“NEW YEAR’S WRESTLING 2021 ~TOSHIKOSHI! SHUFFLE 6-MAN TAG TOURNAMENT”, 31/12/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 655 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: Kazusada Higuchi, Ryuji Ito & Shiro Koshinaka Vs Chris Brookes, Takuya Nomura & Minoru Fujita ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
1a. Overtime – 1 Count Fall Rule: Chris Brookes, Takuya Nomura & Minoru Fujita defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Ryuji Ito & Shiro Koshinaka when Fujita pinned Ito with the Modified Samson Clutch (0:52).
2. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: HARASHIMA, Daichi Hashimoto & Kengo Mashimo defeated Soma Takao, Yuya Aoki & Shuji Ishikawa when Hashimoto submitted Aoki with the STF (9:06).
3. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuji Okabayashi & Kuishinbo Kamen defeated Naomi Yoshimura, Kota Sekifuda & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu) when Takeshita pinned Kei with a Cradle (5:17).
4. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: MAO, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Shigehiro Irie defeated Akito, Daisuke Sekimoto & Jun Kasai when MAO pinned Akito with the Cannonball 450° (8:50).
5. MUSASHI, Daisuke Kanehira, Takafumi & Tatsuya Hanami defeated Takuho Kato, Kosuke Sato, Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida when MUSASHI submitted Ishida with the Modified Sasorikatame (13:40).
6. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: HARASHIMA, Daichi Hashimoto & Kengo Mashimo defeated Chris Brookes, Takuya Nomura & Minoru Fujita when Mashimo pinned Fujita with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (11:41).
7. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuji Okabayashi & Kuishinbo Kamen Vs MAO, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Shigehiro Irie ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00).
7a. Overtime – 1 Count Fall Rule: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuji Okabayashi & Kuishinbo Kamen defeated MAO, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Shigehiro Irie when Kamen pinned MAO with a Crushed La Magistral Cradle (0:44).
8. 3 Way Tag Match: Stan Kobayashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated Jaki Numazawa & Antonio Honda Vs Danshoku Dieno & Kankuro Hoshino when Kobayashi pinned Hona with the Bakachinga Anal Elbow (14:21).
9. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Final: HARASHIMA, Daichi Hashimoto & Kengo Mashimo defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Yuji Okabayashi & Kuishinbo Kamen when HARASHIMA pinned Kamen with the Somato (16:19).
The annual New Year’s Eve Shuffle Tag Tournament switched over to a trios format for the end of 2021. Each team consisted of a DDT wrestler, a Big Japan wrestler and a “Dream Slot” wrestler from another company or batch of freelancers.
Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1
I’ll Do It!! Vs Three Brothers Kawaii
Fans didn’t have to wait long for the reveal of Chris Brookes & Takuya Nomura’s mystery partner. It was Minoru Fujita! Their combined cuteness went to a 10 minute stalemate against the rugged trio of Kazusada Higuchi, Ryuji Ito & Shiro Koshinaka. In the final seconds Fujita hit Ito with the SAYONARA but time ran out before the pin. Sudden death overtime meant One Count Fall rules to win. Koshinaka misfired the Hip Attack and hit Ito by accident, allowing Fujita to get the 1 Count to win.
Ikemen’s Vs LEFTOVERS
Next up the team of Soma Takao, Yuya Aoki & Shuji Ishikawa all walked out dressed and posing like Masahiro Chono. They continued the Chono tribute by locking in a Triple STF to HARASHIMA, Daichi Hashimoto & Kengo Mashimo. They got a taste of their own medicine at the end when Hashimoto locked Aoki into his own version of the STF to win. He then encouraged his own team to do Chono’s pose.
Deadlifters Vs I Dream Of Twins, Lizards And Naomi
Things got weirder because next up was The Brahman Brothers entering the ring with Naomi Yoshimura & Kota Sekifuda behind them carrying stuffed toy lizards. Konosuke Takeshita and Yuji Okabayashi brought out chairs looking ready for a fight until they had powder thrown in their faces. Kuishinbo Kamen tried to help but couldn’t do much. Takeshita was given a Low Blow but found a way in his doubled over state to block a Sunset Flip and press down to get the three count.
Ugo Association Vs Team Saiyuki
Before this match began Shigehiro Irie and MAO shook hands to show that their problems are in the past and they can work together. Jun Kasai announced he created a new move and it is punching MAO a lot. MAO took a beating from Akito, Daisuke Sekimoto & Kasai but toughed it out so Yasufumi Nakanoue & Irie could come for the rescue. Akito then got singled out and fell to the trademark moves of his opponents.
Non-Tournament 8-Man Tag Match
The buffer match after Round 1 brought together a mixture of wrestlers from across the indies. DDT & Big Japan were represented by their young generation of Takuho Kato, Kosuke Sato, Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida. Their opponents were MUSASHI from Michinoku Pro, Daisuke Kanehira from HEAT-UP, Takafumi from ZERO1 & Tatsuya Hanami from 2AW. In the end MUSASHI picked up the win by making Ishida submit.
Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final
Three Brothers Kawaii Vs LEFTOVERS
The semi-finals had a tense start when Hashimoto and HARASHIMA declined to shake the other team’s hands. Fujita and Mashimo had a back and forth that ended with Fujita asking for a handshake only to get attacked. HARAHSIMA and Nomura got into a spirited kick-off and Fujita almost pinned Mashimo with the SAYONARA. The tables were turned when Fujita was hit with a Triple Super Kick and Mashimo pinned him with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster.
Deadlifters Vs Ugo Association
Kamen was targeted as the weak link in this match. While Takeshita & Okabayashi cancelled out Nakanoue & Irie the dying moments of the match fell down to Kamen and MAO. Kamen was caught in the Clothespin submission but held out for the last 30 seconds so the match could end in a draw. When Sudden Death began Kamen was quickly given more big blows but when MAO attempted La Magistral Cradle, Kamen blocked it and stole the win with the 1 Count fall.
3 Way Tag Match
The other non-tournament match brought the show back to weird territory. Danshoku Dieno jumped into the Hell Gate position, Kazuki Hirata started dancing, Kankuro Hoshino vanished to be replaced by Kenshiro Hoshino, then Abdullah Kobayashi disappeared and Stan Kobayashi took his place. To cap it all off, Jaki Numazawa left and returned as RoboCop! Antonio Honda was ready to finish the match but tripped and injured his knee. Kobayashi ended up using Dieno’s backside to charge up his Lariat arm and pin Honda with the Bakachinga Elbow.
Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Final
LEFTOVERS Vs Deadlifters
Poor old Kuishinbo Kamen has never won a tournament in his career. His run of luck in these things is so bad that back in Osaka Pro it was a known flaw that he would get eliminated early in their annual tournaments. By making it to the final, today could have finally been his day. Sadly it just wasn’t to be. He brought out some fun antics at the beginning but was there to win with his partners as the match heated up. Okabayashi floored HARASHIMA with a Lariat and Takeshita wiped out Hashimoto & Mashimo with a Topé. But HARASHIMA regained control of the match against Kamen and pinned him with the Somato to win the final.
The tournament winners celebrated and HARASHIMA said he felt good fortunes with his team this year. They were all the last people picked in the lottery draft which is why they called themselves LEFTOVERS in the first place. Hashimoto agreed and thinks it is a sign that the new year will be good to them. He’d like LEFTOVERS to team together for next year’s Shuffle Tag show but doesn’t know if that will happen. Mashimo credited all of the wrestlers involved for making today and exciting tournament and he invited all of them out for a group photo to end the show.
1. Takuya Nomura Vs Daisuke Sekimoto (Big Japan, 18th October)
2. The Great Sasuke Vs Jinsei Shinzaki (Michinoku Pro, 4th June)
3. Jun Akiyama Vs Konosuke Takeshita (DDT, 21st August)
4. HARASHIMA Vs Yuji Okabayashi (DDT, 21st November)
5. Tetsu Inada Vs Shota Okamura (Hiragana Muscle, 1st September)
Best Unit
1. Pheromones
2. Astronauts
3. Speed Of Sounds
4. The 37KAMIINA
5. E.R.E
Best Box Office
1. Hiragana Muscle @ Korakuen Hall, 1st September
2. DDT @ Fujitsu Stadium Kawasaki, 21st August
3. CyberFight Festival @ Saitama Super Arena, 6th June
4. Big Japan @ Sapporo Chateraise Gateaux Kingdom, 20th September
5. Masahiro Takanashi Produce @ Shinjuku FACE, 1st August
DDT “GET ALIVE 2020”, 07/09/2020 Tokyo Korakuen Hall ??? Fans – Withheld
1. Akito & Yukio Naya defeated Makoto Oishi & Mizuki Watase when Akito submitted Watase with the Goliath Birdeater (8:42).
2. Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda defeated Kazuki Hirata & Keigo Nakamura when Honda pinned Nakamura with the Diving Fist Drop (9:34).
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai (c) defeated Danshoku Dieno, Seigo Tachibana & Yoshiko when Sakaguchi pinned Dieno with the Gay-do Clutch (11:57). *V2 for Eruption.
4. Team Big Boomers Vs ALL OUT!: Jun Akiyama & Sanshiro Takagi defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata when Akiyama pinned Katsumata with the Exploder Suplex (10:48).
5. DDT UNIVERSAL Title – No DQ Match: Chris Brookes (c) defeated Drew Parker with the Praying Mantis Bomb (13:55). *V1 for Chris Brookes.
6. DAMNATION Vs DISASTER BOX Full Scale Battle! Elimination 10-Man Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani defeated HARASHIMA, Naomichi Marufuji, Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Toru Owashi (23:37).
6a. Soma Takao eliminated Naomichi Marufuji by Ring Out (13:48).
6b. Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani and Toru Owashi were all eliminated by Triple Ring Out (15:24).
6c. Daisuke Sasaki eliminated Naomi Yoshimura with a School Boy (17:11).
6d. HARASHIMA eliminated Soma Takao by Ring Out (18:43).
6e. Tetsuya Endo eliminated HARASHIMA by Ring Out (21:13).
6f. Yuki Ueno eliminated Daisuke Sasaki by Ring Out (22:36).
6g. Tetsuya Endo eliminated Yuki Ueno with the Shooting Star Press (23:37).
The main event elimination match had No Tag and Over The Top Rope rules added to it before everyone came out. Naomichi Marufuji was the surprise first elimination when Soma Takao blocked the Shiranui, knocked him onto the apron and then Missile Dropkicked him to the floor. Toru Owashi evened the score in a big way by holding on to both Mad Paulie and Nobuhiro Shimatani in the apron. HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno understood his plan and Dropkicked the group to the floor, bringing the match down to 3 Vs 3. Paulie & Shimatani stuck around however and distracted the referee so Daisuke Sasaki could Low Blow Naomi Yoshimura twice before pinning him. The entire DAMNATION side continued their attack until the full DISASTER BOX team fought back and HARASHIMA eliminated Takao by countering the Gin And Tonic into a Headscissors over the rope and out of the ring. Sasaki hit a Topé Suicida to Ueno while Tetsuya Endo caught HARASHIMA with the Overhead Kick. He lifted him up for the Torture Rack but instead of going for the Bomb like he normally does, he ran across the ring and threw HARASHIMA to the floor instead. DAMNATION’s 2 on 1 advantage backfired when Endo accidentally kicked Sasaki out the ring when he aimed for Ueno. Endo recovered from that mistake and pinned Ueno with the Shooting Star Press to win.
After the match there were two things DAMNATION had to talk about in regards to “ULTIMATE PARTY 2020”. Takao was discussing his tag match against HarashiMarufuji when he received two video messages from CIMA. The first message was CIMA saying how much he is looking forward to the match after it was delayed. Then the second video was CIMA suggesting he and Takao have a warm up match before that. But instead of them teaming together CIMA and Takao will have a match against each other on 27th September!
The other issue needing attention was Endo’s big announcement. Who will he choose to defend the KO-D Openweight Title against at Ota Ward Gymnasium? He chooses Daisuke Sasaki! Endo explained there are two wrestlers left he has to surpass. One is Kenny Omega but that match cannot happen for now. That means he will go with his other influence and that is Sasaki. The challenge was accepted but Sasaki made something clear. DAMNATION has nothing to do with this. It will be Endo Vs Sasaki, nothing else!
