DDT “IBARAKI DE IKAPPEYO KATSUPE 2020” Results

February 2, 2020

DDT “IBARAKI DE IKAPPEYO KATSUPE 2020”, 02/02/2020
Ibaraki Kasumigaura Cultural Gymnasium
211 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated Danshoku Dieno & Antonio Honda when Hirata pinned Honda with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (11:18).
2. Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai defeated MAO, Makoto Oishi & Keigo Nakamura when Higuchi submitted Nakamura with the Modified Canadian Backbreaker (9:40).
3. DDT Megatonweight Single Match: Cody Hall defeated Yuki Iino with the Thunder Buster (10:10).
*Cody Hall wins Yuki Iino’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.
4. Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao & Hiroshi Yamato defeated Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Takao pinned Matsunaga with the Official Endless Waltz (11:42).
5. Ibaraki Hero Hayato “Mach” Sakurai & Tanomusaku Toba Triumph! Kasumigaura Specialty 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Hayato Sakurai & Tanomusaku Toba defeated Masahiro Takanashi, Mizuki Watase & Yukio Naya when Sakurai submitted Watase with a Cross Armbreaker (11:49).
6. ALL OUT Vs DAMNATION!: Konosuke Takeshita & Akito defeated Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie when Akito submitted Mad Paulie with the Ringo Maimai (18:36).

Akito used an Inverted Modified Crab Hold to submit Mad Paulie in the main event. He told the fans he was born in Nagoya City but his heart belongs to Ibaraki.

The real hometown heroes on today’s show were Hayato “Mach” Sakurai & Tanomusaku Toba. Sakurai stuggled to grapple with Yukio Naya but ultimately got to throw him down onto the canvas. HARASHIMA followed up with a Swan Dive Body Press. Mizuki Watase broke up Sakurai’s pin but all that got him was a Cross Armbreaker that made him tap out. Sakurai said pro wrestling is hard but he is a mixed martial artist. He can do anything with MMA!

Cody Hall used the help of his new tag partner Danshoku Dieno to beat Yuki Iino. He now has possession of the black Right To Challenge Gauntlet. Dieno calls this an immediate benefit to forming The Hole Brothers with him. Hall now wants to go after both the KO-D Openweight Title and the KO-D Tag Team Titles. Dieno wants to win every belt even the 6-Man and 10-Man Tag Titles! Dieno is now nicknaming himself Komon Hall due to this new alliance.


DDT “VALENTINE ITABASHI SERIES 2020” Results

February 1, 2020

DDT “VALENTINE ITABASHI SERIES 2020”, 01/02/2020
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
195 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Keigo Nakamura when Endo submitted Nakamura with the Yurikamome (11:23).
2. Konosuke Takeshita & Antonio Honda defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Takeshita pinned Hirata with the Zahi (10:02).
3. Danshoku Dieno & Hiroshi Yamato Vs Cody Hall & Yukio Naya ended in a No Contest (9:03).
4. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Match: Yuki Iino defeated Mizuki Watase with the Spear (13:03).
*Yuki Iino wins the black Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.
5. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 3 Way Match: Naomi Yoshimura defeated Kazusada Higuchi and Mad Paulie when Yoshimura pinned Paulie with a Lariat (7:16).
*Naomi Yoshimura wins the yellow Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.
6. Beloved Hometown! Itabashi Specialty Special 3 Way Match: Masato Tanaka & Tetsuhiro Kuroda defeated HARASHIMA & Masahiro Takanashi and MAO & Makoto Oishi when Tanaka pinned Oishi with the Sliding D (8:15).
7. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Survival 4 Way Match: Akito defeated Yuki Ueno, Yukio Sakaguchi and Soma Takao (16:47).
7a. Akito eliminated Soma Takao with a Cradle (11:29).
7b. Yuki Ueno eliminated Yukio Sakaguchi with a Modified Jackknife Pin (13:35).
7c. Akito eliminated Yuki Ueno with a Modified Leg Lock (16:47).
*Akito wins the green Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.

Three Right To Challenge Gauntlets have new owners. Akito, Naomi Yoshimura and Yuki Iino now all have a chance to get a KO-D Openweight Title whenever they want, as long as they don’t lose any matches before they cash it in. Akito is thrilled to be back in the title chase. He’s been positioned as a tag team wrestler after he lost the DDT Extreme Title. With the younger generation gaining progress in DDT, Akito doesn’t want to get left behind. Yoshimura thinks it is not a coincidence that the colour of his gauntlet is the same as when he cashed in on Konosuke Takeshita two and a half years ago. He is still tempted to go hunting for the Saitama Super Arena Sword. Yuki Iino said he will cash in his shot when the champion is as weak as possible.

The champion Masato Tanaka should be looking over his shoulder but right now his attention is solely focused on MAO. After winning the 3 Way Tag with Tetsuhiro Kuroda, Tanaka stood off with MAO. Suddenly MAO Dropkicked Tanaka and gave him the Michinoku Driver II. MAO admitted he was a little scared today but now he discovered he is too strong to be feeling scared.

