Wrestlers Meet With House Of Representatives

April 15, 2020

Wrestlers representing several pro wrestling companies visited Japan’s House Of Representatives today to meet with Hiroshi Hase. He is a former pro wrestler and more importantly the current Minister For Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The wrestlers requested medical kits to test for Coronavirus as well as compensation towards contracted pro wrestlers for cancelling all of their shows over the epidemic. According to Bushiroad president Takaaki Kidani, pro wrestlers are currently unable to receive the compensation benefits that were created in response to the current crisis. Pro wrestling contracts are handled differently compared to other careers so adapting it to the current laws is difficult. Up to now it was left to the companies employing these wrestlers to handle compensation pay and they cannot continue if there are no shows taking place to bring in the money.

Among the wrestlers making the visit were Hiroshi Tanahashi (New Japan), Suwama (All Japan), HARASHIMA (DDT), Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH), Mayu Iwatani (Stardom), Yuka Sakazaki (Tokyo Joshi) and Kyoko Inoue (Diana). Also included were management from the same companies including Kidani, Naoki Sugabayashi (New Japan), Takenori Fukuda (All Japan), Masashi Ishiguro (NOAH), Akira Takahashi (DDT), Katsuhiko Harada (Bushiroad), Tetsuya Koda (Tokyo Joshi) and Taishi Fuwa (Diana).

HARASHIMA said that having testing kits on site can give everyone enough peace of mind to begin holding pro wrestling shows again. Sakazaki explained that in the early days of Corona, DDT and Tokyo Joshi were able to hold empty arena shows in their dojo. But the building the dojo is located in also has a nursery school in one of the upper floors above it. That along with using trains as the form of transportation to get there makes the idea of using the dojo for matches more dangerous.

Hase thanked the wrestlers for giving him their views on the matter and agreed on the measures along with further consultation. He told the wrestlers to continue working hard when the time comes for pro wrestling shows to be held again.


GANBARE☆WRESTLING “BAD COMMUNICATION 2018” Results

December 16, 2018

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “BAD COMMUNICATION 2018”, 16/12/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
769 Fans

1. Yukihiro Abe & Shuhei Washida Return To Battle: Shuichiro Katsumura, Nobuhiro Tsurumaki & Takeshi Okada defeated Hiroshi Yamato, Yukihiro Abe & Shuhei Washida when Katsumura submitted Washida with a Toe Hold (7:56).
2. Bloom In The Sacred Place! GanJo No Hana!: Fairy Suidobashi & Sumire Natsu defeated Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE when Natsu pinned HARUKAZE with the Yoran (14:03).
3. Special Tag Match: Naoshi Sano & Carbell Ito defeated Chikara & Mitomi Masayuki when Sano pinned Chikara with a Vertical Drop Brainbuster (10:54).
4. Hitori Shiten No Puroresu, All Or Nothing Big Battle: Jun Akiyama defeated Keisuke Ishii with the Sternness Dust α (11:39).
5. Fate Of POWER OF DREAM Showdown: Jake Lee defeated Kouki Iwasaki with the Back Drop (11:18).
6. Ganbare☆Wrestling Vs Sento Minzoku In Korakuen Hall!! – Texas Tornado Singapore Cane Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari & Shota defeated Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura when Imanari pinned Shimomura with the Chubby Knee (10:44).
7. No Rope Barbed Wire Death Match: Minoru Fujita defeated Ken Ohka with the Modified SAYONARA (19:51).

Ganbare☆Wrestling’s return to Korakuen Hall was headlined by Ken Ohka and Minoru Fujita fighting tooth and nail in a ring surrounded with barbed wire instead of ropes. Barbed wired wasn’t enough for them as a ladder also came into play during the match. Ohka Suplexed Fujita from the top of the ladder while later on Fujita dove off the ladder onto Ohka with barbed wire wrapped around his waist. Ohka wouldn’t give up and kept fighting to get up after Fujita hit him with the Fire Spear and a Vertical Drop Brainbuster. It took a modified Tombstone Piledriver for Fujita to finally put his rival away.

Fujita told Ohka that this was the result of the last two years going back to the previous time Ganpro was in Korakuen. Fujita even ran down Ohka for drawing a smaller crowd this time! If Ohka still believes he is trying his best and working his hardest then he should be miserable from today’s result. Fujita doesn’t care if he does his best so he has no regrets. He said Sento Minzoku are done with Ganpro and will not come back. When they left the ring, Yumehito Imanari called for them to stop. Imanari promised Fujita that he has a purpose for him to stay in Ganpro. He wants to fight Fujita at Kitazawa Town Hall on 6th January! Imanari described Fujita as an “A Class War Criminal” that he should fight. Fujita accepted the challenge while Imanari was encouraging Ohka to stand back up. When Sento Minzoku did leave, Ohka and Imanari admitted that today’s show was a poorer draw than two years ago but they will learn from it. They won’t show their weak points anymore. Everyone in Ganpro will give their energy and full feelings toward the company to make it even bigger! Everyone will work hard so more fans will come see them. Imanari then told everyone his phone number and to call him if they have anything exciting to tell him.

Imanari and Shota continued to rally a crowd around him inside the Korakuen lobby after the show was over. There was a lot of video game talk like how Imanari bought Toukon Retsuden for the original Playstation and that he has to evolve like a Pokémon. Shota said that the indies have been evolving during the 2010s and strangely enough he thinks the scene now reminds him of the 1990s. Imanari then told everyone they will return pro wrestling to the golden age once more. Ganbare☆Wrestling will be their DeLorean!

Imanari & Shota have good reason to be confident. They are riding high from beating Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura in a Texas Tornado Singapore Cane Tag Match. No tags were needed and Singapore Canes were all legal. Imanari Back Body Dropped Shota over the ropes and onto Sekine to take him out of the match. He then wound up breaking a cane over his knees before hitting Shimomura with the match winning Chubby Knee Strike.

Kouki Iwasaki came close to beating Jake Lee with a Vertical Drop Brainbuster 10 minutes into their match. Lee struck back with Middle Kicks until he could get in a Back Drop for the three count. Lee would be happy to share the ring with Iwasaki again some day either as opponents or partners. Iwasaki would rather be his opponent and maybe have it happen over in All Japan.

Speaking of All Japan, the group’s head honcho Jun Akiyama was in action kneeing the crap out of Keisuke Ishii. The newly costumed Ishii had some power in his Suplexes but was struck down with Running Knee Strikes and and Exploder Suplex. Ishii was able to kick out of them but was done when Akiyama gave him the Sternness Dust α. Akiyama patted Ishii on the chest after the match. Ishii was hoping that today would be the start of Chapter 3 in his wrestling career. He adores this kind of pro wrestling so he is thankful to Akiyama for giving him this match. He is now even more motivated to grow and also study Akiyama’s style.

Chikara was given a bouquet to celebrate his fifth year in wrestling. Carbell Ito threw out Christmas candy into the audience then told Chikara he came here today to judge him. They went into a long chop exchange during the match. Chikara accidentally hit Mitomi Masayuki with the Saber Chop and Ito dove onto Masayuki afterwards. He then hit a Diving Body Press to Chikara. Naoshi Sano took over the match and pinned Chikara with a Vertical Drop Brainbuster. Ito stomped on Chikara when the match was over.

It was announced that Fairy Nihonbashi had gone missing and had to be replaced. Taking her spot was Fairy Suidobashi, the same person but wearing a Yomiuri Giants jersey and announced as the “Fairy Of The Tokyo Dome“. She carried a mini baseball bat and used it as a wand to cast spells on Moeka Haruhi, HARUKAZE and even the referee. The late part of the match focused on HARUKAZE and Sumire Natsu squaring off against each other. Natsu countered an Armbar into a Power Bomb and pinned HARUKAZE with the Yoran DDT.

The in ring return for Shuhei Washida ended in defeat. Shuichiro Katsumura trapped him in a Toe Hold while Nobuhiro Tsurumaki & Takeshi Okada held Hiroshi Yamato & Yukihiro Abe back from breaking the hold.


DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2017” Results

January 29, 2017

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DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2017”, 29/01/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,520 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. King Of Dark Title: Gota Ihashi defeated Nobuhiro Shimatani (c) with a Running Body Attack (4:54).
*D10 for Nobuhiro Shimatani.
1. Bunkhouse Scramble Eye Glass 8-Man Tag Death Match – Lucha Libre Rules: Antonio Honda, Guanchulo, Shunma Katsumata & MAO defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Saki Akai when Katsumata pinned Hirata with a Glasses School Boy (9:11).
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Akito & Tomomitsu Matsunaga and Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki when Takanashi pinned Iwasaki with the Bacchus (6:00).
3. Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie defeated Soma Takao & Mizuki Watase when Paulie pinned Watase with the Paulie Buster (9:05).
4. DDT UNIVERSE Special Tag Match Suitable For Live Broadcasting: Yoshihiro Takayama & Dick Togo defeated Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi when Togo pinned Oishi with the Diving Senton (12:56).
5. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) defeated Yasu Urano with the Kneel Kick (11:43).
*V2 for Keisuke Ishii.
6. KO-D Openweight Title Challenger Decision Tournament – Final: Konosuke Takeshita defeated KUDO with the German Suplex (18:42).
7. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the Somato (21:53).
*V3 for HARASHIMA.

The main event for “JUDGEMENT 2017” at the Saitama Super Arena is now confirmed. HARASHIMA will put his KO-D Openweight Title on the line against Konosuke Takeshita. It wasn’t an easy task for both men to make it this far. They each had to overcome a tough challenge in Korakuen Hall today.

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HARASHIMA had to fend off Daisuke Sasaki in the main event. The build up for the battle between Ace and Charisma saw Sasaki use his tricks to get one over on the champion. However this resulted in HARASHIMA at one point going over the edge and choking out Sasaki without mercy. Sasaki was willing to risk waking up that dragon again for the championship. He attacked HARASHIMA while he was being showered in streamers for his ring entrance. He also Suplexed him from the ring apron to the outside then followed up with a Super Diving Elbow to the champion while he was sitting on a chair at ringside. Momentum looked to be flipping over to HARASHIMA until a wild kick accidentally knocked down Yukinori Matsui. Sasaki hit a Low Blow but Matsui’s recovery took long enough for HARASHIMA to kick out. HARASHIMA blocked Sasaki’s La Mistica Crossface with a Face Kick. Sasaki hit the flash Hurricanrana from out of nowhere but only got a nearfall. HARASHIMA then hit the Somato just as quick. A second Somato afterwards put Sasaki down for the count.

