TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 03/08/2024 Shinjuku FACE 297 Fans
1. Suzume, Arisu Endo & Uta Takami defeated Shino Suzuki, Runa Okubo & Chika Nanase when Suzume pinned Nanase with the Ring A Bell (8:41).
2. Miyu Yamashita, Mahiro Kiryu, Moka Miyamoto & Kaya Toribami defeated Mizuki, Raku, HIMAWARI & Kira Summer when Yamashita pinned HIMAWARI with the Attitude Adjustment (10:35).
3. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Rika Tatsumi defeated Toga with the Dragon Sleeper (7:58).
4. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Yuki Kamifuku defeated Pom Harajuku with the Famouser (6:58).
5. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Ryo Mizunami defeated Haru Kazashiro with the Ichijiku (7:10).
6. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Yuki Arai defeated Wakana Uehara with the Sasori-Katame (9:23).
7. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Zara Zakher defeated Miu Watanabe with the Control Z (12:45).
8. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Yuki Aino defeated Shoko Nakajima with a Shoulder Block (16:54).
Round 2 of the Tokyo Princess Cup is now complete. It could be that this year’s Cinderella run for the tournament will happen to Yuki Aino. She defeated Shoko Nakajima in the main event, the first time that has happened in Aino’s career. She blocked Nakajima from turning the Northern Lights Suplex into the Locomotive version. Nakajima however kicked out of the Venus DDT at one. She hit Aino with the Rider Kick but Aino responded with a Shoulder Block that wiped out her opponent and got her the victory. She is happy to win but it is only one victory so she wants to fight Nakajima even more. The rest of the Princess Cup is only going to get tougher from here but Aino promises to burn, burn, burn this summer!
The semi-main event is even more newsworthy. Zara Zakher, the first foreign outsider to compete in the Princess Cup has eliminated the Princess Of Princess Champion from the tournament! In a match that pitted power against power, Kazher scored the upset by beating Miu Watanabe with her Control Z finisher. She feels great after finally winning a match in Tokyo Joshi Pro, especially since she beat the champion. She moves on to face Mizuki in the Quarter Final. Zakher lost to her once before. She thinks the result will be different next time. Watanabe thinks she lose because of her own momentum and she praised Zakher for having overwhelming potential. She wants to turn this loss into a win someday to prove she is stronger than her.
It’s looking good that Yuki Arai will reach her goal of matching last year’s Princess Cup run where she reached the Semi Finals. Wakana Uehara gave her some trouble with a Brainbuster and the Banana Pillow. But Arai fought back with the Rookie Award and then the Scorpion Deathlock for the win. Arai said Uehara is ambitious and quickly growing in the ring. Beating her has given Arai confidence. She will be facing Suzume in the Quarter Final and is eager to beat her one on one after losing to her in the Princess Tag Team Titles match recently. Uehara said she had a plan ready to win but Arai was just so much stronger than she imagined.
Haru Kazashiro tried to get the jump on Ryo Mizunami early but her attack was easily dealt with. She got some more offence in with Cross Body Attacks and even attempted a Fisherman Suplex. Mizunami took over though and made Kazashiro submit to the Ichijiku Shoulder Lock. She was already looking forward to taking part in the Princess Cup but now her pespective has changed a little. It only takes one loss to get knocked out and getting jumped by Kazashiro flipped a switch. She is now fully determined to win the tournament! Kazashiro was upset after the match. She knew it was unlikely she would win but she wasn’t even a millimeter close to beating Mizunami.
The delayed match between Pom Harajuku and Yuki Kamifuku went ahead today. Harajuku kept kicking Kamifuku in the shin and Kamifuku kept poking Harajuku in the eyes. Harajuku went for a big move and charged in with the P Attack but Kamifuku cut her off with a Horizontal Chop. She then pinned her with the Famouser. Kamifuku explained she was too sick to wrestle last week but if the match went ahead it would have been on the same day as the big RIZIN show. She wants to be a winner this summer just like Ren Hiramoto. She will be facing Aino in the Quarter Final.
Toga came close to beating Rika Tatsumi but it just wasn’t to be. She landed the Rock Bottom but Tatsumi kicked out at two. Toga held on though, threw some Elbow Strikes and tried to use the move again. But Tatsumi countered it into the Dragon Sleeper and made Toga give up. Tatsumi thought the win would be a given and she is relieved with the result. She thinks Toga is a very honest person and should keep her spirits up. Tatsumi will be facing Mizunami next in the Quarter Final and she feels very lucky to be her opponent. Toga said she wanted to give it her all but knew she had to push past her limits to have a chance at winning.
It was announced that Max The Impaler’s next appearance for TJPW in Japan will be on 22nd September for “WRESTLE PRINCESS V”.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 28/07/2024 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall 347 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Runa Okubo Vs Yuki Aino
2. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Shino Suzuki Vs Suzume
3. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Yuki Arai Vs Kaya Toribami
4. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Mizuki Vs Moka Miyamoto
5. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Arisu Endo Vs Miu Watanabe
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 28/07/2024 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall 347 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Shoko Nakajima, Raku, HIMAWARI, Haru Kazashiro & Uta Takami defeated Zara Zakher, Wakana Uehara, Toga, Kira Summer & Chika Nanase when Raku pinned Nanase with the Doctor Yellow (8:40).
2. Maki Itoh & Pom Harajuku defeated Rika Tatsumi & Mahiro Kiryu when Itoh pinned Kiryu with the Itoh Clutch (11:55).
3. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Yuki Aino defeated Runa Okubo with the Venus DDT (4:56).
4. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Suzume defeated Shino Suzuki with the Ring A Bell (7:09).
5. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Yuki Arai defeated Kaya Toribami with the Finally (8:38).
6. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Mizuki defeated Moka Miyamoto with the Diving Foot Stomp (12:28).
7. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Miu Watanabe defeated Arisu Endo with the Foot Stomp (14:38).
The 11th annual Tokyo Princess Cup began with a mixture of matches from Round 1 and Round 2 due to the number of entrants creating an uneven tournament bracket to work off of. The big match of the opening round was Miu Watanabe against Arisu Endo in a battle of champions. Endo’s moves couldn’t land a decisive blow and it came down to Watanabe using the Tear Drop to win. She pointed out she has had a singles match against Endo every year that Endo has been around for so it was fate for them to have it here. She’ll be facing Zara Zacker in Round 2 and is keeping a strong attitude so she can accomplish the ultimate grand slam in Tokyo Joshi Pro. Arisu thought this would be the year she would finally beat Watanabe but in the end she lost. She thinks she was still able to show how much she has improved since last year. She wants to be frustrated but she doesn’t have time to feel depressed over it.
Over in Round 2 Mizuki is among the early wrestlers to already qualify for the Quarter Finals thanks to her win against Moka Miyamoto. The Cutie Special followed by the Diving Foot Stomp was the difference maker. Mizuki always wants to be number one but she also has more desires beyond that. She was excited to discover just how much Miyamoto has grown and it makes her want to fight even more so she can become number one again. Miyamoto finds herself down at the bottom again. She just recently lost a Princess Tag Team Titles match and now got eliminated early in the Princess Cup. Her only solution is to keep working harder and get stronger to win more.
Back in Round 1 Yuki Arai took care of Kaya Toribami in a match between wrestlers who debuted only a month away from each other. Arai dodged the 2nd Rope Rolling Senton and gave Toribami the Full Nelson Buster followed by the Finally for the three count. Arai always wanted to have a singles match with Toribami and could feel her determination to win. Arai will now face Wakana Uehara in Round 2. They teamed together in this year’s Max Heart Tournament but Arai will not let anyone stop her from reaching the top four again for a second year in a row. Toribami said she did not feel any panic today and was able to do her best. She wonders if the difference comes from Arai being a champion?
The other girl to start from Round 2 and advance straight on to the Quarter Finals is Suzume. She defeated Shino Suzuki to take this path. They’ve wrestled each other countless times already so Suzume knows just how persistent Suzuki can be. She thinks it even gave her a passionate boost today as she waits to find out who she will face in the Quarter Final. Suzuki said she fought with everything she had but still lost. She does not know if she’s grown at all since her first singles match which was also against Suzume.
A fresh red hair dye job complimented Yuki Aino’s victory over Runa Okubo in Round 1. The rookie tried beating Aino with a Crab Hold and Elbow Strikes but Aino took her down with a Bulldog Headlock before pinning her with the Venus DDT. Aino is pleased to finally advance past the opening round after getting knocked out of it for the past two years. now moves on to fight Shoko Nakajima in Round 2. It is a match that both women are looking forward to. Okubo admitted she lost the match in both strength and momentum. All she’s feeling now is frustration.
Yuki Kamifuku was feeling unwell and could not be at the show today. Her Round 2 match against Pom Harajuku has been postponed until 3rd August. Harajuku was moved to Match #2 instead, turning the 3 Way Match into a tag match. She wanted to see the scheduled 3 Way Match anyway and encouraged the other participants to wrestle the match without her. However it was just a trick so Harajuku could get the jump on the other team.
The bracket drawing for the Tokyo Princess Cup was held in Shibuya during the week with the majority of the entrants in attendance. Those who could not be there for various reasons included Ryo Mizunami, Yuki Arai, Suzume, Pom Harajuku, Runa Okubo and Zara Zakher. Everyone who did attend all gave comments about their first matches and tournament goals.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 28/07/2024 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall
1. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1A: Yuki Arai Vs Kaya Toribami
2. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1B: Arisu Endo Vs Miu Watanabe
3. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1C: Runa Okubo Vs Yuki Aino
4. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2A: Shino Suzuki Vs Suzume
5. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2C: Mizuki Vs Moka Miyamoto
6. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2E: Pom Harajuku Vs Yuki Kamifuku
Yuki Arai and Kaya Toribami debuted in the same year just a month away from each other and are of similar age. They’ve never had a singles match against each other until now and Toribami wants to give it her all so she can win.
Miu Watanabe pointed out she can achieve the Grand Slam of all Tokyo Joshi Pro accomplishments if she can win the Princess Cup. That means winning every TJPW championship and tournament. Arisu Endo is having a lot of tag team success lately but wants to focus on winning a singles tournament by herself this summer.
It’s been a frustrating time for Yuki Aino because she feels there are wresters in TJPW who become so amazing that she is not good enough to fight them. However she knows how many people support her and have high expectations for her. She wants to spend her hot summer smashing through the competition.
Shino Suzuki has had a couple of singles matches against Suzume a few times already but has never beaten her. She will do her best to beat her for the first time.
The two time winner Mizuki says she is aiming to reach the top yet again. However she admits it gets lonely up there so she wants everyone to support her. Moka Miyamoto doesn’t want to let her do that though. She wants to prove she is the best just like Mizuki does.
Every year Yuki Kamifuku tells people she hates competing in tournaments. But recently especially after she reached the final last year fans have encouraged her to do her best. Even her mother scolds her for being so negative about it. So this year Kamifuku is taking a more cheerful approach to being in the tournament.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 03/08/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2B: Winner Of Match 1A Vs Wakana Uehara
2. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2D: Winner Of Match 1B Vs Zara Zakher
3. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2F: Winner Of Match 1C Vs Shoko Nakajima
4. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2G: Rika Tatsumi Vs Toga
5. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2H: Haru Kazashiro Vs Ryo Mizunami
Whoever wins between Arai and Toribami, either will be a first time opponent for Wakana Uehara. She is determined to win no matter who she faces.