The recent changes in the wrestling scene has given Danshoku Dieno plenty to think about. He doesn’t think Sanshiro Takagi is right in saying that DDT will stay the same after NOAH got purchased by CyberAgent. Things will be different and for Dieno it is a chance to still be an influential figure to carry DDT forward. In order to do this he needs to be a champion again. He asked Yukio Naya to form a team with him because Naya is big and comes from a yokozuna bloodline. Naya turned him down because he already has Cody Hall as a tag partner. Then during the match something unexpected happened. Hall turned on Naya! He hit him with a Lariat then Dieno gave his own tag partner Hiroshi Yamato a Brainbuster with Hall also Spearing Yamato on the way down. Dieno and Hall then attacked Yukinori Matsui causing the match to end via No Contest. Dieno got on the mic and said he has a “sex” partner with a yokozuna bloodline after all. He has the son of Scott Hall! Together Dieno and Hall are The Hole Brothers!

Kazuki Hirata had his entrance gear stolen before his match. He accused Antonio Honda behind the theft because he has done this kind of thing before. But much to everyone’s surprise it was Takeshita who came out wearing the stolen costume! Takeshita wrestling a match so low on the card had Hirata asking everyone if this was the main event.

At the start of the show Takagi told the fans DDT will not be any different with his new job at NOAH. The only change is Takagi will now be twice as busy.

Sidenote: 3,000th blog post!


Video – IPPON Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match!

January 28, 2020

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019”, 15/07/2019
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
3,798 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

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


DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2020” Results

January 26, 2020

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2020”, 26/01/2020
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,278 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani defeated Masahiro Takanashi, Mizuki Watase & Keigo Nakamura when Takao pinned Nakamura with a Running Elbow Butt (5:00).
2. Gamo & L’Oréal Presents Hair Arrange Tag Match: MAO & Hiroshi Yamato defeated Toru Owashi & Super Sasadango Machine when MAO pinned Sasadango with the Cannonball 450 (7:18).
3. Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Shunma Katsumata when Higuchi pinned Akito with the Doctor Bomb (8:06).
4. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Time Difference Battle Royal: Daisuke Sasaki, Shinya Aoki and Yasu Urano defeated Tetsuya Endo, Danshoku Dieno, Makoto Oishi, Yukio Naya and Antonio Honda (12:26).
4a. Right To Challenge At Saitama Super Arena Sword: Yasu Urano grabbed the envelope (5:26).
4b. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract: Daisuke Sasaki grabbed the envelope (9:24).
4c. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract: Shinya Aoki grabbed the envelope (12:26).
-. Right To Challenge At Saitama Super Arena Sword: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Yasu Urano by Pinfall (1:59).
*Daisuke Sasaki wins Yasu Urano’s Right To Challenge At Saitama Super Arena Sword. Sasaki cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.
5. Special Single Match To Have Naomichi Marufuji Remember Your Name: Naomichi Marufuji defeated Kazuki Hirata with the Ko-oh (11:01).
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura (c) defeated Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuki Iino when Yoshimura pinned Iino with the Shonenba (11:27).
*V2 for Nautilus.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Masato Tanaka defeated HARASHIMA (c) with the Sliding D (20:18).
*HARASHIMA fails in V2. Masato Tanaka becomes the 74th KO-D Openweight Champion!

There is now no doubt about it, Masato Tanaka is the strongest in DDT! He went through the D-Ou Grand Prix undefeated and today wiped out the only blight in his record from that tournament to become the new KO-D Openweight Champion! It wasn’t easy though. HARASHIMA threw everything he had against Tanaka from the Somato to the Firebird Splash. The ace up Tanaka’s sleeve as always was the Sliding D. He used it to great effect, finding even the smallest of openings to use the move. The climax of the match saw HARASHIMA go for the Swan Dive Somato. Tanaka avoided the move and popped his opponent with the Sliding D, then hit the finisher two more times from behind and from the front to finish him off.

When the KO-D Title was wrapped around Tanaka’s waist, he told HARASHIMA he does not know how many defences he will last but he is looking forward to finding out. Hisaya Imabayashi informed Tanaka that his first defence is against MAO on 23rd February. Suddenly Pokotan came down but the mascot costume was only partially completed. Imabayashi pulled Pokotan’s head off to reveal it was MAO in disguise! MAO told Tanaka “Just bring it, bitch!” He tried to attack Tanaka with a Hurricanrana but Tanaka countered it into a Power Bomb. Tanaka warned MAO that there is a lot of things to be done between themselves and HARASHIMA before the next title match. Tanaka promised he will wear the KO-D Title with pride in any ring he climbs into while he is champion.

Tension between Yuki Iino & Chihiro Hashimoto was so bad that the team couldn’t even decided whose entrance music to use, so the sound guy had to mash their songs together. They both went for the Haka Elbow early on Yuki Ueno but got in each other’s way. The champions Nautilus took control until Hashimoto got the better of Ueno, leaving Iino facing off with Naomi Yoshimura. Unfortunately for the challengers, Yoshimura wore down Iino with the Drill-A-Hole Piledriver and ultimately won with the Shonenba. Ueno thanked Iino & Hashimoto for the match then said Nautilus’ goal is to defend the KO-D Tag Team Titles at Saitama Super Arena this summer.