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Takeshita’s road to Saitama Super Arena took a big turn when he beat KUDO in the final of the KO-D Title Contender tournament. KUDO threw everything at him but Takeshita caught it all, somewhat literally. Takeshita caught KUDO during the Diving Double Knee Drop and then Power Bombed him into the turnbuckles. He blocked KUDO’s Backspin Kicks and in return hit Big Boots and a Discus Lariat. KUDO was too spent to do anything in return and was pinned with the German Suplex. There were no hard feelings over the result and both shook hands afterwards.

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The show ended with HARASHIMA and Takeshita facing off in the ring. Takeshita said it may selfish but out of everybody in the tournament, he wanted the KO-D Title the most. He is ready to carry all of DDT on his back to beat HARASHIMA in Saitama Super Arena. HARASHIMA said he is glad to know his next challenger is prepared. Of course he himself will be wrestling at full power so let’s hope both of them fight with their greatest effort!

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Yasu Urano may have charmed his way into an AJPW Jr. Title match but in the end he was humbled by the champion Keisuke Ishii. Urano kicked out of the Tiger Suplex but a stiff Kneel Kick put him away afterwards. Urano said he had no regrets from the match. He’s known Ishii ever since Ishii joined DDT. Now at forty years old and just coming off of being defeated by his junior, Urano thinks it is time for a new start. Ishii now looks ahead to the AJPW Jr. League.

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Before Danshoku Dino and Yoshihiro Takayama fight each other one on one in Osaka next month, Dino wanted a piece of him straight away. He chased Takayama through the audience while Makoto Oishi and Dick Togo wrestled in the ring. Dino later used lewd moves on Togo to taunt Takayama while he was on the apron. That backfired when Togo returned to the ring wearing Danshoku tights, giving him the power to beat Dino & Oishi on his own. Takayama couldn’t help because he lost consciousness when Dino gave him the Stinkface. After the match Dino said that 8% of pro wrestlers around the world are gay. Today he was fighting at 70% or 80% gayness. He warned Takayama that in Osaka he will be at 100%!

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After Dino left the ring Amon Tsurumi called him back in. Tsurumi wanted to know if Dino had spent the 500,000 yen to sign his dream opponent for “JUDGEMENT 2017”. Dino didn’t know what he was talking about until a message on the screen announced Dino’s opponent is Joey Ryan! That’s not all, Super Sasadango Machine entered the ring and announced he will provide a special international PowerPoint presentation for the match. The presentation will be in Japanese, English, Mandarin and Spanish so many of DDT UNIVERSE’s foreign subscribers can follow it. However, Dino Vs Ryan is a match that could get too graphic. So if at any point the match gets out of control, the stream will cut to a censor graphic of Sanshiro Takagi posing naked. Enjoy!

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Amon Tsurumi kept a close eye on Soma Takao during his match. After suffering another defeat Takao was asked to stay in the ring by the GM. He noticed that Takao made great progress when Team Dream Futures disbanded but his win-loss record then became poor when he lost the AJPW Jr. Title. Tsurumi would like Takao to be competing for championships again but maybe it is time for him to be part of a unit again. Takao admitted he had no goal to fight for when he lost the AJPW Jr. Title. Being in a unit again is a nice idea but it may not fix his problems. Takao promised to think about it and he will make up his mind soon.

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Shuten-dōji got a small measure of revenge on Team DNA by winning the 3 Way Tag Match. Masahiro Takanashi surprised Kouki Iwasaki with the Bacchus rolling pin. Iwasaki apologised to Kazusada Higuchi for being careless. They lost today but are hoping to beat Shuten-dōji in Osaka when the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles are on the line. Takanashi isn’t impressed by what he’s heard. He thinks they could at least try to make the title match sound exciting.

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The opening match was turned into a Bunkhouse Scramble Death Match with Hirata GO! glasses as the object left in the middle of the ring. But when the match began everyone ignored them to fight among the fans instead. Antonio Honda stopped the match again to tell a fairy tale but this time asked Guanchulo to translate it into English for the foreign viewers watching on DDT UNIVERSE. The story turned out to be Little Red Riding Hood except in this version the wolf when disguised as the grandmother says his eyes are red because he’s watched too much porn. Kazuki Hirata wanted all the attention for himself so the glasses finally came into play. But Shunma Katsumata took the glasses from him and rolled Hirata over for the pin.

sweetdreams2017-dark

Nobuhiro Shimatani is now at 10 “defences” for the King Of Dark Title. He was reminded that if he does not lose the title before the end of February he will not be a part of DNA’s relaunch. His next “defence” is scheduled for 12th February.

Colt Cabana will wrestle in DDT for the first time in February. He is already booked for three shows during the month. On 12/2 he is in a 3 Way Match with MAO and Konosuke Takeshita. Then on the 14/2 YaroZ show he will face Antonio Honda. Finally on 19th February Colt goes one on one with Danshoku Dino.

“JUDGEMENT 2017” had some more matches announced during the show. Shigehiro Irie Vs Mike Bailey, a Battle Royal for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title (still held by comedian Hyota Echizenya), an 8-Person tag featuring Jaguar Yokota and a tag match between Yoshihiro Takayama & Dick Togo against Shungo Oyama and a mystery partner are all part of the card.

DAMNATION will be running their own unlawful show in Shinjuku FACE on 14th April. There will also be a show exclusive to members of the DDT Fan Club happening in Kitasenju Theatre 1010 on 13th May.


BOYZ Competition, Dino Returns, Sweet Dreams and Judgement 2017 Cards

January 10, 2017

BOYZ “NEW YEAR SPECIAL ~WOMEN FESTIVAL 13~”, 12/01/2017
Shinjuku FACE

1. BOYZ Tournament Rules: Yuki Ueno Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. BOYZ Tournament Rules: Kazuki Hirata & Shunma Katsumata Vs Guanchulo & Yoshihiko
3. BOYZ Tournament Rules: Soma Takao & Mizuki Watase Vs KUDO & Kouki Iwasaki
4. BOYZ Tournament Rules: Masahiro Takanashi Vs Yasu Urano
5. BOYZ Vs YaroZ Vs DAMNATION: Rekka & Daiki Shimomura Vs Antonio Honda & Ryuichi Sekine Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo
6. BOYZ Tournament Rules: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Keisuke Ishii
7. BOYZ Tournament Rules: Mike Bailey & Akito Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Makoto Oishi
8. BOYZ Tournament Rules: HARASHIMA Vs MAO

Team HARASHIMA: HARASHIMA, Konosuke Takeshita, Mike Bailey, Masahiro Takanashi, Akito, Soma Takao, Kazuki Hirata, Shunma Katsumata, Mizuki Watase and Yuki Ueno

Team Oishi: Makoto Oishi, KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi, Yasu Urano, Keisuke Ishii, Kouki Iwasaki, MAO, Guanchulo, Nobuhiro Shimatani, Yoshihiko

A special team challenge series was put together by BOYZ president Johnny Etajima. HARASHIMA and Makoto Oishi are the team captains. Each match in the challenge has a 10 minute time limit, a 2 count for rope breaks and a 5 count for being outside the ring. The 3 Way Tag Match is not part of this challenge so it will be held under the usual rules.

DDT “ROAD TO SUPER ARENA IN SHIMIZU ~DRAMATIC DREAM TUNA~”, 15/01/2017
Shizuoka Shimizu Marine Bill

1. Kazuki Hirata & Saki Akai Vs Shunma Katsumata & MAO
2. 3 Way Match: Toru Owashi Vs Masahiro Takanashi Vs Guanchulo
3. One And Only! The Rare Gay Wrestler Danshoku Dino’s Long Awaited Return Match For The First Time In 11 Days!: Danshoku Dino & Antonio Honda Vs Soma Takao & Mizuki Watase
4. Shizuoka Specialty! Sharp, Sharp, Clear! Special Single Match: Makoto Oishi Vs Konosuke Takeshita
5. KUDO & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki
6. Smile Squash Vs DAMNATION!: HARASHIMA, Akito & Yasu Urano Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie

A back injury forced Danshoku Dino to miss this past weekend’s shows. As the title of his match suggests he is eager to return to the ring.

BASARA “VAJRA 27 WU”, 20/01/2017
Saitama Wrestle Fighter Museum

1. Special Single Match: Ryuichi Sekine Vs Saburo Inematsu

Saburo Inematsu from K-DOJO makes his BASARA debut.

DDT “BEST WESTERN LARIAT SERIES 2017 SEASON OPENER”, 22/01/2017
Tokyo Best Western Rembrandt Hotel Tokyo Machida

0. King Of Dark Title: Nobuhiro Shimatani (c) Vs Rekka
1. Saki Akai & Guanchulo Vs Danshoku Dino & Gota Ihashi
2. Lunch Time Concert To Enjoy Singing And Dancing In Machida: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO
3. Keisuke Ishii & Hoshitango Vs Yasu Urano & Soma Takao
4. Charismatic Electric Shock Combination Of The Death Match And The Emperor In The Wrestling World!: Yoshihiro Takayama & Jun Kasai Vs Shuji Ishikawa & Mad Paulie
5. Smile Squash Vs DAMNATION!: HARASHIMA & Akito Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles – 3 Way 6-Man Tag Team Match: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Antonio Honda & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Kouki Iwasaki & Mizuki Watase

Shuten-dōji will battle both Happy Motels and Team DNA in their next KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match.

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2017”, 29/01/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Saki Akai Vs Antonio Honda, Guanchulo, Shunma Katsumata & MAO
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Akito & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki
3. Soma Takao & Mizuki Watase Vs Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie
4. DDT UNIVERSE Special Tag Match Suitable For Live Broadcasting: Yoshihiro Takayama & Dick Togo Vs Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi
5. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Yasu Urano
6. KO-D Openweight Title Challenger Decision Tournament – Final: Konosuke Takeshita Vs KUDO
7. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki

The first Korakuen Hall show of the DDT UNIVERSE launch will determine the main event of “JUDGEMENT 2017” in Saitama Super Arena this March. Bad blood is growing between HARASHIMA and Daisuke Sasaki over the KO-D Openweight Title. Meanwhile Konosuke Takeshita and KUDO won their playoff matches to reach the final but only one will get the KO-D Title shot at DDT’s 20th Anniversary.

Yasu Urano spent the last week acting coy about wanting to challenge for the AJPW Jr. Title. He’s now getting what he wants and that’s a title match against Keisuke Ishii. Urano promises to wrestle clean but Ishii doesn’t believe him.

Yeah, DDT thinks getting Dino out there for the match promoting DDT UNIVERSE is the best idea. I mean at this point if you’re subscribing to it you have to know what to expect.

