance to take a photo with the wrestling group later in the show.


DDT “NEW YEAR’S SPECIAL! 2018” Results

January 3, 2018

DDT “NEW YEAR’S SPECIAL! 2018”, 03/01/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,187 Fans

0. Under Match: Hoshitango & Rekka defeated Mizuki Watase & Daiki Shimomura when Rekka pinned Shimomura with a Reverse Power Slam (6:23).
1. Akito defeated Yuki Ueno with the Scorpion Lock (8:19).
2. Infomercial Match – “LADY NINJA: A Blue Shadow” Movie: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai (w/ Mai Hakase) defeated Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Veda Scott when Sakaguchi pinned Hirata with the PK (11:41).
3. New Year Kakizome Rumble (Calligrapher: Nachu): Keisuke Ishii defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Super Sasadango Machine, Nobuhiro Shimatani, Mad Paulie, Hoshitango, Gorgeous Matsuno, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Gota Ihashi, Joey Ryan and Joey Axl (17:46).
3a. Joey Axl was eliminated by speaking Japanese (4:39).
3b. Nobuhiro Shimatani was eliminated by climbing the corner post (6:04).
3c. Tomomitsu Matsunaga was eliminated by saying his name (6:14).
3d. Joey Ryan was eliminated by speaking English (9:31).
3e. Sanshiro Takagi was eliminated by doing the Stunner (12:37).
3f. Gota Ihashi was eliminated by missing a Moonsault (14:03).
3g. Gorgeous Matsuno was eliminated by doing the Gorgeous Star☆Elbow (14:38).
3h. Mad Paulie was eliminated by laughing (15:55).
3i. Super Sasadango was eliminated by doing a Flying Body Attack (17:46).
4. Road To D-King GP Special Special Single Match: Soma Takao defeated Masahiro Takanashi with the Endless Waltz (9:13).
5. NωA, If You Lose Immediately Withdraw Your Dissolution Special: Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO defeated Danshoku Dino, Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei when Oishi pinned Dino with the Triple Ecstasy (10:02).
6. Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated Colt Cabana & Antonio Honda when Endo pinned Honda with the Shooting Star Press (16:21).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Super Sasadango Machine defeated Colt Cabana (c) with a Flying Body Attack (8:40 pm).
*Super Sasadango Machine becomes the 1,286th champion.
7. Road To D-King GP Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Jiro Kuroshio defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Mike Bailey & Shuji Ishikawa when HARASHIMA pinned Bailey with the Somato (20:17).

With the D-King Grand Prix just days away from starting, six of the participants took part in the 6-Man Tag Team main event of 2018’s first DDT show. Jiro Kuroshio is already testing the patience of some wrestlers with his long entrance that this time involved the unwilling participation of a small child. Konosuke Takeshita in particular made Kuroshio his target in the match. Elsewhere Shuji Ishikawa and Kazusada Higuchi squared off in a power battle while HARASHIMA had his hands full with Mike Bailey. It all built up to unlikely team moves like Takeshita doing a Codebreaker on HARASHIMA then holding him down for a Body Press from Ishikawa followed by the Standing Double Knee Moonsault from Bailey. However, HARASHIMA avoided the Ultima Weapon from Bailey and pinned him with two Somatos.

HARASHIMA was about to give his victory speech when Kuroshio grabbed the microphone and gave his own speech. He said he was happy to be in the tournament and is looking forward to beating up Takeshita even more. Higuchi threatened to rampage his way through the block to the final. He is happy to see that Ishikawa is even stronger than ever and looks forward to fighting him. Ishikawa asked if Higuchu knows how many championships he has won? Ishikawa guarantees he will win the GP because he is at his best. Bailey said the Somato he took made him understand his wrestling career could end at any moment. But if it does end it will be when Bailey fights HARASHIMA in the final. Takeshita told Kuroshio he will make his handsome face look awkward when they fight again. HARASHIMA said he will win the league and headline Sumo Hall. As usual. He tried to close out the show but Kuroshio stole all the attention again by posing in front of him.

Daisuke Sasaki is sick of Antonio Honda telling his “Gon, The Little Fox” stories. He told Honda his goal for 2018 should be to give up telling them. Colt Cabana backed up Honda by going along with his story and joining in with his antics. They performed the Superman Dive together for a double nearfall. But it all went wrong when a double Bionic Elbow ended with them hitting each other. Tetsuya Endo took advantage with the Springboard Overhead Kick and then won the match with the Shooting Star Press on Honda.

After the match Cabana was attacked by Nobuhiro Shimatani because he wanted to win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. Cabana fought him off but then Super Sasadango Machine came in and pinned Cabana with a Cross Body Block. Cabana tried to win the title back at the end of the show but failed.

The NωA had to fight for their lives against Danshoku Dino and the Brahman Brothers. They were told by the brothers before the match that they would fall into Hell! What followed was a brawl between both sides that moved into the audience. The Brahmans took out a mixer and blended together a liquid made out of beer, boiled egg, natto and raw squid. They considered throwing it into the audience but they poured it over Yuki Ueno instead. NωA turned the tables and used the Brahmans’ own tricks against them including throwing the bowling ball and suitcase at them and spitting the black India Ink at their faces. They then attacked Dino with a piece of wood up the backside and pinned him with the Triple Ecstasy. The NωA are now allowed to break up and their final match will take place on 28th January. They asked for T2Hide to be their final opponents. All of T2Hide came down to the ring crying with happiness over being chosen.

In the second D-King GP preview of the night, Soma Takao beat Masahiro Takanashi. He countered the Takatonic into the Endless Waltz series of rolling pin attempts, constantly rolling Takanashi into another pin until he finally got the three count. Takao thinks the move will help him immensely in the tournament. Just using today’s match as an example, the Endless Waltz got Takao a total of 10 pin counts, that’s enough for three wins. Takao hopes the Endless Waltz along with the Gin And Tonic will help him win both the Grand Prix in January and also All Japan’s Junior Heavyweight league in February.