Years of friendship was put aside when Chris Brookes defended the DDT UNIVERSAL Title against Drew Parker in a No DQ Match. Parker had Abdullah Kobayashi in his corner while Masahiro Takanashi accompanied Brookes to the ring. The smashed birthday mug that led to all of this was a hint of what was to come. Parker Double Stomped Brookes through a pile of plastic cases from a ladder. He also threw him through a board of plastic forks. Brookes stapled paper to Parker’s cheeks and broke a chair over his head. He then used the Praying Mantis Bomb to put his friend away. The two got along again after the match and Brookes told the fans this won’t be the last time Parker is in DDT. Together they will go after the KO-D Tag Team Titles! They got permission from Hisaya Imabayashi to challenge Nautilus and the match will happen on 27th September.
Team Big Boomers put those young up ‘n comers in their place. Shunma Katsumata had his back targeted because he still had wounds over it from a recent death match he had in Big Japan. There was a small setback when Sanshiro Takagi accidentally kicked Jun Akiyama in the face outside the ring but other than that their teamwork was flawless. Konosuke Takeshita got to fight evenly with Akiyama again but was taken aside and had to watch his rival pin Katsumata with the Exploder Suplex. Makoto Oishi approached Takeshita after the match with a challenge. He wants to do three Junretsu Vs ALL OUT singles matches at the next Korakuen Hall show. They will put down three tug of war ropes hidden from view and whichever wrestlers choose the same rope will wrestle each other. Akito pointed out the possibility of Takeshita and Akiyama choosing the same rope which means their first singles match could happen before “ULTIMATE PARTY 2020”. But this rivalry between the two factions is now more than just Takeshita Vs Akiyama. The rest of ALL OUT also want to get that match against Akiyama.
The pantyhose joke is still funny to Yukio Sakaguchi so Eruption’s challengers had their gameplan ready. That was until Yoshiko refused to wear pantyhose over her head. Danshoku Dieno got her to wear jokey sunglasses instead and that worked just as well on Sakaguchi. Kazusada Higuchi wasn’t in a laughing move though. His goal was to slice off Seigo Tachibana’s little finger with a karate chop! Saki Akai was the only one on the champion team fully focused on the match and that’s because she was in the ring with her career rival Yoshiko again. Dieno took out more masks to make Sakaguchi laugh including a horse head he put over one of the production staff. Sakaguchi finally figured out he could unmask his opponents but Dieno still put the masks on other people to distract him. Sakaguchi got out of the ring only to come back in wearing the horse head himself. Dieno pulled it off to reveal Sakaguchi was wearing pantyhose on his head underneath! Dieno burst into laughter allowing Sakaguchi to put him in a Sleeper Hold. He then rolled him into a Gaydo Clutch to get the three count.
Normally in pro wrestling rookies get yelled at because they are not taking things seriously. In DDT rookies get yelled at when they do take things seriously! Keigo Nakamura got a grilling from Super Sasadango Machine, Antonio Honda and Kazuki Hirata because all he was doing in the match was wrestling. He didn’t dance, tell rude jokes or even do a PowerPoint presentation. Why even be in DDT if you don’t want to do stuff like this? To show Nakamura what he is missing, the others came up with a creative musical called TOKYO Gon. Honda sang “TOKYO GO!” with his own rude lyrics and Hirata danced to them. Nakamura got into it and joined in until Sasadango & Honda attacked Hirata & Nakamura with Bionic Elbows. Sasadango gave Nakamura the Verdict and Honda pinned him with the Diving Fist Drop while still singing “TOKYO GO!”
Junretsu came close to winning in the opener but they are still an unpolished product when Akiyama isn’t in the match. Oishi wiped out Yukio Naya with a Plancha. Mizuki Watase used a Wrist Clutch DDT and got a nearfall out of it. But Akito countered the Back Drop into an Anklelock. He turned it into the Goliath Birdeater submission and that made Watase give up.
The D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 will take place between 22nd November and 27th December. Three of the shows from the tournament will be broadcast on DDT TV SHOW when the series comes back on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.
“NEW YEAR’S EVE WRESTLING 2019 ~TOSHIWASHURE! SHUFFLE TAG TOURNAMENT”, 31/12/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,232 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Konosuke Takeshita & Hideyoshi Kamitani defeated Daichi Hashimoto & Akito when Kamitani pinned Akito with the Loyly Diving Elbow Drop (9:36).
2. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yasufumi Nakanoue & Yuki Iino defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazuki Hashimoto when Nakanoue pinned Hashimoto with a Lariat (6:27).
3. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: HARASHIMA & Yuya Aoki defeated El Lindaman & Yukio Naya when Aoki pinned Lindaman with a Tiger Suplex (9:08).
4. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daisuke Sekimoto & Chris Brookes defeated Yuji Okabayashi & Antonio Honda when Brookes submitted Honda with the Octopus Stretch (8:48).
5. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Ryuichi Kawakami & T-Hawk Vs Soma Takao & Kota Sekifuda ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
5a. Overtime – 1 Count Fall Rules: Ryuichi Kawakami & T-Hawk defeated Soma Takao & Kota Sekifuda when T-Hawk pinned Sekifuda with the Cerberus (1:02).
6. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Tetsuya Endo & Takuya Nomura defeated Brahman Kei & Naomi Yoshimura when Endo pinned Kei with the Puma Toke de Espaldas (7:07).
7. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuko Miyamoto & Daisuke Sasaki defeated Yuki Ueno & Takuho Kato when Sasaki submitted Ueno with the Cross Facelock (7:07).
8. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1 – Lighttube Death Match: Takumi Tsukamoto & Kankuro Hoshino defeated Toshiyuki Sakuda & Shunma Katsumata when Tsukamoto pinned Katsumata with the Suffocation Zudon (7:45).
9. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Yasufumi Nakanoue & Yuki Iino defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Hideyoshi Kamitani when Iino pinned Kamitani with the Spear (8:31).
10. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Daisuke Sekimoto & Chris Brookes defeated HARASHIMA & Yuya Aoki when Sekimoto pinned Aoki with a Lariat (9:03).
11. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Tetsuya Endo & Takuya Nomura defeated Ryuichi Kawakami & T-Hawk when Nomura pinned Kawakami with a Cross Legged Cradle (7:44).
12. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Yuko Miyamoto & Daisuke Sasaki defeated Takumi Tsukamoto & Kankuro Hoshino when Sasaki submitted Hoshino with the Cross Facelock (6:33).
13. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Tetsuya Endo & Takuya Nomura defeated Yasufumi Nakanoue & Yuki Iino when Endo pinned Iino with the Shooting Star Press (8:01).
14. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Daisuke Sekimoto & Chris Brookes defeated Yuko Miyamoto & Daisuke Sasaki when Sekimoto pinned Sasaki with the German Suplex (6:45).
