D-Ou Final On Sunday

December 2, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW AUTUMN TOUR ’22”, 03/12/2022
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Mizuki Vs Haruna Neko
2. Rika Tatsumi Vs Pom Harajuku
3. Yuki Kamifuku & Millie McKenzie Vs Shoko Nakajima & Suzume
4. Miu Watanabe Vs Mahiro Kiryu
5. Yuki Aino & Raku Vs Hyper Misao & Kaya Toribami
6. Yuka Sakazaki, Hikari Noa & Arisu Endo Vs Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh & Moka Miyamoto

Tomorrow will be Millie McKenzie’s last match in Tokyo Joshi Pro for this tour.

DDT/ONLY WE “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2022 IN CHIBA”, 03/12/2022
Chiba 2AW Square

1. Yusuke Okada & Kazuma Sumi Vs Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Hiroshi Yamato
3. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Akira Raijin & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
4. ONLY WE x DDT Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & Quiet Storm Vs Chris Brookes, RSP & Takeshi Masada
5. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku
6. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya

Shogun Okamoto is currently in America and is having so much fun over there he is refusing to come back to Japan. That means he won’t be at the DDT/ONLY WE show tomorrow. Tomomitsu Matsunaga takes his place in Match #3.

GANBARE☆PRO “TOKIMEKI NISHISU 2022”, 03/12/2022
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. GanPro Specialty Mixed Tag Match: Shinichiro Tominaga & HARUKAZE Vs Yuki Kanzaki & Yoshiko Hasegawa
2. GanJo Special Single Match: Moeka Haruhi Vs YuuRI
3. GanPro Vs P.P.P: Yumehito Imanari & Yuna Manase Vs Kentaro Hachisu & Echika Miyabi
4. GanPro Special 6-Man Tag Match In YOKOHAMA: Ken Ohka, Shuichiro Katsumura & Tsuyoshi Okada Vs Keisuke Ishii, Soma Takao & Tyson Maeguchi
5. Tokimeki Nishisu 2022 Special Tag Match: Hartley Jackson & Seiya Morohashi Vs Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase

Before the show begins Hartley Jackson and Mizuki Watase will have a contract signing for their Spirit Of Ganbare Title match at Korakuen Hall next month.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 THE FINAL”, 04/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Soma Takao, Hideki Okatani & Hikaru Machida Vs Yuya Koroku, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Antonio Honda
3. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazuma Sumi
5. DDT Extreme Title – TLC Match: Joey Janela (c) Vs Jun Akiyama
6. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuji Hino, Chris Brookes & RSP Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – Final: Yuki Ueno Vs Yukio Naya

This time last year Yukio Naya was in the dark match on the same show as the D-Ou Grand Prix final. One year later and he is in the main event fighting in the tournament final. He is motivated to win so he can go beat Kazusada Higuchi again, this time for the KO-D Openweight Title. His power is what concerns Yuki Ueno. However Ueno has his speed to use against that. While Naya has been training with his father to improve his luck, Ueno spent time relaxing in a sauna with Shinya Aoki.

DDT “ROAD TO NEVER MIND 2022 IN KUMAMOTO”, 17/12/2022
Kumamoto City Information Distribution Center

1. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs HARASHIMA & Hideki Okatani
2. Sanshiro Takagi & Yusuke Okada Vs Toru Owashi & Takeshi Masada
3. Special Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Kazuma Sumi (w/ Yoshihiko)

Maybe Yoshihiko is the solution Akito needs to defeat Pheromones.

DDT “ROAD TO NEVER MIND 2022 IN FUKUOKA”, 18/12/2022
Pivole Fukuoka

1. Sanshiro Takagi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Saki Akai & Toi Kojima
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs HARASHIMA, Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada

Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi as a tag team is being promoted by DDT as a cutting edge pairing.


Hartley Faces RENEGADES, Dieno’s Selfish Matches, Rookie Munetatsu, New Year’s Eve Participants

November 21, 2022

“MASAHIRO TAKANASHI INDEPENDENT PERFORMANCE – BOKUTACHI 4 HANJUKU 4 I LOVE YOU! 2022”, 22/11/2022
Shinjuku FACE

0. Dark Match: Shinsetsu Gomu Ningen & Gota Ihashi (w/ Miyako Haru) Vs SAKI & Yasu Urano (w/ KUDO)
1. Chris Brookes, Mizuki Watase & Antonio Honda Vs Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao
2. Mei Suruga Vs MAO
3. Mixed Gauntlet Tag Match: Ram Kaichow & Yuko Miyamoto Vs Saki Akai & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu) Vs Mochi Natsumi & Hoshitango Vs Cherry & Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Chie Koishikawa & Shin Suzuki Vs Choun-Shiryu & Lee Yoneyama Vs Isami Kodaka & Emi Sakura W
4. Daisuke Sekimoto Vs Masahiro Takanashi

Drew Parker had to pull out of tomorrow’s show due to an arm injury. Mizuki Watase is his replacement.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’22”, 27/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Kaya Toribami Vs Pom Harajuku, Haruna Neko & Mahiro Kiryu
2. Suzume Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
3. Mizuki Vs Arisu Endo
4. Maki Itoh & Hikari Noa Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Nao Kakuta
5. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano
6. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Millie McKenzie
7. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Yuki Aino & Raku
8. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Billie Starkz

The undercard has now been filled out. Daydream are back together for a match against the Karate Tag of Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano. Also Yoshiko Hasegawa from Ganbare☆Pro returns for another appearance in Tokyo Joshi Pro. This time she’s getting a singles match against Suzume.

GANBARE☆PRO “TOKIMEKI NISHISU 2022”, 03/12/2022
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. GanPro Vs P.P.P: Yumehito Imanari & Yuna Manase Vs Kentaro Hachisu & Echika Miyabi
2. Tokimeki Nishisu 2022 Special Tag Match: Hartley Jackson & Seiya Morohashi Vs Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase

This is one last chance for Watase to prove he will be some kind of threat against Hartley Jackson. The Spirit Of Ganbare Champion suddenly turned sour on the idea he could be welcomed into the Ganpro family because of Watase’s recent weak efforts against him. So this time Watase is calling in his buddy Shigehiro Irie to provide back up against the champ and Seiya Morohashi. The power of RENEGADES may be just what Watase needs.

Yuna Manase and Echika Miyabi are in another match together after the two enjoyed their first rendezvous. This time the match is attracting other members of Ganpro and P.P.P Tokyo because Yumehito Imanari and Kentaro Hachisu are getting involved too.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 THE FINAL”, 04/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. DDT Extreme Title: Joey Janela (c) Vs Jun Akiyama
2. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – Final: Yuki Ueno Vs Yukio Naya

The D-Ou Grand Prix final is between Yuki Ueno and Yukio Naya. Ueno lost in last year’s final and is determined not to repeat that result. Naya has already called his shot after he wins the tournament to challenge Kazusada Higuchi for the KO-D Openweight Title in Tokyo Dome City Hall at the end of the year.

Why does Eddie Kingston get to have all the fun? Joey Janela wants to fight Jun Akiyama too and is willing to put the DDT Extreme Title on the line for it to happen.

DDT “DANSHOKU DIENO 20TH ANNIVERSARY BOOK PUBLICATION COMMEMORATION”, 21/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Selfishly For The 2nd Time In 20 Years, A Single Match That Danshoku Dieno Just Wants To See: Yuki “Sexy” Iino Vs Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari
2. Selfishly For The 1st Time In 20 Years, Danshoku Dieno’s Self-Satisfaction Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Muscle Sakai

A book launch to celebrate 20 years in the business is a good enough reason to give Danshoku Dieno some match making powers for the event. He is happily being selfish with the power by booking himself against his old friend Muscle Sakai. He also wants to see what Yuki Iino versus Yumehito Imanari would be like.