Two years ago a calligrapher named Nachu was invited over to DDT to paint Kakizome new year messages on the backs of the wrestlers. She came back this year so it could be done again. The rule of the Battle Royal was every wrestler had a “Prohibited Skill” painted on their back. If the wrestler performed the skill during the match they would be disqualified. But since it was painted on their backs they did not know what their banned skill was. So the wrestlers all tried to bait each other into doing their prohibited moves. One of the entrants was Joey Axl, a pro wrestler from Australia. He appeared during the show opening ceremony unbeknown to the rest of the roster. It was only when Hisaya Imabayashi noticed him standing next to the other foreign wrestlers that he introduced himself and asked to wrestle in DDT. It was decided he would be added to the Battle Royal.

Sadly for Axl he was the first one eliminated. His prohibited skill was speaking Japanese and he was tricked into saying “Ichiban!” after he overpowered his opponents. Nobuhiro Shimatani was out when he climbed the turnbuckle to do a high flying attack. Tomomitsu Matsunaga was not allowed to say his name in the manner of the RVD/Toru Yano taunt that he likes to do. He teased doing it first but later did it for real to get eliminated. Joey Ryan was tricked into speaking English when Gorgeous Matsuno told him he had a small dick. Sanshiro Takagi was out after he gave Gota Ihashi a Stunner. Matsuno wasn’t allowed to do his Gorgeous Star☆Elbow. It took him several attempts to do the move because he kept getting tangled into the ropes mid-move. He finally did it with Keisuke Ishii’s help but that meant he was now out of the match. Ihashi did his Moonsault but he wasn’t supposed to. He also missed. Super Sasadango Machine eliminated Mad Paulie by making him laugh. Sasadango unmasked himself to show he was wearing similar facepaint as Paulie. It made Paulie so happy that he laughed. Finally Sasadango eliminated himself by doing a Cross Body to Ishii. Ishii was declared the winner because he avoided doing his prohibited skill, performing a combination attack with another wrestler.

The Infomercial Match was supposed to begin with a trailer for the upcoming movie LADY NINJA: A Blue Shadow which features Yukio Sakaguchi and Saki Akai in supporting roles. However Kazuki Hirata stopped the trailer because he wanted to dance with the movie’s lead star Mai Hakase instead. Hakase appeared with Shuten-dōji wearing her movie character’s costume. Sakaguchi got so mad at Hirata for his behaviour that Toru Owashi & Veda Scott bailed from the apron and left Hirata alone in the ring with him to get beaten up. Later in the match Hirata challenged Hakase to a duel. Hakase pulled out her prop sword and looked to have bested Hirata until he knocked her out with a sudden karate chop. Sakaguchi stole the Hirata Go! glasses and danced his way into beating up Hirata again to win the match. With Hirata defeated, the movie trailer was allowed to be shown. Afterwards Hakase, Sakaguchi and Akai spoke about their experiences during the making of the movie. Hakane said that she was afraid of Sakaguchi when they first met and she wanted to run away when it was time for them to film their fight scene. But he was able to work with her shyness and it turned out fine. She also said Akai was really strong when they filmed their scenes together. Next time she’d like to see her get a role as a sexy ninja.

Akito’s tune up match for the GP was against the rookie Yuki Ueno. While it wasn’t a big challenge for Akito, he felt it was a good way to prepare for the tournament. He was also nicely surprised by how well Ueno wrestled in the match. He’s pleased to see the younger wrestlers in DDT growing up in the ring and thinks he can teach them stuff that other wrestlers in the company cannot.

The wrestlers in the pre-show match all yelled “Happy New Year!” mid-move to each other at some point. Rekka & Hoshitango worked well together and did a lot of damage to Daiki Shimomura. Their big move involved Rekka climbing onto Hoshitango’s back then Hoshitango doing a Splash onto Shimomura with Rekka still on top of him. Mizuki Watase stopped the pin but once they got rid of him it was easy pickings for Rekka to finish off Shimomura.

It was announced that The Great Muta will appear at “JUDGEMENT 2018” in Sumo Hall on 25th March!


“NEW YEAR’S EVE WRESTLING 2017” Results

January 1, 2018

“NEW YEAR’S EVE WRESTLING 2017”, 31/12/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,411 Fans

1. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Ryota Hama & Soma Takao when Sekimoto pinned Takao after a missed Okido Press from Hama (6:06).
2. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Kazuki Hashimoto & Akito defeated Kota Sekifuda & Ryota Nakatsu when Akito submitted Nakatsu with the Perfect Figure 4 Leg Lock (4:32).
3. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Brahman Kei & Daisuke Sasaki (w/ Brahman Shu) defeated Antonio Honda & Takuya Nomura (w/ Jaki Numazawa) when Sasaki pinned Honda after the Syachihoko Clutch (7:21).
4. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Danshoku Dino & Daichi Hashimoto defeated Keisuke Ishii & Takayuki Ueki when Dino pinned Ueki with the Danshoku Screwdriver (9:53).
5. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: HARASHIMA & Yuko Miyamoto defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Yuya Aoki when Miyamoto pinned Aoki with the Fire Thunder (3:28).
6. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Isami Kodaka & Yoshihisa Uto defeated Masahiro Takanashi & Tatsuhiko Yoshino when Uto pinned Yoshino with the Axis Fall (6:34).
7. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Abdullah Kobayashi & Colt Cabana defeated Minoru Fujita & Shunma Katsumata when Kobayashi submitted Katsumata with a Crab Hold (4:21).
8. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Great Kojika & Tetsuya Koda Vs Hideki Suzuki & Konosuke Takeshita ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
8a. Sudden Death – 1 Count Fall: Hideki Suzuki & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Great Kojika & Tetsuya Koda when Takeshita pinned Kojika with a Rope Assisted School Boy (1:38).
9. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Kazuki Hashimoto & Akito when Higuchi pinned Akito with a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch (1:52).
10. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Brahman Shu & Daisuke Sasaki (w/ Brahman Kei) defeated Danshoku Dino & Daichi Hashimoto when Shu pinned Dino with a School Boy (8:09).
11. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: HARASHIMA & Yuko Miyamoto defeated Isami Kodaka & Yoshihisa Uto when HARASHIMA pinned Uto with the Somato (9:57).
12. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Hideki The Brody & Jimmy Takeshita Vs Stan Kobayashi & Colt “Boom Boom” Butcher ended in a No Contest after a Referee Assault (2:17).
12a. Sudden Death – 1 Count Fall: Hideki The Brodie & Jimmy Takeshita defeated Stan Kobayashi & Colt “Boom Boom” Butcher by Countout (2:50).
13. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi defeated HARASHIMA & Yuko Miyamoto when Sekimoto pinned Miyamoto with the Roll Through German Suplex (9:47).
14. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Hideki The Brody & Jimmy Takeshita defeated Brahman Kei & Daisuke Sasaki (w/ Brahman Shu) when Takeshita pinned Kei with the Superfly Splash (7:02).
15. TAKA Michinoku 25th Anniversary Match: Kotaro Yoshino, Dinosaur Takuma, Kazumi Kikuta & MAO defeated TAKA Michinoku, Dick Togo, Ryuji Ito & Sanshiro Takagi when MAO pinned Michinoku with a School Boy (13:16).
16. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Final: Hideki Suzuki & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi when Suzuki pinned Higuchi with the Double Arm Suplex (12:44).