Zakher’s first match in the tournament will be against either Watanabe or Endo.
She feels bad for saying this but Shoko Nakajima wants Aino to beat Okubo so she can face her in Round 2. After the match she had against Aja Kong, Nakajima feels the need to evolve in order to survive in TJPW. For this tournament she wants to grab a hold of something new and break out of her shell. Even then it won’t mean anything unless she wins the tournament again.
For Rika Tatsumi the Princess Cup is the fastest way for her to get another shot at regaining the Princess Of Princess Title. Whether she fights against rookies or veterans she is going to destroy them all this summer! Toga knows just how crazy Tatsumi gets in her matches. She will try to surpass that craziness to advance to the next round.
Due to scheduling, Ryo Mizunami’s bracket spot was automatically placed in Round 2 in the beginning before any other drawing was picked. Haru Kazashiro is a little scared to be her opponent because of the difference in strength but also thinks she is lucky to get such a big opponent in her first tournament appearance.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 10/08/2024 Osaka Edion Arena #2
1. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Winner Of Match 2A Vs Winner Of Match 2B
2. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Winner Of Match 2C Vs Winner Of Match 2D
3. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Winner Of Match 2E Vs Winner Of Match 2F
4. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Winner Of Match 2G Vs Winner Of Match 2H
The Princess Cup will hold a round in Osaka for the first time ever.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 23/08/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Tokyo Princess Cup – Semi Final: X Vs X
2. Tokyo Princess Cup – Semi Final: X Vs X
The Semi Final bracket will be determined by a lottery held after the Quarter Finals.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 25/08/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Tokyo Princess Cup – Final: X Vs X
The winner of the 11th Princess Cup tournament will be crowned here.
2024 sees the eleventh edition of the Tokyo Princess Cup taking place with a few outside factors effecting things. 19 entrants are taking part in the single elimination tournament spread across five rounds. The bracket is on a fixed structure until the semi-finals when those pairings will be determined by a lottery.
Due to some international bookings taking place around the same time, several TJPW wrestlers will not be entering this year’s tournament. That includes last year’s winner Miyu Yamashita. She along with Raku, Mahiro Kiryu and HIMAWARI are not taking part because they will be wrestling at the “EVE X TJPW” show in England the same weekend as the Princess Cup’s final rounds. Maki Itoh is not entering either because she is touring America with GCW throughout August. Other missing names are because of injury (Hyper Misao and Haruna Neko) or because first year rookies were not included (Chika Nanase, Kira Summer, Uta Takami) Yamashita’s absence means Shoko Nakajima is the last person left to have taken part in all eleven Princess Cup tournaments. Very fitting given her reputation for how well she usually performs in the tournament over the years. Ryo Mizunami is a rare freelance entry and due to her schedule her first match in the tournament must happen on 3rd August. Zara Zakher becomes the first ever foreign wrestler to be included in the field (unless you count Sakisama).
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TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 28/07/2024 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall
1. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1A: X Vs X
2. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1B: X Vs X
3. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1C: X Vs X
4. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2A: X Vs X
5. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2C: X Vs X
6. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2E: X Vs X
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TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 03/08/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2B: Winner Of Match 1A Vs X
2. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2D: Winner Of Match 1B Vs X
3. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2F: Winner Of Match 1C Vs X
4. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2G: X Vs X
5. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2H: X Vs X
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TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 10/08/2024 Osaka Edion Arena #2
1. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Winner Of Match 2A Vs Winner Of Match 2B
2. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Winner Of Match 2C Vs Winner Of Match 2D
3. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Winner Of Match 2E Vs Winner Of Match 2F
4. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Winner Of Match 2G Vs Winner Of Match 2H
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TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 23/08/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Tokyo Princess Cup – Semi Final: X Vs X
2. Tokyo Princess Cup – Semi Final: X Vs X
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TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 25/08/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Well holy crap will you look at that! Konosuke Takeshita is entering this year’s G1 Climax on behalf of both AEW and DDT. He will be the second DDT affiliated wrestler to take part in New Japan’s famous tournament after Kota Ibushi. It’s a fascinating announcement after Takeshita recently fought Jon Moxley in AEW just for the chance to get an IWGP World Heavyweight Title shot. He swears to enter the G1 as the eye of the storm because he wants to win it so badly. It hasn’t been announced yet if he will be booked for any non-tournament matches during the tour.
Every block match has a 30 minute time limit. 2 Points for a win, 1 Point for a draw and 0 points for losing or having a No Contest. Head-to-head results are used to determine any tiebreakers. The extra wrinkle added to this year’s tournament is the top three of both blocks enter the knockout rounds. Those who finish 2nd and 3rd in their block will face each other and the winner moves on to face the person who finished in 1st to determine who wins the block. The A Block winner and B Block winner then meet in the grand final.
1. G1 CLIMAX 34 – B Block: Yota Tsuji Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA
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NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 34”, 23/07/2024 Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall
1. G1 CLIMAX 34 – B Block: Jeff Cobb Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA
This round of B Block matches are actually taking place on 21st July but Takeshita is already booked for “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” at Sumo Hall on the same day. So his match against Jeff Cobb is happening two days on what was supposed to be the A Block only show.
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NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 34”, 25/07/2024 Sun Messe Kagawa
1. G1 CLIMAX 34 – B Block: Yuya Uemura Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA
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NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 34”, 28/07/2024 Fukuoka International Center
1. G1 CLIMAX 34 – B Block: Henare Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA
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NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 34”, 31/07/2024 Yamaguchi KDDI Ishin Hall
1. G1 CLIMAX 34 – B Block: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs David Finlay
1. G1 CLIMAX 34 – B Block: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs B Block Play-In Winner
The B Block Play-In wrestler will be the winner of a mini-tournament happening in July between Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, Oleg Boltin, Taichi, Satoshi Kojima and TJP.
DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ FINAL!!”, 26/05/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,005 Fans – No Vacancy
0. Dark Match: Yuni & Keigo Nakamura defeated Ilusion & Kazuma Sumi when Nakamura pinned Sumi with the Diving Headbutt (8:51).
1. KANON & MJ Paul defeated HARASHIMA & Akito when KANON pinned Akito with the Ground Cobra Twist (7:59).
2. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Semi Final: MAO defeated Kazusada Higuchi with the Iai Kick (11:43).
3. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Semi Final – No DQ Match: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Chris Brookes with the El Es Culero (13:48).
4. 3 Way Tag Match: Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata and Yukio Naya & Takeshi Masada when Oishi pinned Hirata with a Rock Bottom (0:05).
4a. Rematch: Yukio Naya & Takeshi Masada defeated Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi and Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Naya pinned Hirata and Oishi with the Double Choke Slam (6:42).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shuji Ishikawa, Masahiro Takanashi & Yuya Koroku defeated Poison Sawada JULIE, Tetsumamushi Endo & Yuki “Anaconda” Iino when Koroku pinned JULIE with a Moonsault Press (9:01).
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Ueno pinned Matsunaga with the WR (11:45).
7. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Final: MAO defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the Cannonball 450° (23:45).
On the 20th Anniversary a new King Of DDT has been crowned and it is MAO! He reached all the way to the final where Daisuke Sasaki was there standing in his way. MAO wanted to win quickly and busted out the Hollywood Star Press for a nearfall. Sasaki then started targeting MAO’s knees before taking him outside to do a Super Diving Elbow Drop while MAO was sitting in the front row. MAO fought back by biting his way out of the Crossface Lock, turning Sasaki over with the Michinoku Driver I and then applying the Just Face Lock. Sasaki took a big risk to get back into the fight by giving MAO a Superplex out of the ring onto members of The 37KAMIINA and DAMNATION T.A below. He then tried using flash pins including the Hurricanrana but MAO wore him down with Palm Strikes, the Iai Kick and the Cannonball 450° to win.
With this victory MAO thinks he now has a spot in the main event of “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” on 21st July. He called Yuki Ueno into the ring to tell him it could be those two fighting for the KO-D Openweight Title at Sumo Hall. However Ueno told everyone that he has to beat Sanshiro Takagi first on 5th June. Takagi entered the ring to congratulate MAO and tell him that he too is fighting to achieve his dream of being in a KO-D Title match at Sumo Hall. The closest he’s been to that position was the King Of DDT 2009 final but he lost to Kota Ibushi. MAO reminded Takagi he still had the Weapon Rumble match against The Great Sasuke that year and that match captured MAO’s heart. So much so that if Takagi becomes his opponent at Sumo Hall then they should have a Weapon Rumble match! But if he faces Ueno the match will just be held under normal rules. Ueno was relieved to hear that. The three of them all agreed by sharing a toast together in the ring.
Sasaki went through a war with Chris Brookes in the semi-finals. The two agreed to have a No DQ Match over expectations that both could cheat against each other. Instead it became a full blown hardcore match with tables, plastic boxes, chairs, a ladder, a stapler and even a fork board laid against the corner with “Fuck You Sasaki” painted on it. Brookes also had backup in the form of Mecha Mummy but Sasaki used a taser to make it short circuit and play no further part in the match. Sasaki was thrown from the ladder through a table and Brookes followed up by hitting a Diving Double Knee Drop onto the remains. Sasaki kicked out and then countered the Praying Mantis Bomb into El Es Culero cradle to steal the win from out of nowhere. A bloody Brookes threw everything he could get his hands on around the ring out of anger after the match.
The other semi-final had MAO beating a previous King Of DDT winner Kazusada Higuchi. He had to use Middle Kicks and Palm Strikes to try and match Higuchi’s Chops and Headbutt. The Doctor Bomb Higuchi used was kicked out of but so was the Green Tea Plunge that MAO pulled out. The match came down to duel between the two. Higuchi charged in looking to do the Buchikamashi but MAO blocked it with a Thrust Kick, stunned Higuchi with a Palm Strike, cut off a Lariat with a Hurricane Kick and finally put his opponent down with the Iai Kick. Higuchi had no problem admitting backstage that MAO is a really, really strong wrestler.
Ueno and Takagi used their 6-Man Tag as a preview for what to expect in the KO-D Title bout by brawling with each other in the crowd with the Dramatic Dream bike involved before taking the fight up to the balcony. They had more to offer back in the ring with Ueno doing a Dropkick and Takagi firing back with the Stunner. Tomomitsu Matsunaga used the opening to hit Ueno with the Tommy Bomber for a nearfall. Ueno recovered and Dropkicked Matsunaga in the face before pinning him with the WR. After the match Takagi said he does not care if Ueno is ready or not for the title match. Takagi is now free from responsibility and will be at his most immature on 5th June! Meanwhile To-y told Shunma Katsumata they will be enemies on 21st June because he wants to win the DDT Extreme Title from him in the 5 Way Sauna match. In fact, To-y accused Katsumata of not helping him during today’s match so they may already be enemies!