GANBARE☆PRO “GIRI GIRI CHOP! 2022”, 27/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Munetatsu Nakamura Debut Match: Munetatsu Nakamura Vs X
2. Kouki Iwasaki Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Last Match: Keisuke Ishii Vs Kouki Iwasaki
3. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Hartley Jackson (c) Vs Mizuki Watase

The new rookie Munetatsu Nakamura is a 21 year old college student from Chiba. He is 168cm tall, weighs 65kg and his athletic experience is with wrestling and Judo. Nakamura originally trained for the DDTeeeen!! project but never wrestled a match (unless he was Ilusion all along but I have no evidence to back that up). Instead he switched his training over to Ganpro earlier this year and will make his pro debut with them.

DDT “NEVER MIND 2022”, 29/12/2022
Tokyo Dome City Hall

1. Pheromones Vs “Miyako & Ward” Pheromones Subjugation Allied Forces: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Osamu Nishimura, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Shunma Katsumata
2. Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai Vs Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs X

The KO-D Title shot at the end of the year is not the automatic prize for the D-Ou winner but it’s clear Ueno or Naya is going to get it.

Akito needs some powerful and influential people to help him keep Pheromones under control or else DDT is at risk of being banned from Korakuen Hall and probably all the other venues within Tokyo Dome City. Who could be more powerful and influential than politcians? Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu are here to help. Shunma Katsumata is also getting dragged into the fight.

It’s already been announced but here’s a reminder that Konosuke Takeshita and Cara Noir will be on the show. Takeshita is still part of the DDT roster along with his new affiliation with AEW.

“NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO WRESTLING 2022 ~TOSHIWASURE! SHUFFLE 6-MAN TAG TOURNAMENT~”, 31/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

DDT: Kazusada Higuchi, HARASHIMA, Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Ueno, Chris Brookes, MAO, Yukio Naya & Takeshi Masada

BJW: Hideyoshi Kamitani, Takuya Nomura, Kota Sekifuda, Yasufumi Nakanoue, Daisuke Sekimoto, Daichi Hashimoto, Yuya Aoki & Yuki Ishikawa

Year End Dream Slot: Masato Tanaka, Yuko Miyamoto, Isami Kodaka, Masashi Takeda, MUSASHI, Yuma Aoyagi, Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu) & Kikutaro

The lineup for the annual New Year’s Eve trios tournament has been revealed. There will be eight teams involved each containing one DDT wrestler, one Big Japan wrestler and one “Dream” wrestler. The teams will be chosen on 24th November. There will be two non-tournament matches happening on the New Year’s Eve show as well.


DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KORAKUEN HALL” Results

November 18, 2022

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KORAKUEN HALL”, 18/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
450 Fans

0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada defeated Yuki Ishida with the Sudden Death (6:45).
0. Dark Match – 3 Vs 4 Handicap Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda defeated Akito, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Gorgeous Matsuno when Iino pinned Honda after the Sexy Lock Up (8:28).
1. Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku when KANON pinned Koroku with the Sleepy Hollow (5:57).
2. Special 8-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada when Doi pinned Kojima with the Bakatare Sliding Kick (11:38).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Joey Janela (4) Vs RSP (4) ended in a Double Countout (11:36).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Naomi Yoshimura (4) defeated Tetsuya Endo (5) with the Harai Goshi (7:05).
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Yuki Ueno (6) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (5) with the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher (16:53).
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes (4) defeated Yuji Hino (7) with a Modified Samson Clutch (12:10).
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yukio Naya (8) defeated Kazusada Higuchi (7) with the Back Drop (19:05).

A Block

1. Yuki Ueno (6)
2. Tetsuya Endo (5)
-. Daisuke Sasaki (5)
4. RSP (4)
-. Joey Janela (4)
-. Naomi Yoshimura (4)

B Block

1. Yukio Naya (8)
2. Yuji Hino (7)
-. Kazusada Higuchi (7)
4. Chris Brookes (4)
5. KANON (2)
-. MAO (2)

The race to the final is complete and two men are left to fight over who will win the 2022 D-Ou Grand Prix. The Block was decided by what is possibly the biggest upset in the entire tournament this year when Yukio Naya defeated Kazusada Higuchi! The reigning KO-D Openweight Champion was one of two unbeaten wrestlers left in the group and when the path opened up for him to remain the only one at the finish, but Naya decided it would go differently. The Headbutt was the key move in a Higuchi match yet again. The twist however was the move came from Naya to get the advantage. Some Knee Lifts were used afterwards to soften up Higuchi for the Back Drop for the surprise result. Naya’s win means he vaults over the two top heavyweights to reach the final!

So how did it all go wrong for Yuji Hino, the other undefeated wrestler in B Block? Blame CDK for that. Chris Brookes relied on Masahiro Takanashi to help him get a win. The referee was taken out after being used as a shield then Takanashi gave Hino a Low Blow right when he was about to hit the Fuckin’ BOMB on Brookes. Makoto Oishi came to the rescue by grabbing the Asia Dream Tag Team Title belt off of Takanashi. However Brookes then pushed Oishi right into Hino, knocking the big guy loopy when he head first came into contact with the title belt. He was still able to kick out of the pin but was too dazed to kick out of a Samson Clutch afterwards. Brookes isn’t happy with this year being the fourth in a row he failed to win the final. If things don’t improve for him in the next 12 months he does not see a point in him being in the next D-Ou GP. Hino isn’t mad because he doesn’t feel like he lost. All he knows is his head and crotch both hurt so he just wants to go home and get into his bed.

The A Block was a much tighter race with five of the six contestants still in the running one way or another. When the dust settled it was Yuki Ueno who was left standing above everyone else in first place uncontested. He took a beating to get there because Daisuke Sasaki attacked him with plenty of chairs in their match. But Ueno had enough with that kind of stuff and stopped Sasaki with a Dropkick. He hit the BME but Sasaki only kicked out at one. He also blocked the Crossface Lock when Sasaki tried to convert it into the Crossover Facelock. However the BME only got a one count so Ueno had to pull out his new finisher, the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher to clear past Sasaki and book his place in the final. Sasaki is so upset over the loss he says 2022 has ended for himself and DAMNATION T.A as well as the first half of 2023. You’ll have to wait until the second half of 2023 to see them get their revenge!

Tetsuya Endo fell at the final hurdle thanks to Naomi Yoshimura. Endo was fighting for first place going into this show and would have made the final had he won, now that we know how Ueno Vs Sasaki went. Instead the Harai Goshi pinned Endo out of nowhere and dashed his chances of advancing. It’s been one of the few bright spots of Yoshimura’s tournament this year and he is currently not in the mood to talk about it. Meanwhile Endo is already thinking of any lessons he learned, figuring out that he has not grown since their last singles match while Yoshimura clearly has.

The two American wrestlers both left their mark in the A Block as wild cards disrupting everyone else’s chances. Both Joey Janela and RSP had slim chances of staying in the Grand Prix but they also had their sights set on each other during the entire tour due to their history together on the American indies. It led to a match where the two tried to destroy each other with the biggest moves they could think of. The biggest came when RSP gave Janela a Death Valley Bomb from the ring apron onto the floor outside. The move took out both men and the match ended in a Double Countout. Due to the new scoring rules implemented this year, a Double Counout means neither wrestlers received any points. Janela takes some enjoyment that the result stopped RSP from getting anywhere near the final. He also now wants to move on to his next target, Jun Akiyama! He thought he would get to fight Akiyama until he found out DDT added an age limit to this year’s D-Ou GP. If that’s not enough, while Janela is here in Japan Akiyama is in America wrestling Eddie Kingston in Janela’s previous workplace AEW! Janela wants Akiyama to come face him when he returns to Japan.