15. New Year’s Eve! Defeat Hunger! Very Funny! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Abdullah Kobayashi, Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine defeated Tatsuhiko Yoshino, Drew Parker & Mizuki Watase when Kobayashi pinned Watase with the Bakachinga Elbow Drop (8:50).
16. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Final: Tetsuya Endo & Takuya Nomura defeated Daisuke Sekimoto & Chris Brookes when Nomura pinned Sekimoto with the Dragon Suplex (17:19).
A flu pandemic didn’t stop Big Japan from joining up with DDT for the annual New Year’s Eve Wrestling party. In the runup to the show six wrestlers fell ill and had to pull out of the show. While it was a shame that they couldn’t be here it did open up slots for some different faces to take their place.
Round 1
The opening match turned out to be an unusual tribute to Shinjiro Otani. The pairing of Daichi Hashimoto & Akito named themselves Team Shinjiro Otani due to his influence over them. Their opponents Konosuke Takeshita & Hideyoshi Kamitani responded by paying tribute to Masato Tanaka. They both did Tanaka’s pose together while Hashimoto & Akito did Otani’s Fire Sword pose. The Otani team both did the Facewash spot and all looked to be over when Akito punt Takeshita in a Figure 4 Leglock. That was until Kamitani climbed the top rope and hit a Diving Elbow Drop on Akito to get the pin. The losers decided they could no longer call themselves Team Shinjiro Otani so they renamed themselves The Shinjiro Otani Victims Association. They hope Otani will be a member some day.
The next match was all about brute strength against kicking power. Yuki Iino was about to do the Haka Elbow on Yukio Sakaguchi when Kazuki Hashimoto kicked him away. The kickers gave Yasufumi Nakanoue a PK Sandwich but Iino hit both of them with a Double Spear afterwards. Nakanoue & Iino then used their combined strength to Choke Slam Hashimoto. A Lariat from Nakanoue ended the match.
At first it looked like El Lindaman & Yukio Naya were going to get along great. Then they figured out the harsh truth that they are not the same size. They tried doing double team moves together but the 40cm height difference between them made it difficult. Meanwhile HARASHIMA & Yuya Aoki had no such trouble working together. The Lindaman & Naya team fell apart when Naya accidentally hit Lindaman with a Diving Shoulder Block. Lindaman snapped and said some unpleasant things to his partner. An angry Naya Choke Slammed Lindaman and left him to get pinned by Aoki’s Tiger Suplex.
The next match had wrestlers wearing matching gear in their teams. Yuji Okabayashi came out dressed like Antonio Honda while Chris Brookes wore Daisuke Sekimoto’s entrance robe. Honda unleashed Gongitsune after a hot tag. He got Sekimoto in the eyes but Brookes then grabbed both Gon hands and made Honda pinch Okabayashi’s nipples. Brookes locked Honda in an Octopus Stretch for the win. Honda hopes everyone will at least remember Okabayashi’s strawberry costume.
The only match on the show to last the full time limit was Ryuichi Kawakami & T-Hawk Vs Soma Takao & Kota Sekifuda. A lot of the match featured a cuddly toy cobra that Takao brought down to the ring. Unfortunately the cobra ripped in half when Takao & Sekifuda used it to Clothesline on T-Hawk. The time ran out while Sekifuda and T-Hawk had a tug of war over the cobra. Overtime began and Soma swung the cobra at T-Hawk. He ducked and Sekifuda took the hit as the cobra’s remans exploded. T-Hawk gave Sekifuda the Nightride and then the Cerberus knee strike for the one count victory.
We got a rare sighting of a single Brahman Brother wrestling. Brahman Shu was out sing so Brahman Kei was by himself. Good thing Naomi Yoshimura got in the Brahman spirit of things and joined in with Shu’s antics. So did Tetsuya Endo & Takuya Nomura. They stole the buckets of water and threw them at their opponents. Shu placed a suitcase against Endo & Nomura for Yoshimura to throw a bowling ball at. Kei threw the briefcase but Endo ducked and Yoshimura got hit. Nomura blinded Kei with the black India Ink and Endo pinned him with the Puma Toke de Espaldas. Kei blamed the loss on the flu.
The team bonding continued with Daisuke Sasaki wearing similar yankee gear as Yuko Miyamoto. The team of Yuki Ueno & Takuho Kato gelled well together too. Kato held Ueno up on seated on his shoulders and threw him on top of Sasaki for a nearfall. Miyamoto hit Yeno with a Handspring Kneel Kick and then dropped him with the Fire Thunder. The match ended when Sasaki submitted Ueno with the Cross Facelock.
The 1st Round ended with a Lighttube Death Match. Shunma Katsumata has been wanting to do more violent matches so this was his chance. He brought along his own lighttube with Lego attached to it. Takumi Tsukamoto & Kankuro Hoshino gave Katsumata a death match baptism by smashing lighttubes over him. They had control early until Katsumata did some violent spots of his own with the help of Toshiyuki Sakuda. He broke a bundle of lighttubes taped together and revealed there were even more Lego blocks hidden inside it! He gave Hoshino the ¡Hasta la vista! onto the pile but Tsukamoto broke it up. Tsukamoto placed a plastic bag over Katsumata to suffocate him then hit the Zudon for the win. They shook hands after the match and Katsumata smashed the last remaining lighttube over his own head.
Round 2
Round 2 began with a bit of an upset. Nakanoue & Iino defeated Takeshita & Kamitani, ending Takeshita’s streak of reaching the final! The Double Choke Slam was the difference maker again, this time with Iino hitting the Spear on Kamitani to in the match.
As the tournament progressed, the team bonds were getting stronger. Aoki came out wearing matching HARASHIMA gear. Meanwhile Sekimoto joined Brookes in given Aoki a wet willy while he was in a Camel Clutch. HARASHIMA went for the Somato but Brookes dodged it and caught him in the Octopus Stretch. With HARASHIMA held in place, nobody could stop Sekimoto from pinning Aoki with a Lariat.
There was no nonsense in the Endo & Nomura versus Kawakami & T-Hawk match. Nomura was double teamed on while Endo was cut off from rescuing him. But Nomura escaped from the Nightraide and put Kawakami in a Cross Armbreaker. Kawakami tried to roll out but Nomura clasped his legs into a Cradle to pin him for the flash three count.