DDT and Big Japan ended 2017 and begun 2018 with what they usually do at this time every year, a big pro wrestling get together at Korakuen Hall! This year’s tag team tournament was themed around one wrestler from each company joining forces. Every pairing also had their own custom team name too.

Round 1

Sekiguchi-gumi Vs Hamamatsu. The show kicked off with Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi entering the ring both wearing sunglasses and carrying samurai swords. They won over Ryota Hama & Soma Takao in a match where Hama made the most impact. First he squashed Higuchi with a Hip Attack in the corner. But then he squashed Takao by accident when he missed the Okido Press. Sekimoto pinned a lifeless Takao to win. Hama tried to apologise to Takao afterwards but Takao was too afraid to approach him.

Team Hitomishiri Vs Team 14. Pretty simple first round win for Kazuki Hashimoto & Akito. Although Kota Sekifuda dove onto Hashimoto, he was nowhere to be found when Akito locked Ryota Nakatsu into the Perfect Figure 4 Leg Lock. Sekifuda & Nakatsu didn’t get much time in the ring together but they would like to team up again someday, maybe in next year’s tournament.

Charming Dolls Vs Charisma Brahman. Throughout the night the Brahman Brothers switched back and forth to team with Daisuke Sasaki in their matches. For the first match, Brahman Kei was the legal participant. Sasaki gleefully joined in with their act of throwing water at the audience during their entrance. Meanwhile Takuya Nomura wore identical wrestling gear to Antonio Honda and they were accompanied by Jaki Numzawa in their corner. The match broke down into a 6 Way at one point when Brahman Shu and Numazawa got involved in the fighting. Kei accidentally blinded Sasaki with the black ink. Nomura grabbed the Brahmans’ bucket of water and threw it at them in the corner. But Sasaki & Kei rallied to pin Honda with the Crucifix And Jackknife pinning combination. As the Brahmans walked off they had an idea. For the next match they should become Charisma like Sasaki!

Hakai Kyodai Vs With Love And Enthrallment And Reassurance. Keisuke Ishii & Takayuki Ueki came out dressed as Ryu and Zangief from Street Fighter. At first they acted like the characters but Ueki then got so frustrated by Danshoku Dino & Daichi Hashimoto that he pulled out his gun. Ueki held Dino hostage and demanded that they switch tights so he could possess Dino’s Danshoku skills. Unfortunately Ueki slipped off the top rope and crotched himself. Dino, now wearing the Zangief tights, gave Ueki a Zangief style Spinning Piledriver to advance his team to the next round.

Smile Yankee Vs Team Yokohama. The match begun quickly when Yukio Sakaguchi & Yuya Aoki attacked HARASHIMA & Yuko Miyamoto. But once Smile Yankee isolated Aoki it didn’t take long for them to put him down. Sakaguchi apologised to Aoki for coming up with the reckless plan but Aoki apologised too for being weak.

Yoshino-ka Vs Jikujion. Masahiro Takanashi joined in with Tatsuhiko Yoshino’s local boy gimmick. Yoshihisa Uto carried Isami Kodaka on his shoulders for their entrance but accidentally whacked Kodaka’s head off of the stage. This would happen for all of their matches tonight. Kodaka trusted Uto to carry both him and his victim of a Superplex but Uto struggled to pull it off. He finally succeeded but Kodaka was hurt in the process as if he was given a German Suplex. The move worked well enough to pin Yoshino though.

Shunma To Minoru Vs KobaCabana. Minoru Fujita wanted to sing along with Shunma Katsumata during their entrance but his microphone was switched off for a lot of it. He also wore a strand of barbwire disguised as a headband around his forehead. Sadly their idol behaviour didn’t work and they both submitted to Abdullah Kobayashi & Colt Cabana.

Great To Mago Vs Most Strongest Combi. In a rare occurrence for this tournament, only one match in the entire show went to a time limit draw. The combined skills of Hideki Suzuki & Konosuke Takeshita were not enough to figure out The Great Kojika in under 10 minutes. Tetsuya Endo tried his best to beat Takeshita for the second time in two days but the time ran out during their skirmish. 1 Count Pinfalls were activated for overtime and Kojika surprisingly came close to pinning Takeshita with the Iron Claw. Shockingly, Suzuki pulled the referee away to stop him from counting. Takeshita then used the distraction to School Boy Kojika and Suzuki held down his feet onto the ropes for leverage. Yes, it took that much cheating to pin The Great Kojika for one second!

Round 2

Sekiguchi-gumi Vs Team Hitomishiri. The first bout of Round 2 ended in quick fashion when Higuchi of all people pinned Akito with a Rolling Leg Clutch. Akito & Hashimoto tried to tap out their opponents with Scorpion Locks and Ankle Locks but it wasn’t enough. Akito promised to keep in touch with Hashumoto through LINE.