The D-Ou GP final is now set. The A Block winner Yuki Ueno faces the B Block winner Yukio Naya on 4th December. Ueno is in the final for the second year in a row and did not expect to be seeing Naya with him here. Naya’s a big guy but Ueno wants to live up to his promise to carry DDT on his own back. Naya said he is ready to do that too. He just beat Higuchi and now he has to beat Ueno. Should he do that then Naya will make it clear he wants to challenge Higuchi for the KO-D Title inside Tokyo Dome City Hall at the end of December!

Even without the tournament there is a lot of news coming out of this show. Naruki Doi made his next appearance for DDT, forming a team with DISASTER BOX that was nicknamed Disaster Muscle. Doi felt like he was being pranked with DISASTER BOX, The 37KAMIINA and even Takeshi Masada all getting him involved in wacky spots. Toru Owashi did his lucha while Kazuki Hirata tried to mimic MAO’s Koppojutsu but was easily brushed aside. He also tried to wear the Hirata GO! glasses but the music immediately caused Doi to kick him. Toi Kojima was the one to step up to Doi but was cut down with the Doi 555 and Bakatare Sliding Kick. After the match HARASHIMA welcomed Doi to DDT and congratulated him on winning the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles, one of the few championships that HARASHIMA has never held. Doi asked the fans if they would like to see him face HARASHIMA some day? He then said he will be back in DDT on the 21st and 29th December. If anyone wants to fight Doi, Owashi & Hirata for the titles then Doi will accept any challengers… except for Shunma Katsumata.

KANON had a poor run in the tournament but that is all behind him now. He rejoined MJ Paul & Minoru Fujita to get a win against Eruption & Yuya Koroku. It was a close match with Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani keeping DAMNATION T.A on their toes. Koroku then took the lead against KANON but a reversal of fortunes saw KANON pin him with the Sleepy Hollow.

There were also two matches on the pre-show. Danshoku Dieno was absent with a fever so it was up to the rest of Pheromones to keep it up with their obscene antics. This is bad news for Akito because their behaviour is getting so bad that Korakuen Hall management may consider stepping in and banning DDT from doing further shows in the building. Yuki Iino & Koju Takeda may have found a kindred spirit because Gorgeous Matsuno was more than ready to compare his fit body with theirs. Antonio Honda used Iino’s backside to charge up Gongitsune but some bad targeting led to both Akito & Takanashi getting knocked out. Yumehito Imanari saw the opening and got his partners to lock up with each other. Doing so had them essentially teabag all of their opponents over and over into submission. Akito was mad with the result because he bungled the numbers advantage and now DDT is at risk of being kicked out of Korakuen. Pheromones need to be subjugated so Akito will bring in the political tag team of Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu for the big 29th December show at Tokyo Dome City Hall!

The other dark match saw Yusuke Okada take all that Yuki Ishida could throw at him. Ishida fought out of a Crab Hold and kicked out of a long distance Diving Headbutt. It was a good effort but Okada beat him with the Sudden Death in the end.

Katsumata feels like there is not enough excitement going around so he came up with an idea to do an Explosion Death Match in the new year. So one will take place in Tsurumi on 7th January where Katsumata will aim to surpass Atsushi Onita and become the Reiwa era’s version of “Evil Ways”. He promised that show will not end until he blows up Onita!

An update was given in regards to LiLiCo’s request to take part in the Anal Explosion opening ceremony for the 29h December show in TDC Hall. Hisaya Imabayashi took part in a show with LiLiCo’s husband Ryohei Odai during the week so he recorded a video discussing the situation with him. Odai does not like the idea but is under the impression that all couples have a rule where they do not need to be concerned for what their partners do with their anuses. So he is ok with LiLiCo and DDT going ahead with the ceremony.

DDT has a Korakuen show on 21st December to celebrate the launch of Dieno’s new book about his views on pro wrestling. Dieno will have a match against Muscle Sakai on the show. There will also be a match between Yuki Iino and Yumehito Imanari just because Dieno wants to see it happen.

Matsuno gave everyone a news update about his planned kidney transplant operation for his partner Junko Tashiro. It was previously announced that the operation was delayed until next Spring because Tashiro is in stable health and has no need to get a transplant right away. The operation is now scheduled for April but may be delayed again if Tashiro remains in good health. It is inevitable that the transplant will need to happen some day and when it does, Matsuno made a vow to return to the ring after it is completed.


D-Ou Heading Into Final Stages, TJPW’s Global Week, Last ONLY WE Show Of 2022

November 16, 2022

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KORAKUEN HALL”, 18/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada Vs Yuki Ishida
0. Dark Match – 3 Vs 4 Handicap Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Gorgeous Matsuno
1. Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku
2. Special 8-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Joey Janela (4) Vs RSP (4)
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (5) Vs Naomi Yoshimura (2)
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki (5) Vs Yuki Ueno (4)
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes (2) Vs Yuji Hino (7)
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi (7) Vs Yukio Naya (6)

I’ll dig into the different paths to the final in another post tomorrow but long story short, the A Block is wide open for everyone except Naomi Yoshimura while the B Block is coming down to Kazusada Higuchi, Yuji Hino and Yukio Naya. The matches will be overseen by Kenta Kobashi who will be in attendnace.

Danshoku Dieno is off the show with a fever. The Pheromones match on the pre-show will now be a 3 Vs 4 Handicap match with Akito’s team having the one man advantage.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW AUTUMN TOUR ’22”, 20/11/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. 3 Way Match: Mizuki Vs Hikari Noa Vs Mahiro Kiryu
2. Hyper Misao Vs Pom Harajuku
3. Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Kamifuku & Nao Kakuta Vs Suzume, Moka Miyamoto & Arisu Endo
4. Miu Watanabe Vs Kaya Toribami
5. Yuki Aino & Raku Vs Shoko Nakajima & Haruna Neko
6. Yuka Sakazaki & Miyu Yamashita Vs Millie McKenzie & Billie Starkz

Miyu Yamashita has come back to Japan with a new White Belt over her shoulder but her international adventure continues much closer to home. She and Yuka Sakazaki both have foreign opponents at Korakuen Hall next weekend so all four will face off in a big preview tag match. Sakazaki has Billie Starkz to worry about in a first time meeting. Yamashita meanwhile gets right back to business as her global rivalry with Millie McKenzie reaches its third country.

Also back from England is Hyper Misao. Did she bring back anything nice for Pom Harajuku? She’s been on her best behaviour while Misao was abroad.

Maki Itoh is wrestling in America for GCW and JCW this weekend. She’s already in the company so who knows, maybe she shows up somewhere at AEW tonight?