DDT “NANIWA WRESTLING ROAD 2017”, 04/02/2017
Osaka Edion Arena #2

1. Ultra Special Single Match: Yoshihiro Takayama Vs Danshoku Dino
2. DDT Extreme Title: Jun Kasai (c) Vs Mad Paulie

Dino’s schedule gets even busier with a singles match against Yoshihiro Takayama. Maybe this bout will inspire him on his search for his perfect (and affordable) “JUDGEMENT 2017” opponent.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AT THIS TIME, GET EXCITED WITH NERIMA!”, 12/03/2017
Tokyo Nerima Coconeri Hall

1. TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title: Yuu (c) Vs Reika Saiki

With a successful title defence on her one year anniversary, Yuu is now looking ahead at her next challenge. Reika Saiki stepped up to become the No. 1 Contender.

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2017 ~ DDT 20TH ANNIVERSARY BOX OFFICE”, 20/03/2017
Saitama Super Arena

1. Super Joshi Pro Wars 2017: Saki Akai, Meiko Satomura & Shoko Nakajima Vs Aja Kong, Cherry & Miyu Yamashita
2. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dino Vs Danshoku Dino’s Chosen Opponent
3. Kou Shibusawa 35th Anniversary “Nobunaga’s Ambition ~Our Warring States~” Sengoku Warlords Match: Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Sanshiro Takagi), Shingen Takeda (Keiji Muto) & Yukimura Sanada (Isami Kodaka) Vs Katsuie Shibata (Daisuke Sekimoto), Kenshin Uesugi (Jun Akiyama) & Nobunaga Oda (Kota Ibushi)
4. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) Vs X

Kou Shibusawa is the CEO of Koei and creator of all of the company’s games based on the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, ie Dynasty Warriors and Romance Of The Three Kingdoms. If a video game features the Yellow Turban Rebellion then chances are his name is attached to it.

Yoshihiro Takayama, Dick Togo and Shungo Oyama will be on the show.


“NEW YEAR’S EVE WRESTLING 2016” Results

December 31, 2016

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“NEW YEAR’S EVE WRESTLING 2016”, 31/12/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,510 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yukio Sakaguchi & Daichi Hashimoto defeated Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei when Hashimoto pinned Kei with the Shining Wizard (8:03).
2. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Kengo Mashimo & Shigehiro Irie defeated Naoya Nomura & Kouki Iwasaki when Irie pinned Iwasaki with the Beast Bomber (8:30).
3. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto defeated Great Kojika & Joey Ryan when Miyamoto pinned Ryan (7:12).
4. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuji Okabayashi & Jiro Kuroshio defeated Ayato Yoshida & Takuya Nomura when Okabayashi submitted Nomura with the Argentine Backbreaker (8:42)
5. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daisuke Sekimoto & HARASHIMA Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yoshihisa Uto ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
5a. Overtime – 1 Count Fall: Kazusada Higuchi & Yoshihisa Uto defeated Daisuke Sekimoto & HARASHIMA when Uto pinned Sekimoto with a Lateral Cradle (1:30).
6. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Manabu Soya & Takayuki Ueki defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Abdullah Kobayashi when Soya pinned Takagi with a Horizontal Cradle (4:11).
7. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daisuke Sasaki & Yuki Sato Vs Atsushi Aoki & Kazuki Hashimoto ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
7a. Overtime – 1 Count Fall: Atsushi Aoki & Kazuki Hashimoto defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Yuki Sato when Aoki submitted Sato with the Cross Armbreaker (0:32).
8. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Hideyoshi Kamitani & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Kaz Hayashi & Danshoku Dino when Takeshita pinned Dino with the German Suplex (9:38).
9. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Yukio Sakaguchi & Daichi Hashimoto defeated Kengo Mashimo & Shigehiro Irie when Sakaguchi pinned Irie with the Right Knee Of God (6:16).
10. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto Vs Yuji Okabayashi & Jiro Kuroshio ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
10a. Overtime – 1 Count Fall: Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto defeated Yuji Okabayashi & Jiro Kuroshio when Kodaka pinned Kuroshio with a European Clutch (0:51).
11. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Kazusada Higuchi & Yoshihisa Uto defeated Manabu Soya & Takayuki Ueki when Higuchi pinned Ueki with the Doctor Bomb (5:13).
12. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Hideyoshi Kamitani & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Atsushi Aoki & Kazuki Hashimoto when Kamitani pinned Hashimoto with the Back Drop (8:48).
13. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi-Final: Hideyoshi Kamitani & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Daichi Hashimoto when Kamitani pinned Hashimoto with the Back Drop (8:47).
14. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi-Final: Kazusada Higuchi & Yoshihisa Uto defeated Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto when Uto pinned Kodaka with the Lariat (10:15).
15. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Final: Kazusada Higuchi & Yoshihisa Uto defeated Hideyoshi Kamitani & Konosuke Takeshita when Higuchi pinned Takeshita with the Goten (20:37).

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Korakuen Hall spent its final hours of 2016 hosting the annual New Year’s Supershow co-hosted by Big Japan, DDT, K-DOJO, WRESTLE-1 and All Japan. The entire show was built around a Shuffle Tag Team Tournament, mixing most of the wrestlers together into odd pairings. Some teams got along with each other, some didn’t but hey it’s the holidays so let’s just have fun.

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The opening match saw Yukio Sakaguchi & Daichi Hashimoto barely working together to beat the Brahman Brothers. Even the evil twins suggested that their opponents would have a better chance of winning if they got along. That came back to haunt them when a stop sign attack backfired and Brahman Shu hit Brahman Kei by accident. Hashimoto then drank the Brahman’s black ink and spat it in Kei’s face, leading to the Shining Wizard to finish him off.

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Kengo Mashimo & Shigehiro Irie beat Naoya Nomura & Kouki Iwasaki. The latter worked well together but they weren’t able to outlast their more experienced opponents. Irie isolated Iwasaki while Mashimo threw Nomura out of the ring. Iwasaki said he felt tense having to wrestle on the final night of the year.

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The 3rd match ended in a sleazy manner thanks to Joey Ryan and Laura James. Ryan kept trying to make Yuko Miyamoto touch his groin. Referee Frank Atsushi was slammed into the turnbuckles so James ran in to interfere. This somehow led to a situation where Great Kojika was knocked onto his back, James fell down on top of him sitting on his face, Atsushi stood over her holding his groin in pain and Ryan was knocked down head first onto Kojika’s crotch. If that wasn’t enough, a dazed Miyamoto was holding a Samurai! TV camera standing over them like he was filming a porn scene. Miyamoto eventually fell on top of them for the winning pin.

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The next odd couple team to come along was Yuji Okabayashi & Jiro Kuroshio. Okabayashi had not time for Kuroshio’s antics and just wanted to wrestle. Kuroshio however wanted to know if Okabayashi had a fancy jacket to match his own. He found one and offered it to Okabayashi after they beat Ayato Yoshida & Takuya Nomura but it was refused.

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Daisuke Sekimoto & HARASHIMA Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yoshihisa Uto was the first match of the night to end in a Time Limit Draw. From there the match went into sudden death 1 count fall rules. HARASHIMA and Higuchi sprinted to pin each other for just one second but neither could. It took Uto to get the upset pin on Sekimoto to win the match and knock out one-half of last year’s tournament winners in the first round.

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The pairing of Sanshiro Takagi & Abdullah Kobayashi were going by the team name GET MILD. They both came out dressed in Takayuki Ueki’s old wrestling costumes with a guiding stick poking out of Takagi’s crotch. Everybody including Manabu Soya pulled out a gun during the match and dared each other to a Western showdown. But it was all a trick, Soya & Ueki both rolled over GET MILD when they turned their backs and got the three count.

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Daisuke Sasaki & Yuki Sato Vs Atsushi Aoki & Kazuki Hashimoto was the next match to go into overtime. It was part of Sasaki & Sato’s plan to waste time by bringing out selfie sticks and playing around with them. Aoki jammed the stick into Sasaki’s groin then tapped out Sato with the Cross Armbreaker.

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The final first round match featured Danshoku Dino trying to woo his Kaz Hayashi into being his partner in more ways than one. Hayashi eventually reciprocated and revealed he was wearing Danshoku tights under his own. Unfortunately the power of love wasn’t enough to beat Hideyoshi Kamitani & Konosuke Takeshita.

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Round 2 began with Sakaguchi & Hashimoto on better terms. They needed to be if they wanted to beat Mashimo & Irie. They hit a Penalty Kick/Shining Wizard combo to Irie then Sakaguchi hit the Right Knee Of God for the three count. A handshake at the end cemented that they were now on the right page together.

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The other disgruntled pairing of the tournament also finally got along. Kuroshio convinced Okabayashi to wear his fancy jacket along with a sun visor with a wig attached to it. He got into the spirit of things and did some Ikemen poses while wrestling. Their match with Yankee Two Kenju went into overtime and sadly the Ikemen dream ended badly. Isami Kodaka caught Kuroshio in a European Clutch for the one count.

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Ueki had a crazy plan to beat Higuchi & Uto. It involved drinking out of a 1.5 litre bottle of Coca-Cola then tightrope walking across the top rope. What he was supposed to achieve I don’t know but he wound up slipping and crotching himself on the rope. Higuchi then pinned him with the Doctor Bomb.

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Kamitani & Takeshita were the last team to qualify for the semi-final with a win over Aoki & Hashimoto. Aoki took out Takeshita with a Topé but in the ring Hashimoto was pinned by Kamitani’s Back Drop.

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With the 2nd Round completed it was time for the 2016 Occupation Of The Indies Awards. Best Newcomer was given to Takuya Nomura from Big Japan. Nomura said he debuted in April and will do his best to meet everyone’s expectations. Best Show went to Ganbare☆Wrestling for “BAD COMMUNICATION 2016” held on 2nd October. Ken Ohka was there to accept the award but had to leave early to participate at “SHOTA AID” in Shin-Kiba later that night. Ohka said he eventually wants to book a show at the Tokyo Dome. Best Unit went to DAMNATION from DDT. Shuji Ishikawa celebrated by singing “Only One Flower In The World” by SMAP. He then got angry at the rest of DAMNATION for not joining in. Best Bout went to the Scaffold G Shock Death Match between Ryuji Ito Vs Kokuro Hoshino from Big Japan’s “RYOGOKUTAN” show on 24th July. Ito wasn’t happy that he lost the match but would take the award as commiseration. Finally the MVP Award went to Shuji Ishikawa. At 41 years old he would like to fight new wrestlers and win new championships.

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A lottery was held to determine the semi-final match ups. First up was Kamitani & Takeshita Vs Sakaguchi & Hashimoto. Once again Kamitani’s Back Drop was the difference maker. Sakaguchi admitted he misunderstood Hashimoto at first but got to know him throughout the night in their matches. He thinks they will meet again some day.