Plans for Match #4 changed when before the match Poison Sawada JULIE looking for his teammates to brainwash them with his Snake Magic. While this was going on, Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino asked Yuya Koroku in a nearby locker room to go find them something to drink. Koroku found some cans labelled “Modification Drink” in the room where JULIE was just in and gave them to his BURNING partners. What happened when they drank it scared Koroku out of the room while a returning JULIE was pleased with the results. It all became clear what happened when JULIE entered the ring with Endo & Iino both brainwashed into becoming Tetsumamushi Endo & Yuki “Anaconda” Iino! Koroku now had to team with JULIE’s original partners Shuji Ishikawa & Masahiro Takanashi in order to win the antidotes that would turn Endo & Iino back to normal. It was a tough challenge but a well timed dodge from Kuroku caused Iino to Spear Endo by accident. Koroku then gave JULIE a Back Drop and pinned him with the Moonsault Press. He then quickly fed his friends the cans of antidote to free them from JULIE’s snake magic. Whenever JULIE returns to DDT he promises to get revenge on Koroku for stopping him from turning BURNING into his new Snake Magic army.
The 3 Way Tag Match ended too quickly thanks to Makoto Oishi immediately pinning Kazuki Hirata with a Rock Bottom before one of the other teams even made it to the ring. It required a restart and the same result almost happened. Yukio Naya made it in time to break it up so the match could continue. A noticable trend then happened where Takeshi Masada became left out of all of the multi-man spots. Somehow Yukinori Matsui took his place! When Masada became upset over it, Hisaya Imabayashi paused the match and ordered everyone to let Masada be more involved because he is already a lonely college student. Most of them although Danshoku Dieno wasn’t really interested. Naya instructed Masada to climb the top turnbuckle and wait for the opportunity to do a big move while Naya took care of Dieno and Toru Owashi. Oishi and Hirata tried to give Naya the Double Miracle Ecstasy but it was countered into a Double Choke Slam. Naya decided to pin the both of them while Masada was still waiting on the top turnbuckle. The match ended with them as the winners but a sad and lonely Masada took his time to leave the ring.
DAMNATION T.A halted some of Smile Squash’s momentum in the opening match. HARASHIMA & Akito were doing well against KANON & MJ Paul until KANON caught Akito in the Cobra Twist. He then grounded the move and rolled Akito over to pin his shoulders to the mat for a 3 count. KANON bragged about beating Akito with a roll up style move, something that Akito is meant to be a master of. Fans like it when teams from the past reunite but he hates it and for that reason hates Smile Squash too. HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano weren’t angry over the result. They assured Akito that they now all learned KANON is capable of winning that way and they will have to be careful of it in the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match.
In the dark match Yuni hit Ilusion & Kazuma Sumi with a top rope Moonsault out of the ring. He then gave Sumi a Spinning DDT in the ring and Keigo Nakamura followed up with the John Woo Dropkick for a nearfall. Nakamura didn’t waste anytime and landed the Diving Headbutt to get the win.
A new singles match was announced for “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”. Konosuke Takeshita will face Masato Tanaka in a rematch from March 2020!
There was an announcement during the show that DDT and GCW will be co-promoting a show together in Korakuen Hall on 12th August as part of GCW’s next tour of Japan. The show is called “NEVER ENDING NOISY SUMMER” and Effy sent in a video message to promote it. GCW talent currently announced for the show include Joey Janela, Effy, Allie Katch, Masha Slamovich, Mance Warner, Jordan Oliver, Dark Sheik, Alex Zayne and Rina Yamashita.
Before any of the matches began there was a special presentation held by Saki Akai. One of her first projects with DDT since retiring from pro wrestling last year was to set up a crowdfunding campaign to buy new training equipment for the company. The campaign succeeded and today Akai donated the new equipment to Takagi and DDT.
DDT will be launching a new photobook with Leslie Kee on 21st July. They previously worked together for a photobook called “Super DDT” back in 2013.
DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ 2ND ROUND”, 11/05/2024 Yokohama Radiant Hall 270 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki Iino & Akito defeated KANON & MJ Paul and Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao when Akito submitted Hirata with the Ankle Lock (9:31).
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Poison Sawada JULIE, JARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno defeated Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi when JULIE submitted Sumi with the Cattle Mutilation (8:45).
3. Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata defeated Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura when Katsumata pinned Nakamura with the Totonou Splash (12:23).
4. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: Chris Brookes defeated Tetsuya Endo by Referee Stoppage with a Heel Hook (14:58).
5. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Sanshiro Takagi with the Crossover Face Lock (7:18).
6. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Shuji Ishikawa with the Buchikamashi (16:16).
7. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: MAO defeated To-y with the Iai Kick (17:36).
Some of the stories built up for this year’s King Of DDT have come to an end in Round 2. To-y was able to make it past the opening round but fell to MAO after a spirited performance against him. He kicked out of the Michinoku Driver II and Senpukyaku. He also did his best to shrug off an Iai Kick but MAO finally kept him down with a second Iai Kick. To-y said he has watched many of MAO’s matches from ringside and when it comes to fighting him he found out MAO is actually ten times stronger. MAO described To-y as a weird guy. He will suddenly go mad then go dead then come back to life and go mad again. Maybe that is the Kojima Wonderland experience.
A battle of the heavyweights was promised when Shuji Ishikawa entered the tournament. Kazusada Higuchi and Yukio Naya both targeted him and had to fight each other for the opportunity to fight Ishikawa next. Higuchi won that match and made the most of his opportunity by beating Ishikawa in Round 2! The match had heavy blows from both guys and Higuchi even kicked out of the Fire Thunder at 1. Ishikawa followed up with the Kamigoye and Running Knee Lift but Higuchi kicked out of them as well. Higuchi then took over with a Throwaway German Suplex and ran over Ishikawa with the Buchikamashi for the victory. Ishikawa praised Higuchi for the win and said he had a great time in the tournament with the exception of losing this match. Higuchi thinks he has not surpassed Ishikawa just yet. The battle between them will continue to move back and forth.