“MASAHIRO TAKANASHI INDEPENDENT PERFORMANCE – BOKUTACHI 4 HANJUKU 4 I LOVE YOU! 2022”, 22/11/2022
Shinjuku FACE

0. Dark Match: Shinsetsu Gomu Ningen & Gota Ihashi (w/ Miyako Haru) Vs SAKI & Yasu Urano (w/ KUDO)
1. Mixed Gauntlet Tag Match: Ram Kaichow & Yuko Miyamoto Vs Saki Akai & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu) Vs Mochi Natsumi & Hoshitango Vs Cherry & Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Chie Koishikawa & Shin Suzuki Vs Choun-Shiryu & Lee Yoneyama Vs Isami Kodaka & Emi Sakura W
2. Mei Suruga Vs MAO
3. Chris Brookes, Drew Parker & Antonio Honda Vs Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao
4. Daisuke Sekimoto Vs Masahiro Takanashi

The dark match has some news surrounding it. Yuna Mizumori is out of action with a knee injury so SAKI will take her place. That’s not all, the UMA Corps creature known as Shinsetsu Gomu Ningen entered the Ebisuko Tavern during the week and attacked KUDO with its long arms! Gota Ihashi didn’t do anything to stop it because hey, he’s teaming with that monster and KUDO is supporting the other side. Screw him.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’22”, 27/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Millie McKenzie
2. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Yuki Aino & Raku
3. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Billie Starkz

Juria Nagano and Yoshiko Hasegawa will both be on the show.

DDT/ONLY WE “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2022 IN CHIBA”, 03/12/2022
Chiba 2AW Square

1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Hiroshi Yamato
2. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match ~ DAMNATION T.A Vs PERON GRANDES!: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Shogun Okamoto Vs Akira Raijin
3. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match ~ Harimao Vs Ω!: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi

For the last time this year DDT and ONLY WE have a co-promoted show together. Although the ONLY WE stuff has kind of been hijacked by the Ω revival that took place on these shows. The D-Ou Grand Prix will be over at this point but I bet Higuchi and Hino will have unsettled business after their block match ended in a stalemate. Yoshimura wants to put the whole tournament behind him at this point and you can never count out Makoto Oishi in these situations.

Some of the earlier ONLY WE shows had DAMNATION T.A and PERON GRANDES alliance going on but that seems to be out the window now.


DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KYOTO” Results

November 13, 2022

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KYOTO”, 13/11/2022
Kyoto KBS Hall
285 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. RSP, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Joey Janela, Makoto Oishi & Kazuma Sumi when Koroku submitted Sumi with the Chickenwing Arm Lock (4:59).
2. Pheromones Vs DISASTER BOX!: Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno by Disqualification when Iino attacked the referee (9:32).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yukio Naya (6) defeated KANON (2) with the Back Drop (8:21).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yuji Hino (7) defeated MAO (2) with the Fuckin’ BOMB (10:15).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Naruki Doi & Akito defeated Hideki Okatani, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada when Doi pinned Kojima with the Bakatare Sliding Kick (12:26).
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki (5) defeated Naomi Yoshimura (2) with the Sasaki Hurricanrana (9:10).
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi (7) defeated Chris Brookes (2) with a Headbutt (14:12).
8. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Saki Akai Produce Match: Saki Akai, Yukio Sakaguchi & HARASHIMA defeated Aja Kong, Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata (c) when Sakaguchi pinned Katsumata with the God’s Right Knee (16:18).
*Yukio Sakaguchi becomes the 1,555th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Saki Akai defeated Yukio Sakaguchi (c) with a School Boy (7:59 pm).
*Saki Akai becomes the 1,556th champion.

A Block

1. Tetsuya Endo (5)
-. Daisuke Sasaki (5)
3. Yuki Ueno (4)
-. RSP (4)
-. Joey Janela (4)
6. Naomi Yoshimura (2)

B Block

1. Yuji Hino (7)
-. Kazusada Higuchi (7)
3. Yukio Naya (6)
4. Chris Brookes (2)
-. KANON (2)
-. MAO (2)

The day belonged to Saki Akai but we’ll start off with the D-Ou Grand Prix matches first. The B Block has become a close race between three wrestlers. Kazusada Higuchi is possibly one win away from reaching the final after he beat Chris Brookes. It may have come at a cost of his right hand though because Brookes attacked it with a metal fitting. The damage was enough to prevent Higuchi from using the Brain Claw but he pulled out a big Headbutt to put Brookes down for the three count. Higuchi felt his opponent’s passion in the match and felt he couldn’t lose to him. Brookes accepts he is out of the running but will do his best to beat Yuji Hino in his final block match.

Over in the A Block Daisuke Sasaki used a lot of foul play against Naomi Yoshimura by attacking his legs with chairs and getting MJ Paul to interfere. If that wasn’t enough, Sasaki used the Pedigree late in the match. That was the move Sasaki used to give Yoshimura a cervical sprain back in 2019. Thankfully the move did not end the same way today but Sasaki was able to pin Yoshimura with the Hurricanrana afterwards. The defeat ends any hope Yoshimura has of catching up with the field and he now cannot reach the final. Sasaki however is now neck and neck in first place with a former ally.

Hino finds himself tied with Higuchi in first place of the B Block. MAO tried to throw everything he could at him but couldn’t win. Not even the Alien Plancha and Michinoku Driver II could put the big man away. Hino still praised him for being an interesting wrestler. He said MAO’s Plancha was a higher jump than TAKA Michinoku’s and MAO’s version of the Michinoku Driver was more effective. For those reasons Hino is looking forward to fighting him again.

While Hino and Higuchi are fighting over the top spot, Yukio Naya is catching up with them. His win against KANON brings him only one point behind the leaders and a golden chance to leapfrog over them into the final. KANON ends his tournament run with only one win but still enjoyed being able to do whatever he wanted on his own.

With the Grand Prix out of the way, let’s get to the headline match. The show was Akai’s homecoming in Kyoto and she got to team with Yukio Sakaguchi & HARASHIMA against Aja Kong & The 37KAMIINA. The match was special for Shunma Katsumata too because of his longtime association with Kong going back to when he as a child got to meet and take pictures with her. Kong gave Akai a beating but Akai still fought back, hitting a big dive onto Yuki Ueno & Katsumata. Kong tried to attack Sakaguchi with a steel can but his Katsumata by accident. Sakaguchi then hit Katsumata with the God’s Right Knee, pinning him to win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title.

Sakaguchi couldn’t even catch his breath when Akai rolled him up with a School Boy after the match to win the Iron Man Title from him! Before Sakaguchi could complain, Akai said he once told her not to show any openings to be attacked in the ring at any time. She is really happy she got to do a show in Kyoto again and be able to win a championship there too. After she finished her speech to close out the show, Hideki Okatani rolled her over with a School Boy but she kicked out at two, remaining as champion. She later said her goal with the belt is to achieve the most title defences with it.

Naruki Doi made his second DDT appearance today, winning a trios match with Tetsuya Endo & Akito on his team. He was impressed by the opposing team made up of young wrestlers but next he would like to have matches against both Endo and Akito!

Since Kyoto is home to game masters Nintendo, Danshoku Dieno declared he & Yuki Iino were going to become Pheromones Masters today. The result of this was Iino stripping out of his wrestling gear and “evolving” while Pokémon game music played over the speakers. This plan backfired when he ran the ropes in as little clothing as possible and ran into Yukinori Matsui, crotch to face. That was enough to get Iino disqualified.


DDT “DDT FREE -OCTOBER-” Results

October 26, 2022

DDT “DDT FREE -OCTOBER-”, 26/10/2022
Shinjuku FACE
440 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Soma Takao, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani defeated Yusuke Okada, Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi when Naya pinned Sumi with a Knee Lift (10:03).
2. HARASHIMA & Akito defeated Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno when Akito pinned Iino with a Backslide Pin (7:11).
3. Ω Vs DISASTER BOX!: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Oishi pinned Hirata after the Fuckin’ BOMB from Hino (7:30).
4. CDK Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated MAO & Shunma Katsumata when Brookes pinned Takanashi after the Hair Of The Dog (14:25).
5. Harimao Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida when Sasaki submitted Ishida with the Crossface Lock (14:23).
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno & Toi Kojima defeated Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku when Ueno pinned Koroku with the WR (19:41).