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2016 ended and 2017 begun during the Higuchi & Uto Vs Yankee Two Kenju match. Kodaka & Miyamoto both celebrated by diving out of the ring onto their opponents at the stroke of midnight. Uto claimed the first victory of the new year but giving Kodaka a Double Arm Facebuster followed by a Lariat. Miyamoto coped with defeat by grabbing the Samurai! TV camera again.

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So the final was Kamitani & Takeshita Vs Higuchi & Uto in a Big Japan/DDT Vs DNA/Big Japan final. With no time limit a winner would be determined under normal circumstances. Late in the match Higuchi hit Takeshita with a Lariat but only got a one count. Kamitani blocked Higuchi from doing the Doctor Bomb but Uto got rid of him. That allowed Higuchi to give Takeshita the Goten to pin last year’s co-champion and win the tournament! Higuchi & Uto praised their opponents but they were the strongest tonight. Takeshita said he is the one who will lead DDT and he then stood up to Higuchi. In reply Higuchi said he will not lose. Kamitani said he he will lead the entire pro wrestling landscape. Uto calmed everyone down and encouraged everyone to lead pro wrestling in Japan together. The four congratulated one another and posed for the show ending photographs.


No Woman No Cry, Akiyama Coming To BASARA, New Year’s Eve Tournament

November 22, 2016

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2016”, 23/11/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. King Of Dark Title – 3 Way Match: Nobuhiro Shimatani (c) Vs Mad Paulie Vs Guanchulo
1. Soma Takao & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Keisuke Ishii & Kouki Iwasaki
2. Dick Togo, Shigehiro Irie & Antonio Honda Vs KUDO, Masahiro Takanashi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
3. Rumours In Regions Dance Vs Song Vs ParaPara Sacred 3 Way Battle!: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO Vs Akito, Yasu Urano & Rekka
4. Special Single Match: Yoshihiro Takayama Vs Yukio Sakaguchi
5. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Mike Bailey
6. Special Tag Match: Shuji Ishikawa & Tetsuya Endo Vs HARASHIMA & Konosuke Takeshita
7. DDT Extreme Title – No Woman No Cry Match: Danshoku Dino (c) Vs Saki Akai

Danshoku Dino wants his DDT Extreme Title defence against Saki Akai to be a No Woman No Cry Match. As the go-to mentalist in pro wrestling, Dino diagnosed Akai with having an emotional instability. The cure is to shake her to her emotional core so in addition to the normal pro wrestling rules, the match can also be won if a wrestler can make their opponent cry.

BASARA “VAJRA 23 ~COMMON DESTINY~”, 30/11/2016
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Ryuichi Sekine & Koji Iwamoto Vs Takayuki Ueki & Toshiyuki Sakuda
2. Ryota Nakatsu Vs Abdullah Kobayashi
3. Reversal Pro Wrestling Trial: Gouma Ryu Vs Atsushi Maruyama Vs Tanomusaku Toba
4. IRON PRIEST Vs SOS: FUMA & Yusuke Kubo Vs Hercules Senga & Tsutomu Oosugi
5. SAGAT, Selling Quarrels To All Japan Pro Wrestling!: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, Trans-Am ★ Ryuichi & SAGAT Vs Yuma Aoyagi, Kazuhiro Tamura & Daichi Kazato
6. NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Titles: Ikuto Hidaka & Hayato Jr. Fujita (c) Vs Isami Kodaka & Takumi Tsukamoto

Kyohei Wada will be the Judge for the Reversal Pro Wrestling Trial.

BASARA “VAJRA 25 ~SHIPPUJINRAI~”, 25/12/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special Single Match: Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Trans-Am ★ Ryuichi
2. Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Abdullah Kobayashi, Masaya Takahashi & Takayuki Ueki (c) Vs Koji Kanemoto, Ryuichi Sekine & Ryota Nakatsu
3. SAGAT’s First Great Match In The First Half!: SAGAT Vs Jun Akiyama
4. Union MAX Title: Isami Kodaka Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi

Jun Akiyama is coming to BASARA to face SAGAT! This match was put together by Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi a a treat for his buddy. SAGAT thought isn’t so sure he wants the match.

Takumi Tsukamoto said he wanted a match with Ryuichi Kawakami. He’s still getting that match but Kawakami will be wrestling as Trans-Am ★ Ryuichi. He’s the same guy but with “USA!” chants added to his matches.

“NEW YEAR’S EVE WRESTLING 2016”, 31/12/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yukio Sakaguchi & Daichi Hashimoto Vs Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei
2. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Naoya Namura & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Kengo Mashimo & Shigehiro Irie
3. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto Vs Great Kojika & Joey Ryan
4. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Ayato Yoshida & Takuya Nomura Vs Yuji Okabayashi & Jiro Kuroshio
5. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daisuke Sekimoto & HARASHIMA Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yoshihisa Uto
6. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Manabu Soya & Takayuki Ueki Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Abdullah Kobayashi
7. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daisuke Sasaki & Yuki Sato Vs Atsushi Aoki & Kazuki Hashimoto
8. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Kaz Hayashi & Danshoku Dino Vs Hideyoshi Kamitani & Konosuke Takeshita
9. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #1 Vs Winners Of Match #2
10. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #3 Vs Winners Of Match #4
11. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #5 Vs Winners Of Match #6
12. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #7 Vs Winners Of Match #8
13. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi-Final: Winners Of Quarter Final 1 Vs Winners Of Quarter Final 2
14. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi-Final: Winners Of Quarter Final 3 Vs Winners Of Quarter Final 4
15. Toshiwasure! 5 Group Shuffle Tag Tournament – Final: X & X Vs X & X

The annual New Years Eve show is confirmed to have the annual tag team tournament mash up. It is advertised as a tournament between five organisations: Big Japan, DDT (+DNA & BASARA), K-DOJO and for the first time All Japan and WRESTLE-1 are officially in on the act. The tournament features the usual cast of regular teams, powerful inter-promotional pairings and joke duos. The first round and second round matches all have a 10 minute time limit. The semi finals have a 15 minute time limit. Any time limit draws will go to sudden death overtime where matches end on a one count pinfall. The final has no time limit and thus no sudden death.


DDT “OSAKA BAYS BLUE SPECIAL 2016” Results

September 19, 2016

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DDT “OSAKA BAYS BLUE SPECIAL 2016”, 18/09/2016
Osaka Edion Arena #2
535 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Guanchulo & Rekka defeated Mizuki Watase & Daiki Shimomura when Guanchulo pinned Rekka with the Acyl Pin Driver (7:49).
2. Sanshiro Takagi & Toru Owashi defeated Gota Ihashi & Kouki Iwasaki when Owashi pinned Ihashi with La Magistral Cradle (6:49).
3. 3 Way Match: Danshoku Dino & Keisuke Ishii defeated Akito & Yasu Urano and Antonio Honda & Yoshihiko when Dino pinned Honda with the Danshoku Driver (10:15).
4. Original Shuten-dōji Vs NωA!: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO when KUDO pinned Oishi with the Diving Double Knee Drop (9:06).
5. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Soma Takao (c) defeated Kazuki Hirata with the Gin And Tonic (18:07).
*V1 for Soma Takao.
6. HARASHIMA, Yuko Miyamoto & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Shuji Ishikawa & Mad Polly when Higuchi pinned Polly with the Goten (16:03).
7. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Sky Twister Press (22:13).

A clash of former best friends headlined DDT’s annual “OSAKA BAYS BLUE SPECIAL” in Osaka Edion Arena #2. In fact, Tetsuya Endo’s turn to DAMNATION began because he couldn’t beat Konosuke Takeshita for the KO-D Openweight Title back in July. With a new, darker attitude Endo took his chance to redeem himself. Daisuke Sasaki gave a helping hand early when he swept Takeshita’s leg as he rebounded from the ropes. Endo himself hit some big moves like a No Touch Topé and a Hand Spring Kneel Kick. But Takeshita fired back with a Blue Thunder and a Turnbuckle Bomb. Endo tried to do the Torture Rack Bomb but Takeshita countered it into a Sleeper Hold. Takeshita went for his German Suplex finisher but Endo landed on his feet. This time he hit the Torture Rack and followed with the Sky Twister Press to finally get that victory over Takeshita. After the match Endo told Takeshita that this was reality. He thanked Sasaki for giving him the chance to show his true worth. Sasaki said he and Endo will win the KO-D Tag Team Titles, then Shuji Ishikawa will beat Kazusada Higuchi to keep the KO-D Title. Add in the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles and soon all KO-D belts will be under their control. DAMNATION will conquer DDT!

HARASHIMA could hardly wait to get his hands on DAMNATION in the 6-Man Tag match. After a quick ringside brawl HARASHIMA and Higuchi teamed up to take on Ishikawa. The champion and his challenger fired back and forth until they were both spent and laid out. However Higuchi got his second wind when fighting Mad Polly and slammed Sasaki’s pet with a big Goten for the three count. Higuchi warned Ishikawa that the same will happen to him on 25th September. Higuchi then told the Osaka crowd he will be the champion when DDT returns to the city.

Soma Takao successfully completed his first defence of the AJPW Jr. Title with a win over Kazuki Hirata. Takao’s opponent had spent the last month trying to prove he was taking this match seriously, ditching his dancing antics during his bouts. A Mad Splash got him close to winning but his Egoist Driver was countered into a Reverse DDT. Takao then won with the Gin And Tonic. Hirata sat and bowed to Takao and he got a pat on the shoulder in return. Takao said in his victory speech that he wants to be a strong champion whether it’s in DDT or elsewhere in Japan.

KUDO took time to appreciate being able to wrestle again. He told the crowd this was the first time in a year that he wrestled in Osaka. His knees have recovered steadily and he wants to show more and more strength when he comes back to Osaka next month.

During the 3 Way Tag Match Yoshihiko betrayed its tag partner Antonio Honda! It dove onto Danshoku Dino but was caught and put in the Lip Lock for a long time. The kiss convinced Yoshihiko to join Dino’s side and it gave Honda a Choke Slam. It then performed a Spinning Headscissors that threw Honda into the Danshoku Driver. When the match was over Dino was informed he will defend the DDT Extreme Title in Sapporo on 10th October. His opponent? Sanshiro Takagi! With DDT’s 20th Anniversary approaching Takagi is looking back through the company’s history to find a match for him and Dino. He found just the one, the Dai Ichin Pa-Lien Seiha Match! Dino thinks Takagi is sick because he spends so much time managing different companies. So it is up to Dino as the Wrestling Mentalist to cure him.

Kota Ibushi, Kuishinbo Kamen and Kikutaro were announced for “OSAKA OCTOPUS 2016” in Osaka Edion Arena #1 on 4th December.