Charisma Brahman Vs Hakai Kyodai. This time Brahman Shu was teaming with Sasaki. Also this time the Brahmans dressed like Sasaki and were also armed with plates filled with…well…some sort of foul substance I don’t want to think about. Sasaki accidentally got a face full of it. At one point Dino suddenly started grabbing around his partner and pulled out Ueki’s gun from his pants! Sasaki and the Brahmans stopped him with a traffic sign attack then made him sit onto a chair with the plate of dirt placed on it. Sasaki took out toilet roll to wipe the substance off of Dino’s backside and then rub it into his face. Shu then pinned Dino with a School Boy to end the madness. The Brahmans praised Sasaki for his technique in using the plate.

Smile Yankee Vs Jikujion. Uto again carried Kodaka head first into the entrance stage. Their double team Suplex attempt off the top rope failed when Miyamoto held onto HARASHIMA to keep him on the corner. Uto ended up just giving Kodaka a German Suplex instead. Miyamoto dropped Uto with a Fire Thunder then narrowly rolled out of the way of HARASHIMA’s Somato. That was it for Uto & Kodaka’s run in the tournament.

KobaCabana? Vs Most Strongest Combi?. Due to earlier injuries dealt to everyone involved in this match, both teams had to be replaced. Luckily a bunch of “legends” happened to be in the building and stepped in to fill the gap. Suzuki & Takeshita were replaced by Hideki The Brody & Jimmy Takeshita while Kobayashi & Cabana were replaced by Stan Kobayashi & Colt “Boom Boom” Butcher. The two teams brawled with each other around the ring and then all threatened to attack Yukinori Matsui with their weapons. The match ended in a Double DQ because of the threats and had to be restarted. The four then brawled up towards the crowd and Brodie wrapped his chain around both Kobayashi & Cabana. He held them back while Takeshita crawled back to the ring to win the match by countout. When the match was over they all re-entered the ring and attacked a ringside assistant with their finishing moves.

Japan Indie Grand Prize Awards

Samurai TV and Occupation Of The Indies held their annual Japan Indie Grand Prize awards after Round 2. The MVP Award went to Hideki Suzuki. The Best Bout Award went to the Big Japan match between Masashi Takeda Vs Masaya Takahashi from 17th December. Best Unit went to DAMNATION. Best Show went to Big Japan for their 17th November outdoor event in Ueno Park. Best Newcomer went to Andre The Giant Panda. The Special Achievement Award was given to the late Mr. Pogo.

Semi Finals

Sekiguchi-gumi Vs Smile Yankee. A random drawing put together the semi final matchups. Lariats from Sekimoto & Higuchi were the difference maker. Miyamoto also wasn’t prepared for Sekimoto to roll him into the German Suplex from the ropes.

Charisma Brahman Vs Most Strongest Combi. Remember when I said the madness was over? It came back. Suzuki & Takeshita were still in their legend gimmicks and this time they had Kobayashi & Cabana on their side to combat Sasaki & The Brahmans’ tricks. Kei was isolated from his teammates and was put through the Western Lariat, the King Kong Knee Drop, the Poisoned Elbow Drop and finally the Superfly Splash to lose the match. Sasaki and The Brahmans still threw water at the audience afterwards.

TAKA Michinoku 25th Anniversary Match

The final pro wrestling match of 2017 in Japan was TAKA Michinoku’s 25th Anniversary match. He led a veteran team of K-DOJO, Big Japan and DDT wrestlers to face some of the new generation coming from those companies. MAO became a butt of a joke by being the victim of a never ending Corner Train Attack featuring everyone else in the match, loads of wrestlers who weren’t in the match and even one of the Samurai TV cameramen! Cabana was involved too but he just wanted to take a selfie with MAO. This went on for so long that the countdown to the new year began. In the final seconds Michinoku charged in but MAO rolled him over with a School Boy to pin him right as the clock struck zero! Happy new year!

Final

Sekiguchi-gumi Vs Most Strongest Combi. The tournament final is the first wrestling match in Japan of 2018. Suzuki & Takeshita were now back to normal. Both teams threw all that they had left at each other. It all came down to Higuchi and Suzuki fighting each other. Higuchi hit the Doctor Bomb but it wasn’t enough. Takeshita gave Higuchi a Dragon Suplex and Suzuki followed it up with a Dragon Suplex of his own. Higuchi kicked out! Suzuki then used the Double Arm Suplex and that wasn enough to beat Higuchi. The Most Strongest Combi are the Shuffle Tag Tournament winners! When they were given the rewards Takeshita joked that they only wrestled twice in the tournament this year and still won. Suzuki said he was honoured to fight Sekimoto & Higuchi. He also bragged that he wasn’t feeling tired at all. Sekimoto grabbed the microphone and swore into it.


GANBARE☆WRESTLING “GANBARE SLAM 2017” Results

January 1, 2018

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “GANBARE SLAM 2017”, 31/12/2017
Saitama Super Arena – Community Arena
??? Fans

1. The Shocking Arm Locker Got Into Ganpuro For The First Time!: Takeshi Okada defeated Yumehito Imanari with an Arm Lock (6:38).
2. Ganbare☆Wrestling Vs DDT NEW ATTITUDE: Shuichiro Katsumura defeated Daiki Shimomura with the Ninja Choke (8:15).
3. ROAD to MAJOR!: Ken Ohka & Shota defeated Shinichiro Tominaga & Mizuki Watase when Ohka pinned Tominaga with the Fire Spear (10:16).

For the 3rd year in a row Ganbare☆Wrestling was part of the RIZIN Martial Arts Expo in Saitama Super Arena’s Community Hub. Ken Ohka told the crowd he was delighted for the opportunity to continue appearing at this annual event. However the mood took a turn after the main event when Shuichiro Katsumura entered the ring to confront Ohka. Katsumura demanded a real fight. He doesn’t want to wrestle some mysterious wrestler from India or Ultraman Robin, he wants a real fight! Ohka told Katsumura to prove it on Ganbare’s next show in January. Shota defended Ganbare’s recent choice of opponents for Katsumura, pointing out that many of the big wrestling companies cherish the Indian market because there are 1.5 billion people in India. One of the companies even had an Indian wrestler win their championship this year!

Kouki Iwasaki had to pull out of the show because of the flu. Daiki Shimomura took his place in Match #2.