There was confusion when Kazuki Hirata’s music played but nobody stepped through the curtain. Keigo Nakamura eventually made his way down to ringside to tell Yukinori Matsui that Hirata had gone missing. Naomichi Marufuji then made his entrance carrying Hirata over his shoulders! It turned out Hirata tried to ambush Marufuji backstage but failed in a major way. Hirata apologised to Marufuji and promised he was now Reborn. He offered a handshake but it was a trap for another sneak attack to start the match. Marufuji easily took control, forcing Hirata to bring out the Hirata GO! glasses. Marufuji knocked off the glasses and broke them over his knee. Just when he was about to finish the job, Hirata begged for a break so he could tell him something important. Hirata wrote a letter telling Marufuji how seeing him wrestle on TV gave him hope to live at a time when he had nothing. His one wish is to dance with Marufuji! Two Hirata GO! glasses found their way into the ring and Hirata convinced a hesitant Marufuji to dance with him. Then he hit an Enzuigiri and tried to Cradle Marufuji for a near fall. Marufuji stayed calm, danced with Hirata again and knocked him out with the Ko-oh knee strike. When Hirata came to, Marufuji stuck out his hand and asked him his name. This isn’t the reason he came to DISASTER BOX and DDT but after today, Marufuji will remember Hirata’s name.

The Right To Challenge series returned with three prizes on the line in a Ladder Match. Yasu Urano, Daisuke Sasaki and (a bare assed) Shinya Aoki all grabbed an envelope that hung above the ring. After the match Imabayashi told them to open their envelopes because one of them was different than the others. Sasaki and Aoki just has the regular Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contracts but Urano found out he held a Right To Challenge At Saitama Super Arena Contract! Imabayashi gifted Urano with a decorative sword that represented the KO-D Title shot at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2020” in June.

Imabayashi explained that the rules for the sword are the same as the regular Right To Challenge Contract. If Urano loses to another wrestler then he loses the sword and the title shot to that wrestler. Sasaki asked if he could use his own contract to challenge Urano for the cool looking sword? Imabayashi figured he could. Sasaki shouted he was cashing in his contract and he immediately attacked Urano to start the match. They scrambled for two minutes until Sasaki rolled through Urano’s Hurricanrana to pin him for the three count. Sasaki celebrated with the sword by doing the Fire Festival pose. Backstage Sasaki said he wants to win the KO-D Title at Saitama Super Arena then propose to Candice LeRae at NXT or Raw or Smackdown or AEW or wherever it is she works.

The trio of Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai are now called Eruption. They entered together with matching white entrance gear and a unit video. Their debut as a new force in DDT saw them defeat ALL OUT. Sakaguchi & Akai took out Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata with Apron PKs while Higuchi pinned Akito with the Doctor Bomb. When asked what the meaning of Eruption is, Sakaguchi told reports to just look at the name and their entrance video. Higuchi believes DDT as it is now is not the DDT he likes so Eruption will go on a rampage. Akai said they will create something new with DDT, something that is fun for the three of them.

A stylist from the Gold Shibuya hair salon worked on the hairstyles for every wrestler involved in Match #2. Yes even Super Sasadango Machine. The fans chanted “ikemen” at the wrestlers during the match. Sasadango was unmasked when MAO grabbed his “hair” and gave him a Snapmare. It turned out Sasadango’s real hair underneath the mask was also styled. Toru Owashi got some hairspray to freshen it up. They then helped the stylist live out his dream of being a pro wrestler by having him do The People’s Elbow on MAO. Hiroshi Yamato broke the pin and put Sasadango in position for MAO to hit the Cannonball 450.

Soma Takao has really taken a liking to using Elbow Smashes lately. He used a bunch of them followed by a Rolling Elbow on Keigo Nakamura for a nearfall. When Nakamura got back up, Takao took him out with a Running Elbow Butt.


Sakazaki & Itoh In EVE, Homoiro Clover Z Reunion

January 15, 2020

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI 2020 WINTER ~WONDERFUL HARMONY~”, 18/01/2020
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Yuki Aino Vs Mahiro Kiryu
2. Akemi Daredasore, Yuki Kamifuku & Mina Shirakawa Vs Shoko Nakajima, Nodoka Tenma & Haruna Neko
3. Suzume Vs Sena Shiori
4. Mirai Maiumi Vs Miu Watanabe
5. Yuka Sakazaki & Maki Itoh Vs Yuna Manase & Raku
6. Miyu Yamashita, Rika Tatsumi & Raku Vs Natsumi Maki, Hikari Noa & Pom Harajuku

This past weekend Yuka Sakazaki and Maki Itoh both wrestled in England for “WRESTLE QUEENDOM 3” hosted by Pro-Wrestling: EVE. Sakazaki fought to a 15 minute draw against Lana Austin. After the match Sakazaki told Austin they can have a rematch for the Princess Of Princess Title if Austin ever comes to Japan. In the other match, Itoh defeated “Session Moth” Martina. She was amazed at how Martina controlled the audience support at first but Itoh got them on her side because she is the cutest in the world. Itoh also thinks it was 100 times more exciting to sing in England than it is to sing in Japan.

Anyway long story short, Sakazaki & Itoh are teaming together for their first match back in Japan since the EVE show.

Itoh has invited Bull Nakano to attend the big Tokyo Joshi Pro show at Tokyo Dome City Hall this November. The two met at a talk event yesterday. Nakano’s advice for Itoh was no matter how good she gets, she needs to develop rivalries with other wrestlers from her era. That is what attracts fans and gets them to keep watching.