DAMNATION Chooses KO-D Challenger, LiLiCo Marriage Match, Dino Becomes Wrestling Mentalist

August 30, 2016

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “KITAZAWA LOVE RIN”, 31/08/2016
Kitazawa Town Hall

1. 3 Way Match: Akane Miura Vs Azusa Takigawa Vs Maho Kurone
2. Reika Saiki Vs Hyper Misao
3. Shoko Nakajima & Rika Tatsumi Vs Yuu & Nodoka-oneesan
4. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Nonoko
5. Instead Of Goodbye: Miyu Yamashita Vs KANNA

This is KANNA’s second last match before she graduates from Tokyo Joshi Pro to start a rapping career.

DDT “DDT DRAMATIC GENERAL ELECTION 2016 ~FIRST ASK SPECIAL~”, 03/09/2016
Shinjuku FACE

1. Yasu Urano Vs Mad Polly
2. Take Grasp Of The World Junior Challenge Rights T2Hide Alumni Showdown!: Soma Takao & Daiki Shimomura Vs Kazuki Hirata & Mizuki Watase
3. T2Hide Vs Pigging 2016 – Not A Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Gota Ihashi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Kouki Iwasaki
4. North America And South America Allies Vs NωA!: Joey Ryan, Mike Bailey, Guanchulo & Hoshitango Vs Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Super Sasadango Machine
5. 3 Way Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Akito Vs KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Danshoku Dino & Keisuke Ishii
6. Yoshihiro Takayama & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Kota Umeda
7. Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Antonio Honda

Shuji Ishikawa will be attending the show to watch the entire show, or at least most of it. Two hours can be pretty long. Daisuke Sasaki said Ishikawa will watch all of the matches from his own special seat at ringside. At the end Ishikawa will choose who the No. 1 Contender for the KO-D Openweight Title will be. If he had to pick now he would choose Nobuhiro Shimatani for an easy match.

DDT “DRAMATIC SCAN NIIGATA! 2016”, 04/09/2016
Niigata City Nishikawa Multi-Purpose Hall

1. Akito Vs Shunma Katsumata
2. Soma Takao & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Kazuki Hirata & Guanchulo
3. Danshoku Dino & Keisuke Ishii Vs Joey Ryan & Kouki Iwasaki
4. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Kota Umeda Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Antonio Honda & Mike Bailey
5. Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo Vs HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano
6. Niigata Specialty Special Bishamonten Tag Match: Yoshihiro Takayama & Toru Owashi Vs Super Sasadango Machine & Makoto Oishi

Yoshihiro Takayama’s first few matches for DDT have him teaming with the other big lads in the company.

BASARA “VAJRA 18 ~HYAKU SETSU FUTO~”, 08/09/2016
Kitazawa Town Hall

1. Cavalry Vs IRON PRIEST The Entire Conflict 8-Man Tag Team Elimination Match: Ryuichi Sekine, Ryota Nakatsu, Koji Iwamoto & Masashi Takeda Vs FUMA, Madoka, Yusuke Kubo & Jaki Numazawa

Cavalry and IRON PRIEST are starting and ending a feud in one match. Masahi Takeda and Jaki Numazawa guest star in the bout.

DDT “THREE OF A DREAM 2016”, 11/09/2016
Hiroshima Industrial Hall – East Exhibition Hall

1. DDT Extreme Title: Danshoku Dino (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii

After his actions at Sumo Hall sorting LiLiCo’s love life, Danshoku Dino now thinks of himself as a Wrestling Mentalist. He brought love into the ring for LiLiCo, arguably too much of it. He wants to help other wrestlers with his treatments. First up is his Fantastic Memories partner Keisuke Ishii. Dino nominated Ishii as his first DDT Extreme Title challenger because of the funk he’s been in since Team Drift split up. Dino thinks this match will help Ishii out somehow.

DDT “OSAKA BAYS BLUE SPECIAL 2016”, 18/09/2016
Osaka Edion Arena #2

1. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Soma Takao (c) Vs X

All Japan has granted DDT approval to host Soma Takao’s first defence of the AJPW Jr. Title. However no decision has been made yet for Takao’s opponent. Kazuki Hirata threw down a challenge at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2016” but it remains to be seen if he gets the spot. Although Hirata was never a member of Team Drift, Takao considers him a friend and thinks a match with him for the title would be emotional. Takao is hoping to defend the title in both DDT and All Japan.

DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? ~DDT DRAMATIC GENERAL ELECTION 2016 – THE LAST HOPE SPECIAL~”, 25/09/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Get The Name Recognition! Groom Decision Special 5 Way Match: Mizuki Watase Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Bernard Ackah Vs Danshoku Dino
2. KO-D Tag Team Titles: HARASHIMA & Yuko Miyamoto (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Shuji Ishikawa (c) Vs X

Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo were declared the No. 1 Contenders for the KO-D Tag Team Titles because of their victory at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2016”. Endo says he has nothing but gratitude for Sasaki ever since he was invited to join DAMNATION. Sasaki is continuing to call the rest of the DDT roster “B Grade Garbage Wrestlers”. However he admires Yuko Miyamoto.

LiLiCo has a bunch of suiters looking for her hand in marriage so they can become famous. Dino came up with the bright idea to have a winner takes all match between the potential grooms. In a twist, Suguru Miyatake convinced Amon Tsurumi to add Dino to the match to wrestle on his behalf. Miyatake is not fit to go back to the ring but is desperate to become famous… I mean marry LiLiCo because he loves her or whatever.

DDT “NITORI TAIWAN PRESENTS DDT”, 20/11/2016
Taiwan ATT SHOW BOX

1. N-Sleep Use Sleep Prevention Death Match: Antonio Honda Vs Super Sasadango Machine

Special guest Mask de Nitori will wrestle on the show.

DDT “OSAKA OCTOPUS 2016 ~IT’S NANIWABUSHI WRESTLING~”, 04/12/2016
Osaka Edion Arena #1

1. Yuni Debut Match: Yuni Vs X
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Shuji Ishikawa (c) Vs DDT Dramatic General Election Winner

Yakayama and LiLiCo will also wrestle on the show.


DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2016 ~MOST HOT SUMMER IN THE WORLD~” Results

August 28, 2016

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DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2016 ~MOST HOT SUMMER IN THE WORLD~”, 28/08/2016
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
5,394 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. King Of Dark Title – 6:30 Man Is Now A 1:30 Family: Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Hoshitango & Rekka defeated Chikara (c), Mitsuo Momota & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Matsunaga pinned Chikara with a Backslide Pin (7:05).
*D2 for Chikara.
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki & Akane Miura defeated Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Yuu when Yamashita pinned Misao with the Attitude Adjustment (8:56).
1. DNA FIGHTS ~BATTLE OF LAST SUMMER~: Kazusada Higuchi & Daiki Shimomura defeated Kouki Iwasaki & Mizuki Watase when Higuchi pinned Iwasaki with the Goten (6:56).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yakitori defeated Toru Owashi by Pinfall (2:23pm).
*Yakitori becomes the 1,163rd champion.
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Toru Owashi defeated Yakitori (c), Joey Ryan, Reika Saiki, Keisuke Ishii, Saki Akai, Kazuki Hirata, Cherry, Guanchulo, Mad Polley, KENSO, Gota Ihashi, Jun Kasai and Yoshihiko (17:38).
2a. Cherry eliminated Yakitori (c) by eating it (4:03).
*Cherry becomes the 1,164th champion.
2b. Keisuke Ishii eliminated Cherry (c) with a Single Leg Crab (6:13).
*Keisuke Ishii becomes the 1,165th champion.
2c. Gota Ihashi eliminated Reika Saiki by Ring Out (7:50).
2d. Mad Polley eliminated Joey Ryan by Ring Out (9:29).
2e. Mad Polley eliminated Gota Ihashi with a Reverse Splash (9:57).
2f. Yoshihiko eliminated KENSO by Ring Out (14:06).
2g. Yoshihiko eliminated Keisuke Ishii (c) with a Rear Naked Choke (14:43).
*Yoshihiko becomes the 1,166th champion.
2h. Kazuki Hirata eliminated Guanchulo by Ring Out (16:27).
2i. Jun Kasai eliminated Saki Akai by Ring Out (16:29).
2j. Kazuki Hirata eliminated Mad Polley by Ring Out (16:32).
2k. Yoshihiko (c) eliminated Jun Kasai with the Reincarnation (17:10).
*V1 for Yoshihiko.
2l. Toru Owashi eliminated both Yoshihiko (c) and Kazuki Hirata with La Magistral Cradle (17:38).
*Toru Owashi becomes the 1,167 champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Joey Ryan defeated Toru Owashi (c) with a School Boy (2:44pm).
*Joey Ryan becomes the 1,168th champion.
3. KUDO Comeback ~YELLOW DRAGON COME BACK!!~: KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Akito & Yasu Urano when KUDO pinned Urano with the Diving Double Knee Drop (10:51).
4. NωA Road To DDT Fes 2016 ~ Sasadango Teaches The Way To Survive Showbiz: Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Super Sasadango Machine defeated Antonio Honda, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, Lady Beard & Gorgeous Matsuno when MAO pinned Honda with the Cannonball 450 (10:20).
5. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Soma Takao defeated Hikaru Sato (c) with the Gin And Tonic (17:07).
*Hikaru Sato fails in V2. Soma Takao becomes the 41st AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Champion!
6. DDT Extreme Title – Watase Contra Watase: Danshoku Dino defeated LiLiCo (c) with the Danshoku Driver (10:07).
*LiLiCo fails in V2. Danshoku Dino becomes the 37th DDT Extreme Champion!
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yakitori defeated Joey Ryan (c) by submission when Ryan choked on it (4:56pm).
*Yakitori becomes the 1,169th champion.
7. Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Shiro Koshinaka & NOSAWA Rongai defeated Great Kabuki, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kota Umeda when Takagi pinned Umeda with the Sit Down Himawari Bomb (11:23).
8. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated Dick Togo & Mike Bailey when Endo pinned Bailey with the Sky Twister Press (21:53).
9. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Uchikomi! Presents: HARASHIMA & Yuko Miyamoto defeated Ken Ohka & KAI (c) when HARASHIMA pinned Ohka with the Somato (13:37).
*Bad Comi fail in V1. Smile Yankee become the 56th KO-D Tag Team Champions!
10. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: Shuji Ishikawa defeated Konosuke Takeshita (c) with the Giant Slam (20:05).
*Konosuke Takeshita fails in V4. Shuji Ishikawa becomes the 59th KO-D Openweight Champion!
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Ryota Yamasato defeated Yakitori (c) by eating it (7:02pm).
*Ryota Yamasato becomes the 1,170th champion.