DDT “DAMNATION ILLEGAL GATHERING VOL. 2” Results

December 30, 2017

DDT “DAMNATION ILLEGAL GATHERING VOL. 2”, 30/12/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,050 Fans

1. Costume Change Battle Royal: HARASHIMA defeated Takayuki Ueki with the Somato (14:04).
Order Of Elimination: Man Man Kai Kind, Soma Takao, Ken Ohka, Yuki Ueno, Saki Akia, Ryuichi Sekine, Takayuki Ueki.
2. Dick Togo & Guanchulo defeated Colt Cabana & Antonio Honda when Guanchulo pinned Honda with a Sunset Flip (13:40).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Dick Togo defeated Guanchulo (c) with a School Boy (12:43 pm).
*Dick Togo becomes the 1,280th champion.
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi (c) defeated Mad Paulie, Mad Paulie (Ryota Hama) & Mad Paulie (Nobuhiro Shimatani) when Sakaguchi pinned Paulie (Shimatani) with the Right Knee Of God (9:36).
*V1 for Shuten-dōji.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Colt Cabana defeated Dick Togo (c) with a Backslide Pin (1:12 pm).
*Colt Cabana becomes the 1,281st champion.
4. Runaway Gigantic Combination V Baka Brothers! Special Tag Match: Shuji Ishikawa & Suwama defeated Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei when Suwama pinned Ke with the Last Ride (10:03).
5. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Masashi Takeda defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Masato Tanaka when Endo pinned Takeshita with the Shooting Star Press (15:35).
6. DDT Extreme Title – 2 Out Of 3 Falls Hardcore Match: Yuko Miyamoto defeated Daisuke Sasaki (c) (29:43).
6a. Daisuke Sasaki defeated Yuko Miyamoto with La Mistica Cross Facelock (12:40).
6b. Yuko Miyamoto defeated Daisuke Sasaki with a Backslide Pin (15:41).
6c. Yuko Miyamoto defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the Moonsault (29:43).
*Daisuke Sasaki fails in V9. Yuko Miyamoto becomes the 40th DDT Extreme Champion!

DAMNATION got to take over Korakuen Hall as their prize for winning the Dramatic General Election earlier this year. In the main event Daisuke Sasaki put his DDT Extreme Title on the line against Yuko Miyamoto in a 2 out of 3 falls Hardcore Match. In Fall #1, Sasaki submitted Miyamoto with La Mistica Cross Facelock after doing an Avalanche Power Bomb onto chairs. In Fall #2, Sasaki went high risk with a Diving Elbow onto a ladder. But Miyamoto moved out of the way and used several pinning moves on Sasaki until a Backslide got him the 3 count. Both men went all out in the final fall but Sasaki had a dirty trick up his sleeve. He invited Suguru Miyatake into the ring to hit Miyamoto with a guitar. Miyatake missed and hit Sasaki by accident instead! Despite that, Sasaki kicked out of the pin when Miyamoto hit the Fire Thunder through a table followed by the Moonsault. He hit back with the Pedigree onto chairs and a Diving Elbow but Miyamoto kicked out of that too. Miyamoto kicked out of the flash Hurricanrana and dropped Sasaki with a Tombstone. That seemed to take all that was left away from Sasaki because he could not counter the Springboard Overhead Kick or the Fire Thunder afterwards. One more Moonsault from Miyamoto sealed the deal and we now have a new Extreme Champion! Miyamoto told “Dai-chan” after the match that it was fun but he now proved he was the most Extreme wrestler. What’s extreme to other people is normal to him. He has plenty of Extreme left in him for DDT.

When he left the other DAMNATION wrestlers checked on Sasaki. Tetsuya Endo said that in a short period of time, Sasaki lost the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title and the DDT Extreme Title. He also failed to win the KO-D Tag Team Title. What if Sasaki no longer deserves to be called Charisma? Sasaki agreed. Shuji Ishikawa tried to cheer Sasaki up by telling him to continue working hard. He then sang the SMAP song “The Only Flower In The World”. Sasaki told him to stop. He lost everything going into 2018 but he is still Charisma! In fact, in 2018 Sasaki will become a brand new Charisma!

One week before the D-King Grand Prix begins and Tetsuya Endo is already making a statement by beating Konosuke Takeshita! The result happened when Takeshita’s partner Masato Tanaka went for the Sliding D on Endo as the target. Endo moved out of the way and Takeshita took the blow instead. Masashi Takeda got rid of Tanaka and Endo hit the Shooting Star Press for the three count. Takeshita and Endo will face off one on one in the Grand Prix on 7th January. Endo gained a lot of confidence with this result. He also hopes to wrestle Tanaka one on one someday.

The Violent Giants Vs Brahman Brothers match was interrupted by Dick Togo being chased into the ring by Colt Cabana. Togo was the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion at the time. He crawled underneath Suwama when Suwama was about to give one of the Brahmans the Last Ride. But Cabana caught up to Togo and pinned him to become the new champion. Back to the match and the Brahmans pulled out their usual tricks like Brahman Shu spitting black ink into Suwama’s face. Shuji Ishikawa & Suwama fired back with a Sandwich Lariat. Suwama then grabbed the bottle of black ink and spat it back at the Brahmans. He then pinned Brahman Kei with the Last Ride.

Mad Paulie’s two partners for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match were Ryota Hama & Nobuhiro Shimatani both wearing Paulie facepaint. They came close to winning but Paulie & Hama were wiped out with dives. Yukio Sakaguchi then kicked lumps out of Shimatani until he got the three count. Masahiro Takanashi said that the original Paulie and the chubby Paulie were a strong team but the third Paulie was stupid.

Dick Togo’s mystery partner was his student Diego… No wait, it was Guanchulo! Meanwhile Colt Cabana wore identical gear to Antonio Honda. Honda stopped the match so he could talk about Star Wars, specifically Chewbacca. Togo assisted Guanchulo with a Sunset Flip to win the match then Togo rolled up Guanchulo to win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. Togo was chased out of the ring by the other wrestlers afterwards.