The show served as a preview for the opening day of the D-Ou Grand Prix taking place next week. Yuki Ueno scored the win in the main event, giving him momentum for the tournament opener against Tetsuya Endo. Ueno had him well scouted in the end, using a Missile Dropkick to cut off Endo’s Swan Dive Forearm aimed for Toi Kojima. Ueno then gave Yuya Koroku the WR for the victory. Afterwards Ueno said he has a responsibility to carry DDT on his back because he is entering the D-Ou GP as the DDT Universal Champion. Even if he wasn’t a champion he’s been thinking that way ever since last year’s tournament. Kojima said he will support Ueno and MAO in the tournament. He also wants to grow so he can enter the Grand Prix next year.

Kazusada Higuchi versus KANON is another match that was previewed here. KANON used their tag match to get under Higuchi’s skin. After the match KANON told Higuchi to smile more and have some fun because on 1st November KANON is going to laugh over his corpse! Higuchi’s response is he will have the last laugh. Naomi Yoshimura also warned Daisuke Sasaki that he will crush him in the tournament. Sasaki isn’t looking forward to working hard but understands there is no such thing as an easy tournament match.

How on earth can I describe the Hair Of The Dog that CDK used to beat MAO & Shunma Katsumata? First Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi positioned Katsumata on top of MAO and twisted them into doing a Yoshitonic. Then Takanashi rolled both of them over with a sideways Gedo Clutch and Brookes bridged himself on top of MAO. The result was Takanashi & Brookes pinning Katsumata with MAO unable to break the pin because he was underneath everything. Brookes Vs MAO us coming up in the Grand Prix and MAO is still haunted by last year’s match when he lost to Brookes by Countout.

Kazuki Hirata had a secret plan to try and beat Ω. He used a Paradise Lock on Makoto Oishi, incapacitating him for the rest of the match. Toru Owashi then challenged Yuji Hino to a chop off and suddenly covered Hino in his own t-shirt so his arms were trapped and unusable. Hirata found his courage to fight Hino in this state but found out his attacks were still harmless. Hino eventually freed himself and dropped Hirata with the Fuckin’ BOMB. He then lifted up Oishi who was still stuck in the Paradise Lock and placed him on top of Hirata for the pin. They have another match coming up for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. Oishi wants to know who this “Second Doi” person is?

Akito is getting ready to take the captaincy role of the Pheromones Subjugation Squad on 1st November. It turns out HARASHIMA is also now a member of DDT’s disciplinary committee, but that is a role different from what Akito and Sanshiro Takagi are attached to. Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno still did their lewd antics today with HARASHIMA getting the brunt of it. But Akito was able to get a Backslide Pin on Iino to get the win. He warned Pheromones that on 1st November he will do what Takagi couldn’t and subdue all of them in one shot!

The opening match had Yukio Naya pin the newbie Kazuma Sumi with a Knee Lift. The result gives Naya momentum for his opening GP match against Hino. The two are friends but both are willing to kill each other if they have to.

Cara Noir returns to DDT on 29th December. He will also be on the 3rd January show.


Nightingale In Japan, Pheromones Subjugation Squad, Matsuno Returns

October 25, 2022

DDT “DDT FREE -OCTOBER-”, 26/10/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. Soma Takao, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani Vs Yusuke Okada, Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs HARASHIMA & Akito
3. Ω Vs DISASTER BOX!: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
4. CDK Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs MAO & Shunma Katsumata
5. Harimao Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida Vs Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno & Toi Kojima Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku

Tomorrow’s show gives some of the D-Ou Grand Prix field more chances to prepare for the tournament. There are a few previews of upcoming group stage matches to look forward to here.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE MOUNTAIN TOP 2022”, 29/10/2022
Osaka Edion Arena #2

1. Yuki Aino & Raku Vs Nao Kakuta & Yoshiko Hasegawa
2. Miyu Yamashita & Juria Nagano Vs Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami
3. Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Pom Harajuku Vs Mizuki, Suzume & Haruna Neko
4. Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Arai Vs Hikari Noa & Arisu Endo
5. Yuka Sakazaki & Willow Nightingale Vs Maki Itoh & Yuki Kamifuku
6. International Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Moka Miyamoto

Willow Nightingale touches down in Japan where Yuka Sakazaki is there waiting for her. Together the two of them will take on MakiYuki Happy in Osaka. Also coming along for some fun is Yoshiko Hasegawa from Ganbare☆Pro.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 OPENING ROUND”, 01/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) Vs Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata (w/ Akito)
1. Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Kazuma Sumi Vs Yusuke Okada, Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida
2. Joey Janela & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
3. Jun Akiyama Produce Match: Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA Vs Yuya Koroku & Takeshi Masada
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuki Ueno
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Naomi Yoshimura Vs RSP
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi Vs KANON
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yuji Hino Vs Yukio Naya
8. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes Vs MAO

Now that Pheromones have won the war against Sanshiro Takagi, it is up to Akito to protect DDT from their scandalous ways. Takagi has “graduated” from the feud and selected Akito to take his place as Captain of the Pheromones Subjugation Squad. Akito feels like he’s been in that position for a while anyway but agreed to the idea. He’s not wrestling on this show but will be accompanying the opposing team to make sure Pheromones don’t fall out of line.

GANBARE☆PRO “DIRTY HERO 2022”, 03/11/2022
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Tsuyoshi Okada Vs Yuki Kanzaki
2. Mixed Tag Match: Ken Ohka & YuuRI Vs Yumehito Imanari & HARUKAZE
3. GanJo Special Tag Match: Yuna Manase & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Willow Nightingale & Moeka Haruhi
4. Kouki Iwasaki Send-Off Special Singles Match: Kouki Iwasaki Vs Shinichiro Tominaga
5. Dirty Hero 2022 Special Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao Vs Mizuki Watase & Toi Kojima
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Hartley Jackson (c) Vs Shuichiro Katsumura

Nightingale won’t just be at Tokyo Joshi Pro for this tour. She’s making a GanPro appearance too!

While Shuichiro Katsumura is in the main event championship match, his buddy Tsuyoshi Okada will also be at the show wrestling against Yuki Kanzaki in the opener.

BASARA “BASARA 203 ~GLITTER~”, 08/11/2022
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Chouten ~Itadaki~ – A Block Final: FUMA Vs Fuminori Abe
2. Chouten ~Itadaki~ – B Block Final: Masato Kamino Vs Yasu Urano
3. Chouten ~Itadaki~ – Final: Winner Of A Block Vs Winner Of B Block

The final rounds of the Chouten ~Itadaki~ tournament are all set. Either FUMA, Fuminori Abe, Masato Kamino or Yasu Urano will end up standing on top of the mountain as BASARA’s strongest wrestler when all is said and done.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN OSAKA”, 12/11/2022
Osaka Edion Arena #2

0. Dark Match: Shunma Katsumata & Kazuma Sumi Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
1. MJ Paul & KANON Vs Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada
2. Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Produce Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Aja Kong & HARASHIMA
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi (c) Vs Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Yuki Ueno Vs Naomi Yoshimura
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Joey Janela
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs RSP
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi Vs MAO
8. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes Vs Yukio Naya

The new rookie Kazumi Sumi impressed with his debut match. Jae over at Dragongate revealed in a tweet that Sumi originally came from the dojo over there but dropped out. And that is how DDT is getting some of their new trainees. They start training at other companies, leave for whatever reason and end up over in DDT. Might be a little awkward if he bumps into Naruki Doi in the locker room then.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KYOTO”, 13/11/2022
Kyoto KBS Hall

1. Joey Janela, Makoto Oishi & Yuki Ishida Vs RSP, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
2. Pheromones Vs DISASTER BOX!: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Naruki Doi & Akito Vs Hideki Okatani, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada
4. Saki Akai Produce Match: Saki Akai, Yukio Sakaguchi & HARASHIMA Vs Aja Kong, Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Naomi Yoshimura
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Chris Brookes
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yukio Naya Vs KANON
8. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yuji Hino Vs MAO

Doi’s next appearance in DDT will be in Kyoto where he’s teaming with Tetsuya Endo & Akito against three of DDT’s younger wrestlers.