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In the main event Konosuke Takeshita put his KO-D Openweight Title on the line against DAMNATION’s big dog, Shuji Ishikawa. Takeshita quickly knocked his opponent outside the ring with a Lariat and followed up with a Plancha. The tables turned when Ishikawa Power Bombed Takeshita onto the ring apron. He was badly hurt but managed to break the countout in time. Ishikawa continued the attack by standing on him, applying a Bearhug and hitting a Knee Lift. There was also a Double Stomp from the second rope. Takeshita avoided the Fire Thunder and fired back with a Dropkick to get some time to recover. However Shuji Ishikawa brought out a big Missile Dropkick when he stopped a Superplex attempt. Takeshita did a Missile Dropkick of his own after a Dragon Suplex. The Blue Thunder Bomb only got a two count. Takeshita couldn’t lift Ishikawa for the Deadlift German Suplex so Ishikawa got to do a Back Drop into a Backstabber instead. The two soon traded Lariats and Headbutts until Takeshita caught Ishikawa with a German Suplex for a nearfall. Ishikawa avoided the Cross Arm German Suplex by blindly Headbutting Takeshita behind him. He then hit the Fire Thunder that left both men down on the canvas. When they got up Takeshita went for a Lariat but was blocked with a Knee Lift. Ishikawa hit the Splash Mountain but Takeshita kicked out! Unfortunately that was the last of his fighting spirit spent as Ishikawa then hit the Giant Slam to become the new KO-D Champion! Ishikawa acknowledged Takeshita’s strength in his victory promo but he is even stronger. Ishikawa welcomes another challenge in the future. He then said his heyday isn’t now but tomorrow. Daisuke Sasaki took the mic and demanded applause for the new champion. He said this was the happy ending and Takeshita is only a B grade wrestler who should study in school. From now on it’s the era of the Large Giant! So who should challenge him? The ringside area filled up with the DDT roster but Sasaki wasn’t impressed. He called all of them B grade garbage wrestlers. At the next show DAMNATION themselves will decide who the No. 1 Contender should be. Ishikawa tried to thank the crowd for their support but Sasaki cut him off. Sasaki introduced every member of DAMNATION and said they are the best, they are not married and they are DAMNATION!

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Bad times have come for Bad Comi. Their first defence of the KO-D Tag Team Titles was a failure, losing out to Smile Yankee. Things went south pretty quickly when a Plancha from KAI only hit Ken Ohka and Shota but not their opponents. A brawl around the arena followed and KAI took the time to do some commentary on the Samurai! TV broadcast. HARASHIMA & Yuko Miyamoto took control back in the ring until a Double Spear from the champions laid them out. Ohka gave HARASHIMA a Dragon Suplex for a two count but Miyamoto blocked his Spear Of Flame afterwards. The distraction allowed HARASHIMA to hit the Somato from out of nowhere. KAI Buckle Bombed HARASHIMA and Ohka stood in place ready to Spear Miyamoto. That’s where it all fell apart. Miyamoto leap frogged out of the way and Ohka accidentally Speared KAI instead! Miyamoto hit the Fire Thunder on Ohka and HARASHIMA followed with another Somato to crown new tag team champions!

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Poor Mike Bailey got busted open in his match and by his own partner no less. Dick Togo stopped Tetsuya Endo from pinning Bailey by whacking Endo over the back with a chair. Unfortunately a part of the chair caught Bailey in the temple and cut him open. Bailey valiantly fought on but missed the Shooting Star Double Knee Drop. He was struck again with the chair, this time by Endo and a Sky Twister Press ended the match. An angry Togo threw the chair out of the ring at DAMNATION and he ranted about Sasaki backstage. This isn’t over by a long shot. Bailey meanwhile had to get six stitches over his eyebrow. Next for Sasaki & Endo is a chase for the KO-D Tag Team Titles.

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Unfortunately there was no Terry Funk for Match #7. Shiro Koshinaka took his place to help Sanshiro Takagi & NOSAWA Rongai take on Shuten-dōji & The Great Kabuki. “Battle Without Honor or Humanity” began playing but it was suddenly switched with “Yankee Station”. Both Yukio Sakaguchi & Kota Umeda entered the arena with half of their faces covered in Great Kabuki facepaint. Takagi and NOSAWA both had sudden knee problems late in the match but gutted through them to win. The Shuten-dōji wrestlers apologised to Kabuki for their “bastard performance” after the match. They hope to team with him again one more time. Takagi and NOSAWA spent their interview reminiscing over DDT’s early years. Memories of the late Super Uchu Power were brought up.

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Two important things were on the line for LiLiCo and Danshoku Dino. The DDT Extreme Title and love. Maybe love is more important. That’s up for debate. But hey, a shiny championship is a shiny championship. Oh and there’s also the fate of Mizuki Watase who would either end the match as LiLiCo’s boyfriend or getting pulled out of the closet (allegedly) by Dino. Watase did what he could to help LiLiCo, he was legally allowed to. LiLiCo even played effective mind games by mocking the size of Dino’s manhood. They delivered a Double DDT of love to down Dino but an unconscious referee meant the pin didn’t count. Dino recovered, gave LiLiCo a face full of his backside and drove her into despair by giving Watase a Lip Lock. A furious LiLiCo charged right into a Brainbuster and she was then pinned with the Danshoku Driver. Dino told LiLiCo to accept the stipulation, give him Watase and leave the ring. However Watase pushed Dino away and wouldn’t leave his girlfriend’s side. Dino couldn’t understand it. Is Watase really in love with LiLiCo? It’s not like they’re getting married on 25th September… That’s when Watase went down on one knee and pulled out a little box. Watase was ready to propose right there in the ring when Suguru Miyatake suddenly appeared. Miyatake was originally LiLiCo’s bodyguard before he got injured. He wanted to be the one in newspaper photos with her. He wanted to go on the trip to Sweden to meet her parents. He wants the recognition of being her boyfriend so he too will propose to her! “Wait a minute!” Bernard Ackah (where the hell has he been?) approached the ring. He said he was LiLiCo’s very first bodyguard and he wants the fame of being LiLiCo’s boyfriend. He also proposed. Makoto Oishi then joined in. If he is going to be a major idol then being married to LiLiCo will help him greatly. If there weren’t already enough proposals Super Sasadango Machine showed up and proposed too. Dino had an idea. Everyone except Miyatake (because he’s injured) should wrestle in a match and the winner gets to be LiLiCo’s fiance. Everyone agreed, Miyatake broke down into tears. Dino finished the segment by telling everyone that as long as DDT is around, so is he.

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Soma Takao is now 8-0 in “PETER PAN” matches and he won the AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Championship too! Takao went into the match with new red wrestling gear. His opponent Hikaru Sato came out to “Electro World” by Perfume, the same song he used when he won the KO-D Title back in 2010. All Soma needed to do was hit the Gin And Tonic but Sato made it difficult. However Takao hit Thrust Kick after Thrust Kick to weaken the champion. By the end Sato couldn’t avoid the Gin And Tonic anymore and that was all she wrote. Takao thanked Sato for the match and welcomed him to a rematch down the line. Kazuki Hirata interrupted the victory speech and challenged Takao for a title shot. Fans may think he is useless but his desire to win the title is genuine. Amon Tsurumi tried to give an answer but Hirata cut him off, wanting to hear only from Takao. The champion wants to defend the belt in DDT but isn’t sure Hirata is prepared. He will give him a shot if Hirata’s desire is true. Takao offered a handshake but slapped Hirata afterwards. Hirata slapped back and the two stood off forehead to forehead. In the post-match interview Takao said he wants to defend the title against Atsushi Aoki. He thinks Aoki is the current symbol of All Japan’s Jr. Division and he won’t be satisfied with his reign until he can beat him.

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Class was in session for NωA. Before their match could take place Super Sasadango Machine set up a PowerPoint presentation to explain today’s mission. NωA need to get 50,000 Twitter followers in order to qualify for a spot in “DDT FES 2016” in November. They only have 1,200 followers. Sasadango came up with PDCA: Plan, Do, Check and Action. He had four steps for NωA tofay. 1) Perform live. 2) Wrestle the match 3) Use your opponent’s technique to trick them. 4) After winning the match go sell CDs at the merch table. So NωA performed “Never Give Up☆I LOVE YOU” live, wrestled the match and tried to attack Antonio Honda with the Bionic Elbow. Honda’s partners kept getting in the way and powered up Honda by singing “We Are The World”. They got so engrossed in singing that they forgot about Honda and allowed him to get overwhelmed by his opponents. MAO hit the Cannonball 450 and got the win for NωA. After the match there was the reveal of all the talent confirmed for “DDT FES 2016”. NωA were not announced but Kota Ibushi was! Backstage Sasadango told NωA not to worry about it and just focus on selling CDs. Honda meanwhile accused his teammates of poor singing because it did not power him up as much as they thought it would. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi cheered him up by saying the four of them should go out and have sex with everyone.

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KUDO’s return was a triumphant one. He picked up the win and celebrated afterwards with some drinks. Masahiro Takanashi said the wine tasted great because he got to drink with his “big brother” again. KUDO said he felt anxious having his first match in so long but his confidence helped him. He also said this was just the start of his big return. With important shows in Osaka and Saitama happening in the next 8 months, KUDO is aiming to win a championship.

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Joey Ryan was barely back in Japan for ten minutes before he lost the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title at the airport. Guanchulo tricked him into tapping out to win the title. The belt switched a few more times between them, Toru Owashi and Sanshiro Takagi’s daughter Rei Takagi until the day of the show. Owashi went into Sumo Hall carrying the title tired from fighting off attackers. He ate some Yakitori chicken and fell asleep. Unfortunately he dropped the chicken on his chest and it counted as a pin. So a piece of chicken went into the Battle Royal as the defending champion. Ryan, Kazuki Hirata and Cherry fought over the chicken and Cherry became the champion by eating it. Gota Ihashi’s crush on Saki Akai briefly ended when he saw Reika Saiki for the first time. She eliminated herself to avoid being in the ring with him. Keisuke Ishii won the title when he violently submitted Cherry with a stomp assisted Half Crab Hold. Mad Polley (Polly? Paulie? Help me out here DDT!) went on a rampage and was very difficult to eliminate. Yoshihiko was the last entrant and locked on a Rear Naked Choke to Ishii, making him tap out. Jun Kasai was all set to do the Pearl Harbour Splash when Hirata stole his goggles. Kasai instead put on a pair of HIRATA GO! glasses but the power of the music was too much to resist. Kasai and Hirata danced together and eliminated several wrestlers while doing so. Yoshihiko pinned Kasai with the Reincarnation and went to fight Hirata. Owashi caught both of them with La Magistral Cradle to win the match and leave as champion. That is until Ryan snuck in a School Boy on the entrance ramp. Ryan thought he was safe until Guanchulo shoved another Yakitori chicken down his mouth backstage. Ryan tapped out from the choking and the chicken was declared champion. The chicken survived the rest of the show until the very end when comedian Ryota Yamasato ate it, blissfully unaware of what it went through. So Yamasato is now champion.