The last match in the 2n Round turned weird. Miyamoto came out dressed like Shinobu Kandori. Then Hoshino came out looking like Kenshiro from Fist Of The North Star. He used many of Kenshiro’s attacks but when he told Sasaki “You are already dead” Miyamoto hit him in the back with a chair. Sasaki then made Hoshino quickly tap to the Cross Facelock.
Semi Finals
The tournament was now down to four teams. Nakanoue & Iino threw Endo off the top rope then set Nomura up for the Haka Elbow. Iino went for the Spear but Nomura blocked it with a High Kick. Endo came in to hit a Handspring Overhead Kick before pinning Iino with the Shooting Star Press.
Miyamoto decided to return the favour to Sasaki by wearing a leather jacket and carrying around the DAMNATION signboard. Their run came to an end here when Brookes caught Sasaki by surprise with a Cutter and Sekimoto capitalised with the German Suplex.
Special 6-Man Tag Match
Before the final took place there was a non-tournament 6-Man Tag to get through. At this point in the show it was almost midnight. The countdown appeared on the screen while Danshoku Dieno was up to his usual behavior in the ring. As the final seconds counted down, the locker room emptied out and everybody celebrated the new year. When they left we discovered that the wrestlers in the match were all trampled during the celebration. They recovered and slowly wrestled the rest of the match while the song “SEVEN DAYS WAR” by TM Network played over the speakers.
Final
The first complete pro wrestling match of the new decade saw Endo & Nomura defeated Sekimoto & Brookes. Sekimoto tried to German Suplex Nomura but Endo cut him off with the Springboard Overhead Kick. Nomura then tried to German Suplex Sekimoto but Brookes cut him off with a Diving Foot Stomp. Endo had to wipe out Brookes with the Sasuke Special so Nomura could hit the Dragon Suplex on Sekimoto to win the tournment!
Best Bout
1. Daisuke Sekimoto Vs Michael Elgin (Big Japan, 24th August)
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs HARASHIMA (DDT, 3rd November)
3. Isami Kodaka Vs Yuko Miyamoto (Big Japan, 4th November)
4. Daisuke Sekimoto & Walter Vs Yuji Okabayashi & Yuji Hino (Big Japan, 4th November)
5. Jun Kasai Vs Toru Sugiura (FREEDOMS, 1st October)
Best Unit
1. #STRONGHEARTS
2. Kobayashi-gun
3. DAMNATION
4. Yuji Okabayashi & Shigehiro Irie
5. Sento Minzoku
Best Box Office
Tied 1. DDT at Sumo Hall, 3rd November & Big Japan at Sumo Hall, 4th November
3. Muscle at Sumo Hall, 16th February
4. Shin Nemuro Pro Wrestling at Shin-Kiba 1st RING, 13th October
5. Michinoku Pro at Shinjuku FACE, 27th November
Best Newcomer
1. Keigo Nakamura
2. Toshiyuki Sakuda
3. Maku Donaruto
4. Chris Brookes
5. Asuka
BASARA “BASARA 94 ~BANQUET~”, 23/04/2019 Shin-Kiba 1st RING 254 Fans – No Vacancy
Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Isami Kodaka, Minoru Fujita & Ryuichi Sekine (c) Vs FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT Vs Abdullah Kobayashi, Hideki Suzuki & Yoshihisa Uto
BASARA “BASARA 94 ~BANQUET~”, 23/04/2019 Shin-Kiba 1st RING 254 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Takumi Tsukamoto, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Yasu Urano defeated Takato Nakano, Masato Kamino & Jun Masaoka when Hiroshi submitted Nakano with the Scorpion Deathlock (8:53).
2. Aiseki Tag Vs Turnabout Pro Wrestling Trial Combination!: Fuminori Abe & Ikuto Hidaka defeated Gouma Ryu & Banana Senga when Hidaka pinned Ryu with the Stray Dog High Kick (12:15).
3. Naoki Tanizaki & Akiyori Takizawa defeated Daiki Shimomura & Tsutomu Oosugi when Tanizaki pinned Shimomura with the Implant Bomb (9:15).
4. Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Abdullah Kobayashi, Hideki Suzuki & Yoshihisa Uto defeated Isami Kodaka, Minoru Fujita & Ryuichi Sekine (c) and FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT when Kobayashi pinned SAGAT after the Osu! (15:45). *Sento Minzoku fails in V1. Kobayashi Gundan becomes the 31st Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
5. Union MAX Title: Ryota Nakatsu (c) defeated Best Stretchman V3 with the V Slider (14:42). *V5 for Ryota Nakatsu.
At the start of the show Best Stretchman V3 was accompanied by Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga instead of the other Best Stretchmen. This made V3 fear that his Best Stretch friends had died and he must fight for the Union MAX Title on his own. However they did appear with him when it was time for the main event, all carrying YMZ towels. V3’s hood was pulled down by Ryota Nakatsu during the match, turning him back into Daichi Kazato for a while. But he eventually put a new hood on and became Best Stretchman again. It was all for naught though since Nakatsu kicked out of the Best Stretch Bomber, hit some German Suplexes and pinned the challenger with the V Slider.
Nakatsu said he was happy to have chosen Best Stretchman for this match and he was also happy to get a glimpse of Kazato during it too. With 5 title defences achieved, Nakatsu has now matched the record for most defences with Isami Kodaka. His next challenger turns out to be Ryuichi Sekine. He came out with Sento Minzoku asking for a title shot on 6th May.
The Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Titles match was chaotic as three teams battled each other over the belts. Sento Minzoku and The Iron Family tired each other out and Kobayashi Gundan took advantage. They were able to isolate SAGAT and beat him down. SAGAT was able to kick out of the Bakachinga Elbow from Abdullah Kobayashi. Pressure continued to be put on him and he was eventually put down with the Osu! That is a double Power Bomb from Hideki Suzuki & Yoshihisa Uto. Kobayashi said he is glad his team were able to reclaim their championship in BASARA. This place is so good to them they see it as home.
BASARA will get to host one of the shows during this year’s Beer Garden week in August. Their day is happening on 3rd August. The summer of DOVE x BASARA will also be returning for that show.
BASARA “BASARA 92 ~BANQUET~”, 27/03/2019 Shin-Kiba 1st RING 212 Fans
1. Takumi Tsukamoto & Yasu Urano defeated Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino when Tsukamoto submitted Nakano with a Crab Hold (10:50).