One of the non-tournament matches will feature Joey Janela against Rickey Shane Page on opposite sides. Not sure if there’s still bad blood between the two over the GCW Vs 44OH! feud from not so long ago but they don’t even need that excuse to do something crazy together. They’ll be facing each other in the D-Ou GP a few days later anyway so plenty of chances for them to wreck each other.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KORAKUEN HALL”, 18/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada Vs Yuki Ishida
0. Dark Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Gorgeous Matsuno
1. Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku
2. Special 8-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yuki Ueno
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Joey Janela Vs RSP
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Naomi Yoshimura
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yukio Naya
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes Vs Yuji Hino

Last we heard from Gorgeous Matsuno he was in the early stages of preparations donating a kidney to his partner Junko Tashiro. He gave an update during the week that the kidney transplant has been delayed until next Spring. He explained in an interview that Tashiro’s recent blood tests showed she is in good health and her doctors suggested it might not be a good idea to get a transplant right away while her own kidneys are still functioning. The operation will have to happen eventually but right now Matsuno has been given extra time to go back to his different entertainment activities, including pro wrestling.

“MASAHIRO TAKANASHI INDEPENDENT PERFORMANCE – BOKUTACHI 4 HANJUKU 4 I LOVE YOU! 2022”, 22/11/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. Mixed Gauntlet Tag Match: Ram Kaichow & Yuko Miyamoto Vs Saki Akai & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu) Vs Mochi Natsumi & Hoshitango Vs Cherry & Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Chie Koishikawa & Shin Suzuki
2. Chris Brookes, Drew Parker & Antonio Honda Vs Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao
3. Mei Suruga Vs MAO
4. Daisuke Sekimoto Vs Masahiro Takanashi

A Team Drift reunion is on the cards over at Masahiro Takanashi’s show. He’s also added a bunch of teams to the Mixed Tag Gauntlet match. Takanashi has already apologised to Saki Akai for sticking her with the Brahman Brothers.

DDT “NEVER MIND 2022”, 29/12/2022
Tokyo Dome City Hall

1. Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai Vs Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs X

It’s very likely that the D-Ou winner will challenge Kazusada Higuchi for the KO-D Openweight Title at the end of the year. Or if Higuchi wins the tournament then he will likely nominate his challenger.

Two outsiders have come to challenge Reiwa AA Cannon. The duo of Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata both have histories with Saki Akai but they are completely brand new opponents for Yuki Arai.


DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2022” Results

October 23, 2022

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2022”, 23/10/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
701 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. Dark Match – Pheromones Vs Takagi-gun Complete Showdown FINAL ~ Dissolution Contra 1 Day President! 2 Vs 5 Handicap Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi, Antonio Honda & Akito when Dieno pinned Takagi after a Chairshot from Hisaya Imabayashi (7:39).
*Yuki “Sexy” Iino gets to be CyberFight President for 1 day.
1. Kazuma Sumi Debut Match: Kazuki Hirata defeated Kazuma Sumi with a Crab Hold (8:48).
2. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani when KANON pinned Kojima with the Sleepy Hollow (12:08).
3. Special Tag Match: Soma Takao & Hikaru Machida defeated HARASHIMA & Takeshi Masada when Machida pinned Masada with the Iai Punch (10:56).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Osamu Nishimura, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Yuki Ishida when Koroku submitted Ishida with the Triangle Lancer (10:39).
5. Road To D-Ou GP Special 6-Man Tag Match: Naomi Yoshimura, Yuji Hino & Chris Brookes defeated Tetsuya Endo, MAO & Yukio Naya when Brookes pinned Naya with a Roll Up (15:22).
6. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda with the WR (15:24).
*V2 for Yuki Ueno.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) defeated Yukio Sakaguchi with the Brain Claw Slam (16:12).
*V4 for Kazusada Higuchi.

A fourth successful KO-D Openweight Title defence is in the books for Kazusada Higuchi and it was his most emotional one yet. Yukio Sakaguchi spent the build up to the match pulling the “big brother” card and reminding everyone that he is Higuchi’s senpai. It was all mind games to see if Higuchi has really moved on from Eruption or not. It added more danger to Sakaguchi’s kicks and choke holds. The attacks left Higuchi bleeding from the bridge of his nose. But Higuchi hit back with the Brain Claw Slam and several Horizontal Chops. Sakaguchi was spent by the end of it while Higuchi yelled at him to stand back up. Both of them knew the match was finished and a tearful Higuchi gave his “big brother” another Brain Claw Slam to get the win.

The aftermatch saw Sakaguchi praising Higuchi for being merciless and also as strong as ever. He told Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida that they are part of a good unit in Harimao and they should trust Higuchi as their leader. It also made Sakaguchi tell Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani that Eruption need to fire up even stronger from now on because they cannot lose. Higuchi thanked Sakaguchi & Akai for what they taught him in Eruption. He then gave Okatani a gift. It is Higuchi’s entrance gown he wore when he was part of Eruption. When they left, Higuchi said the D-Ou Grand Prix is a physically and mentally tough challenge but he is going to face it and break through. The next KO-D Title defence won’t be until 29th December.

Old allies from the DNA days turned into fresh rivals for the DDT Universal Title. The champion Yuki Ueno not only had to worry about fighting Koju Takeda but the rest of Pheromones too. However The 37KAMIINA were there to support Ueno and get Pheromones out of the way, although it took some dives from Takeda and Ueno to help clear out the interference. When it went back into a 1 on 1 match, Ueno pinned Takeda with the WR to defend the title. He told Takeda afterwards he is glad their match has gone from Kitasenju Theatre 1010 to Korakuen Hall. Ueno doesn’t want to face anyone from Pheromones again but he can’t help but feel jealous at them. Now he will move on to the D-Ou Grand Prix where he hopes to do one better than last year and win the tournament.

A lot of the D-Ou field used today’s matches to get ready and call their shots for the tournament next month. Chris Brookes declared after the trios match he was going to win the D-Ou GP. Yoshimura then cut off the music to say he would win it instead. Yuji Hino called the two of them idiots because he will win. Then Tetsuya Endo questioned all of their opinions and decided he was going to be the winner. MAO kept cutting in during this so everyone just heard the two of them talk over each other. Yukio Naya had enough and shoved them over to say he will win. They played his music to end the segment, which annoyed Brookes because Brookes beat Naya to win the match.

The wrestling politicians team came back. Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu teamed with Ishida to take on three members of BURNING. Kawamatsu was thrown right in there with Jun Akiyama which has to be both an exciting and terrifying experience for a long time wrestling fan. Maybe the same can be said for Yusuke Okada getting to fight Nishimura. But it was the two youngest wrestlers of the match who determined which side won. Yuya Koroku timed Ishida’s momentum well and drew him into a Triangle Lancer to get the submission victory. Okada criticized Kawamatsu’s performance in the post-match interview backstage. He said the politician should put more energy into his performance. Elsewhere Kawamatsu said he fell into the same trap as his last match. Whenever he gets into the ring, his mind goes blank and his body stiffens up. If he gets another chance to do a match he promises to devote himself into showing everyone a more solid performance.