BASARA “BASARA 117 ~REBORN~”, 22/01/2020
Shinjuku FACE

0. Exhibition Match: Captain Grace & Kamui Vs Takano Nakato & Masato Kamino
1. Daichi Kazato Vs Tetsuo Usui
2. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & SAGAT Vs Gouma Ryu & Kikutraro
3. Daiki Shimomura & Masato Kamino Vs Keisuke Ishii & Kota Umeda
4. Isami Kodaka, Ryuichi Sekine & Minoru Fujita Vs Takumi Tsukamoto, Yasu Urano & Takato Nakano
5. Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura Vs Naoki Tanizaki & Akiyori Takizawa
6. IRON FIST TAG Titles: FUMA & Yusuke Kubo (c) Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
7. Union MAX Title: Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Ryota Nakatsu

Unfortunately I’m still struggling to keep up with BASARA because they are still only posting the bare minimum of info on their new website. I’ll keep posting results for now. I’ll have to find a way to dig deeper into this.

Anyway, Masahiro Takanashi is not taking it easy as the Union MAX Champion. He defeated Isami Kodaka in his first defence. Now next on the plate for him is another former MAX champion, Ryota Nakatsu. He also pinned Kodaka recently to claim the title shot.

Tsutomu Oosugi pinning FUMA at the last show means Speed Of Sounds get an IRON FIST TAG Titles match.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI 2020 WINTER ~WONDERFUL HARMONY~”, 25/01/2020
Osaka City Higashinari Ward Center

1. Osaka Sannin Matsuri – Round 1A: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
2. Osaka Sannin Matsuri – Round 1B: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
3. Osaka Sannin Matsuri – Semi Final: X, X & X Vs Winners Of Match 1A
4. Osaka Sannin Matsuri – Semi Final: X, X & X Vs Winners Of Match 1B
5. Miyu Yamashita Vs Natsumi Maki
6. Osaka Sannin Matsuri – Final: X, X & X Vs X, X & X

The rush from challenging Sareee is something Natsumi Maki wants to experience again. This means the wait is over for her to finally wrestle against Miyu Yamashita!

The six teams entering the Osaka Sannin Matsuri are:

Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Rika Tatsumi
Shoko Nakajima, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino
Yuna Manase, Yuki Kamifuku & Mina Shirakawa
Miu Watanabe, Hikari Noa & Raku
Pom Harajuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Haruna Neko
Mirai Maiumi, Suzume & Sena Shiori

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “AIJO 2020”, 02/02/2020
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. Ganpro Three Big Singles Match – Toyama Vs Hokkaido Full Battle: Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Shigeyuki Kawahara
2. Ganpro Three Big Singles Match – Lotte Vs Hiroshima Full Battle: Shota Vs Shiori Asahi
3. Ganpro Three Big Singles Match – Nemuro Vs Hakodate Full Battle: Kouki Iwasaki Vs Tetsuhiro Kuroda
4. GWC 6-Man Tag Team Titles – Ganpocha-gun Vs Kaimei-gun: Ken Ohka, Yumehito Imanari & Miss Mongol (c) Vs Shinichiro Tominaga, Moeka Haruhi & Shuhei Washida

GPW is now Ganpocha-gun. Doesn’t really make a difference.

BOYZ “(BRAND NEW) BOYZ α -VALENTINE EDITION-”, 11/02/2020
Kitazawa Town Hall

1. BOYZ Ace Showdown: MAO Vs Yuki Ueno
2. Fairy BOYZ: Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura
3. BOYZ-Like Exchange Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Shuichiro Tominaga & Shota
4. HomoClo Revival: Danshoku Dieno, Makoto Oishi & Akito Vs HARASHIMA, Keisuke Ishii & Mizuki Watase

Homoiro Clover Z are back! This was an idol unit put together by Danshoku Dieno between 2011 and 2012. There were a few reunions here and there afterward and it was never their decision to break up at the time. They had to because the entire roster was reset for new units to take their place.

Since there currently is not much interaction between the different brands on the main DDT shows, Akito is using the BOYZ brand to make matches involving Ganbare☆Wrestling wrestlers. Shota has been looking forward to wrestle against Konosuke Takeshita ever since he witnessed Takaeshita’s debut match back in 2012.

Akito thinks the YaroZ have their place on BOYZ shows too. They have their female fans believe it or not. Akito knows they can be as graceful as fairies if given the opportunity to.

Kazuki Hirata and Hiroshi Yamato will be on the show.

The card announcement was interrupted by a message from DAMNATION. They will be producing their own show in Shinjuku FACE on 7th April.

The next BOYZ show after this will be on 26th April at Itabashi Green Hall. However the next YaroZ show is also scheduled for the venue on the same day at the same time! An agreement was made for the shows to be held on separate floors. BOYZ gets the bigger room on the 2nd floor. YaroZ gets the smaller room on the 1st floor. They will have to use a low floor ring and can only fill in 124 people in the audience but the YaroZ people think the size is just right for them.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “STAR PLATINUM 2020”, 24/02/2020
Tokyo Seijo Hall

1. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Yumehito Imanari

Yumehito Imanari won a Battle Royal to get this title shot. He is the most motivated he’s ever been as a pro wrestler. So even though he knows he will take a beating from Keisuke Ishii, he still likes his odds of winning.