2. Turnabout Pro Wrestling Trial: Akiyori Takizawa defeated Gouma Ryu Vs Banana Senga when Takizawa pinned Ryu and Senga with a Reverse DDT and Choke Slam combo (9:53).
3. Jun Masaoka defeated Daiki Shimomura with the 2trap (9:38).
4. Aiseki Tag Vs Trans-Am ★ Family: Ikuto Hidaka & Fuminori Abe defeated Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Trans-Am ★ Tomato when Hidaka pinned Hiroshi with the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex (10:40).
5. Sparky Vs Stretchmen!: Ryota Nakatsu & Naoki Tanizaki defeated Best Stretchman V3 & Best Stretchman Amazon when Nakatsu pinned V3 with the V Slider (9:53).
6. Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Isami Kodaka, Minoru Fujita & Ryuichi Sekine defeated FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT (c) when Sekine submitted Kubo with the Let’s Combine (14:48). *The Iron Family fails in V1. Sento Minzoku becomes the 30th Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
What on Earth happened here? A week ago The Iron Family win the Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Titles and today in their first defence they lose the belts to Sento Minzoku! A win looked certain when FUMA stopped Ryuichi Sekine from doing the Let’s Combine on Yusuke Kubo. FUMA hit Sekine with a High Kick to the head, SAGAT did the Crucifixion Of Death and Kubo applied the Death Metal Roll. Luckily for Sekine, Isami Kodaka and Minoru Fujita were there to break the pin. Kubo went for the Goro Suplex several times but Sekine was able to avoid it and catch Kubo in the Let’s Combine for the unexpected submission victory!
FUMA demanded a rematch and encouraged the crowd to agree with him. However his appeal was cut off by a voice saying that they are owed a rematch first. The voice was coming from Abdullah Kobayashi and he was accompanied by Yoshihisa Uto & Hideki Suzuki! The previous champions came here today to get their titles back. Kodaka talked down to Uto by only recognising him as the wrestler he beat in Big Japan yesterday. He saw the mess this situation was becoming and came up with an idea to do a 3 Way Trios title match next month between Sento Minzoku, The Iron Family and the Kobayashi Gundan. The other teams agreed and left, allowing Kodaka to give attention to Sekine for winning the match.
The encounters between Ryota Nakatsu and Best Stretchman V3 in the semi-main event fired up V3. His hood was accidentally removed when he escaped from the V Slider and V3 was left vulnerable to a High Kick as he tried to fix it. V3 ignored his costume malfunction to continue fighting but he was put away with the V Slider. V3 had a bloody nose but he demanded a Union MAX Title shot against Nakatsu for next month. Nakatsu was confused by the challenge because he just beat him but he also sensed a fire burning inside of V3 when they fought so he accepted. V3 then said that BSM stands for something other than Best Stretchman. For this match the B stands for Best, the S stands for Sparky and the M stands for the wrestler that came from Union Pro who will become the next Union Max Champion! Yeah, nobody really understands why he thinks the M stands for that…
A recent online situation involving Manami Toyota and Bea Priestley revealed that Toyota has given permission to only two people for using her Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex: Tsukasa Fujimoto and Ikuto Hidaka. Today Hidaka used the move to win his tag match when Fuminori Abe reminded him he has Toyota’s blessing to do it.
The 2trap is Jun Masaoka’s version of the Tornado Clutch. When he beat Daiki Shimomura he pointed over to Kodaka, implying he wants to fight him next.
Akiyori Takizawa was put in court for a very dangerous crime in Japan, possession of cocaine! The prosecutor Banana Senga wanted to cite Pierre Taki as reference for the case but everyone cut him off because they didn’t want to get into any trouble. The referee was asked to give Takizawa a physical examination and he discovered white powder hidden in Takizawa’s kneepad. The defence lawyer Gouma Ryu identified the powder as just ordinary salt that Takizawa likes to use on his boiled eggs. However more white powder was found so Ryota Nakatsu and Naoki Tanizaki were called in as witnesses. Senga told everyone that the eye blacks seen on the Sparky wrestlers’ faces was actually signs of drug addiction! The topic of ASUKA PROJECT closing down was then brought up which caused Ryu and Senga to join forces and attack Takizawa. He fought both of them off to prove his innocence, pinning the two with a Choke Slam and Reverse DDT combo.
BASARA “BASARA 91 ~ITTORYODAN~”, 21/03/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 706 Fans
1. Naoki Tanizaki & Akiyori Takizawa defeated Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino when Takizawa pinned Nakano with the Tilt 3 (8:12).
2. Yasu Urano defeated Daiki Shimomura with the Tombstone Piledriver (8:10).
3. Steel Can Hardcore Match: Takumi Tsukamoto defeated Jun Masaoka with the Zudon onto a Steel Can (8:36).
4. Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Titles – Hardcore Elimination Match: FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT defeated Abdullah Kobayashi, Yoshihisa Uto & Hideki Suzuki (c) (15:12).
4a. SAGAT eliminated Abdullah Kobayashi by Ring Out (3:18).
4b. Hideki Suzuki eliminated FUMA by Ring Out (7:59).
4c. Hideki Suzuki eliminated Yusuke Kubo with a One Handed Backbreaker Hold (10:45).
4d. SAGAT eliminated Yoshihisa Uto with a Super Power Bomb (13:04).
4e. SAGAT eliminated Hideki Suzuki by Ring Out (15:12). *Abdullah Kobayashi, Yoshihisa Uto & Hideki Suzuki fail in V1. The Iron Family becomes the 29th Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
5. Aiseki Tag Vs Sento Minzoku!: Fuminori Abe & Ikuto Hidaka defeated Ryuichi Sekine & Minoru Fujita when Abe submitted Sekine with the Manjigatame (12:14).
6. Yoga Vs Stretch! Final Settlement Match: Best Stretchman V3, Best Stretchman Amazon & Stretchman Man defeated Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei when V3 pinned Hiroshi after the Double Stretch Kick (6:58).
7. Union MAX Title: Ryota Nakatsu (c) defeated Isami Kodaka with the V Slider (17:12). *V4 for Ryota Nakatsu.
There is now no doubt that BASARA is in the Ryota Nakatsu era. His win over Isami Kodaka in today’s main event is proof that BASARA is no longer just the Isami Kodaka show. But Kodaka put up a good fight going so far to do a Diving Double Knee Drop from the top rope to the outside! But Nakatsu toughed it out and had Kodaka stunned with a Buzzsaw Kick followed by a German Suplex. From there Nakatsu hit the V Slider and got the three count to stay as the Union MAX Champion. Nakatsu called it a tough battle but also something that shows how fun BASARA is. He got the crowd to chant “Sparky” then said as long as he is on top in BASARA, BASARA will grow in the wrestling world.