A brand new challenge was presented to Takeshi Masada. How would he fare taking on a kickboxer like Hikaru Machida? The match also presented a big challenge for Machida because HARASHIMA was Masada’s tag partner. Masada held his own against both Machida & Soma Takao until Machida started getting the combos in. They took their toll on the rookie and he was done for once the Iai Punch found its target. HARASHIMA would like to team with Masada again but they need a better tag name. The suggestions they got were Pantaloon Tag and Harashimasada but HARASHIMA thinks both of them sound too dorky.

The two members of DAMNATION T.A entering the D-Ou GP are also looking in good shape going into it. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON were victorious along with Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul against a combined foursome of Eruption and The 37KAMIINA members. Sasaki and Shunma Katsumata had a close exchange but KANON got the win by pinning Toi Kojima. After the match Sasaki said he hates the D-Ou GP but will make sure he still wins it. He will see KANON in the final. KANON replied that the D-Ou GP will be covered in DAMNATION T.A’s colours. However things looked to get tense between the two so Fujita and Paul stepped in to keep things cool between everyone.

The debut of Kazuma Sumi gave Kazuki Hirata the opportunity to wrestle a mostly serious match without his wacky antics getting in the way. Sumi made it clear he is going to be a fast moving high flyer. Hirata stopped mid-match and asked Sumi what his goal is going to be. Sumi said he wants to win the match. Hirata asked for the answer to be bigger and louder. Sumi shouted he is going to be at the top of DDT! Hirata wanted an even bigger and louder answer. Sumi shouted he will become the KO-D Champion! Hirata shook his hand and then kicked him to continue the match. He got the rookie to submit to the Crab Hold, as is tradition in pro wrestling. Kojima said Sumi has a good mindset but there are a lot of young wrestlers now in DDT that Sumi has to compete with. Sumi said a week ago he fell into a slump and couldn’t sleep but his debut match was fun and he has Hirata to thank for that.

Perhaps the match with the greatest consequence today took place on the pre-show. The dark match featured Sanshiro Takagi leading a team of wrestlers against Pheromones in a 5 Vs 2 battle. It was kind of 5 Vs 3 because Yumehito Imanari was there at ringside to help his mates out. Still, Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno still had to fight Takagi, Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi, Antonio Honda & Akito all at once. Takagi had Dieno beat with the Himawari Bomb and called Hisaya Imabayashi into the ring. He gave the DDT GM a chair and told him to finish Dieno off once and for all. Imabayashi hesitated until he finally swung the chair… at Takagi! Dieno jumped on top of Takagi to get the three count, meaning Yuki Iino now gets to be President of CyberFight for a day!

Imabayashi explained his actions after the match. He was not betraying Takagi to join Pheromones. Instead he was taking a stand towards Takagi for his abuse of power. A 5 Vs 2 Handicap match was unfair from the beginning. Takagi has too much on his plate as CyberFight president to keep worrying about Pheromones. DDT has a very important project coming up next year that Takagi needs to put his full attention on. Imabayashi won’t be able to feel at peace when he leaves DDT if Takagi doesn’t move on. Takagi understands and announced he his “graduating” from his feud with Pheromones. However he appointed Akito to take his place and keep the feud going. Akito complained that he always fights Pheromones anyway but he accepts the decision.

Midway through the show Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata were brought into the ring to be announced as the opponents for Reiwa AA Cannon on 29th December. Anou was carrying the ICEx∞ Title from Ice Ribbon with her. She said she will prove she is more attractive and strong than either Saki Akai or Yuki Arai. Kawahata said she lost to Akai the last time she was in DDT so she wants to mess up the faces of both Akai & Arai on 29th December. Later Akai said she had singles matches against Anou and Kawahata before. She wonders if anything has changed with Kawahata since their previous match. She also thinks it will be great experience for Arai to fight wrestlers from other promotions and see what they all have to offer.

The big project for next year seems to be DDT’s return to America! First, Takagi announced “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD” will take place on 30th March, 2023 at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los Angeles! The show will be part of The Collective, a series of events spearheaded by GCW held during WrestleMania week. If that wasn’t enough, Joey Janela sent in a video announcing “GCW VS DDT” will take place in the same venue on 31st March! It will be the first time in 4 years DDT will be holding shows in America. Takagi said he’s been wanting to do it every year since the New York show in 2019 but the pandemic kept putting them back at square one. The Yen is weak against the Dollar right now so Takagi is aiming to make a lot of money while DDT is in the USA.

Soma Takao is now the store manager of the Dropkick Bar. So if you ever want to drink with Takao, he’ll be waiting for you at the Dropkick Bar!


DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2022 TOUR IN SAPPORO – DAY 2” Results

October 16, 2022

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2022 TOUR IN SAPPORO – DAY 2”, 16/10/2022
Hokkaido Sapporo ii-one Stadium
238 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Special Single Match: Saki Akai defeated Ami Kanda with the Rookie Award (9:31).
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs MAO & Toi Kojima ended in a No Contest (11:04). (Special Referee: Akito)
3. HARASHIMA & Makoto Oishi defeated Tomoya & Takeshi Masada when Oishi pinned Masada with the Luminous Press (12:02).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Noriyuki Yoshida defeated Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Chris Brookes when Yoshida pinned Katsumata with the Officially Approved By The Person In Question Lightning Leg Lariat (14:46).
5. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated Yuji Hino & Yusuke Okada when KANON pinned Okada with the Sleepy Hollow (12:10).
6. Sapporo Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Okatani & Kouki Iwasaki defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida when Okatani pinned Ishida with the Double Arm Suplex (15:46).

Perhaps Yukio Sakaguchi’s words to Kazusada Higuchi yesterday have left the KO-D Openweight Champion feeling a little bit of doubt. The final moments of today’s headline match saw Sakaguchi knock out Higuchi with the God’s Right Knee. Meanwhile Hideki Okatani beat down Yuki Ishida with Suplexes until he kept him down with the Double Arm variation. Backstage Sakaguchi said by the end of next week the KO-D Title will be around either Higuchi’s waist or his own. Either way he is looking forward to the match. Meanwhile Naomi Yoshimura is trying to get Higuchi’s head back in the game. He has to be proud of himself to be the champion but this weekend just proved he is running behind Sakaguchi right now.

Akito was chosen by management to be the special guest referee for the 3 Way Tag Match in order to keep Pheromones under control. He did not have a referee shirt so he pulled down his shorts to reveal he was wearing an O-back underneath. Pheromones went overboard anyway with Danshoku Dieno using a wooden plank to see-saw Toi Kojima’s face into Yuki Iino’s rear end. Other wrestlers had their shorts pulled down causing ring announcer Ken Kato to step in and call off the match. Everyone then ganged up on Kato and removed him of his trousers.


DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2022” Results

September 25, 2022

DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2022”, 25/09/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
701 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. Dark Match: Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima defeated Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida when Okatani pinned Ishida with the Double Arm Suplex (6:37).
1. MAO, Asuka & Saki Akai defeated Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda when Akai pinned Honda with the Rookie Award (6:44).
2. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 3 Way Match: Shinya Aoki defeated Shunma Katsumata and Yuki “Sexy” Iino (w/ Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno) when Aoki pinned Katsumata with the European Clutch (6:58).
3. Special Tag Match: Akito & Yukio Naya defeated Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu when Naya submitted Kawamatsu with the Torture Cobra Twist (11:41).
4. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & KANON (w/ MJ Paul) defeated Naomi Yoshimura, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi when Sasaki submitted Oishi with the Crossface Lock (11:21).
5. Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Soma Takao defeated Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Takeshi Masada when Sakaguchi pinned Okada with the God’s Right Knee (11:18).
6. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Cara Noir with the WR (13:01).
*V1 for Yuki Ueno.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Buchikamashi (18:57).
*V2 for Kazusada Higuchi.

A hard headed effort from Kazusada Higuchi withstood the challenge of Konosuke Takeshita, preventing the KO-D Openweight Title from leaving Japan once Takeshita goes back to America. Higuchi’s iron toughness was on show when Takeshita pulled him by the arms, driving him head first into the steel ring post. Higuchi took a second long pause to register what happened and calmly fired back with a Headbutt that drew some blood from Takeshita’s forehead. Higuchi later attempted a big Choke Slam from the top rope but it was countered into a Frankensteiner followed by the Zahi. Higuhci kicked out of that and also the German Suplex before catching the Jumping Knee. More big bombs were thrown between the two and Takeshita finally hit the Jumping Knee. What he didn’t see coming was Higuchi standing firm and then charging in with the Buchikamashi sumo tackle. That put Takeshita down for the three count and Higuchi remains the champion.

After the match Takeshita gave his approval to Higuchi for being the champion and told him to do his best. He will be in America for around two and a half months before coming back for a DDT booking at the end of the year. Shinya Aoki then came down to ringside but rather than tease cashing in his title shot, he reached through the ropes to give Higuchi a fist bump instead and left. Yukio Sakaguchi then came out during Higuchi’s victory speech. He said Higuchi understands why he came out and he still does not understand true fear the likes of which Sakaguchi is capable of. Higuchi accepted his challenge and the two former “brothers” will fight for the KO-D Title on 23rd October.

You ever hear when wrestling commentators joke about how “it ain’t ballet”? Isn’t that in reality an insult backfire when you think about it? I’ve watched footage of ballet training and that stuff looks like hell on Earth even when compared to pro wrestling drills. Okay, okay, I’m getting distracted because I don’t want to make the usual theatre puns when writing about Cara Noir. The English wrestler performed his big entrance for the fans and then jumped Yuki Ueno with a John Woo Dropkick. Ueno was able to defend himself and escape from the Blackout Sleeper. He then returned with a Dropkick of his own, hitting Noir right in his face. The WR afterwards got Ueno the win and a successful DDT Universal Title defence under his belt.

There is a language barrier between the two but Ueno thanked Noir for coming to Japan after their match. It is a difficult time for Ueno to do what he wants and defend the Universal Title abroad, so he appreciates foreign opponents coming to DDT to challenge him. The three main members of Pheromones then entered the ring. Yuki Iino stepped over to Ueno and then turned around, revealing Ueno’s iPhone sticking out of his butt. Ueno pulled out his phone and found out he got a message from Koju Takeda. He read the message containing accusations that he does not have enough Pheromones. Takeda wants to measure their hormone levels together and so challenges Ueno for the Universal Title on 23rd October. Ueno accepts and wants to see how much Takeda has changed since their days in DNA together.

Sakaguchi cemented his claim for a KO-D Title shot by grabbing the win in Match #5. He was part of a DDT all veteran team against three members of BURNING along with the rookie Takeshi Masada. For some reason Sanshiro Takagi was a target for the opposing team. Tetsuya Endo got some ring time with HARASHIMA but Masada in particular wanted to beat Takagi. Jun Akiyama explained to the reporters backstage it’s because pro wrestling is the only place where it is acceptable to beat up the company president. It’s also acceptable to kick the heck out of Yusuke Okada like Sakaguchi did to win the match. Soma Takao was just kind of there. Even he noticed that he isn’t in any of the match pictures on DDT’s website.

DAMNATION T.A gave some of their next KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles opponents a taste of what’s to come. Minoru Fujita & KANON had their hands full with Naomi Yoshimura & Yuji Hino until MJ Paul got into a brawl with Hino out of the ring and up towards the balcony. Daisuke Sasaki had Makoto Oishi right where he wanted him from there. DAMNATION T.A benefited from the numbers game and Sasaki ended up tapping out Oishi with the Crossface Lock. Sasaki mocked Oishi for being so weak and wanted to injure him with a chair. Suddenly Shiori Asahi’s music began playing and he ran out to rescue his friend, fighting off Sasaki with a skateboard. Together, Oishi & Asahi then gave KANON the Cactus Flower. Asahi said it’s been a long time since he showed up as X on DDT shows. Hino said Ω is getting closer to a complete recovery. They will show DAMNATION T.A what real evil looks like when they take the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles from them!

The politician tag team of Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu were back at it again, this time wrestling against Akito & Yukio Naya. Two two are becoming more cohesive by doing double team moves together. However Naya was able to break them apart and submit Kawamatsu with the Cobra Twist. Nishimura gave advice to Kawamatsu by comparing a wrestling career to an election. Elections are the accumulation of everything politicians do day by day. Kawamatsu admits that every time he steps into the ring to wrestle his head goes blank and everything happens at a blink of an eye. Akito thinks this won’t be the last we see of Kawamatsu. Naya meanwhile has more important matters to get ready for.

Aoki had no choice but to put his Right To Challenge NFT on the line against Shunma Katsumata and Yuki Iino in a 3 Way Match. Katsumata dealt with Iino by sticking party poppers into his backside and setting them off. What he couldn’t have anticipated was Aoki turning into a Pheromones gimmick! He reappeared wearing very little and pinned Katsumata with the European Clutch. He still hasn’t publicly told people when he wants to cash in the NFT for a KO-D Title shot. The only hint he gives is it will happen soon.

Romance was unexpectedly in the air during the opening bout. Toru Owashi and Antonio Honda’s grappling gradually turned into them slowly embracing each other for a kiss. That was interrupted by the others but soon some unintentional hugging led to Saki Akai wanting to kiss Asuka and MAO wanting to kiss Kazuki Hirata. Before they could almost all of them snapped back to normal and Akai pinned Honda with the Rookie Award. Asuka was left in a frozen state with her eyes closed, still waiting for Akai to kiss her. Yukinori Matsui woke her up causing Asuka to scream at the sight of him and leave.

The dark match saw Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima beat Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida in a tag battle between the young generation. Ishida kicked out of Okatani’s Northern Lights Suplex so Okatani had to pull out the Double Arm Suplex for the win.

19 year old trainee Kazuma Sumi will make his debut against Kazuki Hirata on 23rd October. He spoke to the crowd and called Hirata a very talented person so he will do his best. Sumi has a background in karate and gymnastics. He is the second of the trainee class introduced in May to make his debut, the first being Takeshi Masada.

Danshoku Dieno has written a book to celebrate his 20th Anniversary in pro wrestling. He said he lied to the publisher about making a self-help book to convince them to sell it. However he will be covering topics about the pro wrestling business from his point of view based on his two decades of experience. It will be available in December and Dieno is hosting a special event at Korakuen Hall on the 21st to commemorate the release. Attendees will receive a copy of the book but the cost of it will be added on top of the ticket price.

The D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 lineup was revealed. The A Block consists of Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura, Joey Janela, Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki and Rickey Shane Page. The B Block consists of Kazusada Higuchi, Chris Brookes, MAO, Yuji Hino, KANON and Yukio Naya.