DDT “WRESTLE TOROROKOBU! 2020” Results

January 13, 2020

DDT “WRESTLE TOROROKOBU! 2020”, 13/01/2020
Osaka City Suminoe Maikon Hall
243 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Makoto Oishi defeated Saki Akai with the Luminous Press (7:19).
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Yuni Kids Wrestler Graduation Countdown! Special Tag Match In Osaka: Toru Owashi & Yuki Ueno defeated Tetsuya Endo & Yuni when Ueno pinned Yuni with a Crushed La Magistral Cradle (8:55).
*Yuki Ueno becomes the 1,471st champion.
3. Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Chris Brookes & Mizuki Watase when Sakaguchi submitted Watase with a Triangle Choke (9:36).
4. Hiroshi Yamato defeated Akito with the Northern Lights Bomb (8:46).
5. Takoyaki! Kushikatsu! Like A Bowl 3 Way Match: MAO defeated Soma Takao and Yukio Naya when MAO pinned Naya with the Michinoku Driver II (8:50).
6. Yuni Kids Wrestler Graduation Countdown! Osaka Specialty Special Exhibition Match: CIMA defeated Yuni with a Camel Clutch (6:12).
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Iino (c) defeated Kuishinbo Kamen, Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata when Iino pinned Kamen with the Haka Elbow (22:23).
*V3 for ALL OUT.
8. DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION!: HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Mad Paulie when Yoshimura pinned Paulie with the Drill-A-Hole Piledriver (15:54).
Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Kazuki Hirata defeated Yuki Ueno (c) with a School Boy (2:42 pm).
*Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,472nd champion.
Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Toru Owashi defeated Kazuki Hirata (c) with a School Boy (2:43 pm).
*Toru Owashi becomes the 1,473rd champion.

The right arm of Naomi Yoshimura was targeted by DAMNATION throughout the main event. Daisuke Sasaki attacked the arm with chairs outside the ring. However Yoshimura’s power couldn’t be contained and he was still able to smash Mad Paulie around. HARASHIMA helped Yoshimura set up Lariats. From there Yoshimura gave Paulie the Drill-A-Hole Piledriver for the win. This was a successful tour in his home of Osaka because he won the main events of both DDT shows.

The inclusion of Kuishinbo Kamen in the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match delivered some Osaka flavored comedy to the proceedings. When the match began Kamen sat in the front row and refused to wrestle. He finally got involved when Kazuki Hirata needed to make a hot tag. Kamen tagged in and started a chain reaction of Low Kicks to the leg with everyone over reacting the sell. Yuki Iino missed the Haka Elbow on Antonio Honda. When Honda attempted the same move he tripped and injured himself. He told his Gongitsune joke and Hirata did his dance afterwards. Iino joined in with the Haka and became too excited. Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata tried to calm him down but he knocked them back and ran around ringside. Takeshita got him back under control. He then yelled “Iino Rocket” and threw him into Honda. Honda maneuvered Iino back around and made him Spear his ALL OUT teammates. All six wrestlers got into the ring and did a chain reaction of Low Blows ending with Yukinori Matsui. He unintentionally hit Kamen with a Lariat then hit Honda & Hirata with a Double Lariat when they both grabbed him in protest. Iino pinned Kamen with the Haka Elbow to ensure ALL OUT kept the titles. Takeshita swore he will invade OSW (the Osaka one, not the Review one) and show Kamen what strong style really is!

Yuni begun the day as DAMNATION’s temporary signboard holder, lost the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title to Yuki Ueno in a tag match and then got to face CIMA one on one! Yuni got a nearfall on CIMA with a Moonsault. CIMA came out on top by countering a Hurricanrana into a slow drop Power Bomb. He then applied a Camel Clutch to make Yuni give up. CIMA said that El Lindaman told him about a talented elementary school student training in DDT so he came here to have a look. When CIMA was 16 he spent a month in Mexico on his own. He joked that Yuni can do the same when he gets to that age. When Yuni graduates into a real pro wrestler, CIMA wants to face him again in a DDT ring. He promised this time he will fight Yuni at 120%! He also teased more appearances in DDT thanks to the business relationship between #STRONGHEARTS and DAMNATION.

Akito had the bright idea of loosening some of the corner turnbuckle pads. The plan backfired when Hiroshi Yamato tried to give him a German Suplex. Akito grabbed the turnbuckle to block the move but the loose pad made him slip through his grip and get Suplexed. Yamato went on to win with the Northern Lights Bomb.

At the end of the show Makoto Oishi tried to win the Iron Man Title from Ueno. He failed and ran off. Hirata then got the jump on Ueno and succeeded. Yukio Sakaguchi stood at the entrance gate waiting for Hirata. He chased him into Toru Owashi and Owashi pinned Hirata to end the show as the champion.