Everybody in the Battle Royal wrestled in another wrestler’s costume. Yuki Ueno was dressed as Soma Takao. Man Man Kai Kind was dressed as Yuki Ueno. Soma Takao was dressed as Man Man Kai Kind. Saki Akai was dressed as Ken Ohka. HARASHIMA was dressed as Gota Ihashi. Ken Ohka was dressed as HARASHIMA. Takayuki Ueki was dressed as Saki Akai. Ryuichi Sekine was dressed as Stone Cold Steve Austin. Ueki still acted as himself and pulled out a gun to intimidate HARASHIMA. However Ueki then slipped off the top rope and crotched himself, leading to HARASHIMA to win the match with the Somato.

Suguru Miyatake sang a song called “Golden Lion” to the audience before the show began. He couldn’t remember the words so he had the lyric sheet taped to the back of his guitar.


BASARA “ISAMI KODAKA PRO WRESTLING ~ THE THIRD SHINJUKU STRONGEST GROUND BUDOKAI” Results

December 28, 2017

BASARA “ISAMI KODAKA PRO WRESTLING ~ THE THIRD SHINJUKU STRONGEST GROUND BUDOKAI”, 28/12/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
629 Fans

1. Shinjuku Strongest Ground Budokai – Round 1: Isami Kodaka defeated Naoki Tanizaki by Ring Out (2:44).
2. Shinjuku Strongest Ground Budokai – Round 1: Yuko Miyamoto defeated Colt Cabana by Ring Out (5:06).
3. Shinjuku Strongest Ground Budokai – Round 1: Fuminori Abe defeated Akito by Ring Out (5:31).
4. Shinjuku Strongest Ground Budokai – Round 1: Riho defeated Yasu Urano by Ring Out (9:47).
5. Shinjuku Strongest Ground Budokai – Round 2: Isami Kodaka defeated Ayako Hamada by Ring Out (4:24).
6. Shinjuku Strongest Ground Budokai – Round 2: Hideki Suzuki defeated Yuko Miyamoto by Ring Out (9:33).
7. Shinjuku Strongest Ground Budokai – Semi Final: Fuminori Abe defeated Isami Kodaka by Knockout with a Rabbit Punch (7:12).
8. Shinjuku Strongest Ground Budokai – Semi Final: Hideki Suzuki defeated Riho by Ring Out (2:51).
9. BASARA Offer Match: Trans-Am ★ Ryuchi, SAGAT, FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & Hagane defeated Takumi Tsukamoto, Ryuichi Sekine, Ryota Nakatsu, Daichi Kazato & Takato Nakano when FUMA pinned Sekine with the Jawbreaker (10:44).
10. Shinjuku Strongest Ground Budokai – Final: Hideki Suzuki defeated Fuminori Abe with the Double Arm Suplex (12:58).

The ruleset for the Shinjuku Strongest Ground Budokai tournament led to some unique finishes in the early rounds. With no ropes attached and Ring Outs in effect, seven of the nine matches in the tournament ended with a wrestler losing by falling out of the ring one way or another. Isami Kodaka beat Naoki Tanizaki with a Knee Strike knocking Tanizaki out of the ring. Colt Cabana was eliminated when Yuko Miyamoto kicked out of the Superman Dive. Whether intentional or not, the kickout pushed Cabana out of the ring. Fuminori Abe was put in a Figure Four Leg Lock by Akito but Abe shifted both of them over the apron and grabbed on to the corner post so Akito would hit the floor first. Riho used her tricky spinning cradles to roll Yasu Urano to the edge so when he kicked out of the move he fell out of the ring in the process.

In Round 2 Ayako Hamada and Hideki Suzuki took part in their first matches of the day. Hamada faced Kodaka and they ended up fighting by the corner post. After some switching back and forth, Kodaka finally got to kick out Hamada to advance to the next round. Suzuki was able to throw out Miyamoto but Miyamoto grabbed on to Suzuki’s tights and struggled to avoid the floor. Miyamoto lost his grip but was able to pull down Suzuki’s tights. Still, in the end the bare-bottomed Suzuki was declared the winner.

In the semi-finals Kodaka fell to Abe in the first non-Ring Out finish of the show. This time the ring ropes were attached so it was more difficult to be forced out of the ring. Instead both Kodaka and Abe aimed to win by knockout. It led to dueling Rabbit Punches between the two until Kodaka could not take anymore and failed to answer the 10 count after a knockdown. Riho got to face Suzuki who is the wrestler she wanted to fight the most in the tournament. Suzuki was left dizzy by Riho’s quick attacks but countered a 619 to knock her out of the ring.

Any questions about whether or not the Metal Family could get along were seemingly answered in the BASARA Offer Match. IRON PRIEST and the Trans-Am ★ Family worked together to beat the combined Cavalry & BASARA-gun side. FUMA got the pin and is now so confident that he wants to fight Kodaka for the Union MAX Title on 8th January. His reason for the date is because FUMA last won the MAX Title from Kodaka on 6th January, 2017. FUMA wants history to repeat itself.

The Ring Out rules were taken away for the Budokai final. Fuminori Abe and Hideki Suzuki got to wrestle each other in a normal match to see who was better. The Double Arm Suplex was the difference maker. Suzuki used the move to counter Abe’s Rabbit Punch to win the tournament. Suzuki thanked the fans for coming and told a story about first meeting Abe ten years ago. Abe was just an elementary school student who joined the UWF Snake Pit Gym in Koenji. The first thing Abe told Suzuki when he signed up was “Mr. Suzuki, I’m going to WWE!” Years went by until they met again and this time Suzuki found out Abe became a monk. Suzuki was really happy to wrestle with Abe today.

Kodaka approached Abe during the commemorative group photo at the end of the show. He thought Abe did pretty good today. Kodaka doesn’t know if Abe still wants to join WWE but he would like Abe to join BASARA instead. Kodaka offered him a BASARA T-shirt. Abe was happy to accept it. How could he say no? Kodaka told Abe they can get stronger together. Abe promised he will do his best to help make BASARA bigger.