Sanshiro Takagi made a mistake early in his match by accidentally hitting the referee with a Lariat. Daisuke Sasaki took Takagi out of the ring for a fight that involved both of them crashing the Dramatic Dream bike into each other or into MJ Paul. The referee took more bumps leading to more cheating by Sasaki including a Low Blow and a chairshot to the head. Takagi relied on using Stunners to fight back until Sasaki caught him in the Crossover Face Lock, forcing him to give up. Sasaki criticised Takagi for being so satisfied with beating Yuki Ueno in Round 1 that he had no motivation to win today. Backstage Takagi said he is disappointed with the result and is still aiming to get a KO-D Openweight Title shot before he takes his break from wrestling. Ueno told reporters he would like to defend the title against Takagi because he owes him for so much. Even though Takagi has not earned a shot, Ueno wants it to happen in order to express his feelings to Takagi in the ring before it is too late.
An injured heel has ended Tetsuya Endo’s chances of advancing further into the tournament. Even though he was cleared to wrestle today, the heel wasn’t in 100% condition and Chris Brookes knew to target it. Endo still tried some high risk moves but he missed the Burning Star Press. Brookes made him pay for it by hitting a Diving Double Stomp to the foot. He then applied a Heel Hook and the referee had to stop the match when it was clear Endo couldn’t escape it and was at risk of getting even more injured. Endo was angry with the finish because he never gave up. Brookes isn’t sure if he could have won if Endo was at 100%. The news of the injury was all over social media leading up to the show so even if Brookes wanted to ignore it for the sake of having a fair fight he couldn’t.
The show ended with a lottery between the remaining wrestlers to determine who faces who in the semi-finals. It will be MAO Vs Higuchi and Brookes Vs Sasaki on 26th May. Higuchi has lost count of how many times he reached the final four (this will be his 7th time) and knows this is where the biggest walls are blocking him. Brookes said both Higuchi and MAO are strong but Sasaki is not at all. However, Sasaki is sneaky and Brookes would have preferred not to worry about fighting somebody like that next.
Poison Sawada JULIE was up to his old tricks by transforming HARASHIMA into JARASHIMA for one night only!
A contract signing for the next DDT Extreme Title match took place during the show. Shunma Katsumata revealed he will defend the title in a 3 Round Pokkiri Strategy Match against Antonio Honda. It a Best 2 Out Of 3 Round match and each round will use different rules that will be announced before the match begins. Both Katsumata and Honda will come up with rules they want to use. The reason why Honda is also allowed to come up with rules too is because Katsumata likes to gamble and wants to be put in a position where the odds can be against him.
DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ 1ST ROUND”, 05/05/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,025 Fans – No Vacancy
0. Dark Match: Soma Takao, Keigo Nakamura & Yuya Koroku defeated Yuni, Ilusion & Kazuma Sumi when Nakamura pinned Sumi with the Diving Headbutt (9:25).
0. Dark Match: Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Shunma Katsumata, Akito & Kazuki Hirata when Oishi pinned Hirata with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (0:09).
0a. Rematch: Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Shunma Katsumata, Akito & Kazuki Hirata when Oishi pinned Hirata with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (4:43).
1. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: MAO defeated Poison Sawada JULIE with the Iai Kick (9:16).
2. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: To-y defeated KANON with a Frankensteiner (11:09).
3. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Sanshiro Takagi defeated Yuki Ueno with the Stone Cold Stunner (11:09).
4. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Yuki Iino with the Standing Crossover Face Lock (11:15).
5. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Yukio Naya with the Buchikamashi (14:12).
6. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Shuji Ishikawa defeated HARASHIMA with the Giant Slam (13:58).
7. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Tetsuya Endo defeated Danshoku Dieno with the Burning Tanetsuke Press (18:26).
8. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Chris Brookes defeated Takeshi Masada with the Praying Mantis Bomb (15:53).
2004 was the year when DDT held its first King Of DDT tournament. It was not held on an annual basis until 2009 but the history of the tournament is filled with winners who have gone on to accomplish many things in DDT and pro wrestling as a whole. This year is the 20th anniversary of the first King Of DDT and the 18th edition of the event. The main show began with all of the 16 participants lining up in the ring for the opening ceremony.
The main event was all about SCHADENFREUDE International as two of its members faced off in the last of the Round 1 matches. Brookes had a special guest with him because Zack Sabre Jr. was there to be in his corner. Takeshi Masada wanted to win badly and tried using the Takatonic and the KOBU Mukimuki. He even tried to withstand the pain from taking an Avalanche Tiger Suplex but at that point Brookes just had to keep up the attack until he won. Masada had one last chance left when he countered the Praying Mantis Bomb but Brookes countered the Mukimuki, hit two Somatos and pinned Masada with the Praying Mantis Bomb. After the match Brookes told Masada that any bad things he said about him at the press conference was lies and he really wanted him to do his best today. Backstage Brookes and Sabre talked up the tag match they are having at “ALL TOGETHER” tomorrow.
Meeting Brookes in the next round is Tetsuya Endo. He had to dig in deep to beat Danshoku Dieno because Dieno was ready to avoid the Burning Star Press at any opportunity. One of the counters Dieno pulled off was a top rope Frankensteiner! He also had Makoto Oishi interfering when the two of them gave Endo the 3D after the referee was knocked out with a Lip Lock. Dieno went into the Hell Gate position over the turnbuckles but it was Oishi who got a face full of the Gate. Endo then grabbed Dieno by the crotch and Headbutted his butt! When Endo climbed the top rope to finally hit the Burning Star Press, Dieno had one last idea to defend himself. He rolled over and stuck his butt into the air daring Endo to jump in. Endo did exactly what Dieno wanted except first he pulled off Dieno’s tights and then hit the Burning Star Press! He was able to turn Dieno over and pin him without exposing anything further to the crowd.