DDT “WRESTLE SHIOKONBU! 2020” Results

January 12, 2020

DDT “WRESTLE SHIOKONBU! 2020”, 12/01/2020
Osaka City Suminoe Maikon Hall
306 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Akito defeated Tomomitsu Matsunaga with a Back Roll Cutback (8:38).
2. Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya when Higuchi pinned Naya with a Lariat (10:28).
3. Lucha Libre Rules: Mad Paulie & Hiroshi Yamato Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Paulie pinned Hirata with the Reverse Splash (8:33).
4. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Saki Akai “Okibariyasu” 7 Match Series – 3rd Match: Rina Yamashita defeated Saki Akai (c) with the Splash Mountain (17:34).
*Rina Yamashita becomes the 1,466th champion.
5. Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao & Tetsuya Endo defeated Chris Brookes, MAO & Antonio Honda when Takao pinned Honda with the Official Endless Waltz (13:19).
6. DDT Extreme Title – KOK (Kawaii Of Kawaii) Rules: HARASHIMA (c) defeated Pokotan (w/ Danshoku Dieno) with the Somato (7:33).
*V3 for HARASHIMA.
7. Yuni Kid Wrestler Graduation Countdown! Osaka Specialty 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuni defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata & Makoto Oishi when Ueno pinned Oishi with a Diving Body Press (25:19).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Kazuki Hirata defeated Rina Yamashita (c) with the Tegatana (8:39 pm).
*Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,467th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Rina Yamashita defeated Kazuki Hirata (c) with a Canadian Backbreaker (8:40 pm).
*Rina Yamashita becomes the 1,468th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Antonio Honda defeated Rina Yamashita (c) with a School Boy (8:41 pm).
*Antonio Honda becomes the 1,469th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yuni defeated Antonio Honda (c) with an Inverted Hurricanrana (8:42 pm).
*Yuni becomes the 1,470th champion.

Yuni had an eventful day. Soon he will transition from a wrestling child into proper pro wrestling training. The first of his “graduation” matches took place today where he teamed with Nautilus in the main event. Together the trio were named the OSAKA Mirai Monsters. Yuni got stretched a bit by Konosuke Takeshita but the kid got his own back by Double Stomping on his fingers. Takeshita countered a Hurricanrana into the Walls Of Takeshita but Yuni was saved by Yuki Ueno. Yuni then hit Makoto Oishi with the Kamigoye before tagging out. Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura worked on Oishi while Yuni hit a Diving Foot Stomp on Shunma Katsumata. Ueno finished off Oishi with a Blizzard Suplex followed by a Diving Body Press. After the match Nautilus encouraged Yuni to get stronger and hinted that they know who Yuni’s mystery opponent is for one of his two matches tomorrow.

At the end of the show Yuni there was several Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title changes with Yuni ending up as the current champion.

The DDT Extreme Title match was held under KOK (Kawaii Of Kawaii) Rules. Pinfalls would only be counted if the wrestler did a cute pose during the pin. It was up to Yukinori Matsui to determine if the pose was cute or not. The task was easy for Pokotan. Anything the mascot did looked cute so Matsui counted every pin. HARASHIMA on the other hand couldn’t rely on just his handsome smile, he had to do bunny ears and smoochy faces along with it. Pokotan hit a No Rope Topé to the outside then got Danshoku Dieno to scribble marker on HARASHIMA’s face to get rid of his handsome looks. HARASHIMA hit a Shining Wizard, removing Pokotan’s head in the process. Dieno interfered again when HARASHIMA got pushed into Matsui. He attacked HARASHIMA with Pokotan’s head, did the Danshoku Driver and then Pokotan followed up with his own version of the Somato. Matsui got back up but didn’t count the pin because Pokotan’s robot face was exposed. That’s not cute! Pokotan got its head back on but that gave HARASHIMA time to recover and hit the proper Somato. Matsui wouldn’t count the pin because of the marker on HARASHIMA’s face. The solution was to put on Pokotan’s head. Matsui was happy to count from then on.

The first Iron Man Title switch of the day happened when Rina Yamashita beat Saki Akai. The two fought outside the ring and up to the entrance stage. Back in the ring Akai applied a Triangle Choke and still held on to it after Yamashita lifted her up into a Power Bomb. She went for the Quetzalcoatl but Yamashita countered it into a Back Flip. She then used a Lariat to set Akai up for the match ending Splash Mountain. Yamashita doesn’t know why Akai chose her to be in the Okibariyasu series but today she found out they are in sync together. Also she won her first title since becoming a freelancer. She wished Akai the best of luck for the rest of her series.

Mad Paulie got to wear the Hirata GO! glasses and dance after his match.

Tomomitsu Matsunaga’s plan to win today was to throw Akito into another room and lock him out. It didn’t work.


Video – Endo/T-Hawk Vs Takeshita/Akito Highlights

January 10, 2020

DDT “NEW YEAR SPECIAL GIFT! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2020”, 03/01/2020
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

Tetsuya Endo & T-Hawk Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Akito


DDT “NEW YEAR SPECIAL GIFT! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2020” Results