In an show of companionship, Trans-Am Hiroshi shaved the top of his head so it would look similar to the Brahman Brothers. He also wrestled in a ZOZO Suit which is a black body suit covered in white dots. Best Stretchman V3 entered the ring with plenty of stretch film wrapped around his body to protect him from the Brahmans’ water attack. Hiroshi used a pair of scissors to cut off the film and the Brahmans then splashed V3 with buckets of water. Everything backfired when Hiroshi was accidentally hit with a traffic sign. Stretchman Man sliced Hiroshi with his hook then V3 & Best Stretchman Amazon hit the Double Stretch Kick for the win. The Brahmans loudly asked the audience after the match why was this picked to be the semi-main event?
There was duelling chants of “Shawn Capture” and “Let’s Combine” when Ikuto Hidaka and Ryuichi Sekine started off their tag match. Later on when Hidaka was busy dealing with Minoru Fujita, Sekine tried to apply the Combine to Fuminori Abe. But he was stopped with the Rabbit Punch and placed in a Manjigatama, giving Abe the submission win for his team.
Motivated by their new Peavey sponsorship, the Iron Family fought tooth and nail to win the Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Titles. The team has SAGAT to thank for that. SAGAT smashed a guitar over Abdullah Kobayashi’s head then with the rest of his team’s help got him over the top rope for the first elimination. The champions took over when Hideki Suzuki tipped over a ladder that FUMA was climbing, landing him outside the ring for the elimination. Yusuke Kubo tried to cradle Suzuki for a pinfall but Suzuki kicked out. Suzuki & Yoshihisa Uto then gave Kubo a double team Backbreaker to pin him instead. SAGAT was in danger having to fight on his own. Uto strangled him over the ladder with a chain but SAGAT kept fighting. Kobayashi tried to get back involved so FUMA & Kubo also came back to help SAGAT. Together the Iron Family gave Uto a Shield style triple Power Bomb to eliminate him. The match was now down to Suzuki and SAGAT. Suzuki applied a Sleeper Hold but SAGAT rolled both of them over the top rope and onto the ring apron. SAGAT then bit onto Suzuki’s arm to break the hold, got back into the ring and used the Goregrind to knock Suzuki to the floor to win the match and the championships! The fans chanted “Heavy Metal” until Kobayashi took the microphone. His team lost today but like in any sport there is a home game and an away game. Next time the two teams meet it will be in Big Japan!
Takumi Tsukamoto and Jun Masaoka whaled on each other with chairs and steel cans in their match. Masaoka was in control when he placed a can over Tsukamoto’s head then Thrust Kicked it. He thought he had Tsukamoto placed where he wanted him after a Conchairto. But when Masaoka climbed the turnbuckles, Tsukamoto got up and Superplexed him onto the chairs! Tsukamoto then hit a Lariat as Masaoka tried to get back up. If that wasn’t enough, Tsukamoto then placed a can over Masaoka’s head and threw another can at him! Finally he hit the Zudon onto the cans to end the match in victory. Masaoka said he feels heartbroken over the result but it doesn’t matter. He lost but he wants another match and will continue to do his best. Tsukamoto said he is trying to climb the ranks in BASARA even though it is leaving him with scars. The fact that wrestlers from other groups are coming over looking to fight him makes him happy.
Sento Minzoku had a bad day in general. Kodaka lost in the main event, Sekine & Fujita lost their tag match and Daiki Shimomura was beaten by Yasu Urano. Shimomura left his mark on Urano though. They got into a chop battle and Urano decided to take his shirt off to taunt his opponent. That was until Shimomura’s chops got so painful that Urano had to put his shirt back on. Sadly for Shimomura he missed the Swanton Bomb and Urano pinned him with the Tombstone.
Akiyori Takizawa scored the pin in the opener by using his Tilt 3 (Angle Slam) finisher in BASARA for the first time.
GANBARE☆WRESTLING “TRUE RISE 2018”, 17/12/2018 Ichigaya Nankai Memorial Clinic
1. Miracle Experience! Unbelievable Match: Moeka Haruhi Vs Fairy Nihonbashi
2. Toshinose! Ganpro Special Tag Bout!: Keisuke Ishii & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Ken Ohka & Shota
This was supposed to be the final Ganbare☆Wrestling show of the year but this week they announced they will hosting matches at the annual RIZIN Martial Arts Expo at Saitama Super Arena’s Community Area on 31st December. This will be the fourth year in a row Ganpro is involved in the expo.
Yumehito Imanari, Shuichiro Katsumura and Shuhei Washida will be on the show.
“NEW YEAR’S EVE WRESTLING 2018 ~TOSHIWASHURE! SHUFFLE TAG TOURNAMENT”, 31/12/2018 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuki Iino Vs Ryota Hama & Antonio Honda
2. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuji Okabayashi & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Takuya Nomura & Kazuki Hirata
3. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita Vs Brahman Shu or Brahman Kei & Masahiro Takanashi
4. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Great Kojika & Sammy Guevara Vs Takayuki Ueki & Mike Bailey
5. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Tatsuhiko Yoshino & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuya Aoki & MAO
6. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daichi Hashimoto & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yoshihisa Uto & Sanshiro Takagi (w/ Hideki Suzuki)
7. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Minoru Fujita & Soma Takao
8. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Ryuji Ito & Yuki Ueno Vs Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA
9. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #1 Vs Winners Of Match #2
10. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #3 Vs Winners Of Match #4
11. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #5 Vs Winners Of Match #6
12. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #7 Vs Winners Of Match #8
13. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: X & X Vs X & X
14. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: X & X Vs X & X
15. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Final: X & X Vs X & X
HARASHIMA’s original tag partner Abdullah Kobayashi is unable to compete in the tournament because of a shoulder injury. Masashi Takeda takes his place.
Hideki Suzuki will not be wrestling in the tournament but has agreed to be the ringside second for Yoshihisa Uto & Sanshiro Takagi.
The Japan Indie Grand Prix Awards presented by Samurai! TV will be held during the show.
We have tag team names!
Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuki Iino (Muscle Wolf)
Ryota Hama & Antonio Honda (Hama Ton)
Yuji Okabayashi & Yukio Sakaguchi (Bald & Blonde)
Takuya Nomura & Kazuki Hirata (☆Team Nomura☆)
Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita (Nishinari Elite Yankee Konosuke And Joshi Pro Wrestling’s Strongest Man)
Brahman Shu or Brahman Kei & Masahiro Takanashi (Toryumon Refugees)
Great Kojika & Sammy Guevara (Japan-US 4 Dimensional Combination)
Takayuki Ueki & Mike Bailey (Team Let’s Go)
Tatsuhiko Yoshino & Tetsuya Endo (2nd Generation Party Boys)
Yuya Aoki & MAO (Cherry Boys On The Run)
Daichi Hashimoto & Daisuke Sasaki (Super Fighting Three Musketeers)
Yoshihisa Uto & Sanshiro Takagi (w/ Hideki Suzuki) (Black Three Star)
Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kazusada Higuchi (Team Katagi)
Minoru Fujita & Soma Takao (MudNATION)
Ryuji Ito & Yuki Ueno (Team A Line)
Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA (Madness Smile/Crazy Smile)
YAROZ “YAROZ PART 7”, 14/11/2018 Shin-Kiba 1st RING 138 Fans
1. YaroZ Vs Mote Mote Army All Out Fight!: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Gota Ihashi with a Rope Assisted Pin (10:23).
2. FFF (Fundoshi For Future) Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Abdullah Kobayashi Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Yuki Iino ended in a Double Countout (1:23).
2a. Scramble Bunkhouse Falls Count Anywhere Certified Weapon Curry Death Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Abdullah Kobayashi defeated Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Yuki Iino when Takagi pinned Iino with a Face Sitting Pin (4:22).
3. YaroZ Specialty! Heisei Last Glamorous No. 1 Decision Fight!: Yuna Manase Vs Himeka Arita ended in a No Contest when Manase and Arita attacked Yumehito Imanari (8:15). (Special Referee: Yumehito Imanari)
4. Pro Wrestling Round System Match ~Super Dragon Vs Self-Proclaimed Gatekeeper Of DDT~: Tatsuhito Takaiwa defeated Gorgeous Matsuno with the Death Valley Driver (R4 0:53). (Special Ring Girl: Karin Tachibana)
5. YaroZ Specialty! Boob Flag Death Match: Yuna Manase defeated Antonio Honda and Ryuichi Sekine when Manase picked up the flag (11:09).
6. YaroZ Vs Mote Mote Army All Out Fight!: Kazusada Higuchi, Toru Owashi & SAGAT defeated Akito, Makoto Oishi & Yuki Ueno when Higuchi pinned Ueno with the YaroZ Bomber (11:03).
The stories from this show were similar to the ones from previous few YaroZ events. The Mote Mote Army kidnapped the guest idol Karin Tachibana and held her hostage during the main event. The YaroZ team led by Kazusada Higuchi came to the rescue and defeated their enemy to rescue her. The new bit this time involved Makoto Oishi refusing to let go of Tachibana. This led to his wife Misaki Ohata to come out and give him a German Suplex. She ordered Oishi to free Tachibana then attached a leash to him as punishment. The YaroZ invited Tachibana to hang out with them after the show but she turned them down. She has to go shoot a video in Hawaii. Also Akito is more her type. Suddenly Nonoko ran down to the ring. If the YaroZ are looking for a pretty girl to be with, she’s available. None of them gave her a response.
Yuna Manase played a vital role in the Boob Flag Death Match. She had to stand in the corner with a mini flag sticking out of her chest while Antonio Honda and Ryuichi Sekine fought over who could pull it out first. Honda blinded Sekine with the Shining Gongitsune but couldn’t build up the courage to reach towards Manase’s chest. Sekine meanwhile couldn’t see and he walked into Yuki Iino. He grabbed Iino’s chest thinking it was Manase. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi grabbed the flag from Manase and handed it to Honda but the referee was too distracted to see it. Manase gave a Lariat to both Honda and Sekine. When picked up the flag from the mat, the referee saw it and declared Manase the winner.
Karin Tachibana did the other usual role for idols in YaroZ shows and that’s being the ring girl for the rounds match. She was fully dressed at the start and stripped off an item of clothing after every round. All the wrestlers encouraged the match to go as long as possible but Gorgeous Matsuno was just getting destroyed by Tatsuhito Takaiwa. Referee Yukinori Matsui tried everything he could to keep the match going so Tachibana’s striptease could continue. But when Takaiawa hit the Death Valley Driver, the other referee Yuya Okada ran in and counted three. Matsui was so angry that he wrestled Okada after the match. Tachibana stopped the madness by stripping down to her swimsuit. That was when the Mote Mote Army showed up and kidnapped her. The YaroZ wanted to rescue Tachibana straight away but they all couldn’t move because of their erections from the striptease.
Yumehito Imanari used his referee status to get very close to the action between Yuna Manase and Himeka Arita. He was more interested in getting pervy angles on their wrestling holds rather than calling the match. Manase and Arita got sick of his behaviour and both attacked him. Nonoko also showed up to join in and the match was called off. Nonoko had another reason for showing up today. She wanted to know why Imanari was messing around in DDT instead of achieving his dream of becoming a movie director. Imanari admitted he gave that dream up long ago because he was chasing deadlines every day. Nonoko asked Imanari what he has learned from wrestling. He should know that wrestling matches only end when you give up. Nonoko called Imanari talented with many people supporting him including herself, Manase and Arita. Imanari then had a brainflash. He can make a Charlie’s Angels kind of movie with the three women in front of him! Feeling like himself again, Imanari got the audience to cheer “3, 2, 1, Oppai Oppai!” That caused the women to attack him again.
The Fundoshi match immediately turned into a ringside brawl where both teams were counted out. Everyone agreed to restart the bout as a Scramble Bunkhouse Death Match but they needed a weapon. They decided on using plates of curry because of Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi’s connection to India. Hiroshi accidentally hit Yuki Iino in the face with the curry. Abdullah Kobayashi hit the Bakachinga Elbow on Iino. Sanshiro Takagi then sat on Iino’s face to pin him.
There were plenty of cheers for Gota Ihashi and nothing but boos for Konosuke Takeshita in the opener. That’s what Takeshita gets for being an ikemen wrestler at a YaroZ show. Takeshita rolled away from a Moonsault and gave Ihashi a Brainbuster. He then placed his feet on the ropes for leverage while pinning Ihashi to win the match.
“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.