DDT “NEVER MIND 2017” Results

December 24, 2017

DDT “NEVER MIND 2017”, 24/12/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,017 Fans – No Vacancy

0. Dark Match: Mad Paulie defeated Gota Ihashi with the Reverse Splash (5:08).
1. Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Okuda defeated Soma Takao & Daiki Shimomura when Okuda submitted Shimomura with a Grounded Manjigatame (8:58).
2. T2HiJoshi Vs Tokyo Joshi Pro Fight!: Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki & Yuna Manase defeated Francoise☆Takagi, Margaret★Owashi & Kazuko Hirata when Yamashita pinned Hirata with the Crash Rabbit Heat (9:07).
2a. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Ichiko Hirata defeated Miyu Yamashita (c) with a Stunner (12:36).
*Ichiko Hirata becomes the 1,277th champion.
3. KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai defeated Keisuke Ishii, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Tomoya & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Sakaguchi pinned Shimatani with the Purgatory (5:47).
4. NωA, If You Lose Immediately Withdraw Dissolution Special: Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO defeated Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda when Oishi submitted Honda with a Triangle Choke (10:30).
5. Hasta La Vista, Diego! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Diego, Akito & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Kouki Iwasaki, Mizuki Watase & Rekka when Diego pinned Rekka with the V.H.S (11:59).
5a. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Diego defeated Ichiko Hirata (c) with the V.H.S (1:31 pm).
*Diego becomes the 1,278th champion.
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: HARASHIMA & Naomichi Marufuji (c) defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo when HARASHIMA pinned Sasaki with the Somato (18:47).
*V5 for HarashiMarufuji.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Colt Cabana with the Roll Through German Suplex (22:23).
*V10 for Konosuke Takeshita.

On Christmas Eve Konosuke Takeshita was given a tricky challenger for his final KO-D Openweignt Title defence of 2017. Colt Cabana made a brief visit to DDT back in February but impressed the company enough to be granted a championship match for his return. Cabana played mind games early on by loosening up leaving the ring to play around with a photographer, loosening a turnbuckle pad and calling for the audience to be quiet so he could yell in Takeshita’s face. Takeshita kicked out of the Superman Dive clutch that Cabana used to win his other DDT matches. The finish came when Cabana missed a Moonsault from the top rope. Takeshita grabbed Cabana from behind and pushed him into the loose turnbuckle. Cabana tried to hang on to the turnbuckle but it slipped from his hands. Takeshita then rolled him into the German Suplex to get the three count. After the match the two thanked each other. Cabana said he hopes to win the title next time DDT gives him a shot but he knows that won’t happen until he is in his fifties.

Before the show was over Takeshita asked Producer Danshoku Dino a few questions about the D-King Grand Prix next month. The prize is a KO-D Title shot at “JUDGEMENT 2018” in Sumo Hall on 25th March. Since Takeshita will be the champion for the entire tournament he wants to know what he gets if he wins. Does he nominate his challenger? Dino said yes but the grand prize is not just about a title match. Dino’s vision for the Grand Prix is the winner will be cast in DDT’s leading role for all of 2018. That’s why there are so many wrestlers entering the tournament aiming to take Takeshita down.

HarashiMarufuji survived a close call against DAMNATION to keep the KO-D Tag Team Titles. A Thrust Kick from Naomichi Marufuji caught HARASHIMA by mistake. Daisuke Sasaki capitalised with a Hurricanrana but only got a nearfall out of it. Sasaki went for La Mistica Cross Facelock but HARASHIMA did his best to resist it. The struggle lasted long enough for Marufuji to get back in and this time find his target with another Thrust Kick. He then got rid of Tetsuya Endo with the Shiranui. Sasaki still showed signs of life by kicking out of a High Kick/Thrust Kick combo but HARASHIMA put him down for good with the Somato. Backstage Marufuji told HARASHIMA afterwards he will be at Sumo Hall in March for “JUDGEMENT 2018”. He will cheer for HARASHIMA to win the D-King Grand Prix. Sasaki’s post-match comments were that he never believed in God until now. After the match he just had he feels like he was called up to Heaven. He then snapped out of this realisation and shouted at everyone.

For Diego’s last match in DDT for now, he got to pick up the win. The final moments in the 6-Man Tag bout came down to him and Rekka. Diego got the better of Rekka with the V.H.S. Afterwards the entire roster filled the ring to say goodbye to Diego. Akito asked him not to cry because he wanted him to leave DDT with a smile. He said everyone was suspicious of who Diego was when he came to Japan five years ago but since then he has grown into a fine pro wrestler with plenty of cheering fans. Akito wants Diego to wrestle forever no matter where he goes. Then maybe someday Akito will go to Chile to wrestle him. Diego said after five years in Japan he made loads of friends and he thanks all of them for taking care of him.

During the goodbyes the new Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion, Kazuko Hirata approached Diego to get a handshake. Diego instead gave Hirata the V.H.S and pinned him. Diego is now going back to Chile with the Iron Man Title!

Makoto Oishi started celebrating Christmas early by drinking champagne before the NωA’s vital match against Danshoku Dino and his cronies. It didn’t matter to Oishi that the bottle had a skull and bones warning on it. That is until a video of Dino looking for the bottle played on the screen. It turns out the drink was actually a laxative! Whoever drinks it gets cramps for 10 minutes then their stomach explodes. Dino and his team’s entrance took 2 minutes to complete so by the time the match began Oishi had 8 minutes to wrestle and then find a toilet. It didn’t help that Dino’s team all wasted time and targeted Oishi’s stomach throughout the match. Oh and Super Sasadango Machine was dressed as Santa Claus the whole time. When Oishi finally tagged out he fled ringside in search of the nearest restroom. He heroically returned with toilet roll and directed the rest of NωA to fight back. Unfortunately a Double Dropkick from Shunma Katsumata & MAO missed Antonio Honda and hit Oishi in the stomach instead. Time slowed down, the room went dark and “Ave Maria” played over the speakers. The worst had happened. Oishi waved to the audience and tried to leave but no one would let him. However this turned out to be an advantage because the bad smell coming from Oishi repulsed everyone into unconsciousness. Oishi then put Honda in a Triangle Choke (this is still happening in slow motion) to make him tap out from the smell. Dino wouldn’t accept the result and challenged NωA to another high stakes match on 3rd January. If NωA loses then their idol group must stay together. This time Dino has found two high class warriors who hate idols to team with him. It’s the Brahman Brothers!