January 3, 2020

DDT “NEW YEAR SPECIAL GIFT! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2020”, 03/01/2020
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Kagami Mochi defeated Toru Owashi (c) by Pinfall (6:37 pm).
*Kagami Mochi becomes the 1,458th champion.
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Saki Akai defeated Kagami Mochi (c), Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Yuki Iino, Antonio Honda, Gorgeous Matsuno, Mizuki Watase and Keigo Nakamura (11:06).
1a. Mizuki Watase eliminated Kagami Mochi (c) by Pinfall (2:41).
*Mizuki Watase becomes the 1,459th champion.
1b. Kazuki Hirata eliminated Mizuki Watase (c) by Pinfall (4:22).
*Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,460th champion.
1c. Kazuki Hirata (c) eliminated Yuki Iino by Ring Out (4:57).
*V1 for Kazuki Hirata.
1d. Kazuki Hirata (c) eliminated Gorgeous Matsuno by Ring Out (5:00).
*V2 for Kazuki Hirata.
1e. Kazuki Hirata (c) eliminated Toru Owashi by Ring Out (10:25).
*V3 for Kazuki Hirata.
1f. Kazuki Hirata (c) eliminated Antonio Honda by Ring Out (10:28).
*V4 for Kazuki Hirata.
1g. Saki Akai eliminated Kazuki Hirata (c) with a School Boy (10:46).
*Saki Akai becomes the 1,461st champion.
1h. Saki Akai (c) eliminated Keigo Nakamura with the Rookie Award (11:06).
*V1 for Saki Akai.
2. Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Mad Paulie & Hiroshi Yamato when Higuchi pinned Paulie with the Doctor Bomb (10:46).
3. No Passcode Scramble Bunkhouse Account Takeover 3 Way Death Match: Super Sadadango Machine defeated Sanshiro Takagi and Danshoku Dieno when Sasadango pinned Dieno with the Vertical Drop Lehmann Shock (7:41).
4. HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki defeated Masahiro Takanashi & Makoto Oishi when HARASHIMA pinned Oishi with the Somato (8:06).
5. MAO Triumph Match: MAO defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Avalanche Michinoku Driver II (8:08).
6. New Year! Special Worldwide Match: Masato Tanaka defeated Chris Brookes with the Sliding D (9:38).
7. Tetsuya Endo & T-Hawk defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Akito when T-Hawk pinned Akito with the Night Ride (11:44).
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) when Ueno pinned Sasaki with the BME (27:28).
*DAMNATION fails in V10. Nautilus becomes the 67th KO-D Tag Team Champions!

The decade kicks off with new KO-D Tag Team Champions! For DAMNATION today ends their dominant title reign. Daisuke Sasaki’s dream of taking pro wrestling to outer space after achieving 10 title defences will not become a reality. For Naomi Yoshimura, his new year has been as far away from his calamitous injury twelve months ago as it could be. At first it looked to be over when Nautilus hit the Osaka Strad on Sasaki but Soma Takao broke the count. When Yoshimura got rid of him, Yuki Ueno hit the Best Moonsault Ever on Sasaki for the three count.

After the match Ueno told everyone that two young people from the Osaka countryside have become the Tag Champions! He thanked the fans for cheering them because it really helped them a lot. With DISASTER BOX becoming stronger today (more on that later), Nautilus looks forward to growing even bigger in DDT! Ueno & Yoshimura then asked the fans to cheer “Yes or Nautilus!” from now on.

So who was the mystery partner Tetsuya Endo chose for his match against ALL OUT? He came out alone carrying the DAMNATION signboard. Konosuke Takeshita poked fun at him, saying Endo couldn’t find a tag partner. But Endo assured him he found a great partner. It was T-Hawk! Takeshita had beaten T-Hawk at an OWE show in Korakuen Hall on 30th December so this was T-Hawk’s chance for revenge. The member of #STRONGHEARTS came out with El Lindaman by his side. He had to settle with pinning Akito with the Night Ride. After the match Lindaman got on the microphone. He said he and T-Hawk weren’t booked to wrestle today until Endo invited them to come over here. They found out DDT have a show in Itabashi Green Hall on 5th January. They want to have a match whether DDT wants them there or not! Endo said that DAMNATION and #STRONGHEARTS are now in a business relationship. Backstage Takeshita admitted he thought Endo was going to bring in Nobuhiro Shimatani to be his tag partner while Akito thought X was going to be Shiori Asahi.

Chris Brookes didn’t waste any time attacking Masato Tanaka before the bell. When Tanaka was introduced in the ring, Brookes blindsided him with a Swand Dive Dropkick. Brookes then hit a Topé Suicida while Tanaka tried to recover outside the ring. Back in the ring Brookes wore down Tanaka with the Octopus Hold. Tanaka took control with his Elbow Strikes, avoided the Praying Mantis Bomb and hit the Sliding D to win.

HARASHIMA approached Tanaka in the ring when his match was over. He told him he is looking forward to their match on 26th January. Tanaka promised he will train hard enough to win the KO-D Openweight Title from him. Then suddenly Pokotan came down to the ring. He was pointing at HARASHIMA but Tanaka noticed something. Instead of pointing at the DDT Extreme Title, Pokotan was instead pointing at the KO-D Title. Tanaka grabbed Pokotan and pulled its head off, revealing it to be MAO! He Dropkicked HARASHIMA and gave Tanaka a Frankensteiner. He then told HARASHIMA in English “I wanna challenge KO-D Openweight Championship. Just bring it!” He then ran off.