After the match El Desperado unexpectedly entered the ring while Oishi was getting Dieno’s trunks back on him. He has a lot to look forward to this summer but he isn’t here to talk about the Best Of The Super Juniors or his next DDT appearance at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”. Instead he pulled out two invitations for the “DESPE-INVITACIONAL” event he is holding at Korakuen Hall on 10th June. The two invitations are for Dieno and a wrestler of his choice. If it was up entirely to Desperado he would have wanted his main event to be Pheromones Vs House Of Torture just so he could see Dieno chase EVIL around the ring. Dieno confirmed to him that Pheromones have disbanded and cannot be brought back. Desperado will give him the invitations anyway and trusts Dieno to find a suitable partner so they can do something similar to Pheromones at the show. Dieno asked if that means his partner does not have to be anybody from DDT? Desperado said yes, the choice is all up to Dieno and no one else.
One of the former King Of DDT winners Shuji Ishikawa returned with a bang by eliminating HARASHIMA in Round 1. HARASHIMA was able to kick out of the Splash Mountain, Running Knee Lift, Fire Thunder and also the Kamigoye. But he was a beaten man at that point and was finally put away with the Giant Slam. He will be facing Kazusada Higuchi in the next round and Higuchi met him in the ring after the match to give him a Headbutt! Backstage Ishikawa admitted he needs to improve his own conditioning. When he fights Higuchi he will either strike out or hit a home run. If the latter happens then nothing will stop Ishikawa from winning the tournament and then the KO-D Openweight Title!
Higuchi already got rid of one big boy to advance into Round 2. He beat Yukio Naya by wearing him down with the Brain Claw inbetween the moments of high impact moves between them. Naya finally went down to a series of Headbutts and struggled to get back to his feet to beat the 10 count. When he did stand back up, Higuchi was already in position to run him over with the Buchikamashi for the victory. As mentioned above, Higuchi is eager to face Ishikawa next.
Yuki Iino was almost unstoppable against Daisuke Sasaki but “Charisma” found a way to beat him eventually. Chair shots over the head and interference from MJ Paul didn’t work. Even trying to Spear Iino just had Sasaki bounce off of him. What did work was countering the Spear into a Pedigree in midair. It wasn’t enough to pin Iino but Sasaki was able to give him La Mistica Crossover Face Lock from there. Iino used his power to stand back up but Sasaki would not let go of the hold, keeping it on tight so Iino had no choice but to give up from the pain he was feeling in his shoulder. Sasaki bragged about showing off his power as the strongest wrestler in DDT.
There were a couple of upsets in Round 1. The biggest of perhaps the entire tournament is the KO-D Champion Yuki Ueno losing to Sanshiro Takagi! This year’s King Of DDT looks to be Takagi’s last stand before he takes a break from being a wrestler and he could not have sent out a louder message for everyone to hear. They fought in the crowd so Takagi could knock Ueno down the stairs. Ueno fought back with a Moonsault out of the ring and also a Frog Splash in the ring. But he missed the BME, landing on his feet right there for Takagi to give him the Stunner for the shock three count! Takagi later said if he wins the tournament then he will challenge Ueno for the KO-D Title. Ueno does not want to end this with a loss and thinks Takagi must come challenge him for the title eventually.
The other big upset in the opening round is To-y advancing past KANON. He kept on getting hit with K-Spikes but fought back using the Kojima Wonderland. KANON avoided the Kojima Impace but got caught with a Frankensteiner for the upset loss. He heard KANON’s comments about Hideki Okatani during the week and is sure Okatani was supporting him rather than KANON. All he needs is a 1% chance of winning to turn it into a 100% chance! Meanwhile KANON can’t believe he lost in the first round again. After three years of trying he has never gotten past Round 1 in the King Of DDT.
It was a battle of magic and danger when MAO took on the very first King Of DDT winner Poison Sawada JULIE. The dreaded Snake Magic is Sawada’s main weapon. Using it causes the victim to raise their rattling hand in the air to show that Sawada can then make them do whatever he wants. However it turns out MAO has been learning the same dark magic and used his own version to fight back. The spells ended up knocking out Yukinori Matsui after they were deflected into his direction. MAO then summoned invisible baseball bats rigged with explosives that had its own warning siren to go with it. He and Sawada both hit each other with the bats, causing an invisible explosion every time. Sawada then blinded MAO with Poison Mist but couldn’t get the three count with the Choke Slam or the Maoi Of Easter. MAO had to defend himself from the magic and did so by spitting his own Mist in Sawada’s face. Sawada was then powerless to block the Iai Kick, ending the match and eliminating him from the tournament.
The King Of DDT Round 2 matches on 11th May will be MAO Vs To-y, Sanshiro Takagi Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Kazusada Higuchi Vs Shuji Ishikawa and Tetsuya Endo Vs Chris Brookes.
One of the dark matches ended before Jun Akiyama could even enter the ring so they had to restart it on his orders. His team did their entrance again and the same thing almost happened a second time. However Akiyama was there to stop Oishi from quickly pinning Kazuki Hirata again so everyone could get a chance to wrestle. Later in the match everyone began to fight over the Hirata GO! Glasses. When Akiyama was the last man standing he decided to put them on. Right when he was about to dance Oishi pinned Hirata to cut the music and end the match.
The other dark match had Keigo Nakamura winning the bout for his team. Yuni & Ilusion both did dives onto Soma Takao & Yuya Koroku outside the ring. But Kazuma Sumi couldn’t follow up for his side and got pinned by Nakamura’s Diving Headbutt.
There were a few announcements for some of DDT’s upcoming shows. Minoru Suzuki will be at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” on 21st July. There will be a Street Pro Wrestling match held inside a sauna on 21st June with Sayaka Unagi as one of the participants. Unagi will also be at the 20th July Beer Garden show.
DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ 1ST ROUND”, 05/05/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: Yuni, Keigo Nakamura & Yuya Koroku Vs Ilusion, Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya
0. Dark Match: Shunma Katsumata, Akito & Kazuki Hirata Vs Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
1. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1A: MAO Vs Poison Sawada JULIE
2. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1B: KANON Vs To-y
3. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1C: Yuki Ueno Vs Sanshiro Takagi
4. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1D: Yuki Iino Vs Daisuke Sasaki
5. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1E: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yukio Naya
6. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1F: HARASHIMA Vs Shuji Ishikawa
7. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1G: Tetsuya Endo Vs Danshoku Dieno
8. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1H: Chris Brookes Vs Takeshi Masada
A press conference was held at yesterday’s DDT fanfest featuring 14 of the 16 entrants in this year’s King Of DDT tournament. Takeshi Masada could not be there due to university commitments but sent in a message. The message said Masada does not want to get knocked out in the first round like he did last year. He will be in the main event against his stablemate Chris Brookes. Masada has learned a lot from being in SCHADENFREUDE International and sees this match as a challenge to surpass his friend. Brookes is last year’s winner and he brought the trophy with him. He is motivated to win the tournament again and go all the way to winning back the KO-D Openweight Title. However he admits he felt a little aimless after he lost the KO-D Title last year. He’s still motivated but felt something was missing.
Elsewhere Tetsuya Endo’s match against Danshoku Dieno has more meaning to it than you would think. Endo’s recent luck in King Of DDT hasn’t been good but he feels he has gotten into shape after winning the New Year’s Eve trios tournament and raching the final of the D-Oh Grand Prix. However Dieno means so much to DDT that Endo admits he is not as good of a pro wrestler as Dieno is. He thinks Dieno does not realize that though and for that reason Endo is confident he will win. Dieno said he is only concentrating on this match and has done a lot of studying for it. His entire game plan is going to be based around Endo using the Burning Star Press. He knows how to avoid it and also how to counter it. The percentage of him succeeding is low but if Dieno can nail the timing of the Burning Star Press being used against him, he can find a way to exploit it and beat Endo.
It’s been a while since a HARASHIMA Vs Shuji Ishikawa match has happened. HARASHIMA is well aware of his big and strong Ishikawa is. He is also a believer that tomorrow is when a person will reach their peak so he will be stronger too. Both of them are evolving so he does not expect the match to be identical to their previous fights against each other. Ishikawa understands it takes a lot of training at his age to keep fit and HARASHIMA is older than he is. He had seen Yuki Ueno wrestle at Korkauen Hall last month and it made him realise all of DDT’s champions right now are young. He intends to last forever though. He also feels emotional about the tournament because he missed so many of them due to his affiliation with Union Pro at the time. When he finally got to have a proper go it was as an independant wrestler in 2016 and he won it that year. His hope is he will face Poison Sawada JULIE in the final.
An illness prevented Kazusada Higuchi from being at the event but he had a message written out for everyone. His thought process is the same, he will take it one match at a time. His 1st Round opponent is Yukio Naya so he will be focused the most on beating him. Naya is trying to repeat his success from the D-Oh Grand Prix so he can get another shot at the KO-D Title. He believes his momentum began when he beat Higuchi at the 2022 D-Oh GP. He wants to beat him again to take his place as the center of DDT’s heavyweight division.
There is a lot going on is Daisuke Sasaki’s mind. He knows if Yuki Iino hits him with the Spear in Round 1 it will be all over for him. However Sasaki realized some of the best wrestlers in the world right now like Jon Moxley, Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns are all 38 years old. He is 38 years old so that means he is going to win! Iino has never beaten Sasaki in a singles match but is confident he can do it because of the Spear. He doesn’t know what direction it will come from but he will hit it. Also if age is a factor then Iino at 29 is the same as Shohei Ohtani and Yuzuru Hanyu. That means he is going to win, not Sasaki!
Sanshiro Takagi’s entry into the tournament has caught the attention of the wrestling press because of his age and also who he is facing in Round 1. The 54 year old is taking on the KO-D Champion Yuki Ueno! He told Ueno that when he was his age it was a year into DDT’s existence and he worked as hard as he could to keep the company from collapsing. He wants to fight Ueno like he is 28 again. In order to do that he is thinking about visiting beauty salons and saunas to build up his stamina for a possible 60 minute long match. He also wants to keep his promise to Konosuke Takeshita. The promise is Takagi wins the KO-D Title one more time, Takeshita wins a singles title in AEW and the two of them will have a champion versus champion match together. Takeshita recently showing intentions to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title has only made Takagi’s wish become stronger. Ueno’s entire reign as champion has been about him proving he is the ace of DDT. Fighting the company president continues that story and will provide a look into DDT’s future. He will be in the main event of next week’s “ALL TOGETHER” show and wants to convey the fun that DDT brings to wrestling at that event.
It is To-y’s dream to win the KO-D Title so he is all revved up to be in the King Of DDT. KANON was unusually serious when he talked about looking forward to the match. He offered a handshake but To-y didn’t trust him. That caused KANON to burst into tears and claim he was told by Hideki Okatani to win the tournament. He then flipped out and attacked To-y putting him in the Cobra Twist. To-y promised to get revenge afterward.
There is a lot of nostalgia surrounding this year’s tournament because it is the 20th anniversary of the first one. The very first winner Poison Sawada JULIE is not feeling that nostalgia. He knows just how clever and tricky MAO is to fight. He is going to be careful but is confident he will win because of his magic spells. MAO said this year’s tournament is the turning point of DDT and he is that turning point. He has a counter for Sawada’s spells and that is to point somewhere so Sawada loses attention and then punch him in the face. Sawada sees the funny side of MAO’s idea and suggested the entire match just be them casting spells at each other.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 