Shuten-dōji all wore Santa outfits for their match. Tomomitsu Matsunaga didn’t like Saki Akai’s outfit and said she didn’t look cute at all in it.

T2HiJoshi, the “female relatives” of T2Hide were brought in to challenge Tokyo Joshi Pro mainly so they could beat Miyu Yamashita and take the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. Yuka Sakazaki embarrassed Margaret★Owashi by pulling down her dress. Yuna Manase grabbed Francoise☆Takagi by the hair for a Snapmare but accidentally pulled the wig off. Kazuko Hirata made everyone wear Hirata GO! glasses for a dance but was pinned by Yamashita. After the match Hirata admitted Yamashita was superior and asked for a handshake. It was a ruse and Hirata gave Yamashita a Stunner to win the Iron Man Title. He later lost it to Diego.

At intermission both teams held separate meet and greet for fans next to each other. According to DDT both of them were sold out.

When Keisuke Okuda was done stretching Daiki Shimomura with the Manjigatame to win the opening match, he swiftly kicked him on the ground afterwards and gave him the middle finger. Shigehiro Irie ignored Okuda’s behaviour and bowed to the audience. This is because Irie will be taking another overseas excursion in January and will be gone from DDT for a while.

Gota Ihashi thought he had the size to stand up to Mad Paulie. He didn’t. Paulie hammered him with blows and pinned him with the Reverse Splash.

Earlier in the year, Saki Akai won a match that gave her the power to be DDT General Manager for one day. Since then nothing had come from it but today Akai finally announced her plan. She is using the power to run a self-produce show in Shinjuku FACE on 14th March. Hisaya Imabayashi handed over his old Amon Tsumuri afro which in this situation is the symbol of the old GM role in DDT. Akai begrudgingly wore it to pose for photos then threw it away.

At the end of the show a bunch of wrestlers commented on the year they had in DDT. HARASHIMA only won one championship this year. However he starts 2018 with the KO-D Tag Titles so he is already on track to make his 2018 better than his 2017. Marufuji said his time in DDT was normal and good. He is disappointed that HarashiMarufuji did not win the Tokyo Sports Best Tag Team Award. Winning that award will be his DDT goal in 2018. Cabana wanted to say something but his microphone was cut off. KUDO wants to welcome the new year with a successful KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles defence. Nobuhiro Shimatani interrupted Sanshiro Takagi to say he will win every tournament and championship next year. Kazuki Hirata kicked Shimatani away and called him annoying. Hirata said he wants 2018 to be the year of Hirata. He was then stomped on by everybody else. Takagi finally got to speak and reflected on DDT’s shows in Saitama Super Arena and Sumo Hall. He then brought up their sale to CyberAgent. But there were no major changes in December. He promised DDT will walk with the fans all over the next year. Takeshita gave the final word. DDT won’t change even under new ownership. They will continue to entertain the fans as much as possible and he will be the champion as they do so.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SORRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS!” Results

December 23, 2017

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SORRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS!”, 23/12/2017
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
276 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Christmas Special 5 Big Single Match: Miyu Yamashita (c) defeated Marika Kobashi with the Attitude Adjustment (7:07).
*V? for Miyu Yamashita.
2. 3 Way Match: Nonoko defeated Yuna Manase and Yuki Kamifuku when Nonoko pinned Kamifuku with the Pai Fly Flow (9:24).
3. Christmas Special 5 Big Single Match: Rika Tatsumi defeated Nodoka-oneesan with the Dragon Sleeper (8:14).
4. Christmas Special 5 Big Single Match: Yuu defeated Maki Itoh with the Katahajime (9:03).
5. Saki-sama & Azusa Christie defeated Hyper Misao & Maho Kurone when Christie pinned Misao with the Pas de Deux (11:58).
6. Christmas Special 5 Big Single Match: Shoko Nakajima defeated Mizuki with a Modified Roll Up Facelock (8:51).
7. Christmas Special 5 Big Single Match: Reika Saiki Vs Yuka Sakazaki ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).

Five singles matches were determined by a draw in the lead up to this show. In the main event Reika Saiki and Yuka Sakazaki fought to a time limit draw. This is the second time this month that Sakazaki has been in a time limit draw. After the match both of them argued over who was winning before the time ran out. Saiki said it’s her because she is the TOKYO Princess Champion. Sakazaki said it should be her because she is the TOKYO Princess Tag Team Champion and that comes with two belts and a friend. Saiki just gets one belt and has to be alone. They both stopped arguing because it is Christmas so they invited the rest of the roster out to celebrate the holiday.

In the other Christmas matches, Shoko Nakajima defeated Mizuki in a preview of their Tag Title match at Korakuen Hall on 3rd January. Yuu defeated Maki Itoh, Rika Tatsumi beat Nodoka-oneesan and Miyu Yamashita successfully defended the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title against Marika Kobashi.

When Hyper Misao learned that Azusa Takigawa had been transformed into Azusa Christie by Saki-sama, she made it her mission to turn Azusa back to normal. Misao brought out an issue of Zexy Magazine and tried to remind Azusa of who she used to be. With a cold stare Azusa kicked Misao, grabbed the magazine and threw it away. Azusa & Saki-sama proceeded to beat Misao & Maho Kurone. They used the elevated Codebreaker double team move on Misao to win. That move is now called the Pas de Deux.

Yuki Kamifuku brought out a copy of her brand new gravure DVD that was released the day before this show. However the referee told her to get rid of it because he thought she was going to use it as a foreign object.

Maki Itoh’s new CD will be released at the Korakuen Hall show. She is confident it will sell at least 1,000 copies in a day. She is determined to outpass AKB48.

The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) appeared showing off their wrestling gear in public for the first time. They were also shown what their debut match will be on 3rd January. It is Hinano & Miu Vs Hikari & Raku in a tag team match. Raku said everyone in the group is a rival but they are also her friends so she will fight fair and square. Hikari promised to become stronger in time for the match. Hinano is happy to team with Miu because she thinks they are the two most physically fit girls in the group. Miu promised to do her best.