Speaking of MAO, his return match was a victory against Shunma Katsumata. He entered to a new entrance song and used what he learned from his excursion. Katsumata brought out his death match side by pouring out a box of Lego in the middle of the ring. That idea backfired when MAO slammed Katsumata onto the Lego with an Avalanche Michinoku Driver. After the match MAO apologised to the fans for Mike Bailey’s absence. Until his visa situation gets sorted, MAO will have to climb to the top of DDT on his own. Katsumata backstage said he will be getting an operation to remove metal plates from his cheekbone in February. He will be absent from DDT for a while after that but when he returns he will be DDT’s death match fighter!

The team of Makoto Oishi & Masahiro Takanashi pulled some foul play to weaken Shinya Aoki. But Aoki got into the swing of things after HARASHIMA helped him clear the ring. When HARASHIMA did a Swan Dive Body Press on Oishi, Aoki summoned up the courage to attempt the same move. Oishi still had some fight left in him when he dodged the Somato and went for the Jikiden Tornado Clutch. But HARASHIMA eventually did hit the Somato to give his team the win.

The rules for the Special 3 Way Match were revealed before the match began. It was Scramble Bunkhouse rules which meant the wrestlers had to stand at opposite ends of the room. Three phones were placed in the middle of the ring, each containing the Twitter accounts of the wrestlers, all logged in with no protection. When the match began whoever got to the phones would be able to tweet whatever he wanted on the other wrestlers’ accounts! The bell rang and everyone charged into the ring. While Danshoku Dieno and Sanshiro Takagi were grappling, Super Sasadango Machine grabbed Takagi’s phone and tweeted out a poll about a certain event happening at the Tokyo Dome this weekend. The tweet appeared on Takagi’s account and was shown on the arena screen, causing great harm to Takagi. Dieno took the phone and used Takagi’s account to promise a 100,000 yen new year giveaway to Takagi’s followers. Takagi got on Sasadango’s phone to complain about Kazuyoshi Sakai doing commentary for said event at the Tokyo Dome. He then used Dieno’s account to retweet Riki Choshu a lot. Dieno used Takagi’s account to invite girls looking for a sugar daddy to contact him. Takagi then used both Dieno and Sasadango’s account to threaten run-ins at the Tokyo Dome tomorrow (Bushiroad president Takaaki Kidani later responded that they will only get in if they have a ticket)! Sasadango used Takagi’s account to ask The Rock if he wants to wrestle at DDT’s Saitama Super Arena show this summer. Dieno ordered Sasadango to reveal personal information on Takagi’s account. Instead Sasadango posted a link to Dieno’s LINE account! Dieno was so distracted by this, Sasadango easily pinned him with the Lehmann Shock. Sasadango scorned Dieno for wanting to expose Takagi’s personal info. That kind of stuff crosses the line for a pro wrestler. They all agreed to do something as an apology. Dieno will leave his LINE account public for the month, Sasadango will send flowers to the Tokyo Dome tomorrow and Takagi will split 100,000 yen among 10 of the accounts that retweeted him. Now he just has to figure out how to choose them from the 5,000+ retweets.

The new team of Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi showed that they are not ones to mess around. After beating Mad Paulie & Hiroshi Yamato, they said that there is another person in DDT who shares their ambition. It is Saki Akai! She said she had always been watching from backstage but now she wants to do something big. Doesn’t matter if it is against men or women. So starting on 26th January Higuchi, Sakaguchi & Akai will be forming a new team together! They ordered Hisaya Imabayashi to set up a match for them on that date. Imabayashi tried to tell her the matches were already booked but Sakaguchi intimidated him into taking Akai’s request. This new trio want to show everyone a new landscape and shake things up in DDT!

While Kazuki Hirata was making his entrance, an odd situation happened backstage. A Kagami Mochi dish somehow fell on top of Toru Owashi, pinning him to become the new Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion. It was brought down to the ring by Yukinori Matsui and forced to enter the Battle Royal where Mizuki Watase eliminated it to win the title. Watase was incapacitated by Yuki Iino. But when Iino ran the ropes to do the Haka Elbow, Hirata pinned Watase to become the champion. Hirata went on to eliminate most of the field until it came down to him, Saki Akai and Keigo Nakamura. The rookie thought he could get a kiss from Akai but she shove Hirara into his lips instead. Akai pinned Hirata with the School Boy then pinned Nakamura with the Rookie Award to win the Battle Royal as the Iron Man Champ.

There were a couple of big announcements throughout the show. After intermission DISASTER BOX entered the ring. HARASHIMA was excited to show everyone the unit’s newest member. It’s Naomichi Marufuji!!! The NOAH wrestler was asked by HARASHIMA to join them for 2020. He didn’t know anything about DISASTER BOX before but a Google search got him up to speed. Marufuji’s first match as part of the group will be on 26th January.

Chris Brookes had a final message to give everyone at the end of the show. He said today was his last match in Korakuen Hall for this tour. He likes his time here in DDT and feels it has made him a better wrestler. So the next time he tours to Japan he will stay in the country for an entire year!

Last and certainly least, Kurochan will be at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2020” on 7th June.


“NEW YEAR’S EVE WRESTLING 2019 ~TOSHIWASHURE! SHUFFLE TAG TOURNAMENT” Results

December 31, 2019

“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!

Japan Indie Grand Prix Awards

MVP
1. Isami Kodaka
2. Konosuke Takeshita
3. Daisuke Sekimoto
4. HARASHIMA
5. Minoru Fujita

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