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In preparation for the DNA Grand Prix in October four of the wrestlers entering the tournament were put into a tag team match to open the show proper. Daiki Shimomura was meant to wipe out Mizuki Watase with a Quebrada but almost crippled himself with a bad landing. Thankfully he was okay. Back in the ring Kazusada Higuchi got the win over Kouki Iwasaki. Higuchi said the match was a good opportunity to measure everyone’s strength. He even warned Shimomura that they will be rivals in the Grand Prix. Shimomura thanked him for the warning.

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Tokyo Joshi Pro provided one of the two pre-show matches. Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki & Akane Miura worked well together. While Yamashita took care of Hyper Misao, Miura held Shoko Nakajima in a Torture Rack and Yamashita tightrope walked over to do the Magical Girl Kick. Yamashita then pinned Misao with the Attitude Adjustment. Yamashita now has a TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title match with Yuu to worry about.

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The day began with father and son teaming up in the dark match. Chikara had a King Of Dark Title defence lined up and his dad Mitsuo Momota was there to help get rid of the cursed championship. Nobuhiro Shimatani was also teaming with them but it didn’t matter. Chikara got pinned by Tomomitsu Matsunaga after Momota accidentally Clotheslined his pride and joy. Still, Chikara was amazed he got to wrestle in Sumo Hall. Momota wants to wrestle a proper match in DDT and hopes Chikara will work hard to lose the title.

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During intermission there was news for DDT’s next major show in December, “OSAKA OCTOPUS 2016”. First there is the debut match of Yuni, an eight year old child. Yuni hopes to win the KO-D Title. In even bigger news it was announced that from September onwards Yoshihiro Takayama will be regularly wrestling for DDT! Takayama said he is coming in for DDT’s 20th anniversary to destroy everyone on the roster. He is No. 1, No Fear! Both Yuni and Takayama want to face Konosuke Takeshita.

DDT had a few announcements for their Taiwan debut this November. They will be sponsored by a bed company called Nitori. As part of this sponsorship a masked superhuman named Mask De Nitori will make his debut. Also Antonio Honda and Super Sasadango Machine will face off in a Sleep Deprivation Death Match!

DDT returns to Sumo Hall on 20th August, 2017 for “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2017”! There is also a special deal in place for the 20th Anniversary show in Saitama Super Arena next year. There will be 20 VIP seats available for 200,000 yen. There will also be another 20 VIP seats available for only 20 yen.

Muscle Sakai and director Tetsuaki Matsue are making DDT’s third movie called “Our Culture Of Pro Wrestling DDT”.


DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2016 ~MOST HOT SUMMER IN THE WORLD~” Preview

August 25, 2016

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DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2016 ~MOST HOT SUMMER IN THE WORLD~”, 28/08/2016
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

0. King Of Dark Title – 6:30 Man Is Now A 1:30 Family: Chikara (c), Mitsuo Momota & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Hoshitango & Rekka
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki & Akane Miura Vs Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Yuu
1. DNA FIGHTS ~BATTLE OF LAST SUMMER~: Kazusada Higuchi & Daiki Shimomura Vs Kouki Iwasaki & Mizuki Watase
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Joey Ryan (c) Vs Reika Saiki Vs Toru Owashi Vs Keisuke Ishii Vs Saki Akai Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Cherry Vs Guanchulo Vs Mad Paulie Vs KENSO Vs Gota Ihashi Vs Jun Kasai Vs Yoshihiko
3. KUDO Comeback ~YELLOW DRAGON COME BACK!!~: KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Akito & Yasu Urano
4. NωA Road To DDT Fes 2016 ~ Sasadango Teaches The Way To Survive Showbiz: Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Super Sasadango Machine Vs Antonio Honda, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, Lady Beard & Gorgeous Matsuno
5. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Hikaru Sato (c) Vs Soma Takao
6. DDT Extreme Title – Watase Contra Watase: LiLiCo (c) Vs Danshoku Dino
7. Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Shiro Koshinaka & NOSAWA Rongai Vs Great Kabuki, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kota Umeda
8. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo Vs Dick Togo & Mike Bailey
9. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Uchikomi! Presents: Ken Ohka & KAI (c) Vs HARASHIMA & Yuko Miyamoto
10. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Shuji Ishikawa

Bloody right it’s been a hot summer. DDT is back in Sumo Hall for the ninth time in the the company’s existence. It is also the eighth “PETER PAN” show and the seventh “PETER PAN” held in this building. Throughout 2016 DDT was focused on the rivalry between Happy Motels and DAMNATION. The main event and the road leading to it reflects this as the youngest ever KO-D Openweight Champion takes on The Big Dawg~! of DAMNATION. The KO-D Tag Team Titles are on the line in a match where Bad Communication is fatal. The Wrestling Master teams up with a Speedball to fight a charismatic protege and a young man who feels robbed of his future. A samurai steps in when a planned foreign exchange with Funk University was cancelled. Title matches, idols, injury comebacks and plenty more are also planned for DDT’s biggest show of the summer.

0. King Of Dark Title – 6:30 Man Is Now A 1:30 Family: Chikara (c), Mitsuo Momota & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Hoshitango & Rekka

The day starts off with the King Of Dark Championship, DDT’s “Misfortune Title” that punishes the champion by forcing them to only wrestle in dark matches until they win. The title currently belongs to Chikara. No, not that one. I mean the grandson of Rikidozan and the person who finds more joy out of Chopping people than anyone else in the world. It’s all he’s good at and that’s me being veeeerrrrrrrrrry generous. Sadly for Chikara his first match in Sumo Hall involves defending this championship at 1:30pm. An upside to this is his father Mitsuo Momota wants to help him out. The three times Momota has wrestled in the building for All Japan have all been in the opening match so it’s fitting he gets to do it again this time with his son.

0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki & Akane Miura Vs Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Yuu

Tokyo Joshi Pro is still going along four years into its existence. This year they introduced their first championship, the TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title. The first and only champion is Miyu Yamashita who won the belt when the promotion held its first Korakuen Hall show in January. She hasn’t been impossible to defeat but her wins come when they count. Her big challenge coming up is Yuu. This woman debuted at the Korakuan show and has been undefeated ever since. Her experience level in Judo helped her progress quicker than most if not all of the other girls who have wrestled for the promotion since its inception. This match here will give a little preview of their title match in September. Also keep an eye on Hyper Misao. She’s a super hero but this year has resorted to cheating and fighting dirty to win her matches.

1. DNA FIGHTS ~BATTLE OF LAST SUMMER~: Kazusada Higuchi & Daiki Shimomura Vs Kouki Iwasaki & Mizuki Watase

DDT’s development brand opens up the show proper. The match sees a step down for Kazusada Higuchi. He won the Right To Challenge Battle Royal in March but lost his the KO-D Title match a month later. Since then he’s been up and down the card teaming with other wrestlers who have similar sumo backgrounds. In DNA he is still unbeatable and is the early favourite for the DNA Grand Prix scheduled for October. Daiki Shimomura had a bad debut in March, getting injured and missing three months of ring time. He has some catching up to do but we at least found out during Beer Garden week that he can do a Shinsuke Nakamura impression. Maybe that can rub off on him. Kouki Iwasaki found some success in the DNA team that won the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles and he’s developing into a competent wrestler. Meanwhile Mizuki Watase found love and the dangers that comes with it. But that’s another story for another part of this preview.

2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Joey Ryan (c) Vs Reika Saiki Vs Toru Owashi Vs Keisuke Ishii Vs Saki Akai Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Cherry Vs Guanchulo Vs Mad Paulie Vs KENSO Vs Gota Ihashi Vs Jun Kasai Vs Yoshihiko

If you notice the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title now has a tan that’s because it spent the summer travelling across the United States, mainly California. Joey Ryan left Japan as the champion back in June and since then the belt has had quite an adventure, capturing a lot of attention along the way. Let’s look at what the list of champions during this period: a WWE Hall Of Famer, half of the Lucha Underground roster, Spider-Man, the Beyond Wrestling fanbase, Joey Ryan’s fiance, their pet cat, Vince McMahon’s star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, three entrants from this year’s WWE Cruiserweight Classic, a man with a box of cereal for a head and comedian Ron Funches. And this does not include all of the wrestlers who have previously held championships in WWE, TNA, ROH, ECW, EVOLVE, SHIMMER, PWG, CZW, PROGRESS and God knows where else. Sadly it’s time for the belt to come home to Japan where Joey Ryan is expected to defend it in the usual Battle Royal. It’s fitting for this championship that I treat its return to Japan as a chance to calm the gimmick down.

Anyway the usual cast of misfits fill up the match. KENSO who exists to annoy me has spent all summer fighting Sanshiro Takagi for a spot on this show, Mad Paulie is one of DAMNATION’s “pets”, the “Muscle Idol” Reika Saiki is this year’s eye candy and Jun Kasai is back after causing havoc at DDT’s last visit to Sumo Hall.

3. KUDO Comeback ~YELLOW DRAGON COME BACK!!~: KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Akito & Yasu Urano

KUDO finally makes his return after a bad injury to his right ACL discovered in September 2015 put him out of action. While he was gone Shuten-dōji added Kota Umeda to take his place. Masa Takanashi also changed his ring name to Masahiro Takanashi because he felt it was time to start a new chapter of his career. KUDO’s first match back is against familiar opponents. Smile Squash and Shuten-dōji wrestle against each other often so he should feel at home here.

4. NωA Road To DDT Fes 2016 ~ Sasadango Teaches The Way To Survive Showbiz: Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Super Sasadango Machine Vs Antonio Honda, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, Lady Beard & Gorgeous Matsuno

DDT is working with a music festival in November and to capitalise on the event they created New Wrestling Aidoru (Idol) or NωA for short. Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata and MAO were selected for the wrestling idol group and quickly recorded their first record “Never Give Up☆I LOVE YOU”. Their goal is to be good enough for a spot on the music festival but the only way they will qualify is if they get over 50,000 followers on Twitter. They thought things were going well when they forced Dick Togo to join NωA but it only took a few hours for him to graduate from the group. Some good news happened though. Masked wrestler, marketing genius and PowerPoint extraordinaire Super Sasadango Machine offered to be their manager. His latest idea is to pit NωA against another team of wrestling idols and singers. Antonio Honda and Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi were both members of a band called DPG (Dramatic Perfect Group), pro wrestling is just a side project for Lady Beard outside of his music career and Gorgeous Matsuno is an old crooner. Expect musical numbers.

5. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Hikaru Sato (c) Vs Soma Takao

When Team Dream Futures decided to split up in May all three members went their separate ways. Two of them have struggled and since gone to do very different things. Shigehiro Irie is currently on an excursion in America to develop as both a wrestler and a grown up. Keisuke Ishii formed Fantastic Memories with Danshoku Dino hoping to recapture their success back when they were part of Belt Hunter X Hunter. The one who avoided the post-Drift slump is Soma Takao. He has beaten both of his former teammates in singles matches and has an impressive win-loss record throughout DDT. With this success came an opportunity to get what he wants most: the AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title. The challenge was sent to All Japan and it was accepted. After all, the champion has some history with the challenger.

Hikaru Sato has done well for himself since leaving DDT in 2014. A short stay in Union Pro saw him dominate as a big fish in a small pond. Then he went on to All Japan where he is a regular contender in the Jr. Heavyweight division. He won the Jr. Title in June and is going into Sumo Hall for his second defence but there is more to this than just a title match. In February 2011 Takao beat Sato in a No DQ Hair Vs Hair Match and shaved him bald in the middle of the ring. Soma thinks history gives him the edge over Sato. The champion is happy to wrestle at Sumo Hall for DDT again. He has fond memories of the first “PETER PAN” from 2009. Even though he wrestled in the dark match, Sato remembers being excited because everyone worked so hard to put the show together. He is reminded of that everytime he wrestles in Sumo Hall.

One last thing. Soma Takao is 7-0 at “PETER PAN” shows. Slowly but surely this is approaching an Undertaker at WrestleMania level of winning streak.

6. DDT Extreme Title – Watase Contra Watase: LiLiCo (c) Vs Danshoku Dino

Love’s precious, isn’t it? Who would have guessed when LiLiCo found a few DNA wrestlers to be her bodyguard earlier this year she would hit it off with one of them. Mizuki Watase and LiLiCo fell in love and became an item. They sought inspiration from Titanic to help LiLiCo win the DDT Extreme Title and since then the power of their love has kept the title in their possession. But now comes a man who is a big threat to LiLiCo. Not just for her championship but for her boyfriend too! Danshoku Dino is the No. 1 Contender and he thinks Watase is only in a relationship with LiLiCo to hide the fact that he’s gay. To prove it the match will be Watase Contra Watase, the winner gets Watase, the loser can never touch him again! If that’s not enough Watase is freely allowed to get involved in the match. So he can prove his love with LiLiCo is real by helping her win… Or he can prove Dino is right by helping him win? Is Dino’s claims about Watase true? Is Watase’s romance with LiLiCo nothing more than a sham? Is this a better love story than the Overwatch shipping of Pharah and Mercy I found on NeoGAF? We’ll soon find out.

7. Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Shiro Koshinaka & NOSAWA Rongai Vs Great Kabuki, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kota Umeda

Well this match fell apart. It was all supposed to be about Terry Funk. Unfortunately a hernia prevented ol’ Funker from travelling to Japan and he had to cancel his appearance. Shiro Koshinaka is bring brought in on short notice to be his replacement. Koshinaka has history in DDT by being a former KO-D Tag Team Champion with Danshoku Dino under the team name Butt Samurai. Koshinaka gets to be in the ring again with his old Heisei Ishingun stablemate The Great Kabuki. He says he is also looking forward to wrestling Yukio Sakaguchi for the first time.

8. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo Vs Dick Togo & Mike Bailey

There is one man I can point to as the centrepiece of DDT’s storylines this year and that man is Daisuke Sasaki. He played a role in many of the main event angles that have gone on and developed into a dangerous competitor in the process. And to think it all began with a crush. 2016 began with Sasaki all alone. The Golden☆Storm Riders had to break up when Kota Ibushi quit DDT and Suguru Miyatake blew out his shoulder. It was around this time that Candice LeRae had her first tour with DDT and Sasaki was instantly smitten with her. Like a lovesick puppy Sasaki proposed to her several times, mostly to be his tag team partner but it eventually became an offer of marriage. LeRae’s rejection left him feeling devastated but the real shock came when news of LeRae’s engagement to Johnny Gargano reached Japan. This is where you can pinpoint Sasaki’s tragic origin story if he was a supervillain. Sasaki snapped and went into a jealous rage, constantly demanding to fight Gargano at DDT shows even though Gargano was never going to get booked. He also wanted tag team title shots despite having no tag partner. Eventually Sasaki solved his problems by getting a pet dog and it is a very big dog. When “Adrian” was introduced it turned out to be Shuji Ishikawa in a giant mascot dog outfit. While the imagery of a big dog beating up wrestlers is funny (and it was) the new team were no joke and they quickly became tag team champions. Sasaki grew a mean streak and got his hands on a Right To Challenge Anytime Anywhere Contract. He used it to win the KO-D Title from HARASHIMA in April and became king of the DDT world until Konosuke Takeshita knocked him off his perch. Sasaki got a small measure of revenge though when he convinced Takeshita’s best friend to switch sides.

Tetsuya Endo saw himself as the bridesmaid of Happy Motels. This time last year he returned from an injury to face his best friend and tag team partner Takeshita at Sumo Hall. Endo lost that match but no matter, most wrestlers lose their first bout back from injury. He and his buddy soon became the KO-D Tag Team Champions and everything was great until Sasaki & Ishikawa came along. Sasaki made Takeshita pass out to the Cross Facelock at the 19th Anniversary Show but no matter, they were caught unprepared and they could get their rematch a month later. Sasaki made Takeshita pass out again in the but no matter, now Endo can chase after Sasaki’s KO-D Title. Takeshita gets the title shot first and goes on to finally beat Sasaki, becoming the youngest KO-D Champion ever. No matter, Endo got a Right To Challenge Contract around the same time. He cashes in for a fair and square title match against his best friend to prove who is truly better. Takeshita won. That’s when Endo cracks and has enough of being in his friend’s shadow. Seeing an opportunity, Sasaki crashes Takeshita’s post-match victory speech and offers Endo to join his new unit DAMNATION. Endo shocked everyone when he pushed his best friend aside and accepted the DAMNATION T-shirt! Since then Endo has found new success by embracing his dark side. Can there be anybody out there to stop DAMNATION? How about somebody from Sasaki’s past?

Four years ago Dick Togo called time on his legendary career. After saying his goodbyes in Japan he spent his final 12 months wrestling around South America in countries like Chile and Bolivia. They were his second homes and he wanted to help establish their wrestling scenes. Fast forward to 2016 and Togo is back in Japan with a burning desire to return to the ring. He still has plenty left in him and he wants to fight the new generation of wrestlers that have appeared during his absence. Everybody was happy to have him back. Everybody that is except for Sasaki. Togo’s protege was pissed off that this old man is back on the scene when it should be known to everyone that the student has surpassed his master. A welcoming hug became a low blow. Sasaki made his intentions known, he is better than Togo and will prove it. Endo also thinks that Togo should stay out of DAMNATION’s way. Togo disagrees and wants to put both of these punks back in their place. But he needs help. Togo demanded a tag team match but foolishly did so without having anyone to back him up. Luckily there was a new Canadian sensation brought in to save the day.

“Speedball” Mike Bailey has only been wrestling in Japan for a month but he is quickly winning over fans with his rapid strikes and agility. So we currently have a Canadian wrestler making waves in DDT in short time? Sounds familiar. Sounds doubly familiar actually. Anyway, Bailey was picked as Togo’s partner and he could not be more excited to wrestle with such a legend. While he holds no grudge with DAMNATION you can be sure Sasaki & Endo aren’t going to let him steal their spotlight. Sparks will fly in this one.

9. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Uchikomi! Presents: Ken Ohka & KAI (c) Vs HARASHIMA & Yuko Miyamoto

Mandatory listening for this part of the preview.

I see this as two pairs of brothers from other mothers fighting over the KO-D Tag Team Titles. Ken Ohka had a stressful year over in his home base Ganbare☆Wrestling. He had been betrayed so often that it must felt crushing to him. Thankfully a kindred spirit came along and they caught on like a house on fire. KAI from Wrestle-1 offered to help his problems. They wrestled in identical vests and jeans which in pro wrestling terms is the closest bond two people could ever make. They also like B’z which is another thing a lot of Japanese wrestler seem to bond over. So they named their team Bad Comi after the song “Bad Communication” (Did the song above end? Keep playing it) After their one match together they somehow convinced DDT to give them a title shot. An injury scare put their chances in doubt but they surprised everyone by winning the belts from DAMNATION.

Their challengers are HARASHIMA & Yuko Miyamoto, together known as Smile Yankee. The two originally tagged together for the 2015 New Year’s Eve tournament and they reached the final. A few more appearances in the summer convinced them to team more. Miyamoto even decided to join Smile Squash for the upcoming DDT Dramatic General Election. Much like their opponents, Smile Yankee have a habit of wearing identical gear during their matches. They swap between HARASHIMA’s gear and Miyamoto’s gear. Ohka doesn’t care that Yankee Smile has only ever lost once, Bad Comi are the hottest tag team in the world!

10. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Shuji Ishikawa

This makes up the other part of the Happy Motels Vs DAMNATION feud. Since his debut at 17 years old, Konosuke Takeshita was first labelled as DDT’s Rookie Supernova and later simply “The Future”. It only took four years for him to reach the top and become the KO-D Openweight Champion, the youngest wrestler to ever do so. Losing over and over to Daisuke Sasaki in the tag team division was a tough hurdle to overcome but in May he finally did it. Since then he defended the belt against a veteran outsider (Yuko Miyamoto), a former KO-D Champion with one last golden opportunity to get the belt (Toru Owashi) and his best friend (Tetsuya Endo). Now he has to fight The Big Dog.

Forget the part about Shuji Ishikawa being Daisuke Sasaki’s “pet”. This is still a big lad and former champion who smashed through the King Of DDT tournament to get this title match. Takeshita does have a 4 minute victory over Ishikawa that happened in May but don’t expect the same thing to happen here. Ishikawa has been wrestling in several different companies this year and has taken Chops, Lariats and German Suplexes from the best of them. He also has previous experience wrestling in the main event of “PETER PAN” when he headlined the 2011 show. Takeshita thinks he can summon the fighting spirit necessary for such a special show. Ishikawa doesn’t care, he’ll just crush that spirit while providing a great match for the crowd. Then when he wins the title he will hug Sasaki in the ring to celebrate.